# Ask Mark!



## MarkNortham

Hi All -

As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:

* I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.

* Please include any info you can related to your question.

* I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.

* I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc

My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)

I hope you find this helpful and useful.

Best,

Mark Northam


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## Star Hunter

Ooh! Me! Me! *waves hand in air frantically* 

This is a general online application question for the spouse visa (but probably applies to other visas as well).

Is there a time limit for when we can continue to upload documents/evidence? Ie, can we just continue to upload more evidence as it comes to light until we are issued a case worker? 

Will they assess evidence that occurred (ie new bills, new lease, new photographs etc) after the date the application was lodged or is sending in new stuff just a waste of time?

Thank you so much!!! Great thread idea!

P.S we are married if that helps so we aren't relying on extra evidence to fulfil any living together requirement or anything.

P.P.S I have seen a few people on here confused about whether The MRT will accept new evidence generated since the original application or whether they only assess the original application with no extras and I'd love to get a definitive answer for that


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## MarkNortham

Hi Star Hunter -

You get the prize for the first question on the Ask Mark! thread! Here goes - and we keep answers quick and brief here for readability:

Re: additional evidence submitted after partner visa lodged: YES, they will consider it, and I've seen it make a HUGE difference in some cases. If a requirement is time-of-application (ie, defacto 12-month living together requirement) then additional info about living together BEFORE the time of application is good, but make sure you know whether a requirement is time-of-application (ie, must have been met at the time of application) or time-of-decision (evidence can be considered and added up until the point of decision) - big difference.

Re: MRT: YES they will accept new evidence and it's the best part of the MRT in my opinion - think of the MRT like a new "decision" - if a requirement is time-of-decision, then you can submit additional evidence up until the point the MRT makes their decision. Same caveat applies re: time of application requirements - if a requirement is time of application and you do not meet it (ie, minimum IELTS score for some visas, etc), then MRT may not be able to do anything to change things since you cannot go back to the time of application and change things.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


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## Star Hunter

That was brilliant! Thank you Mark!


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## MarkNortham

Happy to help!


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## zaheerkhan

hey mark
thanks for yours cooperation with the people to help them, my PR was canclled due to the breaching of visa conditions, anyhow my wife and i wants to visit aus, coz my wife wana see some places there and want to see how the custom and life style of people in aus, so we r thinking to apply for 3 months visit, kindly can yu tell me is it right time to apply? and if yes how we can present our application in good way with possibility to be approved. as we belongs to high risk country. we have personal ties here like our families parents r living here, we have our own property here and my wife is governament teacher, so do yu think it will be enough to show them being genuine tourist? thanks


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## MarkNortham

Hi Zaheerkhan -

Cancellation of a PR visa is a serious issue and, depending on the specific legal issues and regulations involved in the cancellation, can result in exclusion periods from Australia that prevent applications for some visas, especially temporary visas such as visitor visas. 

Would need to do a consultation to have the time to properly assess all of the aspects of your case - too complex to do here as there can be many factors involved. See my website for more - thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam


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## Naylorus

Hi Mark,

silent reader and silent admirer for your kind efforts here to help members out.

Quick question - for migration purposes, is the skills assessment same as qualification assessments? I had my engineering qualifications assessed by EA. Do I still need to get my professional experience assessed by EA or some other regulatory body in Australia - in order to claim points for certain number of years professional experience?

Thanks


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## jdee

Hi mark,

My partner is on student sub572. We applied defacto relationship 03rd dec 2013. Her student visa expires on 27th Aug 2014, with the BVA activated on that date. Her course completion is on the 04th of Jul with the second sem starting on the 21st of Jul. 

As there would be a gap between the 21st of Jul till the 27th of Aug, will this place her on BVE as her study is complete. Just want to ensure that will not affect the BVA or the application.


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## MarkNortham

Hi Naylorus -

Thanks for the kind words! Some skills assessors assess your work experience and issue an opinion as to whether it is relevant to your nominated occupation code - ACS is one that does, EA does not. EA generally only looks at your educational qualification and (if applicable) your CDR submission to determine if you are "skilled". Other assessors such as ACS and VETASSESS have minimum work experience requirements in order to deem you as "skilled", so it varies widely from one assessor to another. Personally I think this is one of the more unfair aspects of the system, but until skills assessors have some oversight from DIBP or somebody, they will continue to operate as they wish.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Naylorus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> silent reader and silent admirer for your kind efforts here to help members out.
> 
> Quick question - for migration purposes, is the skills assessment same as qualification assessments? I had my engineering qualifications assessed by EA. Do I still need to get my professional experience assessed by EA or some other regulatory body in Australia - in order to claim points for certain number of years professional experience?
> 
> Thanks


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## MarkNortham

Hi Jdee -

Thanks for the question. I assume you mean that you and her have applied for a defacto partner visa (subclass 820/801 if onshore). If she has completed her course (early or otherwise) and you are waiting for the BVA to activate, there is specific policy at DIBP that says she should be allowed to let the student visa expire on its own and it should not be cancelled. Assuming you have a BVA pending from the partner visa application, the BVA will activate as soon as her student visa expires. I don't see a BVE happening in this instance assuming she has completed her coursework and there are no other issues that could affect things.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jdee said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> My partner is on student sub572. We applied defacto relationship 03rd dec 2013. Her student visa expires on 27th Aug 2014, with the BVA activated on that date. Her course completion is on the 04th of Jul with the second sem starting on the 21st of Jul.
> 
> As there would be a gap between the 21st of Jul till the 27th of Aug, will this place her on BVE as her study is complete. Just want to ensure that will not affect the BVA or the application.


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## Al00

Hi Mark,

My partner has completed her studies early and is now waiting for Bridging Visa A to come into effect once the student visa expires in August. I am sponsoring her on the 820 partner visa. Immigration know about it all and I understand her student visa can't be cut short. 

However, my question is will she still have the working restrictions in place or can she happily search for full time work as she won't be going back when the semester begins?

We have asked the case officer if her restrictions can be lifted, or whether she has to do 40 hours per fortnight but no response unfortunately. 

Similar topic to above, but definitely no BVE here. 
Thanks, 

Al00


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## Naylorus

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Naylorus -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words! Some skills assessors assess your work experience and issue an opinion as to whether it is relevant to your nominated occupation code - ACS is one that does, EA does not. EA generally only looks at your educational qualification and (if applicable) your CDR submission to determine if you are "skilled". Other assessors such as ACS and VETASSESS have minimum work experience requirements in order to deem you as "skilled", so it varies widely from one assessor to another. Personally I think this is one of the more unfair aspects of the system, but until skills assessors have some oversight from DIBP or somebody, they will continue to operate as they wish.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Great! thanks for clarifying it. Yes, I see your point in the system being unfair to different occupations. An applicant being assessed by ACS may have few years of his professional experience tacked in order to meet minimum threshold, the engineering professional can claim points right from the moment Go!

*Again, appreciate your help!*


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## MarkNortham

Hi AIOO -

Thanks for the question. A person who completes a course as scheduled AND whose CoE is no longer in effect (ie, end date of course has passed) generally has unlimited rights for the remainder of the time the person holds a student visa. However if the CoE is still in effect and has not been cancelled by the education provider, and the end date on the CoE has not yet occurred (is in the future), this can raise a question as to whether the course is "in session" or not. You may want to have the education provider cancel the CoE as the course has been completed to avoid any misunderstanding. This technically gives the visa applicant 28 days to apply for another visa, etc. Since you already have done this, it clears the pathway for full work rights since the course is not in session. Additionally, in DIBP procedures, there is a specific guidance that states that a person who has completed their intended course of study and who has applied for another visa should NOT have their student visa cancelled.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


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## jdee

Thanks so much Mark!

My apologies, yes it is an 820/801 onshore application and no other issues should affect the application thanks!


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## swavik

Hello Mark,

I read on this forum that the current work experience declaration which states , 'XYZ is working with ### since Jan 2010', is not considered because according to ACS this declaration does not have a END DATE...
Is it true..If yes then is the period not understood if a person is currently employed by the organization, and is having a dated letter on company's letterhead .
I have submitted the other three declarations with the start and release date..But the last one how can the company write the release date if i am currently working there.
I am saying so because i have don't want to come down on points just because of this.. 

I am still waiting for my application to go to stage 2.Submitted the application on 28 dec 2013..How much time does it take from stage 2 to stage 5 if nothing is asked for in stage 3

Thank you
waiting for your reply


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## Al00

Thanks so much! The CoE has not yet been cancelled for some reason, however the university did issue the current one with her statement of completion and we have sent it off for evidence to our case officer. Will have to enquire about cancelling the CoE.

Would it all come down to an opinion in the end?

Thanks again for the quick and helpful response!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi AIOO -
> 
> Thanks for the question. A person who completes a course as scheduled AND whose CoE is no longer in effect (ie, end date of course has passed) generally has unlimited rights for the remainder of the time the person holds a student visa. However if the CoE is still in effect and has not been cancelled by the education provider, and the end date on the CoE has not yet occurred (is in the future), this can raise a question as to whether the course is "in session" or not. You may want to have the education provider cancel the CoE as the course has been completed to avoid any misunderstanding. This technically gives the visa applicant 28 days to apply for another visa, etc. Since you already have done this, it clears the pathway for full work rights since the course is not in session. Additionally, in DIBP procedures, there is a specific guidance that states that a person who has completed their intended course of study and who has applied for another visa should NOT have their student visa cancelled.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


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## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Thanks for the questions. Re: a period of work for the same company referenced on an ACS result letter, in the same position, for a period of time AFTER the ACS skills assessment was submitted up until the current date, generally DIBP will be fine with this if you submit a letter from the company stating you continue to be employed there in the same role that was assessed by ACS, and that you provide payslips or other evidence to prove payment for the duration of the employment (including the ACS-assessed and post-ACS periods to the current date). As with any work references, they are subject to whatever assessment DIBP wants to do to ensure they are comfortable that the work is closely related to your occupation and legitimate, etc. which can include contacting the employer by phone, site visit, etc as DIBP deems necessary to properly assess the work. However in the area of assessing whether the work is closely related to your nominated occupation or not, DIBP policy is to look to the skills assessor to make this determination.

Re: how long, no way to tell - DIBP do not have any sort of processing standards that are meaningful in terms of any good prediction of time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


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## MarkNortham

My view is that if she has successfully completed her coursework, it would be extremely unlikely that DIBP would take any action other than letting the student visa expire on its own. As for work rights, we're in a gray area there but I think a very good argument can be made that the course is out of session as she has completed her requirements, hence full work rights exist for the remainder of the period of the student visa per DIBP policy.

Best,

Mark Northam



Al00 said:


> Thanks so much! The CoE has not yet been cancelled for some reason, however the university did issue the current one with her statement of completion and we have sent it off for evidence to our case officer. Will have to enquire about cancelling the CoE.
> 
> Would it all come down to an opinion in the end?
> 
> Thanks again for the quick and helpful response!


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## Al00

I cannot thank you enough for being extremely helpful. She has a couple of great opportunities for full time work so great to see a clear answer!



MarkNortham said:


> My view is that if she has successfully completed her coursework, it would be extremely unlikely that DIBP would take any action other than letting the student visa expire on its own. As for work rights, we're in a gray area there but I think a very good argument can be made that the course is out of session as she has completed her requirements, hence full work rights exist for the remainder of the period of the student visa per DIBP policy.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


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## MarkNortham

Glad I could help, AIOO!

Best,

Mark Northam


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## red55199

Hi Mark,

My best friend visa was refusal from MRT due to not satisfying the health requirements. Visa(886) was refused because of his HIV status. His migration agent is planning make a submission to Minister in intervene on his case under section 351.

Does really minister care about the his current job status, skills and support from non profit organisations like QPP, PD and support letter from local Federal MP. 
whats is the success rate of 351 section any advises and suggestions are appreciated.

please let me know.
Thanks.


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## CollegeGirl

Great thread idea, Mark. Can't thank you enough for all you do here!


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## swavik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Re: a period of work for the same company referenced on an ACS result letter, in the same position, for a period of time AFTER the ACS skills assessment was submitted up until the current date, generally DIBP will be fine with this if you submit a letter from the company stating you continue to be employed there in the same role that was assessed by ACS, and that you provide payslips or other evidence to prove payment for the duration of the employment (including the ACS-assessed and post-ACS periods to the current date). As with any work references, they are subject to whatever assessment DIBP wants to do to ensure they are comfortable that the work is closely related to your occupation and legitimate, etc. which can include contacting the employer by phone, site visit, etc as DIBP deems necessary to properly assess the work. However in the area of assessing whether the work is closely related to your nominated occupation or not, DIBP policy is to look to the skills assessor to make this determination.
> 
> Re: how long, no way to tell - DIBP do not have any sort of processing standards that are meaningful in terms of any good prediction of time.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

Thank you for your prompt and helpful reply...

Regards


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## pilotg2

*Employment end date (maternity leave) for 190 visa*

Hi Mark

We've just received a positive result for our Vetassess assessment and are now planning to apply for ACT SS. My wife is the primary applicant.

We're not sure what to state as her final work experience date due to minimum hours worked when applying for a 190 visa as she commenced maternity leave on 3 Dec 2012. She took the full year off, which was on full pay for the first few months and then a percentage of her pay thereafter. She decided not to return to work and her official employment termination date was 31 Dec 2013. We had assumed maternity leave would be part of our employment experience, as its considered continuous employment here in 
the UK, but on further research believe DIBP don't take into account maternity leave for employment when applying for a 190 visa, one would assume especially if you don't return to work. Does anyone know otherwise?

We have sufficient points to play safe and claim from 4 Dec 2012, rather than 31 Dec 2013. The only thing that may pose a question by DIBP is that we have a reference and duty statement signed by her manager in Nov 2013 which obviously states she is still employed by the company at that time. Is it still valid to submit, or will the dates cause confusion?


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## MarkNortham

Hi Red -

Sorry to hear about your friend's refusal. Re: Ministerial Intervention (MI) requests, here's official data:

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/public...-intervention/min-stats-australia-2012-13.doc

Here's info about the process:
Ministerial Intervention

In short, the majority of these fail, however as it's a last-chance provision to get a visa depending on the charity and benevolence of the Minister (and his/her staff depending on the circumstances), that's not surprising.

Simply put, anything that can add credibility, compassionate or compelling circumstances to an application is fair game for a MI request document. You're essentially begging the Minister for a visa, so the focus shifts from the actual merits and facts of the case, migration law, etc (as it is at the MRT) to compelling reasons in the public interest that fit what the Minister has decided are his guidelines as to what types of cases he will consider.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



red55199 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My best friend visa was refusal from MRT due to not satisfying the health requirements. Visa(886) was refused because of his HIV status. His migration agent is planning make a submission to Minister in intervene on his case under section 351.
> 
> Does really minister care about the his current job status, skills and support from non profit organisations like QPP, PD and support letter from local Federal MP.
> whats is the success rate of 351 section any advises and suggestions are appreciated.
> 
> please let me know.
> Thanks.


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## roms

Hi Mark and thanks for sharing your knowledge with us on this thread!

I have a question about flagged occupations. I would like to apply for a 189 visa as an actuary.
Actuary has been a flagged occupation for the last 3 years now (from 2011).

What are the chances that this occupation (or any other flagged one) is removed in July 2014?
Do you have any information regarding this subject?

Thanks!


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## markmc

G'day Mark

Thank you for all that you do on the site and for the guidance you have given my fiancée and I in the past. 

I now have another question that I could use your help with.

We have a subclass 300 (PMV) submitted as received this month. My fiancée lives in Indonesia and is finishing up with working there at the end of March. She is under 30 and we were wondering if it is possible to apply for a 417 (WHV) she is a UK citizen so she is eligible at least on that side of things. I sent an email to the Hobart section that deals with those types of visas and they said that she had to have a genuine reason to apply whether that is tourist, work or visiting family. The way they worded it suggested that they don't like the idea of people coming over in case it is just to wait for the 300 decision. Now she genuinely wants to work while here so in your experience, would that be sufficient grounds? We have to inform them about the pending PMV so will that stop her being allowed in?
And as long as she is offshore when the 300 is decided upon
Does that make sense?
Thank you in advance


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## Kiwiana

Hi Mark, 

I haven't got my other questions answered on this forum I posted last year so perhaps you could clear it out for me.

Basically I'm on current visa SCV444 and applying for subclass 802. 

Would I need to apply bridging B visa for the travel? as my SCV444 do get cancelled when I fly out of Australia and get a new SVC444 (I guess it would have different visa grant numbers) as my current SCV444 showed "single entry only" on VEVO.

Thanks


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## Lockythai

Hi Mark, 

So great to see someone offering time out of their day/night to assist us less knowledgable peeps!

I have a quick-ish question regarding my family.

I am sponsoring my partner with her application to move to australia. Subclass 309.

We are submitting the documents to the visa application office in Bangkok this week.

I have been living with her in Thailand for 5 years and we are married.
We have 2 children together which both have citizen by decent, one 4yrs and one 4 months, both also have Australian Passports.

Once her documents have been submitted we would like to travel together to Australia to help start to set up for our life there.

My question is: Should my wife be ok to travel to Australia on a tourist visa while awaiting the TR visa to be granted. I have read that you need to inform immigration if you intend to travel while awaiting the grant of visa.

OR: 
Do you think we are better applying in Australia? And if so can she apply in Australia while on a Tourist visa?

We really don't want to be apart for the sake of our children and I need to return for work in March.

Many thanks for your help in advance.

Lachlan


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## red55199

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Red -
> 
> Sorry to hear about your friend's refusal. Re: Ministerial Intervention (MI) requests, here's official data:
> 
> http://www.immi.gov.au/media/public...-intervention/min-stats-australia-2012-13.doc
> 
> Here's info about the process:
> Ministerial Intervention
> 
> In short, the majority of these fail, however as it's a last-chance provision to get a visa depending on the charity and benevolence of the Minister (and his/her staff depending on the circumstances), that's not surprising.
> 
> Simply put, anything that can add credibility, compassionate or compelling circumstances to an application is fair game for a MI request document. You're essentially begging the Minister for a visa, so the focus shifts from the actual merits and facts of the case, migration law, etc (as it is at the MRT) to compelling reasons in the public interest that fit what the Minister has decided are his guidelines as to what types of cases he will consider.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot for your reply.
The only good thing for my friend is he got 457 and i think he have option to get PR by 186 but he need to wait 2 years. But still we are trying our level best.
Hope Minister will consider his submission.

Thanks


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## frenchie29

Hello Mark, I have a student visa finishing the 15 of march 2014, thinking of keep studying but all the study I want to do are full, so I can't start the second study till july, do you think that my visa will be accepted and am I going to be able to work if I do that ? Thank you very much


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## MarkNortham

Hi Red -

Also note there are 2 common pathways for the 186 visa - the temporary resident pathway requires 2 yrs on a 457 for the nominating employer, however the direct entry pathway requires a skills assessment and 3 yrs work experience in the occupation (but not necessarily for that employer or in Australia). The direct entry pathway also requires a higher IELTS score (6 minimum on all 4 bands of the test) but doesn't have the 2 yr waiting period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



red55199 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot for your reply.
> The only good thing for my friend is he got 457 and i think he have option to get PR by 186 but he need to wait 2 years. But still we are trying our level best.
> Hope Minister will consider his submission.
> 
> Thanks


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## MarkNortham

Hi Pilotg2 -

Better to be safe and not claim that much leave time as employed work. It may cause a bit of confusion, so would suggest uploading a cover letter to DIBP and lodge with the application explaining the situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pilotg2 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> We've just received a positive result for our Vetassess assessment and are now planning to apply for ACT SS. My wife is the primary applicant.
> 
> We're not sure what to state as her final work experience date due to minimum hours worked when applying for a 190 visa as she commenced maternity leave on 3 Dec 2012. She took the full year off, which was on full pay for the first few months and then a percentage of her pay thereafter. She decided not to return to work and her official employment termination date was 31 Dec 2013. We had assumed maternity leave would be part of our employment experience, as its considered continuous employment here in
> the UK, but on further research believe DIBP don't take into account maternity leave for employment when applying for a 190 visa, one would assume especially if you don't return to work. Does anyone know otherwise?
> 
> We have sufficient points to play safe and claim from 4 Dec 2012, rather than 31 Dec 2013. The only thing that may pose a question by DIBP is that we have a reference and duty statement signed by her manager in Nov 2013 which obviously states she is still employed by the company at that time. Is it still valid to submit, or will the dates cause confusion?


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## MarkNortham

Hi Frenchie -

Thanks for the question. No idea if your visa will be approved, however studying between courses (as long as it's after the ending date on the first CoE and before the GRANT date of the further student visa) is generally allowed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



frenchie29 said:


> Hello Mark, I have a student visa finishing the 15 of march 2014, thinking of keep studying but all the study I want to do are full, so I can't start the second study till july, do you think that my visa will be accepted and am I going to be able to work if I do that ? Thank you very much


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## MarkNortham

Hi Roms -

Thanks for the question - wish I had better news, but these things are not generally predictable in advance. Generally the new SOL and CSOL lists are effective as of 1 July of any year - suggest you try to lodge before that date if possible to reduce your risk. I have not heard anything specific about this occupation re: future issues.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roms said:


> Hi Mark and thanks for sharing your knowledge with us on this thread!
> 
> I have a question about flagged occupations. I would like to apply for a 189 visa as an actuary.
> Actuary has been a flagged occupation for the last 3 years now (from 2011).
> 
> What are the chances that this occupation (or any other flagged one) is removed in July 2014?
> Do you have any information regarding this subject?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markmc -

Thanks for the question - it's a good one! Once you've applied for a sc300 fiance visa, it changes the processing dynamics for further temporary visas applied for, most commonly visitor visas. After all, a PMV application essentially has the applicant declaring they intend to remain permanently in Australia with their partner, while a visitor visa is supposed to be granted ONLY for purposes of a temporary stay. Yet visitor visas to those with PMV and partner visas (offshore) pending are routinely granted. This is because of DIBP policy that says that keeping a genuine partner relationship apart should be avoided (or otherwise considered) when assessing a visitor visa.

Bottom line: there is a lot more room for DIBP to be flexible re: visitor visa than they can with a WHV. Furthermore, the WHV is only supposed to have an applicant working as incidental to and to support the holiday - it's not really a "temporary work visa" the way a 457 is, despite the fact that many people use that visa in this way. In the end there's a higher likelihood of refusal for a WHV than for a visitor visa in my view, for people who have lodged PMV or partner visas and are awaiting the results. Is the WHV impossible to get if you have PMV pending? Nope. Is it harder to get than a visitor visa? Yes, in many circumstances. Also the WHV is generally a single-entry visa whereas visitor visa may be multiple-entry (more convenient).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



markmc said:


> G'day Mark
> 
> Thank you for all that you do on the site and for the guidance you have given my fiancée and I in the past.
> 
> I now have another question that I could use your help with.
> 
> We have a subclass 300 (PMV) submitted as received this month. My fiancée lives in Indonesia and is finishing up with working there at the end of March. She is under 30 and we were wondering if it is possible to apply for a 417 (WHV) she is a UK citizen so she is eligible at least on that side of things. I sent an email to the Hobart section that deals with those types of visas and they said that she had to have a genuine reason to apply whether that is tourist, work or visiting family. The way they worded it suggested that they don't like the idea of people coming over in case it is just to wait for the 300 decision. Now she genuinely wants to work while here so in your experience, would that be sufficient grounds? We have to inform them about the pending PMV so will that stop her being allowed in?
> And as long as she is offshore when the 300 is decided upon
> Does that make sense?
> Thank you in advance


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## MarkNortham

Hi Kiwiana -

As a NZ citizen (I assume), you are routinely issued a 444 temporary visa that lasts as long as you remain in Australia and ceases when you leave. On the next trip, you get another 444 for that stay, and on it goes. Generally you would not need a bridging visa in these circumstances, unless there was some reason to think you would not be issued a 444 when arriving in Australia going forward (ie, convictions, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kiwiana said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I haven't got my other questions answered on this forum I posted last year so perhaps you could clear it out for me.
> 
> Basically I'm on current visa SCV444 and applying for subclass 802.
> 
> Would I need to apply bridging B visa for the travel? as my SCV444 do get cancelled when I fly out of Australia and get a new SVC444 (I guess it would have different visa grant numbers) as my current SCV444 showed "single entry only" on VEVO.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lachlan -

Thanks for the note. Some thoughts for you on your questions:

* Would strongly urge you to lodge your partner visa online using the new ImmiAccount area - may provide faster processing.
* No problem coming to Australia while an offshore partner visa app is processing, however your wife will need a subclass 600 visa (assuming Thai citizen) in order to come here if she does not already have one of these visas that is valid. With that much living together and with children, the genuineness of your relationship should (hopefully) not be an issue and the visitor visa app should be approved quickly.
* If your wife is granted a visitor visa WITHOUT condition 8503 (no further stay), that opens the door for you to lodge the partner visa onshore (subclass 820/801) which means a bridging visa is granted and she could stay on after the current stay of her visitor visa ends and be in Australia on the bridging visa until a decision is made on the partner visa application.
* If the visitor visa DOES have condition 8503, that generally prevents onshore application for a partner visa while onshore on that visa unless an 8503 waiver is obtained - this waiver requires a major change in her circumstances that happened after the visitor visa was granted and (most importantly) was beyond her control. If you are thinking of lodging the partner visa online, you may want to apply for the subclass 600 visitor visa before you lodge the partner visa to see if you get condition 8503 attached to that visitor visa or not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lockythai said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> So great to see someone offering time out of their day/night to assist us less knowledgable peeps!
> 
> I have a quick-ish question regarding my family.
> 
> I am sponsoring my partner with her application to move to australia. Subclass 309.
> 
> We are submitting the documents to the visa application office in Bangkok this week.
> 
> I have been living with her in Thailand for 5 years and we are married.
> We have 2 children together which both have citizen by decent, one 4yrs and one 4 months, both also have Australian Passports.
> 
> Once her documents have been submitted we would like to travel together to Australia to help start to set up for our life there.
> 
> My question is: Should my wife be ok to travel to Australia on a tourist visa while awaiting the TR visa to be granted. I have read that you need to inform immigration if you intend to travel while awaiting the grant of visa.
> 
> OR:
> Do you think we are better applying in Australia? And if so can she apply in Australia while on a Tourist visa?
> 
> We really don't want to be apart for the sake of our children and I need to return for work in March.
> 
> Many thanks for your help in advance.
> 
> Lachlan


----------



## kangaroogirl

Hi Mark,

We are applying for an onshore 801/820 after we get married in February here in Australia. My partner is in Australia on an ETA and he has been here living with me since September.

On the application form it asks for his residential address and country of residence. Do we use my Australian address as he is residing here with me, or do we use his US address? 

I'm concerned about the implications of this question. His US address is his brothers address where he shared before he came out to Australia on extended holiday. For all intents and purposes this is his home address - but as he is on an ETA I don't want it to seem like we bypassed the system by not doing a PMV - but until he could spend time in Australia we were undecided as to where we would live after marrying or even when we would marry.

Which address is his residential address?

Thanks!


----------



## Lockythai

Hi Mark, 
Thanks so much for the quick reply and information.

I wasn't aware of being able to apply online.

My partner and I have plenty of evidence to support our relationship, apart from rental and utilities in same name as living in thailand a lot of things are not officially organized.

I think we will take your advice and apply for the 600 before hand. I was concerned about the no further extension on her visa, as my partner has had this on a previous trip to Australia in 2010.
The last 2 trips were electronic visas and the VFS ( visa processing office) in Bangkok didn't supply a letter with the visa stating the conditions, however aim guessing they also had the 8503- no further stay.

I just hope we get visa with no 8503.
Is there anything that can help to do this?

It would be a great plus for us if she can onshore for the subclass 820 in Australia, even though it costs around $1,500 more than offshore!! Once we add up air ticket costs it works out about the same. 
We have never been apart for longer than a couple of weeks since our first daughter was born, so keeping our family together is crucial.

Thanks again.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lachlan -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Some thoughts for you on your questions:
> 
> * Would strongly urge you to lodge your partner visa online using the new ImmiAccount area - may provide faster processing.
> * No problem coming to Australia while an offshore partner visa app is processing, however your wife will need a subclass 600 visa (assuming Thai citizen) in order to come here if she does not already have one of these visas that is valid. With that much living together and with children, the genuineness of your relationship should (hopefully) not be an issue and the visitor visa app should be approved quickly.
> * If your wife is granted a visitor visa WITHOUT condition 8503 (no further stay), that opens the door for you to lodge the partner visa onshore (subclass 820/801) which means a bridging visa is granted and she could stay on after the current stay of her visitor visa ends and be in Australia on the bridging visa until a decision is made on the partner visa application.
> * If the visitor visa DOES have condition 8503, that generally prevents onshore application for a partner visa while onshore on that visa unless an 8503 waiver is obtained - this waiver requires a major change in her circumstances that happened after the visitor visa was granted and (most importantly) was beyond her control. If you are thinking of lodging the partner visa online, you may want to apply for the subclass 600 visitor visa before you lodge the partner visa to see if you get condition 8503 attached to that visitor visa or not.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kangaroogirl -

Thanks for the question - you could use either address, but as he's been living with you since September, I would probably use the Australia (shared) address with you. Remember that residing at an address does not necessarily indicate doing so permanently or for any particular length of time. We usually recommend that the decision of what a person's residential address is be based on whether the person is "just visiting" or "staying on a more permanent basis". It's not a clear decision in many cases, however since you'll be applying for the 820/801 application, it may look better for that application if your residential address is in Australia since you are applying in Australia.

Re: ETA, also don't forget that a person may enter Australia with a particular intention in mind (temporary visit) and while in Australia decide that their relationship has blossomed to the point that they have a different intention (marriage, staying here long-term, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the kind words. One strategy you could try which is a bit bold (actually quite bold), but might work is to specifically not request the 8503 condition, note her perfect immigration history, describe the long-term nature of your relationship, your children, etc and state that you are going to Australia and are considering applying for an onshore partner visa so you can remain together in Australia. Might work, might not. They have to then balance the requirement not to break up a family with the temporary visit The worst they can do is refuse the visitor visa re: non-temporary stay intentions, but it might be worth the risk - it's totally up to you. The issue is that with 8503's issued in the past to her, that significantly increases the chance she'll have them going forward.

Another issue - assuming you are a citizen this is not an issue, but if you're an Australian permanent resident, you'll want to make sure you show adequate evidence you plan to live in Australia going forward (this is the "usually resident" requirement that applies to PR's who sponsor others for a partner visa).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lockythai said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks so much for the quick reply and information.
> 
> I wasn't aware of being able to apply online.
> 
> My partner and I have plenty of evidence to support our relationship, apart from rental and utilities in same name as living in thailand a lot of things are not officially organized.
> 
> I think we will take your advice and apply for the 600 before hand. I was concerned about the no further extension on her visa, as my partner has had this on a previous trip to Australia in 2010.
> The last 2 trips were electronic visas and the VFS ( visa processing office) in Bangkok didn't supply a letter with the visa stating the conditions, however aim guessing they also had the 8503- no further stay.
> 
> I just hope we get visa with no 8503.
> Is there anything that can help to do this?
> 
> It would be a great plus for us if she can onshore for the subclass 820 in Australia, even though it costs around $1,500 more than offshore!! Once we add up air ticket costs it works out about the same.
> We have never been apart for longer than a couple of weeks since our first daughter was born, so keeping our family together is crucial.
> 
> Thanks again.


----------



## kangaroogirl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kangaroogirl -
> 
> Thanks for the question - you could use either address, but as he's been living with you since September, I would probably use the Australia (shared) address with you. Remember that residing at an address does not necessarily indicate doing so permanently or for any particular length of time. We usually recommend that the decision of what a person's residential address is be based on whether the person is "just visiting" or "staying on a more permanent basis". It's not a clear decision in many cases, however since you'll be applying for the 820/801 application, it may look better for that application if your residential address is in Australia since you are applying in Australia.
> 
> Re: ETA, also don't forget that a person may enter Australia with a particular intention in mind (temporary visit) and while in Australia decide that their relationship has blossomed to the point that they have a different intention (marriage, staying here long-term, etc).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark, you've been a fantastic help 

Have a great day, and thank you for all the advice you give on here, its been very helpful to read all your posts in the last year or so since we've been considering our options. You deserve a medal!


----------



## Kiwiana

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kiwiana -
> 
> As a NZ citizen (I assume), you are routinely issued a 444 temporary visa that lasts as long as you remain in Australia and ceases when you leave. On the next trip, you get another 444 for that stay, and on it goes. Generally you would not need a bridging visa in these circumstances, unless there was some reason to think you would not be issued a 444 when arriving in Australia going forward (ie, convictions, etc).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you very much! Yes I am NZ citizen, born in New Zealand.

Basically on the medical forms I typed in online for full medical etc... I had to add my current 444's grant 13 numbers, and also added that same grant 13 numbers on to my 802 application as it is the current visa I hold.

No worries about the example of conviction, as I have no convictions on my record for both Australia and NZ police certificates. 

Cheers

Kiwiana


----------



## Lockythai

Hi Mark,

Yes I'm an Australian Citizen by birth, however I have been mostly residing in Thailand for the last 4 years, helping raise our first daughter.

We just checked and we are unable to apply online for the subclass 600 visitor visa.
I can only put this down to the Australian embassy having a private company handle visa lodgings in Bangkok.
This means we can only apply by paper application through VFS in Bangkok.

So if we specify at the time of application for the no 8503- no further stay, it may be rejected along with the tourist visa?

Sounds risk, but as you said, what do we have to loose? If there is allowances for compassion and understanding of family circumstances.

If my partner does have to stay in Thailand awaiting her (TR)Partner Visa grant notice it would mean at least 6 months apart.

We will discuss this together and consider writing a nice letter regarding our concerns and request to keep the family together.

I really appreciate your help.

.


MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words. One strategy you could try which is a bit bold (actually quite bold), but might work is to specifically not request the 8503 condition, note her perfect immigration history, describe the long-term nature of your relationship, your children, etc and state that you are going to Australia and are considering applying for an onshore partner visa so you can remain together in Australia. Might work, might not. They have to then balance the requirement not to break up a family with the temporary visit The worst they can do is refuse the visitor visa re: non-temporary stay intentions, but it might be worth the risk - it's totally up to you. The issue is that with 8503's issued in the past to her, that significantly increases the chance she'll have them going forward.
> 
> Another issue - assuming you are a citizen this is not an issue, but if you're an Australian permanent resident, you'll want to make sure you show adequate evidence you plan to live in Australia going forward (this is the "usually resident" requirement that applies to PR's who sponsor others for a partner visa).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

The 8503 condition can be imposed on a sc600 visa at the discretion of the case officer who assesses the application - you can certainly request that the 8503 condition not be imposed, but whether they will honour that is of course unknown until you get a decision. So they won't refuse an application based on 8503 - it's only a question of whether they will impose it IF they grant the application.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Best,

Mark Northam



Lockythai said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Yes I'm an Australian Citizen by birth, however I have been mostly residing in Thailand for the last 4 years, helping raise our first daughter.
> 
> We just checked and we are unable to apply online for the subclass 600 visitor visa.
> I can only put this down to the Australian embassy having a private company handle visa lodgings in Bangkok.
> This means we can only apply by paper application through VFS in Bangkok.
> 
> So if we specify at the time of application for the no 8503- no further stay, it may be rejected along with the tourist visa?
> 
> Sounds risk, but as you said, what do we have to loose? If there is allowances for compassion and understanding of family circumstances.
> 
> If my partner does have to stay in Thailand awaiting her (TR)Partner Visa grant notice it would mean at least 6 months apart.
> 
> We will discuss this together and consider writing a nice letter regarding our concerns and request to keep the family together.
> 
> I really appreciate your help.
> 
> .


----------



## Adam Grey

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> The 8503 condition can be imposed on a sc600 visa at the discretion of the case officer who assesses the application - you can certainly request that the 8503 condition not be imposed, but whether they will honour that is of course unknown until you get a decision. So they won't refuse an application based on 8503 - it's only a question of whether they will impose it IF they grant the application.
> 
> Hope this helps, and good luck!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I don't often get involved in tourist visa applications so this is quite interesting to me. Wouldn't a specific request for the non-imposal of 8503 be a negative factor in the case officer's assessment of the genuine temporary entrant criteria?

Cheers,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adam -

That certainly could be the case, hence the risky aspect of doing this. But the same could be said of lodging a partner or PMV visa application prior to lodging a visa application - it all goes to the built-in conflict when a person who has declared a permanent relationship (ie partner or fiance) then lodges a visitor visa application - the PAM3 guidance of not separating a family in an unwarranted fashion vs GTE requirements then require the case officer to sort out the conflicting intentions and policy/regs and come to a decision. In the case of this applicant, given the long history of living together and children existing from the relationship, I think there is a reasonable chance that the case officer may allow the compelling/compassionate aspects of keeping the family together and allowing them to come to Australia to consider lodging a partner visa to tip the balance in the applicant's favour - this also may be true if the sponsor has to be in Australia for verifiable employment reasons, etc - the 8503 could be the key to the family being together for 12+ months or not, etc.

A risky attempt for sure, but with enough compassionate/compelling reasons to tip the favour of the conflict resolution in the direction of the applicant, it just might work...

Great seeing you on the forum, please give Chris my best - I haven't seen in him far too long -

Best,

Mark Northam



Adam Grey said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I don't often get involved in tourist visa applications so this is quite interesting to me. Wouldn't a specific request for the non-imposal of 8503 be a negative factor in the case officer's assessment of the genuine temporary entrant criteria?
> 
> Cheers,


----------



## Adam Grey

Thanks Mark, it's certainly an interesting argument. We've been quite fortunate with this condition on some recent applications, but every now and then it's a prohibitive issue.

You'll have to tell me your secret to avoiding Chris. I've been trying to for years but it doesn't seem to work!


----------



## Lockythai

Thanks Mark!
You've been a huge help.
We have been discussing together all afternoon and even if it doesn't work out the most ideal way we would like, at least we tried!

It at least gives another option from what we originally had planned.
With my eldest 4 year old still not old enough for kindergarten, it sure would be ideal for mum to be there to help.

Thanks for your time and assistance and I will be sure to update as we progress with the next step.


----------



## MarkNortham

Best of luck - and remember underneath it all, it's simply a maze of "red tape" - the key like any maze is to find the (or a) way through it -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## swavik

Hi Mark,

Yesterday my application was on stage 1 and now it is on stage 4..
So waiting for the results.
I had one question. My qualification is as a mechanical engineer is not related to my work experience.I have 12 years of work experience as an Software consultant/manager. This will be assessed by the ACS and accordingly i will be getting the points.(10 or 15 points depending on the number of years they consider)

Do i need to assess my educational qualification separately to gain the points for the Bachelors in Mechanical engineer? or the degree certificate will be granting me the points..(15 points)..If i have to assess separately then where should i apply for that..

What i understand is i will be getting points for my work exp and qualification separately which will be added..Am i getting anything wrong? will you please clear this for me..

Thank you 
Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Sounds like you're going for the RPL option at ACS (recognition of prior learning) where you qualify based on experience alone and they do not consider your qualification. Given that, an assessment of your Bachelor degree is optional - DIBP may accept it on face value (ie, based on the evidence you provide), or may ask for an assessment of it. If you want to be 100% safe, then you can submit it to VETASSESS for a points test advice letter. But the key question about the degree is: is it equivalent to an Australian AQF Bachelor Degree? If the answer is obvious (ie, very well recognised school, mainstream (ie, not unusual or weird) course program, etc) then you may not need to have it assessed independently. But if not, the choice becomes yours. Note that a degree does NOT have to be related to your nominated occupation for a skilled visa in order to earn skilled points test points. However an interesting issue that we've discussed here before is the conflicting DIBP policy statements in instances where a person is claiming 5 points for the Australian Study Requirement on a skilled visa - policy is currently conflicting as to the answer to whether a degree in that situation must be closely related to the occupation or not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## depende

*ACS Update*

Hello Mark,

I have a short question.

My situtation:

I have a positive ACS rpl skills assessment that will expire in 2015. 
I'm going to study a Master from July 2014 until June 2016 in Australia. After that I'll apply for a skilled visa.

Because of the ACS rules I can't make a revalidation from my old ACS skills assessment.

Do I need to apply for a new ACS skills assessment?
If yes, do I choose Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
because of my work experience from 2004 until 2014 and add Recognition Letter because of my Master graduation in 2016?

Update from the ACS website: 
_Revalidation Applications; with new criteria for Graduate skills assessment criteria, it is not possible to provide revalidations after 15/1/2014 (against old criteria)._

Best regards,
depende


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depende -

Answer: Yes and Yes, assuming:
* ACS rules have not changed by the time you do this in 2016 (huge assumption)
* You must choose RPL because your Bachelor degree is not relevant to your occupation or you do not have a Bachelor Degree (look into this carefully)
* You fully understand that only work experience AFTER the date ACS deems you as skilled (ie, after the RPL date) will be able to be claimed for points on a skilled visa - huge point of contention for many people as it can wipe out huge amounts of work experience from being able to be claimed for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## depende

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Depende -
> 
> Answer: Yes and Yes, assuming:
> * ACS rules have not changed by the time you do this in 2016 (huge assumption)
> * You must choose RPL because your Bachelor degree is not relevant to your occupation or you do not have a Bachelor Degree (look into this carefully)
> * You fully understand that only work experience AFTER the date ACS deems you as skilled (ie, after the RPL date) will be able to be claimed for points on a skilled visa - huge point of contention for many people as it can wipe out huge amounts of work experience from being able to be claimed for points.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark!

But my Master degree is IT and I need that they recognised it to claim points. So after my RPL skills assessment do I need to apply for Recognition Letter so they will recognise my qualification?


----------



## red55199

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Red -
> 
> Also note there are 2 common pathways for the 186 visa - the temporary resident pathway requires 2 yrs on a 457 for the nominating employer, however the direct entry pathway requires a skills assessment and 3 yrs work experience in the occupation (but not necessarily for that employer or in Australia). The direct entry pathway also requires a higher IELTS score (6 minimum on all 4 bands of the test) but doesn't have the 2 yr waiting period.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thanks for information.
Well My friend has 3 years Australian experience, but I made a small research on Immi website about health wavier and i found that for 186 visa, health wavier is only for temporary resident pathway.

Can you please conform me about health wavier?

because we need to make sure about visa, if they doesn't have health wavier , applying for those visa is not worthful.

Thanks
red.


----------



## MarkNortham

That depends on how the DIBP case officer interprets your Master Degree - what's the story on your Bachelor Degree? I ask because points-wise it is very important.

Best,

Mark Northam



depende said:


> Thank you Mark!
> 
> But my Master degree is IT and I need that they recognised it to claim points. So after my RPL skills assessment do I need to apply for Recognition Letter so they will recognise my qualification?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Red -

Good point - for the ENS visa currently, the temporary residence transitional pathway (ie, 2 yrs on 457) does have a health waiver provision (4007) while the direct entry pathway does not (ie, 4005). If a failure to meet the health criteria is anticipated, the temporary residence pathway is the one to use.

Best,

Mark Northam



red55199 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for information.
> Well My friend has 3 years Australian experience, but I made a small research on Immi website about health wavier and i found that for 186 visa, health wavier is only for temporary resident pathway.
> 
> Can you please conform me about health wavier?
> 
> because we need to make sure about visa, if they doesn't have health wavier , applying for those visa is not worthful.
> 
> Thanks
> red.


----------



## depende

MarkNortham said:


> That depends on how the DIBP case officer interprets your Master Degree - what's the story on your Bachelor Degree? I ask because points-wise it is very important.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


I don't have a Bachelor degree. The university accepted my application because of my work experience. I hope that my Master degree will be like assessd as a Bachelor degree. In a worst case I'll get only 10 points for my qualification but should be enough because I'll reach 60 points for the 190 visa. So do you think after my RPL skills assessment should I apply for the Recognition Letter?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depende -

This is a very tricky area. DIBP will not give you 15 points by default as it requires a Bachelor degree in order to give you credit for the Masters degree, regardless of what ACS says and even if ACS says your Masters degree is equivalent to an Australian Masters degree.. Remember ACS is not about points, it's about ACS' view of your skills only. In this case you should definitely get your Masters Degree assessed by VETASSESS or otherwise to get an skills assessor's opinion as to whether it is the equivalent of an Australian Bachelor Degree - only if this is true will you have any chance of getting 15 points. Here's the relevant policy:

_Case officers may also be presented with claims of qualifications at masters level for the purpose of gaining points. As defined in regulation 2.26AC(6) qualifications at masters level completed in Australia require the completion of a bachelor degree awarded at an Australian tertiary educational institution or of an equivalent award. However, in certain instances, where the relevant assessing authority recognises the masters obtained by the applicant as comparable to at least bachelor level at Australian standards, case officers must have regard to this opinion in determining whether to award points. For example, the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA), the relevant assessing authority for architects, currently sets the standards for the occupation for migration purposes to be at comparable Australian masters level. In these cases, although the applicant undertakes studies that include both bachelor level and masters level courses, the applicant may only be awarded a degree at masters level. If AACA recognises the award at masters level to be comparable to at least Australian bachelor level, case officers must have regard to this opinion when awarding points._

If you aren't able to get the Master degree assessed as equivalent to at least an Australian Bachelor degree, things start to get murky - there are essentially 2 ways to get 10 points then: either it is assessed as equivalent to at least an Australia Diploma, or it is assessed as "suitable for the nominated occupation" by a skills assessment authority - this could be an issue for an unrelated degree.

Suggest you research this very carefully - again, tricky stuff.

Best,

Mark Northam



depende said:


> I don't have a Bachelor degree. The university accepted my application because of my work experience. I hope that my Master degree will be like assessd as a Bachelor degree. In a worst case I'll get only 10 points for my qualification but should be enough because I'll reach 60 points for the 190 visa. So do you think after my RPL skills assessment should I apply for the Recognition Letter?


----------



## depende

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Depende -
> 
> This is a very tricky area. DIBP will not give you 15 points by default as it requires a Bachelor degree in order to give you credit for the Masters degree, regardless of what ACS says and even if ACS says your Masters degree is equivalent to an Australian Masters degree.. Remember ACS is not about points, it's about ACS' view of your skills only. In this case you should definitely get your Masters Degree assessed by VETASSESS or otherwise to get an skills assessor's opinion as to whether it is the equivalent of an Australian Bachelor Degree - only if this is true will you have any chance of getting 15 points. Here's the relevant policy:
> 
> _Case officers may also be presented with claims of qualifications at masters level for the purpose of gaining points. As defined in regulation 2.26AC(6) qualifications at masters level completed in Australia require the completion of a bachelor degree awarded at an Australian tertiary educational institution or of an equivalent award. However, in certain instances, where the relevant assessing authority recognises the masters obtained by the applicant as comparable to at least bachelor level at Australian standards, case officers must have regard to this opinion in determining whether to award points. For example, the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA), the relevant assessing authority for architects, currently sets the standards for the occupation for migration purposes to be at comparable Australian masters level. In these cases, although the applicant undertakes studies that include both bachelor level and masters level courses, the applicant may only be awarded a degree at masters level. If AACA recognises the award at masters level to be comparable to at least Australian bachelor level, case officers must have regard to this opinion when awarding points._
> 
> If you aren't able to get the Master degree assessed as equivalent to at least an Australian Bachelor degree, things start to get murky - there are essentially 2 ways to get 10 points then: either it is assessed as equivalent to at least an Australia Diploma, or it is assessed as "suitable for the nominated occupation" by a skills assessment authority - this could be an issue for an unrelated degree.
> 
> Suggest you research this very carefully - again, tricky stuff.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for help!

How I can research that? I don't have any access to such policies. 
Do you can help me? What is your propose?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depende -

In terms of how I can best assist, our one-hour professional consulting session may be a good choice as I can look up and go through the various laws, regulation and policies with you. See link to book in our website link located in my signature below.

Best,

Mark Northam



depende said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for help!
> 
> How I can research that? I don't have any access to such policies.
> Do you can help me? What is your propose?


----------



## pilotg2

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pilotg2 -
> 
> Better to be safe and not claim that much leave time as employed work. It may cause a bit of confusion, so would suggest uploading a cover letter to DIBP and lodge with the application explaining the situation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark, this is a great help, we agree and will play it safe and exclude maternity leave and provide a letter explaining the situation.


----------



## pilotg2

*Understanding Vetassess result*

Hi Mark, thanks again for the helpful reply earlier. We have one more (i think this thread is going to get very long!)

We are a bit confused understanding the positive Vetassess results: job code 149311 (Group C)

In summary the results state:

Qualification: is a Bachelor of Arts and Vetassess state "The qualification is at the required level". I'm not sure what level they accessed my qualification at. Can we claim 15 points for a Bachelor degree or does "at the required level" mean for my nominated occupation which is a Diploma so only 10 points? The letter does not state it's the equivalent of an Australian AQF degree, i expected it too.

Field of Study: English and Creative Studies - not highly relevant - can we still claim points for the above qualification? (From what I've read I believe we can?)

Duration of Employment: More than 3 years is access as highly relevant within five years before applying. This I understand but it's a shame they didn't access my other employment as i plan to claim 5 yrs worth.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pilotg2 -

Thanks for the note - I would need to see the actual VETASSESS report and your CV to see what it all means in the context of your actual work experience and qualifications - difficult to put things together based on bits and pieces -

Thanks,

Mark Northam



pilotg2 said:


> Hi Mark, thanks again for the helpful reply earlier. We have one more (i think this thread is going to get very long!)
> 
> We are a bit confused understanding the positive Vetassess results: job code 149311 (Group C)
> 
> In summary the results state:
> 
> Qualification: is a Bachelor of Arts and Vetassess state "The qualification is at the required level". I'm not sure what level they accessed my qualification at. Can we claim 15 points for a Bachelor degree or does "at the required level" mean for my nominated occupation which is a Diploma so only 10 points? The letter does not state it's the equivalent of an Australian AQF degree, i expected it too.
> 
> Field of Study: English and Creative Studies - not highly relevant - can we still claim points for the above qualification? (From what I've read I believe we can?)
> 
> Duration of Employment: More than 3 years is access as highly relevant within five years before applying. This I understand but it's a shame they didn't access my other employment as i plan to claim 5 yrs worth.


----------



## toochling

Hi Mark,

I just want to ask you about the change of address situation, I am the sponsor but I haven't updated the embassy just yet, I'm just bothered that it will cause delay again if ever I send them the change of address form, and we are on our 5th month of waiting.. I received an email last December when I tried to ask them about our application saying that they do not need any additional documents from us (which means our application is complete right?) But I am just wondering if ever I do not update my new address, will it affect our application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Toochling -

Thanks for the question, and no need to fear - sending in a change of address form should not have any impact on the processing time for your visa. It is always a good idea (and is in fact required) that while an application is being processed, both the sponsor and applicant update DIBP with any changes in their residential address. And it's good for a practical reason as well - they may send something to your address with no advance notice - if the address is wrong, it can be a big issue if you do not receive that mail/correspondence/etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## swavik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Re: a period of work for the same company referenced on an ACS result letter, in the same position, for a period of time AFTER the ACS skills assessment was submitted up until the current date, generally DIBP will be fine with this if you submit a letter from the company stating you continue to be employed there in the same role that was assessed by ACS, and that you provide payslips or other evidence to prove payment for the duration of the employment (including the ACS-assessed and post-ACS periods to the current date). As with any work references, they are subject to whatever assessment DIBP wants to do to ensure they are comfortable that the work is closely related to your occupation and legitimate, etc. which can include contacting the employer by phone, site visit, etc as DIBP deems necessary to properly assess the work. However in the area of assessing whether the work is closely related to your nominated occupation or not, DIBP policy is to look to the skills assessor to make this determination.
> 
> Re: how long, no way to tell - DIBP do not have any sort of processing standards that are meaningful in terms of any good prediction of time.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

Thank you Mark to make things clear.
There was one more doubt about my partners skill assessment.
She is a Dentist and has a Positive Skill Assessment from Australian Dental Council and also she has passed her Occupational English Test.
To get her license to pract she needs to give additional two exams for which she is studying now (first exam is in September)
But will her Skill Assessment and the OET exam grant me the 5 points kept reserved for partners skill assessment or she needs to get registered (give exams,which is actually a year long process) to claim them.

Thank you very much for all the helpful answers.
Regards


----------



## swavik

Hello Mark,

I had one doubt about my partners skill assessment,
She is a Dentist.She has completed her Skill Assessment from the ADC and also passed her OET(occupational english test)
is this enough for claiming the 5 points for partners skill assessment.
I am asking this because she will get the license to practice in Australia only after giving the two exams (a year long process)..
So for will the DIAP need the partners registration done or is the Positive skill assessment and OET exam results acceptable by them to grant those 5 points.
Thank you mark for the helpful replies.

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Excellent question. Here's the regulation that addresses this:

"at the time of invitation to apply for the visa, had been assessed by the relevant assessing authority for the nominated skilled occupation as having suitable skills for the occupation and the assessment was not for a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa;"

So you need to take a very close look at the Skills Assessment letter or documents from the ADC and determine whether, without the license to practice, she meets the above regulation. Please advise if I can assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## bharathi1982

*reg 189 application filling*

Hi Mark,

As we already discussed on different thread, could you please help me?

I have few queries on 189 application filling:

1. In the Employment section, I have entered 2 rows.

1--> My Australian Employment is 5 years and above ( 15 points). and I Selected Yes and choose "5 years in the past 10 year" in the Duration of Australian Employment. All good no issues

2--> My Indian Employment experiance was 1 year 11months, though I cannot use it for any points, I have included that in my EOI and said it was in occupation list. So I have listed in 189 application. But the problem is, when I select yes to "Duration of overseas employment" and I couldn't see the option to select < 3 years. What should I do? Shall I select "No" for Employment nominated occupation? If I didn't include in the application this might contradict my eoi data. What should I do?

2. In the Employment section, shall i put positions in the short form since the characters are limited. ? e.g. Instead of Assistant Systems Engineer/Information Technology Analyst/ Assistant Consultant to AssitSysEng/InfoTechAnaly/AssitConsult?

Awaiting for your reply.

Thanks in advance...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharathi -

RE: Indian employment, as it does not affect your points, you should probably select "No" since you dont' want the system to incorrectly think you are claiming points for this. You can always clarify things with the case officer later if they have questions.

Re: positions, your latest abbreviations look good - Asst works for Assistant normally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## council

HI Mark -

Just a quick question on definitions - when checking on my visa (grant), I see the following phrase:

Period of stay: Indefinite

Does this statement imply anything that may affect my status, considering that I'm a holder of a 309 visa and still waiting for my 100?

I ask this to get a clearer understanding on the statement of the Immigration site stating: 

"Your Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) is valid until a decision is made about your permanent visa"

Hmm.. I might be rambling a bit...


----------



## bharathi1982

Excellent Mark. Thanks for your help



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bharathi -
> 
> RE: Indian employment, as it does not affect your points, you should probably select "No" since you dont' want the system to incorrectly think you are claiming points for this. You can always clarify things with the case officer later if they have questions.
> 
> Re: positions, your latest abbreviations look good - Asst works for Assistant normally.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## andrewjessica

Hi Mark,
I'm an Australian Permanent Resident i have been in Australia 10 years now and i applied for my citizenship last november. and i have only just found out that my ceremony is in April. and because my british passport which has my Permanent Resident Visa sticker inside has expired. can i still sponsor my fiance as a permanent resident instead of waiting to become a citizen?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Council -

Great question. The 309 visa has no built-in expiration date, as it is in theory valid until a decision is made on the 100 companion visa - you apply for both together with the same application. If you apply for the 100 on time (2 yrs after the initial application date for your partner visa), then the 309 will keep on until a decision is made on the 100 based on your further docs, etc submitted. If you for some reason never apply for the 100, eventually DIBP will contact you and give you a deadline by which you must apply for the 100; if you do nothing and the deadline passes, the 100 may be refused, which would then likely cause the 309 to be ceased or cancelled shortly thereafter.

Another aspect of the word "stay" is that you can "stay" in Australia as long as you wish (while the 309 is still valid) so there are no maximum stay times like you would find on some visitor visas (ie, 3 month maximum stay for each entry into Australia during a year, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



council said:


> HI Mark -
> 
> Just a quick question on definitions - when checking on my visa (grant), I see the following phrase:
> 
> Period of stay: Indefinite
> 
> Does this statement imply anything that may affect my status, considering that I'm a holder of a 309 visa and still waiting for my 100?
> 
> I ask this to get a clearer understanding on the statement of the Immigration site stating:
> 
> "Your Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) is valid until a decision is made about your permanent visa"
> 
> Hmm.. I might be rambling a bit...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew and/or Jessica -

Yes! A sticker is only one type of evidence of a visa, and it does not represent "the visa" itself. As long as you are currently a permanent resident of Australia, you can sponsor your partner. It is not a requirement that a sponsor have a valid, current passport, but you will need to provide evidence of your permanent residency. Would suggest you make a colour scan of the visa label in your passport, plus look yourself up on the VEVO online system that the immigration dept runs where you can see your current visa status and make a copy of this printout. These two items together should provide sufficient evidence that you are currently a permanent resident of Australia.

Hope this helps - good luck with all!

Best,

Mark Northam



andrewjessica said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm an Australian Permanent Resident i have been in Australia 10 years now and i applied for my citizenship last november. and i have only just found out that my ceremony is in April. and because my british passport which has my Permanent Resident Visa sticker inside has expired. can i still sponsor my fiance as a permanent resident instead of waiting to become a citizen?


----------



## swavik

Hello Mark,

Thank you again for your patience and efforts in answering the questions...
Maybe a bit misunderstanding of my question...I wanted to claim the 5 points from the DIBP for 'Partner's skill assessment done and english language test done' for my points in my EOI.. As per my calculation my points (if everything is positive) are 60, but if my partners skill assessment from ADC is considered (without the licensure exams) then i will be eligible for 5 more points and the score can be 65..
But i am not sure if it will be..
At present my partner will be coming as a dependent on me as i understand she will not be eligible for Independent visa before she is done with her part 1 and part 2 exam held by the ADC..
But as u mentioned about the temporary visa i will check out if she can apply for that separately..


----------



## swavik

swavik said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you again for your patience and efforts in answering the questions...
> Maybe a bit misunderstanding of my question...I wanted to claim the 5 points from the DIBP for 'Partner's skill assessment done and english language test done' for my points in my EOI.. As per my calculation my points (if everything is positive) are 60, but if my partners skill assessment from ADC is considered (without the licensure exams) then i will be eligible for 5 more points and the score can be 65..
> But i am not sure if it will be..
> At present my partner will be coming as a dependent on me as i understand she will not be eligible for Independent visa before she is done with her part 1 and part 2 exam held by the ADC..
> But as u mentioned about the temporary visa i will check out if she can apply for that separately..


Hello Mark,

Thank you again for your patience and efforts in answering the questions...
Maybe a bit misunderstanding of my question...I wanted to claim the 5 points from the DIBP for 'Partner's skill assessment done and english language test done' for my points in my EOI.. As per my calculation my points (if everything is positive) are 60, but if my partners skill assessment from ADC is considered (without the licensure exams) then i will be eligible for 5 more points and the score can be 65..
But i am not sure if it will be..
At present my partner will be coming as a dependent on me as i understand she will not be eligible for Independent visa before she is done with her part 1 and part 2 exam held by the ADC..
But as u mentioned about the temporary visa i will check out if she can apply for that separately..


----------



## jaffaop

hi mark 

i have applied for toursit visa 600 from 2nd Dec and today is 29 jan and still no reply i asked the embassy about it and they told me " your application is still under considration , we will write to you when desicon is made."

it's about one month and 27 days more

my visit date is on 5th may 

can you tell me if there's any thing wrong??


----------



## bravo189

*Employer reference letter*

Hi Mark,

I have a query reg 189 visa:

1.For the employment reference letters I have created a statutory declaration as my employers was not ready to provide it on company letter head. The same was submitted for ACS, Can i use the same letters for DIAC also or will there be any problem since they are not on letter head?

2. Currently I am in 457 visa, When I apply for 457 visa(2 years before), I have submitted a resume which I don't have now. I will create a new resume for 189 visa. But my questions is, if 457 resume and 189 resume are different, will there be a problem? or DIAC will cross check the 189 visa resume with 457 resume?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Just to clarify, I'm not suggesting she apply for a separate visa - in fact, for partner points she needs to be an applicant for the same class of visa you are, ie, as a secondary applicant on your visa application.

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you again for your patience and efforts in answering the questions...
> Maybe a bit misunderstanding of my question...I wanted to claim the 5 points from the DIBP for 'Partner's skill assessment done and english language test done' for my points in my EOI.. As per my calculation my points (if everything is positive) are 60, but if my partners skill assessment from ADC is considered (without the licensure exams) then i will be eligible for 5 more points and the score can be 65..
> But i am not sure if it will be..
> At present my partner will be coming as a dependent on me as i understand she will not be eligible for Independent visa before she is done with her part 1 and part 2 exam held by the ADC..
> But as u mentioned about the temporary visa i will check out if she can apply for that separately..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaffaop -

Sorry to hear of the delay. I don't really have much info about this sort of things - unfortunately some visitor visas take months to process, usually due to security checking, etc or sometimes the caseload of the case officer or processing embassy, etc. Wish I could be more assistance here -

Best,

Mark Northam



jaffaop said:


> hi mark
> 
> i have applied for toursit visa 600 from 2nd Dec and today is 29 jan and still no reply i asked the embassy about it and they told me " your application is still under considration , we will write to you when desicon is made."
> 
> it's about one month and 27 days more
> 
> my visit date is on 5th may
> 
> can you tell me if there's any thing wrong??


----------



## jaffaop

thanks mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bravo189 -

I think we may have discussed this before?

Using stat decs instead of company letterhead employer reference letters can be problematic, as DIBP will likely want a very good (verifiable) reason why the company could not, or would not write a letter on letterhead for you. No way to predict how they will deal with this. I expect they will thoroughly check out and verify whatever employment reference doc(s) that are provided. DIBP and the skills assessors have different policies & procedures re: verifying employment.

Re: cross-checking resumes, again, no way to predict. My thought is that if they have suspicions about the accuracy of any of the work references or any other work-related details on the app, they might have a look at the previously submitted documents, but again, this is just a guess.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bravo189 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a query reg 189 visa:
> 
> 1.For the employment reference letters I have created a statutory declaration as my employers was not ready to provide it on company letter head. The same was submitted for ACS, Can i use the same letters for DIAC also or will there be any problem since they are not on letter head?
> 
> 2. Currently I am in 457 visa, When I apply for 457 visa(2 years before), I have submitted a resume which I don't have now. I will create a new resume for 189 visa. But my questions is, if 457 resume and 189 resume are different, will there be a problem? or DIAC will cross check the 189 visa resume with 457 resume?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## Mome

Hi Mark, me again! Im trying to do my AFP and am worried I am choosing the wrong purpose type/purpose of check?! I'm guessing commonwealth/immigration & citizenship? Thanks again for your help! You are a star!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mome -

That's the right choice - well done!

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Mome

Aw cheers! I thought it was but started to doubt myself!


----------



## Zoh

*Guidance on visa application and documents*

Hi seniors

Need help on documents to support my 189 application. I have received the invitation and have time till 28th March to apply. Do let me know if I am missing anything from below:

I have few questions:
a)	Will my wife's school documents suffice for proof of functional English?
b)	My age changes in March to 40 - will this impact my point at application becoming less?
c)	All my documents are certifies by a Sri Lankan notary but my wife is Indian. Do her documents need to be certified by a Indian Notary? Our marriage certificate is from India. Is it ok for it to be certified by a Sri Lankan Notary?
d)	My wife's name is her maiden name in the birth certificate but passport has her married name. Do I need to submit a name change form?
e)	My wife has been residing with me in Sri Lanka for the last 11 years but occasionally, 2-4 weeks in a year she travels to India. Will this become an issue?
f)	Is it OK to do PCC and medicals in Sri Lanka even though my wife is Indian?

I am a Sri Lankan. Plan to submit certified copies of following documents:
1.	Sri Lankan Passport - first page only
2.	Sri Lankan Birth Certificate - both sides
3.	EILTS results sheet - front page only
4.	CPA skills assessment letter - Both pages
5.	CPA experience assessment letter - Both pages
6.	MBA certificate, transcript and syllabus (Recognized in the CPA skills assessment letter as Australian MBA equivalent)
7.	CIMA membership certificate, results sheets and letters from institute of good standing order (Recognized in the CPA skills assessment letter as Australian Degree equivalent)
8.	Current employer ABC Ltd's detailed service letter and October 2013 payslip (Recognized in the CPA experience assessment letter as relevant experience)
9.	Previous employer XYZ Ltd's detailed service letter and the last payslip (Recognized in the CPA experience assessment letter as relevant experience)
10.	Previous to previous employer DEF Ltd's detailed service letter, employment letter and payslip (Only 3 months recognized in the CPA experience assessment letter as relevant experience)
11.	Previous to Previous previous employer PQR Lts's summary service letter (Not recognized in the CPA experience assessment letter as relevant experience)

My Wife is an Indian. I am not claiming any points for spouse. Plan to submit certified copies of following documents:
12.	Indian Passport - first page only
13.	Indian Birth Certificate - both sides
14.	Indian Marriage certificate 
15.	School 10th standard exam records to prove functional English

My son 7years old is a Sri Lankan. Plan to submit certified copies of following documents:
16.	Sri Lankan Passport - first page only
17.	Sri Lankan Birth Certificate - both sides

In addition to above will be submitting photographs and medicals for all three of us plus PCC for me and wife.

Do let me know if I have missed out anything.

Appreciate you help very much

Thanks
Huz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zoh -

Thanks for the note. Can't help you on an examination of documents since I can't see them but can certainly help with questions:

I have few questions:
a)	Will my wife's school documents suffice for proof of functional English?
** YES as long as they meet the specific requirements - read carefully:
SkillSelect - Functional English

b)	My age changes in March to 40 - will this impact my point at application becoming less?
NO - your age points are locked in at the point of invitation.

c)	All my documents are certifies by a Sri Lankan notary but my wife is Indian. Do her documents need to be certified by a Indian Notary? Our marriage certificate is from India. Is it ok for it to be certified by a Sri Lankan Notary?
** YES.

d)	My wife's name is her maiden name in the birth certificate but passport has her married name. Do I need to submit a name change form?
** YES unless unavailable re: your country's customs, etc.

e)	My wife has been residing with me in Sri Lanka for the last 11 years but occasionally, 2-4 weeks in a year she travels to India. Will this become an issue?
** NO - don't see how this would be an issue, other than showing a positive history of international travel, etc. which is a benefit in some cases.

f)	Is it OK to do PCC and medicals in Sri Lanka even though my wife is Indian?
** YES.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Zoh

Thanks. One more clarification - 
Is it necessary to give all our travel during the last 10 years? we have been to many parts of the middle east and India in the last 10 years. 
Do I need to therefore include previous passports and all the pages of travel scanned and uploaded?

Thanks
Zo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zoh -

You need to list all travel that falls within the request on the forms (ie, within last 10 years usually). As your travel may have been to what DIBP considers "high risk countries", it's even more important that you are 100% forthcoming and accurate with this matter. Generally no need to provide past passports and entry/exit stamps - they usually only want the biodata page from your current passport(s).

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## esl

This is an incredibly generous and benevolent act by Mark. My questions may come in due course as we go forward with our application in the coming months, however I would like to offer my thanks and admiration in advance.


----------



## Zoh

Thank you...you replies helped me a lot.

I cannot say how much of a service you are providing to others like me who are struggling to get answers/clarifications to issues that are bothering them. Your replies bring a clarity and helps reduce the anxiety.

Thanks again
Huz


----------



## alich6008

Hi there
This is my first post and experience in the forum.
My question is regarding to immigration but don't know the type and how to begin. 
Me & my wife wishes to move to Australia. We are newly married couple. My wife is a doctor and wishes to do specialization in Australia, whereas about me I am a businessman.
My wife wishes to go abroad for her further specialization experience. And i wish to go along with her as well. My business will be running as it is by my employees in my origin country. 
Please advise for any possibilities, type of visa, process. etc

Thank you very much


----------



## bravo189

Thanks Mark.

In that case,

1. Can i submit my employer compensation letters, promotion letters, joining letter, also with stat decs?

2. I can created a new resume, any way my roles and responsibilities should be clear right?

Also, I have another question, I have submitted my EOI after getting my ACS and IELTS.

With in a week I have reapplied ACS to add my recent months experience. I have updated my EOI with updated ACS reference number.

I got the invite now. My worry is if the ACS assessment date later than the EOI submission date will that be a problem?
Thanks again



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bravo189 -
> 
> I think we may have discussed this before?
> 
> Using stat decs instead of company letterhead employer reference letters can be problematic, as DIBP will likely want a very good (verifiable) reason why the company could not, or would not write a letter on letterhead for you. No way to predict how they will deal with this. I expect they will thoroughly check out and verify whatever employment reference doc(s) that are provided. DIBP and the skills assessors have different policies & procedures re: verifying employment.
> 
> Re: cross-checking resumes, again, no way to predict. My thought is that if they have suspicions about the accuracy of any of the work references or any other work-related details on the app, they might have a look at the previously submitted documents, but again, this is just a guess.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alich6008 -

Thanks for the note. Given the complex visa, state sponsorship and skill assessment regulations it's not possible to do a proper assessment via forum posts - there are just too many details to work through - a consultation (see our website in my email signature below) would be a better way to do this. In short, it may come down to either a student visa, skilled visa (if your skills are on the CSOL or SOL lists and you qualify otherwise) or an employer sponsored visa (if you can get a job offer from a qualified employer). Would suggest you do some internet research and see which of these option(s) may be the best fit for you, and/or consider a consulting session with myself or another registered migration agent to get professional advice on current visa options.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alich6008 said:


> Hi there
> This is my first post and experience in the forum.
> My question is regarding to immigration but don't know the type and how to begin.
> Me & my wife wishes to move to Australia. We are newly married couple. My wife is a doctor and wishes to do specialization in Australia, whereas about me I am a businessman.
> My wife wishes to go abroad for her further specialization experience. And i wish to go along with her as well. My business will be running as it is by my employees in my origin country.
> Please advise for any possibilities, type of visa, process. etc
> 
> Thank you very much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bravo189 -

Re: Multiple ACS reports, make sure to include BOTH reports and a cover letter explaining why you obtained the second report - as long as the date on the first ACS report is prior to the invitation date, and the first ACS report satisfies the requirements of the visa re: points (other than the assessment of additional work after the EOI was lodged) you should be fine.

Best,

Mark Northam



bravo189 said:


> Thanks Mark.
> 
> In that case,
> 
> 1. Can i submit my employer compensation letters, promotion letters, joining letter, also with stat decs?
> 
> 2. I can created a new resume, any way my roles and responsibilities should be clear right?
> 
> Also, I have another question, I have submitted my EOI after getting my ACS and IELTS.
> 
> With in a week I have reapplied ACS to add my recent months experience. I have updated my EOI with updated ACS reference number.
> 
> I got the invite now. My worry is if the ACS assessment date later than the EOI submission date will that be a problem?
> Thanks again


----------



## toochling

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Toochling -
> 
> Thanks for the question, and no need to fear - sending in a change of address form should not have any impact on the processing time for your visa. It is always a good idea (and is in fact required) that while an application is being processed, both the sponsor and applicant update DIBP with any changes in their residential address. And it's good for a practical reason as well - they may send something to your address with no advance notice - if the address is wrong, it can be a big issue if you do not receive that mail/correspondence/etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much for your reply Mark! I'm amazed that you are actually a registered agent helping members of this forum for free! All the best to you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks, Toochling - glad to assist as time/workload allows -

Best,

Mark Northam



toochling said:


> Thank you so much for your reply Mark! I'm amazed that you are actually a registered agent helping members of this forum for free! All the best to you!


----------



## markmc

*Uploading documents*

Hello again Mark

Sorry for yet another question, but this one relates to applying for a visa online.

I have read that to upload a document, eg. A passport, that you have to scan it. I have also heard that for a colour copy that it is classed as certified. 
I was just wondering if it was possible to take a colour photo of the document instead of using a scanner to upload the document?
It is just because it is difficult to get access to a colour scanner in Indonesia.

Thanks again for all your help. You have helped me and others with your knowledge and advice.

Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markmc -

Yes, a colour photo is fine as long as it is very clear and readable - DIBP hasn't issued any specific guidance on this, but we've found that these can work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



markmc said:


> Hello again Mark
> 
> Sorry for yet another question, but this one relates to applying for a visa online.
> 
> I have read that to upload a document, eg. A passport, that you have to scan it. I have also heard that for a colour copy that it is classed as certified.
> I was just wondering if it was possible to take a colour photo of the document instead of using a scanner to upload the document?
> It is just because it is difficult to get access to a colour scanner in Indonesia.
> 
> Thanks again for all your help. You have helped me and others with your knowledge and advice.
> 
> Mark


----------



## markmc

Thanks for all your help Mark, you're the best!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Markmc -
> 
> Yes, a colour photo is fine as long as it is very clear and readable - DIBP hasn't issued any specific guidance on this, but we've found that these can work.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## bharathi1982

Thanks Marks. You are really great.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bravo189 -
> 
> Re: Multiple ACS reports, make sure to include BOTH reports and a cover letter explaining why you obtained the second report - as long as the date on the first ACS report is prior to the invitation date, and the first ACS report satisfies the requirements of the visa re: points (other than the assessment of additional work after the EOI was lodged) you should be fine.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## swavik

Hello Mark,

I had a question regarding the EOI..Can we make any changes in the details in the EOI once it is lodged for example, the IELTS score (if we get a high score in the second attempt)..

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Yes. For skilled visas, as long as you had the minimum IELTS score (at least 6 in each band) at the time you lodged the EOI, you're safe. You can update your EOI if you get higher scores (ie, 7+ in each band) later.

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I had a question regarding the EOI..Can we make any changes in the details in the EOI once it is lodged for example, the IELTS score (if we get a high score in the second attempt)..
> 
> Regards


----------



## ampk

Hi Mark,

Hope you and your wife had a great Christmas and New Year. Vika and I did Thanks.

Doing a bit of research on the PMV. As the ransom girl was in ICU, first up I looked at the health form/requirements. There is nothing there that is of direct concern that I can see. We contacted the only approved medical centre in Ukraine yesterday. They require the code number from the Embassy to carry out the tests. This may or not be correct but that is the only way they will fill the form.

This obviously requires visa application. If there happens to be something show up in the tests, it is possible to cause rejection. Is a new application required using a agent that specialises in this area or can it be transferred to another agent and appealed?

I would have preferred to have health checks done then submit with application knowing the results.

P.S. Sasha is fine just missed her mum and stressed a bit much. But she does get headaches often but can not find a reason.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

You can book a health exam in advance in some cases by using the service at this link:

My Health Declarations

Re: health, health of all dependents is considered - if one fails the health criteria, all fail generally as a result. If no health issues, you may not need an agent. If there are health issues that come up, strongly suggest you get professional assistance as the health criteria and related laws are complex.

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## 32081

*apply in one country then move to another*

Hi Mark,
Thank you so much for your time on here. It is very much appreciated. My fiance applied for a proposed marriage visa 5 months ago while living in India but has moved to Dubai for work. What does that mean in terms of when we eventually get to the interview stage, and also getting a medical. Will that be done in Dubai or will he need to return to India?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lianea -

Thanks for the note and kind words! Re: Interview, that will likely be conducted by the Embassy or post processing the application, and usually can be done by phone if the applicant is not able to come to that post or is out of the country. I've only seen a few cases where they have been "hard" about that. Re: medical, that can be taken at any Panel Doctor location worldwide - here's the list:

http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/panel-doctors/

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## poudlar

*Apply for immigration*

hey ,
i'm a new here and i have lot's of question to ask :
1-how do i apply for immigration ?
i really want to get there 

i'm from algeria and there is no australian ambasy , what should i do ?
thanks a lot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Poudlar -

Welcome. There are over 100 types of visas for Australia, so it's not a simple question! Most people come here to study, work, or as a family member or fiance of an Australian. The DIBP website is a great place to start (Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection) and their Visa Wizard can be helpful in determining basic requirements for different types of visas.

Re: Algeria, the Embassy in Cairo, Egypt handles visa applications for people from Algeria if the application is processed offshore (ie, not in Australia).

Hope this helps - good luck!

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## 32081

Thank you SO much. I really appreciate it. It has eased my mind.


----------



## jdee

MarkNortham said:


> Hi AIOO -
> 
> Thanks for the question. A person who completes a course as scheduled AND whose CoE is no longer in effect (ie, end date of course has passed) generally has unlimited rights for the remainder of the time the person holds a student visa. However if the CoE is still in effect and has not been cancelled by the education provider, and the end date on the CoE has not yet occurred (is in the future), this can raise a question as to whether the course is "in session" or not. You may want to have the education provider cancel the CoE as the course has been completed to avoid any misunderstanding. This technically gives the visa applicant 28 days to apply for another visa, etc. Since you already have done this, it clears the pathway for full work rights since the course is not in session. Additionally, in DIBP procedures, there is a specific guidance that states that a person who has completed their intended course of study and who has applied for another visa should NOT have their student visa cancelled.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Just clarifying as per above quote, in my case my partners CoE expires the day her student visa expires Aug 27th. So although she completes her course early in July, the CoE would still be in session and we would have to ask the education provider to cancel the CoE, and as we have already applied for the 820/801 prior, that would exclude us from the 28 day period and that the student visa would not be cancelled?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jdee -

No guarantees, but in theory that's correct. The key is that as long as the CoE is in effect, she may have an issue with limited work rights per student visa. However in practical terms, as mentioned earlier, if a person finishes a course early and has another migration visa pending, the general direction given to case officers is not to cancel the student visa despite the early completion and no additional enrolment after 28 days from the end of the previous course.

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## jdee

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jdee -
> 
> No guarantees, but in theory that's correct. The key is that as long as the CoE is in effect, she may have an issue with limited work rights per student visa. However in practical terms, as mentioned earlier, if a person finishes a course early and has another migration visa pending, the general direction given to case officers is not to cancel the student visa despite the early completion and no additional enrolment after 28 days from the end of the previous course.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark!,

The reason why I also asked that particular question is because after reading other posts sections relating to CoE cancellation AFTER they have lodged their 820/801 onshore, regardless of course completion or deferred or just not wanting to study anymore, DBIP cancelled their student visa and placed them in BVE and this got me confused.

Apologies for being a nuisance Mark you have been so beneficial to everyone here on the forum as well as CG and the rest of the Mods/Admin thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jdee -

No problem at all - happy to help. I think the situation you are referring to is when a chooses to voluntarily cancel their student visa if they have a long time left to run on it and don't want to study anymore. In this case, if the applicant wants to stay onshore they end up with a BV-E after cancellation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## bel2024

Thank you Mark for your valuable time. I applied 
for 820 visa in may. Me and my partner are living 
together since nov 2011 and we got married in march 
2013. Our concern is large age gap. We followed
Immi booklet when we applied for 820. We sent 
joint bank account, statement stating sharing expenses since
2011 along with joint lease, home morgage, super
benefaciries 
and joint travel 
and proof that we worked for same organisation 
for x amount of time. But we did not send any photos 
as it says in booklet not to send any pictures unless asked.
I am just worry about social context. What you suggest should
We send more docus. If so what type of docus we should 
send to convice immi that we r sociaaly accepted.
Thanks alot for your help. You are doing great work


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bel2024 -

Thanks for the question. Not sure where it says not to send pictures, but we always recommend sending pictures as it's one of the best ways to demonstrate the social aspects of the relationship. The best pictures are those with the two of you WITH other people in the photo that can be identified in a little caption you write below the photo - ie, friends, family, workmates, etc. As your visa has not yet been decided, you still have the ability to submit further evidence and I would definitely recommend doing so. Other social aspects evidence can include proof of travel and entertainment together (ie, tickets, itineraries, etc), attendance at events, etc together, and statements from others who can write about the social aspects of your relationship from their point of view - ie, they've been traveling or at social events/settings with you, etc. There are also some excellent threads on this forum about relationship evidence you might look into.

Hope this helps, and best of luck!

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## alleicarg

Hi Mark! 

I am currently on a student visa subclass 572. I recently applied for a partner visa 802 and they gave me a Bridging visa A. 
Is there any way that I can shift from the student visa (having it cancelled) and apply for a Bridging visa B? (so that I can travel out of Australia and have full hours of work) 

Thank you very much 


Ciella


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ciella -

Unfortunately you'll need to wait until the student visa expires on its own (and abide by all the conditions of the student visa including remaining enrolled in a qualifying course, etc) in order for the BVA to activate (and be able to apply for a BV-B). The only other option is if you voluntarily cancel the student visa, which cancels the BVA you have and puts you on a Bridging Visa E with no travel facility and a 3-year exclusion period on further applications for temporary visas (visitor, student, 457, etc) should you depart Australia on that BVE. Also, as you become unlawful upon cancellation of your student visa, any time you were in Australia prior to that date is no longer eligible towards the 4-year residence requirement for Australian citizenship. So as you can see, there are more than a few negative side-effects of voluntary cancellation of your visa. However you need to balance this against your ability and the cost of continuing your study. I suggest you seek professional assistance if you are considering visa cancellation as it's serious business and you want to make sure you are aware of all the details of this option before you act.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## bel2024

Thanks for reply Mark
do I need to fill any specific form or I can just send
further evidences.

thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Bel2024 -

Nope, just a nice cover letter that mentioned the names of the applicant, sponsor, and any identifying information about the case you may have been sent (ie, File No, Client No, etc) plus the date you lodged the application (estimate if you need to) and the type of application. You could add some simple text that you are providing the enclosed additional relationship evidence for consideration with your partner visa application already lodged. 

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## alleicarg

*Thanks!*

Thanks Mark, that enlightened me a lot. Your help is greatly appreciated. Cheers!


----------



## ampk

Hi Mark,

Ever came across a visa that you felt strongly about, but was complicated and would cost too much for the applicant's to pay? 

Only ask as I have seen a few very hard stories on posts here and else ware.


----------



## Gabrial887

Hi Mark,

It is amazing the service you are doing for all these people who have migration issues as its really hard to get an answer from DIAC these days...

I have a small issue with my 887 if you could give me an answer i would really appreciate it.I have apply for the 887 last October i met all the conditions living and working etc... the issue is with my wife..She arrived to Australia 8 months after i got the 487,and we apply for thee 887 last October as i said earlier and she was the secondary applicant but she has not completed two years she was only in Australia for 17 months then.. will that be an issue?does the secondary applicant also need to complete 2 years before applying for 887?

I am already on 885 for three months now and still living in a regional area coz i want to get the PR for my wife.And really worried that all my efforts would go in to vain.. after going through so much hard times living in an aboriginal community.


----------



## pamal

*Hello*

Hi Mark
Can you please Write down your Email adress so i can get in contact with you
Thank you
Pamal, switzerland


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ampk -

Yes, I have, and we always try to work with clients the best we can. However some people's situations are extremely complicated and sorting them out, especially if they involve difficult issues such as character issues, takes a great deal of time to do properly. I'm of the opinion that I am not willing to do something, unless it's done thoroughly and done right. Halfway done or insincerely done work in this business is a danger and can do the client more harm than good.

In the end, it's the results that matter - the client will not generally know or care how many hours an agent puts into a matter, just like if you attend a concert you won't care how many hours the orchestra rehearsed, you just know the final result and judge it as such. Same with our profession - it's results that count, and it can be difficult when the final judgement is made by someone else (ie, DIBP, the MRT, the AAT, etc).

In the end, though, the cost of an agent is usually very small compared to the benefit of a PR visa, etc for Australia that is a life-changing event. A few thousand dollars for an agent is pocket change compared to the salary from a successful career in Australia, not to mention the cost of having to withdraw a visa application if a mistake is made and not discovered in time, resulting in lost visa application fees that often run many thousand dollars.

Hope this helps better understand my thoughts/perspective on the business -

Best,

Mark Northam



ampk said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Ever came across a visa that you felt strongly about, but was complicated and would cost too much for the applicant's to pay?
> 
> Only ask as I have seen a few very hard stories on posts here and else ware.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pamal -

I'd love to, but this forum has a strict rule on providing email messages in messages for privacy reasons. Best way to contact me is to click on my website address in the email signature below and then click on the "Contact Us" link in the far upper right corner of our webpage.

Best,

Mark Northam



pamal said:


> Hi Mark
> Can you please Write down your Email adress so i can get in contact with you
> Thank you
> Pamal, switzerland


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gabrial887 -

Thanks for the note. For the subclass 887 visa, the secondary applicant does not need to meet the living or working requirements that the primary applicant does, however the secondary applicant must make a combined application with the primary applicant, and be a member of the family unit of the primary applicant at the time of application (for the 887) and time of grant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gabrial887 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> It is amazing the service you are doing for all these people who have migration issues as its really hard to get an answer from DIAC these days...
> 
> I have a small issue with my 887 if you could give me an answer i would really appreciate it.I have apply for the 887 last October i met all the conditions living and working etc... the issue is with my wife..She arrived to Australia 8 months after i got the 487,and we apply for thee 887 last October as i said earlier and she was the secondary applicant but she has not completed two years she was only in Australia for 17 months then.. will that be an issue?does the secondary applicant also need to complete 2 years before applying for 887?
> 
> I am already on 885 for three months now and still living in a regional area coz i want to get the PR for my wife.And really worried that all my efforts would go in to vain.. after going through so much hard times living in an aboriginal community.


----------



## harishpatarla

*Submitting EOI*

Hi

I read about the EOI and the things i need before i submit an EOI but is there a way to know if i can submit my EOI as many times as i want.

Ex: The first time i apply i might have a score of 7 in IELTS but i might give the exam again and my score the second time could change.

So this is a genuine case where my EOI is different from the previous one.

Will be effect my chances of getting an invitation in any way as they might think it could be a dodgy applicant giving false data?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## hopedieslast

Really nice thread ! 
Cheers, m8.


----------



## pamal

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pamal - I'd love to, but this forum has a strict rule on providing email messages in messages for privacy reasons. Best way to contact me is to click on my website address in the email signature below and then click on the "Contact Us" link in the far upper right corner of our webpage. Best, Mark Northam


Ok that is what i will do
Thanks for your answer
Pamal


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark! 

I need your advice.
Situation:
I am now in Melbourne arrived here last Dec 21st 2013 to spend the holidays with my Aussie partner and friends. I have a tourist visa which will expire in July 2014 this year with a no further stay condition. Maximum 3 months stay and study. 
I met my partner in a dating site Dec 2012 but decided to meet personally in Manila April 2013. We spent two weeks together. I have to go back to Japan for work and he has to go back to Melbourne for work as well. We decided to be in a defacto relationship in April 2013 and made plans for our future from this day on. We talked in Skype everyday from day 1 we met and from the time I went back to Japan. Exchange watsspp messages which we have saved for future refrence. I first visited him in Australia last year Aug 2013 for 3 weeks was introduced to his family and friends. Same month we opened our joint savings account with ANZ bank and use this account in paying water, gas , groceries, food when we go out. September 2013 I started to share in our bills and sent him money using our joint account . Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec 2013 are the months that I gave my contribution on our shared life together. 

My question is can we consider April 2013 as the date to start our defacto relationship when we met in Manila eventhough I just started contributing in our joint account in August 2013? It took 4 months from April till Aug that I was able to contribute in our joint account. I need to exit my tourist visa in March before my 3rd month stay of living with him physically and come back after two weeks in Japan. Come back to Melbourne April and stay for another 3 months so that makes it 6 months of living together physically but will be in our one year in a defacto relationship in April 2014 . July 2014 this year my tourist visa will expire. We will try to register the relationship in Melbourne in June and file my 820 Partner Visa in July 2014 this year before my visa expires. Another question, can I file Partner Visa after July 2014 like in October 2014 (3 months from my last date of entry) or does it have to filed before my one year tourist visa expires in July 2014. 

Is this possible? What advise can you give when I can apply onshore 820 Partner visa. Hoping for your utmost reply.

Respectfully,
Ninja 69


----------



## atrbi

*Partner Visa after Student Visa has been cancelled*

Hi Mark,
My friend from India was on a student visa, which he was recently advised has been cancelled. His fiancé is Australian. They have recently been advised to apply for a Partner (Class BS) (Subclass 309) Visa and a Bridging B Visa but have had other friends say this is the incorrect advice. They are based in Brisbane and the agent they have been using has not been responsive. 
As you can appreciate they are quite stressed as time is of the essence. Can you advise whether the BS 309 Visa sounds like a feasible option for them? And if not what do you recommend? 
Thanks in advance.


----------



## Gabrial887

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gabrial887 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. For the subclass 887 visa, the secondary applicant does not need to meet the living or working requirements that the primary applicant does, however the secondary applicant must make a combined application with the primary applicant, and be a member of the family unit of the primary applicant at the time of application (for the 887) and time of grant.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanx heaps Mark you are a LEGEND RESPECT


----------



## bauda

Hi All,

I need your help and some advice regarding my partner visa application:

This is my situation. I am Italian, I came here last year with my working holiday visa and I am in a relationship with an australian citizen.

I am nearing the end of her working holiday visa and I have not managed to find a job that will get her sponsorship (457 visa).

We are looking to get her onto a tourist visa without the no further stay condition (8503) so we can start producing our application for the partner visa (820 then 801). We will base our visa application that we are legally and genuinely in a de facto relationship.

The main requirement for the partner visa is evidence that we have been in a relationship for a minimum of 12 months prior to lodging our application.

The reality is we met in mid-February 2013 (the 2nd day I arrived in Australia on my working holiday visa). We've been 'dating' since then so we have arguably would have been in a relationship for at least 12 months

We intend to register our de facto relationship with the NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages agency. We will do this to bypass the 12-month relationship requirement.

Our biggest concern with our application is providing evidence with respect to the 1) financial aspects; and 2) nature of the household. In my opinion we have fairly weak evidence to meet these requirements.
1. We only started living together last week (and we are not on the lease) and we will live with his parents until we lodge our application (in about 2 months). So we don't have evidence of joint ownership of real estate (e.g. leasing, elec/utility account).
2. We haven't started sharing finances or operating bank finances.

I was just hoping to get your professional opinion on the strength of our case, given we will:
1. register our relationship with the NSW BDM
2. provide the necessary medical, character and police checks
3. certified copies of all the ID documents
4. evidence of our trip together to Mexico (August 2013) together to visit my mother's relatives.
5. evidence that our relationship is recognised socially (e.g. Christmas together)
6. our current living arrangements - living at home with my parents.

I hope I haven't overloaded you with information and detail - just want to give you all the facts to give a professional opinion on whether our application will be enough to meet the criteria?

We are looking to maybe see a migration agent too to get another professional opinion. Can you recommend any migration agent that specialise in partner visas in Sydney?

Thanks again for your help on this!!!!!!!
Roberta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Atrbi -

Thanks for the note - recvd your email as well - consultation best for this one as there are many details that need to be determined in order to figure out the best course of action. The advice as you mentioned sounds incorrect - a Subclass 309 visa applicant would not be eligible for a bridging visa.

Best,

Mark Northam



atrbi said:


> Hi Mark,
> My friend from India was on a student visa, which he was recently advised has been cancelled. His fiancé is Australian. They have recently been advised to apply for a Partner (Class BS) (Subclass 309) Visa and a Bridging B Visa but have had other friends say this is the incorrect advice. They are based in Brisbane and the agent they have been using has not been responsive.
> As you can appreciate they are quite stressed as time is of the essence. Can you advise whether the BS 309 Visa sounds like a feasible option for them? And if not what do you recommend?
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roberta -

Thanks for the note here and email - a consultation would be the best way to sort through your evidence and for me to answer all your questions and assess your case - too many details and options to go back & forth on the forum or by email - see website link in signature below to book a consultation if you're interested - thanks!

Best,

Mark Northam

QUOTE=bauda;327705]Hi All,

I need your help and some advice regarding my partner visa application:

This is my situation. I am Italian, I came here last year with my working holiday visa and I am in a relationship with an australian citizen.

I am nearing the end of her working holiday visa and I have not managed to find a job that will get her sponsorship (457 visa).

We are looking to get her onto a tourist visa without the no further stay condition (8503) so we can start producing our application for the partner visa (820 then 801). We will base our visa application that we are legally and genuinely in a de facto relationship.

The main requirement for the partner visa is evidence that we have been in a relationship for a minimum of 12 months prior to lodging our application.

The reality is we met in mid-February 2013 (the 2nd day I arrived in Australia on my working holiday visa). We've been 'dating' since then so we have arguably would have been in a relationship for at least 12 months

We intend to register our de facto relationship with the NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages agency. We will do this to bypass the 12-month relationship requirement.

Our biggest concern with our application is providing evidence with respect to the 1) financial aspects; and 2) nature of the household. In my opinion we have fairly weak evidence to meet these requirements.
1. We only started living together last week (and we are not on the lease) and we will live with his parents until we lodge our application (in about 2 months). So we don't have evidence of joint ownership of real estate (e.g. leasing, elec/utility account).
2. We haven't started sharing finances or operating bank finances.

I was just hoping to get your professional opinion on the strength of our case, given we will:
1. register our relationship with the NSW BDM
2. provide the necessary medical, character and police checks
3. certified copies of all the ID documents
4. evidence of our trip together to Mexico (August 2013) together to visit my mother's relatives.
5. evidence that our relationship is recognised socially (e.g. Christmas together)
6. our current living arrangements - living at home with my parents.

I hope I haven't overloaded you with information and detail - just want to give you all the facts to give a professional opinion on whether our application will be enough to meet the criteria?

We are looking to maybe see a migration agent too to get another professional opinion. Can you recommend any migration agent that specialise in partner visas in Sydney?

Thanks again for your help on this!!!!!!!
Roberta[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Thanks for the question. My view is that DIBP may have serious concerns about a defacto relationship that consists of a 2-week meeting followed by months apart, and the delayed joint bank acct you mention. Would have to see the rest of your relationship evidence and statements in detail in order to give you any sort of estimate as to whether the evidence would be likely to support the defacto relationship beginning in April - could do this via a consultation (see our website link below). Would definitely look into VIC relationship registration depending on your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I need your advice.
> Situation:
> I am now in Melbourne arrived here last Dec 21st 2013 to spend the holidays with my Aussie partner and friends. I have a tourist visa which will expire in July 2014 this year with a no further stay condition. Maximum 3 months stay and study.
> I met my partner in a dating site Dec 2012 but decided to meet personally in Manila April 2013. We spent two weeks together. I have to go back to Japan for work and he has to go back to Melbourne for work as well. We decided to be in a defacto relationship in April 2013 and made plans for our future from this day on. We talked in Skype everyday from day 1 we met and from the time I went back to Japan. Exchange watsspp messages which we have saved for future refrence. I first visited him in Australia last year Aug 2013 for 3 weeks was introduced to his family and friends. Same month we opened our joint savings account with ANZ bank and use this account in paying water, gas , groceries, food when we go out. September 2013 I started to share in our bills and sent him money using our joint account . Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec 2013 are the months that I gave my contribution on our shared life together.
> 
> My question is can we consider April 2013 as the date to start our defacto relationship when we met in Manila eventhough I just started contributing in our joint account in August 2013? It took 4 months from April till Aug that I was able to contribute in our joint account. I need to exit my tourist visa in March before my 3rd month stay of living with him physically and come back after two weeks in Japan. Come back to Melbourne April and stay for another 3 months so that makes it 6 months of living together physically but will be in our one year in a defacto relationship in April 2014 . July 2014 this year my tourist visa will expire. We will try to register the relationship in Melbourne in June and file my 820 Partner Visa in July 2014 this year before my visa expires. Another question, can I file Partner Visa after July 2014 like in October 2014 (3 months from my last date of entry) or does it have to filed before my one year tourist visa expires in July 2014.
> 
> Is this possible? What advise can you give when I can apply onshore 820 Partner visa. Hoping for your utmost reply.
> 
> Respectfully,
> Ninja 69


----------



## iclaire

Hi Mark,
A quick question here please.
Would DIBP advise the applicant re health issues right after visa lodgment (with completed medical health checked) or they will wait until case officer's assigned which could take months to notify the applicant that he may not meet health requirements?
Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi iclaire -

Generally the process by which a health test that is not routine (ie, one that has issues) is processed by the panel doctor and then the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth takes months, so I would not generally expect a quick answer if there are health issues. It's not as much a matter of waiting for a case officer to be assigned (although that may slow down the process) but of waiting for the application to wind its way through the MOC process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## NiallC33

Hi Mark
I posted a thread earlier and after some great help from people, it was suggested i ask you a question as my situation is a bit complicated

in a nutshell, i applied for an offshore partner visa in October,im Irish,my girlfriend is Australian. we got refused on the basis of household,but our agent thinks their logic was flawed and since then we have a lot more documents strengthening our case 
since then i have arrived here on jan 15th, we are living together, have joint utility bills, in the process of getting our relationship declared, am on her car insurance etc

i am here on a 600 tourist visa, valid until july 15th
my question is this, when we lodge an onshore application within the next few weeks, the BVA that would be granted to me, i have been advised that this will only kick in when my tourist visa expires in July but if i wanted to have work rights before then, what options would i have. 
could i cancel my tourist visa and then the BVA would take precedence?
or is it even possible to cancel a tourist visa?
if not, is there any other way, i can get work rights, as i am here on limited savings , living with my girlfriend but my savings would not last until july
my lawyer/agent is giving me conflicting advice. he states that firstly the bridging visa would only be an extension of my current tourist visa and to get me working rights , he would have to apply after lodging under financial hardship

any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated

thanks
Niall


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Niall -

Cancelling a visa is a last resort as it renders you unlawful and stuck on a Bridging Visa E with no work rights by default - when you cancel one visa, it cancels ALL visas you have including any bridging visas you have been issued. Can you tell me the exact configuration of your visitor visa (ie, how many months maximum "stay", etc)?

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## NiallC33

Hi Mark
Thanks for your speedy reply
I am on a tourist visa, subclass 600. it is valid for 12 months but only 6 months at a time. i am allowed multiple entries into the country but it only lasts for 6 months at a time. i entered Australia on Jan 15th 2014

Thanks
Niall


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Niall -

Thanks for that - was hoping it was a 3-month maximum stay like many are. You're faced with the all too common predicament of the "unwanted visa" - while you're onshore with that visa, you're stuck with its conditions as long as that stay lasts. As I see it you have 3 choices:

1. Wait until the end of the current maximum stay (6 months from entry) and the BV-A will activate automatically - you'd then have full work rights.

2. Voluntarily cancel the visitor visa, if DIBP would permit that, and apply for a Bridging Visa E, then apply for work rights for that BV-E. Would suggest you get professional assistance if you go this route as there are some nasty side-effects including a 3-year exclusion on temporary visas if you depart Australia while holding that BV-E and the inability to use the time before cancellation towards any future application for Australian citizenship.

3. Apply for the partner visa, and then apply to have the BV-A changed to a BV-B, then depart Australia for a quick trip. The key in this case is getting DIBP to re-enter you on the BV-B visa, rather than the visitor visa. This is a somewhat risky option as there is no guarantee DIBP will do this, and if not, you come back in and the 6 month clock begins yet again.

Please advise if I can assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## NiallC33

Thanks for that very informative reply Mark
It looks like option A is the only way to go as i dont want to run risks and just want to play it safe. my life with my partner here means everything to me and i want nothing to jeoparadise that

i wonder is it possible to reduce my tourist visa from 6 months to 3 months ?


----------



## Evren

Hello Mark,

I would like to ask about basic academic requirements for trade occupations. They say "Skill level
This occupation has a level of skill commensurate with the qualifications and experience of AQF Certificate III including at least two years of on-the-job training, or AQF Certificate IV (ANZSCO Skill Level 3).* At least three years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualifications listed above*. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification." Does that experience need to be in Australia? Shortly; Can a technical high school graduate apply for migration if he has over 3 years experience in his country?


----------



## iclaire

MarkNortham said:


> Hi iclaire -
> 
> Generally the process by which a health test that is not routine (ie, one that has issues) is processed by the panel doctor and then the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth takes months, so I would not generally expect a quick answer if there are health issues. It's not as much a matter of waiting for a case officer to be assigned (although that may slow down the process) but of waiting for the application to wind its way through the MOC process.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Mark, thank you so much for your quick replied. Very appreciated that


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Evren -

Great question! The short answer is: it depends on the visa, the job, and the relevance and quality of the work experience you have. For skilled visas, there is no shortcut for a skills assessment - if you do not meet the skills assessors requirements (and they are all different!), that's pretty much the end of the line for that type of visa. Different skills assessors treat applicants and different occupations differently, so it's a matter of careful research of the assessor's requirements for your occupation. Some skills assessors require a minimum number of years of work experience, others require a minimum level of education (ie, Bachelor degree, diploma, etc), and some have a "recognition of prior learning" (RPL) option where a certain number of years of experience can substitute for their minimum educational requirement.

The information you quoted is commonly used to assess applicants where a formal skills assessment (from the skills assessor for that nominated occupation) is not required - this is primarily in the area of employer sponsored visas such as the subclass 457 temporary visa. These guidelines for each occupation (as you quoted) are considered in conjunction with the applicant's work history and education qualification(s) and the case officer then forms an opinion as to whether the person is "skilled" sufficiently to do the proposed (employer sponsored) job to Australian standards.

To directly address your question, for an employer sponsored visa such as the 457, with the right qualifying work experience it may be possible to substitute that work experience (per the guidelines) for the minimum educational qualification requirement. However, with the 457 the case officer has the right to require a skills assessment even if one is not required normally, and once that happens the requirements of the assessment organisation kick in and you're right back where you were with a skilled visa. It all depends on how the case officer assesses the situation.

Hope this helps better understand things -

Best,

Mark Northam



Evren said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I would like to ask about basic academic requirements for trade occupations. They say "Skill level
> This occupation has a level of skill commensurate with the qualifications and experience of AQF Certificate III including at least two years of on-the-job training, or AQF Certificate IV (ANZSCO Skill Level 3).* At least three years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualifications listed above*. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification." Does that experience need to be in Australia? Shortly; Can a technical high school graduate apply for migration if he has over 3 years experience in his country?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Niall -

Unfortunately I don't know of a way to alter the terms of a visa once it is granted - that is generally not possible under the law.

Best,

Mark Northam



NiallC33 said:


> Thanks for that very informative reply Mark
> It looks like option A is the only way to go as i dont want to run risks and just want to play it safe. my life with my partner here means everything to me and i want nothing to jeoparadise that
> 
> i wonder is it possible to reduce my tourist visa from 6 months to 3 months ?


----------



## Evren

Mark, very helpful as always. Thanks a lot! 

It wasn't my situation though, a friend in another forum asked me that so I thought it'd be best to get your insight on that. I'll be in Gold Coast in a month to start my studies. I plan to get your guidance later on. You are simply the best!
Have a great day!


----------



## Donkey

Hi Mark, 

I'm looking into having my New Zealand partner sponsoring me for an 820 de facto visa, I'm currently on a 457 business visa. He's what immigration refers to as an eligible New Zealand citizen, been living in Australia since 1998. What proof does immigration usually need for this though (the form just says attach proof)? We have his old TAX file number slip from 1998, would that be enough or is there anything else we need to know? 

Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Donkey -

Thanks for the note - an eligible NZ citizen is a NZ citizen who was either in Australia on 26 Feb 2001, or who was in Australia for at least one year during the 2 years immediately prior to 26 Feb 2001. Generally passport entry/exist stamps are sufficient to evidence this, or employment records of some kind that show he was here and being paid on the "magic date" of 26 Feb 2001, or some other evidence to show that he was living in Australia on that date - that's the key.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Donkey

Yeah thanks heaps that helps, so it's actually that date that's the key 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Donkey -
> 
> Thanks for the note - an eligible NZ citizen is a NZ citizen who was either in Australia on 26 Feb 2001, or who was in Australia for at least one year during the 2 years immediately prior to 26 Feb 2001. Generally passport entry/exist stamps are sufficient to evidence this, or employment records of some kind that show he was here and being paid on the "magic date" of 26 Feb 2001, or some other evidence to show that he was living in Australia on that date - that's the key.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Donkey

I've got one more question  When I hand in the application for the 820 de facto visa, what will happen to my current 457 visa. I think that will still be in effect until a decision is made on the 820 visa, right? I'm asking because I travel for work every now and then and I might also go away for a holiday and the 820 visa can take quite some time to process so what happens if your're not in Australia when it's approved? Or should I check with immigration before traveling overseas? 

Super cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Donkey -

You are correct - as long as the 457 hasn't reached its expiration date, it will remain in effect and the bridging visa you will receive when you lodge your partner visa will remain unactivated and dormant. Since you're not on the bridging visa, no need to change that bridging visa if you travel. HOWEVER... do note that if you remain on the 457 and then travel outside Australia, the (unactivated) Bridging Visa A you have from your partner visa will CEASE automatically. No problem though - if you find yourself back in Australia, the 457 is going to expire and you don't have a decision yet on your 820/801 application, simply make a new application for a Bridging Visa on form 1005 and they will grant you a new bridging visa - if you do this, make sure to do this before your 457 expires, so that way the Bridging Visa A you applied for is in place and ready to go when your 457 expires, and will automatically activate at that point and cover you for the period from then until the 820/801 decision.

Re: being in Australia when the 820 is granted - this is a requirement. Best to keep in touch with your case officer and let him/her know when you will be out of the country so they can notify you when it's decision time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Donkey

Yes that's what I thought  Thank you so much for taking the time to reply really appreciate it! Do you have any thoughts on applying for a de facto 820 visa versus a skilled visa? I work as a software engineer and my profession is on the list but I've also been with my partner for more than a year which would qualify me for the de facto visa. I'm happy with my 457 visa at the moment but looking into getting a PR via my partner but not sure what way would be the easiest or cheaper option.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Donkey -
> 
> You are correct - as long as the 457 hasn't reached its expiration date, it will remain in effect and the bridging visa you will receive when you lodge your partner visa will remain unactivated and dormant. Since you're not on the bridging visa, no need to change that bridging visa if you travel. HOWEVER... do note that if you remain on the 457 and then travel outside Australia, the (unactivated) Bridging Visa A you have from your partner visa will CEASE automatically. No problem though - if you find yourself back in Australia, the 457 is going to expire and you don't have a decision yet on your 820/801 application, simply make a new application for a Bridging Visa on form 1005 and they will grant you a new bridging visa - if you do this, make sure to do this before your 457 expires, so that way the Bridging Visa A you applied for is in place and ready to go when your 457 expires, and will automatically activate at that point and cover you for the period from then until the 820/801 decision.
> 
> Re: being in Australia when the 820 is granted - this is a requirement. Best to keep in touch with your case officer and let him/her know when you will be out of the country so they can notify you when it's decision time.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Donkey-

Overall partner visas (if the relationship evidence is solid) are generally easier to apply for and get than skilled visas as you don't have skills assessors, state sponsorship, points, etc to deal with in a partner visa application. But it all depends on the relationship! If you'd like to discuss the various types of visas in detail, would be happy to do a consultation with you - see my website link below.

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Donkey

Thanks I will definitely consider doing that  Thanks for taking the time to reply, awesome work! Immigration is such a jungle sometimes!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Donkey-
> 
> Overall partner visas (if the relationship evidence is solid) are generally easier to apply for and get than skilled visas as you don't have skills assessors, state sponsorship, points, etc to deal with in a partner visa application. But it all depends on the relationship! If you'd like to discuss the various types of visas in detail, would be happy to do a consultation with you - see my website link below.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## bravo189

*reg form 80*

Hi Mark,

I am in 457 work visa, recently renewed it.

In form 80, Question 41, Visa details section,

Do I need to put my recent visa date of issue or the previous one?

If I put my recent one, then in Question 42, Details of your arrival Australia, If i put my first arrived date then will that be a problem?

Please help.


----------



## tomay

Hi Mark,

I'm gonna apply for temporary graduate visa (485). I'm a bit confused about medical checkup requirements. Do we need to just have reference number for checkup and put it in the application or actually need to wait for the checkup results to come out and lodge the application. I already have my reference number from medibank health solutions and got an appointment for medical checkup.

Thank you for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tomay -

Once you've booked the medical, you can apply for the 485 - the applicaton requires that you provide evidence that you have scheduled your medical exam, but you do not need to complete your medical exam prior to lodging.

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bravo189 -

For Q41 on form 80, you should put the current visa you are now on (ie, the most recent visa granted that you are now on) - so recent visa date of issue would be best.

For Q42, best to put the first time you arrived in Australia on the specific visa you put in Q41. If you have not re-entered Australia on that visa, then fine to put in first time you entered Australia on the previous 457. Just to clarify, you could add a note in the extension section of Form 80 that notes that the entry date is from the previous 457 visa if that is the case.

Best,

Mark Northam



bravo189 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am in 457 work visa, recently renewed it.
> 
> In form 80, Question 41, Visa details section,
> 
> Do I need to put my recent visa date of issue or the previous one?
> 
> If I put my recent one, then in Question 42, Details of your arrival Australia, If i put my first arrived date then will that be a problem?
> 
> Please help.


----------



## weav129

*Student visa help*

Hi Mark,
Firstly, a big thank you for making yourself available in this way, I hope this forum brings you business!
My query involves transitioning student visas into permanent residency. I had previously heard that only a uni degree could lead directly to PR but after some of my own research I discovered a site that said a minimum of 2 years (16 calendar months) study towards a diploma, degree or trade qualification would be sufficient. I am hoping to apply for permanent residnency after completing a 2 year diploma in October but not sure if I'm even eligible. I had become aware of an Occupational Trainee visa but the Australian immigration site said no new applicants were being accepted after Nov of 2012.
It's so frustrating and confusing trying to understand immigration, especially when rules and visas are seemingly constantly changing. Any light you could shed on the matter would be most appreciated. 
Cheers,
Erin


----------



## bhagyesh

*Need a Reall Help*



MarkNortham said:


> Happy to help!


Hi Mark

Me and my wife is on 475 Visa i am the primary applicant....and my living and working conditioned is going to fulfilled in in Next dec 2014 and then i will apply for 887 . i am realy confused now because

1)i am sending my wife back to india for unavoidable social reason for next 1 year . does it make any difference to my 887 application or she need to be onshore with me at the time of application if i wanted to include her in my application.

2) Secondly i am staying in sharing with my friend and I am getting Electricity bills & Gas bill in my name for residential proof is this fine with DIAC ? for residential proof.. and i have already updated my living address to them

3) and at the time of 475 Visa application for spouse English language requirement i have submitted bonafied certificate from the Uni that she has done her graduation from English medium and they have accepted it so do i need to submit that again at the time of application of 887

it would be really great help for me if you give me your suggestion on my query

Regards
Bhagyesh


----------



## tomay

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tomay -
> 
> Once you've booked the medical, you can apply for the 485 - the applicaton requires that you provide evidence that you have scheduled your medical exam, but you do not need to complete your medical exam prior to lodging.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much for your answer.


----------



## pamal

*Visa*

Hello Mark
I am a Gynaecologist and i am in applying for my specialisation. I have gone through the AMC, and my details are now at the RANZCOG. Next step would be the interview in Melbourne. 
If i pass this then the visas would be the next step.
My questions now: what would be the Visa for me, i also need a Visa for my husband and son ( 10). I already have a Job offer ( dont know if it changes anything because of the visas). 
Thank you
Pamal


----------



## livefree

*visa 190*

hi mark

i have a question about skilled migrant visa 190.
i logged the application online but it took me some time to upload my papers then i saw link saying.....

organize medical examination

so i pressed it and got a referral letter to do tests

is this right or shall i wait for case officer to send me mail to do tests because i heard that that i should wait for mail to came and not do it myself just bear in mind i uploaded my papers a weak ago and i am doing it from Egypt outside Australia

and how long do i have to wait to get visa giving i uploaded all required papers even police check but except Australian degree and Australian work experience because i never been there before.....

thank you


----------



## SamuelO

Hi Mark,

Well done for your efforts.
Need your candid advice. I applied for skills assessment with ICA - General accounting and got a 'not suitable assessment' sometimes last year. I requested for a review and got a 'suitable' outcome last week, however my over 10years experience was only recognised from 2012. 

For me to submit an EOI, I realise I have only 50points and except I get a state sponsorship for the additional 10 points, i won't be able to meet the 60points.

I have a relative living in Narrabri and was told NSW ain't offering any sponsorship for my nominated occupation.

What best do you suggest i do going forward?

Samuel


----------



## pilotg2

Hi again Mark!

So I'm about to apply for ACT Statesponship under a limited occupation... i've searched the forum for an answer but no luck

My occupation is also under schedule 2 in WA. Bearing in mind their new criteria will be released on the 1 March, if this were to be in our favour i.e. removal of job offer requirement (unlikely I know), BUT, would it be possible to cancel ACT SS (before or after submitting EOI) and submit EOI to WA (Perth) SS, and if so would there be any consequences?

Any advise you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks


----------



## Astro

*Family visiting daughter's graduation ceremony on Tourist visa*

Hi Mark,

My wife's cousin (from Vietnam) recently completed studying a university course and the graduation ceremony is in Perth at the end of this month. Her mother and brother applied for a visa (subclass 600) to come over for the graduation and then also do a bit of travel for a week or so. The visas were knocked back on the basis of not enough funds despite the parents owning a business, a shop, two houses and the equivalent of over $50k AUD in the bank.

I don't know how good their application was or if they did it right and I'm told they went through an agent (probably not MARA one though). Our (uninformed and purely speculative) theory is that the department knocked it back on the basis that they actually have access to enough funds to have a crack at moving here permanently or something but that seems unlikely the more I think about it.

Have you come across anything like this before and is there anything they can do to have the decision reconsidered in a short time frame?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Erin -

Thanks for the note. Wish the rules were simpler, but there is no common/standard requirement re: educational quals for PR - there are several different types of PR visas, and within the skilled type of visas, many different occupations and different skills assessors - each of these assessors treats educational quals differently, and has different minimum standards. For employer sponsored PR, depending on the type of visa, the ANZSCO entry level requirements can apply (ie, XX degree, or YYY years of experience), but even those vary - best to look at the visa you're interested in and work from there to determine what the specific requirements are for your occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



weav129 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Firstly, a big thank you for making yourself available in this way, I hope this forum brings you business!
> My query involves transitioning student visas into permanent residency. I had previously heard that only a uni degree could lead directly to PR but after some of my own research I discovered a site that said a minimum of 2 years (16 calendar months) study towards a diploma, degree or trade qualification would be sufficient. I am hoping to apply for permanent residnency after completing a 2 year diploma in October but not sure if I'm even eligible. I had become aware of an Occupational Trainee visa but the Australian immigration site said no new applicants were being accepted after Nov of 2012.
> It's so frustrating and confusing trying to understand immigration, especially when rules and visas are seemingly constantly changing. Any light you could shed on the matter would be most appreciated.
> Cheers,
> Erin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bhagyesh:

Thanks for the note - notes below:

Re: location, all applicants must be in Australia at the time of application, and at the time the visa is granted.

Re: living evidence, bills are good, plus perhaps other mail addressed to you at the house, and you could also consider a sublease document or something like that formalising your arrangements to live there and pay some sort of rent.

Re: Spouse English requirement, you'll likely need to submit that again, but if they accepted it before, I don't see any reason why they would not accept it again to avoid the 2nd VAC English charge.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhagyesh said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Me and my wife is on 475 Visa i am the primary applicant....and my living and working conditioned is going to fulfilled in in Next dec 2014 and then i will apply for 887 . i am realy confused now because
> 
> 1)i am sending my wife back to india for unavoidable social reason for next 1 year . does it make any difference to my 887 application or she need to be onshore with me at the time of application if i wanted to include her in my application.
> 
> 2) Secondly i am staying in sharing with my friend and I am getting Electricity bills & Gas bill in my name for residential proof is this fine with DIAC ? for residential proof.. and i have already updated my living address to them
> 
> 3) and at the time of 475 Visa application for spouse English language requirement i have submitted bonafied certificate from the Uni that she has done her graduation from English medium and they have accepted it so do i need to submit that again at the time of application of 887
> 
> it would be really great help for me if you give me your suggestion on my query
> 
> Regards
> Bhagyesh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pamal -

Thanks for the note - I don't know enough about your case to assess what specific visa(s) may be best, however generally people consider either an employer sponsored PR visa (186 ENS or 187 RSMS) or a skilled PR visa (189 independent or 190 state sponsored). The 457 temporary visa is also a consideration depending on whether you qualify for a PR visa at this time or not. Sorry I cannot be more help at this point, but as always with visas there are many details and requirements that need to be considered - if I can assist with a consultation to go over your specific case, would be happy to do that - see link in email signature before for our website.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pamal said:


> Hello Mark
> I am a Gynaecologist and i am in applying for my specialisation. I have gone through the AMC, and my details are now at the RANZCOG. Next step would be the interview in Melbourne.
> If i pass this then the visas would be the next step.
> My questions now: what would be the Visa for me, i also need a Visa for my husband and son ( 10). I already have a Job offer ( dont know if it changes anything because of the visas).
> Thank you
> Pamal


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Livefree -

For 190 visas, where the expected processing time is < 12 months, we usually recommend that our clients take their health exams ASAP - especially if the system is providing you a link to do so, I'd move forward with that if it's convenient for you. While these visas typically take 6-9 months to be processed, that's only a rough estimate and I've seen them take less and more time than that depending on the circumstances - very unpredictable, I'm afraid.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



livefree said:


> hi mark
> 
> i have a question about skilled migrant visa 190.
> i logged the application online but it took me some time to upload my papers then i saw link saying.....
> 
> organize medical examination
> 
> so i pressed it and got a referral letter to do tests
> 
> is this right or shall i wait for case officer to send me mail to do tests because i heard that that i should wait for mail to came and not do it myself just bear in mind i uploaded my papers a weak ago and i am doing it from Egypt outside Australia
> 
> and how long do i have to wait to get visa giving i uploaded all required papers even police check but except Australian degree and Australian work experience because i never been there before.....
> 
> thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Samuel -

Thanks for the note. If you have 50 points and want a skilled visa, that means a subclass 489 provisional skilled visa. I'd check into all the states who are currently sponsoring your occupation, then consider waiting until July if that works for you since the states will announce their new sponsorship plans at that point (or are supposed to!). If you can find a state that works for you that is sponsoring now, then consider moving forward; otherwise you can see what changes in July and decide then - whatever works best for you.

Note that the 489 visa can be state sponsored (without a family member, etc living in the state), so you can go that route if you wish and the state you're interested in is sponsoring your occupation for the 489.

Best,

Mark Northam



SamuelO said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Well done for your efforts.
> Need your candid advice. I applied for skills assessment with ICA - General accounting and got a 'not suitable assessment' sometimes last year. I requested for a review and got a 'suitable' outcome last week, however my over 10years experience was only recognised from 2012.
> 
> For me to submit an EOI, I realise I have only 50points and except I get a state sponsorship for the additional 10 points, i won't be able to meet the 60points.
> 
> I have a relative living in Narrabri and was told NSW ain't offering any sponsorship for my nominated occupation.
> 
> What best do you suggest i do going forward?
> 
> Samuel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pilotg2 -

In theory what you propose is possible, however keep in mind that WA sponsors on an invitation-only basis, and your situation with ACT could affect whether you are invited to apply for WA sponsorship or not. Generally the states will not complete the sponsorship process unless/until your EOI is lodged.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pilotg2 said:


> Hi again Mark!
> 
> So I'm about to apply for ACT Statesponship under a limited occupation... i've searched the forum for an answer but no luck
> 
> My occupation is also under schedule 2 in WA. Bearing in mind their new criteria will be released on the 1 March, if this were to be in our favour i.e. removal of job offer requirement (unlikely I know), BUT, would it be possible to cancel ACT SS (before or after submitting EOI) and submit EOI to WA (Perth) SS, and if so would there be any consequences?
> 
> Any advise you can give will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Astro -

Thanks for the note, and sorry to hear of the visitor visa refusal. Vietnam seems to be very tough to get visitor visas from these days for some reason.

Re: reconsideration, that's not generally possible unless DIBP is shown to have made a mistake in law, and even then it's a complicated task. Generally better to lodge a new application with substantially different circumstances and/or evidence. The Genuine Visitor (GV) requirement is the key - for folks from high risk countries, a detailed submission addressing all relevant points of the GV policy is all but required these days in order to have any chance at all of getting the visa. Showing funds is fine, but funds are easily transportable/transferrable and not good enough by themselves to satisfy the GV requirements. Re: owned business, etc was evidence provided with a proper submission?

Best chance of success would likely be a new application with a full and proper Genuine Visitor submission, however this would all depend on a careful review of the previous application and seeing where things could be improved based on whatever was submitted previously.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Astro said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife's cousin (from Vietnam) recently completed studying a university course and the graduation ceremony is in Perth at the end of this month. Her mother and brother applied for a visa (subclass 600) to come over for the graduation and then also do a bit of travel for a week or so. The visas were knocked back on the basis of not enough funds despite the parents owning a business, a shop, two houses and the equivalent of over $50k AUD in the bank.
> 
> I don't know how good their application was or if they did it right and I'm told they went through an agent (probably not MARA one though). Our (uninformed and purely speculative) theory is that the department knocked it back on the basis that they actually have access to enough funds to have a crack at moving here permanently or something but that seems unlikely the more I think about it.
> 
> Have you come across anything like this before and is there anything they can do to have the decision reconsidered in a short time frame?


----------



## aussie2x

Hi Mark,

What a good job u doing here. I always read the sticky thread "ask Mark" and I really admire u by doing this.

Of course I am hoping to ask a question when u have time to answer.

For direct entry rsms obtain in Australia cert3,4 and diploma with work experience, no need to do the skills assessment ?

Thank a lot


----------



## SamuelO

MarkNortham said:


> HI Samuel -
> 
> Thanks for the note. If you have 50 points and want a skilled visa, that means a subclass 489 provisional skilled visa. I'd check into all the states who are currently sponsoring your occupation, then consider waiting until July if that works for you since the states will announce their new sponsorship plans at that point (or are supposed to!). If you can find a state that works for you that is sponsoring now, then consider moving forward; otherwise you can see what changes in July and decide then - whatever works best for you.
> 
> Note that the 489 visa can be state sponsored (without a family member, etc living in the state), so you can go that route if you wish and the state you're interested in is sponsoring your occupation for the 489.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark once again.

I have submitted my EOI today and was awarded 65 points,(5 for meets the Australian study requirement, 10 for territory/family nomination)
I chose any region probably to increase my chances, yet specifying my family member region- though full for state nominations.

Am keeping my finger crossed and pray I get a positive outcome.

Thanks for your advice.


----------



## livefree

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Livefree -
> 
> For 190 visas, where the expected processing time is < 12 months, we usually recommend that our clients take their health exams ASAP - especially if the system is providing you a link to do so, I'd move forward with that if it's convenient for you. While these visas typically take 6-9 months to be processed, that's only a rough estimate and I've seen them take less and more time than that depending on the circumstances - very unpredictable, I'm afraid.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thank you mark for your concern.......so you think i should go for it....many have warned me that doing so may cause delay in processing and showed me part of site where it says so......
under part "When to arrange your health examinations" "after logging an application" saying that......

"I have already lodged my Australian visa application

You will be advised by email or by your case officer what health examinations you need to do (if any). You will then be requested to complete these examinations within a certain time period. Please wait until your visa case officer contacts you, do not use the My Health Declarations service if you have already lodged a visa application. It will delay processing of your visa application.

Note: To minimise processing delays, you should complete your required health examinations as soon as possible after your case officer has advised you to do so. "


----------



## livefree

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Livefree -
> 
> For 190 visas, where the expected processing time is < 12 months, we usually recommend that our clients take their health exams ASAP - especially if the system is providing you a link to do so, I'd move forward with that if it's convenient for you. While these visas typically take 6-9 months to be processed, that's only a rough estimate and I've seen them take less and more time than that depending on the circumstances - very unpredictable, I'm afraid.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks mark for your reply but there is part of site that trouble me saying

"I have already lodged my Australian visa application

You will be advised by email or by your case officer what health examinations you need to do (if any). You will then be requested to complete these examinations within a certain time period. Please wait until your visa case officer contacts you, do not use the My Health Declarations service if you have already lodged a visa application. It will delay processing of your visa application.

Note: To minimise processing delays, you should complete your required health examinations as soon as possible after your case officer has advised you to do so."

what do you think


----------



## Gabrial887

Hi Mark,

I am currently on 885,but when i applied for it the processing was on hold in 2011 so i decided to go for a 487 to keep options,and i got the 885 but i was not married by the time i applied for 885, so just before submitting the final docs to the co i completed my obligations and applied for 887 coz my wife didn't get the 885,

So the issue is i applied 887 in 30th October and been here more than 3 months now.Im living in the biggest aboriginal community in Australia and the most violent too.Most of the time we don't sleep at night or wake up time to time coz they try to break in.Sorry,,,, so what i want to know is even though i got PR is it a must that we have to live in regional till the 887 gets approved?(my wife is still on 487),does the Immigration normally check whether we are living in a regional area by the time of grant? Thanx a lot.......


----------



## ewilka

Hi Mark,

Great info and support being provided. I have a few questions regarding the application process for 189 visa. I am the primary applicant (Irish) and have a girlfriend (Polish) and we have a 2 year old child. We have just been invited to apply.

1. Does the two year child require medical and police cert?

2. At no stage of application we were asked to provide financial situation proof however on the forums other people mention submitting payslips and bank statements should these be included? would it add any value?

3. I've worked with my company for 10 years in 3 different roles and my employer will only state my current role (5years) which makes it look like i've been in that role for 10 years. Is this ok? ACS didn't ask any questions.

4. I'm not claiming any points for my girlfriend, do I need to provide proof of her residence, degree, work experience and language skills (she has First Certificate in English (FCE), which is equivilant of IELTS level 6)?

Thanks for your time.

Ian


----------



## Al00

Hi Mark,

Furthering on from my partner's application. We found out her CoE has been cancelled, but we were told from the university that she has to notify the Case Officer. Having been a couple of weeks since hearing from him, I am not counting on a response. I am trying to get an urgent message across over the phone, but no luck.

Adding to this, I am now hearing more from a few people at immigration that this could now result in cancelling the student visa, and making her go on Bridging Visa E. I hope this is not the case, but this is a complete turn around from letting her run on the Student Visa until August.


Cheers.

Alex


----------



## hubby68

Hi mark,

I appreciate your time and how helpful you are on this forum.
We have applied for fiancé visa in June 2013 and feel that we are close to being approved.
Currently we are together on tourist visa and have requested notice when a decision will be made, have also advised them of her return date to Philippines.


We are looking now for the best solution for us moving forward as we are now expecting a child in September. Our main concern is Medicare to help cover the costs of the birth.


Would we best getting married first and changing to a partner visa, or waiting out the fiancé visa and progressing with second stage as soon as possible ?


Regards
Guy


----------



## pilotg2

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pilotg2 -
> 
> In theory what you propose is possible, however keep in mind that WA sponsors on an invitation-only basis, and your situation with ACT could affect whether you are invited to apply for WA sponsorship or not. Generally the states will not complete the sponsorship process unless/until your EOI is lodged.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Marks, going by your advice i think we'll play it safe and chose one state and stick with it.

Given that ultimately we as a family would like to end up in Perth at this stage (we may fall in love with Canberra!) in your agents mind do you think it's worth waiting till WA release the new criteria (22 days) OR get on with applying in Canberra whilst we have the chance/opportunity?

Our main concern of course is that things seem to be changing fairly quickly with the "slowing down sentiment" in Aus and occupation lists are generally getting shorter...

I would really appreciate your view on it


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussie2x -

It depends on the occupation code and the specifics of your education. Suggest you seek professional advice to go over the entire application and make sure there are no issues - just looking at one part of an application can sometimes not give the full picture.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussie2x said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> What a good job u doing here. I always read the sticky thread "ask Mark" and I really admire u by doing this.
> 
> Of course I am hoping to ask a question when u have time to answer.
> 
> For direct entry rsms obtain in Australia cert3,4 and diploma with work experience, no need to do the skills assessment ?
> 
> Thank a lot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Livefree -

It works either way, depending on the processing time, which these days is very hard to predict. There is certainly no harm in waiting for the CO to request the medicals.

Best,

Mark Northam



livefree said:


> thank you mark for your concern.......so you think i should go for it....many have warned me that doing so may cause delay in processing and showed me part of site where it says so......
> under part "When to arrange your health examinations" "after logging an application" saying that......
> 
> "I have already lodged my Australian visa application
> 
> You will be advised by email or by your case officer what health examinations you need to do (if any). You will then be requested to complete these examinations within a certain time period. Please wait until your visa case officer contacts you, do not use the My Health Declarations service if you have already lodged a visa application. It will delay processing of your visa application.
> 
> Note: To minimise processing delays, you should complete your required health examinations as soon as possible after your case officer has advised you to do so. "


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gabrial -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your concerns re: living situation. Your situation is somewhat complex and I need to look at the history of the case, especially the timeline - if you want to contact me via our website (see link in signature below) and email me with more details, I can help sort out what you can do and when you can do it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gabrial887 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently on 885,but when i applied for it the processing was on hold in 2011 so i decided to go for a 487 to keep options,and i got the 885 but i was not married by the time i applied for 885, so just before submitting the final docs to the co i completed my obligations and applied for 887 coz my wife didn't get the 885,
> 
> So the issue is i applied 887 in 30th October and been here more than 3 months now.Im living in the biggest aboriginal community in Australia and the most violent too.Most of the time we don't sleep at night or wake up time to time coz they try to break in.Sorry,,,, so what i want to know is even though i got PR is it a must that we have to live in regional till the 887 gets approved?(my wife is still on 487),does the Immigration normally check whether we are living in a regional area by the time of grant? Thanx a lot.......


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ewilka -

Thanks for the note - happpy to help:

1. Child needs medical, but not police checks.

2. You will likely need to submit payslips, tax stmts, or some other similar proof of paid employment for the work experience jobs you are claiming for points. Some people submit it in advance, others wait until/if the case officer requests it. Very likely to be requested.

3. Need to be very careful with this as DIBP may well contact your employer to confirm ALL aspects of your claimed work experience. If what employer says (or whatever representative or employee of the employer handles the phone or email enquiry from DIBP) does not agree with what you put on your EOI, it can be a very big problem depending on the nature of the discrepancy. How you listed the work on your EOI would depend on what evidence you can get to evidence each job, etc.

4. See DIBP checklist for ID docs you'll need for your partner - note that being a "girlfriend" would not qualify for being a secondary applicant for your visa! Assuming you are not married and you are claiming her as your defacto partner, you'll need to provide substantial evidence of living together and other aspects of a defacto relationship (see other threads on this forum for lots of info on this as it relates to partner visa applications, however keep in mind also that registering your relationship with your Australian state ONLY works for partner visa applications, and does not remove living together requirements for other visas such as student, skilled, 457, etc. Re: English, I'm not sure if the test you mentioned is accepted in order to avoid the $4500 English "charge" for secondary applicants 18 yrs of age and older - you can google "DIAC Functional English" to see what tests and scores are accepted for this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ewilka said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Great info and support being provided. I have a few questions regarding the application process for 189 visa. I am the primary applicant (Irish) and have a girlfriend (Polish) and we have a 2 year old child. We have just been invited to apply.
> 
> 1. Does the two year child require medical and police cert?
> 
> 2. At no stage of application we were asked to provide financial situation proof however on the forums other people mention submitting payslips and bank statements should these be included? would it add any value?
> 
> 3. I've worked with my company for 10 years in 3 different roles and my employer will only state my current role (5years) which makes it look like i've been in that role for 10 years. Is this ok? ACS didn't ask any questions.
> 
> 4. I'm not claiming any points for my girlfriend, do I need to provide proof of her residence, degree, work experience and language skills (she has First Certificate in English (FCE), which is equivilant of IELTS level 6)?
> 
> Thanks for your time.
> 
> Ian


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alex -

Interesting. If they try to cancel the student visa pending, I would suggest getting professional assistance to try and fight the cancellation since there is clear policy for this. Would keep trying to get in touch with a case officer.

Best,

Mark Northam



Al00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Furthering on from my partner's application. We found out her CoE has been cancelled, but we were told from the university that she has to notify the Case Officer. Having been a couple of weeks since hearing from him, I am not counting on a response. I am trying to get an urgent message across over the phone, but no luck.
> 
> Adding to this, I am now hearing more from a few people at immigration that this could now result in cancelling the student visa, and making her go on Bridging Visa E. I hope this is not the case, but this is a complete turn around from letting her run on the Student Visa until August.
> 
> Cheers.
> 
> Alex


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the note and kind words. My thought is that it would depend on the timing. If she is in Australia on a tourist visa that does NOT have condition 8503 (no further stay), then you could always marry here, however if you do that and inform DIBP of this, they will treat your fianace visa as an OFFSHORE partner visa application. It's a bit of a grey area as you need to show proof to Medicare that you have lodged a PR visa in order to be eligible for Medicare coverage, and the fiance visa being "taken as a partner visa application" may not be enough to satisfy Medicare, since a fiance visa application is not a PR visa and would not qualify for Medicare. (see later on in this msg for another onshore partner visa idea)

Safest bet probably is to wait out the fiance visa, then marry and lodge the partner visa onshore ASAP assuming you have sufficient relationship evidence to support the application. As soon as you lodge the onshore partner visa application, you'll be eligible for Medicare once Medicare can see on their systems that your PR application (partner) is live at DIBP.

Another option that is more costly would be to marry here on the visitor visa, withdraw the fiance visa application, and then lodge an onshore partner visa application if the current visitor visa does not have Condition 8503 (No Further Stay). You don't get the partner visa price break that people who hold fiance visas get, but it gets you potentially on Medicare sooner, which could result in savings re: childbirth costs that might outweigh the lost savings from the visa application. But again, you need to make sure when you lodge a partner visa application that the relationship evidence, etc supports the application strongly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hubby68 said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> I appreciate your time and how helpful you are on this forum.
> We have applied for fiancé visa in June 2013 and feel that we are close to being approved.
> Currently we are together on tourist visa and have requested notice when a decision will be made, have also advised them of her return date to Philippines.
> 
> We are looking now for the best solution for us moving forward as we are now expecting a child in September. Our main concern is Medicare to help cover the costs of the birth.
> 
> Would we best getting married first and changing to a partner visa, or waiting out the fiancé visa and progressing with second stage as soon as possible ?
> 
> Regards
> Guy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pilotg2 -

Tough decision! As WA is announcing new qualifying criteria (which doesn't necessarily mean a new occupation list or adds/deletes from their occupation list) it's hard to say. Overall WA has been getting tougher to apply for, especially since going onto an invitation-only system, however maybe things have slowed down a bit and they will loosen the rules a bit - very hard to tell. My guess: 60% chance they will make it harder to get sponsored; 40% chance they will make it easier. All depends on the success of their invitation only "experiment" and whether they see it as successful or not. However if you qualify for one of their occupations now that's still open for applications, it's hard to see why there would be a need to wait. And of course, it's out of your control as well since they can choose to issue (or not issue) you an invitation based on your EOI at any time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pilotg2 said:


> Thanks Marks, going by your advice i think we'll play it safe and chose one state and stick with it.
> 
> Given that ultimately we as a family would like to end up in Perth at this stage (we may fall in love with Canberra!) in your agents mind do you think it's worth waiting till WA release the new criteria (22 days) OR get on with applying in Canberra whilst we have the chance/opportunity?
> 
> Our main concern of course is that things seem to be changing fairly quickly with the "slowing down sentiment" in Aus and occupation lists are generally getting shorter...
> 
> I would really appreciate your view on it


----------



## brendatrl

*any advice?*

Hello mark. This post is really interesting. I hope you can help me. I applied to a 573 visa january 22nd,through an education agent under SVP, my orientation date is february 17th and I havent any reply yet =( I dont know what to do since i dont want to lose this orientation and I though that I only have to wait for 14 days for an answer =(


----------



## baracuda1121

*please advise*

hey mark,

I have a temporary resident visa of Australia.
I did my masters from Melbourne.
I intent to marry a girl from India.

Can I migrate her to Australia ?
If yes, will she get work permit ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brendatrl -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately student visa processing time has become very unpredictable and we always advise people apply at least 2 months in advance, if not 3, even with SVP, and especially if they're not from a low-risk (according to DIBP) English speaking country. At this point all you can do is to contact the Embassy (or have your agent do that) and see if there is any way that processing can be expedited given your rapidly approaching course dates.

Hope this helps, and best of luck to you!

Best,

Mark Northam



brendatrl said:


> Hello mark. This post is really interesting. I hope you can help me. I applied to a 573 visa january 22nd,through an education agent under SVP, my orientation date is february 17th and I havent any reply yet =( I dont know what to do since i dont want to lose this orientation and I though that I only have to wait for 14 days for an answer =(


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Baracuda1121 -

Thanks for the note. As a temporary resident (you didn't mention what type of visa you are on), you cannot sponsor her for a partner visa. However, you may be able to add her on to your existing visa depending on the type and details - you'll need to provide plenty of relationship evidence in any case. Generally speaking, secondary (spouse) applicants for temporary visas such as the 457 visa have full work rights, but again it will depend on your specific visa and situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



baracuda1121 said:


> hey mark,
> 
> I have a temporary resident visa of Australia.
> I did my masters from Melbourne.
> I intent to marry a girl from India.
> 
> Can I migrate her to Australia ?
> If yes, will she get work permit ?


----------



## dawnw

Hi Mark!

I recently submitted my offshore partner application and paid my fees. I uploaded all of the identification documents, 888's, form 80, and started uploading the "proof" files but after I just uploaded the 31st file it removed all the links to upload more evidence. I had previously read on here somewhere that there was a document limit of 60 but I also read that that had been removed. Do you have any idea what the deal is with uploading? Do I now have to wait until I get a CO assigned so that I can forward the rest by email or something?

thanks!
dawn


----------



## jcq01

Hi Mark,

I really need your advice please please please. I just got my Visa subclass 309 granted last Jan.29,2014, I submitted there all my medical documents to support my diagnosis of thyroid cancer & everything related to my operation & medicines. But when I came back yesterday to my doctor my cancer came back so sad to say. Now we are confused & worried at the same time,that my permanent application might be rejected when I'm in Sydney.. we are also confused where to take the radiation theraphy is it here in the Philippines or in Sydney? I am scheduled to leave on June 4,2014 to be with my husband in Sydney. Please help...Thank you


----------



## Deano969

*Guardian Visa to P/R*

Hi Mark
I am bourn Aussie
My girlfriend is on a student guardian visa and her school age son to an ex partner is on a student visa
We have been living together for over a year and plan to marry and apply for both to become permanent residents

Immigration says that the application need to be done ofshore
Both their current visas have about 9 months left

I don't want them to apply and wait up to 6 months offshore as it will not only break our new family it will also stuff up his schooling

Is there any way we can make the application in Australia and stay here on there current visas until a decision?

Thank's Heaps Deano969


----------



## iano23

*Mistake on EOI*

Hi Mark,

Great work your doing here. I have a question relating to the Skills assessment and the EOI. I have checked my skills assessment and in it I put in I started my role in "09" instead of "10". Do I need to get my skills assessment redone?

Then in my expression of interest as i have worked in my company for 10 years I put 8 - 10 years experience but didn't realise it was for the ANZ Code which should have been 4 years in that role.

My question is do I need to cancel my EOI and redo everything again?? What would be my options here?

Thanks for your help.

Iano23


----------



## livefree

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Livefree -
> 
> It works either way, depending on the processing time, which these days is very hard to predict. There is certainly no harm in waiting for the CO to request the medicals.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thank you mark so much for your advice


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dawn -

Thanks for the note - the current limit on uploading (attaching) files for partner visas is 60 per applicant - beyond that you need to contact DIBP (when a case officer is assigned, or earlier if you want) and ask them the best way to submit additional files.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dawnw said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I recently submitted my offshore partner application and paid my fees. I uploaded all of the identification documents, 888's, form 80, and started uploading the "proof" files but after I just uploaded the 31st file it removed all the links to upload more evidence. I had previously read on here somewhere that there was a document limit of 60 but I also read that that had been removed. Do you have any idea what the deal is with uploading? Do I now have to wait until I get a CO assigned so that I can forward the rest by email or something?
> 
> thanks!
> dawn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

This is a complicated situation - in short, the health criteria is applied at the time of decision for the subclass 100 permanent partner visa. Beyond that, it's a matter of forming a strategy to deal with any potential health-related concerns that DIBP has - would strongly recommend you consult with a Registered Migration Agent re: health criteria, health waivers, and make decisions once you and the agent have carefully been through the laws that affect this area - hope this helps!

Best,

Mark Northam



jcq01 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I really need your advice please please please. I just got my Visa subclass 309 granted last Jan.29,2014, I submitted there all my medical documents to support my diagnosis of thyroid cancer & everything related to my operation & medicines. But when I came back yesterday to my doctor my cancer came back so sad to say. Now we are confused & worried at the same time,that my permanent application might be rejected when I'm in Sydney.. we are also confused where to take the radiation theraphy is it here in the Philippines or in Sydney? I am scheduled to leave on June 4,2014 to be with my husband in Sydney. Please help...Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deano -

Thanks for the question. It all depends on exactly why they need to apply offshore (at least, according to DIBP - you need to check this out yourself) - likely a condition on their visa, but need specifics in order to assist you. For many of the possible scenarios, there is a waiver available, however whether you/she, etc would meet the requirements of the waiver would depend on exactly what the condition is, and what your circumstances are. Please advise if I can assist further - you can also contact me through our website link below.

Best,

Mark Northam



Deano969 said:


> Hi Mark
> I am bourn Aussie
> My girlfriend is on a student guardian visa and her school age son to an ex partner is on a student visa
> We have been living together for over a year and plan to marry and apply for both to become permanent residents
> 
> Immigration says that the application need to be done ofshore
> Both their current visas have about 9 months left
> 
> I don't want them to apply and wait up to 6 months offshore as it will not only break our new family it will also stuff up his schooling
> 
> Is there any way we can make the application in Australia and stay here on there current visas until a decision?
> 
> Thank's Heaps Deano969


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Iano23 -

Thanks for the question - if you are claiming work experience for skilled points, then the EOI needs to match the employment reference letter, and should match the skills assessment report. Any discrepancy between these three is potential trouble. While you may be able to explain an error, claiming more work in a particular occupation than can be supported by the employer's reference ltr, etc is a recipe for problems and potential refusal, and if refused on inaccurate info provided to DIBP, potentially an exclusion period on some visas after that. Suggest you get everything corrected to reflect accurate dates. If the skills assessment shows MORE work than you are claiming, that's not necessarily the end of the world, but may generate questions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



iano23 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Great work your doing here. I have a question relating to the Skills assessment and the EOI. I have checked my skills assessment and in it I put in I started my role in "09" instead of "10". Do I need to get my skills assessment redone?
> 
> Then in my expression of interest as i have worked in my company for 10 years I put 8 - 10 years experience but didn't realise it was for the ANZ Code which should have been 4 years in that role.
> 
> My question is do I need to cancel my EOI and redo everything again?? What would be my options here?
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Iano23


----------



## arvind2526

*How age is calculated*

Dear Mark,
I will be turning 33 yrs in the month of May-2014. If i submit the EOI in the month of April-2014,and I'm having 60 points and I'm applying for "ICT opportunities"
Will i get 30 points or 25 points for age?
My DOB: 30-April-1981.
Thanks in advance,
Arvind.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arvind -

If you lodge your EOI prior to your birthday, you will get 30 points, however on your birthday (30 Apr 2014) when you turn 33, DIBP will automatically update your EOI and remove 5 points since as of the point you are 33 years old you get 25 points for age, whereas while you are 32 you get 30 points for age.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arvind2526 said:


> Dear Mark,
> I will be turning 33 yrs in the month of May-2014. If i submit the EOI in the month of April-2014,and I'm having 60 points and I'm applying for "ICT opportunities"
> Will i get 30 points or 25 points for age?
> My DOB: 30-April-1981.
> Thanks in advance,
> Arvind.


----------



## dawnw

Thanks for responding.

I've only uploaded 31 documents though. After I uploaded that 31st all of the links to upload files went away and now it just shows me the list of things that I have uploaded. I guess I will have to just contact DIBP and ask them how I send the rest in. Seems pretty odd though.

dawn



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dawn -
> 
> Thanks for the note - the current limit on uploading (attaching) files for partner visas is 60 per applicant - beyond that you need to contact DIBP (when a case officer is assigned, or earlier if you want) and ask them the best way to submit additional files.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

I agree - sounds like a technical issue. Good luck!

Best,

Mark Northam



dawnw said:


> Thanks for responding.
> 
> I've only uploaded 31 documents though. After I uploaded that 31st all of the links to upload files went away and now it just shows me the list of things that I have uploaded. I guess I will have to just contact DIBP and ask them how I send the rest in. Seems pretty odd though.
> 
> dawn


----------



## irina_pandey

Dear Mark,

My husband's CPA assessment has been completed in January 9, 2014. But so far we have not received it. They say they sent by post. It is already 4 weeks. We have contacted them but they are unable to inform us about the status of delivery and we were told that will send again in another 3-4 working days. Is it a kind of normal thing? Thank you.


----------



## frenchie29

Hello Mark, thanks again for all the informations u are giving, I think you do help a lot of people it is really great, anyway I do need your help, just want to ask you how long it take to apply from a BVA to a BVB, I will be in bva at the end of february and is going to wedding in NC in begining of april, is a months will be enough? Someone told me to go at the immigration I will get it straigh away is it true ? 

Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Irina -

That's not normal. If there is a post problem, you may want to see if you can pay them extra to send it by a trackable method (DHL or other courier), or engage a local registered migration agent to represent you and ask them to send another copy to the agent locally who can then express mail it to you, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



irina_pandey said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> My husband's CPA assessment has been completed in January 9, 2014. But so far we have not received it. They say they sent by post. It is already 4 weeks. We have contacted them but they are unable to inform us about the status of delivery and we were told that will send again in another 3-4 working days. Is it a kind of normal thing? Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Frenchie -

Thanks for the question - persons who hold a BVA and apply for a BVB are generally given a decision in 1-3 days from the point DIBP receives the application - a month should be plenty of time.

Best,

Mark Northam



frenchie29 said:


> Hello Mark, thanks again for all the informations u are giving, I think you do help a lot of people it is really great, anyway I do need your help, just want to ask you how long it take to apply from a BVA to a BVB, I will be in bva at the end of february and is going to wedding in NC in begining of april, is a months will be enough? Someone told me to go at the immigration I will get it straigh away is it true ?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## irina_pandey

Thank you Mark, we will contact them tomorrow again.


----------



## medina

Hi Mark,
We applied in MRT in Feb 2013. we had our documents ready and because every time i called mrt when would our case be allocated to a case manager the answer we got was in 12 months time or more ( last time we called them was august 2013) so to our surprise we received a letter from MRT inviting us to a hearing in April this year, so then we sent all the documents that we had which weighed almost 2 kg, and it's pretty much everything all our bank acc details highlighting transfers to each others acc, everyday expenses, holiday expenses, tenancy ledges, and now we are hoping that we get an answer in our favor and not have to go in for the hearing. Is it possible receive a decision in our favor and not have to turn up to the tribunal hearing ?
P.S- we don't mind going in hearing but just generally asking a query.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Medina -

Thanks for the note, and great question. Generally once a hearing is scheduled the opportunity to get a decision purely based on your submission (called a decision "on the papers") can be difficult as the case officer generally looks at all the submissions at the time the case is assigned and then decides whether a positive decision can be made on the papers, or whether a hearing is necessary. Best thing to do is to submit your evidence and whatever document you create (highly recommended) as a submission that ties all the evidence together and points out the most influential, etc of the evidence, and wait to see if you get a notice that a decision has been made (an on the papers decision can only be positive, cannot be negative to you) prior to the hearing. If that's the case, you'll be notified. Otherwise, you can wait for the hearing and you should attend.

Note that hearings are not like court, and there is a very limited role for an agent or attorney if you choose to bring one - normally the MRT member will ask the applicant questions about the relationship, etc - an agent or lawyer can advise the applicant, but again the role is limited compared to, say, what you'd see in a court where a lawyer will act for a client, lodge objections, etc. The main advantage of having an agent at the hearing would be that the agent knows the laws and regulations thoroughly, and can point out (within the limited scope of the agent's role) how the client's situation aligns with the law, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



medina said:


> Hi Mark,
> We applied in MRT in Feb 2013. we had our documents ready and because every time i called mrt when would our case be allocated to a case manager the answer we got was in 12 months time or more ( last time we called them was august 2013) so to our surprise we received a letter from MRT inviting us to a hearing in April this year, so then we sent all the documents that we had which weighed almost 2 kg, and it's pretty much everything all our bank acc details highlighting transfers to each others acc, everyday expenses, holiday expenses, tenancy ledges, and now we are hoping that we get an answer in our favor and not have to go in for the hearing. Is it possible receive a decision in our favor and not have to turn up to the tribunal hearing ?
> P.S- we don't mind going in hearing but just generally asking a query.


----------



## ashpin

*Certified Copies*

Dear Mark,

I am an Indian.
Since last three years I am working in Abu Dhabi.
Do I need to get all documents certified in Abu Dhabi or in India for ACS Assessment?
or I can do from anywhere.

I have my cousin who is lawyer and can certify free of charge, so want to know, if can get certified in India or have to do it from Abu Dhabi.

Thanks
Ash


----------



## Irish in Redfern

Hi Mark, New to the forum, I have a question regarding WHAT TYPE OF VISA WOULD BE BEST FOR OUR APPLICATION: I am a citizen here, living here for 26 years, I am getting married in July this year in Ireland, my girl is from there, I am also originally. We have registered our de facto relationship with NSW births,deaths n marriages last month. Anne wants to apply for a visa so she can live and work here, I hope to return to Australia in early August and want her to return with me then. She will be applying from over there, we just need to know which visa would suit us , can she come here after we are married and wait if the application is still been processed , thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Irish in Redfern -

Thanks for the question. There are 2 basic options for partner visas - offshore application and then visiting here on visitor visas after lodging the application (but no work rights), or onshore application and remaining here after lodgement (includes work rights normally). If you are using the registered relationship to satisfy the 12 month living together rule, DIBP (immigration dept) may question things if you try to do an offshore application. As partner visas generally take 9-12 months to process, a key issue is whether you want Anne to be here during that period, and whether she needs to work. The offshore visa is the 309/100 partner visa application, and the onshore visa is the 820/801 visa application. Suggest you consider a consultation or other professional advice for a specific assessment of your case and the relationship evidence you'll need to provide, as defacto applications are generally subject to additional scrutiny.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Irish in Redfern

Thanks Mark for your prompt reply. If we decide to apply for an onshore application, (we would be married by then) what visa do u suggest she applies for(after we are married)so we are both here in Australia, just a normal touristvisa?THEN apply from here for the 820/801 visa, is this a faster process than offshore application, can she work while waiting for the visa to be approved . It's not hugely important she can work in the short time but important in the long run, I am of course able and willing to support her, I will be her husband after all , if she can't work in the short time. Can she stay here till it is finalised or would she have to leave the country. I'm so confused by all this but it's vital we go for the correct visa either before or after we are married, would really your advise on this, thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Irish -

Sounds like the sequence of events you are looking for is: 
1) Apply for visitor visa for Australia
2) Arrive in Australia
3) Lodge onshore subclass 820/801 partner visa application
4) Bridging Visa A is issued to the applicant and activates as soon as the current "stay" is completed as allowed by her visitor visa (normally 3 month maximum stays are included in this type of visa, but not always). Once on the BV-A, she is able to stay and work in Australia until the visa decision is made.

One potential issue with this is if the visitor visa is issued with Condition 8503 (no further stay) which would not allow an onshore partner visa to be lodged after she arrives - so perhaps consider applying for the visitor visa first, seeing what is issued, and then deciding whether to lodge onshore or offshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## swavik

Hello Mark,

It has been two weeks now that my ACS application is in Stage 4..Do you have any idea what is the recent wait time for the application to cross Stage 4..Is it anything to worry about that its taking some time..

Regards.


----------



## Irish in Redfern

Mark, you're a champion, thanks for your advise. One final question, I promise, would it make a difference if Anne applied for a visitor visa before OR after we are married. Anne will be keeping her own name after we are married, makes no difference to me about that , thank, colm


----------



## rsgurlygirl

Hi Mark! I've ask couple questions about my tourist visas before and having to leave after (3 months) is up…. I was just curious since i've been seeing stuff about "extension" on these…. So my question is --I currently have a tourist visa 676 that expires June, 17 2014. I'm going to Oz in 2 weeks.. That would make from 3 months from Feb 25th to may 25th… (TV expires the next month on the 17th) i DO NOT have the "No further stay condition on mine… Do you think instead of getting offshore after the 3 months for a week then trying to come back in and try to stay another 3 months since if i enter before my expiring date i heard you can stay for another 3 months…. Could I just call Immi after my 2nd month there and see if they will extend my Stay? so i won't have to go offshore?? By the end of my 3 months there my PMV 300 that I've lodged will be @ 7 months. (Applied from Washington - Offshore) just fyi- the only reason i did TV 676 and not ETA because @ that time i didn't know about the ETA and there were some things on the checklist that i didn't qualify for. Any advise? Thank you so much in advance! …Just an FYI-- my fiancé and i did purchase a Ticket to Bali to show at customs if they ask for it. but if i can extend this without having to go offshore i was thinking about moving our date of our flight to when visa decision is made or how ever long they let me extend until.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Thanks for the note. The "stage" indications in the ACS system are usually not that helpful in determining how long there is left to go - these entire applications usually take 10-12 weeks - how long has it been in total since you lodged?

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> It has been two weeks now that my ACS application is in Stage 4..Do you have any idea what is the recent wait time for the application to cross Stage 4..Is it anything to worry about that its taking some time..
> 
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Irish -

Probably not a huge difference. After marriage may increase the chances of the visitor visa being given a condition 8503, however Ireland is a low-risk country so the chances of 8503 overall are not that high. Key issue is who she is going to see and why. May not be a good idea to disclose anything that indicates she plans to lodge a permanent visa application in Australia as that would go against the temporary visit purposes of the visitor visa, but all depends on your circumstances.

Best,

Mark Northam



Irish in Redfern said:


> Mark, you're a champion, thanks for your advise. One final question, I promise, would it make a difference if Anne applied for a visitor visa before OR after we are married. Anne will be keeping her own name after we are married, makes no difference to me about that , thank, colm


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RsGurlyGurl -

Thanks for the question. Need to have a look at your 676 visa to determine your options - if you can contact me via website and email me a copy of the visa, I can give you more info. See website below in signature - thanks!

Best,

Mark Northam



rsgurlygirl said:


> Hi Mark! I've ask couple questions about my tourist visas before and having to leave after (3 months) is up&#8230;. I was just curious since i've been seeing stuff about "extension" on these&#8230;. So my question is --I currently have a tourist visa 676 that expires June, 17 2014. I'm going to Oz in 2 weeks.. That would make from 3 months from Feb 25th to may 25th&#8230; (TV expires the next month on the 17th) i DO NOT have the "No further stay condition on mine&#8230; Do you think instead of getting offshore after the 3 months for a week then trying to come back in and try to stay another 3 months since if i enter before my expiring date i heard you can stay for another 3 months&#8230;. Could I just call Immi after my 2nd month there and see if they will extend my Stay? so i won't have to go offshore?? By the end of my 3 months there my PMV 300 that I've lodged will be @ 7 months. (Applied from Washington - Offshore) just fyi- the only reason i did TV 676 and not ETA because @ that time i didn't know about the ETA and there were some things on the checklist that i didn't qualify for. Any advise? Thank you so much in advance! &#8230;Just an FYI-- my fiancé and i did purchase a Ticket to Bali to show at customs if they ask for it. but if i can extend this without having to go offshore i was thinking about moving our date of our flight to when visa decision is made or how ever long they let me extend until.


----------



## swavik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> Thanks for the note. The "stage" indications in the ACS system are usually not that helpful in determining how long there is left to go - these entire applications usually take 10-12 weeks - how long has it been in total since you lodged?
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

Thank you for your reply.
It has been 7 weeks i have lodged my application in the ACS. But out of that 7 weeks ACS had a new year vacation for two weeks.

I also wanted to know how to check the Occupation ceiling? I am worried that if it takes more time the occupation ceiling will be reached and the wait will be long..I want to apply as a software engineer so at present what is the status of the occupation ceiling?
Kindly can you guide me how to check the ceilings for an software engineer/ICT manager

Regards,
Dr Swati..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dr Swati -

Sounds like you may have another 5-7 weeks to go on your ACS application, plus they were swamped at the end of the year with a flood of applications. Re: occupational ceilings, see the link below and click on the "Reports" tab:
SkillSelect - SkillSelect

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your reply.
> It has been 7 weeks i have lodged my application in the ACS. But out of that 7 weeks ACS had a new year vacation for two weeks.
> 
> I also wanted to know how to check the Occupation ceiling? I am worried that if it takes more time the occupation ceiling will be reached and the wait will be long..I want to apply as a software engineer so at present what is the status of the occupation ceiling?
> Kindly can you guide me how to check the ceilings for an software engineer/ICT manager
> 
> Regards,
> Dr Swati..


----------



## rsgurlygirl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi RsGurlyGurl -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Need to have a look at your 676 visa to determine your options - if you can contact me via website and email me a copy of the visa, I can give you more info. See website below in signature - thanks!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark!
I just sent my e-mail to you with copy of my TV 676.


----------



## kryzyl

hi mark,
my brother has visa 801 issued in October 2008. His passport has expired last year Aug 2013 and have not yet renewed until today. He is planning to renew it maybe this April 2014, according to him, he is too busy at work and didnt notice his passport expired already.

i read from other forums that his visa is still valid and he is already eligible for citizenship application. does he still need to renew his passport before getting citizenship?
and what are the procedures for applying citizenship? 

by the way he got his visa 801 from his previous australian wife, they got divorce and he got married again to australian citizen in 2012 and they have 1 child and expecting 2nd baby this year.

is his application going to affect since he has new partner?


----------



## SamuelO

Hi Mark,
I submitted my EOI on Friday last week as mentioned in my earlier post and after Monday's round of nomination, i got a nomination from Queensland. I did chose ANY stateAs an offshore applicant, i would require to show evidence of $45,000. That's really exorbitant.eek:

My brother lives in Narrabri and would have loved to be nominated by NSW region.

I really don't know what to do now because I can't provide any evidence for such huge amount within 2 weeks.

Can I decline the offer, withdraw my EOI and re-submit specifying only NSW as my preferred sponsor?

Also the requirement of ' _Evidence of a job or job offer in your skilled occupation or a closely related occupation
If you don't have two years of experience'_ how do i go about it? _ i have over 10 years experience on my job, but the assessing authority only recognises a year experience (as a result of a recent additional qualification)_

Does this mean i need to secure an offer in Queensland first before I can proceed with my application?

I need your advice pls


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kryzyl -

Thanks for the note - citizenship info here: Australian Citizenship - Migrant with permanent residence

Yes, he will need a current passport, so best to renew this sooner rather than later - some countries move fairly quickly to renew passports, others take longer - as with most things in immigration, very unpredictable(!)

Re: new partner, no problem - once a person becomes a permanent resident on a partner visa, what happens to the relationship after that does not affect the visa. The visa remains valid, even if the passport is not, but exit/entry to the country without a valid passport is a big problem even if the visa remains.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kryzyl said:


> hi mark,
> my brother has visa 801 issued in October 2008. His passport has expired last year Aug 2013 and have not yet renewed until today. He is planning to renew it maybe this April 2014, according to him, he is too busy at work and didnt notice his passport expired already.
> 
> i read from other forums that his visa is still valid and he is already eligible for citizenship application. does he still need to renew his passport before getting citizenship?
> and what are the procedures for applying citizenship?
> 
> by the way he got his visa 801 from his previous australian wife, they got divorce and he got married again to australian citizen in 2012 and they have 1 child and expecting 2nd baby this year.
> 
> is his application going to affect since he has new partner?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SamuelO -

If you cannot meet the requirements, probably best to decline the state's invitation and then edit your EOI to only indicate interests in states that you are interested in being nominated by AND for which you have already checked out all the requirements for - they're all different! And requirements can vary from one occupation to the next - there is no shortcut for doing detailed research on the individual state requirements for your occupation re: state sponsorship. Also, not every state sponsors every occupation - again, more homework!

Re: experience, the states like DIBP normally go by the skills assessor's assessment of when you become "skilled", thereby making all work after that date eligible for points. If you had any doubts about whether a state your are interested in works in the same way, would suggest contacting them and asking them whether professional work experience in your occupation, but before the deeming date on your skills assessment, qualifies with them or not for their individual requirements.

Hope this helps - good luck!

Best,

Mark Northam



SamuelO said:


> Hi Mark,
> I submitted my EOI on Friday last week as mentioned in my earlier post and after Monday's round of nomination, i got a nomination from Queensland. I did chose ANY stateAs an offshore applicant, i would require to show evidence of $45,000. That's really exorbitant.eek:
> 
> My brother lives in Narrabri and would have loved to be nominated by NSW region.
> 
> I really don't know what to do now because I can't provide any evidence for such huge amount within 2 weeks.
> 
> Can I decline the offer, withdraw my EOI and re-submit specifying only NSW as my preferred sponsor?
> 
> Also the requirement of ' _Evidence of a job or job offer in your skilled occupation or a closely related occupation
> If you don't have two years of experience'_ how do i go about it? _ i have over 10 years experience on my job, but the assessing authority only recognises a year experience (as a result of a recent additional qualification)_
> 
> Does this mean i need to secure an offer in Queensland first before I can proceed with my application?
> 
> I need your advice pls


----------



## tomay

Hi Mark,

I would like to ask another questions regarding 485 visa. I have applied for skills assessment from Engineers Australia last month around 16 and still haven't got the results yet. As my current visa will be expired earlier next month, I'm applying my visa online this week and can only attach the receipt from them.

May I ask is there a due date to provide skills assessment result once you've applied visa online? For example, 20 days after you apply etc as I'm afraid it will take quite long for me to get the result back.

Thank you for your time again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tomay -

Luckily the 485 requires evidence that you've applied for a skills assessment, not the actual results (like virtually all other skilled visas). No particular deadline, other than the skills assessment needs to be complete and results provided to DIBP by decision time. 485's are typically taking several months (or more) now, so probably not an issue - if they are ready to decide on the visa and EA is not done yet, they'll typically just put processing on hold until you provide the results when EA is done.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## staceykp

Hi Mark,

I was wondering what advice you have for us.

We are currently looking at applying for a de facto visa, however our situation is quite strange.

My partner and i have not been together/living together for the minimum 12 months, we fall short by 2 months after his working holiday visa expires at the end of august. What makes our situation difficult is that we are expecting our first child in July.

My partner is from the UK and I'm from Australia and we currently live in WA. I work full time and so does my partner.

As you can imagine we are trying to do everything we can to stay together as a family.

Q1. Is the de facto visa the best option for us?

Q2. As my partner is on a working holiday visa, is he in breach of his visa conditions once the baby is born?

Q3. Is it best to apply before or after the baby is born? 

Q4. Will our circumstance fit the requirements to wave the 12 month minimum?

I appreciate any help.

Many thanks


----------



## Nawknai

Oh wow, I didn't notice this thread earlier!

I have a question that I just posted in another thread.

I want to add my wife to my existing 457 visa, which lasts for another 3 years. I spoke to a woman at IMMI, and read another thread here, and both told me that my sponsor (i.e. my employer) is required to write a letter stating that they are happy to extend their sponsorship to my wife as well. I can't really find it in writing elsewhere, but I'll take their word for it.

In your opinion, would this letter be sufficient? It sounds sparse.



> TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
> 
> This is to certify that [Employer Name] approves [My Wife's Name] to be added as a dependent to the current 457 visa sponsorship for Nawknai.


Should I include my visa number?

Also, with regards to the application itself, are these all the requirements? I couldn't find a clear list of requirements other than the full 1066 application checklist:

1. A passport-sized photo of her head and shoulders.

2. A certified copy of her passport page. *Does she need an official translation to English? Does the translator need to be certified in some way?*

3. A certificate to say that she has adequate health insurance cover. *How would I get this? Do I register her with HBA or another insurance company before she even gets put on my visa? It seems odd.*

4. Marriage certificate, with an English translation. *Should we get it translated in Australia, or can she just get it translated in Japan (she's Japanese)? Does it need to be translated by a certified translator, or a particular translator selected by IMMI?*

*More questions: *

5. Does she need to do a health check? You normally do if you apply for a student visa, and I may (or may not have?) had to do a health check to get my original 457.

6. How long do you think this process would take? It's not a new visa. We're just adding a partner to an existing visa, so I'd imagine that it takes less time?

Anyway, thanks in advance. You're a great source of information, and you're a generous guy for giving people your time like this. It changes lives, you know!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Staceykp -

Thanks for the note - responses below:



staceykp said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was wondering what advice you have for us.
> 
> We are currently looking at applying for a de facto visa, however our situation is quite strange.
> 
> My partner and i have not been together/living together for the minimum 12 months, we fall short by 2 months after his working holiday visa expires at the end of august. What makes our situation difficult is that we are expecting our first child in July.
> 
> My partner is from the UK and I'm from Australia and we currently live in WA. I work full time and so does my partner.
> 
> As you can imagine we are trying to do everything we can to stay together as a family.
> 
> Q1. Is the de facto visa the best option for us?
> 
> **** Not enough info for this, but if you want a partner visa and are not married, the defacto partner visa may be best. The prospective marriage visa requires the applicant to be offshore at application and grant, and would not allow work during the processing period where visitor visas are typically used by couples to be together.*
> 
> Q2. As my partner is on a working holiday visa, is he in breach of his visa conditions once the baby is born?
> 
> **** I don't see how he would be. The birth of a child is not something that violates any specific visa condition that I've heard of. *
> 
> Q3. Is it best to apply before or after the baby is born?
> 
> **** Again, not enough info to answer this with any certainty. If you are looking to have the 12 month living together requirement waived, you'll have a much stronger case once the baby is born (see below). *
> 
> Q4. Will our circumstance fit the requirements to wave the 12 month minimum?
> 
> **** Most likely, yes if applying after the baby is born. Reg 2.03A of the Migration Regulations 1994 deals with the relationship time duration for defacto relationships for these purposes. There is a clear exception in policy if the couple has a dependent child between them, however policy also says that pregnancy alone is not considered to be sufficiently compelling circumstances.
> 
> Again, would need more details to provide a detailed and specific assessment of the situation, but hope the above general information is helpful -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> *


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nawknai -

Thanks for the questions - I don't have enough info to give you a specific assessment, but general info responses below:



Nawknai said:


> Oh wow, I didn't notice this thread earlier!
> 
> I have a question that I just posted in another thread.
> 
> I want to add my wife to my existing 457 visa, which lasts for another 3 years. I spoke to a woman at IMMI, and read another thread here, and both told me that my sponsor (i.e. my employer) is required to write a letter stating that they are happy to extend their sponsorship to my wife as well. I can't really find it in writing elsewhere, but I'll take their word for it.
> 
> *Here's some text - should be on company letterhead and signed by an authorised person at the company.
> 
> I hereby extend the benefits of the existing nomination and sponsorship of [your name] to his spouse [her name and date of birth] for the remaining duration of [your name]'s subclass 457 visa.*
> 
> Also, with regards to the application itself, are these all the requirements? I couldn't find a clear list of requirements other than the full 1066 application checklist:
> 
> 1. A passport-sized photo of her head and shoulders.
> *** Yes.*
> 
> 2. A certified copy of her passport page. *Does she need an official translation to English? Does the translator need to be certified in some way?*
> *** Yes. If passport does not have English on it, should be translated by NAATI qualified translator or equivalent in your country.*
> 
> 3. A certificate to say that she has adequate health insurance cover. *How would I get this? Do I register her with HBA or another insurance company before she even gets put on my visa? It seems odd.*
> *** Yes, need to have the policy in place at time of application, and it's a condition of the visa to maintain health insurance during the period her visa is in place.*
> 
> 4. Marriage certificate, with an English translation. *Should we get it translated in Australia, or can she just get it translated in Japan (she's Japanese)? Does it need to be translated by a certified translator, or a particular translator selected by IMMI?*
> *** See above re: NAATI or equivalent professional translator. Should include contact info for the professional translator with the application.*
> 
> *More questions: *
> 
> 5. Does she need to do a health check? You normally do if you apply for a student visa, and I may (or may not have?) had to do a health check to get my original 457.
> *** Depends on her country of citizenship and other factors. You can wait until after application and see what they request if you'd like.*
> 
> 6. How long do you think this process would take? It's not a new visa. We're just adding a partner to an existing visa, so I'd imagine that it takes less time?
> *** Visa processing times these days are highly unpredictable. Ideally a few weeks, sometimes longer.*
> 
> Anyway, thanks in advance. You're a great source of information, and you're a generous guy for giving people your time like this. It changes lives, you know!
> 
> *** Happy to help - that's why I'm here and in this business
> *
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## staceykp

Hi Mark, 

Thank you so much for you help  

I was concerned about his visa being in breach once the baby is born... 

Appreciate your advice


----------



## bravo189

*Reg Spouse address*

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your suggestions.

I have a query regarding my spouse address proof in overseas.

What ever address she has given in her overseas passport has been changed now. She doesn't have any proof for her permanent address.

I am not using her skills, i am putting her in dependent in 189 visa.

Will there be any place in 189 visa I need to show my spouse overseas residential proof?

please help.

Thanks


----------



## tomay

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tomay -
> 
> Luckily the 485 requires evidence that you've applied for a skills assessment, not the actual results (like virtually all other skilled visas). No particular deadline, other than the skills assessment needs to be complete and results provided to DIBP by decision time. 485's are typically taking several months (or more) now, so probably not an issue - if they are ready to decide on the visa and EA is not done yet, they'll typically just put processing on hold until you provide the results when EA is done.
> 
> Hope this helps, and good luck!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much. It helps a lot.


----------



## IrnaV

Dear Mark,
My partner and I have applied for Partner visa in Vienna in January and I got my acknowledgment letter on January 29th. Till now I didnt hear anything from immigration office or gotten a CO assigned.
How long does it usually take to get a CO? Because I've been waiting for 2 weeks now.


----------



## Osama Yousuf

Mr. Mark,

Thanks a lot for your appreciated efforts..

My question is:

I'm a Jordanian and living in Kuwait with my family, so could you please guide me to the first step in applying for migration to Australia?
I have around 8 years of experience in computer software development, and just want you to put me on the road, from where I've to start?

Thanks again..


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark,

I would like to ask when will Bridging Visa kicks in? After you have filed your Partner Visa? I plan to file my Defacto Partner Visa onshore. My tourist visa expires in July 2014. When can I work? After my tourist visa expires in July? 

Hoping for your immediate reply regarding this matter.
Thanks, 
Ninja 69


----------



## ronaod

hi Mark,
can you help, I have an Australian partner. However we havent been living together for 12 months. I am now back home in Ireland. I have no visa to get back. I would prefer not to go down the marrage route as I do not want to have to get married for a visa. We have been going out over a year and lived together for 6 months then i had to leave. Would a registered relationship certificate wavier the 12 month requirement? have you any other suggestions? could i go over on a student visa? I have completed my 2 working holiday visas.please help thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ronaod -

Thanks for the note. A student visa could work depending on your circumstances, as well as a defacto partner visa lodged onshore if you can have your relationship registered - this is possible in NSW with only a 1 month waiting time - google "NSW Register Relationship" for more. The registered relationship with a qualifying Australian state will remove the 12 month living together requirement, but does not lessen the requirement to provide adequate evidence of a genuine relationship.

After 2 working holiday visas, getting a visitor visa may be challenging, however it may be worth a try. Assuming the visitor visa does not come with condition 8503 (no further stay) attached, you may then be able to lodge an onshore partner visa application once you're here. But the success of the partner visa application will likely hinge on the relationship evidence and statements provided with the application, and defacto applications are often subject to additional scrutiny and assessment.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist further.

Best,

Mark Northam



ronaod said:


> hi Mark,
> can you help, I have an Australian partner. However we havent been living together for 12 months. I am now back home in Ireland. I have no visa to get back. I would prefer not to go down the marrage route as I do not want to have to get married for a visa. We have been going out over a year and lived together for 6 months then i had to leave. Would a registered relationship certificate wavier the 12 month requirement? have you any other suggestions? could i go over on a student visa? I have completed my 2 working holiday visas.please help thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Thanks for the question. Generally a bridging visa from a partner visa application lodged while you are in Australia on a visitor visa will activate once you complete the current "stay" (typically 3 months, but consult your visa for specifics) you are on in Australia on the visitor visa. This may extend past the expiration date of the visa if you enter Australia less than 3 months before the visa expires. Once the current stay ends, assuming you have a bridging visa and all is in order, the bridging visa will automatically activate as soon as your current stay period ends, assuming you are onshore at that point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to ask when will Bridging Visa kicks in? After you have filed your Partner Visa? I plan to file my Defacto Partner Visa onshore. My tourist visa expires in July 2014. When can I work? After my tourist visa expires in July?
> 
> Hoping for your immediate reply regarding this matter.
> Thanks,
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bravo189 -

No. She'll need to show her citizenship evidence (ie, passport) and list a residential address of some kind, but there generally are no requirements that she show proof of that residential address. Proof of residential address generally applies for Australian sponsors who are sponsoring someone based on the fact that they (the sponsor) are a permanent resident of Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bravo189 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your suggestions.
> 
> I have a query regarding my spouse address proof in overseas.
> 
> What ever address she has given in her overseas passport has been changed now. She doesn't have any proof for her permanent address.
> 
> I am not using her skills, i am putting her in dependent in 189 visa.
> 
> Will there be any place in 189 visa I need to show my spouse overseas residential proof?
> 
> please help.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Osama -

Thanks for your note. Assuming you are looking to migrate to Australia based on your skills and/or work experience, you should look into a skilled visa (subclass 189 and 190 are the most popular) or an employer sponsored visa (subclass 457 (temp), or 186, 187 (perm)). With many of these there is a skills assessment required, and possibly state sponsorship. The rules are complex - would advise careful research and/or a consultation with a professional migration agent to help you sort out all the different rules applying to your situation and determine your eligibility. Not possible to do assessments on the forum, as it takes many questions/answers to determine if and how an applicant may meet the different criteria involved.

You could also have a look at the DIBP Visa Wizard at:
Find a visa

However as with anything on the DIBP website, you'll want to carefully check out the regulations for any visa you are contemplating.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Osama Yousuf said:


> Mr. Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot for your appreciated efforts..
> 
> My question is:
> 
> I'm a Jordanian and living in Kuwait with my family, so could you please guide me to the first step in applying for migration to Australia?
> I have around 8 years of experience in computer software development, and just want you to put me on the road, from where I've to start?
> 
> Thanks again..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IrnaV -

Thanks for the note. Partner visas typically take 9-12 months to process, and often a case officer won't be assigned until halfway through (or more) the process. You generally won't hear anything after the acknowledgement letter until they request medicals or police clearances (if you didn't provide them already), or until they want more info or documents. Other than that, best thing to do is to be patient and make sure DIBP always has your current contact info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IrnaV said:


> Dear Mark,
> My partner and I have applied for Partner visa in Vienna in January and I got my acknowledgment letter on January 29th. Till now I didnt hear anything from immigration office or gotten a CO assigned.
> How long does it usually take to get a CO? Because I've been waiting for 2 weeks now.


----------



## australia2012

Hi Mark,
I lodged my EOI on 28th Jan 2014 with 60 points.
I have a +ve skill assessment from ACS for 261312.
I am waiting for my husband to complete his CDR and apply for the skill assessment in EA so that we can claim the partner points.
I understand that it is a long process and takes upto 16 weeks.
I completed my studies in Oct 2013 and my visa expires on april 2014.
So if I do not get the invitation till then, then what are my options?485 or student again?

I hope it is not true that we have to change our visa condition within two months after the study completion,is it?
If yes,then I think I need to lodge 485 asap.
Please reply to my questions.
Thank u in advance...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Australia2012 -

You've got a complicated situation here, with many "moving parts". Among other things, it would be important that your EOI does not list partner points at this point until you get the EA assessment done and in-hand. Re: early completion, generally you have 2 months to depart Australia or apply for a further visa (student visa or otherwise). However, if you're looking at a 485, there's a 6-month window following your completion of studies that you have to meet the Australia Study Requirement - ie, you cannot apply for a 485 more than 6 months following the date your transcript says you completed your studies. The fact that you have done neither (not made a further student visa application or other visa application) and you're significantly past the 60 day mark may be a cause for concern for a further student visa application (ie, study gap). There is a policy guidance for DIBP officers that says that if a person has completed a course early AND has applied for another visa, that the student visa should not be cancelled due to early completion if the person remains past the 2 month mark.

Bottom line: I believe you need professional guidance as this situation is complex. Suggest you get a consultation with a registered migration agent who can go over all the details of your case and determine options. If 485 is possible, that may be a good choice but if you do not meet the criteria for the new stream, the old stream requires an occupation on the SOL list, application for 485 skills assessment, and the 6-month issue I mentioned earlier.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



australia2012 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I lodged my EOI on 28th Jan 2014 with 60 points.
> I have a +ve skill assessment from ACS for 261312.
> I am waiting for my husband to complete his CDR and apply for the skill assessment in EA so that we can claim the partner points.
> I understand that it is a long process and takes upto 16 weeks.
> I completed my studies in Oct 2013 and my visa expires on april 2014.
> So if I do not get the invitation till then, then what are my options?485 or student again?
> 
> I hope it is not true that we have to change our visa condition within two months after the study completion,is it?
> If yes,then I think I need to lodge 485 asap.
> Please reply to my questions.
> Thank u in advance...


----------



## australia2012

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Australia2012 -
> 
> You've got a complicated situation here, with many "moving parts". Among other things, it would be important that your EOI does not list partner points at this point until you get the EA assessment done and in-hand. Re: early completion, generally you have 2 months to depart Australia or apply for a further visa (student visa or otherwise). However, if you're looking at a 485, there's a 6-month window following your completion of studies that you have to meet the Australia Study Requirement - ie, you cannot apply for a 485 more than 6 months following the date your transcript says you completed your studies. The fact that you have done neither (not made a further student visa application or other visa application) and you're significantly past the 60 day mark may be a cause for concern for a further student visa application (ie, study gap). There is a policy guidance for DIBP officers that says that if a person has completed a course early AND has applied for another visa, that the student visa should not be cancelled due to early completion if the person remains past the 2 month mark.
> 
> Bottom line: I believe you need professional guidance as this situation is complex. Suggest you get a consultation with a registered migration agent who can go over all the details of your case and determine options. If 485 is possible, that may be a good choice but if you do not meet the criteria for the new stream, the old stream requires an occupation on the SOL list, application for 485 skills assessment, and the 6-month issue I mentioned earlier.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for your quick reply.
I haven't claimed for my partner points in my EOI for now.
However I have sufficient criteria to apply for 485-temporary graduate(not PSWV).
I am confused whether I can apply for 485 on April only before my visa expires or I need to do it soon?
The reason is that I want to try the luck for getting an invitation till April after which I can go to the bridging visa.
Thank you.


----------



## bharathi1982

Thanks a lot Mark!!!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bravo189 -
> 
> No. She'll need to show her citizenship evidence (ie, passport) and list a residential address of some kind, but there generally are no requirements that she show proof of that residential address. Proof of residential address generally applies for Australian sponsors who are sponsoring someone based on the fact that they (the sponsor) are a permanent resident of Australia.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## stewlina

*small question*

hi mark,

I was hoping you can bring me some good news. I currently live in china with my wife and we have applied for the 309 100 visa and as luck would have it my wife is now pregnant and I couldn't be happier, however I need some questions answered as I need to put my wife's mind at ease.
We have not been allocated a case officer to the best of my knowledge, but her application has been received by the Shanghai visa place. Also if it helps I want my child to be born an Australian citizen.

1. Who and how do we inform that my wife is now pregnant?
2. Will the pregnancy speed up visa application enough so she can give birth in Australia?
3. If the visa is not sped up by the pregnancy is it possible to go to Australia on another visa so she can give birth there if so what is the visa?
4. How long can my wife get a visa for that isn't a partner visa?
5. If my Wife can get a visa to give birth in Australia what happens then? Does she Still have to return to China or can she stay in Australia?


----------



## Ninja69

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ninja69 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Generally a bridging visa from a partner visa application lodged while you are in Australia on a visitor visa will activate once you complete the current "stay" (typically 3 months, but consult your visa for specifics) you are on in Australia on the visitor visa. This may extend past the expiration date of the visa if you enter Australia less than 3 months before the visa expires. Once the current stay ends, assuming you have a bridging visa and all is in order, the bridging visa will automatically activate as soon as your current stay period ends, assuming you are onshore at that point.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for your immediate reply. Does it mean that I can work already once I have a bridging visa?

Ninja 69


----------



## fareed78

*189 visa processing*

Hi Mark,

I am currently on state sponsored 475 visa in south Australia but I applied for skilled independent 189 visa to get my PR through this track. This visa is under process (case officer appointed). I want to move to Sydney, Melbourne or Perth due to my relevant jobs availability there. If I move there, what could be its impact on my 189 visa processing?

Regards,
Fareed


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Australia2012 -

You do not have to wait until your student visa ends to apply for the 485 - assuming you meet all the requirements, you can apply anytime within 6 months after you complete your studies. Be sure to check the DIBP website for all the requirements for this visa, though -

I see your logic behind the invitation - just remember that everything is locked in at the time of invitation - anything you claim for points (degree, age, work experience, skills assmt, IELTS, etc) must be in place as of the date of invitation.

Good luck!

Best,

Mark Northam



australia2012 said:


> Thank you Mark for your quick reply.
> I haven't claimed for my partner points in my EOI for now.
> However I have sufficient criteria to apply for 485-temporary graduate(not PSWV).
> I am confused whether I can apply for 485 on April only before my visa expires or I need to do it soon?
> The reason is that I want to try the luck for getting an invitation till April after which I can go to the bridging visa.
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Yes, as long as:
1) The bridging visa has no work restrictions (partner visa bridging visas normally do not)
2) Your current visitor visa "stay" (ie, 3 months) has ended and the bridging visa has activated. You can look yourself up on the departmnet's VEVO service online to see what visa you are currently on - this will change to the bridging visa as soon as that visa activates upon the end of your current stay.

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Thank you Mark for your immediate reply. Does it mean that I can work already once I have a bridging visa?
> 
> Ninja 69


----------



## wildberry

Hi Mark,

I hope you can help me with my issue - I want to apply as a dependent visa on my partner's 574 student visa. The problem is that we only started the de facto relationship AFTER he arrived in Australia so I was not declared as a family member during his application. What can we do now? Isn't that fair point - to gain a spouse in the time after your visa was granted and later on want to make them a dependent? I don't understand, there it says he has to declare the family member(s) otherwise I am ineligible for a dependent visa after he started his course in AU (which he has for over a year now). 

Kind Regards,
Liz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stewlina -

Thanks for the questions - responses below:



stewlina said:


> hi mark,
> 
> I was hoping you can bring me some good news. I currently live in china with my wife and we have applied for the 309 100 visa and as luck would have it my wife is now pregnant and I couldn't be happier, however I need some questions answered as I need to put my wife's mind at ease.
> We have not been allocated a case officer to the best of my knowledge, but her application has been received by the Shanghai visa place. Also if it helps I want my child to be born an Australian citizen.
> 
> 1. Who and how do we inform that my wife is now pregnant?
> ** You can inform the same office you lodged the visa at if you do not have a case officer yet.
> 
> 2. Will the pregnancy speed up visa application enough so she can give birth in Australia?
> ** I wish it would, but probably not. If it did, there would be many more pregnancies used as a means to speed up visas (!).
> 
> 3. If the visa is not sped up by the pregnancy is it possible to go to Australia on another visa so she can give birth there if so what is the visa?
> ** She could potentially go on a visitor visa if approved. As she is an applicant for a permanent visa (the 100 part of the application), she may be able to get Medicare coverage here if you can convince Medicare that she intends to be remain resident here, as she is an applicant for a permanent visa.
> 
> 4. How long can my wife get a visa for that isn't a partner visa?
> ** Depends on how long they approve a visitor visa application - typically it's 3 or 6 months, sometimes longer with maximum 3 month stays, so she would come for 3 months, depart Australia (can be anywhere), then return to start another 3 month stay.
> 
> 5. If my Wife can get a visa to give birth in Australia what happens then? Does she Still have to return to China or can she stay in Australia?
> ** Assuming your wife is in Australia on a visitor visa, and it's time to grant the 309/100, she will need to depart Australia to any other country in order to be granted the 309/100 visa. This can be as little as a couple days in New Zealand, etc - does not have to be a return trip to China.


Hope this helps!

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fareed -

You need to check if your 475 visa has condition 8539 or 8549 on it - that will limit the places you live, study and work in Australia, and will put you in breach of that condition if you do not abide by it.

Best,

Mark Northam



fareed78 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently on state sponsored 475 visa in south Australia but I applied for skilled independent 189 visa to get my PR through this track. This visa is under process (case officer appointed). I want to move to Sydney, Melbourne or Perth due to my relevant jobs availability there. If I move there, what could be its impact on my 189 visa processing?
> 
> Regards,
> Fareed


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liz -

The regulations regarding adding subsequent applicants who were not members of the family unit at the time of the primary applicant's original application are very complex, and put the subsequent applicant through the usual student visa requirements, including the Genuine Temporary Entrant regime. However, there are limited provisions for doing this - the door is not 100% shut in some cases - suggest you get professional assistance from a registered migration agent who can get all the facts of your case and walk you through the minefield of regulations in this area to sort out which regulations apply (the assessment level of the country of citizenship plays a big part) and see if it's possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wildberry said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you can help me with my issue - I want to apply as a dependent visa on my partner's 574 student visa. The problem is that we only started the de facto relationship AFTER he arrived in Australia so I was not declared as a family member during his application. What can we do now? Isn't that fair point - to gain a spouse in the time after your visa was granted and later on want to make them a dependent? I don't understand, there it says he has to declare the family member(s) otherwise I am ineligible for a dependent visa after he started his course in AU (which he has for over a year now).
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Liz


----------



## Ali.A

*ACS Assessment vs SS for Subclass 190*

Hi Mark,
appreciate for keeping open the door for questions.

Today i have received my ACS assessment but a little disappointed as ACS throw out my two year experience as not relevant to the job...though it was..and i left only with 4plus years which reduce my points to 5 instead of 10.. and overall points 55 instead of 60  !!

they have pointed that 
"Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 262113 (Systems Administrator) of the ANZSCO Code"

does it mean i still can apply for NSW SS? 
the ACS assessment can override the decision of State ? or with ACS assessment it means i just have 55 marks?

Thanks in Advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ali -

Thanks for the note. As I don't have your complete case documents and info I cannot give you specific advice. However, generally speaking to apply for state sponsorship for a subclass 190 visa, a person needs to have at least 55 points. The additional 5 points to get to the pass mark of 60 is provided by the state if they choose to sponsor you. Take careful note of the deeming date ACS provides - only relevant work experience AFTER that date can be counted for points for a skilled visa. If you are looking at a skilled visa, make sure your carefully research all of the regulations and requirements - they can be complex.

Unfortunately NSW is not currently sponsoring for subclass 190 visas, but we expect them to start again in July 2014 at the beginning of the next financial year.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Ali.A

Hi Mark thanks for the prompt response.

The 55 Points i will get is including the SS 5 points.

Age 30.
Education 15.
Experience 5. (ACS assessment give me 4+ years, though i have 6 years plus experience)

does the EOI Marks are calculated based on the ACS assessments, as i do have all relevant documents to prove that it is a relevant experience.

though acs mentioned that my assessment is appropriate to apply for ss, but it doomed my two years with 5 points...which left me confused !!!

Thanks again !!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ali -
> 
> Thanks for the note. As I don't have your complete case documents and info I cannot give you specific advice. However, generally speaking to apply for state sponsorship for a subclass 190 visa, a person needs to have at least 55 points. The additional 5 points to get to the pass mark of 60 is provided by the state if they choose to sponsor you. Take careful note of the deeming date ACS provides - only relevant work experience AFTER that date can be counted for points for a skilled visa. If you are looking at a skilled visa, make sure your carefully research all of the regulations and requirements - they can be complex.
> 
> Unfortunately NSW is not currently sponsoring for subclass 190 visas, but we expect them to start again in July 2014 at the beginning of the next financial year.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ali -

DIBP will look to ACS to determine the date you are deemed to be skilled and what work experience you have is "skilled" - if they gave you 4+ years, that's all you can claim unless there is additional work experience after your deeming date that they did not consider.

In order to apply for state sponsorship for a subclass 190 visa you'll need 55 points without the 5 points for state sponsorship - you may wish to look into ways to increase your points (ie, IELTS 7+ on all bands gets you 10 pts additional) or look to apply for the subclass 489 provisional skilled visa if available in the state/occupation you are looking for, as the 489 only requires 50 points before state sponsorship which you may have based on the info you provided.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ali.A said:


> Hi Mark thanks for the prompt response.
> 
> The 55 Points i will get is including the SS 5 points.
> 
> Age 30.
> Education 15.
> Experience 5. (ACS assessment give me 4+ years, though i have 6 years plus experience)
> 
> does the EOI Marks are calculated based on the ACS assessments, as i do have all relevant documents to prove that it is a relevant experience.
> 
> though acs mentioned that my assessment is appropriate to apply for ss, but it doomed my two years with 5 points...which left me confused !!!
> 
> Thanks again !!


----------



## Ali.A

Hi Mark !

Just one last question, other than my Degree, my skills certificates like CCNP/ etc is counted as AQF Diploma with a major in computing (three of my major IT certifications i.e 3 diploma).. do i get any marks for that?

Thanks Alot Mark and God Bless !!! it really helped !! 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ali -
> 
> DIBP will look to ACS to determine the date you are deemed to be skilled and what work experience you have is "skilled" - if they gave you 4+ years, that's all you can claim unless there is additional work experience after your deeming date that they did not consider.
> 
> In order to apply for state sponsorship for a subclass 190 visa you'll need 55 points without the 5 points for state sponsorship - you may wish to look into ways to increase your points (ie, IELTS 7+ on all bands gets you 10 pts additional) or look to apply for the subclass 489 provisional skilled visa if available in the state/occupation you are looking for, as the 489 only requires 50 points before state sponsorship which you may have based on the info you provided.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## ronaod

Thank you Mark much appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ali -

You can only make one claim for a degree of some kind - if you are getting 15 points for a Bachelor degree, you wouldn't be able to get any additional points for additional qualifications at that level or below (ie, diploma). Wish I had better news! Your case is a perfect example of how complex the regulations are for skilled visas are - ACS does not determine points, DIBP does, but looks to ACS to determine which work is skilled, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



Ali.A said:


> Hi Mark !
> 
> Just one last question, other than my Degree, my skills certificates like CCNP/ etc is counted as AQF Diploma with a major in computing (three of my major IT certifications i.e 3 diploma).. do i get any marks for that?
> 
> Thanks Alot Mark and God Bless !!! it really helped !!


----------



## Ali.A

Thank you Very Much Mark !!
Agree with you regarding the ACS and DIBP loop 


Have a great time !!


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ali -
> 
> You can only make one claim for a degree of some kind - if you are getting 15 points for a Bachelor degree, you wouldn't be able to get any additional points for additional qualifications at that level or below (ie, diploma). Wish I had better news! Your case is a perfect example of how complex the regulations are for skilled visas are - ACS does not determine points, DIBP does, but looks to ACS to determine which work is skilled, etc.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## block77

*Form 157a relationship status query*

Hello

My partner is looking to apply for a 572 student visa, and is currently in Australia on a 417 working holiday visa.

Question 11 of form 157a asks her relationship status, with de facto being an option.

We have been living as de facto for a while now, but do not meet the minimum 12 month rule.

Our query is does she answer this question as de facto 'in progress' stating the date which we started living together, or does she need to answer as 'never married or been in a de facto relationship'.

Basically she is in a de facto relationship 'in progress' but it has not yet been 12 months, so we are not sure how to answer this question!

Thanks


----------



## swavik

Hello mark,

After going through the occupation ceiling and the fact that i have not received my ACS result i am really worried.If i don't file the EOI on FEB 24 or maybe March i feel there is the possibility that the occupation ceiling will be reached. Very little places are left for the Software engg occupation..Plus because of the large number of applications they have limited the invites and they have alloted half of them to Sponsorship visas.
Can you guide me..On the site they say that after we file the EOI eligible candidates will be sent the Sponsorship applications..
So if eligible can we apply for both the independent and the state Sponsorship visa.
i expect that i should get the ACS result (third week in stage 4) within 2-3 weeks(never know).
Is there any other way out..

Please let me know.
Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Block77 -

Thanks for the question. Assuming she (the applicant) is not looking to also bring someone along as a secondary applicant based on the defacto relationship, it's probably makes sense to put the date she started living together with you - the question specifically asks for "cohabitation" date, which means living together, so not really a lot of room to interpret the question a different way. A defacto relationship can be a relationship of 1 month - when you're dealing with defacto relationships that are the basis for visa applications for the defacto partner as well, there are essentially 2 questions - 1) Is there a defacto relationship? and 2) How long has the defacto relationship existed?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



block77 said:


> Hello
> 
> My partner is looking to apply for a 572 student visa, and is currently in Australia on a 417 working holiday visa.
> 
> Question 11 of form 157a asks her relationship status, with de facto being an option.
> 
> We have been living as de facto for a while now, but do not meet the minimum 12 month rule.
> 
> Our query is does she answer this question as de facto 'in progress' stating the date which we started living together, or does she need to answer as 'never married or been in a de facto relationship'.
> 
> Basically she is in a de facto relationship 'in progress' but it has not yet been 12 months, so we are not sure how to answer this question!
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Wish I had more news for you, but I think you understand the situation very well based on your post. Without the ACS in hand, there's no point in lodging an EOI as any invitation would be useless. Given the very small number of positions left, without a high points test score it may be difficult to get an invitation, as they're rationing the available spots over the remaining months of the programme year (ie, through June).

An employer sponsored visa is an option for many, however I don't know anything else you can do at the moment other than waiting for ACS and having your EOI ready to go as soon as the ACS result comes through - wish I had better news!

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello mark,
> 
> After going through the occupation ceiling and the fact that i have not received my ACS result i am really worried.If i don't file the EOI on FEB 24 or maybe March i feel there is the possibility that the occupation ceiling will be reached. Very little places are left for the Software engg occupation..Plus because of the large number of applications they have limited the invites and they have alloted half of them to Sponsorship visas.
> Can you guide me..On the site they say that after we file the EOI eligible candidates will be sent the Sponsorship applications..
> So if eligible can we apply for both the independent and the state Sponsorship visa.
> i expect that i should get the ACS result (third week in stage 4) within 2-3 weeks(never know).
> Is there any other way out..
> 
> Please let me know.
> Regards


----------



## wildberry

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Liz -
> 
> The regulations regarding adding subsequent applicants who were not members of the family unit at the time of the primary applicant's original application are very complex, and put the subsequent applicant through the usual student visa requirements, including the Genuine Temporary Entrant regime. However, there are limited provisions for doing this - the door is not 100% shut in some cases - suggest you get professional assistance from a registered migration agent who can get all the facts of your case and walk you through the minefield of regulations in this area to sort out which regulations apply (the assessment level of the country of citizenship plays a big part) and see if it's possible.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

We come from different countries. His assessment level is 1, from Germany, and I am assessment level 3 from Philippines.

Given that he's the primary applicant, will I still be assessed separately?

Kind regards,
Liz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liz -

Yes, because you're applying separately from him, ie after the initial application.

Best,

Mark Northam



wildberry said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We come from different countries. His assessment level is 1, from Germany, and I am assessment level 3 from Philippines.
> 
> Given that he's the primary applicant, will I still be assessed separately?
> 
> Kind regards,
> Liz


----------



## Jamesy

Hi Mark,

All you're help on this forum has been superb. Thank you, I've picked up a lot of information I never had before. I just have one or two (maybe three) questions about applying for the 820/801 visa.

1. Can my statement and my partner's statement on our relationship be typed up on Word? And does it need to be certified at all? 
2. Bills for electricity/gas are addressed for our unit, but are not in our names. So long we highlight where in our bank statements when we paid, will this be enough?
3. My partner came back to the UK with me in September 2013 to attend my grandfather's funeral, would evidence of the funeral be good to include?
4. Is handing in the application two weeks (along with all police checks and medical documents) prior to my current visa expiring not a problem? I'm currently on a Student visa 572.

I imagine any type of evidence linking us two together is good to include, but helps to hear from the expert. 

Thanks again,

James.


----------



## Jamesy

Hi Mark,

Been reading through all the information you have provided and I must say thank you! I have picked up a lot of excellent points that I didn't know before. I do have a couple of little questions though about the 820/801 visa.

1. Is handing the application in two weeks before my current visa expires enough time?

2. My partner came back to the UK with me in Sept 2013 to attend my Grandfather's funeral. Would it be wise to include proof of the funeral arrangements and whatnot? We already have the flight tickets, but it's all about the evidence to help prove our relationship is genuine. The more the merrier.

3. With the statement we each have to submit, is it okay to type the statements on Word and sign them when printed? And do we need to get the statements certified?

4. Our utility bills are addressed to our house, but not in our names (Dear customer). So long we can prove we paid them with our bank statements will that be alright?

5. Will Birthday cards to my partner from my family count as evidence in a social context?

Thanks,

James.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamesy -

Happy to help - see below:



Jamesy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Been reading through all the information you have provided and I must say thank you! I have picked up a lot of excellent points that I didn't know before. I do have a couple of little questions though about the 820/801 visa.
> 
> 1. Is handing the application in two weeks before my current visa expires enough time?
> ** Yes. Recommend you lodge online; you should get your bridging visa immediately after you lodge.
> 
> 2. My partner came back to the UK with me in Sept 2013 to attend my Grandfather's funeral. Would it be wise to include proof of the funeral arrangements and whatnot? We already have the flight tickets, but it's all about the evidence to help prove our relationship is genuine. The more the merrier.
> ** Yes, good idea to include.
> 
> 3. With the statement we each have to submit, is it okay to type the statements on Word and sign them when printed? And do we need to get the statements certified?
> ** Your statements do not need to be certified, and can be done in Word, then signed & dated.
> 
> 4. Our utility bills are addressed to our house, but not in our names (Dear customer). So long we can prove we paid them with our bank statements will that be alright?
> ** Yes - you might put together a little table with the utility bill date on one side and the bank statement info on the other side, or maybe colour code with a highlighter the bank statement charges that relate to the utility bills, or something like that to help make it easy for the case officer to see that the utility bills were being paid from the bank account.
> 
> 5. Will Birthday cards to my partner from my family count as evidence in a social context?
> ** Yes.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## fareed78

*Movement to Sydney*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fareed -
> 
> You need to check if your 475 visa has condition 8539 or 8549 on it - that will limit the places you live, study and work in Australia, and will put you in breach of that condition if you do not abide by it.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you for your feedback.

I have condition 8539 on my visa. So, if I move to sydney then I breach the visa condition and I cannot apply for 887 regional visa. What are the other effects of breaching this visa condition? Will it also linked with my current 189 application and my 189 visa can also be refused due to this movement on my current 475 visa?

My 475 visa is going to expire at end of 2014. Alternatively, for this movement, can I get a bridging visa with working rights on basis of 189 application?

Regards,
fareed


----------



## Jamesy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jamesy -
> 
> Happy to help - see below:
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Superb Mark, thanks.

James.

Edit::: sorry, last question.

With the question 'How many people are included in this application", is it just one (myself, the person going to be sponsored)? We have no dependants. Silly questions but don't want to be wrong!


----------



## bel2024

Hi Mark
Today I was going through photocopy of application 820 and found there
is no photocopy of our personal statements of relationship history.
I am afraid I may forget to submit these statements.
what are the ways to find if I did submit them or not?
Or may be I am just panicking. 
Or 
U think immmi would pick this up when they accept
my application as a valid.
thank you.


----------



## Confused2

Hi Mark

We have applied in shanghai China.We are on 11 months mark now.applied on 25March 2013.We have applied for a panel waiver ( couldn't get police certificate from china).The Co has sent us Panel Waiver StatutoryDeclaration forms today.She didn't' write anything other than "please complete the stat dec and email me back for your panel waiver.

Does it mean we have got the waiver or these forms are just waiver application?? what happens after this? Please enlighten us as we are really worried and tired of waiting.Thanks a million.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Confused2 -

Generally the waiver related to a penal clearance form that cannot be obtained usually (but not always) means that DIBP will accept the waiver instead of the clearance, but I'd have to see the specific waiver form you're being asked to sign and know the case history details much better to give you any solid indication of what's going on.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Confused2 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> We have applied in shanghai China.We are on 11 months mark now.applied on 25March 2013.We have applied for a panel waiver ( couldn't get police certificate from china).The Co has sent us Panel Waiver StatutoryDeclaration forms today.She didn't' write anything other than "please complete the stat dec and email me back for your panel waiver.
> 
> Does it mean we have got the waiver or these forms are just waiver application?? what happens after this? Please enlighten us as we are really worried and tired of waiting.Thanks a million.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fareed -

Cannot predict how DIBP will handle breaching visa conditions - it can be grounds for cancellation in some cases, so you must be careful. If you have a pending 189 application that you lodged onshore, it would have generated a bridging visa that would activate when your 475 visa expires on its own (if the 475 is cancelled, that could create a big problem as that would also cancel the underlying bridging visa for the 189). Can't say anything specific to your case without seeing all the history & documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fareed78 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your feedback.
> 
> I have condition 8539 on my visa. So, if I move to sydney then I breach the visa condition and I cannot apply for 887 regional visa. What are the other effects of breaching this visa condition? Will it also linked with my current 189 application and my 189 visa can also be refused due to this movement on my current 475 visa?
> 
> My 475 visa is going to expire at end of 2014. Alternatively, for this movement, can I get a bridging visa with working rights on basis of 189 application?
> 
> Regards,
> fareed


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamesy -

Yes - for a partner visa where the applicant has no dependents, just 1 person would be "on the application" (the partner being sponsored). The sponsor is not included in that count.

Best,

Mark Northam



Jamesy said:


> Superb Mark, thanks.
> 
> James.
> 
> Edit::: sorry, last question.
> 
> With the question 'How many people are included in this application", is it just one (myself, the person going to be sponsored)? We have no dependants. Silly questions but don't want to be wrong!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bel2024 -

Thanks for the question - applicant & sponsor statements are not one of the requirements for a valid application, so that likely would not have been picked up then. Once you get a case officer, you could ask them if those statements were included and offer to send them again, or you could simply send them again anyway and ask that they be included in the file as they "may have been accidentally omitted" in the original lodgement, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



bel2024 said:


> Hi Mark
> Today I was going through photocopy of application 820 and found there
> is no photocopy of our personal statements of relationship history.
> I am afraid I may forget to submit these statements.
> what are the ways to find if I did submit them or not?
> Or may be I am just panicking.
> Or
> U think immmi would pick this up when they accept
> my application as a valid.
> thank you.


----------



## Confused2

*Hello Mark*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Confused2 -
> 
> Generally the waiver related to a penal clearance form that cannot be obtained usually (but not always) means that DIBP will accept the waiver instead of the clearance, but I'd have to see the specific waiver form you're being asked to sign and know the case history details much better to give you any solid indication of what's going on.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark

Our case history is something like my gf stayed worked in china 10 years and in different provinces.when applied for her 309 back in 2013 March.anyway she got her panel from her native country and she could get her panel from her current place of residence in china for one year ( she was able to get that cus she was at that time residing in that city province).We hired a lawyer to get PCC from other provinces but were failed because they told our lawyer that since my gf isn't currently a resident in those provinces so she can't get one and she's a foreigner.anyway we forwarded lawyer's statement ,our statement, police stations where my gf was registered during her stay in all those provinces,police officers name phone number we contacted to get police clearance .and other stuff we sent to her case officer.and yeah also my gf's chinese visas to prove she'always worked legally and had visas we sent all the proof to her case officer and today the case officer sent us two forms which she calls StatutoryDeclaration .My gf has to sign those forms before a authorized person.the forms says something like I hav never been convicted of any crime in any country and stuff like that.
case officer asked her to complete the form and send it back to her.

Please Mark guide us what does it mean? does it mean She got the waiver or does it mean its just an application form?

A million thanks! God Bless!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Confused2 -

I cannot be sure because policy in this area can differ from one Embassy to another - this is about internal business processes, etc at each Embassy. However, my guess is that it means they were satisfied that there were acceptable reasons why the actual PCC could not be obtained and have decided to accept the Stat Dec re: no crimes, etc in place of the PCC. On the occasions where I've seen this before (all onshore however), that was the case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Confused2 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Our case history is something like my gf stayed worked in china 10 years and in different provinces.when applied for her 309 back in 2013 March.anyway she got her panel from her native country and she could get her panel from her current place of residence in china for one year ( she was able to get that cus she was at that time residing in that city province).We hired a lawyer to get PCC from other provinces but were failed because they told our lawyer that since my gf isn't currently a resident in those provinces so she can't get one and she's a foreigner.anyway we forwarded lawyer's statement ,our statement, police stations where my gf was registered during her stay in all those provinces,police officers name phone number we contacted to get police clearance .and other stuff we sent to her case officer.and yeah also my gf's chinese visas to prove she'always worked legally and had visas we sent all the proof to her case officer and today the case officer sent us two forms which she calls StatutoryDeclaration .My gf has to sign those forms before a authorized person.the forms says something like I hav never been convicted of any crime in any country and stuff like that.
> case officer asked her to complete the form and send it back to her.
> 
> Please Mark guide us what does it mean? does it mean She got the waiver or does it mean its just an application form?
> 
> A million thanks! God Bless!


----------



## dansyed

*Subclass 175*

Hi Mark,

First of all, thanks for helping out people through this thread!

My query is that I lodged my application back in May, 2012. Finnaly was asked for Med and PCC on 31st Dec, 2013. I submitted both by 22 Jan, 2014. My Meds finally got finalized by 11 Feb, 2014. I was wondering, how long do they take for granting visa after the meds are finalized. I am a Pakistani, btw.

Kindly advise.

Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Dansyed -

Thanks for the note - wish I had precise info on processing times, but DIBP is highly unpredictable, especially with the very long time they are choosing to take to process certain applications such as 175 and 176s from 2012 and earlier. Short answer is: there's no way to tell. If they've completed the external security checks and your case is now being actively assessed, it could be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months - I hope that's the case, but again, it's highly unpredictable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dansyed said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all, thanks for helping out people through this thread!
> 
> My query is that I lodged my application back in May, 2012. Finnaly was asked for Med and PCC on 31st Dec, 2013. I submitted both by 22 Jan, 2014. My Meds finally got finalized by 11 Feb, 2014. I was wondering, how long do they take for granting visa after the meds are finalized. I am a Pakistani, btw.
> 
> Kindly advise.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## stewlina

*thankyou*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Stewlina -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - responses below:
> 
> Hope this helps!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thankyou very much this information has been very helpful, just one more question though.

Do we state in visa 100 application anything about me wanting my wife to give birth in Australia and can she bring her 5yr old daughter with too?

Thanks again


----------



## irina_pandey

Dear Mark,
We have received skills assessment from CPA. The result is that not academically suitable for migration under ANZCO code 221112-Mangament Accountant. In summary 1. Degree comparability: requirement met-YES (Bachelor and Masters)
2. Mandatory core knowledge areas: requirement met-NO
3. Minimum core knowledge areas: total met-8/12
My husband is already pursuing CPA Australia and will be taking Financial Accounting, Accounting Theory and Corporate Law by mid of May in India.
My query is:
1. May we reassess under Accountant (General)-ANZCO 221111. Though it seems that the requirements criteria for Accountant General and Management Accountant are same? Do you advise to apply for assessment through different assessing authorities in Australia?
2. May we claim points for Degree, Bachelor and Masters, both, as the assessment confirms that the degree comparability is met?
3. Can my husband claim any points for his work experience overseas which is more than 8 years?
Thank you Mark.


----------



## swavik

Hello Mark,

Mark i wanted to know if my Partner is a Dentist and she is done with her OET (B grade) and also she has a Positive skill assessment from ADC..
She will be as my dependent in my application (waiting for ACS)
She is now studying for her ADC exams for registration as a Dentist..

Will DIBP grant me the 5 points (partners skills ) for her english language, the positive skill assessment and the eligible age..

One more question Mark. Once we file the EOI ,eligibility for State sponsorship will be decided by themselves or we should apply for it separately? Can we apply for both Independent 189 visa and also the state sponsorship(if eligible).

Thank you very much Mark for listening to me..
Regards.


----------



## swavik

Hello mark,

After reaching stage 4 , is there any possibility that the ACS can come back to Stage 3..
In your knowledge did it happen anybody?

Regards


----------



## tomay

Hello Mark,

May I ask if Bridging visa A lets you work? I was granted BVA and in the condition, it said "When your Bridging visa (class WA) is in effect, you will have full permission to work". So I interpret it as I can work when holding BVA. Is it correct?

Thank you for your time.

Regards


----------



## Aikonoer

Hi Mark, 

About the health requirements (medicare) for subclass 485 visa, do we still have to book for a reference number or just submit the application and then wait for the HAP ID from them?

Thank you.

Brian


----------



## HHanif

Hi,

I applied for 573 SVP on January 3 2014. I received an acknowledgement onJan 6 14. I had already gotten my medical done before lodging my visa application. I haven't heard from the student visa office adelaide yet. 24th Feb is the last date for enrolment at my university. I am quite indecisive ass to whether I should defer my course or wait.


----------



## pollygoh2002

*Police Clearance Certificate expired*

Hi Mark,

When I was living and working in United Arab Emirates (UAE), I applied for and received my Police Clearance Certificate before I returned home to Pakistan (December 2012).

I applied for my spouse visa (309) application at the end of April, 2013 to DIAC Islamabad, Pakistan. My application was acknowledged in May, 2013. CO was assigned shortly after. Biometrics, medicals and x-rays were clear and submitted in June 2013. Form 80 was requested in December 2013 and submitted promptly. I have been waiting for nine months. My wife is an Australian citizen.

Meanwhile, my Police Clearance Certificates have expired for both UAE and Pakistan. I am able to obtain an update to my Police Clearance Certificate for Pakistan, no problem. However, it is difficult to get an updated certificate for UAE as I no longer live or work there. They require my passport, fingerprints and signature for me to obtain a Police Clearance Certificate for UAE, so it is necessary to attend in person.

My question is: Will I need to update my Police Clearance Certificate for UAE even though I have not lived or worked there since December 2012?


----------



## zaheerkhan

hey
mark will yu answer this
my wife is the main applicant for visa 189 or 190 and i am dependant , do yu think that still my wife need to do IELTS as we caculated the points as under
Occupation: Primary School Teacher ANZSCO CODE 331212
30pts - Age: 28.
15pts - Overseas Work Experience in the Last 10 Years: 8
15pts - Qualification: Masters in political science &Bachelors degree in education &Bachelors degree in law
does she still need to do IELTS.
and being a dependent do i need to assess my documents educational and work? and do i need to take IELTS as well.
thanks


----------



## bigpineapple

*Partner visa submission*

Hi Mark

What a great service you provide!

Just a quick question - I have submitted online the partner visa for my husband a few days ago. I'm now in the process of uploading all the various documents in the 'next steps' area of the immiaccount.
What happens next? Do you reach a critical mass when they decide you have enough documentation and at that point do they appoint a case officer? Just wondered. 
We're ten years married with two children in the UK so assuming ours is not a complicated application. But doing it all online without ever speaking to a human feels a little strange!
Thanks in advance.


----------



## iano23

*Expression of Interest*

Hi Mark,

If I want to cancel my EOI is there a way to do this? Or do I just need to let it expire and put it through again?

Thanks,

Iano23


----------



## goldy

*Regarding 309/100*

Hi Mark
I have applied my visa wife's partner visa on 15 may 2013 from canada, i am australian citizen and she is Permanent Resdent of Canada. So it's been nearly 9 months our case officer just asked from us police clearance and medical. When we have sent few e-mail to case officer she said your file is under assesment and next time on 17-1-2014 when we sent another email she said its under consideration. Its nearly a month and we don't haveny clue... So you please have any idea wht's there next step pls share with us thnks...


----------



## lucas.wszolek

*Hello*

Hello Mark, how are you?
I´m new in this forum...so, I´m looking for information about immigration.
I´m brazilian and maybe there are post here already about that.
Could you suggest any of them to take a look?

If not I might start one.
Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Thanks for the note - have not heard of that happening before, but as I mentioned earlier, I don't put a great deal of faith in the "stages" messages, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello mark,
> 
> After reaching stage 4 , is there any possibility that the ACS can come back to Stage 3..
> In your knowledge did it happen anybody?
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tomay -

Normally BV-A's include work rights, but not always. Key is to look at the visa grant notice of your BV-A and see if there is a "NO WORK" (Condition 8101) condition on the visa. If there is no condition like that, you have full permission to work.

Best,

Mark Northam



tomay said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> May I ask if Bridging visa A lets you work? I was granted BVA and in the condition, it said "When your Bridging visa (class WA) is in effect, you will have full permission to work". So I interpret it as I can work when holding BVA. Is it correct?
> 
> Thank you for your time.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brian -

Thanks for the question. An application for a 485 visa MUST be accompanied by evidence that, at the time of application, the applicant had booked a medical exam. So don't wait for them to ask you (as you might for a partner, etc visa application) - book the medical exam prior to applying and make sure you have a receipt from Medibank Health Services (if in Australia) or from wherever you will take the health exam that you've booked it. Of course if you have already completed the health exam when you apply for the 485, you can include a receipt, etc to that effect as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aikonoer said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> About the health requirements (medicare) for subclass 485 visa, do we still have to book for a reference number or just submit the application and then wait for the HAP ID from them?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Brian


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HHanif -

Many people are finding themselves in this situation, as the DIBP processing times are highly unpredictable. Suggest you find out the last possible date to arrive for your course and perhaps email your case officer (although this doesn't do much good in many cases). Other than that, it's a matter of waiting until they decide on the visa. Given DIBP's highly unpredictable processing time for student visas, we are recommending that all applicants apply 3 months in advance.

Best,

Mark Northam



HHanif said:


> Hi,
> 
> I applied for 573 SVP on January 3 2014. I received an acknowledgement onJan 6 14. I had already gotten my medical done before lodging my visa application. I haven't heard from the student visa office adelaide yet. 24th Feb is the last date for enrolment at my university. I am quite indecisive ass to whether I should defer my course or wait.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pollygoh -

Thanks for the question. Re: UAE PCC, if they ask for it, I would respond with a nicely written letter stating that it is not possible for you to obtain another copy, and to note that you have not been in the UAE since your last PCC from there was obtained. Often this is sufficient, other times they will ask you to sign a statutory declaration about the situation. No guarantee they won't require you to go get another UAE PCC, but this method is the best way I know of to try and avoid that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pollygoh2002 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> When I was living and working in United Arab Emirates (UAE), I applied for and received my Police Clearance Certificate before I returned home to Pakistan (December 2012).
> 
> I applied for my spouse visa (309) application at the end of April, 2013 to DIAC Islamabad, Pakistan. My application was acknowledged in May, 2013. CO was assigned shortly after. Biometrics, medicals and x-rays were clear and submitted in June 2013. Form 80 was requested in December 2013 and submitted promptly. I have been waiting for nine months. My wife is an Australian citizen.
> 
> Meanwhile, my Police Clearance Certificates have expired for both UAE and Pakistan. I am able to obtain an update to my Police Clearance Certificate for Pakistan, no problem. However, it is difficult to get an updated certificate for UAE as I no longer live or work there. They require my passport, fingerprints and signature for me to obtain a Police Clearance Certificate for UAE, so it is necessary to attend in person.
> 
> My question is: Will I need to update my Police Clearance Certificate for UAE even though I have not lived or worked there since December 2012?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zaheerkhan -

Thanks for the note. The primary applicant for a 189 or 190 must have at least 6 on all bands of IELTS unless the state sponsorship authorities or licensing/registration authorities in Australia require a higher score (you need to research this carefully). Secondary applicant must have overall score of IELTS 4.5 to avoid a $5,000 second visa application charge for English lessons. There are a few other ways to meet this requirement for the secondary application - you can google "DIAC Functional English" to see more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zaheerkhan said:


> hey
> mark will yu answer this
> my wife is the main applicant for visa 189 or 190 and i am dependant , do yu think that still my wife need to do IELTS as we caculated the points as under
> Occupation: Primary School Teacher ANZSCO CODE 331212
> 30pts - Age: 28.
> 15pts - Overseas Work Experience in the Last 10 Years: 8
> 15pts - Qualification: Masters in political science &Bachelors degree in education &Bachelors degree in law
> does she still need to do IELTS.
> and being a dependent do i need to assess my documents educational and work? and do i need to take IELTS as well.
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bigpineapple -

Thanks for the kind words! Once you've uploaded all your documents, you wait. And wait. And wait. (sorry!) Partner visas typically take 9-12 months to process, while a few get through in a much shorter time. Normally you will hear from a case officer (once one gets assigned, which can be many months away) only if they want more information, have questions, or want you to take your medical exams, etc. Other than that, it's just a matter of being patient and waiting for a decision.

The good news is that married w/kids means there's a very good chance that you'll get the permanent part of the partner visa right away rather than being given the 2 year provisional partner visa first.

Hope this helps, and best of luck with your application!

Best,

Mark Northam



bigpineapple said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> What a great service you provide!
> 
> Just a quick question - I have submitted online the partner visa for my husband a few days ago. I'm now in the process of uploading all the various documents in the 'next steps' area of the immiaccount.
> What happens next? Do you reach a critical mass when they decide you have enough documentation and at that point do they appoint a case officer? Just wondered.
> We're ten years married with two children in the UK so assuming ours is not a complicated application. But doing it all online without ever speaking to a human feels a little strange!
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Iano23 -

I believe there is a way you can delete your EOI, however you may want to see if there is another way to accomplish what you wish to do - ie, you can normally go in and change the EOI if you've made a mistake or want to change your preferences, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



iano23 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> If I want to cancel my EOI is there a way to do this? Or do I just need to let it expire and put it through again?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Iano23


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Goldy -

Thanks for the note. I wish I had better news, but all you can do is wait. Partner visas processing times are highly unpredictable and can take from 9-12 months or more to process, and DIBP doesn't say where they are in the process if you ask. As they asked for Medicals and Police, that generally means that they anticipate a decision is less than 12 months away, since the first entry date if the visa is granted will be set to be no later than the expiration date of your health or police checks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



goldy said:


> Hi Mark
> I have applied my visa wife's partner visa on 15 may 2013 from canada, i am australian citizen and she is Permanent Resdent of Canada. So it's been nearly 9 months our case officer just asked from us police clearance and medical. When we have sent few e-mail to case officer she said your file is under assesment and next time on 17-1-2014 when we sent another email she said its under consideration. Its nearly a month and we don't haveny clue... So you please have any idea wht's there next step pls share with us thnks...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lucas -

Welcome to the forum! There are thousands of posts on here about all different types of immigration - would strongly recommend you poke around, search, and read forum topics that are of interest to you and how you wish to immigration to Australia, whether it be via study, employer-sponsored, skilled or otherwise.

Best of luck!

Best,

Mark Northam



lucas.wszolek said:


> Hello Mark, how are you?
> I´m new in this forum...so, I´m looking for information about immigration.
> I´m brazilian and maybe there are post here already about that.
> Could you suggest any of them to take a look?
> 
> If not I might start one.
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stewlina -

Not sure about stating in visa app re: intended birth - would need to know much more about your case to determine whether that could be helpful or work against you. Re: bringing daughter, all people of all ages, unless they are Australian citizens, require a visa to enter Australia - so you may want to apply for a visa for the daughter as a dependent of her mom on another application, or as a visitor on her own visa application - again, depends on circumstances and facts of the case.

Best,

Mark Northam



stewlina said:


> Thankyou very much this information has been very helpful, just one more question though.
> 
> Do we state in visa 100 application anything about me wanting my wife to give birth in Australia and can she bring her 5yr old daughter with too?
> 
> Thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Irinia -

Thanks for your note. Would have to see all of the documents and facts related to your case to answer your questions as they are based on your specific eligibility for skills assessments. Re: degrees, you can only claim for one degree (ie, 15 points for Bachelor,etc). Re: work experience, a lot of factors come into play here - was it highly relevant to the nominated occupation? Is there a work reference letter that is verifiable by DIBP? Does the work fall within the 10 years prior to application? Again, need to see all the docs & facts in order to be helpful here. For specific migration advice you may want to consider booking a consultation (see info on website in my signature below).

Best,

Mark Northam



irina_pandey said:


> Dear Mark,
> We have received skills assessment from CPA. The result is that not academically suitable for migration under ANZCO code 221112-Mangament Accountant. In summary 1. Degree comparability: requirement met-YES (Bachelor and Masters)
> 2. Mandatory core knowledge areas: requirement met-NO
> 3. Minimum core knowledge areas: total met-8/12
> My husband is already pursuing CPA Australia and will be taking Financial Accounting, Accounting Theory and Corporate Law by mid of May in India.
> My query is:
> 1. May we reassess under Accountant (General)-ANZCO 221111. Though it seems that the requirements criteria for Accountant General and Management Accountant are same? Do you advise to apply for assessment through different assessing authorities in Australia?
> 2. May we claim points for Degree, Bachelor and Masters, both, as the assessment confirms that the degree comparability is met?
> 3. Can my husband claim any points for his work experience overseas which is more than 8 years?
> Thank you Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Normally partner points are available if you have for the partner:
* Full skills assessment (postiive)
* Age 
* Occupation on same skills list as yours
* English to satisfy skills assessment or at least 6 on all bands, whichever is higher.

Would need to examine the skills assessment to see if it satisfies the above - in some medical professions licensing is required in order to have a full skills assessment.

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Mark i wanted to know if my Partner is a Dentist and she is done with her OET (B grade) and also she has a Positive skill assessment from ADC..
> She will be as my dependent in my application (waiting for ACS)
> She is now studying for her ADC exams for registration as a Dentist..
> 
> Will DIBP grant me the 5 points (partners skills ) for her english language, the positive skill assessment and the eligible age..
> 
> One more question Mark. Once we file the EOI ,eligibility for State sponsorship will be decided by themselves or we should apply for it separately? Can we apply for both Independent 189 visa and also the state sponsorship(if eligible).
> 
> Thank you very much Mark for listening to me..
> Regards.


----------



## HHanif

MarkNortham said:


> Hi HHanif -
> 
> Many people are finding themselves in this situation, as the DIBP processing times are highly unpredictable. Suggest you find out the last possible date to arrive for your course and perhaps email your case officer (although this doesn't do much good in many cases). Other than that, it's a matter of waiting until they decide on the visa. Given DIBP's highly unpredictable processing time for student visas, we are recommending that all applicants apply 3 months in advance.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thanks for your reply.

I applied for 573 svp. I had already done my medical before lodging my application. My eMedical letter stated that the results were forwaded to the dept on 19 dec 2013. However when I received an acknowledgement on 6 jan 14, healt exam request with a different hap ID was attached. I am cnofused as I had already appeared for medical andn attached the proof with my application


----------



## pollygoh2002

Thanks for your reply Mark.

You are doing a great service here. Most of us feel, I am sure, that we are "in the dark" with no feedback given by the immigration dept.

So thanks again for your help and I am sure a lot of other people feel the same way as we do.


----------



## stewlina

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Stewlina -
> 
> Not sure about stating in visa app re: intended birth - would need to know much more about your case to determine whether that could be helpful or work against you. Re: bringing daughter, all people of all ages, unless they are Australian citizens, require a visa to enter Australia - so you may want to apply for a visa for the daughter as a dependent of her mom on another application, or as a visitor on her own visa application - again, depends on circumstances and facts of the case.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thanks mark you have been very helpful five stars for you


----------



## irina_pandey

Thank you Mark for your valuable suggestions. We can proceed with your consultation only after finishing CPA foundation level exams.


----------



## mrswooody007

Hello Mark. Would you be kind to educate me how to go about paying the application for Visa 820 in subsequent to visa 300 (PMV). I'm in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. I used a emigration agent in Philippines when we applied for visa 300. As a result, I don't have any idea about the payment method. Do we need to get a cheque payable to Department of Immigration and Border Protection then send it together with the application documents? Please enlighten me on this matter. Another, as DIBP site provided a lengthy and generalize, not specific, document checklist for the visa 820 application while I am holding visa 300, please help me as to what are the specific documents do we really need for the application of temporary resident visa 820. Thanks heaps for your help.


----------



## Champ

Hi Mark
We received a reply from our CO asking to prove residency of my sponsor. Below are the case details. Any help would be appreciated. We are nervous and anxious to know what the CO says with the reply? We still have 24 days time to add additional info. Please help..
Just to give a background about our application: 
We mailed it to DC embassy on April 5th 2013 and got a response in a week with the CO details. We front loaded the application with police checks and medicals. In the mean while we were blessed with a new born in Dec and updated the CO with the details. It took 10 months for the co to get back on the application. Good thing is that they added our new born as a dependent but asked a tricky question regarding my Sponsor's Residency status in Aus. His PR was approved in Feb 2012. He visited australia to validate his residency but couldnt establish as i was living in USA. We were going through the process of convincing our parents for our marriage and it took 4 long years to get married. he just statyed there for 13 days till date. She asked to prove the residency in Austrlaia. Well, we replied that we didnt want to leave each other and wanted to get married and migrate and stated the reason as relationship, process of convincing parents, newborn etc.we also shared the email communication made to my parents as proof .We explained in detail all the series of events happened in life after my sponsor got his PR with dates and proofs. We are ready to migrate now as we are good through all the situations and also replied that if my sponsor being in Australia is the driving factor in the decision making we are willing to migrate in couple of months. I will go on Tourist visa and once we are there we will update the contact details. She can give a decision then.
We also mentioned that we have family ties with Australia. My sponsor's brother is an Australian citizen and he was the one who actually sponsored my sponsor. We share a great bonding with him and gave his citizenship info in the reply.

We just started planning to apply for visitor visa and book one way itinerary to AUS from USA and send the info to the CO so that she can believe our intention is true.

As the relationship is the only reason and we didnt want to live apart because of marriage and all we asked her to tell us what to do. Please let us know if there is any thing else which we can add to the reply which makes it strong and helps the CO understand the situation we are in.
The time given to respond was 28 days but we replied back the very next day. 

Excited and nervous to hear what she says

Waiting.. its been 3 days that i replied back..

Champ..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HHanif -

Probably best you work this out with the case officer - perhaps email with the orig HAP ID and let him/her know that you already took the medical exams.

Best,

Mark Northam



HHanif said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> I applied for 573 svp. I had already done my medical before lodging my application. My eMedical letter stated that the results were forwaded to the dept on 19 dec 2013. However when I received an acknowledgement on 6 jan 14, healt exam request with a different hap ID was attached. I am cnofused as I had already appeared for medical andn attached the proof with my application


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mrswoody007 -

Thanks for the note. If you're going to lodge the application yourself, suggest you use the new online ImmiAccount online lodging system provided by DIBP - you can get an ID, lodge the forms for your 820/801, and pay - right online with a credit card. Otherwise, you can lodge the old way (on paper) as that has not been discontinued yet. If you go the old way you can use a bank cheque, etc - see specific directions on Form 47SP.

Re: checklist - see DIBP 820/801 Checklist. For something more detailed re: relationship evidence, there are some good posts here regarding different types of relationship evidence that people have used successfully (and unsuccessfully) - typically these applications live or die based on the relationship evidence and witness statements - all of this would need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis since everybody's evidence is different. There isn't a set "list" of relationship evidence - instead, it's all about the total of whatever evidence is submitted rising to the level that satisfies the case officer that the relationship is genuine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mrswooody007 said:


> Hello Mark. Would you be kind to educate me how to go about paying the application for Visa 820 in subsequent to visa 300 (PMV). I'm in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. I used a emigration agent in Philippines when we applied for visa 300. As a result, I don't have any idea about the payment method. Do we need to get a cheque payable to Department of Immigration and Border Protection then send it together with the application documents? Please enlighten me on this matter. Another, as DIBP site provided a lengthy and generalize, not specific, document checklist for the visa 820 application while I am holding visa 300, please help me as to what are the specific documents do we really need for the application of temporary resident visa 820. Thanks heaps for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Champ -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you carefully research the "usually resident" requirements of Australian permanent residents (PRs) who sponsor applicants for a partner visa - it's not really about the reasons why the person was away from Australia, but is much more about proving with evidence that the sponsor has solid, verifiable plans to reside in Australia going forward. Leasing a place to stay, arranging for things like furniture and utilities, etc are some ways people do this, but it's different for each person. I hate to say this, but don't look for compassion or sympathy from the immigration dept - it's all about the law and the requirements for each visa - make sure you provide as much evidence as possible (not just words, but documents from third parties, etc) that proves that the sponsor is intending to return to Australia and has made plans to reside there going forward. As with so many things in immigration, it needs to be a solid argument based on facts and evidence, not promises, assumptions and hopes. I say this not to cause you any concern, but to emphasize how they tend to look at things.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Champ said:


> Hi Mark
> We received a reply from our CO asking to prove residency of my sponsor. Below are the case details. Any help would be appreciated. We are nervous and anxious to know what the CO says with the reply? We still have 24 days time to add additional info. Please help..
> Just to give a background about our application:
> We mailed it to DC embassy on April 5th 2013 and got a response in a week with the CO details. We front loaded the application with police checks and medicals. In the mean while we were blessed with a new born in Dec and updated the CO with the details. It took 10 months for the co to get back on the application. Good thing is that they added our new born as a dependent but asked a tricky question regarding my Sponsor's Residency status in Aus. His PR was approved in Feb 2012. He visited australia to validate his residency but couldnt establish as i was living in USA. We were going through the process of convincing our parents for our marriage and it took 4 long years to get married. he just statyed there for 13 days till date. She asked to prove the residency in Austrlaia. Well, we replied that we didnt want to leave each other and wanted to get married and migrate and stated the reason as relationship, process of convincing parents, newborn etc.we also shared the email communication made to my parents as proof .We explained in detail all the series of events happened in life after my sponsor got his PR with dates and proofs. We are ready to migrate now as we are good through all the situations and also replied that if my sponsor being in Australia is the driving factor in the decision making we are willing to migrate in couple of months. I will go on Tourist visa and once we are there we will update the contact details. She can give a decision then.
> We also mentioned that we have family ties with Australia. My sponsor's brother is an Australian citizen and he was the one who actually sponsored my sponsor. We share a great bonding with him and gave his citizenship info in the reply.
> 
> We just started planning to apply for visitor visa and book one way itinerary to AUS from USA and send the info to the CO so that she can believe our intention is true.
> 
> As the relationship is the only reason and we didnt want to live apart because of marriage and all we asked her to tell us what to do. Please let us know if there is any thing else which we can add to the reply which makes it strong and helps the CO understand the situation we are in.
> The time given to respond was 28 days but we replied back the very next day.
> 
> Excited and nervous to hear what she says
> 
> Waiting.. its been 3 days that i replied back..
> 
> Champ..


----------



## Jamie06

Hi Mark,

I am curious, my partner is going to apply for the 820 partner visa and I will obviously be her sponsor. It notes in the form that I have to fill out that they can check financial history or government history, so if I have bad credit will that means it will not go through?


----------



## hitherto

hey mark sir............ 
i lodged my student visa file under svp on 23 january.........and my orientation is on 24 feb and classes start on 3 march! and visa has not yet received.......... pls guide me mark sir , what to do in this case...? and can u tell how much more time would it take? i am from india and my visa was filed under subclass 573.....! ur help would be much appreciated.....


----------



## chillax

hi mark, 

me and my family have been waiting for almost 17 mos. now for partner 309 visa. because it has been soooo long since we lodge our application, the C.O. asked my mother to retake medical since it already expired which she obliged. afterwards, the C.O. asked my mom to complete and return the form 815 to which we already submitted. five days later (yesterday), the C.O. asked for the copy of my passport since it expired this week, so that she can finalized our application.

what does finalized our application mean? does it mean visa grant? or they will just commenced decision whether grant or refusal?

thanks!


----------



## Vikram Jeet

Hi Mark,
You are really doing a commendable job. Thank you.
My quick and almost new type to question:
I have asked by CO to reach Australia before7th march to avoid expiry of my family's medical report, now so we have done all the preparation like tickets booking and resignation from current employer. But now he is saying my Visa I.e 475 is on hold by minister. I didn't understand what does that mean ,as my file is all done and ready to finalise.. I am getting such a news which is horrible for me and my family. Any light or guidance. Thanks Mark...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamie06 -

Normally they will not check financial or credit history, however if you or the applicant have a debt to the Commonwealth, that could be an issue, particularly for the visa applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jamie06 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am curious, my partner is going to apply for the 820 partner visa and I will obviously be her sponsor. It notes in the form that I have to fill out that they can check financial history or government history, so if I have bad credit will that means it will not go through?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hitherto -

No way to tell, all you can do is keep in touch with your case officer and find out the very latest day you can arrive and still be in your course. We are recommending to all clients that they lodge student visas 3 months in advance, due to highly unpredictable DIBP processing times.

Best of luck - hope they get the application finished in time -

Best,

Mark Northam



hitherto said:


> hey mark sir............
> i lodged my student visa file under svp on 23 january.........and my orientation is on 24 feb and classes start on 3 march! and visa has not yet received.......... pls guide me mark sir , what to do in this case...? and can u tell how much more time would it take? i am from india and my visa was filed under subclass 573.....! ur help would be much appreciated.....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chillax -

My guess is that you are very close to a decision, perhaps days or a few weeks away, but only guessing. Finalising technically means making a decision, but I would have to wonder why they would want all those docs if they weren't going to grant the visa... hope you get a positive decision soon!

Best,

Mark Northam



chillax said:


> hi mark,
> 
> me and my family have been waiting for almost 17 mos. now for partner 309 visa. because it has been soooo long since we lodge our application, the C.O. asked my mother to retake medical since it already expired which she obliged. afterwards, the C.O. asked my mom to complete and return the form 815 to which we already submitted. five days later (yesterday), the C.O. asked for the copy of my passport since it expired this week, so that she can finalized our application.
> 
> what does finalized our application mean? does it mean visa grant? or they will just commenced decision whether grant or refusal?
> 
> thanks!


----------



## hitherto

thanx mark sir for a quick reply and best wishes... its pleasing to know that there are people like you who are always ready to help any one.... really sir hats off and god bless uu! sir my next question is how to know who has been assigned my case officer.....

regards and respect sir


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vikram -

Not sure what this all means, especially "on hold by minister" - unless there is some sort of priority processing or quota in place that is affecting your application. Was the visa granted? If so, "on hold" doesn't make sense. If the visa was not granted, how could they tell you to arrive by a certain date if a decision had not yet been made and the visa not granted yet? Very confusing.

Perhaps try to get as many details from the CO as you can about the delay, and consider getting some professional advice from a registered migration agent if you want to get more information regarding your specific circumstances. You could also engage an agent to contact DIBP on your behalf to discuss whatever the delay is, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vikram Jeet said:


> Hi Mark,
> You are really doing a commendable job. Thank you.
> My quick and almost new type to question:
> I have asked by CO to reach Australia before7th march to avoid expiry of my family's medical report, now so we have done all the preparation like tickets booking and resignation from current employer. But now he is saying my Visa I.e 475 is on hold by minister. I didn't understand what does that mean ,as my file is all done and ready to finalise.. I am getting such a news which is horrible for me and my family. Any light or guidance. Thanks Mark...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hitherto -

Thanks for the kind words! You need to email, fax, or whatever communication method is allowed the embassy or office that is processing your application and enquire as to whether it has been assigned to a case officer, and ask how to contact that person or whoever is processing your application. Generally if you are kind, polite but firm about your request, you can get some sort of a contact email, etc in order to ask specific questions about your application and who is handling it. Also, sometimes it's a team, rather than an individual person at DIBP, who is processing an application.

Best,

Mark Northam



hitherto said:


> thanx mark sir for a quick reply and best wishes... its pleasing to know that there are people like you who are always ready to help any one.... really sir hats off and god bless uu! sir my next question is how to know who has been assigned my case officer.....
> 
> regards and respect sir


----------



## hitherto

mark sir, 
u are so humble to say that! people like you deserve all the respect.... thanx for entertaining my query.... i would follow ur suggestion

thank you and have a nice day sir 
regards


----------



## Vikram Jeet

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vikram -
> 
> Not sure what this all means, especially "on hold by minister" - unless there is some sort of priority processing or quota in place that is affecting your application. Was the visa granted? If so, "on hold" doesn't make sense. If the visa was not granted, how could they tell you to arrive by a certain date if a decision had not yet been made and the visa not granted yet? Very confusing.
> 
> Perhaps try to get as many details from the CO as you can about the delay, and consider getting some professional advice from a registered migration agent if you want to get more information regarding your specific circumstances. You could also engage an agent to contact DIBP on your behalf to discuss whatever the delay is, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark sir for quick reply and guidance.
Please guide....
visa is not grated. Specific date 7th march because after that my family has to go for re-medical test due to expiry of initial medical which was done in September 2012. There medical is already extended by 6 months. So CO is mentioning that after all document (only PCC which we have re submitted 2nd time due to expiry after one year) and Visa finalisation all family has to do initial entry by 7th march. Please share your experience.


----------



## HHanif

MarkNortham said:


> Hi HHanif -
> 
> Probably best you work this out with the case officer - perhaps email with the orig HAP ID and let him/her know that you already took the medical exams.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your reply again.

I don't even know if I have been assigned a case officer yet. It has almost five weeks since I lodged my application. Do you reckon that by now i would have been assigned a case officer or if there my medical was pendingthey would have notified me?


----------



## Evren

Hi Mark,
I applied for Subclass 572 recently but today I recieved the refusal letter. It went like; 
*Decision*
As you do not meet one or more clauses in Schedule 2 of the Regulations, I find that you do not meet the criteria for the grant of a STUDENT (Class TU) VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING SECTOR (Subclass 572) visa.
I have assessed your case under "Genuine Temporary Entrant" criterion and have taken into account your circumstances in your home country, employment history, incentives to return to Turkey, reasons to undertake Certificate IV in Business and Diploma of Business.
I am not satisfied that you have illustrated a strong incentive to undertake the proposed studies given record in previous studies and employment. It is noted from your application that you graduated from*High school name* in 2004.(which is wrong, I graduated in 2003) During the telephone interview conducted, you advised that you registered at *Uni name* in 2004, Department of Landscape Architecture and yet you did not complete your study. You have not illustrated a commitment to finish your studies.
You provided vague reasons for wishing to study in Australia(She asked why, and I answered my educational consultant advised Australia for its part time work permit for students)One could reasonably expect that a student that is outlaying a significant amount of funds to undertake a course would have the ability to provide clear reasons for choosing a proposed course.(She asked a seperate question ""why do you want to study this course?" and I answered: "I believe these courses will help me to improve my career in the business sector and eventually enable me to run my own business.)
I am not satisfied that the benefit gained by obtaining an Australian qualification outweighs the costs of undertaking the studies. You are 29 years of age and single. You have still military comitment in your home country(postponed untill 31/12/2014).As such, I am not satisfied that you have strong incentives to return.
Taken into account the information provided on form 157A and the supporting documents provided at the time of lodgement and all the information you provided during the telephone interview I am satisfed that you do not meet reg 572.223
Therefore I refuse your application for a STUDENT (Class TU) VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING SECTOR (Subclass 572( visa lodged at Ankara.

PS: Sorry for the long and detailed message, I know this is what you do for a living and you only answer general questions here. So, long story short; What are the chances of someone who's been refused a 572 based on reg 572.223 getting a 573?


----------



## s_saad1988

*485 and Bridging Visa B*

Hi Mark,

Nice to see your good work on the forum.

I have some inquires regarding the processing of my 485 Visa Application and would appreciate your help.

I finished my bachelors in Melbourne, Australia and then applied for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) *ONSHORE*. Afterwards I obtained a Bridging Visa B and traveled abroad. Currently I am still out of Australia and my bridging visa B expires by the end of February. But I have to stay back for a while.


Is 485 Visa granted while I am outside Australia?
Is there any specific deadline to enter Australia after the 485 Visa is granted?
If I don't return by the end of February, should I change my permanent address on my 485 visa application?

PS: I have already been allocated a case officer. I was asked to provide the 485 specific Health Insurance Paper, which I already did based on my tentative return date by this February. Now due to circumstances , plans changed!!

Thanks in Advance
Cheers
Saad


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Evren -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your refusal. It was based on the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) policy, which is one of the top reasons for student visa refusal. I'm not sure 572 vs 573 will make much a difference as the factors the case officer cited are not unique to the 572 visa. However, if you can come up with more compelling reasons for you to return to your home country (ie, family commitments, financial commitments, etc) you may have a better chance the next time you apply. Would suggest you very carefully research the GTE policy and see what evidence you can put together to show how you meet as many of the policy items as possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Evren said:


> Hi Mark,
> I applied for Subclass 572 recently but today I recieved the refusal letter. It went like;
> *Decision*
> As you do not meet one or more clauses in Schedule 2 of the Regulations, I find that you do not meet the criteria for the grant of a STUDENT (Class TU) VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING SECTOR (Subclass 572) visa.
> I have assessed your case under "Genuine Temporary Entrant" criterion and have taken into account your circumstances in your home country, employment history, incentives to return to Turkey, reasons to undertake Certificate IV in Business and Diploma of Business.
> I am not satisfied that you have illustrated a strong incentive to undertake the proposed studies given record in previous studies and employment. It is noted from your application that you graduated from*High school name* in 2004.(which is wrong, I graduated in 2003) During the telephone interview conducted, you advised that you registered at *Uni name* in 2004, Department of Landscape Architecture and yet you did not complete your study. You have not illustrated a commitment to finish your studies.
> You provided vague reasons for wishing to study in Australia(She asked why, and I answered my educational consultant advised Australia for its part time work permit for students)One could reasonably expect that a student that is outlaying a significant amount of funds to undertake a course would have the ability to provide clear reasons for choosing a proposed course.(She asked a seperate question ""why do you want to study this course?" and I answered: "I believe these courses will help me to improve my career in the business sector and eventually enable me to run my own business.)
> I am not satisfied that the benefit gained by obtaining an Australian qualification outweighs the costs of undertaking the studies. You are 29 years of age and single. You have still military comitment in your home country(postponed untill 31/12/2014).As such, I am not satisfied that you have strong incentives to return.
> Taken into account the information provided on form 157A and the supporting documents provided at the time of lodgement and all the information you provided during the telephone interview I am satisfed that you do not meet reg 572.223
> Therefore I refuse your application for a STUDENT (Class TU) VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING SECTOR (Subclass 572( visa lodged at Ankara.
> 
> PS: Sorry for the long and detailed message, I know this is what you do for a living and you only answer general questions here. So, long story short; What are the chances of someone who's been refused a 572 based on reg 572.223 getting a 573?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saad -

Thanks for the questions. For the 485 visa, the primary applicant must be in Australia at the time the visa is granted. If you are outside Australia when the case officer is ready to grant the visa and the case officer is nice, he/she may email you that the visa is ready to grant so you can return, but there is no guarantee that they will do this. However, they will normally see the return-by date on your BV-B and time things around that.

Re: changing permanent address, this gets tricky because of the above (ie, must be in Australia when visa is granted). You could change your residential address if you wanted to, but DIBP is assuming you wish to return to Australia and reside here during that visa to get work experience, etc. Since you must be in Australia when the visa is granted, there is generally not a must-enter-by date on the 485 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



s_saad1988 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Nice to see your good work on the forum.
> 
> I have some inquires regarding the processing of my 485 Visa Application and would appreciate your help.
> 
> I finished my bachelors in Melbourne, Australia and then applied for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) *ONSHORE*. Afterwards I obtained a Bridging Visa B and traveled abroad. Currently I am still out of Australia and my bridging visa B expires by the end of February. But I have to stay back for a while.
> 
> 
> Is 485 Visa granted while I am outside Australia?
> Is there any specific deadline to enter Australia after the 485 Visa is granted?
> If I don't return by the end of February, should I change my permanent address on my 485 visa application?
> 
> PS: I have already been allocated a case officer. I was asked to provide the 485 specific Health Insurance Paper, which I already did based on my tentative return date by this February. Now due to circumstances , plans changed!!
> 
> Thanks in Advance
> Cheers
> Saad


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HHanif -

Best thing to do would be to enquire with the office that sent you the medical HAP ID and letter, etc to help them get your previous test linked up with your application. Even if you do not have a case officer yet, someone at the office should be able to help you.

Best,

Mark Northam



HHanif said:


> Thanks for your reply again.
> 
> I don't even know if I have been assigned a case officer yet. It has almost five weeks since I lodged my application. Do you reckon that by now i would have been assigned a case officer or if there my medical was pendingthey would have notified me?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vikram -

Sorry, things are still not clear. Need to see all the correspondence from DIBP and exact wording to assist - it is not normal for an application to be put "on hold" by the Minister - would need to see the exact language involved.

Best,

Mark Northam



Vikram Jeet said:


> Thanks Mark sir for quick reply and guidance.
> Please guide....
> visa is not grated. Specific date 7th march because after that my family has to go for re-medical test due to expiry of initial medical which was done in September 2012. There medical is already extended by 6 months. So CO is mentioning that after all document (only PCC which we have re submitted 2nd time due to expiry after one year) and Visa finalisation all family has to do initial entry by 7th march. Please share your experience.


----------



## Kkkk

Hello mark 
How are you . 

I need advise regarding my case 

3-4 months back i came back to my hometown india from australia .because My visa was expired .now i got oppurtunity for 457 visa . Company is ready to sponsor me and they are arranging .

But when i came back i left with few bills .my question is will they effect my 457 visa..? 
If it efffects is there any possibilty to handle this credit issue 

Would really appreciate your help


Thanks 
Kkkk


----------



## Nawknai

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nawknai -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - I don't have enough info to give you a specific assessment, but general info responses below:
> 
> 
> 
> Nawknai said:
> 
> 
> 
> Oh wow, I didn't notice this thread earlier!
> 
> I have a question that I just posted in another thread.
> 
> I want to add my wife to my existing 457 visa, which lasts for another 3 years. I spoke to a woman at IMMI, and read another thread here, and both told me that my sponsor (i.e. my employer) is required to write a letter stating that they are happy to extend their sponsorship to my wife as well. I can't really find it in writing elsewhere, but I'll take their word for it.
> 
> *Here's some text - should be on company letterhead and signed by an authorised person at the company.*
> 
> *I hereby extend the benefits of the existing nomination and sponsorship of [your name] to his spouse [her name and date of birth] for the remaining duration of [your name]'s subclass 457 visa.*
> 
> Also, with regards to the application itself, are these all the requirements? I couldn't find a clear list of requirements other than the full 1066 application checklist:
> 
> 1. A passport-sized photo of her head and shoulders.
> *** Yes.*
> 
> 2. A certified copy of her passport page. Does she need an official translation to English? Does the translator need to be certified in some way?
> *** Yes. If passport does not have English on it, should be translated by NAATI qualified translator or equivalent in your country.*
> 
> 3. A certificate to say that she has adequate health insurance cover. How would I get this? Do I register her with HBA or another insurance company before she even gets put on my visa? It seems odd.
> *** Yes, need to have the policy in place at time of application, and it's a condition of the visa to maintain health insurance during the period her visa is in place.
> *
> 4. Marriage certificate, with an English translation. Should we get it translated in Australia, or can she just get it translated in Japan (she's Japanese)? Does it need to be translated by a certified translator, or a particular translator selected by IMMI?
> *** See above re: NAATI or equivalent professional translator. Should include contact info for the professional translator with the application.*
> 
> More questions:
> 
> 5. Does she need to do a health check? You normally do if you apply for a student visa, and I may (or may not have?) had to do a health check to get my original 457.
> *** Depends on her country of citizenship and other factors. You can wait until after application and see what they request if you'd like.*
> 
> 6. How long do you think this process would take? It's not a new visa. We're just adding a partner to an existing visa, so I'd imagine that it takes less time?
> *** Visa processing times these days are highly unpredictable. Ideally a few weeks, sometimes longer.*
> 
> Anyway, thanks in advance. You're a great source of information, and you're a generous guy for giving people your time like this. It changes lives, you know!
> 
> *** Happy to help - that's why I'm here and in this business
> *
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
Click to expand...

Hi Mark. I've got one more question before I think I've got it down.

If I'm trying to add my wife to my existing 457, would it be beneficial for me to include any additional information on top of the other requirements? For example, would including things such as photos of us together over the years, or a letter of some description, help IMMI decide to approve the addition of my wife to my current 457?

From an objective point of view, our relationship details seems a bit weird. A Canadian man living in Australia, married to a Japanese woman currently living in Japan, sounds a bit peculiar. Mind you, she hasn't been back to Australia in ~4.5 years (being a high-school teacher in Japan sucks....), but I have been to Japan 15-20 times. Out of the 6 years we've been together, we've been living in different countries for around 4.5 years of it. Yes, we've been married for 8 months, but would we be judged based on these _*other*_ details?

When we apply for PR, which was our original plan (I have waited 6 months for my sponsor/employer to receive approval to sponsor me....), I'd probably want to explain our relationship history and prove our relationship by submitting photocopies of my old passport(s), an email trail, old photos, etc, much like a non-married or de-facto couple would be required to do.

However, to add my wife to an existing 457 visa, would it beneficial whatsoever to include more information?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kkkk -

Thanks for the question. Generally unpaid bills or bad credit is not considered or looked at as part of a visa application unless the applicant has a debt to the Commonwealth of Australia (ie, unpaid taxes, or some other debt owed to the Commonwealth).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kkkk said:


> Hello mark
> How are you .
> 
> I need advise regarding my case
> 
> 3-4 months back i came back to my hometown india from australia .because My visa was expired .now i got oppurtunity for 457 visa . Company is ready to sponsor me and they are arranging .
> 
> But when i came back i left with few bills .my question is will they effect my 457 visa..?
> If it efffects is there any possibilty to handle this credit issue
> 
> Would really appreciate your help
> 
> Thanks
> Kkkk


----------



## jimsmith127

Hi Mark,

i have just filled out my visa application (309/100), i need some advice if its possible.

i recently got married here in Australia but i need to return back to Scotland very soon, i have not submitted it yet as i will be doing this from home, but the issues i have are about the statements detailing how my wife and me first met and how the relationship has evolved, we don't really have records as such, we met online and it started there basically, on the financial and housing/housework side of the statement, we will be living with her family until such times as i can find work and be able to find a place for us to live, she is sponsoring me with the visa, could you give me any advice on what info they would accept about this please.

thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nawknai -

Absolutely - especially if your circumstances are to any extent unusual, I would include a full relationship evidence package with any visa application, whether it be 457 or PR.

Best,

Mark Northam



Nawknai said:


> Hi Mark. I've got one more question before I think I've got it down.
> 
> If I'm trying to add my wife to my existing 457, would it be beneficial for me to include any additional information on top of the other requirements? For example, would including things such as photos of us together over the years, or a letter of some description, help IMMI decide to approve the addition of my wife to my current 457?
> 
> From an objective point of view, our relationship details seems a bit weird. A Canadian man living in Australia, married to a Japanese woman currently living in Japan, sounds a bit peculiar. Mind you, she hasn't been back to Australia in ~4.5 years (being a high-school teacher in Japan sucks....), but I have been to Japan 15-20 times. Out of the 6 years we've been together, we've been living in different countries for around 4.5 years of it. Yes, we've been married for 8 months, but would we be judged based on these _*other*_ details?
> 
> When we apply for PR, which was our original plan, I'd probably want to explain our relationship history and prove the existence of our relationship, much like a non-married or de-facto couple would be required to do. _(note: Adding her to my 457 is actually PLAN B. I wanted to add her to my PR application, but I've been waiting 6 months for my sponsor/employer to receive approval from IMMI....)._
> 
> However, to add my wife to an existing 457 visa, would it beneficial whatsoever to include more information?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimsmith127

Thanks for the question - partner visas, especially those with any unusual circumstances, need a full evidence relationship and statement package with as much relationship evidence and as many relevant witness statements as you can put together. There is no single "checklist" because every relationship is different and has different evidence available to lodge. You might check out the threads here on the forum about relationship evidence for partner visas, and if you're unsure you may want to obtain professional assistance from a registered migration agent to either prepare your application package, or review the package if you prepare it yourself. There's also a downloadable guide available from DIBP re: partner visas and evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimsmith127 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> i have just filled out my visa application (309/100), i need some advice if its possible.
> 
> i recently got married here in Australia but i need to return back to Scotland very soon, i have not submitted it yet as i will be doing this from home, but the issues i have are about the statements detailing how my wife and me first met and how the relationship has evolved, we don't really have records as such, we met online and it started there basically, on the financial and housing/housework side of the statement, we will be living with her family until such times as i can find work and be able to find a place for us to live, she is sponsoring me with the visa, could you give me any advice on what info they would accept about this please.
> 
> thank you


----------



## Kkkk

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kkkk -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Generally unpaid bills or bad credit is not considered or looked at as part of a visa application unless the applicant has a debt to the Commonwealth of Australia (ie, unpaid taxes, or some other debt owed to the Commonwealth).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks mark

Just last thing what does mean debt owed to commonwealth . .?

I have no unpaid taxes. I was working on tfn before but no unpaid taxe was there

Thanks for your kind help


----------



## jimsmith127

hi Mark, thanks for the reply, 

i have been looking at the DIBP site and the checklist they show there looks scary,  i will be writing my statement over the next few days as will my wife, i will submit it with my application and take it from there, i have spoken to the department a few times to get advice and they did tell me that because we are married, the process has gone from 3 stage down to 2, so thats a big help, but im still worried that something will go wrong, will they contact me if they need more info from me.

thanks again


----------



## ausandport

Hello Mark,

Could you please help with this query. My auntie an Australian citizen wants to sponsor her sister via the 115 visa. Her sister is currently living in Portugal with her parents but wants to live in Australia. Would this visa be the right option?

Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kkkk -

A debt to the Commonwealth means money owed to the government of Australia - this could be unpaid fines or taxes, or any other unpaid fee or money owed to the federal Australian government. This would not include, for instance, money owed to businesses (ie, credit card debt, etc) or money owed to individuals.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kkkk said:


> Thanks mark
> 
> Just last thing what does mean debt owed to commonwealth . .?
> 
> I have no unpaid taxes. I was working on tfn before but no unpaid taxe was there
> 
> Thanks for your kind help


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Jimsmith127 -

Sounds like you're on the right track. Yes, the evidence requirements for partner visas are substantial - many partner visa applications run 200+ pages long. There is a lot of fake marriage visa fraud going on, so the more of that occurs, the more DIBP increases the requirements for everyone. In many cases if DIBP does not feel there is sufficient evidence for your relationship, they will contact you and request more, but that's not guaranteed. Would recommend you treat them like the tax department - don't expect friendly, helpful advice about how to pay less taxes. Do your homework, and send them everything you can - don't expect them to hold your hand or be kind and flexible - *remember from their point of view the grant of an Australian visa is a privilege, not a right *(!)

Best,

Mark Northam



jimsmith127 said:


> hi Mark, thanks for the reply,
> 
> i have been looking at the DIBP site and the checklist they show there looks scary,  i will be writing my statement over the next few days as will my wife, i will submit it with my application and take it from there, i have spoken to the department a few times to get advice and they did tell me that because we are married, the process has gone from 3 stage down to 2, so thats a big help, but im still worried that something will go wrong, will they contact me if they need more info from me.
> 
> thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ausandport -

Thanks for the note. You'll need to determine if the applicant has any near relatives living outside of Australia - if so, that could make her ineligible for this visa. Also, this visa is somewhat impractical because the Australian government has so severely limited the numbers of visas available for this subclass that the waiting time is currently estimated to be 16 years. Here's more info on the visa:

https://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/115.aspx

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## kusiying

Hi Mark,

I have lodged my ENS 186 visa on 30 aug 2013. I've got my own case office, but my agent was not efficient enough. She didn't upload any information at lodgment as I asked, and now she is making mistakes in answering my case officer's email. I m thinking to fill a 956a form to let the case officer contact me directly. 

Does the form need to be signed by my agent? how many days does this application takes? and will my case officer feel negative of me because the application? 

All I want to get my visa approved asap, I would do anything that it takes.

thanks a lot

Cloe


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cloe -

Based on what you said, the agent (unregistered, I assume?) has gone way beyond efficiency problems and is putting your visa at risk through negligent behaviour. Simply put, you have too much at risk - time-wise, money-wise, etc to depend on a faulty agent or someone without the proper training and knowledge. Migration law is complex and constantly changing - if you're going to get advice, make sure you get professional advice from a registered agent.

If you originally authorised the agent with a 956a, then that's the form to de-authorise them. If you used a 956 to authorise the person originally, then you would use a 956 to de-authorise (end the appointment). I would suggest requesting a complete copy of your file from the agent, and review to see how all the correspondence was handled. Notify your case officer you have ended your engagement of the agent, and to kindly advise you of all outstanding requests, then do your best to address all the case officer's requests.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your case!

Best,

Mark Northam



kusiying said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have lodged my ENS 186 visa on 30 aug 2013. I've got my own case office, but my agent was not efficient enough. She didn't upload any information at lodgment as I asked, and now she is making mistakes in answering my case officer's email. I m thinking to fill a 956a form to let the case officer contact me directly.
> 
> Does the form need to be signed by my agent? how many days does this application takes? and will my case officer feel negative of me because the application?
> 
> All I want to get my visa approved asap, I would do anything that it takes.
> 
> thanks a lot
> 
> Cloe


----------



## kusiying

Hi Mark,

Thanks for replying me. It is very helpful. 

Do my agent need to sign form 956a? 

And where do I need to lodge the 956a form at? May I send this form directly to my Case officer? 

Can I contact my CO before the application takes effect?

Thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kusiying -

Your agent would need to sign the form, but if he refuses, I would lodge the form anyway with a letter to your case officer that you are ending your appointment of this person as your authorised representative. Would suggest finding out contact info for your case officer since he's already in touch with them, and send the form directly to your case officer.

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## jimsmith127

MarkNortham said:


> HI Jimsmith127 -
> 
> Sounds like you're on the right track. Yes, the evidence requirements for partner visas are substantial - many partner visa applications run 200+ pages long. There is a lot of fake marriage visa fraud going on, so the more of that occurs, the more DIBP increases the requirements for everyone. In many cases if DIBP does not feel there is sufficient evidence for your relationship, they will contact you and request more, but that's not guaranteed. Would recommend you treat them like the tax department - don't expect friendly, helpful advice about how to pay less taxes. Do your homework, and send them everything you can - don't expect them to hold your hand or be kind and flexible - *remember from their point of view the grant of an Australian visa is a privilege, not a right *(!)
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thanks for the advice makr,


----------



## mego&vevo

*hi mark*

hi mark 
nice thread......i have a question about how to bring my future wife to Australia
we are not married yet nor engaged and i all ready logged an application subclass 190 and done medical and upload papers but application include me only and i want to travel first before marriage after visa to prepare a home there then came marry her and take her......

my question.....which type of visa should she apply for or what can i do to bring her with me since she is not included in my application and i can not add her because we are not married yet?

sorry for troubling you


----------



## jimsmith127

MarkNortham said:


> HI Jimsmith127 -
> 
> Sounds like you're on the right track. Yes, the evidence requirements for partner visas are substantial - many partner visa applications run 200+ pages long. There is a lot of fake marriage visa fraud going on, so the more of that occurs, the more DIBP increases the requirements for everyone. In many cases if DIBP does not feel there is sufficient evidence for your relationship, they will contact you and request more, but that's not guaranteed. Would recommend you treat them like the tax department - don't expect friendly, helpful advice about how to pay less taxes. Do your homework, and send them everything you can - don't expect them to hold your hand or be kind and flexible - *remember from their point of view the grant of an Australian visa is a privilege, not a right *(!)
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thanks for the advice mark,

i will sort as much as i can, if i need more advice i will ask you again if that would be ok

thanks
jim smith


----------



## bhustrulid

*190 visa help*

Hi Mark,

I'am looking to getting my skill assessment 612112 PROPERTY MANAGER from vet assess. My question is i need to have a A qualification assessed at AQF Certificate III level, how would i determine this before I do the assessment?

I have a High school diploma and then:

A USA Real Estate license with the following education taken:
1) Sales Pre-License (63 hours) -Diploma
2) Sales Post-License (45 hours) - Diploma (must have taken Sales Pre-License to take this)
3) Broker Pre-License (72 hours) - Diploma (must have taken Sales Pre-License & Sales Post-License to take this)

Do you think I would assessed at a AQF Certificate III level or higher? I also am working in the Real Estate and property Management business for the last 11 years.

Any info would be great thank you


----------



## goldy

*309/100 partner visa*

Hi Mark,
Thanks for the recent reply, department rejected her Tourist Visa twice so may be this could cause us bit delay..and her case officer sometimes start her title with Ms and sometime with Mrs so bit consfused with this. She said her file is under consideration and its already been 2 months after we subbmitted all the docs..she is living overseas nw with my parents it won't affect her file please it would be appreciated if you reply thanks .....


----------



## lois

Hi Mark,

My friend is on a 457 visa and sponsored by a company. He is in the process of adding his partner to his visa.

My partner (australian citizen) is writing a stat dec for this couple, however there is hardly any info online about applying for this type of visa. Should the stat dec be on the form 888, or is this just for 820 visas? If so, what format should he use?

Thanks
Lois


----------



## goodekl26

Hi Mark, 

I've posted my own thread about this, but I've been referred to this thread. It's a complicated situation but if you could help with any advice at all it'd be greatly appreciated.

I know someone who has an 820 de facto visa and is currently still in the 2 year probationary resident period. Just a few questions regarding what might happen due to issues in the relationship.

This person I know is aware that there is a way to have that probationary period and the relationship requirement waived in the event of abuse. I'm wondering however, if it's that black and white. 
The person I know has not been abused in a physical way as such, but as the result of the sponsor's developed drug habit, they've become highly volatile and what you'd typically expect from someone who rapidly and completely downward spirals. The relationship is all but deteriorated, and the visa holder has no control. A simple google search of the typical personality changes and effects on personal relationships of one of the more popular hard drugs is enough to confirm that this cannot be fixed, and will begin to get dangerous if the visa holder continues to try to mend the relationship and/or seek help for the sponsor without their wanting it themselves.

Additionally, the sponsor has been arrested and charged with using, intent to sell, and trafficking - yet has not had a court date so is not officially convicted, therefore is not yet sure for how long if at all any jail time will be served as a result.
Sticky situation. 

The visa holder in this scenario does not want to create waves or cause any additional difficulties for the sponsor's situation as a result of taking this enquiry straight to immigration - so if there is anyone who knows a bit about whether or not the visa holder will end up losing their hope of residency (they have had enough and have little interest in continuing the relationship for the sole purpose of the visa) as well as their partner, any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help!


----------



## 33ewt

Hi Mark!

Just wanted to ask: am I able to apply for another visa (defacto) whilst on the bridging visa E (BVE) Thanks in advance


----------



## want2binoz

Hi mark, wondering if you can help us. Our visa application for the 489 has been put on hold due to pregnancy. We had just been allocated a case officer. The baby won't be born until June. The problem now is the medical. We will be a family of 4, myself - have had a few overnight stays in hospital due to ectopic pregnancy, blood transfusion after 1st birth and a recent occasion when my waters broke at 17weeks (all ok now, and all hospital stays due to pregnancy) - do these need to be declared at the medical? Will they need evidence or can they look at my medical history? The second issue is my 3 year old son (he'll be four at the medicals) he just been referred for speech therapy as he doesn't talk much. Will we need to mention this or will it open a can of worms? Will they be able to find this out the eves in the medical or will we need to provide any further evidence? What's the procedure in the medical? Will they sit and ask questions or will they just go with the pre filled forms? Any help or guidance would be really appreciated. Kind regards


----------



## swavik

Hello Mark..

After reading the posts online i understood some things in case of your work experience declarations..Please let me know if i am right and the way to solve it.
For my current work experience Declaration i have the period of employment on the Company letterhead as follows,
'This is to confirm that Mr......., bearing employee code......,is an employee of ...... since May 2012..This certificate is being issued on his request and as a proof of employnebt with us'
After scanning the documents i realized that we need that ACS has problem with such declaration..they need the exact date of termination(which has not terminated yet,so how can i write? is it not understood)
If they dont accept this then my points will go down..
is there any way out so that this genuine work exp is considered.
Thank you Mark.

Regards


----------



## bravo189

*hi Mark*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing good.

I have few queries on 189 visa documents upload:

1. For every section can i update more than I document:
e.g. for work experience, shall i upload payslips, work reference letter,bank statements? or one of the above is fine?

2. Do I need to get certified for all the documents?
Like I have lot of payslips ( for last 7 years) do I need to get certified all?

3. I have uploaded few documents, I could still see the progress to "Required" in some items, other items shows "received" what is the difference?

Please help me.

Thanks


----------



## HHanif

MarkNortham said:


> Hi HHanif -
> 
> Best thing to do would be to enquire with the office that sent you the medical HAP ID and letter, etc to help them get your previous test linked up with your application. Even if you do not have a case officer yet, someone at the office should be able to help you.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi,

Will do so. Thanks for your advise. As far as somebody in the department is concerned, I can't get through to them on phone or on email


----------



## bluebox451

*compelling circumstances*

Hi mark, immigration told me i have to write a letter stating compelling or compassionate circumstances that my partner should be allowed to visit australia on a visitor visa (he only wants to comes for 6 weeks) however he tried last year and his visa was cancelled - see below. What are good reasons to give as we are not sick or dying and all the reasons ive seen on the net are really impressive whereas we just want to see each other!!

"Your previous substantive visa, Class UD-601 was cancelled under section 116 (1)(g) of the
Migration Act 1958 andMigration Regulation 2.43(1)(ea) on 08/11/2013.
If you have had a previous Australian visa cancelled under this section of the Act, you
are subject to Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4013. If you are affected by PIC 4013, you
generally cannot be granted a temporary visa within a period of three (3) years after the visa
cancellation.
Your application for an electronic Visitor (subclass 600) Tourist stream visa can still be
considered for grant if in your case there are:
1. compelling circumstances that affect the interests of Australia; or
2. compassionate or compelling circumstances that affect the interests of an Australian
citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen."

Please help


----------



## 33ewt

For a partner visa onshore application, do both the sponsor and applicant get interviewed? Cheers


----------



## goldy

*309/100 partner visa*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Goldy -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I wish I had better news, but all you can do is wait. Partner visas processing times are highly unpredictable and can take from 9-12 months or more to process, and DIBP doesn't say where they are in the process if you ask. As they asked for Medicals and Police, that generally means that they anticipate a decision is less than 12 months away, since the first entry date if the visa is granted will be set to be no later than the expiration date of your health or police checks.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello mark,
Thanks for the recent reply, department rejected her Tourist Visa twice so may be this could cause us bit delay..and her case officer sometimes start her title with Ms and sometime with Mrs so bit consfused with this. She said her file is under consideration and its already been 2 months after we subbmitted all the docs..she is living overseas now with my parents hope it won't affect her fil, it would be appreciated if you reply thanks .....


----------



## Pomtoz

Hi Mark - hope your ok? I was just wondering if you would be able to help me out?

Just a quick question about BVA - am I allowed to move state whilst waiting? My application is down in Sydney and we want to move to Regional QLD? Is this at all possible?

Thanks in advance


----------



## babyinoz

Hi Mark,
I just found out I am in the early stages of pregnancy. I am only in Australia on a Work and Holiday visa that will expire January 2015. I thought I could get a de facto partner visa in order to stay. My partner (who is an Australian citizen) and I have not been together for 12 months, but we are going to be buying a house together and want to care for our baby together. I know pregnancy does not make the process go faster, but is being pregnant with my partner's child enough to waive the 12 month requirement? I don't want to wait to lodge the application until after the baby is born because I need Medicare to help pay for everything. Is that possible or is it really better for me to just wait and fork out thousands and thousands of dollars for medical bills then apply after bub is born?
Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mego & Vevo -

Sounds like a visitor visa might be good for short term trips that you want to take sooner rather than later. Once you have the 190 visa approved, you could then sponsor her on a partner visa lodged either onshore (if she can get a visitor, etc visa onshore without condition 8503) or offshore, with more visitor visas to allow travel until her partner visa is processed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mego&vevo said:


> hi mark
> nice thread......i have a question about how to bring my future wife to Australia
> we are not married yet nor engaged and i all ready logged an application subclass 190 and done medical and upload papers but application include me only and i want to travel first before marriage after visa to prepare a home there then came marry her and take her......
> 
> my question.....which type of visa should she apply for or what can i do to bring her with me since she is not included in my application and i can not add her because we are not married yet?
> 
> sorry for troubling you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bhustrulid -

Thanks for the note - I think you may have sent me a PM or email about this as well. No way to predict how VETASSESS will assess the qualification - it's a complex process where they go through all the details of the qual and decide how it maps to the AQF system.

Sorry I couldn't help more on this, but in this case there's no substitute for simply lodging the VETASSESS application and seeing how they assess your qual.

Best,

Mark Northam



bhustrulid said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'am looking to getting my skill assessment 612112 PROPERTY MANAGER from vet assess. My question is i need to have a A qualification assessed at AQF Certificate III level, how would i determine this before I do the assessment?
> 
> I have a High school diploma and then:
> 
> A USA Real Estate license with the following education taken:
> 1) Sales Pre-License (63 hours) -Diploma
> 2) Sales Post-License (45 hours) - Diploma (must have taken Sales Pre-License to take this)
> 3) Broker Pre-License (72 hours) - Diploma (must have taken Sales Pre-License & Sales Post-License to take this)
> 
> Do you think I would assessed at a AQF Certificate III level or higher? I also am working in the Real Estate and property Management business for the last 11 years.
> 
> Any info would be great thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Goldy -

If you have a 309/100 lodged and have had a visitor visa rejected twice, my thought is that you need to carefully re-examine whatever relationship evidence and other info you're providing with your applications. Something is not right, and it may be that your 309/100 application is generating sufficient concern at DIBP that they're not ready to grant a visitor visa. More research is necessary, soon.

Best,

Mark Northam



goldy said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for the recent reply, department rejected her Tourist Visa twice so may be this could cause us bit delay..and her case officer sometimes start her title with Ms and sometime with Mrs so bit consfused with this. She said her file is under consideration and its already been 2 months after we subbmitted all the docs..she is living overseas nw with my parents it won't affect her file please it would be appreciated if you reply thanks .....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lois -

Thanks for the note. Generally form 888 is fine, as is a typed statement expressing the writer's belief that the relationship is a genuine married or defacto relationship. I noted your location flag is UK - note that stat decs can only be signed on Australian soil and witnessed by qualified persons - so depending on the circumstances a signed statement with copy of ID may be more convenient. That being said, some case officers specifically request stat decs in relationship cases, so best to conform to what is being requested.

Best,

Mark Northam



lois said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My friend is on a 457 visa and sponsored by a company. He is in the process of adding his partner to his visa.
> 
> My partner (australian citizen) is writing a stat dec for this couple, however there is hardly any info online about applying for this type of visa. Should the stat dec be on the form 888, or is this just for 820 visas? If so, what format should he use?
> 
> Thanks
> Lois


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Goodekl26 -

Thanks for the question, and sorry to hear of your friend's situation.

Your friend needs to carefully research the family violence (FV) provisions of the Migration Regulations and Migration Act - a partner visa application may continue on to permanent residence processing without the support of the sponsor if the relationship breaks down due to family violence. One definition that may be helpful for family violence is:

_Conduct, whether actual or threatened, towards:

the alleged victim, or
a member of the family unit of the alleged victim, or
a member of the family unit of the alleged perpetrator, or
the property of the alleged victim, or
the property of a member of the family unit of the alleged victim, or
the property of a member of the family unit of the alleged perpetrator,

that causes the alleged victim to reasonably fear for, or to be reasonably apprehensive about, his or her own wellbeing or safety'._

Note that family violence does not necessarily need to be physical violence - it can be psychological violence or other types where verbal communication is used rather than physical acts (hitting, assault, etc).

There are specific requirements, including evidence requirements, for making a claim of family violence in order to apply for permanent residence under these grounds. Would suggest your friend consider seeking professional assistance in this matter as the regulations can be complex, or if that's not possible then carefully research the evidence and other requirements for making an application such as this. Once the application is made, the sponsor is not part of the assessment of the application for family violence, so it's not as if they are going to ask the sponsor whether he agrees that the violence occurred. The sponsor in fact has no right to get information about the claim once a claim is made.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



goodekl26 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've posted my own thread about this, but I've been referred to this thread. It's a complicated situation but if you could help with any advice at all it'd be greatly appreciated.
> 
> I know someone who has an 820 de facto visa and is currently still in the 2 year probationary resident period. Just a few questions regarding what might happen due to issues in the relationship.
> 
> This person I know is aware that there is a way to have that probationary period and the relationship requirement waived in the event of abuse. I'm wondering however, if it's that black and white.
> The person I know has not been abused in a physical way as such, but as the result of the sponsor's developed drug habit, they've become highly volatile and what you'd typically expect from someone who rapidly and completely downward spirals. The relationship is all but deteriorated, and the visa holder has no control. A simple google search of the typical personality changes and effects on personal relationships of one of the more popular hard drugs is enough to confirm that this cannot be fixed, and will begin to get dangerous if the visa holder continues to try to mend the relationship and/or seek help for the sponsor without their wanting it themselves.
> 
> Additionally, the sponsor has been arrested and charged with using, intent to sell, and trafficking - yet has not had a court date so is not officially convicted, therefore is not yet sure for how long if at all any jail time will be served as a result.
> Sticky situation.
> 
> The visa holder in this scenario does not want to create waves or cause any additional difficulties for the sponsor's situation as a result of taking this enquiry straight to immigration - so if there is anyone who knows a bit about whether or not the visa holder will end up losing their hope of residency (they have had enough and have little interest in continuing the relationship for the sole purpose of the visa) as well as their partner, any advice would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Want2binoz -

Thanks for the note. The medical exam will involve a series of questions asked both on a questionnaire, *and *by the doctor at the exam - it's important that you answer all of them truthfully. Generally one-time medical situations like the ones you mentioned for yourself are not cause for concern. The speech therapy issue may be an issue only if it involves, in the examining doctor's view, long-term care that is projected to cost more than $35,000 over the first five years of your permanent residency.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



want2binoz said:


> Hi mark, wondering if you can help us. Our visa application for the 489 has been put on hold due to pregnancy. We had just been allocated a case officer. The baby won't be born until June. The problem now is the medical. We will be a family of 4, myself - have had a few overnight stays in hospital due to ectopic pregnancy, blood transfusion after 1st birth and a recent occasion when my waters broke at 17weeks (all ok now, and all hospital stays due to pregnancy) - do these need to be declared at the medical? Will they need evidence or can they look at my medical history? The second issue is my 3 year old son (he'll be four at the medicals) he just been referred for speech therapy as he doesn't talk much. Will we need to mention this or will it open a can of worms? Will they be able to find this out the eves in the medical or will we need to provide any further evidence? What's the procedure in the medical? Will they sit and ask questions or will they just go with the pre filled forms? Any help or guidance would be really appreciated. Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Thanks for the question. Your proposed letter sounds reasonable, however it's not possible to assess documents based on what they might contain. If you currently work at a job, no need to put termination date - just leave blank or have the letter say "and continues to be employed as of this date.". Also important to put the position or job title in the letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello Mark..
> 
> After reading the posts online i understood some things in case of your work experience declarations..Please let me know if i am right and the way to solve it.
> For my current work experience Declaration i have the period of employment on the Company letterhead as follows,
> 'This is to confirm that Mr......., bearing employee code......,is an employee of ...... since May 2012..This certificate is being issued on his request and as a proof of employnebt with us'
> After scanning the documents i realized that we need that ACS has problem with such declaration..they need the exact date of termination(which has not terminated yet,so how can i write? is it not understood)
> If they dont accept this then my points will go down..
> is there any way out so that this genuine work exp is considered.
> Thank you Mark.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 33ewt -

Thanks for the question. Not enough info to give you an unqualified answer - if you had Condition 8503 on your last substantive (ie, non-bridging) visa, that would be a problem unless waived. If you have been on a bridging visa for more than 28 days, you'll likely have to satisfy the compelling reasons aspects of Schedule 3 of the Migration Regulations 1994 as part of the partner visa application. Plus there may be other issues - sponsorship limitations if you have sponsored someone else recently or have been sponsored yourself recently, etc. However, just being on a BV-E by itself is not a bar to applying for a partner visa - but as you see above, there are other issues that may be present (note the above list is not a complete list of all potential issues - would suggest you get professional assistance to better understand all of the aspects of things if your situation is complex).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



33ewt said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Just wanted to ask: am I able to apply for another visa (defacto) whilst on the bridging visa E (BVE) Thanks in advance


----------



## want2binoz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Want2binoz -
> 
> Thanks for the note. The medical exam will involve a series of questions asked both on a questionnaire, *and *by the doctor at the exam - it's important that you answer all of them truthfully. Generally one-time medical situations like the ones you mentioned for yourself are not cause for concern. The speech therapy issue may be an issue only if it involves, in the examining doctor's view, long-term care that is projected to cost more than $35,000 over the first five years of your permanent residency.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, 
Thanks for your reply. Since my post the speech therapist mentioned it could also be autism. We are not sure if we should push for a diagnosis over here before or after the medicals, what would you suggest? Will the visa be declined if he's not been diagnosed but we mention it at the medical ? Would reports from the speech therapist help?
Really confused about this matter and again thank you x


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bravo189 -

Thanks for the questions. Yes, you can upload more than one document of each kind. I can't tell you what is sufficient without examining the documents. If in doubt, I'd upload all of them that might be helpful in supporting your claims, but again, cannot give you specific advice on your application without seeing the docs you are considering uplaoding.

Re: Required / received - Required means you are required to submit this document, however sometimes the indicators on the upload screen are not accurate for each and every visa applicant. Received means you have uploaded at least one of this document type.

Re: certified, DIBP is now saying that uncertified colour scans of original documents are OK for online lodgements, and if you have a black & white copy of an original document, those need to be certified. I still recommend having passport and ID docs (birth cert, etc) certified in any case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bravo189 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing good.
> 
> I have few queries on 189 visa documents upload:
> 
> 1. For every section can i update more than I document:
> e.g. for work experience, shall i upload payslips, work reference letter,bank statements? or one of the above is fine?
> 
> 2. Do I need to get certified for all the documents?
> Like I have lot of payslips ( for last 7 years) do I need to get certified all?
> 
> 3. I have uploaded few documents, I could still see the progress to "Required" in some items, other items shows "received" what is the difference?
> 
> Please help me.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HHanif -

Sorry to hear that - not anything I can assist with unfortunately. DIBP tightly restricts incoming communications, especially from outside Australia. Best thing is to start at your local Embassy, etc and work from there. Also don't forget about fax - sometimes a DIBP office won't publish any email or phone numbers, but fax is sometimes published, or also consider sending the communications via mail (post).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HHanif said:


> Hi,
> 
> Will do so. Thanks for your advise. As far as somebody in the department is concerned, I can't get through to them on phone or on email


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bluebox451 -

Your partner is apparently subject to a 3-year exclusion waiver due to the previous cancellation. In short, these can be very difficult to get waived. You may want to get professional assistance with this given the level of difficulty in getting this type of waiver - generally speaking you need to put together as compelling a case as possible that relates to the interests of an Australian permanent resident or citizen - in this case, it sounds like you would be that person as the sponsor. In these types of cases, we usually look at what would happen to the sponsor's employment, family ties, financial commitments, etc if he/she had to spend months away from Australia visiting the partner offshore. But it usually takes a significant interview with a client to dig into their situation and uncover and identify all the possible compelling issues that could be used to put together a submission that addresses the specific legal and policy requirements of an exclusion waiver.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bluebox451 said:


> Hi mark, immigration told me i have to write a letter stating compelling or compassionate circumstances that my partner should be allowed to visit australia on a visitor visa (he only wants to comes for 6 weeks) however he tried last year and his visa was cancelled - see below. What are good reasons to give as we are not sick or dying and all the reasons ive seen on the net are really impressive whereas we just want to see each other!!
> 
> "Your previous substantive visa, Class UD-601 was cancelled under section 116 (1)(g) of the
> Migration Act 1958 andMigration Regulation 2.43(1)(ea) on 08/11/2013.
> If you have had a previous Australian visa cancelled under this section of the Act, you
> are subject to Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4013. If you are affected by PIC 4013, you
> generally cannot be granted a temporary visa within a period of three (3) years after the visa
> cancellation.
> Your application for an electronic Visitor (subclass 600) Tourist stream visa can still be
> considered for grant if in your case there are:
> 1. compelling circumstances that affect the interests of Australia; or
> 2. compassionate or compelling circumstances that affect the interests of an Australian
> citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen."
> 
> Please help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Want2binoz -

Thanks for the note. I can't give you medical advice re: when or where to seek a diagnosis as there are all kinds of issues in play that affect that decision. I can tell you that a speech impediment is, on the scale of medical issues that could affect a visa application, on a considerably lower level than autism. Where as a speech impediment can be something that requires short-term treatment, autism is a much more involved condition in many cases - there have been some well publicised cases where autism has resulted in a visa refusal on health grounds. It may be best to focus on only the immediate issue with the child (speech) and avoid any speculation or guesswork by your doctor in terms of any specialist report sent to the DIBP doctor or clinic where you have the medical exam(s) done. If autism has been diagnosed, that's one thing. But if it has not, then I would question whether your doctor should bring it up to the DIBP people assuming a specialist report is sought.

Best,

Mark Northam



want2binoz said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your reply. Since my post the speech therapist mentioned it could also be autism. We are not sure if we should push for a diagnosis over here before or after the medicals, what would you suggest? Will the visa be declined if he's not been diagnosed but we mention it at the medical ? Would reports from the speech therapist help?
> Really confused about this matter and again thank you x


----------



## want2binoz

Thanks Mark!


----------



## bluebox451

thank you so much i will look into it further


----------



## ragheed

im from palestinian territories , whats the best way to leave this place and come and live forever in australia?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ragheed -

Thanks for the question - wish I had a simple answer. There are four ways I can think of right off the top of my head:

* See if you have the skills, education and work experience to apply for a skilled visa (subclass 489, 189 and 190 are the most popular)
* See if you can locate an employer in Australia to sponsor you for an employer sponsored temporary ( 457) or permanent (186, 187) visa
* See if you can qualify for a student visa to come and study in Australia
* Marry an Australian citizen or permanent resident and apply for a partner visa (or fiance visa if you are engaged)

Of course, this is a highly simplified view of things, but perhaps it's enough to get you started thinking about which of these ways may be the best fit for you. DIBP has a "Visa Wizard" at Find a visa that also may be helpful

Hope this helps, and best of luck -

Best,

Mark Northam



ragheed said:


> im from palestinian territories , whats the best way to leave this place and come and live forever in australia?


----------



## ragheed

what if i apply for refugee and humanitarian visa? i already did that but i have sent it to VICTORIA instead of australian embassy in israel, im palestinian so we dont have an australian embassy in palestinian territories, please provide me with all the information i need to know about that. thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ragheed -

Would like to help but we don't work in the area of refugee and humanitarian visas so I don't have the information you need - you may want to look at some of the refugee organisations in Australia that assist with these things like RACS and others. Not sure where humanitarian visas are to be lodged, however for fiance and visitor visas we've lodged in the past for citizens of the Palestinian territories, DIBP requires that they are to be lodged at the Israel (Tel Aviv) Australian Embassy.

Best,

Mark Northam



ragheed said:


> what if i apply for refugee and humanitarian visa? i already did that but i have sent it to VICTORIA instead of australian embassy in israel, im palestinian so we dont have an australian embassy in palestinian territories, please provide me with all the information i need to know about that. thank you in advance


----------



## ragheed

thank you mark , u were a big hand of help  best regards


----------



## IrnaV

Thank you very much Mr. Mark!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi IrnaV -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Partner visas typically take 9-12 months to process, and often a case officer won't be assigned until halfway through (or more) the process. You generally won't hear anything after the acknowledgement letter until they request medicals or police clearances (if you didn't provide them already), or until they want more info or documents. Other than that, best thing to do is to be patient and make sure DIBP always has your current contact info.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## HHanif

MarkNortham said:


> Hi HHanif -
> 
> Sorry to hear that - not anything I can assist with unfortunately. DIBP tightly restricts incoming communications, especially from outside Australia. Best thing is to start at your local Embassy, etc and work from there. Also don't forget about fax - sometimes a DIBP office won't publish any email or phone numbers, but fax is sometimes published, or also consider sending the communications via mail (post).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for your assistance.

I think DIBP is upgrading its telephone lines. I have even tried asking a friend in australia to reach out to them, but the hold is for hours. I have even faxed them my concern. Contacted the Embassy is Pak but they can't help either as they do not process 573. As per your advise I contacted the meeical centre and their status is showing that my results were forwarded as indicatee in my eMedical letter. Unfortunately, next week is the last week for enrolment and the fact that I can not even get in touch with the department is disappointing. Hoping for the best!


----------



## swavik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Your proposed letter sounds reasonable, however it's not possible to assess documents based on what they might contain. If you currently work at a job, no need to put termination date - just leave blank or have the letter say "and continues to be employed as of this date.". Also important to put the position or job title in the letter.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


 Hello Mark,

Sorry to trouble with the same question..The application is already with the assessor so cant make any changes now unless asked for by the ACS..
I have sent the letter on company's letterhead with the visiting card and company ID cared notarised for the current employment.
But just in case they dont consider this because i have not clearly stated the termination date then is it possible to rectify this mistake while filing the EOI..can i send the salary slips and the rectified letter to the DIBP of the current employment so that they can consider it for my points.
If yes then how can i send it ? because in EOI we dont have to scan any documents, we only have to answer the questions..?is there any step after SUBMIT EOI which will allow me to scan these documents..

Sorry once again to trouble you..
But i am really upset that one silly mistake is going to cost me some of my points...

Thank you,
Regards.


----------



## Champ

Thanks a lot for the reply Mark. 
We will wait for the CO to reply and will update you accordingly.

I really appreciate your help in this regards.

Thanks
Champ!!


----------



## Confused2

Hi Mark

What is ACT 1959?

Thank you very much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

No problem uploading updated document - this is part of applying for the visa after you receive an invitation from DIBP to do so. DIBP typically requires more docs from previous employment than the skills assessors do, etc so again, no problem providing additional info at visa lodgement time.

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Sorry to trouble with the same question..The application is already with the assessor so cant make any changes now unless asked for by the ACS..
> I have sent the letter on company's letterhead with the visiting card and company ID cared notarised for the current employment.
> But just in case they dont consider this because i have not clearly stated the termination date then is it possible to rectify this mistake while filing the EOI..can i send the salary slips and the rectified letter to the DIBP of the current employment so that they can consider it for my points.
> If yes then how can i send it ? because in EOI we dont have to scan any documents, we only have to answer the questions..?is there any step after SUBMIT EOI which will allow me to scan these documents..
> 
> Sorry once again to trouble you..
> But i am really upset that one silly mistake is going to cost me some of my points...
> 
> Thank you,
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Confused2 -

I expect that is a reference to the Migration Act 1958, which is the primary set of laws regarding migration to Australia - this is referenced in conjunction with the Migration Regulation 1994, which is called "delegated legislation" and contains regulations as to how the Act's goals and actions are to be carried out. The third piece of the group is the Procedures Advice Manual 3 (PAM3) which is published by DIBP and contained policy advice (which is not technically law) about how the Act and Regs are to be interpreted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Confused2 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> What is ACT 1959?
> 
> Thank you very much!


----------



## swavik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> No problem uploading updated document - this is part of applying for the visa after you receive an invitation from DIBP to do so. DIBP typically requires more docs from previous employment than the skills assessors do, etc so again, no problem providing additional info at visa lodgement time.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

This means now i cant do anything with regards to prevent losing those points for emplyoment..Because the DIBP comes in picture only after you get the invitation on EOI filing(and you getting the required score)..
Points we need so that it increases our chances of getting invited on filing EOI...

Regards
Thank you mark..


----------



## bharathi1982

Excellent as usual Mark. Thanks for clearing my doubts.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bravo189 -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Yes, you can upload more than one document of each kind. I can't tell you what is sufficient without examining the documents. If in doubt, I'd upload all of them that might be helpful in supporting your claims, but again, cannot give you specific advice on your application without seeing the docs you are considering uplaoding.
> 
> Re: Required / received - Required means you are required to submit this document, however sometimes the indicators on the upload screen are not accurate for each and every visa applicant. Received means you have uploaded at least one of this document type.
> 
> Re: certified, DIBP is now saying that uncertified colour scans of original documents are OK for online lodgements, and if you have a black & white copy of an original document, those need to be certified. I still recommend having passport and ID docs (birth cert, etc) certified in any case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## adm6

*Bridging Visa B Processing time?*

Hi Mark

I was wondering if you know roughly how long it takes to get a bridging visa B granted? I sent an application for BVB to the sydney office last week and haven't heard anything yet - I was under the impression that it only took a day or two? Tried calling the helpline but gave up after 30min on hold so hoping you might have some idea?

Thanks!


----------



## jaffaop

Hi mark.

I don't know if you still remmber me , am from palestine and i am still waiting reply about my visa application 600 since 2nd december 2013 , i have send my application in advance before 4 months from date of visting, its still under considration, waiting time is 80 days.


My question about bank statement about 10 thousnads US dollars in my saving bank account, i have provided the bank statment for last 6 months.

So am going to visit australia for just week in may , is it enough money to be accpeted or it will be rejected ?

Also provided student proof evidence from my unverisity , i have finished 3 years in IT Field and i still have one more year to finish, as proof that i will return to continue my unverisity, also provided ticket confirmation for exhabit will be in may to attend it .


----------



## dansyed

*TIme Lines*

Hi,

Just for the sake of everyone I am putting my timelines here so that they may understand the time it takes.

Visa Application Lodged: 29th May, 2012
CO assigned: 12th Aug, 2012
Medicals and PCC requested: 31st Dec, 2013
Medicals Done at Clinic: 22nd Jan, 2014
PCC submitted: 22nd Jan, 2014
Medicals Submitted at E-Health: 31st Jan, 2014
Medicals Finalized: 11th Feb, 2014
Visa Granted: 19th Feb, 2014

Let me know if you need more info on the process especially medicals, as I was morbidly obese and had to go for a few more tests. But eventually it all was fine.

Thanks.


----------



## Chebgirl

Hi Mark!

I have a question: today my husband resieved a skills assessment from ACS and there is a mistake: in the line of the country of my husband`s employer. Few years ago he worked in Australia for 8 months and ACS wrote Russia instead of Australia.

Here it is:
Dates: 03/11 - 11/11 (8 months)
Position: Software engineer
Employer: *******
Country: Russia

Question: can this mistake influence our visa application, can it be rejected?

Faithfully,

Ann


----------



## mego&vevo

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mego & Vevo -
> 
> Sounds like a visitor visa might be good for short term trips that you want to take sooner rather than later. Once you have the 190 visa approved, you could then sponsor her on a partner visa lodged either onshore (if she can get a visitor, etc visa onshore without condition 8503) or offshore, with more visitor visas to allow travel until her partner visa is processed.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thanks mark.......but what is the name of partner visa exactly.....like 190 is called skilled nominated subclass 190 so what will her visa be called


----------



## aussie2x

Hi Mark,

Do you think is possible to submit the document tbefore co decide the application?and that document supposed to submit " at a time of application"

What are the chances?

Thanks


----------



## lois

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lois -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Generally form 888 is fine, as is a typed statement expressing the writer's belief that the relationship is a genuine married or defacto relationship. I noted your location flag is UK - note that stat decs can only be signed on Australian soil and witnessed by qualified persons - so depending on the circumstances a signed statement with copy of ID may be more convenient. That being said, some case officers specifically request stat decs in relationship cases, so best to conform to what is being requested.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for taking to the time to reply and help .

My partner is the one making the statement and we are both in Australia so it shoul dbe ok to do the form 888.

Thanks again


----------



## myallstone

*HI Mark*

after a little help ... ( getting ready to apply for prospective partner visa ) ...

It says to have at least 2 statutory dec.. from Australian citizen knowledge of our relationship... Form 888

I had my future come to Australia for 6 weeks ....I stayed with friends in Brisbane for a few days ... then went to my parents farm for xmas ...so really they are only people that saw us together as a couple ..

my question is ..... what is expected by department of immigration... 
(1) My dad wants to know what he should say ...( 2 )should it be a short to the point statement or a 5 page letter ( 3) is their a example declaration for me to see .... thanks ...


----------



## myallstone

*HI Mark*

after a little help ... ( getting ready to apply for prospective partner visa ) ...

It says to have at least 2 statutory dec.. from Australian citizen knowledge of our relationship... Form 888

I had my future come to Australia for 6 weeks ....I stayed with friends in Brisbane for a few days ... then went to my parents farm for xmas ...so really they are only people that saw us together as a couple ..

my question is ..... what is expected by department of immigration... 
(1) My dad wants to know what he should say ...( 2 )should it be a short to the point statement or a 5 page letter ( 3) is their a example declaration for me to see .... thanks ...

ps ..I am still getting used to this forum thing is this the place to make this type of post ..


----------



## lmbui

Hi Mark,

Please help me to clarify this one. 

I am currently holding student visa, my wife is Permanent resident (she is about to apply for citizenship). We have been in relationship for 1 year and just got married last week.

She has just finished her bachelor degree. While waiting for the graduation in April, she got the part-time job (cash-in-hand actually) and still looking for a full-time job. I also work part-time (with tax paid). We live together and share all the rent, bills, etc.

We want to apply partner visa in Australia (sub 820/201) in a one-month-time. Our plan is after lodging the application, I will voluntarily cancel my student visa then apply immediately for BVE with working conditions.

I am wondering if she is eligible to sponsor me with her current job? And is it risky with our plan?

Thanks heap for your thread.


----------



## bazidkhan

Hi Mark..
Plz answer my query..
wat are the normal time line for a stat sponsored skilled provisional visa subclass 489?
thanks for helping people..


----------



## Maree

Hi Mark. I am currently on a 457 (2 years now) sponsored as Project Admin. My company will nominate me for PR next month. 

Questions:

Do I need skills assessment?
My salary was the correct TSMIT at the time, $49,330 - it is now much higher I think. Do they need to update to that figure for my PR? (hopefully!)
Does my partner need to sit the English exam, or just me? (We are Italian)

Thank you very much!!!


----------



## macky4952

Hi Mark,

A quick question for you. My Partner and I met on my second year working holiday visa. We have therefore been apart for large parts of our relationship due to me having to leave the country. I have since returned and stayed with her on a holiday ETA tourist visa. 

My question is, would time spent living together on a tourist visa be admisable when applying for a defacto visa, even though I am technically on holiday during this time? 

Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adm6 -

Normally only a few days. Did you use the proper form and pay the application fee? The phone hold time is normally about 40 minutes, so it may be worth waiting to find out what's up. Also, in some cases if they respond by email (which is normal) and the email has a typo, etc, that can cause a delay.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark



adm6 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I was wondering if you know roughly how long it takes to get a bridging visa B granted? I sent an application for BVB to the sydney office last week and haven't heard anything yet - I was under the impression that it only took a day or two? Tried calling the helpline but gave up after 30min on hold so hoping you might have some idea?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaffaop -

Thanks for the note, and that sounds like a pretty good application to me! Problem is, as long as there are words like "genuine" which essentially have no fixed definition in the law, the case officer can do what he/she wants with these types of applications, especially visitor visa applications. Despite a pile of evidence, applicant owned a business in his home country, etc, I saw a refusal happen only because the conditions in the home country were at a "lower economic level" than in Australia. Hang in there, and don't be afraid to submit additional evidence if things are delayed for weeks or months, or check in as to the status of your application especially if they are taking an unusually long time to process it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jaffaop said:


> Hi mark.
> 
> I don't know if you still remmber me , am from palestine and i am still waiting reply about my visa application 600 since 2nd december 2013 , i have send my application in advance before 4 months from date of visting, its still under considration, waiting time is 80 days.
> 
> My question about bank statement about 10 thousnads US dollars in my saving bank account, i have provided the bank statment for last 6 months.
> 
> So am going to visit australia for just week in may , is it enough money to be accpeted or it will be rejected ?
> 
> Also provided student proof evidence from my unverisity , i have finished 3 years in IT Field and i still have one more year to finish, as proof that i will return to continue my unverisity, also provided ticket confirmation for exhabit will be in may to attend it .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ann -

Thanks for the note. While it may not be a cause for refusal, it can be important as Australian and overseas employment have points calculated in different ways. Suggest you contact ACS, point out the error, and ask them to reissue the result letter with the corrected information. Might save a hassle later on if DIBP gets concerned about this during visa processing.

Best,

Mark Northam



Chebgirl said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I have a question: today my husband resieved a skills assessment from ACS and there is a mistake: in the line of the country of my husband`s employer. Few years ago he worked in Australia for 8 months and ACS wrote Russia instead of Australia.
> 
> Here it is:
> Dates: 03/11 - 11/11 (8 months)
> Position: Software engineer
> Employer: *******
> Country: Russia
> 
> Question: can this mistake influence our visa application, can it be rejected?
> 
> Faithfully,
> 
> Ann


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Mego & Vevo -

The subclass 190 visa is a state sponsored skilled permanent resident visa. For onshore partner visa applications, it is a combined application of the subclass 820 and 801 (ie, 820/801). For offshore partner visa applications, it's 309/100. In each of these combos, the first number (ie, 820, 309) is the provisional visa part of the package which is normally granted first unless there is a long term relationship (2 yrs with a child, 3 yrs without a child) and the second number (801, 100) is the permanent visa part that can be finalised 2 years after you first apply for the partner visa.

So, a person onshore with a 190 PR visa can sponsor their non-citizen spouse for an 820/801 partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mego&vevo said:


> thanks mark.......but what is the name of partner visa exactly.....like 190 is called skilled nominated subclass 190 so what will her visa be called


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussie2x -

It all depends on the visa, the document, and the legal requirements for that visa regarding time of application and time of decision. There are so many questions and answers mixed together on this thread that I didn't see what visa and document you were referring to - if you could ask the question again with complete info, I'd be glad to help -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussie2x said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Do you think is possible to submit the document tbefore co decide the application?and that document supposed to submit " at a time of application"
> 
> What are the chances?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Myallstone -

There aren't any templates, etc for this, but the statement should essentially say (in as many or few words as the writer chooses):
* That he is familiar with both of you
* That he believes your relationship is genuine
* Maybe a note or two as to why he believes this (he's seen together, or he knows how you talk about your prospective partner and how happy it makes you, etc)

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



myallstone said:


> after a little help ... ( getting ready to apply for prospective partner visa ) ...
> 
> It says to have at least 2 statutory dec.. from Australian citizen knowledge of our relationship... Form 888
> 
> I had my future come to Australia for 6 weeks ....I stayed with friends in Brisbane for a few days ... then went to my parents farm for xmas ...so really they are only people that saw us together as a couple ..
> 
> my question is ..... what is expected by department of immigration...
> (1) My dad wants to know what he should say ...( 2 )should it be a short to the point statement or a 5 page letter ( 3) is their a example declaration for me to see .... thanks ...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Imbui -

DIBP will want to see some evidence of employment for your sponsor. Suggest you write a letter describing both of your incomes, however would not suggest admitting you are working without paying taxes (if that's the case with her, wasn't clear from your post). You can also talk in the letter about who pays for household expenses, rent, etc and if there are any third parties (like relatives or parents) that may contribute financially or be willing to provide support, that can help too. Another thing you can do is to note that she is studying, etc so therefore cannot work full time, but looks forward to full time work as soon as that's possible.

Re: voluntary student cancel and BV-E, don't forget that in addition to the BV-E conditions (ie, no way to re-enter Australia if you leave on a BV-E, 3 year exclusion period on temporary visa applications if you leave on a BV-E), the moment you cancel your student visa you are unlawfully in Australia, which means that any time before that event that you've lived in Australia is no longer eligible for satisfying the 4-year residency requirement - the clock starts again at that point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lmbui said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Please help me to clarify this one.
> 
> I am currently holding student visa, my wife is Permanent resident (she is about to apply for citizenship). We have been in relationship for 1 year and just got married last week.
> 
> She has just finished her bachelor degree. While waiting for the graduation in April, she got the part-time job (cash-in-hand actually) and still looking for a full-time job. I also work part-time (with tax paid). We live together and share all the rent, bills, etc.
> 
> We want to apply partner visa in Australia (sub 820/201) in a one-month-time. Our plan is after lodging the application, I will voluntarily cancel my student visa then apply immediately for BVE with working conditions.
> 
> I am wondering if she is eligible to sponsor me with her current job? And is it risky with our plan?
> 
> Thanks heap for your thread.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bazidkhan -

I've seen them come through in as little as a few months for state sponsored 489's, or over a year (and sometimes more) for family sponsored ones. I'd say typical time for state sponsored 489 applications is the same 6-9 month timeframe they take to process 190's.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bazidkhan said:


> Hi Mark..
> Plz answer my query..
> wat are the normal time line for a stat sponsored skilled provisional visa subclass 489?
> thanks for helping people..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maree -

Thanks for the question. The Temporary Resident Transitional (TRT) pathway for the ENS 186 employer sponsored PR visa requires IELTS scores of at least 5 on all bands and 2 years working for the nominating employer in the nominated occupation. Normally skills assessment are not required for this pathway, however in some rare cases a case officer may ask for one if he/she is not satisfied that you are suitably skilled. My view is that there is probably a very low chance of that happening in your case, however the thing to consider is that the Program & Project Administrator occupation has been heavily abused in the 457 visa regime - that's why that occupation now has a mandatory skills assessment requirement for all new 457 applications.

Re: Partner English, they will need to satisfy the requirements for Functional English to avoid a very high English fee (known as 2nd visa application charge - currently $4,890 for the 186 visa for secondary applicants) - this is usually done by scoring at least 4.5 on IELTS as an overall score, although there are some other ways to satisfy this re: previous education in English, etc.

Re: Pay, must be market rate and demonstrated to be market rate via evidence, and should be at least current TSMIT ($53,900) or above. You may want to look into the specific regulations in this regard.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maree said:


> Hi Mark. I am currently on a 457 (2 years now) sponsored as Project Admin. My company will nominate me for PR next month.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> Do I need skills assessment?
> My salary was the correct TSMIT at the time, $49,330 - it is now much higher I think. Do they need to update to that figure for my PR? (hopefully!)
> Does my partner need to sit the English exam, or just me? (We are Italian)
> 
> Thank you very much!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Macky -

My view would be yes, but it really depends on the circumstances you were living together under. If you were living under the same roof and sharing your lives together in all the ways that a couple does (see typical evidence requirements for partner visas in many threads on this forum), there is no regulation that disallows that time just because you hold a visitor visa. Just because a person is in Australia temporarily doesn't mean they aren't living together with someone during that short visit - imagine if a couple was married and one was here on a visitor visa - same issue - it's about the quality and the circumstances of the time the couple spent living together that is the focus.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



macky4952 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> A quick question for you. My Partner and I met on my second year working holiday visa. We have therefore been apart for large parts of our relationship due to me having to leave the country. I have since returned and stayed with her on a holiday ETA tourist visa.
> 
> My question is, would time spent living together on a tourist visa be admisable when applying for a defacto visa, even though I am technically on holiday during this time?
> 
> Cheers


----------



## Maggie-May24

Hi Mark
I have a question from the employer perspective. We have an employee on a 457 and will sponsor him in the next month or two for a 186 visa under TRT stream. Our Standard Business Sponsorship has expired (it's on my to-do list to renew). Does this need to be renewed prior to sponsoring him for the 186? Or is it sufficient to ensure it's done before nominating any further 457 applicants.
Thanks.


----------



## adm6

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Adm6 -
> 
> Normally only a few days. Did you use the proper form and pay the application fee? The phone hold time is normally about 40 minutes, so it may be worth waiting to find out what's up. Also, in some cases if they respond by email (which is normal) and the email has a typo, etc, that can cause a delay.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Thanks mark, it's been a week now and no reply from them. I used the correct form and filled in my credit card details. Sent recorded delivery so I know it's arrived in Sydney.,I called the helpline again yesterday and was told they sometimes don't respond until 2 weeks before your trip which seems strange when they say you can apply up to 3 months before. Any suggestions how I may be able to hurry them up? Is there a direct contact number for the Sydney office?

I'm pretty sure no one has even looked at my application as the fee hasn't been charged to my card yet - that was quick to be done when I sent in my partner visa application!

I'm only worried as I've requested 6 months travel rather than the usual 3 as I have some family issues at home and don't want to book flights until I know it's ok to go.

Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maggie-May -

Great question - I need to do some legal research on the 186 visa to make sure there's no issue with not having your sponsorship current - the issue is that for the ENS (186) visa, they will ask the employer for evidence that they have honoured the training obligations of the 457 sponsorship for 12 months prior to lodgement, whether or not the employer is currently a standard business sponsor or not - so you're stuck with honouring the training obligations regardless, at least for the 12 months prior to lodging the 186 application. Would request you email me directly (you can get our contact info in the link to our website in the signature below as email addresses are not allowed on the forum) as I may need to check a couple of other things re: your sponsorship agreement to determine the required renewal date.

Thanks,

Mark Northam



maggie-may24 said:


> Hi Mark
> I have a question from the employer perspective. We have an employee on a 457 and will sponsor him in the next month or two for a 186 visa under TRT stream. Our Standard Business Sponsorship has expired (it's on my to-do list to renew). Does this need to be renewed prior to sponsoring him for the 186? Or is it sufficient to ensure it's done before nominating any further 457 applicants.
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adm6 -

Wish I had better news - they do not provide direct telephone numbers to departments, just the "131 881" wait-for-40-minutes number - sometimes you can get transferred to the department handling your visa, however other times they just fob you off with the "we'll let you know when it's done processing" line. Sounds like it may be a workload issues - too many applications, too few case officers processing them. I'd give it 1-2 more weeks and see what happens - call them back if necessary to get current status. If you have a travel deadline coming up, that is something you should make clear in your phone calls - I've seen that make a difference before.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



adm6 said:


> Thanks mark, it's been a week now and no reply from them. I used the correct form and filled in my credit card details. Sent recorded delivery so I know it's arrived in Sydney.,I called the helpline again yesterday and was told they sometimes don't respond until 2 weeks before your trip which seems strange when they say you can apply up to 3 months before. Any suggestions how I may be able to hurry them up? Is there a direct contact number for the Sydney office?
> 
> I'm pretty sure no one has even looked at my application as the fee hasn't been charged to my card yet - that was quick to be done when I sent in my partner visa application!
> 
> I'm only worried as I've requested 6 months travel rather than the usual 3 as I have some family issues at home and don't want to book flights until I know it's ok to go.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## adm6

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Adm6 -
> 
> Wish I had better news - they do not provide direct telephone numbers to departments, just the "131 881" wait-for-40-minutes number - sometimes you can get transferred to the department handling your visa, however other times they just fob you off with the "we'll let you know when it's done processing" line. Sounds like it may be a workload issues - too many applications, too few case officers processing them. I'd give it 1-2 more weeks and see what happens - call them back if necessary to get current status. If you have a travel deadline coming up, that is something you should make clear in your phone calls - I've seen that make a difference before.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks mark for your help!


----------



## Samarth

*Study query*

Hi, I just wanted to know if I complete an australian MPA degree with gap of 3 years between first and last6 subjects..will I get points for that study at the time of filing PR ?


----------



## kangaroogirl

Hi Mark,

I urgently need your advice, would you mind having a look at my thread here: http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/53937-please-help.html#post353041

and providing some feedback? I don't know where to tuen :*(


----------



## AngeliquePrince

Hi Mark,

I have a couple friend who made a visa application from the Philippines last October 2013. Their case officer has asked them some information about the previous job the applicant had in the Middle East but this was beyond the 10 years period that he has to declare all countries he had stayed. Can you help me explain a little bit to my friend as to why it is taking too long.

- the sponsor is divorced from the previous marriage here in australia
- the guy is single
- the woman is the sponsor and is an australian citizen
- when the guy filed his application he is still actively working and last December 2013 he resigned
- he has not told the case officer that he has resigned, can this affect the approval?
- the sponsor and the ex husband still lives together
but on a separate room because they are taking turns in taking care
of their special child (would the immigration have a way to see
this?)
- both the sponsor and the ex husband have their own partners now

They just feel that it is taking too long. I told them it is a case to case basis. Their case is different from those approved 3 months.

I would greatly appreciate if you can assist me in explaining the possible technicalities with their case.

Thank you for your help.

AngeliquePrince


----------



## CollegeGirl

Angelique, obviously I'm not Mark, but if you spend some time in the Philippines thread, you'll see - wait times have gone up since you applied. Very few people are getting their visas in three months anymore - most in the Phillippines that I've seen are taking 5-6 months (and some longer). There's nothing likely wrong with their application - they just need to be patient. Just my two cents.


----------



## Becky26

Dear Mark,

How are you? Hope you had a relaxing weekend. I recently had a personal interview at the Australian High Commission in New Delhi on Feb 21. All I can say is by far that was the worst and the most horrifying experience of my life. There were 2 female officers and both were arrogant, rude and not co-operative at all. The interview lasted for 2 hours. They only let me go because it was 4:45pm and the High Commission shuts at 5:00pm otherwise it would have lasted longer.

It felt more like an interrogation than an interview where those 2 wanted to know about everything but my husband and my relationship.
*Long story short- The interview was horrible.*

The other female (who wasn't my CO, don't know who the hell she was) wanted to know only about my past rejected application. She did not ask me anything about my husband. She wanted to know how much money my father sent me when I was on my student visa. 
*When I offered to send her my husband's bank statements which show that he has been paying for our rent together, she literally said "NO, I don't want to see those".*
But wanted to know what my father did for work and how much money he sent me  I mean how is that her business how much money my father was sending me.

I even asked my CO on the phone if she wanted me to bring any additional documents with me when I come for the interview and she said, No! There is nothing that she needs from me but in case if I have something more that I wanted to give them, I can definitely bring it with me. She emailed me that I just had to bring my Passport and the copy of the email where she invited me for the interview when I come to the High Commission for identification.
Because there was nothing that I didn't provide in my application file of over 300 pages. Still I took additional 7 documents as "proof of common dwelling" and "proof of communication"; all together the file is about 750 pages long now.

*And the thing that pissed me off the most is that she didn't even look at my passport. But she wants me to email her my bank statements of my individual commonwealth bank account.*

I would like to know if my visa can be denied on the basis of this interview and my past rejected visa.
I haven't been able to sleep for longer than 5 hours since I got back from the interview. I'm really depressed wondering if I will ever get to see my husband and if I will get my visa approved or not.
Please help me!!!!! 

Thank you so much for your help Mark!! I also emailed you with more details.
I look forward to your reply.

Many Thanks and Kind Regards.
Becky


----------



## paulsalem

*601 Visa*

Hi Mark,

My wife and I are US citizens, and I work in PNG on a 4 weeks on / 4 weeks off rotation. We presently hold Australian 601 visas.

We are thinking of renting a place in Brisbane. She would stay in Australia for 6 weeks, then leave the country for 2 weeks. I would be in Australia 4 weeks then leave for 4 weeks.

She is hoping to find a company to sponsor her for a work visa eventually, as she does have skills on the CSOL. However this isn't a financial requirement for us.

Is there a point that immigration would notice how much time we are spending in Australia and revoke our visas or penalize us with an exclusion?

Thanks!


----------



## levylaine

*Sisters to be sponsored to Australia*

Hi good day. How can i sponsor my 2 canadian sisters to live here in australia? what do i need to do? they are 48 and 44 years old. please advice. thank you in advance


----------



## HuangYing

Hi Mark, very decent of you to help people like this.

I started a thread on the forums with a bit more information if I'm not clear on this post.

Basically, I am a UK citizen hoping to use my (Chinese) girlfriends student visa to get in to Australia long term. We could possibly prove de facto now, but it might be a stretch.

We are *both* in China now, and have been for a year. Previously I was in Oz, and did my WHV. I have the regional requirement to come back for my second year, and know that it will be a very simple process.

My question is;

Assuming my girlfriend declares me on her student visa as a de facto partner when she initially applies... can I come to Australia on my WHV and then _upgrade_ to de facto dependent after some time in Australia?

We will be sharing a room in Victoria together, and so will have plenty of bills and stuff to make proving the relationship very easy. Whereas now we have most of our history in China, which might be harder to prove to their standard... With the added joy of trying to get things done in China.

[Note: I have sizeable money transfers to her account from my Oz account about a year ago, for money to set up "our" apartment. Plus the oodles of other proof you get from a real relationship... just not so sure we could prove we lived together for over a year]

Anyway, I'd appreciate any input you have.

Regards,

Richard


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Becky -

Sorry to hear of the horrible interview. There is no excuse for arrogance and rudeness from DIBP personnel, no matter how concerned they may be about an application.

Given the details you mentioned, I expect that for some reason they have concerns about the genuineness of your relationship. For better or for worse, questions about a partner's relative's situation are becoming more and more commonplace, especially with offshore posts where the personnel there sometimes exhibit attitudes and ask questions that would never be asked (or tolerated) by onshore DIBP personnel.

In short, yes, your visa can be refused if DIBP after considering the evidence (including the interview) conclude that your relationship is not genuine. That's the problem with basing everything on a vague adjective like "genuine" which can mean anything a person wants it to mean. It opens up a huge "opportunity" in the migration legislation for a case officer to decide for himself/herself what "genuine" means in your case, and if you have "genuine intentions" and a "genuine relationship". Too often slight discrepancies between and applicant and sponsor's statements or interview responses are spun by DIBP into allegedly major discrepancies, followed by accusations of lying and provide false information to DIBP.

At this point you can continue to provide further relationship evidence if you choose to (they must consider it until the point of decision) and you also can write to them to clarify anything said at the interview you wish to correct or clarify. Beyond that, it's a matter of waiting and seeing what they come up with.

Hope this helps - hang in there!

Best,

Mark Northam



Becky26 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> How are you? Hope you had a relaxing weekend. I recently had a personal interview at the Australian High Commission in New Delhi on Feb 21. All I can say is by far that was the worst and the most horrifying experience of my life. There were 2 female officers and both were arrogant, rude and not co-operative at all. The interview lasted for 2 hours. They only let me go because it was 4:45pm and the High Commission shuts at 5:00pm otherwise it would have lasted longer.
> 
> It felt more like an interrogation than an interview where those 2 wanted to know about everything but my husband and my relationship.
> *Long story short- The interview was horrible.*
> 
> The other female (who wasn't my CO, don't know who the hell she was) wanted to know only about my past rejected application. She did not ask me anything about my husband. She wanted to know how much money my father sent me when I was on my student visa.
> *When I offered to send her my husband's bank statements which show that he has been paying for our rent together, she literally said "NO, I don't want to see those".*
> But wanted to know what my father did for work and how much money he sent me  I mean how is that her business how much money my father was sending me.
> 
> I even asked my CO on the phone if she wanted me to bring any additional documents with me when I come for the interview and she said, No! There is nothing that she needs from me but in case if I have something more that I wanted to give them, I can definitely bring it with me. She emailed me that I just had to bring my Passport and the copy of the email where she invited me for the interview when I come to the High Commission for identification.
> Because there was nothing that I didn't provide in my application file of over 300 pages. Still I took additional 7 documents as "proof of common dwelling" and "proof of communication"; all together the file is about 750 pages long now.
> 
> *And the thing that pissed me off the most is that she didn't even look at my passport. But she wants me to email her my bank statements of my individual commonwealth bank account.*
> 
> I would like to know if my visa can be denied on the basis of this interview and my past rejected visa.
> I haven't been able to sleep for longer than 5 hours since I got back from the interview. I'm really depressed wondering if I will ever get to see my husband and if I will get my visa approved or not.
> Please help me!!!!!
> 
> Thank you so much for your help Mark!! I also emailed you with more details.
> I look forward to your reply.
> 
> Many Thanks and Kind Regards.
> Becky


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samarth -

Thanks for the question. I don't know that a study gap by itself would cause a degree to be disallowed. If you were studying here and breached your visa conditions with the gap, that's another story entirely. Also, assuming you're talking about a Masters of Public Administration, DIBP will want to see a underlying Bachelor degree from an accredited school, and whether the MPA will work for your skills assessment is another question to consider. Wish there was a simple answer to your question, but the regulations in this area are complex and unforgiving.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Samarth said:


> Hi, I just wanted to know if I complete an australian MPA degree with gap of 3 years between first and last6 subjects..will I get points for that study at the time of filing PR ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kangaroogirl -

I can assist you with this - see post on the thread.

Best,

Mark Northam



kangaroogirl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I urgently need your advice, would you mind having a look at my thread here: http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/53937-please-help.html#post353041
> 
> and providing some feedback? I don't know where to tuen :*(


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Angelique -

I have to agree with College Girl - Manila is often sticking to a 9 month timetable for fiance visas these days - 6 months at the very minimum, and sometimes longer than 9 months. Sadly it's all up to the embassy, and they legally can take as long as they want to process an application. Patience is the best thing at this point.

Best,

Mark Northam



AngeliquePrince said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a couple friend who made a visa application from the Philippines last October 2013. Their case officer has asked them some information about the previous job the applicant had in the Middle East but this was beyond the 10 years period that he has to declare all countries he had stayed. Can you help me explain a little bit to my friend as to why it is taking too long.
> 
> - the sponsor is divorced from the previous marriage here in australia
> - the guy is single
> - the woman is the sponsor and is an australian citizen
> - when the guy filed his application he is still actively working and last December 2013 he resigned
> - he has not told the case officer that he has resigned, can this affect the approval?
> - the sponsor and the ex husband still lives together
> but on a separate room because they are taking turns in taking care
> of their special child (would the immigration have a way to see
> this?)
> - both the sponsor and the ex husband have their own partners now
> 
> They just feel that it is taking too long. I told them it is a case to case basis. Their case is different from those approved 3 months.
> 
> I would greatly appreciate if you can assist me in explaining the possible technicalities with their case.
> 
> Thank you for your help.
> 
> AngeliquePrince


----------



## Becky26

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Becky -
> 
> Sorry to hear of the horrible interview. There is no excuse for arrogance and rudeness from DIBP personnel, no matter how concerned they may be about an application.
> 
> Given the details you mentioned, I expect that for some reason they have concerns about the genuineness of your relationship. For better or for worse, questions about a partner's relative's situation are becoming more and more commonplace, especially with offshore posts where the personnel there sometimes exhibit attitudes and ask questions that would never be asked (or tolerated) by onshore DIBP personnel.
> 
> In short, yes, your visa can be refused if DIBP after considering the evidence (including the interview) conclude that your relationship is not genuine. That's the problem with basing everything on a vague adjective like "genuine" which can mean anything a person wants it to mean. It opens up a huge "opportunity" in the migration legislation for a case officer to decide for himself/herself what "genuine" means in your case, and if you have "genuine intentions" and a "genuine relationship". Too often slight discrepancies between and applicant and sponsor's statements or interview responses are spun by DIBP into allegedly major discrepancies, followed by accusations of lying and provide false information to DIBP.
> 
> At this point you can continue to provide further relationship evidence if you choose to (they must consider it until the point of decision) and you also can write to them to clarify anything said at the interview you wish to correct or clarify. Beyond that, it's a matter of waiting and seeing what they come up with.
> 
> Hope this helps - hang in there!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hey Mark,

Thank you for your reply. 
There were no discrepencies between me and my husband's statements. They haven't called my husband yet. The way the officers were behaving with made me forget everything about my file. I even ended up in tears at the end.

How is this fair that they can make someone feel so nervous that the person forgets about their own file. Wouldn't they know the difference between a set-up and a actual geniune relationship.

Someone who in reality is not geniune will have all of this procedure planned out properly. I'm not saying that everyone who plans for this visa is not geniune. All I'm trying to say that if someone who happens to be faking a relationship for a visa would have everything ready for times like these. 
They probably wouldn't wait for their first application to get denied and then apply again and go through this shit process. They would just get the approval in one go.

Anyways!! If the visa gets rejected again, what can I do? 
Please help!! Looks like its going to be a long and painful wait. 
Our 1 year wedding anniversary on March 8, don't think any good news is coming at least anytime soon. Feels like I'm getting punished for marrying my husband who happens to be an Aussie.

Please Help Mark!
Look forward to your reply.

Many Thanks,
Becky


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paulsalem -

This sounds like a risky pathway to me. The Business Visitor ETA visa (subclass 601) is designed for exploratory business purposes (ie, negotiations, discussions, seminars, etc). With that kind of repeated "residence" in Australia, repeated over and over, it's bound to raise the suspicions of DIBP folks sooner or later. This typically happens when an immigration officer at the airport decides you've been spending "too much time" in Australia on the 601 visa, and wants more information about the exploratory business activities you are doing (with evidence, of course). If your activities in Australia are not compatible with the purpose of the visa, it can result in cancellation and problems.

A trip here and a trip there to explore business opportunities is fine, but a regularly repeating cycle like the one you discussed seems risky to me.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



paulsalem said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife and I are US citizens, and I work in PNG on a 4 weeks on / 4 weeks off rotation. We presently hold Australian 601 visas.
> 
> We are thinking of renting a place in Brisbane. She would stay in Australia for 6 weeks, then leave the country for 2 weeks. I would be in Australia 4 weeks then leave for 4 weeks.
> 
> She is hoping to find a company to sponsor her for a work visa eventually, as she does have skills on the CSOL. However this isn't a financial requirement for us.
> 
> Is there a point that immigration would notice how much time we are spending in Australia and revoke our visas or penalize us with an exclusion?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Levylaine -

Thanks for the question. I don't have any good answers, unfortunately. There are always visitor visas where you can invite them for a trip here, however I assume you are asking about living here on a permanent basis.

They're too young for the aged dependent relative visas, and wouldn't qualify for the remaining relative visa since they are both outside Australia. They might look into an employer sponsored visa or skilled visa, however the age limit of 50 may be an issue at least for the older one. Sadly there are no family PR visas I know of where you can sponsor a sibling, other than if the sibling is the last remaining relative residing outside Australia.

Sorry I could not be more help -

Best,

Mark Northam



levylaine said:


> Hi good day. How can i sponsor my 2 canadian sisters to live here in australia? what do i need to do? they are 48 and 44 years old. please advice. thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Richard -

Thanks for the questions. This might work, but the key would be the relationship evidence. A 417 WHV is generally a valid pre-existing visa for an onshore application as a secondary applicant for a student visa, but you need to investigate the specific visa that the student holds and the conditions on that visa for more on this.

A student adding a defacto partner is a situation that DIBP looks at very, very closely as it's been abused in the past. You'll need living together evidence that is bulletproof, since the registered relationship certificate only works for partner visa applications. You may want to have a professional examine your documents and help plan your overall visa strategy - once they've gone over your documents and discussed your plans with you, they may find some detail or issue that might prove to be important down the road.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HuangYing said:


> Hi Mark, very decent of you to help people like this.
> 
> I started a thread on the forums with a bit more information if I'm not clear on this post.
> 
> Basically, I am a UK citizen hoping to use my (Chinese) girlfriends student visa to get in to Australia long term. We could possibly prove de facto now, but it might be a stretch.
> 
> We are *both* in China now, and have been for a year. Previously I was in Oz, and did my WHV. I have the regional requirement to come back for my second year, and know that it will be a very simple process.
> 
> My question is;
> 
> Assuming my girlfriend declares me on her student visa as a de facto partner when she initially applies... can I come to Australia on my WHV and then _upgrade_ to de facto dependent after some time in Australia?
> 
> We will be sharing a room in Victoria together, and so will have plenty of bills and stuff to make proving the relationship very easy. Whereas now we have most of our history in China, which might be harder to prove to their standard... With the added joy of trying to get things done in China.
> 
> [Note: I have sizeable money transfers to her account from my Oz account about a year ago, for money to set up "our" apartment. Plus the oodles of other proof you get from a real relationship... just not so sure we could prove we lived together for over a year]
> 
> Anyway, I'd appreciate any input you have.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Richard


----------



## myallstone

thanks mark ....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Becky -

After that experience, I would take a deep breath and try to put the incident behind you. Remain hopeful, consider any further relationship evidence you could send, and wait for them to make the next move. Would need to know more about the application, but it's likely that the sponsor can apply for an MRT review of any refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Becky26 said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your reply.
> There were no discrepencies between me and my husband's statements. They haven't called my husband yet. The way the officers were behaving with made me forget everything about my file. I even ended up in tears at the end.
> 
> How is this fair that they can make someone feel so nervous that the person forgets about their own file. Wouldn't they know the difference between a set-up and a actual geniune relationship.
> 
> Someone who in reality is not geniune will have all of this procedure planned out properly. I'm not saying that everyone who plans for this visa is not geniune. All I'm trying to say that if someone who happens to be faking a relationship for a visa would have everything ready for times like these.
> They probably wouldn't wait for their first application to get denied and then apply again and go through this shit process. They would just get the approval in one go.
> 
> Anyways!! If the visa gets rejected again, what can I do?
> Please help!! Looks like its going to be a long and painful wait.
> Our 1 year wedding anniversary on March 8, don't think any good news is coming at least anytime soon. Feels like I'm getting punished for marrying my husband who happens to be an Aussie.
> 
> Please Help Mark!
> Look forward to your reply.
> 
> Many Thanks,
> Becky


----------



## Becky26

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Becky -
> 
> After that experience, I would take a deep breath and try to put the incident behind you. Remain hopeful, consider any further relationship evidence you could send, and wait for them to make the next move. Would need to know more about the application, but it's likely that the sponsor can apply for an MRT review of any refusal.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your reply Mark!
And MRT takes 18 months? 

Many Thanks,
Becky


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Becky -

Current MRT wait time for non-expedited cases is 12-18 months.

Best,

Mark



Becky26 said:


> Thanks for your reply Mark!
> And MRT takes 18 months?
> 
> Many Thanks,
> Becky


----------



## USA309

*Visitor Visa, Pending 309*

Hello Mark!

I have three questions about visitor visas during a pending 309...

FIRST:

I spent 2 years previously in Australia, living with my de facto partner with whom I am applying for my 309, and hit the "limit" on ETA/Visitor/Tourist Visas at the end of last year. I applied for another visitor visa before submitting my 309 (in the hopes that I might get a tourist visa and be able to apply onshore for the 820) but it was refused, specifically because the case officer could see that I had been living with my de facto partner for that time period and therefore I do not qualify as a "genuine visitor" and do not have the substantial ties to the United States needed to satisfy that requirement. I have had a bridging visa E before, when we mistook the expiry date of a previous visa.

We have since submitted our 309 application, and I am wondering whether that now changes my eligibility/likelihood of gaining a tourist visa (not ETA) to visit my partner and my family-in-law while we await a decision. Our lives are completely integrated and my partner suffers from some (mild) mental health issues (documented) that were not deemed sufficient reasons before, but with the expensive and complicated visa application now committed to and the requirement to be outside of Australia when granted, I was considering re-applying and explaining that it is clearly a visit to maintain my relationship during this processing gap as we have never before been separated.

Just wondering if they likely to reconsider or would I be wasting my time/money? It has been a month since I last applied and in the interim, we submitted our 309.

SECOND:

I applied online using the new IMMI portal for Partner Visas. We would like to request priority processing, and I know from past experience that there was an email address for temporary partner visas through which to request this. Since my application was online, I am not sure who to contact or reach out to. As an American, is it the Washington Office or the Canadian North America center? Or is it directed to the Australian office on the footer of my automated email receipt? We have financial, health and social reasons to request priority processing so just trying to find the best and most efficient way to do so.

THIRD:

Will the department utilize the documents we submitted in our last 820 application? We had additional 888's, original health and police certs etc and it was less than 12 months ago that we applied for the 820 (we didn't satisfy schedule 3 and our case officer refused the visa but encouraged us to apply offshore, as we are doing now).

Many Thanks!
Nicole


----------



## USA309

Hello Mark!

I have three questions about visitor visas during a pending 309...

FIRST:

I spent 2 years previously in Australia, living with my de facto partner with whom I am applying for my 309, and hit the "limit" on ETA/Visitor/Tourist Visas at the end of last year. I applied for another visitor visa before submitting my 309 (in the hopes that I might get a tourist visa and be able to apply onshore for the 820) but it was refused, specifically because the case officer could see that I had been living with my de facto partner for that time period and therefore I do not qualify as a "genuine visitor" and do not have the substantial ties to the United States needed to satisfy that requirement. I have had a bridging visa E before, when we mistook the expiry date of a previous visa. 

We have since submitted our 309 application, and I am wondering whether that now changes my eligibility/likelihood of gaining a tourist visa (not ETA) to visit my partner and my family-in-law while we await a decision. Our lives are completely integrated and my partner suffers from some (mild) mental health issues (documented) that were not deemed sufficient reasons before, but with the expensive and complicated visa application now committed to and the requirement to be outside of Australia when granted, I was considering re-applying and explaining that it is clearly a visit to maintain my relationship during this processing gap as we have never before been separated. 

Just wondering if they likely to reconsider or would I be wasting my time/money? It has been a month since I last applied and in the interim, we submitted our 309.

SECOND:

I applied online using the new IMMI portal for Partner Visas. We would like to request priority processing, and I know from past experience that there was an email address for temporary partner visas through which to request this. Since my application was online, I am not sure who to contact or reach out to. As an American, is it the Washington Office or the Canadian North America center? Or is it directed to the Australian office on the footer of my automated email receipt? We have financial, health and social reasons to request priority processing so just trying to find the best and most efficient way to do so.

THIRD:

Will the department utilize the documents we submitted in our last 820 application? We had additional 888's, original health and police certs etc and it was less than 12 months ago that we applied for the 820 (we didn't satisfy schedule 3 and our case officer refused the visa but encouraged us to apply offshore, as we are doing now). 

Many Thanks!
Nicole


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicole -

Thanks for the questions - happy to help:

Re: Applying again, I would definitely give it a go. There is specific policy directive that a couple in a genuine partner relationship should not needlessly be kept apart - this is balanced by DIBP case officers with the stated purpose of the visitor visa for a temporary visit, and you end up with decisions that often allow visitor visas in cases where a relationship has been declared to the department (ie, a partner visa has been lodged). It doesn't always work, but it makes a big difference from my opinion. Would suggest a letter with the application explaining the reason for wanting to be together (how your lives are closely intertwined, etc), outlining the medical and other reasons for expediting.

Re: Expediting, likely the Canada/North American ("Americas") center, but they can sometimes transfer applications to be processed elsewhere based on workload, so I'd try there first.

Re: Same docs, that's fine - health checks and police checks expire in 12 months so that could be an issue, and I would not submit any signed witness statements older than 6 months - if you have these, just get them resigned, etc if they are older than that.

Hope this helps - good luck with your application!

Best,

Mark Northam



USA309 said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I have three questions about visitor visas during a pending 309...
> 
> FIRST:
> 
> I spent 2 years previously in Australia, living with my de facto partner with whom I am applying for my 309, and hit the "limit" on ETA/Visitor/Tourist Visas at the end of last year. I applied for another visitor visa before submitting my 309 (in the hopes that I might get a tourist visa and be able to apply onshore for the 820) but it was refused, specifically because the case officer could see that I had been living with my de facto partner for that time period and therefore I do not qualify as a "genuine visitor" and do not have the substantial ties to the United States needed to satisfy that requirement. I have had a bridging visa E before, when we mistook the expiry date of a previous visa.
> 
> We have since submitted our 309 application, and I am wondering whether that now changes my eligibility/likelihood of gaining a tourist visa (not ETA) to visit my partner and my family-in-law while we await a decision. Our lives are completely integrated and my partner suffers from some (mild) mental health issues (documented) that were not deemed sufficient reasons before, but with the expensive and complicated visa application now committed to and the requirement to be outside of Australia when granted, I was considering re-applying and explaining that it is clearly a visit to maintain my relationship during this processing gap as we have never before been separated.
> 
> Just wondering if they likely to reconsider or would I be wasting my time/money? It has been a month since I last applied and in the interim, we submitted our 309.
> 
> SECOND:
> 
> I applied online using the new IMMI portal for Partner Visas. We would like to request priority processing, and I know from past experience that there was an email address for temporary partner visas through which to request this. Since my application was online, I am not sure who to contact or reach out to. As an American, is it the Washington Office or the Canadian North America center? Or is it directed to the Australian office on the footer of my automated email receipt? We have financial, health and social reasons to request priority processing so just trying to find the best and most efficient way to do so.
> 
> THIRD:
> 
> Will the department utilize the documents we submitted in our last 820 application? We had additional 888's, original health and police certs etc and it was less than 12 months ago that we applied for the 820 (we didn't satisfy schedule 3 and our case officer refused the visa but encouraged us to apply offshore, as we are doing now).
> 
> Many Thanks!
> Nicole


----------



## FungiHolic

Hello Mark,

I’m so happy to find this forum with kind people like you to helping out others like me.

I’m currently holding working visa 457 (valid from 25th Oct 2012 to 25th Oct 2014), and have discussed with my company that they are happy to offer me a permanent position in the same occupation.
But as my 457 are exactly 2 years and according to the requirement that I have to work under 457 visa for at least 2 years, do I have to apply for pr (Temporary Residence Transition stream) off-shore (saw people online says putting in application 2 days before complete 2 years 457 visa and the application been refused)?
Or is there any other opinion that I can apply the pr in Australia and still be able to work legally here until get the decision of my pr? 

Thanks a lot!
FungiHolic


----------



## jeleniau

Hi Mark, my brother is heading home in 3 weeks time after spending 3 months with me on a sponsored visitor visa. I went through MRT to get his visa application approved. My question is how soon can I apply for a sponsored visitor visa? I am planning to get him to visit me next year to experience winter and I am hoping this time we can get a 6 months visa.
Does it matter that I went through MRT to get approved? I also hope that I don't have to go through MRT the second time around.

Would appreciate any feedback and comments.


----------



## sonikatalwar

*186 help*

hi Mark
i am new on this forum. its very good.
i am on 457 visa from last 2 years 4 months. but in this time i was working with two employers. 1st one is liquidised. i know i am not eligible for 186 temporary residence transition stream. but i want to know is any authority for get exemption for this? because i want to check my luck. because i have lots of documents for prove my situation. if any authority can do this plz let me know.
warm regards
Sonika


----------



## beehanarei

*software engineer requirement*

Hi Mark,

I'm new to this forum and I would like to ask if there are specific requirements for Software Engineer in NSW, SA, VIC. I have seeb IELTS requirement for each state. Are there other requirements?

Would appreciate any feedback and comments. Thanks a lot.


----------



## 33ewt

Hi again Mark!

Tourist visa doesn't have a 'no further stay condition' , I would like to extend for another 6 months. Could you please tell me what requirements will be needed to get it without problems  I have a week to renew and just wanted to make sure that I'll get it.

Regards


----------



## bounty

*Business Immigration*

Hi Mark

Great job on what you are doing here. I have one question and that is regarding the business investor category. Is there a category in which outsiders can open up new business in Australia or buy up an existing small business in Australia and be eligible for immigration and PR.

Thanks and Regards



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## dunan

BANGALORE..stop spamming the forum...if you want to sell apartments in INDIA, this isn't the place to do it!

YOU have done so on other topics as well...


----------



## DavidV

*Student Visa*

Hi Mark,

I'm an Australian citizen with a view of sponsoring my niece Rachael (20yo from the philippines) for obtaining a student visa (subclass) 472 or 473. She has just successfully completed a BS International Travel and Tourism Management.

Will it reduce her chances based on her skill set is not on the SOL list? Is she better off enrolling in a course that's related to her existing field?

Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you & regards,

Dave


----------



## Uprightman

*Any adivice would be appreciated Mark*

Dear Ms V,

I refer to your application for a subclass 309 Spouse (Provisional) visa lodged at the Australian Embassy in Santiago on 10 February 2014. You are sponsored by M., an Australian citizen.

To be granted a subclass 309 visa, you need to meet the criteria set out in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations at Subclass 309 Spouse (Provisional). Subclause 309.211(2) requires that the applicant be in a spouse relationship with an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. 'Spouse' is defined in Regulation 1.15A:

1.15A (1) For the purposes of these Regulations, a person is the spouse of another person if the 2 persons are:
(a) in a married relationship, as described in subregulation (1A); or
(b) in a de facto relationship, as described in subregulation (2).

As you are not legally married to Mr Rado, I must consider whether or not you are in a de facto relationship with him.

'De facto relationship' is defined in regulation 1.15A(2) as:

1.15A(2) Persons are in a de facto relationship if:
(a) they:
(i) are of opposite sexes; and
(ii) are not married to each other under a marriage that is recognised as valid for the purposes of the Act; and
(iii) are not within a relationship that is a prohibited relationship for the purposes of subsection 23B(2) of the Marriage Act 1961; and
(b) they are of full age, that is:
(i) if either of the persons is domiciled in Australia - both of them have turned 18; or
(ii) if neither of the persons is domiciled in Australia - both of them have turned 16; and
(c) the Minister is satisfied that:
(i) they have a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all others; and
(ii) the relationship between them is genuine and continuing; and
(iii) they:
(A) live together; or
(B) do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis; and
(d) subject to paragraph (e) and subregulation (2A), where either of them is an applicant for a permanent visa, a Business Skills (Provisional) (Class UR) visa, a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, a Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa, a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, or a General Skilled Migration visa - the Minister is satisfied that, for the period of 12 months immediately preceding the date of application of the party relying on the existence of the relationship:
(i) they had a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all others; and
(ii) the relationship between them was genuine and continuing; and
(iii) they had:
(A) been living together; or
(B) not been living separately and apart on a permanent basis; and
(e) where either of them is an applicant for a Resolution of Status (Residence) (Class BL) or Resolution of Status (Temporary) (Class UH) visa - the Minister is satisfied (unless the applicant can establish compelling and compassionate circumstances for the grant of the visa) that, for the period of 12 months immediately preceding 13 June 1997:
(i) they had a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all others; and
(ii) the relationship between them was genuine and continuing; and
(iii) they had:
(A) been living together; or
(B) not been living separately and apart on a permanent basis.

Therefore, in order to find that you and your sponsor are in a 'de facto relationship', I need to be satisfied that for the period of 12 months immediately preceeding the date you applied for the visa, you were living together, or not living separately and apart on a permanent basis.

According to the information on file, your relationship with your sponsor began on 25 March 2011 in Spain, the same day that you and your sponsor personally met. You and your sponsor claim that you spent the next 6 weeks together at the end of which he returned to Australia to work and you stayed in Spain continuing with your studies. At that time "Before Michael departed for Australia we came to the decision we wanted to start a relationship and we wanted to be together".
On 07/12/2011 you travelled to Australia for 4 weeks and you claim that during that time, you and your partner lived together. 
One year later you travelled to Australia for almost 6 weeks and you claimed that during that time you lived with your sponsor. The next time you were together was in June 2013 when your sponsor travelled to Colombia to meet your parents and where he spent 4 weeks.

During all the time that you have spent apart, your sponsor has been working in Australia on a permanent basis, while you have been living in Spain and Colombia finishing your studies on a full time basis.

While I accept that some financial support has been provided to you by your sponsor on a couple of occasions, this alone is not sufficient to assess your relationship as de facto.

I am therefore not satisfied that you were living together (or not living separately and apart on a permanent basis) for the 12 months immediately preceeding the date of visa application, and thus I am likely not to be satisfied that your relationship with your sponsor meets the definition of 'de facto relationship' under the regulations.

This information is adverse to your visa application and is a reason to refuse the application. You are therefore invited to provide comments and/or additional information.

You have 28 days from the date you are taken to have received this letter to provide these comments and/or information and evidence. As this letter was sent by email, you are taken to have received this letter at the end of the day the email was sent.

I have engaged Dr Rodger Fernandez to help with a course of action. I actually was advised by the Immigration Dept to lodge a 309 Visa.


----------



## doormouse

Hi Mark,

Can you please clarify when the time starts counting on a 457 towards the two year working requirement for a 186 visa? 

Eg If you apply for a 457 visa and are placed on a bridging visa, do you start accumulating two years from when you receive the bridging visa or when you actually receive a 457 grant? Thanks so much for your help.


----------



## Trangle

Hi,

I'm currently a overseas student on visa 572. When I initially applied for a student visa in 2011, we hadn't completed 12months living together condition, so I didn't add her name on my student application. She has been on a student visa and than later was granted visa 485 in 2012, which was applied in 2011 as well. But in march 2012, I updated my student visa and added her as my de facto and so has she since the 12months condition was completed. Now her visa is soon to expiry on the 6/03/2014. I just want to know if it is possible for us to apply for student dependent visa while she is onshore. We have proof of relationship - lease agreement, travel documents and bank account. Could someone please help me as I read somewhere that if I hadn't declare her initially in my student visa I won't be able to apply for dependent visa. But we spoke to migration agent who say they will apply for it but didn't didn't guarantee anything but costing a lot of money. I'm concerned they are just scamming us for money or is it something possible to do so. Please help.. Also if it's possible to apply for dependent visa, can my partner later apply for RSMS is she gets sponsorship ..


----------



## jory

hi Mark and thank you
my husband he born in 1/1/1975 now he 39 and 2 month 
how much point will get in age? for (190) visa


----------



## jory

hi Mark
which date DIAC will depend it on?
so, calculation age from passport or birth certificate if its different
visa (190)
thanks


----------



## kdc

Hi Mark, 
I am currently putting together my application for a partner visa, and have been reading a few forum so i have two questions i would love to hear your advice about. 
1. i have heard that some offices are quicker at processing visa applications than others for eg. brisbane quicker than sydney, although i live in Sydney is it still okay for me to send my application to a different office like the Brisbane office or not?

2.i have noticed that some peoples applications are accepted quicker when they submit it as a 'decision ready' application, would you recommend doing this or is this a bit of a gamble? and if i was to submit a 'decision ready application' does that mean i would have to get my medical test done before sending it (i had some chest x-rays done 10 months ago for my WHV)

I look forward to hearing from you and thank you so much for doing this thread.

Katy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi FungiHolic -

Great question - as the 457 temporary residence transition nomination and application can only be lodged AFTER you have completed 2 years on a 457 visa for the company (in addition to other requirements), most people end up applying for an additional 457 visa if they want to keep working past the 2-year mark - that 457 visa is replaced by the ENS visa once the ENS visa is approved. In theory you could depart Australia after your last day of work (ie, after having worked for 2 complete years) and lodge outside Australia, but that doesn't get you a bridging visa so most people in this situation go for an additional 457.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



FungiHolic said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I'm so happy to find this forum with kind people like you to helping out others like me.
> 
> I'm currently holding working visa 457 (valid from 25th Oct 2012 to 25th Oct 2014), and have discussed with my company that they are happy to offer me a permanent position in the same occupation.
> But as my 457 are exactly 2 years and according to the requirement that I have to work under 457 visa for at least 2 years, do I have to apply for pr (Temporary Residence Transition stream) off-shore (saw people online says putting in application 2 days before complete 2 years 457 visa and the application been refused)?
> Or is there any other opinion that I can apply the pr in Australia and still be able to work legally here until get the decision of my pr?
> 
> Thanks a lot!
> FungiHolic


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jeleniau -

That's an expensive visitor visa! Hopefully you will not have to go through the MRT review process next time - I would definitely consider writing a submission (letter) with your next application pointing out his successful immigration history in Australia, and how he abided by all of the conditions of his visitor visa when he was here last. With any luck, they'll spare you the time and expense of the MRT.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jeleniau said:


> Hi Mark, my brother is heading home in 3 weeks time after spending 3 months with me on a sponsored visitor visa. I went through MRT to get his visa application approved. My question is how soon can I apply for a sponsored visitor visa? I am planning to get him to visit me next year to experience winter and I am hoping this time we can get a 6 months visa.
> Does it matter that I went through MRT to get approved? I also hope that I don't have to go through MRT the second time around.
> 
> Would appreciate any feedback and comments.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonika -

Thanks for the question. I wish there was an exemption available, but I do not know of any - the regulations are very strict that the 2 yrs on a 457 must be for the same employer as is nominating you for the 186.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sonikatalwar said:


> hi Mark
> i am new on this forum. its very good.
> i am on 457 visa from last 2 years 4 months. but in this time i was working with two employers. 1st one is liquidised. i know i am not eligible for 186 temporary residence transition stream. but i want to know is any authority for get exemption for this? because i want to check my luck. because i have lots of documents for prove my situation. if any authority can do this plz let me know.
> warm regards
> Sonika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beehanarei -

Thanks for the question. Short answer: you need to very carefully research each state's individual requirements - there's no shortcut to doing this (or engaging a registered migration agent to do it on your behalf). The states are constantly changing their rules, requirements, occupation lists, etc so whether your an agent or an applicant, each time a new application comes up you have to research it "from scratch" as they say - it is dangerous to assume that ANYTHING about the state migration policies/lists/etc is the same way it was a month or even a week ago.

Some of the things to be on the lookout for when reading the state sponsorship sites to see if and how they are sponsoring your occupation:

* Is there a job offer required?
* Is there a previous education completed (in that state) requirement?
* Is it required that you previously lived in the state?
* Are you penalised if you live elsewhere in Australia currently?
* What is the IELTS requirement for your particular occupation?
* Are there requirements for having a minimum amount of funds you are bringing with you to live on?
* Are there requirements to write essays or otherwise tell why you selected the state, why you want to live there, what talent/skills/etc you bring to the state, etc.
* Is the state sponsoring your occupation for the type of visa you want (ie, there are 2 state sponsored skilled visa - the 489 and the 190 - make sure they are sponsoring your occupation for the one you are interested in applying for)
* Does the state require an invitation be issued to you by them before you can apply for state sponsorship (currently only WA has this).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



beehanarei said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm new to this forum and I would like to ask if there are specific requirements for Software Engineer in NSW, SA, VIC. I have seeb IELTS requirement for each state. Are there other requirements?
> 
> Would appreciate any feedback and comments. Thanks a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 33ewt -

Some can depend on your country of citizenship - you are likely looking at a subclass 600 visitor visa (tourist stream) - here's a link to get you started:

Visit Australia

Sorry but cannot go through all the possible requirements here as I don't have your complete client data and aren't aware of all the details of your previous visas, etc. Suggest you go through the DIBP website carefully and look at the requirements and document checklist.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



33ewt said:


> Hi again Mark!
> 
> Tourist visa doesn't have a 'no further stay condition' , I would like to extend for another 6 months. Could you please tell me what requirements will be needed to get it without problems  I have a week to renew and just wanted to make sure that I'll get it.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bounty -

There used to be, but not any more for all practical purposes. At the time, they claimed that there were "too many" takeaway food places and hair shops being created for visa purposes. Now we have investor visas which typically require much higher investments in qualifying businesses than typically qualifies as a small business. Also in the past it was possible in some cases to have self-sponsoring 457 visas, but last year they cracked down on those as well. Sorry wish I had better news!

Best,

Mark Northam



bounty said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Great job on what you are doing here. I have one question and that is regarding the business investor category. Is there a category in which outsiders can open up new business in Australia or buy up an existing small business in Australia and be eligible for immigration and PR.
> 
> Thanks and Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dave -

Thanks for the question. FYI I believe you are looking at subclass 572 (vocational) or 573 (higher ed - uni, etc) visas.

For these visas there isn't technically a sponsorship involved, however support from family members here can be helpful in increasing the chances for approval. Also in most cases family members are able to make funds available for the applicant's use if needed to satisfy the financial requirements of the student visa programme.

The Australian Government says that applicants should not have any expectation of a linkage between study and working in Australia, so whether her subject of study is on the SOL list or not is not generally a factor in the student visa approval process. There are policy directives that would be valuable to review called the "Genuine Temporary Entrant" policy which is heavily enforced on student visas - I'd suggest googling the term and reviewing it carefully to see how you can show in the application how the applicant meets these policy requirements.

I hope this is helpful, and best of luck!

Best,

Mark Northam



DavidV said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm an Australian citizen with a view of sponsoring my niece Rachael (20yo from the philippines) for obtaining a student visa (subclass) 472 or 473. She has just successfully completed a BS International Travel and Tourism Management.
> 
> Will it reduce her chances based on her skill set is not on the SOL list? Is she better off enrolling in a course that's related to her existing field?
> 
> Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thank you & regards,
> 
> Dave


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uprightman -

Sorry to hear of the issues with you 309 visa. The only path forward I see to try and save this application is to provide lots of evidence that, despite not living together, your defacto relationship existed during the 12 months prior to application. DIBP policy (not law) says that living together is their primary indicator of whether a defacto relationship exists, but depending on your circumstances, it may be possible to put together additional relationship evidence and witness statements to make the claim that the defacto relationship still existed despite your not living together for the 12 months prior to application.

FYI Rodger Fernandez is a fantastic agent - you're in good hands!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Uprightman said:


> Dear Ms V,
> 
> I refer to your application for a subclass 309 Spouse (Provisional) visa lodged at the Australian Embassy in Santiago on 10 February 2014. You are sponsored by M., an Australian citizen.
> 
> To be granted a subclass 309 visa, you need to meet the criteria set out in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations at Subclass 309 Spouse (Provisional). Subclause 309.211(2) requires that the applicant be in a spouse relationship with an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. 'Spouse' is defined in Regulation 1.15A:
> 
> 1.15A (1) For the purposes of these Regulations, a person is the spouse of another person if the 2 persons are:
> (a) in a married relationship, as described in subregulation (1A); or
> (b) in a de facto relationship, as described in subregulation (2).
> 
> As you are not legally married to Mr Rado, I must consider whether or not you are in a de facto relationship with him.
> 
> 'De facto relationship' is defined in regulation 1.15A(2) as:
> 
> 1.15A(2) Persons are in a de facto relationship if:
> (a) they:
> (i) are of opposite sexes; and
> (ii) are not married to each other under a marriage that is recognised as valid for the purposes of the Act; and
> (iii) are not within a relationship that is a prohibited relationship for the purposes of subsection 23B(2) of the Marriage Act 1961; and
> (b) they are of full age, that is:
> (i) if either of the persons is domiciled in Australia - both of them have turned 18; or
> (ii) if neither of the persons is domiciled in Australia - both of them have turned 16; and
> (c) the Minister is satisfied that:
> (i) they have a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all others; and
> (ii) the relationship between them is genuine and continuing; and
> (iii) they:
> (A) live together; or
> (B) do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis; and
> (d) subject to paragraph (e) and subregulation (2A), where either of them is an applicant for a permanent visa, a Business Skills (Provisional) (Class UR) visa, a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, a Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa, a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, or a General Skilled Migration visa - the Minister is satisfied that, for the period of 12 months immediately preceding the date of application of the party relying on the existence of the relationship:
> (i) they had a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all others; and
> (ii) the relationship between them was genuine and continuing; and
> (iii) they had:
> (A) been living together; or
> (B) not been living separately and apart on a permanent basis; and
> (e) where either of them is an applicant for a Resolution of Status (Residence) (Class BL) or Resolution of Status (Temporary) (Class UH) visa - the Minister is satisfied (unless the applicant can establish compelling and compassionate circumstances for the grant of the visa) that, for the period of 12 months immediately preceding 13 June 1997:
> (i) they had a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all others; and
> (ii) the relationship between them was genuine and continuing; and
> (iii) they had:
> (A) been living together; or
> (B) not been living separately and apart on a permanent basis.
> 
> Therefore, in order to find that you and your sponsor are in a 'de facto relationship', I need to be satisfied that for the period of 12 months immediately preceeding the date you applied for the visa, you were living together, or not living separately and apart on a permanent basis.
> 
> According to the information on file, your relationship with your sponsor began on 25 March 2011 in Spain, the same day that you and your sponsor personally met. You and your sponsor claim that you spent the next 6 weeks together at the end of which he returned to Australia to work and you stayed in Spain continuing with your studies. At that time "Before Michael departed for Australia we came to the decision we wanted to start a relationship and we wanted to be together".
> On 07/12/2011 you travelled to Australia for 4 weeks and you claim that during that time, you and your partner lived together.
> One year later you travelled to Australia for almost 6 weeks and you claimed that during that time you lived with your sponsor. The next time you were together was in June 2013 when your sponsor travelled to Colombia to meet your parents and where he spent 4 weeks.
> 
> During all the time that you have spent apart, your sponsor has been working in Australia on a permanent basis, while you have been living in Spain and Colombia finishing your studies on a full time basis.
> 
> While I accept that some financial support has been provided to you by your sponsor on a couple of occasions, this alone is not sufficient to assess your relationship as de facto.
> 
> I am therefore not satisfied that you were living together (or not living separately and apart on a permanent basis) for the 12 months immediately preceeding the date of visa application, and thus I am likely not to be satisfied that your relationship with your sponsor meets the definition of 'de facto relationship' under the regulations.
> 
> This information is adverse to your visa application and is a reason to refuse the application. You are therefore invited to provide comments and/or additional information.
> 
> You have 28 days from the date you are taken to have received this letter to provide these comments and/or information and evidence. As this letter was sent by email, you are taken to have received this letter at the end of the day the email was sent.
> 
> I have engaged Dr Rodger Fernandez to help with a course of action. I actually was advised by the Immigration Dept to lodge a 309 Visa.


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Doormouse -

Great question. Unless one of the few exemptions applies (mostly for medical occupations), you must have been the holder of a 457 visa (or multiple 457s for the same employer) for 2 years and worked for the nominating employer in the nominated occupation during that time. Time on a bridging visa prior to the grant of the 457 would not satisfy the regulations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



doormouse said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you please clarify when the time starts counting on a 457 towards the two year working requirement for a 186 visa?
> 
> Eg If you apply for a 457 visa and are placed on a bridging visa, do you start accumulating two years from when you receive the bridging visa or when you actually receive a 457 grant? Thanks so much for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Trangle -

Thanks for the questions. There are very specific rules for when you can and cannot make application for a secondary applicant after the issue of a student visa - in short, there is no quick & easy answer as the regulations are very specific and your partner's eligibility depends on how his/her circumstances fit into the regulations. It's really best to sit down with a registered migration agent and go through things detail by detail with the regulations - no shortcut to that. If you aren't ready to have your agent proceed, you could request a one-hour consultation and sit down and review the regulations with the agent to make sure you and the agent are all satisfied that there are not "surprises" in your partner's situation that could cause an issue down the road after you apply for the secondary applicant student visa.

Re: RSMS later, there is no particular bar to a person who is a secondary applicant on a student visa applying later for an RSMS visa as long as the person satisfies all of the usual RSMS requirements for the stream of the RSMS that they're applying for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Trangle said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm currently a overseas student on visa 572. When I initially applied for a student visa in 2011, we hadn't completed 12months living together condition, so I didn't add her name on my student application. She has been on a student visa and than later was granted visa 485 in 2012, which was applied in 2011 as well. But in march 2012, I updated my student visa and added her as my de facto and so has she since the 12months condition was completed. Now her visa is soon to expiry on the 6/03/2014. I just want to know if it is possible for us to apply for student dependent visa while she is onshore. We have proof of relationship - lease agreement, travel documents and bank account. Could someone please help me as I read somewhere that if I hadn't declare her initially in my student visa I won't be able to apply for dependent visa. But we spoke to migration agent who say they will apply for it but didn't didn't guarantee anything but costing a lot of money. I'm concerned they are just scamming us for money or is it something possible to do so. Please help.. Also if it's possible to apply for dependent visa, can my partner later apply for RSMS is she gets sponsorship ..


----------



## FungiHolic

Thanks a lot for the useful info, Mark!

I never knew that the 457 visa can be replaced by ENS visa, I always thought that I have to finish whatever left on my working visa to get pr. This is really a great news for me 

I have more questions about the additional 457 visa you said.
1. Can 457 visa be extended, or do I need to go through the application process again to get a new 457?
2. Is it better to start the application for additional 457 visa now, since there is 8 months left on my current 457?
3. My position in the company may change slightly (from QC/Product Development Technologist to Food Technologist), which is sort of the same thing and the occupation will still be the same (Food Technologist), would that affect the 2 years requirement for ENS visa?

Kind regards,
FungiHolic



MarkNortham said:


> Hi FungiHolic -
> 
> Great question - as the 457 temporary residence transition nomination and application can only be lodged AFTER you have completed 2 years on a 457 visa for the company (in addition to other requirements), most people end up applying for an additional 457 visa if they want to keep working past the 2-year mark - that 457 visa is replaced by the ENS visa once the ENS visa is approved. In theory you could depart Australia after your last day of work (ie, after having worked for 2 complete years) and lodge outside Australia, but that doesn't get you a bridging visa so most people in this situation go for an additional 457.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi FungiHolic -

Glad I could help. Re: when to apply for the new 457, could be any time up to about 60 days before yours is expiring - that gives them time to process it. You will need to lodge a new 457 application - a new nomination may also be required - you need to see how the nomination for your 457 visa is configured (your employer or their agent should have this info).

Re: occupation change, this is very important - you need to go through the duties/tasks of the ANZSCO codes for both jobs very carefully to see exactly how similar they are. If they are under the same ANZSCO code, that reduces the risk that there would be an issue. There are a number of regulations related to this area and exactly how far "away" the two codes can be to still get credit for the 2 years towards a 186.

Best,

Mark Northam



FungiHolic said:


> Thanks a lot for the useful info, Mark!
> 
> I never knew that the 457 visa can be replaced by ENS visa, I always thought that I have to finish whatever left on my working visa to get pr. This is really a great news for me
> 
> I have more questions about the additional 457 visa you said.
> 1. Can 457 visa be extended, or do I need to go through the application process again to get a new 457?
> 2. Is it better to start the application for additional 457 visa now, since there is 8 months left on my current 457?
> 3. My position in the company may change slightly (from QC/Product Development Technologist to Food Technologist), which is sort of the same thing and the occupation will still be the same (Food Technologist), would that affect the 2 years requirement for ENS visa?
> 
> Kind regards,
> FungiHolic


----------



## mx6mat

*Visa for Partners Mum to visit from Dominican Republic*

Hi Mark,

My partner and I have just had a baby who was born premature. I am Australian born and my partner is now a citizen. We live in Townsville. We are not married yet but have been in a relationship for over 12 months now.

We want to bring my partners mother to Australia from Dominican Republic. She has never travelled to Australia before.

We were planning to do this for late May when the baby was due however the situation has changed.

My reading has found that visa 679 no longer exists.

A couple of questions

1. I believe we will need to sponsor her. Am I able to be here sponsor. We would like to be able to say that we will cover her living expenses and be staying with us. My partner is not working at the moment due to the pregnancy and birth. Will this affect us being able to sponsor her and guarantee covering her living expenses. I have a good job and can easily cover however my concern is this is not considered since we are not married.

2. What length of stay do you recommend. it says 3, 6 or 12 months. Would like to have her here as long as possible. I have a feeling though they may not approve 6 - 12 months in the 1st instance.

3. Do you have examples of sponsor letters.

Thanks Mark


----------



## FungiHolic

Thank you for the quick reply!
My occupation won't change, it will still be under the same ANZSCO code, but I think to be safe, it's better to ask my employer to give me the exact same position on my current 457 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi FungiHolic - Glad I could help. Re: when to apply for the new 457, could be any time up to about 60 days before yours is expiring - that gives them time to process it. You will need to lodge a new 457 application - a new nomination may also be required - you need to see how the nomination for your 457 visa is configured (your employer or their agent should have this info). Re: occupation change, this is very important - you need to go through the duties/tasks of the ANZSCO codes for both jobs very carefully to see exactly how similar they are. If they are under the same ANZSCO code, that reduces the risk that there would be an issue. There are a number of regulations related to this area and exactly how far "away" the two codes can be to still get credit for the 2 years towards a 186. Best, Mark Northam


----------



## Zoh

*Police Clearance Certificate*

Hi

Could you let me know the period for which the police clearance is required.
Does it have to be from birth to-date or will the last 10 years be sufficient?

Regards
Huz


----------



## BionicAllah

Hey Mark,

Currently on a holiday visa and my bridging visa a which I can. Work on kicks in on 10th march. What would be the consequences of starting a job a day early?

Cheers Yvette.


----------



## swavik

Hello Mark,

ACS assesses your educational and skill assessment..
If i have to claim points for my education(B.E. Mechanical) , which is not related to my work experience of 13 years( As a software eng), do i have to apply for some additional assessment? or the marksheets and the degree certificates that i provide(which can be understood and does not need any translation) are sufficient to claim the 15 points for the Bachelors degree.

Second question is about RPL..I have not submitted it as i had a misunderstanding that 13 years work experience can waive the need for RPL...Now my application is in stage 4 since about 7 weeks and i feel that they are going to ask for an RPL(which i will need to submit with a additional 50 dollar fees). if they ask will it take another 12 weeks for the process or it will be a bit faster(since they are already assessing the other documents).

Can you please clear this doubt.

Regards,
Swavik.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jory -

As long as he is 39 and has not turned 40, he will get 25 points for age for the skilled visa points test. If his passport and birth cert have different dates of birth, you will need to explain this to DIBP and provide some sort of additional evidence or information to confirm what the actual (correct) date of of birth is. Once he turns 40, his points for age goes down to 15 (loss of 10 points). As to when the age is determined and locked in re: points, it is as of *the date that he receives an invitation from DIBP to apply for the subclass 190 visa*. This generally occurs shortly after the state approves a request for state sponsorship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jory said:


> hi Mark
> which date DIAC will depend it on?
> so, calculation age from passport or birth certificate if its different
> visa (190)
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Katy -

Thanks for the note - great questions. These days partner visas are lodged online, so you have no control over which office processes it. That's true with paper forms as well (which can still be used but I recommend against it) - offices routinely transfer applications from one to another depending on workload.

Re: Decision Ready, it can make a difference but not always (ie, no guarantee). DR basically means lodging with police and health checks included. As your health check expires in 2 months (they are valid only for 12 months) if you were intending to do a DR application I would consider taking a new health check so that it doesn't have such a short validity period remaining. It's likely they will request this anyway.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your application!

Best,

Mark Northam



kdc said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am currently putting together my application for a partner visa, and have been reading a few forum so i have two questions i would love to hear your advice about.
> 1. i have heard that some offices are quicker at processing visa applications than others for eg. brisbane quicker than sydney, although i live in Sydney is it still okay for me to send my application to a different office like the Brisbane office or not?
> 
> 2.i have noticed that some peoples applications are accepted quicker when they submit it as a 'decision ready' application, would you recommend doing this or is this a bit of a gamble? and if i was to submit a 'decision ready application' does that mean i would have to get my medical test done before sending it (i had some chest x-rays done 10 months ago for my WHV)
> 
> I look forward to hearing from you and thank you so much for doing this thread.
> 
> Katy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mx6mat -

Thanks for the note, and congratulations on the birth of your baby! I'm sure you have your hands full with the premature birth and taking care of your partner and new baby, so I'll try and simplify the visa situation as best I can.

Re: Sponsorship for the Sponsored Family Visitor stream (it's now part of the subclass 600 visa), the sponsor must be a relative (ie, parent, child, spouse, niece, nephew, etc) of the applicant - there are no provisions for in-laws to sponsor. The sponsor must be a settled (ie, lived in Australia for 2 yrs) Australian permanent resident or citizen.

You might look at the non-sponsored option (subclass 600 tourist stream), but depending on the specifics the applicant may or may not be seen as visiting Australia for a "temporary visit" as the visa requires - would need to know much more about the applicant's circumstances to provide any specific guidance on this. However, I expect this may be the best option for a visitor visa given what you've said. You can function as an "inviter" for this visa and provide an itinerary of what you plan to do with her when here, and you can offer to provide financial support, etc for her visit and expenses.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam



mx6mat said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I have just had a baby who was born premature. I am Australian born and my partner is now a citizen. We live in Townsville. We are not married yet but have been in a relationship for over 12 months now.
> 
> We want to bring my partners mother to Australia from Dominican Republic. She has never travelled to Australia before.
> 
> We were planning to do this for late May when the baby was due however the situation has changed.
> 
> My reading has found that visa 679 no longer exists.
> 
> A couple of questions
> 
> 1. I believe we will need to sponsor her. Am I able to be here sponsor. We would like to be able to say that we will cover her living expenses and be staying with us. My partner is not working at the moment due to the pregnancy and birth. Will this affect us being able to sponsor her and guarantee covering her living expenses. I have a good job and can easily cover however my concern is this is not considered since we are not married.
> 
> 2. What length of stay do you recommend. it says 3, 6 or 12 months. Would like to have her here as long as possible. I have a feeling though they may not approve 6 - 12 months in the 1st instance.
> 
> 3. Do you have examples of sponsor letters.
> 
> Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Huz -

Thanks for the question - for most visas where a police clearance certificate (PCC) is required, it's required for any country you have spent a total (ie, adding up all the time there on all trips) of 12 months or more in over the 10 years, prior to applying for the visa. Time spent there prior to age 16 is not counted generally.

Note that for some other situations (ie, citizenship), there may be a different requirement - for citizenship applications, you're asked to provide a police cert from any country you have spent 12 months or more in since you entered Australia as a permanent resident.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zoh said:


> Hi
> 
> Could you let me know the period for which the police clearance is required.
> Does it have to be from birth to-date or will the last 10 years be sufficient?
> 
> Regards
> Huz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yvette / BionicAllah (love that screen name!)

You mentioned a "holiday visa" - if this is a working holiday visa, then no problem as work is allowed, subject to the 6-month limit for any one employer which you can generally get an exemption from if you're already working there and have applied for another visa that will allow work.

If it's a visitor visa, then work is not allowed (until your bridging visa w/work rights activates) and they are very strict about this. It's simply not worth the risk of beginning work early in my view, given that it puts you in breach of your visitor visa, even if for one day. While the chances of DIBP figuring this out may be low, why take the risk?

Also, make sure you know exactly when your bridging visa activates - if you are on a visitor visa with a 3 month maximum stay, for instance, the BV will activate at the end of the stay regardless of whether the visitor visa has expired prior to that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BionicAllah said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Currently on a holiday visa and my bridging visa a which I can. Work on kicks in on 10th march. What would be the consequences of starting a job a day early?
> 
> Cheers Yvette.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Thanks for the questions. If you requesting a skills assessment from ACS (Australian Computer Society) and do not have a relevant Bachelor Degree, it's likely you'll have to be assessed based on the RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) option which looks only at your work experience.

In these cases, we often recommend that the applicant gets a Points Test Advice Letter from VETASSESS for the unrelated Bachelor Degree just in case DIBP has any issues with it. Is it required? Likely not. But it's a nice insurance policy that can save time & trouble later.

Re: ACS timing, it's unpredictable to say the least - can't offer any info there due to the unpredictability. I expect you wouldn't have to wait the entire period again, but how much time you'll save is impossible to predict. I would also contact ACS and tell them your situation and ask exactly how they will handle the situation if you wish to (or they require you to) switch to the RPL option. Better to do that and be forewarned rather then waiting for them to come to you about it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> ACS assesses your educational and skill assessment..
> If i have to claim points for my education(B.E. Mechanical) , which is not related to my work experience of 13 years( As a software eng), do i have to apply for some additional assessment? or the marksheets and the degree certificates that i provide(which can be understood and does not need any translation) are sufficient to claim the 15 points for the Bachelors degree.
> 
> Second question is about RPL..I have not submitted it as i had a misunderstanding that 13 years work experience can waive the need for RPL...Now my application is in stage 4 since about 7 weeks and i feel that they are going to ask for an RPL(which i will need to submit with a additional 50 dollar fees). if they ask will it take another 12 weeks for the process or it will be a bit faster(since they are already assessing the other documents).
> 
> Can you please clear this doubt.
> 
> Regards,
> Swavik.


----------



## mego&vevo

MarkNortham said:


> HI Mego & Vevo -
> 
> The subclass 190 visa is a state sponsored skilled permanent resident visa. For onshore partner visa applications, it is a combined application of the subclass 820 and 801 (ie, 820/801). For offshore partner visa applications, it's 309/100. In each of these combos, the first number (ie, 820, 309) is the provisional visa part of the package which is normally granted first unless there is a long term relationship (2 yrs with a child, 3 yrs without a child) and the second number (801, 100) is the permanent visa part that can be finalised 2 years after you first apply for the partner visa.
> 
> So, a person onshore with a 190 PR visa can sponsor their non-citizen spouse for an 820/801 partner visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thanks mark for all your help


----------



## swavik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. If you requesting a skills assessment from ACS (Australian Computer Society) and do not have a relevant Bachelor Degree, it's likely you'll have to be assessed based on the RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) option which looks only at your work experience.
> 
> In these cases, we often recommend that the applicant gets a Points Test Advice Letter from VETASSESS for the unrelated Bachelor Degree just in case DIBP has any issues with it. Is it required? Likely not. But it's a nice insurance policy that can save time & trouble later.
> 
> Re: ACS timing, it's unpredictable to say the least - can't offer any info there due to the unpredictability. I expect you wouldn't have to wait the entire period again, but how much time you'll save is impossible to predict. I would also contact ACS and tell them your situation and ask exactly how they will handle the situation if you wish to (or they require you to) switch to the RPL option. Better to do that and be forewarned rather then waiting for them to come to you about it.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark..That is very nice of you..i would be really obliged if i come to know how to change the application to RPL before it comes from them..
By that time i will think go through the Vetassesse site and check out the process for Point test advice letter..i was searching on the site for the time required by the Vetassesse to give the point test letter, but i did not find it..
As per your experience can u tell me what is the approx time required..

Regards,
swavik


----------



## jeleniau

Thank you so much Mark.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jeleniau -
> 
> That's an expensive visitor visa! Hopefully you will not have to go through the MRT review process next time - I would definitely consider writing a submission (letter) with your next application pointing out his successful immigration history in Australia, and how he abided by all of the conditions of his visitor visa when he was here last. With any luck, they'll spare you the time and expense of the MRT.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## jxa

Hi Mark,

My fiance and I are applying for the PMV. My fiance has a minor criminal record with one charge, and is currently on probation for it, which finishes soon.

I just have a few questions regarding the character questions for this - I've searched all over the net, but can't find much info unfortunately.

For the question: 
_"Has any applicant ever been convicted of a crime or offence in any country (including any conviction which is now removed from official records)?"_​I haven't been able to find what to actually write for this question, or the requirements. Do we just list the charge, or do we need to explain what happened, provide dates and length of probation, and/or court documents? Do we also need to provide character witnesses, and a letter from my fiance explaining what happened?

The application question after that one, also confuses us a little: 
_Has any applicant ever been charged with any offence that is currently awaiting legal action?_​Does being on probation right now mean 'yes' to awaiting legal action, or is my fiance is not awaiting legal action due to being already charged and serving the sentence?

My other question is, my fiance is in the process of trying to get a NBI Clearance (Philippines). According to US Visa documentation on the US Embassy website they state that:
_An official letter of explanation from the NBI is required for any notation of "No criminal record", or "No pending case"._​While what seems to be an older instruction I found quoted on a forum states:
_An official letter of explanation from the NBI is required for any notation of "No criminal record", No pending criminal case" or "With derogatory record."_​Either way, I can't find anything similar about requirements when applying for Australian visas (either official instructions or similar situations on forums) - is a NBI letter of explanation required for the PMV if there is a record?

If you could help with any info at all, it would be much appreciated. Thanks!


----------



## Aussieboy07

Hi Mark
As you know PMV300 until April 4 2015 was approved for Rhea. We submitted for 809/100 (onshore spousal visa), I rang immigration and they said Rhea was approved for the bridging visa ( we have not applied for a bridging visa or received any communication in relation to a bridging visa)


----------



## Anthony Deal

Hi Mark,

I am planning to apply for the Visa sub class 189 - Independent Skilled worker, under the General Accountant category. I currently have 7 years of working experience as an accountant (all of which are relevant - Full time/40 hours per week), however 4 of them are before I attained my qualification (CIMA membership).

To get points for skill employment, can I submit my whole 7 years or can I only claim for the post qualified period of 3 years?

Thanks a lot in advance,


----------



## M.observer

Hi Mark,

Regarding 189 subclass application, will there be a difference (in time & complexity) between main applicant processing and main plus dependent applicant processing? CO was asking for my spouse and 6 months child to include in the application. 

How does DIBP see this from their perspective? 

Most of my papers done, including fbi background checks. My main concern is time. 

Thanks & best,


----------



## DavidV

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your prompt reply and advice. After reading up on information on GTE, I can certainly understand the importance of proving that your 100% genuine. Wish leads me too a few more questions.

Would it be a negative start if she was to choose a different path and apply for a course unrelated to her existing degree, such as accountancy?

Also, would choosing a course within sublass 573 greatly increase her chances of being granted a visa as opposed to 572?

Thank you again,

Dave.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dave,
> Thanks for the question. FYI I believe you are looking at subclass 572 (vocational) or 573 (higher ed - uni, etc) visas.
> 
> For these visas there isn't technically a sponsorship involved, however support from family members here can be helpful in increasing the chances for approval. Also in most cases family members are able to make funds available for the applicant's use if needed to satisfy the financial requirements of the student visa programme.
> 
> The Australian Government says that applicants should not have any expectation of a linkage between study and working in Australia, so whether her subject of study is on the SOL list or not is not generally a factor in the student visa approval process. There are policy directives that would be valuable to review called the "Genuine Temporary Entrant" policy which is heavily enforced on student visas - I'd suggest googling the term and reviewing it carefully to see how you can show in the application how the applicant meets these policy requirements.
> 
> I hope this is helpful, and best of luck!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## kangaroogirl

Hi Mark, 

We've just submitted our online application for onshore 820. We received the acknowledgement letter via email but no BVA letter. 

Do you know why this might be? Everyone seems to be saying they received both at once and now I'm very worried we aren't getting a bridging visa. 

One thing that was unusual I'm out application is that we had to answer yes to the question about any debt to the Australian government, as my husband had to go to hospital since being in Australia and we are still organising travel insurance claim. Would this cause a problem? 

Do they ever not give a bridging visa for onshore applications? 

We completed my husband's form, submitted and paid, and then completed my sponsor form. 

All the document upload fields are showing, we just havnt received that, and his current ETA stay expires next week. 

We are panicking badly. I can't contact immigration till Monday obviously but until then we are extremely worried because it seems everyone gets their BVA in the same letter as acknowledgement. 

Please help? Vivo doesn't even recognise the TRN.


----------



## jajp23

Hi Mark!

Thank you for creating this thread to help us in our visa queries.. 

I have quick question.. My sister wants to apply for skilled independent visa but her work is not related to her education ie she has Bachelors Degree major in Management but she is working as an Accounting Assistant for 5 years. Do you think she is eligible for subclass 189? Who will assess her skills if ever eligible?

Hope you help us. Thank you in advance!

Cheers!


----------



## Aarohi

Hi Mark, I have been following you on this forum for a while and I highly appreciate the help you offer to everyone on this forum.

I have a very quick question.

My partner is an Australian Citizen, I was granted subclass 801 and I am currently waiting to receive letter stating date for my citizenship ceremony(Citizenship test completed).

Me n my partner are having issues in our relationship after 4 yrs into our marriage, She is talking about divorcing me...my question is what happens now if I divorce her or she asks for divorce ?, does it affect my Permanent Residency or soon to be citizenship ?

Best regards.


----------



## Mae-Anne

Hi Mark,

I am currently on a 457 visa and would like to ask when I can apply for a permanent residency? Also, if I would need to take another IELTS exam in applying for it. My last IELTS was dated back in august 2011. 

Thanks so much!


----------



## tomay

Hi Mark,

Just want to ask a few questions about 485 visa. I have already applied for 485 visa and currently on Bridging visa A. I'm thinking of applying bridging visa B as there is a job opportunity arise and I will need to travel outside Australia.

My question is I would like to know if it's okay to be outside of Australia before or maybe when the 485 visa is granted.

Thank you for your time.

Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Re: points test advice letter, these are a bit unpredictable - I'd allow anywhere from 6 to 10 weeks for that, but would suggest you call VETASSESS and ask how long they "currently are taking" - they're usually pretty helpful in that regard, and the points test advice letter turnaround time, while typically less than a full assessment, can vary considerably.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Thank you Mark..That is very nice of you..i would be really obliged if i come to know how to change the application to RPL before it comes from them..
> By that time i will think go through the Vetassesse site and check out the process for Point test advice letter..i was searching on the site for the time required by the Vetassesse to give the point test letter, but i did not find it..
> As per your experience can u tell me what is the approx time required..
> 
> Regards,
> swavik


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jxa:

Re: mentioning the offence and punishment, that would be a minimum. As to additional info - why, how, how he's not offended since, current character stmts, all that would depend on how severe the charge was, the details/character of the charge, and whether you thought that the seriousness of the offence rose to the level that it would be advisable to front-load a character defence/explanation. We often recommend people do this, but it depends on the specifics of each person's unique situation.

Re: Charged and awaiting legal action, as technically there are still legal actions pending (ie, successful conclusion of parole if that's the case), I'd mention it in answer to this question - you can refer to the details of the offence mentioned earlier, and note that you are awaiting the completion of parole. HOWEVER: I would consider waiting to apply for the PMV until the parole period is over - this could be an issue with the PMV application depending on the specifics of your situation. Once the parole period is over, then, I would think that the offence is no longer "awaiting legal action" and you could therefore answer No to this question.

Re: NBI letter, as far as I know for Australian immigration, only an NBI Clearance police clearance report is necessary. If DIBP wants more info after that, I'd let them request it at that time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jxa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My fiance and I are applying for the PMV. My fiance has a minor criminal record with one charge, and is currently on probation for it, which finishes soon.
> 
> I just have a few questions regarding the character questions for this - I've searched all over the net, but can't find much info unfortunately.
> 
> For the question:
> _"Has any applicant ever been convicted of a crime or offence in any country (including any conviction which is now removed from official records)?"_​I haven't been able to find what to actually write for this question, or the requirements. Do we just list the charge, or do we need to explain what happened, provide dates and length of probation, and/or court documents? Do we also need to provide character witnesses, and a letter from my fiance explaining what happened?
> 
> The application question after that one, also confuses us a little:
> _Has any applicant ever been charged with any offence that is currently awaiting legal action?_​Does being on probation right now mean 'yes' to awaiting legal action, or is my fiance is not awaiting legal action due to being already charged and serving the sentence?
> 
> My other question is, my fiance is in the process of trying to get a NBI Clearance (Philippines). According to US Visa documentation on the US Embassy website they state that:
> _An official letter of explanation from the NBI is required for any notation of "No criminal record", or "No pending case"._​While what seems to be an older instruction I found quoted on a forum states:
> _An official letter of explanation from the NBI is required for any notation of "No criminal record", No pending criminal case" or "With derogatory record."_​Either way, I can't find anything similar about requirements when applying for Australian visas (either official instructions or similar situations on forums) - is a NBI letter of explanation required for the PMV if there is a record?
> 
> If you could help with any info at all, it would be much appreciated. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

The onshore spouse visa is the 820/801 (the 309/100 is the offshore one). If you have not been emailed a bridging visa grant letter (or sent one in the post), I'd ask DIBP to resend it, after checking that they have the right contact info. Sometimes DIBP can get their "wires crossed" and think that an applicant is outside Australia when they are in fact inside Australia which can lead to an issue with the bridging visa being issued. But one way or another, I would confirm things with them and get a copy of the bridging visa grant letter which is automatically generated when the partner visa is received. Please feel free to contact me directly if you need any assistance with this -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aussieboy07 said:


> Hi Mark
> As you know PMV300 until April 4 2015 was approved for Rhea. We submitted for 809/100 (onshore spousal visa), I rang immigration and they said Rhea was approved for the bridging visa ( we have not applied for a bridging visa or received any communication in relation to a bridging visa)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anthony -

I'm a little unclear about your exact qualification based on the wording of your question, however generally speaking if you have a relevant Bachelor Degree, then work experience gained past that point may be considered skilled, however the skills assessors will analyse your degree and note any parts of that degree that may not fully satisfy Australian requirements, which may require taking additional courses, etc.

Bottom line is that each of the skills assessors for accountants (there are 3) do things a bit differently, and the specific assessment of your educational quals and work experience and the report they furnish to you after that is the only way to definitively tell which work experience can be claimed for skilled points.

Sorry I don't have a quick easy answer for this one! But like ACS, a lot depends on the skills assessor and their analysis of your quals and experience.

Best,

Mark Northam



Anthony Deal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to apply for the Visa sub class 189 - Independent Skilled worker, under the General Accountant category. I currently have 7 years of working experience as an accountant (all of which are relevant - Full time/40 hours per week), however 4 of them are before I attained my qualification (CIMA membership).
> 
> To get points for skill employment, can I submit my whole 7 years or can I only claim for the post qualified period of 3 years?
> 
> Thanks a lot in advance,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi M.observer -

Thanks for the question. No major difference in timing unless security or health issues come up with the additional applicants, or unless the application is nearly finished processing and you add on the additional applicants which slows things down while they go back and do the health and security checks (which had already been completed for you). That being said, we're seeing anywhere from 1 to 9 month processing times for this visa - very unpredictable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



M.observer said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Regarding 189 subclass application, will there be a difference (in time & complexity) between main applicant processing and main plus dependent applicant processing? CO was asking for my spouse and 6 months child to include in the application.
> 
> How does DIBP see this from their perspective?
> 
> Most of my papers done, including fbi background checks. My main concern is time.
> 
> Thanks & best,


----------



## ultimatenature

*Seperated from Non-Migrating Spouse*

I have lodged a Skilled Independent (Permanent) subclass 189 visa electronically. I included my husband, whom I have been separated since Jan 2012, as a non-migrating Applicant because we are still married and it is not possible to get a divorce because I am from the Philippines. I included a letter stating we have been separated since 2012. The CO has requested I provide from him:

Overseas Police Clearance Certificates
Form 80
Form 1221
Character Statutory Declaration

In addition, because I put in a letter saying I was separated, they want Evidence of Divorce/Separation (Legal Documents)

My husband has previously refused to provide any of this and refuses to talk to me now. I phoned the CO and they said it was mandatory I provide this information or my visa would be refused.

What can I do?

We have a child together and my husband has provided an affidavit and Form 1229 Consent to grant Australian visa to a child but now they also want a Court document of sole custody, or responsibility for the child and the right to determine where the child should live.

I have flown to the Philippines to try and talk to him but am ask him to comply but he refuses to provide anything else.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dave -

Thanks for the question. Re: unrelated course, this would depend on how the course "relates" to her previous studies. If there is some sort of a logical progression, that can be a positive thing. If it is utterly unrelated and DIBP cannot figure out any relation, they (DIBP) could form the opinion that there might be another motivation to visit Australia other than to study, etc.

My view: If the applicant is qualified for the course, 573 visa a bit easier to get through than 572.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DavidV said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your prompt reply and advice. After reading up on information on GTE, I can certainly understand the importance of proving that your 100% genuine. Wish leads me too a few more questions.
> 
> Would it be a negative start if she was to choose a different path and apply for a course unrelated to her existing degree, such as accountancy?
> 
> Also, would choosing a course within sublass 573 greatly increase her chances of being granted a visa as opposed to 572?
> 
> Thank you again,
> 
> Dave.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kangaroogirl -

Thanks for the note - bridging visa is automatic with 820/801 applications unless there is an issue - ie, DIBP might think the applicant is outside Australia or something else. Highly recommend you contact DIBP Monday - they should be able to provide a quick explanation.

Best,

Mark Northam



kangaroogirl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We've just submitted our online application for onshore 820. We received the acknowledgement letter via email but no BVA letter.
> 
> Do you know why this might be? Everyone seems to be saying they received both at once and now I'm very worried we aren't getting a bridging visa.
> 
> One thing that was unusual I'm out application is that we had to answer yes to the question about any debt to the Australian government, as my husband had to go to hospital since being in Australia and we are still organising travel insurance claim. Would this cause a problem?
> 
> Do they ever not give a bridging visa for onshore applications?
> 
> We completed my husband's form, submitted and paid, and then completed my sponsor form.
> 
> All the document upload fields are showing, we just havnt received that, and his current ETA stay expires next week.
> 
> We are panicking badly. I can't contact immigration till Monday obviously but until then we are extremely worried because it seems everyone gets their BVA in the same letter as acknowledgement.
> 
> Please help? Vivo doesn't even recognise the TRN.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jajp:

Great question. One thing many people do not fully realise is that for the skilled permanent visas, it is NOT a requirement of the points test that the educational qualification be related to the occupation the applicant is applying under. That is, for points test purposes.

That being said, the skills assessor for the occupation can have very different requirements and an unrelated degree can mean a failed skills assessment. You can check on the DIBP SOL or CSOL occupation lists to see what the skills assessor is for any occupation, or check the ASRI:

A-Z Occupations List

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jajp23 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Thank you for creating this thread to help us in our visa queries..
> 
> I have quick question.. My sister wants to apply for skilled independent visa but her work is not related to her education ie she has Bachelors Degree major in Management but she is working as an Accounting Assistant for 5 years. Do you think she is eligible for subclass 189? Who will assess her skills if ever eligible?
> 
> Hope you help us. Thank you in advance!
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aarohi -

Thanks for the kind words - glad to help. If you have been granted your subclass 801 permanent partner visa, it would not affect your permanent residency or citizenship options if you were to divorce, separate, etc. Generally speaking once the 801 is granted, DIBP doesn't care about what happens to your relationship - it would not affect your permanent residency or citizenship unless there was a belief by DIBP that the entire relationship was a sham to get the visa/citizenship. In these cases, where the relationship was found to be fabricated for visa purposes, the PR and citizenship can be cancelled, sometimes years later. But unless that's the case with you (and I hope it's not!), divorce or separation would have no effect on your permanent residency or citizenship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aarohi said:


> Hi Mark, I have been following you on this forum for a while and I highly appreciate the help you offer to everyone on this forum.
> 
> I have a very quick question.
> 
> My partner is an Australian Citizen, I was granted subclass 801 and I am currently waiting to receive letter stating date for my citizenship ceremony(Citizenship test completed).
> 
> Me n my partner are having issues in our relationship after 4 yrs into our marriage, She is talking about divorcing me...my question is what happens now if I divorce her or she asks for divorce ?, does it affect my Permanent Residency or soon to be citizenship ?
> 
> Best regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mae-Anne -

Thanks for the great question. There is no direct path for people on 457 visas to permanent residency, however the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) and 187 Regional Skilled Migration Scheme (RSMS) PR visas have an employer sponsored pathway where you can work for your employer for 2 years, then the employer can (optionally) nominate you for this visa. In this case, you would need an IELTS test with a minimum of 5 on each band that is no older than 3 years old at the time of application - if it's older than that, you would need to take the test again.

There are also other employer nominated and skilled visas that may be appropriate for you depending on your unique circumstances. These visas have many requirements, and if a skills assessment is needed (generally for all skilled visas and some non-457 pathways for employer sponsored visas) the skills assessor will have their own specific requirements. If you're looking at PR options, would suggest you sit down with a registered migration agent and explain all the details of your situation, then get some professional advice to the various PR pathways that you may qualify for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mae-Anne said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently on a 457 visa and would like to ask when I can apply for a permanent residency? Also, if I would need to take another IELTS exam in applying for it. My last IELTS was dated back in august 2011.
> 
> Thanks so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tomay -

Thanks for the question. You must be in Australia at the time the 485 is granted - no way around that. Often if you keep in touch with the case officer and let them know the details of your situation, when they're ready to grant the visa they will contact you and give you some period of time (generally a number of weeks) to return to Australia, however this is a discretion/courtesy and not a guarantee. That being said, case officers are generally helpful and willing to work with people in this area, especially given grant times are so unpredictable. Key issue is to make sure DIBP always has your current email and postal address.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomay said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just want to ask a few questions about 485 visa. I have already applied for 485 visa and currently on Bridging visa A. I'm thinking of applying bridging visa B as there is a job opportunity arise and I will need to travel outside Australia.
> 
> My question is I would like to know if it's okay to be outside of Australia before or maybe when the 485 visa is granted.
> 
> Thank you for your time.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## Aarohi

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Aarohi -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words - glad to help. If you have been granted your subclass 801 permanent partner visa, it would not affect your permanent residency or citizenship options if you were to divorce, separate, etc. Generally speaking once the 801 is granted, DIBP doesn't care about what happens to your relationship - it would not affect your permanent residency or citizenship unless there was a belief by DIBP that the entire relationship was a sham to get the visa/citizenship. In these cases, where the relationship was found to be fabricated for visa purposes, the PR and citizenship can be cancelled, sometimes years later. But unless that's the case with you (and I hope it's not!), divorce or separation would have no effect on your permanent residency or citizenship.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, Thank you so much for your prompt response. Thank God my relationship is not fabricated, My wife is asking for Divorce.......I am the only one working for last 2 years (I am an IT professional) and she just stays home, according to her she wanted a break from working. She packed her bags and left for her mums today while I was at work. I am offering options to consider marriage counselling but she is pretty keen to get Divorce.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ultimatenature -

You're in a tough spot, and the case officer is playing "by the book" (ie, no flexibility). I expect this is because a child is involved, which always makes DIBP act strictly in my experience, for the benefit of the child (in DIBP's view).

Re: the Form 80, etc you may need to provide a statutory declaration outlining your attempts to get these documents and your husband's refusal to provide them. But if DIBP is playing hardball on this one, even that won't be any sort of a guarantee that they will not refuse the visa on this ground.

Re: custody, this is probably the root of all these issues. If there is no court document outlining the specific custody/parental rights for the child, then DIBP assumes both parents have full rights and requires documentation from each. In the absence of a divorce decree or other official documentation re: divorce, etc, DIBP may assume you are still married (despite what you tell them). Again, it's the "best interests of the child" that can often make them be very strict about the requirements in this area.

If DIBP is going to be this strict, you may need to consider asking them to put processing of your visa "on hold" and look into the process of getting your marriage annulled in the Philippines and getting a court or other legal document stating exactly what parental rights each parent has re: having a say where the child can live, etc.

Wish I had better news, but from what you've said DIBP is giving you very little choice in the matter -

Best,

Mark Northam



ultimatenature said:


> I have lodged a Skilled Independent (Permanent) subclass 189 visa electronically. I included my husband, whom I have been separated since Jan 2012, as a non-migrating Applicant because we are still married and it is not possible to get a divorce because I am from the Philippines. I included a letter stating we have been separated since 2012. The CO has requested I provide from him:
> 
> Overseas Police Clearance Certificates
> Form 80
> Form 1221
> Character Statutory Declaration
> 
> In addition, because I put in a letter saying I was separated, they want Evidence of Divorce/Separation (Legal Documents)
> 
> My husband has previously refused to provide any of this and refuses to talk to me now. I phoned the CO and they said it was mandatory I provide this information or my visa would be refused.
> 
> What can I do?
> 
> We have a child together and my husband has provided an affidavit and Form 1229 Consent to grant Australian visa to a child but now they also want a Court document of sole custody, or responsibility for the child and the right to determine where the child should live.
> 
> I have flown to the Philippines to try and talk to him but am ask him to comply but he refuses to provide anything else.


----------



## ultimatenature

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ultimatenature -
> 
> You're in a tough spot, and the case officer is playing "by the book" (ie, no flexibility). I expect this is because a child is involved, which always makes DIBP act strictly in my experience, for the benefit of the child (in DIBP's view).
> 
> Re: the Form 80, etc you may need to provide a statutory declaration outlining your attempts to get these documents and your husband's refusal to provide them. But if DIBP is playing hardball on this one, even that won't be any sort of a guarantee that they will not refuse the visa on this ground.
> 
> Re: custody, this is probably the root of all these issues. If there is no court document outlining the specific custody/parental rights for the child, then DIBP assumes both parents have full rights and requires documentation from each. In the absence of a divorce decree or other official documentation re: divorce, etc, DIBP may assume you are still married (despite what you tell them). Again, it's the "best interests of the child" that can often make them be very strict about the requirements in this area.
> 
> If DIBP is going to be this strict, you may need to consider asking them to put processing of your visa "on hold" and look into the process of getting your marriage annulled in the Philippines and getting a court or other legal document stating exactly what parental rights each parent has re: having a say where the child can live, etc.
> 
> Wish I had better news, but from what you've said DIBP is giving you very little choice in the matter -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


If I am able to get him to provided the PCC and health check why are they asking for proof of separation? If I now change it and say we aren't separated, will that go against me?


----------



## tomay

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tomay -
> 
> Thanks for the question. You must be in Australia at the time the 485 is granted - no way around that. Often if you keep in touch with the case officer and let them know the details of your situation, when they're ready to grant the visa they will contact you and give you some period of time (generally a number of weeks) to return to Australia, however this is a discretion/courtesy and not a guarantee. That being said, case officers are generally helpful and willing to work with people in this area, especially given grant times are so unpredictable. Key issue is to make sure DIBP always has your current email and postal address.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much for your reply.

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ultimatenature -

I believe the proof of separation has to do with how they assess the situation with your child. If you truly are separated, I would not change your response to DIBP as that could result in a loss of credibility of anything you say/do after that. If you provided the other docs (PCC, etc), you could respond that your separation was an informal one and that no legal documents are available since you never formally declared your separation to the legal authorities, etc. and see if that plus the other docs is enough to satisfy DIBP.

But any time a married couple with a child applies for a PR visa and one partner is included and the other is not, this often is looked at (in my view) with suspicion by DIBP given the media spotlight recently on parents kidnapping/taking their chidren away from ex-partners (or current partners) who have some legal say over where the child can live/travel to. Given this, my view is that DIBP will want to confirm with some sort of legal documentation that everyone who has a legal say in where the child can go/live/travel has given their complete and verified support to the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ultimatenature said:


> If I am able to get him to provided the PCC and health check why are they asking for proof of separation? If I now change it and say we aren't separated, will that go against me?


----------



## gin5678

*help*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Hope you can help. I currently hold a subclass 175 visa granted last late 2009. I landed in Australia in Dec 2009 as the visa states i have to land in Australia before Jan 31 2010. However i just stayed in Australia (Sydney) for a week and haven't been back eversince.

My visa says i should not arrive after Aug 2014. i want to go to Australia and take care of my permanent residence but sadly i wont be able to go until next year, early 2015.

i was just wondering do i have any option to save my PR status and to go back given this situation? 
can i apply for an rrv (outside of australia) even if I have not been there in the previous years? i do not have relatives there and no potential employer so no substantial ties either.

ther is a very slim chance that i can go this year by july 2014...but will i still be allowed to get into canada with my 175 visa given i havent been in australia since 2009?

if i cant do all these, can i just reapply using 'Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa'? or will i have a bad record since i was granted a visa but let it expired?

pls advice anything i can do to save my PR. thanks!


----------



## ultimatenature

How can I get my visa put on hold?


----------



## Mae-Anne

Thank you Mark for the quick response.
I appreciate the inputs you have provided!


----------



## ultimatenature

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ultimatenature -
> 
> You're in a tough spot, and the case officer is playing "by the book" (ie, no flexibility). I expect this is because a child is involved, which always makes DIBP act strictly in my experience, for the benefit of the child (in DIBP's view).
> 
> Re: the Form 80, etc you may need to provide a statutory declaration outlining your attempts to get these documents and your husband's refusal to provide them. But if DIBP is playing hardball on this one, even that won't be any sort of a guarantee that they will not refuse the visa on this ground.
> 
> Re: custody, this is probably the root of all these issues. If there is no court document outlining the specific custody/parental rights for the child, then DIBP assumes both parents have full rights and requires documentation from each. In the absence of a divorce decree or other official documentation re: divorce, etc, DIBP may assume you are still married (despite what you tell them). Again, it's the "best interests of the child" that can often make them be very strict about the requirements in this area.
> 
> If DIBP is going to be this strict, you may need to consider asking them to put processing of your visa "on hold" and look into the process of getting your marriage annulled in the Philippines and getting a court or other legal document stating exactly what parental rights each parent has re: having a say where the child can live, etc.
> 
> Wish I had better news, but from what you've said DIBP is giving you very little choice in the matter -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


How can I get my application put "on hold"?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gin5678 -

With no substantial ties to Australia, you might be able to apply for and get a Subclass 157 Return Resident Visa (RRV) - check here for the details to see if you meet the requirements: Resident Return visa (subclasses 155 and 157)

As long as you enter Australia by the date indicated on your PR visa, even if it's the day before that date, you should be fine. You can then remain for an unlimited time, but can only re-enter Australia (again) if you have an RRV or become a citizen (or have a new visa).

Applying for a new visa is another possibility, and you would not be disadvantaged that I can see having had a previous visa, other than if the case officer due to the previous visa doubted your intention to permanently reside in Australia and make Australia your home. If you do proceed on this route, remember that skilled visas are now much harder to get than they were when the old 175 visas were available - they require an invitation, a new skills assessment, etc and many of the skills assessors have made it more difficult to get a positive assessment. But if you do proceed in this way, consider putting together evidence that you will be making Australia your home if the visa is approved - just "saying" it in a letter, etc is not enough - you need independent, verifiable evidence (ie lease or purchase of home, evidence of making plans to live there, etc) to start to build a successful case that you truly intend to be a "permanent resident" of Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## gin5678

Thanks Mark! I noticed that one of the requirements is that I should have had a compelling/ compassionate reason for leaving Australia before. What would be a reasonable compelling/ compassionate reason for leaving Australia in the past? I was/ am trying to finish my post-grad studies here and I hope to finish by next yr yet. In your experience, would that be reasonable enough? 

Does that mean that my going to Australia before my visa expires doesn't guarantee that I can get an RRV if I do not have a compelling/ compassionate reason for leaving Au before? 

Also, can I apply for the RRV while I am outside of Australia?

Do you think I would have a chance if I apply an RRV now given the circumstance? 

Thanks so much Mark


----------



## faiz85

Hi Mark,

I am getting married through arranged marriage. I met my Wife to be 2 months ago. Since then we have been engaged. I plan to marry her in 3 months time. I will be doing a traditional wedding and Civil marriage in India.

After that we would like to apply for Spouse visa. I have been told that i need to live with her prior to applying for the visa. Is this correct. If so, then what is the minimum amount of time that is required to satisfy this condition.

She currently resides in India and i am an Australian citizen. 

I have gone through the partner booklet and i am not sure what information is actually deemed acceptable to prove the marriage to be a genuine alliance, other than a marriage certificate. 

After we have applied for offshore spouse visa, can i call her here on Visit visa.

Please help. 

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gin5678 -

Thanks for the note. I don't have close to enough information to give you specific advice on your circumstances - generally, however, just completing a degree (unless outside Australia was the only place you could do it) may not rise to the level of compelling circumstances that is required for that part of the RRV. You can apply for an RRV in or outside Australia. Returning to Australia does not guarantee anything - everything depends on your individual circumstances - that's why anything but the 2/5 years 155 RRV involves the opinion of the case officer in deciding what circumstances are sufficiently "compelling" - a word that has no precise definition, although DIBP likes to use the word "forceful" as a definition of compelling in some case decisions I've read.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gin5678 said:


> Thanks Mark! I noticed that one of the requirements is that I should have had a compelling/ compassionate reason for leaving Australia before. What would be a reasonable compelling/ compassionate reason for leaving Australia in the past? I was/ am trying to finish my post-grad studies here and I hope to finish by next yr yet. In your experience, would that be reasonable enough?
> 
> Does that mean that my going to Australia before my visa expires doesn't guarantee that I can get an RRV if I do not have a compelling/ compassionate reason for leaving Au before?
> 
> Also, can I apply for the RRV while I am outside of Australia?
> 
> Do you think I would have a chance if I apply an RRV now given the circumstance?
> 
> Thanks so much Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Faiz -

Great questions. There is no fixed amount of time living together for married couples per the regulations, but generally it needs to be enough time to establish enough relationship evidence of the four types mentioned in the partner booklet to establish a genuine marriage in the eyes of DIBP. Or put more simply, a marriage certificate is only the beginning! It is not enough by itself - not even close. Many of our clients live together for 2-3 months after marriage, some for more like 5-6 months depending on their circumstances, in order to put into place various types of relationship evidence in order to support their application.

If you lodge an offshore partner visa application, you can apply for a visitor visa to visit the Australian partner during the 9-12 months it may take to process the application - these are often approved unless there are unusual circumstances or the DIBP post processing the partner visa application believes that the relationship may not be genuine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



faiz85 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am getting married through arranged marriage. I met my Wife to be 2 months ago. Since then we have been engaged. I plan to marry her in 3 months time. I will be doing a traditional wedding and Civil marriage in India.
> 
> After that we would like to apply for Spouse visa. I have been told that i need to live with her prior to applying for the visa. Is this correct. If so, then what is the minimum amount of time that is required to satisfy this condition.
> 
> She currently resides in India and i am an Australian citizen.
> 
> I have gone through the partner booklet and i am not sure what information is actually deemed acceptable to prove the marriage to be a genuine alliance, other than a marriage certificate.
> 
> After we have applied for offshore spouse visa, can i call her here on Visit visa.
> 
> Please help.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## forestwood

Hi Mark, 
I'm about to lodge my 820 visa and I have confusions for evidence of contact. My husband is Aussie and we've always used iMessage to contact each other. How do I provide that evidence? If I take screen shots of all the iMessages there will be lots of screen shots. So what shall I do?


----------



## ultimatenature

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ultimatenature -
> 
> You're in a tough spot, and the case officer is playing "by the book" (ie, no flexibility). I expect this is because a child is involved, which always makes DIBP act strictly in my experience, for the benefit of the child (in DIBP's view).
> 
> Re: the Form 80, etc you may need to provide a statutory declaration outlining your attempts to get these documents and your husband's refusal to provide them. But if DIBP is playing hardball on this one, even that won't be any sort of a guarantee that they will not refuse the visa on this ground.
> 
> Re: custody, this is probably the root of all these issues. If there is no court document outlining the specific custody/parental rights for the child, then DIBP assumes both parents have full rights and requires documentation from each. In the absence of a divorce decree or other official documentation re: divorce, etc, DIBP may assume you are still married (despite what you tell them). Again, it's the "best interests of the child" that can often make them be very strict about the requirements in this area.
> 
> If DIBP is going to be this strict, you may need to consider asking them to put processing of your visa "on hold" and look into the process of getting your marriage annulled in the Philippines and getting a court or other legal document stating exactly what parental rights each parent has re: having a say where the child can live, etc.
> 
> Wish I had better news, but from what you've said DIBP is giving you very little choice in the matter -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark. Sorry for reposting but feel I am in a desperate situation. How is it possible to get my application put "on hold"? What options do you think I have? My 28 days to supply the requested documents is 24 march. I can't afford to lose my $4400 application fee and have a permanent full time position in Australia that is in my profession for skillselect, they have given me 3 weeks leave so I can go to the Philippines to try and get requested documents which has used up most of my funds.

So sorry to bother you.


----------



## SS70011005

Hi Mark,

I have recently applied with required documents for Queensland. I have some urgent queries:
My skills assessment applied before July, 2010 with CPA for 221111 (Accountant General). I checked with CPA and they said that its valid till June'14. However, it does not meet the requirements of post July, 2010 assessment requirements. The person I checked with said that its all upto the discretion of the Queensland authority person if he/she will consider it? What are the chances of it getting accepted? Would Queensland authorities raise any issue on this?
Before sending my documents and paying the fee of $200, I had changed my EOI twice as there were some errors in it. However, Queensland authorities had already sent me the mail asking for further documents. Would this impact my application?
After submitting my documents, what if I wish to update my EOI with higher IELTS score? Can I do that?
Would be great if you guys can help me get some answers.

Thank you.

SS70011005


----------



## M.observer

MarkNortham said:


> Hi M.observer -
> 
> Thanks for the question. No major difference in timing unless security or health issues come up with the additional applicants, or unless the application is nearly finished processing and you add on the additional applicants which slows things down while they go back and do the health and security checks (which had already been completed for you). That being said, we're seeing anywhere from 1 to 9 month processing times for this visa - very unpredictable.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you for your kind reply.

I had 3 visas today. I will post the timeline to the forum.

Look forwards to meeting you in Sydney!

Best,
M.observer


----------



## Jamesy

Hi Mark,

Just reviewing our application before we submit it and I'm starting to get fickle. Can I put United Kingdom or Great Britain as my country of birth or must it be England? Just a tad confusing as the Country of Passport is United Kingdom.


----------



## Sups&Vids

Hi Mark,

I am an Australian citizen and my husband recently applied for a Partner Visa (Onshore). He is currently on a student visa that doesn't expire for another two years but he has completed his diploma and is currently working part time - we rely on his income to survive.

Unfortunately our Migration Agent gave us the wrong information and told us that if we withdrew his student visa he could stay here on Bridging Visa A. Luckily I did some research myself and found this to be untrue!

I just wanted to get an opinion on whether his best option is to cancel his Student Visa and apply for Bridging Visa E (and apply for work rights on the basis of financial hardship)? How do we apply for work rights and what do we need to prove financial hardship?

Do we have any other options?


----------



## Rommelmoh

*About 485*

Hello,
I have already submitted the visa application form for 485. Under the category of NON accompanying dependents, I put the names of my parents and siblings. Is that correct? Do they need to undergo medical examinations? since they are not accompanying me i think they dont need to. But i am not sure about this case whether i filled the form correctly or not. Thanks you so much


----------



## jaffaop

Mark i got refused today , have attached pic

check it

www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/56049-visa-vistor-600-refused-after-3-months.html


----------



## hooyn

Hi Mark,

I've been gathering all the evidence and finishing up the application for our 820 application the past few weeks (i'm the sponsor) and one of the main questions I have is related to the 12 month living together requirement. 

My partner from Japan has came over here last year on the 1st April for a 1 year working holiday VISA, and she has lived with my family and I the entire time.

I am looking to submit my application on the 24th March (final week of the month) and submit all evidence/declarations etc. but submit additional evidence the following week after the 1st April which would mean my partner would have been here for 12months!

Is this adequate enough to satisfy the 12month requirements? We are also going to be registering our relationship up here in QLD just in case. 

The other things I have got together as evidence of our relationship is listed below, can you have a skim through it and see if there is anything else I should add? 

- Opened joint bank account when she came to Australia
- Bank statements showing where we have spent money together/for eachother
- Listed her as my beneficiary on my super (100% portion)
- Register our relationship
- Logs from Skype and Facebook since 2011
- Copies of plane tickets/hotel bookings of the multiple holidays we have been with together over the past years
- Copies of plane tickets of both her and I visitting one another over the past years 
- Photoes of us in different places since 2011 in both Japan/Australia 
- Photoes of us with both of our parents all together 
- Stat declaration from family and friends (x5?)
- Stat declarations from both of us explaining our entire relationship from when we met to where we are now today


I didn't realise how much time and effort would be needed to do this application and it would be greatly appreciated if you could provide some feedback! Thanks in advance!

Henry


----------



## mgalal

Dear Mark,

i have a suitable assessment for my skills for ANZSCO code 263112 (Network Administrator) from ACS. as i checked the SOL, i couldnt find the ANZSCO 263112 but i can find it in CSOL and it has low availability status in the south australia nominated SOL.
That means that my only chance is to apply for subclass 190 for south australia... am i on the right track so far?


----------



## seekingpr

*EOI not updatd with relevant Experience*

Hello Mark,
May i seek your expert opinion in the matter as stated below:

I submitted for assessment to ACS on 16th Aug 2013.As on 16th Aug 2013, my experience was 6 years 6 months as ICT business Analyst( starting 21st Feb 2007).My result was declared by ACS on 22nd Nov 2013 recognizing 6 years 6 months as total work experience relevant to ANZSCO Code 261111.They noted experience as follows:
The following employment after February 2009 is considered to equate work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261111

Dates: 02/07 - 04/13 (6 years 2 months)
Country : India

Dates: 04/13 - 08/13 ( 0 years 4 months)
Country : Australia
Please note again, i submitted application for assessment on 16th Aug and above experience was considered till1 6th Aug 2013.

I submitted EOI on 22nd Nov 2013 and as on that day i scored 60 points ( with 5 points for experience due to my experience being falling into 3-5 years bucket, deducting 2 years from overall experience due to new ACS rule).
Now that (on 21st February 2014) i have completed 7 years in same occupation in same company, i will be qualified to gain points as prescribed for 5-8 years bucket)
But EOI still shows total points as 60 whereas it should automatically update my total score.
I have also read while filling in detail within EOI that Skillselect will keep a tally of experience *from the date of application of EOI till the date invitation is sent.*

My queries:
- Does that mean that SkillSelect will not consider the time gap from 16th Aug 2013 till 22nd Nov 2013?
-Is that the reason my score have not been updated?
- Also, i am still continuing my work in Australia and i will complete 1 year of Australian experience in April 2014, does that mean that my experience from 16th Aug 2013 till 22nd Nov 2014 will not be counted towards Australian experience.

Overall, i should be standing at 70 points( 5 points for 5 years of experience,5 points for 1 year of Australian Experience) and i am very very curious to know right answers.

I have entered my work experience in EOI as below:
21/02/2009 till 26/04/2013 with XYZ Organization, Location India
27/04/13 till _(No end date)_ with XYZ Organization, Location Australia

TIA



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## SS70011005

Hi Mark,

Need some urgent help!!

I have just got the nomination for 190 and have lodged my application. Just wanted to know couple of things after the application.

I have made a mistake in my application, there was a question whether the primary applicant has visited Australia. I mistakenly answered NO. However, I had visited Australia in Sep, 2013? Would this delay or cause any issue?

Second, I was confused on the highest degree achieved. I have a post graduate diploma in International Business after my Bachelors. So I clicked on Advance Diploma as my highest degree (there was no option of PG Diploma). Was that right thing to do. Would this impact my visa application.

I lodged my application on 5 Mar, 2013. When will the CO be assigned for my application? Is there any timeline?

Thanks.


----------



## dawnw

Hi Mark,

My partner visa application has been reviewed but the final decision has not yet been made on it. My case officer has said that the evidence we have submitted is not satisfactory and has given us a few options (we don't have the 12 months requirement so we were hoping for compelling circumstances). We're now just trying to explore all of our options before we decide what we are going to do. 

What I'm wondering is what are the consequences of withdrawing an application or having it rejected in terms of applying again in the future? My partner lives in Victoria so we can't register our relationship, but if we withdraw this application and he moves to NSW we could register and then reapply. Would this work or is there a long period before we'd be able to apply again?

thanks!
dawn


----------



## wmanoch

Dear Mark,

I lodged my student visa application- 573 (streamlined) on 20 Dec, 2013 together with my wife as dependent applicant. I already missed my course start date and now looking to defer to July. Upon inquiring the High Commission, they say my application is under internal checks regarding financial documents. I asked to my bank and local government agency to know if there has been any inquiry for my case, and there was none. Can you please tell me what kind of verification does that meant? Can I put any extra effort except inquiring on email or phone to fasten my process? 
Thank-you!


----------



## juli_h

Hi Mark,

Not having much luck at the moment. Somehow we misplaced our confirmation of PR letter until it was a month past the enter by date.
We have contacted our CO, but after a few emails back and forth, with little solid help. He told us to bring our query up with immigration. And that he couldn't help us anymore with any answers. We checked with immigration here in Malaysia, who said to contact our CO ... and when we told them we had already they said to 
Go to the VEVO site. My husbands status says "in effect" 
We are booked on a flight to come to Oz very soon... should we be concerned? 
Thank you for any feedback.
Juli_h


----------



## rachin34

Hi Mark,

I am a US citizen, and my partner is Australian. We are currently gathering all of our documents to hopefully lodge a 820 Partner visa application by the end of April and I just have a few general questions (which will hopefully be easy for you to answer and not take too much of your time):

- I understand that I need a health examination for the visa by MHS, but does my partner also? Same question for a police clearance i.e. does he also need to get one?

- I am on a one year working holiday visa at the moment which expires May 31, 2014. According to de facto requirements of the visa, we have had to live together for at least 1 year but because of the visa I'm currently on, if we wait until the exact 1 year mark of living together in Australia, my visa will be expired (because we began living together at the start of my current visa June 1, 2013). Will this be a problem when lodging the application if we apply about a month early? We have been together since 2012 but living apart.

- Kind of going off the above question, do I have to wait to apply for a bridging visa until my 820 partner visa is lodged? 

Sorry if any of that is confusing. This is a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be!

Thanks,
Rachel


----------



## CollegeGirl

You should wait for Mark's response as well since he's the expert and this is his thread, Rachel, but while you're waiting I'll give you my understanding of the answers since your questions are pretty common:

1) Sponsor does not need a medical. Sponsor only needs a police check if there are minor children involved in application as well.

2) DIBP can be very strict about it being one year exactly. Do you live in a state where it's possible to register your relationship? That would waive the 12-month requirement. If not, Mark may have a suggestion for something else you could do. Perhaps a tourist visa of some kind or going offshore for a few days and applying for an ETA (though I'm not sure how easy either of those would be to get on the tail-end of a WHV.)

3) You can't apply separately for a bridging visa. A bridging visa is automatically granted when you apply from one substantive onshore visa to another. When you apply for the 820, if you apply online it should be attached to your acknowledgment email you'll receive right after you've applied. If you apply via paper you'll receive notice of it in the mail a little while after applying. (So if you were asking if you could apply for it early to extend your time onshore to meet the one year requirement the answer is no, that's not how a bridging visa works, unfortunately.)


----------



## rachin34

*Thanks!*

Thank you CollegeGirl. That was really helpful.

I've thought about applying for a tourist visa just to extend past the 1 year period, but I've heard a lot of different opinions from different people about whether it would be a huge problem or not. We have been together for almost 2 years now, but travelled back and forth from the US to AUS to see each other until I finished University and could move over full time.

Mark, I would love to hear your opinion about whether I should get a tourist visa and wait to apply until the 1 year mark or if 11 months would be acceptable. Thanks.


----------



## CollegeGirl

You didn't say - you can't register your relationship?


----------



## rachin34

Oh, I'm sorry haha no we can't. We are in Perth, and WA doesn't register relationships. I looked into that when we first started getting our application together. Would have been convenient, but unfortunately it isn't an option for us.


----------



## CollegeGirl

Eek.  I hope you can find a way to spend a little extra time in the country before applying.


----------



## alibaba23

*De facto ended suddenly..2 sponsorship options??*

Hi Mark,

I previously posted on this and got some good replies, however I seen you are a migration agent and would be very appreciative of any assistance you can offer me.

I have just ended an 18 month relationship with my Australian partner. We were weeks applying for the visa, however things weren't working out and I decided to end the relationship, even though this has left my future in Australia in limbo.

We had started work together and when he left my employer asked me to stay and they have agreed to sponsor me as an Accommodation manager at their business. Although we are not completely isolated, this is still classed as a regional area. I was wondering which visa would be better the regional sponsorship or the 457??

They have not sponsored before and I am not sure at this stage if the sponsorship would be approved.

Today I received a call from a youth work job which I had applied for at Christmas and is my dream job (working in the hospitality industry as a stepping stone). They have called me for an interview next week, now I know there is no guarantee I will get the position, they do offer sponsorship also.

I am stuck because if I jeopardise my current position to go for my dream job I might not be successful, and I cant really expect my current employer to take me back and to re offer me the sponsorship. And if I don't go for the youth work position and stay where I am and the sponsorship is not approved, I would have missed an opportunity.

Any help would be very appreciated.

Kind regards
A


----------



## pilotg2

Hi Mark

Your advise here has helped us in making the right decisions so far. We are about a month in to our SS application with ACT.

We currently waiting on our ACT SS grant and all being well will apply for our 190 visa in the next month OR should we wait...?

Our 1yr premmie twins have open PDA's (Patent ductus arteriosus) and both will require a catheter procedure to close the PDA. It's a fairly common heart defect and very common with premature babies. It's causing no symptoms and otherwise they are healthy toddlers both walking from 11 months and reaching all development milestones. We are very lucky considering they came at 29 weeks!

The procedure will probably be carried out around late May (appointment date not confirmed). I don't believe the PDA especially once closed, is a reason to fail the medical (normal life expected and no going medical or meds needed). I'm more concerned about the timing of the whole thing. Is it wise to apply for the 190 and then when our CO requests medicals we explain the situation re the procedure and either wait till after the procedure or go ahead stating we will have the PDA closed before arriving in Aus?

After ACT SS grant we have 90 days before having to apply for the 190 but (so we could apply post procedure), I'm keen to get the 190 lodged without delays on our part, as there is a sense of tightening all round going on. We don't want to miss the boat and be cut off.


----------



## kryzyl

*Visa option....*

I just want to ask if u could give us idea on what visa to apply for my husband. He is currently in australia and an employer would like to hire him but they dont know what steps to do and what visa to apply. And whether they are eligible to hire foreigners. They want to hire him to work as chef or asst chef or whatever. I read from other threads that he maybe eligible for 457 but some says regional sponsor would be a better option. How do we start?
Thank s lot


----------



## doormouse

Hi Mark,

Just had a question about 186 processing times. I note on the immigration website that it says the average time is 6 months, does this start from the time the nomination is lodged or does it restart if the nomination is approved and then the application is lodged (i.e. another separate 6m from the application date?) I'd assume that it would be quicker just to process an application by itself or does everything just go into a big queue? Thanks for your help!


----------



## patriciaSpain

*I need some help. THANKYOU*

Hey Mark!! I'm from Spain and my boyfriend is from australia. We met when i was with an student visa, the shame was I met him, the last month before I came back to Spain.
Well, we spend 6 months separately, and I went back to Australia on a tourist visa just for 25 days..due to I was working and studying in Spain. 
Then my boyfriend came to Barcelona for 3 months of holidays, and went back to australia.
And now, finally I got a bit of savings, so I want to move there. I know that being a spanish doesn't help much...(actually I wanna be Catalan!).. And after 5 months being separately, in one month I'm going back to Australia with another student visa, im going to do two VET courses about marketing, and i got my visa for 14months.

My question: (What I should do, If I want to be with my man!)
- 1. As soon as I arrive to Australia as a student, we become a de facto couple, we open a bank account together, pay bills together.... and then after 12 months of my student visa, I apply for a partner visa.

-2. If everything goes well, and after a while I get married being on an student visa, I have to wait the 12 months before I can apply for the partner one?. If I do, and my student visa expires, Do i have to leave?

Thank you so so so much, for all the time you take to answer everybody, really appreciated!!!!!


----------



## gretz57

Hi, Mark!

Greetings from me here in Ballina,New South Wales,Australia.

I was granted a PMV sub class 300 visa last Dec. 23, 2013 with my 2 dependents; one is 22 and the other is 19 years old. My visa's effectivity is 23 Dec. 2013 until 22 September 2014.The condition of course is I must get married within the valid period of my visa grant. We were married last 15 February 2014 and a week after ,have requested a copy of the marriage certificate from the registry of Marriages here in Australia. Once I get it, I plan to report our marriage to the Consulate of the Philippines and change my passport's name to my new married name and report this changes to DIAC. From this, I will file my partner's visa subclass 820/801 using my husband's name.

Here is my first question, (1) Can my 22 year old boy(who is dependent on me) but, has just finished his university degree from the Philippines,holding a PMV subclass 300 visa, apply for work? ? This is the same case as to my other dependent who is 19 years old and she was on her 3rd year college in accountancy in the Phils but stopped in the second semester of 2013 because we were waiting for our visa anytime those period. True enough, the visa was approved within the second semester of 2013-2014. The three of us, my 2 dependents and I, left our country(Phils) for Australia last Jan 17, 2014.

Here is my second question, (2) When my two dependents are working while on PMV 300 visa does it conflict with my application for onshore partner's visa subclass 820/801 since they are my dependents in my application? question, (3) Can both of them(referring to my two dependents-22 and 19 years old) apply for a TFN while holding a PMV 300 visa?

Thank you.


----------



## Neelam

Dear Mark,
I have applied for Visa subclass 574 under research degrees on 22 February, 2014 through my registered education agent. After tracking the application, the agent told me that the Visa file was received on 26 Feb. But till then, 14 days have passed and I haven`t even received acknowledgement email. My husband and 2.5 years old son will accompany me as dependents. Please tell me what is the reason of such delay in acknowledgement? As after that I can have my medicals done. My commencement date is 31 March 2014 so I am worried as there isn`t enough time for my Visa grant.
Waiting for your response.


----------



## gab82

Hi Mark,

I am on a tourist visa at the moment and about toapply onshore for a de facto visa in Sydney. I understand that in November 2012 they decided to give working rights with the bridging visa. Yesterday, however , I called immigration to ask whether it is still the same and the woman on the phone told me that I won´t know it until I lodge the application. Do you have any idea about how likely it iis that I could work?
Thanks


----------



## KazzaF

Hi Mark, am hoping you can give me some guidance (reassurance!!). My husbands company submitted our ENS 186 nomination on 15th Jan 2014 and we've still not heard anything as yet - no approval. Nearly two months! Is that normal? Should we chase or just be patient!

Very keen to start our new life down under!

Thanks for any advice you can provide.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Everybody -

My apologies for the lack of responses over the last few days - have been swamped with casework and am getting caught up. I will be responding to all unanswered questions and enquiries over the next few days - promise!

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## santu99

hello mark, 

i have done bachelors in IT back home and i did Masters in professional accounting for 2 years in australia. Now i want to apply for 489 visa based on my previous study (bachelors in IT). So i skill assessed it and got positive result. 

my question is, can i get 5 points for the 2 years australian study as i am applying for 489 visa based on my bachelors in IT in india and it is entirely different course to what i did here in australia.

waiting for your reply. thankyou


----------



## miketan

*Uploading Documents Issue*

Hi Mark,

If I attached the wrong document, could I attach a new one and write (updated) in the description box, so that the case officer could aware of that?

As they dont have the function of "delete/edit", do you think this is the best way?

Cheers,
Mike


----------



## tatkei

Hi Mark,
I got a question on the 2 years study requirement..hope that you can give me a piece of advice...thanks

I am currently enrolled in a Mater of Engeering course (CRICOS registed104 weeks). I'm planning to apply the post study working visa after my graduation(Jul,14). 

My case is that I've received a 1 exemption out of 16 units due to my previous study. 

I have consulted 2 migration agents in Perth, one of them told me that I'll not meet the requirement becuase I haven't finished all of my study in Australia. 
On the other hand, another agent told me that the requirement is base on how many weeks I have studied, and the minimum requirement is 92 weeks . i'm really confused..

here are some of my consieration.
1. I did physically attend 15/16 units in Australia.
2. From the diac website, the total number of week could be calculated as following, which is greater than 92....is that how they count it???
104*15/16=97.5weeks.

Please advise!
Thanks!


----------



## sulaiman

Dear Mark, 

Hope you are fine!

I am from Pakistan and have a query regarding ACS, I am sure you can help me. 

For skill assessment, am I supposed to verify/endorse my degree from Higher Education Commission (HEC), a government education body, before submitting to ACS/NZQA?

Though I have earned all my degrees from government recognized universities of my country, still the query popped in my mind that would ACS/NZQA need to have any recognition/endorsement of my degrees from highest government education organization?

Will wait for your respose

Thanks and Regards
Sulaiman


----------



## gbijan

Hello Mark,

I have been going through your replies and have found them really helpful. Thanks a lot.

I have one question though:
Supposedly, if your employer only provides you with relieving letter stating your designation and period of employment and does not provide you with work references. Based on that your assessing body does not give you credit for that employment in their skilled employment opinion. Would it be prudent to include that employment in the EOI?

My assumption is that assessing body has been only assigned to provide view on skilled qualification by DIAC and skilled employment assessment they provide is an option not a mandate.....


----------



## bazidkhan

sulaiman said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hope you are fine!
> 
> I am from Pakistan and have a query regarding ACS, I am sure you can help me.
> 
> For skill assessment, am I supposed to verify/endorse my degree from Higher Education Commission (HEC), a government education body, before submitting to ACS/NZQA?
> 
> Though I have earned all my degrees from government recognized universities of my country, still the query popped in my mind that would ACS/NZQA need to have any recognition/endorsement of my degrees from highest government education organization?
> 
> Will wait for your respose
> 
> Thanks and Regards
> Sulaiman


Dear bro.
As for as i know, there is no need to verify educ doc from HEC in our country. Only u need to attest photo copies from notary public in the regional courts of our country. i my self have passed through these steps. best of luck.


----------



## sulaiman

Thanks Mr. Khan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ultimatenature -

Sorry for the delay - am back on the forum answering questions today!

Sometimes you can negotiate a bit with DIBP to slow down processing of a visa application, if you provide a good reason and the case officer is willing to do so. Otherwise, there is no official way or allowance to put processing on "hold". You can withdraw the application at any point before a decision has been made, but then you lose your visa application fee, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



ultimatenature said:


> How can I get my application put "on hold"?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ultimatenature -

Sorry I've been away - see previous post - often you can request an extension of time (ie, another 28 days, etc) to get docs, etc if you give them a good reason and some evidence as to why you need the extra time.

Best,

Mark Northam



ultimatenature said:


> Dear Mark. Sorry for reposting but feel I am in a desperate situation. How is it possible to get my application put "on hold"? What options do you think I have? My 28 days to supply the requested documents is 24 march. I can't afford to lose my $4400 application fee and have a permanent full time position in Australia that is in my profession for skillselect, they have given me 3 weeks leave so I can go to the Philippines to try and get requested documents which has used up most of my funds.
> 
> So sorry to bother you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Forestwood -

Thanks for the note. Whether you need all of the screenshots from iMessage will depend on the bigger picture - that is, how much other/additional relationship evidence you have. If that is the only evidence of communications, especially if you and your partner spent time apart, then you may have to go with that - you can do screen shots, then trim the graphic to show only the message (and not the rest of the screen, menu, etc), then paste those onto a Word document, etc and fit as many onto a page as is reasonably readable. Then save the entire Word doc as an Adobe PDF file and upload with your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



forestwood said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm about to lodge my 820 visa and I have confusions for evidence of contact. My husband is Aussie and we've always used iMessage to contact each other. How do I provide that evidence? If I take screen shots of all the iMessages there will be lots of screen shots. So what shall I do?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SS70011005 (today's most unusual forum name!)

Hard to say what QLD skilled migration will do. I can't tell without looking at all your documents, but there's a good chance your CPA skills assessment is valid - again, no way to tell for sure without looking at all your documents. However, DIBP and the state authorities generally honour the expiration dates on skills assessments. Now, that being said, DIBP has been known to change the number of skilled years that can be claimed for a skilled visa based on the deeming date for an ACS (computer/IT) skills assessment - if the assessment was issued before ACS changed their format and showed the deeming date on the skills assessment itself, I've seen DIBP go back and "recalculate" the deeming date - not fun if it reduces your points!

Re: IELTS, you should be able to change that at any point up until you receive an invitation from DIBP to apply for a visa - at the point of invitation, everything that could change your points value is locked in your EOI.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SS70011005 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have recently applied with required documents for Queensland. I have some urgent queries:
> My skills assessment applied before July, 2010 with CPA for 221111 (Accountant General). I checked with CPA and they said that its valid till June'14. However, it does not meet the requirements of post July, 2010 assessment requirements. The person I checked with said that its all upto the discretion of the Queensland authority person if he/she will consider it? What are the chances of it getting accepted? Would Queensland authorities raise any issue on this?
> Before sending my documents and paying the fee of $200, I had changed my EOI twice as there were some errors in it. However, Queensland authorities had already sent me the mail asking for further documents. Would this impact my application?
> After submitting my documents, what if I wish to update my EOI with higher IELTS score? Can I do that?
> Would be great if you guys can help me get some answers.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> SS70011005


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamesy -

Thanks for the question. If you're lodging an online application, then you can choose from the drop-down country lists on the online application. Otherwise for a paper form, suggest you use "United Kingdom" for country of birth. For the passport country, however, there are generally a couple of choices including "BRITISH - CITIZEN" and other - best to use exactly what's on your passport for that question.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jamesy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just reviewing our application before we submit it and I'm starting to get fickle. Can I put United Kingdom or Great Britain as my country of birth or must it be England? Just a tad confusing as the Country of Passport is United Kingdom.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sups & Vids -

Thanks for the question - sorry for the delay in responding. Your migration agent is seriously mis-informed. You cannot "withdraw" a visa - you can only withdraw an application for a visa, and that can only be done before the visa is granted. Once a visa is issued, it either expires on the date on the visa, or is cancelled one way or another.

If you can't wait out the student visa's natural expiration period (the date on the visa), then your only other real choice onshore is to either get a new replacement student visa with a much shorter expiration date and wait that one out (and study and comply with the visa conditions), or do a voluntary cancellation of the student visa and then apply for a BV-E (Bridging Visa E), then apply for work rights on the BV-E. Basics of work rights are demonstrating financial hardship - this typically involves showing the combined monthly income of you and your partner, and the combined monthly expenses, and showing that without your partner's income, you would not be able to meet your monthly expenses. On the form they will also ask you about any savings or assets you have, and whether any family members in Australia could help support you.

That being said, this route has 3 negative side-effects:

1. You're on a BV-E, so you cannot leave the country and re-enter
2. You're unlawful at the moment the visa is cancelled, so any time in Australia prior to that can no longer be counted towards the 4 year citizenship requirement
3. If you depart Australia on the BV-E for any reason, you would likely get a 3-year exclusion period on all temporary visas (visitor, student, etc) which can only be overcome with a waiver request - and those waivers are hard to get.

Needless to say, if you are considering this option, I would recommend sitting down with a knowledgeable registered migration agent to go through the entire scenario and your plans before and afterwards to make sure there are no issues that could make this unworkable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sups&Vids said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am an Australian citizen and my husband recently applied for a Partner Visa (Onshore). He is currently on a student visa that doesn't expire for another two years but he has completed his diploma and is currently working part time - we rely on his income to survive.
> 
> Unfortunately our Migration Agent gave us the wrong information and told us that if we withdrew his student visa he could stay here on Bridging Visa A. Luckily I did some research myself and found this to be untrue!
> 
> I just wanted to get an opinion on whether his best option is to cancel his Student Visa and apply for Bridging Visa E (and apply for work rights on the basis of financial hardship)? How do we apply for work rights and what do we need to prove financial hardship?
> 
> Do we have any other options?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Henry -

Thanks for the questions. I cannot evaluate a visa application without seeing the actual documents - it's all about what is IN the documents. Re: 12-month living together requirement (I assume you are lodging as defacto partners), be very careful as the 12 months OR registered relationhip certificate is evaluated as of the date of application. You are taking a chance if you lodge without the certificate in hand and do not have evidence of living together for the 12 months prior to the date of application - sometimes DIBP may be flexible about the 12 months if you are within a few days of it, but sometimes not - no reason to take that chance unless you have to.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hooyn said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've been gathering all the evidence and finishing up the application for our 820 application the past few weeks (i'm the sponsor) and one of the main questions I have is related to the 12 month living together requirement.
> 
> My partner from Japan has came over here last year on the 1st April for a 1 year working holiday VISA, and she has lived with my family and I the entire time.
> 
> I am looking to submit my application on the 24th March (final week of the month) and submit all evidence/declarations etc. but submit additional evidence the following week after the 1st April which would mean my partner would have been here for 12months!
> 
> Is this adequate enough to satisfy the 12month requirements? We are also going to be registering our relationship up here in QLD just in case.
> 
> The other things I have got together as evidence of our relationship is listed below, can you have a skim through it and see if there is anything else I should add?
> 
> - Opened joint bank account when she came to Australia
> - Bank statements showing where we have spent money together/for eachother
> - Listed her as my beneficiary on my super (100% portion)
> - Register our relationship
> - Logs from Skype and Facebook since 2011
> - Copies of plane tickets/hotel bookings of the multiple holidays we have been with together over the past years
> - Copies of plane tickets of both her and I visitting one another over the past years
> - Photoes of us in different places since 2011 in both Japan/Australia
> - Photoes of us with both of our parents all together
> - Stat declaration from family and friends (x5?)
> - Stat declarations from both of us explaining our entire relationship from when we met to where we are now today
> 
> I didn't realise how much time and effort would be needed to do this application and it would be greatly appreciated if you could provide some feedback! Thanks in advance!
> 
> Henry


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rommlemoh -

Generally non-accompanying dependents to not have to take health tests for temporary visas such as the 485, however for permanent visas such as the 189, 190 they do. That being said, you may want to look carefully at whether your parents and siblings are all dependent on you per the definition of dependency for migration purposes - if they are not dependents (and are only relatives), then you will want to correct that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rommelmoh said:


> Hello,
> I have already submitted the visa application form for 485. Under the category of NON accompanying dependents, I put the names of my parents and siblings. Is that correct? Do they need to undergo medical examinations? since they are not accompanying me i think they dont need to. But i am not sure about this case whether i filled the form correctly or not. Thanks you so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mgalal -

Correct - for a skilled visa for that occupation, you'll need to be sponsored by a state or territory. Currently it looks like WA and SA are both sponsoring this occupation, although both with specific restrictions and limitations. You'll want to check each state website very carefully and make sure you understand all of the particular requirements and rules - every state is different in this regard.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mgalal said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> i have a suitable assessment for my skills for ANZSCO code 263112 (Network Administrator) from ACS. as i checked the SOL, i couldnt find the ANZSCO 263112 but i can find it in CSOL and it has low availability status in the south australia nominated SOL.
> That means that my only chance is to apply for subclass 190 for south australia... am i on the right track so far?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TIA -

You need to go into your EOI and put an end date (this month, etc) into the work experience for your current job - that will then update the points. The system does not automatically update work experience points - the only automatic updating that is done is when it changes your points based on your age changing and falling into a different points value category based on age.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> Hello Mark,
> May i seek your expert opinion in the matter as stated below:
> 
> I submitted for assessment to ACS on 16th Aug 2013.As on 16th Aug 2013, my experience was 6 years 6 months as ICT business Analyst( starting 21st Feb 2007).My result was declared by ACS on 22nd Nov 2013 recognizing 6 years 6 months as total work experience relevant to ANZSCO Code 261111.They noted experience as follows:
> The following employment after February 2009 is considered to equate work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261111
> 
> Dates: 02/07 - 04/13 (6 years 2 months)
> Country : India
> 
> Dates: 04/13 - 08/13 ( 0 years 4 months)
> Country : Australia
> Please note again, i submitted application for assessment on 16th Aug and above experience was considered till1 6th Aug 2013.
> 
> I submitted EOI on 22nd Nov 2013 and as on that day i scored 60 points ( with 5 points for experience due to my experience being falling into 3-5 years bucket, deducting 2 years from overall experience due to new ACS rule).
> Now that (on 21st February 2014) i have completed 7 years in same occupation in same company, i will be qualified to gain points as prescribed for 5-8 years bucket)
> But EOI still shows total points as 60 whereas it should automatically update my total score.
> I have also read while filling in detail within EOI that Skillselect will keep a tally of experience *from the date of application of EOI till the date invitation is sent.*
> 
> My queries:
> - Does that mean that SkillSelect will not consider the time gap from 16th Aug 2013 till 22nd Nov 2013?
> -Is that the reason my score have not been updated?
> - Also, i am still continuing my work in Australia and i will complete 1 year of Australian experience in April 2014, does that mean that my experience from 16th Aug 2013 till 22nd Nov 2014 will not be counted towards Australian experience.
> 
> Overall, i should be standing at 70 points( 5 points for 5 years of experience,5 points for 1 year of Australian Experience) and i am very very curious to know right answers.
> 
> I have entered my work experience in EOI as below:
> 21/02/2009 till 26/04/2013 with XYZ Organization, Location India
> 27/04/13 till _(No end date)_ with XYZ Organization, Location Australia
> 
> TIA


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SS -

RE: visited Australia before for primary application, you need to fix this - use form 1023.

Re: Highest degree, in the Australian system an Adv Dip is one step below a Bachelor's, so this could affect your points test score - you need to correct this as well.

Re: case officer, timeline, etc, it's all very unpredictable and DIBP commits to nothing as far as timeframes go. Generally speaking we're seeing 190 applications go anywhere from 6 to 12 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SS70011005 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Need some urgent help!!
> 
> I have just got the nomination for 190 and have lodged my application. Just wanted to know couple of things after the application.
> 
> I have made a mistake in my application, there was a question whether the primary applicant has visited Australia. I mistakenly answered NO. However, I had visited Australia in Sep, 2013? Would this delay or cause any issue?
> 
> Second, I was confused on the highest degree achieved. I have a post graduate diploma in International Business after my Bachelors. So I clicked on Advance Diploma as my highest degree (there was no option of PG Diploma). Was that right thing to do. Would this impact my visa application.
> 
> I lodged my application on 5 Mar, 2013. When will the CO be assigned for my application? Is there any timeline?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Dawn -

Generally speaking there is no negative impact on future visa applications if you withdraw an application, however if anything in a future application contradicts or conflicts with something you said in a previous application, that can cause big problems.

I can't really give you any specific advice on your case without seeing all of your documents and the letter(s) from DIBP re: their concerns. Note that if you are on a bridging visa, your bridging visa will expire 28 days after you withdraw an application. Also, if you lodge a future application, you may have new issues to deal with including Schedule 3 issues if you lodge after being on a bridging visa for 28+ days. Suggest you consult with a registered migration agent to determine next steps and make sure you understand all of the legal implications of your choice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dawnw said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner visa application has been reviewed but the final decision has not yet been made on it. My case officer has said that the evidence we have submitted is not satisfactory and has given us a few options (we don't have the 12 months requirement so we were hoping for compelling circumstances). We're now just trying to explore all of our options before we decide what we are going to do.
> 
> What I'm wondering is what are the consequences of withdrawing an application or having it rejected in terms of applying again in the future? My partner lives in Victoria so we can't register our relationship, but if we withdraw this application and he moves to NSW we could register and then reapply. Would this work or is there a long period before we'd be able to apply again?
> 
> thanks!
> dawn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wmanoch -

Thanks for the note, and wish I had better news - the specific checks that are performed are not disclosed by DIBP. Generally they involve security checks (Ie, INTERPOL, etc) but can get into more detailed checking on your records and history in your home country, etc depending on the individual situation.

Sadly DIBP does not commit to any specific processing times, and streamlined tends not to make a difference vs non-streamlined when it comes to processing times for people who are not from low-risk countries.

You can certainly email them periodically to see if they need any additional info, but generally they are not sympathetic to missing school start dates, etc. Wish things were different!

Best,

Mark Northam



wmanoch said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I lodged my student visa application- 573 (streamlined) on 20 Dec, 2013 together with my wife as dependent applicant. I already missed my course start date and now looking to defer to July. Upon inquiring the High Commission, they say my application is under internal checks regarding financial documents. I asked to my bank and local government agency to know if there has been any inquiry for my case, and there was none. Can you please tell me what kind of verification does that meant? Can I put any extra effort except inquiring on email or phone to fasten my process?
> Thank-you!


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Juli_h -

You have breached a condition of the visa - not good. You should contact the post that granted your visa and explain what happened, and make a request in whatever form they want for permission to enter past the enter-by date. Once an applicant misses the enter-by date, the visa is subject to cancellation at any time since a visa condition has already been breached when entry was not made on time. Suggest you move as quickly as possible to contact them and apply for permission as discussed.

Best,

Mark Northam



juli_h said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Not having much luck at the moment. Somehow we misplaced our confirmation of PR letter until it was a month past the enter by date.
> We have contacted our CO, but after a few emails back and forth, with little solid help. He told us to bring our query up with immigration. And that he couldn't help us anymore with any answers. We checked with immigration here in Malaysia, who said to contact our CO ... and when we told them we had already they said to
> Go to the VEVO site. My husbands status says "in effect"
> We are booked on a flight to come to Oz very soon... should we be concerned?
> Thank you for any feedback.
> Juli_h


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rachel -

I agree with everything CG said - also note that an onshore tourist visa (subclass 600) is difficult to get if you are on a WHV as per the law it requires "exceptional circumstances" and they do mean exceptional. They're strict about the living together issue - maybe best bet is to go offshore and lodge ETA, however would need to know many more details about your case in order to give you any specific advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rachin34 said:


> Thank you CollegeGirl. That was really helpful.
> 
> I've thought about applying for a tourist visa just to extend past the 1 year period, but I've heard a lot of different opinions from different people about whether it would be a huge problem or not. We have been together for almost 2 years now, but travelled back and forth from the US to AUS to see each other until I finished University and could move over full time.
> 
> Mark, I would love to hear your opinion about whether I should get a tourist visa and wait to apply until the 1 year mark or if 11 months would be acceptable. Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi A -

Thanks for the note. It's not possible to assess the pros/cons of the 457 sponsorship vs nomination for the RSMS 187 visa as I would need to know much more about the sponsors/nominators involved and their companies, financial picture, existing employee counts, and much more. As the RSMS is a PR visa, that may be preferable, but with either of these options there are many, many regulations involved so it's not a quick & easy answer by any means.

Sorry I could not be more help - would be happy to work with you in a consultation setting (see link on our website below) to go over all the details of the 2 scenarios and get you specific advice.

Best,

Mark Northam



alibaba23 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I previously posted on this and got some good replies, however I seen you are a migration agent and would be very appreciative of any assistance you can offer me.
> 
> I have just ended an 18 month relationship with my Australian partner. We were weeks applying for the visa, however things weren't working out and I decided to end the relationship, even though this has left my future in Australia in limbo.
> 
> We had started work together and when he left my employer asked me to stay and they have agreed to sponsor me as an Accommodation manager at their business. Although we are not completely isolated, this is still classed as a regional area. I was wondering which visa would be better the regional sponsorship or the 457??
> 
> They have not sponsored before and I am not sure at this stage if the sponsorship would be approved.
> 
> Today I received a call from a youth work job which I had applied for at Christmas and is my dream job (working in the hospitality industry as a stepping stone). They have called me for an interview next week, now I know there is no guarantee I will get the position, they do offer sponsorship also.
> 
> I am stuck because if I jeopardise my current position to go for my dream job I might not be successful, and I cant really expect my current employer to take me back and to re offer me the sponsorship. And if I don't go for the youth work position and stay where I am and the sponsorship is not approved, I would have missed an opportunity.
> 
> Any help would be very appreciated.
> 
> Kind regards
> A


----------



## jhosie

*Pmv*

Hi MARK im asking about the pmv im a filipina but im still working here in taiwan me and my fiance planning to lodge our paper in the phil but my mom will be submitted in the philippines embassy its ok my mom will do it for me as long im still here in taiwan coz by next yr april im going home coz i know process of of pmv is too long.....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pilotg2 -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on your twins!

With any health situation, there is an element of unpredictability re: how the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth will assess the situation and do the costings. In theory, if you have the procedure done before the health checks are done on the twins, then only the cost of any future care related to that condition (or other conditions) would be factored into the health cost calculation. If the condition is not completed by the time the health checks are done, then they may factor the cost of the procedure into the health checks. I don't know how much the procedure and related medicines, etc cost, so I can't tell you overall whether it could be an issue or not.

This is really a medical decision it would seem to me - have the procedure done at the optimal time for the twins. Re: visa application, you might want to wait until after the procedure is done (if there are not any other factors that indicate otherwise) as you'll have more info on the future prognosis of the condition if any at that point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pilotg2 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Your advise here has helped us in making the right decisions so far. We are about a month in to our SS application with ACT.
> 
> We currently waiting on our ACT SS grant and all being well will apply for our 190 visa in the next month OR should we wait...?
> 
> Our 1yr premmie twins have open PDA's (Patent ductus arteriosus) and both will require a catheter procedure to close the PDA. It's a fairly common heart defect and very common with premature babies. It's causing no symptoms and otherwise they are healthy toddlers both walking from 11 months and reaching all development milestones. We are very lucky considering they came at 29 weeks!
> 
> The procedure will probably be carried out around late May (appointment date not confirmed). I don't believe the PDA especially once closed, is a reason to fail the medical (normal life expected and no going medical or meds needed). I'm more concerned about the timing of the whole thing. Is it wise to apply for the 190 and then when our CO requests medicals we explain the situation re the procedure and either wait till after the procedure or go ahead stating we will have the PDA closed before arriving in Aus?
> 
> After ACT SS grant we have 90 days before having to apply for the 190 but (so we could apply post procedure), I'm keen to get the 190 lodged without delays on our part, as there is a sense of tightening all round going on. We don't want to miss the boat and be cut off.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kryzyl -

Thanks for the note. The 457 and RSMS regional sponsorship visas are two very different animals - each has its own regulations, and they are complex - no way to assess/determine eligibility via email or a forum as there are simply too many questions that need to be asked.

I strongly suggest your husband and his employer sit down with an experienced registered migration agent and ask the agent to go through the criteria for each visa with them - the agent will (should!) ask questions about the business, financial position of the business, and several other factors to determine how the business fits in with the criteria for each visa, then the agent should make a recommendation as to which visa(s) are the best fit for your husband and the employer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kryzyl said:


> I just want to ask if u could give us idea on what visa to apply for my husband. He is currently in australia and an employer would like to hire him but they dont know what steps to do and what visa to apply. And whether they are eligible to hire foreigners. They want to hire him to work as chef or asst chef or whatever. I read from other threads that he maybe eligible for 457 but some says regional sponsor would be a better option. How do we start?
> Thank s lot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Doormouse -

Hard to say - I've seen it work both ways. Typically a nomination will be approved in something like 3 months, but this can vary widely. The visa application often takes longer, from 3-6 months typically, so 9+ months for the entire thing if lodged separately. If the nomination and application are lodged together, it is more the entire processing period can often take 6 to 9 months, but there are always exceptions to this - sometimes shorter, sometimes longer. Wish DIBP was more predictable on this!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



doormouse said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just had a question about 186 processing times. I note on the immigration website that it says the average time is 6 months, does this start from the time the nomination is lodged or does it restart if the nomination is approved and then the application is lodged (i.e. another separate 6m from the application date?) I'd assume that it would be quicker just to process an application by itself or does everything just go into a big queue? Thanks for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Patricia -

Thanks for the kind words and questions!

I don't have all the details about your situation and we're talking about possible future scenarios, so I cannot give you specific advice. However generally speaking, it can be important to remember that for the defacto partner visa application, you'll need evidence of 12 months living together unless you have registered your relationship in an Australian state that allows that. For the married partner visa, there is no 12 months living together requirement, however for either visa you will need to demonstrate via evidence that it is a genuine partner relationship, and that is often hard to do without at least some significant period of living together. Again, for either version of partner visa (defacto or married), you will need to provide ample relationship evidence and witness statements - how long you live together before lodging (if married) may depend on how long it takes to put together enough relationship evidence.

As long as you lodge your onshore partner visa application while you still hold a valid student visa, you will automatically get a Bridging Visa A which comes with full work & study rights, and activates upon expiration of your student visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



patriciaSpain said:


> Hey Mark!! I'm from Spain and my boyfriend is from australia. We met when i was with an student visa, the shame was I met him, the last month before I came back to Spain.
> Well, we spend 6 months separately, and I went back to Australia on a tourist visa just for 25 days..due to I was working and studying in Spain.
> Then my boyfriend came to Barcelona for 3 months of holidays, and went back to australia.
> And now, finally I got a bit of savings, so I want to move there. I know that being a spanish doesn't help much...(actually I wanna be Catalan!).. And after 5 months being separately, in one month I'm going back to Australia with another student visa, im going to do two VET courses about marketing, and i got my visa for 14months.
> 
> My question: (What I should do, If I want to be with my man!)
> - 1. As soon as I arrive to Australia as a student, we become a de facto couple, we open a bank account together, pay bills together.... and then after 12 months of my student visa, I apply for a partner visa.
> 
> -2. If everything goes well, and after a while I get married being on an student visa, I have to wait the 12 months before I can apply for the partner one?. If I do, and my student visa expires, Do i have to leave?
> 
> Thank you so so so much, for all the time you take to answer everybody, really appreciated!!!!!


----------



## jhosie

mark i cant see your reply on the thread


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gretz57 -

Thanks for the note. Re: working on the SC300 visa, unless the dependents have work rights limitation conditions on their SC300 visa (normally all holders of this visa have work rights, but check themto make sure), they should be fine to work. But again - check these visas for ALL conditions - these are 4 digit codes that begin with "8".

Re: TFN (Tax File No) while holding a 300 visa, not a problem generally - just contact the Australia Tax Office.

Re: Dependency, there are very strict rules regarding maintaining dependency involving dependents 18 yrs of age and older - a big one in many cases is maintaining full time study. You may want to sit down with a registered migration agent to give him/her all the details of your dependents and their activities since age 18 to determine if they continue to be eligible as dependents for the 820/801 application. These parts of the migration law and regulations can be very complex - the key is determining the specific definition and requirements for dependency for the type of visa you are applying for, and then examining in detail all of the facts of your case and the dependents to determine if/how things can work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gretz57 said:


> Hi, Mark!
> 
> Greetings from me here in Ballina,New South Wales,Australia.
> 
> I was granted a PMV sub class 300 visa last Dec. 23, 2013 with my 2 dependents; one is 22 and the other is 19 years old. My visa's effectivity is 23 Dec. 2013 until 22 September 2014.The condition of course is I must get married within the valid period of my visa grant. We were married last 15 February 2014 and a week after ,have requested a copy of the marriage certificate from the registry of Marriages here in Australia. Once I get it, I plan to report our marriage to the Consulate of the Philippines and change my passport's name to my new married name and report this changes to DIAC. From this, I will file my partner's visa subclass 820/801 using my husband's name.
> 
> Here is my first question, (1) Can my 22 year old boy(who is dependent on me) but, has just finished his university degree from the Philippines,holding a PMV subclass 300 visa, apply for work? ? This is the same case as to my other dependent who is 19 years old and she was on her 3rd year college in accountancy in the Phils but stopped in the second semester of 2013 because we were waiting for our visa anytime those period. True enough, the visa was approved within the second semester of 2013-2014. The three of us, my 2 dependents and I, left our country(Phils) for Australia last Jan 17, 2014.
> 
> Here is my second question, (2) When my two dependents are working while on PMV 300 visa does it conflict with my application for onshore partner's visa subclass 820/801 since they are my dependents in my application? question, (3) Can both of them(referring to my two dependents-22 and 19 years old) apply for a TFN while holding a PMV 300 visa?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neelam -

Thanks for the email. I haven't seen your application so I can't give you any specific advice for your case, however generally when student visas are lodged, the request for health exams comes back very quickly.

Suggest you have your agent follow up with the DIBP post where he/she lodged the application. Unfortunately student visa applications now in some cases are taking 3 months and more to process. Especially if you're from a high-risk country (in DIBP's view), we are always recommending to our clients that they lodge 3 months in advance.

Unfortunately education agents (registered or not - the registration for that takes about 1 hour's study) often are not properly trained in migration law and procedures, and as they are unlicensed by the MARA authority which licenses onshore and offshore registered migration agents, you may not have any recourse to file a complaint if the person has not given you correct advice. I hope that's not the case and that the application was valid and lodged correctly - however the key to resolving this is to contact the post where it was lodged and try to determine whether it was assessed as a valid application and is now in the process of being assessed/processed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Neelam said:


> Dear Mark,
> I have applied for Visa subclass 574 under research degrees on 22 February, 2014 through my registered education agent. After tracking the application, the agent told me that the Visa file was received on 26 Feb. But till then, 14 days have passed and I haven`t even received acknowledgement email. My husband and 2.5 years old son will accompany me as dependents. Please tell me what is the reason of such delay in acknowledgement? As after that I can have my medicals done. My commencement date is 31 March 2014 so I am worried as there isn`t enough time for my Visa grant.
> Waiting for your response.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gab82 -

If you are onshore holding a valid (ie, unexpired) substantive (ie, not bridging) visa at the time you lodge an application for a partner visa and there are no other issues such as Condition 8503 "No Further Stay", etc, you should automatically be granted a Bridging Visa A with full work rights - that's the law!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gab82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am on a tourist visa at the moment and about toapply onshore for a de facto visa in Sydney. I understand that in November 2012 they decided to give working rights with the bridging visa. Yesterday, however , I called immigration to ask whether it is still the same and the woman on the phone told me that I won´t know it until I lodge the application. Do you have any idea about how likely it iis that I could work?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KazzaF -

Sorry to say, but that's perfectly normal. DIBP makes no solid commitments on processing time, and 186 nominations often take 3 months (or more) to be processed.I am assuming you received a letter or email acknowledging lodging the nomination...(?). If so, best thing to do is wait.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KazzaF said:


> Hi Mark, am hoping you can give me some guidance (reassurance!!). My husbands company submitted our ENS 186 nomination on 15th Jan 2014 and we've still not heard anything as yet - no approval. Nearly two months! Is that normal? Should we chase or just be patient!
> 
> Very keen to start our new life down under!
> 
> Thanks for any advice you can provide.


----------



## jhosie

anybody here how to saw the message coming to mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Santu99

Great question. Unfortunately, the regulations and policy are not clear on this. There is no specific requirement that the course(s) you claim for Australian Study Requirement (ASR) must be closely related to your nominated occupation, other than the following policy mention:

_The Australian study requirement does not require visa applicants to have completed a single course of study of 2 academic years duration. Applicants may use study undertaken to complete more than one degree, diploma or trade qualification to meet the Australian study requirement as long as the courses they have studied are closely related to the nominated occupation._

So if you are claiming ASR points based on the combination of more than 1 course, the above policy, if enforced by DIBP, would require that both of the courses you're claiming to get the ASR are closely related to the nominated occupation. That being said, this is the only policy I could find regarding this, and the Regulation itself makes no mention of the course or courses being related to your nominated occupation.

I'd say there is a chance that they could give you a problem if you claim ASR based on a single course that is not related to your nominated occupation, however based on the above, that would seem to have a good chance upon review at the Migration Review Tribunal if your 489 application was lodged onshore and you therefore had review rights.

Sorry I don't have a more definitive answer on this, however this is the situation the regulations/policy leaves us with... hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



santu99 said:


> hello mark,
> 
> i have done bachelors in IT back home and i did Masters in professional accounting for 2 years in australia. Now i want to apply for 489 visa based on my previous study (bachelors in IT). So i skill assessed it and got positive result.
> 
> my question is, can i get 5 points for the 2 years australian study as i am applying for 489 visa based on my bachelors in IT in india and it is entirely different course to what i did here in australia.
> 
> waiting for your reply. thankyou


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mike -

That sounds like the best way to solve the issue. If anything in the new doc conflicts with anything in the old doc, you may want to write a letter or otherwise explain and upload that as part of the new doc or separately from it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



miketan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> If I attached the wrong document, could I attach a new one and write (updated) in the description box, so that the case officer could aware of that?
> 
> As they dont have the function of "delete/edit", do you think this is the best way?
> 
> Cheers,
> Mike


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tatkei -

Thanks for the question. The key with the Australian Study Req (ASR) is that the CRICOS registered duration of the course be at least 92 weeks, and that you completed at least 92 weeks of study in Australia after accounting for any credits, etc. Here's some DIBP policy on this:

_8.1 Period of actual study

An 'academic year' is defined in regulation 1.03, and means a period specified by instrument to be an academic year. The current legislative instrument specifies 2 academic years to be 92 weeks.

In considering whether a visa applicant completed at least 2 academic years study, case officers should be aware that the intention is that the applicant have successfully completed the equivalent of 2 academic years study at 100% of the full-time load, without benefit from credits, recognition of prior learning (RPL) and/or recognition of work experience that would allow a reduction in the amount of study undertaken to less than 2 academic years.

It does not mean that this study must have been undertaken full time.

Case officers should first consider the standard duration of the applicant's course/s as registered on CRICOS.

In the simplest cases, if a person does not have any recognised prior learning (RPL):

• if they are using a single course to meet the Australian study requirement, the course must have a registered duration of at least 92 weeks or
• if they are using more than one course to meet the Australian study requirement, the courses must have a total registered duration of at least 92 weeks._

So my view would be that the 2nd agent was correct, and that your calculation is correct as proposed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tatkei said:


> Hi Mark,
> I got a question on the 2 years study requirement..hope that you can give me a piece of advice...thanks
> 
> I am currently enrolled in a Mater of Engeering course (CRICOS registed104 weeks). I'm planning to apply the post study working visa after my graduation(Jul,14).
> 
> My case is that I've received a 1 exemption out of 16 units due to my previous study.
> 
> I have consulted 2 migration agents in Perth, one of them told me that I'll not meet the requirement becuase I haven't finished all of my study in Australia.
> On the other hand, another agent told me that the requirement is base on how many weeks I have studied, and the minimum requirement is 92 weeks . i'm really confused..
> 
> here are some of my consieration.
> 1. I did physically attend 15/16 units in Australia.
> 2. From the diac website, the total number of week could be calculated as following, which is greater than 92....is that how they count it???
> 104*15/16=97.5weeks.
> 
> Please advise!
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sulaiman -

Thanks for the question. There is no particular requirement for you to endorse, etc your degree(s) prior to lodging your ACS skills assessment application. That being said, ACS will check with your country's higher education assessing/licensing authority to make sure that your degrees and the schools you earned them from are accredited courses/institutions in your country. If they are not, that would likely cause issues with your skills assessment. Normally you submit colour scans or certified copies of your transcripts, graduation certificates and letters of graduation (depending on which documents you were issued), translated into English if they are not in English in the original copies, and ACS will sort out the rest.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sulaiman said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hope you are fine!
> 
> I am from Pakistan and have a query regarding ACS, I am sure you can help me.
> 
> For skill assessment, am I supposed to verify/endorse my degree from Higher Education Commission (HEC), a government education body, before submitting to ACS/NZQA?
> 
> Though I have earned all my degrees from government recognized universities of my country, still the query popped in my mind that would ACS/NZQA need to have any recognition/endorsement of my degrees from highest government education organization?
> 
> Will wait for your respose
> 
> Thanks and Regards
> Sulaiman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

That's fine, however PMV's (subclass 300) are now able to be lodged online. They will still be processed (usually) in your country of citizenship, and you also have all the additional requirements of the Philippines to deal with (ie, CENOMAR cert and Birth Cert must be sent directly from NSO Office to Australian Embassy - you cannot submit these yourself, and other requirements), but lodgement is greatly simplified as you can scan and upload most documents and complete your sponsorship and application forms online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> Hi MARK im asking about the pmv im a filipina but im still working here in taiwan me and my fiance planning to lodge our paper in the phil but my mom will be submitted in the philippines embassy its ok my mom will do it for me as long im still here in taiwan coz by next yr april im going home coz i know process of of pmv is too long.....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Just replied w/answer - see above -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> anybody here how to saw the message coming to mark


----------



## jeanninec

*PMV question*

Hi Mark

I am planning to apply for a PMV with my fiancee this May...I'm living in the US and he's in Australia. My question is this - if we get married during the 9 mos. that I am under the temporary visa there, can we switch over to the 820 application? or would that only happen if we got married within the 5 mos or so that the PMV is being processed?

As I understand it, there are 2 fees involved, $3085 for the PMV and then $1145 for the 820 (or is it 801?) - and if we switched from PMV app to a Partner app midstream, we'd only have to pay the one fee ($3085)?

Thanks for your time and assistance
Jeannine


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jeanine -

Thanks for the question. If you get married after the PMV application is lodged but before the application is finalised (a decision is made), the application will be taken to be a partner visa application - normally an offshore application since the applicant must be outside Australia when the PMV is granted. If you get married after the PMV is granted, that is the normal course of events, and you can then apply for an 820/801 partner visa onshore assuming you're onshore at that point.

Re: application fees, you are correct - the $1145 is the additional cost of the 820/801 if you already have a PMV (or have applied for a PMV). If you marry during the processing period of the PMV, I believe the application fee does not change (ie, is the original $3085) but would suggest double checking this with DIBP if you intend to go this route.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jeanninec said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am planning to apply for a PMV with my fiancee this May...I'm living in the US and he's in Australia. My question is this - if we get married during the 9 mos. that I am under the temporary visa there, can we switch over to the 820 application? or would that only happen if we got married within the 5 mos or so that the PMV is being processed?
> 
> As I understand it, there are 2 fees involved, $3085 for the PMV and then $1145 for the 820 (or is it 801?) - and if we switched from PMV app to a Partner app midstream, we'd only have to pay the one fee ($3085)?
> 
> Thanks for your time and assistance
> Jeannine


----------



## kangaroogirl

Hi mark, 

Could you please clarify the BVB process for me? My husband is on BVA and we need to travel for a week in June. Once we return, does he stay on BVB till a decision on our 820 or does it go back to BVA when you return? A few people are saying you must contact immi to have BVA reinstated on return, and actually apply for a new BVA. Could you please explain it? 

Thanks a million!!!


----------



## bazidkhan

hi Mark.
I saw yesterday on DIAC website that time line for stat sponsored visas(190 and 489)has now decreased and is now 3 months. However it was 6 months few days before as i have noted.It is given in the time line and table for allocation of dates for different visas.
But they also says that "the number of visas for visas will be limited and only 8500 visas are left for the rest of year 2013-2014 ".
I have applied for 489 visa on last 20th Feb 2014 and i waiting for CO allotment.
Can u explain about these info/changes as i am not cleared by these changes/updates of DIAC website. 
Thanks for kind help to people. We really pray for u.


----------



## jhosie

mark i cant see anything that you reply my question


----------



## tatkei

Hi Mark,
Thanks for your advice!
Referring to the policy that you've posted, obviously, the equivalent of 2 academic years study is equal to 92 weeks..
However, the word "100% full time load" could be tricky..coz I'm just taking 3 units in the final semester(becuase of RPL), but "100% full-time load" normally refers to 4 units/Semester..That could be an interesting point to discuss...
Best regards,
TK



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tatkei -
> 
> Thanks for the question. The key with the Australian Study Req (ASR) is that the CRICOS registered duration of the course be at least 92 weeks, and that you completed at least 92 weeks of study in Australia after accounting for any credits, etc. Here's some DIBP policy on this:
> 
> _8.1 Period of actual study
> 
> An 'academic year' is defined in regulation 1.03, and means a period specified by instrument to be an academic year. The current legislative instrument specifies 2 academic years to be 92 weeks.
> 
> In considering whether a visa applicant completed at least 2 academic years study, case officers should be aware that the intention is that the applicant have successfully completed the equivalent of 2 academic years study at 100% of the full-time load, without benefit from credits, recognition of prior learning (RPL) and/or recognition of work experience that would allow a reduction in the amount of study undertaken to less than 2 academic years.
> 
> It does not mean that this study must have been undertaken full time.
> 
> Case officers should first consider the standard duration of the applicant's course/s as registered on CRICOS.
> 
> In the simplest cases, if a person does not have any recognised prior learning (RPL):
> 
> • if they are using a single course to meet the Australian study requirement, the course must have a registered duration of at least 92 weeks or
> • if they are using more than one course to meet the Australian study requirement, the courses must have a total registered duration of at least 92 weeks._
> 
> So my view would be that the 2nd agent was correct, and that your calculation is correct as proposed.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Just replied w/answer - see above -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thanks mark but i call the via centre in the phil.that my mom can lodge all.our papers n they forward in aus embassy im.little bit worried viacenter said there have two options by picking up or bring it personally i can do to pass my cenomar or birth cert how about all the evidence thay we put on the visa, and one thing how about my medical because im still here in taiwan
thanks really appreciated your advice


----------



## KazzaF

Hi Mark, thanks for your reply, guess I just have to play the waiting game. Reading this forum I am not the only one.

One more question if I may, is there much benefit to using a migration lawyer/service at this point. We've been quoted $2200 to assist us, a lot of money, is it worth it? I get that they help to ensure all the paper work submitted is correct but it doesn't look that difficult, just time consuming! Does using a service improve speed?

Thanks again.


----------



## jhosie

KazzaF said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for your reply, guess I just have to play the waiting game. Reading this forum I am not the only one.
> 
> One more question if I may, is there much benefit to using a migration lawyer/service at this point. We've been quoted $2200 to assist us, a lot of money, is it worth it? I get that they help to ensure all the paper work submitted is correct but it doesn't look that difficult, just time consuming! Does using a service improve speed?
> 
> Thanks again.


hi kazzaf its an agent fee...


----------



## jhosie

jhosie said:


> hi its an agent fee...


i cant see your message


----------



## jeanninec

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jeanine -
> 
> Thanks for the question. If you get married after the PMV application is lodged but before the application is finalised (a decision is made), the application will be taken to be a partner visa application - normally an offshore application since the applicant must be outside Australia when the PMV is granted. If you get married after the PMV is granted, that is the normal course of events, and you can then apply for an 820/801 partner visa onshore assuming you're onshore at that point.
> 
> Re: application fees, you are correct - the $1145 is the additional cost of the 820/801 if you already have a PMV (or have applied for a PMV). If you marry during the processing period of the PMV, I believe the application fee does not change (ie, is the original $3085) but would suggest double checking this with DIBP if you intend to go this route.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark!

A portion of your response has led me to another question...which seems to be the way it goes with these visa issues 

Just to clarify, if I file the 300 app, then I wait about 5 mos for processing..and if approved, I am able to stay in Australia for 9 mos? Is that correct?

Thanks again for your time and assistance
Jeannine


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kangaroogirl -

Many people return on a BV-B and leave the BV-B in place, however we usually recommend people re-apply for the BV-A upon return - note that you'll probably have to lodge this by post or online as if you try this at DIBP they have been known to turn people away.

The issue is that if you have a BV-A, that makes applying for your next BV-B easier. Also, the BV-A is the proper bridging visa to be on if you are onshore in Australia and not planning to depart in the immediate future.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kangaroogirl said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Could you please clarify the BVB process for me? My husband is on BVA and we need to travel for a week in June. Once we return, does he stay on BVB till a decision on our 820 or does it go back to BVA when you return? A few people are saying you must contact immi to have BVA reinstated on return, and actually apply for a new BVA. Could you please explain it?
> 
> Thanks a million!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bazidkhan -

Thanks for the questions. I'm not sure I'm quite ready to buy 3 months for a skilled visa processing time, but if DIBP says that's what it is, I'm at least hopeful that they are increasing their processing speed for these visas!

Re: 8500 left, that sounds about right. It's first-come, first served as far as processing goes, however if you've received an invitation from DIBP (I assume you have since you said you've applied for the 489), then it;'s unlikely you would be affected by the number of remaining visas. The 2013-2014 processing/programme year ends 30 June 2014, so the count will reset on 1 July.

Hope this helps - best of luck with your visa application!

Best,

Mark Northam



bazidkhan said:


> hi Mark.
> I saw yesterday on DIAC website that time line for stat sponsored visas(190 and 489)has now decreased and is now 3 months. However it was 6 months few days before as i have noted.It is given in the time line and table for allocation of dates for different visas.
> But they also says that "the number of visas for visas will be limited and only 8500 visas are left for the rest of year 2013-2014 ".
> I have applied for 489 visa on last 20th Feb 2014 and i waiting for CO allotment.
> Can u explain about these info/changes as i am not cleared by these changes/updates of DIAC website.
> Thanks for kind help to people. We really pray for u.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tatkei -

Note that it says "the equivalent of..." as long as you complete the program in at least 16 months (that's the minimum amount of time they allow for this) and it's at least 92 credits once any RPL, etc is removed, I believe you would satisfy the requirement - would need to examine your documents and facts in more detail to give you any specific advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tatkei said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your advice!
> Referring to the policy that you've posted, obviously, the equivalent of 2 academic years study is equal to 92 weeks..
> However, the word "100% full time load" could be tricky..coz I'm just taking 3 units in the final semester(becuase of RPL), but "100% full-time load" normally refers to 4 units/Semester..That could be an interesting point to discuss...
> Best regards,
> TK


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Yes - that's true - DIBP is still accepting paper applications for partner and finace visas if you wish to lodge that way instead of online. Would suggest you get on the Australian Embassy Manila website and look for the additional documents required list for Manila - it has the CENOMAR, etc - plus they want a Single Status Certificate (or the local equivalent) for the sponsor. Manila has very specific requirements for the CENOMAR and Birth Cert, Police Cert, etc - important to follow the directions there very carefully.

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> thanks mark but i call the via centre in the phil.that my mom can lodge all.our papers n they forward in aus embassy im.little bit worried viacenter said there have two options by picking up or bring it personally i can do to pass my cenomar or birth cert how about all the evidence thay we put on the visa, and one thing how about my medical because im still here in taiwan
> thanks really appreciated your advice


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KazzaF -

Thanks for the question. Generally there is no processing speed advantage to having an agent lodge your application, unless the agent finds a mistake in your application and fixes it (hence saving future trouble). But if the exact same application were submitted by and agent and an applicant, there should be no difference in processing time.

The main benefit of an agent is giving you advice before and during the application package preparation time to make sure you have all of the correct documents and the forms are filled out completely and correctly. Agents can also be helpful in helping you respond to any requests for additional documents or info during processing.

Re: is it worth it to use an agent, and is $2,200 worth it - that's a reasonable price for an ENS visa application - depending on whether you're going with the direct entry or temporary resident transitional pathways, there are different requirements - best to closely examine the DIBP document checklists.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KazzaF said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for your reply, guess I just have to play the waiting game. Reading this forum I am not the only one.
> 
> One more question if I may, is there much benefit to using a migration lawyer/service at this point. We've been quoted $2200 to assist us, a lot of money, is it worth it? I get that they help to ensure all the paper work submitted is correct but it doesn't look that difficult, just time consuming! Does using a service improve speed?
> 
> Thanks again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jeannine -

Yes, correct. However the SC300 application may take up to 9 months to process depending on what country is doing the processing (or sometimes longer - these things are very unpredictable).

Once the visa is granted, you'll be able to come to Australia for 9 months during which you must marry. During that time you'll have full work & study rights on the SC300 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jeanninec said:


> Thank you Mark!
> 
> A portion of your response has led me to another question...which seems to be the way it goes with these visa issues
> 
> Just to clarify, if I file the 300 app, then I wait about 5 mos for processing..and if approved, I am able to stay in Australia for 9 mos? Is that correct?
> 
> Thanks again for your time and assistance
> Jeannine


----------



## stst

Hi Mark,

For application for the 189 Visa, does it still have the "lodge an application for the visa within 6 months of date of completion of course" criteria to claim the 5 points for Australian Study Requirement?

Looking here 189 visa page (immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/189.aspx), if I go to Points Test and scroll to Australian Study Requirement, it makes no mention of the 6 month period.

However here (immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/2-year-study.htm), I see "If you are an overseas student, you must lodge an application for this visa within six months of the date of completion of your course."

I graduated from my Bachelor at an Australian Uni at the end of 2010, so I am unsure if I can claim the 5 points for the Australian Study Requirement.

Thanks.


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Yes - that's true - DIBP is still accepting paper applications for partner and finace visas if you wish to lodge that way instead of online. Would suggest you get on the Australian Embassy Manila website and look for the additional documents required list for Manila - it has the CENOMAR, etc - plus they want a Single Status Certificate (or the local equivalent) for the sponsor. Manila has very specific requirements for the CENOMAR and Birth Cert, Police Cert, etc - important to follow the directions there very carefully.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thnks mark but we were going to do my fiance is he send all the forms here n maybe i ask.my.mom to pass or.lodge our paper as long as im still here in taiwan so the paper is starts.to.process.via center said that they forwrd it in aus embassy then aus embassy communicate me about what doc do i have to pass


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stst -

The requirement to lodge an application within 6 months of completing your Australian Study for the Aust. Study Requirement is only for the subclass 485 skilled graduate visa. For the subclass 190 (and 189, 489) visas, if you meet the rest of the requirements for the Australian Study Requirement, you do not need to lodge the application within 6 months of completion of your studies in order to claim the 5 points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stst said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> For application for the 189 Visa, does it still have the "lodge an application for the visa within 6 months of date of completion of course" criteria to claim the 5 points for Australian Study Requirement?
> 
> Looking here 189 visa page (immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/189.aspx), if I go to Points Test and scroll to Australian Study Requirement, it makes no mention of the 6 month period.
> 
> However here (immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/2-year-study.htm), I see "If you are an overseas student, you must lodge an application for this visa within six months of the date of completion of your course."
> 
> I graduated from my Bachelor at an Australian Uni at the end of 2010, so I am unsure if I can claim the 5 points for the Australian Study Requirement.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## AJChen

Hello, Mark.

I am still at my very preliminary stage of preparing for the 189 application.
Before I can move any step forward, I have been thinking of clarifying the below concern; I really need your help.

In my case, I plan to apply for Petroleum Engineer (PE). On the SOL, the PE is defined as below:
233612 PETROLEUM ENGINEER
Plans and directs the engineering aspects of locating and extracting petroleum or natural gas from the earth. Registration or licensing may be required.
Skill Level: 1
Specialisations:
Mud Engineer 
Petrophysical Engineer

This clearly specifies the Specialisations must be Mud engineer or Petrophysical engineer. However, although I have my bachelor and master degrees in Petroleum engineering, I have been working as drilling engineer for roughly 9 years, which is a specilization of Petroleum Engineer but is different from the previously mentioned Mud engineer or petrophysical engineer. Under such a circumstance, what should I do if I apply for the assessment by Engineers Australia? How should I prepare my CDR? Should I prepare the CDR based on my work experience or based on the specialisation requirement of the ANZSCO 233612. 
Look forward to your reply.
Very much appreciate your help.
Cheers,
AJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

It's certainly up to you whether you lodge at an Embassy or online. However I suggest you do not depend on the Embassy to tell you what documents are missing, or what you didn't lodge and still need to lodge, etc. It is your responsibility to do the research and find out all the documents, statements, forms, etc that are needed for your visa application and provide them. Immigration is not going to help you along the way - that's not how this works. If you don't provide all the documents that are necessary, they may give you a chance (or may not) to fix the problem - if not fixed, then the application may be refused. I strongly urge you to take responsibility for your application (or have your partner do this), put the time and effort into learning about the process, and then lodge the best application you can.

Hope this helps, and good luck -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> thnks mark but we were going to do my fiance is he send all the forms here n maybe i ask.my.mom to pass or.lodge our paper as long as im still here in taiwan so the paper is starts.to.process.via center said that they forwrd it in aus embassy then aus embassy communicate me about what doc do i have to pass


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AJ -

I don't know enough about your case to give you any specific advice, however it sounds like you may want to apply simply as Petroleum Engineer - declaring a specialty is not a requirement, and typically with EA, they will look to the primary occupation code anyway. As long as your work experience duties/tasks/responsibilities align well with the ANZSCO info for Petroleum Engineer, I'd stick with that - no specialty needed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AJChen said:


> Hello, Mark.
> 
> I am still at my very preliminary stage of preparing for the 189 application.
> Before I can move any step forward, I have been thinking of clarifying the below concern; I really need your help.
> 
> In my case, I plan to apply for Petroleum Engineer (PE). On the SOL, the PE is defined as below:
> 233612 PETROLEUM ENGINEER
> Plans and directs the engineering aspects of locating and extracting petroleum or natural gas from the earth. Registration or licensing may be required.
> Skill Level: 1
> Specialisations:
> Mud Engineer
> Petrophysical Engineer
> 
> This clearly specifies the Specialisations must be Mud engineer or Petrophysical engineer. However, although I have my bachelor and master degrees in Petroleum engineering, I have been working as drilling engineer for roughly 9 years, which is a specilization of Petroleum Engineer but is different from the previously mentioned Mud engineer or petrophysical engineer. Under such a circumstance, what should I do if I apply for the assessment by Engineers Australia? How should I prepare my CDR? Should I prepare the CDR based on my work experience or based on the specialisation requirement of the ANZSCO 233612.
> Look forward to your reply.
> Very much appreciate your help.
> Cheers,
> AJ


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> It's certainly up to you whether you lodge at an Embassy or online. However I suggest you do not depend on the Embassy to tell you what documents are missing, or what you didn't lodge and still need to lodge, etc. It is your responsibility to do the research and find out all the documents, statements, forms, etc that are needed for your visa application and provide them. Immigration is not going to help you along the way - that's not how this works. If you don't provide all the documents that are necessary, they may give you a chance (or may not) to fix the problem - if not fixed, then the application may be refused. I strongly urge you to take responsibility for your application (or have your partner do this), put the time and effort into learning about the process, and then lodge the best application you can.
> 
> Hope this helps, and good luck -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thnks mark.....as my fiance he planning to get agent u hve any idea how much it cost he is from.adelaide


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

It depends on the quality and experience level of the agent, plus the agent's impression of the level of effort and complexity that may be required with your application.

Most agents in Australia handle cases from all over the country - if we can be of assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me - our website link is in the message footer below -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> thnks mark.....as my fiance he planning to get agent u hve any idea how much it cost he is from.adelaide


----------



## AJChen

MarkNortham said:


> Hi AJ -
> 
> I don't know enough about your case to give you any specific advice, however it sounds like you may want to apply simply as Petroleum Engineer - declaring a specialty is not a requirement, and typically with EA, they will look to the primary occupation code anyway. As long as your work experience duties/tasks/responsibilities align well with the ANZSCO info for Petroleum Engineer, I'd stick with that - no specialty needed.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Many thanks for your quick reply, Mark.
As per your advice, I should not worry about the specialty when apply for EA assessment. 
Please help to address my another quick question, if I don't need to declare the specialty during EA assessment, should I provide any evidence of the specialties (mud engineer or petrophysical engineer) later on when I do the EOI and 189 application?
In other word, if I only meet with the primary code not the specialties, I am still eligible for applying 189?
Thanks millions,
AJ


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> It depends on the quality and experience level of the agent, plus the agent's impression of the level of effort and complexity that may be required with your application.
> 
> Most agents in Australia handle cases from all over the country - if we can be of assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me - our website link is in the message footer below -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


but they said a thousand dollar or.more ok....if we sure we get agent i ask my fiance about this thnks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AJ -

There is no need to declare or mention a specialty at any step of the process (ie, at EA application, or at DIBP visa application) - you can nominate yourself as a "Petroleum Engineer" and leave it at that - as long as you meet the ANZSCO requirements for that occupation.

Best,

Mark Northam



AJChen said:


> Many thanks for your quick reply, Mark.
> As per your advice, I should not worry about the specialty when apply for EA assessment.
> Please help to address my another quick question, if I don't need to declare the specialty during EA assessment, should I provide any evidence of the specialties (mud engineer or petrophysical engineer) later on when I do the EOI and 189 application?
> In other word, if I only meet with the primary code not the specialties, I am still eligible for applying 189.
> Thanks millions,
> AJ


----------



## AJChen

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam





MarkNortham said:


> Hi AJ -
> 
> There is no need to declare or mention a specialty at any step of the process (ie, at EA application, or at DIBP visa application) - you can nominate yourself as a "Petroleum Engineer" and leave it at that - as long as you meet the ANZSCO requirements for that occupation.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Mark,
Roger that.....
You did help me a lot. 
Have a nice day...
AJ


----------



## jeanninec

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jeannine -
> 
> Yes, correct. However the SC300 application may take up to 9 months to process depending on what country is doing the processing (or sometimes longer - these things are very unpredictable).
> 
> Once the visa is granted, you'll be able to come to Australia for 9 months during which you must marry. During that time you'll have full work & study rights on the SC300 visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I have another quick question...is it possible to marry my fiancee prior to entering Australia? For example, if my visa is approved on Nov 30th and my required entry date is Dec 12th - would I be able to marry in the US on Dec 7th?

Thanks again for everything,

Jeannine


----------



## OmOmSplat

Hi Mark,

I have a very small question: When creating the EOI, i was asked about my relationship status. I'm currently engaged (Due to cultural constraints we do not live together and have no joint bank accounts) but won't get married for another year at least. This means that I'll lodge my application and complete it before marriage. On my EOI i indicated that I'm engaged. Can this cause a problem? Could they ask for evidence of the engagement and reject my application if I cannot provide such evidence? I'm not claiming any points through my partner. Also, if i put "Never Married" instead, can this be a problem getting a visa for my partner once we're married since they could look back into my application and say that I indicated i wasn't engaged at the time even though i was?

Thanks a lot


----------



## kangaroogirl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kangaroogirl -
> 
> Many people return on a BV-B and leave the BV-B in place, however we usually recommend people re-apply for the BV-A upon return - note that you'll probably have to lodge this by post or online as if you try this at DIBP they have been known to turn people away.
> 
> The issue is that if you have a BV-A, that makes applying for your next BV-B easier. Also, the BV-A is the proper bridging visa to be on if you are onshore in Australia and not planning to depart in the immediate future.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you mark, that does help. Many thanks.


----------



## tatkei

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your information! It's very helpful..
Concluding your linformation, the general rule of ASR is: CRICOS 92 weeks and 16mos. 
Which means student who studying in a CRICOS 104 weeks registed course can still take a exmeption, but the actual finish time of the study cannot be shorter than 16 mos. Is that right?

Here are some more details for my case.
Course Name:	Master of Engineering
CRICOS Course Code:	009131E
Course Level:	Masters Degree (Coursework)
Foundation Studies:	No
Work Component:	No
Course Language:	English
Duration (Weeks):	104

Commencing Monday, 30 July 2012
Nominated Completion Year / Period 2014 / Mid
Duration 2 years

Minimum Credit Points Required for Course Completion	96.000
Granted Advanced Standing 6.000

Finished:
RPL 1 unit (6 credits)
1st+2nd+3rd SEMESTER: 4+4+4 =12 units(72 credits)
In progress:
4th SEMESRER:3 units(18 credits)

Total: 16 units(96 credits)

That would be great if I can meet the ASR, if not, I may need to ask the uni to rescind the RPL...
Cheers..
TK



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tatkei -
> 
> Note that it says "the equivalent of..." as long as you complete the program in at least 16 months (that's the minimum amount of time they allow for this) and it's at least 92 credits once any RPL, etc is removed, I believe you would satisfy the requirement - would need to examine your documents and facts in more detail to give you any specific advice.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jeannine -

That would be a problem, as Condition 8515 which is mandatory for subclass 300 PMV visas states that the visa hold must not marry or enter into a defacto relationship before entering Australia. So once the visa is granted, you would definitely want to wait until you entered Australia to marry, or it would put you in breach of the visa conditions. Additionally, assuming you sent in papers with your application from an Australian celebrant, NOIM form, etc showing an intention to marry in Australia, then decided to marry elsewhere right after it was granted, it could cast doubt on the integrity of that visa application depending on the circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jeanninec said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have another quick question...is it possible to marry my fiancee prior to entering Australia? For example, if my visa is approved on Nov 30th and my required entry date is Dec 12th - would I be able to marry in the US on Dec 7th?
> 
> Thanks again for everything,
> 
> Jeannine


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi OmOmSplat -

DIBP will generally not ask for evidence of engagement unless you are applying for a fiance (subclass 300) visa or as part of relationship evidence for a visa where you are applying as partners. If you marry after application but before the visa is decided you'll want to update DIBP with that information and determine whether it's possible to add your partner to the visa application if that is something you wish to do. If it's a permanent (PR) visa, being married may trigger a requirement for health checks for your partner if the partner is not an Australian citizen, even if the partner is not an applicant on your visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



OmOmSplat said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a very small question: When creating the EOI, i was asked about my relationship status. I'm currently engaged (Due to cultural constraints we do not live together and have no joint bank accounts) but won't get married for another year at least. This means that I'll lodge my application and complete it before marriage. On my EOI i indicated that I'm engaged. Can this cause a problem? Could they ask for evidence of the engagement and reject my application if I cannot provide such evidence? I'm not claiming any points through my partner. Also, if i put "Never Married" instead, can this be a problem getting a visa for my partner once we're married since they could look back into my application and say that I indicated i wasn't engaged at the time even though i was?
> 
> Thanks a lot


----------



## MarkNortham

Correct - 16 months is the minimum actual amount of time the student can take to complete the course. Re: RPL, if you take the percentage of credits that are RPL (6 out of 96, or .0625) and then apply that to the 104 hours of the entire course, you end up with 97.5 hours of Australia study after the credit is applied, so unless there are any other factors that would change things, that would appear to satisfy the ASR - I can't give you any specific advice on your case just based on forum posts, but I think you're on the right track here.

Best,

Mark Northam



tatkei said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your information! It's very helpful..
> Concluding your linformation, the general rule of ASR is: CRICOS 92 weeks and 16mos.
> Which means student who studying in a CRICOS 104 weeks registed course can still take a exmeption, but the actual finish time of the study cannot be shorter than 16 mos. Is that right?
> 
> Here are some more details for my case.
> Course Name:	Master of Engineering
> CRICOS Course Code:	009131E
> Course Level:	Masters Degree (Coursework)
> Foundation Studies:	No
> Work Component:	No
> Course Language:	English
> Duration (Weeks):	104
> 
> Commencing Monday, 30 July 2012
> Nominated Completion Year / Period 2014 / Mid
> Duration 2 years
> 
> Minimum Credit Points Required for Course Completion	96.000
> Granted Advanced Standing 6.000
> 
> Finished:
> RPL 1 unit (6 credits)
> 1st+2nd+3rd SEMESTER: 4+4+4 =12 units(72 credits)
> In progress:
> 4th SEMESRER:3 units(18 credits)
> 
> Total: 16 units(96 credits)
> 
> That would be great if I can meet the ASR, if not, I may need to ask the uni to rescind the RPL...
> Cheers..
> TK


----------



## Harriet

Hi Mark,

I was wondering if you could help me with an issue with an onshore partner visa application.

My partner and I have been together 2 1/2 year. We meet on my first WHV, became defacto on my 2nd WHV; after which I returned to the UK for 3 months and applied for a student visa to study in Australia to become and Enrolled Nurse.

My current student visa expires on 1st September. We are getting married on the 23rd August (this is the only time we could have it as my sister is a primary school teacher in UK and this is her 6 week summer holiday time).

My question is should I apply for the defacto visa before we get married, and the submit our marriage evidence after or wait until after we are married. My only concern is that we would not receive our official and legal marriage certificate for approx. 4 weeks after we are married and will only have our decorative marriage certificate; which I have been told is not a legal document?

Thank you so much in advance for you help.

Harriet


----------



## tatkei

Hi Mark,
Thanks for your clarification on those rules. That's very helpful. Now, I think I shouldn't worry about the ASR, what I need to do is focus on the remaining study. 
I really appreciate all your efforts in assisting those struggling candidates (inclduing myself) on this forum!
Wish you all the best!
Cheers,
TK



MarkNortham said:


> Correct - 16 months is the minimum actual amount of time the student can take to complete the course. Re: RPL, if you take the percentage of credits that are RPL (6 out of 96, or .0625) and then apply that to the 104 hours of the entire course, you end up with 97.5 hours of Australia study after the credit is applied, so unless there are any other factors that would change things, that would appear to satisfy the ASR - I can't give you any specific advice on your case just based on forum posts, but I think you're on the right track here.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> It's certainly up to you whether you lodge at an Embassy or online. However I suggest you do not depend on the Embassy to tell you what documents are missing, or what you didn't lodge and still need to lodge, etc. It is your responsibility to do the research and find out all the documents, statements, forms, etc that are needed for your visa application and provide them. Immigration is not going to help you along the way - that's not how this works. If you don't provide all the documents that are necessary, they may give you a chance (or may not) to fix the problem - if not fixed, then the application may be refused. I strongly urge you to take responsibility for your application (or have your partner do this), put the time and effort into learning about the process, and then lodge the best application you can.
> 
> Hope this helps, and good luck -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark have a blessed sunday to u....im just asking about the form 888 it just my oz bf produce that....and its ok he lodge the paper in aus ciz maybe he coming here in taiwan before end this yr....not sure if he really come


----------



## jeanninec

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jeannine -
> 
> That would be a problem, as Condition 8515 which is mandatory for subclass 300 PMV visas states that the visa hold must not marry or enter into a defacto relationship before entering Australia. So once the visa is granted, you would definitely want to wait until you entered Australia to marry, or it would put you in breach of the visa conditions. Additionally, assuming you sent in papers with your application from an Australian celebrant, NOIM form, etc showing an intention to marry in Australia, then decided to marry elsewhere right after it was granted, it could cast doubt on the integrity of that visa application depending on the circumstances.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Wow, glad I asked! Thank you Mark. I really appreciate all of your help.

Jeannine


----------



## jhosie

jeanninec said:


> Wow, glad I asked! Thank you Mark. I really appreciate all of your help.
> 
> Jeannine


hi jeannine are a filipino...


----------



## santu99

hi mark, thanks for your replies.

I got one more question,

My course is 104 weeks and cricos registered and i have finished it in 16 months (masers in professional accounting). But i got 2 credits from the course which i first enrolled in australia( Masters in networking), even this is cricos registered.

I have done 1st sem in networking then i stopped it and later i shifted to accounting. i got 2 credits from networking to accounting and i finished all the remaining 14 subjects in accounting ( after credits) with in 16 months.

Does immigration consider it as 2 year study requirement even though the course from which i got 2 credits are not interrelated but the courses are cricos registered.

Waiting for your valuable reply.

Thankyou.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Santu -

That's a difficult one, as there is a policy note for the Australian Study Requirement (ASR) that if claiming more than one course for the ASR, both courses must be closely related to your nominated occupation. Policy is silent on whether if you only claim one course for ASR it must be closely related to your occupation. No way to tell for sure on this one - may depend somewhat on how the case officer assesses it.

Best,

Mark Northam



santu99 said:


> hi mark, thanks for your replies.
> 
> I got one more question,
> 
> My course is 104 weeks and cricos registered and i have finished it in 16 months (masers in professional accounting). But i got 2 credits from the course which i first enrolled in australia( Masters in networking), even this is cricos registered.
> 
> I have done 1st sem in networking then i stopped it and later i shifted to accounting. i got 2 credits from networking to accounting and i finished all the remaining 14 subjects in accounting ( after credits) with in 16 months.
> 
> Does immigration consider it as 2 year study requirement even though the course from which i got 2 credits are not interrelated but the courses are cricos registered.
> 
> Waiting for your valuable reply.
> 
> Thankyou.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harriet -

Thanks for the question. In my view it depends on the entirety of the relationship evidence and witness statements you have. Generally defacto applications can be subject to greater levels of scrutiny, so if you have the option of lodging after you are married, that may be a better option - it also avoids the 12 month living together requirement of defacto partner applications. As long as you are legally married before the date of application, you're fine lodging as married - you can submit the marriage certificate whenever you receive it as long as you're certain that it will reflect the date that you were actually married. Just upload it to the application (am assuming you will lodge online) once you receive it. No point in lodging the decorative cert as it's not appropriate for immigration purposes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Harriet said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was wondering if you could help me with an issue with an onshore partner visa application.
> 
> My partner and I have been together 2 1/2 year. We meet on my first WHV, became defacto on my 2nd WHV; after which I returned to the UK for 3 months and applied for a student visa to study in Australia to become and Enrolled Nurse.
> 
> My current student visa expires on 1st September. We are getting married on the 23rd August (this is the only time we could have it as my sister is a primary school teacher in UK and this is her 6 week summer holiday time).
> 
> My question is should I apply for the defacto visa before we get married, and the submit our marriage evidence after or wait until after we are married. My only concern is that we would not receive our official and legal marriage certificate for approx. 4 weeks after we are married and will only have our decorative marriage certificate; which I have been told is not a legal document?
> 
> Thank you so much in advance for you help.
> 
> Harriet


----------



## Harriet

Thank you for the quick reply.

So I am due to get married on the 23rd August, technically I could lodge on the 24th August if I had all my application ready to go?

Maybe I will check with the celebrant that the legal certificate will reflect the actual date of marriage.

Thanks again



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Harriet -
> 
> Thanks for the question. In my view it depends on the entirety of the relationship evidence and witness statements you have. Generally defacto applications can be subject to greater levels of scrutiny, so if you have the option of lodging after you are married, that may be a better option - it also avoids the 12 month living together requirement of defacto partner applications. As long as you are legally married before the date of application, you're fine lodging as married - you can submit the marriage certificate whenever you receive it as long as you're certain that it will reflect the date that you were actually married. Just upload it to the application (am assuming you will lodge online) once you receive it. No point in lodging the decorative cert as it's not appropriate for immigration purposes.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Valentine1981

Harriet said:


> I am due to get married on the 23rd August


totally off topic but so am I


----------



## gbijan

Hi Mark, 

I could not see the reply to my post on Pg 58. Can you please advice?


----------



## sulaiman

Dear Mark!

Thanks for the response........ May you always be blessed! 

Regards,
Sulaiman


----------



## mike88

Hi Mark

I stumbled across this thread and I am glad I found it as I need help in regards to Partner Visa (onshore) and whether it is recommended I should get a migration agent or do myself since I am not sure whether this is a complicated case

Just to give you a very brief story. I would like to sponsor my partner applying Partner Visa. I am an Australian citizen living in here and my partner lives in China. Me and my partner has been together for few years now. We have been dealing with long distance relationship but never really lived together. 

From time to time, I would fly back for a couple of times a year for at least a couple of months and she has been to Aus a few times as well to visit me. We have the boarding flights as proof so no problems to prove we travel to each other's country. We have been to some holiday trips together before. We are planning to get married in Australia beginning next year and then apply partner visa (onshore) straight afterwards. I am the sponsor. 

Here's the issue. I have no problem submitting plenty of holiday photos and emails to prove our relationship and asking friends statement to verify our genuine relationship etc but because in terms of financial backing, I don't currently work for a no. of years, will it be a problem as my parents give me from time to time? However, I have a a high 5 figure savings and a car asset so therefore, I am not sure if that is sufficent enough to prove to the case officer that I can sponsor my partner for the 2 year period or so? 

Also, my parents will be happy to sponsor her if there is such thing and will let my partner live at my parents place. This is what worries me the success rate for having the application approved since I read all the criteria to support the evidence (which our relationship is geninue anyways), its just the finanical part that's worrying us. She has been working in her country for a year until she comes to Australia, so therefore I am not sure if that also helps as to also show that she does not need to rely on the government's funds etc.

I haven't started anything yet and if any suggestions or answers would be appreciated please?

Thank you Mark in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mike88 -

Many people do not live together before being married for a variety of reasons, so that in itself is not generally a problem. Based on what you said in your post, I would recommend putting together some additional relationship evidence before or after you are married - the witness statements will be helpful, but won't do by themselves. You can see some great threads here on the forum about partner visa evidence, and the DIBP partner visa booklet is helpful too. With a good amount of relationship evidence plus statements, lodging after you are married might be a good pathway for you - I haven't seen your relationship documents or existing evidence so its difficult for me to be more specific than this.

Re: using an agent, lots of people do their own partner visas, and many use agents as well - the primary benefit of an agent is his/her knowledge and experience - this is especially helpful in terms of assessing relationship evidence, witness statements, and helping an applicant understand the regulations, laws and policies especially if the case has any unusual elements in it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mike88 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I stumbled across this thread and I am glad I found it as I need help in regards to Partner Visa (onshore) and whether it is recommended I should get a migration agent or do myself since I am not sure whether this is a complicated case
> 
> Just to give you a very brief story. I would like to sponsor my partner applying Partner Visa. I am an Australian citizen living in here and my partner lives in China. Me and my partner has been together for few years now. We have been dealing with long distance relationship but never really lived together.
> 
> From time to time, I would fly back for a couple of times a year for at least a couple of months and she has been to Aus a few times as well to visit me. We have the boarding flights as proof so no problems to prove we travel to each other's country. We have been to some holiday trips together before. We are planning to get married in Australia beginning next year and then apply partner visa (onshore) straight afterwards. I am the sponsor.
> 
> Here's the issue. I have no problem submitting plenty of holiday photos and emails to prove our relationship and asking friends statement to verify our genuine relationship etc but because in terms of financial backing, I don't currently work for a no. of years, will it be a problem as my parents give me from time to time? However, I have a a high 5 figure savings and a car asset so therefore, I am not sure if that is sufficent enough to prove to the case officer that I can sponsor my partner for the 2 year period or so?
> 
> Also, my parents will be happy to sponsor her if there is such thing and will let my partner live at my parents place. This is what worries me the success rate for having the application approved since I read all the criteria to support the evidence (which our relationship is geninue anyways), its just the finanical part that's worrying us. She has been working in her country for a year until she comes to Australia, so therefore I am not sure if that also helps as to also show that she does not need to rely on the government's funds etc.
> 
> I haven't started anything yet and if any suggestions or answers would be appreciated please?
> 
> Thank you Mark in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gbijan -

Sorry I missed your question earlier - happy to respond. The skills assessor is the body that will assess whether any employment is "skilled". A full skills assessment from many skills assessors (but not all) includes some sort of assessment of your employment. Other skills assessors simply assess you as "skilled" as of a certain date and DIBP then makes an assessment of the relevance and eligibility of your work experience. Whether it's advisable to claim points for work experience not specifically assessed by the skills assessor depends on the occupation and skills assessor and if they normally assess employment - if they do normally assess employment, then it's probably not a good idea to claim skilled employment that was not assessed by them, unless it's a continuation of your current job (ie, the same job/employer was assessed, and you've continued on in the job after the date you lodged the skills assessment).

But again, remember that DIBP primarily looks to the skills assessors to determine 3 things: 1) Do you have the required educational qualifications, 2) The date are you considered skilled, and 3) Is work experience claimed as skilled work experience actually skilled per Australian standards.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gbijan said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have been going through your replies and have found them really helpful. Thanks a lot.
> 
> I have one question though:
> Supposedly, if your employer only provides you with relieving letter stating your designation and period of employment and does not provide you with work references. Based on that your assessing body does not give you credit for that employment in their skilled employment opinion. Would it be prudent to include that employment in the EOI?
> 
> My assumption is that assessing body has been only assigned to provide view on skilled qualification by DIAC and skilled employment assessment they provide is an option not a mandate.....


----------



## OmOmSplat

MarkNortham said:


> Hi OmOmSplat -
> 
> DIBP will generally not ask for evidence of engagement unless you are applying for a fiance (subclass 300) visa or as part of relationship evidence for a visa where you are applying as partners. If you marry after application but before the visa is decided you'll want to update DIBP with that information and determine whether it's possible to add your partner to the visa application if that is something you wish to do. If it's a permanent (PR) visa, being married may trigger a requirement for health checks for your partner if the partner is not an Australian citizen, even if the partner is not an applicant on your visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark


----------



## mike88

Hi Mark

Thank you for the answer

Yes, I have gone through the leaflet for Partner Visa, read alot of forums but they gave different answers (as some said its ok as long as you got some savings\asset while some said its not ok since you need to prove that you are able to produce regular income to raise your wife etc). I am very confident that we are able to provide the evidence of our relationship before marriage for the few years we have been together .

I mean, assuming the evidence for documentation and witness statement are all ok for relationship part, its just that I am not sure how I am going to pass the finanical part on my part since I have not been working for a long time since been rely on parents but like I said, I have a car asset and some savings, I am not sure if I would pass the hurdle, so that's what is worrying me the most as I heard this is very important criteria as you need to sponsor your partner by working, have regular income etc. Have you encountered any cases like that before and being approved???

Another few questions I forgot to ask Mark
1) For the medical check, is it only applicable for my partner (the applicant) and not me required since I am an Australian citizen?
2) For the photos, as we will have lots of them, do we actually submit them TWICE? One from me and one from my partner? Or 1 side will be enough?
3) For the photos, do we have to print them out? Or we can burn into CD\DVD so it makes them easier to look at on the computer?
4) For the witness statment from parents, friends etc, is it possible they will ring and call them to cross check? 
5) If apply onshore straight after we get married, will it likely be interviewed both of us in person rather than phone since we are both here? Or it could be like a random thing?

Thanks again!

Cheers


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mike88 -
> 
> Many people do not live together before being married for a variety of reasons, so that in itself is not generally a problem. Based on what you said in your post, I would recommend putting together some additional relationship evidence before or after you are married - the witness statements will be helpful, but won't do by themselves. You can see some great threads here on the forum about partner visa evidence, and the DIBP partner visa booklet is helpful too. With a good amount of relationship evidence plus statements, lodging after you are married might be a good pathway for you - I haven't seen your relationship documents or existing evidence so its difficult for me to be more specific than this.
> 
> Re: using an agent, lots of people do their own partner visas, and many use agents as well - the primary benefit of an agent is his/her knowledge and experience - this is especially helpful in terms of assessing relationship evidence, witness statements, and helping an applicant understand the regulations, laws and policies especially if the case has any unusual elements in it.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## jeanninec

jeanninec said:


> Wow, glad I asked! Thank you Mark. I really appreciate all of your help.
> 
> Jeannine


Sorry to bother you again Mark! Another quick question - is it acceptable to print out the online application for the 300 PMV and then send it in with the 47SP and 40SP forms? I wasn't sure if it would be better to complete the online app then send in the documents separately...

Also, is it possible to complete the Criminal Background checks and Medical prior to applying or while the application is being lodged?

Thank you again.

All the best,
Jeannine


----------



## santu99

Thanks for your time Mark.

But in the immigration site it is given as, the credits will be accepted under Australian study requirement if they are taken from the previous study which is registered with CRICOS. It is 'NO' where mentioned that credits will be considered only when the courses are related. I am not using two qualifications to complete 2 year study, i was granted credits based on my 1st enrolled course in Australia. That's why i am confused.

*This is what given in the immigration site:*

" If you are given credit for prior learning it will reduce the amount of study you have completed. In such a situation the exempted units can not be counted towards meeting the Australian study requirement if:

They are already being used towards meeting the Australian study requirement as part of another course
(Example: Periods of study can not count more than once towards meeting the Australian study requirement)

The credit was granted on the basis of study undertaken either overseas or within Australian in a non-CRICOS registered course.

*This means that credit granted on the basis of study undertaken in Australia in a course registered with CRICOS may contribute towards meeting the Australian study requirement, but only once.* "

"I*f you were granted credit based on study in another course also registered with CRICOS, then these exemptions could still contribute towards meeting the Australian study requirement regardless if a qualification was awarded for this other course*."

I am asking this for my 485 visa. I am about to start my application process for PSW (post study work visa), but confused with this 2 year Australian study requirement.

Thank you.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Santu -
> 
> That's a difficult one, as there is a policy note for the Australian Study Requirement (ASR) that if claiming more than one course for the ASR, both courses must be closely related to your nominated occupation. Policy is silent on whether if you only claim one course for ASR it must be closely related to your occupation. No way to tell for sure on this one - may depend somewhat on how the case officer assesses it.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## santu99

I am asking this for my 485 visa. I am about to start my application process for PSW (post study work visa), but confused with this 2 year Australian study requirement.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Santu99 -

485 visa is different - remember that the ASR includes a 6 month time limit for this visa. Re: DIBP website, it's not the law, it's not the regulations, and it's not policy. In short, it has no legal standing and should be used as a suggestion only (if even that). There are thousands of pages of policy that are nowhere to be found on the DIBP website - does that mean they don't apply? Of course they apply, as do the thousands of pages of law and regulations - the DIBP website contains only a small fraction of the entire picture of the laws, regulation and policy that govern visa applications in Australia.

Best,

Mark Northam



santu99 said:


> I am asking this for my 485 visa. I am about to start my application process for PSW (post study work visa), but confused with this 2 year Australian study requirement.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jeannine -

The online forms (there are 2) for the sc300 visa are very similar to the 40sp and 47sp forms - there would be no point in providing them both. We usually recommend clients lodge online, then upload scanned copies of Form 80 which is not provided for online. If you are going to lodge a paper application, then complete forms 40sp and 47sp and lodge w/form 80 and the rest of your evidence. For online, all evidence can be uploaded.

Police certificates should be obtained as soon as possible and submitted, and can be lodged after the application is lodged. For medical checks, usually best to lodge and then wait for DIBP to invite you to take the medical tests - then take them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jeanninec said:


> Sorry to bother you again Mark! Another quick question - is it acceptable to print out the online application for the 300 PMV and then send it in with the 47SP and 40SP forms? I wasn't sure if it would be better to complete the online app then send in the documents separately...
> 
> Also, is it possible to complete the Criminal Background checks and Medical prior to applying or while the application is being lodged?
> 
> Thank you again.
> 
> All the best,
> Jeannine


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mike -

There is no specific income level requirement to be a sponsor for a partner or fiance visa, however you do need means of financial support. Whether it will be enough to satisfy DIBP is something I cannot predict. Some people will have their parents provide a statement that they are/will provide financial support, or get any other statements or letters showing financial support of whatever kind is appropriate.

Your questions addressed below:



mike88 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for the answer
> 
> Yes, I have gone through the leaflet for Partner Visa, read alot of forums but they gave different answers (as some said its ok as long as you got some savings\asset while some said its not ok since you need to prove that you are able to produce regular income to raise your wife etc). I am very confident that we are able to provide the evidence of our relationship before marriage for the few years we have been together .
> 
> I mean, assuming the evidence for documentation and witness statement are all ok for relationship part, its just that I am not sure how I am going to pass the finanical part on my part since I have not been working for a long time since been rely on parents but like I said, I have a car asset and some savings, I am not sure if I would pass the hurdle, so that's what is worrying me the most as I heard this is very important criteria as you need to sponsor your partner by working, have regular income etc. Have you encountered any cases like that before and being approved???
> 
> Another few questions I forgot to ask Mark
> 1) For the medical check, is it only applicable for my partner (the applicant) and not me required since I am an Australian citizen?
> **** YES - sponsors do not have to take medical checks.*
> 
> 2) For the photos, as we will have lots of them, do we actually submit them TWICE? One from me and one from my partner? Or 1 side will be enough?
> **** Once is enough - no need to provide duplicates.*
> 
> 3) For the photos, do we have to print them out? Or we can burn into CD\DVD so it makes them easier to look at on the computer?
> **** We suggest you import them into Microsoft Word or another word processor, then arrange the photos 2 or 3 to a page, and type a caption under each photo stating who's in the photo and where/when the photo was taken (approximations of dates are fine). Then output the entire thing into a PDF document and upload with your application lodged online.*
> 
> 4) For the witness statment from parents, friends etc, is it possible they will ring and call them to cross check?
> **** Never heard of this being done. However, if there are inconsistencies between the statements, that could cause them to investigate or raise concerns about the genuineness of your relationship/application.*
> 
> 5) If apply onshore straight after we get married, will it likely be interviewed both of us in person rather than phone since we are both here? Or it could be like a random thing?
> **** Interviews are conducted based on the risk assessment for the application and applicants - no way to tell for sure in advance whether one or both parties will be interviewed. It's not random.*
> 
> Thanks again!
> 
> Cheers


----------



## santu99

Thank you.

Should i apply for 485 visa with what i have now?? or should i ask my university to cancel the credit and re-do it with this course?? what do u suggest me??

Thanks.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Santu99 -
> 
> 485 visa is different - remember that the ASR includes a 6 month time limit for this visa. Re: DIBP website, it's not the law, it's not the regulations, and it's not policy. In short, it has no legal standing and should be used as a suggestion only (if even that). There are thousands of pages of policy that are nowhere to be found on the DIBP website - does that mean they don't apply? Of course they apply, as do the thousands of pages of law and regulations - the DIBP website contains only a small fraction of the entire picture of the laws, regulation and policy that govern visa applications in Australia.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Santu -

I don't have enough information to answer that - it's not possible for me to provide specific assessments of individual cases on this forum as there are too many questions involved and usually it's important that I review the documents involved - unlike the DIBP website, if I give professional advice and it turns out to be incorrect, my license and career are at stake - this is why we usually suggest an individual consultation for situations where a person wants advice about their specific eligibility or case - it gives us the time and resources to really look into your case in detail and give you specific advice after taking into account all of the factors and details. If you'd like to proceed with this, our website link is in my signature below - just click there and then click on "Professional Consultation" on the main menu and all info is there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



santu99 said:


> Thank you.
> 
> Should i apply for 485 visa with what i have now?? or should i ask my university to cancel the credit and re-do it with this course?? what do u suggest me??
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## Vivian

I am holding visa 487 at the moment and it is expiring on april 2015.
My boy friend is graduating this year and he is going to apply visa487 by then, is it possible that he can include me as de facto in the application to override my current visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivian -

Thanks for the question. The subclass 487 visa is no longer open for new applications - the closest visa to the old 487 is the subclass 489 visa, however there are more than a few important differences. Would suggest you study that visa to see if it is a good fit for your boyfriend - note that if he were to apply for the 489 and include you as a defacto partner, you would need a substantial amount of evidence showing that you were defacto partners, which is seen by DIBP as significantly more than a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vivian said:


> I am holding visa 487 at the moment and it is expiring on april 2015.
> My boy friend is graduating this year and he is going to apply visa487 by then, is it possible that he can include me as de facto in the application to override my current visa?


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jeannine -
> 
> The online forms (there are 2) for the sc300 visa are very similar to the 40sp and 47sp forms - there would be no point in providing them both. We usually recommend clients lodge online, then upload scanned copies of Form 80 which is not provided for online. If you are going to lodge a paper application, then complete forms 40sp and 47sp and lodge w/form 80 and the rest of your evidence. For online, all evidence can be uploaded.
> 
> Police certificates should be obtained as soon as possible and submitted, and can be lodged after the application is lodged. For medical checks, usually best to lodge and then wait for DIBP to invite you to take the medical tests - then take them.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark u mean form 80 form is included when we lodge my pmv if my mom lodge it is there any form she filling up...but.there a.question about.the feedback i answer myself thru email


----------



## Vivian

Sorry, I mean i am holding visa 485 (temporary graduate visa) and he is eligible for visa 485 as well. We are collecting evidence to proof for partnership. My main question is as I already holding visa485, is it possible he include me as a secondary applicants in his application in the coming November?

Thanks and appreciate your fast reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Sorry, I'm a little confused by your question. Form 80 is required for the sc300 PMV visa. If you lodge a paper application, it should be included. If you lodge online, you should complete the paper version of Form 80, then upload it along with the rest of your relationship evidence and documents after you complete the online lodgement forms.

It sounds like you may not be aware of all the document requirements for this visa - I would suggest you study the DIBP document checklist for this visa carefully (including the Philippines additional documents) or consider engaging a registered migration agent to help you through the process if you are unusure of all of the requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> hi mark u mean form 80 form is included when we lodge my pmv if my mom lodge it is there any form she filling up...but.there a.question about.the feedback i answer myself thru email


----------



## stst

Hi Mark,

It's me again. I would like your opinion on one thing.

I am getting married in Sept to an Australian girl (who I have been in relationship for 5 years, but never living together). Once married I can apply for a partner visa. However, a partner visa may (and I think most likely) take 2 years. I am most probably eligible for a 189, depending on my IELTS score.

The question is, can I apply for both a 189 and partner visa, if getting permanent residency quickly is a concern? The 189 visa application will most probably be done before the wedding, but I'm concerned that applying for a 189 will invalidate any future applications for a partner visa.

Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivian -

Normally that's not a problem - the secondary applicant for the 485 visa does not have the restriction that affects the primary application - namely that the primary applicant must not have held the 485 visa previously. However you would need substantial evidence of your marriage or defacto partner relationship with him in order to satisfy the requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vivian said:


> Sorry, I mean i am holding visa 485 (temporary graduate visa) and he is eligible for visa 485 as well. We are collecting evidence to proof for partnership. My main question is as I already holding visa485, is it possible he include me as a secondary applicants in his application in the coming November?
> 
> Thanks and appreciate your fast reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stst -

No problem - you can have multiple visa applications pending if you wish - when they are ready to grant the first of the two (whichever one that may be) they will usually ask you to withdraw the other application first, so they can then grant you the first PR visa. Of course, no refunds in those circumstances!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stst said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> It's me again. I would like your opinion on one thing.
> 
> I am getting married in Sept to an Australian girl (who I have been in relationship for 5 years, but never living together). Once married I can apply for a partner visa. However, a partner visa may (and I think most likely) take 2 years. I am most probably eligible for a 189, depending on my IELTS score.
> 
> The question is, can I apply for both a 189 and partner visa, if getting permanent residency quickly is a concern? The 189 visa application will most probably be done before the wedding, but I'm concerned that applying for a 189 will invalidate any future applications for a partner visa.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## Vivian

Hi Mark, does that means I can be granted visa485 for two times?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vivian -
> 
> Normally that's not a problem - the secondary applicant for the 485 visa does not have the restriction that affects the primary application - namely that the primary applicant must not have held the 485 visa previously. However you would need substantial evidence of your marriage or defacto partner relationship with him in order to satisfy the requirements.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Sorry, I'm a little confused by your question. Form 80 is required for the sc300 PMV visa. If you lodge a paper application, it should be included. If you lodge online, you should complete the paper version of Form 80, then upload it along with the rest of your relationship evidence and documents after you complete the online lodgement forms.
> 
> It sounds like you may not be aware of all the document requirements for this visa - I would suggest you study the DIBP document checklist for this visa carefully (including the Philippines additional documents) or consider engaging a registered migration agent to help you through the process if you are unusure of all of the requirements.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thnks.mark as i read the booklet i cnt see anything about the form 80 thank u so.muchh for all the replies..what is dbip sorry this is the first time filling pmv thanks mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Yes, that's because the DIBP (immigration department) website doesn't contain everything you need to know to lodge a visa application in some cases. If you Google "DIAC 300 visa checklist" you might locate the checklist - also go to the Phil. Australian Embassy website and download the Phil. additional documents checklist.

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> thnks.mark as i read the booklet i cnt see anything about the form 80 thank u so.muchh for all the replies..what is dbip sorry this is the first time filling pmv thanks mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, but only if for the 2nd 485 visa you are a member of the family unit (ie, spouse or defacto partner) of the primary applicant - in other words, you must be a secondary applicant on the 2nd 485. You cannot get a 485 twice as primary applicant.

Best,

Mark Northam



Vivian said:


> Hi Mark, does that means I can be granted visa485 for two times?


----------



## hooyn

Hi Mark,

My partner (from Japan) has been here since 1st April 2013. We are wanting to submit our 820 application before her current WHV expires but that would mean we haven't lived together for a full 1 year yet. 

Is it possible to apply say next week and then the following week in April, write up another stat declaration saying we have been living together for 1 year? We are also getting our relationship registered in QLD but wont get the certificate in time to submit it with our application. 

As all of her friends she has made in Australia are not citizens/residents would it be pointless to ask them to do stat declaration?

Thanks
Henry


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Henry -

Thanks for the questions. If you're applying for a defacto partner visa, the 12 months living together OR relationship registration should be completed before you lodge the application. Where there is a very short period between the lodging date and the 12 month living together anniversary date, the case officer may be flexible and allow it (I've seen this happen) or may be very strict about the 12 months - it all depends on the case officer.

Re: stat decs, only 2 of them have to be on Form 888 from Australian permanent residents or citizens - the rest can be from anyone, and I would encourage you to provide as many statements as possible. The additional statements do not have to be on Form 888 and can be either on Form 888 (if you want), or typed statements that are signed, dated, and include a copy of the writer's passport of photo ID.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hooyn said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner (from Japan) has been here since 1st April 2013. We are wanting to submit our 820 application before her current WHV expires but that would mean we haven't lived together for a full 1 year yet.
> 
> Is it possible to apply say next week and then the following week in April, write up another stat declaration saying we have been living together for 1 year? We are also getting our relationship registered in QLD but wont get the certificate in time to submit it with our application.
> 
> As all of her friends she has made in Australia are not citizens/residents would it be pointless to ask them to do stat declaration?
> 
> Thanks
> Henry


----------



## Neelam

Dear Mark,
Thanks for your reply. I have confirmed from my agent that application is received by post on 26 February. Then I can`t understand the reason of such a delay for acknowledgement and medical. Is there a way that I can check the status of my application?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Neelam -
> 
> Thanks for the email. I haven't seen your application so I can't give you any specific advice for your case, however generally when student visas are lodged, the request for health exams comes back very quickly.
> 
> Suggest you have your agent follow up with the DIBP post where he/she lodged the application. Unfortunately student visa applications now in some cases are taking 3 months and more to process. Especially if you're from a high-risk country (in DIBP's view), we are always recommending to our clients that they lodge 3 months in advance.
> 
> Unfortunately education agents (registered or not - the registration for that takes about 1 hour's study) often are not properly trained in migration law and procedures, and as they are unlicensed by the MARA authority which licenses onshore and offshore registered migration agents, you may not have any recourse to file a complaint if the person has not given you correct advice. I hope that's not the case and that the application was valid and lodged correctly - however the key to resolving this is to contact the post where it was lodged and try to determine whether it was assessed as a valid application and is now in the process of being assessed/processed.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neelam -

No good way I know of to track a student visa application if it was not lodged online. Unfortunately some visa processing departments take quite a long time to process applications, and don't move quickly. Wish I had better news - the only option really is to contact the Embassy where the application was lodged and see if they will give you and/or your agent any news. However processing times for student visas for persons who are from what DIBP considers "high risk" countries are routinely taking 3+ months these days.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Neelam said:


> Dear Mark,
> Thanks for your reply. I have confirmed from my agent that application is received by post on 26 February. Then I can`t understand the reason of such a delay for acknowledgement and medical. Is there a way that I can check the status of my application?


----------



## windycity

Hi Mark

I have been following your thread intensively. 

My partner (aust) and I (singapore) are together for a year without living together. 
I am planning to arrive in Aust as a student, applying for a 6-9 Months student visa course. However, we need 1 year requirement. Can i apply for ETA for the remaining months to complete the 1 year requirement? 

In addition, I am planning to change my name to include my christian name. Will that affect my application in future? 

Looking forward for your reply. 

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi WindyCity -

Thanks for the note. Re: an ETA after a student visa, often not a problem however there is the chance that DIBP may need convincing that you have a legitimate reason to go back to Australia after the student visa - note that you cannot apply for an ETA while in Australia. If you're in Australia and want to apply for a visitor visa, it's a subclass 600 visitor visa which includes a bit more assessment than an ETA. Might be better to go offshore, apply for an ETA - all depends on your circumstances.

Re: changing your name, probably best to get that completed before you apply - an official name change document/deed poll change/etc issued by a government agency when submitted with your future visa applications will evidence the change of name from your original name at birth to your new name.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



windycity said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have been following your thread intensively.
> 
> My partner (aust) and I (singapore) are together for a year without living together.
> I am planning to arrive in Aust as a student, applying for a 6-9 Months student visa course. However, we need 1 year requirement. Can i apply for ETA for the remaining months to complete the 1 year requirement?
> 
> In addition, I am planning to change my name to include my christian name. Will that affect my application in future?
> 
> Looking forward for your reply.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## simoninoz

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your generosity in sharing your expertise, it's obviously very much appreciated!

I'm and an Australian and my partner is Swedish.

We commenced a defacto relationship in August 2012. First we lived together in Australia for six months, then we have lived together in Sweden for 12 months.

My visa in Sweden expired a month ago, so I have returned to Australia on my own. We are now planning to apply for a 309 partnership visa so we can live together in Australia on an ongoing basis. We will submit our application within the next month.

My question is about this part of the permit requirement:
_"show that you and your partner are living together or, if not, that any separation is only	temporary"._

When we submit our application we will have lived together for a total of 18 months, but not lived together for the two months immediately prior to submitting the application. Will this harm our chances of succeeding with our application?

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

Simon


----------



## stst

Hi Mark,

For the 189, if I nominate "Engineering A" on the SOL, and I have a degree in "Engineering A" from an Australian Uni and is accredited (same as nominated profession on SOL), would that be sufficient for skills assessment by Engineers Australia? I have no related work experience.

Thanks.


----------



## bravo189

*Travel overseas*

Hi Mark,

I have applied for 189 visa. Lodged visa 12-Feb-2014, uploaded all the documents, completed PCC and Medicals. Waiting for CO.

My question is, I am planning to travel overseas next month ( Mid of April ).

At present I am in Australia with 457 visa.

Am i allowed to travel?

or Do I need to inform immi?

Please help.

Thanks


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Yes, that's because the DIBP (immigration department) website doesn't contain everything you need to know to lodge a visa application in some cases. If you Google "DIAC 300 visa checklist" you might locate the checklist - also go to the Phil. Australian Embassy website and download the Phil. additional documents checklist.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark gud am it is required to engage first before lodging the pmv...it is compulsory or NOIM is enough thbks..there question about the engagment


----------



## mike88

Hi Mark

As I have mentioned to you before, me and my partner plan to come here next year and get married, apply Partner Visa (onshore) but its just that the finanical income as well as the finanical committment issue is a bit concern for our past times since we were overseas most of the time and have not lived together so this is a bit of a worry.

Would the following proposal be another alternative method. Assuming she comes here as Tourist Visa, (6 months visa without the No Further Stay stamped on it), then get married during the first week of arrival. Apply\lodge Partner Visa (onshore) around 5 months later when its about to expire. Then Bridging Visa A would automtically be applied, and the condition of course is she stay here until the final decision has been made and as I am aware, it could take as long as 1 year or even more these days.. 

Now here's the main question. Would applying\lodging the PV in month 5 just before the TV expires is a good idea? That way, we can live together and have some time to gather and add evidence (for around 5 months during TV) that this relationship is geninune and ongoing prior submitting the PV to back up the additional criteria that needs to be met? And then make use of the waiting time i.e. 1 year to submit any ongoing further evidence of our ongoing relationship to support the outcome of the decision. Would that be a solution?


----------



## Cassey101

Hi mark...
My partner and I are planning to submit a partner via 309,we are in a same sex relationship.We both are filipina but she's an australian citizen by grant(last 2006 were sponsored by her ex hubby),we are in our defacto relationship for 2years.she always go back and forth to australia and here in Philippines.Our maximum living together is only 10mos. From May 2012 to March2014 here in Philippines.she went back to australia for work and came back here last august 2013 for 2weeks holiday and last December 2013 spend Xmas and new year with our family for 3weeks..I live here in her house and she's supporting me all through out because she asked me to resigned from my job last march 2012.she financially supported me,we have a lot of evidence like remittance receipt, we have utility bills in same address because I live here in her house,chat logs,SMS and a lot of pictures with here family and my family 
too.,,
My question are :
1.Our time spent together did not reach for 12 mos physically is this can affect with our application?
2.She is still currently living in her ex hubby's house( June 2011divorced date).is there any need for her to transfer and have her own dwelling before we lodge our application?


----------



## Cassey101

Hi mark..
I have query hope u will have time to response


----------



## Cassey101

I an my partner are planning to submit partner visa.we are in same sex relationship for 2years we started our living together last May 2012 we spent 10mos from may2012 to march 2013 here in philippines in here house.She needs to go back to australia for work and went back here last august 2013 for two weeks and last December 2013 for 3weeks spent holiday with our family.She supported me financially every week cause I don't have work she ask me to resigned last March 2012 and start a life with her.We have many proofs money remmittances,SMS logs chat logs.and utility bills in separate name but in the same address.i also nominated as beneficiary in her superannuation ,we don't have joint bank account she only send me allowance per week,we have photos together with my family and her also.She work as supervisor in a company in perth,and acquire her citizenship by grant with her ex hubby last 2006 and divorced 2011.
My question are:
1.we only had 10 mos living together but communicate veery day, Is this can affect the success rate of my application?
2.She is still currently live with her ex hubby,but they are already divorced.is this also can affect?
3. Her name is still her hubby's name, is there any need for her to change name first before we lodge our application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Simon -

Thanks for the question and kind words. My view is that there is a good chance you can be successful in this situation if you have a very well written submission and show, with evidence, that the two months is a temporary absence apart. How you do that I'm not sure, as I don't have all of the details of your situation. The key DIBP is looking for is defacto relationships of less than 12 months as of the time of application, so proof of living together for the 18 month period should help substantially.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



simoninoz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your generosity in sharing your expertise, it's obviously very much appreciated!
> 
> I'm and an Australian and my partner is Swedish.
> 
> We commenced a defacto relationship in August 2012. First we lived together in Australia for six months, then we have lived together in Sweden for 12 months.
> 
> My visa in Sweden expired a month ago, so I have returned to Australia on my own. We are now planning to apply for a 309 partnership visa so we can live together in Australia on an ongoing basis. We will submit our application within the next month.
> 
> My question is about this part of the permit requirement:
> _"show that you and your partner are living together or, if not, that any separation is only	temporary"._
> 
> When we submit our application we will have lived together for a total of 18 months, but not lived together for the two months immediately prior to submitting the application. Will this harm our chances of succeeding with our application?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your assistance!
> 
> Simon


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stst -

Assuming you meet the rest of the requirements for a migration skills assessment from Engineers Australia, it is not a required part of the assessment that you provide work experience evidence or evidence any work experience - the EA assessment focuses on your educational qualification.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stst said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> For the 189, if I nominate "Engineering A" on the SOL, and I have a degree in "Engineering A" from an Australian Uni and is accredited (same as nominated profession on SOL), would that be sufficient for skills assessment by Engineers Australia? I have no related work experience.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bravo189 -

Yes, but depends on your current visa. If your 457 is still valid, you can travel on that (be careful it doesn't expire while you are outside Australia). Once your 457 expires, the Bridging VIsa that was issued with your 189 application (assuming you lodged your application while in Australia) will activate, but if you've left Australia since the 189 was applied for, the bridging visa will have ceased as they do not survive if you depart Australia - you have to manually apply for the bridging visa again (not difficult). However, to avoid confusion, if your 457 is still valid, then the bridging visa would not have activated yet and you can travel on your 457.

You might consider uploading a letter detailing your travel schedule on your online application to notify DIBP of your contact info while you're outside the country. The 189 can be granted if you are in or outside Australia, so travel should not interfere with this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bravo189 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied for 189 visa. Lodged visa 12-Feb-2014, uploaded all the documents, completed PCC and Medicals. Waiting for CO.
> 
> My question is, I am planning to travel overseas next month ( Mid of April ).
> 
> At present I am in Australia with 457 visa.
> 
> Am i allowed to travel?
> 
> or Do I need to inform immi?
> 
> Please help.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

While "being engaged" isn't spelled out in the regulations specifically, the regulations make it clear that the case officer must be convinced that the applicant and sponsor genuinely intend to marry and enter into a spousal relationship. A NOIM can be an important part of that, however if there is no engagement, I can see where a case officer might wonder why, and that could result in questions being asked about the genuineness of the relationship and intent to marry. If there is no mention of engagement in your applicant and sponsor statements, or in the evidence (ie, engagement ring purchase), you may want to explain why - might be for religious reasons or some other reason, but I probably would choose to explain that rather than leave it as an unanswered question.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> hi mark gud am it is required to engage first before lodging the pmv...it is compulsory or NOIM is enough thbks..there question about the engagment


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mike88 -

What you propose is a great idea - we recommend this exact course of action (ie, come on visitor, put in as much living together time and generate relationship evidence during that period, then marry and lodge partner visa before the visitor visa expires) to many of our clients depending on the need to accumulate additional relationship evidence.

Assuming the visitor visa does not have a no further stay condition (condition 8503) on it, the key is to get the partner visa lodged before the minimum stay period (3 month max stay on some of those) expires. Some people with 3 mo. max stay periods will come for 3 months, go offshore for a weekend, then come back onshore for another 3 months and lodge near the end of the second 3-month stay. Key is making sure when you enter on the visitor visa, you do not declare to immigration that you intend to lodge a partner visa, since that would technically be incompatible with the "temporary visit" nature of the visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mike88 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> As I have mentioned to you before, me and my partner plan to come here next year and get married, apply Partner Visa (onshore) but its just that the finanical income as well as the finanical committment issue is a bit concern for our past times since we were overseas most of the time and have not lived together so this is a bit of a worry.
> 
> Would the following proposal be another alternative method. Assuming she comes here as Tourist Visa, (6 months visa without the No Further Stay stamped on it), then get married during the first week of arrival. Apply\lodge Partner Visa (onshore) around 5 months later when its about to expire. Then Bridging Visa A would automtically be applied, and the condition of course is she stay here until the final decision has been made and as I am aware, it could take as long as 1 year or even more these days..
> 
> Now here's the main question. Would applying\lodging the PV in month 5 just before the TV expires is a good idea? That way, we can live together and have some time to gather and add evidence (for around 5 months during TV) that this relationship is geninune and ongoing prior submitting the PV to back up the additional criteria that needs to be met? And then make use of the waiting time i.e. 1 year to submit any ongoing further evidence of our ongoing relationship to support the outcome of the decision. Would that be a solution?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassey -

Thanks for the questions. Re: 12 month living together, if you are lodging a defacto relationship partner visa DIBP will look at the 12 months prior to application to determine if you have been living together and if any time apart was temporary in nature. Given the majority of your time living together was before the 12 month period from your application (from the way I read your question), you will have to convince DIBP that the relationship was in place despite your not living together - this can be moderately difficult with some case officers, very difficult with others. Would really need to look at your evidence to give you any specific advice to your case. Depending on where you live in Australia, she may be able to register your relationship, which would eliminate the 12 month mandatory living together requirement for the defacto partner visa.

Re: living with ex husband, this could work against you depending on the circumstances and the case officer, as the case officer could conclude that she is not in an "exclusive and committed relationship" with you if she is living with her ex-spouse, especially combining that with all the time apart. But again, the key is the circumstances and exactly what the details are of the living arrangement and why they are living together (ie, is there a child involved, etc).

Re: changing name, not really a factor in visa applications of this type, unless the lack of changing name adds to the case officer's concerns (if any) that she is still living with the ex husband.

Hope this helps - you may want to have a registered migration agent go over all of your details and give you a professional assessment of your situation. To be blunt, this may be a tricky application to get through based on the circumstances you've shared so far - getting some help might be a very good idea.

Best,

Mark Northam



Cassey101 said:


> I an my partner are planning to submit partner visa.we are in same sex relationship for 2years we started our living together last May 2012 we spent 10mos from may2012 to march 2013 here in philippines in here house.She needs to go back to australia for work and went back here last august 2013 for two weeks and last December 2013 for 3weeks spent holiday with our family.She supported me financially every week cause I don't have work she ask me to resigned last March 2012 and start a life with her.We have many proofs money remmittances,SMS logs chat logs.and utility bills in separate name but in the same address.i also nominated as beneficiary in her superannuation ,we don't have joint bank account she only send me allowance per week,we have photos together with my family and her also.She work as supervisor in a company in perth,and acquire her citizenship by grant with her ex hubby last 2006 and divorced 2011.
> My question are:
> 1.we only had 10 mos living together but communicate veery day, Is this can affect the success rate of my application?
> 2.She is still currently live with her ex hubby,but they are already divorced.is this also can affect?
> 3. Her name is still her hubby's name, is there any need for her to change name first before we lodge our application?


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> While "being engaged" isn't spelled out in the regulations specifically, the regulations make it clear that the case officer must be convinced that the applicant and sponsor genuinely intend to marry and enter into a spousal relationship. A NOIM can be an important part of that, however if there is no engagement, I can see where a case officer might wonder why, and that could result in questions being asked about the genuineness of the relationship and intent to marry. If there is no mention of engagement in your applicant and sponsor statements, or in the evidence (ie, engagement ring purchase), you may want to explain why - might be for religious reasons or some other reason, but I probably would choose to explain that rather than leave it as an unanswered question.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thnks mark but.my fiance is sending.me a engagrment ring this week so its me we are engage buy sending.me the ring so i can answer it in the application do u think its acceptable as long i keep the.parcel of the and when he send me the date and date when i get it we.met twice face to face but this end.of yr maybe he comeback here in taiwan one.more question its ok he lodge the pmv in aus but.i read on.booklet that he give the.forms and im the one lodging it


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

As much as I wish I could, I can't give you specific advice to your case as I would need to see all of the evidence and documents - the key thing beyond the required documents, etc is that you satisfy the case officer that when looking at *all the evidence together*, you have a genuine intent to marry and enter into a spousal relationship.

If you are unsure of whether your relationship evidence is sufficient, I would strongly recommend engaging a registered migration agent either there in Taiwan where you're at or someone that works remotely via Skype, etc (lots of agents do this including us) and get a professional assessment of your relationship evidence and statements before you lodge. Even if the assessment costs a couple of hundred dollars, that's a small price to pay to avoid losing thousands in lost visa application fees and/or a refused visa because the relationship evidence wasn't strong enough. Forums like this are great for general information, but when it gets down to looking at your specific case and evidence, there is no substitute for getting professional advice directly from someone who works with these visas every day.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> thnks mark but.my fiance is sending.me a engagrment ring this week so its me we are engage buy sending.me the ring so i can answer it in the application do u think its acceptable as long i keep the.parcel of the and when he send me the date and date when i get it we.met twice face to face but this end.of yr maybe he comeback here in taiwan one.more question its ok he lodge the pmv in aus but.i read on.booklet that he give the.forms and im the one lodging it


----------



## MarkNortham

Sorry - missed your second question.

I recommend you look into lodging online - it's far more efficient than lodging clumsy paper applications, having to make certified copies, etc etc. They can be lodged from anywhere (as long as you are offshore at the time of lodgement for the subclass 300 PMV visa) and they avoid hassles like having to pay PIASI their "fee" in the Philippines just so they can hand the application over to the embassy. Faster, easier, less chance of problems - I don't know why anyone would want to lodge a paper application for partner or PMV visa at this point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> thnks mark but.my fiance is sending.me a engagrment ring this week so its me we are engage buy sending.me the ring so i can answer it in the application do u think its acceptable as long i keep the.parcel of the and when he send me the date and date when i get it we.met twice face to face but this end.of yr maybe he comeback here in taiwan one.more question its ok he lodge the pmv in aus but.i read on.booklet that he give the.forms and im the one lodging it


----------



## mike88

Thanks Mark
Yeah, of course it would be stupid to spill out the beans, lol
What about the important documents from the applicant when she comes? I guess its better to bring them here by air mail\courier to here to avoid being questioned on the spot?

So I am assuming if there's any other visa condition, no other than "No further stay condition 8503" then it would be ok, correct?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mike88 -
> 
> What you propose is a great idea - we recommend this exact course of action (ie, come on visitor, put in as much living together time and generate relationship evidence during that period, then marry and lodge partner visa before the visitor visa expires) to many of our clients depending on the need to accumulate additional relationship evidence.
> 
> Assuming the visitor visa does not have a no further stay condition (condition 8503) on it, the key is to get the partner visa lodged before the minimum stay period (3 month max stay on some of those) expires. Some people with 3 mo. max stay periods will come for 3 months, go offshore for a weekend, then come back onshore for another 3 months and lodge near the end of the second 3-month stay. Key is making sure when you enter on the visitor visa, you do not declare to immigration that you intend to lodge a partner visa, since that would technically be incompatible with the "temporary visit" nature of the visitor visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

That makes sense. Re: conditions, the only one I know of that would cause problems with a partner visa application would be Condition 8503 - no further stay. Any work restrictions, etc on a visitor visa would not have any bearing on a partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mike88 said:


> Thanks Mark
> Yeah, of course it would be stupid to spill out the beans, lol
> What about the important documents from the applicant when she comes? I guess its better to bring them here by air mail\courier to here to avoid being questioned on the spot?
> 
> So I am assuming if there's any other visa condition, no other than "No further stay condition 8503" then it would be ok, correct?


----------



## mike88

Thanks Mark! Helps alot!

Just 3 more questions my partner wants to ask on her behalf

1) She understands she is allowed to work if she is on a Bridging Visa A, but what if she wants to start a business? Is it allowed provided she opens up the file like TFN, ABN etc? Or only working as an employee is allowed?

2) Like I said in previous post, if apply PV when Tourist Visa is about to expire and you stated a good strategy for it but what happens if they have not acknowledged the reciept yet UNTIL after the TV actually expired? For example, just say her TV would expire on 15 June 2014, lodged the PV application on 09 June 2014, but IMMI acknowledged the receipt on 16 or 17th June 2014, does it mean everything will be invalid and she needs to be out of the country even though they have acknowleged it being just missed out 1 or 2 days late for TV?

And\or does it depends how you lodge it i.e. online lodgement would be acknowleged straight away while by post will be longer?

If so and by post, when is the safest to apply, 1 week prior TV expire or?

3) IF in case she does get rejected by PV in the end for whatever reason, as far as it is concerned, you can lodge the appeal to MRT and can go as long as 15 months or so I heard. If done application by onshore, I assume, she can still stay here, work etc while appeal until the final verdict for MRT?

Sorry and thanks once again!



MarkNortham said:


> That makes sense. Re: conditions, the only one I know of that would cause problems with a partner visa application would be Condition 8503 - no further stay. Any work restrictions, etc on a visitor visa would not have any bearing on a partner visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Cassey101

Hi mark.
I've been trying to post about my queries but I don't know why it's not included here in this forum.But I will try to post again.
My situation is the I am in same sex relationship with my partner for 3years and we started living together since may 2012. We are both filipina and she's now an australian citizen by grant she was sponsored with spouse visa last 2005 and divorce last 2011but she is still living with her ex hubby under one house,it's her ex hubbies house.She is working as a supervisor in a windows fabrication company.Her annual income is above $48,000.Now the situation is that we are planning to lodge our partner visa.As I said earlier we started living together last May 2012 she went home here in Philippines and I resigned from my job because it's very far were my job was from Manila which her house is located,we decided to live together in her house that was May 2012 to March 2013 ,and decided to go back to australia because we don't have any means financially cause her work is not here.She flow back here and forth to australia every 4mos just to spend time with me and spend holiday.that was last august2013 for two weeks and December for three weeks.We communicate daily every hour in texting because she has a roaming sim we also have chat logs,I'm yahoo mail and facebook,financially she supported every week and we have money remmittance receipt as proof,I live her in her house we have utility bills in separate name but in the same address,I am nominated as beneficiary in her superannuation.We have many photos with my family and her family too during holidays.My question are:
1.what type of visa are we qualified?
2.She is still living with her ex hubby.Can it affect the success of our application?Does it need for her to acquire her own dwelling before she can sponsor me?
3.The time spent together is only 10mos are we qualified for the one year relationship requirement?


----------



## Cassey101

Hi mark. Been trying to post here many times but I don't know why I can't find my post in this thread.
I have a question is the one year relationship requirements that partner should live together for 12mos prior to lodging means you live together physically on that 12mos.?My situation is we started to live together from May 2012 to March 2013 we are in same sex relationship we are both from philippines but she's an australian citizen by grant last 2005 with her ex hubby and got divorced last 2011.We plan to lodge partner visa this coming June and I am wondering if we are qualify we only live together for 10mos straight.I live in her house after resigning from my job last March 2012 in order for us to be together Cause her house is miles away from my job location that time.She went back to australia cos her job is not here and fly back and forth last august for two weeks and last December for three weeks.she supported me financially, we have a lot of money remittance receipt,and constant communication(SMS,chat logs in YahooMail,
facebook) I am nominated as beneficiary in her superannuation, we have utility bills in separate name but in same address.we have many photos with my family and her family during holidays.My questions are:
1.Am I right that we are qualified for partner visa 309?
2.she is still living with her ex hubbies house.does it need for her to acquire her own dwelling first before we lodge?
3.the time we spent together is only10mos are we qualified for the 1year relationship requirement?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassey -

Your posts and my response are on page 70 of the thread - look carefully on that page and you'll see all.

Thanks,

Mark Northam



Cassey101 said:


> Hi mark. Been trying to post here many times but I don't know why I can't find my post in this thread.
> I have a question is the one year relationship requirements that partner should live together for 12mos prior to lodging means you live together physically on that 12mos.?My situation is we started to live together from May 2012 to March 2013 we are in same sex relationship we are both from philippines but she's an australian citizen by grant last 2005 with her ex hubby and got divorced last 2011.We plan to lodge partner visa this coming June and I am wondering if we are qualify we only live together for 10mos straight.I live in her house after resigning from my job last March 2012 in order for us to be together Cause her house is miles away from my job location that time.She went back to australia cos her job is not here and fly back and forth last august for two weeks and last December for three weeks.she supported me financially, we have a lot of money remittance receipt,and constant communication(SMS,chat logs in YahooMail,
> facebook) I am nominated as beneficiary in her superannuation, we have utility bills in separate name but in same address.we have many photos with my family and her family during holidays.My questions are:
> 1.Am I right that we are qualified for partner visa 309?
> 2.she is still living with her ex hubbies house.does it need for her to acquire her own dwelling first before we lodge?
> 3.the time we spent together is only10mos are we qualified for the 1year relationship requirement?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mike88 -

Happy to respond - see below:



mike88 said:


> Thanks Mark! Helps alot!
> 
> Just 3 more questions my partner wants to ask on her behalf
> 
> 1) She understands she is allowed to work if she is on a Bridging Visa A, but what if she wants to start a business? Is it allowed provided she opens up the file like TFN, ABN etc? Or only working as an employee is allowed?
> **** No restriction under a BV-A on opening her own business, assuming she meets any non-immigration requirements (ie licensing, tax, etc).*
> 
> 2) Like I said in previous post, if apply PV when Tourist Visa is about to expire and you stated a good strategy for it but what happens if they have not acknowledged the reciept yet UNTIL after the TV actually expired? For example, just say her TV would expire on 15 June 2014, lodged the PV application on 09 June 2014, but IMMI acknowledged the receipt on 16 or 17th June 2014, does it mean everything will be invalid and she needs to be out of the country even though they have acknowleged it being just missed out 1 or 2 days late for TV?
> 
> And\or does it depends how you lodge it i.e. online lodgement would be acknowleged straight away while by post will be longer?
> **** Better to use online lodgement - you generally get the bridging visa same-day unless there are issues. Suggest lodging at least a week in advance of the expiration of the visitor visa.*
> 
> If so and by post, when is the safest to apply, 1 week prior TV expire or?
> 
> 3) IF in case she does get rejected by PV in the end for whatever reason, as far as it is concerned, you can lodge the appeal to MRT and can go as long as 15 months or so I heard. If done application by onshore, I assume, she can still stay here, work etc while appeal until the final verdict for MRT?
> **** Correct. Bridging visa is automatically extended with all rights & privileges it has until the MRT decision. *
> 
> Sorry and thanks once again!


----------



## Liza

Hello Mark,

Thank you for offering this service on the forum. This is very generous.

I posted previously in a thread and it was suggested I make contact with a migration agent. I will give some more details here. Any guidance you can give is appreciated. 

I am applying for visa subclass 309/100. My partner returned to Australia on Feb 6, 2014. We were together for 6 1/2 years in Canada. I am on a disability pension and have been since 2000. It is due to fibromyalgia (post whiplash) and related conditions such as chronic fatigue, irritable bowel and as well anxiety. I am not reliant on the public medical system. My condition is stable and has been for some time. Though a return to work is not recommended. 

I am thinking of asking my doctor and another practitioner (private) to write a letter in support of my application stating the fact that I am stable and do not rely nor am likely to rely on the public system for extra care and taking this to my medical.

My pension will continue to be paid regardless of my country of residence.

I am wondering how this might impact my application, and/or if you have any suggestions on how to proceed please. 

Thank you.


----------



## CollegeGirl

Cassey101 said:


> Hi mark.
> I've been trying to post about my queries but I don't know why it's not included here in this forum.But I will try to post again.


Hi Cassey - sorry about that. For some reason the forum software was automatically flagging your posts as spam and making them invisible to everyone but the moderators. Mark could see yours because he's a moderator, and then responded - but for some reason it flagged HIS response as spam, too, and hid it as well. Most of the time forum software gets it right - there are lots of spam posts members never see because the forum software catches it - but sometimes it doesn't! Technology is great until it doesn't work, eh?

I've marked your posts as approved so they should all be showing now, as well as Mark's response, and hopefully none of your posts will get flagged again. If you ever feel like one of your posts isn't showing up, feel free to privately message me and I'll check on it for you.

Welcome to the forum, and best of lucky with your application!


----------



## lois

*Bridging visa B*

Hi Mark

Thanks again for offering your service in this thread - you must spend a lot of time answering everybody's questions and I'm sure everyone really appreciates it.

I applied for my 820 visa in December 2013 so I am now on my BVA. I am going on a holiday back to the UK and I fly on April 11th.

I have a couple of questions
1. I sent off my paper application to the Lee St Sydney office on Monday of this week, and it has been delivered but I did not recieve a confirmation of reciept - is this normal?

2. How long does the BVB usually take to approve? I'm worried that I won't have it in time.

3. I wrote my reason for travel as 'Visit family - brother getting married'. Is this enough?!

4. Is there any reason my BVB would be rejected? If so can I apply for another? Would it be better to do it in person?

5. Once I return to Australia, what do I do to get back on my BVA? Do I need to notify them before I return?

Thanks so much 
Lois


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> As much as I wish I could, I can't give you specific advice to your case as I would need to see all of the evidence and documents - the key thing beyond the required documents, etc is that you satisfy the case officer that when looking at all the evidence together, you have a genuine intent to marry and enter into a spousal relationship.
> 
> If you are unsure of whether your relationship evidence is sufficient, I would strongly recommend engaging a registered migration agent either there in Taiwan where you're at or someone that works remotely via Skype, etc (lots of agents do this including us) and get a professional assessment of your relationship evidence and statements before you lodge. Even if the assessment costs a couple of hundred dollars, that's a small price to pay to avoid losing thousands in lost visa application fees and/or a refused visa because the relationship evidence wasn't strong enough. Forums like this are great for general information, but when it gets down to looking at your specific case and evidence, there is no substitute for getting professional advice directly from someone who works with these visas every day.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


ok mark because no issuing visa here taiwan if ever.my fiance get an agent in australiai we can use skype to.communicate with me...


----------



## lukesp

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your time. Currently I am onshore holding a tourist visa with a "No Further Stay" condition and my wife, who is also onshore, is going to apply for a 189 visa as main applicant. Do I need to stay offshore due to this "No Further Stay" or this condition will be waived once we apply for this visa?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## musti

hi pls i need help 
me and my aussie partner got married on 11/11/2011 than we apply for 820/801 visa i got my acknowledge letter on 25/1/2012 said that i got bridging VISA A . but since that time till today 19/03/2013(2 years and 2 months since i got my acknowledge letter) i didnt grant to TR or PR isnt that weird ? does any one had same my situation


----------



## dipiksg82

*EOI guidance - Vetassess*

Hi Mark,

Seek your expert guidance my my query , requesting you to please guide.

My assessment got completed under application number -
13xxxxxxxx.

By mistake the question which reads : Are you presently employed in present occupation?

I had mentioned No by mistake instead of making Yes. Will this create a issue when application is filed for visa with DIBP?

As per my outcome letter:
Employment Assessed: Manager - Operations , Life
Insurance
Company Limited (05/2011 to 09/2013).
" Based on the evidence provided , at least two year/s of employment is
assess as highly relevant to nominated occupation and complete at appropriate skill level " on the date of application I had experience of
more than 29 months and I continued to be employed with same employer doing
same duties as mentioned in the documents submitted by me for
assessment.
As per letter I can claim my Occupation as highly relevant while filling
EOI as 01-May-2011 and end date should be the date till the time I perform
the duties as Manager - Operations ?
I performed the same duties
even after the month of September 2013 , so can I mention the actual date
till I performed by duties as Manager - Operations or should I mention the date which is given in letter i.e 09/2013 if my occupation is assessed as positive only for the duration mentioned in the
Assessment letter received by me because I had mentioned No for the question of being in same occupation at the time of application with vetassess ?

Regards

Dipi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liza -

Thanks for the question. A letter from your specialist(s) would definitely be a benefit, and I'd consider obtaining those before you go for your immigration medical check. Depending on the questions asked at the medical check you can choose to give those letters to the Dr there or not based on your own judgement.

In terms of the partner visa, the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) will assess your condition(s) and do a costing of the first 5 years of your permanent residency of the services and pharmaceuticals needed for your conditions in the MOC's opinion (which may be influenced by your specialist letters - hence the value). If the cost is over 35,000, then you fail the health criteria, however there is a health waiver option available for partner visas where you can present a submission that balances the overall benefits of you and your partner being in Australia (which can include social benefits, etc - is not limited to dollar costs, etc) with whatever the costings are that the MOC comes up with.

So that's the picture - best to take it step by step and get the medical exam done with first. If the MOC assesses costs over $35,000, then you will get a letter and an opportunity to present your arguments as to why the costs are not undue (ie, do not outweigh the total benefits of you and your partner's presence in Australia). If you do have to put together a health waiver request, I would recommend engaging a registered migration agent as the law and policy in this area gets a bit complex.

Hope this helps, and best of luck with your visa application!

Best,

Mark Northam



Liza said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you for offering this service on the forum. This is very generous.
> 
> I posted previously in a thread and it was suggested I make contact with a migration agent. I will give some more details here. Any guidance you can give is appreciated.
> 
> I am applying for visa subclass 309/100. My partner returned to Australia on Feb 6, 2014. We were together for 6 1/2 years in Canada. I am on a disability pension and have been since 2000. It is due to fibromyalgia (post whiplash) and related conditions such as chronic fatigue, irritable bowel and as well anxiety. I am not reliant on the public medical system. My condition is stable and has been for some time. Though a return to work is not recommended.
> 
> I am thinking of asking my doctor and another practitioner (private) to write a letter in support of my application stating the fact that I am stable and do not rely nor am likely to rely on the public system for extra care and taking this to my medical.
> 
> My pension will continue to be paid regardless of my country of residence.
> 
> I am wondering how this might impact my application, and/or if you have any suggestions on how to proceed please.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lois -

Sounds like a good application for a BV-B! These are normally processed in a few days, and it's normal not to get a confirmation email - you usually just get an email with the visa grant letter attached. Once you return to Australia, we recommend you re-apply for a BV-A, however many people remain on the BV-B without it being an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lois said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks again for offering your service in this thread - you must spend a lot of time answering everybody's questions and I'm sure everyone really appreciates it.
> 
> I applied for my 820 visa in December 2013 so I am now on my BVA. I am going on a holiday back to the UK and I fly on April 11th.
> 
> I have a couple of questions
> 1. I sent off my paper application to the Lee St Sydney office on Monday of this week, and it has been delivered but I did not recieve a confirmation of reciept - is this normal?
> 
> 2. How long does the BVB usually take to approve? I'm worried that I won't have it in time.
> 
> 3. I wrote my reason for travel as 'Visit family - brother getting married'. Is this enough?!
> 
> 4. Is there any reason my BVB would be rejected? If so can I apply for another? Would it be better to do it in person?
> 
> 5. Once I return to Australia, what do I do to get back on my BVA? Do I need to notify them before I return?
> 
> Thanks so much
> Lois


----------



## MarkNortham

Sounds like a good plan - many agents use Skype to communicate with clients all over the world - it's one of the reasons I'm up late many evenings as we have clients in many different time zones!

Good luck with your application -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> ok mark because no issuing visa here taiwan if ever.my fiance get an agent in australiai we can use skype to.communicate with me...


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Sounds like a good plan - many agents use Skype to communicate with clients all over the world - it's one of the reasons I'm up late many evenings as we have clients in many different time zones!
> 
> Good luck with your application -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


ok thnks mark...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lukesp -

Great question. If your wife as the primary applicant receives an invitation to apply for a 189, 489 or 190 visa, she and/or anyone else on the application who has condition 8503 and is applying while onshore in Australia will need to apply for a waiver of condition 8503 based on a "genuine intent to apply for a xxx visa" where xxx is the subclass of skilled visa you are applying for. These are generally granted since these visas have a special policy exemption built in to the regulations re: condition 8503.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Makr nOrtham



lukesp said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your time. Currently I am onshore holding a tourist visa with a "No Further Stay" condition and my wife, who is also onshore, is going to apply for a 189 visa as main applicant. Do I need to stay offshore due to this "No Further Stay" or this condition will be waived once we apply for this visa?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Musti -

Sounds like something may be wrong with your application - 2 years and 2 months is an excessively long time for a partner visa - the only thing I can think of is that external security checks on the applicant may be the culprit.

I would get in contact with the Embassy where you lodged the application (offshore?) and politely ask if there is further information about your visa and whether you can provide any additional documents or information since the processing time has far exceeded DIBP's published estimates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



musti said:


> hi pls i need help
> me and my aussie partner got married on 11/11/2011 than we apply for 820/801 visa i got my acknowledge letter on 25/1/2012 said that i got bridging VISA A . but since that time till today 19/03/2013(2 years and 2 months since i got my acknowledge letter) i didnt grant to TR or PR isnt that weird ? does any one had same my situation


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dipi -

Thanks for the question. I can't specifically address your case since I don't have all the details, but generally speaking if you get a skills assessment application lodged on, for example, January and you continue working in the same position for the same employer and it's now July and you want to lodge your EOI, it is generally fine to claim points for the work done until July even though the skills assessment says through Jan only. DIBP recognises that for currently employed people there may be additional months of work past the date of the skills assessment and this is factored into their assessments. Generally an employer reference letter confirming continued employment by the employer and in the nominated occupation through the date of the EOI lodgement is sufficient. If there is ever any doubt or concern on DIBP's part later, you typically are given the opportunity to have the additional months of work assessed, either by your original skills assessor or by VETASSESS, however this rarely comes up in my experience, as long as the extra months of employment are for the same employer and position that has already been assessed by the skills assessor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dipiksg82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Seek your expert guidance my my query , requesting you to please guide.
> 
> My assessment got completed under application number -
> 13xxxxxxxx.
> 
> By mistake the question which reads : Are you presently employed in present occupation?
> 
> I had mentioned No by mistake instead of making Yes. Will this create a issue when application is filed for visa with DIBP?
> 
> As per my outcome letter:
> Employment Assessed: Manager - Operations , Life
> Insurance
> Company Limited (05/2011 to 09/2013).
> " Based on the evidence provided , at least two year/s of employment is
> assess as highly relevant to nominated occupation and complete at appropriate skill level " on the date of application I had experience of
> more than 29 months and I continued to be employed with same employer doing
> same duties as mentioned in the documents submitted by me for
> assessment.
> As per letter I can claim my Occupation as highly relevant while filling
> EOI as 01-May-2011 and end date should be the date till the time I perform
> the duties as Manager - Operations ?
> I performed the same duties
> even after the month of September 2013 , so can I mention the actual date
> till I performed by duties as Manager - Operations or should I mention the date which is given in letter i.e 09/2013 if my occupation is assessed as positive only for the duration mentioned in the
> Assessment letter received by me because I had mentioned No for the question of being in same occupation at the time of application with vetassess ?
> 
> Regards
> 
> Dipi


----------



## dipiksg82

Thanks Mark, 

You are one of the few Altruist people around in this Big Bad World.


----------



## Liza

Thank you very much for your help Mark. It feels good to have a plan.

I will do my best to get these letters before going to the appointment. 

As many others have already said, this is a very valuable service you are offering. Thank you for your time and expertise.


----------



## swavik

Hello Mark,

As expected i have recvd an letter from ACS to change my application type to RPL and have kept my application on hold for 30 days..
Had some query about it..I understand that i need to identify two projects carried out by me and write in detail to them about it..But do we need take a sign or declaration on this report..or any other things to be included in it other than the project details..
and after submitting how long do you think i will have to wait?i got this request for RPL in my 12th week of the application 

Thank you mark..


----------



## prizefighter

Hi Mark,
I started another Thread but felt it best to consult this long and informative thread. I'm waiting to finalise an appointment with a migration agent/lawyer but wanted to check my facts as much as possible. My situation it seems is rather complex and problematic and I'm getting more and more worried about it.
I'm currently on a bridging visa as a result of an appeal against a refused 457 visa. My employers felt their nomination should have been valid etc and thus the issue escalated to the MRT. 
This bridging visa has been running for about 18 months and in that time my partner and I got engaged and are to be married in a month. We had spoken about my visa status and decided to wait till we are married and lodge for a partner visa and cancel the MRT hearing etc as it would now be redundant. 
My issue is that Ive just been informed I can't lodge for a partner visa on a bridging visa A and that I would need a more substantive visa to return and place my on shore application. How can I go about doing that? I'm at a loss and very very concerned. My fiancee and I are thoroughly distraught at the prospect of 18 months apart waiting for an answer. What is meant to be the happiest times of our lives is riddled with nervous uncertainty. 
Our backgrounds, I'm 30 yr old irish male, fiancee is a born and bred Aussie with her own business and stable income. 
Is there any hope in this situation?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prizefighter -

Thanks for the note. Who informed you that you could not lodge an onshore partner application? Because you've been on a bridging visa more than 28 days, you will have to get a waiver of the Schedule 3 (of the Migration Regulations 1994) requirements, but there is a specific "compelling reasons" clause for Schedule 3 for partner visas, and with a well written and complete submission (with evidence provided), these often are approved - we do these regularly for clients.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist further

Best,

Mark Northam



prizefighter said:


> Hi Mark,
> I started another Thread but felt it best to consult this long and informative thread. I'm waiting to finalise an appointment with a migration agent/lawyer but wanted to check my facts as much as possible. My situation it seems is rather complex and problematic and I'm getting more and more worried about it.
> I'm currently on a bridging visa as a result of an appeal against a refused 457 visa. My employers felt their nomination should have been valid etc and thus the issue escalated to the MRT.
> This bridging visa has been running for about 18 months and in that time my partner and I got engaged and are to be married in a month. We had spoken about my visa status and decided to wait till we are married and lodge for a partner visa and cancel the MRT hearing etc as it would now be redundant.
> My issue is that Ive just been informed I can't lodge for a partner visa on a bridging visa A and that I would need a more substantive visa to return and place my on shore application. How can I go about doing that? I'm at a loss and very very concerned. My fiancee and I are thoroughly distraught at the prospect of 18 months apart waiting for an answer. What is meant to be the happiest times of our lives is riddled with nervous uncertainty.
> Our backgrounds, I'm 30 yr old irish male, fiancee is a born and bred Aussie with her own business and stable income.
> Is there any hope in this situation?


----------



## loner

*business visitor stream*

A friend of mine previously held student visa in Australia couple of years ago however his visa was cancelled with a three year suspension as he failed to comply with the student visa requirement. He is now working for a company which has business globally. He had been assigned for a business trip to Australia however there is still a nine month period for the suspension therefore his application for a visitor visa had been refused, Immigration had advised him to apply for visitor visa - business visitor stream. As part of the application he will need support letter from an Australian citizen. Is it possible for someone to advise me as to what I should include in the letter of support? This is a very URGENT ISSUE please help me out as I would have to write up the letter these two days. Greatly appreciated.


----------



## swavik

Hello Mark,

As expected i have recvd an letter from ACS to change my application type to RPL and have kept my application on hold for 30 days..
Had some query about it..I understand that i need to identify two projects carried out by me and write in detail to them about it..But do we need take a sign or declaration on this report..or any other things to be included in it other than the project details..
and after submitting how long do you think i will have to wait?i got this request for RPL in my 12th week of the application 

Thank you mark..


----------



## musti

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Musti -
> 
> Sounds like something may be wrong with your application - 2 years and 2 months is an excessively long time for a partner visa - the only thing I can think of is that external security checks on the applicant may be the culprit.
> 
> I would get in contact with the Embassy where you lodged the application (offshore?) and politely ask if there is further information about your visa and whether you can provide any additional documents or information since the processing time has far exceeded DIBP's published estimates.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


sorry Mark i lodged my application onshore and i got my acknownledge letter on 25/1/2012 the immi contact me on 4/2/2013 asking about my education in lebanon and than they contact me on 24/10/2013 asking about my educatio in australia and my new address coz i moved


----------



## Cassey101

hi mark thanks for the reply I overlooked it
My partner she lives in perth WA ,is the relationship registration already available there?
I will tell you my timeline for you to understand. It was on December 2011 to January 2012 she went home and decided that we will take our relationship seriously, she brought me in her parents house and introduced me with her family we have pictures for proof.and I also brought her to my parents house and introduced her as my partner.we came in same province her in philippines.we plan during that time as I was still working that I will resign from my job by March 2012 and she will returned back to australia for work and come home again By May 2012 to start a life together.everything was settled I resigned from my job last March 2012. she start sending me money cause I don't have job already and it was on May 2012 she want home and we transfer in her house in manila(the name of the house and lot is in her name) we live together for 10 mos from May 18,2012 to March 17, 2013.we decided she will return to australia coz it's very difficult here in the philippines both of us don't have work.Then she come home again last August 2013 for 3weeks, and last for 3weeks December 2013 to January for Xmas and new year.Our separation is only temporary, we have a lot of proofs like weekly money remittance receipt,daily SMS and call history, chat logs through facebook and yahoo. I am the only beneficiary in her superannuation,we have utility bills in separate name but in same address.
1. To summarize our time spent and living together is almost 12 mos.Are the proofs are not enough to prove that our separation is only temporary?
3.She live in her ex hubby because they separate bas friends with no hard feelings his ex hubby is 66 years old and her is 43. the reason for their divorce is because she change sex preference.during their divorce she did not want and get any of their properties.they sold the house and they move out and transfer to other which now the dwelling own by her ex hubby.After her long stay her in phil her ex hubby told her that she can still live in the house.she grab the opportunity coz we don't have any means there for her to live after here long stay her in Phil.we plan the she will move out in her ex hubby house when we will lodge our application.Do you think it's a right move?

QUOTE=MarkNortham;381049]Hi Cassey -

Thanks for the questions. Re: 12 month living together, if you are lodging a defacto relationship partner visa DIBP will look at the 12 months prior to application to determine if you have been living together and if any time apart was temporary in nature. Given the majority of your time living together was before the 12 month period from your application (from the way I read your question), you will have to convince DIBP that the relationship was in place despite your not living together - this can be moderately difficult with some case officers, very difficult with others. Would really need to look at your evidence to give you any specific advice to your case. Depending on where you live in Australia, she may be able to register your relationship, which would eliminate the 12 month mandatory living together requirement for the defacto partner visa.

Re: living with ex husband, this could work against you depending on the circumstances and the case officer, as the case officer could conclude that she is not in an "exclusive and committed relationship" with you if she is living with her ex-spouse, especially combining that with all the time apart. But again, the key is the circumstances and exactly what the details are of the living arrangement and why they are living together (ie, is there a child involved, etc).

Re: changing name, not really a factor in visa applications of this type, unless the lack of changing name adds to the case officer's concerns (if any) that she is still living with the ex husband.

Hope this helps - you may want to have a registered migration agent go over all of your details and give you a professional assessment of your situation. To be blunt, this may be a tricky application to get through based on the circumstances you've shared so far - getting some help might be a very good idea.

Best,

Mark Northam[/QUOTE]


----------



## Cassey101

Thank you CollegeGirl very much appreciated.



CollegeGirl said:


> Hi Cassey - sorry about that. For some reason the forum software was automatically flagging your posts as spam and making them invisible to everyone but the moderators. Mark could see yours because he's a moderator, and then responded - but for some reason it flagged HIS response as spam, too, and hid it as well. Most of the time forum software gets it right - there are lots of spam posts members never see because the forum software catches it - but sometimes it doesn't! Technology is great until it doesn't work, eh?
> 
> I've marked your posts as approved so they should all be showing now, as well as Mark's response, and hopefully none of your posts will get flagged again. If you ever feel like one of your posts isn't showing up, feel free to privately message me and I'll check on it for you.
> 
> Welcome to the forum, and best of lucky with your application!


----------



## swavik

hello mark,

Waiting for the reply for my previous post..I had one more question.There is an update on the immigration site which states,


'In late 2013, the department conducted an evaluation of occupational ceilings to assess how they have operated to date and to consider changes to ensure they are performing their intended function.

Based on feedback received as part of the evaluation, the following changes will be in place from 1 March 2014:

State and territory nominated visas will no longer be subject to occupational ceiling limitations
The minimum ceiling for each occupational group will be 1000 invitations.'

i did not understand the change done..and nor did i understand whether it is a good change or not so good one..

Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Loner -

The invitation letter (often with an itinerary) is a required part of the business visitor application process and typically includes information about the proposed activities of the applicant in Australia and the benefits to Australia and/or the business that is writing the letter.

The exclusion waiver is a separate matter and typically requires a significant amount of evidence to be presented that establishes, to the satisfaction of the case officer, "compelling interests" that affect Australia, or "compelling or compassionate interests" that affect an Australian citizen or permanent resident re: being allowed to return before the end of the exclusion period. Normally a letter of invitation will not satisfy this and it requires more substantial documentation.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist further. While a business letter and business visitor visa often may not benefit all that much from the services of a registered migration agent, an exclusion waiver application is a much more difficult situation typically, and that may be something that your friend could benefit from the services of a migration agent to draft.

Best,

Mark Northam



loner said:


> A friend of mine previously held student visa in Australia couple of years ago however his visa was cancelled with a three year suspension as he failed to comply with the student visa requirement. He is now working for a company which has business globally. He had been assigned for a business trip to Australia however there is still a nine month period for the suspension therefore his application for a visitor visa had been refused, Immigration had advised him to apply for visitor visa - business visitor stream. As part of the application he will need support letter from an Australian citizen. Is it possible for someone to advise me as to what I should include in the letter of support? This is a very URGENT ISSUE please help me out as I would have to write up the letter these two days. Greatly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

ACS is very picky about these - you really need to immerse yourself in the ACS website and read through all the various interlinked parts carefully to get the full picture, especially when doing RPL and Project Reports. Here's one link that is helpful re: the areas you need to look at covering in your project report: http://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/5969/Key-Areas-of-Knowledge.pdf

You need to submit a Declaration of Authorship (see ACS site for more) with your RPL submissions including the project reports.

As to how long, hard to say - very unpredictable. I would guess 4-6 weeks at a minimum.

Hope this helps and good luck with your application -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> As expected i have recvd an letter from ACS to change my application type to RPL and have kept my application on hold for 30 days..
> Had some query about it..I understand that i need to identify two projects carried out by me and write in detail to them about it..But do we need take a sign or declaration on this report..or any other things to be included in it other than the project details..
> and after submitting how long do you think i will have to wait?i got this request for RPL in my 12th week of the application
> 
> Thank you mark..


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Musti -

If I had to guess, I would say they are having significant issues with your application - I can't think of anything else that would cause a 2 year processing time. Same answer as before: you need to contact them - there's nothing else really to do.

Best,

Mark Northam



musti said:


> sorry Mark i lodged my application onshore and i got my acknownledge letter on 25/1/2012 the immi contact me on 4/2/2013 asking about my education in lebanon and than they contact me on 24/10/2013 asking about my educatio in australia and my new address coz i moved


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassey -

Thanks for the note. The 12 months for living together for a defacto partner visa application is ONLY the 12 months prior to application, not 12months in the last x years or anything like that. No relationship registration available in WA, unfortunately.

Your situation is very complex, and I cannot begin to assess it via forum posts which are for general information. I strongly suggest you engage a registered migration agent to go over all the details of your case, examine your relationship evidence and statements, and give you specific advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cassey101 said:


> hi mark thanks for the reply I overlooked it
> My partner she lives in perth WA ,is the relationship registration already available there?
> I will tell you my timeline for you to understand. It was on December 2011 to January 2012 she went home and decided that we will take our relationship seriously, she brought me in her parents house and introduced me with her family we have pictures for proof.and I also brought her to my parents house and introduced her as my partner.we came in same province her in philippines.we plan during that time as I was still working that I will resign from my job by March 2012 and she will returned back to australia for work and come home again By May 2012 to start a life together.everything was settled I resigned from my job last March 2012. she start sending me money cause I don't have job already and it was on May 2012 she want home and we transfer in her house in manila(the name of the house and lot is in her name) we live together for 10 mos from May 18,2012 to March 17, 2013.we decided she will return to australia coz it's very difficult here in the philippines both of us don't have work.Then she come home again last August 2013 for 3weeks, and last for 3weeks December 2013 to January for Xmas and new year.Our separation is only temporary, we have a lot of proofs like weekly money remittance receipt,daily SMS and call history, chat logs through facebook and yahoo. I am the only beneficiary in her superannuation,we have utility bills in separate name but in same address.
> 1. To summarize our time spent and living together is almost 12 mos.Are the proofs are not enough to prove that our separation is only temporary?
> 3.She live in her ex hubby because they separate bas friends with no hard feelings his ex hubby is 66 years old and her is 43. the reason for their divorce is because she change sex preference.during their divorce she did not want and get any of their properties.they sold the house and they move out and transfer to other which now the dwelling own by her ex hubby.After her long stay her in phil her ex hubby told her that she can still live in the house.she grab the opportunity coz we don't have any means there for her to live after here long stay her in Phil.we plan the she will move out in her ex hubby house when we will lodge our application.Do you think it's a right move?
> 
> QUOTE=MarkNortham;381049]Hi Cassey -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Re: 12 month living together, if you are lodging a defacto relationship partner visa DIBP will look at the 12 months prior to application to determine if you have been living together and if any time apart was temporary in nature. Given the majority of your time living together was before the 12 month period from your application (from the way I read your question), you will have to convince DIBP that the relationship was in place despite your not living together - this can be moderately difficult with some case officers, very difficult with others. Would really need to look at your evidence to give you any specific advice to your case. Depending on where you live in Australia, she may be able to register your relationship, which would eliminate the 12 month mandatory living together requirement for the defacto partner visa.
> 
> Re: living with ex husband, this could work against you depending on the circumstances and the case officer, as the case officer could conclude that she is not in an "exclusive and committed relationship" with you if she is living with her ex-spouse, especially combining that with all the time apart. But again, the key is the circumstances and exactly what the details are of the living arrangement and why they are living together (ie, is there a child involved, etc).
> 
> Re: changing name, not really a factor in visa applications of this type, unless the lack of changing name adds to the case officer's concerns (if any) that she is still living with the ex husband.
> 
> Hope this helps - you may want to have a registered migration agent go over all of your details and give you a professional assessment of your situation. To be blunt, this may be a tricky application to get through based on the circumstances you've shared so far - getting some help might be a very good idea.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Just answered your other question - re: the news anncmt you mentioned, it's generally good news. If you are in one of the 6 "high demand" occupation groups that had severe sponsorship quotas implemented last year, there's no change. But for other occupations it means that DIBP won't put a quota on 190 or 489 state sponsored visa applications - that's good. Quotas will still exist for 189 visas from what I understand.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> hello mark,
> 
> Waiting for the reply for my previous post..I had one more question.There is an update on the immigration site which states,
> 
> 'In late 2013, the department conducted an evaluation of occupational ceilings to assess how they have operated to date and to consider changes to ensure they are performing their intended function.
> 
> Based on feedback received as part of the evaluation, the following changes will be in place from 1 March 2014:
> 
> State and territory nominated visas will no longer be subject to occupational ceiling limitations
> The minimum ceiling for each occupational group will be 1000 invitations.'
> 
> i did not understand the change done..and nor did i understand whether it is a good change or not so good one..
> 
> Regards.


----------



## Cassey101

Thank you Mark for enlighten our mind I guess we need to live together first before we will apply,we can do that maybe by lodging a tourist visa first in order to qualify for the 12 mos requirement.


Cassey101 said:


> Hi mark.
> I've been trying to post about my queries but I don't know why it's not included here in this forum.But I will try to post again.
> My situation is the I am in same sex relationship with my partner for 3years and we started living together since may 2012. We are both filipina and she's now an australian citizen by grant she was sponsored with spouse visa last 2005 and divorce last 2011but she is still living with her ex hubby under one house,it's her ex hubbies house.She is working as a supervisor in a windows fabrication company.Her annual income is above $48,000.Now the situation is that we are planning to lodge our partner visa.As I said earlier we started living together last May 2012 she went home here in Philippines and I resigned from my job because it's very far were my job was from Manila which her house is located,we decided to live together in her house that was May 2012 to March 2013 ,and decided to go back to australia because we don't have any means financially cause her work is not here.She flow back here and forth to australia every 4mos just to spend time with me and spend holiday.that was last august2013 for two weeks and December for three weeks.We communicate daily every hour in texting because she has a roaming sim we also have chat logs,I'm yahoo mail and facebook,financially she supported every week and we have money remmittance receipt as proof,I live her in her house we have utility bills in separate name but in the same address,I am nominated as beneficiary in her superannuation.We have many photos with my family and her family too during holidays.My question are:
> 1.what type of visa are we qualified?
> 2.She is still living with her ex hubby.Can it affect the success of our application?Does it need for her to acquire her own dwelling before she can sponsor me?
> 3.The time spent together is only 10mos are we qualified for the one year relationship requirement?





Cassey101 said:


> Hi mark. Been trying to post here many times but I don't know why I can't find my post in this thread.
> I have a question is the one year relationship requirements that partner should live together for 12mos prior to lodging means you live together physically on that 12mos.?My situation is we started to live together from May 2012 to March 2013 we are in same sex relationship we are both from philippines but she's an australian citizen by grant last 2005 with her ex hubby and got divorced last 2011.We plan to lodge partner visa this coming June and I am wondering if we are qualify we only live together for 10mos straight.I live in her house after resigning from my job last March 2012 in order for us to be together Cause her house is miles away from my job location that time.She went back to australia cos her job is not here and fly back and forth last august for two weeks and last December for three weeks.she supported me financially, we have a lot of money remittance receipt,and constant communication(SMS,chat logs in YahooMail,
> facebook) I am nominated as beneficiary in her superannuation, we have utility bills in separate name but in same address.we have many photos with my family and her family during holidays.My questions are:
> 1.Am I right that we are qualified for partner visa 309?
> 2.she is still living with her ex hubbies house.does it need for her to acquire her own dwelling first before we lodge?
> 3.the time we spent together is only10mos are we qualified for the 1year relationship requirement?





MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cassey -
> 
> Thanks for the note. The 12 months for living together for a defacto partner visa application is ONLY the 12 months prior to application, not 12months in the last x years or anything like that. No relationship registration available in WA, unfortunately.
> 
> Your situation is very complex, and I cannot begin to assess it via forum posts which are for general information. I strongly suggest you engage a registered migration agent to go over all the details of your case, examine your relationship evidence and statements, and give you specific advice for your case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

That could work, however you may want to be careful what you tell any officials you discuss this with, as "coming to live with my partner" would not be compatible with the purposes of the subclass 600, etc visitor visa which is for "temporary visits" only.

Best of luck with your application -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cassey101 said:


> Thank you Mark for enlighten our mind I guess we need to live together first before we will apply,we can do that maybe by lodging a tourist visa first in order to qualify for the 12 mos requirement.


[/QUOTE]


----------



## Cassey101

Hi mark. Here I am again need your advice.
I read it in fact sheet 35 just now.It says that the one year relationship criterion does not require the couple to have physically lived together for the entire 12 months, but rather to have been in a de facto relationship for that period.I'm very confused now because as I said we've been in the relationship since may 2012 and we can compel with the requirement as defacto partner based on the four categories only we are apart as of now because of her work and because we are saving for the cost of the application.
hope you will enlighten my mind about this coz I'm very confused thank you so much.

Living together
Living together is regarded as a common element in most on-going relationships. It is recognised that, for various reasons, couples may sometimes have to live apart. Provided the separation is temporary and the couple had, at some point since commencement of the relationship lived together, their relationship might still satisfy the requirements of a de facto relationship.

For this reason, the one year relationship criterion does not require the couple to have physically lived together for the entire 12 months, but rather to have been in a de facto relationship for that period.

Partners who are currently not living together may be required to provide additional evidence that they are not living separately and apart on a permanent basis in order to satisfy the requirements of a de facto relationship.

What evidence is considered?
When submitting evidence of a de facto relationship, applicants must be able to demonstrate that their relationship has existed for at least one year before the application is made. Evidence may include but is not limited to:

The history of the relationship through a signed statement regarding:

how, when and where the couple first met
how the relationship developed
the couple's domestic arrangements, that is, how they support each other financially, physically and emotionally and when this level of commitment began
any periods of separation, when and why the separation occurred, for how long and how the couple maintained their relationship during the period of separation
the couple's future plans.
Financial aspects of the relationship, such as:

joint ownership of the house or joint names on a lease
correspondence addressed to the couple at the same address
details of financial commitments including bank statements, and any joint liabilities.
The nature of the household, such as:

any joint responsibility for the care and support of any children
the couple's living arrangements including sharing responsibilities within the home.
Social context, such as:

evidence that the couple is generally accepted and recognised as a couple socially such as joint invitations
evidence of common friends
assessments by the couple's friends and family of the relationship
joint travel or joint participation in sporting, social or cultural activities.
The couple's commitment to each other, such as:

the duration of the relationship including knowledge of each other
intention to have a long term relationship, for example, through terms of their wills
correspondence and telephone accounts to show that the couple maintained contact during any periods of separation.

Best of luck with your application -

Best,

Mark Northam

[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cassey -
> 
> Thanks for the note. The 12 months for living together for a defacto partner visa application is ONLY the 12 months prior to application, not 12months in the last x years or anything like that. No relationship registration available in WA, unfortunately.
> 
> Your situation is very complex, and I cannot begin to assess it via forum posts which are for general information. I strongly suggest you engage a registered migration agent to go over all the details of your case, examine your relationship evidence and statements, and give you specific advice for your case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


[/QUOTE]


----------



## Cassey101

Hi mark here I am again . Asking your advice .I read it in fact sheet 35 just now.It says that the one year relationship criterion does not require the couple to have physically lived together for the entire 12 months, but rather to have been in a de facto relationship for that period.I'm very confused now because as I said we've been in the relationship for since May 2012 and we can compel with the requirement as defacto partner based on the four categories only we are apart as of now because of her work and because we are saving for the application.

Fact Sheet 35 
To satisfy this requirement, the couple must demonstrate that they have been in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months before the visa application is made. For migration purposes, a person is in a de facto relationship with another person if they:

are not married to each other
have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others
are in a genuine and continuing relationship
live together or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis
are not related by family.
Living together
Living together is regarded as a common element in most on-going relationships. It is recognised that, for various reasons, couples may sometimes have to live apart. Provided the separation is temporary and the couple had, at some point since commencement of the relationship lived together, their relationship might still satisfy the requirements of a de facto relationship.

For this reason, the one year relationship criterion does not require the couple to have physically lived together for the entire 12 months, but rather to have been in a de facto relationship for that period.

Partners who are currently not living together may be required to provide additional evidence that they are not living separately and apart on a permanent basis in order to satisfy the requirements of a de facto relationship.

What evidence is considered?
When submitting evidence of a de facto relationship, applicants must be able to demonstrate that their relationship has existed for at least one year before the application is made. Evidence may include but is not limited to:

The history of the relationship through a signed statement regarding:

how, when and where the couple first met
how the relationship developed
the couple's domestic arrangements, that is, how they support each other financially, physically and emotionally and when this level of commitment began
any periods of separation, when and why the separation occurred, for how long and how the couple maintained their relationship during the period of separation
the couple's future plans.
Financial aspects of the relationship, such as:

joint ownership of the house or joint names on a lease
correspondence addressed to the couple at the same address
details of financial commitments including bank statements, and any joint liabilities.
The nature of the household, such as:

any joint responsibility for the care and support of any children
the couple's living arrangements including sharing responsibilities within the home.
Social context, such as:

evidence that the couple is generally accepted and recognised as a couple socially such as joint invitations
evidence of common friends
assessments by the couple's friends and family of the relationship
joint travel or joint participation in sporting, social or cultural activities.
The couple's commitment to each other, such as:

the duration of the relationship including knowledge of each other
intention to have a long term relationship, for example, through terms of their wills
correspondence and telephone accounts to show that the couple maintained contact during any periods of separation.

I am confused with "Only the 12 months prior to application, not the 12 months in the last x years" where it says in the fact sheet that should be in continuous relationship and the separation is only temporary.

Originally Posted by MarkNortham 
Hi Cassey -

Thanks for the note. The 12 months for living together for a defacto partner visa application is ONLY the 12 months prior to application, not 12months in the last x years or anything like that. No relationship registration available in WA, unfortunately.

Your situation is very complex, and I cannot begin to assess it via forum posts which are for general information. I strongly suggest you engage a registered migration agent to go over all the details of your case, examine your relationship evidence and statements, and give you specific advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam

Best of luck with your application -

Best,

Mark Northam

[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]


----------



## rebamac81

Hi Mark,

I saw you are kindly willing to provide advice on this forum, so I thought I would repost this here:

I am Australian and my husband is Nigerian. We met in the UK in late 2012 and married in UK Dec 2013. We began living together only after the marriage, due to our beliefs, and have been renting etc since Jan 2014. 

My husband has just has his UK LTR application refused (which he submitted before I met him) and I have been made redundant. As it stands, we are faced with leaving the UK unexpectedly and long before we planned to. We had planned to start a family here also, but it looks now we need to put that off till we can find a country to live in.

I have been researching the partner visa process and wanted to get any advice from the people on the forum as to bringing my husband to Australia. Due my husband's docs being tied up in his LTR application, we have not travelled to each other's countries during our relationship, however he has met my family who travelled here.

Any advice, experiences etc are most appreciated as we navigate this stressful time.


----------



## bravo189

Thanks Mark. This will help.

I have another query. CO has been assigned to my visa. They asked Australian Employment references. Since my employer was not ready to give details in company letter head, I have submitted Statutory declaration from my supervisor with all details.

Shall i submit the same document again, is that sufficient?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bravo189 -
> 
> Yes, but depends on your current visa. If your 457 is still valid, you can travel on that (be careful it doesn't expire while you are outside Australia). Once your 457 expires, the Bridging VIsa that was issued with your 189 application (assuming you lodged your application while in Australia) will activate, but if you've left Australia since the 189 was applied for, the bridging visa will have ceased as they do not survive if you depart Australia - you have to manually apply for the bridging visa again (not difficult). However, to avoid confusion, if your 457 is still valid, then the bridging visa would not have activated yet and you can travel on your 457.
> 
> You might consider uploading a letter detailing your travel schedule on your online application to notify DIBP of your contact info while you're outside the country. The 189 can be granted if you are in or outside Australia, so travel should not interfere with this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## jeanninec

Thanks, Mark!

There are 2 online forms for the sc300?? I missed that when I began filling one out...how do I know which one to choose?

Thank you again, you've been so helpful.

Jeannine



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jeannine -
> 
> The online forms (there are 2) for the sc300 visa are very similar to the 40sp and 47sp forms - there would be no point in providing them both. We usually recommend clients lodge online, then upload scanned copies of Form 80 which is not provided for online. If you are going to lodge a paper application, then complete forms 40sp and 47sp and lodge w/form 80 and the rest of your evidence. For online, all evidence can be uploaded.
> 
> Police certificates should be obtained as soon as possible and submitted, and can be lodged after the application is lodged. For medical checks, usually best to lodge and then wait for DIBP to invite you to take the medical tests - then take them.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## WendyH

*RRV questions*

Hi Mark

I am new to this Forum and have just read pages of "Ask Mark" and was very impressed with your excellent advice on various migration issues. Thank you for being such a great (and authoritative) source of information.

My situation is quite complex. I am a 29-year-old UK national and currently in Australia on a BVA. My application for a partner visa was refused in January and I have lodged an appeal with MRT.

My family (including my parents and my brother) were granted PR in 1998 when I was about 13. At that time I decided to stay in the UK to continue my secondary education and after the rest of my family moved to Australia (and later obtained Australian citizenship), I continued to live in the UK with my grandparents.

Over the years I visited my family 4 or 5 times in Australia during school holidays and later university breaks, each time for about 2 to 3 weeks. I applied and was granted a 5-year RRV which expired in April 2009.

Without knowing that I could apply for another RRV, I got a WHV in 2011 as it a was quick and easy to get to Australia because by that time I really wanted to re-connect with my parents and my sibling and to make Australia home permanently. After my WHV expired I travelled back to the UK to visit friends twice and each time came back to Aust on an e-visitor visa.

While in Australia on WHV I met an Australian citizen in 2012 and after dating for a while we decided to lodge a partner visa application for me (while I was on the second e-visitor visa) in mid 2013. Before we lodged the application we registered our relationship. The application was refused in September 2013 due to inadequate evidence submitted (mainly because we were too casual with putting everything together because we thought since we were in a genuine relationship what could go wrong and Immigration could always call us for an interview if they had any doubts).

My questions are:

1. Can I re-apply for a RRV if I can prove "compelling circumstances"? I want to try this because I was told that I could wait a year or two before the MRT hearing. This makes me feel kind of in limbo because I can't plan my life. 
2. Can I lodge the RRV in Australia or do I have to go overseas to do so due to the partner visa refusal?
3. What's the effect of the WHV and the e-visitor visas on my RRV? Do they, particularly the WHV, cease my PR forever? RRV is very confusing from what I read. It's not really a PR in itself and it's only the travel component of a PR visa. Does this mean that s48 bar does not apply to a RRV application then? 
4. If I have to go overseas to lodge my RRV, then do I have to be overseas when it's granted?

Sorry about this very long post as my situation is rather complicated. I am very confused as ATM the future is looking rather grim for me and my partner.

I would be very grateful if you could shed some light on my questions.

Thank you!
Wendy


----------



## giver

Hie Mark

I had posted this as a topic and had gotten a reply but wanted to confirm with you as you are an expert. I hope you can shed some light on this and guide me in the right direction.


"Me and my husband applied and received VE subclass 176 in 2011.
We did our validation of visa the following december, before the deadline, but neither of us have moved to Australia, but were planning on doing so.
He was the main applicant and I am the secondary applicant.

We are now in the process of getting divorced, 3 years after the PR was granted. I have searched and found out that since my visa has been validated and obviously this was NOT a marriage for the visa, we had been married 7 years, 3 of which were before the visa was issues. But my question is, that is there any way he can get the visa cancelled?

I read about the change of circumstances document which says the following 


You do not have to notify the department of any changes in
your circumstances that occurred:
• after you were granted your visa (if you applied for your visa
in Australia); or
• after you have been immigration cleared (if you applied for
your visa outside Australia).
Use this form to notify the department of any changes in
your circumstances that affect any answers on your application
form. 

You should use form 1023 Notification of incorrect
answer(s) if you wish to notify the department that you have
supplied it with any incorrect information.
You must answer all questions on this form.​

So that is a sigh of relief BUT at the same time it also says this.

• If you have been granted a visa, the information you provide
on this form will be taken into account in deciding whether
the visa should be cancelled

This is my worry. Is there a chance that he can try to imperil my chances of moving there? What if he uses the change of circumstances form and informs them? 

What would happen with regards to that?

I am planning on moving to Australia within the next year, before my PR expires and begin a new life there.​ But do not want it derailed by this scum bag and I know that he is capable of doing anything.

Any professional input or opinion in this matter would be appreciated.

Thank you


----------



## shmivvy

*457 to 186??*

Hi Mark,

i've been on a 457 visa for 6 months and working with my company for a 14 months. I'd like to gain PR so I would have more freedom and be able to switch employers if I decide to. I know i can apply via the direct entry but my question is a) is it possible? I'm currently on a 457 Client Services Manager and b) is it an expensive process?

Vivienne


----------



## dipiksg82

Hi Mark, 

Recently I went through very interesting documents named Review of implementation of alternative English language proficiency tests in Student visa programme and chapter 3 of migration in Australia, both are uploaded on immigration department website 

According to that IELTS is inferior to TOEFL when it comes to consistency of results. 
People who took IELTS twice or more the results were in correlation only 0.7 times whereas for TOEFL the correlation was 0.9.

Whilst TOEFL is not only better but its also cheaper at the same time then how come there department has too much affinity / inclination towards IELTS immigration and student visa??? 

Best exams of IELTS results being faulty or having discrepancies will be me. 

I have got 8 bands overall in an ielts test however I get 0 points for immigration purposes as per the present points based skilled immigration. 

Speaking 7.5, Reading 8.5, Listening 8.5 and writing 6.5. 


Seek you personal opinion as to what better can be done by immigration department for selecting English tests and right candidates for immigration!!


----------



## Yaweeh

Hi Mark, 

I would like to know whether I can take my wife to Australia with me as a dependent visa or not.

I'm an international student currently studying master of public health at La Trobe Uni, Melbourne. I will finish my course at the end of this year and my student visa (subclass 573) will expire at 15/03/2015 . Now I intend to take my wife as a dependent visa to Australia. However, my immigrant agent said that the DIAC will refuse to grant visa for my wife because I only have under 1 year left of studying in Australia. Could you please confirm that information? If yes, is there any solution for me?

Thanks for your help


----------



## rebamac81

Hi dipiksg82
While I haven't read the papers you refer to, and I am by no means an expert, I have been involved in teaching English in both Australia and the UK. 
IELTS is a joint private collaboration between Australia and the UK (and is gaining popularity in the USA) and is considered a rigorous testing program across all 4 competencies.
It has gained strength politically as it is seen as a testing program that is strictly regulated. I am not advocating it as better or worse than TOEFL, and I acknowledge that it is recognised that these tests are fallible and there is no perfect system. Having said that, many university and national entry programs are based on these one-off marks. 
You would probably know that universities have varying scores and requirements for IELTS scores, some requesting an overall mark, some requesting a minimum mark for each component. 
The Australian Government and many Australian Universities have strict entry scores for IELTS as it is seen overall mark can belie a weakness in a component. Writing is often a difficult exam and is unfortunately the mark they look at when applying for academic study. 
It may be an option for you to strengthen your writing mark as this is what is holding you back from what I can see. 
This may not ease your frustration, but thankfully these tests are available to be re-taken so you can continue to work towards your goals. I would say that is why there is a lot of variation in IELTS results as people tend to improve their skills, then re-take the test.


----------



## dipiksg82

Well,

So in one test a guy who has been educated in convent school for 12 years and completed his fellowship with English as medium of language, the IELTS results wary and wary so much that you will be surprised to know in the most recent IELTS test my scores in speak and writing have swapped.

The ielts test result which was out for me this morning was an exemplary example of how much person oriented this system is 4 weeks back a guy who scored more than 7 bands in speaking now has been rated as 6.5 bands.

No system is foolproof or sacrosanct for that matter, what grieves me as a person is how irrational a system can be!

And if you can spare some time please go to Australia immigration department website and read the documents, it is Australian Government who is saying IELTS is Good but not consistent.. Imagine a country where 97% students enter by giving ielts and ratio is 100% for skilled migration says we have a good system but it's consistency is lower than other alternatives.

I am totally aware that you are not here for supporting or lobbying for IELTS, what I am trying to give is a different perspective of things, I am not here to blame or create hue and cry as I am not getting desired bands.. What ai am trying to say is if there is fair competition then the way bands are awarded in IELTS will become for efficient and YES a metamorphosis from Good system to THE BEST system cannot be ruled out.

But at present it's just good.

Hope I was able to put my point across effectively.



rebamac81 said:


> Hi dipiksg82
> While I haven't read the papers you refer to, and I am by no means an expert, I have been involved in teaching English in both Australia and the UK.
> IELTS is a joint private collaboration between Australia and the UK (and is gaining popularity in the USA) and is considered a rigorous testing program across all 4 competencies.
> It has gained strength politically as it is seen as a testing program that is strictly regulated. I am not advocating it as better or worse than TOEFL, and I acknowledge that it is recognised that these tests are fallible and there is no perfect system. Having said that, many university and national entry programs are based on these one-off marks.
> You would probably know that universities have varying scores and requirements for IELTS scores, some requesting an overall mark, some requesting a minimum mark for each component.
> The Australian Government and many Australian Universities have strict entry scores for IELTS as it is seen overall mark can belie a weakness in a component. Writing is often a difficult exam and is unfortunately the mark they look at when applying for academic study.
> It may be an option for you to strengthen your writing mark as this is what is holding you back from what I can see.
> This may not ease your frustration, but thankfully these tests are available to be re-taken so you can continue to work towards your goals. I would say that is why there is a lot of variation in IELTS results as people tend to improve their skills, then re-take the test.


----------



## shmivvy

Hey Mark,

Have been on 457 visa for 6 months and working with my company for 14 months, however i wish to gain PR so I have a bit more freedom. 
How much will this set myself and my partner back?
Is it possible through direct entry and is it much effort on my employers side as they are very busy at the moment.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## rebamac81

I understand. The system is far from perfect.


----------



## ashelmy

Dear Mark:



I applied for permanent visa 190 and got invited, but I have number of questions:

1) Are colored copies of documents are equal to certified ones? so I can send colored passport, Marriage certificate, family book, ...etc instead of certified ones?
2) I am obese with BMI 35.5, will this impact my chances to get the visa?
3) I am not claiming points for my spouse, but the online application contains entries for her qualification and work experience so I filled them, will I need to upload her qualifications and/or work experience certificates or not?
4) I was advised by other forum to fill form 80 and upload it in advance, is this right?
5) For my work experience, will a letter from my previous employers will be sufficient? or they will need further evidence, as the only further evidence possible are the bank transfers of salary?
6)Shall I send appreciation letters from employer etc? They are not stamped but on the other hand signed on company papers, and some of them has complete company contact information?
7) I was born and lived in Saudi Arabia for 14 years when I was young, but I have not been there for 20 years, will this be a problem (I am from Egypt with only Egyptian nationality)?
8) Do I need to assess my Engineering qualification? It was assessed by ACS as comparable to AFQ Bachelor with computing major?
9) I have MBA, I am not claiming points for, but they asked for highest qualification in application (even if not related to nominated job) so I mentioned it, will this needs to be assessed?
10) Last question:
I was originally assessed by ACS but when applied to nomination (I was having 60 points including the nomination one in my EOI), the nominator mentioned that ACS changed rules and now advise on the start date of skilled employment, so he asked for new report, I applied for another assessment and get new report on 3rd March and submitted it to him where my skilled employment dropped from 8 to 6 years, however during the assessment period, I got new all band 7 IELTS score on 18th January, so over all my points score increased to 65 point (including nomination ones). I notified nominator about this, and he was ok and advised that I am still eligible for nomination, he then asked me to modify EOI, so I modified it and submitted it with date of 14 March, where he nominated me and I received and lodged an application.

Will this be a problem?


----------



## jeanninec

jeanninec said:


> Thanks, Mark!
> 
> There are 2 online forms for the sc300?? I missed that when I began filling one out...how do I know which one to choose?
> 
> Thank you again, you've been so helpful.
> 
> Jeannine


just a p.s. - I received a response for the Dept of Immigration that I do not need to complete the 80 form any longer, only the online sc300 form.


----------



## Duszek

Hi Mark,

I lodged my application online for PMV 300, and it's not so clear for me. I'm applying from UK but I'm from Poland.

My application is submitted so I can start attaching documents, and now I need some help and answers.

1. Do I need to do my medical examination and checks now? or wait til I'll be asked to do it?
2. And what about criminal history? I live in UK over 12 months and I lived also in Poland. Do I need my criminal history to be checked in both countries? and also Do I need to do it now, while my application is processing or wait for contact from Embassy?

I attached tons of photos, our tickets for flights, bank statements of our joint bank account, certified copies of our passports, birth certs, and I'm going to attach our rent contract that is signed by both of us, waiting for our friends to fill form about relationship witnesses, and I want to know if i missed something important. We are engaged from 7th of November but we live in de facto relationship from April 2013 so almost a year.

Thanks for your help Mark!


----------



## student57319

Hi Mark, I hope you can help us with this. Here's our situation.

My partner lodged an application onshore for a substantive student visa (573) last week. But we have to travel outside Australia on April 1 and be back on April 28. But his previous visa will expire on April 11. So what he did is he applied for a Bridging Visa B yesterday and it got approved. So he can still come back here on April 28 while waiting for the Student visa application. And today, he received an email from the department asking for his health assessment. So he scheduled a medical on 26 of March. But on the letter it is also stated that

"For an application lodged onshore, you should not Depart Australia until a decision has been made on your current student visa application until you receive notification of the grant of your student visa. If you choose to depart Australia before your visa is granted, you may need to withdraw this application and lodge a new visa application off-shore"

What does this actually mean? He can not leave Australia now even if he's been approved of a Bridging Visa B? or is it just a standard part of the email assuming that he has no bridging B and his visa will expire soon? I hope you can help us with this. Thanks in advance.


----------



## enjoyIncubus

Mark, 
I'm a teacher and I've applied for a few jobs for Queensland Education. 
Just wondering if you've ever heard of any State Education Departments sponsoring and/or paying for a migrant visa? If so, is this typically only for regional areas? Let me know if you have any experience with this. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Giver -

I don't see a problem - once a person is granted permanent residency in Australia, unless that application was fraudulent (ie, fake or ended marriage at the time of application or up until visa grant), the immigration dept doesn't care or have any interest in what happens after you are granted PR. The requirement for you to be married ended when the PR was granted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



giver said:


> Hie Mark
> 
> I had posted this as a topic and had gotten a reply but wanted to confirm with you as you are an expert. I hope you can shed some light on this and guide me in the right direction.
> 
> "Me and my husband applied and received VE subclass 176 in 2011.
> We did our validation of visa the following december, before the deadline, but neither of us have moved to Australia, but were planning on doing so.
> He was the main applicant and I am the secondary applicant.
> 
> We are now in the process of getting divorced, 3 years after the PR was granted. I have searched and found out that since my visa has been validated and obviously this was NOT a marriage for the visa, we had been married 7 years, 3 of which were before the visa was issues. But my question is, that is there any way he can get the visa cancelled?
> 
> I read about the change of circumstances document which says the following
> 
> You do not have to notify the department of any changes in
> your circumstances that occurred:
> • after you were granted your visa (if you applied for your visa
> in Australia); or
> • after you have been immigration cleared (if you applied for
> your visa outside Australia).
> Use this form to notify the department of any changes in
> your circumstances that affect any answers on your application
> form.
> 
> You should use form 1023 Notification of incorrect
> answer(s) if you wish to notify the department that you have
> supplied it with any incorrect information.
> You must answer all questions on this form.
> 
> So that is a sigh of relief BUT at the same time it also says this.
> 
> • If you have been granted a visa, the information you provide
> on this form will be taken into account in deciding whether
> the visa should be cancelled
> 
> This is my worry. Is there a chance that he can try to imperil my chances of moving there? What if he uses the change of circumstances form and informs them?
> 
> What would happen with regards to that?
> 
> I am planning on moving to Australia within the next year, before my PR expires and begin a new life there. But do not want it derailed by this scum bag and I know that he is capable of doing anything.
> 
> Any professional input or opinion in this matter would be appreciated.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivienne -

Direct entry to the ENS or RSMS streams may be possible if your employer is willing to nominate you for the visa - it is not something they are required to do. Re: expense, assuming you are a single applicant, the visa application fee from DIBP for an ENS (subclass 186) visa is $3,520 and the nomination fee is $540 for the employer, plus the cost of a migration agent if you choose to use one to prepare the documents. Direct Entry requires 3 years documented paid experience in your occupation, a positive skills assessment, and IELTS of at least 6 on each band, plus other requirements you can learn more about on the DIBP website.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shmivvy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> i've been on a 457 visa for 6 months and working with my company for a 14 months. I'd like to gain PR so I would have more freedom and be able to switch employers if I decide to. I know i can apply via the direct entry but my question is a) is it possible? I'm currently on a 457 Client Services Manager and b) is it an expensive process?
> 
> Vivienne


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dipiksg82 -

If the immigration dept asked agents like myself what could be improved for better/faster/more accurate results, I'd have a list a mile long of things  However immigration laws take a lot of effort to change, and there has to be substantial support from stakeholders to do so in many cases. Problem is, there is no advocacy group for visa applicants, no union, no trade organisation, etc - everybody focuses essentially on their own application, and once it's done their interest in immigration matters ends.

Wish I had better news! You can always write to the minister, Scott Morrison, with your views.

Best,

Mark Northam



dipiksg82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Recently I went through very interesting documents named Review of implementation of alternative English language proficiency tests in Student visa programme and chapter 3 of migration in Australia, both are uploaded on immigration department website
> 
> According to that IELTS is inferior to TOEFL when it comes to consistency of results.
> People who took IELTS twice or more the results were in correlation only 0.7 times whereas for TOEFL the correlation was 0.9.
> 
> Whilst TOEFL is not only better but its also cheaper at the same time then how come there department has too much affinity / inclination towards IELTS immigration and student visa???
> 
> Best exams of IELTS results being faulty or having discrepancies will be me.
> 
> I have got 8 bands overall in an ielts test however I get 0 points for immigration purposes as per the present points based skilled immigration.
> 
> Speaking 7.5, Reading 8.5, Listening 8.5 and writing 6.5.
> 
> Seek you personal opinion as to what better can be done by immigration department for selecting English tests and right candidates for immigration!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yaweeh -

Thanks for the question - can you tell me what country you are a citizen of? That can come into play in some circumstances as it determines your assessment level for student visa applications.

Best,

Mark Northam



Yaweeh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to know whether I can take my wife to Australia with me as a dependent visa or not.
> 
> I'm an international student currently studying master of public health at La Trobe Uni, Melbourne. I will finish my course at the end of this year and my student visa (subclass 573) will expire at 15/03/2015 . Now I intend to take my wife as a dependent visa to Australia. However, my immigrant agent said that the DIAC will refuse to grant visa for my wife because I only have under 1 year left of studying in Australia. Could you please confirm that information? If yes, is there any solution for me?
> 
> Thanks for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the questions - responses below (**):



ashelmy said:


> Dear Mark:
> 
> I applied for permanent visa 190 and got invited, but I have number of questions:
> 
> 1) Are colored copies of documents are equal to certified ones? so I can send colored passport, Marriage certificate, family book, ...etc instead of certified ones?
> ** High quality colour scans uploaded are now acceptable to DIBP.
> 
> 2) I am obese with BMI 35.5, will this impact my chances to get the visa?
> ** It may depending on the results of your medical exam and the judgment of the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth.
> 
> 3) I am not claiming points for my spouse, but the online application contains entries for her qualification and work experience so I filled them, will I need to upload her qualifications and/or work experience certificates or not?
> ** No, as long as you are not claiming points for her.
> 
> 4) I was advised by other forum to fill form 80 and upload it in advance, is this right?
> ** Correct - complete, sign, scan and upload along with your other supporting docs.
> 
> 5) For my work experience, will a letter from my previous employers will be sufficient? or they will need further evidence, as the only further evidence possible are the bank transfers of salary?
> ** If you are claiming points for work experience, be ready to provide evidence you were paid for that work - ie, tax records, bank stmts, payslips, etc. Then provide whatever DIBP asks for.
> 
> 6)Shall I send appreciation letters from employer etc? They are not stamped but on the other hand signed on company papers, and some of them has complete company contact information?
> ** As long as you have good work experience letters, letters of thanks, etc are not necessary.
> 
> 7) I was born and lived in Saudi Arabia for 14 years when I was young, but I have not been there for 20 years, will this be a problem (I am from Egypt with only Egyptian nationality)?
> ** No way to predict - potentially external security checks, etc could slow things down a bit as a result if they run things for both countries.
> 
> 8) Do I need to assess my Engineering qualification? It was assessed by ACS as comparable to AFQ Bachelor with computing major?
> ** If ACS has already assessed it, that should be sufficient assuming ACS is the skills assessor for your nominated occupation.
> 
> 9) I have MBA, I am not claiming points for, but they asked for highest qualification in application (even if not related to nominated job) so I mentioned it, will this needs to be assessed?
> ** Nope.
> 
> 10) Last question:
> I was originally assessed by ACS but when applied to nomination (I was having 60 points including the nomination one in my EOI), the nominator mentioned that ACS changed rules and now advise on the start date of skilled employment, so he asked for new report, I applied for another assessment and get new report on 3rd March and submitted it to him where my skilled employment dropped from 8 to 6 years, however during the assessment period, I got new all band 7 IELTS score on 18th January, so over all my points score increased to 65 point (including nomination ones). I notified nominator about this, and he was ok and advised that I am still eligible for nomination, he then asked me to modify EOI, so I modified it and submitted it with date of 14 March, where he nominated me and I received and lodged an application.
> 
> Will this be a problem?
> 
> ** Not that I can see, as long as you can justify with evidence all points as of the date of invitation from DIBP - that's the key date when the EOI is locked.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jeannine -

That's great news! First I've heard about it, but will check with some folks about this on Monday. As SC300 visas are processed by offshore posts, however, the policy may be different from one post to another as it is with some other additional documents. Can you clarify which post is processing your application?

Thanks for the info -

Best,

Mark Northam



jeanninec said:


> just a p.s. - I received a response for the Dept of Immigration that I do not need to complete the 80 form any longer, only the online sc300 form.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Duszek -

Thanks for the questions. Now that you've lodged your application, would suggest waiting for an invitation to take the medicals. Re: police, you'll need certificates from all countries you lived in for 12 months or longer during the last 10 years (since age 16). You should get the police certificates ASAP and upload high quality colour scans of them to your online application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Duszek said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I lodged my application online for PMV 300, and it's not so clear for me. I'm applying from UK but I'm from Poland.
> 
> My application is submitted so I can start attaching documents, and now I need some help and answers.
> 
> 1. Do I need to do my medical examination and checks now? or wait til I'll be asked to do it?
> 2. And what about criminal history? I live in UK over 12 months and I lived also in Poland. Do I need my criminal history to be checked in both countries? and also Do I need to do it now, while my application is processing or wait for contact from Embassy?
> 
> I attached tons of photos, our tickets for flights, bank statements of our joint bank account, certified copies of our passports, birth certs, and I'm going to attach our rent contract that is signed by both of us, waiting for our friends to fill form about relationship witnesses, and I want to know if i missed something important. We are engaged from 7th of November but we live in de facto relationship from April 2013 so almost a year.
> 
> Thanks for your help Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Student57319 -

I don't know of any policy that would allow DIBP to do this, other than the requirement that if the application was lodged in Australia, the applicant must be in Australia at the time of visa grant. With PR visas DIBP normally gives some notice when they are ready to grant to allow the applicant to return to Australia if necessary, and with temporary visas like the student visa I suppose they could not extend this courtesy and simply refuse the visa if you are offshore at the time they decide to grant it, but that's a discretion on the part of the case officer. Given that student visas can take from 2 weeks to 3+ months to be granted, it would be nice if they gave some notice in terms of when they are ready to grant it, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



student57319 said:


> Hi Mark, I hope you can help us with this. Here's our situation.
> 
> My partner lodged an application onshore for a substantive student visa (573) last week. But we have to travel outside Australia on April 1 and be back on April 28. But his previous visa will expire on April 11. So what he did is he applied for a Bridging Visa B yesterday and it got approved. So he can still come back here on April 28 while waiting for the Student visa application. And today, he received an email from the department asking for his health assessment. So he scheduled a medical on 26 of March. But on the letter it is also stated that
> 
> "For an application lodged onshore, you should not Depart Australia until a decision has been made on your current student visa application until you receive notification of the grant of your student visa. If you choose to depart Australia before your visa is granted, you may need to withdraw this application and lodge a new visa application off-shore"
> 
> What does this actually mean? He can not leave Australia now even if he's been approved of a Bridging Visa B? or is it just a standard part of the email assuming that he has no bridging B and his visa will expire soon? I hope you can help us with this. Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

From what I know, this most often happens in regional areas unless there is a special need for a particular type of teacher that cannot be met from Australian citizens and PR who apply for the job opening, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enjoyIncubus said:


> Mark,
> I'm a teacher and I've applied for a few jobs for Queensland Education.
> Just wondering if you've ever heard of any State Education Departments sponsoring and/or paying for a migrant visa? If so, is this typically only for regional areas? Let me know if you have any experience with this. Thanks!


----------



## ashelmy

Dear Mark:

Thanks a lot for your prompt response and assistance. Just couple more questions:

1) If I am not claiming points for my MBA, but mentioned it as my highest qualification (it is not related to my designated job), do I need to submit evidence of it?
2) I have some work experience that is not assessed by ACS nor I am claiming points for as I do not have evidence of them (they were in small local business), should I mention them in form 80 (where all employment since graduation is required) or not? If yes, will they require evidence for them?
3) Regarding my obesity problem, if my healthchecks are ok, will this be sufficient or they still may reject me because as being obese, I may have health problems in future?

Thanks Again for your continued support


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashelmy -

Thanks for the follow-up questions - see responses below:



ashelmy said:


> Dear Mark:
> 
> Thanks a lot for your prompt response and assistance. Just couple more questions:
> 
> 1) If I am not claiming points for my MBA, but mentioned it as my highest qualification (it is not related to my designated job), do I need to submit evidence of it?
> ** Not unless they ask for it.
> 
> 2) I have some work experience that is not assessed by ACS nor I am claiming points for as I do not have evidence of them (they were in small local business), should I mention them in form 80 (where all employment since graduation is required) or not? If yes, will they require evidence for them?
> ** Yes you should include it in Form 80, but you won't be required to provide evidence.
> 
> 3) Regarding my obesity problem, if my healthchecks are ok, will this be sufficient or they still may reject me because as being obese, I may have health problems in future?
> ** Part of the health check is an assessment of your estimated future medical cost to the Commonwealth based on a variety of measurements and tests including BMI, so if the obesity issues is there, it would show up as part of the medical exam process.
> 
> Thanks Again for your continued support


Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Yaweeh

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply, I'm from Vietnam.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Yaweeh -
> 
> Thanks for the question - can you tell me what country you are a citizen of? That can come into play in some circumstances as it determines your assessment level for student visa applications.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam





Yaweeh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to know whether I can take my wife to Australia with me as a dependent visa or not.
> 
> I'm an international student currently studying master of public health at La Trobe Uni, Melbourne. I will finish my course at the end of this year and my student visa (subclass 573) will expire at 15/03/2015 . Now I intend to take my wife as a dependent visa to Australia. However, my immigrant agent said that the DIAC will refuse to grant visa for my wife because I only have under 1 year left of studying in Australia. Could you please confirm that information? If yes, is there any solution for me?
> 
> Thanks for your help


----------



## Duszek

Thank you Mark for you quick response.

Unfortunately in Poland you can only get your criminal history check done in person and I need to show with me my ID. There is no option to do it online or by mail. 

I have criminal history checked but I did it when I was in Poland on 27/08/2013. Do you think I can use that one or I need to take a flight all the way there just to get newer one?

Thanks heaps for your help. I really appreciate it.


----------



## giver

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Giver -
> 
> I don't see a problem - once a person is granted permanent residency in Australia, unless that application was fraudulent (ie, fake or ended marriage at the time of application or up until visa grant), the immigration dept doesn't care or have any interest in what happens after you are granted PR. The requirement for you to be married ended when the PR was granted.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much for your prompt response. It is REALLY appreciated!


----------



## ashelmy

Dear Mark: 

I am really grateful for your kind support and prompt answer, I know I am asking a lot but this will be the last ones.

In fact I did not understand answer to question three. May be I was not clear enough in my question:

What I mean is that if they discovered I am obese and asked for additional checks like diabetic, blood pressure, heart, ..etc and their results were all ok, will I then satisfy health requirements, or by being obese, I had little chance of success anyway?

One final point, In my ACS assessment, I provided them with more than 9 years of experience (3 from my previous employer and more than 6 from my current one) however, they deducted 4 years from my experience (when emailed them they mentioned that my bachelor although with major in computing is not so close related to job code), so (although they mentioned both employer and experiences years in assessment letter, they only considered my skilled employment starting form july 2008 which is with my current employer)

My question is:

Do I need to provide evidence for both my employments or only my current one? This is because my bank charges a lot of money per each month of bank transfer reports?

Thanks again and sorry for keep asking.


----------



## bravo189

Hi Mark,

Did you get chance to see my query?

Thanks



bravo189 said:


> Thanks Mark. This will help.
> 
> I have another query. CO has been assigned to my visa. They asked Australian Employment references. Since my employer was not ready to give details in company letter head, I have submitted Statutory declaration from my supervisor with all details.
> 
> Shall i submit the same document again, is that sufficient?


----------



## Aipear

Hi, Mark. Thank you for this opportunity.
I would like to ask you some questions about my condition.

I applied for a partner visa(subclass 820) in June last year and i renewed my passport recently.
I went to Cairns immigration office to update my passport details and I've done that.
My visa meant to change from working holiday visa to bridging visa A yesterday but it hasn't changed.
Does it mean my visa and passport are not connected? Is this problem solve if I sent form 929 to visa processing centre? I am so worried.


----------



## Niggy

*New here, need some help plz!*

Hi Mark, How u doing?
First of all I would like to thank you for your great efforts and support here I really deeply appreciated..

Well about me I have been interesting to immigrate to OZ for along time but just few months back I started searching and looking for related immigration information. I can say i have a very good overview about the whole thing but of course there are still some unclear points which i hope you could clarify them to me.

*Brief info about me:*
I'm 31 yrs Eritrean (from Eritrea) born & living in Saudi Arabia.
Married with no kids.
I got degree in Information Systems from Sudan.
I work as IT support Engineer with +6 yrs exp in IT roles. I got MCSE, MCSA, MCTS & MCP.
I have my aunt who is living in Melbourne with her family for over 20 yrs.

*Questions!!!!!!!!*
1)	what is the most likely visa type for people like me(suits me and have high chances)?

2)	Can I be sponsored by my aunt? What are the criteria to be eligible Australian citizen to sponsor someone?

3)	Can I apply for several states nominations at a time? What would happen if I refuse a state nomination?

4)	For the range of visas the suit me should I have to have a specific amount in my bank account in order to be granted a visa?

5)	If I got an invitation what are the chances (in percentage) to be granted a visa? (assuming that my EOI info & skills are true and correct)

6)	For the ACS skills assessment one of the rules regarding the job reference is to have a START and END date on it (to-date/Present is not acceptable!!). How can I then add my current job?

7)	If I started my EOI application today and submitted it after 1 month? For how long it will be valid then? 24 months OR 23 months??

Sorry for my big list of questions and I understand if you couldn't answer some of them ;-)

Thank you very so much in advance..

Regards,
Niggy


----------



## Kkkk

*457 visa*

Hi mark.

I m under the process of 457 .. only sponsor application is submitted on 3rd March. . Co is allocated and he has called up employer about his business and me as well .
Co allocated on 10 march.called on 18th march

Any expectation when can get response from department.

My nomination and visa application is still pending to submit.

Would appreciate your help to answer on this..

thanks ..


----------



## Kkkk

*457 visa*

Hi mark.

I m under the process of 457 .. only sponsor application is submitted on 3rd March. . Co is allocated and he has called up employer about his business and me as well .

Any expectation when can get response from department.

My nomination and visa application is still pending to submit.

Would appreciate your help to answer on this..

thanks ..


----------



## ady90

Hi Mark! Mish recommended that I relay to you my concern if my boyfriend-soon to be fiance and I are ready for the Prospective Marriage Visa Subclass 300.

Some facts:

-We have been in a relationship for three years, going four this October. We met in 2009 via gaming forum and have been best buds for a year before we got into a romantic relationship.
-We met only twice in a span of 3 years. In 2012, 5 days in Hong Kong with his family. And in 2013, 6 days in Hong Kong with my family.
-He's coming over in August this year to spend time with me for a month or two and to hold our engagement party.
-He's a student and will graduate from uni this July, while I'm a freelance writer. He's turning 22 and I'm turning 24.
-We weren't able to meet much because he's busy with uni work and part time F&B attendant work. Fund constraints are also an issue. I never tried applying for tourist visa to Australia again because I got rejected in 2011. However, we talk every single day in Skype and spend quality time together, albeit not in real life.
-We are still starting out, career wise, and we don't consider ourselves having a "foundation" yet. If having a hefty bank account is a requirement for PMV, we won't qualify.

Hope you can advice us whether or not we're ready to push through with the application. And other measures we should take, if any. We're aiming to lodge our application early 2015. If you have other questions, feel free to ask. Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Duszek -

I'd go with that one and hope they can use it. If they insist on another one, if you have not been back to Poland since the previous one was issued (this can be proven with your passport and travel records), they may be willing to waive the requirement for you to get another one... depends on the circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Duszek said:


> Thank you Mark for you quick response.
> 
> Unfortunately in Poland you can only get your criminal history check done in person and I need to show with me my ID. There is no option to do it online or by mail.
> 
> I have criminal history checked but I did it when I was in Poland on 27/08/2013. Do you think I can use that one or I need to take a flight all the way there just to get newer one?
> 
> Thanks heaps for your help. I really appreciate it.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashelmy -

While there's a small chance they may only ask for pay receipts for the portion of employment that you are claiming points for (ie, occurred after you were deemed as skilled), I'd estimate 70-80% chance they will ask you for pay slips from all skilled employment in your occupation, including the employment you used to satisfy the additional employment requirement that ACS has.

Re: the health criteria, it's not a simple formula or set of rules - the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) looks at the entire range of results and assesses the big picture. Here's a link to a document that addresses BMI specifically (see pg 28) - this is dated 2008 - not sure how much it has been updated since but it should give you some idea of the assessment procedures:

http://www.immi.gov.au/gateways/pan...s/panel-doctor-instructions-vers-jan-2008.pdf

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashelmy said:


> Dear Mark:
> 
> I am really grateful for your kind support and prompt answer, I know I am asking a lot but this will be the last ones.
> 
> In fact I did not understand answer to question three. May be I was not clear enough in my question:
> 
> What I mean is that if they discovered I am obese and asked for additional checks like diabetic, blood pressure, heart, ..etc and their results were all ok, will I then satisfy health requirements, or by being obese, I had little chance of success anyway?
> 
> One final point, In my ACS assessment, I provided them with more than 9 years of experience (3 from my previous employer and more than 6 from my current one) however, they deducted 4 years from my experience (when emailed them they mentioned that my bachelor although with major in computing is not so close related to job code), so (although they mentioned both employer and experiences years in assessment letter, they only considered my skilled employment starting form july 2008 which is with my current employer)
> 
> My question is:
> 
> Do I need to provide evidence for both my employments or only my current one? This is because my bank charges a lot of money per each month of bank transfer reports?
> 
> Thanks again and sorry for keep asking.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bravo189 -

Sorry - I may have missed that - you referred to previously submitting stat decs - was that to the skills assessment authority, or to DIBP?

Best,

Mark Northam



bravo189 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Did you get chance to see my query?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aipear -

Thanks for the question. DIBP has been doing a major upgrade to their systems over this weekend so that could be the problem - it could also be that your new passport is not completely linked to your immigration records, or could be something else (ie, DIBP systems showed you offshore at lodgement so no bridging visa originally issued). Also, if you've departed Australia and re-entered since you were originally granted the BV-A, unless you applied for and were granted a BV-B for the trip, the BV-A would have ceased upon exit from Australia whether it was active or not.

Bottom line: you need to contact DIBP and sort out what's happening with your bridging visa - you might also check VEVO tonight and tomorrow (Monday) morning to see if there are any changes there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aipear said:


> Hi, Mark. Thank you for this opportunity.
> I would like to ask you some questions about my condition.
> 
> I applied for a partner visa(subclass 820) in June last year and i renewed my passport recently.
> I went to Cairns immigration office to update my passport details and I've done that.
> My visa meant to change from working holiday visa to bridging visa A yesterday but it hasn't changed.
> Does it mean my visa and passport are not connected? Is this problem solve if I sent form 929 to visa processing centre? I am so worried.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Niggy -

Thanks for the questions - I'll do my best. However overall, I can't give you any specific migration advice for your case as I am not familiar with all the details of your case - there are 100's of things that can factor in to a visa application, from schools that are unaccredited to work experience gained pre-qualification and so many others - the regulations between the state sponsorship, skills assessors and DIBP represent 3 different complex sets of regulations that applicants need to navigate through - that's why there's no such thing as a quick/simple assessment of the question "am I eligible" (at least if the assessment is done correctly) - we offer professional assessments on our website that provide the time & resources to go through an applicant's case in detail to determine exactly which visa(s) an applicant is the best fit for and much more.

Please see responses below:



Niggy said:


> Hi Mark, How u doing?
> First of all I would like to thank you for your great efforts and support here I really deeply appreciated..
> 
> Well about me I have been interesting to immigrate to OZ for along time but just few months back I started searching and looking for related immigration information. I can say i have a very good overview about the whole thing but of course there are still some unclear points which i hope you could clarify them to me.
> 
> *Brief info about me:*
> I'm 31 yrs Eritrean (from Eritrea) born & living in Saudi Arabia.
> Married with no kids.
> I got degree in Information Systems from Sudan.
> I work as IT support Engineer with +6 yrs exp in IT roles. I got MCSE, MCSA, MCTS & MCP.
> I have my aunt who is living in Melbourne with her family for over 20 yrs.
> 
> *Questions!!!!!!!!*
> 1)	what is the most likely visa type for people like me(suits me and have high chances)?
> *** Probably a skilled visa (subclass 489, 190 if your specific IT occupation is on the CSOL list, or maybe 189 if your occupation is on the SOL list. These do not require an employer to sponsor you - if you do have an employer ready to sponsor you, then the 457, 186 or 187 visas might be of interest.
> 
> 2)	Can I be sponsored by my aunt? What are the criteria to be eligible Australian citizen to sponsor someone?
> *** Re: skilled/employment visas, only for the 489, and it's not a quick process - you can look at the 489 visa on the DIBP site (Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection) for complete details.
> 
> 3)	Can I apply for several states nominations at a time? What would happen if I refuse a state nomination?
> *** Yes. Some states bar you from future applications if you refuse a nomination.
> 
> 4)	For the range of visas the suit me should I have to have a specific amount in my bank account in order to be granted a visa?
> *** DIBP doesn't have requirements in this area, but many of the states do if you're looking at a state sponsored skilled visa (489, 190). Amount depends on the state.
> 
> 5)	If I got an invitation what are the chances (in percentage) to be granted a visa? (assuming that my EOI info & skills are true and correct)
> *** Impossible to tell - there are many things that can cause a visa application to go "off the rails" - health issues, character issues, work references don't check out, insufficient evidence of prior work (ie, no payslips), confusion about which work can be claimed for points, and the list goes on... Far better to have all of these things checked out in advance when you lodge your EOI since the EOI is locked upon invitation.
> 
> 6)	For the ACS skills assessment one of the rules regarding the job reference is to have a START and END date on it (to-date/Present is not acceptable!!). How can I then add my current job?
> *** Most people put their current job on the ACS application with an end date of the day before the skills assessment application is lodged, etc. As long as you stay at that job until you lodge your visa application after invitation, a letter from the company on company letterhead confirming that you have remained at the same job that was previously assessed by ACS is usually sufficient to be able to claim points for work experience in that job up until the point of invitation. The key is to have some period of time at that job assessed by ACS, even if you work at the job after you send off the ACS application.
> 
> 7)	If I started my EOI application today and submitted it after 1 month? For how long it will be valid then? 24 months OR 23 months??
> *** The 24 month time limit starts when you submit it.
> 
> Sorry for my big list of questions and I understand if you couldn't answer some of them ;-)
> 
> Thank you very so much in advance..
> 
> Regards,
> Niggy


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kkkk -

Typically 457 sponsorship applications are decided in 3-4 weeks unless more info is needed or there are concerns about some aspect of the company. It's a bit unusual for DIBP to contact both the employee and the employer in regards to a sponsorship application - to me this indicates that they may have concerns or need further information in order to make a decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kkkk said:


> Hi mark.
> 
> I m under the process of 457 .. only sponsor application is submitted on 3rd March. . Co is allocated and he has called up employer about his business and me as well .
> Co allocated on 10 march.called on 18th march
> 
> Any expectation when can get response from department.
> 
> My nomination and visa application is still pending to submit.
> 
> Would appreciate your help to answer on this..
> 
> thanks ..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ady90 -

I think you're on the right track, and as we say in Australia, "good on you!" for thinking ahead and planning now for what you can do down the road later this year to make things work better for your application in 2015.

While now would likely be too early given the short amount of time you've been together, after you spend a couple of months together later this year, that should be sufficient opportunity to build up some good relationship evidence. I'd download the DIBP Partner Visa Booklet and/or look at the relationship evidence threads here on the forum to learn more about the types of relationship evidence that can be helpful.

Re: income/funds, there are no specific requirements for any particular amount of savings, etc, however they will look for the sponsor to have some sort of financial capability, even if that is provided by a third party (often is parents for young people just out of school, etc). They essentially want to see that the sponsor would have some way to provide financial support to the applicant, but it's a very general requirement and there are often many ways to satisfy it. For instance, even people on pensions (disability, low income, etc) are able to sponsor depending on the specifics.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your application!

Best,

Mark Northam



ady90 said:


> Hi Mark! Mish recommended that I relay to you my concern if my boyfriend-soon to be fiance and I are ready for the Prospective Marriage Visa Subclass 300.
> 
> Some facts:
> 
> -We have been in a relationship for three years, going four this October. We met in 2009 via gaming forum and have been best buds for a year before we got into a romantic relationship.
> -We met only twice in a span of 3 years. In 2012, 5 days in Hong Kong with his family. And in 2013, 6 days in Hong Kong with my family.
> -He's coming over in August this year to spend time with me for a month or two and to hold our engagement party.
> -He's a student and will graduate from uni this July, while I'm a freelance writer. He's turning 22 and I'm turning 24.
> -We weren't able to meet much because he's busy with uni work and part time F&B attendant work. Fund constraints are also an issue. I never tried applying for tourist visa to Australia again because I got rejected in 2011. However, we talk every single day in Skype and spend quality time together, albeit not in real life.
> -We are still starting out, career wise, and we don't consider ourselves having a "foundation" yet. If having a hefty bank account is a requirement for PMV, we won't qualify.
> 
> Hope you can advice us whether or not we're ready to push through with the application. And other measures we should take, if any. We're aiming to lodge our application early 2015. If you have other questions, feel free to ask. Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yaweeh -

Thanks for that - for student visa holders, there is some specific policy that governs the time during which a person can add on a subsequent entrant to their visa. Normally the 52 week rule (ie, if course of study is less than 52 weeks) covers assessment level 3 (AL3) applications, however 573 applicants from Vietnam are assessed at AL2 (better!). Here's some relevant policy from DIBP:

_Subsequent entrant

Family unit members of AL 3 subclass 570-575 students who are applying for, or have been granted, another student visa based on a course that is less than 52 weeks duration are eligible to accompany the student to Australia provided that:

the course the student has nominated in the new student visa application, or the current student visa, is the same course as, or a continuation of, the course that was associated with the student's previous visa and
the total duration of the course or combined courses of study as registered on CRICOS is 52 weeks or more or
the student (primary applicant) has been lawfully in Australia for 12 months.

This means the 52 week period should be calculated based on the cumulative duration of the course or combined courses of study rather than the length of time remaining in the new student visa that has been granted, or that will be granted, to the primary applicant (see 57x.322(b)(iii)(A)).
_

Now, there may also be other policy that can affect this, and a local registered migration agent in your home country may have more "real-life" experience regarding, for instance, whether DIBP may use the "genuine temporary entrant" policy as a tool to refuse applicants where the amount of time remaining on the student visa is less than 12 months. So local "practices" may come into play here that are not expressed in official policy - not sure.

Also note that there is policy regarding if you were married when the student visa application was originally made and you did not declare your wife on the application - that's another entire area, but the short answer is that if you were married at the time of previous application and a partner was not declared, it can mean the partner cannot lodge a valid subsequent entrant application to be added onto the partner's existing student visa. If you were married AFTER the previous student visa application, there is an exception on policy to this.

Finally, it's a shame that migration law has to be so complicated in this area - with different assessment levels depending on the country and type of school, and policy then applying only to certain assessment levels, the result is an incredibly complex system re: student visas. Add on the vague "genuine temporary entrant" requirements where a visa can be refused solely based on what the case officer thinks the applicant "might do" in Australia and the result is a complicated, unpredictable system.

Hope this helps in any case -

Best,

Mark Northam



Yaweeh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply, I'm from Vietnam.


----------



## Kkkk

Thanks mark... for your quick response. ..

when I asked my agent that is it a positive sign. .. he said 
yes of course .they gonna enquire all....


but thanks for reply... hopefully I get better response


----------



## forestwood

*Agent needed--URGENT*

Hi Mark,
I've seen you here patiently answering all kinds of questions for people. That's really nice! I have an agent now but I'm very unhappy with him. You probably remember the thread I posted the other day saying my agent insists on paper lodging instead of lodging online and you have given me suggestions there. I have two questions hopefully I would get your reply:
1 If you have a client for whom you are lodging the visa do you charge them when they want to see you and how much is that?
Because when I required to meet with my agent whom I have paid half the fee, he asked for $200 per hour consultation fee and I basically just wanted to go through the documents before he lodges my application. But maybe I don't know the rule here maybe every agent charges that.

2 I'm thinking to go to my agent asking for a refund tomorrow (it is quite unlikely he's not going to refund any but we'll still try)and get all my documents back. I wonder whether it's possible you would help us out. I really need someone who's more trustworthy like you. 
The current stage is : Except for the health check and police check, we have all the documents in paper already. Please let us know whether you would like to help us and if possible give us an estimated price.

Looking forward to your reply!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Forestwood -

Just responded on your other thread and now saw this - I would be very happy to help you. To address your questions, if we are representing a client and preparing their application, I'm more than happy to have meetings with them to answer questions and make sure they're happy and we're all on track and on the same page - no extra charge for meetings!

Re: price, I would need to see your documents, forms, relationship evidence and statements - if they need more work before lodging (statements often do), that will affect the amount of work/time we would need to put into the job - simply put, I won't let a client lodge an application that is not as good and effective as it can be - it would be a disservice to do otherwise.

I will email you directly at your email to follow up - looking forward to assisting you.

Best,

Mark Northam



forestwood said:


> Hi Mark,
> I've seen you here patiently answering all kinds of questions for people. That's really nice! I have an agent now but I'm very unhappy with him. You probably remember the thread I posted the other day saying my agent insists on paper lodging instead of lodging online and you have given me suggestions there. I have two questions hopefully I would get your reply:
> 1 If you have a client for whom you are lodging the visa do you charge them when they want to see you and how much is that?
> Because when I required to meet with my agent whom I have paid half the fee, he asked for $200 per hour consultation fee and I basically just wanted to go through the documents before he lodges my application. But maybe I don't know the rule here maybe every agent charges that.
> 
> 2 I'm thinking to go to my agent asking for a refund tomorrow (it is quite unlikely he's not going to refund any but we'll still try)and get all my documents back. I wonder whether it's possible you would help us out. I really need someone who's more trustworthy like you.
> The current stage is : Except for the health check and police check, we have all the documents in paper already. Please let us know whether you would like to help us and if possible give us an estimated price.
> 
> Looking forward to your reply!


----------



## forestwood

Thank you very much for your immediate response Mark!
I was almost desperate when I got the email from my agent. But now I feel I can see hope again. Look forwrd to your email.
Love you Mark!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Forestwood -

Glad I can help - have sent you an email.

Bottom line: An applicant's relationship with their migration agent is like a three-legged stool - it must be one built on trust/confidence, accountability, and transparency. If you don't have all three legs strongly in place, then the stool falls over and the relationship is headed for problems.

I look forward to working with you, and thanks for the kind words!

Best,

Mark Northam



forestwood said:


> Thank you very much for your immediate response Mark!
> I was almost desperate when I got the email from my agent. But now I feel I can see hope again. Look forwrd to your email.
> Love you Mark!!


----------



## bravo189

Hi Mark,

This is for 189 visa. CO has been assigned to my visa. They asked Australian Employment references. Since my employer was not ready to give details in company letter head, I have submitted Statutory declaration from my supervisor with all details, my payslips, my PAYG statements, Employer secondment letter.

Is that sufficient? will there be any problem?

For ACS, I have submitted the same statutory dec to get my skills assessment.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bravo189 -
> 
> Sorry - I may have missed that - you referred to previously submitting stat decs - was that to the skills assessment authority, or to DIBP?
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bravo189 -

No way to tell for sure - it will likely depend on whether the case officer is convinced there was a sufficient reason for the company not to provide a reference letter on letterhead. Sometimes DIBP can be more picky about this than the skills assessors, other times not, much depends on the case officer. Since you supplied the additional pay docs, etc, that I suspect will go a long way towards alleviating any concerns the case officer may have - but an important matter is still convincing the case officer that there is a good reason that the company has declined to provide a reference letter on letterhead.

Hope this helps, and best of luck with your application!

Best,

Mark Northam



bravo189 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This is for 189 visa. CO has been assigned to my visa. They asked Australian Employment references. Since my employer was not ready to give details in company letter head, I have submitted Statutory declaration from my supervisor with all details, my payslips, my PAYG statements, Employer secondment letter.
> 
> Is that sufficient? will there be any problem?
> 
> For ACS, I have submitted the same statutory dec to get my skills assessment.


----------



## Niggy

*Re:Thank you*

HI Mark,
I'd like to thank you so much for your time & answers. Your information were clear and so helpful. Things now are much clearer.Thanks to you.

I have some comments on some of your answers:



> _2) Can I be sponsored by my aunt? What are the criteria to be eligible Australian citizen to sponsor someone?
> *** Re: skilled/employment visas, only for the 489, and it's not a quick process - you can look at the 489 visa on the DIBP site (Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection) for complete details._


I might didn't make myself clear in that, what I meant was When is an Australian citizen considered to be eligible to sponsor his relative from overseas? for example: Should my aunt has to got a specific yearly income? Should she have to be living in designated area? etc..



> _5) If I got an invitation what are the chances (in percentage) to be granted a visa? (assuming that my EOI info & skills are true and correct)
> *** Impossible to tell - there are many things that can cause a visa application to go "off the rails" - health issues, character issues, work references don't check out, insufficient evidence of prior work (ie, no payslips), confusion about which work can be claimed for points, and the list goes on... Far better to have all of these things checked out in advance when you lodge your EOI since the EOI is locked upon invitation._


I understand that a visa application is a very complex process and has a lot of different criteria & measures. But my question is Imagine If I was able to provide all required evidences and my health & character issues were OK and I fulfill all requirements from the DIBP. Is there going to be a chance for the DIBP to refuse my visa for no reason?

Last thing which is out of what I have asked you before, I'm little confused about the EOI/Visa flow regarding the state nomination and independent skilled visa.
The question is assume I picked the skilled independent visa #190 and applied for EOI, and later got nominated or invited by a state or employer, in this case am I considered independent or sponsored? as I guess that I have to chose the visa type in the EOI application, right?

Appreciate your your help and support..

Regards,
Niggy



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Niggy -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - I'll do my best. However overall, I can't give you any specific migration advice for your case as I am not familiar with all the details of your case - there are 100's of things that can factor in to a visa application, from schools that are unaccredited to work experience gained pre-qualification and so many others - the regulations between the state sponsorship, skills assessors and DIBP represent 3 different complex sets of regulations that applicants need to navigate through - that's why there's no such thing as a quick/simple assessment of the question "am I eligible" (at least if the assessment is done correctly) - we offer professional assessments on our website that provide the time & resources to go through an applicant's case in detail to determine exactly which visa(s) an applicant is the best fit for and much more.
> 
> Please see responses below:
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## bravo189

Thank you so much Mark. Fingers crossed. Hoping for the best.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bravo189 -
> 
> No way to tell for sure - it will likely depend on whether the case officer is convinced there was a sufficient reason for the company not to provide a reference letter on letterhead. Sometimes DIBP can be more picky about this than the skills assessors, other times not, much depends on the case officer. Since you supplied the additional pay docs, etc, that I suspect will go a long way towards alleviating any concerns the case officer may have - but an important matter is still convincing the case officer that there is a good reason that the company has declined to provide a reference letter on letterhead.
> 
> Hope this helps, and best of luck with your application!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Kkkk

Thanks mark ..
just agent informed that immi wants few of the supporting documents ..
Don't know is this positive or not-'?
so he gonna send today..


hopefully things are positive..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Niggy -

Thanks for the follow-up questions - see answers below in ***:



Niggy said:


> HI Mark,
> I'd like to thank you so much for your time & answers. Your information were clear and so helpful. Things now are much clearer.Thanks to you.
> 
> I have some comments on some of your answers:
> 
> I might didn't make myself clear in that, what I meant was When is an Australian citizen considered to be eligible to sponsor his relative from overseas? for example: Should my aunt has to got a specific yearly income? Should she have to be living in designated area? etc..
> *** For the 489 Provisional Sponsored Skilled Visa, she would have to be living in a designated area - you need to check on the DIBP website for the specific requirements for this visa - too many to go into detail here.
> 
> I understand that a visa application is a very complex process and has a lot of different criteria & measures. But my question is Imagine If I was able to provide all required evidences and my health & character issues were OK and I fulfill all requirements from the DIBP. Is there going to be a chance for the DIBP to refuse my visa for no reason?
> *** They always give a reason (they have to) and when words like "genuine" are part of the law, words that can mean anything really, it makes it more difficult to pin them down sometimes to specific things. There are absolutely no guarantees in immigration. Sometimes it comes down to things like the case officer being unsure about whether payslips or other documents are authentic or not, etc. All you can do is to research the legal requirements very carefully, make sure you submit every bit of paperwork and evidence required, and see how they assess your application. Legally they cannot refuse a visa without a reason, and the best way to avoid refusal is to be incredibly detailed about both your analysis of the legal requirements for the visa you're interested in, and in providing every bit of evidence you can provide to meet each and every requirement.
> 
> Last thing which is out of what I have asked you before, I'm little confused about the EOI/Visa flow regarding the state nomination and independent skilled visa.
> The question is assume I picked the skilled independent visa #190 and applied for EOI, and later got nominated or invited by a state or employer, in this case am I considered independent or sponsored? as I guess that I have to chose the visa type in the EOI application, right?
> 
> ** The 190 is a state sponsored skilled visa, so you would have to be sponsored by an Australian state or territory for this visa. If your occupation is on the SOL (Skilled Occupation List), you could look at a subclass 189 visa which requires no sponsorship and is considered an independent skilled visa.
> 
> Appreciate your your help and support..
> 
> Regards,
> Niggy


Hope this helps!

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kkkk -

Depending on what docs they want, this may very well be a positive sign.

Best,

Mark Northam



Kkkk said:


> Thanks mark ..
> just agent informed that immi wants few of the supporting documents ..
> Don't know is this positive or not-'?
> so he gonna send today..
> 
> hopefully things are positive..


----------



## damperish

*Working holiday visa - study*

Hi Mark

Any chance that the available 4 month study component on a 1st working holiday visa rolls over onto a 2nd working holiday visa, giving a total of 8 months of study?

My girlfriend has been in Australia for 18 months but has only just begun studying, and she has 6 months left on her 2nd working holiday visa.

Will she be able to study for the whole 6 months if she has not studied in the previous 18 months in Australia?

Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Damperish -

Unfortunately no. She gets 4 months of study for each of the two visas, however each 4 month period is limited to the validity period of the specific visa (ie, the first WHM visa, or the second WHM visa) it is a condition of, so no time rolls over onto any future visas.

Sorry I don't have better news on this one!

Best,

Mark Northam



damperish said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Any chance that the available 4 month study component on a 1st working holiday visa rolls over onto a 2nd working holiday visa, giving a total of 8 months of study?
> 
> My girlfriend has been in Australia for 18 months but has only just begun studying, and she has 6 months left on her 2nd working holiday visa.
> 
> Will she be able to study for the whole 6 months if she has not studied in the previous 18 months in Australia?
> 
> Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Oaustra -

Thanks for the note, and congrats for getting through the entire thread! Hope you weren't fast asleep after going through that much migration regulations, etc!

Your question his on an interesting and somewhat controversial area of migration law. While it is a policy directive that visitor visas not be used to accumulate "defacto residence" time in Australia (here not referring to defacto partners, but defacto with the meaning "essentially"), I've never heard of an applicant who has been grilled about time spent here on a visitor visa prior to lodging a partner visa application.

That being said, showing up with a one-way ticket when you're on a visitor visa can lead to questions for obvious reasons by airport personnel, as can a briefcase full of PR visa application papers if they happen to check your luggage. While not quite "don't ask, don't tell", usually with eVisitor and ETA holders, the scrutiny isn't quite as severe. However, repeated entries after very quick time outside Australia (ie, only a weekend) can result in questions at the airport and are seen as a strong indicator of non-temporary visitation of Australia. However once you lodge the partner visa application, it tends to be a different story and they're not too concerned about repeated visits (or previous visits).

In your case, applying for a partner visa on the first stay of an eVisitor visa, in my view, would be very unlikely to attract concern from DIBP. After all, DIBP allows for onshore lodgement of partner visas - how else would one be getting onshore to lodge one? A visitor visa is a very common way to do this, and again, I've never heard of a partner visa applicant being asked to go back in time and explain the circumstances of a previous visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## ultimatenature

Dear Mark

I have been asked by the CO to provide additional information:

"Further evidence of Skilled Employment is required. Please see the original request for documentation for a list of acceptable evidence of skilled employment e.g. payslips, superannuation documentation, taxation documentation, bank statements stating salary deposits that identify the employer etc."

The period of employment was from 2006 to 2010, I have already supplied:
1) Letter of employment
2) Work reference including detailed duty statement.

These are the only two pieces of evidence I have from the Philippines and were listed as acceptable evidence in the original request in which it states a minimum of two pieces of documentation covering the entire time that you are claiming is required. I do not have payslips, bank statements, tax, etc. as that was not provided by my employer in the Philippines.

Should I write to the CO asking them to clarify if the two pieces of listed acceptable evidence I provided are insufficient?

Should I explain that this is all the evidence I have as my former employer does not keep detailed payroll and personnel records of former employees for an extended period?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ultimatenature -

Thanks for the question - this type of request is becoming more and more common. There is no simple or easy answer to this, as it will come down to how critical the case officer believes the additional info is, and whether he/she will accept that you don't have it. Your receiving this letter generally indicates the case officer is not satisfied with the evidence you've provided so far. My view: you need to move heaven and earth to try and find any sort of financial records you may have (bank statements, tax records, anything at all) to show you were paid by that employer during that time period. If you are unable to find it, you may have a chance if you write a letter thoroughly documenting every possible document you tried to find but could not because it doesn't exist anymore, etc. A letter from your previous employer stating that the records do not exist would also be very helpful.

Bottom line: if you're not able to find any records, the employer can't/won't write a letter saying the records don't exist, and the case officer is not thoroughly satisfied that there is no way to get the records, there's a significant chance of refusal.

Wish I had better news for you - time to do some serious research work! Best of luck with this -

Best,

Mark Northam



ultimatenature said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I have been asked by the CO to provide additional information:
> 
> "Further evidence of Skilled Employment is required. Please see the original request for documentation for a list of acceptable evidence of skilled employment e.g. payslips, superannuation documentation, taxation documentation, bank statements stating salary deposits that identify the employer etc."
> 
> The period of employment was from 2006 to 2010, I have already supplied:
> 1) Letter of employment
> 2) Work reference including detailed duty statement.
> 
> These are the only two pieces of evidence I have from the Philippines and were listed as acceptable evidence in the original request in which it states a minimum of two pieces of documentation covering the entire time that you are claiming is required. I do not have payslips, bank statements, tax, etc. as that was not provided by my employer in the Philippines.
> 
> Should I write to the CO asking them to clarify if the two pieces of listed acceptable evidence I provided are insufficient?
> 
> Should I explain that this is all the evidence I have as my former employer does not keep detailed payroll and personnel records of former employees for an extended period?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## chocolate_thunda

Hey Mark

I'm applying for a 309/100 visa on behalf of my wife, I want to ask if the department prefers any specific layout for the statements and if you could give me advice on how to actually format all the statements (both from my wife and I and our family and relatives). I'm not making them all my self but our family and relatives are asking me to provide templates which they can use to address all of the points needed.

Regards
Chocolate Thunda


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chocolate Thunda (another great screen name!!) -

Thanks for the question. There is no prescribed format - some people use Form 888, but this is a statutory declaration that can only be properly witnessed on Australian soil.

See below for a sample format we provide to clients of our firm - this should be signed and dated, and a copy of a govt issued photo ID (ie, passport biodata page, etc) should be included. The format below is only a sample for formatting purposes only - please don't consider the content as suggestive of what a person should write - the contents of a relationship statement must be customised to the situation - hope this helps!

Best,

Mark Northam

_ STATEMENT

I, John Edward Smith, Mathematics Teacher, of 123 Main Street, Sydney NSW 2000, make the following declaration:

1.	I am John Smith, a citizen of the United States of America. I hold a permanent resident visa for Australia.

2.	I have known Mary Jones since 2008. We met when she was hired to teach economics at Martin Academy, the school I teach at in Sydney. I consider Mary to be a good friend and we often share important events and details in each others' lives in the course of our discussions at work.

3.	In June of 2010 Mary told me about a new person in her life, Dan Dobbins, who is from Ireland. Mary was very excited about Dan and I enjoyed hearing more as their relationship became stronger over the coming months. Several times over the next few months I saw Dan and Mary together, and Dan seemed like a very nice person. Some of the teachers would sometimes go out to the local pub on Friday evenings, and Mary and Dan often joined us. Dan was always in a good mood, and it was fun to talk to him about his work and his life. Mary and Dan seemed very, very happy together.

4.	In January of 2011, Mary told me that Dan had proposed to her, and that she had said "yes". Mary said it was the happiest day of her life, and I could see the joy and excitement in her face as she told me about it. I told her I was very happy for her and that I was sure they would make a great married couple. In July of 2011 Mary and Dan were married, and I was happy to be at their wedding to share their big day.

5.	Since they were married, Mary and Dan have built a life together, and I have gotten to know Dan more and more as we all spent more time together. I am happy to state that I believe that Mary and Dan are in a genuine married relationship, and fully support Mary's sponsorship of Dan for a partner visa for Australia.

I declare the statements contained in this declaration to be true in every particular.

________________________________________
John Edward Smith

________________________
Date
_



chocolate_thunda said:


> Hey Mark
> 
> I'm applying for a 309/100 visa on behalf of my wife, I want to ask if the department prefers any specific layout for the statements and if you could give me advice on how to actually format all the statements (both from my wife and I and our family and relatives). I'm not making them all my self but our family and relatives are asking me to provide templates which they can use to address all of the points needed.
> 
> Regards
> Chocolate Thunda


----------



## chocolate_thunda

Hey Mark

Thanks for your help, I'm sure this will allow me to expedite the process of obtaining statements from family.

Thanks also for the screen name, I've had it as a nick name since high school.

Regards
Chocolate Thunda


----------



## Sarahgt

Hi Mark,I need some advice. My partner and I have been going out for a year. We were living together 5 months when I had to return home because of family matters. I was on my second working holiday visa which ran out end of feb. So I could not return. My partner has been to visit for 3 weeks at the end of feb. 
We don't know what to do next.
Is it possible to go over on a holiday visa and register our relationship(he lives in Vic) and then apply for defacto visa while I'm there? 
We have talked about the prospective marriage visa and this is not a problem , but we really don't want to be apart for so long waiting for it! 
thanks


----------



## Markp

Hi Mark,Just a quick question.My girlfriend has applied for a visitor visa 600 online from Ukraine.Is that processed in Australia or Moscow? 

Cheers Mark.


----------



## oaustra

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Oaustra -
> 
> Thanks for the note, and congrats for getting through the entire thread! Hope you weren't fast asleep after going through that much migration regulations, etc!
> 
> Your question his on an interesting and somewhat controversial area of migration law. While it is a policy directive that visitor visas not be used to accumulate "defacto residence" time in Australia (here not referring to defacto partners, but defacto with the meaning "essentially"), I've never heard of an applicant who has been grilled about time spent here on a visitor visa prior to lodging a partner visa application.
> 
> That being said, showing up with a one-way ticket when you're on a visitor visa can lead to questions for obvious reasons by airport personnel, as can a briefcase full of PR visa application papers if they happen to check your luggage. While not quite "don't ask, don't tell", usually with eVisitor and ETA holders, the scrutiny isn't quite as severe. However, repeated entries after very quick time outside Australia (ie, only a weekend) can result in questions at the airport and are seen as a strong indicator of non-temporary visitation of Australia. However once you lodge the partner visa application, it tends to be a different story and they're not too concerned about repeated visits (or previous visits).
> 
> In your case, applying for a partner visa on the first stay of an eVisitor visa, in my view, would be very unlikely to attract concern from DIBP. After all, DIBP allows for onshore lodgement of partner visas - how else would one be getting onshore to lodge one? A visitor visa is a very common way to do this, and again, I've never heard of a partner visa applicant being asked to go back in time and explain the circumstances of a previous visitor visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your quick response, Mark! That's great information you have given me!

I have one follow up question about defacto and married relationships and the 12-month requirement:

We are a same sex who entered into a defacto relationship (same living address, sharing finances, etc.), then married 6 months later in my partner's country, where same sex marriage is legally recognised. We will be applying for an 801 visa about 7-8 months after this marriage. Will this cause problems in the fact that the Department may judge any time before the marriage as not truly intending to be an exclusive defacto couple? I.e. could the defacto relationship be judged by the department as beginning only from the date of the marriage, despite it not being legally recognised in Australia?

On the flip side, should we include our marriage as supporting evidence to commitment in our application despite it not being legally recognised by the Department?

Thanks in advance


----------



## Mironapower

Dear Mark:

Thanks for all your help. I need your opinion and knowledge in couple of points:

1) I have been accessed by ACS as having 5 years and two months for two employment periods starting from July 2004, I have work reference stating that I started working with my previous employer at July 2004, but my bank transfers shows only salary transfers from August since the first month was paid via check ( and I do not have evidence of the check) until the bank account was created in August. I have only bank transfers in addition to work reference to prove my employment. Will this be a problem?

2) Do I need to submit resume to my application? and if yes, is there any specific considerations or formats that should be taken into account?

3) I applied for NZ permanent residence in addition to Australia (as a backup step), if I obtained the NZ visa before Australian one, should I inform the DIAC? and if yes, will this impact my chances of getting the permanent visa for Australia?

4) I am thinking of writing cover letter for my application, is this good idea?


----------



## luckyduck12

*Lodging 190 visa with spouse as dependant*

Hi Mark,

I recently submit EOI and got invitation almost immediately. I also recently got married (2 weeks before EOI and invitation). We have marriage certificate and recently opened joint bank account. Do you think the case officer would ask for extra evidence of relationship for this visa type. I know they are quite difficult with partner visa but we are applying on skilled migration.

If they do ask, what sort of evidence I should supply?

Many thanks,


----------



## Valentine1981

Wow,I love how the department gives absolutely NO warning of form changes!! my question is regarding an application for BVB that I lodged on Friday 21st March (1 day before the changes happened)...according to the DIBP website,form 1006 has now been updated to include the waiver that the applicant understands that a credit card surcharge will apply. Now I was asked to manually write words to that effect on my application at the Sydney office. As my travel dates are still 3.5 weeks away,no money has been taken and apparently won't even be looked at until 2 weeks before I travel. Is this form changeover likely to be a problem for me or will I be fine as the application was lodged before the new form was issued??


----------



## swavik

Hello mark,

Changed my ACS application status to RPL and sent the project report..And got the ACS result the next day..It is good news that they considered 10 yrs of my work exp.
Just had one doubt about the points for my qualification..They have accessed my Bachelors degree in Mechanical engineering after the submission of RPL and assessed my work exp as the Software engineer with 10 years work experience.So will the allot me 15 point for the Bachelors degree or 10 points?

thank you very much for your help.
Regards,
Swavik


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Normally 15 points for a Bachelor degree, even if it's not related to your nominated occupation. Might need a VETASSESS points test advice letter on the degree if ACS did not assess it at all (?) But saying that, I would have to examine the details of your case and all relevant documents to give you any sort of a specific opinion on your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello mark,
> 
> Changed my ACS application status to RPL and sent the project report..And got the ACS result the next day..It is good news that they considered 10 yrs of my work exp.
> Just had one doubt about the points for my qualification..They have accessed my Bachelors degree in Mechanical engineering after the submission of RPL and assessed my work exp as the Software engineer with 10 years work experience.So will the allot me 15 point for the Bachelors degree or 10 points?
> 
> thank you very much for your help.
> Regards,
> Swavik


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck -

I would consider getting together as much additional evidence and statements as you can. DIBP is now getting extremely aggressive about partner (marriage and defacto) relationship evidence, and it may be a mistake to assume they won't put you through the same requirements as a partner visa. I would aim for the same level of evidence as a partner visa (download the DIBP partner visa booklet for examples) and see how much you can put together. Some of this will also depend on the case officer.

As an example, I had a client for a temporary visa who had been married for over 20 years and had a child, joint bank acct, and several witness statements. Was not enough, they demanded more evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I recently submit EOI and got invitation almost immediately. I also recently got married (2 weeks before EOI and invitation). We have marriage certificate and recently opened joint bank account. Do you think the case officer would ask for extra evidence of relationship for this visa type. I know they are quite difficult with partner visa but we are applying on skilled migration.
> 
> If they do ask, what sort of evidence I should supply?
> 
> Many thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Valentine1981 -

You should be fine as long as the application was lodged prior to the form changes. They have delayed the credit card surcharge until sometime mid-April. If they have issues, they would normally ask you then to submit the new form - but again as you lodged prior to the form changes, I think there is a very low chance they would want you to redo the application on the new form.

Best,

Mark Northam



Valentine1981 said:


> Wow,I love how the department gives absolutely NO warning of form changes!! my question is regarding an application for BVB that I lodged on Friday 21st March (1 day before the changes happened)...according to the DIBP website,form 1006 has now been updated to include the waiver that the applicant understands that a credit card surcharge will apply. Now I was asked to manually write words to that effect on my application at the Sydney office. As my travel dates are still 3.5 weeks away,no money has been taken and apparently won't even be looked at until 2 weeks before I travel. Is this form changeover likely to be a problem for me or will I be fine as the application was lodged before the new form was issued??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarahgt -

Thanks for the questions. Coming here on a visitor visa may work, but you should carefully check the VIC registered relationship rules - I believe 12 months resident requirements exist there in most cases. Without substantial living together time (even if registered relationship), defacto partner visa may be hard to get through. Could work based on the total of the evidence presented, depending on the evidence.

PMV might be a better choice depending on the evidence situation - visitor visas can be easier to get once the PMV is lodged as then the relationship has been declared to DIBP, but again depends on your unique situation and the specific evidence you have to present.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sarahgt said:


> Hi Mark,I need some advice. My partner and I have been going out for a year. We were living together 5 months when I had to return home because of family matters. I was on my second working holiday visa which ran out end of feb. So I could not return. My partner has been to visit for 3 weeks at the end of feb.
> We don't know what to do next.
> Is it possible to go over on a holiday visa and register our relationship(he lives in Vic) and then apply for defacto visa while I'm there?
> We have talked about the prospective marriage visa and this is not a problem , but we really don't want to be apart for so long waiting for it!
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markp -

Visitor visa application lodged offshore from Ukranian nationals for sc600 visas are normally processed in Moscow.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Markp said:


> Hi Mark,Just a quick question.My girlfriend has applied for a visitor visa 600 online from Ukraine.Is that processed in Australia or Moscow?
> 
> Cheers Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mironapower -

Thanks for the questions - see below (***) for responses:



Mironapower said:


> Dear Mark:
> 
> Thanks for all your help. I need your opinion and knowledge in couple of points:
> 
> 1) I have been accessed by ACS as having 5 years and two months for two employment periods starting from July 2004, I have work reference stating that I started working with my previous employer at July 2004, but my bank transfers shows only salary transfers from August since the first month was paid via check ( and I do not have evidence of the check) until the bank account was created in August. I have only bank transfers in addition to work reference to prove my employment. Will this be a problem?
> *** Probably not, unless the loss of 1 month's employment would change your points value. If you can get a letter from the prev employer stating how you were paid for the first month, that would be helpful. Some of this will depend on the case officer's discretion.
> 
> 2) Do I need to submit resume to my application? and if yes, is there any specific considerations or formats that should be taken into account?
> *** Normally for skilled and employer sponsored visas, yes. However what you say on the resume re: work experience won't be assumed to be true - the work experience letters are what they look for, and sometimes phone checks, etc. Also be careful nothing on your resume would contradict anything you have submitted otherwise. No specific formats required/suggested as DIBP normally puts very little weight/emphasis on resumes and CVs.
> 
> 3) I applied for NZ permanent residence in addition to Australia (as a backup step), if I obtained the NZ visa before Australian one, should I inform the DIAC? and if yes, will this impact my chances of getting the permanent visa for Australia?
> *** Normally PR for NZ is not a factor in Australian migration. If depending on the visa you answered any questions on DIBP forms, etc re: PR or residence rights for other countries, you may want to correct the info if you did not have PR rights then, but acquire them before grant of the Australian visa.
> 
> 4) I am thinking of writing cover letter for my application, is this good idea?
> *** Yes, but there's no guarantee they will read it. Nonetheless, we usually do these just to tie everything together and point out any highlights, etc that we feel need emphasis.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## kangaroogirl

Hi Mark, 

I'm concerned about the new form 80. We applied for 820 on March 1 but have yet to submit his form 80.

We've almost got it finished on the previous version of the form, but I just want to check that they'll accept the previous version from us seeing we applied before the new form came out? 

Also, regarding form 80, my hubby took a few classes at a community college in 2000/2001 straight out if high school, but he dropped out and he doesn't remember what he was actually enrolled in. Would it be ok to list the institution and that he undertook some general community college classes (computers, English etc) or do they really need the specific course names? 

Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kangaroogirl -

Thanks for the question - DIBP has not indicated yet how strict they are going to be re: the new Form 80 for applications lodged prior to 22 Mar when the new form was introduced. My guess: 50/50 chance that they will give applications lodged prior to 22 March a "pass" and allow submission of the old form post 22 March. Clearly DIBP is taking a far more aggressive approach to requiring decades-old data, and believe they have a critical enough need for this data to warrant the huge burden it places on applicants to try and put together decades-old data from memories and scrapbooks.

Given that legal recordkeeping requirements in Australia generally are 5 or 10 years depending on the data being kept, how on earth does DIBP expect people to have records from their childhood, part-time jobs as a teenager if the applicant is in their 30s or 40s, etc? Ludicrous. Yet they demand a complete timeline from birth to current day accounting for 100% of the time as either employed (with details provided) or unemployed.

Bottom line: Until we see some specific response(s) from DIBP to indicate any circumstances where the old form will still be accepted if the form is lodged after 22 March, I'd be preparing the new form. Hopefully we'll hear something on this within the next 1-2 weeks.

Best,

Mark Northam



kangaroogirl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm concerned about the new form 80. We applied for 820 on March 1 but have yet to submit his form 80.
> 
> We've almost got it finished on the previous version of the form, but I just want to check that they'll accept the previous version from us seeing we applied before the new form came out?
> 
> Also, regarding form 80, my hubby took a few classes at a community college in 2000/2001 straight out if high school, but he dropped out and he doesn't remember what he was actually enrolled in. Would it be ok to list the institution and that he undertook some general community college classes (computers, English etc) or do they really need the specific course names?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## Juckie

*457*

Hi Mark,

I am currently on a working holiday visa. I have been offered sponsorship through my employer and have began to take the necessary steps to lodge an onshore 457 application.

My working holiday visa expires in one month. I see that the current Vetasses wait times alone are in excess of 12 weeks. Where does this leave me? I assume the bridging visa only becomes available upon lodging a completed application. How do i remain in Australia while waiting on Vetasses? It would be difficult to have to tell my employer that i have to go back to the UK for three months while i await the decision.

I'd really appreciate any advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Juckie -

Not sure why you would need a VETASSESS skills assessment other than if you were applying as a Program and Project Administrator, Specialist Manager NEC, or trade occupation that requires a skills assessment from TRA as part of the 457 application process (for these you must be in a particular occupation and a citizen of a particular country).

However if you do require it, you might be able to get the case officer to put the application on hold (thus extending your bridging visa assuming you lodged an application for the visa prior to your WHM visa expiring) while the skills assessment is obtained, as meeting the skills assessment requirement for the 457 visa is a time of decision requirement, not a time of application requirement. Much may depend on the case officer's discretion in this case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Juckie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently on a working holiday visa. I have been offered sponsorship through my employer and have began to take the necessary steps to lodge an onshore 457 application.
> 
> My working holiday visa expires in one month. I see that the current Vetasses wait times alone are in excess of 12 weeks. Where does this leave me? I assume the bridging visa only becomes available upon lodging a completed application. How do i remain in Australia while waiting on Vetasses? It would be difficult to have to tell my employer that i have to go back to the UK for three months while i await the decision.
> 
> I'd really appreciate any advice.


----------



## Juckie

Mark,

Thanks for the prompt reply!

Perhaps i've misinterpreted the need for Vetasses. I'm being sponsored as a Customer Service Manager. I thought i read that came under Vetasses.

David


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi David -

It does if you're applying for a skilled migration review for a PR visa, however 457 visas are different - while the case officer has the right to require a skills assessment for any application, normally they are not required for Customer Svc Mgr, however as this occupation has been somewhat "abused" in the past, I'd recommend a very careful and complete submission to show that it's a genuine position, etc - this occupation gets high scrutiny from DIBP, almost as much as Project Mgr.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Juckie said:


> Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the prompt reply!
> 
> Perhaps i've misinterpreted the need for Vetasses. I'm being sponsored as a Customer Service Manager. I thought i read that came under Vetasses.
> 
> David


----------



## Juckie

Mark,

Thank you so much for clearing that up. I will be submitting supporting documentation from previous employers as i suspected the position may be scrutinised due to its ambiguity. I go to bed a happy man.

Thanks again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Juckie -

You're welcome! Glad I could help - it's why I'm in this business.

Best,

Mark Northam



Juckie said:


> Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for clearing that up. I will be submitting supporting documentation from previous employers as i suspected the position may be scrutinised due to its ambiguity. I go to bed a happy man.
> 
> Thanks again.


----------



## kangaroogirl

Thanks Mark. Damn. What a damn nightmare re form 80!

Did you happen to see the second part of my question? Sorry to be a pain!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kangaroogirl -

Happy to help - re courses, I would put his best recollection of what courses, or perhaps the program/degree/etc that he can recall. Can always put a note on the extension page for this question saying that this is the best information you have available, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kangaroogirl said:


> Thanks Mark. Damn. What a damn nightmare re form 80!
> 
> Did you happen to see the second part of my question? Sorry to be a pain!


----------



## swavik

Mark i have pasted the letter i recvd from ACS.Does it mean that they have not assessed my Qualification,as there is no mention in it about it..

Thank you for your ICT skills assessment which was received by the Australian Computer Society on 28 
December 2013. 

Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 261313 (Software Engineer) of the 
ANZSCO Code. 

The following employment after March 2007 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately 
skilled level and relevant to 261313 (Software Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Correct - on RPL skills assessments, ACS does not generally assess the educational qualifications since they are not considered as part of the RPL process.

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Mark i have pasted the letter i recvd from ACS.Does it mean that they have not assessed my Qualification,as there is no mention in it about it..
> 
> Thank you for your ICT skills assessment which was received by the Australian Computer Society on 28
> December 2013.
> 
> Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 261313 (Software Engineer) of the
> ANZSCO Code.
> 
> The following employment after March 2007 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately
> skilled level and relevant to 261313 (Software Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Dates: 03/01 - 09/10 (9yrs 6mths)
> Position: Associate Consultant
> Employer: Tata Consultancy Services Limited
> Country: INDIA
> 
> Dates: 09/10 - 03/11 (0yrs 6mths)
> Position: Project Manager
> Employer: Barclays Technology Centre India Private Limited
> Country: INDIA
> 
> Dates: 03/11 - 05/12 (1yrs 2mths)
> Position: Assistant Vice President
> Employer: Polaris Financial Technology Limited
> Country: INDIA
> 
> The following employment has been assessed as not suitable.
> 
> Dates: 05/12 - 12/13 (0yrs 0mths)
> Position: Associate Director Business IT - Not Assessable due to Insufficient Detail
> Employer: Crisil Limited
> Country: INDIA
> 
> Page 2
> 
> Please note that the Department of Immigration and Border Protection reserves the right to undertake
> further investigation regarding your skilled employment experience.
> 
> While the ACS is authorised to assess ICT skills assessments, the final decision in awarding points
> remains with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
> 
> This assessment is based upon the documents provided. By issuing this letter or otherwise, the ACS
> makes no representation regarding:
> 
> • The authenticity of documentation provided or the veracity of content.
> • The suitability of the applicant for migration or employment.
> 
> This assessment is valid for a period of 24 months from the date of this letter.
> 
> The ACS thanks you for your application and looks forward to assisting you with your future as an ICT
> Professional.
> 
> Yours sincerely,
> 
> Andrew Johnson
> Chief Operations Officer.


----------



## swavik

Thank you mark for the prompt reply.
This meansi have to apply for the points test advice letter..
or i can file the EOI to check out what DIBP considers,and then apply for points test advice letter..


----------



## swavik

swavik said:


> Thank you mark for the prompt reply.
> This meansi have to apply for the points test advice letter..
> or i can file the EOI to check out what DIBP considers,and then apply for points test advice letter..


hello mark,

no worries.
you had made it clear to me the above question..
It is okk if u dont reply for it..
What i will do is file an EOI and take a chance if DIBP accepts my qualification on face value..
if not then i will apply for points test advice letter..
fingers crossed..

thank you mark,
You are great.


----------



## sydk39

Hi Mark

thanks for this wonderful website and i think its a great intiative in personally answering queries for confused lot like me .

I have queries on 189/190 visa which i am keen on applying for.

I have done my Bachelor of Comp. Science
(2yrs fulltime in Australia,UNiSA,Adelaide) 2004-06
and Masters again in same uni (Jan 2007 - Dec 2008) 

i was wondering if i could get Australian study requirement points (5) and study in regional area points (5)
for the above degrees ?


One more query : 

i am currently working with a software company here in Mumbai 
my profile is as Implementation Executive. 
my duties involved are conduct software testing ,analyse it , document/report the testing part ,
writing tech/user manuals for the application,implementing the application on client site, 
providing application support to the client. . 

My query is could my role fit in as software engineer (on SOL list for 189 visa ) ? 



Cheers 
Sid


----------



## luckyduck12

*Lodging skilled visa-partnet points and employment question*

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your advice, I will prepare the evidence for our relationship 

Can you please advice me on lodging the visa?
My EOI stated that I should have 70 points, that includes a solid 60 points from my degree/IELTS/study in Asutralia and 5 points for partner skill and 5 for 1 year Australian work experience.

This is where I am a bit puzzled, if the case officer decides not to give me the points for the partner and work experience, then I will still have 60. I understand that this might be a breach of their EOI conditions and would lead to rejection of my visa. Is that true? Is is absolutely necessary to ensure my claim for points is correct? I thought I have all the documents but the CO can still overrule.

-For partner skill: IELTS 7.0 and positive skill assessment done before lodging EOI
-For employment in Aus: I have payslips/contract/statement of service and point test advice states that my tasks are highly related and at appropriate level, work 40 hours per week, paid, etc.
This is for PhD though, skill assessment authority recognises my PhD as employment but I am not sure if DIBP does. This is why I am worried that they might reject despite the point test advice letter.

Can u give an opinion on these? I just want to ensure I have that partner skill and employment points absolutely to match my EOI.

Thanks a lot,

P.S, Should I also submit another EOI that aims for low 60 points, and claim more when lodging the application? To make sure I don't fall in the 'trap' of lying to them?


----------



## Vanquish

Hi Mark,
My husband and I were issued a PR Visa in March 94, which has now expired. 
We wish to return to live in Australia but as my husband was 50 in Nov 2013 we cannot reapply to return on a skilled visa but I notice we may qualify for an RRV subclass 155-157. 
(How long has this been subclass been available ?)
When we were in Melbourne in 2003 we went to the immigration office with a letter stating our reasons for not returning before, (grandfathers illness and death) and asked for a renewal but we were advised to re apply from the beginning again upon our return to the UK, but due to family deaths and illnesses unfortunately the time was not right to leave.
As we have not been back to Australia in 10 years will we still able to apply under subclass 155-157 category ? 
My sister in law, and her husband and 2 children have just been issued one and ideally we would all like to return together. She returned to the UK for the same reasons as us but prior to that, they had lived in Melbourne for 8 years from 1999 - 2006 and had their twins during that time, though at that particular time it was through a job and not on a PRV. In 2005 they applied and got a PRV and spent 3 months out of the 4 years in Australia. However they were recently issued a 12 month RRV.

Is there any hope for us ? Should we give up or pursue a RRV as well ? 
Our circumstances are different in that we only spent approximately 2 years in Australia on our PRV.
Thanks for any advice


----------



## Mironapower

Dear Mark:

Thanks for quick response. Unfortunately, my previous employer does not keep records of how old salaries were paid, so he can not give me the letter. But I managed to get a certificate from national social insurance showing that my previous employer subscribed for me starting from the same date shown in my experience letter. Will this be sufficient?

Also, my partner when filling his qualification in form 1221, did not list them in chronological order, will this be a problem (I do not claim points for him)?

Finally, I mentioned only two employers in my application (both accounted for 9 years and 7 months) which were assessed by ACS, I did not mention previous employment as it was not related to Job code or assessed, however in forms 80 and 1221, I mentioned all my previous employers as this was required, will this be a problem because I did not mention them in application?

Thanks again for all the efforts.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mironapower -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - see below (***) for responses:
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## robbygov

*de facto partner questions*

Hi Mark,

I've some question, and I hope that you can help me. 
I'm Italian, in a Working Holiday Visa that will expire on 15th of May 2014.
I met here in Australia my partner, He is American and have a 573 Visa until July 2015. 
We don't have the 12 months of relationship, because we met on 23rd of July 2013. Until he have a temporary Visa, for been de facto with him, I've still to prove the 12 months?
Do I need a police check and a medical certificate?
We are living in WA, that is the only state that doesn't recognise the declaration of relationship.
There is any hope to get a bridge Visa? Do we have to get married?

Thank you very much for your attention

Roberta


----------



## Pkwanderer

*PR Cancellation*

Hi Mark,
I was granted PR (Migrant) class (BC) Partner (sub-class 100 Visa) last year in June 2013. My spouse is now threatening me to get my PR cancelled as our relationship is not working out. Can she do that?
Kindly help,
Regards,
Asim.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pkwanderer -

Nope. Once you have a subclass 100 visa, you are a permanent resident of Australia, and what happens to your spousal relationship after that doesn't matter as far as immigration goes. The only way things could go wrong is if she said the entire marriage was a fraud just to get a visa, but then she would be admitting her own part in that fraud! Serious penalties for that sort of thing (for both parties) in Australia. But assuming no fraud, once the 100 visa is issued, there is no visa requirement that the relationship remains intact.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pkwanderer said:


> Hi Mark,
> I was granted PR (Migrant) class (BC) Partner (sub-class 100 Visa) last year in June 2013. My spouse is now threatening me to get my PR cancelled as our relationship is not working out. Can she do that?
> Kindly help,
> Regards,
> Asim.


----------



## Pkwanderer

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pkwanderer -
> 
> Nope. Once you have a subclass 100 visa, you are a permanent resident of Australia, and what happens to your spousal relationship after that doesn't matter as far as immigration goes. The only way things could go wrong is if she said the entire marriage was a fraud just to get a visa, but then she would be admitting her own part in that fraud! Serious penalties for that sort of thing (for both parties) in Australia. But assuming no fraud, once the 100 visa is issued, there is no visa requirement that the relationship remains intact.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,
Thanks for your prompt reply. There is no fraud in my case. We got married in 2008 and I came in 2008.I left for Dubai in Feb just due to her & her family members constant threats who are all Australian Citizens.
I am wanting to come back, what would be the procedure for me to:
1.File for divorce? Can a divorce pronounced by Court in UAE be valid for Australian Laws.
2. There are no children between us, so can she file for support/alimony?
Regards,
Asim.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sydk -

Thanks for the questions - responses in *** below:



sydk39 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> thanks for this wonderful website and i think its a great intiative in personally answering queries for confused lot like me .
> 
> I have queries on 189/190 visa which i am keen on applying for.
> 
> I have done my Bachelor of Comp. Science
> (2yrs fulltime in Australia,UNiSA,Adelaide) 2004-06
> and Masters again in same uni (Jan 2007 - Dec 2008)
> 
> i was wondering if i could get Australian study requirement points (5) and study in regional area points (5)
> for the above degrees ?
> *** All of SA is considered regional/low-growth (see Regional Australia/low population growth metropolitan areas for a list of these). Assuming you met the requirements for 2 years study (Google these and carefully make sure you meet them all), sounds good for 5 + 5 points.
> 
> One more query :
> 
> i am currently working with a software company here in Mumbai
> my profile is as Implementation Executive.
> my duties involved are conduct software testing ,analyse it , document/report the testing part ,
> writing tech/user manuals for the application,implementing the application on client site,
> providing application support to the client. .
> 
> My query is could my role fit in as software engineer (on SOL list for 189 visa ) ?
> 
> *** You should go to the ACS site and look for their guide where they give much more detailed explanations of the dutes/tasks/etc for each of the occupation codes they assess - this will have the details necessary for you to carefully compare your duties from the work to see how well they align with ACS' definitions which are important since they do the skills assessment for this occupation.
> 
> Cheers
> Sid


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck12 -

If you cannot justify the points you claim when the case officer assesses the visa application, you'll have to withdraw the application (no refund!) or face refusal - either of these options is bad news. Much better to get clarification via a consultation or meeting with a registered migration agent beforehand and submit a proper EOI that accurately reflects the points you can legally claim. I say this not as a sales pitch for me and agents in general, but to point you in the right direction - lodging EOIs when you are not sure about whether you can claim points can be a messy, time-consuming, costly business.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your advice, I will prepare the evidence for our relationship
> 
> Can you please advice me on lodging the visa?
> My EOI stated that I should have 70 points, that includes a solid 60 points from my degree/IELTS/study in Asutralia and 5 points for partner skill and 5 for 1 year Australian work experience.
> 
> This is where I am a bit puzzled, if the case officer decides not to give me the points for the partner and work experience, then I will still have 60. I understand that this might be a breach of their EOI conditions and would lead to rejection of my visa. Is that true? Is is absolutely necessary to ensure my claim for points is correct? I thought I have all the documents but the CO can still overrule.
> 
> -For partner skill: IELTS 7.0 and positive skill assessment done before lodging EOI
> -For employment in Aus: I have payslips/contract/statement of service and point test advice states that my tasks are highly related and at appropriate level, work 40 hours per week, paid, etc.
> This is for PhD though, skill assessment authority recognises my PhD as employment but I am not sure if DIBP does. This is why I am worried that they might reject despite the point test advice letter.
> 
> Can u give an opinion on these? I just want to ensure I have that partner skill and employment points absolutely to match my EOI.
> 
> Thanks a lot,
> 
> P.S, Should I also submit another EOI that aims for low 60 points, and claim more when lodging the application? To make sure I don't fall in the 'trap' of lying to them?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mironapower -

Re: prev employer, can he give you any letter? ie, can he give you a letter that says ie does not keep records of salaries from that date? Anything is better than nothing. Will the social insurance cert work? No way to tell - it's at the discretion of the case officer. My guess is that it might, especially if it's only for a short period of employment.

Re: not in chronological order - should not be a problem. Re: all employment on Forms 80/1221 but non-relevant employment not on EOI, should not be a problem.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mironapower said:


> Dear Mark:
> 
> Thanks for quick response. Unfortunately, my previous employer does not keep records of how old salaries were paid, so he can not give me the letter. But I managed to get a certificate from national social insurance showing that my previous employer subscribed for me starting from the same date shown in my experience letter. Will this be sufficient?
> 
> Also, my partner when filling his qualification in form 1221, did not list them in chronological order, will this be a problem (I do not claim points for him)?
> 
> Finally, I mentioned only two employers in my application (both accounted for 9 years and 7 months) which were assessed by ACS, I did not mention previous employment as it was not related to Job code or assessed, however in forms 80 and 1221, I mentioned all my previous employers as this was required, will this be a problem because I did not mention them in application?
> 
> Thanks again for all the efforts.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vanquish -

As your PR visa is 20 years old or so, it would be a challenging case. Given the amount of time you've spent in Australia, your choice would be either the one-year subclass 155 RRV, or the 3-month subclass 157. These subclasses have been around for quite a while now in one form or another, but underwent a significant change in 2011 when the 5-year 155 RRV was changed to be available only to those who had spent 2 of the 5 years prior to application in Australia.

The one-year 155 requires establishing substantial business, cultural, employment or personal ties to Australia. General just having a relative here is not enough; you need to have a substantial ongoing relationship with that relative of some kind or another. Additionally you will need to establish compelling and compassionate reasons why you originally left Australia, and why you have been away from Australia - this is where most RRV applications fail in long-term absence cases.

To give you any sort of an opinion about your specific case, I would need to work with you to identify all the possible ties to Australia you might have and the nature of those ties. Then we'd need to discuss any possibilities for the compelling & compassionate requirements - if these can be reasonably met, then you may have a shot at the RRV. Please feel free to contact me directly via my website (see signature below post) if I can be of further assistance via a consultation, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vanquish said:


> Hi Mark,
> My husband and I were issued a PR Visa in March 94, which has now expired.
> We wish to return to live in Australia but as my husband was 50 in Nov 2013 we cannot reapply to return on a skilled visa but I notice we may qualify for an RRV subclass 155-157.
> (How long has this been subclass been available ?)
> When we were in Melbourne in 2003 we went to the immigration office with a letter stating our reasons for not returning before, (grandfathers illness and death) and asked for a renewal but we were advised to re apply from the beginning again upon our return to the UK, but due to family deaths and illnesses unfortunately the time was not right to leave.
> As we have not been back to Australia in 10 years will we still able to apply under subclass 155-157 category ?
> My sister in law, and her husband and 2 children have just been issued one and ideally we would all like to return together. She returned to the UK for the same reasons as us but prior to that, they had lived in Melbourne for 8 years from 1999 - 2006 and had their twins during that time, though at that particular time it was through a job and not on a PRV. In 2005 they applied and got a PRV and spent 3 months out of the 4 years in Australia. However they were recently issued a 12 month RRV.
> 
> Is there any hope for us ? Should we give up or pursue a RRV as well ?
> Our circumstances are different in that we only spent approximately 2 years in Australia on our PRV.
> Thanks for any advice


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roberta -

To be added onto his student visa as a defacto partner, you would need to evidence that the defacto relationship existed for the 12 months prior to applying to be added to his student visa - DIBP's primary indicator of whether a defacto relationship exists is living together, plus the other usual relationship evidence.

If you were married, they would still assess the "genuineness" of the relationship and living together time would be helpful, but the 12 month requirement is not applied in cases of marriage.

Are you eligible for a 2nd working holiday visa?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



robbygov said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've some question, and I hope that you can help me.
> I'm Italian, in a Working Holiday Visa that will expire on 15th of May 2014.
> I met here in Australia my partner, He is American and have a 573 Visa until July 2015.
> We don't have the 12 months of relationship, because we met on 23rd of July 2013. Until he have a temporary Visa, for been de facto with him, I've still to prove the 12 months?
> Do I need a police check and a medical certificate?
> We are living in WA, that is the only state that doesn't recognise the declaration of relationship.
> There is any hope to get a bridge Visa? Do we have to get married?
> 
> Thank you very much for your attention
> 
> Roberta


----------



## Vanquish

Thank you Mark for your quick reply, 
Having just re read my original post (much editing to shorten !) I omitted about our 7 year old son and that there is the issue of a visa for him and a 14 month process time which again changes all the time scales of when to apply and in what order. 
I shall contact you shortly. 
I wanted to say a quick thank you first


----------



## MarkNortham

You're welcome - glad I can help -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vanquish said:


> Thank you Mark for your quick reply,
> Having just re read my original post (much editing to shorten !) I omitted about our 7 year old son and that there is the issue of a visa for him and a 14 month process time which again changes all the time scales of when to apply and in what order.
> I shall contact you shortly.
> I wanted to say a quick thank you first


----------



## HHanif

Hi,

I have applied for subclass 573 SVP visa. It has been 3 months and I havent received any response from the visa office. I have also heard interviews are being conducted as well. Is it a common practice for them to conduct interviews under SVP? If yes, what are questions generally asked?

Does an interview call mean chances of visa being granted are slimmer?


----------



## Mironapower

Dear Mar:

Thanks for continued support, I still look for more clarifications from you:

1) I believe my previous employer will not provide me such a letter but I will try anyway, yet, if I can provide only work reference from employer and social insurance certificate for the missing month, will this be a problem (social insurance in Egypt is registered and paid by employer not employee)? I have already 5 years and two months as skilled employment, so will the case officer deduct the month from skilled employment (which will not impact my points as I will still have 5 years and one month at the date I applied for assessment ) or he will refuse application?

2) Also, in the second question in previous post, what I meant I did not mention the jobs in the online application wizard but mentioned it in forms 80/1221, will this be a problem?

3) In the new form 80 (Design of March 2014) in question 8, should I mention my origin country as well or this for other citizenship rather than the origin one. This is because the question talked "citizenship of other countries"?

4) I have front upload form 80 but now my applications shows a link asking for it and they have new format for form 80 (Design March 2014), I do not have case officer yet, should I upload the new form 80 or the old one will be sufficient?

BR,
Mirona



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mironapower -
> 
> Re: prev employer, can he give you any letter? ie, can he give you a letter that says ie does not keep records of salaries from that date? Anything is better than nothing. Will the social insurance cert work? No way to tell - it's at the discretion of the case officer. My guess is that it might, especially if it's only for a short period of employment.
> 
> Re: not in chronological order - should not be a problem. Re: all employment on Forms 80/1221 but non-relevant employment not on EOI, should not be a problem.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HHanif -

We're seeing increasing delays with student visas, especially from your part of the world. SVP doesn't really seem to make a difference in processing times, and last time I checked DIBP was not giving estimates of SVP processing times. Re: interviews, very common these days for student visas for assessment level 3 situations, sometimes AL2. As the maximum time you can apply for a first student visa is 4 months in advance (ie, CoE is not valid for a first student visa application if the start date on the CoE is more than 124 days from the date of application), we may soon be getting to the point where lodging 4 months in advance is all but required if you hope to get a decision in time to travel and begin school on time.

Interview questions for student visas typically deal with your knowledge of the courses and subjects, your academic history, why you want to come to Australia to study, plus various questions about your family, financial circumstances, any connections you have to Australia, etc. although lots of unexpected questions come up too. Would study the Genuine Temporary Entrant policy to prepare.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HHanif said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have applied for subclass 573 SVP visa. It has been 3 months and I havent received any response from the visa office. I have also heard interviews are being conducted as well. Is it a common practice for them to conduct interviews under SVP? If yes, what are questions generally asked?
> 
> Does an interview call mean chances of visa being granted are slimmer?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mirona -

See responses below (***):



Mironapower said:


> Dear Mar:
> 
> Thanks for continued support, I still look for more clarifications from you:
> 
> 1) I believe my previous employer will not provide me such a letter but I will try anyway, yet, if I can provide only work reference from employer and social insurance certificate for the missing month, will this be a problem (social insurance in Egypt is registered and paid by employer not employee)? I have already 5 years and two months as skilled employment, so will the case officer deduct the month from skilled employment (which will not impact my points as I will still have 5 years and one month at the date I applied for assessment ) or he will refuse application?
> *** I can't predict this because it's dependent on the case officer and their assessment of all your documents and whether you have sufficiently justified the extra month.
> 
> 2) Also, in the second question in previous post, what I meant I did not mention the jobs in the online application wizard but mentioned it in forms 80/1221, will this be a problem?
> *** As long as the jobs on 80/1221 were all jobs, and the online form included relevant jobs only (including any work experience that was discounted by ACS for the 2 years, etc req), then that should be no problem.
> 
> 3) In the new form 80 (Design of March 2014) in question 8, should I mention my origin country as well or this for other citizenship rather than the origin one. This is because the question talked "citizenship of other countries"?
> *** A little confused by your question. On Q8, you should list any and all citizenships you have ever had (ie, you now have, or you ever had in the past even if no longer in effect) other than your current citizenship you are claiming in Question 7.
> 
> 4) I have front upload form 80 but now my applications shows a link asking for it and they have new format for form 80 (Design March 2014), I do not have case officer yet, should I upload the new form 80 or the old one will be sufficient?
> *** If you lodged your Form 80 before 22 March, should be OK. If not, then you should use the new Form 80. If DIBP clarifies their position on this, I'll post it here.
> 
> BR,
> Mirona


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## medina

*Update*



medina said:


> Hi Mark,
> We applied in MRT in Feb 2013. we had our documents ready and because every time i called mrt when would our case be allocated to a case manager the answer we got was in 12 months time or more ( last time we called them was august 2013) so to our surprise we received a letter from MRT inviting us to a hearing in April this year, so then we sent all the documents that we had which weighed almost 2 kg, and it's pretty much everything all our bank acc details highlighting transfers to each others acc, everyday expenses, holiday expenses, tenancy ledges, and now we are hoping that we get an answer in our favor and not have to go in for the hearing. Is it possible receive a decision in our favor and not have to turn up to the tribunal hearing ?
> P.S- we don't mind going in hearing but just generally asking a query.


Hi Mark,

Here's an Update!

So i got a call from MRT today to say that tey have decided to cancel our hearing for next friday and that they will make a decision based on the documents that we had sent to them back in February this month. So we are taking this as good news right, i mean if they weren't satisified with the information and evidence of documents that we had sent them then they wouldn't cancel because there would of been things that they would've wanted to ask us, so i asked the lady on the phone how long we'll have to wait till we hear back from them and she said it should be before next friday !!!! so we have high hopes that this means our case has been remitted !!!! We shall wait to receive the letter in the mail so that its official!!!

What do think? are we right to believe that we are successful or is there still a possibility of the opposite?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Medina -

That's good news indeed. Unless you have somewhere along the line waived your right to a hearing at the MRT, I do not believe they can make a negative decision "on the papers" and must give you a hearing to allow you to state your case. I predict good news ahead!

Best,

Mark Northam



medina said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Here's an Update!
> 
> So i got a call from MRT today to say that tey have decided to cancel our hearing for next friday and that they will make a decision based on the documents that we had sent to them back in February this month. So we are taking this as good news right, i mean if they weren't satisified with the information and evidence of documents that we had sent them then they wouldn't cancel because there would of been things that they would've wanted to ask us, so i asked the lady on the phone how long we'll have to wait till we hear back from them and she said it should be before next friday !!!! so we have high hopes that this means our case has been remitted !!!! We shall wait to receive the letter in the mail so that its official!!!
> 
> What do think? are we right to believe that we are successful or is there still a possibility of the opposite?


----------



## swavik

Hi Mark,

I lodged my EOI two days ago..According to the application while submission i had 65 points..But when will i be getting an reply regarding my actual points considered by them,because there are lot of questions and doubts in our mind.
example: need for points advise letter(which i have taken a chance to see if DIBP accepts on face value)
second doubt is one line in the ACS letter (i have copy pasted it below) which says
"the following employment after March 2007" and then they have calculated the years for each job.the one they have not assessed they have written 0 years..
What does the following letter say about the number of years considered? Hw many from the 12 years have they considered?

Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 261313 (Software Engineer) of the 
ANZSCO Code. 

The following employment after March 2007 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately 
skilled level and relevant to 261313 (Software Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code. 

Dates: 03/01 - 09/10 (9yrs 6mths) 
Position: Associate Consultant 
Employer: *******
Country: INDIA 

Dates: 09/10 - 03/11 (0yrs 6mths) 
Position: Project Manager 
Employer: ****
Country: INDIA 

Dates: 03/11 - 05/12 (1yrs 2mths) 
Position: Assistant Vice President 
Employer: *****
Country: INDIA 

The following employment has been assessed as not suitable. 

Dates: 05/12 - 12/13 (0yrs 0mths) 
Position: Associate Director Business IT - Not Assessable due to Insufficient Detail 
Employer: *****
Country: INDIA


----------



## swavik

swavik said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I lodged my EOI two days ago..According to the application while submission i had 65 points..But when will i be getting an reply regarding my actual points considered by them,because there are lot of questions and doubts in our mind.
> example: need for points advise letter(which i have taken a chance to see if DIBP accepts on face value)
> second doubt is one line in the ACS letter (i have copy pasted it below) which says
> "the following employment after March 2007" and then they have calculated the years for each job.the one they have not assessed they have written 0 years..
> What does the following letter say about the number of years considered? Hw many from the 12 years have they considered?
> 
> Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 261313 (Software Engineer) of the
> ANZSCO Code.
> 
> The following employment after March 2007 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately
> skilled level and relevant to 261313 (Software Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Dates: 03/01 - 09/10 (9yrs 6mths)
> Position: Associate Consultant
> Employer: *******
> Country: INDIA
> 
> Dates: 09/10 - 03/11 (0yrs 6mths)
> Position: Project Manager
> Employer: ****
> Country: INDIA
> 
> Dates: 03/11 - 05/12 (1yrs 2mths)
> Position: Assistant Vice President
> Employer: *****
> Country: INDIA
> 
> The following employment has been assessed as not suitable.
> 
> Dates: 05/12 - 12/13 (0yrs 0mths)
> Position: Associate Director Business IT - Not Assessable due to Insufficient Detail
> Employer: *****
> Country: INDIA


I dont understand mark that why are they not considering the first 6 years which were with same employer till 2010??


----------



## swavik

Sorry mark for being such a pain for you..BUt i am really confused.
See i submitted my EOI..It showed me that i score 65 points..
So now what next...Do they contact me after submission or do they contact me directly if i am invited...
When does the point test advise letter come into picture? we dont attach any documents to the EOI then when do they ask for it..Do we need to keep it ready as a proof once we are invited.
Do let me know mark..
I am waiting for your reply..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Thanks for the notes. Not able to assess your specific case in the forum as there are too many details to consider, need to see actual docs, etc. A couple of general observations below in hopes they are helpful to you:

* It is incumbent upon an applicant to make sure they have all necessary documentation to justify all points claimed. The EOI system will automatically calculate points based on what you put into it, but if you put the wrong years (ie, years during which your work was unskilled per the skills assessment), the system will still give you points for those! It is a huge mistake to depend on the EOI points calculator to tell you what points you may claim since it's essentially "dumb" and calculating based on what you tell it.

* ACS skills assessments now contain a "deeming date" - ie, "Work after XX/XX/XX is considered skilled". ACS can and does write off as unskilled portions of people's work experience based on the type and relevance of their educational qualifications. Work before the deeming date cannot be claimed as skilled.

My suggestion is to book a consultation with a registered migration agent (not pitching myself here necessarily - any experienced/qualified registered agent should do!) and go through all of your documents related to the points you are claiming, and make sure everything is in order and you know how to enter this into the EOI so that the calculator, etc works fine. EOI and points is not something you want to try and do on the cheap/quick/etc as if you cannot justify the points after lodging an application, your $3k visa application fee will be lost when you are forced to withdraw your application and begin again due to points problems. Saying the EOI system "said I had xx points when I entered my EOI" is not an excuse, and will go nowhere with DIBP. You need to take control of the situation and understand the laws/regulations thoroughly so you can ensure that you are claiming the proper points for what you are trying to do - points that have proper evidence and will stand up to the scrutiny of the case officer months down the road.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Sorry mark for being such a pain for you..BUt i am really confused.
> See i submitted my EOI..It showed me that i score 65 points..
> So now what next...Do they contact me after submission or do they contact me directly if i am invited...
> When does the point test advise letter come into picture? we dont attach any documents to the EOI then when do they ask for it..Do we need to keep it ready as a proof once we are invited.
> Do let me know mark..
> I am waiting for your reply..


----------



## Mironapower

Dear Mark:

I lodged my application on 20 March 2014, and downloaded from 80 and 1221, then filled them and uploaded them on 26 March, only to find out, that new form designs are required. My questions regarding this:

1) Do I need to submit the new forms design (I do not have CO allocated yet)? If they are gonna be required later, then better submit them today??
2) I already filled the 80 and 1221 new design forms, But I am hesitated to upload them since they have data for 30 years, and I am afraid, this will mean more security checks and delay the processing of application, Am I right in my fears or not?
3) Will it be a problem if I uploaded new design of forms and I already uploaded old one? will this be a problem to CO?

Thanks Mark for all your help to me so far.

Best Regards,
Mirona


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mirona -

DIBP has not issued any guidance re: using old forms after the new form release date of 22 March 2014 upon which the old forms are no longer able to be used (according to the "earliest date of form" list published by DIBP), so we're advising our clients to use the new forms if they are uploading the form on or after 22 March. Re: additional security checks, no way to tell. Re: confusing CO, I'd suggest using the Description field to show the difference, ie "UPDATED - Form 80 Using 22 Mar Form Version" as the description or something like that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mironapower said:


> Dear Mark:
> 
> I lodged my application on 20 March 2014, and downloaded from 80 and 1221, then filled them and uploaded them on 26 March, only to find out, that new form designs are required. My questions regarding this:
> 
> 1) Do I need to submit the new forms design (I do not have CO allocated yet)? If they are gonna be required later, then better submit them today??
> 2) I already filled the 80 and 1221 new design forms, But I am hesitated to upload them since they have data for 30 years, and I am afraid, this will mean more security checks and delay the processing of application, Am I right in my fears or not?
> 3) Will it be a problem if I uploaded new design of forms and I already uploaded old one? will this be a problem to CO?
> 
> Thanks Mark for all your help to me so far.
> 
> Best Regards,
> Mirona


----------



## streetlevel04

*Tourist visa during WHV*

Hi Mark,
I've been in Oz on a my first WHV since last May, and only found out mid-visa that I'm too old to get a second year (31 at time of application)!
I've been working quite steadily and not had much time to travel but my job finished and I'm planning several tours around the whole country but with only a 6 weeks left on my visa.

My Question is can I leave the country now and return in a week or so on a tourist visa and start my travels then?
It would suit better than doing it in may when my WHV expires!

Cheers

Johnny


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Johnny -

Thanks for the question. In theory, the answer is yes. However depending on what country you're from, your visa history in Australia, and your personal circumstances, the case officer for the visitor visa may wonder whether you have a genuine reason to come as a visitor as you've already spent 12 months here on a similar visa. Would definitely apply offshore, as a further onshore visitor visa (ie, applying onshore while you still hold the WHV) requires "exceptional circumstances" per the regulations. Would suggest you put together a nice letter explaining exactly what you intend to do in Australia on the visitor visa to help the case officer understand why you wish to come - I've seen these get approved, and seen them get refused - all will depend on your circumstances and the case officer you are assigned.

Good luck - hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



streetlevel04 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I've been in Oz on a my first WHV since last May, and only found out mid-visa that I'm too old to get a second year (31 at time of application)!
> I've been working quite steadily and not had much time to travel but my job finished and I'm planning several tours around the whole country but with only a 6 weeks left on my visa.
> 
> My Question is can I leave the country now and return in a week or so on a tourist visa and start my travels then?
> It would suit better than doing it in may when my WHV expires!
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Johnny


----------



## streetlevel04

Cheers for the quick reply Mark. 
Well, I'm a UK citizen. this is my first visa for Australia and I have a clean passport. I have around $4000 saved for my trip and can write up a cover letter itinerary easily. Its an honest situation so I hope the case officer is happy with the reasons!

Does the further offshore visitor visa usually take long to be granted from application?

cheers
Johnny


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Johnny -

Sounds promising! Normally the eVisitor visa is applied for online and if not granted on the spot, takes no more than a few days.

Best of luck with all -

Best,

Mark Northam



streetlevel04 said:


> Cheers for the quick reply Mark.
> Well, I'm a UK citizen. this is my first visa for Australia and I have a clean passport. I have around $4000 saved for my trip and can write up a cover letter itinerary easily. Its an honest situation so I hope the case officer is happy with the reasons!
> 
> Does the further offshore visitor visa usually take long to be granted from application?
> 
> cheers
> Johnny


----------



## swavik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> Thanks for the notes. Not able to assess your specific case in the forum as there are too many details to consider, need to see actual docs, etc. A couple of general observations below in hopes they are helpful to you:
> 
> * It is incumbent upon an applicant to make sure they have all necessary documentation to justify all points claimed. The EOI system will automatically calculate points based on what you put into it, but if you put the wrong years (ie, years during which your work was unskilled per the skills assessment), the system will still give you points for those! It is a huge mistake to depend on the EOI points calculator to tell you what points you may claim since it's essentially "dumb" and calculating based on what you tell it.
> 
> * ACS skills assessments now contain a "deeming date" - ie, "Work after XX/XX/XX is considered skilled". ACS can and does write off as unskilled portions of people's work experience based on the type and relevance of their educational qualifications. Work before the deeming date cannot be claimed as skilled.
> 
> My suggestion is to book a consultation with a registered migration agent (not pitching myself here necessarily - any experienced/qualified registered agent should do!) and go through all of your documents related to the points you are claiming, and make sure everything is in order and you know how to enter this into the EOI so that the calculator, etc works fine. EOI and points is not something you want to try and do on the cheap/quick/etc as if you cannot justify the points after lodging an application, your $3k visa application fee will be lost when you are forced to withdraw your application and begin again due to points problems. Saying the EOI system "said I had xx points when I entered my EOI" is not an excuse, and will go nowhere with DIBP. You need to take control of the situation and understand the laws/regulations thoroughly so you can ensure that you are claiming the proper points for what you are trying to do - points that have proper evidence and will stand up to the scrutiny of the case officer months down the road.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you mark for your valuable advise..It saved me and made me rectify my mistake...
As i understand in the employment history i need to match the ACS result..Even though i have 12 years experience ACS has substituted my first 6 yrs as a part of education (bcz of degree not related to the occupation)..
So i will be entering only the work after March 2007 as my employment history...So i get 10 points for my work experience...
Now my score is only 60..  Almost no chance of getting invited as software engineer...Lets pray for any sponsorship..
Can you let me know how does the employer sponsorship and the regional sponsorship work..how is an application selected for the sponsorship?

Regards,
Thank you Mark..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Regional employer (subclass 187 RSMS) and non-regional employer (subclass 186 ENS) sponsorship involves an employer who offers you a contract for employment sponsoring you for one of these visas. From my experience, no point in selecting these in EOI and waiting for an employer to select you, as employers have more than enough people approaching them for work to need to go out looking themselves. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I'm not sure that waiting to be selected for employer sponsorship is the best strategy - if you're looking at these avenues, I'd consider mounting a full-scale job search in Australia, since a contract from an employer is required for these visas (in addition to other requirements).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Thank you mark for your valuable advise..It saved me and made me rectify my mistake...
> As i understand in the employment history i need to match the ACS result..Even though i have 12 years experience ACS has substituted my first 6 yrs as a part of education (bcz of degree not related to the occupation)..
> So i will be entering only the work after March 2007 as my employment history...So i get 10 points for my work experience...
> Now my score is only 60..  Almost no chance of getting invited as software engineer...Lets pray for any sponsorship..
> Can you let me know how does the employer sponsorship and the regional sponsorship work..how is an application selected for the sponsorship?
> 
> Regards,
> Thank you Mark..


----------



## mack1982

repeat question.. ignore it... thanks


----------



## Bela

Hi Mark,
I have applied for student visa on 9/10/2013 from Nepal for MBA November session. I got the interview call from Australian High Commission (New Delhi) on 14/11/2013 but unfortunately I could not attain that call properly as I was about to board the flight to Nepal from UAE (where I was working) for that reason I got the differed COE for 24/3/2014 But the high commission didn't call or write back till 26th of this month. After continuous emails and phone calls for the past few days they sent me the reply on 26th evening stating my visa application has been rejected because I over stayed in UAE. Well, yes my visa to UAE had expired on 2/11/2013 and I flew from UAE on 14/11/2013 because UAE has the provision of 30 days grace period. Once the visa expires or cancelled one must leave the country within 30 days. I had informed that to the visa officers when they called me on 14/11/2013 but after all this months of waiting they rejected my application giving such a reason. So, Mark what can I do now? In fact I wrote back to them with the snapshots of webpages where the UAE's 30 days grace period has been mentioned and also the copy or UAE's labor law but I haven't received any replay from them. Is it possible for them to cancel my application with such a unacceptable reason. In article 131 of UAE labour law it is written as such " 2. A worker who is provided with accommodation by his employer shall vacate it within thirty days from the date of termination of his service." and there are other sub articles also. But the high commission has mentioned on their rejection letter that they asked the UAE embassy but they said there is no such provision where as on the other hand I did speak with Labour Ministry when I was there and they said 30 days grace period is there. So, I am really confused and lost right now please help...


----------



## naimhasen

hi Mark,
my employer had apply for nomination 2 month ago.today i go to that application for uploading some more documents.when i try to upload that document i receive an error that is....
unable to attach document.maximum number of files allowed has been reached.
processing has been finalised for filename. you are no longer permitted to attach documents to this applicant.
is this mean they already has made a decision for this application? if yes why i have not receive any email in this regard.
2. i have everything no complication for the visa RSMS187 temporary residence stream what do u recommend me i should apply myself to save money or i should hire a lawyer?i should wait for approval of nomination or i should submit my visa application straight away. thanks


----------



## Mironapower

Hi Mark:

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate your support. I have more couple questions:
1) Can I fill form 80 or 1221 using computer, then print it, sign it, scan it and upload it?
2) Do I need to submit my high school certificate? (I have bachelor assessed by ACS and I submitted its documents already)
3) I found out, that data regarding my address while staying outside is not correct (I selected different neighborhood next to my neighborhood instead), should I submit form 1022 to correct them or should ignore it? Is correction form taken as negative sign or has negative impact?

BR,
Mirona


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bela -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your visa refusal. It sounds like there may have been some confusion re: laws in UAE re: when a person has to depart, vs when their visa expires - unfortunately knowing nothing about UAE law, I wouldn't be much help there!

Offshore student visa decisions are not reviewable or appealable, so you'd have to lodge a new application if you wanted to try again. If the only reason your application was refused was because DIBP believes you breached a visa condition in UAE (negative previous immigration history is one of the reasons a student visa can be refused) and you believe you did not breach those conditions, you'd probably need to get a UAW lawyer or legal expert to quote the exact part of the law that you say allows 30 days, etc that is directly related to a visa - that was the big difference I saw in what you mentioned in the note - the Labour law seems to apply to workers on a job and when they have to depart, but a separate issue is the expiration date of the visa. If you find that the law is on your side, then a further student visa with a complete explanation with evidence as to how you actually did not overstay your visa in the UAE would be helpful. Would it be enough to get your application approved? No way to tell, but if the alleged breach is the only reason they refused it last time, evidence showing that you didn't actually breach your conditions could be very helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bela said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have applied for student visa on 9/10/2013 from Nepal for MBA November session. I got the interview call from Australian High Commission (New Delhi) on 14/11/2013 but unfortunately I could not attain that call properly as I was about to board the flight to Nepal from UAE (where I was working) for that reason I got the differed COE for 24/3/2014 But the high commission didn't call or write back till 26th of this month. After continuous emails and phone calls for the past few days they sent me the reply on 26th evening stating my visa application has been rejected because I over stayed in UAE. Well, yes my visa to UAE had expired on 2/11/2013 and I flew from UAE on 14/11/2013 because UAE has the provision of 30 days grace period. Once the visa expires or cancelled one must leave the country within 30 days. I had informed that to the visa officers when they called me on 14/11/2013 but after all this months of waiting they rejected my application giving such a reason. So, Mark what can I do now? In fact I wrote back to them with the snapshots of webpages where the UAE's 30 days grace period has been mentioned and also the copy or UAE's labor law but I haven't received any replay from them. Is it possible for them to cancel my application with such a unacceptable reason. In article 131 of UAE labour law it is written as such " 2. A worker who is provided with accommodation by his employer shall vacate it within thirty days from the date of termination of his service." and there are other sub articles also. But the high commission has mentioned on their rejection letter that they asked the UAE embassy but they said there is no such provision where as on the other hand I did speak with Labour Ministry when I was there and they said 30 days grace period is there. So, I am really confused and lost right now please help...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naimhasen -

Sounds like the nomination may have been finalised, however note that the employer receives communications re: a nomination as it's the employer who is actually the applicant for the nomination. If the employer used a migration agent, then the agent would likely have received the info. Suggest you contact the employer to see what's up, and ask the employer to contact DIBP to see the status if the employer is not aware of the status.

Re: visa application to use a migration agent or not, I don't know enough about your case to really advise you on that. RSMS TRT stream applications are generally straightforward - popular issues tend to be if there is any documentation or inconsistency issues with the 2 yrs employment documents, any change in duties or position, plus the usual health & character issues. I'd suggest not making your RSMS application (unless you need to for bridging visa or other purposes) until you see what the status is on the nomination.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naimhasen said:


> hi Mark,
> my employer had apply for nomination 2 month ago.today i go to that application for uploading some more documents.when i try to upload that document i receive an error that is....
> unable to attach document.maximum number of files allowed has been reached.
> processing has been finalised for filename. you are no longer permitted to attach documents to this applicant.
> is this mean they already has made a decision for this application? if yes why i have not receive any email in this regard.
> 2. i have everything no complication for the visa RSMS187 temporary residence stream what do u recommend me i should apply myself to save money or i should hire a lawyer?i should wait for approval of nomination or i should submit my visa application straight away. thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mirona -

#1 - Yes.
#2 - Yes as of the new Form 80 that wants educational quals since birth
#3 - Generally better to correct it - shows you are trying to be 100% accurate

Best,

Mark Northam



Mironapower said:


> Hi Mark:
> 
> Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate your support. I have more couple questions:
> 1) Can I fill form 80 or 1221 using computer, then print it, sign it, scan it and upload it?
> 2) Do I need to submit my high school certificate? (I have bachelor assessed by ACS and I submitted its documents already)
> 3) I found out, that data regarding my address while staying outside is not correct (I selected different neighborhood next to my neighborhood instead), should I submit form 1022 to correct them or should ignore it? Is correction form taken as negative sign or has negative impact?
> 
> BR,
> Mirona


----------



## Mironapower

Dear Mark:

Thanks to your quick reply. Just more clarifications:

1) Since the new Form 80 that wants educational quals since birth, does this mean, I need to submit my primary and preparatory certificates as well? 

2) Does this applies to my spouse as well?

3) The new form 80 requires employment and unemployment from birth, does this mean I will need to provide evidence for employment that I am not claiming points for it? I have only experience letter for it, but no bank transfers or any other one
Do I need evidence for unemployment?

4) what about my spouse? Does he need the same for his experience (I am not claiming points for spouse).

Best regards,
Mirona


----------



## AndrewM

*Visitor visa after WHV to go on Defacto*

Hi Mark,

Quick question:

- I'm German, my girlfriend Australian, been together for 4.5 years (long distance relationship, flying overseas to visit each other 3-4 times per year)

- but we can only prove a "defacto relationship" (bills, bond, rental contract, bond) for 11 1/2 months

- once my WHV runs out (in 10 weeks) we will have 11 1/2 months of official defacto in total

Can I just fly home to Germany for 3 weeks, apply for a visitor visa, stay another 2-3 months and launch my defacto application during that period when back in OZ?

Many thanks in advance!
Andrew


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mirona -

Re: Form 80, there is no requirement to including supporting documents or evidence with this form, so no need for educational certificates, work references, etc - all they want is the data about the jobs/quals/etc. Depending on the visa you are applying for, you may definitely need to include lots of supporting docs for your previous employment and/or quals, but again that depends on the visa. Not sure what visa you are applying for - if a skilled visa, then DIBP normally requires Form 80 from all adult applicants.

Best,

Mark Northam



Mironapower said:


> Dear Mark:
> 
> Thanks to your quick reply. Just more clarifications:
> 
> 1) Since the new Form 80 that wants educational quals since birth, does this mean, I need to submit my primary and preparatory certificates as well?
> 
> 2) Does this applies to my spouse as well?
> 
> 3) The new form 80 requires employment and unemployment from birth, does this mean I will need to provide evidence for employment that I am not claiming points for it? I have only experience letter for it, but no bank transfers or any other one
> Do I need evidence for unemployment?
> 
> 4) what about my spouse? Does he need the same for his experience (I am not claiming points for spouse).
> 
> Best regards,
> Mirona


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

Visitor visa idea sounds like a good one if they will approve, however that's a big "if" - if they think you are establishing residency time in Australia, that would not be compatible with the purposes for a visitor visa. For defacto, if you do not register your relationship with the Australian state you live in (if the state allows this - WA and SA do not), they will look at the 12 months prior to application and want evidence that any time apart was temporary in nature. A quick trip back to your home country to see family, take care of business, etc might work depending on the circumstances and the case officer involved. On your return to Australia, would definitely have a return air ticket (not one-way).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AndrewM said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Quick question:
> 
> - I'm German, my girlfriend Australian, been together for 4.5 years (long distance relationship, flying overseas to visit each other 3-4 times per year)
> 
> - but we can only prove a "defacto relationship" (bills, bond, rental contract, bond) for 11 1/2 months
> 
> - once my WHV runs out (in 10 weeks) we will have 11 1/2 months of official defacto in total
> 
> Can I just fly home to Germany for 3 weeks, apply for a visitor visa, stay another 2-3 months and launch my defacto application during that period when back in OZ?
> 
> Many thanks in advance!
> Andrew


----------



## Mironapower

Hi Mark:

Yes, it is visa 190. I asked about preparatory and primary schools because you advised earlier to include high school certificate as form 80 include information since birth. so If I understand you right:

1) I do not need to submit supporting documents for form 80 claims.
2) I need to include high school certificates for both me and my spouse
3) I need to include my spouse qualifications even if I do not claim points for him
3) I do not need evidence for jobs I am not claiming points for and not included in ACS assessment

right?

BR,
Mirona

right?

BR,
Mirona



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mirona -
> 
> Re: Form 80, there is no requirement to including supporting documents or evidence with this form, so no need for educational certificates, work references, etc - all they want is the data about the jobs/quals/etc. Depending on the visa you are applying for, you may definitely need to include lots of supporting docs for your previous employment and/or quals, but again that depends on the visa. Not sure what visa you are applying for - if a skilled visa, then DIBP normally requires Form 80 from all adult applicants.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## JessicaSchultz

Hi Mark

Let me just say that you selflessly helping people on this forum is just unbelievable. Thank you.

I would really appreciate advice.

My story:
- I have both an Italian and South African passport
- My partner is an Australian Citizen
- We currently live together in London and have been doing so since October 2012
- I am moving back to South Africa on April 16th 2014 where I hope to lodge my application as soon as possible
- My partner is staying in London to complete a postgraduate degree, after which he intends to move back to Australia (October 2014)

My first question is:
Can I apply for a Partner Visa (subclass 309) on the basis of proving a defacto relationship and then apply for a working visa on my Italian passport before I turn 31 in August 2014 so that I can join my partner in Australia in October if my Partner Visa has not been granted?
- I know I cannot be in Australia when my Partner Visa is granted but I have read of people getting around with this by flying to New Zealand or somewhere out of Australia when the visa is granted. Is there a way to do this?

My second question is:
Do I still qualify for the Partner Visa if I am no longer living with my Partner? As I said I am moving back to South Africa without my partner mid April. I can prove that we lived together from October 2012 to April 2014. But when I submit my application (say May 2014) we will not have been living with each other for a month or so. Will this work against us?

My third question:
Do you recommend submitting the application online or by physically delivering the application to the relevant Australian Embassy, in my case in Pretoria South Africa?

My last question:
Does ALL evidence have to be certified? For example if I submit copies of bills or bank statement or even birthday cards - does each page need to be certified?

Thanks in advance. Apologies for the bombardment of questions.

Jessica


----------



## lissa

Hi Mark,

I just need to confirm about my case.

I am currently on a bridging visa A for my graduate 485 visa, previously on student visa 573 which expired 15 March 2014.
Now I'm planning to lodge for my 189 visa.
Since I'm on a BVA, I will be granted a BVC.
Can you please confirm if I can't work on this BVC?
I work fulltime and have dependents so this really worries me.

I have read from the Immigration site that there will be no work restrictions if the substantive visa is 189. When you say substantive visa, is it the one you are currently applying or the previous one? In my case, my substantive visa would be the 189 or the 485 or the student visa 573? Out of these 3 I'm guessing I'm free with the limitations only for 189 visa.

573 - expired
485 - on BVA
189 - about to lodge

Please confirm.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mirona -

Thanks for the email. We're getting into quite a bit of detail about your application, and as such I regret I'm not able to assist to that level as you're not a client and I haven't seen any of your documents and don't have the level of detail or knowledge about your case to be able to give you specific advice about your application.

Generally speaking, for the Form 80, you do not need to supply any documentary evidence of educational qualifications or work experience. However, I can't speak for whatever state sponsorship authority you may be dealing with and what documents about quals and work experience they may want - this differs widely from one to the other.

If you've already received an invitation and are dealing with DIBP, they generally do not need evidence from unrelated job experience, and generally do not need evidence from high school or before unless it's required for your occupation, your identification (this happens a lot with students from India, Philippines, etc), etc. However for occupation relevant to your application, they will want ref letter and often want proof of payment (payslips, etc) even if this work has already been assessed by the skills assessor.

Normally spouse with no partner points claims needs evidence of Functional English which may include qualifying school qual docs (or IELTS or other accepted means), but normally does not need to provide prev employment evidence.

Hope this helps - if you are unsure of your application and want to go over the details, would be happy for you to book a consulting session from our website (see email sig below) which would give us the time and resources to go through your entire case and determine exactly what docs, etc are required.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mironapower said:


> Hi Mark:
> 
> Yes, it is visa 190. I asked about preparatory and primary schools because you advised earlier to include high school certificate as form 80 include information since birth. so If I understand you right:
> 
> 1) I do not need to submit supporting documents for form 80 claims.
> 2) I need to include high school certificates for both me and my spouse
> 3) I need to include my spouse qualifications even if I do not claim points for him
> 3) I do not need evidence for jobs I am not claiming points for and not included in ACS assessment
> 
> right?
> 
> BR,
> Mirona
> 
> right?
> 
> BR,
> Mirona


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jessica -

Thanks for the questions and kind words! Responses below (***):



JessicaSchultz said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Let me just say that you selflessly helping people on this forum is just unbelievable. Thank you.
> 
> I would really appreciate advice.
> 
> My story:
> - I have both an Italian and South African passport
> - My partner is an Australian Citizen
> - We currently live together in London and have been doing so since October 2012
> - I am moving back to South Africa on April 16th 2014 where I hope to lodge my application as soon as possible
> - My partner is staying in London to complete a postgraduate degree, after which he intends to move back to Australia (October 2014)
> 
> My first question is:
> Can I apply for a Partner Visa (subclass 309) on the basis of proving a defacto relationship and then apply for a working visa on my Italian passport before I turn 31 in August 2014 so that I can join my partner in Australia in October if my Partner Visa has not been granted?
> - I know I cannot be in Australia when my Partner Visa is granted but I have read of people getting around with this by flying to New Zealand or somewhere out of Australia when the visa is granted. Is there a way to do this?
> *
> *** You can, however if you've already lodged the partner visa, the WHM visa may be refused on the basis that you are not a "genuine visitor" with the intention of visiting Australia for a holiday. Hard to say if they would do this or not - depends on the case officer. Another options is lodging the WHM visa application first, then lodging the partner visa while you're still outside Australia, however the risk with this approach is that if you do not declare your defacto partner on your WHM application, then claim shortly thereafter in a partner visa application that you have had a defacto partner for 12 months, that could harm your partner visa application. Better option would be to lodge the partner visa first (assuming you have evidence and there is no reason not to lodge at that time), then apply for a visitor visa to Australia (vs WHM) - the visitor visa is a bit more flexible in processing. Either visitor or WHM visa could work, however, depending on the case officer.*
> 
> My second question is:
> Do I still qualify for the Partner Visa if I am no longer living with my Partner? As I said I am moving back to South Africa without my partner mid April. I can prove that we lived together from October 2012 to April 2014. But when I submit my application (say May 2014) we will not have been living with each other for a month or so. Will this work against us?
> **** DIBP requires proof of the defacto relationship for the 12 months prior to application, and DIBP has determined that the primary evidence of a defacto relationship is the couple living together. Any time apart must be shown to be temporary in nature. Would need to examine your evidence and details much more closely in a consulting session in order to give you any specific advice re: relationship evidence.*
> 
> My third question:
> Do you recommend submitting the application online or by physically delivering the application to the relevant Australian Embassy, in my case in Pretoria South Africa?
> **** Depends on what visa you are applying for. For visitor visa or WHM, follow DIBP instructions. For partner visa, we recommend online.*
> 
> My last question:
> Does ALL evidence have to be certified? For example if I submit copies of bills or bank statement or even birthday cards - does each page need to be certified?
> 
> **** For paper applications: yes. For online applications: no - DIBP is accepting uncertified colour scans of original documents these days for partner visa applications lodged online*.
> 
> Thanks in advance. Apologies for the bombardment of questions.
> 
> Jessica


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lissa -

I'm assuming you've already received an invitation to lodge a 189 application? If so, in these cases normally DIBP will provide a Bridging Visa C with no conditions, since you had been on the BV-A for more than 28 days. If for any reason the BV-C is issued with a no work restriction, it's a simple matter to apply for a new BV-C with work rights (use Form 1005) and show that without the ability to work, you would have a financial hardship - this normally involves showing your monthly income and monthly expenses and writing a short statement explaining things.

Also, a "substantive visa" is a non-bridging visa. So a 189 or 485 would be a substantive visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lissa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just need to confirm about my case.
> 
> I am currently on a bridging visa A for my graduate 485 visa, previously on student visa 573 which expired 15 March 2014.
> Now I'm planning to lodge for my 189 visa.
> Since I'm on a BVA, I will be granted a BVC.
> Can you please confirm if I can't work on this BVC?
> I work fulltime and have dependents so this really worries me.
> 
> I have read from the Immigration site that there will be no work restrictions if the substantive visa is 189. When you say substantive visa, is it the one you are currently applying or the previous one? In my case, my substantive visa would be the 189 or the 485 or the student visa 573? Out of these 3 I'm guessing I'm free with the limitations only for 189 visa.
> 
> 573 - expired
> 485 - on BVA
> 189 - about to lodge
> 
> Please confirm.


----------



## Mironapower

Thanks Mark for all the help


----------



## naimhasen

Can u answer me my question, s answer first


----------



## Vivian

Hi Mark,

I am updating my skill assessment with CPA (Ielts result), in the meantime, should I apply EOI or should I wait until i get the assessment? I was told it will take 10-15 business days.
As there is a question asking "Date of assessment", I dont know what should I fill in there.


----------



## kangaroogirl

naimhasen said:


> Can u answer me my question, s answer first


Mark has answered your question a few pages back.


----------



## forestwood

*No bridging visa on acknowledgement Letter*

Hi Mark,
I finally have my 820 Visa lodged online just now and got the "Acknowledgement of Application". 
But I don't see any clause there about bridging visa. My current visa will expire in two weeks. Normally how do I know whether I am granted a bridging visa? will they send me a letter concerning granting a bridging visa? Why do I not having anything about bridging visa mentioned on my acknowledgement letter?

Thanks very much!

Regards!


----------



## Everlongdrummer

Hi Mark, 

My girlfriend and I want to apply for an onshore partner visa next year, and have saved enough for her to study for a year while we gather evidence. 

I have previously sponsored someone in a similar successful partner visa 4 years ago (we have since broken up) and understand there is a 5 year waiting period from the date of application received from the first application, before we can apply next year. 

We have saved enough so my current girlfriend can study up to 2 months before the date we are eligible to apply. 

My question is - if we send the application 2 months before the date we are eligible (i.e. the 5 year waiting period) - and hope it takes at least 2 months for a CO to be assigned, will this be OK?

Looking at my previous application it took 3 months for CO to be assigned, and many on the forums recently, it's longer. Even if by bad luck a CO was assigned within 2 months of the application and rejects it, we could appeal and drag it over the 5 year requirement date?

Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivian -

Not sure exactly what's happening with your skills assessment, but if everything is not 100% accurate/positive/complete/etc then best to wait until that's satisfied, then lodge your EOI with that final, positive skills assessment, especially if it's only a matter of a couple of weeks. That assumes there are no other factors in your case that may provide a reason to lodge the EOI sooner.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vivian said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am updating my skill assessment with CPA (Ielts result), in the meantime, should I apply EOI or should I wait until i get the assessment? I was told it will take 10-15 business days.
> As there is a question asking "Date of assessment", I dont know what should I fill in there.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Forestwood -

Sometimes these are not auto-generated and will arrive in a few days. If there is nothing after a week, I'd contact DIBP directly and find out what's up. Did you check all of the pages of the acknowledgement letter? Sometimes they tack the BV onto the last pages of the ackn letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



forestwood said:


> Hi Mark,
> I finally have my 820 Visa lodged online just now and got the "Acknowledgement of Application".
> But I don't see any clause there about bridging visa. My current visa will expire in two weeks. Normally how do I know whether I am granted a bridging visa? will they send me a letter concerning granting a bridging visa? Why do I not having anything about bridging visa mentioned on my acknowledgement letter?
> 
> Thanks very much!
> 
> Regards!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Everlongdrummer -

[Updated post - see update later in this thread for details]

Best,

Mark Northam



Everlongdrummer said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My girlfriend and I want to apply for an onshore partner visa next year, and have saved enough for her to study for a year while we gather evidence.
> 
> I have previously sponsored someone in a similar successful partner visa 4 years ago (we have since broken up) and understand there is a 5 year waiting period from the date of application received from the first application, before we can apply next year.
> 
> We have saved enough so my current girlfriend can study up to 2 months before the date we are eligible to apply.
> 
> My question is - if we send the application 2 months before the date we are eligible (i.e. the 5 year waiting period) - and hope it takes at least 2 months for a CO to be assigned, will this be OK?
> 
> Looking at my previous application it took 3 months for CO to be assigned, and many on the forums recently, it's longer. Even if by bad luck a CO was assigned within 2 months of the application and rejects it, we could appeal and drag it over the 5 year requirement date?
> 
> Many thanks


----------



## natka

*Entry date for visitors visa*

Hi Mark! Thank you for donating your time to help people like me. It's very kind of you.

I'm in the process of applying for visitor visas 600e for a couple of my friends. There are a few things happening in their lives right now so they are not sure exactly when they will be able to come to Oz (sometime in the next 6 months). Despite of that, they would like to have the visa ready for when they decide to travel. My question is, what dates do we specify in the application? Are we able to change the entry date once the visas are issued? Is there an option of a "floating" entry date?
(you might need to know that they don't require a passport label)

Thanks again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Natka-

Thanks for the question. They will ask for proposed arrival and departure dates, but the actual visa normally does not have locked-in arrival and departure dates and instead allows you to arrive at any time up until a particular date, and stay for whatever the maximum per-stay limit is (often 3 months for ETA and eVisitor visas, varies for others). These visas are issued in both single-entry and multiple-entry versions depending on the applicant and requested time period, so you may be able to arrive once on the visa, or multiple times.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



natka said:


> Hi Mark! Thank you for donating your time to help people like me. It's very kind of you.
> 
> I'm in the process of applying for visitor visas 600e for a couple of my friends. There are a few things happening in their lives right now so they are not sure exactly when they will be able to come to Oz (sometime in the next 6 months). Despite of that, they would like to have the visa ready for when they decide to travel. My question is, what dates do we specify in the application? Are we able to change the entry date once the visas are issued? Is there an option of a "floating" entry date?
> (you might need to know that they don't require a passport label)
> 
> Thanks again.


----------



## natka

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Natka-
> 
> Thanks for the question. They will ask for proposed arrival and departure dates, but the actual visa normally does not have locked-in arrival and departure dates and instead allows you to arrive at any time up until a particular date, and stay for whatever the maximum per-stay limit is (often 3 months for ETA and eVisitor visas, varies for others). These visas are issued in both single-entry and multiple-entry versions depending on the applicant and requested time period, so you may be able to arrive once on the visa, or multiple times.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you, Mark. I guess my question now is whether it's possible to get the visa valid for 6 months rather than 3?


----------



## MarkNortham

All depends on the case officer - they have a wide discretion in many instances regarding how the visa is configured - best thing to do generally is to ask for what you want, and provide good evidence about what you're going to do during the visit (ie, itinerary or plan, etc).

Best,

Mark Northam



natka said:


> Thank you, Mark. I guess my question now is whether it's possible to get the visa valid for 6 months rather than 3?


----------



## soontowed

natka said:


> Hi Mark! Thank you for donating your time to help people like me. It's very kind of you.
> 
> I'm in the process of applying for visitor visas 600e for a couple of my friends. There are a few things happening in their lives right now so they are not sure exactly when they will be able to come to Oz (sometime in the next 6 months). Despite of that, they would like to have the visa ready for when they decide to travel. My question is, what dates do we specify in the application? Are we able to change the entry date once the visas are issued? Is there an option of a "floating" entry date?
> (you might need to know that they don't require a passport label)
> 
> Thanks again.


. Hi I would like to share to you my experience regarding visitor visa subclass 600.. asked your friend when they are ready to travel, certain countries vary when it comes to processing, I got my subclass visa 600 here in Hk in 2 workings days only.. I am a contract worker here but with complete documents and supporting letter I was granted visa in short time. When you apply for visa let say 1 month, if visa was granted usually they allow you 2 month with certain condition. They will give you few month in which you should enter Australia.. mine was granted June but before end of Nov is my last day to arrive Australia, after that my visa is no longer valid. last Dec I applied visa 600 again and because of the volume of applicants my visa was granted and mailed to me after 8 working days.. In my applicaton I only had 17 days but consulated gave me 1 month which is February 2014 is the last date to arrive. Yes they dont give you visa in your passport, since you are pre approved just show your passport at the counter.. but have a ready copy of the visa in case they asked


----------



## Everlongdrummer

Hi mark,

Thanks for the quick reply.

I'd like to verify your view that the 5 year waiting period is from the earlier visa grant rather than the visa application. The RMA I spoke with on the phone also assumed the same but when looked into the fine details of an Immi document, found it was actually from the application date recieve, also see link below. Has this been recently changed or do you know of recent cases otherwise? Our entire plans depend on this fact! :/

5 year second spouse visa limit - Migration Help

Also at the bottom of the 'application to sponsor' in the acknowledgments it reads "cannot sponsor another fiancé(e) or partner until 5 years have passed from the date my current fiancé(e) or partner makes their application, unless I have compelling circumstances;"

Thanks again 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Everlongdrummer -
> 
> [updated post - see below]


----------



## AngeliquePrince

HI Mark,

Thank you for the advise. I guess, they will have to wait. I believe me and my husband got really lucky because 2013, we got our approval 3 months only.

She just feel that we might have the same time line for the approval but I told her it is a case to case basis. I am now enjoying my stay here and had found a stable job. 

Take care always everyone.


----------



## AngeliquePrince

Hi College girl,

Thank you for the advise. I guess things has changed since then

Cheers,

AngeliquePrince


----------



## eleanor

HI Mark and thank you, our situation is very tricky indeed, as i have said be fore my philip fiance has been married twice, Once in the philipps and once in japan, She has now been divorce in japan ,and has an annulment in the philippines, Problem is now after all this time and money she has found out that she is still married to the japanese man according to the NSO in the philippines, She did not realise that when she got married in japan years ago that the philippine embassy in tokyo sent papers to NSO in philippines, so now she cant get a singleness papers unless it goes through the courts again in the philippines, Apparently this is what happens to filipino women if they get married in another country, Every thing is still sent back to NSO in manila, She has japanese permanent residency if that helps at all, What a mess, Can you think of a way out of this please Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Everlongdrummer -

I stand corrected - not sure if this may have changed recently, but it's good news for you. Here's the exact regulation that applies from the Migration Regulations 1994 Reg 1.20J:

_(a) not more than 1 other person has been granted a relevant permission as:

(i) the spouse, de facto partner or prospective spouse of the sponsor on the basis of a sponsorship or nomination; or

(ii) a person who ceased a relationship of a kind mentioned in subparagraph (i) with the sponsor after the person, or another person mentioned in the prescribed criteria for the visa, had suffered family violence committed by the sponsor; and

(b) if another person has been granted a relevant permission in the circumstances referred to in paragraph (a) - not less than 5 years has passed since the date of making the application for that relevant permission; and

(c) if the sponsor was granted a relevant permission as the spouse, de facto partner or prospective spouse of another person on the basis of a sponsorship or nomination - not less than 5 years has passed since the date of making the application for that relevant permission._

So to confirm, the 5 year clock starts at the application date for the previous granted "relevant permission" (ie, visa).

Best,

Mark Northam



Everlongdrummer said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Thanks for the quick reply.
> 
> I'd like to verify your view that the 5 year waiting period is from the earlier visa grant rather than the visa application. The RMA I spoke with on the phone also assumed the same but when looked into the fine details of an Immi document, found it was actually from the application date recieve, also see link below. Has this been recently changed or do you know of recent cases otherwise? Our entire plans depend on this fact! :/
> 
> 5 year second spouse visa limit - Migration Help
> 
> Also at the bottom of the 'application to sponsor' in the acknowledgments it reads "cannot sponsor another fiancé(e) or partner until 5 years have passed from the date my current fiancé(e) or partner makes their application, unless I have compelling circumstances;"
> 
> Thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eleanor -

It would appear the only way out of this is to get the records corrected at the NSO. I have heard many stories of fraud and ripoffs related to getting annulments properly recorded in the Phil. - suggest you work with the most trusted, reputable lawyer you can find there to get the records corrected there so it's possible to get the CENOMAR certificate from NSO.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



eleanor said:


> HI Mark and thank you, our situation is very tricky indeed, as i have said be fore my philip fiance has been married twice, Once in the philipps and once in japan, She has now been divorce in japan ,and has an annulment in the philippines, Problem is now after all this time and money she has found out that she is still married to the japanese man according to the NSO in the philippines, She did not realise that when she got married in japan years ago that the philippine embassy in tokyo sent papers to NSO in philippines, so now she cant get a singleness papers unless it goes through the courts again in the philippines, Apparently this is what happens to filipino women if they get married in another country, Every thing is still sent back to NSO in manila, She has japanese permanent residency if that helps at all, What a mess, Can you think of a way out of this please Thanks.


----------



## jsyed87

Hi Guys,

This is going to be my first post here and I really hope to get a beginner's luck in getting a great response . So here is the thing, me and my wife want to migrate to Australia and for now we are considering 189 as the way to go with me being an applicant. Following are our details :

My Age : 26
My Occupation : Software Engineer.
My Designation : Senior Embedded Software Engineer.
My Professional Experience : 4.5 Years of Experience in Software Engineering ( will be full 5 years on this coming October.)
My Qualification : Bachelors in Telecommunication Engineer. (BE)
ICT Courses Studied In the Bachelors Degree :
- Introduction to Computer Sciences.
- Object-Oriented Programming.
- Data Structures and Algorithms.
- Computer Logic Design.
- Computer Organization and Architecture.
- MicroProcessor Interfacing and Programming.
- Operating Systems.
- Data Communication and Networks.
- Parallel and Distributed Computing.

My Wife's Occupation : Research Assistant in the field of Life Sciences.
My Wife's Qualification : Master's Degree in Physiology (16 Years of Education).
My Wife's Experience : apprx 4 years.



Okay so my questions are as follow :

- When i will go through ACS for my skills assessment, how many years do u guys thing will I lose ? ( Because of having qualification in non ICT field).
- Can i do any kinda ICT certifications which will equate to be my ICT qualification and hence i will be able to enjoy complete points of my experience ?
- Are there any better options available for our case other then 189 ?
- Should i apply for EOI right away or should I wait for October 2014 to complete my 5 years of experience ?


Looking forward for great Response from you and thanks in advance.


----------



## Katha

*Partner migration visa question*

Hi everyone,
My boyfriend (Aussie) and I (German) have been in a relationship for almost two years. We want to apply for a partner migration visa now as I got offered a job in Australia starting from October 2014. Unfortunately the company is not able to support me with a working visa.
We have collected lots of evidence over the past two years. I am still living in Germany and will finish my degree in August. 
Is it possible to apply for a partner migration visa from outside Australia (subclass 309) and get a bridging visa that will allow me to enter Australia and start working there in October? 
If so, what bridging visa do I have to apply for, do I apply for it from outside Australia or do I enter Australia on a tourist visa, then apply for the bridging visa?

Alternatively I can fly to Australia and apply from inside Australia but would have to fly back to Germany before October (to finish my degree).

Was anyone been in a similar situation or do you have any thoughts on that? We are happy for every piece of advice!
Cheers, Katharina


----------



## eleanor

Thanks Mark, I will try to explain better, She now has her annulment And singleness form NSO from her 1st marriage in the philippines, All is well there,no problems, But now she thinks that her 2nd marriage to a man in japan is registered in NSO in manila as well, So now needs to go through the whole process a gain, Would that be correct Thanks.


----------



## eleanor

eleanor said:


> Thanks Mark, I will try to explain better, She now has her annulment And singleness form NSO from her 1st marriage in the philippines, All is well there,no problems, But now she thinks that her 2nd marriage to a man in japan is registered in NSO in manila as well, So now needs to go through the whole process a gain, Would that be correct Thanks.


Ill just add , that she is divorced in japan as well now, But the records of that marriage are still in NSO manila, Does not seem rite to me .


----------



## Everlongdrummer

Thanks for looking into this Mark,

I hope it will help others who are confused on this rule as well. 

Brett



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Everlongdrummer -
> 
> I stand corrected - not sure if this may have changed recently, but it's good news for you. Here's the exact regulation that applies from the Migration Regulations 1994 Reg 1.20J:
> 
> _(a) not more than 1 other person has been granted a relevant permission as:
> 
> (i) the spouse, de facto partner or prospective spouse of the sponsor on the basis of a sponsorship or nomination; or
> 
> (ii) a person who ceased a relationship of a kind mentioned in subparagraph (i) with the sponsor after the person, or another person mentioned in the prescribed criteria for the visa, had suffered family violence committed by the sponsor; and
> 
> (b) if another person has been granted a relevant permission in the circumstances referred to in paragraph (a) - not less than 5 years has passed since the date of making the application for that relevant permission; and
> 
> (c) if the sponsor was granted a relevant permission as the spouse, de facto partner or prospective spouse of another person on the basis of a sponsorship or nomination - not less than 5 years has passed since the date of making the application for that relevant permission._
> 
> So to confirm, the 5 year clock starts at the application date for the previous granted "relevant permission" (ie, visa).
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## HHanif

Dear Mark,

Thanks for your reply.

I received an email from the Department that I was contacted by AHC Islamabad through phone on 12th 19th 26th but the calls werent answered and asking a reason of not attending the calls.
On the 12th and 19th I did get a call. but since i am a working person, unfortunately i was busy in a meeting both the times. So i immediately called them back and i was told by the AHC that i will be contacted again if required. I have been emailing AHc since then. Unfortunately on the 25th, my phone was snatched.

How do I tell this to DIBP? How do i make a strong case?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi HHanif -
> 
> We're seeing increasing delays with student visas, especially from your part of the world. SVP doesn't really seem to make a difference in processing times, and last time I checked DIBP was not giving estimates of SVP processing times. Re: interviews, very common these days for student visas for assessment level 3 situations, sometimes AL2. As the maximum time you can apply for a first student visa is 4 months in advance (ie, CoE is not valid for a first student visa application if the start date on the CoE is more than 124 days from the date of application), we may soon be getting to the point where lodging 4 months in advance is all but required if you hope to get a decision in time to travel and begin school on time.
> 
> Interview questions for student visas typically deal with your knowledge of the courses and subjects, your academic history, why you want to come to Australia to study, plus various questions about your family, financial circumstances, any connections you have to Australia, etc. although lots of unexpected questions come up too. Would study the Genuine Temporary Entrant policy to prepare.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Bstex

Hi mark, I just had a question about me and my partners de facto application: 

we have lived together for 6 months over the course of a year and have lots of other evidence to our relationship, I just wondered if this will damage our chances significantly..we were going to include a letter saying why we haven't lived together (work commitments, independence etc.) just wondering your thoughts. Thank you so much!


----------



## cvinoz

Hi Mark.
I'm currently in Australia in a 574 student visa until 2018 while my partner is living overseas and whom I did not include in my visa application because at the time we were just dating. I would like my partner to join me in Australia but since we're in a same-sex relationship, it gets a bit tricky. We've been a couple for 2.5 years but never lived together so the de facto relationship is not an option. I've read a lot about our options but it seams like each case is different and it just gets a bit confusing  so I'm hoping you can help me out!

1- I read through the information on the 157A form where it says "If you are the holder of a student subclass 570-576 visa and a member of your family unit was not included in your application form, they will not be eligible to apply for a student subclass 570-576 visa as a member of your family unit, unless they give evidence that they became such a member after the decision to grant you the student subclass 570-576 visa was made". In this case, would registering our relationship in Australia in the future, be enough to prove this? And also allow to start the application as soon as the relationship is registered?

2- Do I have to fill the 1022 form (Notification of changes in circumstances) to update my partner status once the relationship is registered and before my partner applies to join my visa?

3- Since same-sex marriage is not legal, if we marry overseas how would our relationship be considered in Australia?

Any help with this would be very much appreciated  Thanks!


----------



## lissa

Hi Mark,

What will be my subsequent visa in terms of the conditions of a bridging visa C?
My original visa is student visa 573. I applied for graduate 485 visa and currently on BVA. Next week I'll lodge for EOI and if I get an invitation I'll lodge 189 straight away. I am currently working fulltime so I don't want to go on BVC where it doesn't allow you to work. BUt I've read from immigration site that if your subsequent visa is 189, you can still work. Please confirm.


----------



## Vikram9999

Hi Mark,

I have applied under visa subclass 190. I had submitted my case to immigration dept in June 13. The whole process was quite smooth and I have submitted my medicals and PCC in Dec 13. But after that nothing happened. My agent had sent an email to the case officer last week and we got a reply that application is under assessment and further checks are going on and we will contact you if any info required.
So my question is that Is it normal to have so much of delay after medicals because now the delay is more than 3 months after the medical was submitted. I am getting very concerned now.
Second question is what to do next ? Shall i contact the case officer again or shall i wait.

Your reply is appreciated.

Thanks
Vikram


----------



## natka

This time I have a more in-deapth question. Hope you can help, Mark.

We are in the process of getting my brother to Australia through skillselect.

He's got EILTS scores of 6, 6, 6, 7.5. 
We've put an application through to ACS to confirm 261313 Soft Eng. All going well, they should recognize 8 years work experience. His highest education is masters degree.
He is married with one child. His partner will not be including her work experience in the application.

Me (his sister) is an Australian citizen and permanently live in WA.

Using the points table on the dept website, he should get 75 points.

So my question relates to the type of visa we should be indicating in EOI. Am I correct in thinking that 489 would give us the best chance of getting an invitation? I am confused at the current situation with 489 as it seems they only send out a very limited number of invitation and the processing time is longer? Also it seems that WA do not require IT professionals - would that affect our outcome? 

That you in advance for clarifying our situation.


----------



## swavik

Thank you mark for all your patient replies...
I wanted to ask you about the invitation email..
Invitations are sent on second and fourth monday every month..So if we are eligible then do we get it the invite email on that monday itself or we can get an email anytime in that week.. Is it if you dont get an email on monday that means you were not lucky for this round....

Thank you Mark
Regards,
Swavik


----------



## lilychee

Hi Mark


Just a few questions that i wanted to ask: 

I am married to an australian, and we applied for 820 visa last weekend. Status is in progress, but i have been in doubt about the following; 

1) I had a medical check up and xray when i extended my student visa last June 2013, i understand that this is still valid and can be used for my 820 application, so i didn't get one, and put the information on my 820 application. Is my understanding correct?

2) Today, i realised that my education details in form80 is insufficient as i only put my details in my home country and completely forgot to put my education details in Australia, Is there anyway i can go back and add these information?

3) My husband and i filled up a stat together, and we filled up the same information in both his form 40 my form 47. Will this be sufficient?

Thank you in advance, and your help will be highly appreciated!


----------



## Anthony Deal

Hi Mark,

I have submitted for a Qualification and Skills assessment from IPA (for General Accountant) and I received a Suitable assessment for my qualifications. The skills assessment is still pending and would take another 6 weeks. 

Could you please advise whether I can go ahead and submit the EOI with the positive qualification assessment?

Or do I have to wait until I get the skills assessment as well?

Thanks for your time.

Kind regards,
Anthony Deal


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jsyed -

Thanks very much for the note. Difficult to predict how many years ACS will require - best thing to do is to get the assessment and see how they treat things - their assessment process is neither simple or quick.

Re: further ICT qualification, that would likely not work as you had hoped as your work would have been done prior to earning the qualification, so it would not be treated as skilled at the level of that qualification.

Re: better options, you might look at the 190 or 489 state sponsored visas depending on which state(s) are sponsoring your occupation and each state's requirements for sponsorship.

There are potentially 3 sets of different regulations you have to deal with - the skills assessor's, the state sponsorship authorities (for the particular state you're interested in), and the government visa requirements. Suggest you consider a consultation with a registered migration agent to work out how your situation and specific circumstances fit with the various visa(s) available to come to an informed decision as to the best visa for you, and to make sure you understand all of the laws and regulations that may apply to the visa you're interested in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jsyed87 said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> This is going to be my first post here and I really hope to get a beginner's luck in getting a great response . So here is the thing, me and my wife want to migrate to Australia and for now we are considering 189 as the way to go with me being an applicant. Following are our details :
> 
> My Age : 26
> My Occupation : Software Engineer.
> My Designation : Senior Embedded Software Engineer.
> My Professional Experience : 4.5 Years of Experience in Software Engineering ( will be full 5 years on this coming October.)
> My Qualification : Bachelors in Telecommunication Engineer. (BE)
> ICT Courses Studied In the Bachelors Degree :
> - Introduction to Computer Sciences.
> - Object-Oriented Programming.
> - Data Structures and Algorithms.
> - Computer Logic Design.
> - Computer Organization and Architecture.
> - MicroProcessor Interfacing and Programming.
> - Operating Systems.
> - Data Communication and Networks.
> - Parallel and Distributed Computing.
> 
> My Wife's Occupation : Research Assistant in the field of Life Sciences.
> My Wife's Qualification : Master's Degree in Physiology (16 Years of Education).
> My Wife's Experience : apprx 4 years.
> 
> Okay so my questions are as follow :
> 
> - When i will go through ACS for my skills assessment, how many years do u guys thing will I lose ? ( Because of having qualification in non ICT field).
> - Can i do any kinda ICT certifications which will equate to be my ICT qualification and hence i will be able to enjoy complete points of my experience ?
> - Are there any better options available for our case other then 189 ?
> - Should i apply for EOI right away or should I wait for October 2014 to complete my 5 years of experience ?
> 
> Looking forward for great Response from you and thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Katharina -

Thanks for your note, and congratulations on your job offer!

Re: partner visa, there are no bridging visas available if you lodge an offshore partner visa application (subclass 309/100) - in your case it sounds like you would be much better off looking at the onshore partner visa application (subclass 820/801) where you would be granted a bridging visa upon application that would activate at the end of your current stay on the visitor, etc visa you use to get into Australia, and would allow full work rights. Re: when you would do this, it would depend on the timing of your job, etc. Also if you applied onshore and then left before the Bridging Visa activated, there are some additional steps you may have to take to keep the bridging visa in place.

If you're looking at a defacto (ie, unmarried) partner visa application with your partner (suggest you banish the term "boyfriend" from your immigration vocabulary as that relationship does not qualify for a partner visa), suggest you carefully study the evidence and statement requirements for this visa as defacto applications are subject to an increased level of scrutiny these days.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist going forward.

Best,

Mark Northam



Katha said:


> Hi everyone,
> My boyfriend (Aussie) and I (German) have been in a relationship for almost two years. We want to apply for a partner migration visa now as I got offered a job in Australia starting from October 2014. Unfortunately the company is not able to support me with a working visa.
> We have collected lots of evidence over the past two years. I am still living in Germany and will finish my degree in August.
> Is it possible to apply for a partner migration visa from outside Australia (subclass 309) and get a bridging visa that will allow me to enter Australia and start working there in October?
> If so, what bridging visa do I have to apply for, do I apply for it from outside Australia or do I enter Australia on a tourist visa, then apply for the bridging visa?
> 
> Alternatively I can fly to Australia and apply from inside Australia but would have to fly back to Germany before October (to finish my degree).
> 
> Was anyone been in a similar situation or do you have any thoughts on that? We are happy for every piece of advice!
> Cheers, Katharina


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, as far as I know. She needs to determine exactly what her status is at the NSO, then do whatever it takes to correct that to reflect her current situation.

Best,

Mark Northam



eleanor said:


> Thanks Mark, I will try to explain better, She now has her annulment And singleness form NSO from her 1st marriage in the philippines, All is well there,no problems, But now she thinks that her 2nd marriage to a man in japan is registered in NSO in manila as well, So now needs to go through the whole process a gain, Would that be correct Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HHanif -

If they were calling to interview you, and you were not able to be interviewed, that could be a problem as they then would make the decision based on evidence in hand. To be blunt, DIBP does not care about excuses, too busy in a meeting, etc. They expect you to make your visa application #1 priority. I suggest you gather as much evidence as possible about your phone being snatched, etc and find a way to get it to your case officer as soon as possible, and ask very nicely if there is any other way to participate in an interview if that is what they were calling about.

We have a rule in our office - when DIBP calls, we're NEVER too busy to take their call. I suggest you adopt that rule, at least until your visa application is decided!

Best of luck -

Best,

Mark Northam



HHanif said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> I received an email from the Department that I was contacted by AHC Islamabad through phone on 12th 19th 26th but the calls werent answered and asking a reason of not attending the calls.
> On the 12th and 19th I did get a call. but since i am a working person, unfortunately i was busy in a meeting both the times. So i immediately called them back and i was told by the AHC that i will be contacted again if required. I have been emailing AHc since then. Unfortunately on the 25th, my phone was snatched.
> 
> How do I tell this to DIBP? How do i make a strong case?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bstex -

Thanks for the note. DIBP requires evidence that the defacto relationship was in place during the 12 month period prior to application, and that any time apart was temporary in nature. Hard to say if your proposed explanation will work - work commitments (ie, out of town work trips) might work, "independence" sounds like trouble to me. Remember DIBP expects you, essentially, to act like married people, just without the marriage certificate. You may want to consult with a registered migration agent to work with you to come up with the best evidence to support your claims re: the 12 month period. In short, it can be very difficult to get past significant times apart during those 12 months. From all reports, DIBP is flooded with partner visa applications these days, and a lot of boyfriend/girlfriends are trying to pass off their relationships as defacto partners without success. Suggest you look at how you can provide the best evidence (not just a letter with claims) of the circumstances surrounding the 12 months prior to application re: living together, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bstex said:


> Hi mark, I just had a question about me and my partners de facto application:
> 
> we have lived together for 6 months over the course of a year and have lots of other evidence to our relationship, I just wondered if this will damage our chances significantly..we were going to include a letter saying why we haven't lived together (work commitments, independence etc.) just wondering your thoughts. Thank you so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lissa -

Normally bridging visas related to 189 applications include work rights, even if it's a BV-C. However, it's a simple matter to request work rights in the circumstances that your BV-C is issued without them - Form 1006 detailing your monthly income & expenses and detailing that you would have a financial hardship if you are not allowed to work is generally enough to get approved, and processing on these is usually pretty quick - 1 week, etc.

However, as long as your 485 application remains undecided, you'll remain on the BV-A you're on now, even if your apply for the 189 during that period and are issued a BV-C for the 189. Since you also hold the BV-A (and will until the 485 application is decided or withdrawn), the BV-A will be your visa and you'll have all rights under that. If for any reason they are ready to grant the 189 and your 485 application is still undecided, they will email you and ask you to withdraw the 485 application so they can grant the 189.

You may want to leave the 485 app in place and even take the 485 if granted before the 189. That way you'll never be on the BV-C for the 189, and your work rights will remain until the 189 is decided (and replaces the 485 if the 485 was granted before that).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lissa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> What will be my subsequent visa in terms of the conditions of a bridging visa C?
> My original visa is student visa 573. I applied for graduate 485 visa and currently on BVA. Next week I'll lodge for EOI and if I get an invitation I'll lodge 189 straight away. I am currently working fulltime so I don't want to go on BVC where it doesn't allow you to work. BUt I've read from immigration site that if your subsequent visa is 189, you can still work. Please confirm.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vikram -

These visas can take 6-9 months and sometimes more to be processed - time to be patient! I'd consider checking in with the case officer every 3 months or so to see if they need more info from you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vikram9999 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied under visa subclass 190. I had submitted my case to immigration dept in June 13. The whole process was quite smooth and I have submitted my medicals and PCC in Dec 13. But after that nothing happened. My agent had sent an email to the case officer last week and we got a reply that application is under assessment and further checks are going on and we will contact you if any info required.
> So my question is that Is it normal to have so much of delay after medicals because now the delay is more than 3 months after the medical was submitted. I am getting very concerned now.
> Second question is what to do next ? Shall i contact the case officer again or shall i wait.
> 
> Your reply is appreciated.
> 
> Thanks
> Vikram


----------



## Vikram9999

Thanks Mark. 
9 months have already gone as i had submitted my case in june 13. My only concern was that does it take so much time after medicals and PCC are submitted because normally i have seen that it takes 5-15 days to grant the visa after the required medical and PCC are submitted.

Vikram


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cvinoz -

Thanks for the question. I don't see an issue re: not claiming partner at the time of your visa application as long as you are not claiming that the partner was your defacto partner at the time. Registering the relationship will remove the 12 month living together requirement for a student visa, however DIBP will still assess the partner relationship based on the 4 major areas of evidence described in the DIBP Partner Visa booklet. Success in adding your partner on will likely be determined by whether the case officer is satisfied that you and your partner are in a genuine partner relationship. I suggest making a strong submission and including as much relationship evidence as possible as defacto relationships are coming under increased scrutiny from DIBP these days.

Re: Change in Circum. form - yes, best to do that. Caveat again is date of notifying them on that form vs when you claim defacto relationship began, etc.

Re: Overseas same-sex marriages, as these are not (yet) recognised in Australia, it wouldn't make a big difference in your assessment here as a defacto couple, but might be helpful as supporting evidence of the genuineness of your relationship (and duration of the relationship if the overseas marriage happened some time ago).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark northam



cvinoz said:


> Hi Mark.
> I'm currently in Australia in a 574 student visa until 2018 while my partner is living overseas and whom I did not include in my visa application because at the time we were just dating. I would like my partner to join me in Australia but since we're in a same-sex relationship, it gets a bit tricky. We've been a couple for 2.5 years but never lived together so the de facto relationship is not an option. I've read a lot about our options but it seams like each case is different and it just gets a bit confusing  so I'm hoping you can help me out!
> 
> 1- I read through the information on the 157A form where it says "If you are the holder of a student subclass 570-576 visa and a member of your family unit was not included in your application form, they will not be eligible to apply for a student subclass 570-576 visa as a member of your family unit, unless they give evidence that they became such a member after the decision to grant you the student subclass 570-576 visa was made". In this case, would registering our relationship in Australia in the future, be enough to prove this? And also allow to start the application as soon as the relationship is registered?
> 
> 2- Do I have to fill the 1022 form (Notification of changes in circumstances) to update my partner status once the relationship is registered and before my partner applies to join my visa?
> 
> 3- Since same-sex marriage is not legal, if we marry overseas how would our relationship be considered in Australia?
> 
> Any help with this would be very much appreciated  Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vikram -

Sometimes grant after PCC/meds is quick, other times it takes weeks or months - hard to predict as external security checks sometimes get unexpectedly delayed, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



Vikram9999 said:


> Thanks Mark.
> 9 months have already gone as i had submitted my case in june 13. My only concern was that does it take so much time after medicals and PCC are submitted because normally i have seen that it takes 5-15 days to grant the visa after the required medical and PCC are submitted.
> 
> Vikram


----------



## Vikram9999

Thanks Mark for your prompt replies. Your advice would help me gather some patience and hope. Let me hope for the best and keep my fingers crossed.

Vikram


----------



## kiltedscot

Hi Mark,

I have not long returned to UK after a 2 year Working Holiday Visa (working about 18 months in that duration in various jobs). One of my old employers has been in touch looking to sponsor me on 187 visa (Direct Entry Stream). They are in a town 3hrs south of Byron Bay. The job would be manager in the tourism sector for an accommodation provider. I have a degree in the UK within tourism management and my CV is full of tourism related job experience. Few questions..

- Will this area be in the 'rural' classification for this type of visa?
- Having worked previously in Australia on WHV, will the Direct Entry Stream type of the 187 visa be ok to apply for?

They have started the process in terms of proving they haven't been able to find anyone in the area for this job, hence asking me. The job has been advertised in various ways and those who have applied (can count on one hand, have not been suitable/ held the necessary qualifications/ experience).

Cheers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kiltedscot -

Thanks for the note. Without a postcode I cannot confirm, but the only areas that are ineligible for the 187 visa in NSW are Sydney, Wollongong, and Newcastle. Work on WHM visa should not be a negative factor in your application, and from what you've said the Direct Entry stream of the 187 visa makes sense, however would need to assess your quals/work experience and learn more about the employer to give you any sort of an opinion of whether you and the employer specifically are a good fit for this visa. So far, though, based on the info you provided it seems like a good fit. An important part of this will be the opinion by the Regional Certifying Body (RCB) re: need for the position, and the employer's ability to demonstrate that the position is genuine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kiltedscot said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have not long returned to UK after a 2 year Working Holiday Visa (working about 18 months in that duration in various jobs). One of my old employers has been in touch looking to sponsor me on 187 visa (Direct Entry Stream). They are in a town 3hrs south of Byron Bay. The job would be manager in the tourism sector for an accommodation provider. I have a degree in the UK within tourism management and my CV is full of tourism related job experience. Few questions..
> 
> - Will this area be in the 'rural' classification for this type of visa?
> - Having worked previously in Australia on WHV, will the Direct Entry Stream type of the 187 visa be ok to apply for?
> 
> They have started the process in terms of proving they haven't been able to find anyone in the area for this job, hence asking me. The job has been advertised in various ways and those who have applied (can count on one hand, have not been suitable/ held the necessary qualifications/ experience).
> 
> Cheers.


----------



## Sydneygal

Hi Mark,

Thanks for answering all our questions. I have hopefully a quick one for you. My colleague has been working for our company on a 417. Before his 6 months working for the one company was up he applied for a 457 sponsorship. He is currently on a bridging visa as his 417 has expired. His 457 hasn't been approved yet. 

My question is can he continue to work for the same company on a bridging visa even though he worked 6 months with the company on a 417? 

Many thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sydneygal -

Thanks for the note. As long as he didn't work more than 6 months for the same employer while holding the 417 visa, and as long as there is no condition on the bridging visa that would prevent him working there, should be fine. There is a WHM work extension form that can be completed if the person wants to work more than 6 months under a 417 for the same employer (usually used when the 417 lasts longer than the 6 months and the person has applied for another visa but the bridging visa won't activate until after the 417 expires), but in your case it sounds like the 417 expired on or before the 6 month employment mark, so employment past 6 months is on the bridging visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sydneygal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for answering all our questions. I have hopefully a quick one for you. My colleague has been working for our company on a 417. Before his 6 months working for the one company was up he applied for a 457 sponsorship. He is currently on a bridging visa as his 417 has expired. His 457 hasn't been approved yet.
> 
> My question is can he continue to work for the same company on a bridging visa even though he worked 6 months with the company on a 417?
> 
> Many thanks,


----------



## luckyduck12

*Form 80*

Hi Mark,

I applied for skilled migration visa onshore 190 with me being the main applicant and have been living in Australia for more than 5 years and my husband as migrating member and he has been living here for more than 4 years as well.

Do you think we would be asked for form 80 for security check? As we were given visas multiple times in the past. I assume DIBP already run our security check long time ago when given their permissions for us to enter Australia.

I have uploaded everything (all evidences to claim points, identities, medical, Police check, etc..)
Is there anything else u think the case officer would ask for? I can only think of form 80 but not sure if we will be asked for it.

Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck -

Thanks for the question. PR visas involve a more extensive security checking protocol than temporary visas in many cases - my guess is that you'll likely be asked to complete Form 80. I hope that's not the case, as the new Form 80 asks for huge amounts of historical data about your travels, education and employment - you'll have to see if they request it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for skilled migration visa onshore 190 with me being the main applicant and have been living in Australia for more than 5 years and my husband as migrating member and he has been living here for more than 4 years as well.
> 
> Do you think we would be asked for form 80 for security check? As we were given visas multiple times in the past. I assume DIBP already run our security check long time ago when given their permissions for us to enter Australia.
> 
> I have uploaded everything (all evidences to claim points, identities, medical, Police check, etc..)
> Is there anything else u think the case officer would ask for? I can only think of form 80 but not sure if we will be asked for it.
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## chocolate_thunda

Hey Mark

You sent me a template a few days ago for the statements for a 309/100 partner visa.

I want to ask if my wife and I should follow the same format with our statements as I had already written up a statement in a story type format but can't seem to be able to turn it into the format you sent me. 

Also is it good if I try and explain all of our evidence in my statement? (I am applying on my wife's behalf, we have filled in the "appointment of a migration agent" form and the "approval to receive electronic communication" form).

Lastly how much information should we include in the statements?

Regards
Chocolate_thunda


----------



## Zoh

*Next steps*

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the help so far. I managed to submit the visa application on my own with your support.

Applied for 189 on 21 March, attached supporting documents, did medicals and applied for police clearance today. PCC may take a month. Do I need to do anything else other than file the form 80 before the case officer is allotted?

Any idea how long it takes from application to visa grant?

Thanks
Huz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Hard for me to say anything specific since I have not seen your statements. For witness statements (others, not sponsor & applicant), the numbered format may work well, or story format works fine. For applicant and sponsor statements, we've found that the story format tends to work better.

Re: migration agent form, not sure if that is appropriate in your circumstances, would need to discuss.

Re: How much information, impossible to say without looking at your statements in detail.

If you'd like me to review your statements and evidence, you might consider booking a consultation - we often do this for people who want a second opinion, etc on their statements, etc. To do this you can click on our website link in my signature below, then look for link at top middle of website page for Professional Consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate_thunda said:


> Hey Mark
> 
> You sent me a template a few days ago for the statements for a 309/100 partner visa.
> 
> I want to ask if my wife and I should follow the same format with our statements as I had already written up a statement in a story type format but can't seem to be able to turn it into the format you sent me.
> 
> Also is it good if I try and explain all of our evidence in my statement? (I am applying on my wife's behalf, we have filled in the "appointment of a migration agent" form and the "approval to receive electronic communication" form).
> 
> Lastly how much information should we include in the statements?
> 
> Regards
> Chocolate_thunda


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Huz -

Thanks for the note. Haven't seen any of your documents so can't give you any specific advice on your case re: what docs you may want to (or be required to) provide. Re: processing time for 189 visa, hard to predict, but typically 6-9 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zoh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the help so far. I managed to submit the visa application on my own with your support.
> 
> Applied for 189 on 21 March, attached supporting documents, did medicals and applied for police clearance today. PCC may take a month. Do I need to do anything else other than file the form 80 before the case officer is allotted?
> 
> Any idea how long it takes from application to visa grant?
> 
> Thanks
> Huz


----------



## manenough00

*Passport Update*

Hi Mark,

My wife, my child and I have been granted visa under sub class 190. As our passports are about to expire and hand written, we got new machine readable passports. Is it compulsory and/ or recommended to update our passport details in DIBP or we can just travel with both passports, keeping the older one as a reference? And If we need to update how do we do it? Should I contact my case officer as I applied by a registered migration agent or my nearest DIBP office?


----------



## kiltedscot

Hi Mark,

Many thanks for quick reply. Postcode is 2450. The owner/employer has hired a manager whilst he has owned the property but this was his partner. She has been the same manager for the past 3/4 years. Now the workload is too much and they require a new manager to ease the workload as the accommodation occupancy rate is growing. They have and will continue to advertise the position online and in newspapers to show there is a genuine position available.

Cheers


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kiltedscot -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Without a postcode I cannot confirm, but the only areas that are ineligible for the 187 visa in NSW are Sydney, Wollongong, and Newcastle. Work on WHM visa should not be a negative factor in your application, and from what you've said the Direct Entry stream of the 187 visa makes sense, however would need to assess your quals/work experience and learn more about the employer to give you any sort of an opinion of whether you and the employer specifically are a good fit for this visa. So far, though, based on the info you provided it seems like a good fit. An important part of this will be the opinion by the Regional Certifying Body (RCB) re: need for the position, and the employer's ability to demonstrate that the position is genuine.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kiltedscot -

Happy to help - 2450 is considered to be a Regional Area for purposes of the 187 RSMS visa - a good submission to the RCB (and a reasonable RCB) sounds like the next step!

Best,

Mark Northam



kiltedscot said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Many thanks for quick reply. Postcode is 2450. The owner/employer has hired a manager whilst he has owned the property but this was his partner. She has been the same manager for the past 3/4 years. Now the workload is too much and they require a new manager to ease the workload as the accommodation occupancy rate is growing. They have and will continue to advertise the position online and in newspapers to show there is a genuine position available.
> 
> Cheers


----------



## ysun

Hi Mark,

I need your advice urgently. 

So My visa 485 was rejected on 28th march. Reason being that I did not submit 1) Skills Assessment and 2) AFP at the time of application. However I uploaded it when my case officer contacted me. 

Here is the situation: 
One agent said I will lose the MRT Case whereas another agent mentioned that he is confident that he can win my MRT Case. 
I'm in dilemma. 

which option would benefit me as I also have to lodge for visa 189 offshore ( received the invitation on 24th march) soon. 

I need your opinion, thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the question. It's always a good idea to update DIBP when you change passports since your visa is directly linked to your passport now that visa labels are no longer required. As soon as you get your new passport(s), suggest you lodge Form 929 with your nearest DIBP office, plus carry both old & new passports with you (if your government allows you to keep the old ones - many do not). Also helps to carry a paper printout of your 190 visa grant at least the first time you travel on the new passport just in case there's any issue with getting the new passports linked to your visa. And finally... don't wait until the last days before traveling to do this (!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



manenough00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife, my child and I have been granted visa under sub class 190. As our passports are about to expire and hand written, we got new machine readable passports. Is it compulsory and/ or recommended to update our passport details in DIBP or we can just travel with both passports, keeping the older one as a reference? And If we need to update how do we do it? Should I contact my case officer as I applied by a registered migration agent or my nearest DIBP office?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ysun -

The 485 visa has a bunch of unusual requirements - namely that when the application was made, it was accompanied by evidence of application (at least) for skills assessment, AFP check and medical check among many other requirements. Now, if you have evidence that as of the date of application you had already made an application to the AFP, and had already made application for a 485 skills assessment, even if you hadn't received the results of either of those yet, then I think you're in good shape. However if you only applied for those after you lodged your application and cannot show evidence that you had applied for those as of the date of application, I don't see a good way to win unless the MRT member is extremely "flexible" when it comes to the regulations.

The regulations are crystal-clear (see below) - while the requirement for the skills assessment has language that might allow for some wiggle room, the one re AFP check application is very specific about the time this is allowed in (ie, 12 months prior to application):
_
485.213
When the application was made, it was accompanied by evidence that:

(a) the applicant; and

(b) each person included in the application who is at least 16;

had applied for an Australian Federal Police check during the 12 months immediately before the day the application is made.

485.223
When the application was made, it was accompanied by evidence that the applicant had applied for an assessment of the applicant's skills for the nominated skilled occupation by a relevant assessing authority._

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ysun said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I need your advice urgently.
> 
> So My visa 485 was rejected on 28th march. Reason being that I did not submit 1) Skills Assessment and 2) AFP at the time of application. However I uploaded it when my case officer contacted me.
> 
> Here is the situation:
> One agent said I will lose the MRT Case whereas another agent mentioned that he is confident that he can win my MRT Case.
> I'm in dilemma.
> 
> which option would benefit me as I also have to lodge for visa 189 offshore ( received the invitation on 24th march) soon.
> 
> I need your opinion, thanks.


----------



## ysun

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ysun -
> 
> The 485 visa has a bunch of unusual requirements - namely that when the application was made, it was accompanied by evidence of application (at least) for skills assessment, AFP check and medical check among many other requirements. Now, if you have evidence that as of the date of application you had already made an application to the AFP, and had already made application for a 485 skills assessment, even if you hadn't received the results of either of those yet, then I think you're in good shape. However if you only applied for those after you lodged your application and cannot show evidence that you had applied for those as of the date of application, I don't see a good way to win unless the MRT member is extremely "flexible" when it comes to the regulations.
> 
> The regulations are crystal-clear (see below) - while the requirement for the skills assessment has language that might allow for some wiggle room, the one re AFP check application is very specific about the time this is allowed in (ie, 12 months prior to application):
> _
> 485.213
> When the application was made, it was accompanied by evidence that:
> 
> (a) the applicant; and
> 
> (b) each person included in the application who is at least 16;
> 
> had applied for an Australian Federal Police check during the 12 months immediately before the day the application is made.
> 
> 485.223
> When the application was made, it was accompanied by evidence that the applicant had applied for an assessment of the applicant's skills for the nominated skilled occupation by a relevant assessing authority._
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you for the prompt reply. 
I have better understanding now, thanks to the information you have given.
I might not win the case even if I apply for MRT as I lodged both the documents after the date of application time.

From here, I will prepare for documents to lodge for visa 189 offshore.

One more thing, I will receive my PCC from Singapore on the request for visa 485 next week. I can use that same PCC for lodging visa 189, am I right?


----------



## sez8210

Hi Mark,
Thank you for sharing your expertise.
My situaiton is as follows - I am currently working for a company who are sponsoring my 457. I want to change compaies. I have been offered a job with another company who are keen for me to start as soon as possible.
They are willing to take over my 457 sponsorship and are eligible to sponsor, once they submit my nomination could i leave my current company and go and work for the new company on a Bridging visa while waiting for the approval of the 457 transer?
Alternatively i am about 4 weeks away from submitting a de-facto application if i need to, would this be a better option? Could i submit my de-facto application, resign from my current role and work for the new company on a bridging visa until the de-dacto decision is processed? If i resgined would the bridging visa kick in automativally as my 457 sponsorship would end?
To complaicate things slightly i am also going on holiday to the UK for 4 weeks in June so presume i would need ot make a quick switch from BVA to BVB before i travel if that wa the case?
Thanks you for looking at this!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ysun -

Yes, PCC for 485 is fine for 189 or any other visa, as long as it's not expired (they are good for 1 year). Also note that 189 visa requires Expression of Interest (EOI) first, and you can then apply for the visa only if/when you receive an invitation to do so based on your EOI.

Hope this helps - good luck!

Best,

Mark Northam



ysun said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for the prompt reply.
> I have better understanding now, thanks to the information you have given.
> I might not win the case even if I apply for MRT as I lodged both the documents after the date of application time.
> 
> From here, I will prepare for documents to lodge for visa 189 offshore.
> 
> One more thing, I will receive my PCC from Singapore on the request for visa 485 next week. I can use that same PCC for lodging visa 189, am I right?


----------



## ysun

Hi Mark,

That is great. 
and yes I applied for EOI first and received the invitation 2 weeks later. 
Thank you so much again 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ysun -
> 
> Yes, PCC for 485 is fine for 189 or any other visa, as long as it's not expired (they are good for 1 year). Also note that 189 visa requires Expression of Interest (EOI) first, and you can then apply for the visa only if/when you receive an invitation to do so based on your EOI.
> 
> Hope this helps - good luck!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## naimhasen

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Naimhasen -
> 
> Sounds like the nomination may have been finalised, however note that the employer receives communications re: a nomination as it's the employer who is actually the applicant for the nomination. If the employer used a migration agent, then the agent would likely have received the info. Suggest you contact the employer to see what's up, and ask the employer to contact DIBP to see the status if the employer is not aware of the status.
> 
> Re: visa application to use a migration agent or not, I don't know enough about your case to really advise you on that. RSMS TRT stream applications are generally straightforward - popular issues tend to be if there is any documentation or inconsistency issues with the 2 yrs employment documents, any change in duties or position, plus the usual health & character issues. I'd suggest not making your RSMS application (unless you need to for bridging visa or other purposes) until you see what the status is on the nomination.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


HI,
MARK.
your reply is much appreciated.my employer still not heard anything from department.
my friend told me sometime immigration hold the application after approving to meet the time frame.if the refuse they send decision straight away otherwise some time they can hold after approving.
my application did not have any complication which u mention.i came from pakistan on 457 visa of this company and i worked two years straight in this company no health issues.business turn over is more than 2 million.this company already have two permanent residence through TRT and two through student to PR. thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Sounds like so far, so good...

Best,

Mark



naimhasen said:


> HI,
> MARK.
> your reply is much appreciated.my employer still not heard anything from department.
> my friend told me sometime immigration hold the application after approving to meet the time frame.if the refuse they send decision straight away otherwise some time they can hold after approving.
> my application did not have any complication which u mention.i came from pakistan on 457 visa of this company and i worked two years straight in this company no health issues.business turn over is more than 2 million.this company already have two permanent residence through TRT and two through student to PR. thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sez8210 -

Thanks for the note. Your situation and questions are too complex to work out on the forum - too many ifs/ands/buts/etc. A lot also depends on whether the nom at the new 457 sponsor is in the same occupation code as the one at your current sponsor - if that's the case, there's no new visa app involved, just a transfer from one sponsor to another. Normally if you are fired or resign, you have 90 days to find another sponsor or depart Australia, however sometimes leaving Australia and coming back within those 90 days if you don't have a new sponsor yet can cause issues.

Ending a 457 before its expiration date can be very tricky, and can sometimes require a voluntary cancellation which also wipes out any bridging visas you have at the time from any other application(s).

Suggest you consult with a registered migration agent so you can get him/her completely up to speed on all of your circumstances, then get answers to your various questions and possible actions going forward. Make sure your agent explains things to you clearly in language you can understand, and make sure they advise you of all possible issues with any course of action - especially if it involves bridging visas or cancellation!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sez8210 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for sharing your expertise.
> My situaiton is as follows - I am currently working for a company who are sponsoring my 457. I want to change compaies. I have been offered a job with another company who are keen for me to start as soon as possible.
> They are willing to take over my 457 sponsorship and are eligible to sponsor, once they submit my nomination could i leave my current company and go and work for the new company on a Bridging visa while waiting for the approval of the 457 transer?
> Alternatively i am about 4 weeks away from submitting a de-facto application if i need to, would this be a better option? Could i submit my de-facto application, resign from my current role and work for the new company on a bridging visa until the de-dacto decision is processed? If i resgined would the bridging visa kick in automativally as my 457 sponsorship would end?
> To complaicate things slightly i am also going on holiday to the UK for 4 weeks in June so presume i would need ot make a quick switch from BVA to BVB before i travel if that wa the case?
> Thanks you for looking at this!


----------



## manenough00

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> Thanks for the question. It's always a good idea to update DIBP when you change passports since your visa is directly linked to your passport now that visa labels are no longer required. As soon as you get your new passport(s), suggest you lodge Form 929 with your nearest DIBP office, plus carry both old & new passports with you (if your government allows you to keep the old ones - many do not). Also helps to carry a paper printout of your 190 visa grant at least the first time you travel on the new passport just in case there's any issue with getting the new passports linked to your visa. And finally... don't wait until the last days before traveling to do this (!).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for you prompt reply. It was a big help. I was baffled what to do. Few were suggesting to forward the details of my new passport to my CO. Is it necessary as well? I mean should I notify both my nearest DIBP office and my CO? And lastly any idea how much time do they take to update my details in VEVO?


----------



## MarkNortham

Sending new passport info to CO and DIBP is fine - VEVO gets updated very quickly, but only shows whatever current visa you are on.

Best,

Mark Northam



manenough00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for you prompt reply. It was a big help. I was baffled what to do. Few were suggesting to forward the details of my new passport to my CO. Is it necessary as well? I mean should I notify both my nearest DIBP office and my CO? And lastly any idea how much time do they take to update my details in VEVO?


----------



## CCwssy

Hi Mark! 

It's so great of you to offer your time. I do need your advise on something.

Was just filling up my 187 application online and saw this on the 4th page of the online application:
_
"The position that this application relates to must be a position that the applicant has been nominated for by their prospective employer. The nomination details provided cannot be verified, please check that the correct details have been entered before continuing. If you proceed with lodging this application and incorrect nomination information is provided, this application may be Refused."
_
Was trying to do my application today but I'm now freaked out to go on further. Any advise or experiences with this? Thank you!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CCwssy -

As long as you have an approved nomination for that visa type (double check the TRN of the approved nomination - make sure you've entered it correctly, etc), you should be fine - it always displays that message even if you enter a valid, approved nomination.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CCwssy said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> It's so great of you to offer your time. I do need your advise on something.
> 
> Was just filling up my 187 application online and saw this on the 4th page of the online application:
> _
> "The position that this application relates to must be a position that the applicant has been nominated for by their prospective employer. The nomination details provided cannot be verified, please check that the correct details have been entered before continuing. If you proceed with lodging this application and incorrect nomination information is provided, this application may be Refused."
> _
> Was trying to do my application today but I'm now freaked out to go on further. Any advise or experiences with this? Thank you!!!


----------



## CCwssy

That's awesome Marc. I did check every single detail beforehand like 10 times or more and everything was accurate. 

Oh, I actually have the Nomination Application ID. is that the same as the TRN?


----------



## MarkNortham

Nope, that's a different number - on the 187 visa application first page you will need to first tell DIBP what TYPE of id number you are entering (TRN, or something else), then enter that number into the box below. Just make sure whatever you tell them it is, you enter, and you should be fine.

Best,

Mark Northam



CCwssy said:


> That's awesome Marc. I did check every single detail beforehand like 10 times or more and everything was accurate.
> 
> Oh, I actually have the Nomination Application ID. is that the same as the TRN?


----------



## CCwssy

Ok. That means I'll choose the other one. Thanks so much for your help. You're awesome!


----------



## MarkNortham

You're welcome! Glad I could help - it's why I'm in this business.

Good luck with your application -

Best,

Mark Northam



CCwssy said:


> Ok. That means I'll choose the other one. Thanks so much for your help. You're awesome!


----------



## emski_86

*helpful information*

Hi Mark,

I was hoping you could help me with some information. Basically i was hoping you'd be able to give me advice on whether i can apply for a partner visa with my girlfriend who i have been living with for the last 12 months. Unfortunately though i was refused a 457 visa yesterday through my current work employer. This was lodged in Feb and i've been waiting to hear back, my employer had to apply to nominate me and for some reason which i am unsure on the nomination was refused which meant my 457 was refused. My boss has used a certain migration officer before so when he looked into it he said it was a fault on behalf of my employer and not myself. I have now 28 days to leave the country, in which time the migration officer said he would reapply for a nomination on behalf of my employer which will be successful then offshore i can apply for another 457 visa. 
I am now thinking that the 457 visa is not the best option for me, and i am thinking that i should get a partner visa with my girlfriend. I am worried that due to the previous denial this will affect the partner visa i want to apply for even though it was not a fault on my part. The migrant officer said i should leave while he sorts it which could be up to 6 weeks and that doing this 457 instead of a partner visa would be more consistent. Also i have been ready information on the partner visa, even thought i have to leave the country in 28 days is it correct that i can apply for a partner visa without leaving the country? because if this is correct it would help my greatly but not having to spend money leaving & returning.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emski -

Sure - I've actually already responded on the other thread you posted.

Best,

Mark Northam



emski_86 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was hoping you could help me with some information. Basically i was hoping you'd be able to give me advice on whether i can apply for a partner visa with my girlfriend who i have been living with for the last 12 months. Unfortunately though i was refused a 457 visa yesterday through my current work employer. This was lodged in Feb and i've been waiting to hear back, my employer had to apply to nominate me and for some reason which i am unsure on the nomination was refused which meant my 457 was refused. My boss has used a certain migration officer before so when he looked into it he said it was a fault on behalf of my employer and not myself. I have now 28 days to leave the country, in which time the migration officer said he would reapply for a nomination on behalf of my employer which will be successful then offshore i can apply for another 457 visa.
> I am now thinking that the 457 visa is not the best option for me, and i am thinking that i should get a partner visa with my girlfriend. I am worried that due to the previous denial this will affect the partner visa i want to apply for even though it was not a fault on my part. The migrant officer said i should leave while he sorts it which could be up to 6 weeks and that doing this 457 instead of a partner visa would be more consistent. Also i have been ready information on the partner visa, even thought i have to leave the country in 28 days is it correct that i can apply for a partner visa without leaving the country? because if this is correct it would help my greatly but not having to spend money leaving & returning.


----------



## CCwssy

*Regarding a Question in 187 Application*

Hello again Marc,

Good evening  Hope all is well. Just have another question regarding the online application. I just encountered a question:

_Is this family member a child under 18 years of age?_ Answer is yes I do.

Which leads to other questions which I'm unsure on what to say.

Does any other person have custodial, access or guardianship rights to this child?

Do I say that my wife, who is the birth mother and also part of the application, has equal rights to the child?

Thanks again in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes to both - these are in there to identify any other parties who may have custodial rights or some legal responsibility for a child (especially if there are any birth parents not listed on the application).

Best,

Mark



CCwssy said:


> Hello again Marc,
> 
> Good evening  Hope all is well. Just have another question regarding the online application. I just encountered a question:
> 
> _Is this family member a child under 18 years of age?_ Answer is yes I do.
> 
> Which leads to other questions which I'm unsure on what to say.
> 
> Does any other person have custodial, access or guardianship rights to this child?
> 
> Do I say that my wife, who is the birth mother and also part of the application, has equal rights to the child?
> 
> Thanks again in advance!


----------



## manenough00

MarkNortham said:


> Sending new passport info to CO and DIBP is fine - VEVO gets updated very quickly, but only shows whatever current visa you are on.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mr. Mark,

I can't thank you enough for your expert suggestion. Well...Should I notify both DIBP and CO or either of them? I can't contact my CO directly as I applied through a MARA agent. What do you suggest? Hopefully sending the details to my nearest DIBP office will do. VEVO does show the passport number as well which I presume will get updated after I submit them form 929 and the scan copies of our new passport, isn't it?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manenough00 -

If you applied through a registered migration agent, he/she should take care of all of this for you - that's what you're paying him/her for! Suggest you contact your agent and request that they assist you with this - best not to contact DIBP directly if you have an agent - some agents are not pleased with that as it can create confusion as to who DIBP should contact back - agent or client, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Jasmunder

Hi Mark,
I am about to apply PMV for my fiancé. We are in relationship since Aug 2012. I went overseas in March last year and got engaged. I have been visiting her every 6 month since then. 
Problem is I have sponsored my ex-wife in April 2009 (subclass 820/801). Can i sponsor current fiancé once 5 year limit is up? If yes, what sort of documents i need? I have been doing search from past few weeks and I am bit nervous whether she will get visa or not.

Thanks
Jas
P.S I separated from my ex ( she cheated on me) in Jan 2012 and divorced in Jan 2013.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jasmunder -

You have a 5 year bar in place for further sponsorships for fiance or partner visas that ends 5 years from the date you applied for the previous sponsorship - so you should be OK re: the 5 year period lodging an application for your fiance as long as the application is lodged at least 5 years after you lodged the application for your previous spouse visa.I'm assuming you have only previously sponsored one person (your ex wife).

Re: documents you would need, suggest you google "300 visa checklist" or search the immi.gov.au site under that visa and get their document checklist. Overall there are 3 main things that the relationship evidence you submit with a sc300 visa has to show:

* You have met (in person, that is!)
* You are known to each other
* You genuinely intend to enter into a spousal relationship

#3 is the most difficult - don't forget to include in your statements about the relationship lots of details about your plans for the future, and also make sure both of you are ready for a phone or in-person interview if DIBP requires it - having a very good familiarity with the other person's family, work, finances, etc can be very important.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jasmunder said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am about to apply PMV for my fiancé. We are in relationship since Aug 2012. I went overseas in March last year and got engaged. I have been visiting her every 6 month since then.
> Problem is I have sponsored my ex-wife in April 2009 (subclass 820/801). Can i sponsor current fiancé once 5 year limit is up? If yes, what sort of documents i need? I have been doing search from past few weeks and I am bit nervous whether she will get visa or not.
> 
> Thanks
> Jas
> P.S I separated from my ex ( she cheated on me) in Jan 2012 and divorced in Jan 2013.


----------



## domado16

Hi mark. Thanks in advance for this thread.

I have 3 general questions and 1 rather general question, hope I am not too much of a bother.

1. The immigration website specifies for the RRV (155) that standard processing times are when lodged in Australia 1 working day and when lodged outside of Australia 2 weeks. My first interpretation was that lodging outside of Australia refers to overseas embassies, and that if I am lodging online directly to immigration in Australia, the 1 working day time frame would apply. But then again, perhaps what they mean is where I am physically when lodging the application. Do you know which it is? (I am outside of Australia applying online)

2. Can someone in Australia lodge a paper application for me? (my sister lives there). If it is possible, would the shorter time frame apply?

3. Can I lodge the application in person in Australia while there on a transit visa (771), if so, does the transit visa count as a substansive visa allowing me to get a Bridging visa A (010) while the decision is made? I am a former permanent resident, my last RRV has already expired, so have no other active substansive visa.

Final rather general question:

I have not been in Australia for the past 5 years, so I am going with personal ties. One of the ties I intend to showcase, is that my formative years (first 10 years) were spent in Australia, and my compassionate reasons to be away are that my parents moved me out of the country for their own reasons, at an age when I was not able to decide for myself. I don't want to ask for a personal consulation here, but am wondering if you know whether formative years are considered a strong personal tie. I am aware that there is a whole PR visa (151) with formative years as the only requirement, so I am hoping it is considered a substantial argument for personal ties.

Thanks for any help you can provide in answering these questions, hope I haven't gone too far, do not want to abuse of your kindness to the people on this forum.

Dominique


----------



## SRS

Hi Mark

I need your advice -
My story begins here
I had applied for 189 visa on February 2013 claiming 60 points and was assigned to a case officer in 15 April 2013. I have appointed a migration agent to act on my behalf. However, my agent is not very responsive. As per their request, I had only submitted detailed reference letter of each company that I have claimed for work experience. The case officer had requested to submit PCC & medicals. Soon after submission of PCC & Medical, I had received a verification call on 16 May, 2013. Unfortunately my first employer who has closed his business had failed to verify my job responsibilities and mentioned my job role incorrectly, which lead to obvious ambiguity. The verifications held for the remaining organization were satisfactory. 

After a month’s time, I received a letter from the minister of justice stating that there are no evidence present and was accused for submitting a bogus document. In response to this matter, I had submitted by response 2 weeks later mentioning that the statement is false and I had submitted supporting evidences such as offer letters, payslips (salary was paid in Cash), experience letter, appraisal letter to state that I was an employee in the organization. 

2-3 months passed by and by then all my hopes were dying. Upon request, the agent tried to contact CO on 24 October 2013. In reply received from CO the next day, we came to know that the former CO who was looking into my application has been moved to another department and a new CO did not get a chance to review my case and will be doing over the coming week. My ACS has expired in Dec, 2013.

Later, by 19 Jan, 2014 my agent has followed up about my application and CO requested following documents.

1.	Documents such as contract letter, payslips, tax documents, experience letter etc . for each company. 
All documents provided on 6th Feb, 2014
2.	Secondary school certificate for me and my spouse (note: spouse has not claimed for work experience)
Provided on 6th Feb, 2014
3. Clarification on visa status & working condition in UAE. Presently I work in UAE under husband’s sponsorship, where status is mentioned as housewife-not allowed to work.
Provided on 6th Feb, 2014


My agent has followed up on March 10th and has not received any response. On March 23rd, I contacted CO and CO mentioned that my queries shall be routed via the appointed agent and had mentioned that my application is under active processing and not to worry. I am uncertain with the statement provided. 
My PCC & medicals are expiring this month. I am not sure what’s happening and I am worried. Please help with the situation. Should I request my agent to followup with CO? I am uncertain how long will it take to hear a decision?


Regards,
SRS


----------



## jeleniau

Hi Mark,

I have sponsored my nephew and his family for a 176 visa which was submitted in March 2009. We haven't heard anything since then. We are now looking at applying for a 187 instead. If he is successful in getting a sponsor, does he need to withdraw his application? Or is he allowed to just convert it?

Would appreciate your input.


----------



## swavik

Hello Mark,

Wanted to ask you that my wife was treated for TB 5 years ago..Now she has no health issues,,Does this affect/bring delay in my application...I do not wish to hide anything which might create problems later...Do they do a medical history check just like the employment check...

Regards..


----------



## sunnyC

Hi Mark,
I answered No to this question although my husband and I of course have custodial rights to my son. At that time, I thought DIAC want to know there is any other person except parents. What I should do now? I lodged visa in mid Mar and haven't been allocated CO yet.

One more question I really hope you can help me that I did not claim work experience on both EOI and Immiaccount but my assessing body CPA recognised for me 1 year. As it is oversea experience and not granted any points, btw I do not want DIAC bother my current employer so I did not attach any work experience documents. I am not sure is it ok or not?

Many thanks,



MarkNortham said:


> Yes to both - these are in there to identify any other parties who may have custodial rights or some legal responsibility for a child (especially if there are any birth parents not listed on the application).
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## Mohamed.Thakeb

Hi Mark,
I have just completed the registration in this very useful web site and i hope that I will get the maximum benefits from your experiences in getting the Australian Visa. I am from Egypt and i have thinking in the immigration to Australia during the short past period. I went through the official immigration office portal , read the pointing system for the visa type 190 and still evaluation the success factors to get the Visa..
I have a quick question for those who have already completed this process successfully , i am 40 years , married with 3 boys , working as an ICT Programs manager in my home country , do you think that i have good chances to get the citizenship ?
I wasn't happy when i knew that my age scores only 15 points , and based on the pointing system i should get something between 60 and 70 points. so please let me know your feedback and recommendations if any


----------



## shancop

Hiya Mark

I will be applying for independent 189 visa. My degree has been accessed under Electronics Engineering (233311) and currently I am working in Australia as an IT support engineer. I would like to know if my work experience as an IT Support Engineer is closely related to Electronics Engineering or not? and will I be able to claim 5 extra points for my work experience once I have one year experience? 

Please give me as much detail as you can from your knowledge and experience.

Thanks
Zee


----------



## rana3

Hi Mark,

I would like to know whether is it possible to get TR after completing an advance dip in IT (networking) . As i heard some lawyres say on some practical studies like computer networking we can apply for TR and than go for 189 after getting our 1years related work experience. Is this possible? 

Thanks 
Regards
Rana


----------



## khdmah

Hi Mark, 

I applied for my spouse partner visa in 2012 offshore it was successful but we had divorce and she never entered to Australia and her visa was also expired 

My question is if I am getting married offshore and applying for another spouse partner visa the waiting period of sponsorship is applicable on me or it can be waive off 

Your advise will be appreciated 
Cheers


----------



## fletchaman

*Nz pr*

Hi Mark

We are looking at coming across the ditch from NZ ( my Partner is a Midwife) as we only have NZ PR ( British Citizens ) I am presuming we would have to start from Scratch as if we were purely coming from the UK would this be correct??

Thanking you in advance

David


----------



## sez8210

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sez8210 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Your situation and questions are too complex to work out on the forum - too many ifs/ands/buts/etc. A lot also depends on whether the nom at the new 457 sponsor is in the same occupation code as the one at your current sponsor - if that's the case, there's no new visa app involved, just a transfer from one sponsor to another. Normally if you are fired or resign, you have 90 days to find another sponsor or depart Australia, however sometimes leaving Australia and coming back within those 90 days if you don't have a new sponsor yet can cause issues.
> 
> Ending a 457 before its expiration date can be very tricky, and can sometimes require a voluntary cancellation which also wipes out any bridging visas you have at the time from any other application(s).
> 
> Suggest you consult with a registered migration agent so you can get him/her completely up to speed on all of your circumstances, then get answers to your various questions and possible actions going forward. Make sure your agent explains things to you clearly in language you can understand, and make sure they advise you of all possible issues with any course of action - especially if it involves bridging visas or cancellation!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for the response!Vsorry I will try to take out some of the complications!
The new company is taking over my 457 but under a different category...they are already an approved sponsor. They are giving me a contract. Can I resign from my current position or should I wait until the transfer is fully completed?


----------



## jswyodn

Hi Mark, thanks a lot for taking time off your busy schedule to answer our questions!

I've applied for a 189 visa that is currently being processed. There are two issues that I'm concerned about:

1. My birth certificate is in an another language. I obtained an English translation from my home country, but all that it has underneath the translated text is "Authorized and Sworn Translator", followed by the translator's stamp, signature, and number. It does not have the translator's address, phone number, and qualifications. Will this be an issue?

2. If the case officer decides that the translation not acceptable due to the above issue, will my application be rejected outright? Or will I be given the opportunity to get a NAATI translation and resubmit it to the case officer?


----------



## SRS

Hi Mark


I had addressed a query 2 days back. Please let me know your views when time permits. Your help much appreciated.

Best regards
SRS


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Domado -

Happy to help - see below comments with (***):



domado16 said:


> Hi mark. Thanks in advance for this thread.
> 
> I have 3 general questions and 1 rather general question, hope I am not too much of a bother.
> 
> 1. The immigration website specifies for the RRV (155) that standard processing times are when lodged in Australia 1 working day and when lodged outside of Australia 2 weeks. My first interpretation was that lodging outside of Australia refers to overseas embassies, and that if I am lodging online directly to immigration in Australia, the 1 working day time frame would apply. But then again, perhaps what they mean is where I am physically when lodging the application. Do you know which it is? (I am outside of Australia applying online)
> 
> *** I would not put that much faith in DIBP "estimated" processing times - they are often highly unpredictable and can have no resemblance to what is posted on the page you are referring to. I've heard of cases where an RRV application can go for months without a decision, although that's fairly rare. Also, the 2 yrs/5 yrs 5-year RRV applications are quite easy to process, whereas evaluating substantial ties takes considerably longer.
> 
> 2. Can someone in Australia lodge a paper application for me? (my sister lives there). If it is possible, would the shorter time frame apply?
> *** No. For this visa, if you are lodging a paper application in Australia, you must be in Australia. If you are lodging an online application, you can be inside or outside Australia.
> 
> 3. Can I lodge the application in person in Australia while there on a transit visa (771), if so, does the transit visa count as a substansive visa allowing me to get a Bridging visa A (010) while the decision is made? I am a former permanent resident, my last RRV has already expired, so have no other active substantive visa.
> *** No. An applicant for an RRV must not be holding a temporary visa other than a particular list of visitor visas - the 771 is not on that list.
> 
> Final rather general question:
> 
> I have not been in Australia for the past 5 years, so I am going with personal ties. One of the ties I intend to showcase, is that my formative years (first 10 years) were spent in Australia, and my compassionate reasons to be away are that my parents moved me out of the country for their own reasons, at an age when I was not able to decide for myself. I don't want to ask for a personal consulation here, but am wondering if you know whether formative years are considered a strong personal tie. I am aware that there is a whole PR visa (151) with formative years as the only requirement, so I am hoping it is considered a substantial argument for personal ties.
> 
> *** Impossible to say without seeing your personal circumstances, but I would be concerned generally if the personal ties an applicant was claiming did not represent current personal ties evidenced by statements, etc to demonstrate the currency and strength/depth of the ties.
> 
> Thanks for any help you can provide in answering these questions, hope I haven't gone too far, do not want to abuse of your kindness to the people on this forum.
> 
> Dominique


Hope this helps - thanks!

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SRS -

Thanks for the note. Suggest at this point you wait and let DIBP take whatever time they will take to process the application - these often go on for many months, unfortunately.

Let's hope you dodged a bullet re: bogus document - a refusal based on that carries a 3 year exclusion period on being granted any other visa that has that provision (PIC 4020).

I know it's tough, but best to wait now.

Best,

Mark Northam



SRS said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I need your advice -
> My story begins here
> I had applied for 189 visa on February 2013 claiming 60 points and was assigned to a case officer in 15 April 2013. I have appointed a migration agent to act on my behalf. However, my agent is not very responsive. As per their request, I had only submitted detailed reference letter of each company that I have claimed for work experience. The case officer had requested to submit PCC & medicals. Soon after submission of PCC & Medical, I had received a verification call on 16 May, 2013. Unfortunately my first employer who has closed his business had failed to verify my job responsibilities and mentioned my job role incorrectly, which lead to obvious ambiguity. The verifications held for the remaining organization were satisfactory.
> 
> After a month's time, I received a letter from the minister of justice stating that there are no evidence present and was accused for submitting a bogus document. In response to this matter, I had submitted by response 2 weeks later mentioning that the statement is false and I had submitted supporting evidences such as offer letters, payslips (salary was paid in Cash), experience letter, appraisal letter to state that I was an employee in the organization.
> 
> 2-3 months passed by and by then all my hopes were dying. Upon request, the agent tried to contact CO on 24 October 2013. In reply received from CO the next day, we came to know that the former CO who was looking into my application has been moved to another department and a new CO did not get a chance to review my case and will be doing over the coming week. My ACS has expired in Dec, 2013.
> 
> Later, by 19 Jan, 2014 my agent has followed up about my application and CO requested following documents.
> 
> 1.	Documents such as contract letter, payslips, tax documents, experience letter etc . for each company.
> All documents provided on 6th Feb, 2014
> 2.	Secondary school certificate for me and my spouse (note: spouse has not claimed for work experience)
> Provided on 6th Feb, 2014
> 3. Clarification on visa status & working condition in UAE. Presently I work in UAE under husband's sponsorship, where status is mentioned as housewife-not allowed to work.
> Provided on 6th Feb, 2014
> 
> My agent has followed up on March 10th and has not received any response. On March 23rd, I contacted CO and CO mentioned that my queries shall be routed via the appointed agent and had mentioned that my application is under active processing and not to worry. I am uncertain with the statement provided.
> My PCC & medicals are expiring this month. I am not sure what's happening and I am worried. Please help with the situation. Should I request my agent to followup with CO? I am uncertain how long will it take to hear a decision?
> 
> Regards,
> SRS


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jeleniau -

Thanks for the question. As far as I know, he would need to lodge a new application since the 187 is an employer sponsored application and the 176 is a sponsored skilled application. He can still leave the 176 application pending and lodge the 187 - if/when they are ready to grant the 187, they will likely ask him to withdraw the 176 application prior to grant of the 187.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jeleniau said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have sponsored my nephew and his family for a 176 visa which was submitted in March 2009. We haven't heard anything since then. We are now looking at applying for a 187 instead. If he is successful in getting a sponsor, does he need to withdraw his application? Or is he allowed to just convert it?
> 
> Would appreciate your input.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

They may ask her to do a medical undertaking (promise to act) and agree to have regular checkups or exams for TB once she reaches Australia. Might be a slight delay in processing assuming there is a medical exam for the visa you are applying for, but likely no major delays.

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Wanted to ask you that my wife was treated for TB 5 years ago..Now she has no health issues,,Does this affect/bring delay in my application...I do not wish to hide anything which might create problems later...Do they do a medical history check just like the employment check...
> 
> Regards..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SunnyC -

It's a very common mistake. Suggest you complete Form 1023 and explain the error, then attach to your application.

Re: not claiming work on your skills assessment for points, generally no problem with that, however you would need to list that plus any other employment on Forms 80 or 1221 if requested by DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunnyC said:


> Hi Mark,
> I answered No to this question although my husband and I of course have custodial rights to my son. At that time, I thought DIAC want to know there is any other person except parents. What I should do now? I lodged visa in mid Mar and haven't been allocated CO yet.
> 
> One more question I really hope you can help me that I did not claim work experience on both EOI and Immiaccount but my assessing body CPA recognised for me 1 year. As it is oversea experience and not granted any points, btw I do not want DIAC bother my current employer so I did not attach any work experience documents. I am not sure is it ok or not?
> 
> Many thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohamed -

Thanks for the post - I'm not able to assess individual cases on the forum because there are just too many detailed questions to be answered in order to provide a proper and informed assessment of a case, but you might post a new thread outside the Ask Mark! area if you'd like others to comment on it.

That being said, the requirements for skills assessment, state sponsorship and visa applications are complex and unforgiving. Unless a person is in exactly the same situation, occupation, etc as you, any opinions from others may not be relevant. Rather than depending on general comments from people who may not be in the same situation as you, suggest you sit down with a Registered Migration Agent (or consult via phone or Skype) and go over all of the aspects of your situation in detail and see exactly how you match up to the various specific requirements for these three entities you may have to deal with to get a skilled PR application through.

To be blunt, you've got a large amount of time and money riding on a successful visa application - you deserve to get the best, most complete and accurate information about your situation as possible before you spend thousands of dollars on a PR visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mohamed.Thakeb said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have just completed the registration in this very useful web site and i hope that I will get the maximum benefits from your experiences in getting the Australian Visa. I am from Egypt and i have thinking in the immigration to Australia during the short past period. I went through the official immigration office portal , read the pointing system for the visa type 190 and still evaluation the success factors to get the Visa..
> I have a quick question for those who have already completed this process successfully , i am 40 years , married with 3 boys , working as an ICT Programs manager in my home country , do you think that i have good chances to get the citizenship ?
> I wasn't happy when i knew that my age scores only 15 points , and based on the pointing system i should get something between 60 and 70 points. so please let me know your feedback and recommendations if any


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zee -

Thanks for the question. Impossible to tell without a detailed examination of the specific tasks and duties of your job as an IT support engineer as compared to the ANZSCO duties/tasks for an Electronics Engineer. Beyond that you could, if you wanted to, get an opinion from Engineers Australia on whether the work was skilled as an Electronic Engineer - if EA gave you a positive report, it's highly likely that DIBP would honour that and give you the points (assuming the work was post-qualification, full-time, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shancop said:


> Hiya Mark
> 
> I will be applying for independent 189 visa. My degree has been accessed under Electronics Engineering (233311) and currently I am working in Australia as an IT support engineer. I would like to know if my work experience as an IT Support Engineer is closely related to Electronics Engineering or not? and will I be able to claim 5 extra points for my work experience once I have one year experience?
> 
> Please give me as much detail as you can from your knowledge and experience.
> 
> Thanks
> Zee


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rana -

It might be, but the issue is not as simple as that, and there are many different types of TR (temporary resident) visas, each with its own set of requirements. Suggest you consult with a registered migration agent who can sit down with you (or over skype/phone) and go over all the details of your case and help you determine the best visa(s) for you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rana3 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to know whether is it possible to get TR after completing an advance dip in IT (networking) . As i heard some lawyres say on some practical studies like computer networking we can apply for TR and than go for 189 after getting our 1years related work experience. Is this possible?
> 
> Thanks
> Regards
> Rana


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Khdmah -

Based on what you've said, the 5 year sponsorship wait applies to you - it would be calculated from the application date for the previous partner visa. Same limit applies to offshore and onshore partner visas.

However suggest you talk to a registered migration agent and get all the details examined before you make decisions based on this - most importantly, was the previous visa ever granted?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



khdmah said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for my spouse partner visa in 2012 offshore it was successful but we had divorce and she never entered to Australia and her visa was also expired
> 
> My question is if I am getting married offshore and applying for another spouse partner visa the waiting period of sponsorship is applicable on me or it can be waive off
> 
> Your advise will be appreciated
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fletchaman -

Based on what you said, yes. NZ PR doesn't buy you much in Australia in terms of visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fletchaman said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> We are looking at coming across the ditch from NZ ( my Partner is a Midwife) as we only have NZ PR ( British Citizens ) I am presuming we would have to start from Scratch as if we were purely coming from the UK would this be correct??
> 
> Thanking you in advance
> 
> David


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sez8210 -

As a nomination AND visa application are involved (because a change of occupation), I'm not sure I'd resign from the first job until the second job's nom and visa app were approved. Resigning before that won't hurt your application chances with the 2nd company from an immigration point of view, however resigning does start a 90 day clock that you must have new sponsorship lined up by or depart Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sez8210 said:


> Thanks for the response!Vsorry I will try to take out some of the complications!
> The new company is taking over my 457 but under a different category...they are already an approved sponsor. They are giving me a contract. Can I resign from my current position or should I wait until the transfer is fully completed?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jswyodn -

Re: #1, probably OK, however I'd have to see the actual document to be sure. If translated outside Australia, DIBP looks for equivalent level of skill to a NAATI para-professional level translator.

Re: #2, my experience is that they would very likely give you a chance to fix the problem (ie, provide a new translation) before refusing the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jswyodn said:


> Hi Mark, thanks a lot for taking time off your busy schedule to answer our questions!
> 
> I've applied for a 189 visa that is currently being processed. There are two issues that I'm concerned about:
> 
> 1. My birth certificate is in an another language. I obtained an English translation from my home country, but all that it has underneath the translated text is "Authorized and Sworn Translator", followed by the translator's stamp, signature, and number. It does not have the translator's address, phone number, and qualifications. Will this be an issue?
> 
> 2. If the case officer decides that the translation not acceptable due to the above issue, will my application be rejected outright? Or will I be given the opportunity to get a NAATI translation and resubmit it to the case officer?


----------



## swavik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> They may ask her to do a medical undertaking (promise to act) and agree to have regular checkups or exams for TB once she reaches Australia. Might be a slight delay in processing assuming there is a medical exam for the visa you are applying for, but likely no major delays.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for your reply..
I just wanted to be clear that the visa wont be rejected for the reason she has a past history of TB ...

Regards and thank you very much


----------



## domado16

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Domado -
> 
> Happy to help - see below comments with (***):
> 
> Hope this helps - thanks!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot for answering my questions, I highly appreciate you taking the time. Thanks also for sending me the document by email, it will help a lot in my application preparation.

I have another question. I've become aware of a set of Bridging visa available during the application of a substantial application lodged in Australia. I've also read of cases of permanent residents leaving Australia and returning after the expiration of their RRV and being granted a bridging visa at immigration at the airport, to enter Australia and do the necessary to renew their RRV. Granted they were still current residents only away on vacation, unaware of the need for an RRV to reenter, in which case it would make sense for them to be allowed to reenter, given that they were absolutely eligible for renewing the RRV, meeting the residency clause.

Is there however, a bridging visa that could be issued at immigration at the airport for someone with an expired RRV, with intention to file an application in Australia, perhaps even with the application in hand, which can be assessed for basic eligibility, with sponsorship from an Australian citizen for accommodation and financial support during the period of the application? I know this may be stretching thin, but just asking, in case.

And finally, would you mind letting me know what are the classes of visitor visas that would allow for a bridging visa on applying for an RRV in Australia?

Thanks,

Dominique


----------



## shancop

Hi mark

Thanks for your quick reply. yes the work is port-qualification and its over 20 hours/ week . but it's not that well paid job and its a contract based job. Do you think that Engineers Australia will still assess it positively if duties/tasks are some what similar to Electronic Engineering?

also how can I find out from Engineers Australia if they would assess my work experience positively?

Thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Zee -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Impossible to tell without a detailed examination of the specific tasks and duties of your job as an IT support engineer as compared to the ANZSCO duties/tasks for an Electronics Engineer. Beyond that you could, if you wanted to, get an opinion from Engineers Australia on whether the work was skilled as an Electronic Engineer - if EA gave you a positive report, it's highly likely that DIBP would honour that and give you the points (assuming the work was post-qualification, full-time, etc).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## SRS

MarkNortham said:


> Hi SRS -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Suggest at this point you wait and let DIBP take whatever time they will take to process the application - these often go on for many months, unfortunately.
> 
> Let's hope you dodged a bullet re: bogus document - a refusal based on that carries a 3 year exclusion period on being granted any other visa that has that provision (PIC 4020).
> 
> I know it's tough, but best to wait now.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Many thanks for your valuable feedback. Could you please clarify the status mentioned by CO as 'Active Processing'? Does this mean external check or case finalisation? Is there any positive sign of crossing the barrier?

I perceive that my PCC & medicals are expiring by end of this month? Should I wait for the response from my Case officer or request my agent to check with with CO for the same?

regards
SRS


----------



## pomwantingtomove

Hi Mark,

Two (hopefully straightforward) questions:
If I were to be granted either a 189 or 190 visa and entered Australia by the required date to activate the visa, would I be permitted to leave Australia straightaway and return to live permanently when I feel more ready? i.e I would have a permanent visa but not live there for a year or two.

Also, if this was permitted and I went on to have a child whilst in the UK, is it as simple as applying for a further visa for our child so we could all go together? 

Hope they make sense.


----------



## bonello32

Hi mark !
Been on this side and look , get some advise its so great.
Anyway my fiance and I applied the pmv through agent last year on the December.until now we don't have any clue or heard anything from Australia embassy in Jakarta about our application.we so stressful for all this because our NOIM which is very close now and we still didn't get the visa to her to comeback to Sydney.

The agent told us the proses time 6-12 month depent on the circumstance of the case but, we hope the visa come out soon .ao we can do the wedding.

The agent told us to not act by contact to the co straight because the agent authority to contact the embassy.seems the agent didn't didn't do that because they don't know until how far the document going.

Also the the agent ask to not get the tourist visa while pmv on proses because possible refuse while we applying for the pm.

What you suggest us to do ?I appreciate that and thanks


----------



## Thang

Hi mark
My wife is on a TR visa now,& now we're waiting for a PR visa but the problem here is we not in Australia because of our business and finance income in Vietnam. Can we get PR while oversea or have to be back in Brisbane Australia to do so , our 2 year time line is nearly up.. 
Thank you, mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Past history of TB is not a reason for automatic refusal, however to the extent that they may be concerned she currently may have TB, they can require all kinds of tests over an extended period of time (several months), etc before the visa application is allowed to move forward.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Thank you Mark for your reply..
> I just wanted to be clear that the visa wont be rejected for the reason she has a past history of TB ...
> 
> Regards and thank you very much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Your situation at this point gets a bit complex as there is a visa called a subclass 773 Border visa that in very specific circumstances, and at the discretion of the case officer at the airport immigration clearance facility, can be granted. Re: visitor to RRV, also complex. Would suggest booking a consultation (link on website in signature below) which would give me time to learn more about the details of your case and research possible solutions based on your specific details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



domado16 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot for answering my questions, I highly appreciate you taking the time. Thanks also for sending me the document by email, it will help a lot in my application preparation.
> 
> I have another question. I've become aware of a set of Bridging visa available during the application of a substantial application lodged in Australia. I've also read of cases of permanent residents leaving Australia and returning after the expiration of their RRV and being granted a bridging visa at immigration at the airport, to enter Australia and do the necessary to renew their RRV. Granted they were still current residents only away on vacation, unaware of the need for an RRV to reenter, in which case it would make sense for them to be allowed to reenter, given that they were absolutely eligible for renewing the RRV, meeting the residency clause.
> 
> Is there however, a bridging visa that could be issued at immigration at the airport for someone with an expired RRV, with intention to file an application in Australia, perhaps even with the application in hand, which can be assessed for basic eligibility, with sponsorship from an Australian citizen for accommodation and financial support during the period of the application? I know this may be stretching thin, but just asking, in case.
> 
> And finally, would you mind letting me know what are the classes of visitor visas that would allow for a bridging visa on applying for an RRV in Australia?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dominique


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shancop -

Hard to predict what EA will do - no good way to tell short of either doing a detailed examination of your work experience and tasks/duties of the job or having EA do that and seeing what the results are after they complete their assessment of the work experience.

Best,

Mark Northam



shancop said:


> Hi mark
> 
> Thanks for your quick reply. yes the work is port-qualification and its over 20 hours/ week . but it's not that well paid job and its a contract based job. Do you think that Engineers Australia will still assess it positively if duties/tasks are some what similar to Electronic Engineering?
> 
> also how can I find out from Engineers Australia if they would assess my work experience positively?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SRS -

Active Processing is a very general term that essentially means your application is not sitting unread in a queue somewhere. Beyond that, no good way to tell what part of the assessment process the application is at. You might request that your agent send the case officer a quick note requesting guidance as to whether you should get new police/health reports based on their upcoming expiration.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SRS said:


> Many thanks for your valuable feedback. Could you please clarify the status mentioned by CO as 'Active Processing'? Does this mean external check or case finalisation? Is there any positive sign of crossing the barrier?
> 
> I perceive that my PCC & medicals are expiring by end of this month? Should I wait for the response from my Case officer or request my agent to check with with CO for the same?
> 
> regards
> SRS


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pomwantingto move -

Thanks for the questions. Re: leaving straight away after activating the visa, no problem. Re: child, if born to an Australian PR while the person is outside Australia, you'd have to apply for a visa for the child as the child would not be eligible for citizenship. Interestingly, under the same circumstances if you had the child inside Australia, the child would be eligible for citizenship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pomwantingtomove said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Two (hopefully straightforward) questions:
> If I were to be granted either a 189 or 190 visa and entered Australia by the required date to activate the visa, would I be permitted to leave Australia straightaway and return to live permanently when I feel more ready? i.e I would have a permanent visa but not live there for a year or two.
> 
> Also, if this was permitted and I went on to have a child whilst in the UK, is it as simple as applying for a further visa for our child so we could all go together?
> 
> Hope they make sense.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bonello -

Thanks for the questions. DIBP provides no way for an applicant or their agent to tell how far along a PMV application is, so it's basically one long waiting game.

I agree with your agent re: not contacting DIBP yourself - better to have the agent do this.

However I do not agree with avoiding a visitor visa application while the PMV is processing - people routinely lodge these and in many cases are approved for them. I would need to know much more about your personal situation in order to give you any specific migration advice however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bonello32 said:


> Hi mark !
> Been on this side and look , get some advise its so great.
> Anyway my fiance and I applied the pmv through agent last year on the December.until now we don't have any clue or heard anything from Australia embassy in Jakarta about our application.we so stressful for all this because our NOIM which is very close now and we still didn't get the visa to her to comeback to Sydney.
> 
> The agent told us the proses time 6-12 month depent on the circumstance of the case but, we hope the visa come out soon .ao we can do the wedding.
> 
> The agent told us to not act by contact to the co straight because the agent authority to contact the embassy.seems the agent didn't didn't do that because they don't know until how far the document going.
> 
> Also the the agent ask to not get the tourist visa while pmv on proses because possible refuse while we applying for the pm.
> 
> What you suggest us to do ?I appreciate that and thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thank -

Thanks for the question - if the sponsor is an Australian citizen, generally no problem with offshore grant of permanent part of partner visa, however if the sponsor is a permanent resident, this gets more tricky as there is a requirement for the sponsor to be "usually resident" in Australia if the sponsor is a permanent resident of Australia (as opposed to a citizen). Would need to examine your specific situation in detail in order to give you any specific migration advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Thang said:


> Hi mark
> My wife is on a TR visa now,& now we're waiting for a PR visa but the problem here is we not in Australia because of our business and finance income in Vietnam. Can we get PR while oversea or have to be back in Brisbane Australia to do so , our 2 year time line is nearly up..
> Thank you, mark.


----------



## msbooksandtea

Hi Mark,

I’m sorry to bother you with such a silly question, but I’ve been unable to find a 100% clear answer anywhere.

My fiancé completed an online application at the beginning of March 2014, and we have since then logged in once a week or so to upload more evidence we pull together. The other day we noticed for the first time the link to organise the medical exam, where we filled out the questionnaire and have now received his HAP ID and the form to take to the Panel Physician. 

We haven’t received any messages or emails about a CO being assigned, and I’m a bit worried that perhaps that link was there the whole time and we just didn’t see it. I’ve read somewhere that online applications get the HAP ID automatically, yet elsewhere the advice is wait until it’s requested by the CO (which if they provide the link which you are able to complete right away, but expect you to wait for an email or message requesting it seems a bit silly to me!)

I think we’re going to book an appointment to get the medical done now anyway, as we’re hoping the visa will be approved within 12 months (our wedding date is set for 11 months time) but I was just wondering how the medicals are usually requested.

Thanks so much


----------



## fletchaman

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fletchaman -
> 
> Based on what you said, yes. NZ PR doesn't buy you much in Australia in terms of visas.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark,
I did hear from Kiwi friends of mine that the reciprocal agreement was a tad Bias when it came to Residents of each country, and an Australian Resident can work over here freely but not the other way round.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Great question! In some cases the "Arrange Health Exams" link comes up as soon as you lodge - in other cases, it comes up later. We always encourage clients to get their medical as soon as the link is available. If the link is not available for an extended period of time after lodgement, then there may be an "invitation" to get the medical forthcoming.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



msbooksandtea said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm sorry to bother you with such a silly question, but I've been unable to find a 100% clear answer anywhere.
> 
> My fiancé completed an online application at the beginning of March 2014, and we have since then logged in once a week or so to upload more evidence we pull together. The other day we noticed for the first time the link to organise the medical exam, where we filled out the questionnaire and have now received his HAP ID and the form to take to the Panel Physician.
> 
> We haven't received any messages or emails about a CO being assigned, and I'm a bit worried that perhaps that link was there the whole time and we just didn't see it. I've read somewhere that online applications get the HAP ID automatically, yet elsewhere the advice is wait until it's requested by the CO (which if they provide the link which you are able to complete right away, but expect you to wait for an email or message requesting it seems a bit silly to me!)
> 
> I think we're going to book an appointment to get the medical done now anyway, as we're hoping the visa will be approved within 12 months (our wedding date is set for 11 months time) but I was just wondering how the medicals are usually requested.
> 
> Thanks so much


----------



## ronald

*457 denied*

He Mark,

Today we heard our 457 Visa request has been denied in NSW. However, other persons were under the same occupation with a less skilled background accepted in QLD. Is there a difference between the several states weather a request is granted or denied or is it up to the person at immigration who takes the decision?

What are the chances to get the Visa approved when you bring the application to MRT?
Also I got promoted since the start of the application (since we thought it would be granted knowing the other cases that got approved). Will it make a difference if you work for the same employer but with a higher position within the company?

I read a lot of the questions and answers so far and thnx for the help already

Ronald Pors


----------



## swavik

Hello Mark,

I have lodged an EOI..I am married and have one kid..As i told you my wife has a history of TB 5 years ago which was treated completely and now things are fine..It is obvious that her medicals will take some time and since she is as a dependent applicant my visa will also be delayed..Anyways we were not planning to go together to Australia..We had planned that i alone will be going first and once i settle a bit they can join me.

So my questions were,
1.Can i apply for my PR only and then once i am there i can apply for them so that the delay wouldnt matter much...

2.Since we were not aware about the delay situation earlier, in the EOI we have answered 'YES' to the question which asks 'are you planning to attach applications for dependents(my wife and kid)'.So will it be a problem if we say Yes first and then NO once we get the invite..If we update that answer to NO now will it change our position in the que of applications (eventhough it doesnt change the points).

3.What are the terms and conditions for a person with PR to sponsor their family members? Can i do it immediately i reach there?

4.And how much time does it take on an average for this sponsered visa(not considering my additional Medical checks) will take..I am considering 4-5 months additional to the normal processing time,so wanted to knw what is the normal wait..

5.Does have an migration agent involved in this process help/speed up the case..

6.The invite mail is sent on Monday itself or it can be any day after that Monday round...

Thank you very much for your help and patience Mark...
Regards


----------



## lovelyme

*Visa*

Hi, I'm planning to have a vacation in Australia and at the same time look for University to enroll for ESL course. If ever, can I change to another visa while in Australia?


----------



## miassus

*incorrect answer*

Hi Mark,
I just realised that i made a mistake on my form 80 about a date in my list of educations.
I know that based on immi advice, applicants should inform about the mistake ASAP toward form 1023.
However, I'm not clear what would happen after sending form 1023. Would it put the application at risk because of the incorrect answer given?
Thanks.


----------



## msbooksandtea

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> Great question! In some cases the "Arrange Health Exams" link comes up as soon as you lodge - in other cases, it comes up later. We always encourage clients to get their medical as soon as the link is available. If the link is not available for an extended period of time after lodgement, then there may be an "invitation" to get the medical forthcoming.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks so much, Mark! Funnily enough, we just received an email advising we now have a case officer, and he has requested the police checks, but requested we only book the medical after 2nd June, as there is currently at least an 8-9 month processing time in London for partner visas (we've already made the appointment though, and are just going to keep it anyway- we live in hope!)

Thanks again for your help


----------



## CollegeGirl

msbooksandtea said:


> Thanks so much, Mark! Funnily enough, we just received an email advising we now have a case officer, and he has requested the police checks, but requested we only book the medical after 2nd June, as there is currently at least an 8-9 month processing time in London for partner visas (we've already made the appointment though, and are just going to keep it anyway- we live in hope!)
> 
> Thanks again for your help


I'm not Mark, but ... London is fastidious about waiting 8-9 months... even if you get lucky and your visa is ready to go before then, they typically hang onto it (queue) until at least seven months (usually 8). Obviously I'm not an agent, but there's another forum that's UK-specific, and that's what I've seen as far as partner visa grants there.

On the other hand, it's unlikely your application will take 12 months, so the only downside really would be that you'd be giving yourselves less time to make your initial entry. Since your wedding is in 11 months, I imagine you won't need that much time to make initial entry anyway.


----------



## msbooksandtea

CollegeGirl said:


> I'm not Mark, but ... London is fastidious about waiting 8-9 months... even if you get lucky and your visa is ready to go before then, they typically hang onto it (queue) until at least seven months (usually 8). Obviously I'm not an agent, but there's another forum that's UK-specific, and that's what I've seen as far as partner visa grants there.
> 
> On the other hand, it's unlikely your application will take 12 months, so the only downside really would be that you'd be giving yourselves less time to make your initial entry. Since your wedding is in 11 months, I imagine you won't need that much time to make initial entry anyway.


Hey CollegeGirl, thanks for that info! That is incredibly annoying that London does that... I think (hope) we should still be fine-as you said we're hoping it's unlikely the the process will take 12 months, and as my UK visa is up in June, most of our stuff will be shipped back to Australia with me. The plan is for the fiance to be able to give his 1 month notice at work once his visa is approved, then pack up his suitcase of clothes and hope on a plane! So we wouldn't need too much more than a month anyway


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ronald -

Thanks for the note, and sorry to hear about the refusal. Every application is different, and every case officer is different - it's the combination of the 2 (application + case officer) that determines the outcome in many cases.

Re: chances of success at MRT, it's entirely dependent on the exact reason why the application was refused, and whether that reason is something that is reasonably open to argument, or is a black & white issue that is not open to argument. You may want to engage an experienced migration agent (or 2!) to have a look at your case and give you an opinion as to how good a case you may have at the MRT.

Re: promotion - that can sometimes help, but can sometimes hurt - ie if you are in a trade position and you are promoted to a management job, if at the time of your new 457 application you nominate as a trade position but have too many non-trade management duties, this can be a problem.

Hope this helps - as with most refusals, the key is looking at the specific facts of the case and seeing how they fit to the law.

Best,

Mark Northam



ronald said:


> He Mark,
> 
> Today we heard our 457 Visa request has been denied in NSW. However, other persons were under the same occupation with a less skilled background accepted in QLD. Is there a difference between the several states weather a request is granted or denied or is it up to the person at immigration who takes the decision?
> 
> What are the chances to get the Visa approved when you bring the application to MRT?
> Also I got promoted since the start of the application (since we thought it would be granted knowing the other cases that got approved). Will it make a difference if you work for the same employer but with a higher position within the company?
> 
> I read a lot of the questions and answers so far and thnx for the help already
> 
> Ronald Pors


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Miassus -

Normally not unless the mistake is important to the application and/or DIBP thinks you may have been trying to deceive or mislead them. Other than those instances, generally a mistake is not a big deal, especially if you show honesty by correcting it. Given the new Form 80 with education and employment since birth details and 30 yrs of travel and address history needed, I imagine there is going to be a large number of Form 1023's being lodged as people struggle to remember details of casual jobs held as a teenager, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



miassus said:


> Hi Mark,
> I just realised that i made a mistake on my form 80 about a date in my list of educations.
> I know that based on immi advice, applicants should inform about the mistake ASAP toward form 1023.
> However, I'm not clear what would happen after sending form 1023. Would it put the application at risk because of the incorrect answer given?
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

You may not be aware, but even if a partner and/or children are not migrating with you, you still must declare them on your application as non-migrating dependents and they all still have to have the health exams just as if they were migrating. A health problem with any of them is just as much of a problem if they are not migrating as if they are. So not sure that "apply later" strategy will help avoid the delay you are concerned about. Once you are here and have your PR, you can sponsor your wife and dependents on a partner visa, but again not sure this buys you much since you're not avoiding the health issues with the original visa. Plus, having a non-migrating wife and children may seem unusual to DIBP, creating its own set of delays, etc..

No specific speed benefits to using a migration agent other than if the application is mistake-free and as effective as it can be due to the agent's experience. But merely having an agent or not does not make a difference in the processing time.

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have lodged an EOI..I am married and have one kid..As i told you my wife has a history of TB 5 years ago which was treated completely and now things are fine..It is obvious that her medicals will take some time and since she is as a dependent applicant my visa will also be delayed..Anyways we were not planning to go together to Australia..We had planned that i alone will be going first and once i settle a bit they can join me.
> 
> So my questions were,
> 1.Can i apply for my PR only and then once i am there i can apply for them so that the delay wouldnt matter much...
> 
> 2.Since we were not aware about the delay situation earlier, in the EOI we have answered 'YES' to the question which asks 'are you planning to attach applications for dependents(my wife and kid)'.So will it be a problem if we say Yes first and then NO once we get the invite..If we update that answer to NO now will it change our position in the que of applications (eventhough it doesnt change the points).
> 
> 3.What are the terms and conditions for a person with PR to sponsor their family members? Can i do it immediately i reach there?
> 
> 4.And how much time does it take on an average for this sponsered visa(not considering my additional Medical checks) will take..I am considering 4-5 months additional to the normal processing time,so wanted to knw what is the normal wait..
> 
> 5.Does have an migration agent involved in this process help/speed up the case..
> 
> 6.The invite mail is sent on Monday itself or it can be any day after that Monday round...
> 
> Thank you very much for your help and patience Mark...
> Regards


----------



## swavik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> You may not be aware, but even if a partner and/or children are not migrating with you, you still must declare them on your application as non-migrating dependents and they all still have to have the health exams just as if they were migrating. A health problem with any of them is just as much of a problem if they are not migrating as if they are. So not sure that "apply later" strategy will help avoid the delay you are concerned about. Once you are here and have your PR, you can sponsor your wife and dependents on a partner visa, but again not sure this buys you much since you're not avoiding the health issues with the original visa. Plus, having a non-migrating wife and children may seem unusual to DIBP, creating its own set of delays, etc..
> 
> No specific speed benefits to using a migration agent other than if the application is mistake-free and as effective as it can be due to the agent's experience. But merely having an agent or not does not make a difference in the processing time.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark for this information..I was not aware of the health checks the non migrating wife and children will also have to undergo the health exam..
i was considering this option only for the reason to speed up the process since anyways my wife and child were going to travel a bit later than me...
lets see..will decide once i get the invite..

Thank you very much for the valuable time


----------



## MarkNortham

You're welcome - glad to help!

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Thank you very much Mark for this information..I was not aware of the health checks the non migrating wife and children will also have to undergo the health exam..
> i was considering this option only for the reason to speed up the process since anyways my wife and child were going to travel a bit later than me...
> lets see..will decide once i get the invite..
> 
> Thank you very much for the valuable time


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Onshore application for first student visa may be possible, but you need to investigate whether your circumstances will require that you establish exceptional circumstances for an onshore first student visa application -

Best,

Mark Northam



lovelyme said:


> Hi, I'm planning to have a vacation in Australia and at the same time look for University to enroll for ESL course. If ever, can I change to another visa while in Australia?


----------



## natka

*no answer???*

Hi Mark,

I can see how incredibly busy you are answering all the questions. Unfortunately I think because of the load of questions you might have missed mine. It was on page 92. Or perhaps I just can't see your reply?? I can copy and repost if need be, but I'm still very much interested to hear your opinion. Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Natka -

Thanks for the note and sorry for missing your question when originally asked - I try to catch up on questions as best I can but once in a while miss one.

It's not possible for me to assess individual applicants, especially for skilled visas, here on the forum - there are simply too many details and questions that need to be established to determine whether someone is eligible, the correct number of points they have based on their individual circumstances, etc. Plus, every state has different sponsorship rules, and within any state there may be additional requirements for certain occupations. Even skills assessment rules are getting more complex - especially at ACS who may deduct from 2 to 6 years of work experience from what you had intended to claim. There really is no shortcut for a detailed examination of an applicant's work experience, qualifications, and how all of that corresponds with the individual (and sometimes incompatible) requirements of the skills assessor, state sponsorship authority, and DIBP visa requirements.

Sorry I don't have a quick & easy answer for your questions, but the myriad of rules that make up the world of skilled visas make things complex - the last thing I'd want to do is to suggest a particular course of action, only for you to find later that it is inappropriate because of some detail of the applicant's case that I didn't know about. If you'd like to book a consultation to discuss the case in detail, that would provide a great opportunity to gather all the facts and details we would need in order to give you specific advice - link to our website where you can book a consultation is below.

Best,

Mark Northam



natka said:


> This time I have a more in-deapth question. Hope you can help, Mark.
> 
> We are in the process of getting my brother to Australia through skillselect.
> 
> He's got EILTS scores of 6, 6, 6, 7.5.
> We've put an application through to ACS to confirm 261313 Soft Eng. All going well, they should recognize 8 years work experience. His highest education is masters degree.
> He is married with one child. His partner will not be including her work experience in the application.
> 
> Me (his sister) is an Australian citizen and permanently live in WA.
> 
> Using the points table on the dept website, he should get 75 points.
> 
> So my question relates to the type of visa we should be indicating in EOI. Am I correct in thinking that 489 would give us the best chance of getting an invitation? I am confused at the current situation with 489 as it seems they only send out a very limited number of invitation and the processing time is longer? Also it seems that WA do not require IT professionals - would that affect our outcome?
> 
> That you in advance for clarifying our situation.


----------



## natka

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Natka -
> 
> Thanks for the note and sorry for missing your question when originally asked - I try to catch up on questions as best I can but once in a while miss one.
> 
> It's not possible for me to assess individual applicants, especially for skilled visas, here on the forum - there are simply too many details and questions that need to be established to determine whether someone is eligible, the correct number of points they have based on their individual circumstances, etc. Plus, every state has different sponsorship rules, and within any state there may be additional requirements for certain occupations. Even skills assessment rules are getting more complex - especially at ACS who may deduct from 2 to 6 years of work experience from what you had intended to claim. There really is no shortcut for a detailed examination of an applicant's work experience, qualifications, and how all of that corresponds with the individual (and sometimes incompatible) requirements of the skills assessor, state sponsorship authority, and DIBP visa requirements.
> 
> Sorry I don't have a quick & easy answer for your questions, but the myriad of rules that make up the world of skilled visas make things complex - the last thing I'd want to do is to suggest a particular course of action, only for you to find later that it is inappropriate because of some detail of the applicant's case that I didn't know about. If you'd like to book a consultation to discuss the case in detail, that would provide a great opportunity to gather all the facts and details we would need in order to give you specific advice - link to our website where you can book a consultation is below.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark. I understand there are a lot of variables to every case. If I may, I'd like to ask one last question:

on DIBP website the main conditions for 489 visa are 
- been nominated by an Australian State or Territory government agency or sponsored by an eligible relative living in a designated area
- nominated an occupation that is on the relevant skilled occupations list

In our case my brother will be sponsored by an eligible relative living in WA, however his occupation is NOT currently on WA skilled occupations list. Does that mean he is not eligible for 489?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Natka -

Happy to help. There is only one national list for the 489 visa - it's the Consolidated Sponsored Occupations List (CSOL). Each state can choose to sponsor certain occupations on that list (or not). However, for family sponsored 489's it is the family that is sponsoring, not the state. So if an occupation is on the CSOL list (see http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/csol.pdf ) it is approved for the 489 visa. So that's the first part - is the occupation compatible with the visa. Whether WA sponsors that occupation is not relevant for family sponsored 489 visas, only state sponsored 489 visas.

But as I mentioned before, whether an occupation is on the "list" or not is only the first step - meeting the skills assessment, sponsorship (in this case, family sponsorship), and DIBP visa application rules, plus in your case receiving an invitation for a family sponsorship (they're issued on a quota basis by the govt) are still ahead. Just because a person has a family sponsor does not mean they will be invited to apply for a visa - wish it were that simple!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



natka said:


> Thanks Mark. I understand there are a lot of variables to every case. If I may, I'd like to ask one last question:
> 
> on DIBP website the main conditions for 489 visa are
> - been nominated by an Australian State or Territory government agency or sponsored by an eligible relative living in a designated area
> - nominated an occupation that is on the relevant skilled occupations list
> 
> In our case my brother will be sponsored by an eligible relative living in WA, however his occupation is NOT currently on WA skilled occupations list. Does that mean he is not eligible for 489?


----------



## Dinkum

Hi Mark
Our Health Assessment was lodged with onshore (Sydney) 820/801 in July 2013. (Applicant from a high risk country)
To avoid any delay we plan to provide a new updated Health Assessment just before the first one expires in July 2014. We now need to a get HAP number etc. in order to make an appointment with Medibank.
A few days ago we received a standard reminder email from DIBP (NSW Partner Processing Centre) which said not to get a Health Assessment if it was provided when the application was lodged.
What is our best course of action? There are still a couple of months to go, so we hope the visa may be granted before the new Health Assessment is necessary. Our expiring overseas and Australian police clearances are easier to manage.
Thanks for your help and professional expertise as always.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dinkum -

Thanks for the question. I don't know enough about your personal situation to give you any specific advice, however generally we tend to recommend to clients that they get the health exams when requested to by DIBP. The other issue that comes up in some (rare) instances is that the additional health exam turns up something that was not present in the first exam, which can lead to issues depending on what it is.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your visa!

Best,

Mark Northam



Dinkum said:


> Hi Mark
> Our Health Assessment was lodged with onshore (Sydney) 820/801 in July 2013. (Applicant from a high risk country)
> To avoid any delay we plan to provide a new updated Health Assessment just before the first one expires in July 2014. We now need to a get HAP number etc. in order to make an appointment with Medibank.
> A few days ago we received a standard reminder email from DIBP (NSW Partner Processing Centre) which said not to get a Health Assessment if it was provided when the application was lodged.
> What is our best course of action? There are still a couple of months to go, so we hope the visa may be granted before the new Health Assessment is necessary. Our expiring overseas and Australian police clearances are easier to manage.
> Thanks for your help and professional expertise as always.


----------



## Dinkum

Thank you...


----------



## bonello32

Thanks mark!
We lodged the application early of December 2013 but the agent didn't mention if we can apply for the tourist visa while the application on proses .I just find out from this forum we can apply the tourist visa again while the application on going.

Few weeks ago I ask my agent if that possible if my fiance come to to Sydney with the tourist visa and the agent said the embassy could refuse it cause u been apply for the pmv sub.300.
Also the agent said if the pmv gruanted while u fiance in Sydney that will invalid cause my fiance should out side Australia.
Hope could help u to give us more information.

Thank u so much for u time.we know u so busy.
Gbu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bonello -

For couples, a visitor visa AFTER the couple lodges a PMV or partner visa application is often more likely to be approved, since at that point they have declared their relationship to DIBP so DIBP doesn't have to guess why they're really coming to Australia.

Re: being in Australia when PMV is granted, usually a visitor visa granted while a PMV is processing will be granted for 3 or 6 months only, which puts the applicant back in their home country in time for the grant. But in any case, it's always a good idea to keep the case officer updated with your contact and travel details. Generally when the case officer is ready to grant the PMV and the applicant is in Australia, they'll contact the applicant (usually by email) and let them know that the visa is ready to grant; the applicant then takes a quick trip offshore (can be anywhere outside of Australia, doesn't need to be to their home country) and emails the case officer that they're offshore which the case officer can verify via passport movement records. The visa is then granted via email and the applicant can re-enter Australia on the PMV.

Also, it's my view that it would be natural for an engaged couple to want to spend time together during the 6-9+ months that the PMV or partner visa is processing - in fact, to NOT want to be together during that period in some circumstances, I imagine, could be taken by DIBP to be a sign that the relationship is not as close (or as genuine) as claimed!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bonello32 said:


> Thanks mark!
> We lodged the application early of December 2013 but the agent didn't mention if we can apply for the tourist visa while the application on proses .I just find out from this forum we can apply the tourist visa again while the application on going.
> 
> Few weeks ago I ask my agent if that possible if my fiance come to to Sydney with the tourist visa and the agent said the embassy could refuse it cause u been apply for the pmv sub.300.
> Also the agent said if the pmv gruanted while u fiance in Sydney that will invalid cause my fiance should out side Australia.
> Hope could help u to give us more information.
> 
> Thank u so much for u time.we know u so busy.
> Gbu


----------



## jswyodn

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the previous reply. It was very helpful. I've asked my case officer about my translated birth certificate and the reply was that the officer is satisfied with it at this point, so there's no further action required.

I'd like to ask another question. A friend of mine started on a Bachelor of Commerce in an Australian institution in 2009 and graduated in 2012. His majors do not qualify him for an occupation on the SoL. 

In 2013, he enrolled in a Master of Management that is also not on the SoL, and the length of the program is only 1.5 years. Will my friend be eligible for the 485 visa (post study work stream)?

I am aware that there is a minimum study requirement of 2 years for the 485 visa, and that his Master program does not fulfil that. I am not too sure whether he can combine the two qualifications to meet that requirement, given that the earlier program was commenced before 5 Nov 2011.


----------



## Laam

Hi Mark,
I am a 457 applicant in Canberra, i have my commercial cookery cert IV
graduated on Dec 2013. My previous substantive visa(student visa) was expired on 15 Mar and i lodged my 457 and skill assessment application a few days before the expiry. So i'm holding Bridging visa A now.
I was already allocated a case officer and my employer already got the nomination approval for sponsoring me as a chef under 457. But now I just encounter a problem that I can't prove the 3-yr full time experience for the chef skill assessment. ( before, my agent told me if i hold certIV, don't need to show experience)
As student was bound by the 20hr working condition, i can't work as fulltime, while before my 2 year study i was here for one year working holiday but i don't have the income evidence as well.
So does that mean i'll fail the skill assessment and 457 application?
While i'm holding bridging A now, can i change to apply other visa such as 402- occupation trainee or RSMS( i've got ielts 6 already)?
Or is there other ways that can help me?
Thanks mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jswyodn -

Thanks for the question. Re: your friend, if the application date for his first (ever) student visa for Australia was before 5 November 2011, he would not be eligible for the new Post-Study Work Stream of the 485 graduate skilled visa, and would only be eligible for the older stream (Graduate Work Stream) that requires an occupation on the SOL. Personally I think this is a highly unfair policy, as the new stream as no occupation limitations, no skills assessment required, and provides a longer visa period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jswyodn said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the previous reply. It was very helpful. I've asked my case officer about my translated birth certificate and the reply was that the officer is satisfied with it at this point, so there's no further action required.
> 
> I'd like to ask another question. A friend of mine started on a Bachelor of Commerce in an Australian institution in 2009 and graduated in 2012. His majors do not qualify him for an occupation on the SoL.
> 
> In 2013, he enrolled in a Master of Management that is also not on the SoL, and the length of the program is only 1.5 years. Will my friend be eligible for the 485 visa (post study work stream)?
> 
> I am aware that there is a minimum study requirement of 2 years for the 485 visa, and that his Master program does not fulfil that. I am not too sure whether he can combine the two qualifications to meet that requirement, given that the earlier program was commenced before 5 Nov 2011.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Laam -

Thanks for the note. Not possible for me to assess your case in detail as I don't have access to all the information about your case. Generally speaking, however, if a person is required to do a skills assessment for a 457 visa (note only certain country/occupation combinations are), without that skills assessment the application will likely be refused. The Cert IV issue re: work experience was a common misunderstanding based on poorly written policy/regulations - DIBP issued a clarification on this months ago confirming that Cert IV requires work experience in these situations.

Re: other visas, again, I don't have enough data to assess your case in detail. As of tomorrow (12 April) you will have held a bridging visa for 28 days, which triggers potential Schedule 3 requirements for any other visa you may wish to apply for while onshore on this visit.

Suggest you book a consultation with a migration agent who can look over all your documents and give you informed advice about what option(s) may be available to you - between the skills assessment regulations and visa regulations, things are not simple or easy, unfortunately.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Laam said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am a 457 applicant in Canberra, i have my commercial cookery cert IV
> graduated on Dec 2013. My previous substantive visa(student visa) was expired on 15 Mar and i lodged my 457 and skill assessment application a few days before the expiry. So i'm holding Bridging visa A now.
> I was already allocated a case officer and my employer already got the nomination approval for sponsoring me as a chef under 457. But now I just encounter a problem that I can't prove the 3-yr full time experience for the chef skill assessment. ( before, my agent told me if i hold certIV, don't need to show experience)
> As student was bound by the 20hr working condition, i can't work as fulltime, while before my 2 year study i was here for one year working holiday but i don't have the income evidence as well.
> So does that mean i'll fail the skill assessment and 457 application?
> While i'm holding bridging A now, can i change to apply other visa such as 402- occupation trainee or RSMS( i've got ielts 6 already)?
> Or is there other ways that can help me?
> Thanks mark.


----------



## Laam

Hi Mark,
Sorry to bother you again,
So what will happen if it triggers the schedule 3 requirements?
Does that mean i will be refused for any visa application and need to leave within 28 days?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Laam -

No problem. Schedule 3 is, in simple terms, a set of regulations that establishes time limits for some visas. Different visa types have different Schedule 3 requirements, so it's not a "one size fits all" situation. For many visas, the particular Sched 3 requirements have a "compelling reasons" clause where an applicant can argue there are extenuating compelling reasons for certain parts of Sched 3, or compelling reasons for the entire Sched 3 set of regulations as it is with partner visas. It really comes down to looking at the different types of visa(s) you may be eligible for given your own personal circumstances and then seeing what it will take to make the best application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Laam said:


> Hi Mark,
> Sorry to bother you again,
> So what will happen if it triggers the schedule 3 requirements?
> Does that mean i will be refused for any visa application and need to leave within 28 days?


----------



## Markp

Our application has been refused because they think that Svitlana is planning on over staying her visa due to the current situation in Ukraine.So now we have the opportunity to ask for a review.
We are now hoping that we can convince them that we know the consequences of over staying visas and the effect that would have on the future of our relationship.


----------



## Markp

Hi Mark,Just a quick question.My girlfriend has applied for a visitor visa 600 online from Ukraine.Is that processed in Australia or Moscow?

Cheers Mark.


Markp said:


> Our application has been refused because they think that Svitlana is planning on over staying her visa due to the current situation in Ukraine.So now we have the opportunity to ask for a review.
> We are now hoping that we can convince them that we know the consequences of over staying visas and the effect that would have on the future of our relationship.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markp -

These are normally processed in Moscow. Can be very difficult to get visitor visas for Ukrainian nationals these days - best of luck with this!

Best,

Mark Northam



Markp said:


> Hi Mark,Just a quick question.My girlfriend has applied for a visitor visa 600 online from Ukraine.Is that processed in Australia or Moscow?
> 
> Cheers Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markp -

Just responded to your other post - suggest you look at the Genuine Visitor policy if it was a visitor visa you had applied for - sometimes review works better in these cases as it's done in Australia at the MRT, however these cases can nevertheless be difficult given the strife in Ukraine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Markp said:


> Our application has been refused because they think that Svitlana is planning on over staying her visa due to the current situation in Ukraine.So now we have the opportunity to ask for a review.
> We are now hoping that we can convince them that we know the consequences of over staying visas and the effect that would have on the future of our relationship.


----------



## Markp

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Markp -
> 
> Just responded to your other post - suggest you look at the Genuine Visitor policy if it was a visitor visa you had applied for - sometimes review works better in these cases as it's done in Australia at the MRT, however these cases can nevertheless be difficult given the strife in Ukraine.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for the quick reply Mark.
Just had a read of the policy and has got me worried that we are going to have a hard time convincing them that we have no plans on breaking the law.


----------



## MarkNortham

It's not easy to defend yourself against what someone else thinks you "might" do in the future! Just watch "Minority Report" (the film) for an example of that.

In the end, the most effective approach may be to take the Genuine Visitor policy apart and show, explain, etc how the applicant meets as many elements of that as possible - not an easy task though.

Best,

Mark Northam



Markp said:


> Thanks for the quick reply Mark.
> Just had a read of the policy and has got me worried that we are going to have a hard time convincing them that we have no plans on breaking the law.


----------



## Markp

MarkNortham said:


> It's not easy to defend yourself against what someone else thinks you "might" do in the future! Just watch "Minority Report" (the film) for an example of that.
> 
> In the end, the most effective approach may be to take the Genuine Visitor policy apart and show, explain, etc how the applicant meets as many elements of that as possible - not an easy task though.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


And if the do not give her a visa after that can we apply again or do we have to wait?


----------



## MarkNortham

You can apply again, but unless the application is substantially different, it will likely be refused again as a repeat/similar application.

Best,

Mark Northam



Markp said:


> And if the do not give her a visa after that can we apply again or do we have to wait?


----------



## Aussiebound2015

*Resupply all docs - normal?*

Hello!

We applied for skilled independent 175 four years ago and finally got a CO. 
now we seem to be resupplying almost everything. Including form 80. 
Will we be assessed on information leading up to the application date or afterwards?

Thank you.


----------



## Markp

MarkNortham said:


> You can apply again, but unless the application is substantially different, it will likely be refused again as a repeat/similar application.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark.


----------



## Naylorus

*visa cap for various categories*

Hello Mark,

I was wondering if DIAB has any periodic information available someplace on its website about number of visas available for each category? It seems they've been placing a cap on how many visas can be issued in a given year. It'd be helpful if such information is open for public. I have scoured DIAB's chaotic web jungle but couldn't find related link.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussiebound -

Great question. The answer is both, depending on the info. Some requirements for the visa (points-related, especially) are assessed as of the time of application. Other aspects of the relationship, such as the background of the applicant, health, police checks, etc are assessed as of the time of decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aussiebound2015 said:


> Hello!
> 
> We applied for skilled independent 175 four years ago and finally got a CO.
> now we seem to be resupplying almost everything. Including form 80.
> Will we be assessed on information leading up to the application date or afterwards?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naylorus -

They do have some info available - for occupational caps on skilled visas see: SkillSelect â€" SkillSelect - look on the "reports" tab.

More info on overall caps by category here:
Migration Programme Statistics

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Naylorus said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I was wondering if DIAB has any periodic information available someplace on its website about number of visas available for each category? It seems they've been placing a cap on how many visas can be issued in a given year. It'd be helpful if such information is open for public. I have scoured DIAB's chaotic web jungle but couldn't find related link.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## Meganaki

*Partner visa 801/820*

Hi Mark,

I am applying for a partner visa subclass 801/820 , my partner is an Australian citizen and I am here with a working holiday visa 417 American citizen . I am stressing out here a lot , about the letter (love letter) can we write one together or we need to write one each ? 
Is it really helpful if I get a letter written from my parents that are overseas to say that we (me and my partner ) lived there 9 months before moving to Australia ? As witness I have 2 friends that are going to fill in the form 888 and I was thinking maybe his mother that came and visited us a few months living with us can be a witness as well? And then when we moved in Australia because we had no jobs or history we lived with his sister and mother in the granny flat for 9 months and two months ago we leased our first house together ! Does it matter if I get 4 witness ? Is it too much ? I'm so confused , so sorry if these questions have been answered before I didn't have much time to read the whole threat .

Thank you ,

Maggie


----------



## Meganaki

*Register relationship*

Sorry Mark ! Last question , do you think we have to register our relationship ?


----------



## Laam

Hi Mark,
If I go back to Hong Kong and lodge a OFFSHORE 402 application, so it won't trigger the schedule 3 requirement, right?
If that's the case, before I leave australia do i need to withdraw my 457 application first, or i can just apply a bridging B visa to HK and lodge a offshore application?


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Laam -
> 
> No problem. Schedule 3 is, in simple terms, a set of regulations that establishes time limits for some visas. Different visa types have different Schedule 3 requirements, so it's not a "one size fits all" situation. For many visas, the particular Sched 3 requirements have a "compelling reasons" clause where an applicant can argue there are extenuating compelling reasons for certain parts of Sched 3, or compelling reasons for the entire Sched 3 set of regulations as it is with partner visas. It really comes down to looking at the different types of visa(s) you may be eligible for given your own personal circumstances and then seeing what it will take to make the best application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks very much for the question. Without knowing the specifics of your relationship and what evidence you have, I'm not able to give you any specific advice to your case. Generally speaking, we always recommend that the sponsor and applicant write their own statements - these should describe the progression of the relationship and talk a bit about your future plans. Re: additional statements and/or statutory declarations, we usually rec commend at least 4-5 of these - sometimes more if the other relationship evidence is weak. These statement should have the writer's statement about the relationship, ie "I believe they are in a genuine defacto relationship" or other as appropriate, and should ideally include some observations about the relationship or other items as to why the writer feels this way.

Re: register relationship, for defacto we always recommend this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Meganaki said:


> Sorry Mark ! Last question , do you think we have to register our relationship ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Laam -

I don't know enough about your case to give you specific advice; Schedule 3 requirements for the subclass 402 visa apply only if a person is onshore at the time of application. Re: BV-B application, not sure if they will approve that with a 457 pending as the time to approve these is so short (a couple of weeks typically), even less sure they would approve this if you have already withdrawn the 457 - you probably have a better chance of the BV-B being approved prior to withdrawing the 457 depending on whatever other visa you are on, etc. A lot will be up to the case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Laam said:


> Hi Mark,
> If I go back to Hong Kong and lodge a OFFSHORE 402 application, so it won't trigger the schedule 3 requirement, right?
> If that's the case, before I leave australia do i need to withdraw my 457 application first, or i can just apply a bridging B visa to HK and lodge a offshore application?


----------



## miaonfire

Hi Mark,


Thanks for being available to help it is appreciated.

I am on a 457 visa with the 90 day condition likely to expire in 30 days. A job fell through and I am urgently seeking alternative employment/transfer. I've kept lines of communication open with IMMI and there could be flexibility on the 90 days if I can prove a job offer/process. Aside from this I have just submitted a 820/801 visa with my partner/sponsor. So with the 457 I understand this then means I'll be on a BVA and switched to the BVE bridging visa if 457 cancels. The BVE has the work restrictions and also means I will not be allowed to leave Australia whilst the visa processes. My question is as a priority on is there any way to appeal for on the travel limitation based on compassionate grounds. Is this possible and if so how should I go about it? My mother is terminally ill back home and with a processing time circa 13 months if I cannot get my 457 transferred and it cancels I will be put onto the incredibly restricted BVE visa ( what sense is there in this bridging visa? why do they feel the need for these restrictions to make it so much harder) this is the worst case scenario. I will file the 1005 form to lift work restrictions based on hardship if I can but being able to return to the UK if critical or for a funeral is top of mind. Any advice on this situation is appreciated if your able.

Thanks very much


----------



## onishi

Hi Mark,

I have a procedural question. My parents applied for and received NPC certificate, which they needed for immigration purposes to the U.S (they were mailed with the application forms to the U.S NVC). Now U.S embassy is asking that we have the certificates directly mailed to their embassy/consulate here in Dhaka. 

I have sent numerous e-mails, asking for the procedure to do this, however have received no replies. Any advice on the matter would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks much in advance.


----------



## cozimhappy

Hi Mark if you're able to could you clarify a question on emedical history question 3 for partner visa asking - Prolonged medical treatment and/or repeated hospital admissions for any reasons , including a major operation or psychiatric illness? 
Initially I was going to answer NO but after I reread question I wasn't sure if it was asking if I ever had repeated/prolonged medical treatment - to which answer is NO or if it's also asking if I've ever had a major operation?? Which answer would be YES as had hysterectomy 7 years ago but no repeated or ongoing treatment. Very confusing question , it really could be read in different ways! Many thanks for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Miaonfire -

Thanks for the note, and sorry to hear about your mother. The bad news is that there is no legal grounds by which a BVE holder can be granted a BVB (the only bridging visa that allows re-entry to Australia) - no appeal, no compelling considerations, etc. However the better strategy in my mind would be if you are holding the BVE and must return home, contact the case officer that advise them that you must leave Australia due to extremely compelling and compassionate concerns - ie, to be with mother in her final days, or attend funeral, etc. Then depart on the BVE - they will not stop you at the airport, and you have the right to depart the country.

Then comes the fun part - re-entry. If you depart Australia while having held a BVE for more than 28 days, you incur a 3 year exclusion period on being granted all temporary visas including student, 457, visitor, etc. However there is an exclusion period waiver available - here's your chance to present the compelling & compassionate (c&c) circumstances - I'd consider going for the exclusion waiver on 2 c&c circumstances - your need to rejoin your partner in Australia, and your reason for having to have left (death, etc). I think you'd have a good chance of getting this through (no promises/guarantees though!) if properly presented. If for any reason you did not get this through, once they were are ready to grant the visa, it's very likely they would arrange for a visitor visa (despite the exclusion period) to allow you to be onshore to be granted the partner visa.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam



miaonfire said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for being available to help it is appreciated.
> 
> I am on a 457 visa with the 90 day condition likely to expire in 30 days. A job fell through and I am urgently seeking alternative employment/transfer. I've kept lines of communication open with IMMI and there could be flexibility on the 90 days if I can prove a job offer/process. Aside from this I have just submitted a 820/801 visa with my partner/sponsor. So with the 457 I understand this then means I'll be on a BVA and switched to the BVE bridging visa if 457 cancels. The BVE has the work restrictions and also means I will not be allowed to leave Australia whilst the visa processes. My question is as a priority on is there any way to appeal for on the travel limitation based on compassionate grounds. Is this possible and if so how should I go about it? My mother is terminally ill back home and with a processing time circa 13 months if I cannot get my 457 transferred and it cancels I will be put onto the incredibly restricted BVE visa ( what sense is there in this bridging visa? why do they feel the need for these restrictions to make it so much harder) this is the worst case scenario. I will file the 1005 form to lift work restrictions based on hardship if I can but being able to return to the UK if critical or for a funeral is top of mind. Any advice on this situation is appreciated if your able.
> 
> Thanks very much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Onishi -

Thanks for the question, however I'm a bit confused - this sounds like a US immigration question (?) If so, suggest you look for a different forum as this forum is exclusively focused on immigration to Australia - completely different laws/procedures/etc apply. Please advise if I have misunderstood your question.

Best,

Mark Northam



onishi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a procedural question. My parents applied for and received NPC certificate, which they needed for immigration purposes to the U.S (they were mailed with the application forms to the U.S NVC). Now U.S embassy is asking that we have the certificates directly mailed to their embassy/consulate here in Dhaka.
> 
> I have sent numerous e-mails, asking for the procedure to do this, however have received no replies. Any advice on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks much in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cozimhappy -

You're right, that is a poorly worded question. General advice (since I can't give you advice specific to your case as I am not familiar with your case): If you feel that the medical treatment you had for your hysterectomy was either "prolonged" or involved "repeated hospital admissions" (note that you can have a single "admission" that goes on for days or longer), then I'd answer Yes; otherwise would answer No.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cozimhappy said:


> Hi Mark if you're able to could you clarify a question on emedical history question 3 for partner visa asking - Prolonged medical treatment and/or repeated hospital admissions for any reasons , including a major operation or psychiatric illness?
> Initially I was going to answer NO but after I reread question I wasn't sure if it was asking if I ever had repeated/prolonged medical treatment - to which answer is NO or if it's also asking if I've ever had a major operation?? Which answer would be YES as had hysterectomy 7 years ago but no repeated or ongoing treatment. Very confusing question , it really could be read in different ways! Many thanks for your time!


----------



## miaonfire

I am based in Australia btw


----------



## bradley

Hi mark i would like to have an advice with you . am actually on a subclass 309 partner visa and I would like to add my two children under age of 18 years old who is still overseas. I was done a search on the immi wed site that I have to fill the form 918 and 1002 .my question is that all I need to fill up ? 
Please if can help me


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bradley -

Thanks for the note. Not possible to give you advice specific to your case as every case is different, especially when it comes to children.

These cases are less complex when the migrating parent has sole custody and control of the children - would require court orders or divorce decree to evidence this. If the ex-parent has any rights at all re: determining where the children can live, then you may need to look into Form 1229 or other documentation to evidence the ex-parent's permission to allow the children to migrate to Australia. Because of all the child-smuggling and such going on, DIBP is extremely strict on documentation requirements for children, especially when only one parent is migrating.

Hope this helps - if you need advice specific to your case would be happy to have a consulting session with you - see link in my signature below to our website where you can book.

Best,

Mark Northam



bradley said:


> Hi mark i would like to have an advice with you . am actually on a subclass 309 partner visa and I would like to add my two children under age of 18 years old who is still overseas. I was done a search on the immi wed site that I have to fill the form 918 and 1002 .my question is that all I need to fill up ?
> Please if can help me


----------



## kirxan

Hi Mark!

Great work on the forum.. Been following it for a few weeks and I see you've pitched in everywhere you can.

I have a query regarding Subclass 485 Post Study Work Visa. I have been offered a place in a 1.5 year Masters program at University of Melbourne. I recently found out about the 2 year study requirement to get a job later. I would love to work in Australia for a while before I return home. How can I meet the 2 year study requirement? Can I extend my course by taking additional credits? Can I also do a Graduate Diploma/Certificate in addition to the Masters and will it be considered for the 2 yeat requirement? I read the information on DIBP website, but it wasn't very clear. What are your thoughts?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kirxan -

Thanks for the kind words. It's important to remember that the 2 year measurement of study is based on the CRICOS number of hours the course you are interested in is rated at - the magic number is 92 hours. If you need to combine more than 1 qualification to get there, it can be done - here's the specific DIBP policy on this:

_5.1 More than one course

The Australian study requirement does not require visa applicants to have completed a single course of study of 2 academic years duration. Applicants may use study undertaken to complete more than one degree, diploma or trade qualification to meet the Australian study requirement as long as the courses they have studied are closely related to the nominated occupation.

In this instance, the courses of study need not have been undertaken within a 24 month period. It is possible to have a break between completing the first course and commencing the second._

Note the requirement that the courses both be closely related to the nominated occupation - this is a requirement that is not included in the actual regulations that pertain to this visa, but apparently DIBP has added it.

Hope this helps - sounds like what you want to do is possible if the courses are closely related to your nominated occupation and the duration of the courses per CRICOS adds up to the right number -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## kirxan

Hi Mark

Thank you for the swift response. I am little confused with the information provided by the DIBP.

_Eligible qualifications

To meet the Australian study requirement, the course/courses must have resulted in an eligible qualification. The eligible qualifications differ depending on which stream of the subclass 485 visa the applicant selects.

For the purposes of applying for a subclass 485 visa under the Post-Study Work stream, only study that results in the conferral of an eligible degree level qualification will be considered. An eligible degree level qualification is a:

Bachelor degree
Bachelor (honours) degree
Masters by coursework degree
Masters (extended) degree
Masters by research degree
Doctoral degree.
Study resulting in a diploma level qualification or trade qualification will not be considered.

As an example a student may complete a one year Bachelor degree followed by a one year Masters degree and meet the Australian study requirement under the Post-Study Work stream, provided the other components of the requirement are satisfied.

Study must be at a certain level

Only study undertaken at Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Level 7 or above (Bachelor degree level or above), which leads to the conferral of an eligible degree level qualification, may be considered towards meeting the Australian study requirement. An eligible degree level qualification is a Bachelor degree, Masters by coursework degree, Masters (extended) degree, Masters by research degree or Doctoral degree.

This means that degree level courses which are packaged with a Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma course may be considered, provided they otherwise meet the Australian study requirement._

Given that my eligible degree is of 78 weeks' duration, will any additional Diploma/Certificate or additional courses be considered to meet the 92 weeks requirement?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I expect so - note the last sentence re: combination of degrees. A Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma are both at AQF Level 8. Would need to analyse the specific degrees/courses to give you any specific advice for your case, but it would appear that a Grad Cert or Dip + Masters Degree, as long as they are both closely related to your nomination, and as long as the overlap (course credit given in the 2nd degree for courses taken in the 1st degree) doesn't reduce the total study time (less common credit) to below 92 hours.

Best,

Mark Northam



kirxan said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for the swift response. I am little confused with the information provided by the DIBP.
> 
> _Eligible qualifications
> 
> To meet the Australian study requirement, the course/courses must have resulted in an eligible qualification. The eligible qualifications differ depending on which stream of the subclass 485 visa the applicant selects.
> 
> For the purposes of applying for a subclass 485 visa under the Post-Study Work stream, only study that results in the conferral of an eligible degree level qualification will be considered. An eligible degree level qualification is a:
> 
> Bachelor degree
> Bachelor (honours) degree
> Masters by coursework degree
> Masters (extended) degree
> Masters by research degree
> Doctoral degree.
> Study resulting in a diploma level qualification or trade qualification will not be considered.
> 
> As an example a student may complete a one year Bachelor degree followed by a one year Masters degree and meet the Australian study requirement under the Post-Study Work stream, provided the other components of the requirement are satisfied.
> 
> Study must be at a certain level
> 
> Only study undertaken at Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Level 7 or above (Bachelor degree level or above), which leads to the conferral of an eligible degree level qualification, may be considered towards meeting the Australian study requirement. An eligible degree level qualification is a Bachelor degree, Masters by coursework degree, Masters (extended) degree, Masters by research degree or Doctoral degree.
> 
> This means that degree level courses which are packaged with a Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma course may be considered, provided they otherwise meet the Australian study requirement._
> 
> Given that my eligible degree is of 78 weeks' duration, will any additional Diploma/Certificate or additional courses be considered to meet the 92 weeks requirement?


----------



## onishi

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Onishi -
> 
> Thanks for the question, however I'm a bit confused - this sounds like a US immigration question (?) If so, suggest you look for a different forum as this forum is exclusively focused on immigration to Australia - completely different laws/procedures/etc apply. Please advise if I have misunderstood your question.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I'm sorry for not being clearer. The NPC certificate needs to be sent form Australia (as we have lived there for six years) to the U.S Embassy/Consulate here in Dhaka (where we currently live). I was wondering if you can tell me how to get the AFP to forward the certificates, since they aren't responding to any one the e-mails sent to them.

I hope it's clearer now.


----------



## kirxan

Hi Mark!

Thanks again for the reply. In my case, the course I've been admitted to is Master of Information Systems (1.5 years), scheduled to begin this July. Now once I am done with that, if I were to apply for Graduate Diploma in Computing, will this combination satisfy the 2 year study requirement?


----------



## SRS

SRS said:


> Many thanks for your valuable feedback. Could you please clarify the status mentioned by CO as 'Active Processing'? Does this mean external check or case finalisation? Is there any positive sign of crossing the barrier?
> 
> I perceive that my PCC & medicals are expiring by end of this month? Should I wait for the response from my Case officer or request my agent to check with with CO for the same?
> 
> regards
> SRS


Hi Mark

My agent has emailed CO on 9th April mentioning the expiry date of PCC & medicals. There is no response from the CO. What does this indicate? Does this mean that I wouldn't be get my grant and will they put Ban upon my application?I am confused and the situation is a bit chaotic. I have been struggling with this wait....


----------



## MMunir

hi mark,
i applied for my TRA migration skill assessment on 23rd december 2014, I have not received any kind of acknowledgement letter or confirmation that documents has been received. I waited for that and still waiting their reply but I think it is taking long. I read on the TRA website that official time for application processing time is 60 days, website also says that when they receive documents they send the acknowledgement letter to confirm the receiving of documents. I don't know is it normal time that they are taking ? does it mean that have not received my documents. 
I paid my fees online at the same day when i logged my application.
looking forward you reply. 
Thank you. 
MMunir


----------



## patrik

Hi Mark
I am currently trying to get all my info together for a subclass 309 partner visa. I read somewhere on here that when we copy passports etc or any formal document if we do it in colour we dont need it certifed. Is this correct? I have access to a colour scanner so would be much easier then getting cerified but didnt want to go ahead with this is the information was incorrect.
Thanks


----------



## bazidkhan

Hi Mark...
I have been blessed with a baby Son on last 09-04-2014. where as i have already applied for 489 state sponsored provisional visa on last 20th Feb and yet no CO have allotted..Now what should i do next? because i have already mentioned my family(wife+ two kids) as non migrating family members.. Now i want to add this baby also as non migrating family members. 
Please suggest that either i have to just send form 1023 only right now. Or i have to prepare birth certificate and passport also now for this baby and then submit it with form 1023 to my application form... thanks in advance you always have helped us.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Onishi -

Now I understand - suggest you contact the AFP by phone and see if they have some service where you can pay extra to have the certificate sent internationally. Alternatively, if the Embassy there will accept it, you could have your AFP sent to someone here locally who could send it along, unopened, to the Embassy, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



onishi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm sorry for not being clearer. The NPC certificate needs to be sent form Australia (as we have lived there for six years) to the U.S Embassy/Consulate here in Dhaka (where we currently live). I was wondering if you can tell me how to get the AFP to forward the certificates, since they aren't responding to any one the e-mails sent to them.
> 
> I hope it's clearer now.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kirxan -

It sounds like it would satisfy the duration requirement, and they appear to be related courses (you'd need to make sure they were both closely related to your nominated occupation), however I'm not able to give you any specific advice to your case without knowing much more about your case and the courses involved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kirxan said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Thanks again for the reply. In my case, the course I've been admitted to is Master of Information Systems (1.5 years), scheduled to begin this July. Now once I am done with that, if I were to apply for Graduate Diploma in Computing, will this combination satisfy the 2 year study requirement?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SRS -

Sadly that's getting more frequent these days (DIBP ignoring emails from agents and/or applicants). I would not read anything into that - instead would just be patient and wait. The non-response (yet) from DIBP is not an indication of any particular decision on the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SRS said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My agent has emailed CO on 9th April mentioning the expiry date of PCC & medicals. There is no response from the CO. What does this indicate? Does this mean that I wouldn't be get my grant and will they put Ban upon my application?I am confused and the situation is a bit chaotic. I have been struggling with this wait....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mmunir -

You might contact them by phone to confirm everything is OK. TRA quotes 60 "working days" which is essentially 3 months - that combined with time they were closed down for the Christmas holidays puts us well into April, so it might be coming soon.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MMunir said:


> hi mark,
> i applied for my TRA migration skill assessment on 23rd december 2014, I have not received any kind of acknowledgement letter or confirmation that documents has been received. I waited for that and still waiting their reply but I think it is taking long. I read on the TRA website that official time for application processing time is 60 days, website also says that when they receive documents they send the acknowledgement letter to confirm the receiving of documents. I don't know is it normal time that they are taking ? does it mean that have not received my documents.
> I paid my fees online at the same day when i logged my application.
> looking forward you reply.
> Thank you.
> MMunir


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Patrik -

Correct. Best guidance from DIBP currently is that for online applications, colour scans of original documents are OK and certified copies are not required. Suggest you submit PDF files (not jpgs), and for documents with multiple pages, make sure the pages are all together in a single PDF file - ie, don't submit a separate PDF file for each page of a Form 888 - instead, combine pages together so each Form 888 is a separate PDF file.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



patrik said:


> Hi Mark
> I am currently trying to get all my info together for a subclass 309 partner visa. I read somewhere on here that when we copy passports etc or any formal document if we do it in colour we dont need it certifed. Is this correct? I have access to a colour scanner so would be much easier then getting cerified but didnt want to go ahead with this is the information was incorrect.
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bazidkhan -

Congratulations on the birth of your son!!!! What a wonderful event.

Normally for newborns you would complete Form 1022 and submit along with a certified copy of the full birth certificate - passport not necessary generally (but you'll want to get one soon anyway). Suggest you include a note on that form as to whether you wanted to include your son as a migrating or non-migrating dependent.

Hope this helps, and again, congratulations!

Best,

Mark Northam



bazidkhan said:


> Hi Mark...
> I have been blessed with a baby Son on last 09-04-2014. where as i have already applied for 489 state sponsored provisional visa on last 20th Feb and yet no CO have allotted..Now what should i do next? because i have already mentioned my family(wife+ two kids) as non migrating family members.. Now i want to add this baby also as non migrating family members.
> Please suggest that either i have to just send form 1023 only right now. Or i have to prepare birth certificate and passport also now for this baby and then submit it with form 1023 to my application form... thanks in advance you always have helped us.


----------



## kirxan

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kirxan -
> 
> It sounds like it would satisfy the duration requirement, and they appear to be related courses (you'd need to make sure they were both closely related to your nominated occupation), however I'm not able to give you any specific advice to your case without knowing much more about your case and the courses involved.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thanks for the reply.. That is my understanding as well. I will try and confirm the same with the DIBP.

On an unrelated note, my girlfriend has a New Zealand PR (she is an Indian citizen). Would she be required to apply for an Australian student VISA to study in Australia, or does she have any exemptions, courtesy her New Zealand PR status?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kirxan -

She would need a visa to study in Australia - while NZ citizens get special visas in Australia for 5-year temporary purposes, NZ permanent residents do not and have to apply for a visa like everyone else.

Best,

Mark Northam



kirxan said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for the reply.. That is my understanding as well. I will try and confirm the same with the DIBP.
> 
> On an unrelated note, my girlfriend has a New Zealand PR (she is an Indian citizen). Would she be required to apply for an Australian student VISA to study in Australia, or does she have any exemptions, courtesy her New Zealand PR status?


----------



## Confused2

Hello Mark,We have applied for Spouse Visa 309 shanghai office 15 months ago and we have requested a PCC waiver from china for my partner which is still progress as our CO told us they haven't decided yet whether to grant us a PCC waiver or not and just last week we met a guy from shanghai we has helped few people to get PCC from china and he's promised us he will get my partner's PCC in a month or 20 days time.in this situation what should we do since we have already formally applied for a Waiver.should we inform our CO that we will get PCC in a month's time so we don't Waiver anymore or should we wait till we get PCC and send it along with a letter that we no longer need a waiver as we have got PCC? Kindly guide us what should we do.we would really appreciate your reply.Thank you very much.


----------



## jasmine1

Hi Mark,
I'm an early childhood teacher I've done my Bachelors in Human Development n specialization in Early childhood education n care in 2000. In 2006 I did my masters in psychology n have 5 years of teaching experience.I want to apply as a teacher ANZSCO 241111 from skill select n apply for 189 sub Visa .Do you think that would be a correct option ,Please guide me .
Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Confused2 -

Hard to say as it requires guessing how the case officer will respond. I'd probably wait until you get the PCC in hand and then send it to the case officer - you still may need the waiver if the guy from Shanghai doesn't come through. The other option would be telling the CO that you may have found a new way to get the PCC and are working on it - difficult to say which way would be best, as it depends on how the case officer would react to the fact that you "may" be able to get the waiver after all.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Confused2 said:


> Hello Mark,We have applied for Spouse Visa 309 shanghai office 15 months ago and we have requested a PCC waiver from china for my partner which is still progress as our CO told us they haven't decided yet whether to grant us a PCC waiver or not and just last week we met a guy from shanghai we has helped few people to get PCC from china and he's promised us he will get my partner's PCC in a month or 20 days time.in this situation what should we do since we have already formally applied for a Waiver.should we inform our CO that we will get PCC in a month's time so we don't Waiver anymore or should we wait till we get PCC and send it along with a letter that we no longer need a waiver as we have got PCC? Kindly guide us what should we do.we would really appreciate your reply.Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jasmine -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



jasmine1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm an early childhood teacher I've done my Bachelors in Human Development n specialization in Early childhood education n care in 2000. In 2006 I did my masters in psychology n have 5 years of teaching experience.I want to apply as a teacher ANZSCO 241111 from skill select n apply for 189 sub Visa .Do you think that would be a correct option ,Please guide me .
> Thank you


----------



## swavik

HI mark,

Today is the invite round..Did not receive the mail yet that means not lucky this time right??
I wanted to ask, in the EOI the employement history section should be completed as per the ACS assessment result right? for eg. if ACS has considered only 5 years of my total 12 years experience then i should enter only those 5 years in the section that are assessed as software engg right?(qualification not related to the nominated occupation so 6 yrs considered as the continuing education)
Earlier i had entered all the years in the employment history...which were giving me additional 10 points and made me happy..BUt then after thinking for a while and with your guidance i came to the conclusion that we have to enter only the years assessed by the ACS as related to the nominated visa.
plz let me know if i am right

Thank you mark..


----------



## Confused2

Thank you for your reply Mark.God Bless you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

You might give it 24 hrs re: the invitation emails.

Re: work, correct - because of the "automatic" points calculation system, you can only list "skilled" (ie, after date you are deemed skilled) employment as relevant to the occupation. However, many people include the previous relevant employment that was "taken" by ACS to get you to the skilled point and indicate this as unrelated - others do not list it at all. In the case of ACS, we usually suggest listing the unskilled but relevant employment as employment not related to the nominated occupation so it's there for the case officer to consider - if it's indicated as not related, it won't count for points in the automatic points calculator.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> HI mark,
> 
> Today is the invite round..Did not receive the mail yet that means not lucky this time right??
> I wanted to ask, in the EOI the employement history section should be completed as per the ACS assessment result right? for eg. if ACS has considered only 5 years of my total 12 years experience then i should enter only those 5 years in the section that are assessed as software engg right?(qualification not related to the nominated occupation so 6 yrs considered as the continuing education)
> Earlier i had entered all the years in the employment history...which were giving me additional 10 points and made me happy..BUt then after thinking for a while and with your guidance i came to the conclusion that we have to enter only the years assessed by the ACS as related to the nominated visa.
> plz let me know if i am right
> 
> Thank you mark..


----------



## swavik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> You might give it 24 hrs re: the invitation emails.
> 
> Re: work, correct - because of the "automatic" points calculation system, you can only list "skilled" (ie, after date you are deemed skilled) employment as relevant to the occupation. However, many people include the previous relevant employment that was "taken" by ACS to get you to the skilled point and indicate this as unrelated - others do not list it at all. In the case of ACS, we usually suggest listing the unskilled but relevant employment as employment not related to the nominated occupation so it's there for the case officer to consider - if it's indicated as not related, it won't count for points in the automatic points calculator.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark..I just don't have words to appreciate your help..

Regards..


----------



## ubudman

Hi Mark,

I think this should be okay but I thought I ask just to be sure.

This is the situation that I have:
* I have old passport, where RRV attached to.
* RRV expired August 2014 (Must not arrive after DD-August-2014).
* I have new passport; just blank pages of book.
* Travelling to NZ this Easter break (back on Monday, 21 April 2014).

I will keep the 2 questions clear and concise.

1. Will I be allowed to travel to NZ if I bring both old and new passport?

2. Just a general question: let say the visa stated "Must not arrive after 30-August-2014"; does this mean that if I arrive in Australia on 29 August 2014, I will still be allowed entry?".

The reason I asked question #2 is because I had an awful experience with one of the South East Asia (SEA) countries, where I was denied entry due to passport validity less than 6 months; hence I just wanted to check if there isn't any similar term and condition with Australia RRV.

I look forward hearing from you.


----------



## sunnyC

MarkNortham said:


> Hi SunnyC -
> 
> It's a very common mistake. Suggest you complete Form 1023 and explain the error, then attach to your application.
> 
> Re: not claiming work on your skills assessment for points, generally no problem with that, however you would need to list that plus any other employment on Forms 80 or 1221 if requested by DIBP.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

Thank you for your prompt advise.
I am filling Form 1023 as I you suggested, however, there is one question I am not sure when DIBP asks about client number or file number issue by the department (if known). Is it the TRN that I was given when I lodged visa?

Thank you very much
Regards,

SunnyC


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ubudman -

Thanks for the question. I suggest you lodge Form 929 with DIBP to update your passport information, and to do this sooner rather than later. Once you've done this and DIBP has updated your records, your Australian PR status should be able to be determined and verified from your new passport. In theory this means that you should have no problems entering NZ as an Australian permanent resident, however I'd carry along my old passport with the PR visa label just in case.

Re: entering day before end of PR period - in theory, again, this should be fine. In reality, I would suggest returning a few days before the end, just in case there are any travel delays, etc (and don't forget the international dateline!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ubudman said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I think this should be okay but I thought I ask just to be sure.
> 
> This is the situation that I have:
> * I have old passport, where RRV attached to.
> * RRV expired August 2014 (Must not arrive after DD-August-2014).
> * I have new passport; just blank pages of book.
> * Travelling to NZ this Easter break (back on Monday, 21 April 2014).
> 
> I will keep the 2 questions clear and concise.
> 
> 1. Will I be allowed to travel to NZ if I bring both old and new passport?
> 
> 2. Just a general question: let say the visa stated "Must not arrive after 30-August-2014"; does this mean that if I arrive in Australia on 29 August 2014, I will still be allowed entry?".
> 
> The reason I asked question #2 is because I had an awful experience with one of the South East Asia (SEA) countries, where I was denied entry due to passport validity less than 6 months; hence I just wanted to check if there isn't any similar term and condition with Australia RRV.
> 
> I look forward hearing from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SunnyC -

The TRN is different from the Client No or File No, but I would include it anyway somewhere on there as it should help them identify you and your application.

Best,

Mark Northam



sunnyC said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your prompt advise.
> I am filling Form 1023 as I you suggested, however, there is one question I am not sure when DIBP asks about client number or file number issue by the department (if known). Is it the TRN that I was given when I lodged visa?
> 
> Thank you very much
> Regards,
> 
> SunnyC


----------



## bradley

Hi mark i have another more questions to ask you. As i have two kids did i need to fill to separate form 918 for each kids? and did i need to pay double prices for each application?the base application $2370+additional applicant $595×2
=$5930???


----------



## ultimatenature

Dear Mark

I have provided the co with as much employment evidence of overseas employment as I can for but am uncertain if it will be enough. I now have additional points for my skilled migration 189 that does not include this employment. Can/should I lodge another EOI while waiting for a decision because if it is not granted I will only havw 28 days on my bridging visa A and would want to make another application before it expires?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ultimatenature -
> 
> Thanks for the question - this type of request is becoming more and more common. There is no simple or easy answer to this, as it will come down to how critical the case officer believes the additional info is, and whether he/she will accept that you don't have it. Your receiving this letter generally indicates the case officer is not satisfied with the evidence you've provided so far. My view: you need to move heaven and earth to try and find any sort of financial records you may have (bank statements, tax records, anything at all) to show you were paid by that employer during that time period. If you are unable to find it, you may have a chance if you write a letter thoroughly documenting every possible document you tried to find but could not because it doesn't exist anymore, etc. A letter from your previous employer stating that the records do not exist would also be very helpful.
> 
> Bottom line: if you're not able to find any records, the employer can't/won't write a letter saying the records don't exist, and the case officer is not thoroughly satisfied that there is no way to get the records, there's a significant chance of refusal.
> 
> Wish I had better news for you - time to do some serious research work! Best of luck with this -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## ubudman

MarkNortham said:


> Thanks for the question. I suggest you lodge Form 929 with DIBP to update your passport information, and to do this sooner rather than later. Once you've done this and DIBP has updated your records, your Australian PR status should be able to be determined and verified from your new passport. In theory this means that you should have no problems entering NZ as an Australian permanent resident, however I'd carry along my old passport with the PR visa label just in case.


Hi Mark, thanks for the quick reply.

I probably wouldn't have time to visit the Immigration office so just wanted to confirm if bringing the old and new passport will do the trick.

I could see the new passport have a stamp from Indonesian consulate, that shows the linkage to the old passport. And the fact that the RRV itself is still valid.

So the question is: will I not be allowed to travel to NZ if I bring the old and new passport without lodging form 929?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ubudman -

I can't say for sure - depends on how the case officer at Immigration NZ assesses your case, intentions in NZ, etc. In theory it should work, but would be far better if DIBP had your new passport in their system.

Best,

Mark Northam



ubudman said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for the quick reply.
> 
> I probably wouldn't have time to visit the Immigration office so just wanted to confirm if bringing the old and new passport will do the trick.
> 
> I could see the new passport have a stamp from Indonesian consulate, that shows the linkage to the old passport. And the fact that the RRV itself is still valid.
> 
> So the question is: will I not be allowed to travel to NZ if I bring the old and new passport without lodging form 929?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ultimatenature -

I don't see a problem with lodging another EOI as your points were locked in at time of application for the old one, however once you have an invitation, how you got the invitation (ie, how many points above 60 you were or were not) is no longer the issue - only that you can justify the points you claim. Also, if you are refused while onshore Australia, you would not be able to lodge another visa (other than a partner visa or refugee visa) on that trip in Australia - would have to lodge while offshore, etc. Not sure then how much benefit a second EOI would be, but I'm not familiar enough with your circumstances to give you any specific advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ultimatenature said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I have provided the co with as much employment evidence of overseas employment as I can for but am uncertain if it will be enough. I now have additional points for my skilled migration 189 that does not include this employment. Can/should I lodge another EOI while waiting for a decision because if it is not granted I will only havw 28 days on my bridging visa A and would want to make another application before it expires?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bradley -

For the subclass 445 dependent child visa, each child must put in a separate application, so the fee is $2370 per application currently. The good news is that once that's paid and they have been granted the 445 visa, there is no fee to add them on to a partner visa. The $595 doesn't apply unless a child has dependents themselves (ie, 17 year old daughter with a newborn baby, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bradley said:


> Hi mark i have another more questions to ask you. As i have two kids did i need to fill to separate form 918 for each kids? and did i need to pay double prices for each application?the base application $2370+additional applicant $595×2
> =$5930???


----------



## ubudman

MarkNortham said:


> I can't say for sure - depends on how the case officer at Immigration NZ assesses your case, intentions in NZ, etc. In theory it should work, but would be far better if DIBP had your new passport in their system.


I've decided to pay 345 AUD to get the RRV renewed and linked to the new passport.

I understand the RRV processing time is 1 working day.

Do you think this is a safest option (although not the cheapest)?

Thanks Mark.


----------



## ultimatenature

Would I not be able to apply for a student visa and stay onshore while on the bva and lodge the new 189 without having to go offshore?


----------



## ultimatenature

My student visa expires on Wed 16 April, if I lodge for another student visa tomorrow, will that override the bva commencing and give me a bvb?


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, but I wouldn't count on 1 day for an RRV, although if they are being renewed on the 2 yrs / 5 yrs option, it's usually pretty quick. Alternative if that takes too long is to just lodge the 929 to link your new passport to your existing RRV, then renew the RRV later when you have more time (assuming you still meet the requirements, etc).

Best,

Mark Northam



ubudman said:


> I've decided to pay 345 AUD to get the RRV renewed and linked to the new passport.
> 
> I understand the RRV processing time is 1 working day.
> 
> Do you think this is a safest option (although not the cheapest)?
> 
> Thanks Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

No, you can only get a BV-B by specifically applying for one with DIBP. You don't have to wait until your BV-A activates in order to apply for the BV-B though (ie, you can apply to have your not-activated-yet BVA changed to a BV-B).

With the expiration coming up so soon, I'd make absolutely sure you were granted a BVA based on your PR visa application that has already been lodged.

Best,

Mark



ultimatenature said:


> My student visa expires on Wed 16 April, if I lodge for another student visa tomorrow, will that override the bva commencing and give me a bvb?


----------



## tara.jatt

HI Mark,

I am asking this for a friend who is in Australia and going thru very tough time.

My Friend came to Australia as spouse of a student visa holder. She was on a spouse of student visa for 3 years, then her husband got 457 and now she is on 457 spouse visa. She paid for all the college fee for her husband. Her husband had a secret relation with another woman and she came to know about it just recently when he got his secret girlfriend pregnant. Now they are living separately. Husband is now threatening wife to divorce him so he can marry his girlfriend. Her husband also beat her couple of times and threatening to cancel her spousal 457 visa. Her husband's employer is going to file for ENS 186 PR sometime this year and husband want to get divorce before that so he can include his Girlfriend on that PR application.

My friend have a limited English knowledge and she can not qualify for any PR visa on her own. Is there any legal option she can stay here and get PR? What are her option?


----------



## ultimatenature

My student visa expires wed 16 apil, then my bva for 189 while being assessed commences. In order to remain onshore, if the 189 is refused due to not meeting points on overseas work evidence, are the following options valid:

1) apply for student visa before wed 16 april?
2) if 189 not granted and on bva, but have received another invitation from lodging a new eoi and lodge another 189 application, can I remain onshore while it is being assessed? Would they give me a bvb if I only held the bva and no substantive?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ultimatenature -
> 
> I don't see a problem with lodging another EOI as your points were locked in at time of application for the old one, however once you have an invitation, how you got the invitation (ie, how many points above 60 you were or were not) is no longer the issue - only that you can justify the points you claim. Also, if you are refused while onshore Australia, you would not be able to lodge another visa (other than a partner visa or refugee visa) on that trip in Australia - would have to lodge while offshore, etc. Not sure then how much benefit a second EOI would be, but I'm not familiar enough with your circumstances to give you any specific advice for your case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tara -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your friend's issues. The lack of any real support for spousal relationships that break down is, in my view, one of the biggest problems of the temporary visa regime in Australia. I've seen this happen many times - couple with 457 has relationship break down, and the secondary applicant is left with a very short period of time to find something else or depart Australia. While there are laws to provide for PR for partner visa applicants who suffer family violence, there are no such provisions for 457 visa holders. The primary applicant has all the power, and the secondary applicants has little.

DIBP is generally pretty understanding about these things and will give the secondary applicant a reasonable period of time to work things out. One option might be a student visa to study English (ELICOS). While an onshore first student visa application for many applicants requires exceptional circumstances, I'd say from your description that your friend's circumstances are certainly unusual, and may just qualify depending on the case officer.

As for PR though, there are few options other than a partner visa (or refugee visa if they qualify) for people who have low-moderate English skills.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tara.jatt said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> I am asking this for a friend who is in Australia and going thru very tough time.
> 
> My Friend came to Australia as spouse of a student visa holder. She was on a spouse of student visa for 3 years, then her husband got 457 and now she is on 457 spouse visa. She paid for all the college fee for her husband. Her husband had a secret relation with another woman and she came to know about it just recently when he got his secret girlfriend pregnant. Now they are living separately. Husband is now threatening wife to divorce him so he can marry his girlfriend. Her husband also beat her couple of times and threatening to cancel her spousal 457 visa. Her husband's employer is going to file for ENS 186 PR sometime this year and husband want to get divorce before that so he can include his Girlfriend on that PR application.
> 
> My friend have a limited English knowledge and she can not qualify for any PR visa on her own. Is there any legal option she can stay here and get PR? What are her option?


----------



## ultimatenature

Basically, what am asking, please ignore bv...if my 189 app is not approved, what option do I have to stay in Australia to lodge another 189 app? Will getting a student visa before wed or another eoi and lodge 189 app if 189 is refused?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ultimatenature -

We're sort of getting to the level of detail where I'm not able to give you specific advice for your case since I don't have all of your information - there are many "ifs, ands and buts" in the migration laws that make things complex.

Generally speaking, any onshore refusal while you are on a bridging visa means you cannot lodge another visa while onshore on that trip other than a partner visa or refugee visa (sec 48 of the Migration Act).

A visa refusal, however, does not wipe out a bridging visa that you may hold for a separate application.

However, if you have held an activated bridging visa for 28 days or more, there are limits on further applications related to Schedule 3 of the Migration Regulations which are too complex to get into here.

Sorry I can't be more specific to your case, but as you can see by the general rules quoted above, you're venturing into complex territory - multiple simultaneous applications, multiple bridging visas, additional applications while one is still pending, etc all involve complex areas of the migration laws that you really should discuss directly with a registered migration agent where the agent and you can work out all the details and contingencies with the result being a workable plan going forward.

Best,

Mark Northam



ultimatenature said:


> My student visa expires wed 16 apil, then my bva for 189 while being assessed commences. In order to remain onshore, if the 189 is refused due to not meeting points on overseas work evidence, are the following options valid:
> 
> 1) apply for student visa before wed 16 april?
> 2) if 189 not granted and on bva, but have received another invitation from lodging a new eoi and lodge another 189 application, can I remain onshore while it is being assessed? Would they give me a bvb if I only held the bva and no substantive?


----------



## MarkNortham

See previous post - if your 189 is refused, the only way you might avoid having to depart in order to lodge again would be to be holding a substantive (non-bridging) visa - such as a student visa - at the moment the 189 is refused. If you are holding a bridging visa at the time the 189 is refused, sec 48 kicks in and you can't lodge a further application on that visit. However, other factors may come into play - ie, reason given for 189 refusal. If 189 is refused, for instance, on PIC4020 grounds (inaccurate info, bogus docs, etc), another set of laws kicks in and you cannot be granted another visa that references PIC4020 for 3 years unless you can get a waiver).

Another option if the 189 gets into trouble is to withdraw it prior to refusal, then lodge another EOI and wait for another invitation, however again you would need to be holding a non-bridging visa during this time so you would have a substantive visa to keep you in Australia through all of this.

Hope this helps - again, you're in complex territory. I strongly recommend you run any plans past a registered migration agent in detail to make sure there are not elements of your situation that may alter what the possible options are - there are many such options possible - for instance, condition 8534 or 8535 being put on a student visa which is the rough equivalent of 8503 (no further stay) on a non-student visa, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



ultimatenature said:


> Basically, what am asking, please ignore bv...if my 189 app is not approved, what option do I have to stay in Australia to lodge another 189 app? Will getting a student visa before wed or another eoi and lodge 189 app if 189 is refused?


----------



## ultimatenature

I'm just in a bad situation as I did not think about what would happen if 189 refused and have left myself no time to come up with an option other than what I have mentioned. Is it possible to contact you directly now as I have not had good advice from my migration agent, only you have given me sound advice?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ultimatenature -

Sounds like your migration agent needs to read up a bit on the law! The only thing worse than no advice, is bad advice.

If you'd like to book a consulting session via phone or Skype (see website link below), we can go through your circumstances and see if there are any other options. It's 11:08pm here now, and I'll be at DIBP most of tomorrow morning with clients, so if you are going to do anything re: a further visa application, it sounds like a late night tonight. If you want to do a consulting session tonight, please book by 11:25pm and we'll do 11:30pm - 12:15. You can book for any time on the system (since it doesn't allow bookings for this late time slot) and we'll do it at 11:30. Other than that, you could book time tomorrow as is available after 1pm.

Best,

Mark Northam



ultimatenature said:


> I'm just in a bad situation as I did not think about what would happen if 189 refused and have left myself no time to come up with an option other than what I have mentioned. Is it possible to contact you directly now as I have not had good advice from my migration agent, only you have given me sound advice?


----------



## ultimatenature

Booking number: 32404149920681


----------



## goldy

*309 partner visa from ottawa office*

Hi, Mark thanks for helping...i have applied my wife's visa on 15-05-2013. From ottawa office we did court marriage there. And she is holding Indian passport and i am australian citizen nd she permanent resident there.We submitted all the required docs in last dec. And her case officer sent us e-mail on 18 jan nd she said its under-consideration and she does'nt want any docs so far and wife is now in india. Last month i went to india and did our proper indian wedding. Do i need to send her again more evidence to make sure that our marriage is genuine. she had 2 rejections of TV as well pls i am very much confuse, just want to know why is it taking so long.. And what can i do once i finish 12 months of processing time thanks.....


----------



## tara.jatt

Thank you for the reply Mark,
Is there anything can be done against the husband in this case? He used wife to pay for her college fee and all expenses to secure a student visa, and now leaving in the middle of nowhere?

Also, what kind of options do she have for PR (other than refugee or skilled). Can you please give some pointers so I can read about those visas.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tara -
> 
> Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your friend's issues. The lack of any real support for spousal relationships that break down is, in my view, one of the biggest problems of the temporary visa regime in Australia. I've seen this happen many times - couple with 457 has relationship break down, and the secondary applicant is left with a very short period of time to find something else or depart Australia. While there are laws to provide for PR for partner visa applicants who suffer family violence, there are no such provisions for 457 visa holders. The primary applicant has all the power, and the secondary applicants has little.
> 
> DIBP is generally pretty understanding about these things and will give the secondary applicant a reasonable period of time to work things out. One option might be a student visa to study English (ELICOS). While an onshore first student visa application for many applicants requires exceptional circumstances, I'd say from your description that your friend's circumstances are certainly unusual, and may just qualify depending on the case officer.
> 
> As for PR though, there are few options other than a partner visa (or refugee visa if they qualify) for people who have low-moderate English skills.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Connafornia

*Partner Subclass 309*

Hi Mark

You are a very generous soul helping people like this

I have a question re Partner visa Subclass 309

I am an Australian citizen, partner is Irish - we were granted subclass 309 visa March 2013. Activated initial entry by 23 November 2013 as required - granted outside of Australia

Waiting on subclass 100 now - due approximately August 2014

we are trying to sell house etc here in Ireland - the subclass 309 had a last date to arrive 17 Feb 2015 - Im presuming that if we are granted subclass 100 we do not have to migrate permanently by Feb 2015? We of course hope to but want to have all cards on the table should we run into difficulties tidying things up

Tks a mill


----------



## Blume

Hi Mark,

I have been referred here by CollegeGIrl and hope you might have some advice on my case. Thanks in advance for your reply, and happy to answer further questions directly if need be. 

I've been sponsored by my company for PR (ENS / 186, Direct Entry), nomination was approved end of Jan, I've put in my application start of Feb, my case officer has now informed me that my partner (de-facto, I'm currently on a 461 NZ partner visa) is treated as a non-migrating family member, has to undergo medical and police checks and if he fails I'll fail too. Great so far. 

He's doing his medical today (fingers crossed). He has well controlled type 1 diabetes (since he was 13), and I believe this shouldn't be a problem. 

We are now both required to fill out the dreaded form 80, and I am worried about question 59. "Have you, or any other person included in this
application, ever been charged with any offence or have proceedings against you overseas or in Australia" This is actually the case for him, and it is not decided if it will go to court or settled before that. He has a lawyer who takes care of the case for him but since there has been no decision yet (it only happened in December 2013) I am not sure what we should write to explain the situation. As far as I know, worst case scenario is 6 months jail, but I don't expect anything even close to that. It might take another 10-12 months (!) for the case to be settled but we don't know this yet. The justice system in Australia is slow, as we have been told and experienced ourselves. 

What is the best way to deal with this? Should we get a statement from his lawyer (not cheap but if it increases our chances we're happy to do this)? Because his lawyer deals with the case directly (it's in a different state too), we are not even exactly sure of the exact charges against him (I think prosecution have changed it throughout the process). 

I would assume this will delay the decision but I have no idea how COs make a decision on something like this.


----------



## australia2012

Hi Mark,

My visa expires on 17 april 2014. I am about to lodge 485 today. But as I have already submitted EOI and I am sure to get an invitation on 28th april round, is there any other way to extend my stay for three weeks except lodging 485??
I don't want to waste so much money by lodging 485 just for 2 weeks as I will be lodging the PR as soon as I receive the invitation after which I will be on the bridging visa.

Waiting for your response soon.

Thank u very much.


----------



## Croger1

*onshore Partnervisa advice*

Hi Mark,
thank you very much for the advice you are giving!
I could find many helpful threads but I still have a few concerns and hope you can put me at ease.
I am a German citizen and left Germany in Jan 2011 for Australia with a Working Holiday Visa. After two years in AUS I visited Germany for six weeks and another two in 2013. I didn't go back home permanently because I met my Australian partner six month before the expiry of my 2nd WHV. We are currently living in New Zealand to fulfill the 12 month living requirement etc.
I will get sponsored from my employer so I could stay up to one more year in NZ. I could apply in NZ for the partner visa but the estimated approval time is also 12 month - not much shorter than in AUS. Both of us would prefer to apply onshore so we could be closer to my partners family and build our future, by earning more money and settle in where we really want to live. 
Finally my concerns - I probably worry to much and need a second opinion  I would like to enter AUS on an evisitor visa in Dec - almost two years after leaving AUS. Due to having spend already two years in AUS could I get a `No Further Stay` condition on the visa or is it rather unlikely because I am from a low risk country and haven't been there for two years? 
Could I already apply in September for the visitor visa to see if I don't have NFS as condition or would I only have a few weeks time to enter AUS after approval? Knowing my visa condition upfront would give me the chance to apply earlier from NZ for the partner visa than from AUS. 
Without a NFS condition I would like to apply onshore. Should I have a flight ticket, eg to Bali, to prove that I intend to leave the country again or is the prove of funds to buy a ticket while in AUS enough? Would you recommend having an invitation from my partners parents (of course not mentioning that) to spend Christmas with them as prove of visiting friends in AUS? 
Thank you very much in advance!!!


----------



## hp07188

*Partner visa offshore*

Sorry this is not the right thread to post this I will create a new thread.


----------



## sunnyC

MarkNortham said:


> Hi SunnyC -
> 
> The TRN is different from the Client No or File No, but I would include it anyway somewhere on there as it should help them identify you and your application.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

Thank you for your quick answer. There is question 16 on this form 1023 asking about application details

Date of application: dd/mm/2014
*Lodge at: details of time log in (not sure they are asking about time or not)*
Visa class: 190
I will include my TRN together in visa class as you advised.
Could you help me to double check whether they are ok? And one more question (I hope it will not happen) if i find another mistakes, can I submit more Form 1023?

Best regards,
SunnyC


----------



## naimhasen

*question about time period*

hi mark,

my employer apply for nomination for me for TRT RSMS187 at 3rd of feb.

after waiting 58 days i apply for my RSMS at 2nd of april. now today on 15th of april after 71 days my employer has get approval from immigration for nomination.

please can u tell me how long department will take generally after approval of nomination.is they will still take 6 to 8 month for decision of my application?i lodge my application just 13 days ago.

thanks 
muhammad naeem.


----------



## Croger1

hp07188 said:


> Sorry this is not the right thread to post this I will create a new thread.


I'm sorry about that. Where can I find the new thread? Cheers


----------



## Ozstyle

Dear Mark Northam,

It is really feel great reading your posts and replies as they do make alot of sense.

My application has crossed 17months and just last week, I was contacted by another Team 13, requesting for more information about my: primary and secondary education, employments details and physical address and business nature of the place i work and also the contact details in Australia.

now, what im worried, is why Team 13 all of sudden asking all these informations. 
Although i have submitted what ever he has requested, but since you have experienced a lot of these kind of email from team 13, what does it mean and what happens after submission of these documents.

hope you hear from you.

Thank you
Ozstyle


----------



## ihsan

Alright here is the situation. I have 55 points and i want to apply for state sponsorship as a database administrator of sa. My question is do i have to have 60 points already to apply for state sponsorship or i can apply with 55 points and get 5 points of state sponsorship and complete my 60 points. If i can..how does it work. I mean i have to submit eoi for applying to ss..and i cannot submit eoi with 55 points. I talked to sa migration authority and guy did nothing but confused me more that i can apply for 489. Are 489 and 190 criteria same.?? Please guide me on this issue. ...i tried calling dibp but they put me in infinite wait before they take my call. 
And another question...i am an international student. Can i apply for 190 remaining in australia...while my studies are not completed yet.
I have 2 years and 9 month overseas experience. ACS has eligibilty criteria of 2 years experience and also deducting 2 years. Can i even hope for positive assessment from ACS?


----------



## cathykim90

*Hi mark*

HI

I have some questions about BVA

I applied 801/820 partner visa onshore last feb and still studying at TAFE

my student visa is going to be expired on feb next year

So, I will get BVA after finishing my course next year

But I want to know the way to get BVA earlier.

like

If I withdraw the course and get BVA

or

withdraw the course and enroll a short course

I don't have any idea these idea possible are

or Do you have good idea?

cus I want to work more than 20 hours ,not study anymore,

I hope to see your reply soon

THx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Goldy -

Would definitely send along any additional relationship evidence you have, especially given the visitor visa refusals - anything you can send to help further support your application, especially re: genuine relationship, the better!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



goldy said:


> Hi, Mark thanks for helping...i have applied my wife's visa on 15-05-2013. From ottawa office we did court marriage there. And she is holding Indian passport and i am australian citizen nd she permanent resident there.We submitted all the required docs in last dec. And her case officer sent us e-mail on 18 jan nd she said its under-consideration and she does'nt want any docs so far and wife is now in india. Last month i went to india and did our proper indian wedding. Do i need to send her again more evidence to make sure that our marriage is genuine. she had 2 rejections of TV as well pls i am very much confuse, just want to know why is it taking so long.. And what can i do once i finish 12 months of processing time thanks.....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tara -

Re: husband, she might want to contact a family lawyer to explore this further. No immigration options I know of re: against husband unless he breached a condition of his visa.

Re: further visas, would suggest she check out student visas and/or employer sponsored visas (457, 186, 187). Each of these has dozens of details & requirements, so not possible to discuss here - she will need to do research to see what she might qualify for, or consider a consultation with a registered migration agent to help get assessment completed so she knows what her options may be.

Best,

Mark Northam



tara.jatt said:


> Thank you for the reply Mark,
> Is there anything can be done against the husband in this case? He used wife to pay for her college fee and all expenses to secure a student visa, and now leaving in the middle of nowhere?
> 
> Also, what kind of options do she have for PR (other than refugee or skilled). Can you please give some pointers so I can read about those visas.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Connafornia -

Correct. Once you're granted the SC100 visa, it will have it's own "must enter by" date on it (to activate). Once you enter by that date, you can come and go for the 5-year life of that visa's re-entry period as you like.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Connafornia said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> You are a very generous soul helping people like this
> 
> I have a question re Partner visa Subclass 309
> 
> I am an Australian citizen, partner is Irish - we were granted subclass 309 visa March 2013. Activated initial entry by 23 November 2013 as required - granted outside of Australia
> 
> Waiting on subclass 100 now - due approximately August 2014
> 
> we are trying to sell house etc here in Ireland - the subclass 309 had a last date to arrive 17 Feb 2015 - Im presuming that if we are granted subclass 100 we do not have to migrate permanently by Feb 2015? We of course hope to but want to have all cards on the table should we run into difficulties tidying things up
> 
> Tks a mill


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Blume -

Thanks for the note - great questions. Re: pending charges, you'll need to present accurate info on this - statement from your lawyer sounds like the best route since you do not have access to the most accurate info from what you wrote. As to whether it would impact processing of your application, that would depend on the nature of the charge(s) and possible sentences.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Blume said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been referred here by CollegeGIrl and hope you might have some advice on my case. Thanks in advance for your reply, and happy to answer further questions directly if need be.
> 
> I've been sponsored by my company for PR (ENS / 186, Direct Entry), nomination was approved end of Jan, I've put in my application start of Feb, my case officer has now informed me that my partner (de-facto, I'm currently on a 461 NZ partner visa) is treated as a non-migrating family member, has to undergo medical and police checks and if he fails I'll fail too. Great so far.
> 
> He's doing his medical today (fingers crossed). He has well controlled type 1 diabetes (since he was 13), and I believe this shouldn't be a problem.
> 
> We are now both required to fill out the dreaded form 80, and I am worried about question 59. "Have you, or any other person included in this
> application, ever been charged with any offence or have proceedings against you overseas or in Australia" This is actually the case for him, and it is not decided if it will go to court or settled before that. He has a lawyer who takes care of the case for him but since there has been no decision yet (it only happened in December 2013) I am not sure what we should write to explain the situation. As far as I know, worst case scenario is 6 months jail, but I don't expect anything even close to that. It might take another 10-12 months (!) for the case to be settled but we don't know this yet. The justice system in Australia is slow, as we have been told and experienced ourselves.
> 
> What is the best way to deal with this? Should we get a statement from his lawyer (not cheap but if it increases our chances we're happy to do this)? Because his lawyer deals with the case directly (it's in a different state too), we are not even exactly sure of the exact charges against him (I think prosecution have changed it throughout the process).
> 
> I would assume this will delay the decision but I have no idea how COs make a decision on something like this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Australia2012 -

Sorry for the delay in responding - have been at legal seminars and am behind on forum stuff.

In theory you could lodge any number of types of onshore visa applications depending on what you qualify for lodging a "valid application" for. The application could then be withdrawn, but then things can get a bit tricky depending on the date you withdraw it (especially if you would not qualify for a grant of whatever visa you applied for) and how long it takes to get the invitation and complete your PR visa application. Would need to know much more about your circumstances in order to suggest any specific visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



australia2012 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My visa expires on 17 april 2014. I am about to lodge 485 today. But as I have already submitted EOI and I am sure to get an invitation on 28th april round, is there any other way to extend my stay for three weeks except lodging 485??
> I don't want to waste so much money by lodging 485 just for 2 weeks as I will be lodging the PR as soon as I receive the invitation after which I will be on the bridging visa.
> 
> Waiting for your response soon.
> 
> Thank u very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Croger1 -

Thanks for the questions. As I don't have your full details I can't give you any specific migration advice for your case, however many people in your situation first lodge the visitor visa from offshore to see if they get the no further stay (NFS) condition - if not, they go to Australia and then lodge an onshore partner visa in Australia. Invitation is always helpful for a visitor visa, and my guess is that the 2 year gap would likely help avoid a NFS situation. Problem is going to be if they interview you and start asking specific questions about why you're visiting Australia, as "visiting Australia so I can lodge an onshore partner visa" is not generally considered compatible with the "temporary visit" required for visitor visas. Maybe your relationship is going forward but you're not sure where it will end up, etc.. so going to Australia to spend more time together there, see relatives, etc, etc...?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Croger1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> thank you very much for the advice you are giving!
> I could find many helpful threads but I still have a few concerns and hope you can put me at ease.
> I am a German citizen and left Germany in Jan 2011 for Australia with a Working Holiday Visa. After two years in AUS I visited Germany for six weeks and another two in 2013. I didn't go back home permanently because I met my Australian partner six month before the expiry of my 2nd WHV. We are currently living in New Zealand to fulfill the 12 month living requirement etc.
> I will get sponsored from my employer so I could stay up to one more year in NZ. I could apply in NZ for the partner visa but the estimated approval time is also 12 month - not much shorter than in AUS. Both of us would prefer to apply onshore so we could be closer to my partners family and build our future, by earning more money and settle in where we really want to live.
> Finally my concerns - I probably worry to much and need a second opinion  I would like to enter AUS on an evisitor visa in Dec - almost two years after leaving AUS. Due to having spend already two years in AUS could I get a `No Further Stay` condition on the visa or is it rather unlikely because I am from a low risk country and haven't been there for two years?
> Could I already apply in September for the visitor visa to see if I don't have NFS as condition or would I only have a few weeks time to enter AUS after approval? Knowing my visa condition upfront would give me the chance to apply earlier from NZ for the partner visa than from AUS.
> Without a NFS condition I would like to apply onshore. Should I have a flight ticket, eg to Bali, to prove that I intend to leave the country again or is the prove of funds to buy a ticket while in AUS enough? Would you recommend having an invitation from my partners parents (of course not mentioning that) to spend Christmas with them as prove of visiting friends in AUS?
> Thank you very much in advance!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SunnyC -

"Lodged at" usually refers to the location or post where you lodged the visa. If online, then you can just put "online". More mistakes, more form 1023's, however better to try and correct them all in one form - multiple form 1023's can be cause for concern sometimes...

Best,

Mark Northam



sunnyC said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your quick answer. There is question 16 on this form 1023 asking about application details
> 
> Date of application: dd/mm/2014
> *Lodge at: details of time log in (not sure they are asking about time or not)*
> Visa class: 190
> I will include my TRN together in visa class as you advised.
> Could you help me to double check whether they are ok? And one more question (I hope it will not happen) if i find another mistakes, can I submit more Form 1023?
> 
> Best regards,
> SunnyC


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Muhammad -

Thanks for the note. Very hard to predict DIBP processing times these days, however the most recent RSMS applications we've processed for clients seem to go through in 4-5 months if everything is prepared and presented properly in the application package, all required docs are submitted, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naimhasen said:


> hi mark,
> 
> my employer apply for nomination for me for TRT RSMS187 at 3rd of feb.
> 
> after waiting 58 days i apply for my RSMS at 2nd of april. now today on 15th of april after 71 days my employer has get approval from immigration for nomination.
> 
> please can u tell me how long department will take generally after approval of nomination.is they will still take 6 to 8 month for decision of my application?i lodge my application just 13 days ago.
> 
> thanks
> muhammad naeem.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozstyle -

Thanks for the note - also answered your PM on this topic. There is no significance to this other than your application is moving forward in the assessment process. More and more DIBP is using "teams" of case officers to assess applications, especially in the student and skilled visa areas. I suppose if I were on a team, I'd rather it not be "Team 13" (unlucky?) but nonetheless I don't see any negative aspects to what you've written about. After you submit the docs, they will assess them and move forward in the decision-making process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ozstyle said:


> Dear Mark Northam,
> 
> It is really feel great reading your posts and replies as they do make alot of sense.
> 
> My application has crossed 17months and just last week, I was contacted by another Team 13, requesting for more information about my: primary and secondary education, employments details and physical address and business nature of the place i work and also the contact details in Australia.
> 
> now, what im worried, is why Team 13 all of sudden asking all these informations.
> Although i have submitted what ever he has requested, but since you have experienced a lot of these kind of email from team 13, what does it mean and what happens after submission of these documents.
> 
> hope you hear from you.
> 
> Thank you
> Ozstyle


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ihsan -

You can submit an EOI for a state sponsored visa with 55 points - the remaining 5 points come from the state sponsorship and generate an invitation to apply for a visa if/when the state approves you. Your points + state sponsorship points must equal at least 60.

Re: 489/190 these are two very different visas - 489 is a provisional skilled visa and can lead, if you meet the requirements, to a permanent skilled visa. 190 is a permanent skilled visa (PR). Suggest you read up on these on the DIBP site as there are many differences. Main points difference is that you can apply for state sponsorship for a 489 with 50 points and state will add 10 points if they approve you for state sponsorship. 190 requires 55 points prior to state sponsorship points.

Re: student visa applying for skilled visa, no problem generally as long as you meet the requirements for the skilled visa, have completed a complete skills assessment prior to lodging EOI, etc.

Re: ACS chances of success, no way to tell, would need to properly assess your case - ACS can be challenging - you need to very carefully read their requirements, "summary of qualifications" (this is the area where they talk about how many years they deduct from your work experience depending on what type of degree you have, etc), etc. ACS skills assessment are not a simple matter and require good research to make sure you meet all of their requirements and provide all documents they need, etc. But again, do not lodge your EOI until you have a complete skills assessment report in hand (and IELTS as well).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ihsan said:


> Alright here is the situation. I have 55 points and i want to apply for state sponsorship as a database administrator of sa. My question is do i have to have 60 points already to apply for state sponsorship or i can apply with 55 points and get 5 points of state sponsorship and complete my 60 points. If i can..how does it work. I mean i have to submit eoi for applying to ss..and i cannot submit eoi with 55 points. I talked to sa migration authority and guy did nothing but confused me more that i can apply for 489. Are 489 and 190 criteria same.?? Please guide me on this issue. ...i tried calling dibp but they put me in infinite wait before they take my call.
> And another question...i am an international student. Can i apply for 190 remaining in australia...while my studies are not completed yet.
> I have 2 years and 9 month overseas experience. ACS has eligibilty criteria of 2 years experience and also deducting 2 years. Can i even hope for positive assessment from ACS?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cathy -

Great questions. You actually were granted a BVA (Bridging Visa A) when you applied for your onshore partner visa last year - it has remained inactive (dormant) since you currently have a substantive visa - the student visa. If you have departed Australia since you applied for the onshore partner visa, you should check with DIBP to make sure your BVA is still in place and did not cease when you want overseas.

Re: stopping study, generally 2 options - enroll in a new course that requires a new visa and is shorter than your current course - your current student visa would be replaced by a new one with a shorter duration - once that visa expired on its own, the BVA would activate and you would then have full work/study rights on the BVA.

Other option is voluntary cancellation of your student visa, which unfortunately also wipes out your BVA and any other visas you hold. Then you are unlawful and need to apply to DIBP for a BVE (Bridging Visa E) in order to remain in Australia until a decision is made on the partner visa. BVE in this case has some bad side-effects, including no work rights by default (although you can apply for them if you can show financial hardship) and no way to re-enter Australia if you depart Australia holding a BVE (ie, before your partner visa is granted). Furthermore, if you depart Australia while holding a BVE, you'll likely get a 3-year exclusion period from applying for any temporary visa. And if that's not bad enough, as you would technically be unlawful at the moment your student visa is cancelled, any time spent in Australia prior to that time would not be able to be counted towards the 4 year residency requirement for citizenship.

So in the end, I would be very careful if you are considering voluntary cancellation - consider consulting with a registered migration agent in order to make sure you have a good plan and understand all of the things that will happen if you voluntarily cancel, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cathykim90 said:


> HI
> 
> I have some questions about BVA
> 
> I applied 801/820 partner visa onshore last feb and still studying at TAFE
> 
> my student visa is going to be expired on feb next year
> 
> So, I will get BVA after finishing my course next year
> 
> But I want to know the way to get BVA earlier.
> 
> like
> 
> If I withdraw the course and get BVA
> 
> or
> 
> withdraw the course and enroll a short course
> 
> I don't have any idea these idea possible are
> 
> or Do you have good idea?
> 
> cus I want to work more than 20 hours ,not study anymore,
> 
> I hope to see your reply soon
> 
> THx


----------



## jackonhill

Hi Mark

You have been really helpful to a lot of people on the forum! Thanks a lot.

Just have a question regarding my aspirations.

I am considering adding my mother as a dependent on my visa application! She is completely dependent on me for food, sheltre and clothing. 

I have a sister who is married and living miles away, she is dependent on her husband so no chance of my mother relying on her.

My parents are seperated but a legal divorce has not been filed as it is not acceptable in the society i belong to, also emotional and financial cost of a divorce is very high.

What are the chances that I can add her as a dependent alongwith my wife?

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jackonhill -

Thanks for the question! Specifically what visa are you considering applying for?

Best,

Mark Northam



jackonhill said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> You have been really helpful to a lot of people on the forum! Thanks a lot.
> 
> Just have a question regarding my aspirations.
> 
> I am considering adding my mother as a dependent on my visa application! She is completely dependent on me for food, sheltre and clothing.
> 
> I have a sister who is married and living miles away, she is dependent on her husband so no chance of my mother relying on her.
> 
> My parents are seperated but a legal divorce has not been filed as it is not acceptable in the society i belong to, also emotional and financial cost of a divorce is very high.
> 
> What are the chances that I can add her as a dependent alongwith my wife?
> 
> Regards


----------



## jackonhill

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jackonhill -
> 
> Thanks for the question! Specifically what visa are you considering applying for?
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Its GSM 189 or 190, depending on my points score.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jackonhill -

I don't have enough information about your case to give you specific advice, however based on what you've said, if she is primarily dependent on you for food, clothing and shelter, then you've got a reasonable chance of her being your dependent for the visa. However, there is a specific regulation that disallows this if the dependent "has a spouse". Since she is technically still married, an application for this type of situation would likely need to make a legal argument that her husband, while still married to her, does not qualify to meet the legal definition of "spouse". Assuming they permanently live apart and have been separated for a significant amount of time, this may also have a good chance of being approved, however it would likely depend on the "spouse" argument.

It's a bit ironic too - DIBP has a specific definition of spouse, which generally is:

_(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), persons are in a married relationship if:
(a) they are married to each other under a marriage that is valid for the purposes of this Act; and
(b) they have a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all others; and
(c) the relationship between them is genuine and continuing; and
(d) they:
(i) live together; or
(ii) do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis.
_

They use these regulations frequently as a reason to declare some relationships (ie, for refused partner visas) non-genuine (ie, non-spousal). In your case, you'd be using the regulations for exactly the OPPOSITE - ie, using them to argue that a couple, although married, is actually not a spousal relationship, since a spousal relationship would disallow dependency.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jackonhill said:


> Its GSM 189 or 190, depending on my points score.


----------



## dejainc

Hi Mark,

In your experience with PMV applications, what are the % that an interview will occur? And it is done with both the applicant and sponsor together or separately?

Thanks
Liang


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liang -

Thanks for the question - it depends. For higher risk countries, there is a higher frequency of interviews - sometimes 50% to 70% and higher. For lower risk countries (ie, North American, some European countries), interviews are often only required if there are some other risk factors present, such as short relationship, > 10yr age difference, etc. As I understand it there is a somewhat complex risk assessment done for partner and PMV applications, and based on the results of that analysis, they decide whether to interview or not. In some cases they interview only the applicant, other times both applicant and spouse. When applicant and spouse are both interviewed, we're seeing that it's becoming more frequent that they are contacted at the same time or close to the same time, I presume so as to not allow "sharing notes" on the interview questions, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dejainc said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> In your experience with PMV applications, what are the % that an interview will occur? And it is done with both the applicant and sponsor together or separately?
> 
> Thanks
> Liang


----------



## Snow

Hi Mark, 

I am considering partner migration to Australia with my partner on a de facto partner visa. I have a couple of queries I was hoping you could help me with (Applying from outside Australia).

In the migration booklet there is mention that I need to have declarations witnessed by a medical practitioner, teacher, lecturer etc. Does this mean I could simply approach my doctor and ask them to certify our written statements or do they need to be present for the writing of them? 

I don't intend to emigrate until May/June of next year because of other commitments but have been told I'm best to start thinking about applying soon (we reach the 12 month requirement in July). I have also been advised not to send police/medical checks until asked so as to ensure that I will have finished my commitments here before receiving a visa grant. Will it negatively affect my application if police/medical checks are not supplied with the initial application?

Many thanks for any help you can give.


----------



## uniextra

Hi Mark,

Thanks for allowing this space.

My question comes relevant to Skills assessment and Education points.

I'm and Telecommunications Engineer with an MBA and i will reques ACS Skills Assesment for ICT Project Manager.

I dont understand if my education is also assessed by them or nor. 

For the point you get 10 if you have a degree and they add "You have attained a qualification or award recognised by the relevant assessing authority in determining your skills for your nominated occupation."

does this mean i have to get my experience assessed by ACS as ICT project manager, and my Engineers and MBA degree assessed by an other? EA?

Thanks again for any help you can provide.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snow -

Thanks for the questions - happy to help. Re: statements, if you're outside Australia, best to have statements witnessed/certified/notarised or whatever the local custom is by a person authorised to witness legal documents in your country, according to whatever local laws you have about this - they vary from country to country. If this is not practical or possible, then include a signed statement and then include a copy of the writer's picture ID (ie Passport, Govt issued photo ID in English, etc) with the statement. Some countries are stricter on having witnessed statements than others.

Re: Police & Medicals, for partner visas generally best to wait until you are invited to do medical tests. For Police certs, they are not required at lodgement but if present at lodgement can sometimes make the application go through a bit quicker. OK to lodge after lodgement as long as the gap isn't too long (a few weeks is OK, but months is an issue).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Snow said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am considering partner migration to Australia with my partner on a de facto partner visa. I have a couple of queries I was hoping you could help me with (Applying from outside Australia).
> 
> In the migration booklet there is mention that I need to have declarations witnessed by a medical practitioner, teacher, lecturer etc. Does this mean I could simply approach my doctor and ask them to certify our written statements or do they need to be present for the writing of them?
> 
> I don't intend to emigrate until May/June of next year because of other commitments but have been told I'm best to start thinking about applying soon (we reach the 12 month requirement in July). I have also been advised not to send police/medical checks until asked so as to ensure that I will have finished my commitments here before receiving a visa grant. Will it negatively affect my application if police/medical checks are not supplied with the initial application?
> 
> Many thanks for any help you can give.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uniextra -

Great question. For ACS, they will often assess a degree if it's close to ICT in content. So first step is to get your ACS skills assessment. If ACS does not assess the degree, then you could get it assessed as a non-relevant degree via a VETASSESS Points Test Advisory Letter. Remember that a Bachelor Degree will still get you 15 points from DIBP for a skilled visa points test even if it is not related to your occupation. However, from the ACS perspective, relevance to your occupation plays a big part in their assessment process and how many years of employment they "deduct" before they consider you skilled.

So first step is to get everything assessed by ACS and see what they come back with. Then decide on your next step based on ACS' assessment of your degree(s).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



uniextra said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for allowing this space.
> 
> My question comes relevant to Skills assessment and Education points.
> 
> I'm and Telecommunications Engineer with an MBA and i will reques ACS Skills Assesment for ICT Project Manager.
> 
> I dont understand if my education is also assessed by them or nor.
> 
> For the point you get 10 if you have a degree and they add "You have attained a qualification or award recognised by the relevant assessing authority in determining your skills for your nominated occupation."
> 
> does this mean i have to get my experience assessed by ACS as ICT project manager, and my Engineers and MBA degree assessed by an other? EA?
> 
> Thanks again for any help you can provide.


----------



## jackonhill

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jackonhill -
> 
> I don't have enough information about your case to give you specific advice, however based on what you've said, if she is primarily dependent on you for food, clothing and shelter, then you've got a reasonable chance of her being your dependent for the visa. However, there is a specific regulation that disallows this if the dependent "has a spouse". Since she is technically still married, an application for this type of situation would likely need to make a legal argument that her husband, while still married to her, does not qualify to meet the legal definition of "spouse". Assuming they permanently live apart and have been separated for a significant amount of time, this may also have a good chance of being approved, however it would likely depend on the "spouse" argument.
> 
> It's a bit ironic too - DIBP has a specific definition of spouse, which generally is:
> 
> _(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), persons are in a married relationship if:
> (a) they are married to each other under a marriage that is valid for the purposes of this Act; and
> (b) they have a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all others; and
> (c) the relationship between them is genuine and continuing; and
> (d) they:
> (i) live together; or
> (ii) do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis.
> _
> 
> They use these regulations frequently as a reason to declare some relationships (ie, for refused partner visas) non-genuine (ie, non-spousal). In your case, you'd be using the regulations for exactly the OPPOSITE - ie, using them to argue that a couple, although married, is actually not a spousal relationship, since a spousal relationship would disallow dependency.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark! This is great help.

In order to support my case, I can produce number of proofs for example:

Mine and my mother's joint account, showing no income (only credits are either from me or her) - proof that she has no income
Her name is endorsed on my passport, both passports have same address
Her travel tickets showing payment from my credit card
My employer (a pubic company) can certify that I have listed her as my dependent since the commencement of employment
I can also present proofs that my father lives at a different address (a different city altogather)
She uses a pre-paid mobile connection, I can show that the mobile number is registered under her name and top-up is done from my credit card (various entries spread over 2 years along with receipts of online payment)
Couple of old letters that she received at the current address

Do you think these documents should be sufficient to support my case? Kindly suggest if there is other document that I may include.

My mother can make statutory declaration stating her separation with my father and her dependency on me, if required.

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jackonhill -

Not possible for me to assess your case or evidence without knowing more and seeing the evidence. One thing - if your mom has not been living under the same roof (in the same house) as you, that may make it more difficult to claim dependency. Also, joint bank acct is not really proof of no income, since she could have been being paid in cash and never deposited it in the bank. Key is to show direct and verifiable linkage between her expenses for food, travel and shelter and payment made by you.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam



jackonhill said:


> Thanks a lot Mark! This is great help.
> 
> In order to support my case, I can produce number of proofs for example:
> 
> Mine and my mother's joint account, showing no income (only credits are either from me or her) - proof that she has no income
> Her name is endorsed on my passport, both passports have same address
> Her travel tickets showing payment from my credit card
> My employer (a pubic company) can certify that I have listed her as my dependent since the commencement of employment
> I can also present proofs that my father lives at a different address (a different city altogather)
> She uses a pre-paid mobile connection, I can show that the mobile number is registered under her name and top-up is done from my credit card (various entries spread over 2 years along with receipts of online payment)
> Couple of old letters that she received at the current address
> 
> Do you think these documents should be sufficient to support my case? Kindly suggest if there is other document that I may include.
> 
> My mother can make statutory declaration stating her separation with my father and her dependency on me, if required.
> 
> Regards


----------



## Em311

*457, appeal, avoid Schedule 3*

Hi Mark,

Great thread, this has helped me a lot! But I still have some questions in relation to visa 457.

The situation is: me and my partner applied for a 457 visa (via his employer), and checked the box to withdraw our application should the sponsorship/nominated position be refused. Unfortunately the nominated position was refused. The employer intends to appeal this decision.

Is it possible for us to reapply for the same nominated position while it is under appeal, or would we get automatically refused straight away? And if so, could we leave the country to come back on a tourist visa before reapplying for the 457 in order to get around Schedule 3 and Bridging visa C? We would like to still be able to be on a Bridging visa A so we can visit our families abroad (and it seems appealing is quite a long process).

I would really appreciate any comments you might have on this Mark! You're a hero.


----------



## jhosie

Snow said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am considering partner migration to Australia with my partner on a de facto partner visa. I have a couple of queries I was hoping you could help me with (Applying from outside Australia).
> 
> In the migration booklet there is mention that I need to have declarations witnessed by a medical practitioner, teacher, lecturer etc. Does this mean I could simply approach my doctor and ask them to certify our written statements or do they need to be present for the writing of them?
> 
> I don't intend to emigrate until May/June of next year because of other commitments but have been told I'm best to start thinking about applying soon (we reach the 12 month requirement in July). I have also been advised not to send police/medical checks until asked so as to ensure that I will have finished my commitments here before receiving a visa grant. Will it negatively affect my application if police/medical checks are not supplied with the initial application?
> 
> Many thanks for any help you can give.


hi mark how are u...im just asking when lodge the paper how many they feed back.us
.the pmv we want to.lodge i ask my.mom to passe our papers do u think its ok even im still.in taiwan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Would suggest you carefully read the application lodgement procedures for the Embassy or post you intend to lodge at - often the rules for each one are different, as are the rules for paying the application fee, plus in some cases (like the Philippines), an additional fee is due to the company that serves as the "front counter" for DIBP (PIASI in the Philippines). We normlaly recommend that PMV applications are lodged online since it's so much easier and faster to lodge online rather than via paper.

Re: follow-up, once you lodge, you will generally get an email or letter acknowledging receipt of your application. After that, you may hear nothing until the application is decided unless the case officer needs more documents or has questions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> hi mark how are u...im just asking when lodge the paper how many they feed back.us
> .the pmv we want to.lodge i ask my.mom to passe our papers do u think its ok even im still.in taiwan


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Would suggest you carefully read the application lodgement procedures for the Embassy or post you intend to lodge at - often the rules for each one are different, as are the rules for paying the application fee, plus in some cases (like the Philippines), an additional fee is due to the company that serves as the "front counter" for DIBP (PIASI in the Philippines). We normlaly recommend that PMV applications are lodged online since it's so much easier and faster to lodge online rather than via paper.
> 
> Re: follow-up, once you lodge, you will generally get an email or letter acknowledging receipt of your application. After that, you may hear nothing until the application is decided unless the case officer needs more documents or has questions.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thnk u mark...so we have to scan everything all the doc evidence.act i hve bit worry i dont know how,where we start....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Em311 -

Thanks for the question. I don't know enough about your case to give you specific advice for it, however generally I would expect that a further visa application against a nomination that has been refused will likely be refused in short order, however it appears to be a valid application (would need to check this carefully, since invalid application = no refusal).

However if the application is refused, you're still OK as you would then need to lodge an application for review of the app refusal at the MRT. If you do this, suggest when you do this you advise the MRT that you request that since the case is linked to the nom already under review, that the two MRT review cases be linked. Since you lodged the second 457 application while you held a substantive visa (the visitor visa), you'd get a BV-A with the second 457 application and that would be automatically continued assuming you made application for MRT review on time and validly. Possible issues: visitor visa is refused, or visitor visa is issued with Condition 8503 (no further stay).

Also, if the original 457 app has not actually been withdrawn yet (ie, no notice of withdrawal received), you might request that the application not be withdrawn - not sure if they would honour that, but it would at least save you the $1,700+ a second 457 application will cost you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Em311 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Great thread, this has helped me a lot! But I still have some questions in relation to visa 457.
> 
> The situation is: me and my partner applied for a 457 visa (via his employer), and checked the box to withdraw our application should the sponsorship/nominated position be refused. Unfortunately the nominated position was refused. The employer intends to appeal this decision.
> 
> Is it possible for us to reapply for the same nominated position while it is under appeal, or would we get automatically refused straight away? And if so, could we leave the country to come back on a tourist visa before reapplying for the 457 in order to get around Schedule 3 and Bridging visa C? We would like to still be able to be on a Bridging visa A so we can visit our families abroad (and it seems appealing is quite a long process).
> 
> I would really appreciate any comments you might have on this Mark! You're a hero.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

If you have filled out the usual paper forms (47SP, 40SP) the online application process will be easier since it involves essentially the same questions on those forms, just online instead.

Re all documents, you should have them colour scanned into PDF files, one PDF file per document (ie, if you have a 2 page document, put both pages into a single PDF file).

You could also consider engaging a registered migration agent just to lodge the application for you to make the process easier for you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> thnk u mark...so we have to scan everything all the doc evidence.act i hve bit worry i dont know how,where we start....


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> If you have filled out the usual paper forms (47SP, 40SP) the online application process will be easier since it involves essentially the same questions on those forms, just online instead.
> 
> Re all documents, you should have them colour scanned into PDF files, one PDF file per document (ie, if you have a 2 page document, put both pages into a single PDF file).
> 
> You could also consider engaging a registered migration agent just to lodge the application for you to make the process easier for you.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


ok...how much cost for agent


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Depends on the agent - the way we handle these cases is to do a quick review of your application forms and evidence, provide any notes or suggestions on any issues he/she sees with your application, then the agent lodges the application and will serve as your appointed agent so any questions/requests from DIBP go to the agent, and the agent then passes these on to you along with any advice about how to respond.

You may want to ask around to different agents to get quotes - if you'd like us to provide a quote for this, please send me a Private Message or email me through our website link below (see Contact Us) info.

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> ok...how much cost for agent


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Em311 -

One other thought on this - since the refusal of a 457 nomination does not create a bar on further nominations, many businesses who have a nom refused just lodge a new one with whatever the problem was fixed - this can be faster and cheaper than going through the MRT review process. It all depends, though, on the nature of the refusal and whether the nomination application can be modified, expanded, altered, more evidence provided, etc in order to address whatever the deficiency was.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Em311 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Great thread, this has helped me a lot! But I still have some questions in relation to visa 457.
> 
> The situation is: me and my partner applied for a 457 visa (via his employer), and checked the box to withdraw our application should the sponsorship/nominated position be refused. Unfortunately the nominated position was refused. The employer intends to appeal this decision.
> 
> Is it possible for us to reapply for the same nominated position while it is under appeal, or would we get automatically refused straight away? And if so, could we leave the country to come back on a tourist visa before reapplying for the 457 in order to get around Schedule 3 and Bridging visa C? We would like to still be able to be on a Bridging visa A so we can visit our families abroad (and it seems appealing is quite a long process).
> 
> I would really appreciate any comments you might have on this Mark! You're a hero.


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Depends on the agent - the way we handle these cases is to do a quick review of your application forms and evidence, provide any notes or suggestions on any issues he/she sees with your application, then the agent lodges the application and will serve as your appointed agent so any questions/requests from DIBP go to the agent, and the agent then passes these on to you along with any advice about how to respond.
> 
> You may want to ask around to different agents to get quotes - if you'd like us to provide a quote for this, please send me a Private Message or email me through our website link below (see Contact Us) info.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


i cant see your website link


----------



## MarkNortham

Sorry - see Northam & Associates



jhosie said:


> i cant see your website link


----------



## goldy

*309 partner visa from ottawa*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Goldy -
> 
> Would definitely send along any additional relationship evidence you have, especially given the visitor visa refusals - anything you can send to help further support your application, especially re: genuine relationship, the better!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for replying, but she did'nt ask any additional evidences now we have more photographs and joint bank account. Can i directly send it to embassy without they ask or i will e-mail her and then send it. And can i talk or e-mail to the case officer on my behalf after 12 months ?? thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Goldy -

No problem with emailing or sending (depending on your case officer's preference - best to ask) additional evidence without having that requested by the case officer. Just be polite and let them know you have further evidence of your relationship that you would kindly like to submit.

Best,

Mark Northam



goldy said:


> Thanks for replying, but she did'nt ask any additional evidences now we have more photographs and joint bank account. Can i directly send it to embassy without they ask or i will e-mail her and then send it. And can i talk or e-mail to the case officer on my behalf after 12 months ?? thanks again


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Goldy -
> 
> No problem with emailing or sending (depending on your case officer's preference - best to ask) additional evidence without having that requested by the case officer. Just be polite and let them know you have further evidence of your relationship that you would kindly like to submit.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


mark i ask more question about form 888 i read that form is only for my sponsor do i provide thay form 888 too thnks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Form 888 is for people to write statutory declarations about your relationship. The form is not to write only about the sponsor or applicant, but to write about the relationship and how the person who is completing the Form 888 believes they are in a genuine defacto relationship (or genuine married relationship depending on your situation).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> mark i ask more question about form 888 i read that form is only for my sponsor do i provide thay form 888 too thnks


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Form 888 is for people to write statutory declarations about your relationship. The form is not to write only about the sponsor or applicant, but to write about the relationship and how the person who is completing the Form 888 believes they are in a genuine defacto relationship (or genuine married relationship depending on your situation).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


yes....what i want to know is we both produce that form 888...or just my sponsor do u mean that when they filling out the form they also have a written dec too.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Sorry, I'm concerned that you are not understanding what I am saying. Form 888 is not to be filled out by you or your sponsor. Form 888 is to be filled out by friends, family, or any other people who know you and your sponsor and can write about the genuineness of the relationship.

Am concerned that you may not really understand the requirements for the visa application you are about to submit, and would strongly suggest you consider engaging a registered migration agent to assist you. I'm not trying to sell my services here - any RMA who is experienced in partner and fiance visas should be able to help you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> yes....what i want to know is we both produce that form 888...or just my sponsor do u mean that when they filling out the form they also have a written dec too.


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Sorry, I'm concerned that you are not understanding what I am saying. Form 888 is not to be filled out by you or your sponsor. Form 888 is to be filled out by friends, family, or any other people who know you and your sponsor and can write about the genuineness of the relationship.
> 
> Am concerned that you may not really understand the requirements for the visa application you are about to submit, and would strongly suggest you consider engaging a registered migration agent to assist you. I'm not trying to sell my services here - any RMA who is experienced in partner and fiance visas should be able to help you.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


mark i understand the form 888 i know we r not the one filled up that form what.im trying to say if we both get our friends or fsmily to do the form 888...sorry for inconvenience thnks


----------



## jhosie

jhosie said:


> mark i understand the form 888 i know we r not the one filled up that form what.im trying to say if we both get our friends or fsmily to do the form 888...sorry for inconvenience thnks


thnks for the concerned mark i really apprrciate all your answer thanks for the.time


----------



## dejainc

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Liang -
> 
> Thanks for the question - it depends. For higher risk countries, there is a higher frequency of interviews - sometimes 50% to 70% and higher. For lower risk countries (ie, North American, some European countries), interviews are often only required if there are some other risk factors present, such as short relationship, > 10yr age difference, etc. As I understand it there is a somewhat complex risk assessment done for partner and PMV applications, and based on the results of that analysis, they decide whether to interview or not. In some cases they interview only the applicant, other times both applicant and spouse. When applicant and spouse are both interviewed, we're seeing that it's becoming more frequent that they are contacted at the same time or close to the same time, I presume so as to not allow "sharing notes" on the interview questions, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for that Mark, had a look through your possible questions website and the question's don't seem too bad


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks, Dejainc - to me, that's why forums like this are important - people can see what other people have asked, been through, had issues with, etc and learn from their experiences. The mission is educational as much as it is problem-solving!

Best,

Mark Northam



dejainc said:


> Thanks for that Mark, had a look through your possible questions website and the question's don't seem too bad


----------



## CrossFitMark

Hi Mark, I hope you're well.

I'm from the UK and have applied for a PMV at the end of Oct last year. Everything is now in with the medicals and police checks done the first week in Feb 2014.

Would you know how long the process for UK citizens is taking for PMVs? Also is there any way of finding out about my own application and whereabouts I am in the queue. Long shot I know but thought I'd ask the quesiton

On the application we've stated a marriage date that we've arranged with the celebrant. Do you know if immigration take any notice of this date or they just issue the visa and we have to change the date accordingly?

Any advice would be appreciated. Many thanks.

Kind Regards,
Mark


----------



## HHanif

Dear Mark
I was given a call by the Islamabad Commission and they called me regarding an interview. Now I have applied for SVP so technically I wasnt obliged to provide any financial proof. My understanding was that under SVP financing can be through any means. So when the officer asked how ill be supporting my education I told her my father will be sponsoring me and he will be using the land in his name to do so. I was further asked how much money do I have in my own bank account and whether I have any property in my name. 

Is there anything worrisome in this whole thing?


----------



## uniextra

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Uniextra -
> 
> Great question. For ACS, they will often assess a degree if it's close to ICT in content. So first step is to get your ACS skills assessment. If ACS does not assess the degree, then you could get it assessed as a non-relevant degree via a VETASSESS Points Test Advisory Letter. Remember that a Bachelor Degree will still get you 15 points from DIBP for a skilled visa points test even if it is not related to your occupation. However, from the ACS perspective, relevance to your occupation plays a big part in their assessment process and how many years of employment they "deduct" before they consider you skilled.
> 
> So first step is to get everything assessed by ACS and see what they come back with. Then decide on your next step based on ACS' assessment of your degree(s).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for this info.

I just like to know if for the 15 points in education i should get my education assessed. or is just will be given if i present the evidence to support this education.

I also like to get a quote for you help login the application and all. please send me a PM thanks!


----------



## Snow

Hi Mark,

Apologies for asking more questions, I understand you get a lot and I really appreciate you doing this. 

I was wondering, could you tell me how strict immigration is towards their 12 month policy? My partner may have to leave this year in July on the day she came last year, I'm going with her to visit. We can't exactly apply for the partner visa on the day we're leaving to fly to Australia so I was wondering if it was acceptable to apply a couple of weeks before reaching the date when she arrived. (In other words, is applying on say, the 9th of July fine when we have lives together since the 23rd?)

One last question, is there any benefits to applying for the subclass 309 on paper? It seems online application is more beneficial because we can continue to update our evidence as its processed.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark -

Thanks for the questions. Wish I had better news for you, but DIBP doesn't provide any way of checking on the progress or estimated time to completion for an application once lodged. Typically PMV visas take around 9 months to process, but I've seen them go through in as little as 6 months and as long as 18. They do take some note of the celebrant date, however they do not consider it binding in any way upon them.

Hope this helps - wish I had a more detailed prediction re: date -

Best,

Mark Northam



CrossFitMark said:


> Hi Mark, I hope you're well.
> 
> I'm from the UK and have applied for a PMV at the end of Oct last year. Everything is now in with the medicals and police checks done the first week in Feb 2014.
> 
> Would you know how long the process for UK citizens is taking for PMVs? Also is there any way of finding out about my own application and whereabouts I am in the queue. Long shot I know but thought I'd ask the quesiton
> 
> On the application we've stated a marriage date that we've arranged with the celebrant. Do you know if immigration take any notice of this date or they just issue the visa and we have to change the date accordingly?
> 
> Any advice would be appreciated. Many thanks.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Mark


----------



## Vijayendra

Hi Mark,
I had a query on the EOI that I have submitted for my wife and I was hoping that you would clarify it.

The following are the details of my wife's employment.
a. Company A (Oct 2007 - July 2011)
b. Company B (July 2011 - Aug 2013)

We had these details assessed by the ACS and employment after Oct 2009 was considered as skilled. This would mean that she would get only 5 points under the skilled employment criteria.

However, while submitting an EOI and entering the employment details, the system asks us whether the employment is related to the nominated occupation. In my wife's case, employment in both the companies are within the nominated occupation (even though ACS has only validated employment from Oct 2009 as skilled). This would mean that the entire 5+ years of her work is skilled. This in turn would mean that she would get 10 points for her employment.

*How would this application be treated if in case we are invited? Is it safe to apply with this situation? Would it be a problem later if we apply?*

Just to let you know, she would get only 55 points if we consider 5 points of employment. However, if we consider the 10 points then it would be 60.

Based on the recent invitation reports, we are expecting an invite in the next round so your immediate attention and response would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a ton,
Vijayendra.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HHanif -

Thanks for the question. Under the Streamlined Visa Program (SVP), it is generally required that you declare you have sufficient funds for study, but you are not required to provide evidence of that at application.

However, DIBP still assesses every student visa applicant against the Genuine Temporary Entrant (aka "Genuine Student") policy elements which are designed to predict whether you are a risk to overstay your visa or come to Australia other than to study. In the GTE assessment, funds can certainly come into play, as well as the strength of other ties you have to your home country(I expect that was the reason for the question about assets you own in your home countr), etc. as DIBP predicts, based on these, whether you are a "genuine student". If DIBP has concerns about an application, they can explore a wide variety of areas even if the application is for a SVP program - here's some relevant DIBP policy:

_42.8 Further scrutiny of individual applications subject to streamlined processing arrangements

Although an applicant may meet the criteria for streamlined processing (and is therefore exempt from the assessment level regime) it is open to officers to subject individual applicants to further scrutiny in order for the applicant to meet the 57x.223 genuineness and financial requirements if the circumstances warrant.

The situations in which further scrutiny may be required include but are not limited to:

information in statistical, intelligence and analysis reports on migration fraud and immigration compliance compiled by the department indicates that further scrutiny is required
the applicant or a relative of the applicant has an immigration history of concern
the applicant intends to study in an unrelated field to their previous studies
inconsistencies in information provided by the applicant in their application.

Applications must be assessed on their individual merit.
_

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HHanif said:


> Dear Mark
> I was given a call by the Islamabad Commission and they called me regarding an interview. Now I have applied for SVP so technically I wasnt obliged to provide any financial proof. My understanding was that under SVP financing can be through any means. So when the officer asked how ill be supporting my education I told her my father will be sponsoring me and he will be using the land in his name to do so. I was further asked how much money do I have in my own bank account and whether I have any property in my name.
> 
> Is there anything worrisome in this whole thing?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uniextra -

No way to tell for sure without looking at your documents and assessing your case - normally for a Bachelor degree from an accredited school, assuming DIBP believes the documents are genuine, you'll get 15 points.

Happy to discuss any services you may need - please contact me through our website listed below (at the end of the post in my signature) - thanks!

Best,

Mark Northam



uniextra said:


> Thanks for this info.
> 
> I just like to know if for the 15 points in education i should get my education assessed. or is just will be given if i present the evidence to support this education.
> 
> I also like to get a quote for you help login the application and all. please send me a PM thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snow -

I've seen it go both ways - often there is some flexibility when it's a matter of days or a few weeks, other times the case officer is strict. Also remember that the requirement is to show through evidence that the defacto relationship existed for the 12 months prior to application and that any time apart was temporary in nature. If you have evidence prior to that (ie, 13 months ago) that fits this definition, that might help too.

Also - highly recommend all partner visas use online systems - the systems are now working great, and adding additional evidence is easy.

Best,

Mark Northam



Snow said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Apologies for asking more questions, I understand you get a lot and I really appreciate you doing this.
> 
> I was wondering, could you tell me how strict immigration is towards their 12 month policy? My partner may have to leave this year in July on the day she came last year, I'm going with her to visit. We can't exactly apply for the partner visa on the day we're leaving to fly to Australia so I was wondering if it was acceptable to apply a couple of weeks before reaching the date when she arrived. (In other words, is applying on say, the 9th of July fine when we have lives together since the 23rd?)
> 
> One last question, is there any benefits to applying for the subclass 309 on paper? It seems online application is more beneficial because we can continue to update our evidence as its processed.


----------



## Markp

MarkNortham said:


> You can apply again, but unless the application is substantially different, it will likely be refused again as a repeat/similar application.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


We have decided to apply for Visa 461.Is our last refusal going to impact on this application?We can show that our relationship is ongoing for the last 3 years and that we are engaged and have spent a total of 4 months together.But we have no joint accounts or the 12 month defacto part.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markp -

Hard to predict - would need to see the previous and new application to give you any sort of specific advice. I expect the previous refusal will be considered, but can't tell to what extent it would negatively impact the 461 application without assessing both.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Markp said:


> We have decided to apply for Visa 461.Is our last refusal going to impact on this application?We can show that our relationship is ongoing for the last 3 years and that we are engaged and have spent a total of 4 months together.But we have no joint accounts or the 12 month defacto part.


----------



## freeswan

Hi Mark, 

I'm glad to find this thread as my partner and I have quite a few questions about which visa to get and we were hoping that someone who knows the ins and outs of DIAC could answer us and of course, with your experience, we will be extremely grateful if you can shed some light to our situation. 

My partner and I have been in a long distance relationship for 22 months now. We met at work when he was assigned to do some work at their offshore facility here in the Philippines. While he was in the Philippines, we lived together for a month. Since then, we decided to leave my job and be the one traveling back and forth to Australia to visit him. To date, I've been in Australia three times and lived there for a total of 9 months. Now, here's the cause of our delay in lodging the visa. At the time of our relationship, we were both married. But good news is that, his divorce will be finalised on the 21st of April (after a month and a day of the hearing date and was confirmed divorced) and I will get my Decree of Absolute Nullity of my Marriage on that same day as well as per my lawyer (to date, no news of appeal from the Office of the Solicitor General). We are planning to lodge a PMV on May as we give time to get our certificates done (with mine having to report it to the civil registry where I got annulled and got married plus updating my records in NSO) and wedding date is set on January 2015. However, while looking at the Partner Migration Booklet, we realised that applying for Partner Visa (309) will have more benefits when granted such as enrolment in Medicare. So if we want to get the Subclass 309, once we get our divorce/annulment certificates, we can get a NOIM and get married sometime in September then lodge the visa. However, we want to know the risk of doing a 309 considering that we have been on a long distance relationship and that we are individually financially capable (he doesn't send me money often but we do have joint bank accounts and my lease agreement in my condo and his apartment in Sydney has both our names). I am a freelancer so I get work depending from my contract and he is employed in Australia. So what would you suggest we do, Mark? Should we proceed in lodging for PMV or get married and apply for Partner 309? Also, we are looking at shorter and easier way to get PR in terms of timeline from the date of the lodgement of the application and Partner 309 seems to be favourable. What would be our chances if we apply for 309? Thanks in advance, Mark!


----------



## bazidkhan

Hi Mark.. once again need your kind help. Thanks a lot.
I have already applied for 489 visa before 2 months but dont know whether CO assigned or not yet as he/she did not communicated with me. 
Actually I have added my family(wife + 2 child) as non-migrating dependants to my visa application. 
my question is that..
I have recently got a new born baby a week before. Now the same addition I want for this new born baby as non migrating dependants. So is form 1022 is right form to attach with my visa form. if yes what answer I should give in question 13 of form 1022, which ask about other applicants details.. the exact question is that..
Do you have any partner or any dependants who are/were include in your application ?
1) No
2) Yes (give details for all)
Now what should i click yes or no? because i have added my family members intentionally non migrating instead of migrating members.. 
Please explian..


----------



## mgalal

Dear Mark
I want to apply for subclass 190....my point score is 55 points without the 5 points for state nomination and the IELTS results..... my IELTS results is 6 overall band score.... listening 7, reading and writing 5.5, speaking 6.5.....i want to apply for western Australia nomination because my skilled occupation is in demand in only Wetern and South Australia....Can i apply without considering the language ability points? Or i have to retake the IELTS test to improve my point score.

Appreciate your advice.

Moh.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Freeswan -

Thanks for the question. I don't have enough data to give you specific advice for your case, but would suggest that you might consider getting married, living together for a few months (and accumulating as much relationship evidence as possible), then lodging the 309/100 partner application. This can work if you want to marry offshore. Alternatively, you could do the PMV, then come to Australia and marry in Australia. At this point it sounds like you may not have sufficient relationship evidence to support a partner visa now, but could in the future - again, I haven't seen any of your evidence so it's not possible for me to give you a specific assessment for your application. If you'd like to discuss more and/or have me review your evidence in detail, you might consider a consultation (see website below to book).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



freeswan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm glad to find this thread as my partner and I have quite a few questions about which visa to get and we were hoping that someone who knows the ins and outs of DIAC could answer us and of course, with your experience, we will be extremely grateful if you can shed some light to our situation.
> 
> My partner and I have been in a long distance relationship for 22 months now. We met at work when he was assigned to do some work at their offshore facility here in the Philippines. While he was in the Philippines, we lived together for a month. Since then, we decided to leave my job and be the one traveling back and forth to Australia to visit him. To date, I've been in Australia three times and lived there for a total of 9 months. Now, here's the cause of our delay in lodging the visa. At the time of our relationship, we were both married. But good news is that, his divorce will be finalised on the 21st of April (after a month and a day of the hearing date and was confirmed divorced) and I will get my Decree of Absolute Nullity of my Marriage on that same day as well as per my lawyer (to date, no news of appeal from the Office of the Solicitor General). We are planning to lodge a PMV on May as we give time to get our certificates done (with mine having to report it to the civil registry where I got annulled and got married plus updating my records in NSO) and wedding date is set on January 2015. However, while looking at the Partner Migration Booklet, we realised that applying for Partner Visa (309) will have more benefits when granted such as enrolment in Medicare. So if we want to get the Subclass 309, once we get our divorce/annulment certificates, we can get a NOIM and get married sometime in September then lodge the visa. However, we want to know the risk of doing a 309 considering that we have been on a long distance relationship and that we are individually financially capable (he doesn't send me money often but we do have joint bank accounts and my lease agreement in my condo and his apartment in Sydney has both our names). I am a freelancer so I get work depending from my contract and he is employed in Australia. So what would you suggest we do, Mark? Should we proceed in lodging for PMV or get married and apply for Partner 309? Also, we are looking at shorter and easier way to get PR in terms of timeline from the date of the lodgement of the application and Partner 309 seems to be favourable. What would be our chances if we apply for 309? Thanks in advance, Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bazidkhan -

Great question. I would check "no" since "included in the application" generally refers to migrating dependents/partners. However, to make sure they fully understand you, I would strongly suggest attaching a letter to the form titled "Additional Details" detailing the people you had previously included as non-migrating dependents, and adding the newborn baby on as an additional non-migrating dependent.

Also do note that even if dependents (partner / children) are non-migrating, they will still be subject to the same health checks as if they were migrating, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bazidkhan said:


> Hi Mark.. once again need your kind help. Thanks a lot.
> I have already applied for 489 visa before 2 months but dont know whether CO assigned or not yet as he/she did not communicated with me.
> Actually I have added my family(wife + 2 child) as non-migrating dependants to my visa application.
> my question is that..
> I have recently got a new born baby a week before. Now the same addition I want for this new born baby as non migrating dependants. So is form 1022 is right form to attach with my visa form. if yes what answer I should give in question 13 of form 1022, which ask about other applicants details.. the exact question is that..
> Do you have any partner or any dependants who are/were include in your application ?
> 1) No
> 2) Yes (give details for all)
> Now what should i click yes or no? because i have added my family members intentionally non migrating instead of migrating members..
> Please explian..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moh -

You'll need to retake IELTS to get at least 6 on every band - overall IELTS score is not relevant for migration, other than for secondary applicants who need at least overall score of 4.5 to avoid hefty English fee. You should also check the state sponsorship sites for any state you are planning on applying for sponsorship to to make sure they have not added increased IELTS requirements for your particular occupation - they do this for some occupations, as well as adding minimum work requirements, etc. Very important to read the state sponsorship site details very carefully. No point in applying for state sponsorship before you get qualifying IELTS score and skills assessment complete.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mgalal said:


> Dear Mark
> I want to apply for subclass 190....my point score is 55 points without the 5 points for state nomination and the IELTS results..... my IELTS results is 6 overall band score.... listening 7, reading and writing 5.5, speaking 6.5.....i want to apply for western Australia nomination because my skilled occupation is in demand in only Wetern and South Australia....Can i apply without considering the language ability points? Or i have to retake the IELTS test to improve my point score.
> 
> Appreciate your advice.
> 
> Moh.


----------



## mgalal

Thanks Mark for your reply....i already have positive skills assessment....only missing the IELTS required result....i will retake the IELTS test and see the results.

Thanks alot.

Moh.


----------



## SRS

MarkNortham said:


> Hi SRS -
> 
> Sadly that's getting more frequent these days (DIBP ignoring emails from agents and/or applicants). I would not read anything into that - instead would just be patient and wait. The non-response (yet) from DIBP is not an indication of any particular decision on the visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Many thanks for your input. My PCC is expiring in 3 days. At present I have no other option other than to hear from CO.Hope everything goes ok.

Thanks
SRS


----------



## freeswan

thanks a lot, Mark! I would like to have a consultation with you regarding our situation but I will have to discuss this with my partner. I appreciate your help, mate.


----------



## peachtart

Hi Mark

I've recently lodged 309/100 in Singapore and have received an acknowledgement from the embassy together with a checklist highlighting a few things they require. I spoke to the CO and understand that she wanted more evidence for our de facto relationship. 

We've submitted holiday travel expenses (taking turns to pay. Eg: I pay for flight and he pays for accommodation), photos of social activities, weddings we've attended, emails, skype logs for when we are apart. Prior to submission, we thought the information was enough but the CO said that holidays together is only a small part of a defacto relationship. 

I understand that she might want us to prove that our relationship has been ongoing for more than 12 months. We were together in June 2012 so we've been together for 22 months now and probably should address more about shared finances as well as the nature of the household. 

However, we are in quite a unique situation - my partner and I stayed together for 12 months in Singapore and because of his work, he was put up in a hotel. We stayed in a hotel for 12 months. We're not sure how we can go about proving / addressing this point. We can ask the hotel's Account Manager to write us a stat decs if it is necessary.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peachtart -

Thanks for the questions. For offshore partner visa applications lodged as defacto partners, since registration of the relationship in an Australian state that allows this is often impossible or impractical, the applicant will be required to prove that the defacto relationship has existed during the 12 months prior to application - DIBP's primary evidence, in its opinion, of a defacto relationship is living together where any time apart is temporary in nature. Given this, and given that they have indicated that your existing defacto relationship is insufficient (as they asked for more), my thought would be to send them anything and everything that will demonstrate your relationship, especially the living together part. Perhaps a signed statement from the management of the hotel or something like this might help for that part...? Essentially you've got one shot now to fix the relationship issues to the satisfaction of the case officer - I wouldn't hold anything back, frankly, as the request for further evidence may mean your application is headed for refusal unless things are fixed. Also consider more statements from people to evidence the relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



peachtart said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I've recently lodged 309/100 in Singapore and have received an acknowledgement from the embassy together with a checklist highlighting a few things they require. I spoke to the CO and understand that she wanted more evidence for our de facto relationship.
> 
> We've submitted holiday travel expenses (taking turns to pay. Eg: I pay for flight and he pays for accommodation), photos of social activities, weddings we've attended, emails, skype logs for when we are apart. Prior to submission, we thought the information was enough but the CO said that holidays together is only a small part of a defacto relationship.
> 
> I understand that she might want us to prove that our relationship has been ongoing for more than 12 months. We were together in June 2012 so we've been together for 22 months now and probably should address more about shared finances as well as the nature of the household.
> 
> However, we are in quite a unique situation - my partner and I stayed together for 12 months in Singapore and because of his work, he was put up in a hotel. We stayed in a hotel for 12 months. We're not sure how we can go about proving / addressing this point. We can ask the hotel's Account Manager to write us a stat decs if it is necessary.


----------



## CrossFitMark

Many thanks for your honest input. I suppose I was hoping that because I'm from a supposed low risk country it would have been processed sooner

Cheers again
Mark


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mark -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Wish I had better news for you, but DIBP doesn't provide any way of checking on the progress or estimated time to completion for an application once lodged. Typically PMV visas take around 9 months to process, but I've seen them go through in as little as 6 months and as long as 18. They do take some note of the celebrant date, however they do not consider it binding in any way upon them.
> 
> Hope this helps - wish I had a more detailed prediction re: date -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## unfortunate

Dear Mark,

I would appreciate if u plz shed some light on my case. Need an expert advice.

I did my degree from England, however, had been a victim of fraudster agent who deteriorated my case while extending my post study visa.

The agent without my consent used deception in my application and showed me as an employee of a company where I have never had worked.

To cut short, deception was discovered by UK authorities and my visa application was rejected. I was asked to leave UK & in case I had left UK voluntarily at my own expense, I could reapply for UK visa after elapse of 12 months period. Otherwise, in case I had decided not to leave UK I could face deportation and could have been barred from reapplying for any UK visa for another 10 years.

I got shocked to hear the outcome as I had been a genuine student throughout my stay in U.K. My little ignorance had brought be to that isolation.

Anyways, its a long story. I was given a chance to appeal but I didn't avail that option as at the end it was my negligence and I realized that my case was weak.

To conclude, I wrote letter to the UK authorities, explaining the facts how I had been betrayed by that shameless & greedy agent, who had ruined my life & misguided me for the sake of few hundred bucks.

In order to save my case from further erosion I depressed as hell left UK voluntarily, i.e within 15 days of receiving a decision from the authorities. Hence, my record was cleared & I became eligible to reapply for UK visa after 12 months, although I didn't apply for it due to work commitment at my native country.

That was my story now lets get back to the question.

Actually I have recently applied for Australian permanent skilled visa and disclosed each & every fact relating to the mishap in my OZ application.

So my question is that is there any chance my visa application could get rejected due to above mentioned disclosure? or would it be taken positively by the case officer, as I have tried to be honest & provided true information.

Quick response shall be extremely appreciated.


----------



## peachtart

Thanks for the sound advice, Mark. We will be able to get the hotel to issue a letter to state the period my partner was staying in the hotel however the problem is that the hotel was booked under his name and company (without mine). So we were thinking that perhaps we could ask the hotel's Account Manager who was in charge of any bookings under his company to write a stat decs in a personal / acquaintance capacity to say that I've been staying there since he moved in the hotel in May 2013 to June 2013. What's your thoughts on this arrangement? Will this improve our application?

Also, we were wondering if it will make our case stronger if my partner writes a stat dec to say I've stayed with him during that period in Singapore. We've been living apart since mid-June 2013 to date, visiting every 2-3 months so I don't think these visits count towards the 12 months living together? Just wanted to see if this is worth putting it in my partner's stat dec.

To add, we have initially only submit 2 form 888 by two close friends and will include 3 more (his brother, his sister-in-law and another close friends who worked with him in Singapore as well and knew I've been staying in the hotel with him).

Looking forward to hear from you soon. Once again, extremely grateful for your help.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Peachtart -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. For offshore partner visa applications lodged as defacto partners, since registration of the relationship in an Australian state that allows this is often impossible or impractical, the applicant will be required to prove that the defacto relationship has existed during the 12 months prior to application - DIBP's primary evidence, in its opinion, of a defacto relationship is living together where any time apart is temporary in nature. Given this, and given that they have indicated that your existing defacto relationship is insufficient (as they asked for more), my thought would be to send them anything and everything that will demonstrate your relationship, especially the living together part. Perhaps a signed statement from the management of the hotel or something like this might help for that part...? Essentially you've got one shot now to fix the relationship issues to the satisfaction of the case officer - I wouldn't hold anything back, frankly, as the request for further evidence may mean your application is headed for refusal unless things are fixed. Also consider more statements from people to evidence the relationship.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Unfortunate -

Sorry to hear of your bad experience with a fraudulent agent. Sadly, yours is only one of many experiences we hear about from unregistered agents who operate free of any legal control, knowledge requirements, etc - it's a worldwide rip-off industry, tempting people with unrealistic information about how "easy it is" to get a visa, taking their money, then wrecking their lives with broken promises and poorly prepared applications that, when refused, leave their victims with a permanent black mark with immigration officials.

The good news is that based on what you've written, as long as you disclose what happened with the refusal, etc, I don't see how that would negatively impact your Australian migration chances unless it was only one of a number of things that, added together, made the you seem to be not a genuine applicant for migration to Australia. A person's immigration history is certainly considered in many types of Australian visas, but a single refusal based on bad info provided by a fraudulent agent is not something that, by itself, would seem to be something that would rise to the level of being a cause for refusal.

Hope this helps, and best of luck with your application!

Best,

Mark Northam



unfortunate said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I would appreciate if u plz shed some light on my case. Need an expert advice.
> 
> I did my degree from England, however, had been a victim of fraudster agent who deteriorated my case while extending my post study visa.
> 
> The agent without my consent used deception in my application and showed me as an employee of a company where I have never had worked.
> 
> To cut short, deception was discovered by UK authorities and my visa application was rejected. I was asked to leave UK & in case I had left UK voluntarily at my own expense, I could reapply for UK visa after elapse of 12 months period. Otherwise, in case I had decided not to leave UK I could face deportation and could have been barred from reapplying for any UK visa for another 10 years.
> 
> I got shocked to hear the outcome as I had been a genuine student throughout my stay in U.K. My little ignorance had brought be to that isolation.
> 
> Anyways, its a long story. I was given a chance to appeal but I didn't avail that option as at the end it was my negligence and I realized that my case was weak.
> 
> To conclude, I wrote letter to the UK authorities, explaining the facts how I had been betrayed by that shameless & greedy agent, who had ruined my life & misguided me for the sake of few hundred bucks.
> 
> In order to save my case from further erosion I depressed as hell left UK voluntarily, i.e within 15 days of receiving a decision from the authorities. Hence, my record was cleared & I became eligible to reapply for UK visa after 12 months, although I didn't apply for it due to work commitment at my native country.
> 
> That was my story now lets get back to the question.
> 
> Actually I have recently applied for Australian permanent skilled visa and disclosed each & every fact relating to the mishap in my OZ application.
> 
> So my question is that is there any chance my visa application could get rejected due to above mentioned disclosure? or would it be taken positively by the case officer, as I have tried to be honest & provided true information.
> 
> Quick response shall be extremely appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peachtart -

Thanks for the additional details. The additional statement from others at the hotel would be helpful, but also remember that the 12 months they will be looking for evidence of living together is the 12 months immediately prior to application - from what you wrote, it sounds like you may not have been living together during this period - that could make a defacto partner visa application difficult to be approved as visiting every 2-3 months may not be seen as living together by DIBP. Again, this would all depend on the specific circumstances of you, your partner, and your relationship - I would need to look at all of your relationship evidence to give you any sort of specific advice for your case.

Re: statements, we always recommend 6-10 statements total including the statements by the applicant and sponsor. This is true especially if the other relationship evidence may be weak or not strongly supportive of the relationship and application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



peachtart said:


> Thanks for the sound advice, Mark. We will be able to get the hotel to issue a letter to state the period my partner was staying in the hotel however the problem is that the hotel was booked under his name and company (without mine). So we were thinking that perhaps we could ask the hotel's Account Manager who was in charge of any bookings under his company to write a stat decs in a personal / acquaintance capacity to say that I've been staying there since he moved in the hotel in May 2013 to June 2013. What's your thoughts on this arrangement? Will this improve our application?
> 
> Also, we were wondering if it will make our case stronger if my partner writes a stat dec to say I've stayed with him during that period in Singapore. We've been living apart since mid-June 2013 to date, visiting every 2-3 months so I don't think these visits count towards the 12 months living together? Just wanted to see if this is worth putting it in my partner's stat dec.
> 
> To add, we have initially only submit 2 form 888 by two close friends and will include 3 more (his brother, his sister-in-law and another close friends who worked with him in Singapore as well and knew I've been staying in the hotel with him).
> 
> Looking forward to hear from you soon. Once again, extremely grateful for your help.


----------



## peachtart

Glad to hear from you, Mark.

We weren't aware that the 12 months living together has to be immediately prior to the application. We thought it was just fulfilling the 12 months consecutively in general (when we read the fact sheets about the de facto requirements). We took about 6 months (after my partner left Singapore in June 2013) to gather all the documents for the visa application and in fact, we thought it would have been better (though very tough) that we are living apart and making every effort to visit each other and skype every night.

Anyway, here are more information which may help you better advise us...

We met in May 2012 and were in a relationship a month later in June 2012. Since then, we have lived together in the hotel in Singapore until June 2013 when my partner had to go back to work in Melbourne as the parts of the project is completed. Aside from the frequent visit (once every 2-3 months), when the opportunities arise, my partner would fly to Singapore for his work (which we've stated in our statements).

During the period we are living together, evidences we've submitted are: 

Several overseas trip - expenses of hotels and flights (not all, selective ones)
Photos of weddings we've attended - my brother's and colleague's 
Photos of our overseas trips - we bought photos bought from the water-theme park we've gone to, etc.
Our email correspondence discussing about our overseas trip (e.g. hotels, flights) and selectively our random email correspondence about interesting news we've read or work
Will be submitting - online purchases I've bought and sent to the hotel 
Will be submitting - receipts of flowers and chocolates he had sent to my office 
Will be submitting - cards he had written to me on valentine's day, etc. 

Whilst we were apart (between June 2013 to date), documents we've submitted to prove that our relationship is on-going:- 

Travel proof to Melbourne from me and travel tickets to Singapore from my partner - spending Christmas, his birthday together, etc. We alternate the payment of the flight regardless of whether he flies to Singapore or I fly to Melbourne. 
Email exchanges between the hotel's manager and my partner stating his personal visit to Singapore and booking the room under both our names. 
Our email correspondence discussing about road trips in Melbourne (we went to the Grampians last Christmas and included the email correspondence between the lodge owner and us on the deposits and payment, etc.) and selective email exchanges between my partner and I 
Skype logs 
In terms of shared finances - aside from the alternate payment of our flights to visit each other while we are apart, we have also provided proofs like: he paid for the Grampian's lodging while I paid for his hotel when he was here in Singapore (this was also arranged to avoid unnecessary foreign exchange charges to our credit cards). 
Photos and wedding card addressed to us when I flew to Melbourne to attend a friend's wedding together 
Will be submitting - emails from ASOS that I've sent my purchases to Melbourne. Addressed to me (once) and the rest is addressed to him. The reason why I've started addressing it to him is because the mails always get carded to the post shop and he'll have to prove his identity to pick up the mail. 
Will be submitting - Invoice of flowers he sent to my office on Valentine's Day

These are pretty much what we've provided for our application so far. We understand we will have to provide more inputs regarding the nature of the household (which we will) despite the fact that we stayed in the hotel for a year and we will also include that for when I visit Melbourne (we always spend 2 weeks together during Christmas). As mentioned earlier, we are also adding a few more 888's from his family, stat dec from the people in Singapore and the hotel management on his stay in the hotel as well as an additional statement from my partner stating why he was staying in a hotel for a year and all his expenses (food, laundry, taxi rides in Singapore) all paid for. We could possibly request for the laundry receipts from the hotel (do you think that helps the case?) which will obviously state that there were men and women's clothing sent for cleaning.

Please let us know your thoughts and in the meantime, happy easter!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Peachtart -
> 
> Thanks for the additional details. The additional statement from others at the hotel would be helpful, but also remember that the 12 months they will be looking for evidence of living together is the 12 months immediately prior to application - from what you wrote, it sounds like you may not have been living together during this period - that could make a defacto partner visa application difficult to be approved as visiting every 2-3 months may not be seen as living together by DIBP. Again, this would all depend on the specific circumstances of you, your partner, and your relationship - I would need to look at all of your relationship evidence to give you any sort of specific advice for your case.
> 
> Re: statements, we always recommend 6-10 statements total including the statements by the applicant and sponsor. This is true especially if the other relationship evidence may be weak or not strongly supportive of the relationship and application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peachtart -

Thanks for the details - given that the 12 months prior to application will be the focus of the living together requirement, it still seems like it may be difficult to show this was the case especially as most of your actual living together time in the hotel was outside that period. You've traveled together, etc, but the key is providing evidence that shows that the relationship was much more than girlfriend/boyfriend and rose to the level of defacto partners - basically like being married without the marriage certificate.

You could certainly try the application as-is, however to increase your chances of establishing a defacto relationship you may want to put in more living together time (not just travel visits & holidays) and then claim that the living together time is a continuation of the previous (hotel) living together time, and that the time in between where you weren't physically together was temporary in nature - by having significant living together time on either side of that period, it might increase the chances that that time will be seen as a temporary time apart - although the duration of that time (almost a year?) may still present a challenge.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



peachtart said:


> Glad to hear from you, Mark.
> 
> We weren't aware that the 12 months living together has to be immediately prior to the application. We thought it was just fulfilling the 12 months consecutively in general (when we read the fact sheets about the de facto requirements). We took about 6 months (after my partner left Singapore in June 2013) to gather all the documents for the visa application and in fact, we thought it would have been better (though very tough) that we are living apart and making every effort to visit each other and skype every night.
> 
> Anyway, here are more information which may help you better advise us...
> 
> We met in May 2012 and were in a relationship a month later in June 2012. Since then, we have lived together in the hotel in Singapore until June 2013 when my partner had to go back to work in Melbourne as the parts of the project is completed. Aside from the frequent visit (once every 2-3 months), when the opportunities arise, my partner would fly to Singapore for his work (which we've stated in our statements).
> 
> During the period we are living together, evidences we've submitted are:
> 
> Several overseas trip - expenses of hotels and flights (not all, selective ones)
> Photos of weddings we've attended - my brother's and colleague's
> Photos of our overseas trips - we bought photos bought from the water-theme park we've gone to, etc.
> Our email correspondence discussing about our overseas trip (e.g. hotels, flights) and selectively our random email correspondence about interesting news we've read or work
> Will be submitting - online purchases I've bought and sent to the hotel
> Will be submitting - receipts of flowers and chocolates he had sent to my office
> Will be submitting - cards he had written to me on valentine's day, etc.
> 
> Whilst we were apart (between June 2013 to date), documents we've submitted to prove that our relationship is on-going:-
> 
> Travel proof to Melbourne from me and travel tickets to Singapore from my partner - spending Christmas, his birthday together, etc. We alternate the payment of the flight regardless of whether he flies to Singapore or I fly to Melbourne.
> Email exchanges between the hotel's manager and my partner stating his personal visit to Singapore and booking the room under both our names.
> Our email correspondence discussing about road trips in Melbourne (we went to the Grampians last Christmas and included the email correspondence between the lodge owner and us on the deposits and payment, etc.) and selective email exchanges between my partner and I
> Skype logs
> In terms of shared finances - aside from the alternate payment of our flights to visit each other while we are apart, we have also provided proofs like: he paid for the Grampian's lodging while I paid for his hotel when he was here in Singapore (this was also arranged to avoid unnecessary foreign exchange charges to our credit cards).
> Photos and wedding card addressed to us when I flew to Melbourne to attend a friend's wedding together
> Will be submitting - emails from ASOS that I've sent my purchases to Melbourne. Addressed to me (once) and the rest is addressed to him. The reason why I've started addressing it to him is because the mails always get carded to the post shop and he'll have to prove his identity to pick up the mail.
> Will be submitting - Invoice of flowers he sent to my office on Valentine's Day
> 
> These are pretty much what we've provided for our application so far. We understand we will have to provide more inputs regarding the nature of the household (which we will) despite the fact that we stayed in the hotel for a year and we will also include that for when I visit Melbourne (we always spend 2 weeks together during Christmas). As mentioned earlier, we are also adding a few more 888's from his family, stat dec from the people in Singapore and the hotel management on his stay in the hotel as well as an additional statement from my partner stating why he was staying in a hotel for a year and all his expenses (food, laundry, taxi rides in Singapore) all paid for. We could possibly request for the laundry receipts from the hotel (do you think that helps the case?) which will obviously state that there were men and women's clothing sent for cleaning.
> 
> Please let us know your thoughts and in the meantime, happy easter!


----------



## bazidkhan

Dear Mark,

My this question is related to TRA skill assessment.... The TRA provides two types of assessment out come for general skilled migration program i.e... one is MSA(migration skills assessment) and 2nd one MPA(migration points advice). 
I have got the first one i.e MSA in which it is mentioned" that you should enquire from DIBP that whether you required MPA or not? if yes you apply for MPA to TRA, however, final authority of giving points to a candidate is with DIBP staff.
now i have no contacts of DIBP staff as i dont know CO is allotted or not?
Beside this I have also enquired from TRA but they always reply to contact DIBP to confirm it.
Sir i have applied already for 489 visa on last 20th Feb 2014 with 8 years exp and a Diploma qualification and TRA skill assessment letter MSA..
Please advice me that do i need migration points advice letter from TRA or it is not not necessary ? 
Many many Thanks Sir..


----------



## thomasvo

Hi Mark

I plan to apply for NSW Sponsorship in july when the new financial year starts and hopefully my profession (system administrator 262113) will be on the list like it was last year.
I already have my ACS skill assessment (positive) and my IELTS is done as well (7.5 lowest score).
I have 55 points + 5 potential points for sponsorship.

How does NSW decide who to sponsor? Do they look at the points? Do you have more of a chance of getting sponsored if you have 65 points compared to when you have 60?
Or do they look at your experience in the job? (I have almost 4.5 years of experience in the job of which almost 2,5 is recognized by ACS.This is not enough to claim points for experience but I have 55 points without the sponsorship)

Thanks in advance!

Thomas


----------



## unfortunate

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Unfortunate -
> 
> Sorry to hear of your bad experience with a fraudulent agent. Sadly, yours is only one of many experiences we hear about from unregistered agents who operate free of any legal control, knowledge requirements, etc - it's a worldwide rip-off industry, tempting people with unrealistic information about how "easy it is" to get a visa, taking their money, then wrecking their lives with broken promises and poorly prepared applications that, when refused, leave their victims with a permanent black mark with immigration officials.
> 
> The good news is that based on what you've written, as long as you disclose what happened with the refusal, etc, I don't see how that would negatively impact your Australian migration chances unless it was only one of a number of things that, added together, made the you seem to be not a genuine applicant for migration to Australia. A person's immigration history is certainly considered in many types of Australian visas, but a single refusal based on bad info provided by a fraudulent agent is not something that, by itself, would seem to be something that would rise to the level of being a cause for refusal.
> 
> Hope this helps, and best of luck with your application!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I truly appreciate your prompt response. Sorry for bothering u again.

As mentioned earlier, that was the only mishap ever happened to me in my immigration history. Apart from that all clean & clear!

Due to my dreadful past experience, I have decided not to trust a stranger anymore & therefore, submitted my Oz visa application through an agent who is credible & registered with OMARA.

He has given me a green signal while submitting my application & tried to convince me then there won't be any issue as long as I am declaring everything & providing true information to the DIBP.

My work experience and qualification can easily be verified. Further, I can justify my claims for the points in the EOI.

Although, I had to pay alot extra for hiring a registered agent but at least I can breathe a sigh of relief that my case is progressing in the right direction.

As, I believe u r the guru of agents kindly advise what r the chances that my visa application would smoothly go through? and would I be able to get a grant?

Thanx!


----------



## unfortunate

Hi Mark,

I truly appreciate your prompt response. Sorry for bothering u again.

As mentioned earlier, that was the only mishap ever happened to me in my immigration history. Apart from that all clean & clear!

Due to my dreadful past experience, I have decided not to trust a stranger anymore & therefore, submitted my Oz visa application through an agent who is credible & registered with OMARA.

He has given me a green signal while submitting my application & tried to convince me then there won't be any issue as long as I am declaring everything & providing true information to the DIBP.

My work experience and qualification can easily be verified. Further, I can justify my claims for the points in the EOI.

Although, I had to pay alot extra for hiring a registered agent but at least I can breathe a sigh of relief that my case is progressing in the right direction.

As, I believe u r the guru of agents kindly advise what r the chances that my visa application would smoothly go through? and would I be able to get a grant?

Thanx!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Unfortunate -

Without seeing your application, I would not be able to comment on the chances of success - probably better to direct that question to the agent you chose to handle your application - after all, that's what you are paying him for!

Best of luck with your application -

Best,

Mark Northam



unfortunate said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I truly appreciate your prompt response. Sorry for bothering u again.
> 
> As mentioned earlier, that was the only mishap ever happened to me in my immigration history. Apart from that all clean & clear!
> 
> Due to my dreadful past experience, I have decided not to trust a stranger anymore & therefore, submitted my Oz visa application through an agent who is credible & registered with OMARA.
> 
> He has given me a green signal while submitting my application & tried to convince me then there won't be any issue as long as I am declaring everything & providing true information to the DIBP.
> 
> My work experience and qualification can easily be verified. Further, I can justify my claims for the points in the EOI.
> 
> Although, I had to pay alot extra for hiring a registered agent but at least I can breathe a sigh of relief that my case is progressing in the right direction.
> 
> As, I believe u r the guru of agents kindly advise what r the chances that my visa application would smoothly go through? and would I be able to get a grant?
> 
> Thanx!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thomas -

NSW (as well as the other states) do not publish all of their selection criteria, however I believe points and work experience both play an important part in being selected, however in many cases I've seen points make a big difference - ie, higher points score, better chance of state sponsorship selection.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thomasvo said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I plan to apply for NSW Sponsorship in july when the new financial year starts and hopefully my profession (system administrator 262113) will be on the list like it was last year.
> I already have my ACS skill assessment (positive) and my IELTS is done as well (7.5 lowest score).
> I have 55 points + 5 potential points for sponsorship.
> 
> How does NSW decide who to sponsor? Do they look at the points? Do you have more of a chance of getting sponsored if you have 65 points compared to when you have 60?
> Or do they look at your experience in the job? (I have almost 4.5 years of experience in the job of which almost 2,5 is recognized by ACS.This is not enough to claim points for experience but I have 55 points without the sponsorship)
> 
> Thanks in advance!
> 
> Thomas


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bazidkhan -

Generally the points advice letter is not necessary unless specifically requested by the case officer, or if there is some doubt as to whether a particular diploma or other qualification is equivalent to an Australian qualification. Normally the MSA is fine for migration - separate points test not needed unless there is a dispute re: points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bazidkhan said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> My this question is related to TRA skill assessment.... The TRA provides two types of assessment out come for general skilled migration program i.e... one is MSA(migration skills assessment) and 2nd one MPA(migration points advice).
> I have got the first one i.e MSA in which it is mentioned" that you should enquire from DIBP that whether you required MPA or not? if yes you apply for MPA to TRA, however, final authority of giving points to a candidate is with DIBP staff.
> now i have no contacts of DIBP staff as i dont know CO is allotted or not?
> Beside this I have also enquired from TRA but they always reply to contact DIBP to confirm it.
> Sir i have applied already for 489 visa on last 20th Feb 2014 with 8 years exp and a Diploma qualification and TRA skill assessment letter MSA..
> Please advice me that do i need migration points advice letter from TRA or it is not not necessary ?
> Many many Thanks Sir..


----------



## nebodyhome

Hi Mark,
Really appreciate you giving advice on this website, applying for a visa is stressful!
I am Australian and my partner is british, we applied for a 309 offshore de-facto visa in Nov last year through AHC in London.
So far we've been asked for police checks and medicals. My partner does have a minor criminal record from over 15 years ago (which still seems to be acceptable with regards to the character requirements on the immi website) , we were asked to provide more information about that about a month ago and we provided an extensive statement and positive references about a month ago. Since the offence 15 years ago he hasn't had so much as a speeding ticket.
The High commission are currently quoting 8-9 months, what's your experience? are they taking the full 9 months? Do you think his criminal history is going to delay the application significantly?

Really appreciate your time.


----------



## nebodyhome

Also, if for any reason they decided to reject the application (although we went through a credible agent who used to work with the department) do they normally notify you of this fairly quickly or is it possible to wait the whole 9 months to then get a rejection letter? 
Thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nebodyhome -

Thanks for the question. It's very difficult these days to predict DIBP processing times as DIBP offers only very rough estimates. We're seeing anywhere from 8 to 12 months on offshore partner visas typically, but some go faster than that and some take longer - again, very hard to predict. Normally the time is the same if it is refused or granted.

It sounds like you've given them everything they need and more in response to their questions - I'd just be attentive to any further questions they ask, and if it goes past 9 months, you might enquire as to whether they need any further documentation or information, etc.

Hope this helps - best of luck with your application -

Best,

Mark Northam



nebodyhome said:


> Also, if for any reason they decided to reject the application (although we went through a credible agent who used to work with the department) do they normally notify you of this fairly quickly or is it possible to wait the whole 9 months to then get a rejection letter?
> Thanks again


----------



## dipiksg82

Dear Sir, 

You have been a guiding light for many applicants like me who have doubts or concerns about their applications and you providing this valuable guidance promptly without charging any fees is an exemplary example of self less service to society. 

I an writing you to get guidance regarding a concern. 

My occupation is assessed as positive by vetassess and have cleared Ielts with 7 bands each however, the state's nominating my occupation have ceased nomination approvals till July 2014. One of my friends have suggested that if I were to apply for Northern Territory and provide them with statements that I will be able to find a job in an occupation which is closely related to my occupation by vetassess then there are chances Northern Territory will sponsor me for 190 category! 

Is this true because my occupation doesn't show up on NT Sol. 

Requesting you to help to get a clear picture on this. 

Regards 

Dipika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dipika -

Thanks for the kind words!

It is true that NT has a special provision where if you can show "positive employment prospects" for yourself in an occupation that is on the CSOL list, but not on the NT Skilled Migration Plan (SMP) list, they will consider your application. Details on that here:

Skilled Regional Nominated (Provisional) (Subclass 489) visa & Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) visa - Australia's Northern Territory

My suggestion would be to contact the NT Skilled Migration dept to ensure that this program is still ongoing and get any specific guidance they might be able to give you on what types of evidence they are looking for to show the "positive employment prospects" they refer to, then see if that's a good fit for your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dipiksg82 said:


> Dear Sir,
> 
> You have been a guiding light for many applicants like me who have doubts or concerns about their applications and you providing this valuable guidance promptly without charging any fees is an exemplary example of self less service to society.
> 
> I an writing you to get guidance regarding a concern.
> 
> My occupation is assessed as positive by vetassess and have cleared Ielts with 7 bands each however, the state's nominating my occupation have ceased nomination approvals till July 2014. One of my friends have suggested that if I were to apply for Northern Territory and provide them with statements that I will be able to find a job in an occupation which is closely related to my occupation by vetassess then there are chances Northern Territory will sponsor me for 190 category!
> 
> Is this true because my occupation doesn't show up on NT Sol.
> 
> Requesting you to help to get a clear picture on this.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Dipika


----------



## bazidkhan

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bazidkhan -
> 
> Generally the points advice letter is not necessary unless specifically requested by the case officer, or if there is some doubt as to whether a particular diploma or other qualification is equivalent to an Australian qualification. Normally the MSA is fine for migration - separate points test not needed unless there is a dispute re: points.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


God bless you Mark.. You are more than an angel as you are helping us every time.. Thank you once again


----------



## dharabaskar

*ACS - Degree*

Hi Mark,

I found your responses are really helpful and accurate. This is regard to my degree incorrectly mentioned in ACS letter.

I had applied ACS for "Analyst Programmer", my degree has been mentioned in the ACS letter as "Bachelor of Computer Science" however my actual degree is "Bachelor of Computer Applications".

When enquired to the agent, she said not to bother about it as both are same for immigration purposes. I believe it so, but will this make any impact in future?

Thanks
VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I can't see how it would make a difference - if the case officer asked questions later on, you can show them the degree documents, etc. DIBP normally defers to the skills assessor (ACS in your case) in terms of whether a degree is relevant to your occupation, and to its equivalence to an Australian degree.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I found your responses are really helpful and accurate. This is regard to my degree incorrectly mentioned in ACS letter.
> 
> I had applied ACS for "Analyst Programmer", my degree has been mentioned in the ACS letter as "Bachelor of Computer Science" however my actual degree is "Bachelor of Computer Applications".
> 
> When enquired to the agent, she said not to bother about it as both are same for immigration purposes. I believe it so, but will this make any impact in future?
> 
> Thanks
> VJ


----------



## Sebastian8812

*Resuming_PR_Visa_Finalisation-By_DIBP*

Hi Mark,
I see this website as a wonderful migration source for public like me. Thank you for your service. I would like to have a query regarding my status. I have applied for Skilled nominated visa (subclass 190) last February 2014 and I cleared my medicals. The next day, I received an email from my case officer saying that since there are only a limited places left for this program year 2013-2014 under skilled visa category, my application may take a longer processing time to be finalised and so can't predict the actual time frame. This single message has spoiled all my plans and some precious months of my life. Very much frustrated I am.

Does this literally mean, they will only finalize my visa after July 2014? Are the 'longer processing time' words just an eye wash or I may get anytime before July? Kindly please reply me.

Thank you so much.


----------



## dharabaskar

Thanks Mark, i feel more relieved now.

Regards
VJ



MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> I can't see how it would make a difference - if the case officer asked questions later on, you can show them the degree documents, etc. DIBP normally defers to the skills assessor (ACS in your case) in terms of whether a degree is relevant to your occupation, and to its equivalence to an Australian degree.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## uniextra

Hi Mark,

Im gathering all the documents to present to you on a Skype call. i have two more questions.

1- ACS will deduct 2 years of exp since i have not studied in AU, can i claim the full experience pint on DIBP (including this 2 years)?

2- the 5 points asignated by wife, does she need to have her nomination on CSOL for the same place i'm applying? or this points are just awarded for her being skilled with education ?

Thanks for the help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uniextra -

Re#1 - No. You can only claim points for experience ACS deems as "skilled", which generally is work after whatever years (if any) ACS deducts from an applicant's work experience - this is based on their assessment of the educational qualification. For non-RPL applications, ACS takes the qualification completion date, then subtracts work experience (or not, according to their summary of qualifications rules), then sets a "deeming date" at the end of that period (ie, qualification completion + 2 years of work experience). The ACS report will read "The following work after xx/xx/xxxx is considered skilled" - the date in that would be your deeming date, and any work after that date can be claimed for points assuming it meets DIBP requirements (ie, DIBP now often requires proof of payment for the work such as tax records, payslips, etc).

Re #2 - In order to get partner points, the partner must have a positive skills assessment for an occupation on the same list as the primary applicants's, and must qualify in terms of age (< 50 at time of invitation) and IELTS (at least 6 on all bands unless higher required by skills assessment authority for partner's occupation).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



uniextra said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Im gathering all the documents to present to you on a Skype call. i have two more questions.
> 
> 1- ACS will deduct 2 years of exp since i have not studied in AU, can i claim the full experience pint on DIBP (including this 2 years)?
> 
> 2- the 5 points asignated by wife, does she need to have her nomination on CSOL for the same place i'm applying? or this points are just awarded for her being skilled with education ?
> 
> Thanks for the help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sebastian -

Thanks for the note. Given 190 visas may take 9 months (or more) to process, this isn't unusual. Quotas and place allowances are filling quickly at this time of the year, and sometimes they have to push approval of a visa to after 1 July when the new program year begins. Also affects fiance visas in some locales (Philippines especially).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sebastian8812 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I see this website as a wonderful migration source for public like me. Thank you for your service. I would like to have a query regarding my status. I have applied for Skilled nominated visa (subclass 190) last February 2014 and I cleared my medicals. The next day, I received an email from my case officer saying that since there are only a limited places left for this program year 2013-2014 under skilled visa category, my application may take a longer processing time to be finalised and so can't predict the actual time frame. This single message has spoiled all my plans and some precious months of my life. Very much frustrated I am.
> 
> Does this literally mean, they will only finalize my visa after July 2014? Are the 'longer processing time' words just an eye wash or I may get anytime before July? Kindly please reply me.
> 
> Thank you so much.


----------



## uniextra

MarkNortham said:


> H
> 
> Re #2 - In order to get partner points, the partner must have a positive skills assessment for an occupation on the same list as the primary applicants's, and must qualify in terms of age (< 50 at time of invitation) and IELTS (at least 6 on all bands unless higher required by skills assessment authority for partner's occupation).


Hi, just to be clear, i will apply for Vicoria visa under ICT project manager. 
Her occupation should be also within the ones Victoria sponsor, or just under CSOL?

Thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uniextra -

Since partner is not being sponsored, partner's occupation does not need to be on the state sponsorship list for the state you are applying to (unless that state requires it, which I haven't seen before). Partner points is assessed by DIBP. That being said, I don't know enough about your case to give you specific advice at this point so please consider this general advice rather than any specific advice based on your case - thanks!

Best,

Mark Northam



uniextra said:


> Hi, just to be clear, i will apply for Vicoria visa under ICT project manager.
> Her occupation should be also within the ones Victoria sponsor, or just under CSOL?
> 
> Thanks again


----------



## Juckie

Hi Mark,

I am currently applying for a 457 Visa. I am struggling to get one of my former employers, HSBC bank in the UK, to respond to any of my requests for a basic reference. I've emailed them three times and i'm now running out of time. The bank account i had at the time of working there has been closed so i cannot provide bank statements with proof of salary. Should i just submit a stat dec relating to that period of employment? Is it common for people not to be able to obtain a reference from each employer?

I'd appreciate any suggestions.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jukie -

Thanks for the note. Often payslips, etc are not required for work references for a 457 visa, but are commonly required for a skilled visa application where you are claiming points for the work. If you're unable to get them to provide a written reference, suggest you create a document with a note saying you tried but were unable to get a reference as they did not respond to your emails, and then include as much identifying info about the job as you can in that document - date(s) worked, position(s), duties, plus direct contact information for anyone still at the company who can confirm your work there. If nobody's left at the company, ex-employees might be helpful, but that's probably a stretch.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Juckie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently applying for a 457 Visa. I am struggling to get one of my former employers, HSBC bank in the UK, to respond to any of my requests for a basic reference. I've emailed them three times and i'm now running out of time. The bank account i had at the time of working there has been closed so i cannot provide bank statements with proof of salary. Should i just submit a stat dec relating to that period of employment? Is it common for people not to be able to obtain a reference from each employer?
> 
> I'd appreciate any suggestions.


----------



## Juckie

Thanks Mark, that's great.

One more quick question - Will it make any difference if i submit the 457 application only a few days before my working holiday visa runs out? I've held off waiting on documents from the UK and i'm cutting it pretty fine. Will the bridging visa come into effect automatically?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jukie -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Often payslips, etc are not required for work references for a 457 visa, but are commonly required for a skilled visa application where you are claiming points for the work. If you're unable to get them to provide a written reference, suggest you create a document with a note saying you tried but were unable to get a reference as they did not respond to your emails, and then include as much identifying info about the job as you can in that document - date(s) worked, position(s), duties, plus direct contact information for anyone still at the company who can confirm your work there. If nobody's left at the company, ex-employees might be helpful, but that's probably a stretch.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## manenough00

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Manenough00 -
> 
> If you applied through a registered migration agent, he/she should take care of all of this for you - that's what you're paying him/her for! Suggest you contact your agent and request that they assist you with this - best not to contact DIBP directly if you have an agent - some agents are not pleased with that as it can create confusion as to who DIBP should contact back - agent or client, etc.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

I asked my agent to take care of this passport update and he said he sent form 929 and details of new passport to my co on 10th April. However, when I checked my VEVO status on 21st April it still shows mt old passport number and I had to log on using my old passport no. Any suggestion?


----------



## sgowande

Hi Mark,

I am going to apply for PR visa.
I would be going ahead with ACS skills assessment, which requires providing the employment references.
Since it is not possible for me to provide the experience letter from my current employer, I am thinking of doing an affidavit with help of work colleague.
My question here is that during the background checks will the ACS contact the person whose reference I have given or will they contact my current employer?
Ideally i would prefer my current employer not to be getting aware of this that i am going ahead with PR.

Thanks & Regards,
SG


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Juckie -

I'd give it at least a week. Normally bridging visas for 457 applications lodged online are auto-generated as soon as you lodge, but sometimes things can cause a delay. I've lodged within a couple of days of expiration of the previous visa in cases where there was no other choice, but hate to cut it that close if there's another option.

Best,

Mark Northam



Juckie said:


> Thanks Mark, that's great.
> 
> One more quick question - Will it make any difference if i submit the 457 application only a few days before my working holiday visa runs out? I've held off waiting on documents from the UK and i'm cutting it pretty fine. Will the bridging visa come into effect automatically?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

VEVO often does not show changes made after a visa has come into effect, since those are rare anyway. Expect you are OK as long as agent lodged the form. If you are in doubt, you could visit a DIBP office and ask at the counter for them to check your passport against your current visa.

Best,

Mark Northam



manenough00 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I asked my agent to take care of this passport update and he said he sent form 929 and details of new passport to my co on 10th April. However, when I checked my VEVO status on 21st April it still shows mt old passport number and I had to log on using my old passport no. Any suggestion?


----------



## pomwantingtomove

Hi Mark,

I thought I read somewhere that once your visa is granted (189/190) and you enter the country that you have to stay for 2 years...but in my previous question you said that this is not the case. Could you just confirm for me that once the visa is granted I could just take a short holiday there to activate the visa and then return to the UK until ready to emigrate permanently?

Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SG -

Normally if you do not provide a work reference from an employer and instead provide a statutory declaration (sworn statement) from a work colleague, if ACS contacts anyone they will contact the witness who wrote the statement. I haven't heard of a case where ACS has contacted an employer in these circumstances, but would not rule it out entirely, especially if ACS were to suspect that the work colleague statement was not genuine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sgowande said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am going to apply for PR visa.
> I would be going ahead with ACS skills assessment, which requires providing the employment references.
> Since it is not possible for me to provide the experience letter from my current employer, I am thinking of doing an affidavit with help of work colleague.
> My question here is that during the background checks will the ACS contact the person whose reference I have given or will they contact my current employer?
> Ideally i would prefer my current employer not to be getting aware of this that i am going ahead with PR.
> 
> Thanks & Regards,
> SG


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

That should work. The 2 years comes into play when, after your initial 5 year PR period ends, you want to renew your PR by getting a Resident Return Visa (RRV) - if you have been in Australia for 24 months during the previous 5 years, you can generally get a 5 year RRV without an issue. If not, then you can only go for a 1 year RRV and the requirements are more difficult to meet. Also, if you plan on sponsoring your parents, etc you need to be "settled" in Australia, which generally is interpreted as being here for 2 years as a PR. So no problem I see activating your visa, then coming back later after a vacation. Just keep an eye on the 2 years / 5 years situation above.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pomwantingtomove said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I thought I read somewhere that once your visa is granted (189/190) and you enter the country that you have to stay for 2 years...but in my previous question you said that this is not the case. Could you just confirm for me that once the visa is granted I could just take a short holiday there to activate the visa and then return to the UK until ready to emigrate permanently?
> 
> Kind regards


----------



## sureshsk

Hi Mark , 

I am planning to go for ACS assessment for System Administrator.

My query is regarding my education and work experience . 

Education : 3 year Diploma in Electronics and Communication Engineering Approved by AICTE INDIA. 

7 years of work experience in IT as system administrator .

Query :??
Will I be able to claim any points for my education 
How much point I can claim for my experience 

If my education is not considered as eligible , then they say that 5 years of experience can replace formal education , in that case then how much point I will get for my experience .


----------



## leena666

Hi Mark

I lodge my onshore Partner visa(de facto) online on 13 April this month but I just realized there maybe some problem ,hope you can help.

We started the de facto relationshp since 5/3/2013 and there are 2 months apart from 01/2014 to 03/2014 due to my student visa expired and I have to go back my country to apply for the working holiday visa (I can't apply in Oz) and come back Oz. My partner didn't come with me because he was looking for job .Anyway I provide the converstion record of "whatsApp" of the 2 months apart to them. 

Is the reason good enough for us live apart for 2 months?Do they accept that ? I know it seems a bit too late to ask because I lodge my application already but just want to know are there anything I can do at the momnet ?So concern ...

Thanks


----------



## John Pook

*Visas and immigration*

Hi Mark, my partner and I will be married in Thailand and as a married couple we plan to live some of the time in Thailand, some of the time in Australia and time apart in our respective counties of citizenship. My partner is not really wanting to become a permanent resident of Australia, however, may want to say up to 12 months on occasions. Would she be able to successfully apply for a 309 Temporary visa? Regards John


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John -

Short of a visitor visa (or multiple visas), you're probably looking at a partner visa to spend that much time in Australia, unless you're looking at a student visa, etc. For partner visas, all initial applications must be combined applications (are automatically) - for offshore it's the 309 provisional partner visa plus the 100 permanent partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



John Pook said:


> Hi Mark, my partner and I will be married in Thailand and as a married couple we plan to live some of the time in Thailand, some of the time in Australia and time apart in our respective counties of citizenship. My partner is not really wanting to become a permanent resident of Australia, however, may want to say up to 12 months on occasions. Would she be able to successfully apply for a 309 Temporary visa? Regards John


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leena666 -

Best way to deal with this could be to term the time apart as "temporary time apart" and show how you both maintained your belongings at a single residence even when physically apart. Additionally, you could register your relationship in the Australian state that you live in if allowed - registration is still acceptable to submit up until the point a decision is made on a partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leena666 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I lodge my onshore Partner visa(de facto) online on 13 April this month but I just realized there maybe some problem ,hope you can help.
> 
> We started the de facto relationshp since 5/3/2013 and there are 2 months apart from 01/2014 to 03/2014 due to my student visa expired and I have to go back my country to apply for the working holiday visa (I can't apply in Oz) and come back Oz. My partner didn't come with me because he was looking for job .Anyway I provide the converstion record of "whatsApp" of the 2 months apart to them.
> 
> Is the reason good enough for us live apart for 2 months?Do they accept that ? I know it seems a bit too late to ask because I lodge my application already but just want to know are there anything I can do at the momnet ?So concern ...
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sureshsk -

Thanks for the note. I don't have enough information about your case in order to give you specific answers to your questions - the key is how ACS will assess your qualification - that will determine the number of years of experience that ACS will "take" before they deem you as skilled. They will closely look at your transcript, etc to assess the relevance of your degree to your occupation AND how the degree aligns with the AQF (Australian) system - in your case, whether it will be considered a Bachelor or less than a Bachelor degree. If the degree is assessed by ACS as unrelated or less than a Bachelor, then you may want to look at the RPL option where the degree is ignored and more experience is taken - but again, it all comes down to how ACS treats your degree - very difficult to predict in advance.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sureshsk said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> I am planning to go for ACS assessment for System Administrator.
> 
> My query is regarding my education and work experience .
> 
> Education : 3 year Diploma in Electronics and Communication Engineering Approved by AICTE INDIA.
> 
> 7 years of work experience in IT as system administrator .
> 
> Query :??
> Will I be able to claim any points for my education
> How much point I can claim for my experience
> 
> If my education is not considered as eligible , then they say that 5 years of experience can replace formal education , in that case then how much point I will get for my experience .


----------



## Scott1984

Hello Mark,

Trust things are good, I am planning to go for a PR Subclass 189, ICT Business Analyst. However i am not able to go ahead due to some confusion i am listing below:

I am able to get the following breakup of points:

*Age: 30 pts*

*IELTS: 10 Pts*

The real confusion starts here:

Facts: 
- I have a total experience of *6 yrs as an ICT business analyst.*
- Graduation in non engineering (BMS from mumbai uni) - only some content of computers in the cource
- Post graduation (MBA) - less than 30% ICT content

Confusion:

- If i send my experience and qualifications for ACS assessment, I am sure they will consider it for minor or RPL (in both these cases they would reduce 2 years from my experience and there i would be awarded *only 5 points*)

- *Also can i get my graduation assessed from a different authority to claim 15 points for graduation *?

If i am able to get the above points, only then i would be able to file and assessment.

Appreciate all the help Mark !


----------



## Vivian

Hi Mark,

May I know what is the 'visa date of effect' shown on the report at Skillselect website?


----------



## Carrot

*820 to 187*

Hi Mark,

Hopefully you can help me with some of my questions. 
At this stage it seems the only way I could get my questions answered is to hire an agent which I can`t afford to do - haven`t got any information from the Immigration offices, they tell me to go online and from online I can`t find any information. 
My story basically is that I had an Australian partner who I have applied for a De Facto visa 1,5 years ago but have just split up with. My work has offered to sponsor me. I`d like to to apply for 187 RSMS - it seems like the best option for me. I don`t have to apply for a temporary 457 because I`m already on a temporary 820 visa and I can apply for a permanent 187 RSMS because I live in a certain rural area and have a certain skill - customer service management, and will get 3 years of reference letters from old bosses to prove I have worked in a similar (supervisor, assistant manager) position so the new visa 187 choice should be correct.
I haven`t told anyone about the break up and therefore am really confused what to do next.
Should I call Immigration first thing (I should I know this but it`s not that easy if you do not have a clear idea what`s going to happen next with you) and let them know about my break up and then tell my boss to nominate me to the new 187 visa and then wait to put in an application?? How long do I have time to apply for a new visa then? 
Is there a big chance they will refuse my application because I have cancelled already one visa? 
Could you please give me some advice where to start. I have done my homework and have a good idea already what to do when I apply for 187 RSMS and what documents to provide but I`m just really scared I will just waste 4000$ and will still get rejected. Obviously you have experience with those kind of situations so kindly help me out any way you can 
Thank you so much in advance,
M.


----------



## dharabaskar

*Availability of State Sponsorship*

Hi Mark,

I have total score of 55 as i couldn't score 7 in all sections (7.5, 6, 6.5, 7). I understand that i will not be able to apply for SS because all states have suspended the SS for up-to June 2014. Is my understanding correct?

Thanks
VJ


----------



## JazzyB

Hi Mark
Thanks in advance, I am thinking of applying for 189 visa and I submitted my EOI.
I live in Melbourne with my wife and elder daughter, but my younger daughter is offshore. Can I add her and make a combined application or I have to get my visa first and add her later?
Please help...!!!


----------



## Juckie

*457 Application*

Hi Mark,

Sorry, this is my third question in as many days. I'm about to submit my application so hopefully it will be my last!
I'm currently on a working holiday visa and cannot find my 'visa number' anywhere to provide in the current Australian visa section of the 457 app. The WH visa was issued electronically and has the following, none of which are accepted in the visa number field.

- Permission Request Id
- Client id
- TRN

Any ideas?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivian -

Thanks for the question. The "visa date of effect" is essentially the "queue date" of your EOI. It's the last date that a change was made to your EOI which resulted in a change in points. If you make a change that does not change your points (such as an address update, etc) that may change the "last updated" date of your EOI, but your "visa date of effect" won't change for non-points changes. For people with the same occupation and same points score, invitations are issued in date order based on the visa date of effect (older dates = first applications, etc). Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vivian said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> May I know what is the 'visa date of effect' shown on the report at Skillselect website?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Scott -

Suggest you look carefully at the RPL requirements at ACS - they can require 6 years of work experience (or more). If you do an RPL assessment at ACS, they will not assess your degree - in that case you can have VETASSESS do a points test advice letter on your degree(s) to see what the AQF equivalent of your degrees is - that will then determine how many points you can claim for qualifications if ACS does not assess your degrees.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Scott1984 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Trust things are good, I am planning to go for a PR Subclass 189, ICT Business Analyst. However i am not able to go ahead due to some confusion i am listing below:
> 
> I am able to get the following breakup of points:
> 
> *Age: 30 pts*
> 
> *IELTS: 10 Pts*
> 
> The real confusion starts here:
> 
> Facts:
> - I have a total experience of *6 yrs as an ICT business analyst.*
> - Graduation in non engineering (BMS from mumbai uni) - only some content of computers in the cource
> - Post graduation (MBA) - less than 30% ICT content
> 
> Confusion:
> 
> - If i send my experience and qualifications for ACS assessment, I am sure they will consider it for minor or RPL (in both these cases they would reduce 2 years from my experience and there i would be awarded *only 5 points*)
> 
> - *Also can i get my graduation assessed from a different authority to claim 15 points for graduation *?
> 
> If i am able to get the above points, only then i would be able to file and assessment.
> 
> Appreciate all the help Mark !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dharabaskar -

As far as I know some states are still open in limited occupations and circumstances - would urge you to check each state site for current info - they are always changing (!)

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have total score of 55 as i couldn't score 7 in all sections (7.5, 6, 6.5, 7). I understand that i will not be able to apply for SS because all states have suspended the SS for up-to June 2014. Is my understanding correct?
> 
> Thanks
> VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JazzyB -

In many cases you can include a dependent child in your visa application - would need permission of both parents, etc. If daughter is 18 or older, a number of special rules apply re: establishing dependency. If/when you receive an invitation to apply for the 189, you may want to look into the specific dependent requirements and/or talk to a registered migration agent if you need assistance -

Best,

Mark Northam



JazzyB said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanks in advance, I am thinking of applying for 189 visa and I submitted my EOI.
> I live in Melbourne with my wife and elder daughter, but my younger daughter is offshore. Can I add her and make a combined application or I have to get my visa first and add her later?
> Please help...!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Juckie -

No problem - you can leave the Visa Number field blank if you do not have one on your visa -

Best,

Mark Northam



Juckie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Sorry, this is my third question in as many days. I'm about to submit my application so hopefully it will be my last!
> I'm currently on a working holiday visa and cannot find my 'visa number' anywhere to provide in the current Australian visa section of the 457 app. The WH visa was issued electronically and has the following, none of which are accepted in the visa number field.
> 
> - Permission Request Id
> - Client id
> - TRN
> 
> Any ideas?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi M -

Thanks for the note. This is actually a rather complex situation, as the end result sooner or later will be the cancellation of your subclass 820 visa since the relationship it is based on no longer exists.

In Australia, when one visa is cancelled, it also cancels all other visas you may hold (bridging visas that have not yet activated, etc) and leaves you unlawful - not a good thing - the next step is a Bridging Visa E application and asking for work rights since that visa does not come with one.

I don't know enough about your case to give you specific advice for your circumstances, however you may want to try and get the 187 application (and nomination) lodged ASAP, then tell DIBP about the break-up. However don't wait too long to tell DIBP as that will cause problems if they believe you did not promptly inform them. Once the 187 has been lodged, you will get a bridging visa with that application, however if your 820 is cancelled, it wipes out the 187's unactivated bridging visa as well, leaving you unalwful, etc. Hopefully you can convince DIBP, when you tell them about your situation, to not cancel your 820 and give you some time to let the 187 process (typically 6 months or so), or you might be able to ask the 187 processing people to expedite your application so you don't end up with the 820 cancelled before your 187 decision comes in.

Worst comes to worst, if the 820 is cancelled after the 187 is lodged, you can then apply for a Bridging Visa E, then apply for work rights with a financial hardship claim. Then wait on the BV-E until the 187 decision comes in.

But one way or another, make sure the 187 nom and application are done completely and correctly - the last thing you need is delays or problems with the 187 messing up your timetable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Carrot said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hopefully you can help me with some of my questions.
> At this stage it seems the only way I could get my questions answered is to hire an agent which I can`t afford to do - haven`t got any information from the Immigration offices, they tell me to go online and from online I can`t find any information.
> My story basically is that I had an Australian partner who I have applied for a De Facto visa 1,5 years ago but have just split up with. My work has offered to sponsor me. I`d like to to apply for 187 RSMS - it seems like the best option for me. I don`t have to apply for a temporary 457 because I`m already on a temporary 820 visa and I can apply for a permanent 187 RSMS because I live in a certain rural area and have a certain skill - customer service management, and will get 3 years of reference letters from old bosses to prove I have worked in a similar (supervisor, assistant manager) position so the new visa 187 choice should be correct.
> I haven`t told anyone about the break up and therefore am really confused what to do next.
> Should I call Immigration first thing (I should I know this but it`s not that easy if you do not have a clear idea what`s going to happen next with you) and let them know about my break up and then tell my boss to nominate me to the new 187 visa and then wait to put in an application?? How long do I have time to apply for a new visa then?
> Is there a big chance they will refuse my application because I have cancelled already one visa?
> Could you please give me some advice where to start. I have done my homework and have a good idea already what to do when I apply for 187 RSMS and what documents to provide but I`m just really scared I will just waste 4000$ and will still get rejected. Obviously you have experience with those kind of situations so kindly help me out any way you can
> Thank you so much in advance,
> M.


----------



## shoaibjaved

*887 visa stay out of country*

i am on 475 regional sponsarship visa in WA. I arrived in Bunbury WA on 13 February 2013 and my 2 years residence requirement will be fulfilled on 13 February 2015. I am planning to go for vacations next month for one month to my home country.
My question is that after spending one month, will i still able to apply on 13 February 2015 for 887 visa or i have to wait for one more month to apply for 887 visa because i have heard that if you stay less than 30 days out of Australia than that one month will be included in 2 years time.Please clarify and kindly provide me the source of your info. i shall be very thankful.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

There are no absolute rules on the amount of time you can be outside Australia and not have that time taken from your 2 years, however here's the DIBP policy guidance:

_4.2 Periods spent outside a specified regional Australia

In considering whether an applicant has been living in a specified regional area for at least two years case officers should note that short holidays during which the applicant visits a metropolitan city or travels overseas, do not detract from a period of residence.

For example, an applicant produces evidence that they have resided in a specified regional area from October 2005 until the time they apply for an 887 visa in November 2007. During that period they spent three weeks in 2006 and a further three weeks in 2007 travelling overseas. As this length of absence is not inconsistent with continuing to reside in a specified regional area the applicant satisfies 887.212._

Given this, I'd probably keep each trip outside Australia to under 4 weeks in duration, however if you have only one 4 week trip out over the 2 years, that might work - this is an area where the case officer will have flexibility and can decide within reason how much time is "too much" outside of the country and therefore would be deducted against the 2 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shoaibjaved said:


> i am on 475 regional sponsarship visa in WA. I arrived in Bunbury WA on 13 February 2013 and my 2 years residence requirement will be fulfilled on 13 February 2015. I am planning to go for vacations next month for one month to my home country.
> My question is that after spending one month, will i still able to apply on 13 February 2015 for 887 visa or i have to wait for one more month to apply for 887 visa because i have heard that if you stay less than 30 days out of Australia than that one month will be included in 2 years time.Please clarify and kindly provide me the source of your info. i shall be very thankful.


----------



## shancop

Hi mark

please if you could tell me if any state is sponsoring Electronics Engineering? if not than do you think in future any state will sponsor?

Thanks
Zee


----------



## ashvim

Hi. I am currently applying for state nomination in NT. Am I required to pay any fee for that ? I cannot find such information on their website. Would appreciate your advice on this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zee -

Not currently, but would suggest you check the state sites after 1 July when the new program year starts and the states post the list of occupations they are sponsoring from July 2014 - June 2015. No way to tell what occupations the states might sponsor -

Best,

Mark Northam



shancop said:


> Hi mark
> 
> please if you could tell me if any state is sponsoring Electronics Engineering? if not than do you think in future any state will sponsor?
> 
> Thanks
> Zee


----------



## MarkNortham

You should contact them to confirm as state sponsorship policies tend to change frequently, but I don't believe there currently is an application charge for NT skilled PR visa sponsorship.

Best,

Mark Northam



ashvim said:


> Hi. I am currently applying for state nomination in NT. Am I required to pay any fee for that ? I cannot find such information on their website. Would appreciate your advice on this.


----------



## Vijayendra

Hi Mark,
Can you please help me with the below question? 

I had a query on the EOI that I have submitted for my wife and I was hoping that you would clarify it.

The following are the details of my wife's employment.
a. Company A (Oct 2007 - July 2011)
b. Company B (July 2011 - Aug 2013)

We had these details assessed by the ACS and employment after Oct 2009 was considered as skilled. This would mean that she would get only 5 points under the skilled employment criteria.

However, while submitting an EOI and entering the employment details, the system asks us whether the employment is related to the nominated occupation. In my wife's case, employment in both the companies are within the nominated occupation (even though ACS has only validated employment from Oct 2009 as skilled). This would mean that the entire 5+ years of her work is skilled. This in turn would mean that she would get 10 points for her employment.

How would this application be treated if in case we are invited? Is it safe to apply with this situation? Would it be a problem later if we apply?

Just to let you know, she would get only 55 points if we consider 5 points of employment. However, if we consider the 10 points then it would be 60.

Based on the recent invitation reports, we are expecting an invite in the next round but we are not sure if we can apply without any issues.

Thanks a ton,
Vijayendra.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vijayendra -

Thanks for the question. You cannot claim points for work not performed when deemed as "skilled" by ACS. Suggest you break the work up into skilled and non-skilled (you may want to mark non-skilled work, even in your occupation, as non-relevant so it won't cause points to be calculated for that work). Sometimes this means splitting one period of work into 2 different entries - one as skilled, and the other (for the work before the ACS deeming date) as non-relevant to the occupation so it won't calculate points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vijayendra said:


> Hi Mark,
> Can you please help me with the below question?
> 
> I had a query on the EOI that I have submitted for my wife and I was hoping that you would clarify it.
> 
> The following are the details of my wife's employment.
> a. Company A (Oct 2007 - July 2011)
> b. Company B (July 2011 - Aug 2013)
> 
> We had these details assessed by the ACS and employment after Oct 2009 was considered as skilled. This would mean that she would get only 5 points under the skilled employment criteria.
> 
> However, while submitting an EOI and entering the employment details, the system asks us whether the employment is related to the nominated occupation. In my wife's case, employment in both the companies are within the nominated occupation (even though ACS has only validated employment from Oct 2009 as skilled). This would mean that the entire 5+ years of her work is skilled. This in turn would mean that she would get 10 points for her employment.
> 
> How would this application be treated if in case we are invited? Is it safe to apply with this situation? Would it be a problem later if we apply?
> 
> Just to let you know, she would get only 55 points if we consider 5 points of employment. However, if we consider the 10 points then it would be 60.
> 
> Based on the recent invitation reports, we are expecting an invite in the next round but we are not sure if we can apply without any issues.
> 
> Thanks a ton,
> Vijayendra.


----------



## Vijayendra

Hi Mark,
Thanks a lot for your reply. I now have to update the EOI to segregate the same work exp into skilled and unskilled based on ACS assessment.

Thanks again for your help,
Vijayendra.


----------



## MarkNortham

Glad I could help!

It's frustrating to see people who have prepared applications themselves and had "trusted" the crude points calculator on the EOI site, only to find out later after visa application that the points claimed were incorrect - resulting in either having to withdraw the application and start again or face refusal - either way, thousands of dollars in application fees are lost and months of time and effort. Glad I was able to help you clear up the question well in advance of any visa invitation -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vijayendra said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks a lot for your reply. I now have to update the EOI to segregate the same work exp into skilled and unskilled based on ACS assessment.
> 
> Thanks again for your help,
> Vijayendra.


----------



## dharabaskar

Thanks for the info Mark.

Regards
Vijay



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dharabaskar -
> 
> As far as I know some states are still open in limited occupations and circumstances - would urge you to check each state site for current info - they are always changing (!)
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Mikhail

Hi Mark,

I am currently on a 572 visa which will expire very soon and my employer decided to sponsor me under 457. Is it possible to request an extension of stay here in Australia so that I don't have to do an offshore application of the 457?

Kind regards,

Mikhail


----------



## dharabaskar

Hi Mark,

Can i apply for state sponsorship with Queensland and Victoria at the same time, how many states can i apply for SS at the same time?

I heard that all states have closed SS for IT(Analyst Programmer) professionals as of now, what are the chances of getting SS from the above states meanwhile i continue with my IELTS to score 7, if IELTS results are positive then i can change it to 189.

Is this possible?

Where can i see the latest updates in these websites?

Thanks
Vijay



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dharabaskar -
> 
> As far as I know some states are still open in limited occupations and circumstances - would urge you to check each state site for current info - they are always changing (!)
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mikhail -

Thanks for the note. No way to extend a student visa without enrolling in another course - an expensive way to go! Suggest your employer lodge sponsorship, nomination and visa in that order without waiting for approval - that should generate a bridging visa and as long as you do this before the student visa expires (don't wait for the last day!), assuming the bridging visa is issued prior to the expiration of your student visa, the bridging visa will cover you until they make a decision on the sponsorship, nomination and visa applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mikhail said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently on a 572 visa which will expire very soon and my employer decided to sponsor me under 457. Is it possible to request an extension of stay here in Australia so that I don't have to do an offshore application of the 457?
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Mikhail


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vijay -

Suggest you consult each of the state websites for specific rules - I don't know them all (!) - some states don't seem to be concerned about simultaneous applications, others may be. Also note that the states change their rules and occupation lists/requirements frequently - not safe to assume things are the way they were previously when it comes to all the state skilled sponsorship sites -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can i apply for state sponsorship with Queensland and Victoria at the same time, how many states can i apply for SS at the same time?
> 
> I heard that all states have closed SS for IT(Analyst Programmer) professionals as of now, what are the chances of getting SS from the above states meanwhile i continue with my IELTS to score 7, if IELTS results are positive then i can change it to 189.
> 
> Is this possible?
> 
> Where can i see the latest updates in these websites?
> 
> Thanks
> Vijay


----------



## dharabaskar

Thanks Mark.

Regards
VJ



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vijay -
> 
> Suggest you consult each of the state websites for specific rules - I don't know them all (!) - some states don't seem to be concerned about simultaneous applications, others may be. Also note that the states change their rules and occupation lists/requirements frequently - not safe to assume things are the way they were previously when it comes to all the state skilled sponsorship sites -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## markus

Hello Mark,

My name is Markus and I am German and live in Australia for more than 2.5 years. Now I want to apply for a partner visa with my girlfriend (Australian citizen) as my sponsor. We are in a relationship for more than 2 years now. We are living together, but in her parents house with her mom and sister. Do you think that I still could apply for a Partner visa (subclass 820 and 801)? I am living with her and her family for more than a year now. All bills are under her parents name, so could that be a problem as well? We can easily proof that we are in a relationship as we both went together on holiday and have lots of friend who can write a statutory declaration and we also worked at the same place when we started our relationship so we also have lots of witnesses. 

Thank you very much for your help. 

Markus


----------



## Mikhail

Hi Mark,

Thank you, truly appreciate your speedy response. Will suggest this to my employer and will work on it ASAP. Worst case scenario, I will have to do an offshore application.

Again thank you and I appreciate the speedy response.

Kind regards,

Jose Mikhail



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mikhail -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No way to extend a student visa without enrolling in another course - an expensive way to go! Suggest your employer lodge sponsorship, nomination and visa in that order without waiting for approval - that should generate a bridging visa and as long as you do this before the student visa expires (don't wait for the last day!), assuming the bridging visa is issued prior to the expiration of your student visa, the bridging visa will cover you until they make a decision on the sponsorship, nomination and visa applications.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markus -

Thanks for the note. The key will be whether enough relationship evidence (including witness statements) exists to prove that your relationship for the last 12 months has been a defacto relationship (more than boyfriend/girlfriend) - living in parents' house is not necessarily a problem, especially if the parents write statements showing that you lived in the house together, etc. You may want to sit down with a registered migration agent to examine all the evidence documents you have at this point and get a professional opinion as to what the chances may be for a successful partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



markus said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My name is Markus and I am German and live in Australia for more than 2.5 years. Now I want to apply for a partner visa with my girlfriend (Australian citizen) as my sponsor. We are in a relationship for more than 2 years now. We are living together, but in her parents house with her mom and sister. Do you think that I still could apply for a Partner visa (subclass 820 and 801)? I am living with her and her family for more than a year now. All bills are under her parents name, so could that be a problem as well? We can easily proof that we are in a relationship as we both went together on holiday and have lots of friend who can write a statutory declaration and we also worked at the same place when we started our relationship so we also have lots of witnesses.
> 
> Thank you very much for your help.
> 
> Markus


----------



## markus

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Markus -
> 
> Thanks for the note. The key will be whether enough relationship evidence (including witness statements) exists to prove that your relationship for the last 12 months has been a defacto relationship (more than boyfriend/girlfriend) - living in parents' house is not necessarily a problem, especially if the parents write statements showing that you lived in the house together, etc. You may want to sit down with a registered migration agent to examine all the evidence documents you have at this point and get a professional opinion as to what the chances may be for a successful partner visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your help.


----------



## suniizaa

Hi Mark, 

Me(Thai) and my boyfriend(Australian) are planning to apply for a de facto visa. We lived together in Australia for 13 months from Jan 2013 to Feb 2014. We are now collecting all evidence according to the requirements from partner migration booklet. We have most of evidence now to cover 4 aspects. My boyfriend was actually planning to stay in Thailand for 1 year (from February 2014 to February 2015) but Things Didn't work out well so we decided that he should go back to Australia And I will apply for a de facto visa. He left in March 2014 and we plan to apply for the visa in July or August 2014. The questions are
1. Will the gap from March 2014 until we actually apply for the visa matter? Can I just explain the reason in the history of relationship?
2. I lost my official correspondences but I managed to obtain some invoices to guarantee my residential address when I was in Australia. Are they strong evidence?

Thank you very much for your help.
Nisa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nisa -

Thanks for the note - a gap of 5 months living apart in the 12 months prior to application may be difficult to overcome without a lot of convincing detail. It is a very long gap (almost half of the required period), and with the huge volume of partner visas these days and massive fraud and misrepresentation happening in many cases, to be blunt, you're not dealing with a friendly, forgiving government department - they treat these things very strictly and harshly. You might want to look into registering your relationship if that is possible in your partner's state.

Suggest you have all of your evidence and statements reviewed by a registered migration agent in order to see how close it may come to meeting what is likely to get your application approved - it may be possible, with lots of evidence, to show that your defacto relationship (which is considered by DIBP to be at a much higher level than boyfriend/girlfriend) existed during the 12 months prior to application, but with a 5 month gap, that may make things very difficult.

Sorry if this isn't the news you were expecting (!) - hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



suniizaa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Me(Thai) and my boyfriend(Australian) are planning to apply for a de facto visa. We lived together in Australia for 13 months from Jan 2013 to Feb 2014. We are now collecting all evidence according to the requirements from partner migration booklet. We have most of evidence now to cover 4 aspects. My boyfriend was actually planning to stay in Thailand for 1 year (from February 2014 to February 2015) but Things Didn't work out well so we decided that he should go back to Australia And I will apply for a de facto visa. He left in March 2014 and we plan to apply for the visa in July or August 2014. The questions are
> 1. Is the gap from March 2014 until we actually apply for the visa will matter? Can I just explain the reason in the history of relationship?
> 2. I lost my official correspondences but I managed to obtain some invoices to guarantee my residential address when I was in Australia. Are they strong evidence?
> 
> Thank you very much for your help.
> Nisa


----------



## suniizaa

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nisa -
> 
> Thanks for the note - a gap of 5 months living apart in the 12 months prior to application may be difficult to overcome without a lot of convincing detail. It is a very long gap (almost half of the required period), and with the huge volume of partner visas these days and massive fraud and misrepresentation happening in many cases, to be blunt, you're not dealing with a friendly, forgiving government department - they treat these things very strictly and harshly. You might want to look into registering your relationship if that is possible in your partner's state.
> 
> Suggest you have all of your evidence and statements reviewed by a registered migration agent in order to see how close it may come to meeting what is likely to get your application approved - it may be possible, with lots of evidence, to show that your defacto relationship (which is considered by DIBP to be at a much higher level than boyfriend/girlfriend) existed during the 12 months prior to application, but with a 5 month gap, that may make things very difficult.
> 
> Sorry if this isn't the news you were expecting (!) - hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much for your suggestion. We will probably try to apply sooner.


----------



## Scott1984

Thanks very much for the information Mark. I believe RPL would be better option if ACS provides me with it. Thanks again !
Will apply for assessment to ACS soon ..


----------



## manenough00

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> VEVO often does not show changes made after a visa has come into effect, since those are rare anyway. Expect you are OK as long as agent lodged the form. If you are in doubt, you could visit a DIBP office and ask at the counter for them to check your passport against your current visa.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

Million thanks for your apt suggestion. My co has just confirmed through email that she updated our passport details and it reflects in my vevo as well. It was a big relief! One more thing. Is there any advantage of visa label? Some people say that it comes handy in the long term. Is the money worth spending for visa evidencing?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Glad that worked out! No advantage that I see to a visa label unless you feel compelled to donate $70 to the Australian Government  A printout of your visa on paper is a good idea to keep on hand if you travel outside of Australia, and just make sure to keep DIBP whenever your passport changes.

Best,

Mark Northam



manenough00 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Million thanks for your apt suggestion. My co has just confirmed through email that she updated our passport details and it reflects in my vevo as well. It was a big relief! One more thing. Is there any advantage of visa label? Some people say that it comes handy in the long term. Is the money worth spending for visa evidencing?


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hello mark,
Please help me, My employer applied for my nomination on 17feb & my lawyer applied my application on 18th feb. co officer appointed on 25 feb and requested all documents and medical to submit in 28 days. On 1st April CO replied that he need approved nomination which he couldn't see . He request my lawyer to contact my employer and submit approved nomination to process visa. Nomination process already took two months, two weeks before they requested to see contract. I am confuse on 28th April what happen if CO can't see approved nomination. He will grant me some time or not. 

Thanks for help.

Regards
Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

This is a matter for your lawyer to sort out - suggest he contact DIBP, provide the TRN number of the lodged application, and request that DIBP await approval of the lodged nomination before processing the visa application. Normally as long as DIBP knows that the two are linked (which they have to be, since you cannot lodge a visa application (I'm assuming we're talking about a 457, 186 or 187 visa here) unless a nomination has already been lodged. Better make sure that your visa application was correctly lodged including the TRN number of the nomination application done by the employer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Tiwaringe

Hi Mark

l have question we are thinking of applying for visa subclass 190 in QLD and one of the requirements is financial proof of $15 000 MY QUESTION IS will they consider money deposited in that acc recently or money that has been in the acc for certain period of time please assist by clarifying coz our acc does not have that much but we can deposit from other sources .Thanks


----------



## bhalo_fish

Thank you so much for information Mark. I think it helps a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tiwaringe -

Thanks for the note. As far as I know, QLD only requires evidence of available funds at the time you apply for the state sponsorship application. However, do keep in mind that all of the states can change their rules at any time, and do not always publish all requirements in advance. I would suggest contacting them directly to ask what the CURRENT requirements for documentary evidence is for the cash part of the requirement - ie, would a current month's bank statement be sufficient, or would they require statements over any longer term, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tiwaringe said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> l have question we are thinking of applying for visa subclass 190 in QLD and one of the requirements is financial proof of $15 000 MY QUESTION IS will they consider money deposited in that acc recently or money that has been in the acc for certain period of time please assist by clarifying coz our acc does not have that much but we can deposit from other sources .Thanks


----------



## merchantroyal

Hi. Got an email today asking for some additional information.

The first couple of points both seem to ask for the Australian background check. My wife the applicant has not lived in Australia 12 months total which it seems to say is a reason not to get this done. Should I reply reason this to the dept?

They also asked for a form 80 that we will now fill in.

They also asked for a medical, chest xray etc and have a new HAP number. Problem is we had the medical competed and included the HAP number and completed form in the package. Could they have missed this somehow?

Last thing. Can I scan the completed form 80 and email it in? Documents say email is the preferred method of contact.

Josh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Merchantroyal -

Thanks for the note. AFP police clearance cert is often requested - not unusual.

Re: previous medical - how long ago was it taken? If more than 9 months ago, they may be requesting a new one since these expire in 12 months. If it was more recent, I would respond and provide the HAP ID, date, and location where the original medical was taken and confirm if they want a new one or not.

Re: Form 80 - yes - complete, scan, upload is the way to do that. Note that uploads cannot be more than 5MB in size.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



merchantroyal said:


> Hi. Got an email today asking for some additional information.
> 
> The first couple of points both seem to ask for the Australian background check. My wife the applicant has not lived in Australia 12 months total which it seems to say is a reason not to get this done. Should I reply reason this to the dept?
> 
> They also asked for a form 80 that we will now fill in.
> 
> They also asked for a medical, chest xray etc and have a new HAP number. Problem is we had the medical competed and included the HAP number and completed form in the package. Could they have missed this somehow?
> 
> Last thing. Can I scan the completed form 80 and email it in? Documents say email is the preferred method of contact.
> 
> Josh


----------



## merchantroyal

Previous medical was only a few weeks ago so I will confirm those details with them. It's odd they missed my reference to the hap id in the documents and the complete form in the additional attached documents.

I will apply for the Australian police check as they have requested.


----------



## depende

Hi Mark,

It is possible to study part time with a 457 visa? 

Best regards,
Depende


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depende -

Thanks for the question. Normally 457 visas have no study limitations on them. The primary applicant must continue to be employed by his sponsoring employer (or another sponsoring employer if he moves sponsorship of his 457 to another employer and gets a nomination approved at the new employer), but studying in addition to employment is generally no problem.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



depende said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> It is possible to study part time with a 457 visa?
> 
> Best regards,
> Depende


----------



## depende

Hi Mark, 

Thank you for your quickly reply. I'm in Australia now with a student visa and I'm studying full time. So I thought why not better get a sponsorship from a company and continue to study in part time because to as an international student and living in Australia it is really very expensive. If my part time study is longer than 2 years and I'm studying in a regional area do I get the additional 5 points for Australia study requirements and 5 points for study in a regional area?

Thank you again Mark!


----------



## dnnysn

Hi Mark, thought i'd respond to the sticky rather than create a new thread, please let me know if a new thread is necessary.

I am an Australian Citizen living in Korea. I have been with my gf who I met here for over 12 months. I plan to come to Australia with her and have a few questions. I did some reading on similar situations and on the immi site but thought i'd clarify some things:

-I heard applying offshore is faster/cheaper, but the cheap aspect doesn't seem to be the case since the 820 can only be applied in Aus and the 390 is more exp it seems
-would ETA (on the immi site right?) to partner visa be the best option since the ETA doesn't have the 'no further stay' implied?
-After the 2 year period if it gets approved she will automatically get a PR?
-Can she travel freely before and after the partner visa gets approved?

Thanks so much in advance, 
Don


----------



## leena666

hi Mark 

I have a few questions : 

1) I submitted two From 888 already ,I wonder does it help if I submit more ? Will it make my evidence looks stronger?

2) Does the Form 888 allow to be typed ? or write by hand only?

3) I apply my partner visa onshore ,if I submit some Form 888 filled by non-Australian citizen or non PR,does it help ?

thank you for your help !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dnnysn -

Thanks for the questions - notes below:



dnnysn said:


> Hi Mark, thought i'd respond to the sticky rather than create a new thread, please let me know if a new thread is necessary.
> 
> I am an Australian Citizen living in Korea. I have been with my gf who I met here for over 12 months. I plan to come to Australia with her and have a few questions. I did some reading on similar situations and on the immi site but thought i'd clarify some things:
> 
> -I heard applying offshore is faster/cheaper, but the cheap aspect doesn't seem to be the case since the 820 can only be applied in Aus and the 390 is more exp it seems
> *** Actually the onshore (820/801) is about $1,500 more than the offshore (309/100).
> 
> -would ETA (on the immi site right?) to partner visa be the best option since the ETA doesn't have the 'no further stay' implied?
> *** It could work as long as there is not a "no further stay" condition on the visa. However if she tells immigration that she's coming here having already decided to lodge a partner visa, that could present an issue as that would not be strictly within the "temporary visit" purpose of a visitor visa. She may want to say hasn't made up her mind yet, or only coming here to spend more time with you in your home country, etc.. depending on what is accurate and appropriate.
> 
> -After the 2 year period if it gets approved she will automatically get a PR?
> *** Assuming she is not granted the PR version of the partner visa immediately (usually done only if 3 yr relationship, or 2 yr relationship with child), then 2 years after the original partner visa application date she can apply to continue the permanent part of the partner visa application. As long as there is sufficient relationship evidence and statement showing the relationship is still intact/genuine/etc, the permanent partner visa is generally approved.
> 
> -Can she travel freely before and after the partner visa gets approved?
> *** Depends on the partner application. If she applies offshore (309/100), she'll need a visitor visa to visit Australia while the application is being processed. If she applies validly onshore (820/801), she can remain in Australia with a Bridging Visa A until the partner visa decision, but would need to get a Bridging Visa B for each trip outside Australia during that period. These are generally approved for trips made for a "significant reason".
> 
> Thanks so much in advance,
> Don


Hope this helps!

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leena -

Thanks for the note. Hard to say re: your questions without seeing the rest of the relationship evidence and statements, however we generally recommend 6-10 statements total be lodged (including the applicant and sponsor's statements). For onshore applications, having some of these from Australian citizens or permanent residents can help - if you have an onshore refusal and are lodging a partner visa on the same trip (it's an exception to the s48 bar re: onshore refusals), then you must have at least 2 Form 888's with your application from Australian citizens or permanent residents, and they must be signed no more than 6 weeks before the application date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leena666 said:


> hi Mark
> 
> I have a few questions :
> 
> 1) I submitted two From 888 already ,I wonder does it help if I submit more ? Will it make my evidence looks stronger?
> 
> 2) Does the Form 888 allow to be typed ? or write by hand only?
> 
> 3) I apply my partner visa onshore ,if I submit some Form 888 filled by non-Australian citizen or non PR,does it help ?
> 
> thank you for your help !


----------



## manenough00

Hello Mark,
I got a query in line with rights and restrictions of sub class 190 visa. I have been searching accurate answer to this question for months. I have been sponsored by SA and I SHOULD stay in Adelaide for two years but is this mandatory? Because the visa itself is a normal PR exactly same as 189 and moreover my visa grant number has no mention of sponsoring state written ont. As my understanding though a state has sponsored me, I am not legally bound by the state to live there. Can 190 visa holders move to other state? If they do so, will it have a negative impact at time of applying for citizenship?


----------



## Swittsexxy22

Hi Mark!

My PMV Visa will expire this May 1st 2014, but there is no registry yet of our marriage certificate as we were told it's taking 10 days to process.

What can I present then to immi to show that we really did tried to registered our marriage?

Pls. advice me on what should I do.

Thanking you in advance.


----------



## Abhay

Hi Mark,

While decision on my 176 FS-Priority 5 is still pending (indefinite wait), I am having a sponsor for 457. My query is, while I move on 457 will my 176 application b active and processed when this category starts or will 176 application get cancelled if I get 457 visa ?

Regards,
Abhay


----------



## leena666

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Leena -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Hard to say re: your questions without seeing the rest of the relationship evidence and statements, however we generally recommend 6-10 statements total be lodged (including the applicant and sponsor's statements). For onshore applications, having some of these from Australian citizens or permanent residents can help - if you have an onshore refusal and are lodging a partner visa on the same trip (it's an exception to the s48 bar re: onshore refusals), then you must have at least 2 Form 888's with your application from Australian citizens or permanent residents, and they must be signed no more than 6 weeks before the application date.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thanks Mark , one more question :

One of my friend whose a citizen she filled the form for me and her husband is a dentist .Can her husband be her witness ? Do immigration dept prefer the one who filled the form should not relate to the witness ,or they don't care ?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manenough00 -

It comes down to whatever legal agreement(s) you may have has part of your sponsorship arrangements with SA. States vary widely as to how rigidly they enforce (or attempt to enforce) these. Normally immigration is not involved in these situations unless the state or immigration believes that there was never any genuine intent to honour the sponsorship commitments, etc however these cases are fairly rare. Unless immigration is involved in some sort of an issue like this, it's unlikely any of this would impact future citizenship as the residency requirements for citizenship are not state-specific, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



manenough00 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I got a query in line with rights and restrictions of sub class 190 visa. I have been searching accurate answer to this question for months. I have been sponsored by SA and I SHOULD stay in Adelaide for two years but is this mandatory? Because the visa itself is a normal PR exactly same as 189 and moreover my visa grant number has no mention of sponsoring state written ont. As my understanding though a state has sponsored me, I am not legally bound by the state to live there. Can 190 visa holders move to other state? If they do so, will it have a negative impact at time of applying for citizenship?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Normally as long as you are married within the 9 months and you lodge your partner visa application before the end of 9 months, you can lodge (upload) your marriage certificate when it arrives.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Swittsexxy22 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> My PMV Visa will expire this May 1st 2014, but there is no registry yet of our marriage certificate as we were told it's taking 10 days to process.
> 
> What can I present then to immi to show that we really did tried to registered our marriage?
> 
> Pls. advice me on what should I do.
> 
> Thanking you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leena -

Thanks for the question. To avoid any potential conflict of interest concerns, suggest that a near relative not be the witness for statutory declarations and other officially witnessed statements and forms.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leena666 said:


> thanks Mark , one more question :
> 
> One of my friend whose a citizen she filled the form for me and her husband is a dentist .Can her husband be her witness ? Do immigration dept prefer the one who filled the form should not relate to the witness ,or they don't care ?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abhay -

Normally a 457 would have no effect on a pending PR application such as 176. For your 176, they will continue to consider it (even if it's in a queue) until either a decision is made on it, or it's withdrawn. If you apply for a different type of PR (permanent residency) visa and DIBP is ready to grant it, they will likely ask you to withdraw your previous PR application before they grant the new one. But again, for a temporary visa application such as a 457, these would normally not impact on a pending PR application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abhay said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> While decision on my 176 FS-Priority 5 is still pending (indefinite wait), I am having a sponsor for 457. My query is, while I move on 457 will my 176 application b active and processed when this category starts or will 176 application get cancelled if I get 457 visa ?
> 
> Regards,
> Abhay


----------



## Swittsexxy22

Thanks for the reply Mark!

Yeah we got married within the 9 months frame, and planning to submit my application on 29th April even without the registered marriage, as birth death and registry is still processing it.My concern is immi might not acknowledge my application without it?

Heres what I will be doing, i will attach the decorative certificate that our celebrant gave us plus the email correspondence from the birth death and marriage proving that we really registered our marriage, just that it's still in process.

What do u think Mark?Would this help somehow?

Kind regards,


----------



## Swittsexxy22

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> Normally as long as you are married within the 9 months and you lodge your partner visa application before the end of 9 months, you can lodge (upload) your marriage certificate when it arrives.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for the reply Mark!

Yeah we got married within the 9 months frame, and planning to submit my application on 29th April even without the registered marriage, as birth death and registry is still processing it.My concern is immi might not acknowledge my application without it?

Heres what I will be doing, i will attach the decorative certificate that our celebrant gave us plus the email correspondence from the birth death and marriage proving that we really registered our marriage, just that it's still in process.

What do u think Mark?Would this help somehow?

Kind regards,


----------



## Damo88

Hi Mark

I applied for a 186visa Temporary transition stream on february 27th after been with my employer for 2 years.
The application was for me my de facto who are both irish and my son who was born here.
The nomination and application was on the same day and i received the acknowledgement letter the next day but have not heard anything since my immi account just says "in progress".
Do you have any idea of how long these visas are taking to come through this year

Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I expect that would be OK - just let them know you'll be uploading the legal marriage certificate as soon as you get it.

Best,

Mark Northam



Swittsexxy22 said:


> Thanks for the reply Mark!
> 
> Yeah we got married within the 9 months frame, and planning to submit my application on 29th April even without the registered marriage, as birth death and registry is still processing it.My concern is immi might not acknowledge my application without it?
> 
> Heres what I will be doing, i will attach the decorative certificate that our celebrant gave us plus the email correspondence from the birth death and marriage proving that we really registered our marriage, just that it's still in process.
> 
> What do u think Mark?Would this help somehow?
> 
> Kind regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Damo88 -

For 186 visas we're seeing about 5-6 months to process these days, however as always DIBP processing times are highly unpredictable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Damo88 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I applied for a 186visa Temporary transition stream on february 27th after been with my employer for 2 years.
> The application was for me my de facto who are both irish and my son who was born here.
> The nomination and application was on the same day and i received the acknowledgement letter the next day but have not heard anything since my immi account just says "in progress".
> Do you have any idea of how long these visas are taking to come through this year
> 
> Thanks for your help.


----------



## Scott1984

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply on the earlier queries. 
I had another one regarding the documents required for having the job experience assessed from the ACS.
ACS gives the details of following docs:

_Each skilled employment reference must contain: 
 Start & Finish Dates of Employment 
 Description of Duties Performed 
 Hours worked - Full time or Part time 
 Country where Employment was Completed 
 Company Letterhead and signed by the author_

Question: 
Dose it help in anyways to submit my resume and a detailed description of the work and projects ? 
Its just that it might help them to understand it better, but if it helps in any ways, happy to do that ..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Scott -

Wouldn't hurt, however ACS (and DIBP) essentially gives little weight to what is on a resume since it's unverified and not considered "independent". Nonetheless, if you think it helps explain your work better, I'd submit it. Keep in mind, though, that it is in no way a substitute for a proper employer reference letter containing the required info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Scott1984 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply on the earlier queries.
> I had another one regarding the documents required for having the job experience assessed from the ACS.
> ACS gives the details of following docs:
> 
> _Each skilled employment reference must contain:
>  Start & Finish Dates of Employment
>  Description of Duties Performed
>  Hours worked - Full time or Part time
>  Country where Employment was Completed
>  Company Letterhead and signed by the author_
> 
> Question:
> Dose it help in anyways to submit my resume and a detailed description of the work and projects ?
> Its just that it might help them to understand it better, but if it helps in any ways, happy to do that ..


----------



## Juckie

Hi Mark,

I have a question about the health insurance required as part of a 457 visa application. I'm a British citizen and I have been in Australia for one year on a working holiday visa. I am registered with medicare and have a card. From what I can see online this would satisfy the health insurance component of the application. Is this correct?


----------



## irina_pandey

Dear Mark,
Should the Employer Reference Letter be dated within specific time period. e.g. last six months or there is no such requirement? Usually the employee may find it difficult to get recently dated reference letter after one or two years of leaving a previous employer.
Thank you Mark.


----------



## Honey Kumar

*457 visa*

Hi mark,

Currently I am on 457 visa. When I finish my two year in same occupation. How I can apply my PR. Do I need 6 each in IELTS or overall 5 band is enough. And what documents required for applying PR. 
Thanks


----------



## ishara

Hi Mark,
We have called 3 Embassies 4 times and had 4 different answers. Can you please help us?

My British partner and I (Aussie) have been staying in Bali (mostly) as tourists for the past 2 years and we are applying for a 309 online. We have been told online visas get processed in Australia by the British Embassy and that they get processed at our nearest office by the Australian and Indonesian Embassies. Indonesia say they won't process our visa app as we are tourists and they will send it to England for processing. We are really confused. Do you know what actually happens?

Thanks so much


----------



## pomwantingtomove

Hi Mark,

If an applicant fell pregnant after applying for a 189 visa, what would happen? Would you just add the baby onto the application? What if the visa was granted before the baby was born? Would there be a further fee and would you have to start the application process over again for the child?

Kind Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Honey -

I assume you're looking at the ENS or RSMS employer sponsored visas - these are complex visas requiring employer nomination, and as the applicant there are a set of requirements you must meet. Among them, for the 2 years on 457 TRT pathway, you need at least 5 in each bands (overall does not matter) of the IELTS test. Employer must sponsor you (they are not obligated or required to). Consult DIBP website for complete document and evidence lists for the nomination and visa application portions of these visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Honey Kumar said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Currently I am on 457 visa. When I finish my two year in same occupation. How I can apply my PR. Do I need 6 each in IELTS or overall 5 band is enough. And what documents required for applying PR.
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Juckie -

Generally yes - see Subclass 457 - Health Insurance Frequently Asked Questions - Visa Holders

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Juckie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question about the health insurance required as part of a 457 visa application. I'm a British citizen and I have been in Australia for one year on a working holiday visa. I am registered with medicare and have a card. From what I can see online this would satisfy the health insurance component of the application. Is this correct?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Irina -

No requirement I know of - the main issue with older reference letters is providing a means by which DIBP can phone or otherwise contact the person who wrote the letter or their replacement at the company if they want to verify your employment claims.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



irina_pandey said:


> Dear Mark,
> Should the Employer Reference Letter be dated within specific time period. e.g. last six months or there is no such requirement? Usually the employee may find it difficult to get recently dated reference letter after one or two years of leaving a previous employer.
> Thank you Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ishara -

Wish I could help, but DIBP does not publish specific rules on which embassy will process visa applications, however normally for offshore partner visas it's the embassy nearest the person's country of citizenship unless they are a long-term resident of another country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ishara said:


> Hi Mark,
> We have called 3 Embassies 4 times and had 4 different answers. Can you please help us?
> 
> My British partner and I (Aussie) have been staying in Bali (mostly) as tourists for the past 2 years and we are applying for a 309 online. We have been told online visas get processed in Australia by the British Embassy and that they get processed at our nearest office by the Australian and Indonesian Embassies. Indonesia say they won't process our visa app as we are tourists and they will send it to England for processing. We are really confused. Do you know what actually happens?
> 
> Thanks so much


----------



## Snow

Hi Mark,

concerning the 12 month de facto requirement for subclass 301, y partner and I were living in our own place from July to February. It was supposed to be July '13- July '14 but the landlord needed to cancel for their own reasons (I have all of these contracts to back it up). We're still living together but at my parents' house. We still pay rent and are responsible for our own food bills. Will this still be okay for our application if we explain this in our statement? 

Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pomwantingtomove -

There are a number of regulations in this area - if an applicant whose visa has not yet been decided yet has a newborn baby, generally the baby is added onto the application - see Change of Circumstances for more information on this. If the baby is born after the visa is granted, then things get a bit more complex - ie, if the baby is born in Australia and at least one parent is a permanent resident (ie, 189 visa granted before birth of child), the child may qualify to be a citizen of Australia and not need a visa at all. Sorting out the options for a child born after the visa is granted will depend on the exact circumstances and location of the birth, plus the immigration status of the parents at the time of the birth.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pomwantingtomove said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> If an applicant fell pregnant after applying for a 189 visa, what would happen? Would you just add the baby onto the application? What if the visa was granted before the baby was born? Would there be a further fee and would you have to start the application process over again for the child?
> 
> Kind Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snow -

Likely yes. Best to have your parents prepare a separate statement stating the period you have been living there (including dates), that you are together in one room (if that's the case), etc. Then in your statement or in a separate letter you could note to DIBP that you moved in with your parents when your landlord terminated the lease early, etc and you had no other choice, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



Snow said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> concerning the 12 month de facto requirement for subclass 301, y partner and I were living in our own place from July to February. It was supposed to be July '13- July '14 but the landlord needed to cancel for their own reasons (I have all of these contracts to back it up). We're still living together but at my parents' house. We still pay rent and are responsible for our own food bills. Will this still be okay for our application if we explain this in our statement?
> 
> Thanks for your help.


----------



## pomwantingtomove

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pomwantingtomove -
> 
> There are a number of regulations in this area - if an applicant whose visa has not yet been decided yet has a newborn baby, generally the baby is added onto the application - see Change of Circumstances for more information on this. If the baby is born after the visa is granted, then things get a bit more complex - ie, if the baby is born in Australia and at least one parent is a permanent resident (ie, 189 visa granted before birth of child), the child may qualify to be a citizen of Australia and not need a visa at all. Sorting out the options for a child born after the visa is granted will depend on the exact circumstances and location of the birth, plus the immigration status of the parents at the time of the birth.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Hi Mark,
> 
> What if the baby was born in the UK but both parents had 189 visas granted and were planning to move to Australia as a family?


----------



## RameshRV

Hi Mr Mark

I have completed my skill assessment and done IELTS . Now I would like to know at the present conditions , which visa type is most suitable one skilled visa 189 or 190.


----------



## zeyn

*Switching from 176 to 175*

Hi Mark,

I applied 176FS in Nov 2008 with sponsorship of my brother which provided me 20 pts. Now, I am keen in changing my application from 176 to 175. 
Increasing my IELTS score will not be sufficient because it will only add 10 points and I need 20 points. 
I have got a query that I was advised to ask you. I would be very grateful if you could take some time from your busy schedule to answer my question.
I wanted to know if it is possible to claim points for a 2 years Australian master degree (15) and regional Australia study (5) which I acquired after my application for 176 (2009-2011). If I can get my studies accepted for points, it will fulfill the pass mark for 175. Also, I am not sure if it does make a difference, but after I obtained my degree in Australia I have been working overseas (2+ years) in a relevant field to my studies, (chemistry & biotechnology) which was not categorized as 5 before.
Lastly, if this is worth to try , I was wondering how I should proceed. Is there a form to fill in or do we just send a letter to immigration (if yes to which e mail address), can we do this change online?

I appreciate you help

Thank you very much in advance


----------



## s_saad1988

Dear Mark,

Thanks for keeping up the great work on this thread. May be you can help me out a bit.

I would like to know the current processing time for 189 Independent Skilled Migration Visa. Also, the assumed time frame for case officer allocation.

I submitted my EOI from outside Australia and recently got invited.

Cheers
s_saad1988


----------



## Snow

Thank you Mark. Your answers are much appreciated. That takes a load off both our minds.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

How to handle this would depend on whether the baby was born before the application for the 189 was processed - babies born offshore to Australian permanent residents would normally have to get a Subclass 101 Child visa (the option if the baby is born after you become a PR). If the baby is born before the application was processed, you may be able to add the baby to the application and the baby would then receive a 189 along with the rest of the people on the application if approved -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pomwantingtomove said:


> MarkNortham said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Pomwantingtomove -
> 
> There are a number of regulations in this area - if an applicant whose visa has not yet been decided yet has a newborn baby, generally the baby is added onto the application - see Change of Circumstances for more information on this. If the baby is born after the visa is granted, then things get a bit more complex - ie, if the baby is born in Australia and at least one parent is a permanent resident (ie, 189 visa granted before birth of child), the child may qualify to be a citizen of Australia and not need a visa at all. Sorting out the options for a child born after the visa is granted will depend on the exact circumstances and location of the birth, plus the immigration status of the parents at the time of the birth.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Hi Mark,
> 
> What if the baby was born in the UK but both parents had 189 visas granted and were planning to move to Australia as a family?
Click to expand...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ramesh -

Depends on a number of factors including what list your occupation is on (SOL vs CSOL), and if on CSOL, what states are sponsoring your occupation currently (they reset their lists generally in July of each year) and what if any additional requirements there may be for the particular state and occupation.

Best,

Mark Northam



RameshRV said:


> Hi Mr Mark
> 
> I have completed my skill assessment and done IELTS . Now I would like to know at the present conditions , which visa type is most suitable one skilled visa 189 or 190.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi S_Saad -

Congratulations on your invitation! We're finding that 6-9 months is typical, however DIBP makes no promises re: timing and can be very unpredictable, so I would not count on any particular estimate.

Best,

Mark Northam



s_saad1988 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thanks for keeping up the great work on this thread. May be you can help me out a bit.
> 
> I would like to know the current processing time for 189 Independent Skilled Migration Visa. Also, the assumed time frame for case officer allocation.
> 
> I submitted my EOI from outside Australia and recently got invited.
> 
> Cheers
> s_saad1988


----------



## irina_pandey

Thank you Mark so much.


----------



## lelee

*need help urgently*

Hello everyone, 
I have my sister she is an overseas student, her student visa has been cancelled 35 days ago, however she just married to a permanent Australian about 1 month ago and had logded a partner visa before her student visa was cancelled. Her husband applied all forms by himself to Immigration department. We are very concern because we dont know what bridging visa is she on? a migration agent told me that since her current substantial visa has been cancelled all other visa would be cancelled to ! that's including her partner visa? Should we seek a review? if we do whats time frame limit that we are allow to ? 
Please help 
thank you so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lelee -

If indeed the student visa was cancelled, that would have cancelled any bridging visa previously granted from the partner visa application and your sister may now be in Australia with no visa. Suggest you visit DIBP office nearest you as soon as possible (today!) and enquire as to what if any visa she has. As long as they have evidence of the partner visa having been lodged, even if she has no visa now, it's likely they will then grant her a Bridging Visa E which will allow her to remain in the country until the partner visa is decided. Things go much better if you report to DIBP first - if she has no visa and they locate her, that can mean problems - detention, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lelee said:


> Hello everyone,
> I have my sister she is an overseas student, her student visa has been cancelled 35 days ago, however she just married to a permanent Australian about 1 month ago and had logded a partner visa before her student visa was cancelled. Her husband applied all forms by himself to Immigration department. We are very concern because we dont know what bridging visa is she on? a migration agent told me that since her current substantial visa has been cancelled all other visa would be cancelled to ! that's including her partner visa? Should we seek a review? if we do whats time frame limit that we are allow to ?
> Please help
> thank you so much


----------



## youcef frome algeria

salam alikoum
my story maybe for some persons look iam crazy lol 
my age 30 from algeria single my education just study one year at height school 
and i have from Vocational Training Certificate (automotive electricity ) after one year study ....but i naver working by it 
i working withe company italian in algeria (they bilding bridgs ...ETS) i work on it 4 years like a STOCK CLERK .. OR by other way to let you understand ( if some bulder need tools or stuf bulding he come to me and sking and i give the thing to hem and later he back it to me and i regester what on and out ) 
thats all if that need can tack immigration or do skillsilect or any visa to live and work ?

+ i know lady from australia QS she 50 year i know she from facebook she told me she can help me ??? what help she can do because she dont know wht do


----------



## lelee

*sos*

Thanks so much for your help Mark, question of time frame limit if she is doesn't hold any visa? so whats happen to her partner visa application ? does she need to lodge a new one since all her visa has been cancelled together with that student visa? 
do you really think she will be success at the tribunal or she must go home ?
We really worries as she doesn't have money travel back and forth. 
Please advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LeLee -

Normally a cancellation will not affect pending applications already lodged as of the date of cancellation, but the regulations in this area are complex as you're dealing with 2 overlapping migration situations - the cancellation and the partner visa application - I don't know enough about the various situations (student visa, partner visa) to give you specific advice - strongly suggest you engage a registered migration agent to review all the details of your situation, examine the documents involved, and give you professional advice. If you'd like to contact me directly, website is in the signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lelee said:


> Thanks so much for your help Mark, question of time frame limit if she is doesn't hold any visa? so whats happen to her partner visa application ? does she need to lodge a new one since all her visa has been cancelled together with that student visa?
> do you really think she will be success at the tribunal or she must go home ?
> We really worries as she doesn't have money travel back and forth.
> Please advise.


----------



## jac24

*887 visa enquiries*

Hi Mark,

I'm hoping that you can answer a few of my questions.
I'm currently on a 475 visa and hoping to apply to 887 in a few weeks.

I've taken a few holidays in the past 2 years and I was wondering if I need to make up the holidays prior to lodging my application?
Ie : Postpone my application for 3 weeks for a 3 week holiday?

I was also wondering if the 12 months full time employment refer to consecutively 12 months? For example I was employed for 10 months full time and then a break in between and now employed full time again for the past few months.

Would really appreciate any feedback or advise. Thanks in advance.


----------



## Tiwaringe

Hi MARK

Thanks for all the help you offering here we appreciate , just wanted to find out l submitted my EOI for subclass 190 and l picked QLD,How long does it take to get a response from them is there a timeline from the experiences of others


----------



## rainmantea

Dear Marc,
Thank you for this Portal enabling us to ask you such important questions.
I have applied for subclass190 visa .
The problem is i dont have a pcc of a country i was in 6 years ago for a perios of 2 years

This country is yemen

now as u know its all messed up and i have no way of getting a pcc
will i still have a chance for a PR.

all the other countries i have been have issued me PCC.
Please advice.


----------



## dharabaskar

*Applying for different IT occupation*

Hi Mark,

I think South Australia has released a new occupation list recently. I have Analyst Programmer letter from ACS. I couldn't see this occupation in the list, but other IT occupations like i. Software Engineer, ii. Systems Analyst, ii. Web Developer.

Can i apply for state sponsorship for anyone of the above three occupations having Analyst Programmer letter?

Thanks
VJ


----------



## s_saad1988

MarkNortham said:


> Hi S_Saad -
> 
> Congratulations on your invitation! We're finding that 6-9 months is typical, however DIBP makes no promises re: timing and can be very unpredictable, so I would not count on any particular estimate.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

Thanks for the quick reply.

I was checking the 189 processing time on the DIAC Website and it states 3 months!! I also remember the last time I checked around end of January 2014, it was mentioned something like 12 months! Did they change it? 

Also, one more query regarding the USUAL COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE in EOI - 
I completed my bachelors in Australia. Stayed there from 2009 till 2011. Then stayed in Europe in 2012 on exchange program. Then stayed again in Australia from March 2013 till Sept 2013 to complete my degree. During the last part of that period I applied for 485 Temporary Visa. On Sept 2013, I obtained a bridging visa B and traveled back to home country for vacation. My bridging visa expired at the end of February 2014 and I didn't return to Australia.

I submitted my EOI from home country at the end of January 2014 where I put my usual country of residence as Australia.

Now , as I have been invited to apply , I am bit confused whether it will be an issue.

Can you please suggest accordingly.

Many thanks.
s_saad1988


----------



## Dally

Hi Mark, 
I am in WA and my query is regard De facto application. I am separated with my husband and now I am with my boyfriend. Can I still apply for de facto Evan my divorce is not finalised yet? We have been together since 8 months and I am awaiting for my divorce but can count those 8 months as part of 12 month or I have to be divorced before we can get eligible to apply for de facto? 
I am currently on student visa and my husband is still under my visa. 
Pls help


----------



## gagan4321

Hi Mark,

If you can guide me I will be very thankful to you. I am 176FS in cat 5 applied in April 2010 and that time I scored 6 each in IELTS thus giving me 15 points but maximum attainable that time were 25 points for 7 each. However, some of my known ones migrated there application to 175 after giving new IELTS by scoring 7 each just few months back since it gave them extra 10 points that they were lacking and were requiring. I also want to do the same Please if you can guide me that is possible.

Thanks....


----------



## depth77

Hi Mark,

Can I please ask,

We submitted paper application for partner visa in December. Our case officer emailed us and advised us that our husband / wife relationship been assessed favorably and has now requested my wife to do the health check.

How long usually does it take for the visa to processed and ready to go after the health check is done? We are in South Korea. We emailed the Seoul Embassy, but they would not advise a timeframe.

Thank you for your answer,
depth77


----------



## RameshRV

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ramesh -
> 
> Depends on a number of factors including what list your occupation is on (SOL vs CSOL), and if on CSOL, what states are sponsoring your occupation currently (they reset their lists generally in July of each year) and what if any additional requirements there may be for the particular state and occupation.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark

thanks for the reply. my occupation is in SOL.


----------



## dipiksg82

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dipika -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words!
> 
> It is true that NT has a special provision where if you can show "positive employment prospects" for yourself in an occupation that is on the CSOL list, but not on the NT Skilled Migration Plan (SMP) list, they will consider your application. Details on that here:
> 
> Skilled Regional Nominated (Provisional) (Subclass 489) visa & Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) visa - Australia's Northern Territory
> 
> My suggestion would be to contact the NT Skilled Migration dept to ensure that this program is still ongoing and get any specific guidance they might be able to give you on what types of evidence they are looking for to show the "positive employment prospects" they refer to, then see if that's a good fit for your circumstances.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Sir,

I am back with a question which I think is silly, still I would like to benefit from the sea of knowledge which you posses. I will be really glad if you please help me with the following question.

If I were to apply for occupation which isn't open in any state now and if I apply for NT & NT INVITES me to lodge a visa for which I have 60 days. I will be on tour to all the Scandinavian countries in Europe from next month and on return I suddenly realise that the ACT is sponsoring my occupation then what should be my approach!?

Should I wait for the invite to expire or should I create another EOI and apply for ACT and at the same time suspend my old EOI??

I really don't want to be on the wrong side of law, hence I wish to know what would deem as an ideal approach in my situation.

Thanks in advance,

Dipika


----------



## jeleniau

Hi Mark,

Not the reply I would want to hear but thank you so much. Having a migration agent on this forum really helps.

Helen



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jeleniau -
> 
> Thanks for the question. As far as I know, he would need to lodge a new application since the 187 is an employer sponsored application and the 176 is a sponsored skilled application. He can still leave the 176 application pending and lodge the 187 - if/when they are ready to grant the 187, they will likely ask him to withdraw the 176 application prior to grant of the 187.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Mietsie

Hi Mark

Thank you for this opportunity that you are giving us. This is truly an awesome thing that you are doing.

I am currently in Aus on a Visitor's visa and returning next Monday. I am in a de-facto relationship and want to apply for a Partner Visa.
We have to choose between lodging the application on-shore this week, or off-shore from South Africa next week.
I have a job interview this week as well.

Just a few questions:
1. if I lodged the application on-shore, will I be able to work immediately on the Bridging visa?
2. How easy is it to get travelling rights on the bridging visa and how long does it take to issue as I have to tie up my things in South Africa?
3. If I lodged the application off-shore and come back on my visitors visa (valid until 20 March 2015 with multiple entries and max 3 month stay), is it possible to convert my visitors visa to a bridging visa or a longer stay visa?
4. If I lodge the application on-shore (and online) must I have all documentation ready when I submit, or can I upload documentation later when I have it? Do I then get the bridging visa when I submit (an 'incomplete' application) or only when they have all the documentation?
5. Should we rather use an agent to submit the application for us or do you think it's possible to do it by ourselves successfully?

Thanks again for all your help!

Kind regards
Mietsie


----------



## dnnysn

Hi Mark,

Appreciate your time.

I want to bring my gf to Aus, I'm an Aus Cit. We've lived together for over a year but can't prove it.

If I register my relationship in Australia, just the 12 month requirement is waived right? But it's recommended to collect as much material as possible for financial proof (bills for phone and utilities, rent/mortage, invitations in both names) How much is considered sufficient?

A poster reccommended a WHV and didn't mention the subclass 600. Is this because the WHV (417) doesn't have the 'no further stay' condition, and allows work, while the 600 may have a chance of the condition being included esp. if I am sponsoring her?

The immi. site mentions study re: the WHV too. So she can use that time to study instead of work regionally right?

Seems like WHV to 820 is the best option at this stage.

Many thanks once again.
Really appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gagan4321 -

Are you currently onshore in Australia or offshore?

Best,

Mark Northam



gagan4321 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> If you can guide me I will be very thankful to you. I am 176FS in cat 5 applied in April 2010 and that time I scored 6 each in IELTS thus giving me 15 points but maximum attainable that time were 25 points for 7 each. However, some of my known ones migrated there application to 175 after giving new IELTS by scoring 7 each just few months back since it gave them extra 10 points that they were lacking and were requiring. I also want to do the same Please if you can guide me that is possible.
> 
> Thanks....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zeyn -

Are you currently onshore in Australia or offshore?

Best,

Mark Northam



zeyn said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied 176FS in Nov 2008 with sponsorship of my brother which provided me 20 pts. Now, I am keen in changing my application from 176 to 175.
> Increasing my IELTS score will not be sufficient because it will only add 10 points and I need 20 points.
> I have got a query that I was advised to ask you. I would be very grateful if you could take some time from your busy schedule to answer my question.
> I wanted to know if it is possible to claim points for a 2 years Australian master degree (15) and regional Australia study (5) which I acquired after my application for 176 (2009-2011). If I can get my studies accepted for points, it will fulfill the pass mark for 175. Also, I am not sure if it does make a difference, but after I obtained my degree in Australia I have been working overseas (2+ years) in a relevant field to my studies, (chemistry & biotechnology) which was not categorized as 5 before.
> Lastly, if this is worth to try , I was wondering how I should proceed. Is there a form to fill in or do we just send a letter to immigration (if yes to which e mail address), can we do this change online?
> 
> I appreciate you help
> 
> Thank you very much in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Youcef -

Thanks for the note. May be difficult for you to get a skilled visa for Australia based on what you said - most skills assessments require college degree and an occupation that is considered "skilled" - would not include stock clerk, etc. You might check website Visa Wizard at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection to see any further info and see if there are any occupations that are a good fit for you, or consider coming to Australia (or going elsewhere) to study further if that interests you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



youcef frome algeria said:


> salam alikoum
> my story maybe for some persons look iam crazy lol
> my age 30 from algeria single my education just study one year at height school
> and i have from Vocational Training Certificate (automotive electricity ) after one year study ....but i naver working by it
> i working withe company italian in algeria (they bilding bridgs ...ETS) i work on it 4 years like a STOCK CLERK .. OR by other way to let you understand ( if some bulder need tools or stuf bulding he come to me and sking and i give the thing to hem and later he back it to me and i regester what on and out )
> thats all if that need can tack immigration or do skillsilect or any visa to live and work ?
> 
> + i know lady from australia QS she 50 year i know she from facebook she told me she can help me ??? what help she can do because she dont know wht do


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jac24 -

Thanks for the questions. Normally for the 887 visa, DIBP allows a reasonable amount of travel for holidays - typically 3 weeks per year. If it's much more than that, you may want to delay your application. Re: work, can be total work time, does not need to be consecutive work. Multiple employers OK (ie, 10 months with employer A, 2 months with employer B, etc). Do note that for this visa, DIBP requires at least 35 hours per week (documented) of work to be considered full-time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jac24 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm hoping that you can answer a few of my questions.
> I'm currently on a 475 visa and hoping to apply to 887 in a few weeks.
> 
> I've taken a few holidays in the past 2 years and I was wondering if I need to make up the holidays prior to lodging my application?
> Ie : Postpone my application for 3 weeks for a 3 week holiday?
> 
> I was also wondering if the 12 months full time employment refer to consecutively 12 months? For example I was employed for 10 months full time and then a break in between and now employed full time again for the past few months.
> 
> Would really appreciate any feedback or advise. Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

This typically takes 2+ months, but can happen faster or slower depending on the workload and/or current policies of the QLD skilled migration office.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tiwaringe said:


> Hi MARK
> 
> Thanks for all the help you offering here we appreciate , just wanted to find out l submitted my EOI for subclass 190 and l picked QLD,How long does it take to get a response from them is there a timeline from the experiences of others


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rainmantea -

All you can do is to write a letter to the case officer detailing all the ways you've tried to get the PCC and have been unable to - evidence speaks a great deal in these sorts of requests. You can request to sign a statutory declaration that states that you have never committed an offence, etc in Yemen - it's up to the case officer whether they will allow you to use the stat dec in place of a PCC. Often this works out OK, but again it's the case officer's discretion.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rainmantea said:


> Dear Marc,
> Thank you for this Portal enabling us to ask you such important questions.
> I have applied for subclass190 visa .
> The problem is i dont have a pcc of a country i was in 6 years ago for a perios of 2 years
> 
> This country is yemen
> 
> now as u know its all messed up and i have no way of getting a pcc
> will i still have a chance for a PR.
> 
> all the other countries i have been have issued me PCC.
> Please advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dharabaskar -

Thanks for the note - the ANZSCO occupation code in your skills assessment must match the occupation code you are applying for state sponsorship / visa under. If you wanted to apply under a different code, you'd have to get a separate ACS skills assessment under that different code.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I think South Australia has released a new occupation list recently. I have Analyst Programmer letter from ACS. I couldn't see this occupation in the list, but other IT occupations like i. Software Engineer, ii. Systems Analyst, ii. Web Developer.
> 
> Can i apply for state sponsorship for anyone of the above three occupations having Analyst Programmer letter?
> 
> Thanks
> VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi S_Saad -

Re: procesing times, I gave up on anything DIBP posts on their website in this regard - simply too many cases where the times are far different from what is posted there.

Re: usual residence country, doubt that would be an issue if the EOI says different than the visa application, since time has passed and that's not a points-relevant area.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



s_saad1988 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the quick reply.
> 
> I was checking the 189 processing time on the DIAC Website and it states 3 months!! I also remember the last time I checked around end of January 2014, it was mentioned something like 12 months! Did they change it?
> 
> Also, one more query regarding the USUAL COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE in EOI -
> I completed my bachelors in Australia. Stayed there from 2009 till 2011. Then stayed in Europe in 2012 on exchange program. Then stayed again in Australia from March 2013 till Sept 2013 to complete my degree. During the last part of that period I applied for 485 Temporary Visa. On Sept 2013, I obtained a bridging visa B and traveled back to home country for vacation. My bridging visa expired at the end of February 2014 and I didn't return to Australia.
> 
> I submitted my EOI from home country at the end of January 2014 where I put my usual country of residence as Australia.
> 
> Now , as I have been invited to apply , I am bit confused whether it will be an issue.
> 
> Can you please suggest accordingly.
> 
> Many thanks.
> s_saad1988


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

You've got 2 issues here - first, whether you can apply for a defacto partner visa if your marriage is still legally in place but you are separated from your husband. Answer is, maybe - depending on whether you can provide that for the time you are claiming for your defacto relationship, you were completely separated from your husband and that the relationship had completely broken down.

But the second issue is the problem - when the relationship broke down, you both had an obligation to inform DIBP of that - I assume you are the primary applicant? Either way, you may find yourself in a problem if you try to claim time on your new defacto relationship that was before you informed DIBP that the relationship had broken down. This is the hazard with not informing DIBP when a relationship breaks down. Your husband apparently has been on your student visa far longer than he should have, if your relationship broke down many months ago. Given the complexity of this issue, you may want to consider getting some professional assistance with handling things.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dally said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am in WA and my query is regard De facto application. I am separated with my husband and now I am with my boyfriend. Can I still apply for de facto Evan my divorce is not finalised yet? We have been together since 8 months and I am awaiting for my divorce but can count those 8 months as part of 12 month or I have to be divorced before we can get eligible to apply for de facto?
> I am currently on student visa and my husband is still under my visa.
> Pls help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depth77 -

Very hard to predict - depends on local caseload there at the embassy, have they met any annual quota restrictions and are pushing things until after 1 July, etc. Wish I could give you an estimate, but unfortunately there's not enough info from DIBP to do so - overall partner visas take 9 - 12 months from application to grant in a typical scenario.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



depth77 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can I please ask,
> 
> We submitted paper application for partner visa in December. Our case officer emailed us and advised us that our husband / wife relationship been assessed favorably and has now requested my wife to do the health check.
> 
> How long usually does it take for the visa to processed and ready to go after the health check is done? We are in South Korea. We emailed the Seoul Embassy, but they would not advise a timeframe.
> 
> Thank you for your answer,
> depth77


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dipika -

Thanks for the note. My advice: don't apply for sponsorship from a state you're not ready to accept an invitation from. Declined invitations from states can create problems down the line - for some states it's a one-shot deal - if you decline their invitation now (or let it expire), you can't apply later. Plus, it takes a spot that someone who may be ready to go there won't get!

If you're not ready for NT, maybe you should enjoy your tour and then check back in during July when the states (hopefully) have announced their 2014-2015 skilled migration plans and you may have a better idea of what states will be sponsoring your occupation going forward -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dipiksg82 said:


> Dear Sir,
> 
> I am back with a question which I think is silly, still I would like to benefit from the sea of knowledge which you posses. I will be really glad if you please help me with the following question.
> 
> If I were to apply for occupation which isn't open in any state now and if I apply for NT & NT INVITES me to lodge a visa for which I have 60 days. I will be on tour to all the Scandinavian countries in Europe from next month and on return I suddenly realise that the ACT is sponsoring my occupation then what should be my approach!?
> 
> Should I wait for the invite to expire or should I create another EOI and apply for ACT and at the same time suspend my old EOI??
> 
> I really don't want to be on the wrong side of law, hence I wish to know what would deem as an ideal approach in my situation.
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> Dipika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mietsie -

Thanks for the questions - responses below at ***:



Mietsie said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for this opportunity that you are giving us. This is truly an awesome thing that you are doing.
> 
> I am currently in Aus on a Visitor's visa and returning next Monday. I am in a de-facto relationship and want to apply for a Partner Visa.
> We have to choose between lodging the application on-shore this week, or off-shore from South Africa next week.
> I have a job interview this week as well.
> 
> Just a few questions:
> 1. if I lodged the application on-shore, will I be able to work immediately on the Bridging visa?
> *** If you lodge while holding a visitor visa and the visitor visa does not have condition 8503 on it, the bridging visa from the partner application will activate as soon as your visitor visa expires and you remain on shore. As soon as the visitor visa expires and the bridging visa activates, you have full work rights.
> 
> 2. How easy is it to get travelling rights on the bridging visa and how long does it take to issue as I have to tie up my things in South Africa?
> *** Requires a "substantial reason" to get a Bridging Visa B, however usually not a problem - especially if you have a good reason you can document as to why you're going.
> 
> 3. If I lodged the application off-shore and come back on my visitors visa (valid until 20 March 2015 with multiple entries and max 3 month stay), is it possible to convert my visitors visa to a bridging visa or a longer stay visa?
> *** No way to do this. You'd have to use visitor visa(s) to travel to Australia unless you received some other type of visa (457, etc) that allowed a longer stay. Bridging visa not available to offshore partner applicants.
> 
> 4. If I lodge the application on-shore (and online) must I have all documentation ready when I submit, or can I upload documentation later when I have it? Do I then get the bridging visa when I submit (an 'incomplete' application) or only when they have all the documentation?
> *** Bridging visa generated when enough docs for a valid application are lodged - many docs such as relationship evidence can be uploaded after initial lodgement but I wouldn't push it more than a week or so maximum on this to upload the primary relationship docs - then you can upload more additional docs later. Valid application requires proper forms, payment of fee, etc.
> 
> 5. Should we rather use an agent to submit the application for us or do you think it's possible to do it by ourselves successfully?
> *** Up to you - the key is that all the forms (online, plus paper form 80) are completed 100% accurately and correctly, and that the relationship evidence and witness statements are substantial enough to sufficiently prove the relationship is genuine. The advantage of using an agent is that agents (who are experienced in partner visas) do this all the time and are very familiar with what it takes to have the best chance of approval. This is especially important in the area of statements and relationship evidence. But if you're going to use an agent, make sure the agent is someone you can comfortably work with and communicate with, and that they are very familiar with partner visas.
> 
> Thanks again for all your help!
> 
> Kind regards
> Mietsie


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dnnysn -

WHV is advantageous over a visitor visa as no work is possible under a visitor visa. However, WHV has study limitation of 4 months for each 12 month visa period. Visitor visa has 3 month study limitation and is harder to get than WHV generally. But in the end all depends on what you want to do under the visa -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dnnysn said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Appreciate your time.
> 
> I want to bring my gf to Aus, I'm an Aus Cit. We've lived together for over a year but can't prove it.
> 
> If I register my relationship in Australia, just the 12 month requirement is waived right? But it's recommended to collect as much material as possible for financial proof (bills for phone and utilities, rent/mortage, invitations in both names) How much is considered sufficient?
> 
> A poster reccommended a WHV and didn't mention the subclass 600. Is this because the WHV (417) doesn't have the 'no further stay' condition, and allows work, while the 600 may have a chance of the condition being included esp. if I am sponsoring her?
> 
> The immi. site mentions study re: the WHV too. So she can use that time to study instead of work regionally right?
> 
> Seems like WHV to 820 is the best option at this stage.
> 
> Many thanks once again.
> Really appreciated!


----------



## dnnysn

Hi Mark,
Much appreciated for the fast reply.

How about sufficient information for the 820 after registering our relationship?

Regards,
D



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dnnysn -
> 
> WHV is advantageous over a visitor visa as no work is possible under a visitor visa. However, WHV has study limitation of 4 months for each 12 month visa period. Visitor visa has 3 month study limitation and is harder to get than WHV generally. But in the end all depends on what you want to do under the visa -
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dnnsyn -

Check the DIBP partner visa booklet (downloadable) - it's a big question since every relationship is different - it's like asking "how much is enough?" - the answer, of course, is "enough to convince the case officer that the relationship is genuine". But how you get to that point is dependent on what evidence you submit, what the witness statements say, and much more. There are a number of good threads here on the forum where people have posted lists of what they submitted - this might be helpful. You may also want to consider getting professional assistance in terms of assessing your proposed application and relationship evidence -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dnnysn said:


> Hi Mark,
> Much appreciated for the fast reply.
> 
> How about sufficient information for the 820 after registering our relationship?
> 
> Regards,
> D


----------



## CollegeGirl

Mark - 

I know the online system is new, and they're probably still working a few things out, but I thought you might have some insight.

As part of the attachment list for the Partner Visa, they ask for a completed Form 40SP. There's a link to attach it. 

Why do they ask for this when you also have to do a separate online application for the sponsor which is (essentially) the online version of the Form 40SP? 

Seems like a scanned paper version shouldn't be necessary.  Is this just one of those... things with DIBP? Haha.


----------



## dnnysn

Thank for your assistance, it has been immensely helpful.

D


----------



## Mietsie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mietsie -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - responses below at ***:
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark
Thank you very much for your reply.

* Does it take long to get a BVB?
* Will I be able to re-enter on Visitors visa for 3 months, fly to NZ for a long weekend and come back for 3 months and keep on doing that until my Partner visa is approved? 
* Can I actually ask my CO to let me know when the visa is about to be approved so that I'm outside of Aus when it issues? (If lodged off-shore).

Kind regards
Mietsie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CG -

I expect that is there in cases where the person cannot complete (for whatever reason) the online version of 40SP. As the online 40SP cannot be completed until the online 47SP is lodged and paid for, I expect there may be some circumstances where the system won't allow the 40SP to be done online, hence the upload option. The list of suggested attachments is often way out of sync with reality on some applications (!)

Best,

Mark



CollegeGirl said:


> Mark -
> 
> I know the online system is new, and they're probably still working a few things out, but I thought you might have some insight.
> 
> As part of the attachment list for the Partner Visa, they ask for a completed Form 40SP. There's a link to attach it.
> 
> Why do they ask for this when you also have to do a separate online application for the sponsor which is (essentially) the online version of the Form 40SP?
> 
> Seems like a scanned paper version shouldn't be necessary.  Is this just one of those... things with DIBP? Haha.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mietsie -

Thanks for the note. Normally 2 weeks or so max for a BV-B from application (sometimes only a few days); re: "NZ shuffle" routine on visitor visa, this often works unless DIBP decides you've spent too much time in Australia and are not a "genuine visitor". Yes, can request CO let you know when visa is about to be approved - this is common, however make sure you request it and keep DIBP updated with your current contact info throughout the process.

Best,

Mark Northam



Mietsie said:


> Hi Mark
> Thank you very much for your reply.
> 
> * Does it take long to get a BVB?
> * Will I be able to re-enter on Visitors visa for 3 months, fly to NZ for a long weekend and come back for 3 months and keep on doing that until my Partner visa is approved?
> * Can I actually ask my CO to let me know when the visa is about to be approved so that I'm outside of Aus when it issues? (If lodged off-shore).
> 
> Kind regards
> Mietsie


----------



## Swittsexxy22

Hello Mark!

I would just like to ask regarding Form 40SP No. 29.

Have you previously sponsored/nominated a spouse, de facto partner,
prospective spouse (fiancé(e)) or interdependent partner?

SHOULD WE TICK YES TO THAT?I meant he sponsored me before for my PMV.

Your insight would be of much help.


----------



## Mietsie

Thank you very much for this valuable information Mark!
Take care
Mietsie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swittsexxy22 -

Normally not necessary to put SC300 (PMV) sponsorship of you in answer to that question, as the question refers to past relationships.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Swittsexxy22 said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I would just like to ask regarding Form 40SP No. 29.
> 
> Have you previously sponsored/nominated a spouse, de facto partner,
> prospective spouse (fiancé(e)) or interdependent partner?
> 
> SHOULD WE TICK YES TO THAT?I meant he sponsored me before for my PMV.
> 
> Your insight would be of much help.


----------



## Swittsexxy22

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swittsexxy22 -
> 
> Normally not necessary to put SC300 (PMV) sponsorship of you in answer to that question, as the question refers to past relationships.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark!Such a big help!


----------



## engels

*Your thoughts *

Hi Mark

I just wondered of your point of view:

I am a graduate in Cinema & Photography from Leeds University from the UK, and after graduating left to travel and work in Australia for two years. I want to move back to Melbourne and am in London getting experience in relation to my degree.

As a junior in a production company (title is 'Production runner/assistant') do you think I would qualify after gaining 12 months experience in relation to my degree? My initial thoughts are probably not because it is a junior role, but also thought its in the media which they used to create specific visas for I thought.

I also have an aussie boyfriend but not enough evidence to show I don't think so I'm trying to find other visa options.

Thank you for any response

Emma


----------



## gopal1875

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Can you please help me out about the time frame taken for the case officer to get assigned? I paid my visa fees on Feb 08 2014. Till now case officer was not assigned. I got my invitation from Southern Australia and immediately I applied for Visa and paid my visa fees on 08 th Feb 2014. I have uploaded my PCC and medical reports also. So I am eagerly waiting for the case officer to get assigned. My family consists of me and my wife and two kids(son and daughter); Son is 06 years old and daughter is 03 years old.

Gopal


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gopal -

See response on your duplicate post on the 190 thread - 6 to 9 months is typical for a 190 visa (although in no way guaranteed by DIBP). Case officer assignment often happens 4-5 months in, but you are not always notified of this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gopal1875 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you please help me out about the time frame taken for the case officer to get assigned? I paid my visa fees on Feb 08 2014. Till now case officer was not assigned. I got my invitation from Southern Australia and immediately I applied for Visa and paid my visa fees on 08 th Feb 2014. I have uploaded my PCC and medical reports also. So I am eagerly waiting for the case officer to get assigned. My family consists of me and my wife and two kids(son and daughter); Son is 06 years old and daughter is 03 years old.
> 
> Gopal


----------



## dipiksg82

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dipika -
> 
> Thanks for the note. My advice: don't apply for sponsorship from a state you're not ready to accept an invitation from. Declined invitations from states can create problems down the line - for some states it's a one-shot deal - if you decline their invitation now (or let it expire), you can't apply later. Plus, it takes a spot that someone who may be ready to go there won't get!
> 
> If you're not ready for NT, maybe you should enjoy your tour and then check back in during July when the states (hopefully) have announced their 2014-2015 skilled migration plans and you may have a better idea of what states will be sponsoring your occupation going forward -
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Sir,

Thanks for your wise words.

I will follow as you advised, enjoy my tour and let destiny decide what is good for me.

I appreciate your help from bottom of my heart.

Regards,

Dipika


----------



## mahboub

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your time in helping

I'm general accountant from Egypt with 5 years experience in Accounting married and have one child. I'm Business administration graduate Major Financial Management and accounting.

I need to know how good is my chances for getting skilled visa ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mahboub -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



mahboub said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your time in helping
> 
> I'm general accountant from Egypt with 5 years experience in Accounting married and have one child. I'm Business administration graduate Major Financial Management and accounting.
> 
> I need to know how good is my chances for getting skilled visa ??


----------



## engels

*Mark*

Hey Mark

I just wondered whether you'd seen my above question, if it is because you can't reply to individual situations that I understand, although I've just seen you have replied to two further people so just thought you might have missed mine.

Not a problem if not

Thank you
Emma



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mahboub -
> 
> Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.
> 
> Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.
> 
> We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.
> 
> If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.
> 
> Thanks again for the enquiry -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma -

Thanks for the note. You may want to have a look at the ASRI - see http://www.immi.gov.au/asri/ - and see if any of these are a good fit for your job and are available for a skilled or employer sponsored visa. The ASRI links to ANZSCO which has detailed descriptions of the tasks/duties of occupations - if you can find one that's a good fit for your education and/or work experience, then you may want to look at either a skilled or employer sponsored work visa for Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



engels said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I just wondered of your point of view:
> 
> I am a graduate in Cinema & Photography from Leeds University from the UK, and after graduating left to travel and work in Australia for two years. I want to move back to Melbourne and am in London getting experience in relation to my degree.
> 
> As a junior in a production company (title is 'Production runner/assistant') do you think I would qualify after gaining 12 months experience in relation to my degree? My initial thoughts are probably not because it is a junior role, but also thought its in the media which they used to create specific visas for I thought.
> 
> I also have an aussie boyfriend but not enough evidence to show I don't think so I'm trying to find other visa options.
> 
> Thank you for any response
> 
> Emma


----------



## Juckie

Hi Mark,

My questions just keep on coming! I have submitted my application for a 457 visa. I have received the automatically generated letter advising i have been granted a bridging visa. My de facto partner, who is part of the 457 application, is not mentioned in the bridging visa documentation. Does the bridging visa cover both applicants but only come in the primary applicants name?

Thanks for all your help.


----------



## gagan4321

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gagan4321 -
> 
> Are you currently onshore in Australia or offshore?
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
I am currently offshore since I applied offshore. If you can give your valuable inputs that would be highly appreciated.

Regards,
Gagan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Juckie -

Each person on the application would receive a separate bridging visa. If a BV was not issued for your partner, better check with DIBP to make sure that their records show him/her as being onshore at the time of visa application - that's the most common issue when an applicant doesn't get a BV - that DIBP's computer system showed them as offshore, and therefore not eligible for a bridging visa at the time of application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Juckie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My questions just keep on coming! I have submitted my application for a 457 visa. I have received the automatically generated letter advising i have been granted a bridging visa. My de facto partner, who is part of the 457 application, is not mentioned in the bridging visa documentation. Does the bridging visa cover both applicants but only come in the primary applicants name?
> 
> Thanks for all your help.


----------



## depth77

thanks for the advice Mark, appreciate it

QUOTE=MarkNortham;431753]Hi Depth77 -

Very hard to predict - depends on local caseload there at the embassy, have they met any annual quota restrictions and are pushing things until after 1 July, etc. Wish I could give you an estimate, but unfortunately there's not enough info from DIBP to do so - overall partner visas take 9 - 12 months from application to grant in a typical scenario.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam[/QUOTE]


----------



## Duszek

Hello again,

I lodged my PMV online on 18/03/2014 and today I received an email from my case officer. They asked me to provide 2 more things and also to do my health checks after 18/06/2013. So my question is.

They need me to obtain written confirmation from an authorised Australian Marriage Celebrant with details of my planned wedding in Australia and provide the following details: 

parties to be married 

date and venue of marriage

Celebrant’s official number and address 

that a Notice of Intention to Marry (NOIM) has been lodged with the celebrant 

And now I have no idea how to do it because my fiance and I are currently living in the UK and there is no chance for going to Australia to get NOIM done. How to get it done then? 

Thank you for your help Mark


----------



## roryjenkins

Hi Mark just wondering if we've done the right thing. I'm a PR living with my wife & son in the UK. We've applied for a partner visa & my wife & son had done there medical checks & we've done our police checks before applying as we were hoping this could shave some time off the quoted 8-9 months. Is this usually the case as we just wanted to give the CO everything that was needed to make a decision as soon as had looked over our application. Many Thanks Rory


----------



## gagan4321

gagan4321 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am currently offshore since I applied offshore. If you can give your valuable inputs that would be highly appreciated.
> 
> Regards,
> Gagan


Kindly let me know I will look forward for your response.


----------



## sueann16

Hi Mark, 

I'm currently in the midst of putting together my application for the partner visa subclass 309. Part of the application requires at least 2 statutory declarations from either an Australian PR/ Citizen to verify my relationship with my husband who is my sponsor. ( He received his PR back in 2010).

I am using form 888 (statutory declaration template) for this and have sent it to my relatives residing in Australia to help fill this up. Part of the requirement of this form is to attach evidence regarding their australian PR. I'm wondering whether the VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online) document generated is sufficient as evidence to be attached to this form. If so, does this need to be certified still since this is generated from the IMMI website? 

Or if the VEVO document cannot be used, how else can they provide evidence on the residency in Australia as now it is all electronically tagged in their passport hence a photocopy of their certified passport would not be sufficient. 

Looking forward to hearing back and thanks in advance!

-ann-


----------



## sidjun

Hi Mark

I need urgent response to my below query as I have received invitation to apply. 

My wife lived in pakistan and moved to UAE in January 2008. She is in Living in UAE since then. But we go to pakistan every year for about two weeks i.e. In last 5 years we have stayed in Pakistan less then 3 months. Since Pakistani police certificates specify a period for which the certificate is issued, i have the following questions:
1- Should get police certificate from Pakistan for period up to 2008 or up to current date of 2014? 2- should the start date on Pakistani police certificate be 10 years before or should it start from her date of birth?

I need this clarification at the earliest please. 

Thanks. P.S: i am getting the UAE police certificate anyway.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Duszek -

Thanks for the note. The PMV requires marriage within the visa period (the 9 months duration of the visa) which is normally done in Australia since that's the point of the PMV visa. In Australia, a wedding celebrant is normally the person who would officiate at a wedding and sign the appropriate documents. As it's a legal requirement for the 300 visa that the applicant provide evidence to satisfy DIBP that she genuinely intends to marry, and intends to marry within the 9 month period, that's the reason for the request you received.

There are many wedding celebrants in Australia - my suggestion would be to reach out to as many as you can until you find one that will deal with you remotely (ie, signatures by scan/email, etc) and will write the letter required. Note that the NOIM form is not required for the visa, only evidence that you have made arrangements with a celebrant. The Celebrant will require the NOIM form, but may be flexible and allow you to sign the original when you arrive in Australia. It may take some looking to find one that will work with you remotely, but that's what you'll need in my view to satisfy DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Duszek said:


> Hello again,
> 
> I lodged my PMV online on 18/03/2014 and today I received an email from my case officer. They asked me to provide 2 more things and also to do my health checks after 18/06/2013. So my question is.
> 
> They need me to obtain written confirmation from an authorised Australian Marriage Celebrant with details of my planned wedding in Australia and provide the following details:
> 
> parties to be married
> 
> date and venue of marriage
> 
> Celebrant's official number and address
> 
> that a Notice of Intention to Marry (NOIM) has been lodged with the celebrant
> 
> And now I have no idea how to do it because my fiance and I are currently living in the UK and there is no chance for going to Australia to get NOIM done. How to get it done then?
> 
> Thank you for your help Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rory -

Sounds good to me! That's called lodging a "decision ready application" which means all the required documents are included with the application when originally submitted. In some cases this can significantly shorten the processing time.

Another unrelated note - depending on your living situation (you mentioned you were a PR living in the UK) you may want to look into the "usually resident" requirements for the partner visa - for PR's, they are normally required to be "usually resident" in Australia in order to sponsor for a partner visa. This does not apply to citizen sponsors however. Generally, usually resident means that you call Australia your home, but you can have other homes too. Also, if you are not living in Australia currently, you can show evidence that you intend to return to Australia in the near future and will then be calling it your home, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roryjenkins said:


> Hi Mark just wondering if we've done the right thing. I'm a PR living with my wife & son in the UK. We've applied for a partner visa & my wife & son had done there medical checks & we've done our police checks before applying as we were hoping this could shave some time off the quoted 8-9 months. Is this usually the case as we just wanted to give the CO everything that was needed to make a decision as soon as had looked over our application. Many Thanks Rory


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gagan -

Am researching this for you - will post here when I get details -

Best

Mark Northam



gagan4321 said:


> Kindly let me know I will look forward for your response.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sueann -

Thanks for the note. First thing - assuming you are planning to lodge your partner visa online (highly recommended), colour scans of original documents are fine - no certifying needed if you are scanning originals to upload. If you are doing paper application and submitting VEVO to show permanent residence (which is fine), you do not need to certify the VEVO printout.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sueann16 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm currently in the midst of putting together my application for the partner visa subclass 309. Part of the application requires at least 2 statutory declarations from either an Australian PR/ Citizen to verify my relationship with my husband who is my sponsor. ( He received his PR back in 2010).
> 
> I am using form 888 (statutory declaration template) for this and have sent it to my relatives residing in Australia to help fill this up. Part of the requirement of this form is to attach evidence regarding their australian PR. I'm wondering whether the VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online) document generated is sufficient as evidence to be attached to this form. If so, does this need to be certified still since this is generated from the IMMI website?
> 
> Or if the VEVO document cannot be used, how else can they provide evidence on the residency in Australia as now it is all electronically tagged in their passport hence a photocopy of their certified passport would not be sufficient.
> 
> Looking forward to hearing back and thanks in advance!
> 
> -ann-


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sidjun -

Suggest you have the police certificate cover as long a period as possible - at least the 10 years prior to application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sidjun said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I need urgent response to my below query as I have received invitation to apply.
> 
> My wife lived in pakistan and moved to UAE in January 2008. She is in Living in UAE since then. But we go to pakistan every year for about two weeks i.e. In last 5 years we have stayed in Pakistan less then 3 months. Since Pakistani police certificates specify a period for which the certificate is issued, i have the following questions:
> 1- Should get police certificate from Pakistan for period up to 2008 or up to current date of 2014? 2- should the start date on Pakistani police certificate be 10 years before or should it start from her date of birth?
> 
> I need this clarification at the earliest please.
> 
> Thanks. P.S: i am getting the UAE police certificate anyway.


----------



## Bryharter

Hello, I have summited my application via post. They have started working on my case and the CO is wanting more information to prove my partner and my relationship. We are having troubles with this as nothing is in both of our names and we are not a social couple. We have included christmas cards and party invites with both of our names on it and bank statements. We even included a very recent death notice from his grandfathers passing, which included both of our names. We were told by an immigration officer over the general inquires number to think outside the box. We are racking our brains on what else we could possibly include. 

We began our relationship online, I have been living in Australia with him for almost 2 years.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bryharter -

Thanks for the note. Based on what you've said in your post, it sounds like the CO is not satisfied of the genuineness of your relationship and needs more evidence. I'm assuming you lodged a defacto partner visa (?).

The key to evidence sometimes is coming up with anything that shows you are more than boyfriend/girlfriend or roommates "with extras" as they say. Sometimes it's about things you've done together in the past, but often times thinking about what proves commitment can be helpful, including any future commitments you may have - ie, both names on a lease, purchase contract, etc. Also naming each other in your superannuation beneficiary statements, wills and life insurance can be helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bryharter said:


> Hello, I have summited my application via post. They have started working on my case and the CO is wanting more information to prove my partner and my relationship. We are having troubles with this as nothing is in both of our names and we are not a social couple. We have included christmas cards and party invites with both of our names on it and bank statements. We even included a very recent death notice from his grandfathers passing, which included both of our names. We were told by an immigration officer over the general inquires number to think outside the box. We are racking our brains on what else we could possibly include.
> 
> We began our relationship online, I have been living in Australia with him for almost 2 years.


----------



## Bryharter

Thanks, Yes, in my eagerness to get some answers I forgot to include which visa I applied for, I applied for a partner visa. We are currently looking into Superannuation beneficiaries and such as that. We have been together for 4 years. It is just very difficult when half of our relationship was long distance. We are very much committed to one another and intend on being so for a very long time to come. 

It is just so hard to find out exactly what paperwork the CO wants. We have included everything we can think of at this stage. And more to be sent to him still. I was originally going to send some photos through as well. But when I sent in the documentation for the paper application it said not to send any pictures. But I am sure that the upcoming information will be better. 

Should I include things such as flight itinerary when we have traveled together? 

Thank you so much for having this forum! It is such an immense help to have a forum to go to and get answers.


----------



## Maggie-May24

Bryharter said:


> Thanks, Yes, in my eagerness to get some answers I forgot to include which visa I applied for, I applied for a partner visa. We are currently looking into Superannuation beneficiaries and such as that. We have been together for 4 years. It is just very difficult when half of our relationship was long distance. We are very much committed to one another and intend on being so for a very long time to come.
> 
> It is just so hard to find out exactly what paperwork the CO wants. We have included everything we can think of at this stage. And more to be sent to him still. I was originally going to send some photos through as well. But when I sent in the documentation for the paper application it said not to send any pictures. But I am sure that the upcoming information will be better.
> 
> Should I include things such as flight itinerary when we have traveled together?
> 
> Thank you so much for having this forum! It is such an immense help to have a forum to go to and get answers.


Hi Bryharter - I'm not Mark (obviously), but there are a few threads here that may give you some ideas. Look at the Unofficial de facto tips thread - http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/2997-very-unofficial-defacto-visa-tips.html - and do a general search for de facto threads (there will be lots but I don't know specific ones to point you to other than the sticky thread). Posting a thread specifically asking "De facto evidence ideas needed" or something like that should get you quite a few responses.


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi Mark,

Please reply me, my employer applied for nomination almost 10 weeks. Usually it takes 4 weeks. What could be possibility because three weeks before they request for job offer contract. How long more it may take and will CO wait for out come.

Thanks
Bharat


----------



## sidjun

Thanks Mark. Very useful advise.


----------



## roryjenkins

Thanks Mark I certainly hope it does shorten the process I would love to be back home with my family well before Christmas. I may have been born here but after growing up in Australia I still can't stand cold Christmas' !!☺


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

We're seeing ENS and RSMS nominations taking on the order of 3-4 months now. 457 nominations usually shorter. There is no limit for how long DIBP can take with these however. Normally CO will wait for outcome of nomination before processing a visa application, but the CO needs to know these are linked.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Please reply me, my employer applied for nomination almost 10 weeks. Usually it takes 4 weeks. What could be possibility because three weeks before they request for job offer contract. How long more it may take and will CO wait for out come.
> 
> Thanks
> Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Sounds good!

For me it's the opposite - having grown up in the USA (Maine), after years in Australia I still can't get used to Christmas being in the middle of summer. Christmas means snowmen, Santa on his sleigh, Christmas trees, icicles, etc. Christmas on Bondi Beach in the middle of summer is fun, but still doesn't quite feel like "Christmas"...

Mark



roryjenkins said:


> Thanks Mark I certainly hope it does shorten the process I would love to be back home with my family well before Christmas. I may have been born here but after growing up in Australia I still can't stand cold Christmas' !!☺


----------



## omv2

Hi Mark,
May I asked your help to enlighten me with my worries. First I appreciate your kindest help to answer for many people questions. 
I signed up with migration agent to help me with my PMV application. My agent never send any follow up email from the beginning of our application and we remain silent. 
My agent refused and informed us that he will not send 'ANY" follow up email to our CO even though we are over 9 mos on process. And advise us to wait when approval will happen. He warned us that he will cancelled our contract with him, if we make any follow up or email directly to our CO. My fiance is afraid to lose our contract with our agent. Our contract says we will not contact immigration without agreement with the agent. Does this clause says we have an option to contact our CO if my agent permit. But he don't give us an option or choice to contact by our self. But Just stop us contacting our CO. 
My question is do we have the rights to send email to our CO by our self even though we signed a form of consent for our agent to received all correspondence in behalf of us. Thank you very much and more power to you.


----------



## bhalo_fish

Thanks Mark, this helps me a lot. Appreciate your kind help.


----------



## Pauly303

Mark. Please help me bring my wife and son back home.

Hi Mark my name is Paul. I'm Australian born and bred currently living in Georgia[10 months] (next to Russia) and flew here to meet a woman i had met on the internet over 2 years ago.

We fell in love and she gave me a beautiful son. I stress as i need to return home and understand i must apply for 309/100 Visa. 
I had a family tragedy and could not work in my trade and have been on centrelink for 2 years. Prior i have strong work history.
My wife does not wish me to leave and i have spoken to Dept. of immigration Turkey with conflicting answers on how to proceed.
Apparently i have to apply for a tourist visa so my wife can come to Sydney.
Should i just apply for a tourist visa for her and citizen by descent then handle the Marriage visa once we are in Sydney with help of an agent?

I wish my elderly and sick Father to meet his only grandson!


----------



## Skharbanda

*Query on Distance learning degree*

Hi Mark,

I am from India, My academics and work experience is below, Will MSc computer science degree (distance learning) be eligible for 2611-ICT Business and Systems Analysts application? 
1. B Com-1999-Regular 
2. PGDIT- (Post Graduate Diploma in Information Technology)- 2001 - Distance learning 
3. MSc Computer Science-2004- Distance learning 
4. Working Since-2001 in IT sector 
5. Approx-10 years of experience as Business/System Analyst

Regards
SSuren


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Omv2 -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your agent issues. Generally agents aren't thrilled when represented clients contact DIBP directly, because it then essentially "voids" the agent appointment form (956) where DIBP is directed to communicate only through the agent. The benefit of communicating only through the agent is that the agent can then be aware of everything said to DIBP, and everything requested by DIBP. Without this, the agent can end up blindsided and unaware of communications if the client "goes direct". That's why many agents have this sort of a clause in their contract - I choose not to have this clause in our contract only because I think it's silly - besides, why threaten a client??

Regarding your case, you ALWAYS have the right to contact DIBP. No one can prevent you from doing that. That being said, the agent has the right to include the "cancel contract' clause in his contract as well. If you contact DIBP now, DIBP may talk to you, or they may require that you cancel your appointment of your agent in order for them to talk to you - this happens frequently. If you are not happy with your agent, then you may want to end the agreement with them, lodge Form 956 to end the appointment of them, and then deal with DIBP yourself if that's what you want to do.

Sadly, checking with DIBP about the status of a lodged application is useless 90% of the time. They just say they'll notify you when the application is finalised. DIBP has no time limits AT ALL on visa application processing, and the "estimates" they publish online are very rough at best. I understand your want to know what's going on, but again, even if you contact DIBP you may not receive the answer you hoped for if you were looking for them to tell you how much longer they are going to take.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam



omv2 said:


> Hi Mark,
> May I asked your help to enlighten me with my worries. First I appreciate your kindest help to answer for many people questions.
> I signed up with migration agent to help me with my PMV application. My agent never send any follow up email from the beginning of our application and we remain silent.
> My agent refused and informed us that he will not send 'ANY" follow up email to our CO even though we are over 9 mos on process. And advise us to wait when approval will happen. He warned us that he will cancelled our contract with him, if we make any follow up or email directly to our CO. My fiance is afraid to lose our contract with our agent. Our contract says we will not contact immigration without agreement with the agent. Does this clause says we have an option to contact our CO if my agent permit. But he don't give us an option or choice to contact by our self. But Just stop us contacting our CO.
> My question is do we have the rights to send email to our CO by our self even though we signed a form of consent for our agent to received all correspondence in behalf of us. Thank you very much and more power to you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SSuren -

Thanks, but am not able to assess individual cases on the forum - feel free to book a consultation at our website listed below in my signature if you'd like to - this will give us the time and resources to dig into your case and see exactly what visa(s) you may qualify for. That being said, ACS has a very complex process of assessing whether a degree is relevant to a nominated occupation or not, and I would not guess at what they will say -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Skharbanda said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am from India, My academics and work experience is below, Will MSc computer science degree (distance learning) be eligible for 2611-ICT Business and Systems Analysts application?
> 1. B Com-1999-Regular
> 2. PGDIT- (Post Graduate Diploma in Information Technology)- 2001 - Distance learning
> 3. MSc Computer Science-2004- Distance learning
> 4. Working Since-2001 in IT sector
> 5. Approx-10 years of experience as Business/System Analyst
> 
> Regards
> SSuren


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paul -

Thanks for the note. You can apply for a partner visa either offshore (309/100) or onshore (820/801). If you go for the onshore version, you would need to get a visitor visa for your wife to come to Australia, then lodge the partner visa application onshore after you arrive. Only issue could be if the visitor visa is refused, or if it is issued with condition 8503 ("no further stay") which woudl inhibit your ability to lodge the partner visa while onshore here on the visitor visa. However, first thing's first, you may want to lodge the visitor visa application and see how that goes first, then decide when to come and where to lodge your partner application. I'm assuming you have applied for Australian citizenship by descent for your son so he would then, as an Australian citizen, not need a visitor visa as well.

Please advise if I can assist further - you can also contact me directly via PM here or via my website in the signature of my post below. Good luck!

Best,

Mark Northam



Pauly303 said:


> Mark. Please help me bring my wife and son back home.
> 
> Hi Mark my name is Paul. I'm Australian born and bred currently living in Georgia[10 months] (next to Russia) and flew here to meet a woman i had met on the internet over 2 years ago.
> 
> We fell in love and she gave me a beautiful son. I stress as i need to return home and understand i must apply for 309/100 Visa.
> I had a family tragedy and could not work in my trade and have been on centrelink for 2 years. Prior i have strong work history.
> My wife does not wish me to leave and i have spoken to Dept. of immigration Turkey with conflicting answers on how to proceed.
> Apparently i have to apply for a tourist visa so my wife can come to Sydney.
> Should i just apply for a tourist visa for her and citizen by descent then handle the Marriage visa once we are in Sydney with help of an agent?
> 
> I wish my elderly and sick Father to meet his only grandson!


----------



## omv2

Mark,
Thanks for helpful your reply. 
I believe in you. And will contact you in future we might need help. 
Have a great day ahead.


----------



## merchantroyal

Mark,

I originally applied offline.
I was asked for the the form 80 and send this via an email attachment.

It said it can take them 4 weeks to reply to an email. Is an email attachement ok to send in the form 80 or should i mail it?

Josh.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Josh -

Normally Form 80 as long as it's signed is fine to submit as a scan via email attachment. You may want to wait a bit longer and see what they say, depending on your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



merchantroyal said:


> Mark,
> 
> I originally applied offline.
> I was asked for the the form 80 and send this via an email attachment.
> 
> It said it can take them 4 weeks to reply to an email. Is an email attachement ok to send in the form 80 or should i mail it?
> 
> Josh.


----------



## blogJK

*457 to Permanent residency*

Hello,

I am working in Melbourne on 457 VISA as Software consultant. My employer is ready to provide the sponsorship, hence i am planning to get PR through 'Temporary Residence Transition stream' by end of this year. I have few questions below:-

1) Is ACS assessment is required to file PR under transition stream?

2) Is there any rule/law under the scheme which force me to work with the employer, who sponsored me, for XX years after PR is granted?

3) Do i need IELTS score of 6 to apply under this?

I have nearly 8+ yrs of experience as software consultant (including 2 years here in Australia)

Thanks,


----------



## nursing

*Bridging visa time processing*

Hello Mark,

I would like to ask how long will it take for a bridging visa to be granted. I hold a 416 visa and will cease on the 14th of May 2 more weeks to go. I am applying for a student visa. How long will it takes for the bridging visa to be granted? Is it after I lodge my student visa will it automatically sets in the bridging visa?
I hope you could answer it quickly because I'm so anxious at this time.

Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nursing -

If you are able to apply online and there are no unusual circumstances, the bridging visa is generally granted same-day or within a couple of days. If you have to do a paper application, may take several more days.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nursing said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I would like to ask how long will it take for a bridging visa to be granted. I hold a 416 visa and will cease on the 14th of May 2 more weeks to go. I am applying for a student visa. How long will it takes for the bridging visa to be granted? Is it after I lodge my student visa will it automatically sets in the bridging visa?
> I hope you could answer it quickly because I'm so anxious at this time.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BlogJK -

See responses below at ***:



blogJK said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am working in Melbourne on 457 VISA as Software consultant. My employer is ready to provide the sponsorship, hence i am planning to get PR through 'Temporary Residence Transition stream' by end of this year. I have few questions below:-
> 
> 1) Is ACS assessment is required to file PR under transition stream?
> *** No. However you and your employer should carefully review all of the requirements for this nomination/visa.
> 
> 2) Is there any rule/law under the scheme which force me to work with the employer, who sponsored me, for XX years after PR is granted?
> *** No. However if the employer comes to believe that the entire arrangement was a fraud (that you never intended to honour the employment contract that is a required part of the visa application), there may be other issues.
> 
> 3) Do i need IELTS score of 6 to apply under this?
> *** Nope. For the TRT pathway for ENS, you need minimum IELTS score of 5 on each band.
> 
> I have nearly 8+ yrs of experience as software consultant (including 2 years here in Australia)
> 
> Thanks,


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## dipiksg82

Dear Sir, 

I can't THANK YOU enough for helping so many people in this forum and I am thrilled to know that you are from Maine as my grandmother was a resident of Portland, Maine before she decided to settle down in India. 

I am writing just seek your opinion regarding interpretation of guidelines as mentioned on Skill Select website :

Immigration announced the following changes will be in place
from 1 March 2014:
State and territory nominated visas will no longer be
subject to occupational ceiling limitations
The minimum ceiling for each occupational group will be
1000 invitations for each financial year. 


1.If that be the case then why some states have occupations in High, Medium or low availability??!! 


2. Why none of the state's issue a report on how many invites they have issued and of out those how many visas have been granted? 

3. For my occupation code as per on reports available on skill select... 0 of 3600 visas have been issued still my occupation is in special conditions apply category! And for insurance agents code where only ACT had state nomination open... Till April they had 0 invited out of 1000 now since feb 17 ACT is closed and still the invited number has changed from 0 to 5!!! 

I humbly request you to enlighten me on the Points mentioned above, despite of being a Mathematics graduate these figures baffle me to the extent of me getting scared. 

Regards, 

Dipika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dipika -

Thanks for the note - it's a small world indeed!

There is a single answer to all of your questions: while there may be no limits imposed by DIBP, each state is free to set their own conditions on any occupations they may choose to sponsor for. Those conditions also include their own quotas or limits on any occupation, plus additional requirement such as additional IELTS, work experience minimums, etc. The announcement you quoted essentially says that the federal government is not going to impose any of their own limits - they are going to let the states do what they want re: limits. Unfortunately the states publish very few statistics, and DIBP imposes no requirements on them to do this.

Hopefully come July the new lists will be issued by each state and we'll have a much better idea of what occupations are going to be available for each state during the 2014-2015 program year.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dipiksg82 said:


> Dear Sir,
> 
> I can't THANK YOU enough for helping so many people in this forum and I am thrilled to know that you are from Maine as my grandmother was a resident of Portland, Maine before she decided to settle down in India.
> 
> I am writing just seek your opinion regarding interpretation of guidelines as mentioned on Skill Select website :
> 
> Immigration announced the following changes will be in place
> from 1 March 2014:
> State and territory nominated visas will no longer be
> subject to occupational ceiling limitations
> The minimum ceiling for each occupational group will be
> 1000 invitations for each financial year.
> 
> 1.If that be the case then why some states have occupations in High, Medium or low availability??!!
> 
> 2. Why none of the state's issue a report on how many invites they have issued and of out those how many visas have been granted?
> 
> 3. For my occupation code as per on reports available on skill select... 0 of 3600 visas have been issued still my occupation is in special conditions apply category! And for insurance agents code where only ACT had state nomination open... Till April they had 0 invited out of 1000 now since feb 17 ACT is closed and still the invited number has changed from 0 to 5!!!
> 
> I humbly request you to enlighten me on the Points mentioned above, despite of being a Mathematics graduate these figures baffle me to the extent of me getting scared.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Dipika


----------



## lissa

hi mark,

i am currently on bridging visa a for 485. i will be applying for 189 in the next few weeks which i will receive another bridging visa. then i will apply for a medicare card. can i cancel my 485 health cover since i will have my medicare card anyway? or i cant do that while my 485 is not granted yet? i think i can cancel my 485 health cover once my 485 has been granted and got my medicare card while on bva for 189 but i want to confirm with you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lissa -

Once you have full Medicare coverage in place (which is available to people who have applied for a PR visa such as the 189), that should satisfy the 485 health insurance requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lissa said:


> hi mark,
> 
> i am currently on bridging visa a for 485. i will be applying for 189 in the next few weeks which i will receive another bridging visa. then i will apply for a medicare card. can i cancel my 485 health cover since i will have my medicare card anyway? or i cant do that while my 485 is not granted yet? i think i can cancel my 485 health cover once my 485 has been granted and got my medicare card while on bva for 189 but i want to confirm with you.


----------



## windycity

Hi Mark

My partner and I (Singapore) are going to apply for Partner visa 801. However, I am currently worried. 

Due to:

1. I had fare evasion before in Vic for serveral times, however I do remember I have paid all my debts. Will it affect my visa application?
As for the police checks, do I apply it from Home country or Aust? 

also, 

2. I have a student visa cancelled due to lack of attendance. therefore, I am back in Singapore, and I have been working for a year. Will it also affect my application?

Thanks for your help Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Windycity -

Thanks for the note. Normally fare evasion type offences do not negatively impact a PR visa application unless there are a large number of them or they form some sort of pattern of criminal conduct, etc. However if you've completed any visa applications or incoming passenger cards since those convictions and have not declared them, that could be an issue depending on the case officer.

Re: police checks, you'll need them for all countries you've spent a total of 12 months or more in during the last 10 years.

Re: student visa cancellation, if it was only due to lack of attendance (and not due to things like PIC4020 issues), that should not impact your partner visa application. However given this and the fare evasion issues, they may take a very close look at your application - best to make sure that everything is 100% accurate - be very careful and thorough.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



windycity said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My partner and I (Singapore) are going to apply for Partner visa 801. However, I am currently worried.
> 
> Due to:
> 
> 1. I had fare evasion before in Vic for serveral times, however I do remember I have paid all my debts. Will it affect my visa application?
> As for the police checks, do I apply it from Home country or Aust?
> 
> also,
> 
> 2. I have a student visa cancelled due to lack of attendance. therefore, I am back in Singapore, and I have been working for a year. Will it also affect my application?
> 
> Thanks for your help Mark.


----------



## HHanif

Hi Mark,

I was granted student visa on May 1, 2014 with expiry in Jan 2016. My course duration is for 1.5 years

If I wish to travel now to Australia can I do that? My course begins in July. Also, my OSHC is for my study period, start date: 29 July 2014 as stated in my CoE. If I do wish to travel now will it be an issue? Or my OSHC will be counted from the day of my arrival?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HHanif -

Thanks for your question - you will need to consult your visa grant document/letter to determine the valid dates for your visa (ie valid arrival, expiry, etc). If your visa allows you to arrive before your OSHC is in place, your OSHC may not cover you for illness or accident until your study starts - again, you'll need to consult your OSHC documentation to determine your coverage effective dates, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HHanif said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was granted student visa on May 1, 2014 with expiry in Jan 2016. My course duration is for 1.5 years
> 
> If I wish to travel now to Australia can I do that? My course begins in July. Also, my OSHC is for my study period, start date: 29 July 2014 as stated in my CoE. If I do wish to travel now will it be an issue? Or my OSHC will be counted from the day of my arrival?


----------



## windycity

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Windycity -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Normally fare evasion type offences do not negatively impact a PR visa application unless there are a large number of them or they form some sort of pattern of criminal conduct, etc. However if you've completed any visa applications or incoming passenger cards since those convictions and have not declared them, that could be an issue depending on the case officer.
> 
> Re: police checks, you'll need them for all countries you've spent a total of 12 months or more in during the last 10 years.
> 
> Re: student visa cancellation, if it was only due to lack of attendance (and not due to things like PIC4020 issues), that should not impact your partner visa application. However given this and the fare evasion issues, they may take a very close look at your application - best to make sure that everything is 100% accurate - be very careful and thorough.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

I dont quite understand by " However if you've completed any visa applications incoming passenger cards since those convictions and have not declared them, that could be an issue depending on the case officer"

Is Incoming passenger card in green? If yes, I have only been back in July 2013 and i did not indicate this as I have already cleared all my debts before leaving aust in March 2013. Will it affect my application?

Thanks for your help. We are stressed over the application.


----------



## HHanif

MarkNortham said:


> Hi HHanif -
> 
> Thanks for your question - you will need to consult your visa grant document/letter to determine the valid dates for your visa (ie valid arrival, expiry, etc). If your visa allows you to arrive before your OSHC is in place, your OSHC may not cover you for illness or accident until your study starts - again, you'll need to consult your OSHC documentation to determine your coverage effective dates, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your quick reply.

I checked on VEVO and it states that my visa is in effect from May 1 2014. And I am not allowed entry after January 2016.

I dont have an OSHC documentation as my university purchased it for me. My CoE however stated OSHC start date as 29 July, which is my course start date.


----------



## Dinkum

*OHSC cover*

You may be able to adjust your OHSC dates. We did this at first. The University gave a credit for payment and I bought OHSC cover privately (Medibank). This allowed an earlier arrival. The Uni & Medibank were both helpful. We still needed to provide evidence of the new OHSC cover to the Uni for immigration purposes. Hope this helps. 



HHanif said:


> Thanks for your quick reply.
> 
> I checked on VEVO and it states that my visa is in effect from May 1 2014. And I am not allowed entry after January 2016.
> 
> I dont have an OSHC documentation as my university purchased it for me. My CoE however stated OSHC start date as 29 July, which is my course start date.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Windycity -

The only issue I see is if your offences are considered "criminal convictions" - which usually means an offence that you were convicted of in a court. However you may want to talk to an Australian lawyer to get the specific definition. Some people interpret this as meaning anything that could show up on an AFP (Australia Federal Police) Police Clearance Certificate. I don't know enough about your situation to give you any specific advice in this area - if the offence does not show up on an AFP report, then I expect it may not be an issue. If the offence does show up on an AFP report, and you have not declared it on a visa application or passenger card since that conviction, that seems to me to be the only area of concern from what you've mentioned. Whether or not you pay off the debts is not the issue - the passenger card asks if you've ever had a criminal conviction.

BTW the AFP report I'm referring to is the "Name Check Only" police clearance certificate from the AFP which is standard for immigration purposes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



windycity said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I dont quite understand by " However if you've completed any visa applications incoming passenger cards since those convictions and have not declared them, that could be an issue depending on the case officer"
> 
> Is Incoming passenger card in green? If yes, I have only been back in July 2013 and i did not indicate this as I have already cleared all my debts before leaving aust in March 2013. Will it affect my application?
> 
> Thanks for your help. We are stressed over the application.


----------



## Daniella2485

*partener visa 820*

hello mark! I'm a colombian with a tourist visa living in sydney with my australian boyfriend, we are going to start our de facto visa application but i don't understand when they talk about dependants, in the booklet they say applicants parents are dependants but my parents are not dependant from me, i don't financially support them in any way, so could you please help me clarify that? thank you so much in advance for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daniella -

Thanks for the note. The book can be confusing - for purposes of a partner visa, your dependents would be only those who are primarily financially dependent on you for food, clothing and shelter - typically this means children, but in some cases can me elderly parents, etc. From what you've written, it sounds like you do not have any dependents, so that's how your application should be completed. The application will ask you about your parents and siblings and want detailed data on them, but they would not be your dependents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Daniella2485 said:


> hello mark! I'm a colombian with a tourist visa living in sydney with my australian boyfriend, we are going to start our de facto visa application but i don't understand when they talk about dependants, in the booklet they say applicants parents are dependants but my parents are not dependant from me, i don't financially support them in any way, so could you please help me clarify that? thank you so much in advance for your help!


----------



## Daniella2485

thank you so much for your help mark! it helped lots!

cheers,

Daniella.


----------



## gagan4321

Hi Mark,

Did you have any updates about my enquiry?

Regards,
Gagan


----------



## pigby

Hi Mark!

I would like your expert opinion please. I received an invitation to apply for 189 on 4/28, so while preparing the documents needed for my visa application, I noticed that the Start Date of my education history in my EOI is incorrect! In the EOI, I placed June 2, 1997 but it is June 13, 1997 in my university transcript.

What date should I put in my visa application - should it be the date in my EOI (June 2) or should it be the correct date (June 13)? How will I explain this difference?

Will this be a reason for rejection?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gagan -

Not yet - expect to have something Monday perhaps. There are various rules that have come and gone re: transitioning applications, need to do some research. It is unlikely that you could find a state willing to sponsor you for a 176 at this point since the states are not sponsoring for that visa anymore. The only chance would be family sponsorship, however it is not yet clear whether it is possible legally to add a family sponsor at this late date - will let you know when I have the info.

Best,

Mark



gagan4321 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Did you have any updates about my enquiry?
> 
> Regards,
> Gagan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pigby!

Would suggest putting the correct date (ie, matches your transcript) on the visa application. If any questions are asked (doubt they will), you can just tell them it was a mistake when you entered the info into the EOI. As long as the mistake doesn't change the number of points you receive (can't see how it would in this case), it normally would not be an issue at all.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pigby said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I would like your expert opinion please. I received an invitation to apply for 189 on 4/28, so while preparing the documents needed for my visa application, I noticed that the Start Date of my education history in my EOI is incorrect! In the EOI, I placed June 2, 1997 but it is June 13, 1997 in my university transcript.
> 
> What date should I put in my visa application - should it be the date in my EOI (June 2) or should it be the correct date (June 13)? How will I explain this difference?
> 
> Will this be a reason for rejection?


----------



## travellor

Hi Mark...I have 2 questions to run by you....

1. Im an Aust. Permanent Resident since 1968, my wife is Filipina alsp PR. Iam semi-retired and earn after tax $45,000PA, Wife $10,000PA/Part Time...

Q>A......We would like to have 2 of her grandkids ages 12 and 6 to visit us for a holiday....what is the criteria.

Q>B......Their father is currently in Saudi and works as a welder/pipe fitter...but almost 2 years employment....he has a wife in Philippines.....What is the best way to sponsor the family to Australia...

Many Thanks....Peter


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Travellor -

Thanks for the questions - children under the age of 18 require the written permission of all persons (adults) who have a legal right to decide where they can go (usually both biological parents, unless one parent has sole custody of the child). This can be done using Form 1229 plus a certified copy of a govt photo ID of the person giving permission, or via a statutory declaration.

Re: visa for welder/fitter, easiest is probably an employer sponsored temporary visa such as a 457, or employer sponsored permanent visa such as the ENS or RSMS, however a skilled visa sponsored by a state may also be a possibility - would need to do a detailed assessment in order to determine best visa(s) - please feel free to contact me via my website listed in the signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



travellor said:


> Hi Mark...I have 2 questions to run by you....
> 
> 1. Im an Aust. Permanent Resident since 1968, my wife is Filipina alsp PR. Iam semi-retired and earn after tax $45,000PA, Wife $10,000PA/Part Time...
> 
> Q>A......We would like to have 2 of her grandkids ages 12 and 6 to visit us for a holiday....what is the criteria.
> 
> Q>B......Their father is currently in Saudi and works as a welder/pipe fitter...but almost 2 years employment....he has a wife in Philippines.....What is the best way to sponsor the family to Australia...
> 
> Many Thanks....Peter


----------



## uniextra

hi Mark, i have a question regarding certified documents.

I'm from Spain, hence, all my docs are in spanish, so i will translate them
I understand that I have to put in a PDF, the Original (in spanish) and the translation, but the question is witch one should be certified?

Also, I have some documents that are in English, should i have them certified also? this does not have much sence, since i have to scann them and i could send the original...

thanks for the help!


----------



## Sam79

Hi Mark - Hoping you can help with my query: My wife was granted a provisional partner visa in 2007. In 2009 before she was eligible to apply for the permanent partner visa, we left Australia due to a job opportunity. We did not inform immigration of the change in status. Since then I have been out of Australia and my resident return visa expired last year Sep 2013. I would like to go back to Australia and have applied for my resident return visa. 

Could someone please advise if i should apply for a fresh partner application or shall i be pursuing my old partner visa application. Since we didn't inform immigration of the change in status, is there a possibility that the earlier partner visa got rejected by them and we can't re-apply now? I know i should've informed immigration earlier but i didn't. Is not information immigration of the change is status a ground for rejection now?

I now have a 3 year old daughter, which visa can i apply for her? Can the partner visa application include dependant child?

same as my partner visa application i had also applied for parent visa which we didn't pursue further. If i re-apply now should a fresh application be made. Can the visa be rejected now?

Please advise


----------



## gagan4321

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gagan -
> 
> Not yet - expect to have something Monday perhaps. There are various rules that have come and gone re: transitioning applications, need to do some research. It is unlikely that you could find a state willing to sponsor you for a 176 at this point since the states are not sponsoring for that visa anymore. The only chance would be family sponsorship, however it is not yet clear whether it is possible legally to add a family sponsor at this late date - will let you know when I have the info.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hi Mark,
Sure I will wait. However, My application already had me sponsor from my brother in 2010 i.e. 176FS and one of my knowns told me that by giving new IELTS 7each i can gather an extra 10 points since at the time of applying i scored 6 each and got 15 points then. The maximum points for IELTS that time were 25 for 7 each. Hence without lodging a new application if am able to get 7 each I can migrate. The only thing is I want to be sure by getting a valuable advice from your side. But I express my thanks in advance to you for looking into this.

Regards,
Gagandeep Singh


----------



## gagan4321

gagan4321 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Sure I will wait. However, My application already had me sponsor from my brother in 2010 i.e. 176FS and one of my knowns told me that by giving new IELTS 7each i can gather an extra 10 points since at the time of applying i scored 6 each and got 15 points then. The maximum points for IELTS that time were 25 for 7 each. Hence without lodging a new application if am able to get 7 each I can migrate. The only thing is I want to be sure by getting a valuable advice from your side. But I express my thanks in advance to you for looking into this.
> 
> Regards,
> Gagandeep Singh


Also if there are any other options to migrate, kindly let me know that too.


----------



## pigby

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pigby!
> 
> Would suggest putting the correct date (ie, matches your transcript) on the visa application. If any questions are asked (doubt they will), you can just tell them it was a mistake when you entered the info into the EOI. As long as the mistake doesn't change the number of points you receive (can't see how it would in this case), it normally would not be an issue at all.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks so much, Mark. Do I need to include form 1023 in my visa application for this?


----------



## Fadelina

Mark thank you for offering your services on your own time. Such a lovely thing to do for those of us with endless questions haha. Let me explain my situation and hopefully you can help me with my questions.

I am a Canadian with a Canadian husband and two children. We want to immigrate to Aussie. The only way for us to do this is for me to have a career on the SOL list. The career I have chosen is Child Care Center Worker/Manager (which is in extremely high demand right now...the gov't of Aussie has even agreed to pay for the schooling required for this career...offer is for Aussie citizens only). So I feel this is a best-chance career to have to receive an invitation from DIMA. I currently do NOT have this career qualification...that's why I will be applying for a schooling visa and will be taking this diploma course in rural Queensland. It will take 18 months full time to get the diploma. I plan on attending school Feb 2015. So by July 2016 I will have this qualification. Here's where my questions start (and I hope I can explain myself properly)....

1) Once I finish school, I know that I will have a 2 month grace period before we have to leave the country (or apply for another visa, if we do not have a "no further stay" condition on my schooling visa).....should I apply for a 485 graduate work visa? That way I will have 18 months to work and apply for a permanent skilled visa. (The reason is because I was told that 2 months may not be enough time to receive an invitation from the gov't to apply for a permanent visa...and I would hate to have my schooling visa expire before getting this invitation). AM I EVEN ABLE to apply for a 485 graduate visa? I was told that I might have to have a "2-year" study requirement in order to qualify. But my program is only 18 months. If a 2-year study is required, then I assume that I cannot get a 485 graduate visa?

2) Could I qualify for a post study work visa? Or is that only for students with a bachelor degree....not just a diploma?

3) What visa would I apply for if I just graduated my diploma course in Queensland, but have no work experience? Our intention is to become permanent migrants.....this is the goal we are working towards. 

4) To qualify for 5 extra points, there is an "Australian study requirement".....but I am confused by the wording. It says 

-must have been completed in at least 16 calendar months
-must have been completed as a result of at least 2 years study

So is it 16 months or 2 years that I need to have? My course is 18 months.....I am so confused whether I qualify for this or not.

5) IF I qualify for the 485 graduate visa, would it be in my best interest to work the one year (to get the 5 extra points for work experience), THEN apply for permanent residency, or apply right away while my career is still on the SOL, and forgo the 5 extra points? (IF I do NOT qualify for the 485 graduate work visa, because of the 2 years academic study requirement, then that answers my question already).

5) The assessing authority for Child Care Worker is TRA. How does TRA assess me if I have no work experience and I just graduated? Will that be a suitable assessment for a skilled migration visa?

6) I want to use my parents as sponsors. They live in rural queensland in a postal code that is approved. Does this mean that I have to apply for the 489 regional provisional visa (after I graduate)? Or can I use their sponsorship points on a 189 general skilled visa? The 489 visa would be valid for 4 years. Would I have to work in my designated career for the 4 years? Or can I work in any career, or not work at all? I realize that I would have to live in that rural postal code, and that is OK. I just don't know if I want to work full time once I graduate. As long as I am not employer-sponsored, I can work in any field right?

7) Once the 4 years is over on the 487 regional provisional visa, and now I want to apply for the 887 indefinite visa, does my career still have to be on the SOL list?

8) My ideal situation would be to apply for the 487 regional provisional visa or the 189 general skilled visa (If I can use my parents as sponsors) RIGHT AFTER I GRADUATE (in the 2 months grace period that I have)...but I worry that I will not get an invitation quick enough. I called DIMA and they said a quick way to get an invitation is to get a sponsorship from the Queensland government, and then that essentially becomes my invitation!?!? But would that mean I have to work full time on my visa (for how long?), and live in rural Queensland (which is not a problem)?

9) If I do NOT qualify for the 485 graduate work visa (because of the 2 year study requirement), is the only way for me to get work experience to be sponsored by an employer? Work experience gives me 5 extra points...but this would mean that I have to delay my permanent application for 1 year while I am getting the 1 year work experience. I'm not sure if this is a wise thing to do.

10) Processing times online were confusing....are sponsored visas quicker than skilled independent? Which type of sponsor is quickest? Family, state nominated, employer nominated? Or a combination of all 3?
I REALLY don't want to have to work full time for 2 years...I would rather have a family sponsorship, or a rural state territory sponsorship (IF IT DOESN'T REQUIRE ME TO WORK). Do 189 visas get invitations and processed the quickest cause they are independent?

11) If I apply for the 489 sponsor by family, do I have to have a job offer? Or is that only for state-territory sponsor (or maybe not even for that)? I worry that it might be hard to get an employer to send in their application for my sponsorship. I like to do things on my own, because I know I will get them done quickly and correctly. Is employee sponsorship a common thing in Aussie? Something that is done quickly, and can get me an invitation quickly...before the 2 months runs out on my student visa? (I would then use a bridging visa while I await the results of the formal application). I assume there is no bridging visa while I AWAIT MY INVITATION?

12) If I DO decide to go right away and apply for the 489 regional provisional visa (with family sponsorship), or the 190 general skilled visa (also with family sponsorship)...but time is running out on my 2 months grace period student visa...can I just apply for another tourist visa to cover me while awaiting an invitation? Does it make sense to have a tourist visa after a schooling visa? That's why the 485 graduate visa would be great to get (IF I qualify for it), because it would allow me to work for 18 months, gain 1 year work experience for the 5 extra points, THEN apply for the 489 or 189 visa while there's still lots of time left over on my graduate 485 visa. It's the whole "invitation time" thing that worries me. But If I can get a tourist visa to hold me over, then I would rather do that....but I'm not sure if that exists for post-study people. 

I hope I have made myself clear....I will list the important things in point form. And I realize that some answers will automatically eliminate other questions, and that some of my questions seem the same, except for minor details (although NOTHING is minor when it comes to DIMA!)

-will have diploma as a result of 18 months study
-Canadian citizen with Canadian passport
-I will be 32 when my diploma is achieved (do not qualify for 476)
-in great health
-will be sitting for the IELTS to get the maximum points allowed
-will have NO working experience after I graduate (possibly want the option to work after graduation to get 1 year experience for 5 points)
-Prefer not to have a visa which ties me to working full time (like a 186 or 187 direct entry stream visa). I will work 1 year for the 887 regional skilled visa, but I do not want to work 2 years for a sponsorship. I will be living in a rural area. So maybe 189 is the best way to go (IF MY PARENTS CAN SPONSOR ME).

THANKS!


----------



## rhodered

Hi Mark, long time no talk..

Just a quick question...here in Sydney on a bridging visa from a PMV...applied for the 820 in December...so 4 months waiting now. Any reason to panic? It did say up to 18 months in the bridging visa, I just thought PMV to 820 would be quick.
And of course thank you for all the help youve already given Kara and I !
Brian


----------



## Daniella2485

Hi mark, I have another question, from where is the police check that i have to provide for my 820 application, from my country (colombia) or from australia? and what is the character test? i don't understand if its something that i have to book like the medical one or is it a form or is a test they'll book for me? 

Thank you so much for your help mark!


----------



## Sam79

Hi Mark - I checked VEVO for the provisional visa 309 status that was granted in 2007. Status says in effect, I am bit surprised now. Could you advice if a fresh application shall be made in this case or is there a way to re-use the same application? thanks in advance


Sam79 said:


> Hi Mark - Hoping you can help with my query: My wife was granted a provisional partner visa in 2007. In 2009 before she was eligible to apply for the permanent partner visa, we left Australia due to a job opportunity. We did not inform immigration of the change in status. Since then I have been out of Australia and my resident return visa expired last year Sep 2013. I would like to go back to Australia and have applied for my resident return visa.
> 
> Could someone please advise if i should apply for a fresh partner application or shall i be pursuing my old partner visa application. Since we didn't inform immigration of the change in status, is there a possibility that the earlier partner visa got rejected by them and we can't re-apply now? I know i should've informed immigration earlier but i didn't. Is not information immigration of the change is status a ground for rejection now?
> 
> I now have a 3 year old daughter, which visa can i apply for her? Can the partner visa application include dependant child?
> 
> same as my partner visa application i had also applied for parent visa which we didn't pursue further. If i re-apply now should a fresh application be made. Can the visa be rejected now?
> 
> Please advise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uniextra -

Generally DIBP is now accepting high quality colour scans of originals for most applications - rarely see them asking for any certified copies. If you are lodging a paper application (not online), then to be safe everything not generated by you (ie, other than your own statements, etc) should be either an original document or a certified copy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



uniextra said:


> hi Mark, i have a question regarding certified documents.
> 
> I'm from Spain, hence, all my docs are in spanish, so i will translate them
> I understand that I have to put in a PDF, the Original (in spanish) and the translation, but the question is witch one should be certified?
> 
> Also, I have some documents that are in English, should i have them certified also? this does not have much sence, since i have to scann them and i could send the original...
> 
> thanks for the help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sam 79 -

Suggest you enquire with DIBP as to whether your permanent partner visa application is still undecided/open. If so, you may be able to reactivate it - if not, a fresh partner visa will be necessary. You'll have to decide whether to lodge onshore or offshore for that if necessary. I expect there's a strong chance the previous partner visa was cancelled as they probably tried to reach you and could not. Either way, not a huge problem as that should not prevent you from lodging a new partner visa application. If you do that, you can include your child on the partner application or lodge a separate Child visa application for the child - suggest you talk to a migration agent to sort out the finer points of this situation and help you plan this.

Re: Parent visa, if it's a non-contributory parent visa, it's likely that the application is still waiting in the queue as these can have a waiting time of 15 years - again, best to check with DIBP on this to see what the status of the previous application you submitted is.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sam79 said:


> Hi Mark - Hoping you can help with my query: My wife was granted a provisional partner visa in 2007. In 2009 before she was eligible to apply for the permanent partner visa, we left Australia due to a job opportunity. We did not inform immigration of the change in status. Since then I have been out of Australia and my resident return visa expired last year Sep 2013. I would like to go back to Australia and have applied for my resident return visa.
> 
> Could someone please advise if i should apply for a fresh partner application or shall i be pursuing my old partner visa application. Since we didn't inform immigration of the change in status, is there a possibility that the earlier partner visa got rejected by them and we can't re-apply now? I know i should've informed immigration earlier but i didn't. Is not information immigration of the change is status a ground for rejection now?
> 
> I now have a 3 year old daughter, which visa can i apply for her? Can the partner visa application include dependant child?
> 
> same as my partner visa application i had also applied for parent visa which we didn't pursue further. If i re-apply now should a fresh application be made. Can the visa be rejected now?
> 
> Please advise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gagandeep -

With over 100 different types of visas, there almost always are other options to migrate, but far too long to go into here - suggest you book a consultation with a migration agent to explore any other options that may be open to you.

Just to summarise your question here, you lodged a family sponsored 176 visa in 2010, and now want to submit a current IELTS test report with 7+ on each band to increase your points and convert the application to a skilled independent sc175 application - is that correct?

Best,

Mark Northam



gagan4321 said:


> Also if there are any other options to migrate, kindly let me know that too.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pigby -

Probably not since that form is used after you lodge an application and wish to change the information you put on the application. Since you're fixing this prior, you could just write a short letter detailing the mistake and upload it as an education related document along with the rest of your docs (transcripts, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pigby said:


> Thanks so much, Mark. Do I need to include form 1023 in my visa application for this?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fadelina -

Thanks for the questions - I can only answer these after I have a very detailed understanding of your situation (and your family) - far too detailed to go into on the forum here as there are a lot of questions I would need to ask you in order to answer your questions. Suggest you consider a consulting session with a registered migration agent which will provide the time and resources to get answers to all your questions. We offer these (see website link in my signature below at the end of this msg) or other agents do as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Fadelina said:


> Mark thank you for offering your services on your own time. Such a lovely thing to do for those of us with endless questions haha. Let me explain my situation and hopefully you can help me with my questions.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brian -

Wish it were quick! I'd be prepared for a 9-12 month wait, and be happy if it comes in sooner (ie, 6-9 months). Partner visa processing is, from what I'm hearing, way backed up at the moment and they have increased the scrutiny for many partner visa application due to increased fraud, etc. Bottom line: not seeing a lot of quick partner visa applications these days! There are always the exceptions, but I'd settle in for a good wait.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rhodered said:


> Hi Mark, long time no talk..
> 
> Just a quick question...here in Sydney on a bridging visa from a PMV...applied for the 820 in December...so 4 months waiting now. Any reason to panic? It did say up to 18 months in the bridging visa, I just thought PMV to 820 would be quick.
> And of course thank you for all the help youve already given Kara and I !
> Brian


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daniella -

Here's a guide on getting a DIBP police check: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/character-requirements/character-penal.pdf

You'll need one for every country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years, plus Australia if you are lodging onshore.

Character test is a set of regulations that determine if you are considered a character risk (ie, criminal convictions, etc). Nothing you have to do in advance on this - if based on your police reports they consider that you may not pass the character test, you'll be notified and given an opportunity to respond/argue as necessary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam‎



Daniella2485 said:


> Hi mark, I have another question, from where is the police check that i have to provide for my 820 application, from my country (colombia) or from australia? and what is the character test? i don't understand if its something that i have to book like the medical one or is it a form or is a test they'll book for me?
> 
> Thank you so much for your help mark!


----------



## tearsofred

*PMV Questions*

Hi Mark,
My fiance (living in Ireland) and I (in Australia) plan on applying for a PMV subclass 300 soon.
We met online in 2006 and have been in contact since then, however we only met in person in February this year for just over a week. I am 24 and he is 31. 
He hasn't got many friends and no contact with family however all my friends and family know about him.
My sister has spoken to him so I have asked her to write a stat dec. Can the other stat decs be from people who know me and have heard of him but not spoken to him?
Is the current processing time still supposed to be 5 months?
Will the brief time we've met in person affect our application negatively?
Is there anything extra we need to think of apart from the forms, everything on the checklist, photos, cards, etc?
Thank you so so much!
Nicole.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sam79 -

That's potentially good news. Would suggest you contact DIBP and let them know you intend to continue the application and see what they say regarding if/how you can continue the application for the 100 (permanent part of the 309/100 offshore partner visa).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sam79 said:


> Hi Mark - I checked VEVO for the provisional visa 309 status that was granted in 2007. Status says in effect, I am bit surprised now. Could you advice if a fresh application shall be made in this case or is there a way to re-use the same application? thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicole -

Thanks for the questions. For visa document requirements if you are planning to do this yourself, best to check the DIBP website for their subclass 300 visa checklist.

In theory anyone who is familiar with the relationship (including hearing about it from you, even if they don't know or haven't spoken with your fiance) is OK to provide a statement. However that being said, given the short/recent amount of time together, I would try and get as many statements as possible as DIBP may give little credence to the online portion of the relationship, which is the vast majority of time you have had in your relationship.

I would also see if there is any possibility of you spending any more time together in person prior to lodging the application. If that's not possible, then that's not possible - however just trying to think of things that could help as the fact that you only met for the first time in person a couple of months ago may result in a weak application overall. Would also, in each of your statements, write a lot about how the relationship developed, and don't forget to include lots of details on your future plans together in Australia, etc. I'm a bit concerned about the fact that you only met each other in person so recently - this could be a big issue for a case officer evaluating the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tearsofred said:


> Hi Mark,
> My fiance (living in Ireland) and I (in Australia) plan on applying for a PMV subclass 300 soon.
> We met online in 2006 and have been in contact since then, however we only met in person in February this year for just over a week. I am 24 and he is 31.
> He hasn't got many friends and no contact with family however all my friends and family know about him.
> My sister has spoken to him so I have asked her to write a stat dec. Can the other stat decs be from people who know me and have heard of him but not spoken to him?
> Is the current processing time still supposed to be 5 months?
> Will the brief time we've met in person affect our application negatively?
> Is there anything extra we need to think of apart from the forms, everything on the checklist, photos, cards, etc?
> Thank you so so much!
> Nicole.


----------



## tearsofred

Hi Mark,
Thank you for your reply.
I will get as many statements as possible then.
Finances and work make it very difficult to spend more time together in person which I am worried about in regards to the visa.
We have included a lot of detail in our statements, however we will check over them again and see if we can go into more detail. Is there an estimated length our statements should be?
Will it be best to submit this application on our own, or will we need a migration agent like yourself?
Thank you,
Nicole.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicole -

Sounds like a good plan. Statements are typically between 1 and 3 pages in length, with applicant and sponsor statements often a few pages longer than that.

Re: agent or not, there is no requirement to use an agent for any Australian visa. I'm here to help, not to sell my services, so with that in mind, given the circumstances of your situation I would suggest you consider at least having a migration agent experienced with partner and fiance visas review your application package, if not prepare it and lodge for you. The fact that you've only met for the first time in person a couple of months ago may be, I expect, a big risk factor for this application, and you need to make sure that every possible bit of other relationship evidence you provide helps strengthen the application - this is especially true for the statements.

The primary benefit of an agent is that agents do these applications all the time, and are very familiar with what it takes to really maximise the chances of success for an application. You're not buying any increase in processing time with an agent, but you are buying their knowledge and experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tearsofred said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for your reply.
> I will get as many statements as possible then.
> Finances and work make it very difficult to spend more time together in person which I am worried about in regards to the visa.
> We have included a lot of detail in our statements, however we will check over them again and see if we can go into more detail. Is there an estimated length our statements should be?
> Will it be best to submit this application on our own, or will we need a migration agent like yourself?
> Thank you,
> Nicole.


----------



## tearsofred

Hi Mark,
Thank you for that. 
I will look into that.
How do I go about finding a migration agent experienced with partner and fiance visas?
Will hopefully get there soon.
Thank you,
Nicole.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicole -

Probably best to ask around - over 50% of my caseload is partner and fiance visas and I'd be happy to work with you, and there are other registered migration agents out there too. You can click on the link in my signature below to learn more about my firm and for contact info.

In this business reputation is everything - clients put a huge amount of trust in their agent, as the results of a visa application can have lifelong consequences. Whoever you end up getting, if you do hire a registered migration agent, make sure you have a good level of confidence in him/her and their experience and knowledge of current migration laws and regulations before you hire them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tearsofred said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for that.
> I will look into that.
> How do I go about finding a migration agent experienced with partner and fiance visas?
> Will hopefully get there soon.
> Thank you,
> Nicole.


----------



## CollegeGirl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Brian -
> 
> Wish it were quick! I'd be prepared for a 9-12 month wait, and be happy if it comes in sooner (ie, 6-9 months). Partner visa processing is, from what I'm hearing, way backed up at the moment and they have increased the scrutiny for many partner visa application due to increased fraud, etc. Bottom line: not seeing a lot of quick partner visa applications these days! There are always the exceptions, but I'd settle in for a good wait.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Mark, I'm a bit confused by this - on this forum, we've generally seen people applying from a Prospective Marriage Visa to a Partner Visa (300 to 820) like Brian did (and like I recently did) see really fast processing -- sometimes on the order of the same day, just a few days, or several weeks at the maximum. Rarely more than a couple of months. It's only in the last couple of months that we've seen just a couple of people whose have now taken longer. Do you know specifically if the processing times for 300 to 820s have gone up as well?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CG -

We're seeing increases in these - not in all cases as curiously some cases seem to get much, much faster processing than others, but overall there seems to be a trend towards increasing processing times on these. All comes down to DIBP's "risk tiering" methodology and procedures (which they won't disclose) from what I understand.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CollegeGirl said:


> Mark, I'm a bit confused by this - on this forum, we've generally seen people applying from a Prospective Marriage Visa to a Partner Visa (300 to 820) like Brian did (and like I recently did) see really fast processing -- sometimes on the order of the same day, just a few days, or several weeks at the maximum. Rarely more than a couple of months. It's only in the last couple of months that we've seen just a couple of people whose have now taken longer. Do you know specifically if the processing times for 300 to 820s have gone up as well?


----------



## Bay56

Hi Mark!

Soon, me and my partner will be applying for an 820 onshore visa. I've got two short questions for you. Thank you so much for your time.

1. Which date should we put as beginning of our de facto relationship? We have been renting together since August '13, however from June to August that same year me and my girlfriend lived together at her mum's place until we found our own place. We don't have much evidence for this 2 month period, especially not for the month of June. However, I do have a NSW Learner's permit dating August 1, 2014 with the address of my partner's mother's place. Which period is better to be considered our beginning?

2. I would like to apply for the visa ASAP, however I feel a bit paranoid about the 1 year requirement. Our relationship has been registered with the NSW BDM since January 2014, but I still feel unsure about what to do. Should I wait till June (or August, depending on your answer to q 1) to satisfy both requirements, or should I go for it now considering the certificate does waive the 1 year rule? This situation assumes that we do have enough evidence to support our relationship.


----------



## pigby

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pigby -
> 
> Probably not since that form is used after you lodge an application and wish to change the information you put on the application. Since you're fixing this prior, you could just write a short letter detailing the mistake and upload it as an education related document along with the rest of your docs (transcripts, etc).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Alright, I will do this. Thank you so much again, Mark. You don't know how much your help means to me and my journey to australia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bay56 -

Thanks for the questions. Registered relationship legally satisfies the 1 year living together rule, no exceptions, so you're fine there. Re: date for beginning, if you could get her mum to write a statement saying that the two of you lived there together in the same room, etc that could be helpful - also make sure you only use the word "partner" and not "girlfriend" - if you are applying defacto, they will look for each piece of evidence you provide to show that the relationship was in fact much more than boyfriend/girlfriend.

I don't know enough about your case to give you specific advice re: which date to choose, but I expect either could work with proper documentation - evidence is the key, and making that evidence line up with the claims you make in your applicant and sponsor statements, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bay56 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Soon, me and my partner will be applying for an 820 onshore visa. I've got two short questions for you. Thank you so much for your time.
> 
> 1. Which date should we put as beginning of our de facto relationship? We have been renting together since August '13, however from June to August that same year me and my girlfriend lived together at her mum's place until we found our own place. We don't have much evidence for this 2 month period, especially not for the month of June. However, I do have a NSW Learner's permit dating August 1, 2014 with the address of my partner's mother's place. Which period is better to be considered our beginning?
> 
> 2. I would like to apply for the visa ASAP, however I feel a bit paranoid about the 1 year requirement. Our relationship has been registered with the NSW BDM since January 2014, but I still feel unsure about what to do. Should I wait till June (or August, depending on your answer to q 1) to satisfy both requirements, or should I go for it now considering the certificate does waive the 1 year rule? This situation assumes that we do have enough evidence to support our relationship.


----------



## Bay56

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bay56 -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Registered relationship legally satisfies the 1 year living together rule, no exceptions, so you're fine there. Re: date for beginning, if you could get her mum to write a statement saying that the two of you lived there together in the same room, etc that could be helpful - also make sure you only use the word "partner" and not "girlfriend" - if you are applying defacto, they will look for each piece of evidence you provide to show that the relationship was in fact much more than boyfriend/girlfriend.
> 
> I don't know enough about your case to give you specific advice re: which date to choose, but I expect either could work with proper documentation - evidence is the key, and making that evidence line up with the claims you make in your applicant and sponsor statements, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Great advice, thank you. I really like the 'partner, not girlfriend' perspective, really useful stuff. Regarding the starting date, we were going to get my partner's mum to fill out an 888 form to support our claim for the June date - we're on great terms and she's willing to do it.

By the way Mark, is DIAC planning a new fee rise for the new financial year or are they willing to show some mercy?


----------



## merchantroyal

Quick Q. 
Got my AFP check in the mail.

Should i send this in unopened, or open and scan / email.

J.


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark,

Good day , 

I am starting to gather evidences for 820 Partner Visa onshore ( Defacto ).
I have started filing up the form 47SP. I would like to include my two kids who are both in Philippines in my application but when I am on that page I got stucked and wont continue. It says...

The applicant is unable to complete an application for this visa. This could be due to one of the following reasons: 
- a previous visa cancellation or refusal or 
- the applicant does not hold an appropriate visa or
- the applicants location cannot be confirmed or 
- the applicant is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident or 
Please review the information in the departments website about eligibility for this type of application .

I have no idea why I see this. I am on a tourist visa now allowed to stay until July 2014. I will exit in June and back after 10 days. Is there a specific ID number that I should use when I got my tourist visa that I need to use in filing Partner 820 Onshore ( Defacto). I logged in IMMI account so I have a specific Number assigned in filing up the application. 

Hope you can help me on this. 

Ninja 69'


----------



## frenchie29

*sponsorship*

Hi Mark, I am writting this message on behalf of a friend who dont have internet acces. He is working in a strawberry farm in the caboolture area and he is under a working holiday visa that finish in august. His employer is happy to sponsor him but not sure if they can and how as he doesn't have any qualification in farming industry . What can he do ? He has a girlfriend but she is a lot older than him and they have no proove of relationship but she is welling to marry him, could it be solution ?


----------



## rajeshc1204

*Skill Assessment and Queries about occupation celings*

Hi Mark,

I would be extremely grateful if you can help me with below doubts:

1. For skill assessment (133112-VETASSESS)

I remembered when I applied for this, there were 2 options : with and without VETASSESS recommendation for the points of employment. I read on the forum and based on my understanding,in spite of VETASSESS suggested points, DIBP may just consider it a reference and have their own decision. 
So I did not choose the option for their recommendation for the points. I just applied for qualification and employment assessment only.
My question is, is my understanding correct? And is it oke to choose like that? I do not want to wait for another 10 weeks for the assessment again if the one I chose was incorrect.

2. For occupation ceiling:

My occupation shares the first four digit 1331 with construction manager(quota for 2013-2014 = 2000), but it is not the same even though it is in the SOL list. My question is, shall my occupation share the same priority as construction manager? Or shall they will choose manager even if we have the same point and same lodged time?

3. University tutor / lecturer:
I saw it in the occupation ceiling but not in SOL. Which one should i follow?

Thank you so much and hope to hear your answers soon


----------



## rajeshc1204

*Skill Assessment and Queries about occupation celings*

Hi Mark,

I would be extremely grateful if you can help me with below doubts:

1. For skill assessment (133112-VETASSESS)

I remembered when I applied for this, there were 2 options : with and without VETASSESS recommendation for the points of employment. I read on the forum and based on my understanding,in spite of VETASSESS suggested points, DIBP may just consider it a reference and have their own decision. 
So I did not choose the option for their recommendation for the points. I just applied for qualification and employment assessment only.
My question is, is my understanding correct? And is it oke to choose like that? I do not want to wait for another 10 weeks for the assessment again if the one I chose was incorrect.

2. For occupation ceiling:

My occupation shares the first four digit 1331 with construction manager, but it is not the same even though it is in the SOL list. My question is, shall my occupation share the same priority as construction manager? Or shall they will choose manager even if we have the same point and same lodged time?

3. University tutor / lecturer:
I saw it in the occupation ceiling but not in SOL. Which one should i follow?

Thank you so much and hope to hear your answers soon


----------



## cozimhappy

Hi Mark
Just quick question in mid Feb I applied for my partner visa offshore in UK , had CO assigned a few weeks later and just had medical and police check with all being fine. We really don't want to wait here until visa is due - approx Oct/Nov and are going to sell house in a month or so and then leave and move to Australia. From what I can gather reading these threads if DIBP have any questions or need further info this usually happens on first email from CO - we had no requests. So is it safe to assume that with medical being done and ok it's now just a waiting game in a queue for final approval and no further checks are required? Many thanks!!


----------



## herman_munster

Dear Mark,

This is my 1st post in this forum and would like to thank you in advance on your answers to these people's question. I know I will be asking you alot in the coming days and months. 

I just couriered my Form M on AACA Assessment on academic qualification in Architecture today ! I'm anxiously waiting for my result in 15 weeks from now. From your recent experience has anyone gotten their result sooner than this? Do they consider years of work experience at this stage? I had a 4 years Diploma in Arch and another 2 years for Bach. Arch that in total of 6 years degree study. My study covers the 4 core things in their assessment ie design, tech, communication etc. I really hope I pass this first hurdle !

Thanks

Herman


----------



## Elie

Hi Mark!

Good day! I'd like to ask your advice regarding my situation. I have applied for tourist visa to Australia in the past with an invitation letter from my 'friend' and all applications were granted. I arrived Philippines last March 23 and lodged a new tourist visa application last April 8, this time I put 'boyfriend' on the letter as opposed to 'friend' on my previous applications. I submitted photos and proof of our relationship (_which I know now was wrong cos I've read somewhere that with tourist visa you gotta prove your ties to your country not the relationship_). The visa was refused saying my purpose for visiting Australia is not genuine, and that since July 2013 I stayed longer in Australia than in the Philippines (_I've been to Australia 3 times since October 2012 and stayed for 3months everytime and made sure to return to Ph before my visa expires_). That I don't have a strong ties to my country, tho I submitted my contract of lease in my apartment. I would like to re-apply again for tourist visa this month but I'm thinking of putting 'friend' again on the invitation letter and I won't submit any photos of me and my boyfriend anymore. Would this help? What's the best reason to use when applying for a tourist visa? Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!


----------



## Dinab

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


I need help re my sisters issue, visa expired and now she must leave. Our father is 90 years old


----------



## Dinab

Not sure how to use this.


----------



## jag

Hi Mark,

Part of nomination requirement for subclass 186, as part of checklist: "Provide documents showing they have met the training requirements for 457 visa holder" can you please elaborate what evidence need to be attached / submitted? Further, kindly cite an example of "Training benchmarks" does this mean sending employees out for training (eg. qualification such as cert III, IV, or sending us to attend workshop / seminar). Thank you in advance.

Kind Regards,
Jag


----------



## MarkNortham

No word on DIBP fee increases (they usually happen on 1 July) but given the big budget problems that Australia is facing (if you believe the news), that would certainly put pressure on all govt department to raise fees.

Best,

Mark Northam



Bay56 said:


> Great advice, thank you. I really like the 'partner, not girlfriend' perspective, really useful stuff. Regarding the starting date, we were going to get my partner's mum to fill out an 888 form to support our claim for the June date - we're on great terms and she's willing to do it.
> 
> By the way Mark, is DIAC planning a new fee rise for the new financial year or are they willing to show some mercy?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Unlike health results which normally you should not open, you should definitely open your AFP check and make sure it's correct. Colour scans of AFP checks are now accepted for online applications (just upload the scan). For paper applications they still want the originals of police checks, but will return them to you when processing is complete.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



merchantroyal said:


> Quick Q.
> Got my AFP check in the mail.
> 
> Should i send this in unopened, or open and scan / email.
> 
> J.


----------



## k_c

Hi Mark,
I completed nursing in 2 years in 2009 in USQ, on campus but studied only 12 units and rest were given exemption.My coe was for 2 years after exemptions! Now does that meet the 2 years study requirement to get 5 points?Appreciate your help! Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Don't have enough info to say for sure. However, I and my colleagues have been noticing some weird system problems with the online partner and PMV application systems recently - sometimes if you go back a screen, then proceed again, it will solve the problem. The problems seem to happen at the point you add dependents to the application. If the problem persists and you're absolutely sure that none of the issues listed belong to you, would contact DIBP IT Help and see if they can assist - it's an online form:

Agents Gateway - Technical Support Form

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Good day ,
> 
> I am starting to gather evidences for 820 Partner Visa onshore ( Defacto ).
> I have started filing up the form 47SP. I would like to include my two kids who are both in Philippines in my application but when I am on that page I got stucked and wont continue. It says...
> 
> The applicant is unable to complete an application for this visa. This could be due to one of the following reasons:
> - a previous visa cancellation or refusal or
> - the applicant does not hold an appropriate visa or
> - the applicants location cannot be confirmed or
> - the applicant is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident or
> Please review the information in the departments website about eligibility for this type of application .
> 
> I have no idea why I see this. I am on a tourist visa now allowed to stay until July 2014. I will exit in June and back after 10 days. Is there a specific ID number that I should use when I got my tourist visa that I need to use in filing Partner 820 Onshore ( Defacto). I logged in IMMI account so I have a specific Number assigned in filing up the application.
> 
> Hope you can help me on this.
> 
> Ninja 69'


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Frenchie29 -

How nice of you to help your friend! Marriage could work depending on the circumstances. As far as a skilled PR visa or employer sponsored PR visa, those are not generally available for the kind of work typically done under WHM visas (ie fruit picking, etc). There are seasonal worker visas that are very limited (see subclass 416, etc visa) but don't provide much in terms of a way to stay in Australia beyond seasonal work. Depending on circumstances, he might also look into a student visa to expand his skills - this could go a long way towards helping him to be better qualified for other visas where he could remain in Australia for the long term.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



frenchie29 said:


> Hi Mark, I am writting this message on behalf of a friend who dont have internet acces. He is working in a strawberry farm in the caboolture area and he is under a working holiday visa that finish in august. His employer is happy to sponsor him but not sure if they can and how as he doesn't have any qualification in farming industry . What can he do ? He has a girlfriend but she is a lot older than him and they have no proove of relationship but she is welling to marry him, could it be solution ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajeshc -

Normally VETASSESS points advice letter only required if you and DIBP disagree on points eligibility for employment or educational qualifications. Otherwise DIBP will usually take a skills assessor's word that employment is (or isn't) relevant to your nominated occupation. But DIBP goes beyond this and often checks with the employer(s) directly and often requires proof of being paid for the employment (ie payslips, etc). Final decision on points always rests with DIBP.

Re: #2, no way to predict answer to your question. Many applications with the same 4-digit group code are on the SOL or not on the SOL (even with the same 4-digit code). The occup. ceiling info from DIBP is for reference only - it cannot be depended on for visa decisions in my view. However the SOL and CSOL lists are absolute in terms whether an occupation qualifies for 189, 190 visa, etc. Same for #3 - note that occupation is not on the SOL, but is on the CSOL.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rajeshc1204 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would be extremely grateful if you can help me with below doubts:
> 
> 1. For skill assessment (133112-VETASSESS)
> 
> I remembered when I applied for this, there were 2 options : with and without VETASSESS recommendation for the points of employment. I read on the forum and based on my understanding,in spite of VETASSESS suggested points, DIBP may just consider it a reference and have their own decision.
> So I did not choose the option for their recommendation for the points. I just applied for qualification and employment assessment only.
> My question is, is my understanding correct? And is it oke to choose like that? I do not want to wait for another 10 weeks for the assessment again if the one I chose was incorrect.
> 
> 2. For occupation ceiling:
> 
> My occupation shares the first four digit 1331 with construction manager, but it is not the same even though it is in the SOL list. My question is, shall my occupation share the same priority as construction manager? Or shall they will choose manager even if we have the same point and same lodged time?
> 
> 3. University tutor / lecturer:
> I saw it in the occupation ceiling but not in SOL. Which one should i follow?
> 
> Thank you so much and hope to hear your answers soon


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cozimhappy -

No, that's not a safe assumption to make, especially if the sale of a house is dependent on it. Requests for further info about your relationship can come late in the processing cycle in some cases, and external security checks can sometimes hold up a visa application for 6-12 months in extreme cases. The health/police checks often come early in the process. Nothing is definite until they grant the visa.

Sorry if this is not what you were hoping to hear! Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cozimhappy said:


> Hi Mark
> Just quick question in mid Feb I applied for my partner visa offshore in UK , had CO assigned a few weeks later and just had medical and police check with all being fine. We really don't want to wait here until visa is due - approx Oct/Nov and are going to sell house in a month or so and then leave and move to Australia. From what I can gather reading these threads if DIBP have any questions or need further info this usually happens on first email from CO - we had no requests. So is it safe to assume that with medical being done and ok it's now just a waiting game in a queue for final approval and no further checks are required? Many thanks!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Herman -

Thanks for the note and welcome to the forum!

I've heard of people getting results from them both faster and slower than the estimated timeframe - bottom line: no good way to predict these things. The last time I looked, AACA does not assess work experience - only skills/qualifications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



herman_munster said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> This is my 1st post in this forum and would like to thank you in advance on your answers to these people's question. I know I will be asking you alot in the coming days and months.
> 
> I just couriered my Form M on AACA Assessment on academic qualification in Architecture today ! I'm anxiously waiting for my result in 15 weeks from now. From your recent experience has anyone gotten their result sooner than this? Do they consider years of work experience at this stage? I had a 4 years Diploma in Arch and another 2 years for Bach. Arch that in total of 6 years degree study. My study covers the 4 core things in their assessment ie design, tech, communication etc. I really hope I pass this first hurdle !
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Herman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Elie -

I don't have enough info about your case to give you any specific advice for your circumstances, however based on what you said, I'm not optimistic for your chances of getting another visitor visa anytime soon unless your circumstances change (ie, you lodge a fiance visa application, then lodge a visitor visa application, etc). DIBP will instantly see the past refusal and past applications/visas - if they have decided that you have already spent "too much" time here as a visitor, that pretty much is them drawing the line - at least for a while. Sorry I don't have better news! DIBP feels that a visitor visa should be for a temporary stay, and too many visitor visas establishes a pattern of "more than temporary" with them that can be difficult to overcome.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Elie said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Good day! I'd like to ask your advice regarding my situation. I have applied for tourist visa to Australia in the past with an invitation letter from my 'friend' and all applications were granted. I arrived Philippines last March 23 and lodged a new tourist visa application last April 8, this time I put 'boyfriend' on the letter as opposed to 'friend' on my previous applications. I submitted photos and proof of our relationship (_which I know now was wrong cos I've read somewhere that with tourist visa you gotta prove your ties to your country not the relationship_). The visa was refused saying my purpose for visiting Australia is not genuine, and that since July 2013 I stayed longer in Australia than in the Philippines (_I've been to Australia 3 times since October 2012 and stayed for 3months everytime and made sure to return to Ph before my visa expires_). That I don't have a strong ties to my country, tho I submitted my contract of lease in my apartment. I would like to re-apply again for tourist visa this month but I'm thinking of putting 'friend' again on the invitation letter and I won't submit any photos of me and my boyfriend anymore. Would this help? What's the best reason to use when applying for a tourist visa? Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dinab -

Thanks for the note. If your sister's visa has already expired and she is still in Australia, she needs assistance immediately to normalise her immigration status and determine her options for remaining in Australia. Suggest she contact myself or another registered migration agent ASAP. Our contact info available via website listed below in my signature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dinab said:


> I need help re my sisters issue, visa expired and now she must leave. Our father is 90 years old


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jag -

Thanks for the question. See https://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/_pdf/faq-457-training-benchmarks.pdf for detailed information - essentially there are two training benchmark options (A and B) and a 457 sponsoring business must meet one of these for each year of their sponsorship. Seminars and offsite training can count depending on the circumstances - see above link for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jag said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Part of nomination requirement for subclass 186, as part of checklist: "Provide documents showing they have met the training requirements for 457 visa holder" can you please elaborate what evidence need to be attached / submitted? Further, kindly cite an example of "Training benchmarks" does this mean sending employees out for training (eg. qualification such as cert III, IV, or sending us to attend workshop / seminar). Thank you in advance.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Jag


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi K_C -

See https://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/2-year-study.htm for details on this. It comes down to the details of the exemptions - for instance, if they were given for offshore study (outside Australia) then they would not count towards the Australian Study Requirement. The key is meeting the 92 weeks of study requirement AFTER any exemptions that cannot used are subtracted. See the above link for greater detail on which exemptions can and cannot be counted, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



k_c said:


> Hi Mark,
> I completed nursing in 2 years in 2009 in USQ, on campus but studied only 12 units and rest were given exemption.My coe was for 2 years after exemptions! Now does that meet the 2 years study requirement to get 5 points?Appreciate your help! Thanks!


----------



## cozimhappy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cozimhappy -
> 
> No, that's not a safe assumption to make, especially if the sale of a house is dependent on it. Requests for further info about your relationship can come late in the processing cycle in some cases, and external security checks can sometimes hold up a visa application for 6-12 months in extreme cases. The health/police checks often come early in the process. Nothing is definite until they grant the visa.
> 
> Sorry if this is not what you were hoping to hear! Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Again thanks very much Mark! I understand , that's what I thought would probably be the case. What I might do is wait until 2 months before visa is due and then sell house - will just have to hope that after 7 months of waiting that I would of heard something from DIBP if they had an issue with application - I'll just have to hope. Such a bummer!! Thanks again!


----------



## k_c

Thanks for the reply Mark,

Just confused, b.nursing is a 3 years course. The exemptions were given for studies outside australia. I studies 2 years, full time so do i meet the requirements?

Appreciate your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cozimhappy -

Sounds good, however there is no such things as a "due date" for an Australian visa - I've seen partner visas go through in as little as 1 month and as long as 18 months - highly unpredictable, and DIBP makes no promises at all about how long a visa might take. I don't mention this to try and discourage you, only to advise you of the realities we're all dealing with.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cozimhappy said:


> Again thanks very much Mark! I understand , that's what I thought would probably be the case. What I might do is wait until 2 months before visa is due and then sell house - will just have to hope that after 7 months of waiting that I would of heard something from DIBP if they had an issue with application - I'll just have to hope. Such a bummer!! Thanks again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi K_C:

Would need to examine your transcript in a consulting session in order to give you any specific advice - too many small details that could make a difference. No shortcut to reading the link I sent above as you will need to go over your transcript carefully to see how things match up and if you meet the requirements. Alternative is to engage a migration agent to do the same thing - ie, examine your transcript carefully and see how it aligns to the rules and policy in this area.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



k_c said:


> Thanks for the reply Mark,
> 
> Just confused, b.nursing is a 3 years course. The exemptions were given for studies outside australia. I studies 2 years, full time so do i meet the requirements?
> 
> Appreciate your help!


----------



## k_c

Thanks Mark, may b i will sent my transript to your email. Will you b able to have a look?

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Would be best to do that in a consulting session - not able to assess individual cases via forum - see link on our website to book. I expect even with the transcript I would have questions about things, and would need to engage you as a client (ie via consultation) in order to give you any specific advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



k_c said:


> Thanks Mark, may b i will sent my transript to your email. Will you b able to have a look?
> 
> Regards


----------



## cozimhappy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cozimhappy -
> 
> Sounds good, however there is no such things as a "due date" for an Australian visa - I've seen partner visas go through in as little as 1 month and as long as 18 months - highly unpredictable, and DIBP makes no promises at all about how long a visa might take. I don't mention this to try and discourage you, only to advise you of the realities we're all dealing with.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks again Mark!!
It's rubbish really that DIBP don't really need to be answerable to anybody re times taken to process applicants , or at the very least keep applicants informed of processes and timelines - good job if you can get it!! Cheers!


----------



## Ned

Hi Mark 

I've just joined the site, lots of great information. You're a busy man no doubt, so will try and keep my query short! 

I'm in the process of applying for a 457 visa - it was logged at the start of April 2014through a migration agent. It is for myself and my defacto partner. 

My employer's sponsorship and right to recruit was granted really quickly so we have this part of the application - it took less than a week.

I've not heard anything regarding my application since - as it's dealt with through a different case officer and it's been only a short while (but a life time in my eyes), 4 weeks thus far. However, my migration agent told us it would take between 2 - 4 weeks, so I was wondering when I should start to chase / bother people?! 

I travel to / from Australia for work once / twice a year and have previously lived there, between 1994 and 1999. I originally entered the country on a working holiday visa and then applied for PR with a different company sponsoring me - it took 4.5 years for the dept. of immigration to say no (this time frame included one appeal), so I'm hoping it doesn't take this long again! Their reason was that the role I was being sponsored for could be done by an Australian. I had a bridging visa for the time it took to make a decision. 

Or, is this previous application jeopardising things? I hope not. 

Would welcome any thoughts... even if just a 'patience is a virtue'! 

Thanks for reading, 
Ned


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ned -

Welcome to the forum!

I'd be patient at this point - unlikely your previous visa issues would play a major part in your current application unless there were issues regarding the genuineness of you and/or info you provided then. We're seeing delays in 457 visas over the last few weeks - I'd let it wait until 8 weeks, then see about an enquiry.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ned said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I've just joined the site, lots of great information. You're a busy man no doubt, so will try and keep my query short!
> 
> I'm in the process of applying for a 457 visa - it was logged at the start of April 2014through a migration agent. It is for myself and my defacto partner.
> 
> My employer's sponsorship and right to recruit was granted really quickly so we have this part of the application - it took less than a week.
> 
> I've not heard anything regarding my application since - as it's dealt with through a different case officer and it's been only a short while (but a life time in my eyes), 4 weeks thus far. However, my migration agent told us it would take between 2 - 4 weeks, so I was wondering when I should start to chase / bother people?!
> 
> I travel to / from Australia for work once / twice a year and have previously lived there, between 1994 and 1999. I originally entered the country on a working holiday visa and then applied for PR with a different company sponsoring me - it took 4.5 years for the dept. of immigration to say no (this time frame included one appeal), so I'm hoping it doesn't take this long again! Their reason was that the role I was being sponsored for could be done by an Australian. I had a bridging visa for the time it took to make a decision.
> 
> Or, is this previous application jeopardising things? I hope not.
> 
> Would welcome any thoughts... even if just a 'patience is a virtue'!
> 
> Thanks for reading,
> Ned


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi Mark,

Appreciate your help, my 457 visa application shows on immigration account that it's finalised. It mean it's forwarded for decision or visa out come send to my lawyer. 

Thank you
Bharat


----------



## Ned

Hi Mark 

Thanks so much for a swift reply, I will sit tight and wait it out... there is the UK 'summer' to enjoy in the mean time! 

I'll keep you posted to the outcome! 

Cheers 
Ned


----------



## Ninja69

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ninja69 -
> 
> Don't have enough info to say for sure. However, I and my colleagues have been noticing some weird system problems with the online partner and PMV application systems recently - sometimes if you go back a screen, then proceed again, it will solve the problem. The problems seem to happen at the point you add dependents to the application. If the problem persists and you're absolutely sure that none of the issues listed belong to you, would contact DIBP IT Help and see if they can assist - it's an online form:
> 
> Agents Gateway - Technical Support Form
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

That means there has been a decision made on the visa - normally they notify your agent by email immediately.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Appreciate your help, my 457 visa application shows on immigration account that it's finalised. It mean it's forwarded for decision or visa out come send to my lawyer.
> 
> Thank you
> Bharat


----------



## jag

Re: subclass 186 - Residence Transition Stream

Thank you Mark for the info you have provided. In the case of organising health examination, would you recommend to have this done asap or wait until the employer nomination has been decided? Further, there are list of attachment required which is repetitive (eg Financial capacity and personal financial status) with this, will the attachment of my payslips for the last 12 months satisfy both? Many Thanks in advance Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jag -

If you are in a hurry to get the visa and don't mind risking the health exam fees, then I'd get them done now (online link when you login and open your application should provide link to health exam letter with HAP ID). This way if/when the nom is approved, they won't be waiting on anything for the visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jag said:


> Re: subclass 186 - Residence Transition Stream
> 
> Thank you Mark for the info you have provided. In the case of organising health examination, would you recommend to have this done asap or wait until the employer nomination has been decided? Further, there are list of attachment required which is repetitive (eg Financial capacity and personal financial status) with this, will the attachment of my payslips for the last 12 months satisfy both? Many Thanks in advance Mark.


----------



## Ninja69

Good day Mark ! 

I am now in the process of saving all the informations for my Onshore De facto Partner Visa 820. I am using the form 47SP. I have opened my IMMI account and was given a reference number. Will my partner open another IMMI account for his 40SP form? Will we submit the forms together? When can I attach supporting documents? I believe when I have paid? 

Waiting for your reply.

Thank you in advance, 
Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

A great start! You'll get a TRN number once you start the online equivalent to form 47SP. Once you complete that, lodge and pay, you can then upload your supporting documents. We usually suggest that the sponsor use the same ImmiAccount, just login and start the online form ("New Application") for the sponsoring partner - this is the equivalent of paper form 40SP. Note that you must lodge and pay for the first form (applicant) before you can start the sponsor form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Good day Mark !
> 
> I am now in the process of saving all the informations for my Onshore De facto Partner Visa 820. I am using the form 47SP. I have opened my IMMI account and was given a reference number. Will my partner open another IMMI account for his 40SP form? Will we submit the forms together? When can I attach supporting documents? I believe when I have paid?
> 
> Waiting for your reply.
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Ninja 69


----------



## Ninja69

Sorry Mark. I forgot to ask you. Does it mean if my partner starts his 40SP form he is given a separate TRN number for his form?


----------



## PoiZon

Gday Mark .. I am on 495 visa which is gonna expire on 15th of july .. i b fulfilling my conditions by 5th of july .. i got married on feb this year and its registered ( she doesn't live in Australia) .. my question is can i add her in my application .. if not, is there any other way she can move to australia to be with me ..
Ur help will be greatly appreciated
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Yes. However the applicant's TRN is the key and must be entered into the first part of the sponsor's online form, after the applicant's online form has already been lodged & paid, before you can complete the sponsor form. The TRN for the application itself is the TRN for the applicant's online form, not the sponsor's online form TRN.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Sorry Mark. I forgot to ask you. Does it mean if my partner starts his 40SP form he is given a separate TRN number for his form?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi PoiZono -

Thanks for the note. The 495 is an old visa subclass that stopped accepting applications back in 2007. Assuming this is the correct visa subclass, you cannot currently add her to your visa, but she may be able to apply for a subclass 489 visa. But all of this should be considered in light of your next visa plans - I'm guessing 887 visa? If so, you will need to get your partner at least onto a Bridging Visa A or B after having applied for the 489 visa if you wish to include her in the application for the 887. This can get a bit complex with the overlapping requirements of the 489 and 887 visa subclasses - you may want to consult a migration agent to assess your case and give you specific advice regarding steps to take to ensure that the path to PR for you and your wife is a smooth and problem-free one.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



PoiZon said:


> Gday Mark .. I am on 495 visa which is gonna expire on 15th of july .. i b fulfilling my conditions by 5th of july .. i got married on feb this year and its registered ( she doesn't live in Australia) .. my question is can i add her in my application .. if not, is there any other way she can move to australia to be with me ..
> Ur help will be greatly appreciated
> Thanks


----------



## cathykim90

*Hi Mark*

I am happy to get advise from you! thx a lot!!!

I applied 820/801 visa 3 month ago when I study at TAFE. and my BvA granted.

I am still studying at TAFE, and my course is going to finish on Dec this year.

1 ) however what happens What if I replace my Coe now (to other college for english course) cus I want to study the intensive english course not the course i am taking. ?

2) there is any problem with immigration issue??

3) if it is possible, can I get full time work right after the english course expired?or what is happenning after the coe expired??

I am looking for hearing from you ASAP

THX


----------



## jatdipasand

*Partner Visa Applicant currently in Aus on Tourist Visa*

Hi Mark
My wife is a current applicant of Partner Visa which is currently in processing. And She is currently here in e-Visitor Visa 12 Months/Multiple Entry/Maximum stay 3 months. After her 3 months validity finishes, she needs to leave the country and I am aware of that. Now my question is 
Does she need to enter another country and return for her to reactivate the tourist visa 3 months period again? Putting my question in other words to make myself clear: Does she just need a departed from Australia Stamp on her passport and on Immi records that she left the country. Can she like leave say for NZ but doesnt clear the customs and return from another gate with a return flight back to Australia or does she need to actually enter another country? 
I hope my question is clear.
Thanks heaps


----------



## Christie

*Which Visa?*

Hi Mark, my partner is currently sponsored on a 457 in Perth, i am hoping to move and join him as soon as possible, could you please advise me on the best visa to apply for, defacto/partner or subsequent entrant on his 457? His boss is happy to write a letter adding me so i assume the subsequent entrant 457 one is the best? Also what does his employer need to say in this letter?

Many thanks for your advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CathyKim90 -

It all comes down to the expiration date of your student visa. If it has already expired, then that means you are now on your BV-A and you can study anywhere you'd like unless there is a study restriction on the BV-A (rare). If the student visa is still in effect, then you must follow the conditions on that visa. If you want to switch from TAFE to a course that requires a different type of visa (Intensive English courses generally require a lower level 570 visa where TAFE courses require a 572 visa generally), then you need to apply for another student visa to allow you to take those courses. Otherwise, you can wait until the current visa ends (while continuing to obey all visa conditions including the condition to remain enrolled in study at TAFE or an eligible course for your current visa) and then change after that visa expires and you are on the BV-A.

The key expiration date is the date of the visa, not the date of the CoE...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cathykim90 said:


> I am happy to get advise from you! thx a lot!!!
> 
> I applied 820/801 visa 3 month ago when I study at TAFE. and my BvA granted.
> 
> I am still studying at TAFE, and my course is going to finish on Dec this year.
> 
> 1 ) however what happens What if I replace my Coe now (to other college for english course) cus I want to study the intensive english course not the course i am taking. ?
> 
> 2) there is any problem with immigration issue??
> 
> 3) if it is possible, can I get full time work right after the english course expired?or what is happenning after the coe expired??
> 
> I am looking for hearing from you ASAP
> 
> THX


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jatdipasand -

Thanks for the question. Technically she must depart Australia and I expect that not clearing customs in another country would probably still meet the definition of departing Australia - however I would not recommend this because of the discretion that case officers have at the airport for people who do repeat visitor visits to Australia very close together. To minimise the risk and hassle, would recommend spending at least 1 night in another country - we generally recommend a weekend (2-3 days) just to minimise the chances of any airport hassles.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jatdipasand said:


> Hi Mark
> My wife is a current applicant of Partner Visa which is currently in processing. And She is currently here in e-Visitor Visa 12 Months/Multiple Entry/Maximum stay 3 months. After her 3 months validity finishes, she needs to leave the country and I am aware of that. Now my question is
> Does she need to enter another country and return for her to reactivate the tourist visa 3 months period again? Putting my question in other words to make myself clear: Does she just need a departed from Australia Stamp on her passport and on Immi records that she left the country. Can she like leave say for NZ but doesnt clear the customs and return from another gate with a return flight back to Australia or does she need to actually enter another country?
> I hope my question is clear.
> Thanks heaps


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Christie -

As your partner is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, really your only choice is as a defacto partner subsequent entrant for his 457. Beyond the requirements for the visa including defacto relationship evidence (don't take this lightly - this gets a very close look these days for 457 visas), your partner's employer will need to provide a letter stating that they extend the benefits of your partner's nomination to include you (and include your name and date of birth). This should be in the form of a letter on company letterhead, which can be scanned and uploaded as part of the subsequent entrant application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Christie said:


> Hi Mark, my partner is currently sponsored on a 457 in Perth, i am hoping to move and join him as soon as possible, could you please advise me on the best visa to apply for, defacto/partner or subsequent entrant on his 457? His boss is happy to write a letter adding me so i assume the subsequent entrant 457 one is the best? Also what does his employer need to say in this letter?
> 
> Many thanks for your advice.


----------



## Christie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Christie -
> 
> As your partner is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, really your only choice is as a defacto partner subsequent entrant for his 457. Beyond the requirements for the visa including defacto relationship evidence (don't take this lightly - this gets a very close look these days for 457 visas), your partner's employer will need to provide a letter stating that they extend the benefits of your partner's nomination to include you (and include your name and date of birth). This should be in the form of a letter on company letterhead, which can be scanned and uploaded as part of the subsequent entrant application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark for your reply, i have a problem now in that, i opened an Immi account and started a visa for temporary resident subsequent entrant 457! Can i stop that and start a new one for defacto?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Christie -

No problem - it's the same visa! You're OK. A subsequent entrant 457 must either be a child, dependent, or partner of the primary 457 visa holder. In your case, you're claiming partner due to a defacto partner relationship. So as long as you're completing the 457 subsequent entrant application, you're in the right place.

Best,

Mark Northam



Christie said:


> Thanks Mark for your reply, i have a problem now in that, i opened an Immi account and started a visa for temporary resident subsequent entrant 457! Can i stop that and start a new one for defacto?


----------



## Christie

Oh thank god! Heart attack avoided!! Also if i may hold your attention for one more question, do i need a police clearance check from Ireland and do i need to do the Medical check? I do not intend to work with children or in Medicine, 

many thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Christie -

See: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1163i.pdf - for Irish citizens coming for a temporary stay of over 12 months, no health checks are needed unless you meet one of the special circumstances listed in the link above.

For 457 visa applications, generally no police clearance certificates are needed unless you declare convictions on your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Christie said:


> Oh thank god! Heart attack avoided!! Also if i may hold your attention for one more question, do i need a police clearance check from Ireland and do i need to do the Medical check? I do not intend to work with children or in Medicine,
> 
> many thanks.


----------



## Christie

You sir, are a legend! Thanks a million!


----------



## travellor

Thanks Mark.....getting the kids over for a holiday seems pretty straight forward as far as application goes.....

Re-the skilled visa choice, its quite complicated as in filling out some of the requirements.....like he only has 2 years on job experience, English is ok as in he understands and can communicate well enough to fulfill his job instructions but passing any IELTS sort of tests are daunting...I have sent a copy of your advice and will drag more info out of him, then contact you....

cheers Peter


----------



## enida

Mr. Mark,
Thank you for being so helpful and for guiding us always through the right path. This kind of help is rare and invaluable.
I really need your precious opinion regarding three questions that are robbing my peace.
First question - I have more than 5 years job experience. My first date of employment was 05 Dec 2008. Unfortunately the salary payment for this month was done in cash and I cannot prove with bank statement. However, the company has paid taxes for this month (taxes upon my gross salary) and they have provided me with all the relevant documents proving this. My concern is, will the CO consider this month as legal job, even if I prove that I have paid the taxes but cannot prove that I have taken the net salary? I have claimed points for this month and in the letter of EA it is included as experience. Do you think I should preoccupy about this?|
Second question - Me and my husband are both Christians and we are baptized in the Greek church 16 years ago. According to the policy of the Greek Orthodox Church you are provided with a baptism certificate which provides you with a second christian name. Do you think these names are considered as other names and we should include this information in form 80?
Third question - Do you think that in case my husband is not able to prove he has functional English but we are willing to pay the second installment this will create any problems? Do you think there is a subjective influence that even if we declare that we will pay they will refuse us because they will think he isn't adaptable enough due to the language issue?

Thank you very very much.

Blessings,
Enida


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enida -

Thanks for the questions and kind words! My thoughts:

Re 1- If you can show through tax records that you definitely were paid for the work that month, then I'd probably include it, especially as that matches up with the skills assessment dates. If this one month (if disallowed) means losing points, however, you may want to reconsider as that will end the application process then and there if you cannot justify the same number of points you claimed in the EOI. Then again, if you wanted to leave off that month just to be safe, I don't think it would necessarily cause a problem with DIBP - if you do this and they ask, I'd just tell them exactly what the facts are - that you were paid in cash for the month and were concerned that the documents you have may not be sufficient to prove payment for that month.

Re 2 - if those names have been used on any legal documents, then I'd include them. If not, then I think it's optional whether to include them or not.

Re 3 - have never seen the election of functional English fee ever affect an application, so I'd have to say you're safe with this. Besides, DIBP makes more $$ that way!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enida said:


> Mr. Mark,
> Thank you for being so helpful and for guiding us always through the right path. This kind of help is rare and invaluable.
> I really need your precious opinion regarding three questions that are robbing my peace.
> First question - I have more than 5 years job experience. My first date of employment was 05 Dec 2008. Unfortunately the salary payment for this month was done in cash and I cannot prove with bank statement. However, the company has paid taxes for this month (taxes upon my gross salary) and they have provided me with all the relevant documents proving this. My concern is, will the CO consider this month as legal job, even if I prove that I have paid the taxes but cannot prove that I have taken the net salary? I have claimed points for this month and in the letter of EA it is included as experience. Do you think I should preoccupy about this?|
> Second question - Me and my husband are both Christians and we are baptized in the Greek church 16 years ago. According to the policy of the Greek Orthodox Church you are provided with a baptism certificate which provides you with a second christian name. Do you think these names are considered as other names and we should include this information in form 80?
> Third question - Do you think that in case my husband is not able to prove he has functional English but we are willing to pay the second installment this will create any problems? Do you think there is a subjective influence that even if we declare that we will pay they will refuse us because they will think he isn't adaptable enough due to the language issue?
> 
> Thank you very very much.
> 
> Blessings,
> Enida


----------



## enida

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Enida -
> 
> Thanks for the questions and kind words! My thoughts:
> 
> Re 1- If you can show through tax records that you definitely were paid for the work that month, then I'd probably include it, especially as that matches up with the skills assessment dates. If this one month (if disallowed) means losing points, however, you may want to reconsider as that will end the application process then and there if you cannot justify the same number of points you claimed in the EOI. Then again, if you wanted to leave off that month just to be safe, I don't think it would necessarily cause a problem with DIBP - if you do this and they ask, I'd just tell them exactly what the facts are - that you were paid in cash for the month and were concerned that the documents you have may not be sufficient to prove payment for that month.
> 
> Re 2 - if those names have been used on any legal documents, then I'd include them. If not, then I think it's optional whether to include them or not.
> 
> Re 3 - have never seen the election of functional English fee ever affect an application, so I'd have to say you're safe with this. Besides, DIBP makes more $$ that way!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mr.Mark,
Thank you for your quick and precious reply. Regarding the 1st question, my problem is that I didn't know that I was paid in cash (in fact I didn't remember so I declared it while filling my EOI). I pretended for more than 5 years job experience immediately after 60 months and a couple of days. In case I do not include that month, my experience decreases with 5 points and I drop to 55 points, which makes me lose my invitation right and I might get refused due to over-claiming. I really didn't know this problem as I wouldn't have lost anything if I had declared as starting date one month later. Due to my lack of prudence ( I should have checked the bank statement before) I am in this big trouble. However, I have every document (reference, tax return, document from the company signed from the Taxes Authority) mentioning that I started employment in that date. The only fact that compromises this is the bank statement which declares the starting of salary one month later. Do you think I should take the risk and lodge? In case I let this EOI expire, rules might change and I might not get invited anymore.
Regarding the 2nd question, we haven't used these names anywhere. Regarding the 3rd, we are happy to let them make some more money as long as they approve our visa .

Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enida -

Thanks for the note. I don't know enough about your case and haven't seen your documents, so I cannot give you specific advice at this point on your case. If you'd like me to look at your banking/financial documents at a consultation and give you an opinion on your question, would be happy to do so - see website link below, then click on Professional Consultation once on the website.

That being said, if you are confident that the documents clearly show that you were paid for that first month, and by not claiming the month you lose the invitation, you may want to take the chance and claim the month. However do keep in mind that if there are points disallowed for the application, (ie, DIBP decides that your evidence does not justify the points claimed) the application will be refused or you'll have to withdraw it and start again.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enida said:


> Hi Mr.Mark,
> Thank you for your quick and precious reply. Regarding the 1st question, my problem is that I didn't know that I was paid in cash (in fact I didn't remember so I declared it while filling my EOI). I pretended for more than 5 years job experience immediately after 60 months and a couple of days. In case I do not include that month, my experience decreases with 5 points and I drop to 55 points, which makes me lose my invitation right and I might get refused due to over-claiming. I really didn't know this problem as I wouldn't have lost anything if I had declared as starting date one month later. Due to my lack of prudence ( I should have checked the bank statement before) I am in this big trouble. However, I have every document (reference, tax return, document from the company signed from the Taxes Authority) mentioning that I started employment in that date. The only fact that compromises this is the bank statement which declares the starting of salary one month later. Do you think I should take the risk and lodge? In case I let this EOI expire, rules might change and I might not get invited anymore.
> Regarding the 2nd question, we haven't used these names anywhere. Regarding the 3rd, we are happy to let them make some more money as long as they approve our visa .
> 
> Thank you very much.


----------



## sueann16

Hi Mark, 
Thanks for answering my previous post. I have another question which may sound quite trivial but in the online submission for my partner visa application do I address myself and my partner (husband) as applicant and sponsor or can I just address ourselves as 'we' in the details of the relationship. 

Thanks in advance!

Regards, 
Sue


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sue -

Great question. If you are lodging this yourself (ie, not using an agent), then "We" is fine as long as it's clear in the statement that "we" is referring to you and your partner, and not you and someone else (such as you and another family member or friend you might be discussing or mentioning in the statement).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sueann16 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for answering my previous post. I have another question which may sound quite trivial but in the online submission for my partner visa application do I address myself and my partner (husband) as applicant and sponsor or can I just address ourselves as 'we' in the details of the relationship.
> 
> Thanks in advance!
> 
> Regards,
> Sue


----------



## enida

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Enida -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I don't know enough about your case and haven't seen your documents, so I cannot give you specific advice at this point on your case. If you'd like me to look at your banking/financial documents at a consultation and give you an opinion on your question, would be happy to do so - see website link below, then click on Professional Consultation once on the website.
> 
> That being said, if you are confident that the documents clearly show that you were paid for that first month, and by not claiming the month you lose the invitation, you may want to take the chance and claim the month. However do keep in mind that if there are points disallowed for the application, (ie, DIBP decides that your evidence does not justify the points claimed) the application will be refused or you'll have to withdraw it and start again.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mr.Mark,
In fact I am invited on 28th April and I have to lodge within the end of June. I don't know what to do. In case I let it expire I don't know if my occupation will still be in SOL (ANZSCO 233914). However, I have all the documents that support that month. Moreover, my mom who is an accountant and knows these laws very well told me that in 2008 it wasn't mandatory for all the companies to pay the salaries in bank. As long as you have paid taxes and insurances, you were part of that company and you were paid. She told me also that in 2009 in Albania all the companies were obliged to pass the payrolls through bank, and my salary starts from that date in bank.
Do you think that this month not supported through bank statement can be a strong point to refuse my visa?
Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enida -

It all comes down to whether the case officer is convinced by the evidence you present re: being paid for the one month. I haven't seen the evidence, so it's impossible for me to predict. Is it possible to get a letter from the company confirming that you were employed for that month but that the payment was made by cash? Then show the tax records that match up with that, etc and I would think that could be convincing, but again it comes down to the case officer.

Re: refusal, if they disallow the month and that causes your points to go down, then the visa in all likelihood will be refused unless there is some other factor that changes that allows the points to go up by the same amount, therefore you still have the same points you claimed on your EOI.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enida said:


> Hi Mr.Mark,
> In fact I am invited on 28th April and I have to lodge within the end of June. I don't know what to do. In case I let it expire I don't know if my occupation will still be in SOL (ANZSCO 233914). However, I have all the documents that support that month. Moreover, my mom who is an accountant and knows these laws very well told me that in 2008 it wasn't mandatory for all the companies to pay the salaries in bank. As long as you have paid taxes and insurances, you were part of that company and you were paid. She told me also that in 2009 in Albania all the companies were obliged to pass the payrolls through bank, and my salary starts from that date in bank.
> Do you think that this month not supported through bank statement can be a strong point to refuse my visa?
> Thank you very much.


----------



## enida

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Enida -
> 
> It all comes down to whether the case officer is convinced by the evidence you present re: being paid for the one month. I haven't seen the evidence, so it's impossible for me to predict. Is it possible to get a letter from the company confirming that you were employed for that month but that the payment was made by cash? Then show the tax records that match up with that, etc and I would think that could be convincing, but again it comes down to the case officer.
> 
> Re: refusal, if they disallow the month and that causes your points to go down, then the visa in all likelihood will be refused unless there is some other factor that changes that allows the points to go up by the same amount, therefore you still have the same points you claimed on your EOI.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mr.Mark,
Thank you for your post and your precious advise, I highly appreciate it.
I just want to ask one more question; now that I am invited and I have 60 days to lodge my visa, is there any way to submit another EOI and not apply for this visa, but not let this invite expire but to submit the new EOI asap? Is this possible? I think if this is possible this would be my best chance as there are plenty of remaining invitations (cap is half reached for my code) till July.

Thank you again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enida -

Generally DIBP wants you to only have one open invitation from them at a time - ie, if they have invited you for the 189, you would need to decline that invitation before they would issue another one for you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enida said:


> Hi Mr.Mark,
> Thank you for your post and your precious advise, I highly appreciate it.
> I just want to ask one more question; now that I am invited and I have 60 days to lodge my visa, is there any way to submit another EOI and not apply for this visa, but not let this invite expire but to submit the new EOI asap? Is this possible? I think if this is possible this would be my best chance as there are plenty of remaining invitations (cap is half reached for my code) till July.
> 
> Thank you again.


----------



## enida

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Enida -
> 
> Generally DIBP wants you to only have one open invitation from them at a time - ie, if they have invited you for the 189, you would need to decline that invitation before they would issue another one for you.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for everything Mr.Mark.
Blessings,
Enida


----------



## sidjun

*Before pressing "Apply Visa"*

Dear Mark

Thanks for your earlier guidance on PCC.

As I mentioned I have already been invited to apply and now I have PCC in hand.

Before I press the "Apply Visa" button in my EOI, I have the below questions:
1- Once I press the button and start entering information, can I logout and come back later to complete the information?
2- I want to get my medical done before CO is assigned and asks for it. Shall I get the meds done before I press the "Apply Visa" button? If yes, then what is the procedure?
3- Continuing with question 2, if I press the "Apply Visa" button do I get a chance afterwards to get the HAP ID and get the Meds done before CO is assigned?
4- I have a 4 year old son, what kind of medical will he go through?
5- I had mentioned in the "family member" section of EOI that I have 2 dependents (wife and son) that I would include in my visa application. But none of their details were taken at that time. Would I be asked for their information and details now during the visa application process?
6- Do I have to fill form 80 for each individual in the application i.e. three form 80, one for me, one for wife and one for child?
7- Are the documents uploaded before we pay the visa fee or after the visa fee is paid?

I know these are a lot of questions in one post. But I hope these are generic enough and would serve as an information for others as well.

Thank you.


----------



## sidjun

sidjun said:


> Dear Mark Thanks for your earlier guidance on PCC. As I mentioned I have already been invited to apply and now I have PCC in hand. Before I press the "Apply Visa" button in my EOI, I have the below questions: 1- Once I press the button and start entering information, can I logout and come back later to complete the information? 2- I want to get my medical done before CO is assigned and asks for it. Shall I get the meds done before I press the "Apply Visa" button? If yes, then what is the procedure? 3- Continuing with question 2, if I press the "Apply Visa" button do I get a chance afterwards to get the HAP ID and get the Meds done before CO is assigned? 4- I have a 4 year old son, what kind of medical will he go through? 5- I had mentioned in the "family member" section of EOI that I have 2 dependents (wife and son) that I would include in my visa application. But none of their details were taken at that time. Would I be asked for their information and details now during the visa application process? 6- Do I have to fill form 80 for each individual in the application i.e. three form 80, one for me, one for wife and one for child? 7- Are the documents uploaded before we pay the visa fee or after the visa fee is paid? I know these are a lot of questions in one post. But I hope these are generic enough and would serve as an information for others as well. Thank you.


My application is in subclass 189.


----------



## CAGDASCETIN

Hello Mark,


I do need an information on occupational trainee visa 402 processsing time.I am going to undertake a research at QUT .I am an undergraduate student,taking mechanical engineering and physics engineering .I got my sponsorship approval on April 22,2014.this occured beyond my control.

I have sent off the paper application to the department in Adeilaide on May 5,2014 by courier service. I havent heard from them since then.

I am getting so worried.I have to start off working at QUT June 2 , 2014 which is the date stated not only on letter of acceptance but also on my nomination letter.I will be staying and working at QUT from June 2,2014 to September 2,2014.Do you have any information on how long this process might take ? How can I make a request them to proceed faster? and Do you think that the case officer will take my start date into account ? and when you apply for these kind of visa ,how long does it usually take to get visa ?
Has anyone experienced with subclass 402 or has anyone heard smt about the visa?

What should I do in order to expedite the processing time ? I ve looked up the web site regarding processing time, it says 2-3 months,but I have to head off to QUT on June 2,2014 . Besides that I already waited 10 weeks for sponsorship approval.As soon as I got the approval on April 22,2014, I have sent off the documentation.Long story short, things occured beyond my control.

I am writing this from Istanbul,Turkey.
looking forward to getting your response.

Also, to be honest , I did prepared a perfect documentation along with form80,form1402,transcripts,
IELTS scores,expired passports,certifications regarding engineering,letter of acceptance,letters of nominations,health insurance,flight ticket etc.
And,I have been to Canada as an international student, moreover have been to USA for the purpose of work under J1 conditions.I believe that these documentation might work to proceed faster.I do hope that the case officer will take the start date into consideration.

Thank you very much in advance.


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark! 

I need your advice please....

I am applying for Onshore Partner Visa 820 Defacto and me and my partner will lodge the application sometime first week of September. 

We will be in our 1 year relationship as a Defacto Partner in August so after we receive our certicates we can attach the document to our application.

In Philippines, we dont have Divorce as Annulment is the procedure. I have been separated for 14 years with my ex Filipino husband. My daughters have been living with me and my parents who is in Philippines and have been supporting them financially. He is willing to sign an affidavit signed by a Lawyer ( like a Statutory Declaration in Australia ) in Philippines stating that we have been separated for 14 years and living separately and he will not oppose or contradict if I have a relationship with someone else. Is this kind of document be sufficient to prove that I am separated from him? As I need to show a document also we file our Relationship in Victoria in August that I have been separated from my ex Filipino husband. 

Your immediate reply is highly appreciated.

Cheers! 
Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sidjun -

Thanks for the questions - see below:



sidjun said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Thanks for your earlier guidance on PCC.
> 
> As I mentioned I have already been invited to apply and now I have PCC in hand.
> 
> Before I press the "Apply Visa" button in my EOI, I have the below questions:
> 1- Once I press the button and start entering information, can I logout and come back later to complete the information?
> ** Yes - you'll be directed to open an ImmiAccount where you can start filling out your online application form, save it, resume later, etc. until you're ready to lodge.
> 
> 2- I want to get my medical done before CO is assigned and asks for it. Shall I get the meds done before I press the "Apply Visa" button? If yes, then what is the procedure?
> ** Don't need to wait - you can lodge your application, then print out your health referral letter with your HAP ID, then get the medical done in a matter of days - the results are transmitted back to DIBP and link up with your lodged application via HAP ID.
> 
> 3- Continuing with question 2, if I press the "Apply Visa" button do I get a chance afterwards to get the HAP ID and get the Meds done before CO is assigned?
> ** Yes - see above.
> 
> 4- I have a 4 year old son, what kind of medical will he go through?
> ** Medical exam only (no HIV blood test or chest x-ray) is my understanding.
> 
> 5- I had mentioned in the "family member" section of EOI that I have 2 dependents (wife and son) that I would include in my visa application. But none of their details were taken at that time. Would I be asked for their information and details now during the visa application process?
> ** Yes.
> 
> 6- Do I have to fill form 80 for each individual in the application i.e. three form 80, one for me, one for wife and one for child?
> ** One each for you and wife, child doesn't need one.
> 
> 7- Are the documents uploaded before we pay the visa fee or after the visa fee is paid?
> ** When you finish with your application and are ready to lodge, you click the lodge/submit button. Then payment is taken, then you can upload documents. You can also later go back to that screen via your immiaccount and upload more documents later on.
> 
> I know these are a lot of questions in one post. But I hope these are generic enough and would serve as an information for others as well.
> 
> Thank you.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## dejainc

Hi Mark,

With the 300 PMV, does the sponsor need to provide a police check? No children or dependents are included in the application. If they do is it an AFP one or a state one? 

Thanks


----------



## Ninja69

Good Morning Mark, 

In my online application for Defacto Partner Visa 820 Onshore I would like to attach the application of my daughters who are both in Philippines. 

I believe their visa once my visa has been approved is a Temporary Visa which entitles them to stay in Australia to live and study until my Permanent. Partner Visa is approved after two years. Now, if my 16 year old daughter who will be in 4th year hi school in June ( now in Philippines) if I apply for her visa together with mine will she repeat another year say year 12th ? Also, if she studies in a private school do I need to pay in full ? What about in public a public school is it free? What about my 19 year old daughter can I apply for her visa after she graduates in her course after two years . Do I need to apply for her visa after my Temporary visa after two years then apply for Permanent visa and that is the time I apply her visa? When is the right time to apply for her visa since she wants to graduate in the Philippines and maybe work here later . I have supporting documents to show DIBP that I have been supporting her for the last 8 years. Bank transfer, Western union remittances. 

Thank you in advance for the help! 
Ninja 69


----------



## sueann16

Hi Sue -

Great question. If you are lodging this yourself (ie, not using an agent), then "We" is fine as long as it's clear in the statement that "we" is referring to you and your partner, and not you and someone else (such as you and another family member or friend you might be discussing or mentioning in the statement).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam[/QUOTE]

Thanks Mark!!


----------



## Rushi

Hi Mark,
Hi have lodged my visa (skilled nominated subclass 190; NSW state sponsored; Dentist) in Jan 19, 2014. I have got my case officer in march first week and I submitted all documents including health and character check till 4 th April 2014. Now my case officer email me that there are limited places left for 2013-14 financial year for this visa subclass and there might be significant delay.

My question is, 

1. If places are full, will my application considered for next financial year?

2. What happen if immigration department will remove Dentist from SOL from next July, will it affect my application even if it is in final stage?

3. If it is going to be a long delay, can I apply for a work visa like Subclass 457 or other visa like Subclass 489? (Can I apply 2 different visa at the same time?)


These moments are very crucial for me and full of anxiety, kindly suggest me.

Regards
Rushi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Normally not unless they have admitted to criminal convictions and/or there are children included in the application. Would be AFP "Name Check Only" under the immigration section on the AFP police check order form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dejainc said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> With the 300 PMV, does the sponsor need to provide a police check? No children or dependents are included in the application. If they do is it an AFP one or a state one?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

The key issue with dependent children and partner visas usually is making sure they stay dependent on you until the permanent part of the partner visa is granted. This generally means remaining enrolled in a full-time education program (uni, etc) as soon as they are eligible after graduating from high school. You may want to sit down with a migration agent and go over the specific plans you have for your children, especially any that will be over 18 yrs old at any point in the provisional/temporary partner application process, to make sure that dependency is maintained.

Also, speaking of dependency, if the children are not (now or in the past) living under the same roof as you, proving dependency can be significantly more difficult. Again, an agent can help you navigate the somewhat tricky legal requirements for dependency if this is the case.

Re: school cost questions, for public high schools, etc, each state is different re: costs for international students, etc - best to look up the school policies for the state(s) you are interested in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Good Morning Mark,
> 
> In my online application for Defacto Partner Visa 820 Onshore I would like to attach the application of my daughters who are both in Philippines.
> 
> I believe their visa once my visa has been approved is a Temporary Visa which entitles them to stay in Australia to live and study until my Permanent. Partner Visa is approved after two years. Now, if my 16 year old daughter who will be in 4th year hi school in June ( now in Philippines) if I apply for her visa together with mine will she repeat another year say year 12th ? Also, if she studies in a private school do I need to pay in full ? What about in public a public school is it free? What about my 19 year old daughter can I apply for her visa after she graduates in her course after two years . Do I need to apply for her visa after my Temporary visa after two years then apply for Permanent visa and that is the time I apply her visa? When is the right time to apply for her visa since she wants to graduate in the Philippines and maybe work here later . I have supporting documents to show DIBP that I have been supporting her for the last 8 years. Bank transfer, Western union remittances.
> 
> Thank you in advance for the help!
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rushi -

Thanks for the note:

1) Normally that means they'll push the grant date of the visa into the new program year (ie, after 1 July 2014)

2) Even if Dentist removed from SOL, you applied when it was on the SOL so you should be OK. It would be highly unusual if they made the change retrospective.

3) Yes, no problem with that - 457 - no overlap with 190. I would probably not go for the 489 as the state sponsorship situation with that given you've already been sponsored for a 190 could become problematic.

Hope this helps with the anxiety! Maybe you can give me some tips to avoid anxiety next time I go to the dentist 

Best,

Mark Northam



Rushi said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hi have lodged my visa (skilled nominated subclass 190; NSW state sponsored; Dentist) in Jan 19, 2014. I have got my case officer in march first week and I submitted all documents including health and character check till 4 th April 2014. Now my case officer email me that there are limited places left for 2013-14 financial year for this visa subclass and there might be significant delay.
> 
> My question is,
> 
> 1. If places are full, will my application considered for next financial year?
> 
> 2. What happen if immigration department will remove Dentist from SOL from next July, will it affect my application even if it is in final stage?
> 
> 3. If it is going to be a long delay, can I apply for a work visa like Subclass 457 or other visa like Subclass 489? (Can I apply 2 different visa at the same time?)
> 
> These moments are very crucial for me and full of anxiety, kindly suggest me.
> 
> Regards
> Rushi


----------



## Rushi

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rushi -
> 
> Thanks for the note:
> 
> 1) Normally that means they'll push the grant date of the visa into the new program year (ie, after 1 July 2014)
> 
> 2) Even if Dentist removed from SOL, you applied when it was on the SOL so you should be OK. It would be highly unusual if they made the change retrospective.
> 
> 3) Yes, no problem with that - 457 - no overlap with 190. I would probably not go for the 489 as the state sponsorship situation with that given you've already been sponsored for a 190 could become problematic.
> 
> Hope this helps with the anxiety! Maybe you can give me some tips to avoid anxiety next time I go to the dentist
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark for to the point explanation.
We won't miss the opportunity to relieve each other's anxiety 

Regards,
Rushi


----------



## sidjun

Dear Mark
Thank you very much again for your clear and concise response. You have been a great help to all members. 

I had another question regarding the functional english requirement for my wife. 

She used to teach business english back in Pakistan till 2007. And she has 5 years of experience letter with her. Plus she was a member of various societies dealing with english courses. 

In you opinion will that be sufficient proof or is it must that she take IELTS?

If she must take IELTS, then do I wait for her result before I lodge application? I am wondering if her IELTS details are required for completing the application or does it just forms part of document upload later? 

Best Regards.


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark! 

I need your advice please....

I am applying for Onshore Partner Visa 820 Defacto and me and my partner will lodge the application sometime first week of September. 

We will be in our 1 year relationship as a Defacto Partner in August so after we receive our certicates we can attach the document to our application.

In Philippines, we dont have Divorce as Annulment is the procedure. I have been separated for 14 years with my ex Filipino husband. My daughters have been living with me and my parents who is in Philippines and have been supporting them financially. He is willing to sign an affidavit signed by a Lawyer ( like a Statutory Declaration in Australia ) in Philippines stating that we have been separated for 14 years and living separately and he will not oppose or contradict if I have a relationship with someone else. Is this kind of document be sufficient to prove that I am separated from him? As I need to show a document also we file our Relationship in Victoria in August that I have been separated from my ex Filipino husband. 

Your immediate reply is highly appreciated.

Cheers! 
Ninja 69


----------



## Manueel

Hi Mark ,

I am silent reader of your a forum , I am very very anxious about my life that whats going with my life.
actually i am in between the sandwich , I am on student visa its my first semester and on the other hand i applied NSW 190 visa on feb 2014 and got CO on 1 April and my Occupation is System Admin and it is removed from the CSOL. CO asked for F80 , Medical and functional English of my wife and submitted next day , i did eth before. Till now i didnt got any mail from them i send a email as well but i didnt got any reply yet.

My question is , Its not sure when it gonna finalized before july or after july but student visa costing too much n its out my track .. Should i cancelled my COE .
or any other solution ...Please please help me . .....

thank you


----------



## Confused2

already got answer to my Question.thank you!


----------



## Naylorus

Hello again, Mark

my 190 PR was approved in April but they only gave me till early July to do first landing. I've seen most approvals on this forum having their first landing date anywhere from 6 to 10 months in future. Have you seen any of your client cases with such short landing date? 

The grant letter firmly says, date can't be changed. Is it really set in stone or can I plead with CO/DIBP to give me bit more time?

Thanks


----------



## glen.

Hi. Mark, 

I have been looking for information on applying visa for my wife & son. I am 457 Visa holder in Australia and need to apply dependent visa for my wife & son. And came across this thread, and was really happy to find very valuable information from you.

I have almost all the documents ready, just need advice on few things:-

1. What will be the Visa Fees for my wife & Son (my son is under 18 yrs of age)? 

2. Do I need to have 888 form from 2 citizens of Australia?

3. Do I need to prepare History of Relationship?

4. What is the processing time for this visa.?

5. My First Preference is to apply Online Visa for them, If for any reason I am not able to lodge Online Application for them, Then where I have to apply Paper Based application? My Wife & Son are from India, they will be applying there or I have to submit there application in Australia?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sidjun -

See: SkillSelect - Functional English

Note that for functional english for secondary applicants (not primary applicant!), IELTS, etc can be completed prior to visa grant. While teaching in English would make sense logically to satisfy the requirement, it is not listed - not sure if they'd accept that or not. Probably best to take IELTS test anyway just to be sure since the requirements are all centered around receiving instruction at a school, not providing it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sidjun said:


> Dear Mark
> Thank you very much again for your clear and concise response. You have been a great help to all members.
> 
> I had another question regarding the functional english requirement for my wife.
> 
> She used to teach business english back in Pakistan till 2007. And she has 5 years of experience letter with her. Plus she was a member of various societies dealing with english courses.
> 
> In you opinion will that be sufficient proof or is it must that she take IELTS?
> 
> If she must take IELTS, then do I wait for her result before I lodge application? I am wondering if her IELTS details are required for completing the application or does it just forms part of document upload later?
> 
> Best Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

I expect the document you propose will satisfy DIBP that you are separated from your former partner, however separation and divorce/annulment are two different things. Would strongly suggest you get the annulment completed to provide legal proof that your former marriage is legally over. Whether DIBP or VIC will accept a separation document is a big question.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I need your advice please....
> 
> I am applying for Onshore Partner Visa 820 Defacto and me and my partner will lodge the application sometime first week of September.
> 
> We will be in our 1 year relationship as a Defacto Partner in August so after we receive our certicates we can attach the document to our application.
> 
> In Philippines, we dont have Divorce as Annulment is the procedure. I have been separated for 14 years with my ex Filipino husband. My daughters have been living with me and my parents who is in Philippines and have been supporting them financially. He is willing to sign an affidavit signed by a Lawyer ( like a Statutory Declaration in Australia ) in Philippines stating that we have been separated for 14 years and living separately and he will not oppose or contradict if I have a relationship with someone else. Is this kind of document be sufficient to prove that I am separated from him? As I need to show a document also we file our Relationship in Victoria in August that I have been separated from my ex Filipino husband.
> 
> Your immediate reply is highly appreciated.
> 
> Cheers!
> Ninja 69


----------



## sidjun

Dear Mark

Thank you again for the advice. I will certainly enroll her in IELTS.

I have been reading about delays in applications for Pakistani nationals due external checks and it is making me worried.

Though I am from Pakistan but I am in UAE for 10 years and continuing.

I applied for subclass 189 through skillselect in march and got invited to lodge application on 13 April 2014 rounds.

I wanted yo know if I will run into same 2 year delays while I am away from Pakistan for long time or will it make a difference to the processing time also because I applied from UAE.

Thanks.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sidjun - See: SkillSelect â Functional English Note that for functional english for secondary applicants (not primary applicant!), IELTS, etc can be completed prior to visa grant. While teaching in English would make sense logically to satisfy the requirement, it is not listed - not sure if they'd accept that or not. Probably best to take IELTS test anyway just to be sure since the requirements are all centered around receiving instruction at a school, not providing it. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manueel -

Thanks for the note. 190 visas typically take 6-9 months to process, so it's early days for your application yet. Re: cancelling student visa, it would not cause a problem with your 190 application but would leave you onshore with no visa to return on if you left the country (you'd be on a Bridging Visa E after the cancellation), you will be unlawful as of the moment of cancellation which means you cannot use any time accumulated up to that point in Australia towards the 4 year residency requirement for citizenship, and if you were to depart Australia while holding the BV-E, you would incur a 3 year exclusion period for all temporary visas (but not the 190 since it's a perm visa). You may want to explore the options in more details with a migration agent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Manueel said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> I am silent reader of your a forum , I am very very anxious about my life that whats going with my life.
> actually i am in between the sandwich , I am on student visa its my first semester and on the other hand i applied NSW 190 visa on feb 2014 and got CO on 1 April and my Occupation is System Admin and it is removed from the CSOL. CO asked for F80 , Medical and functional English of my wife and submitted next day , i did eth before. Till now i didnt got any mail from them i send a email as well but i didnt got any reply yet.
> 
> My question is , Its not sure when it gonna finalized before july or after july but student visa costing too much n its out my track .. Should i cancelled my COE .
> or any other solution ...Please please help me . .....
> 
> thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naylorus -

Yup, have seen that before - usually related to the expiration date of your medical or police checks. No legal way to change that date once the visa is granted. Strongly suggest you come by that date, even for a short trip, to activate the visa - if you miss the date you are in breach of the visa condition and then have to plead with DIBP to not cancel the visa based on the breach (and promise to arrive very soon).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Naylorus said:


> Hello again, Mark
> 
> my 190 PR was approved in April but they only gave me till early July to do first landing. I've seen most approvals on this forum having their first landing date anywhere from 6 to 10 months in future. Have you seen any of your client cases with such short landing date?
> 
> The grant letter firmly says, date can't be changed. Is it really set in stone or can I plead with CO/DIBP to give me bit more time?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Glen -

Thanks for the note - see below (**):



glen. said:


> Hi. Mark,
> 
> I have been looking for information on applying visa for my wife & son. I am 457 Visa holder in Australia and need to apply dependent visa for my wife & son. And came across this thread, and was really happy to find very valuable information from you.
> 
> I have almost all the documents ready, just need advice on few things:-
> 
> 1. What will be the Visa Fees for my wife & Son (my son is under 18 yrs of age)?
> ** Wife $1,035; child < 18 yrs of age, $260.
> 
> 2. Do I need to have 888 form from 2 citizens of Australia?
> ** Not necessarily, but it depends on how much other relationship evidence you have in addition to your marriage cert. You need to provide enough evidence to satisfy DIBP that the marriage is genuine - statements (either Form 888 or otherwise) are one way to do that that many people use.
> 
> 3. Do I need to prepare History of Relationship?
> ** Probably not - this is used more for partner visas.
> 
> 4. What is the processing time for this visa.?
> ** Highly unpredictable. I would guess 3mos - 6mos but have seen them come through in only a few weeks sometimes.
> 
> 5. My First Preference is to apply Online Visa for them, If for any reason I am not able to lodge Online Application for them, Then where I have to apply Paper Based application? My Wife & Son are from India, they will be applying there or I have to submit there application in Australia?


** You need to check with DIBP to get permission to lodge paper application if there is a problem with online. They will instruct re: location - however this is pretty rare - the 457 online system works for most people now regardless of where they are. We just lodged a 457 subsequent entrant application a few weeks ago for a person in Australia whose wife was in India - came through in a few weeks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sidjun -

No way to tell or predict - DIBP doesn't provide info on this, so there's no way to tell exactly who will be impacted by the external security delays.

Best,

Mark Northam



sidjun said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Thank you again for the advice. I will certainly enroll her in IELTS.
> 
> I have been reading about delays in applications for Pakistani nationals due external checks and it is making me worried.
> 
> Though I am from Pakistan but I am in UAE for 10 years and continuing.
> 
> I applied for subclass 189 through skillselect in march and got invited to lodge application on 13 April 2014 rounds.
> 
> I wanted yo know if I will run into same 2 year delays while I am away from Pakistan for long time or will it make a difference to the processing time also because I applied from UAE.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## cozimhappy

Hi Mark! Waiting on Partner visa due around November , just wondering is it okay to apply for visitor visa to go for holiday to Australia ? I was told by DIBP my temporary 309 visa is due in 8/9months so I'm planning to go to Aust on last day of the 9months but in case i don't get my 309 visa by then thought I should apply for visitor visa does that sound acceptable? Will immigration have a problem with me applying for visitor visa whilst I'm waiting for 309 visa? Thought I better check as I'm planning to book flight soon.nMany thanks for your time! Cheers!


----------



## USA309

*Partner 309 - General Questions & Timing*

Hi Mark!

You assisted me once before: my partner and I applied for a 309 and I had wanted to reapply for a tourist visa (after being refused on account of extended time in Australia previously)... I did reapply for a tourist visa and the CO was very kind and let me know she could not approve it, as I did not qualify, but that I could withdraw it to prevent another refusal and that she would speak to my 309 case officer on my behalf in order to assist us in expediting our decision.

Our partner visa was submitted on Feb 13, 2014 and on April 8, 2014 we were interviewed separately. We were informed at that time that some (rather hilarious) information had been received by the department by an ex girlfriend of my partner in an attempt to sabotage our application, but luckily it was very unfounded. Two days after the interview (which our case officer said "went very well") we were asked for a copy of my partner's birth certificate, the final upload of my health exam which had just been completed, and any further evidence of living together and finances over the most recent 12 months/since I had been back in the USA for my off shore application. We submitted hard evidence refuting the bogus claims above (tax returns, etc that 100% prove the allegations were incorrect... our case officer said she could not ASK for those documents but of course would look at them, as they were relevant proof that the false report was malicious and untrue) as well as additional bills, financial statements showing the same address for both our bank accounts over the last year, and two additional Form 888 statutory decs.

Today, May 9, my CO confirmed the following verbatim,

"... I confirm that I have received all required documents.Based on your circumstances, I have expedited the processing of your case and will continue to expedite it. Pending final assessment, it appears your case may be on track for finalization sometime in June or July 2014."

My question for you, which I hope is not a silly one, is whether the above is an indication that our application will be approved; Is it true that they approve only a certain amount of partner visas each month/year and that they spread out arrival dates? It seemed to me that one month after our interview, with this email now in hand, we would have received our rejection already or certainly that it wouldn't take another month to refuse us if that were the case (and thus this might be good news!?).

My understanding is that partner visas are somewhat distributed on an annual and monthly basis - and that waiting until June/July would mean that I would be approved for travel in that month as perhaps others are already ahead of us in the que or have previously be approved. My FBI police check expires in July (and as I understand, I must enter while that is still valid) and I am just trying to read between the lines to get a grasp of whether this new information means that I can breathe a sigh of relief. As you can imagine, however silly, the false report received by IMMI gave us quite a scare and we are splitting hairs over whether that would be an excuse to reject an otherwise solid application (3 years residing together with tons of evidence.)

Thank you for your time!

Nicole


----------



## glen.

Thanks Mark... will ask u again, if I face any difficulty...



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Glen -
> 
> Thanks for the note - see below (**):
> 
> ** You need to check with DIBP to get permission to lodge paper application if there is a problem with online. They will instruct re: location - however this is pretty rare - the 457 online system works for most people now regardless of where they are. We just lodged a 457 subsequent entrant application a few weeks ago for a person in Australia whose wife was in India - came through in a few weeks.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## jhosie

glen. said:


> Thanks Mark... will ask u again, if I face any difficulty...


hi mark do u have any incident that your client have problem in xray test did they strict bt that...im been in taiwan for how many yr as factory worker but never been suffer a tubercolosis but when i go home when i med again they see a scar on my xray they have a waiver for that case...thnks


----------



## gagandeepjim

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Sir,

I am a Mechanical Engineer. I want to migrate to Australia. For this purpose I have found an employer in Australia. I have 6.5 bands in Ielts with not less than Six in any module. Moreover, I have 5 years of experience. In addition, I have Diploma of Mechanical Engineering. Currently, I am 24 years of old.
Please guide me.

Regards,

Gagan


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi Mark, 

Please kindly help me, my 457 visa decline due to nomination refuse. Now my employer is trying to submit review for my visa and nomination. My question is usually what are the possibility and how long it may take. 

Thanks
Bharat


----------



## leena666

Hi Mark,

I lodge my Partner visa application 820 last month and now is waiting for TP to be granted. My partner is a pilot and i wonder if he find a job in other counties (like New Zealand or Hong Kong) and I moved with him ,will it affect my visa application ?

thanks!


----------



## sidjun

Thanks again Mark.

I truly appreciate your support.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sidjun - No way to tell or predict - DIBP doesn't provide info on this, so there's no way to tell exactly who will be impacted by the external security delays. Best, Mark Northam


----------



## mlpambid

*Working rights on bridging visa when applying for 485*

Hi Mark,

I'm currently on a 573 Higher Education Visa that I applied for in April 2012 which will expire 30 July 2014. I will be finishing my bachelor's in June 2014 and will be applying for a 485 Post-Study Work Stream.

I also have my partner on my current visa as my de facto. I hold a US passport and he holds a UK passport.

I'm wondering will we both be able to work full-time on the bridging visa while waiting for the 485 to be approved? If not, what working rights are given for bridging visas?

Also, approximately what are the processing times for the 485?

Many thanks in advance!

Kind regards,
Michelle


----------



## Mietsie

Hi Mark

Just another question regarding the Medical Examination, if I submit onshore (on a Visitor's visa), can I do my Medical Examination in South Africa and upload it when I submit my online application when I'm back in Australia?

Thank you very much.
Regards
Mietsie



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mietsie -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - responses below at ***:
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cozimhappy -

Very common for people with pending partner visa applications to apply for a visitor visa - typically these are granted for 3 or 6 months in cases of a pending offshore partner visa application, but there is a great amount of discretion in what the case officer can do. Normally not a problem unless DIBP has concerns about the genuineness of the partner visa application and/or relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cozimhappy said:


> Hi Mark! Waiting on Partner visa due around November , just wondering is it okay to apply for visitor visa to go for holiday to Australia ? I was told by DIBP my temporary 309 visa is due in 8/9months so I'm planning to go to Aust on last day of the 9months but in case i don't get my 309 visa by then thought I should apply for visitor visa does that sound acceptable? Will immigration have a problem with me applying for visitor visa whilst I'm waiting for 309 visa? Thought I better check as I'm planning to book flight soon.nMany thanks for your time! Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicole -

Thanks for the question. I wish I could tell you that the particular message they sent you is a sign of something in terms of a decision, but my view is that it is not. It's true there are quotas and limits, and at this time of year (May-June) in the last 2 months of the program year often visa grants are pushed to after 1 July for quota/limit reasons. My advice would be to remain patient and see what they say. DIBP is famous for "not showing their cards" as they say, and a decision being finalised only means that a final decision will be made, and is not necessarily indicative of whether that decision will be positive or not.

Sorry I don't have better news, but again, this is not good or bad - it only means there will be a delay. I would remain hopeful and positive.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



USA309 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> You assisted me once before: my partner and I applied for a 309 and I had wanted to reapply for a tourist visa (after being refused on account of extended time in Australia previously)... I did reapply for a tourist visa and the CO was very kind and let me know she could not approve it, as I did not qualify, but that I could withdraw it to prevent another refusal and that she would speak to my 309 case officer on my behalf in order to assist us in expediting our decision.
> 
> Our partner visa was submitted on Feb 13, 2014 and on April 8, 2014 we were interviewed separately. We were informed at that time that some (rather hilarious) information had been received by the department by an ex girlfriend of my partner in an attempt to sabotage our application, but luckily it was very unfounded. Two days after the interview (which our case officer said "went very well") we were asked for a copy of my partner's birth certificate, the final upload of my health exam which had just been completed, and any further evidence of living together and finances over the most recent 12 months/since I had been back in the USA for my off shore application. We submitted hard evidence refuting the bogus claims above (tax returns, etc that 100% prove the allegations were incorrect... our case officer said she could not ASK for those documents but of course would look at them, as they were relevant proof that the false report was malicious and untrue) as well as additional bills, financial statements showing the same address for both our bank accounts over the last year, and two additional Form 888 statutory decs.
> 
> Today, May 9, my CO confirmed the following verbatim,
> 
> "... I confirm that I have received all required documents.Based on your circumstances, I have expedited the processing of your case and will continue to expedite it. Pending final assessment, it appears your case may be on track for finalization sometime in June or July 2014."
> 
> My question for you, which I hope is not a silly one, is whether the above is an indication that our application will be approved; Is it true that they approve only a certain amount of partner visas each month/year and that they spread out arrival dates? It seemed to me that one month after our interview, with this email now in hand, we would have received our rejection already or certainly that it wouldn't take another month to refuse us if that were the case (and thus this might be good news!?).
> 
> My understanding is that partner visas are somewhat distributed on an annual and monthly basis - and that waiting until June/July would mean that I would be approved for travel in that month as perhaps others are already ahead of us in the que or have previously be approved. My FBI police check expires in July (and as I understand, I must enter while that is still valid) and I am just trying to read between the lines to get a grasp of whether this new information means that I can breathe a sigh of relief. As you can imagine, however silly, the false report received by IMMI gave us quite a scare and we are splitting hairs over whether that would be an excuse to reject an otherwise solid application (3 years residing together with tons of evidence.)
> 
> Thank you for your time!
> 
> Nicole


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Not sure exactly what you are asking - sometimes if the Dr sees a shadow that could be a scar on an x-ray they will be concerned that it is the result of a previous bout with tuberculosis. In those cases sometimes DIBP will ask that further tests be run to confirm no active TB. Also they sometimes will grant the visa but require that you take regular tests over a time period once you're in Australia again in order to confirm no active TB.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> hi mark do u have any incident that your client have problem in xray test did they strict bt that...im been in taiwan for how many yr as factory worker but never been suffer a tubercolosis but when i go home when i med again they see a scar on my xray they have a waiver for that case...thnks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gagan -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



gagandeepjim said:


> Dear Sir,
> 
> I am a Mechanical Engineer. I want to migrate to Australia. For this purpose I have found an employer in Australia. I have 6.5 bands in Ielts with not less than Six in any module. Moreover, I have 5 years of experience. In addition, I have Diploma of Mechanical Engineering. Currently, I am 24 years of old.
> Please guide me.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Gagan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

Thanks for the note. A nomination refusal can sometimes be fixed by relodging a new nomination quickly and asking DIBP to hold off refusing the visa application until the new nomination is considered; other times DIBP will refuse the original visa application along with the nomination and you're left to go to the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) for a review of both the nomination and corresponding visa application.

As for the chances of success, no way to tell without a thorough review of your case and evidence. Is your employer using an experienced registered migration agent? May be a good idea unless he is willing to spend the time to thoroughly understand the law and regulations involved in order to make the best case to the MRT. Current waiting time for some MRT cases is 1 year or more - if the MRT chooses to expedite the case, it could be only a few months, but that's a decision that's completely up to the MRT. During this time you normally would have your bridging visa extended assuming a valid application was made to the MRT for both the nomination and visa application. There are many regulations in this area - you need to be careful you meet them all to enable a valid MRT application (actually 2 of them) for the nomination and visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Please kindly help me, my 457 visa decline due to nomination refuse. Now my employer is trying to submit review for my visa and nomination. My question is usually what are the possibility and how long it may take.
> 
> Thanks
> Bharat


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Not sure exactly what you are asking - sometimes if the Dr sees a shadow that could be a scar on an x-ray they will be concerned that it is the result of a previous bout with tuberculosis. In those cases sometimes DIBP will ask that further tests be run to confirm no active TB. Also they sometimes will grant the visa but require that you take regular tests over a time period once you're in Australia again in order to confirm no active TB.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thnks mark...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leena666 -

Normally that's not an issue. If your partner is a permanent resident of Australia (not a citizen) then the "usually resident" requirement for a permanent resident sponsor could be an issue depending on your circumstances. You will have to find your way back to Australia at least at the visa grant time as you must be in Australia in order for the visa to be granted - normally if you keep in touch with your case officer and he/she has current contact info for you they will notify you that it's time for visa grant so you can make arrangements to return to Australia in order to enable that to happen.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leena666 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I lodge my Partner visa application 820 last month and now is waiting for TP to be granted. My partner is a pilot and i wonder if he find a job in other counties (like New Zealand or Hong Kong) and I moved with him ,will it affect my visa application ?
> 
> thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michelle -

Normally bridging visa granted for a 485 visa application (assuming you lodge for the 485 while holding the student visa) comes with full work rights for primary and secondary applicants. Processing time for 485's are difficult to predict - generally between 3 and 6 months is typical, but again, it may take longer or shorter than that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mlpambid said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm currently on a 573 Higher Education Visa that I applied for in April 2012 which will expire 30 July 2014. I will be finishing my bachelor's in June 2014 and will be applying for a 485 Post-Study Work Stream.
> 
> I also have my partner on my current visa as my de facto. I hold a US passport and he holds a UK passport.
> 
> I'm wondering will we both be able to work full-time on the bridging visa while waiting for the 485 to be approved? If not, what working rights are given for bridging visas?
> 
> Also, approximately what are the processing times for the 485?
> 
> Many thanks in advance!
> 
> Kind regards,
> Michelle


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mietsie -

Yes, but there's nothing to upload - it happens automatically. If you want to take the medical before you lodge a partner visa application, it's best to not take it too long before you lodge or it may expire before your visa is granted. But if you want to do this, you should visit the My Health Declarations site and generate a HAP ID for yourself - with the ID you can then make an appointment for a visa medical and then enter that same HAP ID when you lodge your partner visa application - that will allow them to link up your medical test results electronically sent by the Dr to DIBP to your visa application.

Link for My Health Decl: My Health Declarations

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mietsie said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Just another question regarding the Medical Examination, if I submit onshore (on a Visitor's visa), can I do my Medical Examination in South Africa and upload it when I submit my online application when I'm back in Australia?
> 
> Thank you very much.
> Regards
> Mietsie


----------



## bhalo_fish

Thanks a million for quick reply. This really help me a lot.


----------



## cozimhappy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cozimhappy -
> 
> Very common for people with pending partner visa applications to apply for a visitor visa - typically these are granted for 3 or 6 months in cases of a pending offshore partner visa application, but there is a great amount of discretion in what the case officer can do. Normally not a problem unless DIBP has concerns about the genuineness of the partner visa application and/or relationship.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark! So should i just go online and apply or should i message case officer first? - not sure what the norm is.
Many thanks!


----------



## CAGDASCETIN

Hi Mark,

I have submitted the visa application to the center in Adeilade by a courier service on May 5th,2014.I got an email from the department on May 8,2014 that my application has been assessed as a valid application I got worried about the visa processing time for Occupational Trainee Visa,subclass 402. I got the sponsorship and nomination approval on the April 22,2014 .This occured beyond my control. Moreover, I have to start off working as a trainee at QUT with my supervisor on June 2,2014. I prepared a perfect documentation with the help of a registered agent located in Istanbul for the visa along with relevant forms ,Form1402,Form80,a health insurance, nomination & sponsorship letter , financial proofs,bank accounts,flight ticket,expired passport showing that I have been to Canada as an international visiting student, and have been to USA for the purpose of short term work ( sort of a trainee), the letter of acceptance,relevant certifications etc. What else would you recommend me to do in order to expedite the process because I have to be at QUT on June 2,2014.Do you think that the case officer will take my start date into consideration ? Should I send a message to my case officer ? 

I am looking forward for your response.

Thank you very much in advance.

Kind Regards ,

Cagdas


----------



## ali wasiq

Hi Mark As Our Visa De fecto Subclass 309/100 (100 MIGRANT) was lounged on 01.oct.2012 in AHC Islamabad Pakistan and CO requested for med/PCC and additional documents On 21.Dec.12 and we submitted Med/PCC and other documents on 10. JAN.2013. As They Forwarded Application For External Check (Security Checks) on 28.Jan.2013. I dONt Know They DOnt Tell That Security Check Is Over. On 17.Feb.2014 Co emailed and request for An Updated PCC and we submitted Updated PCC On 5.Mar.2014. And Last Week I Recived CAll By SCO She Was ASking SOme Questions Like She Was Asking That You HAve Gone Outside OF Country In LAst 2 Years ETC . Did You have any idea That how much time it will Take more. ::::: CO or SCo Are Not Friendly They Didnot Give Any Information Your Advice Will Be appreciated... Thankss


----------



## australia_2014

Dear Mark,

I received a 190 invitation from Victoria SS on 23rd April - just a few days before 
28th April round of invitations for 189 visa takes place.

I could have gotten a 189 invitation if only the 190 invitation didn't suspend(I assume) my EOI status. The visa date effect for my occupation id 
BEFORE 28th April round was at 27-Jan-2014 while my 189 EOI date 
is 1st-Feb 2014. The visa date effect AFTER 28th April round is 22-Mar-2014.

I practically had given up on my 190 application as it has been more than 11 weeks (just 2 days to12-weeks) and I believe the maximum is 12 weeks before Victoria has to inform whether SS application is approved or rejected. 
I also believe that Victoria could come back a lot sooner than 11/12 weeks to approve or reject SS applications as I have observed in the forums.

My question is, if I reject my 190 invite, would my pending 189 EOI be activated and would it get immediately picked up in the next round of 189 invites(i.e. May 12th or 26th) since the visa date effect(22-Mar-2014 or later) is way past my 189 EOI date of application which is 1st Feb? 

I feel I should be entitled for the 189 too as I had waited in-line like the rest of 
189 applicants.

The main reason for preferring 189 over 190 is it has no obligation to live in a particular state for 2 years.

Please let me know what is best thing to do.

Many thanks in advance for the help and 
I wish you all the best.


----------



## Cissyxxx

Hi Mark,

Just a quick question here. I'm currently an accounting student and due to graduate at the end of this year. And I consider to apply for skilled immigration. But I don't know whether my current job can give me extra 5 points. My situation is : 

I currently work as a junior accountant in a local firm. However, I don't work 20 hours a week and my payslip only comes once a month. Could I tell CPA that I work 20 hours for 3 weeks in one month? And I can make sure 20 hours for 52 weeks which equal to one year. Is this ok to give me that 5 points?(one year out of three years working experience in Australia)

Thanks for your time and effort!!!

Cindy


----------



## MarkNortham

I'd apply online, then msg case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cozimhappy said:


> Thanks a lot Mark! So should i just go online and apply or should i message case officer first? - not sure what the norm is.
> Many thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Not a lot you can do to expedite the application - the case officer would normally take into account the start date, however as we get closer to the date, you may want to ask your agent to enquire with the case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CAGDASCETIN said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have submitted the visa application to the center in Adeilade by a courier service on May 5th,2014.I got an email from the department on May 8,2014 that my application has been assessed as a valid application I got worried about the visa processing time for Occupational Trainee Visa,subclass 402. I got the sponsorship and nomination approval on the April 22,2014 .This occured beyond my control. Moreover, I have to start off working as a trainee at QUT with my supervisor on June 2,2014. I prepared a perfect documentation with the help of a registered agent located in Istanbul for the visa along with relevant forms ,Form1402,Form80,a health insurance, nomination & sponsorship letter , financial proofs,bank accounts,flight ticket,expired passport showing that I have been to Canada as an international visiting student, and have been to USA for the purpose of short term work ( sort of a trainee), the letter of acceptance,relevant certifications etc. What else would you recommend me to do in order to expedite the process because I have to be at QUT on June 2,2014.Do you think that the case officer will take my start date into consideration ? Should I send a message to my case officer ?
> 
> I am looking forward for your response.
> 
> Thank you very much in advance.
> 
> Kind Regards ,
> 
> Cagdas


----------



## mlpambid

*Thank you!*

Thanks for your speedy response, you're a legend!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Michelle -
> 
> Normally bridging visa granted for a 485 visa application (assuming you lodge for the 485 while holding the student visa) comes with full work rights for primary and secondary applicants. Processing time for 485's are difficult to predict - generally between 3 and 6 months is typical, but again, it may take longer or shorter than that.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ali -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately there's no way to tell how much time is left until a decision on your visa (or any others, unfortunately). The updated PCC enquiry is usually done when a PCC has expired during processing. The "have you left the country" question probably will determine whether they want a fresh PCC from you (ie, expired PCC but no travel to that country since the PCC had expired and they may not ask you for a new PCC from that country).

Best to hang in there and be patient - Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ali wasiq said:


> Hi Mark As Our Visa De fecto Subclass 309/100 (100 MIGRANT) was lounged on 01.oct.2012 in AHC Islamabad Pakistan and CO requested for med/PCC and additional documents On 21.Dec.12 and we submitted Med/PCC and other documents on 10. JAN.2013. As They Forwarded Application For External Check (Security Checks) on 28.Jan.2013. I dONt Know They DOnt Tell That Security Check Is Over. On 17.Feb.2014 Co emailed and request for An Updated PCC and we submitted Updated PCC On 5.Mar.2014. And Last Week I Recived CAll By SCO She Was ASking SOme Questions Like She Was Asking That You HAve Gone Outside OF Country In LAst 2 Years ETC . Did You have any idea That how much time it will Take more. ::::: CO or SCo Are Not Friendly They Didnot Give Any Information Your Advice Will Be appreciated... Thankss


----------



## ali wasiq

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ali -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Unfortunately there's no way to tell how much time is left until a decision on your visa (or any others, unfortunately). The updated PCC enquiry is usually done when a PCC has expired during processing. The "have you left the country" question probably will determine whether they want a fresh PCC from you (ie, expired PCC but no travel to that country since the PCC had expired and they may not ask you for a new PCC from that country).
> 
> Best to hang in there and be patient - Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Australia_2014 -

Normally when you reject/decline an invitation, that will put your EOI back into the "pool" where it can be selected again, however whether it will be picked in any particular round of invitations is not something I could predict - too many factors - some known, some unknown -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



australia_2014 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I received a 190 invitation from Victoria SS on 23rd April - just a few days before
> 28th April round of invitations for 189 visa takes place.
> 
> I could have gotten a 189 invitation if only the 190 invitation didn't suspend(I assume) my EOI status. The visa date effect for my occupation id
> BEFORE 28th April round was at 27-Jan-2014 while my 189 EOI date
> is 1st-Feb 2014. The visa date effect AFTER 28th April round is 22-Mar-2014.
> 
> I practically had given up on my 190 application as it has been more than 11 weeks (just 2 days to12-weeks) and I believe the maximum is 12 weeks before Victoria has to inform whether SS application is approved or rejected.
> I also believe that Victoria could come back a lot sooner than 11/12 weeks to approve or reject SS applications as I have observed in the forums.
> 
> My question is, if I reject my 190 invite, would my pending 189 EOI be activated and would it get immediately picked up in the next round of 189 invites(i.e. May 12th or 26th) since the visa date effect(22-Mar-2014 or later) is way past my 189 EOI date of application which is 1st Feb?
> 
> I feel I should be entitled for the 189 too as I had waited in-line like the rest of
> 189 applicants.
> 
> The main reason for preferring 189 over 190 is it has no obligation to live in a particular state for 2 years.
> 
> Please let me know what is best thing to do.
> 
> Many thanks in advance for the help and
> I wish you all the best.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cissyxxx -

You'd have to talk to CPA about that, however generally work experience prior to earning your qualification is not eligible for skilled visa points. You might consider a subclass 485 visa to get more work experience after graduating, then go for skilled migration once you have the points necessary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cissyxxx said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a quick question here. I'm currently an accounting student and due to graduate at the end of this year. And I consider to apply for skilled immigration. But I don't know whether my current job can give me extra 5 points. My situation is :
> 
> I currently work as a junior accountant in a local firm. However, I don't work 20 hours a week and my payslip only comes once a month. Could I tell CPA that I work 20 hours for 3 weeks in one month? And I can make sure 20 hours for 52 weeks which equal to one year. Is this ok to give me that 5 points?(one year out of three years working experience in Australia)
> 
> Thanks for your time and effort!!!
> 
> Cindy


----------



## fairysparkle

I just got my 309 partner visa granted My initial entry date is on the 5th of September. I will fly from Sweden. I am confused about if I can arrive on the airport in Australia on the day of the 5th or do I have to enter on the 4th? As it says I must enter "before" the initial entry date...

Greatful for any help in this 

As I'm about to book the flights


----------



## CAGDASCETIN

Thank you,Sir.your response means a lot to me.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> Not a lot you can do to expedite the application - the case officer would normally take into account the start date, however as we get closer to the date, you may want to ask your agent to enquire with the case officer.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## TaniaTM

fairysparkle said:


> I just got my 309 partner visa granted My initial entry date is on the 5th of September. I will fly from Sweden. I am confused about if I can arrive on the airport in Australia on the day of the 5th or do I have to enter on the 4th? As it says I must enter "before" the initial entry date...
> 
> Greatful for any help in this
> 
> As I'm about to book the flights


You have to enter Australia before 5th September so you can even book a ticket for August if your matters in Sweden are taken care of. Btw, congrats on the visa.


----------



## TaniaTM

Hi Mark, 

First off, thank you for being here in guiding us because really, your expertise has helped thousands of people in getting their info together. 

In my case, briefly, I'm in the middle of getting my spouse visa processed (I have applied offshore and my husband is an Australian citizen). I have received acknowledgement email and medical request from embassy (there is not one particular person who has contacted me so not sure who is my CO yet). All my paper work (including police check and medicals) has been submitted last month. 

Four days ago, an embassy representative emailed to provide recent communication history between us, along with my sponsor's employment letter and payslip, bank statement for last 3 months. I have all of this but I have one query, my husband's current salary is not that great (20,000 AUD per year). Not to mention, I'm not going to be a dead weight because I work as a Project Manager in Dhaka and will be active in my career even after getting the visa hopefully. So, even if we have not tonnes saved, both of us can live without any problem. I just wanted to know, will his low salary factor negatively in the decision? Will they not consider my part as well because I'm an actively earning individual? Should I mention something specific to this while submitting the additional papers? Anything else I can add to make it better? For a note, in his entire stay in Australia, my husband has never applied for support. 

Anyways, would look forward to your advise.


----------



## sueann16

Hi Mark, 

Me again 

I've finally completed the details on the partner visa online application however I've a few things I need to clarify before submitting this. 

1. Under the section 'Relationships' there is a field asking for date and place applicant got engaged to sponsor and also the date of intended marriage. We got married back in 2012 however when I put in our marriage date the system would not let me proceed as the date needs to be in the future. Could you advise what date should be reflected in this field? I'm unable to leave it blank either. 

2. Both me and my husband are staying at my dad's apartment rent free but all the bills and expenses of the apartment are paid for by us from our joint bank account. The apartment invoices and receipts of these expenses are in my dad's name since he is the owner, however all payment is done by us via cheque. How do I evidence this? This would be to support the ' Nature of household' field on how expenses are managed between us husband and wife. Would I need to scan our cheque book or should I get my dad to write a statement stating that this is the agreed financial management that we adopt?

3. In the portion ' list the countries visited for less than 12 months in the past 10 years' , I've only been able to list the countries I've visited in 2013 as this was the year I had my passport renewed. My previous passport has been returned to the immigration department hence I don't have the names or the dates of the countries I've travelled too before 2013. Is this sufficient? Or is it really necessary to have every country listed down though if i do so, I think the list would be too long. 

4. In regards to attaching the attachments, I'm assuming this would come only after I have submitted my online application? If so, is there any advice you can offer in terms of the attachments to be attached (i.e number of photographs, bill statements..etc)? Would welcome any pointers for this. 

Thanks again for your advice throughout this process, it's very much appreciated!

Regards, 
Sue


----------



## Dinkum

*Congratulations!*

Hi FairySparkle - great news. I'm not sure of the exact answer to your question. But... Australia is a long journey from Stockholm. I would plan to arrive a few days before your deadline. Flights, connections, and other arrangements can often be delayed, for lots of reasons. Best to allow plenty of time and not risk missing out. Hope this helps. Very best wishes to you both for your future life together in Oz or wherever you may be.



fairysparkle said:


> I just got my 309 partner visa granted My initial entry date is on the 5th of September. I will fly from Sweden. I am confused about if I can arrive on the airport in Australia on the day of the 5th or do I have to enter on the 4th? As it says I must enter "before" the initial entry date...
> 
> Greatful for any help in this
> 
> As I'm about to book the flights


----------



## Bowden99

Hi Mark,

My wife is an occupational therapist and we will be processing her registration this month. She worked in Manila (1998 - 2011) and Singapore (2011 - 2013). We are keen on applying for state sponsorship after skill assessment. The thing is, she has mild spina bifid a affecting her bladder (she can't control it at times). Her kidney is normal and we are managing her bladder problem by scheduled emptying. Her health is normal in other aspects and we even have a 6 year old daughter.

I just want to have your advice on this. We may need to have a migration agent in the future because of this.

Thank you!


----------



## Bay56

Hi Mark, I've got another quick question.

Previously I mentioned I'm planning on applying for an 820. I'm a little confused with the bridging visa I will be granted and its entitlements.

I am currently on a student visa which is valid until late next year. As far as I understand right now, the bridging visa is linked to my current substantive visa, meaning that it will have the same entitlements as long as my current student visa is valid. However I have heard that the bridging visa alone will let me apply for Medicare. Also, I have read contradictory statements regarding the working rights - some say that the bridging visa will let me work with full rights, others say that the student visa conditions still apply. Which is correct?

Also,me and my partner are planning on applying around June, however in July I have booked a quick overseas trip for about a fortnight. I would like to ask you what will happen to my bridging visa if I leave Australia? Will I need to reapply for that bridging visa once I return, or do the multiple entry conditions of the student visa take precedent over the bridging visa? Also, is there a possibility for the bridging visa to not let me leave the country? In that case should I wait to apply after I return?

Thank you so much!


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark,

Thank you always for your time in helping us in this forum. I salute you for this...

A quick inquiry, I am on a tourist visa now and will apply my Onshore Partner Visa ( de facto ) I will exit in June 10 after a 10 days trip to Bali and back in June 20. My visa is valid until July 2014. It means upon my arrival in June I can stay maximum of 3 months meaning until September 10. Is this correct? Can I submit my online application partner visa based on de facto ( onshore) say September 1st? Or it has to be two weeks at least or so before September 10?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Cheers! 
Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fairysparkle -

"Before" a particular date means before 12:00am on that day, so you would need to arrive in Australia (don't forget Australian time difference is major) before 11:59pm on 4 September. Given flight delays, etc, we usually recommend that our clients allow at least 12 hours of leeway for delays or unexpected issues.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fairysparkle said:


> I just got my 309 partner visa granted My initial entry date is on the 5th of September. I will fly from Sweden. I am confused about if I can arrive on the airport in Australia on the day of the 5th or do I have to enter on the 4th? As it says I must enter "before" the initial entry date...
> 
> Greatful for any help in this
> 
> As I'm about to book the flights


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tania -

Thanks for the note. Would suggest you write a letter describing both your income and your sponsor's income and that you work together (ie, both work) to support your family. You could also say that he is looking for higher paying work , etc if you wanted to . There is no fixed income amount that a sponsor must earn in order to qualify, however $20k is on the low side given the high cost of living in Australia (among the highest in the world now). I'd stress both the combined earnings and the potential you both have to earn more in Australia, etc and see how it goes -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TaniaTM said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First off, thank you for being here in guiding us because really, your expertise has helped thousands of people in getting their info together.
> 
> In my case, briefly, I'm in the middle of getting my spouse visa processed (I have applied offshore and my husband is an Australian citizen). I have received acknowledgement email and medical request from embassy (there is not one particular person who has contacted me so not sure who is my CO yet). All my paper work (including police check and medicals) has been submitted last month.
> 
> Four days ago, an embassy representative emailed to provide recent communication history between us, along with my sponsor's employment letter and payslip, bank statement for last 3 months. I have all of this but I have one query, my husband's current salary is not that great (20,000 AUD per year). Not to mention, I'm not going to be a dead weight because I work as a Project Manager in Dhaka and will be active in my career even after getting the visa hopefully. So, even if we have not tonnes saved, both of us can live without any problem. I just wanted to know, will his low salary factor negatively in the decision? Will they not consider my part as well because I'm an actively earning individual? Should I mention something specific to this while submitting the additional papers? Anything else I can add to make it better? For a note, in his entire stay in Australia, my husband has never applied for support.
> 
> Anyways, would look forward to your advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Suann16 -

Thanks for the note - see below:



sueann16 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> 1. Under the section 'Relationships' there is a field asking for date and place applicant got engaged to sponsor and also the date of intended marriage. We got married back in 2012 however when I put in our marriage date the system would not let me proceed as the date needs to be in the future. Could you advise what date should be reflected in this field? I'm unable to leave it blank either.
> ** I believe you may have checked the "Is this a subclass 300 Prospective Marriage Visa" box or otherwise indicated that you are engaged, not married - better double check previous answers on the online application.
> 
> 2. Both me and my husband are staying at my dad's apartment rent free but all the bills and expenses of the apartment are paid for by us from our joint bank account. The apartment invoices and receipts of these expenses are in my dad's name since he is the owner, however all payment is done by us via cheque. How do I evidence this? This would be to support the ' Nature of household' field on how expenses are managed between us husband and wife. Would I need to scan our cheque book or should I get my dad to write a statement stating that this is the agreed financial management that we adopt?
> ** Letter from your dad would be the best plus evidence of payment by you.
> 
> 3. In the portion ' list the countries visited for less than 12 months in the past 10 years' , I've only been able to list the countries I've visited in 2013 as this was the year I had my passport renewed. My previous passport has been returned to the immigration department hence I don't have the names or the dates of the countries I've travelled too before 2013. Is this sufficient? Or is it really necessary to have every country listed down though if i do so, I think the list would be too long.
> ** The list is often very long for this question - it's a hassle. I'd try and check your travel records, receipts, etc to get as many as you can, then you can upload a note saying that you've tried your best but this is all the information you have, etc.
> 
> 4. In regards to attaching the attachments, I'm assuming this would come only after I have submitted my online application? If so, is there any advice you can offer in terms of the attachments to be attached (i.e number of photographs, bill statements..etc)? Would welcome any pointers for this.
> ** Correct. Number/amount depends on the bigger picture of how much relationship evidence there is available, how much do statements support your application, number of statements, etc. There are some very good threads here on the forum about relationship evidence for partner applications - would research those for more tips from applicants themselves.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bowden -

Not sure if that would rise to the level of a health concern to Australian immigration. Suggest you go through the health exam process, answer all questions accurately, and see if they inform you that they are considering refusing based on health grounds - that will indicate that the assessed medical costs are higher than the limit. Unfortunately for the 190 and 489 visas, there is no health waiver available under the law, so you'd have to try and mount an argument that the assessed costs were unrealistic in this case. Another alternative could be the 186/187 employer sponsored PR visas where there is a health waiver available.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bowden99 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife is an occupational therapist and we will be processing her registration this month. She worked in Manila (1998 - 2011) and Singapore (2011 - 2013). We are keen on applying for state sponsorship after skill assessment. The thing is, she has mild spina bifid a affecting her bladder (she can't control it at times). Her kidney is normal and we are managing her bladder problem by scheduled emptying. Her health is normal in other aspects and we even have a 6 year old daughter.
> 
> I just want to have your advice on this. We may need to have a migration agent in the future because of this.
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bay56 -

Thanks for the note - happy to help clear up the confusion. The bridging visa (BV), assuming you lodge your 820/801 application while holding a student visa, will be a Bridging Visa A (BVA) which allows full work rights as soon as it's activated. It will be automatically activated as soon as your student visa expires. You will still be on your student visa until it expires, so you'll have to abide by the conditions of that visa.

As the bridging visa is not activated yet, it should not "cease" when you make your trip while holding the student visa. No problem re-entering because, again, you're on the student visa and I assume you will still be studying, etc and abiding by the conditions of that visa. However there have been known to be issues in this scenario, so if you're getting to the end of your student visa and you've made a trip out/back, it might be good to visit DIBP to ensure that your BV-A is still dormant but intact.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bay56 said:


> Hi Mark, I've got another quick question.
> 
> Previously I mentioned I'm planning on applying for an 820. I'm a little confused with the bridging visa I will be granted and its entitlements.
> 
> I am currently on a student visa which is valid until late next year. As far as I understand right now, the bridging visa is linked to my current substantive visa, meaning that it will have the same entitlements as long as my current student visa is valid. However I have heard that the bridging visa alone will let me apply for Medicare. Also, I have read contradictory statements regarding the working rights - some say that the bridging visa will let me work with full rights, others say that the student visa conditions still apply. Which is correct?
> 
> Also,me and my partner are planning on applying around June, however in July I have booked a quick overseas trip for about a fortnight. I would like to ask you what will happen to my bridging visa if I leave Australia? Will I need to reapply for that bridging visa once I return, or do the multiple entry conditions of the student visa take precedent over the bridging visa? Also, is there a possibility for the bridging visa to not let me leave the country? In that case should I wait to apply after I return?
> 
> Thank you so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

I haven't seen your visitor visa so I can't give you any specific advice about it. However, generally speaking there is a "last day to enter" and a "maximum stay period" on one of these, so as long as you re-enter prior to the "last day to enter" date, you should be able to stay for the full maximum period amount (3 months typically). So if you re-enter Australia on 20 June, your maximum stay would end 20 September - I'd give at least a week (better 2) when lodging a visa application prior to the end of your stay. However that being said, with the online partner visa system we're getting bridging visas as soon as we lodge, so the delays you typically see with a paper application aren't there for online applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you always for your time in helping us in this forum. I salute you for this...
> 
> A quick inquiry, I am on a tourist visa now and will apply my Onshore Partner Visa ( de facto ) I will exit in June 10 after a 10 days trip to Bali and back in June 20. My visa is valid until July 2014. It means upon my arrival in June I can stay maximum of 3 months meaning until September 10. Is this correct? Can I submit my online application partner visa based on de facto ( onshore) say September 1st? Or it has to be two weeks at least or so before September 10?
> 
> Thank you in advance for your help.
> 
> Cheers!
> Ninja 69


----------



## Ninja69

Thank you for your immediate reply.

I am a bit confused Mark. Please bear with me. I am here now in Melbourne arrived in April. My last day of entry is on 22nd July 2014 . I will be back in June 20th. Does it mean I can file the online application 2 weeks before September 20th? Or I have to submit my application before July 22nd? 

Please clarify me on this.
Thank you again Mark in advance. 

Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja -

Need to see your visa to give you any specific advice - there is a wide variety in how these can be configured, so exact language is critical. If you want to contact me by email directly with a copy of the visa, see contact info on my website below.

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Thank you for your immediate reply.
> 
> I am a bit confused Mark. Please bear with me. I am here now in Melbourne arrived in April. My last day of entry is on 22nd July 2014 . I will be back in June 20th. Does it mean I can file the online application 2 weeks before September 20th? Or I have to submit my application before July 22nd?
> 
> Please clarify me on this.
> Thank you again Mark in advance.
> 
> Ninja 69


----------



## Vivian

Hi Mark,

First of all, I have received the invitation for visa 189 today and am going to lodge the application ASAP.

I have one question regarding the medical health check. As I know, they have a different system on medical checkup now and most people go for checkup when the CO ask them to. I already have my checkup done last year July when i lodged my TR application and I did the extra HIV test (which will be eligible for PR application). So the question is how do I tell them and what do I need to provide them that I already done the checkup?

Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## AliPir

Hi,

I just got an invitation from skill select to lodge application for my PR.

There is a concern that in my EOI, I claimed 5 points for more than 3 years of overseas employment and my total points became 65, but in my ACS assessment they did not considered my 8 months of experience and gave me a total experience of just 2.4 years. Unfortunately, I noticed that very late. 
Now I am worried that if I apply for my visa will my case be straight away rejected because of this or will the case office consider the case and move forward. I can provide the case officer with genuine evidence of my 3+ years of employment.

Total Points: 65 Points
Overseas exp. point claimed in EOI: 5 Points
Total Exp: 3+ years
ACS Assessed Exp: 2.4 Years
Nominated Skill: Business Analyst

Any suggestion what how should I approach this. Appreciate your guidance in the regard.

Ali


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivian -

Thanks for the question. If you had your health checkup before the introduction of the HAP ID system, then you can tell them the date and place you had your health exam, plus the info from the visa you had that health exam for. You can upload this after lodging your 189 under Evidence of Health Exam. However it's likely they will require you to take the health exams again given they are 10 months old and likely will be expired (more than 1 yr old) when your visa is finished processing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vivian said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all, I have received the invitation for visa 189 today and am going to lodge the application ASAP.
> 
> I have one question regarding the medical health check. As I know, they have a different system on medical checkup now and most people go for checkup when the CO ask them to. I already have my checkup done last year July when i lodged my TR application and I did the extra HIV test (which will be eligible for PR application). So the question is how do I tell them and what do I need to provide them that I already done the checkup?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ali -

Thanks for the note. If the 8 month difference is because of further employer AFTER you had your skills assessed by ACS (ie, ACS considered up until Jan 2014 but you kept on working at your occupation after that, etc) then there may not be a problem if you can get a letter from your employer to prove continued employment at a job ACS has already assessed.

If the 8 months is due to time that ACS has discounted (ie, time before the date on your ACS letter that deems you as skilled as of that date - ie, "the following work after (date) is skilled...", then you cannot claim that 8 months for points - it is a sure refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AliPir said:


> Hi,
> 
> I just got an invitation from skill select to lodge application for my PR.
> 
> There is a concern that in my EOI, I claimed 5 points for more than 3 years of overseas employment and my total points became 65, but in my ACS assessment they did not considered my 8 months of experience and gave me a total experience of just 2.4 years. Unfortunately, I noticed that very late.
> Now I am worried that if I apply for my visa will my case be straight away rejected because of this or will the case office consider the case and move forward. I can provide the case officer with genuine evidence of my 3+ years of employment.
> 
> Total Points: 65 Points
> Overseas exp. point claimed in EOI: 5 Points
> Total Exp: 3+ years
> ACS Assessed Exp: 2.4 Years
> Nominated Skill: Business Analyst
> 
> Any suggestion what how should I approach this. Appreciate your guidance in the regard.
> 
> Ali


----------



## nicole-s

Hi Mark,

I'll be applying for my onshore partner 820 visa soon, and I just had a couple of quick questions.

My partner and I finally became de facto when I moved here on my working holiday visa June 16th, 2013. We were unable to do it before then as I was studying in uni back in the US and he had a full-time job here in australia. I know there is a 12 month requirement that can be waived if you register with NSW where we live, but I only found this out recently and the decision on that will be too late for my visa application at this point since I'm running out of time.

My questions are: 
1- if I submit my visa application on like June 13-14th or so and my partner completes his on that same day, will they look down on the fact that it's a few days short of 12 months? Or can I even do it a week in advance so that I'm not waiting until the very last minute?
2- would it be better if I left for NZ or somewhere else when my visa expires, come back on a tourist visa, and apply for it then so I will meet the 12 months? Or would that be looked down on as well?
3- Or should I still register the relationship and upload the application as proof that we have registered, with a note saying I will upload the official letter from NSW as soon as it is received, even though it will be after my initial application date? I just don't want to waste $250 on something that won't matter to them if it won't count for anything.

I guess I'm trying to figure out how best to apply for this visa in a very tricky situation. With time running quickly out on my work and holiday, and being unable to apply for the 2nd-year w&h, I'm getting a bit stressed out of how to handle the situation in order to stay together with my partner.

Thanks for your help,
Nicole


----------



## Mietsie

Hi Mark

Hope you are well.
Just two questions regarding the online application process for the 820 visa:
1. Do we need to upload certified copies of our documentation?
2. Do we need to get passport photos taken, then also scan and upload? Or how do they get our pics?

Thank you very much.
Kind regards
Mietsie


----------



## dan_p

Hi Mark, 

Hope you are good. I hope this is the correct thread to ask this, Im new! I am currently in a relationship with a girl from Spain, and we are trying to look for ways for her to come to Australia in order to fulfil the 12 month defacto relationship requirement. 

One thing we are looking at is for her to come on a student visa for the next 7 months before applying for Partner visa (would be over a year in relationship), although I am worried about the 'genuine temporary entrant' requirement. How seriously do they take this? As she will be living with me and will be supported by me. Unfortunately I cannot see any other way for her to come over to live with me to gain the 12 months (or atleast a part of the 12 months living together). We have been seeing each other for 7 months now and its costing us a fortune in flights! Hope this makes sense. 

Kind Regards, 
Daniel


----------



## Rains

Dear Mark,

Hi! Thanks for being in this forum. I wonder if you could please share your insight on my situation?

I have applied for offshore partner migration, 309/100, applied from overseas and visa was granted in April. I have received the visa notification letter telling me that a 309 visa is granted and my application will be processed at the Brisbane Centre for the next stage. In fact, I had a long and steady relationship for 16 years at the time I lodged the application, my Australian partner and I have lived together for 14 years overseas, now we are planning to move back. Having read the Department's website and the booklet carefully, I expected exemption of the 2 year second stage. I called them (in Hong Kong), they say the case is not in their hands now, but is Brisbane's business. I am confused. Do you think I should notify the Brisbane Centre and clarify the situation, and would this speed up the process?

With many thanks.


----------



## TaniaTM

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tania -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Would suggest you write a letter describing both your income and your sponsor's income and that you work together (ie, both work) to support your family. You could also say that he is looking for higher paying work , etc if you wanted to . There is no fixed income amount that a sponsor must earn in order to qualify, however $20k is on the low side given the high cost of living in Australia (among the highest in the world now). I'd stress both the combined earnings and the potential you both have to earn more in Australia, etc and see how it goes -
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you for your reply.

I have a quick question. We have been saving up since we got married (more than a year now). As well, I have an accumulating provident fund where I work now so if I leave in let's say next 6 months, I'll get around 3,500 AUD. Overall, I see we have around 9~10,000 AUD saved up for our first year extra expenses. I'll show this on my reply to embassy. For understanding sake, how much is acceptable amount of income for partner visas?


----------



## HASSANMORSHED

Dear Mark,

Recently lodged my application for subclass 190 and now I'm in a process to attach all the documents and forms. Can you please feedback me on the following queries?

1) Do I have to fill out form 1221 for both me and my wife or its just for my wife?
2) Do I have to also fill out form 80 for both me and my wife or its just me? Where shall I attach this form in the attachment segment since there is nothing specifically mentioned form 80?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicole -

Depending on the discretion of the case officer, they can be very picky about the 12 month living together requirement. Re: coming back on visitor visa, each time you do this, you run the risk of them raising an issue about not being here for "temporary" reasons. But that might be a good option - you're better off getting the 12 months in - note that they look at the 12 months prior to application to determine if the defacto relationship has been in place - living together is the primary evidence they expect to see for a defacto relationship.

This thread might also be helpful to you as you weigh up your options:
http://www.australiaforum.com/visas...n-after-application-lodged-certain-visas.html

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nicole-s said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'll be applying for my onshore partner 820 visa soon, and I just had a couple of quick questions.
> 
> My partner and I finally became de facto when I moved here on my working holiday visa June 16th, 2013. We were unable to do it before then as I was studying in uni back in the US and he had a full-time job here in australia. I know there is a 12 month requirement that can be waived if you register with NSW where we live, but I only found this out recently and the decision on that will be too late for my visa application at this point since I'm running out of time.
> 
> My questions are:
> 1- if I submit my visa application on like June 13-14th or so and my partner completes his on that same day, will they look down on the fact that it's a few days short of 12 months? Or can I even do it a week in advance so that I'm not waiting until the very last minute?
> 2- would it be better if I left for NZ or somewhere else when my visa expires, come back on a tourist visa, and apply for it then so I will meet the 12 months? Or would that be looked down on as well?
> 3- Or should I still register the relationship and upload the application as proof that we have registered, with a note saying I will upload the official letter from NSW as soon as it is received, even though it will be after my initial application date? I just don't want to waste $250 on something that won't matter to them if it won't count for anything.
> 
> I guess I'm trying to figure out how best to apply for this visa in a very tricky situation. With time running quickly out on my work and holiday, and being unable to apply for the 2nd-year w&h, I'm getting a bit stressed out of how to handle the situation in order to stay together with my partner.
> 
> Thanks for your help,
> Nicole


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mietse -

Re 1 - you can upload colour scans of originals if you want to.

Re 2 - Yes, then scan and upload - passport pictures must be uploaded along with everything else for an online partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mietsie said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hope you are well.
> Just two questions regarding the online application process for the 820 visa:
> 1. Do we need to upload certified copies of our documentation?
> 2. Do we need to get passport photos taken, then also scan and upload? Or how do they get our pics?
> 
> Thank you very much.
> Kind regards
> Mietsie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dan_P -

Thanks for the question. DIBP takes the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement very seriously, and from my experience it's the #1 reason for student visa refusals. Key is before you lodge your partner or fiance visa application, it can't look like she's primarily coming here to be with you, which can be hard to do if you're paying the bills, providing accommodation, etc. Short of visitor visas, this may be your best choice though.

Key is to review the legal requirements of the GTE very carefully and write a submission with the application that shows how she satisfies as many of these as apply to her case. Then fingers crossed!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dan_p said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are good. I hope this is the correct thread to ask this, Im new! I am currently in a relationship with a girl from Spain, and we are trying to look for ways for her to come to Australia in order to fulfil the 12 month defacto relationship requirement.
> 
> One thing we are looking at is for her to come on a student visa for the next 7 months before applying for Partner visa (would be over a year in relationship), although I am worried about the 'genuine temporary entrant' requirement. How seriously do they take this? As she will be living with me and will be supported by me. Unfortunately I cannot see any other way for her to come over to live with me to gain the 12 months (or atleast a part of the 12 months living together). We have been seeing each other for 7 months now and its costing us a fortune in flights! Hope this makes sense.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Daniel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rains -

You'd need to take this up with the Brisbane Centre. Normally for that long a relationship (if evidence provided of that duration) they will grant a permanent visa straight away (ie subclass 100) however it is a discretion on the case officer. Suggest you contact Brisbane and ask them if there is anything they can do at this point to expedite the subclass 100 given that your relationship meets the policy requirement (2 yrs with children, or 3 yrs with no children) for issuance of the PR portion of the visa after application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rains said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hi! Thanks for being in this forum. I wonder if you could please share your insight on my situation?
> 
> I have applied for offshore partner migration, 309/100, applied from overseas and visa was granted in April. I have received the visa notification letter telling me that a 309 visa is granted and my application will be processed at the Brisbane Centre for the next stage. In fact, I had a long and steady relationship for 16 years at the time I lodged the application, my Australian partner and I have lived together for 14 years overseas, now we are planning to move back. Having read the Department's website and the booklet carefully, I expected exemption of the 2 year second stage. I called them (in Hong Kong), they say the case is not in their hands now, but is Brisbane's business. I am confused. Do you think I should notify the Brisbane Centre and clarify the situation, and would this speed up the process?
> 
> With many thanks.


----------



## trentski

Hi Mark,

I'm a New Zealander living and working in Australia as an ICT Business Analyst and have been in this role for over 8 years. This makes me exempt from the skills and english tests and I think I have bang on 60 points on the assessment 

39 almost 40 - 25 points
bachelors degree (not in australia) 15 points
competent english - 0 points by default but pretty sure I would get 20 points if I did the IELTS (would need that when I turn 40)
employment 8 years - 20 points

Is my best bet to lodge an expression of interest for a 189 Visa and hold my breath?

Your thoughts?
Thanks and regards
Trent


----------



## debarnab

Hi Mark, really its a great effort from u helping migrants, and i dont know how to thank you for all the helps u have provided to all. I am a new migrant just got my 190 approved last week (nomination from WA) and have some questions. I dont know if they follow ur house rules but ofcourse u can choose not to answer if u think so. Below are my queies:

1. Is there any specific port through which i have to enter Australia?
2. I am planning to come Perth first, so, is it ok?
3. Do i need to come Brisbane for any of the official work for immigration purpose?
4. What i need to do after i reach Australia? is there any booklet or guidelines for the immigrants to do after reaching Australia?
5. Is there a minimum period to stay in Australia during first entry? (i am planning for 1 week)
6. Shall i be given any IC by DIBP? If yes, how long it takes to get that cards?
7. What are the documents i need to bring for my first entry?
8. Do i need to get any label on my passport before first entry?
9. I can't access skillselect login page using my user name. Is it normal?


----------



## auslee

Hi mark,

my partner is going to apply for a partner 820 visa, but is worried about the health check as he had thyroid cancer last year and after taking out the whole thyroid gland, is on a hormone tablet for life. 
The doctor gave him an all clear and no chance of recurrence. 

Just wanted to ask if you have had cases like this before, and how should he proceed? 

thank you so much for your thoughts


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tania -

Thanks for the question. There is no fixed amount stated for this, however DIBP will generally want to see some means of financial support for the family, even if some comes from the applicant and/or parents. If the applicant is between jobs, then it can help to show previous earnings and discuss efforts being undertaken to get a job in Australia, etc. There are many ways to make this work, however the key is that the picture that your evidence should paint is one where the applicant is not going to end up turning to the government for help & assistance - that financial support is sufficient for the family to avoid this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TaniaTM said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your reply.
> 
> I have a quick question. We have been saving up since we got married (more than a year now). As well, I have an accumulating provident fund where I work now so if I leave in let's say next 6 months, I'll get around 3,500 AUD. Overall, I see we have around 9~10,000 AUD saved up for our first year extra expenses. I'll show this on my reply to embassy. For understanding sake, how much is acceptable amount of income for partner visas?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hassanmorshed -

Typically Form 80 is required for all applicants 16 yrs of age or older. Form 1221 may also be required (check with your case officer) - if so, again would be for all applicants 16 or older.

Re: Lodging, you should see a choice on the categories list for the different Forms - there's a selection for Form 80 - if there is not a selection for Form 1221, I'd use the one for Form 80 twice or choose another category.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HASSANMORSHED said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Recently lodged my application for subclass 190 and now I'm in a process to attach all the documents and forms. Can you please feedback me on the following queries?
> 
> 1) Do I have to fill out form 1221 for both me and my wife or its just for my wife?
> 2) Do I have to also fill out form 80 for both me and my wife or its just me? Where shall I attach this form in the attachment segment since there is nothing specifically mentioned form 80?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Trent -

Thanks for the note. I'd have to double check but I'm not sure that a NZ citizen is exempt from skills assessment for purposes of the 189 visa. You are exempt from the English requirements, of course, but can still take the IELTS test for points.

Beyond this, would need to do a detailed assessment of your work experience and qualifications in order to give you any specific advice for your case - there are so many things that can go one way or another with these types of visas, especially in the area of skills assessments and relevance of work experience, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



trentski said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm a New Zealander living and working in Australia as an ICT Business Analyst and have been in this role for over 8 years. This makes me exempt from the skills and english tests and I think I have bang on 60 points on the assessment
> 
> 39 almost 40 - 25 points
> bachelors degree (not in australia) 15 points
> competent english - 0 points by default but pretty sure I would get 20 points if I did the IELTS (would need that when I turn 40)
> employment 8 years - 20 points
> 
> Is my best bet to lodge an expression of interest for a 189 Visa and hold my breath?
> 
> Your thoughts?
> Thanks and regards
> Trent


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Debarnab -

Congrats on your 190! See below at **:



debarnab said:


> Hi Mark, really its a great effort from u helping migrants, and i dont know how to thank you for all the helps u have provided to all. I am a new migrant just got my 190 approved last week (nomination from WA) and have some questions. I dont know if they follow ur house rules but ofcourse u can choose not to answer if u think so. Below are my queies:
> 
> 1. Is there any specific port through which i have to enter Australia?
> ** Nope.
> 
> 2. I am planning to come Perth first, so, is it ok?
> ** Yup.
> 
> 3. Do i need to come Brisbane for any of the official work for immigration purpose?
> ** No need to report to DIBP for anything - you already have the visa, and they're cutting back in-person counter services anyway.
> 
> 4. What i need to do after i reach Australia? is there any booklet or guidelines for the immigrants to do after reaching Australia?
> ** Nothing specific - the city/state you move to likely has newcomers information to help get you adjusted to the Aussie way of life.
> 
> 5. Is there a minimum period to stay in Australia during first entry? (i am planning for 1 week)
> ** Nope.
> 
> 6. Shall i be given any IC by DIBP? If yes, how long it takes to get that cards?
> ** IC? Identification Card? Nope - the visa is electronic, no labels anymore unless you want to spend money. We advise keeping a hardcopy printout of the visa with you when traveling internationally, however normally they will scan your passport at the airport when traveling and that pulls up your visa. Make sure DIBP always has any new passport info when you replace your passport.
> 
> 7. What are the documents i need to bring for my first entry?
> ** A printout of the visa grant is a good backup, but normally just your passport.
> 
> 8. Do i need to get any label on my passport before first entry?]
> ** Nope - labels are history unless you want to pay DIBP for one and wait in a line. No reason that I see for these any more.
> 
> 9. I can't access skillselect login page using my user name. Is it normal?
> ** Yes - your visa is finalised and your invitation has completed.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Auslee -

Yes have seen these - they are essentially low-risk medication-only cases. However, the key is the medication cost and the projected medical needs of a typical person with the disease. If projected costs (medical needs + medication) is over $35,000 for the first 5 years of the projected stay as a permanent resident, it will trigger a health criteria failure and you'd then have to mount a health waiver defence. Suggest you have detailed prognosis letter done by your specialist, then take that with you to the immigration health exam. After that, need to wait to see how DIBP costs the projected medical treatment + drugs to see if a waiver defence is necessary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



auslee said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> my partner is going to apply for a partner 820 visa, but is worried about the health check as he had thyroid cancer last year and after taking out the whole thyroid gland, is on a hormone tablet for life.
> The doctor gave him an all clear and no chance of recurrence.
> 
> Just wanted to ask if you have had cases like this before, and how should he proceed?
> 
> thank you so much for your thoughts


----------



## debarnab

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Debarnab -
> 
> Congrats on your 190! See below at **:
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, Nothing could be more clearer! You wouldn't believe i wanted to see an agent to get these answers. Thanks a lot anyway. One more, in my grant letter, Condition is mentioned NIL. Do i legally bound to stay in WA for 2 years. I know my ethics, i shall try my very best to remain in WA for 2 years as i gained valuable 10 points from WA govt but just for knowledge purpose, am i legally bound to stay in WA for 2 years?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Debarnab -

I can believe you wanted to see an agent for these answers! It's not as if DIBP makes all this sort of thing obvious. As an agent, I'm always happy to help.

While your visa has NIL (no) conditions, the 2 year issue is a matter between the WA sponsorship authorities and you - if you signed any sort of agreement with them, etc then you'll have to consider that in your decisions going forward. Normally the only times DIBP gets involved in that is if DIBP and the state form the opinion that you never had any intention of living there for the 2 yr period, etc. So any legal requirements in this area would stem from whatever agreement(s) you've made with the WA state authorities through the application process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



debarnab said:


> Hi Mark, Nothing could be more clearer! You wouldn't believe i wanted to see an agent to get these answers. Thanks a lot anyway. One more, in my grant letter, Condition is mentioned NIL. Do i legally bound to stay in WA for 2 years. I know my ethics, i shall try my very best to remain in WA for 2 years as i gained valuable 10 points from WA govt but just for knowledge purpose, am i legally bound to stay in WA for 2 years?


----------



## debarnab

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Debarnab -
> 
> I can believe you wanted to see an agent for these answers! It's not as if DIBP makes all this sort of thing obvious. As an agent, I'm always happy to help.
> 
> While your visa has NIL (no) conditions, the 2 year issue is a matter between the WA sponsorship authorities and you - if you signed any sort of agreement with them, etc then you'll have to consider that in your decisions going forward. Normally the only times DIBP gets involved in that is if DIBP and the state form the opinion that you never had any intention of living there for the 2 yr period, etc. So any legal requirements in this area would stem from whatever agreement(s) you've made with the WA state authorities through the application process.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark, It helped more than anything. There are a lot of materials in web about the process of application and going through the process but almost nothing either in web or in DPIB about what to do after approval. You helped me out.

I am coming in July 11 to Perth for a week.

Thanks again.


----------



## sonikatalwar

*Ens 186*

Hii Mark
How are you?
Do you have any idea about new policy for ENS 186? Is they going to change 2 years work with same employer condition from july 2014?
Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonikatalwar -

Thanks for the question. Have not heard anything about ENS changes this year - as far as I know this policy (ie the TRT stream for ENS from 2 yrs on 457) has been working out well from DIBP's point of view.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sonikatalwar said:


> Hii Mark
> How are you?
> Do you have any idea about new policy for ENS 186? Is they going to change 2 years work with same employer condition from july 2014?
> Regards


----------



## Imran Zahoor

Dear Mark, 
I am a cost and management accountant from Pakistan. My qualification has been assessed to be equivalent to an Australian Bachelors degree by IPA (Accountant- General is my nominated occupation). I have more than 10 years of experience. Is it compulsory to have my employment assessed from IPA too. 

Getting my employment will cost me time and money both.

I intend to submit my application on Skill Select at the earliest. 

I shall be grateful if you can guide me on this. 

Regards,
Imran


----------



## Mietsie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mietse -
> 
> Re 1 - you can upload colour scans of originals if you want to.
> 
> Re 2 - Yes, then scan and upload - passport pictures must be uploaded along with everything else for an online partner visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thank you very much for your reply. It helps a lot! 

Kind regards
Mietsie


----------



## Jreynolds

Hi Mark,

I appreciate that you are taking the time to answer questions here, I hope you can give me insight in my situation.

Background information:
Age: 28
Country: Netherlands

My girlfriend is going to study in Australia this year from July 2014 till December 2014. I would like to come along. I am a business owner(graphic design freelancer) in the Netherlands. During my stay in Australia I would like to keep doing work for my businesses in the Netherlands (dutch clients). Does this count as planning to work in Australia? As I am not going to work for or with Australian companies. I conduct all my business through my laptop and the only thing I need is internet. I would like to to do this for 3 months. After that we would like to travel the country the remaining months. I am not dependent on this work. If for whatever reason this is not possible with a visa, it wil be no problem, financially, for me to make it a full time holiday visit. 

I have been comparing lots of visa options, but I'm not sure what way to go. What is your opinion?

Thank you


----------



## shancop

Hi Mark,


Please if you could help me with my case and access me to get my Permanent Residence. I am struggling to get 5 more points. Currently, I have 55 points

Age: 30 points
English:10 points (7 band in all)
Qualification: 15 points 

I am struggling to get 8 band in writing module only, other wise I always get more than 8 in all other modules. I have given Ielts 4 times.
Speaking: 8.5
Listening:9
Writing:7.5 someimtes 7 or 6.5
Reading 8


My skill has been accessed by Engineers Australia under Electronics Engineering, although I did my undergrad in Electrical and Electronics Engineering but I have been accessed as Electronics Engineer and my masters in Control systems. Unfortunately, I did not do any professional year and I regret that I did not do it. 

Furthermore, I am working as Network support assistant and it has been a year now. so I am not sure if it is closely related to Electronic Engineering? should I get it assess from Engineers Australia or some other body? also, what is the work experience requirement? the job that I have been doing is more then 25 hours a week but its not well paid job. I get paid but it is not a lot. it a contract based job and I get $500/ month but hours are more than 25. will it be considered appropriate? 

any help would really be appreciated and if you want me to book an appointment and meet you, I can do that also because I live in Sydney.

Thanks


----------



## pawandhir

*Tra*

hii Mark
Good Morning
i am on 457 visa from last 2 years. but i changed my job due to old company close-down. i know i am not eligible for ENS186 TRS, but today i complete 3 years full time Australian experience too. i done Australian Study in Graphic Pre Press. now try to go for IELTS & get 6 each for Direct Entry. so in mean time want to assess my skill. so plz advise me how much your fee for skill assessment & how much time its take? or what's your advise for wait till 1 July & see what's new policy coming? because someone told me that may be department change 2 years work with same employer condition. 
regards
Pawan Dhir


----------



## trentski

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Trent -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I'd have to double check but I'm not sure that a NZ citizen is exempt from skills assessment for purposes of the 189 visa. You are exempt from the English requirements, of course, but can still take the IELTS test for points.


Thanks Mark, I had a look at the skills assessment requirements and you are right, I am exempt under the 186 Visa but not the 189 visa.

I am sure my current employer (of 12 years) would be happy to sponsor me, but I am having trouble finding the requirements for an employer. I understand there are training requirements but what else must my employer do to sponsor me under the 186 visa? Do you have a link to that information?

Thanks again
Trent


----------



## xomox

Hi Mark, 

My partner is here on a 309 visa and we just got the letter about the submitting documents for the 2nd stage partner visa subclass 100.

When we applied for the first stage of the visa we used a migration agent in London because things were a bit complicated and we were concerned about the character part (he was never in jail but has done some stupid things over time).

The migration agent has emailed me asking if we want him to represent us for the 2nd stage because of section 501.

If there has been no change to his character since we applied for the 309/100 2 years ago, would things declared in the first stage be an issue now? I'm a bit worried because I thought all we had to do was prove we were still in a relationship!

So after my long rant my questions are, is it necessary for us to use a migration agent and is there any chance it can be refused on character grounds if the character hasn't changed since the first stage?

Sorry for my ramblings!!

M x


----------



## Rains

Thank you Mark for answering my question so quickly, 
I will contact them in Brisbane.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rains -
> 
> You'd need to take this up with the Brisbane Centre. Normally for that long a relationship (if evidence provided of that duration) they will grant a permanent visa straight away (ie subclass 100) however it is a discretion on the case officer. Suggest you contact Brisbane and ask them if there is anything they can do at this point to expedite the subclass 100 given that your relationship meets the policy requirement (2 yrs with children, or 3 yrs with no children) for issuance of the PR portion of the visa after application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## rani

Dear Mark
I am preparing our evidence for my husband's partner visa MRT. I was wondering if I should present it as if it were a new application so to speak... including all evidence from scratch that we have collected in the year since we've been married and before... as I think our original application was very inadequate. 

Is it acceptable to do that or should we only address the points raised in the refusal. 

The reason we want to do so is we're hoping the MRT may be able to make a decision on our case without going to court... thereby saving us the cost of an agent... of course if we do need to go to court we will do so with the help of an agent.

Thanks for your time and any advice
Rani


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rani -

Thanks for the note. I'd approach it as a new application, only because the MRT is in no way confined to only asking questions about or dealing with the reasons for refusal - they can explore any and all aspects of the application, so it's best to be ready to discuss the specific regulations and how you satisfy them for any part of the application. We're seeing more and more of this sort of MRT hearing where things having nothing to do with the refusal reason are explored at the hearing - happened to me just 2 weeks ago in fact!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rani said:


> Dear Mark
> I am preparing our evidence for my husband's partner visa MRT. I was wondering if I should present it as if it were a new application so to speak... including all evidence from scratch that we have collected in the year since we've been married and before... as I think our original application was very inadequate.
> 
> Is it acceptable to do that or should we only address the points raised in the refusal.
> 
> The reason we want to do so is we're hoping the MRT may be able to make a decision on our case without going to court... thereby saving us the cost of an agent... of course if we do need to go to court we will do so with the help of an agent.
> 
> Thanks for your time and any advice
> Rani


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Imran -

Thanks for the note. We always recommend our clients have their employment assessed by IPA if going with that assessor, as it then makes it very difficult for DIBP to argue non-relevant employment, etc. I'm not sure if it's possible to get it past DIBP without a skills assessment, but frankly have never tried as it's not worth the risk/hassle.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Imran Zahoor said:


> Dear Mark,
> I am a cost and management accountant from Pakistan. My qualification has been assessed to be equivalent to an Australian Bachelors degree by IPA (Accountant- General is my nominated occupation). I have more than 10 years of experience. Is it compulsory to have my employment assessed from IPA too.
> 
> Getting my employment will cost me time and money both.
> 
> I intend to submit my application on Skill Select at the earliest.
> 
> I shall be grateful if you can guide me on this.
> 
> Regards,
> Imran


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jreynolds -

Thanks for the note. Based on what you've said, a Working Holiday Visa (subclass 417) might be a good choice - you can work for any employer for up to 6 months (including yourself!), and the visa goes for 1 year so it's more than long enough for your planned trip. Other option would be a visitor visa, but you may only get 3 months' stay at a time and no work is allowed (checking email, etc is fine, but it sounds like you're actually performing work, servicing clients, etc which puts you well into a current "gray area" in the law that could easily be construed as work per migration regulations).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jreynolds said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I appreciate that you are taking the time to answer questions here, I hope you can give me insight in my situation.
> 
> Background information:
> Age: 28
> Country: Netherlands
> 
> My girlfriend is going to study in Australia this year from July 2014 till December 2014. I would like to come along. I am a business owner(graphic design freelancer) in the Netherlands. During my stay in Australia I would like to keep doing work for my businesses in the Netherlands (dutch clients). Does this count as planning to work in Australia? As I am not going to work for or with Australian companies. I conduct all my business through my laptop and the only thing I need is internet. I would like to to do this for 3 months. After that we would like to travel the country the remaining months. I am not dependent on this work. If for whatever reason this is not possible with a visa, it wil be no problem, financially, for me to make it a full time holiday visit.
> 
> I have been comparing lots of visa options, but I'm not sure what way to go. What is your opinion?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shancop -

Thanks for the note. Re: work experience as network support assistant, not sure if that would qualify - many times "assistant" type jobs will not qualify as skilled as they want fully qualified persons, not assistant/intern/apprentice/junior/etc positions. I'd have it assessed in any case and see if you can get it through EA.

At 55 points you could apply for state sponsorship from a state that is sponsoring your occupation - have you looked into this option? The state provides the additional 5 points upon approval by the state. Other than that, you might consider some IELTS strategy courses (my favourite is IELTS Practice Course, IELTS Sample Tests, IELTS Study :: Welcome to Scott's English Success!) to help raise your scores.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shancop said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Please if you could help me with my case and access me to get my Permanent Residence. I am struggling to get 5 more points. Currently, I have 55 points
> 
> Age: 30 points
> English:10 points (7 band in all)
> Qualification: 15 points
> 
> I am struggling to get 8 band in writing module only, other wise I always get more than 8 in all other modules. I have given Ielts 4 times.
> Speaking: 8.5
> Listening:9
> Writing:7.5 someimtes 7 or 6.5
> Reading 8
> 
> My skill has been accessed by Engineers Australia under Electronics Engineering, although I did my undergrad in Electrical and Electronics Engineering but I have been accessed as Electronics Engineer and my masters in Control systems. Unfortunately, I did not do any professional year and I regret that I did not do it.
> 
> Furthermore, I am working as Network support assistant and it has been a year now. so I am not sure if it is closely related to Electronic Engineering? should I get it assess from Engineers Australia or some other body? also, what is the work experience requirement? the job that I have been doing is more then 25 hours a week but its not well paid job. I get paid but it is not a lot. it a contract based job and I get $500/ month but hours are more than 25. will it be considered appropriate?
> 
> any help would really be appreciated and if you want me to book an appointment and meet you, I can do that also because I live in Sydney.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pawandhir -

Thanks for the note. To clear up any confusion, skills assessment is only done by the nominated skills assessor for the occupation you plan to apply under - so you need to check out the SOL and CSOL occupation lists (see DIBP website) and see who the designated skills assessor(s) are for your occupation, then check out their requirements for skills assessment - in some cases these can be relatively easy to satisfy; in other cases they are more higher than DIBP's requirements(!). Once you have the skills assessment and IELTS required scores plus your 3 years work experience (same occupation as skills assessment, as the 3 years must be closely related to your occupation), you could look at the Direct Entry pathway for the ENS visa assuming you meet all the requirements.

Haven't heard anything about changing the ENS requirements, but these things often come with little notice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pawandhir said:


> hii Mark
> Good Morning
> i am on 457 visa from last 2 years. but i changed my job due to old company close-down. i know i am not eligible for ENS186 TRS, but today i complete 3 years full time Australian experience too. i done Australian Study in Graphic Pre Press. now try to go for IELTS & get 6 each for Direct Entry. so in mean time want to assess my skill. so plz advise me how much your fee for skill assessment & how much time its take? or what's your advise for wait till 1 July & see what's new policy coming? because someone told me that may be department change 2 years work with same employer condition.
> regards
> Pawan Dhir


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Trent -

Sure - see Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) and click on the Employer tab. There is also a checklist for this - I believe there is a link on page or google "186 Visa employer checklist". Primarily the employer needs to show a genuine need for the position, be in reasonably good financial shape, not have had any recent layoffs in the position/occupation, good record with DIBP and Fair Work Australia, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



trentski said:


> Thanks Mark, I had a look at the skills assessment requirements and you are right, I am exempt under the 186 Visa but not the 189 visa.
> 
> I am sure my current employer (of 12 years) would be happy to sponsor me, but I am having trouble finding the requirements for an employer. I understand there are training requirements but what else must my employer do to sponsor me under the 186 visa? Do you have a link to that information?
> 
> Thanks again
> Trent


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi M x -

Thanks for the note. In terms of visa applications in Australia, you are never required to use an agent. The key issue in your case is whether they did a character assessment (done typically by the National Character Consideration Centre - a section within DIBP) for the 309. If they did, and you got the visa, then my view is that there would be a very low chance that they would go through the same exercise again for the subclass 100 visa. Typically you would know if they went through this if you received a Notice of Intent to Consider Refusal based on character during the first application and had to respond with a full character submission per the appropriate character rules in effect at the time.

Another approach would be to lodge the application without the agent, then bring the agent in to assist if DIBP brought up the character matter. Also, if you have a copy of the character submission done by the previous agent (he should give you this in any case), that might be handy to re-submit with the sc100 application. Your agent must give you a copy of your file if you request it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



xomox said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner is here on a 309 visa and we just got the letter about the submitting documents for the 2nd stage partner visa subclass 100.
> 
> When we applied for the first stage of the visa we used a migration agent in London because things were a bit complicated and we were concerned about the character part (he was never in jail but has done some stupid things over time).
> 
> The migration agent has emailed me asking if we want him to represent us for the 2nd stage because of section 501.
> 
> If there has been no change to his character since we applied for the 309/100 2 years ago, would things declared in the first stage be an issue now? I'm a bit worried because I thought all we had to do was prove we were still in a relationship!
> 
> So after my long rant my questions are, is it necessary for us to use a migration agent and is there any chance it can be refused on character grounds if the character hasn't changed since the first stage?
> 
> Sorry for my ramblings!!
> 
> M x


----------



## Marry Tran

HI Mark, 
my partner is a new zeland citizen, she want to sponsor me to stay in Australia as new zeland citizen's family, but two months ago she broke up with her boyfriend who she used to sponsor as NZ citizen family.so is she able to sponsor for me now?

and how long does it take if she sponsor me with visa subclass 461?


----------



## dan_p

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your response! I thought this was the case. She has been in contact with GoStudy Aus in Madrid and they seem to think she will not have a problem getting a student visa through the 'streamlined' way even if she is staying with me. Hope this is the case. Just with the second part there are you referring to when we apply for the Partner Visa, they might refuse based on the GTE? Do you think seeing a Migration Agent would help our cause?

Thanks again, 
Daniel



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dan_P -
> 
> Thanks for the question. DIBP takes the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement very seriously, and from my experience it's the #1 reason for student visa refusals. Key is before you lodge your partner or fiance visa application, it can't look like she's primarily coming here to be with you, which can be hard to do if you're paying the bills, providing accommodation, etc. Short of visitor visas, this may be your best choice though.
> 
> Key is to review the legal requirements of the GTE very carefully and write a submission with the application that shows how she satisfies as many of these as apply to her case. Then fingers crossed!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Imran Zahoor

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Imran -
> 
> Thanks for the note. We always recommend our clients have their employment assessed by IPA if going with that assessor, as it then makes it very difficult for DIBP to argue non-relevant employment, etc. I'm not sure if it's possible to get it past DIBP without a skills assessment, but frankly have never tried as it's not worth the risk/hassle.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark, 
Thanks a lot for the clarification. 
I will submitt an application for assessment of my employment to IPA soon. May i request you to please review my experience letter from my current employer to evaluate that its in line with the nominated occupation. 
I shall be really obliged.

Regards, 
Imran


----------



## rani

Thanks so much for your quick reply much appreciated


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rani -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I'd approach it as a new application, only because the MRT is in no way confined to only asking questions about or dealing with the reasons for refusal - they can explore any and all aspects of the application, so it's best to be ready to discuss the specific regulations and how you satisfy them for any part of the application. We're seeing more and more of this sort of MRT hearing where things having nothing to do with the refusal reason are explored at the hearing - happened to me just 2 weeks ago in fact!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Moa05

Hello Mark! 
I have a question regarding cancelling my current visa to get a bridging visa.

So I've heard that when applying for a partner visa 820 you will get a bridging visa A when your current visa expires and you will get full working rights. I did not know this when I applied for my tourist visa 600 when I came over here, so I got the 12 months visa. Is there any change I can cancel this visa and get a bridging visa while waiting? I really want to start working so me and my partner can buy out house that we dream of doing! 

Kind regards!


----------



## tammywat

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding my skill assessment (I actually started a new thread but I want some advice from you). 

So I was planning to apply the 189 skillselect visa under actuary as I did bachelor majoring in it. Went to an agent for an initial consultation, I asked him if work experience is necessary and he told me it is not, on multiple occasions as I wanted to make sure of it.

Now I tried to lodge a skill assessment with VETASSESS, their website says I need 12 months work experience, this is where I am confused and worried. 

Due to personal decisions, I only have 11 months of work experience, I want to know if I still stand a chance of getting a positive result with the assessment?

Many thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dan_P -

GTE wouldn't affect the partner visa as GTE is not an assessment criteria for a partner visa - only for the student and visitor visas. Not sure if an agent would help as I would need to know a lot more about your case. The student visa and partner visa would be subject to very different assessments - one's about whether there is a genuine intent to study; the other is about whether there is a genuine relationship, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dan_p said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your response! I thought this was the case. She has been in contact with GoStudy Aus in Madrid and they seem to think she will not have a problem getting a student visa through the 'streamlined' way even if she is staying with me. Hope this is the case. Just with the second part there are you referring to when we apply for the Partner Visa, they might refuse based on the GTE? Do you think seeing a Migration Agent would help our cause?
> 
> Thanks again,
> Daniel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Imran -

I appreciate the email, however I would not be qualified to render an opinion as to the relevancy of your work to the ANZSCO occupation code - only IPA, CPA Australia, etc have the knowledge and skill to do this with any sort of accuracy.

Best,

Mark Northam



Imran Zahoor said:


> Dear Mark,
> Thanks a lot for the clarification.
> I will submitt an application for assessment of my employment to IPA soon. May i request you to please review my experience letter from my current employer to evaluate that its in line with the nominated occupation.
> I shall be really obliged.
> 
> Regards,
> Imran


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moa05 -

Thanks for the note - very difficult situation. Problem is, when you cancel one visa, the result is that all visas you have are cancelled - it's automatic, done by law, no way I know of to override. If you have the 3-month maximum stay on your visitor visa, then you can just overstay the 3 months limit and assuming you've previously lodged a partner visa while holding the visitor visa, the bridging visa will automatically activate on the next day (the day after your 3-month stay ends). If you have a 12-month visitor visa without a minimum stay period, then it's much more difficult to solve the problem. Would suggest you go to DIBP and talk to them about arranging for a replacement visitor visa (perhaps obtained while offshore) that replaces the 12-month visa with one that has a shorter stay period that you can come and let expire while you're here. Cancellation is problematic as it can create other problems, so in any of this you need to make sure that you understand all of the results of any action you take in the area of cancellation, visa replacement, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Moa05 said:


> Hello Mark!
> I have a question regarding cancelling my current visa to get a bridging visa.
> 
> So I've heard that when applying for a partner visa 820 you will get a bridging visa A when your current visa expires and you will get full working rights. I did not know this when I applied for my tourist visa 600 when I came over here, so I got the 12 months visa. Is there any change I can cancel this visa and get a bridging visa while waiting? I really want to start working so me and my partner can buy out house that we dream of doing!
> 
> Kind regards!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

While DIBP does not have any minimum required amount of work experience for the 189, various skills assessors do depending on the occupation. I'm a bit surprised the agent did not point this out to you.

VETASSESS is typically rather strict about their requirements - not sure if there is any point in submitting an application that does not meet their requirements. In some cases VETASSESS will consider pre-qualification work experience, but not all - it's typically on a case-by-case basis if allowed at all - you might enquire with them about whether this is possible in your case given you're so close to the requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tammywat said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding my skill assessment (I actually started a new thread but I want some advice from you).
> 
> So I was planning to apply the 189 skillselect visa under actuary as I did bachelor majoring in it. Went to an agent for an initial consultation, I asked him if work experience is necessary and he told me it is not, on multiple occasions as I wanted to make sure of it.
> 
> Now I tried to lodge a skill assessment with VETASSESS, their website says I need 12 months work experience, this is where I am confused and worried.
> 
> Due to personal decisions, I only have 11 months of work experience, I want to know if I still stand a chance of getting a positive result with the assessment?
> 
> Many thanks in advance


----------



## enida

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Enida -
> 
> It all comes down to whether the case officer is convinced by the evidence you present re: being paid for the one month. I haven't seen the evidence, so it's impossible for me to predict. Is it possible to get a letter from the company confirming that you were employed for that month but that the payment was made by cash? Then show the tax records that match up with that, etc and I would think that could be convincing, but again it comes down to the case officer.
> 
> Re: refusal, if they disallow the month and that causes your points to go down, then the visa in all likelihood will be refused unless there is some other factor that changes that allows the points to go up by the same amount, therefore you still have the same points you claimed on your EOI.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mr.Mark,
I hope everything goes well. I tried to get the letter from the company confirming that the payment was done in cash and that the taxes were paid accordingly. I hope this serves as an evidence. I just want to ask you sth regarding my employment details:
I have worked in 3 different companies and for each company I have reference letter mentioning details of employment. salary and duties; bank statements, personal employment booklets mentioning dates for each employment and insurances paid by each company and I have also applied to the Tax Authority to get tax records that each company has paid for each employment. My concern is, do you think these evidences are enough to prove my employment? I cannot get contracts or payslips from previous employers and these docs are the only thing I can get. However, I can get payslips only from the company I'm currently working with. Do you think the CO will have any doubt regarding these documents and ask me to provide more? Thank you very much for everything.

Blessings,
Enida


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enida -

Thanks for the question - but I cannot answer it without seeing all the evidence. It "sounds" like you have compelling evidence of payment for each of the companies, and there is nothing that I know of in the migration regulations that says that payslips are required - essentially, sufficient evidence must be presented to convince the case officer that the jobs were genuine and that you were paid, etc as claimed. Beyond that, it's a matter of what the case officer thinks of the evidence you will present. Local business and tax regulations may also come into play in terms of whether particular documents are "trusted" locally or not, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enida said:


> Hi Mr.Mark,
> I hope everything goes well. I tried to get the letter from the company confirming that the payment was done in cash and that the taxes were paid accordingly. I hope this serves as an evidence. I just want to ask you sth regarding my employment details:
> I have worked in 3 different companies and for each company I have reference letter mentioning details of employment. salary and duties; bank statements, personal employment booklets mentioning dates for each employment and insurances paid by each company and I have also applied to the Tax Authority to get tax records that each company has paid for each employment. My concern is, do you think these evidences are enough to prove my employment? I cannot get contracts or payslips from previous employers and these docs are the only thing I can get. However, I can get payslips only from the company I'm currently working with. Do you think the CO will have any doubt regarding these documents and ask me to provide more? Thank you very much for everything.
> 
> Blessings,
> Enida


----------



## Mietsie

Hi Mark

Just a quick question regarding the bridging visa and working rights.
Say I'm in Australia on a visitor's visa with the following terms and conditions:

Visa Stream: Tourist
Visa Grant Date: 20 March 2014
Stay For/Until: 3 Month(s)
Entries: Multiple
Last Date to Arrive: 20 March 2015
Conditions:
8101 - NO WORK
8201 - MAX 3 MONTHS STUDY

If I arrive in Australia on July 1st 2014 and submit my 820 application, I understand that I will immediately receive the bridging visa to stay in Australia until the partner visa is granted.
Will I have working rights immediately?

Thank you for your help.

Regards
Mietsie


----------



## enida

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Enida -
> 
> Thanks for the question - but I cannot answer it without seeing all the evidence. It "sounds" like you have compelling evidence of payment for each of the companies, and there is nothing that I know of in the migration regulations that says that payslips are required - essentially, sufficient evidence must be presented to convince the case officer that the jobs were genuine and that you were paid, etc as claimed. Beyond that, it's a matter of what the case officer thinks of the evidence you will present. Local business and tax regulations may also come into play in terms of whether particular documents are "trusted" locally or not, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mr.Mark,
Thank you very much for replying so quickly and for helping us with any questions we have. Actually, companies here are not obliged by law to provide payslips and for that reason you cannot ask the employer to give you a payslip. As far as I know, I cannot get anything more to prove my employment except the mentioned docs, so I will leave it to the CO to decide. (Actually, I'm leaving it to God  )

Thank you again.
Have a nice day,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mietsie -

Thanks for the question. If you apply for a partner visa during a stay on a visitor visa, you will be issued a Bridging Visa A (assuming no other issues) that *will be dormant until the end of the particular 3 month stay period* you were on when you lodged the partner visa. Once the 3 month stay period ends and you remain onshore, the bridging visa will activate immediately upon the end of the 3 month stay period (ie, 3 months from when you arrived on that trip). Only at that point once you're here under the bridging visa will you have full work rights. Until the end of the 3 month stay, you'll be under the visitor visa, and must abide by the conditions for that visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mietsie said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Just a quick question regarding the bridging visa and working rights.
> Say I'm in Australia on a visitor's visa with the following terms and conditions:
> 
> Visa Stream: Tourist
> Visa Grant Date: 20 March 2014
> Stay For/Until: 3 Month(s)
> Entries: Multiple
> Last Date to Arrive: 20 March 2015
> Conditions:
> 8101 - NO WORK
> 8201 - MAX 3 MONTHS STUDY
> 
> If I arrive in Australia on July 1st 2014 and submit my 820 application, I understand that I will immediately receive the bridging visa to stay in Australia until the partner visa is granted.
> Will I have working rights immediately?
> 
> Thank you for your help.
> 
> Regards
> Mietsie


----------



## Mietsie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mietsie -
> 
> Thanks for the question. If you apply for a partner visa during a stay on a visitor visa, you will be issued a Bridging Visa A (assuming no other issues) that *will be dormant until the end of the particular 3 month stay period* you were on when you lodged the partner visa. Once the 3 month stay period ends and you remain onshore, the bridging visa will activate immediately upon the end of the 3 month stay period (ie, 3 months from when you arrived on that trip). Only at that point once you're here under the bridging visa will you have full work rights. Until the end of the 3 month stay, you'll be under the visitor visa, and must abide by the conditions for that visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark!
You are awesome!
Warm regards
Mietsie


----------



## Imran Zahoor

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Imran -
> 
> I appreciate the email, however I would not be qualified to render an opinion as to the relevancy of your work to the ANZSCO occupation code - only IPA, CPA Australia, etc have the knowledge and skill to do this with any sort of accuracy.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark, 
I am unable to find your email address. can you please share ?

Thanks 
Imran


----------



## shancop

Hey Mark, 
Thanks for your reply. assistant can be removed and my employer can change that to whatever is required by EA. what do you think should be the right qualified Job Title?

Moreover, I read somewhere that If my qualification is assessed positively then I can still apply for my Permanent residency and I can show the DIAC that I have work experience and prove them by showing company letter, payslips etc. I do not have to get my work experience specially assess from EA because my qualification is already assessed. is that correct or not?

as far as I know, their is no state that is sponsoring Electronic Engineers. do you know of any state? or do you think by 1 July any state will sponsor Electronic Engineer?

I have tried so hard to raise my score in IELTS. I have been giving IELTS twice a month from past 6 months. can we some how show DIAC the average score of IELTS ? I mean it is only writing in which I do not get 8 otherwise I get 8 in all other modules.

Furthermore, If not PR then do you think their is any other working visa or any other visa that I can get? as I do not want to leave Australia. I have better job scope here.

Thanks for your help.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shancop -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Re: work experience as network support assistant, not sure if that would qualify - many times "assistant" type jobs will not qualify as skilled as they want fully qualified persons, not assistant/intern/apprentice/junior/etc positions. I'd have it assessed in any case and see if you can get it through EA.
> 
> At 55 points you could apply for state sponsorship from a state that is sponsoring your occupation - have you looked into this option? The state provides the additional 5 points upon approval by the state. Other than that, you might consider some IELTS strategy courses (my favourite is IELTS Practice Course, IELTS Sample Tests, IELTS Study :: Welcome to Scott's English Success!) to help raise your scores.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## emivovo

Hi Mark!

Thank you for running such a helpful thread-I am very grateful 

We are currently putting together an application for a PMV visa for my partner (he is Turkish).

Could you tell me whether it's necessary to have absolutely *every* document witnessed by a JP? As in, do photo pages need witnessing? Or letters of employment? copies of tickets etc?

I'm planning to make 3 copies of everything so that we have one back up and one for the partner visa (to save collecting all docs again) so it seems like a lot to get notarised!

Thank you so much 

Emily


----------



## SRS

SRS said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Many thanks for your input. My PCC is expiring in 3 days. At present I have no other option other than to hear from CO.Hope everything goes ok.
> 
> Thanks
> SRS


Hi Mark,

I have been contacted by CO on 9th May, 2014 to submit my PCC because it has been expired. I have obtained my PCC from UAE and the clearance certifcate from my home country is under process and would be received by next week. However, the CO has not requested for Medical/ Health evidence. I presume that also has been expired. Does the CO has an option to provide extension for entry even thou the medicals has been expired?

I have checked my Immiaccount and I see that CO has requested only for Character Evidence. Is this a good sign to stay positive? Request your opinion in this regard.

Thanks
SRS


----------



## xomox

Thanks for your reply! (so quick!) We did the character submission as part of our application so that it wouldn't get refused on character basis - I think we did anyway. Would this be a form we had to fill out or a long letter from my partner about his convictions and stat decs saying he is a good person? Could they now decide to send it to the National Character Consideration Centre if it wasn't done before?

Thank you again!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi M x -
> 
> Thanks for the note. In terms of visa applications in Australia, you are never required to use an agent. The key issue in your case is whether they did a character assessment (done typically by the National Character Consideration Centre - a section within DIBP) for the 309. If they did, and you got the visa, then my view is that there would be a very low chance that they would go through the same exercise again for the subclass 100 visa. Typically you would know if they went through this if you received a Notice of Intent to Consider Refusal based on character during the first application and had to respond with a full character submission per the appropriate character rules in effect at the time.
> 
> Another approach would be to lodge the application without the agent, then bring the agent in to assist if DIBP brought up the character matter. Also, if you have a copy of the character submission done by the previous agent (he should give you this in any case), that might be handy to re-submit with the sc100 application. Your agent must give you a copy of your file if you request it.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## dragonBug3

Hi Mark,

I was wondering if registering our relationship would potentially help or hinder an offshore PMV application? We have a child together and our plan is to marry in the near future but I would like to register our relationship here in Tasmania in the mean time. Will this be a bad thing when applying for a PMV?

Thank you

A


----------



## fletchaman

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fletchaman -
> 
> Based on what you said, yes. NZ PR doesn't buy you much in Australia in terms of visas.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark,

Well we have been across the ditch and Wife has had an Interview at a Hospital, they are now asking for references ( fingers Crossed).
Should she be offered the position would they start the process of Sponsorship ( I think it would be 186??), or do we, and wait for them to ask who will sponsor us? and do you know if they have any clout with the assessment companies to get them to go faster than snails pace?
Also does Visa 186 require you to be points assessed or is it a direct visa?

Thanking you in advance

David


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Imran -

Thanks for asking - not able to post on the forum due to rules against email addresses being published here, but if you go to our website (see link in signature below) and then click on "Contact" in the upper right corner you can see an email address there.

Best,

Mark Northam



Imran Zahoor said:


> Dear Mark,
> I am unable to find your email address. can you please share ?
> 
> Thanks
> Imran


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shancop -

Thanks for the note. I don't have enough info about your work experience, job history, etc to suggest a job title, etc. Many people choose not to have EA assess their work experience and let DIBP make a judgement. Each skills assessor is different - with others, having them assess your work experience can be very important (for example, ACS). If DIBP disagrees with you, then you may want to suggest to the case officer that the case be put on hold and the work experience be submitted to EA for an opinion, etc.

Re other visas, again, would need to know much more about your details - too much to go into here on the forum - do feel free to book a consultation on our website if you're interested in personal advice - see link in signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shancop said:


> Hey Mark,
> Thanks for your reply. assistant can be removed and my employer can change that to whatever is required by EA. what do you think should be the right qualified Job Title?
> 
> Moreover, I read somewhere that If my qualification is assessed positively then I can still apply for my Permanent residency and I can show the DIAC that I have work experience and prove them by showing company letter, payslips etc. I do not have to get my work experience specially assess from EA because my qualification is already assessed. is that correct or not?
> 
> as far as I know, their is no state that is sponsoring Electronic Engineers. do you know of any state? or do you think by 1 July any state will sponsor Electronic Engineer?
> 
> I have tried so hard to raise my score in IELTS. I have been giving IELTS twice a month from past 6 months. can we some how show DIAC the average score of IELTS ? I mean it is only writing in which I do not get 8 otherwise I get 8 in all other modules.
> 
> Furthermore, If not PR then do you think their is any other working visa or any other visa that I can get? as I do not want to leave Australia. I have better job scope here.
> 
> Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emily -

Thanks for the note. Current DIBP guidance says that assuming you are lodging online (I highly recommend it), colour scans of originals are acceptable. Therefore, no JP certification needed for certified copies. If you are lodging a paper application, then generally speaking you should have any document certified as a certified copy if it is not either an original document, or a document you have created (like photos, a letter from you, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



emivovo said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Thank you for running such a helpful thread-I am very grateful
> 
> We are currently putting together an application for a PMV visa for my partner (he is Turkish).
> 
> Could you tell me whether it's necessary to have absolutely *every* document witnessed by a JP? As in, do photo pages need witnessing? Or letters of employment? copies of tickets etc?
> 
> I'm planning to make 3 copies of everything so that we have one back up and one for the partner visa (to save collecting all docs again) so it seems like a lot to get notarised!
> 
> Thank you so much
> 
> Emily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SRS -

Thanks for the note. No way to really tell if it is positive or not, but I would give them what they ask for. Would not bring up any medical/health evidence questions unless DIBP does. Generally the visa grant date must not be after the expiration of health or police checks, but this is not always observed from what I've seen.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SRS said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been contacted by CO on 9th May, 2014 to submit my PCC because it has been expired. I have obtained my PCC from UAE and the clearance certifcate from my home country is under process and would be received by next week. However, the CO has not requested for Medical/ Health evidence. I presume that also has been expired. Does the CO has an option to provide extension for entry even thou the medicals has been expired?
> 
> I have checked my Immiaccount and I see that CO has requested only for Character Evidence. Is this a good sign to stay positive? Request your opinion in this regard.
> 
> Thanks
> SRS


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I understand - proactive character submission - a good idea in many cases. Assuming this was done, I would estimate that there is a low chance (but not impossible) that they would bring the matter up again at the permanent visa stage if nothing has changed. That being said, it might come up again in the future if you go for citizenship but that's another issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



xomox said:


> Thanks for your reply! (so quick!) We did the character submission as part of our application so that it wouldn't get refused on character basis - I think we did anyway. Would this be a form we had to fill out or a long letter from my partner about his convictions and stat decs saying he is a good person? Could they now decide to send it to the National Character Consideration Centre if it wasn't done before?
> 
> Thank you again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DragonBug3 -

Great question. There is no guidance from DIBP in policy or the regulations on this, but my view would be that it could help, since an essential legal requirement of the PMV is establishing that the couple genuinely intends to enter into a spousal relationship (ie, get married). While the typical use of registered relationship is for non-marriage type relationships (ie, defacto), unless there is some legal reason in Tasmania why a person with a registered relationship cannot marry the person they have the relationship with (better check that to be sure - ie, that it is not required to withdraw the registered relationship if you choose to marry), I would see the registered relationship as a positive thing. It doesn't absolve you of any of the other evidence requirements of the PMV like it does re: defacto partner 12 month living together requirement, but again, my view is that it could be seen as another contributing element towards establishing a genuine relationship and intent to marry.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dragonBug3 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was wondering if registering our relationship would potentially help or hinder an offshore PMV application? We have a child together and our plan is to marry in the near future but I would like to register our relationship here in Tasmania in the mean time. Will this be a bad thing when applying for a PMV?
> 
> Thank you
> 
> A


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fletchaman -

Thanks for the questions. For the employer sponsored subclass 186 (ENS) visa, the employer "nominates" (not sponsors like on 457) the employee via lodging a nomination, and the employee then lodges a visa application for the nominated position. Both nom and visa app can be lodged online and right after each other (ie, don't need to wait for nom approval to lodge visa app) however generally the employer needs to start the process since they provide the info and docs necessary for the nom. The only risk generally in lodging both together is that if the nom is refused, that leaves the application to either be withdrawn or refused, with no refund available for either of those options.

For 186 without 2 years of prior experience for the nominating employer under a 457 visa, a skills assessment and evidence of 3 years work experience related to the occupation is required, plus the other requirements of the visa (best to check them out carefully with your agent or on DIBP website). Re: clout with skills assessors, impossible to tell.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fletchaman said:


> Thanks Mark,
> 
> Well we have been across the ditch and Wife has had an Interview at a Hospital, they are now asking for references ( fingers Crossed).
> Should she be offered the position would they start the process of Sponsorship ( I think it would be 186??), or do we, and wait for them to ask who will sponsor us? and do you know if they have any clout with the assessment companies to get them to go faster than snails pace?
> Also does Visa 186 require you to be points assessed or is it a direct visa?
> 
> Thanking you in advance
> 
> David


----------



## Siddharthas

*Partner Visa*

HI Mark ,

First of all thanks for providing valuable information to lots like me on Aus Visas in this forum.

This is going to be my first question in this forum , i am hoping to get an answer to my dilemma.

I am an Australian PR holder and have been living in Aus from last 3.5 years , however my PR was granted a year back.

Before coming to Australia , i worked in Indonesia for 6 months and fell in love with a local indonesian girl. Now , we are deciding to get married this year.

We both have met numerous times , but not more than 10 days at any given meeting , except when i met her for the first time in Indonesia.

So yes , you have guessed it right its a long distance relationship (LDR). But i have met her parents , she has met my parents and family.

My question to you is , what is the best way to deal with this situation in terms of applying VISA.


----------



## swavik

hey Mark,

I received the Invite for 189 skilled independent visa at this round!!!
There is a doubt about the medicals..I will be paying the fees in a day or two, but should we wait for the case officer to be allotted to do the medicals? if yes then dont u think that will be a real waste of time..my spouse has a past treated history which is anyways going to take an additional time..so do you think waiting for case officer allocation is a wise decision?
If i involve the immigration lawyer in this last stage(just because of my spouse's medicals) will it be adding any value or will it be helping us out to let things go smoothly...

Thank you very much for the help mark..


----------



## Valeria

*Case Officer*

Hi Mark,

Hope you can tell me whether I should be worry or not?

I'm Australian and my partner is currently living in Buenos Aires. On January 29th 2014 we submitted our Prospective Marriage application in 'Buenos Aires Australian embassy', two days after submitting the application we receive an email from the embassy acknowledging we assigned a case officer from Brasil and one in Argentina.. We though great things will proceed from here onward..

However, we lodged our app, we have a case officer assigned. Still have not received any news from her. What CO do? they get your application, they look at your case, they send you an email assigning you a CO who "suppositively" is looking/reviewing your case.. Jan, Feb, March, April, went by... now we are in May... and are they still looking at our case? they have not request any further information... so maybe that's a good sign we submit everything and they don't need any further paper work. eg evidence. so why they don't send us a medical request or at least something to say.....
we dint even know if the initial paper review happen. We don't know if our application is ok? if we submitted correctly? if they need more information?

Should I be worry? I know assigning a case officer was going to take long... but our case is the opposite we have a case officer but yet no review of our case has been made... after 4 month no response... don't know what else to do.... Wait.wait. I know is a long process but is weird they haven't ask for anything.. or email us saying paper work is ok ect ect.

Is this normal process Mark. Hope you can guide me here...

Val.


----------



## Euroasianman

Hi Mark,

I just realized that on the immigration department's website there is a new list that I thought wasn't there before. From my understanding you now have to send almost as many as documents that you would do for the the temporary visa. People are saying that you don't need to send a lot of evidence for the second stage so what do you think?

Here is the link for the 'recommended evidence list for the second stage" .

http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/forms/partner/_pdf/info-permanent-partner-visa.pdf

Thanks for your insight.

Recommended Documents

Evidence that your relationship is continuing

 Financial evidence of your relationship: Documents to show that you and your partner share 
financial commitments and responsibilities, such as: 
 evidence of any joint ownership of real estate or other major assets (for example, cars, 
appliances) and any joint liabilities (for example, loans, insurance) 
 sharing of finances 
 legal commitments that you and your partner have taken on as a couple 
 evidence that you and your partner have operated joint bank accounts for a reasonable period 
of time 
 sharing of household bills and expenses.

 The nature of the household: Documents to show that you and your partner share responsibilities in 
your household, such as: 
 your living arrangements 
 a statement about the way housework is distributed 
 joint ownership or joint rental of the house in which you live 
 joint utilities accounts (electricity, gas, telephone) 
 joint responsibility for bills for day-to-day living expenses 
 joint responsibility for children 
 correspondence addressed to both you and your partner at the same address.

 Social context of the relationship: Documents to show how your relationship with your partner is 
seen by your friends and family will be considered, such as: 
 evidence that you and your partner are usually accepted as a couple socially (for example, 
joint invitations, going out together, friends and acquaintances in common) 
 statutory declarations from your partner's parents, family members, relatives and other friends 
about their assessment of the nature of your relationship 
 evidence that you and your partner have declared your relationship to government bodies, 
commercial or public institutions or authorities, joint membership of organisations or groups 
 evidence of joint participation in sporting, cultural or social activities 
 joint travel.

 The nature of your commitment to each other: Documents to show your commitment to each 
other: 
 knowledge of each other's personal circumstances (for example, background and family 
situation) 
 intention that your relationship will be long-term (for example, the extent to which you have 
combined your affairs) 
 the terms of your wills 
 correspondence and itemised phone accounts to show that contact was maintained during 
any period of separation.


----------



## swavik

swavik said:


> hey Mark,
> 
> I received the Invite for 189 skilled independent visa at this round!!!
> There is a doubt about the medicals..I will be paying the fees in a day or two, but should we wait for the case officer to be allotted to do the medicals? if yes then dont u think that will be a real waste of time..my spouse has a past treated history which is anyways going to take an additional time..so do you think waiting for case officer allocation is a wise decision?
> If i involve the immigration lawyer in this last stage(just because of my spouse's medicals) will it be adding any value or will it be helping us out to let things go smoothly...
> 
> Thank you very much for the help mark..


Hello mark,

I searched online that i can either go for medicals before lodging the visa or lodge a visa and wait for the caseofficer and then only go for medicals..
what will be the best according to you..medicals and then lodge the visa or lodge the visa then medicals after caseofficer allocation.

PCC from india will be easily available
But what is the procedure for PCC from netehrlands..Do they need a letter from DIAC stating the need for PCC..If yes how can i get the letter from DIAC without lodging the visa application if i plan to do both the medicals and PCC before lodging the visa.

Thank you mark
waiting for your reply


----------



## swavik

Also one last question..
Do we have an visa interview?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Euroasianman -

It depends on the particular relationship - it's best to send in a reasonable amount of evidence to cover the 4 areas, however generally just from the time since the provisional partner visa was approved. But exactly how much is dependent on each person and their circumstances. We generally recommend that there be sufficient information and documents to show that the relationship has continued since the time of the grant of the prov partner visa, but you don't have to cover the entire length of the relationship. The perceived (by DIBP) "risk level" of the application is another factor (more risk = send more evidence), and we usually recommend that defacto couples take a more cautious approach to partner visas generally (initial and second stage) and send in any/all evidence that could be relevant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Euroasianman said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just realized that on the immigration department's website there is a new list that I thought wasn't there before. From my understanding you now have to send almost as many as documents that you would do for the the temporary visa. People are saying that you don't need to send a lot of evidence for the second stage so what do you think?
> 
> Here is the link for the 'recommended evidence list for the second stage" .
> 
> http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/forms/partner/_pdf/info-permanent-partner-visa.pdf
> 
> Thanks for your insight.
> 
> Recommended Documents
> 
> Evidence that your relationship is continuing
> 
>  Financial evidence of your relationship: Documents to show that you and your partner share
> financial commitments and responsibilities, such as:
>  evidence of any joint ownership of real estate or other major assets (for example, cars,
> appliances) and any joint liabilities (for example, loans, insurance)
>  sharing of finances
>  legal commitments that you and your partner have taken on as a couple
>  evidence that you and your partner have operated joint bank accounts for a reasonable period
> of time
>  sharing of household bills and expenses.
> 
>  The nature of the household: Documents to show that you and your partner share responsibilities in
> your household, such as:
>  your living arrangements
>  a statement about the way housework is distributed
>  joint ownership or joint rental of the house in which you live
>  joint utilities accounts (electricity, gas, telephone)
>  joint responsibility for bills for day-to-day living expenses
>  joint responsibility for children
>  correspondence addressed to both you and your partner at the same address.
> 
>  Social context of the relationship: Documents to show how your relationship with your partner is
> seen by your friends and family will be considered, such as:
>  evidence that you and your partner are usually accepted as a couple socially (for example,
> joint invitations, going out together, friends and acquaintances in common)
>  statutory declarations from your partner's parents, family members, relatives and other friends
> about their assessment of the nature of your relationship
>  evidence that you and your partner have declared your relationship to government bodies,
> commercial or public institutions or authorities, joint membership of organisations or groups
>  evidence of joint participation in sporting, cultural or social activities
>  joint travel.
> 
>  The nature of your commitment to each other: Documents to show your commitment to each
> other:
>  knowledge of each other's personal circumstances (for example, background and family
> situation)
>  intention that your relationship will be long-term (for example, the extent to which you have
> combined your affairs)
>  the terms of your wills
>  correspondence and itemised phone accounts to show that contact was maintained during
> any period of separation.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

For 189 and 190 it can be better to front-load the application by doing police and health before application.You can get a HAP ID to do the exams for the visa prior to lodging at My Health Declarations - you'll need to look up the country requirements for Netherlands on the DIBP site - The Netherlands

Re: interview, unlikely for 189/190 visa unless you are claiming a partner and DIBP has concerns about the relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello mark,
> 
> I searched online that i can either go for medicals before lodging the visa or lodge a visa and wait for the caseofficer and then only go for medicals..
> what will be the best according to you..medicals and then lodge the visa or lodge the visa then medicals after caseofficer allocation.
> 
> PCC from india will be easily available
> But what is the procedure for PCC from netehrlands..Do they need a letter from DIAC stating the need for PCC..If yes how can i get the letter from DIAC without lodging the visa application if i plan to do both the medicals and PCC before lodging the visa.
> 
> Thank you mark
> waiting for your reply


----------



## dharabaskar

*Proof of Funds*

Hi Mark,

Do need to show Proof of Funds for 189/190 classes?, If so how much is required?, Can we show property as Proof of Funds? and when this should be shown?

Thanks
VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VJ -

Generally only if the state sponsorship authority wants to see it for a 489 or 190 visa. Each state has their own policies, requirements, etc so best to consult with the particular state skilled migration site to get details. No proof of funds necessary for sc189 independent skilled visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Do need to show Proof of Funds for 189/190 classes?, If so how much is required?, Can we show property as Proof of Funds? and when this should be shown?
> 
> Thanks
> VJ


----------



## dharabaskar

Thanks Mark.

Regards
VJ



MarkNortham said:


> Hi VJ -
> 
> Generally only if the state sponsorship authority wants to see it for a 489 or 190 visa. Each state has their own policies, requirements, etc so best to consult with the particular state skilled migration site to get details. No proof of funds necessary for sc189 independent skilled visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## msabir

Hi Mark,

It is absolutely brilliant to know that a person is so much dedicated to solve the problems of other people. God Bless You!

I have one concern with my work experience.

There are several gaps during my bachelors degree program, in which I have worked full time as a Software Developer in a Software house.

I started my studies in 2001 and after completing my 5th semester i.e. 2004, I joined a software house. I continued working there till 2008 and within that passage of time, I also completed my BS - Software Engineering in 2007.

Since then I am working continuously as a Sr. Application Developer which is relevant with my qualifications. 

Now I want to know that how many points can I get? Will I get points before completing my qualification OR I will be awarded only for 6 years experience after qualifications?

Will it create any problems while filing Immigration after ACS assessment?

Please help.

Thanks.


----------



## Casper

Hi Mark,

I just came across to this thread as I was looking for some help regarding 4020, 

I applied for 190 visa in WA in August 2013 and recently I have received an email stated that they found some unfavorable information about my partner's job reference letter back in May 2012 but he was already granted 485 in Feb 2012 but they never came back with this founding, now the CO making it issue with my application.

According to the immi letter when they contacted my partner's employer back In May 2012 the employer denied to recognised him (My partner done volunteer work with him back in 2008 to 2009), we made contact with the employer and he cannot remember any verification been done against my partner so now he has given us statutory declaration and confirming that my partner worked with him and the reference letter is genuine. I send the employer and also my partner declaration to the immigration.

Based on my situation I don't know what will happen next and what else I can do to satisfy CO, i am really worried. Mark what you suggest in this situation, how long will they take to response??

Thanks and looking for your response.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Msabir -

Thanks for the note and kind words!

DIBP will only award points for work experience post-qualification that you are deemed as skilled as by your skills assessor. You will need to see what ACS does re: deducting years of experience - if they deduct the years prior to your qual completion than no harm done since you can't claim those anyway to DIBP for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



msabir said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> It is absolutely brilliant to know that a person is so much dedicated to solve the problems of other people. God Bless You!
> 
> I have one concern with my work experience.
> 
> There are several gaps during my bachelors degree program, in which I have worked full time as a Software Developer in a Software house.
> 
> I started my studies in 2001 and after completing my 5th semester i.e. 2004, I joined a software house. I continued working there till 2008 and within that passage of time, I also completed my BS - Software Engineering in 2007.
> 
> Since then I am working continuously as a Sr. Application Developer which is relevant with my qualifications.
> 
> Now I want to know that how many points can I get? Will I get points before completing my qualification OR I will be awarded only for 6 years experience after qualifications?
> 
> Will it create any problems while filing Immigration after ACS assessment?
> 
> Please help.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## pawandhir

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pawandhir -
> 
> Thanks for the note. To clear up any confusion, skills assessment is only done by the nominated skills assessor for the occupation you plan to apply under - so you need to check out the SOL and CSOL occupation lists (see DIBP website) and see who the designated skills assessor(s) are for your occupation, then check out their requirements for skills assessment - in some cases these can be relatively easy to satisfy; in other cases they are more higher than DIBP's requirements(!). Once you have the skills assessment and IELTS required scores plus your 3 years work experience (same occupation as skills assessment, as the 3 years must be closely related to your occupation), you could look at the Direct Entry pathway for the ENS visa assuming you meet all the requirements.
> 
> Haven't heard anything about changing the ENS requirements, but these things often come with little notice.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi mark
Thanks for rep. My trade is Pre Press Tradepeson and my 457 nomination is approved under same trade and i done same study. Graphic pre press. My assessment authority is TRA. So how much your fee. Is this on your website? I have 2 years experience under 457 and 1 year before 457 (BV) + 2 years part time while study in Australia. So how long TRA take for assessment? You can mail me your fee at [email protected]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Casper -

Thanks - see response on the other thread you posted this on. PIC4020 is very serious stuff, need to respond with maximum documentation and evidence. No way for me to evaluate your response to-date - we generally recommend that people do not attempt 4020 responses on their own as this gets to be a very technical area and one that frequently generates MRT cases which can be called upon as precedent in some instances. The key is providing as much evidence and corroborating evidence as possible to demonstrate that your assertion (that the document/info is correct) is the correct one.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Casper said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just came across to this thread as I was looking for some help regarding 4020,
> 
> I applied for 190 visa in WA in August 2013 and recently I have received an email stated that they found some unfavorable information about my partner's job reference letter back in May 2012 but he was already granted 485 in Feb 2012 but they never came back with this founding, now the CO making it issue with my application.
> 
> According to the immi letter when they contacted my partner's employer back In May 2012 the employer denied to recognised him (My partner done volunteer work with him back in 2008 to 2009), we made contact with the employer and he cannot remember any verification been done against my partner so now he has given us statutory declaration and confirming that my partner worked with him and the reference letter is genuine. I send the employer and also my partner declaration to the immigration.
> 
> Based on my situation I don't know what will happen next and what else I can do to satisfy CO, i am really worried. Mark what you suggest in this situation, how long will they take to response??
> 
> Thanks and looking for your response.


----------



## msabir

Thanks Mark. 

It means that I only have 6 years in hands (from JAN 2008 - current) and if ACS deducts 2 years out of it as suitability criteria, I will left with only 5 points.

I hope that I am right on target.


----------



## aperson

*Occupational Ceilings*

Hi
I am going to apply for the occupation External Auditor - 221213. I have heard from friends who are software programmers about long wait times. Usually they say it is because invitations are issued quite a while after lodging of EOI.

I have been looking at occupational ceiling utilizations.

Are the long waiting times for receiving invitations only due to quota utilizations? For example for Occupation ID 2212, I have noticed only 365 invitations issued out of the total ceiling of 1000 (originally 900). Does this mean that if I lodge my EOI in this occupation even with the minimum points of 60 that I will get the invitation in the earliest possible round? Or are their other factors at play as well? 
I also noticed that the 1000 ceiling has been given for a group of 3 different occupations in 2212. Are there any sub-ceilings within this main 1000 ceiling?

Many thx .

Regards


----------



## sonikatalwar

*Student visa*

Hi mark
I have a question for my friend. He came here on 573 visa. He went for study only for few months then some guyz attack on him, he have police copy too. And he stop study for 22 months due to he was sooo scared. That time he was 19 years old. Also that days too many attack on Indian students. Anyway after 22 months he start new study and done certificate III in electronics and apply for new student visa and that time his migration agent did't represent his case and thats refused, he apply MRT and after 1 year MRT did't accept cause he apply late. Now he is under RRt and have BV. So my question is: is any other option for him? He want to complete is study. He is very depressed for his future. 
If you help him he can come to your office,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonikatalwar -

Thanks for the note. If he has a negative decision from the MRT (or if he gets a negative decision from the RRT) he can apply for Ministerial Intervention, which is essentially begging the Minister for a visa. Most are unsuccessful, but in exceptional cases these are sometimes granted.

These days significant study gaps without plenty of evidence and informing DIBP and the school at the time of the gap are frequently resulting in cancelled visas and refusals of further visas - DIBP is being very tough on these.

A final note - throughout the MRT process and beyond, your friend should have been given a bridging visa which would let him continue studying while all these processes run their course.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sonikatalwar said:


> Hi mark
> I have a question for my friend. He came here on 573 visa. He went for study only for few months then some guyz attack on him, he have police copy too. And he stop study for 22 months due to he was sooo scared. That time he was 19 years old. Also that days too many attack on Indian students. Anyway after 22 months he start new study and done certificate III in electronics and apply for new student visa and that time his migration agent did't represent his case and thats refused, he apply MRT and after 1 year MRT did't accept cause he apply late. Now he is under RRt and have BV. So my question is: is any other option for him? He want to complete is study. He is very depressed for his future.
> If you help him he can come to your office,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aperson -

Thanks for the note. I believe there may be sub-ceilings (unpublished) in place, or that more vis grants in other occupations may slow or limit the grants in a particular occupation - none of this is published though. For the 190 visa, DIBP says they have eliminated occupational ceilings, so that leaves the states free to establish their own policies of how many of any occupation to grant. Wish I had more info for you on this, but the finer details of much of the selection/invitation process is still unknown.

Best,

Mark Northam



aperson said:


> Hi
> I am going to apply for the occupation External Auditor - 221213. I have heard from friends who are software programmers about long wait times. Usually they say it is because invitations are issued quite a while after lodging of EOI.
> 
> I have been looking at occupational ceiling utilizations.
> 
> Are the long waiting times for receiving invitations only due to quota utilizations? For example for Occupation ID 2212, I have noticed only 365 invitations issued out of the total ceiling of 1000 (originally 900). Does this mean that if I lodge my EOI in this occupation even with the minimum points of 60 that I will get the invitation in the earliest possible round? Or are their other factors at play as well?
> I also noticed that the 1000 ceiling has been given for a group of 3 different occupations in 2212. Are there any sub-ceilings within this main 1000 ceiling?
> 
> Many thx .
> 
> Regards


----------



## Vivian

Hi Mark,

I have 2 degrees, one is Bachelor of Commerce which I completed in July 2012 for 2.5 years and Master of Finance, completed in July 2013 (1 year course). When submitting the education proof, is acamedic transcript enough to prove my education? or they need Letter of completion from my uni? If so, only Bachelor degree or they need both? As Master degree is a 1 year course which is not entitled to the min 2 years studies in Australia.


Thanking you in advance, Mark. I really appreciate your prompt reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivian -

Thanks for the question. It depends on the visa you are applying for and whether you are claiming points or credit for the Australian Study Requirement. Generally DIBP likes to see a transcript and either a completion letter or a certificate of completion for each qualification.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vivian said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have 2 degrees, one is Bachelor of Commerce which I completed in July 2012 for 2.5 years and Master of Finance, completed in July 2013 (1 year course). When submitting the education proof, is acamedic transcript enough to prove my education? or they need Letter of completion from my uni? If so, only Bachelor degree or they need both? As Master degree is a 1 year course which is not entitled to the min 2 years studies in Australia.
> 
> Thanking you in advance, Mark. I really appreciate your prompt reply.


----------



## Manueel

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Manueel -
> 
> Thanks for the note. 190 visas typically take 6-9 months to process, so it's early days for your application yet. Re: cancelling student visa, it would not cause a problem with your 190 application but would leave you onshore with no visa to return on if you left the country (you'd be on a Bridging Visa E after the cancellation), you will be unlawful as of the moment of cancellation which means you cannot use any time accumulated up to that point in Australia towards the 4 year residency requirement for citizenship, and if you were to depart Australia while holding the BV-E, you would incur a 3 year exclusion period for all temporary visas (but not the 190 since it's a perm visa). You may want to explore the options in more details with a migration agent.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark , It really help me take a right decision .Once again think for your advice.


----------



## diverae

*FIFO work - International while on a Bridging visa?*

Hi Mark,

I posted this to a different thread and it was suggested I post here.

I have a partner visa application submitted awaiting approval (820) but am currently on a 457 visa as well as the bridging visa A that I received on application for the 820.

I have been offered a rotating role (fifo) overseas on a 28 day on 28 day off rotation (The company is not based in Australia so a 457 transfer is out of the question). Is there a way I can accept the job while keeping the bridging visa, if I apply for a BVB? How should I go about this, or would it be better to wait until I have the PR approved before doing anything like this? Is there any way I can make both work? Could I apply for a BVB every time I'm back from a stint away?

Thanks for any insight you might have.


----------



## lbiNJ

*Joining partner on his student visa*

Hi Mark,

I am hoping you can help! My boyfriend and I moved from the US to Australia 2.5 months ago. He is on a student visa (5 year) and I am on a working holiday visa subclass 462 for one year. He will be studying to get his phd for 2 more years and we are frantically trying to sort out the visa process so I can stay over here with him while he continues his studies. Also, there is another time constraint as I am working in Australia and can only work with one company for a max of 6 months on this visa.

We have been together for over 5 years (living with each other, shared bank accounts etc.) Is it is simply a change of circumstance on his student visa, to claim me as his partner? Do I apply for my own visa? Do I have to do this offshore? I would really appreciate your input. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Diverae -

Thanks for the question. There is no legal impediment that I know of for getting a BV-B that goes for a number of months, and allows you to go in/out of Australia during that period - it would be at the discretion of the case officer. Problem is, you need to deal with the 457 - if that visa is expiring on its own, then great - the BV-A you have from the partner visa will activate when the 457 expires and you're good from there on out on the BV-A and any BV-B's that you can get. However if you terminate the 457 early (via cancellation), that also wipes out the BV-A you have from the partner visa and leaves you in Australia unlawfully. You'd have to get a BV-E or something like that, which doesn't allow re-entry, no way to get BV-B, etc so it's not a good situation generally. Given the somewhat tricky situation you're looking at, you may want to schedule a consultation with a registered migration agent to help sort out the various options that may be available in your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



diverae said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I posted this to a different thread and it was suggested I post here.
> 
> I have a partner visa application submitted awaiting approval (820) but am currently on a 457 visa as well as the bridging visa A that I received on application for the 820.
> 
> I have been offered a rotating role (fifo) overseas on a 28 day on 28 day off rotation (The company is not based in Australia so a 457 transfer is out of the question). Is there a way I can accept the job while keeping the bridging visa, if I apply for a BVB? How should I go about this, or would it be better to wait until I have the PR approved before doing anything like this? Is there any way I can make both work? Could I apply for a BVB every time I'm back from a stint away?
> 
> Thanks for any insight you might have.


----------



## swavik

Hello Mark,

Thank you very much for your reply..
I have taken an appointment for the medicals..
Netherlands PCC needs to be worked out..will do it in smtime.

i am only concerned with the Past TB history of my spouse..on the blogs i am getting both positive and negative about these cases..some say it has a chance of rejection and some say if it is treated nothing to worry...lets see what is in my case..

i wanted to ask , visa application asks for the employment details of the dependent spouse..so after lodging the visa will they ask for her experience certificates?

thank you very much for your help


Regards


----------



## luckyduck12

*Contributory parent visa*

Hi Mark,

I am planning to apply for permanent residency for my parents, we surely pass the family test and I have been in Asutralia for 5 years. Can you provide some information on the process of sponsoring? What is the requirement for the sponsor? Do I have to prove that I have enough income to support my parents or just sign a declaration form? I can't really prove the financial capacity for 3 people (my parents and I) as I am still doing my PhD and living off a small scholarship. Can my parents show the finance instead?

My parents will be coming with their own money so I don't really need to support them

Thanks,


----------



## garyking

*Confused and frustrated*

Hi Mark,

This is Gary here. Had a question for my brother's immigration to Australia. I am Australian citizen and trying to migrate my brother and his mrs. since 2010 but unsuccesful so far.

In 2010 I lodged his application for immigration to Australia for first time. As he was single at that time only his application was lodged at that time. As this application didn't move any further till 2013 my migration agent advised me to withdraw this application and lodge new one for quicker turnaround. We had done assessment through Engineers Australia at that time in 2010 due to his computer engineering degree etc. So application that was lodged in 2010 was withdrawn.

So as this application didn't move any further and as per my MA's advise we started preparing for new application as procedures for migration had changed too (like applying for EOI, getting invitation etc.). This time we went through ACS for assessment and brother was already married this time. So we did assessment for both my brother and his spouse. We were really hopeful this time and made an application. But due to some issues with assessment DIBP rejected application saying applicant wasn't making required 60 points but only 55. My MA had calculated 60 points prior to making an application but as ACS and DIBP had made some changes in requirements around assessment, DIBP would only give him 55 points. Hence his application was rejected. Rejection only came in August last year.

So to get my brother migrated we are going through all process again. Yes this is going to be 3rd time and it's really frustrating. So we supplied all documents to ACS again including experience letters, pay slips, degree certs, other certs etc. etc. and we have just received their assessment for both of them as software engineers.

None of them scored 7 bands each in IELTS. To date they are making 55 points only. So my question is, is there any state or territory open to applicants who don't have 7 each in IELTS and are software engineers?

What should we do? So far we lodged 2 applications and been unsuccessful. One in 2010 which we withdrew as advised by MA to allow new application. Second in 2013 which was rejected as DIBP would only give 55 points. We have kind of lost any faith in this system and MA.

Please let me know if you need more details. thank you


----------



## Ahmed86

Hi Mark

I had a phone session with you back in April when I submitted my EOI as accountant general 60 points, and I was invited last Monday.

As we discussed, in my EOI I only mentioned my Bachelor of Business Accounting, which was assessed by ICAA, and I did NOT list my Honours Degree of Pharmacy from Monash, a 1 year research degree, (as the EOI system automatically selected it and this degree was not assessed ).

My question is: during the 189 application I am asked about my "Highest recognized qualification" then to provide all qualifications chronologically.
What should I select as my highest "recognized" qualification?

Please advise.


----------



## swavik

swavik said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your reply..
> I have taken an appointment for the medicals..
> Netherlands PCC needs to be worked out..will do it in smtime.
> 
> i am only concerned with the Past TB history of my spouse..on the blogs i am getting both positive and negative about these cases..some say it has a chance of rejection and some say if it is treated nothing to worry...lets see what is in my case..
> 
> i wanted to ask , visa application asks for the employment details of the dependent spouse..so after lodging the visa will they ask for her experience certificates?
> 
> thank you very much for your help
> 
> Regards


Hey Mark,

Alongwith the above queries can you help me with the some questions in the PCC from Netherlands

You can check out the following link,
https://www.justis.nl/producten/vog/certificate-of-conduct/

in the section Section 2 do we need it to send it to the australian embassy office to get it filled and then mail it to the netherlands..
I find the questions in the form very confusing ..

Regards


----------



## kieranc3

*Getting an Employment Contract*

Hi Mark,

We have been invited to apply for State Nomination for Western Australia. Last Friday, we received an email asking us to submit an employment contract because the nominated occupation (Human Resource Advisor) is on Schedule 2 of the SOL. We have 28 days to submit the said documents and our request for an extension was turned down.

Since then, we have been frantically applying for jobs through portals such as "seek" and writing in to recruitment agencies. However, it is a tall order to secure a job offer within 28 days especially since we have yet to possess the rights to work in Australia.

Do you have any advice for us on how to secure an employment contract? One of the key questions that prospective employers would ask is when we can start work. Do you know the rough time frame that it takes Skilled Migration WA and DIAC to possess our visa if we are eligible for State Nomination? We apply under subclass 190.

Would welcome any suggestions and wisdom from you in this challenging situation. Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ahmed -

Congratulations on your invitation!

There is no legal definition of "recognised", however I would interpret that as recognised by the skills assessor, and relevant to your occupation. I'd put the Bachelor as the highest recognised degree and then list them all.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ahmed86 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I had a phone session with you back in April when I submitted my EOI as accountant general 60 points, and I was invited last Monday.
> 
> As we discussed, in my EOI I only mentioned my Bachelor of Business Accounting, which was assessed by ICAA, and I did NOT list my Honours Degree of Pharmacy from Monash, a 1 year research degree, (as the EOI system automatically selected it and this degree was not assessed ).
> 
> My question is: during the 189 application I am asked about my "Highest recognized qualification" then to provide all qualifications chronologically.
> What should I select as my highest "recognized" qualification?
> 
> Please advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LbiNJ -

Thanks for the question. The basic choice is to get your own student visa, or apply to be added as a family member onto his existing student visa.

It's a bit of a tricky situation - first, note this:

How to Apply for Dependant Family Members to Join You

That's some basic info about adding family members to a student visa. Problem is, the family member - if part of the family when he made the student visa application - must have been declared on the application in order to be able to add on later. I'm guessing he didn't do this. You might be able to accomplish this by saying that at the time he applied for the student visa, your relationship had not yet progressed to the point that you considered yourself defacto partners (the requirement for a partner to be added to a visa unless you are married). Since the application, your relationship progressed, etc and you are now defacto partners and wish to be added to the application.

The other option is to apply for your own student visa and study here.

For either option, you may need to lodge the application offshore - would need to look closely at your circumstances in detail to see if you fit the exceptions in the regulations that allow for initial student visa applications to be lodged onshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lbiNJ said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am hoping you can help! My boyfriend and I moved from the US to Australia 2.5 months ago. He is on a student visa (5 year) and I am on a working holiday visa subclass 462 for one year. He will be studying to get his phd for 2 more years and we are frantically trying to sort out the visa process so I can stay over here with him while he continues his studies. Also, there is another time constraint as I am working in Australia and can only work with one company for a max of 6 months on this visa.
> 
> We have been together for over 5 years (living with each other, shared bank accounts etc.) Is it is simply a change of circumstance on his student visa, to claim me as his partner? Do I apply for my own visa? Do I have to do this offshore? I would really appreciate your input. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Re: Netherlands PCC, suggest you download the DIBP Guide to Obtaining Character Certificates - there are specific instructions for each country in there.

Re: TB, past TB is not a reason for refusal. Active TB is however. With evidence of past TB, typically DIBP will make the person take additional medical tests prior to approving the visa. Assuming those tests confirm no active TB, if the visa is approved then they may also require the person to agree to take further tests after they enter Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Alongwith the above queries can you help me with the some questions in the PCC from Netherlands
> 
> You can check out the following link,
> https://www.justis.nl/producten/vog/certificate-of-conduct/
> 
> in the section Section 2 do we need it to send it to the australian embassy office to get it filled and then mail it to the netherlands..
> I find the questions in the form very confusing ..
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LuckyDuck12 -

Thanks for the questions. Suggest you carefully research the Parent visa options on the DIBP website - way too much info to repeat here. Note that in the new budget, the regular (ie non-contributory) Parent visas will be discontinued soon, and there's a 15 year waiting period for them based on the small numbers approved each year (very limited quotas). The contributory option (essentially $50,000 visa fee for each parent - this is a fee, not a bond, so you don't get it back) will be the remaining parent visa category left shortly.

Re: evidence of financial details of sponsor, by default you do not have to provide any evidence of your finances, however DIBP will assess your financial situation and has the right to require you to provide evidence of your income and assets as part of assessing your application. If they ask and you cannot provide sufficient evidence, the visa may be refused.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to apply for permanent residency for my parents, we surely pass the family test and I have been in Asutralia for 5 years. Can you provide some information on the process of sponsoring? What is the requirement for the sponsor? Do I have to prove that I have enough income to support my parents or just sign a declaration form? I can't really prove the financial capacity for 3 people (my parents and I) as I am still doing my PhD and living off a small scholarship. Can my parents show the finance instead?
> 
> My parents will be coming with their own money so I don't really need to support them
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gary -

Thanks for the questions, and sorry to hear of your experience with the agent who misinformed you.

I just had a quick look and it looks like some states are sponsoring Software Engineers, however there are a variety of special conditions. For instance, Tasmania is with no particular IELTS above the DIBP minimum of 6 on each band, but you need to have 5 yrs post-qual experience and a job offer in Tasmania. NT needs a pre-existing job offer from an NT employer for their sponsorship. Overall, this is a bad time of year to be looking at state sponsorships as a number of states including NSW have essentially closed their systems to new applications until the new program year starts in July.

My view is that there may be a couple of things to do - first, consult with a registered migration agent to make sure you have the current points calculated properly, the ACS assessment is being interpreted properly, etc. Then, between now and July, work on increasing the IELTS score if this is realistic. Then come July, see what the new program year brings in terms of which states will be sponsoring for this occupation and what their rules are.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



garyking said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This is Gary here. Had a question for my brother's immigration to Australia. I am Australian citizen and trying to migrate my brother and his mrs. since 2010 but unsuccesful so far.
> 
> In 2010 I lodged his application for immigration to Australia for first time. As he was single at that time only his application was lodged at that time. As this application didn't move any further till 2013 my migration agent advised me to withdraw this application and lodge new one for quicker turnaround. We had done assessment through Engineers Australia at that time in 2010 due to his computer engineering degree etc. So application that was lodged in 2010 was withdrawn.
> 
> So as this application didn't move any further and as per my MA's advise we started preparing for new application as procedures for migration had changed too (like applying for EOI, getting invitation etc.). This time we went through ACS for assessment and brother was already married this time. So we did assessment for both my brother and his spouse. We were really hopeful this time and made an application. But due to some issues with assessment DIBP rejected application saying applicant wasn't making required 60 points but only 55. My MA had calculated 60 points prior to making an application but as ACS and DIBP had made some changes in requirements around assessment, DIBP would only give him 55 points. Hence his application was rejected. Rejection only came in August last year.
> 
> So to get my brother migrated we are going through all process again. Yes this is going to be 3rd time and it's really frustrating. So we supplied all documents to ACS again including experience letters, pay slips, degree certs, other certs etc. etc. and we have just received their assessment for both of them as software engineers.
> 
> None of them scored 7 bands each in IELTS. To date they are making 55 points only. So my question is, is there any state or territory open to applicants who don't have 7 each in IELTS and are software engineers?
> 
> What should we do? So far we lodged 2 applications and been unsuccessful. One in 2010 which we withdrew as advised by MA to allow new application. Second in 2013 which was rejected as DIBP would only give 55 points. We have kind of lost any faith in this system and MA.
> 
> Please let me know if you need more details. thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kieranc3 -

Thanks for the note. WA generally expects you to have met the requirement before you apply for an invitation from them, hence no extensions of time. I don't do job searches so I can't help you there - timing-wise, the WA invitation, if approved, will be processed generally within a week or 2 assuming you meet the requirements and provide all the necessary documents. Once the nomination is approved, you get an invitation to apply from DIBP straight away. Once you lodge that, granting the visa typically takes between 6-9 months, but can be longer. If you are onshore with another substantive visa (visitor, etc) when you lodge the visa application, you can get a bridging visa with full work rights that allows you to remain in Australia and work until a decision is made on the 190 application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kieranc3 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We have been invited to apply for State Nomination for Western Australia. Last Friday, we received an email asking us to submit an employment contract because the nominated occupation (Human Resource Advisor) is on Schedule 2 of the SOL. We have 28 days to submit the said documents and our request for an extension was turned down.
> 
> Since then, we have been frantically applying for jobs through portals such as "seek" and writing in to recruitment agencies. However, it is a tall order to secure a job offer within 28 days especially since we have yet to possess the rights to work in Australia.
> 
> Do you have any advice for us on how to secure an employment contract? One of the key questions that prospective employers would ask is when we can start work. Do you know the rough time frame that it takes Skilled Migration WA and DIAC to possess our visa if we are eligible for State Nomination? We apply under subclass 190.
> 
> Would welcome any suggestions and wisdom from you in this challenging situation. Thanks.


----------



## dansyed

Hi Mark,

I have recently been awarded a PR and plan to visit Australia in September, 2014.

I am currently working at one of the reputed IT organization and shall be completing my 5 years in the next 18 months, after which I become eligible for some special benefits and payout. Now considering this, my questions are:

- What is the citizenship requirement? How many years do I need to spend in Australia in the 5 years of the PR? How many years can I be outside of Australia during the period?

- What is I am unable to complete the required amount of duration within the PR validity, is the PR extendable. If so, how and for how long do they extend the PR for?

- If the PR is extendable, will the requirement of stay in Australia will be counted for the earlier PR as well, or will the new PR have a minimum stay requirement, irrespective of the earlier stay in Australia, in order to be eligible for Citizenship.

Kindly advise. 

Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dansyed -

Thanks for your questions - see below:



dansyed said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have recently been awarded a PR and plan to visit Australia in September, 2014.
> 
> I am currently working at one of the reputed IT organization and shall be completing my 5 years in the next 18 months, after which I become eligible for some special benefits and payout. Now considering this, my questions are:
> 
> - What is the citizenship requirement? How many years do I need to spend in Australia in the 5 years of the PR? How many years can I be outside of Australia during the period?
> ** Citizenship requires 4 years residency in Australia prior to applying, where the last 12 months must be as a PR. During the 4 years you cannot be outside Australia more than 12 months, and during the 1 year before applying for citizenship you cannot be outside more than 3 months. See Australian citizenship site for all the details on this - too many to list here.
> 
> - What is I am unable to complete the required amount of duration within the PR validity, is the PR extendable. If so, how and for how long do they extend the PR for?
> ** Yes, via a Resident Return Visa (RRV). If you have been in Australia for at least 2 yrs in the 5 yrs prior to applying for the RRV, you may get a 5 year RRV (essentially extension of PR re-entry rights). If less than 2 years, things get more complicated and you may or may not qualify for a 1 yr RRV or 3 month RRV. See subclass 155 and 157 visas on DIBP site for complete details.
> 
> - If the PR is extendable, will the requirement of stay in Australia will be counted for the earlier PR as well, or will the new PR have a minimum stay requirement, irrespective of the earlier stay in Australia, in order to be eligible for Citizenship.
> ** Even if you extend your PR via RRV, same 4 year rules apply based on whenever you apply for citizenship (see above). Time in Australia under a RRV would be considered time in Australia as a PR.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Hilti

Hi mark, I am planning to apply for a 461 visa as my partner is a non eligible New Zealand citizen and he is not planning to leave Australia anytime soon. I am from Germany and currently on a student visa which is valid till the 27.8.2014. I would like to apply for the 461 visa within the next 2 months, preferably before July as I'm worried that the fee might rise. Now to my question: if I lodge the application I will be granted a BVA? Do I have to pay for my course fees for the next semester even though my visa will run out and I do not wish to study any longer? My partner and I are planning to go to Germany in August so he can finally meet my family for the first time, can I apply for a BVB and what if the 461 visa gets granted while we are in Germany when I am on a BVB visa? Sorry about all these questions but it's not long till I want to apply for the visa and I am getting a bit nervous. Thank you so much I really appreciate the help and time you are providing for people like me voluntarily!!!

Kind regards
Hilti


----------



## garyking

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gary -
> 
> Thanks for the questions, and sorry to hear of your experience with the agent who misinformed you.
> 
> I just had a quick look and it looks like some states are sponsoring Software Engineers, however there are a variety of special conditions. For instance, Tasmania is with no particular IELTS above the DIBP minimum of 6 on each band, but you need to have 5 yrs post-qual experience and a job offer in Tasmania. NT needs a pre-existing job offer from an NT employer for their sponsorship. Overall, this is a bad time of year to be looking at state sponsorships as a number of states including NSW have essentially closed their systems to new applications until the new program year starts in July.
> 
> My view is that there may be a couple of things to do - first, consult with a registered migration agent to make sure you have the current points calculated properly, the ACS assessment is being interpreted properly, etc. Then, between now and July, work on increasing the IELTS score if this is realistic. Then come July, see what the new program year brings in terms of which states will be sponsoring for this occupation and what their rules are.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for your guidance. As far as IELTS is concerned we have pretty much reached ceiling. Unfortunately sitting for IELTS again isn't looking an option anymore for them.

So am I right in understanding that withdrawing an application for making a way for new application isn't required? Can two applications either both lodged either electronically or one of them lodged in paper format and other electronically can co-exist?

Appreciate your responses.

Gary,


----------



## Ahmed86

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ahmed -
> 
> Congratulations on your invitation!
> 
> There is no legal definition of "recognised", however I would interpret that as recognised by the skills assessor, and relevant to your occupation. I'd put the Bachelor as the highest recognised degree and then list them all.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for your help Mark. Yes, I called DIBP and they confirmed the "highest recognised qualification" is the one I am claiming points for. (Assessed Bachelor)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hilti -

Thanks for the note. I don't have quite enough details about your situation to give you specific advice about your course/student visa, but essentially if you have finished your study and your visa is running out, you generally do not need to pay for more study if you are applying for a different (non-student) type of visa. If you apply for the 461 while holding the student visa, you'll be granted a bridging visa A (BV-A) (unless there are some other special circumstances I'm not aware of with your case) which will activate as soon as your student visa expires. The bridging visa would not have any sort of of study requirement on it, and should come with full work rights.

The BV-A granted to you would allow you to apply for a Bridging Visa B (BV-B) even if the BV-A had not activated yet. So before you leave on your trip, you would need to apply for and be granted a BV-B to allow you to travel out of Australia and re-enter on the BV-B.You can make this application even if the BV-A has not activated yet - this would be the case if, for instance, you were going to be outside Australia when the student visa was going to expire.

Regarding the grant of the 461, assuming you apply for the 461 in Australia, you must be in Australia when it is granted. Best thing to do is to make sure you keep your case officer updated about any trips you take and your contact info - they are usually very nice and will email you when the visa is ready to grant if you've told them you will be outside Australia - they will then give you some period of time (normally several weeks at least) to return to Australia so that the visa can be granted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hilti said:


> Hi mark, I am planning to apply for a 461 visa as my partner is a non eligible New Zealand citizen and he is not planning to leave Australia anytime soon. I am from Germany and currently on a student visa which is valid till the 27.8.2014. I would like to apply for the 461 visa within the next 2 months, preferably before July as I'm worried that the fee might rise. Now to my question: if I lodge the application I will be granted a BVA? Do I have to pay for my course fees for the next semester even though my visa will run out and I do not wish to study any longer? My partner and I are planning to go to Germany in August so he can finally meet my family for the first time, can I apply for a BVB and what if the 461 visa gets granted while we are in Germany when I am on a BVB visa? Sorry about all these questions but it's not long till I want to apply for the visa and I am getting a bit nervous. Thank you so much I really appreciate the help and time you are providing for people like me voluntarily!!!
> 
> Kind regards
> Hilti


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gary -

Sorry, am confused. Per your last email you had 2 previous applications (1 refused, 1 withdrawn), but I didn't think you had a current application in to DIBP...? Thought you had just received a skills assessment and were considering how/when/where to make another application...? Thanks for any clarification -

Best,

Mark Northam



garyking said:


> Thank you for your guidance. As far as IELTS is concerned we have pretty much reached ceiling. Unfortunately sitting for IELTS again isn't looking an option anymore for them.
> 
> So am I right in understanding that withdrawing an application for making a way for new application isn't required? Can two applications either both lodged either electronically or one of them lodged in paper format and other electronically can co-exist?
> 
> Appreciate your responses.
> 
> Gary,


----------



## garyking

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gary -
> 
> Sorry, am confused. Per your last email you had 2 previous applications (1 refused, 1 withdrawn), but I didn't think you had a current application in to DIBP...? Thought you had just received a skills assessment and were considering how/when/where to make another application...? Thanks for any clarification -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Apologies if I confused you. Yes Mark there is no application lodged with DIBP at the moment but only received assessment.

However, I was trying to understand if withdrawing an application that was lodged in 2010 for lodging new application in 2013, was indeed a mistake or not. I am trying to know if two applications one lodged in 2010 and other lodged in 2013 could have co-exist with DIBP without any issues?

I hope you understood now. thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gary -

Hard to say without more details, but generally there is no problem with a person having multiple applications lodged and pending at DIBP, even of the same type. Only when one is ready to be granted will DIBP generally request that you withdraw the other one(s).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



garyking said:


> Apologies if I confused you. Yes Mark there is no application lodged with DIBP at the moment but only received assessment.
> 
> However, I was trying to understand if withdrawing an application that was lodged in 2010 for lodging new application in 2013, was indeed a mistake or not. I am trying to know if two applications one lodged in 2010 and other lodged in 2013 could have co-exist with DIBP without any issues?
> 
> I hope you understood now. thanks again


----------



## goldy

*partner visa 309 more then 12 months waiting*

Hi Mark, i have applied my wife's visa subclass 309 from ottawa on 15/05/2013. And nw it has been full 1 yr we have submitted all the required docs. Whenever we ask from the case officer she told us its under consideration, but i don't know why is it taking so long to give them decision, my wife is from india but we applied from canada and also they have rejected her tourist visa twice. Bt still how much more time they need to finalise her application any advice would be appreciated thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Goldy -

Wish I could say or estimate, but DIBP works with no restrictions in the area of how long they can take to process a visa. To some extent things are affected by the time it takes third parties (like security organisations) to do external security checks. Other things such as annual quotas and allocations can come into play as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



goldy said:


> Hi Mark, i have applied my wife's visa subclass 309 from ottawa on 15/05/2013. And nw it has been full 1 yr we have submitted all the required docs. Whenever we ask from the case officer she told us its under consideration, but i don't know why is it taking so long to give them decision, my wife is from india but we applied from canada and also they have rejected her tourist visa twice. Bt still how much more time they need to finalise her application any advice would be appreciated thanks


----------



## caliguy

Hi Mark,

I can tell there is much I can learn by reading your entire thread, so please forgive me if you've answered this question many times (only had time to read a dozen pages so far). 
Question: does providing a copy of our messenger chat help significantly when applying for a partner visa or pmv? If so, then will we be able to attach it as a digital file if it's too long to print? 

Background specifics:

The chat history I have is from an application called "Line messenger", and goes back to a year ago when we were just friends. Without the photos exchanged (currently 3,074), when I pasted the text file to microsoft word it is about 2,000 pages long (585,000 words). The same application also lets you make free international calls over wifi (and we take advantage of that feature!) And each call is logged in the chat asking with the length of the call. I expect the information is relevant, but with something this long I'm unsure of how to present it.

***I would have to double check, but I think my phone records also log the wifi calls made...if providing those as well would be needed.


Thank you for any help you can provide Mark, and I hope you have a fantastic day!


----------



## caliguy

Hi Mark,

I can tell there is much I can learn by reading your entire thread, so please forgive me if you've answered this question many times (only had time to read a dozen pages so far). 
Question: does providing a copy of our messenger chat help significantly when applying for a partner visa or pmv? If so, then will we be able to attach it as a digital file if it's too long to print? 

Background specifics:

The chat history I have is from an application called "Line messenger", and goes back to a year ago when we were just friends. Without the photos exchanged (currently 3,074), when I pasted the text file to microsoft word it is about 2,000 pages long (585,000 words). The same application also lets you make free international calls over wifi (and we take advantage of that feature!) And each call is logged in the chat asking with the length of the call. I expect the information is relevant, but with something this long I'm unsure of how to present it.

***I would have to double check, but I think my phone records also log the wifi calls made...if providing those as well would be needed.


Thank you for any help you can provide Mark, and I hope you have a fantastic day!


----------



## Afzal

Hi Mark,

Good Day! Just a quick background so that you can kindly give me some suggestion -

This is Afzal, from Bangladesh. I completed my bachelors degree from UK (Coventry University) in Accounting and Finance and then came back and started working in Bangladesh as external audit trainee in KPMG (one of the four internationally reputed audit firms). While I have one and a half years experience, I parallely studied for two postgraduate qualifications in Accounting (ACC) and Finance (CFA).

Now I am considering applying for immigration in Australia, however I have been suggested that at-least 3 years of work experience is mandatory for a successful immigration application.

I would like your advice as to what would be my best course of action, to wait for one and a half more years (at the risk that accountants may be removed from desired immigrants) or apply right now (at the risk of not having enough work experience)? I would appreciate any other advice you might have for me!

Thanks
Afzal


----------



## dansyed

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dansyed -
> 
> Thanks for your questions - see below:
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply. Just a few more queries to understand the process better. Please see my furthers Questions with pretext as **** DANSYED. Thanks.

- What is the citizenship requirement? How many years do I need to spend in Australia in the 5 years of the PR? How many years can I be outside of Australia during the period?

** Citizenship requires 4 years residency in Australia prior to applying, where the last 12 months must be as a PR. During the 4 years you cannot be outside Australia more than 12 months, and during the 1 year before applying for citizenship you cannot be outside more than 3 months. See Australian citizenship site for all the details on this - too many to list here.

**** DANSYED: Just want to understand it better, it practically means, that I have to show that I have entered Australia 4 years back and have stayed in Australia for minimum 3 years out of the 4 years. I also have to show that during the past 12 months, I have been in Australia for more than 9 months. If this is true, then I can make my first visit to Australia in August, 2014 for one month and then come back and go and settle in Australia in March, 2014 and remain their for 3.5 years and qualify for my citizenship. Right? Pls advise.

- If the PR is extendable, will the requirement of stay in Australia will be counted for the earlier PR as well, or will the new PR have a minimum stay requirement, irrespective of the earlier stay in Australia, in order to be eligible for Citizenship.

** Even if you extend your PR via RRV, same 4 year rules apply based on whenever you apply for citizenship (see above). Time in Australia under a RRV would be considered time in Australia as a PR.

**** DANSYED: Here, what I understand is that if I have spent 3 years under PR, I just need to spend another year under RRV and then qualify for citizenship. RIght?


----------



## gretz57

Hi Mark,
Greetings!
I am a PMV subclass 300 visa holder with 2 dependents who are more than 18 years old. I would like to know how much is the cost if I submit my 820/801 visa by 3rd of June 2014. the last time I check online is 1,450Aud for applicant and 1,450 aud for my 2 dependents who are 18 years above. This totals to 2,900.00. However, last month I checked the cost and it was only 2,295.00aud for the three of us. I am confused . 
I would appreciate it very much if you could give me the correct cost.
Thank you.


----------



## visaoz

Hello Mark, I'm confused about which visa I need. Hoping you will have answers to some of my questions.

I'm getting married and moving from London to Australia next year. My partner is an Australian PR. I'm wondering which is a better route - 1. Apply for a working holiday visa now, get married (the wedding is not in Australia) and enter Australia on the WHV. Then apply for a partner visa after entering the country. 2. Apply for a prospective spouse visa, hope that it arrives by January (that's when the wedding is), get married and enter Australia on this visa. Then apply for a partner visa.

I'm not sure which the safer route is, which will make sure I don't have to stay apart from my partner once we're married. 

Will appreciate your valuable advice.

Thank you,
Visaoz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Caliguy -

Suggest you prepare a summary or sampling of your communications - no point in sending in 100s of pages of communications logs & transcripts - they will not read them all.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



caliguy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I can tell there is much I can learn by reading your entire thread, so please forgive me if you've answered this question many times (only had time to read a dozen pages so far).
> Question: does providing a copy of our messenger chat help significantly when applying for a partner visa or pmv? If so, then will we be able to attach it as a digital file if it's too long to print?
> 
> Background specifics:
> 
> The chat history I have is from an application called "Line messenger", and goes back to a year ago when we were just friends. Without the photos exchanged (currently 3,074), when I pasted the text file to microsoft word it is about 2,000 pages long (585,000 words). The same application also lets you make free international calls over wifi (and we take advantage of that feature!) And each call is logged in the chat asking with the length of the call. I expect the information is relevant, but with something this long I'm unsure of how to present it.
> 
> ***I would have to double check, but I think my phone records also log the wifi calls made...if providing those as well would be needed.
> 
> Thank you for any help you can provide Mark, and I hope you have a fantastic day!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Afzal -

Thanks for the note - would need to know much more about your situation via a consultation in order to give you any specific advice for your case - too many questions to ask here on the forum to get to the info I need to properly assess all available options for your case. For more info on consultations, see our website link in the signature at the end of the post - thanks!

Best,

Mark Northam



Afzal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Good Day! Just a quick background so that you can kindly give me some suggestion -
> 
> This is Afzal, from Bangladesh. I completed my bachelors degree from UK (Coventry University) in Accounting and Finance and then came back and started working in Bangladesh as external audit trainee in KPMG (one of the four internationally reputed audit firms). While I have one and a half years experience, I parallely studied for two postgraduate qualifications in Accounting (ACC) and Finance (CFA).
> 
> Now I am considering applying for immigration in Australia, however I have been suggested that at-least 3 years of work experience is mandatory for a successful immigration application.
> 
> I would like your advice as to what would be my best course of action, to wait for one and a half more years (at the risk that accountants may be removed from desired immigrants) or apply right now (at the risk of not having enough work experience)? I would appreciate any other advice you might have for me!
> 
> Thanks
> Afzal


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dansyed -

See further responses below at **MN:



dansyed said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply. Just a few more queries to understand the process better. Please see my furthers Questions with pretext as **** DANSYED. Thanks.
> 
> ** Citizenship requires 4 years residency in Australia prior to applying, where the last 12 months must be as a PR. During the 4 years you cannot be outside Australia more than 12 months, and during the 1 year before applying for citizenship you cannot be outside more than 3 months. See Australian citizenship site for all the details on this - too many to list here.
> 
> **** DANSYED: Just want to understand it better, it practically means, that I have to show that I have entered Australia 4 years back and have stayed in Australia for minimum 3 years out of the 4 years. I also have to show that during the past 12 months, I have been in Australia for more than 9 months. If this is true, then I can make my first visit to Australia in August, 2014 for one month and then come back and go and settle in Australia in March, 2014 and remain their for 3.5 years and qualify for my citizenship. Right? Pls advise.
> 
> ** MN: Right, but would be good to get RRV prior to end of your PR period in case you have to leave. In your scenario you can qualify for 5 yr extension via RRV since you would have been in Australia for 2 yrs in the 5 before applying.
> 
> - If the PR is extendable, will the requirement of stay in Australia will be counted for the earlier PR as well, or will the new PR have a minimum stay requirement, irrespective of the earlier stay in Australia, in order to be eligible for Citizenship.
> 
> ** Even if you extend your PR via RRV, same 4 year rules apply based on whenever you apply for citizenship (see above). Time in Australia under a RRV would be considered time in Australia as a PR.
> 
> **** DANSYED: Here, what I understand is that if I have spent 3 years under PR, I just need to spend another year under RRV and then qualify for citizenship. RIght?
> 
> ** MN: Yes.


----------



## ivanirl

Hi Mark.
I am currently in the process of submitting an EOI to hopefully be invited to apply for a 189 visa.
I expected to get 65 points but on step 13 of 13, just before you can submit the EOI, it tells me i have 55 points
I have been through my application several times and cannot figure out why I have not been awarded 65 points.
There is no breakdown of scores and when i contacted immi he very abruptly told me 'I can't see your results mate, you must have made a mistake'. 
I have been on a lot of forums and cannot find any answers.

This is the way I have calculated my points;

30 points = age (28)

10 points = Proof of functional english. Completed an IELTS within the last 2 years. skillselect are giving me a language ability score of 7.5 although my overall band score printed on my IELTS test report form states 8.0.
I do not understand this but I am only claiming 10 points for IELTS anyway so a score of 7 is sufficient. My passport number has changed since i completed this IELTS. Would this be an issue?

5 points =Skilled employment in Australia 
i have been working full time as an electrician in Australia for more than 1 year. dates submitted are correct.

10 points= Skilled employment outside Australia; I have worked full time as an electrician in Ireland from September 2003 to October 2011. 
I was expecting 10 points as this is 5-8 years in the last 10 years.

10 points ='Qualification recognized by the relevant assessing authority in determining your skills for the nominated occupation'

I am a licensed electrician and have been working as such for the past 2 years, but for some reason I have to get my skills assessed for migration purposes. The reasoning for this is beyond me but never the less i went and got a skills assessment

I have completed an offshore technical skills record. This is issued by a Trades Recognition Australia approved registered training organisation.
The organisation is future skills international.
In the skills assessment section of the EOI it asks for 'name of assessing authority'.
It then gives a list of options, future skills international is not one of then so i select 'Trades Recognition Australia' 
I then enter my future skills international test date and ref. number.

Any advice to what I am doing wrong or even contact details in skillselect where i might be able to contact someone would be greatly appreciated.

p.s. I really admire you taking the time to help people on here. I think I speak for everyone that you have helped when i say its truly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gretz57 -

I show total fees as $2295 - the difference between that and $2,900 is that the $2,900 fee would be if you did not currently hold the PMV visa. As you do, $2,295 is what the regulations say, however I would double check with DIBP before you lodge, especially as these fees can change without notice. Normally the online application system will automatically calculate the fee for you - if it's not what you expect, I'd double check your responses to the questions, etc that may determine that fee.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gretz57 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Greetings!
> I am a PMV subclass 300 visa holder with 2 dependents who are more than 18 years old. I would like to know how much is the cost if I submit my 820/801 visa by 3rd of June 2014. the last time I check online is 1,450Aud for applicant and 1,450 aud for my 2 dependents who are 18 years above. This totals to 2,900.00. However, last month I checked the cost and it was only 2,295.00aud for the three of us. I am confused .
> I would appreciate it very much if you could give me the correct cost.
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Visaoz -

Thanks for the note. Either of these could work - the waiting time for the prospective marriage can be hard to predict, and the assessment requirements for this visa are more than a WHV. I'd almost suggest the WHV depending on your circumstances, then marry and come to Australia (or vice versa), then apply for an onshore partner visa. However you may want to get the WHV early on to make sure there condition 8503 is not imposed ("no further stay") which would prevent you from lodging any further visa while in Australia on that visa. If you do end up with 8503, then you could then lodge the prospective spouse visa while offshore, and use the WHM to be in Australia during the processing period.

I don't have many details of you and your fiance's situation so I cannot give you specific advice about your case, but hopefully these ideas will be of some help -

Best,

Mark Northam



visaoz said:


> Hello Mark, I'm confused about which visa I need. Hoping you will have answers to some of my questions.
> 
> I'm getting married and moving from London to Australia next year. My partner is an Australian PR. I'm wondering which is a better route - 1. Apply for a working holiday visa now, get married (the wedding is not in Australia) and enter Australia on the WHV. Then apply for a partner visa after entering the country. 2. Apply for a prospective spouse visa, hope that it arrives by January (that's when the wedding is), get married and enter Australia on this visa. Then apply for a partner visa.
> 
> I'm not sure which the safer route is, which will make sure I don't have to stay apart from my partner once we're married.
> 
> Will appreciate your valuable advice.
> 
> Thank you,
> Visaoz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ivanirl -

Thanks for the questions - I expect it's the qualification or IELTS. Re: IELTS, the overall score is meaningless for immigration purposes. If you have at least 7 or more on every band, you will get 10 points; if 8 or more on every band, 20 points. You need at least 6 on every band to qualify for skilled migration.

Re: qualification - not exactly sure what your situation is - a skills assessment is not the same as a qualification. You would need a skills assessment in order to qualify - there's not enough information in your post to accurately determine whether you have a trade qualification or not - I expect you do, however would need to consult with you in detail to work that out.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ivanirl said:


> Hi Mark.
> I am currently in the process of submitting an EOI to hopefully be invited to apply for a 189 visa.
> I expected to get 65 points but on step 13 of 13, just before you can submit the EOI, it tells me i have 55 points
> I have been through my application several times and cannot figure out why I have not been awarded 65 points.
> There is no breakdown of scores and when i contacted immi he very abruptly told me 'I can't see your results mate, you must have made a mistake'.
> I have been on a lot of forums and cannot find any answers.
> 
> This is the way I have calculated my points;
> 
> 30 points = age (28)
> 
> 10 points = Proof of functional english. Completed an IELTS within the last 2 years. skillselect are giving me a language ability score of 7.5 although my overall band score printed on my IELTS test report form states 8.0.
> I do not understand this but I am only claiming 10 points for IELTS anyway so a score of 7 is sufficient. My passport number has changed since i completed this IELTS. Would this be an issue?
> 
> 5 points =Skilled employment in Australia
> i have been working full time as an electrician in Australia for more than 1 year. dates submitted are correct.
> 
> 10 points= Skilled employment outside Australia; I have worked full time as an electrician in Ireland from September 2003 to October 2011.
> I was expecting 10 points as this is 5-8 years in the last 10 years.
> 
> 10 points ='Qualification recognized by the relevant assessing authority in determining your skills for the nominated occupation'
> 
> I am a licensed electrician and have been working as such for the past 2 years, but for some reason I have to get my skills assessed for migration purposes. The reasoning for this is beyond me but never the less i went and got a skills assessment
> 
> I have completed an offshore technical skills record. This is issued by a Trades Recognition Australia approved registered training organisation.
> The organisation is future skills international.
> In the skills assessment section of the EOI it asks for 'name of assessing authority'.
> It then gives a list of options, future skills international is not one of then so i select 'Trades Recognition Australia'
> I then enter my future skills international test date and ref. number.
> 
> Any advice to what I am doing wrong or even contact details in skillselect where i might be able to contact someone would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> p.s. I really admire you taking the time to help people on here. I think I speak for everyone that you have helped when i say its truly appreciated.


----------



## ivanirl

Hi Mark.
Thanks for quick reply.
I did score at least 7 in each band so should have 10 points there.
I got an Australian Recognised Trade Certificate in early 2012, which recognised my qualification from Ireland, and wiring regulations course in peer veet in July 2012. I then got a South Australian electrical licence and a Queensland electrical licence soon after.
I specifically did this skills assessment through future skills international to qualify for the 189 visa.
Can you PM me details to contact you re. consultation.
Regards,
Ivan


----------



## Ellymay

Hi mark. I started a thread but was advised to ask you  

Hello. New user. Long time stalker. LOL*I was wondering what the chances were to extend my husbands Visitor Visa for a 2nd time.*We arrived in Sydney on 31st December, 2013. He was suppose to return to Tonga 19th March,2014 while i stayed and got the money for the Offshore Partner Visa. However, he fell in love with the place and the rest of my family so we decided to apply for the Onshore Partner Visa. Its fine because he doesnt have the 'No Further Stay' on his Visitor Visa.*So we applied for another visitor visa so he could stay with me while i worked to get the money for his partner visa. It was approved. So i have been working to get the money for his Onshore Partner Visa alone, obviously because he is unable to work on his visitor visa. I was going well until a couple weeks back when we had family dramas and we needed money. Therefore I need more time to get money for his visa. probably only an extra month. his current visitor visa expires in one month. I dont want him to have to go back to Tonga when im so close.*So, what im asking is, do you think I have any chance of getting another visitor visa approved ? Even if its just for one extra month ? At the end of his Current Visitor visa, he would have been in Australia for 6 months. Or is there another option that i dont know that gives us more time ?*Please. need advice.


----------



## Bellbird

Hi Mark

I'm really hoping you might be able to help me with applying for citizenship for my adopted daughter. I am an Aussie expat in the UK. My daughter was adopted through the UK domestic adoption process. I understand that this is an expatriate adoption rather than international. I have found it very difficult to get clear guidance from Australia house. Can I apply for citizenship for her on form 1272? The uk is a signatory to The Hague convention and the adoption is legally recognised in the UK I.e. I am named on her adoption certificate which replaces the birth certificate. Or do I need to apply for an adoption visa (at huge cost!) ?

Any advice would be very much appreciated

Thank you so much!


----------



## visaoz

Hi Mark

Many thanks for responding so quickly and for your advice. Just another quick question, if I were to apply for the WHV, will I qualify if I say I am engaged on the application form? And when I apply for the partner visa onshore, will it have any implications?

Thank you in advance,
Visaoz


----------



## visaoz

Hi Mark

Many thanks for responding so quickly and for your advice. Just another quick question, if I were to apply for the WHV, will I qualify if I say I am engaged on the application form? And when I apply for the partner visa onshore, will it have any implications?

Thank you in advance,
Visaoz



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Visaoz -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Either of these could work - the waiting time for the prospective marriage can be hard to predict, and the assessment requirements for this visa are more than a WHV. I'd almost suggest the WHV depending on your circumstances, then marry and come to Australia (or vice versa), then apply for an onshore partner visa. However you may want to get the WHV early on to make sure there condition 8503 is not imposed ("no further stay") which would prevent you from lodging any further visa while in Australia on that visa. If you do end up with 8503, then you could then lodge the prospective spouse visa while offshore, and use the WHM to be in Australia during the processing period.
> 
> I don't have many details of you and your fiance's situation so I cannot give you specific advice about your case, but hopefully these ideas will be of some help -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ellymay -

Thanks for the note. Very hard to predict how the case officer would react to this - I would think it depends on the reasons given for the additional visa. Not sure if "to raise money for partner visa" will work as that's probably not in line with the usual reasons for a visitor visa. But if there are additional family to meet/visit, or something else that he needs to do during this time, that might work - again, it's a case officer discretion so very hard to predict.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ellymay said:


> Hi mark. I started a thread but was advised to ask you
> 
> Hello. New user. Long time stalker. LOL*I was wondering what the chances were to extend my husbands Visitor Visa for a 2nd time.*We arrived in Sydney on 31st December, 2013. He was suppose to return to Tonga 19th March,2014 while i stayed and got the money for the Offshore Partner Visa. However, he fell in love with the place and the rest of my family so we decided to apply for the Onshore Partner Visa. Its fine because he doesnt have the 'No Further Stay' on his Visitor Visa.*So we applied for another visitor visa so he could stay with me while i worked to get the money for his partner visa. It was approved. So i have been working to get the money for his Onshore Partner Visa alone, obviously because he is unable to work on his visitor visa. I was going well until a couple weeks back when we had family dramas and we needed money. Therefore I need more time to get money for his visa. probably only an extra month. his current visitor visa expires in one month. I dont want him to have to go back to Tonga when im so close.*So, what im asking is, do you think I have any chance of getting another visitor visa approved ? Even if its just for one extra month ? At the end of his Current Visitor visa, he would have been in Australia for 6 months. Or is there another option that i dont know that gives us more time ?*Please. need advice.


----------



## pepsicola47

Hi Mark, saw the news on no more subclass 103 soon.
My mum is considering applying to either subclass 103 or 143.
My mum is 59 years old this year, what would the minimum time she would have to spend on the queue?
And is the application fee of 2370 transferable to the 143 if I decide to shorten the wait later on?

On another unrelated question, my friend has been granted a visitor visa subclass 600 before without a no further stay condition, and if she were to apply again after around 6-9 months, how likely is it to get a no further stay condition?
Thanks for your help.


----------



## Markp

Just a quick question Mark.I have to do a letter about my relationship with Svitlana.Can a type the document in pdf or does it have to be handwritten as my handwriting is bad.Thank you.


----------



## gretz57

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gretz57 -
> 
> I show total fees as $2295 - the difference between that and $2,900 is that the $2,900 fee would be if you did not currently hold the PMV visa. As you do, $2,295 is what the regulations say, however I would double check with DIBP before you lodge, especially as these fees can change without notice. Normally the online application system will automatically calculate the fee for you - if it's not what you expect, I'd double check your responses to the questions, etc that may determine that fee.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark.Your response is very helpful to me and my family. God bless.


----------



## satheeshkme

Hi Mark,

I did my Degree – Engineering with Major Computer Science and also Diploma with major computer technology. ACS have assessed both the degree and also diploma . The outcome was, they approved degree equal to AQF bachelor degree and Diploma equal to AQF diploma. My question is , am i eligible to use points for Degree – 15points and diploma – 5 points?


----------



## Pauly303

Hi Mark.
Im that aussie guy residing in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Having been here nearing the maximum stay period i have some brief questions for you.
1)Is there any difference in booking a meeting with yourself or one of your associates a meeting and start working ASAP to strengthen the case for my PMV.
2)We have a son (now one mounth old) - is it benefitital to apply for his birth certificate by decent while i am still in the country,(signed, Translated and Apostille) for our PMV, or can i go ahead of my wife and little boy. I reside in ST. Ives so getting to your Parramatta office should be more effective then a skype consultation. I am nearing the end end of my my 12 month and sense some urgency in starting work to strengthen the Application.


----------



## Franzi91

Hello Mark,
I applied for a partner visa last year in December and a bridging visa A was granted but is currently not in action as I still hold a valid student visa until 2016. My question is whether there is a way to cancel the student visa, without cancelling my visa application for the partner visa?
Another question I have is whether I can give the department of immigration a phone call to get an update on my application or will they just get annoyed about that? The reason I ask is that I received an email in January saying my application is a valid one and it was signed by a case officer, so I assumed this case officer processes my application, but then just a couple of weeks ago I received another 'do not reply' emails which said things like ...if you haven't send already this document do so, and it listed a whole bunch of them. Then it said when they received all documents my application will be passed onto a case officer and be further processed. This confused me a lot, as I was pretty sure that I sent all necessary documentation, but now I do not know whether or not my application is missing some stuff or is with a case officer by now. I would just like to give them a call and hear if everything is in order and they don't need more evidence. Can you tell me if it is allowed to call them about things like that, or should I just hang in there and wait???

Thank you


----------



## Xuxa

Hi Mark,

I've been browsing through the forum and found a lot of your posts really helpful, so thanks a lot for taking the time to respond to all our questions!

I'm intending to apply for a 189 visa and have a couple questions:

1) I have not lodged my EOI yet (still waiting for my skill assessment outcome) but I should be able to achieve 75 points through SS. Will having a high points score make it faster for my visa to be assigned a CO and then granted, or will it only help me get an invitation faster?

2) I realize we're approaching the end of the Australian fiscal year. Does it make any difference at all if I apply now or wait until July? For example, is it possible that come July, my occupation (mechanical engineer) will no longer appear on the SOL or might have reached some type of quota?

Thanks for your help!


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark, 

Please enlighten me on this. I believe once lodged online, I will get a Bridging visa A which entitles me to work and live here in Australia while waiting for the decision of my Temporary Partner Visa. 

My question is if I include my daughter who is the Philippines 17 years old , will she be given a bridging visa as well? Please elaborate and clear my mind on this matter. 

Thank you in advance, 
Ninja 69


----------



## megzchong

Hi Mark,

this is Meg from Philippines. I have an Australian citizen fiance and he lives in South Australia area. We only met online and he went here in Philippines to see me and my family for almost 3 weeks last July 2012 and we got engaged when he got back to his country last August 2012. I have had tourist stay with his family last December 2012 and 2013, both for 3 months. He is currently working as service station attendant in OTR. We are planning to apply this year for the wedding next year, hopefully. He doesnt have a lot of money,no own car and no own house and he just started this new job March 2013. When I get there for good, we will stay in his family's house til we save for our own. We are planning to apply PMV as soon as we have saved enough for the PMV which will be more or less 4 grand. 

Him without these cars and house can affect the application? We are both afraid to apply soon because if we fail it, we will wait again til he saves money and 4 grand is big amount to lose.

Thanks Mark.


----------



## unley

Hi Mark
I just want to know which is the best way to allow my fiancee coming to Australia from Vietnam. 
I'm Australian and was born in Adelaide. I met my fiancee few times in Vietnam before and we decided to get marry next year. 
She is a widow who married a Singapore man and stayed in Singapore for few years before he died. Then she had to returned back to Vietnam.
I know that tourist visa is not the right decision because she will not be able to come back until after 18 months.

She have never applied for a visa for Australia and I have never arranged any visa in the past.

Can you give me some quick advise where I can start please? 

I am very confusing with offshore temporary and permanant visa 

I will visit Vietnam again next week ( 30/05/14 ) for a month and I would like to know so I can give a good start to arrange visa for her.

Thank you for your time

Unley (Mark)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bellbird -

Thanks for the note - Form 1272 is the correct form for citizenship applications by persons adopted under the Hague convention. Here's a link with more details on the application process:

Australian Citizenship - Application process by adoption

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bellbird said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I'm really hoping you might be able to help me with applying for citizenship for my adopted daughter. I am an Aussie expat in the UK. My daughter was adopted through the UK domestic adoption process. I understand that this is an expatriate adoption rather than international. I have found it very difficult to get clear guidance from Australia house. Can I apply for citizenship for her on form 1272? The uk is a signatory to The Hague convention and the adoption is legally recognised in the UK I.e. I am named on her adoption certificate which replaces the birth certificate. Or do I need to apply for an adoption visa (at huge cost!) ?
> 
> Any advice would be very much appreciated
> 
> Thank you so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Visaoz -

Just saying you are engaged should not be reason to refuse you the visa - being single (not engaged) is not a legal criteria for the visa. However, that being said, the WHM visa is still subject to the Genuine Visitor criteria - so if DIBP does not believe you are genuinely here for a temporary visit to work and sightsee, etc, that could be a reason for refusal potentially.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam

QUOTE=visaoz;453257]Hi Mark

Many thanks for responding so quickly and for your advice. Just another quick question, if I were to apply for the WHV, will I qualify if I say I am engaged on the application form? And when I apply for the partner visa onshore, will it have any implications?

Thank you in advance,
Visaoz[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pepsicola47 -

(Actually enjoying a Pepsi right now!)

Thanks for the note. No way I know of to transfer fee from 103 to 143 visa. Current wait time for 103 is quoted as 13+ years.

Re: friend and further sc600 visa, impossible to predict - at some point people who lodge multiple visitor visa applications either get an 8503 attached or refused, if DIBP thinks they are trying to establish residence in Australia. No way to tell how close your friend is to that point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pepsicola47 said:


> Hi Mark, saw the news on no more subclass 103 soon.
> My mum is considering applying to either subclass 103 or 143.
> My mum is 59 years old this year, what would the minimum time she would have to spend on the queue?
> And is the application fee of 2370 transferable to the 143 if I decide to shorten the wait later on?
> 
> On another unrelated question, my friend has been granted a visitor visa subclass 600 before without a no further stay condition, and if she were to apply again after around 6-9 months, how likely is it to get a no further stay condition?
> Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markp -

Thanks for the note. We always recommend typed documents sent in PDF format as handwriting (even the best) can be hard to read by some - no need to take the risk - better to type.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Markp said:


> Just a quick question Mark.I have to do a letter about my relationship with Svitlana.Can a type the document in pdf or does it have to be handwritten as my handwriting is bad.Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Satheeshkme -

Thanks for the question. Sorry to say, but you can only claim one qualification for points for a skilled visa, so you'd get 15 points for the Bachelor degree and none for the Diploma.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



satheeshkme said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I did my Degree - Engineering with Major Computer Science and also Diploma with major computer technology. ACS have assessed both the degree and also diploma . The outcome was, they approved degree equal to AQF bachelor degree and Diploma equal to AQF diploma. My question is , am i eligible to use points for Degree - 15points and diploma - 5 points?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pauly303 -

I'm that migration guy who's been to Atlanta, George (and had great BBQ there) 
Thanks for the note - no difference in meeting vs Skype, office, phone - happy to work with you all ways. I would handle your meeting myself and we could discuss the evidence and statements you plan to submit and any other questions about your upcoming PMV application.

Congratulations on the birth of your son! I would move forward with the citizenship by descent process at your earliest opportunity and get him a passport.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pauly303 said:


> Hi Mark.
> Im that aussie guy residing in Tbilisi, Georgia.
> Having been here nearing the maximum stay period i have some brief questions for you.
> 1)Is there any difference in booking a meeting with yourself or one of your associates a meeting and start working ASAP to strengthen the case for my PMV.
> 2)We have a son (now one mounth old) - is it benefitital to apply for his birth certificate by decent while i am still in the country,(signed, Translated and Apostille) for our PMV, or can i go ahead of my wife and little boy. I reside in ST. Ives so getting to your Parramatta office should be more effective then a skype consultation. I am nearing the end end of my my 12 month and sense some urgency in starting work to strengthen the Application.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Franzi91 -

Thanks for the note. As partner visas are taking 9-12 months in many cases, I'd be patient at this point. Make sure they have all of the documents you need to upload, etc but I wouldn't yet bug them about status.

Re: student visa, cancelling that will also cancel your bridging visa for the partner application (but won't affect the actual partner application - that will continue as usual). But cancelling the student visa will leave you unlawful in Australia (rendering any time spent here before that date unusable for the citizenship residency requirement), force you to go get a Bridging Visa E (which would not allow you to get back into the country) and ask for work rights if you can show financial hardship. Would suggest talking to a migration agent before you do a cancellation so you understand all of the nasty side effects of the process, as there are more than a few.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Franzi91 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I applied for a partner visa last year in December and a bridging visa A was granted but is currently not in action as I still hold a valid student visa until 2016. My question is whether there is a way to cancel the student visa, without cancelling my visa application for the partner visa?
> Another question I have is whether I can give the department of immigration a phone call to get an update on my application or will they just get annoyed about that? The reason I ask is that I received an email in January saying my application is a valid one and it was signed by a case officer, so I assumed this case officer processes my application, but then just a couple of weeks ago I received another 'do not reply' emails which said things like ...if you haven't send already this document do so, and it listed a whole bunch of them. Then it said when they received all documents my application will be passed onto a case officer and be further processed. This confused me a lot, as I was pretty sure that I sent all necessary documentation, but now I do not know whether or not my application is missing some stuff or is with a case officer by now. I would just like to give them a call and hear if everything is in order and they don't need more evidence. Can you tell me if it is allowed to call them about things like that, or should I just hang in there and wait???
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xuxa -

Thanks for the note and kind words!

Re: higher points, may help get an invitation faster; no difference in visa processing time.

Re: time of year, usually the quotas are reset in July so that may help; however that's also when they tend to remove occupations (or move them) from the skilled and sponsored occupation lists so there is both a potential benefit and a potential hazard to waiting until after 1 July. I'd probably lodge as soon as you have everything in place and see what transpires.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xuxa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've been browsing through the forum and found a lot of your posts really helpful, so thanks a lot for taking the time to respond to all our questions!
> 
> I'm intending to apply for a 189 visa and have a couple questions:
> 
> 1) I have not lodged my EOI yet (still waiting for my skill assessment outcome) but I should be able to achieve 75 points through SS. Will having a high points score make it faster for my visa to be assigned a CO and then granted, or will it only help me get an invitation faster?
> 
> 2) I realize we're approaching the end of the Australian fiscal year. Does it make any difference at all if I apply now or wait until July? For example, is it possible that come July, my occupation (mechanical engineer) will no longer appear on the SOL or might have reached some type of quota?
> 
> Thanks for your help!


----------



## dharabaskar

*State sponsorship - 190*

Hi Mark,

Please update me if any SS is open for "Analyst Programmer".

Also Is it possible to apply for "Software Engineer" having the ACS certificate in "Analyst Programmer" ?

Thanks
VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Thanks for the note. If she is not onshore in Australia when you lodge the application, she will not get a visa. However if she comes here on another visa (visitor visa, etc), you may be able to manually apply for a bridging visa associated with the onshore application you made for her. This would, if granted, take effect when her visitor, etc visa ends. There may be some tricky aspects to this depending on the type of visitor visa given and the conditions on that visa - you may want to consult a migration agent for more detailed advice about her situation and how to get her here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Please enlighten me on this. I believe once lodged online, I will get a Bridging visa A which entitles me to work and live here in Australia while waiting for the decision of my Temporary Partner Visa.
> 
> My question is if I include my daughter who is the Philippines 17 years old , will she be given a bridging visa as well? Please elaborate and clear my mind on this matter.
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megzchong -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on your engagement! The fact that he is working now at a stable job is a big plus. Additionally, if his family was able to write letters offering support with accommodation, etc to you and he, that would also help strengthen his case. I expect that between the family evidence of financial support and his job, that would have a reasonable chance of getting through - especially since there are no specified minimum income requirements for sponsors at this point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> this is Meg from Philippines. I have an Australian citizen fiance and he lives in South Australia area. We only met online and he went here in Philippines to see me and my family for almost 3 weeks last July 2012 and we got engaged when he got back to his country last August 2012. I have had tourist stay with his family last December 2012 and 2013, both for 3 months. He is currently working as service station attendant in OTR. We are planning to apply this year for the wedding next year, hopefully. He doesnt have a lot of money,no own car and no own house and he just started this new job March 2013. When I get there for good, we will stay in his family's house til we save for our own. We are planning to apply PMV as soon as we have saved enough for the PMV which will be more or less 4 grand.
> 
> Him without these cars and house can affect the application? We are both afraid to apply soon because if we fail it, we will wait again til he saves money and 4 grand is big amount to lose.
> 
> Thanks Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Unley -

Thanks for the note. I don't have enough info to advise you specifically, but I would check out the subclass 300 prospective marriage visa. It allows entry to Australia for a 9 month period to enable you to marry here and then lodge a further onshore partner visa application after you're married.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



unley said:


> Hi Mark
> I just want to know which is the best way to allow my fiancee coming to Australia from Vietnam.
> I'm Australian and was born in Adelaide. I met my fiancee few times in Vietnam before and we decided to get marry next year.
> She is a widow who married a Singapore man and stayed in Singapore for few years before he died. Then she had to returned back to Vietnam.
> I know that tourist visa is not the right decision because she will not be able to come back until after 18 months.
> 
> She have never applied for a visa for Australia and I have never arranged any visa in the past.
> 
> Can you give me some quick advise where I can start please?
> 
> I am very confusing with offshore temporary and permanant visa
> 
> I will visit Vietnam again next week ( 30/05/14 ) for a month and I would like to know so I can give a good start to arrange visa for her.
> 
> Thank you for your time
> 
> Unley (Mark)


----------



## megzchong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Megzchong -
> 
> Thanks for the note and congratulations on your engagement! The fact that he is working now at a stable job is a big plus. Additionally, if his family was able to write letters offering support with accommodation, etc to you and he, that would also help strengthen his case. I expect that between the family evidence of financial support and his job, that would have a reasonable chance of getting through - especially since there are no specified minimum income requirements for sponsors at this point.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for taking stress out of us about this case. I am afraid there is a bond for his family for them to say that they are more than happy to provide accommodation for both of us. This might help, When I had tourist for 3 months last December 2012 and 2013, his dad wrote the letter of invitation and provided his and his wifes payslips for proof. I think this bond would be at least 5000 AUD? I am afraid they wont provide just for the sake of me applying for PMV and i dont think they would even have that kind of money (even if I know this bond would be refunded anyway).

Regards.
Megz


----------



## Laam

*457*

Hi Mark,
I'm a 457 visa applicant in ACT, my boss will open another branch in Darwin and they wanna transfer me over there to help set up the new shop. My current sponsoring employer will be one of the owners of the Darwin shop, the trading name will be the same but the registered company name may be different (while new investor joining in).
I might need to stay there for half year or a little bit longer, and then i will come back to ACT and stay here as usual. 
Will this have any effect about my 457 working requirements/ conditions because of changing location of workplace? 
If my current sponsoring employer will still be responsible for paying my salary and tax while I'm in another state, does it mean I'm still considered as working for the same sponsor and i don't need to declare the change of workplace to the immi? Coz actually i'm still working for my boss under the same contract even they transfer me there.

Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Laam -

Thanks for the note. It's likely that the new company would need to apply to become SBS sponsors, then lodge a nomination for your position, then you could transfer over. A new ownership situation with a new ABN number would tend to indicate they'd have to become SBS sponsors, but would need to know the exact details of what remains the same and what changes in the branch, plus the specific relationship between that company and your current sponsor in order to give you any specific advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Laam said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm a 457 visa applicant in ACT, my boss will open another branch in Darwin and they wanna transfer me over there to help set up the new shop. My current sponsoring employer will be one of the owners of the Darwin shop, the trading name will be the same but the registered company name may be different (while new investor joining in).
> I might need to stay there for half year or a little bit longer, and then i will come back to ACT and stay here as usual.
> Will this have any effect about my 457 working requirements/ conditions because of changing location of workplace?
> If my current sponsoring employer will still be responsible for paying my salary and tax while I'm in another state, does it mean I'm still considered as working for the same sponsor and i don't need to declare the change of workplace to the immi? Coz actually i'm still working for my boss under the same contract even they transfer me there.
> 
> Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

The good news is that there are no bond provisions for the PMV, so I'd suggest putting together the evidence of job, parents financial support, etc and lodge with the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for taking stress out of us about this case. I am afraid there is a bond for his family for them to say that they are more than happy to provide accommodation for both of us. This might help, When I had tourist for 3 months last December 2012 and 2013, his dad wrote the letter of invitation and provided his and his wifes payslips for proof. I think this bond would be at least 5000 AUD? I am afraid they wont provide just for the sake of me applying for PMV and i dont think they would even have that kind of money (even if I know this bond would be refunded anyway).
> 
> Regards.
> Megz


----------



## Echovald

Hi Mark, just a number of questions.
First of all my friend is on a bridging visa which will expire at the end of the year. He does not want to go back onto a student visa (if it were possible), and now we are considering what his options are... we have looked into getting him a 457 visa, but I hear that there were extensive costs involved with that, sums up to $15,000. I would like to know if whether or not getting a 457 visa is as "simple" as finding a job/employee willing to sponsor him. Furthermore, what options would you recommend for him? We have also considered RSM visa. He has a wide range of certificates in chef, a masters degree from an australian university in IT along with many other qualifications.

Do you think you could very briefly direct us as to where we should be looking, and above all, what we should be doing? He has arranged to meet with a lawyer, but I would like to hear your thoughts, being a registered immigration officer


----------



## Marry Tran

*12 months waive de factor relationship*

Hi Mark, 
I am Marry, I and my boyfriend living together for 8 months already as a de factor relationship. However, under immigration laws, to satisfy a de factor relationship, we need 12 months living together to be eligible for it. We recently applied and received a relationship certificate under NSW birth, deaths and marriages registration Act 1995. Does that mean we satisfy for the exemption of 12months relationship which is " the relationship is registered under a law of a state or territory prescribed in the Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2008 as a kind of relationship prescribed in those regulations"?

My partner is a New Zealand citizen and he want to apply for permanent residency (PR) in Australia, and I will be included in the application as the second applicant (if he and me satisfied de factor relationship). So if he get PR, will i get it too at the same time?

Thank you, 
Marry


----------



## aperson

Hi Mark
I am currently unemployed and intend to apply for the Class 189 visa. My occupation is on the SOL (external auditor). I am aware that being presently employed is not a condition for the visa. However, I don’t how the case officer would view that in his interview once I have submitted my application. Is this a factor that is given a lot of weight by case officers?

Regards


----------



## The_Welshman

*Visa Solution for 31+*

Hi Mark,

First of all, thank you so much for opening a thread like this. Reading through the other posts I can see you've helped a lot of people with your replies. Hopefully you can do the same for me.

Me and my fiance are in the early stages of planning to head over to Australia (in a year or so - so quite a way away). Our plan was to come over for a year, working for 6 months to earn some money, travelling around for the last 6 months, and then moving on to South America. I'm guessing the obvious visa choice here would be the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) which I would qualify for as I'm 27 years old. My fiance however is now 31 so would not qualify for this visa. I've been looking at other types of visas she could apply for, and from what I've gathered it's going to be quite complicated.

Now if she were able to obtain a Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457), or possibly a Temporary Work (Long Stay Activity) visa (subclass 401) - (not sure about this one) - my understanding is that she would need to keep working for her sponsor. Once she leaves her sponsor (for example after 6 months to travel around the country) she would then only have 90 days to find a new sponsor or would have to leave the country. I guess my main question is this: If she were to leave her sponsor after 6 months, could she then maybe apply for a Visitor visa (subclass 600) so we had longer than the 90 days?

I'd love to know what your thoughts are on this, and if you have any other/better solutions to our problem.

Kind Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VJ -

Best way is to check each state site - that's what we have to do each time a client is interested in state sponsorship - the state data changes frequently so you need to check regularly.

Re: skills assessment, occupation must match the occupation you are applying for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Please update me if any SS is open for "Analyst Programmer".
> 
> Also Is it possible to apply for "Software Engineer" having the ACS certificate in "Analyst Programmer" ?
> 
> Thanks
> VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Echovald -

Thanks for the note. First to clarify, I'm a registered migration agent (RMA), not an "officer" - officers work for the Dept of Immigration (I do not!). My role is as a specialist in visas and migration to help identify the best visa(s) for people and assist them through the process of application, and review etc as necessary.

Usually a bridging visa is related to another visa application - either an application that has been lodged and is awaiting a decision, or an application that has been refused and is awaiting review at the MRT or RRT. The details of this other visa application would be very important in determining what his options may be. RSMS or 457 can be a good fit if you have a sponsoring employer and if the applicant is a good fit for the position in terms of experience and qualifications.

Again, would need to know much more about an applicant's specific circumstances in order to give any specific advice - you may want to consider a professional consultation where we go over the applicant's situation in great detail, answer all questions, and help create a complete migration plan - see our website link below for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Echovald said:


> Hi Mark, just a number of questions.
> First of all my friend is on a bridging visa which will expire at the end of the year. He does not want to go back onto a student visa (if it were possible), and now we are considering what his options are... we have looked into getting him a 457 visa, but I hear that there were extensive costs involved with that, sums up to $15,000. I would like to know if whether or not getting a 457 visa is as "simple" as finding a job/employee willing to sponsor him. Furthermore, what options would you recommend for him? We have also considered RSM visa. He has a wide range of certificates in chef, a masters degree from an australian university in IT along with many other qualifications.
> 
> Do you think you could very briefly direct us as to where we should be looking, and above all, what we should be doing? He has arranged to meet with a lawyer, but I would like to hear your thoughts, being a registered immigration officer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marry -

Thanks for the questions. Whether the 12 month defacto relationship living together requirement is automatically satisfied by the relationship registration depends on the specific visa subclass your partner is applying for. For many visas the registration requirement does satisfy the 12 month defacto living together requirement, but not all. In addition to the 12 month living together requirement, DIBP will require sufficient evidence to satisfy them that the defacto relationship is genuine - this is a separate assessment from the 12 month living together requirement.

Do note that DIBP considers a defacto partnership to be very similar to being married, just without the marriage certificate, etc. DIBP considers a defacto partnership generally to be at a much higher level of commitment, etc than boyfriend/girlfriend.

If your partner is approved for the visa and if DIBP is satisfied that your defacto partnership relationship is genuine, then as a secondary applicant you would be approved too as long as you met all the requirements for the particular visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Marry Tran said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am Marry, I and my boyfriend living together for 8 months already as a de factor relationship. However, under immigration laws, to satisfy a de factor relationship, we need 12 months living together to be eligible for it. We recently applied and received a relationship certificate under NSW birth, deaths and marriages registration Act 1995. Does that mean we satisfy for the exemption of 12months relationship which is " the relationship is registered under a law of a state or territory prescribed in the Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2008 as a kind of relationship prescribed in those regulations"?
> 
> My partner is a New Zealand citizen and he want to apply for permanent residency (PR) in Australia, and I will be included in the application as the second applicant (if he and me satisfied de factor relationship). So if he get PR, will i get it too at the same time?
> 
> Thank you,
> Marry


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aperson -

Not usually. As long as you meet all of the requirements for the skills assessment and visa, and as long as you can justify all the points claimed via evidence, then that's generally sufficient for the visa. Currently there are no DIBP requirements for work experience of any kind for the 189 visa, however many skills assessors have some sort of work experience requirement in order to get the full skills assessment applicable for skilled migration.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aperson said:


> Hi Mark
> I am currently unemployed and intend to apply for the Class 189 visa. My occupation is on the SOL (external auditor). I am aware that being presently employed is not a condition for the visa. However, I don't how the case officer would view that in his interview once I have submitted my application. Is this a factor that is given a lot of weight by case officers?
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi The_Welshman -

Thanks for the questions - happy to help. I think you have the situation well understood - some form of visitor visa is likely the best solution for her to accompany you on your WH visa. It is possible to apply for a further visitor visa after a 457 visa has expired, but applying for one while the 457 visa is still running can be problematic. It's not impossible (ie, no legal impediment I know of) but immigration may have questions in terms of the "genuine visitor" requirement given that a person has already been here working on a 457 visa. Hard to predict if that would be successful or not as it would come down to the case officer and his/her assessment of the genuine visitor requirement as it applies to the specific circumstances of the case.

You might also look at a longer-term visitor visa instead of the 457, however that would not allow work and no way to add work rights to that sort of a visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



The_Welshman said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all, thank you so much for opening a thread like this. Reading through the other posts I can see you've helped a lot of people with your replies. Hopefully you can do the same for me.
> 
> Me and my fiance are in the early stages of planning to head over to Australia (in a year or so - so quite a way away). Our plan was to come over for a year, working for 6 months to earn some money, travelling around for the last 6 months, and then moving on to South America. I'm guessing the obvious visa choice here would be the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) which I would qualify for as I'm 27 years old. My fiance however is now 31 so would not qualify for this visa. I've been looking at other types of visas she could apply for, and from what I've gathered it's going to be quite complicated.
> 
> Now if she were able to obtain a Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457), or possibly a Temporary Work (Long Stay Activity) visa (subclass 401) - (not sure about this one) - my understanding is that she would need to keep working for her sponsor. Once she leaves her sponsor (for example after 6 months to travel around the country) she would then only have 90 days to find a new sponsor or would have to leave the country. I guess my main question is this: If she were to leave her sponsor after 6 months, could she then maybe apply for a Visitor visa (subclass 600) so we had longer than the 90 days?
> 
> I'd love to know what your thoughts are on this, and if you have any other/better solutions to our problem.
> 
> Kind Regards.


----------



## Marry Tran

*12 month defacto relationship*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Marry -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Whether the 12 month defacto relationship living together requirement is automatically satisfied by the relationship registration depends on the specific visa subclass your partner is applying for. For many visas the registration requirement does satisfy the 12 month defacto living together requirement, but not all. In addition to the 12 month living together requirement, DIBP will require sufficient evidence to satisfy them that the defacto relationship is genuine - this is a separate assessment from the 12 month living together requirement.
> 
> Do note that DIBP considers a defacto partnership to be very similar to being married, just without the marriage certificate, etc. DIBP considers a defacto partnership generally to be at a much higher level of commitment, etc than boyfriend/girlfriend.
> 
> If your partner is approved for the visa and if DIBP is satisfied that your defacto partnership relationship is genuine, then as a secondary applicant you would be approved too as long as you met all the requirements for the particular visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, 
Thank you for your answers. As I said above, the relationship is 8 months already. At the beginning of our relationship, we already stared to plan for our future. We can provide DIBP with some kind of evidences to prove the relationship is genuine such as living address, financial sharing, pictures, receipts of household payments. I have visa subclass 573 at the moment and his is 444. We have been preparing to apply for visa 461 for me with de factor relationship, and he will be the sponsor. Do you think those evidences above can help me to prove our de factor relationship is genuine. And can I get visa 461 with that relationship?

Furthermore, if my visa 461 is approved, then we will apply for PR (subclass 186) with his boss nomination. As you said before, if the main applicator, which is my partner, is approved, and our relationship satisfied DIBP's requirements, the second applicator, which is me, will be approved too. So with our visa subclass at the moment, do you think they will work for our applications?

Thank you, 
Marry


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marry -

There are a number of issues to consider - first, does your 573 visa have any sort of a no further stay condition on it (ie, conditions 8534 or 8535 or 8503?)? Beyond that, you will need to provide detailed evidence of your defacto relatiosnhip with your partner. See the DIBP partner visa booklet for a breakdown of the 4 major types of relationship evidence - there are also a number of excellent threads/posts here on the forum about partner visa evidence. My experience with 461s recently is that they are looking very closely at the relationship, so I'd submit anything you can re: evidence. Registration of relationship is a good idea as additional evidence.

My feeling is that for a relationship of 8 months, it may be a challenge to prove defacto partnership - would strongly urge you to study all of the different types of evidence that you'll need and try to get as much as possible. Relationship statements will also be important from both of you + witnesses.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Marry Tran said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for your answers. As I said above, the relationship is 8 months already. At the beginning of our relationship, we already stared to plan for our future. We can provide DIBP with some kind of evidences to prove the relationship is genuine such as living address, financial sharing, pictures, receipts of household payments. I have visa subclass 573 at the moment and his is 444. We have been preparing to apply for visa 461 for me with de factor relationship, and he will be the sponsor. Do you think those evidences above can help me to prove our de factor relationship is genuine. And can I get visa 461 with that relationship?
> 
> Furthermore, if my visa 461 is approved, then we will apply for PR (subclass 186) with his boss nomination. As you said before, if the main applicator, which is my partner, is approved, and our relationship satisfied DIBP's requirements, the second applicator, which is me, will be approved too. So with our visa subclass at the moment, do you think they will work for our applications?
> 
> Thank you,
> Marry


----------



## HHanif

Hi Mark,

I was granted student visa 573 with validity from May 1 2014. My course enrolment begins from 15th July and my university accommodation move in date is 7th July. I wanted to travel to Australia in May but my case officer recommended me to travel "few" weeks prior to my course start date or it will be a breach of visa condition. I am now looking at 21st june as my travel date as I want to go on house hunting before my semester activities begin. Any advise on this?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HHanif -

Thanks for the note. I have never before heard of a problem with a student entering Australia at any time they wish to after the eligibility date of their student visa but before they start their courses. The case officer determines the eligibility date of the visa, so that's where any concern about that would be reflected. I don't know what condition would be breached, since you would be enroled in a course during that time (I assume), it's just that the course has not yet started.

You should also note that your Condition 8105 work rights to work 40 hrs per fortnight (I assume this is what is on your visa) only start on the official commencement date of your course, and you would not be able to work at all prior to that date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HHanif said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was granted student visa 573 with validity from May 1 2014. My course enrolment begins from 15th July and my university accommodation move in date is 7th July. I wanted to travel to Australia in May but my case officer recommended me to travel "few" weeks prior to my course start date or it will be a breach of visa condition. I am now looking at 21st june as my travel date as I want to go on house hunting before my semester activities begin. Any advise on this?


----------



## HHanif

MarkNortham said:


> Hi HHanif -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I have never before heard of a problem with a student entering Australia at any time they wish to after the eligibility date of their student visa but before they start their courses. The case officer determines the eligibility date of the visa, so that's where any concern about that would be reflected. I don't know what condition would be breached, since you would be enroled in a course during that time (I assume), it's just that the course has not yet started.
> 
> You should also note that your Condition 8105 work rights to work 40 hrs per fortnight (I assume this is what is on your visa) only start on the official commencement date of your course, and you would not be able to work at all prior to that date.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark for your reply

My enrolment begins on 15th July. Course commences 29th July. I just want to arrive earlier to arrange accommodation date. I was myself pretty confused as my validity date is clearly stated 1st May on my visa. This is the reply I got from my case officer

"If you arrive too early you could breach your visa conditions because you should be studying while in Australia. It is not recommended that you arrive more than a few weeks prior to commencing your studies"


----------



## MarkNortham

Very interesting... I'd guess you are safe arriving around the accommodation date or slightly before in order to make your arrangements here. I suppose if they wanted to get excited about you getting here early, you'd need to show a reasonable excuse for why you arrived on the date you did.

Best,

Mark Northam



HHanif said:


> Thanks Mark for your reply
> 
> My enrolment begins on 15th July. Course commences 29th July. I just want to arrive earlier to arrange accommodation date. I was myself pretty confused as my validity date is clearly stated 1st May on my visa. This is the reply I got from my case officer
> 
> "If you arrive too early you could breach your visa conditions because you should be studying while in Australia. It is not recommended that you arrive more than a few weeks prior to commencing your studies"


----------



## HHanif

MarkNortham said:


> Very interesting... I'd guess you are safe arriving around the accommodation date or slightly before in order to make your arrangements here. I suppose if they wanted to get excited about you getting here early, you'd need to show a reasonable excuse for why you arrived on the date you did.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Shouldn't arriving 2-3 weeks prior to orientation date be a suitable time frame for an international student keeping all the logistics from getting a flight to making accommodation arrangements? I wonder why was my validity date kept in May then if it was an issue. I have asked couple of people around who are there in australia and they all seem very surprised


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

You can add me to the list of surprised people - again, have never seen that sort of a comment from a case officer. The case officer has the ability to set the effective date of the visa to whatever makes sense given the circumstances.

Best,

Mark Northam



HHanif said:


> Shouldn't arriving 2-3 weeks prior to orientation date be a suitable time frame for an international student keeping all the logistics from getting a flight to making accommodation arrangements? I wonder why was my validity date kept in May then if it was an issue. I have asked couple of people around who are there in australia and they all seem very surprised


----------



## The_Welshman

*457 Visa Length of Validity*

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the reply. I guess we'll have to just see what we can do when we're out there. That's if we manage to get the 457 visa in the first place. Just one other quick question about the 457; once this has been applied for and granted how long is it valid for, i.e. how long would we have before we would need to enter Australia on this visa. I know that with the WH Visa I will have 12 months from when it is issued.

Thanks again.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi The_Welshman -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - happy to help. I think you have the situation well understood - some form of visitor visa is likely the best solution for her to accompany you on your WH visa. It is possible to apply for a further visitor visa after a 457 visa has expired, but applying for one while the 457 visa is still running can be problematic. It's not impossible (ie, no legal impediment I know of) but immigration may have questions in terms of the "genuine visitor" requirement given that a person has already been here working on a 457 visa. Hard to predict if that would be successful or not as it would come down to the case officer and his/her assessment of the genuine visitor requirement as it applies to the specific circumstances of the case.
> 
> You might also look at a longer-term visitor visa instead of the 457, however that would not allow work and no way to add work rights to that sort of a visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi The_Welshman -

Thanks for the questions - the duration of the 457 visa is whatever is specified by the sponsoring employer in the nomination that was lodged for this particular position - can be up to 4 years max. As for entry date, these are normally applied for by people who have an employer contract pending or in place for a job, so you're expected to enter Australia fairly quickly after visa approval - a matter of weeks typically.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



The_Welshman said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the reply. I guess we'll have to just see what we can do when we're out there. That's if we manage to get the 457 visa in the first place. Just one other quick question about the 457; once this has been applied for and granted how long is it valid for, i.e. how long would we have before we would need to enter Australia on this visa. I know that with the WH Visa I will have 12 months from when it is issued.
> 
> Thanks again.


----------



## HHanif

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> You can add me to the list of surprised people - again, have never seen that sort of a comment from a case officer. The case officer has the ability to set the effective date of the visa to whatever makes sense given the circumstances.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


What would be more advisable? Travelling on the desired date and leave it upto fortune or discussing it with my case officer first?


----------



## MarkNortham

Since the case officer has proposed this "caution" re: entering too early, I would advise proposing to him your planned entry date, explain why, and ask him if this would be satisfactory. If he won't answer, then at least you can show you tried.

Best,

Mark



HHanif said:


> What would be more advisable? Travelling on the desired date and leave it upto fortune or discussing it with my case officer first?


----------



## HHanif

MarkNortham said:


> Since the case officer has proposed this "caution" re: entering too early, I would advise proposing to him your planned entry date, explain why, and ask him if this would be satisfactory. If he won't answer, then at least you can show you tried.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Seems sensible enough. Thanks for all the help Mark


----------



## Ninja69

Good Day Mark! 

Quick question : I am a resident in Japan for the last 8 years 2006 up to the present.Where will I get police clearance? From Japan? I was born in the Philippines. what about health check? I am applying onshore and I arrived here in December went back to Philippines in March then back April 1st then leaving on June 16 for Indonesia then back in Melbourne after 10 days.

By the time I apply my application I have been living here for 9 months considering I will file the application in September. One year relationship in August 2014 so just right timing after one year of being in a defacto relationship with my partner. 

Thank you Mark in advance! 
Waiting for your reply.
Ninja 69


----------



## cathy2014

Hi Mark,

Got a question, can you opt not to include partner (husband) but only children in applying for a permanent visa? Husband and wife still legally married but because of differences husband refuses (i know stupid!) to come. Are there consequences to that and will that affect the application?
Also are the points after EOI confirmation valid already? Or are the final points decided upon after submission of the application.
Thank you!

cathy2014


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Thanks for the questions. You can take your health exam at any DIBP approved panel doctor location outside Australia or in Australia at any DIBP approved location - the location is up to you. Re: police clearances, you will need one from any country you spent a total of 12 months or more in during the last 10 years. DIBP has a guide to getting character checks from each country - best to google that - the guide has specific instructions for each country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Good Day Mark!
> 
> Quick question : I am a resident in Japan for the last 8 years 2006 up to the present.Where will I get police clearance? From Japan? I was born in the Philippines. what about health check? I am applying onshore and I arrived here in December went back to Philippines in March then back April 1st then leaving on June 16 for Indonesia then back in Melbourne after 10 days.
> 
> By the time I apply my application I have been living here for 9 months considering I will file the application in September. One year relationship in August 2014 so just right timing after one year of being in a defacto relationship with my partner.
> 
> Thank you Mark in advance!
> Waiting for your reply.
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cathy -

Thanks for the questions. I'm guessing you are asking about a subclass 189 or 190 permanent skilled visa. Re: husband, OK to include as a non-migrating family member, however he would still need to undergo health checks even if not migrating. Re: points, these are locked in at the time you are invited by DIBP to apply for a visa - cannot be changed after that, so that's why you want to make sure that your EOI reflects only those claims for points that you can fully document/evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cathy2014 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Got a question, can you opt not to include partner (husband) but only children in applying for a permanent visa? Husband and wife still legally married but because of differences husband refuses (i know stupid!) to come. Are there consequences to that and will that affect the application?
> Also are the points after EOI confirmation valid already? Or are the final points decided upon after submission of the application.
> Thank you!
> 
> cathy2014


----------



## esl

Hi Mark,

Could you, or someone else, give me a quick run down on the payments for a 801/820 visa please?

I understand that it is approximately $5,000 with $3095(?) payable upon lodging the application online.

When is the rest payable?

Or do I have it all wrong?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## CollegeGirl

Since yours is an easy question, esl, I don't think Mark will mind me jumping in and fielding it. 

*You're applying onshore for a partner visa, and are NOT already in the country on a Prospective Marriage Visa, is that correct? *If that's the case, the cost for the 820/801 is $4575 for the applicant, and (if you have dependents you are bringing with you) an additional $2290 for each dependent over 18, and an additional $1145 for each dependent under 18. There is NO further charge after this.

Do keep in mind that if you are paying by credit card there's an additional credit card surcharge on top of that that varies depending on the type of card you use - between 1.08% and 2.91%.

This is all payable immediately on application.

All of this is detailed in DIBP's Fees and Charges Table.


----------



## esl

Yes, that is correct. We are married already, no dependants, and she is in the country now having a look around and loves it. Thanks so much CG


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks, CG!

Best,

Mark


----------



## unley

Hi Mark

Thank you for your advice. What is RMV? Is it the same as subclass 300?
We are planning to marry in Vietnam and how can I help my fiancee to fill in the form while she in Vietnam? Do I have to go to Australian Embassy there?

Thanks again

Unley


Hi Unley -

Thanks for the note. I don't have enough info to advise you specifically, but I would check out the subclass 300 prospective marriage visa. It allows entry to Australia for a 9 month period to enable you to marry here and then lodge a further onshore partner visa application after you're married.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Quote:
Originally Posted by unley View Post 
Hi Mark
I just want to know which is the best way to allow my fiancee coming to Australia from Vietnam. 
I'm Australian and was born in Adelaide. I met my fiancee few times in Vietnam before and we decided to get marry next year. 
She is a widow who married a Singapore man and stayed in Singapore for few years before he died. Then she had to returned back to Vietnam.
I know that tourist visa is not the right decision because she will not be able to come back until after 18 months.

She have never applied for a visa for Australia and I have never arranged any visa in the past.

Can you give me some quick advise where I can start please? 

I am very confusing with offshore temporary and permanant visa 

I will visit Vietnam again next week ( 30/05/14 ) for a month and I would like to know so I can give a good start to arrange visa for her.

Thank you for your time

Unley (Mark)


----------



## silenteyes

*regarding 187 visa*

Hi Mark.

I have applied 187 visa on april 2014 . my nomination was approved on dec 2013. Currently waiting for case officer . I am not sure when i will get my case officer but in mean time i have to go to overseases .I mean i have to travel oversease for 1 week. Curently i am on 457 visa . it will expire on dec 2015. So can i travel to overseas or not . Could please give me advise .thank you waiting for your reply


----------



## glen.

Hi Mark.

I am all set to apply 457 dependent visa for my wife and son, but just now came to know that i need to have a letter from my employer mentioning that he will sponsor my wife and son also.

Can you please tell me what exact wording do i need to get mentioned in that letter from employer. and what other document do i need to take from my employer to apply dependent visa for my wife and son.

any specimen or any sample letter, which could help.

Thanks..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Unley -

Sorry - typo! PMV stands for Prospective Marriage Visa, the subclass 300 fiance visa - all the same thing. Suggest you lodge online, not on paper - easy to then fill forms online for her, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



unley said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for your advice. What is RMV? Is it the same as subclass 300?
> We are planning to marry in Vietnam and how can I help my fiancee to fill in the form while she in Vietnam? Do I have to go to Australian Embassy there?
> 
> Thanks again
> 
> Unley
> 
> Hi Unley -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I don't have enough info to advise you specifically, but I would check out the subclass 300 prospective marriage visa. It allows entry to Australia for a 9 month period to enable you to marry here and then lodge a further onshore partner visa application after you're married.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Quote:
> Originally Posted by unley View Post
> Hi Mark
> I just want to know which is the best way to allow my fiancee coming to Australia from Vietnam.
> I'm Australian and was born in Adelaide. I met my fiancee few times in Vietnam before and we decided to get marry next year.
> She is a widow who married a Singapore man and stayed in Singapore for few years before he died. Then she had to returned back to Vietnam.
> I know that tourist visa is not the right decision because she will not be able to come back until after 18 months.
> 
> She have never applied for a visa for Australia and I have never arranged any visa in the past.
> 
> Can you give me some quick advise where I can start please?
> 
> I am very confusing with offshore temporary and permanant visa
> 
> I will visit Vietnam again next week ( 30/05/14 ) for a month and I would like to know so I can give a good start to arrange visa for her.
> 
> Thank you for your time
> 
> Unley (Mark)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Silenteyes -

457 visa allows travel in and out of Australia as you like. Not sure if there is any other aspect of your case that would be an issue with travel. I assume you are still employed by your 457 employer and will be for the duration of the trip, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



silenteyes said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> I have applied 187 visa on april 2014 . my nomination was approved on dec 2013. Currently waiting for case officer . I am not sure when i will get my case officer but in mean time i have to go to overseases .I mean i have to travel oversease for 1 week. Curently i am on 457 visa . it will expire on dec 2015. So can i travel to overseas or not . Could please give me advise .thank you waiting for your reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Glen -

Basically a letter from your employer on company letterhead, scanned so you can upload to DIBP, saying something like:

To: Department of Immigration and Border Protection:

We hereby extend the benefits of the existing nomination of [your-name] to his dependents [name here] and [name here].

Then just make sure it's signed and has contact info for the employer in case DIBP needs to follow up.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



glen. said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> I am all set to apply 457 dependent visa for my wife and son, but just now came to know that i need to have a letter from my employer mentioning that he will sponsor my wife and son also.
> 
> Can you please tell me what exact wording do i need to get mentioned in that letter from employer. and what other document do i need to take from my employer to apply dependent visa for my wife and son.
> 
> any specimen or any sample letter, which could help.
> 
> Thanks..


----------



## enida

Hi Mr.Mark,

I hope you are well. Please could you provide me your opinion regarding a question I have? I am Albanian, born and raised in Albania but through descent I have the right to apply for Greek citizenship. I performed the oath procedure for becoming a Greek citizen on 10th December but when I lodged the EOI on 7th March and when asked if I have another citizenship except the Albanian one I replied no. On 9th April I received a letter from the respective Greek authority that quotes that I was registered as a Greek citizen in xxx city and that I had gained the citizenship since December. Now my problem is that in the EOI report I seem to have only one citizenship while in reality I had two in the moment of submitting? Do you think this is an issue I have to preoccupy about? Do you think I can explain to the CO that I didn't know that I was a citizen since Dec and that I have thought that only when you register in a municipality you become one? Is this false/misleading information provided by me?

I have another issue. I declared in the EOI the name of my first employer as 'Advance Business Solutions', but when I received the references and all other documents it results that in the logo the name appears as Advance Business Solutions but the real name is Advanced Business Solutions (with 'd' in the end). Do you think this is a problem? Will this be treated as a typo or as false info?

Thank you very much Mr.Mark.

All the best,
Enida


----------



## Ned

*Crisis! 457 De Facto*

Hi Mark

This may not be a crisis... but have only 24 hours in which to respond to case officer!

Summary.

Applied for 457 - through a migration agent. My employer has received their part of the application and all is approved for them.

Today, I followed up with my migration agent and they said they'd 'just heard' from my case officer and I needed to provide to them by this Friday Australia time, proof of our relationship by:

Copy of lease
- Statutory declarations setting out history/future of relationship
- Photographs together
- Evidence of Travel together and if spent time apart how you communicate (facebook, email etc)

We have no lease or joint bills as I bought the house 8 years ago before I met him. We have no joint bank accounts and my partner is a bit slack and hasn't changed his bank details to our address as he does it all online. I explained this to the migration agent and he said.... the following is sufficient:

'You just need the last 6 months of anything that shows that you are at the same address. Doesn't need to be the same document.

6 months of online bank statements, a joint account, 6. Mths payslips, 
Your mortgage doc or drivers license to show where you live.

Travel intinery and photos are additional.'

Sounds quite 'weak' in my eyes... but should I try and get as much as possible? On the stat dec front? Or, is a 457 visa, being a non-permanent one, not so critical?

It all seems a bit woolly?!

Thanks 
Ned


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enida -

If you have not received an invitation to apply for a visa yet, you can update your EOI with the corrected info. If you have received an application, suggest you lodge Form 1023 with the corrections.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enida said:


> Hi Mr.Mark,
> 
> I hope you are well. Please could you provide me your opinion regarding a question I have? I am Albanian, born and raised in Albania but through descent I have the right to apply for Greek citizenship. I performed the oath procedure for becoming a Greek citizen on 10th December but when I lodged the EOI on 7th March and when asked if I have another citizenship except the Albanian one I replied no. On 9th April I received a letter from the respective Greek authority that quotes that I was registered as a Greek citizen in xxx city and that I had gained the citizenship since December. Now my problem is that in the EOI report I seem to have only one citizenship while in reality I had two in the moment of submitting? Do you think this is an issue I have to preoccupy about? Do you think I can explain to the CO that I didn't know that I was a citizen since Dec and that I have thought that only when you register in a municipality you become one? Is this false/misleading information provided by me?
> 
> I have another issue. I declared in the EOI the name of my first employer as 'Advance Business Solutions', but when I received the references and all other documents it results that in the logo the name appears as Advance Business Solutions but the real name is Advanced Business Solutions (with 'd' in the end). Do you think this is a problem? Will this be treated as a typo or as false info?
> 
> Thank you very much Mr.Mark.
> 
> All the best,
> Enida


----------



## enida

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Enida -
> 
> If you have not received an invitation to apply for a visa yet, you can update your EOI with the corrected info. If you have received an application, suggest you lodge Form 1023 with the corrections.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Yes, I have received an invitation and I am going to lodge this week. Thank you very much for your precious advice.

Blessings,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ned -

The partner evidence for 457's is significantly less rigorous than for permanent visas such as the partner visa. The agent's advice seems sound - key is 6 months living together to evidence defacto relationship for 457 visa - things from third parties (bills, envelopes, letters, etc) is often the best evidence. Any in addition to that is good too (statements, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ned said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> This may not be a crisis... but have only 24 hours in which to respond to case officer!
> 
> Summary.
> 
> Applied for 457 - through a migration agent. My employer has received their part of the application and all is approved for them.
> 
> Today, I followed up with my migration agent and they said they'd 'just heard' from my case officer and I needed to provide to them by this Friday Australia time, proof of our relationship by:
> 
> Copy of lease
> - Statutory declarations setting out history/future of relationship
> - Photographs together
> - Evidence of Travel together and if spent time apart how you communicate (facebook, email etc)
> 
> We have no lease or joint bills as I bought the house 8 years ago before I met him. We have no joint bank accounts and my partner is a bit slack and hasn't changed his bank details to our address as he does it all online. I explained this to the migration agent and he said.... the following is sufficient:
> 
> 'You just need the last 6 months of anything that shows that you are at the same address. Doesn't need to be the same document.
> 
> 6 months of online bank statements, a joint account, 6. Mths payslips,
> Your mortgage doc or drivers license to show where you live.
> 
> Travel intinery and photos are additional.'
> 
> Sounds quite 'weak' in my eyes... but should I try and get as much as possible? On the stat dec front? Or, is a 457 visa, being a non-permanent one, not so critical?
> 
> It all seems a bit woolly?!
> 
> Thanks
> Ned


----------



## MarkNortham

Happy to help - you may be able to update the info on your visa application online, or if not then Form 1023 will do the trick. But if you'v received invitation then too late to update EOI probably.

Best,

Mark Northam



enida said:


> Yes, I have received an invitation and I am going to lodge this week. Thank you very much for your precious advice.
> 
> Blessings,


----------



## Lily88

*PY and 2 years study points*

Hi Mark,

I studied Master of Commerce in IT and I have a positive skill assessment as a Business Analyst from ACS. Also, I am currently studying professional year course. When I applied for my skill assessment and for professional year, I handed the documents related to my Master in Australia. However, I am considering getting another skill assessment as Developer Programmer because the cut off points is lower than Business Analyst. In order to get a positive skill assessment as Developer Programmer, I will have to apply with my Bachelor from my country (+ working experience) because I know that I won't get a positive skill assessment for this occupation if I apply with my Master in Australia.

My question is, if I get a positive skill assessment as a Developer Programmer with my studies from my country, can I still claim 5 points for my professional year course and 5 points for two years study in Australia?

Thanks


----------



## emivovo

Hello Mark

I have a question that's probably been asked a thousand times but I couldn't find it on the forum. We're applying for a pmv visa for my partner, would you advise doing the health check and police check before we submit our application? Or is it better to wait for the CO to contact us and tell us when to get them? Does it make a difference? 

Thanks very much
Emily


----------



## glen.

Hi Mark.

Will this kind of letter will be fine.

To
The Visa Officer,
Department of Immigration and Border Protection,
Australia

Sub: Regarding extending Nomination to Martin’s family.

Dear Sir/Ma’am,

We hereby extend the benefits of the existing nomination of Mr.Martin to his dependents. Mr. Martin is working as Manager with us since 1-10-2013. Detail of his family members is as under:-

Name Date of Birth Passport No.
Sheridan 21-09-1982 L123456
Henry 27-12-2012 L123456


If any other information is required in this matter, please feel free to contact us.

Thanks & regards
Will Smith
World Hotel Ltd.
ABC Building, XYZ Road,
Abcde, QLD – 4102
Tel No: 0061456789012


----------



## glen.

Hi Mark,
Will something like this will be fine, please advice if any change is required, Thanks a lot for your help.

To
The Visa Officer,
Department of Immigration and Border Protection,
Australia

Sub: Regarding extending Nomination to Martin's family.

Dear Sir/Ma'am,

We hereby extend the benefits of the existing nomination of Mr.Martin to his dependents. Mr. Mark is working as Manager with us since 1-10-2013. Detail of his family members is as under:-

Name Date of Birth Passport No.
Sheridan 21-09-1982 L123456
Henry 27-12-2012 L123456

If any other information is required in this matter, please feel free to contact us.

Thanks & regards
Will Smith
World Hotel Ltd.
ABC Building, XYZ Road,
Abcde, QLD - 4102
Tel No: 0061456789012



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Glen -
> 
> Basically a letter from your employer on company letterhead, scanned so you can upload to DIBP, saying something like:
> 
> To: Department of Immigration and Border Protection:
> 
> We hereby extend the benefits of the existing nomination of [your-name] to his dependents [name here] and [name here].
> 
> Then just make sure it's signed and has contact info for the employer in case DIBP needs to follow up.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## aperson

Hi Mark

I have read threads about horror stories for security checks for Pakistanis (Pakistan being a high risk country). A lot of people say that 1 year tends to be the standard with a minimum of 6 months and with many cases going upto 1.5 or 2 years. Just wanted to check with you:

1.	Have the processing times improved ever since the Skillselect regime has come into place since July 2012

2.	How does this play with the current processing times service charter which says that 75% of cases will be processed within 3 months. Is the external check time included in there? It cant be that applicants from high risk countries account for less than 25% of all applicants.

3.	I also get the impression that once the CO is allocated the external security check tends to be the most time-consuming step.

4.	How much does backlogs affect this. People have speculated that external checks overall can be faster or slower depending on the time of the year

Many thanks for your help.


----------



## rajitsin

Hi Mark

I am an accountant from india contemplating applying for Class 189 visa either in the general accountant or external auditor categories. Since I understand that the general accountant category is one of the flagged occupations, does that mean that the chances of the external auditor being removed from SOL is low or does it face the same chance of being removed as the general accountants.

I was also thinking about filing an EOI before 1 July 2014 in case my chosen occupation is removed. My IELTS results will be with me by that time. The skills assessment would be only thing pending. The skills assessment application with ICAA will be lodged probably simultaneously with the EOI. I figured that since ICAA takes 1 month for the assessment, I would still have time to apply when I receive the invitation to apply. 

Do you think an EOI lodged before a possible removal of the occupation will still be considered for giving an invitation? 

I understand that I have to give the skills assessment report number in the EOI. What if I file the skills assessment application and quote the receipt number. In the meantime I can get the skills assessment report well before the 60-day deadline to file the application expires.

Thanks
Raj


----------



## visaoz

Hi Mark

Yes that definitely helps. Thank you for your time and advice!

Visaoz



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Visaoz -
> 
> Just saying you are engaged should not be reason to refuse you the visa - being single (not engaged) is not a legal criteria for the visa. However, that being said, the WHM visa is still subject to the Genuine Visitor criteria - so if DIBP does not believe you are genuinely here for a temporary visit to work and sightsee, etc, that could be a reason for refusal potentially.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> QUOTE=visaoz;453257]Hi Mark
> 
> Many thanks for responding so quickly and for your advice. Just another quick question, if I were to apply for the WHV, will I qualify if I say I am engaged on the application form? And when I apply for the partner visa onshore, will it have any implications?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Visaoz


[/QUOTE]


----------



## fletchaman

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fletchaman -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. For the employer sponsored subclass 186 (ENS) visa, the employer "nominates" (not sponsors like on 457) the employee via lodging a nomination, and the employee then lodges a visa application for the nominated position. Both nom and visa app can be lodged online and right after each other (ie, don't need to wait for nom approval to lodge visa app) however generally the employer needs to start the process since they provide the info and docs necessary for the nom. The only risk generally in lodging both together is that if the nom is refused, that leaves the application to either be withdrawn or refused, with no refund available for either of those options.
> 
> For 186 without 2 years of prior experience for the nominating employer under a 457 visa, a skills assessment and evidence of 3 years work experience related to the occupation is required, plus the other requirements of the visa (best to check them out carefully with your agent or on DIBP website). Re: clout with skills assessors, impossible to tell.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for that Mark I have a much better understanding of that process now.
What we are now considerably confused about is that we have applied to ANMAC for OH skills assessment for Immigration, but she has received her certificate of registration from AHPRA stating she is now a registered NMW Practitioner in Australia under the Trans Tasman Agreement!! Question is why does she require the skills assessment if AHPRA recognise her skills and qualification??

Really confused


----------



## amy27

Dear Mark,

I came across with your helpful comments here to everyone in trouble and I am hoping you could give me some info too.

In general, I think if you loose MRT case and decide to file it with the Ministerial Intervention for further consideration, you will be given a BVE.
From then another long wait until the Minister gives an answer on BVE, however I am wanting to know if the BVE comes with both work rights and medicare eligibility?

If the BVA while on MRT HAD them both, would the BVE have them too?

Also - I know BVE will not let you come back in Australia once you depart. But what about a 3-year ban?

Thanks very much


----------



## jamuu04

Dear Mark,

Hope you're doing well.

I just submitted my EOI for visa subclass 189. I have been with 3 companies in the past 8 years and I indicated them all in the work experience section.

I'm a bit concerned because I won't be able to provide payslips, tax documents or bank statements from my first job because I was not able to file those documents before and getting them now is close to impossible because it was 8 years ago. However, I can provide a salary certificate from the HR. Will this be enough as proof of paid employment?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Valeria

*Case Officer*

Hi Mark,

Can tell me whether I should be worry or not...

I'm Australian and my partner is currently living in Buenos Aires. On January 29th 2014 we submitted our Prospective Marriage application in 'Buenos Aires Australian embassy', two days after submitting the application we receive an email from the embassy acknowledging we assigned a case officer from Brasil and one in Argentina.. We though great things will proceed from here onward..

However, we lodged our app, we have a case officer assigned. Still have not received any news from her. What CO do? they get your application, they look at your case, they send you an email assigning you a CO who "suppositively" is looking/reviewing your case.. Jan, Feb, March, April, went by... now we are in May... and are they still looking at our case? they have not request any further information... so maybe that's a good sign we submit everything and they don't need any further paper work. eg evidence. so why they don't send us a medical request or at least something to say.....
we dint even know if the initial paper review happen. We don't know if our application is ok? if we submitted correctly? if they need more information?

Should I be worry? I know assigning a case officer was going to take long... but our case is the opposite we have a case officer but yet no review of our case has been made... after 4 month no response... don't know what else to do.... Wait.wait. I know is a long process but is weird they haven't ask for anything.. or email us saying paper work is ok ect ect.

Is this normal process Mark. Hope you can guide me here...

Val.


----------



## Tiwaringe

Hi Mark

We lodged our visa subclass 190 application 21.05.2014 and from the documents we received thruogh email after the payment went through it says we have to upload documents l have checked my immiacc and l cant see where lm supposed to do this please assist l don't want to delays things


----------



## megzchong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Megz -
> 
> The good news is that there are no bond provisions for the PMV, so I'd suggest putting together the evidence of job, parents financial support, etc and lodge with the application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Mark,

When it comes to health requirements, it says on the booklet, "you and all the members of the family unit must undergo health examinations", does this mean it includes all my parents, all 4 brothers and 3 sisters in my family? 4 of them are already married and only 2 younger brothers and younger sister lives in our household. I just read the booklet and actually, it stresses me if they all have to get health examinations too.

Thanks for all the help
Megz


----------



## Marry Tran

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Marry -
> 
> There are a number of issues to consider - first, does your 573 visa have any sort of a no further stay condition on it (ie, conditions 8534 or 8535 or 8503?)? Beyond that, you will need to provide detailed evidence of your defacto relatiosnhip with your partner. See the DIBP partner visa booklet for a breakdown of the 4 major types of relationship evidence - there are also a number of excellent threads/posts here on the forum about partner visa evidence. My experience with 461s recently is that they are looking very closely at the relationship, so I'd submit anything you can re: evidence. Registration of relationship is a good idea as additional evidence.
> 
> My feeling is that for a relationship of 8 months, it may be a challenge to prove defacto partnership - would strongly urge you to study all of the different types of evidence that you'll need and try to get as much as possible. Relationship statements will also be important from both of you + witnesses.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, 
i checked my visa already, and it does not content any conditions you mentioned above, it only includes these 8501, 8202, 8105, 8533, 8532, 8517, and 8516.

When can I count my relationship start? Is it one the date we met, or we moved in together (without evidence of residential address), or the date we got evidence with the same address?

And how long usually they set the time frame for my visa application (subclass 461)? I meant what is the maximum time I have to wait to get the result from DIBP?

Furthermore, I came to Australia in 2009, and then in 2011 (I did not travel anywhere out of Australia before 2011) I got TB infectious, and then I treated in one of the big hospital in Sydney, I check my health every year and it does not show any abnormality anymore. Now I just wondering that will affect my visa application for now (461) and after if I want to apply for PR?

Thank you, 
Marry


----------



## Aldamro7

Hi Mark,

Thanks for all your advice. You give some clarity to a really stressful time in all of these people's lives.

When paying for a partner visa online, is there a way to pay with multiple forms of payment? Say I put my debit card in for half and another credit card for the rest?


----------



## Christie

Hi Mark, so we applied online last Friday for subsequent entrant (application for a long stay temporary business visa), i uploaded lots of proof and paid the fee for which i got a receipt, where to now? In the part "Next steps", it show the types of evidence required, the date received 17/5/2014, and the progress which says received, but it also say s "Attach Document" and this is highlighted, so do i need to attach more evidence?
I presume now we just wait for a C/o to be appointed to us?


----------



## aintab

*Form 888 and More Questions*

Do those providing Statutory Declarations have to have a copy of their passport certified? What about their signature? I have seen some people say they are getting the signatures certified, but I do not see that on the form, however, I do see a question asking if they intend-- but not mandatory-- to enclosed a copy of their passport which is certified&#8230;. Are either required?

Additionally, I am filling out an offshore partner visa application (47SP and 40SP) and do not see it requesting I fill out form 80 (not sure what that is) or to have a medical or criminal check attached, yet according to the forums people are getting those and attaching them before sending off their applications&#8230;. Are these in fact required?

Finally, we are applying as we might want to move to Australia in the coming couple of months, but if a job arises in another country we may be delayed. Do I have a certain amount of time after the Visa is issued to enter the country? Can we explain a delay in arrival? Or can we enter the country set up a residence, but spend a few months in another country?

Thank you of any insight!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lily88

Thanks for the question. If the prof yr (PY) program is approved by your skills assessor, and consists of a program of at least 12 months and was complete in the 48 months prior to invitation, then you may qualify. The program must be in your nominated occupation, or a closely related occupation in the opinion of your skills assessor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lily88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I studied Master of Commerce in IT and I have a positive skill assessment as a Business Analyst from ACS. Also, I am currently studying professional year course. When I applied for my skill assessment and for professional year, I handed the documents related to my Master in Australia. However, I am considering getting another skill assessment as Developer Programmer because the cut off points is lower than Business Analyst. In order to get a positive skill assessment as Developer Programmer, I will have to apply with my Bachelor from my country (+ working experience) because I know that I won't get a positive skill assessment for this occupation if I apply with my Master in Australia.
> 
> My question is, if I get a positive skill assessment as a Developer Programmer with my studies from my country, can I still claim 5 points for my professional year course and 5 points for two years study in Australia?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emily -

Thanks for the questions. Would definitely lodge police cert's as soon as you can (at or after lodgement of the application). Health can go either way - for partner and fiance visas we generally recommend waiting until health is requested as that may be an indication of the processing time or delays and the case officers tend to like that better from my experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



emivovo said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I have a question that's probably been asked a thousand times but I couldn't find it on the forum. We're applying for a pmv visa for my partner, would you advise doing the health check and police check before we submit our application? Or is it better to wait for the CO to contact us and tell us when to get them? Does it make a difference?
> 
> Thanks very much
> Emily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Glen -

Looks great, would just include the complete names of you and all other persons on the application, and include the birth date of the primary applicant as well (you).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



glen. said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> Will this kind of letter will be fine.
> 
> To
> The Visa Officer,
> Department of Immigration and Border Protection,
> Australia
> 
> Sub: Regarding extending Nomination to Martin's family.
> 
> Dear Sir/Ma'am,
> 
> We hereby extend the benefits of the existing nomination of Mr.Martin to his dependents. Mr. Martin is working as Manager with us since 1-10-2013. Detail of his family members is as under:-
> 
> Name Date of Birth Passport No.
> Sheridan 21-09-1982 L123456
> Henry 27-12-2012 L123456
> 
> If any other information is required in this matter, please feel free to contact us.
> 
> Thanks & regards
> Will Smith
> World Hotel Ltd.
> ABC Building, XYZ Road,
> Abcde, QLD - 4102
> Tel No: 0061456789012


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aperson -

I wish I could give you specific answers to your questions, but I can't because it's never quite clear exactly the reason for delays, and exactly when the various security checks begin and end, etc. It's all guesswork essentially, as DIBP does not generally provide specific details on these things given their confidential nature. Does time of year affect things? No idea, no patterns I've seen.

I view is that external security check delays have grown longer over the past 2 years. Exactly why that is, I don't know. As far as the 75%, etc estimated processing times on the DIBP website, I don't even bother with those anymore as when clients depend on that info, it often leads to disappointment when the processing times go beyond that. I am very happy when processing times come in below the stated times there, but there's just too much unpredictability in the process to put any real faith in those numbers.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aperson said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have read threads about horror stories for security checks for Pakistanis (Pakistan being a high risk country). A lot of people say that 1 year tends to be the standard with a minimum of 6 months and with many cases going upto 1.5 or 2 years. Just wanted to check with you:
> 
> 1.	Have the processing times improved ever since the Skillselect regime has come into place since July 2012
> 
> 2.	How does this play with the current processing times service charter which says that 75% of cases will be processed within 3 months. Is the external check time included in there? It cant be that applicants from high risk countries account for less than 25% of all applicants.
> 
> 3.	I also get the impression that once the CO is allocated the external security check tends to be the most time-consuming step.
> 
> 4.	How much does backlogs affect this. People have speculated that external checks overall can be faster or slower depending on the time of the year
> 
> Many thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajitsin -

Thanks for the note. FYI here's the best info I've found on flagged occuaptions:

Flagged Occupations

Lodgement date of EOI doesn't preserve your occupation in terms of removal from SOL - the only event that preserves that would be if you were issued an invitation to apply for a visa, so lodging EOI before 1 July may not be a huge benefit. Would not, however lodge EOI before you have skills assessment results in hand - if the invitation was made (and they're done without warning), you may have an issue if you cannot produce a valid skills assessment dated prior to the invitation date. Everything is locked in re: points, skills assmt, IELTS, work experience, age, etc at the time of invitation (not the time of visa application, as you were asking about).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rajitsin said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am an accountant from india contemplating applying for Class 189 visa either in the general accountant or external auditor categories. Since I understand that the general accountant category is one of the flagged occupations, does that mean that the chances of the external auditor being removed from SOL is low or does it face the same chance of being removed as the general accountants.
> 
> I was also thinking about filing an EOI before 1 July 2014 in case my chosen occupation is removed. My IELTS results will be with me by that time. The skills assessment would be only thing pending. The skills assessment application with ICAA will be lodged probably simultaneously with the EOI. I figured that since ICAA takes 1 month for the assessment, I would still have time to apply when I receive the invitation to apply.
> 
> Do you think an EOI lodged before a possible removal of the occupation will still be considered for giving an invitation?
> 
> I understand that I have to give the skills assessment report number in the EOI. What if I file the skills assessment application and quote the receipt number. In the meantime I can get the skills assessment report well before the 60-day deadline to file the application expires.
> 
> Thanks
> Raj


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fletchaman -

Ah, the joys of overlapping government functions. I don't have all the details on the ANMAC process, but as I understand it there is some sort of a limited or modified assessment available to those who hold current registrations from Australia or NZ. Beyond that, you would need to check with ANMAC to see exactly what requirements they would have of her based on her current licensing and registration. Likely comes down to the difference of being licenced and meeting any additional migration requirements re: skills assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fletchaman said:


> Thanks for that Mark I have a much better understanding of that process now.
> What we are now considerably confused about is that we have applied to ANMAC for OH skills assessment for Immigration, but she has received her certificate of registration from AHPRA stating she is now a registered NMW Practitioner in Australia under the Trans Tasman Agreement!! Question is why does she require the skills assessment if AHPRA recognise her skills and qualification??
> 
> Really confused


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amy27 -

This is a tricky area, and I suggest you consult with a registered migration agent to work out exactly how the regulations would fit with your particular situation.

Generally speaking, if a person loses a the MRT or RRT, they have the legal right to request Ministerial Intervention (MI) within the rules and policy established for the MI program. Applicants for MI need to go to DIBP and apply for a Bridging Visa E (BV-E) which will allow them to remain in the country while the the MI is being considered. MI consideration can take anywhere from 3 months to 2 years - I've seen them take all kinds of different times to complete.

The BV-E does not come with work rights by default; you have to apply for those and provide evidence of a financial hardship if you are not given the work rights.

The BV-E will cease if you depart Australia while holding it, leaving you likely no visa to return on. Additionally, if you depart Australia while holding a BV-E, you will likely incur an automatic 3 year exclusion period on being granted any temporary visa (ie, 457, student, visitor, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amy27 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I came across with your helpful comments here to everyone in trouble and I am hoping you could give me some info too.
> 
> In general, I think if you loose MRT case and decide to file it with the Ministerial Intervention for further consideration, you will be given a BVE.
> From then another long wait until the Minister gives an answer on BVE, however I am wanting to know if the BVE comes with both work rights and medicare eligibility?
> 
> If the BVA while on MRT HAD them both, would the BVE have them too?
> 
> Also - I know BVE will not let you come back in Australia once you depart. But what about a 3-year ban?
> 
> Thanks very much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamuu04 -

No way to predict - depends on the case officer at DIBP assessing the evidence. If you are asked for these docs, I'd send what you have and include a letter, etc noting the efforts you undertook to try and locate further evidence for that first job.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamuu04 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hope you're doing well.
> 
> I just submitted my EOI for visa subclass 189. I have been with 3 companies in the past 8 years and I indicated them all in the work experience section.
> 
> I'm a bit concerned because I won't be able to provide payslips, tax documents or bank statements from my first job because I was not able to file those documents before and getting them now is close to impossible because it was 8 years ago. However, I can provide a salary certificate from the HR. Will this be enough as proof of paid employment?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Valeria -

It may be normal for the embassy, no good way to tell. As these visa applications typically take 6 - 9 months to process, and given that DIBP does not always inform an applicant when a case officer has been assigned, etc, I'd be patient for a few more months and see what develops.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Valeria said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can tell me whether I should be worry or not...
> 
> I'm Australian and my partner is currently living in Buenos Aires. On January 29th 2014 we submitted our Prospective Marriage application in 'Buenos Aires Australian embassy', two days after submitting the application we receive an email from the embassy acknowledging we assigned a case officer from Brasil and one in Argentina.. We though great things will proceed from here onward..
> 
> However, we lodged our app, we have a case officer assigned. Still have not received any news from her. What CO do? they get your application, they look at your case, they send you an email assigning you a CO who "suppositively" is looking/reviewing your case.. Jan, Feb, March, April, went by... now we are in May... and are they still looking at our case? they have not request any further information... so maybe that's a good sign we submit everything and they don't need any further paper work. eg evidence. so why they don't send us a medical request or at least something to say.....
> we dint even know if the initial paper review happen. We don't know if our application is ok? if we submitted correctly? if they need more information?
> 
> Should I be worry? I know assigning a case officer was going to take long... but our case is the opposite we have a case officer but yet no review of our case has been made... after 4 month no response... don't know what else to do.... Wait.wait. I know is a long process but is weird they haven't ask for anything.. or email us saying paper work is ok ect ect.
> 
> Is this normal process Mark. Hope you can guide me here...
> 
> Val.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tiwaringe -

Thanks for the question - you should login to your Immi Account and once there see a list of applications with (probably) only one application on it. Over in the rightmost column you can click on the link and you'll a choice of actions. Choose "Open" and you'll get to the summary screen for the application. On that screen you should see a link in the upper right hand corner of the screen to "Attach Document" and you can start doing so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tiwaringe said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> We lodged our visa subclass 190 application 21.05.2014 and from the documents we received thruogh email after the payment went through it says we have to upload documents l have checked my immiacc and l cant see where lm supposed to do this please assist l don't want to delays things


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

Don't panic! Happy to say it only means your spouse and any of your children. Not brothers, sisters, or parents, etc. Any family members declared as dependent family members (of any age) would also be need medicals done.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Mark,
> 
> When it comes to health requirements, it says on the booklet, "you and all the members of the family unit must undergo health examinations", does this mean it includes all my parents, all 4 brothers and 3 sisters in my family? 4 of them are already married and only 2 younger brothers and younger sister lives in our household. I just read the booklet and actually, it stresses me if they all have to get health examinations too.
> 
> Thanks for all the help
> Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marry -

Thanks for the questions. Not possible to tell you when your defacto partnership began - would need to know all the details of your case via a consultation to help yo with this. It means the date the two of you began living as a defacto couple, which for many couples means the date they moved in together, but it can be different from one relationship to the next.

Re: previous TB, they may want more tests, but if TB is not active, then generally not a reason to refuse the visa.

Re: processing time, they can take as much time as they want - no limit. I'd allow at least 6 months and be happy if you get lucky and it comes in in less time than that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Marry Tran said:


> Hi Mark,
> i checked my visa already, and it does not content any conditions you mentioned above, it only includes these 8501, 8202, 8105, 8533, 8532, 8517, and 8516.
> 
> When can I count my relationship start? Is it one the date we met, or we moved in together (without evidence of residential address), or the date we got evidence with the same address?
> 
> And how long usually they set the time frame for my visa application (subclass 461)? I meant what is the maximum time I have to wait to get the result from DIBP?
> 
> Furthermore, I came to Australia in 2009, and then in 2011 (I did not travel anywhere out of Australia before 2011) I got TB infectious, and then I treated in one of the big hospital in Sydney, I check my health every year and it does not show any abnormality anymore. Now I just wondering that will affect my visa application for now (461) and after if I want to apply for PR?
> 
> Thank you,
> Marry


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aldamro7 -

Thanks for the kind words! Glad I can help - it's why I'm in this business.

Unfortunately no good way to pay with multiple methods online that I know of, however they are always changing that system and they may yet add that function.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aldamro7 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for all your advice. You give some clarity to a really stressful time in all of these people's lives.
> 
> When paying for a partner visa online, is there a way to pay with multiple forms of payment? Say I put my debit card in for half and another credit card for the rest?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Christie -

As long as you've uploaded all the evidence that is required plus any additional evidence you choose to provide (especially relationship evidence, etc), then you just wait to hear from a case officer or be granted the visa. But would make sure you provide any/all evidence you wish to provide at the beginning - if they want more evidence they will generally send you a letter or email asking for that, however there is no guarantee that they will give you the option to submit additional evidence if they deem the evidence provided with the application to be insufficient. Yes, you now wait for CO to be appointed (if they even tell you when this happens) - good luck!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Christie said:


> Hi Mark, so we applied online last Friday for subsequent entrant (application for a long stay temporary business visa), i uploaded lots of proof and paid the fee for which i got a receipt, where to now? In the part "Next steps", it show the types of evidence required, the date received 17/5/2014, and the progress which says received, but it also say s "Attach Document" and this is highlighted, so do i need to attach more evidence?
> I presume now we just wait for a C/o to be appointed to us?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aintab -

See responses below at **:



aintab said:


> Do those providing Statutory Declarations have to have a copy of their passport certified? What about their signature? I have seen some people say they are getting the signatures certified, but I do not see that on the form, however, I do see a question asking if they intend-- but not mandatory-- to enclosed a copy of their passport which is certified&#8230;. Are either required?
> ** Generally no passports needed with statutory declarations properly witnessed in accordance with Australian law. Yet some people add them in any case. If scanned and uploaded with online application, certification not generally needed. If copied and submitted as paper application, then yes, certification of passport copies is needed.
> 
> Additionally, I am filling out an offshore partner visa application (47SP and 40SP) and do not see it requesting I fill out form 80 (not sure what that is) or to have a medical or criminal check attached, yet according to the forums people are getting those and attaching them before sending off their applications&#8230;. Are these in fact required?
> ** Suggest you hold off on medicals until requested from DIBP. Police checks are indicated on the checklists - suggest you lodge them when you lodge the application, although some people wait on those as well. Form 80 is requested on nearly all partner visa applications these days, but again you can wait on that to see if they require it from you.
> 
> Finally, we are applying as we might want to move to Australia in the coming couple of months, but if a job arises in another country we may be delayed. Do I have a certain amount of time after the Visa is issued to enter the country? Can we explain a delay in arrival? Or can we enter the country set up a residence, but spend a few months in another country?
> ** You must enter by the "must enter by" date in order to activate the visa(s). You can then leave and for the next 5 years may come and go as you like to Australia as a permanent resident (or for 2+ years as a provisional resident depending on the visa you are granted).
> 
> Thank you of any insight!


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## aintab

Thank you very much for the quick and very informative response!!! What you are doing is AMAZING!  I'm sure tons of people are grateful for this everyday!


----------



## Ahmed86

aintab said:


> Thank you very much for the quick and very informative response!!! What you are doing is AMAZING!  I'm sure tons of people are grateful for this everyday!


Yes! We should nominate Mark for an award or something!


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks for the kind words - that's "award" enough that I'm able to help people.

Best,

Mark


----------



## dipiksg82

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dipiksg82 -
> 
> If the immigration dept asked agents like myself what could be improved for better/faster/more accurate results, I'd have a list a mile long of things  However immigration laws take a lot of effort to change, and there has to be substantial support from stakeholders to do so in many cases. Problem is, there is no advocacy group for visa applicants, no union, no trade organisation, etc - everybody focuses essentially on their own application, and once it's done their interest in immigration matters ends.
> 
> Wish I had better news! You can always write to the minister, Scott Morrison, with your views.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

May be DIBP read what we discussed.

http://migrationalliance.com.au/imm...the-ielts-monopoly-for-visa-applications.html

Good news for all aspirants who will have choice of selecting English language proficiency tests apart from IELTS.

REGARDS

Dipika


----------



## Snow

Hi Mark,

When applying for an off shore partner visa I know that I need to be off shore from Australia when it is granted but is it acceptable for my partner to be off-shore with me when it is lodged and then on-shore when it's granted for me?

Thanks,
Snow


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snow -

Sorry, am a bit confused re: who is applicant vs who is sponsor. The location of the sponsor is not relevant. The applicant must be outside Australia both at the time of lodgement and the time the visa is granted. Normally if you keep in touch with the case officer and you're inside Australia when DIBP is ready to grant the visa, the case officer will communicate with you and let you know they're ready to grant the visa, then will typically give you a period of weeks in order to depart Australia temporarily so the visa can be granted - once you're outside Australia just let them know and they'll email you the visa grant, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Snow said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> When applying for an off shore partner visa I know that I need to be off shore from Australia when it is granted but is it acceptable for my partner to be off-shore with me when it is lodged and then on-shore when it's granted for me?
> 
> Thanks,
> Snow


----------



## Snow

Hi Mark

Sorry for not being entirely clear. I, as the applicant, won't be in Australia when applying or when it's granted but my partner/sponsor will be outside of Australia when I apply and inside when it's granted. Your answer still clears up my question though so many thanks for that.

Snow.


----------



## impossible

Hi Mark,

My name is Ray. I have just finish my master in Australia in last Dec 2013 which i am holding 573 at that time and it expire on March 2014 which i don't have enough time to get my ielts in order to apply 485 tr visa before June 2014 therefore i follow blindly by listening one of the migration agent to apply dependent visa which my wife have until 2016 but turns out is invalid application as she didn't said she was marry when she apply her student visa. as i submit at the last day before my 573 expire i am overstay for 1-2 days until my agent further introduce me to do a language school to extend my visa for 485 or 189 which comes to 570 in the present time and expiry on July 2014. 

By this time i already got my ielts about all band 6 and would like to apply 485 tr but i have just look through the immigration closely stating that i couldn't apply it because i am in 570 subclass. I just wondering is it possible that i would cancel my student visa and apply visitor visa off shore in order to come back and apply for 485? or i don't need to cancel my student visa and just need to depart to other country and get a ETA which once i arrive again said 27 May in Australia i will be arriving with visitor visa instead of student visa 570? thanks a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snow -

Sounds good - location of sponsor at application and grant not relevant (unless they are away from the applicant for such a long period that it could give the case officer reason to question the genuineness of the relationship, etc).

Best,

Mark Northam



Snow said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Sorry for not being entirely clear. I, as the applicant, won't be in Australia when applying or when it's granted but my partner/sponsor will be outside of Australia when I apply and inside when it's granted. Your answer still clears up my question though so many thanks for that.
> 
> Snow.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ray -

Sorry to hear of your situation and the bad advice you received from another agent. The short answer is that you need to sit down with a knowledgeable migration agent and sort through what's going on with your case. You've got multiple things happening, and may have some significant challenges I expect. Too many ifs/ands/buts/details to work through on emails or a forum like this.

The go offshore and apply for a visitor visa route might work if they granted the visitor visa, however the case officer may not see you as a "genuine visitor" which would cause an issue with that. The 570 advice was awful advice in terms of 485 - the 570 is of no use at all in terms of applying for a 485 - what you need to be concerned about is the 6 month deadline re: your previous 573 visa - once that's over, may be difficult to re-establish the right to apply for a 485 without taking another 573 level course, etc.

Suggest you book a consultation with a qualified and knowledgeable migration agent ASAP to sort out a plan.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



impossible said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My name is Ray. I have just finish my master in Australia in last Dec 2013 which i am holding 573 at that time and it expire on March 2014 which i don't have enough time to get my ielts in order to apply 485 tr visa before June 2014 therefore i follow blindly by listening one of the migration agent to apply dependent visa which my wife have until 2016 but turns out is invalid application as she didn't said she was marry when she apply her student visa. as i submit at the last day before my 573 expire i am overstay for 1-2 days until my agent further introduce me to do a language school to extend my visa for 485 or 189 which comes to 570 in the present time and expiry on July 2014.
> 
> By this time i already got my ielts about all band 6 and would like to apply 485 tr but i have just look through the immigration closely stating that i couldn't apply it because i am in 570 subclass. I just wondering is it possible that i would cancel my student visa and apply visitor visa off shore in order to come back and apply for 485? or i don't need to cancel my student visa and just need to depart to other country and get a ETA which once i arrive again said 27 May in Australia i will be arriving with visitor visa instead of student visa 570? thanks a lot.


----------



## smudge

Hi Mark

I am am applying for partner visa for my husband. He is currently on a ETA WH visa which is due to expire soon. On question 22, do we put the address of the house I am leasing here in Australia, or because he is on a holiday visa, the address back in the UK.

Also, he has a son who is 20, he is not dependent on my husband, can you clarify that he does not have to fill in Form 47a. 

I realise we are on tricky ground applying onshore, because I too have only just returned to Australia after being in the UK for the last 3 years. I am a permanent resident, and lived here for 3 years before moving back to the uk for family reasons.

Your advice would be appreciated.

Thank you


----------



## impossible

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ray -
> 
> Sorry to hear of your situation and the bad advice you received from another agent. The short answer is that you need to sit down with a knowledgeable migration agent and sort through what's going on with your case. You've got multiple things happening, and may have some significant challenges I expect. Too many ifs/ands/buts/details to work through on emails or a forum like this.
> 
> The go offshore and apply for a visitor visa route might work if they granted the visitor visa, however the case officer may not see you as a "genuine visitor" which would cause an issue with that. The 570 advice was awful advice in terms of 485 - the 570 is of no use at all in terms of applying for a 485 - what you need to be concerned about is the 6 month deadline re: your previous 573 visa - once that's over, may be difficult to re-establish the right to apply for a 485 without taking another 573 level course, etc.
> 
> Suggest you book a consultation with a qualified and knowledgeable migration agent ASAP to sort out a plan.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your quick reply Mark i was trying to find Migration just like u that helpful but no luck and stuck on it at the moment. what i am thinking is do i need to cancel my student visa which expire on July in order to entry with a visitor visa on this end of May if they granted? if i am success on entry does that count as visitor visa or student visa which could possible for me to apply 485??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Impossible -

If you're not going to consult with a migration agent, then you need to very carefully research all the bad side effects of cancelling a visa onshore - you end up with a bridging visa E, lose your residency time to-date towards citizenship, and other negative things. In some cases you can end up with a 3 year exclusion period on all temporary visas including visitor, student, etc which could create a big problem from what it sounds like.

If you'd like to book a consultation with me, see link below. There are just too many questions and details to fully explain the issue here on the forum, and your choices now may affect your ability to get visas for years to come, so you need to be very careful.

Best,

Mark Northam



impossible said:


> Thanks for your quick reply Mark i was trying to find Migration just like u that helpful but no luck and stuck on it at the moment. what i am thinking is do i need to cancel my student visa which expire on July in order to entry with a visitor visa on this end of May if they granted? if i am success on entry does that count as visitor visa or student visa which could possible for me to apply 485??


----------



## impossible

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Impossible -
> 
> If you're not going to consult with a migration agent, then you need to very carefully research all the bad side effects of cancelling a visa onshore - you end up with a bridging visa E, lose your residency time to-date towards citizenship, and other negative things. In some cases you can end up with a 3 year exclusion period on all temporary visas including visitor, student, etc which could create a big problem from what it sounds like.
> 
> If you'd like to book a consultation with me, see link below. There are just too many questions and details to fully explain the issue here on the forum, and your choices now may affect your ability to get visas for years to come, so you need to be very careful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thx just wondering do u guys open today? do i need to cancel my student visa in order to entry with visitor visa or visitor visa will overwrite when i arrival au before student visa expire?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Smudge -

Thanks for the note. Non-dependent son 20 years old does not need to fill in Form 47a. For form 47sp question 22, I'd probably put the house here in Australia if he is staying there and intends to stay there after the WH visa expires (ie, on the bridging visa resulting from a partner visa application made before the WH visa expires). Also you need to make sure that the WH visa doesn't have Condition 8503 (no further stay).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



smudge said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am am applying for partner visa for my husband. He is currently on a ETA WH visa which is due to expire soon. On question 22, do we put the address of the house I am leasing here in Australia, or because he is on a holiday visa, the address back in the UK.
> 
> Also, he has a son who is 20, he is not dependent on my husband, can you clarify that he does not have to fill in Form 47a.
> 
> I realise we are on tricky ground applying onshore, because I too have only just returned to Australia after being in the UK for the last 3 years. I am a permanent resident, and lived here for 3 years before moving back to the uk for family reasons.
> 
> Your advice would be appreciated.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Impossible -

Not open today, but you can book something for tomorrow - see website. Would strongly advise getting further information before you cancel a visa - there can be very bad problems associated with that course of action - too many to go into here.

Best,

Mark Northam



impossible said:


> thx just wondering do u guys open today? do i need to cancel my student visa in order to entry with visitor visa or visitor visa will overwrite when i arrival au before student visa expire?


----------



## impossible

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Impossible -
> 
> Not open today, but you can book something for tomorrow - see website. Would strongly advise getting further information before you cancel a visa - there can be very bad problems associated with that course of action - too many to go into here.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


appreciate yr help Mark.


----------



## smudge

Thank you Mark for your quick reply....just another quick one. He has 2 other children who are younger, if they are not migrating, do we have to fill in Question 34.

Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Smudge -

For Q34 on form 47sp, only have to complete that if there are any children that are under 18 years of age, and that are included in the application (ie, migrating). If they are not migrating (ie, are not applicants), then Q33 can be answered No which skips Q34.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



smudge said:


> Thank you Mark for your quick reply....just another quick one. He has 2 other children who are younger, if they are not migrating, do we have to fill in Question 34.
> 
> Many thanks


----------



## smudge

Thank you Mark, that has helped so much. Your help is very much appreciated.


----------



## khanislam

Hi Mark

I am desperate and I hope I will get some help here as I see you have been a ver helpful person. I have sponsored my wife to migrate to Australia under the spouse visa program. However, I sponsored my x-wife back in 10/2010 but she never entered Australia. Although her visa was approved, I contacted the department and withdrew my sponsorship. I know I am in the 5 years exclusion. I discussed the issue and applied through a registered migration agent. We submitted every bit of documents to get a waiver for the exclusion. 

However, my wife got a sponsored tourist visa approved in December 2013 while the spouse visa was in process. She came to Australia and lived here for 3 months. Meanwhile, my wife got pregnant in February 2014 and expecting our first child in October 17 2014.. We informed the department with doctors certificate. Then my wife left Australia in March 2014 as per visa condition. 

However, after 9 months of wait we have just received an email that the request for a waiver has not been accepted. But we did not receive the refusal letter yet. But i think it is a matter of time now. I am lost and don't know what to do. I have a baby on the way and my wife is in overseas. My migration agent was very surprised and shocked that the waiver has not been accepted given my documentation and he is saying I should go for MRT as soon as I received the refusal letter. However, that is not going to help as time is so limited now. I have sent an email directly to the department to request again to reconsider. But I am not sure if it will have any impact. I am going to see the Local MP tomorrow to see if they can send an email or a letter for a review. I hear they help sometimes. I work here full time for last 9 years for a big company and leaving the job to live with my wife will be a financial disaster. We submitted all documents supporting my hardship including a assessment letter from a qualified psychiatrist saying my current mental health due to this visa process is serious and will have serious impact on my wellbeing.

Now, I don't know what I am going to do. I cant even say it to my wife! I am worried for her health. should I go for MRT? but the time is not going to help? or I lodge a brand new app after we have our baby in October as dependent? or I still have a chance with this current application? Any help or suggestion will be much appreciated.

Kind regards
A desperate man and husband and to be father


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Khanislam -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your situation. A few thoughts:

** Did the previous waiver request contain substantial supporting evidence from third parties and a detailed, comprehensive legal submission citing the appropriate PAM3 policy regarding sponsorship waiting period waiver requests, etc?

** Did the previous waiver request focus on the hardship created for the sponsor (not so much for the applicant!) - this is a very common error that some people make - ie, focusing on the hardship to the applicant, rather than focusing on the hardship to the sponsor that would be created if the waiver was not granted.

** The MRT is probably going to take too long - I agree with you about that, however it still may be worth a shot.I would really need to see the waiver request package to give you any thoughts on chances of success

** Unfortunately DIBP gives little legal significance to pregnancies. However once a child is born, it's a different story - the best interests of the child come into play, and that changes things from a legal standpoint considerably. If an applicant and sponsor have a dependent child between them that is dependent on both of them, this is already mentioned in the DIBP policy as likely to be "compelling" (ie, sufficient to waive the 5 year limitation).

At this point unless the previous waiver application was significantly deficient in one or more areas, my thought would be to wait until the child is born, then immediately lodge the waiver request again based on the two of you needing to be together to support the child, and that the child is/would be dependent on both of you.

Otherwise, anything you can do re: politicians, etc to try and make progress probably wouldn't hurt.

Please advise if I can assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam



khanislam said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am desperate and I hope I will get some help here as I see you have been a ver helpful person. I have sponsored my wife to migrate to Australia under the spouse visa program. However, I sponsored my x-wife back in 10/2010 but she never entered Australia. Although her visa was approved, I contacted the department and withdrew my sponsorship. I know I am in the 5 years exclusion. I discussed the issue and applied through a registered migration agent. We submitted every bit of documents to get a waiver for the exclusion.
> 
> However, my wife got a sponsored tourist visa approved in December 2013 while the spouse visa was in process. She came to Australia and lived here for 3 months. Meanwhile, my wife got pregnant in February 2014 and expecting our first child in October 17 2014.. We informed the department with doctors certificate. Then my wife left Australia in March 2014 as per visa condition.
> 
> However, after 9 months of wait we have just received an email that the request for a waiver has not been accepted. But we did not receive the refusal letter yet. But i think it is a matter of time now. I am lost and don't know what to do. I have a baby on the way and my wife is in overseas. My migration agent was very surprised and shocked that the waiver has not been accepted given my documentation and he is saying I should go for MRT as soon as I received the refusal letter. However, that is not going to help as time is so limited now. I have sent an email directly to the department to request again to reconsider. But I am not sure if it will have any impact. I am going to see the Local MP tomorrow to see if they can send an email or a letter for a review. I hear they help sometimes. I work here full time for last 9 years for a big company and leaving the job to live with my wife will be a financial disaster. We submitted all documents supporting my hardship including a assessment letter from a qualified psychiatrist saying my current mental health due to this visa process is serious and will have serious impact on my wellbeing.
> 
> Now, I don't know what I am going to do. I cant even say it to my wife! I am worried for her health. should I go for MRT? but the time is not going to help? or I lodge a brand new app after we have our baby in October as dependent? or I still have a chance with this current application? Any help or suggestion will be much appreciated.
> 
> Kind regards
> A desperate man and husband and to be father


----------



## KP111

Hi Mark,

I am a Australian and my Thai wife and her son have held permeant residency (we were married in Australia) but unfortunately we let the visa lapse whilst living abroad she left Australia in July 2011 without getting a return resident visa, but would like to relocate back to Australia again.

My question is do we have to go through the whole spouse visa application process again? or a RRV possible still?

We have 2 kids together with Aussie passports so they can come unhindered I assume.

Any info/advice would be great..


----------



## Lily88

Hi Mark,

I really appreciate your reply.

So I guess I cannot claim the 5 points for professional year because the nominated occupation is Business Analyst.

What about the 5 points for 2 years study? Can I still claim it if I change my occupation to Developer Programmer or does the course also need to be assessed by ACS?

Thank you.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lily88
> 
> Thanks for the question. If the prof yr (PY) program is approved by your skills assessor, and consists of a program of at least 12 months and was complete in the 48 months prior to invitation, then you may qualify. The program must be in your nominated occupation, or a closely related occupation in the opinion of your skills assessor.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## khanislam

*Waiver on limitation*

Hi Mark

Thank you so much for your reply. Yes the PAM3 policy was explained and with a comprehensive submission relating to the law and my situation. I explained in details my hardships as a sponsor with a lot of supporting documents too. Can I please forward that to you? it just 3 pages.

I went to the local MP. They agreed to contact the department. Dont know if it will make any difference?

Thanks again.
Khan



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Khanislam -
> 
> Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your situation. A few thoughts:
> 
> ** Did the previous waiver request contain substantial supporting evidence from third parties and a detailed, comprehensive legal submission citing the appropriate PAM3 policy regarding sponsorship waiting period waiver requests, etc?
> 
> ** Did the previous waiver request focus on the hardship created for the sponsor (not so much for the applicant!) - this is a very common error that some people make - ie, focusing on the hardship to the applicant, rather than focusing on the hardship to the sponsor that would be created if the waiver was not granted.
> 
> ** The MRT is probably going to take too long - I agree with you about that, however it still may be worth a shot.I would really need to see the waiver request package to give you any thoughts on chances of success
> 
> ** Unfortunately DIBP gives little legal significance to pregnancies. However once a child is born, it's a different story - the best interests of the child come into play, and that changes things from a legal standpoint considerably. If an applicant and sponsor have a dependent child between them that is dependent on both of them, this is already mentioned in the DIBP policy as likely to be "compelling" (ie, sufficient to waive the 5 year limitation).
> 
> At this point unless the previous waiver application was significantly deficient in one or more areas, my thought would be to wait until the child is born, then immediately lodge the waiver request again based on the two of you needing to be together to support the child, and that the child is/would be dependent on both of you.
> 
> Otherwise, anything you can do re: politicians, etc to try and make progress probably wouldn't hurt.
> 
> Please advise if I can assist further -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Kimpaul

Hi Mark,

My husband and I (plus 3 young kids) are NZ Citizens on a SCV444 and have been living in Brisbane for the past 5years and would now like to apply for Permanent Residency in Australia. 

My husband has been working for his employer for almost 4 years utilising his degree in a position shown on the ANZSCO register. We recently requested of his employer a nomination under the ENS - Direct Entry Stream 186 visa, which was duly done and paid for personally. The application was only recently submitted but now my husband has resigned from his position with this company and leaves this employment in mid-June 2014. The issue we now face is that information has come to light via the migration agent (that we were forced to use on behalf of the company, at great personal expense) that since he is not going to continue to be employed by the company that sponsored / nominated him for this 186 visa they will withdraw their nomination. 

Our understanding, as NZ Citizens, is that there are certain exemptions allowed to us and the wording in regards to the exemptions on the DIA website clearly states "...are in Australia as the holder of a Special Category visa (subclass 444) or New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa (subclass 461) and have worked with your nominating employer in your nominated occupation for the past two years (not including any period of unpaid leave) in the three years before you apply for this visa.". We have also found this wording on the Commlaw website.

We cannot find any wording saying that he has to continue to be employed by that particular company for the next 2 years, or in fact, for any length of time. We can only find the clause shown above stating employment needs to be for the past 2 years. The migration agent and the company are trying to convince us otherwise.

Given our NZ Citizenship and other details, as far as we are concerned the company's involvement was purely to provide proof of employment (and other company information) so that the nomination could be lodged so that we could then link our PR application to that.

We would really appreciate any light you may be able to shed on this situation and thank you for your time.

Regards,
KimPaul


----------



## aussieheart

Hey Mark!

I want to thank you for putting so much time and effort into helping people. I can associate myself with the many people that visit these forums and I know that a small piece of information can sometimes be worth more than gold.

I am 25 year old. I have been in Australia for almost a year now (on WHV). I have grown to love this country, its people and I can not image leaving it. My heart fell out of my sleeve and got lost somewhere between Brisbane and northern Queensland. It was stolen by this land. 

I have been thinking of how to stay here after my second year WHV expires. Since I have a MSc in Civil Engineering, I have thought that maybe skilled immigration might be an option for me. However, according to my calculations, I am eligible for only 55 points (i.e if I receive IELTS 7.0). The major downside of my profile is my rather small work experience in what would be my nominated occupation. I left my native country right after graduation and, unfortunately, due to my visa type, finding employment in my field here in Australia is almost a mission impossible. I have been fortunate with the jobs that I have had (no fruit picking! , but the experience I have had doesn't exactly go hand in hand with my education.

Before I came to Australia, I considered continuing my studies. Now I have thought that maybe I shall do it here in Australia. It would be very expensive, but by doing that I would not only be pursuing my goals, but perhaps I would earn a few more points towards my EOI. So, this is something I have thought about, too.

Anyway, this is my story. I have thousands of questions in my head, but I will write down a few in hopes that maybe you will be able to give me some insight.

1) Because my degree is not directly accredited, I would need to have my skills assessed by Engineers Australia. Would you happen to know if skills assessment has a specific expiration date? Is it possible to have my skills assessed tomorrow, but submit an EOI using these results in, say, 3 years time?

2) Is it possible to submit an EOI with 55 points and hope for a state nominaton and additional 5 points? From your experience, how likely is a state nomination for someone with not particularly extensive work experience anyway?

3) Do you see any other possible ways to grab those extra points or how I could extend my stay in this wonderful country? I would like to stay here for as long as possible, if not for the rest of my life. As I said, Australia has really taken a rather sizable piece of my heart. In a year, I have managed to make my own life here.

I am very grateful for your response and I bow down to you in appreciation.


----------



## Kayce

G'day everyone!

I just created an account because I'am seeking for help!

My recent case is that Iam living in Australia since more than 2 years now with my dad who got the residency and my stepmum who got the citizenship. I just got a student visa and Iam really strugglin because I want to be here permament! I found the visa called "remaining relative visa subclass 835" and now Iam wondering If I could apply even if it says your only near relatives are living in Australia? My parents are divorced and I don't have contact to my mum. She is living in Germany and Iam originally from there as well. It is a long story what happened in the past but anyway I just want to be here and live without worries! Thank all


----------



## enida

Dear Mr.Mark,
Again me. 
I am trying to fill the visa application but I don't know how to fill the Education Sector. Your help is really precious for me.
In Sep 2008 I graduated with Bachelor in Telecommunication Engineering and in Apr 2012 I graduated with Master of Science in Telecommunication Engineering. The assessment letter quotes: The competencies demonstrated taken in conjunction with the qualification completed in Sep 2008 have been assessed as meeting the academic requirement for standing as an Engineering Technologist. When I filled the EOI I declared as below. 
Does the client meet the Au study requirements for the Skilled Migration points test: No
Has the client completed, or is currently enrolled in any studies at secondary level and above? Yes
1.Other qualification or award recognised by assessing authority - Telecommunications Engineering -> Bachelor's Degree
2.Other - Non AQF accreditation - Telecommunications Engineering -> Master of Science
--
Now in the visa application page it says: 
Highest recognized qualification obtained -> Is it Master?
Has the client completed or is currently enrolled in any studies at secondary level and above? -> Should I put the same information that I provided in the EOI? 

Thank you very much.


----------



## megzchong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Megz -
> 
> Don't panic! Happy to say it only means your spouse and any of your children. Not brothers, sisters, or parents, etc. Any family members declared as dependent family members (of any age) would also be need medicals done.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


THANK GOD!

Thank you Mark for such a big help for everyone here!
YOU ARE AWESOME!
What are the possible reasons PMV applicants get failed?

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KP111 -

Thanks for the note. RRV may be possible if she can evidence substantial business, cultural, employment or personal ties (1 year RRV), or if she has spent 24 months in Australia during the past 5 years (5 year RRV). The children with Australian passports can travel freely to Australia. Suggest you look carefully at the 1yr and 5yr options for the subclass 155 RRV visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KP111 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a Australian and my Thai wife and her son have held permeant residency (we were married in Australia) but unfortunately we let the visa lapse whilst living abroad she left Australia in July 2011 without getting a return resident visa, but would like to relocate back to Australia again.
> 
> My question is do we have to go through the whole spouse visa application process again? or a RRV possible still?
> 
> We have 2 kids together with Aussie passports so they can come unhindered I assume.
> 
> Any info/advice would be great..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lily88 -

Thanks for the note. The regulations are complex in this area, and I would need to look at the details of your situation at a consultation in order to give you any specific advice for your case. The danger of claiming points that do not end up being able to be justified is big - it's the #1 reason I see why skilled visas are refused (or have to be withdrawn).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lily88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I really appreciate your reply.
> 
> So I guess I cannot claim the 5 points for professional year because the nominated occupation is Business Analyst.
> 
> What about the 5 points for 2 years study? Can I still claim it if I change my occupation to Developer Programmer or does the course also need to be assessed by ACS?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Khan -

Would need to do a consultation with you (see my website below in signature for details) in order to properly review the submission you've developed and discuss it - a quick read won't do you (or I) any good. At 3 pages, that's far shorter than any Schedule 3 submission I've ever prepared. Would make sure you thoroughly understand the regulations and policy in this area, and that everything you say needs to be backed up by evidence from 3rd parties, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



khanislam said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you so much for your reply. Yes the PAM3 policy was explained and with a comprehensive submission relating to the law and my situation. I explained in details my hardships as a sponsor with a lot of supporting documents too. Can I please forward that to you? it just 3 pages.
> 
> I went to the local MP. They agreed to contact the department. Dont know if it will make any difference?
> 
> Thanks again.
> Khan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kimpaul -

Thanks for the note The clause you are referring to is an exemption clause available to certain NZ citizens of the skills assessment requirements for the Direct Entry pathway for the 186 ENS visa. However the situation you're dealing with is different - for the Direct Entry (and TRT) pathways for the 186, it is a time of decision requirement that the nomination not have been previously withdrawn, and that the position at the nominating employer is still available to the applicant. Unfortunately if the employer withdraws the nomination or the position is not available at the time a decision is made on the 186 visa application, the application will be refused. You may want to consider withdrawing the application - this avoids a refusal, but you do not get review rights then. As far as review rights, you would have them for an onshore application refusal, but no good way to fight that, that I am aware of if the nomination was withdrawn prior to a visa decision. Since you still hold the 444/461 visas (I assume), there would not be any negative affect on those that I can see - those visas would continue as usual.

Sorry if this is not the news you were hoping for - please advise if I can assist further in any way -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kimpaul said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My husband and I (plus 3 young kids) are NZ Citizens on a SCV444 and have been living in Brisbane for the past 5years and would now like to apply for Permanent Residency in Australia.
> 
> My husband has been working for his employer for almost 4 years utilising his degree in a position shown on the ANZSCO register. We recently requested of his employer a nomination under the ENS - Direct Entry Stream 186 visa, which was duly done and paid for personally. The application was only recently submitted but now my husband has resigned from his position with this company and leaves this employment in mid-June 2014. The issue we now face is that information has come to light via the migration agent (that we were forced to use on behalf of the company, at great personal expense) that since he is not going to continue to be employed by the company that sponsored / nominated him for this 186 visa they will withdraw their nomination.
> 
> Our understanding, as NZ Citizens, is that there are certain exemptions allowed to us and the wording in regards to the exemptions on the DIA website clearly states "...are in Australia as the holder of a Special Category visa (subclass 444) or New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa (subclass 461) and have worked with your nominating employer in your nominated occupation for the past two years (not including any period of unpaid leave) in the three years before you apply for this visa.". We have also found this wording on the Commlaw website.
> 
> We cannot find any wording saying that he has to continue to be employed by that particular company for the next 2 years, or in fact, for any length of time. We can only find the clause shown above stating employment needs to be for the past 2 years. The migration agent and the company are trying to convince us otherwise.
> 
> Given our NZ Citizenship and other details, as far as we are concerned the company's involvement was purely to provide proof of employment (and other company information) so that the nomination could be lodged so that we could then link our PR application to that.
> 
> We would really appreciate any light you may be able to shed on this situation and thank you for your time.
> 
> Regards,
> KimPaul


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussieheart -

What a wonderful and touching story! I'm so glad you've found happiness in Australia. Now the trick is - staying here!

First, if you are looking at another WHM visa, make sure you understand all the regulations about that (including the ones about "rural work", etc).

Regarding your Engineering degree, the skills assessments from Engineers Australia do not normally come with an expiration date.

Re: State sponsorship, you should check out each state's skilled migration website and follow the procedures to apply for the state you're interested in - these lists/quotas reset in July, so might be better to look then. Each state has different requirements re: work experience - some require, some do not, and some require only for selected occupations - best to check each state out individually.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussieheart said:


> Hey Mark!
> 
> I want to thank you for putting so much time and effort into helping people. I can associate myself with the many people that visit these forums and I know that a small piece of information can sometimes be worth more than gold.
> 
> I am 25 year old. I have been in Australia for almost a year now (on WHV). I have grown to love this country, its people and I can not image leaving it. My heart fell out of my sleeve and got lost somewhere between Brisbane and northern Queensland. It was stolen by this land.
> 
> I have been thinking of how to stay here after my second year WHV expires. Since I have a MSc in Civil Engineering, I have thought that maybe skilled immigration might be an option for me. However, according to my calculations, I am eligible for only 55 points (i.e if I receive IELTS 7.0). The major downside of my profile is my rather small work experience in what would be my nominated occupation. I left my native country right after graduation and, unfortunately, due to my visa type, finding employment in my field here in Australia is almost a mission impossible. I have been fortunate with the jobs that I have had (no fruit picking! , but the experience I have had doesn't exactly go hand in hand with my education.
> 
> Before I came to Australia, I considered continuing my studies. Now I have thought that maybe I shall do it here in Australia. It would be very expensive, but by doing that I would not only be pursuing my goals, but perhaps I would earn a few more points towards my EOI. So, this is something I have thought about, too.
> 
> Anyway, this is my story. I have thousands of questions in my head, but I will write down a few in hopes that maybe you will be able to give me some insight.
> 
> 1) Because my degree is not directly accredited, I would need to have my skills assessed by Engineers Australia. Would you happen to know if skills assessment has a specific expiration date? Is it possible to have my skills assessed tomorrow, but submit an EOI using these results in, say, 3 years time?
> 
> 2) Is it possible to submit an EOI with 55 points and hope for a state nominaton and additional 5 points? From your experience, how likely is a state nomination for someone with not particularly extensive work experience anyway?
> 
> 3) Do you see any other possible ways to grab those extra points or how I could extend my stay in this wonderful country? I would like to stay here for as long as possible, if not for the rest of my life. As I said, Australia has really taken a rather sizable piece of my heart. In a year, I have managed to make my own life here.
> 
> I am very grateful for your response and I bow down to you in appreciation.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kayce -

Thanks for the note and welcome to the forum!

The 835 visa is due to be discontinued at any moment now, and unfortunately you would not qualify due to your mum. Despite no contact, that doesn't alter the regulations regarding qualifying.

Some other thoughts - have you looked into the subclass 485 graduate skilled visa, depending on what you are studying? That visa is specifically designed for people who finish degrees here and want to continue - might be worth a look.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kayce said:


> G'day everyone!
> 
> I just created an account because I'am seeking for help!
> 
> My recent case is that Iam living in Australia since more than 2 years now with my dad who got the residency and my stepmum who got the citizenship. I just got a student visa and Iam really strugglin because I want to be here permament! I found the visa called "remaining relative visa subclass 835" and now Iam wondering If I could apply even if it says your only near relatives are living in Australia? My parents are divorced and I don't have contact to my mum. She is living in Germany and Iam originally from there as well. It is a long story what happened in the past but anyway I just want to be here and live without worries! Thank all


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enida -

Thanks for the questions. For highest degree recog, I would put the Bachelor. For the other question, I'd put what you put on the EOI.

Best,

Mark Northam



enida said:


> Dear Mr.Mark,
> Again me.
> I am trying to fill the visa application but I don't know how to fill the Education Sector. Your help is really precious for me.
> In Sep 2008 I graduated with Bachelor in Telecommunication Engineering and in Apr 2012 I graduated with Master of Science in Telecommunication Engineering. The assessment letter quotes: The competencies demonstrated taken in conjunction with the qualification completed in Sep 2008 have been assessed as meeting the academic requirement for standing as an Engineering Technologist. When I filled the EOI I declared as below.
> Does the client meet the Au study requirements for the Skilled Migration points test: No
> Has the client completed, or is currently enrolled in any studies at secondary level and above? Yes
> 1.Other qualification or award recognised by assessing authority - Telecommunications Engineering -> Bachelor's Degree
> 2.Other - Non AQF accreditation - Telecommunications Engineering -> Master of Science
> --
> Now in the visa application page it says:
> Highest recognized qualification obtained -> Is it Master?
> Has the client completed or is currently enrolled in any studies at secondary level and above? -> Should I put the same information that I provided in the EOI?
> 
> Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

Thanks for the kind words!

#1 reason that PMV's get refused in my experience is not satisfying the "intent to enter into a genuine spousal relationship" requirement. This usually happens because of either not enough familiarity with each other which produces conflicting or incorrect answers at an interview, DIY attempts at visa applications that don't include sufficient relevant relationship evidence, or too much time apart and a lack of quality time together sufficient to satisfy the case officer that the relationship is genuine and the parties intend to marry.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> THANK GOD!
> 
> Thank you Mark for such a big help for everyone here!
> YOU ARE AWESOME!
> What are the possible reasons PMV applicants get failed?
> 
> Thanks,
> Megz


----------



## enida

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Enida -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. For highest degree recog, I would put the Bachelor. For the other question, I'd put what you put on the EOI.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much for your precious answer.

Blessings,
Enida


----------



## Swittsexxy22

Hello Mark!

Hope you had a good day!

First I would like to thank you for all your help,I received my 820 visa on May 22.Wouldn't have it without you and everyone else's help here.

Just browsing immi site and this made me thinking:

A permanent visa can be granted earlier if either:
•when you apply, you have been in a relationship with your partner for not less than three years, or not less than two years if there is a dependent child of your relationship

Just wondering as before when we applied for 820 we were 4 years together already.Could you pls enlighten me on this?

Thank you in advance.


----------



## gin5678

Hi mark
Can I sponsor my baby (1 year old) inside Australia or does he have to be outside of Australia during the sponsorship process? I am currently a PR, and outside of Australia but m planning to fly there soon with baby (baby was born in Canada).


----------



## Danvisa

*Aust bank account save for 600 visa*

Hi mark
I am currently awaiting a FOI file for my girlfriend from her last 600 visa visit to australia before going ahead with a PMV visa
My question is about her proving sufficient funds to support her self on the 600 visa we will submit at the same time
When she was in australia last time we set up a aust bank account for her in her own name to simplify the processes of me sending her money (because i use the with the same bank transfers are instant and fees are low) she access the money with an ATM card.
Will immigration accept an offshore bank account saving same as if it were a thai bank or does she need to save it in her thai bank?
She always withdraws the money straight away and deposits it in her thai bank but in order ti save i want to make an account she cant access with the atm card and put money every week in said account.
Thankyou


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swittsexxy22 -

Congratulations on your visa!

Issuing the PR version of the visa (subclass 801) is a discretion that the case officer can choose to do or not do based on your circumstances - ie, even if your relationship is 3+ years, it only means that it is possible for the case officer to do this, not that the case officer necessarily will do this. Once the 820 is issued, it's almost impossible to get them to change their mind on this (although I've seen it happen once after a couple wrote to the case officer immediately after the 820 was issued).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Swittsexxy22 said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> Hope you had a good day!
> 
> First I would like to thank you for all your help,I received my 820 visa on May 22.Wouldn't have it without you and everyone else's help here.
> 
> Just browsing immi site and this made me thinking:
> 
> A permanent visa can be granted earlier if either:
> •when you apply, you have been in a relationship with your partner for not less than three years, or not less than two years if there is a dependent child of your relationship
> 
> Just wondering as before when we applied for 820 we were 4 years together already.Could you pls enlighten me on this?
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gin5678 -

Works either way - you can apply for a subclass 101 offshore child visa when the child is outside Australia, or a subclass 802 child visa when the child is in Australia (assuming their visa does not have a No Further Stay condition). The key is that you need to provide evidence that all persons who have any legal say as to where the child lives or travels agree to the visa application, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gin5678 said:


> Hi mark
> Can I sponsor my baby (1 year old) inside Australia or does he have to be outside of Australia during the sponsorship process? I am currently a PR, and outside of Australia but m planning to fly there soon with baby (baby was born in Canada).


----------



## Kiwiana

I have got a question, I have been reading around about Form 80 in here.

Do I supposed to have send Form 80 with my application (subclass 802) or should I wait for a Case Office to request for Form 80?


----------



## CollegeGirl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swittsexxy22 -
> 
> Congratulations on your visa!
> 
> Issuing the PR version of the visa (subclass 801) is a discretion that the case officer can choose to do or not do based on your circumstances - ie, even if your relationship is 3+ years, it only means that it is possible for the case officer to do this, not that the case officer necessarily will do this. Once the 820 is issued, it's almost impossible to get them to change their mind on this (although I've seen it happen once after a couple wrote to the case officer immediately after the 820 was issued).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Just to add to this - Swittsexxy, by "in a relationship" I believe they mean in a de facto relationship (i.e., generally, you were living together) or married. A long distance or dating relationship would not count towards the time for this. (Mark can correct me if I'm wrong?)


----------



## Swittsexxy22

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swittsexxy22 -
> 
> Congratulations on your visa!
> 
> Issuing the PR version of the visa (subclass 801) is a discretion that the case officer can choose to do or not do based on your circumstances - ie, even if your relationship is 3+ years, it only means that it is possible for the case officer to do this, not that the case officer necessarily will do this. Once the 820 is issued, it's almost impossible to get them to change their mind on this (although I've seen it happen once after a couple wrote to the case officer immediately after the 820 was issued).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for your prompt response Mark!I wouldn't really bother writing to case officer and it's nothing to worry about,what matters is i got my 820,i just asked out of my curiousity.

Thank you again!Hope you will have a great day!


----------



## megzchong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Megz -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words!
> 
> #1 reason that PMV's get refused in my experience is not satisfying the "intent to enter into a genuine spousal relationship" requirement. This usually happens because of either not enough familiarity with each other which produces conflicting or incorrect answers at an interview, DIY attempts at visa applications that don't include sufficient relevant relationship evidence, or too much time apart and a lack of quality time together sufficient to satisfy the case officer that the relationship is genuine and the parties intend to marry.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark! When it comes to our relationship I am pretty sure we are genuine couple and that the only negative thing I see about our case is the fact he doesn't have that much money or say, "that rich" or have a job that earns a lot, have own car and house etc. So I am guessing with what your advice here, as long as we are genuine couple, no matter if hes rich or not, we have a strong chance to pass the PMV? Because we are planning to apply for PMV as soon as we get the money for the visa charge, which is more or less $4000 for everything that covers the visa. What would you advice Mark?

Thanks.
Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kiwiana -

Either way is OK - you may want to wait to see if they request it - typically applications from what DIBP considers "lower risk" countries can sometimes not require Form 80.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kiwiana said:


> I have got a question, I have been reading around about Form 80 in here.
> 
> Do I supposed to have send Form 80 with my application (subclass 802) or should I wait for a Case Office to request for Form 80?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

The key to PMV is the evidence provided with the application and whether that evidence is sufficient to convince the case officer that the relationship is genuine. If the evidence is strong and there is no information to the contrary, then an application usually has a good chance of success - but the key is the evidence, not just the beliefs/opinions of the applicant & sponsor. This is typically where a migration agent can be very helpful - in reviewing the evidence and application to give a professional opinion as to the strength of the evidence and spot any potential problems in the evidence, statements, etc. If you don't have an agent prepare & lodge your application, you might find it helpful to engage and agent for a review only, prior to lodging.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Thank you Mark! When it comes to our relationship I am pretty sure we are genuine couple and that the only negative thing I see about our case is the fact he doesn't have that much money or say, "that rich" or have a job that earns a lot, have own car and house etc. So I am guessing with what your advice here, as long as we are genuine couple, no matter if hes rich or not, we have a strong chance to pass the PMV? Because we are planning to apply for PMV as soon as we get the money for the visa charge, which is more or less $4000 for everything that covers the visa. What would you advice Mark?
> 
> Thanks.
> Megz


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark! 

On behalf of the other members of this forum, I would like to thank you for your time in answering all our questions. You are a great help to us.

I am gathering now the requirements for my Partner Visa 820 ( de facto) hopefully by end of August.

As early as now, can I do my health check online and schedule my health check so that I may be able to submit an application decision ready together with my police clearance? 

Thank you in advance.
Ninja 69


----------



## megzchong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Megz -
> 
> The key to PMV is the evidence provided with the application and whether that evidence is sufficient to convince the case officer that the relationship is genuine. If the evidence is strong and there is no information to the contrary, then an application usually has a good chance of success - but the key is the evidence, not just the beliefs/opinions of the applicant & sponsor. This is typically where a migration agent can be very helpful - in reviewing the evidence and application to give a professional opinion as to the strength of the evidence and spot any potential problems in the evidence, statements, etc. If you don't have an agent prepare & lodge your application, you might find it helpful to engage and agent for a review only, prior to lodging.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for your advice Mark! When we finally get to apply for PMV, at least how long can I book a date for wedding to make sure that when they grant the visa, it is still within the 9mo duration of the PMV? For example if we apply this August, would September 8, 2015 be a good date? Whats your suggestion?

Thanks.
Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

Since DIBP's times are hard to predict, anything based on the visa date is too. I'd say 12-14 months out from visa application is probably safe, especially since DIBP wants lots of evidence of your planned wedding event, but better make sure you can change the date without penalty as DIBP is highly unpredictable in terms of processing times.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Thank you for your advice Mark! When we finally get to apply for PMV, at least how long can I book a date for wedding to make sure that when they grant the visa, it is still within the 9mo duration of the PMV? For example if we apply this August, would September 8, 2015 be a good date? Whats your suggestion?
> 
> Thanks.
> Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

You're welcome! Glad I could help.

Re: health checks for partner visa, would do them just before lodgement, as they expire in 1 year and if they expire before DIBP makes a decision, you could end up having to take them again (!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> On behalf of the other members of this forum, I would like to thank you for your time in answering all our questions. You are a great help to us.
> 
> I am gathering now the requirements for my Partner Visa 820 ( de facto) hopefully by end of August.
> 
> As early as now, can I do my health check online and schedule my health check so that I may be able to submit an application decision ready together with my police clearance?
> 
> Thank you in advance.
> Ninja 69


----------



## smudge

Hi Mark.. On the online partner visa application, for the date of grant for the sponsor. Is that the date the permanent residency was granted or the initial PMV grant? 

If it is the date the permanent visa was granted, then I will not be past the 5 years mark necessary to sponsor. Is that the date they take it from or from when the whole application was started..ie from PMV grant.

Thank you


----------



## Kayce

Thank you Mark for your quick reply! Do you think they will change it this year so I could still apply? Iam studying diploma in accounting at the moment and I don't believe that I can afford the fees for the university one day I have to to a masters or bachelor. 
Or any other chance because my family is here? Should I give it a try?


----------



## sidjun

Dear Mark

I needed some guidance on certification requirement for 189 visa application. 

I have noticed on skillselect website where it mention ALL documents to be certified, scanned and uploaded whereas in document checklist it does not mention certification for each and every document. 

Please guide me on whether to get all documents certified. If not, then which ones need certification?

Thanks.


----------



## alexlllring

Hi Mark,

I am new to this website, have a question for visa 103 parent visa, please advice.

Immi office said need certified documents for my parent's birth certificate,etc. It has been certified overseas, do I have to wait for the orginal certified copy send to me or instead I can ask them color scan to me to save some time.

I want to send all the documents to immi office as soon as possible before this visa canelled

Thanks lots for your help!

Ring


----------



## megsy

*Prospective marriage visa to partner visa*

Hi Mark,

You helped me so much with fiances prospective marriage Visa 

My fiance has his PMV granted in January and is now in Australia (from Indonesia) we will be married in July this year and then will have to apply for the partner visa so he can stay (his PMV runs out in October)

I was just wondering about the process of applying for the Partner Visa when holding a PMV? is it exactly the same as if he didnt have the PMV?

I noticed that the forms and information were almost exactly the same as what we filled in for the PMV... just want to make sure this is a less stressful time as i feel we've already given SO much info for the PMV am hoping its much easier for the Partner Visa 

thanks for your help,

Meagan Drury


----------



## ceciliaat7

Hi Mark, my mum is preparing to apply her 103 non-contributory parents visa around mid-June. she really wants to visit Sydney to attend my wedding ceremony on the 11th July. does she can apply both 103 visa and travelling visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Smudge -

If you're talking about the 5 year sponsorship limitation issue, the 5 year period starts form the date of application of any relevant "permission" (which means visa essentially). So if there was a previous partner visa application which resulted in a visa being granted, then the date of partner visa application would be the start date of the 5 year period. If there was a PMV before that, wouldn't matter if there was a later partner visa application made and granted (either provisional partner or PR partner part of the visa).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



smudge said:


> Hi Mark.. On the online partner visa application, for the date of grant for the sponsor. Is that the date the permanent residency was granted or the initial PMV grant?
> 
> If it is the date the permanent visa was granted, then I will not be past the 5 years mark necessary to sponsor. Is that the date they take it from or from when the whole application was started..ie from PMV grant.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kayce -

If you're referring to the Remaining Relative visa (sc835), if I recall your previous post, you have a parent living outside Australia - that would disqualify you from this visa. Plus, they have announced this visa will be ending at some point before 1 July 2014. No point I can see in applying for this visa as you would not qualify.

You could look at the other family visas on the Immi website, but I don't see one that would work for you at this point unless you might work with the Child visa (subclass 802) if you can show dependency on a parent here who is an Australian citizen or PR, and if you are and have been enrolled in full time study since age 18, and you are between 18 and 25 years of age. You would need to study the details for this visa carefully if you think you qualify and see if you can meet all the requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kayce said:


> Thank you Mark for your quick reply! Do you think they will change it this year so I could still apply? Iam studying diploma in accounting at the moment and I don't believe that I can afford the fees for the university one day I have to to a masters or bachelor.
> Or any other chance because my family is here? Should I give it a try?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sidjun -

General policy from DIBP for online apps is that all docs must be colour scans of originals. Certified copies generally needed only for hardcopy applications. In some cases case officers want to see scans of certified copies when it's not clear that the scan is a colour scan of the original, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sidjun said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I needed some guidance on certification requirement for 189 visa application.
> 
> I have noticed on skillselect website where it mention ALL documents to be certified, scanned and uploaded whereas in document checklist it does not mention certification for each and every document.
> 
> Please guide me on whether to get all documents certified. If not, then which ones need certification?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AlexIIIring -

Please see my response on the other post you made with this question on the other thread - short answer: check with case officer to see what he/she wants.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alexlllring said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new to this website, have a question for visa 103 parent visa, please advice.
> 
> Immi office said need certified documents for my parent's birth certificate,etc. It has been certified overseas, do I have to wait for the orginal certified copy send to me or instead I can ask them color scan to me to save some time.
> 
> I want to send all the documents to immi office as soon as possible before this visa canelled
> 
> Thanks lots for your help!
> 
> Ring


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Meagan -

Yes, you get to fill out those forms again - hooray! However it's an online application and the online questions are very similar to the questions on Forms 40sp and 47sp so if you kept those, you only need to look for any updates needed to those, then enter the info into the online forms.

Re: relationship evidence, you need all of that again. This time, however would focus on the relationship evidence since the PMV was granted, since they've already seen the evidence from before.

Good news is that you get a big discount on the onshore partner visa visa application fee since you already have the PMV!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megsy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> You helped me so much with fiances prospective marriage Visa
> 
> My fiance has his PMV granted in January and is now in Australia (from Indonesia) we will be married in July this year and then will have to apply for the partner visa so he can stay (his PMV runs out in October)
> 
> I was just wondering about the process of applying for the Partner Visa when holding a PMV? is it exactly the same as if he didnt have the PMV?
> 
> I noticed that the forms and information were almost exactly the same as what we filled in for the PMV... just want to make sure this is a less stressful time as i feel we've already given SO much info for the PMV am hoping its much easier for the Partner Visa
> 
> thanks for your help,
> 
> Meagan Drury


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, but I wouldn't wait until mid-June to lodge the 103 since that visa is going to be ended at some point prior to 1 July 2014 per DIBP announcement. I would lodge ASAP as the cutoff for those may come without much (or any) notice - impossible to say for sure. DIBP says they will "announce the date" shortly...

Depending on her circumstances, may be better to lodge the visitor visa just after lodging the 103, so they can see 103 already lodged when they assess the visitor visa. For her it might make no difference depending on her country of citizenship and the other circumstances of her visitor application though.

Then again, a wedding is a non-moveable event! Probably better to lodge visitor visa ASAP to try and get here for the wedding since DIBP processing times are hard to pin down. If she is getting an ETA or eVisitor, then processing times should be very short, if subclass 600 visitor, then can be weeks and weeks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ceciliaat7 said:


> Hi Mark, my mum is preparing to apply her 103 non-contributory parents visa around mid-June. she really wants to visit Sydney to attend my wedding ceremony on the 11th July. does she can apply both 103 visa and travelling visa?


----------



## BennyJayKay

Hi Mark!

I was granted a Work and Holiday Visa 462 (from USA) in June 2013. It expires in a couple of weeks and I was wondering if it's possible to apply for another W&H Visa 462 (Onshore) to extend my stay? Or can I travel overseas to NZ to visit family, reapply for a W&H 462 and come back to Australia? I'm in Brisbane by the way.

Thanks!


----------



## arunraman7

Hi,

I Have applied for EOI in the month of Feb with 55 points (for 190). Have 7 band score in IELTS and 2.5 years related work experience (verified by ACS). The role I have applied for is 263111 (Computer Network and system Engineer) and havent got an invite yet.

Now, I'm concerned if I need to have a minimum of 3 years of work exp to get an invite, I don't find any such criteria on the skillselect website though. Could some one clarify if we need a minimum of 3 years work exp, because I am now preparing for a 8 band in IELTS to add more points to aspire for 189 visa, but this thought has put me into dilemma. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Benny Jay Kay -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately no good news on this one - unlike the Euro version of the WH visa (417), a person with a 462 can only get one of these - it's not possible to extend it for another WH visa stay. A 462 is a once-per-person type visa, so once you've been granted one of these, it's not possible to get another one, regardless of whether you depart Australia after it expires or not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BennyJayKay said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I was granted a Work and Holiday Visa 462 (from USA) in June 2013. It expires in a couple of weeks and I was wondering if it's possible to apply for another W&H Visa 462 (Onshore) to extend my stay? Or can I travel overseas to NZ to visit family, reapply for a W&H 462 and come back to Australia? I'm in Brisbane by the way.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arunraman7 -

No DIBP requirement for minimum work experience, as long as you have met whatever ACS may need and have positive skills assessment from them. However since the 190 visa is state sponsored, each state has the ability to add on extra requirements on a per-occupation basis - you may want to check for each state you're interested in to see if they have added any minimum work experience requirements to the DIBP minimums.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arunraman7 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I Have applied for EOI in the month of Feb with 55 points (for 190). Have 7 band score in IELTS and 2.5 years related work experience (verified by ACS). The role I have applied for is 263111 (Computer Network and system Engineer) and havent got an invite yet.
> 
> Now, I'm concerned if I need to have a minimum of 3 years of work exp to get an invite, I don't find any such criteria on the skillselect website though. Could some one clarify if we need a minimum of 3 years work exp, because I am now preparing for a 8 band in IELTS to add more points to aspire for 189 visa, but this thought has put me into dilemma. Thank you.


----------



## Ferdous

Hi Mark,
I have applied for 189 visa last August 2013 and last month i got a reply from my CO that, my application is subject to security check and it will take long time. But without my residency i can get a good accounting job here. So now I'm thinking to apply for another 190 visa next month because i heard 190 visa is quicker than 189 visa. 
My inquiry is, will my 190 visa be affected by my previous 189 visa security check?

Thanks


----------



## Bhavin_Crown

Hi Mark Hope You Are Doing Well. I am offshore 190 applicant with qld nomination visa lodged on 12th March, my query is about points claimed for experience. My skill is microbiology with total experience from 05/07 to 05/12. we submitted our skill assessment on 11/13 in vetassess which came positive in feb with comment tht at least three years of experience is at highly relevant to skill and shows date 11/08 to 05/12. This date which they hv mentioned is excatly 5 years from the date we applied as that much experience only they can assess as far their rule. Now I hv taken my entire experience as a skilled and claimed 10 points 4 that, which means also counted experience of 05/07 to 10/08. As far my understanding dibp counts total experience in last 10 years from the date of yr eoi. I hv done right thing or not want to take yr call mark....


----------



## cozimhappy

Hi Mark just wonderi g if you could tell me how long DIAC takes to clear my medical for 309 visa? I had it done a few weeks ago but havent heard anything. Im confident its fine but will feel better getting official all clear. Many thanks for your time!!


----------



## SoniaS

Hey Mark,

Thanks for opening this thread up, think I speak for all of us that we all appreciate what you've done here. My query today is regarding visa processing times...

A little about myself firstly, my partner and I have lodged the Partner Visa (one month into the process). My nationality is Romanian but have been residing in the UK for the past six years. My partner and I are quickly coming up to our two year anniversary together.

We have been quoted five months maximum processing time on the phone to the relative department (connected through from the Australian High Commission in London, but have noticed the differences in actual processing times, both on this forum and through other accounted experiences. Do we take this with a pinch of salt or is it concrete? Looking at all the differing examples on offer throughout the internet has left us up in the air as to what to expect and we'd much rather (obviously) have a firm idea of what to expect rather than being left in the dark.

Thanks for your time once again. Love your work!


----------



## depende

Hi Mark,

One requirement of the 187 visa is I have to work with my employer that sponsored me at least 2 years but what happen if my employer says after one year that he has not more work for me? Do I lose my PR 187?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ferdous -

Thanks for the note. In my experience no big difference between processing times for 189 vs 190 visa; both would require the same security check(s) - not sure i see the point in a 190 application. However, no legal reason I can see why you cannot lodge the 190 while the 189 is still processing - whenever they are ready to grant one of these visas, they will probably contact you and ask you to withdraw the other application so they can grant the one they're ready to grant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ferdous said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have applied for 189 visa last August 2013 and last month i got a reply from my CO that, my application is subject to security check and it will take long time. But without my residency i can get a good accounting job here. So now I'm thinking to apply for another 190 visa next month because i heard 190 visa is quicker than 189 visa.
> My inquiry is, will my 190 visa be affected by my previous 189 visa security check?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bhavin_Crown -

Thanks for the note. Would have to see your VETASSESS document and work documents in a consultation session to give you any specific advice, however depending on what the VETASSESS doc says, you can only claimed work that is considered skilled for points. If VETASSESS as assessed work as non-skilled for whatever reason, you can't claim that for points. As far as the period of work, you can claim work up until the date of your invitation to lodge a visa (from DIBP) for points as long as you can show it's skilled work - usually this is continuing work at a job that was previously assessed on your skills assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bhavin_Crown said:


> Hi Mark Hope You Are Doing Well. I am offshore 190 applicant with qld nomination visa lodged on 12th March, my query is about points claimed for experience. My skill is microbiology with total experience from 05/07 to 05/12. we submitted our skill assessment on 11/13 in vetassess which came positive in feb with comment tht at least three years of experience is at highly relevant to skill and shows date 11/08 to 05/12. This date which they hv mentioned is excatly 5 years from the date we applied as that much experience only they can assess as far their rule. Now I hv taken my entire experience as a skilled and claimed 10 points 4 that, which means also counted experience of 05/07 to 10/08. As far my understanding dibp counts total experience in last 10 years from the date of yr eoi. I hv done right thing or not want to take yr call mark....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cozimhappy -

No good way to predict - I've seen them through in a few weeks, others can take 1-2 months or in some cases more. Normally you will not hear anything re: your medical unless there is an issue with the medical.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cozimhappy said:


> Hi Mark just wonderi g if you could tell me how long DIAC takes to clear my medical for 309 visa? I had it done a few weeks ago but havent heard anything. Im confident its fine but will feel better getting official all clear. Many thanks for your time!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SoniaS -

Thanks for the note and the kind words!

I would not take anything DIBP says as firm re: processing times, because by law they essentially have no time limits on most of what they do (other than certain things like protection visas, etc). I'd assume 6 to 12 months, and be very happy if it comes in before that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SoniaS said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Thanks for opening this thread up, think I speak for all of us that we all appreciate what you've done here. My query today is regarding visa processing times...
> 
> A little about myself firstly, my partner and I have lodged the Partner Visa (one month into the process). My nationality is Romanian but have been residing in the UK for the past six years. My partner and I are quickly coming up to our two year anniversary together.
> 
> We have been quoted five months maximum processing time on the phone to the relative department (connected through from the Australian High Commission in London, but have noticed the differences in actual processing times, both on this forum and through other accounted experiences. Do we take this with a pinch of salt or is it concrete? Looking at all the differing examples on offer throughout the internet has left us up in the air as to what to expect and we'd much rather (obviously) have a firm idea of what to expect rather than being left in the dark.
> 
> Thanks for your time once again. Love your work!


----------



## Ninja69

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ninja69 -
> 
> You're welcome! Glad I could help.
> 
> Re: health checks for partner visa, would do them just before lodgement, as they expire in 1 year and if they expire before DIBP makes a decision, you could end up having to take them again (!).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for your time and effort in answering my inquiry.

If I file my Partner Visa 820 ( de facto) in August can I schedule the health check as early as now say next week? Is it too soon?

Thank you in advance,
Cheers! 
Ninja 69


----------



## ceciliaat7

Hi Mark, is that possible to submit the form and pay for the fee only at the moment , and resubmit the other document later??

to do that just want to make sure the application in the queue...


----------



## Bhavin_Crown

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bhavin_Crown -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Would have to see your VETASSESS document and work documents in a consultation session to give you any specific advice, however depending on what the VETASSESS doc says, you can only claimed work that is considered skilled for points. If VETASSESS as assessed work as non-skilled for whatever reason, you can't claim that for points. As far as the period of work, you can claim work up until the date of your invitation to lodge a visa (from DIBP) for points as long as you can show it's skilled work - usually this is continuing work at a job that was previously assessed on your skills assessment.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mate for yr advice. But my experience on which vetassess had not given opinion is of a same employer but dates before 5 years which they dnt give advice on. I hv not opted for points based advice for my employment. I hv done my skill assessment only. what is the thumb rule for employment which yr assessing authority cannot assess because it is falling outside there time line Mark I hv already filed my visa 3 months back yet to get CO ..... plz give me a way out....


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Benny Jay Kay -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Unfortunately no good news on this one - unlike the Euro version of the WH visa (417), a person with a 462 can only get one of these - it's not possible to extend it for another WH visa stay. A 462 is a once-per-person type visa, so once you've been granted one of these, it's not possible to get another one, regardless of whether you depart Australia after it expires or not.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark how are u? im josie i hope u.remember me n my fiance planning to go home inAL the phil by nov to engage n lodge the pmv in embassy in the phil i just take my vac for two weeks n go.back here in taiwan it is ok to do that but om april next im going home bec i fin my contract do u think they accept our doc as long the doc is completed by me my fiance


----------



## sueann16

Hi Mark, 

Thanks again for all your help. 

I'm currently attaching all supporting documents to go with my partner visa application and i would like to know whether i need to attach form 956 or 956A as I've indicated under 'Authorised person' that my dad can be authorized to receive any communication on my application.

I'm not too sure whether it should be form 956 or 956A to be filled up. Could you advise which would be the appropriate form and whether there is an online version available to this form? If not I believe scanning the softcopy would be appropriate. 

Thanks again for your help in this area. It's so very much appreciated!

Regards, 
Sue ann


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bhavin -

Would need to examine your documents at a consultation in order to give you any specific information - the rules are simply too complex and are based on specific wording and language, etc. No "rules of thumb" that I know of in immigration since every rule seems to have an if, and or but after it (or many)! If you're interested in a consultation, please click on web link below in my signature and when at our site click on the consultation link at the top of the page.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bhavin_Crown said:


> Thanks Mate for yr advice. But my experience on which vetassess had not given opinion is of a same employer but dates before 5 years which they dnt give advice on. I hv not opted for points based advice for my employment. I hv done my skill assessment only. what is the thumb rule for employment which yr assessing authority cannot assess because it is falling outside there time line Mark I hv already filed my visa 3 months back yet to get CO ..... plz give me a way out....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja -

A bit too soon I would say - for partner visas which can take up to a year (or more) to process, best not to do health checks more than 30 days before lodging (alternative - do them after lodging).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Thank you Mark for your time and effort in answering my inquiry.
> 
> If I file my Partner Visa 820 ( de facto) in August can I schedule the health check as early as now say next week? Is it too soon?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Cheers!
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ceciliaat7 -

Depends on the visa, but generally much better to upload all forms at lodgement, or within a couple of days of lodgement. For partner visas OK to add additional evidence later on (even months later), etc. But if something is a time-of-application requirement (like IELTS, skills assessment, etc), need to lodge at time of application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ceciliaat7 said:


> Hi Mark, is that possible to submit the form and pay for the fee only at the moment , and resubmit the other document later??
> 
> to do that just want to make sure the application in the queue...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Thanks for the note. I don't know enough about your case to answer your questions - would need to see any documents you are asking about whether they will accept or not, etc. I have no idea what your current immigration status is, etc just too many unknowns to give you any sort of a specific answer.

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> Hi Mark how are u? im josie i hope u.remember me n my fiance planning to go home inAL the phil by nov to engage n lodge the pmv in embassy in the phil i just take my vac for two weeks n go.back here in taiwan it is ok to do that but om april next im going home bec i fin my contract do u think they accept our doc as long the doc is completed by me my fiance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sueann16 -

Thanks for the note. From what you've said, Form 956A would be the right form - no online version available, so best to download the PDF from DIBP site, then fill, print, sign, scan and upload to your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sueann16 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks again for all your help.
> 
> I'm currently attaching all supporting documents to go with my partner visa application and i would like to know whether i need to attach form 956 or 956A as I've indicated under 'Authorised person' that my dad can be authorized to receive any communication on my application.
> 
> I'm not too sure whether it should be form 956 or 956A to be filled up. Could you advise which would be the appropriate form and whether there is an online version available to this form? If not I believe scanning the softcopy would be appropriate.
> 
> Thanks again for your help in this area. It's so very much appreciated!
> 
> Regards,
> Sue ann


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I don't know enough about your case to answer your questions - would need to see any documents you are asking about whether they will accept or not, etc. I have no idea what your current immigration status is, etc just too many unknowns to give you any sort of a specific answer.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thnks mark do u think dont any complicated situation coming when lodge the doc in the phils


----------



## Bug_Hunter

Hi Mark!

Can you please clear following confusion of mine? 
When I submitted EOI, I mentioned my wife as a non-immigrant-dependent.

Then I got the invite, created an immi-account and started filling the application.

Now, My thought is that in the application, I will have to show my wife again as non-immigrant-dependent since the application has to match the EOI right?

but to my surprise, the option is not disabled, and I can still add her as the accompanying dependent.

I am confused that if I alter any information from EOI, DIAC will reject the application 

any thoughts?

thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

With dozens of requirements, and the Philippines adding on even more of their own "special" requirements like CENOMAR and others, visas are complicated. As I've recommended to you before, you may want to consult with a registered migration agent to make sure you understand each and every one of the requirements for lodging in the Philippines to ensure the best chances of success for your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> thnks mark do u think dont any complicated situation coming when lodge the doc in the phils


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bug_hunter -

No problem adding dependents on the visa application - the key thing that you don't want to change from the EOI are work experience or anything else that reduces your skilled visa points test score.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bug_Hunter said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Can you please clear following confusion of mine?
> When I submitted EOI, I mentioned my wife as a non-immigrant-dependent.
> 
> Then I got the invite, created an immi-account and started filling the application.
> 
> Now, My thought is that in the application, I will have to show my wife again as non-immigrant-dependent since the application has to match the EOI right?
> 
> but to my surprise, the option is not disabled, and I can still add her as the accompanying dependent.
> 
> I am confused that if I alter any information from EOI, DIAC will reject the application
> 
> any thoughts?
> 
> thank you in advance


----------



## Kiwiana

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kiwiana -
> 
> Either way is OK - you may want to wait to see if they request it - typically applications from what DIBP considers "lower risk" countries can sometimes not require Form 80.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark, will keep an eye out of my email if they request it.


----------



## khanislam

Hi Mark

Thank you so much for your reply. Yes the PAM3 policy was explained and with a comprehensive submission relating to the law and my situation. I explained in details my hardships as a sponsor with a lot of supporting documents too. Can I please forward that to you? it just 3 pages.

I went to the local MP. They agreed to contact the department. but not much help there 

Thanks again.
Khan



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Khanislam -
> 
> Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your situation. A few thoughts:
> 
> ** Did the previous waiver request contain substantial supporting evidence from third parties and a detailed, comprehensive legal submission citing the appropriate PAM3 policy regarding sponsorship waiting period waiver requests, etc?
> 
> ** Did the previous waiver request focus on the hardship created for the sponsor (not so much for the applicant!) - this is a very common error that some people make - ie, focusing on the hardship to the applicant, rather than focusing on the hardship to the sponsor that would be created if the waiver was not granted.
> 
> ** The MRT is probably going to take too long - I agree with you about that, however it still may be worth a shot.I would really need to see the waiver request package to give you any thoughts on chances of success
> 
> ** Unfortunately DIBP gives little legal significance to pregnancies. However once a child is born, it's a different story - the best interests of the child come into play, and that changes things from a legal standpoint considerably. If an applicant and sponsor have a dependent child between them that is dependent on both of them, this is already mentioned in the DIBP policy as likely to be "compelling" (ie, sufficient to waive the 5 year limitation).
> 
> At this point unless the previous waiver application was significantly deficient in one or more areas, my thought would be to wait until the child is born, then immediately lodge the waiver request again based on the two of you needing to be together to support the child, and that the child is/would be dependent on both of you.
> 
> Otherwise, anything you can do re: politicians, etc to try and make progress probably wouldn't hurt.
> 
> Please advise if I can assist further -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## khanislam

Hi Mark

Thank you again. Please ignore my other message. The submission itself with the PAM 3 is 3 pages then I had all supporting documents which is another 15/20 pages. I am looking into you website and will get in touch. Really appreciate your help.

Regards
Khan



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Khan -
> 
> Would need to do a consultation with you (see my website below in signature for details) in order to properly review the submission you've developed and discuss it - a quick read won't do you (or I) any good. At 3 pages, that's far shorter than any Schedule 3 submission I've ever prepared. Would make sure you thoroughly understand the regulations and policy in this area, and that everything you say needs to be backed up by evidence from 3rd parties, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> With dozens of requirements, and the Philippines adding on even more of their own "special" requirements like CENOMAR and others, visas are complicated. As I've recommended to you before, you may want to consult with a registered migration agent to make sure you understand each and every one of the requirements for lodging in the Philippines to ensure the best chances of success for your application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


we dont get any agent for processing visa what i thought is they considering our pmv even im here in taiwa


----------



## pigby

Hi Mark!

Good day to you! I have submitted and paid for my visa application yesterday, and today I see a list of documents under the Next Steps section of my account. They are all tagged as "Recommended" - none is "Required".

I was wondering, am I to attach ONLY those documents for now? Or is that list just some sort of a generic list they give to everyone and they expect more?


----------



## megzchong

Hi Mark,

From all your experiences, what was the quickest time a PMV can be granted in Philippines and what do you think is the main reason they have granted such PMV that quick?

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pigby -

I wouldn't trust the "required" vs "recommended" language on the upload page as I've seen it wrong many times. Suggest you check out DIBP PDF checklist for the visa you've lodged (often can be located on the visa page for that visa on the immi.gov.au site or Google it). I would attached as many docs as you can, as soon as you can.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pigby said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Good day to you! I have submitted and paid for my visa application yesterday, and today I see a list of documents under the Next Steps section of my account. They are all tagged as "Recommended" - none is "Required".
> 
> I was wondering, am I to attach ONLY those documents for now? Or is that list just some sort of a generic list they give to everyone and they expect more?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

Phil. processing is a mystery box - no way to tell what happens inside there. That being said, shortest I've seen is 6 months; longest 10 months, with the vast majority taking about 9 months. But remember, these times are highly unpredictable and DIBP has no legal constraints limiting how much time they can take with any particular visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> From all your experiences, what was the quickest time a PMV can be granted in Philippines and what do you think is the main reason they have granted such PMV that quick?
> 
> Thanks,
> Megz


----------



## sueann16

Many Thanks Mark for the quick reply. 

I've used form 956A as mentioned however there are some fields asking for :-

1. DIBP Client ID number 
2. DIBP Request ID number
3. DIBP Transaction Reference Number

I'm looking at my submission and I cannot locate these numbers however I did find these numbers below sent to me after i've lodged my application. I'm not sure whether this is in referral to the above.

Application ID : 209056xxxx
Transaction Reference Number EGO5Lxxxx
File Number BCC2014/122xxxx
Visa Application Centre Lodgement Number AUE-MY-60-001746-T

Appreciate your advice once again. 

Thanks loads!

Regards, 
Sue ann


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sueann -

You can list the TRN (Transaction Reference Number) - that should be enough.

Best,

Mark Northam



sueann16 said:


> Many Thanks Mark for the quick reply.
> 
> I've used form 956A as mentioned however there are some fields asking for :-
> 
> 1. DIBP Client ID number
> 2. DIBP Request ID number
> 3. DIBP Transaction Reference Number
> 
> I'm looking at my submission and I cannot locate these numbers however I did find these numbers below sent to me after i've lodged my application. I'm not sure whether this is in referral to the above.
> 
> Application ID : 209056xxxx
> Transaction Reference Number EGO5Lxxxx
> File Number BCC2014/122xxxx
> Visa Application Centre Lodgement Number AUE-MY-60-001746-T
> 
> Appreciate your advice once again.
> 
> Thanks loads!
> 
> Regards,
> Sue ann


----------



## sueann16

Thanks Mark, I will do so.

But how about the DIBP Client ID (CID)? Is that the 'Application ID' for my submission?

Application ID : 209056xxxx 

Or if it's not something that is generally sent to myself I will select the 'no' option.

Regards, 
sue ann


----------



## sidjun

Thanks again Mark. You have been a tremendous support.

Best Regards.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sidjun - General policy from DIBP for online apps is that all docs must be colour scans of originals. Certified copies generally needed only for hardcopy applications. In some cases case officers want to see scans of certified copies when it's not clear that the scan is a colour scan of the original, etc. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


----------



## Ned

Received our 457 visa today - for me and my de facto! hurrah! Took 7 weeks from logging to receipt! 

Quick final question on the de facto visa - does he have to be nominated as well by a company, or can he work for any employer?! 

Thanks! 
Ned


----------



## pigby

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pigby -
> 
> I wouldn't trust the "required" vs "recommended" language on the upload page as I've seen it wrong many times. Suggest you check out DIBP PDF checklist for the visa you've lodged (often can be located on the visa page for that visa on the immi.gov.au site or Google it). I would attached as many docs as you can, as soon as you can.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you, Mark! I checked the list in the DIBP site - the documents list in my Next Steps section does match. Are there any forms I need to submit though? (I see "Form 80" and some other forms being discussed in forums)


----------



## Ninja69

Thank you Mark for answering my inquiry. You are a great help to us ! 

Cheers!
Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sueann16 -

Nope, Client ID and Application ID are different things -

Best,

Mark Northam



sueann16 said:


> Thanks Mark, I will do so.
> 
> But how about the DIBP Client ID (CID)? Is that the 'Application ID' for my submission?
> 
> Application ID : 209056xxxx
> 
> Or if it's not something that is generally sent to myself I will select the 'no' option.
> 
> Regards,
> sue ann


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pigby -

You'll have to see whether the case officer/DIBP requires Form 80 (or in some less-common cases, Form 1221). Some people fill Form 80 out anyway to try and move things along - it's your choice to do that in advance or see if it is requested.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pigby said:


> Thank you, Mark! I checked the list in the DIBP site - the documents list in my Next Steps section does match. Are there any forms I need to submit though? (I see "Form 80" and some other forms being discussed in forums)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ned -

Defacto partners of 457 primary visa holders can work anywhere they'd like - no need to limit work to sponsoring employers. Only primary visa holder has that limitation - to work only for a sponsoring employer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ned said:


> Received our 457 visa today - for me and my de facto! hurrah! Took 7 weeks from logging to receipt!
> 
> Quick final question on the de facto visa - does he have to be nominated as well by a company, or can he work for any employer?!
> 
> Thanks!
> Ned


----------



## ozdas

*Wonder whether it's possible..*

Hello, Mark.

I will be really appreciate if you could help me.

I already got 820 visa about 4 months ago, but I was wondering, whether it will be okay to ask for early 801 visa without waiting another 2 years and how I can ask for it. 
Just realized that last month was our 3 year anniversary of the relationship and I read that if you were in the relationship for more than 3 years, 2 years waiting period can be maybe waived?

I wanted to wait patiently but it's really difficult to get into a graduate program without PR in Australia. If you can give me some advice, I will be truly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!
DS


----------



## Adrian Perth

Hi Mark, 

I am confusing on my qualification points claim as I do not have bachelor degree to underpin my master degree. However I have a positive and valid skill assessment. 

I have master accounting degree in Australia and CPA wrote on my full skill assessment (I applied on June 2010) that my qualification is comparable to Australian Higher Education Degree; while current skill assessment from CPA saying that master degree is comparable to at least bachelor degree for Australian standard. 

Due to the wording changed, I email more interpretation and explaination by CPA, and they replied me by email stating that Australian Higher Education Degree is equivalent to at least bachelor degree or higher. 

My question is whether I have suffcient evidence to claim 15 points on qualification for 189 visa 

Kind Regards, 

Adrian


----------



## 99pika

*Bridging visa*

Dear Mark,

I just applied 820 visa yesterday and got an email from immigration today. Currently I'm on student visa 573, however, I'm not intending to keep studying as I am not happy with the school and my instructors so I might get cancelled my current visa. In the email I got today, it says I have to contact to the department as soon as I get my current visa cancelled and also my bridging visa may not come in effect. I knew i would get BVE if my student visa gets cancelled but I am worried now since it says in IMMI acknowlegement "If your student visa gets cancelled your bridging visa may not come in effect and won't allow you to remain lawfully in Australia" is that mean I have to stay in school although I don't want to? Also if I want to get a full time work rights, I need to cancel my current student visa or can I just apply 1005 application with my current circumstance? I mean if the immigration doesnt cancel my visa, but I want to work full time, what's best for me? Please help me with this. Much appreciated in advance.

Kind Regards,
Elena:


----------



## arunraman7

*Query regarding Invite*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing well, I have got an invitation for 189 visa, however I would like modify the data I provided there because I think I gave wrong information in work experience and my IELTS score has increased in a recent attempt. But, it does not allow me to withdraw or modify at this stage, is there any way we can do that or would we have to wait for 60 days till it expires? Also, would it be a negative mark on my application? 
Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozdas -

You could ask, but because of the way the regulations are written, once the 820 is granted, there isn't a pathway under the law to accelerate the 801 permanent part of the visa. However do note that the 2 year period until you can further the application for the 801 part begins when you apply for the visa initially, not when the 820 is granted, so you may be closer than you think to the 2 year point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozdas said:


> Hello, Mark.
> 
> I will be really appreciate if you could help me.
> 
> I already got 820 visa about 4 months ago, but I was wondering, whether it will be okay to ask for early 801 visa without waiting another 2 years and how I can ask for it.
> Just realized that last month was our 3 year anniversary of the relationship and I read that if you were in the relationship for more than 3 years, 2 years waiting period can be maybe waived?
> 
> I wanted to wait patiently but it's really difficult to get into a graduate program without PR in Australia. If you can give me some advice, I will be truly appreciated.
> 
> Thank you in advance!
> DS


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adrian -

Thanks for the note. This falls within the discretion of the case officer - here's some appropriate DIBP policy on this:

_Case officers may also be presented with claims of qualifications at masters level for the purpose of gaining points. As defined in regulation 2.26AC(6) qualifications at masters level completed in Australia require the completion of a bachelor degree awarded at an Australian tertiary educational institution or of an equivalent award. However, in certain instances, where the relevant assessing authority recognises the masters obtained by the applicant as comparable to at least bachelor level at Australian standards, case officers must have regard to this opinion in determining whether to award points. For example, the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA), the relevant assessing authority for architects, currently sets the standards for the occupation for migration purposes to be at comparable Australian masters level. In these cases, although the applicant undertakes studies that include both bachelor level and masters level courses, the applicant may only be awarded a degree at masters level. If AACA recognises the award at masters level to be comparable to at least Australian bachelor level, case officers must have regard to this opinion when awarding points.

However, in certain situations applicants may present with an Australian masters qualifications with a Bachelor qualification from overseas. In these scenarios, case officers should consider the opinion of the relevant assessing authority and whether the masters qualification is recognised as equivalent to a bachelors degree as a threshold requirement. In the absence of such an opinion case officers should refer to Country Education Profiles guidelines on the comparability of the overseas bachelors to award points. If case officers cannot verify that the overseas qualifications or the masters degree are commensurate to at least an Australian bachelors degree, applicants will still be eligible for 10 points if the qualification has been recognised by the relevant assessing authority as part of the applicant's skills assessment
_

The regulation referred to is this one (2.26AC(6)):

_degree means a formal educational qualification, under the Australian Qualifications Framework, awarded by an Australian educational institution as a degree or a postgraduate diploma for which:

(a) the entry level to the course leading to the qualification is:
(i) in the case of a bachelor's degree - satisfactory completion of year 12 in the Australian school system or of equivalent schooling; and
(ii) in the case of a master's degree - satisfactory completion of a bachelor's degree awarded at an Australian tertiary educational institution or of an equivalent award; and
(iii) in the case of a doctoral degree - satisfactory completion of a bachelor's degree awarded with honours, or a master's degree, at an Australian tertiary educational institution or of an equivalent award; and
(iv) in the case of a postgraduate diploma - satisfactory completion of a bachelor's degree or diploma awarded at an Australian tertiary educational institution or of an equivalent award; and
(b) in the case of a bachelor's degree, not less than 3 years of full-time study, or the equivalent period of part-time study, is required._

So as you can see, the case officer must give weight to the skills assessor's conclusions about the degree, but no guaranteed answer one way or another -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Adrian Perth said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am confusing on my qualification points claim as I do not have bachelor degree to underpin my master degree. However I have a positive and valid skill assessment.
> 
> I have master accounting degree in Australia and CPA wrote on my full skill assessment (I applied on June 2010) that my qualification is comparable to Australian Higher Education Degree; while current skill assessment from CPA saying that master degree is comparable to at least bachelor degree for Australian standard.
> 
> Due to the wording changed, I email more interpretation and explaination by CPA, and they replied me by email stating that Australian Higher Education Degree is equivalent to at least bachelor degree or higher.
> 
> My question is whether I have suffcient evidence to claim 15 points on qualification for 189 visa
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Adrian


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Elena -

Thanks for the note. The bridging visa granted with your 820 application would be cancelled if you cancel your student visa, leaving you with no visa, technically unlawful in Australia. You would then report to DIBP and apply for (and would normally be granted) a bridging visa E (BVE) based on the 820 application already lodged. The BVE would leave you with no work rights, but you could apply for work rights to be added to the BVE if you could show financial hardship if you weren't allowed to work. With the BVE, you cannot leave and re-enter Australia since the BVE ceases as soon as you depart, leaving you with no visa to re-enter Australia with an, importantly, potentially a 3-year exclusion period on further temporary visas such as visitor or student visas. Additionally, as you would have been briefly unlawful here, any time spent prior to the cancellation spent in Australia would no longer count towards the 4 year residency requirement for citizenship - ie, the 4 year clock would start again.

So there is away to avoid the remainder of your student visa, but it comes at a price (as described above)...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



99pika said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I just applied 820 visa yesterday and got an email from immigration today. Currently I'm on student visa 573, however, I'm not intending to keep studying as I am not happy with the school and my instructors so I might get cancelled my current visa. In the email I got today, it says I have to contact to the department as soon as I get my current visa cancelled and also my bridging visa may not come in effect. I knew i would get BVE if my student visa gets cancelled but I am worried now since it says in IMMI acknowlegement "If your student visa gets cancelled your bridging visa may not come in effect and won't allow you to remain lawfully in Australia" is that mean I have to stay in school although I don't want to? Also if I want to get a full time work rights, I need to cancel my current student visa or can I just apply 1005 application with my current circumstance? I mean if the immigration doesnt cancel my visa, but I want to work full time, what's best for me? Please help me with this. Much appreciated in advance.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Elena:


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arunraman7 -

Can't modify IELTS or work experience once an invitation is provided - no choice but to proceed with the invitation/application, or decline the invitation and wait for another one. Once 2 invitations are declined, no further invitations will be sent related to that EOI and a new EOI would need to lodged.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arunraman7 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well, I have got an invitation for 189 visa, however I would like modify the data I provided there because I think I gave wrong information in work experience and my IELTS score has increased in a recent attempt. But, it does not allow me to withdraw or modify at this stage, is there any way we can do that or would we have to wait for 60 days till it expires? Also, would it be a negative mark on my application?
> Thank you.


----------



## 99pika

Wow thank you so much, Mark! Thats a super fast reply!! I am not intending to attain citizenship so as long as i dont leave the country it should be fine?ot can affect to their decision on my partner visa? Now i regret coming back to australia with student visa... shouda come with just visitor...my agent said student visa is better but all wrong choice for me...just wasting money! sigh...still cant decide what to do...but thanks a lot for your help!! Hope my partner visa goes well...


----------



## phoenix1014

Hi Mark,

Good day.

I applied PV on De Facto ground October 2012 and was granted April 30, 2013 a PARTNER (PROVISIONAL) (Class UF) PARTNER (PROVISIONAL) (Subclass 309) visa.

What confuses me, the validity of my visa is "Indefinite" but I have talked to some having the same visa grant notice of mine and asked about the specifications of their visas and said theirs have "eligibility period" meaning certain date stated until when their temporary residency for. Prior to visa expiration they have to contact immi or other way around, immi going to contact them to asks more documents for second stage processing. Do I be in the same process even my visa validity is indefinite?

Thanks.

phoenix1014


----------



## doormouse

Hi Mark,

I was wondering whether you could give me a second opinion as I'm not sure about some advice that has been received.

A nomination for 457 visa has been refused (I think) on genuineness req's and have been advised by a migration agent that this decision can be appealed (I'm assuming to the MRT? Are there any other appeal avenues?). However, it looks like this may take a significant amount of time according to the MRT website and apparently whilst the appeal is in place a bridging visa can be granted for two years and work rights will be received due to the wait. I've looked but can't find any bridging visa that gives automatic work rights, can you please tell me whether this advice received is accurate? Thanks so much for your help


----------



## JohnnyBrutal

Hi Mark

Im facing a strange problem. I applied for a student visa 573 SVP around 20 days back with my credit card details on the form 157A.

So its been 20 days and my credit card hasnt been charged by the Australian Embassy, I havent received any email from them regarding anything. I contacted the Gerrys Fed Ex office which is used by the Australian Embassys for visa submissions in Pak, I also check my status through my VLN no. and its says your application was forwarded to the Australian High Commission.

Can anyone suggest me what I should do? My classes are starting from July, I understand that the procedure takes long but since they havent even charged my card yet it means my application isnt even processed yet!

I contacted a few guys who sent their application the same day as I did, and all of them have received acknowledgement emails from the Aus Embassy except me.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 99pika -

If you cancel your student visa you'll end up having to apply for a bridging visa E (with no work rights by default) to wait out the decision on your partner visa, assuming the partner visa was lodged before you cancel your student visa. However I don't believe the assessment of your partner visa would be negatively impacted by doing this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



99pika said:


> Wow thank you so much, Mark! Thats a super fast reply!! I am not intending to attain citizenship so as long as i dont leave the country it should be fine?ot can affect to their decision on my partner visa? Now i regret coming back to australia with student visa... shouda come with just visitor...my agent said student visa is better but all wrong choice for me...just wasting money! sigh...still cant decide what to do...but thanks a lot for your help!! Hope my partner visa goes well...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phoenix1014 -

Congratulations on your partner visa! You have been granted a provisional partner visa, which allows you to come and go to Australia as you like during the period it is in effect. 2 years after the original application date, you can apply to DIBP to further the pending application you have for the permanent part of the partner visa (in your case, the subclass 100 visa). Sometimes they will send you the paperwork automatically, but here's a link you can go to at that time to download the paperwork yourself:

Partner (Permanent) Calculator

Also note that if you are (or become) resident in Australia while holding the 309, you can apply for Medicare since you have a permanent visa application pending (that is, the subclass 100).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phoenix1014 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Good day.
> 
> I applied PV on De Facto ground October 2012 and was granted April 30, 2013 a PARTNER (PROVISIONAL) (Class UF) PARTNER (PROVISIONAL) (Subclass 309) visa.
> 
> What confuses me, the validity of my visa is "Indefinite" but I have talked to some having the same visa grant notice of mine and asked about the specifications of their visas and said theirs have "eligibility period" meaning certain date stated until when their temporary residency for. Prior to visa expiration they have to contact immi or other way around, immi going to contact them to asks more documents for second stage processing. Do I be in the same process even my visa validity is indefinite?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> phoenix1014


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Doormouse -

Thanks for the note. A refused nomination can be appealed, but since the cost of putting in a nomination is so low ($330), most people just relodge another one if it's possible to solve whatever the problem was with the first one. I assume you are on a bridging visa now...?

In order for you to get a bridging visa to wait out the MRT review, and assuming you are on a bridging visa now that was created by the 457 visa application, then you would need to wait and the 457 visa would be refused based on no valid nomination. At that point you could have the 457 visa application reviewed at the MRT (if you're onshore), and by lodging a valid MRT review application for the 457 visa application, that would automatically extend the bridging visa you are on now. Just lodging the nomination review to the MRT would not affect your current visa/bridging visa nor would it extend that. Note that you would end up potentially with 2 MRT review applications - one for the nomination, another for the related visa application.

Also, if your 457 visa application has not been refused yet, you potentially could withdraw that prior to a refusal, then lodge a new nomination and a new 457 visa application and not have to go to the MRT at all. But would need to know more about your circumstances to determine if this makes sense in your case.

Would strongly suggest you work with a registered migration agent regarding this situation, especially regarding the nomination. The law can get very complex in this area.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



doormouse said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was wondering whether you could give me a second opinion as I'm not sure about some advice that has been received.
> 
> A nomination for 457 visa has been refused (I think) on genuineness req's and have been advised by a migration agent that this decision can be appealed (I'm assuming to the MRT? Are there any other appeal avenues?). However, it looks like this may take a significant amount of time according to the MRT website and apparently whilst the appeal is in place a bridging visa can be granted for two years and work rights will be received due to the wait. I've looked but can't find any bridging visa that gives automatic work rights, can you please tell me whether this advice received is accurate? Thanks so much for your help


----------



## matche

Hi Mark,

I missed the last chance to submit the application of visa subclass 103. Just wondering are there any alternatives of visa subclass 103, or any visa that suits my needs as follow:

- I actually want my parents to visit Australia and stay here for a longer period, maybe more than 12 months(not permanently), the main purpose is to look after my kid(their grandson), they may go back to their hometown every few years
-medicare/pension payment/centrelink/right of work are not my concern, i will support my parent financially, I will pay for my parents' private health insurance as well

Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JohnnyBrutal -

I would give it maybe another week (if you want to) and then find a way to contact the Embassy to at least confirm if the application has been received. Have heard of major delays at that Embassy re: processing time, some applications taking 3-4 months to process even for streamlined visa program schools/applicants.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JohnnyBrutal said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Im facing a strange problem. I applied for a student visa 573 SVP around 20 days back with my credit card details on the form 157A.
> 
> So its been 20 days and my credit card hasnt been charged by the Australian Embassy, I havent received any email from them regarding anything. I contacted the Gerrys Fed Ex office which is used by the Australian Embassys for visa submissions in Pak, I also check my status through my VLN no. and its says your application was forwarded to the Australian High Commission.
> 
> Can anyone suggest me what I should do? My classes are starting from July, I understand that the procedure takes long but since they havent even charged my card yet it means my application isnt even processed yet!
> 
> I contacted a few guys who sent their application the same day as I did, and all of them have received acknowledgement emails from the Aus Embassy except me.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Matche -

Likely the subclass 600 visa, either the tourism stream or the sponsored family visitor stream would seem to be the best fit for your situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



matche said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I missed the last chance to submit the application of visa subclass 103. Just wondering are there any alternatives of visa subclass 103, or any visa that suits my needs as follow:
> 
> - I actually want my parents to visit Australia and stay here for a longer period, maybe more than 12 months(not permanently), the main purpose is to look after my kid(their grandson), they may go back to their hometown every few years
> -medicare/pension payment/centrelink/right of work are not my concern, i will support my parent financially, I will pay for my parents' private health insurance as well
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## Carrinya

*Wedding Changes*

Hi Mark 

This is a very helpful site, and I am reading through a lot of good advices here

I have a question... in our application my Fiancè and I wrote that our wedding will be in September 2014 Or September 2015. Now everything is changed because of practical reasons, so instead it will be in June 2015 in Norway. 
Do we have to let the CO know now?

We applied for a Partnervisa 309/100 the 28th of January this year. I am norwegian and been in Norway since August 2013. The CO wrote last monday in an e-mail that no more needs for any documents if she does not ask for it.
But it seems like that's important for them to know so they know the relationship is continuing??

I am afraid it will be much more paperwork and delay the answer which I hope will be soon? I just want to make sure that everything is right and that they don't say no because our wedding is not planned, which we are doing now...

Any advice? I don't want to disturb the CO too much with stupid things.

Thanks for any answer


----------



## Artur

Hi Mark,

I'm looking for some advice. My student visa will expire soon but I would like to stay here for 2-3 weeks most to finish some private matters and maybe do some sightseeing. Is there any way to do it ? I don't want to spend money on tourist visa just for that. 

I was thinking about Bridging Visa type E, will it be good in my situation ? 
Or maybe You have other idea what should I do ?

Thanks in advice,
Arthur


----------



## megzchong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Megz -
> 
> Phil. processing is a mystery box - no way to tell what happens inside there. That being said, shortest I've seen is 6 months; longest 10 months, with the vast majority taking about 9 months. But remember, these times are highly unpredictable and DIBP has no legal constraints limiting how much time they can take with any particular visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Good day! I think we might consider applying for tourist stream visa while waiting for PMV. I have read in one of the threads as well that we can do this by applying the PMV and tourist visa at the same time so the CO will know that I am going for tourist visa while PMV is on the process, because I know I have to be outside Australia when PMV is granted. It is better to fly in Australia after I have the medical checks, right? So what if there are papers that the immi asks but i am already in Australia? Does that mean it will take longer to process?

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

If you want to do things that way, I'd lodge the PMV, wait about a week for them to get it recorded on their systems, then apply for the visitor visa. You can have medical checks at home or in Australia, doesn't matter. Re: papers they want, hard to answer that one - better to be extra careful in the beginning and make sure you include all docs needed/required. Alternatively, if you have docs at home maybe someone at home can get them for you if you're in Australia if/when they are needed -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Good day! I think we might consider applying for tourist stream visa while waiting for PMV. I have read in one of the threads as well that we can do this by applying the PMV and tourist visa at the same time so the CO will know that I am going for tourist visa while PMV is on the process, because I know I have to be outside Australia when PMV is granted. It is better to fly in Australia after I have the medical checks, right? So what if there are papers that the immi asks but i am already in Australia? Does that mean it will take longer to process?
> 
> Thanks,
> Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carrinya -

Thanks for the question. I don't mean to upset your wedding plans, but you should know that the regulations for the 309/100 offshore partner visa indicate that if you are not married at the time of application, you must be married before the visa can be granted. If you need to postpone everything until June of next year, you may want to ask the case officer if she/he can put the application on hold for a sufficient amount of time to allow for this (normally I would expect the partner visa is ready to be granted in 9-12 months from application), but there is no obligation on DIBP's part to allow you to have all this extra time - hopefully the case officer will be nice and accommodate you, but DIBP many times is not accommodating and expects you to, essentially "dance to their tune".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Carrinya said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> This is a very helpful site, and I am reading through a lot of good advices here
> 
> I have a question... in our application my Fiancè and I wrote that our wedding will be in September 2014 Or September 2015. Now everything is changed because of practical reasons, so instead it will be in June 2015 in Norway.
> Do we have to let the CO know now?
> 
> We applied for a Partnervisa 309/100 the 28th of January this year. I am norwegian and been in Norway since August 2013. The CO wrote last monday in an e-mail that no more needs for any documents if she does not ask for it.
> But it seems like that's important for them to know so they know the relationship is continuing??
> 
> I am afraid it will be much more paperwork and delay the answer which I hope will be soon? I just want to make sure that everything is right and that they don't say no because our wedding is not planned, which we are doing now...
> 
> Any advice? I don't want to disturb the CO too much with stupid things.
> 
> Thanks for any answer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arthur -

Thanks for the note. A visitor visa is the best way to go with this. I suppose you could overstay and then immediately ask for a BV-E on departure grounds, but that would leave you with a negative immigration history in Australia and, depending on the length of overstay, a 3 year exclusion period on all temporary visas - visitor, student, 457, etc and the time you've put in so far in Australia would not be usable for the residency requirement for citizenship - is that really worth it?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Artur said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm looking for some advice. My student visa will expire soon but I would like to stay here for 2-3 weeks most to finish some private matters and maybe do some sightseeing. Is there any way to do it ? I don't want to spend money on tourist visa just for that.
> 
> I was thinking about Bridging Visa type E, will it be good in my situation ?
> Or maybe You have other idea what should I do ?
> 
> Thanks in advice,
> Arthur


----------



## megzchong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Megz -
> 
> If you want to do things that way, I'd lodge the PMV, wait about a week for them to get it recorded on their systems, then apply for the visitor visa. You can have medical checks at home or in Australia, doesn't matter. Re: papers they want, hard to answer that one - better to be extra careful in the beginning and make sure you include all docs needed/required. Alternatively, if you have docs at home maybe someone at home can get them for you if you're in Australia if/when they are needed -
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for your response. Well I know tourist visa takes 10 business days before its granted and if ever I apply at the same time, it wont mean i will fly there right after i get the tourist visa. How about, apply them at the same time, PMV and tourist visa (since I need to fly to the via center to apply a visa), then ill put on tourist application that im planning to travel in at least a month after the application of both visas? Would I have enough time to complete my PMV papers like medical checks before I fly to Australia?And then will just wait til they grant it.

Thanks.
Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

No way to predict re: timing. But if they see the PMV already on the system when the visitor visa is processed, in my view that can significantly increase the chance of success for the visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your response. Well I know tourist visa takes 10 business days before its granted and if ever I apply at the same time, it wont mean i will fly there right after i get the tourist visa. How about, apply them at the same time, PMV and tourist visa (since I need to fly to the via center to apply a visa), then ill put on tourist application that im planning to travel in at least a month after the application of both visas? Would I have enough time to complete my PMV papers like medical checks before I fly to Australia?And then will just wait til they grant it.
> 
> Thanks.
> Megz


----------



## Carrinya

Thank you for your answer Mark.

Why did the CO not say anything? Since we said it could be September 2015? 
So I won't be able to get the temporary partnervisa before we get married?
We did not apply for the engagement visa, just normal partnervisa...

But that will mean that we can't live together again before after wedding next year?
I did never see anything about this. I did not know that we have to be married first, many people I read about get the visa before they get married? 
Or am I misunderstanding you now?

Thanks again for answering so quick


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carrinya -

Thanks for the note. I don't mean to sound harsh, but CO's at DIBP do not generally consider it part of their job to educate applicants about the regulations. DIBP as an organisation is the same - these are not happy, friendly people anxious to help you out and explain any problems they might see in your application. It's just not that way, sadly. I wish it was, but it's not.

Here's the regulation - from Migration Regulations 1994 Schedule 2:

_309.211
(1) The applicant meets the requirements of subclause (2) or (3).

(2) The applicant meets the requirements of this subclause if the applicant is the spouse or de facto partner of:
(a) an Australian citizen; or
(b) an Australian permanent resident; or
(c) an eligible New Zealand citizen.
[Note omitted by SLI 2009, 144 with effect from 01/07/2009 - LEGEND note]

(3) The applicant meets the requirements of this subclause if:
(a) the applicant intends to marry:
(i) an Australian citizen; or
(ii) an Australian permanent resident; or
(iii) an eligible New Zealand citizen; and
(b) the intended marriage will, if it takes place, be a valid marriage for the purposes of section 12 of the Act.
Note If the applicant is an applicant referred to in subclause 309.211(3), the marriage must have taken place before the applicant can be granted a visa of this subclass: see clause 309.224.]_

As you see above, the provisional visa cannot be granted before you are married. The CO does not have the power to change or ignore the law. There are other sorts of visas, such as the subclass 300 prospective marriage visa, that are designed for people who are engaged but not yet married, but a partner visa is designed for people who are already defacto partners, or married partners.

One way through this could be to apply based on the defacto partner standard - this could work if you have lived with your partner for the 12 months prior to lodging the visa application, other than any temporary time apart. This way you could be approved based on being defacto partners, and no problem if you later get married.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Carrinya said:


> Thank you for your answer Mark.
> 
> Why did the CO not say anything? Since we said it could be September 2015?
> So I won't be able to get the temporary partnervisa before we get married?
> We did not apply for the engagement visa, just normal partnervisa...
> 
> But that will mean that we can't live together again before after wedding next year?
> I did never see anything about this. I did not know that we have to be married first, many people I read about get the visa before they get married?
> Or am I misunderstanding you now?
> 
> Thanks again for answering so quick


----------



## phoenix1014

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the explanation. I already have Medicare card, infact, it is the second one now..follow up question: why some subclass 309 visa grants have eligibility period on their visas and some just like "indefinite"?..



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Phoenix1014 -
> 
> Congratulations on your partner visa! You have been granted a provisional partner visa, which allows you to come and go to Australia as you like during the period it is in effect. 2 years after the original application date, you can apply to DIBP to further the pending application you have for the permanent part of the partner visa (in your case, the subclass 100 visa). Sometimes they will send you the paperwork automatically, but here's a link you can go to at that time to download the paperwork yourself:
> 
> Partner (Permanent) Calculator
> 
> Also note that if you are (or become) resident in Australia while holding the 309, you can apply for Medicare since you have a permanent visa application pending (that is, the subclass 100).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phoenix1014 -

Not sure - could be a change in how VEVO shows the visa maybe.

Best,

Mark Northam



phoenix1014 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the explanation. I already have Medicare card, infact, it is the second one now..follow up question: why some subclass 309 visa grants have eligibility period on their visas and some just like "indefinite"?..


----------



## emivovo

Hey Mark,

We're applying for PMV and are trying to put together my partners previous travel history. 

He lived in India and Nepal for two years, travelling around for most of it. I know we need official documentation from these embassies, but I don't think they can provide it. Both India ad Nepal are quite difficult to obtain any kind of documentation like this. We can scan all the Indian/Nepali stamps in his passport, and he can get a letter from the person he stayed with in Nepal, is this enough? If we can't get official documents for the whole period, is it enough for my partner to write a separate stat dec detailing his whole time there and the reasons he can't get official docs?

Thank you so much

Emily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emily -

Actually no official docs needed for travel history - you can simply list your travels on Form 80 and elsewhere as requested. As far as police clearance certificates, if he spent 12 months or more in any country (in total) during the last 10 years, he'll need a police clearance certificate from that country or need to provide a very, very good reason why he can't come up with one. It being "too hard" to get one won't work, in my view. Some people end up flying back to the country just for the cert, others appoint agents or lawyers in that country to lodge the application, etc etc - it varies from one country to another.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



emivovo said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> We're applying for PMV and are trying to put together my partners previous travel history.
> 
> He lived in India and Nepal for two years, travelling around for most of it. I know we need official documentation from these embassies, but I don't think they can provide it. Both India ad Nepal are quite difficult to obtain any kind of documentation like this. We can scan all the Indian/Nepali stamps in his passport, and he can get a letter from the person he stayed with in Nepal, is this enough? If we can't get official documents for the whole period, is it enough for my partner to write a separate stat dec detailing his whole time there and the reasons he can't get official docs?
> 
> Thank you so much
> 
> Emily


----------



## dharabaskar

*Immigration for a Business People*

Hi Mark,

What is the requirement for a business person to migrate to Australia, this person is running a man power agency. Does this person should have the following?

i. Degree
ii. Proof of Funds
iii. IELTS Score

What is the minimum points required for the business person?

Thanks
VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VJ -

Thanks for the question. Self-sponsored 457 temporary work visas or 186/187 employer-sponsored visas are no longer practical or viable in Australia, which leaves the Business Investor type visas which require hundreds of thousands of dollars or more of investment in Australia. Requirements way too complex to go into here - suggest you research visa subclasses 188 and 132 on immi.gov.au to start with.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> What is the requirement for a business person to migrate to Australia, this person is running a man power agency. Does this person should have the following?
> 
> i. Degree
> ii. Proof of Funds
> iii. IELTS Score
> 
> What is the minimum points required for the business person?
> 
> Thanks
> VJ


----------



## dharabaskar

Thanks Mark.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi VJ -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Self-sponsored 457 temporary work visas or 186/187 employer-sponsored visas are no longer practical or viable in Australia, which leaves the Business Investor type visas which require hundreds of thousands of dollars or more of investment in Australia. Requirements way too complex to go into here - suggest you research visa subclasses 188 and 132 on immi.gov.au to start with.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## dharabaskar

*NAATI - Points*

Hi Mark,

How can i claim the 5 points for the NAATI?, should i have to get any certification from any agency?

Thanks
Vijay


----------



## Carrinya

Okey, thank you Mark 

We kinda made sure in the application that we've been together since August 2012, and also renting a house together. I will anyways let my CO know about this, and ask her if this is a problem.

Thanks again


----------



## enida

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Enida -
> 
> If you have not received an invitation to apply for a visa yet, you can update your EOI with the corrected info. If you have received an application, suggest you lodge Form 1023 with the corrections.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mr.Mark,
I hope everything goes well. Sorry to disturb you again, but I really need your help about some issues I'm encountering. I checked Form 1023 and it says that you can declare only information declared wrong during the visa application, there is no way to correct the information provided in your EOI. I have some details that differ between EOI and visa application: In EOI my employer name is Advance Business Solutions but in visa application it is Advanced Business Solutions. One of my job titles in EOI is provided as IN/VAS Engineer while in visa application it is IN&VAS Engineer. In Education details in EOI I put Telecommunications Engineer while in visa application I put Telecommunication Engineer. In EOI I put 'not citizen of another country' but in visa application I have put 'yes, citizen of another country', this because during EOI I had only made the oath and not officially declared as a new citizen. Another stupid mistake I have made was declaring my bachelor transcript two times, once as an 'Australian Qualification' and another as 'Overseas Qualification' when I selected the document type while uploading documents.

Do you think these stupid mistakes will penalize me? I'm really scared, I don't know what to do. I can only confirm one thing, that I can support the claims made in EOI and that the docs provided confirm the details mentioned in the visa application and not those wrongly provided in EOI.
What should I do? I can't even upload form 1023 as it's only for info during visa app.

Thank you very much.

May God bless you.


----------



## emivovo

Ok excellent thank you so much for your help. 

One more question, we will submit online, do letters from family and friends need to be signed by a JP if they are colour scans of originals?

Thank you again!


----------



## Echovald

Hi Mark

My friend is still looking to apply for 457 visa, but he is unsure about the status of IELTS. He received in band 6 for his last result in IELTS and subsequently completed his australian degree in IT, but had heard by word of mouth that new laws introduced in 2012 required him to resit the IELTS because his score was now expired... is this true? do IELTS results really have an expiry date?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enida -

The mistakes you mentioned don't seem to be very important in nature, and wouldn't affect your points score as I can see. As long as you have documentary evidence to justify all elements of your points score, you should be OK from what you've said.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enida said:


> Hi Mr.Mark,
> I hope everything goes well. Sorry to disturb you again, but I really need your help about some issues I'm encountering. I checked Form 1023 and it says that you can declare only information declared wrong during the visa application, there is no way to correct the information provided in your EOI. I have some details that differ between EOI and visa application: In EOI my employer name is Advance Business Solutions but in visa application it is Advanced Business Solutions. One of my job titles in EOI is provided as IN/VAS Engineer while in visa application it is IN&VAS Engineer. In Education details in EOI I put Telecommunications Engineer while in visa application I put Telecommunication Engineer. In EOI I put 'not citizen of another country' but in visa application I have put 'yes, citizen of another country', this because during EOI I had only made the oath and not officially declared as a new citizen. Another stupid mistake I have made was declaring my bachelor transcript two times, once as an 'Australian Qualification' and another as 'Overseas Qualification' when I selected the document type while uploading documents.
> 
> Do you think these stupid mistakes will penalize me? I'm really scared, I don't know what to do. I can only confirm one thing, that I can support the claims made in EOI and that the docs provided confirm the details mentioned in the visa application and not those wrongly provided in EOI.
> What should I do? I can't even upload form 1023 as it's only for info during visa app.
> 
> Thank you very much.
> 
> May God bless you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vijay -

To get the credentialed community language 5 pts, you must be accredited at the paraprofessional level or above by NAATI in either translating or interpreting.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> How can i claim the 5 points for the NAATI?, should i have to get any certification from any agency?
> 
> Thanks
> Vijay


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emivovo -

Nope - colour scans are fine; if you are submitting these as witness statements to support your relationship, you should include copies of a govt issued photo ID for each person (passport, driver licence, etc). Otherwise if you are submitting just to show they wrote you nice letters, or for address purposes, no need for ID.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



emivovo said:


> Ok excellent thank you so much for your help.
> 
> One more question, we will submit online, do letters from family and friends need to be signed by a JP if they are colour scans of originals?
> 
> Thank you again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Echovald -

Thanks for the question. For primary applicants, the IELTS test date must have been a date that is in the three-year period ending the day before you apply for the visa. If it's older than that, he'll need to take a new IELTS test. For 457, unless a licencing authority, etc requires a higher score, the minimum score is 5 on each of the 4 bands. Overall score is not relevant for these purposes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Echovald said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My friend is still looking to apply for 457 visa, but he is unsure about the status of IELTS. He received in band 6 for his last result in IELTS and subsequently completed his australian degree in IT, but had heard by word of mouth that new laws introduced in 2012 required him to resit the IELTS because his score was now expired... is this true? do IELTS results really have an expiry date?


----------



## enida

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Enida -
> 
> The mistakes you mentioned don't seem to be very important in nature, and wouldn't affect your points score as I can see. As long as you have documentary evidence to justify all elements of your points score, you should be OK from what you've said.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mr.Mark.

All the best,
Enida


----------



## bendf

Hi Mark a quick question regarding offshore partner 320/301 visa. 60 yo man permanent resident, no jobs and last payslip 6 years ago, but 150, 000 in the bank, renting,A small amount overseas super, good family support (also eligible for newstart if saving goes down). Can he still sponsor a partner? How important is having a job in term of sponsoring a spouse


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bendf -

Thanks for the question. The $150k in the bank plus some super and good family support would have a good chance of satisfying the support requirement. Would need to see specific info & documents to give an opinion on a specific case however.

There is no specific income requirement, and they would look at the entire financial picture to consider if/how he could support his partner. Also, FYI, offshore partner visa is subclass 309/100 (onshore is 820/801).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bendf said:


> Hi Mark a quick question regarding offshore partner 320/301 visa. 60 yo man permanent resident, no jobs and last payslip 6 years ago, but 150, 000 in the bank, renting,A small amount overseas super, good family support (also eligible for newstart if saving goes down). Can he still sponsor a partner? How important is having a job in term of sponsoring a spouse


----------



## bendf

Thanks.Mark. My bad. It's 309/100. Lol. One more thing i forgot to mention. How important is the ability of finding a job in the future in term of being a sponsor. Being unemployed at 61 doesn't give a good chance of finding another job plus not being a highly trained professional.


----------



## megzchong

Hi Mark,

Isn't it in PMV we include the tax statement or something of the sponsor for the past 2 years of employment? Would there be a chance of failing the PMV if he didnt earn at least $15,000 for past two years? Although he is already working since March this year in one of the service stations in their area, it is not much, in fact it is considered as traineeship for 8 months and after that period, he will get pay rise, a certificate and is no more on the traineeship. He will finish this traineeship in November but I am hoping to already apply this August. What are your advice for this Mark?

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## proudmomma

Hi Mark,

Wish you could enlighten me with this one. I have an illegitimate child,who is 4yrs old. On his birth certificate, the father affixed his signature and my child uses his last name. The father has his own family here in phils. In the past he's giving my child a monthly allowance until i told him I plan to migrate in australia with the kids. 

My question is, will the embassy/immigration accept an affidavit of illegitimacy as a requirement for the visa? I am a pmv-300 holder, but after the wedding i plan to get my child in brisbane on a visitor visa and apply the 820 with the child as an additional applicant. 

Hoping for ur reply.

Have a great day!


----------



## mharm

Dear Mark, 
Hope you are doing well,

I got PCC and Medical call on 16 may, and My med finalized on 25 May,I also uploded PCC certificates on 26 May. Today I got this message from my team:
"all outstanding documents have been provided, we will advise when your application is ready for finalisation. "

In addition I lodged on June 2013 and contacted by team 13 three times.
Also, the word "TRIM" Exist at the subject line of email.

Please advise, is My case near Finalization? 

Regards,


----------



## tomar

Hi Mark,

I'm currently on a 457 and I'm considering applying for PR (189). I estimate that I'll get 60 points, so I'm completely borderline. So my question is:

What happens if I apply for PR and the application gets rejected? Will I still be/again be on my 457? Will my employer have to do something to re-instate the 457?

Thanks very much in advance,
Tom


----------



## gretz57

Hi Mark,

I am a PMV 300 visa holder with dependents over 18 years . Now, I am applying for on-shore Partner's visa 820/801. In my dependent's 47A form , there is a question in no 3 that goes this way " Main Applicant Visa file Number". What does it mean? what file number is it referring to? 
Clarification on this regard from you is highly appreciated.

Thank you very much.


----------



## Artur

Mark thank You for quick answer.

Maybe I can contact immigration office before my visa expires ? If I will show them a flight ticket scheduled around 3 weeks after my visa expires will it be any help for this case ?

Meaning can I get then BV-E without any negative background ?

Tourist visa in my case is too expensive and not really needed (only max 3 weeks).

Cheers,
Arthur



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Arthur -
> 
> Thanks for the note. A visitor visa is the best way to go with this. I suppose you could overstay and then immediately ask for a BV-E on departure grounds, but that would leave you with a negative immigration history in Australia and, depending on the length of overstay, a 3 year exclusion period on all temporary visas - visitor, student, 457, etc and the time you've put in so far in Australia would not be usable for the residency requirement for citizenship - is that really worth it?
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bendf -

If the person has a reasonable way of supporting himself and his partner, through whatever financial means are available, then there's a good chance of success re: partner visa financial issues. If a person has substantial savings, a job may not be necessary. Plus, government assistance is also considered as part of the sponsor's overall financial picture.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bendf said:


> Thanks.Mark. My bad. It's 309/100. Lol. One more thing i forgot to mention. How important is the ability of finding a job in the future in term of being a sponsor. Being unemployed at 61 doesn't give a good chance of finding another job plus not being a highly trained professional.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

Financial info is part of both the PMV and partner visa application. Under $15k per year could certainly be an issue, but remember that it's the overall financial picture that's considered, including family support, govt support, etc.

Because there is no strict guideline regarding this, it's difficult to give a specific answer - much may depend on the judgement of the case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Isn't it in PMV we include the tax statement or something of the sponsor for the past 2 years of employment? Would there be a chance of failing the PMV if he didnt earn at least $15,000 for past two years? Although he is already working since March this year in one of the service stations in their area, it is not much, in fact it is considered as traineeship for 8 months and after that period, he will get pay rise, a certificate and is no more on the traineeship. He will finish this traineeship in November but I am hoping to already apply this August. What are your advice for this Mark?
> 
> Thanks,
> Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Proudmamma -

Thanks for the question. The key question is: does the father have any legal right to say or control where the child lives? If so, you will need the father's permission in order for the child to migrate to Australia. DIBP tends to be very strict about this, largely due to rampant child slavery, etc issues in various parts of the world. If it is your belief that the father does not have any say in where the child lives, then you'll need to come up with some sort of a court or other legal document that makes this very clear. I'm not familiar with the document you mentioned so not sure if it would suffice or not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



proudmomma said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Wish you could enlighten me with this one. I have an illegitimate child,who is 4yrs old. On his birth certificate, the father affixed his signature and my child uses his last name. The father has his own family here in phils. In the past he's giving my child a monthly allowance until i told him I plan to migrate in australia with the kids.
> 
> My question is, will the embassy/immigration accept an affidavit of illegitimacy as a requirement for the visa? I am a pmv-300 holder, but after the wedding i plan to get my child in brisbane on a visitor visa and apply the 820 with the child as an additional applicant.
> 
> Hoping for ur reply.
> 
> Have a great day!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mharm -

No way to tell - DIBP just doesn't share that info, unfortunately. TRIM is an internal computer system they use. My guess is that you've got some number of weeks left to go, with any luck less than 12.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mharm said:


> Dear Mark,
> Hope you are doing well,
> 
> I got PCC and Medical call on 16 may, and My med finalized on 25 May,I also uploded PCC certificates on 26 May. Today I got this message from my team:
> "all outstanding documents have been provided, we will advise when your application is ready for finalisation. "
> 
> In addition I lodged on June 2013 and contacted by team 13 three times.
> Also, the word "TRIM" Exist at the subject line of email.
> 
> Please advise, is My case near Finalization?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tomar -

Thanks for the question. If you remain on the 457 for the entire period your EOI is lodged, you get an invitation to apply for the189, and the 189 application is processing, if you are refused for the 189 for any reason, your 457 continues unaffected. The two visas have nothing to do with each other, essentially. If the 189 is granted and you hold a 457 at the time, the 189 replaces the 457 and you're then a permanent resident holding a 189.

If the 457 ends for some reason after you apply for the 189, then the bridging visa provided with the 189 application would become your visa for Australia and you could remain in Australia on that until a decision is made on your 189. In this scenario, if you had an onshore refusal for the 189 and you were holding a bridging visa at the time of the refusal, you would not be able to apply for a new 457 onshore as you would be barred by section 48 of the Migration Act from applying for a further onshore visa on this trip other than a partner or protection visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm currently on a 457 and I'm considering applying for PR (189). I estimate that I'll get 60 points, so I'm completely borderline. So my question is:
> 
> What happens if I apply for PR and the application gets rejected? Will I still be/again be on my 457? Will my employer have to do something to re-instate the 457?
> 
> Thanks very much in advance,
> Tom


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gretz57 -

A file number is one of DIBP's numbering/identification schemes for an application. A file number typically looks like this: CLF2014/1234567 etc. If you have been assigned a file number for the partner visa you are/have lodged, then you can add that. If not, should be fine to leave blank. You're lodging it at the same time as the partner visa, so DIBP should be able to link it up.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gretz57 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a PMV 300 visa holder with dependents over 18 years . Now, I am applying for on-shore Partner's visa 820/801. In my dependent's 47A form , there is a question in no 3 that goes this way " Main Applicant Visa file Number". What does it mean? what file number is it referring to?
> Clarification on this regard from you is highly appreciated.
> 
> Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arthur -

My advice: you're trying to save money the wrong way. A BV-E by definition has a negative stigma attached to it, and you'll have to explain exactly how and why you were given one on every future Australian visa application should you be given one. If you don't care about that, then you may want to go that route, but I would avoid a BV-E if you can at all help it.

The other issue is that normally DIBP will not accept an application for a BV-E until you are already unlawful (ie, overstayed). By overstaying you have a black mark on your immigration record, you no longer can use any time spent in Australia to-date for the citizenship residency requirement, and should you attempt to lodge an onshore visa in the future, by being unlawful it may trigger Schedule 3 requirements for that application which are no fun at all.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Artur said:


> Mark thank You for quick answer.
> 
> Maybe I can contact immigration office before my visa expires ? If I will show them a flight ticket scheduled around 3 weeks after my visa expires will it be any help for this case ?
> 
> Meaning can I get then BV-E without any negative background ?
> 
> Tourist visa in my case is too expensive and not really needed (only max 3 weeks).
> 
> Cheers,
> Arthur


----------



## proudmomma

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Proudmamma -
> 
> Thanks for the question. The key question is: does the father have any legal right to say or control where the child lives? If so, you will need the father's permission in order for the child to migrate to Australia. DIBP tends to be very strict about this, largely due to rampant child slavery, etc issues in various parts of the world. If it is your belief that the father does not have any say in where the child lives, then you'll need to come up with some sort of a court or other legal document that makes this very clear. I'm not familiar with the document you mentioned so not sure if it would suffice or not.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi! Thank u for ur reply.. In Philippines the law says an illegitimate child should always stay with the mother. In my country an affidavit of illegitimacy states why the child was considered illegitimate and: that the parents were not married at the time the child was born , that the child was with the mother since after he was born... And other circumstances that may further explain the reason as to why the mother has sole right for custody.

Maybe if in the affidavit we include documents as evidence , will it help clear and satisfy DIBP?

Thank u so much Mark


----------



## proudmomma

Hi Mark, 

I have anothet question: 

If I can get a letter of consent from the father of my kids soon (say, in july) -will it still be vaild if we apply for the visa by december? Because I will be flying to Brisbane by July already. And we'll apply for the visitor visa most probably by november-december.

Thank u


----------



## gretz57

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gretz57 -
> 
> hi Mark,
> Thank you so much for an early reply. Now, my mind is clear and no longer confused about that file numbee thing.
> Your reply is of great help . Again, thank you somuch.


----------



## dnivog

*Name in Passport has "Alias"*

Hi Mark,

I could not find any answer to this question on this forum thus asking you.

My Wife's name as per her Passport is as below (name changed for privacy sake)

Last Name: Jain
Given Names: Madhuri Alias Madhu

She had changed her name some 12 years ago and thus now her legal name is "Madhuri Jain".

She is planning to appear for her IELTS and the IELTS folks insist that the name to be registered must be exactly same as what is on the Passport. If she does that it means the IELTS result will have her name as "Madhuri Alias Madhu Jain"

All her previous documents and even the employment letters have her name as "Madhuri Jain".

Will this cause any issue while applying for the 189 Skilled Migrant Visa?

Thanks & Regards


----------



## sidjun

Dear Mark

I submitted my 189 visa application through Immiaccount yesterday and made the payment as well. 

Also, I uploaded all the required documents (including Pcc) and printed referral letters for medical. 

My application status shows "in progress".

The question may sound silly but do I still have to press the "submit application" button in "application summary" page?

What are the next steps after getting meds done?

What is the next possible application "status"?

Best Regards


----------



## megzchong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Megz -
> 
> Financial info is part of both the PMV and partner visa application. Under $15k per year could certainly be an issue, but remember that it's the overall financial picture that's considered, including family support, govt support, etc.
> 
> Because there is no strict guideline regarding this, it's difficult to give a specific answer - much may depend on the judgement of the case officer.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Yes we will have free accommodation since we will be living with his parents house til we save for our own. You think this can be a help considering he hasnt earned $15k annually for the past 2 years?

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

Absolutely. Get the parents to write a statement to DIBP stating that they will be providing financial and/or accommodation assistance for both of you, etc - this will factor into the overall financial assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Yes we will have free accommodation since we will be living with his parents house til we save for our own. You think this can be a help considering he hasnt earned $15k annually for the past 2 years?
> 
> Thanks,
> Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sidjun -

You're all set - as long as you paid and uploaded docs, you're good to go. Once police certificates are lodged and medicals completed, then you just have to wait for a case officer to request any further docs (only if necessary). Status after lodging is usually "submitted" or "in progress" until a decision is made, so not much available there to tell where the application is in the process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sidjun said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I submitted my 189 visa application through Immiaccount yesterday and made the payment as well.
> 
> Also, I uploaded all the required documents (including Pcc) and printed referral letters for medical.
> 
> My application status shows "in progress".
> 
> The question may sound silly but do I still have to press the "submit application" button in "application summary" page?
> 
> What are the next steps after getting meds done?
> 
> What is the next possible application "status"?
> 
> Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Proudmomma -

Depends on what is said in the letter, but normally Form 1229 is used - I don't know of a specific time limit on this form's date vs application date - if the case officer believes the gap is too long, they may contact the person signing the form to confirm that their wishes/permission have not changed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



proudmomma said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have anothet question:
> 
> If I can get a letter of consent from the father of my kids soon (say, in july) -will it still be vaild if we apply for the visa by december? Because I will be flying to Brisbane by July already. And we'll apply for the visitor visa most probably by november-december.
> 
> Thank u


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dnivog -

Probably not a problem, however DIBP will want the name on their applications forms, etc to match the passport as well. Maybe time for a new passport with the new name.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dnivog said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I could not find any answer to this question on this forum thus asking you.
> 
> My Wife's name as per her Passport is as below (name changed for privacy sake)
> 
> Last Name: Jain
> Given Names: Madhuri Alias Madhu
> 
> She had changed her name some 12 years ago and thus now her legal name is "Madhuri Jain".
> 
> She is planning to appear for her IELTS and the IELTS folks insist that the name to be registered must be exactly same as what is on the Passport. If she does that it means the IELTS result will have her name as "Madhuri Alias Madhu Jain"
> 
> All her previous documents and even the employment letters have her name as "Madhuri Jain".
> 
> Will this cause any issue while applying for the 189 Skilled Migrant Visa?
> 
> Thanks & Regards


----------



## mharm

Thank you very much Mark


----------



## bendf

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bendf -
> 
> If the person has a reasonable way of supporting himself and his partner, through whatever financial means are available, then there's a good chance of success re: partner visa financial issues. If a person has substantial savings, a job may not be necessary. Plus, government assistance is also considered as part of the sponsor's overall financial picture.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thanks again for your reply. In term of the government assistance you mentioned, are you talking about centrelink payment like newstart allowance or aged pension? It seems to be a bit contradictory that one tries to prove he or she has financial means to support the partner but then relying on Centrelink. How bad would that look to the case officer, esp being on the doll? Do you think people although unemployed should stay away from doll when sponsoring their partners?

I guess my question is that being on the doll versus unemployed, qualify for the doll but decide not to take it, which way actually increases the evidence of financial stability of the sponsor, thus better chance of getting partner visa through? Not taking the doll may show determination of looking after themselves and less burden to the society???????????


----------



## jab52

Hi Mark!

My partner and I are interested in applying for a Partner Visa (820/801). I'm Australian and my partner is French. We both met in France (but lived in different cities) and couldn't move in together because I was working in one city and he was studying in another. We decided that we wanted to move to Australia together in February 2014, but my partner arrived in October 2013 on with a working holiday visa while I stayed in France to finish my work contract. We have proof of our relationship from as early as February 2013 (travel receipts, train tickets to go visit each other every 2 weeks on average, pictures, Facebook conversations, phone calls, gift receipts, etc.), but we didn't actually move in together until February 2014 when I arrived in Australia.

We were planning on registering our domestic partnership in order to avoid the 12-month cohabitation requirement, but in Victoria it isn't possible to register a relationship unless one (or both?) parties have lived in Victoria for 12 months, which neither of us have. I had never lived in Australia until February 2014 as I'm also a US citizen (where I grew up), so we can't register our relationship.

Nonetheless, the Immigration website says it is possible to get a de facto partner visa without having lived together for 12 months. Fact Sheet 35, in particular, says that "for various reasons, couples may sometimes have to live apart" and that it may still be possible to get a partner visa even though we haven't (yet) lived together for 12 months. Is this true? We can certainly prove that our relationship was more than just "dating" because otherwise we wouldn't have come to Australia together, but I'm not sure how this will be taken into account for the 820/801 visa. If not, would registering our relationship with the City of Melbourne help our case, even though it's not a statewide relationship register? If it weren't for that pesky 12 month requirement, we'd just register our relationship with the State of Victoria.

So I guess basically my question is: what are our chances of getting our partner visa application approved?

Thanks so much in advance for any help you can provide!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi bendf -

Great questions - also, it's "dole" not "doll". If a person is between jobs and receiving Centrelink payments, my view is that those payments add to the overall financial support picture for a person. It's not up to DIBP to decide whether someone is a burden to society or not - that's not a criteria for the visa. The criteria is whether the person through any assets, payments, income, etc he has, could be expected to provide a reasonable level of support for the applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bendf said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks again for your reply. In term of the government assistance you mentioned, are you talking about centrelink payment like newstart allowance or aged pension? It seems to be a bit contradictory that one tries to prove he or she has financial means to support the partner but then relying on Centrelink. How bad would that look to the case officer, esp being on the doll? Do you think people although unemployed should stay away from doll when sponsoring their partners?
> 
> I guess my question is that being on the doll versus unemployed, qualify for the doll but decide not to take it, which way actually increases the evidence of financial stability of the sponsor, thus better chance of getting partner visa through? Not taking the doll may show determination of looking after themselves and less burden to the society???????????


----------



## dharabaskar

*State Sponsorship - 190 -55*

Hi Mark,

I have overall 55 points, I am planning to apply for SS(190) in July 2014 to claim additional 5 points to meet 60 points.

Age = 25 points
Work Experience = 15 points
Qualifications	= 15 points
Competent = 0 points (6 and above)

Question is.. Can i Retake IELTS after lodging State Sponsorship? , If the IELTS results become >7 can i then update the latest IELTS results to the application ?

Thanks
VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VJ -

In theory yes, but each state may have their own internal policies (whether published or not) as to when they will consider your IELTS score - ie, they may capture the score at the time of application for a state sponsorship application and may not revisit your EOI during the decision-making time. If you do this, however, I'd send a copy to any state(s) you have applications outstanding for as soon as you get the new IELTS score.

Re: states that have a requirement for 7+ on each band for your occuaption, no point applying for those states until you have the new IELTS score in hand already.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have overall 55 points, I am planning to apply for SS(190) in July 2014 to claim additional 5 points to meet 60 points.
> 
> Age = 25 points
> Work Experience = 15 points
> Qualifications	= 15 points
> Competent = 0 points (6 and above)
> 
> Question is.. Can i Retake IELTS after lodging State Sponsorship? , If the IELTS results become >7 can i then update the latest IELTS results to the application ?
> 
> Thanks
> VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jab52 -

Thanks for the question. It can be difficult to convince DIBP that your relationship level was at the defacto stage (must exist as that for the 12 months prior to application even if you were not living together for the entire period) if you were not living together for much of that period. The legal requirement is that the defacto relationship exist for the 12 months prior to application, and DIBP has decided that living together is the primary evidence of a defacto relationship existing.

So the challenge is proving with evidence that the defacto relationship existed even if there was time apart, and that any time apart was temporary in nature. Living together is great evidence, a lease for that period with both names on it is great evidence, but it's the total pile of evidence that will be considered together when the case officer makes a judgement about this.

Everybody's relationship is different, so no way for me to assess this without seeing all of your documents and knowing much more about your relationship and especially the 12 months prior to application.

Re: city relationship register, not relevant for migration purposes - only the specified state registration for a relationship would satisfy the 12 month living together policy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jab52 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> My partner and I are interested in applying for a Partner Visa (820/801). I'm Australian and my partner is French. We both met in France (but lived in different cities) and couldn't move in together because I was working in one city and he was studying in another. We decided that we wanted to move to Australia together in February 2014, but my partner arrived in October 2013 on with a working holiday visa while I stayed in France to finish my work contract. We have proof of our relationship from as early as February 2013 (travel receipts, train tickets to go visit each other every 2 weeks on average, pictures, Facebook conversations, phone calls, gift receipts, etc.), but we didn't actually move in together until February 2014 when I arrived in Australia.
> 
> We were planning on registering our domestic partnership in order to avoid the 12-month cohabitation requirement, but in Victoria it isn't possible to register a relationship unless one (or both?) parties have lived in Victoria for 12 months, which neither of us have. I had never lived in Australia until February 2014 as I'm also a US citizen (where I grew up), so we can't register our relationship.
> 
> Nonetheless, the Immigration website says it is possible to get a de facto partner visa without having lived together for 12 months. Fact Sheet 35, in particular, says that "for various reasons, couples may sometimes have to live apart" and that it may still be possible to get a partner visa even though we haven't (yet) lived together for 12 months. Is this true? We can certainly prove that our relationship was more than just "dating" because otherwise we wouldn't have come to Australia together, but I'm not sure how this will be taken into account for the 820/801 visa. If not, would registering our relationship with the City of Melbourne help our case, even though it's not a statewide relationship register? If it weren't for that pesky 12 month requirement, we'd just register our relationship with the State of Victoria.
> 
> So I guess basically my question is: what are our chances of getting our partner visa application approved?
> 
> Thanks so much in advance for any help you can provide!


----------



## dharabaskar

Thanks Mark.

regards
VJ



MarkNortham said:


> Hi VJ -
> 
> In theory yes, but each state may have their own internal policies (whether published or not) as to when they will consider your IELTS score - ie, they may capture the score at the time of application for a state sponsorship application and may not revisit your EOI during the decision-making time. If you do this, however, I'd send a copy to any state(s) you have applications outstanding for as soon as you get the new IELTS score.
> 
> Re: states that have a requirement for 7+ on each band for your occuaption, no point applying for those states until you have the new IELTS score in hand already.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## JohnnyBrutal

Hi Mark, thank you for your reply. I'll wait another week on your advice


----------



## dnivog

*Thanks a lot Mark*

Thanks a lot Mark!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dnivog -
> 
> Probably not a problem, however DIBP will want the name on their applications forms, etc to match the passport as well. Maybe time for a new passport with the new name.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Vivian

Hi Mark,

I just got my Permanent Residency (subclass 189) yesterday. What a joy!

My question is do I need to apply for a PR card? Is it compulsory?


----------



## jhosie

dnivog said:


> Thanks a lot Mark!


hi mark do we really submit the form 80..when we lodge our pmv or we have to wait as co requested us to do..thnks


----------



## jab52

Thanks for the response, Mark!

It sounds like something we'll have to look into in much more depth with a migration agent. Do you know any in the Melbourne area?

Do you know if a foreign domestic partnership would be taken into account by immigration (such as a French PACS) since we can't get our relationship registered in Australia? What if we were to get married in France? I know Australia doesn't have same-sex marriage, but the DIBP blog suggests a foreign SSM will be considered a "de facto relationship". What about foreign civil partnerships?

Thanks so much again for any info. We really appreciate. 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jab52 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. It can be difficult to convince DIBP that your relationship level was at the defacto stage (must exist as that for the 12 months prior to application even if you were not living together for the entire period) if you were not living together for much of that period. The legal requirement is that the defacto relationship exist for the 12 months prior to application, and DIBP has decided that living together is the primary evidence of a defacto relationship existing.
> 
> So the challenge is proving with evidence that the defacto relationship existed even if there was time apart, and that any time apart was temporary in nature. Living together is great evidence, a lease for that period with both names on it is great evidence, but it's the total pile of evidence that will be considered together when the case officer makes a judgement about this.
> 
> Everybody's relationship is different, so no way for me to assess this without seeing all of your documents and knowing much more about your relationship and especially the 12 months prior to application.
> 
> Re: city relationship register, not relevant for migration purposes - only the specified state registration for a relationship would satisfy the 12 month living together policy.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Vivian

Hi Mark,

I am asking this on behalf of my friend.

She is living with her boyfriend for 1.5 years and plan to apply for partnership visa which her boyfriend is going to be her sponsor.

She is completing her bachelor degree this september in SA and is currently 24 years old. She is wondering what is the english requirement(IELTS score) for her to obtain visa sublcass 820(i suppose)?

Thanking you in advance for your reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivian -

No such thing that I know of as a "PR card" - once you are granted the visa (which is linked to your passport), you're a permanent resident - congratulations!

Best,

Mark Northam



Vivian said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just got my Permanent Residency (subclass 189) yesterday. What a joy!
> 
> My question is do I need to apply for a PR card? Is it compulsory?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

You can wait until they request it if you want to.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam

QUOTE=jhosie;471585]hi mark do we really submit the form 80..when we lodge our pmv or we have to wait as co requested us to do..thnks[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jab52 -

The last 2 people I sent to agents in Melbourne came away unhappy, so I've given up on that! Actually we service clients all over Australia, so I'd be happy to assist you by phone/Skype/email if you'd like.

If you're looking for a waiver of the 12 months living together requirement for a defacto partner visa application, that legally can only be provided by registration with one of the Australian registered relationship states (all except SA and WA). Same Sex Marriages (SSM) from abroad or overseas civil union, etc registered relationships are considered additional relationship evidence for an Australian defacto partner visa application, but the 12 months living together requirement still exists unless waived by registration of the relationship with an Australian state.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jab52 said:


> Thanks for the response, Mark!
> 
> It sounds like something we'll have to look into in much more depth with a migration agent. Do you know any in the Melbourne area?
> 
> Do you know if a foreign domestic partnership would be taken into account by immigration (such as a French PACS) since we can't get our relationship registered in Australia? What if we were to get married in France? I know Australia doesn't have same-sex marriage, but the DIBP blog suggests a foreign SSM will be considered a "de facto relationship". What about foreign civil partnerships?
> 
> Thanks so much again for any info. We really appreciate.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivian -

For partner visas, there currently are no English requirements for primary applicants. However, a word to the wise: "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" are words they will want to eliminate from their vocabulary - that relationship does not qualify for a partner visa - better say "partners".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vivian said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am asking this on behalf of my friend.
> 
> She is living with her boyfriend for 1.5 years and plan to apply for partnership visa which her boyfriend is going to be her sponsor.
> 
> She is completing her bachelor degree this september in SA and is currently 24 years old. She is wondering what is the english requirement(IELTS score) for her to obtain visa sublcass 820(i suppose)?
> 
> Thanking you in advance for your reply.


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> You can wait until they request it if you want to.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> QUOTE=jhosie;471585]hi mark do we really submit the form 80..when we lodge our pmv or we have to wait as co requested us to do..thnks


[/QUOTE]

thnks mark for a quick reply..i have some question again in declaration about my family and friends is there any specific form for them unlike for my fiance they just filling up form 888 as his witness...or they just hand writing in a clean white paper like me my fiance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

We always recommend that all statements be typed/on computer so they're easy to read. Form 888 are statutory declaration forms which can only be witnessed on Australian soil or an embassy. Witness statements for a PMV can be on plan paper typed on computer, etc. and should include a copy of a photo ID for the person who is writing the statement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam

thnks mark for a quick reply..i have some question again in declaration about my family and friends is there any specific form for them unlike for my fiance they just filling up form 888 as his witness...or they just hand writing in a clean white paper like me my fiance[/QUOTE]


----------



## bendf

MarkNortham said:


> Hi bendf -
> 
> Great questions - also, it's "dole" not "doll". If a person is between jobs and receiving Centrelink payments, my view is that those payments add to the overall financial support picture for a person. It's not up to DIBP to decide whether someone is a burden to society or not - that's not a criteria for the visa. The criteria is whether the person through any assets, payments, income, etc he has, could be expected to provide a reasonable level of support for the applicant.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam





MarkNortham said:


> Hi bendf -
> 
> Great questions - also, it's "dole" not "doll". If a person is between jobs and receiving Centrelink payments, my view is that those payments add to the overall financial support picture for a person. It's not up to DIBP to decide whether someone is a burden to society or not - that's not a criteria for the visa. The criteria is whether the person through any assets, payments, income, etc he has, could be expected to provide a reasonable level of support for the applicant.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thank you for your reply. It makes a lot more sense now. It's dole. Lol. English being my second language mucks up my spelling at time lol. My dad's problem is that he's unlikely to find a job once he returns to Australia, due to the old age, lack of English skill and lack of job opportunity in this sluggish economy. So he's likely to be on the dole for the two year period while he's the sponsor and thereafter. just to clarify one thing, by visa criteria, sponsors need to show they are able to provide accomodation and other living expenses for applicants during the first two years of their arrival ??? Only the first 2 years ???? One can easily get some money together to prove that. How about the time after the first 2 year, my dad's 150 k in the bank is not going to last forever.

Best Regards

Bendf


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> We always recommend that all statements be typed/on computer so they're easy to read. Form 888 are statutory declaration forms which can only be witnessed on Australian soil or an embassy. Witness statements for a PMV can be on plan paper typed on computer, etc. and should include a copy of a photo ID for the person who is writing the statement.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> thnks mark for a quick reply..i have some question again in declaration about my family and friends is there any specific form for them unlike for my fiance they just filling up form 888 as his witness...or they just hand writing in a clean white paper like me my fiance


[/QUOTE]

thanks mark now i know even me n my fiance is computer type thank you so.much its a big help for us


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark. 

Please enlighten me on this matter. After I file my online Partner Visa 820 Onshore ( de facto) say August 30th I still could not work as my last stay is September 24th after three months of my arrival here from my vacation in Thailand I will arrive here in Melbourne June 24th. So it means my bridging visa A will kick in September 24th Is this right even though I will file my visa end of August? 

Thank you in advance.

Ninja69


----------



## Ninja69

Follow up question Mark. 

So if I have my Bridging Visa A it means I can apply for a job and medicare am I right? I plan to go to Philippines to fix some documents related to my daughters requirements later when I file their visas in Philippines. My question is can I leave Australia say for a month? Will I apply for a Bridging visa B? How long does it take to be approved of this kind of visa? 

Hoping to hear from you soon. 
Cheers! 
Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Assuming your visa says maximum 3 month stay, multiple entries, and that the last date to enter has not been missed (ie, the visa does not have a fixed expiration date), then you are correct. Visas can be configured any number of ways, so it's difficult to respond to questions about a visa without seeing it.

Essentially when you remain beyond the end of your current 3 month stay (assuming the above), the BV-A automatically activates the moment your stay period is exceeded.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> Please enlighten me on this matter. After I file my online Partner Visa 820 Onshore ( de facto) say August 30th I still could not work as my last stay is September 24th after three months of my arrival here from my vacation in Thailand I will arrive here in Melbourne June 24th. So it means my bridging visa A will kick in September 24th Is this right even though I will file my visa end of August?
> 
> Thank you in advance.
> 
> Ninja69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Once your BV-A activates (ie, after end of current stay), you then have unlimited work and study rights unless the BV-A says otherwise (rare). Once the BV-A is activated and you are on that visa, you need to apply for and receive a Bridging Visa B for each trip offshore. Generally takes between 2-7 days for approval on those, $140 current application fee for those.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Follow up question Mark.
> 
> So if I have my Bridging Visa A it means I can apply for a job and medicare am I right? I plan to go to Philippines to fix some documents related to my daughters requirements later when I file their visas in Philippines. My question is can I leave Australia say for a month? Will I apply for a Bridging visa B? How long does it take to be approved of this kind of visa?
> 
> Hoping to hear from you soon.
> Cheers!
> Ninja 69


----------



## Ninja69

Thank you Mark for your reply.

So as soon as I come back here in Australia on a Bridging Visa B, do. I have to inform DIBP that I am back and my Bridging Visa A is activated again? 

Also how long am I allowed to leave Australia on a Bridging Visa B? 

Thank you in advance,
Ninja69


----------



## Carrinya

Hi Mark 

Since I got a bit confused for what was right or not about the wedding and this, I just asked my CO about everything. Today I got answer, and I do not need to be married to apply for partnervisa subclass 309/100, not either marry before the visa can be granted. 
I thought I should just let you know 

So all good, and the wedding plans will continue 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Carrinya -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I don't mean to sound harsh, but CO's at DIBP do not generally consider it part of their job to educate applicants about the regulations. DIBP as an organisation is the same - these are not happy, friendly people anxious to help you out and explain any problems they might see in your application. It's just not that way, sadly. I wish it was, but it's not.
> 
> Here's the regulation - from Migration Regulations 1994 Schedule 2:
> 
> _309.211
> (1) The applicant meets the requirements of subclause (2) or (3).
> 
> (2) The applicant meets the requirements of this subclause if the applicant is the spouse or de facto partner of:
> (a) an Australian citizen; or
> (b) an Australian permanent resident; or
> (c) an eligible New Zealand citizen.
> [Note omitted by SLI 2009, 144 with effect from 01/07/2009 - LEGEND note]
> 
> (3) The applicant meets the requirements of this subclause if:
> (a) the applicant intends to marry:
> (i) an Australian citizen; or
> (ii) an Australian permanent resident; or
> (iii) an eligible New Zealand citizen; and
> (b) the intended marriage will, if it takes place, be a valid marriage for the purposes of section 12 of the Act.
> Note If the applicant is an applicant referred to in subclause 309.211(3), the marriage must have taken place before the applicant can be granted a visa of this subclass: see clause 309.224.]_
> 
> As you see above, the provisional visa cannot be granted before you are married. The CO does not have the power to change or ignore the law. There are other sorts of visas, such as the subclass 300 prospective marriage visa, that are designed for people who are engaged but not yet married, but a partner visa is designed for people who are already defacto partners, or married partners.
> 
> One way through this could be to apply based on the defacto partner standard - this could work if you have lived with your partner for the 12 months prior to lodging the visa application, other than any temporary time apart. This way you could be approved based on being defacto partners, and no problem if you later get married.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carrinya -

Thanks for that - my view would be that, as the regulations (see below) clearly do not allow grant of the visa based on marriage if the marriage has not yet taken place yet, the only way the visa could be granted under those circumstances would be if the case officer determined that you met the definition of defacto partners and then granted the visa based on the applicant and sponsor being defacto partners. There's nothing at all to prevent defacto partners from marrying before, during, or after the visa is granted.

Best,

Mark Northam



Carrinya said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Since I got a bit confused for what was right or not about the wedding and this, I just asked my CO about everything. Today I got answer, and I do not need to be married to apply for partnervisa subclass 309/100, not either marry before the visa can be granted.
> I thought I should just let you know
> 
> So all good, and the wedding plans will continue


----------



## amitsethiaustralia

Hi Mark & Other Senior Members,

I am new to this forum, so need your help please.

I have in total 55 points excluding state sponsorship points.
AGE - 31, POINTS - 30
IELTS - L(7.5), R(7.0), W(6), S(6.5), POINTS - 0
Employment Experience After Skills Assessment - 5 + Years, POINTS - 10
Qualification: Bachelor Degree With ICT Major, POINTS - 15
State Sponsorship Points - 5
Total Points = 60

Could you please answer some of my questions:
1. How can i file for state sponsorship and EOI, when my profession is software engineer Code (261313). What is the step by step process. If possible please share some links. As per my understanding first i have to file EOI, then i need to contact the state with EOI ID with application of state sponsor ship, correct me if i am wrong.

2. Which state is best for state sponsorship. After my research on different websites i have found Software Engineer are mostly in demand in NSW, Victoria, Western Australia, correct me if i am wrong.

3. Which state allow sponsorship with IELTS not 7 in each, same case as mine?

4. What is the expected State Sponsorship processing time for NSW, Victoria, Western Australia ? 

5. Could you please share state sponsorship process for NSW?

6. I have heard NSW is opening its door for state sponsorship on 1st July 2014 for Software Engineer (261313), Is it true. How can i get this state specific information, please share state specific links.

Please answer with details.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Carrinya

Yes, you are right there Mark.
We have been together in a relationship for two years, and as long as we have been in a relationship for 12 months or more when applying for the visa it is not a problem. We did not have to live together for 12 months as long as we are in a relationship.

But at least, I don't need to rush to get married, that's a relief for me. I do like to plan this wedding, so I'm all happy 

Thanks for replying and answer people's questions 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Carrinya -
> 
> Thanks for that - my view would be that, as the regulations (see below) clearly do not allow grant of the visa based on marriage if the marriage has not yet taken place yet, the only way the visa could be granted under those circumstances would be if the case officer determined that you met the definition of defacto partners and then granted the visa based on the applicant and sponsor being defacto partners. There's nothing at all to prevent defacto partners from marrying before, during, or after the visa is granted.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amitsethiaustralia -

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for the question. As you've posted this in the "Ask Mark" thread I can respond here - if you'd like to post this as a new thread out on the rest of the forum, that's where it would be appropriate for others to offer their opinions and advice.

As I mention in the first page of this thread, I'm not able to assess people's individual cases here because there are simply too many details that can make a big difference - especially in the area of skills assessments and state sponsorship policies and regulations. Also, the issue of whether work references are sufficient for DIBP is a major area where skilled PR visas can often run into trouble.

It takes about 30-40 minutes of questions & answers to do a detailed skilled visa assessment at our consultation sessions, plus looking at your documents and reports. My suggestion would be to continue the online research you're doing and spend time on the DIBP, state sponsorship and skills assessment websites for your occupation. Forums are great for general information and general questions, but when it comes down to specific detailed policies of, for instance, skills assessors - there's no shortcut to doing your own homework or engaging someone else such as an agent to do it for you.

Would be happy to help via a consultation (see website link below in my signature) however there are too many details involved to provide specific advice on the forum - it would literally involve days of back & forth posts asking about various details of your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amitsethiaustralia said:


> Hi Mark & Other Senior Members,
> 
> I am new to this forum, so need your help please.
> 
> I have in total 55 points excluding state sponsorship points.
> AGE - 31, POINTS - 30
> IELTS - L(7.5), R(7.0), W(6), S(6.5), POINTS - 0
> Employment Experience After Skills Assessment - 5 + Years, POINTS - 10
> Qualification: Bachelor Degree With ICT Major, POINTS - 15
> State Sponsorship Points - 5
> Total Points = 60
> 
> Could you please answer some of my questions:
> 1. How can i file for state sponsorship and EOI, when my profession is software engineer Code (261313). What is the step by step process. If possible please share some links. As per my understanding first i have to file EOI, then i need to contact the state with EOI ID with application of state sponsor ship, correct me if i am wrong.
> 
> 2. Which state is best for state sponsorship. After my research on different websites i have found Software Engineer are mostly in demand in NSW, Victoria, Western Australia, correct me if i am wrong.
> 
> 3. Which state allow sponsorship with IELTS not 7 in each, same case as mine?
> 
> 4. What is the expected State Sponsorship processing time for NSW, Victoria, Western Australia ?
> 
> 5. Could you please share state sponsorship process for NSW?
> 
> 6. I have heard NSW is opening its door for state sponsorship on 1st July 2014 for Software Engineer (261313), Is it true. How can i get this state specific information, please share state specific links.
> 
> Please answer with details.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carrinya -

I understand your position and am not trying to convince you otherwise, however you'll want to make sure you have clear and very strong evidence of your defacto relationship if you are not living together for the 12 months prior to application. I don't recall from your earlier posts how much of the 24 month relationship you had spent living together - that will be key.

As an example, the Federal Circuit Court recently ruled on a case where the applicant and sponsor had not lived together, and only intended on living together after they were married - they referred to the definition of defacto relationships in the Migration Act 1958 (see below) and ruled that an intention to live together after marriage (but not before) was not sufficient to satisfy the requirement for defacto partners:

_De facto partners
(1) For the purposes of this Act, a person is the de facto partner of another person (whether of the same sex or a different sex) if, under subsection (2), the person is in a de facto relationship with the other person.

De facto relationship
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is in a de facto relationship with another person if they are not in a married relationship (for the purposes of section 5F) with each other but:
(a) they have a mutual commitment to a 
shared life to the exclusion of all others; 
and
(b) the relationship between them is genuine 
and continuing; and
(c) they:
(i) live together; or
(ii) do not live separately and apart on a 
permanent basis; and
(d) they are not related by family
_
Here's the link to the case if you're interested: 404 File not found

Again, not trying to upset your wedding plans! Just suggesting that if you will not be married by the time the visa is granted, and therefore are relying on a successful assessment as defacto partners, that you provide DIBP with the evidence they'll need to do so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Carrinya said:


> Yes, you are right there Mark.
> We have been together in a relationship for two years, and as long as we have been in a relationship for 12 months or more when applying for the visa it is not a problem. We did not have to live together for 12 months as long as we are in a relationship.
> 
> But at least, I don't need to rush to get married, that's a relief for me. I do like to plan this wedding, so I'm all happy
> 
> Thanks for replying and answer people's questions


----------



## Rajmohan

Hi Mark, 
I am working with 457 visa, my wife and children living in India I would like to invite her for short period my children studying there she will not able stay here longer. That is the reason I have applied visitor visa 600 but it has been refused. Now I am thinking to add with my 457 visa as subsequent entrant. Is that visitor visa refuse will give any impact adding to my visa? 

I have the documents are, Company sponsor letter, Passports copy, Marriage cert, Birth cert, Photo and Health insurance is there any thing else Mark.

Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajmohan -

Thanks for the question. Yes, would suggest adding family members as 457 subsequent entrants - the strong ties they have to Australia (you!) is likely the reason the visitor visa was refused. Any visa refusal has the potential to affect future visa applications. I would consider adding more relationship evidence than just your marriage certificate - potentially include statements by others that you are a genuine married couple, and any other evidence of joint ownership of assets, etc. Normally having a child together will satisfy them, but these days with them being so hard on some applications, I'd add some additional evidence if it's practical to do so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rajmohan said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am working with 457 visa, my wife and children living in India I would like to invite her for short period my children studying there she will not able stay here longer. That is the reason I have applied visitor visa 600 but it has been refused. Now I am thinking to add with my 457 visa as subsequent entrant. Is that visitor visa refuse will give any impact adding to my visa?
> 
> I have the documents are, Company sponsor letter, Passports copy, Marriage cert, Birth cert, Photo and Health insurance is there any thing else Mark.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## Echovald

Hi Mark
Would like to thank you for all your previous replies to my question.

I had heard that the 457 visa is only valid up until 2 years after the date of finishing one's course. My friend finished his course back in 2011. Is this true? can he still apply for 457 visa if he finds a willing sponsor?


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vivian -
> 
> For partner visas, there currently are no English requirements for primary applicants. However, a word to the wise: "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" are words they will want to eliminate from their vocabulary - that relationship does not qualify for a partner visa - better say "partners".
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark is there any incident in your client before reg the different middle initial of the applicant n the siblings what is your best advice for that thnks


----------



## Lancs Lass

*Need to start work*

Hello Mark. We are hoping you can answer our query. 
I have submitted an onshore 187 application (nomination already approved) and have been acknowledged and granted Bridging visa A (class WA) so am able to work when the BVA kicks in. I entered Australia on an evisitor visa granted in early May to be able to submit onshore.
Trouble is my husband and children are now coming over and I really need to start work and earning. Is there a way to commence work earlier - applying for permission, cancelling evisitor visa?
Obviously I would like to do this legally and don't want to put my sponsoring employer at risk but I really do need to start earning.
Any advice or suggestions?


----------



## bendf

Hi Mark 

Sorry to bother you again. Someone points out that my dad doesn't qualify as an usual resident so that he can not sponsor partner visas. To cut the long story short, my parents divorced about 20 years ago but started their relationship fresh again about 5 years ago and been living together since then. so My dad's been overseas for 5 years and living with mum. I'm the only son who lives and works in Australia permanently and obtained australian citizenship many years ago. Our plan is to finally bring everyone together and live happily and permanently in Australia. My dad had only lived in aus for 6 years and in china for the last 6 years, which is far from convincing evidence of being an usual resident. Is the wish of the whole family living together a strong reason against the usual resident rule? Should my dad stay in aus for at least 2 years before sponsoring my mum. What are your thoughts? Many thanks.


----------



## sidjun

Thanks for the clarification Mark.

I saw in document checklist that I have to provide scanned photographs of applicants as well. In which section of application should I attach the photos?

Best Regards



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sidjun - You're all set - as long as you paid and uploaded docs, you're good to go. Once police certificates are lodged and medicals completed, then you just have to wait for a case officer to request any further docs (only if necessary). Status after lodging is usually "submitted" or "in progress" until a decision is made, so not much available there to tell where the application is in the process. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


----------



## Ninja69

Thank you Mark for your reply.

So as soon as I come back here in Australia on a Bridging Visa B, do. I have to inform DIBP that I am back and my Bridging Visa A is activated again? 

Also how long am I allowed to leave Australia on a Bridging Visa B? 

Thank you in advance,
Ninja69


----------



## laurencatriona13

*Question over arriving in Australia before visa is approved*

Hi Mark,

I saw your posts and I hope you don't mind me asking you a couple of questions.

I am Australian and my partner is Scottish. We have been together nearly three years and lodged our application for a Partner 309 visa offshore to London through an agent in March 2014. We were told at the time that it would take 5 months and we were planning on moving to Australia in September 2014.

The agent recently informed us that it is now 8-9months and not to expect it until November/December. This means potentially not relocating until January next year, and we would really like to be settling in and sightseeing before then. We have been trying to get in contact with our agent to speak with her about if this is possible to consider but finding communication very difficult with her.

Our idea is that my partner can use a 3month tourist visa and we can fly over there mid October. We don't mind booking a return ticket if that means less questions when we arrive. We know he can't be in Australia when the visa is granted and we would have to take a trip overseas to then re-enter on it.

What are your thoughts on this? Our agent mentioned to us that this would be fine, but we don't really trust her because she doesn't give us straight answers or a 'yes or no' response. We have a very genuine and complete application but I know a lot of the waiting time is the application sitting on someones desk in a queue.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read all that! You have been very helpful to a lot of people 

Lauren


----------



## gretz57

Hi Mark,

Do I need to submit the Form 1022 -Notification of Changes in circumstances (Section 104 of the Migration Act 1958),please?

I am a PMV visa holder approved on Dec. 23, 2013, I got married on Feb. 15, 2014. As soon as I got my marriage certificate from the Registry of Marriages in Sydney, I went to Philippine Consulate and changed my passport's name. As soon as I received my renewed passport with the new name in June 2, 2014(Monday) , I went to Aus. Immigration Office in Sydney and submitted a copy of my old passport , copy of my new passport and a copy my marriage contract, these are the documents they asked when I told them to report the changes in detail of my passport. So, definitely the name in my passport when it was approved is not the same family name that I used in my application of visa 820/801, that I lodged yesterday(June 03, 2014), by post here in Parramatta addressed to Aus Immigration in Sydney as provided for by Aus Immi in Parramatta.

Thank you for your help.


----------



## Vivian

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vivian -
> 
> For partner visas, there currently are no English requirements for primary applicants. However, a word to the wise: "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" are words they will want to eliminate from their vocabulary - that relationship does not qualify for a partner visa - better say "partners".
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply.

I've heard some of my friends saying that the minimum score for IELTS to apply for partnership visa is 4.5 on each band. That's why I am confused.

Could you please clarify for me?

Thank you.


----------



## Interlaken

*Mother-in-Law, Sister-in-Law as dependent relatives*

Hi Mark,

I have a critical decision to make before applying for Skilled Independent visa.
I would highly appreciate if you could assist me with my query.

My Circumstances:
- Skilled assessment has been completed
- Going to submit EOI through Skill Select

- Me, my wife and 2 children; we all live in a same home
- Close to my home, I rented another apartment for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.
- My father-in-Law passed away 2 year ago. Since then my mother-in-law and sister-in-Law live in that aprtment.
- Mother-in-law in not an income earner. Sister-in-law is a full time student (22 yrs old)
- My wife pays the rent of the apartment as well as for the Food, Educational Expenses and all household expenses.
- Both of them completely dependent on us for Food, Shelter and all expenses
- We often stay in that apartment

Query
- In my Skilled Independent subclass 189 Application, can I include my Mother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law as dependent relatives?


----------



## Sunny_Girl

Hi Mark!
I am reposting my question from another thread.
Hope you may be able to help me.

My partners 457 visa expires on the 1st August (I am de-facto on the visa). His company have applied to become a business sponsor again because their 3 years is up and plan to nominate and sponsor my partner again for a second 457 visa.
Have there been many cases of this and if so, are many people successful?

My other question is when should the new nomination/sponsorship begin? The 2nd of August (day after current 457 expires) or from as soon as possible?

Thanks for the help!


----------



## zealot

Hi Mark
I have recently been granted Permanent Visa of Australia under Subclass 190 ( WA ) and I am planning to arrive Perth in third week of June. Can You please throw some light on landing formalities like whether I have to visit migration department of Western Australia Government in person for registering my address or I can just drop an e-mail or make a call to do so ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Inetrlaken -

Thanks for the question. I can't give you specific advice for your case without knowing much more about your situation and seeing what documentary evidence you would use to show that they are dependent on you, however from what you've said in the email, there's nothing you've said that would indicate a problem with a dependency claim for both of them - the key will come down to evidence and the specific details of the circumstances - as they say, in immigration, "the devil is in the details".... Suggest you consult with a migration agent who can give you a complete assessment of your situation and documents - we have consultations available (see link in my signature below to our website) or other agents offer these as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Interlaken said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a critical decision to make before applying for Skilled Independent visa.
> I would highly appreciate if you could assist me with my query.
> 
> My Circumstances:
> - Skilled assessment has been completed
> - Going to submit EOI through Skill Select
> 
> - Me, my wife and 2 children; we all live in a same home
> - Close to my home, I rented another apartment for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.
> - My father-in-Law passed away 2 year ago. Since then my mother-in-law and sister-in-Law live in that aprtment.
> - Mother-in-law in not an income earner. Sister-in-law is a full time student (22 yrs old)
> - My wife pays the rent of the apartment as well as for the Food, Educational Expenses and all household expenses.
> - Both of them completely dependent on us for Food, Shelter and all expenses
> - We often stay in that apartment
> 
> Query
> - In my Skilled Independent subclass 189 Application, can I include my Mother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law as dependent relatives?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunny_Girl -

Thanks for the question - lots of sponsorship renewals and continued 457 visas are successful - it's a very common occurrance, especially for companies who sponsor a number of employees on 457 visas. The sponsorship would have to be in place (either the old sponsorship still in place, or the renewal sponsorship approved) in order to lodge a new nomination and new visa application to continue the 457 visa.

You would want to organise things so that the 457 visa application is lodged, in my view, no later than 2 weeks before the expiration date of the existing 457 visa. That means having the sponsorship renewal completed by that date and either lodging the associated nomination (for the new 457 application) at the same time as the 457 application or before the 457 application. The nomination does not need to be approved before the 457 visa application related to it is lodged, but the nomination at least needs to be lodged before the 457 visa application is lodged (and after the sponsorship is approved).

My suggestion would be to get moving as soon as possible on the sponsorship renewal application, as these can take a number of weeks to go through. Then lodge the nom/app accordingly, but in any case prior to the expiry of the current 457 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sunny_Girl said:


> Hi Mark!
> I am reposting my question from another thread.
> Hope you may be able to help me.
> 
> My partners 457 visa expires on the 1st August (I am de-facto on the visa). His company have applied to become a business sponsor again because their 3 years is up and plan to nominate and sponsor my partner again for a second 457 visa.
> Have there been many cases of this and if so, are many people successful?
> 
> My other question is when should the new nomination/sponsorship begin? The 2nd of August (day after current 457 expires) or from as soon as possible?
> 
> Thanks for the help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zealot -

Thanks for the question. I would check with the WA skilled visa office to see what their current entry procedures are - from what I recall they want a registration of your address and contact info, but I thought that could be handled by email. Best to check for current procedures as that office changes things very frequently.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zealot said:


> Hi Mark
> I have recently been granted Permanent Visa of Australia under Subclass 190 ( WA ) and I am planning to arrive Perth in third week of June. Can You please throw some light on landing formalities like whether I have to visit migration department of Western Australia Government in person for registering my address or I can just drop an e-mail or make a call to do so ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Echovald -

Happy to help. 457 visa dates are not linked to course completion dates, other than it would be difficult to lodge a 457 application while still in school in many cases. No time limit I know of re: after you graduate. Other visas such as the 485 have very strict time limits on when you can apply and the maximum length of the visa, 1 visa per lifetime, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Echovald said:


> Hi Mark
> Would like to thank you for all your previous replies to my question.
> 
> I had heard that the 457 visa is only valid up until 2 years after the date of finishing one's course. My friend finished his course back in 2011. Is this true? can he still apply for 457 visa if he finds a willing sponsor?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Thanks for the question - I'm not sure what you're asking though. DIBP wants full names on visa applications, not initials. Would need to see specific information on documents in a consultation if you're asking about how documents should be filled out or questions answered.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> hi mark is there any incident in your client before reg the different middle initial of the applicant n the siblings what is your best advice for that thnks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lancs Lass -

Thanks for the question and call today. The visitor visa, as yours is set with a maximum 3 month stay period, would stay in effect until the stay period ends - assuming you are onshore after that, the bridging visa would activate and at that point you would be allowed to work since the conditions of the bridging visa would then be in force. Would not suggest canceling the visitor visa since that would also cancel your underlying bridging visa and leave you unlawfully present in Australia, which then requires a bridging visa E application, work rights application, and a bunch of other headaches you don't want including loss of any residency time in Australia prior to the cancellation towards citizenship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lancs Lass said:


> Hello Mark. We are hoping you can answer our query.
> I have submitted an onshore 187 application (nomination already approved) and have been acknowledged and granted Bridging visa A (class WA) so am able to work when the BVA kicks in. I entered Australia on an evisitor visa granted in early May to be able to submit onshore.
> Trouble is my husband and children are now coming over and I really need to start work and earning. Is there a way to commence work earlier - applying for permission, cancelling evisitor visa?
> Obviously I would like to do this legally and don't want to put my sponsoring employer at risk but I really do need to start earning.
> Any advice or suggestions?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bendf -

If your dad is an Australian permanent resident, then he must be "usually resident" in Australia in order to qualify to sponsor for a partner visa. The term "usually resident" is roughly defined as either residing in Australia as a person's normal place of being at home (although a person can have multiple homes in different countries, etc), or showing clear evidence that he intends to make Australia his home in the very near future.

This is different than the "settled in Australia" requirement for parent and other visas where the DIBP policy is that a person must be in Australia for 2 years in order to be considered as "settled". There is no 2-year requirement for being usually resident, but the evidence must support the claim. You may want to have a registered migration agent look at your evidence and give you an opinion as to whether the evidence is sufficient or perhaps suggest additional evidence you could obtain in order to establish being usually resident in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bendf said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Sorry to bother you again. Someone points out that my dad doesn't qualify as an usual resident so that he can not sponsor partner visas. To cut the long story short, my parents divorced about 20 years ago but started their relationship fresh again about 5 years ago and been living together since then. so My dad's been overseas for 5 years and living with mum. I'm the only son who lives and works in Australia permanently and obtained australian citizenship many years ago. Our plan is to finally bring everyone together and live happily and permanently in Australia. My dad had only lived in aus for 6 years and in china for the last 6 years, which is far from convincing evidence of being an usual resident. Is the wish of the whole family living together a strong reason against the usual resident rule? Should my dad stay in aus for at least 2 years before sponsoring my mum. What are your thoughts? Many thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sidjun -

Look for a category called "Photographs" and then under that you can choose either "Other" or "Passport photos".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sidjun said:


> Thanks for the clarification Mark.
> 
> I saw in document checklist that I have to provide scanned photographs of applicants as well. In which section of application should I attach the photos?
> 
> Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69

No need to inform DIBP you're back unless you informed them previously that you were gone. Many people stay on the BV-B as long as it is not set to expire on a certain date. Others reapply for BV-A when they return - that's the safest bet.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Thank you Mark for your reply.
> 
> So as soon as I come back here in Australia on a Bridging Visa B, do. I have to inform DIBP that I am back and my Bridging Visa A is activated again?
> 
> Also how long am I allowed to leave Australia on a Bridging Visa B?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Ninja69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lauren -

Thanks for the question! Short answer (since you said you liked yes/no answers!): YES 

Longer answer: Yes it's OK and very common for partner visa applicants to get a visitor visa to be with their partners in Australia during the processing time for their partner visas - these are routinely granted unless there is some sort of concern about the person's intentions or security issues. Good idea to have return ticket. Would recommend you let DIBP know if asked that the partner visa application has been lodged, and include any info you have about the application (ie, TRN number, file number, etc from DIBP). Also note that you do not need to go back to your home country when it's grant time - you can go anywhere offshore, including places like NZ or elsewhere for a short holiday. Suggest you (or your agent) keep in touch with the case officer to alert him/her when you are in Australia to aid in coordinating at grant time.

Re: processing time, 5 months is almost unheard of other than a few cases that go through in 2-3 months. Normal processing times for partner visas are typically anywhere from 9-12 months.

Please advise if I can assist further - hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



laurencatriona13 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I saw your posts and I hope you don't mind me asking you a couple of questions.
> 
> I am Australian and my partner is Scottish. We have been together nearly three years and lodged our application for a Partner 309 visa offshore to London through an agent in March 2014. We were told at the time that it would take 5 months and we were planning on moving to Australia in September 2014.
> 
> The agent recently informed us that it is now 8-9months and not to expect it until November/December. This means potentially not relocating until January next year, and we would really like to be settling in and sightseeing before then. We have been trying to get in contact with our agent to speak with her about if this is possible to consider but finding communication very difficult with her.
> 
> Our idea is that my partner can use a 3month tourist visa and we can fly over there mid October. We don't mind booking a return ticket if that means less questions when we arrive. We know he can't be in Australia when the visa is granted and we would have to take a trip overseas to then re-enter on it.
> 
> What are your thoughts on this? Our agent mentioned to us that this would be fine, but we don't really trust her because she doesn't give us straight answers or a 'yes or no' response. We have a very genuine and complete application but I know a lot of the waiting time is the application sitting on someones desk in a queue.
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to read all that! You have been very helpful to a lot of people
> 
> Lauren


----------



## swavik

Hello Mark,

I have applied for the Visa 189 on 2nd june..
I have attached the Certified documents (notarized) as i did it for the ACS assessmet.Is it fine?
My medicals i did them upfront and uploaded them and the status is Submitted.
but for my documents they show as In progress..Do we need to go through the stages just like the ACS??
My Netherlands PCC is still to be attached and it will take around 4 weeks for me to get it..Indian PCC i have uploaded already
i want to know do you any idea what is the current wait time for the case officer to be allotted and why is the status In progress?

Thank you ,
Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gretz57 -

Normally if you have your passport/visa details changed in person at DIBP, you do not need to then send another form 1022. You may want to wait to see if they request you file something additional regarding the passport changes, but it sounds like they already made the manual changes on their system when you attended DIBP in person -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gretz57 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Do I need to submit the Form 1022 -Notification of Changes in circumstances (Section 104 of the Migration Act 1958),please?
> 
> I am a PMV visa holder approved on Dec. 23, 2013, I got married on Feb. 15, 2014. As soon as I got my marriage certificate from the Registry of Marriages in Sydney, I went to Philippine Consulate and changed my passport's name. As soon as I received my renewed passport with the new name in June 2, 2014(Monday) , I went to Aus. Immigration Office in Sydney and submitted a copy of my old passport , copy of my new passport and a copy my marriage contract, these are the documents they asked when I told them to report the changes in detail of my passport. So, definitely the name in my passport when it was approved is not the same family name that I used in my application of visa 820/801, that I lodged yesterday(June 03, 2014), by post here in Parramatta addressed to Aus Immigration in Sydney as provided for by Aus Immi in Parramatta.
> 
> Thank you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivian -

For some skilled and other visas, a partner who is a secondary applicant must achieve overall IELTS score of 4.5 or pay an "English charge" for English lessons which is in the $4000-$5000 range. However for the subclass 820/801 and 309/100 partner visas, there are no English requirements currently.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vivian said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> I've heard some of my friends saying that the minimum score for IELTS to apply for partnership visa is 4.5 on each band. That's why I am confused.
> 
> Could you please clarify for me?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## Adrian Perth

Hi Mark, 

For 189 visa application, I am confusing on my qualification points claim as I do not have bachelor degree to underpin my master degree. However I have a positive and valid skill assessment from CPA. 

I studied master accounting degree in Australia and CPA wrote on my full skill assessment (I applied on June 2010) that my qualification is comparable to Australian Higher Education Degree; while current skill assessment from CPA saying that master degree is comparable to at least bachelor degree for Australian standard. 

Due to the wording changed, I email CPA for more interpretation and explaination, and they replied me by email demonstrating that Australian Higher Education Degree is equivalent to at least bachelor degree or higher. 

My question is whether I have suffcient evidence to claim 15 points on qualification for 189 visa 

Kind Regards, 

Adrian


----------



## connells

Hi Mark

We would really appreciated if you could help us.

My husband applied the 190 visa himself last July. we never receive any confirmation nor have we been allocated to a CO. He is a mechanical engineer and we are in our early 30's. 

We have called the visa centre twice since March. We were told that our case has been reviewed and they didn't require any document from us in our first call. However, we then found out that they updated our online account saying they require the UK police clearances. 

After we uploaded the clearance and waited for a month, nothing happened so we decided to call the centre again. This time we were told that they couldn't see who dealt with our case and advised us to email the central document management team. We did that and received an auto-reply saying they would get back to us in 7 working days. Now the time is up but we still haven't heard anything from them. 

We are not sure what to do any more and I am actually not sure if we will ever be granted the visa any more. We would be grateful if you could give us some suggestions what we can do now to get an answer. 

Thanks Mark

Carol


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Congratulations on your visa application! Yes, fine for certified docs, except for police clearances they will want a colour scan of the original of.

In progress and submitted are assigned based on what I'm not sure, but they both essentially mean the same thing - lodged. Beyond that, the status doesn't change until they finalise the decision, so no progress tracking, etc. Time for 189's from what we're seeing is in the 6 month range, sometimes longer, sometimes not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have applied for the Visa 189 on 2nd june..
> I have attached the Certified documents (notarized) as i did it for the ACS assessmet.Is it fine?
> My medicals i did them upfront and uploaded them and the status is Submitted.
> but for my documents they show as In progress..Do we need to go through the stages just like the ACS??
> My Netherlands PCC is still to be attached and it will take around 4 weeks for me to get it..Indian PCC i have uploaded already
> i want to know do you any idea what is the current wait time for the case officer to be allotted and why is the status In progress?
> 
> Thank you ,
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adrian -

Think I saw this question on another thread here on the forum. Would need to look at the actual CPA skills assessment to determine the answer to your question - there is specific policy on this area that looks at the specific assessment of the degree by the skills assessing authority. It's a tricky issue, and it's all about the language and policies on the skills assessment. The short answer is that it is likely that if the skills assessor specifically assessed your degree as equivalent to an Australian Bachelor's Degree, then you may be OK. Here's the policy - suggest reading very carefully:

_32.6 Bachelor and post graduate qualifications

Points for this factor are awarded on the basis of an applicant attaining at least a bachelor degree awarded by an Australian educational institution, or at least a bachelor qualification awarded by another educational institution of a recognised standard. The bachelor or other qualification does not have to be related to the applicant's nominated occupation. In determining whether an applicant's qualification has met the requirements for award of 'at least a bachelor qualification' the case officer must have regard to the recognition given to the qualification by the relevant assessing authority or by VETASSESS. For example, an applicant with 3 years Diploma in Nursing from the United Kingdom is generally recognised by the relevant assessing authority, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council, as having obtained a qualification of comparable standard to an Australian bachelor degree. In such cases, case officers must have regard to the opinion of the assessing authority in determining whether to award points

Case officers may also be presented with claims of qualifications at masters level for the purpose of gaining points. As defined in regulation 2.26AC(6) qualifications at masters level completed in Australia require the completion of a bachelor degree awarded at an Australian tertiary educational institution or of an equivalent award. However, in certain instances, where the relevant assessing authority recognises the masters obtained by the applicant as comparable to at least bachelor level at Australian standards, case officers must have regard to this opinion in determining whether to award points. For example, the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA), the relevant assessing authority for architects, currently sets the standards for the occupation for migration purposes to be at comparable Australian masters level. In these cases, although the applicant undertakes studies that include both bachelor level and masters level courses, the applicant may only be awarded a degree at masters level. If AACA recognises the award at masters level to be comparable to at least Australian bachelor level, case officers must have regard to this opinion when awarding points.

However, in certain situations applicants may present with an Australian masters qualifications with a Bachelor qualification from overseas. In these scenarios, case officers should consider the opinion of the relevant assessing authority and whether the masters qualification is recognised as equivalent to a bachelors degree as a threshold requirement. In the absence of such an opinion case officers should refer to Country Education Profiles guidelines on the comparability of the overseas bachelors to award points. If case officers cannot verify that the overseas qualifications or the masters degree are commensurate to at least an Australian bachelors degree, applicants will still be eligible for 10 points if the qualification has been recognised by the relevant assessing authority as part of the applicant's skills assessment _

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Adrian Perth said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> For 189 visa application, I am confusing on my qualification points claim as I do not have bachelor degree to underpin my master degree. However I have a positive and valid skill assessment from CPA.
> 
> I studied master accounting degree in Australia and CPA wrote on my full skill assessment (I applied on June 2010) that my qualification is comparable to Australian Higher Education Degree; while current skill assessment from CPA saying that master degree is comparable to at least bachelor degree for Australian standard.
> 
> Due to the wording changed, I email CPA for more interpretation and explaination, and they replied me by email demonstrating that Australian Higher Education Degree is equivalent to at least bachelor degree or higher.
> 
> My question is whether I have suffcient evidence to claim 15 points on qualification for 189 visa
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Adrian


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carol -

Sorry to hear of your frustration. Sadly, DIBP has nonexistent customer service when it comes to keeping clients (as they call applicants) anything close to updated through the process. DIBP essentially takes a "don't call us, we'll call you" attitude towards customer service and enquiries, leaving applicants to do little more than sit and wait. The standard "your application is being processed" is likely all you'll get.

I wish I had a better answer, but until customer service is given a higher priority at DIBP, we all, agents and applicants alike, get to "sit and wait" for applications to be processed. Many people find that persistent contact is one way to sometimes get bits and pieces of information from DIBP on where their visa is at in the process, but again, since they do not even define what the process is (all the steps they do between lodgement and decision), it can be very frustrating.

I'd check in regularly with them, always being kind and nice, and see if you can make friends with someone there who will give you some insight into the process.

I have to wonder, though, if DIBP people ever consider what stress and anxiety the "no updates" policy creates with applicants and sponsors. A simple tracking process would make the long process so much easier to tolerate, and would allow applicants the basic dignity of being able to plan their lives rather than lingering in limbo for months or years on end, their lives and future on hold, virtual prisoners of paperwork and secret bureaucratic processes with no deadline, no transparency, and apparently, little to no concern about the physical and psychological toll this massive uncertainty can wreak on people who have paid good money and have every right to expect timely, considerate professional service.

Best,

Mark Northam



connells said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> We would really appreciated if you could help us.
> 
> My husband applied the 190 visa himself last July. we never receive any confirmation nor have we been allocated to a CO. He is a mechanical engineer and we are in our early 30's.
> 
> We have called the visa centre twice since March. We were told that our case has been reviewed and they didn't require any document from us in our first call. However, we then found out that they updated our online account saying they require the UK police clearances.
> 
> After we uploaded the clearance and waited for a month, nothing happened so we decided to call the centre again. This time we were told that they couldn't see who dealt with our case and advised us to email the central document management team. We did that and received an auto-reply saying they would get back to us in 7 working days. Now the time is up but we still haven't heard anything from them.
> 
> We are not sure what to do any more and I am actually not sure if we will ever be granted the visa any more. We would be grateful if you could give us some suggestions what we can do now to get an answer.
> 
> Thanks Mark
> 
> Carol


----------



## evelyn

*visa 476, country of residence*

Dear Mark,

Hope you are well. I started filling up the online form for Visa 476 (Graduate Visa). On the 3rd page it asks what is my usual country of residence.

I m from Bangladesh, but I currently live and work in Malaysia. In the section "countries of residence" I need to list down everywhere I stayed for more than 12 months for the last 10 year. I have been studying in Malaysia since 2006,so every year I would fly back home once or twice. When I add a period eg. Jan 2006 to June 2006 living in Malaysia, it says to state the "Last permanent address in this country". Should that be the address I lived in in 2006 or where the address where I currently live?

Any help will be much appreciated! Thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Evelyn -

This is the result of a poorly worded question. If you lived in a country and then took trips out of the country, then you normally would not put each period back in that country as a separate entry for the countries of residence. However if when you left that country you actually went to live in another country for a while, then you could put both country entries on that list. For whatever entry you put, I would but the last address you lived at during the date period (ie, to/from dates) you are putting down for that entry.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



evelyn said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hope you are well. I started filling up the online form for Visa 476 (Graduate Visa). On the 3rd page it asks what is my usual country of residence.
> 
> I m from Bangladesh, but I currently live and work in Malaysia. In the section "countries of residence" I need to list down everywhere I stayed for more than 12 months for the last 10 year. I have been studying in Malaysia since 2006,so every year I would fly back home once or twice. When I add a period eg. Jan 2006 to June 2006 living in Malaysia, it says to state the "Last permanent address in this country". Should that be the address I lived in in 2006 or where the address where I currently live?
> 
> Any help will be much appreciated! Thank you in advance!


----------



## evelyn

Dear Mark,

Thank you so much for the prompt reply! Your explanation helped a lot, I will put in the last known address for each period of stay. 

Sincerely,
Evelyn


----------



## moyes

Hi Mark,

Great forum. Very informative. Glad I have found it. I am a New Zealand citizen. I am trying to figure out if I can sponsor my brother( He is a South African passport holder) to join me in Australia. I think the family 461 visa might do it, but i am not sure. Is there anyone on this forum that has helped get their close relative to join them in Australia via this route?Are close relatives entitled to this visa? Looking forward to hearing your replies. Thank you.


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Thanks for the question - I'm not sure what you're asking though. DIBP wants full names on visa applications, not initials. Would need to see specific information on documents in a consultation if you're asking about how documents should be filled out or questions answered.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark thnks for the answer what i mean they r strict about the middle initials of my brother have some problem with that


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moyes -

Likely will not work unless your brother is dependent on you. A person must be a member of your family unit in order for you to be able to sponsor him on a 461 visa. Member of a family unit is defined as:

_Reg 1.12 Member of the family unit

[1.12] (1) For the definition of member of the family unit in subsection 5(1) of the Act, and subject to subregulations (2), (2A), (6) and (7), a person is a member of the family unit of another person (in this subregulation called the family head) if the person is:

(a) a spouse or de facto partner of the family head; or
(b) a dependent child of the family head or of a spouse or de facto partner of the family head; or
(c) a dependent child of a dependent child of the family head or of a spouse or de facto partner of the family head; or
(e) a relative of the family head or of a spouse or de facto partner of the family head who:
(i) does not have a spouse or de facto partner; and
(ii) is usually resident in the family head's household; and
(iii) is dependent on the family head.
_

In your case, note the last item (e) above -

Sorry if this is not the answer you were hoping for, but hope this helps in any case -

Best,

Mark Northam



moyes said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Great forum. Very informative. Glad I have found it. I am a New Zealand citizen. I am trying to figure out if I can sponsor my brother( He is a South African passport holder) to join me in Australia. I think the family 461 visa might do it, but i am not sure. Is there anyone on this forum that has helped get their close relative to join them in Australia via this route?Are close relatives entitled to this visa? Looking forward to hearing your replies. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

No way to tell for sure, but if you find incorrect information on a visa application form you've lodged, you can lodge Form 1023 to correct any incorrect information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> hi mark thnks for the answer what i mean they r strict about the middle initials of my brother have some problem with that


----------



## jhosie

jhosie said:


> hi mark thnks for the answer what i mean they r strict about the middle initials of my brother have some problem with that


Hi again in question 24 n 25 it is applicble for pmv


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> No way to tell for sure, but if you find incorrect information on a visa application form you've lodged, you can lodge Form 1023 to correct any incorrect information.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


ha ok .....so i have to fill up 1023 because we have djfferent middle initial


----------



## evelyn

*Country of Residence*

Dear Mark,

I have a slight confusion about my 'usual country of residence'. I currently live and work in Malaysia, but generally I live in Bangladesh. Which should it be?

Thank you again.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Evelyn -
> 
> This is the result of a poorly worded question. If you lived in a country and then took trips out of the country, then you normally would not put each period back in that country as a separate entry for the countries of residence. However if when you left that country you actually went to live in another country for a while, then you could put both country entries on that list. For whatever entry you put, I would but the last address you lived at during the date period (ie, to/from dates) you are putting down for that entry.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, that's the safest bet. As to specific questions, you didn't mention the form.

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> ha ok .....so i have to fill up 1023 because we have djfferent middle initial


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Evelyn -

Hard to say given the info you've provided - if you are only in Malaysia for temporary reasons (ie, work in weeks or months) and you maintain your residence in Bangladesh, you may want to put Bangladesh. It really gets to where you consider you "live" now - vs where you may be for temporary reasons for temporary work, etc for a limited time while you still maintain your primary residence somewhere else.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



evelyn said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a slight confusion about my 'usual country of residence'. I currently live and work in Malaysia, but generally I live in Bangladesh. Which should it be?
> 
> Thank you again.


----------



## evelyn

Dear Mark,

Sorry for the lack of information. I have been living here for long term work (since June 2013), I am a full time employee here and I will continue living here till I quit or am fired. Nevertheless, I do not have permanent residency here, my living here depends on my work permit which needs to be renewed yearly.

Thank you in advance!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Evelyn -
> 
> Hard to say given the info you've provided - if you are only in Malaysia for temporary reasons (ie, work in weeks or months) and you maintain your residence in Bangladesh, you may want to put Bangladesh. It really gets to where you consider you "live" now - vs where you may be for temporary reasons for temporary work, etc for a limited time while you still maintain your primary residence somewhere else.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Audrey0128

*Help Me Mark!!??*

Hi Mark,
I am hoping to get your advice on a quick issue: I lodged my 457 visa about 5 weeks ago through a not very helpful agent that our company works with. It has now been assigned a case manager so I assume we are close to an issuance however I have run into a problem I was hoping to get your insight into. I lodged the application with a passport that was stolen last week. Because I am supposed to be traveling to Australia the moment the visa comes through, I went to the US passport agency and got a new one expedited. It didn't occur to me that I may be stopped at the gate as my visa application will have the stolen passport number attached to it. I am desperate not to hold up the process any longer and I don't have a lot of faith in the agent I have been working with-she isn't really communicative. So my question to you is: what do it do? Will the visa show my old passport number and will it flag me at the gate? Should I tell my immigration agent now or should I wait until it's issued and can she quickly change it on the visa paperwork? I will be the most greatly indebted for for advice!!! Thanks so much.


----------



## laurencatriona13

*Thanks! And another question..*

Thank you so much Mark! You are very helpful!

My partner and I are wondering about one more thing- if we did go over to Australia in October 2014 (this would be 7months after applying), should we apply for new police clearances to make sure they don't expire? We were trying to be efficient earlier on this year so all our police clearances came through in February a month before we lodged the visa. We had to get three- Ireland, Belgium (he worked there for a few years) and Australia. The Belgian one we also had to get officially translated and it is a bit of a hassle to get which was the reason we applied so early for it. Our application is very straightforward and we had an overload of evidence from the last two years so we are very sure that there is no application related reason it could be rejected or take a long time to look through.

Thanks again for your time and advice, it is greatly appreciated 

Lauren



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lauren -
> 
> Thanks for the question! Short answer (since you said you liked yes/no answers!): YES
> 
> Longer answer: Yes it's OK and very common for partner visa applicants to get a visitor visa to be with their partners in Australia during the processing time for their partner visas - these are routinely granted unless there is some sort of concern about the person's intentions or security issues. Good idea to have return ticket. Would recommend you let DIBP know if asked that the partner visa application has been lodged, and include any info you have about the application (ie, TRN number, file number, etc from DIBP). Also note that you do not need to go back to your home country when it's grant time - you can go anywhere offshore, including places like NZ or elsewhere for a short holiday. Suggest you (or your agent) keep in touch with the case officer to alert him/her when you are in Australia to aid in coordinating at grant time.
> 
> Re: processing time, 5 months is almost unheard of other than a few cases that go through in 2-3 months. Normal processing times for partner visas are typically anywhere from 9-12 months.
> 
> Please advise if I can assist further - hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## moyes

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Moyes -
> 
> Likely will not work unless your brother is dependent on you. A person must be a member of your family unit in order for you to be able to sponsor him on a 461 visa. Member of a family unit is defined as:
> 
> _Reg 1.12 Member of the family unit
> 
> [1.12] (1) For the definition of member of the family unit in subsection 5(1) of the Act, and subject to subregulations (2), (2A), (6) and (7), a person is a member of the family unit of another person (in this subregulation called the family head) if the person is:
> 
> (a) a spouse or de facto partner of the family head; or
> (b) a dependent child of the family head or of a spouse or de facto partner of the family head; or
> (c) a dependent child of a dependent child of the family head or of a spouse or de facto partner of the family head; or
> (e) a relative of the family head or of a spouse or de facto partner of the family head who:
> (i) does not have a spouse or de facto partner; and
> (ii) is usually resident in the family head's household; and
> (iii) is dependent on the family head.
> _
> 
> In your case, note the last item (e) above -
> 
> Sorry if this is not the answer you were hoping for, but hope this helps in any case -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, thanks for the speedy reply 

My brother lives under the same roof and was dependent on me for many years up until a month ago.

As a New Zealand citizen i am aware that i can live and work in Australia, but what option would my brother have to come with me? Would he have to get a visitor visa and try and find a company to sponsor him? He graduated with a Bachelors in Quantity Surveying.

Any idea what options are available for him to join me when I head to Australia?

Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Evelyn -

Based on that, I would say you may want to call where you are now living your usual country of residence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



evelyn said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Sorry for the lack of information. I have been living here for long term work (since June 2013), I am a full time employee here and I will continue living here till I quit or am fired. Nevertheless, I do not have permanent residency here, my living here depends on my work permit which needs to be renewed yearly.
> 
> Thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Audrey -

Thanks for the note - would suggest you alert the agent as soon as possible and see if the visa application can be updated before grant. The visa is linked to your passport number.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Audrey0128 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am hoping to get your advice on a quick issue: I lodged my 457 visa about 5 weeks ago through a not very helpful agent that our company works with. It has now been assigned a case manager so I assume we are close to an issuance however I have run into a problem I was hoping to get your insight into. I lodged the application with a passport that was stolen last week. Because I am supposed to be traveling to Australia the moment the visa comes through, I went to the US passport agency and got a new one expedited. It didn't occur to me that I may be stopped at the gate as my visa application will have the stolen passport number attached to it. I am desperate not to hold up the process any longer and I don't have a lot of faith in the agent I have been working with-she isn't really communicative. So my question to you is: what do it do? Will the visa show my old passport number and will it flag me at the gate? Should I tell my immigration agent now or should I wait until it's issued and can she quickly change it on the visa paperwork? I will be the most greatly indebted for for advice!!! Thanks so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lauren -

I'd probably only get new police clearances if DIBP requests them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



laurencatriona13 said:


> Thank you so much Mark! You are very helpful!
> 
> My partner and I are wondering about one more thing- if we did go over to Australia in October 2014 (this would be 7months after applying), should we apply for new police clearances to make sure they don't expire? We were trying to be efficient earlier on this year so all our police clearances came through in February a month before we lodged the visa. We had to get three- Ireland, Belgium (he worked there for a few years) and Australia. The Belgian one we also had to get officially translated and it is a bit of a hassle to get which was the reason we applied so early for it. Our application is very straightforward and we had an overload of evidence from the last two years so we are very sure that there is no application related reason it could be rejected or take a long time to look through.
> 
> Thanks again for your time and advice, it is greatly appreciated
> 
> Lauren


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moyes -

Hard to say without doing a proper assessment of his work experience and educational qualifications - the visa regulations are complex enough that simple answers to whether someone is eligible are usually not possible.

A consultation with a registered migration agent would be my recommendation so that the best visa(s) for his particular circumstances/skills/experience can be determined.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



moyes said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for the speedy reply
> 
> My brother lives under the same roof and was dependent on me for many years up until a month ago.
> 
> As a New Zealand citizen i am aware that i can live and work in Australia, but what option would my brother have to come with me? Would he have to get a visitor visa and try and find a company to sponsor him? He graduated with a Bachelors in Quantity Surveying.
> 
> Any idea what options are available for him to join me when I head to Australia?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## moyes

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Moyes -
> 
> Hard to say without doing a proper assessment of his work experience and educational qualifications - the visa regulations are complex enough that simple answers to whether someone is eligible are usually not possible.
> 
> A consultation with a registered migration agent would be my recommendation so that the best visa(s) for his particular circumstances/skills/experience can be determined.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark. I understand where you are coming from.

I will have to see a migration agent in Cape Town. If you could recommend one, that would be great.

Thanks.


----------



## Jmac01

Hi Mark, 
I have a question I hope you can help with! My partner and I are applying for the offshore partner visa (Subclass 309). On form 40sp, my sponsorship form, it asks if I (the sponsor) have "had any outstanding debts to the Australian Government or any public authority in Australia". 
Does this include HECS debt from when I was at uni? Do I need to answer "yes" to this question and provide my HECS details, or is this question only referring to debts such as unpaid fines? 
Thanks, hope you can help


----------



## JohnnyBrutal

*Disaster*

Dear Mark, I hope you are doing well.

Today I got an email from DIBP stating that my application is invalid because my credit card was declined even though I have more than sufficient funds in my account, and I regularly use my card for international online transactions.

All the DIBP said was that the application was invalid, they havent mentioned what I should be doing now. Do I have to send in a new application or is it possible that I courier them a bank draft?

This is really stressing me out and confusing the life out of me.

Please suggest what to do


----------



## depende

Hi Mark,

I hope you are doing well.

I'm in Adelaide now and I have started my master degree. After it, I'm going to apply for the postgraduate 485 visa. To apply for PR I need a positive skills assessment and at least one year work experience in my related occupation. Furthermore, ACS guideline says that 65% of my Uni subjects should be related to my occupation that I'm going to choose. For example, if I'm working as a network Engineer and I choose my ANZSCO Code as a Network and System Engineer but only 45% of my Uni subjects were related to my occupation do you think they will give me a negative skills assessment? 

Thank you in advanced!


----------



## fletchaman

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fletchaman -
> 
> Ah, the joys of overlapping government functions. I don't have all the details on the ANMAC process, but as I understand it there is some sort of a limited or modified assessment available to those who hold current registrations from Australia or NZ. Beyond that, you would need to check with ANMAC to see exactly what requirements they would have of her based on her current licensing and registration. Likely comes down to the difference of being licenced and meeting any additional migration requirements re: skills assessment.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark

We are not allowed to contact ANMAC Direct, as from what i gather on these forums that get rather shirty with people phoning, so will just have to put it down to two government departments doing the job one Department is quite able to take on 
I do have another question (sorry for being a pain) I have been looking on migration agent sites, and alot of them are saying that you get the required 60 points for a midwife on the SOL regardless of age as long as you are under 45, is this so?

Thanks again


----------



## eric2014

*444 to 187*

Good Day Mark,

My family and I are NZ citizens on 444 visas. I am working in WA for the same employer since 3.5 years and my employment (231111) qualifies for ENS. My employer agrees to sponsor me. I am wondering if I can apply for a 187 visa under the direct entry stream?

Regards,

Eric


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moyes -

I don't know one in Cape Town, however you can check on the MARA website for registered agents - http://mara.gov.au - you can also work with an Australia based agent as many of them are set up via Skype, email, etc to work with clients worldwide.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



moyes said:


> Thanks Mark. I understand where you are coming from.
> 
> I will have to see a migration agent in Cape Town. If you could recommend one, that would be great.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## luckyduck12

*Contributory parent visa*

Hi Mark,

My parents have a 17 year old child who will turn 18 in March next year. If they apply for parent contributory visa now and included the child (under 18) in the application, will visa be granted to the child, who would be already 18 hypothetically, at the time the application is finalised?

Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jmac01 -

I had a quick look in the regulations, and it does not speak to uni loans. My view would be that money owed in this fashion would not be considered a debt unless the terms of the agreement or laws that govern the money had dictated that it was time to pay the money back, and that you had failed to pay that money back in accordance with the laws or terms that were applicable - or put simply, that it was owed and had not been paid as it should have been. HECS/HELP is more of an "account" in my view with the government, where funds from the account are then repayable upon meeting certain criteria at a later time - ie, you make a certain level of income, etc. At that point a demand is made for the money to you by the government. If you were to not pay that demand, then I would think that amount would become a debt for these purposes.

Please keep in mind this is only my view - others may have other views!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jmac01 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a question I hope you can help with! My partner and I are applying for the offshore partner visa (Subclass 309). On form 40sp, my sponsorship form, it asks if I (the sponsor) have "had any outstanding debts to the Australian Government or any public authority in Australia".
> Does this include HECS debt from when I was at uni? Do I need to answer "yes" to this question and provide my HECS details, or is this question only referring to debts such as unpaid fines?
> Thanks, hope you can help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Johnny -

Thanks for the question. DIBP normally accepts bank cheques for payment of hardcopy (paper) applications if you can't pay by debit/credit cards. Whether they will accept a foreign (ie, non-Australian) bank cheque may depend on where you are lodging the application and other factors.

An invalid application is treated as if it were never made. No bridging visa, no obligations on DIBP's part other than to return whatever application fee you paid. Lodging an invalid application does not preserve your rights or extend any deadlines normally. So in your case you may want to check out the lodgement policies wherever you are lodging the visa (ie, what office/Embassy/etc) and then lodge a fresh application assuming conditions have not changed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JohnnyBrutal said:


> Dear Mark, I hope you are doing well.
> 
> Today I got an email from DIBP stating that my application is invalid because my credit card was declined even though I have more than sufficient funds in my account, and I regularly use my card for international online transactions.
> 
> All the DIBP said was that the application was invalid, they havent mentioned what I should be doing now. Do I have to send in a new application or is it possible that I courier them a bank draft?
> 
> This is really stressing me out and confusing the life out of me.
> 
> Please suggest what to do


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depende -

No way to predict that one, sorry! I'm not so sure that the 65% policy is that black & white, and what constitutes "related to" is clearly an opinion. Would require a lot of careful analysis of each course and how the elements relate to the specific ANZSCO definition - ACS has also published their own extensions of ANZSCO definitions in much more detail - might be helpful as you plan things - see ACS site for these more detailed occupation descriptions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



depende said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you are doing well.
> 
> I'm in Adelaide now and I have started my master degree. After it, I'm going to apply for the postgraduate 485 visa. To apply for PR I need a positive skills assessment and at least one year work experience in my related occupation. Furthermore, ACS guideline says that 65% of my Uni subjects should be related to my occupation that I'm going to choose. For example, if I'm working as a network Engineer and I choose my ANZSCO Code as a Network and System Engineer but only 45% of my Uni subjects were related to my occupation do you think they will give me a negative skills assessment?
> 
> Thank you in advanced!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fletchaman -

Never heard of the skilled visa points test being any different for one occupation to another. You get points for age, work experience, education, etc just like for any other occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fletchaman said:


> Thanks Mark
> 
> I do have another question (sorry for being a pain) I have been looking on migration agent sites, and alot of them are saying that you get the required 60 points for a midwife on the SOL regardless of age as long as you are under 45, is this so?
> 
> Thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eric -

You mentioned ENS, but the 187 is the RSMS visa (which would be appropriate for WA as it's an area that qualifies for the RSMS visa). Too many factors to do an assessment here of the employer, position and visa applicant - might be good if you have a consultation with a registered migration agent to go over all the regulations and see if everything fits for the RSMS or some other visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



eric2014 said:


> Good Day Mark,
> 
> My family and I are NZ citizens on 444 visas. I am working in WA for the same employer since 3.5 years and my employment (231111) qualifies for ENS. My employer agrees to sponsor me. I am wondering if I can apply for a 187 visa under the direct entry stream?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Eric


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck12 -

For the subclass 143 contributory parent visa, a person who is a dependent child at time of application and turns 18 prior to visa grant will need to demonstrate dependency as of the time the visa is granted, as it is a condition of granting the visa that the person remains a member of the family unit (MOFU) which, for relatives over 17 years of old, includes establishing dependency. There are some specific policies in this area that get rather technical involving remaining in full time education after high school, etc. You would need to look at the specific circumstances of the dependent and see how they match up to the policies - planning ahead now may be a very helpful thing so you can put things in place so that dependency is preserved and the evidence is ready to go next year, etc - a consultation with a registered migration agent may be helpful in analysing the specific circumstances of the dependent and making a plan going forward.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My parents have a 17 year old child who will turn 18 in March next year. If they apply for parent contributory visa now and included the child (under 18) in the application, will visa be granted to the child, who would be already 18 hypothetically, at the time the application is finalised?
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## gretz57

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your very helpful response regarding Form 1022. You are of great help here.


----------



## luckyduck12

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Luckyduck12 -
> 
> For the subclass 143 contributory parent visa, a person who is a dependent child at time of application and turns 18 prior to visa grant will need to demonstrate dependency as of the time the visa is granted, as it is a condition of granting the visa that the person remains a member of the family unit (MOFU) which, for relatives over 17 years of old, includes establishing dependency. There are some specific policies in this area that get rather technical involving remaining in full time education after high school, etc. You would need to look at the specific circumstances of the dependent and see how they match up to the policies - planning ahead now may be a very helpful thing so you can put things in place so that dependency is preserved and the evidence is ready to go next year, etc - a consultation with a registered migration agent may be helpful in analysing the specific circumstances of the dependent and making a plan going forward.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your helpful advice Mark,

Just another question, How is VAC2 gonna be calculated? As the VAC1 is paid at the time of the application (2 adults + 1 child), at the time of decision the child might be 18, so is VAC2 gonna be calculated as 3 adults or still 2 adults +1 child?

Thanks,


----------



## amitsethiaustralia

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply. As you said, I should post this query as a new thread, i am unable to create a new thread. Could you please tell me how can i create a new thread
?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I think you have to have posted at least 5 (?) times in order to be able to do that - looks like you are at 3 posts so far.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amitsethiaustralia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply. As you said, I should post this query as a new thread, i am unable to create a new thread. Could you please tell me how can i create a new thread
> ?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck -

The calculation of the 2nd VAC for the sc143 contributory parent visa relates to the age of the applicant at the time of application, even though the 2nd VAC is paid later on in the process. So if an applicant was under 18 at the time of application for the visa, they would still pay the under 18 VAC2 even if they turned 18 before the visa was granted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Thanks for your helpful advice Mark,
> 
> Just another question, How is VAC2 gonna be calculated? As the VAC1 is paid at the time of the application (2 adults + 1 child), at the time of decision the child might be 18, so is VAC2 gonna be calculated as 3 adults or still 2 adults +1 child?
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## amitsethiaustralia

Hi Mark,

I need your advice on points calculations for 190 Visa. Please tell me if I am correct or not?

In my skill assessment letter received from ACS these lines are written:

"Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 261313 (Software Engineer) of the ANZSCO code."

Your qualification have been assessed as follows:

"Your Master of Computer Application from XYZ University completed May 2007 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Master Degree with Major in computing."

"The Following employment after February 2009 is considered to equate to work at an appropriate skilled level and relevant to 261313 (Software Engineer) of the ANZSCO code."

Dates: 02/07 - 02/14 (7 Yrs)
Position: Senior Software Engineer
Employer: XYZ Company
Country: India.

My Questions:
I have calculated my points on the basis of this report from ACS.

Qualifications: "At least a bachelor degree from an Australian educational institution or other degree of a recognized standard" 15 points.

Skilled employment: "In skilled employment for at least five but less than eight years (of the past 10 years)" 10 Points.

Could you please tell me if my calculations are correct or not, with reason please?

Thanks In Advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the question. Need to see you in a consultation with all the documents in order to provide an assessment to this level of detail - with thousands of dollars on the line if you have to withdraw because you can't justify all points claimed, it's just too risky to do these things based on anonymous internet posts and without seeing original documents and more detail than you've provided. The law and policy in this area - for instance, a Master with no underlying assessed Bachelor - are complex and detailed, and do not lend themselves to quick assessments without full detail.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amitsethiaustralia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I need your advice on points calculations for 190 Visa. Please tell me if I am correct or not?
> 
> In my skill assessment letter received from ACS these lines are written:
> 
> "Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 261313 (Software Engineer) of the ANZSCO code."
> 
> Your qualification have been assessed as follows:
> 
> "Your Master of Computer Application from XYZ University completed May 2007 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Master Degree with Major in computing."
> 
> "The Following employment after February 2009 is considered to equate to work at an appropriate skilled level and relevant to 261313 (Software Engineer) of the ANZSCO code."
> 
> Dates: 02/07 - 02/14 (7 Yrs)
> Position: Senior Software Engineer
> Employer: XYZ Company
> Country: India.
> 
> My Questions:
> I have calculated my points on the basis of this report from ACS.
> 
> Qualifications: "At least a bachelor degree from an Australian educational institution or other degree of a recognized standard" 15 points.
> 
> Skilled employment: "In skilled employment for at least five but less than eight years (of the past 10 years)" 10 Points.
> 
> Could you please tell me if my calculations are correct or not, with reason please?
> 
> Thanks In Advance.


----------



## nicole-s

Hi Mark,

Another question for you -

I'm applying for my partner 820 visa next week. However, my nephew back in the US was just diagnosed with cancer so I'm hoping to be able to go home to visit. I know you're not supposed to leave on this visa but would they grant me the specific kind of bridging visa I would need to travel home and back to Aus? 

If so, who do I contact to request a travel bridging visa once my visa is applied for?

Thanks,
Nicole


----------



## Bambino

*De facto*

Hey mark,

I just want a yes or no or just anything! I'm totally stressed! My partner is sponsored and we are goin out for a year now! We are planning to go defacto as my visa expires in September. I just would like to know would immigration look into my partners visa if we go defacto or what is the process? Please please please take the time and answer this xx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicole -

Thanks for the note, and a serious family illness is certainly a valid reason to apply for a Bridging Visa B. However depending on what visa you are on now, your Bridging Visa may not have activated yet - the bridging visa will activate as soon as your current visa expires. If your current visa expiration date will be while you are out of the country, this means your bridging visa A (issued when the application is lodged for the partner visa) will not yet activate before you leave. In this case, you can apply to have an unactivated bridging visa A turned into an unactivated bridging visa B, which will take care of your trip. You can apply for a BV-B by post - see immi.gov.au website for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nicole-s said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Another question for you -
> 
> I'm applying for my partner 820 visa next week. However, my nephew back in the US was just diagnosed with cancer so I'm hoping to be able to go home to visit. I know you're not supposed to leave on this visa but would they grant me the specific kind of bridging visa I would need to travel home and back to Aus?
> 
> If so, who do I contact to request a travel bridging visa once my visa is applied for?
> 
> Thanks,
> Nicole


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bambino -

Thanks for the question - rarely in immigration are there "yes or no" questions because everything is about the details 

When you say your partner was "sponsored", need to know what subclass of visa he was sponsored on, and when he got the visa. That may determine if/how he can sponsor you for a visa.

Also need to know what type of visa you are thinking of applying for - a partner visa (subclass 820/801)? as defacto partners on some other type of visa? Important to know.

Re: DIBP checking visas, absolutely they do. It's all in their computer files.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bambino said:


> Hey mark,
> 
> I just want a yes or no or just anything! I'm totally stressed! My partner is sponsored and we are goin out for a year now! We are planning to go defacto as my visa expires in September. I just would like to know would immigration look into my partners visa if we go defacto or what is the process? Please please please take the time and answer this xx


----------



## cozimhappy

Hi mark just a quick question if you can help with please. Just logged into my emedical and under client visa details it says visa - BC 100. Does this mean I'm being processed for the permanent partner 100 visa and bypassing the temporary 309 visa? Hope so! Many thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cozimhappy -

Sorry, no - the 309/100 is a combined application, so you have to take the full suite of medicals (chest x-ray, medical exam, HIV blood test) for the application even if they grant the 309 provisional visa first (vs the 100 permanent visa first). No indication from that whether you are or are not likely to be granted the sc100 first.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cozimhappy said:


> Hi mark just a quick question if you can help with please. Just logged into my emedical and under client visa details it says visa - BC 100. Does this mean I'm being processed for the permanent partner 100 visa and bypassing the temporary 309 visa? Hope so! Many thanks!


----------



## kavita74

Hello Mark

We really look forward to your advise to our concern.

My husband has applied for Western Australia state sponsorship under "Engineering Manager" category; which is Schedule 2 profession. With SS, he makes 60 points. He is working in Oil and Gas sector as Engineering Manager.

I have 2 queries:
1.As per western Australia web site, they will send invitation automatically based on information filled in EOI. Is this correct? Do I need to approach them directly or filling up EOI is sufficient?

2. For schedule 2 jobs, WA website says- a contract of employment in western Australia may be required? Is it a necessary condition to get invite for EOI? 
How can one get this? If my husband does not have visa to work in Australia, how can he get an offer of employment? 

Looking forward to your expert opinion.

Thanks


----------



## cozimhappy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cozimhappy -
> 
> Sorry, no - the 309/100 is a combined application, so you have to take the full suite of medicals (chest x-ray, medical exam, HIV blood test) for the application even if they grant the 309 provisional visa first (vs the 100 permanent visa first). No indication from that whether you are or are not likely to be granted the sc100 first.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Yes great help thanks Mark!


----------



## aussie2x

*Anzsco 149999*

Hi Mark,

Do u know when this occupation Hospitality retail and service managers NEC 149999 been removed from 457 occupation list?or is this occupation is never been in the 457 occupation list.

Thanks a lot

God bless u..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kavita74 -

Re: EOI, you need to complete an EOI and indicate you are interested in state sponsorship from WA. WA will then browse the EOI and will send you an invitation to apply for WA state sponsorship if you meet their criteria. If you are then successful in being approved for WA state sponsorship, WA will then cause an invitation to be issued by DIBP to apply for the actual visa.

Schedule 2 occupations for state sponsored visas for WA require an employment contract from a WA employer in order to be approved for WA state sponsorship - see page 3 of:
http://www.migration.wa.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/2013-14 State nomination criteria.pdf

If there is contract, you may want to look at other Australian states to see if the occupation is sponsored by them and doesn't require a contract - each state makes their own rules about those things. Also note that in July the new occupation sponsorship lists are released and new quotas begin for the 2014-2015 program year, so things may look better for state sponsorship then when the new lists/quotas are released.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kavita74 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> We really look forward to your advise to our concern.
> 
> My husband has applied for Western Australia state sponsorship under "Engineering Manager" category; which is Schedule 2 profession. With SS, he makes 60 points. He is working in Oil and Gas sector as Engineering Manager.
> 
> I have 2 queries:
> 1.As per western Australia web site, they will send invitation automatically based on information filled in EOI. Is this correct? Do I need to approach them directly or filling up EOI is sufficient?
> 
> 2. For schedule 2 jobs, WA website says- a contract of employment in western Australia may be required? Is it a necessary condition to get invite for EOI?
> How can one get this? If my husband does not have visa to work in Australia, how can he get an offer of employment?
> 
> Looking forward to your expert opinion.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## roryjenkins

*Hi*

Hi Mark just received an e-mail from our case officer now we've finally been assigned one ! It seemed like a very generic e-mail although in an addition she stated specifically that we did not need to upload anymore information as what we have provided is more than sufficient ! I was hoping that this is a good thing & have you heard of CO's doing this before ? I just can't wait to go back to Australia with my family.
Many Thanks 
Rory


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rory -

It may well be a good thing, hard to say for sure, but I would be optomistic. I have seen that sort of language before and normally there are no more relationship evidence questions, etc after that language is used in a notice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roryjenkins said:


> Hi Mark just received an e-mail from our case officer now we've finally been assigned one ! It seemed like a very generic e-mail although in an addition she stated specifically that we did not need to upload anymore information as what we have provided is more than sufficient ! I was hoping that this is a good thing & have you heard of CO's doing this before ? I just can't wait to go back to Australia with my family.
> Many Thanks
> Rory


----------



## roryjenkins

Thanks Mark I'm trying to be optimistic but as I'm sure you're aware the waiting is a stressful experience ! On a separate note how did you get into being a migration agent ? I've learnt a lot in a short space of time although I'm sure I've only scratched the surface ! If I could learn more & help give advice to people I'd love to do that. How would be the best way to go about it ?
Thanks again
Rory


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rory -

After going through the migration process on a partner visa myself years ago, I became very interested in the field and decided to explore it as a business - in Australia you have to complete a rigorous course to be licenced as a Registered Migration Agent - the dropout rate at the Uni course I took was 80% due to the difficult exams. (Interestingly, lawyers get a "free pass" on the initial knowledge requirement, even if they didn't take a single migration course at law school).

Once I graduated, I interned at some great agencies in Sydney, then opened my own firm. The biggest challenge I see for applicants and for newer agents is that so much of what you need to know to get applications through is not taught at migration agent school, and is not readily available on the DIBP website - it's learned by experience and seeing what works and what doesn't. School was 100% theoretical - then you get out in the real world and realise that what you learned in school was maybe 30% of what you need to know to be an effective agent - a real shocker.

My aim in spending time on the forum is to help applicants "fill in the blanks" and provide the practical knowledge that can be challenging to find otherwise. It works well for general knowledge, but for specific cases and complex issues such as points test qualification/skills assessment/etc, it's not practical to attempt assessments online.

For me, the biggest reward in this business is seeing other people find success in their migration plans - there is nothing to me like the thrill of telling someone "your visa has been granted" - likewise, I absolutely hate to see people whose lives can be made miserable by silly bureaucratic issues that get in the way of them being granted visas they should be given.

It all comes down to having a burning desire to provide direct help to people - that's what drives me in this business. If you are interested, I'd have a look at the migration agent training programs that are available at the universities in Australia that are registered to provide this course - I believe they include the ANU, Victoria University, Griffith University and Murdoch University - here's more on becoming a migration agent: https://www.mara.gov.au/becoming-an-agent/

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roryjenkins said:


> Thanks Mark I'm trying to be optimistic but as I'm sure you're aware the waiting is a stressful experience ! On a separate note how did you get into being a migration agent ? I've learnt a lot in a short space of time although I'm sure I've only scratched the surface ! If I could learn more & help give advice to people I'd love to do that. How would be the best way to go about it ?
> Thanks again
> Rory


----------



## roryjenkins

Thanks Mark,
I'll look into that now as I too originally migrated to Australia on a family visa in 1989 with my parents. I can only imagine the thrill that would come with telling someone that there visa has been granted, but it would be something I'd love to experience rather than imagine. Thanks for your advice & I'll keep in touch.
Thank You
Rory Jenkins


----------



## kavita74

Hello Mark

Thanks for your quick response.

It seems the 12 month employment contract is kind of mandatory to have for gettng invite, which is difficult to get sitting in another continent. So is going through the job portals the only solution to get an employment or there are agents who can help us in this?

Secondly, as you have mentioned about applying for some other state sponsorship where there is no such condition, I checked on internet and South Australia has 133211 as "high availability" but there are not many companies in that region related to his profession. Most of them are in Perth. So any other region will be a bit of disadvantage in terms of his professional engagements. 
Also, in subclass 189 there have been only 42/45 approvals till now but we have only 55 points without state sponsorship. 
What according to you is the best option- try to improve IELTS score so as to get 20 points? Even now his IELTs overall is 8 but in speaking he got 7.5 and hence got only 10 points for IELTS. We are thinking about improving IELTS but then again is uncertain whether he will be able to get minimum 8 in all. Even a 7.5 in any will bring us back to same situation.

Another area of concern is, since we have submitted our EOI and don't have employment contract yet. So can our application be rejected because of that? Generally how many days do they take to respond? 

I have lots of questions and confusion. I may be coming back for more advise. I really appreciate and am thankful for your guidance and cooperation in this regards.

Regards
Kavita


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kavita -

Yes - difficult to get a contract when you're overseas! You might check with recruiters that focus on your industry, etc to see if that's helpful. Otherwise, improving IELTS to get 8 in every band would put you to 65 points based on what you had said, which means a 189 non-sponsored visa may be possible if your occupation qualifies for that. IELTS is generally easiest way to get more points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kavita74 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Thanks for your quick response.
> 
> It seems the 12 month employment contract is kind of mandatory to have for gettng invite, which is difficult to get sitting in another continent. So is going through the job portals the only solution to get an employment or there are agents who can help us in this?
> 
> Secondly, as you have mentioned about applying for some other state sponsorship where there is no such condition, I checked on internet and South Australia has 133211 as "high availability" but there are not many companies in that region related to his profession. Most of them are in Perth. So any other region will be a bit of disadvantage in terms of his professional engagements.
> Also, in subclass 189 there have been only 42/45 approvals till now but we have only 55 points without state sponsorship.
> What according to you is the best option- try to improve IELTS score so as to get 20 points? Even now his IELTs overall is 8 but in speaking he got 7.5 and hence got only 10 points for IELTS. We are thinking about improving IELTS but then again is uncertain whether he will be able to get minimum 8 in all. Even a 7.5 in any will bring us back to same situation.
> 
> Another area of concern is, since we have submitted our EOI and don't have employment contract yet. So can our application be rejected because of that? Generally how many days do they take to respond?
> 
> I have lots of questions and confusion. I may be coming back for more advise. I really appreciate and am thankful for your guidance and cooperation in this regards.
> 
> Regards
> Kavita


----------



## kavita74

Yes.
This indeed is helpful.
Rather I would say that your advice has been to the point, very specific, very clear and very very helpful. We have been to the MARA agents also but we didn't find them any good. All they are interested is in their share! But your advice is without any self interest and prejudice. Thanks is less for that!

In case my husband tries and gets all 8 in IELTS, is it possible to change our EOI from 190 to 189( assuming it is not rejected by that time because of non availability of employment contract)? And in case, there is no response on this EOI till then, can we change this EOI or make another EOI in subclass 189? Is there any such option? 

Many thanks. 

Kavita


----------



## connells

Thanks Mark for your reply. I know there isn't a lot we can do but to keep chasing them. However, as we are in the UK, we have to always get up at 1am to call them. It's difficult, especially we need to go to work in a few hours later. I can see it will take quite a few calls to get any actions from them, I wonder if you could help us to follow up with DIBP? My email address is [edited out email addres for privacy reasons - CG]
Thanks Mark

Carol



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Carol -
> 
> Sorry to hear of your frustration. Sadly, DIBP has nonexistent customer service when it comes to keeping clients (as they call applicants) anything close to updated through the process. DIBP essentially takes a "don't call us, we'll call you" attitude towards customer service and enquiries, leaving applicants to do little more than sit and wait. The standard "your application is being processed" is likely all you'll get.
> 
> I wish I had a better answer, but until customer service is given a higher priority at DIBP, we all, agents and applicants alike, get to "sit and wait" for applications to be processed. Many people find that persistent contact is one way to sometimes get bits and pieces of information from DIBP on where their visa is at in the process, but again, since they do not even define what the process is (all the steps they do between lodgement and decision), it can be very frustrating.
> 
> I'd check in regularly with them, always being kind and nice, and see if you can make friends with someone there who will give you some insight into the process.
> 
> I have to wonder, though, if DIBP people ever consider what stress and anxiety the "no updates" policy creates with applicants and sponsors. A simple tracking process would make the long process so much easier to tolerate, and would allow applicants the basic dignity of being able to plan their lives rather than lingering in limbo for months or years on end, their lives and future on hold, virtual prisoners of paperwork and secret bureaucratic processes with no deadline, no transparency, and apparently, little to no concern about the physical and psychological toll this massive uncertainty can wreak on people who have paid good money and have every right to expect timely, considerate professional service.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Snow

Hi Mark,

For providing supporting documentation with our partner visa lodgement, the booklet says that certified copies are wanted for original documents however I've been told that certain things (such as bank statements) do not require certified copies. As we're applying online, our evidence has scanned JPEGs of the original copies (in colour). Is this okay or do we have to print all of these off and have them certified? I hope that's not the case as that would take a long time...

Thanks for your help.


----------



## pigby

Hi Mark!  based on your experience, what is the likelihood of getting an approval if the case officer requests for a health checkup? I lodged my 189 visa application on 5/26, uploaded my documents including police clearance on 5/29, and got an email from a case officer on 6/2 requesting for additional documents. The request checklist he sent only contained the health checkup though.

Does this mean that he has reviewed my documents and will not need any doc other than the health one he requested for? Also, is visa approval probable for a scenario like this, based on your experience?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kavita -

Thanks for the kind words - as a MARA agent myself, I'll just say that there are good agents out there and not-so-good ones! If you do end up working with an agent, make sure that person is someone you're comfortable working with and can trust - great communication is often the key to a successful agent-client relationship in my experience.

You can always update your EOI up until the point at which you receive an invitation from DIBP to apply for a visa (which usually comes without any advance notice unless you are state sponsored) at which point the points-related elements of the EOI are locked.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kavita74 said:


> Yes.
> This indeed is helpful.
> Rather I would say that your advice has been to the point, very specific, very clear and very very helpful. We have been to the MARA agents also but we didn't find them any good. All they are interested is in their share! But your advice is without any self interest and prejudice. Thanks is less for that!
> 
> In case my husband tries and gets all 8 in IELTS, is it possible to change our EOI from 190 to 189( assuming it is not rejected by that time because of non availability of employment contract)? And in case, there is no response on this EOI till then, can we change this EOI or make another EOI in subclass 189? Is there any such option?
> 
> Many thanks.
> 
> Kavita


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carol -

Wish I could do something, but agents have no better access to DIBP than applicants do - we have no special "hotline" or anything, and the technical info email address they do provide typically takes about 1 month to get a response, if one is ever received. You could appoint myself or any other MARA agent as your appointed agent for the application via Form 956, however not sure what difference this would make other than you waiting on hold for 40 min. vs paying an agent to wait on hold for 40 min.

Sorry I couldn't be more help - if you'd like to contact me directly to discuss further, please see my website listed in the signature below. Also, I edited your post to remove your email address so you won't end up getting slammed with spam, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



connells said:


> Thanks Mark for your reply. I know there isn't a lot we can do but to keep chasing them. However, as we are in the UK, we have to always get up at 1am to call them. It's difficult, especially we need to go to work in a few hours later. I can see it will take quite a few calls to get any actions from them, I wonder if you could help us to follow up with DIBP?
> 
> Thanks Mark
> 
> Carol


----------



## Bambino

Hey mark,

Thanks for replying! So I'm on a working holiday visa and he's on a 457 sponsorship I think he got it November 2012.. So I will be applying for his defacto. He is just worried that if I go on his visa immigration will look into his visa and take it away from him.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bambino -

You need to make sure your WH visa does not have condition 8503 on it. Other than that, his employer will need to write a letter extending the nomination to cover you. Then you would need to apply as a subsequent entrant as defacto partner to be added onto your partner's 457 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bambino said:


> Hey mark,
> 
> Thanks for replying! So I'm on a working holiday visa and he's on a 457 sponsorship I think he got it November 2012.. So I will be applying for his defacto. He is just worried that if I go on his visa immigration will look into his visa and take it away from him.


----------



## Tashka

*Sufficient funds and Regional work*

Hi Mark,

I've been sent an invite from Western Australia to apply for my and my partner's 190 or 489 visa however after looking at the .pdf resource they sent me I have a couple questions.

Firstly, how much exactly is the sufficient funds to cover relocation costs and living costs for three months? When we came over last year to Perth on a working holiday visa we had around $10,000 and found that was enough. However, I found a resource for Queensland stating that the amount required for an offshore applicant and partner is $35,000 of liquidable assets, I would guess for WA this would be more? How much more? Is the a guide available?

And secondly, my other question is about the not being able to leave the state (or for the 190 visa regional WA) for 2 years. I am an offshore surveyor by trade, so any work I do find in WA will be at a head office in Perth working FiFo, potentially working on projects all over Oceania as well as Northern WA. Is this possible for my visa? Am I allowed to leave the country in those first couple years? For the 190 could I live in Perth and work in regional Australia? I would prefer if possible to go in on the 190 visa as 27 days to get a signed contract for a job is a bit short, especially as last year when I wanted one employers were turning me away because I did not have a visa yet, however I would ideally like to live back in Perth again.

Thanks for your help in advance,

Tashka


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snow -

Currently DIBP guidance is that they will accept high quality colour scans of originals for online applications. Paper (hardcopy) applications still require certified copies, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Snow said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> For providing supporting documentation with our partner visa lodgement, the booklet says that certified copies are wanted for original documents however I've been told that certain things (such as bank statements) do not require certified copies. As we're applying online, our evidence has scanned JPEGs of the original copies (in colour). Is this okay or do we have to print all of these off and have them certified? I hope that's not the case as that would take a long time...
> 
> Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pigby -

Health checks (medical exam, chest x-ray, HIV blood test) are required for all 189 PR visa applicants, so I wouldn't say that the request for a health exam is unusual or indicates anything in particular - just part of the process. Does not indicate anything re: chance of success, etc - a separate issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pigby said:


> Hi Mark!  based on your experience, what is the likelihood of getting an approval if the case officer requests for a health checkup? I lodged my 189 visa application on 5/26, uploaded my documents including police clearance on 5/29, and got an email from a case officer on 6/2 requesting for additional documents. The request checklist he sent only contained the health checkup though.
> 
> Does this mean that he has reviewed my documents and will not need any doc other than the health one he requested for? Also, is visa approval probable for a scenario like this, based on your experience?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tashka -

Thanks for the questions. The last time I checked WA required $30,000 of liquid assets (ie cash or can be easily converted into cash such as certificates of deposit, certain bonds, etc) for a single person and $35k for a couple. Re: working offshore, they deal with that on a case-by-case basis - they have an agreement that you need to sign with them if you are sponsored that has the specific terms of this. However if the employer's head office is located in WA I would think they may treat that positively - again, need to check with them. Note that the contract is a civil contract between you and WA, and does not involve DIBP and is not a condition of your visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tashka said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've been sent an invite from Western Australia to apply for my and my partner's 190 or 489 visa however after looking at the .pdf resource they sent me I have a couple questions.
> 
> Firstly, how much exactly is the sufficient funds to cover relocation costs and living costs for three months? When we came over last year to Perth on a working holiday visa we had around $10,000 and found that was enough. However, I found a resource for Queensland stating that the amount required for an offshore applicant and partner is $35,000 of liquidable assets, I would guess for WA this would be more? How much more? Is the a guide available?
> 
> And secondly, my other question is about the not being able to leave the state (or for the 190 visa regional WA) for 2 years. I am an offshore surveyor by trade, so any work I do find in WA will be at a head office in Perth working FiFo, potentially working on projects all over Oceania as well as Northern WA. Is this possible for my visa? Am I allowed to leave the country in those first couple years? For the 190 could I live in Perth and work in regional Australia? I would prefer if possible to go in on the 190 visa as 27 days to get a signed contract for a job is a bit short, especially as last year when I wanted one employers were turning me away because I did not have a visa yet, however I would ideally like to live back in Perth again.
> 
> Thanks for your help in advance,
> 
> Tashka


----------



## Tashka

Thanks Mark for your VERY swift reply! I thought I was going to have to wait at least a couple days. I shall talk this through with partner as to what our steps will be next, or if indeed we have that much money together (would the bond include our house?). 

Thanks again Mark!

Tashka


----------



## Tashka

sorry for double post by accident, not sure how to remove it...


----------



## pigby

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pigby -
> 
> Health checks (medical exam, chest x-ray, HIV blood test) are required for all 189 PR visa applicants, so I wouldn't say that the request for a health exam is unusual or indicates anything in particular - just part of the process. Does not indicate anything re: chance of success, etc - a separate issue.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for the quick response, Mark! Always appreciated!


----------



## Interlaken

Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot for your feedback. This is really appreciated.


----------



## Tashka

Hi again Mark,

I have one more thing I'd like to confirm. For the subclass 190 nominated visa I definitely had to get a contract for 12 months work in my area before I can apply for the visa? Or does this apply only to applicants on schedule 2 on the occupation list?

Thanks again,
Tashka


----------



## kavita74

Tashka said:


> Hi again Mark,
> 
> I have one more thing I'd like to confirm. For the subclass 190 nominated visa I definitely had to get a contract for 12 months work in my area before I can apply for the visa? If I do not get the visa how am I supposed to fulfil my obligation to my new employer?
> 
> Thanks again,
> Tashka


Hi Tashka

I was going throught the posts on this thread when I came across your this post.

We have also applied for SS under subclass 190 and also have same concern as yours about how to get 12month employment contract without getting visa or not being in Australia.

Would you mind answering a few questions for us. Your replies may help us to understand our situation and chances in a better way.

1. When you applied EOI under subclass 190, was your job category under schedule 1 or 2? 
2. I f under schedule 2 that time, were you not asked to get employment contract before invite for visa? 
3. If not then, then at what stage they asked you to submit employment contract?

I am sorry to put so many questions but these are few issues that we have been wondering about.

I really appreciate your help and thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Regards


----------



## Tashka

kavita74 said:


> Hi Tashka
> 
> I was going throught the posts on this thread when I came across your this post.
> 
> We have also applied for SS under subclass 190 and also have same concern as yours about how to get 12month employment contract without getting visa or not being in Australia.
> 
> Would you mind answering a few questions for us. Your replies may help us to understand our situation and chances in a better way.
> 
> 1. When you applied EOI under subclass 190, was your job category under schedule 1 or 2?
> 2. I f under schedule 2 that time, were you not asked to get employment contract before invite for visa?
> 3. If not then, then at what stage they asked you to submit employment contract?
> 
> I am sorry to put so many questions but these are few issues that we have been wondering about.
> 
> I really appreciate your help and thanks in advance for your cooperation.
> 
> Regards


Hi kavita74,

To be honest I was not aware that I had to find a contract, most information pages I read around the internet did not mention this. It was not until I got the additional supplement in my invitation to apply from WA did I see this could be a problem. http://www.migration.wa.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/skilled_migration_criteria_2013-2014 (4).pdf That's a copy here. Although I am not sure if it applies to both occupation schedule 1 and 2. I, myself am on schedule 1. As for the rest of the questions, I guess you would be best leaving them to Mark to answer.

Best Regards and luck,
Tashka


----------



## kavita74

Hi Tashka

Thanks a lot for your response.
Since yours is in Schedule 1, so its a different process than ours. 

As mentioned by Mark also, we are hopeful of the new quotas opening in July and keeping our fingers crossed for things to move in positive direction.

Regards


----------



## kavita74

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kavita -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words - as a MARA agent myself, I'll just say that there are good agents out there and not-so-good ones! If you do end up working with an agent, make sure that person is someone you're comfortable working with and can trust - great communication is often the key to a successful agent-client relationship in my experience.
> 
> You can always update your EOI up until the point at which you receive an invitation from DIBP to apply for a visa (which usually comes without any advance notice unless you are state sponsored) at which point the points-related elements of the EOI are locked.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot.

So we are now going to try to improve our IELTS score for minimum of 8 in each, and also hoping to see positive development on our EOI when new quotas are offered in July. May be..then 133211 gets under schedule 1..and we do not need to have 12 month contract employment condition.

Thanks for being such a great help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tashka -

WA looks for "liquid assets" - real estate may not qualify as such, but I'd give them a call and ask for any clarification if you're not sure.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tashka said:


> Thanks Mark for your VERY swift reply! I thought I was going to have to wait at least a couple days. I shall talk this through with partner as to what our steps will be next, or if indeed we have that much money together (would the bond include our house?).
> 
> Thanks again Mark!
> 
> Tashka


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kavita -

Happy to help - as you noted, Schedule 1 occupations are much easier to get invitations to apply for than Schedule 2 occupations which require a contract prior to getting invited to apply for state sponsorship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kavita74 said:


> Thanks a lot.
> 
> So we are now going to try to improve our IELTS score for minimum of 8 in each, and also hoping to see positive development on our EOI when new quotas are offered in July. May be..then 133211 gets under schedule 1..and we do not need to have 12 month contract employment condition.
> 
> Thanks for being such a great help!


----------



## Tashka

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the advise, no you shouldn't need to worry about asking for me. I just read the loans accepted part, if necessary I can get a loan for the rest off my dad. 

Thanks again for your help and sorry for being one of those people repeating the same questions you have probably answered again and again. 

Kind regards,
Tashka


----------



## dipiksg82

Hi Mark, 

Seek your guidance in a matter which is partially related to immigration to Australia. 

I recently cleared my Ielts with 7 bands each and had applied for PCC in India where the passport authorities refused to Issue a pcc unless I get my spouse's name endorsed on my passport, left with no option In had to apply for a new passport and then the problem starts. 

I was promised my passport will be issued within 3 days of application but after applying I have been to that it might take a month and subsequently my old passport has been marked as cancelled. Now, if I were to apply for WA state nomination and get an invite in the month of July till my new passport is not issued can I use old passport number to make a valid application and then update the new passport number by filling form 1022? 

Regards, 

Dipika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dipiksg82 -

Yes - that's exactly how to handle that. Good thinking! - Note that depending on your circumstances you can use Form 929.

Best,

Mark Northam



dipiksg82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Seek your guidance in a matter which is partially related to immigration to Australia.
> 
> I recently cleared my Ielts with 7 bands each and had applied for PCC in India where the passport authorities refused to Issue a pcc unless I get my spouse's name endorsed on my passport, left with no option In had to apply for a new passport and then the problem starts.
> 
> I was promised my passport will be issued within 3 days of application but after applying I have been to that it might take a month and subsequently my old passport has been marked as cancelled. Now, if I were to apply for WA state nomination and get an invite in the month of July till my new passport is not issued can I use old passport number to make a valid application and then update the new passport number by filling form 1022?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Dipika


----------



## dipiksg82

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dipiksg82 -
> 
> Yes - that's exactly how to handle that. Good thinking!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark for being supportive and guiding as always.

God bless.

Regards,

Dipika


----------



## kannote

*485 visa- need help*

Hi Mark,

I already got master of professional accounting which is only 1.5 years and now I'm doing graduate diploma of management another 0.5 year which I will graduate in this semester.

Currently I'm holding a student visa which will expire on 6 Jul'14 and I'm planning to lodge 485 visa. The issue for me is I can't get the letter of completion before my expiry student visa date. So how can I do with this matter?

Also, from my study I combined two course together which I think it is closely related. So if I lodge the visa do I need to show any evidence to support that it's closely related course.

Thanks for your advise.


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark!

I need your advise. I will apply my Partner Onshore Visa 820 (Defacto) sometime August 30th. and I believe once I lodge it online I wil be given Bridging Visa A with unlimited work rights. After which, I want to apply for a Bridging Visa B to go to Philippines to visit my daughters. My passport is valid until February 2015. If I leave Australia in November do I need to renew my passport here in Philiipine Embassy in Australia before my trip ? I believe, passport should be valid at least 6 months before travelling.

Your utmost reply is aapreciated,
Cheers ,
Ninja69


----------



## Tashka

Hi Mark again,

Do you know anyone, I guess, IT wise that can help me? I started my application yesterday off the state nomination application page only for my computer to crash halfway through the second page. Now I can't import my visa through the ImmiAccount portal as I don't have a TRN number and if I try the I forgot my TRN number link I get 'There are no Transaction Reference Numbers attached to the email address.' error. I tried restarting my application on the State nomination page only to get ' You already have an existing application or your invitation has lapsed' As I only got my invitation two days ago I would hope it is the former statement that is true. 

I tried looking around for help on the website, but I couldn't find anything IT support related or a relevant number to call. Can you help?


----------



## island25

Hi Mark
We have lodged our application 489 SA regional in Feb and we have been contacted very quickly by immi. However they have asked us to submit a second medical exams. 
They have also just advised that the medical exams have been deferred.
Is there any particular reasons!? Is there an issue with the health status of an applicant?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kannote -

You may need to apply for a further visitor visa to cover the time until you can get the paperwork you need for the 485 visa. Sometimes they will give you a further student visa if your studies cause you to complete after the original date intended by the student visa as well - probably best to see what DIBP can do for you with either of these options. Extended student visa maybe better option depending on whether you are still studying as of the expiration date of the student visa, etc.

For combining multiple degrees to meet the Australia Study Requirement, you should provide evidence (if not obvious from the degree info) that both are closely related to your nominated occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kannote said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I already got master of professional accounting which is only 1.5 years and now I'm doing graduate diploma of management another 0.5 year which I will graduate in this semester.
> 
> Currently I'm holding a student visa which will expire on 6 Jul'14 and I'm planning to lodge 485 visa. The issue for me is I can't get the letter of completion before my expiry student visa date. So how can I do with this matter?
> 
> Also, from my study I combined two course together which I think it is closely related. So if I lodge the visa do I need to show any evidence to support that it's closely related course.
> 
> Thanks for your advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

That would be the best option - just make sure that once you get a new passport, you then register that with DIBP so it is attached to your current and future bridging visas and application - Form 929 is the form for that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I need your advise. I will apply my Partner Onshore Visa 820 (Defacto) sometime August 30th. and I believe once I lodge it online I wil be given Bridging Visa A with unlimited work rights. After which, I want to apply for a Bridging Visa B to go to Philippines to visit my daughters. My passport is valid until February 2015. If I leave Australia in November do I need to renew my passport here in Philiipine Embassy in Australia before my trip ? I believe, passport should be valid at least 6 months before travelling.
> 
> Your utmost reply is aapreciated,
> Cheers ,
> Ninja69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tashka -

You might try this enquiry form: Support Centre » SkillSelect Support or call DIBP (and be prepared for a 40+ minute wait on hold) on 131 881.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tashka said:


> Hi Mark again,
> 
> Do you know anyone, I guess, IT wise that can help me? I started my application yesterday off the state nomination application page only for my computer to crash halfway through the second page. Now I can't import my visa through the ImmiAccount portal as I don't have a TRN number and if I try the I forgot my TRN number link I get 'There are no Transaction Reference Numbers attached to the email address.' error. I tried restarting my application on the State nomination page only to get ' You already have an existing application or your invitation has lapsed' As I only got my invitation two days ago I would hope it is the former statement that is true.
> 
> I tried looking around for help on the website, but I couldn't find anything IT support related or a relevant number to call. Can you help?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi island 25 -

Hard to say - are you sure they didn't say "referred" (and not "deferred")? Referred means that the exam results may need a detailed look. The only reason they normally ask for a new set of medical exams is if the older ones are old enough so that they cannot grant the visa by the time the medical exam results expire (1 year from taking the exam). If the medical exam results you lodged in February were already 6+ months old, that might explain this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



island25 said:


> Hi Mark
> We have lodged our application 489 SA regional in Feb and we have been contacted very quickly by immi. However they have asked us to submit a second medical exams.
> They have also just advised that the medical exams have been deferred.
> Is there any particular reasons!? Is there an issue with the health status of an applicant?


----------



## island25

Hi Mark. Thanks for your help.
Our 1st exams were done in Feb, same day we lodged the visa. They have received in 10days after..not old at all. 
They meant deferred in 2 emails. Well,lets just wait and we will see.. 
Cheers.


----------



## aryajaide

*Police Check 820 Philippines*

Hi Mark
We are in the process in applying for 820 here in Oz. We got married here in Oz last month. I believe that one of the requirements was a police check for each country you have lived in for 12 months or more over the last 10 years since turning 16 years of age, in this case Philippines. 
From your experience, how would one obtain a Police check from the Philippines? Do you have to visit a Philippine consulate (really far away from us) or can you do it online.

Thanks Mark.


----------



## syd

*teacher registration and subclass 189*

Hello Mark,

I posted my query on the forum but have not received a response as yet, so I am hoping you can advise me.

I am trying to get documents prepared for skilled independent visa 189 as a secondary school teacher while I await positive assessment from AITSL .

Question:

Am I required to be registered with teaching board in Australia in order to be granted 189 visa?


----------



## Wing P

Hi Mark,
I have lodged an Eoi with 60 points for a 189 visa on the 10th of may under nursing nec. I have also included my partner who is overseas at the moment. i completed my bachelor of nursing in Australia. I have gained an Invitation for 190 visa with 65 points on the 14th of may. I am very stressed with this. I just want to know if i cannot get an invitation for 189 while having the 190 invitaion. clearly the cut off date for the previous round was the 10 of may and I didnt get the invitation and not this time either. Please let me know if I can do anything about this please.

Thank you very much
Your help is greatly appreciated


----------



## Farmer

Hello Mark,My wife is in Oz on a multiple entry TV, and her visa has no conditions.
We will apply for a 820 visa after the marriage and then she will return to the Philippines for 3 weeks.
A couple of questions:

1. Her 2 children are not in Australia and we want to include in the application,is this possible given that they are not in Australia.

2. Will immi send a Hap id for the children to have there medicals in the Philippines, my future wife will have her medical done in Australia.

3.The father of the children will allow the children to come to Australia, what form should be used for the father to sign? He lives in the Philippines.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aryajaide -

Thanks for the question - most people get the report (NBI Clearance) from a Consulate. At one time I believe there was a way to get them by mail, not sure if that's still possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aryajaide said:


> Hi Mark
> We are in the process in applying for 820 here in Oz. We got married here in Oz last month. I believe that one of the requirements was a police check for each country you have lived in for 12 months or more over the last 10 years since turning 16 years of age, in this case Philippines.
> From your experience, how would one obtain a Police check from the Philippines? Do you have to visit a Philippine consulate (really far away from us) or can you do it online.
> 
> Thanks Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Syd -

This is managed on a state-by-state basis, however my understanding is that currently you do need to be licenced by the education board/body/etc in the state you intend to live/work in prior to being granted the visa. Things can change frequently in the area of licencing and registration requirements, so I would suggest looking into this to find out the specific current requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



syd said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I posted my query on the forum but have not received a response as yet, so I am hoping you can advise me.
> 
> I am trying to get documents prepared for skilled independent visa 189 as a secondary school teacher while I await positive assessment from AITSL .
> 
> Question:
> 
> Am I required to be registered with teaching board in Australia in order to be granted 189 visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wing P -

For a single EOI, as long as they have not changed their procedures recently (and that's always a big "if"!), once an EOI has had an invitation issued, another invitation will not be issued until the first invitation is either refused or accepted (ie,, visa application made). Some people get around this by lodging 2 separate EOI's, however not sure as to how successful that may be.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wing P said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have lodged an Eoi with 60 points for a 189 visa on the 10th of may under nursing nec. I have also included my partner who is overseas at the moment. i completed my bachelor of nursing in Australia. I have gained an Invitation for 190 visa with 65 points on the 14th of may. I am very stressed with this. I just want to know if i cannot get an invitation for 189 while having the 190 invitaion. clearly the cut off date for the previous round was the 10 of may and I didnt get the invitation and not this time either. Please let me know if I can do anything about this please.
> 
> Thank you very much
> Your help is greatly appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Farmer -

Thanks for the question. You should double check your visitor visa, because all visitor visas have conditions (!). What you do not want to see is condition 8503 (no further stay).

Assuming no condition 8503, sounds like you have a workable plan. Medicals can be taken wherever is convenient - each applicant will have their own HAP ID. Father of children should sign (and have witnessed) Form 1229.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Farmer said:


> Hello Mark,My wife is in Oz on a multiple entry TV, and her visa has no conditions.
> We will apply for a 820 visa after the marriage and then she will return to the Philippines for 3 weeks.
> A couple of questions:
> 
> 1. Her 2 children are not in Australia and we want to include in the application,is this possible given that they are not in Australia.
> 
> 2. Will immi send a Hap id for the children to have there medicals in the Philippines, my future wife will have her medical done in Australia.
> 
> 3.The father of the children will allow the children to come to Australia, what form should be used for the father to sign? He lives in the Philippines.


----------



## syd

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Syd -
> 
> This is managed on a state-by-state basis, however my understanding is that currently you do need to be licenced by the education board/body/etc in the state you intend to live/work in prior to being granted the visa. Things can change frequently in the area of licencing and registration requirements, so I would suggest looking into this to find out the specific current requirements.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for your response Mark. Kindly permit me to ask a few more questions.

1. Are you familiar with the requirements for Adelaide?

2. Which agency do you suggest that I call/contact to confirm this requirement?

I know I need to be registered prior to teaching in Adelaide, but I cannot seem to find that requirement for visa grant on DIBP.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Syd -

I'm not familiar with that area as I live in NSW, however I would google the South Australia Education Dept or Board - that ought to get you in the right direction. Teacher licencing in Australia is handled at the state level.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



syd said:


> Thank you for your response Mark. Kindly permit me to ask a few more questions.
> 
> 1. Are you familiar with the requirements for Adelaide?
> 
> 2. Which agency do you suggest that I call/contact to confirm this requirement?
> 
> I know I need to be registered prior to teaching in Adelaide, but I cannot seem to find that requirement for visa grant on DIBP.


----------



## Ninja69

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ninja69 -
> 
> That would be the best option - just make sure that once you get a new passport, you then register that with DIBP so it is attached to your current and future bridging visas and application - Form 929 is the form for that.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for your reply.

By the way, please correct me if I am wrong....

if I renew my passport say June 30th and apply my online application ( defacto) 820 in August , that is 2 months waiting and I believe renewing of Philippine passport takes time to process, it means I may still use my old passport number while waiting for my new passport to be processedThen, inform DIBP of my new passport number later?

Cheers,
Ninja 69


----------



## helpanswersneeded

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I am wanting to know more information about the subclass visa 461.

I am a New Zealand citizen and has only been to australia after 2001.
My husband holds a permenat nz residency and we have been married for 2years and
Living together for 3years. 
Wil he be able to the apply for this visa seeing he is married to a NZ citizen? I also read
On other forums that you need health insurance when you apply , we are currently living in 
NZ , will this apply to him.

Also I am wanting to know if i am an elgible NZ citizen, i hold a nz passport aswell but not too sure if 
I can sponsor him for this visa ?

Please help asap


----------



## syd

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Syd -
> 
> I'm not familiar with that area as I live in NSW, however I would google the South Australia Education Dept or Board - that ought to get you in the right direction. Teacher licencing in Australia is handled at the state level.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your time


----------



## nicole-s

Another question for you, easy one this time!

I've been reading conflicting things about identity documents. My partner has lost his birth certificate and some things I read say just his passport will work and other things say he needs his birth certificate. 

Do I need to pay the $51 to order him a new birth certificate or can we just use his passport as an identity document?

He is an Australian citizen by birth who is sponsoring me.

Thanks,
Nicole


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark,

I need your advise. I will leave Melbourne next week for a one week vacation in Bali also to exit my tourist visa as I arrived here in April that is almost 3 months upon my arrival here. As a tourist visa, I need to exit every 3 months. I will apply my partner visa (defacto)820 end of August. I did not buy a return ticket as I will file my partner visa. 
What do you think? Just wondering immigration might ask me when I come back in Melbourne why I do not have a return ticket. Is it ok for me not to buy one? 

Hope to hear from you at the soonest time.
Cheers,
Ninja69


----------



## Tashka

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tashka -
> 
> You might try this enquiry form: Support Centre » SkillSelect Support or call DIBP (and be prepared for a 40+ minute wait on hold) on 131 881.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark again for the help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Correct. The problem comes when some countries take your passport while processing the new one - so best to take a good colour scan of it before you start the renewal process. Key issue is that you generally cannot use a passport for a visa application if it is past the expiration date of the passport.

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Thank you Mark for your reply.
> 
> By the way, please correct me if I am wrong....
> 
> if I renew my passport say June 30th and apply my online application ( defacto) 820 in August , that is 2 months waiting and I believe renewing of Philippine passport takes time to process, it means I may still use my old passport number while waiting for my new passport to be processedThen, inform DIBP of my new passport number later?
> 
> Cheers,
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

From what you've said, as a NZ citizen who would be eligible for a subclass 444 visa automatically upon entry to Australia, you would be eligible to sponsor your husband for a NZ family member visa subclass 461.

Re: health insurance, you should have a look at the reciprocal health insurance agreement between NZ and Australia to see if that satisfies your needs - otherwise you can also purchase private health insurance.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



helpanswersneeded said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am wanting to know more information about the subclass visa 461.
> 
> I am a New Zealand citizen and has only been to australia after 2001.
> My husband holds a permenat nz residency and we have been married for 2years and
> Living together for 3years.
> Wil he be able to the apply for this visa seeing he is married to a NZ citizen? I also read
> On other forums that you need health insurance when you apply , we are currently living in
> NZ , will this apply to him.
> 
> Also I am wanting to know if i am an elgible NZ citizen, i hold a nz passport aswell but not too sure if
> I can sponsor him for this visa ?
> 
> Please help asap


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicole-s -

Depends on the visa. For partner and fiance visas, they really want to see a birth certificate if the country he was born in normally provides these - I suggest spending the $51 - it's a small price to pay compared to the cost of a visa, and may make things go more smoothly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nicole-s said:


> Another question for you, easy one this time!
> 
> I've been reading conflicting things about identity documents. My partner has lost his birth certificate and some things I read say just his passport will work and other things say he needs his birth certificate.
> 
> Do I need to pay the $51 to order him a new birth certificate or can we just use his passport as an identity document?
> 
> He is an Australian citizen by birth who is sponsoring me.
> 
> Thanks,
> Nicole


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Hard to predict that one - I expect you probably will be OK - if they ask, you may say that you are unsure of your return date at this point, etc. or whatever you feel is appropriate. If you tell them you will be lodging an onshore partner visa, not sure how they would react as that may not be seen as within the scope of a visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I need your advise. I will leave Melbourne next week for a one week vacation in Bali also to exit my tourist visa as I arrived here in April that is almost 3 months upon my arrival here. As a tourist visa, I need to exit every 3 months. I will apply my partner visa (defacto)820 end of August. I did not buy a return ticket as I will file my partner visa.
> What do you think? Just wondering immigration might ask me when I come back in Melbourne why I do not have a return ticket. Is it ok for me not to buy one?
> 
> Hope to hear from you at the soonest time.
> Cheers,
> Ninja69


----------



## Ninja69

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ninja69 -
> 
> Hard to predict that one - I expect you probably will be OK - if they ask, you may say that you are unsure of your return date at this point, etc. or whatever you feel is appropriate. If you tell them you will be lodging an onshore partner visa, not sure how they would react as that may not be seen as within the scope of a visitor visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark , Cheers!


----------



## realm28

*Student Visa about to expire still plans to go overseas*

Hi Mark,

Just need your help regarding my case.

I'm currently on a student visa and I just finished school this June. My visa will expire at the end of August and I'm planning to go back to my country this July and to get back to Australia by the end of July.

I'm just anxious because some of my friends are telling me that chances are I'll be refused to enter back to Australia and the immigration will question my visa since it is about to expire and I'm done with schooling already.

My point is I still have a month when I get back to comply for the requirements and apply for a graduate visa 485 since I've already started collecting the requirements now.

Will there be an issue if I go overseas 1 month before my visa expire?

Please help.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## helpanswersneeded

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> From what you've said, as a NZ citizen who would be eligible for a subclass 444 visa automatically upon entry to Australia, you would be eligible to sponsor your husband for a NZ family member visa subclass 461.
> 
> Re: health insurance, you should have a look at the reciprocal health insurance agreement between NZ and Australia to see if that satisfies your needs - otherwise you can also purchase private health insurance.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi mark , 
Sorry for all the questions just want to get everything correct before submitting,

By the way , my partner was rejected twice in 2012 for tourist visa to aus will this affect his 
new applicaiton for 461 if we declare it?
how will i go about applying for private insurance for this visa? 
Will i apply for it in nz under my name or in australia under my partners name ? 
Thank you in advance


----------



## Hooch

Hi Mark,

Hoping you could shed some light on this. I am applying for 835 Remaining Relative visa. I have a police check from my current citizenship country. On it I have two driving convictions for no insurance (drove friends car while my own was in the shop and on certain license's this is not allowed, young & dumb) from 5 years ago on my Police check. My question is, will this driving ban/conviction go against my chances of receiving the above visa? 

Thanks for any information you can give, it will be thoroughly appreciated.


----------



## CollegeGirl

Hooch said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hoping you could shed some light on this. I am applying for 835 Remaining Relative visa. I have a police check from my current citizenship country. On it I have two driving convictions for no insurance (drove friends car while my own was in the shop and on certain license's this is not allowed, young & dumb) from 5 years ago on my Police check. My question is, will this driving ban/conviction go against my chances of receiving the above visa?
> 
> Thanks for any information you can give, it will be thoroughly appreciated.


I hope you're saying you've already applied? If you haven't applied yet, you're too late. They've closed that visa type to new applications.


----------



## hansrajpriya

*Status of the attachments already uploaded still shows REQUIRED*

Hi,

I am new to this forum. I have applied for my 189 Visa on 07/06/2014. However, I am facing some difficulties while uploading the attachments on my Immi Account. The status of the attachment I have already uploaded is still showing me "Required" instead of "Received". The list of attachments is showing all my attachments and date uploaded on the bottom though. Has anyone experienced similar difficulties? I would really appreciate if someone would help me, as I am really concerned whether or not the documents have been uploaded or not.

Moreover, in the process of sorting and dealing with this problem, I also uploaded two documents twice by mistake. Will it create any issues for the Case Officer?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Realm -

No way for me to predict, but there can be issues in that type of situation - many times it falls to the discretion of the immigration officer at the airport - problem is, a student visa is meant for study, and you're done studying the program you got the visa for. I would strongly suggest you find a way to lodge the 485 before you depart - if you're going to be out of the country when your student visa expires and after you lodged the 485, then you should apply to have the bridging visa A issued with the 485 application changed to a bridging visa B - then you can re-enter the country on the bridging visa B if the student visa expires while offshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



realm28 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just need your help regarding my case.
> 
> I'm currently on a student visa and I just finished school this June. My visa will expire at the end of August and I'm planning to go back to my country this July and to get back to Australia by the end of July.
> 
> I'm just anxious because some of my friends are telling me that chances are I'll be refused to enter back to Australia and the immigration will question my visa since it is about to expire and I'm done with schooling already.
> 
> My point is I still have a month when I get back to comply for the requirements and apply for a graduate visa 485 since I've already started collecting the requirements now.
> 
> Will there be an issue if I go overseas 1 month before my visa expire?
> 
> Please help.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Re: previous refusals, all depends on the details of the refusals and the rest of the aspects of his case - impossible to sort out on the forum. You must declare the refusals if asked - they will see them anyway, and not admitting them can result in a refusal and 3 year ban.

Key is establishing that your relationship is absolutely genuine with proof (evidence). Would suggest you speak to the Bupa and other Australian private insurance companies to see what coverage may be best for you.

You may want to seek professional assistance with your 461 application if you have concerns about the previous refusals and/or evidence requirements - all depends on the circumstances however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



helpanswersneeded said:


> Hi mark ,
> Sorry for all the questions just want to get everything correct before submitting,
> 
> By the way , my partner was rejected twice in 2012 for tourist visa to aus will this affect his
> new applicaiton for 461 if we declare it?
> how will i go about applying for private insurance for this visa?
> Will i apply for it in nz under my name or in australia under my partners name ?
> Thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hooch -

Normally those kinds of convictions would not create a problem with an Australian visa application unless you did not disclose them when asked and DIBP later discovered them. However as CG noted, the 835 visa ended on 1 June 2014 and can no longer be applied for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hooch said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hoping you could shed some light on this. I am applying for 835 Remaining Relative visa. I have a police check from my current citizenship country. On it I have two driving convictions for no insurance (drove friends car while my own was in the shop and on certain license's this is not allowed, young & dumb) from 5 years ago on my Police check. My question is, will this driving ban/conviction go against my chances of receiving the above visa?
> 
> Thanks for any information you can give, it will be thoroughly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hansrajpriya -

Sometimes the status indicator runs a bit behind in the DIBP system, and sometimes shows things incorrectly. Key is to make sure you uploaded the documents in the correct category/subcategory - that's how the system knows (or is supposed to know) that you uploaded them. If you see the documents uploaded in the lower area where it lists what you have uploaded, then you should be OK for those documents. Duplicates not generally a problem - lots of people end up doing that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hansrajpriya said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am new to this forum. I have applied for my 189 Visa on 07/06/2014. However, I am facing some difficulties while uploading the attachments on my Immi Account. The status of the attachment I have already uploaded is still showing me "Required" instead of "Received". The list of attachments is showing all my attachments and date uploaded on the bottom though. Has anyone experienced similar difficulties? I would really appreciate if someone would help me, as I am really concerned whether or not the documents have been uploaded or not.
> 
> Moreover, in the process of sorting and dealing with this problem, I also uploaded two documents twice by mistake. Will it create any issues for the Case Officer?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## Hooch

Thank you very much Mark, a great help.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hooch -
> 
> Normally those kinds of convictions would not create a problem with an Australian visa application unless you did not disclose them when asked and DIBP later discovered them. However as CG noted, the 835 visa ended on 1 June 2014 and can no longer be applied for.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Farmer

Mark,
You are correct there are a couple of visa conditions but not 8503.
Thank you for the answer.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Farmer -
> 
> Thanks for the question. You should double check your visitor visa, because all visitor visas have conditions (!). What you do not want to see is condition 8503 (no further stay).
> 
> Assuming no condition 8503, sounds like you have a workable plan. Medicals can be taken wherever is convenient - each applicant will have their own HAP ID. Father of children should sign (and have witnessed) Form 1229.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## aryajaide

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Aryajaide -
> 
> Thanks for the question - most people get the report (NBI Clearance) from a Consulate. At one time I believe there was a way to get them by mail, not sure if that's still possible.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark.


----------



## fletchaman

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fletchaman -
> 
> Never heard of the skilled visa points test being any different for one occupation to another. You get points for age, work experience, education, etc just like for any other occupation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark
Thanks yes I have worked it out as it was not just for Midwife but for all jobs requiring a Bachelors Degree, apparently they are stating you automatically get superior English points for having a Bachelors (Hons) Degree.

How they get away with this false advertising is beyond me and one is a very well known UK Migration company!!


----------



## helpanswersneeded

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> Re: previous refusals, all depends on the details of the refusals and the rest of the aspects of his case - impossible to sort out on the forum. You must declare the refusals if asked - they will see them anyway, and not admitting them can result in a refusal and 3 year ban.
> 
> Key is establishing that your relationship is absolutely genuine with proof (evidence). Would suggest you speak to the Bupa and other Australian private insurance companies to see what coverage may be best for you.
> 
> You may want to seek professional assistance with your 461 application if you have concerns about the previous refusals and/or evidence requirements - all depends on the circumstances however.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark,

thanks for your help.

The reason was becauase my partner applied for a visitor visa 3months to see our son
who was staying in aus at the time , but because he was not working he was only studying and 
still living at home, they advise us because we did not supply enough documents that will prove
he will return to nz eg. He was living at home and no lease was under his name & he was only studying 
so he was not working.

However we will definitely supply them with all this information about the declined visas.

Also i have contact iman aus insurance , who im waiting to get a quote and have the options 
of only starting payments after we enter Australia and will provide letters for the visa application, will that be sufficient evidence if we submit
our application?


----------



## jsacchow

Hi Mark

So pleased to have found such a helpful forum. Wondering if you can help me with a question re 457 visa. I am currently being sponsered (since May 2013) in a restaurant/cafe but have been told that the business is being put on the market and may be sold before the end of my two year stint. If a new owner is willing/able to take on my sponsership do we have to reapply as if it was a new sponsership (hence another two years) or can the original sponsership be transferred and I only have to complete the remainder of the time? Your advice would be much appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the note. No way for me to tell how much evidence is sufficient - generally for the 461 visa they want substantial relationship evidence, along the lines of what is required for a partner visa. You can download the DIBP Partner Visa booklet or consult the topics here on the forum to get a better idea of the different types of relationship evidence DIBP will be looking for - you haven't mentioned much of this in your email so I would suggest you research this carefully.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



helpanswersneeded said:


> hi mark,
> 
> thanks for your help.
> 
> The reason was becauase my partner applied for a visitor visa 3months to see our son
> who was staying in aus at the time , but because he was not working he was only studying and
> still living at home, they advise us because we did not supply enough documents that will prove
> he will return to nz eg. He was living at home and no lease was under his name & he was only studying
> so he was not working.
> 
> However we will definitely supply them with all this information about the declined visas.
> 
> Also i have contact iman aus insurance , who im waiting to get a quote and have the options
> of only starting payments after we enter Australia and will provide letters for the visa application, will that be sufficient evidence if we submit
> our application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Wow - that's unbelievable.

To clarify, a person gets no extra points for an honours Bachelor degree than a non-Honours bachelor degree - 15 points is what Bachelors degrees from accredited institutions are awarded for the skilled visa points test.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fletchaman said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanks yes I have worked it out as it was not just for Midwife but for all jobs requiring a Bachelors Degree, apparently they are stating you automatically get superior English points for having a Bachelors (Hons) Degree.
> 
> How they get away with this false advertising is beyond me and one is a very well known UK Migration company!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jsacchow -

Thanks for the question. The answer depends entirely on what happens when the business is sold. If the business retains it's ABN and there is simply a management change, then it's likely that the DIBP sponsorship would continue however the new directors, etc would need to notify DIBP of their taking over of the business. In this scenario your 2 year time clock would continue and the time you were sponsored up until that point would still likely count towards the 2-year work requirement for the ENS or RSMS visa. However if the business changed ABN's and it was a new company operating the restaurant, it's likely you would not be able to use the time up until now towards the 2 year requirement and the 2 year clock would start again once the new company is approved for SBS sponsorship - you'll want to be careful that if a new company takes over they lodge their SBS sponsorship application in plenty of time, so they can then take over sponsorship of your 457 from the old company.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jsacchow said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> So pleased to have found such a helpful forum. Wondering if you can help me with a question re 457 visa. I am currently being sponsered (since May 2013) in a restaurant/cafe but have been told that the business is being put on the market and may be sold before the end of my two year stint. If a new owner is willing/able to take on my sponsership do we have to reapply as if it was a new sponsership (hence another two years) or can the original sponsership be transferred and I only have to complete the remainder of the time? Your advice would be much appreciated.


----------



## Harbinger

Don't know if I needed to start a new thread or not, can someone explain in plain English about the RRV in regards to permanent residency visa and travelling internationally? . its all a little , ok a lot confusing.

Regards 
Harb.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harbinger -

Here's the short version: Once a person gets PR in Australia they get that PR for an initial term of 5 years, after that their re-entry rights to Australia (to enter the country) expire. To extend re-entry rights to Australia after the initial 5 year period, a person needs a Resident Return Visa (RRV). There are 3 different durations of these available:

5 year RRV (subclass 155) - only available if you have spent 24 months during the 5 years prior to applying for the RRV in Australia.

1 year RRV (subclass 155) - only available if you can show substantial business, cultural, employment or personal ties to Australia. Depending on the duration of your stay outside Australia, may also have to show compelling reasons for your departure and compelling reasons why you were gone for a continuous period of 5+ years.

3 month RRV (subclass 157) - only available if you have spent 1 or more days in Australia during the last 5 years but less than 2 years, and can show compelling reasons for your departure, and compelling reasons for why you were gone from Australia for the period you were if you were gone for more than 3 continuous months from Australia prior to applying.

More info available at immi.gov.au -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Harbinger said:


> Don't know if I needed to start a new thread or not, can someone explain in plain English about the RRV in regards to permanent residency visa and travelling internationally? . its all a little , ok a lot confusing.
> 
> Regards
> Harb.


----------



## helpanswersneeded

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No way for me to tell how much evidence is sufficient - generally for the 461 visa they want substantial relationship evidence, along the lines of what is required for a partner visa. You can download the DIBP Partner Visa booklet or consult the topics here on the forum to get a better idea of the different types of relationship evidence DIBP will be looking for - you haven't mentioned much of this in your email so I would suggest you research this carefully.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Alrigh thank you for that ,

So far ive researched alot of forums regarding proving our relationship. 
Documents i have so far are
-Marriage Certificate
-Bank Statement showing money transfer
-Letters proving address current&previous
-Family Photos
-Sons birth certificate 
-2 supporting letters from family/friends.

Hope this is enough , if you don't mind im also wanting to know weather he will need to supply police check from his home country last time he was there was 2008 , or can we just provide a NZ police check letter ?

Thank u so much for yr help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

For a partner visa for the applicant, police checks will be needed from all countries that the person spent a total of 12 months or more in during the last 10 years. Same for sponsor only if a child under 18 years of age is included in the visa application.

Re: documents, sounds like you're headed in the right direction, but can't assess documents via forum - if you would like me to assess your entire application, you can book a consultation at Northam & Associates - Professional Migration Consulting Session

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



helpanswersneeded said:


> Alrigh thank you for that ,
> 
> So far ive researched alot of forums regarding proving our relationship.
> Documents i have so far are
> -Marriage Certificate
> -Bank Statement showing money transfer
> -Letters proving address current&previous
> -Family Photos
> -Sons birth certificate
> -2 supporting letters from family/friends.
> 
> Hope this is enough , if you don't mind im also wanting to know weather he will need to supply police check from his home country last time he was there was 2008 , or can we just provide a NZ police check letter ?
> 
> Thank u so much for yr help


----------



## chato

Hi Mark,

Great forum and you are so great!! We need your advice in our case. We had applied the offshore partner visa for my husband in may2013, but got refused in mar14 due to they claimed I'm not a "usual resident" in oz as they said I was there for 99 days only in the past 6 yrs. currently we are living in Hong Kong.

We plan to go back to Syd for good next year in May (before my RRV expired in May15). We have two daughters who were born in Syd in 2012 and 2014, and we have property there (it is under my name only) , and we have been married for 2.5yrs now.

Our questions:
1) when can we lodge our application after we arrived in Syd? My husband would use tourist visa to enter oz. can we lodge our application before his visitor visa expired in 3m time?
2) since our application got refused before, would it affect our onshore application? And would it also take longer to process?
3) will you suggest us to lodge our application online or in person? Is there any different?
4) is there anything we need to aware of for the application?
5) for the finance aspect evidence, is there a problem if the supporting doc is from HK rather than OZ since we have our insurance statement in hk but not in oz.

Thank you very much for your advise!

Best regards,
Chato


----------



## GermanChick

Hi Mark,
I am in the final stage of preparing my De Facto partnership visa application which I will lodge early August.
I just have questions about the eligibility of my sponsor.
I understand what is required but my issue is that my Australian partner has not had continues employment in the last two years so basically I have been financially supporting him, not the other way around, which meant he did not get on the doll ( lm not sure if thats an advantage proving to the government that I can be beneficial in reducing goverment costs). There has been a period recently though in which he covered most of our expenses due to the fact that the restaurant I work in closed down for 8 weeks.but then he lost that job a week prior to me starting work again.
I can confidently prove that I wont need to be financially sponsored due to my employment history but also with a statement confirming that my employer prior to the current one, is offering me a secure position once I am allowed to go back there regarding visa limitations which is in August.
Alright, getting to the point now.
Will my partner still have to sign the sponsorship form. If yes, wont it be contradicting that if you look at it poperly I have been the one securing financial funds and not him.
Could this risk my visa? Or will they appreciate the fact that I actually help my partner to pay off debts (fines) hence giving money back to the state. The way I understood it, most of the stuff I have to provide is so they can figure out how likely I am going to be a financial burden on the Australian tax payer...
Thanks for your time


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chato -

Thanks for the kind words! See my notes below at ***:



chato said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Great forum and you are so great!! We need your advice in our case. We had applied the offshore partner visa for my husband in may2013, but got refused in mar14 due to they claimed I'm not a "usual resident" in oz as they said I was there for 99 days only in the past 6 yrs. currently we are living in Hong Kong.
> 
> We plan to go back to Syd for good next year in May (before my RRV expired in May15). We have two daughters who were born in Syd in 2012 and 2014, and we have property there (it is under my name only) , and we have been married for 2.5yrs now.
> 
> Our questions:
> 1) when can we lodge our application after we arrived in Syd? My husband would use tourist visa to enter oz. can we lodge our application before his visitor visa expired in 3m time?
> *** At any time after he arrives, key is to make sure the application has plenty of relationship evidence, statements, and usually resident evidence. I would suggest living here together at least 1 month before lodging.
> 
> 2) since our application got refused before, would it affect our onshore application? And would it also take longer to process?
> *** Nope, and nope.
> 
> 3) will you suggest us to lodge our application online or in person? Is there any different?
> *** I always recommend online now. No major difference, but you have more control over the scanning, etc and no need for certified copies if lodging online with colour scans.
> 
> 4) is there anything we need to aware of for the application?
> *** Don't know enough about your case to answer this.
> 
> 5) for the finance aspect evidence, is there a problem if the supporting doc is from HK rather than OZ since we have our insurance statement in hk but not in oz.
> *** No problem - would need to be translated into English by a NAATI certified (or equivalent overseas) translator if not in English.
> 
> Thank you very much for your advise!
> 
> Best regards,
> Chato


----------



## chato

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Chato - Thanks for the kind words! See my notes below at ***:


Hi Mark,

Thank you for your prompt reply.

For the usually resident, what is the evidence to this?

Thanks/chato


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chato -

There's specific DIBP policy on this - if you contact me via my website and get me your email (don't post it here though) I can email you an info sheet we send to clients who need to know more about usually resident policy. In terms of evidence, it's usually documents showing that you now make Australia your (primary) home as of the time of application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chato said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your prompt reply.
> 
> For the usually resident, what is the evidence to this?
> 
> Thanks/chato


----------



## Dutchie22

Hi Mark, 

Hope you can help my with a few questions about de facto visa subclass 309.
So I'm from the Netherlands, 22 years old and have been in Oz for 1.5 years now (in this period my and my partner also went to Asia for a month).
-Was wondering whether a medical check is always necessary? (For both 409 and 820)?
-What the average costs would be?
-would it be a problem if I made use of Medicare a lot the last 1.5 years? Could/would this be researched by case officer?
(Question 76)

Thanks heaps


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dutchie -

For the subclass 309/100 offshore partner visa application or the 820/801 onshore partner visa application, a medical exam, chest x-ray and HIV blood test is required for all applicants 16 years of age and older. Re: medical check costs, usually about $400 or so, but check with Medibank Health Solutions in Australia, or your local DIBP Panel-approved medical facility offshore. Medicare usage should not be a factor in a visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dutchie22 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you can help my with a few questions about de facto visa subclass 309.
> So I'm from the Netherlands, 22 years old and have been in Oz for 1.5 years now (in this period my and my partner also went to Asia for a month).
> -Was wondering whether a medical check is always necessary? (For both 409 and 820)?
> -What the average costs would be?
> -would it be a problem if I made use of Medicare a lot the last 1.5 years? Could/would this be researched by case officer?
> (Question 76)
> 
> Thanks heaps


----------



## chato

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Chato - There's specific DIBP policy on this - if you contact me via my website and get me your email (don't post it here though) I can email you an info sheet we send to clients who need to know more about usually resident policy. In terms of evidence, it's usually documents showing that you now make Australia your (primary) home as of the time of application. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark!

Email just sent to your company! And do we need to do the medical check up and police check before we lodge our application or wait until we were asked to?

Many thanks!


----------



## starlight

Hi Mark,
thanks for your help here in this thread, I think it's great that you offer it to us!

*My question:*
I applied for a 820 visa at the end of March 2014. My partner's work is very seasonal and he hasn't had much of an income in the past 2 years due to living in my home country for 6 months and other circumstances. 
In my application I attached evidence of my personal savings and a statement and evidence of my partner's mother (who we live with at the moment as well) stating to provide for me financially if needed.

We also got my partner's "Notice of Assessment" from the Australian Taxation Office for the past two years but it doesn't really show much obviously. He has also written a statement explaining his financial situation. However I haven't attached his statement and the Notice of Assessment yet because I'm worried that it might reflect badly on us. Since a proof of the sponsor isn't specifically required and I also have working rights on my BVA I wonder whether or not it would be a good idea to upload my partner's statement and the documents from the Taxation Office?
Thanks in advance!


----------



## Guppal

*Should I do first landing in Australia or drop the idea of coming to Australia*

I'm Indian national whether the Airport immigration will get to know my conviction and arrest warrant ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Starlight -

Can't advise you on your case as I don't know all the details, however since evidence of income is a requirement for the 820 visa application, I'd consider providing DIBP with any documents that show any sort of financial support, income (past/present), etc His mother's statement would likely be very helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



starlight said:


> Hi Mark,
> thanks for your help here in this thread, I think it's great that you offer it to us!
> 
> *My question:*
> I applied for a 820 visa at the end of March 2014. My partner's work is very seasonal and he hasn't had much of an income in the past 2 years due to living in my home country for 6 months and other circumstances.
> In my application I attached evidence of my personal savings and a statement and evidence of my partner's mother (who we live with at the moment as well) stating to provide for me financially if needed.
> 
> We also got my partner's "Notice of Assessment" from the Australian Taxation Office for the past two years but it doesn't really show much obviously. He has also written a statement explaining his financial situation. However I haven't attached his statement and the Notice of Assessment yet because I'm worried that it might reflect badly on us. Since a proof of the sponsor isn't specifically required and I also have working rights on my BVA I wonder whether or not it would be a good idea to upload my partner's statement and the documents from the Taxation Office?
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chato -

Either way is OK - we usually recommend police clearance certificates as soon as you can at or after lodgement, and health exams when requested.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chato said:


> Thank you so much Mark!
> 
> Email just sent to your company! And do we need to do the medical check up and police check before we lodge our application or wait until we were asked to?
> 
> Many thanks!


----------



## syd

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Syd -
> 
> This is managed on a state-by-state basis, however my understanding is that currently you do need to be licenced by the education board/body/etc in the state you intend to live/work in prior to being granted the visa. Things can change frequently in the area of licencing and registration requirements, so I would suggest looking into this to find out the specific current requirements.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

I contacted Teacher Registration Board of Australia and they were quite prompt and thorough in responding.

Apparently, registration with the teaching board is NOT a requirement prior to visa application. I just wanted to update you in case others need this info. The response is below:

__________________________________________________________

Regarding your questions:

1) Registration has nothing to do with the visa process. These are very distinct and separate processes; you are not required to complete one before undertaking the other. Given the timeframes for these processes, you may wish to initiate both processes at the same time. As one of the requirements for registration is to complete a full-day Mandatory Notification Training workshop in South Australia, you would be unable to apply for registration until you were permitted to arrive in South Australia and complete it.

2) An assessment of overseas qualifications generally takes between 4 and 6 weeks to finalise.

3) The Application for Assessment of Qualifications fee is $110 Australian dollars.

4) The assessment of qualifications outcome will either be that your qualifications meet the prescribed requirements for registration in South Australia or that they do not. If your qualifications do not meet the Board's requirements, you would need to complete an additional qualification before being able to register with the Board (the type of additional qualification would be dependent upon the precise assessment outcome).

5) Once the assessment of qualifications has been finalised (in 4-6 weeks), an applicant would then be invited to apply for teacher registration. Once they submit the Application for Teacher Registration form, it generally only takes 1-2 weeks to finalise, but this will depend upon how quickly it takes for the criminal record checks to clear.

I hope the above answers your questions about the registration process. Please feel free to contact me with any further questions or concerns.

Kind regards,

Andrew Dowling

Qualifications and Registration Administrator

Teachers Registration Board of South Australia

PO Box 3649 RUNDLE MALL SA 5000

Level 6, 70 Pirie Street ADELAIDE SA 5000

Tel: +61 8 8226 8153 | Fax: +61 8 8226 2667

Email: [email protected] | Website: Welcome to TRB | Teachers Registration Board of South Australia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Guppal -

Sorry to hear of your situation. I can't comment on any criminal prosecution matters (my unofficial guess: unlikely) however DIBP could certainly cancel your PR (and or citizenship later) if they discover the issue. As to how long between cancellation and removal from Australia, hard to say - there are natural justice provisions that would allow you to argue against cancellation in many cases - these typically end up stretching the process out for weeks or months in some cases.

If you are removed from Australia after visa cancellation, my guess is that they would fly you back to India if that is your country of citizenship. I'm not familiar with whatever extradition arrangements may be in place between Australia and Canada so can't comment on that. Re: whether airport immigration officers will know, I'm guessing that will depend on to what extent Canada has broadcast or notified other countries of the arrest warrant. Re: cancelling wife's visa, not sure how that would be handled as it would depend on the circumstances of application.

Should you be caught, I would strongly recommend getting professional help at the earliest instance as there are a number of review and appeal procedures that you could take advantage where it may be possible to find some understanding for the bigger picture of your circumstances. And depending on the circumstances in your home country, a protection visa application may also be an option.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Guppal said:


> I'm Indian national and have recently been granted Permanent resident visa of Australia, Actually on my application I didn't disclosed that I've been convicted in Canada for 2 months and there are arrest warrant out there for me because I lived in Canada for only 5 months hence, I've not disclosed it in my immigration application.
> 
> I intend to land for the first time in Australia in January 2015, and don't intend to disclose my conviction on the card they provide in the plane (as I've not disclosed this in my immigration application) (I understand I've lied on my application and will do the same on the land card provided in the plane as well, but I've got no choice as I'm already in deep trouble in India being a member of a minority group in India) . Can anybody guide me to the following please:
> 
> 1. Whether the Airport immigration will get to know my conviction and arrest warrant in Canada even if I've not disclosed it on my application as well as on the landing card provided in the plane?
> 
> 2. If yes, what would be worst outcome, will they just cancel my permanent residence visa and deport me back to India or can they even detain and/or prosecute me for lying on my immigration application and/or landing card?
> 
> 3. If they deport me back to India, would it be quick thing i.e. they cancel my visa and deport me back the same day or next day or two or would it be taking weeks or months?
> 
> 4. I've been married 1.5 year ago, i.e. just before submission of my immigration application and my wife also got the PR visa and she would be accompanying me to Australia as well, If they cancel my visa and deport me, will they also cancel my wife's visa and deport here as well, as my wife was a secondary applicant and I was the primary applicant..
> 
> 5. Is there any possibility that I can be deported to Canada even? As far as I know the Canadian authorities are not seeking my extradition at all, they just advised me that if I ever come to Canada I'll be arrested on the port of entry itself


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Syd -

Thanks for that - very interesting. The registration/licencing requirements are spread around the migration regulations and skills assessment requirements and vary greatly from one occupation to another - glad to hear this is the case from SA's point of view!

Best,

Mark Northam



syd said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I contacted Teacher Registration Board of Australia and they were quite prompt and thorough in responding.
> 
> Apparently, registration with the teaching board is NOT a requirement prior to visa application. I just wanted to update you in case others need this info.


----------



## starlight

Thank you very much!


----------



## starlight

Thank you very much!


----------



## Guppal

Thanks, so the best bet is I'll not take the risk, I don't want to land in detention again, its the last thing on earth which I want to do. I'll try my luck in Malaysia, I trust its much safer place for me.

Thanks for your support.


----------



## Ladheer

Hi I am on visitor visa in Australia. That is multiple entry visitor visa. My wife is citizen in Australia. I applied offshore partner visa from
India before I got my visitor visa. My question is if I can apply for onshore partner visa and withdraw my offshore file while I am here. I don't have any restriction like no further stay on my visa. And also I want to ask if I apply for onshore partner visa then I will be on bridging visa straight away or nt or I will wait till my visitor visa finish because my visitor visa is multiple visa every entry it expired in 3 months. And also I can get the work rights in Australia straightaway or nt . I know that I won't get my fees back if I am withdrawing my file . Thanx


----------



## nini85

Hello Mark,
I had lodged my student visa application for subclass 574 research degrees on 22 February 2014. My spouse and child were included in the same application as dependents. After one month I received acknowledgment and health checks request and CO was also assigned to me. One month ago when my agent asked my CO about any update, she replied that all applicants have to undergo health+character+security checks. As external authorities are involved in these checks so DIBP is dependent on their outcome and have no control over their processing, So she cannot give an estimated timeframe for my application outcome. I had to defer my PhD commencement twice and 30 June is the deadline for my scholarships. Means after that I`d lose my scholarships. I want to inquire that whether it would be appropriate to contact my CO again about any update as my agent is advising not to have any query further as it would have negative impact on my application. Can I personally contact my CO through email or should I listen to my agent to just wait.


----------



## Ladheer

Hi mark i need help.Hi I am on visitor visa in Australia. That is multiple entry visitor visa. My wife is citizen in Australia. I applied offshore partner visa from
India before I got my visitor visa. My question is if I can apply for onshore partner visa and withdraw my offshore file while I am here. I don't have any restriction like no further stay on my visa. And also I want to ask if I apply for onshore partner visa then I will be on bridging visa straight away or nt or I will wait till my visitor visa finish because my visitor visa is multiple visa every entry it expired in 3 months. And also I can get the work rights in Australia straightaway or nt . I know that I won't get my fees back if I am withdrawing my file . Thanx


----------



## Raj254

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for the way you helping people through this forum, I would like to have your suggestion regarding to add my family in my existing 457 visa that what are the documents I have to prepare, how many months the visa process time and what is the best health insurance most of the people using right now for family please.


----------



## manenough00

Hi Mark,

I will be arriving in Australia with my wife and kid on PR shortly. Is the restriction of carrying cash more that 10000 AUD per person? Since we are family of two adult and a child how much cash I can carry without declaration or restriction? I appreciate your help


----------



## sidjun

Dear Mark

I feel I have made some mistake in Form 80 and I am quite stressed about it as it may impact my application. 

After lodgment of my 189 visa application, I uploaded all documents including Form 80 for myself.

While filling up Form 80 for my wife I noticed that I may not have provided complete information for two questions in my Form. 

- In Question 20 (employment) the unemployment has to be declared "from date of birth up until first employment", which I did not mention in my Form. Is it mandatory to have this mentioned?

- In question 18 (address history) I did not provide address of hotels/house where I stayed during my business trips/trips back home country. Note that I am in UAE for more than 10 years. Do I have to mention the hotel addresses and address of my parents home where I stay during my visits back to home country?

If I have to add all this info then do I submit Form 1023 or should I submit a corrected version of my Form 80?

Or Should I just wait for CO to ask for it?

Note that CO is not yet assigned.

Looking forward to your guidance and support.


----------



## MezzaUSA

Hi Mark. First of all I want to say how thankful I am you answering these questions! This process is so stressful, it's good to have some support out there.

I applied for an offshore partner visa 309 in the USA back on March 9th, 2014. I have uploaded ALL documents already including background checks and financial statements- the works! Today, I got an email from immigration saying my "application has not yet been allocated for assessment. however to assist with the progress of your application please review the attached checklist and ensure that you have provided all relevant documentation with your application." And then it was basically just a checklist of things we have already done. Is it just a "hey, make sure it's all in there" email? I'm not sure why they sent it since everything is already uploaded.

One thing was "Undertaking from your sponsor in relation to all applicants" I'm not really sure if this is only for people that have children (which we don't). Does my partner just need to state that he agrees to be my sponsor in a separate letter stating is agrees to undertake me?

"Please provide a letter from your sponsor agreeing to extend their sponsorship undertakings to cover all applicants included in this visa application.

The letter should include the following information:
Name of sponsor
Full name and date of birth of primary visa applicant and
Name and date of birth of each secondary visa applicant included in the application."

Thank you in advance! And good luck to everyone!


----------



## hill16bhoy

Hi Mark

I am an Irish citizen living in Ireland, planning to go on a holiday to Australia.

I have return flights booked for a five week trip, going out next Monday, the 16th of June, coming back July 22nd - I got a good deal on price and went ahead and booked, however the flights are non-transferrable, ie I can't change the date. Now I know you're supposed to apply for an E-Visitor (651) visa at least two weeks before you are due to travel but unfortunately because I booked the flights at short notice, I only applied for my E-Visitor visa yesterday morning (Monday), 7 days in advance.

My understanding is that most applicants for the E-Visitor from a "low-risk" country such as Ireland are approved within minutes or hours, however mine has not yet been approved as of Tuesday evening, 36 hours later, so I'm beginning to get a bit worried, as in my research it seems that a small amount of applications are held back for manual processing, which may mean that my visa does not come through until after my flight has left.

I received an e-mail from the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection straight after my application to tell me they had received it for processing.

I have no criminal convictions and have never been arrested, and have sufficient funds to cover me for my trip. I have never been to Australia previously.

My question is, *if my E-Visitor visa is not approved by, say, Friday, is it possible, as a backup plan, to also apply for an ETA (601) visa *through a travel agent (you can not apply online from Ireland, but can through a travel agent) while the processing of my E-Visitor application is still going on? My understanding is that in almost all cases the ETA visa is pretty much immediately confirmed once the application is submitted, and that this class of visa is definitely open to Irish people, although the Australian Department of Immigration website is quite confusing on that matter.

I don't want to have to apply for the ETA on top of my existing E-Visitor application (if that is even allowed) unless absolutely necessary, and I don't want to have to submit applications for different visas (as I'm not sure if there could be negative implications from that). However I'm worried that without doing so I'll be absolutely sweating on my E-Visitor application being approved before my flight, and possibly scupper my whole trip.


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark.

I need your advise. I am in the process of compiling the requirements for my Pattner 820 ( defacto) Visa and I believe I need to attach copy of my passport, birth certificate passport picture, also my police check. Do I need to certify all these documents before attaching in my application?

Your immediate reply is greatly apprciated! 
Cheers,
Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ladheer -

As long as you meet all the requirements, if you were to lodge an onshore partner visa, your bridging visa would be granted right away, but that bridging visa would only activate after you end your current 3 month stay and remain in Australia after that - the bridging visa should activate immediately upon the end of the 3rd month from when you entered. Once the bridging visa activates, you then have unlimited work rights. Of course at some point you'd need to withdraw the offshore partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ladheer said:


> Hi I am on visitor visa in Australia. That is multiple entry visitor visa. My wife is citizen in Australia. I applied offshore partner visa from
> India before I got my visitor visa. My question is if I can apply for onshore partner visa and withdraw my offshore file while I am here. I don't have any restriction like no further stay on my visa. And also I want to ask if I apply for onshore partner visa then I will be on bridging visa straight away or nt or I will wait till my visitor visa finish because my visitor visa is multiple visa every entry it expired in 3 months. And also I can get the work rights in Australia straightaway or nt . I know that I won't get my fees back if I am withdrawing my file . Thanx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nini85 -

I'd listen to your agent on this one. Unfortunately student visa applications from your part of the world are taking 3-4 months and longer these days - the case officer has no control over how long the security checks, etc take.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nini85 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I had lodged my student visa application for subclass 574 research degrees on 22 February 2014. My spouse and child were included in the same application as dependents. After one month I received acknowledgment and health checks request and CO was also assigned to me. One month ago when my agent asked my CO about any update, she replied that all applicants have to undergo health+character+security checks. As external authorities are involved in these checks so DIBP is dependent on their outcome and have no control over their processing, So she cannot give an estimated timeframe for my application outcome. I had to defer my PhD commencement twice and 30 June is the deadline for my scholarships. Means after that I`d lose my scholarships. I want to inquire that whether it would be appropriate to contact my CO again about any update as my agent is advising not to have any query further as it would have negative impact on my application. Can I personally contact my CO through email or should I listen to my agent to just wait.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raj254 -

Thanks for the question. For documents to lodge with your 457 visa application (I assume the sponsorship and nomination are being handled by your sponsoring employer), see Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) and look under the Visa Applicants tab. These typically take between 3-6 weeks to process. Re: health insurance, people seem to be getting lots of different types of coverage from the usual Australian companies (Bupa, etc) - I'd shop around and make sure they know that you'll be on a 457 visa and you need coverage that meets the requirements for a 457 (note this is different than ordinary visitor coverage, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Raj254 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for the way you helping people through this forum, I would like to have your suggestion regarding to add my family in my existing 457 visa that what are the documents I have to prepare, how many months the visa process time and what is the best health insurance most of the people using right now for family please.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manenough00 -

Thanks for the question. I'm not an expert on customs, but my understanding is that there is no limitation on how much currency you can bring into Australia, however each person (likely adults only) would need to declare any amount over AUD$10,000 equivalent. I believe that money orders and other negotiable instruments like that are also included in this amount.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



manenough00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I will be arriving in Australia with my wife and kid on PR shortly. Is the restriction of carrying cash more that 10000 AUD per person? Since we are family of two adult and a child how much cash I can carry without declaration or restriction? I appreciate your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sidjun -

Those sound like very minor issues to me. I'd suggest lodging Form 1023 to add the info re: employment. Re: visits, normally you would list an address in your address history when you were "living" there - if you lived somewhere else and were just visiting an address temporarily - for a matter of days or weeks perhaps, then you may not have actually been "living" there, so would not generally need to be added to the address history.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sidjun said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I feel I have made some mistake in Form 80 and I am quite stressed about it as it may impact my application.
> 
> After lodgment of my 189 visa application, I uploaded all documents including Form 80 for myself.
> 
> While filling up Form 80 for my wife I noticed that I may not have provided complete information for two questions in my Form.
> 
> - In Question 20 (employment) the unemployment has to be declared "from date of birth up until first employment", which I did not mention in my Form. Is it mandatory to have this mentioned?
> 
> - In question 18 (address history) I did not provide address of hotels/house where I stayed during my business trips/trips back home country. Note that I am in UAE for more than 10 years. Do I have to mention the hotel addresses and address of my parents home where I stay during my visits back to home country?
> 
> If I have to add all this info then do I submit Form 1023 or should I submit a corrected version of my Form 80?
> 
> Or Should I just wait for CO to ask for it?
> 
> Note that CO is not yet assigned.
> 
> Looking forward to your guidance and support.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MezzaUSA -

Thanks for the kind words! The letter you received is a normal email blast that is sometimes sent to wide groups of applicants - you're correct - it's just a reminder of what each application needs, and does not reflect if you've actually provided those documents or not.

The sponsor undertaking letter is a bit unusual, however it may be something unique to the Embassy or post that is processing your applications - each one has the ability to add additional requirements for applications processed there. I'd just have your sponsor write and sign the letter as directed, and upload.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MezzaUSA said:


> Hi Mark. First of all I want to say how thankful I am you answering these questions! This process is so stressful, it's good to have some support out there.
> 
> I applied for an offshore partner visa 309 in the USA back on March 9th, 2014. I have uploaded ALL documents already including background checks and financial statements- the works! Today, I got an email from immigration saying my "application has not yet been allocated for assessment. however to assist with the progress of your application please review the attached checklist and ensure that you have provided all relevant documentation with your application." And then it was basically just a checklist of things we have already done. Is it just a "hey, make sure it's all in there" email? I'm not sure why they sent it since everything is already uploaded.
> 
> One thing was "Undertaking from your sponsor in relation to all applicants" I'm not really sure if this is only for people that have children (which we don't). Does my partner just need to state that he agrees to be my sponsor in a separate letter stating is agrees to undertake me?
> 
> "Please provide a letter from your sponsor agreeing to extend their sponsorship undertakings to cover all applicants included in this visa application.
> 
> The letter should include the following information:
> Name of sponsor
> Full name and date of birth of primary visa applicant and
> Name and date of birth of each secondary visa applicant included in the application."
> 
> Thank you in advance! And good luck to everyone!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hill16bhoy -

Thanks for the question. I think you're on the right track - if the eVisitor is not approved say 3 days before the flight, go for the ETA. Not sure how DIBP will handle the overlap, but at least that increases your chances of getting a visa in time for the flight. Ireland is definitely an ETA-eligible passport, however the real question is whether the eVisitor you've already lodged would prevent you from applying for an ETA - no way to tell that until you try and make the ETA application.

Sorry I don't have any definite answers for you here - multiple simultaneous visitor visa applications is quite unusual.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hill16bhoy said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am an Irish citizen living in Ireland, planning to go on a holiday to Australia.
> 
> I have return flights booked for a five week trip, going out next Monday, the 16th of June, coming back July 22nd - I got a good deal on price and went ahead and booked, however the flights are non-transferrable, ie I can't change the date. Now I know you're supposed to apply for an E-Visitor (651) visa at least two weeks before you are due to travel but unfortunately because I booked the flights at short notice, I only applied for my E-Visitor visa yesterday morning (Monday), 7 days in advance.
> 
> My understanding is that most applicants for the E-Visitor from a "low-risk" country such as Ireland are approved within minutes or hours, however mine has not yet been approved as of Tuesday evening, 36 hours later, so I'm beginning to get a bit worried, as in my research it seems that a small amount of applications are held back for manual processing, which may mean that my visa does not come through until after my flight has left.
> 
> I received an e-mail from the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection straight after my application to tell me they had received it for processing.
> 
> I have no criminal convictions and have never been arrested, and have sufficient funds to cover me for my trip. I have never been to Australia previously.
> 
> My question is, *if my E-Visitor visa is not approved by, say, Friday, is it possible, as a backup plan, to also apply for an ETA (601) visa *through a travel agent (you can not apply online from Ireland, but can through a travel agent) while the processing of my E-Visitor application is still going on? My understanding is that in almost all cases the ETA visa is pretty much immediately confirmed once the application is submitted, and that this class of visa is definitely open to Irish people, although the Australian Department of Immigration website is quite confusing on that matter.
> 
> I don't want to have to apply for the ETA on top of my existing E-Visitor application (if that is even allowed) unless absolutely necessary, and I don't want to have to submit applications for different visas (as I'm not sure if there could be negative implications from that). However I'm worried that without doing so I'll be absolutely sweating on my E-Visitor application being approved before my flight, and possibly scupper my whole trip.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Thanks for the question. If applying using a paper application, yes. If applying online (recommended!), then no - you just need high quality colour scans of all documents. In a few cases they may ask you later to send in your original police clearance certificate, but that only happens occasionally these days.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> I need your advise. I am in the process of compiling the requirements for my Pattner 820 ( defacto) Visa and I believe I need to attach copy of my passport, birth certificate passport picture, also my police check. Do I need to certify all these documents before attaching in my application?
> 
> Your immediate reply is greatly apprciated!
> Cheers,
> Ninja 69


----------



## Ninja69

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ninja69 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. If applying using a paper application, yes. If applying online (recommended!), then no - you just need high quality colour scans of all documents. In a few cases they may ask you later to send in your original police clearance certificate, but that only happens occasionally these days.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark ! &#128515;

I am applying online.


----------



## louiseb

hello Mark nice to see your professionalism and experience is doing well, so i have a question for you silly though it may seem but confusing to the likes of me lol. this question is hear say hence its confusing and as the saying goes curiosity killed the cat. once a person has being granted the partner visa can they apply for the pr visa before the 2 years, if not do the immi dept contact you when your eligible. If we can apply can a pr visa be granted before the 2 years of being granted a partner visa has exceeded?

thanks Mark 
louiseb


----------



## louiseb

hello Mark nice to see your professionalism and experience is doing well, so i have a question for you silly though it may seem but confusing to the likes of me lol. this question is hear say hence its confusing and as the saying goes curiosity killed the cat. once a person has being granted the partner visa can they apply for the pr visa before the 2 years, if not do the immi dept contact you when your eligible. If we can apply can a pr visa be granted before the 2 years of being granted a partner visa has exceeded?

thanks Mark 
louiseb


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Louiseb -

Thanks for the question! The 2 year point when provisional partner visa holders (ie, subclass 309 or 820) can apply for a permanent partner visa is actually year from the original application date (not 2 years from the grant date). DIBP is supposed to notify people around the 2 year point, but no need to wait for that - just visit this link: Partner (Permanent) Calculator and put in your info, it will provide templates and info to allow you to lodge the permanent visa paperwork. Do note that it is not possible to lodge this prior to the 2 year mark (from original application).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



louiseb said:


> hello Mark nice to see your professionalism and experience is doing well, so i have a question for you silly though it may seem but confusing to the likes of me lol. this question is hear say hence its confusing and as the saying goes curiosity killed the cat. once a person has being granted the partner visa can they apply for the pr visa before the 2 years, if not do the immi dept contact you when your eligible. If we can apply can a pr visa be granted before the 2 years of being granted a partner visa has exceeded?
> 
> thanks Mark
> louiseb


----------



## Bay56

Hi Mark,

In your previous reply to lousieb, you said '_Do note that it is not possible to lodge this prior to the 2 year mark (from original grant)._'. I'm a little confused now. Did you mean to say it is not possible to lodge this prior to the 2 year mark from the original application date? As far as I'm aware now, you apply for a permanent visa 2 years after applying for the temporary partner visa?

Anyway, I've got another question regarding the application for the temporary visa. When applying, you need to provide ID documents obviously. I want to know whether a birth certificate is a must, or could a passport satisfy the requirements? I would like to know what DIBP prefers. I've got a birth cert which is an international one but does not feature English (Only Macedonian and French). I would like to know whether I need to go through the hassle of getting a translator, or would my passport do the job?

Thank you!


----------



## louiseb

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Louiseb -
> 
> Thanks for the question! The 2 year point when provisional partner visa holders (ie, subclass 309 or 820) can apply for a permanent partner visa is actually year from the original application date (not 2 years from the grant date). DIBP is supposed to notify people around the 2 year point, but no need to wait for that - just visit this link: Partner (Permanent) Calculator and put in your info, it will provide templates and info to allow you to lodge the permanent visa paperwork. Do note that it is not possible to lodge this prior to the 2 year mark (from original grant).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


mark you lost me in the woods hun, so if i applied lets say in october for the partner visa and i was granted this in the november when can i apply for the pr visa in october 1 year after or novemebr 1 year after grant was approved. whos loosing who here lol


----------



## louiseb

ok so i went on the highlighted site you gave me ( i should be blonde lol baffled me) am i correct in thinking i cannot apply before the 2 years are up. 
Partner (Permanent) Calculator
This calculator will assist you to determine whether you are eligible for Partner (Permanent) visa processing.

Important: Do not continue if you:

do not hold a Partner (Temporary) visa (subclass 309, 310, 820 or 826)
have already withdrawn this application or have been granted or refused a Spouse or Partner (Permanent) visa (subclasses 100, 110, 801 or 814)
have already returned your Two Year documents for permanent visa assessment to an office of the department.
If you have not applied for a Partner (Temporary) visa you should read the website content and relevant fact sheets. 
See: Partner Category Visa Options


Visa subclass
Do you hold a subclass 309, 310, 820 or 826 Partner visa?

Yes 
No
See: Partner Category Visa Options


Lodgement date
11/8/2012

Did you lodge your application for a combined Partner visa before this date?

Yes 
No 


Partner (Permanent) visa processing not yet due
Shortly before you are eligible to be assessed for a Partner (permanent) visa (usually two years after application lodgement), you will receive a letter from the department asking you to provide information relating to your application.

Important: If you send your information and document more than two months before your eligibility date, we will return them to you and ask you to obtain updated documents closer to your eligibility date.

It is vital that you advise the department of any changes in your circumstances, including any change of address or contact details. Failure to advise of changes can lead to refusal of your permanent visa and the ceasing of your partner (temporary) visa.

To advise of a change of your details or circumstances please either telephone the department or complete and provide to us Form 929 – Change of address and/or passport details . 
See: 
National Telephone Numbers > General enquiries 
Form 929 - Change of address and/or passport details (260 kB pdf) 
Form 1022 - Notification of changes in circumstances (250 kB pdf)

Further information on what happens after you lodge your partner (temporary) visa application is available in the Family Members section of the website. 
See: 
Partner Visa: Onshore Temporary and Permanent (Subclasses 820 and 801) After You Lodge Your Application 
Partner Visa: Offshore Temporary and Permanent (Subclasses 309 and 100) After You Lodge Your Application


----------



## louiseb

i actually answered yes to the first question and no to the second


----------



## sidjun

Thanks Mark, you are a life saver.

I feel quite relieved.

God bless you.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sidjun - Those sound like very minor issues to me. I'd suggest lodging Form 1023 to add the info re: employment. Re: visits, normally you would list an address in your address history when you were "living" there - if you lived somewhere else and were just visiting an address temporarily - for a matter of days or weeks perhaps, then you may not have actually been "living" there, so would not generally need to be added to the address history. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


----------



## Mimamasalha

Hi mark 
do you have an idea about how long does it takes to get the permanent visa after getting the temporary partner visa I've heard FROM someone working on the immigration that it takes now 4years more longer than before is that true? If yes is the applications of 2013 will be include this new law ?How do you think they calculate it ?from the application date or from the date of granted visa or what ? 
Thanks for been always helpful


----------



## RubyRoo

Hi Mark,

You are exactly the type of person I am looking for here.
I am Irish, in Australia on tourist for 1yr, then near the end of that yr I stumbled on a cafe that needed me to chef, they offered and applied for 457, but they are only open a yr and first attempt didn't work so they tried 2nd time with more paper work accomplished. My part is on hold till their part goes through, but It's getting close to my timeline (19th) and I'm getting nervous. I really want to stay in Australia, but without work, and this end of a yr away, my budget is tight. Would I be able to do an EOI for skillselect? Or would you be able to point me in right direction for visa. I have up to 12 yrs experience as chef, I am Irish, 34yrs old. 
I would love any info or help you can provide.
Thank You!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bay56 -

Sorry typo - 2 year clock starts from original application, not original grant.

For applicant in partner visa, birth certificate or equivalent if the country of birth doesn't produce birth certificates is a must. Suggest you have yours translated by a NAATI-qualified translator - yes, it's a hassle, but that's just how immigration works. For some temporary visas like 457, birth certificate is not required, but for PR visas including partner, it's a requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bay56 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> In your previous reply to lousieb, you said '_Do note that it is not possible to lodge this prior to the 2 year mark (from original grant)._'. I'm a little confused now. Did you mean to say it is not possible to lodge this prior to the 2 year mark from the original application date? As far as I'm aware now, you apply for a permanent visa 2 years after applying for the temporary partner visa?
> 
> Anyway, I've got another question regarding the application for the temporary visa. When applying, you need to provide ID documents obviously. I want to know whether a birth certificate is a must, or could a passport satisfy the requirements? I would like to know what DIBP prefers. I've got a birth cert which is an international one but does not feature English (Only Macedonian and French). I would like to know whether I need to go through the hassle of getting a translator, or would my passport do the job?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Louiseb -

Sorry for the inconsistency/typo - it's 2 years after application, not 2 years after grant. You have to wait until the 2 years is up (or change your dates so it looks like 2 years in order to download the documents and get started early)!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



louiseb said:


> ok so i went on the highlighted site you gave me ( i should be blonde lol baffled me) am i correct in thinking i cannot apply before the 2 years are up.
> Partner (Permanent) Calculator
> This calculator will assist you to determine whether you are eligible for Partner (Permanent) visa processing.
> 
> Important: Do not continue if you:
> 
> do not hold a Partner (Temporary) visa (subclass 309, 310, 820 or 826)
> have already withdrawn this application or have been granted or refused a Spouse or Partner (Permanent) visa (subclasses 100, 110, 801 or 814)
> have already returned your Two Year documents for permanent visa assessment to an office of the department.
> If you have not applied for a Partner (Temporary) visa you should read the website content and relevant fact sheets.
> See: Partner Category Visa Options
> 
> Visa subclass
> Do you hold a subclass 309, 310, 820 or 826 Partner visa?
> 
> Yes
> No
> See: Partner Category Visa Options
> 
> Lodgement date
> 11/8/2012
> 
> Did you lodge your application for a combined Partner visa before this date?
> 
> Yes
> No
> 
> Partner (Permanent) visa processing not yet due
> Shortly before you are eligible to be assessed for a Partner (permanent) visa (usually two years after application lodgement), you will receive a letter from the department asking you to provide information relating to your application.
> 
> Important: If you send your information and document more than two months before your eligibility date, we will return them to you and ask you to obtain updated documents closer to your eligibility date.
> 
> It is vital that you advise the department of any changes in your circumstances, including any change of address or contact details. Failure to advise of changes can lead to refusal of your permanent visa and the ceasing of your partner (temporary) visa.
> 
> To advise of a change of your details or circumstances please either telephone the department or complete and provide to us Form 929 - Change of address and/or passport details .
> See:
> National Telephone Numbers > General enquiries
> Form 929 - Change of address and/or passport details (260 kB pdf)
> Form 1022 - Notification of changes in circumstances (250 kB pdf)
> 
> Further information on what happens after you lodge your partner (temporary) visa application is available in the Family Members section of the website.
> See:
> Partner Visa: Onshore Temporary and Permanent (Subclasses 820 and 801) After You Lodge Your Application
> Partner Visa: Offshore Temporary and Permanent (Subclasses 309 and 100) After You Lodge Your Application


----------



## MarkNortham

Glad I could help!

Best,

Mark



sidjun said:


> Thanks Mark, you are a life saver.
> 
> I feel quite relieved.
> 
> God bless you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

We were just discussing this with Louiseb. If you are granted the provisional partner visa (subclass 309 or 820), you can lodge paperwork to continue your application for the permanent partner visa (subclass 100 or 801) 2 years after the date you originally lodged the partner visa application. Not sure how long it would take them to process that, but certainly not another 2 years - probably more like 6 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mimamasalha said:


> Hi mark
> do you have an idea about how long does it takes to get the permanent visa after getting the temporary partner visa I've heard FROM someone working on the immigration that it takes now 4years more longer than before is that true? If yes is the applications of 2013 will be include this new law ?How do you think they calculate it ?from the application date or from the date of granted visa or what ?
> Thanks for been always helpful


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RubyRoo -

Re: 457, note that you can still lodge the 457 visa application as long as the sponsorship and nomination applications have been lodged - you do not need to wait until the sponsorship and nomination have been decided. The risk of course is that if the sponsorship or nomination is refused, the visa application will be refused in all likelihood (no refund of DIBP fees in that case) or you would have to withdraw the application.

Unless you have a completed skills assessment and sufficient points, skilled visa may be difficult to get an invitation for in a very short timeframe.

Too many options/requirements/etc to discuss here for the world of skilled visas - if you'd like to book a consultation (see my website below in my signature) that would be a good opportunity to work through any and all available options for you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RubyRoo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> You are exactly the type of person I am looking for here.
> I am Irish, in Australia on tourist for 1yr, then near the end of that yr I stumbled on a cafe that needed me to chef, they offered and applied for 457, but they are only open a yr and first attempt didn't work so they tried 2nd time with more paper work accomplished. My part is on hold till their part goes through, but It's getting close to my timeline (19th) and I'm getting nervous. I really want to stay in Australia, but without work, and this end of a yr away, my budget is tight. Would I be able to do an EOI for skillselect? Or would you be able to point me in right direction for visa. I have up to 12 yrs experience as chef, I am Irish, 34yrs old.
> I would love any info or help you can provide.
> Thank You!


----------



## dansyed

Hi Mark,

My brother wants to apply for Australian Immigration under Skilled Migration. Following are his details:

- He is 45 years Old
- He has a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering and has 17 years of relevant experience.
- He is currently pursuing MBA from Chiefly Business School, Australia as a remote student.

Based on the above, can he apply for the Australian Immigration under skilled migration. His age is a factor which I think could create problems, else can you please advise what are his chances and especially that he is pursuing a degree from an Australian School.

Kindly advise.

Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dansyed -

Thanks for the note - not possible for me to assess skilled visa candidates on the forum as there are simply too many complex rules between the skills assessment requirements, state sponsorship requirements (if applicable) and the visa regulations to do so - this could be done at one of our consultations (see website below in my signature for more info on that).

However that being said, it can be very difficult for persons who are 45 to get sufficient points on the skilled visa points test as zero points are given for age from age 45-49. Here's a link to learn more about the points test:

https://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/points-tested-migration-fact-sheet.pdf

If a skilled visa doesn't work, potentially an employer sponsored one (temporary or permanent residence) could work if he could find a sponsoring employer here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dansyed said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My brother wants to apply for Australian Immigration under Skilled Migration. Following are his details:
> 
> - He is 45 years Old
> - He has a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering and has 17 years of relevant experience.
> - He is currently pursuing MBA from Chiefly Business School, Australia as a remote student.
> 
> Based on the above, can he apply for the Australian Immigration under skilled migration. His age is a factor which I think could create problems, else can you please advise what are his chances and especially that he is pursuing a degree from an Australian School.
> 
> Kindly advise.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## dipiksg82

Hi Mark, 

You gave us the information about new SOL but there is no word for the CSOL till date. In your opinion how many days would it take to announce CSOL as SOL os already out. 


Regards, 

Dipika


----------



## TaniaTM

Hi Mark,

I'm back again for a quick question. 

My spouse visa offshore from Bangladesh is in process (additional papers and medical is done). The police checks that I submitted with application has expiry dates in July and August 2014 respectively. As I know the validity is for one year, should I refresh both police checks again or a new one from Bangladesh will suffice alone as per my offshore location? Just wanted to make sure if I had to refresh the police checks from countries I visited as well to save time and have them ready beforehand rather than getting about them later after CO asks as these do take a lot of time to get.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dipika -

No word yet on CSOL, but they are often reluctant to take occupations off of that list as it would disrupt a lot of people who already have existing visas for that occupation, etc. If any changes for the CSOL come through, I expect we'll see them closer to 1 July.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dipiksg82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> You gave us the information about new SOL but there is no word for the CSOL till date. In your opinion how many days would it take to announce CSOL as SOL os already out.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Dipika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TaniaTM -

Thanks for the questions - hard to predict this one - also depends on how long your application has been processing and whether grant is likely soon. Short answer: not enough info to answer your question. Safe answer: get new checks and submit them just to be sure. However, you may also want to wait to see if they are requested or not. If I were you, unless the application has been processing for at least 9 months, I'd get new checks done.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TaniaTM said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm back again for a quick question.
> 
> My spouse visa offshore from Bangladesh is in process (additional papers and medical is done). The police checks that I submitted with application has expiry dates in July and August 2014 respectively. As I know the validity is for one year, should I refresh both police checks again or a new one from Bangladesh will suffice alone as per my offshore location? Just wanted to make sure if I had to refresh the police checks from countries I visited as well to save time and have them ready beforehand rather than getting about them later after CO asks as these do take a lot of time to get.
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## cozimhappy

Hiya Mark! Just a quick question - my 309 visa will be due approx October this year , and I'm planning to be in Australia prior to visa being granted. So if this happens I know I need to go offshore so visa can be activated , just wondering how long do DIBP give you to do this? Eg if I get visa in Oct whilst in Oz can I say go offshore in say Jan 2015 or will I be given only weeks to get offshore? Again many many thanks for your time!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cozimhappy -

Usually 2 months or so, but can vary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cozimhappy said:


> Hiya Mark! Just a quick question - my 309 visa will be due approx October this year , and I'm planning to be in Australia prior to visa being granted. So if this happens I know I need to go offshore so visa can be activated , just wondering how long do DIBP give you to do this? Eg if I get visa in Oct whilst in Oz can I say go offshore in say Jan 2015 or will I be given only weeks to get offshore? Again many many thanks for your time!!


----------



## cozimhappy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cozimhappy -
> 
> Usually 2 months or so, but can vary.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


It does! Thanks so much mark!


----------



## TaniaTM

Hi Mark,

It's been 3+ months of processing till now (I bet there are a few more months to go). I just wanted to know whatever the processing time, once you have submitted the initial police checks, on the refresh end, are police checks required for all countries that you have visited or only the offshore country from where you have applied from? Anything that you can glean on this through your experience?

Thanks!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi TaniaTM -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - hard to predict this one - also depends on how long your application has been processing and whether grant is likely soon. Short answer: not enough info to answer your question. Safe answer: get new checks and submit them just to be sure. However, you may also want to wait to see if they are requested or not. If I were you, unless the application has been processing for at least 9 months, I'd get new checks done.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TaniaTM -

Usually when police checks are required after submission in cases where they have expired, they will request documents to replace all those that have expired prior to the visa begin granted. However, I've seen in some cases where the case officer has some leeway in this area.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TaniaTM said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> It's been 3+ months of processing till now (I bet there are a few more months to go). I just wanted to know whatever the processing time, once you have submitted the initial police checks, on the refresh end, are police checks required for all countries that you have visited or only the offshore country from where you have applied from? Anything that you can glean on this through your experience?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## rhodered

Hi Mark
I'm curious about your thoughts are about giving Immi a positive update? I've just gone permanent at my job and me and my wife are about to start building our home together...or should I just keep waiting? I sent in my PMV to 820 in December and I know wait times are long but I see others are getting approved quickly so not sure if an update is in order or like I said just keep waiting.
As always thanks for being on the forum to help is all.
Brian and Kara


----------



## MezzaUSA

Thank you, Mark!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi MezzaUSA -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words! The letter you received is a normal email blast that is sometimes sent to wide groups of applicants - you're correct - it's just a reminder of what each application needs, and does not reflect if you've actually provided those documents or not.
> 
> The sponsor undertaking letter is a bit unusual, however it may be something unique to the Embassy or post that is processing your applications - each one has the ability to add additional requirements for applications processed there. I'd just have your sponsor write and sign the letter as directed, and upload.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brian and Kara -

I think it's a great idea - I'd emphasize the building home details - the job issue is less relevant to DIBP's criteria. Any other further relationship evidence you can include - ie, further financial, social, etc evidence is also good.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rhodered said:


> Hi Mark
> I'm curious about your thoughts are about giving Immi a positive update? I've just gone permanent at my job and me and my wife are about to start building our home together...or should I just keep waiting? I sent in my PMV to 820 in December and I know wait times are long but I see others are getting approved quickly so not sure if an update is in order or like I said just keep waiting.
> As always thanks for being on the forum to help is all.
> Brian and Kara


----------



## Moa05

Hi mark! I've just got my partner visa 820 approved, after just 4 weeks! (Lucky me..) so I'm just wondering, cuz I've read somewhere that you have to leave the country and then come back to have your visa changed over, is this still how it's done?

Thanks Moa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moa -

Congratulations on your visa! No need to leave the country - the 820 replaces whatever previous visa you held when it's granted. You can check on the DIBP VEVO system just to make sure you are currently on the 820 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Moa05 said:


> Hi mark! I've just got my partner visa 820 approved, after just 4 weeks! (Lucky me..) so I'm just wondering, cuz I've read somewhere that you have to leave the country and then come back to have your visa changed over, is this still how it's done?
> 
> Thanks Moa


----------



## Covariant

Hi mark,
My partner and I apply for a partner visa 820, we were granted a bridging visa A with no work restrictions. I'm currently on a tourist visa and the bridging visa won't be in effect till the end of October when my tourist visa expires. We are currently living and my partners parents house but we need to move out as it has become unbearable to live there. Is there anyway to get the bridging visa to be in effect any sooner? My partner works part time and is on the process of sitting the exam for med school, so he cannot really take more work. What would be your advice, is there any option besides waiting till the end of October? Also does anyone know how to send the police checks for a paper application, should we address it to the officer that acknowledge our application?
Thanks ahead for the reply. I just register on this forum but I have been reading it and using it as a guide for my visa application and I find it superb.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Covariant -

Can you specify the details of your visitor visa? If it has a 3-month maximum stay period per visit, then if you stay longer than the 3 month period, the bridging visa should activate as soon as the 3 month period is over, which may be sooner than October.

Re: police checks, if you lodged a paper application, then you should include a cover letter with the File Number or any other ID numbers that you might have received after you lodged the application, and send it to the same place you sent the partner application hardcopy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Covariant said:


> Hi mark,
> My partner and I apply for a partner visa 820, we were granted a bridging visa A with no work restrictions. I'm currently on a tourist visa and the bridging visa won't be in effect till the end of October when my tourist visa expires. We are currently living and my partners parents house but we need to move out as it has become unbearable to live there. Is there anyway to get the bridging visa to be in effect any sooner? My partner works part time and is on the process of sitting the exam for med school, so he cannot really take more work. What would be your advice, is there any option besides waiting till the end of October? Also does anyone know how to send the police checks for a paper application, should we address it to the officer that acknowledge our application?
> Thanks ahead for the reply. I just register on this forum but I have been reading it and using it as a guide for my visa application and I find it superb.


----------



## ninja231

Hi Mark

I have been reading this thread for a while and want to say thank you on behalf of all readers as you spend fair amount of your time and answer all sort of questions. Sharing professional expertise is not very common these days.

I have recently applied for aged onshore parent visa and my application is now accepted. I am on a visitor visa subclass 600 which is valid for 2 years however max stay is 3 months which is ending 6th of July. I have also received bridging visa A which I believe will be valid after 6th July.

I am going overseas in October to attend a marriage just want to know if I need to apply bridging visa B or I can still come back to Australia as my tourist visa is valid until 2016.

So I guess my question is re the validity of my tourist visa subclass 600 once I go to Bridging visa A ?

Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## Covariant

Hi Mark, thanks for the quick reply. I came to Australia in October last year on a tourist visa subclass 600 to visit my partner, I was not given the No Further Stay Condition. In February this year I applied for a extension to my tourist visa and It was granted expiring on October this year, again I was not given a No further stay condition. On May this year I applied for a partner visa 820 on defacto grounds given my partner and me are in a defacto register relationship and have been together for over a year.

Checking with dibp call centre I was told my bridging visa would cease if I go ovearseas while my tourist visa is in effect. Is this right? I though of applying for a job as a flight attendant overseas but I was told that would breach my tourist visa because even thought the job would be based in Abu Dhabi, I would flight into Australia. I'm a bit confused about the information given by the DIBP call centre and the immigration lawyers.

Again thanks for all of your kindness,

Claudia


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark. 

Another question for you. To be able to register a relationship in Victoria, I believe I should have lived for 12 months. I was here in Melbourne last year August 2013 for three weeks then back here in Melbourne. I leave the country every 3 months as stated in my tourist visa maximum of 3 months stay. Can I count August 2013 when I first came to visit my partner ? April 2013 when we entered to be in a defacto relationship. Or start in December when I stayed for 3 months then leave the country for two weeks then back here again in March after 3 months then back here in June then file visa onshore (defacto)820 in August 2014. if August 2013 is counted when I visited for three weeks then it will be one year in August 2014 just right in time when I file my Partner Visa onshore, I maybe able to attach certificate of our relationship registered in Victoria.

Hoping for your utmost reply at the soonest time. 
Cheers,
Ninja69


----------



## sky_walker

*ACS Process*

Hello Mark,

First of all a 'BIG' thanks to you. I have read your answers for several other questions. It was very useful. I am not new to this forum, however this is my first post. I have recently applied for my skills assessment to ACS as an RPL document. I received the Skills Assessment Application Number. However, there was no attachment or any password given to me. I am actually concerned and I requested for the password immediately after receiving the mail. Now I am yet to get any response from them. I am not able to track the status of my application. Will this be the normal practice or my case is different. Could you please provide your inputs. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.


----------



## guoyingzhang

Relationship breakdown due to violence, should I apply for the student visa now? 


Hi, Mark,
I broke up with my husband and he withdrawn his sponsorship, I am now on a 820 visa. As I am a victim of domestic violence, so I made a declaration together with two competent person's (a social worker and a psychologist) reports sent to the immigaration.

I am now still a full-time student, my question is if my application (801 visa) is refused due to the reason that the immigaration is not convinced that the violence happened, can I then apply for the student visa without the need of leaving Australia as I have to finish my degree? or should I apply for the student visa before the decision of my 801 visa is made? Because I heard that if my visa is refused, then I am subject to section 48 which not allow me to apply for another visa in Australia, if in that case, I must go back to my country and apply for the student visa in my country, in order to finish my degree in Australia?

Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja231 -

Thanks for the question. DIBP's systems get confused sometimes with situations like yours. My suggestion is to get the BV-B for the trip in October, then exit on the BV-B. When you re-enter, you should ask the immigration official if he can make sure you are re-entered on the BV-B, which means you don't have a 3-month stay limit once you re-enter. Then once you're back in, check VEVO to see what visa they have you on at the moment - the BV-B, or your visitor visa. If Visitor visa, then you'll need to apply for another BV-A to pick up when your next 3 month stay ends, etc. However if they re-enter you on the BV-B, then you're fine - you can stay on the BV-B, or apply for another BV-A once you're back (make sure you read the BV-B carefully if you end up staying on that one).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ninja231 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have been reading this thread for a while and want to say thank you on behalf of all readers as you spend fair amount of your time and answer all sort of questions. Sharing professional expertise is not very common these days.
> 
> I have recently applied for aged onshore parent visa and my application is now accepted. I am on a visitor visa subclass 600 which is valid for 2 years however max stay is 3 months which is ending 6th of July. I have also received bridging visa A which I believe will be valid after 6th July.
> 
> I am going overseas in October to attend a marriage just want to know if I need to apply bridging visa B or I can still come back to Australia as my tourist visa is valid until 2016.
> 
> So I guess my question is re the validity of my tourist visa subclass 600 once I go to Bridging visa A ?
> 
> Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Claudia -

Must be coincidence day! Almost the same question from Ninja69 - see the answer above. Your Bridging Visa A will cease when you depart Australia. However the key to this work is making sure you apply for and are granted a Bridging Visa B before you depart (you have a BV-A from the 820 application, so no problem). When you re-enter, you need to try to get the immigration official at the airport to re-enter you on your BV-B, not your visitor visa. That means you can work when you re-enter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Covariant said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for the quick reply. I came to Australia in October last year on a tourist visa subclass 600 to visit my partner, I was not given the No Further Stay Condition. In February this year I applied for a extension to my tourist visa and It was granted expiring on October this year, again I was not given a No further stay condition. On May this year I applied for a partner visa 820 on defacto grounds given my partner and me are in a defacto register relationship and have been together for over a year.
> 
> Checking with dibp call centre I was told my bridging visa would cease if I go ovearseas while my tourist visa is in effect. Is this right? I though of applying for a job as a flight attendant overseas but I was told that would breach my tourist visa because even thought the job would be based in Abu Dhabi, I would flight into Australia. I'm a bit confused about the information given by the DIBP call centre and the immigration lawyers.
> 
> Again thanks for all of your kindness,
> 
> Claudia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Can't comment on VIC relationship registration requirements (ie, what 12 months are required, etc) however from an immigration point of view, the 12 months they look for defacto couples to have been living together during if there is no relationship registration certificate is the 12 months immediately prior to making application for the partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> Another question for you. To be able to register a relationship in Victoria, I believe I should have lived for 12 months. I was here in Melbourne last year August 2013 for three weeks then back here in Melbourne. I leave the country every 3 months as stated in my tourist visa maximum of 3 months stay. Can I count August 2013 when I first came to visit my partner ? April 2013 when we entered to be in a defacto relationship. Or start in December when I stayed for 3 months then leave the country for two weeks then back here again in March after 3 months then back here in June then file visa onshore (defacto)820 in August 2014. if August 2013 is counted when I visited for three weeks then it will be one year in August 2014 just right in time when I file my Partner Visa onshore, I maybe able to attach certificate of our relationship registered in Victoria.
> 
> Hoping for your utmost reply at the soonest time.
> Cheers,
> Ninja69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sky_walker -

I'd call them by phone if you have any concerns about your application. ACS has a separate login area for migration agents where we can see all currrent and previous applications for our clients and track them that way, but I am not aware of what facilities there are for individuals who lodge their own applications.

Sorry couldn't be more help -

Best,

Mark Northam



sky_walker said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> First of all a 'BIG' thanks to you. I have read your answers for several other questions. It was very useful. I am not new to this forum, however this is my first post. I have recently applied for my skills assessment to ACS as an RPL document. I received the Skills Assessment Application Number. However, there was no attachment or any password given to me. I am actually concerned and I requested for the password immediately after receiving the mail. Now I am yet to get any response from them. I am not able to track the status of my application. Will this be the normal practice or my case is different. Could you please provide your inputs. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Guoyingzhang -

Thanks for the note and very sorry to hear of your relationship breakdown and violence situation.

You are correct - if you were refused the 801 visa, you would then have a statutory bar per section 48 of the Migration Act and would not be able to lodge a student visa application (or any other application other than a protection visa) onshore on your current stay in Australia.

The other challenge is that normally first-time student visas for Assessment Level 2-4 countries are only allowed to be made onshore under exceptional circumstances. My guess is that your circumstances may qualify for that, however you may want to keep that in mind as you move forward.

Given that the family violence-related 801 applications can take many months to process, you may want to go for the student visa now IF... and this is a big If... you are confident you will meet the Genuine Student requirements aka "Genuine Temporary Visitor" requirements - would suggest you work with a migration agent who is very skilled at student visas to work through this and put through the best application you can.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



guoyingzhang said:


> Relationship breakdown due to violence, should I apply for the student visa now?
> 
> Hi, Mark,
> I broke up with my husband and he withdrawn his sponsorship, I am now on a 820 visa. As I am a victim of domestic violence, so I made a declaration together with two competent person's (a social worker and a psychologist) reports sent to the immigaration.
> 
> I am now still a full-time student, my question is if my application (801 visa) is refused due to the reason that the immigaration is not convinced that the violence happened, can I then apply for the student visa without the need of leaving Australia as I have to finish my degree? or should I apply for the student visa before the decision of my 801 visa is made? Because I heard that if my visa is refused, then I am subject to section 48 which not allow me to apply for another visa in Australia, if in that case, I must go back to my country and apply for the student visa in my country, in order to finish my degree in Australia?
> 
> Thanks for your help.


----------



## Covariant

Hi Mark, thanks for the info about the bridging visa. Also what would be your opinion on my current situation. Is there any way to get the bridging visa to be in effect any sooner? 
Thank you and hope your day is well.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Claudia -

Thanks for the question - only way I can think of is to depart Australia sooner, and try to re-enter on the BV-B you apply for and are granted before you depart.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Covariant said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for the info about the bridging visa. Also what would be your opinion on my current situation. Is there any way to get the bridging visa to be in effect any sooner?
> Thank you and hope your day is well.


----------



## Covariant

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Claudia -
> 
> Thanks for the question - only way I can think of is to depart Australia sooner, and try to re-enter on the BV-B you apply for and are granted before you depart.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Sorry I forgot to mention, my tourist visa allows me multiple entry, would the bridging B option work in this case?

Kind regards,

Claudia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Claudia -

It may, depending on whether you can get the immigration officials to re-enter you when you return to Australia under the BV-B you get before you leave. As I understand it, there is some leeway that they have to do this (or not), but there are no clear regulations that require it be done one way or another.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Covariant said:


> Sorry I forgot to mention, my tourist visa allows me multiple entry, would the bridging B option work in this case?
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Claudia


----------



## Chrisheart

Hi My name is Chris, I am 21 years old. I am a Registered Nurse here in Australia currently residing in Perth. A little background of me, I am from the Philippines. I studied nursing back home for 3 years then I continued my senior year here in Perth. I am part of a nursing program which allowed me to gain an Australian Degree despite of only studying here for a year. Moving on, I finished my degree last January and I received my Registration the following month. So basically, I am an international graduate nurse. Right now, I am on Subclass 572 VISA because I didnt have enough time to look for a job. I am considering on applying for a Subclass 189 VISA. I have 60 pts in total + skills assessment from ANMAC (Australian Nursing Midwifery Accreditation Council)

Age: 21 yrs old = 25 pts
IELTS: All 8 score = 20 pts
Bachelors Degree = 15 pts
Overall = 60 pts

No work experience in my profession


I need to know if this is enough for me to be approved of the VISA. I've been hearing reports that regardless of obtaining 60 pts, nurses SHOULD have at least 3 yrs overseas work exp or 1 yr aussie work exp in order to be accepted. I am trying to gather as much info as I can before making a move. Im very hesistant because of this. Although, I do know a friend who had her visa approved despite of not having work exp. She is an accountant though. 


Answers are mostly appreciated.


----------



## Covariant

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Claudia -
> 
> It may, depending on whether you can get the immigration officials to re-enter you when you return to Australia under the BV-B you get before you leave. As I understand it, there is some leeway that they have to do this (or not), but there are no clear regulations that require it be done one way or another.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for all of the help Mark. Just checking if I got it right. I would need to apply for a bridging visa B before departing out of Australia. But when I leave the country my bridging visa A would cease. 
When arriving back into australia I would need to enter of my BV B NOT on the tourist one. Once back in australia I need to check using vevo if I'm on the bridging visa, either way I would need to re-apply for the Bridging visa A. I understand once the. Bridging visa B expires the bridging visa A would be in effect. What does happen with the tourist visa though? Does the bridging visa B overpower it?

Sorry for bothering with so many questions, and once again thank you for all the support given.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Claudia -

Correct on all points. The confusing part is the treatment by DIBP of the BV-B while you're still holding a valid visitor visa. Normally a bridging visa does not and would not replace a substantive (non-bridging) visa. However in some cases my understanding is that DIBP can re-enter you on the BV-B, not on the tourist visa, so you would then be on the BV-B when you return, and apply for a BV-A to replace the BV-B (or remain on the BV-B as many people do).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Covariant said:


> Thanks for all of the help Mark. Just checking if I got it right. I would need to apply for a bridging visa B before departing out of Australia. But when I leave the country my bridging visa A would cease.
> When arriving back into australia I would need to enter of my BV B NOT on the tourist one. Once back in australia I need to check using vevo if I'm on the bridging visa, either way I would need to re-apply for the Bridging visa A. I understand once the. Bridging visa B expires the bridging visa A would be in effect. What does happen with the tourist visa though? Does the bridging visa B overpower it?
> 
> Sorry for bothering with so many questions, and once again thank you for all the support given.


----------



## Covariant

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Claudia -
> 
> Correct on all points. The confusing part is the treatment by DIBP of the BV-B while you're still holding a valid visitor visa. Normally a bridging visa does not and would not replace a substantive (non-bridging) visa. However in some cases my understanding is that DIBP can re-enter you on the BV-B, not on the tourist visa, so you would then be on the BV-B when you return, and apply for a BV-A to replace the BV-B (or remain on the BV-B as many people do).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark for all the information. I hope you have a lovely day.


----------



## Chrisheart

Hi My name is Chris, I am 21 years old. I am a Registered Nurse here in Australia currently residing in Perth. A little background of me, I am from the Philippines. I studied nursing back home for 3 years then I continued my senior year here in Perth. I am part of a nursing program which allowed me to gain an Australian Degree despite of only studying here for a year. Moving on, I finished my degree last January and I received my Registration the following month. So basically, I am an international graduate nurse. Right now, I am on Subclass 572 VISA because I didnt have enough time to look for a job. I am considering on applying for a Subclass 189 VISA. I have 60 pts in total + skills assessment from ANMAC (Australian Nursing Midwifery Accreditation Council)

Age: 21 yrs old = 25 pts
IELTS: All 8 score = 20 pts
Bachelors Degree = 15 pts
Overall = 60 pts

No work experience in my profession


I need to know if this is enough for me to be approved of the VISA. I've been hearing reports that regardless of obtaining 60 pts, nurses SHOULD have at least 3 yrs overseas work exp or 1 yr aussie work exp in order to be accepted. I am trying to gather as much info as I can before making a move. Im very hesistant because of this. Although, I do know a friend who had her visa approved despite of not having work exp. She is an accountant though. 


Answers are mostly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chris -

Thanks for the note - see this link for more on being registered as a nurse to practice in Australia - this is separate from the skills assessment issue:

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia - Home

The system for registering nurses in Australia was recently changed, however my understanding is that you need to become registered through the Board above in order to be eligible for an employer sponsored or skilled PR visa for Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chrisheart said:


> Hi My name is Chris, I am 21 years old. I am a Registered Nurse here in Australia currently residing in Perth. A little background of me, I am from the Philippines. I studied nursing back home for 3 years then I continued my senior year here in Perth. I am part of a nursing program which allowed me to gain an Australian Degree despite of only studying here for a year. Moving on, I finished my degree last January and I received my Registration the following month. So basically, I am an international graduate nurse. Right now, I am on Subclass 572 VISA because I didnt have enough time to look for a job. I am considering on applying for a Subclass 189 VISA. I have 60 pts in total + skills assessment from ANMAC (Australian Nursing Midwifery Accreditation Council)
> 
> Age: 21 yrs old = 25 pts
> IELTS: All 8 score = 20 pts
> Bachelors Degree = 15 pts
> Overall = 60 pts
> 
> No work experience in my profession
> 
> I need to know if this is enough for me to be approved of the VISA. I've been hearing reports that regardless of obtaining 60 pts, nurses SHOULD have at least 3 yrs overseas work exp or 1 yr aussie work exp in order to be accepted. I am trying to gather as much info as I can before making a move. Im very hesistant because of this. Although, I do know a friend who had her visa approved despite of not having work exp. She is an accountant though.
> 
> Answers are mostly appreciated.


----------



## Chrisheart

Hi Mark, I am already Registered with the board of Nursing.


----------



## lalibains09

Hi Mark.

Greetings..!!

My name is IP Singh. I got Permanent Resident Visa under Skilled Nomination, Sub class 190 as electrical engineering technician (312312) and state nomination from South Australia. Since feb. 19th I am in Adelaide. 

I have diploma in electrical engineering and I got it assessed from SKILLS FOR ALL deptt. and they gave me the same diploma (Level-5) as per Australia Qualification Framework(AQF)

I have 8 years of experience from India in my own field.

I want to know that how I can get electrician or Electrical Technician license to perform electrical work? I have visited the TAFE and PEER VEET also. According to them, I can start my study only if I will be working with registered electrician, but the electrical person will not take me unless I have electrician license. I have requested a no. of electrician to get enrolled, but always denied.
Please help me solve the matter.


Do I still need to go for an apprentice which may take another 3-4 years or more. or if there is any independent department which can provide a direct electrical license?
which is me the exact body where i can obtain that license to perform electrical work.,?

please guide me further. Your quick reply will be appreciated.

Please also tell me the Govt benefits i can avail under this visa.


I shall be really thankful to you.


----------



## lady2014

Hi Mark

Just a question regarding "Partner Visa" (the second stage after PMV) Were actually sorting things out and lodge it before he leaves for work.Anyway is it okay if we live apart as he needed to work in different city for a year (ex. im in Sydney and him working at Queensland) Will this affect our visa? Is it also true that immigration do surprise visit while your partner visa is on-going? Thanks in advance Mark. This would be a big help.


----------



## abdullah.wahab

*Hello Mark*

I am Abdullah Wahab and i live in Afghanistan. I have applied for partner visa to Australia.
I have already lodged my sponsorship documents and all other related evidences (Documents) in August 2013.
I have been asked for medical examination which i have already done and has been sent on 10th of April 2014.
I have 2 questions:
1. Is police check required for (partner visa ) applicants living in Afghanistan.
2. I have contacted immigration many times, telling them about how hard life is for me as i am far from my wife and new born son, could you please let me know about any tips which will help me speed up the process and get together with my wife and son.

Thank you very much in Advance

Best Regards,

Abdullah Wahab


----------



## tomar

Hi Mark,

I'm about to apply for my skills assessment, which is the prerequisite for requesting a 189 visa. I would apply for "developer programmer" in the skilled occupation list.

I have a master's and a bachelor's degree. The bachelor (with honours) is for computing, the master's is in "geographical information science". This is a combination of earth observation (physics) and computing.

While I'm certain the computing degree is "Closely related to the nominated occupation", I'm not entirely sure if the master's degree would be classified as such.

I know that if my degree is "NOT closely related to the nominated occupation", I need 4 years relevant work experience. I don't have this right now (3.5 years).

Would you recommend omitting the masters degree from the application as a whole? Or would they "fall back" to the bachelor's degree anyway?

Thank you very much,
Tom


----------



## kevin538

*DIBP will apply new rule to the old assesment*

Hi Mark,
Greetings,
I am new to this forum and really appreciate and thankful to your efforts for replying the quires. It would be grateful if you could assist me based on your expertise, Basically I had received positive skill assessment form ACS for Systems Analyst occupation which is valid till this September 2014, I was hanging with IELTS so far and I have 7 band now. When I request my MAR agent to generate EOI and he told me that I am not eligible for 189 subclass which would require 60 points and my Points breakup as follows.

Age - 34 - 25 points
IELTS - Proficient English - 10 Points 
Bachelor's Degree Computer science - 15 points 
Experience - 5 Years Relevant Occupation (Based on the old assessment which is valid till September 2014)

In case DIBP would apply new rule, coz of Deeming policy on work experience I might lose 2 yrs of my work experience than I could not claim 60 points. Also please advise 189 / 190 Visa which would be better option considering my situation since system analyst occupation has dim chances.

Looking forward your valuable comments on my request.

Thanks & Regards


----------



## Louise76

*300 or 309?*

Hi Mark,

Your advice would be greatly appreciated. I am an Australian living in Japan. I plan on moving back to Australia next year. I met my fiance about 7 months ago in India. He is an Indian national. We would like to get married in Australia and eventually live there together. Initially we thought we would get married in a couple of months' time in Australia (he would travel there on a tourist visa) and then return to our respective countries and apply for the 309. But the more I research the more I see that the evidence required to prove the relationship is authentic is almost impossible. We have never lived together. We don't have joint finances. We have only a few photos taken with friends. We have spent a total of about 25 days together. But once we have married it will be possible for him to come and live in Japan (and there will be more photos etc). But then the application process will be delayed and god only knows how long it will take to collect 'evidence'... so we probably won't end up in Australia for another year or so after we've married... and that's if the visa is granted. Do you think delaying the marriage and applying for a 300 is more likely to be successful? The thing I am most scared of is applying for a 309 and several months and thousands of dollars later being denied. 

Thanks.


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi Mark,

One of my friend lost money with agent for visa 457. How he can report immigration about fraud and where to complain? His case is like Singapore oil company. 

Thanks
Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

Thanks for the question. If the agent is in Australia or registered with the MARA, I'd suggest http://mara.gov.au

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> One of my friend lost money with agent for visa 457. How he can report immigration about fraud and where to complain? His case is like Singapore oil company.
> 
> Thanks
> Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Louise76

Thanks for the question - hard to give advice when it comes to relationship and marriage! Not living together after marriage may be seen as a concern by DIBP, so not sure I would recommend any plan that involves that. If there are specific reasons why you are apart such as jobs, etc, then it's vital to show that those are temporary reasons. The PMV visa may be a good fit based on what you've said, or perhaps marrying and then living together for at least a few months prior to lodging an onshore or offshore partner visa application depending on where you are at the time. Sometimes people will come to Australia on a visitor visa and live together after marriage, sometimes renewing the visitor visa once or twice to get more living together time - but every case is different.

As far as processing time goes, the PMV typically takes 6-9 months, while a partner visa typically takes 9-12 months.

For either visa (PMV or partner), you'll need good evidence of how the relationship has progressed and grown - this happens faster for some couples than others though, and there's no problem with that. Overall for short relationships though, the PMV is a bit less riskier than the partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Louise76 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Your advice would be greatly appreciated. I am an Australian living in Japan. I plan on moving back to Australia next year. I met my fiance about 7 months ago in India. He is an Indian national. We would like to get married in Australia and eventually live there together. Initially we thought we would get married in a couple of months' time in Australia (he would travel there on a tourist visa) and then return to our respective countries and apply for the 309. But the more I research the more I see that the evidence required to prove the relationship is authentic is almost impossible. We have never lived together. We don't have joint finances. We have only a few photos taken with friends. We have spent a total of about 25 days together. But once we have married it will be possible for him to come and live in Japan (and there will be more photos etc). But then the application process will be delayed and god only knows how long it will take to collect 'evidence'... so we probably won't end up in Australia for another year or so after we've married... and that's if the visa is granted. Do you think delaying the marriage and applying for a 300 is more likely to be successful? The thing I am most scared of is applying for a 309 and several months and thousands of dollars later being denied.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kevin -

Thanks for the question. I can't assess your skilled visa case via forum as there are too many details to go over that could make a difference in your eligibility or points score - we can do this at a consultation if you'd like - see website below in my signature for links to book. Overall, however, we're recommending to clients to wait until July to see what 190 state sponsorship lists for 2014-2015 will look like, especially for NSW. Now many states have curtailed or ended sponsorship for the 2013-2014 year (ending 30 June 2014), so the picture is not clear as to what will be available in the near and mid-term future.

Re: ACS, depending on the skills assessment we've seen case officers "apply" the deeming date rule even when not explicitly detailed on the ACS report and subtract years of employment from cases, leaving applicants with insufficient points and forced to withdraw their applications and lose their application fee - be very careful with that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kevin538 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Greetings,
> I am new to this forum and really appreciate and thankful to your efforts for replying the quires. It would be grateful if you could assist me based on your expertise, Basically I had received positive skill assessment form ACS for Systems Analyst occupation which is valid till this September 2014, I was hanging with IELTS so far and I have 7 band now. When I request my MAR agent to generate EOI and he told me that I am not eligible for 189 subclass which would require 60 points and my Points breakup as follows.
> 
> Age - 34 - 25 points
> IELTS - Proficient English - 10 Points
> Bachelor's Degree Computer science - 15 points
> Experience - 5 Years Relevant Occupation (Based on the old assessment which is valid till September 2014)
> 
> In case DIBP would apply new rule, coz of Deeming policy on work experience I might lose 2 yrs of my work experience than I could not claim 60 points. Also please advise 189 / 190 Visa which would be better option considering my situation since system analyst occupation has dim chances.
> 
> Looking forward your valuable comments on my request.
> 
> Thanks & Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tomar -

They would probably ignore the Master's degree - you could leave it off as non-relevant if you want. DIBP gives no points for Masters as you have a Bachelor degree so while you would need to declare the degree on your visa application via Form 80, etc, you wouldn't be claiming points for it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm about to apply for my skills assessment, which is the prerequisite for requesting a 189 visa. I would apply for "developer programmer" in the skilled occupation list.
> 
> I have a master's and a bachelor's degree. The bachelor (with honours) is for computing, the master's is in "geographical information science". This is a combination of earth observation (physics) and computing.
> 
> While I'm certain the computing degree is "Closely related to the nominated occupation", I'm not entirely sure if the master's degree would be classified as such.
> 
> I know that if my degree is "NOT closely related to the nominated occupation", I need 4 years relevant work experience. I don't have this right now (3.5 years).
> 
> Would you recommend omitting the masters degree from the application as a whole? Or would they "fall back" to the bachelor's degree anyway?
> 
> Thank you very much,
> Tom


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chris -

Can you specify exactly what licence/registration you hold with the Board?

Best,

Mark Northam



Chrisheart said:


> Hi Mark, I am already Registered with the board of Nursing.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lalibains09 -

Thanks for the note - I wish I could help, but state electrician licencing regulations and laws are outside my area of expertise. I expect it will take more research and talking to people in SA to determine what you need to do.

Best,

Mark Northam



lalibains09 said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> Greetings..!!
> 
> My name is IP Singh. I got Permanent Resident Visa under Skilled Nomination, Sub class 190 as electrical engineering technician (312312) and state nomination from South Australia. Since feb. 19th I am in Adelaide.
> 
> I have diploma in electrical engineering and I got it assessed from SKILLS FOR ALL deptt. and they gave me the same diploma (Level-5) as per Australia Qualification Framework(AQF)
> 
> I have 8 years of experience from India in my own field.
> 
> I want to know that how I can get electrician or Electrical Technician license to perform electrical work? I have visited the TAFE and PEER VEET also. According to them, I can start my study only if I will be working with registered electrician, but the electrical person will not take me unless I have electrician license. I have requested a no. of electrician to get enrolled, but always denied.
> Please help me solve the matter.
> 
> Do I still need to go for an apprentice which may take another 3-4 years or more. or if there is any independent department which can provide a direct electrical license?
> which is me the exact body where i can obtain that license to perform electrical work.,?
> 
> please guide me further. Your quick reply will be appreciated.
> 
> Please also tell me the Govt benefits i can avail under this visa.
> 
> I shall be really thankful to you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lady2014 -

Thanks for the question. It is true that in some cases DIBP will make unannounced visits to your home to have a look around and see if they see evidence of a genuine relationship (or not). Happened to a couple of my clients last year - 2 DIBP people show up and knock on the door at 7am, no appointment. However this usually happens only when DIBP determines that there is a high risk factor with the application or have formed a conclusion that the relationship may not be genuine - it is not usual or ordinary practice for typical partner visa applications.

As to how DIBP would see 1 year apart, hard to say. Might be an issue, might not be. I think it might also depend on how often you two visit each other - if rarely, then that would push things more towards a problem. If frequently (ie, at least once a month), then work and employment may be easier to explain as a reason for the time apart. Also, I'd try to make sure that you describe the time apart as exactly that - time apart due to work commitments, and not "living apart" as "living" has an air of permanence sometimes in the view of DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lady2014 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Just a question regarding "Partner Visa" (the second stage after PMV) Were actually sorting things out and lodge it before he leaves for work.Anyway is it okay if we live apart as he needed to work in different city for a year (ex. im in Sydney and him working at Queensland) Will this affect our visa? Is it also true that immigration do surprise visit while your partner visa is on-going? Thanks in advance Mark. This would be a big help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abdullah -

Thanks very much for the note, and sorry to hear of your time apart from your family.

Last time I checked, there is no DIBP-recognised police clearance certificate available for Afghan citizens. As such, the Australian High Commission in Islamabad, which handles visa functions for Australia, would probably be the place to direct questions as to what sort of police clearance documentation will be necessary for your case. In some countries without certificates, a signed statutory declaration stating that you have no criminal record, etc is requested, but this is on a country-by-country basis.

I wish I had some ways I could recommend to speed up visa application processing, but I don't know of any - as long as they have all the documents that have been requested of you, and as long as you have submitted any/all evidence that would be relevant to your case, waiting is unfortunately the only option. You could also consider a visitor visa for Australia to spend some time with your family while the partner visa is being processed - these are often easier to get once you have have lodged a partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abdullah.wahab said:


> I am Abdullah Wahab and i live in Afghanistan. I have applied for partner visa to Australia.
> I have already lodged my sponsorship documents and all other related evidences (Documents) in August 2013.
> I have been asked for medical examination which i have already done and has been sent on 10th of April 2014.
> I have 2 questions:
> 1. Is police check required for (partner visa ) applicants living in Afghanistan.
> 2. I have contacted immigration many times, telling them about how hard life is for me as i am far from my wife and new born son, could you please let me know about any tips which will help me speed up the process and get together with my wife and son.
> 
> Thank you very much in Advance
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> Abdullah Wahab


----------



## jay124

hi mark
i want to get some information about processing time for 189 subclass. on Australian website its written that processing time is 3 months. my question is -- is processing time include the time required for allocating case to visa officer-- that is currently 10 weeks? 
that is total time including allocating time is 3 months
thanks and regards
jay


----------



## MeryTH

*My Parents' Tourist Visa*

Hi Mark,
I am Mery from Indonesia, been living and working in Australia for 11 years, this is my first time try to organise visa for my parents to come for holiday in Australia. 
In regards to their application, I try to lodge them from Australia, I got them to sign the application and email me all scan documents (passports, National ID card, Family Card). My husband and I are the main sponsors as well as other recipients to assist with their application.
We used 1419 Forms and 956 Forms. My questions are: 
1. If we are paying for all their expenses and costs, should they have their own bank accounts? if they should what is the minimum ammount do they required?
2. Have used the right Forms?
3. Their scan documents? do they need to certify In Indonesia first then email to me or can they be certified in Australia before I lodge their application?
4. Do you have to by their tickets first before you apply for visa? (I am worry if I buy their ticket then I don't get their visa approved)

Could you please advice? I really appreciate your time.
Thank You Mark.
Regards Mery.


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi mark, 

Thanks you very much. 

Regards
Bharat


----------



## Dutchie22

Thanks Mark for your previous reply, really appreciate it.

You would really help me out if you can answer some other questions, the more research I do the more I get confused!

So basically we are trying to get as much evidence and needed documents here in Oz, before we head over to Holland, where we will apply for the partner visa 309 (Berlin).

- Is it necessary and/or possible to do the medical test and the police test here in Australia, even though we will apply offshore?
- if possible, is it beneficial to do these test here in Oz? As in, would it speed up the process time and provide more important evidence?
-if not, do I have to do these test back home in the Netherlands?
- if I understand it correctly, my partner does not have to do a police check?

-Do important documents, such as the medical check or registered partership in Holland, need to be certified in the same way as the statutory declarations? E.g. by an Australian pharmacist..
-Could you please show a good example of a written statutory declaration of a friend or family member (not the actual form but the part where the witness has to write a story about our relationship)?
This would be so helpfull! A lot of family members and friends are struggeling to get started with this..

Thanks heaps in advance again! Really appreciate it!


----------



## Dutchie22

Dutchie22 said:


> Thanks Mark for your previous reply, really appreciate it.
> 
> You would really help me out if you can answer some other questions, the more research I do the more I get confused!
> 
> So basically we are trying to get as much evidence and needed documents here in Oz, before we head over to Holland, where we will apply for the partner visa 309 (Berlin).
> 
> - Is it necessary and/or possible to do the medical test and the police test here in Australia, even though we will apply offshore?
> - if possible, is it beneficial to do these test here in Oz? As in, would it speed up the process time and provide more important evidence?
> -if not, do I have to do these test back home in the Netherlands?
> - if I understand it correctly, my partner does not have to do a police check?
> 
> -Do important documents, such as the medical check or registered partership in Holland, need to be certified in the same way as the statutory declarations? E.g. by an Australian pharmacist..
> -Could you please show a good example of a written statutory declaration of a friend or family member (not the actual form but the part where the witness has to write a story about our relationship)?
> This would be so helpfull! A lot of family members and friends are struggeling to get started with this..
> 
> Thanks heaps in advance again! Really appreciate it!


And depending on your answers, do I need to apply for the police check online or in paper?
As well, which documentaries are necessary to supply for/with the police check? E.g. Character satutory declarations and form 80 personal particulars for character assesment.


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark,

Please clarify me on this. I have receipts here that my partner bought for me presents and vice versa. We have bank statements where we buy our groceries, acommodation expenses when we travel in our joint accounts and receipts when we eat out. Do I need the receipts certified? What about bank statements? 

Thank you in advance.
Cheers!
Ninja69


----------



## abdullah.wahab

Hi Mark 

Thank you for the quick reply.

in regards to the visitor visa will it make the process for my partner visa longer?

also what is required of me to apply for a visitors visa?

finally how long will it take to be granted a visitors visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jay -

I would not depend on that rough estimate - these can take as long as 9 months, depending on the caseload and other factors. DIBP makes no promises or even serious commitments to processing time for any particular application, only targets and very rough estimates. Re: case officer, many of these are assessed by teams now, and it's not possible to estimate when the team will be allocated a case - as the team may not contact the applicant at all until visa decision time unless further information or documents is needed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jay124 said:


> hi mark
> i want to get some information about processing time for 189 subclass. on Australian website its written that processing time is 3 months. my question is -- is processing time include the time required for allocating case to visa officer-- that is currently 10 weeks?
> that is total time including allocating time is 3 months
> thanks and regards
> jay


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mery -

Thanks for the note - sounds like you are using the right forms and doing your research well!

Re: certified copies, better to have the copies certified at the source. In Australia, JP's are not supposed to certify copies of documents other than original source documents - if a JP knows that the source document is a scan (vs original), they may not certify it for you.

Re: tickets - sometimes in higher-risk cases it can make a small difference if you show that you already have tickets; otherwise no major issue from having or not having tickets.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MeryTH said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am Mery from Indonesia, been living and working in Australia for 11 years, this is my first time try to organise visa for my parents to come for holiday in Australia.
> In regards to their application, I try to lodge them from Australia, I got them to sign the application and email me all scan documents (passports, National ID card, Family Card). My husband and I are the main sponsors as well as other recipients to assist with their application.
> We used 1419 Forms and 956 Forms. My questions are:
> 1. If we are paying for all their expenses and costs, should they have their own bank accounts? if they should what is the minimum ammount do they required?
> 2. Have used the right Forms?
> 3. Their scan documents? do they need to certify In Indonesia first then email to me or can they be certified in Australia before I lodge their application?
> 4. Do you have to by their tickets first before you apply for visa? (I am worry if I buy their ticket then I don't get their visa approved)
> 
> Could you please advice? I really appreciate your time.
> Thank You Mark.
> Regards Mery.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dutchie22 -

Thanks for the note. The applicant for a partner visa would need an AFP police clearance certificate, plus an overseas police certificate from each country the applicant has spent a total of 12 or more months in over the past 10 years. Each overseas country has their own requirements and procedures - DIBP has specifics for each country and what document they require for that country here:

How do I apply for a police check if I am outside Australia?

Re: certified, if you are lodging online, no need to certify any documents as long as you are lodging high quality colour scans of originals. Medical tests can be taken at any DIBP approved clinic, results are electronically sent back to DIBP - you'll need to get a HAP ID number for each applicant after you lodge your application or prior to that using the My Health Declarations webpage (but don't do that too much in advance of lodging or the medicals could expire (1 year) during processing).

Re: statements, I dont' have an example to post but best things to include are how the person knows you (including length of time), the fact that the person believes you are in a genuine defacto (or married, depending on your application circumstances) relationship, and why the person feels this way including perhaps a couple of examples of what they've observed of you that makes them form this conclusion.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dutchie22 said:


> Thanks Mark for your previous reply, really appreciate it.
> 
> You would really help me out if you can answer some other questions, the more research I do the more I get confused!
> 
> So basically we are trying to get as much evidence and needed documents here in Oz, before we head over to Holland, where we will apply for the partner visa 309 (Berlin).
> 
> - Is it necessary and/or possible to do the medical test and the police test here in Australia, even though we will apply offshore?
> - if possible, is it beneficial to do these test here in Oz? As in, would it speed up the process time and provide more important evidence?
> -if not, do I have to do these test back home in the Netherlands?
> - if I understand it correctly, my partner does not have to do a police check?
> 
> -Do important documents, such as the medical check or registered partership in Holland, need to be certified in the same way as the statutory declarations? E.g. by an Australian pharmacist..
> -Could you please show a good example of a written statutory declaration of a friend or family member (not the actual form but the part where the witness has to write a story about our relationship)?
> This would be so helpfull! A lot of family members and friends are struggeling to get started with this..
> 
> Thanks heaps in advance again! Really appreciate it!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dutchie22 -

See last email for link to DIBP police check info page. Each police jurisdiction will have it's own requirements for ID and docs to get the clearance certificate. Form 80 is only for DIBP and applicant should complete - you can lodge this with your online application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dutchie22 said:


> And depending on your answers, do I need to apply for the police check online or in paper?
> As well, which documentaries are necessary to supply for/with the police check? E.g. Character satutory declarations and form 80 personal particulars for character assesment.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

For paper applications, technically DIBP says all docs should be originals or certified copies. They are usually somewhat flexible re: obvious documents such as receipts, but are tougher on ID documents such as passports, ID, legal documents - although this all can vary depending on the post that is processing your application. For online applications, no certification needed if you are lodging high quality colour scans of original documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Please clarify me on this. I have receipts here that my partner bought for me presents and vice versa. We have bank statements where we buy our groceries, acommodation expenses when we travel in our joint accounts and receipts when we eat out. Do I need the receipts certified? What about bank statements?
> 
> Thank you in advance.
> Cheers!
> Ninja69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abdullah -

Thanks for the further questions. Visitor visa should not affect partner visa processing time. Re: visitor visa application requirements, see:

Visitor visa (subclass 600)

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abdullah.wahab said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for the quick reply.
> 
> in regards to the visitor visa will it make the process for my partner visa longer?
> 
> also what is required of me to apply for a visitors visa?
> 
> finally how long will it take to be granted a visitors visa?


----------



## abdullah.wahab

Hi Mark 

another question how do i send my forms to my wife to lodge?

can i do it online?

also am i applying for the tourist visa ?

regards
Abdullah Wahab


----------



## mdiedrich02

*Rrv*

Hi Mark, 
Hoping you can help with my situation. Background: moved to Aus in 2001, married to beautiful Aus wife in Feb 2002. She has 3 children from previous marriage and we have one together (born Dec 2002). Lived in Aus until 2008 as a PR when we came to US to visit my family with 2 youngest. Found my father ill so we decided to stay and help as well as allow kids to get to know my dad. Father passed away in 2010 so we planned on moving back to Aus. Stepson was in High School by then so he wanted to graduate so he is graduated and moved back to live with older siblings. My wife and youngest moving back to Aus soon. I am staying to sell property, settle affairs etc. I have not been back since our move in 2008. Question is: is my only option to go back on a 3 month visitors visa and then go through the PR application again? I have a Tax ID number and worked the entire time I was there. Thanks for any assistance you can provide. Sorry for the long post.

Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark -

Thanks for the question. I would check out the subclass 155 Resident Return Visa for the 1-year version based on substantial ties to see if you may meet the criteria for that. Depending on the substantial ties you may have with anyone here in Australia, or employment here, etc it may be an option. Especially if your wife moved back here ahead of you or you presented evidence that she was about to move back here including things to show she intended to live here (with you), that may work - would depend on the specific details of your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mdiedrich02 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hoping you can help with my situation. Background: moved to Aus in 2001, married to beautiful Aus wife in Feb 2002. She has 3 children from previous marriage and we have one together (born Dec 2002). Lived in Aus until 2008 as a PR when we came to US to visit my family with 2 youngest. Found my father ill so we decided to stay and help as well as allow kids to get to know my dad. Father passed away in 2010 so we planned on moving back to Aus. Stepson was in High School by then so he wanted to graduate so he is graduated and moved back to live with older siblings. My wife and youngest moving back to Aus soon. I am staying to sell property, settle affairs etc. I have not been back since our move in 2008. Question is: is my only option to go back on a 3 month visitors visa and then go through the PR application again? I have a Tax ID number and worked the entire time I was there. Thanks for any assistance you can provide. Sorry for the long post.
> 
> Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abdullah -

It's a visitor visa, tourism stream - subclass 600. These are paper applications, can't be done online - see immi.gov.au for complete details - look for the subclass 600 visitor visa under "Visit Australia".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abdullah.wahab said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> another question how do i send my forms to my wife to lodge?
> 
> can i do it online?
> 
> also am i applying for the tourist visa ?
> 
> regards
> Abdullah Wahab


----------



## sueann16

Hi Mark, 

I've completed the submission my partner visa online and have done both the biometrics and the medical which was submitted this week. I'm not exactly sure what are the next steps. Do we just wait till someone from the Australian Immigration contacts us on our visa application or will someone be in touch to inform us of the status of the visa application? 

Also, i've read a few threads and the time frame seems to vary from what people say on how long the partner visa would take to be granted. Would you be able to give a general timeline of how long we should wait before the visa is granted? 

Many thanks in advance. 

Regards, 
Sue ann


----------



## Sriya16

*Applying for RRV*

Hi Mark,

I been a former permanent resident and my PR got expired on May 2011.

Been to Australia under 457 in Nov 2012 and stayed for 3 months.

Then recently moved to Australia under 457 and this time my contract is for 1 year.

I want to apply for RRV.

Could you please advise whether i am eligible to apply RRV ,can my current offer letter /pay slips provide the substantial ties 
compelling reasons: Doctor written letter about my mother health condition.

Thanks in advance

Sri


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sue Ann -

All you have to do now is wait - as long as you've completed the health exam/HIV blood test/chest x-ray and submitted all necessary police clearance certificates. If you accumulate more relationship evidence while you're waiting, you can upload that as well - up to you. We're seeing partner visas typically process in 9-12 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sueann16 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've completed the submission my partner visa online and have done both the biometrics and the medical which was submitted this week. I'm not exactly sure what are the next steps. Do we just wait till someone from the Australian Immigration contacts us on our visa application or will someone be in touch to inform us of the status of the visa application?
> 
> Also, i've read a few threads and the time frame seems to vary from what people say on how long the partner visa would take to be granted. Would you be able to give a general timeline of how long we should wait before the visa is granted?
> 
> Many thanks in advance.
> 
> Regards,
> Sue ann


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sriya16 -

Sounds like you might have a case for a one-year RRV under substantial ties depending on the circumstances of your employment and the evidence you can provide re: compelling reasons. Impossible to assess whether you have a good case or chances of success without seeing all documents and info about your case. Would suggest that you make sure you fully understand the DIBP substantial ties policy and write your submission document to address as many of those points as you can, including evidence for each - not just a statement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sriya16 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I been a former permanent resident and my PR got expired on May 2011.
> 
> Been to Australia under 457 in Nov 2012 and stayed for 3 months.
> 
> Then recently moved to Australia under 457 and this time my contract is for 1 year.
> 
> I want to apply for RRV.
> 
> Could you please advise whether i am eligible to apply RRV ,can my current offer letter /pay slips provide the substantial ties
> compelling reasons: Doctor written letter about my mother health condition.
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Sri


----------



## Island Girl

Hi Mark. Does the typical processing time for 820 Partner Visa (9 to 12 months) also apply to applicants who are on Bridging Visa C? After my previous 402 nomination was refused a year ago, I applied for review at the MRT and my husband and I placed the partner application on 4 March 2014.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Island Girl -

From what I've seen, the processing time for partner visas is not affected by what type of bridging visa the applicant is on (ie, A, B, C, E). One thing re: your case, however - DIBP seems to be on the lookout these days for people who lodge partner visas after other visas are refused, assuming (?) that these people are desperate for another visa pathway to remain in Australia and that marriages or defacto partnerships resulting in partner visa applications under this scenario may have a greater chance of not being genuine. Given that, would recommend you provided maximum relationship evidence & statements, and consider updating those every 8 weeks or so during the period your partner visa is processing. We're seeing DIBP giving very close scrutiny to these types of applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Island Girl said:


> Hi Mark. Does the typical processing time for 820 Partner Visa (9 to 12 months) also apply to applicants who are on Bridging Visa C? After my previous 402 nomination was refused a year ago, I applied for review at the MRT and my husband and I placed the partner application on 4 March 2014.


----------



## Island Girl

Dear Mark. Thank you for your prompt response. As a matter of fact, I recently uploaded 20 evidence of our genuine marriage, including joint memberships, updated bank statements and a letter from my mother-in-law justifying the absence of a lease agreement since we are living with her. Hence, as per your advice, I will update the Department every 8 weeks. Thank you once again.


----------



## seekingpr

*Seeking help!*

Hi Mark,
You are support to respond quickly, clearing backlog of questions ASAP, and provide accurate , to the point, relevant (to the query) advice is much appreciated.Please could you help me as well, here are my queries:

I have applied for 189 Visa on 31st May 2014 and waiting for allocation of CO.
Query 1

I have got an Invite to apply for 189 Visa.I have submitted my documents online.One of the document i have submitted is Employment reference from one of my Managers.The manager resigned from the company where he used to work with me and joined new company.On reference letter, his new title,new company name has been provided.Now the person has resigned from that company and is currently serving the same company were he used to work with me.The Contact Phone Number, email, his title ,company name where he currently works every this has changed.

Do i need to intimate every change or just contact email/phone number?How can i intimate the Department of Immigration about this change.I dont want to land in a situation where Case Officer tries to reach out to The person who has provided reference but unable to contact him due to changed mobile number.

Also,the person is currently on business trip to a foreign country till 30th June 2014, do i need to advice the department of that as well?Just worried that if case officer is assigned to me before 30th June and CO is unable to reach the person because he is out of country, will it impact my application?
I have though provided all the tax statements, salary slips, offer letter to support my claim that i have worked with X company.

Query 2
I am on WP 457 in Australia under ICT Business Analyst Occupation. Also i have my nominated Occupation as ICT business Analyst in my GSM application. Will it give me any extra benefit in terms of application processing.I have read that such cases (like mine) are processed in much lesser time given they do not have to do stringent verifications.How far that is true?

Query 3

If i am granted 189 Visa, for any person with 189/190 visa he has to live in australia for 2 years before he gets Citizenship.I have already been living in australia since past ~15 months.WIll my surrent stay be counted while deciding eligibility for Citizenship for me? Or i will have to live for another 2 years from the date of grant to get Australian Citizenship.

Query 4:
In the event my visa application gets a refusal [i believe i am over thinking ], will i be able to continue working on WP 457 or i will be required to leave the country?

Query 5
My medical is not yet completed but all other documents including PCC has been uploaded.I know on immigration website it is advised to wait for Medical until CO requests for that.But have read on many public forums, people advise to do the medicals even before CO is allocated so that Application is decision ready and it is believed that the procssing time reduces by keeping application decison ready.
What is your advice?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seekingpr -

Thanks for the questions - see below at ***:



seekingpr said:


> Hi Mark,
> You are support to respond quickly, clearing backlog of questions ASAP, and provide accurate , to the point, relevant (to the query) advice is much appreciated.Please could you help me as well, here are my queries:
> 
> I have applied for 189 Visa on 31st May 2014 and waiting for allocation of CO.
> Query 1
> 
> I have got an Invite to apply for 189 Visa.I have submitted my documents online.One of the document i have submitted is Employment reference from one of my Managers.The manager resigned from the company where he used to work with me and joined new company.On reference letter, his new title,new company name has been provided.Now the person has resigned from that company and is currently serving the same company were he used to work with me.The Contact Phone Number, email, his title ,company name where he currently works every this has changed.
> 
> Do i need to intimate every change or just contact email/phone number?How can i intimate the Department of Immigration about this change.I dont want to land in a situation where Case Officer tries to reach out to The person who has provided reference but unable to contact him due to changed mobile number.
> 
> Also,the person is currently on business trip to a foreign country till 30th June 2014, do i need to advice the department of that as well?Just worried that if case officer is assigned to me before 30th June and CO is unable to reach the person because he is out of country, will it impact my application?
> I have though provided all the tax statements, salary slips, offer letter to support my claim that i have worked with X company.
> *** Suggest you upload a letter to DIBP attached to your application explaining all of the above so it makes it very easy for the case officer to contact this person.
> 
> Query 2
> I am on WP 457 in Australia under ICT Business Analyst Occupation. Also i have my nominated Occupation as ICT business Analyst in my GSM application. Will it give me any extra benefit in terms of application processing.I have read that such cases (like mine) are processed in much lesser time given they do not have to do stringent verifications.How far that is true?
> *** No major benefit of already being on a 457 to 189/190 visa applications that I see, other than perhaps the employer will be easier to verify.
> 
> Query 3
> 
> If i am granted 189 Visa, for any person with 189/190 visa he has to live in australia for 2 years before he gets Citizenship.I have already been living in australia since past ~15 months.WIll my surrent stay be counted while deciding eligibility for Citizenship for me? Or i will have to live for another 2 years from the date of grant to get Australian Citizenship.
> *** Suggest you research Australian citizenship - the residency requirement is 4 years in Australia, last year of which must be as a permanent resident visa holder. Check the immi website for all the details of this. Any time you have spent so far in Australia on your 457, etc would normally count towards the citizenship residency requirement.
> 
> Query 4:
> In the event my visa application gets a refusal [i believe i am over thinking ], will i be able to continue working on WP 457 or i will be required to leave the country?
> *** You can keep working on your 457 in this event, and as long as you were hold the 457 at the time of refusal, you would not have a section 48 bar on any further visa applications onshore on this trip.
> 
> Query 5
> My medical is not yet completed but all other documents including PCC has been uploaded.I know on immigration website it is advised to wait for Medical until CO requests for that.But have read on many public forums, people advise to do the medicals even before CO is allocated so that Application is decision ready and it is believed that the procssing time reduces by keeping application decison ready.
> What is your advice?


*** Decision-ready regime ended some time ago, but for 189/190's we usually suggest that applicant do their medical shortly after lodging the application, if not just before. Login to ImmiAccount and see if your "Organise your medicals" link is showing under your list of lodged documents - if so, I'd click it to answer your health questions and generate your HAP ID referral letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## seekingpr

Thanks Mark for being so prompt in responding.

*** Suggest you upload a letter to DIBP attached to your application explaining all of the above so it makes it very easy for the case officer to contact this person.

Seekingpr--> So you suggest i should be attaching a letter on plain paper and not use Form 1022(Intimating change of circumstances)?

you would not have a section 48 bar on any further visa applications onshore on this trip.
Seekingpr--> What is section 48 bar? Sorry for my ignorance



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Seekingpr -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - see below at ***:
> 
> *** Decision-ready regime ended some time ago, but for 189/190's we usually suggest that applicant do their medical shortly after lodging the application, if not just before. Login to ImmiAccount and see if your "Organise your medicals" link is showing under your list of lodged documents - if so, I'd click it to answer your health questions and generate your HAP ID referral letter.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seekingpr -

Re: letter, that's better than form 1022 - form 1022 is generally for a change in circumstances of an applicant, not of a person providing a work ref letter, etc.

Re: s48, don't be concerned. That section of the Migration Act 1958 stipulates that if you are onshore and holding a bridging visa and are refused a visa, your choices for applying for a further visa onshore on that stay are very limited. In your case you'd be holding a 457 visa throughout the process, so if you had a refusal of the 189, it would not trigger the s48 limitations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> Thanks Mark for being so prompt in responding.
> 
> *** Suggest you upload a letter to DIBP attached to your application explaining all of the above so it makes it very easy for the case officer to contact this person.
> 
> Seekingpr--> So you suggest i should be attaching a letter on plain paper and not use Form 1022(Intimating change of circumstances)?
> 
> you would not have a section 48 bar on any further visa applications onshore on this trip.
> Seekingpr--> What is section 48 bar? Sorry for my ignorance


----------



## Xuxa

Hi Mark, thanks again for creating such a useful thread. I'm planning to apply for a subclass 189 independent skilled visa, and I'm wondering if applying as a single person would have a better chance at a successful outcome than including a partner in an application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xuxa -

Thanks for the note and kind words. Unlike other visas where there are more "opinion" related issues - such as a case officer assessing the "genuineness" of a relationship of 2 people he or she has never met, the 189 visa is less about opinion and more about evidence - specifically, making sure you have good documentary evidence to justify all the points you are claiming. Beyond that, and dealing with waiting in a pool of applicants to get an invitation based on your points score, there would be no difference in how soon you would get an invitation if you had or didn't have a partner on the application.

Really the only "risk" if you want to call it that of having a partner on the application is that a health problem for the partner could cause you and the partner to be refused, but if you have a partner who is not on the application, he/she must have health checks as well, so again, no major difference.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xuxa said:


> Hi Mark, thanks again for creating such a useful thread. I'm planning to apply for a subclass 189 independent skilled visa, and I'm wondering if applying as a single person would have a better chance at a successful outcome than including a partner in an application?


----------



## seekingpr

Mark,
Thank you so much.Sitting on PC and replying late night to queries,you are just phenomenal.Need to see you someday,not for anything else but to learn time management.
Thanks again!!

regards


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Seekingpr -
> 
> Re: letter, that's better than form 1022 - form 1022 is generally for a change in circumstances of an applicant, not of a person providing a work ref letter, etc.
> 
> Re: s48, don't be concerned. That section of the Migration Act 1958 stipulates that if you are onshore and holding a bridging visa and are refused a visa, your choices for applying for a further visa onshore on that stay are very limited. In your case you'd be holding a 457 visa throughout the process, so if you had a refusal of the 189, it would not trigger the s48 limitations.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Happy to help - and that's sitting on a Mac 

Actually up late doing legal research for a case, always like to check in on the forum and stay connected - secrets to time management? Hmmm...
* Learn touch typing
* Be detailed but brief - nobody likes a windbag
* Tell people what they need to know (which is not necessarily what they ask or want to know!)
* Use the latest technology to leverage you ability to provide services
* There is no substitute for great client service
* There is no substitute in migration work for diligence and details
* Always put yourself in your client's shoes - it's their lives, their future - treat cases just as seriously and profoundly as they do.

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> Mark,
> Thank you so much.Sitting on PC and replying late night to queries,you are just phenomenal.Need to see you someday,not for anything else but to learn time management.
> Thanks again!!
> 
> regards


----------



## Xuxa

Thanks for the quick reply Mark! So do you mean if I include a partner on a 189 visa application, I won't be required to submit evidence of "genuineness", or just that it won't be as heavily scrutinized as for other visas? Is there a risk that, if the case officer determines our relationship to be not "genuine", that my visa will be denied? Or would I still be granted a visa but not my partner?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Xuxa -
> 
> Thanks for the note and kind words. Unlike other visas where there are more "opinion" related issues - such as a case officer assessing the "genuineness" of a relationship of 2 people he or she has never met, the 189 visa is less about opinion and more about evidence - specifically, making sure you have good documentary evidence to justify all the points you are claiming. Beyond that, and dealing with waiting in a pool of applicants to get an invitation based on your points score, there would be no difference in how soon you would get an invitation if you had or didn't have a partner on the application.
> 
> Really the only "risk" if you want to call it that of having a partner on the application is that a health problem for the partner could cause you and the partner to be refused, but if you have a partner who is not on the application, he/she must have health checks as well, so again, no major difference.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Navi1989

Hi Mark,

I'm currently facing a dilemma for which I really need some advice. My history in short is as below:

- came to Australia in late 2006
- completed 2 years of senior high in Sydney
- started Bachelor of Pharmacy at the University of Sydney in 2009, finished in 2012 and graduated in March 2014
- started 1 year mandatory internship in late 2012, finished late last year and became a registered pharmacist in December
- on Graduate visa 185 which expires in April 2015

Initially I planned to apply for visa 190 (independent PR) but since Pharmacist (community, hospital and industrial) was removed from the SOL list in July 2013, I couldn't apply when I finally became a registered pharmacist and was eligible to.

I changed my option to follow either 489/887, 190 (both state-sponsorship) or RSMS 187, depending on which would come first. I soon received a job offer in Port Pirie, South Australia and have been working there for over 4 months now. With my current employment, I plan to apply for 489/887 in the mean time, just in case there are new changes effective from July this year; and I simply do not have time for 190, I think. However, my parents pointed out that anything can happen in the next 2 years and by then, visa 887 may not exist anymore and I will effectively hold only a temporary visa then. This reminded of me of an email I received a month ago about an RSMS opportunity in rural Victoria that I received from an immigration agency, to which I turned down since I was really enjoying my job here. As the July mark inches closer, my parents are expressing their desire for me to contact that agency again for any other RSMS opportunity and take it if I can.

My dilemma is: I know that receiving an RSMS visa is obviously better off but I'm afraid I will not find a workplace as good as the one I'm at now. There are so many things involved in finding the right place/people that I'm afraid this trade-off may result in years of me working/living somewhere I'm not happy with, in spite of receiving a PR. I'm thinking of writing an appeal to the immigration office of South Australia for a special consideration so that they can sponsor me with visa 190 since I really plan to settle down here for many years to come.

What do you think I should do? Should I go with 489 because it will guarantee me my PR even though it may take an extra 2 years? Or should I wait until next February and apply straight for 190? Or should I bite my tongue and look for an RSMS opportunity? Or should I give SA immigration office a call to see what they can do?

Your insightful advice will be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks in advance.


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi Mark,

What is Offshore Skills Assessment Program? Can I Apply from india. I completed commercial cookery in 2010. I have one year full time experience and two years part time. Ielts score is require? What is procedure? 

Many thanks in advance.

Regards
Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xuxa -

Sorry for any confusion - to include your partner on the 189, you definitely would need to include substantial relationship evidence, and they will determine whether they believe the relationship is genuine or not.

If they do not believe the relationship is genuine, the resolution depends on the reason(s) they believe this - if they believe that you or your partner have submitted false or bogus documents, then the entire application could be refused on PIC4020 grounds. However if that's not the case and they simply believe the relationship is not genuine, then typically the secondary applicant will be refused and the primary applicant will be granted a visa as long as all the other requirements are met by the primary applicant. If things are headed this way, DIBP usually writes a letter and gives the applicant(s) an opportunity to either submit more evidence or take the partner off the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xuxa said:


> Thanks for the quick reply Mark! So do you mean if I include a partner on a 189 visa application, I won't be required to submit evidence of "genuineness", or just that it won't be as heavily scrutinized as for other visas? Is there a risk that, if the case officer determines our relationship to be not "genuine", that my visa will be denied? Or would I still be granted a visa but not my partner?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Navi1989 -

Thanks for the note. Hard for me to comment in detail as it's mostly a work/lifestyle/geographical sort of a decision on your part re: your personal circumstances.

Purely from a migration point of view, I'd be tempted to go with the 190 or RSMS as they are PR visas. However for the 190, would suggest waiting until after 1 July to see what states may be sponsoring your occupation - all the new lists come out in July, and that will really indicate what the good prospects of a 489 or 190 are for you.

Re: job opportunities pushed by immigration agencies, I know very few great immigration agents who are also great employment/job seeking firms - make sure you understand exactly what you are signing up for, who the employer is, what the work is, what the terms of the contract are, and who gets paid what for the entire thing. Beware of situations where you are asked to "pay your own salary" or pay big upfront fees to anyone involved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Navi1989 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm currently facing a dilemma for which I really need some advice. My history in short is as below:
> 
> - came to Australia in late 2006
> - completed 2 years of senior high in Sydney
> - started Bachelor of Pharmacy at the University of Sydney in 2009, finished in 2012 and graduated in March 2014
> - started 1 year mandatory internship in late 2012, finished late last year and became a registered pharmacist in December
> - on Graduate visa 185 which expires in April 2015
> 
> Initially I planned to apply for visa 190 (independent PR) but since Pharmacist (community, hospital and industrial) was removed from the SOL list in July 2013, I couldn't apply when I finally became a registered pharmacist and was eligible to.
> 
> I changed my option to follow either 489/887, 190 (both state-sponsorship) or RSMS 187, depending on which would come first. I soon received a job offer in Port Pirie, South Australia and have been working there for over 4 months now. With my current employment, I plan to apply for 489/887 in the mean time, just in case there are new changes effective from July this year; and I simply do not have time for 190, I think. However, my parents pointed out that anything can happen in the next 2 years and by then, visa 887 may not exist anymore and I will effectively hold only a temporary visa then. This reminded of me of an email I received a month ago about an RSMS opportunity in rural Victoria that I received from an immigration agency, to which I turned down since I was really enjoying my job here. As the July mark inches closer, my parents are expressing their desire for me to contact that agency again for any other RSMS opportunity and take it if I can.
> 
> My dilemma is: I know that receiving an RSMS visa is obviously better off but I'm afraid I will not find a workplace as good as the one I'm at now. There are so many things involved in finding the right place/people that I'm afraid this trade-off may result in years of me working/living somewhere I'm not happy with, in spite of receiving a PR. I'm thinking of writing an appeal to the immigration office of South Australia for a special consideration so that they can sponsor me with visa 190 since I really plan to settle down here for many years to come.
> 
> What do you think I should do? Should I go with 489 because it will guarantee me my PR even though it may take an extra 2 years? Or should I wait until next February and apply straight for 190? Or should I bite my tongue and look for an RSMS opportunity? Or should I give SA immigration office a call to see what they can do?
> 
> Your insightful advice will be greatly appreciated.
> Many thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

Read all about it here: Offshore Skills Assessment Program

It's a TRA skills assessment program for people with certain occupations from selected countries.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> What is Offshore Skills Assessment Program? Can I Apply from india. I completed commercial cookery in 2010. I have one year full time experience and two years part time. Ielts score is require? What is procedure?
> 
> Many thanks in advance.
> 
> Regards
> Bharat


----------



## mmmfreecake

*Transitioning from WHV to 187 visa*

Hi Mark,

This forum is great - thanks so much for providing such helpful advice here.

Quick background on my situation:

I arrived in Australia 3 months ago on a Working Holiday visa. I was hired at a company on a casual/temporary basis, but after working for the past 2 months, it's gone very well and the company wants to make my position permanent full-time, and sponsor me for permanent residency via the RSMS scheme.

My position falls under ANZSCO level 3, and I have an appropriate educational background for the position.

So, two questions:

Firstly - How does it work transitioning from a Working Holiday visa to a Permanent Residency? I understand that I can get a Bridging visa once my application is lodged - will this come into effect immediately, or only after my Working Holiday visa expires? I am worried because I can only legally work for this company for another 4 months on this WHV, but the actual visa extends 5 months beyond. Will a bridging visa be effective immediately and allow me to keep working? Or am I going to have to stop working for my employer after the 6 month period is up, until either the PR comes through or the WHV expires?

Secondly - I am still working as a casual employee until we figure out exactly what process we need to follow. When can I actually accept the 2 year permanent position and sign the contract? Since my current visa doesn't allow it. Would I be able to accept it with the bridging visa?

Thank you so much!


----------



## Navi1989

Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot for the prompt reply.

I do agree that from a migration viewpoint, it's best to have 190 or RSMS. However, I won't be able to apply for 190 until February next year since South Australia requires a minimum 1 year of living in the state, whereas I'm actually eligible to apply for 489 since it only requires a minimum of 3 months. Another point I forgot to mention is over the last 3 months, the "availability" of places for pharmacists in South Australia has gone from high to low, i.e. a drastic reduction in shortages. And since they update this status frequently, I'm just afraid that I will not be able to apply for state-sponsorship any longer if I wait for just a month or two.

Regarding the few migration agency who has good track records with employments, could you please give me a few names? The agency that contacted me is called "Australian Recruiting Group".

Many thanks,
Long



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Navi1989 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Hard for me to comment in detail as it's mostly a work/lifestyle/geographical sort of a decision on your part re: your personal circumstances.
> 
> Purely from a migration point of view, I'd be tempted to go with the 190 or RSMS as they are PR visas. However for the 190, would suggest waiting until after 1 July to see what states may be sponsoring your occupation - all the new lists come out in July, and that will really indicate what the good prospects of a 489 or 190 are for you.
> 
> Re: job opportunities pushed by immigration agencies, I know very few great immigration agents who are also great employment/job seeking firms - make sure you understand exactly what you are signing up for, who the employer is, what the work is, what the terms of the contract are, and who gets paid what for the entire thing. Beware of situations where you are asked to "pay your own salary" or pay big upfront fees to anyone involved.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Dutchie22

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dutchie22 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. The applicant for a partner visa would need an AFP police clearance certificate, plus an overseas police certificate from each country the applicant has spent a total of 12 or more months in over the past 10 years. Each overseas country has their own requirements and procedures - DIBP has specifics for each country and what document they require for that country here:
> 
> Re: certified, if you are lodging online, no need to certify any documents as long as you are lodging high quality colour scans of originals. Medical tests can be taken at any DIBP approved clinic, results are electronically sent back to DIBP - you'll need to get a HAP ID number for each applicant after you lodge your application or prior to that using the My Health Declarations webpage (but don't do that too much in advance of lodging or the medicals could expire (1 year) during processing).
> 
> Re: statements, I dont' have an example to post but best things to include are how the person knows you (including length of time), the fact that the person believes you are in a genuine defacto (or married, depending on your application circumstances) relationship, and why the person feels this way including perhaps a couple of examples of what they've observed of you that makes them form this conclusion.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks again! It's more than helpfull, really gratefull that there're people out there who are willing to help, thanks Mark!

There's one thing I can't seem to figure out/find online and I hope you don't mind me asking some more questions.. 

-If I understand it correctly, there is a possibility that I don't have to a medical at all (depending on which country I'm from/am applying from, in my case the Netherlands)? Or is it obligatory?
-So it is possible to do this in the Netherlands as long if it's DIBP approved?? 
-If so, do I have to wait for a HAP ID before I do the medical test in the Netherlands? And how can I aquire a list of DIBP approved doctors/places in NL?
- Lastly, would it be beneficial/speed up the application waiting time if I do the medical here in Oz, before I apply for my visa offshore in the NL? This would have to be done with the help of My Health Declarations?

Thanks for your time yet again! Sorry for all the questions but I just want to make sure I have done everything that's necessary in Oz before we fly back to NL.


----------



## Bay56

Hi Mark,

I really apologise for this question as I have asked you the same thing before, but paranoia is getting the better of me.

I just read a thread where a user mentioned visa fees being increased from July 1. I also found a website where it stated that DIBP increases its fees every year with no exceptions, therefore there will be an increase this year as well. Can you please shed some light on this?

Thank you to the moon and back.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mmmfreecake -

Great nickname! Getting hungry just thinking about it!

As long as your working holiday visa does not have condition 8503 on it or any other condition that limits your ability to lodge a further visa in Australia, you should be find lodging the RSMS visa assuming you meet all the requirements and the employer has previously lodged the RSMS nomination application after getting an RCB opinion. You'll get a bridging visa shortly after lodging the RSMS visa application that will activate upon the expiration of your WH visa. After you lodge the RSMS visa application, then you can lodge a Working Holiday Extension Request - you can see this on the DIBP website on the working holiday visa page, or contact me and I'll send you a copy of the form. Basically once you lodge a PR or other visa, you can apply for an extension to the 6-month time limit per employer to continue working for your employer until your WH visa ends and the bridging visa activates.

Once the bridging visa activates, you have unlimited work/study rights in Australia.

Would suggest you make the contract start date dependent on granting of the RSMS visa so the contract starts on that date - that avoids any WH visa issues - or, you could make the start date dependent on getting the WH visa extension, etc - whatever works best for you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mmmfreecake said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This forum is great - thanks so much for providing such helpful advice here.
> 
> Quick background on my situation:
> 
> I arrived in Australia 3 months ago on a Working Holiday visa. I was hired at a company on a casual/temporary basis, but after working for the past 2 months, it's gone very well and the company wants to make my position permanent full-time, and sponsor me for permanent residency via the RSMS scheme.
> 
> My position falls under ANZSCO level 3, and I have an appropriate educational background for the position.
> 
> So, two questions:
> 
> Firstly - How does it work transitioning from a Working Holiday visa to a Permanent Residency? I understand that I can get a Bridging visa once my application is lodged - will this come into effect immediately, or only after my Working Holiday visa expires? I am worried because I can only legally work for this company for another 4 months on this WHV, but the actual visa extends 5 months beyond. Will a bridging visa be effective immediately and allow me to keep working? Or am I going to have to stop working for my employer after the 6 month period is up, until either the PR comes through or the WHV expires?
> 
> Secondly - I am still working as a casual employee until we figure out exactly what process we need to follow. When can I actually accept the 2 year permanent position and sign the contract? Since my current visa doesn't allow it. Would I be able to accept it with the bridging visa?
> 
> Thank you so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Navi1989 -

The one I had heard good things about, I recently started hearing bad things about and his clients started coming to me for migration work with complaints about his service, so I've actually got no one to recommend. Just be careful as you look into these bundled migration/job deals - many of these are less than desirable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Navi1989 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot for the prompt reply.
> 
> I do agree that from a migration viewpoint, it's best to have 190 or RSMS. However, I won't be able to apply for 190 until February next year since South Australia requires a minimum 1 year of living in the state, whereas I'm actually eligible to apply for 489 since it only requires a minimum of 3 months. Another point I forgot to mention is over the last 3 months, the "availability" of places for pharmacists in South Australia has gone from high to low, i.e. a drastic reduction in shortages. And since they update this status frequently, I'm just afraid that I will not be able to apply for state-sponsorship any longer if I wait for just a month or two.
> 
> Regarding the few migration agency who has good track records with employments, could you please give me a few names? The agency that contacted me is called "Australian Recruiting Group".
> 
> Many thanks,
> Long


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dutchie22 -

Happy to help - all adult partner visa applicants from all countries must have the full medical suite - ie, medical exam, chest x-ray, HIV blood test. You must have HAP ID to take the medicals, and can take the medicals wherever is convenient that is DIBP approved. If doing before lodgement, use My Health Declarations to generate a HAP ID. If doing after lodgement, use the link below the document upload list after lodging where it says "organise my medicals". DIBP approved places outside Australia here: Immigration Panel Physicians - DIBP approved in Australia are Medibank Health Solutions until BUPA takes over that duty later this year (not sure of date as that's changed recently).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dutchie22 said:


> Thanks again! It's more than helpfull, really gratefull that there're people out there who are willing to help, thanks Mark!
> 
> There's one thing I can't seem to figure out/find online and I hope you don't mind me asking some more questions..
> 
> -If I understand it correctly, there is a possibility that I don't have to a medical at all (depending on which country I'm from/am applying from, in my case the Netherlands)? Or is it obligatory?
> -So it is possible to do this in the Netherlands as long if it's DIBP approved??
> -If so, do I have to wait for a HAP ID before I do the medical test in the Netherlands? And how can I aquire a list of DIBP approved doctors/places in NL?
> - Lastly, would it be beneficial/speed up the application waiting time if I do the medical here in Oz, before I apply for my visa offshore in the NL? This would have to be done with the help of My Health Declarations?
> 
> Thanks for your time yet again! Sorry for all the questions but I just want to make sure I have done everything that's necessary in Oz before we fly back to NL.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bay56 -

No way to predict with any certainty, however I would be shocked if there were not increases on 1 July. Will every visa increase? No way to tell for sure, but I think there's a good chance many will.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bay56 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I really apologise for this question as I have asked you the same thing before, but paranoia is getting the better of me.
> 
> I just read a thread where a user mentioned visa fees being increased from July 1. I also found a website where it stated that DIBP increases its fees every year with no exceptions, therefore there will be an increase this year as well. Can you please shed some light on this?
> 
> Thank you to the moon and back.


----------



## sanification

Hi Mark,

Thanks in advance for all this amazing effort from you. I too have a query as below:

I am very worried, and i need your help

I already have a positive skills assessment from Vetassess, and also received my state nomination. Since i applied for a Class C occupation, my degree was assessed only for the minimum qualification required.

Now i need to claim 15 points for my Bachelor Degree, should i go for a Points Test Advice from Vetassess or should i directly apply for a Visa ? Because i have read that Points test advice is not binding on the DIAC.

Is my below degree comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree ?

My Degree:
Bachelor of Hotel Management (First Class) from Bangalore University, India.
Duration: 4 years Full time

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sanification -

Thanks for the note. Not sure what your Vetassess report says regarding your degree so can't really give you advice without that. If you are concerned, I'd go for the points test advice - I've found that it is rare that DIBP would attempt to overrule VETASSESS on these types of things.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sanification said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks in advance for all this amazing effort from you. I too have a query as below:
> 
> I am very worried, and i need your help
> 
> I already have a positive skills assessment from Vetassess, and also received my state nomination. Since i applied for a Class C occupation, my degree was assessed only for the minimum qualification required.
> 
> Now i need to claim 15 points for my Bachelor Degree, should i go for a Points Test Advice from Vetassess or should i directly apply for a Visa ? Because i have read that Points test advice is not binding on the DIAC.
> 
> Is my below degree comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree ?
> 
> My Degree:
> Bachelor of Hotel Management (First Class) from Bangalore University, India.
> Duration: 4 years Full time
> 
> Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## Dutchie22

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dutchie22 -
> 
> Happy to help - all adult partner visa applicants from all countries must have the full medical suite - ie, medical exam, chest x-ray, HIV blood test. You must have HAP ID to take the medicals, and can take the medicals wherever is convenient that is DIBP approved. If doing before lodgement, use My Health Declarations to generate a HAP ID. If doing after lodgement, use the link below the document upload list after lodging where it says "organise my medicals". DIBP approved places outside Australia here: Immigration Panel Physicians - DIBP approved in Australia are Medibank Health Solutions until BUPA takes over that duty later this year (not sure of date as that's changed recently).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for reply!
So it would speed up the procedure if I do the medical test here instead of in Holland?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dutchie22 -

Probably not - waiting for the medical results is usually not something that is a delaying factor in partner visa applications as the medicals usually come in while they are waiting for other things -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dutchie22 said:


> Thanks for reply!
> So it would speed up the procedure if I do the medical test here instead of in Holland?


----------



## megzchong

Hi Mark,

Good day! I was looking at applying for 6mo TV same time I apply for PMV. My question, will the medical test I will be having for PMV can be considered as the medical test for the tourist as well? Because I know it will need a medical test if i am staying in oz for more than 3 months.

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## swavik

I have applied for my 189 skilled independent..The only document left from my side to be uploaded is the PCC from Netherlands,where i had resided for two years.
I am from India and I have mailed the COVOG in Netherlands asking for the same.I wanted to know is there anybody who resided in Netherlands before and have undergone this process?
The documents have reached COVOG (i came to know because i had couriered them and i tracked it).
Do we get acknowledgement from them or is there any communication that takes place during the process? Do let me know if anybody knows how long it takes for getting the PCC? On their site they have said we will give in 4 weeks...
Kindly help me with the info..
Case officer has not been allocated to me yet as i have applied two weeks ago,and i have heard that it will take around 5 weeks for the case officer allocation.

Regards
Swavik


----------



## stst

Hi Mark,

I am applying for the 189 visa, and I am the only one on the application. Can you please tell me if I need my birth certificate for the application, or will a colour scanned copy of my passport be sufficient?

If birth certificate is needed, can I just upload a non-certified (colour) copy when applying? My birth certificate is in my home country, but I can get my parents to scan a copy to send to me.

Thanks!


----------



## lady2014

Hi Mark

Were about to lodge Partner Visa. Just thinking is it really needed to be ONLINE? Or can we still do via actual lodgement? If online is everything needs to scanned/attach ONLY or there's still some addtl docs needed to send via post. Thanks Mark all the best.


----------



## TAMZID

Hi Mark,
After joining the forum I noticed you are one of the leading migration lawyer giving your advise and views on different issues. I wanted to take this opportunity to get your advice and guidance on migration matter.

I am from Bangladesh. Graduated in business administration(MBA major in marketing).Started my career in one of the local conglomerate and worked their more than 3 three years and looked after sales and sales administration .After that, I have joined with a multinational company which is involved in manufacturing of ready made garments, textiles, shoes and also involved in development of an Export Processing Zone in the private sector to industrial undertaking from different parts of the world.

During my 14 years in this multinational company as an Assistant General Manager my job responsibility is to provide guidelines, strategy and policy for the prospective investors as well as to provide other administrative support for smooth operation and functioning of the zone. As a Corporate Manager, or facilities manager can I apply for immigration visa to Australia.
Please note that I took part in the IELTS exam during the year 2013 and scored 6 in listening,reading and speaking and 6.5 in writing.
Now I would appreciate your kind and valuable advise as to whether
1. I can apply for any skilled visa?
2.I can get any job offer under ENS-186 direct stream for migration without having any job experience in Australian economy?
3.Or Can I buy share of any Australian company without any business experience directly?

Your guidance and advise would be deeply appreciated.

Thanks and regards,
Tamzid


----------



## proudmomma

Hi Mark,

I am a pmv300 holder.. My fiance is planning to have my kids visit Australia on a visitor visa. Can he sponsor them if we aren't married yet? 

If we apply for the visitor visa after the wedding, can he sponsor them then since technically he will be their step father? 

Thank you


----------



## Navi1989

Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot for the answers. I really appreciate your help.

Kind regards,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Navi1989 -
> 
> The one I had heard good things about, I recently started hearing bad things about and his clients started coming to me for migration work with complaints about his service, so I've actually got no one to recommend. Just be careful as you look into these bundled migration/job deals - many of these are less than desirable.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Proudmamma -

He can invite them for a subclass 600 visitor visa tourist stream, but he cannot sponsor them for a subclass 600 sponsored family visitor visa as they are not his family members yet.

Would suggest tourist stream is a better fit for this type of visit based on what you've said so far.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



proudmomma said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a pmv300 holder.. My fiance is planning to have my kids visit Australia on a visitor visa. Can he sponsor them if we aren't married yet?
> 
> If we apply for the visitor visa after the wedding, can he sponsor them then since technically he will be their step father?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

Yes.

Suggest you lodge the visitor visa after you lodge the PMV so the visitor visa processing people will see the PMV already on their system.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Good day! I was looking at applying for 6mo TV same time I apply for PMV. My question, will the medical test I will be having for PMV can be considered as the medical test for the tourist as well? Because I know it will need a medical test if i am staying in oz for more than 3 months.
> 
> Thanks,
> Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

As this is a call for others to respond, would suggest you post it outside the Ask Mark! thread - more people will see it and, hopefully, respond!

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> I have applied for my 189 skilled independent..The only document left from my side to be uploaded is the PCC from Netherlands,where i had resided for two years.
> I am from India and I have mailed the COVOG in Netherlands asking for the same.I wanted to know is there anybody who resided in Netherlands before and have undergone this process?
> The documents have reached COVOG (i came to know because i had couriered them and i tracked it).
> Do we get acknowledgement from them or is there any communication that takes place during the process? Do let me know if anybody knows how long it takes for getting the PCC? On their site they have said we will give in 4 weeks...
> Kindly help me with the info..
> Case officer has not been allocated to me yet as i have applied two weeks ago,and i have heard that it will take around 5 weeks for the case officer allocation.
> 
> Regards
> Swavik


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stst -

A high quality colour scan of your original uploaded with your application should be fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stst said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for the 189 visa, and I am the only one on the application. Can you please tell me if I need my birth certificate for the application, or will a colour scanned copy of my passport be sufficient?
> 
> If birth certificate is needed, can I just upload a non-certified (colour) copy when applying? My birth certificate is in my home country, but I can get my parents to scan a copy to send to me.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lady2014 -

Thanks for the question. DIBP still accepts hardcopy partner visa applications, but we always recommend lodging it online. Normally no hardcopies needed for online partner visa applications unless it's an offshore application and the Embassy, etc wants to see the original of a police clearance certificate, but this is pretty rare.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lady2014 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Were about to lodge Partner Visa. Just thinking is it really needed to be ONLINE? Or can we still do via actual lodgement? If online is everything needs to scanned/attach ONLY or there's still some addtl docs needed to send via post. Thanks Mark all the best.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual skilled or employer sponsored assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Hi Mark,
> After joining the forum I noticed you are one of the leading migration lawyer giving your advise and views on different issues. I wanted to take this opportunity to get your advice and guidance on migration matter.
> 
> I am from Bangladesh. Graduated in business administration(MBA major in marketing).Started my career in one of the local conglomerate and worked their more than 3 three years and looked after sales and sales administration .After that, I have joined with a multinational company which is involved in manufacturing of ready made garments, textiles, shoes and also involved in development of an Export Processing Zone in the private sector to industrial undertaking from different parts of the world.
> 
> During my 14 years in this multinational company as an Assistant General Manager my job responsibility is to provide guidelines, strategy and policy for the prospective investors as well as to provide other administrative support for smooth operation and functioning of the zone. As a Corporate Manager, or facilities manager can I apply for immigration visa to Australia.
> Please note that I took part in the IELTS exam during the year 2013 and scored 6 in listening,reading and speaking and 6.5 in writing.
> Now I would appreciate your kind and valuable advise as to whether
> 1. I can apply for any skilled visa?
> 2.I can get any job offer under ENS-186 direct stream for migration without having any job experience in Australian economy?
> 3.Or Can I buy share of any Australian company without any business experience directly?
> 
> Your guidance and advise would be deeply appreciated.
> 
> Thanks and regards,
> Tamzid


----------



## sachkunj

*New quota*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing fine..

Just a quick question to you is it true that in every year of july DIBP will have new quota's for partner visa?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sachkunj -

Yes, that's true - for each program year running from July to the following June, quotas are set for each general type of visa for Australia - they cannot exceed those quotas during the program year, and new quotas are announced and set each July.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sachkunj said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing fine..
> 
> Just a quick question to you is it true that in every year of july DIBP will have new quota's for partner visa?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## sachkunj

Marvelous Knowledge..

I bet u must be best in your job.

Thanks and you have great day a head...


----------



## proudmomma

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Proudmamma -
> 
> He can invite them for a subclass 600 visitor visa tourist stream, but he cannot sponsor them for a subclass 600 sponsored family visitor visa as they are not his family members yet.
> 
> Would suggest tourist stream is a better fit for this type of visit based on what you've said so far.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank u for ur reply Mark. Another question though. Where should my fiance apply for this visa? Here in philippines or in Australia?

Thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Proudmamma -

For subclass 600 visitor visas if the applicant is outside Australia, you would need to lodge that in the Philippines. Note that the Philippines lodgement services are no longer with PIASI as of Monday of this week, and are now being handled by VFS Global.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



proudmomma said:


> Thank u for ur reply Mark. Another question though. Where should my fiance apply for this visa? Here in philippines or in Australia?
> 
> Thanks again


----------



## andremtbeer

Hi Mark, as an employer in Queensland i am looking to employ a 457 holder who is wanting to join my Company after resigning with his current sponsor. He is a Cheese Maker, (by the way they are rare and hard to find), i have been advertising everywhere for one. What are the fees for yourself and Gov fees involved, and what are the parameters to which would determine if My Company would qualify to nominate?

Thank You Andre


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andre -

Thanks for the note - basically your company would need to show a genuine need for the employee and be in reasonably good financial shape (ie, no recent layoffs in that position or area), and meet the training benchmarks and some other items. Probably best if you contact me direct and we can set up a phone call or other means to get you the information as too many details to go into here - please see my website below in my signature - contact info is available there, or you can send me a private msg on the forum here with your contact info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## rahman

Hi Mark

Hope you are doing good. I am new here. I would appreciate if you answer my following question.
Q. Can i select more than one visa type in my EOI? i.e. I wanna select Subclass 189 and Subclass 489 both. 
Thanks & Regards
Rahman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahman -

No problem at all. Only issue is that sometimes if you're looking for state sponsorship and you've selected more than one state, some states will prefer others who have only picked their state (and not multiple states).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rahman said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hope you are doing good. I am new here. I would appreciate if you answer my following question.
> Q. Can i select more than one visa type in my EOI? i.e. I wanna select Subclass 189 and Subclass 489 both.
> Thanks & Regards
> Rahman


----------



## Dutchie22

Navi1989 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot for the answers. I really appreciate your help.
> 
> Kind regards,


Thanks again ! I will have to do the police check tomorrow and going to do this in person. Pretty sure I don't need anything else apart from filling out the police form, no other forms etc? Of course I will bring several forms of ID with me..

Kind Regards,


----------



## yoyo_0210

Hi Mark

Me and my partner have applied for partner visa already, but his student visa got reported for breaching the study conditions. So I'm thinking to voluntarily cancel the student visa and apply for bridging E. This is the only option yeah?

Secondly, when filling out the form for cancelling the student visa, are there any specific reasons that I might need to avoid mentioning so that he is still able to successfully apply bridging E? (Eg: breach of study conditions) What kind of answers would be more appropriate? (If any)

Also, how can he prove that he is in financial problems so that he can apply for work rights when he change to bridging E?

And we applied the partner visa online, does that mean that our documents does not need to be certified???? Sufficient by just scanning a colour copy??

Sorry for asking so many questions at once.

Thanks. Really appreciate your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yoyo_0210 -

Thanks for the questions. Depending on where his visa is in the cancellation process already, it may be a race to see who can cancel first! As long as you have already applied for your onshore partner visa, the student visa cancellation should not prevent you from getting a BV-E to wait out the partner visa decision in Australia. Remember the issues that come with a voluntary cancellation - unlawful for a short period, loss of time previously in Australia to be used towards the citizenship residency requirement, and with a BV-E if you leave Australia, there's no way to get back in and you may have an exclusion period.

Re: reason for cancellation, you don't need to mention the breach unless you wanted to, you could simply say something like unable to continue studies for financial reasons or something like that.

Financial hardship for BV-E is shown by detailing your monthly income (the two of you combined) and monthly expenses, and showing that unless he were able to work, your income would be less than your expenses, etc. Don't forget to include bills and payslips (be careful they reflect that he didn't work any more than allowed under the student visa, etc), etc to provide evidence of this.

With online applications, latest guidance from DIBP is that high quality colour scans of original documents are fine - no need for certified copies unless specifically requested by a case officer (rarely done).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



yoyo_0210 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Me and my partner have applied for partner visa already, but his student visa got reported for breaching the study conditions. So I'm thinking to voluntarily cancel the student visa and apply for bridging E. This is the only option yeah?
> 
> Secondly, when filling out the form for cancelling the student visa, are there any specific reasons that I might need to avoid mentioning so that he is still able to successfully apply bridging E? (Eg: breach of study conditions) What kind of answers would be more appropriate? (If any)
> 
> Also, how can he prove that he is in financial problems so that he can apply for work rights when he change to bridging E?
> 
> And we applied the partner visa online, does that mean that our documents does not need to be certified???? Sufficient by just scanning a colour copy??
> 
> Sorry for asking so many questions at once.
> 
> Thanks. Really appreciate your help.


----------



## roryjenkins

Hi again Mark, thanks for all the info on the migration agent courses it's something I shall go deeper into when we get to Australia. I was just hoping for a bit of advice regarding our visa application. I am a PR with an RRV until Dec this year. However I have been living in the UK for quite a few years as I met my wife & have a 3yo son & have been spending time with my family as my grandfather has been getting in worse health the last few years. Would it be best for me to go to Australia ahead of the decision to show we intend to live there permanently or can I wait with my family until a CO decides our case as we have explained this in our future plans statement & that we intend to move to Australia within 2-3 weeks of a visa being granted? Also would my (being the sponsor) emotional well being be a valid reason to ask for our application to be granted priority on compelling & compassionate grounds ? Also would it be good if I could get a letter for an offer of employment fowhen we arrive in Australia as when we visited a good friend of the family said I could work for his company?
Many Thanks 
Rory


----------



## rahman

Hi Mark

Thanks for your reply

Regards
Rahman



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rahman -
> 
> No problem at all. Only issue is that sometimes if you're looking for state sponsorship and you've selected more than one state, some states will prefer others who have only picked their state (and not multiple states).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rory -

Thanks for the note. We've recently seen an uptick in partner visa refusals relating to the Usually Resident requirement, which states the sponsor must essentially consider Australia his/her (primary) home - but you can have more than one home. With that in mind, I would do everything you can to put that into place and upload evidence of that (ie, lease or other accommodation evidence, any employment info, other evidence you are now or will very soon be moving there, etc). If you can get employment lined up and evidence of that too, great. But try not to have all the evidence be "in the future" stuff as that may not be weighted as heavily. The RRV won't help get over this. Really would be best if you get to Australia and get some of these things in place before decision.

Re: emotional health issues, if you can certify this with some sort of medical letter it might help, hard to say. Needs to be very strong evidence to have any chance of success.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roryjenkins said:


> Hi again Mark, thanks for all the info on the migration agent courses it's something I shall go deeper into when we get to Australia. I was just hoping for a bit of advice regarding our visa application. I am a PR with an RRV until Dec this year. However I have been living in the UK for quite a few years as I met my wife & have a 3yo son & have been spending time with my family as my grandfather has been getting in worse health the last few years. Would it be best for me to go to Australia ahead of the decision to show we intend to live there permanently or can I wait with my family until a CO decides our case as we have explained this in our future plans statement & that we intend to move to Australia within 2-3 weeks of a visa being granted? Also would my (being the sponsor) emotional well being be a valid reason to ask for our application to be granted priority on compelling & compassionate grounds ? Also would it be good if I could get a letter for an offer of employment fowhen we arrive in Australia as when we visited a good friend of the family said I could work for his company?
> Many Thanks
> Rory


----------



## dansyed

Hi Mark,

One of my friend plans to apply for Australian Immigration under the GSM program - 189/190. The issue is that his parents are dependent on him as he is their only son. Hence, at the time of visa grant, he would want to take his parents along and cannot have them left behind and bring them later to Australia. 

I wanted to know whether the visa 189/190 has any clause for parents to be brought along, or if they can't be covered under the application, what is the process to have them accompany him to Australia. Please note that the parents are not working and are old i.e. 60+ years of age. Please advise.


----------



## yoyo_0210

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the prompt reply.

Do you by any chance know whether the DIAC in Melbourne does this cancellation in person every working day?? I don't remember where, but I think I recall seeing something that says they do the cancellation only on thursday?.. And I don't seem to be able to find that source anymore.

Thanks again.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Yoyo_0210 -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Depending on where his visa is in the cancellation process already, it may be a race to see who can cancel first! As long as you have already applied for your onshore partner visa, the student visa cancellation should not prevent you from getting a BV-E to wait out the partner visa decision in Australia. Remember the issues that come with a voluntary cancellation - unlawful for a short period, loss of time previously in Australia to be used towards the citizenship residency requirement, and with a BV-E if you leave Australia, there's no way to get back in and you may have an exclusion period.
> 
> Re: reason for cancellation, you don't need to mention the breach unless you wanted to, you could simply say something like unable to continue studies for financial reasons or something like that.
> 
> Financial hardship for BV-E is shown by detailing your monthly income (the two of you combined) and monthly expenses, and showing that unless he were able to work, your income would be less than your expenses, etc. Don't forget to include bills and payslips (be careful they reflect that he didn't work any more than allowed under the student visa, etc), etc to provide evidence of this.
> 
> With online applications, latest guidance from DIBP is that high quality colour scans of original documents are fine - no need for certified copies unless specifically requested by a case officer (rarely done).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

hi Yoyo0210 -

Beginning last year, DIBP no longer had student visa people at their counters - in fact most functions have been moved away from the counters other than printing visa labels. Normally student visas are not cancelled by getting the form from DIBP, then emailing it to the indicated address. Then you wait for a notice of intent to cancel, don't respond in the 5 days given you to respond, then they cancel it sometime shortly thereafter leaving you without a visa (unlawful). At that point you need to go to DIBP right away to lodge a Bridging Visa E application form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



yoyo_0210 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the prompt reply.
> 
> Do you by any chance know whether the DIAC in Melbourne does this cancellation in person every working day?? I don't remember where, but I think I recall seeing something that says they do the cancellation only on thursday?.. And I don't seem to be able to find that source anymore.
> 
> Thanks again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dansyed -

Thanks for the note. There are provisions for adult dependents, but they're not easy to meet, especially if the persons are not all living in the same household. Suggest your friend engage a registered migration agent to work through the law with you and see if they may qualify and what documentation/evidence is available to make the case to DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dansyed said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> One of my friend plans to apply for Australian Immigration under the GSM program - 189/190. The issue is that his parents are dependent on him as he is their only son. Hence, at the time of visa grant, he would want to take his parents along and cannot have them left behind and bring them later to Australia.
> 
> I wanted to know whether the visa 189/190 has any clause for parents to be brought along, or if they can't be covered under the application, what is the process to have them accompany him to Australia. Please note that the parents are not working and are old i.e. 60+ years of age. Please advise.


----------



## bhole

*Touist visa*

Hi Mark,
I would like to ask general query regarding Family sponsored Tourist visa. I logged Family Sponsored Tourist visa (600) to call my father from India to visit us for a month. I am PR living in OZ for 4 years. it's been nearly 3 weeks since I logged visa and got email from Dept. that they have received my email 3 weeks before. no more reply or any response. can you please let me know how long it will take the visa decision ?

My Father is retired govt employee and he senior citizen age of 66. I provided all the docs as per requirement. just bit worried, so if you can reply that would be really appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bhole -

Thanks for the note. Hard to say how long it will take - I've seen them come back in a few weeks, other times in months. They are very unpredictable, unfortunately.

Best,

Mark Northam



bhole said:


> Hi Mark,
> I would like to ask general query regarding Family sponsored Tourist visa. I logged Family Sponsored Tourist visa (600) to call my father from India to visit us for a month. I am PR living in OZ for 4 years. it's been nearly 3 weeks since I logged visa and got email from Dept. that they have received my email 3 weeks before. no more reply or any response. can you please let me know how long it will take the visa decision ?
> 
> My Father is retired govt employee and he senior citizen age of 66. I provided all the docs as per requirement. just bit worried, so if you can reply that would be really appreciated.


----------



## bhole

Thanks Mark for quick reply.


----------



## Lirinya

Hello Mark,

Some lovely people from a thread I posted suggest I post to you for advice.

I met my partner online and came to Australia to live with him on the 7th July 2013 on a working holiday visa.

Now my visa is coming to it's one year end, as is our on year of living together. 

I spoke to somebody from IMMI who said that, if I submit a cover letter explaining that in a weeks time of applying, my partner and I will have lived together for one year - I should be safe to apply for the de facto partner visa.

I still have some concerns from this. If I were to take a month off work to go on a visitor visa, I would loose my job. If I don't apply for a visa soon, I will have to leave the country. 

The only issue I see pushing us down is this one year requirement. Being in WA, we can't register the relationship and we don't want to have to get married for the sake of keeping me in the country. 

This is pulling me apart. Do I submit the application with the cover letter, hoping that what I told was correct or do I take another step?

Our joint savings only just covers the visa, we can't afford actual migration help.

Do you have advice that may help me?

Thankyou.


----------



## seekingpr

*Usual Country of Residence*

Hello Mark,
Back on the forum to seek your advice again.On the Visa application form for 189 Visa, there is question asking "Your usual Country of Residence".
I am from India and have been living in Australia since past 15 months,I Have provided Usual Country of Residence as my India Hoe Address and have also provided My India residence landline number as contact number.

The Notification that i have received after submission of Visa application says:
My Passport details
My Visa applicaiton details
and....also stating
Your Residential Address is <>
Your Contact Number isXXXX (My home Landline in India)
My Postal Address is << My Address in Australia>>

My Current residential address (which is Australian Address) and Mobile number is anyway specified on Form 1023 which i submitted to notify incorrect information that i filled in in some other column .

Query 1:
DIBP has advised that your contact details need to be up to date and any change should be updaed.So, do i need to specifically tell DIBP via another Form 1023 to change my Usual country of residence & my contact number?

Query 2:

After you advised to complete my Medicals, i did that on 18h June.How would i know that Medical results have been received by DIBP?Will there be a change in Visa Application status?


----------



## Hilti

Hi Mark,
I am going to apply for a 461 Visa. My partner is from New Zealand and non eligible, so this is the only option for me to stay with him here in Australia. We have been together for about 2 years now and in my opinion we are living in a genuine and continuing relationship. The problem is though, that we have only been living together for about 3 months and from what i have read we need to be living together for 12 months to proof that we are in an actual de facto relationship. We didnt move in together befor because I am on a student Visa and I have an aunty here in Perth, so I could live with her for a small rent. Also my partner is working away most of the time doing FIFO, so we didnt really see the point in living together, as I could save money living with my family and I would go to his place and live with him everytime he got back from work. Is there any way that I could explain this to the Immigration, or do they never look at different circumstances or make exceptions? Also is it possible for a New Zealand citizen to fill out the form 888? One of my partners friends knows our relationship really well and knows me from day 1 and most of my friends and my partners friends are from New Zealand or other parts in the world.

Thanks for your time and help
Hilti


----------



## pawandhir

*ENS186 change job*

hii Mark
today i read a news... thats
The Department of Immigration has announced that on 1 July 2014, there will be changes to certain employer nomination/regional skilled migration provisions so as to provide greater flexibility to intending applicants.

A major change will be in relation to the policy with regard to the requirements under the Temporary Residence Transition stream when demonstrating 2 years work with the same employer. The Department has recognised that the existing arrangements were too restrictive, particularly where businesses have undergone change in the form of restructures, takeovers and sales.

The updated policy will apply to all applications on hand as at 1July 2014, as well is all applications lodged from this date onward.

The updated policy also provides greater clarity on issues such as 'periods of continuous employment', how time spent on a bridging visa is to be dealt with, and how employment is to be treated when the nominee has been working for a number of companies within a group.

Persons wishing to apply for permanent residence under the Temporary Residence Transition stream should seek legal advice prior to lodging an application so as to ensure that their situation will fit within the new policy guidelines.

i changed job dueto liquidation.. so is it good news 4 me??


----------



## Zulfiqar

Dear mark
I got invitation to apply for visa under subclass 189 on 6th October 2013,
I applied under the anzsco 261311 (Analyst Programmer), I applied on 29 November 2013 and got case officer allocated on 9 December 2013, I provided documents as well as medical results online on 25th of December 2013 and got acknowledgment that my case would go under mandatory checks by external agencies on 8th of January 2014.
Still no response even after approximately six months..................... any suggestions

regards

Zulfiqar


----------



## MyVisa2014

Dear Mark,
I know you are very busy and my question is probably not very clear, but I am still writing it to you and hope you might have some advise.
I'm German, applied for an De facto Partner Visa (offshore) and have been to several countries which seem to be a problem for my migration (Syria seems to be the main problem right now).
My case officer told me I would have to submit Form 80 which I did in January. Last week she phoned again and said I have to submit it again and the regulations for people visiting Syria for more than 14 days (was 21 days in January) changed.
So my questions: Can regulatory changes affect my pending application? I mean, wouldn't the regulation of my day of lodgment apply? 
My CO says she can not specify the problem with Syria. Do you think they would have to specify their reasoning to a lawyer?

When I talked to her in January, I was under the impression they want to make sure I didn't receive any paramilitary training in fundamentalist groups. I am a female development economist and therefore it is very unlikely that a Jihad training group wants to recruit me. Did you ever hear about different processes for male and female applicants? 

Thanks a lot!
MyVisa2014


----------



## enida

Dear Mr.Mark,
I hope this post finds you well. I have always appreciated your opinions and answers and this time I need your opinion about something delicate. I possess Albanian and Greek citizenship, my husband has Albanian one and we have lodged 189 visa in May (I have used the Albanian passport). Two days ago I was allocated a CO from a team which is related to many high risk countries (this is a conclusion I've drawn after some research, it might even be just a speculation of mine) and was asked to provide form 80. Now my question is, do you think Albania is a very high risk country? It's not ETA eligible but there are many countries which aren't ETA eligible and which haven' t gone through security checks and grants haven't delayed. Do you think Albania is in the same category with countries which DIBP considers very high risk, such as Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, UAE, African countries, Russia etc? I'm really scared we might go through SC and wait at least 18 months before our case gets finalized and this really has robbed our peace. Moreover, I cannot find a single person from my country having applied through Skill Select and I cannot draw any conclusion on what I might expect. Your opinion is always valuable and I'm really looking forward to your reply.

Thank you very much and lots of blessings,
Enida


----------



## mharm

Dear Mark,
Hope you are doing well.
Today Morning I tried to log in to my immiaccount, but it says "invalid username and password".
after 3 attempts , it says I have just 2 more time to log in and after that my account will be locked.
I tried forth time , but problem still exist.I am pretty sure that I enter them correcrtly.
I have just one more time. I am not sure its a system glitch or not. Please Advise what should I do now?


----------



## MeryTH

Hi Mark,
Thanks for your quick responce. I persumed that was the case but I wasn't quite sure.But while I was waiting for you responce, I got my family to certify their paper for me, and I'll be submitting to IMMIGRATION IN Brisbane.
1. How long does it take to process the visa?
2. Can you apply up to 6 months using the same form 1419? 
3. If you apply for 6 months visa, do you have to get medical check and police clearance?
Thank Mark.
Have a good weekend.


----------



## seekingpr

*Claiing Points for Partner Skills*

Hi Mark,
- My sister has got +ve ACS skills assessment for ANZSCO Code 135112 'ICT Project Manager'.
- Her husband has got +ve skills assessment from VETASSESS for ANZSCO Code 232214 'Other Spatial Scientist)

- My sister lodged EOI as principal applicant with 75 points (without claiming partner skills points) and at the same time also applied for VIC State Sponsorship

- After VIC SS sponsorship application was lodged her husband also cleared IELTS with 6 bands.

- Now she has updated EOI and has claimed additional 5 points for partner skills in EOI.However, there is no provision to update details in Victorian State sponsorship application and it is locked for any changes.

Within Victorian State Sponsorship application there is question asked that "has the applicant claimed points for partner skills? " and my sister had originially responded as 'No' since at that time she had not claimed partner skills points.

Query 1
Our concern is will it be a problem now if we have claimed partner skills point sin EOI but have answered 'No' in Vic State Sponsorship application?

Query 2
Should we intimate Victorian Government about this update? If yes, how do we do that? Victorian government has not made a decision yet on our sponsorship application

Query 3
Is there any additional benefit in terms of decison our our state sponsorship application if we intimate abour additonal 5 points for partner skills?

Query 4
I was reading your response to a query raised by somebody where you advised following, for points marked in red, i am not clear and does that mean that my sister cannot claim points for partner skills as her and her husband's skills are listed on different lists (my sister's occupation is on CSOL list and her husband occupation is on COL List"

"For partner points please not that the person must be:
*_An applicant for the same sub class of Visa as you_
* A person who has competent English (at least 6 band on each of 4 modules) at the time of invitation
* _A person who has successful skills assessment in an occupation on the same list as your occupation is listed on_
* A person who meets the age requirement (i.e less that 50 years old at the time of invitation)


----------



## anvivys

Hi Mark,
I and my spouse are Australian PRs, currently living in India. Our daughter was born in India Dec 2013. We have lodged child visa 101 for her in May 2014. We are planning to travel to Australia in August 2014 and file a long stay (12 months) visitor visa for our daughter.

While answering the question regarding purpose of visitor visa we are mentioning about the child visa application and stating that the child would want to stay with her parents while awaiting response on child visa.
Would this disqualify us for visitor visa?

Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lirinya -

Thanks for the note. If it's only a matter of a week's time that you're short the 12 months living together, I'd probably lodge the application. The actual legal requirement is that the defacto relationship have existed for the 12 months prior to lodgement, and DIBP takes living together as the primary indicator of that relationship existing. My thought would be to include in that cover letter further details that show how despite you have just less than a year of living together, that the exclusive committed defacto relationship actually existing in many ways before you lived together (if that's accurate, of course).

The alternative if you don't have evidence of the relationship existing prior to that point as a defacto relationship is to put in the letter and take your chances. That being said, I think if you do go this route, chances are very low that they would refuse the visa solely based on lack of 1 week's time living together, especially if you include lots and lots of high quality relationship evidence and statements attesting to the relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lirinya said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Some lovely people from a thread I posted suggest I post to you for advice.
> 
> I met my partner online and came to Australia to live with him on the 7th July 2013 on a working holiday visa.
> 
> Now my visa is coming to it's one year end, as is our on year of living together.
> 
> I spoke to somebody from IMMI who said that, if I submit a cover letter explaining that in a weeks time of applying, my partner and I will have lived together for one year - I should be safe to apply for the de facto partner visa.
> 
> I still have some concerns from this. If I were to take a month off work to go on a visitor visa, I would loose my job. If I don't apply for a visa soon, I will have to leave the country.
> 
> The only issue I see pushing us down is this one year requirement. Being in WA, we can't register the relationship and we don't want to have to get married for the sake of keeping me in the country.
> 
> This is pulling me apart. Do I submit the application with the cover letter, hoping that what I told was correct or do I take another step?
> 
> Our joint savings only just covers the visa, we can't afford actual migration help.
> 
> Do you have advice that may help me?
> 
> Thankyou.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seekingpr -

I think this question sounds like one you also submitted to me as a PM and i answered - please advise if not.

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> Hello Mark,
> Back on the forum to seek your advice again.On the Visa application form for 189 Visa, there is question asking "Your usual Country of Residence".
> I am from India and have been living in Australia since past 15 months,I Have provided Usual Country of Residence as my India Hoe Address and have also provided My India residence landline number as contact number.
> 
> The Notification that i have received after submission of Visa application says:
> My Passport details
> My Visa applicaiton details
> and....also stating
> Your Residential Address is <>
> Your Contact Number isXXXX (My home Landline in India)
> My Postal Address is << My Address in Australia>>
> 
> My Current residential address (which is Australian Address) and Mobile number is anyway specified on Form 1023 which i submitted to notify incorrect information that i filled in in some other column .
> 
> Query 1:
> DIBP has advised that your contact details need to be up to date and any change should be updaed.So, do i need to specifically tell DIBP via another Form 1023 to change my Usual country of residence & my contact number?
> 
> Query 2:
> 
> After you advised to complete my Medicals, i did that on 18h June.How would i know that Medical results have been received by DIBP?Will there be a change in Visa Application status?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hilti -

The 461 is a bit of an odd visa in that many of the normal requirements do not apply to it, however one of the most important things about the 461 is to provide lots and lots of relationship evidence and statements, just as you would with a partner visa. With the lack of much living together and not being married, that's going to put a big focus on the evidence you show that you have been together for 2 years - the longer you can establish the defacto relationship has existed via documents and evidence, the better off you'll be.

This application sounds challenging to me based on the circumstances - I'd really look carefully at any/all evidence you can get of the 2 years' relationship. Form 888's can only be witnessed on Australian soil. If the person signing the 888 is not an Australian citizen or PR, probably better to just have them print out their statement (ie, on a word processor doc, etc) and then have them write about how they believe you are in a genuine defacto relationship and cite a couple of reasons/observations/examples of why they believe this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hilti said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am going to apply for a 461 Visa. My partner is from New Zealand and non eligible, so this is the only option for me to stay with him here in Australia. We have been together for about 2 years now and in my opinion we are living in a genuine and continuing relationship. The problem is though, that we have only been living together for about 3 months and from what i have read we need to be living together for 12 months to proof that we are in an actual de facto relationship. We didnt move in together befor because I am on a student Visa and I have an aunty here in Perth, so I could live with her for a small rent. Also my partner is working away most of the time doing FIFO, so we didnt really see the point in living together, as I could save money living with my family and I would go to his place and live with him everytime he got back from work. Is there any way that I could explain this to the Immigration, or do they never look at different circumstances or make exceptions? Also is it possible for a New Zealand citizen to fill out the form 888? One of my partners friends knows our relationship really well and knows me from day 1 and most of my friends and my partners friends are from New Zealand or other parts in the world.
> 
> Thanks for your time and help
> Hilti


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pawandhir -

Thanks for the note. The new regulations about this are anything but simple and straightforward - suggest you set up a consultation with a registered migration agent so you and the agent can work through all the details of your situation and see if you qualify - you'll need to know the legal ownership of all the employers, and the details by which any of them over the 2 year period are related to each other and how. If you'd like set up a consultation with us, my website link is in my signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pawandhir said:


> hii Mark
> today i read a news... thats
> The Department of Immigration has announced that on 1 July 2014, there will be changes to certain employer nomination/regional skilled migration provisions so as to provide greater flexibility to intending applicants.
> 
> A major change will be in relation to the policy with regard to the requirements under the Temporary Residence Transition stream when demonstrating 2 years work with the same employer. The Department has recognised that the existing arrangements were too restrictive, particularly where businesses have undergone change in the form of restructures, takeovers and sales.
> 
> The updated policy will apply to all applications on hand as at 1July 2014, as well is all applications lodged from this date onward.
> 
> The updated policy also provides greater clarity on issues such as 'periods of continuous employment', how time spent on a bridging visa is to be dealt with, and how employment is to be treated when the nominee has been working for a number of companies within a group.
> 
> Persons wishing to apply for permanent residence under the Temporary Residence Transition stream should seek legal advice prior to lodging an application so as to ensure that their situation will fit within the new policy guidelines.
> 
> i changed job dueto liquidation.. so is it good news 4 me??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zulfiqar -

Thanks for the note - as long as you haven't changed your email address and/or contact info without telling DIBP, then all you can do is wait. I'm hearing that security checks in your part of the world are substantially delayed - there are apparently many people trying to move from Pakistan to Australia, and it's swamping the services there - we've noted a significant uptick in Pakistani clients at our office over the last 4 months as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zulfiqar said:


> Dear mark
> I got invitation to apply for visa under subclass 189 on 6th October 2013,
> I applied under the anzsco 261311 (Analyst Programmer), I applied on 29 November 2013 and got case officer allocated on 9 December 2013, I provided documents as well as medical results online on 25th of December 2013 and got acknowledgment that my case would go under mandatory checks by external agencies on 8th of January 2014.
> Still no response even after approximately six months..................... any suggestions
> 
> regards
> 
> Zulfiqar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MyVisa2014 -

Thanks for the note. As the conflict in Syria has intensified, the Australian government has substantially increased the scrutiny of Australians who have spent time there in an effort to identify those who may be providing a supportive (or more) role to the insurgents there. These changes affect any visa that is being processed, so time of application doesn't matter - any visa undecided when they make these changes will likely be swept up in the new requirements.

I don't think having a lawyer ask will get you more details as many of the operational details of this are not released to anyone, lawyer or not.

Given the seriousness that the government is taking the Syria situation, I'd keep in touch with the case office, and complete any/all forms and information they want you to - they key is to make sure they have everything they have requested. If it gets to the point where they are considering refusal based on some sort of character grounds due to whatever time you may have spent in Syria, they'll normally advise you of this beforehand and give you an opportunity for natural justice - that is, to respond to any allegations or concerns prior to refusal. That's the point at which I would definitely get professional help, if that happens.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MyVisa2014 said:


> Dear Mark,
> I know you are very busy and my question is probably not very clear, but I am still writing it to you and hope you might have some advise.
> I'm German, applied for an De facto Partner Visa (offshore) and have been to several countries which seem to be a problem for my migration (Syria seems to be the main problem right now).
> My case officer told me I would have to submit Form 80 which I did in January. Last week she phoned again and said I have to submit it again and the regulations for people visiting Syria for more than 14 days (was 21 days in January) changed.
> So my questions: Can regulatory changes affect my pending application? I mean, wouldn't the regulation of my day of lodgment apply?
> My CO says she can not specify the problem with Syria. Do you think they would have to specify their reasoning to a lawyer?
> 
> When I talked to her in January, I was under the impression they want to make sure I didn't receive any paramilitary training in fundamentalist groups. I am a female development economist and therefore it is very unlikely that a Jihad training group wants to recruit me. Did you ever hear about different processes for male and female applicants?
> 
> Thanks a lot!
> MyVisa2014


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enida -

Thanks for the note. Hard to say exactly which countries DIBP considers "high risk" as that's not published anywhere. Here's one statistic that is published and might be of some interest:

Modified Non-Return Rate Quarterly Report Ending at 31 December 2012

The Form 80 request is not unusual at all, so I wouldn't be concerned - I have a client from Canada for a 189 who had had this request of him, so Form 80 is certainly not limited to higher-risk countries.

Bottom line: no good way to tell how long the processing will take - too many factors that you don't have enough data on, and DIBP doesn't make any promises as to processing times. You'll likely just have to wait it out and try not to worry too much - while the timeframe may be unpredictable, if you've put in a great application and can justify all your points, assuming you've been accurate/truthful re: the applications, then you've got reasons to feel good about the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enida said:


> Dear Mr.Mark,
> I hope this post finds you well. I have always appreciated your opinions and answers and this time I need your opinion about something delicate. I possess Albanian and Greek citizenship, my husband has Albanian one and we have lodged 189 visa in May (I have used the Albanian passport). Two days ago I was allocated a CO from a team which is related to many high risk countries (this is a conclusion I've drawn after some research, it might even be just a speculation of mine) and was asked to provide form 80. Now my question is, do you think Albania is a very high risk country? It's not ETA eligible but there are many countries which aren't ETA eligible and which haven' t gone through security checks and grants haven't delayed. Do you think Albania is in the same category with countries which DIBP considers very high risk, such as Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, UAE, African countries, Russia etc? I'm really scared we might go through SC and wait at least 18 months before our case gets finalized and this really has robbed our peace. Moreover, I cannot find a single person from my country having applied through Skill Select and I cannot draw any conclusion on what I might expect. Your opinion is always valuable and I'm really looking forward to your reply.
> 
> Thank you very much and lots of blessings,
> Enida


----------



## enida

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Enida -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Hard to say exactly which countries DIBP considers "high risk" as that's not published anywhere. Here's one statistic that is published and might be of some interest:
> 
> Modified Non-Return Rate Quarterly Report Ending at 31*December 2012
> 
> The Form 80 request is not unusual at all, so I wouldn't be concerned - I have a client from Canada for a 189 who had had this request of him, so Form 80 is certainly not limited to higher-risk countries.
> 
> Bottom line: no good way to tell how long the processing will take - too many factors that you don't have enough data on, and DIBP doesn't make any promises as to processing times. You'll likely just have to wait it out and try not to worry too much - while the timeframe may be unpredictable, if you've put in a great application and can justify all your points, assuming you've been accurate/truthful re: the applications, then you've got reasons to feel good about the application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much for your precious reply.

All the very best,
Enida


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seekingpr -

You'll have to contact the VIC skilled visa authorities to update the application depending on how they handle these types of changes. Re: same list, from what you've said it sounds like the husband's occupation may work but would need to see all the details of the applicants in a consultation to give any specific advice - skilled visas include a mountain of regulations that need to be checked for each visa when there are these sorts of situations to make sure that everything works. I wish they'd make the system simpler!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> Hi Mark,
> - My sister has got +ve ACS skills assessment for ANZSCO Code 135112 'ICT Project Manager'.
> - Her husband has got +ve skills assessment from VETASSESS for ANZSCO Code 232214 'Other Spatial Scientist)
> 
> - My sister lodged EOI as principal applicant with 75 points (without claiming partner skills points) and at the same time also applied for VIC State Sponsorship
> 
> - After VIC SS sponsorship application was lodged her husband also cleared IELTS with 6 bands.
> 
> - Now she has updated EOI and has claimed additional 5 points for partner skills in EOI.However, there is no provision to update details in Victorian State sponsorship application and it is locked for any changes.
> 
> Within Victorian State Sponsorship application there is question asked that "has the applicant claimed points for partner skills? " and my sister had originially responded as 'No' since at that time she had not claimed partner skills points.
> 
> Query 1
> Our concern is will it be a problem now if we have claimed partner skills point sin EOI but have answered 'No' in Vic State Sponsorship application?
> 
> Query 2
> Should we intimate Victorian Government about this update? If yes, how do we do that? Victorian government has not made a decision yet on our sponsorship application
> 
> Query 3
> Is there any additional benefit in terms of decison our our state sponsorship application if we intimate abour additonal 5 points for partner skills?
> 
> Query 4
> I was reading your response to a query raised by somebody where you advised following, for points marked in red, i am not clear and does that mean that my sister cannot claim points for partner skills as her and her husband's skills are listed on different lists (my sister's occupation is on CSOL list and her husband occupation is on COL List"
> 
> "For partner points please not that the person must be:
> *_An applicant for the same sub class of Visa as you_
> * A person who has competent English (at least 6 band on each of 4 modules) at the time of invitation
> * _A person who has successful skills assessment in an occupation on the same list as your occupation is listed on_
> * A person who meets the age requirement (i.e less that 50 years old at the time of invitation)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mharm -

Not sure what's going on there - if your account gets locked, in some cases the lock comes off in 24 hours or some time period. Short of that, you might try the forgot password, etc link and answer the secret questions you set up when you first set up your ImmiAccount - this would allow you to reset the password, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mharm said:


> Dear Mark,
> Hope you are doing well.
> Today Morning I tried to log in to my immiaccount, but it says "invalid username and password".
> after 3 attempts , it says I have just 2 more time to log in and after that my account will be locked.
> I tried forth time , but problem still exist.I am pretty sure that I enter them correcrtly.
> I have just one more time. I am not sure its a system glitch or not. Please Advise what should I do now?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MeryTH -

Can take from weeks to a couple of months depending on DIBP; yes, same form can be used for different lengths - you specify how long a visitor visa you want. Depending on the visa and length of time, they may request medicals - from Indonesia you generally need a chest x-ray for visits over 3 months - see http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1163i.pdf

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MeryTH said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your quick responce. I persumed that was the case but I wasn't quite sure.But while I was waiting for you responce, I got my family to certify their paper for me, and I'll be submitting to IMMIGRATION IN Brisbane.
> 1. How long does it take to process the visa?
> 2. Can you apply up to 6 months using the same form 1419?
> 3. If you apply for 6 months visa, do you have to get medical check and police clearance?
> Thank Mark.
> Have a good weekend.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anvivys -

Probably not, but would depend on the case officer's discretion. This is roughly analagous to when partners lodge a partner visa and then request a visitor visa - the rule about having strong ties in Australia representing a risk to a visitor visa ends up (in many cases) taking a back seat to the policy directive that families should not needlessly be kept apart.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anvivys said:


> Hi Mark,
> I and my spouse are Australian PRs, currently living in India. Our daughter was born in India Dec 2013. We have lodged child visa 101 for her in May 2014. We are planning to travel to Australia in August 2014 and file a long stay (12 months) visitor visa for our daughter.
> 
> While answering the question regarding purpose of visitor visa we are mentioning about the child visa application and stating that the child would want to stay with her parents while awaiting response on child visa.
> Would this disqualify us for visitor visa?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## Zulfiqar

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Zulfiqar -
> 
> Thanks for the note - as long as you haven't changed your email address and/or contact info without telling DIBP, then all you can do is wait. I'm hearing that security checks in your part of the world are substantially delayed - there are apparently many people trying to move from Pakistan to Australia, and it's swamping the services there - we've noted a significant uptick in Pakistani clients at our office over the last 4 months as well.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thanks mark for the time taken to reply us all.

regards

zulfiqar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MyVisa2014

FYI - here's a newspaper article on the "terror lockdown" that may be creating delays and hassles for anyone having been to Syria, etc:

No Cookies | dailytelegraph.com.au

Best,

Mark Northam



MyVisa2014 said:


> Dear Mark,
> I know you are very busy and my question is probably not very clear, but I am still writing it to you and hope you might have some advise.
> I'm German, applied for an De facto Partner Visa (offshore) and have been to several countries which seem to be a problem for my migration (Syria seems to be the main problem right now).
> My case officer told me I would have to submit Form 80 which I did in January. Last week she phoned again and said I have to submit it again and the regulations for people visiting Syria for more than 14 days (was 21 days in January) changed.
> So my questions: Can regulatory changes affect my pending application? I mean, wouldn't the regulation of my day of lodgment apply?
> My CO says she can not specify the problem with Syria. Do you think they would have to specify their reasoning to a lawyer?
> 
> When I talked to her in January, I was under the impression they want to make sure I didn't receive any paramilitary training in fundamentalist groups. I am a female development economist and therefore it is very unlikely that a Jihad training group wants to recruit me. Did you ever hear about different processes for male and female applicants?
> 
> Thanks a lot!
> MyVisa2014


----------



## mharm

Dear Mark, 
Thanks for your Reply and hope you are doing well
I have another question.
I am little bit confused about medicals.
according to referral letter ,my results submitted to DIBP and status shows" Completed".
But in IMMIaccount the status still shows "requested" , but the link " organise your health examination" changed to " no health examination required..." .
How can I know my medicals is finalized or not?


----------



## Dutchie22

Hello Mark,

Hope you're doing well. I was wondering if it matters if you don't have a return ticket but a single (to Holland in my case) for de facto 309 visa?

Just don't have the financial resources atm but will pick up my old job in Holland while waiting for the visa.

Thanks for advise, greatly appriciated.


----------



## seekingpr

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Seekingpr -
> 
> I think this question sounds like one you also submitted to me as a PM and i answered - please advise if not.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark, I believe, it would have been somebody else who would have sent you query via PM.Please could you guide me as well?

My Query as below:
On the Visa application form for 189 Visa, there is question asking "Your usual Country of Residence".
I am from India and have been living in Australia since past 15 months,I Have provided Usual Country of Residence as my India Home Address and have also provided My India residence landline number as contact number.

The Notification that i have received after submission of Visa application says:
My Passport details
My Visa application details and....also stating following:
Your Residential Address is <>
Your Contact Number isXXXX (My home Land line in India)
My Postal Address is << My Address in Australia>>

My Current residential address (which is Australian Address) and Mobile number is anyway specified on Form 1023 which i submitted to notify incorrect information that i filled in in some other column .

Query 1:
DIBP has advised that your contact details need to be up to date and any change should be updated.So, do i need to specifically tell DIBP via another Form 1023 to change my Usual country of residence & my contact number?

Query 2:
I have already submitted Form 1023 to notify some correction in details, will it be a problem if i submit another Form 1023?

Thanks for your kind help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mharm -

No way to confirm if you've satisfied the medical or if it has issues until you hear back from DIBP - the online application indicators aren't effective at showing what stage the medical review is actually at.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mharm said:


> Dear Mark,
> Thanks for your Reply and hope you are doing well
> I have another question.
> I am little bit confused about medicals.
> according to referral letter ,my results submitted to DIBP and status shows" Completed".
> But in IMMIaccount the status still shows "requested" , but the link " organise your health examination" changed to " no health examination required..." .
> How can I know my medicals is finalized or not?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dutchie22 -

Shouldn't be an issue - 309 visa holders are not subject to the issues that visitor visa holders are re: intent for a temporary visit to Australia, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dutchie22 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hope you're doing well. I was wondering if it matters if you don't have a return ticket but a single (to Holland in my case) for de facto 309 visa?
> 
> Just don't have the financial resources atm but will pick up my old job in Holland while waiting for the visa.
> 
> Thanks for advise, greatly appriciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seekingpr -

Sorry for the confusion - as long as you have updated your current contact info with DIBP via Form 1023 or otherwise, they should use that to contact you. Would suggest that all phone numbers represent your current numbers that they can call you on now, so maybe having an overseas number is not a good idea unless you are living there at the moment.

Re: medicals, unfortunately the DIBP system doesn't indicate positively if the medical results have been received by DIBP, so all you can do is wait - if you've completed them and they request them again, then time to write back with the clinic, date, receipt, etc to prove you took them and DIBP then has to track the results down.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> Hello Mark, I believe, it would have been somebody else who would have sent you query via PM.Please could you guide me as well?
> 
> My Query as below:
> On the Visa application form for 189 Visa, there is question asking "Your usual Country of Residence".
> I am from India and have been living in Australia since past 15 months,I Have provided Usual Country of Residence as my India Hoe Address and have also provided My India residence landline number as contact number.
> 
> The Notification that i have received after submission of Visa application says:
> My Passport details
> My Visa applicaiton details
> and....also stating
> Your Residential Address is <>
> Your Contact Number isXXXX (My home Landline in India)
> My Postal Address is << My Address in Australia>>
> 
> My Current residential address (which is Australian Address) and Mobile number is anyway specified on Form 1023 which i submitted to notify incorrect information that i filled in in some other column .
> 
> Query 1:
> DIBP has advised that your contact details need to be up to date and any change should be updaed.So, do i need to specifically tell DIBP via another Form 1023 to change my Usual country of residence & my contact number?
> 
> Query 2:
> 
> After you advised to complete my Medicals, i did that on 18h June.How would i know that Medical results have been received by DIBP?Will there be a change in Visa Application status?


----------



## seekingpr

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Seekingpr -
> 
> Sorry for the confusion - as long as you have updated your current contact info with DIBP via Form 1023 or otherwise, they should use that to contact you. Would suggest that all phone numbers represent your current numbers that they can call you on now, so maybe having an overseas number is not a good idea unless you are living there at the moment.
> 
> Re: medicals, unfortunately the DIBP system doesn't indicate positively if the medical results have been received by DIBP, so all you can do is wait - if you've completed them and they request them again, then time to write back with the clinic, date, receipt, etc to prove you took them and DIBP then has to track the results down.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


_Would suggest that all phone numbers represent your current numbers that they can call you on now, so maybe having an overseas number is not a good idea unless you are living there at the moment. _
Seekingpr--> sorry to ask again, should i change my Usual country of residence to Australian Address making an explicit mention in a new Form 1023? My query was from 2 perspectives, 1st - what is the implication of this question regarding usual county of residence? It is confusing for an onshore applicant as what should be usual country of residence, i didn't put usual country of residence as Australia as i thought i am on Temporary Business Visa (WP 457) and as such my usual country of residence should be India where i have spent most of my life till now. And this prompted me to write my home landline number as they asked for Home Landline for this address.

2nd - Now that in Form 1023, i have already provided my current address & contact number ( which has to be filled anyway as part of Form 1023), do i need to submit another Form 1023 explicitly stating that there is a correction to my 'Usual Country of Residence' Section

Hope i am not verbose in writing my query to you.Thanks for your patience.

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seekingpr -

Sorry, I'm not familiar enough with all of your circumstances to give you guidance on this - Normally onshore PR applicants who have lived here for some time (1+ years) typically put Australia as their usual country of residence if they have indeed "moved" here. But people do it both ways - typically not a huge issue either way since the term is not defined specifically.

Rather than multiple overlapping 1023 forms which could get confusing, maybe better to write a letter and upload it, titled 'Current Contact Information June 2014' or something like that.

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> _Would suggest that all phone numbers represent your current numbers that they can call you on now, so maybe having an overseas number is not a good idea unless you are living there at the moment. _
> Seekingpr--> sorry to ask again, should i change my Usual country of residence to Australian Address making an explicit mention in a new Form 1023? My query was from 2 perspectives, 1st - what is the implication of this question regarding usual county of residence? It is confusing for an onshore applicant as what should be usual country of residence, i didn't put usual country of residence as Australia as i thought i am on Temporary Business Visa (WP 457) and as such my usual country of residence should be India where i have spent most of my life till now. And this prompted me to write my home landline number as they asked for Home Landline for this address.
> 
> 2nd - Now that in Form 1023, i have already provided my current address & contact number ( which has to be filled anyway as part of Form 1023), do i need to submit another Form 1023 explicitly stating that there is a correction to my 'Usual Country of Residence' Section
> 
> Hope i am not verbose in writing my query to you.Thanks for your patience.
> 
> Regards


----------



## seekingpr

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Seekingpr -
> 
> Sorry, I'm not familiar enough with all of your circumstances to give you guidance on this - Normally onshore PR applicants who have lived here for some time (1+ years) typically put Australia as their usual country of residence if they have indeed "moved" here. But people do it both ways - typically not a huge issue either way since the term is not defined specifically.
> 
> Rather than multiple overlapping 1023 forms which could get confusing, maybe better to write a letter and upload it, titled 'Current Contact Information June 2014' or something like that.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much for being prompt in responding.

Regards


----------



## MyVisa2014

Thank you very much for your timely help!
Since I can't change my stay in Syria, I hope for the best 

Thanks again, Mark!


----------



## anvivys

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Anvivys -
> 
> Probably not, but would depend on the case officer's discretion. This is roughly analagous to when partners lodge a partner visa and then request a visitor visa - the rule about having strong ties in Australia representing a risk to a visitor visa ends up (in many cases) taking a back seat to the policy directive that families should not needlessly be kept apart.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for the quick response!

I have another question. I am (Mother of the baby) filling form 
1419 on her behalf. Does this mean assistance was received while filling 
the form? Should I submit form 956 as exempt person?

Thanks again!


----------



## emivovo

Hi Mark,

We are applying for a PMV visa. We have 7 statements from family and friends. However, I thought it was ok for them to use ordinary writing paper, but now I am worried they have to use Form 888 to write their statements? Is this correct? Or plain paper, typed/handwritten and signed (with scans of passports) is ok? We are applying online so I know we don't need them to be witnessed, as long as they are colour scans, but I just panic about the form 888!

Thank you!

Emivovo


----------



## gloriakwilko

Hello Mark,

My Husband is a US citizen and we are preparing to move to Australia along with our 2 yr old son (I'm an Australian Citizen). I wanted to know if applying for a Partner Visa prior to moving to Australia would be best, or if there are any other options more suitable? I understand I'd have to file for a separate visa for our son, is that correct too?

I've been told that applying offshore is a lot easier as per say my Husband and son arriving in Australia on a different visa and having to get a bridge visa, that might not permit my Husband to work for a while. 

As far as the website states, there is an 8-9 month processing estimate. I'm wondering if we applied long in advance (like 10-12 months) would that be the best option?

Hope my questions aren't too complex or vague. Thank you


----------



## Sydney

Dear Mark,

Can a medical condition of the sponsor (which requires a surgery and not allowing to travel) be considered as compelling and compassionate reason for prioritising PMV?

Thank you in advance!


----------



## bhalo_fish

Dear Mark,

Thanks in advance, I am chef and if I complete Offshore Skills Assessment Program (OSAP). Which subclass visa I can apply? Still I need to find employer? What ielts score require? 

Regards
Bharat


----------



## Covariant

Hi Mark,

I applied for a partner visa in May this year and was granted a bridging visa A with no work restrictions;Given my tourist visa doesn't expire until Oct 31st, my BVA wont be in effect till after that date. So for the sake of saving time I was wondering if it is possible to go ahead and apply for a TFN given the process takes up to 3 weeks, or do i need to wait till the BVA is in effect?

Also my partner is thinking on taking a second job as a house sitter-pet sitter for different clients for a month(each client), the employer has no issue on me spending the night there or being with my partner while he is working. But I was wondering if this would be seen by DIBP as a breaching of my visa. Given I would be around when my partner is working. I think it should be okay, since I would no be doing any type of work. But I want to be completely sure DIBP would not have any issue with it. What would be your advice on the matter?


----------



## casayurann

Hi Mark,

I am currently working in Brisbane holding a 457 visa. I cannot wait for my company to initiate the processing of my wife and son's dependent visa as there is a policy in our company for the main visa holder must stay in AU for at least 3 months before his/her relatives can be processed.

Now I am planning to have my wife and son come here in Brisbane on a tourist visa(subclass 600) from Philippines. My question is what if within their stay here, my company initiated the processing of visa and later granted. Ive read somewhere that you cannot have another visa granted while on tourist visa. Can you shed light on what will happen in this case?

Regards,
GEC


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anvivys -

Thanks for the question - no need for a Form 956 when a parent is completing a form for a minor (person under 18 years of age).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anvivys said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for the quick response!
> 
> I have another question. I am (Mother of the baby) filling form
> 1419 on her behalf. Does this mean assistance was received while filling
> the form? Should I submit form 956 as exempt person?
> 
> Thanks again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emivovo -

That should work fine. Key is that they are easily readable by DIBP folks, and that the photo ID is included to show that each person is a real person.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



emivovo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We are applying for a PMV visa. We have 7 statements from family and friends. However, I thought it was ok for them to use ordinary writing paper, but now I am worried they have to use Form 888 to write their statements? Is this correct? Or plain paper, typed/handwritten and signed (with scans of passports) is ok? We are applying online so I know we don't need them to be witnessed, as long as they are colour scans, but I just panic about the form 888!
> 
> Thank you!
> 
> Emivovo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gloriawilko -

Thanks for the questions. If you were an Australian citizen at the time your son was born and you are your son's biological (or adoptive) mother, you can apply for citizenship by descent for your son and not have to go through the visa process. Otherwise, the option is to include your son as a dependent on your husband's partner visa application.

If you have the time, applying in advance overseas can be hassle-free as you don't have to go through the onshore bridging visa process, however if you need to get back to work here, etc, you can have your partner come here on an ETA visitor visa (3 month maximum stay per trip), then lodge here during the 3 months and he'll get a bridging visa automatically upon lodgement. At the end of the 3-month stay, he remains in Australia and the bridging visa automatically activates including full work & study rights.

Re: processing time, they seem to be getting a bit shorter, but still extremely hard to predict. For USA citizen, probably faster than citizens from high-risk countries - my guess: 9-10 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gloriakwilko said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My Husband is a US citizen and we are preparing to move to Australia along with our 2 yr old son (I'm an Australian Citizen). I wanted to know if applying for a Partner Visa prior to moving to Australia would be best, or if there are any other options more suitable? I understand I'd have to file for a separate visa for our son, is that correct too?
> 
> I've been told that applying offshore is a lot easier as per say my Husband and son arriving in Australia on a different visa and having to get a bridge visa, that might not permit my Husband to work for a while.
> 
> As far as the website states, there is an 8-9 month processing estimate. I'm wondering if we applied long in advance (like 10-12 months) would that be the best option?
> 
> Hope my questions aren't too complex or vague. Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sydney -

It could be, however PMV's are generally hard to get priority treatment for - would depend on the severity of the medical condition. There are no hard and fast rules or published procedures for this type of request, so it's completely discretionary on the part of the Embassy or case officer who is processing the application.

Also, make sure you have ample evidence re: the relationship especially if the medical situation is very serious as you wouldn't want DIBP thinking that you're doing a PMV to try and get around the recent discontinuation of the carer visa, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sydney said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Can a medical condition of the sponsor (which requires a surgery and not allowing to travel) be considered as compelling and compassionate reason for prioritising PMV?
> 
> Thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

Too many visa options and question/data I would need from you to go into here - suggest you book a consultation (see my website in the signature below).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thanks in advance, I am chef and if I complete Offshore Skills Assessment Program (OSAP). Which subclass visa I can apply? Still I need to find employer? What ielts score require?
> 
> Regards
> Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Covariant -

Thanks for the questions. Do make sure that your visitor visa doesn't have a 3-month maximum stay provision - if it does (and many do), then the BVA would actually activate the day after the 3 month (from your last entry to Australia) stay ends.

No problem getting a Tax File Number at any time as simply getting the number does not constitute working.

As long as the applicant is not working, no problem re: house/pet sitting, but be very careful of that as I've seen a couple of cases where things that would not normally constitute work (ie, babysitting for a friend without being paid) have caused major visa problems if DIBP finds out and you end up with a picky case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Covariant said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for a partner visa in May this year and was granted a bridging visa A with no work restrictions;Given my tourist visa doesn't expire until Oct 31st, my BVA wont be in effect till after that date. So for the sake of saving time I was wondering if it is possible to go ahead and apply for a TFN given the process takes up to 3 weeks, or do i need to wait till the BVA is in effect?
> 
> Also my partner is thinking on taking a second job as a house sitter-pet sitter for different clients for a month(each client), the employer has no issue on me spending the night there or being with my partner while he is working. But I was wondering if this would be seen by DIBP as a breaching of my visa. Given I would be around when my partner is working. I think it should be okay, since I would no be doing any type of work. But I want to be completely sure DIBP would not have any issue with it. What would be your advice on the matter?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Casayurann -

Thanks for the note. Personally, I think that's a lousy policy that your employer has! Anti-family, to say the least.

Anyway, the answer to your question is, like so much in immigration: it depends. If the visitor visa is issued without Condition 8503 ("no further stay"), then your wife & son could apply as 457 subsequent entrants while onshore on the visitor visa - they would receive bridging visas upon application or shortly thereafter, and could then remain in Australia past the end of the visitor visa on the bridging visas until a decision was made on the 457 visa.

If the visitor visas are issued with Condition 8503, they could not lodge any onshore visa application while here on the visitor visa unless there was a major change in their circumstances that occurred after the visitor visa was granted and was assessed to be beyond their control (these are the main requirements for an 8503 waiver - not easy to get).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



casayurann said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently working in Brisbane holding a 457 visa. I cannot wait for my company to initiate the processing of my wife and son's dependent visa as there is a policy in our company for the main visa holder must stay in AU for at least 3 months before his/her relatives can be processed.
> 
> Now I am planning to have my wife and son come here in Brisbane on a tourist visa(subclass 600) from Philippines. My question is what if within their stay here, my company initiated the processing of visa and later granted. Ive read somewhere that you cannot have another visa granted while on tourist visa. Can you shed light on what will happen in this case?
> 
> Regards,
> GEC


----------



## stst

Hi Mark,

I am a student visa (temporary) holder, and my student visa ends 30 May 2015. I have just put in an application for a 189 visa, and received the following:

Bridging Visa Class Bridging A (class WA)
Bridging Visa Subclass Bridging A (subclass 010)

About your bridging visa
This bridging visa is not in effect because your Student (Temporary) visa is currently in effect.

Travel overseas
This bridging visa only allows you to remain in Australia. When you leave Australia, your
bridging visa will cease.
As you are a holder of valid Student (Temporary) visa that allows you to leave and return to Australia, the department recommends that you either:
● apply for and be granted a Bridging visa B (which you can only do if you already hold a Bridging visa A or a Bridging visa B) before you travel or
● contact your case officer as soon as you return to Australia

Here's the part I am confused about. As my student (temporary) visa expires 30 May 2015, do I need to apply for bridging visa B if I intend to leave Australia and return at any time prior to 30 May 2015? BVA does not allow re-entry, but technically I still have a valid student visa. I am planning to go back to my home country in August 2014 and am worried I may be unable to reenter Australia in September.

Many thanks for your help Mark, I appreciate it greatly.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stst -

Thanks for the note - no need for a BV-B as you would be departing and returning on your student visa. The BV-A will likely never activate as you would almost certainly get a decision on the 189 before May 2015, so you'd be under your student visa for the entire time from now until 189 decision date (assuming it's not cancelled due to discontinuing study, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stst said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a student visa (temporary) holder, and my student visa ends 30 May 2015. I have just put in an application for a 189 visa, and received the following:
> 
> Bridging Visa Class Bridging A (class WA)
> Bridging Visa Subclass Bridging A (subclass 010)
> 
> About your bridging visa
> This bridging visa is not in effect because your Student (Temporary) visa is currently in effect.
> 
> Travel overseas
> This bridging visa only allows you to remain in Australia. When you leave Australia, your
> bridging visa will cease.
> As you are a holder of valid Student (Temporary) visa that allows you to leave and return to Australia, the department recommends that you either:
> ● apply for and be granted a Bridging visa B (which you can only do if you already hold a Bridging visa A or a Bridging visa B) before you travel or
> ● contact your case officer as soon as you return to Australia
> 
> Here's the part I am confused about. As my student (temporary) visa expires 30 May 2015, do I need to apply for bridging visa B if I intend to leave Australia and return at any time prior to 30 May 2015? BVA does not allow re-entry, but technically I still have a valid student visa. I am planning to go back to my home country in August 2014 and am worried I may be unable to reenter Australia in September.
> 
> Many thanks for your help Mark, I appreciate it greatly.


----------



## casayurann

Hi Mark, thank you very much for your very quick response. Well, i cannot agree more about the lousy policy. I somehow wish there is a way I can force my employer to initiate the processing of my family's visa, but dont think it will work, it feels like im hostaged.

I am thinking of indicating somewhere in their tourist visa application that we are expecting to have a dependent 457 visa soon and request to not include 8503 condition in their visa? You think that will help?

Thank you again Mark!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Casayurann -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Personally, I think that's a lousy policy that your employer has! Anti-family, to say the least.
> 
> Anyway, the answer to your question is, like so much in immigration: it depends. If the visitor visa is issued without Condition 8503 ("no further stay"), then your wife & son could apply as 457 subsequent entrants while onshore on the visitor visa - they would receive bridging visas upon application or shortly thereafter, and could then remain in Australia past the end of the visitor visa on the bridging visas until a decision was made on the 457 visa.
> 
> If the visitor visas are issued with Condition 8503, they could not lodge any onshore visa application while here on the visitor visa unless there was a major change in their circumstances that occurred after the visitor visa was granted and was assessed to be beyond their control (these are the main requirements for an 8503 waiver - not easy to get).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## emivovo

That made my day Mark, thank you! I had a mild panic last night thinking I'd have to get all our witnesses to do everthing again. I've already hassled them so much!

Sincere thank you for this thread. You must already have so much on your plate as an agent so to volunteer for this kind of advice of your own free will is a really lovely thing you are doing. Your responses are always detailed and carefully explained and you are so timely, and some of the questions you get are pretty big! So thank you very, very much, I am so grateful.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Emivovo -
> 
> That should work fine. Key is that they are easily readable by DIBP folks, and that the photo ID is included to show that each person is a real person.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Sydney

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sydney -
> 
> It could be, however PMV's are generally hard to get priority treatment for - would depend on the severity of the medical condition. There are no hard and fast rules or published procedures for this type of request, so it's completely discretionary on the part of the Embassy or case officer who is processing the application.
> 
> Also, make sure you have ample evidence re: the relationship especially if the medical situation is very serious as you wouldn't want DIBP thinking that you're doing a PMV to try and get around the recent discontinuation of the carer visa, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark for your quick response!

Sorry I didn't explain our situation properly.

My fiance applied for PMV in November 2013 from Cairo and we provided all sorts of evidences (skype communication, flight tickets, hotels on both our names, wills, 888 forms, stat decs, pictures with friends and family etc.)

The medical condition is not serious enough for getting a carer visa but does need to be treated and the post operation recovery might take weeks or months which is written in the letter I've got from the surgeon.

It's very hard for me to travel to see my fiance and I also really need him to be in Australia while I'm having the surgery due to my personal situation.

What is your opinion Mark? Should I send the letter to our CO and just ask her if we can get a decision as soon as possible or as you said it will make them think we are doing something wrong.

Thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

It could work depending on the case officer. Issue is, that technically you want to come on a visitor visa for more than a temporary visit (ie, to go onto a 457) - if the case officer was tough, they could refuse them based on that, but all depends. I'd probably include the 457 info with the application though.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



casayurann said:


> Hi Mark, thank you very much for your very quick response. Well, i cannot agree more about the lousy policy. I somehow wish there is a way I can force my employer to initiate the processing of my family's visa, but dont think it will work, it feels like im hostaged.
> 
> I am thinking of indicating somewhere in their tourist visa application that we are expecting to have a dependent 457 visa soon and request to not include 8503 condition in their visa? You think that will help?
> 
> Thank you again Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sydney -

I'd probably write a nice letter to the case officer and see what happens. That being said, Cairo is pretty tough to get any kind of urgency out of from my experience - 9 months is very typical from there (and sometimes longer).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sydney said:


> Thank you so much Mark for your quick response!
> 
> Sorry I didn't explain our situation properly.
> 
> My fiance applied for PMV in November 2013 from Cairo and we provided all sorts of evidences (skype communication, flight tickets, hotels on both our names, wills, 888 forms, stat decs, pictures with friends and family etc.)
> 
> The medical condition is not serious enough for getting a carer visa but does need to be treated and the post operation recovery might take weeks or months which is written in the letter I've got from the surgeon.
> 
> It's very hard for me to travel to see my fiance and I also really need him to be in Australia while I'm having the surgery due to my personal situation.
> 
> What is your opinion Mark? Should I send the letter to our CO and just ask her if we can get a decision as soon as possible or as you said it will make them think we are doing something wrong.
> 
> Thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks for the kind words, Emivovo - you really made my day!

Best,

Mark Northam



emivovo said:


> That made my day Mark, thank you! I had a mild panic last night thinking I'd have to get all our witnesses to do everthing again. I've already hassled them so much!
> 
> Sincere thank you for this thread. You must already have so much on your plate as an agent so to volunteer for this kind of advice of your own free will is a really lovely thing you are doing. Your responses are always detailed and carefully explained and you are so timely, and some of the questions you get are pretty big! So thank you very, very much, I am so grateful.


----------



## sk1p

Hi Mark,

firstly thank you for your time and helpful replies to all these queries!

I have a bit of a conundrum in that I am an Australian citizen, my girlfriend is Romanian and we have been living together for 1.5 years, ive applied for a job in Brisbane on the assumption she would be able to get a working holiday visa (MISTAKE!) and ive just found out today this isnt possible. So we will have to go straight to the Partner de-facto visa. 

The employer in Brisbane has made it clear that if im successful they want me to start by mid august which is a bit of a push as we are currently living in Jersey, Channel Islands.

She currently has an eVisitor tourist visa so can come over for 3 month stints but it would be preferable that she didn't have to keep leaving. Is there any other Visa I can go for given the tight deadline? or is it best to go over on the tourist visa then lodge onshore?

yours confused.

Skip


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skip -

Based on what you've said, and assuming the eVisa does not have Condition 8503 on it (no further stay), I'd probably go with using that to come onshore and then lodge an onshore partner visa application - any further visas for her could end up with 8503 which would prevent an onshore partner application, and if you lodged offshore she would likely be able to come here on visitor visas but would have the 3-month max stay period to deal with plus no work rights when here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sk1p said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> firstly thank you for your time and helpful replies to all these queries!
> 
> I have a bit of a conundrum in that I am an Australian citizen, my girlfriend is Romanian and we have been living together for 1.5 years, ive applied for a job in Brisbane on the assumption she would be able to get a working holiday visa (MISTAKE!) and ive just found out today this isnt possible. So we will have to go straight to the Partner de-facto visa.
> 
> The employer in Brisbane has made it clear that if im successful they want me to start by mid august which is a bit of a push as we are currently living in Jersey, Channel Islands.
> 
> She currently has an eVisitor tourist visa so can come over for 3 month stints but it would be preferable that she didn't have to keep leaving. Is there any other Visa I can go for given the tight deadline? or is it best to go over on the tourist visa then lodge onshore?
> 
> yours confused.
> 
> Skip


----------



## sk1p

Hi Mark,

I have just checked and there is no 8503 conditions on the Visa, Thank you very much for confirming my thought process! I just didnt know if we would be penalised when we came over on a tourist visa then lodged a de facto!

Thanks very much thats a weight off my shoulders! Have a great evening!

-Skip


----------



## sk1p

Hi Mark

Sorry just one other concern. When we come on the Tourist Visa and lodge the de-facto will she automatically be given a bridging visa or would we have to apply for one? im just conscious that the chances of us being given a de-fact visa in 3 months is pretty slim!


----------



## somar831

hello Mr. mark

i have applied my PMV in Dubai from 02\04\2013, about 14 months now, i made the medical test and submitted all requirements, now iam waiting for the security check as they told me, my fiancee called them today, they told her to wait maybe one more year, 
any advice please.??

thank you


----------



## Confusedindian

*Dilemma*

Hi Mark,

You are a superman, great work of helping people like us with our doubts. Thanks in advance.

I have a query and need your assistance. In my passport my surname is blank and my name for eg. John Doe is mentioned in the given names. But Doe is actually supposed to be my last name/surname. In my eoi i have mentioned as surname: doe and given names: john which is different from that of my exisitng passport. I have already recieved an invitation. So then i cant modify my eoi.

I have already applied for the name bifurcation/name split and recieved my new passport. But will the above difference in information provided in my eoi affect my chances of a getting a Visa?

I still have not made a visa application, is it okay in the visa application i enter the corrected details as per new passport? Are there any forms to be filled out? Do i need to fill up the change in passport details since i had never made a visa application?

I just realised it today, about this silly mistake that i made. Your help will be very helpful.


----------



## stephanie_25

Hi Mark - have seen lots of your posts in the past when I was applying for my 820 visa and always found them very helpful.

Just wondered if you were able to help with the below.

I am currently on the 820 visa which I applied for in Oct 2012 and was granted in Dec 2012. As I applied onshore I was onshore when it was granted. My question is do i have to be onshore when I submit the forms for the next stage the 801? I was having a look at the immi website and it says that you can be either onshore or offshore but I wanted to know if this was correct as they give (somewhat) conflicting /confusing advice?

My partner is an Australian citizen and he will be overseas with me when I do the next stage. But wasn't sure how tricky it would be to complete the next stage outside of Australia.

Many thanks for you help - really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Stephanie


----------



## Sydney

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sydney -
> 
> I'd probably write a nice letter to the case officer and see what happens. That being said, Cairo is pretty tough to get any kind of urgency out of from my experience - 9 months is very typical from there (and sometimes longer).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark for your prompt response!

You are doing an incredible job by giving immediate answers to any questions asked and sharing your professional advise! Just unbelievable!

Wish you all the best!!!


----------



## micheleawhittaker

hi mark - wodering if you can tell me please if the aussie govt looks for any sort of previous intent when applying for an onshore 820? in the states, there is a problem with previous intent, wondering if its the same in austrlaia? thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sk1p -

Once you lodge the defacto application online, you'll be automatically issued a bridging visa A by email assuming you lodge while holding the visitor visa. I would not wait until the last day of the visitor visa to lodge the PMV though - give it at least a week in case there is a delay.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sk1p said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Sorry just one other concern. When we come on the Tourist Visa and lodge the de-facto will she automatically be given a bridging visa or would we have to apply for one? im just conscious that the chances of us being given a de-fact visa in 3 months is pretty slim!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Somar831 -

Best thing to do is wait - security checks for the Middle East are severely backed up, thanks to all the boat people from last year and now this year's additional security screening due to the situation in Syria. Wish I had better news! You could consider a visitor visa to spend time together prior to the PMV decision -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



somar831 said:


> hello Mr. mark
> 
> i have applied my PMV in Dubai from 02\04\2013, about 14 months now, i made the medical test and submitted all requirements, now iam waiting for the security check as they told me, my fiancee called them today, they told her to wait maybe one more year,
> any advice please.??
> 
> thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Confusedindian -

Thanks for the kind words! You should be able to enter your new passport info into the online visa application forms when you complete them, plus of course providing a colour scan of the new passport biodata page. If for any reason you are not able to update the passport info, then you could lodge with the old info and then add a Form 929 and upload that scanned form to your lodged application, updating your passport info at that point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Confusedindian said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> You are a superman, great work of helping people like us with our doubts. Thanks in advance.
> 
> I have a query and need your assistance. In my passport my surname is blank and my name for eg. John Doe is mentioned in the given names. But Doe is actually supposed to be my last name/surname. In my eoi i have mentioned as surname: doe and given names: john which is different from that of my exisitng passport. I have already recieved an invitation. So then i cant modify my eoi.
> 
> I have already applied for the name bifurcation/name split and recieved my new passport. But will the above difference in information provided in my eoi affect my chances of a getting a Visa?
> 
> I still have not made a visa application, is it okay in the visa application i enter the corrected details as per new passport? Are there any forms to be filled out? Do i need to fill up the change in passport details since i had never made a visa application?
> 
> I just realised it today, about this silly mistake that i made. Your help will be very helpful.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stephanie -

Should be fine if you are onshore or offshore. Actually you made a dual application for both visas (820 and 801) initially as everyone must do, and the 801 application has been on "hold" during the term of the 820 visa. The paperwork you lodge essentially moves the application forward again, but is not a "new" application - just a continuation of one you already lodged back in the beginning.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stephanie_25 said:


> Hi Mark - have seen lots of your posts in the past when I was applying for my 820 visa and always found them very helpful.
> 
> Just wondered if you were able to help with the below.
> 
> I am currently on the 820 visa which I applied for in Oct 2012 and was granted in Dec 2012. As I applied onshore I was onshore when it was granted. My question is do i have to be onshore when I submit the forms for the next stage the 801? I was having a look at the immi website and it says that you can be either onshore or offshore but I wanted to know if this was correct as they give (somewhat) conflicting /confusing advice?
> 
> My partner is an Australian citizen and he will be overseas with me when I do the next stage. But wasn't sure how tricky it would be to complete the next stage outside of Australia.
> 
> Many thanks for you help - really appreciate it.
> 
> Thanks,
> Stephanie


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks for the kind words, Sydney!

Best,

Mark Northam



Sydney said:


> Thank you so much Mark for your prompt response!
> 
> You are doing an incredible job by giving immediate answers to any questions asked and sharing your professional advise! Just unbelievable!
> 
> Wish you all the best!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michaeleawhittaker -

Thanks for the note. I'm not sure what you're referring to by "previous intent" - if you're referring to previous Australian visa applications, then yes, those could be considered by a case officer. Some previous visa grants also create statutory bars for further applications - ie, if you sponsor one person on a PMV or partner visa, you cannot sponsor another person for 5 years from the date of the original application, and there is a 2 person lifetime maximum for sponsoring people for partner or fiance visas unless you get a waiver.

If you could provide more detail re: previous intent, would be happy to comment. If details are private/personal, feel free to contact me via our website below or private msg here on the forum.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



micheleawhittaker said:


> hi mark - wodering if you can tell me please if the aussie govt looks for any sort of previous intent when applying for an onshore 820? in the states, there is a problem with previous intent, wondering if its the same in austrlaia? thank you.


----------



## somar831

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Somar831 -
> 
> Best thing to do is wait - security checks for the Middle East are severely backed up, thanks to all the boat people from last year and now this year's additional security screening due to the situation in Syria. Wish I had better news! You could consider a visitor visa to spend time together prior to the PMV decision -
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thank you so much for your reply,

do you think -in my situation- applying for a visitor visa is a good thing to do?

i mean is there any chance to accept it?

thank you again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Somar831 -

I don't see why not - it's always tough to get visitor visas from the Middle East, but then again, if you didn't at least try, DIBP might wonder if the relationship is genuine - ie, it would be normal and expected for people who are engaged to want to spend time together to plan their wedding, future, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



somar831 said:


> thank you so much for your reply,
> 
> do you think -in my situation- applying for a visitor visa is a good thing to do?
> 
> i mean is there any chance to accept it?
> 
> thank you again


----------



## mmmfreecake

Hi Mark,

Thanks again for all the advice - I think this thread is the most useful place on the entire internet for immigration info!

A few quick questions - 

I am trying to figure out whether it makes sense to hire a Migration Agent for the RSMS (187) nomination/application process. I would like to do all the paperwork myself and just have someone guide me before I start/check it over once I'm done. Is this even an option with agents? The ones I've contacted thus far quote a minimum of 3500$ and don't allow me the option of doing it myself. 

Also - is it true that "Decision Ready" applications can no longer be submitted for 187 visas? I have just read online that Decision Ready applications were stopped as of Dec 2013, but whenever I've asked an agent I've contacted, they've told me that Yes, they can do Decision Ready applications for my visa. So now I am confused - why are they telling me one thing, and the internet is giving me conflicting info?

I am happy to pay someone for their time/advice if it is worthwhile and providing me with a level of expertise and assistance that I can't manage by reading/compiling/submitting on my own. If an agent wants to charge me the full fees and can't submit "Decision Ready" anyway, is there any benefit of using them?

Thanks Mark.  Just want to make sure that money is spent wisely and not on something that I could have just done myself.

Also, question #2: What counts as "resided" for 12 months in a country? I have spent more than 12 months in both the UK and in India in the past 10 years, but never at a full 12 month stretch. Do I still need police checks for those countries, even if the 12 months was split up into 6 months one year, 6 months another year, etc.?

Thank you!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mmmfreecake -

Thanks for the kind words!

Re: decision ready program where agents could sign off an application and it would get priority processing as a result of the agent sign-off, it's history and has been for some time. Any agents still selling that one are seriously out of date. At this point anyone can prepare and lodge a decision ready application - that simply means that all documents necessary to process the application, including all police clearance certificates and medicals, are done as of the time of application. No special deals for agents (anymore).

$3,500 is actually a pretty good price for RSMS if it includes the RCB application, nomination application and visa application. The areas that these applications can go wrong in include RCB application, the alignment of the applicant's skills/quals with the job position, any financial issues with the company, etc. Also, sometimes sponsors are more comfortable providing financial figures to an agent visa an employee, depending on how close you are with the employer of course!

We offer a Visa Application Review Service that might be of interest - see link at the bottom of the email to our website, then click on "Visa Application Review Service" under the "Australian Visas" tab for more info.

Re: PCC and "resided in", they are looking at the total amount of time you were physically in a country during the last 10 years - so if you were there for a *total* (including all trips) of 12 months or more, you'll need a PCC from that country. Doesn't have to be 12 continuous months, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mmmfreecake said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks again for all the advice - I think this thread is the most useful place on the entire internet for immigration info!
> 
> A few quick questions -
> 
> I am trying to figure out whether it makes sense to hire a Migration Agent for the RSMS (187) nomination/application process. I would like to do all the paperwork myself and just have someone guide me before I start/check it over once I'm done. Is this even an option with agents? The ones I've contacted thus far quote a minimum of 3500$ and don't allow me the option of doing it myself.
> 
> Also - is it true that "Decision Ready" applications can no longer be submitted for 187 visas? I have just read online that Decision Ready applications were stopped as of Dec 2013, but whenever I've asked an agent I've contacted, they've told me that Yes, they can do Decision Ready applications for my visa. So now I am confused - why are they telling me one thing, and the internet is giving me conflicting info?
> 
> I am happy to pay someone for their time/advice if it is worthwhile and providing me with a level of expertise and assistance that I can't manage by reading/compiling/submitting on my own. If an agent wants to charge me the full fees and can't submit "Decision Ready" anyway, is there any benefit of using them?
> 
> Thanks Mark.  Just want to make sure that money is spent wisely and not on something that I could have just done myself.
> 
> Also, question #2: What counts as "resided" for 12 months in a country? I have spent more than 12 months in both the UK and in India in the past 10 years, but never at a full 12 month stretch. Do I still need police checks for those countries, even if the 12 months was split up into 6 months one year, 6 months another year, etc.?
> 
> Thank you!!


----------



## mmmfreecake

Thanks again - that is all extremely helpful.

Does that mean that the medical checks should be done before submitting the application? The immi.gov.au website seemed to suggest that the application is submitted first, and then the medical checks happen afterwards.

I am checking out the Visa Application Review service on your website now. That seems to be more in line with what I was looking for. Thanks!!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mmmfreecake -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words!
> 
> Re: decision ready program where agents could sign off an application and it would get priority processing as a result of the agent sign-off, it's history and has been for some time. Any agents still selling that one are seriously out of date. At this point anyone can prepare and lodge a decision ready application - that simply means that all documents necessary to process the application, including all police clearance certificates and medicals, are done as of the time of application. No special deals for agents (anymore).
> 
> $3,500 is actually a pretty good price for RSMS if it includes the RCB application, nomination application and visa application. The areas that these applications can go wrong in include RCB application, the alignment of the applicant's skills/quals with the job position, any financial issues with the company, etc. Also, sometimes sponsors are more comfortable providing financial figures to an agent visa an employee, depending on how close you are with the employer of course!
> 
> We offer a Visa Application Review Service that might be of interest - see link at the bottom of the email to our website, then click on "Visa Application Review Service" under the "Australian Visas" tab for more info.
> 
> Re: PCC and "resided in", they are looking at the total amount of time you were physically in a country during the last 10 years - so if you were there for a *total* (including all trips) of 12 months or more, you'll need a PCC from that country. Doesn't have to be 12 continuous months, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## sonda

Dear Mark,

I have received my 485 visa very recently. my partner is currently overseas. I have mentioned her in my application. what is the procedure to take her to my visa please?

sonda


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonda -

See:
Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)

Look under the Visa Applicants tab, then click "Including family in your application" - note that it will be a paper application for your family members - follow the directions on the DIBP site carefully and don't forget to include plenty of relationship evidence re: your partner and you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sonda said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have received my 485 visa very recently. my partner is currently overseas. I have mentioned her in my application. what is the procedure to take her to my visa please?
> 
> sonda


----------



## mixail

*ACS skill assessment 2014*

Dear Mark,

Thank goodness there are people like you in this world!!!

I have a concern about one sentence which I found on the ACS web site. (acs.org.au/migration-skills-assessment)
The sentence is the following: „Only one application can be active at any one time".

My concerning is because I already have successful assessment for Systems Administrator (262113) but I want to asses again for the same ANZSCO code because I late a bit to apply for VISA and now I can get an year more experience which will help me with the EOI score.

Please help if you have information about this issue.

--------------------



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## abie

Hi Mark, 
One of your old fan here who got his Pr on ur advises in process to file citizenship next month thanks for your generous help all the time.
Need a help for my brother

He is on student visa 572 studing diploma of automotive electrian. Previously completed cert 3 and 4in automotive electrian And business diploma. Due to some circumstances he could never find job in his actual field and kept on working in a well reputed resturant company which had many branches in australia as a chef from last 3 years almost on part time basis. 

Now the company is asking him if he can do cert 3 in commercial cookery they can sponser him. My question is can he change his course now? From automotive to commercial cookery? His visa is finishing in March 2015 and if he starts his course in july he will finish his study by july 2015 will he be able to extend for few months or he need to take more studies to get one year visa again. 

Lastly if in case the company do not sponcer him after he finishes will he be able to utilize his work experience and studies to any kind of visa for
PR or reginal sponcer or me as his real brother being pr can get any advantage.
Sorry its too long but need a strong advise from you 
Regards 
Abi


----------



## abie

Sorry my brother position in the kitchen is" line cook "as per his payslip say.. So this qualifies for sol list as well or not ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mixail -

That normally refers to active applications under consideration (ie, not yet decided). However if you already have a skills assessment and the new work is a continuation of a job that you already had assessed (ie, you kept working at it after the previous skills assessment date), you normally do not have to get a new skills assessment for that in order to claim points for it - normally you just get a letter from the employer stating how long you've worked there including the dates that go past the ACS skills asssessment date, etc. As long as it's in the same occupation (same job, same company, etc) then that would usually be fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mixail said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank goodness there are people like you in this world!!!
> 
> I have a concern about one sentence which I found on the ACS web site. (acs.org.au/migration-skills-assessment)
> The sentence is the following: „Only one application can be active at any one time".
> 
> My concerning is because I already have successful assessment for Systems Administrator (262113) but I want to asses again for the same ANZSCO code because I late a bit to apply for VISA and now I can get an year more experience which will help me with the EOI score.
> 
> Please help if you have information about this issue.
> 
> --------------------


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abie -

Thanks for the note - normally can change courses within the same visa class - ie, 572 vocational visa change courses from one vocational program to another after at least 6 months of study. Old school and new school (if different) both must approve transfer. If the new program goes longer than the visa, he'll have to apply for a further 572 visa before this one expires in order to have more time here to study and complete the program.

Re: sponsorship, too many details and questions to go into here, would need to know much more about his situation and details - a consultation would be the best way to discuss that - see website below in my signature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abie said:


> Hi Mark,
> One of your old fan here who got his Pr on ur advises in process to file citizenship next month thanks for your generous help all the time.
> Need a help for my brother
> 
> He is on student visa 572 studing diploma of automotive electrian. Previously completed cert 3 and 4in automotive electrian And business diploma. Due to some circumstances he could never find job in his actual field and kept on working in a well reputed resturant company which had many branches in australia as a chef from last 3 years almost on part time basis.
> 
> Now the company is asking him if he can do cert 3 in commercial cookery they can sponser him. My question is can he change his course now? From automotive to commercial cookery? His visa is finishing in March 2015 and if he starts his course in july he will finish his study by july 2015 will he be able to extend for few months or he need to take more studies to get one year visa again.
> 
> Lastly if in case the company do not sponcer him after he finishes will he be able to utilize his work experience and studies to any kind of visa for
> PR or reginal sponcer or me as his real brother being pr can get any advantage.
> Sorry its too long but need a strong advise from you
> Regards
> Abi


----------



## rakshith

*subclass 573*

Hi Mark,
i have applied my student e-visa on 24th may 2014 under SVP and still haven't heard anything about the decision on my application and my course start date is on 7th july 2014.when i check the status of my application using TRN it is showing as in progress.please help me will i recieve my visa before the start date?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rakshith -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately no way to tell - depending on security checks and other processing issues some student visas are taking 3 months or more to process. We are advising all clients to lodge 3 months in advance these days since DIBP is not willing to guarantee any particular processing times.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rakshith said:


> Hi Mark,
> i have applied my student e-visa on 24th may 2014 under SVP and still haven't heard anything about the decision on my application and my course start date is on 7th july 2014.when i check the status of my application using TRN it is showing as in progress.please help me will i recieve my visa before the start date?


----------



## abie

Thanks Mark for the quick reply just a small thing to know Is a cook is in the new coming Sol list any conditions


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abie -

Chef was added to the SOL this year, but Cook is not on the SOL and apparently won't be this year, but both are still on the CSOL list.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abie said:


> Thanks Mark for the quick reply just a small thing to know Is a cook is in the new coming Sol list any conditions


----------



## rakshith

Thanks for the quick reply Mark. wat does the status in progress mean is it still not assigned to CO?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rakshith -

It could mean that, but no way to tell for sure. Student visas are usually done by teams these days, sometimes by individual case officers, but no notice is given when a case officer or team is assigned. If the team or case officer needs more info or documents, then you'll hear from them at that point, but if not, you may only hear once a decision is made.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rakshith said:


> Thanks for the quick reply Mark. wat does the status in progress mean is it still not assigned to CO?


----------



## rakshith

Once again thank you Mark.. will DIBP process applications as per start date of the course? On what basis or priority they process applications


----------



## Jmac01

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jmac01 -
> 
> I had a quick look in the regulations, and it does not speak to uni loans. My view would be that money owed in this fashion would not be considered a debt unless the terms of the agreement or laws that govern the money had dictated that it was time to pay the money back, and that you had failed to pay that money back in accordance with the laws or terms that were applicable - or put simply, that it was owed and had not been paid as it should have been. HECS/HELP is more of an "account" in my view with the government, where funds from the account are then repayable upon meeting certain criteria at a later time - ie, you make a certain level of income, etc. At that point a demand is made for the money to you by the government. If you were to not pay that demand, then I would think that amount would become a debt for these purposes.
> 
> Please keep in mind this is only my view - others may have other views!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thankyou Mark, that is what I thought too!


----------



## megzchong

Hi Mark,

What would be the possible reason why CO would ask for your College or High school diploma for a PMV application?

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## loujon

Hi Mark, 
my husband who is British is currently living in OZ with me (Australian born) and our 8 month old daughter (Australian born) we are getting ready to hand in his Partner Visa application but have a couple of question.
1. he is currently on a multi entry visitor visa which expires on 6th Aug 2014 we should have the app in by end of June so will it be a problem that we have cut it so close? reason is mainly financial. 
2. on one of the pages we need to fill out the cost and add card details etc. how do we know the exact amount to put? the estimator is just an estimate and I need the exact amount for the form?? im confused by this one 
3. is it ok to get the medical and police check done once they ask for it instead of before and sending it with the application? 
4. on one the forms it states that all depends even if not on the application need to have a medical. does this mean myself, our daughter and his two children from a previous relationship (who are not on the application) need to have medicals? below is the statement from the form, 
All applicants for permanent visas including the main applicant,
spouse and any dependants must be assessed against the health
requirement. Even if the applicant’s spouse and dependants are not included in the visa application, they must still be assessed
against the health requirement.
thank you in advance


----------



## naser79

*svp student visa*

Hi Mark,

I have applied my visa on 4 june under svp. My medicals were also done on 30 May.I have applied with my family. My college have started on 23 June and i have requested an extension from the college. My actual course start date was 28 July but the condition was to complete one subject before actual course starts wch is why they commenced on 23 June. Mark what are the current time frames for visa grants under svp? Can u please help me.


----------



## dnnysn

Hey Mark
I did some searching and wanted to confirm this for the future but:

Registering a relationship in NSW doesn't require residency prior to application for a set period, correct? (QLD requires the applicant(s) to reside 6 months prior to application, Vic is 12)

I will be moving back to Australia with my Korean partner late Aug, we have been together 2 years and have spent everyday together, travelled (have tickets and receipts), I have chat/call records, photos, met each others family and friends, family bought each other gifts, paid for each others expenses (bills, tickets, etc) lived to together for about a year. 

However the culture in Korea doesn't allow people to live together unless they're married, in spite of this we still alternate staying at each other's houses (I live alone, she lives in the house next to her family). 

She got a WHV approved but I am in the middle of securing a job and housing.

Would our history and relationship registration be sufficient, or what would you recommend?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Sometimes yes, sometimes no from my experience - more than a few people have had to defer their studies because their student visa was not processed in time, so I don't think DIBP considers the start date of the course as any sort of deadline, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rakshith said:


> Once again thank you Mark.. will DIBP process applications as per start date of the course? On what basis or priority they process applications


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naser79 -

See the question today from another poster on this same subject on the thread - impossible to predict - could be anywhere from 1 to 3 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naser79 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied my visa on 4 june under svp. My medicals were also done on 30 May.I have applied with my family. My college have started on 23 June and i have requested an extension from the college. My actual course start date was 28 July but the condition was to complete one subject before actual course starts wch is why they commenced on 23 June. Mark what are the current time frames for visa grants under svp? Can u please help me.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dnnysn -

Thanks for the note. Last time I checked, NSW only required evidence of current residency for one of the 2 partners registering, but best to double check with them directly.

Hard to give you any opinion on relationship evidence without seeing it directly. Also, don't forget about witness statements - always helpful to have at least a few of those in there. Also note that if you're a permanent resident of Australia, make sure you include evidence that you are "usually resident" in Australia if you have not been living in Australia for some time. No requirement for usually resident if you are a citizen however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dnnysn said:


> Hey Mark
> I did some searching and wanted to confirm this for the future but:
> 
> Registering a relationship in NSW doesn't require residency prior to application for a set period, correct? (QLD requires the applicant(s) to reside 6 months prior to application, Vic is 12)
> 
> I will be moving back to Australia with my Korean partner late Aug, we have been together 2 years and have spent everyday together, travelled (have tickets and receipts), I have chat/call records, photos, met each others family and friends, family bought each other gifts, paid for each others expenses (bills, tickets, etc) lived to together for about a year.
> 
> However the culture in Korea doesn't allow people to live together unless they're married, in spite of this we still alternate staying at each other's houses (I live alone, she lives in the house next to her family).
> 
> She got a WHV approved but I am in the middle of securing a job and housing.
> 
> Would our history and relationship registration be sufficient, or what would you recommend?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

Wow - that's good one. Only time I've seen this is in certain countries - for instance, the Philippines will require primary/secondary school records in cases where a birth certificate is "late registered". I expect it's for some sort of ID checking. Might also be if they suspect the educational info entered on Form 80 isn't accurate and they're verifying, but still - very unusual for a fiance visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> What would be the possible reason why CO would ask for your College or High school diploma for a PMV application?
> 
> Thanks,
> Megz


----------



## CollegeGirl

For whatever it's worth, our agent had us include my college degree as evidence of my potential for earning income in Australia. Maybe they're trying to make sure you'll be able to support yourselves. Just a complete guess on my part, though.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Loujon -

Thanks for the questions - see below at ***:



loujon said:


> Hi Mark,
> my husband who is British is currently living in OZ with me (Australian born) and our 8 month old daughter (Australian born) we are getting ready to hand in his Partner Visa application but have a couple of question.
> 1. he is currently on a multi entry visitor visa which expires on 6th Aug 2014 we should have the app in by end of June so will it be a problem that we have cut it so close? reason is mainly financial.
> *** No problem - especially if you lodge online, you should get the bridging visa right away by email.
> 
> 2. on one of the pages we need to fill out the cost and add card details etc. how do we know the exact amount to put? the estimator is just an estimate and I need the exact amount for the form?? im confused by this one
> *** You only need to add the visa application fees for the primary applicant and any dependents who are also on the application - don't worry about the credit card fee. Rates may change on 1 July though - date of application determines rates. You can get the exact charges on the Fees tab on the DIBP website for the visa.
> 
> 3. is it ok to get the medical and police check done once they ask for it instead of before and sending it with the application?
> *** Yes.
> 
> 4. on one the forms it states that all depends even if not on the application need to have a medical. does this mean myself, our daughter and his two children from a previous relationship (who are not on the application) need to have medicals? below is the statement from the form,
> All applicants for permanent visas including the main applicant,
> spouse and any dependants must be assessed against the health
> requirement. Even if the applicant's spouse and dependants are not included in the visa application, they must still be assessed
> against the health requirement.
> *** Yes. The only way around this (ie, medicals for non-migrating children) is if you make a submission to DIBP and DIBP agrees that it is not practical to get the health exams - this typically happens when the migrating person has no legal control or custody over the children and the other parent refuses to allow the children to undergo medicals.
> 
> thank you in advance


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## megzchong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Megz -
> 
> Wow - that's good one. Only time I've seen this is in certain countries - for instance, the Philippines will require primary/secondary school records in cases where a birth certificate is "late registered". I expect it's for some sort of ID checking. Might also be if they suspect the educational info entered on Form 80 isn't accurate and they're verifying, but still - very unusual for a fiance visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for the reply. It really helps a lot preparing my papers just in case they ask for it.

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## megzchong

CollegeGirl said:


> For whatever it's worth, our agent had us include my college degree as evidence of my potential for earning income in Australia. Maybe they're trying to make sure you'll be able to support yourselves. Just a complete guess on my part, though.


Hi,

Thank you for your tip! i guess I might have to include my certificate of employment on my application papers in regards to their concern about my future employment in Australia. Diploma in my studies are harder to request and it involves a lot of processes which I am afraid of so I hope certificate of employment would be a help.

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## Scotty22au

Hi Mark,

Here is some background information that I posted yesterday.

_I am a 38yr old male from Australia and my girlfriend is a 34 year old white South African whom I met in Bali in April 2014. Over the coming months I have planned trips to travel to and from SA and have just recently returned from a 3 week trip there staying with my girlfriend and doing a few holiday related things and catching up with friends. In a few days I am again flying back to SA to go visit her family in Cape Town (again a few weeks). Due to work commitments I am unable to stay any longer but I have already put plans into place to visit again in September for 3 weeks and she will be visiting me in December. The time we spend apart we are always in contact via skype or whatsapp. We are looking at a holiday visa for her in December and hoping she can stay for min 3 months, I will be supporting her while she is here. We are also looking further down the track into the spouse visa which will take alot of prior planning as I can see. What things can we do that can help us in setting the foundation for visa approvals in the near future?_

What I am wanting to know is what would be the best avenue to get my girlfriend in Australia and living with me? We have considered a 'Tourist Visa' or PMV and even a spouse/defacto Visa. I know its a lengthy process and I want to make sure we are on the right track.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Scotty22au -

Thanks for the question. I don't know enough about all the details of you and your girlfriend's situation to be able to give you any specific advice on your situation - there are a great many factors that come into play in a situation like this. Generally speaking, a PMV visa might work depending on whether your relationship has advanced to the point that you're engaged and planning a wedding, followed by a visitor visa so she can visit during the time the PMV is being processed. If it hasn't reached that point yet, then a visitor visa would probably be the best fit. The challenge with a visitor visa by itself, especially a 3 month stay, is that DIBP will want to see evidence of stronger ties to her home country than she has to you in Australia. With you paying for the 3 month stay, that already creates a strong tie to Australia. So her particular details in terms of employment, financial and other assets, family ties, responsibilities, etc then come into play in terms of whether she would pass the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) policies that come into play with a visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Scotty22au said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Here is some background information that I posted yesterday.
> 
> _I am a 38yr old male from Australia and my girlfriend is a 34 year old white South African whom I met in Bali in April 2014. Over the coming months I have planned trips to travel to and from SA and have just recently returned from a 3 week trip there staying with my girlfriend and doing a few holiday related things and catching up with friends. In a few days I am again flying back to SA to go visit her family in Cape Town (again a few weeks). Due to work commitments I am unable to stay any longer but I have already put plans into place to visit again in September for 3 weeks and she will be visiting me in December. The time we spend apart we are always in contact via skype or whatsapp. We are looking at a holiday visa for her in December and hoping she can stay for min 3 months, I will be supporting her while she is here. We are also looking further down the track into the spouse visa which will take alot of prior planning as I can see. What things can we do that can help us in setting the foundation for visa approvals in the near future?_
> 
> What I am wanting to know is what would be the best avenue to get my girlfriend in Australia and living with me? We have considered a 'Tourist Visa' or PMV and even a spouse/defacto Visa. I know its a lengthy process and I want to make sure we are on the right track.


----------



## Scotty22au

Hi Mark and thank you for the quick repsonse,

My girlfriend owns her own place in Johannesburg so I am guessing this and the fact that her pets and all furniture will still be there would be enough of a tie to SA. She also works at FNB and will continue to work there.

We are not engaged as yet as I am a bit old fashioned and would like to ask her parents before hand, the trip in December will only be for 3 weeks after some discussions and thoughts. We have discussed marriage and even whether or not it would be in Oz or SA!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Scotty22au -
> 
> Thanks for the question. I don't know enough about all the details of you and your girlfriend's situation to be able to give you any specific advice on your situation - there are a great many factors that come into play in a situation like this. Generally speaking, a PMV visa might work depending on whether your relationship has advanced to the point that you're engaged and planning a wedding, followed by a visitor visa so she can visit during the time the PMV is being processed. If it hasn't reached that point yet, then a visitor visa would probably be the best fit. The challenge with a visitor visa by itself, especially a 3 month stay, is that DIBP will want to see evidence of stronger ties to her home country than she has to you in Australia. With you paying for the 3 month stay, that already creates a strong tie to Australia. So her particular details in terms of employment, financial and other assets, family ties, responsibilities, etc then come into play in terms of whether she would pass the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) policies that come into play with a visitor visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Scotty22au -

Sounding more and more like a visitor visa may be a good first step - the home ownership and continued employment there (good to get a letter from the employer indicating her position will be available to her upon her return) will be strong indicators in her favour re: GTE policy.

Best,

Mark Northam



Scotty22au said:


> Hi Mark and thank you for the quick repsonse,
> 
> My girlfriend owns her own place in Johannesburg so I am guessing this and the fact that her pets and all furniture will still be there would be enough of a tie to SA. She also works at FNB and will continue to work there.
> 
> We are not engaged as yet as I am a bit old fashioned and would like to ask her parents before hand, the trip in December will only be for 3 weeks after some discussions and thoughts. We have discussed marriage and even whether or not it would be in Oz or SA!


----------



## Scotty22au

Another thing I think which may benefit her is that fact that she visited Australia in 2010 for a holiday and returned to SA.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Scotty22au -
> 
> Sounding more and more like a visitor visa may be a good first step - the home ownership and continued employment there (good to get a letter from the employer indicating her position will be available to her upon her return) will be strong indicators in her favour re: GTE policy.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Scotty22au

Mark when applying for the visitor visa should we ask for a 12 mth mutiple entry one so that she can return to see me when her work allows it? Or should she just apply for a new one each time?


----------



## MarkNortham

If you have your travel plans set, you may want to include a letter with that to show that you're not asking for 12 continuous months of stay, but multiple shorter stays are planned within a 12 month period, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



Scotty22au said:


> Mark when applying for the visitor visa should we ask for a 12 mth mutiple entry one so that she can return to see me when her work allows it? Or should she just apply for a new one each time?


----------



## Scotty22au

Excellent thank you.



MarkNortham said:


> If you have your travel plans set, you may want to include a letter with that to show that you're not asking for 12 continuous months of stay, but multiple shorter stays are planned within a 12 month period, etc.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## cec_1024

*Bridging Visa for Class RN Subclass 187 Application*

Hi Mark,

I hope you can help me....I have a de facto partner who is currently on Bridging Visa (Class WA) Subclass (010), he already lodged his application for subclass 187 via Immi Account last June 13, 2014. My question is, how many days are allotted for us to complete our documentary requirements, we (me and my kids) are included in the application however, since we are not in Australia it will be an offshore application. I got confused with this "This bridging visa allows you to remain lawfully in Australia until 28 calendar days after you are notified of a decision on your application for a Regional Employer Nomination (class RN) Regional Employer Nomination (subclass 187) visa." Does it mean that we have to complete the necessary requirements within 28 days? What will happen after the bridging visa is expired? Looking forward to your response on this. Thank you.


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi mark, 

Please help me, my agent said to me he will apply paper visa tomorrow for my 457 subclass. My application is visa 457, in this online time how effective it could be? Does it take longer than online. I don't have approved nomination. Are they trying to take some extra time by applying paper visa? I am currently in India and they applying in Sydney is it possible ?

Appreciate your help.

Regards
Bharat


----------



## Champ

Hi Mark,
I really appreciate your help in answering our questions. I have a quick question regarding PMV 309 visa. I posted a question in feb 2014 regarding our case and you stated that its purely based on the CO and the circumstances and our documentation and proofs about our intent to migrate. Please see the link for the previous post. 
Original Post: http://www.australiaforum.com/344097-post329.html
Reply: http://www.australiaforum.com/344201-post332.html

We applied for temporary PR in April 2013 and later(May 2014) submitted the details for Permanent Pr. Our CO from Washington DC accepted them and said she will be considering our visa for sc 100.
Quesiton: In the response she stated pending final assessment, our visa should be due for finalizaiton in June or July.
Ok now what does it mean? +ve or -ve? Our case is a bit complicated as i never lived in Australia to meet the 2 year requirement( CO asked why i never lived in Aus after i received my PR and we explained in detial in Feb 2013) for the sponsorship and then we detailed every thing to the CO and she accepted the case without closing in May 2014. We showed the compelling reasons and gave every detail of the series of events which happened and she confirmed our intent and asked for further documentation like AFP FBI etc.

If at all she has to reject she could have done it before even considering our visa for Permanent. Correct?

Can you please let us know what does finalization mean in general for immigration purposes?

Its June 24th and we didnt any response yet from her. 
Also, will there be any quota of no of visas issued per month or per year for every embassy?

Thanks
Champ.


----------



## helpanswersneeded

*Hi Mark*

In regards to police checks i read in the partner migration booklet the following

"You should obtain a police check for each country in which you and your dependents have resided during the last 10 years where :

- the period of residence was 12months or longer in total: and
- the person was aged 16 years or over at the time of residence"

My partner left his home country 2days after turning 16 , does this mean he
will no need to provide a check from his home country


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cec_1024 -

Thanks for the note. If you're asking about uploading the required documents (ie, qualifications, ID, etc) to the application, you should do that right away - RSMS applications are now being processed in a matter of weeks, and if they are ready to process your application and the documents are not there, that could be a problem.

Re: bridging visa, only those applicants who are onshore at the time the visa application is made will receive bridging visas. If you come onshore after lodgement on some other visa (ie, visitor visa, etc), you may be able to apply for a bridging visa once you're here. The bridging visa will remain in effect until 28 days after a decision is made on the visa application that generated the bridging visa, however long that takes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cec_1024 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you can help me....I have a de facto partner who is currently on Bridging Visa (Class WA) Subclass (010), he already lodged his application for subclass 187 via Immi Account last June 13, 2014. My question is, how many days are allotted for us to complete our documentary requirements, we (me and my kids) are included in the application however, since we are not in Australia it will be an offshore application. I got confused with this "This bridging visa allows you to remain lawfully in Australia until 28 calendar days after you are notified of a decision on your application for a Regional Employer Nomination (class RN) Regional Employer Nomination (subclass 187) visa." Does it mean that we have to complete the necessary requirements within 28 days? What will happen after the bridging visa is expired? Looking forward to your response on this. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

Something sounds unusual here - 457 applications are required to be made online unless an applicant gets special permission from DIBP to make the application via paper. Have the sponsorship and nomination been lodged and/or approved? The only instance I can imagine that a 457 application would need to be done via paper would be if the applicant had an exclusion period in force and an exclusion waiver had to be lodged at the same time as the 457 application - that might qualify for a paper application, but it would be up to DIBP to make that call. Suggest you investigate further.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Please help me, my agent said to me he will apply paper visa tomorrow for my 457 subclass. My application is visa 457, in this online time how effective it could be? Does it take longer than online. I don't have approved nomination. Are they trying to take some extra time by applying paper visa? I am currently in India and they applying in Sydney is it possible ?
> 
> Appreciate your help.
> 
> Regards
> Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Champ -

Thanks for the note - finalised means a decision is made - could be grant or refusal, "finalised" doesn't indicate which way the decision is headed, just that a decision would be made.

You should make sure you have adequately addressed the "usually resident" legal requirements if you are an Australian PR and not living in Australia now - this is a requirement for the sponsor for 309/100 visas - sounds like you may have already submitted this sort of documentation based on your question.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Champ said:


> Hi Mark,
> I really appreciate your help in answering our questions. I have a quick question regarding PMV 309 visa. I posted a question in feb 2014 regarding our case and you stated that its purely based on the CO and the circumstances and our documentation and proofs about our intent to migrate. Please see the link for the previous post.
> Original Post: http://www.australiaforum.com/344097-post329.html
> Reply: http://www.australiaforum.com/344201-post332.html
> 
> We applied for temporary PR in April 2013 and later(May 2014) submitted the details for Permanent Pr. Our CO from Washington DC accepted them and said she will be considering our visa for sc 100.
> Quesiton: In the response she stated pending final assessment, our visa should be due for finalizaiton in June or July.
> Ok now what does it mean? +ve or -ve? Our case is a bit complicated as i never lived in Australia to meet the 2 year requirement( CO asked why i never lived in Aus after i received my PR and we explained in detial in Feb 2013) for the sponsorship and then we detailed every thing to the CO and she accepted the case without closing in May 2014. We showed the compelling reasons and gave every detail of the series of events which happened and she confirmed our intent and asked for further documentation like AFP FBI etc.
> 
> If at all she has to reject she could have done it before even considering our visa for Permanent. Correct?
> 
> Can you please let us know what does finalization mean in general for immigration purposes?
> 
> Its June 24th and we didnt any response yet from her.
> Also, will there be any quota of no of visas issued per month or per year for every embassy?
> 
> Thanks
> Champ.


----------



## dnnysn

Thanks Mark.

The reason I ask about evidence for states is because I would like to live in Victoria with my partner but securing a job from overseas seems impossible and meeting the 12 month requirement will seem difficult in Victoria, can I prove that we were together for longer than 12 months with the evidence mentioned? I believe she had something shipped to my address at one stage, and we travelled frequently.

Yes I'm a citizen. When I checked last time, I believe that they can be from family, the only Australian citizens that have met her are my family, so could a statement from each of them be sufficient?

Appreciate the assistance
Don



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dnnysn -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Last time I checked, NSW only required evidence of current residency for one of the 2 partners registering, but best to double check with them directly.
> 
> Hard to give you any opinion on relationship evidence without seeing it directly. Also, don't forget about witness statements - always helpful to have at least a few of those in there. Also note that if you're a permanent resident of Australia, make sure you include evidence that you are "usually resident" in Australia if you have not been living in Australia for some time. No requirement for usually resident if you are a citizen however.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

The wording in the publication leaves a lot to be desired!

The legal requirement for overseas police certificates generally is that a certificate is required from the person for each country in which the person has spent a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years since turning 16. So in your case, if he has only spent 2 days in a country since age 16, he would not be required to produce a police clearance certificate from that country unless specifically requested to do so by a case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



helpanswersneeded said:


> In regards to police checks i read in the partner migration booklet the following
> 
> "You should obtain a police check for each country in which you and your dependents have resided during the last 10 years where :
> 
> - the period of residence was 12months or longer in total: and
> - the person was aged 16 years or over at the time of residence"
> 
> My partner left his home country 2days after turning 16 , does this mean he
> will no need to provide a check from his home country


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Don -

Thanks for the question. I don't recall the evidence you mentioned, but envelopes sent to an address are generally considered to be weak evidence - helpful, but weak. Statements from a landlord or other person in a position to have witnessed the two of you living together over a period, leases with both your names on them, etc are generally considered much stronger evidence of living together. Wouldn't be able to give you an opinion on your evidence without seeing it directly - you could do this with a consultation if you're interested - see website in my signature below for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dnnysn said:


> Thanks Mark.
> 
> The reason I ask about evidence for states is because I would like to live in Victoria with my partner but securing a job from overseas seems impossible and meeting the 12 month requirement will seem difficult in Victoria, can I prove that we were together for longer than 12 months with the evidence mentioned? I believe she had something shipped to my address at one stage, and we travelled frequently.
> 
> Yes I'm a citizen. When I checked last time, I believe that they can be from family, the only Australian citizens that have met her are my family, so could a statement from each of them be sufficient?
> 
> Appreciate the assistance
> Don


----------



## rjo587

*Skills assessment?*

Hi Mark,

Thank you for providing so much help here in this forum.

I have a question for you. I am a New Zealand citizen and I would like to apply for Australian permanent residency. (For myself and my family.) I have been working in Australia in the same position since 2011 and my employer is willing to sponsor me for permanent residency.

As we are located in South Australia I believe RSMS 187 visa is the best option. The position they wish to nominate me for is ANZSCO 392311 Printing Machinist. I have been working in this job for 3 years with this company but I have been told that because my training was done offshore (in India and New Zealand) that I may need a skills assessment and RPL qualification to apply.

I am having some trouble understanding what I need to do. How do I get RPL qualification? Is this the same as a skills assessment or are these two different things? What do I need to do for this?

Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rjo587 -

Thanks for the note. Skills assessments for the RSMS visa are needed in certain circumstances, not in others. If required, it would need to be from TRA - see Home Page

For many skills assessments, upon successful skills assessment TRA or an associated provider will issue a trade qualification based on RPL (recognition of prior learning). I believe it is also possible to get an RPL qualification from other educational providers in Australia depending on their requirements, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rjo587 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for providing so much help here in this forum.
> 
> I have a question for you. I am a New Zealand citizen and I would like to apply for Australian permanent residency. (For myself and my family.) I have been working in Australia in the same position since 2011 and my employer is willing to sponsor me for permanent residency.
> 
> As we are located in South Australia I believe RSMS 187 visa is the best option. The position they wish to nominate me for is ANZSCO 392311 Printing Machinist. I have been working in this job for 3 years with this company but I have been told that because my training was done offshore (in India and New Zealand) that I may need a skills assessment and RPL qualification to apply.
> 
> I am having some trouble understanding what I need to do. How do I get RPL qualification? Is this the same as a skills assessment or are these two different things? What do I need to do for this?
> 
> Thank you very much.


----------



## rjo587

Thank you Mark. How do I know if I actually need the skills assessment or not? One migration agent said I did not need it and one told me I did. It seems to be a long and expensive process so I want to be sure.

Can we just submit nomination to RCB without it and then see what they say?


----------



## dnnysn

Ok that's helpful thanks.

Her landlord is her parents who just gave her the house in the same complex, she doesn't have her name on the lease since her parents pay for her utilities, would a translated statement from them be ok?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Don -
> 
> Thanks for the question. I don't recall the evidence you mentioned, but envelopes sent to an address are generally considered to be weak evidence - helpful, but weak. Statements from a landlord or other person in a position to have witnessed the two of you living together over a period, leases with both your names on them, etc are generally considered much stronger evidence of living together. Wouldn't be able to give you an opinion on your evidence without seeing it directly - you could do this with a consultation if you're interested - see website in my signature below for more on this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## myallstone

*Hi mark not sure we're to post this question .*

I hope to be granted prospective partner visa for my fiancé this year .. But my question is about my partners son .. He 7 years old now and just finished grade 2 at school .. He speaks no English . So I was thinking home schooling / distance education till he learnt enough English But was told you need to be australian citizen or permanent resident to enrol in state education system .. Is this correct ? ... if so it means I have to find a private online school till he gets residency stamp ..

Ps I am a farmer and live 40 km from closest town/ state school

Thanks 
Russell


----------



## abhishek.2406

Hello Mark, 

I had to leave australia as my TR got expired.
I had some fines to pay when i departed Australia. so , do i need to pay them before my
PCC or i can pay them later when i get visa and come to australia?
Does this effect the procedure of VISA grant?
or they can cancel my application on this basis?

Thanks

Regards
Abhishek


----------



## abhishek.2406

Forgot to tell, I will apply for EOI then PR under 190 skilled migration.
i will have to get done all the documents again as they are very old to be considered now.
i also possess Engineers Australia assessment.
Thanks again.


----------



## exter

Hi Mark,

I need a bit of clarifications on what I'm required to do.

Currently, I'm on a 487 visa with approximately a couple months of working exp left to complete what I need to apply for permanent residency.

But recently I've been thinking of joining a startup as a co-founder, with equity and stuff. Will that change how working exp is counted?

E.g. Typically it would be 38 hours a week with a min wage of $16-17 per hour as determined by the labour law to be counted as full time working exp (please correct me if I'm wrong).

So will it be different if I get into a startup and co-found it? Because, in a startup, it's unlikely that there will be consistent wages near the start, and working hours will be a little odd, so I'm not sure how this will affect what I'm required to do for my visa, if any. And if it does affect working experience, at what stage of the startup does it count as getting full time working experience?

Thank you for the help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rjo587 -

Would need to see all details of your case in order to give you specific advice - suggest you get a proper consultation from a migration agent who can go over all your documents, the info about the company and position, and give you specific advice as to how to proceed with the RCB, nomination and visa application parts of things - you're right - it's a long and expensive process - and the worst part is when problems are discovered too late to make a change, with no refunds possible from DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rjo587 said:


> Thank you Mark. How do I know if I actually need the skills assessment or not? One migration agent said I did not need it and one told me I did. It seems to be a long and expensive process so I want to be sure.
> 
> Can we just submit nomination to RCB without it and then see what they say?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dnnysn -

That would certainly help - not sure if it's enough to satisfy DIBP without seeing all the evidence & statements myself.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dnnysn said:


> Ok that's helpful thanks.
> 
> Her landlord is her parents who just gave her the house in the same complex, she doesn't have her name on the lease since her parents pay for her utilities, would a translated statement from them be ok?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Myallstone -

The costs for public schooling for those who are not citizens or permanent residents are determined on a state-by-state basis in Australia. People who are here on temporary visas routinely enroll their children in public school and end up paying tuition to the state education dept for that. Beyond that I'm not familiar with home schooling rules, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



myallstone said:


> I hope to be granted prospective partner visa for my fiancé this year .. But my question is about my partners son .. He 7 years old now and just finished grade 2 at school .. He speaks no English . So I was thinking home schooling / distance education till he learnt enough English But was told you need to be australian citizen or permanent resident to enrol in state education system .. Is this correct ? ... if so it means I have to find a private online school till he gets residency stamp ..
> 
> Ps I am a farmer and live 40 km from closest town/ state school
> 
> Thanks
> Russell


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abhishek -

Thanks for the questions. Re: fines, not sure how they will be handled - you can always get your AFP report and see - generally the only fines that are an issue in a PR visa application would be fines owed to the Commonwealth of Australia (ie, back taxes, etc). Also note that skills assessments are now only valid for 3 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abhishek.2406 said:


> Forgot to tell, I will apply for EOI then PR under 190 skilled migration.
> i will have to get done all the documents again as they are very old to be considered now.
> i also possess Engineers Australia assessment.
> Thanks again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Exter -

Thanks for the note. DIBP is not so much concerned about the wage rate (they will look for a "market rate" or something reasonably similar) but are more concerned about independent, verifiable documentation that you did the work, and that you put in the hours that you claimed. With self-employed situations that is always more complex - you'll need to look at your situation and who might be able to provide independent verification of your wages & hours and see what you can put together - for every business it's different. But the 38+ hrs/wk rule applies in all cases, regardless of self-employment, employment for others, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



exter said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I need a bit of clarifications on what I'm required to do.
> 
> Currently, I'm on a 487 visa with approximately a couple months of working exp left to complete what I need to apply for permanent residency.
> 
> But recently I've been thinking of joining a startup as a co-founder, with equity and stuff. Will that change how working exp is counted?
> 
> E.g. Typically it would be 38 hours a week with a min wage of $16-17 per hour as determined by the labour law to be counted as full time working exp (please correct me if I'm wrong).
> 
> So will it be different if I get into a startup and co-found it? Because, in a startup, it's unlikely that there will be consistent wages near the start, and working hours will be a little odd, so I'm not sure how this will affect what I'm required to do for my visa, if any. And if it does affect working experience, at what stage of the startup does it count as getting full time working experience?
> 
> Thank you for the help.


----------



## exter

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the quick response!

Can you also possibly provide me with some examples of what kind of documents would count as evidence in this case? (And how many types is needed etc)

And does that mean wages in this case don't matter..?

Many thanks


----------



## aminsagar123

Hi Mark.

*My question to you is:*

When the Schedule 3 waiver is granted, do the case officer informs the applicant or is it just a waiting game.

I sent my Schedule 3 Waiver Application for my partner visa around 16 days back.

I sent compelling reasons statement and evidence. Also sent relation evidence documents which were requested alongside Schedule 3.

The only email i received from CO was when the documents were received. Didn't hear anything after.

Thanks heaps for the good work you are doing here.


----------



## bhalo_fish

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bharat -
> 
> Something sounds unusual here - 457 applications are required to be made online unless an applicant gets special permission from DIBP to make the application via paper. Have the sponsorship and nomination been lodged and/or approved? The only instance I can imagine that a 457 application would need to be done via paper would be if the applicant had an exclusion period in force and an exclusion waiver had to be lodged at the same time as the 457 application - that might qualify for a paper application, but it would be up to DIBP to make that call. Suggest you investigate further.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Many thanks mark, it may be because my 457 visa refuse two months before with same employer. I didn't have approve nomination that time.

Regards
Bharat


----------



## JO_2012

Hi Mark,

This document from the IARC states that no bans or exclusion periods apply to partner visas. Can you confirm that this is the case? (The document is from 2011 but is the only information on this topic from a reputable source I could find)

http://www.iarc.asn.au/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=40014

Many thanks

Edit:

This recent page from DIBP also seems to suggest that re-entry bans only apply to "most" temporary visa applications, but do not apply to permanent visa applications. I wonder if "most" temporary visas excludes those ones that lead to permanent residence (like temporary partner visas)

https://www.immi.gov.au/managing-au...tatus-resolution/re-entry-bans-fact-sheet.htm

Also, from what I can see, schedule 4 of the migration act on which these re-entry bans are based does not seem to make this distinction between temporary and permanent visa applications. So is this information on the DIBP website able to be 100% relied upon?


----------



## Hap Hapablap

Hi Mark

I really admire your energy to answer so many questions in this forum. So I hope you will answer a few of mine.

I am at a key point in the beginning of the immigration process: I am about to apply for ACS skill assessment. Since I don't have right qualifications but I have more than 11 years of work experience in IT industry, I am going to do my assessment with a RPL report.

My qustions are:
1. Do you give professional consultations regarding ACS RPL reports?
2. If yes what would that consultation consist of (RPL examples as a template, support via email....)
3. If not only with RPL report, do you provide professional help for complete process of skill assessment? 
4. In one of treads in this forum you mentioned that ACS has much detailed job descriptions than are used by ANZSCO. Is there a way to obtain ACS job descriptions?

Thank you for your time.
Kind regards


----------



## Millsy

*WHV whilst awaiting Partnership Visa*

I have question regarding applying for the WHV whilst awaiting approval of the partnership visa:

Background - My (American) girlfriend and I (Australian Citizen) submitted a partnership visa in April and, like everyone else on here, are now playing the waiting game with immigration. We are both currently living in the US and are planning on returning to Australia together at the end of the year.

If the visa hasn't been granted by end of year (likely), we are considering applying for the 12 month Working Holiday Visa (WHV) at the end of the year instead to get us both back to Australia and then continuing to wait in Australia whilst a decision is made on the partnership Visa.

Note: We submitted the partnership Visa application in April 14 so it 'should' be approved well before the 12 month WHV timeframe expires at the end of next year.

My Questions:

1. Is this a common and workable solution to the problem?

2. Will Immigration have an issue with us applying for a WHV whilst we already have a partnership visa in progress?

Also, regarding the 'No further stay' condition - From reading the forums I understand my girlfriend's WHV may or may not have a 'no further stay' condition to it. My question is this:

3. If it does not have the 'No further stay' condition, is it as simple as staying in Australia on the WHV and then transfer over to the partnership visa? (i.e. no-one has to leave the country?)

4. If it does have the 'No further stay' condition, do we simply wait until our Case Officer advises the partnership Visa is about to be approved, leave the country for a week or so (New Zealand for example) and then re-enter on the new partnership Visa?

We want to be as transparent and upfront about our intentions so I am after some advice that the above is a workable solution and whether or not I've missed something?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## fletchaman

*Police Checks*

Hi Mark,

We have emigrated from the UK to NZ and now are looking at moving to OZ, will we be required to supply Police checks from both the UK and NZ ( been in NZ 3 and a half years) We do have the UK police check we used for NZ Immigration but it is now 4 years old our criminal checks since then would be NZ

Thanks in Advance

David


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fletchaman -

For a PR visa you'll need police checks from all countries that any applicant has spent a total of 12 months or more in over the last 10 years. These expire in 1 year, so you'd likely need to get fresh ones.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fletchaman said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We have emigrated from the UK to NZ and now are looking at moving to OZ, will we be required to supply Police checks from both the UK and NZ ( been in NZ 3 and a half years) We do have the UK police check we used for NZ Immigration but it is now 4 years old our criminal checks since then would be NZ
> 
> Thanks in Advance
> 
> David


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hap Hapablap -

We're happy to assist in preparing skills assessment applications including ACS RPL applications - best to contact me directly (see website link below) for details. Here's the ACS expanded ANZSCO info:

https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/7641/ANZSCO-Descriptions.pdf

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hap Hapablap said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I really admire your energy to answer so many questions in this forum. So I hope you will answer a few of mine.
> 
> I am at a key point in the beginning of the immigration process: I am about to apply for ACS skill assessment. Since I don't have right qualifications but I have more than 11 years of work experience in IT industry, I am going to do my assessment with a RPL report.
> 
> My qustions are:
> 1. Do you give professional consultations regarding ACS RPL reports?
> 2. If yes what would that consultation consist of (RPL examples as a template, support via email....)
> 3. If not only with RPL report, do you provide professional help for complete process of skill assessment?
> 4. In one of treads in this forum you mentioned that ACS has much detailed job descriptions than are used by ANZSCO. Is there a way to obtain ACS job descriptions?
> 
> Thank you for your time.
> Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Exter -

It's different for each different business situation - the key is that they are documents that you did not create or generate - that they are somehow independent of you, or are your documents that are verified by a third party in a position to know how many hours you worked, etc.. Whenever we assist clients with preparing these things, we have to look at any/all documents the client has or can get, then we try and choose and piece together from these the best package of documents to try and satisfy DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



exter said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the quick response!
> 
> Can you also possibly provide me with some examples of what kind of documents would count as evidence in this case? (And how many types is needed etc)
> 
> And does that mean wages in this case don't matter..?
> 
> Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Think I saw this in an email - it generally takes 1-2 months to evaluate Schedule 3 submissions - if you are successful, generally you'll hear nothing until visa grant time. If you fail Schedule 3 and your submission(s) are not successful, you'll likely hear about it via a refusal letter within a few months of submitting your Schedule 3 submissions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aminsagar123 said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> *My question to you is:*
> 
> When the Schedule 3 waiver is granted, do the case officer informs the applicant or is it just a waiting game.
> 
> I sent my Schedule 3 Waiver Application for my partner visa around 16 days back.
> 
> I sent compelling reasons statement and evidence. Also sent relation evidence documents which were requested alongside Schedule 3.
> 
> The only email i received from CO was when the documents were received. Didn't hear anything after.
> 
> Thanks heaps for the good work you are doing here.


----------



## fletchaman

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fletchaman -
> 
> For a PR visa you'll need police checks from all countries that any applicant has spent a total of 12 months or more in over the last 10 years. These expire in 1 year, so you'd likely need to get fresh ones.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark much appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JO_2012 -

It's a bit more complex than that - you first need to determine what type of exclusion ban or period you're talking about, then see what visa(s) it may apply to. For instance a 3-year ban related to a previous PIC4020 refusal would certainly apply to a partner visa.

The 3-year bands related to departing on a bridging visa C/D/E under some circumstances do not apply for partner visa applications, since the partner visa is not a temporary visa - the first part of the partner visa is actually a provisional visa, which is different legally than a temporary visa. To determine exactly what visas are affected by different exclusion periods and bans, you have to consult Schedule 4 or 5 of the Migration Regulations 1994 to see what clause of those schedules has created the ban (or other exclusions are created in other parts of the Regulations such as the 5-year waiting period on further partner visa sponsorship, etc), then go to Schedule 2 for the visa you're interested in applying for and see if the Schedule 4/5 element applies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam

P.S. Not safe to rely 100% on DIBP website as the website has no legal standing and cannot be used as a defence if you have an application refused. The only thing that counts is the law and, to some extent, policy.



JO_2012 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This document from the IARC states that no bans or exclusion periods apply to partner visas. Can you confirm that this is the case? (The document is from 2011 but is the only information on this topic from a reputable source I could find)
> 
> http://www.iarc.asn.au/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=40014
> 
> Many thanks
> 
> Edit:
> 
> This recent page from DIBP also seems to suggest that re-entry bans only apply to "most" temporary visa applications, but do not apply to permanent visa applications. I wonder if "most" temporary visas excludes those ones that lead to permanent residence (like temporary partner visas)
> 
> https://www.immi.gov.au/managing-au...tatus-resolution/re-entry-bans-fact-sheet.htm
> 
> Also, from what I can see, schedule 4 of the migration act on which these re-entry bans are based does not seem to make this distinction between temporary and permanent visa applications. So is this information on the DIBP website able to be 100% relied upon?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Millsy -

Thanks for the questions. Normally a visitor visa is used in these circumstances, as DIBP would expect to have your application processed well before the 12 month limit on a WHV. Genuine visitor issues also come into play - there is often more room on a visitor visa for this sort of thing vs WHV. Since the applicant is a US citizen, the ETA visitor visa would be a better choice in my view based on the details you've provided.

Since you lodged an offshore partner visa application, you'll need to depart Australia at the time the visa grant is ready to be made - but this can be for a quick visit to any country outside Australia (a few days if you'd like) - doesn't have to be back to the home country. Also make sure you keep in touch with DIBP regarding your contact details and I would request confirmation of any and every email you send to them in response to anything they ask about.

Generally no further stay is not a concern since you already have lodged your partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Millsy said:


> I have question regarding applying for the WHV whilst awaiting approval of the partnership visa:
> 
> Background - My (American) girlfriend and I (Australian Citizen) submitted a partnership visa in April and, like everyone else on here, are now playing the waiting game with immigration. We are both currently living in the US and are planning on returning to Australia together at the end of the year.
> 
> If the visa hasn't been granted by end of year (likely), we are considering applying for the 12 month Working Holiday Visa (WHV) at the end of the year instead to get us both back to Australia and then continuing to wait in Australia whilst a decision is made on the partnership Visa.
> 
> Note: We submitted the partnership Visa application in April 14 so it 'should' be approved well before the 12 month WHV timeframe expires at the end of next year.
> 
> My Questions:
> 
> 1. Is this a common and workable solution to the problem?
> 
> 2. Will Immigration have an issue with us applying for a WHV whilst we already have a partnership visa in progress?
> 
> Also, regarding the 'No further stay' condition - From reading the forums I understand my girlfriend's WHV may or may not have a 'no further stay' condition to it. My question is this:
> 
> 3. If it does not have the 'No further stay' condition, is it as simple as staying in Australia on the WHV and then transfer over to the partnership visa? (i.e. no-one has to leave the country?)
> 
> 4. If it does have the 'No further stay' condition, do we simply wait until our Case Officer advises the partnership Visa is about to be approved, leave the country for a week or so (New Zealand for example) and then re-enter on the new partnership Visa?
> 
> We want to be as transparent and upfront about our intentions so I am after some advice that the above is a workable solution and whether or not I've missed something?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## Millsy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Millsy -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Normally a visitor visa is used in these circumstances, as DIBP would expect to have your application processed well before the 12 month limit on a WHV. Genuine visitor issues also come into play - there is often more room on a visitor visa for this sort of thing vs WHV. Since the applicant is a US citizen, the ETA visitor visa would be a better choice in my view based on the details you've provided.
> 
> Since you lodged an offshore partner visa application, you'll need to depart Australia at the time the visa grant is ready to be made - but this can be for a quick visit to any country outside Australia (a few days if you'd like) - doesn't have to be back to the home country. Also make sure you keep in touch with DIBP regarding your contact details and I would request confirmation of any and every email you send to them in response to anything they ask about.
> 
> Generally no further stay is not a concern since you already have lodged your partner visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for the speedy reply Mark - appreciated.

Please confirm: An ETA visitor visa is 90 days only though? If yes, my concern then is that the 90 days will expire before the partnership visa is processed which would mean she would have to leave and return every 90 days yes? Ideally we'd like a bit more stability hence the idea of applying for a (12 month) WHV instead but would not pursue if you think it risky?

Thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, ETA visitor visa is usually configured for 3-month maximum stays. You can certainly try for WHV for a longer stay - I've seen these go both ways - sometimes it works, other times the applicant's strong ties to partner in Australia, etc result in an issue where genuine visitor criteria is a problem.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Millsy said:


> Thanks for the speedy reply Mark - appreciated.
> 
> Please confirm: An ETA visitor visa is 90 days only though? If yes, my concern then is that the 90 days will expire before the partnership visa is processed which would mean she would have to leave and return every 90 days yes? Ideally we'd like a bit more stability hence the idea of applying for a (12 month) WHV instead but would not pursue if you think it risky?
> 
> Thanks again


----------



## Xuxa

Hi Mark, you've been very helpful so far and I hate to ask another question but something's been bothering me the past couple days. So a few months ago I applied for a student visa online and got the decision very quickly (within half an hour!). A couple days ago I took a look at my application and I noticed it's asked me if during the last 5 years I have lived outside the United States for more than 3 consecutive months (I'm a US national). I put "no" for my answer but actually I have. So my question is: at this point, since my visa has already been granted, is it worth sending in form 1023 to correct this error? If I don't, is it possible that when I arrive in Australia, they would check my passport and notice that I actually have been out of the US for a bit of time? And then would they cancel my visa because I "lied" on my application? Or am I just being paranoid?

Thanks for all your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xuxa -

Hard to say best thing to do at this point - Form 1023 is generally only used prior to a visa decision being made - it amends the application under consideration. I suppose they could dig into the visa if they had sufficient cause to now, but probably unlikely. Also, the definition of "lived" is open to interpretation (vs. "visit") - if you maintained a legal residence in the US during the time you were outside the US, then I think it could be argued that you were not "living" outside the US, but simply "visiting", whereas where you lived would be your permanent address, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xuxa said:


> Hi Mark, you've been very helpful so far and I hate to ask another question but something's been bothering me the past couple days. So a few months ago I applied for a student visa online and got the decision very quickly (within half an hour!). A couple days ago I took a look at my application and I noticed it's asked me if during the last 5 years I have lived outside the United States for more than 3 consecutive months (I'm a US national). I put "no" for my answer but actually I have. So my question is: at this point, since my visa has already been granted, is it worth sending in form 1023 to correct this error? If I don't, is it possible that when I arrive in Australia, they would check my passport and notice that I actually have been out of the US for a bit of time? And then would they cancel my visa because I "lied" on my application? Or am I just being paranoid?
> 
> Thanks for all your help!


----------



## Xuxa

Thanks for the quick response, I checked it again and it's actually asking visited or lived. So in that case do you think it's worth trying to get it corrected?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Xuxa -
> 
> Hard to say best thing to do at this point - Form 1023 is generally only used prior to a visa decision being made - it amends the application under consideration. I suppose they could dig into the visa if they had sufficient cause to now, but probably unlikely. Also, the definition of "lived" is open to interpretation (vs. "visit") - if you maintained a legal residence in the US during the time you were outside the US, then I think it could be argued that you were not "living" outside the US, but simply "visiting", whereas where you lived would be your permanent address, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## JO_2012

Thanks very much Mark. The exclusion period that has me fretting is the one described under PIC 4014 (departing on a BVE). Although I trust your expert advice, can you point me to exactly where in the act or some official policy document it says that this ban applies only to temporary visas? Or is this just a universally applied but undocumented policy? I just want to know that there is absolutely no way a mean CO can decide to apply this ban on my partner's application!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi JO_2012 -
> 
> It's a bit more complex than that - you first need to determine what type of exclusion ban or period you're talking about, then see what visa(s) it may apply to. For instance a 3-year ban related to a previous PIC4020 refusal would certainly apply to a partner visa.
> 
> The 3-year bands related to departing on a bridging visa C/D/E under some circumstances do not apply for partner visa applications, since the partner visa is not a temporary visa - the first part of the partner visa is actually a provisional visa, which is different legally than a temporary visa. To determine exactly what visas are affected by different exclusion periods and bans, you have to consult Schedule 4 or 5 of the Migration Regulations 1994 to see what clause of those schedules has created the ban (or other exclusions are created in other parts of the Regulations such as the 5-year waiting period on further partner visa sponsorship, etc), then go to Schedule 2 for the visa you're interested in applying for and see if the Schedule 4/5 element applies.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> P.S. Not safe to rely 100% on DIBP website as the website has no legal standing and cannot be used as a defence if you have an application refused. The only thing that counts is the law and, to some extent, policy.


----------



## staceykp

Hi Mark,

My partner and i are currently in the process of applying for a defacto visa. He has a working holiday visa at the moment (1st year) and we are hoping that once the application is put in he will be granted a bridging VISA. is this the case? and will he be able to still remain in the country and work?

With the working holiday visa you are only able to work at one employer for 6 months... is he able to go back to his first employer after his 6 months are up with his 2nd employer or will he be required to find work with a completely different employer?


----------



## myallstone

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Myallstone - The costs for public schooling for those who are not citizens or permanent residents are determined on a state-by-state basis in Australia. People who are here on temporary visas routinely enroll their children in public school and end up paying tuition to the state education dept for that. Beyond that I'm not familiar with home schooling rules, etc. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


. OK ... Thanks mark I do some more research .


----------



## albtal

Hi Mark ,
I applied for the partner visa on the 21st August, 2013. I completed my medical test, form 80 and police check. I'm currently on my student visa which expires March 2015.

Since August, I have been waiting to get the "820 Partner temporary onshore". I requested to get my work restrictions to be removed from my student visa as I got an offer to commence working full-time, at the end of next month. The response i received said that i will have to wait till my student visa has expired till further changes can be made to my visa.

This job will help me to secure my career and future in Australia.

Is there anything you could suggest Mark, that would enable me to be able to secure this job position in Australia?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JO_2012 -

Sure. Note that PIC 4014 is part of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1994. There is no blanket rule that applies 4014 to an entire group of visas, so you have to check Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994 for any visa if you want to see if it applies. So for an onshore partner visa, it's Part 820 and Part 801 of Schedule 2 - look through these carefully and note where the Schedule 4 items are, if any - if 4014 is there, then the exclusion ban would apply to that visa; if it is not there, then 4014 does not apply. In other words, you have to check for 4014 on the specific visa you want to know whether it applies to. The Migration Regulations 1994 are available through AUSTLII, a legislation website. Welcome to the world of Migration Legislation! 

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JO_2012 said:


> Thanks very much Mark. The exclusion period that has me fretting is the one described under PIC 4014 (departing on a BVE). Although I trust your expert advice, can you point me to exactly where in the act or some official policy document it says that this ban applies only to temporary visas? Or is this just a universally applied but undocumented policy? I just want to know that there is absolutely no way a mean CO can decide to apply this ban on my partner's application!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xuxa -

That's a tough one - it could go either way. It could be fine, or it could potentially result in them re-examining the application or in worst case cancelling the visa and requiring you lodge again. Worse yet, if it was cancelled or refused on PIC4020 grounds (incorrect information in a visa application) you'd be stuck with a 3-year ban on most visas.

All would depend on the discretion of the case officer or other DIBP employee who handles the request/correction, etc. Wish I could give you specific advice here, but it's solidly in the "grey area" and is hard to predict the outcome.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xuxa said:


> Thanks for the quick response, I checked it again and it's actually asking visited or lived. So in that case do you think it's worth trying to get it corrected?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Staceykp -

Thanks for the questions. If he lodges a defacto partner visa while holding the WH visa, he'll get a bridging visa which will activate upon the expiration of his WH visa assuming he remains onshore at that point, and would allow full work rights once it activates. If he's working for an employer when the bridging visa is granted, and wants to extend the 6-month limit so he can keep working past that and keep working onto the bridging visa when it activates, there's a Working Holiday Visa Extension Form you can find on the DIBP website in the section for that visa that you can lodge with DIBP which upon showing evidence you've lodged a visa with work rights, can (if approved) waive the 6 month limit and allow him to keep working beyond the 6 month mark on the WH visa until the bridging visa activates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



staceykp said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and i are currently in the process of applying for a defacto visa. He has a working holiday visa at the moment (1st year) and we are hoping that once the application is put in he will be granted a bridging VISA. is this the case? and will he be able to still remain in the country and work?
> 
> With the working holiday visa you are only able to work at one employer for 6 months... is he able to go back to his first employer after his 6 months are up with his 2nd employer or will he be required to find work with a completely different employer?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Albtal -

Your bridging visa for the partner visa will activate in March 2015 if you haven't received a decision on your partner visa by then. Only other way I know of to get work rights would be to voluntarily cancel your student visa which would make you unlawful, then apply for a Bridging Visa E, then apply for work rights on the BV-E if you can show financial hardship if you are not allowed to work. This option has a number of negative points to it, though, including loss of any time up until that point for use towards the residency requirement for citizenship, and as a BV-E holder if you depart Australia you may have a 3-year ban on temporary visas, so it's not a good idea to leave on that visa - best to stay here until you get the partner visa decision. Also, no guarantee you will get work rights on the BV-E - you need to show financial hardship (including you and your partner's income & assets & expenses) in order to do so. You may want to consider professional help if you go this route.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



albtal said:


> Hi Mark ,
> I applied for the partner visa on the 21st August, 2013. I completed my medical test, form 80 and police check. I'm currently on my student visa which expires March 2015.
> 
> Since August, I have been waiting to get the "820 Partner temporary onshore". I requested to get my work restrictions to be removed from my student visa as I got an offer to commence working full-time, at the end of next month. The response i received said that i will have to wait till my student visa has expired till further changes can be made to my visa.
> 
> This job will help me to secure my career and future in Australia.
> 
> Is there anything you could suggest Mark, that would enable me to be able to secure this job position in Australia?


----------



## albtal

Hi Mark , 
Thank you for your reply.
I guess i have to wait for the decision of my partner Visa and refuse the Job offer i received.
Regards,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Albtal -
> 
> Your bridging visa for the partner visa will activate in March 2015 if you haven't received a decision on your partner visa by then. Only other way I know of to get work rights would be to voluntarily cancel your student visa which would make you unlawful, then apply for a Bridging Visa E, then apply for work rights on the BV-E if you can show financial hardship if you are not allowed to work. This option has a number of negative points to it, though, including loss of any time up until that point for use towards the residency requirement for citizenship, and as a BV-E holder if you depart Australia you may have a 3-year ban on temporary visas, so it's not a good idea to leave on that visa - best to stay here until you get the partner visa decision. Also, no guarantee you will get work rights on the BV-E - you need to show financial hardship (including you and your partner's income & assets & expenses) in order to do so. You may want to consider professional help if you go this route.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Austyn

Is there a minimum amount of time you have to be married until you can apply for a partner visa?


----------



## Bay56

Hi Mark,

I've got a few short questions. Thank you for your time.

1. I applied for 820 online last night. As of now (almost a day has passed) and I haven't received my Bridging Visa. Could the reason be that it is the weekend or is there anything holding it up? Also, I didn't save my application when I was filling it in, very foolish of me. Is there a way I could go back and review my answers? It's not about editing, but I just want to see all answers.

2. For one of the questions I accidentally answered part of a question incorrectly. It was about my country of origin's last address and I got the Postcodes mixed up and ended up giving a wrong one out. Should I send out a form to correct it or do I just leave it as it is a pretty minor question in significance.

3. Last thing, I have not updated DIBP of my change in address for a while, but on the 820 application form I did state my current address which is not what they have on record. Should I send in a form to correct my address or will they do it automatically since I wrote it with my 820 application?

Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

No. Just need to have sufficient relationship evidence to prove to DIBP that the relationship is genuine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Is there a minimum amount of time you have to be married until you can apply for a partner visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bay56 -

See below at ***



Bay56 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've got a few short questions. Thank you for your time.
> 
> 1. I applied for 820 online last night. As of now (almost a day has passed) and I haven't received my Bridging Visa. Could the reason be that it is the weekend or is there anything holding it up? Also, I didn't save my application when I was filling it in, very foolish of me. Is there a way I could go back and review my answers? It's not about editing, but I just want to see all answers.
> 
> *** Sometimes there is a delay. DIBP had a major system down last night for maintenance - expect that might be it, although I lodged an application at 7:30 and received a bridging visa within 10 min. Would be patient and see what happens over the weekend and Monday morning. You can log back into your ImmiAccount, then click the OPEN option for your lodged application and then choose PRINT APPLICATION from the links on the top half of the screen to create a PDF file you can download of all your responses to questions on the app.
> 
> 2. For one of the questions I accidentally answered part of a question incorrectly. It was about my country of origin's last address and I got the Postcodes mixed up and ended up giving a wrong one out. Should I send out a form to correct it or do I just leave it as it is a pretty minor question in significance.
> *** You could upload a short note with the correction. The official form to do this is 1023 if you want to do that.
> 
> 3. Last thing, I have not updated DIBP of my change in address for a while, but on the 820 application form I did state my current address which is not what they have on record. Should I send in a form to correct my address or will they do it automatically since I wrote it with my 820 application?
> *** I would send a form to correct the address on your current visa unless the current visa is now expired - that's the safest bet.
> 
> Thank you!


Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## ynohtna16

Hi Mark. My girlfriend and I are planning to get married in order for me to apply for a partner visa next month ( July 2014 ). I am currently on a student visa and it will expire in march 2015. However we live in two different states ( I am from Canberra and she is from Perth ), so I really wish to find a way to cancel my study so I could move to Perth to live with her in order to build a stronger case. As far as I know, the bridging visa A that gets granted as you apply for Partner visa 802 only kicks in when my current student visa expires. Is there a way around this? It would be a better option for me to focus on paying for the visa fees rather than having to work with an hour restriction while paying for both the school fees and the visa fees. And it will be costly for me to fly to Perth every so often to see her.


----------



## Austyn

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Austyn -
> 
> No. Just need to have sufficient relationship evidence to prove to DIBP that the relationship is genuine.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you mark! That does help. I have another question. How would I go about applying for an onshore partner visa in Australia? Since I'm from the US, would it be possible to go to Australia on a tourist visa? Or is the offshore partner visa our best bet? What would you suggest? Thanks!


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark.

You have been a great help to all of us and I personally salute you for your effort and time in answering all our inquiries.

I would like to ask your advise again. 

I plan to file my Partner Visa 820 online sometime August 30th.
Can I have my medical check sometime July 15th? Is it too early? How many days will I wait for the result of the medicals? 

Thank you in advance,
Cheers, 
Ninja 69


----------



## zarclee

*ETA Subclass 601*

Hi Mark,

Our family intend to visit Melbourne around 10 days starting from 18/Dec.14 and last year I've already visited Perth via under visa ETA (subclass 601). Since the visa is valid up to a year and still valid when I arrive in Melbourne, what if in the event, my visa expired before I left Melbourne 28/Dec.14? Kindly advice the course of action I should undertake in order not to break Australia Immigration law. I cannot push forward my visit earlier due to airline having promotion on the tickets and also my job commitment don't allow me to come earlier too.

I look forward to hear from your reply soon.

Best Regards
Zarc Lee


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ynohtna16 -

No other way I know of other than voluntary cancellation of your student visa AFTER you lodge your partner visa, then applying for Bridging Visa E, which leaves you unable to use the residency time up to that point towards citizenship, and a BV-E with no work rights which you have to apply based on financial hardship to add work rights to. If you leave Australia the BVE disappears and you have no way back in unless DIBP is nice and gives you a visitor visa. There are other aspects to cancellation as well - strongly advise you discuss with a professional before you do this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ynohtna16 said:


> Hi Mark. My girlfriend and I are planning to get married in order for me to apply for a partner visa next month ( July 2014 ). I am currently on a student visa and it will expire in march 2015. However we live in two different states ( I am from Canberra and she is from Perth ), so I really wish to find a way to cancel my study so I could move to Perth to live with her in order to build a stronger case. As far as I know, the bridging visa A that gets granted as you apply for Partner visa 802 only kicks in when my current student visa expires. Is there a way around this? It would be a better option for me to focus on paying for the visa fees rather than having to work with an hour restriction while paying for both the school fees and the visa fees. And it will be costly for me to fly to Perth every so often to see her.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Many people from the US come here on ETA visitor visas and then apply onshore - no way to recommend either onshore or offshore without knowing much more about your situation/details in a consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Thank you mark! That does help. I have another question. How would I go about applying for an onshore partner visa in Australia? Since I'm from the US, would it be possible to go to Australia on a tourist visa? Or is the offshore partner visa our best bet? What would you suggest? Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69

15 July is as early as I would take medicals. You won't see results - those will be sent electronically to DIBP and you'll only hear about things if there is a problem, likely months later.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> You have been a great help to all of us and I personally salute you for your effort and time in answering all our inquiries.
> 
> I would like to ask your advise again.
> 
> I plan to file my Partner Visa 820 online sometime August 30th.
> Can I have my medical check sometime July 15th? Is it too early? How many days will I wait for the result of the medicals?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Cheers,
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarclee -

Depends on your visa - you'll need to read it very carefully. Many have a "maximum stay period" and a "must not enter after" date rather than an expiration date - if this is the case with yours, as long as you enter before the "must not enter after" date, you can stay for the maximum stay period even if it goes beyond the "must not enter after" date. Would have to see the actual visa to give you any specific advice.

Other option is to obtain a further visitor visa while you're here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zarclee said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Our family intend to visit Melbourne around 10 days starting from 18/Dec.14 and last year I've already visited Perth via under visa ETA (subclass 601). Since the visa is valid up to a year and still valid when I arrive in Melbourne, what if in the event, my visa expired before I left Melbourne 28/Dec.14? Kindly advice the course of action I should undertake in order not to break Australia Immigration law. I cannot push forward my visit earlier due to airline having promotion on the tickets and also my job commitment don't allow me to come earlier too.
> 
> I look forward to hear from your reply soon.
> 
> Best Regards
> Zarc Lee


----------



## Ninja69

Thank you Mark &#55357;&#56397;&#55357;&#56835;


----------



## zarclee

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Zarclee -
> 
> Depends on your visa - you'll need to read it very carefully. Many have a "maximum stay period" and a "must not enter after" date rather than an expiration date - if this is the case with yours, as long as you enter before the "must not enter after" date, you can stay for the maximum stay period even if it goes beyond the "must not enter after" date. Would have to see the actual visa to give you any specific advice.
> 
> Other option is to obtain a further visitor visa while you're here.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for your advice!

Best Regards,
Zarc Lee


----------



## Austyn

Thank you mark, well, my fiancés visa ends next month (July 2014) , and from here (Hawaii) she is going to Australia to stay with family. However, we plan to get married so that we can continue living with each other. If we were to get married here in Hawaii before she leaves to Australia, would I be able to go to Australia on a visitor visa and while there apply for an on shore partner visa?


----------



## bubu_australia

*PR Fees and Charges*

Hi all,

I lodge my application with my partner included last year on Feb 2013 and recently I have received my PR.

During the time of application lodgement, for the first installment immigration charged me 3060 AUD and second installment was yet to charged.

My question I have received my PR now, when will the immigration will ask me for the second installment which is 1500 AUD?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bubu_Australia -

Not sure what information you have, but the 2nd installment I think you are referring to is for someone who already has a fiance visa and then applies for a partner visa. If you applied for a 309/100 or 820/801 partner visa, there is no second installment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bubu_australia said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I lodge my application with my partner included last year on Feb 2013 and recently I have received my PR.
> 
> During the time of application lodgement, for the first installment immigration charged me 3060 AUD and second installment was yet to charged.
> 
> My question I have received my PR now, when will the immigration will ask me for the second installment which is 1500 AUD?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Yes, assuming your visitor visa does not have condition 8503 on it (no further stay) and you have sufficient relationship evidence, etc and meet the requirements for a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Thank you mark, well, my fiancés visa ends next month (July 2014) , and from here (Hawaii) she is going to Australia to stay with family. However, we plan to get married so that we can continue living with each other. If we were to get married here in Hawaii before she leaves to Australia, would I be able to go to Australia on a visitor visa and while there apply for an on shore partner visa?


----------



## bubu_australia

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bubu_Australia -
> 
> Not sure what information you have, but the 2nd installment I think you are referring to is for someone who already has a fiance visa and then applies for a partner visa. If you applied for a 309/100 or 820/801 partner visa, there is no second installment.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


I applied for 189 visa with my spouse, during the time of application lodgement, we were informed that their were 2 installments, the first installment was charged with application lodgement which was 3060 AUD and second installment was 1500 AUD which is not charged yet.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bubu_Australia -

Ah, that makes a difference. For secondary applicants there is a $4,885 "English charge" if a secondary applicant is at least 18 yrs old at the time of application and cannot evidence Functional English. Normally this charge is collected before the visa is granted - it may be that the evidence you submitted satisfied DIBP that you satisfy the Functional English requirement (you can google "DIAC Functional English" to find details on this).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bubu_australia said:


> I applied for 189 visa with my spouse, during the time of application lodgement, we were informed that their were 2 installments, the first installment was charged with application lodgement which was 3060 AUD and second installment was 1500 AUD which is not charged yet.


----------



## swavik

Hi Mark,

We have recently applied for the Skilled immigrant visa via ImmiAccount, In the visa application we have included the employment only the information that was considered for my skills assessment by ACS.

My current employment was not considered in the assessment due to insufficient documents,that is why i did not use the same in my Visa application form.But have uploaded the salary slips ,bank statements and the appointment letter etc alongwith the Application form. Do , I need to mention or fill up also my current employment in the visa application form even if it is not considered by ACS for skills assessment. As i cannot change the visa application form online.Is there any other way i can add this additional information if it is required for e.g.using Form 1022/1023.

I have also uploaded the Form 80 for me and my spouse multiple versions have been uploaded due to minor updates. As there is no CO allocated for me how do i inform the DIBP about the updates in the form 80 as well.

Please guide.

Thank you,
Swavik


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Thanks for the note - wish I could help but cannot advise on your specific case without seeing all the documents/info - especially when it comes to skilled visas and employment issues (the #1 refusal reason from what I've seen), there are simply too many details and ifs/ands/buts, etc to consider plus there is the issue of how the skills assessment lines up with the EOI, and how they both line up with the actual visa application made after invitation. Too many details to give any general advice on here - could do so at a consultation once I see all of your documents, etc.

Re: Multiple Form 80s, need to be careful with that as well, especially as once you upload something, it's not able to be deleted. Would suggest you might upload a letter explaining which version of the Form 80(s) is the correct one and a brief note as to the nature of the corrections.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We have recently applied for the Skilled immigrant visa via ImmiAccount, In the visa application we have included the employment only the information that was considered for my skills assessment by ACS.
> 
> My current employment was not considered in the assessment due to insufficient documents,that is why i did not use the same in my Visa application form.But have uploaded the salary slips ,bank statements and the appointment letter etc alongwith the Application form. Do , I need to mention or fill up also my current employment in the visa application form even if it is not considered by ACS for skills assessment. As i cannot change the visa application form online.Is there any other way i can add this additional information if it is required for e.g.using Form 1022/1023.
> 
> I have also uploaded the Form 80 for me and my spouse multiple versions have been uploaded due to minor updates. As there is no CO allocated for me how do i inform the DIBP about the updates in the form 80 as well.
> 
> Please guide.
> 
> Thank you,
> Swavik


----------



## Duszek

Hello Mark

I have a quick question. I am wondering if I can attach documents, evidences of our relationship to my visa application while my PMV is in progress? I applied on 18th of March and because my fiance and I live together in the UK we have more and more evidences every month. Thank you for your help!


----------



## Alex1991

*Working and living in Australia*

Hello, i have several questions to you guys, but before that here is so info about me -

I'm 23 years old.
I have Pracitacal Software Engineer diploma, 2 years in collage.
I have served for 3 years in the army as Data Communications Technician and have the diploma for it.
I'm corrently preparing my self for the CCNA Routing & Switching exam, and in a month time from now going to take the exam and achieve the CCNA diploma.
I have an aunt living in Melbourne.

1. Is there an option for me to immigrate to Australia in my corrent state?
2. If not what other options i have?
3. Is it easier to recieve parment residance if i recieve a non parment working visa and try to apply when i am in Australia?

Thanks, Alex


----------



## Rushi

*Sub class 190*

Hi Mark,

I had applied for 190 (NSW nominated Skill Dentist). Got invitation in Nov 2013 & lodged in Jan 2014.
As previously discussed sub class 190 has got limited places left in 2013. So they put it on hold till July 2014.

The new SOL has not been released yet. 
What should be the next step?


----------



## loujon

Hi Mark, 
Me again! Just wondering about Certified copies for my husbands Partner Visa application;
1. Do all photo copies need to be certified, for example. I have photocopies cards, letters, receipts and invitations between my husband and I does this sort of documentation need to be certified? (these are black and white photo copies)
2. I know important info such as Birth cert's, passport etc. needs to be certified but does it need to be in colour? or is black and white certified ok?
3. Can my sister in law who also provided us a stat dec (she is a qualified Radiologist) certify our documents or should it be someone else because she is my sister in law?
Thank you in advance.


----------



## swavik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> Thanks for the note - wish I could help but cannot advise on your specific case without seeing all the documents/info - especially when it comes to skilled visas and employment issues (the #1 refusal reason from what I've seen), there are simply too many details and ifs/ands/buts, etc to consider plus there is the issue of how the skills assessment lines up with the EOI, and how they both line up with the actual visa application made after invitation. Too many details to give any general advice on here - could do so at a consultation once I see all of your documents, etc.
> 
> Re: Multiple Form 80s, need to be careful with that as well, especially as once you upload something, it's not able to be deleted. Would suggest you might upload a letter explaining which version of the Form 80(s) is the correct one and a brief note as to the nature of the corrections.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hello Mark,

Thank you mark..

This has really made me worry.

I have not deleted or corrected any information in the form 80 that i previously uploaded..In fact i have added the info which was not filled up bcz of not understanding the question/reading it properly....

for example, they had asked for employment history *from you birth *and we were asked to enter Unemployed from birth to the first employment...That was i did nor read so added that in my form.

second correction is : by mistake i ticked the box which said additional ID document provided, which i did not..so i rectified it an uploaded again..

About the skill assessment, EOI and Visa application linking: All the info in the three match each other. Only thing i have added an additional employment history which was not assessd by ACS because of inadequate details..(i did not enter it in the visa application, but i uploaded them while uploading the documents)

I hope these things don't affect my visa because i have not given any wrong info nor deleted any info previously given...
Waiting for the case officer..As per their schedule they should allot it by july 10th..

keeping my fingers crossed..

Thank you very much


----------



## swavik

swavik said:


> hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you mark..
> 
> This has really made me worry.
> 
> I have not deleted or corrected any information in the form 80 that i previously uploaded..In fact i have added the info which was not filled up bcz of not understanding the question/reading it properly....
> 
> for example, they had asked for employment history *from you birth *and we were asked to enter Unemployed from birth to the first employment...That was i did nor read so added that in my form.
> 
> second correction is : by mistake i ticked the box which said additional ID document provided, which i did not..so i rectified it an uploaded again..
> 
> About the skill assessment, EOI and Visa application linking: All the info in the three match each other. Only thing i have added an additional employment history which was not assessd by ACS because of inadequate details..(i did not enter it in the visa application, but i uploaded them while uploading the documents)
> 
> I hope these things don't affect my visa because i have not given any wrong info nor deleted any info previously given...
> Waiting for the case officer..As per their schedule they should allot it by july 10th..
> 
> keeping my fingers crossed..
> 
> Thank you very much


I did not add the additional employment history in the EOI (to get additional points) nor in the visa application..I have just uploaded it in the visa documents..
So the invite i got is in line with the points that i get after ACS assessment...


----------



## Mietsie

Hi Mark

Hope you are doing well!

If I submit a 820/801 online when being on a visitors visa with allowed extended stay, do I have to add the Form 80 as well? Does my partner also have to fill it in or only myself?

Kind regards
Mietsie


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark!

Hope all is well with you .....

I would like to ask a question in behalf of my friend...

She has a temporary partner visa 820 now and has been living with her aussie partner for 6 months. For the past months, they have been arguments here and there. A quick question, if they separate is she still allowed to live and stay in Australia? Or once she separates from him will the visa be cancelled? 

Thank you in advance,
Cheers!
Ninja 69


----------



## dharabaskar

*Skilled Occupation List - State Sponsorship (190)*

Hi Mark,

Will all states release the new Occupation List for 2014-15 tomorrow (1st July)?

In queensland website, I found this list is already available http://migration.qld.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/pdf/190-QSOL.pdf

But, I couldn't find the Software Engineer, or any relevant IT occupations, does it mean no IT jobs this year under SS in QLD?

Regards
VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Duszek -

Absolutely - normally you can do this through your online ImmiAccount up until a decision is made.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Duszek said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I have a quick question. I am wondering if I can attach documents, evidences of our relationship to my visa application while my PMV is in progress? I applied on 18th of March and because my fiance and I live together in the UK we have more and more evidences every month. Thank you for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alex1991 -

Thanks for the note. Not possible to assess you for a skilled visa on the forum as there are a great many details and Q&A that happens in order to determine exactly what requirements you meet. Can do this at a consultation (see our website below in my signature to book).

However based on what you've said, you might want to look into finding a subclass 457 employer sponsored temporary work visa, work for the employer for 2 years, then see if they will sponsor you for an ENS or RSMS visa. Not sure if you could qualify for a skilled visa based on what you've said.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Alex1991 said:


> Hello, i have several questions to you guys, but before that here is so info about me -
> 
> I'm 23 years old.
> I have Pracitacal Software Engineer diploma, 2 years in collage.
> I have served for 3 years in the army as Data Communications Technician and have the diploma for it.
> I'm corrently preparing my self for the CCNA Routing & Switching exam, and in a month time from now going to take the exam and achieve the CCNA diploma.
> I have an aunt living in Melbourne.
> 
> 1. Is there an option for me to immigrate to Australia in my corrent state?
> 2. If not what other options i have?
> 3. Is it easier to recieve parment residance if i recieve a non parment working visa and try to apply when i am in Australia?
> 
> Thanks, Alex


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rushi -

Best to wait - see thread elsewhere re: new SOL - no occupations dropped; 3 occupations added.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rushi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I had applied for 190 (NSW nominated Skill Dentist). Got invitation in Nov 2013 & lodged in Jan 2014.
> As previously discussed sub class 190 has got limited places left in 2013. So they put it on hold till July 2014.
> 
> The new SOL has not been released yet.
> What should be the next step?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Loujon -

Assuming you are lodging online, high quality colour scans of originals are generally accepted by DIBP. A few embassies on occasion want colour scans of colour certified copies (just had a request from Delhi for this) for police clearance certificates, but generally speaking certified copies now are important only for hardcopy documents lodged with DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



loujon said:


> Hi Mark,
> Me again! Just wondering about Certified copies for my husbands Partner Visa application;
> 1. Do all photo copies need to be certified, for example. I have photocopies cards, letters, receipts and invitations between my husband and I does this sort of documentation need to be certified? (these are black and white photo copies)
> 2. I know important info such as Birth cert's, passport etc. needs to be certified but does it need to be in colour? or is black and white certified ok?
> 3. Can my sister in law who also provided us a stat dec (she is a qualified Radiologist) certify our documents or should it be someone else because she is my sister in law?
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mietsie -

Sponsor does not have to provide Form 80 - applicants do only upon request.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mietsie said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hope you are doing well!
> 
> If I submit a 820/801 online when being on a visitors visa with allowed extended stay, do I have to add the Form 80 as well? Does my partner also have to fill it in or only myself?
> 
> Kind regards
> Mietsie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

If her relationship breaks down while holding 820, unless they have a child or there was family violence, it is unlikely she would be able to proceed to get the 801 permanent partner visa and eventually her 820 would be cancelled, however DIBP has a series of things they have to go through to make this happen which takes some time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Hope all is well with you .....
> 
> I would like to ask a question in behalf of my friend...
> 
> She has a temporary partner visa 820 now and has been living with her aussie partner for 6 months. For the past months, they have been arguments here and there. A quick question, if they separate is she still allowed to live and stay in Australia? Or once she separates from him will the visa be cancelled?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Cheers!
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dharabaskar -

They generally release the new lists and rules sometime during July.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Will all states release the new Occupation List for 2014-15 tomorrow (1st July)?
> 
> In queensland website, I found this list is already available http://migration.qld.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/pdf/190-QSOL.pdf
> 
> But, I couldn't find the Software Engineer, or any relevant IT occupations, does it mean no IT jobs this year under SS in QLD?
> 
> Regards
> VJ


----------



## dharabaskar

Thanks Mark.

Regards
VJ



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dharabaskar -
> 
> They generally release the new lists and rules sometime during July.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Mietsie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mietsie -
> 
> Sponsor does not have to provide Form 80 - applicants do only upon request.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark! This is great news as Form 80 is a horrible form! ;-)
Regards Mietsie


----------



## Mietsie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mietsie -
> 
> Sponsor does not have to provide Form 80 - applicants do only upon request.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark! This is great news as Form 80 is a horrible form! ;-)
Regards Mietsie


----------



## Sydneygal

Hi Mark,

I was just wondering if it is likely that the salary levels (TSMIT) for 457 applications will be going up by 5% again this year? Also will people with current 457s who's salary might be below this rate have to have their salary increased to meet the new rate also? 

Thanks!


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi Mark,

On 14th July state sponsorships will open, I am chef, if I want to apply how many ielts band require to apply. Please let me know process. 

Regards
Bharat


----------



## pauly

Hi Mark, 

Could you please help me with these questions ?

Based on your experience how long does it take for a 189 visa to get granted for a single applicant when its not a complicated case and by that I mean its based on age, qualification, English ability and study requirement? 
Also being a 485 visa holder does that necessarily mean that I've met the study requirement ? 
And the last one, is it mandatory to fill form 80, or better submit it if/when requested?

Thanks a ton for sharing your knowledge and experience!


----------



## piklu420

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark
I have a positive skill assessment from ACS as Network Analyst 263113 ( 7 years). iELtS is overall 6.5. As this profession is in CSOL I checked n found this is on ACT, SA, WA state sol.. But all states shows my profession as schedule 2, off list like that. Are these states going to reopen the CAPs for fiscal year 14-15? Also please advise IELTS 6.5 overall can be a help any more??? Or I sud ait for IELYS again?? Pls advise sir


----------



## themuel

What a wonderful site I have discovered with a very helpful migration agent! GOD BLESS YOU for the free help you are giving to everyone who needs advice from you. 

Just like the rest here I am one of those who needs some clarification. 

I am married to an Australian citizen by birth. We recently got married last march this year. I dont know if my story is a little complex because I couldn't find any topic about long distance relationship. However, to give you a little background, my husband and I met online late 2010 and since then until now we are in a long distance relationship. Now we are in a process of gathering requirements for my spouse visa 309. My questions are:

1. When I applied for visit visa, the CO force me to apply for spouse visa and was also asked if I already applied and how come I haven't? That's the only requirement she is asking for to submit a spouse visa application. Otherwise she won't grant my visitor visa. Unfortunately I withdraw it due to lack of time because she called me one week before my flight and I couldn't take a dayoff. I would like to know is it really necessary to submit a spouse visa right away? Coz we are planning to lodge 309 around August to ensure everything we got in our hands like requirements. Or is she asking me to lodge 309 to ensure that I'm coming back to singapore? I'm in a non-ETA and everytime i go to visit my husband I always have a no further stay in my visa. Is she going to give me a multiple entry this time that's why she wants me to lodge the 309? 

2. When we got married both our families are not around. Y? Because his family wants us to get married in melbourne and my father is a seafarer. My husband couldn't wait anymore so we decided to get married and have our friends around us instead plus, we don't have to hear anything from each family, why her family is around why we are Not? So to be fair both families aren't around. But wen we decided to get married without them, we are in a decision also to get a formal church wedding in melbourne, that's where our families must really be present. However, after we got married, melb registry death birth marriage says that we can't get married again bec we are already married. And he can't update his marital status bec he got married in singapore and not in oz. We thought like other countries, like here in sg and ph, we can get married in civil first and after that we will get married in the church. So how is he going to change his marital status and is it not really possible to get married in the church? 

Hope you can help me to clarify this matter... I know it sounds very complex. 

Thank you mark!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Piklu420 -

Thanks for the note - all states reset their caps for the new year - usually some time in July - have to keep an eye on each state's website to see what the new list(s) are and when they come into effect.

Re: IELTS, overall IELTS score means nothing for skilled immigration. What matters is the minimum score over each of the 4 bands of the test - generally for skilled immigration you need at least 6 on each band - higher for some occupations if state sponsoring or licencing authorities specify that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



piklu420 said:


> Dear Mark
> I have a positive skill assessment from ACS as Network Analyst 263113 ( 7 years). iELtS is overall 6.5. As this profession is in CSOL I checked n found this is on ACT, SA, WA state sol.. But all states shows my profession as schedule 2, off list like that. Are these states going to reopen the CAPs for fiscal year 14-15? Also please advise IELTS 6.5 overall can be a help any more??? Or I sud ait for IELYS again?? Pls advise sir


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sydneygal -

At this point there is no TSMIT increase as of 1 July - the 457 visa programme is under review at the moment, so that may explain why no change at this point. No general requirement for people already sponsored to receive raises to keep pace with the TSMIT.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sydneygal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was just wondering if it is likely that the salary levels (TSMIT) for 457 applications will be going up by 5% again this year? Also will people with current 457s who's salary might be below this rate have to have their salary increased to meet the new rate also?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> On 14th July state sponsorships will open, I am chef, if I want to apply how many ielts band require to apply. Please let me know process.
> 
> Regards
> Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pauly -

Could be anywhere from 3 to 9 months or longer - DIBP doesn't provide any commitments on processing times. If you met the ASR for the 485 visa, you should meet it for a 189 for points purposes. Given what a hassle Form 80 is, many people are waiting for it to be requested.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pauly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Could you please help me with these questions ?
> 
> Based on your experience how long does it take for a 189 visa to get granted for a single applicant when its not a complicated case and by that I mean its based on age, qualification, English ability and study requirement?
> Also being a 485 visa holder does that necessarily mean that I've met the study requirement ?
> And the last one, is it mandatory to fill form 80, or better submit it if/when requested?
> 
> Thanks a ton for sharing your knowledge and experience!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Themuel -

Thanks for the questions and kind words!

Re: visitor visa after 309 lodgement, visitor visas are for temporary tourism, etc stays in Australia - if DIBP figures out an applicant has a spouse in Australia, that makes them think that your trips are not temporary and therefore visitor visas become harder to get in many cases - especially if you've already made several trips before. Once a couple has lodged a partner visa application, a different policy comes into force where couples should not needlessly be separated - I expect that's why she wants to see the partner visa lodged - that you essentially have "used up" your visitor visa privileges and now they want to see the partner visa application to enable further visitor visas while you are waiting for the partner visa to process.

Re: marriage laws in different countries, Australia generally recognises marriages from other countries that are lawful by Australian standards - this is probably why Melbourne would not marry you again if you are already civilly married in another country that Australia would recognise such as Singapore. You might explore the idea of having a religious (non-civil) ceremony in Australia as a commitment ceremony or something like that if you wanted to have a special occasion for guests to attend.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



themuel said:


> What a wonderful site I have discovered with a very helpful migration agent! GOD BLESS YOU for the free help you are giving to everyone who needs advice from you.
> 
> Just like the rest here I am one of those who needs some clarification.
> 
> I am married to an Australian citizen by birth. We recently got married last march this year. I dont know if my story is a little complex because I couldn't find any topic about long distance relationship. However, to give you a little background, my husband and I met online late 2010 and since then until now we are in a long distance relationship. Now we are in a process of gathering requirements for my spouse visa 309. My questions are:
> 
> 1. When I applied for visit visa, the CO force me to apply for spouse visa and was also asked if I already applied and how come I haven't? That's the only requirement she is asking for to submit a spouse visa application. Otherwise she won't grant my visitor visa. Unfortunately I withdraw it due to lack of time because she called me one week before my flight and I couldn't take a dayoff. I would like to know is it really necessary to submit a spouse visa right away? Coz we are planning to lodge 309 around August to ensure everything we got in our hands like requirements. Or is she asking me to lodge 309 to ensure that I'm coming back to singapore? I'm in a non-ETA and everytime i go to visit my husband I always have a no further stay in my visa. Is she going to give me a multiple entry this time that's why she wants me to lodge the 309?
> 
> 2. When we got married both our families are not around. Y? Because his family wants us to get married in melbourne and my father is a seafarer. My husband couldn't wait anymore so we decided to get married and have our friends around us instead plus, we don't have to hear anything from each family, why her family is around why we are Not? So to be fair both families aren't around. But wen we decided to get married without them, we are in a decision also to get a formal church wedding in melbourne, that's where our families must really be present. However, after we got married, melb registry death birth marriage says that we can't get married again bec we are already married. And he can't update his marital status bec he got married in singapore and not in oz. We thought like other countries, like here in sg and ph, we can get married in civil first and after that we will get married in the church. So how is he going to change his marital status and is it not really possible to get married in the church?
> 
> Hope you can help me to clarify this matter... I know it sounds very complex.
> 
> Thank you mark!!


----------



## micheleawhittaker

*form 80*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mietsie -
> 
> Sponsor does not have to provide Form 80 - applicants do only upon request.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark - hope you are well? just saw this post - we do not have to submit form 80 at the start? if requested, when does that happen, after submitting, paying and uploading evidence? thank you. michele


----------



## ash_bas2002

Hi Mark, 

Its nice to see someone so nice to help us out with visa matters, It s great




I applied for minister intervention in Saturday 2013 in order to appeal my refused 485 visa (Graduate Visa). I have been waiting for him to get back to me but no update so far...

Any idea how long it might take ( I know no one knows how long, but similar experience might ease the guess) to hear back from him ? and also where can I find the updated ministerial intervention statistics file in immigration system, seems the last one dates back to last year.

Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Micheleawhittaker -

Generally DIBP will ask for this if they require it on a case-by-case basis.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



micheleawhittaker said:


> hi mark - hope you are well? just saw this post - we do not have to submit form 80 at the start? if requested, when does that happen, after submitting, paying and uploading evidence? thank you. michele


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ash_Bas2002 -

Thanks for the note - I'm assuming that you received a negative MRT decision and then lodged Ministerial Intervention documents. No recent statistics available that I know of, other than anecdotal evidence from various agents I know that seems to indicate that the number of these getting through under the current government is very, very low. There are no time estimates given for these by DIBP - I've seen them range from 2 years to 2 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ash_bas2002 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Its nice to see someone so nice to help us out with visa matters, It s great
> 
> I applied for minister intervention in Saturday 2013 in order to appeal my refused 485 visa (Graduate Visa). I have been waiting for him to get back to me but no update so far...
> 
> Any idea how long it might take ( I know no one knows how long, but similar experience might ease the guess) to hear back from him ? and also where can I find the updated ministerial intervention statistics file in immigration system, seems the last one dates back to last year.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## naser79

Hi Mark,

I have applied my student visa (MIT Extended) under SVP on 4 June along with my dependents my husband n my 4 yr old son. My orientation was on 23 June but my visa was not granted hence i contacted the University for extension but they refused to give extension as they said the course required early block mode course completion but gave me an option to change the course. Hence i had to change my course to regular MIT which is 1.5 Yr course. My agent said that some VO was assigned and requested for extension letter hence we submitted the new COE and still waiting. This new course is starting on 28 July. Mark can u tell me when can i expect my visa as its taking long under SVP also i am scared it should be granted before my course start date . What should I do Mark ? Cant we contact VO directly ? Does it matter if the course is 1.5 or 2 yr long ? Please help very much tensed


----------



## bmacavanza

Hi Mark

Are there changes on RSMS 187? Heaps of thank you


----------



## micheleawhittaker

cheers mark!


----------



## piklu420

many thanks Sir  realy helpful


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naser79 -

No way to predict - since you're paying your agent for advice and he's communicating with your case officer, I would imagine he's in a much better position to predict what the story is with your application. Student visas are very hard to predict processing time for these days - we always recommend applying 3 months in advance since DIBP makes no promises as to how long it may take to process these. Short of that, it may be a good sign that they requested the new CoE, since that means the application is actively being processed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naser79 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied my student visa (MIT Extended) under SVP on 4 June along with my dependents my husband n my 4 yr old son. My orientation was on 23 June but my visa was not granted hence i contacted the University for extension but they refused to give extension as they said the course required early block mode course completion but gave me an option to change the course. Hence i had to change my course to regular MIT which is 1.5 Yr course. My agent said that some VO was assigned and requested for extension letter hence we submitted the new COE and still waiting. This new course is starting on 28 July. Mark can u tell me when can i expect my visa as its taking long under SVP also i am scared it should be granted before my course start date . What should I do Mark ? Cant we contact VO directly ? Does it matter if the course is 1.5 or 2 yr long ? Please help very much tensed


----------



## Ned

Hi Mark 

I've been granted a 457 visa which is great and am excited about my move. 

We have hit a very slight issue in that the position I'm taking up has changed it's payment structure to one of commission only. I'm comfortable with this as have been working this way for the past two years and have been earning in the region of A$100k and we have evidence to prove this. 

Is it correct that as long as I'm a PAYE, not a independent contractor, and as long as I earn per year the minimum amount that the visa stipulates (between $52 - $70k if I'm correct?) then I’m fine to be on commission and it doesn’t have to be a regular monthly amount? 

As a PAYE the company who is sponsoring me for the 457 has to pay the tax on my behalf and super? 

If you could let me know that would be great - my dreams are sort of falling around my ears at the moment, but I'm looking at a way around it! 

Cheers 
Rachel


----------



## paul2199

Hi Mark,
I have gone through lot of your posts and and I must say that you are very helpful and provide best advice to your knowledge.

My sister applied for me for a carer visa sub class 116 as her child has Autism and medibank has given the 30 points according to their eligibility test.
I applied with all the documents to the Indian Embassy on 18th June 2013 and i received a mail from the Australian Immigration office new delhi on 11 October 2013 that the visa officer has been assigned and my interview was in the same month.
I have gone through the interview with my wife and provided with all the documents asked.

I have not heard anything from the department till date so wanted to know how much time do they take for such cases.

Your comments would be much appreciated

Regards


----------



## themuel

Hi mark! 

Goodmorning! Thank you heaps for your crystal clear explanation!!!  

However, I have a ffup question to ask..

Hopefully this July or August, we will be able to lodge our spouse visa. I'm a non-ETA and not a PR of Singapore as well. Just came down here for work since 2007. On October I will renew my contract with my company, if in the event I decided not to renew my contract anymore and decided to go back to my home country, what will happen to my 309? Will the DIBP fwd my application to my home country? 

Yours, 
Themuel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bmacavanza -

Not as of yet - but remember that RCB's can change their rules at any time (and often do).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bmacavanza said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Are there changes on RSMS 187? Heaps of thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rachel -

Actually it's a major issue... I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but commission-only payment structure with no minimum annual payment guarantee would not qualify for a 457 visa nomination since that visa requires a minimum guaranteed amount each year equivalent to the market rate salary (MSR) for the occupation in your area. Whoever is advising your company about migration law needs to do a better job, as this type of change can put their entire 457 program in jeopardy. The company is obligated to continue to honour the contract that was used to secure the nomination (a nomination would never be approved with a commission-only pay structure). If they change the contract, they are obligated to inform DIBP and lodge a new nomination based on the new contract. The company's sponsorship obligations require them to inform DIBP if they change the terms of the nomination, of which the pay structure would be a primary factor.

If they incorporated a minimum guaranteed amount into the commission deal that would likely work, but commission only will definitely not work for 457 nominations.Your company may want to consult with a registered migration agent to find a way to accomplish what they want while staying within the legal requirements of the 457 program - please advise if I can assist further -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ned said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I've been granted a 457 visa which is great and am excited about my move.
> 
> We have hit a very slight issue in that the position I'm taking up has changed it's payment structure to one of commission only. I'm comfortable with this as have been working this way for the past two years and have been earning in the region of A$100k and we have evidence to prove this.
> 
> Is it correct that as long as I'm a PAYE, not a independent contractor, and as long as I earn per year the minimum amount that the visa stipulates (between $52 - $70k if I'm correct?) then I'm fine to be on commission and it doesn't have to be a regular monthly amount?
> 
> As a PAYE the company who is sponsoring me for the 457 has to pay the tax on my behalf and super?
> 
> If you could let me know that would be great - my dreams are sort of falling around my ears at the moment, but I'm looking at a way around it!
> 
> Cheers
> Rachel


----------



## bmacavanza

Cheers Mark

I am trying to monitor of any changes every month.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bmacavanza -
> 
> Not as of yet - but remember that RCB's can change their rules at any time (and often do).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## annabelle_tam

*5 points for work experience*

Mark:

Hi, My friend has bachelors degree in IT from overseas and three years relevant working experience from overseas. If he assess his degree from ACS then could he get 5 points from his working experience ?

Thank you


----------



## Samanthayang

Hi Mark , 
My Partner was on MRT for his student visa (study gap) and hes got BVA. Now we are applying for spouse visa 820 and hes got BVC. We are planning to apply for work permit and the agent who i was with charge me 3500 for work permit. What can we do ? We cant afford and everyone thinks its just rip off


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Annabelle_tam -

ACS would give an assessment of the degree and based on that determine the date the person becomes (is deemed) skilled. Normally for overseas degrees, ACS requires 2 years of work experience after the degree is completed before they are deemed as "skilled" - any work experience before the deeming date cannot be counted for points as it would not be considered skilled employment.

Impossible for me to give advice on your case without seeing all documents and information, but generally speaking ACS would deduct 2 years of work experience for overseas relevant IT degrees. If the degree is not considered relevant by ACS, they may require more years of work experience, etc. Only ACS can give you the specific answer you need, likely after assessing his work and degree. The ACS rules are complex - suggest you research them carefully if you are considering a skills assessment with them - there's lots of good info available on the ACS website, although it's many pages of reading, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



annabelle_tam said:


> Mark:
> 
> Hi, My friend has bachelors degree in IT from overseas and three years relevant working experience from overseas. If he assess his degree from ACS then could he get 5 points from his working experience ?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samanthayang -

$3500 for applying for work rights for a BVC is *outrageous* in my view - the agent regulator OMARA would take a very negative view of any agent who charged that amount for a bridging visa work rights application.

You may want to do the application yourself - see form 1005 and carefully calculate your monthly or weekly expenses, income, and include your major assets. The basic test is that you establish financial hardship by showing that without work rights, your expenses significantly exceed your income (and that would be combined income & expenses for both of you if you have declared your partnership to DIBP via partner visa application). Include evidence of the income and expense amounts via bank statements, bills, etc.

Otherwise, find a reasonable agent for this sort of thing - normally the charge would be something less than $500 to prepare the entire thing and lodge - we charge $450 for this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Samanthayang said:


> Hi Mark ,
> My Partner was on MRT for his student visa (study gap) and hes got BVA. Now we are applying for spouse visa 820 and hes got BVC. We are planning to apply for work permit and the agent who i was with charge me 3500 for work permit. What can we do ? We cant afford and everyone thinks its just rip off


----------



## annabelle_tam

Thank you Mark, U r a lifesaver... U helped us a lot



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Annabelle_tam -
> 
> ACS would give an assessment of the degree and based on that determine the date the person becomes (is deemed) skilled. Normally for overseas degrees, ACS requires 2 years of work experience after the degree is completed before they are deemed as "skilled" - any work experience before the deeming date cannot be counted for points as it would not be considered skilled employment.
> 
> Impossible for me to give advice on your case without seeing all documents and information, but generally speaking ACS would deduct 2 years of work experience for overseas relevant IT degrees. If the degree is not considered relevant by ACS, they may require more years of work experience, etc. Only ACS can give you the specific answer you need, likely after assessing his work and degree. The ACS rules are complex - suggest you research them carefully if you are considering a skills assessment with them - there's lots of good info available on the ACS website, although it's many pages of reading, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## annabelle_tam

Mark this is another question from my friend:



Hi,

I have assessed my degree Master of Information Systems ( Central Queensland University, Sydney - Australia) under the category of ANZSCO 261112 System Analyst in August 2013. I had also submitted my work experience reference letters which did not get assessed due to incomplete information. I have overseas work experience of three years in similar field. My company issues me new reference letter which has complete information. 

Now, I have to assess my Masters degree ( Australian qualification ), work experience ( three years overseas ) and bachelors degree in computer science (overseas qualification ). Would my degrees and work experience get assess now if I lodge my application again ? Would I get points for skilled migration Permanent Residency because of my work experience ?

Thank you so much.


----------



## jennie0987

*3 year living together*

Hello Mark!

My partner (engaged) and I have been living together for 2 and a half years and we have started our partner visa.
We have to start now as we aim to be in Australia by next year.

We will hit the 3 year mark in January... will they take this into account for the PR visa or does it just go against how long you have lived together from when you put in your application?
Thanks!


----------



## zaherhh83

*ICT Business Analyst*

Hello Mark,

I'm going to apply for the occupation of ICT business analyst, but it looks that this occupation has already reached its ceiling, and It might be removed from SOL this year . What do you kindly advise?


----------



## punter_chin

Hi Mark,

I am interested in applying under the Visa Subclass 190. I am a Management Accountant. Based on my current circumstances, I am scoring 55 points on the points test (15 for qualification, 30 for Age and 10 for IELTS).

I would like to file an EOI for NSW under the Management Accountant Occupation. Please could you advise on the points cut off marks. Are 55 points with an overall IELTS Band score of 8.5 sufficient to get an invitation from NSW?

Secondly, I do not wish to go through an agent and will do the process on my own. Is that the right things to do?

thanks,
Chinmay


----------



## Samanthayang

Thank you very much for your quick response. Let me tell you our full story. My partner came to aus in 2009 by student visa. On October last year, his visa expired and he renewed it but got rejected ( study gap) so he went on MRT ang got Bridging visa A with 20hrs work and is allowed to study. Now I want to sponsor him to stay here so I moved in with him on 30/5 and got married on 4/6 abd we applied our 820 visa application last week and got Bridging visa C. All of our visa application process was advised and done by an agent which he charges us 30,500 aud ( incl gov feen we already paid 14000) plus 3500 for a work permit as wat i said on the previous thread. 
And now he said if we want this to b successful we must prove tgat we been in a relationship for atleast 2 yrs or have a child. 
Those things are impossible for us cuz We dont want to have a baby right now.
Is our case seem positive? 
Is there any way that i could change to another agent ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I would expect that ACS would now assess your quals and work experience - hard to predict how they would assess them - depending on when they deem you as being skilled, that's the start date when you can claim points for work experience. So it all depends on the date ACS deems you as skilled, and whether any work experience is judged by ACS to be skilled work in your nomination.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



annabelle_tam said:


> Mark this is another question from my friend:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I have assessed my degree Master of Information Systems ( Central Queensland University, Sydney - Australia) under the category of ANZSCO 261112 System Analyst in August 2013. I had also submitted my work experience reference letters which did not get assessed due to incomplete information. I have overseas work experience of three years in similar field. My company issues me new reference letter which has complete information.
> 
> Now, I have to assess my Masters degree ( Australian qualification ), work experience ( three years overseas ) and bachelors degree in computer science (overseas qualification ). Would my degrees and work experience get assess now if I lodge my application again ? Would I get points for skilled migration Permanent Residency because of my work experience ?
> 
> Thank you so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jennie -

They may take that into account - it's an option for the case officer, however the time starts from when your relationship reached the level of a defacto relationship (assuming you are lodging the partner visa based on that type of relationship). If you can show 3 years defacto relationship prior to application, DIBP has the option to grant the PR part of the partner visa straight away instead of the provisional part first.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jennie0987 said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> My partner (engaged) and I have been living together for 2 and a half years and we have started our partner visa.
> We have to start now as we aim to be in Australia by next year.
> 
> We will hit the 3 year mark in January... will they take this into account for the PR visa or does it just go against how long you have lived together from when you put in your application?
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zaherhh83 -

No further SOL changes on the near-term horizon from what I am hearing. This year there are 1620 places for 189 visas - no invitations made yet but I expect that will change soon.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zaherhh83 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I'm going to apply for the occupation of ICT business analyst, but it looks that this occupation has already reached its ceiling, and It might be removed from SOL this year . What do you kindly advise?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Punter_chin -

NSW rules and sponsorship list not released yet - these are expected on 14 July - would need to see what those are in order to see how you would do.

Whether to use an agent or not would depend on how complex your case is and whether you've done the proper research to make sure you can claim all points you believe you are entitled to, plus any other issues that might affect your case related to your current visa, etc. Many people do these visas themselves, and many others use agents because they want/need an experienced person to handle things - it's an individual choice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am interested in applying under the Visa Subclass 190. I am a Management Accountant. Based on my current circumstances, I am scoring 55 points on the points test (15 for qualification, 30 for Age and 10 for IELTS).
> 
> I would like to file an EOI for NSW under the Management Accountant Occupation. Please could you advise on the points cut off marks. Are 55 points with an overall IELTS Band score of 8.5 sufficient to get an invitation from NSW?
> 
> Secondly, I do not wish to go through an agent and will do the process on my own. Is that the right things to do?
> 
> thanks,
> Chinmay


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samanthayang -

You can change to another agent any time you want - you're paying premium rates to say the least. Re: 820 application, I expect you current agent is referring Schedule 3 issues with the partner visa application - the two situations you mentioned (child, 2 yrs relationship) are 2 ways you can avoid Schedule 3, however there is another option that is routinely used where if you can show compassionate and compelling circumstances affecting Australian citizens, permanent residents or businesses/organisations, you can make the argument that Schedule 3 should be waived on those grounds. Work rights for BVC a separate issue. However you need to satisfy Schedule 3 somehow or the visa will be refused.

Suggest you contact other agents to see if you get a better feeling for someone else if you are not happy with your current agent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Samanthayang said:


> Thank you very much for your quick response. Let me tell you our full story. My partner came to aus in 2009 by student visa. On October last year, his visa expired and he renewed it but got rejected ( study gap) so he went on MRT ang got Bridging visa A with 20hrs work and is allowed to study. Now I want to sponsor him to stay here so I moved in with him on 30/5 and got married on 4/6 abd we applied our 820 visa application last week and got Bridging visa C. All of our visa application process was advised and done by an agent which he charges us 30,500 aud ( incl gov feen we already paid 14000) plus 3500 for a work permit as wat i said on the previous thread.
> And now he said if we want this to b successful we must prove tgat we been in a relationship for atleast 2 yrs or have a child.
> Those things are impossible for us cuz We dont want to have a baby right now.
> Is our case seem positive?
> Is there any way that i could change to another agent ?


----------



## themuel

Hi mark!

Goodmorning! Thank you heaps for your crystal clear explanation!!! 

However, I have a ffup question to ask..

Hopefully this July or August, we will be able to lodge our spouse visa. I'm a non-ETA and not a PR of Singapore as well. Just came down here for work since 2007. On October I will renew my contract with my company, if in the event I decided not to renew my contract anymore and decided to go back to my home country, what will happen to my 309? Will the DIBP fwd my application to my home country?

Yours, 
Themuel



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Themuel -
> 
> Thanks for the questions and kind words!
> 
> Re: visitor visa after 309 lodgement, visitor visas are for temporary tourism, etc stays in Australia - if DIBP figures out an applicant has a spouse in Australia, that makes them think that your trips are not temporary and therefore visitor visas become harder to get in many cases - especially if you've already made several trips before. Once a couple has lodged a partner visa application, a different policy comes into force where couples should not needlessly be separated - I expect that's why she wants to see the partner visa lodged - that you essentially have "used up" your visitor visa privileges and now they want to see the partner visa application to enable further visitor visas while you are waiting for the partner visa to process.
> 
> Re: marriage laws in different countries, Australia generally recognises marriages from other countries that are lawful by Australian standards - this is probably why Melbourne would not marry you again if you are already civilly married in another country that Australia would recognise such as Singapore. You might explore the idea of having a religious (non-civil) ceremony in Australia as a commitment ceremony or something like that if you wanted to have a special occasion for guests to attend.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## sunnyC

Hi Mark,

Thanks to your valuable support, today I got my visa (subclass 190). I am so happy!!!

Currently, I am considering applying parent contributed visa for my mother (subclass 143) and my sister who is Australian citizen will be the sponsor. However, the problem is my father does not want to live in Australia because he is over 70 years old. 
My question is, is there any possibility that my mother can get parent visa without applying for my father as I read the guideline booklet it seems that the department is reluctant to give visas on this situation?
Again, thank you very much for your support and I hope to see your reply soon. 

Best regards,

SunnyC


----------



## enida

Hi Mr.Mark,

I hope this post finds you well. You have always provided me with sound advice and again this time I need your opinion about something. I have lodged on 28th May and was contacted by the CO on 19th June and was asked to provide form 80 for me and my husband. The next day I submitted them and since then have not been contacted again. Two days ago I submitted form 1022 as I had some changes in circumstances (obtaining a new National ID from another country of citizenship (Greece), change of residential address, change of employer) and asked if anything else is needed; no updates again.

I don't know what to believe. Is it probable that I might be under security checks considering that I come from a high risk country (Albania), or it's just a normal processing of my file? Do you think I might write to the CO and ask her about the status of my application? Also, do you think that now that many days have passed since the day of lodging, the chances of getting refused due to miscalculation have decreased? One final question, after how many days after being contacted by the CO do people get informed about being under SC? (My team is Adelaide T23)

I really thank you for taking the time to read this post.

Thank you very much.

God bless you,
Enida


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Themuel -

Normally the 309 will be forwarded for processing (even if you lodge online) to your country of citizenship or the nearest Australian govt post (embassy, etc) with immigration functions. They might assess it in your usual country of residence if you are a long-term resident of that country, hard to predict. Normally once they start assessing an application (case officer assigned, etc) they will complete the assessment in that country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



themuel said:


> Hi mark!
> 
> Goodmorning! Thank you heaps for your crystal clear explanation!!!
> 
> However, I have a ffup question to ask..
> 
> Hopefully this July or August, we will be able to lodge our spouse visa. I'm a non-ETA and not a PR of Singapore as well. Just came down here for work since 2007. On October I will renew my contract with my company, if in the event I decided not to renew my contract anymore and decided to go back to my home country, what will happen to my 309? Will the DIBP fwd my application to my home country?
> 
> Yours,
> Themuel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunnyc -

Congratulations! You'll want to make sure you satisfy the "settled in Australia" requirement (ie, lived 2 years in Australia, but doesn't have to be all while holding your 190 visa - other visas OK too) before sponsoring a parent for a contributory parent visa. DIBP imposes a 5 year waiting period before the sponsored contributory parent visa holder can then sponsor the other parent on a partner visa. Are DIBP thrilled about this situation? Nope, but as long as you satisfy all the legal requirements, there really isn't a discretionary element like there is for partner visas, student visas, visitor visas where "genuine visit" and "genuine relationship" comes into play. Would suggest you get professional guidance on your overall plan from a migration in any case, especially given the $ involved in the contributory parent visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunnyC said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks to your valuable support, today I got my visa (subclass 190). I am so happy!!!
> 
> Currently, I am considering applying parent contributed visa for my mother (subclass 143) and my sister who is Australian citizen will be the sponsor. However, the problem is my father does not want to live in Australia because he is over 70 years old.
> My question is, is there any possibility that my mother can get parent visa without applying for my father as I read the guideline booklet it seems that the department is reluctant to give visas on this situation?
> Again, thank you very much for your support and I hope to see your reply soon.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> SunnyC


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enida -

My advice would be to be patient and wait. 189 visas (I assume this is the visa you are applying for) can take between 3 and 12 months to be processed, and if you're from a high-risk country you can probably look to the higher end of that range. DIBP makes no commitments re: processing time, so they can essentially take as long as they want. They normally will not inform you of the various internal steps the application is going through (including the various security checks) so it's pretty much a sit back and wait process - wish I had more definite news for you, but that's how their system operates.

You might consider checking in with the case officer every 2 months or so to confirm if they need any further information or documents from you - other than that, it's a waiting game.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enida said:


> Hi Mr.Mark,
> 
> I hope this post finds you well. You have always provided me with sound advice and again this time I need your opinion about something. I have lodged on 28th May and was contacted by the CO on 19th June and was asked to provide form 80 for me and my husband. The next day I submitted them and since then have not been contacted again. Two days ago I submitted form 1022 as I had some changes in circumstances (obtaining a new National ID from another country of citizenship (Greece), change of residential address, change of employer) and asked if anything else is needed; no updates again.
> 
> I don't know what to believe. Is it probable that I might be under security checks considering that I come from a high risk country (Albania), or it's just a normal processing of my file? Do you think I might write to the CO and ask her about the status of my application? Also, do you think that now that many days have passed since the day of lodging, the chances of getting refused due to miscalculation have decreased? One final question, after how many days after being contacted by the CO do people get informed about being under SC? (My team is Adelaide T23)
> 
> I really thank you for taking the time to read this post.
> 
> Thank you very much.
> 
> God bless you,
> Enida


----------



## Samanthayang

So what is Schedule 3 issues ?? 
My partner got mrt on Oct and we cane to the agent office in June and he said my partner was now a UNC. Thats why he charge 30000. Id that true ??


----------



## Adam Grey

Samanthayang said:


> So what is Schedule 3 issues ??
> My partner got mrt on Oct and we cane to the agent office in June and he said my partner was now a UNC. Thats why he charge 30000. Id that true ??


It's a free market so agents can charge whatever they want, but in a free market clients can also find someone who will do it for less. More complexity means more work for the agent and of course will come at a higher cost, but I agree entirely with Mark, the fee you've been charged seems very high.


----------



## piklu420

Dear Mark
My ACS result came on Oct 2013 as network analyst for 7 year. Till to date I could not apply due to Cap unavailability. I will apply for state nominations thus august/September, for that can I input my Job experience upto August 2014 in EOI though my ACS is upto oct 13? Please suggest. Thanks.


----------



## emivovo

Hello Mark

we're almost finished submitting everything for our PMV (submitting online). My partner filled out Form 80 as he is from Turkey and on there he has recorded all his travel time below 12 months (India and Nepal, roughly 11 months in each). He just pointed out though that we are planning to visit both those countries again for a holiday in a couple of months (while we wait for this PMV visa) and so the total time he will have spent there will increase and will tip over the 12 month mark. So when we have married and moved onto the Partner Visa, will this be a problem and is there anything we need to do about it now or then? Will we have to update the Form 80 once he has gone over the 12 month mark? Or can we leave it as is?

Thanks!

Emily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emivovo -

I'd lodge Form 80 when you apply and leave it at that. You'll need to lodge Form 80 again with the partner visa application, and if at that time you have 12 months or more (that you didn't have at the time of the PMV lodgement) then you'll have to order the additional police checks for the partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



emivovo said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> we're almost finished submitting everything for our PMV (submitting online). My partner filled out Form 80 as he is from Turkey and on there he has recorded all his travel time below 12 months (India and Nepal, roughly 11 months in each). He just pointed out though that we are planning to visit both those countries again for a holiday in a couple of months (while we wait for this PMV visa) and so the total time he will have spent there will increase and will tip over the 12 month mark. So when we have married and moved onto the Partner Visa, will this be a problem and is there anything we need to do about it now or then? Will we have to update the Form 80 once he has gone over the 12 month mark? Or can we leave it as is?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Emily


----------



## emivovo

Good to know. Hopefully we can get the Police Checks from both countries while we are there. Thanks Mark!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Emivovo -
> 
> I'd lodge Form 80 when you apply and leave it at that. You'll need to lodge Form 80 again with the partner visa application, and if at that time you have 12 months or more (that you didn't have at the time of the PMV lodgement) then you'll have to order the additional police checks for the partner visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## zaherhh83

Thanks a ton dear Mark.


----------



## CollegeGirl

Adam Grey said:


> It's a free market so agents can charge whatever they want, but in a free market clients can also find someone who will do it for less. More complexity means more work for the agent and of course will come at a higher cost, but I agree entirely with Mark, the fee you've been charged seems very high.


I feel like $30,000 is beyond "high" and into "criminal." Just insane, even for an unlawful non citizen situation. She's confirmed twice that this is the actual amount.


----------



## themuel

Dear mark,

Thank yoU for always giving a crystal clear explanation!!!

Have a great weekend!!!

THEMUEL



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Themuel -
> 
> Normally the 309 will be forwarded for processing (even if you lodge online) to your country of citizenship or the nearest Australian govt post (embassy, etc) with immigration functions. They might assess it in your usual country of residence if you are a long-term resident of that country, hard to predict. Normally once they start assessing an application (case officer assigned, etc) they will complete the assessment in that country.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## shinners

Hi Mark

My partner (From Vietnam) is currently here on student visa, which expires September 2015. We have been together since November 2013. We are planning to move in together October 2014. We intend to get married in December 2014. I just have a few questions:

1. How soon after we are married can we apply for Partner visa? (ideally we would like to apply immediately). Does length of marriage affect the application? We do have evidence of us together, I have spent 2 weeks with her family overseas. We will be opening joint accounts when we move out, signing joint leases etc.

2. After we apply for the Partner Visa, I presume she is granted a Bridging Visa A. Would she still have to study as per her current Student Visa? If so, the moment her partner visa is approved, can she stop all studies? I only ask, as she really has no interest in the current course and we don't see the point in throwing money away. 

3. Based on the above, what is the likelihood of success. 

Thanks for the service you provide, this is a very stressful time. 

Robert


----------



## Lynhime

HI Mark,

I'm looking for Visa 186 ENS Direct Entry.

I just found out from the booklet, Employer Sponsored Migration, saying 'If you are applying for an ENS visa under Direct Entry stream you need a satisfactory *skills assessment* from an Australian assessing authority which is speciﬁed for your nominated occupation and you have *at least 3 years of post-qualiﬁcation work experience in your nominated occupation*.'

However, another page under Exempt categories (Skill) says 'Exemptions for the ENS Direct Entry stream will require applicants to: • be nominated as an academic by a university in Australia'

I'm a Phd and being a tutor at university. The questions are:
1) Do I still need to sit on the test for skill assessment (Tutor) by VETASSESS?
2) I understand that I no need the 3 years work experience. Am I right?

I'm not sure about the interpretation. Please help to confirm.

Kindest regards,
Lyn


----------



## Butterfly2014

*De Facto Visa - 12 months waiver?*

Dear Mark,

another user gave me the advice to post my question straight in your thread.

*We are in a relationship since Dec 2013, registered relationship since January 2014. Is it right, that a registered relationship waives the requirement to actually have been in a relationship for at least 12 months?* This is stated in fact sheet 35, but according to the immigration hotline, it would only waive the requirement to have lived together for at least 12 months?! Was the officer on the hotline wrong, or am I wrong?

_(In case you need further background information, here is the whole story:
My partner and me met online in September 2013. I am from Germany, he is from Australia. What started as a chat became a ridiculous intensive bond, and I think we fell in love long before we ever met. In December 2013 I flew to Australia to finally meet the man of my dreams. We totally clicked in real life and spent 4 weeks together. Being convinced that we want to make this work, we registered our relationship in NSW in the end of January before my departure.

I had to go back to Germany, quit my job and sell my belongings, before I returned in the beginning of May 2014. I am currently on the eVisitor Visa and the initial plan was to get on the 1year-tourist Visa until we are eligable to apply for the de facto visa in December 2014. If this is what it takes, we will go through that. But obviously it would be awesome to accelerate the whole process and as far as we understood from the immigration website and booklet, we have the chance to do so)_

I just want to know, if we can successfully apply for the defacto visa already now, or if we really have to wait for another 6 months.

Thank you very much for your help!!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CG -

The agent who charged that, in my view, may be at an extreme risk of OMARA sanctions as the Code of Conduct indicates that the fee that is charged must be reasonable for the work being done. It's one thing to charge more for more complicated cases, but in the end it must be reasonable.

Best,

Mark



CollegeGirl said:


> I feel like $30,000 is beyond "high" and into "criminal." Just insane, even for an unlawful non citizen situation. She's confirmed twice that this is the actual amount.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shinners -

Thanks for the questions - see responses below at ***:



shinners said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My partner (From Vietnam) is currently here on student visa, which expires September 2015. We have been together since November 2013. We are planning to move in together October 2014. We intend to get married in December 2014. I just have a few questions:
> 
> 1. How soon after we are married can we apply for Partner visa? (ideally we would like to apply immediately). Does length of marriage affect the application? We do have evidence of us together, I have spent 2 weeks with her family overseas. We will be opening joint accounts when we move out, signing joint leases etc.
> 
> *** You can apply as soon as you have all your documents and relationship evidence ready to go. Length of marriage is a factor in the application, but more important is the time before marriage - ie, length of the relationship up to that point, and evidence to show that it is a legitimate relationship ("genuine") and not done just to get a visa, etc.
> 
> 2. After we apply for the Partner Visa, I presume she is granted a Bridging Visa A. Would she still have to study as per her current Student Visa? If so, the moment her partner visa is approved, can she stop all studies? I only ask, as she really has no interest in the current course and we don't see the point in throwing money away.
> 
> *** The bridging visa you get with an onshore partner application would remain inactive until the student visa expired on its own. If you voluntarily cancel the student visa, or the student visa is cancelled by DIBP because you stop studying, etc, she'll be unlawfully in Australia as of the moment of cancellation, and will have to get a Bridging Visa E for the duration of the partner visa processing period. This visa has no work rights by default (although you can apply to add them if you can evidence financial hardship), does not allow re-entry to Australia if you leave while holding it, and renders any time in Australia prior to the cancellation ineligible for use towards the 4 year residency requirement for citizenship. There may be other issues as well, so would suggest you consult a professional before you engage in the cancellation route.
> 
> 3. Based on the above, what is the likelihood of success.
> 
> *** No way to tell without reviewing your entire application and the evidence and documents you'd provide with it in detail.
> 
> Thanks for the service you provide, this is a very stressful time.
> 
> Robert


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lynhime -

Thanks for the note - the rules for the academic exemptions for the ENS visa are very narrow and only cover certain academic positions based on the level of your employment at the Uni, etc. Would need to get more information from you re: your situation, your future employment (including the employment contract), etc in order to see if you fit the specific regulations re: this exception. Can do this at a consultation - see more on this on our website (see link below).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lynhime said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> I'm looking for Visa 186 ENS Direct Entry.
> 
> I just found out from the booklet, Employer Sponsored Migration, saying 'If you are applying for an ENS visa under Direct Entry stream you need a satisfactory *skills assessment* from an Australian assessing authority which is speciﬁed for your nominated occupation and you have *at least 3 years of post-qualiﬁcation work experience in your nominated occupation*.'
> 
> However, another page under Exempt categories (Skill) says 'Exemptions for the ENS Direct Entry stream will require applicants to: • be nominated as an academic by a university in Australia'
> 
> I'm a Phd and being a tutor at university. The questions are:
> 1) Do I still need to sit on the test for skill assessment (Tutor) by VETASSESS?
> 2) I understand that I no need the 3 years work experience. Am I right?
> 
> I'm not sure about the interpretation. Please help to confirm.
> 
> Kindest regards,
> Lyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Butterfly2014 -

Thanks for the questions. For a defacto partner visa application there are 2 assessments done: Assessment of the defacto living together requirement to establish the defacto relationship for 12 months prior to application, and assessment of the relationship evidence to determine if the case officer believes the relationship is genuine and not contrived to get a visa.

If you register your relationship in a state that allows this, it automatically satisfies the first assessment - the 12 months living together requirement that DIBP imposes as their way of determining whether the defacto relationship existed for 12 months prior to application.

However the second assessment - whether the relationship is genuine or not - is still done per usual, and will consider all of the relationship evidence and statements you present with the application - and in this assessment, the amount of time living together prior to application can and will be factored in. There is no requirement that it be 12 months (if you register your relationship), but a lack of substantial living together time can pose an issue.

Over half of my caseload is partner and fiance visas - my best advice is to gather any and all relationship evidence and statements you can and see if you can come to a conclusion whether this would be sufficient to satisfy the case officer that the relationship is genuine. With a registered relationship, you can apply for the defacto partner visa (assuming no other obstacles) any time you feel you're ready and have the evidence in place to substantiate your claim to be defacto partners.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Butterfly2014 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> another user gave me the advice to post my question straight in your thread.
> 
> *We are in a relationship since Dec 2013, registered relationship since January 2014. Is it right, that a registered relationship waives the requirement to actually have been in a relationship for at least 12 months?* This is stated in fact sheet 35, but according to the immigration hotline, it would only waive the requirement to have lived together for at least 12 months?! Was the officer on the hotline wrong, or am I wrong?
> 
> _(In case you need further background information, here is the whole story:
> My partner and me met online in September 2013. I am from Germany, he is from Australia. What started as a chat became a ridiculous intensive bond, and I think we fell in love long before we ever met. In December 2013 I flew to Australia to finally meet the man of my dreams. We totally clicked in real life and spent 4 weeks together. Being convinced that we want to make this work, we registered our relationship in NSW in the end of January before my departure.
> 
> I had to go back to Germany, quit my job and sell my belongings, before I returned in the beginning of May 2014. I am currently on the eVisitor Visa and the initial plan was to get on the 1year-tourist Visa until we are eligable to apply for the de facto visa in December 2014. If this is what it takes, we will go through that. But obviously it would be awesome to accelerate the whole process and as far as we understood from the immigration website and booklet, we have the chance to do so)_
> 
> I just want to know, if we can successfully apply for the defacto visa already now, or if we really have to wait for another 6 months.
> 
> Thank you very much for your help!!!!!


----------



## Lynhime

Dear Mark,

Thanks for your reply.

Let's say IF I get an employment as a sessional tutor teaching undergrad students. It might be highly possible that it will be less than 20 hours per week. Also, I might be a supervisor for a Master degree of research student. Again, it's not a full time job. Note that I just finished my Phd in May 14 and now I'm on student visa. I don't have enough point so Visa 186 Direct Entry is my only chance. 

I'm a Phd and being a tutor at university. The questions are:
1) Do I still need to sit on the test for skill assessment (Tutor) by VETASSESS?
2) I understand that I no need the 3 years work experience. Am I right?

I'm not sure about the interpretation. Please help to confirm.

Best regards,
Lyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lynhime -

Happy to help but need much more info to see if you meet the exceptions including your employment contract and what payroll level (in Australia most Uni contracts work on an alphabetic scheme - A level, B level, etc due to negotiated staff agreements and standard wage schemes) you're at.

Combination of your employment designation, payroll designation and job title will likely determine whether you meet the exception parameters. Again, need to see you at a consultation to explore all the details - it's not a simple question that can be answered on a forum without knowing much more about your situation.

Best,

Mark Northam



Lynhime said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> Let's say IF I get an employment as a sessional tutor teaching undergrad students. It might be highly possible that it will be less than 20 hours per week. Also, I might be a supervisor for a Master degree of research student. Again, it's not a full time job. Note that I just finished my Phd in May 14 and now I'm on student visa. I don't have enough point so Visa 186 Direct Entry is my only chance.
> 
> I'm a Phd and being a tutor at university. The questions are:
> 1) Do I still need to sit on the test for skill assessment (Tutor) by VETASSESS?
> 2) I understand that I no need the 3 years work experience. Am I right?
> 
> I'm not sure about the interpretation. Please help to confirm.
> 
> Best regards,
> Lyn


----------



## Lynhime

Dear Mark,

The problem is I'm not in Sydney but Melbourne. I'm A level. I got pay $140 per hour. My title is Tutor or Assistant Lecturer. 

Who is the best I can trust to ask for info. I don't trust the agents here as I don't think they do homework more than me.

Best regards,
Lyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lyn -

I understand your concern. The law is the same whether you're in Melbourne or Sydney - what's needed here is a thorough review of the law, regulations and DIBP policy detail on the exception and the specific rules for the exception, then a good look at the details of your proposed employment with the Uni. The law/regs/policy change frequently, so whether you consult with me (we do Skype and phone in addition to in-person) or someone else, make sure they do a thorough review of the way things are NOW (not the way they were a year ago when they last checked this out) to ensure that if you are banking on the exemption, you meet the current law/regs/policy.

To put this in perspective - some questions are fundamental/basic and can be answered on a forum like this as they don't involve knowing a great deal about the client's case - for instance, things like how/when to do police and health checks, what form to use, what the English requirements are for certain visas, explaining the registered relationship exception, hazards of voluntary cancellation, and the myriad of other topics you can read about on the 250+ pages of the "Ask Mark!" topic here on the forum. But other topics like yours require a careful review of the current law and policy, and involved specific details of your proposed employment and the ENS nomination that would be lodged to determine if you meet the specific requirements for what is a very narrow exception window.

Hope this helps better understand my perspective on this -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lynhime said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> The problem is I'm not in Sydney but Melbourne. I'm A level. I got pay $140 per hour. My title is Tutor or Assistant Lecturer.
> 
> Who is the best I can trust to ask for info. I don't trust the agents here as I don't think they do homework more than me.
> 
> Best regards,
> Lyn


----------



## Lynhime

Dear Mark,

Thanks so much.

My last questions are:
1) Are those info available on the immigration website as I can't find any?
2) How could I contact you? Could you please provide a phone number or skype ID? 
3) Would be a free consultant or paid? I don't mind for the paid one as long as I can afford.

Best regards,
Lyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lyn -

Re: information - you can look in the Migration Regulations 1994 in various parts including Reg 5.19, Schedule 2 for visa subclass 187, etc. Additionally, some info is only available in PAM3 DIBP Policy directives available with a LEGENDcom subscription ($800/yr). All of this together forms the database of info you need to research to get a full understanding of migration law as it affects any particular visa.

Re: contacting me, not allowed to post email addresses on the forum but please see link to our website below in my signature - contact info there.

Re: consultations, we charge $195 for a one-hour consultation - see more info on the website - this would be adequate time to go through all the details of your scenario.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lynhime said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thanks so much.
> 
> My last questions are:
> 1) Are those info available on the immigration website as I can't find any?
> 2) How could I contact you? Could you please provide a phone number or skype ID?
> 3) Would be a free consultant or paid? I don't mind for the paid one as long as I can afford.
> 
> Best regards,
> Lyn


----------



## hdhami

*suclass 143 (contributory)*

hi mark 
I have some questions regarding visa 143. my brother is PR in australia from last 1 year. he is getting citizenship this month..As he applied on .17 may 2014 . parent migration subclass 143 visa for my mother including me..I am 20 year old currently college student and dependent on my mother..m very much worried about visa. 
1. Is there any chance of rejection of my visa ??
2. Any estimate of processing time ??

suggestions or informations regarding situation ??  .. thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hdhami -

Thanks for the note. Re: refusal, there is always a chance that any visa can be refused if the applicant(s) don't meet the requirements, so hard to answer that question. Re: processing times, seems to be about 16-18 months currently based on their workload. Please let me know if you have any specific questions I can answer related to this type of visa -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hdhami said:


> hi mark
> I have some questions regarding visa 143. my brother is PR in australia from last 1 year. he is getting citizenship this month..As he applied on .17 may 2014 . parent migration subclass 143 visa for my mother including me..I am 20 year old currently college student and dependent on my mother..m very much worried about visa.
> 1. Is there any chance of rejection of my visa ??
> 2. Any estimate of processing time ??
> 
> suggestions or informations regarding situation ??  .. thanks in advance


----------



## Ninja69

Good Morning Mark,

I am applying for Partner Visa 820 Onshore online application.
Do I need Form 80 in my application? 

Thank you in advance.
Cheers ,
Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Only if they request it after you lodge. Some people include it anyway to try and speed up the process; others wait until it's requested.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Good Morning Mark,
> 
> I am applying for Partner Visa 820 Onshore online application.
> Do I need Form 80 in my application?
> 
> Thank you in advance.
> Cheers ,
> Ninja 69


----------



## Butterfly2014

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Butterfly2014 - Thanks for the questions. For a defacto partner visa application there are 2 assessments done: Assessment of the defacto living together requirement to establish the defacto relationship for 12 months prior to application, and assessment of the relationship evidence to determine if the case officer believes the relationship is genuine and not contrived to get a visa. If you register your relationship in a state that allows this, it automatically satisfies the first assessment - the 12 months living together requirement that DIBP imposes as their way of determining whether the defacto relationship existed for 12 months prior to application. However the second assessment - whether the relationship is genuine or not - is still done per usual, and will consider all of the relationship evidence and statements you present with the application - and in this assessment, the amount of time living together prior to application can and will be factored in. There is no requirement that it be 12 months (if you register your relationship), but a lack of substantial living together time can pose an issue. Over half of my caseload is partner and fiance visas - my best advice is to gather any and all relationship evidence and statements you can and see if you can come to a conclusion whether this would be sufficient to satisfy the case officer that the relationship is genuine. With a registered relationship, you can apply for the defacto partner visa (assuming no other obstacles) any time you feel you're ready and have the evidence in place to substantiate your claim to be defacto partners. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks so much for your detailed explanation and quick response! It helped a lot!!

Best regards, 
Adina


----------



## kavita74

*IELTS retest*

Hello Mark

I have solicited your valuable advice earlier and I am back for a little advice again.

My husband will be appearing for a retest of IELTS in order to improve score and get minimum 8 in all bands. Now he has 60 points under state sponsorship but to avoid complications of state nominations and minimum 2 year contract for sponsorship entitlement, he is reappearing for IELTS.

Now my question is, do they consider the latest of the test score OR the best of the two/all? Also, is there any time period within which one should have re attempted?

Thanks in advance for your expert advice.

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kavita -

Thanks for the note. DIBP will consider the highest scoring test result that is valid (currently they are valid for 3 years from the test date for primary applicants for skilled visas). All 4 band results must be from the same test on the same date, however.

But do note that once an invitation is issued by DIBP for a visa application (either 189 of 190, etc), the IELTS score cannot be changed for that invitation/application even if a new test is taken after that date - to use the new test if it was higher than the existing one, you'd need to decline the invitation, update the EOI with the new test, and then wait for another invitation. But changing the IELTS results on an EOI prior to receiving an invitation is possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kavita74 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I have solicited your valuable advice earlier and I am back for a little advice again.
> 
> My husband will be appearing for a retest of IELTS in order to improve score and get minimum 8 in all bands. Now he has 60 points under state sponsorship but to avoid complications of state nominations and minimum 2 year contract for sponsorship entitlement, he is reappearing for IELTS.
> 
> Now my question is, do they consider the latest of the test score OR the best of the two/all? Also, is there any time period within which one should have re attempted?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your expert advice.
> 
> Regards


----------



## kay0614

*Pregnant when waiting 820 visa*

Hi mark
I got pregnant while I m waiting the decision 
Of My 820 
I applied on 26 nov 2013

Should I inform immi? 
Would i get my visa quicker

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kay0614 -

Congratulations! Assuming you have already taken your health exam (hope so), probably would not make a difference to DIBP. However if your child is born before you get your decision, I would definitely inform DIBP of that fact as having a child may enable you to get the 801 PR part of the partner visa straight away without getting the 820 first.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kay0614 said:


> Hi mark
> I got pregnant while I m waiting the decision
> Of My 820
> I applied on 26 nov 2013
> 
> Should I inform immi?
> Would i get my visa quicker
> 
> Thanks


----------



## kavita74

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kavita -
> 
> Thanks for the note. DIBP will consider the highest scoring test result that is valid (currently they are valid for 3 years from the test date for primary applicants for skilled visas). All 4 band results must be from the same test on the same date, however.
> 
> But do note that once an invitation is issued by DIBP for a visa application (either 189 of 190, etc), the IELTS score cannot be changed for that invitation/application even if a new test is taken after that date - to use the new test if it was higher than the existing one, you'd need to decline the invitation, update the EOI with the new test, and then wait for another invitation. But changing the IELTS results on an EOI prior to receiving an invitation is possible.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot!
Yes indeed! That clears the doubts.

Best regards
Kavita


----------



## Sebastian8812

Hi Mark,
Could you please clarify me, what really is happening in DIBP and why DIBP has such a useless system. I am really frustrated. 
I am still waiting for the finalisation of my visa (subclass 190). I applied in the end of February 2014 and done all documentations and medicals. And, in the first week of April 2014, I received ''the delay in processing of GSM applications'' message. It's been a week after the start of the next program year. But still, DIBP didn't respond to my application.
When can I expect any updates? Could you please put across Mark. 
Thanks 
Sebastian.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sebastian -

No way to predict - very unpredictable. 190's typically run 6 to 9 months to process, but some come in faster and others take longer.

The problem is that DIBP has no legal time limits on processing, so under the law they essentially can take as long as they want. They consider the grant of a visa to be a privilege, not a right, and act accordingly. And those who request a privilege are, in DIBP's view I expect, not really in a position to complain. Same thing re: email responses - some case officers are great and respond quickly, others never respond.

Updates are sporadic and hard to predict - there is no way to track where an application is in the process at DIBP really.

Wish I had better news for you, but all you can do for all practical purposes is to wait. It's a good system, but the timing is extremely unpredictable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sebastian8812 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Could you please clarify me, what really is happening in DIBP and why DIBP has such a useless system. I am really frustrated.
> I am still waiting for the finalisation of my visa (subclass 190). I applied in the end of February 2014 and done all documentations and medicals. And, in the first week of April 2014, I received ''the delay in processing of GSM applications'' message. It's been a week after the start of the next program year. But still, DIBP didn't respond to my application.
> When can I expect any updates? Could you please put across Mark.
> Thanks
> Sebastian.


----------



## ajmaddison88

Quick questions,

Im applying for an 820 visa this week, I have got a lot of evidence gathered up so I am quite confident.

My question is that I intend to propose to my partner as soon as I get work. Would I have to inform DIBP?? If i'm still on the BVA how would it effect the application?

Thanks

Alex


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alex -

I assume you are applying as defacto partners for the 820 onshore partner visa now, then plan on marrying later? If so, then marriage would be another piece of relationship evidence - would suggest you upload the marriage certificate and as much wedding evidence as you feel is appropriate to your lodged application at that time. Your bridging visa would not be affected by the marriage as the application would still be processing, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ajmaddison88 said:


> Quick questions,
> 
> Im applying for an 820 visa this week, I have got a lot of evidence gathered up so I am quite confident.
> 
> My question is that I intend to propose to my partner as soon as I get work. Would I have to inform DIBP?? If i'm still on the BVA how would it effect the application?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Alex


----------



## vaishali.sshedge

Hi Mark,

I am a graduate in commerce, but work in IT as a UX Designer/ Web Designer. I have pursued a Web Design course from a private institute. I am looking for Australia Immigration. My IELTS score is L:7, R:6.5, W: 7.5 & S: 6.5.
Which visa shall i apply for after getting my skills assessed from Vetasses?

Thanks,
Vaishali


----------



## enida

Hi Mr.Mark,

Today I am writing a different post compared to the previous ones I've written before. I am not making any question or asking your precious opinion about anything, today I am expressing my gratitude for all the time you have dedicated to reading my posts and I am thanking your for every opinion and invaluable advice you have provided me with.Today morning I received my Grant letter, ironically I had prepared myself to wait the longest possible period , however, God is great and listens to our specific needs and through his holy grace everything is possible. I want to thank you and all the members of this forum for everything and I wish you God's richest blessings for you and your precious families. I will pray for all of you and for your country, Australia, which has always been my dreamland and which I am starting to love and to consider my country since this moment.

Thank you once again and may God listen to all your prayers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vaishali -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



vaishali.sshedge said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a graduate in commerce, but work in IT as a UX Designer/ Web Designer. I have pursued a Web Design course from a private institute. I am looking for Australia Immigration. My IELTS score is L:7, R:6.5, W: 7.5 & S: 6.5.
> Which visa shall i apply for after getting my skills assessed from Vetasses?
> 
> Thanks,
> Vaishali


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enida -

Thanks so much for the wonderful email, and congratulations on your visa grant! I am so happy for you and wish you the very best with everything in life.

Best,

Mark



enida said:


> Hi Mr.Mark,
> 
> Today I am writing a different post compared to the previous ones I've written before. I am not making any question or asking your precious opinion about anything, today I am expressing my gratitude for all the time you have dedicated to reading my posts and I am thanking your for every opinion and invaluable advice you have provided me with.Today morning I received my Grant letter, ironically I had prepared myself to wait the longest possible period , however, God is great and listens to our specific needs and through his holy grace everything is possible. I want to thank you and all the members of this forum for everything and I wish you God's richest blessings for you and your precious families. I will pray for all of you and for your country, Australia, which has always been my dreamland and which I am starting to love and to consider my country since this moment.
> 
> Thank you once again and may God listen to all your prayers.


----------



## dharabaskar

*IELTS Results*

Hi Mark,

One of my friends, has applied for Canada FSW and planning to apply for Australia Skilled Migration(190) as she has not got any positive response yet from Canada Immigration Dept.

As she has sent the original IELTS Results for the Canada she has only the IELTS Scanned copy, will that be sufficient for applying Australia (SS)? Does she need original IELTS Results at any stage?

Thanks
VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dharabaskar -

For Australian immigration she'll need a colour scanned copy of her IELTS test report, or a certified copy of a b&w copy of the same.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> One of my friends, has applied for Canada FSW and planning to apply for Australia Skilled Migration(190) as she has not got any positive response yet from Canada Immigration Dept.
> 
> As she has sent the original IELTS Results for the Canada she has only the IELTS Scanned copy, will that be sufficient for applying Australia (SS)? Does she need original IELTS Results at any stage?
> 
> Thanks
> VJ


----------



## awatahmed

Hi Mark

I am a Mechanical Engineer from Jordan and intend to apply for the 189 visa through skillselect. Sometime back I had an F-1 visa (student visa for USA) denied. The F-1 was not granted because of a failure to establish sufficient ties to my home country. At the time, i had an existing B-1 (USA tourist visa) visa. The embassy in Amman cancelled that visa during the process without giving any reason. 

I suspect the reason for the cancellation might be a trip I made to an immediate family relative in the USA on that B1 visa for about 5 months. I was unemployed at the time so I took a long vacation. I did not overstay the visa (the entry permit was for 6 months) but it seemed to me during the visa interview that the prolonged length of the stay might have convinced the visa officer of a possibly immigrant intention, thus the denial and cancellation. I have no criminal record in any country.

My questions are:

1.	Since my passport is due to expire soon, some friends have recommended to me to apply on the basis of the new passport number and not to declare my trip to the US and the F-1 visa denial in the relevant sections of Form 80.

2.	Another option would be to apply with the new passport number but to declare the travel history and the F-1 denial. The idea being that, at least, the new passport would not contain the canceled-B1-visa-label on it. I’m concerned that the border control officer in Australia might create problems for my entry if he/she sees the cancelled B-1 visa label on my passport.

3.	The last option being to use the existing passport number and ofcourse declaring the travel history and the F-1 denial on the Form 80. But how badly does the canceled-B1-visa-label affect my entry when I hand my passport to border control?

4.	Additionally, I couldn’t find a space on the Form 80 for cancellation of any visas. There is one for deportation/entry-refusal but I wasn’t deported or refused entry. Should I then stay quite about the cancellation?

Your guidance is very appreciated.


----------



## dharabaskar

*Ielts*

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your response. Certified Copy, is that from the notary public?

BTW, I am having a doubt whether she can apply both Canada and Australia at the same time?

Thanks
VJ



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dharabaskar -
> 
> For Australian immigration she'll need a colour scanned copy of her IELTS test report, or a certified copy of a b&w copy of the same.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## lissa

@MarkNortham

Hi Mark,

All of us including my kids had undergone medicals 2 months ago for my visa 485 and now I've lodged my 189 and CO is asking for another medicals for the children. Me and my husband have been cleared using that same medical details 2 months ago. But I'm confused as now my children have different HAP IDs and requested to do medical exam and xray, they are below 5 years old. Is this an error? I've already sent an email to my CO for clarification but I'm just worried. Is it possible to do the medicals twice? And medibank said that children at this age don't need xray. I thought before opening the referral letter, it's additional tests somewhat different to what they have done before but it's still the same - medical exam and xray. 2 months ago they only did medical exam.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Awatahmed -

Thanks for the note - as you're from a middle eastern country, your Form 80 will likely be subject to fairly extensive security checking - simply having a new passport won't defeat other cross-references based on name, date of birth, etc. My advice is simple: tell the truth. Declare the travel history fully (they can find this easily anyway from USA records they interface with), and declare the refusal. If they don't ask about cancellations, no need to declare that unless asked.

Unless DIBP has a reason for concern, they don't go through passports page-by-page at the immigration control points in Australia (airport, etc). Checking your past travel history and determining if you are a suitable candidate for PR is not their job - that's the job of the people processing your visa.

Finally, consider the cost if you are caught - highly unlikely to get any visa in the near future, thousands of dollars down the drain, etc. Far easier simply to explain the refusal in the best light you can reasonably do so - Australia has similar student visa "genuine student" policies, but PR visas don't incorporate those assessments, since they are permanent visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



awatahmed said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am a Mechanical Engineer from Jordan and intend to apply for the 189 visa through skillselect. Sometime back I had an F-1 visa (student visa for USA) denied. The F-1 was not granted because of a failure to establish sufficient ties to my home country. At the time, i had an existing B-1 (USA tourist visa) visa. The embassy in Amman cancelled that visa during the process without giving any reason.
> 
> I suspect the reason for the cancellation might be a trip I made to an immediate family relative in the USA on that B1 visa for about 5 months. I was unemployed at the time so I took a long vacation. I did not overstay the visa (the entry permit was for 6 months) but it seemed to me during the visa interview that the prolonged length of the stay might have convinced the visa officer of a possibly immigrant intention, thus the denial and cancellation. I have no criminal record in any country.
> 
> My questions are:
> 
> 1.	Since my passport is due to expire soon, some friends have recommended to me to apply on the basis of the new passport number and not to declare my trip to the US and the F-1 visa denial in the relevant sections of Form 80.
> 
> 2.	Another option would be to apply with the new passport number but to declare the travel history and the F-1 denial. The idea being that, at least, the new passport would not contain the canceled-B1-visa-label on it. I'm concerned that the border control officer in Australia might create problems for my entry if he/she sees the cancelled B-1 visa label on my passport.
> 
> 3.	The last option being to use the existing passport number and ofcourse declaring the travel history and the F-1 denial on the Form 80. But how badly does the canceled-B1-visa-label affect my entry when I hand my passport to border control?
> 
> 4.	Additionally, I couldn't find a space on the Form 80 for cancellation of any visas. There is one for deportation/entry-refusal but I wasn't deported or refused entry. Should I then stay quite about the cancellation?
> 
> Your guidance is very appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dharabaskar -

In some countries such as USA, yes. Other countries like Australia it's a Justice of the Peace or other authorised person who by law can certify copies of documents.

No issue I see in applying for more than one country at once.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your response. Certified Copy, is that from the notary public?
> 
> BTW, I am having a doubt whether she can apply both Canada and Australia at the same time?
> 
> Thanks
> VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lissa -

Children under 5 normally only need medical exams - would suggest you email the CO back and confirm that they are requesting new medicals (and that they already have 2 month old results) and x-rays for children of that age.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lissa said:


> @MarkNortham
> 
> Hi Mark,
> 
> All of us including my kids had undergone medicals 2 months ago for my visa 485 and now I've lodged my 189 and CO is asking for another medicals for the children. Me and my husband have been cleared using that same medical details 2 months ago. But I'm confused as now my children have different HAP IDs and requested to do medical exam and xray, they are below 5 years old. Is this an error? I've already sent an email to my CO for clarification but I'm just worried. Is it possible to do the medicals twice? And medibank said that children at this age don't need xray. I thought before opening the referral letter, it's additional tests somewhat different to what they have done before but it's still the same - medical exam and xray. 2 months ago they only did medical exam.


----------



## dharabaskar

*Ielts*

Mark,

Thank you so much.

Thanks
Vijay



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dharabaskar -
> 
> In some countries such as USA, yes. Other countries like Australia it's a Justice of the Peace or other authorised person who by law can certify copies of documents.
> 
> No issue I see in applying for more than one country at once.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## iffee84

*RSMS or 457 Visa*

Hi mark,

My question is about RSMS 0r 457 Visa. I have done one year diploma of business from tafe 2007-08. I have almost two years of experience (part time-paid) in restaurant business (experience from 2008-2011). Now I have an offer for position in a restaurant as a Manager.

My employer is offering me to apple one of the stream above mentioned. Restaurant is in regional area of western Australia. They have agreed to pay me as per visa requirement. So, do you think my qualification will be enough to make eligible for RSMS/457.

If you want to see my diploma of business, I can attach with it. one more thing I am from Pakistan

Thanks

Iffee84


----------



## rakshith

Hi Mark,
I have applied for student e- visa subclass 573 and got interview call from AHC on 5th july how long will it take to get my decision my course has been started and i have fowarded even my extension letter to AHC please help me


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Iffee84 -

The requirements for qualifications for that occupation include Diploma so you should meet that, plus you had experience, so I would think you have a reasonable chance of meeting the requirement. That being said, they are being tough on that occupation due to lots of abuse (contrived visa schemes where they "sell" jobs to applicants at $50,000 try and put 6 restaurant managers into a tiny restaurant that seats 20 people, etc) so make sure the sponsorship, nomination and visa application forms are very carefully and correctly done. Re: RSMS, hard to tell if the RCB will sign off on there being a genuine need for the position, but if so, then that's good too. Can't comment on the rest of your details re: whether you would meet requirements & be likely to get visa or not since I don't have that info (consultation would be best for that).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



iffee84 said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> My question is about RSMS 0r 457 Visa. I have done one year diploma of business from tafe 2007-08. I have almost two years of experience (part time-paid) in restaurant business (experience from 2008-2011). Now I have an offer for position in a restaurant as a Manager.
> 
> My employer is offering me to apple one of the stream above mentioned. Restaurant is in regional area of western Australia. They have agreed to pay me as per visa requirement. So, do you think my qualification will be enough to make eligible for RSMS/457.
> 
> If you want to see my diploma of business, I can attach with it. one more thing I am from Pakistan
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Iffee84


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rakshith -

No idea - only DIBP knows these things. Highly unpredictable - students should apply 3 months before their program starts these days given high unpredictability of DIBP processing times, especially for student visas. Have seen them go as long as 4 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rakshith said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have applied for student e- visa subclass 573 and got interview call from AHC on 5th july how long will it take to get my decision my course has been started and i have fowarded even my extension letter to AHC please help me


----------



## luckyduck12

*Contributory parent visa*

Hi Mark,

From your recent experience, what is roughly the waiting time for permanent contributory parent visa after lodgement?

And how much do immi ask for one adult now? I heard there is an increase but couldn't find more information on it.

Thanks a lot


----------



## kay0614

Hi Mark
yes I have already sent all of the documents to DIBP, currently just waiting the decision.

I have another questions that 
1. once the baby born, is the baby became Austrian as my partner is AU citizen, so can the baby get the benefit?

2 if i got my 820 visa
in law, when we baby born, he is the baby father,
but am i kinda single mother without marriage?

as u said if i let them know once the baby born, it might help me go straight to 801.

so how happen if we are getting married? is it necessary? 
as partner visa in law is same as marriage

its a bit confuse me.
thanks a lot

QUOTE=MarkNortham;510530]Hi Kay0614 -hi

Congratulations! Assuming you have already taken your health exam (hope so), probably would not make a difference to DIBP. However if your child is born before you get your decision, I would definitely inform DIBP of that fact as having a child may enable you to get the 801 PR part of the partner visa straight away without getting the 820 first.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam[/QUOTE]


----------



## jamesm

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,
can you please help about the procedure for removing the non-migrating dependents from my wife's 309/100 visa application.

I added my relative's children due to lack of information about the process. Following is my scenario & questions:
1. Added 2 nephews, 1 brother in-law & a brother, Both sharing house with my with as general family members.
2. All four do not have passports
3. All these children are under 15 years.
if they are being cared for by another person whilst you are here they are not your dependents.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck12 -

Best estimate is 16-18 months, but is unpredictable. Total cost for the sc143 contributory parent visa currently is $3,520 for first part of the application fee, and $43,600 for the 2nd part once the visa is ready to be granted. Assumes no dependents, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> From your recent experience, what is roughly the waiting time for permanent contributory parent visa after lodgement?
> 
> And how much do immi ask for one adult now? I heard there is an increase but couldn't find more information on it.
> 
> Thanks a lot


----------



## enida

Hi Mr.Mark,

I hope everything is fine. May I make one final question please?
In the validation trip, is there any restriction on how many days one can stay? Can we go to Australia and decide to settle permanently without going back to the home country and then re-visiting Australia? Can we decide to make the final move with a single entry?

Thank you once again for your time and your invaluable advice.

Endless blessings,
Enida


----------



## Snow

Hi Mark

In the application for the partner visa, I know DIBP require 4 passport sized photos from me and 2 from my sponsor with our names written on the back. 

We're applying online though so having the name on the back of the photos wouldn't really work since they're scans. Is it acceptable to have the name written on a separate piece of paper and include that with the scanned photos?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enida -

No limit at all - as long as you enter Australia (ie, go through immigrations & customs clearance), you can stay for a day (if you're doing a quick validation trip, best to depart the next day so the arrival & departure dates are different), or stay as long as you'd like!

Best,

Mark Northam



enida said:


> Hi Mr.Mark,
> 
> I hope everything is fine. May I make one final question please?
> In the validation trip, is there any restriction on how many days one can stay? Can we go to Australia and decide to settle permanently without going back to the home country and then re-visiting Australia? Can we decide to make the final move with a single entry?
> 
> Thank you once again for your time and your invaluable advice.
> 
> Endless blessings,
> Enida


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snow -

No need for that - you can upload a digital scan of the photo (front side), and make the filename indicate the name, ie "Passport photo - John Smith.jpg" or something like that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Snow said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> In the application for the partner visa, I know DIBP require 4 passport sized photos from me and 2 from my sponsor with our names written on the back.
> 
> We're applying online though so having the name on the back of the photos wouldn't really work since they're scans. Is it acceptable to have the name written on a separate piece of paper and include that with the scanned photos?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamesm -

Best to work directly with the case officer in this regard. You can write them an email or letter indicating that you wish to remove them, and list each applicant you wish to remove with their full name and date of birth.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamesm said:


> Dear Mark,
> can you please help about the procedure for removing the non-migrating dependents from my wife's 309/100 visa application.
> 
> I added my relative's children due to lack of information about the process. Following is my scenario & questions:
> 1. Added 2 nephews, 1 brother in-law & a brother, Both sharing house with my with as general family members.
> 2. All four do not have passports
> 3. All these children are under 15 years.
> if they are being cared for by another person whilst you are here they are not your dependents.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kay0614 -

Probably best if you work with a migration agent in a consultation with all these questions as the difference scenarios you describe may have different results - need to know much more about the details to give you any specific advice. Generally speaking, if a child is the biological child of a person who is an Australian citizen at the time the child is born, they can apply for citizenship by descent for the child. Beyond that, citizenship has its own set of rules & regulations just like migration does.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kay0614 said:


> Hi Mark
> yes I have already sent all of the documents to DIBP, currently just waiting the decision.
> 
> I have another questions that
> 1. once the baby born, is the baby became Austrian as my partner is AU citizen, so can the baby get the benefit?
> 
> 2 if i got my 820 visa
> in law, when we baby born, he is the baby father,
> but am i kinda single mother without marriage?
> 
> as u said if i let them know once the baby born, it might help me go straight to 801.
> 
> so how happen if we are getting married? is it necessary?
> as partner visa in law is same as marriage
> 
> its a bit confuse me.
> thanks a lot
> 
> QUOTE=MarkNortham;510530]Hi Kay0614 -hi
> 
> Congratulations! Assuming you have already taken your health exam (hope so), probably would not make a difference to DIBP. However if your child is born before you get your decision, I would definitely inform DIBP of that fact as having a child may enable you to get the 801 PR part of the partner visa straight away without getting the 820 first.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


[/QUOTE]


----------



## hime-sama

hi mark! I've been advised by many different sources that my sponsor having tax debt is no issue.... would him being bankrupt be an issue? i'm seriously hoping not.....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hime-sama -

Depends on the visa. If you are speaking of a partner or fiance visa sponsor, as long as the sponsor can show reasonable financial resources (including support from 3rd parties including family, friends, etc) to be able to support the applicant if needed, that generally qualifies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hime-sama said:


> hi mark! I've been advised by many different sources that my sponsor having tax debt is no issue.... would him being bankrupt be an issue? i'm seriously hoping not.....


----------



## hime-sama

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hime-sama -
> 
> Depends on the visa. If you are speaking of a partner or fiance visa sponsor, as long as the sponsor can show reasonable financial resources (including support from 3rd parties including family, friends, etc) to be able to support the applicant if needed, that generally qualifies.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thanks. yeah i was talking about partner visas. sorry i should have stated that haha! thank you so much. i've had conflicting info that it does and then it doesnt i'm getting so confused.


----------



## fil

Hi Mark!
hope I can get a reply from you about my question....I recently sponsored my wife of 12 years last April while I was still in the Philippines. Now, I went back to Australia last May to settle here permanently and wait for my wife's visa be approved....Now, at the moment i'm on newstart benefits with centerlink while looking for a job. Will this affect my sponsorship on her partner visa?...and one more thing....at the centerlink they said that they can not put my status as married because my wife still at overseas....they said that they will update my status once my wife arrived in Australia....does that sounds right?...

hope that you can help me on this question.....thank you.....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fil -

Thanks for the questions - re: newstart benefits, should not be a problem in my view. Re: Centrelink refusing to put status as married, that sounds a bit unusual especially if you present a valid marriage certificate, but I'm not an expert on Centrelink rules & regs.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fil said:


> Hi Mark!
> hope I can get a reply from you about my question....I recently sponsored my wife of 12 years last April while I was still in the Philippines. Now, I went back to Australia last May to settle here permanently and wait for my wife's visa be approved....Now, at the moment i'm on newstart benefits with centerlink while looking for a job. Will this affect my sponsorship on her partner visa?...and one more thing....at the centerlink they said that they can not put my status as married because my wife still at overseas....they said that they will update my status once my wife arrived in Australia....does that sounds right?...
> 
> hope that you can help me on this question.....thank you.....


----------



## fil

@Mark......thank you so much ....that was a very quick response from you regarding my questions....regards...

fil


----------



## alison213

Hi Mark

Apologies if this has been asked before, but after a lot off searches here and on other sites I'm left with conflicting answers.

In regards to a 309/100 Visa application for my partner, what is meant by 'Immediate Family'. 

Neither of us have any children or dependents and there is no one else wishing to migrate. Do we still need to list his parents & siblings? And if so, would we put their Australian citizenship status as 'other'?

The Immi.gov.au website defines immediate family as 'Your partner and dependent children.' Which would lead me to believe that neither my partner (the applicant) nor myself (the sponsor) have any immediate family to list. Is that correct?

Thank you very much for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alison213 -

Excellent question! Yes, you would need to list each party's siblings and parents to answer the questions on the online application form "Does the applicant have any parents, siblings, etc..". "Other" would be appropriate if they are citizens of countries other than Australia and do not hold Australian permanent residence or another Australian visa. However these people would not be listed under the "migrating family members" or "non-migrating dependent family members".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alison213 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Apologies if this has been asked before, but after a lot off searches here and on other sites I'm left with conflicting answers.
> 
> In regards to a 309/100 Visa application for my partner, what is meant by 'Immediate Family'.
> 
> Neither of us have any children or dependents and there is no one else wishing to migrate. Do we still need to list his parents & siblings? And if so, would we put their Australian citizenship status as 'other'?
> 
> The Immi.gov.au website defines immediate family as 'Your partner and dependent children.' Which would lead me to believe that neither my partner (the applicant) nor myself (the sponsor) have any immediate family to list. Is that correct?
> 
> Thank you very much for your help.


----------



## thomasvo

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding sponsorship by NSW. Their new online system will be introduced on the 14th of July and there will be 4 separate timeframes in which you can apply for sponsorship.
Do you know if you can apply more than once (no in the same timeframe ofcourse)? For example I apply in july and I get rejected. Will I be able to apply in the next timeframe ?(which is in october or november I think)

Another question is regarding paperwork. I have a positive skill assessment from ACS but I can't claim any work experience (because of the deduction ACS does for the first few years). Will I need to provide payslips for that job? If so, do I need to get them translated and notarised?

Thanks!!


----------



## Mietsie

Hi Mark

Thank you again for helping us with all our questions!

I have a question about the Medical Check.
I will be lodging my Online 820 in August as soon as I arrive in Australia on a Visitor's visa.
Can I already do my Health Check in South Africa? If yes, how do I go about it and would you suggest that it is a good idea?

Thank you very much.
Kind regards
Mietsie


----------



## Andrew90

HI Mark, 

I'm currently planning on taking master degree at Australia, do you think this website is credible ?
why does it say "A master or a Phd will guarantee 2 or 3 years of work visa on completion of studies."

You may check the link below

gostudy. com. au/study/university-australia/ 
Sorry for the link (i'm limited to posting any link since i haven't made over 5 posts.

Thanks a lot!


----------



## Janani Hari

*Request your advice Mark!*

Hello Mark,

Hope you are doing well. My husband and I are in the process of applying for Visa subclass 189 (Independent -Skilled) under ANZSCO code 261111 ICT Business Analyst. We are currently here on a 457 and he is under the same occupation. We completed the skilled assessment for my husband and received the ACS letter yesterday. Until last night I was very sure that we meet the 60 points pass mark and was under the impression that I could submit the EOI the moment we get his skills assessed but to our shock , on entering all the details we got only 55 points in Skill select. Here is the background :

Age - 30 points
English - IELTS - 10 points ( His scores are : Listening -8, Reading-8.5,Writing - 7.5 ; Speaking - 8.5 )
Educational Qualification :
ACS has recognized his Masters degree as AQF equivalent Masters degree with Major in Computing. Although he has a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering ( 4 years from India) there is no mention of that in the letter. I understand that they only mention the highest degree. So can we score 15 points for his Masters degree ?

Employment : (from the ACS letter)

The following employment after August 2008 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately 
skilled level and relevant to 261111 (ICT Business Analyst) of the ANZSCO Code.

Dates: 08/06 - 06/10 (3yrs 10mths) 
Position: Systems Engineer 
Employer: Cisco Systems India Pvt. Ltd 
Country: INDIA

Dates: 02/13 - 09/13 (0yrs 7mths) 
Position: Territory Account Manager 
Employer: Brocade Communications Systems India Pvt.Ltd 
Country: INDIA

Dates: 11/13 - 06/14 (0yrs 7mths) 
Position: Technology Consultant 
Employer: Accenture Australia Pty Ltd 
Country: AUSTRALIA

They have reduced 2 years from the above employment which means we have only 35 months so we dont get the 5 points for Employment.
My question to you :
1. Should we demonstrate 36 months (3 years) of Skilled employment (irrespective of the country) or should the 3 years ALL be outside of Australia to claim points for over seas employment?? I guess their language is pretty confusing. If we have to demonstrate 3 years of Skilled employment irrespective of the country ( including work experience in Australia) then can we wait for 1 more month before submitting the EOI so that he gets one extra month in his current role which will bring the total no of months to 36.

2. If all the 3 years needs to be outside of Aussie, then we cannot claim the 5 points for this because we have only 28 months since ACS reduced 2 years from his work exp. What are the options for us to get 5 more points to meet the 60 point pass mark?
a. Wait until Nov 2014 so that we can claim 5 points for completing one year of Australian Employment?

b. Re take IELTS and hope he gets minimum 8 in all bands and get 10 points extra?

c. Go for Partner skills assessment. I have the same background as him. I have a Bachelors degree in Info. Tech and the same masters degree as my husband so the chances are ACS will recognize my Masters as AQF Masters with Major in Computing? But I have only 2 years and 10 months total work experience in the same role as what my husband had ( Cisco India). If ACS has reduced 2 years from his work experience chances are they would do the same, so I will be left with just 10 months of Skilled work experience. Does the no of months / years of skilled work experience matter for claiming partner points ? or can we still claim 5 points if i complete skill assessment and IELTS?

Kindly throw some light on which path we should be taking . We are really confused right now. Really appreciate your time and support on this and looking forward to your thoughts / advice.

Regards,
Janani


----------



## fletchaman

Hi Mark

I was just wondering whether you can apply for more than one typre of visa when you submit your EOI ie could I click on 186,189 190 and 457 to cover all aspects of visa i can apply for?

Thanks in advance


----------



## dee.itsalright

Hi Mark!

Im about to lodge a Partner visa 820 next month. Although me and my boyfriend have been living together for 11 months (before the application will be lodged) we have never been on the lease.. We can only prove that through mails adressed at the same adress (both names on), a witnessing letter from our flatmate saying I moved in around Sep 2013 and our bank accounts showing the same adress.. 
We also will have a new lease signed by August that we will attach but WILL THIS LOOK RIGHT FOR A SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION?

If its easier for you Ive started a thread on my profile which have all explained already...

Thanks heaps!!!


----------



## supernano

*Upload originals or certified for 186*

Hi Mark,

I have seen a lot of different answers on this topic on different forums, so I thought it probably best to get the opinion of a MA.

I'm preparing my application for 186 Employer Nomination Direct Entry. I'll apply online, I have all my documents colour scanned from originals, but I'm not sure if I can upload those or if I still need to certify copies and rescan them.

I've read that colour scans are ok, but for other types of visas and I'm not sure if for the 186 it also applies. The website only says certified copies, so I'm a bit confused.

Any help appreciated!


----------



## amitsethiaustralia

Hi Mark,

I would like to file my Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) for NSW. But from this year "Applications for 2014-15 will be lodged electronically through a new online system".
Could you please share the procedure or any tutorial or any link where we can learn how to electronically lodged the applications for 2014-15.

Thanks in advance.
Amit.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

No such thing as a "guaranteed visa". They are referring to the new Post Study Work stream of the subclass 485 visa, but like every visa it has its own requirements. You can check out the requirements on the DIBP website - assuming you qualify for that stream, it's an excellent visa to get some work experience under!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Andrew90 said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> I'm currently planning on taking master degree at Australia, do you think this website is credible ?
> why does it say "A master or a Phd will guarantee 2 or 3 years of work visa on completion of studies."
> 
> You may check the link below
> 
> gostudy. com. au/study/university-australia/
> Sorry for the link (i'm limited to posting any link since i haven't made over 5 posts.
> 
> Thanks a lot!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Janani -

Thanks for the note and questions. Skilled visas (including skills assessor's own rules) are very complex - I can't sort out complicated points questions on the forum - would need to see you in a consultation and look over your documents and details to assist - see Northam & Associates - Professional Migration Consulting Session for more.

Generally speaking:

* There are separate points categories for work experience outside Australia and work experience inside Australia - they are evaluated separately. Less than 3 years outside while deemed as skilled means no points for work outside Australia. Note that you do get points after 1 year of work inside Australia. See points test for all the details.

* IELTS usually best way of increasing points

Hope this helps - can do more detailed analysis and suggestions at a consultation.

Best,

Mark Northam



Janani Hari said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well. My husband and I are in the process of applying for Visa subclass 189 (Independent -Skilled) under ANZSCO code 261111 ICT Business Analyst. We are currently here on a 457 and he is under the same occupation. We completed the skilled assessment for my husband and received the ACS letter yesterday. Until last night I was very sure that we meet the 60 points pass mark and was under the impression that I could submit the EOI the moment we get his skills assessed but to our shock , on entering all the details we got only 55 points in Skill select. Here is the background :
> 
> Age - 30 points
> English - IELTS - 10 points ( His scores are : Listening -8, Reading-8.5,Writing - 7.5 ; Speaking - 8.5 )
> Educational Qualification :
> ACS has recognized his Masters degree as AQF equivalent Masters degree with Major in Computing. Although he has a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering ( 4 years from India) there is no mention of that in the letter. I understand that they only mention the highest degree. So can we score 15 points for his Masters degree ?
> 
> Employment : (from the ACS letter)
> 
> The following employment after August 2008 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately
> skilled level and relevant to 261111 (ICT Business Analyst) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Dates: 08/06 - 06/10 (3yrs 10mths)
> Position: Systems Engineer
> Employer: Cisco Systems India Pvt. Ltd
> Country: INDIA
> 
> Dates: 02/13 - 09/13 (0yrs 7mths)
> Position: Territory Account Manager
> Employer: Brocade Communications Systems India Pvt.Ltd
> Country: INDIA
> 
> Dates: 11/13 - 06/14 (0yrs 7mths)
> Position: Technology Consultant
> Employer: Accenture Australia Pty Ltd
> Country: AUSTRALIA
> 
> They have reduced 2 years from the above employment which means we have only 35 months so we dont get the 5 points for Employment.
> My question to you :
> 1. Should we demonstrate 36 months (3 years) of Skilled employment (irrespective of the country) or should the 3 years ALL be outside of Australia to claim points for over seas employment?? I guess their language is pretty confusing. If we have to demonstrate 3 years of Skilled employment irrespective of the country ( including work experience in Australia) then can we wait for 1 more month before submitting the EOI so that he gets one extra month in his current role which will bring the total no of months to 36.
> 
> 2. If all the 3 years needs to be outside of Aussie, then we cannot claim the 5 points for this because we have only 28 months since ACS reduced 2 years from his work exp. What are the options for us to get 5 more points to meet the 60 point pass mark?
> a. Wait until Nov 2014 so that we can claim 5 points for completing one year of Australian Employment?
> 
> b. Re take IELTS and hope he gets minimum 8 in all bands and get 10 points extra?
> 
> c. Go for Partner skills assessment. I have the same background as him. I have a Bachelors degree in Info. Tech and the same masters degree as my husband so the chances are ACS will recognize my Masters as AQF Masters with Major in Computing? But I have only 2 years and 10 months total work experience in the same role as what my husband had ( Cisco India). If ACS has reduced 2 years from his work experience chances are they would do the same, so I will be left with just 10 months of Skilled work experience. Does the no of months / years of skilled work experience matter for claiming partner points ? or can we still claim 5 points if i complete skill assessment and IELTS?
> 
> Kindly throw some light on which path we should be taking . We are really confused right now. Really appreciate your time and support on this and looking forward to your thoughts / advice.
> 
> Regards,
> Janani


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fletchaman -

Yes! However sometimes 190 state sponsors like to choose people who only chose their state, etc..

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fletchaman said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I was just wondering whether you can apply for more than one typre of visa when you submit your EOI ie could I click on 186,189 190 and 457 to cover all aspects of visa i can apply for?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dee -

Hard to say anything specific without seeing all the evidence & documents - my guess is that you're right on the edge between OK and not OK - if you have a good reason why both names weren't on the lease, and if you can show other combined things (like all the bank statements with both of you at the same address since September, etc), it may be enough to put things over the line. Also would check into registering your relationship if you meet the requirements of the state you live in (if that states allows registration).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dee.itsalright said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Im about to lodge a Partner visa 820 next month. Although me and my boyfriend have been living together for 11 months (before the application will be lodged) we have never been on the lease.. We can only prove that through mails adressed at the same adress (both names on), a witnessing letter from our flatmate saying I moved in around Sep 2013 and our bank accounts showing the same adress..
> We also will have a new lease signed by August that we will attach but WILL THIS LOOK RIGHT FOR A SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION?
> 
> If its easier for you Ive started a thread on my profile which have all explained already...
> 
> Thanks heaps!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Supernano-

Thanks for the question. From my experience, no problem with colour scans (high quality) of original documents for online DIBP applications. Once in a while somebody will want to see the original of a police certificate, but other than that, extremely rare to be asked for an original as long as all the scans are high quality.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



supernano said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have seen a lot of different answers on this topic on different forums, so I thought it probably best to get the opinion of a MA.
> 
> I'm preparing my application for 186 Employer Nomination Direct Entry. I'll apply online, I have all my documents colour scanned from originals, but I'm not sure if I can upload those or if I still need to certify copies and rescan them.
> 
> I've read that colour scans are ok, but for other types of visas and I'm not sure if for the 186 it also applies. The website only says certified copies, so I'm a bit confused.
> 
> Any help appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amit -

Nothing like that has been released by NSW Skilled migration yet - it looks to be a mad dash for lodgements on 14 July since after 1,000 (or before that if your occupation quota is reached), no more will be accepted until the next round. Quite a stress to put a brand new system under, if you ask me...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amitsethiaustralia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to file my Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) for NSW. But from this year "Applications for 2014-15 will be lodged electronically through a new online system".
> Could you please share the procedure or any tutorial or any link where we can learn how to electronically lodged the applications for 2014-15.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> Amit.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thomasvo -

I would assume you can apply as many times as you wish re: NSW, although they have not published the rules/regs yet. Worth a close read once they're released.

Re: work experience payslips, that would likely be for DIBP - they may ask, they may not (since you are not claiming the experience for points, but it was used to qualify for the skills assessment). I'd have them ready, then send if/when requested. Usually payslips not required to be translated unless they ask.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thomasvo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding sponsorship by NSW. Their new online system will be introduced on the 14th of July and there will be 4 separate timeframes in which you can apply for sponsorship.
> Do you know if you can apply more than once (no in the same timeframe ofcourse)? For example I apply in july and I get rejected. Will I be able to apply in the next timeframe ?(which is in october or november I think)
> 
> Another question is regarding paperwork. I have a positive skill assessment from ACS but I can't claim any work experience (because of the deduction ACS does for the first few years). Will I need to provide payslips for that job? If so, do I need to get them translated and notarised?
> 
> Thanks!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mietsie -

You can do your health check at any DIBP approved medical facility - I recommend you don't do the check more than 3-4 weeks prior to lodging however. If you want to generate a HAP ID and referral letter to do them before you lodge, create an ImmiAccount, then "New Application", then choose "My Health Declarations".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mietsie said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you again for helping us with all our questions!
> 
> I have a question about the Medical Check.
> I will be lodging my Online 820 in August as soon as I arrive in Australia on a Visitor's visa.
> Can I already do my Health Check in South Africa? If yes, how do I go about it and would you suggest that it is a good idea?
> 
> Thank you very much.
> Kind regards
> Mietsie


----------



## Janani Hari

Thanks for your inputs Mark. Appreciate it.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Janani -
> 
> Thanks for the note and questions. Skilled visas (including skills assessor's own rules) are very complex - I can't sort out complicated points questions on the forum - would need to see you in a consultation and look over your documents and details to assist - see Northam & Associates - Professional Migration Consulting Session for more.
> 
> Generally speaking:
> 
> * There are separate points categories for work experience outside Australia and work experience inside Australia - they are evaluated separately. Less than 3 years outside while deemed as skilled means no points for work outside Australia. Note that you do get points after 1 year of work inside Australia. See points test for all the details.
> 
> * IELTS usually best way of increasing points
> 
> Hope this helps - can do more detailed analysis and suggestions at a consultation.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## rachelll_

*Medical Check Help!*

Hi Mark,

First I'd like to thank you for taking your time to help us all out! 

Quick question- I'm applying for the Partner visa 820 Onshore, and _was_ looking to do the Medical before I lodge the application.

I have just applied for the My Health Declarations number and have entered my Partner (who is an Australian citizen, but was born in UK with UK pasport) as my defacto 'Person 2,' it's now saying that he needs a medical check. (not sure I should have done this)

I did all this firstly not realising how expensive, and also how involved the medical is!

I just wanted to ask, if I ignore the My Health Declaration and wait till I have lodged the visa, will they still ask for a Medical Check later on down the line as if I never applied to the My Health Dec, or do I need to go through with it now, and do I need to have us both checked?

Thanks so much for your help!
Rachel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rachelll -

Thanks for the note. For a partner visa, only the applicant(s) needs the health check, which includes a health exam, chest x-ray and HIV blood test. The sponsor does not need a health check.

From what you said, I expect you may have entered information incorrectly into My Health Decl since it sounds like they are requesting a health exam for the sponsor. It's no problem waiting until you lodge to then do the health exams, in fact DIBP sometimes prefers it that way.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rachelll_ said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First I'd like to thank you for taking your time to help us all out!
> 
> Quick question- I'm applying for the Partner visa 820 Onshore, and _was_ looking to do the Medical before I lodge the application.
> 
> I have just applied for the My Health Declarations number and have entered my Partner (who is an Australian citizen, but was born in UK with UK pasport) as my defacto 'Person 2,' it's now saying that he needs a medical check. (not sure I should have done this)
> 
> I did all this firstly not realising how expensive, and also how involved the medical is!
> 
> I just wanted to ask, if I ignore the My Health Declaration and wait till I have lodged the visa, will they still ask for a Medical Check later on down the line as if I never applied to the My Health Dec, or do I need to go through with it now, and do I need to have us both checked?
> 
> Thanks so much for your help!
> Rachel


----------



## Mietsie

It helps a lot! Thank you very much Mark!

Have a great day!
Kind regards
Mietsie



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mietsie -
> 
> You can do your health check at any DIBP approved medical facility - I recommend you don't do the check more than 3-4 weeks prior to lodging however. If you want to generate a HAP ID and referral letter to do them before you lodge, create an ImmiAccount, then "New Application", then choose "My Health Declarations".
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Andrew90

Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot for your answer.
It's a great help, i'll look into 485 visa.
Thanks again. 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Andrew -
> 
> No such thing as a "guaranteed visa". They are referring to the new Post Study Work stream of the subclass 485 visa, but like every visa it has its own requirements. You can check out the requirements on the DIBP website - assuming you qualify for that stream, it's an excellent visa to get some work experience under!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## calviny3k

Hi Mark,

I have a couple of questions regarding renewing my student visa (subclass 573).

My student visa will be expiring on 15 March 2015 even though the course ends in December 2016. This is due to me transferring from one course to another. Hence, I am looking to renew in the next week since my partner is on his second working holiday visa (subclass 417) that is expiring in the end of 2014.

Though my partner's visa is considered as a qualifying visa to be under my visa as a student dependent (de facto relationship), the online application does not recognise him as eligible to be applied together. Therefore, I am forced to submit a paper application instead.

I personally would prefer to apply via online first since I don't need to submit as much paperwork and evidence as the paper application, then nominate my partner via form 919 (Nomination of Student Dependents).

Is that the right way to proceed even though my partner is currently in Australia? 

Also, my partner is a Dutch citizen, which is part of the Reciprocal Health Care Agreements. Do we still need to purchase OSHC or will the agreement cover it, even though he is just a student dependent? 

What kind of documents do we need to prove our de facto relationship? Does it still have a one-year requirement? We have registered our relationship and have the lease and some utility bills on both of our names. Do we need to gather statements from friends and families to provide a stronger case?

Thank you for taking your time to answer my question, Mark. We greatly appreciate it.

Best,
Kayley


----------



## syd

Student visa question

Hello Mark,

I am planning to apply for a student visa for a masters so that I can live with my Australian partner for a year and then apply for a partner visa. 

Is this a practical plan?

Secondly, how do I meet GTE if I made it clear in a recent visitors visa that my boyfriend lives here? 

He will also be providing accommodation and tuition.

Any advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated.


----------



## SWG

Hi Mark,
I was invited to apply for skilled worker visa, i lodged in my application and paid the fees a month ago, but haven't heard from then since then.
Today i logged to my IMMI account to see if there're any updates, it was my first time to see the list of documents with status "Recommended". I thought maybe i should upload some of them, i've upoloaded the passport and the skills assessment and Birth Certificate. But each document i uploaded, its status changed from "Recommended" to "Required" even though it shows the date of receiving the document today and the documents show in the attached documents.

Is there any action i should take from my side? And when they usually respond to visa applications? Should i provide any documents or any missing inputs from my side?

Your help is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance


----------



## thomasvo

Hi Mark,

I am currently waiting for NSW to start sponsoring people again. I have a question regarding the documents I need to submit for NSW.
Do I need to get some payslips and get them translated to add to my application for sponsorship?

Is it true that color scanned copies do not need to get certified?

How can I get them certified? Is that the famous apostille stamp? Or can I just ask a notary public to certify that its a real document?


----------



## channie14

Hi Mark,

I will try and keep this brief! 

I am currently living in the US with my US citizen husband. We are looking to apply for his partner visa so we can relocate to Australia to be closer to my family. We have been in a relationship since 2010 and married since 2013 and recently had our first child together. 

My husband has 2 children from a previous marriage and his ex wife is extremely difficult to deal with. We have already needed to get a court order to have her take his children to their panel medical examination when the time comes to do so. I recently found out that the children need to take Passports as identification to their medical exams, the children don't have Passports so we contacted their mother about thisand she is being uncooperative and refusing to obtain Passports for the children (we offered to organise and pay for them etc), so I fear that we are now going to need to go through the courts again to obtain an order to have her get the children Passports. 

All of these issues we continue to have just set back when we can lodge the visa application etc - it makes it even more difficult when we live in Kansas and his children live in Hawaii so we are unable to take the children to do what is necessary ourselves. 

To make the transition to Australia smoother we decided that I would return home to Australia to find employment and we would apply for the visa once we have everything in place ready to do so, but it may be many many months before everything is sorted out to the point where we are ready to put in my husband's partner application. 

Having my husband away from our infant son is far from ideal...my question to you is are there any options for us that would allow my husband to at least be in Australia with us while we sort everything out etc? I'm aware he wouldnt be able to work but it is better than him being away from our son for a long period of time. Do you have any suggestions or thoughts?

Appreciate any info you could provide! Thanks so much!


----------



## matandJezreel

*Same-sex couple 12 months Defacto*

Hi Mark

We are a same sex couple Philippines/Australia who have been in a defacto relationship for around 18 months, but have known one another for two years. In this time we have caught up with one another 3 times (in various locations throughout S/E Asia) for a total duration of around 2 and half months, and in our separation have well detailed emails, social media and skype that demonstrate a committed relationship to the exclusion of others.

We are concerned, and a bit confused about the meaning of 'defacto' in regards to 'living together and *not living together on permanent basis*'. We feel that we have strong reasons for not living together as a couple - which are ....The Australian in this relationship has *1) non-custodial care of 2 children from a previous relationship (the partner had died) and has cared for these children for a total of 12 years - letter from children's mum support this claim 2) A chronic medical condition that requires regular 3 month monitoring, and needs medications accessed through the PBS (aust gov) that would prove too costly if he lived off-shore 3) completing a PhD Study that requires Australian based research, and 4) is an Indigenous Australian who has deep spiritual connections to live on Country. *

We are considering our options of trying to work 'around' the 12 month 'living together' requirement - with the above reasons to support our claims. We are trying to avoid the Philippines partner to access a tourist visa (for the cost of flights, etc , and the loss of wages whilst here on that visa) - in order for us to register our relationship in the state of Victoria/city of Melbourne. 
if we could marry - we would have married months ago. But unfortunately current laws make that impossible.

I know that you may not give particular advice to our specific situation but we do need to get an overview of the challenges/successes we face. Should we risk this by doing this alone? Will a migration agent strengthen our claims? Is registering relationships successful in the eyes of the visa processes? 
Any advice and direction would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## jackonhill

Hi Mark

I have received an invitation to apply for Subclass 189 skilled independent visa.

I am willing to add my mother who is dependent on me and separated from my father (but not divorced).

While I do not have a proof of my mother and father's legal separation, I can have them write a joint declaration stating that they live separately and my mother is dependent on me since more than 3 years.

Does having my friends and relatives write a statutory declaration of my parents being separated help to substantiate my claim?

Does the declaration have to be written by someone in Australia? (I can hardly think of anyone)

Is it true that Stat Dec written in Australia is stronger than ones written from High Risk countries (i.e. India)?

Appreciate your co-operation.

Regards


----------



## dipiksg82

Hi Mark, 

In you opinion in how many does SOUTH AUSTRALIA give a decision on state nomination application. 

I emailed them about the status they said the documents are clear and legible but didn't five mean time line as to when they would give a decision on the same. 

Secondly, have come across any such instances where state nomination has been declined by SA. I used the checklist ontheir website and have uploaded all relevant documents? 

Regards, 

DIPI


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kayley -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you include him in the application vs. add on later, as new regulations are very strict if a dependent is not declared on an application and is later added. Generally speaking 12 months living together would be enough to satisfy them along with any other relationship evidence, however how effective relationship evidence is varies on a case by case basis. The registered relationship regulation to satisfy the 12 month living together requirements is in place for student visas as well as partner and other visas. Re: relationship evidence, you might want to look at the Partner Visa Booklet #1 published by DIBP for further ideas on evidence, or have a look at any of the excellent threads on this forum on that topic.

Normally reciprocal healthcare agreement will work, however these agreements are different in each country - there are different levels of reciprocal coverage.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



calviny3k said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a couple of questions regarding renewing my student visa (subclass 573).
> 
> My student visa will be expiring on 15 March 2015 even though the course ends in December 2016. This is due to me transferring from one course to another. Hence, I am looking to renew in the next week since my partner is on his second working holiday visa (subclass 417) that is expiring in the end of 2014.
> 
> Though my partner's visa is considered as a qualifying visa to be under my visa as a student dependent (de facto relationship), the online application does not recognise him as eligible to be applied together. Therefore, I am forced to submit a paper application instead.
> 
> I personally would prefer to apply via online first since I don't need to submit as much paperwork and evidence as the paper application, then nominate my partner via form 919 (Nomination of Student Dependents).
> 
> Is that the right way to proceed even though my partner is currently in Australia?
> 
> Also, my partner is a Dutch citizen, which is part of the Reciprocal Health Care Agreements. Do we still need to purchase OSHC or will the agreement cover it, even though he is just a student dependent?
> 
> What kind of documents do we need to prove our de facto relationship? Does it still have a one-year requirement? We have registered our relationship and have the lease and some utility bills on both of our names. Do we need to gather statements from friends and families to provide a stronger case?
> 
> Thank you for taking your time to answer my question, Mark. We greatly appreciate it.
> 
> Best,
> Kayley


----------



## Guddy

Hi Mark,
A friend is a Dentist and wish to nominate an occupation using either Dental Hygienist or Dental Therapist as he has been working in this field before and after graduation as a Dentist. He have done the related courses during his study towards Dentistry.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Syd -

Very tricky situation - best thing to do is to carefully study the GTE (genuine temporary entrant) criteria and present detailed facts and evidence that demonstrates that you have a legitimate reason to study in Australia. Also keep in mind that if you do not declare the defacto relationship when you apply for the student visa, you may have difficulty in claiming that that relationship existed at that time (ie, when the student visa application was lodged) when you later lodge a partner visa application. Not sure what the larger plan is re: dates/timeframe, but something to keep in mind.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



syd said:


> Student visa question
> 
> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am planning to apply for a student visa for a masters so that I can live with my Australian partner for a year and then apply for a partner visa.
> 
> Is this a practical plan?
> 
> Secondly, how do I meet GTE if I made it clear in a recent visitors visa that my boyfriend lives here?
> 
> He will also be providing accommodation and tuition.
> 
> Any advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SWG -

Thanks for the note. The document list on the IMMI account page can sometimes be inaccurate - if you're not using an agent, would suggest you consult the Document Checklist on the IMMI site for your visa subclass and make sure you've lodged everything that is required.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SWG said:


> Hi Mark,
> I was invited to apply for skilled worker visa, i lodged in my application and paid the fees a month ago, but haven't heard from then since then.
> Today i logged to my IMMI account to see if there're any updates, it was my first time to see the list of documents with status "Recommended". I thought maybe i should upload some of them, i've upoloaded the passport and the skills assessment and Birth Certificate. But each document i uploaded, its status changed from "Recommended" to "Required" even though it shows the date of receiving the document today and the documents show in the attached documents.
> 
> Is there any action i should take from my side? And when they usually respond to visa applications? Should i provide any documents or any missing inputs from my side?
> 
> Your help is much appreciated.
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thomasavo -

DIBP will usually require payslips, usually not for states - waiting for final details to be announced from NSW on Monday 14 July. Generally high quality colour scans of originals are find for DIBP and state, but again - consult each state's rules as they can be different in some areas. Certified copies are done by whatever legal authority (JP, notary, etc) in your country is legally authorised to do so. Generally apostiile stamp not necessary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thomasvo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently waiting for NSW to start sponsoring people again. I have a question regarding the documents I need to submit for NSW.
> Do I need to get some payslips and get them translated to add to my application for sponsorship?
> 
> Is it true that color scanned copies do not need to get certified?
> 
> How can I get them certified? Is that the famous apostille stamp? Or can I just ask a notary public to certify that its a real document?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Channie14 -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the issues with the ex. Generally an ETA visitor visa is what US citizens use for visits to Australia - I see no reason why that wouldn't work in this case from what you've said. They can be applied for online, easy to get, usually granted on the spot.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



channie14 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I will try and keep this brief!
> 
> I am currently living in the US with my US citizen husband. We are looking to apply for his partner visa so we can relocate to Australia to be closer to my family. We have been in a relationship since 2010 and married since 2013 and recently had our first child together.
> 
> My husband has 2 children from a previous marriage and his ex wife is extremely difficult to deal with. We have already needed to get a court order to have her take his children to their panel medical examination when the time comes to do so. I recently found out that the children need to take Passports as identification to their medical exams, the children don't have Passports so we contacted their mother about thisand she is being uncooperative and refusing to obtain Passports for the children (we offered to organise and pay for them etc), so I fear that we are now going to need to go through the courts again to obtain an order to have her get the children Passports.
> 
> All of these issues we continue to have just set back when we can lodge the visa application etc - it makes it even more difficult when we live in Kansas and his children live in Hawaii so we are unable to take the children to do what is necessary ourselves.
> 
> To make the transition to Australia smoother we decided that I would return home to Australia to find employment and we would apply for the visa once we have everything in place ready to do so, but it may be many many months before everything is sorted out to the point where we are ready to put in my husband's partner application.
> 
> Having my husband away from our infant son is far from ideal...my question to you is are there any options for us that would allow my husband to at least be in Australia with us while we sort everything out etc? I'm aware he wouldnt be able to work but it is better than him being away from our son for a long period of time. Do you have any suggestions or thoughts?
> 
> Appreciate any info you could provide! Thanks so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MatandJezreel -

Thanks for the note. If you are going to claim compelling reasons for not living together for the 12 month period prior to applying, you may want to consider getting professional assistance from a registered migration agent as this area can be tricky and DIBP sets the bar very high for this. Have copied the relevant policy from DIBP below FYI - hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam

_6.2 'Compelling and compassionate circumstances'

The 12 month minimum relationship period that regulation 2.03A(3) imposes on applicants for the visas listed in regulation 2.03A(3)(a) applies to visa applicants who have been found to be in a de facto relationship, unless the applicant can establish 'compelling and compassionate circumstances' for granting the visa.
'Compelling and compassionate' is a high threshold as the applicant's specific circumstances must be both compelling and compassionate. In all cases, the applicant should be given an opportunity to present a case as to why the s65 delegate should not apply this prescribed 12 month minimum relationship period.
As neither 'compelling' nor 'compassionate' is defined in the Act or Regulations, they take their ordinary dictionary meaning. Under policy, compelling and compassionate circumstances may include but are not limited to cases where:

the applicant has a dependent child of the relationship or
de facto relationships are illegal in the country in which one or both the couple reside or
a same sex couple has married, either overseas or in Australia (currently, however, only the ACT allows same sex couples to marry in Australia). In these cases, the couple is prevented from registering their relationship under a prescribed State/Territory law.
Cases where the sponsor or applicant is pregnant at the time the application is made are not considered to meet the 'compelling and compassionate' criteria. However, bearing in mind officers' obligation under s54 requirement to examine all of the circumstances relating to an application, there may be exceptional or unique circumstances relating to the pregnancy that may be 'compelling and compassionate' as to justify the grant of the visa.
Note:

The genuineness of the a de facto relationship does not, in itself, constitute 'compelling and compassionate circumstances' to meet the regulation 2.03A(3) threshold. Given that regulation 2.03A prescribes additional criteria that must be considered only after the applicant has satisfied the s5CB requirements of de facto partner/relationship, all applicants to whom regulation 2.03A applies are taken to be in a genuine de facto relationship.
Irrespective of any 'compelling and compassionate' situation, however, the minimum age requirement must still be met at time of visa application. This is because the age requirement is a separate legal requirement under regulation 2.03A(2)._



matandJezreel said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> We are a same sex couple Philippines/Australia who have been in a defacto relationship for around 18 months, but have known one another for two years. In this time we have caught up with one another 3 times (in various locations throughout S/E Asia) for a total duration of around 2 and half months, and in our separation have well detailed emails, social media and skype that demonstrate a committed relationship to the exclusion of others.
> 
> We are concerned, and a bit confused about the meaning of 'defacto' in regards to 'living together and *not living together on permanent basis*'. We feel that we have strong reasons for not living together as a couple - which are ....The Australian in this relationship has *1) non-custodial care of 2 children from a previous relationship (the partner had died) and has cared for these children for a total of 12 years - letter from children's mum support this claim 2) A chronic medical condition that requires regular 3 month monitoring, and needs medications accessed through the PBS (aust gov) that would prove too costly if he lived off-shore 3) completing a PhD Study that requires Australian based research, and 4) is an Indigenous Australian who has deep spiritual connections to live on Country. *
> 
> We are considering our options of trying to work 'around' the 12 month 'living together' requirement - with the above reasons to support our claims. We are trying to avoid the Philippines partner to access a tourist visa (for the cost of flights, etc , and the loss of wages whilst here on that visa) - in order for us to register our relationship in the state of Victoria/city of Melbourne.
> if we could marry - we would have married months ago. But unfortunately current laws make that impossible.
> 
> I know that you may not give particular advice to our specific situation but we do need to get an overview of the challenges/successes we face. Should we risk this by doing this alone? Will a migration agent strengthen our claims? Is registering relationships successful in the eyes of the visa processes?
> Any advice and direction would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Guddy

Hi Mark,
A friend is a Dentist and wish to nominate an occupation using either Dental Hygienist or Dental Therapist as he has been working in this field before and after graduation as a Dentist. He have done the related courses during his study towards Dentistry.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jackonhill -

Thanks for the question. You've got a big challenge in that the requirement for a secondary applicant for a 189 requires that the person be a "member of the family unit", and disallows a person who "has a spouse" from being a dependent. You then get into the legal minutia of arguing whether a person who is legally separated according to the laws of your country (and perhaps according to the laws of Australia as well) "has a spouse" or not. Suggest you get professional help with that argument, or do some legal research into what exactly constitutes the ceasing of a spousal relationship. The statements you suggest may work, but remember there are 2 separate arguments you need to make here: 1) that she legally does not "have a spouse", and 2) that she is dependent on you per the legal requirements of dependency per immigration regulations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jackonhill said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have received an invitation to apply for Subclass 189 skilled independent visa.
> 
> I am willing to add my mother who is dependent on me and separated from my father (but not divorced).
> 
> While I do not have a proof of my mother and father's legal separation, I can have them write a joint declaration stating that they live separately and my mother is dependent on me since more than 3 years.
> 
> Does having my friends and relatives write a statutory declaration of my parents being separated help to substantiate my claim?
> 
> Does the declaration have to be written by someone in Australia? (I can hardly think of anyone)
> 
> Is it true that Stat Dec written in Australia is stronger than ones written from High Risk countries (i.e. India)?
> 
> Appreciate your co-operation.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dipiksg82 -

Hard to predict - often a matter of weeks, sometimes months, until there is a time limit put on these states, they can legally take all the time they want. Re: nonpublished assessment criteria, that's another issue - just because you meet all the published criteria in some instances doesn't mean you will be sponsored - I have heard about all kinds of "unpublished" criteria ranging from per-country quotas, preferring people who have worked at larger companies vs smaller companies, etc. Again, the states the have the flexibility to add this and not publish it as they like - best thing to do is to carefully read the requirements and meet them all, and then hope for the best. The states, like DIBP, seem to believe that the grant of an Australian visa (or sponsorship for one) is a privilege, not a right...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dipiksg82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> In you opinion in how many does SOUTH AUSTRALIA give a decision on state nomination application.
> 
> I emailed them about the status they said the documents are clear and legible but didn't five mean time line as to when they would give a decision on the same.
> 
> Secondly, have come across any such instances where state nomination has been declined by SA. I used the checklist ontheir website and have uploaded all relevant documents?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> DIPI


----------



## jackonhill

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jackonhill -
> 
> Thanks for the question. You've got a big challenge in that the requirement for a secondary applicant for a 189 requires that the person be a "member of the family unit", and disallows a person who "has a spouse" from being a dependent. You then get into the legal minutia of arguing whether a person who is legally separated according to the laws of your country (and perhaps according to the laws of Australia as well) "has a spouse" or not. Suggest you get professional help with that argument, or do some legal research into what exactly constitutes the ceasing of a spousal relationship. The statements you suggest may work, but remember there are 2 separate arguments you need to make here: 1) that she legally does not "have a spouse", and 2) that she is dependent on you per the legal requirements of dependency per immigration regulations.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for your response!

Just in general, would a declaration from an Australian resident be relied upon more than the one from an individual from a high risk country ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Not that simple - the relationship of the writer to the person being written about would be very important, both in terms of the motivation to be truthful and objective, and whether the writer would truly be in a position to judge/assess/observe what he or she is writing about. I suppose with some case officers in some cases an Australian citizen/PR's statement might be viewed with increased confidence, but that's only one among many factors.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jackonhill said:


> Thank you Mark for your response!
> 
> Just in general, would a declaration from an Australian resident be relied upon more than the one from an individual from a high risk country ?


----------



## HigglePiggle

Hi Mark 

Apologies if this question has already been asked but I've been searching for some time now without finding and answer.

We are a UK family currently in the process of applying for the 189 visa but have just realised that we only have 8.5 years of proof of addresses. Cant beleve we don't have more! It is my understanding that you needed 10 years. Will this screw everything up for us do you know? Are we gong to have to wait for a further 1.5 years before lodging?

Also, just to confirm, you only need bank statements and proof of employment for the years that you are claiming don't you? I don't again need 10 years of proof if I am only claiming 3?

Many thanks, 

HP


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HigglePiggle -

Thanks for the questions - you don't actually need any proof of address - you'll be asked to provide an address history on Form 80, but no evidence is required (ie mail, leases, documents) to support that. For the relationship evidence (of marriage, etc) you may want to put in some leases and things to show that you are and have been living together, but again, no 10 year requirement or anything like that for that. Re: bank statements/proof of employment pay, you're correct - you normally would only be asked for that evidence for employment you are claiming for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HigglePiggle said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Apologies if this question has already been asked but I've been searching for some time now without finding and answer.
> 
> We are a UK family currently in the process of applying for the 189 visa but have just realised that we only have 8.5 years of proof of addresses. Cant beleve we don't have more! It is my understanding that you needed 10 years. Will this screw everything up for us do you know? Are we gong to have to wait for a further 1.5 years before lodging?
> 
> Also, just to confirm, you only need bank statements and proof of employment for the years that you are claiming don't you? I don't again need 10 years of proof if I am only claiming 3?
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> HP


----------



## SWG

MarkNortham said:


> Hi SWG -
> 
> Thanks for the note. The document list on the IMMI account page can sometimes be inaccurate - if you're not using an agent, would suggest you consult the Document Checklist on the IMMI site for your visa subclass and make sure you've lodged everything that is required.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your prompt response. Surprisingly, It's now changed to Received instead of required.
I do have a small inquiry still, i have submitted my application a month ago, and so far i didn't get any feedback. But i just started submitting papers 2 days ago (Qualification, Work Experience.. etc) is this the reason behind the delay? Do i have to submit all papers or case officer will ask me if he has any missing inputs?
I'm just worried because so far i didn't get any feedback since i submitted my application. And need to make sure i'm on the right track with no missing inputs from my side.
Thanks for your support


----------



## sherine

Hi Mark, 

Both my husband and myself have positive skill assessments and are eligible to apply for NSW state sponsorship under 190 Permanent visa category. My husband has only 55 points while I have 65 points (excluding the 5 points offer by the state). But, I'd like my husband to be the main applicant for NSW.

My question is, for 190 Permanent visa do they give priority for the applicants who have highest points? Or they just consider the minimum required points (55)? 
Who you think should apply in this case? 

Highly appreciate your assistance.


----------



## punter_chin

Hi Mark, 

Just checked and found out that the NSW updated SOL is now out. The points cut off has been kept at 60(Including the points for state nomination).

I would like to proceed with my application by first completing the skills assessment. Now, I am a CIMA (chartered institute of management accountants) member and will be applying under the Management Accountant Occupation to the CPA Australia. Prior to completing CIMA, I had completed my graduation in Computer Science which is a completely different area of study from Accounting. My question is, will I still get a positive skills assessment from CPA Australia. How many points can I expect to get.

Thanks and regards,
Chinmay


----------



## Ninja69

Good day Mark! 

Do I need health check/ police clearances of my non migrating family memebers attached to my Partner. Visa 820 ( Defacto) application? 

Q: Does the applicant have any family members not included in this application?

Answer: YES 

Thank you in advance for your help,
Cheers , 
Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SWG -

Normally you would get an email shortly after the application is lodged (ie, minutes) acknowledging the online application assuming you gave DIBP permission to contact you by email and listed your correct email address. Delaying the uploads normally would not result in that kind of delay of notification. I'd print out your application (you can login to Immi acct, click on your application, then click the link to display or show it) and go over the communications options very carefully to make sure you didn't mistype your email address, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SWG said:


> Thanks for your prompt response. Surprisingly, It's now changed to Received instead of required.
> I do have a small inquiry still, i have submitted my application a month ago, and so far i didn't get any feedback. But i just started submitting papers 2 days ago (Qualification, Work Experience.. etc) is this the reason behind the delay? Do i have to submit all papers or case officer will ask me if he has any missing inputs?
> I'm just worried because so far i didn't get any feedback since i submitted my application. And need to make sure i'm on the right track with no missing inputs from my side.
> Thanks for your support


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sherine -

Thanks for the question. It's unclear at this point whether NSW gives priority to those with points scores higher than 55 points - the new rules will be released tomorrow (14 July) and it's definitely worth checking out. If you are both eligible and are sure you have evidence to justify the points you are claiming, probably would be better to have the higher scoring partner be the primary applicant, but again, no direct evidence of that. The new NSW system seems to be a system that is based on how fast you lodge your application rather than any other factor, as any valid application of 55 points or higher qualifies for one of the places they allocate for each occupation. But once the places are filled for each occupation (or 1,000 applications in total are lodged, whichever comes first apparently), they close the round of applications and you'd have to wait for the next quarterly round.

As I'm telling our clients, I'd jump on the NSW system and apply at 12:01am on Monday Australia time (12 hours & 21 minutes from now), after having your EOI ready to go.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sherine said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Both my husband and myself have positive skill assessments and are eligible to apply for NSW state sponsorship under 190 Permanent visa category. My husband has only 55 points while I have 65 points (excluding the 5 points offer by the state). But, I'd like my husband to be the main applicant for NSW.
> 
> My question is, for 190 Permanent visa do they give priority for the applicants who have highest points? Or they just consider the minimum required points (55)?
> Who you think should apply in this case?
> 
> Highly appreciate your assistance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Punter_chin -

Thanks for the note. FYI NSW cannot change points cutoff - that's DIBP migration regulations. One skills assessment would not have an effect on a different one, so just having an assessment from one (make sure you have a full skills assessment!) would not prevent you from getting a different skills assessment if you also qualify for that other occupation. Re: points, no way to tell - points test is based on age, work exp, quals, etc. A skills assessment is required to apply for a skilled visa, but you don't specifically get points just for having a skills assessment, just like you don't get points for only having IELTS 6's on all bands - it's a minimum requirement, but doesn't add points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just checked and found out that the NSW updated SOL is now out. The points cut off has been kept at 60(Including the points for state nomination).
> 
> I would like to proceed with my application by first completing the skills assessment. Now, I am a CIMA (chartered institute of management accountants) member and will be applying under the Management Accountant Occupation to the CPA Australia. Prior to completing CIMA, I had completed my graduation in Computer Science which is a completely different area of study from Accounting. My question is, will I still get a positive skills assessment from CPA Australia. How many points can I expect to get.
> 
> Thanks and regards,
> Chinmay


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

You do need health/police for *dependents* not included as migrating - for example, children from a previous relationship who are not included in the application. However, non-dependent family members who are not migrating such as parents, siblings, etc do not require health/police.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Good day Mark!
> 
> Do I need health check/ police clearances of my non migrating family memebers attached to my Partner. Visa 820 ( Defacto) application?
> 
> Q: Does the applicant have any family members not included in this application?
> 
> Answer: YES
> 
> Thank you in advance for your help,
> Cheers ,
> Ninja 69


----------



## Ninja69

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ninja69 -
> 
> You do need health/police for *dependents* not included as migrating - for example, children from a previous relationship who are not included in the application. However, non-dependent family members who are not migrating such as parents, siblings, etc do not require health/police.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark! &#128515;


----------



## Ninja69

I forgot to ask you. Both my girls are living in Philippines, eldest 19 and second daughter 16. What kind of health check do they need to provide? Like x ray? Blood test? 

Thank you in advance,
Cheers! 
Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

For PR visa, must be at DIBP approved medical facility (see list on DIBP site), and would include health check, chest x-ray and HIV blood test.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> I forgot to ask you. Both my girls are living in Philippines, eldest 19 and second daughter 16. What kind of health check do they need to provide? Like x ray? Blood test?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Cheers!
> Ninja 69


----------



## Ninja69

Thank you. Mark. I am applying Temporary Partner. Visa 820 ( Defacto)


----------



## CollegeGirl

Ninja69 said:


> Thank you. Mark. I am applying Temporary Partner. Visa 820 ( Defacto)


That is still considered applying for a permanent visa. When you apply for the 820, you are in actuality applying for the 801 at the same time. You are just "reassessed" for the 801 two years after you apply for the 820 - it's not a second application.


----------



## SWG

Hello Mark,
I've already received the acknowledgment after submitting my application, but i haven't heard anything afterwards. (i made sure once more that my email is entered correctly)

On a separate note, i was going through the application and found this question:
"Has the applicant been employed overseas in their nominated occupation or a closely related occupation at a skilled level immediately before lodging this application?"

I'm not sure of this question, i found my answer is No.But reading it now, i guess it meant if i've been wokring -while submitting this application - in the nominated application in my Country. Is this what the question means? Because i'm working in in the nominated application in my Country.

If this's what the question meant, is there a way to modify my answer? I'm not sure if this's what the question meant or not.

Also, shall i go ahead and upload all the documents needed now to avoid any delays or what?

Thank in advance for your help.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi SWG -
> 
> Normally you would get an email shortly after the application is lodged (ie, minutes) acknowledging the online application assuming you gave DIBP permission to contact you by email and listed your correct email address. Delaying the uploads normally would not result in that kind of delay of notification. I'd print out your application (you can login to Immi acct, click on your application, then click the link to display or show it) and go over the communications options very carefully to make sure you didn't mistype your email address, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SWG -

Yes, do upload your docs ASAP - that's supposed to be done immediately after you lodge & pay. Re: the question, it's nominated "occupation" - meaning the job you are working at. If so, then you should correct the answer - you can write a note and upload it, or use Form 1023, then scan & upload.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SWG said:


> Hello Mark,
> I've already received the acknowledgment after submitting my application, but i haven't heard anything afterwards. (i made sure once more that my email is entered correctly)
> 
> On a separate note, i was going through the application and found this question:
> "Has the applicant been employed overseas in their nominated occupation or a closely related occupation at a skilled level immediately before lodging this application?"
> 
> I'm not sure of this question, i found my answer is No.But reading it now, i guess it meant if i've been wokring -while submitting this application - in the nominated application in my Country. Is this what the question means? Because i'm working in in the nominated application in my Country.
> 
> If this's what the question meant, is there a way to modify my answer? I'm not sure if this's what the question meant or not.
> 
> Also, shall i go ahead and upload all the documents needed now to avoid any delays or what?
> 
> Thank in advance for your help.


----------



## jspecc

Hi Mark.

What if someone did get married whilst waiting on the approval for their 820 partnership visa ?
Does this change the application status or strengthen the current application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jspecc -

My view is that it would be seen as further evidence of a genuine relationship and evidence re: the marriage (ie, marriage certificate and evidence from the wedding & reception if this is applicable) should be added to the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jspecc said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> What if someone did get married whilst waiting on the approval for their 820 partnership visa ?
> Does this change the application status or strengthen the current application?


----------



## jspecc

Much appreciated Mark.


----------



## SWG

MarkNortham said:


> Hi SWG -
> 
> Yes, do upload your docs ASAP - that's supposed to be done immediately after you lodge & pay. Re: the question, it's nominated "occupation" - meaning the job you are working at. If so, then you should correct the answer - you can write a note and upload it, or use Form 1023, then scan & upload.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your continuous help and support Mark, much appreciated.

For the correction of the question answer:
-Where can I write a note and upload it?
- as an alternative solution, Shall I wait to be assigned a CO then tell him to correct it? Or it's better to correct it before it's assigned

Waiting your kind feedback 
Thanks again for your help


----------



## Depressedfish

Hi Mark,

I am planning to apply for the 190 visa (NSW nomination) and got 2 questions:

1 - I know I need to stay in NSW for the first 2 years. But if I arrive in Australia first to activate the visa and come back a while later (~1-2 years later), would I be in breach of the visa condition? (The question is do the 2 year restriction begin when you activate the visa or when you settle in Australia)

2 - Is the IELTS result valid for use if I am planning to ask for remark? I got 7.5 in writing so I want to use the certified copy for skilled assessment (which only needs 7 across 4 category) while I send the original form back for remark and hope writing get upgraded to 8 to claim the extra 10 points, is that allowed?


----------



## jspecc

If the applicant for a 820 gets employment whilst on the Bva is this helping the chances for success ?

thanks in advance


----------



## CollegeGirl

No, that would have no effect on the immigration application unless they were already concerned you and your partner would be unable to support yourselves. The application is deciding the genuineness of your relationship.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SWG -

You can upload it along with your other docs after you lodge & pay - I am assuming you are lodging your application online via ImmiAccount? If not, then I'd wait until you are contacted and enquire with your case officer via email as to the best way to make the correction. Alternatively you could complete Form 1023 and send it to the same place you lodged your application if you lodged a paper application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SWG said:


> Thanks for your continuous help and support Mark, much appreciated.
> 
> For the correction of the question answer:
> -Where can I write a note and upload it?
> - as an alternative solution, Shall I wait to be assigned a CO then tell him to correct it? Or it's better to correct it before it's assigned
> 
> Waiting your kind feedback
> Thanks again for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depressedfish -

NSW new rules state the 2 year commitment starts on the "date of your arrival in Australia". While this is not a condition of your visa from the point of view of the immigration department (bet NSW wishes it was!), it is an element of the contractual agreement you make with NSW by applying for and accepting their sponsorship, so you'd have to work that out with NSW. Personally I do not believe they would approve it, since the numbers for occupations are based on current needs, not anticipated needs years down the road. Plus, if they allowed people to let years go by before they arrive, not sure that would be fair to people who are ready to move now but are unable to apply because a spot was taken by someone who wants to delay for years.

Re: IELTS remark - you can lodge an EOI with your initial score, however if you get an invitation based on that, your EOI is locked at that moment and you would not be able to increase the score - then again, if you already have an invitation, no point in increasing the IELTS score. Not sure if NSW will allow increases to IELTS during the period they are processing your application (estimated to be 3 months) - if they follow the DIBP model, probably not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Depressedfish said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to apply for the 190 visa (NSW nomination) and got 2 questions:
> 
> 1 - I know I need to stay in NSW for the first 2 years. But if I arrive in Australia first to activate the visa and come back a while later (~1-2 years later), would I be in breach of the visa condition? (The question is do the 2 year restriction begin when you activate the visa or when you settle in Australia)
> 
> 2 - Is the IELTS result valid for use if I am planning to ask for remark? I got 7.5 in writing so I want to use the certified copy for skilled assessment (which only needs 7 across 4 category) while I send the original form back for remark and hope writing get upgraded to 8 to claim the extra 10 points, is that allowed?


----------



## Depressedfish

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Depressedfish -
> 
> NSW new rules state the 2 year commitment starts on the "date of your arrival in Australia". While this is not a condition of your visa from the point of view of the immigration department (bet NSW wishes it was!), it is an element of the contractual agreement you make with NSW by applying for and accepting their sponsorship, so you'd have to work that out with NSW. Personally I do not believe they would approve it, since the numbers for occupations are based on current needs, not anticipated needs years down the road. Plus, if they allowed people to let years go by before they arrive, not sure that would be fair to people who are ready to move now but are unable to apply because a spot was taken by someone who wants to delay for years.
> 
> Re: IELTS remark - you can lodge an EOI with your initial score, however if you get an invitation based on that, your EOI is locked at that moment and you would not be able to increase the score - then again, if you already have an invitation, no point in increasing the IELTS score. Not sure if NSW will allow increases to IELTS during the period they are processing your application (estimated to be 3 months) - if they follow the DIBP model, probably not.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, thanks for the quick reply, can't believe you visit the forum on a Sunday evening!

I will plan and make sure I meet the 2 year requirement. It is probably about 6 month to 1 year before I settle in Australia and chances are the visa process will take that long anyway.

If it really drags on I will make sure I don't go to Australia after visa grant until I am ready (subject to initial entry date). In some way I feel the 190 visa is a downgrade from a special category visa.

Main reason I want to apply for a remark in IELTS is if I get upgraded, I can apply for 189 instead. I am not sure what my chances are in even submitting for a NSW nomination for round 1 because I still need to get my skilled assessment done, even though it is only a formality but my occupation might be closed by the time I got the skill assessment complete.


----------



## SWG

MarkNortham said:


> Hi SWG -
> 
> You can upload it along with your other docs after you lodge & pay - I am assuming you are lodging your application online via ImmiAccount? If not, then I'd wait until you are contacted and enquire with your case officer via email as to the best way to make the correction. Alternatively you could complete Form 1023 and send it to the same place you lodged your application if you lodged a paper application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Yes I lodged my application and paid through IMMI account. But as you know, applying documents require a certain category. Do you think it's better to wait till I'm assigned a CO or fill form 1023? Which is better?
And if I used form 1023, how can I send it? It doesn't show anywhere how I can submit it.


----------



## sharyny

HI Mark, we applied for the 309/100 visa - we live in the US right now and have been married for 7 years with 2 kids ....
I'm the one sponsoring my husband, our kids are aussie citizens by descent.
does he have to put in anywhere what job he has now?
he's planning on applying for work once we arrive in australia - be it a whole new job meaning something he's done years ago or something related to what he is doing now.
we've uploaded all the evidence we have, witness declarations etc plus his medical is done and waiting on the FBI check to come thru (i was told 3 weeks) and its nearly been that.
we haven't been assigned a CO yet but the money has been withdrawn - we applied via the Immi Account online and haven't heard anything from anyone (we applied july 1st this year) .....

thankyou in advance for any advice ...
Sharyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SWG -

There is a category for Form 1023 so I'd use that one - probably better to use Form 1023 in this case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SWG said:


> Yes I lodged my application and paid through IMMI account. But as you know, applying documents require a certain category. Do you think it's better to wait till I'm assigned a CO or fill form 1023? Which is better?
> And if I used form 1023, how can I send it? It doesn't show anywhere how I can submit it.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sharyny -

Normally you'll get an email after you lodge & pay acknowledging receipt of an application, however this doesn't always happen. Do double check you put the correct email address in when you completed your application - you can login to ImmiAccount and print out your application if you'd like to check.

Re: Applicant's employment for 309/100, not really a factor, although you may be asked to do a Form 80 for the application which will require complete employment history.

These days visas are often worked on by teams, vs individual officers, and partner visas can take 9-12 months to process. DIBP does not routinely notify a person when they have been assigned to a team or case officer - it's all a matter of waiting.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sharyny said:


> HI Mark, we applied for the 309/100 visa - we live in the US right now and have been married for 7 years with 2 kids ....
> I'm the one sponsoring my husband, our kids are aussie citizens by descent.
> does he have to put in anywhere what job he has now?
> he's planning on applying for work once we arrive in australia - be it a whole new job meaning something he's done years ago or something related to what he is doing now.
> we've uploaded all the evidence we have, witness declarations etc plus his medical is done and waiting on the FBI check to come thru (i was told 3 weeks) and its nearly been that.
> we haven't been assigned a CO yet but the money has been withdrawn - we applied via the Immi Account online and haven't heard anything from anyone (we applied july 1st this year) .....
> 
> thankyou in advance for any advice ...
> Sharyn


----------



## humi

Hi Mark
Apologies if this has been asked before, as I am unable to find the solution of this problem.
We (family of five, me - wife - 3 kids) received our permanent visas on 8th July. Visa details of secondary applicants are all available on VEVO, but when I enter my (Main Applicant) details on VEVO an error message appeared. I called twice on 131 881 and an officer gave me a password, even then I received the same error message. I already sent an e-mail to my CO but no response yet. Could you please guide me what should I do? Should I go for the visa label? I am an offshore visa holder from a high risk country, so I don't want to take any risk on the air port. 
Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Humi -

All you can do is talk to DIBP, however if you'd like I will try to run a VEVO for you from the migration agent interface - it's different than the consumer interface and might work - please contact me directly with your name, date of birth, passport no and passport country - you can find my contact details on our website listed below in my signature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



humi said:


> Hi Mark
> Apologies if this has been asked before, as I am unable to find the solution of this problem.
> We (family of five, me - wife - 3 kids) received our permanent visas on 8th July. Visa details of secondary applicants are all available on VEVO, but when I enter my (Main Applicant) details on VEVO an error message appeared. I called twice on 131 881 and an officer gave me a password, even then I received the same error message. I already sent an e-mail to my CO but no response yet. Could you please guide me what should I do? Should I go for the visa label? I am an offshore visa holder from a high risk country, so I don't want to take any risk on the air port.
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## humi

Dear Mark,
Thank you very much for the positive and prompt reply. I just sent you an e-mail, kindly check it and reply me at your convenience.

Thank you very much again.


----------



## Depressedfish

Hi Mark,

Just to provide an update, I contacted the IELTS centre and they actually said the IELTS result will be frozen and not valid during a remark, won't matter for me because of the NSW situation, but just a heads up in case any of your clients ask the same question.

Thanks for the help, not sure whether you remember but you really helped out a few months ago about my girlfriend's application.

Just one more question - in general do you have many clients applying for Australian PR visas using NZ passport? The reason I ask is I am thinking about giving up since I spend hundreds of dollars so far and I am still missing 5 points due to not being able to apply for the NSW state sponsorship, not sure whether I should keep pouring money to continue trying to get PR or just come over to Australia and stay indefinitely on a SCV instead.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depressedfish -

That's very interesting re: IELTS result "not valid" during remark - that's the first I've heard of that policy!

Glad I was able to help with your girlfriend's application! Re: NZ, we have a regular number of NZ passport holders who apply for Australian PR, both for skilled visas and for employer sponsored PR through the ENS and RSMS visas. Main draw seems to be the benefits of permanent residency and eventual citizenship. Also, for some they are concerned about the nasty character regulations on the NZ SCV (444) visa where if you are deemed a "Behavioral Concern Non Citizen", you essentially lose the right to get a 444 for life and have to find another visa to apply for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Depressedfish said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just to provide an update, I contacted the IELTS centre and they actually said the IELTS result will be frozen and not valid during a remark, won't matter for me because of the NSW situation, but just a heads up in case any of your clients ask the same question.
> 
> Thanks for the help, not sure whether you remember but you really helped out a few months ago about my girlfriend's application.
> 
> Just one more question - in general do you have many clients applying for Australian PR visas using NZ passport? The reason I ask is I am thinking about giving up since I spend hundreds of dollars so far and I am still missing 5 points due to not being able to apply for the NSW state sponsorship, not sure whether I should keep pouring money to continue trying to get PR or just come over to Australia and stay indefinitely on a SCV instead.


----------



## Depressedfish

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Depressedfish -
> 
> That's very interesting re: IELTS result "not valid" during remark - that's the first I've heard of that policy!
> 
> Glad I was able to help with your girlfriend's application! Re: NZ, we have a regular number of NZ passport holders who apply for Australian PR, both for skilled visas and for employer sponsored PR through the ENS and RSMS visas. Main draw seems to be the benefits of permanent residency and eventual citizenship. Also, for some they are concerned about the nasty character regulations on the NZ SCV (444) visa where if you are deemed a "Behavioral Concern Non Citizen", you essentially lose the right to get a 444 for life and have to find another visa to apply for.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Don't want to take up too much of your time. I will spend the next few weeks/months trying to find the missing 5 points (the fact I can just not be allowed to enter Australia is scary enough that I will bite the bullet and get PR).

Do you deal with medical cases often? When I am ready I probably will look for a migration agent for a consultation mainly around health requirement for my grandmother and strength of evidence required for dependent relatives to be on the same application. Would be keen to know whether you would be able to assist in cases like those, my budget is limited so I probably can only afford a consultation to make sure I don't get a big denial stamped over my application.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depressedfish -

Would be happy to help with that - dependency evidence combined with potentially a health waiver situation can be complicated! The dependency part is far simpler and less risk to the application than the health situation where there may or may not be a waiver available depending on the visa you are applying for - all 3 skilled visas commonly applied for (489, 189 and 190) do not have health waivers available, meaning if any dependent fails the health criteria, the visa will be refused for all applicants.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Depressedfish said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Don't want to take up too much of your time. I will spend the next few weeks/months trying to find the missing 5 points (the fact I can just not be allowed to enter Australia is scary enough that I will bite the bullet and get PR).
> 
> Do you deal with medical cases often? When I am ready I probably will look for a migration agent for a consultation mainly around health requirement for my grandmother and strength of evidence required for dependent relatives to be on the same application. Would be keen to know whether you would be able to assist in cases like those, my budget is limited so I probably can only afford a consultation to make sure I don't get a big denial stamped over my application.


----------



## Max82

Hi Mark,
Lucky for me to have you here. There is a small question about my wife's visa application. We just lodged her 820/801 visa application 2 weeks ago in NSW. And my plan is moving to Melb to start my postgraduate course in early of 2015, but my wife doesn't want to move with me cause her whole family, friends are in Sydney. So can we live separately? Do we have to notice the DIAC and how to do it?
Thanks for your help


----------



## perthgirl23

*457 visa to defacto visa*

Hi Mark,

A year ago I got sponsored on a 457 visa and at the time I thought I was lucky and the job seemed good. However things changed quite fast... I was sponsered as an accountant however I do any work required within the company (accounts, admin, sales, purchasing, travel agent, warehouse helper...) I work Monday to Friday and half of Saturday and for the whole year I have barely taken a lunch break as I'm always very busy. I talked to my manager regarding my work load and lunch breaks and he told me that it's my responsibility to take a lunch break not the company's... He didn't seem to mind that I had been working for free but anyway.... My contract was for 42 hours per week but sometimes I work 50 hours... I get screamed alot for stupid reasons and basically I've had enough of not being respected and feel like I'm trapped in a dead end shitty job. My partner (who is Australian) and I have decided to apply for a defacto visa. My question is, would immigration notify my boss that I have applied for another visa? I'm scared that if he will find out. My plan is to get the defacto visa granted before quitting. 
Any help would be very appreciated  Thank you


----------



## shazz

*Re: Visitor Visa subclass 600*

Hi Mark,

New member to this forum and would like to request some info in regards to Visitor visa (subclass 600).

My parents visits me every year on subclass 600 visitor visa (maximum 3months stay) with no restrictions i.e 'No Further Stay' and I was planning to apply to apply for non-contributary aged parent visa for my parents who arrived in sydney at the end of June, but Liberal had other plans and my parents missed out  as you know last date of applications was 2nd of June 2014.

Now I may have 2 options to keep my parents here for longer visits without forking out more than $100000 on aged parent visa.

1. Re-apply for subclass visa 600 whilst they here and request for 1year minimum stay ( Is there anything more involved to get 1year stay, my parents are from India with no close relative living there and both me and my sister are Australian citizens and I live with my wife and 3 year old son and I want my parents spend most of their time with us.

2. Keep the current visa issued, which expires in 3 years time with maximum 3 months stay and send them to Fiji and NZ for couple of days (low airfares) to meet the 3 months maximum stay conditions and hence regain entry into australia.

Would you be able to advise if these 2 options are available and if yes, would there be any issues on reapplying for visitor visa in coming future if my parents go to neighbouring countries to extend the stay.
And any hope of getting non contributory aged parent visa or something similar in near future

Thanks in advance, this forums has got so much valuable information, I wish I knew about this forum before 2 June and things would have been different.

Regards
Shazz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Max -

Thanks for the note. Generally not a problem if you are living apart while married, as long as you have other solid evidence that the relationship is still intact. Evidence of frequent visits to each other would be good, as would shared financial, etc evidence. To keep DIBP happy for the permanent stage partner visa processing, you will need to provide ample evidence that any time living apart is on a temporary basis - ie, keep much of your things/belongings at her house, keep both names on utilities there, and treat wherever you are staying in Melbourne more like a temporary rental than a home. No need to notice DIBP that you are living apart, but please do keep in mind the requirement to show that time apart is temporary - ie, spend lots of time together as schedules allow, and keep in mind evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Max82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Lucky for me to have you here. There is a small question about my wife's visa application. We just lodged her 820/801 visa application 2 weeks ago in NSW. And my plan is moving to Melb to start my postgraduate course in early of 2015, but my wife doesn't want to move with me cause her whole family, friends are in Sydney. So can we live separately? Do we have to notice the DIAC and how to do it?
> Thanks for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Perthgirl23 -

Sorry to hear about your workplace issues! Generally DIBP would not notify your 457 sponsor that you've lodged an application - they may not even notify them if you are granted the partner visa - once granted the partner visa would replace the 457. The partner visa is completely separate from the 457, and as your employer is not a party to the partner visa, your employer would have no legal right to know anything about that visa application.

Re: defacto, remember to put together as much relationship evidence as possible - there are several excellent threads here on the Australia Forum about partner visa evidence and what has worked for others.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



perthgirl23 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> A year ago I got sponsored on a 457 visa and at the time I thought I was lucky and the job seemed good. However things changed quite fast... I was sponsered as an accountant however I do any work required within the company (accounts, admin, sales, purchasing, travel agent, warehouse helper...) I work Monday to Friday and half of Saturday and for the whole year I have barely taken a lunch break as I'm always very busy. I talked to my manager regarding my work load and lunch breaks and he told me that it's my responsibility to take a lunch break not the company's... He didn't seem to mind that I had been working for free but anyway.... My contract was for 42 hours per week but sometimes I work 50 hours... I get screamed alot for stupid reasons and basically I've had enough of not being respected and feel like I'm trapped in a dead end shitty job. My partner (who is Australian) and I have decided to apply for a defacto visa. My question is, would immigration notify my boss that I have applied for another visa? I'm scared that if he will find out. My plan is to get the defacto visa granted before quitting.
> Any help would be very appreciated  Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shazz -

Thanks for the note and kind words. Re: 600 visitor visa, generally no problem with leaving for a few days, then re-entering for another stay if visa allows for multiple entries. However if you do this too much, it will reduce the likelihood of being granted future visitor visas.

Re: 12 month - this can be done either through the traditional sc600 visitor visa tourist stream, or through the sponsored family visitor stream which requires a bond, has no further stay as a mandatory condition, but allows for a continuous 12-month stay. If DIBP won't go for a 12-month stay for a sc600 tourist stream, then I would definitely try the sponsored family visitor stream of the sc600 visa.

Re: non-contributory parent visa, I see no hope for this anytime soon. They have over 10 years of backlog to clear out for these spots from applicants who have been waiting for many years - not likely to re-introduce anything to replace that soon from what I can see.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shazz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> New member to this forum and would like to request some info in regards to Visitor visa (subclass 600).
> 
> My parents visits me every year on subclass 600 visitor visa (maximum 3months stay) with no restrictions i.e 'No Further Stay' and I was planning to apply to apply for non-contributary aged parent visa for my parents who arrived in sydney at the end of June, but Liberal had other plans and my parents missed out  as you know last date of applications was 2nd of June 2014.
> 
> Now I may have 2 options to keep my parents here for longer visits without forking out more than $100000 on aged parent visa.
> 
> 1. Re-apply for subclass visa 600 whilst they here and request for 1year minimum stay ( Is there anything more involved to get 1year stay, my parents are from India with no close relative living there and both me and my sister are Australian citizens and I live with my wife and 3 year old son and I want my parents spend most of their time with us.
> 
> 2. Keep the current visa issued, which expires in 3 years time with maximum 3 months stay and send them to Fiji and NZ for couple of days (low airfares) to meet the 3 months maximum stay conditions and hence regain entry into australia.
> 
> Would you be able to advise if these 2 options are available and if yes, would there be any issues on reapplying for visitor visa in coming future if my parents go to neighbouring countries to extend the stay.
> And any hope of getting non contributory aged parent visa or something similar in near future
> 
> Thanks in advance, this forums has got so much valuable information, I wish I knew about this forum before 2 June and things would have been different.
> 
> Regards
> Shazz


----------



## Max82

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Max -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Generally not a problem if you are living apart while married, as long as you have other solid evidence that the relationship is still intact. Evidence of frequent visits to each other would be good, as would shared financial, etc evidence. To keep DIBP happy for the permanent stage partner visa processing, you will need to provide ample evidence that any time living apart is on a temporary basis - ie, keep much of your things/belongings at her house, keep both names on utilities there, and treat wherever you are staying in Melbourne more like a temporary rental than a home. No need to notice DIBP that you are living apart, but please do keep in mind the requirement to show that time apart is temporary - ie, spend lots of time together as schedules allow, and keep in mind evidence.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot for your help, Mark. I really appericiate your kindness!


----------



## jspecc

A quick one again. 
Hi again Mark

The online form 40sp and 80 character, do they need to be printed out once completed and signed in pen or is the fact that its being sent from my computer via our Immi account sufficient ?

Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jspecc -

For 40sp, I would not use the paper form - there is an ImmiAccount application that is equivalent to this "Sponsor a Partner..." - I'd do it online to save time & improve accuracy. Re: Form 80, you'll need to sign that, then create a PDF that includes the scanned signature page and the rest of the form - you can print the whole thing out and rescan together if you want - that's typically what we do since Form 80 is a locked PDF from DIBP and you can't merge a new page into it (ie, the signature page).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jspecc said:


> A quick one again.
> Hi again Mark
> 
> The online form 40sp and 80 character, do they need to be printed out once completed and signed in pen or is the fact that its being sent from my computer via our Immi account sufficient ?
> 
> Many thanks


----------



## felo

Dear Mark,
I am a pharmacist and i have canadian citizenship i want to immigrate to australia,i just took my ielts academic exam i got 8.5, 8.5, 6 and 7 with overall 7.5 ,i finished my pharmacy exams in canada but did not yet do the training,
first i would like to ask can i immigrate to australia even if pharmacists aren't on the occupation list for this year?
is my ielts academic exam result suitable for immigration requirements?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Felo -

Thanks for the questions - Retail Pharmacist is on the CSOL occupation list which is used for 457, ENS and state sponsored visas, however currently only the NT is sponsoring this occupation.IELTS Academic is fine for immigration purposes - for a skilled visa you would need to look at the rules of the skills assessor for your occupation and any rules that NT has for that, or look for an employer to sponsor you for an employer sponsored PR visa (subclass 186, 187). The rules for these different organisations overlap and can be complex - if you'd like to discuss details at a consultation, see our website in my signature below to book.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## felo

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Felo -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - Retail Pharmacist is on the CSOL occupation list which is used for 457, ENS and state sponsored visas, however currently only the NT is sponsoring this occupation.IELTS Academic is fine for immigration purposes - for a skilled visa you would need to look at the rules of the skills assessor for your occupation and any rules that NT has for that, or look for an employer to sponsor you for an employer sponsored PR visa (subclass 186, 187). The rules for these different organisations overlap and can be complex - if you'd like to discuss details at a consultation, see our website in my signature below to book.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam[/QU
> i sent u a private message on the link waiting ur reply thanks so much


----------



## jspecc

Many thanks again Mark.

I was trying to avoid printing out so many pages to conserve the environment. 

But I guess that's the only way then. 

You must be owed a million beers and bottles of wine for all of your help on this page. 

We really do appreciate it a lot.

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jspecc -

Thanks for the kind words! As long as DIBP issues Form 80 as a locked PDF, I don't know of any way to modify it to add on a scanned signature page. Even adding a digital signature to it is impossible from what I can tell... print away!

Best,

Mark



jspecc said:


> Many thanks again Mark.
> 
> I was trying to avoid printing out so many pages to conserve the environment.
> 
> But I guess that's the only way then.
> 
> You must be owed a million beers and bottles of wine for all of your help on this page.
> 
> We really do appreciate it a lot.
> 
> Regards


----------



## aussiedude

*Apply for PMV after visa cancelation*

Hi Mark 

I have been told different things when i have called immigration so am feeling a bit confused.

My Swiss girlfriend's tourist visa was cancelled in June 2013 after it was found that she did a couple weeks work in a cafe.

I was told at the time (by a free immigration lawyer service whose name i have now forgotten) that nothing could be done for 12 months from when she was removed =, but then after that a partner visa would override the 3 year ban.

But after ringing immigration today to get details for a PMV the lady told me that she couldn't apply until the 3 years is finished and that partner visa's do not override the cancelation. ( i had rung immigration about 6 months ago to ask about de facto visas and they seemed fine with the 12 month ban..)

Who is correct here ?? are we able to apply for a PMV now or do we have to wait another 2 years?

Thanks for your time


----------



## sherine

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sherine -
> 
> Thanks for the question. It's unclear at this point whether NSW gives priority to those with points scores higher than 55 points - the new rules will be released tomorrow (14 July) and it's definitely worth checking out. If you are both eligible and are sure you have evidence to justify the points you are claiming, probably would be better to have the higher scoring partner be the primary applicant, but again, no direct evidence of that. The new NSW system seems to be a system that is based on how fast you lodge your application rather than any other factor, as any valid application of 55 points or higher qualifies for one of the places they allocate for each occupation. But once the places are filled for each occupation (or 1,000 applications in total are lodged, whichever comes first apparently), they close the round of applications and you'd have to wait for the next quarterly round.
> 
> As I'm telling our clients, I'd jump on the NSW system and apply at 12:01am on Monday Australia time (12 hours & 21 minutes from now), after having your EOI ready to go.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your prompt reply Mark..


----------



## SWG

MarkNortham said:


> Hi SWG -
> 
> There is a category for Form 1023 so I'd use that one - probably better to use Form 1023 in this case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Yes i just noticed the Attach Document button in the upper right corner - i never used it before. I only used the section that has the papers required with status recommended, i'm assuming there's no difference, right?

Many thanks for all your help


----------



## Susan-

*Partner visa*

Hi, Mark
Having looked through all the posts here, I did not find anyone in the same situation as us. It will be very much appreciated if you could help us or provide any advice. I am a British national and currently in Brisbane visiting my girlfriend ( We are same-sex couple). We met at the internet about two and half years ago but only met face-to-face in Philippines during our first trip on August 2013. We then met twice in China and the length of stay was only a few days. I first came to visit her in Brisbane was on March 2014 and the length was about 35 days in which I stayed with her. This is my second visit at Brisbane and I decided to move to Australia after my graduation ( June 2015) and we are considering to lodge a partner visa. I only have tourist visa for both visits. 
We have evidence of air ticket (join travel ); receipts from varies hotels; loads of emails/ text message/online chat ; massive phone bills; photographs. We are about to register our relationship. My concern is, does registration of relationship waiver for the 12 month requirement? If not, will it be helpful if we get married? My second concern is I do not have any evidence to prove that I am actually staying with her. I do have a Medicare number registered here in Brisbane (on a printed paper) however, I have yet received the confirmation letter by the department. I am also named as second drivers in her car insurance policies. Does this help? She is considering to add me in her bank account, does it count for the financial aspect? It would be very grateful to know what else we need to do for the next step.
Thanks in advance!
Kindest Regards,
Susan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SWG -

Correct - both are the same. The Attach Document button allows you to choose any category/subcategory, whereas the links next to each document brings you to the same upload window, just with the category and applicant already filled in (but changeable before uploading).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SWG said:


> Yes i just noticed the Attach Document button in the upper right corner - i never used it before. I only used the section that has the papers required with status recommended, i'm assuming there's no difference, right?
> 
> Many thanks for all your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Susan -

Thanks for the note and call today. Registering a relationship would definitely be helpful in your situation, and as we discussed, based on what you have for evidence now, I would suggest putting together further relationship evidence before lodging a defacto partner visa application. Happy to assist further at a consultation where I can look at the evidence you've already put together and we can make a plan for the best additional evidence to get prior to lodging.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Susan- said:


> Hi, Mark
> Having looked through all the posts here, I did not find anyone in the same situation as us. It will be very much appreciated if you could help us or provide any advice. I am a British national and currently in Brisbane visiting my girlfriend ( We are same-sex couple). We met at the internet about two and half years ago but only met face-to-face in Philippines during our first trip on August 2013. We then met twice in China and the length of stay was only a few days. I first came to visit her in Brisbane was on March 2014 and the length was about 35 days in which I stayed with her. This is my second visit at Brisbane and I decided to move to Australia after my graduation ( June 2015) and we are considering to lodge a partner visa. I only have tourist visa for both visits.
> We have evidence of air ticket (join travel ); receipts from varies hotels; loads of emails/ text message/online chat ; massive phone bills; photographs. We are about to register our relationship. My concern is, does registration of relationship waiver for the 12 month requirement? If not, will it be helpful if we get married? My second concern is I do not have any evidence to prove that I am actually staying with her. I do have a Medicare number registered here in Brisbane (on a printed paper) however, I have yet received the confirmation letter by the department. I am also named as second drivers in her car insurance policies. Does this help? She is considering to add me in her bank account, does it count for the financial aspect? It would be very grateful to know what else we need to do for the next step.
> Thanks in advance!
> Kindest Regards,
> Susan


----------



## Susan-

*Partner Visa*

Hi, Mark
Thank you very much for your quick reply, it is much appreciated.
We would definitely gather all the evidence we have, and we will send them to you by email first and book an consultation with you in a near future.

Kindest Regards,

Susan


----------



## Mahi.87

*Need advice*

Hi Mark ,

Is it possible to apply for Victoria state sponsorship while living and working in NSW on temporary visa? I have satisfied the minimum eligibility criteria for launching application.
But, I have heard that unlike NSW, Victoria needs a strong reason why we want to move from NSW when NSW has got better opportunities and all.

I am stuck on 55 points and now that NSW has closed its applications, I am searching for different ways. Any help is much appreciated.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## loujon

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply. We didnt lodge online we sent the application via post. in the application is standard black & white photo copies of our documents and certified by a police officer. do u think this will be ok?

TIA

loujon



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Loujon -
> 
> Assuming you are lodging online, high quality colour scans of originals are generally accepted by DIBP. A few embassies on occasion want colour scans of colour certified copies (just had a request from Delhi for this) for police clearance certificates, but generally speaking certified copies now are important only for hardcopy documents lodged with DIBP.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Loujon -

That sounds good to me!

Best,

Mark Northam



loujon said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply. We didnt lodge online we sent the application via post. in the application is standard black & white photo copies of our documents and certified by a police officer. do u think this will be ok?
> 
> TIA
> 
> loujon


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

It's possible, but VIC wants applicants currently living in other states to produce a job offer from a VIC employer - hard to get sometimes if you don't have the visa to accept the offer! The VIC skilled website has more on this, including their minimum financial requirements, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mahi.87 said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> Is it possible to apply for Victoria state sponsorship while living and working in NSW on temporary visa? I have satisfied the minimum eligibility criteria for launching application.
> But, I have heard that unlike NSW, Victoria needs a strong reason why we want to move from NSW when NSW has got better opportunities and all.
> 
> I am stuck on 55 points and now that NSW has closed its applications, I am searching for different ways. Any help is much appreciated.
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## Mahi.87

Thanks for the reply Mark! Much appreciated! It's kind of a catch 22 situation.


----------



## sutto

Hi Mark

I am new here but first up thanks for this great service and your kindness in corresponding with folks.

My question. My wife (Vietnamese) and I are getting toward the end of our wait for her partner visa. We were married here in Australia last year (I am a Kiwi living in Auss for nearly 30yrs), and filed for her partner Visa last year in December. So we are well into our 8 month wait. About two weeks ago we received an email from immigration in HCMC Vietnam, requesting some further information.

They said because I had been to Viet Nam for over 12 months (combined), in the last ten years, that I needed to supply a police check from Vietnam. My wife and I re-read the requirements for supplying paperwork with the application, and to us, it seems to be saying that if the one I am sponsoring has children under the age of 16 yrs - then I need to provide a police check from those countries.

As my wife has no children, we sent an email to the embassy in HCMC stating that because she has no children, do we still need to provide the Vietnamese police check. They wrote back and said I need to, because I am a New Zealand passport holder. I was here in Australia on the 26th of Feb 2001, so I am an eligible resident.

I rang immigration Australia and queried this, and at first they said I did not have to provide a Vietnamese police check, but after checking with his superior, he said that I do (oh boy)!! 

The problem is that my wife checked in Vietnam and it seems almost impossible for me to get a Vietnamese police check, because I do not have a 'Temporary Residence Card' from that country. I only ever traveled for a few weeks at a time as a backpacker, so there is no record (other than the visa in my passport), of where I stayed over the years or when.

Can you please throw some light on this subject for us, as our application is getting nowhere at the moment? We even rang the 'Global Feedback', and asked them to put in a query for us. He wrote it all out and emailed it off to the office in HCMC, saying we would hear back in 10 working days. That has passed now, and still nothing.

Thanking you in advance.

Sutto


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sutto -

Thanks for the question - eligible NZ citizens (ENZ's we call them) are subject to a different set of criteria for certain visas, and partner visas is one of them. It's why on the old paper Form 40sp in the end at the character questions section it asks if the sponsor is an ENZ - if so, a series of character questions must be answered.

Re: Vietnam PCC, I would make every effort to get one, and document your efforts (date/time for each call or email, etc) and try and get something in writing either in email or otherwise from an official in Vietnam that says that you cannot get a PCC from them due to your lack of having the correct documentation, etc. Then I would submit that to DIBP along with a letter showing all the activities/tasks you undertook to try and get the PCC from Vietnam, include all evidence such as any refusal by Vietnam to provide, and ask if you can be allowed to submit a statutory declaration declaring that you have no criminal record in Vietnam. Then it's a matter of hoping the case officer is reasonable and working out some sort of a solution with him/her. The most important part is showing that it is not possible (not that it is "difficult") to get a PCC for you from Vietnam.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sutto said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am new here but first up thanks for this great service and your kindness in corresponding with folks.
> 
> My question. My wife (Vietnamese) and I are getting toward the end of our wait for her partner visa. We were married here in Australia last year (I am a Kiwi living in Auss for nearly 30yrs), and filed for her partner Visa last year in December. So we are well into our 8 month wait. About two weeks ago we received an email from immigration in HCMC Vietnam, requesting some further information.
> 
> They said because I had been to Viet Nam for over 12 months (combined), in the last ten years, that I needed to supply a police check from Vietnam. My wife and I re-read the requirements for supplying paperwork with the application, and to us, it seems to be saying that if the one I am sponsoring has children under the age of 16 yrs - then I need to provide a police check from those countries.
> 
> As my wife has no children, we sent an email to the embassy in HCMC stating that because she has no children, do we still need to provide the Vietnamese police check. They wrote back and said I need to, because I am a New Zealand passport holder. I was here in Australia on the 26th of Feb 2001, so I am an eligible resident.
> 
> I rang immigration Australia and queried this, and at first they said I did not have to provide a Vietnamese police check, but after checking with his superior, he said that I do (oh boy)!!
> 
> The problem is that my wife checked in Vietnam and it seems almost impossible for me to get a Vietnamese police check, because I do not have a 'Temporary Residence Card' from that country. I only ever traveled for a few weeks at a time as a backpacker, so there is no record (other than the visa in my passport), of where I stayed over the years or when.
> 
> Can you please throw some light on this subject for us, as our application is getting nowhere at the moment? We even rang the 'Global Feedback', and asked them to put in a query for us. He wrote it all out and emailed it off to the office in HCMC, saying we would hear back in 10 working days. That has passed now, and still nothing.
> 
> Thanking you in advance.
> 
> Sutto


----------



## sutto

Thanks Mark for the quick reply. Looks like we have to do it. I will heed your advise and start to record all of our efforts to do so. Looks like I should have followed my gut and become naturalised years ago.

Sutto


----------



## yoyo_0210

Hi Mark,

My partner already sent an email voluntarily cancelling his student visa and received a reply of "Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation" on 1st July. So we assumed that nothing is needed to be done, so we did not reply or do anything. But until today, we have not yet received any response at all. Should we worry or are there anything we can do to fasten things up a bit?

Thanks
Yoyo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yoyo_0210:

Nothing to do but wait. Once you receive the notice of cancellation, report to DIBP ASAP to lodge your bridging visa E application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



yoyo_0210 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner already sent an email voluntarily cancelling his student visa and received a reply of "Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation" on 1st July. So we assumed that nothing is needed to be done, so we did not reply or do anything. But until today, we have not yet received any response at all. Should we worry or are there anything we can do to fasten things up a bit?
> 
> Thanks
> Yoyo


----------



## sidjun

Dear Mark

First of all thanks for all the support and guidance you have provided to me and to all the other members of this forum.

And I always come back with a query every now and then 

I lodged my 189 visa application on 31 May 2014.

I was contacted by Adelaide GSM team 13 requesting further info on 8th July 2014.

They specifically asked for the three pieces of info:
1- Employment history - there were three gaps in my education history (session breaks of two to three months) where I was unemployed but did not specifically mentioned anything on these in my Form 80 and hence I was asked.
2- Exact address of all the educational institutes - yes I was not very specific up to the street address in my Form 80
3- Passports - I only submitted my current passport and hence they requested all previous passports that cover my international travel in last 10 years.

However, the email had four attachments:
1- Employment History
2- Educational History
3- International Travel
4- Contact persons

My questions to you:
1- I filled employment history only for the three gaps which were asked in team 13 email. Should I fill the whole employment history again including the three gaps requested?
2- I did not fill the International travel attachment and the contact person (in Australia) attachment at all as I don't see any mention of it in the body of email. Should I fill these and submit as well?
3- I already submitted the info as requested. If you answer "yes" to my above two questions, then can I still submitted the updated versions of the information or have I lost my chance?
4- Does this email give any clue to the CO assignment? The email clearly mentions that this is not from CO and I will be contacted separately whenever a CO is assigned.

Many Thanks.


----------



## lbm

*Domestic Violence - Help Please*

Hi Mark

I posted this elsewhere on the forum and then I saw this thread. Apologies for the double post - I just wanted to move it somewhere that people would see it.

A family member (applicant holding a 820 visa) has just had his visa sponsorship cancelled by his wife (sponsor). There has been long history of issues with this marriage. He was forbidden to see other family members living in Australia. His movements were limited to his work, his school (to which she insisted on accompanying him) and to social engagements of her choosing. Slowly she has cut him off from all independent social activity. He has been given no financial sponsorship - he has had a job since arriving, has paid most bills and has paid for the processing of his own visa application. If he disagrees with her regarding the rigid conditions that she has set out for their marriage she threatens to send him home. The few times that he has left the house she has managed to work out where he is and has followed him. Now that they are separated we have discovered that she has been able to do this by tracking his phone via GPS. We are looking to file an appeal based on family violence. Any guidance re this would be most appreciated.

Thank you in advance


----------



## calviny3k

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your help. We currently have a few evidence to demonstrate that we are in a de facto relationship.

We have registered our relationship in Victoria through Registry of Birth, Death & Marriages of Victoria. We have our lease contract, some utility bills, and a joint bank account. We can also provide emailed plane tickets that we have purchased to demonstrate that we traveled together to visit our families.

Will that be sufficient information or should we obtain statutory declarations from friends and families as well? Is there a particular form for Student Visa 573 applicants as most of them are for Partner Visas. Should we also write statements demonstrating the history of our relationship, financial aspects, social aspects etc? Will it be as strict in assessing our relationship for a student dependent visa as a Partner Visa?

Hope to hear from you soon regarding this. Thanks once again.

Best,
Kayley



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kayley -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Suggest you include him in the application vs. add on later, as new regulations are very strict if a dependent is not declared on an application and is later added. Generally speaking 12 months living together would be enough to satisfy them along with any other relationship evidence, however how effective relationship evidence is varies on a case by case basis. The registered relationship regulation to satisfy the 12 month living together requirements is in place for student visas as well as partner and other visas. Re: relationship evidence, you might want to look at the Partner Visa Booklet #1 published by DIBP for further ideas on evidence, or have a look at any of the excellent threads on this forum on that topic.
> 
> Normally reciprocal healthcare agreement will work, however these agreements are different in each country - there are different levels of reciprocal coverage.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sidjun -

Thanks for the questions. Re: what you should put on the forms they sent you, I haven't seen the forms and can't address that - my suggestion would be generally to give them the entire timeline again, rather than just giving them the missing pieces and expecting them to integrate those along with whatever you included on your online application and/or Form 80.

Once you've submitted the info to them, generally no problem with submitting more information as long as it arrives before they make a decision on the visa.

I'd write back with any specific questions to DIBP on what forms they want you to fill, and what they want put on the forms - they would have the answers to that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sidjun said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> First of all thanks for all the support and guidance you have provided to me and to all the other members of this forum.
> 
> And I always come back with a query every now and then
> 
> I lodged my 189 visa application on 31 May 2014.
> 
> I was contacted by Adelaide GSM team 13 requesting further info on 8th July 2014.
> 
> They specifically asked for the three pieces of info:
> 1- Employment history - there were three gaps in my education history (session breaks of two to three months) where I was unemployed but did not specifically mentioned anything on these in my Form 80 and hence I was asked.
> 2- Exact address of all the educational institutes - yes I was not very specific up to the street address in my Form 80
> 3- Passports - I only submitted my current passport and hence they requested all previous passports that cover my international travel in last 10 years.
> 
> However, the email had four attachments:
> 1- Employment History
> 2- Educational History
> 3- International Travel
> 4- Contact persons
> 
> My questions to you:
> 1- I filled employment history only for the three gaps which were asked in team 13 email. Should I fill the whole employment history again including the three gaps requested?
> 2- I did not fill the International travel attachment and the contact person (in Australia) attachment at all as I don't see any mention of it in the body of email. Should I fill these and submit as well?
> 3- I already submitted the info as requested. If you answer "yes" to my above two questions, then can I still submitted the updated versions of the information or have I lost my chance?
> 4- Does this email give any clue to the CO assignment? The email clearly mentions that this is not from CO and I will be contacted separately whenever a CO is assigned.
> 
> Many Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi lbm -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about your friend's situation. DIBP publishes a good fact sheet on this subject - see https://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/38domestic.htm

The key will be to establish whether the actions of his wife constitute a threat or would cause a reasonable fear or apprehension in your friend per the legal guidelines for the family violence claim process.

I've worked on a number of these types of cases where one partner has strict "controls" over the other partner's activities, movements, finances, etc. The tough part with these is determining if and when the "control" reasonably gives rise to a fear in the applicant, and whether the threats, actions, words, etc of the other party are sufficient and can be linked to that fear.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lbm said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I posted this elsewhere on the forum and then I saw this thread. Apologies for the double post - I just wanted to move it somewhere that people would see it.
> 
> A family member (applicant holding a 820 visa) has just had his visa sponsorship cancelled by his wife (sponsor). There has been long history of issues with this marriage. He was forbidden to see other family members living in Australia. His movements were limited to his work, his school (to which she insisted on accompanying him) and to social engagements of her choosing. Slowly she has cut him off from all independent social activity. He has been given no financial sponsorship - he has had a job since arriving, has paid most bills and has paid for the processing of his own visa application. If he disagrees with her regarding the rigid conditions that she has set out for their marriage she threatens to send him home. The few times that he has left the house she has managed to work out where he is and has followed him. Now that they are separated we have discovered that she has been able to do this by tracking his phone via GPS. We are looking to file an appeal based on family violence. Any guidance re this would be most appreciated.
> 
> Thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kayley -

Thanks for the note - not able to give an opinion on whether you have sufficient evidence without going over all of it in detail at a consulting session - it all gets down to what the documents say, etc. Would definitely suggest getting some statements and statutory declarations to strengthen your case. You can google the Commonwealth Statutory Declaration template - there are several out there - make sure you get the Commonwealth stat dec, not NSW or VIC's versions, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



calviny3k said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your help. We currently have a few evidence to demonstrate that we are in a de facto relationship.
> 
> We have registered our relationship in Victoria through Registry of Birth, Death & Marriages of Victoria. We have our lease contract, some utility bills, and a joint bank account. We can also provide emailed plane tickets that we have purchased to demonstrate that we traveled together to visit our families.
> 
> Will that be sufficient information or should we obtain statutory declarations from friends and families as well? Is there a particular form for Student Visa 573 applicants as most of them are for Partner Visas. Should we also write statements demonstrating the history of our relationship, financial aspects, social aspects etc? Will it be as strict in assessing our relationship for a student dependent visa as a Partner Visa?
> 
> Hope to hear from you soon regarding this. Thanks once again.
> 
> Best,
> Kayley


----------



## dharabaskar

*NSW - State Sponsorship*

Hi Mark,

I am very surprised to see that NSW SS for Skilled Occupation was closed so quickly, Do you have any clue when (date and time) exactly closed(stopped accepting applications)?

Thanks
VJ


----------



## Tariqkhan01

*While waiting for 189, can i apply for 190*

Hi Mark,

I would highly appreciate if you can answer my query !

I've applied for PR-189 visa in Dec 2012 and I'm still waiting for it.

As i was overseas when i applied for it, i will not be getting a bridging visa once my TR visa is expired in Dec 2014 (I've currently a TR-485 visa).

As i'm not sure whether i could get a PR by Dec 2014, i was wondering what are the options left for me to extend my stay in Australia as i've a professional job here in Sydney ?

Can i apply for visa-190 while my application for visa-189 is undergoing processing ? Because my understanding is that if i apply for 190 visa onshore, i'll get a bridging visa (provided state approve my application before Dec 2014). If i can apply for 190, what will happen to my 189 application ?

Thanks in advance for your time.

Cheers
Tariq


----------



## CollegeGirl

VJ - Mark has already answered this (multiple times, actually) in this thread here:

http://www.australiaforum.com/visas...state-sponsorship-sells-out-under-1-hour.html

It was less than an hour before all application slots were filled.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VJ -

It opened around 9:30am (the never bothered to announce the opening time beforehand!) and after numerous system crashes, closed sometime around 10:30am - during that time they received the 1,000 allotted applications from those who were lucky enough not to have their application session crash before payment and closed the process as soon as they had 1,000.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am very surprised to see that NSW SS for Skilled Occupation was closed so quickly, Do you have any clue when (date and time) exactly closed(stopped accepting applications)?
> 
> Thanks
> VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tariqkhan01 -

If you apply for 190 state sponsorship and receive a sponsorship from a state and thereafter receive an invitation to apply for a 190, you can do so while in Australia and receive a bridging visa as long as you do this while holding your current visa. The 190 would continue to process - whichever visa DIBP is ready to grant first they would, and would ask you to withdraw the application for the other one at that time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tariqkhan01 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would highly appreciate if you can answer my query !
> 
> I've applied for PR-189 visa in Dec 2012 and I'm still waiting for it.
> 
> As i was overseas when i applied for it, i will not be getting a bridging visa once my TR visa is expired in Dec 2014 (I've currently a TR-485 visa).
> 
> As i'm not sure whether i could get a PR by Dec 2014, i was wondering what are the options left for me to extend my stay in Australia as i've a professional job here in Sydney ?
> 
> Can i apply for visa-190 while my application for visa-189 is undergoing processing ? Because my understanding is that if i apply for 190 visa onshore, i'll get a bridging visa (provided state approve my application before Dec 2014). If i can apply for 190, what will happen to my 189 application ?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your time.
> 
> Cheers
> Tariq


----------



## dipiksg82

Hi Mark, 

Seek your guidance. 

I am on my way to apply for 190 visa. 

Now if I were to visit Australia to see my relatives and file a visa in Australia then what could be the ramifications? 

Would it have any negative impact if they see my EOI and receive a visit visa request or would it be better if I apply after getting my 190 invite? 


Regards, 

Dipika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dipika -

Visitor visa application should not have any impact on EOI or waiting for state sponsorship or an invitation to apply after that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dipiksg82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Seek your guidance.
> 
> I am on my way to apply for 190 visa.
> 
> Now if I were to visit Australia to see my relatives and file a visa in Australia then what could be the ramifications?
> 
> Would it have any negative impact if they see my EOI and receive a visit visa request or would it be better if I apply after getting my 190 invite?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Dipika


----------



## Uk55

Hi mark

Can you shed some light on a defacto visa, my partner has haemophila, this does not effect his work, he has been here in oz for 2 years, do you think it will be denied, I am a permanent resident 

Thank you


----------



## sidjun

Dear Mark

Thank you very much for the reply, it certainly guide me in the right direction as you made a valid point on not to leave it to DIBP to do the hard work of putting all pieces of information together.

I am going to resubmit all forms irrespective of the mention in the body of email.

Best Regards



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sidjun -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Re: what you should put on the forms they sent you, I haven't seen the forms and can't address that - my suggestion would be generally to give them the entire timeline again, rather than just giving them the missing pieces and expecting them to integrate those along with whatever you included on your online application and/or Form 80.
> 
> Once you've submitted the info to them, generally no problem with submitting more information as long as it arrives before they make a decision on the visa.
> 
> I'd write back with any specific questions to DIBP on what forms they want you to fill, and what they want put on the forms - they would have the answers to that.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## sidjun

Deleted the post due to error in message.


----------



## loveaustraliaforum

Dear Mark, 

I submitted my EOI for 189 - Independent with 60 points on 1st July and checked that I have fulfilled all requirements (including being certified as Accountant under CPA).

There are 3 questions I would like to kindly ask and would deeply appreciate if you can please help:

1) I am currently on subclass 485 visa which is expiring on 23rd July and the next SkillSelect invitation round is 28th July which is just 5 days after. Should I lodge a Bridging Visa D just before my 485 visa expires so that I can wait up to another 5 business days for the 28th July invitation or is there another better visa I should apply like maybe a visitor visa to wait for the next invitation round while in Australia? (so that I can remain in Australia to be with my partner while waiting)

2) If I apply for a visitor visa for the above reason, will a No Further Stay condition be applied which would prevent me from applying for the 189? (I previously held a student visa for my university degree study and now currently on 485)

3) If I apply for Bridging Visa D instead of visitor visa to wait for the next Skillselect invitation round, after I am invited and I apply for the 189, I would be placed on Bridging Visa C with no travel condition. Therefore I would like to ask, if my partner (who would be under my 189 application) while holding Bridging Visa C needs to travel out due to urgent reasons, what are her options to be able to travel out and return back to Australia? Is she able to get a replacement Bridging Visa C or visitor visa when she comes back to Australia after travelling out on Bridging Visa C?

I really hope you can please help with the 3 questions above. Thank you so much for your help and have a nice day Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uk55 -

Thanks for the note. It would depend on two things, from the point of view of the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth: Any costs for his care now (including doctors and medications) and anticipated costs for his care over the next 5 years (again including doctors and medications). An assessment by his treating physician may be a good place to start - if he takes medication regularly for his condition, this can be a major factor in the above determination.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Uk55 said:


> Hi mark
> 
> Can you shed some light on a defacto visa, my partner has haemophila, this does not effect his work, he has been here in oz for 2 years, do you think it will be denied, I am a permanent resident
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Loveaustraliaforum -

Thanks for the questions. BV-D would likely be refused as case officer must be provided with evidence that you can lodge a valid visa application within 5 days in order to grant a BV-D - hoping for an invitation would probably not qualify in my view - key is how many people already in the pool of applicants for your occupation with higher points scores or earlier EOI dates (they would all get invitations before you do) and what the number of invitations for your occupation that DIBP has allotted for each round - again, an known number.

I'd probably go for a visitor visa and take your chances that 8503 is not applied, or look for some other visa to apply for - but I would allow for the possibility that you won't get an invitation in the next round of invitations just in case.

Also note if you are applying for a 189 while inside Australia, you must hold a non-bridging visa (aka "substantive visa") or a bridging visa A, B or C.

Re: BV-C holders departing Australia, the BV-C ceases as soon as they depart leaving them no way to get back in. A 3-year exclusion period may also apply for all temporary visas (but not 189 since it's a PR visa) under certain circumstances with BV-C holders departing Australia - would suggest you getting professional advice on this course of action if you are anticipating this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



loveaustraliaforum said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I submitted my EOI for 189 - Independent with 60 points on 1st July and checked that I have fulfilled all requirements (including being certified as Accountant under CPA).
> 
> There are 3 questions I would like to kindly ask and would deeply appreciate if you can please help:
> 
> 1) I am currently on subclass 485 visa which is expiring on 23rd July and the next SkillSelect invitation round is 28th July which is just 5 days after. Should I lodge a Bridging Visa D just before my 485 visa expires so that I can wait up to another 5 business days for the 28th July invitation or is there another better visa I should apply like maybe a visitor visa to wait for the next invitation round while in Australia? (so that I can remain in Australia to be with my partner while waiting)
> 
> 2) If I apply for a visitor visa for the above reason, will a No Further Stay condition be applied which would prevent me from applying for the 189? (I previously held a student visa for my university degree study and now currently on 485)
> 
> 3) If I apply for Bridging Visa D instead of visitor visa to wait for the next Skillselect invitation round, after I am invited and I apply for the 189, I would be placed on Bridging Visa C with no travel condition. Therefore I would like to ask, if my partner (who would be under my 189 application) while holding Bridging Visa C needs to travel out due to urgent reasons, what are her options to be able to travel out and return back to Australia? Is she able to get a replacement Bridging Visa C or visitor visa when she comes back to Australia after travelling out on Bridging Visa C?
> 
> I really hope you can please help with the 3 questions above. Thank you so much for your help and have a nice day Mark.


----------



## MagUs

Hi Mark
Pretty new to this forum so appreciate any advice. I am currently in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend who is a US citizen (i am Australian).

We met on-line and i have visited him in the US . We want him to move to Australia but just seeking advice on the best way to do this . Would a 462 working holiday visa be the best way to start ? Then towards the end we would be looking to get married and apply for a partner visa .

Also my boyfriend only ended up completing an equivalent of a yr 11 grade of high school so i wanted to see if anyone knew how strict immi are on someone on a 462 has to have a high school diploma ?

Thanks for all help in advance, we are bit stressed and lost at this p


----------



## chocoboorin

G'day Mark,

I want to ask about NOIM, I got my PMV visa subclass 300 in Hochiminh city, Vietnam. They gave me back the evidence but not the NOIM original form. Now I am here in Australia, and the celebrant called my fiance and ask us to give him the NOIM orignal form. 

What can we do? Can we make the new NOIM form and give him? 

I already emailed my CO in VN about it but she didn't reply me.

Thanks for helping


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MagUs -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately as a US citizen he would not qualify for the 462 visa without evidence of completing high school (year 12). Probably simpler to get an ETA visitor visa with multiple entries, however this is for temporary visits to Australia for tourism/visiting purposes and not for a permanent move to Australia, so he'll want to keep that in mind if/when answering questions from immigration. Also he would not be allowed to work on this visa while in Australia.

Another way to go is a subclass 300 prospective marriage (fiance) visa - once you are engaged and planning your marriage/wedding. This takes about 9 months to process, but allows the applicant to come to Australia once granted for a 9 month period to marry and then apply for a partner visa onshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MagUs said:


> Hi Mark
> Pretty new to this forum so appreciate any advice. I am currently in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend who is a US citizen (i am Australian).
> 
> We met on-line and i have visited him in the US . We want him to move to Australia but just seeking advice on the best way to do this . Would a 462 working holiday visa be the best way to start ? Then towards the end we would be looking to get married and apply for a partner visa .
> 
> Also my boyfriend only ended up completing an equivalent of a yr 11 grade of high school so i wanted to see if anyone knew how strict immi are on someone on a 462 has to have a high school diploma ?
> 
> Thanks for all help in advance, we are bit stressed and lost at this p


----------



## MarkNortham

********* NOTE FROM MARK **************

Hi Friends -

A quick note that I will be traveling from 17 July to 26 July and answers to questions here may be delayed during that period. I still will be checking in on the forum and answering questions as time allows during that period, just not as often as I normally do.

Looking forward to assisting you as always -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chocoboorin -

Thanks for the note. Normally the NOIM form is not provided to DIBP - a letter on letterhead from the celebrant is usually sufficient and/or a certified copy of the NOIM. I'd tell the celebrant the situation, that DIBP isn't responding to requests to return the doc, and ask the celebrant to complete a new NOIM form. I'm not sure of the regulations re: NOIM forms, but have not heard of any issue with doing this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocoboorin said:


> G'day Mark,
> 
> I want to ask about NOIM, I got my PMV visa subclass 300 in Hochiminh city, Vietnam. They gave me back the evidence but not the NOIM original form. Now I am here in Australia, and the celebrant called my fiance and ask us to give him the NOIM orignal form.
> 
> What can we do? Can we make the new NOIM form and give him?
> 
> I already emailed my CO in VN about it but she didn't reply me.
> 
> Thanks for helping


----------



## MagUs

Thanks Mark for your insight ! If he obtains proof that he finished year 12 would that be a good option the 462 ?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi MagUs -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Unfortunately as a US citizen he would not qualify for the 462 visa without evidence of completing high school (year 12). Probably simpler to get an ETA visitor visa with multiple entries, however this is for temporary visits to Australia for tourism/visiting purposes and not for a permanent move to Australia, so he'll want to keep that in mind if/when answering questions from immigration. Also he would not be allowed to work on this visa while in Australia.
> 
> Another way to go is a subclass 300 prospective marriage (fiance) visa - once you are engaged and planning your marriage/wedding. This takes about 9 months to process, but allows the applicant to come to Australia once granted for a 9 month period to marry and then apply for a partner visa onshore.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Based on what you've said, yes - as long as he meets the age, etc requirements of that visa - see immi.gov.au site for complete requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MagUs said:


> Thanks Mark for your insight ! If he obtains proof that he finished year 12 would that be a good option the 462 ?


----------



## MagUs

Yep he meets the rest of the requirements age, etc , it was just that little detail, guess we will go hunting for the paperwork. Thanks so much!



MarkNortham said:


> Based on what you've said, yes - as long as he meets the age, etc requirements of that visa - see immi.gov.au site for complete requirements.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MagUs

He has a GED , is that acceptable ?



MagUs said:


> Yep he meets the rest of the requirements age, etc , it was just that little detail, guess we will go hunting for the paperwork. Thanks so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MagUs -

Maybe. The DIBP policy (copied below) says high school or equivalent, however GED is not listed on the examples. I'd see if you can get it through claiming it is the equivalent of a high school qualification - likely will be up to the case officer...

_** USA applicants

For the purposes of the USA Work and Holiday program, the applicant is considered to meet the educational requirement if they have graduated from a secondary school or completed an equivalent level of qualification (for example, a bridging course to university).

The applicant's qualifications must be equivalent to the 12th year of schooling in Australia. In order to assess 462.221(c) for an application by a US citizen, documentary evidence is required of the applicant's secondary school educational qualifications. The documentary evidence is to be from an accredited educational institution. Supporting documentation may include, but is not limited to:

US High School Graduation Diploma
International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma or
European Baccalaureate.
Applicants who apply online provide this information in form 1208E and have the opportunity to electronically lodge supporting documents when they submit their application. If they have not already done so, applicants should be requested to provide evidence if their application is selected for random audit.
_



MagUs said:


> He has a GED , is that acceptable ?


----------



## chocolate_thunda

Hey Mark

My wife and I applied for a partner 309/100 visa for my wife on the 25th of May 2014 online, we received a request to provide biometrics that same day and also the link to arrange medicals was made available on the immi account web page.

My wife got the medical done on the 4th of June 2014 and got her biometrics taken on the 5th of June 2014. I have the e-medical information sheet and it says that the health case was submitted to DIBP on the 6th of June 2014.

I recently contacted the Australian High Commission in Islamabad to inquire if we had been assigned a case officer, I received a reply today that we haven't been assigned a case officer yet and he also stated in the email that "he could see" that we haven't completed the medical or the biometrics yet when in fact they have been done for more than a month now.

Could you tell me what to do?

Regards
Chocolate_thunda


----------



## sidjun

Deleted the post due to error in message.


----------



## shell_32000

Just wanted to say a big thank you to Mark Northam for all your advice, you were a great help  it's a wonderful thing that you do to help others on this forum when you're not getting paid for it, I don't know what we would do without you on this forum  we got our 820 partner visa granted on Wednesday of just seven months of waiting! We are so happy  Thanks again.


----------



## dipiksg82

Hi Mark, 

I back again to bother you with my question. 

While filling EOI In had mentioned on 16 characters of my ielts trf, received invitation and now while filing for visa I realized that I need to add 2 more characters. 

Now can I go ahead and fill correct number while filing for visa or should I contact immigration authorities to update the situation or shall I go she'd with filing my visa application with correct IELTS trf number? 

Are there any chances my visa will be rejected for not filling the ielts characters completely? 

Requesting you to please guide. 


Regards, 

Dipika


----------



## Uk55

Thank you Mark 😕😕


----------



## Liza

Hello Mark,

I have a question I hope you can help us with please.

My partner and I have been together since 2007. While in Canada due to his work being 100 km away from home he kept an apartment in the city where he worked. (He tried commuting but it was very stressful as the highway was extremely busy making it a long commute and also the roads could be treacherous in winter conditions).We were together on weekends, holidays and as often as possible during the week as I was often able to join him mid-week. We have declared all of this on our application.

We have many documents that show us living at the address we considered our home, however his Canadian bank account statements and credit card statements are mostly addressed to where he stayed weekdays. There is evidence on these documents we want to upload – dinners out he paid for, gifts for me etc... 

We are thinking of making a statement to go along with this evidence to explain why these were sent to the secondary address – that they were everyday things he needed to deal with, and that the banking establishment was closed on weekends in our home town. Also before returning to Australia the addresses on the statements were all changed to our home address here in Canada (where I am still). These accounts are now also joint in my name. 

Would this be the best way to go please? Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you.


----------



## loveaustraliaforum

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your response. I really appreciate it.

Just to clarify, does it mean that if I get a Bridging Visa D, I cannot apply for 189 while in Australia? I am wondering what is the reason considering that Bridging Visa D is supposed to give an allowance of 5 business days to apply for a substantive visa.

If this is the case and the other option is to take a Visitor Visa to remain in Australia while waiting for my invitation, I am worried there might be a No Further Stay condition even though my country is on the ETA list because held a student visa before and currently now a 485. If in a worst case scenario whereby a No Further Stay condition is applied, will this condition prevent me from getting a 189 invitation? If I am still able invited, does the No Further Stay condition on the Visitor Visa means I have to leave Australia to be able for lodge my 189 and be offshore for 189 to be granted?

If I don't want to risk the chance of No Further Stay condition if applying for Visitor Visa (since I had student visa before and 485), what other visas can I apply for to remain in Australia while waiting for the next invitation rounds? As my country is on the ETA list and eligible to apply online, can I actually go to New Zealand for a few days and apply for the ETA which would fulfil the applying offshore requirement of ETA? Also, the ETA would not have any risk of No Further Stay condition, is that right?

If there is no other visa options, can I actually just wait for the next invitation rounds until up to 28 days after my current 485 visa expires? (my 485 will expire on 23rd July and next invitation round is 28th July). If my 485 expires but expired less than 28 days, would I still be able to be invited for 189 and still able to lodge for 189?

Once again, I really appreciate your help as my 485 is expiring so soon and I am running out of options to remain in Australia while waiting to be with my partner for next invitation rounds. My current thought now is to try applying for Visitor Visa from Australia and if really a No Further Stay condition is imposed, then I would go to New Zealand and apply a ETA from there to return to Australia to wait for the next 189 invitation rounds but I was hoping to get your advice first as I am not sure whether this would be considered the best option (because I'm not sure for example if I apply for the Visitor Visa first and if the 8503 condition is applied then I don't know whether it would affect my chance of my ETA being approved if I apply it later when in New Zealand for a few days). Thank you so much Mark.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Loveaustraliaforum -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. BV-D would likely be refused as case officer must be provided with evidence that you can lodge a valid visa application within 5 days in order to grant a BV-D - hoping for an invitation would probably not qualify in my view - key is how many people already in the pool of applicants for your occupation with higher points scores or earlier EOI dates (they would all get invitations before you do) and what the number of invitations for your occupation that DIBP has allotted for each round - again, an known number.
> 
> I'd probably go for a visitor visa and take your chances that 8503 is not applied, or look for some other visa to apply for - but I would allow for the possibility that you won't get an invitation in the next round of invitations just in case.
> 
> Also note if you are applying for a 189 while inside Australia, you must hold a non-bridging visa (aka "substantive visa") or a bridging visa A, B or C.
> 
> Re: BV-C holders departing Australia, the BV-C ceases as soon as they depart leaving them no way to get back in. A 3-year exclusion period may also apply for all temporary visas (but not 189 since it's a PR visa) under certain circumstances with BV-C holders departing Australia - would suggest you getting professional advice on this course of action if you are anticipating this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## celica39

Hey Mark,
My quick story is that i was previously on a 457 sponsor visa, which was valid until the end of may, on the 23rd of May me and my employer started a new sponsor application and i was granted a bridging visa A. They recently asked my employer to provide some extra documents but because this year im now the on full time employee, we were concerned that our application will be refused and i started a new application sub 461 with my new zealand girlfriend and now ive got to the point where i dont know what to do, im on bridging visa a at the moment and i was a also granted a bridging visa c which is not valid because my bridging visa a is still active. What would be the best thing to do in my current situation as a i would like to work as well until i wait for my 461 visa to get approved.

Many thanks,
Raigo.


----------



## amitsethiaustralia

Hey Mark,

I want to file for Skilled – Nominated (subclass 190) for NSW. On July 14 NSW opened the system for lodging visa electronically. But strange thing is that there is no link on the website for lodging the visa electronically. Could you please provide more information on this, as the next round for application would be on 14 Oct 2014. If possible please provide detail information with links.

Thanks In Advance


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark! 

Quick question... I am gathering documents for my Partner 820 Visa ( Defacto) to be done online.
I will would like to ask if I need the original black and white receipts that I have need to be certified? 

Thank you in advance,
Ninja 69


----------



## jag

*TRTS enquiry*

Hi Mark,

Would like to ask for some expert advise with this matter.

A letter from the case officer sent yesterday, 17July 2014. As per the case officer:
_"Please note that the nomination application has been lodged under the TRT( Temporary Residence Transition stream)
Requires the nominee to be on 457 visa for minimum of 24 months prior to the lodgement of the nomination application.

*Departmental records indicate that the 457 was granted to the nominee on 14.05.2012 and the nomination was lodged on 17.04.2014.*
Please refer to the following policy extract for more clarification,

Nomination under the Temporary Residence Transition stream - Specific criteria
The section applies to ENS and RSMS nominations lodged under the Temporary Residence Transition stream.The Temporary Residence Transition stream provides a streamlined pathway to employer sponsored permanent residence for persons who have been employed by the nominating employer as a primary UC-457 visa holder in the nominated occupation for a total of at least 2 years in the 3 year period immediately before the lodging of the nomination.
At the same note, policy allows us to assess the nomination under D.E stream."_

Case officer has not released the decision yet and has given us time to reply back till Monday. Question is, is there any chance or is it worth requesting an appeal for consideration since the nomination was just lodged a month earlier? main reason is that both employer and I doesn't want to reach my visa expiration, 14May2014 (as mentioned above). I have been working for the same company since 8 January 2012, document that was lodged as per the case officer is complete and no any other issues at all other than the early lodging of nomination. Very stressed of thinking that Wife and I have to again pay for the visa (which is too expensive on our part) and do the process all over again.

Hoping you can provide us with some options on how to deal with this matter.

Kind Regards,
JAG


----------



## raksh

Hey,

I filed my EOI today along with an application to SA but the nominated occupation availability is showing up as "Low Availability". As of now, I have 70 points. I'm worried if there are lesser chances for my application to get selected. How does it exactly work?


----------



## SWG

Hello Again Mark, i have few questions if you don't mind answering them:

-As i told you earlier, i lodged my application and got confirmation mail with application receipt on June 16th. But i just uploaded my documents few days ago. Is this could negatively affect my application? Like causing refusal or any delay? Because so far i haven't been contacted by any CO or anything. 

- I've started working in September 2009, however ACS equated me for a title of System Analyst starting September 2011. Since i already lodged my application. Will they consider my working experience the one mentioned by ACS, or the one i stated in the application starting September 2009? Because if they considered the one stated in ACS, my application will go below 60! Please advise.

- I've uploaded the documents i used in my EOI (which was submitted on September 23rd, 2013) including the work documents (which showing i've been employed till the date the papers were issued and used for ACS asseessment - March 2013) is this ok, or i need to get new work documents? And what about other documents, is it ok to be using same documents i used for EOI?

- I tried to check documents checklist on the website, but link is invalid! I want to make sure i uploaded all the documents, and didn't miss any, do you mind revising the below list and tell me if i'm missing something
- Certified Copy of the Passport (Certified March 2013)
- Certified Copy of the Birth Certificate (Certified March 2013)
- Certified Copy of College Degree (Certified March 2013)
- Certified Copy of College Transcripts (Certified March 2013)
- Certified Copy Of Work Experience in 2 different companies (Certified 2013)
- Skills Assessment results by ACS
- Original Scanned Version of Police Report (issued a month ago)
- Original Scanned Version IELTS results 

Are these documents enough? Please confirm, because i've been reading about taxes documents and other stuff.

- I uploaded all the documents as certified copies (all certified on March 2013) except IELTS and Police Report - that i just issued- they're the original ones. is this ok? Or these too have to be certified copies.

Your answers on the above would be much appreciated.

Thanks for all your help.


----------



## Solo

Hi Mark, 

I am new to this forum but have always referred to it for all my immigration queries and its been great help, but now Im between a rock and a hard place. 

Here is the situation, I met my now girlfriend in november 2012, we became a couple in February 2013 then moved into her brothers house where she was living in September 2013. We got our own place in December 2013. She is a Permanent resident.

At the time we met I was on a Graduate visa (still am) and in the middle of a TRA assessment so I could apply for Permanent residency. Unfortunately my occupation was taken off the SOL list and this left me no choice but to plan to go back on a Student visa . My current visa (Graduate) expires in november 2014. 

My girlfriend had a casual job when we moved in together as she was in her last year of University. As a result I have had to do most of the financial heavy lifting. This has left me in a tricky spot since I cannot save up for a student visa(school fees and other included costs).

My partner had sponsored someone else in 2011. That didn't work out since he used her to get into the country and the relationship broke down in 2012. She cancelled her sponsorship before he got his permanent residency. She is in the process of filing for divorce.

I know you need to have been in a longstanding relationship which immigration says to be 2years. Or site compelling/ compassionate circumstances.

Just wondering if there are any waivers we can apply for or what way is best to go around our conundrum. 

Also if you know any good lawyers in Melbourne to help out.

Any help will be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks Mark.
Sorry for the long story.


----------



## Samanthayang

Hi Mark , 
My partner was in Bridging visa A with 20hr work permissionas he was on MRT for his student visa. And we just applied our 820 visa application in June and hes got BVC with no work permission. In the grant notice it said that this visa is not in effect cuz his bva is still in effect. So that means he still can work 20h or no ? Cuz the agent said he cant work and we are very confused cuz we also plan to apply for full work permission. What should we write ? BRIDGING A OR C ? 
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chocolate_thunda -

Thanks for the questions. It often takes a number of weeks (sometimes 1+ months) for results from the health exam to get back to the post or Embassy processing your visa application - given the 9+ month timeline, it's still early days - as long as you have proof that you sent the police certs and a receipt or something showing you completed the medical, I'd wait at least 1-2 months and see if they get their records updated by that time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate_thunda said:


> Hey Mark
> 
> My wife and I applied for a partner 309/100 visa for my wife on the 25th of May 2014 online, we received a request to provide biometrics that same day and also the link to arrange medicals was made available on the immi account web page.
> 
> My wife got the medical done on the 4th of June 2014 and got her biometrics taken on the 5th of June 2014. I have the e-medical information sheet and it says that the health case was submitted to DIBP on the 6th of June 2014.
> 
> I recently contacted the Australian High Commission in Islamabad to inquire if we had been assigned a case officer, I received a reply today that we haven't been assigned a case officer yet and he also stated in the email that "he could see" that we haven't completed the medical or the biometrics yet when in fact they have been done for more than a month now.
> 
> Could you tell me what to do?
> 
> Regards
> Chocolate_thunda


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks, Shell_32000! Congratulations on your partner visa grant - well done - great outcome!

Best,

Mark



shell_32000 said:


> Just wanted to say a big thank you to Mark Northam for all your advice, you were a great help  it's a wonderful thing that you do to help others on this forum when you're not getting paid for it, I don't know what we would do without you on this forum  we got our 820 partner visa granted on Wednesday of just seven months of waiting! We are so happy  Thanks again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

You absolutely need to make sure DIBP has the full and correct TRF number for your IELTS results. If you can update your EOI (ie, no invitation received yet), then do it there. If you've already received it, then update it on the visa application (if you're able to). If that's no possible, then you need to lodge Form 1023 and upload it to your online visa application and explain carefully the typo on the application. As your points are still correct things are likely to be OK, but you've got to make sure that is corrected or your visa application is in trouble.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dipiksg82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I back again to bother you with my question.
> 
> While filling EOI In had mentioned on 16 characters of my ielts trf, received invitation and now while filing for visa I realized that I need to add 2 more characters.
> 
> Now can I go ahead and fill correct number while filing for visa or should I contact immigration authorities to update the situation or shall I go she'd with filing my visa application with correct IELTS trf number?
> 
> Are there any chances my visa will be rejected for not filling the ielts characters completely?
> 
> Requesting you to please guide.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Dipika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liza -

Yes, that's a good approach in my view. The key is that he needs to be "living with you" and any absences (such as during the week when he's working) be established by the evidence as temporary in nature. So the less evidence he is "living" at a different address than you, the better - try to characterise the stays at that address as temporary (like living in a hotel room sort of thing) if that's accurate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Liza said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a question I hope you can help us with please.
> 
> My partner and I have been together since 2007. While in Canada due to his work being 100 km away from home he kept an apartment in the city where he worked. (He tried commuting but it was very stressful as the highway was extremely busy making it a long commute and also the roads could be treacherous in winter conditions).We were together on weekends, holidays and as often as possible during the week as I was often able to join him mid-week. We have declared all of this on our application.
> 
> We have many documents that show us living at the address we considered our home, however his Canadian bank account statements and credit card statements are mostly addressed to where he stayed weekdays. There is evidence on these documents we want to upload - dinners out he paid for, gifts for me etc...
> 
> We are thinking of making a statement to go along with this evidence to explain why these were sent to the secondary address - that they were everyday things he needed to deal with, and that the banking establishment was closed on weekends in our home town. Also before returning to Australia the addresses on the statements were all changed to our home address here in Canada (where I am still). These accounts are now also joint in my name.
> 
> Would this be the best way to go please? Do you have any suggestions?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Loveaustraliaforum -

Am out of the country so not able to get into a long answer on this one - to repeat, I would not consider a BV-D since at the time of application, you must prove to the case officer with evidence that you will be able to lodge a valid visa application within 5 days. PLUS, more importantly you cannot make a valid application inside Australia for a 189 visa while holding a BV-D. No possible way under the law - in order to make a valid onshore application for a 189 (after invitation) you must be holding a substantive visa (ie, a non-bridging visa), or a Bridging Visa A, B or C. But not D or E or any other type of bridging visa.

You are correct re: concern re: 8503 on a visitor visa, but there's little you can do about it - probably better chance of avoiding 8503 by lodging offshore ETA rather than onshore sc600 further visitor visa. But no way to guarantee no 8503. 8503 less likely on ETA than sc600.

Also: do NOT let your visa expire while onshore! There is no "grace period" like there is for a student visa, and since you won't be holding a substantive visa or a BVA, B or C you will not be able to lodge an onshore 189 in this situaiton.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



loveaustraliaforum said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your response. I really appreciate it.
> 
> Just to clarify, does it mean that if I get a Bridging Visa D, I cannot apply for 189 while in Australia? I am wondering what is the reason considering that Bridging Visa D is supposed to give an allowance of 5 business days to apply for a substantive visa.
> 
> If this is the case and the other option is to take a Visitor Visa to remain in Australia while waiting for my invitation, I am worried there might be a No Further Stay condition even though my country is on the ETA list because held a student visa before and currently now a 485. If in a worst case scenario whereby a No Further Stay condition is applied, will this condition prevent me from getting a 189 invitation? If I am still able invited, does the No Further Stay condition on the Visitor Visa means I have to leave Australia to be able for lodge my 189 and be offshore for 189 to be granted?
> 
> If I don't want to risk the chance of No Further Stay condition if applying for Visitor Visa (since I had student visa before and 485), what other visas can I apply for to remain in Australia while waiting for the next invitation rounds? As my country is on the ETA list and eligible to apply online, can I actually go to New Zealand for a few days and apply for the ETA which would fulfil the applying offshore requirement of ETA? Also, the ETA would not have any risk of No Further Stay condition, is that right?
> 
> If there is no other visa options, can I actually just wait for the next invitation rounds until up to 28 days after my current 485 visa expires? (my 485 will expire on 23rd July and next invitation round is 28th July). If my 485 expires but expired less than 28 days, would I still be able to be invited for 189 and still able to lodge for 189?
> 
> Once again, I really appreciate your help as my 485 is expiring so soon and I am running out of options to remain in Australia while waiting to be with my partner for next invitation rounds. My current thought now is to try applying for Visitor Visa from Australia and if really a No Further Stay condition is imposed, then I would go to New Zealand and apply a ETA from there to return to Australia to wait for the next 189 invitation rounds but I was hoping to get your advice first as I am not sure whether this would be considered the best option (because I'm not sure for example if I apply for the Visitor Visa first and if the 8503 condition is applied then I don't know whether it would affect my chance of my ETA being approved if I apply it later when in New Zealand for a few days). Thank you so much Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raigo -

I don't have enough info to give you specific advice on your case, however the BV-A will remain in effect until a decision on the 457. If the decision on the 457 is negative, then 28 days later the 461's BV-C will activate - if you have no work rights with that, you can lodge an application to add work rights (Form 1005) - in fact you can do that while the BV-A is still active. Probably best to wait out both bridging visas until you get decisions on the 457 and 461, however I can't recommend this as I don't have all the data on your case and there may be other factors that could change this advice. Will be back in Australia on Monday 28 July if you'd like to schedule a consultation to discuss your case in full - see my website address in the signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



celica39 said:


> Hey Mark,
> My quick story is that i was previously on a 457 sponsor visa, which was valid until the end of may, on the 23rd of May me and my employer started a new sponsor application and i was granted a bridging visa A. They recently asked my employer to provide some extra documents but because this year im now the on full time employee, we were concerned that our application will be refused and i started a new application sub 461 with my new zealand girlfriend and now ive got to the point where i dont know what to do, im on bridging visa a at the moment and i was a also granted a bridging visa c which is not valid because my bridging visa a is still active. What would be the best thing to do in my current situation as a i would like to work as well until i wait for my 461 visa to get approved.
> 
> Many thanks,
> Raigo.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amitsethiaustralia -

The link was only active for about an hour on 14 July, and many people missed out because NSW's servers were crashing under the load. Suggest you look for the thread "NSW Sponsorship Sells Out in Less Than 1 Hour" for detailed discussion on this.

As for the next intake in October, we're recommending to clients that they get as many of their friends as possible to launch a simultaneous attempt on the website to try and get the application in in the tiny window of time. It's ridiculous thing to have to do, but ridiculous just about sums up the NSW system at this point. Inadequate server capacity, and thousands of people pounding on the website at once trying to get a "golden ticket".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amitsethiaustralia said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I want to file for Skilled - Nominated (subclass 190) for NSW. On July 14 NSW opened the system for lodging visa electronically. But strange thing is that there is no link on the website for lodging the visa electronically. Could you please provide more information on this, as the next round for application would be on 14 Oct 2014. If possible please provide detail information with links.
> 
> Thanks In Advance


----------



## Kataria

Hi Mark,
You are doing great job,
I have a question regarding my visa application.
My Visa subclass 485 has been denied couple of days ago & the reason cited in the refusal letter is inability to meet Australian Study requirement. I have finished my masters of accounting studies from kaplan business school, completed 12 units & got 4 exemptions. They have rerefered that I have only finished 78 weeks when I have to complete 92 weeks. 
I check the various legal pages,
It clearly states that completed within two academic years & 16 months of studies. I meet both requirement.
I have been suggested to file a MRT by consultant,
Do you think they are going to give me a favorable decision ?
I must mention the CPA assessment clearly indicates my qualification to be equivalent to at least Australian Bachelor but doesn't have any mention anything about temporary visa ?
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Ninja69 -

Normally high quality colour scans of originals are acceptable to DIBP for online applications, so no need to copy & certify if you're doing colour scans.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Quick question... I am gathering documents for my Partner 820 Visa ( Defacto) to be done online.
> I will would like to ask if I need the original black and white receipts that I have need to be certified?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jag -

Not good. The nomination for a 186 or 187 for TRT cannot be made until the applicant has completed the 2 years - there is no provision under the regulations to waive this. I don't have access to your case info, but you may need to withdraw the nomination and application, then re-lodge both the nomination and the visa application assuming you now are past the 2-year point.

I have heard of some situations where the nomination is withdrawn and re-lodged, and the case officer is willing to wait on refusing the visa application and let it be re-linked to the new nomination, however I know of other cases where the case officer has refused to do this and the visa application is refused, which creates a bigger problem since at that point s48 of the Migration Act prevents you from lodging a further onshore application and you'd have to go offshore to lodge the ENS application (and not on a bridging visa B and return as that wouldn't work). If you withdraw your 186 application and re-lodge after a new nomination is lodged, you may avoid problems, but cannot specifically advise you on this since I don't have all info on your case. You may want to get professional advice before you take the next step in all of this as you're venturing into a tricky area of the migration law.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jag said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Would like to ask for some expert advise with this matter.
> 
> A letter from the case officer sent yesterday, 17July 2014. As per the case officer:
> _"Please note that the nomination application has been lodged under the TRT( Temporary Residence Transition stream)
> Requires the nominee to be on 457 visa for minimum of 24 months prior to the lodgement of the nomination application.
> 
> *Departmental records indicate that the 457 was granted to the nominee on 14.05.2012 and the nomination was lodged on 17.04.2014.*
> Please refer to the following policy extract for more clarification,
> 
> Nomination under the Temporary Residence Transition stream - Specific criteria
> The section applies to ENS and RSMS nominations lodged under the Temporary Residence Transition stream.The Temporary Residence Transition stream provides a streamlined pathway to employer sponsored permanent residence for persons who have been employed by the nominating employer as a primary UC-457 visa holder in the nominated occupation for a total of at least 2 years in the 3 year period immediately before the lodging of the nomination.
> At the same note, policy allows us to assess the nomination under D.E stream."_
> 
> Case officer has not released the decision yet and has given us time to reply back till Monday. Question is, is there any chance or is it worth requesting an appeal for consideration since the nomination was just lodged a month earlier? main reason is that both employer and I doesn't want to reach my visa expiration, 14May2014 (as mentioned above). I have been working for the same company since 8 January 2012, document that was lodged as per the case officer is complete and no any other issues at all other than the early lodging of nomination. Very stressed of thinking that Wife and I have to again pay for the visa (which is too expensive on our part) and do the process all over again.
> 
> Hoping you can provide us with some options on how to deal with this matter.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> JAG


----------



## dipiksg82

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> You absolutely need to make sure DIBP has the full and correct TRF number for your IELTS results. If you can update your EOI (ie, no invitation received yet), then do it there. If you've already received it, then update it on the visa application (if you're able to). If that's no possible, then you need to lodge Form 1023 and upload it to your online visa application and explain carefully the typo on the application. As your points are still correct things are likely to be OK, but you've got to make sure that is corrected or your visa application is in trouble.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

Thanks for guidance.

I have been able to edit and enter correct IELTS TRF NUMBER while filing for visa.

Would you suggest uploading 1023 even if I have been able to update the Ielts trf number or I am sorted as I have correctly updated the Ielts trf before filing the visa.

Seek your expert opinion on the same.

Appreciate your help and kindness for helping people like me out.

Regards,

Dipika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rakesh -

You need to read on the SA skilled site the specific rules for "Low Availability" occupations - I don't have them handy, but there are specific provisions for this you need to follow with SA - see their website for exact details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



raksh said:


> Hey,
> 
> I filed my EOI today along with an application to SA but the nominated occupation availability is showing up as "Low Availability". As of now, I have 70 points. I'm worried if there are lesser chances for my application to get selected. How does it exactly work?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SWG -

Delay in uploading docs probably not an issue unless you've already heard from DIBP. If you'd to work through all your documents with me, please book a consultation - too much back & forth to do here (see my website link below to book).

However you may have a big problem - if your skills assessment from ACS states a date that you are skilled (ie, "The following employment from DATE-HERE is considered skilled, etc...) and the DATE in that sentence is 2011 (etc), you cannot claim any work prior to that date for points. That's the entire purpose of that sentence, and it's critical. DIBP looks to ACS to determine when you are skilled - and what ACS says is what DIBP will follow. If you cannot justify with evidence all the points you've claimed, you'll have no choice but to either withdraw the visa or it will be refused. Most of the time (but not always), DIBP will send you a letter with the problem stated and give you a chance to respond, but since all points requirements for a skilled visa are locked in a time-of-invitation, there's virtually no way to fix a points problem for a skilled visa after application.

I may be wrong about whether you have a problem or not, since I don't have all of your case documents in front of me, but from what you've said, it's a concern...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SWG said:


> Hello Again Mark, i have few questions if you don't mind answering them:
> 
> -As i told you earlier, i lodged my application and got confirmation mail with application receipt on June 16th. But i just uploaded my documents few days ago. Is this could negatively affect my application? Like causing refusal or any delay? Because so far i haven't been contacted by any CO or anything.
> 
> - I've started working in September 2009, however ACS equated me for a title of System Analyst starting September 2011. Since i already lodged my application. Will they consider my working experience the one mentioned by ACS, or the one i stated in the application starting September 2009? Because if they considered the one stated in ACS, my application will go below 60! Please advise.
> 
> - I've uploaded the documents i used in my EOI (which was submitted on September 23rd, 2013) including the work documents (which showing i've been employed till the date the papers were issued and used for ACS asseessment - March 2013) is this ok, or i need to get new work documents? And what about other documents, is it ok to be using same documents i used for EOI?
> 
> - I tried to check documents checklist on the website, but link is invalid! I want to make sure i uploaded all the documents, and didn't miss any, do you mind revising the below list and tell me if i'm missing something
> - Certified Copy of the Passport (Certified March 2013)
> - Certified Copy of the Birth Certificate (Certified March 2013)
> - Certified Copy of College Degree (Certified March 2013)
> - Certified Copy of College Transcripts (Certified March 2013)
> - Certified Copy Of Work Experience in 2 different companies (Certified 2013)
> - Skills Assessment results by ACS
> - Original Scanned Version of Police Report (issued a month ago)
> - Original Scanned Version IELTS results
> 
> Are these documents enough? Please confirm, because i've been reading about taxes documents and other stuff.
> 
> - I uploaded all the documents as certified copies (all certified on March 2013) except IELTS and Police Report - that i just issued- they're the original ones. is this ok? Or these too have to be certified copies.
> 
> Your answers on the above would be much appreciated.
> 
> Thanks for all your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Solo -

Thanks for the questions. Can't comment on your realtionship evidence without seeing it, however assuming the sponsor applied for a partner visa less than 5 years ago, you have a Reg 1.20J problem to deal with and must get a waiver of this regulation in order for the sponsor to sponsor someone else within 5 years of the application date for the previous visa. If any visa was granted from the previous sponsorship, then the 5 year waiting requirement is activated.

Re: longstanding relationship, this is generally considered to be a partner relationship of 2 years with a child, or 3 years without a child.

If a relationship is not longstanding per the above requirements, it's still possible to get a waiver in some circumstances, but requires a detailed and effective legal submission to follow the DIBP policy elements and law regarding this part of Reg 1.20J. I suggest you get professional advice on this one.

Re: lawyers or agents in Melbourne, I have nothing to offer - the last time I referred someone to a lawyer in Melbourne it was a disaster and the client was unhappy, hence I don't do those recommendations any more! Would be happy to help you with this - we assist clients all over Australia and in many other countries - our office is in Parramatta (Sydney suburb) and we work regularly by Skype & phone as well. See website in my signature below for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Solo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new to this forum but have always referred to it for all my immigration queries and its been great help, but now Im between a rock and a hard place.
> 
> Here is the situation, I met my now girlfriend in november 2012, we became a couple in February 2013 then moved into her brothers house where she was living in September 2013. We got our own place in December 2013. She is a Permanent resident.
> 
> At the time we met I was on a Graduate visa (still am) and in the middle of a TRA assessment so I could apply for Permanent residency. Unfortunately my occupation was taken off the SOL list and this left me no choice but to plan to go back on a Student visa . My current visa (Graduate) expires in november 2014.
> 
> My girlfriend had a casual job when we moved in together as she was in her last year of University. As a result I have had to do most of the financial heavy lifting. This has left me in a tricky spot since I cannot save up for a student visa(school fees and other included costs).
> 
> My partner had sponsored someone else in 2011. That didn't work out since he used her to get into the country and the relationship broke down in 2012. She cancelled her sponsorship before he got his permanent residency. She is in the process of filing for divorce.
> 
> I know you need to have been in a longstanding relationship which immigration says to be 2years. Or site compelling/ compassionate circumstances.
> 
> Just wondering if there are any waivers we can apply for or what way is best to go around our conundrum.
> 
> Also if you know any good lawyers in Melbourne to help out.
> 
> Any help will be MUCH appreciated.
> 
> Thanks Mark.
> Sorry for the long story.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samanthayang -

Don't know enough about your case to give you specific advice, however as long as the BV-A is in effect, you can work according to the conditions in effect on that visa. You can check with VEVO online site to see what visa is in effect - the BV-A would normally be in effect until 28 days after the MRT decision. In that case, assuming MRT was negative, then on day 29 after the MRT decision, the BV-A would cease and the BV-C would activate. Once the BV-C activates, you are bound by the conditions of that visa. However for the BV-C you can apply for work rights by showing financial hardship if you were not allowed to work (use Form 1005). That way you may be able to add work rights to the BV-C before it even activates, which would then mean once the BV-C activates (when the BV-A ceases), you'd have full work rights if you were able to get those granted via Form 1005.

Not sure what the other agent is talking about. Until the BV-C activates, you are not governed by its conditions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Samanthayang said:


> Hi Mark ,
> My partner was in Bridging visa A with 20hr work permissionas he was on MRT for his student visa. And we just applied our 820 visa application in June and hes got BVC with no work permission. In the grant notice it said that this visa is not in effect cuz his bva is still in effect. So that means he still can work 20h or no ? Cuz the agent said he cant work and we are very confused cuz we also plan to apply for full work permission. What should we write ? BRIDGING A OR C ?
> Thanks


----------



## Samanthayang

Thanks a lot Mark but one more thing, now we are still in Bva with 20 hrs work but can we still apply for work rights to get full work rights ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kataria -

Thanks for the question. Problem with the ASR (Australian Study Requirement) is that any exemptions or credits given for previous study must be deducted from the total CRICOS registered time for the course in order to determine that amount of study that actually qualifies for the ASR. If the exemptions were for previous study in Australia, that is a far better situation than if the exemptions were for study elsewhere. The requirement for CRICOS is 92 weeks of study - this is the legal definition of 2 years of study. DIBP is looking for 92 weeks of study in Australia, which can be completed in 16 months or more (see regs for complete requirements - this is a simplified version of the requirement)

The basic formula is to take the number of studied units outside Australia over the total number in the course (in your case, this may be 4 / 16 or 25% and then deduct the proportionate amount of weeks of study from the CRICOS registered course time. So in this example you'd multiple the total weeks of study per CRICOS for your course by 75% to get the number of weeks per CRICOS of weeks studied in Australia for purposes of the ASR.

However that assumes that all of the credits and courses are given equal weighting by both your institution and the previous institution. Bottom line: it's a tricky calculation and you need to make sure you follow DIBP policy on this carefully in order to end up with the right number of weeks of study that can be used for the ASR. If the end result of the calculation is 92 weeks or more, you're good. If it's less than 92, then you do not meet the ASR.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kataria said:


> Hi Mark,
> You are doing great job,
> I have a question regarding my visa application.
> My Visa subclass 485 has been denied couple of days ago & the reason cited in the refusal letter is inability to meet Australian Study requirement. I have finished my masters of accounting studies from kaplan business school, completed 12 units & got 4 exemptions. They have rerefered that I have only finished 78 weeks when I have to complete 92 weeks.
> I check the various legal pages,
> It clearly states that completed within two academic years & 16 months of studies. I meet both requirement.
> I have been suggested to file a MRT by consultant,
> Do you think they are going to give me a favorable decision ?
> I must mention the CPA assessment clearly indicates my qualification to be equivalent to at least Australian Bachelor but doesn't have any mention anything about temporary visa ?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dipiksg82 -

If you were able to enter the correct number on the application, you should be fine. Form 1023 is only if you put an incorrect answer on a visa application response (not EOI).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dipiksg82 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thanks for guidance.
> 
> I have been able to edit and enter correct IELTS TRF NUMBER while filing for visa.
> 
> Would you suggest uploading 1023 even if I have been able to update the Ielts trf number or I am sorted as I have correctly updated the Ielts trf before filing the visa.
> 
> Seek your expert opinion on the same.
> 
> Appreciate your help and kindness for helping people like me out.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Dipika


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes. It is questionable whether they will consider request for full work rights for the BV-A, but they definitely would consider it for the BV-C, and you can lodge the Form 1005 to add those rights before the BV-C actually activates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Samanthayang said:


> Thanks a lot Mark but one more thing, now we are still in Bva with 20 hrs work but can we still apply for work rights to get full work rights ?


----------



## dipiksg82

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dipiksg82 -
> 
> If you were able to enter the correct number on the application, you should be fine. Form 1023 is only if you put an incorrect answer on a visa application response (not EOI).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks, GOD bless you Mark.


----------



## jag

Hi Mark,

Many thanks with all the info you have given me. Does this mean that I have to pay again once we re-lodged both nomination and visa application? And yes, I am now past the 2 year point last May 14 and can apply with the TRT stream.

Regards,
JAG



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jag -
> 
> Not good. The nomination for a 186 or 187 for TRT cannot be made until the applicant has completed the 2 years - there is no provision under the regulations to waive this. I don't have access to your case info, but you may need to withdraw the nomination and application, then re-lodge both the nomination and the visa application assuming you now are past the 2-year point.
> 
> I have heard of some situations where the nomination is withdrawn and re-lodged, and the case officer is willing to wait on refusing the visa application and let it be re-linked to the new nomination, however I know of other cases where the case officer has refused to do this and the visa application is refused, which creates a bigger problem since at that point s48 of the Migration Act prevents you from lodging a further onshore application and you'd have to go offshore to lodge the ENS application (and not on a bridging visa B and return as that wouldn't work). If you withdraw your 186 application and re-lodge after a new nomination is lodged, you may avoid problems, but cannot specifically advise you on this since I don't have all info on your case. You may want to get professional advice before you take the next step in all of this as you're venturing into a tricky area of the migration law.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Unfortunately yes. DIBP does not give refunds for withdrawn nominations or applications. Given this issue came up, you may want to consider getting professional advice re: the nomination and app to make sure there are no other pending issues with either. Also, you'll need to respond to DIBP within the time limit given in their notice/invitation to comment and specifically request that both the nom and application be withdrawn - as the employer is the applicant for the nom, the request to withdraw the nom must come from the employment, and the withdrawal req for the app must come from the applicant.

Again, not having seen either the nom or the app I cannot give you any specific advice on your case - as you see, the regulations about this sort of thing are complex and highly dependent on the exact details of your application and situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jag said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Many thanks with all the info you have given me. Does this mean that I have to pay again once we re-lodged both nomination and visa application? And yes, I am now past the 2 year point last May 14 and can apply with the TRT stream.
> 
> Regards,
> JAG


----------



## awatahmed

Hi Mark, thanks for yoru recent advice. Just wanted to check. On the Form 80, Part O Deportations, Question 41 states "Have you ever been excluded, asked to leave, deported or removed from any country?". Does the term "excluded" include cancellations of previous visas?

Regards 

ORIGINAL MESSAGE STRING BELOW:

Hi Awatahmed -

Thanks for the note - as you're from a middle eastern country, your Form 80 will likely be subject to fairly extensive security checking - simply having a new passport won't defeat other cross-references based on name, date of birth, etc. My advice is simple: tell the truth. Declare the travel history fully (they can find this easily anyway from USA records they interface with), and declare the refusal. If they don't ask about cancellations, no need to declare that unless asked.

Unless DIBP has a reason for concern, they don't go through passports page-by-page at the immigration control points in Australia (airport, etc). Checking your past travel history and determining if you are a suitable candidate for PR is not their job - that's the job of the people processing your visa.

Finally, consider the cost if you are caught - highly unlikely to get any visa in the near future, thousands of dollars down the drain, etc. Far easier simply to explain the refusal in the best light you can reasonably do so - Australia has similar student visa "genuine student" policies, but PR visas don't incorporate those assessments, since they are permanent visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Quote:
Originally Posted by awatahmed View Post
Hi Mark

I am a Mechanical Engineer from Jordan and intend to apply for the 189 visa through skillselect. Sometime back I had an F-1 visa (student visa for USA) denied. The F-1 was not granted because of a failure to establish sufficient ties to my home country. At the time, i had an existing B-1 (USA tourist visa) visa. The embassy in Amman cancelled that visa during the process without giving any reason.

I suspect the reason for the cancellation might be a trip I made to an immediate family relative in the USA on that B1 visa for about 5 months. I was unemployed at the time so I took a long vacation. I did not overstay the visa (the entry permit was for 6 months) but it seemed to me during the visa interview that the prolonged length of the stay might have convinced the visa officer of a possibly immigrant intention, thus the denial and cancellation. I have no criminal record in any country.

My questions are:

1. Since my passport is due to expire soon, some friends have recommended to me to apply on the basis of the new passport number and not to declare my trip to the US and the F-1 visa denial in the relevant sections of Form 80.

2. Another option would be to apply with the new passport number but to declare the travel history and the F-1 denial. The idea being that, at least, the new passport would not contain the canceled-B1-visa-label on it. I’m concerned that the border control officer in Australia might create problems for my entry if he/she sees the cancelled B-1 visa label on my passport.

3. The last option being to use the existing passport number and ofcourse declaring the travel history and the F-1 denial on the Form 80. But how badly does the canceled-B1-visa-label affect my entry when I hand my passport to border control?

4. Additionally, I couldn’t find a space on the Form 80 for cancellation of any visas. There is one for deportation/entry-refusal but I wasn’t deported or refused entry. Should I then stay quite about the cancellation?

Your guidance is very appreciated.


----------



## rajitsin

Hi Mark, a friend applied for both Australian and Canadian immigration and from what i heard he winded up getting both. I was wondering that if i did the same would that negatively affect my application. Im interested in the 189 or 190 visa. Didnt see anywhere in the forms where i am required to declare this information.

Regards


----------



## Ninja69

MarkNortham said:


> HI Ninja69 -
> 
> Normally high quality colour scans of originals are acceptable to DIBP for online applications, so no need to copy & certify if you're doing colour scans.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for the help. Have a great day! ��

Another question that I forgot to ask....

In filing out the form 47SP online, I have opened my IMMI account and saved it. 
When can 47SP be downloaded so that my partner will be able to fill out the form before submitting online. Do we need to wait till I submit and pay?

Thank you in advance !
Cheers,
Ninja 69


----------



## megsy

*Partner Visa*

Hi again Mark,

My husband is on a Prospective marriage Visa (from Indonesia) living in Australia now, we just got married and his Visa expires in October. I want to keep on top of everything to apply for his Partner Visas and have been going through the checklists. I have just seen that he must provide a police check for this Visa aswell, does this mean he must travel all the way back to Bali before October to obtain the check? This will be a real pain as the police check is the most frustrating documentation to obtain in Indonesia and expensive for him to travel home for this purpose only.

Thanks again for all your help,


----------



## CollegeGirl

Hi Meg - I edited out your full name. Generally we ask folks not to use those here unless they're migration agents as it's a public forum and we like to protect our members' privacy. 

Normally I'd just wait for Mark to answer since this is his thread and all, but since he's traveling and your question is an easy one, I'll answer it for you. They usually don't require new medicals or police checks when you're applying from PMV to 820. They'll let you know if you need them, but it's unlikely, especially if it hasn't been a year yet since you originally obtained them. Even if it HAS been over a year they still likely won't ask for them - they didn't in my case, and it had been over a year for both medicals and police checks.


----------



## megsy

*Thankyou!!*

Its official college girl, i am in LOVE with you. I was in a full-on PANIC... in this case i will wait until it is requested of us... and THEN i will panic  thanks so much


----------



## CollegeGirl

megsy said:


> Its official college girl, i am in LOVE with you. I was in a full-on PANIC... in this case i will wait until it is requested of us... and THEN i will panic  thanks so much


Bahahaha. My husband is sitting right here. I read him what you said. He doesn't seem too worried, LOL.  So glad I could help!


----------



## Marco12

*485 visa problems*

Hi Mark,
I've finished my bachelor degree in Australia and just found that because i had fast tracked my course i only have 28 days to leave or make a different arrangements (even that my student visa still valid till March 2015)
So I've decided to apply for post graduate 485 visa . All my documents are ready except the national police certificate which will take up to 4 months to be ready. Would that be a problem with my application? would that slow the process?(in other words can they do all the processing and grant the visa once i get it. 
If i can get my police check that was provided 2 years ago when applied for student visa? would that help? (i visited my country for two weeks last year)
Last inquiry- now after finishing my course i have the right to work unlimited hours but my employer doesn't understand that as he deals with me as student visa holder, so any chance i can obtain like legal document with complete right to work?
Thanks in advance


----------



## nganle95

*Perth WA partner visa*

I want to sponsor my boyfriend to apply a partner visa, hes currently on a student visa with a valid stay until August 2016. We have been dating for nearly year and lived together 10 months. I want to find out the what are the process and documents requires prior lodging the application. I also noticed that WA partner visa application are a bit different from other states, for example WA does not accept a registered de facto relationship as a legal document. There are also other inquiries but I rather make contact with you personally for future references.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Awatahmed -

My view is that it would not, assuming they only cancelled the visa. Here are the definitions I'd give those words:

Excluded - had an order made that you may not enter a country for a period of time, or indefinitely.

Deported - forcibly removed from a country you were a citizen of

Removed - forcibly removed form a country you had residency rights or a temporary visa to, but were not a citizen of

Leave - you were requested to depart from a country you had resided in under some sort of a visa

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



awatahmed said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for yoru recent advice. Just wanted to check. On the Form 80, Part O Deportations, Question 41 states "Have you ever been excluded, asked to leave, deported or removed from any country?". Does the term "excluded" include cancellations of previous visas?
> 
> Regards
> 
> ORIGINAL MESSAGE STRING BELOW:
> 
> Hi Awatahmed -
> 
> Thanks for the note - as you're from a middle eastern country, your Form 80 will likely be subject to fairly extensive security checking - simply having a new passport won't defeat other cross-references based on name, date of birth, etc. My advice is simple: tell the truth. Declare the travel history fully (they can find this easily anyway from USA records they interface with), and declare the refusal. If they don't ask about cancellations, no need to declare that unless asked.
> 
> Unless DIBP has a reason for concern, they don't go through passports page-by-page at the immigration control points in Australia (airport, etc). Checking your past travel history and determining if you are a suitable candidate for PR is not their job - that's the job of the people processing your visa.
> 
> Finally, consider the cost if you are caught - highly unlikely to get any visa in the near future, thousands of dollars down the drain, etc. Far easier simply to explain the refusal in the best light you can reasonably do so - Australia has similar student visa "genuine student" policies, but PR visas don't incorporate those assessments, since they are permanent visas.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Quote:
> Originally Posted by awatahmed View Post
> Hi Mark
> 
> I am a Mechanical Engineer from Jordan and intend to apply for the 189 visa through skillselect. Sometime back I had an F-1 visa (student visa for USA) denied. The F-1 was not granted because of a failure to establish sufficient ties to my home country. At the time, i had an existing B-1 (USA tourist visa) visa. The embassy in Amman cancelled that visa during the process without giving any reason.
> 
> I suspect the reason for the cancellation might be a trip I made to an immediate family relative in the USA on that B1 visa for about 5 months. I was unemployed at the time so I took a long vacation. I did not overstay the visa (the entry permit was for 6 months) but it seemed to me during the visa interview that the prolonged length of the stay might have convinced the visa officer of a possibly immigrant intention, thus the denial and cancellation. I have no criminal record in any country.
> 
> My questions are:
> 
> 1. Since my passport is due to expire soon, some friends have recommended to me to apply on the basis of the new passport number and not to declare my trip to the US and the F-1 visa denial in the relevant sections of Form 80.
> 
> 2. Another option would be to apply with the new passport number but to declare the travel history and the F-1 denial. The idea being that, at least, the new passport would not contain the canceled-B1-visa-label on it. I'm concerned that the border control officer in Australia might create problems for my entry if he/she sees the cancelled B-1 visa label on my passport.
> 
> 3. The last option being to use the existing passport number and ofcourse declaring the travel history and the F-1 denial on the Form 80. But how badly does the canceled-B1-visa-label affect my entry when I hand my passport to border control?
> 
> 4. Additionally, I couldn't find a space on the Form 80 for cancellation of any visas. There is one for deportation/entry-refusal but I wasn't deported or refused entry. Should I then stay quite about the cancellation?
> 
> Your guidance is very appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajitsin -

Thanks for the note - sounds like your friend hit the visa jackpot!

Generally no negative affect if you have applied for a PR visa for 2 countries simultaneously. If it's temporary visas we're talking about, then that could be an issue since the "genuine" student/visitor/position/etc policy directives can come into play in some of these instances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rajitsin said:


> Hi Mark, a friend applied for both Australian and Canadian immigration and from what i heard he winded up getting both. I was wondering that if i did the same would that negatively affect my application. Im interested in the 189 or 190 visa. Didnt see anywhere in the forms where i am required to declare this information.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

You can google "DIAC Form 47sp" and get the PDF version of the form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Thank you Mark for the help. Have a great day!
> 
> Another question that I forgot to ask....
> 
> In filing out the form 47SP online, I have opened my IMMI account and saved it.
> When can 47SP be downloaded so that my partner will be able to fill out the form before submitting online. Do we need to wait till I submit and pay?
> 
> Thank you in advance !
> Cheers,
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marco12 -

Thanks for the note. They might accept your previous police cert although it is expired - this happens sometimes if you can show a minimum or no visits to your home country since the cert was issued - but make sure you double check all the time-of-application requirements for the 485 because they are strictly enforced - ie, you must show evidence you've applied for an AFP Police Cert as of time of application, plus the usual other ones - IELTS, etc at time of application.

Currently VEVO printout is the best/only way to get a listing of your current visa and its validity, conditions, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Marco12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I've finished my bachelor degree in Australia and just found that because i had fast tracked my course i only have 28 days to leave or make a different arrangements (even that my student visa still valid till March 2015)
> So I've decided to apply for post graduate 485 visa . All my documents are ready except the national police certificate which will take up to 4 months to be ready. Would that be a problem with my application? would that slow the process?(in other words can they do all the processing and grant the visa once i get it.
> If i can get my police check that was provided 2 years ago when applied for student visa? would that help? (i visited my country for two weeks last year)
> Last inquiry- now after finishing my course i have the right to work unlimited hours but my employer doesn't understand that as he deals with me as student visa holder, so any chance i can obtain like legal document with complete right to work?
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nganle95 -

Thanks for the note. The application is the same throughout Australia, however SA and WA do not allow registered relationships, so if you live in those states, you're not able to automatically satisfy the 12-month living together requirement prior to application with a state registration of your relationship.

Re: other requirements, the DIBP site has a document checklist under the partner visa section, and there are a number of excellent threads here on the forum where people have shared their information/experiences re: partner visa evidence and documents.

If you'd like to work with a migration agent and have the agent guide you through the process and prepare the application packge for you (subject to your final approval), give feedback and notes on witness and relationship statements, and serve as your appointed migration agent with DIBP throughout the process, I would be happy to assist you with this - you can learn more from our website listed below in my signature - direct email also listed there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nganle95 said:


> I want to sponsor my boyfriend to apply a partner visa, hes currently on a student visa with a valid stay until August 2016. We have been dating for nearly year and lived together 10 months. I want to find out the what are the process and documents requires prior lodging the application. I also noticed that WA partner visa application are a bit different from other states, for example WA does not accept a registered de facto relationship as a legal document. There are also other inquiries but I rather make contact with you personally for future references.


----------



## Marco12

Thanks a lot Mark for the quick reply on Sunday
That was really helpful


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi Mark,

Many thanks for help. My agent apply for nomination on 30th jun 2014. He told me they contact last Friday and ask for some additional documents. How long it usually take this process? I have nomination application conformation mail (TRN NUMBER) can I track nomination application ? 

Thanks
Bharat


----------



## While waiting

Dear Mark! I have been trolling this thread for a while)) You are doing such a great job for everyone!

I would really appreciate if you give me some advice...

Here is a story... I studied in Oz for 2 years (2011-2013). After finishing the course my student visa was valid for 1 year more. I moved to US, canceled my student visa. 6 months later applied for a 3m visa 600 (my oz bf sponsored me, we didn't state that we are in relationships), got it granted in 1 day (no 8503 condition), spend 2m in Oz. On July 9th applied again for a 3m visa 600, still waiting... Our initial plan is to apply for 820 from a Visitor visa. First and second applications are the same except I was separated from my husband at that time and divorced at the moment. Employed, high risk country citizen, PR in US.

Waiting makes us very nervous... Just hoping to get the same visa this time (without 8305 condition)... 

Is that possible? What do you think? 

Sorry, I know my question sounds stupid but you know, we both get so nervous before such a big change life change...

Thank you very much Mark!!!


----------



## While waiting

Dear Mark! I have been trolling this thread for a while)) You are doing such a great job for everyone!

I would really appreciate if you give me some advice...

Here is a story... I studied in Oz for 2 years (2011-2013). After finishing the course my student visa was valid for 1 year more. I moved to US, canceled my student visa. 6 months later applied for a 3m visa 600 (my oz bf sponsored me, we didn't state that we are in relationships), got it granted in 1 day (no 8503 condition), spend 2m in Oz. On July 9th applied again for a 3m visa 600, still waiting... Our initial plan is to apply for 820 from a Visitor visa. First and second applications are the same except I was separated from my husband at that time and divorced at the moment. Employed, high risk country citizen, PR in US.

Waiting makes us very nervous... Just hoping to get the same visa this time (without 8305 condition)... 

Is that possible? What do you think? 

Sorry, I know my question sounds stupid but you know, we both get so nervous before such a big change life change...

Thank you very much Mark!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi While Waiting -

Thanks for the kind words! Great question - yes, waiting is the worst part! My guess is maybe 30-40% chance of 8503 on second visitor visa from high risk country applicant. They will probably ask you some questions this time re: why returning, etc, and then make a decision on the visa and whether to impose condition 8503.

The tricky part is, do you tell them if asked why you're coming to Australia that you plan to lodge an 820/801 onshore? Problem is that is not compatible with a temporary visitor for tourism purposes. Another option is to say you want to spend more time together as the relationship is getting a bit more serious, etc.

Either way, not a lot you can do but wait - wish I had better news!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



While waiting said:


> Dear Mark! I have been trolling this thread for a while)) You are doing such a great job for everyone!
> 
> I would really appreciate if you give me some advice...
> 
> Here is a story... I studied in Oz for 2 years (2011-2013). After finishing the course my student visa was valid for 1 year more. I moved to US, canceled my student visa. 6 months later applied for a 3m visa 600 (my oz bf sponsored me, we didn't state that we are in relationships), got it granted in 1 day (no 8503 condition), spend 2m in Oz. On July 9th applied again for a 3m visa 600, still waiting... Our initial plan is to apply for 820 from a Visitor visa. First and second applications are the same except I was separated from my husband at that time and divorced at the moment. Employed, high risk country citizen, PR in US.
> 
> Waiting makes us very nervous... Just hoping to get the same visa this time (without 8305 condition)...
> 
> Is that possible? What do you think?
> 
> Sorry, I know my question sounds stupid but you know, we both get so nervous before such a big change life change...
> 
> Thank you very much Mark!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bhalo_Fish -

Depending on the state, nomination applications can take from 2 to 12 weeks. Usually no tracking available - just get to wait until they make a decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Many thanks for help. My agent apply for nomination on 30th jun 2014. He told me they contact last Friday and ask for some additional documents. How long it usually take this process? I have nomination application conformation mail (TRN NUMBER) can I track nomination application ?
> 
> Thanks
> Bharat


----------



## pomwantingtomove

Hi Mark,

What happens if an 189/190 applicant falls pregnant after submitting their apllication? If this happens before the medical I'm assuming that the xray part will have to be postponed until after the child was born but then what happens with the child's visa?

Also, would there be a difference if a child was born (assuming the visa was granted) before or after the visa had been activated? 

Kind regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pomwantingtomove -

Generally a decision (grant) for the entire visa (for all applicants) is held up until the x-ray can be completed and checked, since these visas area "one fails, all fail" so one applicant failing the health criteria can cause a refusal for all applicants.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pomwantingtomove said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> What happens if an 189/190 applicant falls pregnant after submitting their apllication? If this happens before the medical I'm assuming that the xray part will have to be postponed until after the child was born but then what happens with the child's visa?
> 
> Also, would there be a difference if a child was born (assuming the visa was granted) before or after the visa had been activated?
> 
> Kind regards.


----------



## pomwantingtomove

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pomwantingtomove -
> 
> Generally a decision (grant) for the entire visa (for all applicants) is held up until the x-ray can be completed and checked, since these visas area "one fails, all fail" so one applicant failing the health criteria can cause a refusal for all applicants.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


So can someone include an unborn in an application or add an unborn if someone fell pregnant after they submitted? I understand the 'one fails, all fails' but don't quite understand how to apply for a child i.e. does someone have to wait for the child to be born and then apply for the child separately or will they be included?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pomwantingtomove -

Sorry for any confusion - the chest x-ray is for the mother's exam - if the mother cannot complete her exam, the grant is generally delayed for all on the application since if the mother were to fail, all would fail, etc. Once the baby is born (if before the grant), the baby would be added to the application and would need a medical exam in order to be granted a visa (obviously no chest x-ray or HIV test for the baby). In these cases generally a letter from a paediatrician or GP for the baby describing the baby's general medical condition is sufficient.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pomwantingtomove said:


> So can someone include an unborn in an application or add an unborn if someone fell pregnant after they submitted? I understand the 'one fails, all fails' but don't quite understand how to apply for a child i.e. does someone have to wait for the child to be born and then apply for the child separately or will they be included?


----------



## Ninja69

Good day Mark! 

I have my IMMI account and started filling out form 47SP and saved it. I am applying online 820 ( Defacto) Partner Visa. 

When can my partner start filing out 40 SP? Do we need to wait till I submit and pay? 

Also, If I decide to include later in my two girls who are both in Philippines 20years old and 17 years old before my temporary Partnet Visa is approved, do they need to enter Australia soon? 

What if I apply their visa after my Temporary Partner Visa was approved what kind of visa should. I apply for them ? 

Thank you in advance , 
Cheers!
Ninja 69


----------



## While waiting

Thank you for reply Mark!

That totally helps!!

Have a great day


----------



## Lily88

Hi Mark,

I am applying for 189 visa and I have to show evidence that my spouse has functional English. My partner graduated at TAFE in accounting with an advanced diploma and studied for 2 years full-time. He has a certificate from the school that he finished his studies but it does no state how long was the course and that the instructions was in English. 

Is the certificate enough as evidence or does he need a letter from the school with more information?

Thank you in advance

Lily


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi Mark, 
Thanks a lot it helps me lot. 

Regards
Bharat


----------



## loveaustraliaforum

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your reply. Really appreciate it.

In this case, as my current 485 visa is expiring in 2 days (this Wednesday), I am thinking of applying for a subclass 600 Visitor Visa today as that seems the only visa option from that can be applied from inside Australia that can be approved quickly. Is the processing time standard still 1 business day and if not, will they grant a bridging visa in meantime since my current visa is expiring in 2 days?

Also, is visiting/staying with my parter while waiting for 189 invitation a valid reason for Visitor Visa subclass 600?

What do you think are the chances of 8503 No Further Stay imposed on my Visitor Visa applied online from inside Australia? (I am from low risk ETA approved country and previously held a student visa, 485 and currently 485 subsequent entrant with a EOI lodged)

If a 8503 No Further Stay is imposed on my Visitor Visa, I plan to go offshore and apply an ETA to return to Australia to wait for my 189 invitation. Will a 8503 NFS on my Visitor Visa affect my chances of ETA approval 
and/or
chances of 8503 NFS on ETA in future?

Thank you very much Mark.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Loveaustraliaforum -
> 
> Am out of the country so not able to get into a long answer on this one - to repeat, I would not consider a BV-D since at the time of application, you must prove to the case officer with evidence that you will be able to lodge a valid visa application within 5 days. PLUS, more importantly you cannot make a valid application inside Australia for a 189 visa while holding a BV-D. No possible way under the law - in order to make a valid onshore application for a 189 (after invitation) you must be holding a substantive visa (ie, a non-bridging visa), or a Bridging Visa A, B or C. But not D or E or any other type of bridging visa.
> 
> You are correct re: concern re: 8503 on a visitor visa, but there's little you can do about it - probably better chance of avoiding 8503 by lodging offshore ETA rather than onshore sc600 further visitor visa. But no way to guarantee no 8503. 8503 less likely on ETA than sc600.
> 
> Also: do NOT let your visa expire while onshore! There is no "grace period" like there is for a student visa, and since you won't be holding a substantive visa or a BVA, B or C you will not be able to lodge an onshore 189 in this situaiton.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## amaria90

Hi Mark,

I'm looking for some advice in this somewhat tricky situation. I'm 6 months pregnant with my partner who's an Australian citizen. I'm currently on evisitor visa(3 months, will run out in the middle of August). I have been in Australia for over 2 years; I used to be in a relationship with my ex partner who I applied for a de facto visa with(never received the visa, I cancelled the bridging visa when we broke up). 

What are my options in regards to another partner visa? We haven't been living together for 12 months. We're not married yet. Would I be eligible for a partner visa if we got married asap? Any other visas I could be eligible for without having to leave the country? We are in a genuine relationship and the situation is quite complicated. 
I appreciate your reply. Thank you.
Kind Regards,
Maria


----------



## rajitsin

Hi Mark, regarding security checks for applicants from high risk countries, would you say in your experience that they take lesser time if the candidate is a female. Thanks a lot for your guidance.

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Yes, the other online form (Sponsor) is only able to be completed after you lodge & pay for the applicant form. See "Sponsor a partner ..." type under "New Application" button on ImmiAccount.

Don't have enough info on the children questions - options are tricky if you do not include them in the original application, and if over 18 there are dependency requirements that may or may not be met - would need to work with you in a consultation to go through all the details regarding this situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Good day Mark!
> 
> I have my IMMI account and started filling out form 47SP and saved it. I am applying online 820 ( Defacto) Partner Visa.
> 
> When can my partner start filing out 40 SP? Do we need to wait till I submit and pay?
> 
> Also, If I decide to include later in my two girls who are both in Philippines 20years old and 17 years old before my temporary Partnet Visa is approved, do they need to enter Australia soon?
> 
> What if I apply their visa after my Temporary Partner Visa was approved what kind of visa should. I apply for them ?
> 
> Thank you in advance ,
> Cheers!
> Ninja 69


----------



## sandeep.rajpura

Hi Mark

Hello sir /madam 

I am sandeep .. I have done commercial cookery , hospitality management and diploma in business from Perth . I have full skill assessment as well . And have three years experience as a cook in WA and 1 year in India in same occupation . I got 6 band in each module. But I have 3 years exclusion period as i was on BVE and now I am in India . (Came back July 2013 ) .My wife is in Australia on bridging visa (886 visa). She also have skill assessment . She got 6 band each too .. Could you please suggest me that which permanent visa I can apply for any state of Australia except RSMS ?

Is there any chances for 489,189 or 190 for any state of Australia ??

I am eagerly waiting for your reply

Regards 
Sandeep sharma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Loveaustraliaforum -

Hard to say re: 1 day processing time. I'd almost expect the ETA to be approved faster since it's online, but you could only do this option if you are outside Australia. Not sure re: visiting partner whether that would qualify with DIBP for sc600 visa - that's a judgement call by the case officer.

There are certain offshore visas that are not given bridging visas upon application - I am on holiday now and not able to check everything out from here, but I would ask DIBP specifically whether this is an "offshore class visa" - if so, there is no bridging visa automatically granted.

8503 on a sc600 could make it more difficult to get ETA after that. But overall, DIBP doesn't want to see repeated visitor visa applications for partners generally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



loveaustraliaforum said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your reply. Really appreciate it.
> 
> In this case, as my current 485 visa is expiring in 2 days (this Wednesday), I am thinking of applying for a subclass 600 Visitor Visa today as that seems the only visa option from that can be applied from inside Australia that can be approved quickly. Is the processing time standard still 1 business day and if not, will they grant a bridging visa in meantime since my current visa is expiring in 2 days?
> 
> Also, is visiting/staying with my parter while waiting for 189 invitation a valid reason for Visitor Visa subclass 600?
> 
> What do you think are the chances of 8503 No Further Stay imposed on my Visitor Visa applied online from inside Australia? (I am from low risk ETA approved country and previously held a student visa, 485 and currently 485 subsequent entrant with a EOI lodged)
> 
> If a 8503 No Further Stay is imposed on my Visitor Visa, I plan to go offshore and apply an ETA to return to Australia to wait for my 189 invitation. Will a 8503 NFS on my Visitor Visa affect my chances of ETA approval
> and/or
> chances of 8503 NFS on ETA in future?
> 
> Thank you very much Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajitsin -

I haven't noticed any appreciable differences in the delay factor depending on male vs female.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rajitsin said:


> Hi Mark, regarding security checks for applicants from high risk countries, would you say in your experience that they take lesser time if the candidate is a female. Thanks a lot for your guidance.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maria -

First you'll need to check whether your eVisitor has condition 8503 on it - if not, that's good. If it does, then suggest you get professional help with an 8503 waiver request.

Assuming no 8503 condition, whether you are set now for a partner visa application would depend on the evidence you have of your relationship - if you are in an Australian state that allows registered relationships, that would waive the 12 month living together requirement for a defacto partner visa application. If not, then marriage may be a better option as it doesn't have the 12 month living together requirement. There is a compelling conditions option for the 12 months/defacto option, and having a child is one way to satisfy this, however before the child is born it may be tough to get the waiver.

Probably best to work with you in a consultation to explain more of this and go over your case in detail to see if any other visa(s) may be a good choice - if you'd like to book a consultation, please see my website in the signature below and click on the Professional Consultation link.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amaria90 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm looking for some advice in this somewhat tricky situation. I'm 6 months pregnant with my partner who's an Australian citizen. I'm currently on evisitor visa(3 months, will run out in the middle of August). I have been in Australia for over 2 years; I used to be in a relationship with my ex partner who I applied for a de facto visa with(never received the visa, I cancelled the bridging visa when we broke up).
> 
> What are my options in regards to another partner visa? We haven't been living together for 12 months. We're not married yet. Would I be eligible for a partner visa if we got married asap? Any other visas I could be eligible for without having to leave the country? We are in a genuine relationship and the situation is quite complicated.
> I appreciate your reply. Thank you.
> Kind Regards,
> Maria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandeep -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



sandeep.rajpura said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hello sir /madam
> 
> I am sandeep .. I have done commercial cookery , hospitality management and diploma in business from Perth . I have full skill assessment as well . And have three years experience as a cook in WA and 1 year in India in same occupation . I got 6 band in each module. But I have 3 years exclusion period as i was on BVE and now I am in India . (Came back July 2013 ) .My wife is in Australia on bridging visa (886 visa). She also have skill assessment . She got 6 band each too .. Could you please suggest me that which permanent visa I can apply for any state of Australia except RSMS ?
> 
> Is there any chances for 489,189 or 190 for any state of Australia ??
> 
> I am eagerly waiting for your reply
> 
> Regards
> Sandeep sharma


----------



## amaria90

Thank you Mark, great help


----------



## Lily88

Hi Mark,

I am applying for 189 visa and I have to show evidence that my spouse has functional English. My partner graduated at TAFE in accounting with an advanced diploma and studied for 2 years full-time. He has a certificate from the school that he finished his studies but it does no state how long was the course and that the instructions was in English. 

Is the certificate enough as evidence or does he need a letter from the school with more information?

Thank you in advance

Lily


----------



## milkyway518

*question related to Skilled 189 visa including spouse in my application*

Hello Mark,
First of all, thank you for the great kindness for replying all sorts of questions related to visa application.

My situation is that I am now currently under the process of skilled 189 visa
application, I intend to include my husband in my application, we've been dating for 8 years but had never been officially lived together since April/2014 when he entered in AU with working holiday visa subclass 417, we had lived in AU together for 3 months until the end of June, and got married with my husband in AU on 23/06/2014. I had left AU on 30/06 owing to my WHV is going to expire. So now I am offshore and my husband still in AU, my question is , with respect to including my husband in my visa application, 
1. Do I need to provide any evidence except for marriage certificate for this?(eg. joint account in Australian bank, but the fact is the account only just been opened for 4 months.)
2. Does it matter that me and my husband only been married for around a week in AU, and now live separately? 
3. When I check the document checklist on the immigration website, it says any who over 18 years old dependent family member that need to complete the 47a form, but my husband is now had a job in AU , do I need to complete this form?

Thank you so much for your great help!!!!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lily88 -

Assuming that was a TAFE in Australia, should not be a problem. Suggest you also include the transcript to show that all courses were taken in Australia (ie, not taken outside Australia and then given credit at TAFE). Here's a link with more info:

http://www.immi.gov.au/FAQs/Pages/how-can-i-prove-i-have-functional-english.aspx

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lily88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for 189 visa and I have to show evidence that my spouse has functional English. My partner graduated at TAFE in accounting with an advanced diploma and studied for 2 years full-time. He has a certificate from the school that he finished his studies but it does no state how long was the course and that the instructions was in English.
> 
> Is the certificate enough as evidence or does he need a letter from the school with more information?
> 
> Thank you in advance
> 
> Lily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Milkyway518 -

Thanks for the questions and kind words. Substantially more than a marriage certificate is required to evidence a genuine relationship for any Australian PR visa. The fact that you've lived together for such a short time and were married only recently will create a challenge for you to provide sufficient relationship evidence and statements, as the short time and recent marriage could cause DIBP to have concerns that the marriage was done only for visa purposes.

Suggest you look at the different partner visa threads here on the forum for more on relationship evidence and statements, and download the DIBP Partner Visa Booklet that has more details on the four major types of relationship evidence recognised by DIBP. Given the situation, you may also want to get professional advice vs. trying to do this yourself, given the challenges.

Re: forms, these are all done online now, 47a not required for sc189 adult secondary applicants.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



milkyway518 said:


> Hello Mark,
> First of all, thank you for the great kindness for replying all sorts of questions related to visa application.
> 
> My situation is that I am now currently under the process of skilled 189 visa
> application, I intend to include my husband in my application, we've been dating for 8 years but had never been officially lived together since April/2014 when he entered in AU with working holiday visa subclass 417, we had lived in AU together for 3 months until the end of June, and got married with my husband in AU on 23/06/2014. I had left AU on 30/06 owing to my WHV is going to expire. So now I am offshore and my husband still in AU, my question is , with respect to including my husband in my visa application,
> 1. Do I need to provide any evidence except for marriage certificate for this?(eg. joint account in Australian bank, but the fact is the account only just been opened for 4 months.)
> 2. Does it matter that me and my husband only been married for around a week in AU, and now live separately?
> 3. When I check the document checklist on the immigration website, it says any who over 18 years old dependent family member that need to complete the 47a form, but my husband is now had a job in AU , do I need to complete this form?
> 
> Thank you so much for your great help!!!!!!!


----------



## Snow

Hi Mark

When applying online for our 309/100 sublclass is it acceptable to fill out the forms 40SP And 47SP electronically and add our signatures in and upload as a PDF? 
Also, is the booklet 1127 slightly out of date? Part of it says that you can't apply online for partner visas which you can now. Is online application a recent thing? 

Also the 1127 states that 40SP has a section that asks for evidence of my sponsor's work and financial status but on the actual form I see nothing like that, only asking for signatures that acknowledge we understand that I'm my sponsor's financial responsibility upon arriving in Australia. Is it fine to state in the additional info section of the form that my sponsor has work and we have plenty of support available should we need it?

Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snow -

You're correct - way out of date. For 309/100 online apps, you need to use the online forms - there are 2 listed under the ImmiAccount options for new application. No need to use PDF forms 40sp or 47sp - there two online forms are almost identical. Generally evidence of sponsor's employment is requested, but no specific amount, etc is required. If Form 80 is requested, then use the PDF Form 80, sign the signature page, print the whole thing out and re-scan to make a signed Form 80, then upload to the online partner application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Snow said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> When applying online for our 309/100 sublclass is it acceptable to fill out the forms 40SP And 47SP electronically and add our signatures in and upload as a PDF?
> Also, is the booklet 1127 slightly out of date? Part of it says that you can't apply online for partner visas which you can now. Is online application a recent thing?
> 
> Also the 1127 states that 40SP has a section that asks for evidence of my sponsor's work and financial status but on the actual form I see nothing like that, only asking for signatures that acknowledge we understand that I'm my sponsor's financial responsibility upon arriving in Australia. Is it fine to state in the additional info section of the form that my sponsor has work and we have plenty of support available should we need it?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## Sunny_Girl

Hi Mark,

Thanks so much for your help with a previous question of mine regarding the 457 visa.
So the business lodged their side of things - business sponsorship and nomination.
We also lodged the sponsorship for our side too (Electrician General). We are applying for a second 457 visa.
All has been going ok (lodged 1st July and had no correspondence since then), however Immigration emailed the company yesterday regarding the nomination. They said that LMT (Labour Market Testing) was required. The reason the company did not include this was because they thought they were exempt from this part. The employee they are sponsoring is from Ireland and has been working with the company for over 2 years. As stated on the Immigration website: 
_"LMT will not need to occur where it would conflict with Australia's international trade obligations, in any of the following circumstances:
The worker you nominate is a citizen of a World Trade Organisation member country and has worked for you in Australia on a full-time basis for the last two years." _

Do you now what the company should do from here - email back stating why LMT wasn't included initially or wait unitil the date given by Immigration so they can assess the case based on what's given??

The sponsorship application has become so much more complicated since we initially did it 3 years ago!!

Thanks Mark!


----------



## naser79

Hi Mark, I have applied my e visa for 573 subclass visa on 4 june wid my husband and son who is 4 n half yr old. I received an interview call from AHC on 14 july, after which the VO requested for form 1229. I am just awaiting my visa. could u plz tell me what are the chances of getting visa after the doc requested as its been too long. my college is starting on 28 and still no new update on my file. plz also let me know is it taking longer for e visa to process for a student with dependents. Thanks


----------



## norm

hi mark,
just wanted to say that you are doing an excellent job and thank you from all the beneficiaries . i have a quick question 
i have applied 887 visa in april 2013 from visa475 (high risk country) currently on BVA and done all my documents,medical and police checks but still no news from case officer since jan 2014 not sure whats happening in my case as most of the applicants from high risk country are facing the same delays as like mine.
just wondering can i apply for a student visa in the mean time to complete my degree while my case get decided , just for a precaution in case any thing goes wrong with my 887 visa?


----------



## IndyMama

Hi Mark-
I feel like I'm "borderline" with regards to evidence of my partnership - my partner/fiancee and I have been together for 2 years 3 months, all of it long distance except for 5 months I spent in Sydney over the winter (and half a dozen other visits on both continents). We registered our relationship with NSW but decided to do an offshore partner visa so I could close up my affairs in the US and negotiate an international parenting arrangement with my children's father. We have other evidence: loads of pictures and trips taken together, 4 stat decs with 1 from a member of his family, a joint bank account since December, evidence of travel, and we're both named on the lease for the apartment I'm staying in until I can get a long term visa. 
Feeling like we were weak on financial and "nature of commitment" evidence, we decided to go with a PMV (we want to be married anyway) so that we are more assured of approval. That way we can get the application filed and continue to build all the other evidence while we're awaiting the approval (wills, super beneficiary, etc).
My question is -- if Immigration thinks we have enough evidence to be granted a 309 instead of the 300, is there any chance they'll tell us that, and let us change our application to a 309 instead?
Like so many others, I just want to get there so my love and I can start our life together for real!
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunny_Girl -

As LMT is a time-of-application requirement for a 457 nomination, it's critical that the employer sort this out with DIBP or else the nomination will be refused. There is a very narrow range of legal exceptions to LMT - when we run into this we have to look up the exact laws each time to make sure that any exemption claimed from LMT fits the legal requirements. Would suggest that if an agent is not being engaged for this, the employer email back the case officer, state the exemption being claimed and why, and confirm whether DIBP still says LMT is required or not. Might be as simple as the case officer not checking the application carefully; might be something worse depending on the details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sunny_Girl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks so much for your help with a previous question of mine regarding the 457 visa.
> So the business lodged their side of things - business sponsorship and nomination.
> We also lodged the sponsorship for our side too (Electrician General). We are applying for a second 457 visa.
> All has been going ok (lodged 1st July and had no correspondence since then), however Immigration emailed the company yesterday regarding the nomination. They said that LMT (Labour Market Testing) was required. The reason the company did not include this was because they thought they were exempt from this part. The employee they are sponsoring is from Ireland and has been working with the company for over 2 years. As stated on the Immigration website:
> _"LMT will not need to occur where it would conflict with Australia's international trade obligations, in any of the following circumstances:
> The worker you nominate is a citizen of a World Trade Organisation member country and has worked for you in Australia on a full-time basis for the last two years." _
> 
> Do you now what the company should do from here - email back stating why LMT wasn't included initially or wait unitil the date given by Immigration so they can assess the case based on what's given??
> 
> The sponsorship application has become so much more complicated since we initially did it 3 years ago!!
> 
> Thanks Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naser79 -

No way to tell how soon the visa will be decided upon - we're processing in India taking 3 months and sometimes longer (sometimes shorter too). All you can do is wait usually.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naser79 said:


> Hi Mark, I have applied my e visa for 573 subclass visa on 4 june wid my husband and son who is 4 n half yr old. I received an interview call from AHC on 14 july, after which the VO requested for form 1229. I am just awaiting my visa. could u plz tell me what are the chances of getting visa after the doc requested as its been too long. my college is starting on 28 and still no new update on my file. plz also let me know is it taking longer for e visa to process for a student with dependents. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Norm -

Thanks for the kind words! Unfortunately as the last substantive visa you held was not a student visa, you would not be able to lodge an onshore student visa application as you don't hold a qualifying visa. As I expect you can study on your BV-A, you might want to start the studies, then if the 887 fails, you could depart Australia and immediately apply for a student visa to continue your studies - by already being enrolled in a program and showing a record of successful study, that might make a different in your approval for a student visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



norm said:


> hi mark,
> just wanted to say that you are doing an excellent job and thank you from all the beneficiaries . i have a quick question
> i have applied 887 visa in april 2013 from visa475 (high risk country) currently on BVA and done all my documents,medical and police checks but still no news from case officer since jan 2014 not sure whats happening in my case as most of the applicants from high risk country are facing the same delays as like mine.
> just wondering can i apply for a student visa in the mean time to complete my degree while my case get decided , just for a precaution in case any thing goes wrong with my 887 visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IndyMama -

Thanks for the note. DIBP will not normally suggest an alternative visa outside of the class of visa you are applying for - the PMV is of a different class than partner visas.

As I read your question, "PMV" was what popped into my mind as you listed the evidence and scenario, so my view is that you did the right (and safest) thing re: PMV vs Partner.

The PMV->Partner pathway is one that tends to work better for long distance relationships and the like, so I think you made the right choice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Hi Mark-
> I feel like I'm "borderline" with regards to evidence of my partnership - my partner/fiancee and I have been together for 2 years 3 months, all of it long distance except for 5 months I spent in Sydney over the winter (and half a dozen other visits on both continents). We registered our relationship with NSW but decided to do an offshore partner visa so I could close up my affairs in the US and negotiate an international parenting arrangement with my children's father. We have other evidence: loads of pictures and trips taken together, 4 stat decs with 1 from a member of his family, a joint bank account since December, evidence of travel, and we're both named on the lease for the apartment I'm staying in until I can get a long term visa.
> Feeling like we were weak on financial and "nature of commitment" evidence, we decided to go with a PMV (we want to be married anyway) so that we are more assured of approval. That way we can get the application filed and continue to build all the other evidence while we're awaiting the approval (wills, super beneficiary, etc).
> My question is -- if Immigration thinks we have enough evidence to be granted a 309 instead of the 300, is there any chance they'll tell us that, and let us change our application to a 309 instead?
> Like so many others, I just want to get there so my love and I can start our life together for real!
> Thanks


----------



## Sunny_Girl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sunny_Girl -
> 
> As LMT is a time-of-application requirement for a 457 nomination, it's critical that the employer sort this out with DIBP or else the nomination will be refused. There is a very narrow range of legal exceptions to LMT - when we run into this we have to look up the exact laws each time to make sure that any exemption claimed from LMT fits the legal requirements. Would suggest that if an agent is not being engaged for this, the employer email back the case officer, state the exemption being claimed and why, and confirm whether DIBP still says LMT is required or not. Might be as simple as the case officer not checking the application carefully; might be something worse depending on the details.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark!

I'm hoping it's something that's easily fixed. The company didn't include LMT is due tp the exemptions they read on the Immigration website.

If it is the worst case scenario and the nomination is rejected do you think there would be any possibility of re-lodging the nomination? Also as we have already lodged our sponsorship application would we have any comeback with the money we have paid?

Thanks!


----------



## TaniaTM

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing well.

I wanted to query about Work-Holiday visa. If an applicant is already awaiting decision for a visa (in my case 309), but is still eligible to all requirements for a 462, can I apply for it then? Would it adversely affect my partner visa or vice versa on the fact as I'm already on wait-mode but I am still applying for another visa and 462 would be refused on that ground?

Would look forward to your feedback from your experience. Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunny_Girl -

My view: don't completely trust the DIBP website as it is often incomplete or inaccurate (!). It has no legal standing, and serves more as a glossy sales brochure vs. any authoritative source of legal requirements for any particular type of visa.

If the nomination is refused because of LMT, then you can re-lodge the nomination. No refunds from DIBP for any of this. Problem is if you've already lodged the 457 visa application, you'll need to convince the case officer to allow you to lodge a new nomination, then re-link the existing 457 application to the new nomination. Requires working quickly. You may want to consider engaging a migration agent to research the law and get an authoritative answer to the question of whether LMT Is required in your particular case for that nomination. Armed with that, you can either mount an informed defence to the case officer if they still insist on LMT, or lodge new nomination (even before the old one is refused if need be) which includes LMT data gathered prior to the nomination being lodged.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sunny_Girl said:


> Thanks Mark!
> 
> I'm hoping it's something that's easily fixed. The company didn't include LMT is due tp the exemptions they read on the Immigration website.
> 
> If it is the worst case scenario and the nomination is rejected do you think there would be any possibility of re-lodging the nomination? Also as we have already lodged our sponsorship application would we have any comeback with the money we have paid?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## loveaustraliaforum

Hi Mark,

I have good news! Thank God after praying hard, my Visitor Visa that was lodged online in Australia was granted within 3 business hours with multiple entries and also, the no further stay condition was not imposed on it which means I can lodge my 189 onshore after I receive the invitation 

I just want to say thank you so much for the helpful information you gave before especially on how if you apply and receive a Bridging Visa D then you cannot lodge 189 onshore and how would a Visitor Visa would be a better option.

Out of many migration agents, you have given the most accurate advice and have been very helpful, kind and nice. It is quite shocking but many migration agents (even the staff handling the immigration helpline) are giving incorrect information and some of which are quite misleading. For example, a staff handling an immigration helpline did not even know what is a visa date of effect and when I explained to her, she still did not understand and asked me back whether I know how EOI/Skillselect works. Then, she said that if you have 60 points, maybe even if you wait for 1-2 years, you might not even get invited (this is untrue because for example, for the last 189 invitation rounds on 14th July, the visa date of effect was 24th June, that's just around a 3 weeks wait - with the exception of 2 occupations)

Once again, with very much appreciation, just want to say thank you very much Mark and God bless you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Loveaustraliaforum -

Thanks so much for the kind words! Very happy to hear your visitor visa was granted - that's fantastic.

Best,

Mark Northam



loveaustraliaforum said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have good news! Thank God after praying hard, my Visitor Visa that was lodged online in Australia was granted within 3 business hours with multiple entries and also, the no further stay condition was not imposed on it which means I can lodge my 189 onshore after I receive the invitation
> 
> I just want to say thank you so much for the helpful information you gave before especially on how if you apply and receive a Bridging Visa D then you cannot lodge 189 onshore and how would a Visitor Visa would be a better option.
> 
> Out of many migration agents, you have given the most accurate advice and have been very helpful, kind and nice. It is quite shocking but many migration agents (even the staff handling the immigration helpline) are giving incorrect information and some of which are quite misleading. For example, a staff handling an immigration helpline did not even know what is a visa date of effect and when I explained to her, she still did not understand and asked me back whether I know how EOI/Skillselect works. Then, she said that if you have 60 points, maybe even if you wait for 1-2 years, you might not even get invited (this is untrue because for example, for the last 189 invitation rounds on 14th July, the visa date of effect was 24th June, that's just around a 3 weeks wait - with the exception of 2 occupations)
> 
> Once again, with very much appreciation, just want to say thank you very much Mark and God bless you


----------



## fitzroyy

Hi Mark

I have read this thread and it has been very helpful but still have some concern & anxious for my case. Here's the brief story. I am an Aussie citizen and my partner is in Hong Kong (which is good as this is considered as low risk country). We've been together for few years intending to get married in Australia in couple of months later. Have already booked all the church, restaurant, celebrant, wedding photographer and even her the ETA. For the status, she is on 12 Months/ Multiple Entry, Maximum stay - 3 months and "No work-business visitor activity only" condition and does not have NFS condition on it. After she is here, we'll get married straight away a few days later followed by living with me at my parent's place. Then around 2 1/2 months later, near when the Visitor visa expire, then we intend to apply Partner Visa 820. Anyway, here are the questions

1) Would like to have the suggestion and tip that we are heading in the right direction. As being fresh new wed couples, living together 2 & 1/2 months (she got 3 months valid visitor visa), would it be sufficient to satisfy for partner visa requirement since we just got married? (as most of the time, we are in long distance relationship). Because our intention is just lodge the Partner visa application after living 2 & 1/2 months before the Visitor Visa expire to start gather evidence, apply joint account, share household etc. I heard this may be common for people who may have been in my similar situation and also read somewhere Mark stated that Partner Visa does not require a minimum time to live together after marriage but rather to prove that this relationship is genuine or something. 

2) If lodging the Partner visa application by online, can we submit the new evidence as time goes by? If so, can the evidence be ongoing e.g. say we have a joint lease next year in March and CO has not been assigned yet or has not been reviewed/contacted yet, can we still upload/submit it as part of the strong evidence? (Actually, I hope they can do this and even delay as this would give us more time and chance to submit more evidence as time goes by). Or they would ONLY consider and count the evidence that is prior to the lodgement date?

3) In regards to the financial aspects section, it's another concern as me as the sponsor, don't have income at the moment for few years or so but have some good savings so is it still ok for that? And would it be recommended to print out the bank statement/balance of the latest transaction to show the CO I can still support her financially rather than a big fat zero?? Or it is not required since this is not about proving the income? My partner on the other hand is working and can provided her latest working history so I am not sure if that would help in any? 

4) If not, would adding in the Statutory Declarations from my parents stating they can financially assist us if needed as it is a free accommodation for both of us living at their place? If yes, then what kind of forms/evidence I can submit/upload since it is under their name? like council rate, water bill, electricity bill etc. 

5) My partner actually studied & lived here many years ago in early 2000's but eventually went back to HK for good (without applying PR in the end), so I am not sure if submitting/uploading her uni graduate certificate/results and/or her old employment resume would do her any good even though I understand this may be irrelevant as it does not serve the purpose of Partner Visa. So its not like she has lived in Australia before, so it's like Life in Australia Part 2, if you know what I am saying. She has her friends, relatives here as well that that has been contact for a long time.

6) Prior my partner coming here, does she need to do anything in advance for preparation? e.g. have the police record check, medical check done in HK? or they can be done here in Australia?

The first 4 questions are the main thing that is concerning us or otherwise, we will be relax since our relationship is genuine anyways but its just the prove and the documents//situation that may be haunting us so your help will be greatly appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tania -

Sorry I missed this question earlier. WH visa might work, however you've already indicated more than a temporary interest in being in Australia via your PR visa application (309), and that itself may be a reason for refusal for the WH visa as that is for people who intend to remain in Australia temporarily for tourism, etc purposes. Plus they would want you outside Australia for the 309 grant, and the WH visa is a 12-month visa. I'd probably go for a visitor visa instead.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TaniaTM said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well.
> 
> I wanted to query about Work-Holiday visa. If an applicant is already awaiting decision for a visa (in my case 309), but is still eligible to all requirements for a 462, can I apply for it then? Would it adversely affect my partner visa or vice versa on the fact as I'm already on wait-mode but I am still applying for another visa and 462 would be refused on that ground?
> 
> Would look forward to your feedback from your experience. Thank you!


----------



## IndyMama

Thanks Mark! Glad to hear you think we are on the right track.
Another quick question if you have time, please- I had my police checks done in March (earliest one dated March 10), thinking we'd get to file a lot sooner than we are actually going to (we'll be filing on August 9).
I have an appointment for medicals on September 11 (have to travel out of state and this was the first available appointment at the easier to get to, more affordable location).
Do you think I should get my police checks re-done since they ones I currently have are likely to expire before approval? Or should I just wait until they ask for new ones? 
Thanks again!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi IndyMama -
> 
> Thanks for the note. DIBP will not normally suggest an alternative visa outside of the class of visa you are applying for - the PMV is of a different class than partner visas.
> 
> As I read your question, "PMV" was what popped into my mind as you listed the evidence and scenario, so my view is that you did the right (and safest) thing re: PMV vs Partner.
> 
> The PMV->Partner pathway is one that tends to work better for long distance relationships and the like, so I think you made the right choice.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Kataria

Hi Mark,

Thank you fora reply.

According to this, I don't meet Australian Study Requirement.
My main aim is to meet the Requirement for subclass 189. I ll meet the 60 points if I have Asutralian Study Requirement. I was wondering if I can meet if I start my MBA and two units while I'm on bridging visa and apply for MRT. Once I have transceipt for two units, I go overseas and apply for 189.

Thank You


----------



## anand_gabriel

*Partner visa offshore applicant - sponsor new to Australia no employment*

Hi Mark,

I have few questions regarding spouse visa from offshore. I've got PR and made the first entry and returned back to my country.

Can I sponsor spouse visa while I'm still in my country?
If no for the above question, when I move to Australia can I start sponsor for spouse visa immediately through I'll be searching for job?

I have worked in my country more than 12+ years.

Please let me know.

Thanks,
Anand


----------



## naser79

naser79 said:


> Hi Mark, I have applied my e visa for 573 subclass visa on 4 june wid my husband and son who is 4 n half yr old. I received an interview call from AHC on 14 july, after which the VO requested for form 1229. I am just awaiting my visa. could u plz tell me what are the chances of getting visa after the doc requested as its been too long. my college is starting on 28 and still no new update on my file. plz also let me know is it taking longer for e visa to process for a student with dependents. Thanks


Hi Mark, Thank you for your reply. Do you have any idea why they might have requested for 1229 ( consent for visa grant for children under 18 ) I am just worried as my college starts on 28 July. Is there anything that can be done to let them know about the start date. Also what are the chances of visa grant plz let me know.Thanks


----------



## mclericp

hi mark

im wondering what does getting an acknowledgement letter for my visa mean? Does it mean they started processing already or is it just 'seen, but we process later'?


----------



## tlupke

*Re-applying for a Subclass 461 Visa*

Hi Mark

I'm hoping you can help as I can't seem to get a straight answer about this from anyone!

In 2009 my husband was granted a Subclass 461 Visa based on our marriage and that I am a New Zealand Citizen. We then lived in Australia until 2011 at which point we relocated to New Zealand. In doing so we applied to cancel his visa as part of the process of withdrawing his Superannuation (it was a requirement that his visa be cancelled)

We are now wanting to return to Australia and understand that he will need to re-apply for another Subclass 461 visa as he is still a South African citizen (although he does now hold New Zealand Permanent Residency)

My question is this - are there any restrictions/limitations or conditions on re-applying for this visa as he has held one previously? Given the fact that we cancelled his last Subclass 461 Visa we are concerned this will have a negative affect on his future application.

I'm struggling to find any information on this so any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## sidat

*Query*

Hi,
My Mother had applied for Visitor VISA on 27th June in India. medical was requested and we have not received any communication after that. we are suspecting that, it's refereed to MOC. can you please advise, by when we can expect the reply.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fitzroyy -

Thanks for the note and questions - see responses below at ***:



fitzroyy said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have read this thread and it has been very helpful but still have some concern & anxious for my case. Here's the brief story. I am an Aussie citizen and my partner is in Hong Kong (which is good as this is considered as low risk country). We've been together for few years intending to get married in Australia in couple of months later. Have already booked all the church, restaurant, celebrant, wedding photographer and even her the ETA. For the status, she is on 12 Months/ Multiple Entry, Maximum stay - 3 months and "No work-business visitor activity only" condition and does not have NFS condition on it. After she is here, we'll get married straight away a few days later followed by living with me at my parent's place. Then around 2 1/2 months later, near when the Visitor visa expire, then we intend to apply Partner Visa 820. Anyway, here are the questions
> 
> 1) Would like to have the suggestion and tip that we are heading in the right direction. As being fresh new wed couples, living together 2 & 1/2 months (she got 3 months valid visitor visa), would it be sufficient to satisfy for partner visa requirement since we just got married? (as most of the time, we are in long distance relationship). Because our intention is just lodge the Partner visa application after living 2 & 1/2 months before the Visitor Visa expire to start gather evidence, apply joint account, share household etc. I heard this may be common for people who may have been in my similar situation and also read somewhere Mark stated that Partner Visa does not require a minimum time to live together after marriage but rather to prove that this relationship is genuine or something.
> 
> *** You're correct - no minimum living together time for married applicants for partner visa, however focus then becomes on length of the relationship as partners and all the other genuine relationship criteria, etc.
> 
> 2) If lodging the Partner visa application by online, can we submit the new evidence as time goes by? If so, can the evidence be ongoing e.g. say we have a joint lease next year in March and CO has not been assigned yet or has not been reviewed/contacted yet, can we still upload/submit it as part of the strong evidence? (Actually, I hope they can do this and even delay as this would give us more time and chance to submit more evidence as time goes by). Or they would ONLY consider and count the evidence that is prior to the lodgement date?
> 
> *** Yes.
> 
> 3) In regards to the financial aspects section, it's another concern as me as the sponsor, don't have income at the moment for few years or so but have some good savings so is it still ok for that? And would it be recommended to print out the bank statement/balance of the latest transaction to show the CO I can still support her financially rather than a big fat zero?? Or it is not required since this is not about proving the income? My partner on the other hand is working and can provided her latest working history so I am not sure if that would help in any?
> 
> *** Best to include all relevant financial evidence, including stat dec from parents pledging financial support, savings account evidence, and your job plans, etc.
> 
> 4) If not, would adding in the Statutory Declarations from my parents stating they can financially assist us if needed as it is a free accommodation for both of us living at their place? If yes, then what kind of forms/evidence I can submit/upload since it is under their name? like council rate, water bill, electricity bill etc.
> 
> *** See above #3.
> 
> 5) My partner actually studied & lived here many years ago in early 2000's but eventually went back to HK for good (without applying PR in the end), so I am not sure if submitting/uploading her uni graduate certificate/results and/or her old employment resume would do her any good even though I understand this may be irrelevant as it does not serve the purpose of Partner Visa. So its not like she has lived in Australia before, so it's like Life in Australia Part 2, if you know what I am saying. She has her friends, relatives here as well that that has been contact for a long time.
> 
> *** Not particularly relevant for partner visa applications - no significant benefit that I see generally, although not having seen your documents, can't give you specific advice.
> 
> 6) Prior my partner coming here, does she need to do anything in advance for preparation? e.g. have the police record check, medical check done in HK? or they can be done here in Australia?
> 
> *** The HK police check (assuming she's been in that country for 12 months or more during the last 10 years since age 16) can be ordered shortly before you lodge - might as well take the medicals here in Australia right after you lodge.
> 
> The first 4 questions are the main thing that is concerning us or otherwise, we will be relax since our relationship is genuine anyways but its just the prove and the documents//situation that may be haunting us so your help will be greatly appreciated!


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IndyMama -

I'd probably wait until they request new police checks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Thanks Mark! Glad to hear you think we are on the right track.
> Another quick question if you have time, please- I had my police checks done in March (earliest one dated March 10), thinking we'd get to file a lot sooner than we are actually going to (we'll be filing on August 9).
> I have an appointment for medicals on September 11 (have to travel out of state and this was the first available appointment at the easier to get to, more affordable location).
> Do you think I should get my police checks re-done since they ones I currently have are likely to expire before approval? Or should I just wait until they ask for new ones?
> Thanks again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kataria -

The ASR regulations and policy are complex - many legal cases have been lodged over the interpretation of this legislation - would need to work with you in a consultation to go over your plans in detail and give you specific advice for your case. Generally credits from partially completed degrees, if this is what you're planning re: MBA, are not applicable for ASR - any credits need to be leading to a completed degree.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kataria said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you fora reply.
> 
> According to this, I don't meet Australian Study Requirement.
> My main aim is to meet the Requirement for subclass 189. I ll meet the 60 points if I have Asutralian Study Requirement. I was wondering if I can meet if I start my MBA and two units while I'm on bridging visa and apply for MRT. Once I have transceipt for two units, I go overseas and apply for 189.
> 
> Thank You


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anand_gabriel -

Offshore partner visa sponsorship when the sponsor is an Australian permanent resident requires the sponsor to be "usually resident" in Australia - you'd need to be able to provide solid and substantial evidence that you now consider Australia your home (although you can have other homes) and have ties to Australia to the extent that the case officer is convinced you meet the usually resident requirements. DIBP particularly does not look kindly on people who take out PR visas, activate the visa, then don't return for years - it's why they made the Resident Return Visa much tougher to get now. DIBP seems to see "permanent residency" as something you get in order to stay in Australia and make Australia your home, not just activate a visa and depart. Given this, that would raise the bar even higher for you re: usually resident evidence. You may want to get professional assistance with this application for this reason.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anand_gabriel said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have few questions regarding spouse visa from offshore. I've got PR and made the first entry and returned back to my country.
> 
> Can I sponsor spouse visa while I'm still in my country?
> If no for the above question, when I move to Australia can I start sponsor for spouse visa immediately through I'll be searching for job?
> 
> I have worked in my country more than 12+ years.
> 
> Please let me know.
> 
> Thanks,
> Anand


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naser79 -

Re: Form 1229, this is used when there is a non-accompanying parent involved - ie, ex-partner of your current partner, biological parent of your child who is not on the application, etc.

You or your agent can certainly remind the case officer (politely) about your state date, but DIBP usually takes whatever time they want with these things.

Re: chances of success, I haven't even seen your application - how could I possibly know?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naser79 said:


> Hi Mark, Thank you for your reply. Do you have any idea why they might have requested for 1229 ( consent for visa grant for children under 18 ) I am just worried as my college starts on 28 July. Is there anything that can be done to let them know about the start date. Also what are the chances of visa grant plz let me know.Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mclericp -

That means they've received the application on the date specified - nothing more. Usually there is even language that says they have not yet assessed the validity of the application, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mclericp said:


> hi mark
> 
> im wondering what does getting an acknowledgement letter for my visa mean? Does it mean they started processing already or is it just 'seen, but we process later'?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi tlupke -

Thanks for the note. The circumstances and timing of the cancellation may be an issue, but would have to know more about the case to give you any specific advice. Certain cancellation circumstances can give rise to unanticipated results (ie, cancellation onshore results in a period of unlawfulness, etc) so would need to go through the history and documents you have in detail at a consultation (see website below in my email signature if interested) in order to give you any specific advice on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tlupke said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I'm hoping you can help as I can't seem to get a straight answer about this from anyone!
> 
> In 2009 my husband was granted a Subclass 461 Visa based on our marriage and that I am a New Zealand Citizen. We then lived in Australia until 2011 at which point we relocated to New Zealand. In doing so we applied to cancel his visa as part of the process of withdrawing his Superannuation (it was a requirement that his visa be cancelled)
> 
> We are now wanting to return to Australia and understand that he will need to re-apply for another Subclass 461 visa as he is still a South African citizen (although he does now hold New Zealand Permanent Residency)
> 
> My question is this - are there any restrictions/limitations or conditions on re-applying for this visa as he has held one previously? Given the fact that we cancelled his last Subclass 461 Visa we are concerned this will have a negative affect on his future application.
> 
> I'm struggling to find any information on this so any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sidat -

Sorry, no way to know. DIBP doesn't tell agents any more than they tell you, and MOC referrals can take from a couple of weeks to several months depending on the circumstances. Visitor visas themselves can take the same range of times - until DIBP commits to better and more dependable processing times, we're all left guessing and waiting.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sidat said:


> Hi,
> My Mother had applied for Visitor VISA on 27th June in India. medical was requested and we have not received any communication after that. we are suspecting that, it's refereed to MOC. can you please advise, by when we can expect the reply.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## tlupke

Thanks for your reply Mark, I appreciate the advise. I've spent quite a lot of time researching this and it's so difficult to find answers, the immigration department don't make it easy! 

We cancelled his 461 visa after we departed Australia. As we are still married and I'm still an eligible NZ citizen I can't find anywhere that states we can't apply for another 461 visa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tlupke -

The 461 visa is subject to part 4013 of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1994 governing certain types of prior cancellations - you may want to research this to determine exactly which part of the Migration Act was used to cancel his visa, then see if that part of the Migration Act is referenced in 4013 (check 4014 too) to see if an exclusion period is/was triggered by that cancellation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tlupke said:


> Thanks for your reply Mark, I appreciate the advise. I've spent quite a lot of time researching this and it's so difficult to find answers, the immigration department don't make it easy!
> 
> We cancelled his 461 visa after we departed Australia. As we are still married and I'm still an eligible NZ citizen I can't find anywhere that states we can't apply for another 461 visa.


----------



## TaniaTM

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tania -
> 
> Sorry I missed this question earlier. WH visa might work, however you've already indicated more than a temporary interest in being in Australia via your PR visa application (309), and that itself may be a reason for refusal for the WH visa as that is for people who intend to remain in Australia temporarily for tourism, etc purposes. Plus they would want you outside Australia for the 309 grant, and the WH visa is a 12-month visa. I'd probably go for a visitor visa instead.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you for your reply!

As I belong to a high-risk country and the processing times seems to touch on 1+ year, I was thinking of alternative ways to stay in Australia. My last visitor visa had NFS and a single entry for 3 months, which is really not a long period.  But yes, I did fear the reasoning you provided for refusal of 462 on spousal grounds.

Anyways, I was still collecting documentation for my spouse visa then (1 year ago almost), so maybe the cause of NFS and single entry. Now that I have lodged by spouse visa, do you think if I apply for a tourist visa, I will be given one with multiple entries and/or longer stay limit? Is there any example from your experience?


----------



## neil_coul

*888 form*

Hi Mark

I am applying for a de-facto visa subclass 309 by paper not online.
I know I need to get the 888 filled in by two Australians.
I have family in the UK who are also writing stat decs for me.What is the best way to present these?Would I get them handwrittten and certified or just send them in with copy's of there passports?

Thanks for your help

Neil


----------



## SqOats

HI Mark,

I am new to the forums and you seems to be the most famous person around here... I have a quick question.... you might have heard it alot before but i'l appreciate if you can help.

I am going for 189 and my Standard CDR assessment is underway with EA. Upon successful assessment, i will proceed with EOI and mention my actual experience i-e 3 years as service engineer and 3 as design engineer and claim 10 points out of total 65. if i get an invitation and later on CO doesnt accept my service engineer experience (it doesnt coincide much with the job description for ANZSCO 233512). Will it result in rejection of my application even though i'l have 60 points with 3 years design experience.

What do you suggest. Is the risk worth taking or should i try my luck with 60 points from the beginning.

Thanking you in advance.


----------



## Deano

Hi Mark I hope you can help

I have recently married a Philippine girl on a subclass 580 guardian visa
And her son is on a student visa
My wife is now pregnant 

There is a condition on my wife’s visa (8534) where you can not apply for another visa on-shore unless there are exceptional circumstances

We now want to apply for spouse visa
Their current visas run out in Jan 2015

Question 1
How long is it (usually) to get an answer on the waiver of condition 8534

Question 2
If we apply on-shore and are granted a bridging visa will her son be able to go to school like a normal Australian student (he is now an international student costing a fortune)

Question 3
If they apply off-shore, are they able to return to Australia while waiting for the spouse visa application to be processed

Question 4
Will the fact that my wife is pregnant create any issues with her medical

Question 5
What would be our best course of action

Thanks Deano


----------



## fitzroyy

Hi Mark

Thanks for the answer

Sorry I am a bit confused with some things & I would be appreciate if you can clarify:

For question 1), you said "*You're correct - no minimum living together time for married applicants for partner visa, however focus then becomes on length of the relationship as partners and all the other genuine relationship criteria, etc*", so in my case, would 2 1/2 months living together (after marry here) + being together here for few years and also travelled together for holiday from time to time, visit each other from time to time be sufficient enough? Or you think living 2 1/2 months is less and would advice to live more than 6 months for the safe bet etc

For question 2), you replied a "YES". Sorry, what is it that you refer to a YES since I raised up for 2 possibilities? i.e.

_* If lodging the Partner visa application by online, can we submit the new evidence as time goes by? If so, can the evidence be ongoing e.g. say we have a joint lease next year in March and CO has not been assigned yet or has not been reviewed/contacted yet, can we still upload/submit it as part of the strong evidence? (Actually, I hope they can do this and even delay as this would give us more time and chance to submit more evidence as time goes by). Or they would ONLY consider and count the evidence that is prior to the lodgement date?*_

For question 3), you stated to include all the financial evidence. So you mean if I show them the financial evidence even though no payslip, it is ok? Does this only apply me as the applicant or both with the sponsor? And also, when I provide it, what is the length period I provide would be appropriate? Show 1 year? 2 years statement? etc

Thank you once again Mark!!!!!!!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fitzroyy -
> 
> Thanks for the note and questions - see responses below at ***:
> 1) Would like to have the suggestion and tip that we are heading in the right direction. As being fresh new wed couples, living together 2 & 1/2 months (she got 3 months valid visitor visa), would it be sufficient to satisfy for partner visa requirement since we just got married? (as most of the time, we are in long distance relationship). Because our intention is just lodge the Partner visa application after living 2 & 1/2 months before the Visitor Visa expire to start gather evidence, apply joint account, share household etc. I heard this may be common for people who may have been in my similar situation and also read somewhere Mark stated that Partner Visa does not require a minimum time to live together after marriage but rather to prove that this relationship is genuine or something.
> 
> *** You're correct - no minimum living together time for married applicants for partner visa, however focus then becomes on length of the relationship as partners and all the other genuine relationship criteria, etc.
> 
> 2) If lodging the Partner visa application by online, can we submit the new evidence as time goes by? If so, can the evidence be ongoing e.g. say we have a joint lease next year in March and CO has not been assigned yet or has not been reviewed/contacted yet, can we still upload/submit it as part of the strong evidence? (Actually, I hope they can do this and even delay as this would give us more time and chance to submit more evidence as time goes by). Or they would ONLY consider and count the evidence that is prior to the lodgement date?
> 
> *** Yes.
> 
> 3) In regards to the financial aspects section, it's another concern as me as the sponsor, don't have income at the moment for few years or so but have some good savings so is it still ok for that? And would it be recommended to print out the bank statement/balance of the latest transaction to show the CO I can still support her financially rather than a big fat zero?? Or it is not required since this is not about proving the income? My partner on the other hand is working and can provided her latest working history so I am not sure if that would help in any?
> 
> *** Best to include all relevant financial evidence, including stat dec from parents pledging financial support, savings account evidence, and your job plans, etc.
> 
> 4) If not, would adding in the Statutory Declarations from my parents stating they can financially assist us if needed as it is a free accommodation for both of us living at their place? If yes, then what kind of forms/evidence I can submit/upload since it is under their name? like council rate, water bill, electricity bill etc.
> 
> *** See above #3.
> 
> 5) My partner actually studied & lived here many years ago in early 2000's but eventually went back to HK for good (without applying PR in the end), so I am not sure if submitting/uploading her uni graduate certificate/results and/or her old employment resume would do her any good even though I understand this may be irrelevant as it does not serve the purpose of Partner Visa. So its not like she has lived in Australia before, so it's like Life in Australia Part 2, if you know what I am saying. She has her friends, relatives here as well that that has been contact for a long time.
> 
> *** Not particularly relevant for partner visa applications - no significant benefit that I see generally, although not having seen your documents, can't give you specific advice.
> 
> 6) Prior my partner coming here, does she need to do anything in advance for preparation? e.g. have the police record check, medical check done in HK? or they can be done here in Australia?
> 
> *** The HK police check (assuming she's been in that country for 12 months or more during the last 10 years since age 16) can be ordered shortly before you lodge - might as well take the medicals here in Australia right after you lodge.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## IndyMama

Alright, thanks again!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi IndyMama -
> 
> I'd probably wait until they request new police checks.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## SAMPA

*Where to lodge my visa application*

Hi Mark!

I'm confused as to where I can lodge my application. I've looked at a few threads pertaining to my question, but never really received a definitive answer. I'm hoping you have the time and are able to help? I posted a thread earlier today, I've copy and pasted it below. Thank you so much!

Sam

I'm currently on an ETA, which allows me to visit Australia for up to 3 months during a 12 month time period. My plans are to visit my partner in Australia in August for the duration of the 3 month allowance. During that time, we are planning to submit a Temporary Partner Visa (subclass 820/801).

I called an immigration office here in the USA, and they advised me that I should apply offshore, here in the US, as applying onshore with an ETA was considered misuse of the tourist visa. Of course they could neither confirm nor deny that my visa would be denied or granted based on my location at the time of lodging my application. As my partner and I have only been able to see one another about every other 3 months, we are really hoping to submit the application onshore, allowing me to stay there with him. (Not to mention, it's getting too expensive buying all these plane tickets!)

Can anyone give me insight on this? I know technically I'm not breaking any rules with my current visa. I was planning to wait until toward the end of the 3 month ETA allowance to submit the new visa application, so it doesn't look as if I went there solely to apply onshore for this visa.

Another thing is: My ETA expires about a week after the date I plan to enter Australia. I talked to someone in the immigrations office, and they stated that as long as I enter Australia before the date on which my ETA expires, I can still stay for the 3 month period. My question is, if I end up submitting my visa application on shore, am I able to work in Australia via a Bridging Visa A during the time the visa is being processed, as my current ETA will be expired?

Thank you again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tania -

Re: visitor visa with multiple entries after partner visa lodged, yes have seen it happen, also seen them refused - could go either way depending on the case officer, initial assessment of the partner visa case, and your other circumstances. However you may want to give it a try - I'd include a letter explaining the reasons you need to be in Australia, etc with as many details as possible plus invitation letter from your partner and proposed itinerary of activities over whatever period of time you are asking for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TaniaTM said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your reply!
> 
> As I belong to a high-risk country and the processing times seems to touch on 1+ year, I was thinking of alternative ways to stay in Australia. My last visitor visa had NFS and a single entry for 3 months, which is really not a long period.  But yes, I did fear the reasoning you provided for refusal of 462 on spousal grounds.
> 
> Anyways, I was still collecting documentation for my spouse visa then (1 year ago almost), so maybe the cause of NFS and single entry. Now that I have lodged by spouse visa, do you think if I apply for a tourist visa, I will be given one with multiple entries and/or longer stay limit? Is there any example from your experience?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

Thanks for the questions - not sure about famous, but I'm happy to help!

If DIBP attempts to disallow work experience claimed for points, you often have the option of having your skills assessor (EA) assess that work experience to provide their opinion on the matter which DIBP often accepts. But if DIBP disallows work experience claimed for points, you'll be left with either having to withdraw the visa or the visa being refused - no refund of visa application fees either way.

If the work doesn't align well with ANZSCO, I wouldn't take the chance - too many ways it can go wrong, and months if not years down the drain.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SqOats said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> I am new to the forums and you seems to be the most famous person around here... I have a quick question.... you might have heard it alot before but i'l appreciate if you can help.
> 
> I am going for 189 and my Standard CDR assessment is underway with EA. Upon successful assessment, i will proceed with EOI and mention my actual experience i-e 3 years as service engineer and 3 as design engineer and claim 10 points out of total 65. if i get an invitation and later on CO doesnt accept my service engineer experience (it doesnt coincide much with the job description for ANZSCO 233512). Will it result in rejection of my application even though i'l have 60 points with 3 years design experience.
> 
> What do you suggest. Is the risk worth taking or should i try my luck with 60 points from the beginning.
> 
> Thanking you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deano -

Thanks for the note - see responses at *** below:



Deano said:


> Hi Mark I hope you can help
> 
> I have recently married a Philippine girl on a subclass 580 guardian visa
> And her son is on a student visa
> My wife is now pregnant 
> 
> There is a condition on my wife's visa (8534) where you can not apply for another visa on-shore unless there are exceptional circumstances
> 
> We now want to apply for spouse visa
> Their current visas run out in Jan 2015
> 
> Question 1
> How long is it (usually) to get an answer on the waiver of condition 8534
> 
> *** Typically 2-4 weeks, although can vary.
> 
> Question 2
> If we apply on-shore and are granted a bridging visa will her son be able to go to school like a normal Australian student (he is now an international student costing a fortune)
> 
> *** Depends completely on the school/education department in your state, however most of them do not provide subsidised school costs until a person becomes a permanent resident.
> 
> Question 3
> If they apply off-shore, are they able to return to Australia while waiting for the spouse visa application to be processed
> 
> *** Only on visitor visas, if approved. Also you would need to see what the situation is with the student visa holder re: having a guardian if the student is still studying - the 580 visa holder has specific obligations while the student is still studying that need to be considered.
> 
> Question 4
> Will the fact that my wife is pregnant create any issues with her medical
> 
> *** Yes. Assuming she would not have a chest x-ray until the baby is born (that's the normal situation), the partner visa normally would not be granted until her medicals are complete, so grant would be delayed until after the baby is born.
> 
> Question 5
> What would be our best course of action
> 
> *** I don't know enough about all the details of the situation and people involved to give you an opinion on your case - many questions to be answered. Best way to do this would be at a consultation - see my website below and look for the link to "professional consultation" at the top of our website if I can assist further -
> 
> Thanks Deano


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fitzroyy -

Happy to clarify. Re: additional relationship evidence, these can be lodged after you make your application - generally you can upload new evidence up until the point that the case officer makes a decision.

Re: HK police check, key is to have it in hand at the time of application or shortly thereafter, so you could order this when convenient. However with HK, I believe they require a letter from DIBP and DIBP won't provide that letter until sometime after the application is lodged, so nothing to do at this point but wait for DIBP to provide the letter for that when they're ready to.

Re: financial support, as much info as you can put together on your current financial support situation from whoever may be providing funds, accommodation, etc is best. If you are employed or were employed, 2 years employment history is generally what they want, but they're flexible on this.

Re: whether specific evidence is sufficient, can't determine that without seeing the documents involved, etc in a consultation (see website below).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fitzroyy said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for the answer
> 
> Sorry I am a bit confused with a few things
> 
> For question 1), you said "*You're correct - no minimum living together time for married applicants for partner visa, however focus then becomes on length of the relationship as partners and all the other genuine relationship criteria, etc*", so in my case, would 2 1/2 months living together (after marry here) + being together here for few years and also travelled together for holiday from time to time, visit each other from time to time be sufficient enough? Or you think living 2 1/2 months is less and would advice to live more than 6 months for the safe bet etc
> 
> For question 2), you replied a "YES". Sorry, what is it that you refer to a YES since I raised up for 2 possibilities? i.e.
> 
> _* If lodging the Partner visa application by online, can we submit the new evidence as time goes by? If so, can the evidence be ongoing e.g. say we have a joint lease next year in March and CO has not been assigned yet or has not been reviewed/contacted yet, can we still upload/submit it as part of the strong evidence? (Actually, I hope they can do this and even delay as this would give us more time and chance to submit more evidence as time goes by). Or they would ONLY consider and count the evidence that is prior to the lodgement date?*_
> 
> For question 3), you stated to include all the financial evidence. So you mean if I show them the financial evidence even though no payslip, it is ok? Does this only apply me as the applicant or both with the sponsor? And also, when I provide it, what is the length period I provide would be appropriate? Show 1 year? 2 years statement? etc
> 
> For question 6), you mean its better to do the HK police check here in Australia before I lodge? Or do it here in Australia when being asked after I lodge the application?
> 
> Thank you once again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sam -

While DIBP may not be thrilled when ETA holders lodge onshore partner visa applications, it isn't against the law and I've never seen this negatively affect an onshore partner application. After all, how do they expect people to get onshore to lodge this type of partner visa application??

Re: expiration, your info is correct - with an ETA and a "last date to enter" type of expiration date, as long as you enter before that date, you get to stay for the full 3 months.

Assuming you lodge your onshore partner visa while on the ETA (ie, within the 3 months), the conditions of the ETA (no work, etc) would remain in place until the end of the 3 month period from when you entered Australia. Once you stay past the end of the 3 months, the bridging visa A you get with your onshore partner application will activate, and at that point the bridging visa would be your visa you remain on in Australia until the partner visa decision. Full work rights, etc would begin when the bridging visa activates. Note after that you'll need to apply for and be granted a bridging visa B if you wish to make a trip outside Australia and return.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SAMPA said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I'm confused as to where I can lodge my application. I've looked at a few threads pertaining to my question, but never really received a definitive answer. I'm hoping you have the time and are able to help? I posted a thread earlier today, I've copy and pasted it below. Thank you so much!
> 
> Sam
> 
> I'm currently on an ETA, which allows me to visit Australia for up to 3 months during a 12 month time period. My plans are to visit my partner in Australia in August for the duration of the 3 month allowance. During that time, we are planning to submit a Temporary Partner Visa (subclass 820/801).
> 
> I called an immigration office here in the USA, and they advised me that I should apply offshore, here in the US, as applying onshore with an ETA was considered misuse of the tourist visa. Of course they could neither confirm nor deny that my visa would be denied or granted based on my location at the time of lodging my application. As my partner and I have only been able to see one another about every other 3 months, we are really hoping to submit the application onshore, allowing me to stay there with him. (Not to mention, it's getting too expensive buying all these plane tickets!)
> 
> Can anyone give me insight on this? I know technically I'm not breaking any rules with my current visa. I was planning to wait until toward the end of the 3 month ETA allowance to submit the new visa application, so it doesn't look as if I went there solely to apply onshore for this visa.
> 
> Another thing is: My ETA expires about a week after the date I plan to enter Australia. I talked to someone in the immigrations office, and they stated that as long as I enter Australia before the date on which my ETA expires, I can still stay for the 3 month period. My question is, if I end up submitting my visa application on shore, am I able to work in Australia via a Bridging Visa A during the time the visa is being processed, as my current ETA will be expired?
> 
> Thank you again!


----------



## Snow

Hi Mark

Last question for a long time, I can almost promise you!

I know that I have to be out of Australia when I get my visa granted if I lodge outside of Australia. On page 11 of the 1127 it says I also have to be out of the country when the department receives my application. I apply tomorrow (24th) and arrive in Australia on an eVisitor for a month's stay on the 27th. 

Am I safe in assuming that the department has "received" my application as soon as I submit online? And it's perfectly okay to visit Australia while my visa is processing as long as I inform the department?

Thanks again for all your advice and help, it has been a huge ease on my nerves.


----------



## sharyny

We're waiting till october to get a ETA so my husband can come to australia with us for 3 months - maybe for christmas - hopefully by october we'll have a CO and be able to communicate to someone that we need to get to australia asap to help and support my mom as she's going thru a rough patch health wise right now.


----------



## BionicAllah

Hi Mark, 

I'm not sure my previous post was posted successfully. 

I'm currently looking at booking a trip to Fiji in December. I'm on bridging visa A but as i understand i would need to switch over to a bridging visa B. 
I'm a little concerned that the visa will be denied if I only want it for a holiday. I've also heard that even if i apply for the visa now it won't get approved until a week before I am due to go away. Please advise. 

I'm worry it might be foolish to book the trip now.


----------



## Prasanth

Hi Mark,

I want to really appreciate your efforts for helping the people through this site.

One query : I am from India.We submitted 190-Visa to Victoria on May-17 th 2014 ,still no case officer is assigned.We uploaded all the douments including medicals and pcc(Police clerance certificate).Could you please tell me the processing time of 190 -visa and any idea when the visa will come.
Regards,
Prasanth.


----------



## Sunny_Girl

Hi Mark,

Thanks so much for your help so far with all my questions regarding our 457 application!

So the company rang Immigration and were told an option would be to withdraw the nomination now and re-submit including the LMT. We could then hopefully transfer our application and link it to the new nomination.
My question is if the company were to include LMT would it be possible to advertise a job online this week and lodge the nomination next week showing their attempts? 

I'm stil pretty sure the company doesn't need LMT - my partner is applying for a second 457 with the same company, has worked with the for over 2 years and is from a World Trade Organisation country. But I'm afraid just to wait for Immigrations decision - if it is rejected then it makes it more problematic so I'm thinking we should take action now.

Thanks again Mark! You have been so much more help than all of my 20 calls to Immigration!!!


----------



## anothermich

*Proof of functional English*

Hi Mark,

I'd like to thank you for setting up this helpful thread.

A bit of background. My partner is the main applicant, I'm the dependent, and we're applying under 189. 
My question is regarding providing proof of functional English for a dependent applicant. 
I've read the criteria on the Australian immigration website, and I fall under the following evidence: "completed a degree, a higher degree, a diploma or a trade certificate that required at least two years of full-time study or training in an institution in or outside Australia and all instructions were in English". 
I did my degree in an offshore campus of an Australian university, ie: Monash University. My transcripts and cert do not indicate that I did my degree offshore because it was issued by Monash Australia.

I want to know if I need any letter from my offshore campus to indicate that all instructions were in English?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## bonello32

Hi everyone! !
My fiance aplication already over 7 months and we didn't heard anything from our CO ( since the last email they sending to us when my fiance ask her about tourist visa).
It's that possible if I email our CO to know how far the process application go (as we completed everthing)??bacause I read from this forum some of applicant fiance been email the CO straight to know about the application and it make sense to movement of their aplication.*
I am worry if I email our CO in jakarta (the logged place aplication) will be bad impact to my fiance aplication.*

Please advise and I really do appreciate for it.

Thanks


----------



## zoomzoom

*Qualification assessed by ACS*

Hi Mark !!

I received my ACS review result today, and I have a question regarding the assessment of my qualification. The ACS review states -

*"Your Master of Science from University of Missouri completed May 2006 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Master Degree with a minor in computing."*

I'd like to know how many points are awarded for this assessment. I am a bit confused between - 

At least a bachelor degree from an Australian educational institution or other degree of a recognised standard - 15
An award or qualification recognised by the assessing authority in the assessment of the skilled occupation - 10

Can you please assist with my query? Thanks !!

ZoomZoom


----------



## Peter Sadek

*an important inquiry*

hi Mr mark ............. 
im really glad that i can contact someone professional as you that is interested to advice people truly from the heart ...........
i have a very important question about my situation .........
i have submitted an expression of interest (EOI) to immigrate to Australia using the 190 subclass Visa and i asked for state nomination that i had been granted successfully .......... so now i have a Visa application invitation ..............

the problem is my wife is pregnant now ( just started her 9th month ) so i am waiting for a baby.
should i apply now? and pay the Visa fees for me & my wife now??
or should i wait till my baby is born ?? knowing that 24 days have already passed from the 60 days that they gave me to finish my application.........


----------



## megzchong

Hi Mark,

I am here again. when applying for tourist visa and I will have my fiance to invite me and pay for everything. Would that be enough or do we have his parents to write the letter because they own the house,as what we have done for the previous tourist visas I have applied? or can just my fiance state in the invitation letter that I will have free accommodation since he lives in his parents house anyway?He is working as a service station attendant.

Another thing Mark, what could be the best reason we will state so we could get a visa without 8503 condition? We are planning to lodge onshore partner visa instead on PMV. Although I get worry what if i apply tourist and i will still have the 8503 condition which means we won't have the right to apply for onshore partner visa.

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snow -

No problem w/questions. Your plan sounds fine re: in/outside Australia. For online applications, DIBP is deemed to have received it when you lodge & pay.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Snow said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Last question for a long time, I can almost promise you!
> 
> I know that I have to be out of Australia when I get my visa granted if I lodge outside of Australia. On page 11 of the 1127 it says I also have to be out of the country when the department receives my application. I apply tomorrow (24th) and arrive in Australia on an eVisitor for a month's stay on the 27th.
> 
> Am I safe in assuming that the department has "received" my application as soon as I submit online? And it's perfectly okay to visit Australia while my visa is processing as long as I inform the department?
> 
> Thanks again for all your advice and help, it has been a huge ease on my nerves.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BionicAllah -

Normally people apply for a BV-B max 3 months ahead of their scheduled trip, and the visa is approved within a week or so max.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BionicAllah said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm not sure my previous post was posted successfully.
> 
> I'm currently looking at booking a trip to Fiji in December. I'm on bridging visa A but as i understand i would need to switch over to a bridging visa B.
> I'm a little concerned that the visa will be denied if I only want it for a holiday. I've also heard that even if i apply for the visa now it won't get approved until a week before I am due to go away. Please advise.
> 
> I'm worry it might be foolish to book the trip now.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prasanth -

Typically 6-9 months, but can be shorter or longer in some cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Prasanth said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I want to really appreciate your efforts for helping the people through this site.
> 
> One query : I am from India.We submitted 190-Visa to Victoria on May-17 th 2014 ,still no case officer is assigned.We uploaded all the douments including medicals and pcc(Police clerance certificate).Could you please tell me the processing time of 190 -visa and any idea when the visa will come.
> Regards,
> Prasanth.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunny_Girl -

That can work - could do a job ad with a 5 day timeframe for submission, then complete the LMT forms (spreadsheet of responses, etc) after that and lodge on day 7, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sunny_Girl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks so much for your help so far with all my questions regarding our 457 application!
> 
> So the company rang Immigration and were told an option would be to withdraw the nomination now and re-submit including the LMT. We could then hopefully transfer our application and link it to the new nomination.
> My question is if the company were to include LMT would it be possible to advertise a job online this week and lodge the nomination next week showing their attempts?
> 
> I'm stil pretty sure the company doesn't need LMT - my partner is applying for a second 457 with the same company, has worked with the for over 2 years and is from a World Trade Organisation country. But I'm afraid just to wait for Immigrations decision - if it is rejected then it makes it more problematic so I'm thinking we should take action now.
> 
> Thanks again Mark! You have been so much more help than all of my 20 calls to Immigration!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anothermich -

I don't believe so - DIBP should understand from the courses listed (and info avail online about Monash Uni) that the courses were delivered in English. However since it was an offshore version, I would get something in writing - either from the course catalog, Uni website, etc since offshore versions of Australian Uni's can vary in this regard.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anothermich said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'd like to thank you for setting up this helpful thread.
> 
> A bit of background. My partner is the main applicant, I'm the dependent, and we're applying under 189.
> My question is regarding providing proof of functional English for a dependent applicant.
> I've read the criteria on the Australian immigration website, and I fall under the following evidence: "completed a degree, a higher degree, a diploma or a trade certificate that required at least two years of full-time study or training in an institution in or outside Australia and all instructions were in English".
> I did my degree in an offshore campus of an Australian university, ie: Monash University. My transcripts and cert do not indicate that I did my degree offshore because it was issued by Monash Australia.
> 
> I want to know if I need any letter from my offshore campus to indicate that all instructions were in English?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bonello32 -

You could, but fiance visas from high risk countries routinely run 9-12 months to process, so it may be still a bit early to be concerned in my view.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bonello32 said:


> Hi everyone! !
> My fiance aplication already over 7 months and we didn't heard anything from our CO ( since the last email they sending to us when my fiance ask her about tourist visa).
> It's that possible if I email our CO to know how far the process application go (as we completed everthing)??bacause I read from this forum some of applicant fiance been email the CO straight to know about the application and it make sense to movement of their aplication.*
> I am worry if I email our CO in jakarta (the logged place aplication) will be bad impact to my fiance aplication.*
> 
> Please advise and I really do appreciate for it.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zoomzoom -

Thanks for the question - would need to assess the entire ACS report and any info on your qualifications in a consultation session (see our website below) to give you any specific points advice - the rules are too complex for quickie estimates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zoomzoom said:


> Hi Mark !!
> 
> I received my ACS review result today, and I have a question regarding the assessment of my qualification. The ACS review states -
> 
> *"Your Master of Science from University of Missouri completed May 2006 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Master Degree with a minor in computing."*
> 
> I'd like to know how many points are awarded for this assessment. I am a bit confused between -
> 
> At least a bachelor degree from an Australian educational institution or other degree of a recognised standard - 15
> An award or qualification recognised by the assessing authority in the assessment of the skilled occupation - 10
> 
> Can you please assist with my query? Thanks !!
> 
> ZoomZoom


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peter -

Given how difficult some of these invitations are to get these days, I'd apply for the visa now within the 60 day limit (don't wait until the last day!) and then by the time the processing is ready for the medicals, if the baby is not born yet you might have to delay the visa grant a bit until the mom can take her medicals, but better that than going through the whole state sponsorship thing again.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Peter Sadek said:


> hi Mr mark .............
> im really glad that i can contact someone professional as you that is interested to advice people truly from the heart ...........
> i have a very important question about my situation .........
> i have submitted an expression of interest (EOI) to immigrate to Australia using the 190 subclass Visa and i asked for state nomination that i had been granted successfully .......... so now i have a Visa application invitation ..............
> 
> the problem is my wife is pregnant now ( just started her 9th month ) so i am waiting for a baby.
> should i apply now? and pay the Visa fees for me & my wife now??
> or should i wait till my baby is born ?? knowing that 24 days have already passed from the 60 days that they gave me to finish my application.........


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megzchong -

I'd include the letter form his parents, etc to provide as much support as you can for the application. Re: reason given, tough decision - sometimes just saying you are planning for a partner visa application onshore works, other times that causes problems (not a temporary tourism stay) and the visa is refused. You might want to say you want to spend more time with your friend, etc or whatever is appropriate, but up to you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am here again. when applying for tourist visa and I will have my fiance to invite me and pay for everything. Would that be enough or do we have his parents to write the letter because they own the house,as what we have done for the previous tourist visas I have applied? or can just my fiance state in the invitation letter that I will have free accommodation since he lives in his parents house anyway?He is working as a service station attendant.
> 
> Another thing Mark, what could be the best reason we will state so we could get a visa without 8503 condition? We are planning to lodge onshore partner visa instead on PMV. Although I get worry what if i apply tourist and i will still have the 8503 condition which means we won't have the right to apply for onshore partner visa.
> 
> Thanks,
> Megz


----------



## megzchong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Megzchong -
> 
> I'd include the letter form his parents, etc to provide as much support as you can for the application. Re: reason given, tough decision - sometimes just saying you are planning for a partner visa application onshore works, other times that causes problems (not a temporary tourism stay) and the visa is refused. You might want to say you want to spend more time with your friend, etc or whatever is appropriate, but up to you.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi,

Thank you Mark! Reason I ask you is that his parents won't let us apply visa til November this year(as his apprenticeship ends on his 8th month). I understand his parents want him to see what happens to his job first before we apply for tourist visa, but we planned to apply this September for tourist and if ever granted without 8503, we will apply for onshore partner visa by December anyway. bur what are your thoughts Mark if we get tourist but with 8503, seems it would be useless because we just want to be together for good and not go back, apply PMV and be away again. He isn't that rich for us to do this. Hope you help me.

Thanks
Megz


----------



## SAMPA

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sam -
> 
> While DIBP may not be thrilled when ETA holders lodge onshore partner visa applications, it isn't against the law and I've never seen this negatively affect an onshore partner application. After all, how do they expect people to get onshore to lodge this type of partner visa application??
> 
> Re: expiration, your info is correct - with an ETA and a "last date to enter" type of expiration date, as long as you enter before that date, you get to stay for the full 3 months.
> 
> Assuming you lodge your onshore partner visa while on the ETA (ie, within the 3 months), the conditions of the ETA (no work, etc) would remain in place until the end of the 3 month period from when you entered Australia. Once you stay past the end of the 3 months, the bridging visa A you get with your onshore partner application will activate, and at that point the bridging visa would be your visa you remain on in Australia until the partner visa decision. Full work rights, etc would begin when the bridging visa activates. Note after that you'll need to apply for and be granted a bridging visa B if you wish to make a trip outside Australia and return.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much! You've been a big help. I think I'm stressing over this small detail. Thank you for the information!


----------



## AgnesB

*Skills Assessment*

Hi Mark,

Im new in here, seen your responses on forum and would like to ask you few questions.

Im qualified social worker with Masters Degree from Polish Academy (5 years academic study, no placements as its not a part of the degree course in there, lived in the UK since 2006 and im fully qualified and registered in the UK as a social worker) Had 3 months work experience placement as a Social Care Manager (not paid) and before I enter HCPC in the UK worked in health occupation as senior care assistant for 2 years 8 months. I would like to ask if you could advice me on that work experiences, are they acceptable / enough for the skills assessment? In few weeks time I will start my employment as a Social Worker - first year as "assess year in employment". What would be the best visa options in my case?

Thank you for any advice you would be able to give.
Agnes


----------



## MarkNortham

Mi Megzchond -

Will all come down to whether you get condition 8503 on your visitor visa - hard to control/predict that!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thank you Mark! Reason I ask you is that his parents won't let us apply visa til November this year(as his apprenticeship ends on his 8th month). I understand his parents want him to see what happens to his job first before we apply for tourist visa, but we planned to apply this September for tourist and if ever granted without 8503, we will apply for onshore partner visa by December anyway. bur what are your thoughts Mark if we get tourist but with 8503, seems it would be useless because we just want to be together for good and not go back, apply PMV and be away again. He isn't that rich for us to do this. Hope you help me.
> 
> Thanks
> Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AgnesB -

Thanks for the questions. The unpaid work would likely not qualify, however if the tasks/duties of the other work (paid) were close enough to the ANZSCO standard tasks/duties for your occupation, that work may qualify. You'd have to look at the skills assessor's specific requirements (they are all different) and see how things work and how you can meet their requirements.

Re: which visa is best, too complex a question for the forum - Australia's visa system is complex with lots of twists and turns - would be happy to got through your situation in detail at a consultation (see my website below for more details on this) if you'd like.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AgnesB said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Im new in here, seen your responses on forum and would like to ask you few questions.
> 
> Im qualified social worker with Masters Degree from Polish Academy (5 years academic study, no placements as its not a part of the degree course in there, lived in the UK since 2006 and im fully qualified and registered in the UK as a social worker) Had 3 months work experience placement as a Social Care Manager (not paid) and before I enter HCPC in the UK worked in health occupation as senior care assistant for 2 years 8 months. I would like to ask if you could advice me on that work experiences, are they acceptable / enough for the skills assessment? In few weeks time I will start my employment as a Social Worker - first year as "assess year in employment". What would be the best visa options in my case?
> 
> Thank you for any advice you would be able to give.
> Agnes


----------



## chocolate33

*309 questions*

hey mark,
my partner is applying for 309 visa. i have a couple of quick questions:
1. i have had some people complete their stat decls for his application but i have since read in the booklet that they cannot be older than 6 weeks. now im stressing.............does that mean I will have to have them completed again if we do not put the application in prior to 6 weeks? 
2. can our personal statements about the history of our relationship take any form? or to they have to be according to a certain template?
3. rather than complete a stat dec form my parents produced their own letter stating that they would support us in any way, financially etc. then they declared it. will this be ok?
thank you very much
virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chocolate33 -

Thanks for the questions. Re 1, 6 week limit is only if the applicant is subject to section 48 of the Migration Act due to a previously refused visa - if not, 6 week limit does not apply. Re 2, no particular format - most people do these on a word processor for ease of reading, then create a PDF from the statement after they sign it. Re 3, likely fine, best for each of them to include a copy of a photo ID (passport or other govt issued ID) with their signed statement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> hey mark,
> my partner is applying for 309 visa. i have a couple of quick questions:
> 1. i have had some people complete their stat decls for his application but i have since read in the booklet that they cannot be older than 6 weeks. now im stressing.............does that mean I will have to have them completed again if we do not put the application in prior to 6 weeks?
> 2. can our personal statements about the history of our relationship take any form? or to they have to be according to a certain template?
> 3. rather than complete a stat dec form my parents produced their own letter stating that they would support us in any way, financially etc. then they declared it. will this be ok?
> thank you very much
> virginia


----------



## chocolate33

hey mark, thanks for the speedy response. that is great regarding the stat dec..........i was a little concerned as been a difficult process following them up (we have over 10) and was getting a little hot under the collar thinking about having to complete the process again!!!
just to confirm.............if we type our statements in word, print and sign there is no need for them to be witnessed by anybody?
my parents attached a certified copy of their passports. the main reason i wanted to include the letter was for financial support
thanks mark


----------



## Prasanth

Hi Mark,
Thank you for the quick reponse..
Rgds
Prasanth


----------



## luckyduck12

*143 Visa application*

Hi Mark,

As we know 143 visa application is paper-based and have to be sent to Perth office. In the application, can we send the colour scans of original documents (birth certificate, passport..) without being certified as true copies?

I know with online application we can just provide colour scans without certifying it. Does this apply to paper based application too?

Thanks,


----------



## luckyduck12

*143 Visa application*

Hi Mark,

Another question 

As part of Balance of Family test, my parents have 4 children, 2 are permanent residents in Australia. Do all the two PR children have to fill in form 40 Sponsorship for Migration in Australia? Or just one child to fill in the form is enough.

The booklet always mention 'sponsor', not 'sponsors' so I am under impression that only *one* child can be the sponsor. 

Please help


----------



## Prasanth

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the quick response...

Regards,
Prasanth


----------



## jimmy2014

Dear Mark,

Thank you for helping so many applicants here. 

I would really appreciate if you assist me with following queries. 

My spouse has recently lodged a Offshore Partner visa application (online) and immediately applied for Tourist visa for 3 months to come to Melbourne. 

1. Does applying for Tourist visa can adversely impact her application due to the fact we did not mention in the Partner visa application that we were going to apply for Tourist visa ? (High risk country but very minimal rate of applicants breaching their visa conditions Source - DIAC)

I have provided a detailed letter of invitation justifying why she is applying for Tourist visa and have also mentioned that Partner visa has been lodged with TRN etc. 

2. I am trying to find the location where I can the statement explaining the history of relationship etc. but there is no option to do that ? 

3. Finally, will the case officer consider the evidence I continue to provide e.g. phone calls in future, any more new photos etc. till the point case officer opens our file for assessment ?

Kind Regards,

Jitin


----------



## luckyduck12

Hi Mark,

Third question.

I included my partner in the skilled migration visa application and we were both granted visas. Does that equal to me sponsoring my partner and now I cannot act as sponsor for 143 visa anymore? Can I still be the sponsor for my parents' 143 visa application?

Thanks a lot Mark..


----------



## Mariaanderic

Hi Mark! I am new here and first of all I wanted to applaud you for taking the time, and going through all the effort to help so many people! It's awesome! Thank you!!

I apologise in advance cos I'm sure I will be asking you a few things that you probably already answered before..

My partner and I are on the process do applying for the partnership visa 309 (I am from Paraguay and he is Australian)...

1. Due to the fact that the visa takes (according to immi website), for high risk countries, 12 months we rate a bit worried about having to spend all that time apart. So, I wanted to know if it is possible for me to apply for a student visa after I apply for the parter one and while the partner one is being processed. Can that be done? Any problems or thing to take into consideration in case we decide to do this? 
(We would apply for partnership visa in September, then apply for student visa so I can come back to Australia and do TAFE in January till June while waiting on an answer for the partnership visa)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chocolate33 -

Correct - statements of the applicant and sponsor for a partner visa do not need to be witnessed, just signed by the writer of the statement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> hey mark, thanks for the speedy response. that is great regarding the stat dec..........i was a little concerned as been a difficult process following them up (we have over 10) and was getting a little hot under the collar thinking about having to complete the process again!!!
> just to confirm.............if we type our statements in word, print and sign there is no need for them to be witnessed by anybody?
> my parents attached a certified copy of their passports. the main reason i wanted to include the letter was for financial support
> thanks mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck12 -

For paper applications, best to make colour scans and have them certified as certified (true) copies of the original.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> As we know 143 visa application is paper-based and have to be sent to Perth office. In the application, can we send the colour scans of original documents (birth certificate, passport..) without being certified as true copies?
> 
> I know with online application we can just provide colour scans without certifying it. Does this apply to paper based application too?
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck12 -

Correct - only one qualifying child needs to be the sponsor. You should make sure they satisfy the "settled in Australia" requirement - ie, 2 years in Australia before sponsoring a parent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Another question
> 
> As part of Balance of Family test, my parents have 4 children, 2 are permanent residents in Australia. Do all the two PR children have to fill in form 40 Sponsorship for Migration in Australia? Or just one child to fill in the form is enough.
> 
> The booklet always mention 'sponsor', not 'sponsors' so I am under impression that only *one* child can be the sponsor.
> 
> Please help


----------



## Mietsie

Hallo Mark

Hope you are doing well!

Just a few last questions:
1. If I decided to get my Medical Check done in South Africa now before I go to Australia in 2 weeks on a Visitors Visa where I will be lodging my online 820/801, will I have to stipulate that it's an onshore application to get the HAP ID? If yes, won't that be weird that I do onshore if I am actually still offshore???

2. Somewhere I read that during the online application they ask about your sponsor's family (siblings) and that you have to give dates of marriage even though it's not part of the offline forms. Is that true? If yes, what if my partner has 10 siblings and all of them have been married more than once? Do I have to give ALL the dates of ALL the marriages?

Kind regards
Mietsie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmy2014 -

Thanks for the kind words! Re: tourist visa, should not negatively impact your partner visa. Re: partner visa statement uploads, there is no specific spot for these, however many people upload under the "Nature of the Commitment to Each Other" section under the "Other" subcategory. Also, I think there's a "Statement of Future Plans" or something like that that some people use. I don't understand why DIBP doesn't just have straightforward subcategories for these...

Re: further uploads, you can keep on uploading further evidence and documents to your application after lodging, and until the case officer makes a decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmy2014 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for helping so many applicants here.
> 
> I would really appreciate if you assist me with following queries.
> 
> My spouse has recently lodged a Offshore Partner visa application (online) and immediately applied for Tourist visa for 3 months to come to Melbourne.
> 
> 1. Does applying for Tourist visa can adversely impact her application due to the fact we did not mention in the Partner visa application that we were going to apply for Tourist visa ? (High risk country but very minimal rate of applicants breaching their visa conditions Source - DIAC)
> 
> I have provided a detailed letter of invitation justifying why she is applying for Tourist visa and have also mentioned that Partner visa has been lodged with TRN etc.
> 
> 2. I am trying to find the location where I can the statement explaining the history of relationship etc. but there is no option to do that ?
> 
> 3. Finally, will the case officer consider the evidence I continue to provide e.g. phone calls in future, any more new photos etc. till the point case officer opens our file for assessment ?
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Jitin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck12 -

Not aware of any limitation on 143 that would be created if the 143 sponsor (child of parent) also previously sponsored a spouse or defacto partner on a partner visa or included a spouse in a skilled visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Third question.
> 
> I included my partner in the skilled migration visa application and we were both granted visas. Does that equal to me sponsoring my partner and now I cannot act as sponsor for 143 visa anymore? Can I still be the sponsor for my parents' 143 visa application?
> 
> Thanks a lot Mark..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mariaanderic -

Thanks for the kind words - made my day!

Student visa after partner application is problematic and likely to be refused, as the partner visa would indicate a permanent interest in being in Australia, and student visa requires intent only to study in Australia. Better choice would be a visitor visa (subclass 600 tourist stream unless you are in a country that has eVisa or ETA) after you lodge the partner application. Otherwise, I'd wait to study until you come here on the approved partner visa. Other option would be to lodge student visa first, then partner visa afterwards.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mariaanderic said:


> Hi Mark! I am new here and first of all I wanted to applaud you for taking the time, and going through all the effort to help so many people! It's awesome! Thank you!!
> 
> I apologise in advance cos I'm sure I will be asking you a few things that you probably already answered before..
> 
> My partner and I are on the process do applying for the partnership visa 309 (I am from Paraguay and he is Australian)...
> 
> 1. Due to the fact that the visa takes (according to immi website), for high risk countries, 12 months we rate a bit worried about having to spend all that time apart. So, I wanted to know if it is possible for me to apply for a student visa after I apply for the parter one and while the partner one is being processed. Can that be done? Any problems or thing to take into consideration in case we decide to do this?
> (We would apply for partnership visa in September, then apply for student visa so I can come back to Australia and do TAFE in January till June while waiting on an answer for the partnership visa)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mietsie -

Thanks for the note - in your case I'd suggest getting the health check done in Australia while you're here, rather than doing it in advance. It shouldn't delay your visa any, and will avoid any issues that could be raised by an offshore PR visa health exam.

Re: sibling/parent marriage dates, you're correct. Most recent marriage in the case of those married multiple times is fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mietsie said:


> Hallo Mark
> 
> Hope you are doing well!
> 
> Just a few last questions:
> 1. If I decided to get my Medical Check done in South Africa now before I go to Australia in 2 weeks on a Visitors Visa where I will be lodging my online 820/801, will I have to stipulate that it's an onshore application to get the HAP ID? If yes, won't that be weird that I do onshore if I am actually still offshore???
> 
> 2. Somewhere I read that during the online application they ask about your sponsor's family (siblings) and that you have to give dates of marriage even though it's not part of the offline forms. Is that true? If yes, what if my partner has 10 siblings and all of them have been married more than once? Do I have to give ALL the dates of ALL the marriages?
> 
> Kind regards
> Mietsie


----------



## Mariaanderic

Mark! Thank you SO MUCH for your reply! You have no idea how much you just helped my boyfriend and I! 
I'm so glad I wrote to you, we were planning on applying for the student visa and would have been devastating to get it refused.
Thanks again!

I think I'll have a few more questions.. So it might help if you know a little bit of our background and situation with visas? 
To give you a round idea and not overwhelm you with info I'll try to make it short. 
I've had 2 Australian visas so far. First one a tourist visa granted for 3 month stay; second one is my current visa, another tourist or visitor visa granted for a 12 month stay and multiple entry. 
My current visa has the 8503 condition "no further stay" so we will be applying for the partner visa 309 offshore.

We want to find a way to be together (in Australia since my partner has commitments there) while partnership visa is being processed.

1. Since you think student visa wouldn't be granted. Would you recommend trying a tourist visa? 
2. Which visa should I apply for first? Tourist or partner?
Do you think that the fact that I had 2 tourist visas granted already might keep them from granting me another one?
3. Since we are applying offshore, in the case that I get a tourist visa and come back to Australia while partner visa is being processed, what happens with the partnership visa grant? I have to be outside Australia to get it right? Does that mean they wait until I leave to grant it? Do they let me know that it will be granted so I leave to get it? And... Once I leave australia do I have to go "collect" the visa?

Again, can't thank you enough Mark!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mariaanderic -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words - made my day!
> 
> Student visa after partner application is problematic and likely to be refused, as the partner visa would indicate a permanent interest in being in Australia, and student visa requires intent only to study in Australia. Better choice would be a visitor visa (subclass 600 tourist stream unless you are in a country that has eVisa or ETA) after you lodge the partner application. Otherwise, I'd wait to study until you come here on the approved partner visa. Other option would be to lodge student visa first, then partner visa afterwards.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## BionicAllah

MarkNortham said:


> Hi BionicAllah -
> 
> Normally people apply for a BV-B max 3 months ahead of their scheduled trip, and the visa is approved within a week or so max.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you.


----------



## Mietsie

Thank you very much Mark! You are awesome and I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help!

Blessings
Mietsie



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mietsie -
> 
> Thanks for the note - in your case I'd suggest getting the health check done in Australia while you're here, rather than doing it in advance. It shouldn't delay your visa any, and will avoid any issues that could be raised by an offshore PR visa health exam.
> 
> Re: sibling/parent marriage dates, you're correct. Most recent marriage in the case of those married multiple times is fine.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## JohnnyBrutal

Hi Mark

I'm really upset :/ My orientation is on the 28th of July and classes are starting from the 4th of August. 

Still no signs of a visa decision, i've had my biometrics and medical and everything is completed.

Whats worse is that in the past few days ive seen 10-15 guys get their visas and all of them applied after me, had their medical and bio metrics after me, got their acknowledgements after me. A few non SVP students who applied after me have gotten their visas and I applied for a SVP visa yet no visa decision.

Do you think I should email DIBP and ask them whats going on?

Aren;t visa decisions made of priority basis, I mean to say that students who apply first should get their visa decisions first? It doesnt make any sense


----------



## anothermich

Really appreciate you taking time to help us. Many thanks! Have a nice weekend.


----------



## AgnesB

MarkNortham said:


> Hi AgnesB -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. The unpaid work would likely not qualify, however if the tasks/duties of the other work (paid) were close enough to the ANZSCO standard tasks/duties for your occupation, that work may qualify. You'd have to look at the skills assessor's specific requirements (they are all different) and see how things work and how you can meet their requirements.
> 
> Re: which visa is best, too complex a question for the forum - Australia's visa system is complex with lots of twists and turns - would be happy to got through your situation in detail at a consultation (see my website below for more details on this) if you'd like.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

Thank you for your advice. I will check my work experience situation against ANZSCO first. I understand I can only start my skills assessment application when meeting all criteria: Degree, English language, Work experience? I can not apply for my degree assessment first and submit in a mean time language and experience? Only wondering what would be the quickest way to start assessment.

Also having the opportunity in here I would like to pass regards and big thank you for helping everyone with professional advice. Seen 2 different immigration officers and I have to say im very much so disappointed in not receiving enough info and advice. Much appreciate for your time. Would def use your services re consultation!

Agnes B


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mariaanderic -

Thanks for the kind words! Glad I can help.

Re: partner / visitor visa, assuming you meet the requirements of a partner visa (suggestion: eliminate boyfriend/girlfriend from your vocabulary and use the word "partner" instead, as DIBP doesn't see boyfriends/girlfriends as "partners"), you may want to lodge the 309/100 first, wait a week or 2 to let them get it in their system, then lodge a visitor visa application. This is done sometimes in higher risk situations so that DIBP understands that you've declared the relationship to them, and are not trying to use repeated visitor visas to establish some sort of residency in Australia. Also, the fact that you have already had 2 Aus visas before, and the last one had 8503 on it may be indicative that you're running out of visitor visas that they will grant (without you having lodged something else or declaring your relationship), so yet another reason to lodge the partner visa first, then a visitor visa.

When they are ready to grant the 309/100, if you are in Australia (keep in touch with your case officer once you are assigned one or a team to let them know when you are outside your home country), they will email you and let you know they're ready to grant the visa - you would then depart Australia (to any other country, doesn't have to be your home country) and then email them to confirm you're outside Australia, and they will grant & email you your visa which you would then re-enter Australia on.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mariaanderic said:


> Mark! Thank you SO MUCH for your reply! You have no idea how much you just helped my boyfriend and I!
> I'm so glad I wrote to you, we were planning on applying for the student visa and would have been devastating to get it refused.
> Thanks again!
> 
> I think I'll have a few more questions.. So it might help if you know a little bit of our background and situation with visas?
> To give you a round idea and not overwhelm you with info I'll try to make it short.
> I've had 2 Australian visas so far. First one a tourist visa granted for 3 month stay; second one is my current visa, another tourist or visitor visa granted for a 12 month stay and multiple entry.
> My current visa has the 8503 condition "no further stay" so we will be applying for the partner visa 309 offshore.
> 
> We want to find a way to be together (in Australia since my partner has commitments there) while partnership visa is being processed.
> 
> 1. Since you think student visa wouldn't be granted. Would you recommend trying a tourist visa?
> 2. Which visa should I apply for first? Tourist or partner?
> Do you think that the fact that I had 2 tourist visas granted already might keep them from granting me another one?
> 3. Since we are applying offshore, in the case that I get a tourist visa and come back to Australia while partner visa is being processed, what happens with the partnership visa grant? I have to be outside Australia to get it right? Does that mean they wait until I leave to grant it? Do they let me know that it will be granted so I leave to get it? And... Once I leave australia do I have to go "collect" the visa?
> 
> Again, can't thank you enough Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Johnny -

Sorry to hear about the delay - I wish visas were processed in some sort of logical order but I have yet to see that happen. Given your home country I expect external security checks may be to blame, but that's just a guess. SVP seems to make little difference in processing time from what I can see.

You may want to email them and ask them if you can provide any additional information or documents for the application, and mention also that your deadline to study is coming up. Might work, might not, but I bet you will feel better having done it!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JohnnyBrutal said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I'm really upset :/ My orientation is on the 28th of July and classes are starting from the 4th of August.
> 
> Still no signs of a visa decision, i've had my biometrics and medical and everything is completed.
> 
> Whats worse is that in the past few days ive seen 10-15 guys get their visas and all of them applied after me, had their medical and bio metrics after me, got their acknowledgements after me. A few non SVP students who applied after me have gotten their visas and I applied for a SVP visa yet no visa decision.
> 
> Do you think I should email DIBP and ask them whats going on?
> 
> Aren;t visa decisions made of priority basis, I mean to say that students who apply first should get their visa decisions first? It doesnt make any sense


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AgnesB -

Thanks for the kind words!

Key to all of your questions is a careful read of the requirements of your skills assessor - some require work experience, many do not. You'll also want to make sure you check whether the requirements are for a "485 skills assessment" for the 485 visa only, or a full skills assessment for other skilled migration visas - this depends on whether you are applying for a 485 or some other skilled visa like a 189, 190 489, etc. Every skills assessor makes their own rules, and there is sometimes no rhyme or reason for these, you just have to read their website and regulations/info booklets/etc very carefully determine what they want, in what form (ie, documents), and how they want it provided to them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AgnesB said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your advice. I will check my work experience situation against ANZSCO first. I understand I can only start my skills assessment application when meeting all criteria: Degree, English language, Work experience? I can not apply for my degree assessment first and submit in a mean time language and experience? Only wondering what would be the quickest way to start assessment.
> 
> Also having the opportunity in here I would like to pass regards and big thank you for helping everyone with professional advice. Seen 2 different immigration officers and I have to say im very much so disappointed in not receiving enough info and advice. Much appreciate for your time. Would def use your services re consultation!
> 
> Agnes B


----------



## Rexford

MarkNortham said:


> Hi AgnesB -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words!
> 
> Key to all of your questions is a careful read of the requirements of your skills assessor - some require work experience, many do not. You'll also want to make sure you check whether the requirements are for a "485 skills assessment" for the 485 visa only, or a full skills assessment for other skilled migration visas - this depends on whether you are applying for a 485 or some other skilled visa like a 189, 190 489, etc. Every skills assessor makes their own rules, and there is sometimes no rhyme or reason for these, you just have to read their website and regulations/info booklets/etc very carefully determine what they want, in what form (ie, documents), and how they want it provided to them.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Am waiting pmv @ Kenya


----------



## AgnesB

MarkNortham said:


> Hi AgnesB -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words!
> 
> Key to all of your questions is a careful read of the requirements of your skills assessor - some require work experience, many do not. You'll also want to make sure you check whether the requirements are for a "485 skills assessment" for the 485 visa only, or a full skills assessment for other skilled migration visas - this depends on whether you are applying for a 485 or some other skilled visa like a 189, 190 489, etc. Every skills assessor makes their own rules, and there is sometimes no rhyme or reason for these, you just have to read their website and regulations/info booklets/etc very carefully determine what they want, in what form (ie, documents), and how they want it provided to them.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Mark,

My occupation is Social Worker, after my research i understand my only assessor for skills assessment would be AASW? (work experience or placements through study needed for positive outcome)

Regards
Agnes


----------



## jimmy2014

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jimmy2014 -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words! Re: tourist visa, should not negatively impact your partner visa. Re: partner visa statement uploads, there is no specific spot for these, however many people upload under the "Nature of the Commitment to Each Other" section under the "Other" subcategory. Also, I think there's a "Statement of Future Plans" or something like that that some people use. I don't understand why DIBP doesn't just have straightforward subcategories for these...
> 
> Re: further uploads, you can keep on uploading further evidence and documents to your application after lodging, and until the case officer makes a decision.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

Thanks heaps for answering my queries, much appreciated.

I will touch base with your company Northam & Associates later this year to take advise on the documentation/evidence I have provided for Partner visa in addition to ensuring the application is decision ready at the time CO is assigned.

I firmly believe even a 45 min consultation with an expert like yourself and your team will be worth every cent.

Kind Regards,

Jimmy


----------



## megzchong

Hi Mark,

When we do tourist visa and I will have my fiance do the invitation letter stating he wanted me to visit there and will support me throughout my stay as well as all my expenses and free accommodation, is it enough for him to do the invitation since he will be supporting me or do we have to have his parents do the letter because they own the house?

Thanks,
Megz



MarkNortham said:


> Mi Megzchond -
> 
> Will all come down to whether you get condition 8503 on your visitor visa - hard to control/predict that!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Deano

Hi Mark

Quick question
If a child is here on a student visa he is classed as an international student and pays full fees at school ok...

If we apply for permanent residency for him and his mum (who is on a guardian visa) they would go onto a bridging visa...

Would he still be treated as an international student ?
Would he be treated the same as a child of a parent on a study visa ?
Would he be treated as a resident ?

International students (ciscos) pay full fees, children of parents on study visas pay less for private schools and aussie kids pay nil in state schools

We are from New South Wales

Thanks in advance 
Deano


----------



## Bretty2

*Partner Visa*

Hi Mark

I was granted my 176 visa in January 2010 but while in the process of getting this visa (started application process in 2008) began seeing my wife (after 18 years of going our seperate ways upon finishing school) and we got married in April 2010. After a few years of deciding we now want to emigrate from South Africa to Adelaide. I activated my visa in September 2010 by going over on a short holiday.

We have known each other since we were 11 years old, went to school together (we were even highschool sweethearts for nearly 4 years) and have photos to prove it along with wills showing each other as beneficiaries, joint home loan, joint utilities accounts, holiday photos, wedding invites, wedding photos, 2 statutory declarations from Aussie citizens (form 888) who have known us since we were kids.

My dilema being that the partner visa booklet states that I am expected to be usually residing in Australia as a permanent resident in order to be able to sponsor my wife. Due to the fact that I don't live there yet, does anybody know how strict they are with regards to this "technicality"? I will be going over about 3 months ahead of my family to secure work and we have accommodation to use for free through a family friend until we find our own place.

This must be a regular occurence considering the length of time it takes to go through the skilled visa process. After all, your life doesn't stop just because you are embarking on a process like that.

Thanks
Paul.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AgnesB -

You're correct - AASW is the (only) appointed skills assessor for occupation Social Worker (ANZSCO 272511) so you'll have to meet their requirements for skills assessment if you want to apply for that occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AgnesB said:


> Mark,
> 
> My occupation is Social Worker, after my research i understand my only assessor for skills assessment would be AASW? (work experience or placements through study needed for positive outcome)
> 
> Regards
> Agnes


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmy2014 -

Glad I could assist - looking forward to working with you at a consultation later this year.

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmy2014 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thanks heaps for answering my queries, much appreciated.
> 
> I will touch base with your company Northam & Associates later this year to take advise on the documentation/evidence I have provided for Partner visa in addition to ensuring the application is decision ready at the time CO is assigned.
> 
> I firmly believe even a 45 min consultation with an expert like yourself and your team will be worth every cent.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Jimmy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

I'd probably include both, in an effort to strengthen the application as much as possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> When we do tourist visa and I will have my fiance do the invitation letter stating he wanted me to visit there and will support me throughout my stay as well as all my expenses and free accommodation, is it enough for him to do the invitation since he will be supporting me or do we have to have his parents do the letter because they own the house?
> 
> Thanks,
> Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deano -

Thanks for the questions. I'm not an expert on NSW school tuition policy, however as far as I know, until a student is granted permanent residency (usually by being a dependent on their parent's PR application, etc), the student is liable for international student fees. You'll have to check with them to see if (like Medicare) they are willing to extend benefits based on a lodged PR visa application, rather than waiting until the PR is actually granted. Note that private schools may have their own, separate policies vs NSW public schools - again, key is research to determine exactly what policies apply to your situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Deano said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Quick question
> If a child is here on a student visa he is classed as an international student and pays full fees at school ok...
> 
> If we apply for permanent residency for him and his mum (who is on a guardian visa) they would go onto a bridging visa...
> 
> Would he still be treated as an international student ?
> Would he be treated the same as a child of a parent on a study visa ?
> Would he be treated as a resident ?
> 
> International students (ciscos) pay full fees, children of parents on study visas pay less for private schools and aussie kids pay nil in state schools
> 
> We are from New South Wales
> 
> Thanks in advance
> Deano


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paul -

Thanks for the questions. The "usually resident" regulation is absolutely enforced for partner visas where the sponsor is a permanent resident and not a citizen of Australia. I don't have enough data about your case, but would suggest waiting on the partner visa application at a minimum until you've come over here ahead of your family and made arrangements for a place to stay, and perhaps even a job - the more evidence you can show that you are now usually resident here, the better your chances of being approved re: that regulation. This is especially true given the short amount of time you've spent here since you were granted your PR visa - in your case you'll need that much more evidence that you truly now consider Australia your home in order to be successful re: usually resident regulation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bretty2 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I was granted my 176 visa in January 2010 but while in the process of getting this visa (started application process in 2008) began seeing my wife (after 18 years of going our seperate ways upon finishing school) and we got married in April 2010. After a few years of deciding we now want to emigrate from South Africa to Adelaide. I activated my visa in September 2010 by going over on a short holiday.
> 
> We have known each other since we were 11 years old, went to school together (we were even highschool sweethearts for nearly 4 years) and have photos to prove it along with wills showing each other as beneficiaries, joint home loan, joint utilities accounts, holiday photos, wedding invites, wedding photos, 2 statutory declarations from Aussie citizens (form 888) who have known us since we were kids.
> 
> My dilema being that the partner visa booklet states that I am expected to be usually residing in Australia as a permanent resident in order to be able to sponsor my wife. Due to the fact that I don't live there yet, does anybody know how strict they are with regards to this "technicality"? I will be going over about 3 months ahead of my family to secure work and we have accommodation to use for free through a family friend until we find our own place.
> 
> This must be a regular occurence considering the length of time it takes to go through the skilled visa process. After all, your life doesn't stop just because you are embarking on a process like that.
> 
> Thanks
> Paul.


----------



## rumbi

his mark,I applied for PR visa,I'm still waiting for co, my question is,my birthcerificate doesn't have name of father,I never knew my father I used my mother's family name,will that be a problem


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rumbi -

I don't think so - but just in case you might, if possible, include a note that explains the circumstances re: not knowing your father.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rumbi said:


> his mark,I applied for PR visa,I'm still waiting for co, my question is,my birthcerificate doesn't have name of father,I never knew my father I used my mother's family name,will that be a problem


----------



## BionicAllah

*Tax return mistake*

Hello,

I've made a mistake on my tax return. I miss read a question about being married or single and answer single as me and my de facto partner aren't married.

Can this effect my de facto visa application?


----------



## BionicAllah

BionicAllah said:


> Hello,
> 
> I've made a mistake on my tax return. I miss read a question about being married or single and answer single as me and my de facto partner aren't married.
> 
> Can this effect my de facto visa application?


Ignore that all cleared up and amended.


----------



## Bretty2

Hi Mark

So now I dont know what to do, one MARN agent tells me I can sponsor a partner visa even though I haven't moved there yet and another tells me I cant???

I have accommodation organised already and will be going over 2 months ahead of my family to get work and sort schools out etc. I put all this in the application. We are in temporary accommodation at the moment and have to be out by the end of November which is when my wife and kids were going to move over and join me as this is when the school year ends.

Who can I contact to get to get clarity on this? We can't afford to lose all this money. If I move over next month to TRY and fulfill the so called "usually resident" requirement and the application takes longer than 2 months my wife and children end up on the street. Not to mention the fact that they lose a breadwinner and father figure for an extended time and that without the guarantee that the application will succeed. In that case my family are on the street and I am in another country having to move back, jobless and all our savings wasted. This seems to go against the main reason we are moving, Australia being a country that considers the well being of children a priority. Why would they insist on families being split up for extended periods in order to qualify?

Regards
Paul



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Paul -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. The "usually resident" regulation is absolutely enforced for partner visas where the sponsor is a permanent resident and not a citizen of Australia. I don't have enough data about your case, but would suggest waiting on the partner visa application at a minimum until you've come over here ahead of your family and made arrangements for a place to stay, and perhaps even a job - the more evidence you can show that you are now usually resident here, the better your chances of being approved re: that regulation. This is especially true given the short amount of time you've spent here since you were granted your PR visa - in your case you'll need that much more evidence that you truly now consider Australia your home in order to be successful re: usually resident regulation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paul -

All MARA agents are not created equal ;-) Plus, the usually resident requirement is a judgement call by the case officer - while an agent's job is to understand the laws, regulations and policies thoroughly and assist clients in understanding and satisfying those in order to get visas, when there is an "opinion" element of a requirement as there is with the usual resident requirement, you may find that different agents will interpret the same set of requirements differently.

Re: timeframe, it can take 9-12 months for partner visas to be assessed & processed by DIBP, however the "usually resident" is established at the time the person applies for a visa, and was defined in large part by the Scargill case in 2003. If you'd like to contact me directly, I'm happy to send you a copy of DIBP policy on Usually Resident if that would help - see my website in the link below.

Re: being separated for a long time, that certainly doesn't seem to be the intent of the Usually Resident requirements (in my opinion), however DIBP has made clear in numerous visa decisions I've seen that they don't believe that a couple being apart for 9-12 months while a visa is being processed is necessarily hardship - they almost view it as commonplace, amazingly.

I guess it comes down to different views on being a "permanent resident" of Australia - in DIBP's view, it's not just the visa that is permanent, it's the actions of the visa holder in being in Australia - more and more DIBP is limiting options for people who have PR visa but don't spend "enough" time actually in Australia - this is an example of what appears to be the expectation that PR visa holders actually "live" in Australia for a sufficient time in order to enjoy the benefits of a PR visa. It also, I think, relates back to DIBP's view that a visa is a privilege, not a right.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bretty2 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> So now I dont know what to do, one MARN agent tells me I can sponsor a partner visa even though I haven't moved there yet and another tells me I cant???
> 
> I have accommodation organised already and will be going over 2 months ahead of my family to get work and sort schools out etc. I put all this in the application. We are in temporary accommodation at the moment and have to be out by the end of November which is when my wife and kids were going to move over and join me as this is when the school year ends.
> 
> Who can I contact to get to get clarity on this? We can't afford to lose all this money. If I move over next month to TRY and fulfill the so called "usually resident" requirement and the application takes longer than 2 months my wife and children end up on the street. Not to mention the fact that they lose a breadwinner and father figure for an extended time and that without the guarantee that the application will succeed. In that case my family are on the street and I am in another country having to move back, jobless and all our savings wasted. This seems to go against the main reason we are moving, Australia being a country that considers the well being of children a priority. Why would they insist on families being split up for extended periods in order to qualify?
> 
> Regards
> Paul


----------



## Bretty2

Thanks Mark

This system completely contradicts itself. We must prove relationship with shared bank accounts, home loan, utilities etc etc etc but I have to live in Australia while my wife lives in South Africa. Sorry but thats impossible to do unless you lie because as soon as I leave South Africa we no longer share anything other than a marriage certificate. So that leaves my wife with a new dilema, she cant supply the evidence she needs to submit with her application anymore.


----------



## rumbi

thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paul -

For what it's worth, offshore partner visa evidence of living together, shared finances, nature of commitment, etc is just as valid as evidence of living together, shared finances, etc in Australia. If there is a temporary time apart while you come here to get things set up for her to arrive, and put things in place to satisfy the usually resident requirement, I expect DIBP would understand that, especially given they're on the record as understanding that it is an acceptable hardship for a sponsor and applicant to be apart for a period while a visa application is being processed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bretty2 said:


> Thanks Mark
> 
> This system completely contradicts itself. We must prove relationship with shared bank accounts, home loan, utilities etc etc etc but I have to live in Australia while my wife lives in South Africa. Sorry but thats impossible to do unless you lie because as soon as I leave South Africa we no longer share anything other than a marriage certificate. So that leaves my wife with a new dilema, she cant supply the evidence she needs to submit with her application anymore.


----------



## Bretty2

Suppose I will have to leave them behind and do it the hard way then.

Thanks for your time and advice, much appreciated.

Paul.


----------



## hodgi_76

Hi Mark,
Firstly, thank you for offering this service - it will be a great help for everyone 
So, my partner and I are going to start applying for an offshore spousal visa for him very soon. We both have recent police checks already, but am wondering is it best to get the medical/xrays etc before or after you have lodged your application? And what is the process once you get them done? Once you have the results, do they send straight to immigration even if the application isn't lodged? Or do you get the results and attach to your application?
Hopefully I make sense and sorry for probably a bit of a stupid question 
Thank you in advance!
Andrea


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hodgi -

Especially with an offshore application, I'd book the medicals as soon as you lodge online, using the "Organise your health examinations" link as soon as it comes up. This reduces the chance that the medical results could be separated from your application - once complete, your medical results are sent electronically (in most cases) back to DIBP to link up with your lodged application. You do not have to submit the medical results yourself normally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hodgi_76 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Firstly, thank you for offering this service - it will be a great help for everyone
> So, my partner and I are going to start applying for an offshore spousal visa for him very soon. We both have recent police checks already, but am wondering is it best to get the medical/xrays etc before or after you have lodged your application? And what is the process once you get them done? Once you have the results, do they send straight to immigration even if the application isn't lodged? Or do you get the results and attach to your application?
> Hopefully I make sense and sorry for probably a bit of a stupid question
> Thank you in advance!
> Andrea


----------



## BvizMi

*Q about how to make Communication record and when to apply holiday visa*

Hi Mark!

My fiancee and I are approaching our PMV visa recently. And we are facing some problems now, we sincerely hope that you could give a hand for helping us out to the following questions:

1. My fiancee and I got a lot of chatting history. we want to keep the key parts of our monthly communication. But I am not sure how to make the record. Should we just crop the date and the most important content of our communication on the Word Document? or there is other better way.

2. Hopefully, we would submit our application online by the end of this month. When is a good time for me to apply my Holiday Visa to meet my fiancee in AU, I planned to meet her in 1st Sep this year.

I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Thank you in advance.
Best regards!


----------



## andrewcool

Hi Mark, 

Read alot of your thread here and it's nice you giving some answers to people and I am sure you will have good karmas and businesses growing too!

Anyway, I am about to apply for onshore Partner Visa for my partner and would like to ask questions for submissions by online.

Question 1: For the picture evidence, when submitting the photos, can we provide a 'video' link for the Case Officer to watch as part of evidence such as upload Youtube link & post the link where the CO can watch it directly? Mainly the video is like the marriage proposal, wedding video, birthday song etc because I have never seen or heard anyone using this method in the forum but I am not sure if it is allowed

If this is allowed, can I also put an alternate DOWNLOAD link in case the Youtube link may not be working for whatever reason??

Question 2. Stat 88 form: When is the latest time that is acceptable to be sign and effective? I heard its 6 weeks before lodgement date? And how many do you recommend to submit that is allowed for Aussie resident AND non-aussie resident?

Question 3: We will be lodging by online, so therefore there are lots of scanning documents. Which are the ONLY documents required that need to be in colour paper and signed/certified by JP or witness? 

Also, can black and white scanned uploading generally documents ok too? Or any documents needs to be colour scanned?

Question 4: Does the History Of Relationship for sponsor/applicant need to be signed by witness? If so, can witness can be anyone including parents?

Question 5: When putting pictures into a Word/PDF file, do you recommended to put 2 pictures in paragraph 1 line size (which will look small in 1 page) and then I inform the CO to enlarge the size for them read clearer & larger. That way, the main advantage is that it will end up having a 20 pages instead of 10 pages scrolling down or do you recommend its better to put 1 big picture in a paragraph line even it takes alot of page space i.e. pretty much one picture per page

Question 6: I see in the forum here, that when they are submitting by paper/post, they put a very nice table content which I like
e.g.
Application Document Checklist – 2 passport photos of applicant and sponsor attached

1 Forms and Identification Documents
1.1 Completed Form 47SP
1.2 Completed Form 40SP
1.3 Certified copy of American passport- applicant
1.4 Certified copy of Australian passport- sponsor

2 Medicals and Character Documents
2.1 Medical assessment results
2.2 United States FBI Police check 
2.3 Statutory declaration explaining WI circuit court access

3 History of the relationship
3.1 Statutory Declaration- applicant
3.2 Statutory Declaration- sponsor
................

And so on, ALL the way to table 8!!

As they did it in a paper format which is easy to fiddle & organise, then how do I submit it online in a similar organised format like above so the CO can read it more easily??


Your help will be grateful!

Andrew


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BvizMi -

Thanks for the note and questions. Re: chat history, you may want to include a sample of it over the course of how your relationship developed. Best to include this in a format that preserves some of the look/feel of the original chat logs from whatever chat service/online site you used. However you edit it together, try to make it easy to read with the dates clearly visible.

Depending on your country of citizenship, I'd lodge a visitor visa 1-2 weeks after you lodge the PMV, and at least a month prior to the anticipated date of the trip - 2 months ideally if possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BvizMi said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> My fiancee and I are approaching our PMV visa recently. And we are facing some problems now, we sincerely hope that you could give a hand for helping us out to the following questions:
> 
> 1. My fiancee and I got a lot of chatting history. we want to keep the key parts of our monthly communication. But I am not sure how to make the record. Should we just crop the date and the most important content of our communication on the Word Document? or there is other better way.
> 
> 2. Hopefully, we would submit our application online by the end of this month. When is a good time for me to apply my Holiday Visa to meet my fiancee in AU, I planned to meet her in 1st Sep this year.
> 
> I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.
> Thank you in advance.
> Best regards!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrewcool -

Thanks for the questions - see responses below at ***:



andrewcool said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Read alot of your thread here and it's nice you giving some answers to people and I am sure you will have good karmas and businesses growing too!
> 
> Anyway, I am about to apply for onshore Partner Visa for my partner and would like to ask questions for submissions by online.
> 
> Question 1: For the picture evidence, when submitting the photos, can we provide a 'video' link for the Case Officer to watch as part of evidence such as upload Youtube link & post the link where the CO can watch it directly? Mainly the video is like the marriage proposal, wedding video, birthday song etc because I have never seen or heard anyone using this method in the forum but I am not sure if it is allowed
> 
> If this is allowed, can I also put an alternate DOWNLOAD link in case the Youtube link may not be working for whatever reason??
> 
> *** DIBP currently does not accept video evidence, whether as a link, DVD, or in any other format. I hope this changes in the future, but currently this type of evidence is unsupported.
> 
> Question 2. Stat 88 form: When is the latest time that is acceptable to be sign and effective? I heard its 6 weeks before lodgement date? And how many do you recommend to submit that is allowed for Aussie resident AND non-aussie resident?
> 
> *** The 6-week requirement is only for applicants who are barred by section 48 of the Migration Act due to a previous onshore refusal, etc. Other than that, no limitation on the date on the Form 888's, however for practical reasons I would not submit forms that are over 3 months old.
> 
> Question 3: We will be lodging by online, so therefore there are lots of scanning documents. Which are the ONLY documents required that need to be in colour paper and signed/certified by JP or witness?
> 
> *** High quality colour scans of all documents are by far the best way to go. If it's not a colour scan, then it should be a scan of a certified copy of the original document. The only exceptions are documents you've generated yourself like statements you make. Sometimes third party documents like receipts are not required to be certified, but uploading colour scanned documents avoids any of these types of questions/issues - highly recommended.
> 
> Also, can black and white scanned uploading generally documents ok too? Or any documents needs to be colour scanned?
> 
> Question 4: Does the History Of Relationship for sponsor/applicant need to be signed by witness? If so, can witness can be anyone including parents?
> 
> *** Nope, only needs to be signed by the writer (applicant or sponsor)
> 
> Question 5: When putting pictures into a Word/PDF file, do you recommended to put 2 pictures in paragraph 1 line size (which will look small in 1 page) and then I inform the CO to enlarge the size for them read clearer & larger. That way, the main advantage is that it will end up having a 20 pages instead of 10 pages scrolling down or do you recommend its better to put 1 big picture in a paragraph line even it takes alot of page space i.e. pretty much one picture per page
> 
> *** I would not recommend asking the case officer to enlarge or otherwise view anything in other than 100% mode - better to make things readable by default rather than depending on a case officer (and their online system, whatever that may be) to support this kind of view changing options. Typically people put 2 or 3 picture per page along with a short caption underneath each picture that describes the people in the photo, location, and timeframe/date taken.
> 
> Question 6: I see in the forum here, that when they are submitting by paper/post, they put a very nice table content which I like
> e.g.
> Application Document Checklist - 2 passport photos of applicant and sponsor attached
> 
> 1 Forms and Identification Documents
> 1.1 Completed Form 47SP
> 1.2 Completed Form 40SP
> 1.3 Certified copy of American passport- applicant
> 1.4 Certified copy of Australian passport- sponsor
> 
> 2 Medicals and Character Documents
> 2.1 Medical assessment results
> 2.2 United States FBI Police check
> 2.3 Statutory declaration explaining WI circuit court access
> 
> 3 History of the relationship
> 3.1 Statutory Declaration- applicant
> 3.2 Statutory Declaration- sponsor
> ................
> 
> And so on, ALL the way to table 8!!
> 
> As they did it in a paper format which is easy to fiddle & organise, then how do I submit it online in a similar organised format like above so the CO can read it more easily??
> 
> *** No need for this with online applications, plus there's no good way to do it or upload such a list. By choosing the correct category and subcategory for each item you upload, that essentially organises things to the extent that DIBP needs that done.
> 
> Your help will be grateful!
> 
> Andrew


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## roryjenkins

*approved sponsor*

Hi Mark, first I would like to say thanks for the previous advice you have given me but also I'm sure on behalf of everyone who uses this site for the amount of time you freely give to help others in reaching there dreams of living in Australia with such sound advice.
Now for my question (just a quickie!) at the risk of sounding rather, well no other way to put it, stupid ! I've just noticed on our immi account after my wife & son's names it still says processing but after my name as sponsor it now says approved ! I can only assume & hope that means my sponsor status is all ok & verified ? 
Many Thanks again Rory


----------



## roryjenkins

And that things are moving along promptly ?
Cheers Rory


----------



## CollegeGirl

Rory - I don't want to get your hopes up too much in case I'm wrong, but I would check on VEVO right away to see if the visa has been granted. We only got one of our statuses changing to "approved" after our visa was granted!


----------



## jimmy2014

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hodgi -
> 
> Especially with an offshore application, I'd book the medicals as soon as you lodge online, using the "Organise your health examinations" link as soon as it comes up. This reduces the chance that the medical results could be separated from your application - once complete, your medical results are sent electronically (in most cases) back to DIBP to link up with your lodged application. You do not have to submit the medical results yourself normally.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

I noticed on the DIAC website that the advise from them is to wait for medicals till CO is assigned if we have already lodged the application online and he/she will give HPA ID to the applicants. In not doing so, can delay the application although I fail to understand how getting medicals done before the CO is assigned can actually affect the application.

Kind Regards,

Jimmy


----------



## mclericp

Hi mark
Was wondering for the 14days processing time for svp risk level1, is it 14days after receiving an acknowledgement letter, or 14days after lodging the application, or 14 working days?
UNi has started but i still didnt get any news from my agent


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmy -

I don't understand this either. If they make the link available on your ImmiAccount page to organise your medicals (link appears below the list of uploaded docs for each applicant), I'd use the link which generates the HAP ID and move forward with the medicals.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmy2014 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I noticed on the DIAC website that the advise from them is to wait for medicals till CO is assigned if we have already lodged the application online and he/she will give HPA ID to the applicants. In not doing so, can delay the application although I fail to understand how getting medicals done before the CO is assigned can actually affect the application.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Jimmy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mclericp -

Generally 14 days from receipt of the application, however those are rough estimates at best and there can be all kinds of things that can create longer wait times - I once had a SVP student application for level 1 country (safest) take over 6 weeks to process because the medical results were delayed. I'd encourage your agent to stay in close touch with DIBP to see if any further info or docs are needed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mclericp said:


> Hi mark
> Was wondering for the 14days processing time for svp risk level1, is it 14days after receiving an acknowledgement letter, or 14days after lodging the application, or 14 working days?
> UNi has started but i still didnt get any news from my agent


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rory -

As CG said, would check VEVO as that is generally the most current info available on whatever visa (if any) you currently hold.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roryjenkins said:


> Hi Mark, first I would like to say thanks for the previous advice you have given me but also I'm sure on behalf of everyone who uses this site for the amount of time you freely give to help others in reaching there dreams of living in Australia with such sound advice.
> Now for my question (just a quickie!) at the risk of sounding rather, well no other way to put it, stupid ! I've just noticed on our immi account after my wife & son's names it still says processing but after my name as sponsor it now says approved ! I can only assume & hope that means my sponsor status is all ok & verified ?
> Many Thanks again Rory


----------



## mclericp

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mclericp -
> 
> Generally 14 days from receipt of the application, however those are rough estimates at best and there can be all kinds of things that can create longer wait times - I once had a SVP student application for level 1 country (safest) take over 6 weeks to process because the medical results were delayed. I'd encourage your agent to stay in close touch with DIBP to see if any further info or docs are needed.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Wow thats a quick reply, thanks for your help.
But is there a way for me to contact my case officer? My agent seems like the type that doesnt care. But she says all my documents are good since i applied for a student exchange visa before. 
I applied it on tues jul15 due to my late coe from unsw. On 21 jul monday, they sent an acknowledge letter. So how high are the chances of issuing a grant letter during this week? I heard its busy during this time.

I hope i can arrive here by next week because unsw gave a two week extension


----------



## jonasali

Hello

I have a question regarding my student visa. I am starting at Bond Uni 1st september. I will do a masters of project management.

My defacto partner who applied seperatly and will study another course got her visa within 30 minutes of applying.

I lodged my application the 19th of june. Got a message that i needed to fill out forms 80 and 1221. Also i should do medicals, that i understand as i have worked abroad in Nepal for 9 months.
Other than that i am a Norwegian citizen, but my father is born in Iran. But is now a Norwegian citizen also and has been living here for the last 27 years.

I did my medical the 25th of june and uploaded the forms the same day.

Now we are at week 6 since applying and i have no reply yet. This seems very strange as i cannot find any reason to doubt my intentions or risk of anything.

I am ofcourse getting nervous as i have booked tickets and canceled my apartement as everyone said that SVP applicants from Norway will get the visa within 48 hours.

I have sent an email to them and got a reply saying my medicals have cleared and they are waiting for my security check.

I also tried to call them to ask about the procss and what is up, also i offered to give any information they might want to conclude with the obvious about my security status.

I waited almost one hour on the phone on friday and got an operator that would not let me talk to person in charge of my application. But she talked to that person and got back to me and basicly told med to bug off and wait.

I am now unsure what to do next?
Should i continue to contact them and request updates?
Should i get my uni to contact them and ask them to get a move on?

Any help is much appreciated!


----------



## zaheerkhan

hey mark
can i apply as a chemist ?
as i have completed 16 years of education and have got M.sc in organic chemistry? if i am eligible will yu do my process for the said visa
thanks


----------



## mharm

Dear Mark, 
Hope you are doing well,
I am curious to know on which basis DIBP asks for PCC/Medical after 11 months from lodgement date?
I lodged on June 2013, and they asked for MED/PCC on May 2014 ,and I submitted both 25 May.

NO news after that.

Thanks


----------



## andrewcool

Hi Mark

Thank you for your answer as they are help

Sorry, just 1 more, when you said:

"Question 3: We will be lodging by online, so therefore there are lots of scanning documents. Which are the ONLY documents required that need to be in colour paper and signed/certified by JP or witness? 

*** High quality colour scans of all documents are by far the best way to go. If it's not a colour scan, then it should be a scan of a certified copy of the original document. The only exceptions are documents you've generated yourself like statements you make. Sometimes third party documents like receipts are not required to be certified, but uploading colour scanned documents avoids any of these types of questions/issues - highly recommended."


So that means, as long as we have them scanned in high quality colour picture, we don't need to get it certified or have JP signed, correct?

Thanks

Andrew


----------



## loveaustraliaforum

Hi Mark,

For the health check for 189 - Independent, the immigration website states, the health check results validity is for 12 months in general. However, I wanted to know whether tthis 12 months counted from the 189 visa application lodgement date or the date of processing by the case officer.

For example, if the health check was done in Sep 2013, it would be valid until *Sep* 2014 in general. If the 189 visa application is lodged in* Aug* 2014, that means the health check would be within the 12 months validity period but what if the case officer actually processes the 189 visa application only in *Nov* 2014 (means the health check would been valid during the 189 visa application lodgement date but would have past the validity period when the case officer processes the application)?

Thank you Mark.


----------



## gochitde

*Chitra*

Hi Mark,

Regards to Visa 489(State Nominated,WA), i have a few doubts...

I understand i have to live in Regional Area for 2 years and
work full time at least 12months in order to convert my Temp visa to PR (visa 887)
Can i confirm : do i have to be in a full time job? Can it be casual or part time?
Can i confirm: The work mentioned can that be any job or have to be in the Occupation List code that i was quoted for?

Currently living in WA Regional area for almost 1yr I have yet to get an employment, is it possible for me to convert my visa to family sponsored designated area 489 visa or other visas to move in to metropolitan area for job sake?

If for the next 4 years i am not employed what can happen than?

Please help me wit these doubts i have.Thank you


----------



## ven_kat

Hello Mr.Northam,
I'm Venkat. I had applied for student temporary visa (573) under SVP- assessment level 0, on 26/06/14 and have not received the approval as yet. Fellow students who had applied until about 2 weeks before me had received their visas within a week or 10 days max. However, there has been a sudden slow down in the student visa processing all over India for last 4-5 weeks.
I have already obtained an extension from the university but I'm running short of time. Any clue as to what might be causing the delay overall?

Note: I have already undertaken my medicals in May, 2014 and it has been submitted to the Australian High Commission as well. I have no dependents travelling with me. I have shown access to double the amount of funds required for the study duration.

Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gochitde -

See my answer to you on the other thread you posted this question in - 887 visa requires full time work for the 12 qualifying months under the 489, etc. For 887 visa, full-time is defined as 35 hours per week, but you can add together 2 jobs you are working at the same time to get to the 35 hours per week if necessary. Occupation you work in does not matter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gochitde said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Regards to Visa 489(State Nominated,WA), i have a few doubts...
> 
> I understand i have to live in Regional Area for 2 years and
> work full time at least 12months in order to convert my Temp visa to PR (visa 887)
> Can i confirm : do i have to be in a full time job? Can it be casual or part time?
> Can i confirm: The work mentioned can that be any job or have to be in the Occupation List code that i was quoted for?
> 
> Currently living in WA Regional area for almost 1yr I have yet to get an employment, is it possible for me to convert my visa to family sponsored designated area 489 visa or other visas to move in to metropolitan area for job sake?
> 
> If for the next 4 years i am not employed what can happen than?
> 
> Please help me wit these doubts i have.Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mclericp -

Sorry to hear your agent doesn't seem to care - that's a terrible attitude to have in my view.

If you have appointed your agent to lodge the application, normally DIBP will be reluctant to communicate directly with you instead of through your appointed agent.

No way to predict how long things would be to process - time to cross your fingers!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mclericp said:


> Wow thats a quick reply, thanks for your help.
> But is there a way for me to contact my case officer? My agent seems like the type that doesnt care. But she says all my documents are good since i applied for a student exchange visa before.
> I applied it on tues jul15 due to my late coe from unsw. On 21 jul monday, they sent an acknowledge letter. So how high are the chances of issuing a grant letter during this week? I heard its busy during this time.
> 
> I hope i can arrive here by next week because unsw gave a two week extension


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jonasali -

Thanks for your note - unfortunately there's not much you can do but wait - during the security check process the case officer can do nothing but wait for the checks to complete, then they can make a decision on the visa. We're advising all clients to apply 3 months in advance for student visas, regardless of SVP or country of origin. DIBP processing times are just too unpredictable these days.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jonasali said:


> Hello
> 
> I have a question regarding my student visa. I am starting at Bond Uni 1st september. I will do a masters of project management.
> 
> My defacto partner who applied seperatly and will study another course got her visa within 30 minutes of applying.
> 
> I lodged my application the 19th of june. Got a message that i needed to fill out forms 80 and 1221. Also i should do medicals, that i understand as i have worked abroad in Nepal for 9 months.
> Other than that i am a Norwegian citizen, but my father is born in Iran. But is now a Norwegian citizen also and has been living here for the last 27 years.
> 
> I did my medical the 25th of june and uploaded the forms the same day.
> 
> Now we are at week 6 since applying and i have no reply yet. This seems very strange as i cannot find any reason to doubt my intentions or risk of anything.
> 
> I am ofcourse getting nervous as i have booked tickets and canceled my apartement as everyone said that SVP applicants from Norway will get the visa within 48 hours.
> 
> I have sent an email to them and got a reply saying my medicals have cleared and they are waiting for my security check.
> 
> I also tried to call them to ask about the procss and what is up, also i offered to give any information they might want to conclude with the obvious about my security status.
> 
> I waited almost one hour on the phone on friday and got an operator that would not let me talk to person in charge of my application. But she talked to that person and got back to me and basicly told med to bug off and wait.
> 
> I am now unsure what to do next?
> Should i continue to contact them and request updates?
> Should i get my uni to contact them and ask them to get a move on?
> 
> Any help is much appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zaheerkhan -

Maybe! There are a number of chemistry-related occupations on the CSOL list and 1 (Chemical Engineer) on the SOL list. It's not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



zaheerkhan said:


> hey mark
> can i apply as a chemist ?
> as i have completed 16 years of education and have got M.sc in organic chemistry? if i am eligible will yu do my process for the said visa
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mharm -

You didn't specify the type of visa you applied for, however generally they will ask for PCC/Medical when they are ready to move processing of the application forward, and believe that the decision will be made in less than 12 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mharm said:


> Dear Mark,
> Hope you are doing well,
> I am curious to know on which basis DIBP asks for PCC/Medical after 11 months from lodgement date?
> I lodged on June 2013, and they asked for MED/PCC on May 2014 ,and I submitted both 25 May.
> 
> NO news after that.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

Correct! Although in some cases with Police Cert's, they may ask for the originals even though you uploaded colour scans.

Best,

Mark Northam



andrewcool said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for your answer as they are help
> 
> Sorry, just 1 more, when you said:
> 
> "Question 3: We will be lodging by online, so therefore there are lots of scanning documents. Which are the ONLY documents required that need to be in colour paper and signed/certified by JP or witness?
> 
> *** High quality colour scans of all documents are by far the best way to go. If it's not a colour scan, then it should be a scan of a certified copy of the original document. The only exceptions are documents you've generated yourself like statements you make. Sometimes third party documents like receipts are not required to be certified, but uploading colour scanned documents avoids any of these types of questions/issues - highly recommended."
> 
> So that means, as long as we have them scanned in high quality colour picture, we don't need to get it certified or have JP signed, correct?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Andrew


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Loveaustraliaforum -

Thanks for the question. The validity of a health check is for 12 months from the date the results are provided for the health check - the application or processing date(s) of any visa(s) you apply for do not affect that 12 month time period. The health check must generally be valid until the grant date or visa activation date for your visa, although case officers have some flexibility in extending the validity of health checks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



loveaustraliaforum said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> For the health check for 189 - Independent, the immigration website states, the health check results validity is for 12 months in general. However, I wanted to know whether tthis 12 months counted from the 189 visa application lodgement date or the date of processing by the case officer.
> 
> For example, if the health check was done in Sep 2013, it would be valid until *Sep* 2014 in general. If the 189 visa application is lodged in* Aug* 2014, that means the health check would be within the 12 months validity period but what if the case officer actually processes the 189 visa application only in *Nov* 2014 (means the health check would been valid during the 189 visa application lodgement date but would have past the validity period when the case officer processes the application)?
> 
> Thank you Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Venkat -

We've seen this too - I expect it may be the external security checking that is part of this process, but that's only a guess. For some time we have been advising all student visa clients to apply 3 months in advance as DIBP processing times are simply too unpredictable. As they don't say what the delays are or provide any sort of updates or ways to check where you are in the process, all you can do usually is wait and hope.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ven_kat said:


> Hello Mr.Northam,
> I'm Venkat. I had applied for student temporary visa (573) under SVP- assessment level 0, on 26/06/14 and have not received the approval as yet. Fellow students who had applied until about 2 weeks before me had received their visas within a week or 10 days max. However, there has been a sudden slow down in the student visa processing all over India for last 4-5 weeks.
> I have already obtained an extension from the university but I'm running short of time. Any clue as to what might be causing the delay overall?
> 
> Note: I have already undertaken my medicals in May, 2014 and it has been submitted to the Australian High Commission as well. I have no dependents travelling with me. I have shown access to double the amount of funds required for the study duration.
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## mclericp

one last thing,

If i dont need to do medicals, is my application going to be processed a lot faster?
Because i done my med less than a year ago. In fact i done my med with my student exchange visa in march this year. So i am not obliged to redo any tests again yea?

I heard that the reason why visas take so long to be processed is due to getting/taking medicals. So is it safe to assume that i will be processed a lot faster than someone who needs medical tests(if all my other docs are perfect)

If thats the case, from the time when i get my ack letter, how long do you think it will take if medical tests are not needed, based on your previous experiences with similar cases like me? Just wanted an estimate assuming everything is perfect.

Also, is there a chance that my visa isnt granted at all, since classes started already, but UNSW says 2 week extension....

P.S. Why didnt i discover you earlier! Wish my agent was as helpful and nice as u.


----------



## mharm

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mharm -
> 
> You didn't specify the type of visa you applied for, however generally they will ask for PCC/Medical when they are ready to move processing of the application forward, and believe that the decision will be made in less than 12 months.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear mark,
Thanks very much for your quick answer.
I applied for 189 visa, and as I mentioned both MED and PCC submitted to DIBP on 25 May . On 29 of May, I received an email from gsm allocated mentioning:"all outstanding documents are provided , we will advise when your application is ready for finalisation"

No update after that

Thanks


----------



## roryjenkins

Hi Mark I've taken yours & CG's advice & checked VEVO however it will not find anything using just the TRN, not even my valid RRV, however it finds mine when I search with the visa grant number ? Could it be worthwhile e-mailing our case officer to see if she will give us an update or would she just reply with the standard 'your visa is being processed wait times are 8-9 months'
Thanks Rory


----------



## Peter Sadek

*many thanks*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Peter -
> 
> Given how difficult some of these invitations are to get these days, I'd apply for the visa now within the 60 day limit (don't wait until the last day!) and then by the time the processing is ready for the medicals, if the baby is not born yet you might have to delay the visa grant a bit until the mom can take her medicals, but better that than going through the whole state sponsorship thing again.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark
i don't know how to thank you ........
your advice is really precious 
and i'm sorry for being late to thank you................

but can i ask you another question ????

what about granting my baby the VISA ............when he is born ........ will they ask me to pay extra money ??? if yes .......... how much will that cost ?? is it going to be easy to grant him that VISA ?? does it take a long time for him to take that VISA ???

finally again i want to thanks you aloooooooooootttttttttttttttttt
really you are so much helpful ...........
thanks, thanks, thanks.


----------



## mike&rach

*bridging visas and defacto??*

Hi Mark,

hope you can help us! am from the u.k and my partner is from australia. we are in the process of gathering up all of our application to apply for the partner visa (subclass 309 offshore) as we are both currently in the u.k. but I'm interested to know if you can apply for the partner visa (subclass 820 onshore) while on the 3 month visitor visa from the uk? and if so can you get a bridging visa that you can work on while the partner visa is being processed?

thanks for reading!
cheers

Michael


----------



## axxy

Hi Mark, 

Just looking for some guidance on the medical. 

My partner is from the UK and we're living in England together. 

We've applied for an offshore de facto partner visa (provisional).
However when my partner completed the emedical it says that the visa is "BC 100 - Spouse (Permanent)." Is this something we need to correct? Have they made an error? 

Also, as the medical is the last thing outstanding and my partner has his appointment tomorrow, how long does it take for the medical to be processed? He has no health issues. 

Thank you for your guidance, you do a brilliant job! 
Cheers, 
Alexandra


----------



## IndyMama

Hi again Mark-
Thanks for your earlier answers to my questions about my PMV. I have another one! Reviewing my stat decs today, I saw that one of my friends said she'd known me 3 years when actually it's only been 2. Is this going to be a problem if I submit the stat dec as is, or should I get her to do a new one?
Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mclericp -

Thanks for the questions and kind words. Lack of needing medicals can certainly speed up applications in some cases, but there are other factors that make the processing time unpredictable - I don't even hazard a guess these days as I don't want to give any clients false hopes - DIBP is just unpredictable, and until they establish some time limits on themselves, they can essentially do whatever they want.

I would make sure your agent is in contact with DIBP, and if you have been given an extension in writing from NSW (I'd get it in writing if you can), then I would insist that your agent forward that to DIBP immediately. If the agent will not, you may want to fire the agent and take the case over yourself. No excuse for poor service!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mclericp said:


> one last thing,
> 
> If i dont need to do medicals, is my application going to be processed a lot faster?
> Because i done my med less than a year ago. In fact i done my med with my student exchange visa in march this year. So i am not obliged to redo any tests again yea?
> 
> I heard that the reason why visas take so long to be processed is due to getting/taking medicals. So is it safe to assume that i will be processed a lot faster than someone who needs medical tests(if all my other docs are perfect)
> 
> If thats the case, from the time when i get my ack letter, how long do you think it will take if medical tests are not needed, based on your previous experiences with similar cases like me? Just wanted an estimate assuming everything is perfect.
> 
> Also, is there a chance that my visa isnt granted at all, since classes started already, but UNSW says 2 week extension....
> 
> P.S. Why didnt i discover you earlier! Wish my agent was as helpful and nice as u.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mharm -

I'd guess between 3 to 9 months for 189 visa based on current experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mharm said:


> Dear mark,
> Thanks very much for your quick answer.
> I applied for 189 visa, and as I mentioned both MED and PCC submitted to DIBP on 25 May . On 29 of May, I received an email from gsm allocated mentioning:"all outstanding documents are provided , we will advise when your application is ready for finalisation"
> 
> No update after that
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rory -

I think it's worth an email, politely worded of course!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roryjenkins said:


> Hi Mark I've taken yours & CG's advice & checked VEVO however it will not find anything using just the TRN, not even my valid RRV, however it finds mine when I search with the visa grant number ? Could it be worthwhile e-mailing our case officer to see if she will give us an update or would she just reply with the standard 'your visa is being processed wait times are 8-9 months'
> Thanks Rory


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peter -

Thanks for the kind words!

Re: newborn baby, if born before the application is decided DIBP will generally allow you to add the baby to the application and will charge you the under-18-years-old additional applicant fee for that visa (see DIBP website Fees section for details). If born after the application is approved, you would likely have to sponsor the baby on a Child Visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Peter Sadek said:


> Dear Mark
> i don't know how to thank you ........
> your advice is really precious
> and i'm sorry for being late to thank you................
> 
> but can i ask you another question ????
> 
> what about granting my baby the VISA ............when he is born ........ will they ask me to pay extra money ??? if yes .......... how much will that cost ?? is it going to be easy to grant him that VISA ?? does it take a long time for him to take that VISA ???
> 
> finally again i want to thanks you aloooooooooootttttttttttttttttt
> really you are so much helpful ...........
> thanks, thanks, thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael -

Answer is yes, as long as your visitor visa does not have condition 8503 (no further stay) on it. If you apply on shore while holding the visitor visa, a bridging visa will be granted when you apply that is dormant until your current stay period (3 months, usually) on the visitor visa ends - when you overstay that, the bridging visa automatically activates and then you have full work/study rights until the partner visa decision is made - typically 9-12 months later. Note a different bridging visa (B) is required to make trips outside Australia while holding a bridging visa A, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mike&rach said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> hope you can help us! am from the u.k and my partner is from australia. we are in the process of gathering up all of our application to apply for the partner visa (subclass 309 offshore) as we are both currently in the u.k. but I'm interested to know if you can apply for the partner visa (subclass 820 onshore) while on the 3 month visitor visa from the uk? and if so can you get a bridging visa that you can work on while the partner visa is being processed?
> 
> thanks for reading!
> cheers
> 
> Michael


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Axxy -

No problem - the offshore partner visa is a combined application for the 309 (provisional) and 100 (permanent) visas - the medical requirements are attached to the 100 part of the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



axxy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just looking for some guidance on the medical.
> 
> My partner is from the UK and we're living in England together.
> 
> We've applied for an offshore de facto partner visa (provisional).
> However when my partner completed the emedical it says that the visa is "BC 100 - Spouse (Permanent)." Is this something we need to correct? Have they made an error?
> 
> Also, as the medical is the last thing outstanding and my partner has his appointment tomorrow, how long does it take for the medical to be processed? He has no health issues.
> 
> Thank you for your guidance, you do a brilliant job!
> Cheers,
> Alexandra


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IndyMama -

Unless you've got a visa expiration issue, etc I would get a new one with correct info - just not worth the chance that it could cause an issue. On the current applications online, you have to enter that number (years known) into the form for 2 of the stat decs, and you definitely do not want to enter incorrect information into these - that is an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Hi again Mark-
> Thanks for your earlier answers to my questions about my PMV. I have another one! Reviewing my stat decs today, I saw that one of my friends said she'd known me 3 years when actually it's only been 2. Is this going to be a problem if I submit the stat dec as is, or should I get her to do a new one?
> Thanks!


----------



## IndyMama

Mark,
This actually brings up another question; I have 4 stat decs - should I enter them all on the webform page of the application - or should just enter two and but attach all 4?
Thanks.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi IndyMama -
> 
> Unless you've got a visa expiration issue, etc I would get a new one with correct info - just not worth the chance that it could cause an issue. On the current applications online, you have to enter that number (years known) into the form for 2 of the stat decs, and you definitely do not want to enter incorrect information into these - that is an issue.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## BvizMi

*Q for a chat history*

Hi dear Mark,

Thank you so much for your help, I have another question regarding our chat history. I first met my fiancée online back in September 2012 but we had our chat history from October 2012 to current stage ( because from beginning of our communication history, we always stayed in some public main chat rooms, the chatting history could not be found due to the nature of public chatting as we used to join in different public chatting rooms randomly together)

We just concern if this will be an issue for our application? Can you please advise what should we do?

Many thanks

Much appreciated


----------



## jimmy2014

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jimmy -
> 
> I don't understand this either. If they make the link available on your ImmiAccount page to organise your medicals (link appears below the list of uploaded docs for each applicant), I'd use the link which generates the HAP ID and move forward with the medicals.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark. Yes, we are now going ahead with the medicals.

One last query, I am yet to upload the statements (history of relationship) but I have not mentioned that we intended to apply for 'Tourist visa' under future plans. My wife has now got the visitor visa granted though.

Do I need to update the statement mentioning that we intended or have got the tourist visa and she plans to visit me in Australia ?

What I am trying to get it at is I do not want to hide any sort of information from DIAC even though both applications are going to be processed by them anyway and they know exactly what's going on. I'd like to be completely honest with them but the question is, does it even matter in my scenario.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IndyMama -

Normally they only need 2 on the webform - I'd enter the strongest 2 there and then upload all of them after you lodge & pay.

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Mark,
> This actually brings up another question; I have 4 stat decs - should I enter them all on the webform page of the application - or should just enter two and but attach all 4?
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BvizMi -

Hard to say as DIBP looks at all the relationship evidence in total to determine whether they are convinced that the relationship is genuine & ongoing, etc. Lack of chat history may be offset by other types of evidence that show the relationship is ongoing - really only can assess by looking at all the evidence together.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BvizMi said:


> Hi dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your help, I have another question regarding our chat history. I first met my fiancée online back in September 2012 but we had our chat history from October 2012 to current stage ( because from beginning of our communication history, we always stayed in some public main chat rooms, the chatting history could not be found due to the nature of public chatting as we used to join in different public chatting rooms randomly together)
> 
> We just concern if this will be an issue for our application? Can you please advise what should we do?
> 
> Many thanks
> 
> Much appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmy2014 -

I see no particular need to mention visitor visa in the future plans section - I don't see any way it would help or hurt your application to include this or not. Future plans normally discuss bigger-picture things like plans to get a home together, travel, have kids, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmy2014 said:


> Thanks a lot Mark. Yes, we are now going ahead with the medicals.
> 
> One last query, I am yet to upload the statements (history of relationship) but I have not mentioned that we intended to apply for 'Tourist visa' under future plans. My wife has now got the visitor visa granted though.
> 
> Do I need to update the statement mentioning that we intended or have got the tourist visa and she plans to visit me in Australia ?
> 
> What I am trying to get it at is I do not want to hide any sort of information from DIAC even though both applications are going to be processed by them anyway and they know exactly what's going on. I'd like to be completely honest with them but the question is, does it even matter in my scenario.


----------



## jimmy2014

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jimmy2014 -
> 
> I see no particular need to mention visitor visa in the future plans section - I don't see any way it would help or hurt your application to include this or not. Future plans normally discuss bigger-picture things like plans to get a home together, travel, have kids, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


You are a legend, Mark.. 

All the rest, I'll discuss with you over the phone/Skype during the consultation I really want to take in future with you.

Thanks a lot again.


----------



## rahman

Hi again Mark, thanks for all the info you provided in this forum. 
I have submitted my EOI for both 489 & 189 by using different EOI account. And now I have got invitation under 489 to apply visa but my preference is 189. After November 21st i will lose 5 points (age will be more than 32) which will pull down my score to 55. 
At this moment should i do ? I am seeking advice to take decision.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahman -

Thanks for the note - impossible to advise you without knowing much more about your case. Some states may not re-issue future invitations if an invitation (ie, 489) is declined. I'd check carefully with the state who invited you for 489 to see what options you might have, then decide if it's worth the risk to wait and see if you get a 189. 189 as a PR visa would be a better visa in most people's view I would think.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rahman said:


> Hi again Mark, thanks for all the info you provided in this forum.
> I have submitted my EOI for both 489 & 189 by using different EOI account. And now I have got invitation under 489 to apply visa but my preference is 189. After November 21st i will lose 5 points (age will be more than 32) which will pull down my score to 55.
> At this moment should i do ? I am seeking advice to take decision.


----------



## mharm

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mharm -
> 
> I'd guess between 3 to 9 months for 189 visa based on current experience.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, 
You mean 3 to 9 month after lodgmemt or after Pcc/med request?
Because i lodged june 2013 and they asked for med and pcc after 11 months from lodgmemet,and now 14 months passed from lodgement.
I always thought that the med and pcc request affter 1 year from lodgment is a good sign and it shows that the case is decision ready.what is the reason for this delay ?
Please advice
Thanks


----------



## rahman

Thanks for reply. I have got following invitation 
Visa Subclass: Skilled Regional Provisional Visa (489)
Nominated occupation: Civil Engineer
Stream: Family Sponsored
Nominated / Sponsored by: Brother (staying at Perth, WA)
Indicative Points test score: 70
A visa application can be made on or before: 26 Sep 2014

Am i wait for next pool or accept 489? For 189 i claimed 60points only.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mharm -

Normally 3 to 9 months total. Yours is going a bit longer than usual, but no way to tell reasons why unless DIBP discloses. My guess: some sort of a backup or delay in the external security checking.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mharm said:


> Hi Mark,
> You mean 3 to 9 month after lodgmemt or after Pcc/med request?
> Because i lodged june 2013 and they asked for med and pcc after 11 months from lodgmemet,and now 14 months passed from lodgement.
> I always thought that the med and pcc request affter 1 year from lodgment is a good sign and it shows that the case is decision ready.what is the reason for this delay ?
> Please advice
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahman -

Can't advise you without seeing all documents. Note that if you cannot justify all 70 points, the 489 will be refused or you will have to withdraw (no refund). If you'd like me to assess your application in detail, feel free to book a consultation - see website link below.

Best,

Mark Northam



rahman said:


> Thanks for reply. I have got following invitation
> Visa Subclass: Skilled Regional Provisional Visa (489)
> Nominated occupation: Civil Engineer
> Stream: Family Sponsored
> Nominated / Sponsored by: Brother (staying at Perth, WA)
> Indicative Points test score: 70
> A visa application can be made on or before: 26 Sep 2014
> 
> Am i wait for next pool or accept 489? For 189 i claimed 60points only.


----------



## chai

*Student visa working conditions*

Hi Mark
With student visa, it allows you to work up to 40 hours per fortnight. And the immigration website says a fortnight means a period of 14 days commencing on any Monday and ending on the second following Sunday.

But how do you determine your fortnight? Does it have to match your employer's pay schedule? I have two casual jobs and they have totally different pay schedule one paying weekly and one paying fortnightly. They have different pay periods as well.

So for example will it be 28th of July Monday until 10th of August 40 hours then 11th of August until 24th of August for 40 hours? What if you work longer hours in the second and third weeks of August? How do you determine and explain when your fortnight has begun?

Thanks heaps!


----------



## luckyduck12

*143 sponsor*

Hi Mark,

There is little information on this that I could find, please share your knowledge:

Assurance of support

If you have also provided an accepted assurance of support for your parent, you are responsible for repaying to the Australian Government any social security payments they might have received during the 10-year period after their arrival in Australia or after they have been granted the visa in Australia, whichever applies. This also applies to any family members who came with your parent to Australia.

I am planning to be the sponsor for my parents and brother. Theoretically I would try my best to provide for them and not getting any government support for 10 years. However, 10 years is a long time, should I have a fall out with my parents or my brother and for some reasons if they decide to go behind my back and get government support, does that mean I have to legally repay the money they receive?

How serious the government go after the sponsor for benefits paid out?

Would the 10 years period cease when they become citizens? I meant when they become citizens, does my sponsorship obligation end as well?

Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chai -

Great question. The DIBP rules mean "any fortnight", so you cannot work more than 40 hours in any 2 weeks (per DIBP definition - Mon through following Sunday). So you need to look at your hours for each Mon-Sunday period, and make sure that in any adjoining 2 Mon-Sunday periods, you never work more than 40 hours. How and when you're paid is generally not relevant to the calculation, only how many hours on what days, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chai said:


> Hi Mark
> With student visa, it allows you to work up to 40 hours per fortnight. And the immigration website says a fortnight means a period of 14 days commencing on any Monday and ending on the second following Sunday.
> 
> But how do you determine your fortnight? Does it have to match your employer's pay schedule? I have two casual jobs and they have totally different pay schedule one paying weekly and one paying fortnightly. They have different pay periods as well.
> 
> So for example will it be 28th of July Monday until 10th of August 40 hours then 11th of August until 24th of August for 40 hours? What if you work longer hours in the second and third weeks of August? How do you determine and explain when your fortnight has begun?
> 
> Thanks heaps!


----------



## prissyd

*461 visa*

Hi Mark,

Ive been reading thru your thread and it's been so helpful. I've just got a question about applying for the 461 visa. I've lived in Australia for about 6 years now on different visa's, currently being sponsored on a 457 visa. My partner (he's kiwi living here on the scv visa) and I met about 2 years ago when I was living in Melbourne on a temporary residence visa. as my work experience did not qualify for me to get a full skills assessment, the next best option for us was for me to take up a job with a company in Brisbane that was willing to sponsor me. We never lived together as the relationship was fairly new when I got the job in Brisbane and we've been doing long distance since. I fly down regularly ever few weeks for the weekend but we do not share any financials. I've been on leave and living with him for the last month, all my mail is being sent here and we've realized that it would make much more sense for me to try and get back to Melbourne so we can start living as a couple. We are going to register our relationship which I understand waives the 12 month rule, just how much evidence do we need to provide in order to be successful our application?

Sorry for the essay. Any help would be much appreciated.


----------



## Mellzer

*Which Route should we take?*

Hello Mark,

My name is Melissa and I will be 32 this year. I have had this amazing internet friend for the past 17 years, he lives in AU. I just spent a month in AU on an ETA visa. Flying home was the worst day of my life. We could like to commit to a life long relationship together but are not sure which route is best. I do not qualify for a working Visa because im to old and my profession (child care) isn't on the list.

I very much want to get back to AU asap but am very confused about what we need, how long it takes and where i have to be at the time i apply and having enough money to cover the cost of travel, living, more than one visa and a wedding. Its very overwhelming!

We have to full-fill 12months of living together and provide evidence to such before we can apply for a partner visa correct? Since I cant get a working visa does this mean I need to spend 12months there on a eVisitor visa? And i need to leave AU every 3months.

eVisitor for 12months to gather our evidence----> we get married and apply for a partner visa --->2 years later apply for perm. partner visa

proposed marriage means i have to apply in USA and be in USA when its granted 6months? then 12months living together and apply for a partnership visa, then 2yrs later a permanent partner visa. (Having to apply for proposed marriage and a partner visa (Both 3000.00 each)

Please please correct me where I am wrong. I need all the help I can get.


----------



## mclericp

Hi mark thanks for your reply

Does DIAC only issue my new student visa AFTER my current exchange visa expires? I have left Aus already and am waiting for my new student visa to come down. However my current exchange visa lasts until 31st Jul. So will i only get the visa after 31st jul?

Also, since my exchange visa hasnt expired UNTIL 31st July, is it possible for me to come back, since the bridging visa will be in place, while waiting for my new student visa?

Note: the visas are different. My current one until 31st july is an exchange visa. My new visa will be a 4 year visa on a bach degree. I have left aus already.

Please reply asap, urgent. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prissyd -

Thanks for the note. The 12 month exemption for registered relationships, while applying to many types of visas (student, partner, etc) does not apply for the subclass 461 visa. However the 12 month living together requirement also does not apply to the 461 visa - defacto relationships for this visa are assessed in a similar way (using the 4 types of relationship evidence, etc) as partner visa married applicant are.

Hard to say "how much" evidence is needed as the quality of the evidence is perhaps more important than the quantity. I'd have a look at the partner visa threads here on the forum to see the kinds of evidence that has worked for people, and also consider downloading the DIBP Partner Visa Booklet for more information on the four types of evidence necessary (and statements as well).

For what it's worth, they can be tough with this visa. We had a married couple who had been married 25 years, owned 2 homes, had 3 children, joint bank account, etc, and DIBP still wasn't satisfied with the first batch of relationship evidence we provided and requested additional evidence... I'd work carefully to get as much high-quality evidence as possible before lodging this application, and be ready to send more in if requested (by continuing to accumulate evidence while they are processing the visa, etc.).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



prissyd said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Ive been reading thru your thread and it's been so helpful. I've just got a question about applying for the 461 visa. I've lived in Australia for about 6 years now on different visa's, currently being sponsored on a 457 visa. My partner (he's kiwi living here on the scv visa) and I met about 2 years ago when I was living in Melbourne on a temporary residence visa. as my work experience did not qualify for me to get a full skills assessment, the next best option for us was for me to take up a job with a company in Brisbane that was willing to sponsor me. We never lived together as the relationship was fairly new when I got the job in Brisbane and we've been doing long distance since. I fly down regularly ever few weeks for the weekend but we do not share any financials. I've been on leave and living with him for the last month, all my mail is being sent here and we've realized that it would make much more sense for me to try and get back to Melbourne so we can start living as a couple. We are going to register our relationship which I understand waives the 12 month rule, just how much evidence do we need to provide in order to be successful our application?
> 
> Sorry for the essay. Any help would be much appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Melissa -

Thanks for the question, and so glad you've found a wonderful person to share your life with.

Based on your information, my thought is that a subclass 300 PMV (fiance) visa might be the best fit - not sure you have enough relationship evidence to satisfy the partner visa requirements at this point. As you mentioned, you'd be required to be outside Australia at lodgement, and at visa grant, but you may be able to spend the 9 months or so it takes to process these in Australia on visitor visas if approved. The visa application fee for the sc300 visa is $3085, and if approved you are given 9 months to come to Australia to marry your partner. Once married you can lodge an onshore partner visa where you'll be given a bridging visa to remain in Australia after the 9 months of your PMV visa expire, and can stay here until a decision on your partner visa. If you hold a PMV and apply for an onshore partner visa, the additional visa application fee for the onshore partner visa is $1,145.

Would be happy to assist you at a consultation if you'd like to go into more detail about the requirements for different visas - see my website below for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mellzer said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My name is Melissa and I will be 32 this year. I have had this amazing internet friend for the past 17 years, he lives in AU. I just spent a month in AU on an ETA visa. Flying home was the worst day of my life. We could like to commit to a life long relationship together but are not sure which route is best. I do not qualify for a working Visa because im to old and my profession (child care) isn't on the list.
> 
> I very much want to get back to AU asap but am very confused about what we need, how long it takes and where i have to be at the time i apply and having enough money to cover the cost of travel, living, more than one visa and a wedding. Its very overwhelming!
> 
> We have to full-fill 12months of living together and provide evidence to such before we can apply for a partner visa correct? Since I cant get a working visa does this mean I need to spend 12months there on a eVisitor visa? And i need to leave AU every 3months.
> 
> eVisitor for 12months to gather our evidence----> we get married and apply for a partner visa --->2 years later apply for perm. partner visa
> 
> proposed marriage means i have to apply in USA and be in USA when its granted 6months? then 12months living together and apply for a partnership visa, then 2yrs later a permanent partner visa. (Having to apply for proposed marriage and a partner visa (Both 3000.00 each)
> 
> Please please correct me where I am wrong. I need all the help I can get.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mclericp -

Normally a new student visa grant will immediately replace whatever previous visa you are on. Not familiar enough with all of the aspects of your case to determine your bridging visa situation, however if you applied onshore, then left, you have an unactivated Bridging Visa A which would not allow you to re-enter on it, since it is not activated and cannot activate while you are offshore. Your best bet may be to try and get back in on the previous Exchange visa assuming there are no issues with that (haven't seen the visa so can't say), but you'd need to do that before it expires.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mclericp said:


> Hi mark thanks for your reply
> 
> Does DIAC only issue my new student visa AFTER my current exchange visa expires? I have left Aus already and am waiting for my new student visa to come down. However my current exchange visa lasts until 31st Jul. So will i only get the visa after 31st jul?
> 
> Also, since my exchange visa hasnt expired UNTIL 31st July, is it possible for me to come back, since the bridging visa will be in place, while waiting for my new student visa?
> 
> Note: the visas are different. My current one until 31st july is an exchange visa. My new visa will be a 4 year visa on a bach degree. I have left aus already.
> 
> Please reply asap, urgent. Thanks


----------



## Chandana

Hi Mark,

My husband travelled to Melbourne(from India) recently on UC 457. I would be getting my dependent visa in a few days. Could you please tell us the procedure (for UC 457 holders) to apply for a PR?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Mellzer

Thanks Mark for your reply, it did clear up confusion about the fee's!

Can you navigate me through the process of a eVisitor to partner visa? I know that a proposed marriage visa is probably whats right for us but it also means I would have to travel at least twice more, being apart, and more expenses. We are trying to arrange my return trip between Jan-March 2015.

Is it feasible to live with my guy in AU (refresh it every 3months by going to NZ or something) on an eVisitor for a year? Get married in AU before the year is up and use that year together on the eVisitor to apply for the Partnership visa also in AU? eVisitor is free, Partnership visa is 3085., not sure what other expenses there are except health/background check. I do currently hold an ETA visa but i can't stay in AU and apply for a partnership on that, i'd have to return to USA.

We have been online friends for 17yrs and i have lots of postal dated postcards/letters/gift receipts/chat logs but it was understanding that none of those things applied toward the "proof" we need that our relationship is genuine. Obviously on my most recent month long trip there are pictures of us together, receipts from outings, airline stuff. Also we have two friends that we also spent time with in AU, we all met in the same place online and have been friends these past 17yrs. One of which is my guys childhood friend so i figure these are perfect people to vouch for the validity of our relationship.

Thanks so much. I have been thinking this process is impossible and lost all hope until I heard back from you!

Melissa



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Melissa -
> 
> Thanks for the question, and so glad you've found a wonderful person to share your life with.
> 
> Based on your information, my thought is that a subclass 300 PMV (fiance) visa might be the best fit - not sure you have enough relationship evidence to satisfy the partner visa requirements at this point. As you mentioned, you'd be required to be outside Australia at lodgement, and at visa grant, but you may be able to spend the 9 months or so it takes to process these in Australia on visitor visas if approved. The visa application fee for the sc300 visa is $3085, and if approved you are given 9 months to come to Australia to marry your partner. Once married you can lodge an onshore partner visa where you'll be given a bridging visa to remain in Australia after the 9 months of your PMV visa expire, and can stay here until a decision on your partner visa. If you hold a PMV and apply for an onshore partner visa, the additional visa application fee for the onshore partner visa is $1,145.
> 
> Would be happy to assist you at a consultation if you'd like to go into more detail about the requirements for different visas - see my website below for more on this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## axxy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Axxy -
> 
> No problem - the offshore partner visa is a combined application for the 309 (provisional) and 100 (permanent) visas - the medical requirements are attached to the 100 part of the application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your reply.

Is there a set time frame for them to process the medical?

Cheers,

Alex.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chandana -

Too many details to go into on the forum, but the two main pathways are either 186 or 187 visa the nominating employer for employer sponsored PR after working for the employer for 2 years on a 457, or a skilled visa of some kind (189, 190, 489). If you'd like a consultation to go over your case in detail, see our website below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chandana said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My husband travelled to Melbourne(from India) recently on UC 457. I would be getting my dependent visa in a few days. Could you please tell us the procedure (for UC 457 holders) to apply for a PR?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck12 -

As far as I know the 10 years means 10 years regardless of what happens with the applicant(s), unless the visa is cancelled and they depart Australia. The AOS is provided to Centrelink, who is in touch with the govt and checks for benefit payouts that would go against the support bond.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> There is little information on this that I could find, please share your knowledge:
> 
> Assurance of support
> 
> If you have also provided an accepted assurance of support for your parent, you are responsible for repaying to the Australian Government any social security payments they might have received during the 10-year period after their arrival in Australia or after they have been granted the visa in Australia, whichever applies. This also applies to any family members who came with your parent to Australia.
> 
> I am planning to be the sponsor for my parents and brother. Theoretically I would try my best to provide for them and not getting any government support for 10 years. However, 10 years is a long time, should I have a fall out with my parents or my brother and for some reasons if they decide to go behind my back and get government support, does that mean I have to legally repay the money they receive?
> 
> How serious the government go after the sponsor for benefits paid out?
> 
> Would the 10 years period cease when they become citizens? I meant when they become citizens, does my sponsorship obligation end as well?
> 
> Thanks Mark


----------



## mclericp

Hi mark
This is urgent

How do i know if a co has been assigned. My agent isnt telling me anything. All i know is that the acknowledge letter was given and the next day they are doing medical report. Also visa fee has been deducted. Does that mean i have a case officer? How long will he take?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi

See PM to you - no way to tell any of this without seeng emails from DIBP - processing times highly unpredictable - sometimes fast, but can be delayed by health and/or security checks.

Mark



mclericp said:


> Hi mark
> This is urgent
> 
> How do i know if a co has been assigned. My agent isnt telling me anything. All i know is that the acknowledge letter was given and the next day they are doing medical report. Also visa fee has been deducted. Does that mean i have a case officer? How long will he take?


----------



## anitalulu

hi Mark,

I am in Australia with my Travel Visa. I just got married with my partner in Australia. And I am going to apply for a Partner Visa via online. We have a 10-month baby as well. 
My question is about form 888. We relationship is mainly developed in oversea. Although we met in Australia, most of our friends are not Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident. Can I still submit the form 888 ?

Looking forward to hearing from you.


----------



## evie88

Hi Mark,

Great Thread by the way!

My partner and I are in the process of preparing to apply for the prospective Marriage VISA. He is from Bali and I'm From Perth. Our wedding will be in Bali.....

Just wanting to find out if other Australians who have traditionally married a Balinese in a Balinese ceremony and who have applied for this VISA.
Do we need to fill out the Notice of Intended Marriage Form and have it signed by the person who will conduct our wedding? I can only find form 13 which is an AUSTRALIAN form? Is there an equivalent one for traditional Balinese marriages?
Also we are aiming to hand in our application in Dec/ Jan 15 , when would you recommend he have his medical and police clearance done? And when should we have our documents signed and dated by a notary?? I'm wanting to get everything organized soon but don't want them done to early as we aren't applying for about 4 - 5 months time....

Any guidance would be appreciated!


----------



## Bhavin_Crown

Hello.... Mark.... First of all I am a regular reader of yr thread & also read various forum, honestly nvr seen a guy like you with unlimited energy & passion 2 help and serve the needy. Me and my family received our 190 visa grant on 21st july, we will be reaching to brisbane on 5th September. My query is when we need to communicate to Queensland government about our arrival and our visa grant, after reaching or b4 that what is the thumb rule in this. 
Thanks in advance to best mara agent in my book.


----------



## jimmy2014

Dear Mark,

My wife has recently been granted the tourist visa to come to Melbourne whilst we wait for the partner visa to be processed. 

I just wanted to check which form (if at all), she'll need to fill out to advise DIAC about change of address which is going to be more 14 days.

Form 929 - Change of address/passport (Online immi account recommends this one)
Form 1022 - Changes in circumstances (Her acknowledgement emails says fill this one)


----------



## atifrafiq

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have Electronic Engineer (04 year) degree and having 09 years experience as working for electrical substations. i submitted my CDR and mentioned to assess as electrical engineer.

Engineering Austrailia assess myself as engineering technologist and qualification as equivalant to bachelor.

My questions?
Employers in austrailia will refer to engineering austrailia outcome and would impact in Job and i cannot work as professional engineer?

my degree (04 years) will be considered as 03 years in Austrailia?


----------



## striiing

Hi Mark,
I have been living in WA since march 2013 on a 176 visa but never contacted WA state to tell them i had arrived or had changed address here in WA. The case officer never mentioned it and i only read about it recently because my housemate is going for PR. Will the WA government be pissed that i had never contacted them? i assumed that them would know where i lived through my driving license?


----------



## Austyn

*Spouse Visa*

Hello Mark, hope all is well. I actually have a few questions. 
But First off, a little info of my situation. I am an American citizen, living in Hawaii. My wife is from New Zealand. So she is legal New Zealand citizen. My wife currently lives in Sydney. And we've been wanting to have me move to Sydney legally. So my questions are,

Question 1: Can I apply for a 820/801 spouse visa while in Australia on a visitor visa?

Question 2: will I be granted a bridging visa while my spouse visa is being finalized?

Question 3: will I be able to work on a bridging visa?

Question 4: how long does a spouse visa usually take to process?

Hopefully you can help again. Thank you!


----------



## CollegeGirl

Austyn said:


> Hello Mark, hope all is well. I actually have a few questions.
> But First off, a little info of my situation. I am an American citizen, living in Hawaii. My wife is from New Zealand. So she is legal New Zealand citizen. My wife currently lives in Sydney. And we've been wanting to have me move to Sydney legally. So my questions are,
> 
> Question 1: Can I apply for a 820/801 spouse visa while in Australia on a visitor visa?
> 
> Question 2: will I be granted a bridging visa while my spouse visa is being finalized?
> 
> Question 3: will I be able to work on a bridging visa?
> 
> Question 4: how long does a spouse visa usually take to process?
> 
> Hopefully you can help again. Thank you!


I'm not Mark, but you might be barking up the wrong tree. Unless your wife is an ELIGIBLE New Zealand citizen (which isn't the case for many), she can't sponsor you for a permanent residency visa like the 820. She'd be sponsoring you for the 461.


----------



## Austyn

Thank you for responding, we've already cleared everything about being a eligible New Zealand resident. It was all confirmed


----------



## CollegeGirl

So she IS an eligible New Zealand citizen, i.e., she was living in Australia on 26 February 2001 or for at least one year in the two years immediately before 26 February 2001? If so, great.


----------



## dharabaskar

*Validity of EOI*

Hi Mark,

Can you please tell me the validity of EOI?

Regards,
VJ


----------



## Austyn

Oh haha, just kidding. That was my mistake. So, what will we have to do now, since she is not an "eligible New Zealand citizen"? Thanks!


----------



## Peter Sadek

*many thanks*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Peter -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words!
> 
> Re: newborn baby, if born before the application is decided DIBP will generally allow you to add the baby to the application and will charge you the under-18-years-old additional applicant fee for that visa (see DIBP website Fees section for details). If born after the application is approved, you would likely have to sponsor the baby on a Child Visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark,
i dont know how to thank you ...............thank you a lot mark for helping me to decide .................... i will pay the money now for me & my wife ............... then when my baby is born i will pay his money ................ i will tell my case officer about this & ask him how to add him on my application while processing ........ i will have this child within 2-3 weeks max ..................... so surely i will ask to add my child during VISA processing ...............not after being granted .......... wish everything is going to proceed smoothly & easily ..............

again thank you a lot
kind regards, 
peter


----------



## Mimamasalha

*Hello mark*

Hi mark thanks for been always helpful I have a temporary spouse visa 309 I have been here for almost 8months I want to bring my mum to live with me and my husband which visa do I have to apply for I don't want her to come with a touristic visa as I want her to live here in Australia how long do you think this visa can takes my husband is an Australian and he is in full time work do u think he can sponsor her ? Thank u so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anitalulu -

If you are lodging an onshore partner visa (in Australia), then the people who sign the Form 888's must be Australian citizens or permanent residents. If you are lodging an offshore partner visa application, then anyone who knows you and your partner can sign.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anitalulu said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> I am in Australia with my Travel Visa. I just got married with my partner in Australia. And I am going to apply for a Partner Visa via online. We have a 10-month baby as well.
> My question is about form 888. We relationship is mainly developed in oversea. Although we met in Australia, most of our friends are not Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident. Can I still submit the form 888 ?
> 
> Looking forward to hearing from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Evie88 -

Thanks for the note. The vast majority of PMV (subclass 400) visa holders get married in Australia while they are here during the 9 months the PMV allows in Australia. However some get married elsewhere - key would be getting specific evidence from a marriage official wherever the marriage is planned to take place that shows that the official is planning on marrying the applicant and sponsor.

Re: medicals/police, I'd order the police checks a month or so prior to the application, and do the medicals right after you lodge unless there are circumstances that indicate otherwise.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



evie88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Great Thread by the way!
> 
> My partner and I are in the process of preparing to apply for the prospective Marriage VISA. He is from Bali and I'm From Perth. Our wedding will be in Bali.....
> 
> Just wanting to find out if other Australians who have traditionally married a Balinese in a Balinese ceremony and who have applied for this VISA.
> Do we need to fill out the Notice of Intended Marriage Form and have it signed by the person who will conduct our wedding? I can only find form 13 which is an AUSTRALIAN form? Is there an equivalent one for traditional Balinese marriages?
> Also we are aiming to hand in our application in Dec/ Jan 15 , when would you recommend he have his medical and police clearance done? And when should we have our documents signed and dated by a notary?? I'm wanting to get everything organized soon but don't want them done to early as we aren't applying for about 4 - 5 months time....
> 
> Any guidance would be appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bhavin_Crown -

You should check the documents and info sent to you by QLD authorities, but normally most states require you to register very shortly after you arrive.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bhavin_Crown said:


> Hello.... Mark.... First of all I am a regular reader of yr thread & also read various forum, honestly nvr seen a guy like you with unlimited energy & passion 2 help and serve the needy. Me and my family received our 190 visa grant on 21st july, we will be reaching to brisbane on 5th September. My query is when we need to communicate to Queensland government about our arrival and our visa grant, after reaching or b4 that what is the thumb rule in this.
> Thanks in advance to best mara agent in my book.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmy -

Thanks for the question. I'd use Form 1022.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmy2014 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> My wife has recently been granted the tourist visa to come to Melbourne whilst we wait for the partner visa to be processed.
> 
> I just wanted to check which form (if at all), she'll need to fill out to advise DIAC about change of address which is going to be more 14 days.
> 
> Form 929 - Change of address/passport (Online immi account recommends this one)
> Form 1022 - Changes in circumstances (Her acknowledgement emails says fill this one)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Atifrafiq -

Wish I could help on this one, but I'm not familiar with job search specifics for engineers and if/how any EA migration skills assessment would affect job prospects.

Best,

Mark Northam



atifrafiq said:


> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> I have Electronic Engineer (04 year) degree and having 09 years experience as working for electrical substations. i submitted my CDR and mentioned to assess as electrical engineer.
> 
> Engineering Austrailia assess myself as engineering technologist and qualification as equivalant to bachelor.
> 
> My questions?
> Employers in austrailia will refer to engineering austrailia outcome and would impact in Job and i cannot work as professional engineer?
> 
> my degree (04 years) will be considered as 03 years in Austrailia?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Striiing -

They might be a bit concerned - I'd contact them at your earliest opportunity and ask if they need any further info from you, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



striiing said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have been living in WA since march 2013 on a 176 visa but never contacted WA state to tell them i had arrived or had changed address here in WA. The case officer never mentioned it and i only read about it recently because my housemate is going for PR. Will the WA government be pissed that i had never contacted them? i assumed that them would know where i lived through my driving license?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Just following up on the dialogue between you and CG - if she is not an "Eligible New Zealand Citizen" but is eligible to get the usual subclass 444 SCV visa that NZ citizens get automatically upon entry to Australia, she can then sponsor you for a subclass 461 NZ Family Relationship visa. More info on DIBP website about this visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Hello Mark, hope all is well. I actually have a few questions.
> But First off, a little info of my situation. I am an American citizen, living in Hawaii. My wife is from New Zealand. So she is legal New Zealand citizen. My wife currently lives in Sydney. And we've been wanting to have me move to Sydney legally. So my questions are,
> 
> Question 1: Can I apply for a 820/801 spouse visa while in Australia on a visitor visa?
> 
> Question 2: will I be granted a bridging visa while my spouse visa is being finalized?
> 
> Question 3: will I be able to work on a bridging visa?
> 
> Question 4: how long does a spouse visa usually take to process?
> 
> Hopefully you can help again. Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VJ -

Normally EOI's last for 2 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you please tell me the validity of EOI?
> 
> Regards,
> VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

With the ceasing of many family visas, this can be an issue. Depending on how long you want her to stay you might look at the Sponsored Family Visitor visa (up to 12 month stay), or if you are interested in getting permanent residency for your mother, the subclass 143 contributory parent visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mimamasalha said:


> Hi mark thanks for been always helpful I have a temporary spouse visa 309 I have been here for almost 8months I want to bring my mum to live with me and my husband which visa do I have to apply for I don't want her to come with a touristic visa as I want her to live here in Australia how long do you think this visa can takes my husband is an Australian and he is in full time work do u think he can sponsor her ? Thank u so much


----------



## dharabaskar

Thanks Mark!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi VJ -
> 
> Normally EOI's last for 2 years.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## CollegeGirl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> With the ceasing of many family visas, this can be an issue. Depending on how long you want her to stay you might look at the Sponsored Family Visitor visa (up to 12 month stay), or if you are interested in getting permanent residency for your mother, the subclass 143 contributory parent visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Just curious - you can sponsor in laws? For some reason I'd thought you couldn't.


----------



## Austyn

Thank you for your response Mark! I just have a few more questions. 

Question 1: Is it possible to lodge a subclass 461 visa while in Australia on a visitors visa?

Question 2: If so, How long does the subclass 461 visa usually take to be finalized?

Question 3: Is it best to lodge the 461 visa as soon as I get to Australia?

Question 4: Will I be able to be on a bridging visa while the 461 visa is being processed?

Hope you can help. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CG -

I believe you can for sponsored family visitor sc600 visa, but not for contributory parent visa...

Mark



CollegeGirl said:


> Just curious - you can sponsor in laws? For some reason I'd thought you couldn't.


----------



## Mellzer

Can I get married in AU under a visitor visa?
Can I apply for a partner visa inside AU?
Can the time I spend in AU under a visitor visa be used for our proof of our relationship?

Since eVisitor only lets me stay up to three months per at a time for a year I imagine vacationing outside of AU during these times.
Also! I currently hold an ETA visa that wont expire until May 2015 can i apply for a eVisitor visa if I already hold an eta visa?

eVisitor is free. Partner visa is 3085. Are there any other fees?
Thanks so much for your time and patience 
Melissa



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Melissa -
> 
> Thanks for the question, and so glad you've found a wonderful person to share your life with.
> 
> Based on your information, my thought is that a subclass 300 PMV (fiance) visa might be the best fit - not sure you have enough relationship evidence to satisfy the partner visa requirements at this point. As you mentioned, you'd be required to be outside Australia at lodgement, and at visa grant, but you may be able to spend the 9 months or so it takes to process these in Australia on visitor visas if approved. The visa application fee for the sc300 visa is $3085, and if approved you are given 9 months to come to Australia to marry your partner. Once married you can lodge an onshore partner visa where you'll be given a bridging visa to remain in Australia after the 9 months of your PMV visa expire, and can stay here until a decision on your partner visa. If you hold a PMV and apply for an onshore partner visa, the additional visa application fee for the onshore partner visa is $1,145.
> 
> Would be happy to assist you at a consultation if you'd like to go into more detail about the requirements for different visas - see my website below for more on this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

See below at ***:



Austyn said:


> Thank you for your response Mark! I just have a few more questions.
> 
> Question 1: Is it possible to lodge a subclass 461 visa while in Australia on a visitors visa?
> 
> *** Yes as long as you evidence you are a family member of a person who holds a sc444 SCV Visa (NZ citz). Also would be necessary for you NOT to have condition 8503 on the visitor visa (this condition prevents further onshore applications).
> 
> Question 2: If so, How long does the subclass 461 visa usually take to be finalized?
> 
> *** May be weeks or months, impossible to predict.
> 
> Question 3: Is it best to lodge the 461 visa as soon as I get to Australia?
> 
> *** Am not familiar enough with your circumstances to advise on this - depends on whether you have the necessary relationship evidence, etc prepared and other factors.
> 
> Question 4: Will I be able to be on a bridging visa while the 461 visa is being processed?
> 
> *** Yes, if you lodge the 461 application onshore and are not prevented from doing so by condition 8503 on your visitor visa.
> 
> Hope you can help. Thanks!


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## leomama

*Partner visa relationship breakdown with a child*

Hi Mark,
I would like to ask you some questions regarding Partner Visa. 
I am married to an australian citizen and we have a child and currently I am pregnant. I applied for partner visa over a year ago and I still am n a bridging visa. (Just granted a bridging visa b to go back home for a few months.) Unfortunately my relationship with my husband has been very difficult and it is likely that we are going to separate sometime soon. If that happens, 
1) Can I still be granted for Partner Visa even though i am still on a bridging visa?
2) if so, does it mean I can remain as an applicant for permanent residency, or does it mean I would be actually granted a permanent visa straight away?

I am very worried about financial situation given the fact that I will have two babies and without an access to social welfare, ( for instance child care rebate etc) it will be very difficult to raise my children on my own here. They said I have to have a substantial visa to access to any benefits.
Thank you for your time.


----------



## anitalulu

How about I find a person who is New Zealand citizen to sign form 888? Is it ok? It is very difficult to find people who know both of us and know our history who are Australian PR.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Anitalulu -
> 
> If you are lodging an onshore partner visa (in Australia), then the people who sign the Form 888's must be Australian citizens or permanent residents. If you are lodging an offshore partner visa application, then anyone who knows you and your partner can sign.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leomama -

Sorry to hear of your situation. There are specific legal provisions that allow a person who has lodged a partner visa to continue on to apply for a permanent partner visa (without waiting for the 2 year provisional partner visa, etc) if the relationship breaks down and the sponsor & applicant are the biological parents to a child between them. Suggest you consult a registered migration agent to walk you through the process should this become necessary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leomama said:


> Hi Mark,
> I would like to ask you some questions regarding Partner Visa.
> I am married to an australian citizen and we have a child and currently I am pregnant. I applied for partner visa over a year ago and I still am n a bridging visa. (Just granted a bridging visa b to go back home for a few months.) Unfortunately my relationship with my husband has been very difficult and it is likely that we are going to separate sometime soon. If that happens,
> 1) Can I still be granted for Partner Visa even though i am still on a bridging visa?
> 2) if so, does it mean I can remain as an applicant for permanent residency, or does it mean I would be actually granted a permanent visa straight away?
> 
> I am very worried about financial situation given the fact that I will have two babies and without an access to social welfare, ( for instance child care rebate etc) it will be very difficult to raise my children on my own here. They said I have to have a substantial visa to access to any benefits.
> Thank you for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anitalulu -

As far as I know, the requirement is Australian citizen or PR - DIBP doesn't tend to be very flexible about the legislation, etc. If the person knows one of you personally and knows the other through hearing about them, that can work in some cases if the person is familiar with both of you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anitalulu said:


> How about I find a person who is New Zealand citizen to sign form 888? Is it ok? It is very difficult to find people who know both of us and know our history who are Australian PR.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mellzer -

Yes to all three questions, as long as your visitor visa does not have condition 8503.No point in applying for eVisitor if you already hold an ETA.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mellzer said:


> Can I get married in AU under a visitor visa?
> Can I apply for a partner visa inside AU?
> Can the time I spend in AU under a visitor visa be used for our proof of our relationship?
> 
> Since eVisitor only lets me stay up to three months per at a time for a year I imagine vacationing outside of AU during these times.
> Also! I currently hold an ETA visa that wont expire until May 2015 can i apply for a eVisitor visa if I already hold an eta visa?
> 
> eVisitor is free. Partner visa is 3085. Are there any other fees?
> Thanks so much for your time and patience
> Melissa


----------



## leomama

Thank you very much!


----------



## CollegeGirl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi CG -
> 
> I believe you can for sponsored family visitor sc600 visa, but not for contributory parent visa...
> 
> Mark


So then wouldn't that mean her mom can't be sponsored for a contributory parent visa at this time?



Mimamasalha said:


> Hi mark thanks for been always helpful* I have a temporary spouse visa 309* I have been here for almost 8months I want to bring my mum to live with me and my husband which visa do I have to apply for I don't want her to come with a touristic visa as I want her to live here in Australia how long do you think this visa can takes my husband is an Australian and he is in full time work do u think he can sponsor her ? Thank u so much


The poster is just on a 309... not even a permanent resident yet, and I think you have to be a permanent resident and residing in Australia for two years before you can sponsor for the 143? Please, please correct me if I'm wrong.

I think the only option at this point for her mom IS a tourist visa, unfortunately.

Also, mimamasalha, you should be aware that the cost for sponsoring your mom for the 143 will be about $50,000AUD, when you finally can sponsor her two years after you've moved here and once you've obtained PR. It's awfully expensive.


----------



## Mellzer

The reason I thought i should get an eVisitor visa is because it doesn't have a no stay condition (meaning i cant apply for another visa while on it). My ETA visa has a No stay condition.

Maybe im mistaken?

Melissa



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mellzer -
> 
> Yes to all three questions, as long as your visitor visa does not have condition 8503.No point in applying for eVisitor if you already hold an ETA.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## myrzam

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your help. I just want to let you know that my son's application for change of condition of Bridging visa A has been approved just today afternoon. I will forever appreciate the assistance and suggestions you have given me. You are indeed a great help to us and to a lot of people. Cheers!!!


----------



## tomar

Hi Mark,

My girlfriend is currently on a subclass 573 (higher education) visa. The visa expires in April 2015. She has been attending a course at a college which will finish next month (she will sort-of "graduate" - so a successful finish of the course). She is under the impression that she can just work the rest of the time of the visa as it is seen as a holiday. However, I cannot find any evidence with regards to this, and she is only under this impression because a fellow student told her this.

I cannot seem to figure out the regulation for the case that someone is on a 573 visa and finished their studies before expiration of the visa. Could you please advise whether she will be able to stay in the country without studying, and if so - whether she can work unlimited hours?

Thank you very much for your help,
Tom


----------



## cozimhappy

Hello Mark 
I just noticed a post that stated that offshore 309/100 partner visas from London waiting periods have changed to 10-14 months . However in last email from my CO in May she stated that all assessments had been done and I will be granted my visa in 8 -9 months from when I applied in Feb 2014. Would I still be on that original timeline or the new one? This is very concerning as I made plans re sold house etc based on that email. Many thanks for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Melissa -

Condition 8503 (no further stay) can be added onto any visitor visa - if you already have it on one, the chances of it being added to any future visitor visa is very high. However, you could always apply for it and see what happens.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mellzer said:


> The reason I thought i should get an eVisitor visa is because it doesn't have a no stay condition (meaning i cant apply for another visa while on it). My ETA visa has a No stay condition.
> 
> Maybe im mistaken?
> 
> Melissa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Myrzam -

That's great news - congratulations!! Glad I could help - great outcome.

Best,

Mark



myrzam said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your assistance. I just want to let you know that my son's re-application for change of condition of Bridging visa A has been approved just today afternoon. I will forever appreciate the tips and suggestions you have given me. You are indeed a great help to a lot of people.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tom -

Her impression is incorrect. There is specific DIBP policy on this that is not on the website. It's a bit complicated, but essentially if she is no longer enrolled in her course (including if it ends substantially early), she has 2 months to enrol in another course or her visa is subject to cancellation. There are other options including if she's applied for another type of visa after her course ends (that generally stretches out the time she can remain in Australia and the 2 month rule may not apply in this case), but would suggest she needs to decide what her next step(s) are in Australia and perhaps consult with a migration agent to discuss options for visa(s) assuming she wants to remain in Australia after she finishes her course.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My girlfriend is currently on a subclass 573 (higher education) visa. The visa expires in April 2015. She has been attending a course at a college which will finish next month (she will sort-of "graduate" - so a successful finish of the course). She is under the impression that she can just work the rest of the time of the visa as it is seen as a holiday. However, I cannot find any evidence with regards to this, and she is only under this impression because a fellow student told her this.
> 
> I cannot seem to figure out the regulation for the case that someone is on a 573 visa and finished their studies before expiration of the visa. Could you please advise whether she will be able to stay in the country without studying, and if so - whether she can work unlimited hours?
> 
> Thank you very much for your help,
> Tom


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cozimhappy -

No way to tell. DIBP processing times are notoriously unpredictable - I would not make any serious decisions based on expected processing times from DIBP, no matter what the CO might say - their commitments are non-binding and any number of things can re-order the priorities at DIBP or delay a visa unexpectedly.

Sorry I don't have better/more accurate info for you -

Best,

Mark Northam



cozimhappy said:


> Hello Mark
> I just noticed a post that stated that offshore 309/100 partner visas from London waiting periods have changed to 10-14 months . However in last email from my CO in May she stated that all assessments had been done and I will be granted my visa in 8 -9 months from when I applied in Feb 2014. Would I still be on that original timeline or the new one? This is very concerning as I made plans re sold house etc based on that email. Many thanks for your time!


----------



## Austyn

Hello, how could I gain residency to Australia and stay there with my wife after I'm successfully on the SC461 visa? Thanks!


----------



## megsy

*Prospective marriage Visa to Partner Visa*

Hi Mark,

I am going through the stages of getting information ready for musband to apply for his partner visa (he is now on prospective marriage visa)

so i have a few questions...

- The visa he needs is the 801/820... because he is onshore right?
- As it is all online, im assuming once my family and friends have written their declarations and i have written mine, i will have to scan them and attach them to be submitted. Also our ID documents etc. as these will be direct scans of originals, do they still need to be certified by a Justice of the peace?

and lastly, once we have applied for these visas, how long will it take for us to get notice of his 'bridging' visa?

Thanks for your help, honestly dont know what id do without this forum!


----------



## krissieaus

*Skills assessment for permanent residency*

Hello Mark!

My name is Krissie, I am 25 and currently on a years working holiday visa. 
I've only been in Aus for nearly two months and don't want to leave!

I have noticed that my skill is on the CSOL list-Community worker, disability services...
I have a BA Hons Degree in Health & Social Care which I undertook in the UK and graduated this year (July 17th 2014).

I also have an NVQ Level 2 in Health and Social Care and a College Advanced National Diploma in Travel & Tourism and currently completing a Cert 3 in Community Activity Programs but I don't think these really count to points

I have done a points test myself and think I reach 65 based on my Degree, my age, English speaking etc, this is without my work experience but I have been working in many different community worker positions for 7 years on and off and could reach the 3 years experience would give me more points BUT I'd much rather be able to pass the assessment without this because it would take so much longer to get pay slips, references etc...

Please let me know your thoughts and if you think I'd pass the assessment.

Thank You so much!!

Krissie


----------



## yoyo_0210

Hi Mark,

It's me again.
I want to ask, what is the chance of being granted working rights under bridging E Visa?
If failed once (applying for working rights), can I apply again?

Thanks


----------



## shelleymae

Hi Mark,
I am a NZ Citizen and my partner who is Samoan is applying for the Subclass 461. We are both currently living in Brunei.
Hoping you have the time to answer a few questions for me 

Part H
23: Why are you travelling to Australia? Include any relevant dates or events.

Is this answer sufficient? _Accompany my partner to live and work there. To live near my partner's sons. For a better quality of life._

25: Are you applying for a temporary visa?

It is a temporary visa?! Then they ask for details of proposed final departure from Australia, but I plan to apply for further stay at the end of the five year time frame. What do they want to hear here?

Thanks in advance


----------



## dharabaskar

*Canberra - SS*

Hi Mark,

In the list of occupations released today by Canberra for 190 type PR. It didn't have the Open position for the occupation i intend to apply. It was listed under "Closed". I understand that Closed occupations can be applied by the applicants who have the Close relatives or Job Offer.

Is it possible to get a Job Offer in ACT before applying for 190? If yes, is there any condition to stay with the same job for a period of time?

Regards,
VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Any number of ways - skilled visa, employer sponsored PR visa, 457 to employer sponsored PR visa, etc - but depends on many factors including age, skills, education, etc. Happy to go through all of this at a consultation if you're interested - see website below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Hello, how could I gain residency to Australia and stay there with my wife after I'm successfully on the SC461 visa? Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megsy -

Yes, correct to all questions. Direct scans of originals are fine - no need for certified copies normally. Bridging visa should be granted within 24 hours of application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megsy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am going through the stages of getting information ready for musband to apply for his partner visa (he is now on prospective marriage visa)
> 
> so i have a few questions...
> 
> - The visa he needs is the 801/820... because he is onshore right?
> - As it is all online, im assuming once my family and friends have written their declarations and i have written mine, i will have to scan them and attach them to be submitted. Also our ID documents etc. as these will be direct scans of originals, do they still need to be certified by a Justice of the peace?
> 
> and lastly, once we have applied for these visas, how long will it take for us to get notice of his 'bridging' visa?
> 
> Thanks for your help, honestly dont know what id do without this forum!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Krikssie -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



krissieaus said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> My name is Krissie, I am 25 and currently on a years working holiday visa.
> I've only been in Aus for nearly two months and don't want to leave!
> 
> I have noticed that my skill is on the CSOL list-Community worker, disability services...
> I have a BA Hons Degree in Health & Social Care which I undertook in the UK and graduated this year (July 17th 2014).
> 
> I also have an NVQ Level 2 in Health and Social Care and a College Advanced National Diploma in Travel & Tourism and currently completing a Cert 3 in Community Activity Programs but I don't think these really count to points
> 
> I have done a points test myself and think I reach 65 based on my Degree, my age, English speaking etc, this is without my work experience but I have been working in many different community worker positions for 7 years on and off and could reach the 3 years experience would give me more points BUT I'd much rather be able to pass the assessment without this because it would take so much longer to get pay slips, references etc...
> 
> Please let me know your thoughts and if you think I'd pass the assessment.
> 
> Thank You so much!!
> 
> Krissie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yoyo -

Depends on why it failed once before - if no substantially different info, then likely it will fail again. However with substantial (and verifiable) new info, you could try again.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



yoyo_0210 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> It's me again.
> I want to ask, what is the chance of being granted working rights under bridging E Visa?
> If failed once (applying for working rights), can I apply again?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shelleymae -

Your answer to 23 sounds good to me! Sc461 is an odd sort of visa - it is in many ways a temporary visa though. Re: departure date, etc, I would put "to be determined" or something like this and add a note if necessary at the end of the application that you have not determined your departure details yet as the date is so far in advance, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shelleymae said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am a NZ Citizen and my partner who is Samoan is applying for the Subclass 461. We are both currently living in Brunei.
> Hoping you have the time to answer a few questions for me
> 
> Part H
> 23: Why are you travelling to Australia? Include any relevant dates or events.
> 
> Is this answer sufficient? _Accompany my partner to live and work there. To live near my partner's sons. For a better quality of life._
> 
> 25: Are you applying for a temporary visa?
> 
> It is a temporary visa?! Then they ask for details of proposed final departure from Australia, but I plan to apply for further stay at the end of the five year time frame. What do they want to hear here?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VJ -

Re: possible to get job offer, I don't know about that area of things - I imagine it would be up to you to negotiate that with a potential employer.

All state sponsorships require applicant to commit to living and working in the sponsoring state for the first 2 years they are in Australia. Depending on the state and circumstances, appeals can be made to try and eliminate or reduce these obligations in some cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> In the list of occupations released today by Canberra for 190 type PR. It didn't have the Open position for the occupation i intend to apply. It was listed under "Closed". I understand that Closed occupations can be applied by the applicants who have the Close relatives or Job Offer.
> 
> Is it possible to get a Job Offer in ACT before applying for 190? If yes, is there any condition to stay with the same job for a period of time?
> 
> Regards,
> VJ


----------



## rajitsin

Hi Mark,

I am interested in obtaining marks for my skilled employment for a 189 visa application. 

1.	My question is that will DIBP require my assessing authority to assess the skilled employment.

2.	In case the assessing authority has given a positive opinion on the skilled employment, what additional assessments and verifications will the DIBP undertake before awarding the points. I have noticed they have their own documentation requirements for awarding points for skilled employment.

Also I had a few questions regarding DIBP’s own documentation requirements for awarding marks for skilled employment. They are:

3.	Do they accept certified copies of documents or do they require a single purpose-written original reference letter addressed to them?

4.	In case they accept copies of documents, who is entitled to certify the documents? I have noticed that some assessing authorities allow local lawyers in the applicant’s home country to certify copies of the employment documents, when assessing the work experience for immigration purposes.

5.	Some of my work experience letters do not have the direct phone number of the signing HR manager rather a general company phone number through which a case officer could reach the HR manager. Will this suffice?

Thanks for your help again. Its really very humanitarian.

Regards


----------



## awatahmed

Hi Mark,

Firstly, many thanks for the altruistic work you do on this forum.

My questions:

1.	I understand that I can check-on for both the 189 and 190 visas on my EOI. Does that negatively affect my case for either visa?

2.	What about the impact of negative outcomes of one visa on the other?



For 190 visa, I was wondering:

3. I saw on the ACT migration guidelines that DIBP is giving the decision. Is the process then more or less the same as for the 189 visa ie mostly controlled by the DIBP. Then how does this compare to the 189 application in terms of: 
a. processing times
b. chances for approval (I noticed that published quotas for 189 visas tend to be larger than for 190)

4. let’s say I get nominated by the ACT (either based on a pre-EOI or post-EOI application):
a. will I have to still pay the 3000+ dollar DIBP fee (in addition to the state’s application fee), 
b. will I be subject to DIBP’s work experience verification standards (which seem to require more documentation like salary slips as compared to the ACT requirements)

5. I’m assuming I have to apply and get nominated by the state before I can claim the 5 points on the EOI for state nomination under class 190. Correct?

Regards


----------



## milkyway518

*Ms Grace*

Hello Mark,
I have a big worry regarding to my ANZSCO code nomination.
I just received the Letter of Determination from ANMAC, 
I was nominated under *ANZSCO code-254499 Registered Nurse (NEC) *
and when applied for my skill assessment, I had my personal reference
assessed as well, aiming to obtain extra 5 points for immigration.
Here is my concern, my previous 3 years working experience with my personal 
reference was under *ANZSCO code 254415- Registered Nurse critical care and emergency*, so there is a discrepancy between this, does it matter when
I submit my EOI and lodge my skilled independent 189 visa? Since the letter did mention I am suitable for migration and they count on my overseas working experience but under a different ANZSCO code. I guess I may choose the wrong code from the very beginning when i applied for my skill assessment. Thank you for your answer in advance. I am truly and sincerely obliged to you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajitsin -

Thanks for the questions - a skills assessment from the nominated skills assessment authority for your occupation (see SOL list for info on this) is required for a 189 visa. If you get a positive skills assmt, DIBP will often request, in addition to the skills assessment, some evidence that you were paid for the work you are claiming for points for a 189 visa. This can be pay slips, etc, some sort of independent evidence in addition to the employer letter. Normally colour scans of original documents are accepted by DIBP, however sometimes they request certified copies - if that's the case, then any person who is legally authorised to certify a copy in your country should be fine with DIBP within reason. Re: phone number, they actually like the "main phone number" where they can call a company switchboard and then be transferred to the person they want to speak to - harder to "fake" phone contacts that way.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rajitsin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am interested in obtaining marks for my skilled employment for a 189 visa application.
> 
> 1.	My question is that will DIBP require my assessing authority to assess the skilled employment.
> 
> 2.	In case the assessing authority has given a positive opinion on the skilled employment, what additional assessments and verifications will the DIBP undertake before awarding the points. I have noticed they have their own documentation requirements for awarding points for skilled employment.
> 
> Also I had a few questions regarding DIBP's own documentation requirements for awarding marks for skilled employment. They are:
> 
> 3.	Do they accept certified copies of documents or do they require a single purpose-written original reference letter addressed to them?
> 
> 4.	In case they accept copies of documents, who is entitled to certify the documents? I have noticed that some assessing authorities allow local lawyers in the applicant's home country to certify copies of the employment documents, when assessing the work experience for immigration purposes.
> 
> 5.	Some of my work experience letters do not have the direct phone number of the signing HR manager rather a general company phone number through which a case officer could reach the HR manager. Will this suffice?
> 
> Thanks for your help again. Its really very humanitarian.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Awatahmed -

Thanks for the questions and kind words! Yes, can check both boxes on an EOI (189 and 190) without negative effects. Many people do this, wait for 189 invitation, if none comes, then they apply for state sponsorship assuming their occupation works for this strategy.

Re: approval/processing times by DIBP for 189 vs 190, virtually the same - the difference is how you get to the application - DIBP invitation (189), or state sponsorship generating DIBP invitation (190).

#4 and #5 - yes to all.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



awatahmed said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly, many thanks for the altruistic work you do on this forum.
> 
> My questions:
> 
> 1.	I understand that I can check-on for both the 189 and 190 visas on my EOI. Does that negatively affect my case for either visa?
> 
> 2.	What about the impact of negative outcomes of one visa on the other?
> 
> For 190 visa, I was wondering:
> 
> 3. I saw on the ACT migration guidelines that DIBP is giving the decision. Is the process then more or less the same as for the 189 visa ie mostly controlled by the DIBP. Then how does this compare to the 189 application in terms of:
> a. processing times
> b. chances for approval (I noticed that published quotas for 189 visas tend to be larger than for 190)
> 
> 4. let's say I get nominated by the ACT (either based on a pre-EOI or post-EOI application):
> a. will I have to still pay the 3000+ dollar DIBP fee (in addition to the state's application fee),
> b. will I be subject to DIBP's work experience verification standards (which seem to require more documentation like salary slips as compared to the ACT requirements)
> 
> 5. I'm assuming I have to apply and get nominated by the state before I can claim the 5 points on the EOI for state nomination under class 190. Correct?
> 
> Regards


----------



## IndyMama

Hi Mark-
I was told over the phone by immigration that certified copies of passport pages are not required for electronic partner visa applications. Is this consistent with your experience? The website still says certified copies, but I noticed for the 189 it just says "scanned color copies."
Thanks!


----------



## Ninja69

Good day Mark! 

As always, Thank you for answering all our inquiries.

My question is, in applying online for Partner Visa 820 do I need to give copy of birth certificates, passport of my two children who are my dependents living in Manila eventhought they are not included in my application? What about their medicals? Police check? 

Also, my tourist visa expires in September 15th can I apply my online application 8 days before September 15th? Say September 7th? Is it too late to lodge it online? 

Also about the Form 80 do I need to attach it as early as now in my application? Can I submit later upon request?

Thank you in advance, 
Cheers!
Ninja 69


----------



## belle

Hi Mark,

I just got my partner visa grant (820) last 30/7/14, I'm here in Australia with my husband. I have a son in the Philippines whom I want to bring to Australia later on. He is 15 and studying there hence the decision not to include him in my 820 visa. I know I need to apply for Dependent child visa which I need to do before the grant of permanent visa 801. Now my question, if I apply now for a Dependent child visa and is granted, does my child need to migrate straight away? Do you know the timeline for Dependent Child visa? Plan is for him to finish year 10 there, which is March 2016 and then continue his studies here. I would greatly appreciate your thoughts and advise. Thank you very much.

Belle


----------



## hodgi_76

Hi Mark,
Thank you for asking my previous question, I did forget to ask you something though.
When going through the forms I noticed a question, "Date you started a shared life together exclusion of all others" (or something along those lines. This date is when the DEFACTO relationship started yes, not when the relationship initially started, correct? We were in a relationship for about 18 months before starting a defacto relationship. The other question is, is there a question when applying online about the date of parents marriage? I noticed someone mentioning in a forum but couldn't find any more info on the matter. 
Thank you in advance.
Andrea


----------



## clairanita

*Partner visa 801 Refusal while pregnancy*

Hi Mark,

They recommended me to post my issue here. Hopefully you can see it.

I am in a dilemma.

My partner visa 820 TR (de facto) was granted last year May 2013 and we got married this year in Jan 2014. I got pregnancy in Feb. Due to family issue, my husband informed me he wanted to divorce with me in late of April and he asked me to have an abortion. He then wrote a ltr to immi that our relationship has broke down. I love my baby and I don't want to have an abortion no matter he would come back to me in the future or not.

I was invited to comment on relationship breakdown by immi on 5 Jun 2014. I then got an Registered migration agent to write an statement and provide evidence to prove that we have registered our marriage in Taiwan and I am currently pregnant.

The other thing I did not mention in the ltr was my parents bought us a property with no mortgage as a marriage presents. It was registered as joint tenancy although he did not pay anything for the property. As he did not want to be responsible for the baby, he is now forcing me to get back to Taiwan to deliver the baby otherwise he won't return his 50% of the property to me.

I received the visa 801 PR refusal 1st of Aug as the Case Officer did not recognise that I meet the criteria for granting the PR. I am now 25 weeks of pregnancy. Apparently they did not see pregnancy as a dependent child.

I know I have right to send my case to MRT for appealing the decision. My baby will be an Australian Citizen for sure. She has right to grow up in Australia.

Now I am worried if MRT reject my case and cancel my medicare before delivering my baby, what should I do? I need medicare to have this baby.

I think CO made a unfair decision to me. Is he trying to kick me out of OZ and my husband would not being responsible for my baby and move in my property for free?

Although my Registered Migration agent advises me that it takes a least a year for hearing for partner visa, by that time I will have my baby to prove which does not seem to have a problem. But still, I cannot believe why CO rejected my application instead of waiting for my baby is delivered.

Another thing is what if my husband refuses to sign the birth certificate as he does not want to be responsible for the baby? Then I cannot have birth certificate to prove MRT.

What a life....

Any advice is appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Indymama -

Correct. Once in a while one of the offshore posts will want the original police clearance certificates, but that's all I've seen asked for lately - high quality colour scans of originals works fine for online partner visa applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Hi Mark-
> I was told over the phone by immigration that certified copies of passport pages are not required for electronic partner visa applications. Is this consistent with your experience? The website still says certified copies, but I noticed for the 189 it just says "scanned color copies."
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Thanks for the further questions. All dependents need medicals, including children not included in the application. Police check as well depending on their age (see DIBP guidelines on this). A week before your visitor visa expiration is fine for online partner visa lodgement - normally bridging visa(s) are generated within a few minutes, or at the latest in 1-2 days.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Good day Mark!
> 
> As always, Thank you for answering all our inquiries.
> 
> My question is, in applying online for Partner Visa 820 do I need to give copy of birth certificates, passport of my two children who are my dependents living in Manila eventhought they are not included in my application? What about their medicals? Police check?
> 
> Also, my tourist visa expires in September 15th can I apply my online application 8 days before September 15th? Say September 7th? Is it too late to lodge it online?
> 
> Also about the Form 80 do I need to attach it as early as now in my application? Can I submit later upon request?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Cheers!
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Milkyway518 -

Thanks for the questions - this situation is too complex to solve via forum & emails - I would need to see all the documents involved and get a better understanding of your work experience in a consultation (see website below) in order to give you any specific advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



milkyway518 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I have a big worry regarding to my ANZSCO code nomination.
> I just received the Letter of Determination from ANMAC,
> I was nominated under *ANZSCO code-254499 Registered Nurse (NEC) *
> and when applied for my skill assessment, I had my personal reference
> assessed as well, aiming to obtain extra 5 points for immigration.
> Here is my concern, my previous 3 years working experience with my personal
> reference was under *ANZSCO code 254415- Registered Nurse critical care and emergency*, so there is a discrepancy between this, does it matter when
> I submit my EOI and lodge my skilled independent 189 visa? Since the letter did mention I am suitable for migration and they count on my overseas working experience but under a different ANZSCO code. I guess I may choose the wrong code from the very beginning when i applied for my skill assessment. Thank you for your answer in advance. I am truly and sincerely obliged to you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Belle -

Thanks for the questions - you'll need to coordinate the timeline on all of this as the child will need to apply for the sc445 (dependent child) visa, be granted the 445 visa, and then make a subsequent entrant addition to your pending permanent partner visa application, all before the partner visa comes up for a decision which would be roughly 2 years from when you originally applied for it. I'd start with your original partner visa application date, add 2 years, and then do what you need to do to get your child approved for the 445 visa (can take 3-9 months but highly unpredictable), and make the additional partner visa application for the child before the 2 year date comes up.

Another factor is what's going on with other family visas, including those that just were ceased (parent, etc). I'd probably move sooner rather than later on this since the existing terms for the sc445 visa are pretty good.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



belle said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just got my partner visa grant (820) last 30/7/14, I'm here in Australia with my husband. I have a son in the Philippines whom I want to bring to Australia later on. He is 15 and studying there hence the decision not to include him in my 820 visa. I know I need to apply for Dependent child visa which I need to do before the grant of permanent visa 801. Now my question, if I apply now for a Dependent child visa and is granted, does my child need to migrate straight away? Do you know the timeline for Dependent Child visa? Plan is for him to finish year 10 there, which is March 2016 and then continue his studies here. I would greatly appreciate your thoughts and advise. Thank you very much.
> 
> Belle


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrea -

Correct - the shared life together question usually is answered with the beginning of the defacto relationship.

Re: marriage dates, normally the system will require this for parents and siblings, for both applicants and sponsors. They've been talking about deleting this for some time - hope they finally do. If the information cannot be obtained, you can put 01-Jan-1900 in the date (since it's required) which tells DIBP that the data is not available.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hodgi_76 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for asking my previous question, I did forget to ask you something though.
> When going through the forms I noticed a question, "Date you started a shared life together exclusion of all others" (or something along those lines. This date is when the DEFACTO relationship started yes, not when the relationship initially started, correct? We were in a relationship for about 18 months before starting a defacto relationship. The other question is, is there a question when applying online about the date of parents marriage? I noticed someone mentioning in a forum but couldn't find any more info on the matter.
> Thank you in advance.
> Andrea


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clairanita -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your marriage breakdown - congratulations for keeping your baby!

Re: 801 refusal, the law unfortunately provides little recognition of your child until born. Hopefully by the time the MRT is ready to decide your case, your child will be born which changes things considerably.

Re: joint tenancy, etc, I suggest you contact a good family lawyer as you need to determine your rights for your own good and for your child's. A family lawyer can also comment on and avenues available for you to prove paternity and any rights you may have to compel your husband to provide child support, etc.

I'd consider continuing on the MRT route, as it's highly unlikely the MRT would be ready to make a decision before you give birth. You may need to talk to your family lawyer about what avenues are available to compel your husband to provide DNA or other information re: paternity - this will be important for the MRT especially if the husband denies that the baby is his, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



clairanita said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> They recommended me to post my issue here. Hopefully you can see it.
> 
> I am in a dilemma.
> 
> My partner visa 820 TR (de facto) was granted last year May 2013 and we got married this year in Jan 2014. I got pregnancy in Feb. Due to family issue, my husband informed me he wanted to divorce with me in late of April and he asked me to have an abortion. He then wrote a ltr to immi that our relationship has broke down. I love my baby and I don't want to have an abortion no matter he would come back to me in the future or not.
> 
> I was invited to comment on relationship breakdown by immi on 5 Jun 2014. I then got an Registered migration agent to write an statement and provide evidence to prove that we have registered our marriage in Taiwan and I am currently pregnant.
> 
> The other thing I did not mention in the ltr was my parents bought us a property with no mortgage as a marriage presents. It was registered as joint tenancy although he did not pay anything for the property. As he did not want to be responsible for the baby, he is now forcing me to get back to Taiwan to deliver the baby otherwise he won't return his 50% of the property to me.
> 
> I received the visa 801 PR refusal 1st of Aug as the Case Officer did not recognise that I meet the criteria for granting the PR. I am now 25 weeks of pregnancy. Apparently they did not see pregnancy as a dependent child.
> 
> I know I have right to send my case to MRT for appealing the decision. My baby will be an Australian Citizen for sure. She has right to grow up in Australia.
> 
> Now I am worried if MRT reject my case and cancel my medicare before delivering my baby, what should I do? I need medicare to have this baby.
> 
> I think CO made a unfair decision to me. Is he trying to kick me out of OZ and my husband would not being responsible for my baby and move in my property for free?
> 
> Although my Registered Migration agent advises me that it takes a least a year for hearing for partner visa, by that time I will have my baby to prove which does not seem to have a problem. But still, I cannot believe why CO rejected my application instead of waiting for my baby is delivered.
> 
> Another thing is what if my husband refuses to sign the birth certificate as he does not want to be responsible for the baby? Then I cannot have birth certificate to prove MRT.
> 
> What a life....
> 
> Any advice is appreciated.


----------



## aussie11

Hi Mark,

I would be thankful if you could shed light on my query below.

I received positive ACS assessment in May 2013. 
1) It includes experience from Company_A till Feb 2013 however I continued same job there till Feb 2014. 
2) Then, I joined Company_B in Mar 2014 and working till date (same role/code - If I apply again ACS, 100% I will get positive assessment).

Should I apply for New ACS application to claim experience till today? 
OR 
my existing ACS report with updated letter from Company_A and experience letter from Company_B would be enough for State Sponsorship and DIAC process?

Please advise.

Thanks,
Athar


----------



## Ninja69

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ninja69 -
> 
> Thanks for the further questions. All dependents need medicals, including children not included in the application. Police check as well depending on their age (see DIBP guidelines on this). A week before your visitor visa expiration is fine for online partner visa lodgement - normally bridging visa(s) are generated within a few minutes, or at the latest in 1-2 days.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for patiently answering all our questions. You are heaven sent &#128515;

By the way, can I submit the medicals of my daughters who are both in Manila , their police checks later togethet with mine upon request of the CO ? Or I have to submit theirs upon lodgement.

Million Thanks Mark,
Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussie11 -

Safest best would be to apply for ACS work experience assessment for Company_B. You could wait and do this only if the CO asks you to (ie, he does not accept that it is skilled work), or do it before that if you wanted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussie11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would be thankful if you could shed light on my query below.
> 
> I received positive ACS assessment in May 2013.
> 1) It includes experience from Company_A till Feb 2013 however I continued same job there till Feb 2014.
> 2) Then, I joined Company_B in Mar 2014 and working till date (same role/code - If I apply again ACS, 100% I will get positive assessment).
> 
> Should I apply for New ACS application to claim experience till today?
> OR
> my existing ACS report with updated letter from Company_A and experience letter from Company_B would be enough for State Sponsorship and DIAC process?
> 
> Please advise.
> 
> Thanks,
> Athar


----------



## MarkNortham

Either way works OK -most people wait until after lodgement, however if there is a long delay on getting the police checks, then you may want to order those earlier.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Thank you Mark for patiently answering all our questions. You are heaven sent &#128515;
> 
> By the way, can I submit the medicals of my daughters who are both in Manila , their police checks later togethet with mine upon request of the CO ? Or I have to submit theirs upon lodgement.
> 
> Million Thanks Mark,
> Ninja 69


----------



## belle

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Belle -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - you'll need to coordinate the timeline on all of this as the child will need to apply for the sc445 (dependent child) visa, be granted the 445 visa, and then make a subsequent entrant addition to your pending permanent partner visa application, all before the partner visa comes up for a decision which would be roughly 2 years from when you originally applied for it. I'd start with your original partner visa application date, add 2 years, and then do what you need to do to get your child approved for the 445 visa (can take 3-9 months but highly unpredictable), and make the additional partner visa application for the child before the 2 year date comes up.
> 
> Another factor is what's going on with other family visas, including those that just were ceased (parent, etc). I'd probably move sooner rather than later on this since the existing terms for the sc445 visa are pretty good.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark, I will do as you told to work on my son's visa very soon. Thanks again for your help! 

Belle


----------



## Farmer

Hi Mark,
Can I include my children who are not in Australia on a 820 visa?


----------



## tomar

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your answer. I have another question:

I'm about to apply for permanent residency through the subclass 189 visa (awaiting skills assessment). I would like to include my girlfriend in my PR application. She has been studying English and has been doing a 2 year diploma in IT on a subclass 573 (higher education) visa. Her skills will not be assessed in order to obtain points - all points will come from my own points assessment (skills, IELTS, age)

Would it be a requirement for her to take the IELTS? It's hard for me to figure out - it seems like in some circumstances, a score of 4.5 is required, but in other circumstances, a letter from the college suffices. Her college course is not a bachelor, but a Diploma of Information Technology (2 years full-time). She will complete this course successfully this month.

She would prefer not to do the IELTS, but if she has to do it, I am confident she would achieve a score of 6 or higher.

Thank you very much for your time,
Tom


----------



## aussie11

Thank you so much Mark. It really helps and a bit relief for me.

Since, I am performing same roles/responsibilities in Company_B, I hope CO will accept it too. At worst, if he doesn't, would I get enough time by CO to get ACS assessment during the visa processing? I don't want to do it now otherwise I would miss October intake of NSW State Sponsorship.

One more query please related to filling EOI as per ACS report. My ACS report states, I should consider relevant work experience *after Nov 2008*. So I believe I should fill EOI like that

Company 1 = Mar 2005 - Jan 2007 (irrelevant)
Company 2 = Jan 2007 - Sept 2008 (irrelevant)
*Company 3* = Sept 2008 - Feb 2010 (Please guide how should I fill)
Company 4 = Feb 2010 - Feb 2014 (relevant)
Company 5 = Feb 2014 - Till Date (relevant)

Many Thanks,
Athar



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Aussie11 -
> 
> Safest best would be to apply for ACS work experience assessment for Company_B. You could wait and do this only if the CO asks you to (ie, he does not accept that it is skilled work), or do it before that if you wanted.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## SMF

Hi there Mate !!! I am a newbie here ... I want to apply under the new 2014 Migration scheme ... As I have done Chartered Accountancy from Pakistan, the relevant body for assesing my qualification is the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia ... Kindly guide whether under this new scheme I need to get my skills asses only or I need to get an Skills assesment only or I need an Skills assesment and as Skill Employment Assesment both ... Kindly guide


MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Farmer -

Thanks for the question. They would need to be in Australia at the time of application to be included on your application. If this is not possible, it may be possible for applicant, once granted an 820 visa, to apply for a subclass 445 dependent child visa (only available to dependent children of 820 visa holders) and once granted the 445, add the child onto the 801 application before the 801 is decided.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Farmer said:


> Hi Mark,
> Can I include my children who are not in Australia on a 820 visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tomar -

Thanks for the question - for the 189 visa, your partner would need to prove Functional English - one way to do this is to have an IELTS score no more than 1 year ago of overall 4.5 or higher. Alternatively there are several ways to do this via educational documents - if you google "DIAC Functional English" you'll find their info sheet which has the various ways to evidence Functional English listed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your answer. I have another question:
> 
> I'm about to apply for permanent residency through the subclass 189 visa (awaiting skills assessment). I would like to include my girlfriend in my PR application. She has been studying English and has been doing a 2 year diploma in IT on a subclass 573 (higher education) visa. Her skills will not be assessed in order to obtain points - all points will come from my own points assessment (skills, IELTS, age)
> 
> Would it be a requirement for her to take the IELTS? It's hard for me to figure out - it seems like in some circumstances, a score of 4.5 is required, but in other circumstances, a letter from the college suffices. Her college course is not a bachelor, but a Diploma of Information Technology (2 years full-time). She will complete this course successfully this month.
> 
> She would prefer not to do the IELTS, but if she has to do it, I am confident she would achieve a score of 6 or higher.
> 
> Thank you very much for your time,
> Tom


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Athar -

Usually you are given an opportunity to comment if DIBP believes your work experience is not sufficient - normally they would allow the time to have a skills assessor rule on this if necessary.

Re: splitting work, I'd split Company 3 into 2 entries - Sep 2008 - Nov 2008 - not relevant; Dec 2008 - Feb 2010 - relevant. This should help the points calculator from calculating things incorrectly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussie11 said:


> Thank you so much Mark. It really helps and a bit relief for me.
> 
> Since, I am performing same roles/responsibilities in Company_B, I hope CO will accept it too. At worst, if he doesn't, would I get enough time by CO to get ACS assessment during the visa processing? I don't want to do it now otherwise I would miss October intake of NSW State Sponsorship.
> 
> One more query please related to filling EOI as per ACS report. My ACS report states, I should consider relevant work experience *after Nov 2008*. So I believe I should fill EOI like that
> 
> Company 1 = Mar 2005 - Jan 2007 (irrelevant)
> Company 2 = Jan 2007 - Sept 2008 (irrelevant)
> *Company 3* = Sept 2008 - Feb 2010 (Please guide how should I fill)
> Company 4 = Feb 2010 - Feb 2014 (relevant)
> Company 5 = Feb 2014 - Till Date (relevant)
> 
> Many Thanks,
> Athar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMF -

Welcome! Normally you would need a skills assessment only, however if you have questions as to whether your employment will be considered skilled or not by DIBP, you can ask your skills assessor to assess the employment as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMF said:


> Hi there Mate !!! I am a newbie here ... I want to apply under the new 2014 Migration scheme ... As I have done Chartered Accountancy from Pakistan, the relevant body for assesing my qualification is the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia ... Kindly guide whether under this new scheme I need to get my skills asses only or I need to get an Skills assesment only or I need an Skills assesment and as Skill Employment Assesment both ... Kindly guide


----------



## aussie11

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Athar -
> 
> Usually you are given an opportunity to comment if DIBP believes your work experience is not sufficient - normally they would allow the time to have a skills assessor rule on this if necessary.
> 
> Re: splitting work, I'd split Company 3 into 2 entries - Sep 2008 - Nov 2008 - not relevant; Dec 2008 - Feb 2010 - relevant. This should help the points calculator from calculating things incorrectly.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


That's perfect Mark and really make sense for EOI points calculation.

One last query please, I have already received visa 189 invitation (received 28th July) but I am not availing it due to the fact that ACS has deducted 4 years experience and someone earlier suggested me to ignore ACS report and file EOI with full experience. However, I don't want to take the risk of losing that much visa amount and ban too. Hence, now I am trying for NSW SS Visa 190.

My query is should I create another EOI for Visa 190 OR wait for 2 months to get this invitation expired and then update EOI for Visa 190 option. NSW SS should be filed by 14th October.

What do you suggest?

Thanks,
Athar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Athar -

You could do either, however I'd probably create a new EOI. That being said, the NSW SS was a mess and many people missed out - unless they adopt a fairer way of doing things, NSW SS is a very risky option.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussie11 said:


> That's perfect Mark and really make sense for EOI points calculation.
> 
> One last query please, I have already received visa 189 invitation (received 28th July) but I am not availing it due to the fact that ACS has deducted 4 years experience and someone earlier suggested me to ignore ACS report and file EOI with full experience. However, I don't want to take the risk of losing that much visa amount and ban too. Hence, now I am trying for NSW SS Visa 190.
> 
> My query is should I create another EOI for Visa 190 OR wait for 2 months to get this invitation expired and then update EOI for Visa 190 option. NSW SS should be filed by 14th October.
> 
> What do you suggest?
> 
> Thanks,
> Athar


----------



## aussie11

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Athar -
> 
> You could do either, however I'd probably create a new EOI. That being said, the NSW SS was a mess and many people missed out - unless they adopt a fairer way of doing things, NSW SS is a very risky option.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark.

I would then create new EOI instead of waiting for expiry of current invitation.

Yeah I read on your website regarding "NSW SS Sold out in 1 hour" and the technical mess created by website but I don't have any other option than to try my luck.

Many Thanks once again. You are really doing a decent job.
Athar


----------



## Austyn

*Eta*

Aloha again Mark! I just one question, does the Electronic Travel Auority (ETA) SC601 have the 'No further stay' condition?


----------



## tugger

Hi Mark, 

Wanted to get some information and advice/options with regards to my girlfriend. 
She's currently here in Australia on a 309 and has been separated from her husband since December as he kicked her out and stated he didn't love her and only married her to appease his parents. We met in March and have been in a relationship since.

Until last week, immigration had not been notified of the relationship breakdown between them but her husband's family claim to have notified immigration now. 

What options do we have for her to remain in the country with me as I really don't want to lose her?


----------



## Salinawati

Hi Mark,

I have a few questions that I hope you will be able to help me with. My family and I (husband and 2 kids) were just granted Visa 190 on 28th July with State Sponsorship by South Australia. We have plans to relocate to Adelaide end 2016 and will look for a property in the meantime. Here are some of the questions I have.

1. We will be making out first entry in Dec 2014 through Perth instead. Are we required to make the first entry through South Australia since we are sponsored by SA?

2. Do we need an official residential address to apply for Medicare Card? If we do not have a residential address, can we use a PO Box instead?

3. We do have relatives staying in Perth. Can we use their residential address for our Medicare application or do we have to apply using a residential address in SA as our visa was granted by SA?

I do hope you can advise me as I plan to apply for Medicare during my first entry in Dec. Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you in advance.


----------



## Mellzer

*statutory declaration question*

Hello Mark,

Just a quick question about the statutory declarations that need to be made by our friends/relatives (Australian Citizens). An authorized witness has to watch them fill out the paper. My fiance's sister is a pharmacist, is she aloud to be a witness since shes family? Also one of our best friends has volunteered to fill out a statutory declaration and her boyfriend is a psychologist, is he aloud to witness as well?

Melissa


----------



## BennyJayKay

Hello Mark, 

My partner and I are currently in the process of obtaining a Partner Visa. We filed it a few months ago and now I am on a Bridging Visa A. However, I've recently obtained a job in the city and we live with her mother and her partner down further south. It takes an hour + to commute to work. It's just difficult because we own one car between us and she is a University student. Our schedules clash and it's just too expensive for gas and commuting hours to get to work. We are struggling at the moment and we've come to a conclusion of me moving into the city while she stays back as she is continuing to study. It won't be a permanent move, it'll be for 6 months or so because it'll help relieve the stress. It isn't practical for me to be living far away. We will still see each other but won't be living with each other. 

My question is, will it effect our Partner Visa status? Is it possible for me to just move out by myself without any ramifications? We've been in a defacto relationship since 14 June 2013 when I came here on a Work and Holiday visa and registered our relationship. We've been together for nearly 5 years and had visited each other over the years until I made the move here on 14 June 2013. 

By the way, we are living in Brisbane. 

Thanks Mark


----------



## Anais_r

*457 to 186*

Hi Mark,

Firstly, appreciate you giving your time away and the opportunity to ask you questions.

I've been on a 457 for a year + (since May 2013) and would therefore be eligible to apply for a 186 in May 2015. I am keen to apply as soon as eligible and so I thought I'd ask whether there is a way I can be prepared to hit the apply button on the day?

How long before should my employer apply for their nomination so that it can be there in May? I'll also arrange to do my IELTS again prior however I'm unsure of the best procedure/timeline. Is there anything else I should think of to be ready on D-day?

Please let me know. Thank you,
Anais


----------



## shelleymae

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shelleymae -
> 
> Your answer to 23 sounds good to me! Sc461 is an odd sort of visa - it is in many ways a temporary visa though. Re: departure date, etc, I would put "to be determined" or something like this and add a note if necessary at the end of the application that you have not determined your departure details yet as the date is so far in advance, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam[/QUOTE
> 
> Thanks for that Mark. Just another couple of queries if you would be so kind.
> 
> As the NZ citizen that is supporting my Samoan partner, do I need to provide evidence of name changes? Birth cert, then wedding cert, divorce order - or just birth certificate.
> 
> Is it only legal documents that need to be verified by a JP, or every copy of everything. (example of everything - proof of miscarriage to show that yes we do want children and copies of birthday cards etc...)
> 
> Thanks very much. What a mission!


----------



## delvydavis

Hi Mark,
I have a querry

The Case Officer has asked for Jordan PCCs for me & my wife.

I was working in Jordan, with my family for two years from 2008 to 2010. She wasn't working there. I have applied Police Clearance Certificates for both of us through Jordan Embassy in India two months ago in May 2014. (So far we haven't received the PCCs). The problem lies here, the Embassy told that they will issue PCC only for the person who worked there; that means PCC only to me, not for my wife. How can I solve this situation with Case Officer? Is this a regular practice for the families who apply for PCC from Arab countries?
Thanks & Regards
Delvy


----------



## southwind

Hi Mark, ,we are going to my daughters wedding and would like a 3 month tourist visa, is there a time limit between using that visa and then applying for a years tourist visa at a later date ; the following year ,many thanks , Jackie hunt


----------



## shubhneeraj

hi mark..

i am registered nurse in sydney .on 485 visa as i was unable to apply nsw ss. i achievied 55 points. i need to know as i am working as a registered nurse more then 20 hours per week from last 6 months can i claim 5 points for australian work experiance after completing 1 year.

thanks 
shubhneeraj


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

I was just in Hawaii!! Normally the ETA does not have condition 8503 (no further stay), however I expect it can be added in cases where DIBP has serious concerns about repeated entry into Australia in efforts to establish residency, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Aloha again Mark! I just one question, does the Electronic Travel Auority (ETA) SC601 have the 'No further stay' condition?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tugger -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the marriage breakdown. If there is family violence, she may have a claim to a permanent partner visa depending on the circumstances. If that's not applicable, then potentially a skilled visa, employer sponsored visa or student visa might work depending on her circumstances. Probably best to go through all options with a registered migration agent in a consultation and see what visa(s) may fit. Important to act quickly as once DIBP determines relationship has broken down (she will have a chance to comment first), she will have 28 days to depart Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tugger said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Wanted to get some information and advice/options with regards to my girlfriend.
> She's currently here in Australia on a 309 and has been separated from her husband since December as he kicked her out and stated he didn't love her and only married her to appease his parents. We met in March and have been in a relationship since.
> 
> Until last week, immigration had not been notified of the relationship breakdown between them but her husband's family claim to have notified immigration now.
> 
> What options do we have for her to remain in the country with me as I really don't want to lose her?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Salinawati -

You will need to check the contract(s) and documents you have in place with SA to determine their arrival registration requirements - they require you register with them when you arrive and report back on your first 2 years with multiple surveys during that time, however a quick trip in to activate the visa may not be considered an "arrival" by SA - you would need to talk to them directly about that.

Re: Medicare, may not be useful when you're outside Australia - Medicare will want information that you plan to reside here, and I believe they need a physical home address vs a PO box - you might check with them directly on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Salinawati said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a few questions that I hope you will be able to help me with. My family and I (husband and 2 kids) were just granted Visa 190 on 28th July with State Sponsorship by South Australia. We have plans to relocate to Adelaide end 2016 and will look for a property in the meantime. Here are some of the questions I have.
> 
> 1. We will be making out first entry in Dec 2014 through Perth instead. Are we required to make the first entry through South Australia since we are sponsored by SA?
> 
> 2. Do we need an official residential address to apply for Medicare Card? If we do not have a residential address, can we use a PO Box instead?
> 
> 3. We do have relatives staying in Perth. Can we use their residential address for our Medicare application or do we have to apply using a residential address in SA as our visa was granted by SA?
> 
> I do hope you can advise me as I plan to apply for Medicare during my first entry in Dec. Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Generally witnessing by family members is discouraged as conflicts of interest can develop. Also, the witness only has to witness them signing the signature area and writing their name, etc, the witness does not have to witness them writing out the rest of the statement, etc - that part should be completed before you bring the statement to the witness to witness signing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mellzer said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Just a quick question about the statutory declarations that need to be made by our friends/relatives (Australian Citizens). An authorized witness has to watch them fill out the paper. My fiance's sister is a pharmacist, is she aloud to be a witness since shes family? Also one of our best friends has volunteered to fill out a statutory declaration and her boyfriend is a psychologist, is he aloud to witness as well?
> 
> Melissa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BennyJayKay -

Thanks for the question. Depending on the circumstances, it could affect your visa as you and the applicant may be interviewed, and if it comes out that you are not living together, DIBP will want to know lots about why. If you proceed with the plans you described, I'd try and leave as much of your things at her house as possible, and visit her as often as possible - it may be expensive, but a blown partner visa will be more expensive  The key is to be able to show evidence that any time spent apart is temporary in nature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BennyJayKay said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My partner and I are currently in the process of obtaining a Partner Visa. We filed it a few months ago and now I am on a Bridging Visa A. However, I've recently obtained a job in the city and we live with her mother and her partner down further south. It takes an hour + to commute to work. It's just difficult because we own one car between us and she is a University student. Our schedules clash and it's just too expensive for gas and commuting hours to get to work. We are struggling at the moment and we've come to a conclusion of me moving into the city while she stays back as she is continuing to study. It won't be a permanent move, it'll be for 6 months or so because it'll help relieve the stress. It isn't practical for me to be living far away. We will still see each other but won't be living with each other.
> 
> My question is, will it effect our Partner Visa status? Is it possible for me to just move out by myself without any ramifications? We've been in a defacto relationship since 14 June 2013 when I came here on a Work and Holiday visa and registered our relationship. We've been together for nearly 5 years and had visited each other over the years until I made the move here on 14 June 2013.
> 
> By the way, we are living in Brisbane.
> 
> Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anais_r -

Thanks for the note and kind words. Assuming you are applying for the 186 using the transitional pathway (2 yrs on 457), your employer will need to nominate you (if they choose to) and provide typical financial info about their company including evidence they've maintained their training benchmark expenditures during the 2 years you were on the 457. For your part, an IELTS score of at least 5 in each band on a test that was taken no longer than 3 years prior to the 186 application date is important. A month or so before you lodge the 186, you may want to take your health exams (on ImmiAccount page you set up, choose My Health Declarations to generate the referral letters prior to applying). You'll also need fresh police clearances from any country you've spent 12+ months in during the last 10 years, so you could order those a month or so prior to 186 lodging. You can only lodge the 186 nom and application after you have hit the 2 year mark with your employer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Anais_r said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly, appreciate you giving your time away and the opportunity to ask you questions.
> 
> I've been on a 457 for a year + (since May 2013) and would therefore be eligible to apply for a 186 in May 2015. I am keen to apply as soon as eligible and so I thought I'd ask whether there is a way I can be prepared to hit the apply button on the day?
> 
> How long before should my employer apply for their nomination so that it can be there in May? I'll also arrange to do my IELTS again prior however I'm unsure of the best procedure/timeline. Is there anything else I should think of to be ready on D-day?
> 
> Please let me know. Thank you,
> Anais


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shelleymae -

Re: name change, etc, normally not for sponsor. See this page: New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary) visa (subclass 461) and look for the document checklist under the Visa Applicants tab for more details.

For hardcopy (paper) applications, everything needs to be certified unless you generated it yourself (ie, your statements, any letters you have, lists you make, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shelleymae said:


> MarkNortham said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Shelleymae -
> 
> Your answer to 23 sounds good to me! Sc461 is an odd sort of visa - it is in many ways a temporary visa though. Re: departure date, etc, I would put "to be determined" or something like this and add a note if necessary at the end of the application that you have not determined your departure details yet as the date is so far in advance, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam[/QUOTE
> 
> Thanks for that Mark. Just another couple of queries if you would be so kind.
> 
> As the NZ citizen that is supporting my Samoan partner, do I need to provide evidence of name changes? Birth cert, then wedding cert, divorce order - or just birth certificate.
> 
> Is it only legal documents that need to be verified by a JP, or every copy of everything. (example of everything - proof of miscarriage to show that yes we do want children and copies of birthday cards etc...)
> 
> Thanks very much. What a mission!
Click to expand...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Delvydavis -

I would get that in writing from the Jordan Embassy and forward that to the case officer and indicate the Embassy will not provide a PCC and ask whether your wife can submit a statutory declaration re: she has not committed any offences in Jordan in lieu of a Jordan PCC. Might work, might not, but let the case officer direct you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



delvydavis said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a querry
> 
> The Case Officer has asked for Jordan PCCs for me & my wife.
> 
> I was working in Jordan, with my family for two years from 2008 to 2010. She wasn't working there. I have applied Police Clearance Certificates for both of us through Jordan Embassy in India two months ago in May 2014. (So far we haven't received the PCCs). The problem lies here, the Embassy told that they will issue PCC only for the person who worked there; that means PCC only to me, not for my wife. How can I solve this situation with Case Officer? Is this a regular practice for the families who apply for PCC from Arab countries?
> Thanks & Regards
> Delvy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jackie -

Thanks for the question. No particular time limit, however many times for UK citizens they will give you a one year multiple-entry visa by default, with 3-month maximum stays for each entry. key is that for each application, you provide detailed, verifiable info that shows you plan to undertake activities in Australia that are compatible with tourism, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



southwind said:


> Hi Mark, ,we are going to my daughters wedding and would like a 3 month tourist visa, is there a time limit between using that visa and then applying for a years tourist visa at a later date ; the following year ,many thanks , Jackie hunt


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shubhneeraj -

Thanks for the note. Generally the answer is Yes, however all work would need to be done after your skills assessor (ie, skills assessment for 190 visa application) says you skilled. Any work done before this date would not be usable for points for skilled work experience. I would consult with your skills assessor to determine whether specific work you've done will be considered "skilled" or not by them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shubhneeraj said:


> hi mark..
> 
> i am registered nurse in sydney .on 485 visa as i was unable to apply nsw ss. i achievied 55 points. i need to know as i am working as a registered nurse more then 20 hours per week from last 6 months can i claim 5 points for australian work experiance after completing 1 year.
> 
> thanks
> shubhneeraj


----------



## tugger

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tugger -
> 
> Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the marriage breakdown. If there is family violence, she may have a claim to a permanent partner visa depending on the circumstances. If that's not applicable, then potentially a skilled visa, employer sponsored visa or student visa might work depending on her circumstances. Probably best to go through all options with a registered migration agent in a consultation and see what visa(s) may fit. Important to act quickly as once DIBP determines relationship has broken down (she will have a chance to comment first), she will have 28 days to depart Australia.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark, much appreciated!


----------



## usmalik82

*urgent help mark*

Dear Mark

My approved assessment letter suggests that my experience after January 2010 will be considered. Until May 2014, my experience eligible for points is 4 years and 5 months, If i keep doing my job in same organization with same job position and get updated documentation, should i have to apply for assessment again OR should i send the updated documents to DIAC to claim 5 years experience with 10 points, and mark one more thing, if i change job with same job duties, would i need reassessment or not? kindly please answer my two queries...Kindly suggest me


----------



## sulaiman

*Degree attestation for ACS*

Dear Mark,

Greetings!

I have a question regarding ACS assessment. Would be glad if you could respond to the below query.

Before submitting the degree\transcript to ACS for assessment do I need to attest my original degree\transcript from my local 'accredited institution'? Precisely, here in Pakistan, we have an accredited institute named 'Higher Education Commission, Pakistan' which can officially attests degree\transcript, if required. Does ACS have any such requirement for assessment?

Thanks in advance for your response.

regards
sulaiman lalani


----------



## Austyn

Nice! You should of let me treat you to some of the best food here for all the help you've given me. But thank you, all of the information you provided is truly appreciated. Mahalo Nui Loa which means Thank you very much. Aloha!


----------



## Hassali.abdi

*Pressing Question that need help*

*Dear Mark Northam, *

Last year April, I applied for a short stay visa(456) at AHC, Nairobi. I wanted to attend a training in Melbourne, Victoria.
I was given reject, reasons being according to them, that "my bank statement was handled poorly, my international travel was very poor, I have not provided assets back home like title deeds, business fortunes". It was true that I never traveled to any country, and my passport was new and plain in deed.

Q: Will the reject of that visa affects negatively on my 309/100 partner visa? 
A brief reminder (my wife is an Australian, we have been in relationship since 2009,, , we got married in April 2013 in Nariobi,kenya,we have got a baby of 7 months old from our relationship, we lived together for 3 months and my wife went back to Aust)

I request you as an Immi Agent to discuss this in detail as you may have came across a case like this. And feel free to ask me for clarification.

Your support as usual will be valuable.

With Big regards,
Hassan.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmalik82 -

If you are continuing in a job in the same position, same employer that has already been assessed by your skills assessor, DIBP will generally accept a letter from your employer that you have continued in that same job through a a particular date, and you normally would not have to have the extra time at that job assessed. Note that you can only claim time worked up until you are invited to apply for a visa (assuming a skilled visa) for points - any time after invitation is not eligible for points for that invitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmalik82 said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> My approved assessment letter suggests that my experience after January 2010 will be considered. Until May 2014, my experience eligible for points is 4 years and 5 months, If i keep doing my job in same organization with same job position and get updated documentation, should i have to apply for assessment again OR should i send the updated documents to DIAC to claim 5 years experience with 10 points, and mark one more thing, if i change job with same job duties, would i need reassessment or not? kindly please answer my two queries...Kindly suggest me


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sulaiman -

It depends. If ACS accepts that the institution is accredited without the attestment document, then you're fine. However if there's any questions, it probably doesn't hurt to include some sort of attestment document to show that the institution has been accredited by the local college accreditation authority in your country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sulaiman said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Greetings!
> 
> I have a question regarding ACS assessment. Would be glad if you could respond to the below query.
> 
> Before submitting the degree\transcript to ACS for assessment do I need to attest my original degree\transcript from my local 'accredited institution'? Precisely, here in Pakistan, we have an accredited institute named 'Higher Education Commission, Pakistan' which can officially attests degree\transcript, if required. Does ACS have any such requirement for assessment?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your response.
> 
> regards
> sulaiman lalani


----------



## MarkNortham

You're welcome! It was a pleasure seeing your beautiful state and spending time with the friendly people there. I'll look you up next time I'm there!

Best,

Mark



Austyn said:


> Nice! You should of let me treat you to some of the best food here for all the help you've given me. But thank you, all of the information you provided is truly appreciated. Mahalo Nui Loa which means Thank you very much. Aloha!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hassan -

Thanks for the question. Normally a previous refusal on "genuine visitor" grounds or something like that would not affect a partner visa lodged later. However if the previous refusal was based on PIC4020 grounds (inaccurate info or bogus documents) it could prevent you from lodging a partner visa for 3 years after the refusal. If the visa was refused on PIC4020 grounds, it would state this clearly in the decision record for the refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hassali.abdi said:


> *Pressing Question that need help*
> 
> *Dear Mark Northam, *
> 
> Last year April, I applied for a short stay visa(456) at AHC, Nairobi. I wanted to attend a training in Melbourne, Victoria.
> I was given reject, reasons being according to them, that "my bank statement was handled poorly, my international travel was very poor, I have not provided assets back home like title deeds, business fortunes". It was true that I never traveled to any country, and my passport was new and plain in deed.
> 
> Q: Will the reject of that visa affects negatively on my 309/100 partner visa?
> A brief reminder (my wife is an Australian, we have been in relationship since 2009,, , we got married in April 2013 in Nariobi,kenya,we have got a baby of 7 months old from our relationship, we lived together for 3 months and my wife went back to Aust)
> 
> I request you as an Immi Agent to discuss this in detail as you may have came across a case like this. And feel free to ask me for clarification.
> 
> Your support as usual will be valuable.
> 
> With Big regards,
> Hassan.


----------



## sony

HI Mark

I am on 487 visa. my visa granted in may 2013. I started full time job in regional before grant of visa in April 2012. I got hurt at work in July 2013. I am still on work-cover and not seen myself getting better. I am getting paid as full time employee. I want to know
- have i completed 1 year full time work requirement for 887 visa.
- when can i apply 887 or Not

Please
reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sony -

Thanks for the question. This would require some legal research by a migration agent or immigration lawyer to come to a specific answer on. The policy regarding full time work for the 887 visa focuses on the number of hours of work employed each week, rather than whatever financial pay was received. Work, for migration purposes, is defined in the Migration Regulations as: "an activity that, in Australia, normally attracts remuneration" again focusing on the physical act of working.

The next step may be to research MRT and Federal Circuit Court cases to see if someone has previously made the argument that time spent paid as a full time employee, but recovering from an injury and under Work Cover, has been deemed to be employment for purposes of the 887 or some other skilled visa. The subject is not addressed directly by the regulations or policy, so if DIBP took the position that the time during the injury recovery was not employment for purposes of the 887 visa, the best way to fight that may be to quote previous cases at the MRT and FCC where a decision was made that this type of time should be included with employment.

Either way, time working before you were awarded the visa does not count towards the 1 year work requirement under the 887.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sony said:


> HI Mark
> 
> I am on 487 visa. my visa granted in may 2013. I started full time job in regional before grant of visa in April 2012. I got hurt at work in July 2013. I am still on work-cover and not seen myself getting better. I am getting paid as full time employee. I want to know
> - have i completed 1 year full time work requirement for 887 visa.
> - when can i apply 887 or Not
> 
> Please
> reply


----------



## sony

--is there any Memorandum of understanding between workcover and DIBP.
--is there no PAM or other literature


----------



## masudparves

Hi Mark,
This is Masud and i am holding 457 visa,I read your lots of your post through this forum and i found you are so helpful,honestly that's why i need some information if you can help me -
My boss is approved for sbs for 457 visa which will expire on december 2014 (3 year from 2011-2014) but i can apply for my 186 transition stream on february 2015 after completing my two years with same employer.
My question is My employer has to renew his Standard Business Sponsorship for my 186 visa ? please note that he does not want to sponsor to anybody after me so does his business need to renew SBS for 186 ?
Please Help me.
Kind Regards
Masud


----------



## luckyduck12

*Tourist visa 600 while waiting for 143 processing*

Hi Mark,

Can my parents apply and be granted tourist visa 600 to visit me briefly while waiting for parent visa 143 to be processed? The 143 processing time is over a year and they really want to come over for a month or so.

I heard somewhere that they cannot apply for tourist visa while 143 is processing but don't see why not.
Can you share some advice here?

Thanks a lot Mark..


----------



## usmalik82

hi mark, i need to know this thing, its really urgent, got 4 years 5 months experienced assessed by ACS...now i want to have 5 years experience so i can get 10 points, i have two options a) whether to do same job and update new experience letter and send to DIBP AND/OR b) i have a offer of good job with same job duties in other company with good salary...IF I start working in other company with same job duties...WILL i need new Assessment for this new job with same job duties OR should i send updated work experience letter before applying EOI? please suggest me what to do? i need to make decision in 1 day..please help mark..hope u got my point....Will DIBP accept my new job work experience letter and grant me 10 points or i need new assessment?


----------



## Snow

Hi Mark

I'm currently in Australia for a month on an evisitor visa while my off-shore partner visa processes. I took unwell and had to get a medicare card to see the doctor. Since I'm from the UK I got the card easily and it only lasts three months, expiring alongside my evisitor. 

Will this negatively impact my application for the partner visa in any way? Do I need to change/notify DIAC of what happened?

Thank you!


----------



## aussie11

*How to disclose company closure?*

Hi Mark,

I have a query regarding previous company closure for which I am claiming points. ACS has already approved that experience. Moreover, I have appointment letter, experience letter, recommendation letter, salary slips and bank statement from that company. Also, I can provide contact details of my ex-line manager and HR manager for any verification.

Should I need to inform NSW and DIBP when filing respective applications about company closure? If yes then what will be the formal process and required documentation?

Please guide.

Thanks,
Athar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmalik -

Work experience required from all work you are claiming points for. If you do not get it assessed, you will need to convince DIBP that it is relevant for your occupation. If they object, generally it is possible to have it assessed while your visa application is being processed and DIBP will usually honour the results of the assessor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmalik82 said:


> Thanks Mark for your kind help, you should try to open one office in pakistan, you will alot alot of clients here. Consultants working here don't have the right authentic information. Lastly I thing i want to ask you is this, if i change job with same job duties, another reassessment is required OR work experience letter would be enough for DIBP for grant points for work experience...kindly suggest.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sony -

Not that I could locate on an initial look.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sony said:


> --is there any Memorandum of understanding between workcover and DIBP.
> --is there no PAM or other literature


----------



## Hassali.abdi

*456 refusal*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hassan -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Normally a previous refusal on "genuine visitor" grounds or something like that would not affect a partner visa lodged later. However if the previous refusal was based on PIC4020 grounds (inaccurate info or bogus documents) it could prevent you from lodging a partner visa for 3 years after the refusal. If the visa was refused on PIC4020 grounds, it would state this clearly in the decision record for the refusal.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

Thanks for the gentleness.

My visit was a genuine according to me, but they refusal was based on certain factors as I mentioned in the previous post.
Kindly see a Quote from the refusal letter *"Lodging another application: 
You can make a new application at any time but before doing so, you should carefully consider that 
the decision is unlikely to be different if the application does not contain any new information. This 
includes changes to your personal and economic circumstances and any international travel. 
Therefore, care should be taken to provide all material to support your application suggested in the 
checklist which has been designed to assist people to prepare their applications. *"

In my current partner application, I included all the refused visa information, like the date applied, refused, File number, and reasons for refusal according to them".

Thanks for help Mark, I appreciate.
Hassan


----------



## Hassali.abdi

Another visitor visa:

Mark, I have applied the partner visa and submitted the Police Clearnce with the application. But medical not requested yet, as in Kenya we don't do it on our own, but wait instruction from the CO at AHC.

I have never seen my daughter as she was born in Australia, except through skype, and my wife for the last 14 months. 

Considering that I have not even submitted medicals, and being from a high risk country, 
Q1: Can I apply visitor visa to see my family while waiting for the partner visa, if yes when can I apply, after medical or before even is okey?
Q2: If it is okey and granted the visitor visa and medical is requested while I am in Australia, can medical be done there in Australia?


Appreciating for support Mark,
Hassan


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark,

Hope you can help me again with this inquiry.

I am done with my Statutory Declaration and my partner as well. We typed ours and his in word document separately. After we sign, do we need to have it certified? Is there any format to follow? 


Thank you in advance,
Cheers 
Ninja69


----------



## dee.itsalright

*partner visa + MRT*

Dear Mark,

First of all thank you so much for doing this.

So, last January my 2nd year WHV was about to expire and 
the migration agent I had at the time suggested me to apply for a turist visa, which I got refused and I had then to lodge a review at MTR to keep staying in the country. 
Huge mistake of mine to follow such a bad advice. However, I am now on a bridging visa from RMT since the 20th of Feb 2014 and me and my australian partner have all the documents, certificates and forms ready to lodge a 820 partner visa. 
We have good evidences of our genuine relationship, joint travels, bank account, 888 forms from family an friends etc for more than a year long. Everything has been also certified.

My concerns, though, are:

1. Is it true that I will have to lodge the partner visa application offshore? 
2. Will MRT get in the way and make things harder for the success of our application? 
3. And how much will a marriage certificate help?

We are both really in love and have talked about marriage already. We will rather to take our time and get married next year, but if it will help us to save a lot of stress and let us live as a normal couple we then are ready to do it now. 
I hate being apart from him. It aready happened and I didnt last longer than 3 weeks. Thats why I wish you might have some advices about how to lodge the application from inside Australia..

Hope this all makes sense.

Thank you.
Diddi.


----------



## larikin

Hi Mark,

This is a fantastic resource for those of us trying to put these applications together. Thank you!

My question relates to the evidence needed around the defacto/12 months of living together requirement. My partner and I have lived together for about 14 months, however he is not on the rental agreement because we live in a sharehouse and changing the details was going to be a real headache. I was wondering if you have suggestions about what other evidence we might be able to use, as i've heard the grounds around this requirement are very strict.

We have some joint bills and a joint bank account and my family (who are in the Australian defence force/police force) have visited us together in our shared home and are writing stat decs. 

Any other suggestions/assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards,
Larissa


----------



## sulaiman

thank you Mark!

May you always be blessed!

sulaiman


----------



## usmalik82

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Usmalik -
> 
> Work experience required from all work you are claiming points for. If you do not get it assessed, you will need to convince DIBP that it is relevant for your occupation. If they object, generally it is possible to have it assessed while your visa application is being processed and DIBP will usually honour the results of the assessor.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


You are a great help mark, don't know how I should thank you....May God bless you forever...and keep you healthy and wealthy always.


----------



## SMF

Dear Mark ...
I have two questions :
1. I want to apply as a skilled worker. If I am given an invitation after doing EOI , so will that mean i am eligible for class 190 or Should I use sub class 189 instead.

Further if going for skills assesment the PASA form says "_Original certified copy of your IELTS Test Report Form (TRF) or 'TRF Number', to show that you have achieved the appropriate band score _ So if I want to tell them my TRF number there is no box where I can state that, so should I write it down on a separate piece of paper and enclose it with my application. I have copy of my IELTS as well but I don't know from where to certify that copy (me being from Pakistan) so Iam going for TRF number option ... Kindly guide

Many thanks for your time and support Mate !!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Masudparves -

Short answer is: probably not, however this is a complicated area of the law, and would need to examine the entire case to give you a specific answer. Happy to do so in a consultation, see link in website below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



masudparves said:


> Hi Mark,
> This is Masud and i am holding 457 visa,I read your lots of your post through this forum and i found you are so helpful,honestly that's why i need some information if you can help me -
> My boss is approved for sbs for 457 visa which will expire on december 2014 (3 year from 2011-2014) but i can apply for my 186 transition stream on february 2015 after completing my two years with same employer.
> My question is My employer has to renew his Standard Business Sponsorship for my 186 visa ? please note that he does not want to sponsor to anybody after me so does his business need to renew SBS for 186 ?
> Please Help me.
> Kind Regards
> Masud


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck12 -

Yes, no restrictions on that, however they will be assessed against the usual visitor visa criteria. They may want to advise the person processing the visitor visa app that they have applied for the 143 visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can my parents apply and be granted tourist visa 600 to visit me briefly while waiting for parent visa 143 to be processed? The 143 processing time is over a year and they really want to come over for a month or so.
> 
> I heard somewhere that they cannot apply for tourist visa while 143 is processing but don't see why not.
> Can you share some advice here?
> 
> Thanks a lot Mark..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snow -

Sorry to hear of your illness - hope you're feeling better! Should not negatively affect your visa application from what I can see.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Snow said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I'm currently in Australia for a month on an evisitor visa while my off-shore partner visa processes. I took unwell and had to get a medicare card to see the doctor. Since I'm from the UK I got the card easily and it only lasts three months, expiring alongside my evisitor.
> 
> Will this negatively impact my application for the partner visa in any way? Do I need to change/notify DIAC of what happened?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussie11 -

I'd probably include a letter (upload with your work experience docs) to advise them that the company has closed, and list any contact info for former managers, etc they can contact if they wish to.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussie11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a query regarding previous company closure for which I am claiming points. ACS has already approved that experience. Moreover, I have appointment letter, experience letter, recommendation letter, salary slips and bank statement from that company. Also, I can provide contact details of my ex-line manager and HR manager for any verification.
> 
> Should I need to inform NSW and DIBP when filing respective applications about company closure? If yes then what will be the formal process and required documentation?
> 
> Please guide.
> 
> Thanks,
> Athar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hassali.abdj -

This part of the letter doesn't describe the specific reasons for the refusal. You'd have to check that part of the decision record to see why the refusal was given - if for genuine visitor grounds, then there should be no effect on the partner visa. If it was on PIC4020 grounds, then it could effect the partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hassali.abdi said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the gentleness.
> 
> My visit was a genuine according to me, but they refusal was based on certain factors as I mentioned in the previous post.
> Kindly see a Quote from the refusal letter *"Lodging another application:
> You can make a new application at any time but before doing so, you should carefully consider that
> the decision is unlikely to be different if the application does not contain any new information. This
> includes changes to your personal and economic circumstances and any international travel.
> Therefore, care should be taken to provide all material to support your application suggested in the
> checklist which has been designed to assist people to prepare their applications. *"
> 
> In my current partner application, I included all the refused visa information, like the date applied, refused, File number, and reasons for refusal according to them".
> 
> Thanks for help Mark, I appreciate.
> Hassan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hassali.abdj -

Yes to both questions!

Best,

Mark Northam



Hassali.abdi said:


> Another visitor visa:
> 
> Mark, I have applied the partner visa and submitted the Police Clearnce with the application. But medical not requested yet, as in Kenya we don't do it on our own, but wait instruction from the CO at AHC.
> 
> I have never seen my daughter as she was born in Australia, except through skype, and my wife for the last 14 months.
> 
> Considering that I have not even submitted medicals, and being from a high risk country,
> Q1: Can I apply visitor visa to see my family while waiting for the partner visa, if yes when can I apply, after medical or before even is okey?
> Q2: If it is okey and granted the visitor visa and medical is requested while I am in Australia, can medical be done there in Australia?
> 
> Appreciating for support Mark,
> Hassan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

No need to have applicant and sponsor statements certified - just signature of the person who wrote it is fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you can help me again with this inquiry.
> 
> I am done with my Statutory Declaration and my partner as well. We typed ours and his in word document separately. After we sign, do we need to have it certified? Is there any format to follow?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Cheers
> Ninja69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Diddi -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the issues. I agree, visitor visa after 2nd WHV has very little chance of success, especially while the applicant is still in Australia when lodging that.

The good news is that despite the onshore refusal, you are not barred from lodging an onshore partner visa. The bad news is that you will be affected by Schedule 3 requirements which were recently significantly tightened by DIBP on 1 July. Simply put, what used to be a fairly straightforward waiver request has now turned into a major project with serious risk of refusal, which would require you to depart Australia and lodge your partner visa offshore if the onshore application is refused due to Schedule 3 requirements.

Re: defacto vs marriage, could only determine that by looking at all your evidence in a consultation. In many cases, married couples will have a better chance than defacto, but this all comes down to the particular situation. The big problem now is Schedule 3 if you decide to lodge onshore.

Suggest you lodge the Schedule 3 waiver request along with the partner visa application, and suggest you get professional help to do so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dee.itsalright said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> First of all thank you so much for doing this.
> 
> So, last January my 2nd year WHV was about to expire and
> the migration agent I had at the time suggested me to apply for a turist visa, which I got refused and I had then to lodge a review at MTR to keep staying in the country.
> Huge mistake of mine to follow such a bad advice. However, I am now on a bridging visa from RMT since the 20th of Feb 2014 and me and my australian partner have all the documents, certificates and forms ready to lodge a 820 partner visa.
> We have good evidences of our genuine relationship, joint travels, bank account, 888 forms from family an friends etc for more than a year long. Everything has been also certified.
> 
> My concerns, though, are:
> 
> 1. Is it true that I will have to lodge the partner visa application offshore?
> 2. Will MRT get in the way and make things harder for the success of our application?
> 3. And how much will a marriage certificate help?
> 
> We are both really in love and have talked about marriage already. We will rather to take our time and get married next year, but if it will help us to save a lot of stress and let us live as a normal couple we then are ready to do it now.
> I hate being apart from him. It aready happened and I didnt last longer than 3 weeks. Thats why I wish you might have some advices about how to lodge the application from inside Australia..
> 
> Hope this all makes sense.
> 
> Thank you.
> Diddi.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Larissa -

Having an onshore partner visa refusal would be a bigger headache I predict!

Especially if you're planning on lodging the application by yourself, suggest you look at some of the threads on this forum about relationship evidence - there are hundreds of posts from people who have had successful partner visa applications (both defacto and via marriage) who talk about the evidence they used.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



larikin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This is a fantastic resource for those of us trying to put these applications together. Thank you!
> 
> My question relates to the evidence needed around the defacto/12 months of living together requirement. My partner and I have lived together for about 14 months, however he is not on the rental agreement because we live in a sharehouse and changing the details was going to be a real headache. I was wondering if you have suggestions about what other evidence we might be able to use, as i've heard the grounds around this requirement are very strict.
> 
> We have some joint bills and a joint bank account and my family (who are in the Australian defence force/police force) have visited us together in our shared home and are writing stat decs.
> 
> Any other suggestions/assistance would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Larissa


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks for the wonderful words, Usmalik82!

Best,

Mark



usmalik82 said:


> You are a great help mark, don't know how I should thank you....May God bless you forever...and keep you healthy and wealthy always.


----------



## aussie11

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Aussie11 -
> 
> I'd probably include a letter (upload with your work experience docs) to advise them that the company has closed, and list any contact info for former managers, etc they can contact if they wish to.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Marks for the kind suggestion. You are always very helpful.

Should I provide that cover letter to both NSW and DIBP OR only DIBP?

Would you please advise if following cover letter would be sufficient. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Subject*: Cover letter to explain about a previous employer/company closure and provide contact details.

*Dear Sir/Madam,*

This cover letter is to notify that one of my previous employers ABC Pvt. Ltd. had been shutdown in March 2010. I was an employee of ABC Pvt. Ltd. from Sep 10th, 2008 to Feb 4th, 2010 in the role of Business Analyst. Enclosed herewith are my employment experience letter, appointment letter, salary slips and last few months bank statement that shows salaries transfer from ABC Pvt. Ltd to my bank account.

Below are the reference and contact details of my reporting/line manager (Mr. ABC) and HR manager (Ms. XYZ) in ABC Pvt. Ltd. who can be contacted for any further details. Additionally, their business cards are attached with this letter.

Mr. ABC
Designation: 
Company: 
Location: 
Mobile: + XX XXX XXXXXX
Email: [email protected]

Ms. XYZ
Designation: 
Company: 
Location: 
Mobile: + XX XXX XXXXXX
Email: [email protected]

Sincerely,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMF -

Determination of 189 (independent skilled visa) or 190 (state sponsored skilled visa) is usually based on whether your occupation is on the SOL list (189) or CSOL list (190 or 489).

Re: skills assessment, important to carefully read the requirements. From what you wrote, I am concerned you may not have the most up to date information from TRA - makes sure you've checked you are using the correct TRA program for your visa type, country of origin and occupation.

Re: sending IELTS, probably best to send a colour scan or certified copy of your IELTS test report form (results), but consult the TRA rules for specifics in your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMF said:


> Dear Mark ...
> I have two questions :
> 1. I want to apply as a skilled worker. If I am given an invitation after doing EOI , so will that mean i am eligible for class 190 or Should I use sub class 189 instead.
> 
> Further if going for skills assesment the PASA form says "_Original certified copy of your IELTS Test Report Form (TRF) or 'TRF Number', to show that you have achieved the appropriate band score _ So if I want to tell them my TRF number there is no box where I can state that, so should I write it down on a separate piece of paper and enclose it with my application. I have copy of my IELTS as well but I don't know from where to certify that copy (me being from Pakistan) so Iam going for TRF number option ... Kindly guide
> 
> Many thanks for your time and support Mate !!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Athar -

Looks good to me! I'd provide to both NSW and DIBP, assuming you are seeking NSW state sponsorship, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



aussie11 said:


> Thanks Marks for the kind suggestion. You are always very helpful.
> 
> Should I provide that cover letter to both NSW and DIBP OR only DIBP?
> 
> Would you please advise if following cover letter would be sufficient.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *Subject*: Cover letter to explain about a previous employer/company closure and provide contact details.
> 
> *Dear Sir/Madam,*
> 
> This cover letter is to notify that one of my previous employers ABC Pvt. Ltd. had been shutdown in March 2010. I was an employee of ABC Pvt. Ltd. from Sep 10th, 2008 to Feb 4th, 2010 in the role of Business Analyst. Enclosed herewith are my employment experience letter, appointment letter, salary slips and last few months bank statement that shows salaries transfer from ABC Pvt. Ltd to my bank account.
> 
> Below are the reference and contact details of my reporting/line manager (Mr. ABC) and HR manager (Ms. XYZ) in ABC Pvt. Ltd. who can be contacted for any further details. Additionally, their business cards are attached with this letter.
> 
> Mr. ABC
> Designation:
> Company:
> Location:
> Mobile: + XX XXX XXXXXX
> Email: [email protected]
> 
> Ms. XYZ
> Designation:
> Company:
> Location:
> Mobile: + XX XXX XXXXXX
> Email: [email protected]
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Athar Abbas


----------



## aussie11

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Athar -
> 
> Looks good to me! I'd provide to both NSW and DIBP, assuming you are seeking NSW state sponsorship, etc.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Yes I am looking for NSW state sponsorship so I would submit for both as you suggested.

Thanks Champ once again. (Y)


----------



## Anais_r

Lovely, thanks so much Mark - really helps, much appreciated!

Enjoy the rest of your day,
Cheers.
Anais



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Anais_r -
> 
> Thanks for the note and kind words. Assuming you are applying for the 186 using the transitional pathway (2 yrs on 457), your employer will need to nominate you (if they choose to) and provide typical financial info about their company including evidence they've maintained their training benchmark expenditures during the 2 years you were on the 457. For your part, an IELTS score of at least 5 in each band on a test that was taken no longer than 3 years prior to the 186 application date is important. A month or so before you lodge the 186, you may want to take your health exams (on ImmiAccount page you set up, choose My Health Declarations to generate the referral letters prior to applying). You'll also need fresh police clearances from any country you've spent 12+ months in during the last 10 years, so you could order those a month or so prior to 186 lodging. You can only lodge the 186 nom and application after you have hit the 2 year mark with your employer.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## sharyny

hi mark, we applied for the visa 309/100 - offshore in the US for my husband, the rest of us are aussies - we've been waiting a month so far and were just wondering if we could use a ETA to travel to australia so that my husband can help me with our 2 kids in getting there while his application is being processed. i know he would have to leave the country every 3 months and say go to new zealand or somewhere off shore for a week or so then come back to australia (rinse and repeat) ... is this looked upon negatively by immigration? i only ask is because my mother has been battling cancer for a few months now and she's in desperate need of support emotionally and physically (she lives on her own) ... and once his visa is granted (being positive here) is it enough for him to just go to new zealand while they stamp his passport etc and he gets his passport back from them? (is that something they do? they need his passport to put the visa in?) or does he have to go back to country of origin where he lodged his appllication ?
we're just thinking thru our options here... and need to know what we have to work with.

thanks in advance, and i hope i dont sound too confusing.


----------



## Sunny_Girl

*Further documents required 457 Nomination*

Hi Mark!

We're finally getting somewhere with our 457 Visa.

The company has been asked to provide further information regarding the Nomination. They have also been assigned a Case Officer which I assume is a good sign and may speed things up slightly.

I just wanted to clarify the information that Immigration need. They have asked for: 1. Position Description 2. Signed Employment Contract 3. Evidence of terms and conditions

They already submitted most of the above. The Position Description already submitted included Statement of the Job and duties. What other information might they require?

A contract was also submitted. However it was not signed by both parties which shall be amended now. Should it include hours worked, salary, etc? Anything else that I am forgetting?

Finally the Evidence of terms and conditions - what exactly does this entail?
Would it be salary, hours, overtime, notice period, confidentiality agreement, general policies and procedures? Is this a general overall document relating to the whole company (including Australian employees at the company)?

The case officer also attached a checklist which I must say was very helpful! Under the description of Evidence of terms and conditions it states that the above are no less favourable than those for an Australian citizen performing equivalent work at the same company. Could you let me know how you would include that?

And one final question - what is the current market salary rate?

I apologise for all these questions!!!! It seems to be a never ending process with the 457 visa. It's going on nearly 3 months now


----------



## Ninja69

Thank you Mark for your time and effort in answering all our inquiries ! You are heaven sent, May God bless you more 😃


----------



## ozlandozland

*Visa and missed entry date*

Hi Mark

My son renewed his subclass155 RRV in Aug 2013 and the last date to enter is Aug 5, 2015.

As he has been studying in the UK for his undergrad, he missed the date of Aug 5, 2015. He has to go back to UK to do his masters in Sept 2014. As such, there would not be enough time for him to make a trip to Australia as his passport is currently with the UK border agency for process of his student visa and we do not expect it back till maybe mid Aug. By which time he would need to be in UK to prepare for his new term starting early Sept 2014.

Please advise if we need to re-apply for this visa again.
regards


----------



## CollegeGirl

ozlandozland said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My son renewed his subclass155 RRV in Aug 2013 and the last date to enter is Aug 5, 2015.
> 
> As he has been studying in the UK for his undergrad, he missed the date of Aug 5, 2015. He has to go back to UK to do his masters in Sept 2014. As such, there would not be enough time for him to make a trip to Australia as his passport is currently with the UK border agency for process of his student visa and we do not expect it back till maybe mid Aug. By which time he would need to be in UK to prepare for his new term starting early Sept 2014.
> 
> Please advise if we need to re-apply for this visa again.
> regards


Do you mean 2014 in both instances above rather than 2015? Just clarifying.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozlandozland -

I'm guessing you mean 2014 as CG asked. When the must enter date is breached, eventually the visa will be cancelled. If you can enter to activate the visa (even if you leave the next day), and can do so within a short period after the original deadline, you can lodge an appeal with the processing office that processed and granted the 155 visa to request that they not cancel the visa and allow you to enter by the date you request. Generally there a period of anywhere from 2-12 weeks that may work for this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozlandozland said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My son renewed his subclass155 RRV in Aug 2013 and the last date to enter is Aug 5, 2015.
> 
> As he has been studying in the UK for his undergrad, he missed the date of Aug 5, 2015. He has to go back to UK to do his masters in Sept 2014. As such, there would not be enough time for him to make a trip to Australia as his passport is currently with the UK border agency for process of his student visa and we do not expect it back till maybe mid Aug. By which time he would need to be in UK to prepare for his new term starting early Sept 2014.
> 
> Please advise if we need to re-apply for this visa again.
> regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunny_Girl -

Thanks for the note. Not possible for me to assess your employment contract or other documents/info via the forum - what you're being asked to do is a large part of what a migration agent would do, especially things like determining market rate salary for the position/location where now they are often requiring submissions to show how any external info submitted to establish this (ie, job ads, etc) directly relate to the nominated position. There's just too much law & policy in this area, would take hours to try explain by email/forum. If you wanted to book a consultation (see website link below) and send over all of your documents in advance, we could go through them and I could see if I could spot any potential issues and answer your questions re: 457 law & policy.

Wish 457's were simple, but thanks to the changes last year, quick answers on 457 questions are not what they used to be!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sunny_Girl said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> We're finally getting somewhere with our 457 Visa.
> 
> The company has been asked to provide further information regarding the Nomination. They have also been assigned a Case Officer which I assume is a good sign and may speed things up slightly.
> 
> I just wanted to clarify the information that Immigration need. They have asked for: 1. Position Description 2. Signed Employment Contract 3. Evidence of terms and conditions
> 
> They already submitted most of the above. The Position Description already submitted included Statement of the Job and duties. What other information might they require?
> 
> A contract was also submitted. However it was not signed by both parties which shall be amended now. Should it include hours worked, salary, etc? Anything else that I am forgetting?
> 
> Finally the Evidence of terms and conditions - what exactly does this entail?
> Would it be salary, hours, overtime, notice period, confidentiality agreement, general policies and procedures? Is this a general overall document relating to the whole company (including Australian employees at the company)?
> 
> The case officer also attached a checklist which I must say was very helpful! Under the description of Evidence of terms and conditions it states that the above are no less favourable than those for an Australian citizen performing equivalent work at the same company. Could you let me know how you would include that?
> 
> And one final question - what is the current market salary rate?
> 
> I apologise for all these questions!!!! It seems to be a never ending process with the 457 visa. It's going on nearly 3 months now


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sharyny -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about your mother. Yes, ETA use as you've proposed is fine - however I'd probably spend at least 1 full day outside Australia (or a weekend, etc) between stays.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sharyny said:


> hi mark, we applied for the visa 309/100 - offshore in the US for my husband, the rest of us are aussies - we've been waiting a month so far and were just wondering if we could use a ETA to travel to australia so that my husband can help me with our 2 kids in getting there while his application is being processed. i know he would have to leave the country every 3 months and say go to new zealand or somewhere off shore for a week or so then come back to australia (rinse and repeat) ... is this looked upon negatively by immigration? i only ask is because my mother has been battling cancer for a few months now and she's in desperate need of support emotionally and physically (she lives on her own) ... and once his visa is granted (being positive here) is it enough for him to just go to new zealand while they stamp his passport etc and he gets his passport back from them? (is that something they do? they need his passport to put the visa in?) or does he have to go back to country of origin where he lodged his appllication ?
> we're just thinking thru our options here... and need to know what we have to work with.
> 
> thanks in advance, and i hope i dont sound too confusing.


----------



## SMF

*Perplexed*

Dear Mark

Many thanks for your reply. I really appreciate your efforts in helping us. 
I am very much confused now as to which category should I mention when filling my EOI. My occupation is Accountant (General) which is both in SOL and CSOL.

Let me brief you, I am a banker working in Pakistan who has around 5 years relevant work experience with IELTS band of 7. I will be given a Bachelors equivalent by the relevant assesing authority. That is all that I have ...

Now I don't know which category am I eligible ... I know for sure I am eligible for Visa 189 but am I also eligible for Visa 190. Kindly guide brother ...
If I am eligible for both, kindly guide, in your opinion which is more preferable and likely to result in issuance of Visa ...

Bestest Regards
SMF



MarkNortham said:


> Hi SMF -
> 
> Determination of 189 (independent skilled visa) or 190 (state sponsored skilled visa) is usually based on whether your occupation is on the SOL list (189) or CSOL list (190 or 489).
> 
> Re: skills assessment, important to carefully read the requirements. From what you wrote, I am concerned you may not have the most up to date information from TRA - makes sure you've checked you are using the correct TRA program for your visa type, country of origin and occupation.
> 
> Re: sending IELTS, probably best to send a colour scan or certified copy of your IELTS test report form (results), but consult the TRA rules for specifics in your case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## usmalik82

*Urgent mark*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Usmalik82 -
> 
> If you are continuing in a job in the same position, same employer that has already been assessed by your skills assessor, DIBP will generally accept a letter from your employer that you have continued in that same job through a a particular date, and you normally would not have to have the extra time at that job assessed. Note that you can only claim time worked up until you are invited to apply for a visa (assuming a skilled visa) for points - any time after invitation is not eligible for points for that invitation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

Sorry to bother you again but this is kind really important for me..Before I sent u the message, I sent an email to ACS regarding this issue that if i continue the job with same employer and when my 5 years get complete...should i apply for new assessment OR just have to send DIBP updated reference letter to get 10 points for work experience... this is their reply

" If you wish to have more experience assessed you will need to lodge a review (within 60 days of receiving your result letter) or if outside the 60 days a new application and an updated reference letter."

They are saying that I would require new assessment when my 5 years complete in the current organization...They have assessed my 4 years and 5 months work experience, they are saying in order to get more experience assessed I need NEW assessment...So Mark, you still suggest no NEW assessment is required and I just send updated reference letter to DIBP...please mark let me know for last time..sorry to bother you!

Same question is given on ACS website on faqs page:

I had 3 years and 6 months experience at the time of application, but now I have over 4 years in total. Can I lodge a Review application?

No. You should not apply for a Review of your assessment, because work experience can only be considered up to the date of initial application received. What you should do in this instance is to apply for a new assessment application with a current employer reference.

This is exactly my case mark, kindly suggest because you deal many cases and you have hands on experience...you yesterday told me I dont need new assessment, you still think the same or OTHERWISE? Pls let me know.


----------



## SBRN01

Hello Mr. Mark

Really excited to write my first post at this forum. I am very new here.
I need to ask my chances of getting +ve assessment for 2211111-Accountant General
My credentials are:
Bachelor of Commerce (2 yrs)
MBA (2 yrs)
Work as Assistant Accountant from Mar 2003 to Mar 2011
Working as Accountant from April 2011 till date.

Performed almost same duties at both designations.

My second question is from where to get assessment CPA/IPA?

I will be very thankful for your kind help.

SBRN


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMF -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMF said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Many thanks for your reply. I really appreciate your efforts in helping us.
> I am very much confused now as to which category should I mention when filling my EOI. My occupation is Accountant (General) which is both in SOL and CSOL.
> 
> Let me brief you, I am a banker working in Pakistan who has around 5 years relevant work experience with IELTS band of 7. I will be given a Bachelors equivalent by the relevant assesing authority. That is all that I have ...
> 
> Now I don't know which category am I eligible ... I know for sure I am eligible for Visa 189 but am I also eligible for Visa 190. Kindly guide brother ...
> If I am eligible for both, kindly guide, in your opinion which is more preferable and likely to result in issuance of Visa ...
> 
> Bestest Regards
> SMF


----------



## pabloM

*820 Visa*

Hi Mark.
I am hoping you can advise the best course of action for me and my girlfriend.
I am Irish but an Australian Permanent Resident (almost 2 years) working in Sydney. My girlfriend, who is Mexican, has just completed her Masters here and her (573) student visa is about to be cancelled by the university, thus cancelling her COE and giving her 28 days to leave the country. 
She is going to apply for a Visitor visa so she can stay and attend her graduation in late October. 
We have a trip booked to fly to Ireland in October for 3 weeks and then return to Sydney. 
We have been together for 7 months, but we have not been living together and do not share financials etc. We have registered our relationship with the NSW registry office about a month ago. 
Would it be too early to apply for a partner migrant visa? Also, if we apply after she is on a visitor visa, would she be able to work on a bridging visa? 
Would being legally married aid our situation as it is something we have discussed as our main concern is to not be separated.

Many thanks
Paul


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmalik82 -

I've seen plenty of cases where an extension letter from an employer for continuing in same job/same employer as assessed previously works fine for DIBP. If you are unsure, however, you may want to apply for assessment by ACS. This is not a black & white issue since it will come down to the requests of the case officer as to any work that falls outside the assessment of the ACS report. I haven't seen your documents, your work ref letters, or anything, so very difficult to give you any specific advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmalik82 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Sorry to bother you again but this is kind really important for me..Before I sent u the message, I sent an email to ACS regarding this issue that if i continue the job with same employer and when my 5 years get complete...should i apply for new assessment OR just have to send DIBP updated reference letter to get 10 points for work experience... this is their reply
> 
> " If you wish to have more experience assessed you will need to lodge a review (within 60 days of receiving your result letter) or if outside the 60 days a new application and an updated reference letter."
> 
> They are saying that I would require new assessment when my 5 years complete in the current organization...They have assessed my 4 years and 5 months work experience, they are saying in order to get more experience assessed I need NEW assessment...So Mark, you still suggest no NEW assessment is required and I just send updated reference letter to DIBP...please mark let me know for last time..sorry to bother you!
> 
> Same question is given on ACS website on faqs page:
> 
> I had 3 years and 6 months experience at the time of application, but now I have over 4 years in total. Can I lodge a Review application?
> 
> No. You should not apply for a Review of your assessment, because work experience can only be considered up to the date of initial application received. What you should do in this instance is to apply for a new assessment application with a current employer reference.
> 
> This is exactly my case mark, kindly suggest because you deal many cases and you have hands on experience...you yesterday told me I dont need new assessment, you still think the same or OTHERWISE? Pls let me know.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SBRN -

Thanks for the questions and welcome to the forum!

RE: assessor, either CPA or IPA is accepted, some people I've heard feel IPA may be a little easier to get through, but lots of people are very happy with CPA too.

Re: your experience and education, the assessor will go through that carefully re: education and analyse the units you took vs Australian standards, then tell you if you need to take any further education units to be up to standard - that will make a big difference in how the rest of your assessment is handled.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SBRN01 said:


> Hello Mr. Mark
> 
> Really excited to write my first post at this forum. I am very new here.
> I need to ask my chances of getting +ve assessment for 2211111-Accountant General
> My credentials are:
> Bachelor of Commerce (2 yrs)
> MBA (2 yrs)
> Work as Assistant Accountant from Mar 2003 to Mar 2011
> Working as Accountant from April 2011 till date.
> 
> Performed almost same duties at both designations.
> 
> My second question is from where to get assessment CPA/IPA?
> 
> I will be very thankful for your kind help.
> 
> SBRN


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Paul -

Thanks for the note. With no shared financials and no living together, it may be difficult to get a partner visa through - you need more time together to build evidence, based on what you've said so far. Being married vs defacto would help a bit, but may not make a big difference. The key thing you need to put in place if you want to lodge a partner visa is relationship evidence. See other threads on this forum about this - lots of good info here. Note 4 types of relationship evidence (financial, social, nature of commitment, nature of household) and how you can satisfy these.

If you lodge while she's onshore in Australia, and if her visitor visa does not have condition 8503, she'll automatically get a bridging visa that will activate as soon as her current stay on her visitor visa expires, and will allow her to remain in Australia w/work rights until a decision is made on the partner visa.

Might be worth sitting down with a competent migration agent to go over all the details of your situation and both see how your existing relationship evidence documents stack up, and get some advice on the best ways to put together relationship evidence given the limited time you have to do so if you are planning on lodging soon.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pabloM said:


> Hi Mark.
> I am hoping you can advise the best course of action for me and my girlfriend.
> I am Irish but an Australian Permanent Resident (almost 2 years) working in Sydney. My girlfriend, who is Mexican, has just completed her Masters here and her (573) student visa is about to be cancelled by the university, thus cancelling her COE and giving her 28 days to leave the country.
> She is going to apply for a Visitor visa so she can stay and attend her graduation in late October.
> We have a trip booked to fly to Ireland in October for 3 weeks and then return to Sydney.
> We have been together for 7 months, but we have not been living together and do not share financials etc. We have registered our relationship with the NSW registry office about a month ago.
> Would it be too early to apply for a partner migrant visa? Also, if we apply after she is on a visitor visa, would she be able to work on a bridging visa?
> Would being legally married aid our situation as it is something we have discussed as our main concern is to not be separated.
> 
> Many thanks
> Paul


----------



## SBRN01

So nice of you for guiding us...
If you dont mind one different case to get your valuable insight.
My partner have 8.4 years of experience as Developer Programmer
She was doing full time job from Jul 2004 till Nov 2010. and did her MBA in evening during her job from 2005 to jul 2008. 
Her degree of Bachelor IT has assessed as equal to AQF diploma and experience counted after Jul 2008 i.e. after her MBA. She got assessment for Developer programmer 261312 with 29 months accepted.

My question is should we go for reassessment at ACS with a proof that she was employed on FULL TIME basis from 9 to 5 and doing study full time in evening from 6 to 10? As per my understanding ACS did not count her exp during her studies assuming she was part time employee although job letter say she was permanent employee but did not mention words "FULL TIME"

Will this help us get +ve assessment to get 36 months atleast?

Many many thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,
SBRN



MarkNortham said:


> Hi SBRN -
> 
> Thanks for the questions and welcome to the forum!
> 
> RE: assessor, either CPA or IPA is accepted, some people I've heard feel IPA may be a little easier to get through, but lots of people are very happy with CPA too.
> 
> Re: your experience and education, the assessor will go through that carefully re: education and analyse the units you took vs Australian standards, then tell you if you need to take any further education units to be up to standard - that will make a big difference in how the rest of your assessment is handled.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## dee.itsalright

Thank you so much Mark!

I just read all about Schedule 3 requirements and Im totally not gonna risk 4500 dollars because its clear there that I wont have many chances for an approval.

I think we will still get married in Australia and then I (or hopefully together if he can take days off) will go to New Zealand to lodge the 820 visa Offshore.

Last question if Im not asking too much:

To deal with MRT, what will look best for our future 820 application? I mean, should I withdraw my Review, then fly to new zealand, or shall I wait till MRT will contact me (most likely with the negative result)?

What happens next? Will they give me still 28 days to leave and if so I can still go to New Zealand and do the partner application offshore?

Once again, thank you, you are an angel.

Diddi.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Diddi -
> 
> Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the issues. I agree, visitor visa after 2nd WHV has very little chance of success, especially while the applicant is still in Australia when lodging that.
> 
> The good news is that despite the onshore refusal, you are not barred from lodging an onshore partner visa. The bad news is that you will be affected by Schedule 3 requirements which were recently significantly tightened by DIBP on 1 July. Simply put, what used to be a fairly straightforward waiver request has now turned into a major project with serious risk of refusal, which would require you to depart Australia and lodge your partner visa offshore if the onshore application is refused due to Schedule 3 requirements.
> 
> Re: defacto vs marriage, could only determine that by looking at all your evidence in a consultation. In many cases, married couples will have a better chance than defacto, but this all comes down to the particular situation. The big problem now is Schedule 3 if you decide to lodge onshore.
> 
> Suggest you lodge the Schedule 3 waiver request along with the partner visa application, and suggest you get professional help to do so.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SBRN -

Would need to see all docs and info at a consultation to guide. Problem is, work done before she meets the minimum educational requirements for her occupation cannot be counted for points - it gets complex.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SBRN01 said:


> So nice of you for guiding us...
> If you dont mind one different case to get your valuable insight.
> My partner have 8.4 years of experience as Developer Programmer
> She was doing full time job from Jul 2004 till Nov 2010. and did her MBA in evening during her job from 2005 to jul 2008.
> Her degree of Bachelor IT has assessed as equal to AQF diploma and experience counted after Jul 2008 i.e. after her MBA. She got assessment for Developer programmer 261312 with 29 months accepted.
> 
> My question is should we go for reassessment at ACS with a proof that she was employed on FULL TIME basis from 9 to 5 and doing study full time in evening from 6 to 10? As per my understanding ACS did not count her exp during her studies assuming she was part time employee although job letter say she was permanent employee but did not mention words "FULL TIME"
> 
> Will this help us get +ve assessment to get 36 months atleast?
> 
> Many many thanks in advance for your help.
> 
> Regards,
> SBRN


----------



## usmalik82

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Usmalik82 -
> 
> I've seen plenty of cases where an extension letter from an employer for continuing in same job/same employer as assessed previously works fine for DIBP. If you are unsure, however, you may want to apply for assessment by ACS. This is not a black & white issue since it will come down to the requests of the case officer as to any work that falls outside the assessment of the ACS report. I haven't seen your documents, your work ref letters, or anything, so very difficult to give you any specific advice.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks mark once again, my ref letter is very clear...just one more thing I want to ask you is this, lets say i get invitation to apply for 190 state sponsored visa...In EOI i mentioned 10 points for 5 year experience, and then after CO tells me ACS has assessed 4 years and 5 months work experience, then if CO doesnt accept my updated reference letter, can i ask CO at that time please hold this application for a while , i will get assessment again...will CO give me sometime during visa process or just refuse my visa where i lost 3500 dollars...please let me know...


----------



## bonechiu

Dear Mark,

There is my background :

1.) 485 visa expired on Nov 2011, applied 885 visa on Nov 2011
**since then holding bridging visa A " none-substantive" visa**

2.)got an onshore 885 visa application refusal record on Dec 2013, 
3.)885 visa application refusal record from MRT on June 2014, 
4.)de facto relationship with my partner from 1 Jan 2014 till now, 

5.)and married with her at the beginning of July 2014 
**after MRT refused my case within 28 days**

6.)Lodged onshore 820 Partner visa application by hand to the immigration office after the marriage in the middle of July,
(got Bridging visa C)


7.)Surprisingly, my application got notified that was not valid because I was a bridging visa holder at the end of July. **require me to provide reason to waive criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004.** I have good compelling reasons for 3003 & 3004. but not 3001(reason why not lodge my application within 28days before my substantive visa was ended) 

My further planning options :

A.) Withdraw my application, and apply for the offshore Partner visa . 
(Safest , but worried might not have strong enough genuine relationship evidence, also need to separate with my wife for long time)


B.) Withdraw my application, and apply for ETA back to OZ then lodge onshore partner visa. (dodge .. don't know how risk I would take if I got question at the OZ custom or got cancelled my ETA.... Also, if success I then still can build up more genuine relationship just incase if I have go to MRT in the future)

C.)Withdraw my application, back home to apply student visa for a 1 - 2 years course, then lodge onshore partner visa again once I have more than enough genuine relationship. (did advance diploma already.. don't want to go to uni.. *too expensive* but interested in some diploma that can easy to find job in oz.)

D.) give my compelling reason, if not success then go ahead to MRT..... if it is still refused then have no choice to apply off shore....

Questions :

If option A.) if I do offshore, Can I still build up more relationship evidence for just incase that I have to go MRT ? Coz my case is very suspected coz I began my defacto relationship after my 885 application refused even I began dating with my wife before 3 months of the app. refusal but still worry.

If option B.) holding two refusal records to apply ETA.... What is the chance and consequence ** I have been through a lot of research.. it seems safe but not sure with two refusal records.....**

If option C.) what is the chance and consequence for me to apply student visa ? 
Will it affect on my offshore partner application ?
**I am from assessment level 1 country.... however I have two records PS: I have real intension to study some OZ recognised skill that I can easy to find jobs in oz.

If option D.) Can I apply for the partner onshore again ? **I know the immigration booklet mention that it will be barred** but I got advised by a migration agency that if I got MRT refused then I can still apply ETA back and apply onshore partner visa again~~~~??? he explained that by immigration law, the definition of cancel and refuse are difference !!! ???? 

Dear Mark. Your comments and advices are highly appreciated. You could save a married couple life !! I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmalik82 -

Often the case officer will put the application on hold pending word from the assessor, however that is not a right guaranteed by law, etc - it's technically within the discretion of the case officer. So short answer: usually.

Best,

Mark



usmalik82 said:


> Thanks mark once again, my ref letter is very clear...just one more thing I want to ask you is this, lets say i get invitation to apply for 190 state sponsored visa...In EOI i mentioned 10 points for 5 year experience, and then after CO tells me ACS has assessed 4 years and 5 months work experience, then if CO doesnt accept my updated reference letter, can i ask CO at that time please hold this application for a while , i will get assessment again...will CO give me sometime during visa process or just refuse my visa where i lost 3500 dollars...please let me know...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bonechiu -

See comments below at ***:



bonechiu said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> My further planning options :
> 
> A.) Withdraw my application, and apply for the offshore Partner visa .
> (Safest , but worried might not have strong enough genuine relationship evidence, also need to separate with my wife for long time)
> 
> B.) Withdraw my application, and apply for ETA back to OZ then lodge onshore partner visa. (dodge .. don't know how risk I would take if I got question at the OZ custom or got cancelled my ETA.... Also, if success I then still can build up more genuine relationship just incase if I have go to MRT in the future)
> 
> *** Chance of ETA to return to Australia may be reduced since you've already declared you have a partner here, etc. and they may not accept you're here for "temporary tourism" purposes, etc.
> 
> C.)Withdraw my application, back home to apply student visa for a 1 - 2 years course, then lodge onshore partner visa again once I have more than enough genuine relationship. (did advance diploma already.. don't want to go to uni.. *too expensive* but interested in some diploma that can easy to find job in oz.)
> 
> *** Same risk as B - after having declared a partner here, they may not believe you are genuinely here to ONLY study, and depart after your study is complete.
> 
> D.) give my compelling reason, if not success then go ahead to MRT..... if it is still refused then have no choice to apply off shore....
> 
> ** You need to look at Schedule 3 for partner visas carefully - you may want to get some professional advice on this - note there is a clause where you can argue compelling reasons not to apply the entire Sched 3 criteria (ie, 3001, 3003, 3004) if there are sufficiently compelling reasons, so under this even if you fail 3001, you still may be able to get Sched 3 waived depending on the details/circumstances/facts.
> 
> Questions :
> 
> If option A.) if I do offshore, Can I still build up more relationship evidence for just incase that I have to go MRT ? Coz my case is very suspected coz I began my defacto relationship after my 885 application refused even I began dating with my wife before 3 months of the app. refusal but still worry.
> 
> *** Yes, but long-distance relationship evidence is less convincing to DIBP.
> 
> If option B.) holding two refusal records to apply ETA.... What is the chance and consequence ** I have been through a lot of research.. it seems safe but not sure with two refusal records.....**
> 
> *** Not safe at all in my view - see above - if the refusals don't trip things up, having a partner here may.
> 
> If option C.) what is the chance and consequence for me to apply student visa ?
> Will it affect on my offshore partner application ?
> **I am from assessment level 1 country.... however I have two records PS: I have real intension to study some OZ recognised skill that I can easy to find jobs in oz.
> 
> *** I see little chance of student visa approval given your partner/refusal situation. DIBP will see it as a way to get back in the country to continue the partner relationship, most likely.
> 
> If option D.) Can I apply for the partner onshore again ? **I know the immigration booklet mention that it will be barred** but I got advised by a migration agency that if I got MRT refused then I can still apply ETA back and apply onshore partner visa again~~~~??? he explained that by immigration law, the definition of cancel and refuse are difference !!! ????
> 
> *** Based on what you said, might work, but again the risk is whether ETA would be approved given everything else that's going on...
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Regards,


----------



## bonechiu

Dear Mark,

I really appreciate for your advices and comments. They are very helpful for me to make my further decision. Thank you~!!!!!!!!!

Would you please tell me :

1.) the decision of my 820 partner visa has not been made yet. Even If I withdraw before that, will immigration still have a record on this ? My Lawyer said no, if I am luckily come back OZ , then I can apply 820 onshore again ?? what do you think ?

2.) Assume I have no pervious partner visa application record. If I hold 885 refusal and 885 MRT refusal record, what would the chance for me to apply either ETA or Student visa ?

3.) If I have student visa / ETA refusal record, will it effects to my on/off shore partner visa application ?

4.)If my onshore partner application is refused because i don't have enough compelling reason and not believed my genuine relationship
. Can i still apply for the offshore 309 application after i got enough prove of relationship even i know it is not convincing but it seems it is my last option.

Look forward to you answer. PS : Thanks again~!!

Regards,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bonechiu -
> 
> See comments below at ***:


----------



## usmalik82

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Usmalik82 -
> 
> Often the case officer will put the application on hold pending word from the assessor, however that is not a right guaranteed by law, etc - it's technically within the discretion of the case officer. So short answer: usually.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Thanks Mark once again for your kind cooperation, I really appreciate your gesture.Just one last thing I need to ask is that..My assessment has been done as network administrator... now marks are as follows:

Age: 30
Bachelor degree : 15
Potential work experience: 10
south australia state sponsorship which is likely: 5
Ielts (Though I have given ielts but not sure if i get 7 in each band)
Total marks is 60, Is it likely that i get south australia state sponsorship and invitation to apply with 60 points? and if i get invitation is it likely i get visa with 60 points...South australia has network administrator in SOL. Your comment please!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmalik82 -

Can't do skilled assessments online because there are too many ifs/ands/buts when looking at state rules vs DIBP rules, etc - no simple answers. Happy to see you at a consultation (via Skype or at our office in Sydney) to go through your documents and case in detail.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmalik82 said:


> Thanks Mark once again for your kind cooperation, I really appreciate your gesture.Just one last thing I need to ask is that..My assessment has been done as network administrator... now marks are as follows:
> 
> Age: 30
> Bachelor degree : 15
> Potential work experience: 10
> south australia state sponsorship which is likely: 5
> Ielts (Though I have given ielts but not sure if i get 7 in each band)
> Total marks is 60, Is it likely that i get south australia state sponsorship and invitation to apply with 60 points? and if i get invitation is it likely i get visa with 60 points...South australia has network administrator in SOL. Your comment please!


----------



## SMF

Dear Mark

Thanks for your reply and sorry for bothering u again  ... I don't want an assesment from you ... I just wanted to know for Visa class 190, who is eligible .. Does an individual gets a nomination by an Australian state or territory government agency before even making an EOI, are eligible for this visa or just becoz their occupation in CSOL makes them eligible (apart from the three different sets of rules and regulations which you mentioned) .... My only question is do these individuals gets a nomination by an Australian state or territory government agency .... I don't have any such letter from Australian state or territory government agency , so just wanted to know that ...

PS : Hope you won't mind me questioning again Mate 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi SMF -
> 
> Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.
> 
> Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.
> 
> We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.
> 
> If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.
> 
> Thanks again for the enquiry -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMF -

Basically, process is: 1) Person finds a state that is sponsoring their occupation, 2) Person lodges EOI and requests interest in that state for 190 visa, 3) Person either waits for state to invite them (WA, etc) to apply for state sponsorship, or person makes direct application for state sponsorship, 4) If approved by state, that causes invitation from DIBP to be issued to person and they can then apply for the 190 visa, 5) DIBP assesses the vis application.

But underneath all of these steps are a great many regulations that you really need to understand, especially since each state has their own rules and they're all different.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMF said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Thanks for your reply and sorry for bothering u again  ... I don't want an assesment from you ... I just wanted to know for Visa class 190, who is eligible .. Does an individual gets a nomination by an Australian state or territory government agency before even making an EOI, are eligible for this visa or just becoz their occupation in CSOL makes them eligible (apart from the three different sets of rules and regulations which you mentioned) .... My only question is do these individuals gets a nomination by an Australian state or territory government agency .... I don't have any such letter from Australian state or territory government agency , so just wanted to know that ...
> 
> PS : Hope you won't mind me questioning again Mate


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Diddi -

What you do re: MRT may not make a big difference as DIBP may not even see results of MRT. Offshore partner visa application is 309/100 (instead of 820/801). Once you either receive MRT negative decision, or withdraw MRT case, you have 28 days to depart.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dee.itsalright said:


> Thank you so much Mark!
> 
> I just read all about Schedule 3 requirements and Im totally not gonna risk 4500 dollars because its clear there that I wont have many chances for an approval.
> 
> I think we will still get married in Australia and then I (or hopefully together if he can take days off) will go to New Zealand to lodge the 820 visa Offshore.
> 
> Last question if Im not asking too much:
> 
> To deal with MRT, what will look best for our future 820 application? I mean, should I withdraw my Review, then fly to new zealand, or shall I wait till MRT will contact me (most likely with the negative result)?
> 
> What happens next? Will they give me still 28 days to leave and if so I can still go to New Zealand and do the partner application offshore?
> 
> Once again, thank you, you are an angel.
> 
> Diddi.


----------



## SMF

Love you Mark 

Thanks Mate Thanks Alot .... I will go for 189 to make my life easier ... Thanks


MarkNortham said:


> Hi SMF -
> 
> Basically, process is: 1) Person finds a state that is sponsoring their occupation, 2) Person lodges EOI and requests interest in that state for 190 visa, 3) Person either waits for state to invite them (WA, etc) to apply for state sponsorship, or person makes direct application for state sponsorship, 4) If approved by state, that causes invitation from DIBP to be issued to person and they can then apply for the 190 visa, 5) DIBP assesses the vis application.
> 
> But underneath all of these steps are a great many regulations that you really need to understand, especially since each state has their own rules and they're all different.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bonechiu -

See below at ***:



bonechiu said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I really appreciate for your advices and comments. They are very helpful for me to make my further decision. Thank you~!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Would you please tell me :
> 
> 1.) the decision of my 820 partner visa has not been made yet. Even If I withdraw before that, will immigration still have a record on this ? My Lawyer said no, if I am luckily come back OZ , then I can apply 820 onshore again ?? what do you think ?
> 
> *** DIBP retains some records re: withdrawn visa applications - I Withdrawing an application in theory makes it as if you never lodged it in terms of its effect on any other visas you hold, etc, however that doesn't mean that DIBP has no record of the withdrawn application. In fact I'm representing a client now who withdrew a previous student application and now DIBP is asking them to explain why they did that on a future application. However a previous withdrawn application is not necessarily any sort of a problem going forward - every case is different.
> 
> 2.) Assume I have no pervious partner visa application record. If I hold 885 refusal and 885 MRT refusal record, what would the chance for me to apply either ETA or Student visa ?
> *** Not enough info to tell - need to look at your entire case and documents. The basic issue often is that the 885 is a permanent visa, and having applied for one you have expressed an intention to remain in Australia permanently. The student and visitor visas are only for people whose intentions are to visit Australia temporarily for work or tourism purposes. The mechanism DIBP uses to assess this is the genuine student (or genuine visitor) policy criteria.
> 
> 3.) If I have student visa / ETA refusal record, will it effects to my on/off shore partner visa application ?
> 
> *** Somewhat unlikely unless the refusal is for PIC4020 (bogus document, etc) reasons or some other issues are raised by the refusal that somehow reflect on the genuineness of your marriage/relationship, etc
> 
> 4.)If my onshore partner application is refused because i don't have enough compelling reason and not believed my genuine relationship
> . Can i still apply for the offshore 309 application after i got enough prove of relationship even i know it is not convincing but it seems it is my last option.
> 
> *** The Sched 3 assessment and the genuine relationship assessments are separate. If refused on Sched 3, then offshore parter app may not be affected by the refusal. If refused on genuine relationship grounds, then offshore partner visa app may be challenging as you'd have to provide substantially different/additional evidence and info to show the relationship is in fact genuine.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## aussie11

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Athar -
> 
> Re: splitting work, I'd split Company 3 into 2 entries - Sep 2008 - Nov 2008 - not relevant; Dec 2008 - Feb 2010 - relevant. This should help the points calculator from calculating things incorrectly.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

As per ACS, I am skilled after Nov 2008 while I started the job from Mar 2005. As you suggested earlier, I would mark experience from Mar 2005 - Nov 2008 as irrelevant.

Should I provide employment evidence (Experience letter, Appointment, Payslips, etc.) for irrelevant experience as well?

Please advise.

Regards,
Athar


----------



## MarkNortham

Generally no need to do that.

Mark



aussie11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Should I provide employment evidence (Experience letter, Appointment, Payslips, etc.) for irrelevant experience as well?
> 
> Please advise.
> 
> Regards,
> Athar


----------



## Kilroy74

*457 Visa w MOC*

Hi Mark,

I'm currently waiting for approval on my 457. I submitted my application in late June, and noted that I have a minor blood condition called "iron overload". I take no medication, have no symptoms, and only have to donate blood 3-4 times a year to treat it. It is not remotely contagious. And my blood is healthy enough to then be used in blood banks.

Since applying, the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) has asked me for a writeup from my doctor, which I provided almost 3 weeks ago. I'm told my application is "under review by the MOC". My doctor provided little more than 3 paragraphs, so I'm not sure what is taking this long to review. In your experience with 457s, how long does the MOC take to handle such things? My law firm helping me has said that the immigration department is very closed off these days and that it's tough for her to get any answers.


----------



## bonechiu

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your information. I have much more understanding what to do now. I very appreciate your help.

Also, as I said one of the migration agency advised me that I could apply onshore partner visa as much as I can, as long as I depart OZ and get student / ETA / other relevant visas without "no further stay ".

The key point is " LAST ENTRY"

as the partner visa booklet P.12 - "the list of not eligible visa holder to apply 820 " mentioned ~

"do not hold a substantive visa and have had a Partner visa refused or cancelled since you LAST ENTRY to Australia."

What do you think about this ?

Regards,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bonechiu -
> 
> See below at ***:
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## bmacavanza

Hi Mark

Booklet 5 is missing in the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection

But I have the July 2013 version.

Do you have any idea?

Cheers


----------



## kseafield

*Medical Question*

Hi Mark

I'm sure you must have been asked this before but here I go anyway........A few days ago I noticed the little "Health" link on my application and after clicking it and ticking the relevant boxes, out came my HAP-ID and report to do my medicals. I then had a bit of a read about how I shouldn't do any "health declarations" if I've already lodged my visa (which I've already done on the 24th June), I guess I should have done the reading first. Was that the "health declarations" or was that something different which I was supposed to do in any case and should I just do my health assessment now, as I don't have a CO yet.

The visa I applied for was a ENS 186.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## SMF

Hi Mark ... Good Morning ... 

Can a person apply for two Visa Sub classes ... For eg can I have two separate EOI profiles , one for Visa Sub class 189 and one for Visa 190 ....

Further I am assuming that since I am mentioning that one dependend family member (my wife) will accompany me , so her Visa will also be issued along with with me .. Is my understanding correct ??

Thanks


----------



## mrsamali

Hello Mark 
I have applied for my PR in dec 2009 and my subsclass is 886, can I know how long do I have to wait more? Few months ago I saw it on immi site that till 11th dec 2009 has been processed and now its showing Not currently allocating. 
I have contacted my migration agent and he has no idea how long will it take.
Can you please help me.
And I got married last year my wife is overseas, she been to Australia on tourist visa early this year, is there any possibility for me to merge her application with mine or do I have to wait till they grant me PR and then apply for her visa later?
Please help me need some experts advice 
Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kilroy74 -

I'd agree with your lawyer - all you can essentially do is wait to see if there is a health criteria problem or not - no good way to get a status or progress or any indication of whether there is a health issue until the MOC finishes and notifies the case officer, who then would notify you if there was an issue. MOC reviews can take anywhere from a week to several months - depends on the caseload of the particular MOC doing the review, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kilroy74 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm currently waiting for approval on my 457. I submitted my application in late June, and noted that I have a minor blood condition called "iron overload". I take no medication, have no symptoms, and only have to donate blood 3-4 times a year to treat it. It is not remotely contagious. And my blood is healthy enough to then be used in blood banks.
> 
> Since applying, the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) has asked me for a writeup from my doctor, which I provided almost 3 weeks ago. I'm told my application is "under review by the MOC". My doctor provided little more than 3 paragraphs, so I'm not sure what is taking this long to review. In your experience with 457s, how long does the MOC take to handle such things? My law firm helping me has said that the immigration department is very closed off these days and that it's tough for her to get any answers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bonechiu -

This references the Schedule 1 (Migration Regulations 1994) requirement for the subclass 820 onshore partner visa where if you've had a partner visa refused while onshore (on the current trip), you cannot apply for another partner visa while still onshore. Under this situation, if you depart Australia after the partner visa refusal and then re-enter on a different visa, or the same visa you have (if possible), this issue does not apply and you can make another partner application onshore if not otherwise restricted (ie, condition 8503, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bonechiu said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your information. I have much more understanding what to do now. I very appreciate your help.
> 
> Also, as I said one of the migration agency advised me that I could apply onshore partner visa as much as I can, as long as I depart OZ and get student / ETA / other relevant visas without "no further stay ".
> 
> The key point is " LAST ENTRY"
> 
> as the partner visa booklet P.12 - "the list of not eligible visa holder to apply 820 " mentioned ~
> 
> "do not hold a substantive visa and have had a Partner visa refused or cancelled since you LAST ENTRY to Australia."
> 
> What do you think about this ?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I believe that's the old Employer Sponsored PR visas booklet (ENS, RSMS, etc). Probably became outdated and DIBP took it off the website. Given how fast the law, regulations and policy is changing (and how often), the DIBP booklets often get outdated, sometimes severely outdated. I do not look to those booklets as any sort of a legal resource as they simply don't cover all the regulations/policy that apply to the various visa classes and subclasses.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bmacavanza said:


> Hi Mark
> Booklet 5 is missing in the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection
> 
> But I have the July 2013 version.
> 
> Do you have any idea?
> 
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kseafield -

That's the language on the "My Health Declarations" site, but if the link is enabled on your ImmIAccount page where you upload/attach documents after lodging, you're fine to use the link, generate the referral letter & get your medicals.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kseafield said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I'm sure you must have been asked this before but here I go anyway........A few days ago I noticed the little "Health" link on my application and after clicking it and ticking the relevant boxes, out came my HAP-ID and report to do my medicals. I then had a bit of a read about how I shouldn't do any "health declarations" if I've already lodged my visa (which I've already done on the 24th June), I guess I should have done the reading first. Was that the "health declarations" or was that something different which I was supposed to do in any case and should I just do my health assessment now, as I don't have a CO yet.
> 
> The visa I applied for was a ENS 186.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMF -

Yes, two EOI's is OK - if you get an invitation from one, you generally would not get another invitation from the other one until the first invitation expired, etc.

Your wife would be a secondary applicant on your visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMF said:


> Hi Mark ... Good Morning ...
> 
> Can a person apply for two Visa Sub classes ... For eg can I have two separate EOI profiles , one for Visa Sub class 189 and one for Visa 190 ....
> 
> Further I am assuming that since I am mentioning that one dependend family member (my wife) will accompany me , so her Visa will also be issued along with with me .. Is my understanding correct ??
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I'm guessing your 886 is family sponsored, or occupation is not on the state list anymore or some similar situation - those are Priority 5's, no way to estimate how long they will take as they are literally "last priority" of the immigration dept. Is it fair? Nope. But they make the rules and as long as they are able to get away with taking literally years to process these applications, we're all stuck with the results.

Generally not possible to add applicants to these types of applications - you'd probably have to sponsor her for a partner visa if/when you get PR and are "usually resident" in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mrsamali said:


> Hello Mark
> I have applied for my PR in dec 2009 and my subsclass is 886, can I know how long do I have to wait more? Few months ago I saw it on immi site that till 11th dec 2009 has been processed and now its showing Not currently allocating.
> I have contacted my migration agent and he has no idea how long will it take.
> Can you please help me.
> And I got married last year my wife is overseas, she been to Australia on tourist visa early this year, is there any possibility for me to merge her application with mine or do I have to wait till they grant me PR and then apply for her visa later?
> Please help me need some experts advice
> Regards


----------



## SMF

Thanks Mark ...



MarkNortham said:


> Hi SMF -
> 
> Yes, two EOI's is OK - if you get an invitation from one, you generally would not get another invitation from the other one until the first invitation expired, etc.
> 
> Your wife would be a secondary applicant on your visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## starryskies

*Please reply me ..................*

Dear Mr. Mark,
If you could reply my this question,I'd be very grateful..

I was in the middle of the process of applying for Australia PR through "*Multimedia Specialist - ANZSCO 261211*" (190 visa category) via a good migration company in my country.
I've received a positive outcome from my ACS evaluation and so been *waiting to do the EOI & Nomination Stages.*
Ive done IELTS 2nd of August and so still waiting to receive my results so that I can continue the process.

*But unfortunately,.. my migration company emailed me today ,saying that,
a few state governments have published their Occupation Lists for the new financial year (July 2014) and unfortunately none of the states/territories list Multimedia Specialist - occupation at the moment.. * 

I'm extremely sad. I was gonna apply for this as soon as I receive my IELTS results and never expected a situation like this 

Do you think my occupation "Multimedia Specialist - ANZSCO 261211" will be listed on near future? 
Thanks so much sir, Looking forward to hearing from you..


----------



## leomama

*Relationship Breakdown*

Hi there,

About a week ago I asked you a question and you gave me a very helpful answer. I would like to ask another in relation to the previous post.
I lodged a partner visa over a year ago and am still on a bridging visa. I have a child with my australian husband and am currently pregnant. Unfortunately my relationship is not going well and it looks like we are going to breakup. When/if that happens, you advised me I may be able to get a permanent residency without waiting the two years of provisional visa as I have a child from the marriage. 
If that is the case, how long (approximately) does it take to be granted a permanent visa after notifying the immigration office? And what sort of procedure does it require? ( I haven't done health exam for the visa yet and at the moment I can't go through the X-ray as I am pregnant..)
You advised me to contact a registered agent however I am worried if I can afford to hire one, and I would really appreciate your advise...
Thank you for your help in advance..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Starryskies -

Wish I had any idea, but these lists change all the time. I'd keep checking and see what happens going forward - don't give up!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



starryskies said:


> Dear Mr. Mark,
> If you could reply my this question,I'd be very grateful..
> 
> I was in the middle of the process of applying for Australia PR through "*Multimedia Specialist - ANZSCO 261211*" (190 visa category) via a good migration company in my country.
> I've received a positive outcome from my ACS evaluation and so been *waiting to do the EOI & Nomination Stages.*
> Ive done IELTS 2nd of August and so still waiting to receive my results so that I can continue the process.
> 
> *But unfortunately,.. my migration company emailed me today ,saying that,
> a few state governments have published their Occupation Lists for the new financial year (July 2014) and unfortunately none of the states/territories list Multimedia Specialist - occupation at the moment.. *
> 
> I'm extremely sad. I was gonna apply for this as soon as I receive my IELTS results and never expected a situation like this
> 
> Do you think my occupation "Multimedia Specialist - ANZSCO 261211" will be listed on near future?
> Thanks so much sir, Looking forward to hearing from you..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leomama -

An application for a partner visa to proceed in the event of a relationship breakdown can take some time to process (6+ months in some cases). In your case, it would be important to establish proof that the sponsor is the father of the child - not sure how you could do this as MRT does not have powers to compel that sort of evidence. You'd have to eventually complete the health exam for the visa, and lodge some forms with DIBP - this can be done online via ImmiAccount.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leomama said:


> Hi there,
> 
> About a week ago I asked you a question and you gave me a very helpful answer. I would like to ask another in relation to the previous post.
> I lodged a partner visa over a year ago and am still on a bridging visa. I have a child with my australian husband and am currently pregnant. Unfortunately my relationship is not going well and it looks like we are going to breakup. When/if that happens, you advised me I may be able to get a permanent residency without waiting the two years of provisional visa as I have a child from the marriage.
> If that is the case, how long (approximately) does it take to be granted a permanent visa after notifying the immigration office? And what sort of procedure does it require? ( I haven't done health exam for the visa yet and at the moment I can't go through the X-ray as I am pregnant..)
> You advised me to contact a registered agent however I am worried if I can afford to hire one, and I would really appreciate your advise...
> Thank you for your help in advance..


----------



## starryskies

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Starryskies -
> 
> Wish I had any idea, but these lists change all the time. I'd keep checking and see what happens going forward - don't give up!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks so much for reply Mr.Mark..
I really hope they will reopen it again  I didnt know it was mentioned in only ACT occupations list and it was accepting limited applications till today


----------



## farhad

Dear Mark,

I have a standard assessment from Engineering Australia regarding to my university qualification.In order to claim points for work experience, is it necessary to prepare an employment assessment from EA? If not, what happens if I claim points for work experience on EOI and DIAB refuses it or deducts it and consequently, reduces my points after invitation?

Thank you for your kind attention.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Farhad -

It's a choice you can make. EA offers work experience assessment if you want to get that service. In many cases DIBP accepts the work experience as relevant to the position as long as sufficient evidence is provided and it meets the usual requirements (ie, full-time, paid, undertaken after you have the minimum educational qualification for your occupation,, etc) and evidence is provided that it does. If DIBP believes the work may not be relevant, the applicant is usually given an opportunity to comment, and if the applicant chooses to have a third party (like EA) assess the work at that point, DIBP normally puts the application on hold while EA does the assessment. It's up to you if you want to get the assessment before you lodge - ultimately whether it will be needed or not will depend on the case officer's opinion.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



farhad said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a standard assessment from Engineering Australia regarding to my university qualification.In order to claim points for work experience, is it necessary to prepare an employment assessment from EA? If not, what happens if I claim points for work experience on EOI and DIAB refuses it or deducts it and consequently, reduces my points after invitation?
> 
> Thank you for your kind attention.


----------



## BA1

*Title discrepancy between ACS letter and Experience Letter*

Hi Mark,

Thanks in advance to look in to my case.

Changing title of my job specifically for ACS letter has become nightmare for me. I need your advise on this.

In my previous company, my title was "Quality Assurance Lead" while my responsibilities were ranging from Business Analyst, Software Testing, Pre-Sales, Training and Documentation. Hence, when submitting the ACS application in 2011, I asked the company to issue me experience letter with "Business Analyst" title while JD were covering all tasks mentioned above but mostly emphasize on BA tasks. I got positive assessment from ACS as Business Analyst.

I left that company in April 2014 and the releasing letter states actual title "Quality Assurance Lead". However, that company is still agree to give me a new letter with title of "Business Analyst" (JDs are same as before) for immigration purpose and will be able to manage in case of any verification if directly comes to them from NSW and DIBP.

Based on above, I have two options:

1) Take Business Analyst title letter (because ACS report has this title) from company and go ahead.

2) Go again for ACS and this time submit actual "Quality Assurance Lead" letter for evaluation. If I opt this, I will definitely miss NSW October state sponsorship intake and will have to wait till Jan 2015 intake (if by that time, NSW ICT Business Analyst ceiling doesn't reach)

If I go with option # 1, at worst, if CO somehow got to know that actual title was QA Lead, while I filed application as Business Analyst, can this become a critical issue and rejection reason?

Please advise what's suitable option for me.

Many Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BA1 -

Thanks for the very interesting question - hard choice, actually! Option #2 is the safest bet, however missing the Oct NSW intake (and an earlier one if it happens as has been hinted at by NSW Skilled) could create big problems. Business Analyst is one of those positions that filled up very quickly last year.

Given that a significant portion of my casework involves representing clients who are having disputes with DIBP, the first thing that popped into my mind when I read your question was "PIC 4020" which is the inaccurate information / bogus document provision of the migration regulations. If a DIBP case officer got it into his or her head that there has been some sort of phony job title created for visa purposes, that could open the door to a world of trouble you don't want, as the PIC4020 provisions only require that the case officer believe it is more likely than not (ie, 51% certainty only) that inaccurate information has been provided by an applicant to DIBP or a skills assessment authority - this is a very low threshold to meet with dire consequences.

That being said, if you go for a duplicate ACS assessment with a new job title but everything else the same, that could yet create more problems at ACS who might get suspicious about things. Fun, fun.

My view is that you may want to look into getting some sort of a document from your employer that confirms that despite the title change, you were still doing the same work and is confirmed by the job description. Whatever reason the employer lists for the job title change (ie, temporary, experimental, rebranded position, a better fit for the job, etc) needs to come from the employer and be believable (and verifiable with that employer) by DIBP. This will hopefully put to bed any concerns about the job title change being non-genuine by either DIBP or ACS.

This type of letter would likely be useful for both DIBP or ACS depending on whether you choose #1 or #2 option. If the letter is strong and clear, I'd probably consider going for the October intake, as in this situation if the title change is going to be a problem, it may be a problem under either option - that is, a problem for ACS if you do another skills assessment, or a problem for DIBP if they have an issue with job title on existing ACS being different. One way or another, the new employer letter would -hopefully - solve any problem that could come up related to this.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can work through any specifics of your case in a consultation (see website link below for more on this).

Best,

Mark Northam



BA1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks in advance to look in to my case.
> 
> Changing title of my job specifically for ACS letter has become nightmare for me. I need your advise on this.
> 
> In my previous company, my title was "Quality Assurance Lead" while my responsibilities were ranging from Business Analyst, Software Testing, Pre-Sales, Training and Documentation. Hence, when submitting the ACS application in 2011, I asked the company to issue me experience letter with "Business Analyst" title while JD were covering all tasks mentioned above but mostly emphasize on BA tasks. I got positive assessment from ACS as Business Analyst.
> 
> I left that company in April 2014 and the releasing letter states actual title "Quality Assurance Lead". However, that company is still agree to give me a new letter with title of "Business Analyst" (JDs are same as before) for immigration purpose and will be able to manage in case of any verification if directly comes to them from NSW and DIBP.
> 
> Based on above, I have two options:
> 
> 1) Take Business Analyst title letter (because ACS report has this title) from company and go ahead.
> 
> 2) Go again for ACS and this time submit actual "Quality Assurance Lead" letter for evaluation. If I opt this, I will definitely miss NSW October state sponsorship intake and will have to wait till Jan 2015 intake (if by that time, NSW ICT Business Analyst ceiling doesn't reach)
> 
> If I go with option # 1, at worst, if CO somehow got to know that actual title was QA Lead, while I filed application as Business Analyst, can this become a critical issue and rejection reason?
> 
> Please advise what's suitable option for me.
> 
> Many Thanks.


----------



## BA1

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the detailed analysis and coming up with various possible scenarios. I really appreciate.

That was my bad that 3 years back during ACS submission process, I wasn't aware that title has no such importance and insist my HR to change the title although the JD was 100% same for both SQA Lead and BA letters. Now, I am paying for this blunder!

Anyhow, from your feedback I understood that it's very risk to proceed with this titles contradiction and secondly, new ACS even is very risky.

To sort this out, my company is agreed to give any sort of documentation to resolve this issue and will also do verification if asked by DIBP. Possible options can be:

1) They can change the title of my existing SQA Lead letter to Business Analyst (JD is 100% same as I worked for 4 years in different roles there).

2) As it's normal that people work in same company with different titles from time to time. So, they can provide the letter starting like that
_This is to confirm that Mr. XYZ was a full time permanent employee of ABC Company from April 2010 to April 2014. He joined as Business Analyst and in June 2013, was additionally given responsibilities of SQA Lead position. During his tenure, he was responsibilities for following ......
_

3) Any other document that you can recommend to sort this out.

Does any option now make sense or should I just close this chapter 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi BA1 -
> 
> Thanks for the very interesting question - hard choice, actually! Option #2 is the safest bet, however missing the Oct NSW intake (and an earlier one if it happens as has been hinted at by NSW Skilled) could create big problems. Business Analyst is one of those positions that filled up very quickly last year.
> 
> Given that a significant portion of my casework involves representing clients who are having disputes with DIBP, the first thing that popped into my mind when I read your question was "PIC 4020" which is the inaccurate information / bogus document provision of the migration regulations. If a DIBP case officer got it into his or her head that there has been some sort of phony job title created for visa purposes, that could open the door to a world of trouble you don't want, as the PIC4020 provisions only require that the case officer believe it is more likely than not (ie, 51% certainty only) that inaccurate information has been provided by an applicant to DIBP or a skills assessment authority - this is a very low threshold to meet with dire consequences.
> 
> That being said, if you go for a duplicate ACS assessment with a new job title but everything else the same, that could yet create more problems at ACS who might get suspicious about things. Fun, fun.
> 
> My view is that you may want to look into getting some sort of a document from your employer that confirms that despite the title change, you were still doing the same work and is confirmed by the job description. Whatever reason the employer lists for the job title change (ie, temporary, experimental, rebranded position, a better fit for the job, etc) needs to come from the employer and be believable (and verifiable with that employer) by DIBP. This will hopefully put to bed any concerns about the job title change being non-genuine by either DIBP or ACS.
> 
> This type of letter would likely be useful for both DIBP or ACS depending on whether you choose #1 or #2 option. If the letter is strong and clear, I'd probably consider going for the October intake, as in this situation if the title change is going to be a problem, it may be a problem under either option - that is, a problem for ACS if you do another skills assessment, or a problem for DIBP if they have an issue with job title on existing ACS being different. One way or another, the new employer letter would -hopefully - solve any problem that could come up related to this.
> 
> Hope this helps - please advise if I can work through any specifics of your case in a consultation (see website link below for more on this).
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BA1 -

I like your proposed solution! As long as the letter makes it clear that the tasks/duties of the job remained consistent throughout the period, the job title change becomes far less relevant to any considerations. The focus of both immigration and DIBP is the tasks/duties of the job, since a job title can be virtually anything a company decides they want it to be.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BA1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the detailed analysis and coming up with various possible scenarios. I really appreciate.
> 
> That was my bad that 3 years back during ACS submission process, I wasn't aware that title has no such importance and insist my HR to change the title although the JD was 100% same for both SQA Lead and BA letters. Now, I am paying for this blunder!
> 
> Anyhow, from your feedback I understood that it's very risk to proceed with this titles contradiction and secondly, new ACS even is very risky.
> 
> To sort this out, my company is agreed to give any sort of documentation to resolve this issue and will also do verification if asked by DIBP. Possible options can be:
> 
> 1) They can change the title of my existing SQA Lead letter to Business Analyst (JD is 100% same as I worked for 4 years in different roles there).
> 
> 2) As it's normal that people work in same company with different titles from time to time. So, they can provide the letter starting like that
> _This is to confirm that Mr. XYZ was a full time permanent employee of ABC Company from April 2010 to April 2014. He joined as Business Analyst and in June 2013, was additionally given responsibilities of SQA Lead position. During his tenure, he was responsibilities for following ......
> _
> 
> 3) Any other document that you can recommend to sort this out.
> 
> Does any option now make sense or should I just close this chapter


----------



## BA1

Thanks Mark to give me some hope.

So do you think following would be enough? If you think, It's still risky then I can take your consultation to prepare such letter for me.

_This is to confirm that Mr. XYZ was a full time permanent employee of ABC Company from April 2010 to April 2014. He joined as Business Analyst and in June 2013, was given additional responsibilities of Quality Assurance Lead position. During his employment in *both positions*, he has been extensively involved in client interactions, requirements gathering and analysis, software testing, software process improvement, training and support to clients. His core responsibilities include:
_
aaa
bbb
ccc
...

Secondly, when filling the NSW and Visa 190 forms in future, I will have to mention SQA Lead as the title for this employment. Correct?

Many Thanks Sir.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi BA1 -
> 
> I like your proposed solution! As long as the letter makes it clear that the tasks/duties of the job remained consistent throughout the period, the job title change becomes far less relevant to any considerations. The focus of both immigration and DIBP is the tasks/duties of the job, since a job title can be virtually anything a company decides they want it to be.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BA1 -

It may, but the spectre of "two positiions" may raise more questions - ie, was it one position and two titles, or two positions and two titles. 2 positions will need to be coordinated very carefully between the ACS report, the letter, and whatever the employer says or writes. My view is that the letter needs to be very carefully written and consider the ANZSCO standards for the occupation and what has already been provided to ACS. The key is coordinating all of these documents so they all line up reasonably well - I would really need to see all of the docs (ie, proposed letter, ACS docs, etc) before I could give you an opinion or suggestions for edits, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BA1 said:


> Thanks Mark to give me some hope.
> 
> So do you think following would be enough? If you think, It's still risky then I can take your consultation to prepare such letter for me.
> 
> _This is to confirm that Mr. XYZ was a full time permanent employee of ABC Company from April 2010 to April 2014. He joined as Business Analyst and in June 2013, was given additional responsibilities of Quality Assurance Lead position. During his employment in *both positions*, he has been extensively involved in client interactions, requirements gathering and analysis, software testing, software process improvement, training and support to clients. His core responsibilities include:
> _
> aaa
> bbb
> ccc
> ...
> 
> Secondly, when filling the NSW and Visa 190 forms in future, I will have to mention SQA Lead as the title for this employment. Correct?
> 
> Many Thanks Sir.


----------



## BA1

Hi Mark,

Appreciate your response.

I have send you a message via your website. Please have a look.

Thanks.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi BA1 -
> 
> It may, but the spectre of "two positiions" may raise more questions - ie, was it one position and two titles, or two positions and two titles. 2 positions will need to be coordinated very carefully between the ACS report, the letter, and whatever the employer says or writes. My view is that the letter needs to be very carefully written and consider the ANZSCO standards for the occupation and what has already been provided to ACS. The key is coordinating all of these documents so they all line up reasonably well - I would really need to see all of the docs (ie, proposed letter, ACS docs, etc) before I could give you an opinion or suggestions for edits, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Nundra

Hi Mark!

I need some fairly speedy advice, PLEASE!
MY partner is from the USA. I am Australian. I visited him in the US for 3.5 weeks in August 2013. HE visited me here, staying from Nov. 2013 - March 2014. He is due to return in September. WE plan to get married & apply for a Partner Visa (820). The problem is that his ETA expires in October, six weeks after he arrives. We won't have time to organise the wedding in that time. 
So our dilemma is: 
What Visa does he apply for next, to buy him some time to stay here with me longer, so we can get married and lodge our PV application? Can he apply for this next Visa from within Australia? Are there several options & which is the best one for him to be on when we get married?
Should he declare that he is intending to marry when he applies for the next Visa?
Would he be better off to return to the US and apply for a PMV? We hope to avoid this step - we just want to be together now & begin our lives together. 
Thank you so much - we feel rather lost about what is the best option & don't want to do anything to jeopardise our chances of a successful outcome!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nundra -

Thanks for the questions. He could either depart Australia and apply for another ETA, or apply for a further visitor visa onshore which would be a subclass 600 visitor visa. There is a significant risk of refusal if he states he is staying to become resident, get married, etc on a visitor visa as these are only allowed for short-term, tourism type purposes. Staying to spend more time with a girlfriend is one thing; staying to get ready to get married is another.

Re PMV vs Partner, it all depends on the circumstances of your relationship, and most importantly on the relationship evidence you can provide - living together time is only one part of a much larger picture of relationship evidence that is needed for partner visas in Australia. Would need to see you at a consultation (we offer these by phone, Skype or at our office in Sydney) to go over all the details of your relationship, discuss relationship evidence both existing and what you could put together going forward, etc before I could give you an opinion on whether going directly to partner visa without PMV is advisable. My feeling based on what you've said so far is that you're right in between the two, and with the right planning and relationship evidence, the partner visa may work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nundra said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I need some fairly speedy advice, PLEASE!
> MY partner is from the USA. I am Australian. I visited him in the US for 3.5 weeks in August 2013. HE visited me here, staying from Nov. 2013 - March 2014. He is due to return in September. WE plan to get married & apply for a Partner Visa (820). The problem is that his ETA expires in October, six weeks after he arrives. We won't have time to organise the wedding in that time.
> So our dilemma is:
> What Visa does he apply for next, to buy him some time to stay here with me longer, so we can get married and lodge our PV application? Can he apply for this next Visa from within Australia? Are there several options & which is the best one for him to be on when we get married?
> Should he declare that he is intending to marry when he applies for the next Visa?
> Would he be better off to return to the US and apply for a PMV? We hope to avoid this step - we just want to be together now & begin our lives together.
> Thank you so much - we feel rather lost about what is the best option & don't want to do anything to jeopardise our chances of a successful outcome!


----------



## Nundra

*Thanks Mark!*

Hi again Mark,

Thank you for your reply! So when his ETA expires, the only options are Visitor Visa (600) or another ETA (applied for offshore) for him to stay in the country?

I did read today that ETA's cannot be renewed? Whats the story there?
But if he applies for either another ETA or a 600, he could not then get married to me without it looking as though he had broken his Visa conditions? Or could he apply for another ETA and then down the track we decide to marry, get married while the ETA is till in place & then apply for a PV? Or likewise, apply for a 600 from onshore (but without intention to marry yet) but then decide to marry down the track while 600 is till valid? Is this all A-ok under the rules?

Thank you again!


----------



## Harry11

Hi Mark
Been goin through your answers and honestly it really helps a lot people to get out of unwanted stress related to immigration process. 
We had done medical s overseas and then we came back to Austrlia and applied for aens 186 .. but before we lodged our application my wife got call from overseas hospital that she has to undergo repeat urine test..but since we are allready back in Aus..we went to medibank to get her repeat urine test but they said since it was done overseas they can not link with medicals so we have to wait for Case officer to decide now..also we tried to contact Global Health so that my wife can complete her urine test..but no reply from them as well...my wife is very worried now she doesn't want to do again medical if CO asks..
Is there any way to contact Global health as there doesn't work or whats your view on our situation. .is this going to be big problem for us as we dont want our application delay. .
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nundra -

Correct - ETA's cannot be renewed - to get more visitor visa time he'd either need to apply for a new ETA offshore, or apply for a sc600 onshore. ETA is probably simpler as less questions are asked - sc600 is used by a wide variety of risk profiles, so the assessment is more rigorous and far more questions are asked.

No problem getting married while in Australia on a visitor visa - the key is that at the moment you get the visa, you are not planning on getting married and tell DIBP that - that could create an issue as getting married may not be seen as a temporary visit to Australia, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nundra said:


> Hi again Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your reply! So when his ETA expires, the only options are Visitor Visa (600) or another ETA (applied for offshore) for him to stay in the country?
> 
> I did read today that ETA's cannot be renewed? Whats the story there?
> But if he applies for either another ETA or a 600, he could not then get married to me without it looking as though he had broken his Visa conditions? Or could he apply for another ETA and then down the track we decide to marry, get married while the ETA is till in place & then apply for a PV? Or likewise, apply for a 600 from onshore (but without intention to marry yet) but then decide to marry down the track while 600 is till valid? Is this all A-ok under the rules?
> 
> Thank you again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harry11 -

Thanks for the questions and sorry to hear of your medical test issue. Global Health generally speaks mainly to doctors and clinics, so may be difficult getting information from them as an applicant. I expect you may have to wait until you're contacted by a case officer or assessment team from DIBP and work through them to try and get a new urine test linked with the rest of the results. Problem is, the rest of the results cannot be assessed without all the tests, so it's potentially a problem and could delay things. The key is to determine where the medicals are being assessed - if offshore, then you may need to do the test here and send it to the clinic offshore, if they are willing to cooperate in that way - this is one of those things you'll need to work out step by step and see how flexible the various parties involved are.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Harry11 said:


> Hi Mark
> Been goin through your answers and honestly it really helps a lot people to get out of unwanted stress related to immigration process.
> We had done medical s overseas and then we came back to Austrlia and applied for aens 186 .. but before we lodged our application my wife got call from overseas hospital that she has to undergo repeat urine test..but since we are allready back in Aus..we went to medibank to get her repeat urine test but they said since it was done overseas they can not link with medicals so we have to wait for Case officer to decide now..also we tried to contact Global Health so that my wife can complete her urine test..but no reply from them as well...my wife is very worried now she doesn't want to do again medical if CO asks..
> Is there any way to contact Global health as there doesn't work or whats your view on our situation. .is this going to be big problem for us as we dont want our application delay. .
> Thanks


----------



## Harry11

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Harry11 -
> 
> Thanks for the questions and sorry to hear of your medical test issue. Global Health generally speaks mainly to doctors and clinics, so may be difficult getting information from them as an applicant. I expect you may have to wait until you're contacted by a case officer or assessment team from DIBP and work through them to try and get a new urine test linked with the rest of the results. Problem is, the rest of the results cannot be assessed without all the tests, so it's potentially a problem and could delay things. The key is to determine where the medicals are being assessed - if offshore, then you may need to do the test here and send it to the clinic offshore, if they are willing to cooperate in that way - this is one of those things you'll need to work out step by step and see how flexible the various parties involved are.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark
Thanks for the quick reply and useful infomation.
How do I find where the medicals are being assessed offshore or over here.
If nothing works out and if I have to wait for instructions from case officer,, do she have have to do complete medicals or he may just aks for repeat urine test.
Appreciate a lot for your reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harry11 -

The clinic you took the tests at is probably your best chance at determining what's going on with processing, or your case officer once assigned. May be difficult to get this info though.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Harry11 said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanks for the quick reply and useful infomation.
> How do I find where the medicals are being assessed offshore or over here.
> If nothing works out and if I have to wait for instructions from case officer,, do she have have to do complete medicals or he may just aks for repeat urine test.
> Appreciate a lot for your reply


----------



## Harry11

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Harry11 -
> 
> The clinic you took the tests at is probably your best chance at determining what's going on with processing, or your case officer once assigned. May be difficult to get this info though.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark
That was helpful info.
I contacted the clinic and they said since it was e medicals we waite for 2 weeks and if the client we send the reports under e medical system saying urine test pending.
As global health has not contacted me and its been more then 1 month with continue remainders to them, I think I have to wait for case officers reply once he gets allocated.. Hope he doesnt ask her to go complete medical test as we spend so much money on medicals as it was a complete family medical. 
Thanks for such a genuine advice Mark


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

I have been recently granted 189 visa. (In July 2014) I am planning to get married on September and I want to migrate with my spouse. 

Is it possible to apply for the spouse visa before I move to Australia?
My concern is about the clause that sponsor should usually resides in Australia. Please advise me on this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhanu -

Thanks for the note. As you are a PR (not a citizen yet) you must satisfy the "usually resident" requirements in order to sponsor someone for a partner visa. The simplified explanation is that you need to provide evidence that you consider Australia your home and plan to continue this for some time into the future (no exact time specified), or that you are about to make Australia your home. Evidence is key - ie, job contracts, apt or house leases or purchase papers, other evidence that shows that you resident here (not just staying temporarily with a friend, etc) and shows that you have made arrangements to stay here for some time.

Beyond this, would be happy to work with you in a consultation to talk about any specific evidence you might be considering or answer questions about the specific legal provisions of the usually resident policy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dhanu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been recently granted 189 visa. (In July 2014) I am planning to get married on September and I want to migrate with my spouse.
> 
> Is it possible to apply for the spouse visa before I move to Australia?
> My concern is about the clause that sponsor should usually resides in Australia. Please advise me on this.


----------



## fitzroyy

Hi Mark

I have a quick question in regards to partner visa for pregnancy issue. If my partner apply 820 here, we are aware that the decision can take anywhere between several months to 13 months. As she is from Hong Kong and want to ask, if she has a baby suddenly during the waiting period, can she apply for bridging visa to go to HK until the baby is born so the baby can also get the HK resident there as well as in Australia? 

The main reason is if the baby is born here, then the baby cannot get the HK/China resident unless the baby lives there for like 10 years and would like to have this extra choice whether to go to Aus or HK in the future (which is common these days as people hold a HK id and an Australian passport). So therefore, if the baby is born in HK, it will be much easier and at the same time the baby can get the Aussie resident since me as a father, is an Aust citizen

I mean the whole thing is, we are not quite sure if it will affect the whole process, for example, during decision making whether PV is to be granted, can she leave outside Australia until the baby is born and both come back to Australia? Or she cannot leave until the decision has been made or it is not even allowed? etc

Your advice will be appreciated. Thanks


----------



## Nundra

*Thank you so much Mark!*

Thank you so much Mark!
You help so many of us by giving your time - its really appeciated 
So, to clarify, an ETA cannot be 'renewed' but one CAN apply for a new one directly after another one expires?
Are these usually granted?
Thank you again!

QUOTE=MarkNortham;549882]Hi Nundra -

Correct - ETA's cannot be renewed - to get more visitor visa time he'd either need to apply for a new ETA offshore, or apply for a sc600 onshore. ETA is probably simpler as less questions are asked - sc600 is used by a wide variety of risk profiles, so the assessment is more rigorous and far more questions are asked.

No problem getting married while in Australia on a visitor visa - the key is that at the moment you get the visa, you are not planning on getting married and tell DIBP that - that could create an issue as getting married may not be seen as a temporary visit to Australia, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nundra -

Yes, you can apply for another ETA after one expires, but you must be offshore (outside Australia) to make the application. Re: are they granted or not, depends completely on the circumstances of the applicant and application. Too many ETA's will eventually result in many cases in refusal, but typically 1 or 2 is not an issue unless there are other outstanding issues with the application, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nundra said:


> Thank you so much Mark!
> You help so many of us by giving your time - its really appeciated
> So, to clarify, an ETA cannot be 'renewed' but one CAN apply for a new one directly after another one expires?
> Are these usually granted?
> Thank you again!
> 
> QUOTE=MarkNortham;549882]Hi Nundra -
> 
> Correct - ETA's cannot be renewed - to get more visitor visa time he'd either need to apply for a new ETA offshore, or apply for a sc600 onshore. ETA is probably simpler as less questions are asked - sc600 is used by a wide variety of risk profiles, so the assessment is more rigorous and far more questions are asked.
> 
> No problem getting married while in Australia on a visitor visa - the key is that at the moment you get the visa, you are not planning on getting married and tell DIBP that - that could create an issue as getting married may not be seen as a temporary visit to Australia, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fitzroyy -

Should be no problem - BV-B is normally available to anyone holding a BV-A who has a "substantial reason" for a trip offshore - delivering a child would certainly qualify in my view. Obviously would need to make sure she is safe to fly at that stage of the pregnancy, etc. You may want to check out airline regulations - some have rules that prohibit people from flying if they are past a certain point in their pregnancy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fitzroyy said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have a quick question in regards to partner visa for pregnancy issue. If my partner apply 820 here, we are aware that the decision can take anywhere between several months to 13 months. As she is from Hong Kong and want to ask, if she has a baby suddenly during the waiting period, can she apply for bridging visa to go to HK until the baby is born so the baby can also get the HK resident there as well as in Australia?
> 
> The main reason is if the baby is born here, then the baby cannot get the HK/China resident unless the baby lives there for like 10 years and would like to have this extra choice whether to go to Aus or HK in the future (which is common these days as people hold a HK id and an Australian passport). So therefore, if the baby is born in HK, it will be much easier and at the same time the baby can get the Aussie resident since me as a father, is an Aust citizen
> 
> I mean the whole thing is, we are not quite sure if it will affect the whole process, for example, during decision making whether PV is to be granted, can she leave outside Australia until the baby is born and both come back to Australia? Or she cannot leave until the decision has been made or it is not even allowed? etc
> 
> Your advice will be appreciated. Thanks


----------



## Ronjayia

*Partner visa*

Hi all,
I'm new here so don't really know how to use this site. However I manged to find this thread to ask some questions.hope I'll find some help here��

I came to australia in 2007 and stayed on my student visa until 2010 when my tra got messed up and is to stay in Australia without visa for almost 15 months.
Then I met my partner. After one year of living together we got married in December 2012. I applied my partner visa application which got refused In September 2012. Immigration said I did not meet the regulation 820.211.
Now my case is in MRT and still waiting to hear from them.
Do I stand a chance to clear my MRT?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ronjayia -

Yes, you have a chance if you can convince the MRT that as of the date of application, you were in a genuine married relationship - that's what 820.211 is all about (I'm assuming that's what your decision record from DIBP says. MRT waiting times for partner visas are typically 12-14 months, so you may want to look into the case and make sure the MRT still has your current contact info.

Evidence of your relationship is the key to these types of MRT cases, from my experience. There are a number of options - you can look in forums like this for threads about partner visa evidence, and/or you can enlist professional assistance from a registered migration agent to represent you at the MRT. Either way, the end result needs to be convincing the MRT Member via evidence that you and your spouse meet the legal requirements for a genuine married relationship (again, assuming this was the grounds under which your initial application was refused).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Nundra

*ETA vs sc600*

Ok, thanks for that quick reply Mark!
I'm getting my head around it all now  Re the sc600, is that likely to get approved if he is from a non-risk country (USA) and is wanting to stay to visit girlfriend & to do some travelling? Is it a complicated Visa to apply for?
Cheers!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nundra -
> 
> Yes, you can apply for another ETA after one expires, but you must be offshore (outside Australia) to make the application. Re: are they granted or not, depends completely on the circumstances of the applicant and application. Too many ETA's will eventually result in many cases in refusal, but typically 1 or 2 is not an issue unless there are other outstanding issues with the application, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


[/QUOTE]


----------



## Nundra

*Also....*

Also, if the sc600 is approved with a 'no further stay' condition, does that mean you can not ever apply for any other kind of visa to Australia even to be with a partner?!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nundra -

Fairly simple to apply for (see DIBP website for instructions), re: likelihood of approval, while it's higher for low-risk persons, there are still too many factors to give you any sort of an indication.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nundra said:


> Ok, thanks for that quick reply Mark!
> I'm getting my head around it all now  Re the sc600, is that likely to get approved if he is from a non-risk country (USA) and is wanting to stay to visit girlfriend & to do some travelling? Is it a complicated Visa to apply for?
> Cheers!


[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nundra -

No - it means that while in Australia on that particular visa (ie, the sc600 that was granted with that condition), he cannot apply for any other visa. He could go offshore and apply for any visa that you can apply offshore for (such as an offshore partner visa - subclass 309/100) and he could go offshore and later get another visa such as another ETA (if approved) that, if it did not have the no further stay condition on it, could allow an onshore partner visa application later. That being said, once 8503 (the no futher stay condition) is put on a visitor visa, it can be difficult to get a future visitor visa that does not have that condition on it. But as with anything in immigration, depends on the circumstances of the application and applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nundra said:


> Also, if the sc600 is approved with a 'no further stay' condition, does that mean you can not ever apply for any other kind of visa to Australia even to be with a partner?!


----------



## Nundra

*So grateful!*

Thanks AGAIN Mark - you're wonderful for clearing up these questions for us ! Decisions need to be made & it's been somewhat of a great unknown to us.. Thanks for shining a little light into the darkness - things are more illuminated now! Have a lovely evening


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks for the kind words, Nundra - best of luck with your case! Glad I could help -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nundra said:


> Thanks AGAIN Mark - you're wonderful for clearing up these questions for us ! Decisions need to be made & it's been somewhat of a great unknown to us.. Thanks for shining a little light into the darkness - things are more illuminated now! Have a lovely evening


----------



## Ronjayia

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ronjayia -
> 
> Yes, you have a chance if you can convince the MRT that as of the date of application, you were in a genuine married relationship - that's what 820.211 is all about (I'm assuming that's what your decision record from DIBP says. MRT waiting times for partner visas are typically 12-14 months, so you may want to look into the case and make sure the MRT still has your current contact info.
> 
> Evidence of your relationship is the key to these types of MRT cases, from my experience. There are a number of options - you can look in forums like this for threads about partner visa evidence, and/or you can enlist professional assistance from a registered migration agent to represent you at the MRT. Either way, the end result needs to be convincing the MRT Member via evidence that you and your spouse meet the legal requirements for a genuine married relationship (again, assuming this was the grounds under which your initial application was refused).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi mark,
Thanks for your quick reply. Yeh out relation is genuine and we all the proofs from our marriage to our trips and joint accounts etc etc. immigration said they are not convince if all our resons are compelling and compasanate enough to grant me a visa. Do you suggest any other evidence that I can use for my MRT? 
Thanks once again.


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

Thank Yo for your reply. That information is really important for us. I think the best plan is me to migrate to Australia first and then apply for the partner visa for my fiance. (at that time he will be my husband) Or he can also try skill migrate visa. Please advice me on this.

Thank You and Regards
Dhanu



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dhanu -
> 
> Thanks for the note. As you are a PR (not a citizen yet) you must satisfy the "usually resident" requirements in order to sponsor someone for a partner visa. The simplified explanation is that you need to provide evidence that you consider Australia your home and plan to continue this for some time into the future (no exact time specified), or that you are about to make Australia your home. Evidence is key - ie, job contracts, apt or house leases or purchase papers, other evidence that shows that you resident here (not just staying temporarily with a friend, etc) and shows that you have made arrangements to stay here for some time.
> 
> Beyond this, would be happy to work with you in a consultation to talk about any specific evidence you might be considering or answer questions about the specific legal provisions of the usually resident policy.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## SMF

Dear Mark !!!

Hope you are fine ... My query relates to Fees .... I am a visa 189 applicant with one additional applicant i.e my spouse... I have done IELTS with the required band... However my wife has not done IELTS ... Can you kindly guide what would be the total fee (including 2 installment) ... Actually I am not sure how much I have to pay becoz of my spouse not having done IELTS ... 

Many thanks !!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ronjayia -

Would need to see all your evidence in a consultation session to give you an opinion re: whether the evidence is sufficient and formulate any plans for additional evidence. You also mentioned "compelling" - this term is usually related to a refusal based on Schedule 3 criteria, not genuineness of relationship, so if they refused on Schedule 3 that's a different argument.

If you're interested in a consulting session, link below in my signature goes to our website where you can book.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ronjayia said:


> Hi mark,
> Thanks for your quick reply. Yeh out relation is genuine and we all the proofs from our marriage to our trips and joint accounts etc etc. immigration said they are not convince if all our resons are compelling and compasanate enough to grant me a visa. Do you suggest any other evidence that I can use for my MRT?
> Thanks once again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saijini -

Skilled visas are complex and there are multiple sets of overlapping rules - would need to see you in a consultation (in person or via Skype or phone) to go through all of your details & circumstances to advise about a skilled visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dhanu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank Yo for your reply. That information is really important for us. I think the best plan is me to migrate to Australia first and then apply for the partner visa for my fiance. (at that time he will be my husband) Or he can also try skill migrate visa. Please advice me on this.
> 
> Thank You and Regards
> Sajini


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

Thank You for the advice. Please let me know how to contact you via skype. I really appreciate your support on this.


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dhanu -
> 
> Skilled visas are complex and there are multiple sets of overlapping rules - would need to see you in a consultation (in person or via Skype or phone) to go through all of your details & circumstances to advise about a skilled visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## SBRN01

Hi Mr. Mark,

I have a query. As a requirement of my overseas job I have got my docs notarized in 2003. I have a few docs (Not all) which were notarized then. Can I use those docs for my immigration purpose or I have get new stamps/attestations now? 
Is there any limit / validity period of Notarized docs/stamps?
Please help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhanu -

Best way is to go to the website in my signature below, then click on Professional Consultation at the top middle part of the screen - looking forward to assisting you.

Best,

Mark Northam



Dhanu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank You for the advice. Please let me know how to contact you via skype. I really appreciate your support on this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SBRN01 -

Thanks for the question. There is no limit I know of on when certified copies expire.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SBRN01 said:


> Hi Mr. Mark,
> 
> I have a query. As a requirement of my overseas job I have got my docs notarized in 2003. I have a few docs (Not all) which were notarized then. Can I use those docs for my immigration purpose or I have get new stamps/attestations now?
> Is there any limit / validity period of Notarized docs/stamps?
> Please help.


----------



## m.uzairrr

Hi Mark,

So nice of you to individually replying to all of us.

I have a query regarding ACS assessment review or Appeal. One of my work experience of 2 years has been deducted and listed as 'not closely related to mentioned ANZSCO'. Job title was different from the mentioned category but i feel job duties were closely related (similar almost 70%).

I need those 2 years to be counted into my experience as well. What way forward would be suitable. Making an appeal or going for a review (with new detailed reference letter for that job duration).

What usually is a percentage of positive outcome in an ACS review?

Many thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi M.uzairrr -

Thanks for the question. In this case, a review with additional documentation is probably the best course of action from what you've said. Just be careful that any new documentation does not conflict with whatever was submitted beforehand, or that can cause additional problems.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



m.uzairrr said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> So nice of you to individually replying to all of us.
> 
> I have a query regarding ACS assessment review or Appeal. One of my work experience of 2 years has been deducted and listed as 'not closely related to mentioned ANZSCO'. Job title was different from the mentioned category but i feel job duties were closely related (similar almost 70%).
> 
> I need those 2 years to be counted into my experience as well. What way forward would be suitable. Making an appeal or going for a review (with new detailed reference letter for that job duration).
> 
> What usually is a percentage of positive outcome in an ACS review?
> 
> Many thanks,


----------



## bonello32

Hi mark
How are you? 
I just wanted to find out about something can the embassy of Jakarta they can check your sponsor bank account or not?

Please let me know thank you
Mark


----------



## dee.itsalright

*309/100 Partner Visa*

Hi Mark,

I will soon be about to lodge a 309/100 Partner visa. I am Italian and have lived in Oz for nearly 3 years now, and since July 2013 in a Defacto relationship with my Australian partner. 
I have a couple of concerns about the offshore application..

1. When its said that 'you must be outside Australia when the visa is granted' do they refer to the bridging visa which is usually granted straight away after receiving the application? Or are we talking about the actual decision regarding 309 Visa..?
2. On that note, if I apply online, will the bridging visa be granted earlier compared to the paper application?

Im still in baby steps for this visa,so any relink to web pages/forums or anything that could help me to go through this will be so muh appreciated.

Thank you,
Dee.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bonello32 -

Don't know, however I have seen situations in the past where DIBP has been able to determine that a bank statement or other documents from a bank that were submitted were not genuine (ie, they were able to check with the bank, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bonello32 said:


> Hi mark
> How are you?
> I just wanted to find out about something can the embassy of Jakarta they can check your sponsor bank account or not?
> 
> Please let me know thank you
> Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dee -

Thanks for the note. There is no bridging visa granted with a 309/100 offshore partner visa application - the applicant must be offshore at the time the visa application is lodged, and when the visa (the partner visa, that is) is granted, usually anywhere from 6 - 12 months later. Bridging visas for partner visas are only issued if the application is an onshore 820/801 application.

Suggest you check out the pages on immi.gov.au about partner visas for more information if you're not using a migration agent, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dee.itsalright said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I will soon be about to lodge a 309/100 Partner visa. I am Italian and have lived in Oz for nearly 3 years now, and since July 2013 in a Defacto relationship with my Australian partner.
> I have a couple of concerns about the offshore application..
> 
> 1. When its said that 'you must be outside Australia when the visa is granted' do they refer to the bridging visa which is usually granted straight away after receiving the application? Or are we talking about the actual decision regarding 309 Visa..?
> 2. On that note, if I apply online, will the bridging visa be granted earlier compared to the paper application?
> 
> Im still in baby steps for this visa,so any relink to web pages/forums or anything that could help me to go through this will be so muh appreciated.
> 
> Thank you,
> Dee.


----------



## Janani Hari

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your inputs and your time in responding to each of our queries on this forum. My question today is regarding claiming points for partner skills. My husband and I are in the process for applying for 189 skilled independent visa. However he is at 55 points currently . I am aware that for partner skill points we need a suitable skills assessment and proof of functional english. 
I recently took my IELTS ( last month) and got a favorable score but I took the Academic version since it was required for my university application. Will the scores of the academic module be accepted ? Or should it only be General testing scores?
My husband received his Skills Assessment from ACS for his nominated occupation but they have reduced 2 years from his work experience. My previous work experience is similar to my husband's so if I have to get my skills assessed from ACS, is there a min. no of years requirement? I have 2 years and 10 months so I am guessing if they reduce 2 years from that, I would be left with 10 months of work experience. Will that be considered a positive skills assessment by DIAC? In that case can we claim 5 points for partner skills? 
Kindly clarify . I really appreciate your support. 
thanks again
-Janani


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Janani -

As long as you have:
* IELTS score (either general or academic) of at least 6 on each of the 4 bands
* Successful skills assessment
* Meet the age requirement (ie, under 50 at time of invitation)

These are the primary requirements for the 5 partner points. You don't have to have any work experience claimable for points, so as long as ACS gives you the positive skills assessment (even with 10 months left over in addition to the 2 years they may take), you should be OK.

Cannot give you specific advice for your case as I haven't seen your documents, etc but these are the general criteria.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Janani Hari said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your inputs and your time in responding to each of our queries on this forum. My question today is regarding claiming points for partner skills. My husband and I are in the process for applying for 189 skilled independent visa. However he is at 55 points currently . I am aware that for partner skill points we need a suitable skills assessment and proof of functional english.
> I recently took my IELTS ( last month) and got a favorable score but I took the Academic version since it was required for my university application. Will the scores of the academic module be accepted ? Or should it only be General testing scores?
> My husband received his Skills Assessment from ACS for his nominated occupation but they have reduced 2 years from his work experience. My previous work experience is similar to my husband's so if I have to get my skills assessed from ACS, is there a min. no of years requirement? I have 2 years and 10 months so I am guessing if they reduce 2 years from that, I would be left with 10 months of work experience. Will that be considered a positive skills assessment by DIAC? In that case can we claim 5 points for partner skills?
> Kindly clarify . I really appreciate your support.
> thanks again
> -Janani


----------



## Janani Hari

Thank you so much for clarifying this Mark. Appreciate it. I have one more question. I noticed that for ICT Business and Systems Analysts, the cut off has been 65 points in the past 2-3 invitation rounds. Does this mean we need to have 65 points for us to receive an invitation ? Please see excerpt from the immigration website for the July 14th invitation round. Thanks .

ICT Business and Systems Analysts
Accountants
Software and Applications Programmers.
The points score and the visa date of effect cut-off for the above occupations in the 14 July 2014 invitation round is as follows: 
Note: Below points score and visa date of effect is for Skilled Independent (subclass 189).

Points scores and the visa dates of effect cut off for the above occupations in the 14 July 2014 invitation roun​d

Points	Description	Points score	Visa date of effect
2211

Accountants

60 

2014-06-24 09:38am

2611

ICT Business and System Analysts

65 

2014-06-21 12.01am

2613

Software and Applications Programmers

60 

2014-06-18 12.01am


----------



## SMF

Dear Mark ... Guess you have missed my query in between others 

I would be highly obliged if you could provide me your expert opinion on the following:



SMF said:


> Dear Mark !!!
> 
> Hope you are fine ... My query relates to Fees .... I am a visa 189 applicant with one additional applicant i.e my spouse... I have done IELTS with the required band ... However my wife has not done IELTS ... Can you kindly guide what would be the total fee (including 2 installment) ... Actually I am not sure how much I have to pay becoz of my spouse not having done IELTS ... Can you pls confirm me the amount of *Second instalment Visa Application Charge (English language tuition)*
> 
> Many thanks !!!


----------



## airobin

Hello Mark, let me discuss two scenario

Scenario-1:
Someone lodge EOI for both 190 (also applied into state) and 489 (family). If invitation for 190 comes first the EOI will freeze for 60 days. If the candidate decide not to accept the invitation and wants to considered only for 489, what he can do;
1. must wait for 60 days to unfreeze the EOI and then amend the EOI
2. Or, let know the SkillSelect authority about his changed interest
3. Or, lodge a new EOI for 489 immediately. Will it be conflicting with current one?

Scenario-2:
Someone lodge EOI for both 190 (also applied into state) and 489 (family). If invitation for 498 comes first the EOI will freeze for 60 days. If the requested state decide to sponsor the candidate at that very moment wha will happen;
1. The state will see that the EOI is already freeze and will discard the candidate's application
2. Or, They will wait till the EOI become unfreeze
3. Or, They will just notify the candidate about their decision to sponsor and let him decide what to do, accept or not? for limited time? 

Please help by your expert opinion.

thanks
Robin.


----------



## m.uzairrr

Hi Mark,

Many thanks for your reply.

I will be using the same job title of course and for the same duration as well. A new detailed reference (experience) letter from the same company would not be contradictory, i guess??

Thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi M.uzairrr -
> 
> Thanks for the question. In this case, a review with additional documentation is probably the best course of action from what you've said. Just be careful that any new documentation does not conflict with whatever was submitted beforehand, or that can cause additional problems.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Ronjayia

Hi mark,
Thanks for getting back to me. 
As you said,immigration refused my visa on schedule 3. I've my migration agent that looking after my case. The reason I sent you that message asking about your opinion, is my attempt to collect all the information that could help me go through this difficult time.anything you'd suggest me would make my case stronger as you seems very experience in this kinds business. 
Hope to hear from you! 

Kind regard
Ron


----------



## Quent

Hi Mark,

First of all thank you for offering this service, it is really kind of you.

Here my question:
My partner and I are planning to apply for a de-facto relationship visa this September. I am currently on a Work-Holiday Visa which will be valid till mid January.

Now we are also planning to fly to Germany over Christmas (until beginning January) to visit my family. Might this be a problem? I heard somewhere that you can't leave Australia when you apply for a de-facto visa or else your application will be cancelled.

Or would it make more sense to apply off-shore (in Germany as we are going to be there anyways) as it is cheaper or can I not come back to Australia until the visa is granted?

Will I have working rights in either of these cases?

Thanks for the help!

Cheers,
Quent


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ronjayia -

The key with Schedule 3 is to dig into any and every possible aspects of your case that could present a compelling reason not to apply Schedule 3 - this usually takes a lot of time and effort, especially since they significantly tightened the Schedule 3 policy on 1 July 2014.

One thing's for sure given the new Schedule 3 regime - it's much harder to get through Schedule 3 waiver situations on partner and other visas than it used to be. Make sure your agent is very familiar with Schedule 3 waivers and the accompanying law, regulations and policy in this area - it's my view that presenting compelling reasons to satisfy Schedule 3 now takes a very detailed, very thorough submission with lots of evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ronjayia said:


> Hi mark,
> Thanks for getting back to me.
> As you said,immigration refused my visa on schedule 3. I've my migration agent that looking after my case. The reason I sent you that message asking about your opinion, is my attempt to collect all the information that could help me go through this difficult time.anything you'd suggest me would make my case stronger as you seems very experience in this kinds business.
> Hope to hear from you!
> 
> Kind regard
> Ron


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Quent -

If your working holiday (WH) visa allows multiple entries and there's nothing on your visa conditions that says otherwise, then a trip out and back should not be an issue. Generally, onshore (in Australia) partner visa application would give you a bridging visa which activates when your WH visa expires and allows you to remain in Australia until decision on the partner visa application with full work and study rights. Offshore application means no bridging visa, so you'd have to visit Australia on visitor visas to see your partner - no work rights in that scenario.

Hope this helps - if you are unfamiliar with the various aspects of partner visas, might make sense to sit down with a migration agent and go over all the aspects of your case - there may be other things about your case that would indicate that an onshore or offshore visa is better for your particular situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Quent said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all thank you for offering this service, it is really kind of you.
> 
> Here my question:
> My partner and I are planning to apply for a de-facto relationship visa this September. I am currently on a Work-Holiday Visa which will be valid till mid January.
> 
> Now we are also planning to fly to Germany over Christmas (until beginning January) to visit my family. Might this be a problem? I heard somewhere that you can't leave Australia when you apply for a de-facto visa or else your application will be cancelled.
> 
> Or would it make more sense to apply off-shore (in Germany as we are going to be there anyways) as it is cheaper or can I not come back to Australia until the visa is granted?
> 
> Will I have working rights in either of these cases?
> 
> Thanks for the help!
> 
> Cheers,
> Quent


----------



## luckyduck12

Hi Mark,

When filling in form 47PA for parent contributory visa application 143, Part B is - Withdrawal of parent visa application (applicants aged 18 years and over) - We don't have any other parent visa application being currently processed (never lodged any actually). Does that mean we just ignore this part (leave empty) and continue into Part C?

Thanks Mark,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck12 -

Correct.

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> When filling in form 47PA for parent contributory visa application 143, Part B is - Withdrawal of parent visa application (applicants aged 18 years and over) - We don't have any other parent visa application being currently processed (never lodged any actually). Does that mean we just ignore this part (leave empty) and continue into Part C?
> 
> Thanks Mark,


----------



## Lily88

Hi Mark,

I am applying for 189 visa and it says on the checklist that I have to provide a labelled passport-sized photograph. My question is, how do I label the photograph? Should I use an image editing software to label it? Should I write the name at the bottom of the photograph or under it?

Thank you very much for your time

Lily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lily -

With the new online systems, no need to write on photos - you can upload the photo and make sure your name is in the filename,ie john-smith-photo.jpg or something like that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lily88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for 189 visa and it says on the checklist that I have to provide a labelled passport-sized photograph. My question is, how do I label the photograph? Should I use an image editing software to label it? Should I write the name at the bottom of the photograph or under it?
> 
> Thank you very much for your time
> 
> Lily


----------



## luckyduck12

Hi Mark,

I have Permanent residency but holding it for less than 2 years. 
I have been living lawfully in Australia (student visas and PR ) for 6 years inclusive.

Can I sponsor my parents on 143 visa? Or do I need to be a permanent resident for at least 2 years?

Thanks a lot Mark,
You always have the most helpful answer whenever I have doubt


----------



## luckyduck12

*Evidence of being settled and usually resident*

Another question hoping Mark can share some advice..

"Your sponsor *may be asked* to submit evidence of their being settled and usually resident in Australia. This information may include:
• the length of that residence and the amount of time spent in Australia;
• proof of having a settled home in Australia;
• ownership of a home, business or other investments, social network.

The department will make an assessment of your sponsor's ability to fulfil their sponsorship obligations and your sponsor *may be asked *to provide the department with certified documentation covering:
• their latest income tax assessment;
• their current pay slips or other satisfactory evidence of alternative income;
• evidence of major assets, including bank or similar accounts, details of real estate or motor vehicle ownership;
• confirmation of liabilities, such as mortgage repayments, rent, hire purchase, credit card repayments etc; and
• any other evidence that may help to establish their ability to meet their sponsorship undertaking."

Does 'may be asked' mean the department will ask me to submit those evidence later?

Would you advice to include those up front along with the application? Or I should wait to see whether they will ask me about those evidence or not.

Thanks,


----------



## mharm

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mharm -
> 
> Normally 3 to 9 months total. Yours is going a bit longer than usual, but no way to tell reasons why unless DIBP discloses. My guess: some sort of a backup or delay in the external security checking.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,
Hope you are doing well ,and thanks for your answer.
From your point of view, is it a good idea to call my team or send them a status enquiry email?
Or you recommend I should just wait?
Regrads


----------



## fitzroyy

Accident double post.


----------



## fitzroyy

Hi Mark

Thanks for the reply

I fully understand that BV-B has a 'substantial reason' for a trip offshore and assuming delivering a child in HK would qualify while waiting for the outcome result for PV, but say....she goes back to HK in month 3 and would stay in HK for 1/2 year (till after birth and then come back to Aust in month 9 or 10).

My question is what if the CO says in around month 7 says "OK, we have a decision now so you better come here or otherwise we will disqualify your PV application if you don't come back within xx days/weeks" and obviously around month 7 or 8, she cannot come back due to birth pregnancy and being prohibited in flying.l That is what we are concerning if you see where we are coming from.

Or even the CO is ready for decision making, would the CO be happy to wait until she is back as long as she notify in advance or something? Because we heard that CO can make a decision without notifying you which would be a HUGE disadvantage if she is not here.

Advice is appreciated! Thanks!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fitzroyy -
> 
> Should be no problem - BV-B is normally available to anyone holding a BV-A who has a "substantial reason" for a trip offshore - delivering a child would certainly qualify in my view. Obviously would need to make sure she is safe to fly at that stage of the pregnancy, etc. You may want to check out airline regulations - some have rules that prohibit people from flying if they are past a certain point in their pregnancy.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Hi Mark
> 
> I have a quick question in regards to partner visa for pregnancy issue. If my partner apply 820 here, we are aware that the decision can take anywhere between several months to 13 months. As she is from Hong Kong and want to ask, if she has a baby suddenly during the waiting period, can she apply for bridging visa to go to HK until the baby is born so the baby can also get the HK resident there as well as in Australia?
> 
> The main reason is if the baby is born here, then the baby cannot get the HK/China resident unless the baby lives there for like 10 years and would like to have this extra choice whether to go to Aus or HK in the future (which is common these days as people hold a HK id and an Australian passport). So therefore, if the baby is born in HK, it will be much easier and at the same time the baby can get the Aussie resident since me as a father, is an Aust citizen
> 
> I mean the whole thing is, we are not quite sure if it will affect the whole process, for example, during decision making whether PV is to be granted, can she leave outside Australia until the baby is born and both come back to Australia? Or she cannot leave until the decision has been made or it is not even allowed? etc
> 
> Your advice will be appreciated. Thanks


----------



## jsacchow

Hi Mark

Thank you for your reply to my question. As it stands now, the business is in the actual process of being sold with the new owner taking over probably November. In the meantime, the new owner has agreed to continue to sponser me. Things have changed a little re 457 sponsorship since July 1st....but I just wanted your confirmation to the following:
1. As the owner will continue with existing name of business and my role and working conditions remain the same then I am able to complete my sponsorship time within the original 2 year frame.
2. I won't be required to apply for a "new visa" even though there is a new sponsor.
3. If the new owner's company is already a nominated sponsor, and she is using the same company to sponsor me, will she incur any new/additional fees to take over my sponsorship?

Thank you for your advice in this matter.


----------



## luke&kirsty

Hi Mark,
I'm wondering if I can have some feedback regarding sponsor's financial position. Is there criteria that needs to be met?
I have 2 small kids, and am studying, and only beginning to build a home beauty business. My partner has f/t work but am I supposed to prove I can support him?
Thankyou for any help
Kirsty(Aus) & Luke(UK)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck12 -

"Settled in Australia" for purposes of sponsoring parents means that the sponsor has been "lawfully resident in Australia for a reasonable time period". Current DIBP policy regards "reasonable" as 2 years, but there's room to argue less time on a case-by-case basis. Lawfully resident time includes any time on any visa, including temporary visas and bridging visas, so it sounds like you meet this requirement.

Re: providing evidence, whether to volunteer it up front or wait if/until asked usually, in my view, is dependent on the strength of the evidence - if it's strong, no harm in volunteering it up front, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have Permanent residency but holding it for less than 2 years.
> I have been living lawfully in Australia (student visas and PR ) for 6 years inclusive.
> 
> Can I sponsor my parents on 143 visa? Or do I need to be a permanent resident for at least 2 years?
> 
> Thanks a lot Mark,
> You always have the most helpful answer whenever I have doubt


----------



## ranababu

Hi mark ! 

Good day ! Appreciate your effort and response. I am new here. I am seeking your advise on following question. 
Q. I have submitted two separate EOI using two different mail ID. I got two invitation to lodge my application under 489 ( two weeks earlier than 189) and 189. I got 489 first and already submitted and pay my visa fee which showing in progress. But recently I got invitation 189 as well. Can I shift to 189 without pay any other cost?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mharm -

You might email - case officers in many cases do not like to be called on the phone.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mharm said:


> Dear Mark,
> Hope you are doing well ,and thanks for your answer.
> From your point of view, is it a good idea to call my team or send them a status enquiry email?
> Or you recommend I should just wait?
> Regrads


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fitzroyy -

Generally case officers will notify a person if they are not in position (ie, out when they need to be in, etc) when a visa is ready to grant. I don't know enough about your situation to give you advice specific to your case - would be happy to assist in a consultation if you'd like go through things and work through options for what you're planning.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fitzroyy said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for the reply
> 
> I fully understand that BV-B has a 'substantial reason' for a trip offshore and assuming delivering a child in HK would qualify while waiting for the outcome result for PV, but say....she goes back to HK in month 3 and would stay in HK for 1/2 year (till after birth and then come back to Aust in month 9 or 10).
> 
> My question is what if the CO says in around month 7 says "OK, we have a decision now so you better come here or otherwise we will disqualify your PV application if you don't come back within xx days/weeks" and obviously around month 7 or 8, she cannot come back due to birth pregnancy and being prohibited in flying.l That is what we are concerning if you see where we are coming from.
> 
> Or even the CO is ready for decision making, would the CO be happy to wait until she is back as long as she notify in advance or something? Because we heard that CO can make a decision without notifying you which would be a HUGE disadvantage if she is not here.
> 
> Advice is appreciated! Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jsacchow -

Thanks for the note. DIBP issued a new policy directive recently regarding how time on a 457 may still apply to the 2 year period even if there is an ownership change, however the policy is very specific and detailed - too much so to go through all the questions I'd have to ask you to see if your situation qualifies here. Suggest you sit down with a migration agent and work through the new policy and see if what has happened with your employer would allow you to retain the previous time put in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jsacchow said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for your reply to my question. As it stands now, the business is in the actual process of being sold with the new owner taking over probably November. In the meantime, the new owner has agreed to continue to sponser me. Things have changed a little re 457 sponsorship since July 1st....but I just wanted your confirmation to the following:
> 1. As the owner will continue with existing name of business and my role and working conditions remain the same then I am able to complete my sponsorship time within the original 2 year frame.
> 2. I won't be required to apply for a "new visa" even though there is a new sponsor.
> 3. If the new owner's company is already a nominated sponsor, and she is using the same company to sponsor me, will she incur any new/additional fees to take over my sponsorship?
> 
> Thank you for your advice in this matter.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kirsty & Luke -

Generally the sponsor showing they have income coming in of some sort (even if it's supplemented by govt benefits) and/or other financial assets (support from parents, savings, etc) as applies to the case will satisfy the requirement - there is no specific requirement for a particular amount of income or money.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luke&kirsty said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm wondering if I can have some feedback regarding sponsor's financial position. Is there criteria that needs to be met?
> I have 2 small kids, and am studying, and only beginning to build a home beauty business. My partner has f/t work but am I supposed to prove I can support him?
> Thankyou for any help
> Kirsty(Aus) & Luke(UK)


----------



## luke&kirsty

Thanks Mark. Your assistance is appreciated 
Kirsty & Luke


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ranababu -

Short answer: No refunds are available in these types of circumstances.

The 189 is generally considered a much better visa (it's PR whereas the 489 is a provisional visa) assuming you have the points and qualify for it. You'll have to decide how you manage the process, however if you're on track to be granted the 189, you'll eventually be asked to withdraw the 489 if it has not been granted yet.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ranababu said:


> Hi mark !
> 
> Good day ! Appreciate your effort and response. I am new here. I am seeking your advise on following question.
> Q. I have submitted two separate EOI using two different mail ID. I got two invitation to lodge my application under 489 ( two weeks earlier than 189) and 189. I got 489 first and already submitted and pay my visa fee which showing in progress. But recently I got invitation 189 as well. Can I shift to 189 without pay any other cost?


----------



## dharabaskar

*Tasmania - SS*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing good.

May i know when will the Tasmania open the State Sponsorship for Analyst Programmer(261311) for this year?

Thanks
Vijay


----------



## tomar

Hi Mark,

I'm about to apply for a 189 (skilled independent visa). I got my skills assessed by the ACS and they have been awarded an AQF equivalent bachelor and an AQF equivalent masters degree in computing.

I thought this will give me 15 points, but reading the 189 points test again, it may only give me 10 points. Since it is from overseas, I'm not sure it counts for the 15 points which are for "At least a bachelor degree from an Australian educational institution or other degree of a recognised standard". (Can the "other degree of recognised standard" be from a non-australian educational institution?)

Instead, I guess I might only get 10 points awarded for "An award or qualification recognised by the assessing authority in the assessment of the skilled occupation".

Could you clarify this? Is a bachelor (or master) from overseas (UK in my case) usually awarded 10 or 15 points?

Thank you so much in advance. Greatly appreciated.
Tom


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vijay -

No idea - you'd have to ask them. Wish I had a crystal ball to predict these things, but there's no shortcut to checking each of the state sites you're interested in and/or contacting them to see if they will provide any information on current or future sponsorship for your occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing good.
> 
> May i know when will the Tasmania open the State Sponsorship for Analyst Programmer(261311) for this year?
> 
> Thanks
> Vijay


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tomar -

Normally an overseas bachelor degree as long as it's recognised as equivalent to an Australian bachelor degree by a skills assessing authority would allow you to claim 15 points for it. This also assumes it's from an accredited educational institution (accredited by the country authorities in the country it exists in).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm about to apply for a 189 (skilled independent visa). I got my skills assessed by the ACS and they have been awarded an AQF equivalent bachelor and an AQF equivalent masters degree in computing.
> 
> I thought this will give me 15 points, but reading the 189 points test again, it may only give me 10 points. Since it is from overseas, I'm not sure it counts for the 15 points which are for "At least a bachelor degree from an Australian educational institution or other degree of a recognised standard". (Can the "other degree of recognised standard" be from a non-australian educational institution?)
> 
> Instead, I guess I might only get 10 points awarded for "An award or qualification recognised by the assessing authority in the assessment of the skilled occupation".
> 
> Could you clarify this? Is a bachelor (or master) from overseas (UK in my case) usually awarded 10 or 15 points?
> 
> Thank you so much in advance. Greatly appreciated.
> Tom


----------



## tomar

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your prompt and accurate answers. As -I believe- everybody on this forum, I am really extremely grateful for all the time and effort you put into answering migration related questions - since it is relatively difficult to fully understand all the listed information on the DIBP website. A lot of your answers are coming up in Google search results - making answers to common migration questions easily accessible. What you're doing is truly an amazing service to a huge amount of people.

I hope that you know that you're really a life-saver/changer for many people. Thank you for that!


----------



## neffstar

Hi Mark.

When applying for a partner visa, is it considered acceptable to only have written statements from lease holders with which you shared accommodation with your partner? ie no formal lease agreements or bills/utilities just a written signed statement from the leaseholder saying you paid rent and utilities?

Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks for the kind words, Tomar! Helping people is why I'm here and why I became a migration agent - glad I could help you and others.

Best,

Mark Northam



tomar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your prompt and accurate answers. As -I believe- everybody on this forum, I am really extremely grateful for all the time and effort you put into answering migration related questions - since it is relatively difficult to fully understand all the listed information on the DIBP website. A lot of your answers are coming up in Google search results - making answers to common migration questions easily accessible. What you're doing is truly an amazing service to a huge amount of people.
> 
> I hope that you know that you're really a life-saver/changer for many people. Thank you for that!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neffstar -

You can submit anything you'd like, however a handwritten lease I expect will come under some careful checking if the case officer thinks it may not be genuine, etc. Make sure to include complete contact information for the landlord so DIBP can contact him/her, and make sure whatever they tell DIBP matches up with what's on the lease, etc. Overall printed lease is far better - but contact info still required in any case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



neffstar said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> When applying for a partner visa, is it considered acceptable to only have written statements from lease holders with which you shared accommodation with your partner? ie no formal lease agreements or bills/utilities just a written signed statement from the leaseholder saying you paid rent and utilities?
> 
> Cheers


----------



## Unbreakable

*A Few Questions Regarding Skilled-Recognised Graduate visa (subclass 476)*

I graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering in June of 2013, I have been working since October of 2013 and I am considering trying to move and work in Australia. I have a few questions:

1) I am engaged, can I include my fiance on my application, or will she have to apply with her own application of some sort. She is a Registered Dietitian in California, so not one of the skilled jobs.

2) Can my Fiance become a dietitian in Australia? Is there any reciprocity between the USA and Aus?

3) As a Civil Engineer with almost a year of experience under a Structural Engineer, it will be about a year and a half of experience by the time the visa gets approved, how hard or easy will getting a job in civil/structural engineering be in Australia?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Unbreakable -

Thanks for the questions. You would only be able to include your fiance on your application if you declared her as your defacto partner - that or marriage are the ways a partner can be included on an application for an Australian visa. Re: chances of getting a job in your and her fields, I don't have any info on that - you might check the job hunting websites, etc to get a better idea and perhaps communicate directly with people in your respective professions in Australia who might have first-hand info re: how the job situation is.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Unbreakable said:


> I graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering in June of 2013, I have been working since October of 2013 and I am considering trying to move and work in Australia. I have a few questions:
> 
> 1) I am engaged, can I include my fiance on my application, or will she have to apply with her own application of some sort. She is a Registered Dietitian in California, so not one of the skilled jobs.
> 
> 2) Can my Fiance become a dietitian in Australia? Is there any reciprocity between the USA and Aus?
> 
> 3) As a Civil Engineer with almost a year of experience under a Structural Engineer, it will be about a year and a half of experience by the time the visa gets approved, how hard or easy will getting a job in civil/structural engineering be in Australia?


----------



## Vijayendra

Hi Mark,
I was filling up the visa application and was hoping that you could help me with a question that confused me.
I have filled up the employment details and separated the skilled and unskilled employment as assessed by ACS. My 'skilled' overseas employment comes to less than a year.
However, the answers to the question on duration of overseas employment starts only from 3 years onwards.
Does it mean that applicants with less than 3 years of 'skilled' employment will have to select 'No' as the answer to the question --- "Has the applicant been employed overseas in their nominated occupation or a closely related occupation at a skilled level immediately before lodging this application?". This seems a bit odd.

Please help.


----------



## dharabaskar

Thanks Mark!

Regards,
Vijay



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vijay -
> 
> No idea - you'd have to ask them. Wish I had a crystal ball to predict these things, but there's no shortcut to checking each of the state sites you're interested in and/or contacting them to see if they will provide any information on current or future sponsorship for your occupation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## anomie22

Hey Mark!

I was referred to you as evidently I am in quite a unique situation.

I'm NZ citizen and am currently in the process of applying for a 461 for my partner...but! I am also an Australian citizen.

I have a 444 attached to my NZ passport as I entered the country on my Kiwi passport a few years back because my Aussie one had expired.

Will being a duel citizen cause potential problems for the 461 application?


----------



## CollegeGirl

anomie22 said:


> Hey Mark!
> 
> I was referred to you as evidently I am in quite a unique situation.
> 
> I'm NZ citizen and am currently in the process of applying for a 461 for my partner...but! I am also an Australian citizen.
> 
> I have a 444 attached to my NZ passport as I entered the country on my Kiwi passport a few years back because my Aussie one had expired.
> 
> Will being a duel citizen cause potential problems for the 461 application?


Just to add onto this - anomie has also previously sponsored a partner under their Aussie citizenship so is affected by the five-year sponsorship limitation, and that's not an option at the moment. Just adding because I suspect Mark's first instinct would be "apply for a partner visa."


----------



## neffstar

Hi Mark, thanks for your reply. is it accepted to have a statement from parents or family who you have been living with, together with your partner? Therefore it is not a lease in any respect, but they could declare via stat dec that you contributed to utilities, maintaining household etc. I have come across many situations such as ours where the couple has lived with parents or even house sitted for an extended period of time to ease the financial strain of one partner being unable to work or for convenience during temporary stays in australia.
Thats it for me.
Cheers


----------



## belgianturtle

Hi Mark,

My bf and I are planning on applying for a de facto visa.

I am currently on a working holiday visa and have finally found a steady job. Unfortunately, my 6 months limitation is getting closer which is why we wanted to apply for de facto sooner rather than later.

My problem is that my working holiday visa does not expire until March 2015. I understand I will get a Bridging Visa A with unlimited work rights once we apply for a partner visa but that it won't kick in until my working holiday visa expires which means I would be forced to quit my job.

Is there any way around this?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Belgianturtle -

There may be - if you lodge your defacto partner visa prior to the 6 month deadline (at least 2 weeks before is what DIBP likes), there's a form on the Working Holiday Visa page on the DIBP website you can lodge to request an extension to the 6 month deadline which is available in some cases where you show you have already lodged a visa application that provides for a bridging visa with full work rights. If they approve the request, the 6 month limitation goes away and you can remain at your job until the WH visa expires and your BVA activates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



belgianturtle said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My bf and I are planning on applying for a de facto visa.
> 
> I am currently on a working holiday visa and have finally found a steady job. Unfortunately, my 6 months limitation is getting closer which is why we wanted to apply for de facto sooner rather than later.
> 
> My problem is that my working holiday visa does not expire until March 2015. I understand I will get a Bridging Visa A with unlimited work rights once we apply for a partner visa but that it won't kick in until my working holiday visa expires which means I would be forced to quit my job.
> 
> Is there any way around this?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neffstar -

Yes, those statements can work as long as DIBP believes they are genuine (and can contact the parents, etc to confirm). There is no legal requirement that living together time for defacto visa must be outside family, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



neffstar said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for your reply. is it accepted to have a statement from parents or family who you have been living with, together with your partner? Therefore it is not a lease in any respect, but they could declare via stat dec that you contributed to utilities, maintaining household etc. I have come across many situations such as ours where the couple has lived with parents or even house sitted for an extended period of time to ease the financial strain of one partner being unable to work or for convenience during temporary stays in australia.
> Thats it for me.
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vijayendra -

This asks whether, immediately before applying (ie, within days before applying), you were working in the skilled occupation - ie, at a job where ACS assessed you as being skilled. If you have less than 3 years of experience assessed by ACS as skilled, you'll have to choose the other option as I assume in that case you won't be claiming any overseas work experience for points since ACS has assessed it as less than 3 yrs.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vijayendra said:


> Hi Mark,
> I was filling up the visa application and was hoping that you could help me with a question that confused me.
> I have filled up the employment details and separated the skilled and unskilled employment as assessed by ACS. My 'skilled' overseas employment comes to less than a year.
> However, the answers to the question on duration of overseas employment starts only from 3 years onwards.
> Does it mean that applicants with less than 3 years of 'skilled' employment will have to select 'No' as the answer to the question --- "Has the applicant been employed overseas in their nominated occupation or a closely related occupation at a skilled level immediately before lodging this application?". This seems a bit odd.
> 
> Please help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anomie22 -

Great question. Technically as a citizen of Australia, you are not eligible for a 444 SCV visa, regardless of whether you also hold NZ citizenship. See s5 of the Migration Act 1958 for definition of a "non-citizen" which is referenced by s32 of the Act which defines the criteria for a SCV (444). Problem is, the 461 visa is only valid for family members of a 444 holder or someone who is expected to hold a 444 upon entry to Australia. DIBP routinely grants 444's to persons who arrive in Australia with a NZ passport, and I expect they do not double check whether the person is a citizen or not. However as part of the 461 application they may dig a bit deeper - unknown whether they will discover your Australian citizenship or not at that time.

Bottom line: if DIBP figures out you are an Australian citizen, they may not grant the 461 if they apply the law strictly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anomie22 said:


> Hey Mark!
> 
> I was referred to you as evidently I am in quite a unique situation.
> 
> I'm NZ citizen and am currently in the process of applying for a 461 for my partner...but! I am also an Australian citizen.
> 
> I have a 444 attached to my NZ passport as I entered the country on my Kiwi passport a few years back because my Aussie one had expired.
> 
> Will being a duel citizen cause potential problems for the 461 application?


----------



## PHOENIX2135

*Dear mark,need help on work experience*

DEAR MARK,

My name is Kalidoss Velusamy,an Indian, a civil engineer,work in U.A.E (dubai);I would like to apply PR in australia through sub-class (190),but I have some doubts regarding work experience.

can you clarify me the following?

1,First of all who will give me points for my work experience ? whether it is engineers australia or DIBP ?

2,Is there any minimum duration of work experience required in particular with one employer to gain points ?

3,I have got total experience of six years on my profession in last eight years as I have completed my graduation in 2006,however my work experiences are not with one employer,It is like below.

i) employer # 1 - 22 months in India
ii) employer # 2 - 11 months in dubai
iii) employer #3 - 10 months in saudi arabia
iv) employer #4 - 23 months in dubai
v) employer #5 - currently work for 7 months in dubai.

If my work experiences are like above,how many years will be taken into account ?

I look forward to getting a prompt response from you.

Thanks and Regards,
Kalidoss Velusamy.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kalidoss -

DIBP has the final decision on all points awarded for work experience. You can look at the skilled visa points test online on the DIBP site to see how the points are allocated (ie, total of 3 to 5 years overseas work experience = 5 points, etc). It's the total amount of work that is considered, as long as that work is verifiable (by employer - they check), paid, and closely related to the occupation you are applying for a visa under. It also needs to have been done after you completed the minimum education level (ie, degree) for your occuaption.

You will need a work reference letter from each employer plus proof you were paid for the work (tax, pay slips, etc). Re: whether work qualifies, this is an optional service from Engineers Australia if that's your skills assessor - many people claim work without having EA check it first however, as long as the work clearly is closely related to your occupation. If there's a doubt, DIBP generally goes along with your skills assessor if your skills assessor declares that the work is skilled work in your occupation

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



PHOENIX2135 said:


> DEAR MARK,
> 
> My name is Kalidoss Velusamy,an Indian, a civil engineer,work in U.A.E (dubai);I would like to apply PR in australia through sub-class (190),but I have some doubts regarding work experience.
> 
> can you clarify me the following?
> 
> 1,First of all who will give me points for my work experience ? whether it is engineers australia or DIBP ?
> 
> 2,Is there any minimum duration of work experience required in particular with one employer to gain points ?
> 
> 3,I have got total experience of six years on my profession in last eight years as I have completed my graduation in 2006,however my work experiences are not with one employer,It is like below.
> 
> i) employer # 1 - 22 months in India
> ii) employer # 2 - 11 months in dubai
> iii) employer #3 - 10 months in saudi arabia
> iv) employer #4 - 23 months in dubai
> v) employer #5 - currently work for 7 months in dubai.
> 
> If my work experiences are like above,how many years will be taken into account ?
> 
> I look forward to getting a prompt response from you.
> 
> Thanks and Regards,
> Kalidoss Velusamy.


----------



## Aitch

*Spouse Visa*

Hi Mark,

I am an international student from Pakistan currently studying in Australia. I want to apply for my wife's visa so that she can join me here.

I intend to apply online but I am unable to do it as I don't know which stream of visa it will be? I think I am making a mistake in choosing the type of visa I am applying for. Can you please guide me in this regard please.

Should I apply using my IMMI account or her IMMI account? She won't be studying here.


----------



## belgianturtle

Thanks a lot Mark, this gives me a glimmer of hope.

We might not have time to have our application ready and perfect before the 6 months expire. Because I'm casual, I could stop my contract now before the 6 months expire which would allow me to resume working with the same company later for the remaining amount of time left, correct? and I'd hand in my de facto application with the form when we're ready?

Is there no way at all to do it later, ie finishing the 6 months, stop working for the company, hand in my de facto application when it's ready and later apply to get my work rights extended?

It's incredible how difficult they make it


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Belgianturtle -

As far as I know you could lodge the extension form after you worked 6 months and then stopped working for that company - I don't believe the extension form requires you to be employed at the company at the time you lodge the form, but I expect it might help get it through a bit at least.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



belgianturtle said:


> Thanks a lot Mark, this gives me a glimmer of hope.
> 
> We might not have time to have our application ready and perfect before the 6 months expire. Because I'm casual, I could stop my contract now before the 6 months expire which would allow me to resume working with the same company later for the remaining amount of time left, correct? and I'd hand in my de facto application with the form when we're ready?
> 
> Is there no way at all to do it later, ie finishing the 6 months, stop working for the company, hand in my de facto application when it's ready and later apply to get my work rights extended?
> 
> It's incredible how difficult they make it


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aitch -

Instructions here:
How to apply for dependant family members to join you

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aitch said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am an international student from Pakistan currently studying in Australia. I want to apply for my wife's visa so that she can join me here.
> 
> I intend to apply online but I am unable to do it as I don't know which stream of visa it will be? I think I am making a mistake in choosing the type of visa I am applying for. Can you please guide me in this regard please.
> 
> Should I apply using my IMMI account or her IMMI account? She won't be studying here.


----------



## chocolate33

*child on visa*

hey mark, quick question...........i am putting together the docs for my partners 309 visa. we have a child together who is entitled to citizenship by descent. i am planning to get all documents translated and certified at once (we are based in italy). as such i plan to put in his application for citizenship at the same time as my partners visa.
as such, our son will not be included in the partner migration application. should i state that we have applied for his citizenship or should i wait to place my partners application in after we have received my sons citizenship?
i hope that makes sense!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chocolate33 -

Thanks for the question. As long as it doesn't upset your plans/timetable, it's probably easier if you wait until the child becomes a citizen before lodging the partner visa application - that way, you don't have to list the child as a "non-migrating dependent" which would require the child to take a health exam, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> hey mark, quick question...........i am putting together the docs for my partners 309 visa. we have a child together who is entitled to citizenship by descent. i am planning to get all documents translated and certified at once (we are based in italy). as such i plan to put in his application for citizenship at the same time as my partners visa.
> as such, our son will not be included in the partner migration application. should i state that we have applied for his citizenship or should i wait to place my partners application in after we have received my sons citizenship?
> i hope that makes sense!!!


----------



## chocolate33

thanks for the prompt response. do you have any idea how long it would take to get citizenship? can i put the visa application in whilst the citizenship is processing and note that on the visa application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Typically 1-2 months for the entire citizenship + passport application process, but may vary depending on your location. Re: note, up to you - would give complete details of the child in any case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> thanks for the prompt response. do you have any idea how long it would take to get citizenship? can i put the visa application in whilst the citizenship is processing and note that on the visa application?


----------



## canyoutellme2014

*WHV Breach*

Hello Mark

I am a UK citizen who had a working holiday visa from February 2012 - February 2013.

There i met my current partner who is an Australian citizen and we have been in a De Facto relationship for one and a half years. We are currently living in England and are about to apply for our offshore partner visa.

However, when i worked in Australia i worked for the same employer for 9 months instead of the 6 months stated in the visa conditions. My visa was never cancelled, nor was i contacted by immigration at any point. I also successfully re-entered Australia on a tourist visa a year later on three separate occasions with no issues.

I am wondering if this breach of visa conditions will impact mine and my partners visa application in any way or if i am subject to any ban or exclusion when immigration processes the visa application.

Thank you.


----------



## smajida

*Oshc*

Hi Mark,

First of all let me thank you for your time and precious information you sharing with us.

I am an international student started my course on Feb 2013, after I have applied for PR and receiving my BVA last year, I canceled my OSHC and got my Medicare.
My Medicare will expire on 15th Jan 2015 but I need to extend my student visa as I am still studying till 15 Mar 2015. My case officer wanted me to buy OSHC insurance till 15 Mar 2015. Now my question is if I can buy OSHC just for the period of 15 Jan 2015 till 15 Mar 2015? Or I should buy OSHC from now till 15 Mar 2015?
I asked this from my case officer but I found her respond not clear: 
"_To satisfy the Student Visa criteria you will need to provide evidence of OSHC for the period of request stay, until 15 March 2015_."

Also I would like to know what is the consequence of cancelling my OSHC while I had my Medicare? Could this effect on my citizenship in the future? (as I did not stay with my visa condition)


----------



## Maria08

Hi Mark,

Just some questions in relation to defacto visa online application - if we have registered the relationship but the wait to receive the registration certificate is about 40 days, should we just wait until the certificate is received before applying or can we let them know that the certificate is on its way? 

My partner's visa expires 25 October 2014. we moved in together 18th October 2013 (so not sure if its a risk to just wait til 18th October to apply...or apply beforehand (waiting for the certificate). What are your suggestions? Thanks in advance!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Canyoutellme2014 -

Unless DIBP discovers the issue, properly notifies you, and in most cases gives you a chance to respond to any allegations they make, they really can't use it against you or invoke any exclusion periods, etc.

I'd wait and see what they say re: any issues at this point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



canyoutellme2014 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I am a UK citizen who had a working holiday visa from February 2012 - February 2013.
> 
> There i met my current partner who is an Australian citizen and we have been in a De Facto relationship for one and a half years. We are currently living in England and are about to apply for our offshore partner visa.
> 
> However, when i worked in Australia i worked for the same employer for 9 months instead of the 6 months stated in the visa conditions. My visa was never cancelled, nor was i contacted by immigration at any point. I also successfully re-entered Australia on a tourist visa a year later on three separate occasions with no issues.
> 
> I am wondering if this breach of visa conditions will impact mine and my partners visa application in any way or if i am subject to any ban or exclusion when immigration processes the visa application.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Medicare is generally accepted by DIBP as satisfying the requirement for health insurance where a visa requires health insurance, so I would say you only need to buy OSHC for the period you would be without Medicare. That being said, given what you've written it may get your visa through more quickly if you purchase OSHC for the entire period of the visa extension - the option would be to somehow demonstrate with evidence that the Medicare will last for the period until it expires, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



smajida said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all let me thank you for your time and precious information you sharing with us.
> 
> I am an international student started my course on Feb 2013, after I have applied for PR and receiving my BVA last year, I canceled my OSHC and got my Medicare.
> My Medicare will expire on 15th Jan 2015 but I need to extend my student visa as I am still studying till 15 Mar 2015. My case officer wanted me to buy OSHC insurance till 15 Mar 2015. Now my question is if I can buy OSHC just for the period of 15 Jan 2015 till 15 Mar 2015? Or I should buy OSHC from now till 15 Mar 2015?
> I asked this from my case officer but I found her respond not clear:
> "_To satisfy the Student Visa criteria you will need to provide evidence of OSHC for the period of request stay, until 15 March 2015_."
> 
> Also I would like to know what is the consequence of cancelling my OSHC while I had my Medicare? Could this effect on my citizenship in the future? (as I did not stay with my visa condition)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maria08 -

There's a specific DIBP policy element that says that the registered relationship certificate can be provided after the visa is lodged, so normally you would not need to wait for the one-year timeframe to be met prior to lodging your application. That being said, there's an MRT case pending where this may be tested. Assuming you're applying online, however, I'd probably apply on October 19, etc since bridging visas are generated right away for online applications - that removes any chance of an issue if something happens with the reg relationship cert.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maria08 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just some questions in relation to defacto visa online application - if we have registered the relationship but the wait to receive the registration certificate is about 40 days, should we just wait until the certificate is received before applying or can we let them know that the certificate is on its way?
> 
> My partner's visa expires 25 October 2014. we moved in together 18th October 2013 (so not sure if its a risk to just wait til 18th October to apply...or apply beforehand (waiting for the certificate). What are your suggestions? Thanks in advance!!


----------



## anitalulu

*Sponsor suddenly without a job*

Hi Mark,

We just got married in WA and I am preparing to submit partner visa very soon. However, my husband (has Australia Citizenship) suddenly lose his job recently. And we are supporting by Centrelink. Would it be affected when I apply for Partner visa? There is a job income in sponsorship form. Should he just entre zero?

My visa is going to expiry on Oct. We have a 10 months old baby. I really hope we can be living together. Separation is very hard.

Looking forward to your reply.

Regards,
Anita


----------



## SMF

Dear Mark ...

I have two questions... Would appreciate if you could reply ...

*Q1 *Employment reference: 
My HR dept is not mentioning the duties I have performed on its letter head as its against company's policy to do so .... What should I do now ..

*Q2*Proving functional english of my partner: (visa 189)
The requirement say *•completed a degree, a higher degree, a diploma or a trade certificate that required at least two years of full-time study or training in an institution in or outside Australia and all instructions were in English * , so can I attach her two years Bachelors certificate as evidence .. Will it be fine or She needs to mandatorily do IELTS ...

Looking forward to your assistance and co-operation.

_Regards

Fahad_


----------



## PHOENIX2135

*Hi mark!*

Thanks for your prompt response!

Out of my 6 years of work experience,the minimum period is 10 months with one employer and maximum is 23 months with another employer,however I have proper evidence for all.

My question is,"will DIBP consider even less than a year as work experience?

Thanks and Regards,
Phoenix



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kalidoss -
> 
> DIBP has the final decision on all points awarded for work experience. You can look at the skilled visa points test online on the DIBP site to see how the points are allocated (ie, total of 3 to 5 years overseas work experience = 5 points, etc). It's the total amount of work that is considered, as long as that work is verifiable (by employer - they check), paid, and closely related to the occupation you are applying for a visa under. It also needs to have been done after you completed the minimum education level (ie, degree) for your occuaption.
> 
> You will need a work reference letter from each employer plus proof you were paid for the work (tax, pay slips, etc). Re: whether work qualifies, this is an optional service from Engineers Australia if that's your skills assessor - many people claim work without having EA check it first however, as long as the work clearly is closely related to your occupation. If there's a doubt, DIBP generally goes along with your skills assessor if your skills assessor declares that the work is skilled work in your occupation
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Ali1109

*New ACS Application*

Hello Mark,

I have +ve ACS assessment as Software Tester but that code has been removed from NSW CSOL.

1) Can I apply for a new assessment from ACS as Business Analyst? I am responsible for majority of BA tasks too along with testing.

2) Will ACS take it as fraud/fake/scam because earlier I submitted Software Tester experience letter now I will submitting Business Analyst Letter to them?

3) If ACS approves it, can DIBP make issue on this in future visa application?

Many Thanks,
ALI


----------



## aisha123

Hi Mark,
I have got one problem. I already got my visa and my flight is on oct 2014. But, when I submitted my visa form, I didn't mention my husband's detail where I had to write about my family members. Later, I found out that I had to write it if I wished to call him in australia. Now what should I do? Please suggest me.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anitalulu -

Sounds like your husband is between jobs - that's exactly how I'd portray it to DIBP - you might writer a letter showing his previous jobs and describe what types of jobs he's seeking if that's appropriate. That plus your pay evidence from Centrelink would normally satisfy DIBP. There is no requirement that a sponsor be currently employed in order to sponsor someone for a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anitalulu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We just got married in WA and I am preparing to submit partner visa very soon. However, my husband (has Australia Citizenship) suddenly lose his job recently. And we are supporting by Centrelink. Would it be affected when I apply for Partner visa? There is a job income in sponsorship form. Should he just entre zero?
> 
> My visa is going to expiry on Oct. We have a 10 months old baby. I really hope we can be living together. Separation is very hard.
> 
> Looking forward to your reply.
> 
> Regards,
> Anita


----------



## MarkNortham

Re: Q1, assuming you're submitting the letter for a skilled visa application or a skills assessment, you're going to have to establish some documentation of the tasks/duties of your work, whether it is a separate document that has a job/position description, etc on it or something else. If nothing like that exists, you might try a statement from someone at the company who has worked with you and can describe the job tasks, but if that's only a personal statement, may not be enough - hard to tell.

Re Q2, can't tell without seeing documents. A 2 year Bachelor should be fine as long as you can provide evidence that the course was taught in English.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMF said:


> Dear Mark ...
> 
> I have two questions... Would appreciate if you could reply ...
> 
> *Q1 *Employment reference:
> My HR dept is not mentioning the duties I have performed on its letter head as its against company's policy to do so .... What should I do now ..
> 
> *Q2*Proving functional english of my partner: (visa 189)
> The requirement say *•completed a degree, a higher degree, a diploma or a trade certificate that required at least two years of full-time study or training in an institution in or outside Australia and all instructions were in English * , so can I attach her two years Bachelors certificate as evidence .. Will it be fine or She needs to mandatorily do IELTS ...
> 
> Looking forward to your assistance and co-operation.
> 
> _Regards
> 
> Fahad_


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phoenix2135 -

Depends on the visa, but generally speaking you can total together all of your full-time, paid overseas work experience (doesn't matter how long each job is) for points for a skilled visa. For skilled visas, Australian employment is considered separately - you get a different points score for each as applicable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



PHOENIX2135 said:


> Thanks for your prompt response!
> 
> Out of my 6 years of work experience,the minimum period is 10 months with one employer and maximum is 23 months with another employer,however I have proper evidence for all.
> 
> My question is,"will DIBP consider even less than a year as work experience?
> 
> Thanks and Regards,
> Phoenix


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ali -

I think we may have spoken about this via email or otherwise. Generally you can apply for another skills assessment without a problem, however if you do this you need to be very careful that nothing in the docs supplied with the original skills assessment application argues with or is in conflict with any docs supplied with the second skills assessment application. You'll want to be very careful with the language in all of those docs, especially the work ref letters.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ali1109 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have +ve ACS assessment as Software Tester but that code has been removed from NSW CSOL.
> 
> 1) Can I apply for a new assessment from ACS as Business Analyst? I am responsible for majority of BA tasks too along with testing.
> 
> 2) Will ACS take it as fraud/fake/scam because earlier I submitted Software Tester experience letter now I will submitting Business Analyst Letter to them?
> 
> 3) If ACS approves it, can DIBP make issue on this in future visa application?
> 
> Many Thanks,
> ALI


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aisha123 -

Would be happy to help, but need to know more details - what subclass of visa did you apply for and were granted? When did you apply? Handling additional applicants is handled differently for different types of visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aisha123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have got one problem. I already got my visa and my flight is on oct 2014. But, when I submitted my visa form, I didn't mention my husband's detail where I had to write about my family members. Later, I found out that I had to write it if I wished to call him in australia. Now what should I do? Please suggest me.


----------



## sweetpea04

Hi Mark,

My partner and I are in established defacto relationship and are off to complete joint travel soon outside Australia which we are excited about. As it will be an extended trip we will be staying in hostels and some of the hostels only have dorm rooms. 

My question is will a case officer frown upon a defacto couple staying in dorm room? We will have joint costs for our whole trip, however just wondered how to document these hostels stays.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sweetpea04 -

Thanks for the note. Not sure if you're referring to rooms where it's only one gender (ie, males in one room, females in another) or something else...? In either case, whatever sort of documentation you can get for payment or otherwise from the hostel would likely be OK - if nothing else, take a picture of the room (!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sweetpea04 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I are in established defacto relationship and are off to complete joint travel soon outside Australia which we are excited about. As it will be an extended trip we will be staying in hostels and some of the hostels only have dorm rooms.
> 
> My question is will a case officer frown upon a defacto couple staying in dorm room? We will have joint costs for our whole trip, however just wondered how to document these hostels stays.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi mark,

My employer apply for nomination and after three weeks officer requested additional documents and given 28 days to submit. Yesterday on 15th they submitted all documents as it was last day. Now my question is how long they may take for decision after received all documents. 

Appreciate your help. 

Regards

Bharat


----------



## SqOats

Hi Mark,

I am in a process of applying for 189 under ANZSCO 233512 . I would like to know if *i'l have to prove my work experience thru salary certificates, pay slips etc to the CO even though i am not claiming points for it.* I have a total work experience of 5.5 years but claiming only 3.5 years (to meet 60 points min criteria) with my current employer as the previous employer has been shut down and the work was also not "entirely" inline with my designated job description.

Thanking you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

No way to tell for sure - could be days or weeks depending on how the decision-making process goes and whether the case officer is satisfied with the documents and/or needs to make further enquiries (ie, contacting others).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> My employer apply for nomination and after three weeks officer requested additional documents and given 28 days to submit. Yesterday on 15th they submitted all documents as it was last day. Now my question is how long they may take for decision after received all documents.
> 
> Appreciate your help.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Bharat


----------



## WendelCosta

Hi Mark,

I just finished my 2 years masters degree, and I'm applying for my 485 visa.
I've already got all the documents necessary for the application but the IELTS, which I've got my results today (7,7,5.5,7.5) and my student visa expire on the 30th of august now and the next test date is just on the 6th of september.

Q1: Should I apply with this IELTS results, undertake the next exam and provide them with my new results?

Q2: Should I apply without my IELTS results and provide it to them later?

Q3: Is it possible to apply without the IELTS results? I've heard that I'll have 28 days to provide them with my results, is it right?

Regards,

Wendel Costa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wendel -

Thanks for the question. This is an area that many people are confused by, and has led to many people being refused visas. *For the 485 visa, you must have evidence of competent english at the time you apply, or the visa will be refused. *This type of refusal can't be fixed at the MRT since it's a time of application refusal. Competent english means at least 6 on each of the 4 bands of the IELTS test (Academic or General version - either is fine with DIBP). The overall score is useless for this requirement. You cannot provide IELTS later, and you cannot apply without IELTS. If you apply with the IELTS score you mentioned, the visa will be refused since one band is less than 6.0. You might submit your marks for a recheck by IETLS - you're only half a point away! But that still won't solve your problem as you need a test report with at least 6 on all bands in hand before you can apply for the 485.

Wish I had better news - this is the difficult part of taking the IELTS test at the last moment and hoping the scores come up OK - it's a big gamble. You might be able to get a visitor visa if you can convince DIBP that you need to stay for your graduation or something like that - since the 485 visa application requires that you either hold a student visa at time of application or hold another substantive (non-bridging visa) and have previously held a student visa within 6 months of application, I'd suggest focusing on how you can get yourself another substantive visa. Another option is to hold a bridging visa based on a valid application for a further student visa, but this only includes certain student visas under certain conditions - need to research this carefully if you're doing it yourself and not using a migration agent.

Also, the 6 month time limit for the 485 visa is also ticking - you have 6 months from the date you completed your studies to apply for the 485 visa. Also note the other requirements for the visa (ie, providing proof of application for AFP, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



WendelCosta said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just finished my 2 years masters degree, and I'm applying for my 485 visa.
> I've already got all the documents necessary for the application but the IELTS, which I've got my results today (7,7,5.5,7.5) and my student visa expire on the 30th of august now and the next test date is just on the 6th of september.
> 
> Q1: Should I apply with this IELTS results, undertake the next exam and provide them with my new results?
> 
> Q2: Should I apply without my IELTS results and provide it to them later?
> 
> Q3: Is it possible to apply without the IELTS results? I've heard that I'll have 28 days to provide them with my results, is it right?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Wendel Costa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

Thanks for the note. Normally you are not asked by DIBP to provide proof of payment for work experience unless you are claiming points for that work experience, or if that work experience was used to satisfy skills assessment requirements (happens sometimes).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SqOats said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am in a process of applying for 189 under ANZSCO 233512 . I would like to know if *i'l have to prove my work experience thru salary certificates, pay slips etc to the CO even though i am not claiming points for it.* I have a total work experience of 5.5 years but claiming only 3.5 years (to meet 60 points min criteria) with my current employer as the previous employer has been shut down and the work was also not "entirely" inline with my designated job description.
> 
> Thanking you in advance.


----------



## bhalo_fish

Thanks mark, it helps me a lot.


----------



## goonerash

Hi Mark
my partner has appllied for a protection visa and has been given a bridging visa A
Her son is four years old and lives overseas. He is looked after by her mum who is quite old

Is there any way at all she could get him over here whilst the protection visa situation is ongoing?

Thank you so much in advance
goonerash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Goonerash -

I don't know of any, outside of the usual options of an offshore protection visa of some kind. If she is granted permanent residency (ie, protection visa), she may be able to sponsor her child on a Child visa. This might be worth asking the excellent refugee organisations in Australia about as they may have further information - these organisations are RACS, RAILS, IARC - you can google them for more info and contact info - suggest you check with them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



goonerash said:


> Hi Mark
> my partner has appllied for a protection visa and has been given a bridging visa A
> Her son is four years old and lives overseas. He is looked after by her mum who is quite old
> 
> Is there any way at all she could get him over here whilst the protection visa situation is ongoing?
> 
> Thank you so much in advance
> goonerash


----------



## SqOats

Thanks Mark. My education assessment (CDR) is based on my current job hence i believe it shouldn't be a problem.


----------



## mharm

Dear mark, 
Hope You are doing well,
In your opinion, when the security check for high risk countries applicants will be started?some people say it is related to date of submitting form 80.
Please advice
Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mharm -

No way to tell for sure, but the Form 80 forms the primary information that is used for this from what I've heard.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mharm said:


> Dear mark,
> Hope You are doing well,
> In your opinion, when the security check for high risk countries applicants will be started?some people say it is related to date of submitting form 80.
> Please advice
> Regards


----------



## mharm

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mharm -
> 
> No way to tell for sure, but the Form 80 forms the primary information that is used for this from what I've heard.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks very Much Mark
what factors have effect on length of security check?it is really confusing because i cant find any pattern for this issue when I look at applicants' time frame.
Thanks Again


----------



## WendelCosta

Thank you so much for your prompt response Mark.
At this stage I think will be better to apply for a visitor visa, as my graduate ceremony will be on october, I can allege that I want to participate on it. I've already asked for a re-mark on my IELTS, and booked another one for the 6th of september. As my student visa expire on the 30th of August now, I'll be applying for the visitor visa(600) on the 29th and gain the time that I need to re-take the test and apply for the 485 by the end of September with my new IELTS results(hopefully pass on this one). All the other documents are ready and I have the Police checks and have applied for a skill assessment at ACS already.
Is this plan reasonable for you?
I mean, that will be no problem to apply for a 485, holding a visitor visa right? as I still have 5 months to apply for it (I've graduated 1 month ago).

Thank you again for all your help and advice.

Wendel Costa



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Wendel -
> 
> Thanks for the question. This is an area that many people are confused by, and has led to many people being refused visas. *For the 485 visa, you must have evidence of competent english at the time you apply, or the visa will be refused. *This type of refusal can't be fixed at the MRT since it's a time of application refusal. Competent english means at least 6 on each of the 4 bands of the IELTS test (Academic or General version - either is fine with DIBP). The overall score is useless for this requirement. You cannot provide IELTS later, and you cannot apply without IELTS. If you apply with the IELTS score you mentioned, the visa will be refused since one band is less than 6.0. You might submit your marks for a recheck by IETLS - you're only half a point away! But that still won't solve your problem as you need a test report with at least 6 on all bands in hand before you can apply for the 485.
> 
> Wish I had better news - this is the difficult part of taking the IELTS test at the last moment and hoping the scores come up OK - it's a big gamble. You might be able to get a visitor visa if you can convince DIBP that you need to stay for your graduation or something like that - since the 485 visa application requires that you either hold a student visa at time of application or hold another substantive (non-bridging visa) and have previously held a student visa within 6 months of application, I'd suggest focusing on how you can get yourself another substantive visa. Another option is to hold a bridging visa based on a valid application for a further student visa, but this only includes certain student visas under certain conditions - need to research this carefully if you're doing it yourself and not using a migration agent.
> 
> Also, the 6 month time limit for the 485 visa is also ticking - you have 6 months from the date you completed your studies to apply for the 485 visa. Also note the other requirements for the visa (ie, providing proof of application for AFP, etc).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mharm -

Impossible to tell, as DIBP does not disclose any of this sort of info. Could have to do with available of info from home country, backlog of cases from that country, and any number of other things. I see no patterns, other than a general tendency for high-risk country applicants to have longer security checks than ones from lower-risk countries, but still there is a lot of variability.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mharm said:


> Thanks very Much Mark
> what factors have effect on length of security check?it is really confusing because i cant find any pattern for this issue when I look at applicants' time frame.
> Thanks Again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wendel -

Would need to sit down with you at a consultation (or via Skype or phone) to go over all your documents and give you any specific advice for your case. The 485 visa is looks simple but actually has quite a few moving parts and is unforgiving of any problems at time of application.

But even without knowing your case details, I would recommend you not wait for the day before your visa expires to lodge the SC600 - especially if your country doesn't offer online lodgement with DIBP. I'd give it at least 2-3 days, especially if paper application is necessary. There are any number of things that can go wrong, and visa expiration dates are 100% unforgiving and unchangeable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



WendelCosta said:


> Thank you so much for your prompt response Mark.
> At this stage I think will be better to apply for a visitor visa, as my graduate ceremony will be on october, I can allege that I want to participate on it. I've already asked for a re-mark on my IELTS, and booked another one for the 6th of september. As my student visa expire on the 30th of August now, I'll be applying for the visitor visa(600) on the 29th and gain the time that I need to re-take the test and apply for the 485 by the end of September with my new IELTS results(hopefully pass on this one). All the other documents are ready and I have the Police checks and have applied for a skill assessment at ACS already.
> Is this plan reasonable for you?
> I mean, that will be no problem to apply for a 485, holding a visitor visa right? as I still have 5 months to apply for it (I've graduated 1 month ago).
> 
> Thank you again for all your help and advice.
> 
> Wendel Costa


----------



## WendelCosta

Thank you again Mark,

But Do you think that is a possibility doing it as I've mentioned? 
I mean, getting a visitor visa and them apply later for a 485 as soon that I have my IELTS?

Thank you,

Wendel Costa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wendel -

It may be depending on the details of your circumstances. With immigration, sometimes the smallest detail may make a huge difference - this is why I can't give advice on these types of matters without seeing all the info & docs. As they say, "the devil is in the details" and that's oh so true in immigration.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



WendelCosta said:


> Thank you again Mark,
> 
> But Do you think that is a possibility doing it as I've mentioned?
> I mean, getting a visitor visa and them apply later for a 485 as soon that I have my IELTS?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Wendel Costa


----------



## Ninja69

Good day Mark! 

I am preparing all documents to be submitted online next month. 
My question is do I still need to make table of contents in submitting online application?
Do I still need to supply passport photo? 2 copies? Same with my partner?

Form 80, health check and police clearance I believe I may submit later upon request of CO, can you please correct me on this.

Great help as always Mark,
Thanks a million....
Ninja69


----------



## IndyMama

Hi Mark-
I lodged my PMV visa application yesterday and didn't catch an error in one of my non-migrating children's birthdates (the year was erroneously entered as 2014 instead of 1999). Her birth certificate and passport have been uploaded, both showing the correct date. Should I upload a form 1023 immediately, or wait until I get a Case Officer?
Thanks!
Emily


----------



## suraj

*ENS 186 - Temporary Stream*

Hi Mark,

If we lodge ENS 186 - Temporary stream after completing 2 years in 457. Does it make a difference if we get promoted to higher position (than our actual 457 nominated position). For example if we are working as Network support and we get promoted to Network support Team Leader. Just a title is different, job description is very similar.

I will appreciate your reply.

Thanks.


----------



## aisha123

Hi Mark,

I have already got my visa and am flying on Oct 2014. There's a problem with my visa form. I didn't mention my husband's details in it when i applied. But now I found out that I had to write about him under the section 'Details about family members.'. Does it mean he won't be given dependent visa?

What i found in the website:

Important:

You must declare all family members on your application, even if they do not plan to travel with you to Australia. If you do not do this, your family members will not be eligible for the grant of student visas as your dependants to join you in Australia. An exception to this is if they became your family members after your student visa was granted and before a subsequent application is made.

Please suggest me what should I do?

Thanks 
Aisha



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Suraj -

Depends on the details - it will likely be OK, but you need to be careful how you present this in the documentation and how the duties/tasks of the position are documented. There are ramifications both for the 186 application and the ongoing 457 sponsorship. You may wish to get professional help with the 186, or carefully consult the regulations and PAM3 guidance on this to make sure that any change in job falls within the allowable room to do this in the 457 to 186 pathway.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



suraj said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> If we lodge ENS 186 - Temporary stream after completing 2 years in 457. Does it make a difference if we get promoted to higher position (than our actual 457 nominated position). For example if we are working as Network support and we get promoted to Network support Team Leader. Just a title is different, job description is very similar.
> 
> I will appreciate your reply.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## vcb003104

Hi Mark,

My partner applying for a partner visa. She just got the approve from her uni (University of Sydney) to temporarily pause her studies. Just got a few questions:

1. If she applies for bridging visa E now and stay in Australia, can she continue with her studies next semester? (The university allows that)

2. If she applies for bridging visa E and leave to Hong Kong for X'mas, can she still comeback next semester with her Student visa? (As she apply for the recommence of study)

3. As we just got the confirmation to approve her leave for study e-mail from the uni today, is her visa canceled immediately or does it have like a 28 days grace period? 

Thanks so much in advance!

Victor


----------



## andrewcool

Hi Mark

Wanna ask some questions if you do not mind

1) Will intend to apply partner visa onshore and one section states "Financial evidence". I am aware that it is not necessary to show that you have income as long as you can show you can support your partner. I have some good savings to show the CO though I am not working, a question is I have a car asset that is given by my brother but is written under my name i.e. Andrew. Would that be a good strong evidence to show the CO as part of the asset or something? Or this is irrelevant since it does not show you can support the partner or because I did not pay for it etc

2) For the Statutory Declaration form, how many people can be written for an Aust citizen AND non Aus citizen from each party i.e. the applicant and the sponsor?

3) We may go for honeymoon trip after applying the partner visa and I am aware that we need to apply BVA for compelling reason and if so, how long does it normally take to be granted? 

4) If we submit the PV online, how long does it take for them to acknowledge and grant Bridging Visa? 2 days? Same day after payment? I know by paper, it will take around a week but what about online?

5) I know there are LOTS of documents to be uploaded by online for PV. Do you recommend to prepare everything first BEFORE you pay the PV fee so you can upload everything all in 1 go as you fill in the form (after payment) which that way will be easier to organise plus the CO sees it before you continue uploading it next day or so. OR is it that even you pay the PV fee, the CO will not see them straight away anyway so therefore you can relax and do bit by bit uploading day by day for 2 weeks or something? 

6) I heard if you given lots of evidence that the relationship is genuine, it is unlikely the CO will need to see both in person, is that true? Or it depends on their working style etc

Thank you for the help

Andrew


----------



## vixiv

*189 or 190 class*

Dear Sir,

I am applying in code 263111 where I have already received the ACS positive assessment. My qualifying points on visa class 189 are 60 and in case I go for victoria SS I will be getting 65. I would like to know from which of the two options may work out faster for me for visa?

I was told that SS takes 3 more months and also that in 189 category since there is a long queue and they considering 1250 applications only per round, there will be potential delay. Totally confused... so request your advice.

Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

You might write a cover letter if you want, describing the evidence submitted and grouping it (like an index), but most people don't do this now for online applications. One digital passport photo is fine for each party, they will request health when ready, however police probably should be ordered around the time of application or shortly before.

Good luck!

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Good day Mark!
> 
> I am preparing all documents to be submitted online next month.
> My question is do I still need to make table of contents in submitting online application?
> Do I still need to supply passport photo? 2 copies? Same with my partner?
> 
> Form 80, health check and police clearance I believe I may submit later upon request of CO, can you please correct me on this.
> 
> Great help as always Mark,
> Thanks a million....
> Ninja69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IndyMama -

I'd carefully check for any other mistakes, then upload Form 1023 to deal with it now.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Hi Mark-
> I lodged my PMV visa application yesterday and didn't catch an error in one of my non-migrating children's birthdates (the year was erroneously entered as 2014 instead of 1999). Her birth certificate and passport have been uploaded, both showing the correct date. Should I upload a form 1023 immediately, or wait until I get a Case Officer?
> Thanks!
> Emily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aisha -

That's exactly what it means. Generally people will fix this on their next student application, but until then per the new regulations it is not possible to add him as a dependent if the relationship (ie, your marriage) existed as of the date you applied for the student visa. You potentially could apply for another student visa now (that, upon grant, would replace your current visa), but not sure how that would work with DIBP re: genuine student requirements - might work, might not. Cancelling your current visa would not be a good idea as that can lead to further issues, and you've also got to be careful you don't trigger any concerns on DIBP's behalf regarding providing false information on any application.

Sorry I don't have better news!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aisha123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have already got my visa and am flying on Oct 2014. There's a problem with my visa form. I didn't mention my husband's details in it when i applied. But now I found out that I had to write about him under the section 'Details about family members.'. Does it mean he won't be given dependent visa?
> 
> What i found in the website:
> 
> Important:
> 
> You must declare all family members on your application, even if they do not plan to travel with you to Australia. If you do not do this, your family members will not be eligible for the grant of student visas as your dependants to join you in Australia. An exception to this is if they became your family members after your student visa was granted and before a subsequent application is made.
> 
> Please suggest me what should I do?
> 
> Thanks
> Aisha


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victor -

She will probably need to work this out with DIBP, and may want to get professional assistance from a registered migration agent as this area of the law is complex. If she's on a BV-E for more than 28 days, that can affect her ability to get a partner visa due to Schedule 3 of the Migration Regulations. And if she departs Australia after holding a BV-E for more than 28 days, she can end up with a 3 year exclusion period on all temporary visas including student, visitor, etc visas. I suggest you consult with a knowledgeable migration agent and plan out whatever the bigger picture is in terms of where she wants to be, when the partner visa is going in, etc. There are many moving parts to this scenario and as I said, there are more than a few trapdoors in the law that are not well-explained (or not even mentioned!) on the DIBP website.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vcb003104 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner applying for a partner visa. She just got the approve from her uni (University of Sydney) to temporarily pause her studies. Just got a few questions:
> 
> 1. If she applies for bridging visa E now and stay in Australia, can she continue with her studies next semester? (The university allows that)
> 
> 2. If she applies for bridging visa E and leave to Hong Kong for X'mas, can she still comeback next semester with her Student visa? (As she apply for the recommence of study)
> 
> 3. As we just got the confirmation to approve her leave for study e-mail from the uni today, is her visa canceled immediately or does it have like a 28 days grace period?
> 
> Thanks so much in advance!
> 
> Victor


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

Thanks for the questions! See below at *** for comments:



andrewcool said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Wanna ask some questions if you do not mind
> 
> 1) Will intend to apply partner visa onshore and one section states "Financial evidence". I am aware that it is not necessary to show that you have income as long as you can show you can support your partner. I have some good savings to show the CO though I am not working, a question is I have a car asset that is given by my brother but is written under my name i.e. Andrew. Would that be a good strong evidence to show the CO as part of the asset or something? Or this is irrelevant since it does not show you can support the partner or because I did not pay for it etc
> 
> *** Cars and other non-cash assets are generally not useful for this. Savings and history of employment, plus ongoing job search efforts and any letters of support from parents, etc who might be available for financial support work better.
> 
> 2) For the Statutory Declaration form, how many people can be written for an Aust citizen AND non Aus citizen from each party i.e. the applicant and the sponsor?
> 
> *** No limits. You need at least 2 Form 888's from either Australian citizens and/or permanent residents. We always recommend getting at least 5+ additional statements or stat decs, plus the applicant and sponsor each need to submit a statement.
> 
> 3) We may go for honeymoon trip after applying the partner visa and I am aware that we need to apply BVA for compelling reason and if so, how long does it normally take to be granted?
> 
> *** Actually it's a Bridging Visa B (BVB) you'll need to apply for. Normally is granted within a week but you're better off lodging more like 3-4 weeks in advance (or more).
> 
> 4) If we submit the PV online, how long does it take for them to acknowledge and grant Bridging Visa? 2 days? Same day after payment? I know by paper, it will take around a week but what about online?
> 
> *** Sometimes immediately, sometimes a few days. Depends on immigration history of applicant.
> 
> 5) I know there are LOTS of documents to be uploaded by online for PV. Do you recommend to prepare everything first BEFORE you pay the PV fee so you can upload everything all in 1 go as you fill in the form (after payment) which that way will be easier to organise plus the CO sees it before you continue uploading it next day or so. OR is it that even you pay the PV fee, the CO will not see them straight away anyway so therefore you can relax and do bit by bit uploading day by day for 2 weeks or something?
> 
> *** Suggest you get them all uploaded no later than 5 days after lodging/payment. After that you can upload additional relationship documents over the course of the visa processing period (many months).
> 
> 6) I heard if you given lots of evidence that the relationship is genuine, it is unlikely the CO will need to see both in person, is that true? Or it depends on their working style etc
> 
> *** That can work, but there are many factors involved - ie, risk level of applicant's country of citizenship, risk level of relationship, indicators of potentially non-genuine relationships (ie, big age difference, religious differences, race differences, etc etc).
> 
> Thank you for the help
> 
> Andrew


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## madalinaa

Hi Mark,

I am preparing to lodge my defacto visa application.
We are planning to use as evidence the contracts we signed when renting our apartments (we move once). The original contracts are in French and have about 6 pages each. Our of those 6 pages, 4 of them only present the renting conditions. I was thinking about only translating the first pages (that include the owner's and tenants' details), and the last pages (that include the owner's signature, our signatures, and the date).
My question is - will there pages be enough or do we have to translate the entire documents?

Thank you!


----------



## vcb003104

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the prompt reply!!
Is there any way for her to legally stay in Australia, go back to hong kong and come back with me?

Or is it possible for here just to remain here lawfully so she can continue her studies next semester?

Thanks so much!
Victor



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Victor -
> 
> She will probably need to work this out with DIBP, and may want to get professional assistance from a registered migration agent as this area of the law is complex. If she's on a BV-E for more than 28 days, that can affect her ability to get a partner visa due to Schedule 3 of the Migration Regulations. And if she departs Australia after holding a BV-E for more than 28 days, she can end up with a 3 year exclusion period on all temporary visas including student, visitor, etc visas. I suggest you consult with a knowledgeable migration agent and plan out whatever the bigger picture is in terms of where she wants to be, when the partner visa is going in, etc. There are many moving parts to this scenario and as I said, there are more than a few trapdoors in the law that are not well-explained (or not even mentioned!) on the DIBP website.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victor -

Not sure - again, this will have to be worked out with DIBP. Sometimes they will extend the student visa, other times they will ask her to lodge a new one, but BV-E is often not the answer. If she is in Australia on a student visa and not studying, in lieu of things like a medical emergency, students are often expected to depart Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vcb003104 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the prompt reply!!
> Is there any way for her to legally stay in Australia, go back to hong kong and come back with me?
> 
> Or is it possible for here just to remain here lawfully so she can continue her studies next semester?
> 
> Thanks so much!
> Victor


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Madalinaa -

Strictly speaking the entire document should be translated. That being said, I've seen instances where DIBP is fine with the important pages (the 2 you mentioned) are translated and the rest are provided untranslated. If you do this, I'd include a note that you would be happy to have the rest of the contract translated if DIBP prefers, but that as they contain standard rental conditions that are not directly relevant to identifying the parties or the length of the tenancy, you weren't sure if DIBP needed them or not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



madalinaa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am preparing to lodge my defacto visa application.
> We are planning to use as evidence the contracts we signed when renting our apartments (we move once). The original contracts are in French and have about 6 pages each. Our of those 6 pages, 4 of them only present the renting conditions. I was thinking about only translating the first pages (that include the owner's and tenants' details), and the last pages (that include the owner's signature, our signatures, and the date).
> My question is - will there pages be enough or do we have to translate the entire documents?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## klm30

*Assistance*

My husband is currently on a visitor visa that expires OCT this year. We have lodged a partner visa 820 and have been granted bridging visa A. However as you all know the bridging visa does not come into effect until the visitor visa has expired.
We have just had a baby and are currently living on my maternity leave pay which isn't much at all. We are really struggling financially. Due to this is there anyway we are able to end his visitor visa early so the bridging visa comes into effect and he is able to work to support his family?

Any advice would be great. Thank you in advanced.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Klm30 -

Thanks for the note. Note that if the visitor visa has multiple entry and maximum stay periods, (ie, multiple entry, maximum 3 month stay), if you overstay a stay period (ie, stay longer than 3 months at a go), the bridging visa would activate then - and you would not need to wait until the expiration date of the visitor visa). Likewise, on this type of visa if you entered in Sept and it expired in Oct, your bridging visa would not activate until you'd stayed 3 months starting in Sept (!). However the specific terms of your visitor visa would dictate what things would be in your case.

Only way I know would be to voluntarily cancel the visitor visa, which would also wipe out the bridging visa A, leaving him in Australia unlawfully. He'd then go apply for a Bridging Visa E, then apply to add work rights to the BV-E based on financial hardship. This has some downsides - namely, loss of time up until that point towards the residency requirement for Australian citizenship, loss of work rights unless the financial hardship claim is approved, and no ability to leave Australia and return on the BV-E while the partner visa is processing (and a 3 year exclusion period on temporary visas if you do leave Australia after holding a BV-E for more than 28 days). Would suggest you get professional help if you are considering this route so you fully understanding the negative side-effects.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



klm30 said:


> My husband is currently on a visitor visa that expires OCT this year. We have lodged a partner visa 820 and have been granted bridging visa A. However as you all know the bridging visa does not come into effect until the visitor visa has expired.
> We have just had a baby and are currently living on my maternity leave pay which isn't much at all. We are really struggling financially. Due to this is there anyway we are able to end his visitor visa early so the bridging visa comes into effect and he is able to work to support his family?
> 
> Any advice would be great. Thank you in advanced.


----------



## vcb003104

Hi Mark,
Thanks so much for the info.

I just got one last question. Sorry!!
So can we assume that my partner will have a 28 day period before she is in big trouble? If she enroll in another English course or such her visa would be fine.

It says that the 28 day period starts when the substantial visa ended. Does it end when the university sent us the letter today? or does it end when the Visa Entitlement Verification Online service display the visa has ceased.

Also, would it look better on us if we notify immigration of the circumstance by ourselves?

(I think one of the questions on the application was whether or not my partner is holding a valid substantial Visa.)

I have already sent the partner visa processing center an e-mail but doubt that it would be read until after 2 - 3 weeks. I am currently filling out a form 1022 and is thinking if I should submit it in person? (The online system doesn't have a place to submit that)

Again, Thanks so much Mark!
Victor



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Victor -
> 
> Not sure - again, this will have to be worked out with DIBP. Sometimes they will extend the student visa, other times they will ask her to lodge a new one, but BV-E is often not the answer. If she is in Australia on a student visa and not studying, in lieu of things like a medical emergency, students are often expected to depart Australia.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## madalinaa

Thank you!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Madalinaa -
> 
> Strictly speaking the entire document should be translated. That being said, I've seen instances where DIBP is fine with the important pages (the 2 you mentioned) are translated and the rest are provided untranslated. If you do this, I'd include a note that you would be happy to have the rest of the contract translated if DIBP prefers, but that as they contain standard rental conditions that are not directly relevant to identifying the parties or the length of the tenancy, you weren't sure if DIBP needed them or not.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victor -

There is a 28 day period after a student visa ends where you can apply for another student visa, but the requirements are very strict and not all applications fit the requirements. University letters have no relevance to visa expiration dates - if you look on VEVO, that should give you the actual expiration date of the visa.

To be honest, Victor, I think you're looking for simple answers to a complex situation - and there just aren't any. Migration law is full of trapdoors and ifs/ands/buts and is absolutely strictly enforced without compassion or emotion. I'm not trying to sell my services here - but really think you need to talk to a migration agent, provide all the details of your previous visa and proposed partner application, and work out a plan that is viable. Whether you see me or any of the other many, qualified agents in Australia, I think it would be a good investment of your time.

If you're not inclined to do this, then plan "B" might be a careful read of Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994 regarding the type of student visa you are looking to apply for, as a starter. Make sure you carefully go over the various scenarios in Schedule 1 for a valid application, especially after the expiration of a previous student visa.

I'm not knocking myself here, but quickie answers on a free anonymous forum is hardly the place to get specific legal advice for a somewhat complex migration situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vcb003104 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks so much for the info.
> 
> I just got one last question. Sorry!!
> So can we assume that my partner will have a 28 day period before she is in big trouble? If she enroll in another English course or such her visa would be fine.
> 
> It says that the 28 day period starts when the substantial visa ended. Does it end when the university sent us the letter today? or does it end when the Visa Entitlement Verification Online service display the visa has ceased.
> 
> Also, would it look better on us if we notify immigration of the circumstance by ourselves?
> 
> (I think one of the questions on the application was whether or not my partner is holding a valid substantial Visa.)
> 
> I have already sent the partner visa processing center an e-mail but doubt that it would be read until after 2 - 3 weeks. I am currently filling out a form 1022 and is thinking if I should submit it in person? (The online system doesn't have a place to submit that)
> 
> Again, Thanks so much Mark!
> Victor


----------



## Akhiamu

*statutory declaration - Witness Information Needed*

I have question regarding statutory declaration from Last Employer. ACS Guidelines say ST document be Sworn before authorized witness by the referee and signed by authorized witness. What does this statement mean.

Question 1- In the ST document created in India we should have Witness and Notarized by same or different People.
Question 2 - In the ST document created in India what type of stamp we should be from Notary Public
"Attested Copy" or "Attested" or "Certify that this is xerox True Copy"

----------------------------------------------------
Signature of person making the declaration

Declared at (name of city) on 16th of August 2014

Before me,

Signature of person before whom the declaration is made

Full name, qualification and address of person before whom the declaration is made (in printed letters)

Sign of notary & notorized stamps 
---------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Akhiamu -

Normally person notarising and witnessing a document can be the same person. Suggest you call ACS and get specific direction to avoid any issues - the best information in this case is directly from ACS.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Akhiamu said:


> I have question regarding statutory declaration from Last Employer. ACS Guidelines say ST document be Sworn before authorized witness by the referee and signed by authorized witness. What does this statement mean.
> 
> Question 1- In the ST document created in India we should have Witness and Notarized by same or different People.
> Question 2 - In the ST document created in India what type of stamp we should be from Notary Public
> "Attested Copy" or "Attested" or "Certify that this is xerox True Copy"
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Signature of person making the declaration
> 
> Declared at (name of city) on 16th of August 2014
> 
> Before me,
> 
> Signature of person before whom the declaration is made
> 
> Full name, qualification and address of person before whom the declaration is made (in printed letters)
> 
> Sign of notary & notorized stamps
> ---------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## island25

Hello Mark
I trust you are well.
We will be moving to adelaide by end November under the 489 subclass.
We have a few doubts therefore we would like to ask you a few questions:
1) We have been informed of the label free visa .Is it confirmed that a print of our visa is enough to get in the country.
2) How do we know our luggage capacity un regards to the visa subclass? 
3) Do we need to find a job in our field when we arrive? Also after the 2 years living in the regional area we will be able to apply for permanent residency..is it only applicable if we have worked in our field?
4) How many hours are we allowed to work both main applicant and dependent?
Is there a limit ? Only one job.or can we have both part time and ft?
Looking forward to hearing from you
T


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Island25 -

Thanks for the questions and congratulations on your 489 visa!

Re: label free, just print out a copy of your visa grant notice - it's linked to your passport(s) so as long as you haven't changed your passport since applying for the visa, you should be fine. No need for a label anymore.

Re: luggage capacity, no idea - not linked to visa - probably linked to your booking class of your airline ticket vs visa class.

Re: 3 - no requirement to work under this visa, and no restrictions as to occupation. Consult your visa if you are regionally sponsored and see what the conditions say re: if you have any live/work/study geographical limitations. But in any case, no occupational or time (ie, how many max/min hours per week you can work) limits.

For PR, you will likely look at the 887 visa - would be good to do your research/homework now and make sure you understand how that visa works if you're not using an agent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



island25 said:


> Hello Mark
> I trust you are well.
> We will be moving to adelaide by end November under the 489 subclass.
> We have a few doubts therefore we would like to ask you a few questions:
> 1) We have been informed of the label free visa .Is it confirmed that a print of our visa is enough to get in the country.
> 2) How do we know our luggage capacity un regards to the visa subclass?
> 3) Do we need to find a job in our field when we arrive? Also after the 2 years living in the regional area we will be able to apply for permanent residency..is it only applicable if we have worked in our field?
> 4) How many hours are we allowed to work both main applicant and dependent?
> Is there a limit ? Only one job.or can we have both part time and ft?
> Looking forward to hearing from you
> T


----------



## abir hossain123

Sir I want to know, I have applied PMV 7months ago and still no news I am really hopeless about the whole situation and heart broken I just want to see my fiance. Can I apply visitor visa ? if I do so will it be a problem ? pls give me a brief Solution that can help me to see my fiance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abir -

Yes, you certainly can apply for a visitor visa. As to the chances of success, it depends entirely on the evidence you provide with the visa and how DIBP views your PMV application. It is perfectly natural for an engaged couple to want to be with each other - in many cases DIBP understands this and grants visitor visas as long as they don't have other concerns about the applicant or relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abir hossain123 said:


> Sir I want to know, I have applied PMV 7months ago and still no news I am really hopeless about the whole situation and heart broken I just want to see my fiance. Can I apply visitor visa ? if I do so will it be a problem ? pls give me a brief Solution that can help me to see my fiance


----------



## Ninja69

Good day Mark!

Thank you for answering my inquiry, I forgot to ask you, Preparing documents for online Partner Visa 820 ( Defacto) I would like to put a description in our pictures how do I do it? Facebook profile pics can I submit screen shot? Watssapp messages I can download it but tooooo long. Exchanging messages everyday for a year... Is screen shot accepted? 

Thank you in advance,
Cheers!
Ninja69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

We normally suggest that clients import the pictures into a MS Word document, then below each image type a description of what's in the picture. Then save the whole thing as a PDF and upload. You can submit whatever you'd like - key is to make it easy for the case officer to easily see what you're trying to show them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Good day Mark!
> 
> Thank you for answering my inquiry, I forgot to ask you, Preparing documents for online Partner Visa 820 ( Defacto) I would like to put a description in our pictures how do I do it? Facebook profile pics can I submit screen shot? Watssapp messages I can download it but tooooo long. Exchanging messages everyday for a year... Is screen shot accepted?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Cheers!
> Ninja69


----------



## Ninja69

Great Mark! Thank you soooo much!

The Statutory Declarations that I have from our neighbor was signed and notarized last June 30 and I am submitting online sometime September 15th. Is the Stat dec date signed still ok to submit?

Thank you again Mark!
Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

That should be fine as long as you are not affected by section 48 of the Migration Act (lodging partner visa after onshore refusal of another visa).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Great Mark! Thank you soooo much!
> 
> The Statutory Declarations that I have from our neighbor was signed and notarized last June 30 and I am submitting online sometime September 15th. Is the Stat dec date signed still ok to submit?
> 
> Thank you again Mark!
> Ninja 69


----------



## Ninja69

Thank you for the help Mark!

Have a great day!
Cheers!
Ninja 69


----------



## suraj

Thank you very much Mark.


----------



## justin1235

*Visa Advice*

Hi Mark,
I hope you haven't already answered a similar question on the last 350 odd pages but here goes.

My girlfriend and I have been dating since February 2013 and are leaving to go travelling for over a year. Upon completion of our travels we would like to return, with her on a partner visa Subclass 309.

If we apply for a Subclass 309, submit all the required documents and are approved do we have to come immediately back to Australia?

As we are planning to be travelling will this make it hard apply, do we have to stay in the one country whilst the visa is being processed?

In an ideal world we could submit everything, go travelling and return to Australia in a year or two. Is this possible?

Information:
- Been dating since Feb 2013
- Living together since August 2013
- She is Canadian
- Travelling Oct-2013 till at least Oct-2014

Thanks for your time!


----------



## ttc8

Hello Mark,
My partner and I are going through a complicated situation hopefully you can give us some insight. We just lodged our 820 de facto partner visa.

My partner is an australian, he has married to a girl from overseas 20+ years ago, they got married in Europe. My partner was only 18 years old by that time they got married.
After they got married, my partner found out that the girl only married him for a visa, after few years when he was 22 years old, he filled in the divorce form to the girl and gave her some money for the divorce application, she agreed she would sigh the paper... My partner cut all the contacts with her all these years and all this time he thought he was divorced only to find out recently they are still legally married!!!!! The woman didn't want a divorce back then as she is worried she would got her PR cancelled....


My partner is really upset and so am I. 

I am thinking If It's possible for him to get this marriage annulled? or It's easier to just get a dirvorce? should wetell the immigration on our statement that their marriage was a fraud and he got cheated?

Sorry for so many questions.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TTC8 -

Thanks for the note - a complicated situation indeed! Fortunately you are applying for a defacto partner visa as that simplifies things a bit. There is no legal bar against someone who technically is still married lodging a defacto partner visa as long as the person can demonstrate with evidence that he/she has no contact (or very little) with the former partner and that the marriage is for all intents and purposes over. Would suggest you put together a formal letter to DIBP outlining the situation and showing how there has been no partner relationship in place with the person for a long time, and describe what efforts you will be undertaking to legally end the marriage. In terms of the best way to legally end it, that's a question for a family lawyer - suggest you consult with one promptly so you can include in you submission to DIBP the fact that you're taking steps to end the marriage and show what you're doing, etc - that can make a big difference.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ttc8 said:


> Hello Mark,
> My partner and I are going through a complicated situation hopefully you can give us some insight. We just lodged our 820 de facto partner visa.
> 
> My partner is an australian, he has married to a girl from overseas 20+ years ago, they got married in Europe. My partner was only 18 years old by that time they got married.
> After they got married, my partner found out that the girl only married him for a visa, after few years when he was 22 years old, he filled in the divorce form to the girl and gave her some money for the divorce application, she agreed she would sigh the paper... My partner cut all the contacts with her all these years and all this time he thought he was divorced only to find out recently they are still legally married!!!!! The woman didn't want a divorce back then as she is worried she would got her PR cancelled....
> 
> My partner is really upset and so am I.
> 
> I am thinking If It's possible for him to get this marriage annulled? or It's easier to just get a dirvorce? should wetell the immigration on our statement that their marriage was a fraud and he got cheated?
> 
> Sorry for so many questions.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Justin -

Great questions! Re: applying for the 309/100, application must be made when the applicant is offshore, and the applicant must be offshore when the visa is granted. No restrictions on traveling during the processing period (typically 9 - 12 months). Key will be to keep in touch with DIBP while the visa is being processed, make sure they know you wish to be notified by email (and keep VERY close watch on your email), and let them know you're traveling so they don't try to call a phone number and give up after they don't get someone.

Assuming you (sponsor) are an Australian citizen, there is not the "usually resident" requirement that Australian permanent residents have to sponsor persons for a partner visa.

So assuming you have your application together and have ample relationship evidence and statements to document your defacto relationship, especially that you've lived together during the 12 months prior to applying other than any temporary time apart, it sounds like your perfect plan might just work!

Hope this helps - and happy travels!

Best,

Mark Northam



justin1235 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I hope you haven't already answered a similar question on the last 350 odd pages but here goes.
> 
> My girlfriend and I have been dating since February 2013 and are leaving to go travelling for over a year. Upon completion of our travels we would like to return, with her on a partner visa Subclass 309.
> 
> If we apply for a Subclass 309, submit all the required documents and are approved do we have to come immediately back to Australia?
> 
> As we are planning to be travelling will this make it hard apply, do we have to stay in the one country whilst the visa is being processed?
> 
> In an ideal world we could submit everything, go travelling and return to Australia in a year or two. Is this possible?
> 
> Information:
> - Been dating since Feb 2013
> - Living together since August 2013
> - She is Canadian
> - Travelling Oct-2013 till at least Oct-2014
> 
> Thanks for your time!


----------



## sgulkotw

... 
...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shashank -

Thanks for the note. The rules for dependency are quite high for immigration re: being dependent on you more than anyone else for food, clothing & shelter. That being said, many people choose not to include older parents as dependents as it opens up the application to failure for all if the health checks on the older person fail. If a person is under 18, there is no choice but to put them down if the parent has any custody or rights over the child. But for those over 18, it becomes more of a choice. If you want to bring your parent here as a dependent one day, then it can be a good thing to include them as a non-migrating dependent on the visa application. But if there is no possibility of wanting to do this, some people choose not to include them even though there may be some degree of financial dependence.

I'd probably wait until the CO requests form 1221 given the circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sgulkotw said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing good .
> I am Shashank and i am from India.
> My question is about non-migrating dependents and the form 1221.
> 
> Sorry if any of the questions were answered by you previously. i could not see a match thread.
> 
> There has been a lot, that i read various forums on this ,which according to me , isa much debated topic. Should parents, if dependent on you ,should be declared as a non-migrating dependent.
> 
> I have added my mother (51 yr/widowed/housewife) as my dependent non-migrating .
> 
> she has no intention of moving to australia but is dependent on me for financial help. However she does get widow-pension from the state government here ( obviously not enough) . Not sure if this qualifies for her to be on my non-migrating dependent list. Can you please help me understand this better ?
> 
> Also now that she is already on my application i would go through with her PCC and medical ( touch wood , she is pretty healthy but for blood pressure ) and will submit that in my application . not sure if i should remove her and would that do my case any good.
> 
> However the biggest concern is about the form 1221. I am asked to submit this under "recommeded" section for my mother .
> 
> Half the questions on this form are pretty vague. Like airline details date of travel, place of stay, duration of stay . Most i which i cannot even fill with legitimate details forget accuracy . Without which i think this form is no good.
> 
> So again, is this form completely necessary , should i front load it before the CO asks me ( to avoid delays of course) . If yes, should the uncertain part of information be left blank ?
> 
> Please help .
> 
> Thanks again for the great job you are doing helping clear these crucial doubts.
> 
> Regards
> Shashank


----------



## yasirfarabi

Hi Mark,

My wife (a Romanian citizen, with whom I got married in Aug 2013) and step-children visited me for 6 months on sponsored family visitor visa (she was not eligible for eVisitor at that time) and they left yesterday. I am planning to apply for a partner visa pretty soon. But I really miss them and want to them to visit me again or eVisitor visa. 

My question is: should there be any gap between two visits? and in this case (where she has been visiting for 6 months) how long do you think I should wait before lodging another visit visa?


----------



## chocolate33

*translations*

hey mark, just a qucik question regarding translation of documents. im getting all the official documents translated (my partners Birth certificate, our sons Birth certificate, italian police checks, statement from local council declaring that the three of us live together). I am including a joint gym membership (for proof of social aspect of relationship and proof or residence); as well as my pregnancy booklet and results. i was not planning to get these documents translated and simply highlighting the appropriate sections and supplying my own translation. would this be suitable or do all documents need to be translated if not in english?


----------



## Maria&Elden

Hi Mark,
We are a french/australian couple since 10 months, my working holiday visa will finish the 2nd November 2014, And we met with Elden on the 6th November 2013.I can't get another WHV. We plan with Elden (my Aussie boyfriend) to apply for the Partner Visa. How can I do if I want to extend my WHV to a Tourism Visa, just for a couple of week so we can have our 1st year anniversary together ? Can I get out of the country at the end of my WHV and come back straight away with a tourism visa ? Am I be able to reenter in Australia ?
We are looking actually a good lawyer to help us with the DeFacto Visa application, so if you are as good as everybody say on this forum, I think we might contact you very soon.
Thank you for your time.

Best regards,
Maria


----------



## ttc8

MarkNortham said:


> Hi TTC8 -
> 
> Thanks for the note - a complicated situation indeed! Fortunately you are applying for a defacto partner visa as that simplifies things a bit. There is no legal bar against someone who technically is still married lodging a defacto partner visa as long as the person can demonstrate with evidence that he/she has no contact (or very little) with the former partner and that the marriage is for all intents and purposes over. Would suggest you put together a formal letter to DIBP outlining the situation and showing how there has been no partner relationship in place with the person for a long time, and describe what efforts you will be undertaking to legally end the marriage. In terms of the best way to legally end it, that's a question for a family lawyer - suggest you consult with one promptly so you can include in you submission to DIBP the fact that you're taking steps to end the marriage and show what you're doing, etc - that can make a big difference.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark. You have been very helpful !! 
BIG THANK YOU.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yasirfarabi -

Thanks for the questions. There is no minimum length of time between visitor visa applications, however DIBP can refuse a visitor visa if it looks like the visitor visa is being used to establish a "pattern of residency" - this applies especially to visas for partners and family members. You should also check your sponsored family visitor visa to see if there is any condition on it that limits the amount of time the applicants can spend in Australia (ie, no more than 12 months in an 18 months period or something like that).

If you were going to lodge another visitor visa, I'd wait at least a couple of months. Chances of success would be higher if you lodged the partner visa first, then lodged the next visitor visa so you would have declared the relationship to DIBP via the partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



yasirfarabi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife (a Romanian citizen, with whom I got married in Aug 2013) and step-children visited me for 6 months on sponsored family visitor visa (she was not eligible for eVisitor at that time) and they left yesterday. I am planning to apply for a partner visa pretty soon. But I really miss them and want to them to visit me again or eVisitor visa.
> 
> My question is: should there be any gap between two visits? and in this case (where she has been visiting for 6 months) how long do you think I should wait before lodging another visit visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chocolate33 -

This works many times; other times DIBP requires all documents to be translated - it depends on the office processing the visa and the individual case officer in some cases. Safest bet is to translate all documents, but that can be very expensive!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> hey mark, just a qucik question regarding translation of documents. im getting all the official documents translated (my partners Birth certificate, our sons Birth certificate, italian police checks, statement from local council declaring that the three of us live together). I am including a joint gym membership (for proof of social aspect of relationship and proof or residence); as well as my pregnancy booklet and results. i was not planning to get these documents translated and simply highlighting the appropriate sections and supplying my own translation. would this be suitable or do all documents need to be translated if not in english?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maria -

Thanks for the note - would be happy to help. If your WHV does not have Condition 8503 on it, you may be able to lodge an application for a subclass 600 visitor visa to continue your stay in Australia. Alternatively, you could depart Australia and lodge an offshore eVisitor visa - these can be easier to get approved, however being offshore you run the risk of being stuck outside if you aren't granted the visa.

Re: defacto partner visa, would be happy to assist - for shorter duration relationships (ie, less than 2 years), it is very important that you provide as much relationship evidence and statements as possible as DIBP is looking very closely at these currently due to the high incidence of problems with these types of applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maria&Elden said:


> Hi Mark,
> We are a french/australian couple since 10 months, my working holiday visa will finish the 2nd November 2014, And we met with Elden on the 6th November 2013.I can't get another WHV. We plan with Elden (my Aussie boyfriend) to apply for the Partner Visa. How can I do if I want to extend my WHV to a Tourism Visa, just for a couple of week so we can have our 1st year anniversary together ? Can I get out of the country at the end of my WHV and come back straight away with a tourism visa ? Am I be able to reenter in Australia ?
> We are looking actually a good lawyer to help us with the DeFacto Visa application, so if you are as good as everybody say on this forum, I think we might contact you very soon.
> Thank you for your time.
> 
> Best regards,
> Maria


----------



## proudmomma

Hi Mark,

I hold a PMV subclass 300 and im getting married this sept. Can I get my kids on a tourist visa so they'll be here in australia when I apply for partner 820? I read that dependants also need to be onshore,is that correct? 

Thank u


----------



## sgulkotw

... 
...


----------



## Sorayam7

*Accountancy Skilled Visa queries*

Hello Mark,

I am new in here, I am currently under my husband's student visa which will end in a year approx.

I am interested in sending my EOI in september for general accountancy.

I have a degree and 5 years experience in 2 different companies, ielts over 7, and partners points as well.

My questions are the following:

1- employment: The first company is closed down, but the owner has another company and has written me a letter regarding the time employed and tasks, and I also found the last payslip that states my salary and first date of employment. I provided a phone number and email, but would not be the same one as the previous company name although it is the same person. ( it was a very small company ) Would it be enough to get the skills as I do need this for points? If not, what else could I provide? 

2- Police check, They did not ask for this when I first came here, should I ask for this now? Do I really need this?

3- medical check : do I need this as well? We both did this when coming here 6 months ago with xrays included.

4- when sending the eoi, you do not send any paper work at all until you get the invitation, is this correct?

5- certified true copies, how do I do this from my country?

I am going to Spain in a week to get all the papers I need, so I need to know what else to ask for while I am there! 
Thanks in advance!


----------



## justin1235

*Just to confirm*

Hey Mark,
Thanks for the quick response!
Sorry to bug you again, just to clarify.

Once approved, how long can you take to return to Australia? If we submit all our documents and everything goes fast we may be approved well before we are done travelling.

I'm just wondering if we could get half-way through our travels only to find out my partner must be back within Australia by date X?

Do they give you a time window to come back in once approved? If yes, can this be extended?

Thanks again Mark!


----------



## Caro12

Hi Mark,

Would like to know how many months of evidence you have to show for the 461. Can not find anything on the immi page.

Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Caro12 -

Thanks for the question. There is no fixed number in the legislation - the key is to provide sufficient relationship evidence to convince the case officer that the relationship has existed for the period you are claiming it has. My suggestion: include as much quality evidence as you can, and don't worry about sending in too much.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Caro12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Would like to know how many months of evidence you have to show for the 461. Can not find anything on the immi page.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Justin -

Re: offshore 309/100 partner visa application, if the visa is approved there will be a "must enter by" date on the visa which is usually a number of months away from the grant date - you would need to enter Australia prior to this date to activate the visa - but you only need to enter, not return & stay, so you could come back for a day or a weekend to activate the visa and then go back to traveling. You can request a extra time on the must-enter-by date, however there is no requirement for DIBP to grant this. Once the visa is granted and the date is set in the grant, it cannot be changed by law.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



justin1235 said:


> Hey Mark,
> Thanks for the quick response!
> Sorry to bug you again, just to clarify.
> 
> Once approved, how long can you take to return to Australia? If we submit all our documents and everything goes fast we may be approved well before we are done travelling.
> 
> I'm just wondering if we could get half-way through our travels only to find out my partner must be back within Australia by date X?
> 
> Do they give you a time window to come back in once approved? If yes, can this be extended?
> 
> Thanks again Mark!


----------



## Milooo Adell

Hi Mark

I would like to ask about the cheapest MBA program in Australia for international Students??? (i mean which university or college or even institute) And if there is any deduction for international students???
I have 28 years...Is that too old to apply for student visa subclass 573 streamlined?
Is there any alternative programs other than MBA which enables me to join the Australian labor market after graduation??? And also with affordable prices???

Kind Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Milooo Adell -

Thanks for the question - not my area of specialty, however suggest you contact an Education Agent (there are many - both global and local) who represents a variety of Australian educational institutions to get quotes on different types of programs. 28 not too old for an advanced degree from what I can see! All comes down to your circumstances - make sure you are familiar with the "genuine temporary entrant " (aka "genuine student") requirements of the student visa programme for Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Milooo Adell said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I would like to ask about the cheapest MBA program in Australia for international Students??? (i mean which university or college or even institute) And if there is any deduction for international students???
> I have 28 years...Is that too old to apply for student visa subclass 573 streamlined?
> Is there any alternative programs other than MBA which enables me to join the Australian labor market after graduation??? And also with affordable prices???
> 
> Kind Regards


----------



## Milooo Adell

Thanks a lot for your help and your quick reply. you are so gentle man


----------



## aussie2x

*Temporary transition scheme*

Hi Mark,

my dependent family member offshore who is not granted a secondary 457 visa , can I include them in my pr temporary transition scheme ?

Thanks in advance


----------



## blue bird

*Family Visa*

Hi Mark,

I have one query

I have lodged my 190 visa application on 16th July, 2014 without my spouse and kids. Can I add my spouse and kids now before CO allocation?

Regards,


----------



## rasha77

Hi Mark 
I am a software engineer from Saudi Arabia and am planning to apply for a 189 class visa. I was also thinking of pursuing a masters degree. If lets say I get accepted to an Australian university, how will this affect my 189 application and my student visa application and vice versa? 

Many thanks

Rasha


----------



## nurikaz

Hi Mark

Nurik here from Kazakhistan. I’m excited about Australia. Actually, I am Scientist in Agriculture. Unfortunately, need to check with you on possible problem for my 189 visa application. 2 years ago, my visit visa to Americca was cancelled. Embassy told me they cancelled visa because when I obtain visit visa I had job in Kazakhistan and told them I intend to stay for 2 months but actually since I got 6 months stamp at airport there from customs official I ended up staying for 5 months because my job in Kazakhistan not very happy and stable and I quit that as well in meantime. So next time I go to them for a further study visa they cancel my visit visa and not allow me study visa.

My question is how badly will Australia ppl see this for my immigration case? I not overstay my permit and also not make misstatement about job. I was in job at time of visit visa approval but americcan visa offecer interpret circumstances in very harsh and mistrustful way. Some friends tell me I keep trying for another americcan visa of any kind eg student, work etc just to prove to Australia ppl that americcan ppl’s mistrust now finished. Anyway your advice would be most helpful.

Thanking you
Nurik


----------



## arunsethi

Hello

My name is Arun. I have being working as physiotherapist in Qatar for past 2 years. Some concerns I have regarding my work history. I like 189 and 190 skillselect streams, so that my target. I applied for canada work visa about 1 year ago and did not mention one of my past employers in the visa application. This employer I mention in the work visa application for Qatar. It was a 1 year part time home-working job with no money (pro bono as you would call it). Only did it because I was not secure about my full time job at the time. What chance australia immigration department find out about this discrepancy? Should I write this job in work history for australia form 80. I do not want to claim points for it. Have not filed 189 application yet, but confused on this point! 

Thanks to you for listening.

Regards
Arun


----------



## maylarose281012

Hi Mark,

Just wondering if i and my partner can apply for a de facto visa even if she is unemployed and has been only receiving single parent
pension? She has not declared me yet under center link for fear that the application might be denied.
We've been living two years now and got engaged last year. She has three kids that I support, supporting the family with littlel income. We are planning to apply this visa so that we can live legally with our coming baby and our children


----------



## mamaus

*tourist visa*

hi mark,
your such a generous person to help all these people here, your doing a fantastic job to putting time. your amazing....
we just handed in our partner visa offshore, we are wanting to put in application for a tourist visa for my partner to come to australia, question: if we apply for a 3 month tourist visa, and partner visits us, is there a way we can extend stay whilst he is in australia until we get an approval for pv?
and if he does come on a tourist visa? whilst awaiting on pv, is he allowed to study english in oz part time during hes visit? and also do hes medicals for the partner visa in australia?


----------



## proudmomma

Hi Mark,

I hold a PMV subclass 300 and im getting married this sept. Can I get my kids on a tourist visa so they'll be here in australia when I apply for partner 820? I read that dependants also need to be onshore,is that correct?

Thank u!


----------



## 99pika

*485 visa health check*

Hi Mark,

Just have a quick question. If I apply for 485 visa, do I need to do medical check before the lodgement? And what's the My health declaration on the immigration website? Should I do that before the medical check?

Many thanks,

Regards,
Elena


----------



## Tashka

Hi Mark, it's me again. I have lodged my 190 state nominated visa application, my DOE was 01/06/2014. But, so far I have not received a reply and now my spouse, dependant on the application is likely to have to get a maritime crewing visa 988 as his ship is likely to be going to work in Australian waters within the next couple months. Does this mean that until I have a reply on our 190 visa that he is not able to apply for his 988 visa? Also is it possible if my 190 visa comes through in time that he can use that one instead? 

Thanks in advance for your help,
Tashka


----------



## TAMZID

Hi Mr. Mark,
If my application is approved by the state will that ensure or can i assume positive result.

Would appreciate your feedback.


----------



## jimmy2014

*Form 956*

Dear Mark,

We have already submitted Partner visa application (offshore) about a month ago and I assisted my wife with all the forms and submission of the application etc. 

Would you recommend that I should submit Form 956 as exempt person because I provided assistance in her application ? 

Your advise will be really helpful (as always)


----------



## dhanu761

Hi Mark , 

I’m a 190 applicant with QLD sponsorship and I lodged my visa on 21st of May 2014. On 11th August CO contacted me and asked for the additional details pertaining to my employment. She need pay slips from 2011 Feb to up to now and my letter of employment and any other relevant document to prove my 3 years overseas work experience.
In 18th August I have emailed six pay slips from 2012/ 2013 and 2014 and one pay slip from 2011 together with bank statements for 2011 where it shows my salary debit details. I’m bit worried as I do not have all the pay slips with me, so that I have submit what I have. In addition to that I have submit my letter of appointment, my salary increment letter for 2013 and detail employment reference letter given by my employer stating my duties for 2011 February. 
Do you think not submitting all the pays lips will be adverse on my application? 

In addition as I’m a 190 applicant can I live in a state other that the QLD? As per my understanding 190 is PR visa where there is no residency restrictions on it, further there is not legal commitment saying that we have to stay in the sponsoring state, it’s a moral commitment( please correct me if I’m wrong). In that case can I stay in any other state? Will this have a impact when I’m applying for my citizenship?

By the way your are doing really great job in this fourm by helping people, please keep it up the good work....

Thanks.


----------



## neffstar

*Certified copies*

Hi Mark do you have a solid answer on whether documents have to be certified when applying offshore. I have read that coloured scans of documents such as a passport do not need to be certified. I am asking because when you click on the (?) link beside all the recommended articles to be uploaded, it says "certified" for all documents. In sweden that means a notary of the public which is something along the lines of $30 a signature :$
Cheers


----------



## rje06

Hi mark!

Iam an international student currently doing a Master of Project Management at the University of Sydney (CRICOS Course code 031911D). The duration of this course is 1 year full time.
Upon completion of this Master degree, I am intending to complete a Master of Engineering at UTS (CRICOS Course Code 081087F). The duration of this course is also 1 year full time.
My intention is to apply for Independent skilled migration Visa once I complete the 2 Master degrees with a total duration of 2 academic years.
My undergraduate Bachelor degree is mechanical engineering and thus my nominated occupation for Skilled Migration will be Mechanical Engineer.
While I am strongly confident that both Master degrees are closely related to my nominated occupation as the Master of Project Management is within the Engineering Faculty and provides me with critical skills in the mechanical construction engineering field and the Master of Engineering also is within the Engineering faculty and would provide me with further technical engineering skills, I was surprised to see that the Master of Project Management is listed under the Business and Management Field on the CRICOS website.

I would just like to confirm that both Master degrees are considered closely related to my nominated occupation for VISA purposes.

I appreciate your help and guidance on this matter.

Roy


----------



## Becky26

*Form 956*



jimmy2014 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> We have already submitted Partner visa application (offshore) about a month ago and I assisted my wife with all the forms and submission of the application etc.
> 
> Would you recommend that I should submit Form 956 as exempt person because I provided assistance in her application ?
> 
> Your advise will be really helpful (as always)


Hey Jimmy,

No, you don't need to provide Form 956. Read the _"Who should use this form"_ page 1, no where it is mentioned that assistance taken from spouse must be notified to the department. 
http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/956.pdf

_"EXEMPT PERSONS:-
The following people do not have to be registered as 
migration agents in order to provide immigration assistance: 
• a close family member (spouse, child, adopted child, 
parent, brother or sister of a visa applicant);
• a sponsor or nominator for a visa applicant;
• a member of parliament or their staff;
• an official whose duties include providing immigration 
assistance;
• a member of a diplomatic mission, consular post or 
international organisation.
As an exempt person *you must not charge a fee*_ for your 
service."

Hope this helps. Please correct me if I'm wrong Seniors. Thanks! 
Good Luck!!

Kind Regards,
Becky


----------



## chocolate33

*documents*

hey mark,
PLEASE HELP!!!! my partner, who is italian, is applying for his de facto partner visa. he had our passports certified today, however, the certifcations are in italian! i am assuming this will now need to be translated? (im finding this process very frustrating as in australia it is as simple as walking into the pharmacy!!!)
also, when you have documents translated how do you prove that you have used an official translator? 
thanks in advance
virginia


----------



## chocolate33

*citizenship by descent*

hey mark,
also another quick question...........i am applying for citizenship by descent for my son who is italian. the documents i am including:
*certified copy of his italian passport
*his Birth certificate, as well as english translation
*identity declaration from his doctor
*certfied copy of my aussie passport
*certified copy of my Birth certificate
*a utilities bill indicating my current residential address
am i missing anything?
kind regards,
virginia


----------



## channie14

Hi Mark, are you an immigration agent in Australia? What is the general cost to use an immigration agent for a visa for my US citizen husband to live in Australia? Would we use an agent in Australia even though we are in the US? Thank you.


----------



## jimmy2014

Becky26 said:


> Hey Jimmy,
> 
> No, you don't need to provide Form 956. Read the _"Who should use this form"_ page 1, no where it is mentioned that assistance taken from spouse must be notified to the department.
> http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/956.pdf
> 
> _"EXEMPT PERSONS:-
> The following people do not have to be registered as
> migration agents in order to provide immigration assistance:
> • a close family member (spouse, child, adopted child,
> parent, brother or sister of a visa applicant);
> • a sponsor or nominator for a visa applicant;
> • a member of parliament or their staff;
> • an official whose duties include providing immigration
> assistance;
> • a member of a diplomatic mission, consular post or
> international organisation.
> As an exempt person *you must not charge a fee*_ for your
> service."
> 
> Hope this helps. Please correct me if I'm wrong Seniors. Thanks!
> Good Luck!!
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Becky


Thanks Becky 

I did saw that form but the way I understood was me being a spouse would be under 'exempt person' category but still need to fill out that form


----------



## Maria&Elden

Thank you for your quick reply Mark, it is very important for us. I will check on my Working Holiday Visa if there is the option 8503 as you said.
Thank you again for your time.
Best regards,
Maria & Elden


----------



## Mariaanderic

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mariaanderic -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words! Glad I can help.
> 
> Re: partner / visitor visa, assuming you meet the requirements of a partner visa (suggestion: eliminate boyfriend/girlfriend from your vocabulary and use the word "partner" instead, as DIBP doesn't see boyfriends/girlfriends as "partners"), you may want to lodge the 309/100 first, wait a week or 2 to let them get it in their system, then lodge a visitor visa application. This is done sometimes in higher risk situations so that DIBP understands that you've declared the relationship to them, and are not trying to use repeated visitor visas to establish some sort of residency in Australia. Also, the fact that you have already had 2 Aus visas before, and the last one had 8503 on it may be indicative that you're running out of visitor visas that they will grant (without you having lodged something else or declaring your relationship), so yet another reason to lodge the partner visa first, then a visitor visa.
> 
> When they are ready to grant the 309/100, if you are in Australia (keep in touch with your case officer once you are assigned one or a team to let them know when you are outside your home country), they will email you and let you know they're ready to grant the visa - you would then depart Australia (to any other country, doesn't have to be your home country) and then email them to confirm you're outside Australia, and they will grant & email you your visa which you would then re-enter Australia on.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark!
Once again thank you SO MUCH for your help! Being able to talk to you actually makes a massive difference for us while going through this process.

I just have a few more questions..
We decided that yes, we will apply for a tourist visa a couple of months after applying for the partner visa so we can be together while partner visa is being processed..
So, if my tourist visa is granted I will let my case officer know that I am in Australia and I am guessing she/he will let me know when they are ready to grant the visa right?
Once they do that I should leave Australia and go anywhere else so they can send me the grant notification email right? Do you know for how long I would have to be outside Australia? Would I be able to come back to Australia straight after the partner visa is granted or is there something like a "waiting period"?

Thank you so so much again Mark!
Hope you are having a good day


----------



## IndyMama

*errors and omissions in online application*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi IndyMama -
> 
> I'd carefully check for any other mistakes, then upload Form 1023 to deal with it now.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark-

Well, after combing my application I found a few other mistakes, some of them I'm flabbergasted to have made. Specifically, I somehow answered "No" to the question whether I'd ever travelled to or visited Australia! Of course I'm fully aware that DIBP has records of my coming and going and I have no desire or intent to mislead them. I did detail my trips in my narrative answers about my relationship with my fiancee.

I also failed to list two trips to Canada I've made within the last 10 years - I lived in a border town for years and a trip to Canada was no more exciting than a trip to the grocery store so I didn't even THINK of those when asked about international trips. I DID list my trip to India, and mentioned the trip my fiancee and I made to Canada in my narrative answers.

I've got my 1023 all filled out and ready to upload (including a mea culpa statement about my errors and omissions), but am seriously stressed out that the magnitude of these particular omissions. Is this something that is likely to result in rejection?

Thanks for any insight you might have to offer... and for helping me along the way.


----------



## Milooo Adell

Hi Mark

I would like to ask, Is that possible to obtain the permanent residency in Australia after 1.5 years master degree (MBA). I know that there is a visa called temporary graduate visa subclass 485 (WHICH REQUITES TO STUDY FOR AT LEAST 2 YEARS IN AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTION) that allow the international student graduate to work for up to 4 years after graduation and this open the door for the permanent residency.
My Question simply, Is that possible after 1.5 years MBA in Victoria to get the permanent residency(with any program for international students)??? If YES please how??? 

Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussie2x -

May be possible, however depending on their age the dependency may be an issue. Would need to go over the details with you in a consultation to give you any specific advice for your case - in these types of cases, the details mean everything.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussie2x said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> my dependent family member offshore who is not granted a secondary 457 visa , can I include them in my pr temporary transition scheme ?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Blue Bird -

Yes. However make sure on your application you did not include any inaccurate information (ie, saying you don't have kids when you did or something like that). Secondary applicants can be added to a lodged 190 application up until the point the application is decided. Of course you'll need to pay the additional application fees, get health & police for all as applicable, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



blue bird said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have one query
> 
> I have lodged my 190 visa application on 16th July, 2014 without my spouse and kids. Can I add my spouse and kids now before CO allocation?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rasha77 -

The 189 and student visa application(s) wouldn't affect each other as I see, other than perhaps if you already lodged a 189 (thus indicating an interest in residing in Australia permanently), they might give you some trouble regarding the genuine temporary entrant provisions of the student visa requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rasha77 said:


> Hi Mark
> I am a software engineer from Saudi Arabia and am planning to apply for a 189 class visa. I was also thinking of pursuing a masters degree. If lets say I get accepted to an Australian university, how will this affect my 189 application and my student visa application and vice versa?
> 
> Many thanks
> 
> Rasha


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nurikaz -

Hard to predict how this might affect your Australian visa. You may want to prepare a statement explaining what happened and point out that other than this you have had no other immigration issues, etc. They will probably want additional details on this and may follow up with USA immigration people to confirm. By itself, I don't believe this would be likely to cause a visa refusal, however if you don't disclose everything when asked on the forms, etc and they later discover this, omitting the info on the forms could easily cause a refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nurikaz said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Nurik here from Kazakhistan. I'm excited about Australia. Actually, I am Scientist in Agriculture. Unfortunately, need to check with you on possible problem for my 189 visa application. 2 years ago, my visit visa to Americca was cancelled. Embassy told me they cancelled visa because when I obtain visit visa I had job in Kazakhistan and told them I intend to stay for 2 months but actually since I got 6 months stamp at airport there from customs official I ended up staying for 5 months because my job in Kazakhistan not very happy and stable and I quit that as well in meantime. So next time I go to them for a further study visa they cancel my visit visa and not allow me study visa.
> 
> My question is how badly will Australia ppl see this for my immigration case? I not overstay my permit and also not make misstatement about job. I was in job at time of visit visa approval but americcan visa offecer interpret circumstances in very harsh and mistrustful way. Some friends tell me I keep trying for another americcan visa of any kind eg student, work etc just to prove to Australia ppl that americcan ppl's mistrust now finished. Anyway your advice would be most helpful.
> 
> Thanking you
> Nurik


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arun -

Easy answer: disclose all of your work history - no benefit to taking the chance that any discrepancy might come up. Re: Canada, unlikely to come up unless you were refused a visa or it was cancelled as a result. On Form 80, doesn't matter whether you claim points or not, need to disclose.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arunsethi said:


> Hello
> 
> My name is Arun. I have being working as physiotherapist in Qatar for past 2 years. Some concerns I have regarding my work history. I like 189 and 190 skillselect streams, so that my target. I applied for canada work visa about 1 year ago and did not mention one of my past employers in the visa application. This employer I mention in the work visa application for Qatar. It was a 1 year part time home-working job with no money (pro bono as you would call it). Only did it because I was not secure about my full time job at the time. What chance australia immigration department find out about this discrepancy? Should I write this job in work history for australia form 80. I do not want to claim points for it. Have not filed 189 application yet, but confused on this point!
> 
> Thanks to you for listening.
> 
> Regards
> Arun


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maylarose281012 -

Sponsor receiving only Centrelink for income is generally not a problem - I'd show all the family income when you apply for the visa, including the Centrelink. There are no specific minimum income requirements for partner visa sponsors. However there are severe penalties for not providing Centrelink with accurate info -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



maylarose281012 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just wondering if i and my partner can apply for a de facto visa even if she is unemployed and has been only receiving single parent
> pension? She has not declared me yet under center link for fear that the application might be denied.
> We've been living two years now and got engaged last year. She has three kids that I support, supporting the family with littlel income. We are planning to apply this visa so that we can live legally with our coming baby and our children


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mamaus -

Thanks for the kind words! A person onshore on a visitor visa can apply for an additional visitor visa to extend the trip by applying for a subclass 600 visitor visa (tourism stream) unless their current tourist visa has condition 8503. As to chances of success, depends on the circumstances. Other alternative is to go offshore and apply for a new visitor visa from there. Most visitor visas allow up to 3 months of study (check your visa for specific conditions). No problem taking medicals in Australia while here on visitor visa, or can do them at an approved panel doctor location in home country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mamaus said:


> hi mark,
> your such a generous person to help all these people here, your doing a fantastic job to putting time. your amazing....
> we just handed in our partner visa offshore, we are wanting to put in application for a tourist visa for my partner to come to australia, question: if we apply for a 3 month tourist visa, and partner visits us, is there a way we can extend stay whilst he is in australia until we get an approval for pv?
> and if he does come on a tourist visa? whilst awaiting on pv, is he allowed to study english in oz part time during hes visit? and also do hes medicals for the partner visa in australia?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Proudmomma -

Correct, however some people have issues getting visitor visas for their children in these circumstances, as immigration wonders why the kids weren't included in the sc300 visa application. This technique has been tried by some in the past to dodge the health requirement for all sc300 applicants.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



proudmomma said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hold a PMV subclass 300 and im getting married this sept. Can I get my kids on a tourist visa so they'll be here in australia when I apply for partner 820? I read that dependants also need to be onshore,is that correct?
> 
> Thank u!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 99pika -

You need to show evidence that you have booked a medical exam as of the time of application for the 485. Yes, do My health declarations and follow instructions to book a medical exam. You'll need proof of the booking for the 485 application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



99pika said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just have a quick question. If I apply for 485 visa, do I need to do medical check before the lodgement? And what's the My health declaration on the immigration website? Should I do that before the medical check?
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> Regards,
> Elena


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tashka -

Would need to see all your details to give you specific advice, but normally the 190 would replace whatever other visa a person has prior to that. Not sure if in your circumstances the pending 190 application is any issue for the 988 visa, would need to discuss your specific details with you to answer that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tashka said:


> Hi Mark, it's me again. I have lodged my 190 state nominated visa application, my DOE was 01/06/2014. But, so far I have not received a reply and now my spouse, dependant on the application is likely to have to get a maritime crewing visa 988 as his ship is likely to be going to work in Australian waters within the next couple months. Does this mean that until I have a reply on our 190 visa that he is not able to apply for his 988 visa? Also is it possible if my 190 visa comes through in time that he can use that one instead?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help,
> Tashka


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

No. Any number of things can go wrong with the application at DIBP - health, police, lack of sufficient evidence of points and work history, etc etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Hi Mr. Mark,
> If my application is approved by the state will that ensure or can i assume positive result.
> 
> Would appreciate your feedback.


----------



## Becky26

jimmy2014 said:


> Thanks Becky
> 
> I did saw that form but the way I understood was me being a spouse would be under 'exempt person' category but still need to fill out that form


No worries  Good Luck!!


----------



## Akhiamu

MarkNortham said:


> HI Akhiamu -
> 
> Normally person notarising and witnessing a document can be the same person. Suggest you call ACS and get specific direction to avoid any issues - the best information in this case is directly from ACS.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Do we have any contact information to Call ACS to get this confirmation and avoid any issues

Statutory declaration - Do the original copy of statutory document need to be notarized and then need to be scan. I believe all the other documents (Passport, Degree, Employment reference etc) must be certified copies of originals and uploaded into the online application form as PDF files. What Stamp we need to have on the Statutory declaration from Notary such as "True copy of the original" or "Arrested".

To give you background I am asking this question because below extract from "Skills-Assessment-Guidelines-for-Applicants.pdf".

_The following Statutory Declarations or Affidavits are NOT suitable: 
• Does NOT contain words to the effect "Sworn Before" or "Signed Before" or "Witnessed Before". 
• From a junior colleague 
• Stating the referee agrees with what the applicant has written in another document 
• Stamp and signature of Notary Public doesn't state that the referee's signature is witnessed 
• Signature of Notary Public only states "Attested Copy"._

Apart if we have employment Letter from my employer in the specified format ACS format do we still need to submit statutory declaration to support the case.


----------



## Xuxa

Hi Mark,

I am planning to submit an EOI for a skilled independent visa, I recently got my qualifications assessment outcome letter and they determined my overseas work experience is not equivalent to any Australian work experience. However, I thought they were supposed to provide an opinion on the validity of my work experience, and not whether or not it is equivalent to Australian work experience? At this point, should I submit an EOI and try to claim points for overseas work experience? If immigration determines that I don't meet the eligible criteria to receive points for my overseas work experience, will they reject my application, or will they simply reconsider my EOI based on my points total without the overseas work experience?

Thanks very much for your input!


----------



## Abdelkhalek

Hi Mark
My skill assessment for external auditor is expected to come with only 8 out of 12 required courses, I already have 5 years experience now.
If I attended the required subject and passed the remaining exam, from which date my employment will count? am I going to start from zero or they will consider the 5 years experience?
Thank you


----------



## mamaus

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mamaus -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words! A person onshore on a visitor visa can apply for an additional visitor visa to extend the trip by applying for a subclass 600 visitor visa (tourism stream) unless their current tourist visa has condition 8503. As to chances of success, depends on the circumstances. Other alternative is to go offshore and apply for a new visitor visa from there. Most visitor visas allow up to 3 months of study (check your visa for specific conditions). No problem taking medicals in Australia while here on visitor visa, or can do them at an approved panel doctor location in home country.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


does he also have to add a letter from hes boss for permission to leave? on the application as now we have a partner visa, is it compulsory because the business is closed for summer holidays and he has no way of getting the letter when we hand in application.


----------



## Harsingh

*Hello Mark*

Hello Mark,

Thanks in advance. Few question I have related to myapplication. I have got the invite and now at the stage of uploading docs.

1. Do I need to upload the ACS Self Declaration which I did while applying for ACS assessment. If yes which one to upload the one which has the combined self declaration or individual one by one for all companies?

2. Do I need to upload Increment letter for all of my work? I have already uploaded the Offer letter and last 3 months payslips along with the experience letter.

3. Do I need to upload the Notarized document or color photocopy.

4. I am not claiming my Partner points but she is working do I need to upload her Offer letters/Experience letter along with Payslips? Or these are not required.

5. Do I need to wait for the CO to ask me for form 80 and medicals or upload and do the test in advance.

6. Lastly twice I was rejected tourist visa to canada to visit my brother and was due to fact like my past travel history( none) and my ties to my country. I did provided all the required documents but didn't got it. After that I never applied for the visa, Would this have a negative impact? What should I upload a rejection letter from Canada Embassy would be good?

7. I have got my ACS experience done until May 2013 and got the results in August 2013. I am still working with the same company and position and have given my end date as Aug 2014 for which I got points while submitting my EOI. I have provided my company experience letter with the date and my current position along with my last 3 payslip do I need to provide anything else to further prove my claim?

Regards,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmy2014 -

I think Becky might have jumped in here to respond - to clarify, no 956 or other form needs to be lodged for a person getting assistance from their spouse on an Australian visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmy2014 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> We have already submitted Partner visa application (offshore) about a month ago and I assisted my wife with all the forms and submission of the application etc.
> 
> Would you recommend that I should submit Form 956 as exempt person because I provided assistance in her application ?
> 
> Your advise will be really helpful (as always)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhanu761 -

Not sure how case officer will respond to not all pay slips - I'd try to find other corroborating evidence such as tax statements, bank acct records, etc to show you were paid in the period you're missing pay slips for.

Re: state sponsorship, the live/work commitment is a contractual commitment with most states that forms part of the contract they sponsor you under. It is more than a moral commitment, depending on the specific documents and language in your sponsorship deal - suggest you look at that carefully.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dhanu761 said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> I'm a 190 applicant with QLD sponsorship and I lodged my visa on 21st of May 2014. On 11th August CO contacted me and asked for the additional details pertaining to my employment. She need pay slips from 2011 Feb to up to now and my letter of employment and any other relevant document to prove my 3 years overseas work experience.
> In 18th August I have emailed six pay slips from 2012/ 2013 and 2014 and one pay slip from 2011 together with bank statements for 2011 where it shows my salary debit details. I'm bit worried as I do not have all the pay slips with me, so that I have submit what I have. In addition to that I have submit my letter of appointment, my salary increment letter for 2013 and detail employment reference letter given by my employer stating my duties for 2011 February.
> Do you think not submitting all the pays lips will be adverse on my application?
> 
> In addition as I'm a 190 applicant can I live in a state other that the QLD? As per my understanding 190 is PR visa where there is no residency restrictions on it, further there is not legal commitment saying that we have to stay in the sponsoring state, it's a moral commitment( please correct me if I'm wrong). In that case can I stay in any other state? Will this have a impact when I'm applying for my citizenship?
> 
> By the way your are doing really great job in this fourm by helping people, please keep it up the good work....
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neffstar -

High quality colour scans of originals are OK for online applications unless the case officer specifically requests an original - which happens rarely and usually only for police certificates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



neffstar said:


> Hi Mark do you have a solid answer on whether documents have to be certified when applying offshore. I have read that coloured scans of documents such as a passport do not need to be certified. I am asking because when you click on the (?) link beside all the recommended articles to be uploaded, it says "certified" for all documents. In sweden that means a notary of the public which is something along the lines of $30 a signature :$
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rje06 -

Thanks for the questions. The question of occupational relevance is one that only a skills assessor can answer - there is no universal or generally accepted rules or authority for occupational relevance. However in the case of Masters degree when you already have a qualifying and relevant Bachelor degree, not sure what good it will do re: skilled visas - you don't get any more points for a Masters degree, and the skills assessment will generally focus on your bachelor degree as I believe you pointed out already.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rje06 said:


> Hi mark!
> 
> Iam an international student currently doing a Master of Project Management at the University of Sydney (CRICOS Course code 031911D). The duration of this course is 1 year full time.
> Upon completion of this Master degree, I am intending to complete a Master of Engineering at UTS (CRICOS Course Code 081087F). The duration of this course is also 1 year full time.
> My intention is to apply for Independent skilled migration Visa once I complete the 2 Master degrees with a total duration of 2 academic years.
> My undergraduate Bachelor degree is mechanical engineering and thus my nominated occupation for Skilled Migration will be Mechanical Engineer.
> While I am strongly confident that both Master degrees are closely related to my nominated occupation as the Master of Project Management is within the Engineering Faculty and provides me with critical skills in the mechanical construction engineering field and the Master of Engineering also is within the Engineering faculty and would provide me with further technical engineering skills, I was surprised to see that the Master of Project Management is listed under the Business and Management Field on the CRICOS website.
> 
> I would just like to confirm that both Master degrees are considered closely related to my nominated occupation for VISA purposes.
> 
> I appreciate your help and guidance on this matter.
> 
> Roy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chocolate33 -

Likely not an issue, as long as DIBP can get in touch with the certifier. If you're lodging online (hope you are), note that you do not need to get certifications at all - high quality colour scans of passports are accepted by DIBP for online applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> hey mark,
> PLEASE HELP!!!! my partner, who is italian, is applying for his de facto partner visa. he had our passports certified today, however, the certifcations are in italian! i am assuming this will now need to be translated? (im finding this process very frustrating as in australia it is as simple as walking into the pharmacy!!!)
> also, when you have documents translated how do you prove that you have used an official translator?
> thanks in advance
> virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chocolate33 -

Would need to see your documents in a consultation to assess re: any particular application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> hey mark,
> also another quick question...........i am applying for citizenship by descent for my son who is italian. the documents i am including:
> *certified copy of his italian passport
> *his Birth certificate, as well as english translation
> *identity declaration from his doctor
> *certfied copy of my aussie passport
> *certified copy of my Birth certificate
> *a utilities bill indicating my current residential address
> am i missing anything?
> kind regards,
> virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Channie14 -

Yes, I'm a registered migration agent for Australia and would be happy to assist you - we assist clients all over the world (and I'm originally from the US) - feel free to contact me via my website link below and I can get you more information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



channie14 said:


> Hi Mark, are you an immigration agent in Australia? What is the general cost to use an immigration agent for a visa for my US citizen husband to live in Australia? Would we use an agent in Australia even though we are in the US? Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mariaanderic -

Thanks for the kind words! Your understanding is correct. If you are in Australia and they are ready to grant the offshore partner visa, you'll get an email to advise you and you would then need to, within the period specified (usually a number of weeks), depart Australia - normally just for a couple of days or whatever is convenient. You'd then be emailed the visa grant letter and can re-enter Australia whenever you wish to on the new visa - there's no waiting time, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mariaanderic said:


> Hi Mark!
> Once again thank you SO MUCH for your help! Being able to talk to you actually makes a massive difference for us while going through this process.
> 
> I just have a few more questions..
> We decided that yes, we will apply for a tourist visa a couple of months after applying for the partner visa so we can be together while partner visa is being processed..
> So, if my tourist visa is granted I will let my case officer know that I am in Australia and I am guessing she/he will let me know when they are ready to grant the visa right?
> Once they do that I should leave Australia and go anywhere else so they can send me the grant notification email right? Do you know for how long I would have to be outside Australia? Would I be able to come back to Australia straight after the partner visa is granted or is there something like a "waiting period"?
> 
> Thank you so so much again Mark!
> Hope you are having a good day


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Indymama -

Doesn't look like a serious issue to me - everybody makes mistakes! Once you've declared it in Form 1023, you've officially corrected your application and it would be very difficult for DIBP to criticise you at that point. The problem happens when people make material (significant) mistakes and DIBP finds them first. I would not be concerned.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Hi Mark-
> 
> Well, after combing my application I found a few other mistakes, some of them I'm flabbergasted to have made. Specifically, I somehow answered "No" to the question whether I'd ever travelled to or visited Australia! Of course I'm fully aware that DIBP has records of my coming and going and I have no desire or intent to mislead them. I did detail my trips in my narrative answers about my relationship with my fiancee.
> 
> I also failed to list two trips to Canada I've made within the last 10 years - I lived in a border town for years and a trip to Canada was no more exciting than a trip to the grocery store so I didn't even THINK of those when asked about international trips. I DID list my trip to India, and mentioned the trip my fiancee and I made to Canada in my narrative answers.
> 
> I've got my 1023 all filled out and ready to upload (including a mea culpa statement about my errors and omissions), but am seriously stressed out that the magnitude of these particular omissions. Is this something that is likely to result in rejection?
> 
> Thanks for any insight you might have to offer... and for helping me along the way.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Milooo Adell -

It depends on the CRICOS listing of the number of weeks for the course if it's 92 or higher after being reduced by any credits you received for prior study outside Australia, it may work - the main course requirements are that the study be at least 92 weeks as listed in CRICOS, and that the actual time you took to complete the study be at least 16 months, however there are many other requirements for this visa - study carefully if you're doing it yourself. If the skilled graduate visa (485) doesn't work out, you may qualify for a 457 visa (depending on past skills/wk experience), or may even an RSMS employer sponsored skilled visa (subclass 187) depending on your circumstances. Other alternative is more study, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Milooo Adell said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I would like to ask, Is that possible to obtain the permanent residency in Australia after 1.5 years master degree (MBA). I know that there is a visa called temporary graduate visa subclass 485 (WHICH REQUITES TO STUDY FOR AT LEAST 2 YEARS IN AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTION) that allow the international student graduate to work for up to 4 years after graduation and this open the door for the permanent residency.
> My Question simply, Is that possible after 1.5 years MBA in Victoria to get the permanent residency(with any program for international students)??? If YES please how???
> 
> Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Akhiamu -

Thanks for the questions. For ACS contact info, probably best if you go to the ACS website. Re: stat dec about work exp, normally not needed if your work experience letter from your employer meets all the requirements. ACS can be very picky about their requirements - no substitute for reading their requirements very carefully, and contacting them directly with any questions to get whatever clarification you need. I've found that phone is the best way to contact them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Akhiamu said:


> Do we have any contact information to Call ACS to get this confirmation and avoid any issues
> 
> Statutory declaration - Do the original copy of statutory document need to be notarized and then need to be scan. I believe all the other documents (Passport, Degree, Employment reference etc) must be certified copies of originals and uploaded into the online application form as PDF files. What Stamp we need to have on the Statutory declaration from Notary such as "True copy of the original" or "Arrested".
> 
> To give you background I am asking this question because below extract from "Skills-Assessment-Guidelines-for-Applicants.pdf".
> 
> _The following Statutory Declarations or Affidavits are NOT suitable:
> • Does NOT contain words to the effect "Sworn Before" or "Signed Before" or "Witnessed Before".
> • From a junior colleague
> • Stating the referee agrees with what the applicant has written in another document
> • Stamp and signature of Notary Public doesn't state that the referee's signature is witnessed
> • Signature of Notary Public only states "Attested Copy"._
> 
> Apart if we have employment Letter from my employer in the specified format ACS format do we still need to submit statutory declaration to support the case.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xuxa -

DIBP will defer to the skils assessor for determining whether your experience was at an appropriate level, skilled, etc. If the skills assessor claims that your work was not, then I wouldn't claim it for points as the chance of getting it through would be extremely low - DIBP usually goes by what the skills assessor says. If you lodge an application and cannot justify all points claimed by you, you would have to withdraw it (no refund) or the visa would be refused.

Suggest you see what appeals/review process your skills assessor might have to try and get a re-assessment of your work experience, perhaps based on additional or new documentation from your employer (that doesn't conflict with the old docs -that's another problem).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xuxa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to submit an EOI for a skilled independent visa, I recently got my qualifications assessment outcome letter and they determined my overseas work experience is not equivalent to any Australian work experience. However, I thought they were supposed to provide an opinion on the validity of my work experience, and not whether or not it is equivalent to Australian work experience? At this point, should I submit an EOI and try to claim points for overseas work experience? If immigration determines that I don't meet the eligible criteria to receive points for my overseas work experience, will they reject my application, or will they simply reconsider my EOI based on my points total without the overseas work experience?
> 
> Thanks very much for your input!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abdelkhalek -

Unfortunately you can only count skilled work experience for points from the date at which the skills assessor decides you "skilled". That will depend on your skills assessment, however in most cases the skilled date is set by the assessor as the date AFTER you complete all required courses, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abdelkhalek said:


> Hi Mark
> My skill assessment for external auditor is expected to come with only 8 out of 12 required courses, I already have 5 years experience now.
> If I attended the required subject and passed the remaining exam, from which date my employment will count? am I going to start from zero or they will consider the 5 years experience?
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mamaus -

I don't know of any requirement re: permission to leave, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mamaus said:


> does he also have to add a letter from hes boss for permission to leave? on the application as now we have a partner visa, is it compulsory because the business is closed for summer holidays and he has no way of getting the letter when we hand in application.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harsingh -

Can't give you specific advice as I am not familiar with your case & documents, however generally speaking:

1) No, just need ACS skills assessment result document/letter.
2) Yes.
3) Upload high quality colour scan (doesn't need to be certified generally for DIBP)
4) No, unless you are claiming partner points (and that would require her to have a skills assmt)
5) Either way OK
6) No need to disclose this unless DIBP asks in a question on a form, etc.
7) Letter from employer showing continuation in the same position plus payslips should be OK.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Harsingh said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thanks in advance. Few question I have related to myapplication. I have got the invite and now at the stage of uploading docs.
> 
> 1. Do I need to upload the ACS Self Declaration which I did while applying for ACS assessment. If yes which one to upload the one which has the combined self declaration or individual one by one for all companies?
> 
> 2. Do I need to upload Increment letter for all of my work? I have already uploaded the Offer letter and last 3 months payslips along with the experience letter.
> 
> 3. Do I need to upload the Notarized document or color photocopy.
> 
> 4. I am not claiming my Partner points but she is working do I need to upload her Offer letters/Experience letter along with Payslips? Or these are not required.
> 
> 5. Do I need to wait for the CO to ask me for form 80 and medicals or upload and do the test in advance.
> 
> 6. Lastly twice I was rejected tourist visa to canada to visit my brother and was due to fact like my past travel history( none) and my ties to my country. I did provided all the required documents but didn't got it. After that I never applied for the visa, Would this have a negative impact? What should I upload a rejection letter from Canada Embassy would be good?
> 
> 7. I have got my ACS experience done until May 2013 and got the results in August 2013. I am still working with the same company and position and have given my end date as Aug 2014 for which I got points while submitting my EOI. I have provided my company experience letter with the date and my current position along with my last 3 payslip do I need to provide anything else to further prove my claim?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## Harsingh

Hello Mark,

Thanks for your prompt reply, you are the best. For Q. No 6. Form 80 specifically asks this " Have you ever had a visa refused or cancelled by, been refused entry to, or been deported from, any country?" Like I said I have been refused twice for no fault of mine and I am worried if this would impact my case. Therefore trying to understand what can I submit to present my case in strong way.

Regards,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Harsingh -
> 
> Can't give you specific advice as I am not familiar with your case & documents, however generally speaking:
> 
> 1) No, just need ACS skills assessment result document/letter.
> 2) Yes.
> 3) Upload high quality colour scan (doesn't need to be certified generally for DIBP)
> 4) No, unless you are claiming partner points (and that would require her to have a skills assmt)
> 5) Either way OK
> 6) No need to disclose this unless DIBP asks in a question on a form, etc.
> 7) Letter from employer showing continuation in the same position plus payslips should be OK.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## IndyMama

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Indymama -
> 
> Doesn't look like a serious issue to me - everybody makes mistakes! Once you've declared it in Form 1023, you've officially corrected your application and it would be very difficult for DIBP to criticise you at that point. The problem happens when people make material (significant) mistakes and DIBP finds them first. I would not be concerned.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks so much, Mark! What a relief.


----------



## Down_under

*Un/employment Query*

Hi Mark,

Thanks for creating this thread!
I am hoping to get your advice/suggestion, below is my case in brief.

I have applied for 190 Visa subclass.
ACS - RPL application, they deducted 6 years out of my work ex. And gave positive assessment for remaining 9 months ( till Nov.2013)
My query: I have been unemployed for the last 10 months( since nov.2013) would that affect my chances of getting a grant ?
what should I mention in form 80 and 1221 , if I am asked to submit those, regarding this period ?
looking forward to your reply.
Thanks and Regards,
down_under


----------



## proudmomma

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Proudmomma -
> 
> Correct, however some people have issues getting visitor visas for their children in these circumstances, as immigration wonders why the kids weren't included in the sc300 visa application. This technique has been tried by some in the past to dodge the health requirement for all sc300 applicants.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, thanks for ur response. I included them in my pmv300 application as non migrating dependents since that time we still lack funds to inlude them as they require a fee as well. They passed the healthcheck with me,so i guess(hoping) it wont be a problem. From what i understand, minors do not get a "no further stay" condition on their tourist visa,is this correct?

Thanks heaps!


----------



## Down_under

Down_under said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for creating this thread!
> I am hoping to get your advice/suggestion, below is my case in brief.
> 
> I have applied for 190 Visa subclass.
> ACS - RPL application, they deducted 6 years out of my work ex. And gave positive assessment for remaining 9 months ( till Nov.2013)
> My query: I have been unemployed for the last 10 months( since nov.2013) would that affect my chances of getting a grant ?
> what should I mention in form 80 and 1221 , if I am asked to submit those, regarding this period ?
> looking forward to your reply.
> Thanks and Regards,
> down_under


Some additional info, my wife is part owner in an enterprise which runs a health, nutrition and a daycare centre. I Have been taking care of IT Infrastructure related requirements for them for the past 5 months, for which they pay me a nominal amount in cash, can I show this as employment/work ex for my nominated occupation or in general.
my occupation code - 263111.

Thanks again, Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harsingh -

Not sure which form you're referring to - Form 80 has Q40 that asks about previous visa refusals to any country. You'll need to list your refusals and the circumstances surrounding them - the challenge is to do so using lagnauge that is both accurate, and reflects positively on you and doesn't make it sound "worse" than it needs to be. If you're unsure of doing this yourself, you might consider getting some professional assistance with the form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Harsingh said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your prompt reply, you are the best. For Q. No 6. Form 80 specifically asks this " Have you ever had a visa refused or cancelled by, been refused entry to, or been deported from, any country?" Like I said I have been refused twice for no fault of mine and I am worried if this would impact my case. Therefore trying to understand what can I submit to present my case in strong way.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Down_Under -

There is no requirement that you need to be working in your nominated profession immediately preceding your visa application. If your work is full time, paid work that is paid at a rate reasonably within the market rate and involves work directly related to your occupation, then you may want to consider claiming for points, however not sure of your health centre work and whether it would qualify from what you said. Also assume you did not claim the 6 yrs of work experience that ACS took for points, as this would not be claimable for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Down_under said:


> Some additional info, my wife is part owner in an enterprise which runs a health, nutrition and a daycare centre. I Have been taking care of IT Infrastructure related requirements for them for the past 5 months, for which they pay me a nominal amount in cash, can I show this as employment/work ex for my nominated occupation or in general.
> my occupation code - 263111.
> 
> Thanks again, Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Proudmomma -

That's normally the case, however your situation is a bit unusual - you would have to see how DIBP handled the visitor visa applications in terms of approval and meeting the genuine visitor criteria, and as far as no further stay.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



proudmomma said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for ur response. I included them in my pmv300 application as non migrating dependents since that time we still lack funds to inlude them as they require a fee as well. They passed the healthcheck with me,so i guess(hoping) it wont be a problem. From what i understand, minors do not get a "no further stay" condition on their tourist visa,is this correct?
> 
> Thanks heaps!


----------



## Down_under

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Down_Under -
> 
> There is no requirement that you need to be working in your nominated profession immediately preceding your visa application. If your work is full time, paid work that is paid at a rate reasonably within the market rate and involves work directly related to your occupation, then you may want to consider claiming for points, however not sure of your health centre work and whether it would qualify from what you said. Also assume you did not claim the 6 yrs of work experience that ACS took for points, as this would not be claimable for points.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for ypur reply.

I have not claimed points for my work experience. My concern is , if I mention that I was unemployed from nov 2013 - till date in form 80 and 1221 , would that affect my visa prospects adversely ? would the case officers raise a red flag of some sorts (e.g. financial stability, chances of survival in OZ land if granted based on previous unemployment history )
Kindly advice.

Thanks a ton for all your help and support.

Regards, 
down_under


----------



## Down_under

Also, can one edit the visa application after the visa fees are paid?
My agent has mistakenly checked the tick box for "are you working in nominated or closely related field immediately before loding this visa application"

thanks and Regards,
down_under


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Down-Under -

I don't see any way that a period of unemployment between jobs would affect your visa processing with DIBP - lots of people have this situation, and there's nothing I see in the migration regulations where this is a factor. However, there are plenty of regulations re: inaccurate data on forms, so you'll want to be accurate and complete.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Down_under said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for ypur reply.
> 
> I have not claimed points for my work experience. My concern is , if I mention that I was unemployed from nov 2013 - till date in form 80 and 1221 , would that affect my visa prospects adversely ? would the case officers raise a red flag of some sorts (e.g. financial stability, chances of survival in OZ land if granted based on previous unemployment history )
> Kindly advice.
> 
> Thanks a ton for all your help and support.
> 
> Regards,
> down_under


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Down_under -

No, applications cannot be changed after they are lodged/paid. Suggest you lodge Form 1023 to correct the error.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Down_under said:


> Also, can one edit the visa application after the visa fees are paid?
> My agent has mistakenly checked the tick box for "are you working in nominated or closely related field immediately before loding this visa application"
> 
> thanks and Regards,
> down_under


----------



## Down_under

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Down_under -
> 
> No, applications cannot be changed after they are lodged/paid. Suggest you lodge Form 1023 to correct the error.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

You are a saviour ! Thanks for answering all my doubts/queries/concern, you have taken a big load of my mind.
thanks a ton.

Regards,
Down_under


----------



## mike88

Hi Mark

I am wondering if after apply Partner Visa and we want to go to overseas, I know need to apply BV-B and could take a week till few months to be granted. If granted, how long does it need to be departed before the expiry date? 

And is it for one off or multiple entry for as long as you come back before the expiry date like ETA visa?

Thank you

Mike


----------



## Akhiamu

Hi Mark,

I have my document Passport,Marksheet,Degree & employment reference in Color. Means These document has the colored text.
I need to do *Colored Photocopy or B&W photocopy* for the cerification by notary. Then the cerified color document need to scan and uploaded into the online ACS application form as PDF files.

In the forum I followed "If they're colour you don't need to get them certified, just upload and send. If B&W then get a certified copy and upload that."


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mike88 -

Generally the BV-B is good for one trip out and back; can be good to apply for it 4-8 weeks in advance of travel - some people apply 2-3 months in advance - they're usually quite flexible about the terms of the BV-B as long as you provide a substantial reason for travel.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mike88 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am wondering if after apply Partner Visa and we want to go to overseas, I know need to apply BV-B and could take a week till few months to be granted. If granted, how long does it need to be departed before the expiry date?
> 
> And is it for one off or multiple entry for as long as you come back before the expiry date like ETA visa?
> 
> Thank you
> 
> Mike


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akhiamu -

Thanks for the note - ACS has very specific rules for their document uploads - best to check their site very carefully and abide by their rules. DIBP rules, which are different, generally allow for high quality colour scans of original documents to be uploaded. Once in a while DIBP will request an original document, but this is fairly rare. Remember that every skills assessor sets their own rules, and do so independently and without regard to whatever the DIBP rules might be.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Akhiamu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have my document Passport,Marksheet,Degree & employment reference in Color. Means These document has the colored text.
> I need to do *Colored Photocopy or B&W photocopy* for the cerification by notary. Then the cerified color document need to scan and uploaded into the online ACS application form as PDF files.
> 
> In the forum I followed "If they're colour you don't need to get them certified, just upload and send. If B&W then get a certified copy and upload that."


----------



## Down_under

Down_under said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> You are a saviour ! Thanks for answering all my doubts/queries/concern, you have taken a big load of my mind.
> thanks a ton.
> 
> Regards,
> Down_under


Hi Mark,

I have one more query related to the same topic.

"Has the applicant been employed overseas in nominated or closely related field at a skilled level immediately before lodging this application"

What does immediately refer to in this question, does it mean currently working in the nominated occupation ?

As mentioned earlier the last I worked full time in my nominated field was in nov 2013, so how do I answer this question , with a 'No' or a 'Yes' , I lodged in july and was not working at that time.
I am really confused.

kindly advice.

Thanks and Regards,
down_under


----------



## mike88

Hi Mark

Thank you for the answer as it is helpful!

Just 1 more question in regards to criminal record. Today, I saw a news from QLD about an oversea student (who is on working holiday though) who crashed her car into another car as she crossed the double line road and she is likely to face criminal charge and made me thought of 1 thing. Say if I committed a criminal activity (touchwood) when already applied for PV period, will it affect on the outcome? i.e. you better have a clean record and no criminal record committed during the applied PV period (e.g. like the news, or drink driving etc) or otherwise, is it most likely the CO will not approve even though the relationship is genuine? Or that's a different issue?

Cheers

Mike


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Down_under - you'd probably answer "No" to this question, but I don't see how that would negatively affect your application. Immediately would mean, in my view, within a few days or weeks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Down_under said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have one more query related to the same topic.
> 
> "Has the applicant been employed overseas in nominated or closely related field at a skilled level immediately before lodging this application"
> 
> What does immediately refer to in this question, does it mean currently working in the nominated occupation ?
> 
> As mentioned earlier the last I worked full time in my nominated field was in nov 2013, so how do I answer this question , with a 'No' or a 'Yes' , I lodged in july and was not working at that time.
> I am really confused.
> 
> kindly advice.
> 
> Thanks and Regards,
> down_under


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mike88 -

Thanks for the question. Character issues involving convictions, etc are a separate issue from genuine relationship assessment. If your situation re: character or any other matter changes during the time your application is being processed, but before a decision is made, you are obligated to update DIBP - you'd use Form 1022 for this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mike88 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for the answer as it is helpful!
> 
> Just 1 more question in regards to criminal record. Today, I saw a news from QLD about an oversea student (who is on working holiday though) who crashed her car into another car as she crossed the double line road and she is likely to face criminal charge and made me thought of 1 thing. Say if I committed a criminal activity (touchwood) when already applied for PV period, will it affect on the outcome? i.e. you better have a clean record and no criminal record committed during the applied PV period (e.g. like the news, or drink driving etc) or otherwise, is it most likely the CO will not approve even though the relationship is genuine? Or that's a different issue?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Mike


----------



## dumlette

Hi Mark..I have some questions about child visa.

1. Both my spouse and I have PR status. We want my stepson to come and migrate to Australia already. He is 12 years old and is currently living back home in our country. Shall we file visa 101 for him and should he apply back home? Or can we submit his papers here?

2. What is the processing time for visa 101? I have read it is 14 months back home

3. What is a compassionate reason? 

Hope to hear your response soon. Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dumlette -

Thanks for the note. The 101 is the offshore child visa application; the 802 is the onshore one - if the child can come here on a visitor visa without condition 8503 applied, then an onshore 802 may be possible, other wise an offshore 101 is the choice. If you are going to do this yourself, you need to become very familiar with the legal documents required if there is a biological parent involved who is not you or your partner, and has any rights or say over the child and where the child lives. DIBP is very strict re: getting legal permission from a non-migrating parent, etc - not sure if this applies to your situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dumlette said:


> Hi Mark..I have some questions about child visa.
> 
> 1. Both my spouse and I have PR status. We want my stepson to come and migrate to Australia already. He is 12 years old and is currently living back home in our country. Shall we file visa 101 for him and should he apply back home? Or can we submit his papers here?
> 
> 2. What is the processing time for visa 101? I have read it is 14 months back home
> 
> 3. What is a compassionate reason?
> 
> Hope to hear your response soon. Thanks in advance!


----------



## jimmy2014

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jimmy2014 -
> 
> I think Becky might have jumped in here to respond - to clarify, no 956 or other form needs to be lodged for a person getting assistance from their spouse on an Australian visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


 Thanks Mark. I'll leave the form 956 alone then


----------



## rasha77

Hi Mark, many thanks for the reply. Actually i already have filed my EOI and since the marks are quite high i do expect to be invited to apply soon. what is the chance of obtaining the student visa (i am genuinely pursuing the student visa option for a student intention)?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rasha77 -
> 
> The 189 and student visa application(s) wouldn't affect each other as I see, other than perhaps if you already lodged a 189 (thus indicating an interest in residing in Australia permanently), they might give you some trouble regarding the genuine temporary entrant provisions of the student visa requirements.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## nurikaz

Hello

where do i include this in the form 80 there seems to be no question on visa cancellations.

regards



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nurikaz -
> 
> Hard to predict how this might affect your Australian visa. You may want to prepare a statement explaining what happened and point out that other than this you have had no other immigration issues, etc. They will probably want additional details on this and may follow up with USA immigration people to confirm. By itself, I don't believe this would be likely to cause a visa refusal, however if you don't disclose everything when asked on the forms, etc and they later discover this, omitting the info on the forms could easily cause a refusal.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## arunsethi

Hi, actually the canada visa was refused but not because of this employer but other issue. So, now what would you recommend the best action to be.

Regards



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Arun -
> 
> Easy answer: disclose all of your work history - no benefit to taking the chance that any discrepancy might come up. Re: Canada, unlikely to come up unless you were refused a visa or it was cancelled as a result. On Form 80, doesn't matter whether you claim points or not, need to disclose.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Becky26

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jimmy2014 -
> 
> I think Becky might have jumped in here to respond - to clarify, no 956 or other form needs to be lodged for a person getting assistance from their spouse on an Australian visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Apologies Mark, I didn't mean to cause confusion  
Came across a question that I knew the answer to so thought of helping 
Thank you for clarifying more on this topic. 
What would we do without you. Big thanks for your dedication towards this forum 

Kind Regards,
Becky


----------



## Theresa

Hey Mark,

I have a quetsion for you, but at first a few facts:
My boyfriend is a qualified car mechanic from oversaes. His boss here in Australia promissed to sponser him...that was back in Feb. this year. He has a couple of buissnesses, but the government diden't approve one. So that he is trying it with the other one now. How long does it normaly take to approve a buisness? Because we are not sure if he is just telling us lies or if we can trust him. We are both on a working holiday visa and would love to stay in Australia. And we don't want to spend more time waiting for him if he is not serious. Is there an office where we could ask if he really requested the government to approve him?

Thank you in advance
Theresa


----------



## Austyn

Aloha again Mark! I just had a quick question. So I am traveling to Australia on an ETA visitor visa. My wife and I would like to take a trip to her home town in Wellington, NZ for about a week and then return back to Australia. In doing that, Will that reset my visitor visa in Australia for another 90 days? 

Thanks

Austyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rasha77 -

Very difficult to predict - too many factors in the genuine temporary entrant policy criteria to enable any good prediction.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rasha77 said:


> Hi Mark, many thanks for the reply. Actually i already have filed my EOI and since the marks are quite high i do expect to be invited to apply soon. what is the chance of obtaining the student visa (i am genuinely pursuing the student visa option for a student intention)?


----------



## MarkNortham

Generally Q40 on Form 80 re: refusals. The question appears on other forms including the online forms in some cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nurikaz said:


> Hello
> 
> where do i include this in the form 80 there seems to be no question on visa cancellations.
> 
> regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Becky -

Always welcome your input & participation! That's how we all learn together.

Best,

Mark Northam



Becky26 said:


> Apologies Mark, I didn't mean to cause confusion
> Came across a question that I knew the answer to so thought of helping
> Thank you for clarifying more on this topic.
> What would we do without you. Big thanks for your dedication towards this forum
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Becky


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arunsethi -

Would need to see you in a consultation to get full details of your case in order to give you specific advice in this situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arunsethi said:


> Hi, actually the canada visa was refused but not because of this employer but other issue. So, now what would you recommend the best action to be.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Theresa -

Thanks for the question. Unfortunately there isn't a source for the information you are looking for as the application is between the business and the government (DIBP).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Theresa said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I have a quetsion for you, but at first a few facts:
> My boyfriend is a qualified car mechanic from oversaes. His boss here in Australia promissed to sponser him...that was back in Feb. this year. He has a couple of buissnesses, but the government diden't approve one. So that he is trying it with the other one now. How long does it normaly take to approve a buisness? Because we are not sure if he is just telling us lies or if we can trust him. We are both on a working holiday visa and would love to stay in Australia. And we don't want to spend more time waiting for him if he is not serious. Is there an office where we could ask if he really requested the government to approve him?
> 
> Thank you in advance
> Theresa


----------



## MarkNortham

Aloha Austyn!

Assuming your ETA is a multiple-entry visa (most are), yes, that would reset the 3-month trip duration and you'd have a new "stay" that begins when you re-enter Australia after visiting NZ.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Aloha again Mark! I just had a quick question. So I am traveling to Australia on an ETA visitor visa. My wife and I would like to take a trip to her home town in Wellington, NZ for about a week and then return back to Australia. In doing that, Will that reset my visitor visa in Australia for another 90 days?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Austyn


----------



## Down_under

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Down_under - you'd probably answer "No" to this question, but I don't see how that would negatively affect your application. Immediately would mean, in my view, within a few days or weeks.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much.

I can't thank you enough for clearing out the confusion and giving your valuable advice for all my other queries.

I will immediately lodge form 1023 to make the required correction.

Regards,
down_under


----------



## Theresa

*Thanks*

I thought so  but anyway thank you very much, we will figue something out within the next month.

Cheers
Theresa



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Theresa -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Unfortunately there isn't a source for the information you are looking for as the application is between the business and the government (DIBP).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Theresa

*Thanks*

I thought so  but anyway thank you very much, we will figure something out within the next month.

Cheers
Theresa



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Theresa -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Unfortunately there isn't a source for the information you are looking for as the application is between the business and the government (DIBP).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## nasirshamil

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Northam, I have been working in treasury middle office as a risk analyst for last 7 years. I would like to apply for immigration but I couldn't find any occupation related to risk / treasury middle office. Can you please guide me that in which category i can apply for immigration under skilled worker category? Thanks


----------



## nasirshamil

Dear Northam, I have been working in treasury middle office as a risk analyst for last 7 years. I would like to apply for immigration but I couldn't find any occupation related to risk / treasury middle office. Can you please guide me that in which category i can apply for immigration under skilled worker category? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nasirshamil -

Wish I could help - financial occupation codes other than accountants for migration are few - I'd check the CSOL list published by DIBP and see what you can find. Additionally we could assist you at a consultation if you need assistance with determining visa options.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nasirshamil said:


> Dear Northam, I have been working in treasury middle office as a risk analyst for last 7 years. I would like to apply for immigration but I couldn't find any occupation related to risk / treasury middle office. Can you please guide me that in which category i can apply for immigration under skilled worker category? Thanks


----------



## tangerine

Hi Mark hope you are well. I just want to know if the Australian Embassy will be sending me the application form for my Permanent Spouse visa. My application is now due as I have lodged my 309 visa last oct 2012. Im just wondering if I need to wait for them to send me the form or can I just apply online or via post? Im still gathering my documents but I have the AFP cert with me already. Also, is there a deadline for me to submit these documents? thank you in advance. Cheers!


----------



## Niggy

*Hello Mark..*

Hi Mark, 
How are ya? Hope you are doing great and enjoying a good health.
It's been few months since I was here. I have some questions now and would like to ask you kindly to answer them:

1)	What is the average wait time to get a State/Employer invitation after submitting EOI for skilled migration in IT field?

2)	After getting an invitation and applying for a visa, what is the average time to get the visa application results?

3)	For the police check requirement. As I was doing my degree in Sudan (my current and permanent residence is in Saudi Arabia) I used to stay there for less than 11 months every year of my college years, in my last college year (Started on 22 Jan 2006) I stayed in Sudan for 1 year and 5 days (22 Jan 2006 - 26 Jan 2007). Do I still need to get a police check from Sudan?

4)	Does the DIBP re-assess my qualifications and skills for my nominated job? Or it relays only on the ACS assessment result?

5)	Since the ACS assessment results are "Suitable" or "Unsuitable" with no grades. Does it matter for the DIBP (during the visa application process) if I have 60% or 80% of the required skills for my nominated job or it doesn't make a difference since that I already got a "Suitable" result from the ACS?

6)	Is there anything that could help me to know if my current qualifications/skills meet the requirements for my nominated occupation before applying for a skills assessment to ACS? (I'm thinking about those nominated occupation: 1- Computer Network and Systems Engineer/ 2- Network Administrator/ 3- System Administrator / 4- ICT Support engineer)

7)	What is your advice (in points) to reduce the risks for a visa application being rejected by DIBP and eventually losing the paid governmental\MARA fees? (For a skilled visa application in IT field)

I know that my questions are long and big (Sorry for that!) but I also know that you are kind enough to answer my big list of questions as you always do. 

Thank you very so much..

Regards, 
Niggy


----------



## sandragreek

Hi,Mark
I have graduated from RMIT. I transferred 9 subjects from TAFE to my bachelor's degree. So I have completed 15 subjects out of 24 subjects. I checked the cricos online, the bachelor of accountancy is 156 weeks. So, I did a calculation :15/24 X 156=97.5 weeks.
Does it mean I satisfy the requirement of 2 study years? 
Thanks a lot.


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark!

Good day! I would like to be clarified on this....Again, thank you in advance for your time and effort , 

By next month I will apply online my 820 Partner Visa ( Defacto ). Say I get my 820 Temporary after a year, when can I apply 801 ? After my temporary 820 has been approved I count two years ? Or count starts the day I filed my 820?

Cheers! 
Ninja 69


----------



## CollegeGirl

Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Good day! I would like to be clarified on this....Again, thank you in advance for your time and effort ,
> 
> By next month I will apply online my 820 Partner Visa ( Defacto ). Say I get my 820 Temporary after a year, when can I apply 801 ? After my temporary 820 has been approved I count two years ? Or count starts the day I filed my 820?
> 
> Cheers!
> Ninja 69


This is a simple question so I'll go ahead and field it (I don't think Mark will mind.) You are eligible for your 801 two years after you APPLY for the 820. So two years from whatever date you apply next month. DIBP should contact you a few months before your eligibility date to ask you to provide documents. As it stands now, you can apply either by paper or online. Once you've submitted all documents and your eligibility date is reached, they'll begin processing your reassessment for the 801. Currently, they're taking 3-4 months to process the 801, but there's no telling how long it will take when it's your turn in a couple of years.

Best wishes!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tangerine -

Great post by CG - I also answered your visitor msg on this as well - see this link to generate the docs yourself:

Partner (Permanent) Calculator

Normally DIBP will send you an email with this link in it a few weeks before the 2 year mark, but no problem if you want to download and start preparing when you're ready - just lodge them after the 2 year mark.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tangerine said:


> Hi Mark hope you are well. I just want to know if the Australian Embassy will be sending me the application form for my Permanent Spouse visa. My application is now due as I have lodged my 309 visa last oct 2012. Im just wondering if I need to wait for them to send me the form or can I just apply online or via post? Im still gathering my documents but I have the AFP cert with me already. Also, is there a deadline for me to submit these documents? thank you in advance. Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Niggy -

Happy to help - see responses below at ***:



Niggy said:


> Hi Mark,
> How are ya? Hope you are doing great and enjoying a good health.
> It's been few months since I was here. I have some questions now and would like to ask you kindly to answer them:
> 
> 1)	What is the average wait time to get a State/Employer invitation after submitting EOI for skilled migration in IT field?
> 
> *** Unpredictable, varies from state to state and month to month. Can be anywhere from days to weeks, sometimes several months.
> 
> 2)	After getting an invitation and applying for a visa, what is the average time to get the visa application results?
> 
> *** Same answer as #1 - no good way to predict - some people get PR visas in a few months, others it takes over a year for.
> 
> 3)	For the police check requirement. As I was doing my degree in Sudan (my current and permanent residence is in Saudi Arabia) I used to stay there for less than 11 months every year of my college years, in my last college year (Started on 22 Jan 2006) I stayed in Sudan for 1 year and 5 days (22 Jan 2006 - 26 Jan 2007). Do I still need to get a police check from Sudan?
> 
> *** Yes. 12 or more months in total over the last 10 years is the trigger for this.
> 
> 4)	Does the DIBP re-assess my qualifications and skills for my nominated job? Or it relays only on the ACS assessment result?
> 
> *** Normally they rely on ACS for whether you were skilled or not during any particular employment period, however DIBP technically has the ability to overrule re: points. DIBP also asks for more detailed proof of payment for that work than most skills assessors do, and this can be another potential area of concern depending on whether you have good pay evidence.
> 
> 5)	Since the ACS assessment results are "Suitable" or "Unsuitable" with no grades. Does it matter for the DIBP (during the visa application process) if I have 60% or 80% of the required skills for my nominated job or it doesn't make a difference since that I already got a "Suitable" result from the ACS?
> 
> *** I'm not sure what you're asking. Normally the ACS report lists specific work employment history that is considered skilled (including dates). The Suitable/Unsuitable is something that is expressed about the entire application. Just because an applicant is suitable, however, doesn't meant that all work experience assessed by ACS is considered skilled for visa purposes.
> 
> 6)	Is there anything that could help me to know if my current qualifications/skills meet the requirements for my nominated occupation before applying for a skills assessment to ACS? (I'm thinking about those nominated occupation: 1- Computer Network and Systems Engineer/ 2- Network Administrator/ 3- System Administrator / 4- ICT Support engineer)
> 
> *** Only a very careful read of the ACS detailed descriptions of the ANZSCO occupation codes compared with a detailed look at your tasks/responsibilities for particular work experience can determine this.
> 
> 7)	What is your advice (in points) to reduce the risks for a visa application being rejected by DIBP and eventually losing the paid governmental\MARA fees? (For a skilled visa application in IT field)
> 
> ** There are dozens of ways a visa application can go wrong - far too many to list here. Skills assessor and state sponsorship rules only make things that much more complex. My advice: either use an experienced agent you trust to minimise the risks, or carefully study all of the applicable regulations involved in the process to make sure you meet each and every one of them. Forums like this are great for general information, but most visa applications that fail do so based on the specifics of the application, sometimes involving small or what seem to be insignificant details.
> 
> I know that my questions are long and big (Sorry for that!) but I also know that you are kind enough to answer my big list of questions as you always do.
> 
> Thank you very so much..
> 
> Regards,
> Niggy


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandragreek -

Good job on the calculation! The calculation looks right (and 97.5 meets the requirement of 92 week or more), however can't give you an opinion on your specific application without seeing all documents and information - too many details involved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sandragreek said:


> Hi,Mark
> I have graduated from RMIT. I transferred 9 subjects from TAFE to my bachelor's degree. So I have completed 15 subjects out of 24 subjects. I checked the cricos online, the bachelor of accountancy is 156 weeks. So, I did a calculation :15/24 X 156=97.5 weeks.
> Does it mean I satisfy the requirement of 2 study years?
> Thanks a lot.


----------



## IndyMama

*visas for visiting non-migrating minor children*

Hi Mark,
I am confused about which Visa my non-migrating minor children will need to visit me in Australia (once I finally get there, assuming my PMV will be granted  ).

I have joint legal custody with their father (also a US citizen), and understand that he will need to grant his permission for them to get a visitors visa. Both the children hold US passports.

Will they be able to get a subclass 601 ETA or will they need a subclass 600 visitor visa?

I ask because there is a note on Form 1229 (permission to grant an Australian visa to a minor) that says 1229 is not to be used for ETAs.

Thanks!


----------



## maheshch30

*Reference document for ACS.*

Hello Mark,

I am Mahesh from India, I am applying for Skill assessment to ACS. I am facing one problem.

My HR & Senior is not ready to give reference letter.

One of our ex senior whose tenure was more than my is ready to give sign on Stamp paper Reference document, will it work. Do note that after he left our company he worked in couple of company's as Project manager and now looking out for job. He is also doing some Free lance job now.

Please guide.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Indymama -

My understanding is that with one parent not traveling and permission needed, etc the subclass 600 is the best option. The 600 is sort of the "catch-all" visitor visa that works in the widest variety of cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am confused about which Visa my non-migrating minor children will need to visit me in Australia (once I finally get there, assuming my PMV will be granted  ).
> 
> I have joint legal custody with their father (also a US citizen), and understand that he will need to grant his permission for them to get a visitors visa. Both the children hold US passports.
> 
> Will they be able to get a subclass 601 ETA or will they need a subclass 600 visitor visa?
> 
> I ask because there is a note on Form 1229 (permission to grant an Australian visa to a minor) that says 1229 is not to be used for ETAs.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mahesh -

No way to tell for sure. ACS in limited circumstances does accept references from co-workers and others, however I expect you'll have to have a good explanation of why your current HR and Senior will not give you a reference letter. There is a large volume of fake work reference documents coming from countries including India, so every case is being investigated very carefully these days - you'll want to provide as much information as you can to both ACS and DIBP in case there are any concerns about the work reference(s) being genuine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



maheshch30 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am Mahesh from India, I am applying for Skill assessment to ACS. I am facing one problem.
> 
> My HR & Senior is not ready to give reference letter.
> 
> One of our ex senior whose tenure was more than my is ready to give sign on Stamp paper Reference document, will it work. Do note that after he left our company he worked in couple of company's as Project manager and now looking out for job. He is also doing some Free lance job now.
> 
> Please guide.


----------



## IndyMama

Thanks Mark! Does the 600 allow for multiple entries? Or is a new one required for each visit?


----------



## omv2

Gd Morning Mark,
Hope your doing good.
I'm thankful that there is someone we can ask here.
I'm would like to know If a fiacee subclass 300 can change to Student visa instead after failure of relationship.
Would there be a limited chance of approval or none at all.

Hope to hear from you and Gd day.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IndyMama -

That's at the discretion of the case officer who grants the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Thanks Mark! Does the 600 allow for multiple entries? Or is a new one required for each visit?


----------



## IndyMama

MarkNortham said:


> Hi IndyMama -
> 
> That's at the discretion of the case officer who grants the visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Ok thanks - again!. One (hopefully last) question on this topic -- would the kids need to apply for the Family Sponsored tourist track or just the regular tourist track?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Omv2 -

Thanks for the question. Unfortunately the subclass 300 PMV visa is not on the list of visas that a person can hold onshore and make an onshore application for a student visa, however a visitor visa is on the list. Not sure if you would qualify for that - depends on the circumstances of your situation. If you are making your first student visa application (and don't hold one currently), there may also be other requirements you need to meet to make an onshore student application - may be best to consult with a migration agent to go through all the regulations to see what the best course of action is.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



omv2 said:


> Gd Morning Mark,
> Hope your doing good.
> I'm thankful that there is someone we can ask here.
> I'm would like to know If a fiacee subclass 300 can change to Student visa instead after failure of relationship.
> Would there be a limited chance of approval or none at all.
> 
> Hope to hear from you and Gd day.


----------



## Maria08

Hi Mark,

I note that in one of your threads you have stated that Immigration will be looking closer at 820 visa applications if the relationship is less than 2 years and we are to provide as much evidence as possible. Could you please indicate some good examples of the evidence which should be provided if the relationship is less than 2 years (defacto)? Also how much evidence ie. how many stat decs from friends/family, pictures etc?

Background: We have been living together for 10 months (we have also applied for our relationship to be registered - so waiting for either the 12 months of living together or certificate from births deaths and marriages to come through before applying in October). I have evidenced that all bills are in both names at same address, joint bank account with all bills paid from this, we are on each others taxation as defacto, travelled overseas together to meet his family, family has travelled here to stay with us, Named as beneficiaries in each other's will... what other evidence do you suggest will help our partner application? 

Thanks a lot in advance!


----------



## dee.itsalright

*Obtaining a visa after MRT*

Hi Dear Mark,

I just got contacted by Migration tribunal for a hearing case about my Visitor visa 600 which DIBP initially refused to grant me. The situation is that I was on a WHV and when, this January, it was about to expire my (at the time) migration agent suggested to apply for a turist visa although we both knew that we wouldn't have been successful.
''All this process will get you to stay longer in the country'' its what he said to me. I wasn't feeling any good about this 'strategy' but I was scared too about being alone in the Visas vortex and so I've done what he told me.

Hence, now that the hearing case is coming I don't know if to show up, as I will probably only make a fool of myself trying to support a hopless case, or instead if to let MTR taking a decision themselves.

I broke the contract with the Migration Agent a few month ago beacause I didn't agree with his dodgy plans.

Now, my hearing case is on the 11th of September and my problem is that I purchased a ticket to see The Rolling Stones in Melbourne for their 2014world tour, unfortunately the tour got postponed and my show is on the 8th of November. If I won't present to the hearing case MRT will make a decision on the day, and leave me 28 days left, which is not enough till 8h of November.

Therefore I will be denied to see my favourite band.

I was considering to go to new zealand after the hearing case, as I still have a partner visa to lodge offshore, (thank to what happened with the 600 visa so I now ain't elegible to lodge onshore); however my imminent concern is: HOW CAN I MAKE TO SEE THE ROLLING STONES?

Will I always been refused the opportunity to get a tourist visa 600 even from offshore?

Thank you Mark.

Regards, 
Dee.


----------



## maheshch30

*Reference Document for ACS.*

Dear Mark,

Hope you are doing well.

I am Mahesh from India, and applying for Skill Assessment to ACS. I am working in Software Testing department as Manager.

I have been facing a problem and require your expert advice.

My company HR & Senior has denied to give Reference Document.

1) One of senior of my company who was Project manager has left the company couple of years ago, is ready to give Statutory declaration, after he left our company he worked in couple of company's and now looking out for Job. Currently he is doing a free lance job. Will his Statutory declaration work ?

2) Also note, one of my immediate senior who had also left couple of years ago, is also willing to give Statutory declaration and he is currently employed with one of the company in Managerial position in Software Testing department only.

So will his Statutory declaration work ?

Please guide on both points asap.


----------



## orlah

Dear Mark,

I was on a temporary defacto visa for 2 years. I applied for the permanent 801 visa after the 2 year waiting period. Immigration then sent me a letter advising they had received unfavorable information about my relationship, that I was no longer in a defacto relationship (they received an anonymous tip off). They requested additional supporting documentation to proceed with their assessment and included the PIC4020 on their letter to me.
I decided to withdraw my visa application as I am no longer with my partner. I am unfortunately leaving Australia at the end of this month.

I would like some information on when I can return to Australia and submit a new visa application. I heard that I have to wait 12 months before I can even apply for a tourist visa and wait 3 years before I can submit another relationship visa.

Even though I withdrew my 801 visa application, are there any implications with the PIC4020 mentioned in Immigration's letter to me requesting more supporting documents?

Can I make another relationship visa in the future?

Thank you.


----------



## nasirshamil

Dear Mark,
Under Financial Dealer unit group, it is required that a person should have at least AQF equivalent Bachelor Degree. I am thinking to apply for Permanent Residency (PR) for Australia as a Financial Dealer. I just wanted to know that if my qualification is equivalent to AQF Associate Degree rather than Bachelor’s Degree but my working experience in this field is more than 5 years, so will I be eligible to apply for PR? Because Australia Immigration explicitly mention that "Most occupations in this unit group (Financial Dealer) have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. At least five years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualification. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification (ANZSCO Skill Level 1)”
Would really appreciate your expert feedback on this.


----------



## ericericpeter

Hi Mark

i received a email from immigration department

Invitation to comment on information for a Partner (Temporary) (class UK) (subclass

820) / Partner (Residence) (class BS) (subclass 801) visa

When you lodged your Partner visa application you were not the holder of a substantive visa because your subclass 456 visa ceased on 23 August 1997.

For Partner visa applications lodged within Australia, the Migration Regulations state that, if you are not the holder of a substantive visa at the time of lodging your Partner visa application, you must satisfy additional Schedule 3 criteria (specifically, each of criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004), in addition to satisfying the standard Partner visa criteria. Schedule 3 criteria does not apply to offshore Partner visas, and failure to satisfy Schedule 3 does not prevent you from lodging a Partner application outside Australia.

Criterion 3001 requires that an application was made within 28 days after your substantive visa ceased. You do not meet criterion 3001, however the Migration Regulations allows the Schedule 3 criteria to be waived where there are compelling reasons for not applying those criteria
 but i lodged visa 820 under immigration department assistance, community status resolution service that offer consulting for those who overstay in Australia. When i lodged my application, they never told me about schedule 3 criteria. we lodged application since the end of May 14, and got the letter of acknowledgement of valid application. 
we in 9 years defacto relationship and It is that mean we will separate and lodge partner visa offshore? or i need to write a letter waive schedule 3 criteria?


----------



## zombiecroissant

Hello Mark,

I am a permanent resident living in Indonesia. I was granted a 1-year RRV on March 6, 2014. This is because I have been away doing business in Indonesia for the last few years, and was unable to meet the 2 years out of 5 years requirement. I have no problem meeting the “substantial personal, business, employment or cultural ties to Australia” requirement in the past, as my immediate family are Australian citizens, and I have employment history in Australia.

I am planning to go back to Australia on February 2015 before my current RRV expires. (Last date to arrive is March 6, 2015). I intend to renew my RRV from within Australia. This time I am planning to stay for awhile for business (6 months to 2 years). My questions are:

1. Providing all the necessary documents, am I likely to get the 1 year RRV renewal, or the 5 years version, considering that I am already in Australia at the time of application, and I intend to stay there for a longer time? 

2. Once I have the Visa granted, is there a minimum period of time I'm required to stay in Australia before I can leave for another overseas trip?

Thank you for your help.


----------



## nasirshamil

Dear Mark.
I have already checked the CSOL list of DIB and my occupation is in the list. Its comes comes under Unit Group 2222: Financial Dealers. So the question remains the same i.e if my qualification is equivalent to AQF Associate Degree rather than Bachelor’s Degree but my working experience in this field is more than 5 years, so will my experience can substitute for the qualification. Because it is explicitly mentioned on immi.gov.au that "Most occupations in this unit group (Financial Dealer) have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. At least five years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualification.” Really appreciate your expert advice on this.


----------



## neffstar

*health check*

Gday Mark,

after applying for a PV there is a generic statement at the bottom stating "this person requires a health check...." is it advised to wait until we are assigned a CO and asked specificly to obtain one?? (from a low risk country if that matters). If the applicant visits Australia on a tourist visa and then they ask for a health check, can she complete it in Aus? lastly is it ok to go to Australia after applying and before being assigned a CO?
Cheers, much appreciated Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IndyMama -

The regular (visitor) track - the family sponsored version of that visa has condition 8503 (no further stay) mandatory so they would not be able to apply for a different type of visa if they were onshore with the family sponsored visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Ok thanks - again!. One (hopefully last) question on this topic -- would the kids need to apply for the Family Sponsored tourist track or just the regular tourist track?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maria08 -

Thanks for the question - there are a number of excellent threads on the forum where partner visa applicants have discussed many details about all the different types of evidence they submitted - I'd suggest starting there as there are already 100s of posts on this subject from successful partner visa applicants.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maria08 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I note that in one of your threads you have stated that Immigration will be looking closer at 820 visa applications if the relationship is less than 2 years and we are to provide as much evidence as possible. Could you please indicate some good examples of the evidence which should be provided if the relationship is less than 2 years (defacto)? Also how much evidence ie. how many stat decs from friends/family, pictures etc?
> 
> Background: We have been living together for 10 months (we have also applied for our relationship to be registered - so waiting for either the 12 months of living together or certificate from births deaths and marriages to come through before applying in October). I have evidenced that all bills are in both names at same address, joint bank account with all bills paid from this, we are on each others taxation as defacto, travelled overseas together to meet his family, family has travelled here to stay with us, Named as beneficiaries in each other's will... what other evidence do you suggest will help our partner application?
> 
> Thanks a lot in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dee -

Thanks for the note. Key to MRT tribunal is successfully arguing your case why the reason that DIBP refused your visa was wrong. Visitor visa cases are usually expedited, so your agent should have known that it would have come up in a few months (typically).

Good news is that if it was refused on genuine visitor grounds, your actions since the refusal have proved that you ARE a genuine visitor - ie, you have not broken the conditions of the bridging visa you are on now, and you have continued to do visitor type things, including your plans to attend the concert. Hope this all is the case. If the visa was refused on some other grounds, then that would be an entirely different argument.

If your visitor visa is unsuccessful at the MRT, you'll get a decision in some period of time, but can be days or weeks - all depends on how fast the Member who adjudicates the hearing works. Then you'll have 28 days to depart Australia. Chances are visitor visa after that (from offshore) would also be unsuccessful unless there were new circumstances and significant changes in your situation compared to those when you lodged the sc600 application in January.

At this point unless you have significantly different circumstances, your hopes of remaining in Australia for the next few months probably are in a successful MRT hearing, or getting lucky with the next visitor visa and establishing a good reason for coming back.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dee.itsalright said:


> Hi Dear Mark,
> 
> I just got contacted by Migration tribunal for a hearing case about my Visitor visa 600 which DIBP initially refused to grant me. The situation is that I was on a WHV and when, this January, it was about to expire my (at the time) migration agent suggested to apply for a turist visa although we both knew that we wouldn't have been successful.
> ''All this process will get you to stay longer in the country'' its what he said to me. I wasn't feeling any good about this 'strategy' but I was scared too about being alone in the Visas vortex and so I've done what he told me.
> 
> Hence, now that the hearing case is coming I don't know if to show up, as I will probably only make a fool of myself trying to support a hopless case, or instead if to let MTR taking a decision themselves.
> 
> I broke the contract with the Migration Agent a few month ago beacause I didn't agree with his dodgy plans.
> 
> Now, my hearing case is on the 11th of September and my problem is that I purchased a ticket to see The Rolling Stones in Melbourne for their 2014world tour, unfortunately the tour got postponed and my show is on the 8th of November. If I won't present to the hearing case MRT will make a decision on the day, and leave me 28 days left, which is not enough till 8h of November.
> 
> Therefore I will be denied to see my favourite band.
> 
> I was considering to go to new zealand after the hearing case, as I still have a partner visa to lodge offshore, (thank to what happened with the 600 visa so I now ain't elegible to lodge onshore); however my imminent concern is: HOW CAN I MAKE TO SEE THE ROLLING STONES?
> 
> Will I always been refused the opportunity to get a tourist visa 600 even from offshore?
> 
> Thank you Mark.
> 
> Regards,
> Dee.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mahesh -

Think I already answered this for you - ACS and DIBP will look very closely at situations where you claim points for work but the HR or Mgr at the employer refuse to provide an employer reference letter. Sometimes stat decs or statements from co-workers or ex-workers work, other times they do not. No way to tell in advance. Problem is there is a huge flood of bogus documents from employers in certain parts of the country these days, so DIBP tends to be suspicious of any situation where your employer will not provide a letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



maheshch30 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well.
> 
> I am Mahesh from India, and applying for Skill Assessment to ACS. I am working in Software Testing department as Manager.
> 
> I have been facing a problem and require your expert advice.
> 
> My company HR & Senior has denied to give Reference Document.
> 
> 1) One of senior of my company who was Project manager has left the company couple of years ago, is ready to give Statutory declaration, after he left our company he worked in couple of company's and now looking out for Job. Currently he is doing a free lance job. Will his Statutory declaration work ?
> 
> 2) Also note, one of my immediate senior who had also left couple of years ago, is also willing to give Statutory declaration and he is currently employed with one of the company in Managerial position in Software Testing department only.
> 
> So will his Statutory declaration work ?
> 
> Please guide on both points asap.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ericericpeter -

Going to DIBP for help with applying for a visa is like going to the tax office to get help in paying the lowest taxes. Actually by law they are not allowed to provide migration advice, just give forms out and provide limited information.

Due to changes in sc820 policy on 1 July, chances of getting through Schedule 3 if you were a long-term unlawful is very low, but at least if you are refused onshore you have the option of MRT review and staying through that period. Suggest you get professional assistance with this from a registered migration agent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ericericpeter said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> i received a email from immigration department
> 
> Invitation to comment on information for a Partner (Temporary) (class UK) (subclass
> 
> 820) / Partner (Residence) (class BS) (subclass 801) visa
> 
> When you lodged your Partner visa application you were not the holder of a substantive visa because your subclass 456 visa ceased on 23 August 1997.
> 
> For Partner visa applications lodged within Australia, the Migration Regulations state that, if you are not the holder of a substantive visa at the time of lodging your Partner visa application, you must satisfy additional Schedule 3 criteria (specifically, each of criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004), in addition to satisfying the standard Partner visa criteria. Schedule 3 criteria does not apply to offshore Partner visas, and failure to satisfy Schedule 3 does not prevent you from lodging a Partner application outside Australia.
> 
> Criterion 3001 requires that an application was made within 28 days after your substantive visa ceased. You do not meet criterion 3001, however the Migration Regulations allows the Schedule 3 criteria to be waived where there are compelling reasons for not applying those criteria
> but i lodged visa 820 under immigration department assistance, community status resolution service that offer consulting for those who overstay in Australia. When i lodged my application, they never told me about schedule 3 criteria. we lodged application since the end of May 14, and got the letter of acknowledgement of valid application.
> we in 9 years defacto relationship and It is that mean we will separate and lodge partner visa offshore? or i need to write a letter waive schedule 3 criteria?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Orlah -

Thanks for the note - PIC4020 issues are complicated and tricky - suggest you get professional help from a registered migration agent who can go through your situation in detail and see how the specific 4020 situation you have applies to you and what your further options are for visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



orlah said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I was on a temporary defacto visa for 2 years. I applied for the permanent 801 visa after the 2 year waiting period. Immigration then sent me a letter advising they had received unfavorable information about my relationship, that I was no longer in a defacto relationship (they received an anonymous tip off). They requested additional supporting documentation to proceed with their assessment and included the PIC4020 on their letter to me.
> I decided to withdraw my visa application as I am no longer with my partner. I am unfortunately leaving Australia at the end of this month.
> 
> I would like some information on when I can return to Australia and submit a new visa application. I heard that I have to wait 12 months before I can even apply for a tourist visa and wait 3 years before I can submit another relationship visa.
> 
> Even though I withdrew my 801 visa application, are there any implications with the PIC4020 mentioned in Immigration's letter to me requesting more supporting documents?
> 
> Can I make another relationship visa in the future?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nasirshamil -

You'll need to carefully review the requirements of the skills assessor for this occupation to see if there is an option to get through based on your degree and experience - that's the key.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nasirshamil said:


> Dear Mark,
> Under Financial Dealer unit group, it is required that a person should have at least AQF equivalent Bachelor Degree. I am thinking to apply for Permanent Residency (PR) for Australia as a Financial Dealer. I just wanted to know that if my qualification is equivalent to AQF Associate Degree rather than Bachelor's Degree but my working experience in this field is more than 5 years, so will I be eligible to apply for PR? Because Australia Immigration explicitly mention that "Most occupations in this unit group (Financial Dealer) have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. At least five years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualification. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification (ANZSCO Skill Level 1)"
> Would really appreciate your expert feedback on this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zombiecroissant -

Re: 1, can't predict chances of success for an application, but I believe being in Australia and being involved in the "substantial ties" will increase your chances.

Re: 2, once RRV is granted, no limit that I know of - check your visa, but you should be able to depart and return as you like within the validity period of the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zombiecroissant said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am a permanent resident living in Indonesia. I was granted a 1-year RRV on March 6, 2014. This is because I have been away doing business in Indonesia for the last few years, and was unable to meet the 2 years out of 5 years requirement. I have no problem meeting the "substantial personal, business, employment or cultural ties to Australia" requirement in the past, as my immediate family are Australian citizens, and I have employment history in Australia.
> 
> I am planning to go back to Australia on February 2015 before my current RRV expires. (Last date to arrive is March 6, 2015). I intend to renew my RRV from within Australia. This time I am planning to stay for awhile for business (6 months to 2 years). My questions are:
> 
> 1. Providing all the necessary documents, am I likely to get the 1 year RRV renewal, or the 5 years version, considering that I am already in Australia at the time of application, and I intend to stay there for a longer time?
> 
> 2. Once I have the Visa granted, is there a minimum period of time I'm required to stay in Australia before I can leave for another overseas trip?
> 
> Thank you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Please see previous answer - the skills assessor is a key issue with your pathway.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nasirshamil said:


> Dear Mark.
> I have already checked the CSOL list of DIB and my occupation is in the list. Its comes comes under Unit Group 2222: Financial Dealers. So the question remains the same i.e if my qualification is equivalent to AQF Associate Degree rather than Bachelor's Degree but my working experience in this field is more than 5 years, so will my experience can substitute for the qualification. Because it is explicitly mentioned on immi.gov.au that "Most occupations in this unit group (Financial Dealer) have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. At least five years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualification." Really appreciate your expert advice on this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neffstar -

Once the link appears on the ImmiAccount under the document list area where you can "Organise your medical exams" then you're good to do so - can be done in Australia or any other worldwide panel approved location. No problem visiting Australia on a tourist visa - if the case officer needs you to be offshore in order to grant an offshore partner visa, etc,, they will notify you - watch your email!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



neffstar said:


> Gday Mark,
> 
> after applying for a PV there is a generic statement at the bottom stating "this person requires a health check...." is it advised to wait until we are assigned a CO and asked specificly to obtain one?? (from a low risk country if that matters). If the applicant visits Australia on a tourist visa and then they ask for a health check, can she complete it in Aus? lastly is it ok to go to Australia after applying and before being assigned a CO?
> Cheers, much appreciated Mark.


----------



## gr33nb0y

Good day Mark.

Can you help me with this? I am doing this course
Course Details - Australian Institute of Business and Management Pty Ltd - Master of Professional Accounting (Standard)

Started in Nov 2013 and I'm planning to finish it in Feb 2015. I would be finishing 16 subjects in 4 trimesters (3 trimesters in a year). Would that qualify the two academic years (92 weeks) study for visa 485 graduate work stream? I'm a bit confused about this part.

Thank you


----------



## IndyMama

MarkNortham said:


> Hi IndyMama -
> 
> The regular (visitor) track - the family sponsored version of that visa has condition 8503 (no further stay) mandatory so they would not be able to apply for a different type of visa if they were onshore with the family sponsored visitor visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Great! Thanks again for your assistance Mark. You must have some really great karma coming your way. I know if I ever need an agent to work on my behalf, I'll be calling you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gr33nb0y -

Thanks for the note. The Australian Study Requirement (ASR) needs to be carefully calculated, especially when it comes to the 485 visa. Generally speaking, there are 2 requirements:

* The course of study you undertook in Australia (discounting any units where credit was given for previous study, etc) needs to be 92 weeks in length. The full course length is shown on the CRICOS website where you can look up your school and degree. Then you have to deduct any non-qualifying credits such as units given credit for offshore study.

* The course of study you undertook in Australia must have taken at least 16 months to complete (ie, cannot have been completed in less than this amount of time).

And for the 485 visa, the course completion must have occurred no longer than 6 months before application.

If you have specific questions on the above, especially the calculation to determine actual weeks you will get credit for under the ASR if you have any credits for previous study, or if you are combining more than one degree, etc, best to sit down with a migration agent and go through the policy and legislation carefully to make sure everything works and is factored in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gr33nb0y said:


> Good day Mark.
> 
> Can you help me with this? I am doing this course
> Course Details - Australian Institute of Business and Management Pty Ltd - Master of Professional Accounting (Standard)
> 
> Started in Nov 2013 and I'm planning to finish it in Feb 2015. I would be finishing 16 subjects in 4 trimesters (3 trimesters in a year). Would that qualify the two academic years (92 weeks) study for visa 485 graduate work stream? I'm a bit confused about this part.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## Niggy

*Hello again Mark..*

Hi Mark,
Thank you for your answers and for your valuable time you are spending to replay to us.

Sorry that Q5 in my previous post wasn't clear for you which was:



> 5) Since the ACS assessment results are "Suitable" or "Unsuitable" with no grades. Does it matter for the DIBP (during the visa application process) if I have 60% or 80% of the required skills for my nominated job or it doesn't make a difference since that I already got a "Suitable" result from the ACS?
> 
> *** I'm not sure what you're asking. Normally the ACS report lists specific work employment history that is considered skilled (including dates). The Suitable/Unsuitable is something that is expressed about the entire application. Just because an applicant is suitable, however, doesn't meant that all work experience assessed by ACS is considered skilled for visa purposes.


 What I meant is that during the visa process does the DIBP try/aim to assess my skilled work experiences (that were assessed and considered as skilled by ACS) or they aim to only make sure that those work experiences are true and genuine? (hope its clear now)

Another quick question, Does the DIBP always ask for proof of payments (pay slips) for all of my previous jobs (that are considered as skilled), or only the jobs that they has doubt on it?

Appreciated..Thanks again..

Regards,
Niggy



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Niggy -
> 
> Happy to help - see responses below at ***:
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## dipiksg82

Dear Sir, 

Seeking your expertise for a friend of mine. 

She has applied for category 190.in May 2014 and in her immigration account all documents show up as received except that of police certificate from her country for her spouse. Status there is required and not received they have uploaded the same on 15th of August. 

Is it a sign of CO working on their case?! 

Requesting you to please guide. 

Regards, 

Dipika


----------



## Tuaha

Hi Mark,

I am new here and am not familiar with the customs of this community so please ignore my ill mannered behavior for directly jumping to the question.

Basically I have worked for a company for about 7 years where I have worked on several different positions. I started my career as a Software Engineer, got promoted to Senior Software Engineer and then to Principle Software Engineer. Later on, the company set up a new department for consultancy and named it "Presales Department". I was moved to that department and my title was Presales & Support Consultant. Later on I got promoted and became Presales Manager.

I am planning for Australian immigration under the category 189. Now my question is that for ACS skill assessment, do I need to submit a single experience letter for the entire tenure of 7 years with the said organization or I need to submit two different experience letters one for Software Engineering positions and one for Presales positions. if only one letter is to be submitted, shall it mention the JD of last position only or a combined JD of all the positions I have worked on.

Your help will be highly appreciated. Thanks in anticipation.


----------



## zombiecroissant

Great! Thank you for your help!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Zombiecroissant -
> 
> Re: 1, can't predict chances of success for an application, but I believe being in Australia and being involved in the "substantial ties" will increase your chances.
> 
> Re: 2, once RRV is granted, no limit that I know of - check your visa, but you should be able to depart and return as you like within the validity period of the visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Niggy -

Happy to help - thanks for the clarification. If a past job experience is considered skilled by a skills assessor, DIBP will rarely argue with that assessment. Instead, however, DIBP will usually require payslips from all work experience periods you have claimed points for on a skilled PR visa application to test whether they are convinced the work experience is accurate and genuine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Niggy said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for your answers and for your valuable time you are spending to replay to us.
> 
> Sorry that Q5 in my previous post wasn't clear for you which was:
> 
> What I meant is that during the visa process does the DIBP try/aim to assess my skilled work experiences (that were assessed and considered as skilled by ACS) or they aim to only make sure that those work experiences are true and genuine? (hope its clear now)
> 
> Another quick question, Does the DIBP always ask for proof of payments (pay slips) for all of my previous jobs (that are considered as skilled), or only the jobs that they has doubt on it?
> 
> Appreciated..Thanks again..
> 
> Regards,
> Niggy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dipiksg82 -

Not necessarily - those required/received/recommended tags that are seen on the document attachment screen are undependable and cannot be counted on as any sort of a reference to much of anything.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dipiksg82 said:


> Dear Sir,
> 
> Seeking your expertise for a friend of mine.
> 
> She has applied for category 190.in May 2014 and in her immigration account all documents show up as received except that of police certificate from her country for her spouse. Status there is required and not received they have uploaded the same on 15th of August.
> 
> Is it a sign of CO working on their case?!
> 
> Requesting you to please guide.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Dipika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tuaha -

To be safe, I would include a separate job description for each position (they can be all in the same document if you want, but should list each job description separately). If you this, then you can submit a single work experience letter from the company listing positions and dates for each position, etc or 2 letters. My main question would be whether they are going to deem the presales, etc work as relevant to the more technical work you did before.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tuaha said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new here and am not familiar with the customs of this community so please ignore my ill mannered behavior for directly jumping to the question.
> 
> Basically I have worked for a company for about 7 years where I have worked on several different positions. I started my career as a Software Engineer, got promoted to Senior Software Engineer and then to Principle Software Engineer. Later on, the company set up a new department for consultancy and named it "Presales Department". I was moved to that department and my title was Presales & Support Consultant. Later on I got promoted and became Presales Manager.
> 
> I am planning for Australian immigration under the category 189. Now my question is that for ACS skill assessment, do I need to submit a single experience letter for the entire tenure of 7 years with the said organization or I need to submit two different experience letters one for Software Engineering positions and one for Presales positions. if only one letter is to be submitted, shall it mention the JD of last position only or a combined JD of all the positions I have worked on.
> 
> Your help will be highly appreciated. Thanks in anticipation.


----------



## Tuaha

Thanks a lot Mark.
Your reply was extremely helpful and apparently saved me from doing a big blunder. Just to clarify, Presales in my organization was a technical position where I had to write software code and create software design and architectures but as you rightly suggested, it is better to be clear and explicit in the letter.

Really appreciate the help.
Peace.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tuaha -
> 
> To be safe, I would include a separate job description for each position (they can be all in the same document if you want, but should list each job description separately). If you this, then you can submit a single work experience letter from the company listing positions and dates for each position, etc or 2 letters. My main question would be whether they are going to deem the presales, etc work as relevant to the more technical work you did before.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## rustytacks

Hi Mark!

Question for you. My wife, recently married, are applying for an offshore partner visa. We live in the UK right now and have just submitted our application, but, of course, I'm worrying about evidence. 


We don't currently operate separate bank accounts and all of the bills go out of an account in my name. We have provided bank statements that show her contribution each month, but we limited the statements down to the relevant transactions using online banking, so they're not full statements that contain everything else going on in the account. 

Is this okay do you think?

Also for the last year of living together the landlord didn't put my partners names on gas and electricity accounts, which is mega frustrating and we have very little in the way of joint communication being sent here. I have provided tenancy agreements, etc but I was wondering if there's anything else we can provide to bolster that evidence?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rustytacks -

Thanks for the question. Generally a lease or tenancy agreement is the strongest evidence of living together, plus other things such as mail addressed to either of you going to the same address, bills to either of you going to the same address, etc.

RE: editing statements down, probably not a big deal as long as the account clearly shows shared funds. Also be careful of "contribution" language for shared finances, because you don't want the account to look like you're roommates where each pays 50% of everything, etc...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rustytacks said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Question for you. My wife, recently married, are applying for an offshore partner visa. We live in the UK right now and have just submitted our application, but, of course, I'm worrying about evidence.
> 
> We don't currently operate separate bank accounts and all of the bills go out of an account in my name. We have provided bank statements that show her contribution each month, but we limited the statements down to the relevant transactions using online banking, so they're not full statements that contain everything else going on in the account.
> 
> Is this okay do you think?
> 
> Also for the last year of living together the landlord didn't put my partners names on gas and electricity accounts, which is mega frustrating and we have very little in the way of joint communication being sent here. I have provided tenancy agreements, etc but I was wondering if there's anything else we can provide to bolster that evidence?


----------



## Zosozm

*tourist visa chances*

Hi Mark,
thanks for time and knowledge you share here.

I've been in Australia since March 2013: 12 months on a working holiday, and 7 month on a student visa 572 expiring soon.
I'd like to do a 3-4 weeks trip to Asia with friends, and then apply for a eVisitor (I'm italian). If it gets rejected I'd try to apply for a ETA.

I called Immi twice but they were not helpful. Purely based on your experience:
- what are chances my eVisitor application gets rejected?
- what are chances for my ETA to get approved?
- in case ETA gets approved, what are chances it comes with a 8053 condition?

Thanks very much for your help.

Mauro.


----------



## Covariant

Hi Mark, 
I'm currently on a tourist visa which has a 3 month only study condition. Given my bridging visa A With no work restrictions comes into effect on November this year, I was thinking of going ahead and getting my RSA/RGA done but I was wondering if that would compromise visa in any way?considering than In June this year I enrolled in an 8 week short course at a community college, I attended for 5 weeks(two hours a week).

Regards,

Claudia


----------



## kseafield

Hi Mark, just done our medicals and for some reason my blood pressure was very high (159/86). Its never been this high before and I've been checking it the whole week, has this happened to any of you guys yet? Just a bit worried now, also what will the dept. do now?
Thanks in advance.


----------



## Aarti

*Engineer Australia*

Dear Sir,
I am writing you from India !!
My spouse holding Btech - Electronic 4 year qualification and working in telecom industry since 10 years on manager designation 7 years curently in tech profile , where his job duties are matched with ANZSCO CODE of engineer Australia,263311 Telecommunications Engineer.

His Experience is as follow :-
1.Current employment - Sr. Technical Specialist , Since Dec 2011 (2.9 Months)
2.previous employment -- Asst. Manager (Operations and Maintenance)here his designation is manager but did all job duites that matching to 263311 Telecommunications Engineer. July2003-March 2010 ( 7 year )
3.previous employment -- Field Engineer Aug 2002- june 2003 (1 year )

4.Asst. Manager -For CWG TETRA Digital Radio Network - ( 6 months)

After reading the govt website am in a dilemma, what I do, whether i should process the case under Engineer Australia or not. Kindly advise , if we can not process the case under Engineer Australia or which else could be the option or another assessing authority.

Regards 
Aarti


----------



## rustytacks

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rustytacks -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Generally a lease or tenancy agreement is the strongest evidence of living together, plus other things such as mail addressed to either of you going to the same address, bills to either of you going to the same address, etc.
> 
> RE: editing statements down, probably not a big deal as long as the account clearly shows shared funds. Also be careful of "contribution" language for shared finances, because you don't want the account to look like you're roommates where each pays 50% of everything, etc...
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much for getting back to me. I feel a lot better about the whole thing now!


----------



## jfanny

Hi Mark,

I am applying for PR in october (801), and I am in the process of putting the documents together.
My partner (who is australian) and I have been living in Australia for 3 and a half year (oct 2011 up until june 2014). We are currently planning on living in the UK for about 1 or 2 years before going back to Australia.

I was thinking to explain our plans into my application, but now I am getting worried that explaining them we are settling in the UK (and not australia) for a bit might play bad in getting PR approved.

We are intending on going back to Australia to live, and have good evidence to show we are living together (in Europe at the moment). Could they refuse PR on this situation ?

Thanks a lot


----------



## Akhiamu

Dear Mark,

I started preparing online application on ACS site for Skill Assessment.
There is CV, Birth Certificate and Passport to be submitted under Personal Tab.

Question 1 : First do we need to submit the CV.
Question 2 – Do CV to be certified. 
Question 3 - Any specific format need to be followed.

Please confirm.


----------



## areque

Dear Mark

I have a metallurgy and material engineer bachelor degree in my home country. Having work experience as a valuer, i would love to have master degree in valuation to know more about my profession as well as to push my luck about finding a valuation related job after my graduation.

I need to work for a qualified valuer for 2 years working experience and after than i can apply to Api to gain registration, what i am confused about is vetassess skills assessment criteria which is:

Qualification/s assessed at Australian Bachelor Degree or higher degree with a highly relevent field of study and at least one year of post-qualification highly relevent employment at an appropriate skill level completed in the last five years.

Let's say that i worked for a qualified valuer for 2 years on 485 visa and then how i will be able to gain "at least one year of post-qualification highly relevent employment at an appropriate skill level completed" when 485 visa would have been expired(during 2 years), to get positive skill assessment from vetassess and then claim for points Master degree for skilled migration?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zosozm -

eVisitor and ETA are similar assessment processes - after 12 months WH plus 7 month student, getting a further visitor visa may be difficult - I expect DIBP will wonder what your long-term intentions are re: Australia.If you do get another visitor visa, significant chance of 8503 being attached.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zosozm said:


> Hi Mark,
> thanks for time and knowledge you share here.
> 
> I've been in Australia since March 2013: 12 months on a working holiday, and 7 month on a student visa 572 expiring soon.
> I'd like to do a 3-4 weeks trip to Asia with friends, and then apply for a eVisitor (I'm italian). If it gets rejected I'd try to apply for a ETA.
> 
> I called Immi twice but they were not helpful. Purely based on your experience:
> - what are chances my eVisitor application gets rejected?
> - what are chances for my ETA to get approved?
> - in case ETA gets approved, what are chances it comes with a 8053 condition?
> 
> Thanks very much for your help.
> 
> Mauro.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Claudia -

Not sure what visa you have applied for, but generally that sort of short course even if done during a visitor visa is OK.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Covariant said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm currently on a tourist visa which has a 3 month only study condition. Given my bridging visa A With no work restrictions comes into effect on November this year, I was thinking of going ahead and getting my RSA/RGA done but I was wondering if that would compromise visa in any way?considering than In June this year I enrolled in an 8 week short course at a community college, I attended for 5 weeks(two hours a week).
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Claudia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kseafield -

Hard to predict this one - best to wait until you get a medical letter (if at all). If your clinic allowed you to, you could also get a follow-up exam at your regular Dr or otherwise and see if they would accept these documents and factor into their report; you could also consider taking medicals again if you felt that the initial reading was incorrect.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kseafield said:


> Hi Mark, just done our medicals and for some reason my blood pressure was very high (159/86). Its never been this high before and I've been checking it the whole week, has this happened to any of you guys yet? Just a bit worried now, also what will the dept. do now?
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aarti -

Thanks for the question. If you are applying for a skilled visa under occupation 263311, you have no choice of assessors - EA is the only choice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aarti said:


> Dear Sir,
> I am writing you from India !!
> My spouse holding Btech - Electronic 4 year qualification and working in telecom industry since 10 years on manager designation 7 years curently in tech profile , where his job duties are matched with ANZSCO CODE of engineer Australia,263311 Telecommunications Engineer.
> 
> His Experience is as follow :-
> 1.Current employment - Sr. Technical Specialist , Since Dec 2011 (2.9 Months)
> 2.previous employment -- Asst. Manager (Operations and Maintenance)here his designation is manager but did all job duites that matching to 263311 Telecommunications Engineer. July2003-March 2010 ( 7 year )
> 3.previous employment -- Field Engineer Aug 2002- june 2003 (1 year )
> 
> 4.Asst. Manager -For CWG TETRA Digital Radio Network - ( 6 months)
> 
> After reading the govt website am in a dilemma, what I do, whether i should process the case under Engineer Australia or not. Kindly advise , if we can not process the case under Engineer Australia or which else could be the option or another assessing authority.
> 
> Regards
> Aarti


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jfanny -

Hard to predict how this would be considered, but I'm not sure I'd even mention your travel plans unless asked specifically about them - no benefit to you. If your partner is an Australian PR (not citizen), then there could be an issue if DIBP believes he is not "usually resident" in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jfanny said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for PR in october (801), and I am in the process of putting the documents together.
> My partner (who is australian) and I have been living in Australia for 3 and a half year (oct 2011 up until june 2014). We are currently planning on living in the UK for about 1 or 2 years before going back to Australia.
> 
> I was thinking to explain our plans into my application, but now I am getting worried that explaining them we are settling in the UK (and not australia) for a bit might play bad in getting PR approved.
> 
> We are intending on going back to Australia to live, and have good evidence to show we are living together (in Europe at the moment). Could they refuse PR on this situation ?
> 
> Thanks a lot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akhiamu -

ACS has very specific requirements and is very picky about documents - suggest you read the website very carefully - if they require CV, then lodge a CV. Normally CV's do not need to be certified since you are creating these yourself, but again, double check the ACS site - we do this every time we lodge an ACS application as things there can change!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Akhiamu said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I started preparing online application on ACS site for Skill Assessment.
> There is CV, Birth Certificate and Passport to be submitted under Personal Tab.
> 
> Question 1 : First do we need to submit the CV.
> Question 2 - Do CV to be certified.
> Question 3 - Any specific format need to be followed.
> 
> Please confirm.


----------



## jfanny

Thanks Mark, yes it helps a lot. My partner is a citizen so no worries on that side. We have been on a holiday since june, being in the us for a month and now looking for work since july. Would it be a problem to have 3 months of evidence missing ? Should we join our travelling tickets showing we are travelling together even as a holiday ?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jfanny -
> 
> Hard to predict how this would be considered, but I'm not sure I'd even mention your travel plans unless asked specifically about them - no benefit to you. If your partner is an Australian PR (not citizen), then there could be an issue if DIBP believes he is not "usually resident" in Australia.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jfanny -

Would need to look at your application in detail to give you any specific advice for your case - do note that if you are lodging as defacto partners, the key living-together period that will be used to satisfy DIBP's requirements is the 12 months just prior to lodging your application - you will need to provide evidence of living together for this period especially.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jfanny said:


> Thanks Mark, yes it helps a lot. My partner is a citizen so no worries on that side. We have been on a holiday since june, being in the us for a month and now looking for work since july. Would it be a problem to have 3 months of evidence missing ? Should we join our travelling tickets showing we are travelling together even as a holiday ?


----------



## arunraman7

*189 visa process query*

Hi Mark,

Thanks a ton for your support so far. I have received my invitation for 189 visa. To provide background, I am from India and have applied to the role of systems and network engineer 263111. 
Now, I can see apply visa option, before I click on it and proceed would there be any formal documentation that can guide me. also could you provide us any information on documents required. Thank you.


----------



## Rosebay

Hi Mark,

I have a confusion regarding 189 visa. I lodged my application for 189visa on 27th dec 2013. I included my defacto partner in the application as well. We had been living together for more than 1yr before I came to Australia. We submitted stat declarations, phone details, invitations, booking receipts as our proof of relationship.

The problem seems to be that we are both from Nepal and I have been in Australia for the past 2.5yrs and he is still in Nepal. It's been more than 8months since we lodged our application but we haven't heard from the immi yet! 

Is the reason for including my partner in the application causing this delay as I have been hearing things that defacto partner from Nepal is not considered a genuine case as it us not a common and culturally accepted thing in Nepal!!

Will appreciate if you could help me in clearing my doubt !

Thanks


----------



## Covariant

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Claudia -
> 
> Not sure what visa you have applied for, but generally that sort of short course even if done during a visitor visa is OK.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, I'm applying for a partner visa 820. So there is no problem if I do the course in the visitor visa, even though I studied for 5 week in June?


----------



## Aarti

Dear Sir,

Could you please sugguest any other assessing authority or other occupation for my spouse ,one more thing his major 7 year experience in Asst. manager profile where he has performed all duties of 263311 Telecommunications Engineer.,

Could Engineer Australia provide Positive Skill assessment, in this kind of senario, where qualifcation is in Engineer and experince on Manager profile.
Sir please guide,as his company sending him on 457 visa class in australia and he required to do Asessment also for that.


Thanks & Regards 
Aarti



Hi Aarti -

Thanks for the question. If you are applying for a skilled visa under occupation 263311, you have no choice of assessors - EA is the only choice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Quote:
Originally Posted by Aarti View Post
Dear Sir,
I am writing you from India !!
My spouse holding Btech - Electronic 4 year qualification and working in telecom industry since 10 years on manager designation 7 years curently in tech profile , where his job duties are matched with ANZSCO CODE of engineer Australia,263311 Telecommunications Engineer.


His Experience is as follow :-
1.Current employment - Sr. Technical Specialist , Since Dec 2011 (2.9 Months)
2.previous employment -- Asst. Manager (Operations and Maintenance)here his designation is manager but did all job duites that matching to 263311 Telecommunications Engineer. July2003-March 2010 ( 7 year )
3.previous employment -- Field Engineer Aug 2002- june 2003 (1 year )

4.Asst. Manager -For CWG TETRA Digital Radio Network - ( 6 months)

After reading the govt website am in a dilemma, what I do, whether i should process the case under Engineer Australia or not. Kindly advise , if we can not process the case under Engineer Australia or which else could be the option or another assessing authority.

Regards 
Aarti


----------



## rumbi

hie mark

I did submitted my police clearance certificate after co requested them,later on realised my surname was typed wrongly,they left one letter...its wandole,and they typed wadole leaved the n,there is my I'd on it,will I need to get another one or I shlkd explain the typo error,thanks in advance


----------



## Maryam

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hello markkkk;

yesssssssss, finally i found someone to help me!

i am 34 female Iranian living in Iran and my Fiancee (Iranian nation as well) lives in Australia. he will get his green card in a year time and before that we will get married.

my important question is: how much time it takes that i move there ? in website is mentioned 6 months to 1 year time. is that true? or because of my nation it takes more time!?

plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help me. thank you very much.


----------



## Maryam

*my fiancee will get his green card in a year time. how much time will take to move?*

hello markkkk;

yesssssssss, finally i found someone to help me!

i am 34 female Iranian living in Iran and my fiancee (Iranian nation as well) lives in Australia. he will get his green card in a year time and before that we will get married.

my important question is: how much time it takes that i move there ? in website is mentioned 6 months to 1 year time. is that true? or because of my nation it takes more time!?

plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help me. thank you very much.


----------



## Maryam

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


plllzzz helllp


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Arunraman7 -

Thanks for the note - if you are doing the application on you own, suggest you consult DIBP website for docs they require for a sc189 visa - there is a substantial list of docs that are required. Among the most important are documents evidencing your eligibility for all points claimed in your EOI.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arunraman7 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks a ton for your support so far. I have received my invitation for 189 visa. To provide background, I am from India and have applied to the role of systems and network engineer 263111.
> Now, I can see apply visa option, before I click on it and proceed would there be any formal documentation that can guide me. also could you provide us any information on documents required. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rosebay -

Thanks for the questions. One important area to consider is that DIBP looks at the living together requirement over the 12 months immediately before you lodged the visa application - from your question, it sounds like there may have been substantial time over that period (ie, the 12 months prior to application date) where you were in Australia and your partner was in Nepal - this could be a significant problem with a defacto partner visa application since the 12 months looked at primarily are the 12 months immediately prior to application.

To make matters worse, Nepal is considered a source of a high amount of visa fraud, so applications for its citizens are looked at very carefully.

With a defacto partner visa, you've got 2 assessments to consider - the assessment of the 12-month living together requirement, and the assessment of whether the relationship is "genuine". Would have to see your application docs, etc in a consultation to give you any specific advice regarding your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rosebay said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a confusion regarding 189 visa. I lodged my application for 189visa on 27th dec 2013. I included my defacto partner in the application as well. We had been living together for more than 1yr before I came to Australia. We submitted stat declarations, phone details, invitations, booking receipts as our proof of relationship.
> 
> The problem seems to be that we are both from Nepal and I have been in Australia for the past 2.5yrs and he is still in Nepal. It's been more than 8months since we lodged our application but we haven't heard from the immi yet!
> 
> Is the reason for including my partner in the application causing this delay as I have been hearing things that defacto partner from Nepal is not considered a genuine case as it us not a common and culturally accepted thing in Nepal!!
> 
> Will appreciate if you could help me in clearing my doubt !
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Covariant -

I don't have enough info to answer your question - would have to see your documents at a consultation (especially your visa(s)) - normally a visitor visa is limited to 3 months of study during the validity period of the visitor visa, but yours may be different. Once your bridging visa activates, then the conditions of the bridging visa are what you must follow, and the conditions on the visitor visa do not remain in effect.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Covariant said:


> Hi Mark, I'm applying for a partner visa 820. So there is no problem if I do the course in the visitor visa, even though I studied for 5 week in June?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aarti -

Would need to know much more about your spouse and get full documents on his situation to advise re: occupations, skills assessment, etc - the regulations in that area are complex and sometimes even the smallest detail about an applicant can make a difference (positive or negative) in the options that are available. Can only do this via a consultation - way too much information for back & forth on an anonymous forum. Please see website link below in my signature if you'd like to book a consultation which would give us the time & resources to analyse your case and provide specific migration advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aarti said:


> Dear Sir,
> 
> Could you please sugguest any other assessing authority or other occupation for my spouse ,one more thing his major 7 year experience in Asst. manager profile where he has performed all duties of 263311 Telecommunications Engineer.,
> 
> Could Engineer Australia provide Positive Skill assessment, in this kind of senario, where qualifcation is in Engineer and experince on Manager profile.
> Sir please guide,as his company sending him on 457 visa class in australia and he required to do Asessment also for that.
> 
> Thanks & Regards
> Aarti


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rumbi -

I've seen it go both ways, although usually they will require another one with the correct name - often the checks for criminal records are done by searching based on name - some people have used misspelled names in the past to try and avoid their records coming up, etc...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rumbi said:


> hie mark
> 
> I did submitted my police clearance certificate after co requested them,later on realised my surname was typed wrongly,they left one letter...its wandole,and they typed wadole leaved the n,there is my I'd on it,will I need to get another one or I shlkd explain the typo error,thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maryam -

Thanks for the note. Partner visa processing times are very difficult to predict, especially if the applicant is from a Middle Eastern country. My guess would be 12 to 18 months, but that's only a guess - DIBP does not provide any dependable figures or time estimates in this area. Also, we don't have green cards in Australia (that's a USA term) - we call it "permanent residency".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maryam said:


> hello markkkk;
> 
> yesssssssss, finally i found someone to help me!
> 
> i am 34 female Iranian living in Iran and my fiancee (Iranian nation as well) lives in Australia. he will get his green card in a year time and before that we will get married.
> 
> my important question is: how much time it takes that i move there ? in website is mentioned 6 months to 1 year time. is that true? or because of my nation it takes more time!?
> 
> plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help me. thank you very much.


----------



## Xuxa

Hi Mark,

I've just received an invite to apply for a skilled independent visa, I have all my evidence for claimed points but have yet to do a police or health check. Do you recommend I get these done before submitting my application, or should I submit my application first and then wait to see if they ask me for them?

Thanks for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xuxa -

Congratulations on your invitation! Would submit police checks as soon as you have them; you can wait for health check until they ask or do them at your convenience shortly after lodging.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xuxa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've just received an invite to apply for a skilled independent visa, I have all my evidence for claimed points but have yet to do a police or health check. Do you recommend I get these done before submitting my application, or should I submit my application first and then wait to see if they ask me for them?
> 
> Thanks for your help!


----------



## maxi0i

*TRA Assessment help*

Dear Friends,

I will be launching application of skill assessment for 312412 Electronic Engineering Technician with TRA. I have few questions regarding TRA Assessment but first I am going to explain my profile details.

Education:
3 Years diploma (Electronics) From May 2003 till June 2006 and 2 Years bachelor degree from September 2009 till February 2010 (One year of study was omitted based on work experience).

Employment:
Company A:
Worked as Printed Circuit Board Design Engineer from January 2006 till November 2009 = 35 Months
Company B:
Worked as Senior Printed Circuit Board Design Engineer from January 2010 till August 2012 = 32 Months
Company C:
Working as Printed Circuit Board CAM Engineer from October 2012 till now = 23 Months and counting

So here are my questions. I hope this form will help me out in my decision.

Q1. Company A is not longer exists, I only have 2 letters from this company which indicates my position title, joining and finishing date but I have contact details of my supervisor so I am planing to make a statutory declarations regarding this situation and will also attach these two letter that I have. Please let me know your thoughts about this.

Q2. From Company B, I have received an employment letter which covers all the required information that TRA ask for in an employment statement. This is the only letter that I can show for this company. Please let me know if it will be okay and sufficient for TRA.

Q3. My first plane is to submit TRA assessment application with all 3 companies work experience. Can anyone please explain me what will be written on TRA outcome letter i.e. Will it be mention that how many years of skilled work applicant have or something like this??

Q4. If TRA do not mention this information about how many years of skilled work do applicant have then I think the better option for me will be to submit application with only Company B and Company C and later with DIAC I will submit application with all 3 companies with statutory declarations for Company A . Please let me know if it will work this way?

Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maxi0i -

Thanks for the questions. This thread is intended for questions for me, but please feel free to post your question in a different thread as well if you'd like general responses from readers.

From my view as an agent, would need to see your documents in a consultation to give you any specific advice. My general notes would be that in the case of a company that is no longer in business, a notarised statement from a co-worker or manager may satisfy TRA depending on whether there are any concerns about the documents being genuine.

It's also helpful to note that skills assessors in general will determine IF you are skilled, and WHAT DATE you became skilled on. They may also determine whether specific work experience you have is considered skilled by them or not. However even if that's all established, DIBP at the visa application stage often wants to see both the work reference letters you have, plus proof of payment for all periods of time you are claiming work experience points for on a visa application - this can be in the form of payslips, tax records, bank statements, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



maxi0i said:


> Dear Friends,
> 
> I will be launching application of skill assessment for 312412 Electronic Engineering Technician with TRA. I have few questions regarding TRA Assessment but first I am going to explain my profile details.
> 
> Education:
> 3 Years diploma (Electronics) From May 2003 till June 2006 and 2 Years bachelor degree from September 2009 till February 2010 (One year of study was omitted based on work experience).
> 
> Employment:
> Company A:
> Worked as Printed Circuit Board Design Engineer from January 2006 till November 2009 = 35 Months
> Company B:
> Worked as Senior Printed Circuit Board Design Engineer from January 2010 till August 2012 = 32 Months
> Company C:
> Working as Printed Circuit Board CAM Engineer from October 2012 till now = 23 Months and counting
> 
> So here are my questions. I hope this form will help me out in my decision.
> 
> Q1. Company A is not longer exists, I only have 2 letters from this company which indicates my position title, joining and finishing date but I have contact details of my supervisor so I am planing to make a statutory declarations regarding this situation and will also attach these two letter that I have. Please let me know your thoughts about this.
> 
> Q2. From Company B, I have received an employment letter which covers all the required information that TRA ask for in an employment statement. This is the only letter that I can show for this company. Please let me know if it will be okay and sufficient for TRA.
> 
> Q3. My first plane is to submit TRA assessment application with all 3 companies work experience. Can anyone please explain me what will be written on TRA outcome letter i.e. Will it be mention that how many years of skilled work applicant have or something like this??
> 
> Q4. If TRA do not mention this information about how many years of skilled work do applicant have then I think the better option for me will be to submit application with only Company B and Company C and later with DIAC I will submit application with all 3 companies with statutory declarations for Company A . Please let me know if it will work this way?
> 
> Thanks for your help.


----------



## margoandrew

HI mark, I have applied for a student visa 572 from Spain ona Italian passport. I have applied for a 20month course. Immigration has requested more information regarding myself being a genuine temporary entrant and financial requirements. Currently I have $16,000au in my account and I also have a signed letter from my mother stating I have access to funds in her account for my studies. Is this sufficient evidence for them? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.


----------



## maxi0i

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your prompt reply, advice and information.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Maxi0i -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. This thread is intended for questions for me, but please feel free to post your question in a different thread as well if you'd like general responses from readers.
> 
> From my view as an agent, would need to see your documents in a consultation to give you any specific advice. My general notes would be that in the case of a company that is no longer in business, a notarised statement from a co-worker or manager may satisfy TRA depending on whether there are any concerns about the documents being genuine.
> 
> It's also helpful to note that skills assessors in general will determine IF you are skilled, and WHAT DATE you became skilled on. They may also determine whether specific work experience you have is considered skilled by them or not. However even if that's all established, DIBP at the visa application stage often wants to see both the work reference letters you have, plus proof of payment for all periods of time you are claiming work experience points for on a visa application - this can be in the form of payslips, tax records, bank statements, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Margoandrew -

Thanks for the note - depends on the exact nature of their request - if the request is only regarding financial requirements, you can work out the required amount for your visa based on the details on the DIBP website - here's a link with more details:

https://www.immi.gov.au/students/student-visa-living-costs.htm

Re: GTE requirements, this is a much less definable thing - there is a list of a dozen or so specific policy criteria they have for this which is usually included in some form with the request they send you (ie, ties to home country vs ties to Australia, employment in home country, etc). If they have asked for more info on this, it means they likely are not satisfied with what you have provided so far and things may be headed for a refusal unless you can provide further substantial evidence of how you meet the GTE criteria. Suggest you review the GTE policy criteria very carefully and determine what evidence you can provide from your own circumstances that could address this. Saying things without evidence is not helpful - the key is to come up with evidence to justify all the claims you make re: how you meet the GTE policy criteria.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



margoandrew said:


> HI mark, I have applied for a student visa 572 from Spain ona Italian passport. I have applied for a 20month course. Immigration has requested more information regarding myself being a genuine temporary entrant and financial requirements. Currently I have $16,000au in my account and I also have a signed letter from my mother stating I have access to funds in her account for my studies. Is this sufficient evidence for them? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.


----------



## maxi0i

Thanks for youre reply. I can send you my all documents scan copy. Will you then able to give me specific advice? Will you charge me for that?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maxi0i -

Would be happy to assist - yes, I do charge for consultations as this is my living - I'm a registered migration agent. Please see website for details - click "Professional Consultation" link in top center part of page - thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



maxi0i said:


> Thanks for youre reply. I can send you my all documents scan copy. Will you then able to give me specific advice? Will you charge me for that?


----------



## margoandrew

Thanks for your fast response! I am assessment level 1 so it was my understanding it was not required that I show evidence of my past studies or past employment but I am now aware of this and I am in the process of uploading my documents for proof in which I have I have also written a statment from the criteria they have stated outlining the reasons I have chosen this course.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Margoandrew -

It's a common misperception - the Genuine Temporary Entrant policy criteria applies to all student visa applications, regardless of the assessment level. AL1 normally means that the school vouches for your English and financial requirements needs, however there are aspects of the GTE policy that also refer to financial interests and assets, etc.

Best of luck with the application -

Mark



margoandrew said:


> Thanks for your fast response! I am assessment level 1 so it was my understanding it was not required that I show evidence of my past studies or past employment but I am now aware of this and I am in the process of uploading my documents for proof in which I have I have also written a statment from the criteria they have stated outlining the reasons I have chosen this course.


----------



## rumbi

thanks mark


----------



## Maryam

*married to irainan person who lives in Australia and he will get his green card in 1*

hello Sir;

yesssssssss, finally i found someone to help me!

i am 34 female Iranian living in Iran and my fiancee (Iranian nation as well) lives in Australia. he will get his green card in a year time and before that we will get married.

my important question is: how much time it takes that i move there ? in website is mentioned 6 months to 1 year time. is that true? or because of my nation it will take more time!?

plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help me. thank you very much.


----------



## lsm6146

Dear Mark.

I currently hold student visa 573 and studying diploma at an institution called MIBT.
My visa was granted untill March 2017 and I have 2 COEs one is for diploma(march2014~february2015) and the other is for Bachelor at Deakin Uni(march2015~november2017). 

I am completing my diploma course this October and this is an early completion as I am not taking the third trimester. As addressed in my second coe for bachelor I would like to start my new course march 2015.

I wonder if I can stay in Australia till my Bachelor course starts or have to leave Australia and come back even if my visa is still valid till 2017 and have another course to go for. And also would like to know if I can work full-time during that period.

+ I can start the new course this november but I don't want to as it's too much for me in a short time the reason why I am trying to finish my first course early to have a bit long break and get ready for the next study.


----------



## will.i.am

Dear Mark,

I am a newbie here on this forum and it was a luck for me to come across your thread.

I've already lodged my visa application and at the moment I'm awaiting the decision from CO. The thing is that my health tests were forwarded to MOC due to the fact that I'm Hepatitis B carrier. I've underwent a series of tests which revealed that viral load is below zero (negative) and internal organs (especially liver) are functioning normally without any signs of dysfunction. My question in next. Were there any cases Hepatitis B carriers were granted visa and if yes then what it depends on? 

Thank you.


----------



## Maggie-May24

Maryam said:


> hello Sir;
> 
> yesssssssss, finally i found someone to help me!
> 
> i am 34 female Iranian living in Iran and my fiancee (Iranian nation as well) lives in Australia. he will get his green card in a year time and before that we will get married.
> 
> my important question is: how much time it takes that i move there ? in website is mentioned 6 months to 1 year time. is that true? or because of my nation it will take more time!?
> 
> plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help me. thank you very much.


Maryam, Mark answered your question on the previous page... http://www.australiaforum.com/578609-post3711.html


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ism6146 -

This gets into a tricky area of policy - that is, when is your course "out of session" - normally this refers to the published duration of the course, so if you finish say 2 months before the course is out of session, you are still required to observe the work right limitation until the course completes as scheduled. Re: remaining in Australia between courses, would have to look carefully at your published course dates and visa to give you any specific guidance on that - I expect that may not be an issue however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lsm6146 said:


> Dear Mark.
> 
> I currently hold student visa 573 and studying diploma at an institution called MIBT.
> My visa was granted untill March 2017 and I have 2 COEs one is for diploma(march2014~february2015) and the other is for Bachelor at Deakin Uni(march2015~november2017).
> 
> I am completing my diploma course this October and this is an early completion as I am not taking the third trimester. As addressed in my second coe for bachelor I would like to start my new course march 2015.
> 
> I wonder if I can stay in Australia till my Bachelor course starts or have to leave Australia and come back even if my visa is still valid till 2017 and have another course to go for. And also would like to know if I can work full-time during that period.
> 
> + I can start the new course this november but I don't want to as it's too much for me in a short time the reason why I am trying to finish my first course early to have a bit long break and get ready for the next study.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Will.i.am -

In the past asymptomatic (no symptoms) Hep-B carriers were often allowed through the health criteria process, however recently that appears to have changed - in fact, I'm working on a health waiver package this week for a client in this very situation. Problem is, if DIBP can predict within certain parameters that a condition will exist for a person's lifetime, they can use the predicted lifetime costs of treatment, rather than the anticipated costs for the first 5 years of permanent residency in Australia, which changes the situation in a huge way and often results in failure of the health criteria.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



will.i.am said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am a newbie here on this forum and it was a luck for me to come across your thread.
> 
> I've already lodged my visa application and at the moment I'm awaiting the decision from CO. The thing is that my health tests were forwarded to MOC due to the fact that I'm Hepatitis B carrier. I've underwent a series of tests which revealed that viral load is below zero (negative) and internal organs (especially liver) are functioning normally without any signs of dysfunction. My question in next. Were there any cases Hepatitis B carriers were granted visa and if yes then what it depends on?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## will.i.am

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your prompt response. Could you clarify how long ago the situation regarding DIBP treatment to predicted cost has changed and is this situation the same for other disease? Any chance my case will eventually end successfully?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Will.i.am -

I dont' know that it was any specific date - it has been more of a gradual change over time as science has been able to more accurately predict the trajectory or course of different diseases. The same predictability factors affect all diseases - it is not specific to Hep-B.

Re: Any chance of success? Certainly there is, but it all depends on the specifics of the case. If you are failed for the health criteria and receive a natural justice letter for Condition 4007 that give you the right to comment on and provide information why your application should not be refused (the "undue costs" legislation), would recommend you seek professional assistance in preparing this type of a submission. As DIBP must consider all potential benefits to Australia or Australians in this sort of a situation, it opens up many avenues to make arguments on.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



will.i.am said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your prompt response. Could you clarify how long ago the situation regarding DIBP treatment to predicted cost has changed and is this situation the same for other disease? Any chance my case will eventually end successfully?


----------



## CollegeGirl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Will.i.am -
> 
> In the past asymptomatic (no symptoms) Hep-B carriers were often allowed through the health criteria process, however recently that appears to have changed - in fact, I'm working on a health waiver package this week for a client in this very situation. Problem is, if DIBP can predict within certain parameters that a condition will exist for a person's lifetime, they can use the predicted lifetime costs of treatment, rather than the anticipated costs for the first 5 years of permanent residency in Australia, which changes the situation in a huge way and often results in failure of the health criteria.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Is that a new policy, Mark (that they can use lifetime costs instead of five years if they think it will be a lifetime illness)? Or has it always been that way? If that's new, that would really change visa prospects for a lot of people.


----------



## Maryam

*during our engagement without his "permanent residency" if he can apply for my visa ?*

Dear Sir;

Thank you very much for the answer.

my next question is: during our engagement without his "permanent residency" if he can apply for my visa ?

whats the tips for this issue? how can we get this job faster (get married)? please advice.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.


----------



## iclaire

Hi Mark,

I'm currently waiting for Partner visa (820) decision, which I've applied (onshore) for since early January.

I recently got a job offer to work in different state and my partner cannot relocate along with me due to his current work condition. I'm wondering if living apart from my partner while waiting for Partner visa decision would lead to the visa rejection in this case. 

Much appreciated for your advice.

Regards,
Claire


----------



## lily68

*Urgent advice/partner visa*

Dear Mark

I am visa 309 holder, my husband passed away recently due to illness, can you advice what should I do? should I inform immigration office now or wait for the 2 years ( March 2015)?

Many thanks
Lily68


----------



## peter123

Hi Mark,

I currently hold a 487 visa and I have about 1 year and 8 months remaining. Is it possible for me to apply for the 189 skilled independent visa? I did my degree in mechanical engineering and have an ielts score of 7 and also have my first cousin to sponsor me. I am 23 years.

Kind Regards 

Peter


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CG -

It's not a new policy, but there seems to be from what I can tell more of a focus on the lifetime vs shorter periods of time in some cases. Here's the specific PAM3 policy guidance on how many years' of costs, etc should be considered for permanent visa applicants:

_For permanent visa applicants (including applicants for provisional visas), the time period for estimating costs should be calculated for a five year period unless the applicant:
•	is aged 75 or older. In this circumstance the applicant will be assessed for a three year period or
•	has a condition that is permanent and the course of the disease is reasonably predictable beyond the five year period. In these circumstances, the applicant would be assessed for "lifelong" costs. When assessing "lifelong' costs, the MOC will include estimated costs over the applicant's remaining life expectancy
•	has an inevitable or reasonably predictable (>65% likelihood) reduced life expectancy due to their health condition or disease. In this case, the applicant will be assessed on the reduced life expectancy.
_

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CollegeGirl said:


> Is that a new policy, Mark (that they can use lifetime costs instead of five years if they think it will be a lifetime illness)? Or has it always been that way? If that's new, that would really change visa prospects for a lot of people.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maryam -

It depends on what visa he is on currently in Australia - the laws are complex. He may be able to add you onto his current temporary visa, depending on your circumstances and his visa. Otherwise once he is granted permanent residency, he may be able to sponsor you for a partner visa as his wife.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maryam said:


> Dear Sir;
> 
> Thank you very much for the answer.
> 
> my next question is: during our engagement without his "permanent residency" if he can apply for my visa ?
> 
> whats the tips for this issue? how can we get this job faster (get married)? please advice.
> 
> THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi iClaire -

Since assessing the validity of the relationship is a time of decision issue, I suppose it's possible that living apart could be seen by the case officer as a sign of a non-genuine relationship, however I would think that would only be the case if there were other warning signs or risk factors present - ie, large age difference, short duration relationship, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



iclaire said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm currently waiting for Partner visa (820) decision, which I've applied (onshore) for since early January.
> 
> I recently got a job offer to work in different state and my partner cannot relocate along with me due to his current work condition. I'm wondering if living apart from my partner while waiting for Partner visa decision would lead to the visa rejection in this case.
> 
> Much appreciated for your advice.
> 
> Regards,
> Claire


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lily68 -

Very sorry to hear about the passing of your husband.

You should notify DIBP and provide the death certificate; you have a claim to process your subclass 100 visa application now (without waiting the 2 years) - you'll need to provide evidence (people usually use statements) that the relationship with your husband was intact as of the time he passed away, and that you've made substantial ties to Australia and Australians. If you have any questions about the specific requirements, you may want to consult a registered migration agent to assist you with the claim for the PR visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lily68 said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I am visa 309 holder, my husband passed away recently due to illness, can you advice what should I do? should I inform immigration office now or wait for the 2 years ( March 2015)?
> 
> Many thanks
> Lily68


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peter -

Thanks for the note. The 189 is a points tested independent skilled visa and is a very different type of visa from the 487 - there is no family sponsorship involved, however you must have a total of 60 points or more on the skilled visa points test and have a positive skills assessment. I'm not able to advise re: skilled visa eligibility here on the forum as the requirements are too complex, especially when considering skills assessor requirements which can vary widely between different assessors - can assist you in determining your eligibility in a consultation - see my website below in my signature for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



peter123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I currently hold a 487 visa and I have about 1 year and 8 months remaining. Is it possible for me to apply for the 189 skilled independent visa? I did my degree in mechanical engineering and have an ielts score of 7 and also have my first cousin to sponsor me. I am 23 years.
> 
> Kind Regards
> 
> Peter


----------



## areque

Dear Sir

You have been helpful for those who are in need of help and i guess my post on the page 369 has been overlooked.

Is it possible to have your valuable suggestion or information about it when your workload keeps you not busy?

Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Areque -

Sorry I missed your question earlier!

Re: The Vetassess requirement, they have a one year work requirement which must be post-qualification - that is, completed after you earned the minimum qualification (Bachelor Degree) for your occupation. Not sure if your Bachelor degree is highly relevant to your occupation or not - you'd know better than I. Assuming it is, and the 1 year of work experience was gained after you completed your bachelor degree, then I would think there is a good chance that it would meet Vetassess's requirement. The issue for the one year of work experience is not what visa you were on when you did the work (overseas work also can qualify to meet this requirement), but that you had already met the minimum educational requirement for your occupation at the time you began the work. In some fields you are required to be licensed before work is considered skilled, but not sure that's the case with Valuers - that may be a good question for Vetassess.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



areque said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I have a metallurgy and material engineer bachelor degree in my home country. Having work experience as a valuer, i would love to have master degree in valuation to know more about my profession as well as to push my luck about finding a valuation related job after my graduation.
> 
> I need to work for a qualified valuer for 2 years working experience and after than i can apply to Api to gain registration, what i am confused about is vetassess skills assessment criteria which is:
> 
> Qualification/s assessed at Australian Bachelor Degree or higher degree with a highly relevent field of study and at least one year of post-qualification highly relevent employment at an appropriate skill level completed in the last five years.
> 
> Let's say that i worked for a qualified valuer for 2 years on 485 visa and then how i will be able to gain "at least one year of post-qualification highly relevent employment at an appropriate skill level completed" when 485 visa would have been expired(during 2 years), to get positive skill assessment from vetassess and then claim for points Master degree for skilled migration?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## Deepi

Hi, I need advice on the processing time of Subsequent Entrant 457 dependent visa.
I lodged my application on 30-06-2014, and received e-mail on 25-7-2014 asking me to provide proof of health insurance, which i provided on 27-7-2014. After that there is no updation. How much time these applications take to get processed.

Is everything ok in my application. My husband is on 457 visa in Australia.
I am worried, please advice me what I should do further..
Thanks
Deepi


----------



## Maryam

*2015 he will get his PR*

Dear Sir;

Thank you for the information.

he is in Australia from 2010 and he went illegal from Iran. he was in camp for 2 years and now with Australia law permission he has his full time job. 
in 2015 around month of may he will get his PR.

with above mentioned situation of him, still he can apply for my visa during our engagement? or he should first take his PR and then apply.

You mentioned it depends on his and i situation. can you please share with me some information about this.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.


----------



## iclaire

Thank you very much for your great advice 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi iClaire -
> 
> Since assessing the validity of the relationship is a time of decision issue, I suppose it's possible that living apart could be seen by the case officer as a sign of a non-genuine relationship, however I would think that would only be the case if there were other warning signs or risk factors present - ie, large age difference, short duration relationship, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## dharabaskar

*Can i apply under different occupation*

Hi Mark,

Need your advice on applying Skilled Category under State Sponsorship.

I have my skills assessed in ACS for "261311 - Analyst Programmer", Is it possible for me to apply for SS with "263111	Computer network and systems engineer" in Western Australia ?

Thanks
VJ


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark!

Thank you in advance in answering my inquiry....

If my daughters PR visa is approved who are both in the Philippines, is there a certain time that they need to enter Australia? 

Cheers!
Ninja 69


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark!

Thank you in advance in answering my inquiry....

If my daughters PR visa is approved who are both in the Philippines, is there a certain time that they need to enter Australia? 

Cheers!
Ninja 69


----------



## ehsana

Dear Mark

I see you're bombarded with questions so I make it quick and brief.

Currently I'm on bridging visa and working in Melbourne. I've applied for a visa subclass 189 onshore with 60 points in March 2014. During my trip to Iran I got married and then added my wife to the application as an additional applicant. As you know better than me, since she added later, she wasn't granted a bridging visa.

In order to bring her to Australia to spend some time with me, she applied for a tourist visa (subclass 600) in July 2014 while we were providing required documents for the visa subclass 189. We informed both case officers about the applications. Unfortunately, the tourist visa rejected and we were told that it didn't seem a genuine visit to Australia.

Since we've provided all the required documents recently, I think it takes at least 6 month for a decision to be made for visa subclass 189. We were thinking of applying for a Student visa for my wife, but again we think it may be rejected. Do you have any suggestion in this regard?

Cheers,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maryam -

Would need to work with you or he in a consultation to look at his current visa and any conditions on that visa to determine options. Generally for fiance, no option to add to current visa or sponsor until the sponsor is a permanent resident. So expect he would need to become a PR before he's able to sponsor you for a fiance visa (subclass 300) or partner visa if you are married by that point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maryam said:


> Dear Sir;
> 
> Thank you for the information.
> 
> he is in Australia from 2010 and he went illegal from Iran. he was in camp for 2 years and now with Australia law permission he has his full time job.
> in 2015 around month of may he will get his PR.
> 
> with above mentioned situation of him, still he can apply for my visa during our engagement? or he should first take his PR and then apply.
> 
> You mentioned it depends on his and i situation. can you please share with me some information about this.
> 
> THANK YOU VERY MUCH.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deepi -

These typically take 2-4 months depending on a variety of factors. All you can do is wait, assuming you've provided all documents required for the visa and/or requested by DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Deepi said:


> Hi, I need advice on the processing time of Subsequent Entrant 457 dependent visa.
> I lodged my application on 30-06-2014, and received e-mail on 25-7-2014 asking me to provide proof of health insurance, which i provided on 27-7-2014. After that there is no updation. How much time these applications take to get processed.
> 
> Is everything ok in my application. My husband is on 457 visa in Australia.
> I am worried, please advice me what I should do further..
> Thanks
> Deepi


----------



## MarkNortham

Not that I know of... you would need to apply for the same occupation code that you have a skills assessment in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Need your advice on applying Skilled Category under State Sponsorship.
> 
> I have my skills assessed in ACS for "261311 - Analyst Programmer", Is it possible for me to apply for SS with "263111	Computer network and systems engineer" in Western Australia ?
> 
> Thanks
> VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Yes - see "Must Enter By" date on their granted visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Thank you in advance in answering my inquiry....
> 
> If my daughters PR visa is approved who are both in the Philippines, is there a certain time that they need to enter Australia?
> 
> Cheers!
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ehsana -

Thanks for the note. I probably would not try a student visa given your circumstances, as I expect DIBP will assume she's here primarily to visit and be with you, and not primarily to study.

Re: visitor visa, depends on what evidence and statements you provided. There are specific policy provisions that say that married couples should be not unduly kept apart, etc, however the Genuine Visitor requirements, which often conflict with the other policy provisions, are still in place.

My thoughts: First, you might try another visitor visa with further evidence submitted, depending on what you sent the first time. Second, there is a chance that the refusal could be an indication that DIBP has concerns about the genuineness of your partner visa application. You may want to consider getting experienced professional help with either or both of these issues in order to increase the chances of success.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ehsana said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I see you're bombarded with questions so I make it quick and brief.
> 
> Currently I'm on bridging visa and working in Melbourne. I've applied for a visa subclass 189 onshore with 60 points in March 2014. During my trip to Iran I got married and then added my wife to the application as an additional applicant. As you know better than me, since she added later, she wasn't granted a bridging visa.
> 
> In order to bring her to Australia to spend some time with me, she applied for a tourist visa (subclass 600) in July 2014 while we were providing required documents for the visa subclass 189. We informed both case officers about the applications. Unfortunately, the tourist visa rejected and we were told that it didn't seem a genuine visit to Australia.
> 
> Since we've provided all the required documents recently, I think it takes at least 6 month for a decision to be made for visa subclass 189. We were thinking of applying for a Student visa for my wife, but again we think it may be rejected. Do you have any suggestion in this regard?
> 
> Cheers,


----------



## ehsana

Dear Mark,

Thanks for the prompt reply. I will drop you an email for further discussion. I may need to use your service.

Cheers,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ehsana -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I probably would not try a student visa given your circumstances, as I expect DIBP will assume she's here primarily to visit and be with you, and not primarily to study.
> 
> Re: visitor visa, depends on what evidence and statements you provided. There are specific policy provisions that say that married couples should be not unduly kept apart, etc, however the Genuine Visitor requirements, which often conflict with the other policy provisions, are still in place.
> 
> My thoughts: First, you might try another visitor visa with further evidence submitted, depending on what you sent the first time. Second, there is a chance that the refusal could be an indication that DIBP has concerns about the genuineness of your partner visa application. You may want to consider getting experienced professional help with either or both of these issues in order to increase the chances of success.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## H.Protagonist

Hi, Mark,

Was hoping to get your advice or opinion on my current situation which has suddenly gotten a bit more complicated.

Currently, I have applied for a 309 through the DC Embassy. The application was submitted April 20th 2014, all police checks have been submitted, and my medicals were completed and assessed as OK on August 15th. All information requested has been submitted, basically.

I am currently in Australia now on a 600 tourist VISA which was granted right after my medical checks and is valid until April 16th, 2015 (multiple entry). Previously, I was on a 12 month multiple entry that was set to expire Oct 16th, hence the extension.

Anyway, all of this is fine and I’ve just been waiting to hear from a CO or word of my application, but as of last week I’ve found out that I’m pregnant. It seems likely that I was even a few days pregnant when I went and got my medicals, but there’s nothing that can be done about that now, and at least they’re completed and submitted. Best estimate on the due date, if everything goes well, puts me at last week of April 2015 or start of May. Which… is just past when my 600 would have already expired.

This is an unexpected development, and from what I gather it has no (positive) effect on VISA processing time. And, given the time table, I’m more than a bit worried about what to do from here. My husband and I are going today to register for Medicare (or try, anyway), and obviously we have to notify ‘someone’ of the change in my situation once a blood test has confirmed it, but I’m uncertain of the best way to proceed from here. We’d always thought (and wanted) our first child would be born in Australia later on down the line, but with things as they are, I’m afraid I’d have to fly back to the US in 7 months before I’m unable to fly at all lest I be in violation of my VISA if I stay until end of April to give birth.

At any rate, something that should be quite happy is now very problematic and stressful. I would value any advice or thoughts you might have on how best to proceed here, when/if you had a moment.

Thank you very much.

- HP


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HP -

Life's too short to let visa issues get in the way of wonderful baby news!

2 issues I see, both solvable:

Re: sc600 visa, I'd probably wait until 2 months before it is set to expire and apply onshore in Australia for a further sc600 visa to extend your stay - inability to fly home due to advanced pregnancy is a great reason to apply for the visa!

Re: Medicare, should not be a problem - you'll want to take proof that you have applied for the 309/100 visa - the 100 is a permanent visa, so as long as you tell Medicare that you now reside in Australia, and intend to reside in Australia for the forseeable future, they should give it to you. Might have to work up the tree there and see a manager, etc if the counter staff are unfamiliar with the provision that if a person is resident here (living here) and has applied for a permanent visa (you have - the sc100 visa), they are eligible for Medicare.

Last issue is being granted the visa - you'll have to go offshore for this - if it comes at an inconvenient time in your pregnancy when you're not able to fly, suggest informing the case officer and seeing if they can extend the grant date accordingly. If you are getting close to the point where you can't fly, then I'd proactively inform them what's going on and ask them to delay grant of the visa until after you give birth - I'm sure they won't have an issue with this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



H.Protagonist said:


> Hi, Mark,
> 
> Was hoping to get your advice or opinion on my current situation which has suddenly gotten a bit more complicated.
> 
> Currently, I have applied for a 309 through the DC Embassy. The application was submitted April 20th 2014, all police checks have been submitted, and my medicals were completed and assessed as OK on August 15th. All information requested has been submitted, basically.
> 
> I am currently in Australia now on a 600 tourist VISA which was granted right after my medical checks and is valid until April 16th, 2015 (multiple entry). Previously, I was on a 12 month multiple entry that was set to expire Oct 16th, hence the extension.
> 
> Anyway, all of this is fine and I've just been waiting to hear from a CO or word of my application, but as of last week I've found out that I'm pregnant. It seems likely that I was even a few days pregnant when I went and got my medicals, but there's nothing that can be done about that now, and at least they're completed and submitted. Best estimate on the due date, if everything goes well, puts me at last week of April 2015 or start of May. Which&#8230; is just past when my 600 would have already expired.
> 
> This is an unexpected development, and from what I gather it has no (positive) effect on VISA processing time. And, given the time table, I'm more than a bit worried about what to do from here. My husband and I are going today to register for Medicare (or try, anyway), and obviously we have to notify 'someone' of the change in my situation once a blood test has confirmed it, but I'm uncertain of the best way to proceed from here. We'd always thought (and wanted) our first child would be born in Australia later on down the line, but with things as they are, I'm afraid I'd have to fly back to the US in 7 months before I'm unable to fly at all lest I be in violation of my VISA if I stay until end of April to give birth.
> 
> At any rate, something that should be quite happy is now very problematic and stressful. I would value any advice or thoughts you might have on how best to proceed here, when/if you had a moment.
> 
> Thank you very much.
> 
> - HP


----------



## H.Protagonist

You are lightning quick, Mark. Thank you so much. 

What you've said is far, far better than I hoped. Do you really think they'd be OK with that? I assumed after the blood test confirms it and I have to notify someone, that they'd be like "make sure you're out of here before Feb (7 month mark)." And for requesting a 600 extension, I was under the impression that it could only be used for travel/visiting family, etc. If I put in the application "inability to fly home due to advanced pregnancy" as the reason, would they be cool with that?

For going offshore once the VISA is granted, that sounds just fine. They seem to be fairly nice and flexible about things from what I see of the accounts here. I just really hope they don't look poorly on my application now for this. It truly was a surprise or I wouldn't have gotten the X-ray. 

For a C.O. it seems the D.C. Embassy hasn't really been assigning specific C.O.s (just emailing when/if things have been granted), so I'd just keep using their website feedback form for this stuff, I guess (which seems a weird place to announce something so big as a bun in the oven... )?

It all seems so much less complicated and negative than I feared it would be. Really appreciate it, Mark. Maybe I can feel a little excited about this after all?

P.S. Cheers for the medicare tips as well. If I tell them I "intend to reside in Australia for the forseeable future" that just means until the end of my 600 VISA next year and won't seem a weird thing to say to them, I hope (as I'm technically on a tourist VISA, after all).



MarkNortham said:


> Hi HP -
> 
> Life's too short to let visa issues get in the way of wonderful baby news!
> 
> 2 issues I see, both solvable:
> 
> Re: sc600 visa, I'd probably wait until 2 months before it is set to expire and apply onshore in Australia for a further sc600 visa to extend your stay - inability to fly home due to advanced pregnancy is a great reason to apply for the visa!
> 
> Re: Medicare, should not be a problem - you'll want to take proof that you have applied for the 309/100 visa - the 100 is a permanent visa, so as long as you tell Medicare that you now reside in Australia, and intend to reside in Australia for the forseeable future, they should give it to you. Might have to work up the tree there and see a manager, etc if the counter staff are unfamiliar with the provision that if a person is resident here (living here) and has applied for a permanent visa (you have - the sc100 visa), they are eligible for Medicare.
> 
> Last issue is being granted the visa - you'll have to go offshore for this - if it comes at an inconvenient time in your pregnancy when you're not able to fly, suggest informing the case officer and seeing if they can extend the grant date accordingly. If you are getting close to the point where you can't fly, then I'd proactively inform them what's going on and ask them to delay grant of the visa until after you give birth - I'm sure they won't have an issue with this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Sunny_Girl

Hi Mark,

Just a quick question!
I am currently on a Bridging Visa A (re-applying for a 457 visa and I'm am going de facto).
I am aware that I cannot leave Australia whilst on this visa but is travel within Australia ok? I've tried the Immigration website but to no avail!!!

Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HP -

I think you understand the situation well. Suggest you do not inform them of the pregnancy as there is no obligation to do so - there is an obligation to inform them of course once your child is born, but not before. As long as you're past the 7 month mark or whatever your doctor has indicated is too late to fly, I cannot see how DIBP would refuse a sc600 visa (note it would be a new application, not an extension) - and even if they did, you could go to the MRT review. DIBP is certainly not going to expect a heavily pregnant person to fly.

Re: Medicare people, don't emphasise the sc600 visa, point to the 309/100 application (and take a copy of the acknowledgement email you received from DIBP when lodged it with you, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



H.Protagonist said:


> You are lightning quick, Mark. Thank you so much.
> 
> What you've said is far, far better than I hoped. Do you really think they'd be OK with that? I assumed after the blood test confirms it and I have to notify someone, that they'd be like "make sure you're out of here before Feb (7 month mark)." And for requesting a 600 extension, I was under the impression that it could only be used for travel/visiting family, etc. If I put in the application "inability to fly home due to advanced pregnancy" as the reason, would they be cool with that?
> 
> For going offshore once the VISA is granted, that sounds just fine. They seem to be fairly nice and flexible about things from what I see of the accounts here. I just really hope they don't look poorly on my application now for this. It truly was a surprise or I wouldn't have gotten the X-ray.
> 
> For a C.O. it seems the D.C. Embassy hasn't really been assigning specific C.O.s (just emailing when/if things have been granted), so I'd just keep using their website feedback form for this stuff, I guess (which seems a weird place to announce something so big as a bun in the oven... )?
> 
> It all seems so much less complicated and negative than I feared it would be. Really appreciate it, Mark. Maybe I can feel a little excited about this after all?
> 
> P.S. Cheers for the medicare tips as well. If I tell them I "intend to reside in Australia for the forseeable future" that just means until the end of my 600 VISA next year and won't seem a weird thing to say to them, I hope (as I'm technically on a tourist VISA, after all).


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunny_Girl -

No problems or limitations on travel anywhere within Australia on a BV-A.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sunny_Girl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a quick question!
> I am currently on a Bridging Visa A (re-applying for a 457 visa and I'm am going de facto).
> I am aware that I cannot leave Australia whilst on this visa but is travel within Australia ok? I've tried the Immigration website but to no avail!!!
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## Sunny_Girl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sunny_Girl -
> 
> No problems or limitations on travel anywhere within Australia on a BV-A.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


That's brilliant!
Thanks Mark!

Time to book a holiday so


----------



## H.Protagonist

Ah, thanks very much for the clarification. I thought I was, indeed, obligated to inform them of pregnancy (which would certainly complicate things). Or worried that when we go to the doctor, it would be on the record which they would have access to anyway. Much obliged.

Also understood on the new 600 application. Appreciate the info, and very much appreciate the guidance.

Cheers, Mark.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi HP -
> 
> I think you understand the situation well. Suggest you do not inform them of the pregnancy as there is no obligation to do so - there is an obligation to inform them of course once your child is born, but not before. As long as you're past the 7 month mark or whatever your doctor has indicated is too late to fly, I cannot see how DIBP would refuse a sc600 visa (note it would be a new application, not an extension) - and even if they did, you could go to the MRT review. DIBP is certainly not going to expect a heavily pregnant person to fly.
> 
> Re: Medicare people, don't emphasise the sc600 visa, point to the 309/100 application (and take a copy of the acknowledgement email you received from DIBP when lodged it with you, etc).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## lauralou

Hi Mark, 

Thanks for this amazing thread, and all your helpful advice! 

I have a bit of a panicky situation right now, as me & my partner are going through all of our evidence and gathering it all together for the 820 application.. We registered our relationship in June in QLD, and received our certificate recently.. and now I've realised that our relationship status is "single" for both of us, even though our address is the same etc etc... is this going to be a huge issue for immi? 
We filled everything out by hand when applying to register our relationship, and at the time we were certain that our options were either single, married or divorced.. Now, I just thought I'd have a look at the QLD BDM website, because I had a funny feeling about it all, and bam - there is actually an option to put "de facto" as the status...
We have lived together for over 12 months, but have limited evidence from the first place we lived in together...so we thought we'd be "safer" by registering our relationship.
And now, panic that we've done it all wrong!

Looking forward to your thoughts.... Thanks..

-Laura


----------



## Jan Horcicka

Hello Mark,

thank you very much for this helpful thread, I might finally get a clear answer for my needs. 

I am young, a little experienced post-graduate (not fresh graduate) from Czech Republic. I would like to find a job and relocate to Australia. But from my communication with companies and recruiting agencies, they hire only local residents, so I would need to get a VISA in order to get hired. But the only VISAs available to me, are those that need sponsorship. It seems like a unbreakable circle. I also do not wish any unqualified job, as I would like to progress my career. 

From what I just found, my only possibility is to go for 189 VISA, then relocate and then try to search for a job there. Although all this sounds quite expensive and uncertain. Are there any other possibilities? Is it possible to find job before relocating to Australia?

Thank you very much for your answer.

I would post my LinkedIn profile here, but I can't since I am a new member. However my LinkedIn number is 178752454

Jan


----------



## mpbanaag

*IELTS Requirement for 887*

Hi Mark,

We will be applying for 887 from 475.
I just wanted to know re: functional english requirement for the visa application. I wanted to have some clarification re: the information below:

10.1 English assessment provisions
The following tables indicate applicable English assessment provisions. However, officers must check the Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 provisions and related PAM3 instructions for the specific visa class and subclass.
References to Schedule 2 under "English assessment provisions" in the following tables relate to a level of English proficiency specified in Schedule 2 for that visa subclass as a legislative criterion for the grant of a visa in that subclass. It is a separate criterion from that specified in Schedule 1 of the visa class in respect of 'functional English' for the purposes of liability for a VAC second instalment and is included in the tables as a quick guide as to which visa applicants may already have had their English proficiency assessed. Officers must check the Schedule 2 criteria relating to the visa subclass as the level of English proficiency prescribed may vary or may not apply in specified circumstances.
Schedule 1 (VAC) references in the following tables relate only to provisions applicable to applicants (primary and secondary) who are 18 or older at the time of visa application and who are assessed as not having functional English.
10.2 Current Skilled Migration visa subclasses
Subclass Second VAC English language provisions
Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) Yes Secondary applicant Schedule 1 (VAC)
Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa (Subclass 187) Yes Secondary applicant Schedule 1 (VAC)
Skilled - Independent (Subclass 189) Yes Secondary applicant Schedule 1 (VAC)
Skilled - Nominated (Subclass 190) Yes Secondary applicant Schedule 1 (VAC)
Skilled - Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 489) Yes Secondary applicant Schedule 1 (VAC) Dependent applicants, who turn 18 while holding their provisional visa, will not be required to pay a 2nd VAC for theirSubclass 887 visa if assessed as not having functional English.
Skilled Regional (Subclass 887) Yes Primary applicant Secondary applicant Schedule 2/Schedule 6B or Schedule 6C and Schedule 1 (VAC)_ Schedule 1 (VAC)_


Both my partner and I were already assessed of having functional english when we were granted with 475 visa. Also, we had a previous application for 887 last Oct. 2013, but we have withdrawn the application due to alleged PIC4020 but they haven't asked for IELTS or evidence of functional english, was there any changes for functional english requirement after Oct. 2013? Don't know what to do, as our substantive visa will expire on the 4 Oct. 2014, we need to lodge a new application ASAP. Thanks for your help.

mpbanaag


----------



## will.i.am

Dear Mark,

Is there any official declaration regarding how long MOC processes health related issues.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lauralou -

Thanks for the note - I'm not sure whether there would be a problem with both "single" - would need to see the relationship certificate, however I expect there is a good chance of an issue if you did not choose the "defacto" option. The good news is that the relationship certificate can be submitted after you lodge, so if you have to get another one or a replacement, it wouldn't hold up you lodging the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lauralou said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for this amazing thread, and all your helpful advice!
> 
> I have a bit of a panicky situation right now, as me & my partner are going through all of our evidence and gathering it all together for the 820 application.. We registered our relationship in June in QLD, and received our certificate recently.. and now I've realised that our relationship status is "single" for both of us, even though our address is the same etc etc... is this going to be a huge issue for immi?
> We filled everything out by hand when applying to register our relationship, and at the time we were certain that our options were either single, married or divorced.. Now, I just thought I'd have a look at the QLD BDM website, because I had a funny feeling about it all, and bam - there is actually an option to put "de facto" as the status...
> We have lived together for over 12 months, but have limited evidence from the first place we lived in together...so we thought we'd be "safer" by registering our relationship.
> And now, panic that we've done it all wrong!
> 
> Looking forward to your thoughts.... Thanks..
> 
> -Laura


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jan -

Thanks for the note. I'm a registered migration agent so my area of knowledge and expertise is not really centered around the job search market. A skilled visa might be a possibility for you (subclass 189, 190 or 489) depending on your age, education and work experience - these visa do not require an employer sponsor.

You might also look for recruiting firms that specialise in your occupation to see if they know of any sponsorship opportunities. Additionally you could check the Austjobs job board as those are all sponsored job listings - see AustJobs

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jan Horcicka said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> thank you very much for this helpful thread, I might finally get a clear answer for my needs.
> 
> I am young, a little experienced post-graduate (not fresh graduate) from Czech Republic. I would like to find a job and relocate to Australia. But from my communication with companies and recruiting agencies, they hire only local residents, so I would need to get a VISA in order to get hired. But the only VISAs available to me, are those that need sponsorship. It seems like a unbreakable circle. I also do not wish any unqualified job, as I would like to progress my career.
> 
> From what I just found, my only possibility is to go for 189 VISA, then relocate and then try to search for a job there. Although all this sounds quite expensive and uncertain. Are there any other possibilities? Is it possible to find job before relocating to Australia?
> 
> Thank you very much for your answer.
> 
> I would post my LinkedIn profile here, but I can't since I am a new member. However my LinkedIn number is 178752454
> 
> Jan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mpbanaag -

Thanks for the note - normally the request for functional English occurs towards the end of the visa processing cycle when they are close to being ready to grant the visa - might explain why you did not get the request on your last 887 application.

Re: previous recognition of Functional English - if it was done from study, etc, then you should be fine. If it was done on the basis of an IELTS test score, that may be an issue because IELTS test scores to prove functional English are only good for 1 year, so as of the time of application for the visa, any IELTS test score used to show functional English for secondary applicants can be no more than 1 year old.

Re: what visa to apply for, strategy, etc, would need to see you in a consultation to work that out - too complex for forum Q&A.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mpbanaag said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We will be applying for 887 from 475.
> I just wanted to know re: functional english requirement for the visa application. I wanted to have some clarification re: the information below:
> 
> 10.1 English assessment provisions
> The following tables indicate applicable English assessment provisions. However, officers must check the Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 provisions and related PAM3 instructions for the specific visa class and subclass.
> References to Schedule 2 under "English assessment provisions" in the following tables relate to a level of English proficiency specified in Schedule 2 for that visa subclass as a legislative criterion for the grant of a visa in that subclass. It is a separate criterion from that specified in Schedule 1 of the visa class in respect of 'functional English' for the purposes of liability for a VAC second instalment and is included in the tables as a quick guide as to which visa applicants may already have had their English proficiency assessed. Officers must check the Schedule 2 criteria relating to the visa subclass as the level of English proficiency prescribed may vary or may not apply in specified circumstances.
> Schedule 1 (VAC) references in the following tables relate only to provisions applicable to applicants (primary and secondary) who are 18 or older at the time of visa application and who are assessed as not having functional English.
> 10.2 Current Skilled Migration visa subclasses
> Subclass Second VAC English language provisions
> Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) Yes Secondary applicant Schedule 1 (VAC)
> Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa (Subclass 187) Yes Secondary applicant Schedule 1 (VAC)
> Skilled - Independent (Subclass 189) Yes Secondary applicant Schedule 1 (VAC)
> Skilled - Nominated (Subclass 190) Yes Secondary applicant Schedule 1 (VAC)
> Skilled - Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 489) Yes Secondary applicant Schedule 1 (VAC) Dependent applicants, who turn 18 while holding their provisional visa, will not be required to pay a 2nd VAC for theirSubclass 887 visa if assessed as not having functional English.
> Skilled Regional (Subclass 887) Yes Primary applicant Secondary applicant Schedule 2/Schedule 6B or Schedule 6C and Schedule 1 (VAC)_ Schedule 1 (VAC)_
> 
> 
> Both my partner and I were already assessed of having functional english when we were granted with 475 visa. Also, we had a previous application for 887 last Oct. 2013, but we have withdrawn the application due to alleged PIC4020 but they haven't asked for IELTS or evidence of functional english, was there any changes for functional english requirement after Oct. 2013? Don't know what to do, as our substantive visa will expire on the 4 Oct. 2014, we need to lodge a new application ASAP. Thanks for your help.
> 
> mpbanaag


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Will.i.am -

Nope - the answer is, essentially, "as long as it takes". The timeframe for MOC assessment can be as short as a week or so, to several months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



will.i.am said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Is there any official declaration regarding how long MOC processes health related issues.


----------



## chocolate33

*payment mode*

hey mark..........we are applying for partner visa 309/100 from the berlin office. am i correct that the only mode of payment is credit card or in person? what happens if one does not have a credit card?
could we have somebody pay on our behalf in australia at one of the offices there?
any help would be greatly appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chocolate33 -

Thanks for the question - each overseas post has their own rules for this sort of thing and they accept various different combinations of cards and other payment types (ie, some accept official cheques drawn on banks, others do not, etc). Best to enquire directly at the office you plan to lodge at as to what type(s) of payment they accept. For online 309/100 applications, I believe credit card is the only option (or debit card with Visa/Mastercard logo).

Another option is to use Form 1440 (Payment form) but you should enquire with Berlin to see if they accept this for hardcopy 309/100 applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> hey mark..........we are applying for partner visa 309/100 from the berlin office. am i correct that the only mode of payment is credit card or in person? what happens if one does not have a credit card?
> could we have somebody pay on our behalf in australia at one of the offices there?
> any help would be greatly appreciated


----------



## lauralou

Thanks Mark, appreciate your quick response!

I was going to attach the link to the downloadable pdf application, but since I'm still a junior member I'm not allowed.. (It is available on Queensland Government Publications - Application to register a relationship (Form 15)). I've downloaded the blank form again and it's clear that there are still "single, married, divorced, registered relationship (terminated)" as the only options on the actual downloadable pdf form. 
But the QLD BDM also has the option to pre-fill the application directly on their website, and on there you can select "de facto." So, yes, this is clearly confusing and I think it's something QLD BDM need to fix...
I've contacted BDM and I'm now anxiously waiting to hear back from them to see if we can get a replacement certificate. If not we have no option but to try and explain this with our application.. :/

Thanks again Mark!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lauralou -
> 
> Thanks for the note - I'm not sure whether there would be a problem with both "single" - would need to see the relationship certificate, however I expect there is a good chance of an issue if you did not choose the "defacto" option. The good news is that the relationship certificate can be submitted after you lodge, so if you have to get another one or a replacement, it wouldn't hold up you lodging the application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Snow

Hi Mark.

In the acknowledgment I received after lodgingmy visa application it says to not take any irreversible actions like selling property and whatnot. 

As I'm applying to move to Australia, am I still able to participate and vote in elections in the UK while I'm still here as a citizen? I know this may seem like a silly question but I only ask because it seems like an irreversible action and since it's one that affects the UK, I wonder if it might not work in my favour since it might not seem that I'm entitled to vote as I'm intending to leave the country to love to Australia.

Thanks for your help!


----------



## Udham

Hello Mark,

I want to apply for 190 to reside in Sydney. I have 60 points.
Seeing some of your answers on forum, it seems 190 is better in a way, am I correct?

However, does NSW takes long time to process the sponsorships?
How long would it take to clear skill-select evaluation?

Thanks,
Sarang


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snow -

Yes, no problem with continuing voting, and many people continue to vote for UK elections even if they've left and become an Australian PR or citizen - they vote at the Embassy, etc here. Only limitation on voting in UK elections would be if some local law there in the UK has some issue with it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Snow said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> In the acknowledgment I received after lodgingmy visa application it says to not take any irreversible actions like selling property and whatnot.
> 
> As I'm applying to move to Australia, am I still able to participate and vote in elections in the UK while I'm still here as a citizen? I know this may seem like a silly question but I only ask because it seems like an irreversible action and since it's one that affects the UK, I wonder if it might not work in my favour since it might not seem that I'm entitled to vote as I'm intending to leave the country to love to Australia.
> 
> Thanks for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarang -

Thanks for the note. 189 vs 190 depends on your occupation - if you are on the SOL occupation list for the 189, it can be faster as you do not have to go through the state sponsorship process. Typically NSW takes 3-4 months to process a state sponsorship application, skills assessments take 3-4 months as well in many cases. Skilled visas are complex - if you'd like to discus any specific details of your case, happy to do so in a consultation - see website below in my signature for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Udham said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I want to apply for 190 to reside in Sydney. I have 60 points.
> Seeing some of your answers on forum, it seems 190 is better in a way, am I correct?
> 
> However, does NSW takes long time to process the sponsorships?
> How long would it take to clear skill-select evaluation?
> 
> Thanks,
> Sarang


----------



## rjo587

Dear Mark,

Me and my employer are trying to fill in application online for RCB advice. We get to this point in the application where it asks:

*Why were existing part-time or casual employees not considered for the nominated position?*
Possible answers: There are no existing part-time or casual staff, They are not qualified or skilled, They are not experienced enough, They are not interested in the position.

and

*How is the position vacant?*
Possible answers: Newly established position, Position vacant through resignation

Both those questions just have dropdown menus for answers. The thing is - the position is not vacant, I have been doing it for several years already as a New Zealand citizen, but my company is now sponsoring me so I can become an Australian resident. We have documents to show all that - but what are we supposed to put in the dropdown boxes if none of the options are correct?

Thank you very much for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rjo587 -

All different RCBs have different policies for this sort of thing - would need to know much more about the application and circumstances to be able to give you any specific advice - could do this via a consultation - see my website in my signature below for more info. One alternative is to call the RCB and ask for their guidance as to how they want the form completed in cases where the applicant is already working in the position.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rjo587 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Me and my employer are trying to fill in application online for RCB advice. We get to this point in the application where it asks:
> 
> *Why were existing part-time or casual employees not considered for the nominated position?*
> Possible answers: There are no existing part-time or casual staff, They are not qualified or skilled, They are not experienced enough, They are not interested in the position.
> 
> and
> 
> *How is the position vacant?*
> Possible answers: Newly established position, Position vacant through resignation
> 
> Both those questions just have dropdown menus for answers. The thing is - the position is not vacant, I have been doing it for several years already as a New Zealand citizen, but my company is now sponsoring me so I can become an Australian resident. We have documents to show all that - but what are we supposed to put in the dropdown boxes if none of the options are correct?
> 
> Thank you very much for your help.


----------



## rjo587

Thank you Mark.

I've called RCB and they've said either the employer has to re-advertise my job (despite the fact that I've had it for 3 years already with my New Zealand visa - advertisement has to be within past 12 months) or my employer needs to be a DIBP approved 457 sponsor in order for me to be exempt.

It seems to make no sense whatsoever to go through this huge process to become approved DIBP 457 sponsors and do the Training Requirements and all of that, when they have no plans to sponsor anyone for 457 visa. But it also doesn't make sense to re-advertise a job I've already held legally for 3 years?

Thanks for your help anyway, such a confusing process and nothing seems to make much sense.


----------



## cutit

Dear Mark,
Thank you very having such a great thread for the people who concern about their situation. I'm one of them.
I'm currently on student Visa and living in Melbourne. Last 6 months I travelled to Wagga Wagga to attend my friend's granduation ceremony and I met her friend who is now my girlfriend. After spending couple days in Wagga Wagaga, I came back to Melbourne for work and study but we exchanged the phone number and we keep contact each other daily on Skype, calls and texts. Whenever I got some days off I take a train to visit her and it has been 6 months now. We are thinking about getting married soon, by the way she is Australian. However, she is now still study in Wagga Wagga and she got 2 more years to finish it. I also need to stay in Melbourne for work and study for at least another year and half. 
So I am thinking about apply for a marriage visa but I'm so concerned about what specific visa should I apply for this long distance relationship. Is getting married the only way that make it easier as I know that for de factor visa required couples to live together for at least 12 months and we could not do this at this stage.

Thank you very much Mark, I hope you have a good day. 

Kind regards,
T.


----------



## Udham

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sarang -
> 
> Thanks for the note. 189 vs 190 depends on your occupation - if you are on the SOL occupation list for the 189, it can be faster as you do not have to go through the state sponsorship process. Typically NSW takes 3-4 months to process a state sponsorship application, skills assessments take 3-4 months as well in many cases. Skilled visas are complex - if you'd like to discus any specific details of your case, happy to do so in a consultation - see website below in my signature for details.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

Thanks a lot!
I need your professional consultation assistance on certain specific questions. 
Could you please advise me about the email-ID to which I can email my details and questions, and then we could hold a skype call to discuss the same?

Also, please do let me know if you accept Paypal payments.

Thanks!


----------



## swaroopvalluri

*information please*

Hello Mark!

I would like to know some information about extension of visitor visa subclass 600.

My mom and dad are now in Melbourne visiting my brother on a visitor visa.They were granted a visitor visa with a maximum stay up to 3 months.

They do not have 'No Further Stay' condition on their visa.

So, now they want to extend their stay in Australia for maybe 3 more months.

Kindly let us know the procedure for the extension of their visa?what are the forms to fill?what are the visa charges? Do they have to apply it by themselves in Australia?How many days before their present visa ends?

Thank you


----------



## swaroopvalluri

*information please*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark!

I would like to know some information about extension of visitor visa subclass 600.

My mom and dad are now in Melbourne visiting my brother on a visitor visa.They were granted a visitor visa with a maximum stay up to 3 months.

They do not have 'No Further Stay' condition on their visa.

So, now they want to extend their stay in Australia for maybe 3 more months.

Kindly let us know the procedure for the extension of their visa?what are the forms to fill?what are the visa charges? Do they have to apply it by themselves in Australia?How many days before their present visa ends?

Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rjo587 -

Clearly the re-advertise job would be a much cheaper alternative... but that requirement is a very negative one!

Good luck with the process -

Best,

Mark Northam



rjo587 said:


> Thank you Mark.
> 
> I've called RCB and they've said either the employer has to re-advertise my job (despite the fact that I've had it for 3 years already with my New Zealand visa - advertisement has to be within past 12 months) or my employer needs to be a DIBP approved 457 sponsor in order for me to be exempt.
> 
> It seems to make no sense whatsoever to go through this huge process to become approved DIBP 457 sponsors and do the Training Requirements and all of that, when they have no plans to sponsor anyone for 457 visa. But it also doesn't make sense to re-advertise a job I've already held legally for 3 years?
> 
> Thanks for your help anyway, such a confusing process and nothing seems to make much sense.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cutit -

Thanks for the note. Partner visas in Australia are available either based on a defacto relationship (which requires living together for the 12 months prior to application, unless the couple has a registered relationship certificate from a qualifying Australian state) or by marriage. Unfortunately DIBP (immigration dept) doesn't recognise long-distance relationships and puts a great deal of emphasis on married or defacto couples living together, both before and especially after they're married as a sign of a genuine relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cutit said:


> Dear Mark,
> Thank you very having such a great thread for the people who concern about their situation. I'm one of them.
> I'm currently on student Visa and living in Melbourne. Last 6 months I travelled to Wagga Wagga to attend my friend's granduation ceremony and I met her friend who is now my girlfriend. After spending couple days in Wagga Wagaga, I came back to Melbourne for work and study but we exchanged the phone number and we keep contact each other daily on Skype, calls and texts. Whenever I got some days off I take a train to visit her and it has been 6 months now. We are thinking about getting married soon, by the way she is Australian. However, she is now still study in Wagga Wagga and she got 2 more years to finish it. I also need to stay in Melbourne for work and study for at least another year and half.
> So I am thinking about apply for a marriage visa but I'm so concerned about what specific visa should I apply for this long distance relationship. Is getting married the only way that make it easier as I know that for de factor visa required couples to live together for at least 12 months and we could not do this at this stage.
> 
> Thank you very much Mark, I hope you have a good day.
> 
> Kind regards,
> T.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Udham -

Thanks for the questions - you can find complete info on our professional consultations at our website, listed below in my signature - once you book a consultation, you'll get complete info including where to send any information or documents you'd like to discuss at the consultation.

Unfortunately our online booking system will not allow payment by Paypal, so we're limited to Visa and Mastercard (includes credit or debit versions of these cards).

Please advise if I can assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam



Udham said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot!
> I need your professional consultation assistance on certain specific questions.
> Could you please advise me about the email-ID to which I can email my details and questions, and then we could hold a skype call to discuss the same?
> 
> Also, please do let me know if you accept Paypal payments.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swaroopvalluri -

They can apply onshore for another sc600 visa to extend their stay in most cases - see http://www.immi.gov.au/Services/Pages/visitor-e600-visa-online-applications.aspx to see if their country of citizenship is listed which allows online applications, otherwise see immi.gov.au site for requirements for paper application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swaroopvalluri said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I would like to know some information about extension of visitor visa subclass 600.
> 
> My mom and dad are now in Melbourne visiting my brother on a visitor visa.They were granted a visitor visa with a maximum stay up to 3 months.
> 
> They do not have 'No Further Stay' condition on their visa.
> 
> So, now they want to extend their stay in Australia for maybe 3 more months.
> 
> Kindly let us know the procedure for the extension of their visa?what are the forms to fill?what are the visa charges? Do they have to apply it by themselves in Australia?How many days before their present visa ends?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## karim22

*subclass 190*

Hi Mark

I am waiting to apply for my state nomination for NSW in the upcoming session. I am done with my degree from UNSW in Accounting and I will choose General Accountant as my profession.

1. Can someone tell me about the new 1000 application dilemma? Does it mean they will accept only 1000 applications per intake per occupation or 1000 for all the professions mentioned?

2. And, is there anyway I might miss out to be in that 1000 if I apply on the very first day?

I have applied for my assessment and I am confident I will receive a positive assessment. I have scored 8 (s),8.5 (L),8 (W), 7.5 (R) in my ielts. I have worked as a lecturer about 2 years in Bangladesh and I have also worked as a finance and accounting manager for about 2 years in Bangladesh. However, I am not applying for points under employment.

3. What is the likely chance that I will be nominated by NSW?

4. Since you receive your invitation to apply for visa, how long might it take to be granted a 190 Visa?

Cheers

P:S: I am an onshore applicant.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karim22 -

No word yet on what NSW Skilled is going to do for future intake rounds - the first one was a mess, with many people missing opportunities to lodge even though they made it through many of the screens, with NSW's web servers crashing under the load of so many people trying to jam in an application. It was nothing short of a mess, and highly unfair since luck in avoiding server errors seemed to be the main criteria, rather than first-come, first-served. I would pay close attention to the NSW site to see what they come up with for future intake rounds.

Note that re: skills assessment, you must have this completed and in-hand in order to lodge an EOI and be eligible for applying for state sponsorship.

Is there any way you might miss out on the 1,000 intake? Absolutely. It was filled completely in less than an hour on the first day, even when NSW Skilled failed to announce the time that applications would open.Unless they spend a great deal of money on infrastructure to get their IT up to speed, or unless they change their procedures, luck more than anything may determine whether you manage to get your application in. And that's simply unfair.

Re: 190 visa processing times after an application is lodged, seems like 5-8 months are what we're seeing now, but this is highly unpredictable since DIBP takes as long as they want for any particular visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



karim22 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am waiting to apply for my state nomination for NSW in the upcoming session. I am done with my degree from UNSW in Accounting and I will choose General Accountant as my profession.
> 
> 1. Can someone tell me about the new 1000 application dilemma? Does it mean they will accept only 1000 applications per intake per occupation or 1000 for all the professions mentioned?
> 
> 2. And, is there anyway I might miss out to be in that 1000 if I apply on the very first day?
> 
> I have applied for my assessment and I am confident I will receive a positive assessment. I have scored 8 (s),8.5 (L),8 (W), 7.5 (R) in my ielts. I have worked as a lecturer about 2 years in Bangladesh and I have also worked as a finance and accounting manager for about 2 years in Bangladesh. However, I am not applying for points under employment.
> 
> 3. What is the likely chance that I will be nominated by NSW?
> 
> 4. Since you receive your invitation to apply for visa, how long might it take to be granted a 190 Visa?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> P:S: I am an onshore applicant.


----------



## karim22

Thank you very much Mark for your words. How does hiring an agent help me regarding application? Does it ensure that I will be in that 1000 at any cost? Or migration agents just help you to accumulate your paper and you yourself have to sit in front of a computer to apply? and, can you please tell me when(approximate time) did it open last time?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karimi22 -

Having an agent does no good in terms of beating the 1,000 person free-for-all that happened last time - that is, unless the agent had lots of other people on computers all hammering on the NSW Skilled website at the same time and got very lucky. So in reality, no advantage in terms of getting through the jammed IT servers of NSW. Agents can often be most helpful in assisting you in understanding the legal requirements for sponsorship, skills assessment and for the visa itself, and preparing and lodging the various forms and applications that are required for these different pieces of the process. But when it comes to NSW state sponsored skilled visas, one computer connection is likely as good as another at trying to get through the traffic jam they create when they invite everybody worldwide to apply at the same time and only take the first 1,000 that are lucky enough to get through without a server error.

I've even heard of some applicants who are assuming things will be conducted in the same way going forward (NSW has said they are looking at options however) and have enlisted some programmers to write robot-type code that hammers on the website until it gets through, then lets the human being take over and try to get the application and payment through. A ridiculous and time/money wasting exercise made necessary only by the inadequate systems in place at NSW. Last time applications opened at 9:30am (unadvertised, thanks NSW) and closed before 10:30am.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



karim22 said:


> Thank you very much Mark for your words. How does hiring an agent help me regarding application? Does it ensure that I will be in that 1000 at any cost? Or migration agents just help you to accumulate your paper and you yourself have to sit in front of a computer to apply? and, can you please tell me when(approximate time) did it open last time?


----------



## Abedin

*SI 189 - Applied May 2013*

Hi Mark,

I have been following this forum with great eagerness and would like to thank you for your great contribution. I would like few feedbacks from you regarding my application.

1.I am a civil engineering graduate from Sydney and applied SI 189 (EA 233211) online via skill select in March 2013. As i did not get my Skills assesment by that time my I withdrew my application and lodged again in 22 May 2013. DIBP issued BVC as I applied twice and was on BVA whilst applying the second time
2.Provided all the documents and being told by CO that background check is undergoing and will take 6 months.
3. After 6 months upon contacting my CO, I came to know My CO has changed and background check will take 12 months.
4. After 14 months I got email from adelaide team 13 to submit new form 80 and I submitted the form 80 last month.
5. Been in touch with my Case Officer (brisbane team) ever since and she is saying it is still going background check. 15 months??

As I am aware Civil engineering is in the SOL. What might be the issue in my case? It has been 16 months running and still undergoing background checks. As a BVC holder , cant even go out to see my family back in Bangladesh. For your information, I am working as a full time engineer as well.

Can you please share your experience in such situations?

I really appreciate your time and cooperation.

regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abedin -

Wish I had better news, but there's not much you can do but wait. Security checks are done by outside agencies (not DIBP) and all DIBP can do is wait until these are completed - there are no legal time limits, etc on these. Also no good way to travel and return to Australia - if you traveled on your BVC to leave Australia, the BVC would cease as soon as you left Australia leaving you no good visa to return on. Worse yet, you'd have a 3-year exclusion period on all temporary visas so you couldn't even apply for a visitor visa to return to Australia on, and you would put your review rights at risk for the sc190 visa if you were outside Australia when the visa was refused.

Sorry I don't have better news - likely best to wait in Australia for the decision in my view.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abedin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been following this forum with great eagerness and would like to thank you for your great contribution. I would like few feedbacks from you regarding my application.
> 
> 1.I am a civil engineering graduate from Sydney and applied SI 189 (EA 233211) online via skill select in March 2013. As i did not get my Skills assesment by that time my I withdrew my application and lodged again in 22 May 2013. DIBP issued BVC as I applied twice and was on BVA whilst applying the second time
> 2.Provided all the documents and being told by CO that background check is undergoing and will take 6 months.
> 3. After 6 months upon contacting my CO, I came to know My CO has changed and background check will take 12 months.
> 4. After 14 months I got email from adelaide team 13 to submit new form 80 and I submitted the form 80 last month.
> 5. Been in touch with my Case Officer (brisbane team) ever since and she is saying it is still going background check. 15 months??
> 
> As I am aware Civil engineering is in the SOL. What might be the issue in my case? It has been 16 months running and still undergoing background checks. As a BVC holder , cant even go out to see my family back in Bangladesh. For your information, I am working as a full time engineer as well.
> 
> Can you please share your experience in such situations?
> 
> I really appreciate your time and cooperation.
> 
> regards


----------



## Abedin

Mark,

Thank you very much for that.
I thought the timeframes have changed and DIBP would act swiftly.
So it means, if the reply doesnt come by in many years, I have to keep on waiting. Painful it is.
I thought the engineering professionals got great chance of getting reply in 12 months.
I just hope everything goes well and waiting period ends.

Thanks once again. I really appreciate.

Regards,

Abedin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abedin -

I understand. Also, the delay for security checks usually isn't specific to any occupation, and is mostly based on your country of citizenship.

Best of luck going forward -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abedin said:


> Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for that.
> I thought the timeframes have changed and DIBP would act swiftly.
> So it means, if the reply doesnt come by in many years, I have to keep on waiting. Painful it is.
> I thought the engineering professionals got great chance of getting reply in 12 months.
> I just hope everything goes well and waiting period ends.
> 
> Thanks once again. I really appreciate.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Abedin


----------



## karim22

Thanks again Mark. I was anyway worried about the application and you just gave me horror stories to make to start thinking of other options.

I dont think 190 is happening with me this time around. I have to think about 189 I guess.


----------



## MarkNortham

I wouldn't give up too quickly - let's see what NSW comes up with for the next round - anything will be better than what happened last time. They know they've got to change things - question is, how and when.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



karim22 said:


> Thanks again Mark. I was anyway worried about the application and you just gave me horror stories to make to start thinking of other options.
> 
> I dont think 190 is happening with me this time around. I have to think about 189 I guess.


----------



## karim22

Hey Abedin

Did you apply for points for your previous employment outside Australia? If not, why is it taking 16 months? This is frustrating brother.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karim -

I believe Abedin's applciation is held up by external security checks, not based on any work experience issues. Probably best to private msg him re: questions directly to him - thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



karim22 said:


> Hey Abedin
> 
> Did you apply for points for your previous employment outside Australia? If not, why is it taking 16 months? This is frustrating brother.


----------



## Abedin

Mark,

Thank you very much for your suggestion.
Appreciate.


----------



## majoroz

Hi Mark,

I am new to this forum. I've been reading all the details for immigration on all forums.

I have some queries. Any help would be appreciated.

I have done my bachelors which is Non-ICT.the exam was held in Oct 2008 and got my result in Jan 2009. I started working from Nov 2008. 
My question is will ACS consider my work ex from Nov 2008 or Jan 2009?

I was working in a start-up company as a Software Engineer which required some database knowledge. I will be applying for Software Engineer assessment. I used to Work from Home (20 hours/week). The pay being too low I started working in another company which was not ICT related (marketing). In this company I worked 40 hrs/week. 
My question, Should I provide only my software Engineer experience or both to ACS for assessment?

My previous company (Start-up) shut down its operations in June 2010 and I was told to resign in Feb 2010 due to recession. I didn't ask for my relieving letter. But after 2 years when I approached the owner of the company for my relieving letter and pay slips he was hesistating to provide those documents. But after a lot of request and followup he provided my relieving letter. He did not provide my pay slips as he did not have those docs.
My question, will relieving letter stating my roles and responsibilities suffice?


Last year I went to Australia on a tourist visa and had provided my marketing company docs and my current company docs for visa.
My question, will it be a prob if I don't show the marketing company docs to DIBP if i get a +ve assessment from ACS?


----------



## Udham

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Udham -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - you can find complete info on our professional consultations at our website, listed below in my signature - once you book a consultation, you'll get complete info including where to send any information or documents you'd like to discuss at the consultation.
> 
> Unfortunately our online booking system will not allow payment by Paypal, so we're limited to Visa and Mastercard (includes credit or debit versions of these cards).
> 
> Please advise if I can assist further -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

Unfortunately, I couldn't book it earlier for Saturday (6th) as I was stuck at work and now system doesn't let me book any slot on this day.
Any possibility if I could have a chance to book a session later in the evening (oz time)?

Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Udham -

I could do 4-5pm, 8-9pm, or 9-10pm today (Saturday) Sydney Time - if you want to book, please choose any time next week and book, then email me at the email address you'll receive in the confirmation and let me know that you're Udham from Australia Forum and you want to have the consult tonight, and specify one of the times above - happy to accommodate you, sounds like you have an urgent need.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Udham said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Unfortunately, I couldn't book it earlier for Saturday (6th) as I was stuck at work and now system doesn't let me book any slot on this day.
> Any possibility if I could have a chance to book a session later in the evening (oz time)?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Majoroz -

Start date of when your post-qual work will be counted is the date that you completed all requirements for the course and the degree was awarded - this would be on your transcript most likely. Actual graduation ceremony date is not relevant.

Probably no need to provide the non-IT work experience to ACS unless they specifically ask for it.

The relieving letter may work for ACS, but if you count this work for points for a skilled visa, DIBP will want to see evidence you were paid for the work during the period you worked there - if you don't have payslips, they may accept documents such as bank statements, tax documents, etc that show the income.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



majoroz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new to this forum. I've been reading all the details for immigration on all forums.
> 
> I have some queries. Any help would be appreciated.
> 
> I have done my bachelors which is Non-ICT.the exam was held in Oct 2008 and got my result in Jan 2009. I started working from Nov 2008.
> My question is will ACS consider my work ex from Nov 2008 or Jan 2009?
> 
> I was working in a start-up company as a Software Engineer which required some database knowledge. I will be applying for Software Engineer assessment. I used to Work from Home (20 hours/week). The pay being too low I started working in another company which was not ICT related (marketing). In this company I worked 40 hrs/week.
> My question, Should I provide only my software Engineer experience or both to ACS for assessment?
> 
> My previous company (Start-up) shut down its operations in June 2010 and I was told to resign in Feb 2010 due to recession. I didn't ask for my relieving letter. But after 2 years when I approached the owner of the company for my relieving letter and pay slips he was hesistating to provide those documents. But after a lot of request and followup he provided my relieving letter. He did not provide my pay slips as he did not have those docs.
> My question, will relieving letter stating my roles and responsibilities suffice?
> 
> Last year I went to Australia on a tourist visa and had provided my marketing company docs and my current company docs for visa.
> My question, will it be a prob if I don't show the marketing company docs to DIBP if i get a +ve assessment from ACS?


----------



## cutit

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cutit -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Partner visas in Australia are available either based on a defacto relationship (which requires living together for the 12 months prior to application, unless the couple has a registered relationship certificate from a qualifying Australian state) or by marriage. Unfortunately DIBP (immigration dept) doesn't recognise long-distance relationships and puts a great deal of emphasis on married or defacto couples living together, both before and especially after they're married as a sign of a genuine relationship.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


So that's mean If we are getting married but she still study in Wagga Wagga and I still work here in Melbourne. Doing the long distance marriage seems impossibile to the immigrantion to consider this is the genuine relationship, isn't it ?.

What if we still the long distance marriage for a year then I will move to Wagga Wagga to live with her then apply for the Partner Visa. Will all the evidences in that year be counted for my application?

Thank you very much Mark.


----------



## Mariaanderic

Hi Mark! 

Im having a little bit of trouble organising my application for Partner visa 309 and thought maybe you could help?

Would you happen to know which is the best way to present it? We are applying at the Australian Embassy in Argentina and we are going there to turn it in in person.
I think the best way to turn it in would be in one of those big envelopes?

But my main question is how to organise the papers? divide it into which sections? which ones come first? how to explain what is what?

Could you give me some advise?

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONSTANT HELP!!! YOU HAVE MADE A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE FOR US DURING THIS EXHAUSTING PROCESS!
Cant explain how much we appreciate it


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cutit -

They will look at all the evidence you present, however without significant evidence in addition to the marriage certificate, there may be issues. Can't really speak about evidence without seeing it directly - if you'd like to explore this further, happy to discuss with you at a consultation - see my website link below for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cutit said:


> So that's mean If we are getting married but she still study in Wagga Wagga and I still work here in Melbourne. Doing the long distance marriage seems impossibile to the immigrantion to consider this is the genuine relationship, isn't it ?.
> 
> What if we still the long distance marriage for a year then I will move to Wagga Wagga to live with her then apply for the Partner Visa. Will all the evidences in that year be counted for my application?
> 
> Thank you very much Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mariaanderic -

Thanks for the note and kind words! Really doesn't matter what order your present things if you want to do a hardcopy application (I usually recommend online, but you may have your reasons for hardcopy). When we used to do hardcopy applications, we'd divide them up into major sections:

* Documents about the applicant (ID, etc)
* Documents about the sponsor (ID, etc)
* Relationship documents (marriage cert, etc)
* Relationship statements from applicant, sponsor, 888's and witnesses
* Other relationship evidence

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mariaanderic said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Im having a little bit of trouble organising my application for Partner visa 309 and thought maybe you could help?
> 
> Would you happen to know which is the best way to present it? We are applying at the Australian Embassy in Argentina and we are going there to turn it in in person.
> I think the best way to turn it in would be in one of those big envelopes?
> 
> But my main question is how to organise the papers? divide it into which sections? which ones come first? how to explain what is what?
> 
> Could you give me some advise?
> 
> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONSTANT HELP!!! YOU HAVE MADE A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE FOR US DURING THIS EXHAUSTING PROCESS!
> Cant explain how much we appreciate it


----------



## TAMZID

Hi Mr. Mark,
I understood that there is no job opportunities for Office manager in the Consolidated Sponsored List. Is it correct? If yes, can anyone apply for that under ENS 186 ?
Pls give me your views on that and advise.
Br,
Tamzid


----------



## Peter Sadek

*child inquiry*

hello mark ,

do you remember my case??

i had a visa application that was valid for 60 days and my wife was pregnant , and you advised me to apply and pay my fees and my wife's before the end of the validity period of the visa application .

i did that and i lodged my application involving my wife and now we got the new born baby and i got him his birth certificate and his passport & i filled the form 1022 ( change of circumstances ) but i don't know how to contact my case officer or how to send him this form (1022 ) or how to send him my baby's documents and add him to my visa application and pay his fees.

thanks a lot for being here for help.
dear regards 
peter sadek


----------



## punter_chin

Hi Mark,

I hope you are doing well. I have started with my application process for visa subclass 189 and the progress is as follows: Got positive skills assessment for Management Accountant from CPA Australia. I scored a band 7(atleast) on all 4 of my IELTS and hence have appeared for IELTS again as I need 8 in all to get those 20 points that will take me to 65 points.

Here's how I am approaching the process and I would appreciate if you can confirm if I am on the right track. In case if I don't get a Band 8 in all sections of IELTS then I am left with 55 points (15 for qualification, 30 for Age and 10 for English Language). In that case I will be applying for an EOI followed by Subclass 190 when the applications open for NSW on 1 October. A state nomination will give me the points which I need to get 60 and hopefully that should lead to an invitation to apply for a visa. If I do score a Band 8 then I will have 65 points and then I will file an EOI for subclass 189 and then wait for an invite.

I read on the forum that one can complete 2 EOIs. Is that correct? Is there a cost associated with EOIs? What are my realistic chances of getting through the NSW state nomination and following that of getting an invite with just 60 points? In case I have 65 points, does that almost certainly lead to an invitation to apply for a visa?

Would appreciate your reply on the above questions. Thanks a lot for all your help

regards.


----------



## atgreg

Hi Mark,

hope you can give me some guidance, my german fiance and I are getting ready to submit our PMV, hopefully in Nov. We will do an online app, we downloaded forms 40 + 47 to fill in so we would have the info at hand to do the online app. Ive recently read about the extra questions on the online app re birthdates and wedding dates for your siblings etc.

My fiance is estranged from her family and has no contact , one of her sisters is married but we have no way to find out her wedding date or husbands birthdate. Will it be ok to write an explanatory note about this and why we dont have the info or will it be a big issue ??.

thanks for your time, Greg + Anette


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

That's correct - Office Manager is not on the CSOL list, so that would likely be an issue with a 186 (ENS) visa. However as an ANZSCO Skill Level 2 occupation, may be possible under 187 (RSMS) visa. Suggest you work with a migration agent to go through all the legal requirements to see if it works for you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Hi Mr. Mark,
> I understood that there is no job opportunities for Office manager in the Consolidated Sponsored List. Is it correct? If yes, can anyone apply for that under ENS 186 ?
> Pls give me your views on that and advise.
> Br,
> Tamzid


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peter -

Probably best to send that to the same office that is processing your visa application, or your local DIBP office.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Peter Sadek said:


> hello mark ,
> 
> do you remember my case??
> 
> i had a visa application that was valid for 60 days and my wife was pregnant , and you advised me to apply and pay my fees and my wife's before the end of the validity period of the visa application .
> 
> i did that and i lodged my application involving my wife and now we got the new born baby and i got him his birth certificate and his passport & i filled the form 1022 ( change of circumstances ) but i don't know how to contact my case officer or how to send him this form (1022 ) or how to send him my baby's documents and add him to my visa application and pay his fees.
> 
> thanks a lot for being here for help.
> dear regards
> peter sadek


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi punter_chin -

Sounds like you have the process will understood. You can actually select both 189 and 190/NSW on the same EOI - no cost to lodge an EOI.

As for chances at NSW, the disastrous free-for-all that was the last intake will be changed, hopefully, to something where you don't have hundreds or thousands of people slamming their weak website, causing it to constantly crash and robbing honest people of their chance to apply because NSW didn't bother to consider how much demand there is for sponsorship, or didn't bother to do proper IT infrastructure investment so that people who made it to the site weren't booted out by server crashes and other technical shortcomings.

So it's anybody's guess what the next NSW intake will be like, or what procedures they'll come up with to play around with this time. I find it outrageous that these people seem to care nothing about the lives that are damaged and careers and futures that are lost as a result of their silly experimentation. After all, who on earth would support the idea that the people who "get in first" are necessarily the best candidates? In reality, they're the one with the best internet connections and who have healthy dose of luck.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you are doing well. I have started with my application process for visa subclass 189 and the progress is as follows: Got positive skills assessment for Management Accountant from CPA Australia. I scored a band 7(atleast) on all 4 of my IELTS and hence have appeared for IELTS again as I need 8 in all to get those 20 points that will take me to 65 points.
> 
> Here's how I am approaching the process and I would appreciate if you can confirm if I am on the right track. In case if I don't get a Band 8 in all sections of IELTS then I am left with 55 points (15 for qualification, 30 for Age and 10 for English Language). In that case I will be applying for an EOI followed by Subclass 190 when the applications open for NSW on 1 October. A state nomination will give me the points which I need to get 60 and hopefully that should lead to an invitation to apply for a visa. If I do score a Band 8 then I will have 65 points and then I will file an EOI for subclass 189 and then wait for an invite.
> 
> I read on the forum that one can complete 2 EOIs. Is that correct? Is there a cost associated with EOIs? What are my realistic chances of getting through the NSW state nomination and following that of getting an invite with just 60 points? In case I have 65 points, does that almost certainly lead to an invitation to apply for a visa?
> 
> Would appreciate your reply on the above questions. Thanks a lot for all your help
> 
> regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Greg & Annette -

That will work fine - as the marriage date fields are required, you should put "01-Jan-1900" in any marriage date field you dont' have data for, ,and include a short note uploaded with your application that you were not able to get this data.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



atgreg said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> hope you can give me some guidance, my german fiance and I are getting ready to submit our PMV, hopefully in Nov. We will do an online app, we downloaded forms 40 + 47 to fill in so we would have the info at hand to do the online app. Ive recently read about the extra questions on the online app re birthdates and wedding dates for your siblings etc.
> 
> My fiance is estranged from her family and has no contact , one of her sisters is married but we have no way to find out her wedding date or husbands birthdate. Will it be ok to write an explanatory note about this and why we dont have the info or will it be a big issue ??.
> 
> thanks for your time, Greg + Anette


----------



## TAMZID

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tamzid -
> 
> That's correct - Office Manager is not on the CSOL list, so that would likely be an issue with a 186 (ENS) visa. However as an ANZSCO Skill Level 2 occupation, may be possible under 187 (RSMS) visa. Suggest you work with a migration agent to go through all the legal requirements to see if it works for you.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mr. Mark.
I have a plan to visit to Australia, Melbourne sometime first week of October. Can it be possible to see you and to discuss further .
Thanks and regards,
Tamzid


----------



## swavik

Hey Mark,

Finally after 3 months heard from the DIBP..They asked for an Health Undertaking to be signed and submitted for my visa 189..

Had a question that does this means that my Grant is sure??

I submitted the undertaking 3 days ago, When should i expect a reply?

They had written in the correspondence that I need to sign this form and my first entry should be before 13 Dec 2014 or else i will have to go for another round of check ups? This makes me think that grant is sure but they have not committed anything yet.

Thank you..
Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

Sure - best to book a consultation - see my website below for more. I'm in Sydney, and also offer consultations via Skype if you're outside Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Thanks Mr. Mark.
> I have a plan to visit to Australia, Melbourne sometime first week of October. Can it be possible to see you and to discuss further .
> Thanks and regards,
> Tamzid


----------



## victorjbl

*URgent answer*

Hi Mark,

I am interested on applying for the PR late august next year. My GPA on Accounting went down dramattically to 2, due persona reasons.

Does this is going to affect my PR application?

victorjbl


----------



## Peter Sadek

*many thanks*

Thank you so so much mark for your advice but the problem is that i have lodged the visa application online , on the website of the Australian government and the Australian embassy here in Egypt don't help in anything related to immigration & when i ask them for any help they ask me to search for the answer on this website.

So, what am i supposed to do?

i'm really sorry for annoying you & taking some of your time ...............
and again , thank you so much for your wonderful help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victorjbl -

As far as I know the accounting skills assessors are only concerned about whether you successfully complete all the required core units, etc of your degree - I don't believe that GPA is a component of their assessment as long as you complete everything that is required. DIBP does not care about GPA, only that you completed the degree you say you completed and earned that degree.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



victorjbl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am interested on applying for the PR late august next year. My GPA on Accounting went down dramattically to 2, due persona reasons.
> 
> Does this is going to affect my PR application?
> 
> victorjbl


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

No guarantees, but requesting a health undertaking (usually when they detect old signs of previous TB, etc) usually happens shortly before they make a final decision on the visa, usually when they are ready to grant soon. Fingers crossed!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Finally after 3 months heard from the DIBP..They asked for an Health Undertaking to be signed and submitted for my visa 189..
> 
> Had a question that does this means that my Grant is sure??
> 
> I submitted the undertaking 3 days ago, When should i expect a reply?
> 
> They had written in the correspondence that I need to sign this form and my first entry should be before 13 Dec 2014 or else i will have to go for another round of check ups? This makes me think that grant is sure but they have not committed anything yet.
> 
> Thank you..
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peter -

You could upload your filled & signed Form 1022 along with your application, and also send it by mail to the nearest Embassy that has an immigration section - what subclass of visa did you apply for?

Best,

Mark Northam



Peter Sadek said:


> Thank you so so much mark for your advice but the problem is that i have lodged the visa application online , on the website of the Australian government and the Australian embassy here in Egypt don't help in anything related to immigration & when i ask them for any help they ask me to search for the answer on this website.
> 
> So, what am i supposed to do?
> 
> i'm really sorry for annoying you & taking some of your time ...............
> and again , thank you so much for your wonderful help


----------



## Snow

Hello Mark.

I lodged my partner visa application roughly a month and a half ago and got my CO assigned quickly. Can I take the fact that I haven't had any other correspondence from them yet (such as asking for additional evidence) as good news? If the evidence wasn't enough they would contact me to provide some more I hope?

Also, I noticed one of the categories of evidence that I could upload was titled "intention to undergo medical examination", I've been requested to wait until the end of January to get my medicals so would it be worth uploading something here as a sort of acknowledgement that I understand when to get them and that I intend to? If so, what sort of thing should I upload? Is a simple note/word doc outining my intentions enough?

Thanks for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snow -

Too early to assume good news - often now they are doing a quick inspection of incoming partner visa applications and requesting any additional info, however that's not the same as being assigned a case officer (or team, usually) which happens later in the process. No need to acknowledge the request to delay medicals.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Snow said:


> Hello Mark.
> 
> I lodged my partner visa application roughly a month and a half ago and got my CO assigned quickly. Can I take the fact that I haven't had any other correspondence from them yet (such as asking for additional evidence) as good news? If the evidence wasn't enough they would contact me to provide some more I hope?
> 
> Also, I noticed one of the categories of evidence that I could upload was titled "intention to undergo medical examination", I've been requested to wait until the end of January to get my medicals so would it be worth uploading something here as a sort of acknowledgement that I understand when to get them and that I intend to? If so, what sort of thing should I upload? Is a simple note/word doc outining my intentions enough?
> 
> Thanks for your help!


----------



## binaisapolig

Hi Mark,

I am currently waiting for my permanent residency visa subclass 189. I have lodged my application 29th of January 2014 onshore from student visa and until now I am still waiting but I completed all my requirements 30/3/2014 as per case officer additional requirement request. My case was a bit complicated. I am separated and we have an 8 yr old son and they are both overseas. I only included my son as migrating dependent and my husband as non migrating since we are separated at that time. I have submitted all the documents needed such as sole custody (still on going in court), Form 1229 Consent form to grant an Australia visa to a child under the age of 18 years and a consent from other parent allowing to migrate. For the last 7 months, my husband and I reconciled and decided to fix our marriage. Since my application is still on the process, will I be able to include him as migrating dependent? Would this be easy since there was no difference in regard to requirements if he's migrating or not except that I have to pay the fee? 
Please advise. I might need to get assistance from migration agent this time to include him as I went through hell when I did process my application on my own. 

Thanks in advance.


----------



## ravijeet

*Activities Post 189 Visa invitation received!*

Hey Mark,
I hope you are doing fine.

I have gone through your forum, you are a Gem and we really need more people like you. I have found answers to some questions which I had but I still have a few more that is why I have created this post.

Ok jumping into the questions now.I got my invite for applying for VISA on 28th August.

1. I have already completed by application for 189 VISA and paid the money as well. But I have not uploaded the Police Clearance Certificate. The reason for this is I have lived in 4 countries in last 10 years. I have lived in India, Sweden, Belgium and now in Singapore. The stay in Sweden was less than a year so I know I don't have to get Police Clearance from there but India, Belgium and Singapore I will have to get. My question is should I wait for Case Officer to request for this or should I just go ahead and apply. I read on the Skill Select Checklist. It is possible that Case Officer might not ask for the clearance. Is that True?

2. In my application, I added name of my parents as non-migrating dependents. They are not really dependents on me and they will never migrate to Australia as well. Now the application form is asking me to add there Police Clearance and Health Check Documents as well. Is there a way I can remove them from the application? Or should I just leave it there until Case Officer asks me there details I can tell him/her that they will not be migrating and i don't want them to go through the whole process?

3. Both my wife and I have done our Annual health check up recently (less than 6 months ago) from a reputable hospital in Singapore. For my Health Check-up documents I have uploaded those documents. Will these be considered as health check or I will have to go to the Medical Officer recommended by AU Migration authorities to get it done?

4. I have accidentally uploaded my International Work Experience Documents into my Australia Work Experience field. I have no Work experience in Australia apart from a few business trips. I want to delete that. Is that possible? Also can I upload my Work References which I gave to ACS for Skill Assessment as my proof of my Work Experience?

That sit these are my questions. I hope they are not too much for you to answer. I am really Looking forward to hear from you soon.

Ravijeet Dang


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Binaisapolig -

Thanks for the note - if you login to your lodged 189 application via ImmiAccount and look over on the right side of the page once you click on your application, you'll see a number of options including one to add an additional applicant - that will bring up a form for you to complete and upload - that's the basic process. Your husband will need to take the same medical exams you do and pay the visa application fee. I'd also upload a letter explaining the circumstances and the fact that you and he have reconciled. They will expect some relationship evidence - there are good threads here on the forum about partner visa evidence - ie, statements, financial evidence, etc.

Please advise if I can assist further -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



binaisapolig said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently waiting for my permanent residency visa subclass 189. I have lodged my application 29th of January 2014 onshore from student visa and until now I am still waiting but I completed all my requirements 30/3/2014 as per case officer additional requirement request. My case was a bit complicated. I am separated and we have an 8 yr old son and they are both overseas. I only included my son as migrating dependent and my husband as non migrating since we are separated at that time. I have submitted all the documents needed such as sole custody (still on going in court), Form 1229 Consent form to grant an Australia visa to a child under the age of 18 years and a consent from other parent allowing to migrate. For the last 7 months, my husband and I reconciled and decided to fix our marriage. Since my application is still on the process, will I be able to include him as migrating dependent? Would this be easy since there was no difference in regard to requirements if he's migrating or not except that I have to pay the fee?
> Please advise. I might need to get assistance from migration agent this time to include him as I went through hell when I did process my application on my own.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## binaisapolig

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your quick reply. He already had medical exams as DIAC requested him to do it not unless what you mean is he has to do another one if I will include him as migrating from non-migrating? 
My main concern is if this could be a reason of not granting our visa that I change my mind? As my husband was uncooperative to do all the requirements (eg. health examinations and police check) before that is why I kept asking my case officer to give me an extension to submit. And now I have to include him. I don't know I am just being paranoid. Would that affect the decision of my visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Binaisapolig -

I think there is a low risk to the visa application, as long as you and your husband both explain the circumstances - people go through relationship issues, and that's something that is not a reason for denying a visa. The key would be whether the relationship as it exists now is genuine in the eyes of DIBP. Even if it is not, however, as you have a child together you would have a pathway to get your partner visa approved even if the relationship had broken down.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



binaisapolig said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your quick reply. He already had medical exams as DIAC requested him to do it not unless what you mean is he has to do another one if I will include him as migrating from non-migrating?
> My main concern is if this could be a reason of not granting our visa that I change my mind? As my husband was uncooperative to do all the requirements (eg. health examinations and police check) before that is why I kept asking my case officer to give me an extension to submit. And now I have to include him. I don't know I am just being paranoid. Would that affect the decision of my visa?


----------



## binaisapolig

Thanks Mark, that was really helpful. I will contact you once I will start the change of my application.


----------



## swavik

hey Mark,

Thank you very much for your reply..
Keeping the fingers crossed..
will keep updated..

Regards.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> No guarantees, but requesting a health undertaking (usually when they detect old signs of previous TB, etc) usually happens shortly before they make a final decision on the visa, usually when they are ready to grant soon. Fingers crossed!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Bay56

Hi Mark,

I hope you're well. 

Just a quick one. Last month I was overseas for about 3 weeks for a wedding. I am a current 820 applicant and we had applied before I went overseas. My partner and I kept in touch every day and we maintained our relationship. However, does this count as a temporary separation?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bay56 -

In my view, probably not. The key is that the question asks if you have "lived apart" for any time after you committed, etc.. In my view a 3-week trip would not usually constitute living apart, and would not seem to qualify as something you would declare in that question.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bay56 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you're well.
> 
> Just a quick one. Last month I was overseas for about 3 weeks for a wedding. I am a current 820 applicant and we had applied before I went overseas. My partner and I kept in touch every day and we maintained our relationship. However, does this count as a temporary separation?


----------



## Bay56

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bay56 -
> 
> In my view, probably not. The key is that the question asks if you have "lived apart" for any time after you committed, etc.. In my view a 3-week trip would not usually constitute living apart, and would not seem to qualify as something you would declare in that question.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Good. That's what I thought as well, I just needed some clarification. Thank you!


----------



## Peter Sadek

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Peter -
> 
> You could upload your filled & signed Form 1022 along with your application, and also send it by mail to the nearest Embassy that has an immigration section - what subclass of visa did you apply for?
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark,
oh thank you for answering me very much ............
i will attach the form online and i wish my case officer starts contacting me via email ........ to tell him everything and to tell me how to pay my baby's fees ......etc

i am applying to visa subclass 190 (nominated skilled migration)
wish it is easy to add my baby on that visa subclass

thank u a lot mark 
your help can't really be appreciated


----------



## mia0805

Hi Mark,

I am from the Philippines with a 457 visa. Is it possible to do a secondary visa to my Italian partner while my annulment is still on process in the Philippines. My partner lives in Italy and have only stayed together for a couple of times. What do we need to do regarding this. Thank you


----------



## sukhmeetskaur

Hello Mark,

Me and my husband are planning to immigrate to Australia through the 190 State sponsored visa. He had completed his BA in the year 2000 and then a one year computer course in 2001. After that he started working as a quality check executive with an IT firm an since 2006 he is working as a production manager in a manufacturing firm. Is he eligible to apply as his qualifications and experience dont match, despite the fact that he holds around 9 years of experience in this field. Please reply.

Thanks in advance,
Sukhmeet.


----------



## Indu9

*820 onshore - Marriage Grounds*

Hi,

I am currently on visitor visa with NO 'NFS' condition attached to my current visa and that makes me eligible to apply for 820 Onshore. My 3 months stay is ending on 26th September 2014, I have currently filled my 47sp online through immi account. My question is should i submit now immediately or wait for few more days Also what happens once i submit? My sponsors form 40sp is filled half way and not taking in more data i believe that's cauz i need to submit my 47sp first. Also how much time do i have to upload all my documents?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ravijeet -

Thanks for the note and kind words! See notes below at ***:



ravijeet said:


> Hey Mark,
> I hope you are doing fine.
> 
> I have gone through your forum, you are a Gem and we really need more people like you. I have found answers to some questions which I had but I still have a few more that is why I have created this post.
> 
> Ok jumping into the questions now.I got my invite for applying for VISA on 28th August.
> 
> 1. I have already completed by application for 189 VISA and paid the money as well. But I have not uploaded the Police Clearance Certificate. The reason for this is I have lived in 4 countries in last 10 years. I have lived in India, Sweden, Belgium and now in Singapore. The stay in Sweden was less than a year so I know I don't have to get Police Clearance from there but India, Belgium and Singapore I will have to get. My question is should I wait for Case Officer to request for this or should I just go ahead and apply. I read on the Skill Select Checklist. It is possible that Case Officer might not ask for the clearance. Is that True?
> 
> *** You'll need police clearance certificates from all countries you have spent a total of 12 months or more in (includes multiple trips added together) during the last 10 years (does not count before you were 16 years old in case you were younger than 16 in the last 10 years). Might as well apply for them at your earliest convenience so as to not delay the visa.
> 
> 2. In my application, I added name of my parents as non-migrating dependents. They are not really dependents on me and they will never migrate to Australia as well. Now the application form is asking me to add there Police Clearance and Health Check Documents as well. Is there a way I can remove them from the application? Or should I just leave it there until Case Officer asks me there details I can tell him/her that they will not be migrating and i don't want them to go through the whole process?
> 
> *** Suggest you download DIBP Form 1023, make the correction that you did not intend for them to be migrating or included in the application and request that they be removed from the application. You might also have to request this of the case officer when you get one if they don't read the 1023 form.
> 
> 3. Both my wife and I have done our Annual health check up recently (less than 6 months ago) from a reputable hospital in Singapore. For my Health Check-up documents I have uploaded those documents. Will these be considered as health check or I will have to go to the Medical Officer recommended by AU Migration authorities to get it done?
> 
> *** Only medical checks from approved DIBP medical panel doctors are able to be used for immigration medical purposes. See DIBP website for approved doctors/clinics in your country.
> 
> 4. I have accidentally uploaded my International Work Experience Documents into my Australia Work Experience field. I have no Work experience in Australia apart from a few business trips. I want to delete that. Is that possible? Also can I upload my Work References which I gave to ACS for Skill Assessment as my proof of my Work Experience?
> 
> *** Re: Intl docs uploaded with the wrong category for the uploads, that's not a problem - they will figure that out when they read them. However you want to make sure that you did not include any claim of points for Australian work experience - that's coming from your EOI and the "Employment" part of your application. Same work refs for ACS may work for DIBP, can't tell without seeing them, plus DIBP will also likely request proof of payment for all work experience claimed for points - ie payslips, tax statements, etc.
> 
> That sit these are my questions. I hope they are not too much for you to answer. I am really Looking forward to hear from you soon.
> 
> Ravijeet Dang


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mia0805 -

My view is that if you are not married to your partner, and would be claiming him as your defacto partner, and if you have not lived together much, this would be difficult to get approved by DIBP. DIBP has pretty high requirements for defacto partners these days - they essentially expect defacto partners to act like married people, just without the marriage certificate. If you wanted to pursue this, would suggest you find a way to get more living-together time with your partner, and consider registering your defacto relationship with the Australian state you live in if that's possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mia0805 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am from the Philippines with a 457 visa. Is it possible to do a secondary visa to my Italian partner while my annulment is still on process in the Philippines. My partner lives in Italy and have only stayed together for a couple of times. What do we need to do regarding this. Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukhmeetskaur -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



sukhmeetskaur said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Me and my husband are planning to immigrate to Australia through the 190 State sponsored visa. He had completed his BA in the year 2000 and then a one year computer course in 2001. After that he started working as a quality check executive with an IT firm an since 2006 he is working as a production manager in a manufacturing firm. Is he eligible to apply as his qualifications and experience dont match, despite the fact that he holds around 9 years of experience in this field. Please reply.
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Sukhmeet.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Indu9 -

Thanks for the note - you can lodge the 47sp online form any time you'd like - I'd probably do it before the 20th of September or so - generally the bridging visa is granted immediately, however if there is any issue you want to leave yourself a few days to work out any issues. For the other part of the online form, you can only proceed with that once you've lodged the 47sp online form. Generally you have several days to upload the documents, and some people keep uploading additional relationship evidence they accumulate over the time their partner visa is processing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Indu9 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am currently on visitor visa with NO 'NFS' condition attached to my current visa and that makes me eligible to apply for 820 Onshore. My 3 months stay is ending on 26th September 2014, I have currently filled my 47sp online through immi account. My question is should i submit now immediately or wait for few more days Also what happens once i submit? My sponsors form 40sp is filled half way and not taking in more data i believe that's cauz i need to submit my 47sp first. Also how much time do i have to upload all my documents?


----------



## mia0805

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mia0805 -
> 
> My view is that if you are not married to your partner, and would be claiming him as your defacto partner, and if you have not lived together much, this would be difficult to get approved by DIBP. DIBP has pretty high requirements for defacto partners these days - they essentially expect defacto partners to act like married people, just without the marriage certificate. If you wanted to pursue this, would suggest you find a way to get more living-together time with your partner, and consider registering your defacto relationship with the Australian state you live in if that's possible.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark. We will start to live together as soon as we get an appropriate visa for him. I hope we can register our de facto relationship as soon as he comes back here. I hope we will have other options for a visa for him.


----------



## Indu9

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Indu9 -
> 
> Thanks for the note - you can lodge the 47sp online form any time you'd like - I'd probably do it before the 20th of September or so - generally the bridging visa is granted immediately, however if there is any issue you want to leave yourself a few days to work out any issues. For the other part of the online form, you can only proceed with that once you've lodged the 47sp online form. Generally you have several days to upload the documents, and some people keep uploading additional relationship evidence they accumulate over the time their partner visa is processing.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark


----------



## Covariant

Hi Mark,
I was wondering if is it possible to stay as temporary resident once granted the partner visa 820. I have applied for a partner visa 820 in past may so for what I understand I would be considered for permanent residence on may 2016, but would it be possible for me to stay as a temporal resident for a year longer and then summit the supporting evidence? What would happen if I once 2 two year period is reached and I don´t summit the supporting evidence after it is requested?

My situation is the following, I´m thinking on trying to gain entry into the University of Sydney, given my country of procedence my only pathway is to do a foundation course that allows me entry into the university once I finish the course, this pathways is only available to international students(no permanent residents). If my permanent residency was granted while I´m still doing the foundation course and before was granted admission, I would no longer qualify to apply for entry through this pathways.

Thanks for the help, and let me know if you need more information.

Regards,


----------



## kfish123

*NZ vs Australia parnter visa*

Hello,

I have previously been on a student visa and now on a work and holiday visa in Austraila (I'm American) My partner and I have been together for over a year and been living together for over 6 months. I am looking to switch to a Defacto visa come the end of my Work and Holiday visa. My partner is a dual citizen in NZ and Australia but has been living in Australia most of his life. I am interested to see if I might be able to still qualify for the 461 NZ temporary visa to stay here or if the Australian defacto visa would be the only option. 
From my understanding there is quite a difference in cost between the two and I would like to know my options no ahead of time.

Many Thanks,

Kaylee Britain


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Covariant -

There's a bit of leeway in the time after the 2 year mark that you have to upload the documents to complete your application for the PR part of the partner visa (subclass 801), however a year is probably pushing it in terms of what DIBP will consider. You might enquire with them after the 2 year mark and see what you might be able to work out with them on a one-on-one basis re: how much time you have to submit the documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Covariant said:


> Hi Mark,
> I was wondering if is it possible to stay as temporary resident once granted the partner visa 820. I have applied for a partner visa 820 in past may so for what I understand I would be considered for permanent residence on may 2016, but would it be possible for me to stay as a temporal resident for a year longer and then summit the supporting evidence? What would happen if I once 2 two year period is reached and I don´t summit the supporting evidence after it is requested?
> 
> My situation is the following, I´m thinking on trying to gain entry into the University of Sydney, given my country of procedence my only pathway is to do a foundation course that allows me entry into the university once I finish the course, this pathways is only available to international students(no permanent residents). If my permanent residency was granted while I´m still doing the foundation course and before was granted admission, I would no longer qualify to apply for entry through this pathways.
> 
> Thanks for the help, and let me know if you need more information.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaylee -

Thanks for the question - you may eligible for the NZ Family Relationship (subclass 461) visa but would need to get more information about your relationship and your partner's specific immigration status and history to give you any specific advice - would be happy to do this at a consultation - see website link at the email signature below for more information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kfish123 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I have previously been on a student visa and now on a work and holiday visa in Austraila (I'm American) My partner and I have been together for over a year and been living together for over 6 months. I am looking to switch to a Defacto visa come the end of my Work and Holiday visa. My partner is a dual citizen in NZ and Australia but has been living in Australia most of his life. I am interested to see if I might be able to still qualify for the 461 NZ temporary visa to stay here or if the Australian defacto visa would be the only option.
> From my understanding there is quite a difference in cost between the two and I would like to know my options no ahead of time.
> 
> Many Thanks,
> 
> Kaylee Britain


----------



## dabeatros

Hi Mark, 

Great work you're doing here mate. Really great putting in the time to help others like this.

As for my question, I am about to get my skills assessed as part of the pre-requisite to apply for a independent visa (189). What I'm worried about is, my Masters degree in Project Management is not closely related to the job I do here in Australia (an Engineer). Since I'd be getting my Project Management degree assessed wouldn't that mean I'd have to have Project Management as my nominated occupation? (again, not related to my current position). I'm worried I'll go through the whole process (costing ~$700) for them to say that it's not closely related enough. The VETASSESS website only briefly mentions work experience as a means of getting past the degree and occupation not being closely related.

Any help would be greatly appreciated Mark. I'm swimming in a sea of uncertainty here!! 

Regards, 

Thomas


----------



## mhasankamal

Hi Mark,

Thanks for sharing your expertise here in this forum.

I need to ask two things:

1) I've recently got my outcome letter from the assessment body which is positive. The assessment body has assessed my 6.5 years of experience which falls under the category of 5 years in the points table. If i want to claim points for 8 years experience, after 1.5 years, then should i need to apply for the re-assessment of my documents to claim points for 8 years experience? or my current assessment outcome based on 6.5 years would be valid for that purpose?

2) Should EOI be submitted before applying for State Sponsorship or after the State Sponsorship?


----------



## Indu9

Hi Mark,

Me and my sponsor we both have created separate statutory declaration detailing history of our relationship, financial aspects, social aspects,nature of our household, commitment & future plans. It's about 9 pages. My question is should we still do joint statutory declaration for financial aspects, social aspects,nature of our household, commitment & future plans? or separate ones are fine?. i am applying for 820 onshore on marriage grounds.


----------



## CollegeGirl

No, in fact - it's supposed to be separate statements, not a joint one.


----------



## CollegeGirl

CollegeGirl said:


> No, in fact - it's supposed to be separate statements, not a joint one.


Whoops, sorry! Didn't realize I was on the Ask Mark thread. Sorry.


----------



## FungiHolic

Hi Mark,

I'm going to apply visa 457, there are two questions that I'm not very sure about. Hope you can help me with!

1. Do I need to do police check (home country and/or australian)?
By looking at the checklist provided by immigration website, it seems like there is no need.
2. For the certified documents, like passport page and educational qualifications, is there a valid period for them? My documents were certified in 2011. Can I still use them now?

Thank you!
Yusha


----------



## DangerDave

Hi Mark,

I need your opinion on this tricky matter. If you could help me would be greatly appreciated.

I'm Australian citizen and my girlfriend is German. We have a 6 month old baby together, that is an Australian citizen as well through me.
Currently we are living in Germany but we would like to go to Australia soon.
She has never been there, so she would like to first check it out and see if she can live so far away from her family.
we been looking into different visas for us to go down and of-course the main choice would be partner visa but the process is long and expensive, especially if she wouldn't like it and we would be going back in 6 months-1 year. The other option I found is WHV. She is not yet 30 ( she will be in January) I know you are not allowed to bring dependent children with you but what if the child is an Australian citizen already? so in that case the child does not need a visa and I would have a job so I would look after them both.

I read that in this case its shouldn't be a problem to get WHV, but haven't found many cases like this on the net. 



Thank you
David


----------



## MarkNortham

No problem, CG - as usual your advice was 100% correct!

Best,

Mark



CollegeGirl said:


> Whoops, sorry! Didn't realize I was on the Ask Mark thread. Sorry.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thomas -

Thanks for the note and kind words. To try and simplify things - for a skilled visa, you generally must have a positive skills assessment in the specific occupation code you nominate under. Each occupation code has a single assessor designated for it (other than a few exceptions like accountant). If you cannot get a positive skills assessment from the designated skills assessor, you cannot nominate under that occupation for a skilled visa. This is what creates situations where a person might qualify per DIBP visa regulations, but might fail to meet the skills assessor's requirements (!). Making matters worse, every skills assessor has different requirements for work, English and education and there can be no rhyme or reason among them.

In terms of choosing an occupation to nominate under, most people choose the occupation they have work experience in, IF they plan to use that work experience for points (ie, work must be closely related to their nominated occupation to qualify for DIBP for points). If they don't plan to use their work exp for points, then it's an easier decision - they can go with whatever occupation their degree is in, ASSUMING that the skills assessor doesn't require relevant work experience for a positive assessment. As an example, ACS (IT assessor) requires some amount of relevant work experience for all but their 485-only assessments. On the other hand, Engineers Australia requires no specific work experience, and only assesses your qualification and knowledge.

The problem comes when your work experience is needed for points, but is in an occupation where your degree is in a different area and for which the skills assessor requires both a degree and some level of relevant work experience in the same area (as the degree).

You may want to consider consulting with a registered migration agent to help sort through all the legal requirements and skills assessor rules - sadly it's a big, conflicting bunch of rules/regs/etc that requires time to go through and make sense of in many cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dabeatros said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Great work you're doing here mate. Really great putting in the time to help others like this.
> 
> As for my question, I am about to get my skills assessed as part of the pre-requisite to apply for a independent visa (189). What I'm worried about is, my Masters degree in Project Management is not closely related to the job I do here in Australia (an Engineer). Since I'd be getting my Project Management degree assessed wouldn't that mean I'd have to have Project Management as my nominated occupation? (again, not related to my current position). I'm worried I'll go through the whole process (costing ~$700) for them to say that it's not closely related enough. The VETASSESS website only briefly mentions work experience as a means of getting past the degree and occupation not being closely related.
> 
> Any help would be greatly appreciated Mark. I'm swimming in a sea of uncertainty here!!
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Thomas


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mhasankamal -

Thanks for the questions. Re #1, if the 1.5 years is a continuation of the SAME job and position that was previously assessed, then normally you would not need to have the extra 1.5 of continued work assessed by the assessor, and can include a letter from your employer that you continued on in that same job/position that was assessed for the 1.5 years. DIBP will as usual require evidence of payment for all work experience claimed for points, so they will want 8 (or whatever) years of pay slips, or tax docs, or some other form of evidence of paid work.

Re #2, EOI should be submitted after you have your skill assessment and IELTS score, but before you apply for state sponsorship. Note that for the state of WA, it is a requirement to lodge your EOI and then they look at the ones marked sc190 for WA and decide who to invite to apply for state sponsorship from them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mhasankamal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for sharing your expertise here in this forum.
> 
> I need to ask two things:
> 
> 1) I've recently got my outcome letter from the assessment body which is positive. The assessment body has assessed my 6.5 years of experience which falls under the category of 5 years in the points table. If i want to claim points for 8 years experience, after 1.5 years, then should i need to apply for the re-assessment of my documents to claim points for 8 years experience? or my current assessment outcome based on 6.5 years would be valid for that purpose?
> 
> 2) Should EOI be submitted before applying for State Sponsorship or after the State Sponsorship?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi FungiHolic (cool name!) -

Re #1, normally you do not need police checks for 457 visa applications unless you have answered "Yes" to the question re: do you have any convictions, etc.

Re #2, 2011 might be a bit old - there is no particular expiration date mentioned in the legislation that i know of however. But assuming you are applying for a 457, there is no need generally for certified documents - colour scans of all original docs are fine to upload - no certification necessary under normal circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



FungiHolic said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm going to apply visa 457, there are two questions that I'm not very sure about. Hope you can help me with!
> 
> 1. Do I need to do police check (home country and/or australian)?
> By looking at the checklist provided by immigration website, it seems like there is no need.
> 2. For the certified documents, like passport page and educational qualifications, is there a valid period for them? My documents were certified in 2011. Can I still use them now?
> 
> Thank you!
> Yusha


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dave -

It's worth a try in my view. There are 2 risk areas:

1) The legislation says that the Minister must be satisfied that she is here as "seeks to enter or remain in Australia as a genuine visitor whose principal purpose is to spend a holiday in Australia" - if the Minister thought that she was here as part of an intention to permanently reside in Australia, that could be a cause for refusal.

2) The legislation says she "will not be accompanied by dependent children during his or her stay in Australia" - to defeat this you could claim that the child is your dependent and not hers, however whether DIBP would buy this is a question. If you could provide evidence that the child is dependent on you, and not on your girlfriend, you might be able to get through this requirement.

Bottom line: the stronger DIBP thinks your relationship is (with her), the more risk there is to the chances of getting a working holiday visa. But just the reverse is true with a partner visa - the stronger your relationship with her, the better the chance of getting a partner visa - however in your case the child will go a very long way towards eliminating any doubt about the genuineness of the relationship.

The other option is a regular visitor visa, but this does not allow work and is for short-term visits only.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DangerDave said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I need your opinion on this tricky matter. If you could help me would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> I'm Australian citizen and my girlfriend is German. We have a 6 month old baby together, that is an Australian citizen as well through me.
> Currently we are living in Germany but we would like to go to Australia soon.
> She has never been there, so she would like to first check it out and see if she can live so far away from her family.
> we been looking into different visas for us to go down and of-course the main choice would be partner visa but the process is long and expensive, especially if she wouldn't like it and we would be going back in 6 months-1 year. The other option I found is WHV. She is not yet 30 ( she will be in January) I know you are not allowed to bring dependent children with you but what if the child is an Australian citizen already? so in that case the child does not need a visa and I would have a job so I would look after them both.
> 
> I read that in this case its shouldn't be a problem to get WHV, but haven't found many cases like this on the net.
> 
> Thank you
> David


----------



## monster

Hey Mark,

I m in deep stressful situation ; my 190 class visa application got denied under PIC 4020 i.e. bogus document [which i didnt]

I was given an option to take the case to MRT ; which I did on my own and MRT returning my file stating that it is invalid application since I was an offshore applicant.They also gave me few days time to take the case to minister, but after this many hurdles and pains I thought it worthless to try.

But now again the pain is killing me that I got denied ; seeing your reputation I need to ask whether I can still do something tofight my case. Its been 2 months now since the MRT decision. I dont know what to do now.

Waiting for a helpful reply
Thanks


----------



## Achaboy

Hi Mark,
We have already applied for our 887 visa and awaiting response from a case officer.
My original name as per my passport has a middle name which I want to remove so that my family and my children's family name will be the same.

Also my wife want to change a maiden name to her married name, so that the whole family will have the same surname.

Please advice how we can go about doing this.

Thank you
Achaboy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Monster -

Sorry to hear of your stressful situation. MRT on your own can be a bit like representing yourself in court - if you don't have the background and experience, it can be very difficult. Same for responding to DIBP allegations re: 4020 - they are using that a lot these days, and the rules are very difficult since if they refuse based on this and it's not reversed by the MRT, you end up with a 3 year exclusion period for any visa that has 4020 as a condition (almost all of them) unless you can get a waiver.

At this point if you had an invalid MRT application, you don't generally have a right to appeal to the Minister, and these days these types of appeals are very difficult to get through.

Depending on the situation, you might have a reason to bring a case in the Federal Circuit Court if a legal mistake has been made by DIBP or the MRT, but that can be difficult to identify.

My thought based on what you've said is that a PIC4020 waiver is your best bet in terms of another visa application within the 3 year ban period. Unfortunately the waiver is not an opportunity to re-argue your case, but is focused on (a) compelling circumstances that affect the interests of Australia; or (b) compassionate or compelling circumstances that affect the interests of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible NZ citizen. So if you have circumstances that might fit this requirement, it may be worth a try with another application and a 4020 waiver.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



monster said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I m in deep stressful situation ; my 190 class visa application got denied under PIC 4020 i.e. bogus document [which i didnt]
> 
> I was given an option to take the case to MRT ; which I did on my own and MRT returning my file stating that it is invalid application since I was an offshore applicant.They also gave me few days time to take the case to minister, but after this many hurdles and pains I thought it worthless to try.
> 
> But now again the pain is killing me that I got denied ; seeing your reputation I need to ask whether I can still do something tofight my case. Its been 2 months now since the MRT decision. I dont know what to do now.
> 
> Waiting for a helpful reply
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Achaboy -

See DIBP forms 1022 to change your circumstances for your application, and 929 to update your circumstances if you and your wife get new passports.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Achaboy said:


> Hi Mark,
> We have already applied for our 887 visa and awaiting response from a case officer.
> My original name as per my passport has a middle name which I want to remove so that my family and my children's family name will be the same.
> 
> Also my wife want to change a maiden name to her married name, so that the whole family will have the same surname.
> 
> Please advice how we can go about doing this.
> 
> Thank you
> Achaboy


----------



## Achaboy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Achaboy -
> 
> See DIBP forms 1022 to change your circumstances for your application, and 929 to update your circumstances if you and your wife get new passports.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Can I just use Form 1022 to inform DIAC to change my name, do I need to give any other legal documents as prove?

Thanks


----------



## mhasankamal

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mhasankamal -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Re #1, if the 1.5 years is a continuation of the SAME job and position that was previously assessed, then normally you would not need to have the extra 1.5 of continued work assessed by the assessor, and can include a letter from your employer that you continued on in that same job/position that was assessed for the 1.5 years. DIBP will as usual require evidence of payment for all work experience claimed for points, so they will want 8 (or whatever) years of pay slips, or tax docs, or some other form of evidence of paid work.
> 
> Re #2, EOI should be submitted after you have your skill assessment and IELTS score, but before you apply for state sponsorship. Note that for the state of WA, it is a requirement to lodge your EOI and then they look at the ones marked sc190 for WA and decide who to invite to apply for state sponsorship from them.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thank you so much for your expert guidance.

Best Regards,
Hasan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Achaboy -

You'll generally need some sort of deed poll or name change certificate or document from your local governmental authority if you wish to change your name.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Achaboy said:


> Hi Mark,
> Can I just use Form 1022 to inform DIAC to change my name, do I need to give any other legal documents as prove?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## IndyMama

Hi Mark,
In an unexpected turn of events, the father of my children is now considering letting them be included as part of my partner application (I've applied for a PMV). This is something I've wanted for them, to have the chance to live internationally and have the opportunity to attend university as residents (when the time comes). 
They will be remaining here in the US for their school year, but will be spending their summer breaks with me in Australia, as well as at least three additional weeks during other school breaks.
If they are only in Australia for that amount of time, are they likely to be granted PR?

Can I add them to my 820 when I apply for that after my PMV, rather than add them to the PMV? Would they have to be in Australia at the time I apply for the 820, or only me? If they are in Australia at the time of lodgement, would they then have to obtain a bridging visa to return to the US? 

Basically, I guess I'm wondering if all the same rules would apply to them as to me (the primary applicant).

Thanks for any light you can shed on this!!


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark!

Hope you can help me with my inquiry.....

I will be applying online my 820 Partner Visa on Monday September 15,2014. 
My tourist visa expires in September 25,2014. On Monday will I receive my Bridging Visa A whenI start downloading documents and submit my application? Or I will receive it on September 25th when my current substantive visa expires. 

Thank you in adavace,
Cheers!
Ninja69


----------



## Achaboy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Achaboy -
> 
> You'll generally need some sort of deed poll or name change certificate or document from your local governmental authority if you wish to change your name.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark


----------



## DangerDave

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your prompt reply. I think we decided we will apply for a partner visa straight away and get it over with. I have two more questions for you.

- How big is the child thing in determining that the relationship is genuine?
We have proof of course but not as much as I would like. e.g we don't have rental agreement on both names and no joint bank account...

-We were also thinking of getting married, how big difference does it make if you are married or applying for a de facto visa, as far as I read you still have to provide almost same amount of documents then if you are not.
Would you advise on getting married, would that be a lot easier or only a little bit?

thank you very much for your help



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dave -
> 
> It's worth a try in my view. There are 2 risk areas:
> 
> 1) The legislation says that the Minister must be satisfied that she is here as "seeks to enter or remain in Australia as a genuine visitor whose principal purpose is to spend a holiday in Australia" - if the Minister thought that she was here as part of an intention to permanently reside in Australia, that could be a cause for refusal.
> 
> 2) The legislation says she "will not be accompanied by dependent children during his or her stay in Australia" - to defeat this you could claim that the child is your dependent and not hers, however whether DIBP would buy this is a question. If you could provide evidence that the child is dependent on you, and not on your girlfriend, you might be able to get through this requirement.
> 
> Bottom line: the stronger DIBP thinks your relationship is (with her), the more risk there is to the chances of getting a working holiday visa. But just the reverse is true with a partner visa - the stronger your relationship with her, the better the chance of getting a partner visa - however in your case the child will go a very long way towards eliminating any doubt about the genuineness of the relationship.
> 
> The other option is a regular visitor visa, but this does not allow work and is for short-term visits only.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IndyMama -

Yes, generally - same rules apply - need to be onshore at visa application time, they would get a bridging visa from the 820/801 onshore partner application if onshore at time of application, then they'd have to apply for a BV-B to return to the USA to study. Alternative is to list them as non-migrating dependents on the PMV and 820/801, then after 820 is granted, apply for 449 Dependent Child visas for them to add them onto the 820 at that point, then they will be included at the 2 year mark when the 801 is processed.You may want to carefully plan when/how you will involve the children in the migration process -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Hi Mark,
> In an unexpected turn of events, the father of my children is now considering letting them be included as part of my partner application (I've applied for a PMV). This is something I've wanted for them, to have the chance to live internationally and have the opportunity to attend university as residents (when the time comes).
> They will be remaining here in the US for their school year, but will be spending their summer breaks with me in Australia, as well as at least three additional weeks during other school breaks.
> If they are only in Australia for that amount of time, are they likely to be granted PR?
> 
> Can I add them to my 820 when I apply for that after my PMV, rather than add them to the PMV? Would they have to be in Australia at the time I apply for the 820, or only me? If they are in Australia at the time of lodgement, would they then have to obtain a bridging visa to return to the US?
> 
> Basically, I guess I'm wondering if all the same rules would apply to them as to me (the primary applicant).
> 
> Thanks for any light you can shed on this!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Normally you would receive the bridging visa right after you lodge and pay for your application, however the bridging visa would only activate when your current visa expires, so you'd be here under the terms of your current visa until the bridging visa activates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Hope you can help me with my inquiry.....
> 
> I will be applying online my 820 Partner Visa on Monday September 15,2014.
> My tourist visa expires in September 25,2014. On Monday will I receive my Bridging Visa A whenI start downloading documents and submit my application? Or I will receive it on September 25th when my current substantive visa expires.
> 
> Thank you in adavace,
> Cheers!
> Ninja69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dave -

Child thing is very significant to DIBP as best interests of the child come into play in those situations. As to whether what you have is sufficient, would need to see what you have to give you any opinion on that.

Re: married vs defacto, documentation requirements are about the same, other than defacto triggers a requirement of living together for the 12 months prior to applying unless you've registered your defacto relationship with the Australian state you live in. In some situations, being married can make a positive difference, but the child is of much greater significance.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DangerDave said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your prompt reply. I think we decided we will apply for a partner visa straight away and get it over with. I have two more questions for you.
> 
> - How big is the child thing in determining that the relationship is genuine?
> We have proof of course but not as much as I would like. e.g we don't have rental agreement on both names and no joint bank account...
> 
> -We were also thinking of getting married, how big difference does it make if you are married or applying for a de facto visa, as far as I read you still have to provide almost same amount of documents then if you are not.
> Would you advise on getting married, would that be a lot easier or only a little bit?
> 
> thank you very much for your help


----------



## Snow

Hi Mark

While uploading some additional evidence for my partner visa I got the error message

"Unable to attach document. Maximum number of files allowed has been reached."

Normally, that wouldn't really bother me since I'd assume that I wouldn't need to upload anymore and there was enough. But I still need to upload my police and health check in a few months time. I looked around and some have said to email the remaining documents to [email protected] but in my acknowledgement letter it explicitly said not to send any documents by email.

I've sent an enquiry off but I don't know how long they might take to reply. Do you have any advice Mark?

Many thanks.


----------



## Aushope

*regarding 457 visa employer change*

Hi Mark

I currently hold a 457 visa sponsored by my employer for an opportunity to work for a client in Australia but due to some unforeseen situation the client side project has been delayed and so i have not yet travelled to Australia and am still in India only. My question is can i resign my position here in India and travel to Australia (since i already have the 457 visa and according to the rule i can change employers and file for fresh application within 90 days once i find a employer in Australia). Is this possible?

Thanks
Aushope


----------



## arunraman7

*Visa condition for 189*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing well, thank you for your support so far. I would like to know what would be the visa conditions for 189 skilled independent visa. I have checked the 'Guides to Social Policy Law' for more details but its confusing and the description provided in the immi site doesn't cover it in depth.
Would there be any website or a guide I can refer to for this?


----------



## island25

Hello Mark
We have been enquiring and you have helped us a lot before. Thank you.
We have just realised that we haven't confirm to immigration since we have been granted visas. 
Do we actually need to confirm anything?
Do we need to communicate our date of arrival and such?
Thanks beforehand
Rgds


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snow -

I'd get in touch with the branch that is processing your partner visa (see info in the acknowledgement letter) and ask them where to send additional files beyond the online limit - I would not send to the GSM address as this is for permanent skilled visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Snow said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> While uploading some additional evidence for my partner visa I got the error message
> 
> "Unable to attach document. Maximum number of files allowed has been reached."
> 
> Normally, that wouldn't really bother me since I'd assume that I wouldn't need to upload anymore and there was enough. But I still need to upload my police and health check in a few months time. I looked around and some have said to email the remaining documents to [email protected] but in my acknowledgement letter it explicitly said not to send any documents by email.
> 
> I've sent an enquiry off but I don't know how long they might take to reply. Do you have any advice Mark?
> 
> Many thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aushope -

Thanks for the note. Unless the employer has reported to DIBP that the proposed employment of you didn't/won't happen, it is likely that you would be fine entering Australia on the 457. If things are not yet finally decided with the 457 employer, then it makes sense that you would want to come to Australia to work out the circumstances with them. However if the decision has been reached now that employment is not going to occur at all, coming on the 457 could be risky, especially if the employer or they agent has already notified DIBP of this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aushope said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I currently hold a 457 visa sponsored by my employer for an opportunity to work for a client in Australia but due to some unforeseen situation the client side project has been delayed and so i have not yet travelled to Australia and am still in India only. My question is can i resign my position here in India and travel to Australia (since i already have the 457 visa and according to the rule i can change employers and file for fresh application within 90 days once i find a employer in Australia). Is this possible?
> 
> Thanks
> Aushope


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arunraman7 -

Normally the 189 visa comes with no conditions. It's expected that the visa holder will update DIBP if/when there is a passport renewal or change since the visa is linked to the passport, but that's about it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arunraman7 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well, thank you for your support so far. I would like to know what would be the visa conditions for 189 skilled independent visa. I have checked the 'Guides to Social Policy Law' for more details but its confusing and the description provided in the immi site doesn't cover it in depth.
> Would there be any website or a guide I can refer to for this?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Island25 -

Normally you do not need to confirm anything to DIBP, just arrive before the "must enter by" date on your visa and you're good. If you have a state or territory sponsored visa (489 or 190 generally), the state who sponsored you will usually require you to register your arrival with them, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



island25 said:


> Hello Mark
> We have been enquiring and you have helped us a lot before. Thank you.
> We have just realised that we haven't confirm to immigration since we have been granted visas.
> Do we actually need to confirm anything?
> Do we need to communicate our date of arrival and such?
> Thanks beforehand
> Rgds


----------



## monster

That was so nice of you on leaving a reply that quick.

Needed a little advice, before takign any step

I actually am a CCIE certified guy ; its a elite certification which is getting higher in demand since it birth.
you can check the value of this certification on this page , stating Australia has only 630 CCIE's at the moment.

"website link not being allowed"

So , what i mean is : can I use this certification as a 'compelling circumstance' if i reapply with a ban waiver?
or would it be of no value ?

advice needed 
thanks and regards



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Monster -
> 
> Sorry to hear of your stressful situation. MRT on your own can be a bit like representing yourself in court - if you don't have the background and experience, it can be very difficult. Same for responding to DIBP allegations re: 4020 - they are using that a lot these days, and the rules are very difficult since if they refuse based on this and it's not reversed by the MRT, you end up with a 3 year exclusion period for any visa that has 4020 as a condition (almost all of them) unless you can get a waiver.
> 
> At this point if you had an invalid MRT application, you don't generally have a right to appeal to the Minister, and these days these types of appeals are very difficult to get through.
> 
> Depending on the situation, you might have a reason to bring a case in the Federal Circuit Court if a legal mistake has been made by DIBP or the MRT, but that can be difficult to identify.
> 
> My thought based on what you've said is that a PIC4020 waiver is your best bet in terms of another visa application within the 3 year ban period. Unfortunately the waiver is not an opportunity to re-argue your case, but is focused on (a) compelling circumstances that affect the interests of Australia; or (b) compassionate or compelling circumstances that affect the interests of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible NZ citizen. So if you have circumstances that might fit this requirement, it may be worth a try with another application and a 4020 waiver.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Ninja69

Thank you for your time and effort in helping us in this forum.

I forgot to ask about the non migrating family members.

My non migrating family members that I intend to included in my application are my children who are living in Philippines now. I intend to bring them to Australia when they finish school in Two years for my eldest now 19 years old and five years for my other daughter now 17 years old. By that time my other daughter would be over 18 years old. I have supported them financially for 8 years and I have my bank deposits to support this. 

When is the best time that I apply for my 449 Dependent. Child Visa ? I will apply my online Partner 820 Visa ( Defacto) next week.

By then, I will receive my Bridging visa A which will kick in once my current substantive visa expires.

What do you call my visa after I applied and receive my Bridging Visa A, Temporary Partner Visa?

Also, can I include my nephew as non migrating family member? He is 17 years old now and I intend to bring him and my two daughters here at the same time.

What about my parents ? I plan to bring them here as well and maybe live here later. Do I include them as non migrating family members? 

Thank you in advance for your help,
Cheers ,
Ninja 69


----------



## sharyny

hi mark, i have a bit of a funny question for you - 

i am the sole earner right now for me (aussie) and my partner (yank) and our two aussie kids.
am i allowed to claim family allowance for my two kids or would that impact the visa approval for my husband as it would show that i cant support him? ... i can support him, i have been doing this for the last 2 months but just want to know what benefits i can use to help my kids more -schooling etc ....


----------



## Nytshade77

Hi Mark, 

I am fairly new on this site and most probably have the slightest idea how the whole thing works. However, I've read quite a few threads and landed on your page. 

I was wondering if you could just give me some advise how could I possibly satisfy the requirement for student visa 573.227A whereas an exceptional reason to justify the economic benefit of my study here in Australia.

I came here as tourist and I applied for Student visa TU subclass 573 on 1st of July but was refused on the 1st of Sept as the migration officer wasn't satisfied with the reasons I provided I applied on shore while on tourist visa and had not held any student visa before. 

I have until the 20th of Sept to appeal this to MRT which I am now looking into. I have been seeking assistance to friends and family and now this forum as hiring a migration agent at this point is quite expensive for me. 

Hope someone can have a look and provide me some guidance/assistance. 

Thanks very much in advance



Cheers!


----------



## travellor

Hi Mark, just a quick ??....my son inlaw (Filipino) is a welder in Saudi for the past year n a half...he is 33, married 3 kiddos....ive gathered heaps of info but just curious that his spoken English is very basic but his literacy skills are excellent.....would we be better off going via a migration agent as I have no idea about whats expected....

Cheers...Peter


----------



## phuongthaocnc

Hi Mark, 
I would appreciate your reply on my issue: I've included my adopted daughter in application, however the adoption papers has not been finalized yet and it might not be available by the time CO assigned. Do you think DIAC will consider it under PIC 4020 and can I fill in form 1022 to exclude her from my application. Thanks very much for your time. If you need that I need to book consultation with you for this, I am more than happy to do so.


----------



## sonikatalwar

*Reg. 457 review*

Hii mark
You are well experienced so i wonder if you advise how much time take 457 visa review for implement? 
Regards


----------



## jackonhill

Hi Mark

I have a question regarding my 189 visa application. I have lodged my visa on Aug 19, 2014 and have completed the preliminary medical examination! However, I expect my medicals to be referred as I have a history of TB. From what I have been reading, I will be required to take sputum test which will be cultured for 2 months, before medicals are finalised. Also, I guess it takes nearly 8-10 weeks for CO allocation who will refer my medicals for sputum test.

My question is, can I approach the medical center and do the sputum without the referral from CO yet? So that when the medicals are actually referred I could have the results ready and will not have to wait for 2 additional months.

Appreciate you help.
Regards


----------



## monster

one more thing i wanted to ask ,

since I m on going through a ban period of 3 years , can I apply to ACS and State sponsorship within this time , and apply for visa right after the ban is over?

or do i have to wait whole 3 years before applying for ACS and SS.
thanks n regards


----------



## Xuxa

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the response. To follow up on this, I'm in the middle of getting my police checks although it could take six weeks or more. At this point, do you recommend me submitting my visa application now, or wait until after I get my police checks? My worry is that if I submit my application now and they ask me for police checks and I don't have them, then my application may be cancelled. However if I wait too long to apply, then my 60 day invitation window may have expired.

Thanks for your help!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Xuxa -
> 
> Congratulations on your invitation! Would submit police checks as soon as you have them; you can wait for health check until they ask or do them at your convenience shortly after lodging.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Monster -

Not sure that the CCIE situation would be of substantial benefit unless you can get, for instance, letters from employers saying they cannot find one and want to hire you, and that without you their business would suffer significantly, etc... Even then, it's hard to get these waivers, but that might help...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



monster said:


> That was so nice of you on leaving a reply that quick.
> 
> Needed a little advice, before takign any step
> 
> I actually am a CCIE certified guy ; its a elite certification which is getting higher in demand since it birth.
> you can check the value of this certification on this page , stating Australia has only 630 CCIE's at the moment.
> 
> "website link not being allowed"
> 
> So , what i mean is : can I use this certification as a 'compelling circumstance' if i reapply with a ban waiver?
> or would it be of no value ?
> 
> advice needed
> thanks and regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Re: non-migrating dependent family members - you would need to look carefully at the dependency situation of each person to determine whether it makes sense to include them as non-migrating dependents. For those under 18, it's a far easier thing to do - for 18 or over, there are specific rules that apply in some cases including staying in school full time without breaks of a specific length, financial issues, etc - each person would need to be assessed carefully based on the level of support you provide as well as their age and specific circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Thank you for your time and effort in helping us in this forum.
> 
> I forgot to ask about the non migrating family members.
> 
> My non migrating family members that I intend to included in my application are my children who are living in Philippines now. I intend to bring them to Australia when they finish school in Two years for my eldest now 19 years old and five years for my other daughter now 17 years old. By that time my other daughter would be over 18 years old. I have supported them financially for 8 years and I have my bank deposits to support this.
> 
> When is the best time that I apply for my 449 Dependent. Child Visa ? I will apply my online Partner 820 Visa ( Defacto) next week.
> 
> By then, I will receive my Bridging visa A which will kick in once my current substantive visa expires.
> 
> What do you call my visa after I applied and receive my Bridging Visa A, Temporary Partner Visa?
> 
> Also, can I include my nephew as non migrating family member? He is 17 years old now and I intend to bring him and my two daughters here at the same time.
> 
> What about my parents ? I plan to bring them here as well and maybe live here later. Do I include them as non migrating family members?
> 
> Thank you in advance for your help,
> Cheers ,
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sharyny -

Thanks for the question - normally claiming Centrelink benefits would not pose a problem for a partner visa approval, especially if you also work and have a history of employment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sharyny said:


> hi mark, i have a bit of a funny question for you -
> 
> i am the sole earner right now for me (aussie) and my partner (yank) and our two aussie kids.
> am i allowed to claim family allowance for my two kids or would that impact the visa approval for my husband as it would show that i cant support him? ... i can support him, i have been doing this for the last 2 months but just want to know what benefits i can use to help my kids more -schooling etc ....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nytshade77 -

That's a challenging one - here's the DIBP policy on Exceptional Circumstances for purposes of 573.227:

_Exceptional reasons must exist

Under policy, exceptional reasons may include, but are not limited to the following:

Benefit to Australia

Under policy, exceptional reasons require an applicant to establish that visa grant would improve bilateral relations or provide significant economic benefits to Australia. To determine whether a visa grant would provide improved bilateral relations, s65 delegates must consult their supervisor, and, if appropriate, that supervisor should contact the policy owner for advice prior to contacting DFAT.

Students who have been granted a scholarship by the Australian Government, a State/Territory government or the government of a foreign country may be considered as having exceptional reasons for the grant of an initial student visa in Australia if circumstances have prevented them from applying for their initial student visa from outside Australia.

For example, where required, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sponsors chaperones to accompany King Abdullah Scholarship Programme (KASP) students to Australia. In some circumstances these chaperones are awarded their own KASP scholarship when they arrive in Australia to undertake study while acting as chaperone. In these circumstances applicants should submit a letter of support from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with their application and s65 delegates may consider this as an exceptional reason for the grant of the visa in Australia on the grounds of benefit to Australia._

The policy does allow for consideration of any other claims of exceptional circumstances - you'd have to really look to how your study could benefit Australia - not an easy thing to do for most students, since they normally don't have extensive ties in Australia that might help lead to economic benefits.

I realise you're concerned about the cost of getting professional help, however that normally is only a tiny fraction of what you would be paying for your Uni courses - might be a worthwhile investment vs do-it-yourself.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nytshade77 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am fairly new on this site and most probably have the slightest idea how the whole thing works. However, I've read quite a few threads and landed on your page.
> 
> I was wondering if you could just give me some advise how could I possibly satisfy the requirement for student visa 573.227A whereas an exceptional reason to justify the economic benefit of my study here in Australia.
> 
> I came here as tourist and I applied for Student visa TU subclass 573 on 1st of July but was refused on the 1st of Sept as the migration officer wasn't satisfied with the reasons I provided I applied on shore while on tourist visa and had not held any student visa before.
> 
> I have until the 20th of Sept to appeal this to MRT which I am now looking into. I have been seeking assistance to friends and family and now this forum as hiring a migration agent at this point is quite expensive for me.
> 
> Hope someone can have a look and provide me some guidance/assistance.
> 
> Thanks very much in advance
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Travellor -

Probably - a migration agent can look at all the different visa available and see which one(s) your son in law might be a good fit for. If all four types of English are not high (ie, reading, writing, listening, speaking), he might consider some English training to help bring those all up to speed - also 457 employer sponsored visa only has minimum IELTS 5 (on all bands). He might also do some IELTS study and then take the test to see how he does - there's no penalty for taking the tests as many times as he wants, and the initial score might give a good idea of how close he is to IELTS 5 on all bands, which is the basic entry point for employer sponsored employment visas. 6 on all bands is the basic entry point for skilled visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



travellor said:


> Hi Mark, just a quick ??....my son inlaw (Filipino) is a welder in Saudi for the past year n a half...he is 33, married 3 kiddos....ive gathered heaps of info but just curious that his spoken English is very basic but his literacy skills are excellent.....would we be better off going via a migration agent as I have no idea about whats expected....
> 
> Cheers...Peter


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phuongthaocnc -

Thanks for the note. The way to deal with this would likely depend on the legal relationship of your adopted daughter as of the date of application. If there is no legal relationship yet, then I'd consider Form 1022 (or maybe 1023) to correct the fact that she is not yet your "daughter". You could then consider adding her back to your application once the legal relationship between you and your daughter has been established. I can't give you any specific advice on your case via forum as this gets into very specific legal issues re: status of your relationship with your adopted daughter - would be happy to go over this in detail with you at a consultation if you'd like - see website link in my signature below for more info -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuongthaocnc said:


> Hi Mark,
> I would appreciate your reply on my issue: I've included my adopted daughter in application, however the adoption papers has not been finalized yet and it might not be available by the time CO assigned. Do you think DIAC will consider it under PIC 4020 and can I fill in form 1022 to exclude her from my application. Thanks very much for your time. If you need that I need to book consultation with you for this, I am more than happy to do so.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonikatalwar -

Thanks for the note - we can usually complete a visa review for a 457 in 2 days or so given there is far less documentation involved typically than other visas such as partner and fiance visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sonikatalwar said:


> Hii mark
> You are well experienced so i wonder if you advise how much time take 457 visa review for implement?
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jackonhill -

Generally not - the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) needs to first assess your medical exam and test results, then make a determination re: pathway forward, extra tests that may be necessary, and over what period of time, etc. Best to wait for instructions from DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jackonhill said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have a question regarding my 189 visa application. I have lodged my visa on Aug 19, 2014 and have completed the preliminary medical examination! However, I expect my medicals to be referred as I have a history of TB. From what I have been reading, I will be required to take sputum test which will be cultured for 2 months, before medicals are finalised. Also, I guess it takes nearly 8-10 weeks for CO allocation who will refer my medicals for sputum test.
> 
> My question is, can I approach the medical center and do the sputum without the referral from CO yet? So that when the medicals are actually referred I could have the results ready and will not have to wait for 2 additional months.
> 
> Appreciate you help.
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Monster -

You can apply to ACS and state sponsorship, however normally state sponsorship approval generates in an invitation from DIBP to apply for a visa, which only lasts 60 days, so you need to manage the schedule accordingly. Note that if your ban is due to PIC4020, it's likely harder to get around - if your ban is due only to departing on a bridging visa C, D or E after holding it for 28 days (no PIC4020 issues, etc), then the 189 or 190 visa is not subject to the 3 year period since it's a permanent visa and that particular exclusion period (BVC/D/E) applies to temporary visas generally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



monster said:


> one more thing i wanted to ask ,
> 
> since I m on going through a ban period of 3 years , can I apply to ACS and State sponsorship within this time , and apply for visa right after the ban is over?
> 
> or do i have to wait whole 3 years before applying for ACS and SS.
> thanks n regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xuxa -

I'd be more concerned about the 60 days invitation window than the police check delays - even if they ask for them right away (unusual), if you've already made your requests to the police agencies and have evidence of this, they will usually wait until those agencies send your certificates, since the agency delays are beyond your control.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xuxa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the response. To follow up on this, I'm in the middle of getting my police checks although it could take six weeks or more. At this point, do you recommend me submitting my visa application now, or wait until after I get my police checks? My worry is that if I submit my application now and they ask me for police checks and I don't have them, then my application may be cancelled. However if I wait too long to apply, then my 60 day invitation window may have expired.
> 
> Thanks for your help!


----------



## Romulus

Hi Mark.

My wife is on a Temporary Resident visa while we wait the mandatory timeframe before applying for PR. She's now pregnant and due in March next year.

Will DIBP make any allowance for shortening the wait to apply for PR seeing she's pregnant?

Thanks in Advance.


----------



## monster

*thanks again*

Thanks again mark , you were more than a help to me
my ban is due to PIC 4020 ; so I think I should first get ahead with the ACS. Can you kindly suggest whats better?

one more thing ; my friend had his experience assessed from ACS as 1year (after deducting his 2 years frm his work experience) in the field 263111; this field is available both in NSW/VIC for State Sponsorship.
VIC asks 3 years experience ; while ther is nothing mentioned regardin work experience on NSW website.

Can he get ahead to apply for NSW SS with his experience assessed as 1year from ACS? (do the states count the ACS assessed years for awarding sponsorship)?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Monster -
> 
> You can apply to ACS and state sponsorship, however normally state sponsorship approval generates in an invitation from DIBP to apply for a visa, which only lasts 60 days, so you need to manage the schedule accordingly. Note that if your ban is due to PIC4020, it's likely harder to get around - if your ban is due only to departing on a bridging visa C, D or E after holding it for 28 days (no PIC4020 issues, etc), then the 189 or 190 visa is not subject to the 3 year period since it's a permanent visa and that particular exclusion period (BVC/D/E) applies to temporary visas generally.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## chocolate33

hi mark,
if you are lucky enough to have your visa application approved what time frame does immigration give you to be in australia?
thank you, virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romulus -

Generally not - having children is a normal part of married life in DIBP's view I would expect. However if you're in Australia, since you also have the PR part of the application pending, you can get Medicare even before she becomes a PR. Tell Medicare you have a subclass 801 permanent residency application pending with the department, and show them proof of that via the acknowledgement email/letter you received when you first lodged your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Romulus said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> My wife is on a Temporary Resident visa while we wait the mandatory timeframe before applying for PR. She's now pregnant and due in March next year.
> 
> Will DIBP make any allowance for shortening the wait to apply for PR seeing she's pregnant?
> 
> Thanks in Advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Monster -

Re: ACS, it may be a bit early depending on your timeframe - skills assessments expire after 3 years. Your friend will need to check with each state he's interested in applying to, however some states will accept the 2 years taken by ACS as counting towards their requirements, while other states will only accept work experience after ACS takes theirs (like DIBP does for points).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



monster said:


> Thanks again mark , you were more than a help to me
> my ban is due to PIC 4020 ; so I think I should first get ahead with the ACS. Can you kindly suggest whats better?
> 
> one more thing ; my friend had his experience assessed from ACS as 1year (after deducting his 2 years frm his work experience) in the field 263111; this field is available both in NSW/VIC for State Sponsorship.
> VIC asks 3 years experience ; while ther is nothing mentioned regardin work experience on NSW website.
> 
> Can he get ahead to apply for NSW SS with his experience assessed as 1year from ACS? (do the states count the ACS assessed years for awarding sponsorship)?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginia -

Hopefully it less about luck and more about meeting the requirements and filling out the forms correctly, supporting docs, etc! Generally the must-enter-by date to activate a visa is a few months from the grant date. You must enter Australia by that date, however you can turn around and leave the next day if you wish.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> hi mark,
> if you are lucky enough to have your visa application approved what time frame does immigration give you to be in australia?
> thank you, virginia


----------



## travellor

Thanks Mark.....im sure of going down the agent part....take care


----------



## monster

thanks again , just got confused at a point where you say 'some states'
are not all states same in counting work experience?
if not , can you kindly tell about both NSW and VIC , which one of them counts experince as per ACS and which one doesnt.

-- and nex thing , i heard or read somewhere that DIAC doesnt allow applicants to file ACS in the 3-year ban period. if one does it , DIAC will notice and refuse visa.i.e. everything has to be applied for after the exclusion period. Is it true?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Monster -
> 
> Re: ACS, it may be a bit early depending on your timeframe - skills assessments expire after 3 years. Your friend will need to check with each state he's interested in applying to, however some states will accept the 2 years taken by ACS as counting towards their requirements, while other states will only accept work experience after ACS takes theirs (like DIBP does for points).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Monster -

You should have your friend check - states change their regulations frequently, so I don't know what the current ruling is from each state (the states make up their own rules for work experience, so they are not all the same). We always call the state directly for our clients when they are looking for state sponsorship due to the frequent changes.

Re: ACS issue during ban period, never heard that before. ACS and DIBP are two different organisations - separate rules, etc. Here's PIC4020:

_4020 (1) There is no evidence before the Minister that the applicant has given, or caused to be given, to the Minister, an officer, the Migration Review Tribunal, a relevant assessing authority or a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, a bogus document or information that is false or misleading in a material particular in relation to:

(a) the application for the visa; or

(b) a visa that the applicant held in the period of 12 months before the application was made.

(2) The Minister is satisfied that during the period:

(a) starting 3 years before the application was made; and

(b) ending when the Minister makes a decision to grant or refuse the application;

the applicant and each member of the family unit of the applicant has not been refused a visa because of a failure to satisfy the criteria in subclause (1).
_
As you can see, the regulation relates to having a visa refused within the 3 year period - no mention of skills assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



monster said:


> thanks again , just got confused at a point where you say 'some states'
> are not all states same in counting work experience?
> if not , can you kindly tell about both NSW and VIC , which one of them counts experince as per ACS and which one doesnt.
> 
> -- and nex thing , i heard or read somewhere that DIAC doesnt allow applicants to file ACS in the 3-year ban period. if one does it , DIAC will notice and refuse visa.i.e. everything has to be applied for after the exclusion period. Is it true?


----------



## Romulus

Thanks Mark.

My wife already has per TR and Medicare Card, TFN and other items. I wasn't sure if it would make any difference, so we'll update our details to DIBP when necessary.


----------



## Maryam

Dear sir;

If u remembers me, am Iranian and my fiancee is Iranian too. He left Iran illegal and now has PR and he is full time employee as well.
He will get his citizenship in May 2015. Is it possible that he apply for my visa now (Without citizenship)?
If yes, then how long it will take?
Marriage status is faster for me or fiancee status? I meant to say if we get married its more easy for us or both procedure is same?


----------



## swagata

*Appropriate visa for my child*

Dear Mark,
I hold provisional partner sub class 309 and now eligible to apply for sub class 100 visa. I have been blessed with a baby boy recently and the child was born at my native place in India. I am planning to travel to Australia in late November and need to apply a suitable visa for my child and have below queries - 
1. Do I apply for sub class 445 visa for my child or my husband sponsors for subclass 101 visa for my child in India?
2. Since both those visas would take some time to arrive, do I first apply for a visitor for my child and once the child is in Australia, then apply for a 445 visa?
3. Since my first priority is to travel to Australia, which of the above options is most suitable?
3. I would not be able to apply for my sub class 100 visa till a decision of 445 visa is made. Will it have any impact on my current visa?
4. Does it take less if I apply for 445 visa in Australia compared to applying in India? 
5. Does the child need to be outside Australia when a decision will be made on these visas?

Thanks in Advance,
Swagata


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maryam -

I would need to know much more about your and his situation and circumstances to give you any specific advice for your case - if you'd like to book a consultation so we would have the time and resources to go into your case and provide specific advice, would be happy to - see link to our website below -

Thanks,

Mark Northam



Maryam said:


> Dear sir;
> 
> If u remembers me, am Iranian and my fiancee is Iranian too. He left Iran illegal and now has PR and he is full time employee as well.
> He will get his citizenship in May 2015. Is it possible that he apply for my visa now (Without citizenship)?
> If yes, then how long it will take?
> Marriage status is faster for me or fiancee status? I meant to say if we get married its more easy for us or both procedure is same?


----------



## arminIT

Dear Mark,

After my visa (476) were granted, I notice that some dates in question of 20 of Form 80, in Employment section were incorrect. Actually the same story is true for Form 1221 (Question 25:Employment status) and even my resume. That was happened because of incorrect converting dates from Jalali to Gregorian Dates. 
I wondering Should I fill Form 1023 and inform my case officer?

After some month I want to apply for visa 189, does that mistake have adverse impact on my future lodgement?

Thanks in Advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swagata -

Would need to see you at a consultation to work all of this out - too many questions/details to do this here on the forum, and need to get much more info about the specifics of your case. See link below in my signature for our website if you'd like to book a consultation - we offer them via Skype, phone and in person at our office in Sydney.

Best,

Mark Northam



swagata said:


> Dear Mark,
> I hold provisional partner sub class 309 and now eligible to apply for sub class 100 visa. I have been blessed with a baby boy recently and the child was born at my native place in India. I am planning to travel to Australia in late November and need to apply a suitable visa for my child and have below queries -
> 1. Do I apply for sub class 445 visa for my child or my husband sponsors for subclass 101 visa for my child in India?
> 2. Since both those visas would take some time to arrive, do I first apply for a visitor for my child and once the child is in Australia, then apply for a 445 visa?
> 3. Since my first priority is to travel to Australia, which of the above options is most suitable?
> 3. I would not be able to apply for my sub class 100 visa till a decision of 445 visa is made. Will it have any impact on my current visa?
> 4. Does it take less if I apply for 445 visa in Australia compared to applying in India?
> 5. Does the child need to be outside Australia when a decision will be made on these visas?
> 
> Thanks in Advance,
> Swagata


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ArminlT -

Probably too late to do this now that the visa has been granted - it's your choice, but you may want to consider correcting the dates in the next application - whether you do this now or later depends on whether they were critical to your case or not important to your case, however if they were critical and you inform them now, that may cause issues as well. Sorry don't have a recommended solution for this, but it will all come down to how critical the dates were to the 476 application, and the attitude of the case officer in both the 476 and for whatever future application you lodge.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arminIT said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> After my visa (476) were granted, I notice that some dates in question of 20 of Form 80, in Employment section were incorrect. Actually the same story is true for Form 1221 (Question 25:Employment status) and even my resume. That was happened because of incorrect converting dates from Jalali to Gregorian Dates.
> I wondering Should I fill Form 1023 and inform my case officer?
> 
> After some month I want to apply for visa 189, does that mistake have adverse impact on my future lodgement?
> 
> Thanks in Advance.


----------



## arminIT

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for the prompt reply,
Actually Work Experience wasn't necessary for my 476 visa. 
If we suppose they aren't critical for my 476 application do you recommended that I inform them now? 

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ArminIT -

Can't make any specific recommendations for your case without seeing the 476 application, seeing the information that was incorrect, and figuring out how this might factor into whatever future visa(s) you are interested in. Can do that at a consultation - see my website below for more info. Short answer: there's no easy yes or no to this without knowing all the details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arminIT said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for the prompt reply,
> Actually Work Experience wasn't necessary for my 476 visa.
> If we suppose they aren't critical for my 476 application do you recommended that I inform them now?
> 
> Regards


----------



## andrewcool

Hi Mark

I would like to ask a couple of quick question about Police check for my partner who will be applying for Partner Visa here in Australia. She will be coming here to Australia probably within a few months and she's wondering if she is better off doing the police check in advance in her country to get everything before coming here or do you advise not do anything until the case officer requires her to do so when she is in Australia? She stated if she can, she prefer to do it in advance in her country even PV application has not processed yet.

And another one is if she applies PV by online (not paper), how long does it take to be granted for the Bridging Visa to take effect? Immediately after payment? 1 day? few days? etc

Thanks in advance

Andrew


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

Re: police checks, they expire in 1 year, and partner visas can take 1 yr to process in some cases (or more), so best to get them just before you lodge, or just after you lodge. Most countries have a way of people ordering them from abroad (ie, if applicant is in Australia), but a few do not, so best to thoroughly check out the application method, forms, etc with the particular country. Re: Australian AFP police cert, these usually take 2-4 weeks to arrive - might as well order when in Australia very close to application time.

Normally if the applicant is in Australia on a substantive (ie, non-bridging) visa and lodges an online application, the bridging visa is granted right away (within 1 hour).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andrewcool said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I would like to ask a couple of quick question about Police check for my partner who will be applying for Partner Visa here in Australia. She will be coming here to Australia probably within a few months and she's wondering if she is better off doing the police check in advance in her country to get everything before coming here or do you advise not do anything until the case officer requires her to do so when she is in Australia? She stated if she can, she prefer to do it in advance in her country even PV application has not processed yet.
> 
> And another one is if she applies PV by online (not paper), how long does it take to be granted for the Bridging Visa to take effect? Immediately after payment? 1 day? few days? etc
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Andrew


----------



## fitzroyy

Hi Mark

I have read an article somewhere that sometimes this year, there has been a change of rule about applying Partner Visa compared to previous years and I think it is something to do with tightening the restrictions of something, I forgot what exactly it was. I could be wrong though.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fitzroyy -

The only change I know of was the major policy change to Schedule 3 criteria for partner visas that happened in July of this year - essentially made it significantly more difficult to be granted an onshore partner visa (sc820/801) if you apply while on a bridging visa or if you have been in Australia unlawfully.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fitzroyy said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have read an article somewhere that sometimes this year, there has been a change of rule about applying Partner Visa compared to previous years and I think it is something to do with tightening the restrictions of something, I forgot what exactly it was. I could be wrong though.


----------



## Harron

Greetings Mark.
I applied for student visa under subclass 573 (Higher Education Sector) on August 2nd 2014. Next day I got a mail from SVCSA telling me to submit the following:
1-Conformation of Enrollment 
2-Undergo the Medical Exam & submit bio-matric data
3-Send a certified color copy of passport.
I submitted all of the information/completed med.exam as requested. CoE & passport copy were mailed on 10th Aug 2014. 
Generally it is believed that once you are told to submit the COE you get visa pretty quickly but that has not happened in my case.What do u reckon?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harron -

Hard to tell - DIBP provides no tracking data as to where an application is in the process. Could be security checking - that's a common reason for a delay - however I would not assume that a case officer or case team has been assigned quite yet - DIBP seems to be triaging applications as they come in and quickly sending out emails for missing items, then at some future point the application is taken up for processing. Again, hard to say how long this will take as these things can range from a few weeks to 2-3 months depending on the circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Harron said:


> Greetings Mark.
> I applied for student visa under subclass 573 (Higher Education Sector) on August 2nd 2014. Next day I got a mail from SVCSA telling me to submit the following:
> 1-Conformation of Enrollment
> 2-Undergo the Medical Exam & submit bio-matric data
> 3-Send a certified color copy of passport.
> I submitted all of the information/completed med.exam as requested. CoE & passport copy were mailed on 10th Aug 2014.
> Generally it is believed that once you are told to submit the COE you get visa pretty quickly but that has not happened in my case.What do u reckon?


----------



## Harron

*Thankyou*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Harron -
> 
> Hard to tell - DIBP provides no tracking data as to where an application is in the process. Could be security checking - that's a common reason for a delay - however I would not assume that a case officer or case team has been assigned quite yet - DIBP seems to be triaging applications as they come in and quickly sending out emails for missing items, then at some future point the application is taken up for processing. Again, hard to say how long this will take as these things can range from a few weeks to 2-3 months depending on the circumstances.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thankyou for the quick reply Mark.
I would just like to mention that a Case Officer has been assigned, actually the attachments that I got in my inbox were from the case officer. I totally agree with you that security checks consume a lot f time.Once again thankyou for your help.


----------



## Emznixb

Hi mark, 

Long story tried to be cut short.. 

I'm on a 457 visa, unfortunately my boss has sold the business, the new owner has applied to become a sponsor and is going to undertake my sponsorship until it finishes next year (June 2015) (before my 'boss' sold the business I recently got married and was going to apply for a marriage visa but am unable to at the moment) my boss has been approved as a sponsor and lodged a visa application to transfer my visa from my old sponsor to my new sponsor/boss, this got refused due to my new sponsor applying through a personal email address (this is what I've been told) so we have now lodged a new application, not transferring my visa but going through the whole 457 route again, so once it is approved I can lodge my marriage visa?!? 

I'm so confused with this, and am so worried that my sponsorship will be refused for the second time, I'm told I have to be on my sponsorship to lodge my other visa (marriage/partner visa) and it will come into effect once my sponsorship has finished! 

Facts about me - 
-I've been in Australia 5 yrs
-I have transferred my visa once before on my 457
-I want to apply for my marriage/partner visa ASAP as I don't want to be on my 457 visa 
- I'm British 


Please help me try and solve this, all I want to do is live in australia with my Aussie hubby!


----------



## umairhassan

Hi Mark,
I didn't finish my course in UK and came back to Pakistan. The college is merged into another college. I was not happy there as all the staff were not professional. The only options left for me are Either I have to take admission in another college or to come back. In the meanwhile, I have to come Pakistan for settling some family issues. So when I came, some friends and relatives guide me to go for Australia rather than taking new admission in UK.
Now I'm confused that it could be a problem in getting Australian student visa, as I might not be a genuine student in their opinion.
Need guidance from you that it can be a problem for me to convince the visa officer as I dont have anything to show in that particular time I spent in UK, if i talk about the college and its environment they might think I'm making excuses. Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emznixb -

Thanks for the note. As long as your 457 visa is still valid (ie, not cancelled), you can lodge a Partner visa application assuming you have sufficient relationship evidence, Australian citizen or PR sponsor, etc. It's only if your 457 visa has ceased or been cancelled that an onshore partner visa triggers Schedule 3 criteria which can prevent the visa from being granted onshore and may require you to re-lodge offshore.

Re: sponsorship being turned down because the sponsor used a personal email address, that sounds fishy to me - the choice of email address (ie, [email protected]) would not generally have a bearing on whether a business meets the sponsorship criteria or not. I suspect there is more going on than just an email address that has contributed to the sponsorship refusal.

You may want to sit down with a registered migration agent and see exactly what your options are - ie, are you ready to lodge a partner visa, what happens if the 457 is cancelled (ie bridging visa options), etc. I'm concerned you may have been getting some incorrect information thus far.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emznixb said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Long story tried to be cut short..
> 
> I'm on a 457 visa, unfortunately my boss has sold the business, the new owner has applied to become a sponsor and is going to undertake my sponsorship until it finishes next year (June 2015) (before my 'boss' sold the business I recently got married and was going to apply for a marriage visa but am unable to at the moment) my boss has been approved as a sponsor and lodged a visa application to transfer my visa from my old sponsor to my new sponsor/boss, this got refused due to my new sponsor applying through a personal email address (this is what I've been told) so we have now lodged a new application, not transferring my visa but going through the whole 457 route again, so once it is approved I can lodge my marriage visa?!?
> 
> I'm so confused with this, and am so worried that my sponsorship will be refused for the second time, I'm told I have to be on my sponsorship to lodge my other visa (marriage/partner visa) and it will come into effect once my sponsorship has finished!
> 
> Facts about me -
> -I've been in Australia 5 yrs
> -I have transferred my visa once before on my 457
> -I want to apply for my marriage/partner visa ASAP as I don't want to be on my 457 visa
> - I'm British
> 
> Please help me try and solve this, all I want to do is live in australia with my Aussie hubby!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Umairhassan -

Thanks for the questions. The genuine student criteria can be tricky since the word "genuine" has no real definition - it gives case officers a lot of room to decide how they want based on their opinion of your circumstances. If you're doing the visa yourself, I'd study the genuine student policy criteria very carefully, and if you feel that it's a risky application, consider putting a letter in with your Australian student visa application stating how you meet all the various genuine visitor policy criteria - ie, family overseas, employment ties to your home country, etc. That's the approach that most agents take with higher risk applicants.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



umairhassan said:


> Hi Mark,
> I didn't finish my course in UK and came back to Pakistan. The college is merged into another college. I was not happy there as all the staff were not professional. The only options left for me are Either I have to take admission in another college or to come back. In the meanwhile, I have to come Pakistan for settling some family issues. So when I came, some friends and relatives guide me to go for Australia rather than taking new admission in UK.
> Now I'm confused that it could be a problem in getting Australian student visa, as I might not be a genuine student in their opinion.
> Need guidance from you that it can be a problem for me to convince the visa officer as I dont have anything to show in that particular time I spent in UK, if i talk about the college and its environment they might think I'm making excuses. Thanks in advance


----------



## Nytshade77

Hi Mark, 

In regard to my query a week ago about my student visa 573 being refused as I was on tourist visa subclass 600, as I am going to lodge my appeal to MRT tomorrow. Will I need to attach an argument or do I can file it straight away and send the argument on a later date? 

hope you can still find my initial query last week, as I am still trying to get my bearing how to use this site and quote my query. All apologies


----------



## Emznixb

Hi mark, 

Thankyou so much for taking time to msg back. What would happen if my boss/sponsor has his nomination cancelled for the second time? Does this mean I can't lodge another visa for 2 yrs? My boss has lodged his nomination to sponsor me, should I get him to just cancel that and do my marriage visa? Sorry for the confusing questions!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emznixb -

Your boss's sponsorship or nomination applications have no effect on your 457 visa - you have 90 days from when your previous sponsor ceased sponsoring you to find a new sponsor, whether it be your new boss or someone else. See my post on the other thread re: issues if your 457 doesn't expire for some time. This all assumes that your 457 is still valid...?

Best,

Mark



Emznixb said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Thankyou so much for taking time to msg back. What would happen if my boss/sponsor has his nomination cancelled for the second time? Does this mean I can't lodge another visa for 2 yrs? My boss has lodged his nomination to sponsor me, should I get him to just cancel that and do my marriage visa? Sorry for the confusing questions!


----------



## Baz88

Hi Mark

I was wondering you could advice me on the below, any help would be great.

I am 32 years old been going to Perth since I was 16, been a 11 times, love the place. My girlfriend and I would like to move over with our one year old Son. We our both British. None of us have a trade but I have experience in social housing and retail and my girlfriend ran her own public house for 9 years.

I have family (Auntie and Uncle) and friends living in Perth who are willing to support us with somewhere to stay and a car etc. I have tried looking at 457 visa sponsors but can't find any companies covering our experience. Does anyone have any ideas how was can move over to Perth?
If I was to learn a new trade e.g. Plaster, Electrician etc. what is the best trade to go for and what does Australia need?

Thanks Barry


----------



## Emznixb

Hi Emzinxb -

I'll jump in here and second the advice you've received from others to find a good agent who can help you understand the law in this area. The work issue you're talking about, I expect, is the fact that if your 457 is not set to expire for a long time, even if you lodge a partner visa, the bridging visa for the partner visa application will not activate until the 457 expires on its own. If the 457 is cancelled (due to not finding a new sponsor after your old sponsor was unable to sponsor you any more), the bridging visa for the partner visa if you've already lodged that will also be cancelled automatically, leaving you with no visa. Most people at that point lodge an application for a Bridging Visa E, then apply based on financial hardship to have work rights added to that bridging visa E. Then they stay on the BV-E until the partner visa is granted. Another downside of this route is that you cannot leave Australia while holding the BV-E, as it would cease when you depart Australia and you would have no visa to come back in on (plus, in many cases, a 3 year ban on temporary visas would prevent you from getting a visitor visa to come back on unless a waiver is granted). That also means you lose the time you've spent in Australia up until the 457 was cancelled and would not be able to use that time towards the 4 year requirement for citizenship.

Best to sit down with a migration agent who can help you through the various options and help you plot a good course forward.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam

Just putting your last post on here, I'm super new to this forum and trying to get a hang of it! I'm defiantly going to search for a new agent and sit down with them and work out a plan for my future. 

But just from here on, as I've already told you, my boss has lodged his nomination to sponsor me, we are awaiting the verdict. What could I do if this got refused? (It doesn't affect me if it gets refused ie banned from applying for a visa for 2 yrs?) Do I get the 28 days and what am I able to do after this? I'm sorry if theses are silly questions.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emznixb -

It all depends on what visa you are on now. If you are still on your old 457 and it has not been cancelled yet, then you could apply for something else. If your 457 gets cancelled, then that can cause problems going forward depending on the circumstances - the regulations re: cancellations are complex - would need to work with you in a consultation to work out your options.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emznixb said:


> Just putting your last post on here, I'm super new to this forum and trying to get a hang of it! I'm defiantly going to search for a new agent and sit down with them and work out a plan for my future.
> 
> But just from here on, as I've already told you, my boss has lodged his nomination to sponsor me, we are awaiting the verdict. What could I do if this got refused? (It doesn't affect me if it gets refused ie banned from applying for a visa for 2 yrs?) Do I get the 28 days and what am I able to do after this? I'm sorry if theses are silly questions.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Barry -

If a 457 doesn't work for you, a student visa might be a good choice - you could add your partner as a defacto partner, and as you have a child together that usually solves any concerns about the genuineness of your defacto partnership. Re: what Australia needs, I don't really work in that area, but you might check sites like SEEK - Australia's no. 1 jobs, employment, career and recruitment site and other job boards and recruiters to see what skills are in the most demand.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Baz88 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I was wondering you could advice me on the below, any help would be great.
> 
> I am 32 years old been going to Perth since I was 16, been a 11 times, love the place. My girlfriend and I would like to move over with our one year old Son. We our both British. None of us have a trade but I have experience in social housing and retail and my girlfriend ran her own public house for 9 years.
> 
> I have family (Auntie and Uncle) and friends living in Perth who are willing to support us with somewhere to stay and a car etc. I have tried looking at 457 visa sponsors but can't find any companies covering our experience. Does anyone have any ideas how was can move over to Perth?
> If I was to learn a new trade e.g. Plaster, Electrician etc. what is the best trade to go for and what does Australia need?
> 
> Thanks Barry


----------



## chrisj83

Hi Mark,

I wonder if you can give us some advice on adding a partner (fiance) to the Visa 190 application.

How do we add a partner (fiance) to the Visa 190 application?
Does the partner come under "Migrating family members"?

The help page is very confusing and we've not found another page in the online application where it allows you to add a partner.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance,
Chris


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chris -

If you have not lodged the application yet, then Migrating Family members is the place. If you have already lodged the application, there's a link over on the right column after you pull up your application where you can add an additional family member.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chrisj83 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I wonder if you can give us some advice on adding a partner (fiance) to the Visa 190 application.
> 
> How do we add a partner (fiance) to the Visa 190 application?
> Does the partner come under "Migrating family members"?
> 
> The help page is very confusing and we've not found another page in the online application where it allows you to add a partner.
> 
> Any help would be much appreciated.
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Chris


----------



## shazz

*Re: Non Cont. Aged Parent Visa*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are well!
Depending upon what comes out of senate next week!!
Would you be able to advise about non-cont. aged parent visa application options.

Would it be possible for the applicant to submit it from overseas or do they need to be in Australia?

My parents leaving just before the 24 of this month and just wondering if everything goes well in senate, do I need to fly them back in Australia to submit the application!! 
Regards 
Shazz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shazz -

Should be interesting! You'd have to check the specific requirements for the visa you're interested in, but normally Parent visa applications normally must be posted or sent by courier to the Parent Visa Centre in Perth for either the onshore or offshore parent visa subclasses.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shazz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are well!
> Depending upon what comes out of senate next week!!
> Would you be able to advise about non-cont. aged parent visa application options.
> 
> Would it be possible for the applicant to submit it from overseas or do they need to be in Australia?
> 
> My parents leaving just before the 24 of this month and just wondering if everything goes well in senate, do I need to fly them back in Australia to submit the application!!
> Regards
> Shazz


----------



## swagata

*Query regarding sc 445 visa*

Dear Mark,
I hold sc 309 visa and recently blessed with a baby in India. I am planning to apply sc 445 visa for my child. I see the lead time of 445 visa is 14 months in India and 7-8 months in Australia. Can I bring my child to Australia and then apply a 445 visa in Australia? Will the child need to travel out of Australia when the 445 visa is granted?
Thanks,
Swagi


----------



## akrish

*Partner Visa*

Hi Mark, I am preparing to apply for the 820 visa subclass. My wife is 17 years older than me and I am concerned if this will cause further screening in our application. Is that correct? Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swagata -

Thanks for the questions - the subclass 445 dependent child visa application can be made when the child is in Australia or outside of Australia - note special instructions on how/where to lodge depending on physical location of the child at the date of application. If application is made when the child is in Australia, whatever visa the child is on would need to not have condition 8503. Wherever child is when application is lodged determines where they must be when granted - ie, if in Australia when application is lodged, the child then must be in Australia when the visa is granted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swagata said:


> Dear Mark,
> I hold sc 309 visa and recently blessed with a baby in India. I am planning to apply sc 445 visa for my child. I see the lead time of 445 visa is 14 months in India and 7-8 months in Australia. Can I bring my child to Australia and then apply a 445 visa in Australia? Will the child need to travel out of Australia when the 445 visa is granted?
> Thanks,
> Swagi


----------



## norm

Hi mark , hope you doing good? I have a question i am from high risk country and recently married after i lodged 887 , what visa sub class i should apply for my wife , also can i apply for her visit visa to bring her here and then apply for any partner visa , as i have heared partner visa for high risk country can take upto 15 months plz if u can reply , how much would you charge as i am struggling with finance plz reply i shall be really thankfull to you.


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Akrish -

Yes. An age difference of more than 10 years is considered a potential risk factor. Other risk factors can be: last relationship ended recently, short duration of current relationship, previous history of negative immigration, a relationship primarily existing on the internet, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



akrish said:


> Hi Mark, I am preparing to apply for the 820 visa subclass. My wife is 17 years older than me and I am concerned if this will cause further screening in our application. Is that correct? Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Norm -

Thanks for the questions. Unfortunately no way to add a family member onto an 887 application after it is lodged, so you may have to wait until it's granted, then get her here on a visitor or other visa (assuming that visa does not have condition 8503) and then apply for an onshore partner visa once she's here. Other option is offshore partner visa after you become a PR (887 is granted).

Yes, partner visas can take 12 or more months - offshore ones for high risk countries tend to take the longest from what I've seen. Happy to discuss fees if you'd like to contact me directly - see website link below to do so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



norm said:


> Hi mark , hope you doing good? I have a question i am from high risk country and recently married after i lodged 887 , what visa sub class i should apply for my wife , also can i apply for her visit visa to bring her here and then apply for any partner visa , as i have heared partner visa for high risk country can take upto 15 months plz if u can reply , how much would you charge as i am struggling with finance plz reply i shall be really thankfull to you.


----------



## megsy

*47sp*

Morning Mark,

I am in the midst of going through my husbands application for partner visa (after prospective marriage Visa) but got stuck on question 75 of 47SP. It asks if my husband has ever been granted permission to work in australia. Since he is currently on PMV and is therefore allowed to work, is this considered a grant? Or not?

Thanks again!

Megsy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megsy -

Yes, it would be since that visa has full work rights - you can put the grant and expiry dates of the PMV on there if they are asking for specific dates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megsy said:


> Morning Mark,
> 
> I am in the midst of going through my husbands application for partner visa (after prospective marriage Visa) but got stuck on question 75 of 47SP. It asks if my husband has ever been granted permission to work in australia. Since he is currently on PMV and is therefore allowed to work, is this considered a grant? Or not?
> 
> Thanks again!
> 
> Megsy


----------



## Austyn

*Visa help needed*

Aloha once again Mark. I am here because my original plans have taken a turn.

So, I am here in Australia on Holiday visiting my wife. She is a New Zealand citizen living and working here. We recently discovered that we are having a baby! As exciting as this is, it is also scary as my wife will have to stop working soon and I am unable to work legally right now. I was just wondering if there are any visas that will let me stay and work here permanently, seeing as my wife will be out of work due to her pregnancy. Hope you can help.

Thanks,

Austyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Aloha and Congratulations! That's great news. There are several ways to go you could look into - first might be a subclass 461 NZ Family Relationship visa which you normally would be eligible for as the husband of a NZ citizen. This assumes she is here on a sc444 visa - the one that NZ folks get at the airport with a stamp (ie, don't have to apply for). If granted, this lets you remain here for 5 years with full work and study rights. It's not a PR visa, but it's the next best thing and is probably easier and faster to get than a skilled PR visa. If you have an employer to sponsor you for an employer sponsored work visa, the options then are the 457 temporary work visa (461 is a better choice than this however), or the 186 or 187 employer sponsored PR visas. If your wife is an "eligible NZ citizen" - that is, a NZ person who was here on 26 Feb 2001, she may be able to sponsor you for a partner visa.

Might make sense to sit down with a migration agent to go through all the various requirements of these different visas to see which one(s) make sense given your specific circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## swavik

Hey mark,

Happy to say that I received the Grant mail Today morning IST 7 am..

Lodged the Visa on 3rd june, 

All documents Frontloaded,

CO allocated 3rd Sept, asked for Health Undertaking to be signed.

Submitted the Undertaking on 4th September,

Called DIBP today morning at 6 am IST and received the Grant mail at 7am

First entry to be made before 11 Dec 2014..

One milestone crossed ,now planning for the next..

All the best to all of you..

Thank you very much for each and every person on the forum who helped to keep everyone updated..

Thank you Mark for your precious spent to reply to our queries


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi Mark, 
First I would like to say thank for kind help. I study in Australia hospitality management and diploma of business than I move to NZ to work as chef. Now I am in India and my boss of NZ restaurant who is Australian citizen move to australia Ocen shore, nsw. He wants to open restaurant in Australia and sponsor as restaurant manager. My question is what necessary steps he needs to do sponsor me. How good chances to get approve nomination. Please help me.

Thank u
Bharat


----------



## pauly

Hi Mark, 

First of all you're a legend! Thank you for all the advice you offer. 

I have a question, I'm a on a PR visa just recently granted and my brother is a citizen, we have our mum and sister back home they are coming to visit us for a couple of months in a few weeks (family sponsored visitor visa).My mum has retired and my sister has a degree in social working and is doing a Master in Psychology back home. Knowing that non-contributory and last remaining relative visas have ended what other options do we have to keep them here?

Thanks heaps for your help,
Pauly.


----------



## ReneeS

Hi Mark,

Thanks so much for what you do here, it is much appreciated. 

I have just found out today my partner application was refused thanks to the new changes to Schedule 3 criteria. A bit of background on me is as follows:

I was on a student visa but was in a terrible relationship at the time with a man who alienated me from all friends and family and ultimately stopped me studying. When my visa expired in 2009 I could not do anything as I had no support in Australia and had been out of contact with all family for over 4 years.
During this time I met my now husband who helped me get out of this relationship, showed me I was worth something and pushed me to get back in contact with my family. We have been together ever since, living together since Feb 2011 and married since Oct 2011. I lodged my partner visa application in June 2013 but received a letter asking for me to document compelling reasons. My migration agent did so but I just found out today it has been refused. 

My agent has advised me to appeal to the MRT but I am scared that the decision will be the same if they are all going off the same handbook now. What was more worrying is that when I spoke to him today he didn't seem to know about these changes! 
I am feeling a little desperate at the moment and I would really appreciate any advice you can give me, do you think I have a shot considering we have been married almost 3 years? Also he has children which we have for the entire holiday blocks (their mum lives in another state). I look after them during these periods and he stated in my application that if I had to leave he would come with me but the delegate was not satisfied that it was imperative for him to move offshore with me thus rendering any effect on my step children null. 

I appreciate all the help you provide here, you are a small ray of hope in this confusing process, thanks. I am feeling a little panicked and desperate at the moment and would love any advice. I know I have an agent and should trust him to get this right but I felt a little shakey after reading all this and him not knowing about it.. Thanks again for your help.


----------



## Yeahm8

Hi Mark. Thanks in advance. I've lived with my aunt since I was 11. Before moving to Aus, they got what's been stated to be a court order under the Adoption Act and it stated that I was under custody of them. I also got a report to support this from the welfare officer who assessed me in ZImbabwe (2006). I'm here under a student visa but am I able to apply for a child visa? I'm over 18 but under 25 and believe I am a dependent. Look forward to your reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Congratulations, Swavik! Great outcome - well done.

Hope you enjoy Australia!

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hey mark,
> 
> Happy to say that I received the Grant mail Today morning IST 7 am..
> 
> Lodged the Visa on 3rd june,
> 
> All documents Frontloaded,
> 
> CO allocated 3rd Sept, asked for Health Undertaking to be signed.
> 
> Submitted the Undertaking on 4th September,
> 
> Called DIBP today morning at 6 am IST and received the Grant mail at 7am
> 
> First entry to be made before 11 Dec 2014..
> 
> One milestone crossed ,now planning for the next..
> 
> All the best to all of you..
> 
> Thank you very much for each and every person on the forum who helped to keep everyone updated..
> 
> Thank you Mark for your precious spent to reply to our queries


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

Would need many more details in order to give you any specific advice - generally restaurants hire people via 457 temporary work visas, but sometimes they do RSMS or ENS employer sponsored PR visas depending on the conditions. Would need to work with you in a consultation to see what visa(s) are the best fit for the situation, both with the sponsor's situation and yours. If you'd like to do this, please see link in my signature below and look for "Professional Consultation" link at the top.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi Mark,
> First I would like to say thank for kind help. I study in Australia hospitality management and diploma of business than I move to NZ to work as chef. Now I am in India and my boss of NZ restaurant who is Australian citizen move to australia Ocen shore, nsw. He wants to open restaurant in Australia and sponsor as restaurant manager. My question is what necessary steps he needs to do sponsor me. How good chances to get approve nomination. Please help me.
> 
> Thank u
> Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pauly -

Thanks for the questions and kind words!

For your mother, there is the contributory parent visa and, perhaps, if the disallowance motion is granted sometime after the 24th of this month, a slight window to lodge the non-contributory parent application (see another thread on this in the forum), however that's a big "if". Unfortunately no great ways to bring a parent here other than that if they do not qualify for a work visa, etc of some sort.

For your sister, there is no sibling visa, but a work visa is probably the best choice. If she is dependent on your mom and qualifies age-wise (would need to establish financial dependency according to DIBP policy, etc), there's a chance she could get in as a dependent of your mom if your mom is applying, etc. You may want to work with a migration agent to go through the options and requirements and see what the best fit is -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pauly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all you're a legend! Thank you for all the advice you offer.
> 
> I have a question, I'm a on a PR visa just recently granted and my brother is a citizen, we have our mum and sister back home they are coming to visit us for a couple of months in a few weeks (family sponsored visitor visa).My mum has retired and my sister has a degree in social working and is doing a Master in Psychology back home. Knowing that non-contributory and last remaining relative visas have ended what other options do we have to keep them here?
> 
> Thanks heaps for your help,
> Pauly.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ReneeS -

Sorry to hear about your refusal - if it helps, there are massive refusals we're now seeing for Sched 3 for partner visas since the July policy change at DIBP in this area. If your agent did not know about this change, that is not a good sign.

I would encourage you to take your case to the MRT, but make sure you have an agent who is very experienced in partner visas and Sched 3 issues - whether you were unlawful when applying for the partner visa or were on a bridging visa may make a big difference. But given how high DIBP has now set the bar for partner visa sched 3, it will take a significant amount of legal research and work to get cases successfully through - any agent taking on this type of case needs to make sure they do not underestimate the effects of the July policy change - it's huge.

The other option of course is to depart Australia and lodge offshore. The issue there is what bridging visa you depart on - if you have an A or B, that's fine. But if you have a C, D or E and have held that visa for more than 28 days, you'll have a 3 year exclusion period on all temporary visas imposed on you when you depart, which would prevent you from being granted a visitor visa during that period (until the partner visa is granted) unless you are granted an exclusion period waiver. If that's the case, it might push you more towards the MRT option and staying onshore. Also make sure you strictly observe the MRT application lodgement deadline, as there are no extensions available for that. The actual written submission with all the legal arguments and evidence can be lodged later, but the application form and fee must be lodged on time if you're doing that.

Please advise if I can assist further and hang in there -

Best,

Mark Northam



ReneeS said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks so much for what you do here, it is much appreciated.
> 
> I have just found out today my partner application was refused thanks to the new changes to Schedule 3 criteria. A bit of background on me is as follows:
> 
> I was on a student visa but was in a terrible relationship at the time with a man who alienated me from all friends and family and ultimately stopped me studying. When my visa expired in 2009 I could not do anything as I had no support in Australia and had been out of contact with all family for over 4 years.
> During this time I met my now husband who helped me get out of this relationship, showed me I was worth something and pushed me to get back in contact with my family. We have been together ever since, living together since Feb 2011 and married since Oct 2011. I lodged my partner visa application in June 2013 but received a letter asking for me to document compelling reasons. My migration agent did so but I just found out today it has been refused.
> 
> My agent has advised me to appeal to the MRT but I am scared that the decision will be the same if they are all going off the same handbook now. What was more worrying is that when I spoke to him today he didn't seem to know about these changes!
> I am feeling a little desperate at the moment and I would really appreciate any advice you can give me, do you think I have a shot considering we have been married almost 3 years? Also he has children which we have for the entire holiday blocks (their mum lives in another state). I look after them during these periods and he stated in my application that if I had to leave he would come with me but the delegate was not satisfied that it was imperative for him to move offshore with me thus rendering any effect on my step children null.
> 
> I appreciate all the help you provide here, you are a small ray of hope in this confusing process, thanks. I am feeling a little panicked and desperate at the moment and would love any advice. I know I have an agent and should trust him to get this right but I felt a little shakey after reading all this and him not knowing about it.. Thanks again for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yeahm8 -

Thanks for the question. It may be possible if the legal mechanism by which they were given custody of you qualifies as an adoption under the Family Law Act 1975 - this will take some research to determine, based on the specifics of the document(s) involved from Zimbabwe and a close look at the Australian law involved. Please advise if I can assist further - you can contact me via my website listed below in my signature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Yeahm8 said:


> Hi Mark. Thanks in advance. I've lived with my aunt since I was 11. Before moving to Aus, they got what's been stated to be a court order under the Adoption Act and it stated that I was under custody of them. I also got a report to support this from the welfare officer who assessed me in ZImbabwe (2006). I'm here under a student visa but am I able to apply for a child visa? I'm over 18 but under 25 and believe I am a dependent. Look forward to your reply.


----------



## bhalo_fish

Thanks mark, I advice my employer to contact you. Appreciate your help.


----------



## ReneeS

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your quick reply. I had a look on your website as you have been highly recommended by many. I am located in Brisbane but would you consider taking an interstate case or can you point me in the right direction to someone in Brisbane who has the relevant experience?

My migration agent has plenty of immigration experience but this is such an important decision for me, I really want to make the right choice.

Thanks again..



MarkNortham said:


> Hi ReneeS -
> 
> Sorry to hear about your refusal - if it helps, there are massive refusals we're now seeing for Sched 3 for partner visas since the July policy change at DIBP in this area. If your agent did not know about this change, that is not a good sign.
> 
> I would encourage you to take your case to the MRT, but make sure you have an agent who is very experienced in partner visas and Sched 3 issues - whether you were unlawful when applying for the partner visa or were on a bridging visa may make a big difference. But given how high DIBP has now set the bar for partner visa sched 3, it will take a significant amount of legal research and work to get cases successfully through - any agent taking on this type of case needs to make sure they do not underestimate the effects of the July policy change - it's huge.
> 
> The other option of course is to depart Australia and lodge offshore. The issue there is what bridging visa you depart on - if you have an A or B, that's fine. But if you have a C, D or E and have held that visa for more than 28 days, you'll have a 3 year exclusion period on all temporary visas imposed on you when you depart, which would prevent you from being granted a visitor visa during that period (until the partner visa is granted) unless you are granted an exclusion period waiver. If that's the case, it might push you more towards the MRT option and staying onshore. Also make sure you strictly observe the MRT application lodgement deadline, as there are no extensions available for that. The actual written submission with all the legal arguments and evidence can be lodged later, but the application form and fee must be lodged on time if you're doing that.
> 
> Please advise if I can assist further and hang in there -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Austyn

Aloha Mark! Your help is extremely helpful and very much appreciated. I have another question, will being on the Sc461 visa allow me to get Medicare? Or no? 

Thanks!

Austyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ReneeS -

I don't know any agents in Brisbane, but we have clients all over Australia and in many countries - as the immigration law is uniform across Australia, interstate doesn't create any issues. Would be happy to discuss your case further if you'd like - contact info is on our website - thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



ReneeS said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your quick reply. I had a look on your website as you have been highly recommended by many. I am located in Brisbane but would you consider taking an interstate case or can you point me in the right direction to someone in Brisbane who has the relevant experience?
> 
> My migration agent has plenty of immigration experience but this is such an important decision for me, I really want to make the right choice.
> 
> Thanks again..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Glad I can help - unfortunately the 461 visa does not entitle the holder to Medicare - the only way you could get that would if your country of citizenship has a reciprocal agreement with Medicare, which I believe the USA does not. You might check directly with Medicare to confirm this -

Thanks,

Mark



Austyn said:


> Aloha Mark! Your help is extremely helpful and very much appreciated. I have another question, will being on the Sc461 visa allow me to get Medicare? Or no?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Austyn


----------



## giver

Hie Mark

You were helpful to me regarding my query on the status of my 176 residency after my divorce. My visa expires around August 2016 and I expect to move to Australia in August 2015, which would give me around an year in Australia before I my residency visa expires.
I am confused about this part I found on the Australian website of immigration:

"You must have been living in Australia on a valid Australian visa for 4 years immediately before applying, including 1 year as a permanent resident"

As mentioned before, my residency visa expires exactly one year after I move back to Australia. So does that mean, I can not travel anywhere for this one year August 2014-2015? The visa expires on August 20th 2016, so would need a RRV to enter/leave the country.

For example, if I wanted to leave the country for 2 weeks in December 2015, would that mean that I would not have lived in Australia for 1 whole year on my PR visa, thus not fulfilling the requirement of getting Australian citizenship?

I am very confused about this, so if you could please guide me on this query,would appreciate it. Thanks!


----------



## swavik

Hey,

Thank you Mark..
Since i have signed an health undertakingcan i book an appointment with the Health Department when from India..I will be in australia only for a week (oct end) just to validate my visa..Can you let me know the site where i can get the information and contact details regarding the same...

Thank you very much..


----------



## dajo

Dear Mark,

Hope you are doing well. Sorry to bother you with my question, but I am hoping you would be able to help me.

I am applying for my Resident Return Visa (Subclass 155) from overseas based on my employment ties in Australia. I have not lived in Australia for 2 years in past 5 years, so it has to be on employment ties. I have already got a job offer and employment contract.

The question is, when I was filling up online application form, I noticed that there are far lesser questions in the online form than the paper form 1085. Does this mean, the online application is only for those who have lived in Australia for 2 out of past 5 years?

Please let me know your opinion on whether I should apply online or submit a paper application.

Your quick reply would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## pauly

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the quick reply.

Hopefully that motion is granted after the 24th then. She's depended on my mum since shes been just studying, also she's 23 if that qualifies her age-wise? 
Do you have any offices in Melbourne in case things change I could come see you?

As always, thanks for your help!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pauly -
> 
> Thanks for the questions and kind words!
> 
> For your mother, there is the contributory parent visa and, perhaps, if the disallowance motion is granted sometime after the 24th of this month, a slight window to lodge the non-contributory parent application (see another thread on this in the forum), however that's a big "if". Unfortunately no great ways to bring a parent here other than that if they do not qualify for a work visa, etc of some sort.
> 
> For your sister, there is no sibling visa, but a work visa is probably the best choice. If she is dependent on your mom and qualifies age-wise (would need to establish financial dependency according to DIBP policy, etc), there's a chance she could get in as a dependent of your mom if your mom is applying, etc. You may want to work with a migration agent to go through the options and requirements and see what the best fit is -
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Giver -

You're right - it's confusing! You start at the date you plan to apply for citizenship. Looking back from that date 4 years, you must not have been absent from Australia for more than 365 days. And looking back from that date again, you must have been a permanent resident for the entire year (365 days) and must not have been outside Australia for more than 3 months during that last year. For the 3 years you were in Australia before the 1 year of PR, it can be on any sort of a visa. Note that once you re-enter on your visa, you remain in Australia as a PR even if you do not get a resident return visa right away. The resident return visa is necessary to renew your right to enter Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



giver said:


> Hie Mark
> 
> You were helpful to me regarding my query on the status of my 176 residency after my divorce. My visa expires around August 2016 and I expect to move to Australia in August 2015, which would give me around an year in Australia before I my residency visa expires.
> I am confused about this part I found on the Australian website of immigration:
> 
> "You must have been living in Australia on a valid Australian visa for 4 years immediately before applying, including 1 year as a permanent resident"
> 
> As mentioned before, my residency visa expires exactly one year after I move back to Australia. So does that mean, I can not travel anywhere for this one year August 2014-2015? The visa expires on August 20th 2016, so would need a RRV to enter/leave the country.
> 
> For example, if I wanted to leave the country for 2 weeks in December 2015, would that mean that I would not have lived in Australia for 1 whole year on my PR visa, thus not fulfilling the requirement of getting Australian citizenship?
> 
> I am very confused about this, so if you could please guide me on this query,would appreciate it. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Best to look at the version of Form 815 they sent you - as I recall most of them require you to contact a particular phone number once you arrive in Australia - I think the instructions are on the last 2 pages somewhere.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hey,
> 
> Thank you Mark..
> Since i have signed an health undertakingcan i book an appointment with the Health Department when from India..I will be in australia only for a week (oct end) just to validate my visa..Can you let me know the site where i can get the information and contact details regarding the same...
> 
> Thank you very much..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dajo -

Received your email on this as well - either paper or online will work for either substantial ties version or 2/5yrs version - if you try the online and the system tells you you cannot continue after you enter your passport and other info, then you have to use the paper form. Make sure to include as much evidence as possible re: substantial ties.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dajo said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well. Sorry to bother you with my question, but I am hoping you would be able to help me.
> 
> I am applying for my Resident Return Visa (Subclass 155) from overseas based on my employment ties in Australia. I have not lived in Australia for 2 years in past 5 years, so it has to be on employment ties. I have already got a job offer and employment contract.
> 
> The question is, when I was filling up online application form, I noticed that there are far lesser questions in the online form than the paper form 1085. Does this mean, the online application is only for those who have lived in Australia for 2 out of past 5 years?
> 
> Please let me know your opinion on whether I should apply online or submit a paper application.
> 
> Your quick reply would be much appreciated.
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pauly -

We're in Sydney (Parramatta) but do phone and Skype consultations regularly and have clients all over Australia - see website link below.

No idea how this thing on the 24th is going to go - might be a window, might be no window, might be a very short window, impossible to predict.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pauly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for the quick reply.
> 
> Hopefully that motion is granted after the 24th then. She's depended on my mum since shes been just studying, also she's 23 if that qualifies her age-wise?
> Do you have any offices in Melbourne in case things change I could come see you?
> 
> As always, thanks for your help!


----------



## swavik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> Best to look at the version of Form 815 they sent you - as I recall most of them require you to contact a particular phone number once you arrive in Australia - I think the instructions are on the last 2 pages somewhere.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you mark..

I read that but they say that i need to contact once i reach australia..

My tkts are booked. but i will be there only for 5 days..so was just thinking if i can get a prior appointment..Bcz i heard that we get appointments of the date weeks later..Maybe i am wrong this is what i heard..

Regards..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

Yes, that's the usual procedure - setting an appointment or sometimes a series of appointments.You could try to reach them ahead of the trip, or call them when you get there, but either way tell them you're only in Australia for 5 days and see how they want you to handle things - not sure what they will suggest at that point given you're only here for a short duration.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Thank you mark..
> 
> I read that but they say that i need to contact once i reach australia..
> 
> My tkts are booked. but i will be there only for 5 days..so was just thinking if i can get a prior appointment..Bcz i heard that we get appointments of the date weeks later..Maybe i am wrong this is what i heard..
> 
> Regards..


----------



## Duszek

Hello Mark

I really want to thank you for everything you do for us on the forum, and I need your priceless help again. 

So, I've been told that PVM visa entry by date to Australia is either a date when medical exam. or police checks expires whichever expires first. I realized my police checks will expire sooner that I want it to, so I requested new police certificate. Do you think if I upload police cert. with new date my enter Australia by date will also change? Should I inform my CO that I'm uploading new police cert.? 

Thank you
Duszek


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Duszek -

If you want to try that, I'd upload the new police cert and upload a request letter with your requested must-enter-by date. Thing is with the PMV subclass 300 visa, the visa grant date is the start date of the visa, and 9 months from the visa grant date is the expiration date AND the must enter by date, so by requesting the must enter by date be pushed, you'll be moving all the dates of the visa since it's fixed at 9 months from the grant date. A nice case officer may go along with this, however there is no requirement that they do - ask nicely 

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Duszek said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I really want to thank you for everything you do for us on the forum, and I need your priceless help again.
> 
> So, I've been told that PVM visa entry by date to Australia is either a date when medical exam. or police checks expires whichever expires first. I realized my police checks will expire sooner that I want it to, so I requested new police certificate. Do you think if I upload police cert. with new date my enter Australia by date will also change? Should I inform my CO that I'm uploading new police cert.?
> 
> Thank you
> Duszek


----------



## Duszek

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Duszek -
> 
> If you want to try that, I'd upload the new police cert and upload a request letter with your requested must-enter-by date. Thing is with the PMV subclass 300 visa, the visa grant date is the start date of the visa, and 9 months from the visa grant date is the expiration date AND the must enter by date, so by requesting the must enter by date be pushed, you'll be moving all the dates of the visa since it's fixed at 9 months from the grant date. A nice case officer may go along with this, however there is no requirement that they do - ask nicely
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for a quick reply! Problem is I know who my CO is but to email her I need to use Email: Australian Immigration Enquiry form for Europe and I send an email through this form once and I didn't even got a reply yet  I called embassy once but again I just spoke to someone at the front desk not to my case officer. Should I just call the embassy then and ask them to inform my CO about me calling with that sort of request?


----------



## MarkNortham

I'd probably try writing AND calling to see what gets through...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Duszek said:


> Thank you for a quick reply! Problem is I know who my CO is but to email her I need to use Email: Australian Immigration Enquiry form for Europe and I send an email through this form once and I didn't even got a reply yet  I called embassy once but again I just spoke to someone at the front desk not to my case officer. Should I just call the embassy then and ask them to inform my CO about me calling with that sort of request?


----------



## usmalik82

hi mark..i wanted to ask if i submit my eoi n then i change the job after 15 days..can i update my details later on?


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, generally. However if the change reduces your points, that can be a major problem.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmalik82 said:


> hi mark..i wanted to ask if i submit my eoi n then i change the job after 15 days..can i update my details later on?


----------



## aussieheart

Hi Mark!

I have written to you before and you were very helpful. I hope you can help me again.

Namely, I am very passionate about my desire to stay in Australia in the future. Currently I am here on WHV and a couple of weeks ago my 2nd visa started running. My aim would be to get a PR through skilled visa, but I am short of 5 points and don't believe I would be eligible for state sponsorship.

My nominated field would be Civil Engineering, but I don't have enough working experience. I would currently be eligible for the following points:

Age: 25 (30 pts)
Education: MSc Civil Engineering (15 pts)
Language: IELTS 9-9-7.5-8.5 (10 pts)

Would you see any possible solution for my case? Are there any states that may not have any requirements for working experience? I am really depressed, as I received the IELTS results literally 10 minutes ago, and I was always aiming for 8.0 and independent visa. 

Cheers!


----------



## usmalik82

hi mark, i got assessment approved from acs and they approved my 4 years experience...right now my points are 65...if i withdraw my experience ill b left with 60..my question is can i withdraw my experience n go with 60 points...will it b enough? i want to withdraw my experience because im leaving the job and have better opport..pls help...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussieheart -

You'd have to go through the different states that are sponsoring this occupation and see what each state has for specific requirements - they are all different, and they can change frequently and without notice. It looks like according to you, you have 55 points, so if you meet the state requirements for whatever state you wish to apply for sponsorship from, you would have the points to do this. DIBP has no requirement of any particular work experience for the 189 or 190 visa applications as long as you have sufficient total points.

Another option is to request a recheck of your IELTS score to see if you get the missing .5 points - if so, then assuming you have your skills assessment complete, you could lodge an Expression of Interest for a 189 independent skilled visa and wait for an invitation from DIBP to apply for this visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussieheart said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I have written to you before and you were very helpful. I hope you can help me again.
> 
> Namely, I am very passionate about my desire to stay in Australia in the future. Currently I am here on WHV and a couple of weeks ago my 2nd visa started running. My aim would be to get a PR through skilled visa, but I am short of 5 points and don't believe I would be eligible for state sponsorship.
> 
> My nominated field would be Civil Engineering, but I don't have enough working experience. I would currently be eligible for the following points:
> 
> Age: 25 (30 pts)
> Education: MSc Civil Engineering (15 pts)
> Language: IELTS 9-9-7.5-8.5 (10 pts)
> 
> Would you see any possible solution for my case? Are there any states that may not have any requirements for working experience? I am really depressed, as I received the IELTS results literally 10 minutes ago, and I was always aiming for 8.0 and independent visa.
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmalik82 -

Sorry, am confused - not enough information. You can change your EOI at any point prior to receiving an invitation. If you are going for a 189 visa, 60 points or more will be sufficient to lodge a valid EOI. As for chances of being invited for sc189 visa at 65 points vs 60, depends on the occupational ceilings for your occupation unit group - see "Occupational Ceilings" and results of previous invitation rounds on DIBP SkillSelect site to get a feel for what the most recent points scores for your occupation are that received invitations. If you want to explore this in more detail, suggest a consultation with a migration agent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmalik82 said:


> hi mark, i got assessment approved from acs and they approved my 4 years experience...right now my points are 65...if i withdraw my experience ill b left with 60..my question is can i withdraw my experience n go with 60 points...will it b enough? i want to withdraw my experience because im leaving the job and have better opport..pls help...


----------



## lauralou

Hi Mark,

I'm just in the process of lodging the online 820 de facto application and I just have a couple of questions.. 

1. Relationship Status. Me & my partner are de facto (since June 2013), but underneath "relationship status" it just asks "Date Relationship Began" -- Does this mean when we became a couple, or the date when our de facto relationship began..?

2. I have a scandinavian last name, with the letter ä in my last name.. Currently my last name in Australia has the letter ä changed to "ae", however it was just "a" when I was living in the UK (prior to Australia). In the bit "Other Names / Spellings" I was going to add the scandinavian way of spelling and explain, but it won't allow me to use such (ä) characters... Any advice what to do? 

Appreciate your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lauralou -

Re: 1, this generally means the date the defacto relationship began, especially if the question is right after "status" where you have selected "defacto". Would need to see your application to give you specific advice on this.

Re: 2, I would put a note in the other names/spellings and describe the special a character in a way that DIBP would understand (ie, "is also spelled using the special character a with two small dots over it instead of the Australianised spelling which uses ae") as I expect if you used the proper term (umlaut), the folks at DIBP may be scratching their heads on that one...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lauralou said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm just in the process of lodging the online 820 de facto application and I just have a couple of questions..
> 
> 1. Relationship Status. Me & my partner are de facto (since June 2013), but underneath "relationship status" it just asks "Date Relationship Began" -- Does this mean when we became a couple, or the date when our de facto relationship began..?
> 
> 2. I have a scandinavian last name, with the letter ä in my last name.. Currently my last name in Australia has the letter ä changed to "ae", however it was just "a" when I was living in the UK (prior to Australia). In the bit "Other Names / Spellings" I was going to add the scandinavian way of spelling and explain, but it won't allow me to use such (ä) characters... Any advice what to do?
> 
> Appreciate your help.


----------



## lauralou

Thanks heaps Mark, you're very helpful.

ONE more question (for now heh) -- I'm quite confused with this question in the application as well;
"Does the applicant have any parents, siblings or children including those that are deceased?"
Do I need to put my family members' info in this bit, even though none are migrating to Australia with me...?

This is so very confusing!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lauralou -
> 
> Re: 1, this generally means the date the defacto relationship began, especially if the question is right after "status" where you have selected "defacto". Would need to see your application to give you specific advice on this.
> 
> Re: 2, I would put a note in the other names/spellings and describe the special a character in a way that DIBP would understand (ie, "is also spelled using the special character a with two small dots over it instead of the Australianised spelling which uses ae") as I expect if you used the proper term (umlaut), the folks at DIBP may be scratching their heads on that one...
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lauralou -

Yes. This is where you list all your parents, siblings and children regardless of their migration status.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lauralou said:


> Thanks heaps Mark, you're very helpful.
> 
> ONE more question (for now heh) -- I'm quite confused with this question in the application as well;
> "Does the applicant have any parents, siblings or children including those that are deceased?"
> Do I need to put my family members' info in this bit, even though none are migrating to Australia with me...?
> 
> This is so very confusing!


----------



## swavik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Swavik -
> 
> Yes, that's the usual procedure - setting an appointment or sometimes a series of appointments.You could try to reach them ahead of the trip, or call them when you get there, but either way tell them you're only in Australia for 5 days and see how they want you to handle things - not sure what they will suggest at that point given you're only here for a short duration.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hey thank you mark..will try to call them on monday ask about it..

Regards.


----------



## usmalik82

Dear Mark,

I want to apply for WA state nomination... I meet their minimum requirements...my profession is in their snol list.. the thing which is confusing me is their additional requirements... 

" OCCUPATION ON SCHEDULE 2 OF THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN 
SKILLED MIGRATION OCCUPATION LIST Subclass 190 visa
■ Have a contract of employment for full-time employment6 for at least 12 months in Western Australia in the nominated (or closely related) occupation."

I mean I am living overseas...how can i get contract for full time employment... is this necessary for overseas applicants to have this?? I fulfill their minimum requirements plus I can provide evidence showing sufficient funds to cover settlement costs 
and living costs for at least three months. please clear my confusion.


----------



## Kristen

Hi Mark,

We have applied for a defacto visa offshore in Canada. We were wondering if we have to be in Canada at the time the visa is approved or can we travel and live elsewhere while we are waiting for an answer? 

Thanking you in advance,
Kristen


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Usmalik82 -

Schedule 2 occupations in WA require a contract employment generally - admittedly, getting a job in Australia when you're overseas can be difficult! Most people who apply for Schedule 2 occupations are already in WA working on some other visa like a 457 and want to get sponsored to remain there as a PR. But without the contract, you are limited to Schedule 1 occupations for WA.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmalik82 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I want to apply for WA state nomination... I meet their minimum requirements...my profession is in their snol list.. the thing which is confusing me is their additional requirements...
> 
> " OCCUPATION ON SCHEDULE 2 OF THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN
> SKILLED MIGRATION OCCUPATION LIST Subclass 190 visa
> ■ Have a contract of employment for full-time employment6 for at least 12 months in Western Australia in the nominated (or closely related) occupation."
> 
> I mean I am living overseas...how can i get contract for full time employment... is this necessary for overseas applicants to have this?? I fulfill their minimum requirements plus I can provide evidence showing sufficient funds to cover settlement costs
> and living costs for at least three months. please clear my confusion.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kristen -

Thanks for the question - you can travel and live anywhere you'd like while the visa is being processed. Once the visa is ready for grant, if you are in Australia, you'd need to depart Australia in order for the visa to be granted (then can return right away on the new visa if you'd like). Always important to make sure DIBP has your current contact information - if you are traveling, better off letting them communicate via email rather than by post.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kristen said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We have applied for a defacto visa offshore in Canada. We were wondering if we have to be in Canada at the time the visa is approved or can we travel and live elsewhere while we are waiting for an answer?
> 
> Thanking you in advance,
> Kristen


----------



## tlb

*starting a business on 820visa*

Hi mark,

my partner and I have just applied for a partner visa 820. I was wounding if you knew if I could open a new restaurant when *fingers crossed* my 820 visa is approved? Thank you


----------



## usmalik82

dear mark,
i need to ask you few things:
1. without job contract i cant apply for WA state sponsorship?
2. is there any state who can sponsor me who is a network administrator?
3. what is the processing time for sc 189?
4. are 60 points enough for 189?


----------



## usmalik82

dear mark..i need to ask you one urgent thing..when i fill in eoi form...in the end they gave me 10 points for work exp..my total exp is 6 years but acs has mentioned in the letter that only 4 years of my experience will be considered..then how in eoi i subtract those 2 years which acs mentioned..pls help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tlb -

I see no reason why not, however I'm not familiar with the various licences and such that may be necessary to do this - however from an immigration point of view, there is no condition on the 820 visa that would prevent you from doing so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tlb said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> my partner and I have just applied for a partner visa 820. I was wounding if you knew if I could open a new restaurant when *fingers crossed* my 820 visa is approved? Thank you


----------



## usmalik82

Dear mark,

I need to ask you one more thing, sorry to bother you again, my occupation is on csol and not on sol...can i apply sc 189 visa? please help.


----------



## usmalik82

dear mark, one last thing i wanted to know from you is that...my occupation is on csol and not on sol...all the states sol dont have my occupation except for WA...but WA also wants job offer letter...what would u suggest me? should i wait when any state will sponsor my occupation..my occupation is network administrator....


----------



## usmalik82

bottom line...i cant apply sc 189 if i dont have occupation on sol??? right??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmalik82 -

Nope.

Best,

Mark



usmalik82 said:


> Dear mark,
> 
> I need to ask you one more thing, sorry to bother you again, my occupation is on csol and not on sol...can i apply sc 189 visa? please help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, that makes sense unless you can find an employer sponsor for a 457, ENS or RSMS visa.

Best,

Mark



usmalik82 said:


> dear mark, one last thing i wanted to know from you is that...my occupation is on csol and not on sol...all the states sol dont have my occupation except for WA...but WA also wants job offer letter...what would u suggest me? should i wait when any state will sponsor my occupation..my occupation is network administrator....


----------



## MarkNortham

Right.

Best,

Mark



usmalik82 said:


> bottom line...i cant apply sc 189 if i dont have occupation on sol??? right??


----------



## pravi

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello sir,

I have applied for 309 visa from india. Please update if is there any changes in the process. What is the current processing time for the visa.
Thank you.

Visa type -309
D.O.A - March 15, 2014
Medicals and pcc done and sent
Applied to DIBP, Adelaide (Online)
Applied from india
C.O not yet assigned
Still waiting


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pravi -

No changes I know of recently for this visa - processing time is very difficult to predict - my guess: somewhere between 9 and 18 months. DIBP unfortunately does not provide specific commitments for their processing times beyond the very rough estimates shown on their website.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pravi said:


> Hello sir,
> 
> I have applied for 309 visa from india. Please update if is there any changes in the process. What is the current processing time for the visa.
> Thank you.
> 
> Visa type -309
> D.O.A - March 15, 2014
> Medicals and pcc done and sent
> Applied to DIBP, Adelaide (Online)
> Applied from india
> C.O not yet assigned
> Still waiting


----------



## pravi

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pravi -
> 
> No changes I know of recently for this visa - processing time is very difficult to predict - my guess: somewhere between 9 and 18 months. DIBP unfortunately does not provide specific commitments for their processing times beyond the very rough estimates shown on their website.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your reply. I am confused of their timelines. I have already lost 475 partner visa. Its Refused. I was waiting for more than a year for that. Due to my clinic's fault i lost that visa. My partner got PR from 475 Visa. So i applied 309 visa. Will they consider my prev issue?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pravi -

It depends entirely on the reason(s) you were refused the previous visa - some reasons would not have an impact on the 309/100, others may. You may want to sit down with a migration agent (or work with one in Australia via Skype, etc) to go over the specific reason(s) you were declined the 475 and determine whether any of those might have an impact on your 309/100.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pravi said:


> Thanks for your reply. I am confused of their timelines. I have already lost 475 partner visa. Its Refused. I was waiting for more than a year for that. Due to my clinic's fault i lost that visa. My partner got PR from 475 Visa. So i applied 309 visa. Will they consider my prev issue?


----------



## pravi

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pravi -
> 
> It depends entirely on the reason(s) you were refused the previous visa - some reasons would not have an impact on the 309/100, others may. You may want to sit down with a migration agent (or work with one in Australia via Skype, etc) to go over the specific reason(s) you were declined the 475 and determine whether any of those might have an impact on your 309/100.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you..


----------



## usmalik82

dear mark, very important, i read somewhere on the web... it is not necessary to have job offer for WA sponsorship for schedule 2 as they would like to client to show bank statement or funds...is it true? can i apply for eoi n state sponsorship without job offer?? my points r 65..please suggest....i can show funds...can i get WA sponsorship without job offer??? pls help...pls guide me what to do? age- 30 points, degree - 15, ielts- 10, 5 -work exp, 5- state, network administrator...


----------



## punter_chin

Hi Mark,

I hope you are doing well. 

I have been in the process of getting my 60+ points to qualify for subclass 189. Here's where I stand. Skills assessment - positive with CPA for Management Accountant (Assessment states that I am academically suitable for migration under ANZSCO221112) and states that my qualification is equivalent to Australian bachelors degree. So I have 15 points there.

For my age I am getting 30 points and finally for IELTS general training I am scoring 20 points, with at least 8 in each band of IELTS general training test.

Thus I have 65 points in all (15skills assessment+30 Age+20 IELTS).

My next steps are filing EOI under subclass 189 and then waiting for invitation to apply. Is this correct? Am I missing any step or process?

Thanks for all your help so far. It is highly appreciated.

regards.


----------



## Chirandeep

Dear Mark,
I am an Australian PR and my wife a TR. Our baby was born in India. Please let me know do I have to lodge my child's PR application from India first to apply for a visitor visa to Australia? Or I can apply for a visitor visa first, get the child in Australia and then apply for a PR in Australia? My only concern is, if I apply in India then do the child need to be outside of Australia for grant of visa.
Thanks,
Deep


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmalik -

Suggest you carefully read the WA state sponsorship site rather than depending on anonymous forum reports, etc - the detail is all there - no point in me just repeating it here - a key issue for WA is what Schedule your occupation is listed on - then read the requirements for that schedule - that's the key. Also remember that these things can change, so always important to check again before you lodge if some time has passed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmalik82 said:


> dear mark, very important, i read somewhere on the web... it is not necessary to have job offer for WA sponsorship for schedule 2 as they would like to client to show bank statement or funds...is it true? can i apply for eoi n state sponsorship without job offer?? my points r 65..please suggest....i can show funds...can i get WA sponsorship without job offer??? pls help...pls guide me what to do? age- 30 points, degree - 15, ielts- 10, 5 -work exp, 5- state, network administrator...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Punter_chin -

Sounds like you've got the basics - now time to double check that your CPA skills assessment is a full assessment with CPA (not 485-only) and then look at all the required documents you'll need for the 189 on the DIBP website to make sure everything is in place. But assuming you've got everything set, then correct - you lodge an EOI and wait for an invitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you are doing well.
> 
> I have been in the process of getting my 60+ points to qualify for subclass 189. Here's where I stand. Skills assessment - positive with CPA for Management Accountant (Assessment states that I am academically suitable for migration under ANZSCO221112) and states that my qualification is equivalent to Australian bachelors degree. So I have 15 points there.
> 
> For my age I am getting 30 points and finally for IELTS general training I am scoring 20 points, with at least 8 in each band of IELTS general training test.
> 
> Thus I have 65 points in all (15skills assessment+30 Age+20 IELTS).
> 
> My next steps are filing EOI under subclass 189 and then waiting for invitation to apply. Is this correct? Am I missing any step or process?
> 
> Thanks for all your help so far. It is highly appreciated.
> 
> regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chirandeep -

Thanks for the question. For the subclass 101 offshore Child visa, the child must be offshore at the time of application and the time of grant (but not necessarily in the home country - can go outside Australia closeby (NZ, etc) for a trip when grant is ready, etc). For the subclass 802 onshore Child visa, the applicant must be in Australia at both the time of application and time of grant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chirandeep said:


> Dear Mark,
> I am an Australian PR and my wife a TR. Our baby was born in India. Please let me know do I have to lodge my child's PR application from India first to apply for a visitor visa to Australia? Or I can apply for a visitor visa first, get the child in Australia and then apply for a PR in Australia? My only concern is, if I apply in India then do the child need to be outside of Australia for grant of visa.
> Thanks,
> Deep


----------



## usmalik82

dear mark, i got assessment from acs with network administrator as occupation...now can i do the assessment with system administrator.... job duties for both the occupations are same....if i do assessment again... and lets say for example they reject a new assessment..what will be the status of old status..will it remain valid or not? and secondly is it ok for me to go with assessment again with different occupation as job duties are same? pls help.thanks for your kind help...May God give you lots of success...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmalik82 -

Thanks for the questions and kind words. From what I understand, a second ACS assessment (either approved or declined) in a different occupation does not void or change the status of a previous assessment - essentially you could use either one depending on your circumstances.

Re: second occupation with same job duties, not sure how that would work out with ACS, but I don't see anything against that since changing the job duties could look very suspicious and even potentially cause PIC4020 refusal issues for inaccurate information provided to a skills assessor. I guess it would come down to whether duties per ANZSCO for that 2nd occupation with your duties as stated in the work reference letter, etc. ACS has a downloadable guide that has much more detailed explanations of their view of the different IT jobs than is available from ANZSCO - I'd see how these details match up with your duties per work ref letter to estimate chances of success with the second occupation, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmalik82 said:


> dear mark, i got assessment from acs with network administrator as occupation...now can i do the assessment with system administrator.... job duties for both the occupations are same....if i do assessment again... and lets say for example they reject a new assessment..what will be the status of old status..will it remain valid or not? and secondly is it ok for me to go with assessment again with different occupation as job duties are same? pls help.thanks for your kind help...May God give you lots of success...


----------



## ttd

Dear Mark

I got my visa 190 approved on 10 Apr 2014. I’m in a defacto relationship with my partner for more than 3 years. However I didn’t include him as my partner in my visa 190 application as the fact that he doesn’t hold a valid visa. He has been overstayed for 2 years. Is it possible to lodge an onshore partner visa for him now?
Will it effect on me as I didn’t declare my defacto relationship in my visa 190 before?

Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ttd -

Lodging an onshore partner visa for him now won't affect your 190 as long as you do not claim that the defacto relationship existed as of the date you applied for the 190. Omitting that from your application, if you claim that it did exist on the date of application for the 190, could potentially be an issue of inaccurate information, however in my view that has a relatively low chance of becoming an issue. The larger issue by far is the fact that due to July changes in DIBP policy re: onshore partner visas, if the applicant has been in Australia unlawfully, it is very difficult to get Schedule 3 requirements waived for an onshore partner visa - note the following excerpt from DIBP policy:

An example of where the circumstances may not be compelling to waive the Schedule 3 requirements may be where an applicant has remained unlawful for a number of years, made little or no effort to regularise their status and claims compelling circumstances on the basis of a long term relationship with their sponsoring partner and/or hardship caused by separation if they were to apply outside Australia for the visa.

Most likely, an offshore partner visa would be necessary, however departing on a Bridging Visa C or E (which would be given to the applicant upon applying for the partner visa) would result in a 3-year exclusion period on all temporary visas, so going offshore and hoping to return on visitor visas before the partner visa is decided could be difficult unless a waiver is granted to the exclusion period.

That's a very simplified view of things - you may wish to get professional help to better understand the finer details of the process and requirements - please feel free to contact me via my website below for a consultation if interested.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ttd said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I got my visa 190 approved on 10 Apr 2014. I'm in a defacto relationship with my partner for more than 3 years. However I didn't include him as my partner in my visa 190 application as the fact that he doesn't hold a valid visa. He has been overstayed for 2 years. Is it possible to lodge an onshore partner visa for him now?
> Will it effect on me as I didn't declare my defacto relationship in my visa 190 before?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## Chirandeep

Dear Mark,
Thanks for your response. Can I apply a visitor visa (SC 600) before applying for PR (SC 101) visa for my child? 
Or I have to apply PR first and then visitor visa?
Thanks,
Chiradeep


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chirandeep -

Yes, can apply for visitor visa first - if granted, and if granted without condition 8503 (no further stay), then you might want to consider the child coming to Australia on the visitor visa and then lodging an onshore child visa application. Otherwise, if lodging offshore Child visa app anyway, can apply in either order although many people lodge 101 offshore first, then visitor visa if no interest in lodging onshore child visa app.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## usmalik82

dear mark, right now i have a visitor visa...its valid till 28th sept...i cant go because i am very busy, i have been to australia thrice...if i didnt use visitor visa...will it be problem getting visit visa again or not?


----------



## MarkNortham

No way to tell for sure - depends on circumstances and stated reasons for visit, but unused visitor visas could under some circumstances (when combined with the other genuine visitor reasons, etc) increase risk of refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmalik82 said:


> dear mark, right now i have a visitor visa...its valid till 28th sept...i cant go because i am very busy, i have been to australia thrice...if i didnt use visitor visa...will it be problem getting visit visa again or not?


----------



## jtep

Dear Mark,
have couple questions,, maybe I'm not in a suitable place, but thank you for your time. 
What type of visa would fit and if I had a chance to come to Australia. 
I have 30 years, three years, I'm in Canada for 3 and half year. I came as the live in caregiver program(child care /nanny ) but from last year i am in the hospitality sector working in a restaurant as a food counter attendant and kitchen helper. 
If it is important to have the ielts passed on 5,5 overall.
I finished secondary school fortourism technician
I have experience like nanny for over 5 years,hospitality sector for almost 2 years.
*My question is can I come to Australia to work and hospitality / tourism sector and if they can be part time and go to a vocational course to improve my knowledge. but in the first place would have been working.
I don't care if is small city or rural area or big city. 

What would you recommend that we are kind of visa and how to find an employer who would accept the procedure?

Thank you so much for your time,
Sincerely,
jtep


----------



## Chango

Hello Mark! Thankyou for giving your time to so many people... Any advice to make my application successful would be greatly appreciated!!! 

Currently trying to apply online - Tourist Visa 600 for a Mexican.

Bit confused about some of the questions such as; Non-accompanying family members? 

I wish to spend christmas with my girlfriend but i wouldn't say we are defacto. I've only listed her as a freind? as well as other friends i have in australia.

Not applying from mexico. Currently in Azerbaijan where i work.

Thankyou


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jtep -

Thanks for the questions and note - welcome to the forum!

With the way the Australian visa system is configured to focus on certain skilled workers for the employment visas, I would suggest looking at a student visa first or undertaking some vocational education where you live now to try and increase your skills and education level - there aren't many opportunities for employment visas in carer or kitchen hand/helper type jobs, but if you could increase your skills via education to that of a cook or other occupation that is considered more "skilled" by the Australian government, it could open up more opportunities for visas. You might also have a look the CSOL occupation list (you can Google "DIBP CSOL" to find that on the DIBP site) to see the kinds of occupations that are eligible for the 457 temporary work visa to give you some ideas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jtep said:


> Dear Mark,
> have couple questions,, maybe I'm not in a suitable place, but thank you for your time.
> What type of visa would fit and if I had a chance to come to Australia.
> I have 30 years, three years, I'm in Canada for 3 and half year. I came as the live in caregiver program(child care /nanny ) but from last year i am in the hospitality sector working in a restaurant as a food counter attendant and kitchen helper.
> If it is important to have the ielts passed on 5,5 overall.
> I finished secondary school fortourism technician
> I have experience like nanny for over 5 years,hospitality sector for almost 2 years.
> *My question is can I come to Australia to work and hospitality / tourism sector and if they can be part time and go to a vocational course to improve my knowledge. but in the first place would have been working.
> I don't care if is small city or rural area or big city.
> 
> What would you recommend that we are kind of visa and how to find an employer who would accept the procedure?
> 
> Thank you so much for your time,
> Sincerely,
> jtep


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chango -

Thanks for the note - if you do not consider your relationship with your girlfriend to be a defacto relationship at this point, you do not need to include her family members as they would not be considered "your" family at this point.

Don't forget including an invitation letter from your friend, plus an itinerary of planned activities - this can help increase the chances of success. Additionally, if you find yourself as a high-risk candidate for the sc600 visa, a good look at the Genuine Visitor criteria (you can search for that on DIBP site) and a letter detailing how you satisfy each of these that you meet would be helpful also.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chango said:


> Hello Mark! Thankyou for giving your time to so many people... Any advice to make my application successful would be greatly appreciated!!!
> 
> Currently trying to apply online - Tourist Visa 600 for a Mexican.
> 
> Bit confused about some of the questions such as; Non-accompanying family members?
> 
> I wish to spend christmas with my girlfriend but i wouldn't say we are defacto. I've only listed her as a freind? as well as other friends i have in australia.
> 
> Not applying from mexico. Currently in Azerbaijan where i work.
> 
> Thankyou


----------



## Kristen

Mark you are a legend. One last question that i am struggling to find the answer to is...for the medical check would we be best to get this done before we leave Canada or wait till our CO tells us to get it and do it by a panel physician in the country we are in at the time?

Thanks so much for your time.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kristen -
> 
> Thanks for the question - you can travel and live anywhere you'd like while the visa is being processed. Once the visa is ready for grant, if you are in Australia, you'd need to depart Australia in order for the visa to be granted (then can return right away on the new visa if you'd like). Always important to make sure DIBP has your current contact information - if you are traveling, better off letting them communicate via email rather than by post.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kristen -

Thanks for the kind words! The latest guidance we're hearing from DIBP is that they prefer medicals to be done as close to application date as possible - ideally in the 30 days prior to application. Shouldn't be too much more in advance of application given expiration date considerations. Other option is to take it after application - again, probably would take it at your earliest convenience after application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kristen said:


> Mark you are a legend. One last question that i am struggling to find the answer to is...for the medical check would we be best to get this done before we leave Canada or wait till our CO tells us to get it and do it by a panel physician in the country we are in at the time?
> 
> Thanks so much for your time.


----------



## Austyn

Aloha again Mark,

Hope all is well with you. I was just wondering, when I do apply for the SC461 visa onshore and get accepted. How will I know when I can work, and the government know I'm able to work? Will I have to get my passport stamped? Or will it be electronically? Or? And also, when on the SC461, am I able to travel within the 5 years? Go on holiday etc? 

Looking forward to your response. Thank you!

-Austyn


----------



## sweetpea04

Hi Mark,
My partner and I are currently travelling and are considering doing some wwoofing ( work in return for food and board) as part of our travel experience for a couple of months. We would love to get your opinion on how we should document this for our partner visa application. We have had a think about it and have considered that we could 1) register wwoof address with bank if we are there for long enough 2) create a form similar to employment verification form used for specified regional work and get our employers to sign it for us. 
Do you have any other suggestions? Is what we suggested a good way to document this stage of our travels when we won't be paying for hostels and food. We would obviously mention this stage in our statements but feel the case officer will need to be able to cross reference it to documents in our file and will require more than photos. We plan to travel to the wwoof addresses in our car. Thanks.


----------



## arminIT

Hi Mark,
I am asking this on behalf of my friend.

Currently I have a temporary skilled work visa (476 subclass) and I'm living in Iran.
I want to apply for Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) and want to lodge in Australia to be considered as onshore.
I have two question:
First of all, is it possible to fill EOI and Apply for Skilled nominated (NSW, 190) from outside of Australia and then Lodge (my Visa) in Australia to be considerate onshore?
Second of all, Actually I am little confused about the way for applying to Skilled nominated (190).
1) Fill EOI (through the DIBP SkillSelect)
2) Apply for NSW nomination (from where?)
3) Lodge for visa through DIBP SkillSelect

Looking forward to your response.
Best Regards,
Armin


----------



## Jojo147

Hi Mark,

Not sure if you may have answered this already somewhere in your post so apologies if you are having to repeat.

My husband has been offered a job in Australia and we have started the applications for a 457 visa.

On the forms we are asked about any convictions, in 2010 he was charged under the misuse of drugs act 1971 section 5(2). Basically this was for possession of a class A drug (cocaine). He was at a festival and had a small amount intended for personal use, which obviously did not happen as it was taken from him.

I have been looking at various forums which mostly say check with a migration worker but found 1 post from 2008 saying it is a complete no no for any drug charges, any visa type would always be rejected on this.

We are both quite worried a stupid mistake could affect our chances of the visa.

Could you offer any advice on this please?

Thanks
Jo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Normally when you apply for the 461 onshore, you would get a bridging visa that would activate upon the expiration of your current visa (or end of the current stay if you're on a multi-entry visitor visa) - would need to know details of your current visa and 461 lodgement to give you any specific info. Once 461 approved, you can travel as you like on that visa.No passport stamps anymore - the visa is electronically linked to your passport, so if you renew or change your passport, make sure to use Form 929 to notify DIBP so your visa is linked to your new passport, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Aloha again Mark,
> 
> Hope all is well with you. I was just wondering, when I do apply for the SC461 visa onshore and get accepted. How will I know when I can work, and the government know I'm able to work? Will I have to get my passport stamped? Or will it be electronically? Or? And also, when on the SC461, am I able to travel within the 5 years? Go on holiday etc?
> 
> Looking forward to your response. Thank you!
> 
> -Austyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sweetpea04 -

All good ideas - also maybe see if you can get a statement from whoever is managing the place that is provided for you to sleep/live that the two of you are there together, etc

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sweetpea04 said:


> Hi Mark,
> My partner and I are currently travelling and are considering doing some wwoofing ( work in return for food and board) as part of our travel experience for a couple of months. We would love to get your opinion on how we should document this for our partner visa application. We have had a think about it and have considered that we could 1) register wwoof address with bank if we are there for long enough 2) create a form similar to employment verification form used for specified regional work and get our employers to sign it for us.
> Do you have any other suggestions? Is what we suggested a good way to document this stage of our travels when we won't be paying for hostels and food. We would obviously mention this stage in our statements but feel the case officer will need to be able to cross reference it to documents in our file and will require more than photos. We plan to travel to the wwoof addresses in our car. Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ArminIT -

General info: Yes, can apply for EOI and state sponsorship from offshore, then come to Australia (if the applicant can get a visa to come here at that point that does not have the 8503 no further stay condition on it) and lodge the 190 application onshore to generate a bridging visa.

NSW application is via their Skilled website for 190 visas - if they do it the same way as they did a couple of months ago, there is a tiny window of less than an hour (a guess) that will be open and people around the world are slamming the website to try and get their application in. Suggest you consult the NSW website for details regularly, as with any luck they might change this silly procedure to make it fairer for all concerned.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arminIT said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am asking this on behalf of my friend.
> 
> Currently I have a temporary skilled work visa (476 subclass) and I'm living in Iran.
> I want to apply for Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) and want to lodge in Australia to be considered as onshore.
> I have two question:
> First of all, is it possible to fill EOI and Apply for Skilled nominated (NSW, 190) from outside of Australia and then Lodge (my Visa) in Australia to be considerate onshore?
> Second of all, Actually I am little confused about the way for applying to Skilled nominated (190).
> 1) Fill EOI (through the DIBP SkillSelect)
> 2) Apply for NSW nomination (from where?)
> 3) Lodge for visa through DIBP SkillSelect
> 
> Looking forward to your response.
> Best Regards,
> Armin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jojo147 -

Thanks for the note. These types of offences, especially drug offences, can be very tricky to deal with - the specifics of the individual case can make a huge difference. Suggest you disclose everything asked on the forms, and consider getting professional assistance to draft a submission to try and downplay the severity of the situation and show no reoffending since then, etc. The worst thing you can do is to fail to answer completely and truthfully any of the character (or other) questions on the application, as they will almost certainly ask for a police clearance form from the country involved which will have the details listed i assume.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jojo147 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Not sure if you may have answered this already somewhere in your post so apologies if you are having to repeat.
> 
> My husband has been offered a job in Australia and we have started the applications for a 457 visa.
> 
> On the forms we are asked about any convictions, in 2010 he was charged under the misuse of drugs act 1971 section 5(2). Basically this was for possession of a class A drug (cocaine). He was at a festival and had a small amount intended for personal use, which obviously did not happen as it was taken from him.
> 
> I have been looking at various forums which mostly say check with a migration worker but found 1 post from 2008 saying it is a complete no no for any drug charges, any visa type would always be rejected on this.
> 
> We are both quite worried a stupid mistake could affect our chances of the visa.
> 
> Could you offer any advice on this please?
> 
> Thanks
> Jo


----------



## maxnickgriffin

hi mark , i applied for a 186 visa, however my employer lodged the nomination a week to early.
i got a call from immigration and they told me my application would not be successful so i have withdrawn it. is there any chance i can get a refund do you think?
i need to fill out 1424 form but they're asking for clear statements of why i should get a refund and supporting documentation..will"sorry we made a mistake suffice"?!


----------



## Jojo147

Ok, thanks, who would we get professional assistance from?

So would it help explaining the situation like the fact it was before we met, he no longer associates with the people he was with, it was a one off drunken, ok I will try it? Silly mistake, he had learned his lessons and never even thought to try it?

Sorry I am just in a bit of a flap about this now and very worried.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jojo147 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. These types of offences, especially drug offences, can be very tricky to deal with - the specifics of the individual case can make a huge difference. Suggest you disclose everything asked on the forms, and consider getting professional assistance to draft a submission to try and downplay the severity of the situation and show no reoffending since then, etc. The worst thing you can do is to fail to answer completely and truthfully any of the character (or other) questions on the application, as they will almost certainly ask for a police clearance form from the country involved which will have the details listed i assume.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## kapoor1987

Hi Mark
May i get some bits of your knowledge.
I have completed my education and 4 years of experience in India.
Now I have been working in Dubai (U.A.E) for 4 years. I am still working here.

I am planning for Australian PR and have to apply for ACS assessment.
I will be applying for ACS assessment (and further visa process) while in Dubai.
I am gathering all the documents from India, and one experience letter from Dubai.

Can I get copies of my college degree and India work experience letter certified from India, and the Dubai work experience certified in Dubai OR is it better to get everything certified from one place (maybe India)?

Other than Australian Consulate and Public Notary from where can I get the copies certified? Can I get it done from doctors?

Thanks
Anshu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maxnickgriffin -

No chance of a refund that I see, sorry to say. There are only very limited situations where a refund is possible under the regulations (mistake by DIBP, duplicate or unnecessary application after another visa is granted, applicant dies before grant, etc) - applicant mistake is not one of the reasons that DIBP generally gives refunds.

It's too bad you withdrew it so quickly - if the employer had quickly relodged the nomination, it might have been possible to re-link the lodged application with the new nomination. But once withdrawn, no way to go back on that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



maxnickgriffin said:


> hi mark , i applied for a 186 visa, however my employer lodged the nomination a week to early.
> i got a call from immigration and they told me my application would not be successful so i have withdrawn it. is there any chance i can get a refund do you think?
> i need to fill out 1424 form but they're asking for clear statements of why i should get a refund and supporting documentation..will"sorry we made a mistake suffice"?!


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, all those things would help, but frankly I'd get professional assistance from a registered migration agent familiar with character matters - DIBP takes these things very seriously, especially drug matters, and you'll want to make sure you address all the elements of the DIBP policy and character requirements to try and offset the issue with positive evidence.

As a registered migration agent, I'd be happy to assist you if you'd like - see our website link in my email signature below. Alternatively there are many other good migration agents out there - whoever you choose, make sure they are experienced with character matters - that's the key.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jojo147 said:


> Ok, thanks, who would we get professional assistance from?
> 
> So would it help explaining the situation like the fact it was before we met, he no longer associates with the people he was with, it was a one off drunken, ok I will try it? Silly mistake, he had learned his lessons and never even thought to try it?
> 
> Sorry I am just in a bit of a flap about this now and very worried.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kapoor1987 -

Thanks for the note - no requirement that document copies be certified in the country they originated in, however there is a requirement that any copies be certified by a person who is legally authorised to do so in the country where the certification takes place. If there's any question, then suggest you see a local lawyer or attorney to see what the rules are in your country - also, make sure to include contact info with your documents regarding the person who certified them so DIBP, ACS, etc can contact them if there are any questions about the certification, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kapoor1987 said:


> Hi Mark
> May i get some bits of your knowledge.
> I have completed my education and 4 years of experience in India.
> Now I have been working in Dubai (U.A.E) for 4 years. I am still working here.
> 
> I am planning for Australian PR and have to apply for ACS assessment.
> I will be applying for ACS assessment (and further visa process) while in Dubai.
> I am gathering all the documents from India, and one experience letter from Dubai.
> 
> Can I get copies of my college degree and India work experience letter certified from India, and the Dubai work experience certified in Dubai OR is it better to get everything certified from one place (maybe India)?
> 
> Other than Australian Consulate and Public Notary from where can I get the copies certified? Can I get it done from doctors?
> 
> Thanks
> Anshu


----------



## swagata

Dear Mark,

I hold a sc 309 visa and now eligible to apply for sc 100 visa(received communication through mail). Please let me know latest by what date I need to apply my sc 100 visa? Will there be any impact if there is a delay in application?

Thanks,
Swagi


----------



## DangerDave

*Statuary declaration*

Hi Mark,

We are now in the process of applying for off-shore partner visa. I read that its best to provide around 3 statutory declarations by witnesses about your relationship. Now there is also requirement , that they be Australian. But as we live in Germany we don't really have any friends that are Australian and have meet her.
Can the witnesses be foreign citizens, but still a lawyer, teacher, etc... ?
do the witness and the partner have to meet in person? or they can do one by just being involved through relationship via emails,fb,phone?

Thank you for your assistance.
DD


----------



## sukhmeetskaur

Hello Mark,

I visited the Vetassess website today and this is what I read-

Online outcome letters
SRGO now issues skills assessment outcome letters online. Applicants can view and
download their outcome letters within 24 hours of their skills assessment application
being completed.

What does this mean? Does it mean that after submitting an application for a skills assessment we get the results within 24 hours and whether it applies to all skilled occupations? I have been struggling to understand this statement. Kindly elaborate on this.

Regards,
Sukhmeet.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swagata -

There's no specific deadline in the regulations, however you'll normally get an email from DIBP around the 2-year mark (from your original application date) that will request that you provide the additional information and may give you a deadline to do so. Technically DIBP can refuse the sc100 visa at any time past the 2 year mark, but usually they give you some time to lodge the paperwork (weeks, sometimes a couple of months) however I would not unnecessarily delay that - would be a shame to have the visa refused after waiting the 2 years, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swagata said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I hold a sc 309 visa and now eligible to apply for sc 100 visa(received communication through mail). Please let me know latest by what date I need to apply my sc 100 visa? Will there be any impact if there is a delay in application?
> 
> Thanks,
> Swagi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukhmeet -

Thanks for the question - it means 24 hours after they complete your skills assessment (which can still take 3-4 months), the result letter is available for download so you don't have to wait to receive it in the post, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sukhmeetskaur said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I visited the Vetassess website today and this is what I read-
> 
> Online outcome letters
> SRGO now issues skills assessment outcome letters online. Applicants can view and
> download their outcome letters within 24 hours of their skills assessment application
> being completed.
> 
> What does this mean? Does it mean that after submitting an application for a skills assessment we get the results within 24 hours and whether it applies to all skilled occupations? I have been struggling to understand this statement. Kindly elaborate on this.
> 
> Regards,
> Sukhmeet.


----------



## jimmy2014

Dear Mark,

If an applicant is awaiting an outcome on the *Offshore Partner visa* but get sponsored on a *457 visa* whilst we are waiting, is the offshore partner visa application processing stops and/or has any adverse affects by proceeding with 457 visa ?

Please assist. 

Kind Regards,

Jimmy


----------



## giver

Hello

Thank you for your response. I was still a little confused. You see I have never lived in Australia after being given the P.R visa, other than the landing. I am planning on moving there on August 2015, and my P.R visa expires August 2016. So my one year will start around August 21st, when I enter Australia to start living there.

So while this would be my first year out of the 4 years required for me to live in Australia to gain nationality, it would be my final year on my Australian P.R visa. 
So, what I can understand what you said was that I can not be out of the country for more than 3 months during this final year of my P.R visa, which will be the first year of me living in Australia on a permanent basis? Thats what you meant right?

This will be my first year living in Australia on my P.R visa and would need to live there 3 more years after the first year to apply for citizenship.

Just somewhat confused about all this. Do let me know if I understood it correctly.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Giver -
> 
> You're right - it's confusing! You start at the date you plan to apply for citizenship. Looking back from that date 4 years, you must not have been absent from Australia for more than 365 days. And looking back from that date again, you must have been a permanent resident for the entire year (365 days) and must not have been outside Australia for more than 3 months during that last year. For the 3 years you were in Australia before the 1 year of PR, it can be on any sort of a visa. Note that once you re-enter on your visa, you remain in Australia as a PR even if you do not get a resident return visa right away. The resident return visa is necessary to renew your right to enter Australia.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmy2014 -

Offshore partner visa would continue and not be affected by 457, however you need to keep in touch with the partner visa case officer to make sure he/she can locate and communicate with you re: any requests for docs or information, and when the visa is ready for grant you'll need to briefly depart Australia in order to be granted the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmy2014 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> If an applicant is awaiting an outcome on the *Offshore Partner visa* but get sponsored on a *457 visa* whilst we are waiting, is the offshore partner visa application processing stops and/or has any adverse affects by proceeding with 457 visa ?
> 
> Please assist.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Jimmy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Giver -

The 3 months max time out of the country applies to the 12 months just prior to applying for citizenship. You must also be a PR during those 12 months. The 3 years prior to that 12 months you can be in Australia on any visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



giver said:


> Hello
> 
> Thank you for your response. I was still a little confused. You see I have never lived in Australia after being given the P.R visa, other than the landing. I am planning on moving there on August 2015, and my P.R visa expires August 2016. So my one year will start around August 21st, when I enter Australia to start living there.
> 
> So while this would be my first year out of the 4 years required for me to live in Australia to gain nationality, it would be my final year on my Australian P.R visa.
> So, what I can understand what you said was that I can not be out of the country for more than 3 months during this final year of my P.R visa, which will be the first year of me living in Australia on a permanent basis? Thats what you meant right?
> 
> This will be my first year living in Australia on my P.R visa and would need to live there 3 more years after the first year to apply for citizenship.
> 
> Just somewhat confused about all this. Do let me know if I understood it correctly.


----------



## giver

Thank you for the quick response. I really appreciate it.

My PR visa expires during my first year that I begin living in Australia on a permanent basis, August 2016 to be exact.Would that be an issue with regards to "have been a P.R for 12 months" when it comes to applying for nationality 4 years later?

Even with the visa expiring, would I still be a PR? I know I require a RRV to renter the country once I leave.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Giver -
> 
> The 3 months max time out of the country applies to the 12 months just prior to applying for citizenship. You must also be a PR during those 12 months. The 3 years prior to that 12 months you can be in Australia on any visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## jimmy2014

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jimmy2014 -
> 
> Offshore partner visa would continue and not be affected by 457, however you need to keep in touch with the partner visa case officer to make sure he/she can locate and communicate with you re: any requests for docs or information, and when the visa is ready for grant you'll need to briefly depart Australia in order to be granted the visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark, much appreciated


----------



## Akya

Hey Mark,

Me and my fiance are applying for the Prospective Marriage Visa (subclass 300), and we have a few questions regarding it. Firstly, I am the sponsor but I currently live in Japan as I am still undergoing my undergraduate degree. Will providing a letter from my university stating I am expected to graduate sufficient enough to prove that I'll be going back to Australia? Should I also provide a copy of my student visa with it's end date?
Is there anything else I should provide for my application regarding living in Japan. We've already filled out the forms stating that my parents will be assisting the both of us when we go to Australia.


----------



## Toddinaus

*Student Specifics*

Hi Mark,

Hope this is an easy one!

Currently on 2nd working holiday visa till Nov 15, I am now holding a CoE for a course starting on 23rd Feb. My original plan was to lodge my student visa application on the 12th/13th Nov, work on the subsequent bridging visa then go home on the 9th Dec (I have my flight booked and paid) get student visa granted and return in Feb. of course its not that simple.

After research and word of mouth this weekend three very annoying specifics have started to worry me. Listing in order of worry (1 being lowest)

1. The fact I cant work once a student visa is granted, until my course starts at least (anyways around this)

2. The fact that an onshore application is an extra 700! (is there a chance I can stay in AUS till my flight home and then apply once there saving me more than half my application fee)

3. The fact that you can only apply 93days before your course starts (I am about two weeks short)

Any thoughts welcome. Thanks very much for this forum in general this is my first post but certainly not,my first time on the site.


----------



## MissCookie

Hi Mark!
What if the case is like this..

Sponsor - was sponsored before as Partner Visa way back 2009. Relationship ended (separated) 2011 but only got divorced 2014.

Can the person sponsor a PMV already?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Giver -

While your PR visa expires, this relates to your right to re-enter Australia. If you remain in Australia after that point, you are still a permanent resident, you just don't have a visa to re-enter on if you leave. So as long as you remain in Australia after your PR visa expires, you remain in Australia as a permanent resident. That being said, it probably makes sense to apply for a RRV visa at your earliest opportunity so that if you leave Australia you'll have a visa to re-enter on.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



giver said:


> Thank you for the quick response. I really appreciate it.
> 
> My PR visa expires during my first year that I begin living in Australia on a permanent basis, August 2016 to be exact.Would that be an issue with regards to "have been a P.R for 12 months" when it comes to applying for nationality 4 years later?
> 
> Even with the visa expiring, would I still be a PR? I know I require a RRV to renter the country once I leave.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akya -

The potential issue I see is that in order to sponsor a person for a sc300 PMV visa, the sponsor must be "usually resident" in Australia. This typically means that Australia is the usual place the person typically resides/lives. A person does not need to actually reside there at the time of application if he can show via providing evidence that he intends to make Australia his home in the very near future. A letter pointing to an expected graduation at some future date may not be enough to satisfy this requirement - I expect it may take more than that, including letters from your parents re: you will be staying with them, etc and further evidence that you have already put into place commitments and plans to make Australia your home in the very near future. Might be helpful for you to work with a migration agent who can work through the DIBP policy on usually resident and look at the evidence you plan to provide to give you some feedback and assessment on whether it may be sufficient to satisfy the usually resident requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Akya said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Me and my fiance are applying for the Prospective Marriage Visa (subclass 300), and we have a few questions regarding it. Firstly, I am the sponsor but I currently live in Japan as I am still undergoing my undergraduate degree. Will providing a letter from my university stating I am expected to graduate sufficient enough to prove that I'll be going back to Australia? Should I also provide a copy of my student visa with it's end date?
> Is there anything else I should provide for my application regarding living in Japan. We've already filled out the forms stating that my parents will be assisting the both of us when we go to Australia.


----------



## DangerDave

Hi Mark,

We are now in the process of applying for off-shore partner visa. I read that its best to provide around 3 statutory declarations by witnesses about your relationship. Now there is also requirement , that they be Australian. But as we live in Germany we don't really have any friends that are Australian and have meet her.
Can the witnesses be foreign citizens, but still a lawyer, teacher, etc... ?
do the witness and the partner have to meet in person? or they can do one by just being involved through relationship via emails,fb,phone?

Thank you for your assistance.
DD


----------



## Akya

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Akya -
> 
> The potential issue I see is that in order to sponsor a person for a sc300 PMV visa, the sponsor must be "usually resident" in Australia. This typically means that Australia is the usual place the person typically resides/lives. A person does not need to actually reside there at the time of application if he can show via providing evidence that he intends to make Australia his home in the very near future. A letter pointing to an expected graduation at some future date may not be enough to satisfy this requirement - I expect it may take more than that, including letters from your parents re: you will be staying with them, etc and further evidence that you have already put into place commitments and plans to make Australia your home in the very near future. Might be helpful for you to work with a migration agent who can work through the DIBP policy on usually resident and look at the evidence you plan to provide to give you some feedback and assessment on whether it may be sufficient to satisfy the usually resident requirement.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much for your prompt reply, Mark. I'll get my parents to write something up about their commitment to helping us etc. I also decided to include my visa for Japan with it's expiration date. We will also look into a migration agent. Thanks again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DangerDave -

Always best to have Australian citizens or PR do at least 2 stat decs - the requirement is that they "have knowledge of the relationship" so that can include people who haven't met one of you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DangerDave said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We are now in the process of applying for off-shore partner visa. I read that its best to provide around 3 statutory declarations by witnesses about your relationship. Now there is also requirement , that they be Australian. But as we live in Germany we don't really have any friends that are Australian and have meet her.
> Can the witnesses be foreign citizens, but still a lawyer, teacher, etc... ?
> do the witness and the partner have to meet in person? or they can do one by just being involved through relationship via emails,fb,phone?
> 
> Thank you for your assistance.
> DD


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MissCookie -

The sponsorship limitation period is 5 years from the date of application for the first visa, so if the application date was 1 June 2009, they could not apply to sponsor another person until 5 years after that date. Re: divorce date, that all depends on DIBP being convinced that the relationship of the engaged couple is genuine - that's more about whether the sponsor was truly separated from his ex-wife since 2011, plus of course the usual requirements that the current relationship be genuine and the evidence indicates an intent by both parties to enter into a genuine spousal relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MissCookie said:


> Hi Mark!
> What if the case is like this..
> 
> Sponsor - was sponsored before as Partner Visa way back 2009. Relationship ended (separated) 2011 but only got divorced 2014.
> 
> Can the person sponsor a PMV already?


----------



## punter_chin

*Eoi*

Hi Mark,

I hope you are doing well.

I am currently updating my EOI and have the following queries:

1. With regards to employment details of last 10 years, do I need to mention about any gaps in empoyment?

2. I have relevant experience in my nominated occupation (Management Accountant) since 2009, however I completed my educational qualification in December 2013. Can I still claim points for work experience or does it have to be post qualification only.

Thanks for your help.

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Punter_chin -

Re: 1, not on EOI, but you will on Form 80 if you lodge a visa application that requires/requests it.

re: 2, Normally only post-qualification can be claimed for points - you can get more info from your skills assessor re whether they consider particular work as "skilled".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you are doing well.
> 
> I am currently updating my EOI and have the following queries:
> 
> 1. With regards to employment details of last 10 years, do I need to mention about any gaps in empoyment?
> 
> 2. I have relevant experience in my nominated occupation (Management Accountant) since 2009, however I completed my educational qualification in December 2013. Can I still claim points for work experience or does it have to be post qualification only.
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Regards


----------



## swagata

Dear Mark,
Thanks for your response. I hold a SC 309 visa and my partner a PR. For my new born child, in India, I have option of applying either a 445 visa or my partner sponsors for SC101 visa. Please let me know pros and cons of both these visa types considering wait time and other factors.
Thanks,
Swagi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swagata -

Thanks for the note - too many details to go into on the forum for this type of comparison, plus need to get more details and discuss your travel plans to Australia and how they relate timewise to the 309/100 visa situation. Can assist you in a consultation - see my website below for link to Professional Consultation - thanks!

Best,

Mark Northam



swagata said:


> Dear Mark,
> Thanks for your response. I hold a SC 309 visa and my partner a PR. For my new born child, in India, I have option of applying either a 445 visa or my partner sponsors for SC101 visa. Please let me know pros and cons of both these visa types considering wait time and other factors.
> Thanks,
> Swagi


----------



## saif_mahmud

Hi Mark,

I'm in the process of submitting documents requested by CO for my skilled Independent visa (subclass 189). There's one issue for which i'm concerned. My wife's name on the passport and national ID is slightly different from her bachelor certificate. I have submitted a "medium of instruction" certificate for her also where the name appearing same as the name on her bachelor certificate. Which is not exact match with passport name. It's off by one letter. Is that going to be a major problem? If so, shall I inform this to my CO right now? Or should I wait until I get any feedback on this from them?

Thank you!


----------



## Natalie7

Hi Mark, 

I hope you can help me here.. 
My question is how long cohabitation period is required for a married couple in order to apply for a visa 461. 
I am married to a New Zealand citizen in New Zealand in July and we came to Australia in August as my husband was offered a job. We never lived together before we came here. We now have rented a place and started our new life but I am not sure how long I have to wait until I can apply for the visa. I am hoping to apply before my tourist visa expires so that I can be on a bridging visa but also thinking it would be too short to provide as evidence. We have been together for about two years but it has been on and off and cannot apply as a de-facto couple.

Any advice for you would be very much appreciated! Thank you!


----------



## Toddinaus

Still Hoping for a response from this one Mark!

Hi Mark,

Hope this is an easy one! 

Currently on 2nd working holiday visa till Nov 15, I am now holding a CoE for a course starting on 23rd Feb. My original plan was to lodge my student visa application on the 12th/13th Nov, work on the subsequent bridging visa then go home on the 9th Dec (I have my flight booked and paid) get student visa granted and return in Feb. of course its not that simple.

After research and word of mouth this weekend three very annoying specifics have started to worry me. Listing in order of worry (1 being lowest)

1. The fact I cant work once a student visa is granted, until my course starts at least (anyways around this)

2. The fact that an onshore application is an extra 700! (is there a chance I can stay in AUS till my flight home and then apply once there saving me more than half my application fee) 

3. The fact that you can only apply 93days before your course starts (I am about two weeks short) 

Any thoughts welcome. Thanks very much for this forum in general this is my first post but certainly not,my first time on the site.


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi mark, thank u in advance. My application for employer nomination is almost 85 days. My agent apply nomination on 30 th July as Record manager. Is it possible it take so long or may take longer. I got TRN number , can I enquire about it.
Please help me. 

Regards
Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saif_mahmud -

Probably not a big deal, however I would write a letter explaining the issue and pointing out where the name is spelled correctly and not correctly and offer to provide any additional information or documents as requested - you can upload the letter along with your certificates, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



saif_mahmud said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm in the process of submitting documents requested by CO for my skilled Independent visa (subclass 189). There's one issue for which i'm concerned. My wife's name on the passport and national ID is slightly different from her bachelor certificate. I have submitted a "medium of instruction" certificate for her also where the name appearing same as the name on her bachelor certificate. Which is not exact match with passport name. It's off by one letter. Is that going to be a major problem? If so, shall I inform this to my CO right now? Or should I wait until I get any feedback on this from them?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Natalie7 -

There is no particular length of cohabitation required for married applicants for the 461 visa - the assessment by DIBP is done looking the entire body of evidence that supports the relationship - ie, statements, photos, documents showing shared finances and all the other categories of things that normally are looked at in partner visa applications (lots of good threads on this subject on the forum). Bottom line is that DIBP needs to conclude that the relationship is genuine - so it all depends on the quantity and quality of the evidence as a whole.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Natalie7 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you can help me here..
> My question is how long cohabitation period is required for a married couple in order to apply for a visa 461.
> I am married to a New Zealand citizen in New Zealand in July and we came to Australia in August as my husband was offered a job. We never lived together before we came here. We now have rented a place and started our new life but I am not sure how long I have to wait until I can apply for the visa. I am hoping to apply before my tourist visa expires so that I can be on a bridging visa but also thinking it would be too short to provide as evidence. We have been together for about two years but it has been on and off and cannot apply as a de-facto couple.
> 
> Any advice for you would be very much appreciated! Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Toddinaus -

Sorry, thought I had responses a few pages back on this one. All of your observations are correct - no good ways around them that I know of - the 93 day one is the one that you might have the best chance of getting around, however even if you do, you still would not have work rights until your course started, so probably not of benefit I'm guessing.

Wish I had a way around these to suggest, but I don't - the student visa regime at DIBP is a lot more tricky than it looks like initially, and digging into the finer points of the regulations can yield some unexpected surprises. Sorry I could not help on this one -

Best,

Mark Northam



Toddinaus said:


> Still Hoping for a response from this one Mark!
> 
> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope this is an easy one!
> 
> Currently on 2nd working holiday visa till Nov 15, I am now holding a CoE for a course starting on 23rd Feb. My original plan was to lodge my student visa application on the 12th/13th Nov, work on the subsequent bridging visa then go home on the 9th Dec (I have my flight booked and paid) get student visa granted and return in Feb. of course its not that simple.
> 
> After research and word of mouth this weekend three very annoying specifics have started to worry me. Listing in order of worry (1 being lowest)
> 
> 1. The fact I cant work once a student visa is granted, until my course starts at least (anyways around this)
> 
> 2. The fact that an onshore application is an extra 700! (is there a chance I can stay in AUS till my flight home and then apply once there saving me more than half my application fee)
> 
> 3. The fact that you can only apply 93days before your course starts (I am about two weeks short)
> 
> Any thoughts welcome. Thanks very much for this forum in general this is my first post but certainly not,my first time on the site.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

What visa subclass? If 186 or 187, these can routinely take 3-6 months, or longer if external security checks are delayed. If 457, typically 4-6 weeks these days, although can be longer. What does your agent say?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi mark, thank u in advance. My application for employer nomination is almost 85 days. My agent apply nomination on 30 th July as Record manager. Is it possible it take so long or may take longer. I got TRN number , can I enquire about it.
> Please help me.
> 
> Regards
> Bharat


----------



## jimmy2014

Hi Mark,

Sorry I forgot to clarify one important point in my last post.

My partner is currently in Australia on a tourist visa whilst we are awaiting the outcome on the offshore Partner visa which is still a 6 months away.

What I am trying to figure out is that, if applying for jobs whilst on a Tourist visa would be a breach of the tourist visa condition ? 

As you mentioned in order to be granted 457 visa, she cannot be in Australia to be granted that visa which is fine but I am just conscious and don't want to jeopardise the existing Partner visa application.

She will under no circumstance *'work' *till 457 visa is granted though. 

Please help me with your invaluable advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmy2014 -

It's a gray area - clearly "work" is not allowed under a visitor visa, but many people come here and do job interviews and other job seeking activities under a visitor visa - it's a gray area because it's not "work", but it's also not "tourist and visitor activities" which is the stated purpose of the visitor visa, however job searches would not seem to violate the "No Work" condition of visitor visas. Routinely the situation is that if DIBP believes a person is here primarily to look for a job, a visitor visa may be refused as a result, however once they get here, even in the unlikely event that DIBP discovers what they're doing, there is not much anyone can do since it's not a violation of the "no work" condition, and it still can be argued that the primary reason for the trip is tourism, being with family, etc in most cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmy2014 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Sorry I forgot to clarify one important point in my last post.
> 
> My partner is currently in Australia on a tourist visa whilst we are awaiting the outcome on the offshore Partner visa which is still a 6 months away.
> 
> What I am trying to figure out is that, if applying for jobs whilst on a Tourist visa would be a breach of the tourist visa condition ?
> 
> As you mentioned in order to be granted 457 visa, she cannot be in Australia to be granted that visa which is fine but I am just conscious and don't want to jeopardise the existing Partner visa application.
> 
> She will under no circumstance *'work' *till 457 visa is granted though.
> 
> Please help me with your invaluable advise.


----------



## Natalie7

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Natalie7 -
> 
> There is no particular length of cohabitation required for married applicants for the 461 visa - the assessment by DIBP is done looking the entire body of evidence that supports the relationship - ie, statements, photos, documents showing shared finances and all the other categories of things that normally are looked at in partner visa applications (lots of good threads on this subject on the forum). Bottom line is that DIBP needs to conclude that the relationship is genuine - so it all depends on the quantity and quality of the evidence as a whole.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark! It sounds make sense. I will try collect evidence as much as possible. Thank you very much for your prompt reply and valuable advise!


----------



## bhalo_fish

bhalo_fish said:


> Hi mark, thank u in advance. My application for employer nomination is almost 85 days. My agent apply nomination on 30 th July as Record manager. Is it possible it take so long or may take longer. I got TRN number , can I enquire about it. Please help me. Regards Bharat


Dear Mark, thanks for quick reply. I am planing to apply visa 457 but I am waiting for approve nomination. My agent said he still waiting for CO reply. If no answer in this week he will contact CO B'coz is gone 90 days. It also could be because my job is Record Manager .

Thank you
Bharat.


----------



## rakib129

Hi Mark!!!

I'm from Bangladesh..
I have successfully submitted my student visa (subclass 573) application on 14 August 2014 . But haven't got anything from immigration not even medical request. My class will start in November..So far I know Under SVP it takes 3-4 weeks to get a decision.what should I do now?? plz help


----------



## arminIT

Thank you very much for your prompt reply and valuable advise!

As you know I want to apply state sponsorship from offshore, then lodge online.The application fee for 2014-15 is $300.00 for offshore applicants and $330.00 (inc GST) for onshore applicants.
Should I pay 330$ or $300? 
PS: I will pay with my friend's visa card and her PC, using remote desktop connection, in Sydney.

And another question is:
Do you know the minute and hour the NSW program opens in 14 October ?

Any advice from you would be very much appreciated! Thank you!

Regards
Armin



MarkNortham said:


> Hi ArminIT -
> 
> General info: Yes, can apply for EOI and state sponsorship from offshore, then come to Australia (if the applicant can get a visa to come here at that point that does not have the 8503 no further stay condition on it) and lodge the 190 application onshore to generate a bridging visa.
> 
> NSW application is via their Skilled website for 190 visas - if they do it the same way as they did a couple of months ago, there is a tiny window of less than an hour (a guess) that will be open and people around the world are slamming the website to try and get their application in. Suggest you consult the NSW website for details regularly, as with any luck they might change this silly procedure to make it fairer for all concerned.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rakib129 -

SVP can easily take 2-3 months - DIBP does not publish any estimates for SVP (yet), and it's not the same as AL1 processing in terms of the time it takes, so all you can do is wait. Whoever told you that DIBP SVP processing takes 3-4 weeks was incorrect.

You may want to try and contact the Embassy where you lodged your application to see if they have an estimate of the time these generally take there, and at some point you may want to remind them of the start date of the course.

Hope you have success in working with them - remember, always smile and be polite - goes a long way with people who process papers all day and are used to grumpy "clients".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rakib129 said:


> Hi Mark!!!
> 
> I'm from Bangladesh..
> I have successfully submitted my student visa (subclass 573) application on 14 August 2014 . But haven't got anything from immigration not even medical request. My class will start in November..So far I know Under SVP it takes 3-4 weeks to get a decision.what should I do now?? plz help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ArminIT -

Re: fee, it's my understanding that if you (the applicant) are physically outside Australia, that GST is not due, however to be sure and avoid any problems, I would phone the sponsorship office and confirm.

Re: time, they have not announced it yet. Last time it was 9:30am Sydney time if I recall, but I'd keep a close eye on their site and pages as we're all waiting to see if they change their procedures from last time when there was a mad crush of traffic slamming their website and only the lucky managed to get through to complete the application and pay.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arminIT said:


> Thank you very much for your prompt reply and valuable advise!
> 
> As you know I want to apply state sponsorship from offshore, then lodge online.The application fee for 2014-15 is $300.00 for offshore applicants and $330.00 (inc GST) for onshore applicants.
> Should I pay 330$ or $300?
> PS: I will pay with my friend's visa card and her PC, using remote desktop connection, in Sydney.
> 
> And another question is:
> Do you know the minute and hour the NSW program opens in 14 October ?
> 
> Any advice from you would be very much appreciated! Thank you!
> 
> Regards
> Armin


----------



## Depressedfish

Hi Mark, for 189 applications, can you count Australian work experience as oversea work experience instead?

I currently have 2 years and 9 months work experience overseas and just got a job in Australia, so it would be more advantageous if I can count the work experience I will get in Australia as overseas since I am only missing by 3 months to get 5 points.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depressedfish -

For the skilled visa points test, unfortunately no, they are 2 separate categories with different points scoring values.

Best,

Mark



Depressedfish said:


> Hi Mark, for 189 applications, can you count Australian work experience as oversea work experience instead?
> 
> I currently have 2 years and 9 months work experience overseas and just got a job in Australia, so it would be more advantageous if I can count the work experience I will get in Australia as overseas since I am only missing by 3 months to get 5 points.


----------



## MissCookie

Thanks so much Mark!

So if he was sponsored June of 2009, he can already sponsor another partner by June 2014.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi MissCookie -
> 
> The sponsorship limitation period is 5 years from the date of application for the first visa, so if the application date was 1 June 2009, they could not apply to sponsor another person until 5 years after that date. Re: divorce date, that all depends on DIBP being convinced that the relationship of the engaged couple is genuine - that's more about whether the sponsor was truly separated from his ex-wife since 2011, plus of course the usual requirements that the current relationship be genuine and the evidence indicates an intent by both parties to enter into a genuine spousal relationship.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## vampyre

*Urgent-Passport Impound/cancelled*

Hello,

I am an Indian citizen having permanent residency in Australia.my ex wife has filed several cases against me in India. As a result my Indian passport might be cancelled/impounded.

I want to know will impounding/cancelling my passport will affect my permanent residency in Australia.

does that mean I could be deported from Australia or can I stay in Australia as a legal permanent resident.

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MissCookie -

Yes, assuming the application date for his previous sponsorship was June 2009 and 5 years have passed since that date. However he still will need to meet all the other requirements - ie, genuine relationship, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MissCookie said:


> Thanks so much Mark!
> 
> So if he was sponsored June of 2009, he can already sponsor another partner by June 2014.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vampyre -

Not having a valid passport would not by itself be reason to cancel a visa, however depending on the charges against you and how those are resolved, there are potentially character issues involved that could be a a potential issue for your visa. Obviously you'd have trouble traveling without a passport as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vampyre said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am an Indian citizen having permanent residency in Australia.my ex wife has filed several cases against me in India. As a result my Indian passport might be cancelled/impounded.
> 
> I want to know will impounding/cancelling my passport will affect my permanent residency in Australia.
> 
> does that mean I could be deported from Australia or can I stay in Australia as a legal permanent resident.
> 
> Regards


----------



## boycot123

Off topic: Regarding 309
CO contacted my better-half (check our timeline) for phone interview. How long do you think it'd take from here onward to be granted? No documents requested, everything is complete, including, Meds, PCC, bio-metrics, Polio vaccination -(everything). We did call our CO the next day to verify whether we can travel to Australia as a visitor or if the grant is close-by: We got a response as:

"I can see your case is progressing normally i.e. its within a standard time frame of 9-12 months. If you apply for visit visa, it *ALSO* takes about 6 weeks to be granted. This is the only info I have." .... The word ALSO is confusing and it's such a confusing reply from her. Don't know what to do....

What should we do? wait for the 309 grant or go for visit? 
Your expert advice is required here. 
Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Boycot123 -

No way at all to tell how long DIBP will take - usually the visitor visa applications are processed independently of partner visas, so whenever you lodge the visitor visa, that's when the 6 weeks (or however long it takes) begins. I've seen partner visas granted in as little as 2-3 weeks after interview, or months later. Based on the email you received, I would expect it would be at least 9 months total time to process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



boycot123 said:


> Off topic: Regarding 309
> CO contacted my better-half (check our timeline) for phone interview. How long do you think it'd take from here onward to be granted? No documents requested, everything is complete, including, Meds, PCC, bio-metrics, Polio vaccination -(everything). We did call our CO the next day to verify whether we can travel to Australia as a visitor or if the grant is close-by: We got a response as:
> 
> "I can see your case is progressing normally i.e. its within a standard time frame of 9-12 months. If you apply for visit visa, it *ALSO* takes about 6 weeks to be granted. This is the only info I have." .... The word ALSO is confusing and it's such a confusing reply from her. Don't know what to do....
> 
> What should we do? wait for the 309 grant or go for visit?
> Your expert advice is required here.
> Thanks!


----------



## boycot123

Thanks for your reply Mark. Do you have any idea about timelines of applicants from Pakistan?


MarkNortham said:


> I've seen partner visas granted in as little as 2-3 weeks after interview, or months later. Based on the email you received, I would expect it would be at least 9 months total time to process.
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Nothing specific, but historically they have been taking quite a while, apparently due to external security checks - ie 12-18 months, etc. However there are no guarantees - DIBP doesn't release enough info to allow for any sort of solid projections or estimates -

Best,

Mark Northam



boycot123 said:


> Thanks for your reply Mark. Do you have any idea about timelines of applicants from Pakistan?


----------



## boycot123

Thanks for your quick reply Mark. If CO hasn't asked any additional documents in the interview, do you think that's a good sign and the grant is near? Should I still submit monthly chats, FaceTime call logs, Skype etc? 


MarkNortham said:


> Nothing specific, but historically they have been taking quite a while, apparently due to external security checks - ie 12-18 months, etc. However there are no guarantees - DIBP doesn't release enough info to allow for any sort of solid projections or estimates -
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## arminIT

Hi again Mark-
Thanks for your earlier answers to my questions 

Currently,I'm offshore and hold Visa 476, Skilled - Recognised Graduate which let me to be in Australia for 18 month(s) from the date of my first arrival.
I found that in visa 190 application they ask us about Australian Visa Held, Visa No and Expy Date.

What should I write in Australian Visa Held and Visa no? Should I enter Visa Grant Number or Transaction Reference Number.
And what about Expy Date? Should I write Visa expiry date from VEVO System?

Your expert advice is required here.
Thanks!


----------



## BenD

*457 panel recommnedations*

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your kind offer to advise.

1) I'm on a 457 visa and have been requested to take on a bigger role (promotion). The 457 visa nomination may not completely align with the new role but my skill set will not change. Does this mean I will require a new nomination ? Can I request for an assessment from the DIAC before I accept the new role ?

2) In your experience how long do you think will it be before the DIBP implements the recommendations of the 457 visa review panel (Robust new ....) ?


----------



## girpinder22

About 457 visa


----------



## girpinder22

Respected sir I would like to get se information about Owner sponsorship cancelled of 457 visa.


----------



## Down_under

*Employment Query*

​
Dear Mark,

I am an offshore applicant for GSM Subclass 190. I have been recently contacted by a CO asking for Form 80.
Below is my query:

I have worked in my nominated field for almost 7 Years and ACS has deducted 6 Years, I have not claimed points for experience. Since October 2013 I have been working in an enterprise where my wife is a part owner , the duties I perform are only 10-15 % related to my nominated occupation. I have submitted my application in July this year and have not mentioned about my this work(Since October 2013) , I have mentioned about this experience in form 80 though. My query is do I then proactively submit form 1022 stating that I did not add this experience while lodging the application and would like to add it now, since it is mentioned in form 80 or it would not matter ,as in it is not required.

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,
down_under


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes - I'd keep submitting them until the CO or someone says that they do not need any further evidence, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



boycot123 said:


> Thanks for your quick reply Mark. If CO hasn't asked any additional documents in the interview, do you think that's a good sign and the grant is near? Should I still submit monthly chats, FaceTime call logs, Skype etc?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ArminIT -

Expiry date from VEVO is fine - unless they ask for TRN or Grant no, no need to list that - DIBP will find the visa on their system based on your passport anyway.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arminIT said:


> Hi again Mark-
> Thanks for your earlier answers to my questions
> 
> Currently,I'm offshore and hold Visa 476, Skilled - Recognised Graduate which let me to be in Australia for 18 month(s) from the date of my first arrival.
> I found that in visa 190 application they ask us about Australian Visa Held, Visa No and Expy Date.
> 
> What should I write in Australian Visa Held and Visa no? Should I enter Visa Grant Number or Transaction Reference Number.
> And what about Expy Date? Should I write Visa expiry date from VEVO System?
> 
> Your expert advice is required here.
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BenD -

Thanks for the question - key is ANZSCO Occupation code - if the code you have now still is the best code for your new position (see ANZSCO definition for the tasks/duties of your job online to compare), then no need to get a new nomination. However if the ANZSCO code changes, you are obligated to get a new nomination from your employer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BenD said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your kind offer to advise.
> 
> 1) I'm on a 457 visa and have been requested to take on a bigger role (promotion). The 457 visa nomination may not completely align with the new role but my skill set will not change. Does this mean I will require a new nomination ? Can I request for an assessment from the DIAC before I accept the new role ?
> 
> 2) In your experience how long do you think will it be before the DIBP implements the recommendations of the 457 visa review panel (Robust new ....) ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Girpinder22 -

Sorry but I don't understand your question. 457 visas have 3 parts: sponsorship, nomination, and visa application - would need to know what part was cancelled (or was refused), etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



girpinder22 said:


> Respected sir I would like to get se information about Owner sponsorship cancelled of 457 visa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Down_Under -

Not specifically required to update work experience as a visa application is processing, but wouldn't hurt to lodge Form 1022 just for good measure.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Down_under said:


> ​
> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am an offshore applicant for GSM Subclass 190. I have been recently contacted by a CO asking for Form 80.
> Below is my query:
> 
> I have worked in my nominated field for almost 7 Years and ACS has deducted 6 Years, I have not claimed points for experience. Since October 2013 I have been working in an enterprise where my wife is a part owner , the duties I perform are only 10-15 % related to my nominated occupation. I have submitted my application in July this year and have not mentioned about my this work(Since October 2013) , I have mentioned about this experience in form 80 though. My query is do I then proactively submit form 1022 stating that I did not add this experience while lodging the application and would like to add it now, since it is mentioned in form 80 or it would not matter ,as in it is not required.
> 
> Looking forward to your response.
> 
> Thanks,
> down_under


----------



## girpinder22

Hi sir ,I would like to get information about my owner sponsorship is cancelled .i was working with from 16 months as a baker in Tasmania . We were 3 bakers on 457 visa at one shop. We had an immigration audit on 22 may 14 and they cancelled the approval of sponsorship on 19 September 14 under the obligation 2.86 and obligation 2.79.there is no else working rather than us. What step I need to take now ? Do I need to change the employer ? Or I need to wait for the same employer until he got his MRt review?but I got one more employer who wanna sponser me as a manager because I also studied business management. He got Asian food business not bakery....let me know what will be best step for me now to get my permanent resident ..thanks...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Girpinder22 -

Would need to work with you in a consultation to get many more details about this situation in order to properly advise you.Beyond the immediate situation, you need to think about options for PR with or without your current employer and what steps you can take now and in the future to make that happen - too many details & questions to go into via forum - if interested in a consultation, please visit my website below in signature and click on Professional Consultation - that will give us the time and resources to get all the information about you and your employer, and figure out what next steps you may want to take to move towards PR.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



girpinder22 said:


> Hi sir ,I would like to get information about my owner sponsorship is cancelled .i was working with from 16 months as a baker in Tasmania . We were 3 bakers on 457 visa at one shop. We had an immigration audit on 22 may 14 and they cancelled the approval of sponsorship on 19 September 14 under the obligation 2.86 and obligation 2.79.there is no else working rather than us. What step I need to take now ? Do I need to change the employer ? Or I need to wait for the same employer until he got his MRt review?but I got one more employer who wanna sponser me as a manager because I also studied business management. He got Asian food business not bakery....let me know what will be best step for me now to get my permanent resident ..thanks...


----------



## girpinder22

Hi there ,just want to know can I go for as a manager in Asian cooking shop ..under 457 visa or not?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Girpinder -

Sorry, but I don't know nearly enough about you, your qualifications, and your work experience to answer that question. Almost anybody can "go for" a visa, but if you are refused, the penalties are very severe as you may not be able to apply for anything else without first departing Australia. Better to take a careful approach, get professional advice, and then make your decision - the 457 regulations involve 100s of pages of regulations, and they're not simple or quick to deal with - you need to compare every requirement of the 457 visa with your own circumstances to determine what the chances are of success.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



girpinder22 said:


> Hi there ,just want to know can I go for as a manager in Asian cooking shop ..under 457 visa or not?


----------



## aquinoanne

Hi Mark. I have questions with regard to de facto visa. Me and my partner started commence to live together November of last year. I was granted a tourist visa/ multiple entry. With that visa I have to exit for 3months. And my questions are, first with regard to that 12 month, is it cumulative and what kind of proof can put there? and second with the financial aspect. How can I help him with the expenses if I'm not allowed to work. He is the one who take care all of the expenses and my needs since I don't have means to do so. Thank you in advance


----------



## fgone

Hi Mark,

I have a question about Aged Parent Visa 804, my father's date of birth is 6/10/1950 i.e. he is 64 running and on next moth he will complete 64 years of age. My question is, is 65 years of Age requirement is the primary criteria that needs to satisfied at the time of application or at the time of case officer is assigned please? Since usually it takes about 6-10 months before case officer is assigned hence, is it possible for me to apply early next year when my dad is just 6 months to 65 age. please? As in this situation we never know when they will close this visa again. Hence, I am trying to puy the application in if we can,.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fgone -

The age requirement for the sc804 visa is that at the time of application, the applicant qualify as an "aged parent" which means they are eligible for an age pension in Australia - here are the rules for that:

Age Pension | Australian Government Department of Social Services

So for men, it would be age 65 at the time of application for the sc804 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fgone said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question about Aged Parent Visa 804, my father's date of birth is 6/10/1950 i.e. he is 64 running and on next moth he will complete 64 years of age. My question is, is 65 years of Age requirement is the primary criteria that needs to satisfied at the time of application or at the time of case officer is assigned please? Since usually it takes about 6-10 months before case officer is assigned hence, is it possible for me to apply early next year when my dad is just 6 months to 65 age. please? As in this situation we never know when they will close this visa again. Hence, I am trying to puy the application in if we can,.


----------



## aquinoanne

Hi Mark I have questions too. It's about de facto visa. Any advise? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aquinoanne -

Thansk for the questions - for defacto relationship, DIBP will look at the 12 months immediately prior to your date of application and look to see that you were living together during those 12 months and that any time apart during those 12 months was temporary in nature. Re: financial, circumstances are different for everyone, would have to see much more detail on your circumstances in a consultation to recommend any specific things you could do to provide evidence for a partner application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aquinoanne said:


> Hi Mark. I have questions with regard to de facto visa. Me and my partner started commence to live together November of last year. I was granted a tourist visa/ multiple entry. With that visa I have to exit for 3months. And my questions are, first with regard to that 12 month, is it cumulative and what kind of proof can put there? and second with the financial aspect. How can I help him with the expenses if I'm not allowed to work. He is the one who take care all of the expenses and my needs since I don't have means to do so. Thank you in advance


----------



## aquinoanne

Oh thanks Mark. I really do appreciate that. Because I'm having worries with regard to that financial requirement. Because he is the one who's supporting me and the expenses since I don't have work and that's one of the conditions as a tourist visa. One more question here in wa we can't register our relationship. So how can we provide a document that will prove that we have been in one roof since last year. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

You'd have to provide some sort of evidence such as a lease with both names on it, statutory declaration from landlord, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aquinoanne said:


> Oh thanks Mark. I really do appreciate that. Because I'm having worries with regard to that financial requirement. Because he is the one who's supporting me and the expenses since I don't have work and that's one of the conditions as a tourist visa. One more question here in wa we can't register our relationship. So how can we provide a document that will prove that we have been in one roof since last year. Thanks


----------



## boycot123

*Your help needed Mark*

Can you please help on this one Mark .....

Please click here

Thanks!


----------



## MissCookie

Thanks so much for answering my queries Mark! Big help really.

I'm also having difficulty understanding question #58 of from 47sp. (When did you and your fiance commit to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others?)

Does it mean the day we became a couple or the day of our engagement?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Nagel

Hi me and my partner is applying for de facto partnership visa.
I just have a question about identification.

My partners passport (she will be my sponsor) expires next month and she will only have her Aus driving license as identification, what kind of identification do we actually need when we apply, we are going to make our application online. I got my valid passport, license, national id papers from Sweden etc so on my end I should be okey I think.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nagel -

Thanks for the question - the sponsor will need proof of Australian citizenship - best way for this is a passport, but Australian citizenship certificate will also work. Drivers licence is not enough for these purposes. Suggest she get her passport renewed ASAP and use that if possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nagel said:


> Hi me and my partner is applying for de facto partnership visa.
> I just have a question about identification.
> 
> My partners passport (she will be my sponsor) expires next month and she will only have her Aus driving license as identification, what kind of identification do we actually need when we apply, we are going to make our application online. I got my valid passport, license, national id papers from Sweden etc so on my end I should be okey I think.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Boycot123 -

I had a look over there but it looks like others responded and answered your questions... I'm not familiar with the NZ/Bali procedures -

Best,

Mark Northam



boycot123 said:


> Can you please help on this one Mark .....
> 
> Please click here
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MissCookie -

Thanks for the kind words! The answer to your question is - it's different for different couples - for some it's when they decided they would date no other people and were "exclusive" - for others with less dating background, etc, the date of engagement is the appropriate date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MissCookie said:


> Thanks so much for answering my queries Mark! Big help really.
> 
> I'm also having difficulty understanding question #58 of from 47sp. (When did you and your fiance commit to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others?)
> 
> Does it mean the day we became a couple or the day of our engagement?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## jatin.mallan

Hi Mark
I am an Indian B-com Graduate and a recently qualified Indian Chartered Accountant. As of now i do not possess post qualification work ex. I was willing to know if i could apply for PR under sub class 189 if i can fetch 60 points(25-age, 15-bacelors,20 ielts) without any post qualification work ex. If yes what are my chances of success for grant of visa. I ve been contacting the local agents here. Some say u need minimum 3 years work ex while some say you need minimum 1 year work ex.


----------



## seekingpr

Hello Mark,
Wish to request you to guide on following:
- I applied for Visitor Visa for my parents when i was on WP 457.The Visa has been grated for stay upto 3 months after date of Entry of my parents to Australia.Now i have got my Permanent Residency Visa, i understand that the stay period for parents of a permanent resident is 6 months.I wish to know is there a way my parents can request Australian Embassy to extend the benefit on to their Visa since their son (that is me) is now a Permanent Resident?If yes, how can they do that?

Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seekingpr -

Thanks for the question. No way I know of to do that, as by law once a visa is granted, it cannot be changed or altered (other than cancellation of course!). Would need to apply for another visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> Hello Mark,
> Wish to request you to guide on following:
> - I applied for Visitor Visa for my parents when i was on WP 457.The Visa has been grated for stay upto 3 months after date of Entry of my parents to Australia.Now i have got my Permanent Residency Visa, i understand that the stay period for parents of a permanent resident is 6 months.I wish to know is there a way my parents can request Australian Embassy to extend the benefit on to their Visa since their son (that is me) is now a Permanent Resident?If yes, how can they do that?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## seekingpr

Hello Mark,
Wish to request you to guide on following:
- I entered Australia on WP 457 on 27th April 2013.
- I got my Permanent Resident Visa (Sub Class 189) on 23rd July 2014

My parents are back in India and eventually, i wish to live with them. My queries are as below, please could you help?

- Is there any pathway where i can apply for migration to Australia for both of my parents? My father is retired Govt Employee and earn a monthly Pension.My mother is currently in Govt Job which pensionable as well.I have an elder sister who is married and settled in US.
- If there is no pathway to get my parents migrated to Australia,i wish to return to India and live with them. I know there are some rules and policies in terms of minimum stay in Australia to Obtain Citizenship or Resident Return Visa (RRV 155or 157), please could you share some knowledge ,practically what i can do to ensure i can go back to India and Live there with my parents to support them and also do not lose my rights to become Australian Citizen.


----------



## seekingpr

Thank you very much.You have been prompt as always....!



seekingpr said:


> Hello Mark,
> Wish to request you to guide on following:
> - I applied for Visitor Visa for my parents when i was on WP 457.The Visa has been grated for stay upto 3 months after date of Entry of my parents to Australia.Now i have got my Permanent Residency Visa, i understand that the stay period for parents of a permanent resident is 6 months.I wish to know is there a way my parents can request Australian Embassy to extend the benefit on to their Visa since their son (that is me) is now a Permanent Resident?If yes, how can they do that?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jatin.Mallan -

Thanks for your note - I expect the "agents" you are talking to are not registered migration agents as their information is woefully out of date. There is no minimum work experience requirement for the subclass 189 visa if you can get the points other ways. The only requirement could come in at the skills assessment stage, but normally the accounting assessors (ICAA, CPA Australia, etc) are more concerned about your academic qualifications and whether they align with the Australian standard. Suggest you contact the skills assessor you intend to use and determine their specific requirements for IELTS (usually 7+ on all four bands of the Academic IELTS test) and a recognised Bachelor degree that they then compare to the Australian standard. Some have reduced requirements for members of recognised overseas accounting organisations, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jatin.mallan said:


> Hi Mark
> I am an Indian B-com Graduate and a recently qualified Indian Chartered Accountant. As of now i do not possess post qualification work ex. I was willing to know if i could apply for PR under sub class 189 if i can fetch 60 points(25-age, 15-bacelors,20 ielts) without any post qualification work ex. If yes what are my chances of success. I ve been contacting the local agents here. Some say u need minimum 3 years work ex while some say you need minimum 1 year work ex


----------



## dharabaskar

*NSW - State Sponsorship*

Hi Mark,

In the NSW website it states, Occupation List updated as "1st October" and "Applications open" on 14th October.

Does it mean that I can only apply for State Sponsorship on 14th October?

Do you foresee any issue like last July, when the occupations were closed within an hour ?

I have the EOI Number, can I update all information now and just submission and payment on the 14th October?

Thanks in advance
Vijay


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vijay -

Your guess is as good as mine.... they have not released any info on whether they're going to do anything different or have another mad free-for-all like last time where only the lucky who didn't end up with server errors managed to get an application in. I would certainly have your EOI updated prior to NSW application day, then start early (but they have not posted the start time) and maybe get a few of your friends to beat on the site as well - maybe one of you will be lucky enough to get all the way through to the payment screen. Last time applications closed in abut 40 minutes, might be less this time if there are more people applying who know to apply first thing in the morning. Silly thing is, the better they make their systems (ie, assume no server crashes or bandwidth problems), the smaller the amount of time will be until they get their 1,000 applications and the system automatically closes - if they have 1,000 people apply in the first 10 minutes, then it will close in 10 minutes!

I would check the NSW site daily to see if/when they post updates and instructions for this round of applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> In the NSW website it states, Occupation List updated as "1st October" and "Applications open" on 14th October.
> 
> Does it mean that I can only apply for State Sponsorship on 14th October?
> 
> Do you foresee any issue like last July, when the occupations were closed within an hour ?
> 
> I have the EOI Number, can I update all information now and just submission and payment on the 14th October?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> Vijay


----------



## ImmiUser

Hi Mark just a quick question.

I think I may have answered a question incorrectly about sponsorship for a 820 spouse visa. I answered No to previous sponsorship because I thought the one some 30 years ago was irrelevant and frankly I couldnt remember the exact date. Do I need to correct this with a noticeofcorrection and put in an estimated date?

Appreciate the great help you've been providing..
John


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John -

Absolutely. DIBP can be very tough with the "fraud provisions" of PIC4020, and any incorrect information other than typos, etc can cause a 4020 inquiry on an application. I'd use Form 1023 to correct the info, then upload to your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ImmiUser said:


> Hi Mark just a quick question.
> 
> I think I may have answered a question incorrectly about sponsorship for a 820 spouse visa. I answered No to previous sponsorship because I thought the one some 30 years ago was irrelevant and frankly I couldnt remember the exact date. Do I need to correct this with a noticeofcorrection and put in an estimated date?
> 
> Appreciate the great help you've been providing..
> John


----------



## aquinoanne

Hi Mark. I discussed with my partner about the 12 month proof. He was the one who sponsor me and it stated there that I'll be leaving in our home address. Will that be a proof already? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aquinoanne -

Don't know - would need to see all your documents and information in a consultation to go over them carefully to give you any sort of opinion re: whether it is likely to be enough to satisfy the DIBP requirement - if you'd like to book a consultation, link to our website is below -

Best,

Mark



aquinoanne said:


> Hi Mark. I discussed with my partner about the 12 month proof. He was the one who sponsor me and it stated there that I'll be leaving in our home address. Will that be a proof already? Thanks


----------



## MissCookie

Thanks again Mark!

One more thing. Is it an issue in Australia if the person went into dating while being separated from his wife but not yet divorced?

We started dating when he was just still separated and now that the divorce is final we opt to apply PMV to get married. Will it have an effect on our application?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi MissCookie -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words! The answer to your question is - it's different for different couples - for some it's when they decided they would date no other people and were "exclusive" - for others with less dating background, etc, the date of engagement is the appropriate date.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

It really depends on the circumstances, but generally not a problem. Key is that the divorce is final now.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MissCookie said:


> Thanks again Mark!
> 
> One more thing. Is it an issue in Australia if the person went into dating while being separated from his wife but not yet divorced?
> 
> We started dating when he was just still separated and now that the divorce is final we opt to apply PMV to get married. Will it have an effect on our application?


----------



## MissCookie

Thanks Mark! You're simply the best! More blessings to you!


----------



## suganth007

Hi Mark,
I have been granted a permanent visa under Subclass 190 with state nomination to SA. Now I have a job offer in Victoria. I am yet to move into the country. My agent advised me to ignore all registration requests from SA and simply move to Vic. Is remaining in the nominated state for 2 years is compulsory? I'd like to know if there will be any issues regarding obtaining citizenship due to this. Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Suganth007 -

No way to tell for sure - depends on whether SA decides to take some sort of action against you for breaching your agreement with them to live in SA for the first 2 years of your stay in Australia - I haven't heard of this sort of prosecution taking place before, but that doesn't mean it hasn't or won't happen. One good defence that may help is evidence of a good faith job search in SA that produced no jobs that were acceptable to you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



suganth007 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have been granted a permanent visa under Subclass 190 with state nomination to SA. Now I have a job offer in Victoria. I am yet to move into the country. My agent advised me to ignore all registration requests from SA and simply move to Vic. Is remaining in the nominated state for 2 years is compulsory? I'd like to know if there will be any issues regarding obtaining citizenship due to this. Thanks in advance.


----------



## suganth007

WoW, that's quick. Thank you very much sir.


----------



## 530i

Hey Mark, Vaughn here spoke to you recently, thought id subscribe to your thread as im going to have a few questions along the way.

You mentioned i apply online, with birth certificate copies, shall i scan them in color and have them certified by a JP or is just a 'certified copy' good enough, obviously if im doing online i cant supply them the exact original, just want to confirm on this information. I have scanned all originals and just a bit confused about supplying certified copies, does this mean i take the originals to a jp and have the copies certified and signed for or?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vaughn -

Thanks for the questions - for DIBP, colour scans of originals are fine these days unless specifically requested otherwise - if you're dealing with skills assessors for a skilled visa, each one has their own requirements and some require certified copies of colour scans, etc - check with each one to determine their specific certification requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



530i said:


> Hey Mark, Vaughn here spoke to you recently, thought id subscribe to your thread as im going to have a few questions along the way.
> 
> You mentioned i apply online, with birth certificate copies, shall i scan them in color and have them certified by a JP or is just a 'certified copy' good enough, obviously if im doing online i cant supply them the exact original, just want to confirm on this information. I have scanned all originals and just a bit confused about supplying certified copies, does this mean i take the originals to a jp and have the copies certified and signed for or?


----------



## punter_chin

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing well.

I have submitted an EOI for subclass 189 and am awaiting an invitation. Here's my query:

I had a UK visa application rejected in 2009 for providing false educational qualification documents. My agent had suggested that I do this as my real qualification was not recognized for the type of visa I applied for. The UK home office rejected my visa application for providing false documents and asked me to leave the UK before my existing visa expired. Accordingly, I left the country before my visa expired. It was also mentioned in the letter from home office, that I will not be allowed to return to the UK for a period of 1 year after I had left the country.

Since returning from UK, I have been in India. My question is, I understand I have to disclose this information in the Form 80. Would this incident have any impact on my chances of getting the Australian visa? All my documentation for the current application is absolutely genuine.

Your advise would me much appreciated.

regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Punter_chin -

Short answer: yes, it could affect your 189 application, however it would all depend on the specific details of the incident and whether the case officer (Australian) believed it represented a serious enough problem to warrant consideration of refusal on character grounds. The bigger issue (and more likely cause for refusal) would be if IDBP concluded that you were inaccurate in any way with any document or visa application (past or present), incoming passenger card, etc lodged with them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well.
> 
> I have submitted an EOI for subclass 189 and am awaiting an invitation. Here's my query:
> 
> I had a UK visa application rejected in 2009 for providing false educational qualification documents. My agent had suggested that I do this as my real qualification was not recognized for the type of visa I applied for. The UK home office rejected my visa application for providing false documents and asked me to leave the UK before my existing visa expired. Accordingly, I left the country before my visa expired. It was also mentioned in the letter from home office, that I will not be allowed to return to the UK for a period of 1 year after I had left the country.
> 
> Since returning from UK, I have been in India. My question is, I understand I have to disclose this information in the Form 80. Would this incident have any impact on my chances of getting the Australian visa? All my documentation for the current application is absolutely genuine.
> 
> Your advise would me much appreciated.
> 
> regards.


----------



## mascwendy

Hi Mark

Great of you to lend your support to people on this forum. Here's my situation/question. Will write in point form to keep it simple.1

1. I'm an Aussie citizen. Partner is in Australia on 1 year Working Holiday Visa from the USA. He's 6 months into his trip; we've been in a serious but long distance relationship for 5 months (flying back and forth from Melb-Hobart to see each other every month).

2. Partner is moving in with me in Melbourne November 1st. His visa is ending 10 May 2015, which is six months before our de facto relationship will reach the required 1 year minumu before application for partnership visa. 

3. Partner has plenty of work opportunities because he is an in demand yoga teacher and several studios in Melbourne want him working full time. 

What can we do? He will have to leave Australia in approximately 6 months so as not to overstay his visa, but we cannot apply for partnership visa until we've lived together for 12 months. If he is allowed to renew his visa for another 12 months, he will have to leave and work for 3 months in a regional area and not as a yoga teacher. Is there some other type of visa he could get until we have been defacto for the requisite 12 months? 

Thanks in advance for your advice.

M.W.


----------



## guest1221

*485 visa*

Hi,

I have some queries regarding the medicals for 485 visa, I have booked my medical using the my health declarations before lodging my visa online and went for my check up, since then the meeting health requirement link is still up, I checked on the e-medical client it stated that my health check is completed. should i contact immigration about this? or wait for a case officer?


----------



## punter_chin

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Punter_chin -
> 
> Short answer: yes, it could affect your 189 application, however it would all depend on the specific details of the incident and whether the case officer (Australian) believed it represented a serious enough problem to warrant consideration of refusal on character grounds. The bigger issue (and more likely cause for refusal) would be if IDBP concluded that you were inaccurate in any way with any document or visa application (past or present), incoming passenger card, etc lodged with them.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your reply.

As I had mentioned, my papers for my current application are absolutely clear.This is going to be my 1st application to DIBP.

Secondly, I fully understand that it was a huge mistake. Would the fact that I left UK before my visa expired show that I am of a good character and that this was a one off terrible mistake.

Considering all these factors, should I make an application post invite or drop the plans altogether.

thank you for your help.

regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

HI MW -

Thanks for the note - wish I had better news, but I don't know of any good visas that fit the bill here other than if he was able to be sponsored on a subclass 457 temporary work visa, etc. Plus, working holiday visas for USA citizens are not renewable for a second year, even with farm work - it's a different visa than that for EU citizens that which has a second year/farm work extension provision.

An ETA visitor visa won't allow him to work, so that doesn't work - I'd look into a 457 visa with an employer as a first step. Another option may be a student visa, although note limited work rights on these.

Also note that if you lived in NSW, you could register your relationship (no 12 month residency requirement as it is in VIC) which automatically satisfies the 12 month living together requirement. Maybe explore if there is any option to get registered in NSW...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mascwendy said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Great of you to lend your support to people on this forum. Here's my situation/question. Will write in point form to keep it simple.1
> 
> 1. I'm an Aussie citizen. Partner is in Australia on 1 year Working Holiday Visa from the USA. He's 6 months into his trip; we've been in a serious but long distance relationship for 5 months (flying back and forth from Melb-Hobart to see each other every month).
> 
> 2. Partner is moving in with me in Melbourne November 1st. His visa is ending 10 May 2015, which is six months before our de facto relationship will reach the required 1 year minumu before application for partnership visa.
> 
> 3. Partner has plenty of work opportunities because he is an in demand yoga teacher and several studios in Melbourne want him working full time.
> 
> What can we do? He will have to leave Australia in approximately 6 months so as not to overstay his visa, but we cannot apply for partnership visa until we've lived together for 12 months. If he is allowed to renew his visa for another 12 months, he will have to leave and work for 3 months in a regional area and not as a yoga teacher. Is there some other type of visa he could get until we have been defacto for the requisite 12 months?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your advice.
> 
> M.W.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Punter_chin-

Hard to say what chances of success are, but there certainly may be a character argument (defence) to be made that it was a one-time mistake, and your behaviour since then has demonstrated that fact. I don't think this is worth giving up your application for, but preparing for a character submission might be helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> As I had mentioned, my papers for my current application are absolutely clear.This is going to be my 1st application to DIBP.
> 
> Secondly, I fully understand that it was a huge mistake. Would the fact that I left UK before my visa expired show that I am of a good character and that this was a one off terrible mistake.
> 
> Considering all these factors, should I make an application post invite or drop the plans altogether.
> 
> thank you for your help.
> 
> regards.


----------



## punter_chin

Thanks Mark.

What is a character submission? or are you talking about the details I should give in the form 80?

regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Punter_chin -

See for more info: https://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/79character.htm

A character submission is a submission (statement or letter with arguments) that argues that the applicant's issues are not severe enough as to warrant refusal based on character reasons. See Ministerial Direction 55 for the specific framework that is considered when a person is considered not to pass the Character Test and then refusal is under consideration.

Also, you may want to move sooner rather than later on this, as the Legislature is now debating a new set of Character regulations that will make it, overall, more difficult to pass the character test and be granted a visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Thanks Mark.
> 
> What is a character submission? or are you talking about the details I should give in the form 80?
> 
> regards.


----------



## MissCookie

Hi again Mark!

Would a vistor refusal (3x) due to lack of evidence for genuine intent to visit be of great impact to loding a PMV visa?

hanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MissCookie -

It could, depending on the reasons given within the genuine visitor policy criteria, but the focus of a PMV is really on the relationship, whereas the visitor visa is about speculation by DIBP of what a person might do in Australia -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MissCookie said:


> Hi again Mark!
> 
> Would a vistor refusal (3x) due to lack of evidence for genuine intent to visit be of great impact to loding a PMV visa?
> 
> hanks in advance


----------



## mascwendy

Thanks Mark for such a quick response.

How about some sort of non-working, holiday visa instead? I am capable of supporting him financially during that time.

MW


----------



## pauly

Hi Mark, 

Now that 804 visa is re-opened do you recommend applying for my mother she's here in Aus at the moment on tourist visa for a couple of months with my sister? I remember in of your replies that mom can add my sister as her depended, also, what sort of evidence is required for my sister? Mum's 62 and sister is 24 would that qualify them age-wise? What do you suggest?

As always thanks a ton for your help!


----------



## manenough00

Hi Mark,

I am inquiring on behalf of my friend. He has got his qualification and experience assessed by VETASSESS as a youth worker with the intention of moving to South Australia on 190 visa as few of his relatives and I live here in Adelaide. Unfortunately this profession is no longer is SA nominated occupation list. It is only available in NT nominated occupation list. Can he take the nomination from NT and settle in SA? Is there any legal obligation? Does 190 visa restrict the mobility of the visa holder in anyway? Furthermore NT government requires to show evidence of AUD 60000 for a family of three. Does he have to show this amount of cash in his account? If so, does it need to be transferred to Australia? What sort of proof of financial solvency is accepted besides cash e.g. inherited property. Thank you for time.


----------



## brissy

Hello Mark,

I was wondering if you could help me with my query please. 

My mother-in-law's Visitor (subclass 600) visa was approved today but she is allowed to stay maximum of 3 months, even though we applied for 12 months stay. Her visa condition is as follows: 
8101 - NO WORK
8201 - MAXIMUM 3 MONTHS STUDY
8503 - NO FURTHER STAY
8531 - MUST LEAVE BEFORE VISA EXPIRY ( they were in bold letters) 

We want to apply for Contributory Parent Visa so that my mother-in-law can stay here with us as my husband is her only son and she is separated from her husband. She also has one daughter who is married. But as 8503 condition is imposed on her visa, which prevents her from applying for other visas ( except for protection visa or a temporary visa of specific kind), we are not sure what to do now. 

Please advice. 

Thank you. 

I was hoping if there is any way she can stay in Australia. She is 54 years old.

Hope to hear back from you soon.


----------



## dharabaskar

Thank you so much!

Regards
Vijay



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vijay -
> 
> Your guess is as good as mine.... they have not released any info on whether they're going to do anything different or have another mad free-for-all like last time where only the lucky who didn't end up with server errors managed to get an application in. I would certainly have your EOI updated prior to NSW application day, then start early (but they have not posted the start time) and maybe get a few of your friends to beat on the site as well - maybe one of you will be lucky enough to get all the way through to the payment screen. Last time applications closed in abut 40 minutes, might be less this time if there are more people applying who know to apply first thing in the morning. Silly thing is, the better they make their systems (ie, assume no server crashes or bandwidth problems), the smaller the amount of time will be until they get their 1,000 applications and the system automatically closes - if they have 1,000 people apply in the first 10 minutes, then it will close in 10 minutes!
> 
> I would check the NSW site daily to see if/when they post updates and instructions for this round of applications.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MW -

Either an onshore visitor visa (subclass 600) or going offshore and applying for an ETA visitor (available to USA citizens) are certainly possibilities, but risk of refusal due to already being here a year on a working holiday visa, plus no work rights on either of these visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mascwendy said:


> Thanks Mark for such a quick response.
> 
> How about some sort of non-working, holiday visa instead? I am capable of supporting him financially during that time.
> 
> MW


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pauly -

Thanks for the note - there are too many questions to ask to nail down eligibility for that visa - would need to work with you in a consultation to work through all the requirements and give you specific advice. Please see website link in signature if I can assist you in a consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pauly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Now that 804 visa is re-opened do you recommend applying for my mother she's here in Aus at the moment on tourist visa for a couple of months with my sister? I remember in of your replies that mom can add my sister as her depended, also, what sort of evidence is required for my sister? Mum's 62 and sister is 24 would that qualify them age-wise? What do you suggest?
> 
> As always thanks a ton for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manenough00 -

190 visa includes a contractual commitment to live in the sponsoring state for 2 years after arriving in Australia after grant of visa - this is enforced on a state-by-state basis, no way to predict whether they would attempt to enforce this if he decided not to abide by it.

Re: state requirements and eligible forms of assets, etc, best to consult the state website directly as they all have different rules, and the rules can change frequently (and do!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



manenough00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am inquiring on behalf of my friend. He has got his qualification and experience assessed by VETASSESS as a youth worker with the intention of moving to South Australia on 190 visa as few of his relatives and I live here in Adelaide. Unfortunately this profession is no longer is SA nominated occupation list. It is only available in NT nominated occupation list. Can he take the nomination from NT and settle in SA? Is there any legal obligation? Does 190 visa restrict the mobility of the visa holder in anyway? Furthermore NT government requires to show evidence of AUD 60000 for a family of three. Does he have to show this amount of cash in his account? If so, does it need to be transferred to Australia? What sort of proof of financial solvency is accepted besides cash e.g. inherited property. Thank you for time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brissy -

No good ways I can think of based on the info you provided - the 8503 condition will prevent an onshore lodgement of a parent or other visa unless she gets an 8503 waiver - this required 3 things:

1. Major change in applicant's situation
2. Change must have happened after the current visa was granted
3. Change must be beyond the control of the applicant

Sorry wish I could be of more help here -

Best,

Mark



brissy said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I was wondering if you could help me with my query please.
> 
> My mother-in-law's Visitor (subclass 600) visa was approved today but she is allowed to stay maximum of 3 months, even though we applied for 12 months stay. Her visa condition is as follows:
> 8101 - NO WORK
> 8201 - MAXIMUM 3 MONTHS STUDY
> 8503 - NO FURTHER STAY
> 8531 - MUST LEAVE BEFORE VISA EXPIRY ( they were in bold letters)
> 
> We want to apply for Contributory Parent Visa so that my mother-in-law can stay here with us as my husband is her only son and she is separated from her husband. She also has one daughter who is married. But as 8503 condition is imposed on her visa, which prevents her from applying for other visas ( except for protection visa or a temporary visa of specific kind), we are not sure what to do now.
> 
> Please advice.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> I was hoping if there is any way she can stay in Australia. She is 54 years old.
> 
> Hope to hear back from you soon.


----------



## roryjenkins

Hi Mark I haven't been on for a while unfortunately I checked on VEVO & with the case officer & although my status changed to approved my wife & son's visa hasn't been granted yet we were just told wait 8-9 months from application. I was just wondering though my PR visa expires Dec 16th & if I renew it, as I don't want to miss Christmas with my wife & son, will the new visa be in effect from the date of grant or will it become valid upon expiry of my current visa ? I ask this as I don't meet the residency requirements for a 5 year visa but I have substantial personal ties of benefit to Australia as they word it ! I'm just concerned if I'm only granted a 3 month visa it may still run out before a decision on my wife's visa application. Thanks Rory


----------



## punter_chin

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Punter_chin -
> 
> See for more info: https://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/79character.htm
> 
> A character submission is a submission (statement or letter with arguments) that argues that the applicant's issues are not severe enough as to warrant refusal based on character reasons. See Ministerial Direction 55 for the specific framework that is considered when a person is considered not to pass the Character Test and then refusal is under consideration.
> 
> Also, you may want to move sooner rather than later on this, as the Legislature is now debating a new set of Character regulations that will make it, overall, more difficult to pass the character test and be granted a visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark.

Considering the cost involve myself + 2 dependents (1 Adult and 1 minor) I really want to be absolutely certain about my chances before proceeding with the application.

If I do go ahead, the character submission is something that I would submit with the visa application? Is that correct? Is there a specific format that needs to be used? I was also thinking about providing a few documents from third party institutions to strengthen my case.

Would all of this help? Can we have a one to one discussion on this as I think this is an area where I need to take some professional help.

Please advise.

regards.


----------



## neil_coul

*40sp Question 29*

Hi Mark,

In 2009 myself and my partner applied for a PMV which was granted.I moved to Oz but moved back to the UK with my partner a few months later.We didn't get married and we are now applying for a de-facto visa.Q29 says Have you previously sponsored/nominated a spouse, de facto partner,
prospective spouse (fiancé(e)) or interdependent partner?Would we need to answer this yes and put all details off our PMV in even though we didn't get married.Are we ok to apply for a de-facto visa?
Thank you for your help 
Neil


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rory -

Usually it's effective as of the expiration date of your previous visa (ie, your 5 year PR visa, etc) however you would need to check the specific visa grant letter for details about your visa upon grant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roryjenkins said:


> Hi Mark I haven't been on for a while unfortunately I checked on VEVO & with the case officer & although my status changed to approved my wife & son's visa hasn't been granted yet we were just told wait 8-9 months from application. I was just wondering though my PR visa expires Dec 16th & if I renew it, as I don't want to miss Christmas with my wife & son, will the new visa be in effect from the date of grant or will it become valid upon expiry of my current visa ? I ask this as I don't meet the residency requirements for a 5 year visa but I have substantial personal ties of benefit to Australia as they word it ! I'm just concerned if I'm only granted a 3 month visa it may still run out before a decision on my wife's visa application. Thanks Rory


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Punter_chin -

Yes, typically Character submissions follow the legal policy structure laid out in Ministerial Direction 55. Happy to have a consultation with you to discuss this in further detail - see website below in my signature for link, then look for "Professional Consultation" link at the top of the website pages.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Thanks Mark.
> 
> Considering the cost involve myself + 2 dependents (1 Adult and 1 minor) I really want to be absolutely certain about my chances before proceeding with the application.
> 
> If I do go ahead, the character submission is something that I would submit with the visa application? Is that correct? Is there a specific format that needs to be used? I was also thinking about providing a few documents from third party institutions to strengthen my case.
> 
> Would all of this help? Can we have a one to one discussion on this as I think this is an area where I need to take some professional help.
> 
> Please advise.
> 
> regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neil -

Yes, you absolutely would need to answer Yes to this and list all details. As the PMV visa was granted, that's the trigger. Additionally, you have a 5 year waiting period from the date of application for the PMV so you should check the months on that. I expect with a previous PMV and now defacto, DIBP will be curious (at least) as to what happened with the relationship in their assessment of whether your current relationship is genuine, etc. I would address these circumstances specifically in your relationship statements (yours & partner's) or might even submit a separate statement depending on the circumstances to make sure DIBP understands what happened and their questions are answered, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



neil_coul said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> In 2009 myself and my partner applied for a PMV which was granted.I moved to Oz but moved back to the UK with my partner a few months later.We didn't get married and we are now applying for a de-facto visa.Q29 says Have you previously sponsored/nominated a spouse, de facto partner,
> prospective spouse (fiancé(e)) or interdependent partner?Would we need to answer this yes and put all details off our PMV in even though we didn't get married.Are we ok to apply for a de-facto visa?
> Thank you for your help
> Neil


----------



## brissy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Brissy -
> 
> No good ways I can think of based on the info you provided - the 8503 condition will prevent an onshore lodgement of a parent or other visa unless she gets an 8503 waiver - this required 3 things:
> 
> 1. Major change in applicant's situation
> 2. Change must have happened after the current visa was granted
> 3. Change must be beyond the control of the applicant
> 
> Sorry wish I could be of more help here -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hello Mark,

Thank you very much for the quick response. I really appreciate it.

Looks like we have no other choice but to apply for offshore contributory parental visa. I have some questions regarding that please.

1. Can I apply for offshore contributory parent visa (143 or 173 ) in the next month or so before my mother-in-law comes for a visit or will that affect the Visitor visa (sc 600) which has been granted to her in any way?

2. If above mentioned scenario is not possible, and we apply for offshore contributory parent visa after she returned to Nepal which takes 24 months to be granted, can she still be allowed to apply for visitor visa (600) late next year (2015) for few months as we are thinking of starting a family and will need her help in taking care of the baby?

I was unable to find the relevant information in the immigration website and other forums unfortunately.

Hope you would be able to shed some light in this situation Mark.

Thank you again.

Sincerely, 
brissy


----------



## punter_chin

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Punter_chin -
> 
> Yes, typically Character submissions follow the legal policy structure laid out in Ministerial Direction 55. Happy to have a consultation with you to discuss this in further detail - see website below in my signature for link, then look for "Professional Consultation" link at the top of the website pages.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark. I have now scheduled an appointment for 2nd October 4.30PM.

regards.


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi mark, 

Please guide me, my friend got job as chef in NSW. Ocean shores . To apply 457 visa he must do skill assessment before he launch an application. 

Thank you
Bharat


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark.

Thank you for your help in this forum as I already filed my 820 Partner Visa and got my Bridging Visa A. 

I would like to ask, what kind of visa do you call my visa now? Bridging Visa while waiting for Permanent Partner Visa? 

I went to Centerlink and was advised to go to Reed Partnership for jobs. When I went there they said they can't give me work because I dont receive any payment from Centerlink.If thats the case, why Centerelink advised me to go there? I dont understand the work system in hiring.

Hope you can enlighten me on this matter.

Cheers,
Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

Need to talk to your friend at a consultation to learn all the details of his 457 application if he's looking for professional advice. Skills assessments are required for 457 for people in certain occupations from certain countries - here's more info:

457 Skills Assessment Program

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Please guide me, my friend got job as chef in NSW. Ocean shores . To apply 457 visa he must do skill assessment before he launch an application.
> 
> Thank you
> Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

You've lodged a visa application - actually 2 - for the 820 and 801 onshore partner visas - it's a combined application. As you have lodged a permanent residence visa application (the 801 part), you are entitled to Medicare - you'll need to show proof of application to Medicare to get this. Re: jobs, Centrelink, etc, that's outside my area of expertise, however you have full work rights per your Bridging Visa A (I assume). As a non-citizen and non-PR, you may have major limitations on the amount of benefit payments, if any, you can claim from the government at the present time - best to check with them. You are a bridging visa holder who has applied for a permanent residence visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> Thank you for your help in this forum as I already filed my 820 Partner Visa and got my Bridging Visa A.
> 
> I would like to ask, what kind of visa do you call my visa now? Bridging Visa while waiting for Permanent Partner Visa?
> 
> I went to Centerlink and was advised to go to Reed Partnership for jobs. When I went there they said they can't give me work because I dont receive any payment from Centerlink.If thats the case, why Centerelink advised me to go there? I dont understand the work system in hiring.
> 
> Hope you can enlighten me on this matter.
> 
> Cheers,
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brissy -

Normally a parent visa application would not interfere in any way with a visitor visa application - they are two separate types of applications processed by different divisions within DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



brissy said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for the quick response. I really appreciate it.
> 
> Looks like we have no other choice but to apply for offshore contributory parental visa. I have some questions regarding that please.
> 
> 1. Can I apply for offshore contributory parent visa (143 or 173 ) in the next month or so before my mother-in-law comes for a visit or will that affect the Visitor visa (sc 600) which has been granted to her in any way?
> 
> 2. If above mentioned scenario is not possible, and we apply for offshore contributory parent visa after she returned to Nepal which takes 24 months to be granted, can she still be allowed to apply for visitor visa (600) late next year (2015) for few months as we are thinking of starting a family and will need her help in taking care of the baby?
> 
> I was unable to find the relevant information in the immigration website and other forums unfortunately.
> 
> Hope you would be able to shed some light in this situation Mark.
> 
> Thank you again.
> 
> Sincerely,
> brissy


----------



## Ninja69

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ninja69 -
> 
> You've lodged a visa application - actually 2 - for the 820 and 801 onshore partner visas - it's a combined application. As you have lodged a permanent residence visa application (the 801 part), you are entitled to Medicare - you'll need to show proof of application to Medicare to get this. Re: jobs, Centrelink, etc, that's outside my area of expertise, however you have full work rights per your Bridging Visa A (I assume). As a non-citizen and non-PR, you may have major limitations on the amount of benefit payments, if any, you can claim from the government at the present time - best to check with them. You are a bridging visa holder who has applied for a permanent residence visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark!

I have a form from Centrelink Special Benefit Payment Rates Residence Requirements a holder of a Temporary visa sub class 820. Is this my class?

Hoping for your immediate response.

Cheers,
Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Hard to say without seeing your paperwork, but if you've lodged an 820/801 application and you do not yet have a decision on that application and are only holding a bridging visa waiting for that decision, then you would not be a holder of a subclass 820 visa (or 801).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Thank you Mark!
> 
> I have a form from Centrelink Special Benefit Payment Rates Residence Requirements a holder of a Temporary visa sub class 820. Is this my class?
> 
> Hoping for your immediate response.
> 
> Cheers,
> Ninja 69


----------



## fitzroyy

*****POSITIVE EXPERIENCE FOR MARK*****

I just came back from seeing Mark just a few minutes ago and I don't normally give feedback but I would not hesitate to do it right away. I have booked a consultation with Mark in regards to my partner visa and he has been very professional, nice, easy going, helpful and funny too. He is like a therapist as he will ease you down when there is something you are anxious about during the process

Basically, he pretty much answered my questions I was concerned about. Not only that, he would go through the documents and gave me some very important advice that I did not think of and would have gone into trouble had I gone through it myself!!! (Think of it as hiring a lawyer, if he didn't go through with you but by yourself, you could land yourself into a hot water)

Although partner visa has not been started yet but I would like take this chance to say thank you to Mark for helping me out and I will definitely recommend to friends and come back for him later. He is not like other migration agents who talks about business but he cares about you as a customer and in the end, he states that if there are any further questions, I can always email him which is a nice touch.

Guys, I know you have questions to ask him here, but if there are some things if you are unsure of especially more detailed and/or complicated cases, I'd strongly recommend to book an appointment with him in person or by Skype/phone (if you are not in Australia) to go through with him and he will answer more precisely in your case or point out something you should be aware of. Unless you are are asking questions in general terms, then by all means, ask here

Rating: 10/10

He is the best consultant I have dealt with + he answers all questions in the forum, so you can't go wrong and if I have a choice, I would definitely nominate him as the best migration agent here!! So thank you once again! Any questions, do not hesitate to PM me for the experience! Steve


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

I am a PR holder and I am married and my spouse wish to apply for spouse visa.

I am planning to settle in Australia from next January and my husband also plan to apply for visitor visa so he can help me to settle in there. Is there a way to apply for onshore partner visa (820) while he is in visitor visa. I heard about Bridging Visa and will this be helpful to stay in Australia with me while he is applying for onshore partner visa (820). ?

Appreciate your thoughts regarding this.


----------



## Dinkum

Here here... well said...


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks so much for the wonderful comments! It was a pleasure meeting you today and I look forward to assisting you.

Best,

Mark



fitzroyy said:


> *****POSITIVE EXPERIENCE FOR MARK*****
> 
> I just came back from seeing Mark just a few minutes ago and I don't normally give feedback but I would not hesitate to do it right away. I have booked a consultation with Mark in regards to my partner visa and he has been very professional, nice, easy going, helpful and funny too. He is like a therapist as he will ease you down when there is something you are anxious about during the process
> 
> Basically, he pretty much answered my questions I was concerned about. Not only that, he would go through the documents and gave me some very important advice that I did not think of and would have gone into trouble had I gone through it myself!!! (Think of it as hiring a lawyer, if he didn't go through with you but by yourself, you could land yourself into a hot water)
> 
> Although partner visa has not been started yet but I would like take this chance to say thank you to Mark for helping me out and I will definitely recommend to friends and come back for him later. He is not like other migration agents who talks about business but he cares about you as a customer and in the end, he states that if there are any further questions, I can always email him which is a nice touch.
> 
> Guys, I know you have questions to ask him here, but if there are some things if you are unsure of especially more detailed and/or complicated cases, I'd strongly recommend to book an appointment with him in person or by Skype/phone (if you are not in Australia) to go through with him and he will answer more precisely in your case or point out something you should be aware of. Unless you are are asking questions in general terms, then by all means, ask here
> 
> Rating: 10/10
> 
> He is the best consultant I have dealt with + he answers all questions in the forum, so you can't go wrong and if I have a choice, I would definitely nominate him as the best migration agent here!! So thank you once again! Any questions, do not hesitate to PM me for the experience! Steve


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhanu -

Thanks for the question. A person on a visitor visa can lodge an onshore partner visa application as long as that visitor visa does not have condition 8503 (no further stay) listed on it - that condition prevents further onshore applications while here on that visa unless a waiver is granted (difficult to get). If the visitor lodges a partner visa while here on a visitor visa, a bridging visa is normally granted shortly after lodgement that allows the person to remain in Australia past the expiry of the visitor visa (or past the current maximum "stay" period - ie, 3 month maximum stay, etc if the visa is configured that way). There are other issues that come into play with a bridging visa, so you'll want to make sure you learn all about them if you're looking at doing this, but essentially the bridging visa allows the person to remain in Australia until a decision is made on the onshore partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dhanu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a PR holder and I am married and my spouse wish to apply for spouse visa.
> 
> I am planning to settle in Australia from next January and my husband also plan to apply for visitor visa so he can help me to settle in there. Is there a way to apply for onshore partner visa (820) while he is in visitor visa. I heard about Bridging Visa and will this be helpful to stay in Australia with me while he is applying for onshore partner visa (820). ?
> 
> Appreciate your thoughts regarding this.


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

Thank You so much for the reply. This is very helpful.

Appreciate if you can answer to this question as well.. 
What are the possibilities that my husband will grant a visitor visa with out condition 8503? Is there any special conditions for this?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dhanu -
> 
> Thanks for the question. A person on a visitor visa can lodge an onshore partner visa application as long as that visitor visa does not have condition 8503 (no further stay) listed on it - that condition prevents further onshore applications while here on that visa unless a waiver is granted (difficult to get). If the visitor lodges a partner visa while here on a visitor visa, a bridging visa is normally granted shortly after lodgement that allows the person to remain in Australia past the expiry of the visitor visa (or past the current maximum "stay" period - ie, 3 month maximum stay, etc if the visa is configured that way). There are other issues that come into play with a bridging visa, so you'll want to make sure you learn all about them if you're looking at doing this, but essentially the bridging visa allows the person to remain in Australia until a decision is made on the onshore partner visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## brissy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Brissy -
> 
> Normally a parent visa application would not interfere in any way with a visitor visa application - they are two separate types of applications processed by different divisions within DIBP.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

Thank you very much for your response. I really really appreciate your help.
Thank you also for the valuable service you are providing to people like myself and many others who need some good quality advice. The fact that you reply so quickly is like a cherry on top.

Sincerely,
Brissy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhanu -

Wish I could help with this, but it's completely discretionary at the choice of the case officer who assess the application. Generally higher risk applicants have an increased chance of condition 8503, but beyond that it's very hard to predict since so much depends on the case officer's opinion of the case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dhanu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank You so much for the reply. This is very helpful.
> 
> Appreciate if you can answer to this question as well..
> What are the possibilities that my husband will grant a visitor visa with out condition 8503? Is there any special conditions for this?


----------



## bhalo_fish

bhalo_fish said:


> Hi mark, Please guide me, my friend got job as chef in NSW. Ocean shores . To apply 457 visa he must do skill assessment before he launch an application. Thank you Bharat


Thank u very much mark, it helps me a lot.


----------



## msabir

Dear Mark

I have documents which were attested back in 2011, by a lawyer. 

Since I am applying for the immigration now, are those attested documents valid enough to be submitted in the immigration department or do I need my documents to get attested on the current date?

Thanks.


----------



## neil_coul

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Neil -
> 
> Yes, you absolutely would need to answer Yes to this and list all details. As the PMV visa was granted, that's the trigger. Additionally, you have a 5 year waiting period from the date of application for the PMV so you should check the months on that. I expect with a previous PMV and now defacto, DIBP will be curious (at least) as to what happened with the relationship in their assessment of whether your current relationship is genuine, etc. I would address these circumstances specifically in your relationship statements (yours & partner's) or might even submit a separate statement depending on the circumstances to make sure DIBP understands what happened and their questions are answered, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thanks for your reply.The PMV expired in Dec 2009 but we moved back to the UK in the Nov.Do we need to wait until Dec this year before we apply or can we apply before this as the visa started in March 2009.
Thanks
Neil


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the reply. Yes we are worrying about that part.

Thank You and Regards
Dhanu



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dhanu -
> 
> Wish I could help with this, but it's completely discretionary at the choice of the case officer who assess the application. Generally higher risk applicants have an increased chance of condition 8503, but beyond that it's very hard to predict since so much depends on the case officer's opinion of the case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Msabir -

There are no time limits I know of re: expiration of certification of copies, but would definitely include contact info for the certifier for all certified copies. That being said, most applications these days are online applications where colour scans of originals are accepted, thus no need for certified copies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



msabir said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I have documents which were attested back in 2011, by a lawyer.
> 
> Since I am applying for the immigration now, are those attested documents valid enough to be submitted in the immigration department or do I need my documents to get attested on the current date?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neil -

I don't know enough about your case to comment overall re: dates, however the 5 year limit on successive sponsorships starts at the *application date *of the last visa, so you can count forward 5 years from the application date of the last visa and that would be the time that the 5 year waiting time ends (note that it is not based on the grant date or expiration date of the last visa).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



neil_coul said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your reply.The PMV expired in Dec 2009 but we moved back to the UK in the Nov.Do we need to wait until Dec this year before we apply or can we apply before this as the visa started in March 2009.
> Thanks
> Neil


----------



## Maria08

Hi Mark,

Just a quick one and sorry if this is a silly question - If we have lived together as a defacto couple for 12 months onshore and have not ever separated since the time of living together do we need to provide evidence that we maintain contact between us as you would normally if you were living away (ie. msgs/calls/chats?) or would this be deemed unnecessary evidence to the Department?


----------



## Maria08

and also - with passport photographs how is this accepted online these days? do we still write on the back and scan through (front and back?) still supply 2 each? does it need to be cropped? 

thanks!


----------



## atgreg

Hi Mark,

another couple of online PMV questions;

1- is a birth extract sufficient ID for 888 statements or only a full birth certificate ??

2- number of 888 statements, do you think 3 888's (2 friends and my sister) and 2 statements from my fiance's friends in Germany be enough ??

3 - my fiance is not the most computer savvy person, and it would be good to do some of the app together. She is visiting me in Nov/Dec, would it be OK for us to start the app while she is visiting, fill out her questions but not pay & submit. Then she could pay and submit once she was home in Germany. Would this be ok and still counted as an offshore app ?? or would starting it while she was here be a drama ??.

thanks
Greg


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Maria -

Maintaining contact evidence is not all that effective for people who are living together unless you are severely lacking in other types of evidence and may need to strengthen your case a bit. Evidence like a lease with both of your names on it, stat dec from landlord if the lease does not have both names on it, letters addressed to either party but at the same address, etc tend to be more helpful re: evidence of living together.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maria08 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a quick one and sorry if this is a silly question - If we have lived together as a defacto couple for 12 months onshore and have not ever separated since the time of living together do we need to provide evidence that we maintain contact between us as you would normally if you were living away (ie. msgs/calls/chats?) or would this be deemed unnecessary evidence to the Department?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maria08 -

No need for that anymore for DIBP applications, however citizenship and passport applications I believe still may require all that business with endorsed photographs, etc. For DIBP applications, a digital photo that meets passport requirements (Google this if you're unsure) is fine, no need to write on front or back, etc. Good to include the person's name in the filename to avoid any confusion.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maria08 said:


> and also - with passport photographs how is this accepted online these days? do we still write on the back and scan through (front and back?) still supply 2 each? does it need to be cropped?
> 
> thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Atgreg -

Govt issued photo ID better than birth cert for these, however if there is no govt issued photo ID avail, extract birth cert helps. Re number of 888's, that depends on how much other evidence you have so I couldn't estimate that - we typically recommend a total of 6 to 10 statements including the applicant and sponsor's statements, 888's, and written statements if Form 888 is not practical - note that Form 888 is a statutory declaration, and as such needs to be witnessed on Australian territory by a qualified person.

Re: starting application while onshore, lodging when offshore, no problem - all that matters there is the physical location of the person when you lodge & pay.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



atgreg said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> another couple of online PMV questions;
> 
> 1- is a birth extract sufficient ID for 888 statements or only a full birth certificate ??
> 
> 2- number of 888 statements, do you think 3 888's (2 friends and my sister) and 2 statements from my fiance's friends in Germany be enough ??
> 
> 3 - my fiance is not the most computer savvy person, and it would be good to do some of the app together. She is visiting me in Nov/Dec, would it be OK for us to start the app while she is visiting, fill out her questions but not pay & submit. Then she could pay and submit once she was home in Germany. Would this be ok and still counted as an offshore app ?? or would starting it while she was here be a drama ??.
> 
> thanks
> Greg


----------



## daxexpert

*ICT Business Analyst*

Hi Mark,

I would like to get an idea about the current requirement and timeline for the application process for skill migration program.

I have created my account on Skillselect and have also done my ACS as I fall in the category of ICT Business Analyst. As per the latest results on the occupation ceiling of my category, 522 out of 1620 have been filled.
Considering the current situation, what do you suggest? Will I be able to fall in the cap, if apply sometime in mid of November as I need to reappear in IELTS in order to get 7 band in each category (reading, speaking, listening and writing).

I am also interested to know, the brief expected timeline to land in Australia, if submit my skillselect during mid of Nov .

Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daxexpert -

Wish I could help, but as you IT folks say, the data's just not there. The problem with the numbers is that they represent a 4-digit ANZSCO unit group, which often includes more than 1 occupation code in that group (ie, all codes on the list that begin with those 4 digits). The data also doesn't show what quota limitations DIBP may have imposed in an effort to "spread out" the invitations over the programme year. Further, the data doesn't show how many other people with the same or higher points test scores may be in the queue waiting for quota spots to become available. With all of this, it's just not possible to provide any estimates as to how long it may take to get an invitation for this occupation from DIBP. Once you receive an invitation, the processing time for a 189 or 190 visa tends to be in the 6-8 months range, but can vary based on your citizenship (ie, if external security checks to higher risk countries are delayed) and for other reasons.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



daxexpert said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to get an idea about the current requirement and timeline for the application process for skill migration program.
> 
> I have created my account on Skillselect and have also done my ACS as I fall in the category of ICT Business Analyst. As per the latest results on the occupation ceiling of my category, 522 out of 1620 have been filled.
> Considering the current situation, what do you suggest? Will I be able to fall in the cap, if apply sometime in mid of November as I need to reappear in IELTS in order to get 7 band in each category (reading, speaking, listening and writing).
> 
> I am also interested to know, the brief expected timeline to land in Australia, if submit my skillselect during mid of Nov .
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## dharabaskar

*NSW - State Sponsorship*

Hi Mark,

NSW updated in their website for this term occupation list as "TBA (estimated mid October)".

Do you foresee any change in selecting applications this time, and when do you expect the occupation list announced this month?

Thanks
VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

No idea - you know as much as I do. We can only hope that things get more predictable at NSW Skilled, and the crazy free-for-all that happened last time is avoided. If I were an applicant, I'd be on that website at least twice a day, every day this month keeping a very close eye on what's going on there since we just don't know what they're doing to do and when, and as they've now removed any commitment to specific dates and replaced it with a "TBA", there's no telling how much advance notice they will give.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> NSW updated in their website for this term occupation list as "TBA (estimated mid October)".
> 
> Do you foresee any change in selecting applications this time, and when do you expect the occupation list announced this month?
> 
> Thanks
> VJ


----------



## dharabaskar

Thanks Mark!

Regards
VJ


MarkNortham said:


> No idea - you know as much as I do. We can only hope that things get more predictable at NSW Skilled, and the crazy free-for-all that happened last time is avoided. If I were an applicant, I'd be on that website at least twice a day, every day this month keeping a very close eye on what's going on there since we just don't know what they're doing to do and when, and as they've now removed any commitment to specific dates and replaced it with a "TBA", there's no telling how much advance notice they will give.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## gochitde

*489 visa*

As i have discussed with you before, I would like to check with you regards the 489 visa.
My whole family is having the 489 visa.
When applying for this 489 visa i was the main applicant and in order to apply for the PR next is it have to be me apply for the 889 visa ad comply the 2+1 rule or it can be my husband apply for the 889 visa as he complies for the visa. @ years in Regional and 1 Yr Full time job.
Please advise.


----------



## gochitde

*489 to 457 Visa*

Hi Mark,

Currently i am holding the 489 visa(State sponsorship-WA) and its been 2years and i haven't been getting any job in this regional area. Is it possible to convert my 489 to 457 visa OR coonvert to 489 ( Family Sponsored-WA)

Im desperately loking for a job and other alternatives to convert my Provisional visa to Permanent Visa.

Please assist.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gochitde -

Thanks for the note. It is possible to "switch positions" where the secondary 489 holder qualifies for the 2 yrs living / 1 yrs work provision becomes the primary applicant for the 887 visa (note it is not 889), however you will need to make sure that you both meet all the various requirements of the 887 visa in addition to this - ie, full time work (which for the 887 is 35 hrs/week or more), proper evidence of full time work and living, etc.

There is no way to "convert" one visa to another - you could certainly apply for a 457 or a further 489 if you qualify - would need to see you at a consultation in order to go through all the requirements for each visa to see what the best option(s) may be for you as the requirements for these visas are not quick & easy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gochitde said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Currently i am holding the 489 visa(State sponsorship-WA) and its been 2years and i haven't been getting any job in this regional area. Is it possible to convert my 489 to 457 visa OR coonvert to 489 ( Family Sponsored-WA)
> 
> Im desperately loking for a job and other alternatives to convert my Provisional visa to Permanent Visa.
> 
> Please assist.


----------



## Shiftywicket

*Schedule 3 - 461 Visa*

Through a conglomeration of circumstance, misleading information and not a small amount of an inappropriately lackadaisical attitude towards visa applications, my application for a second 461 visa has been received two days after the expiry of my previous 461 visa. 
I have been asked to supply information addressing Criterion 3002, 3003, 3004, and 3005 in order for my application to proceed. 
I have already emailed them back (with the proviso these are not my final answers I was asking for more information) however on the suggestion of my wife I am engaging an immigration Lawyer to help in assessing the Schedules for which information is required, and to help me address them formally in writing. 
Does anybody have experience in this sort of situation for the 461 visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

hi Shiftywicket -

Thanks for the note. DIBP seems to have recently taken a tougher stand on Schedule 3 issues - we're seeing a lot of these currently.

As you've hired an immigration professional to handle your case it probably doesn't make sense for me to comment on it, however would make sure that the person has plenty of experience with Schedule 3 issues as they can be tricky to navigate. Please do feel free to ask me any specific questions if you'd like.

If you'd like to ask for general help & assistance from other forum members, would request you do so outside the "Ask mark" thread which is specifically for questions for me vs. general discussion among members.

I hope you get good results with your Schedule 3 submission!

Best,

Mark Northam



Shiftywicket said:


> Through a conglomeration of circumstance, misleading information and not a small amount of an inappropriately lackadaisical attitude towards visa applications, my application for a second 461 visa has been received two days after the expiry of my previous 461 visa.
> I have been asked to supply information addressing Criterion 3002, 3003, 3004, and 3005 in order for my application to proceed.
> I have already emailed them back (with the proviso these are not my final answers I was asking for more information) however on the suggestion of my wife I am engaging an immigration Lawyer to help in assessing the Schedules for which information is required, and to help me address them formally in writing.
> Does anybody have experience in this sort of situation for the 461 visa?


----------



## girpinder22

Hi mark ,we are on 457 visa at the moment from 16 months ,myself working as a baker unfortunately my owner sponsership is cancel .is it possible if my husband take over any bakery business (which is in good condition )then can he sponsor me there as a baker on 457 .then after 2 years can he also sponsor me for permanent residence....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Girpinder22 -

Might be possible, but the business would first have to qualify to sponsor people in the 457 programme, then would have to evidence genuine need for a baker. If your husband is also on 457 and purchased the business, that involves what's called "self-sponsorship" where he owns a business that is essentially sponsoring it's own director(s). Very tricky - sometimes can be done, but has to be done very carefully and not all businesses will qualify. May work better in a regional area where it may be easier to demonstrate a shortage of bakers, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



girpinder22 said:


> Hi mark ,we are on 457 visa at the moment from 16 months ,myself working as a baker unfortunately my owner sponsership is cancel .is it possible if my husband take over any bakery business (which is in good condition )then can he sponsor me there as a baker on 457 .then after 2 years can he also sponsor me for permanent residence....


----------



## Shiftywicket

MarkNortham said:


> hi Shiftywicket -
> 
> Thanks for the note. DIBP seems to have recently taken a tougher stand on Schedule 3 issues - we're seeing a lot of these currently.
> 
> As you've hired an immigration professional to handle your case it probably doesn't make sense for me to comment on it, however would make sure that the person has plenty of experience with Schedule 3 issues as they can be tricky to navigate. Please do feel free to ask me any specific questions if you'd like.
> 
> If you'd like to ask for general help & assistance from other forum members, would request you do so outside the "Ask mark" thread which is specifically for questions for me vs. general discussion among members.
> 
> I hope you get good results with your Schedule 3 submission!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for your response. 
Whilst under consideration for the 461 and at the Schedule 3 stage, what is my status in terms of work rights? I have been working for the same company since 2012 - am I able to continue working for them at this stage in a visa application? 
Following my earlier email to my case officer, I do not really want to get more involved with the Department of Immigration, but I am concerned I should be on a bridging visa? 
Any advice appreciated.


----------



## girpinder22

Hi mark, we are already in regional area means in Tasmania .because my wife is working as a baker from 16 months and she is qualified as well as a baker ,can I also describe that to immigration that then why I will be look someone else when my wife is baker....?if I take over the business then want to be sponsor my wife...thanks


----------



## Shiftywicket

Hi Mark, 
My original visa expired on the 7th September, and my new application was received on the 9th of September. 
I have been working for the same company since 2012 and have been working for them since applying for the second 461 visa. Will this put me at risk of being in breach and affect my standing in terms of the visa being granted? 
As I am now working on responses to Schedule 3, should I be applying for a Bridging Visa? 
Are you able to give me any idea of my chances here...I have not met with any migration consultants or lawyers yet and it is incredibly worrying.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Girpinder -

You will need to carefully review the requirements of the 457 sponsorship program if you want to take over a business and then sponsor your wife (or anyone else). When a business tries to sponsor directors or family members of directors, DIBP looks very closely at the business and whether they consider the position to be "genuine" and the refusal rate can be higher for these as DIBP can conclude that the only reason the business is sponsoring the person is because they are a director or family member (and not because they are the most qualified, etc). If you are purchasing a business for migration purposes, you may want to get professional assistance from a migration agent with the process of applying for the business to become a sponsor. The hard part of that is - suppose you purchase or take over a business, but then the business is not approved by DIBP to sponsor people for the 457 programme?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



girpinder22 said:


> Hi mark, we are already in regional area means in Tasmania .because my wife is working as a baker from 16 months and she is qualified as well as a baker ,can I also describe that to immigration that then why I will be look someone else when my wife is baker....?if I take over the business then want to be sponsor my wife...thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shiftywicket -

Sure - happy to help. Schedule 3 is a real hassle, as minor issues such as yours will trigger a heap of requirements to be met in terms of the parts of Schedule 3 that are required (different for different visas).

From the sounds of things, your big issue may be 3004 which has two primary components that would be of concern in your case - first, you would need to establish that the reason you were without a substantive visa (ie, your previous one had expired) when you lodged the 461 application were because of reasons beyond your control. Secondly, you would need to provide evidence of "compelling reasons" why the visa should be granted.

Re; beyond your control, this would all come down to the circumstances by which you missed the application date - if you could get corroborating evidence of why you missed the date and the circumstances that demonstrate that the reasons were beyond your control, then that would be helpful.

Re: compelling reasons, DIBP (immigration dept) has taken a very tough stand on this aspect of things over the last few months, and satisfying this generally requires substantial evidence. If the relationship involves a child between you and your partner, this part can be fairly straightforward, or if one of you is chronically ill, disable, etc. If these do not apply, then it is a matter of determining who in Australia would be negatively impacted by you having to leave and lodge the 461 visa offshore. Sometimes we use psychologist reports re: emotional stress caused to the sponsor, etc to help build this sort of a case, other times there are circumstances in the lives of the partners that can be shown to be truly "compelling". DIBP generally does not consider "compelling" to include inconvenience or financial losses due to the couple being apart while the visa is being processed.

In the end, it will be the totality off the reasons, information and evidence provided that will be considered by DIBP to see the beyond/control and compelling elements of 3004 are satisfied. The key to having the best chances of this, in my experience, are loading them up with lots of relevant information and backing everything up with evidence - statements, documents, etc.. The other choice, of course, is to withdraw the 461 application and go offshore to lodge it - Schedule 3 does not apply to applications lodged offshore.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist going forward.

Best,

Mark Northam



Shiftywicket said:


> Hi Mark,
> My original visa expired on the 7th September, and my new application was received on the 9th of September.
> I have been working for the same company since 2012 and have been working for them since applying for the second 461 visa. Will this put me at risk of being in breach and affect my standing in terms of the visa being granted?
> As I am now working on responses to Schedule 3, should I be applying for a Bridging Visa?
> Are you able to give me any idea of my chances here...I have not met with any migration consultants or lawyers yet and it is incredibly worrying.


----------



## gochitde

*489 to 887*

HI Mark

Thanks for the quick response.Has you have quoted, you mean both of us as myself and my husband as to comply with these both requirements.
As 887 is another new visa to be applied can he be the main applicant to apply to comply with the requirements.
Thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gochitde -
> 
> Thanks for the note. It is possible to "switch positions" where the secondary 489 holder qualifies for the 2 yrs living / 1 yrs work provision becomes the primary applicant for the 887 visa (note it is not 889), however you will need to make sure that you both meet all the various requirements of the 887 visa in addition to this - ie, full time work (which for the 887 is 35 hrs/week or more), proper evidence of full time work and living, etc.
> 
> There is no way to "convert" one visa to another - you could certainly apply for a 457 or a further 489 if you qualify - would need to see you at a consultation in order to go through all the requirements for each visa to see what the best option(s) may be for you as the requirements for these visas are not quick & easy.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Shiftywicket

Hi Mark, 

Thanks again for your answer! My apologies for the additional questions I really appreciate your feedback. 
I am just worried that I should be informing my employer they can no longer legally employ me because of this visa status - as I have been working since the visa expired does that mean I have been working illegally and will this affect my status for the purpose of Schedule 3? 
I am loathe to contact the department again as I am waiting as patiently as I can to meet (for the first time) with an immigration lawyer and have already ill advisedly contacted them in response to their request for further information (not with an official response, but the case officer will have read it so it would be stupid of me not to expect him to take what I wrote into consideration - it was not wrong, but by no means as thorough as I intended it to be - more an exercise in fact finding regarding the particular information they required), but I am concerned I should be dealing with the CSRS and applying for a bridging visa with work rights. 
or is this not relevant as I have an active application?

As for the individual criterion the only factors outside my control were the information I received advising me A to submit the application at the Immigration Centre, which B ended with the application not being submitted that day ( a week before the expiry date) and my leaving with the impression that I was able to submit post-expiry date based on information received from the agent at the Immigration Centre. 
For the compelling reasons, my wife and I have a two year old daughter and my wife is pregnant with our second child - to remove me from that equation would be the cause of tremendous upset and stress to our family unit which it is not reasonable for a pregnant lady to endure.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gochitde -

Sorry for the confusion - in a scenario where 2 people together hold a 489 visa (one is primary applicant, the other is secondary) and they then together lodge an 887 visa application, only 1 of the applicants for the 887 must have met the live 2 yrs/work 1 yr requirement. So if the secondary on the 489 meets the requirement, he/she can become the primary on the 887, and the person who was the primary on the 489 can become the secondary on the 887.

Hope this helps - if you needed specific advice for your situation, would need to see you in a consultation in order to get all the details about your circumstances as the requirements for the 887 are very specific.

Best,

Mark Northam



gochitde said:


> HI Mark
> 
> Thanks for the quick response.Has you have quoted, you mean both of us as myself and my husband as to comply with these both requirements.
> As 887 is another new visa to be applied can he be the main applicant to apply to comply with the requirements.
> Thanks


----------



## gochitde

*489 to 887 visa*

Hi Mark 
Now you were clear enough for me to understand better and that was my question. Thank you so much for that good reply. Now im not confused or fear on that part of the application.

But now upon application when can i start the application?
Immediately after the 2 years stay?

All the utilities, Tenancy document are all under my name so when doing the application i have to show proof of documents can under my name documents still be proof of the requirements?

Thank you


----------



## aakk

Hi Mark!!

I'm just in the process of getting everything together that I need for my PMV (300) and am trying to lodge by the end of October. I am confused at the Health and Character portion of the application. 

Evidence that everyone included in your application has adequate health insurance in Australia. Provide any one of the following:
a signed letter from a health insurance provider (140 kB doc)
a Medicare card or receipt of enrolment with Medicare
evidence of adequate health insurance (including travel insurance)
if you are from a country with a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia and will be eligible for Medicare when you arrive here, evidence of adequate health insurance (including travel insurance) to cover you until you enrol in Medicare
evidence that you hold a passport from the Republic of Ireland.

Does this mean I need to have some kind of health care IN australia before I even potentially migrate? How does this work? 

Thanks!


----------



## Esmino

Hi Mark!

I am a German citizen and my husband lives in Australia, we lodged our Partner Visa Application in January this year in Berlin.
Since my mother is my only blood relative left, and depends on me on nearly everything (doesn't speak German, is illeterate, widowed, can't work), I included her to my application as a dependent family member. Our family belongs to Pakistan, even though we live here, my mother is a Pakistani national and holds a permanent residency for Germany. We live together and share the same household.

Today I had a phone interview with my CO, after asking me some question about our relationship, she said, that we do fulfill their requirements to prove that our relationship is genuine. Our application is doing good and it's a matter of some weeks now until the visa for me will be granted.
But then she said that the visa for my mother can't be granted, because she doesn't rely on me financially and she never will, because we live in a "social state" where she'll receive financial support if she'll need any.
So basically she is going to be rejected, because she'll receive social welfare, when I leave.

The CO then asked me to "decide" if we prefer a refusal or a withdrawal of my mother’s application as a secondary applicant to my visa application.
We are so confused and don't know what to do.

I can't leave her here on her own, that's not possible but I want to be with my partner as well.
The CO said it might be difficult to get a visitor visa since there is no reason/ guarantee for her to come back.
She has two brothers over there, who are ready to help in every possible way.

All I want is my mother to be with me and start my life with my husband and family.

So what do you advice? What would be the best for us to do now?


I really hope that you can help!!


Kind regards,

Esmino


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gochitde -

Assuming you meet all of the requirements for the 887 visa, you could consider applying after you worked full time for 1 year and have lived for 2 years in a qualifying area while holding a 489 visa, including time spent living there while you were holding a bridging visa A or B that was issued at the time you lodged the 489 visa. But this visa is not that simple! If you're not getting professional assistance with the visa, please make sure you read the requirements for this visa very carefully before lodging.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gochitde said:


> Hi Mark
> Now you were clear enough for me to understand better and that was my question. Thank you so much for that good reply. Now im not confused or fear on that part of the application.
> 
> But now upon application when can i start the application?
> Immediately after the 2 years stay?
> 
> All the utilities, Tenancy document are all under my name so when doing the application i have to show proof of documents can under my name documents still be proof of the requirements?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aakk -

Yes, exactly. You need to arrange for private health insurance to cover your entire stay in Australia on the PMV if granted, so you need to provide documentary proof of coverage that is valid in Australia and meets Australian standards. Suggest you Google various Australian health insurance companies and compare rates, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aakk said:


> Hi Mark!!
> 
> I'm just in the process of getting everything together that I need for my PMV (300) and am trying to lodge by the end of October. I am confused at the Health and Character portion of the application.
> 
> Evidence that everyone included in your application has adequate health insurance in Australia. Provide any one of the following:
> a signed letter from a health insurance provider (140 kB doc)
> a Medicare card or receipt of enrolment with Medicare
> evidence of adequate health insurance (including travel insurance)
> if you are from a country with a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia and will be eligible for Medicare when you arrive here, evidence of adequate health insurance (including travel insurance) to cover you until you enrol in Medicare
> evidence that you hold a passport from the Republic of Ireland.
> 
> Does this mean I need to have some kind of health care IN australia before I even potentially migrate? How does this work?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shiftywicket -

If you are on a Bridging Visa E, you can apply to have work rights added to that in many cases. If your BV-E does not have work rights and you are still working, then you are working illegally which presents potential problems for you and your employer - you should cease work if that's the case, at least temporarily, until you work out the work rights on BV-E situation.

Sounds like you may have some good compelling reasons, but you need to work out the work rights thing ASAP. Would be happy to work with you in a consultation if you'd like - see our website below for more on this - we offer professional consultations via Skype, phone and at our office in Sydney.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Shiftywicket said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks again for your answer! My apologies for the additional questions I really appreciate your feedback.
> I am just worried that I should be informing my employer they can no longer legally employ me because of this visa status - as I have been working since the visa expired does that mean I have been working illegally and will this affect my status for the purpose of Schedule 3?
> I am loathe to contact the department again as I am waiting as patiently as I can to meet (for the first time) with an immigration lawyer and have already ill advisedly contacted them in response to their request for further information (not with an official response, but the case officer will have read it so it would be stupid of me not to expect him to take what I wrote into consideration - it was not wrong, but by no means as thorough as I intended it to be - more an exercise in fact finding regarding the particular information they required), but I am concerned I should be dealing with the CSRS and applying for a bridging visa with work rights.
> or is this not relevant as I have an active application?
> 
> As for the individual criterion the only factors outside my control were the information I received advising me A to submit the application at the Immigration Centre, which B ended with the application not being submitted that day ( a week before the expiry date) and my leaving with the impression that I was able to submit post-expiry date based on information received from the agent at the Immigration Centre.
> For the compelling reasons, my wife and I have a two year old daughter and my wife is pregnant with our second child - to remove me from that equation would be the cause of tremendous upset and stress to our family unit which it is not reasonable for a pregnant lady to endure.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Esmino -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the situation with your mother.

DIBP has apparently indicated they will refuse the application if your mother is included as they do not agree that she is dependent on you, hence the withdraw or refuse choice, not an easy choice to make obviously!

Dependency submissions for parents can be difficult in situations where the person qualifies for social security, etc payments in their home country - often the key to having a good chance of getting this through is to show through evidence that the relative is more dependent on you for food, clothing and shelter than they are on any other source including the government. Not sure if you did this in your dependency claim with the visa application or not, but that's the general requirement. If she has been claiming govt benefits all along and those benefits form the primary financial support she has been receiving, then that can be a difficult issue to get beyond since she wouldn't meet the "more dependent on you than any other source" requirement for dependency.

Without seeing your application and all details I wouldn't be able to give you any specific advice - if the dependent claim is bound to fail at this point, another option is sponsoring her for a parent visa of some kind once you become a permanent resident. Longer term visitor visas are also an option at that point.

Wish I had better news for you - you may want to sit down with a qualified migration agent to go through all of the facts and circumstances of your case and get a better read on whether the dependency claim may have any chance or not (although at this point it may be too late in the making process with the current application, depending on the case officer) and determine what other option(s) may exist.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Esmino said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I am a German citizen and my husband lives in Australia, we lodged our Partner Visa Application in January this year in Berlin.
> Since my mother is my only blood relative left, and depends on me on nearly everything (doesn't speak German, is illeterate, widowed, can't work), I included her to my application as a dependent family member. Our family belongs to Pakistan, even though we live here, my mother is a Pakistani national and holds a permanent residency for Germany. We live together and share the same household.
> 
> Today I had a phone interview with my CO, after asking me some question about our relationship, she said, that we do fulfill their requirements to prove that our relationship is genuine. Our application is doing good and it's a matter of some weeks now until the visa for me will be granted.
> But then she said that the visa for my mother can't be granted, because she doesn't rely on me financially and she never will, because we live in a "social state" where she'll receive financial support if she'll need any.
> So basically she is going to be rejected, because she'll receive social welfare, when I leave.
> 
> The CO then asked me to "decide" if we prefer a refusal or a withdrawal of my mother's application as a secondary applicant to my visa application.
> We are so confused and don't know what to do.
> 
> I can't leave her here on her own, that's not possible but I want to be with my partner as well.
> The CO said it might be difficult to get a visitor visa since there is no reason/ guarantee for her to come back.
> She has two brothers over there, who are ready to help in every possible way.
> 
> All I want is my mother to be with me and start my life with my husband and family.
> 
> So what do you advice? What would be the best for us to do now?
> 
> I really hope that you can help!!
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Esmino


----------



## min.ho1234

Hi Mark!
I am an Australian Citizen by grant and was able to have my PR before through a Partner sponsorship visa. My partner and I finalized our divorce recently and I already have the copy of my Divorce Order Decree.

As i was sorting my paperworks. I noticed that the date of separation that my ex wife put on the DIVORCE APPLICATION form was way before I was granted a PR. 

How do I amend this even divorce was already finalized? Will it affect my citizenship? What if in the near future I found somebody to sponsor to. will it affect the sponsorship because of the date my ex wife put on the divorce application?

Hoping to hear from you. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Min.ho1234 -

You'd have to talk to a family lawyer to see if there is a procedure for amending the official divorce records at this time - I don't work in that area so I wouldn't have information about that. Re: citizenship or sponsorship going forward, there is probably more of a chance that it would come up as part of a sponsorship application than citizenship, but hard to predict. Some may depend on the ex-partner - if they truly wanted to make a claim that you were separated as of when you received your PR, in extreme cases DIBP could cancel your PR visa if they believed that it was obtained under false pretenses (ie, relationship still intact when it wasn't), so some of all of this may depend on the actions of your ex-partner. T

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



min.ho1234 said:


> Hi Mark!
> I am an Australian Citizen by grant and was able to have my PR before through a Partner sponsorship visa. My partner and I finalized our divorce recently and I already have the copy of my Divorce Order Decree.
> 
> As i was sorting my paperworks. I noticed that the date of separation that my ex wife put on the DIVORCE APPLICATION form was way before I was granted a PR.
> 
> How do I amend this even divorce was already finalized? Will it affect my citizenship? What if in the near future I found somebody to sponsor to. will it affect the sponsorship because of the date my ex wife put on the divorce application?
> 
> Hoping to hear from you. Thanks


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi mark,


Please help me, it's been 90 days applied for nomination. My agent said still no reply from CO after submitting all required documents and today he is going to request CO about application progress. Now I am confuse about delay and can't track application. 

Thank u
Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

Wish I could help, but I'm not your agent and don't have access to your file, details, or the ability to communicate with DIBP on your behalf. DIBP can basically take as much time as they want with any application - that's the first thing to understand. Beyond that, it's a matter of seeing what additional documents they may have/want/need/request and trying to read into that what concerns if any they may have about the application.

Wish I could help -

Best,

Mark



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Please help me, it's been 90 days applied for nomination. My agent said still no reply from CO after submitting all required documents and today he is going to request CO about application progress. Now I am confuse about delay and can't track application.
> 
> Thank u
> Bharat


----------



## min.ho1234

Thanks for the response Mark! 
Im pretty sure my ex wife will not take any action as she is now married to another person.
I am just concerned that if I sponsor my girlfriend from Korea it will affect the application. Though all our docs and evidences are strong for a genuine relationship. Will immi beable to track record of divorce application or based only on the decree order itself?

I just want to know my option before I lodge a spinsorship visa

Thanks.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Min.ho1234 -
> 
> You'd have to talk to a family lawyer to see if there is a procedure for amending the official divorce records at this time - I don't work in that area so I wouldn't have information about that. Re: citizenship or sponsorship going forward, there is probably more of a chance that it would come up as part of a sponsorship application than citizenship, but hard to predict. Some may depend on the ex-partner - if they truly wanted to make a claim that you were separated as of when you received your PR, in extreme cases DIBP could cancel your PR visa if they believed that it was obtained under false pretenses (ie, relationship still intact when it wasn't), so some of all of this may depend on the actions of your ex-partner. T
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Normally sponsors are requested to submit the divorce decree only, not the application - the point being to show that the previous marriage has ended.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



min.ho1234 said:


> Thanks for the response Mark!
> Im pretty sure my ex wife will not take any action as she is now married to another person.
> I am just concerned that if I sponsor my girlfriend from Korea it will affect the application. Though all our docs and evidences are strong for a genuine relationship. Will immi beable to track record of divorce application or based only on the decree order itself?
> 
> I just want to know my option before I lodge a spinsorship visa
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## min.ho1234

Thats a breath of fresh air Mark! 
So to that effect they cannot track the date of separation but rather the date the divorce was finalize, is that right?Is it ok to lodgePMV next year and hope this issue will not jeopardize our application?

Youre simple the best Mark! More power to you!



MarkNortham said:


> Normally sponsors are requested to submit the divorce decree only, not the application - the point being to show that the previous marriage has ended.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## suparik

*Hello Mark*

Greetings Mark,

I asked this question in a thread I opened yesterday and got some great responses but upon questioning a response it was suggested I ask you.

My wife (thai national ) has an 12 month multi entry visa granted 28th Nov 2013, she travelled to Australia on this visa and stayed 88 days early this year, we are now planning to visit again and stay for Christmas New year and depart Thailand on the 12th October 2014, my question was....Although her visa expires on the 28th Nov 2014 so long as she enters prior to it expiring she can stay the full 3 months if she wishes? This question was answered as YES, my question that was then referred to you was this.. Can anyone please direct me to DIBP web site and show me where this is actually stated?
Not that I doubt what kind members have told me, I guess I am just seeking the information from the government source and after looking for hours I cannot find it...

Greatly appreciate your time Rik


----------



## leohnoohno

Hi Mark, 
My visa application has been a total mess from the beginning. 
To top it off I have just realised that I am on a bridging visa c wc and have been working straight through. 
This has been for roughly three weeks. Where do I stand. My work is now aware of my situation and have asked me to go the immigration centre in Melbourne tomorrow. 
What do I tell them? Is honesty the best policy here? 
Realise I am a total idiot.


----------



## bhalo_fish

bhalo_fish said:


> Hi mark, Please help me, it's been 90 days applied for nomination. My agent said still no reply from CO after submitting all required documents and today he is going to request CO about application progress. Now I am confuse about delay and can't track application. Thank u Bharat


Thank you so much for always providing me use full information . Also my another employer Steve will contact u for sponsorship and nomination process as he is planing to open restaurant in Ocean shore, NSW.

Thanks once again.

Bharat


----------



## zico777

hello sir. i am currently on 489 regional sponsored visa living in the specified area for the last 16 months.soon i will be applying 887 once the requirements are met.i have two casual jobs and i get different hours each week.sometime 27 hours and some time 37 hours.what is the full time hour? can i count only those week where i worked 35 hours in a week to make total 52 weeks ??or it has to be 52 consecutive week of 35 hours work??please help..do you have any office in canberra??


----------



## bhalo_fish

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bharat - Wish I could help, but I'm not your agent and don't have access to your file, details, or the ability to communicate with DIBP on your behalf. DIBP can basically take as much time as they want with any application - that's the first thing to understand. Beyond that, it's a matter of seeing what additional documents they may have/want/need/request and trying to read into that what concerns if any they may have about the application. Wish I could help - Best, Mark


Originally Posted by bhalo_fish
Hi mark, Please help me, it's been 90 days applied for nomination. My agent said still no reply from CO after submitting all required documents and today he is going to request CO about application progress. Now I am confuse about delay and can't track application. Thank u Bharat

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for always providing me use full information . Also my another employer Steve will contact u for sponsorship and nomination process as he is planing to open restaurant in Ocean shore, NSW.

Thanks once again.

Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Suparik -

Thanks for the question. An important thing to remember is that there are any number of versions of how visas can be configured - it is impossible to tell without looking at the actual visa itself. I've seen 12 month visas with multiple entries that have max stay periods but a hard-wired end date, and ones like that where if you enter shortly before the end, you can still stay for the 3 months. If you want to contact me privately (see website below) I'd be happy to take a look at your visa and give you some guidance.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



suparik said:


> Greetings Mark,
> 
> I asked this question in a thread I opened yesterday and got some great responses but upon questioning a response it was suggested I ask you.
> 
> My wife (thai national ) has an 12 month multi entry visa granted 28th Nov 2013, she travelled to Australia on this visa and stayed 88 days early this year, we are now planning to visit again and stay for Christmas New year and depart Thailand on the 12th October 2014, my question was....Although her visa expires on the 28th Nov 2014 so long as she enters prior to it expiring she can stay the full 3 months if she wishes? This question was answered as YES, my question that was then referred to you was this.. Can anyone please direct me to DIBP web site and show me where this is actually stated?
> Not that I doubt what kind members have told me, I guess I am just seeking the information from the government source and after looking for hours I cannot find it...
> 
> Greatly appreciate your time Rik


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leohnoohno -

Strongly suggest you talk to me or another registered migration agent before you go to immigration so you'll know where you stand going into things - see my contact info on the website link below - phone info is on the Contact page.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leohnoohno said:


> Hi Mark,
> My visa application has been a total mess from the beginning.
> To top it off I have just realised that I am on a bridging visa c wc and have been working straight through.
> This has been for roughly three weeks. Where do I stand. My work is now aware of my situation and have asked me to go the immigration centre in Melbourne tomorrow.
> What do I tell them? Is honesty the best policy here?
> Realise I am a total idiot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks!

Best,

Mark



bhalo_fish said:


> Thank you so much for always providing me use full information . Also my another employer Steve will contact u for sponsorship and nomination process as he is planing to open restaurant in Ocean shore, NSW.
> 
> Thanks once again.
> 
> Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zico777 -

Thanks for the question. The 887 visa has very specific requirements that must be met - the visa seems simple at first, but actually is not. The requirements for the work part of the visa are for a total of 1 year of work (ie, 52 weeks) where for each of those 52 weeks, you worked at least 35 hours per week that can be shown by evidence (ie, payslips, etc). If you worked multiple jobs during a particular week to add up to the 35 hours, that's fine. However if you worked less than 35 hours, that week would not be considered full-time work and would not count. It does not need to be 52 consecutive weeks, just a total of 52 weeks during the time you were living in the qualified regional area while holding the 489, etc.

Happy to work with you in a consultation to look at your documents and discuss all the finer points of the 887 visa - we don't have an office in Canberra but we offer consultations via phone and Skype as well as at our office in Parramatta, and you can email me the docs prior to the consultation so we can go through them together. Info to book located on our website - see link in my signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zico777 said:


> hello sir. i am currently on 489 regional sponsored visa living in the specified area for the last 16 months.soon i will be applying 887 once the requirements are met.i have two casual jobs and i get different hours each week.sometime 27 hours and some time 37 hours.what is the full time hour? can i count only those week where i worked 35 hours in a week to make total 52 weeks ??or it has to be 52 consecutive week of 35 hours work??please help..do you have any office in canberra??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Min.ho1234 -

I would think DIBP would have a hard time getting the application for divorce file from the court unless you gave it to them - normally only the decree itself is what's needed to show the divorce is completed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



min.ho1234 said:


> Thats a breath of fresh air Mark!
> So to that effect they cannot track the date of separation but rather the date the divorce was finalize, is that right?Is it ok to lodgePMV next year and hope this issue will not jeopardize our application?
> 
> Youre simple the best Mark! More power to you!


----------



## msadeed

*Other Names/Spelling*

Hello,

I have few queries to ask for,

1. While filling the online application form on immi account for 189, In employment history section what should be done when Giving "Date To" for the last/current job.

Should we write the today's date or the date reflected on the ACS which is well before today while you are working with the same organization.

2. Other Names/Spelling (for my wife)
Family Name : YYY
First Name: XXXX AA
Reason For Name Change: Marriage

What kind of supporting documents can be needed to prove this, name before marriage, I hold the marriage certificate with the same name as XXXX AA YYY, will it be enough.

For info: Her Name is Changed from XXXX AA YYY to First Name: XXXX AA and Last Name: ZZZ

3. Other Names/Spelling (for my wife)
Family Name : YYY
First Name: XIXX AA
Reason For Name Change: Wrongly printed on a previous passport.

The issue here is that my wife held one previous passport which had a name spelling as XIXX AA, which were mistakenly printed while being converted into english from Urdu by the passport issuing authority. Now she holds a valid passport which reflects her correct spelling as First name: XXXX AA and Last Name: ZZZ.

Should we provide this info under the Other Names/Spelling section or its not required as the mistake has been removed in the current passport, considering that fact that she has a travel history using those wrong spellings.

4. National Identity Documents
In the birth Certificate there is no last name mentioned, only the given name as XXXX AA and father name PPPP QQQQ YYY.

So the question is can we use YYY as the last name which is only mentioned with the father name on the birth certificate.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Msadeed -

Thanks for the questions - for current job if they will not allow blank, you can put current date or date before current date in there (ie, yesterday) depending on the way the screen is configured. If you claim points for work in a job where any period of that job was not assessed by ACS, you would need to get a letter from your employer stating that you continued to be in the job, etc - however I can't give you specific advice on this as I do not have your documents and information.

For name changes only due to marriage, often not required to provide deed poll or other name change information, as birth certificate, etc shows this. For questions 3 & 4, you are correct - best to include these other spellings, etc on the form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



msadeed said:


> Hello,
> 
> I have few queries to ask for,
> 
> 1. While filling the online application form on immi account for 189, In employment history section what should be done when Giving "Date To" for the last/current job.
> 
> Should we write the today's date or the date reflected on the ACS which is well before today while you are working with the same organization.
> 
> 2. Other Names/Spelling (for my wife)
> Family Name : YYY
> First Name: XXXX AA
> Reason For Name Change: Marriage
> 
> What kind of supporting documents can be needed to prove this, name before marriage, I hold the marriage certificate with the same name as XXXX AA YYY, will it be enough.
> 
> For info: Her Name is Changed from XXXX AA YYY to First Name: XXXX AA and Last Name: ZZZ
> 
> 3. Other Names/Spelling (for my wife)
> Family Name : YYY
> First Name: XIXX AA
> Reason For Name Change: Wrongly printed on a previous passport.
> 
> The issue here is that my wife held one previous passport which had a name spelling as XIXX AA, which were mistakenly printed while being converted into english from Urdu by the passport issuing authority. Now she holds a valid passport which reflects her correct spelling as First name: XXXX AA and Last Name: ZZZ.
> 
> Should we provide this info under the Other Names/Spelling section or its not required as the mistake has been removed in the current passport, considering that fact that she has a travel history using those wrong spellings.
> 
> 4. National Identity Documents
> In the birth Certificate there is no last name mentioned, only the given name as XXXX AA and father name PPPP QQQQ YYY.
> 
> So the question is can we use YYY as the last name which is only mentioned with the father name on the birth certificate.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## luckyduck12

*Student on 573 visa*

Hi Mark,

Can a student on 573 student visa (currently studying a Bachelor degree at University level) also study a Certificate III in Hospitality? Does he need to notify DIBP and seek approval?

The Certificate III is obtained through a part time paid internship for 20 hours per week. Will that 20 hours be calculated as work hours?

The student in question of course will still maintain the attendance and requirement of the Bachelor degree course, which is tied with his 573 visa.

Thanks Mark


----------



## zoehuynh

Hi Mark, i need some advice from you. Please help me.
My sister is in Vietnam. she applied for the tourist visa twice in 2009 and 2011 but she was refused both times. Now she wants to apply for international student visa and has started studying at RMIT university in Vietnam
Would it be hard for her to be approved of the international student visa due to her history of refused application? i want to make sure that she can be approved this time because if she were to be rejected again . i am scared that she may never be approved
Could you please give me some advice as to what we could do to maximize the success rate of her application into Australia?
Many thanks to you and your work, ,Mark.


----------



## Al00

Hi Mark,

My wife and I are moving house in a couple of weeks and wish to notify the DIBP about the change of address. I have printed off a couple of copies of form 922 to do so. Question is do I fill it out for myself as well, as I am the sponsor, not the applicant, or do I let her fill one out and I email our case officer the details?

Thanks.

Alex


----------



## Al00

In addition to this, there is a question of form 922 where it says to list the dates from and to, for the new address. From is obviously when we are moving in, but do I leave the To blank? It will be a permanent move for the moment.

Thanks again.

QUOTE=Al00;617946]Hi Mark,

My wife and I are moving house in a couple of weeks and wish to notify the DIBP about the change of address. I have printed off a couple of copies of form 922 to do so. Question is do I fill it out for myself as well, as I am the sponsor, not the applicant, or do I let her fill one out and I email our case officer the details?

Thanks.

Alex[/QUOTE]


----------



## Al00

In addition to this, there is a question of form 922 where it says to list the dates from and to, for the new address. From is obviously when we are moving in, but do I leave the To blank? It will be a permanent move for the moment.

Thanks again.



Al00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife and I are moving house in a couple of weeks and wish to notify the DIBP about the change of address. I have printed off a couple of copies of form 922 to do so. Question is do I fill it out for myself as well, as I am the sponsor, not the applicant, or do I let her fill one out and I email our case officer the details?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Alex


[/QUOTE]


----------



## msadeed

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Msadeed -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - for current job if they will not allow blank, you can put current date or date before current date in there (ie, yesterday) depending on the way the screen is configured. If you claim points for work in a job where any period of that job was not assessed by ACS, you would need to get a letter from your employer stating that you continued to be in the job, etc - however I can't give you specific advice on this as I do not have your documents and information.
> 
> For name changes only due to marriage, often not required to provide deed poll or other name change information, as birth certificate, etc shows this. For questions 3 & 4, you are correct - best to include these other spellings, etc on the form.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark,

One more question,

I have BS Computer Science and MS Information System which is mentioned on the ACS as these two were related degrees for the SOL Code I'm applying for, but I have also done My MBA should that be included also or not needed.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck12 -

Thanks for the email - that question would require some research and examining the documents involved and details - if the internship is the primary aspect of the work (and yes, it would be considered work since it's paid or normally would be paid), then the fact that as a by-product of that work the person gets a Cert III may not be an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can a student on 573 student visa (currently studying a Bachelor degree at University level) also study a Certificate III in Hospitality? Does he need to notify DIBP and seek approval?
> 
> The Certificate III is obtained through a part time paid internship for 20 hours per week. Will that 20 hours be calculated as work hours?
> 
> The student in question of course will still maintain the attendance and requirement of the Bachelor degree course, which is tied with his 573 visa.
> 
> Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zoehuynh -

Thanks for the note. I'm guessing she was refused for the visitor visas due to not meeting the Genuine Visitor policy criteria. Re: student visa, the Genuine Student criteria is very similar to the Genuine Visitor criteiria, so that's obviously a concern. The fact that she has already started studying at a branch of an Australia uni in Vietnam is a positive point.

No way to guarantee approval, but given 2 previous, recent refusals, I would suggest getting professional help with the next visa. If you do choose to do it yourself, I would carefully research the Genuine Student criteiria and consider writing a submission with the student visa application showing how the applicant meets all of the Genuine Student criteria that she meets - this would likely giver her the best chance of getting past that policy criteria.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zoehuynh said:


> Hi Mark, i need some advice from you. Please help me.
> My sister is in Vietnam. she applied for the tourist visa twice in 2009 and 2011 but she was refused both times. Now she wants to apply for international student visa and has started studying at RMIT university in Vietnam
> Would it be hard for her to be approved of the international student visa due to her history of refused application? i want to make sure that she can be approved this time because if she were to be rejected again . i am scared that she may never be approved
> Could you please give me some advice as to what we could do to maximize the success rate of her application into Australia?
> Many thanks to you and your work, ,Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Al00 -

Yes, to date can be blank. Each person gets their own form. Also make sure you hold the proper visa for Form 922 (otherwise you would likely use Form 929).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Al00 said:


> In addition to this, there is a question of form 922 where it says to list the dates from and to, for the new address. From is obviously when we are moving in, but do I leave the To blank? It will be a permanent move for the moment.
> 
> Thanks again.
> 
> QUOTE=Al00;617946]Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife and I are moving house in a couple of weeks and wish to notify the DIBP about the change of address. I have printed off a couple of copies of form 922 to do so. Question is do I fill it out for myself as well, as I am the sponsor, not the applicant, or do I let her fill one out and I email our case officer the details?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Alex


[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Not sure where you're talking about, but for Form 80, you must list all education. I'd check the wording of the question - if it's a points-related question, then you may want to leave the MBA off, but otherwise you may want to include it - all depends on the form, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



msadeed said:


> Thanks Mark,
> 
> One more question,
> 
> I have BS Computer Science and MS Information System which is mentioned on the ACS as these two were related degrees for the SOL Code I'm applying for, but I have also done My MBA should that be included also or not needed.


----------



## rudra81

Hi Mark, I desperately need your help for my RRV refusal.
I have already posted for my queries on this forum. My query is regarding application for RRV. I was granted RRV two times one offshore and another onshore. During my second RRV i could not make it to return Australia within the specific time frame hence applied third time (paper application) offshore RRV which is rejected. My query is can i reapply RRV online? What should be my next step except MRT. Please help me. Thanks, 
Rudra


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rudra81 -

Thanks for the note. First priority is to determine why exactly why you were refused the last visa application - only then can next moves be determined. DIBP uses a variety of factors to determine whether a person can lodge online or paper RRV, but the format of the application is not really the issue here. Would need to work with you in a consultation, examine the documents involved, and discuss options - see website in my signature below if you'd like to go ahead with this - would be happy to help you -

Best,

Mark Northam



rudra81 said:


> Hi Mark, I desperately need your help for my RRV refusal.
> I have already posted for my queries on this forum. My query is regarding application for RRV. I was granted RRV two times one offshore and another onshore. During my second RRV i could not make it to return Australia within the specific time frame hence applied third time (paper application) offshore RRV which is rejected. My query is can i reapply RRV online? What should be my next step except MRT. Please help me. Thanks,
> Rudra


----------



## msadeed

MarkNortham said:


> Not sure where you're talking about, but for Form 80, you must list all education. I'd check the wording of the question - if it's a points-related question, then you may want to leave the MBA off, but otherwise you may want to include it - all depends on the form, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Im on the on the imi online form.


----------



## Al00

Ah yes, thanks Mark. I meant Form 929.

Cheers!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Al00 -
> 
> Yes, to date can be blank. Each person gets their own form. Also make sure you hold the proper visa for Form 922 (otherwise you would likely use Form 929).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


[/QUOTE]


----------



## Albertthapa

Hi mark, 
This is albert here i am in final stage of my 489 visa process as my partner she don't have ielts so we are ok to pay for it my agent is out of contact and as per his saying he requested payment form to case officer till now its been more than 2weeks of request date. But we wanted soon as possible, how long does it takes and is there other way to receive it answer would be very much appreciated. a


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Albert -

Normally this doesn't take much time - to make things work smoothly, it's usually better to wait until the case officer specifically requests the 2nd VAC payment. I'd give it another 1-2 weeks and see if your agent can get back in touch with the case officer to see what's up.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Albertthapa said:


> Hi mark,
> This is albert here i am in final stage of my 489 visa process as my partner she don't have ielts so we are ok to pay for it my agent is out of contact and as per his saying he requested payment form to case officer till now its been more than 2weeks of request date. But we wanted soon as possible, how long does it takes and is there other way to receive it answer would be very much appreciated. a


----------



## tangerine44

Hi Mark, hope you are well. I was hoping you can shed some light on this. I was trying to apply online for the the second stage of my spouse visa however I got below error message -
The applicant is unable to continue this application as the related application details cannot be confirmed. The applicant may wish to review the information entered in this application prior to continuing.

What does this error mean? when we called Immi a few weeks ago, we were advised to apply online instead of sending it via post, but, I don't know which way to go. There are 3 options under family visa online and I've selected partner visa information on permanent visa processing.. Hope you can help. Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tangerine44 -

Not sure why you're getting that - I have seen that come up sometimes when people are referencing their previous paper applications and there is some sort of an issue with the way the previous 820 (or 309) visa was recorded on DIBP's systems. Suggest you call them and ask them to look specifically at the existing visa to see what might be done - email doesn't work in these cases usually, and while a phone call usually means 40+ minutes on hold, it's often the fastest way to solve these sorts of issues where something internal to DIBP systems may be blocking your ability to lodge online. Also probably worth checking yourself on VEVO to make sure your current visa is in place and there are not issues with that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tangerine44 said:


> Hi Mark, hope you are well. I was hoping you can shed some light on this. I was trying to apply online for the the second stage of my spouse visa however I got below error message -
> The applicant is unable to continue this application as the related application details cannot be confirmed. The applicant may wish to review the information entered in this application prior to continuing.
> 
> What does this error mean? when we called Immi a few weeks ago, we were advised to apply online instead of sending it via post, but, I don't know which way to go. There are 3 options under family visa online and I've selected partner visa information on permanent visa processing.. Hope you can help. Thank you


----------



## Albertthapa

Thanks mark


----------



## zarclee

*Study @ TAFE*

Dear Mark,

Currently I'm 40 years old and recently I got a negative skill assessment from AIM. Therefore I'm contemplating to enrol @ TAFE either in Cert III Baking (1yr FT) OR Cert III Bricklayer (2yr FT) in order to qualify for 5 points in Oz study & 5 points for studying & living in Regional Oz. However my question are as follows:-
1. Under points for Oz study that stated completed in a total of at least 16	calendar months & completed as a result of a total of at least 2 academic years study, if I study 1yr FT in Baking after which I enrol 0.5yr in Hospitality, do I meet this statement of 16 calendar months & 2 academic years? Must it be consecutive running of the same course OR if I must enrol in another related course for an example Cert III in Commercial Cookery (1yr FT)?
2. Under points for Oz employment, must it be FT or Permanent? In the event I worked for 3years in the same occupation, does the applicant qualify for the 10pts even if it was in a PT basis?
3. For assessing authority to provide successful assessment, the applicant must meet three years of full-time paid employment in the nominated occupation at the required skill level however under 5 points for Oz employment, applicant have been employed for a period of totaling at least 12 months, hence it is kind of ambiguous. Thus pls advice how applicant is eligible for these 5 pts for Oz employment even one didnt' meet the 3 years FT based on assessing authority's requirement? 
4. I'm the main applicant to apply for the point based skill and rope in my wife in order to obtain the 5 points partner skills, although the latter obtain a successful assessment from the assessing authority but her assessment was done 4 years ago, does it count towards the 5 points partner?

I look forward to hear from your reply soon.

Best Regards,
Zarc Lee


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarclee -

Thanks for the questions - your situation is too complex to work out on the forum as I would need to ask you a number of questions about the education and work experience, plus work that into the skills assessment regulations which can vary widely. Would be happy to work through all the details of this in a consultation with you if you'd like - see my website link in the signature below for more on this.

Best,

Mark Northam



zarclee said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Currently I'm 40 years old and recently I got a negative skill assessment from AIM. Therefore I'm contemplating to enrol @ TAFE either in Cert III Baking (1yr FT) OR Cert III Bricklayer (2yr FT) in order to qualify for 5 points in Oz study & 5 points for studying & living in Regional Oz. However my question are as follows:-
> 1. Under points for Oz study that stated completed in a total of at least 16	calendar months & completed as a result of a total of at least 2 academic years study, if I study 1yr FT in Baking after which I enrol 0.5yr in Hospitality, do I meet this statement of 16 calendar months & 2 academic years? Must it be consecutive running of the same course OR if I must enrol in another related course for an example Cert III in Commercial Cookery (1yr FT)?
> 2. Under points for Oz employment, must it be FT or Permanent? In the event I worked for 3years in the same occupation, does the applicant qualify for the 10pts even if it was in a PT basis?
> 3. For assessing authority to provide successful assessment, the applicant must meet three years of full-time paid employment in the nominated occupation at the required skill level however under 5 points for Oz employment, applicant have been employed for a period of totaling at least 12 months, hence it is kind of ambiguous. Thus pls advice how applicant is eligible for these 5 pts for Oz employment even one didnt' meet the 3 years FT based on assessing authority's requirement?
> 4. I'm the main applicant to apply for the point based skill and rope in my wife in order to obtain the 5 points partner skills, although the latter obtain a successful assessment from the assessing authority but her assessment was done 4 years ago, does it count towards the 5 points partner?
> 
> I look forward to hear from your reply soon.
> 
> Best Regards,
> Zarc Lee


----------



## tangerine44

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tangerine44 -
> 
> Not sure why you're getting that - I have seen that come up sometimes when people are referencing their previous paper applications and there is some sort of an issue with the way the previous 820 (or 309) visa was recorded on DIBP's systems. Suggest you call them and ask them to look specifically at the existing visa to see what might be done - email doesn't work in these cases usually, and while a phone call usually means 40+ minutes on hold, it's often the fastest way to solve these sorts of issues where something internal to DIBP systems may be blocking your ability to lodge online. Also probably worth checking yourself on VEVO to make sure your current visa is in place and there are not issues with that.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, thank you for your advice. Much appreciated. My husband phoned immigration 3weeks ago just to confirm if I can apply for the second stage visa and we were told that it's recommended to apply online and that my visa says indefinite stay but i need to lodge this visa soon. I also checked my VEVO details and nothing's change (no special conditions and indefinite stay). I will call them next week to ask what the error is about. Would you know if grant is faster when lodged online? I am thinking of sending the docs via post if this online application doesn't work out. Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tangerine44 -

Might be a slight bit faster if you lodge online, but no major different - hope you're able to sort things out with DIBP -

Best,

Mark



tangerine44 said:


> Hi Mark, thank you for your advice. Much appreciated. My husband phoned immigration 3weeks ago just to confirm if I can apply for the second stage visa and we were told that it's recommended to apply online and that my visa says indefinite stay but i need to lodge this visa soon. I also checked my VEVO details and nothing's change (no special conditions and indefinite stay). I will call them next week to ask what the error is about. Would you know if grant is faster when lodged online? I am thinking of sending the docs via post if this online application doesn't work out. Thank you in advance.


----------



## roryjenkins

Hi Mark sorry to bother you again I was wondering if my wife & son are granted PR (which they should as we've been living together for 5 years & have a nearly 4yo son) would they still be given an IED to Australia ? It's just we tried to lodge a decision ready application & the date for the health checks expires around the same time our application is due to be finalised. Thanks Rory


----------



## tangerine44

Hi Mark, quick question. My eligibility date is 12 Oct 2012 but up to now, I haven't gotten any documents from Immigration asking me to apply for the 2nd stage. I was told that I'd receive one 2 months before my eligibility. Anyway, since my online application doesn't seem to work, would it be okay to send through the documents via post even if I didn't get any forms from Immigration? Thanks


----------



## Clem&Elly

Edited - Thanks for responding.


----------



## phuhle1104

*Effects of holding visa 489 on the application of visa 189*

Hi Mark, 
Please help me to solve the confusion regarding to visa 489 and 189. I am currently holding visa 489 which was granted on 15/09/2014 with the point test equaling 65. My birthday is 11/04/1990. I really want to apply for visa 189 when I turn 25 next year. If I apply for visa 189 on 11/04/2015, is there any chance for me to get visa 189 as I have not complied the condition of living 2 years in the specified regional under visa 489? It seems to me that case officers are not likely to grant 189 visa because I already have visa 489 and haven't complied the requirements. I did a study about visa 189 on DIBP website and didn't see any condition which is like "applicants who hold other types of skilled visa cant apply for visa 189". Please help me. 
Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roryjenkins -

Often that's not an issue - DIBP can "extend" the validity of the health results if they choose to, and they often do in these types of situations vs requiring people to get another set of health exams. Not sure what you mean by "IED"?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roryjenkins said:


> Hi Mark sorry to bother you again I was wondering if my wife & son are granted PR (which they should as we've been living together for 5 years & have a nearly 4yo son) would they still be given an IED to Australia ? It's just we tried to lodge a decision ready application & the date for the health checks expires around the same time our application is due to be finalised. Thanks Rory


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tangerine44 -

I'd use this link to get the docs:

Partner (Permanent) Calculator

Then lodge online via Immi Account (New Application, Second Stage partner).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tangerine44 said:


> Hi Mark, quick question. My eligibility date is 12 Oct 2012 but up to now, I haven't gotten any documents from Immigration asking me to apply for the 2nd stage. I was told that I'd receive one 2 months before my eligibility. Anyway, since my online application doesn't seem to work, would it be okay to send through the documents via post even if I didn't get any forms from Immigration? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clem & Elly -

Thanks for the note - hard to predict if they will give you a problem at the airport with a 1 way ticket - they may not even inspect your tickets, depending on the immigration officer you encounter. Perhaps you don't yet know the date of your return flight as it depends on plans in Australia, etc.. If you tell them you're moving back here and you're arriving on a visitor visa, that could be an issue, as could be the situation if they inspect your luggage and find things that indicate you're intending to stay longer than a temporary visitor for tourism purposes (ie, multiple suits, household goods like pictures in frames, etc). All this changes once you lodge the 820/801 visa however, since you've then made your intentions and relationship known to DIBP.

Wish I could help more, but this will depend entirely on the agent at the gate at the airport when you arrive in Sydney. Also can be helpful to have an itinerary of visitor activities you plan to do (ie, sightseeing, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Clem&Elly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My fiancee and I are moving back to Australia at the end of November, 2014.
> 
> She is a US Citizen and I am an AU citizen. We didn't apply for an offshore partner visa because the processing times would not have allowed the visa to be approved prior to our departure for Australia.
> 
> The idea would have been to enter with a visitor visa and apply for an onshore 820 partner visa.
> The only problem is we have already got a 1-way ticket for her and just realized that there may be problems entering the country with a 1-way ticket.
> 
> Would you be able to advise the possible issues of entering the country on a 1-way ticket with a visitor visa? I can always book a one way ticket back to the U.S. (or anywhere) but looking to avoid the additional costs if not necessary .
> 
> Thanks in advance for your advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phuhle1104 -

Thanks for the question - the 189 is a completely separate application, and the requirements of the live 2 yr / work 1 yr are actually requirements of the subclass 887 permanent visa. The 189 has no condition that requires 489 holders to have lived for 2 years in a particular area, etc. Once the 189 is granted, it would replace the 489 you now hold.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Please help me to solve the confusion regarding to visa 489 and 189. I am currently holding visa 489 which was granted on 15/09/2014 with the point test equaling 65. My birthday is 11/04/1990. I really want to apply for visa 189 when I turn 25 next year. If I apply for visa 189 on 11/04/2015, is there any chance for me to get visa 189 as I have not complied the condition of living 2 years in the specified regional under visa 489? It seems to me that case officers are not likely to grant 189 visa because I already have visa 489 and haven't complied the requirements. I did a study about visa 189 on DIBP website and didn't see any condition which is like "applicants who hold other types of skilled visa cant apply for visa 189". Please help me.
> Thank you very much.


----------



## hodgi_76

Hi Mark,
I am sorry if you have been asked this question a bunch of times, have tried looking.. but would feel a lot more comfortable with an answer from yourself.
My partner has lodged his application for an offshore partner visa 309. We don't need to add anything else to this application.
Would applying for an evisitor visa affect this application at all? We are wanting to visit for Christmas and a wedding etc, but don't want it to affect the 309 application at all.
Thank you in advance 
Andrea


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrea -

No problem lodging an evisitor after the 309 has been lodged - in fact, if there was any risk that the evisitor would have been refused based on DIBP's not knowing what the relationship truly is between you and your partner, by lodging the 309 you have declared the relationship to DIBP, which in many cases reduces the refusal risk for a visitor visa. The visitor visa will be processed separately from the 309/100 - if the 309 is ready to be granted when the person is onshore in Australia on the visitor visa, DIBP will generally contact them and let them know they need to leave in order for the visa to be granted -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hodgi_76 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am sorry if you have been asked this question a bunch of times, have tried looking.. but would feel a lot more comfortable with an answer from yourself.
> My partner has lodged his application for an offshore partner visa 309. We don't need to add anything else to this application.
> Would applying for an evisitor visa affect this application at all? We are wanting to visit for Christmas and a wedding etc, but don't want it to affect the 309 application at all.
> Thank you in advance
> Andrea


----------



## hodgi_76

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Andrea -
> 
> No problem lodging an evisitor after the 309 has been lodged - in fact, if there was any risk that the evisitor would have been refused based on DIBP's not knowing what the relationship truly is between you and your partner, by lodging the 309 you have declared the relationship to DIBP, which in many cases reduces the refusal risk for a visitor visa. The visitor visa will be processed separately from the 309/100 - if the 309 is ready to be granted when the person is onshore in Australia on the visitor visa, DIBP will generally contact them and let them know they need to leave in order for the visa to be granted -
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you! That does help a lot!! I actually do have one more question if you don't mind. I have been reading in this forum that when applying offshore, your application goes directly to the Australian Embassy in the country you are applying (in our case, this is NZ, Auckland). The website for this High Commission states, though, that online applications don't go through the embassy but through DIBP (Which I am assuming is Australia).. Basically what I am asking is where would our applicaion (and our future CO) be based - Aus or NZ?

Thanks heaps!! It is so helpful!
Cheers
Andrea


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrea -

It depends - DIBP has operations in many offshore embassies, high commissions, etc - normally the offshore DIBP facility closest to the country you are a citizen of (or lodge in, depending) is the one that will process an offshore application, if the country lodge in does not have its own DIBP facility operating from the local embassy, etc you lodge at. For a 309 lodged in NZ, normally your case officer (or more likely, "team") would likely be in NZ, however cases are normally transferred around depending on caseload, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hodgi_76 said:


> Thank you! That does help a lot!! I actually do have one more question if you don't mind. I have been reading in this forum that when applying offshore, your application goes directly to the Australian Embassy in the country you are applying (in our case, this is NZ, Auckland). The website for this High Commission states, though, that online applications don't go through the embassy but through DIBP (Which I am assuming is Australia).. Basically what I am asking is where would our applicaion (and our future CO) be based - Aus or NZ?
> 
> Thanks heaps!! It is so helpful!
> Cheers
> Andrea


----------



## ajagencoochanah

*Mr ajagen*

Hi Mr Mark, 
I'm a maintenance manager from Mauritius and , 
I'd like to know if its compulsory to have a job offer before coming to Australia . I read somewhere its not. Is it possible to come over and then look for one .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ajagencoochanah -

Thanks for the note - it depends on the visa. For some skilled visas, all student and most visitor visas, it is not required to have a job in Australia. If you were looking for a visa to come and work in Australia, you might look at the 457 visa or RSMS visa if you can find an employer who will sponsor you for one of these visas. More info on these visas is available on the DIBP website at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection including a list of eligible occupations and other requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ajagencoochanah said:


> Hi Mr Mark,
> I'm a maintenance manager from Mauritius and ,
> I'd like to know if its compulsory to have a job offer before coming to Australia . I read somewhere its not. Is it possible to come over and then look for one .


----------



## arminIT

Dear Mark,

Department of Immigration and Border Protection of Australia has recently made an announcement related to New South Wales State Sponsorship. It has announced that it will not consider the my occupation, ICT, for October 2014 round of applications.

I would like to know that how much chance is there that ICT occupations be eligible for NSW nomination in future intakes?

Sincerely,
Armin


----------



## Druk

Hello mark,
I have applied for subclass 573 streamlined visa, i am from bhutan. I was just wondering how long does it take???I have lodged my application on 30th september 2014.
My class commences on 22nd oct, for the information i have been interviewed and pre screened by the university, just informing incase,....


----------



## Becky26

*Form 888- Statutory Declaration*

Hey Mark,

Hope you're doing well  Have a question for you. 
Is it mandatory for offshore partner visa applicants to provide form 888s? Can they provide notarized affidavits as witness statements instead of form 888?

It's confusing as different people have different information on this.
I have been told that providing form 888 is only mandatory for onshore partner visa applicants. Can you please explain. Thank you so much for your help.

Kind Regards,
Becky


----------



## ImmiUser

*Financial*

Hi Mark,

I appreciate your busy so will take as little of your time as possible.

Am concerned about my financial situation as sponsor and how to strengthen it. Have been self employed since Dec 2013 and was studying on Austudy previous to that for 3 years. Hence I only have a tax return for that period to indicate my income. My family has provided funds which I put in a joint term account to give additional support. My partner is currently seeking employment on the 820 bridging visa and we still have time to upload evidence.
Not sure what else to...

Thanks in Advance
John


----------



## Austyn

Aloha Mark, Austyn here again. Hope all is well with you. We've talked before about me wanting to obtain a SC461 to work and support my wife and I. And you've been a great help to us and we appreciate it! I was just wondering, you know how I have to prove that my wife and I are family members right? Will a marriage license be enough proof? And also, who do I show the proof to? Or do I just apply and it will be linked to my passport electronically?


----------



## boycot123

Hi Mark .... 


> We've recently submitted our visit visa application but unfortunately we submitted the form with 3 month stay period box ticked and wrong entry date and exit date whereas the booked ticket we submitted with the application has the correct dates. Other than that, there is no mistake in the application or in anything else we submitted.
> DIBP received our visit visa application on 1st Oct 2014.


Do you think we should contact DIBP-Islamabad and advise them that:

1. We now request at least a 6 months stay period (Question 2 of Form 1419)
2. And the correct entry and exit date (Question 3 of Form 1419)

Do you think it'd make any difference?

Cheers!


----------



## tangerine44

Hi Mark, hope you're well. I'm now doing my Stat Dec. for the application of my 2nd stage visa. Just wondering what this means - Insert the year your partner relationship commenced - do I put the year my husband and I got married or the year we actually began dating? Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Druk -

Wish I could help, but it's unpredictable and DIBP provides no dependable commitments re: time estimate. These days we always advise clients to apply 3 months in advance, the maximum time allowed. To be safe, I'd check in to whatever procedures are available for late arrival, etc. and perhaps try to contact DIBP via however you applied and politely remind them of your dates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Druk said:


> Hello mark,
> I have applied for subclass 573 streamlined visa, i am from bhutan. I was just wondering how long does it take???I have lodged my application on 30th september 2014.
> My class commences on 22nd oct, for the information i have been interviewed and pre screened by the university, just informing incase,....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Becky26 -

Thanks for the question - first, it's important to recognise that Form 888 is a statutory declaration - that is, a statement that the writer attests is correct under penalty of law. Any statutory declaration must be witnessed by a qualified person such as a JP, police officer, etc per law. However these qualified persons' "power" to witness a JP only exists when they are on Australian soil. So unless an applicant outside Australia goes to an Australian Embassy, etc, there is no way to legally witness Form 888.

As such Form 888 is not required for offshore partner visas, unless the case officer specifically asks for them (which happens sometimes). However it is expected that applicants will provide at least 2 (and ideally more) statements that are signed (including a copy of their passport biodata page or other ID) by persons attesting that the relationship is a "genuine married relationship" or "genuine defacto relationship" and stating why via observations, etc. These statements should be witnessed, notarised, or otherwise certified in whatever way is customary in the country they are created in for legal documents to be attested to by a third party who essentially vouches for the identity of the writer. Contact information for the person who witnesses, etc the state should be provided.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Becky26 said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Hope you're doing well  Have a question for you.
> Is it mandatory for offshore partner visa applicants to provide form 888s? Can they provide notarized affidavits as witness statements instead of form 888?
> 
> It's confusing as different people have different information on this.
> I have been told that providing form 888 is only mandatory for onshore partner visa applicants. Can you please explain. Thank you so much for your help.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Becky


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John -

Thanks for the question- there are no specific levels of income necessary to sponsor someone for a partner visa for Australia. My suggestion based on what you said would be to write a letter and include the various sources of support you have, including a letter from your parents offering financial support as needed if that's appropriate. The idea is to give the big picture of the financial support available to your partner and you, including all sources - ie, savings, income, expected income if you are not currently working (past tax statement shows evidence you have worked, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ImmiUser said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I appreciate your busy so will take as little of your time as possible.
> 
> Am concerned about my financial situation as sponsor and how to strengthen it. Have been self employed since Dec 2013 and was studying on Austudy previous to that for 3 years. Hence I only have a tax return for that period to indicate my income. My family has provided funds which I put in a joint term account to give additional support. My partner is currently seeking employment on the 820 bridging visa and we still have time to upload evidence.
> Not sure what else to...
> 
> Thanks in Advance
> John


----------



## MarkNortham

Aloha, Austyn! I'd consider a 461 just like a partner visa application - the marriage certificate will usually not be enough evidence - have a look at the various threads here on the forum re: partner visa types of evidence and you'll get a good idea of what's needed. You would submit the relationship evidence and statements of people who will attest to the genuineness of your relationship along with your 461 application, just like is done with a partner visa application.

Once approved, your 461 visa will be linked electronically to your passport, so you'll just present your passport upon entry/exit to Australia and your visa will be evidenced.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Aloha Mark, Austyn here again. Hope all is well with you. We've talked before about me wanting to obtain a SC461 to work and support my wife and I. And you've been a great help to us and we appreciate it! I was just wondering, you know how I have to prove that my wife and I are family members right? Will a marriage license be enough proof? And also, who do I show the proof to? Or do I just apply and it will be linked to my passport electronically?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Boycot123 -

Yes, you should notify them - I'd use Form 1023.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



boycot123 said:


> Hi Mark ....
> 
> Do you think we should contact DIBP-Islamabad and advise them that:
> 
> 1. We now request at least a 6 months stay period (Question 2 of Form 1419)
> 2. And the correct entry and exit date (Question 3 of Form 1419)
> 
> Do you think it'd make any difference?
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tangerine44 -

I'd note the year you were married, unless you've claimed previously that your relationship rose to the level of being partners before that date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tangerine44 said:


> Hi Mark, hope you're well. I'm now doing my Stat Dec. for the application of my 2nd stage visa. Just wondering what this means - Insert the year your partner relationship commenced - do I put the year my husband and I got married or the year we actually began dating? Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ArminIT -

Actually the announcement was made by the NSW State Sponsorship office - had nothing to do with DIBP (federal immigration dept).

No way to predict what might happen in the future with any state occupation lists - my guess is that as many of the occupations that were closed this month for the NSW skilled list were the same ones that were heavily over-subscribed last year, the chances of them re-opening are not high.

Bottom line is that we're in a demand-driven market, and the number of available jobs for some IT-related professions (and others) is declining, despite colleges and school continuing to graduate record numbers of graduates, apparently without any regard as to the practical chances of these graduates getting suitable employment. A slowing economy in Australia puts more pressure on businesses to outsource many IT functions to locations with far cheaper labour costs such as India, Philippines, etc and with that goes a lot of IT jobs. Not saying there are no IT opportunities in Australia, but the generalist positions (analysts, etc) are getting harder and harder to find.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arminIT said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Department of Immigration and Border Protection of Australia has recently made an announcement related to New South Wales State Sponsorship. It has announced that it will not consider the my occupation, ICT, for October 2014 round of applications.
> 
> I would like to know that how much chance is there that ICT occupations be eligible for NSW nomination in future intakes?
> 
> Sincerely,
> Armin


----------



## tnguyen

*Visa 485*

Hi Mark,

Thank you for being here to answer our questions. I am applying for visa subclass 485. I did not read the application form thoroughly and included my parents as applicants by mistake. I have already filled in Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answer(s) to notify the Immigration that my parents do not intend to come to Australia. Just wonder if it would be an issue as I am waiting for the visa for two months now. Most of my friends get it in one month and a half.

Much appreciate your help!!


----------



## evie88

Hi Mark, 

Just a question regardind a PMV application.......My partner is Balinese and Im Aussie, what documents need to be translated into English? Obviously his parents or friends Stat decs will and our letter from Balinese celebrant... but just wondering if things like his birth certificate, id card, police clearance, and family card have to be as well? Any info would be helpful


----------



## evie88

Hi Mark, 

Just a question regarding a PMV application.......My partner is Balinese and Im Aussie, what documents need to be translated into English? Obviously his parents or friends Stat decs will and our letter from Balinese celebrant... but just wondering if things like his birth certificate, id card, police clearance, and family card have to be as well? Any info would be helpful


----------



## hodgi_76

Hi Mark!
Me again - sorry for all the questions haha 
Just regarding the evisitor for my partner to come to Australia. Just wondering the worst case scenario. Or maybe the likelyHood of him being rejected through immigration coming into Australia (he won't have a flight out of the country). What happens if they question someone so much and not satisfied - can he get rejected and if so does that affect the 309 application?
Hope that makes sense 
Andrea


----------



## mdirar

Hi Mark,

Can you please advise if there is a *requirement of having a registered relationship for minimum of 6 months* before we can apply for a Partner Visa?

We would like to register our relationship so we can avoid the 12 months living together requirement for a Partner Visa, but we were told that we need to have it registered for 6 months before we can apply?

Thanks for your help.

Moha


----------



## Becky26

*Thank You!!*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Becky26 -
> 
> Thanks for the question - first, it's important to recognise that Form 888 is a statutory declaration - that is, a statement that the writer attests is correct under penalty of law. Any statutory declaration must be witnessed by a qualified person such as a JP, police officer, etc per law. However these qualified persons' "power" to witness a JP only exists when they are on Australian soil. So unless an applicant outside Australia goes to an Australian Embassy, etc, there is no way to legally witness Form 888.
> 
> As such Form 888 is not required for offshore partner visas, unless the case officer specifically asks for them (which happens sometimes). However it is expected that applicants will provide at least 2 (and ideally more) statements that are signed (including a copy of their passport biodata page or other ID) by persons attesting that the relationship is a "genuine married relationship" or "genuine defacto relationship" and stating why via observations, etc. These statements should be witnessed, notarised, or otherwise certified in whatever way is customary in the country they are created in for legal documents to be attested to by a third party who essentially vouches for the identity of the writer. Contact information for the person who witnesses, etc the state should be provided.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hey Mark,

Thank you so much for a detailed reply  You're awesome! 
It's been very confusing lately as some people say it is a must but I have been told that providing form 888 for offshore applications isn't mandatory unless obviously the case officer requests for it specifically.

Have a great week ahead! Thanks once again 

Kind Regards,
Becky


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tnguyen -

Probably wouldn't be an issue as long as you lodged the 1023 form - not sure what the delay is, however 485 visas can be a bit unpredictable re: processing time - too early to be concerned at this point in my view.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tnguyen said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for being here to answer our questions. I am applying for visa subclass 485. I did not read the application form thoroughly and included my parents as applicants by mistake. I have already filled in Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answer(s) to notify the Immigration that my parents do not intend to come to Australia. Just wonder if it would be an issue as I am waiting for the visa for two months now. Most of my friends get it in one month and a half.
> 
> Much appreciate your help!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Evie88 -

All of those you mentioned would need to be translated if not in English or if don't have English descriptions for each of the items in addition to the native language. Normally things that don't have to be translated are relationship evidence - ie, receipts, documents from shops and vendors, etc. But all ID-related documents, plus statements, police certs, birth cert, etc would need to be translated by a NAATI certified (or equivalent in your country) translator. We use migrationtranslators.com.au who do a very good job (but double check the translations in any case!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



evie88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a question regardind a PMV application.......My partner is Balinese and Im Aussie, what documents need to be translated into English? Obviously his parents or friends Stat decs will and our letter from Balinese celebrant... but just wondering if things like his birth certificate, id card, police clearance, and family card have to be as well? Any info would be helpful


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrea -

Yes, he can be refused a visitor visa - no way to avoid that possibility 100%. A refusal of a visitor visa would not directly impact the 309/100 application, however it might, depending on the circumstances, be an indication that DIBP has concerns about the genuineness of the relationship - we normally advise our clients that if they're refused a visitor visa after lodging any sort of a partner or fiance visa, that they take a very close look at the relationship evidence and statements lodged so far and consider lodging more as a pre-emptive move to try and head off any concerns about the relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hodgi_76 said:


> Hi Mark!
> Me again - sorry for all the questions haha
> Just regarding the evisitor for my partner to come to Australia. Just wondering the worst case scenario. Or maybe the likelyHood of him being rejected through immigration coming into Australia (he won't have a flight out of the country). What happens if they question someone so much and not satisfied - can he get rejected and if so does that affect the 309 application?
> Hope that makes sense
> Andrea


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mdirar -

No such requirement exists that I know of. The 12 month living together requirement is automatically satisfied if you present a qualifying registered relationship statement from the state you live in. However, that does not satisfy the requirement that DIBP believes the relationship is genuine - that is a separate assessment based on the relationship evidence and witness and relationship statements you include with the relationship. A partner relationship with very little living together time can easily fail the genuine relationship test unless there is substantial evidence demonstrating the genuineness of the relationship, or unless the surrounding circumstances explain the lack of living together (ie, illness, one partner in the armed forces and required to be away, work requires a lot of time apart, etc).

If you have less than 6 months living together and are claiming defacto partnership for a partner visa, I'd look very carefully at whether the balance of the relationship evidence and statements you are providing is likely to be sufficient in the view of DIBP to establish that the relationship is genuine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mdirar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you please advise if there is a *requirement of having a registered relationship for minimum of 6 months* before we can apply for a Partner Visa?
> 
> We would like to register our relationship so we can avoid the 12 months living together requirement for a Partner Visa, but we were told that we need to have it registered for 6 months before we can apply?
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Moha


----------



## seekingpr

Hello Mark,
Wish to request you to guide on following:
- I entered Australia on WP 457 on 27th April 2013.
- I got my Permanent Resident Visa (Sub Class 189) on 23rd July 2014

My parents(aged 68 & 58) are back in India and i wish to live with them as there is nobody other than me to support them. My queries are as below, please could you help?

- Is there any pathway where i can apply for migration to Australia for both of my parents? My father is retired Govt Employee and earn a monthly Pension.My mother is currently in Govt Job which pensionable as well.I have an elder sister who is married and settled in US.
- If there is no pathway to get my parents migrated to Australia,i wish to return to India and live with them. As such i will not be completing my stay of 2 years in Australia after being a Permanent resident.
I wish to know what i can do to ensure that i maximize my stay overseas and at the same time i do not lose my rights to successfully acquire RRV 155 and eventually the citizenship.

- What all is considered as adequate Proof of personal ties with Australia?
- Will my investment in australian share market be considered as personal asset that will serve as an instrument to demonstrate personal ties and of benefit to Australia or i need to acquire property in australia?
- Or will the mere fact that both my parents are old and need personal assistance from me, serve as compelling reason for me to remain overseas?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.


----------



## delvydavis

Hi Mark,

Could you advice on this below scenario:

I have lodged visa application for me & my family. My wife was with me in Jordan from 06-Sep-2008 to 02-Jan-2010 which we filled out in the eVisa application form. 









However, in between she was not in the country for 5 months (from 22-April 2009 to 21-Sep 2009). She went to India to give birth of our first child. This reduces the cumulative living period in Jordan makes only 10 months 28 days.

I couldn't find an option to break this period in the eVisa form and we filled with first entry & final exit dates. According to this dates the CO asked for PCC from Jordan.

How can I convince the CO with this mistake/error which happened here. What are the options I have to solve this?

Thanks
Delvy


----------



## belle

*Child Dependent Visa*

Hi Mark,

Good morning 

I got my partner visa temporary 820 last July 2014. Now, I am applying for my son (Child dependent Visa 445) who is in the Philippines at the moment. I've prepared all the documents. My questions:

1. Can I lodge the application and pay the visa charges here in Australia?

2. If granted this visa and my son is not yet ready to migrate for good since he is still studying in the Philippines, is that ok?

3. I am expecting to get my permanent visa 2 years after I lodged it which is February 2014, so around Feb 2016. I know if I get my son's child dependent visa (temporary), I still have to apply for another visa for him, the permanent visa same as mine.

The plan is for my son to migrate here March 2016, is that going to be a problem that he is not in Australia when I am expecting my permanent partner visa 801?

Thank you so much, I hope I make a sense out of my questions  

Belle


----------



## Depressedfish

Hi Mark,

For NSW sponsorship, do they place additional requirements for inter-state applicants? I know some states requires those applicants to have a job offer before getting a nomination, but I can't find anything under the NSW website.


----------



## nep12

HI Mark,

hope to get some advise from you regarding my question for visa 887
which is as follows:

i am about to apply for 887 visa through 489 visa , need some advice

1) even though my skilled occupation is in ICT but i am doing job as a PCA in nursing home as a part time , will it create any problem due to i am not working in my nominated occupation?

2) i am working 70 hrs per fortnight as a part time employee ,will it full fill full-time hrs a a requirement of 887 visa?

3) i am getting online pay slip fortnightly where my working hrs is 70 hrs , how online payslip be certified?

thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seekingpr -

Thanks for the note and questions. Re: path for migration for parents, the contributory parent visa is the only viable pathway with any chance of near term success given the very long waiting times for the non-contributory parent visa.This may change if the government increases the quotas for these types of visas, but it's anyone's guess if they will or not.

Re: you returning to India, if you do not meet the 2 years in Australia out of 5 years test at the time you apply for your RRV, you would then likely need to satisfy the substantial ties test in order to get a one year RRV. Passive investments are not considered substantial ties - any business investment for these purposes would require your involvement on a day-to-day basis of the active management of the company or entity being invested in. Same thing with property - passive or speculative real estate investment is not generally considered a substantial tie if you are not directly involved in the management of the real estate, etc.

Re: personal ties, just having a relative here is generally not enough - the relative either needs to be an immediate family member you have an ongoing relationship with (ie, not estranged wife, etc), or another family member you are very close to and can evidence a close and ongoing relationship with.

Re: ill parents, this may satisfy the requirement for compelling reasons to be absent from Australia, but that's a separate test than the substantial ties test. If you'd like to write to me privately (my website listed below has contact info), I would be happy to send you a copy of DIBP's policy on substantial ties which might be helpful to you as you consider options.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> Hello Mark,
> Wish to request you to guide on following:
> - I entered Australia on WP 457 on 27th April 2013.
> - I got my Permanent Resident Visa (Sub Class 189) on 23rd July 2014
> 
> My parents(aged 68 & 58) are back in India and i wish to live with them as there is nobody other than me to support them. My queries are as below, please could you help?
> 
> - Is there any pathway where i can apply for migration to Australia for both of my parents? My father is retired Govt Employee and earn a monthly Pension.My mother is currently in Govt Job which pensionable as well.I have an elder sister who is married and settled in US.
> - If there is no pathway to get my parents migrated to Australia,i wish to return to India and live with them. As such i will not be completing my stay of 2 years in Australia after being a Permanent resident.
> I wish to know what i can do to ensure that i maximize my stay overseas and at the same time i do not lose my rights to successfully acquire RRV 155 and eventually the citizenship.
> 
> - What all is considered as adequate Proof of personal ties with Australia?
> - Will my investment in australian share market be considered as personal asset that will serve as an instrument to demonstrate personal ties and of benefit to Australia or i need to acquire property in australia?
> - Or will the mere fact that both my parents are old and need personal assistance from me, serve as compelling reason for me to remain overseas?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your assistance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Delvy -

Thanks for your note - this is a common issue among several of DIBP's online application systems where questions about time spent in other countries are asked. The key is that the question is not asking you to say that you never left Jordan during the period you lived there - lots of people go on trips, vacations, holidays, etc - some of which can last several months (that's a lucky holiday!). My argument would be that if she still considered herself as having her primary residence in Jordan during the 5 months in question, and was only visiting India, then that would be no different than taking a 5 month holiday to Bali or somewhere else.

If you are concerned that your answer is not correct for any reason, you can email the location that is processing your visa and clarify that she left for 5 months, etc.. Normally you would get an email from the office or post that is processing your visa after you apply - you can use that to identify which office is processing your application and then look up info re: how you may contact them if you wish to send them an email regarding this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



delvydavis said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Could you advice on this below scenario:
> 
> I have lodged visa application for me & my family. My wife was with me in Jordan from 06-Sep-2008 to 02-Jan-2010 which we filled out in the eVisa application form.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> However, in between she was not in the country for 5 months (from 22-April 2009 to 21-Sep 2009). She went to India to give birth of our first child. This reduces the cumulative living period in Jordan makes only 10 months 28 days.
> 
> I couldn't find an option to break this period in the eVisa form and we filled with first entry & final exit dates. According to this dates the CO asked for PCC from Jordan.
> 
> How can I convince the CO with this mistake/error which happened here. What are the options I have to solve this?
> 
> Thanks
> Delvy


----------



## Austyn

Aloha Mark, hope all is well. So I did some research on other forums , however although some information was helpful I could not seem to find a forum that would be of more help. I feel that you're the best help I've had so far. And I just have a few more questions at the moment.

Can I have the officiant that married my wife and I write a statement?

Next, My wife was not allowed to work in Hawaii (tourist visa) so there is no way we could have had a joint bank account, she had no need to pay for bills, etc. we stayed with my family the whole time. 
So, how else could we have documents of proof that we've been living together for almost 9months? Are there other ways?

Because I am in Australia and am lodging my visa onshore, Who do I present our documents to? Do I have to go in to the embassy here? Or by mail? Or?

Please, I really need your reliable help.

Thank you so much mark! 

Austyn


----------



## Leigh

Hi Mark, how are you today ? I'm hoping you can please read my post I just posted @ student visa cancelled due to not receiving letter from DIAC"
I would appreciate your feedback.

Kind Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Belle -

Thanks for the note. If your child is in Australia at the time the application is lodged, you can lodge it in Australia; if the child is outside Australia, then the application must be lodged outside Australia, however you can pre-pay the fee in Australia if you wish to avoid any hassles of the overseas Embassy, etc charging your card - see DIBP Form 1440 to make a pre-payment for a visa application lodged overseas.

Normally with the 445, the child is added onto the 820, then after that the 801 is granted - the child can be inside or outside Australia when the 801 is granted, however there will usually be a "must enter by" date on the visa grant where the child must at least enter Australia, even if only for a weekend trip, etc, in order to activate the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



belle said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Good morning
> 
> I got my partner visa temporary 820 last July 2014. Now, I am applying for my son (Child dependent Visa 445) who is in the Philippines at the moment. I've prepared all the documents. My questions:
> 
> 1. Can I lodge the application and pay the visa charges here in Australia?
> 
> 2. If granted this visa and my son is not yet ready to migrate for good since he is still studying in the Philippines, is that ok?
> 
> 3. I am expecting to get my permanent visa 2 years after I lodged it which is February 2014, so around Feb 2016. I know if I get my son's child dependent visa (temporary), I still have to apply for another visa for him, the permanent visa same as mine.
> 
> The plan is for my son to migrate here March 2016, is that going to be a problem that he is not in Australia when I am expecting my permanent partner visa 801?
> 
> Thank you so much, I hope I make a sense out of my questions
> 
> Belle


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depressedfish -

Normally NSW for the subclass 190 visa sponsorship programme does not add on extra requirements on a per-occupation basis, however they do add on additional requirements like this for certain occupations and regions under the 489 regional state sponsored programme.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Depressedfish said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> For NSW sponsorship, do they place additional requirements for inter-state applicants? I know some states requires those applicants to have a job offer before getting a nomination, but I can't find anything under the NSW website.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nep12 -

Thanks for the questions. There is no legal requirement that the work you do while holding a 489 visa be in your nominated occupation in order to qualify for being used to meet the work requirement for the 887. Re: 70 hours per fortnight, the requirement is 35 hours per week, so if you can show evidence you worked 70 hours per fortnight and the evidence tends to indicate that during no week (7 days) did the hours fall below 35 hours in a particular week, that may work. Re: online copies of payslips, you can print those out and submit them directly - would also provide a letter from your employer if possible stating that you worked 35 hours each week and were paid at the rates indicated on the payslips. JPs will normally not certifiy as copies documents that were printed from the Internet.

Also, would avoid using the word "part time" since 35 hours per week is considered full-time for purposes of the 887 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nep12 said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> hope to get some advise from you regarding my question for visa 887
> which is as follows:
> 
> i am about to apply for 887 visa through 489 visa , need some advice
> 
> 1) even though my skilled occupation is in ICT but i am doing job as a PCA in nursing home as a part time , will it create any problem due to i am not working in my nominated occupation?
> 
> 2) i am working 70 hrs per fortnight as a part time employee ,will it full fill full-time hrs a a requirement of 887 visa?
> 
> 3) i am getting online pay slip fortnightly where my working hrs is 70 hrs , how online payslip be certified?
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Re: officiant/celebrant write a statement, if the person knows you and your partner reasonably well, that can work although it's a bit unusual.

Re: living together evidence, leases with both your names on it, mail to one or other other, all with the same address on it is good, a statement from a landlord, etc that you both have been living there, etc are some ways - however make sure that you understand the 4 types of relationship evidence (financial, social, nature of the household, nature of the commitment to each other) - there are good threads on this on this forum with lots of applicants discussing what they used.

Re: lodging your application, if the applicant is on shore in Australia at the time of application and you are not prevented from lodging an onshore partner visa by Condition 8503, etc, you can lodge online via an ImmiAccount (free) - that's the best way to do lodge in my view. There is also the option to send paper forms, etc - see immi.gov.au website for details under the 820 visa as to the specific address to mail everything.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Aloha Mark, hope all is well. So I did some research on other forums , however although some information was helpful I could not seem to find a forum that would be of more help. I feel that you're the best help I've had so far. And I just have a few more questions at the moment.
> 
> Can I have the officiant that married my wife and I write a statement?
> 
> Next, My wife was not allowed to work in Hawaii (tourist visa) so there is no way we could have had a joint bank account, she had no need to pay for bills, etc. we stayed with my family the whole time.
> So, how else could we have documents of proof that we've been living together for almost 9months? Are there other ways?
> 
> Because I am in Australia and am lodging my visa onshore, Who do I present our documents to? Do I have to go in to the embassy here? Or by mail? Or?
> 
> Please, I really need your reliable help.
> 
> Thank you so much mark!
> 
> Austyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leigh -

Just responded on your other post -

Best,

Mark Northam



Leigh said:


> Hi Mark, how are you today ? I'm hoping you can please read my post I just posted @ student visa cancelled due to not receiving letter from DIAC"
> I would appreciate your feedback.
> 
> Kind Regards


----------



## zico777

Thank you for your prompt and precise reply. i look forward to see you.


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Zico777 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. The 887 visa has very specific requirements that must be met - the visa seems simple at first, but actually is not. The requirements for the work part of the visa are for a total of 1 year of work (ie, 52 weeks) where for each of those 52 weeks, you worked at least 35 hours per week that can be shown by evidence (ie, payslips, etc). If you worked multiple jobs during a particular week to add up to the 35 hours, that's fine. However if you worked less than 35 hours, that week would not be considered full-time work and would not count. It does not need to be 52 consecutive weeks, just a total of 52 weeks during the time you were living in the qualified regional area while holding the 489, etc.
> 
> Happy to work with you in a consultation to look at your documents and discuss all the finer points of the 887 visa - we don't have an office in Canberra but we offer consultations via phone and Skype as well as at our office in Parramatta, and you can email me the docs prior to the consultation so we can go through them together. Info to book located on our website - see link in my signature below.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## seekingpr

*Copy of Policies for Substantial ties*

Hi Mark,
I have sent you a private message ( via your website) to request a copy of policies on substantial ties.
Thank you very much Mark.You have been of immense help.

regards


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Seekingpr -
> 
> Thanks for the note and questions. Re: path for migration for parents, the contributory parent visa is the only viable pathway with any chance of near term success given the very long waiting times for the non-contributory parent visa.This may change if the government increases the quotas for these types of visas, but it's anyone's guess if they will or not.
> 
> Re: you returning to India, if you do not meet the 2 years in Australia out of 5 years test at the time you apply for your RRV, you would then likely need to satisfy the substantial ties test in order to get a one year RRV. Passive investments are not considered substantial ties - any business investment for these purposes would require your involvement on a day-to-day basis of the active management of the company or entity being invested in. Same thing with property - passive or speculative real estate investment is not generally considered a substantial tie if you are not directly involved in the management of the real estate, etc.
> 
> Re: personal ties, just having a relative here is generally not enough - the relative either needs to be an immediate family member you have an ongoing relationship with (ie, not estranged wife, etc), or another family member you are very close to and can evidence a close and ongoing relationship with.
> 
> Re: ill parents, this may satisfy the requirement for compelling reasons to be absent from Australia, but that's a separate test than the substantial ties test. If you'd like to write to me privately (my website listed below has contact info), I would be happy to send you a copy of DIBP's policy on substantial ties which might be helpful to you as you consider options.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## belle

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your quick reply. I really appreciate your help.

Cheers!

Belle



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Belle -
> 
> Thanks for the note. If your child is in Australia at the time the application is lodged, you can lodge it in Australia; if the child is outside Australia, then the application must be lodged outside Australia, however you can pre-pay the fee in Australia if you wish to avoid any hassles of the overseas Embassy, etc charging your card - see DIBP Form 1440 to make a pre-payment for a visa application lodged overseas.
> 
> Normally with the 445, the child is added onto the 820, then after that the 801 is granted - the child can be inside or outside Australia when the 801 is granted, however there will usually be a "must enter by" date on the visa grant where the child must at least enter Australia, even if only for a weekend trip, etc, in order to activate the visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hammad -

Thanks for the kind words! I hope if you have any questions you'll feel free to ask - it's my pleasure to help.

Best,

Mark



hammad said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> silent person who reads and silent fan for your kind efforts here to help members out.
> Thanks Mark


----------



## Depressedfish

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Depressedfish -
> 
> Normally NSW for the subclass 190 visa sponsorship programme does not add on extra requirements on a per-occupation basis, however they do add on additional requirements like this for certain occupations and regions under the 489 regional state sponsored programme.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark, I was concerned because I know some states requires you to have a job offer in their state for inter-state applicants, such as Victoria nomination. So I was surprised that NSW doesn't place such a requirement.

One more question...., can I add dependents onto a 190 application after I got nominated? I am thinking about adding an aged dependent but don't want to commit to anything until I know I got the nomination since NSW nomination is such a lottery.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depressedfish -

Unless they change the rules, yes - it's done at the visa application stage after an invitation is generated by NSW.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Depressedfish said:


> Thank you Mark, I was concerned because I know some states requires you to have a job offer in their state for inter-state applicants, such as Victoria nomination. So I was surprised that NSW doesn't place such a requirement.
> 
> One more question...., can I add dependents onto a 190 application after I got nominated? I am thinking about adding an aged dependent but don't want to commit to anything until I know I got the nomination since NSW nomination is such a lottery.


----------



## boycot123

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Boycot123 -
> 
> Yes, you should notify them - I'd use Form 1023.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


But where do I send it? The application was lodged at Australian Visa Centre ... So, now I don't know where should I upload it?

Should I send it to the generic email address for DIBP-Islamabad and provide personal details, receipt no etc. in it and attach this form in that email?
Any ideas there?


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes - that's a good way to do that - I would not send it to the AVAC.

Best,

Mark



boycot123 said:


> But where do I send it? The application was lodged at Australian Visa Centre ... So, now I don't know where should I upload it?
> 
> Should I send it to the generic email address for DIBP-Islamabad and provide personal details, receipt no etc. in it and attach this form in that email?
> Any ideas there?


----------



## boycot123

MarkNortham said:


> Yes - that's a good way to do that - I would not send it to the AVAC.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Thanks mark for your response.
Would it jeopardize our spouse visa or visit visa application in any way? Because we're just creating trouble for them to check another form ....


----------



## MarkNortham

Not that I can see - the fact that you're keeping them updated on corrections should be seen as a good thing (at least from my point of view!).

Mark



boycot123 said:


> Thanks mark for your response.
> Would it jeopardize our spouse visa or visit visa application in any way? Because we're just creating trouble for them to check another form ....


----------



## loveaustraliaforum

Hi Mark,

I am currently holding Bridging Visa A which was granted as a result of a 189 visa application being processed. As I need to travel overseas, I would like to ask how long does it take for a Bridging Visa B to be processed? 

Also, is going on a family holiday overseas (I only see my family around once a year) or working overseas a valid reason? 

If both are considered valid reasons, which is considered the more valid reason? 

I have genuine proof for both reasons so I was wondering whether I should give both reasons or just write down what is considered the more valid reason?

Last question is, what do you think is the estimated success rate of my application if I have genuine proof for any of the reasons above? 

Thank you very much Mark.


----------



## Clem&Elly

Hi Mark,

If I have a visitor visa 601 and apply for another visa during my first 3 months on 601 visa, will the BVA kick in after the initial 3 month period is over or after the 12 month of the total 601 visa validity?


----------



## nep12

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nep12 -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. There is no legal requirement that the work you do while holding a 489 visa be in your nominated occupation in order to qualify for being used to meet the work requirement for the 887. Re: 70 hours per fortnight, the requirement is 35 hours per week, so if you can show evidence you worked 70 hours per fortnight and the evidence tends to indicate that during no week (7 days) did the hours fall below 35 hours in a particular week, that may work. Re: online copies of payslips, you can print those out and submit them directly - would also provide a letter from your employer if possible stating that you worked 35 hours each week and were paid at the rates indicated on the payslips. JPs will normally not certifiy as copies documents that were printed from the Internet.
> 
> Also, would avoid using the word "part time" since 35 hours per week is considered full-time for purposes of the 887 visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


HI Mark,

Thanks heaps for your information.

I am working 1 week 38.75 hrs and second week working hrs is 32 hrs ,so combine is 71 hrs . and the 71 hrs shows in payslip combine only per fortnight. those hrs I am fulfilling by working in two aged care sites under same company. I know that 70 hrs is consider as fulltime but my employment under contract is part-time. so My employee will not change status from part time to full time however 71 hrs is guaranteed every fortnight. so what kind of document should I ask to my employee for work evidence .


----------



## victorjbl

HI Mark,

Thanks for the information that your are providing in this post.

Now I have a few questions about processing time. I just would like to see what you think.

In this case.

I have 60 points and all documentation require is prepared at the day when my Expresion of interest is submitted.

How long would the next process take?

1) EOI Submission to Inviation for application.
2) Application and CO visa granted

Regards
Victor Belisario


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Loveaustraliaforum -

Normally it's good to lodge a BV-B application 2-4 weeks in advance of when you are traveling. Family holidays when you only see your family once per year is a good reason - you might also add any sort of a "family reunion" reason that might be applicable, visiting elderly family members, etc as well.

Based on what you've said, I think you have a very good chance of success with the BV-B application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



loveaustraliaforum said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently holding Bridging Visa A which was granted as a result of a 189 visa application being processed. As I need to travel overseas, I would like to ask how long does it take for a Bridging Visa B to be processed?
> 
> Also, is going on a family holiday overseas (I only see my family around once a year) or working overseas a valid reason?
> 
> If both are considered valid reasons, which is considered the more valid reason?
> 
> I have genuine proof for both reasons so I was wondering whether I should give both reasons or just write down what is considered the more valid reason?
> 
> Last question is, what do you think is the estimated success rate of my application if I have genuine proof for any of the reasons above?
> 
> Thank you very much Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clem&Elly -

Thank for the question. If the 601 visa is configured with "3 month maximum stay period", then the BVA should activate on the day after the 3 months period assuming you remain in Australia during that time and "overstay" the 3 month maximum stay. Visitor visas come in a wide variety of different configurations these days, so you'll want to make sure your visa is configured as above if you're depending on it activating at the end of the stay. Where people run into problems is if they get a visa with no maximum stay period, and the visa simply has hard-coded grant and expiry dates - with no maximum stay period, the visitor visa essentially would run until the expiration date and the BVA would activate only after the visitor visa expires.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Clem&Elly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> If I have a visitor visa 601 and apply for another visa during my first 3 months on 601 visa, will the BVA kick in after the initial 3 month period is over or after the 12 month of the total 601 visa validity?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nep12 -

You're in the "gray area" between 30 and 35 hours per week - see DIBP policy:

_5.3 Full-time work

The Australian Bureau of Statistics states that a full-time position is one in which normally requires 35 hours a week work. There may be some occupations, however, where a full-time position involves less than 35 hours a week. Officers should use their judgment in such circumstances, but under policy, any work for less than 30 hours a week could not be regarded as full-time.

Where necessary, a visa 887 applicant may add together the hours worked in two part-time or casual positions to meet the full-time work requirement.

Applicants who have been working on a contractual basis or are self-employed, in particular, will need to ensure they have evidence that supports their claim that they have worked for at least 35 hours a week._

I would need to see your documents in a consultation in order to give you any specific advice, however as you see above, once you dip below 35 hours a week, it becomes a judgement call by the case officer. If I were arguing the case, I would argue that the guarantee of 71.5 hours would constitute full time work when combining the two jobs but would need to see what documents there were to back up this claim.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nep12 said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> Thanks heaps for your information.
> 
> I am working 1 week 38.75 hrs and second week working hrs is 32 hrs ,so combine is 71 hrs . and the 71 hrs shows in payslip combine only per fortnight. those hrs I am fulfilling by working in two aged care sites under same company. I know that 70 hrs is consider as fulltime but my employment under contract is part-time. so My employee will not change status from part time to full time however 71 hrs is guaranteed every fortnight. so what kind of document should I ask to my employee for work evidence .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victor -

Thanks for the question. DIBP is notoriously unreliable and non-committal when it comes to processing times for any visa, so we're all just guessing and estimating - typically a 189 visa takes 6-9 months to process from the date of application, but I've seen them take shorter and longer than that in some cases.

Re: time from lodging EOI to invitation, no way to tell as it's based on non-published numbers - ie, the number of people ahead of you in the pool of applicants, and the internal quota within the Unit Group for your particular ANZSCO code (since spaces allocated are only shown for the 4-digit group that your ANZSCO code belongs to).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



victorjbl said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the information that your are providing in this post.
> 
> Now I have a few questions about processing time. I just would like to see what you think.
> 
> In this case.
> 
> I have 60 points and all documentation require is prepared at the day when my Expresion of interest is submitted.
> 
> How long would the next process take?
> 
> 1) EOI Submission to Inviation for application.
> 2) Application and CO visa granted
> 
> Regards
> Victor Belisario


----------



## victorjbl

Thanks for your fast answer.

I totally understand tour point, but it is useful to know a era.

I have another questions

How long would an invitation to EOI would take?

Regards 
Victor Belisario


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victor -

It is impossible to say because it depends on 2 numbers that are unknown:

1. The number of people ahead of you in the pool (ie, with higher point scores than you or equal point scores to you but lodged earlier)
2. The internal quota for your particular 6-digit ANZSCO occupation code

Some people get invitations in weeks, others take months, others don't receive invitations - unpredictable. You can look at the DIBP Occupational Ceilings here to get more data:

SkillSelect

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



victorjbl said:


> Thanks for your fast answer.
> 
> I totally understand tour point, but it is useful to know a era.
> 
> I have another questions
> 
> How long would an invitation to EOI would take?
> 
> Regards
> Victor Belisario


----------



## kdc

Hi mark, I was wondering if you could help me. I applied for a partner visa (820) back in April this year, the wait on this visa I have been told
Is 12-15 months. I have been issued a bridging a visa which doesn't allow travel. I was really hoping to be able to visit my family in England in December this year for Christmas. However I have just come off the phone to a lady at immigration and she said there was no way for me to be able to travel in December and I would not be allowed to apply for another bridging visa in order for me to travel. I was wondering if this is definitely the case as a few people I have spoken to on this forum have told me they have applied for a different bridging visa (Bvb) and they have been allowed to travel for short period of time. 
Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.


----------



## Tuaha

Hi Mark,

I am a little confused about my ACS and seek your expert opinion. I have Pakistani nationality and living in UAE. I have done BS(Computer Science) from a Pakistani University. It was a four year/eight semester long program. I have studied 47 courses and 145 credit hours. The university is recognized by HEC (Higher Education Commission of Pakistan) and chartered by Government of Sindh.

Recently I applied for ACS and they have assessed my bachelors degree as associate degree. I mailed the case officer to highlight this and he has advised me to lodge an appeal if I disagree with the assessment.

I feel that the appeal may not be of any benefit as probably they will reassess the degree to be associate degree again if they have done so in the first go.

I seek your expert opinion in this regard to decide what shall I do about it.

Thanks and Regards,
Tuaha.


----------



## luckyduck12

*Work restriction for holders of student visas*

Hi Mark,

My brother is studying a Bachelor course at a University. He works part time at a restaurant for 10-12 hours per week.

He found another job with HTA recently, in form of a *paid *internship for 20 hours per week (you can see the description of their paid internship here Hospitality Training Academy (HTA) :: Australia). This internship is not related to his Bachelor course. The people at HTA said this 20 hours is a part of internship leading to a certificate III in hospitality, therefore the work hours wouldn't be counted in his limited work hours of 40 hours per fortnight. I don't quite believe this. Can you share your opinion on this matter?

He doesn't have to go to class anymore till exam time but the semester is advertised till late Nov. If he maintains two jobs at the restaurant and with HTA, his work hours will be likely to be over 40 hours per fortnight for a couple of weeks till the break commences in late Nov (then he can work unlimited hours). I feel this will be a breach of his visa conditions and might lead to problems later on.

Is it true that this internship is not counted in restricted work hours, even though it is paid?
If the department finds out, would they accept the explanation that during this period of 6 weeks that he work more than 40 hours per fortnight, the uni timetable doesn't show any class, so he thought he can work unlimited hours?

He of course maintains satisfactory attendance and course requirement of the main course which is tied to his visa.

Thanks for clarifying Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KDC -

Depends on what type of bridging visa you have - if it's an A or a B, you can apply for a Bridging Visa B that is good for one trip out and back from Australia. If it's a C, D or E, these do not allow travel out and back - you can leave, but your bridging visa disappears upon exit from Australia leaving you no visa to get back in on, and potentially a 3-year exclusion period for temporary visas for Australia depending on the circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kdc said:


> Hi mark, I was wondering if you could help me. I applied for a partner visa (820) back in April this year, the wait on this visa I have been told
> Is 12-15 months. I have been issued a bridging a visa which doesn't allow travel. I was really hoping to be able to visit my family in England in December this year for Christmas. However I have just come off the phone to a lady at immigration and she said there was no way for me to be able to travel in December and I would not be allowed to apply for another bridging visa in order for me to travel. I was wondering if this is definitely the case as a few people I have spoken to on this forum have told me they have applied for a different bridging visa (Bvb) and they have been allowed to travel for short period of time.
> Any information would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tuaha -

Thanks for the note. My suggestion would be to compare the specifics of your degree with those of an Australian equivalent BS degree in Computer Science and see how things match up re: course coverage, hours, etc. You might also ask ACS to comment as to why they felt that the degree was not equivalent to an Australian Bachelor Degree - some valuable hints might come from that conversation that you could then research and see if you could supply additional data for a review that might convince them to reconsider their decision. In cases like these, it's often the applicant that ends up doing the research to come up with evidence that shows that the degree is equivalent to an Australian degree.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tuaha said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a little confused about my ACS and seek your expert opinion. I have Pakistani nationality and living in UAE. I have done BS(Computer Science) from a Pakistani University. It was a four year/eight semester long program. I have studied 47 courses and 145 credit hours. The university is recognized by HEC (Higher Education Commission of Pakistan) and chartered by Government of Sindh.
> 
> Recently I applied for ACS and they have assessed my bachelors degree as associate degree. I mailed the case officer to highlight this and he has advised me to lodge an appeal if I disagree with the assessment.
> 
> I feel that the appeal may not be of any benefit as probably they will reassess the degree to be associate degree again if they have done so in the first go.
> 
> I seek your expert opinion in this regard to decide what shall I do about it.
> 
> Thanks and Regards,
> Tuaha.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luckyduck12 -

I agree with you - based on what you've said, this likely qualifies as employment and would count against his 40 hrs/fortnight restriction which is certainly in effect until break (ie, is in effect during the time between classes and exams, etc). Without documents and many more details I can't give you a specific opinion about this situation, but generally speaking it sure looks like employment work to me.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luckyduck12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My brother is studying a Bachelor course at a University. He works part time at a restaurant for 10-12 hours per week.
> 
> He found another job with HTA recently, in form of a *paid *internship for 20 hours per week (you can see the description of their paid internship here Hospitality Training Academy (HTA) :: Australia). This internship is not related to his Bachelor course. The people at HTA said this 20 hours is a part of internship leading to a certificate III in hospitality, therefore the work hours wouldn't be counted in his limited work hours of 40 hours per fortnight. I don't quite believe this. Can you share your opinion on this matter?
> 
> He doesn't have to go to class anymore till exam time but the semester is advertised till late Nov. If he maintains two jobs at the restaurant and with HTA, his work hours will be likely to be over 40 hours per fortnight for a couple of weeks till the break commences in late Nov (then he can work unlimited hours). I feel this will be a breach of his visa conditions and might lead to problems later on.
> 
> Is it true that this internship is not counted in restricted work hours, even though it is paid?
> If the department finds out, would they accept the explanation that during this period of 6 weeks that he work more than 40 hours per fortnight, the uni timetable doesn't show any class, so he thought he can work unlimited hours?
> 
> He of course maintains satisfactory attendance and course requirement of the main course which is tied to his visa.
> 
> Thanks for clarifying Mark


----------



## Milooo Adell

*Permanent Residency in Australia After One Year Master Degree*

Hi Mr/ Mark

I'am 28 years Egyptian guy. I have a bachelor degree in Tourism and Hotels from a public university in Egypt. After i had the IELTS i tried to apply for the skilled immigration to Australia with ( Mara registered immigration Lawyers) in Egypt. But they all Confirmed that i'am not Eligible to apply for the skilled immigration to Australia because my qualification not in demand in Australia.

Now i thinking to apply for a study visa with IDP Cairo, Egypt Branch.
They advised me to apply for a master degree with the streamlined visa.

Now i'am very interested in applying to a One-Year Master Degree at the University Of New England.

My Question, How to apply for the permanent residency after the graduation?

Or is that possible to apply for the skilled immigration, with you, from within Australia without leaving the Country ???

Kind Regards


----------



## roryjenkins

Hi Mark the term IED was sent to us in an email from DIBP saying it meant initial entry date to Australia which I was led to believe was when your medicals or police certificates reached the 12 month validity period. But if as you say they can & usually do extend the validity period of the health checks this shouldn't be an issue for us. It was just concerning us that my wife & son's medicals run out 6th Jan & the email said our application will be finalised between 20th Dec & 20th Jan. Thanks again Rory


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Milooo -

Thanks for the note. Tourism is a difficult occupation to get a skilled visa for these days in Australia - an employer sponsored RSMS PR visa might work depending on your experience, but with a relatively recent Bachelor degree and not a lot of work experience post-degree (?), a graduate degree in Australia might be a good idea. If you take a 2-year Masters degree, you can be eligible for a subclass 485 skilled graduate visa (see immi.gov.au site for more details) that can give you 2 years to gain work experience after graduation - would suggest that might be a good choice in your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Milooo Adell said:


> Hi Mr/ Mark
> 
> I'am 28 years Egyptian guy. I have a bachelor degree in Tourism and Hotels from a public university in Egypt. After i had the IELTS i tried to apply for the skilled immigration to Australia with ( Mara registered immigration Lawyers) in Egypt. But they all Confirmed that i'am not Eligible to apply for the skilled immigration to Australia because my qualification not in demand in Australia.
> 
> Now i thinking to apply for a study visa with IDP Cairo, Egypt Branch.
> They advised me to apply for a master degree with the streamlined visa.
> 
> Now i'am very interested in applying to a One-Year Master Degree at the University Of New England.
> 
> My Question, How to apply for the permanent residency after the graduation?
> 
> Or is that possible to apply for the skilled immigration, with you, from within Australia without leaving the Country ???
> 
> Kind Regards


----------



## amitsethiaustralia

Hi Mark,

I would like to file for 190 Visa for NSW. Could you please share the document list required for filing 190 visa with NSW, Australia.

Thanks in advance.
Amit Sethi


----------



## boycot123

MarkNortham said:


> Not that I can see - the fact that you're keeping them updated on corrections should be seen as a good thing (at least from my point of view!).
> 
> Mark


*Regarding Subclass 600*
Yes, I've submitted form 1023 with correction.

*Update: Regarding Subclass-309*
Seems like my case is progressing steadily. CO asked more STAT DEC for our relationship and this time especially from family along with their ID Cards; notarized and sealed by notary public/oath commissioner. I know this question is asked a million times and also know that you can't tell me exactly but as per your experience, are we close to a grant notice ?


----------



## jackonhill

Hi Mark

I would like to ask you about my 189 subclass application, I have lodged my visa on Aug 19 2014 and have added my mother as a dependent. My query is regarding the proofs for her functional english.

She has completed her primary & Secondary school education (total10 years) from a school where the instruction of teaching was in English language. I believe a letter from her school stating her medium of instruction was English is sufficient (along with the school certificates). While we do have her school certificate, the school where she completed her education ceases to exist since 8 years. We do not have contacts of any of the teachers, hence obtaining the letter from the school is not possible. However, my mother can submit a declaration stating her education was in english alongwith the certificates. Do you this this would suffice? What are the other options for her to prove the functional english in this case?

Thanks and regards


----------



## habby

*Visa Expiry*

Hey mark,

I am in the process of waiting on my 801 Visa. I got my 820 in Sep 2012 and submitted all the papers in mid august 2014 for the 801. Earlier this week while checking VEVO all of a sudden there was a VISA expiration date of 5 Oct 2034. Why did that suddenly show up?


----------



## Milooo Adell

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Milooo -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Tourism is a difficult occupation to get a skilled visa for these days in Australia - an employer sponsored RSMS PR visa might work depending on your experience, but with a relatively recent Bachelor degree and not a lot of work experience post-degree (?), a graduate degree in Australia might be a good idea. If you take a 2-year Masters degree, you can be eligible for a subclass 485 skilled graduate visa (see immi.gov.au site for more details) that can give you 2 years to gain work experience after graduation - would suggest that might be a good choice in your circumstances.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Dear Mr/Mark
> 
> Thank you so much for your quick reply. I see that two years is too long and too expensive for me. i'am asking about if that possible to get the permanent residency after one year master degree in business according to the skilled nominated Visa subclass 190 from within Australia without leaving the Country???


----------



## sandeep.rajpura

*About Exclusion period*

Hi mark

I want to know about the the exclusion period. I have three years exclusion period as i overstayed in Australia more than 28 days but when i left the country last year (july 2013) I had the Bridging visa E showing that lawful non- citizen. I am wondering that is that exclusion period apply on permanent visa such as 190 , 187 etc.

waiting for your reply

Thankyou


----------



## JTSpurs

Hi Mark

I am living with my partner in London (she is Australian) we have lived together for 18 months. We are planning on moving to Australia next October and so I intended to apply for a subclass 309 visa as we are in a de facto relationship. 

I have now just found out the the London AHC are advising a 10 - 14 month time frame for processing applications which could mean by visa may not be granted by next October.

I understand from reading these forums that I could still go to Australia in October on a tourist visa as long as I leave Australia so that I am outside (for example in NZ) when the visa is granted.

Since I found out all this someone else has advised me to wait until next October then go to Australia on a tourist visa and to then apply for a subclass 320 visa when I arrive which would then enable me to work once my tourist visa expires and my bridging visa become applicable.

I am a little wary of both of these options and wondered what you would advise me to do.

Thanks in advance for your help

John


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amit -

Best for you to go directly to the NSW Skilled website to see what the current document list is there (and other requirements) - you may also want to go to the DIBP website (Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection) to see their website, as they may want additional documents (such as payslips to evidence payment for all employment claimed for points) than NSW wants.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amitsethiaustralia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to file for 190 Visa for NSW. Could you please share the document list required for filing 190 visa with NSW, Australia.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> Amit Sethi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John -

Thanks for the note - either option may work - depends on whether you want to spend the 9-12 months or 10-14 months (depending on which estimate you believe!) in Australia working, or visiting Australia on a visitor visa - if you want to working during some period in Australia prior to the partner visa being approved, then the onshore 820/801 may be the best choice since you'll get a bridging visa that activates once your visitor visa maximum stay period ends and you remain onshore (depending on the configuration of your visitor visa). Other option is to lodge the offshore partner visa, however this this option the most you could do in Australia is come on a visitor visa (if granted, of course) for trips, etc before your partner visa decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JTSpurs said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am living with my partner in London (she is Australian) we have lived together for 18 months. We are planning on moving to Australia next October and so I intended to apply for a subclass 309 visa as we are in a de facto relationship.
> 
> I have now just found out the the London AHC are advising a 10 - 14 month time frame for processing applications which could mean by visa may not be granted by next October.
> 
> I understand from reading these forums that I could still go to Australia in October on a tourist visa as long as I leave Australia so that I am outside (for example in NZ) when the visa is granted.
> 
> Since I found out all this someone else has advised me to wait until next October then go to Australia on a tourist visa and to then apply for a subclass 320 visa when I arrive which would then enable me to work once my tourist visa expires and my bridging visa become applicable.
> 
> I am a little wary of both of these options and wondered what you would advise me to do.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help
> 
> John


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Boycot123 -

No way to tell how close you are to a decision, however a specific request for more information may indicate that the case officer is not satisfied that your relationship is genuine, which could be a big problem. Suggest you consider as much additional relationship evidence to send as possible, and do so at your earliest convenience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



boycot123 said:


> *Regarding Subclass 600*
> Yes, I've submitted form 1023 with correction.
> 
> *Update: Regarding Subclass-309*
> Seems like my case is progressing steadily. CO asked more STAT DEC for our relationship and this time especially from family along with their ID Cards; notarized and sealed by notary public/oath commissioner. I know this question is asked a million times and also know that you can't tell me exactly but as per your experience, are we close to a grant notice ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jackonhill -

Would depend whether DIBP was convinced by the certificate alone (plus the declaration) that the instruction was 100% in English or not - hard to predict. Here's detailed information on options for Functional English requirements:

How can I prove I have functional English?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jackonhill said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I would like to ask you about my 189 subclass application, I have lodged my visa on Aug 19 2014 and have added my mother as a dependent. My query is regarding the proofs for her functional english.
> 
> She has completed her primary & Secondary school education (total10 years) from a school where the instruction of teaching was in English language. I believe a letter from her school stating her medium of instruction was English is sufficient (along with the school certificates). While we do have her school certificate, the school where she completed her education ceases to exist since 8 years. We do not have contacts of any of the teachers, hence obtaining the letter from the school is not possible. However, my mother can submit a declaration stating her education was in english alongwith the certificates. Do you this this would suffice? What are the other options for her to prove the functional english in this case?
> 
> Thanks and regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Habby -

Hard to say, but likely part of the processing of the 801 - 801 processing is taking a few months currently, so I'd be patient and see what might arrive over the next 4-8 weeks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



habby said:


> Hey mark,
> 
> I am in the process of waiting on my 801 Visa. I got my 820 in Sep 2012 and submitted all the papers in mid august 2014 for the 801. Earlier this week while checking VEVO all of a sudden there was a VISA expiration date of 5 Oct 2034. Why did that suddenly show up?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Milooo -

It can be possible to get an invitation to apply for a subclass 190 visa with no work experience, but only if:

* you can find a state to sponsor your occupation that does not require work experience for the 190 sponsorship, and
* You can get 55 points from other ways (ie age, IELTS, etc)
* You meet the other requirements for the 190 visa and meet any requirements that the sponsoring state may add on (they can add these on a per-occupation basis)

Usually for travel/tourism occupations, biggest challenge is finding a state that is currently sponsoring these occupations for the 190 visa - best to check each state site and see what you can find -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Milooo Adell said:


> MarkNortham said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Milooo -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Tourism is a difficult occupation to get a skilled visa for these days in Australia - an employer sponsored RSMS PR visa might work depending on your experience, but with a relatively recent Bachelor degree and not a lot of work experience post-degree (?), a graduate degree in Australia might be a good idea. If you take a 2-year Masters degree, you can be eligible for a subclass 485 skilled graduate visa (see immi.gov.au site for more details) that can give you 2 years to gain work experience after graduation - would suggest that might be a good choice in your circumstances.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Dear Mr/Mark
> 
> Thank you so much for your quick reply. I see that two years is too long and too expensive for me. i'am asking about if that possible to get the permanent residency after one year master degree in business according to the skilled nominated Visa subclass 190 from within Australia without leaving the Country???
Click to expand...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandeep -

The 3 year exclusion period caused by departing Australia holding a bridging visa C, D or E after holding that visa for 28+ days applies generally to temporary visas such as visitor, student, 457. It does not generally apply to permanent visas such as 186, 187, 189, 190.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sandeep.rajpura said:


> Hi mark
> 
> I want to know about the the exclusion period. I have three years exclusion period as i overstayed in Australia more than 28 days but when i left the country last year (july 2013) I had the Bridging visa E showing that lawful non- citizen. I am wondering that is that exclusion period apply on permanent visa such as 190 , 187 etc.
> 
> waiting for your reply
> 
> Thankyou


----------



## numm3r

*Student Visa and Partner Visa*

Mark, 
I was wondering if I am able to study in Australia while my partner visa is processing. I do not have a case officer yet, they only reason I would be going back to school is to get an Australian recognized teaching credential. I called the D.C.( routed to Canada) hotline, and they were quite unhelpful. They said I would need to speak to my case officer to answer any questions. I am a US citizen and submitted my partner visa September 1st.

Thanks!


----------



## habby

*Thanks*

Thanks Mark,

It helps. I just hadn't heard anyone mention an expiry date showing up in VEVO before. Especially one 20 years in the future.

And I'm being patient. I'm in much better shape than a lot here. I have the 820, I have a job and am working, living with my wife, and i even get to go back to US for work every few months. I'm there now and was wondering if that had anything to do with the expiry date. But i didn't see it last time I made the trip.

Garrett



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Habby -
> 
> Hard to say, but likely part of the processing of the 801 - 801 processing is taking a few months currently, so I'd be patient and see what might arrive over the next 4-8 weeks.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Ronjayia

*About MRT*

Hi mark,

My file for partner visa MRT is opening next month. I've schdule 3 refusal. Is there anything that could be done to return the case into our favour? We will be marriage for two year in coming December and are living together from last 3 years now. Any tips or help from you would be very helpful.

Hope to hear back from you.thanks


----------



## SMF

Dear Mark 

Texting you after a long while ... Hope you are fine and in the best of health 

My query relates to anomaly in Australian Immigration System relating to Skilled Worker Category.

For skilled workers immigration we need to give GENERAL IELTS for Immigration. However the assesing authorites do not accept it. My assessing authority (Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia) is saying that they require 7 band each in ACADEMIC IELTS while as per your office for immigration we need GENERAL IELTS. I gave my General IELTS and got 7 band in each of the module but now the assesing authorities are not considering it. This is for assesment of my education skills relating to General Accountant Category for Independent Skills Visa Category. 

So does this means that a person who wants to immigrate to Australia has to give two separate IELTS unlike Canada which requires only General IELTS for skilled worker immigration. Why is this Anamoly Sir, and are there any changes expected. 

Regards


----------



## sandeep.rajpura

*About Exclusion Period*

Hi mark

I want to know about the the exclusion period. I have three years exclusion period as i overstayed in Australia more than 28 days but when i left the country last year (july 2013) I had the Bridging visa E showing that lawful non- citizen. I am wondering that is that exclusion period apply on permanent visa such as 190 , 187 etc.

waiting for your reply

Thankyou


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Numm3r -

No problem I see - if you're offshore, you could certainly apply for a student visa, however the "genuine student" criteria may be an issue, since you've already expressed a commitment to become a permanent resident of Australia - the success of that would depend on how the student visa case officer assessed your case. If you're onshore in Australia on a bridging visa, then you would normally have full study rights anyway (check your visa to be sure).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



numm3r said:


> Mark,
> I was wondering if I am able to study in Australia while my partner visa is processing. I do not have a case officer yet, they only reason I would be going back to school is to get an Australian recognized teaching credential. I called the D.C.( routed to Canada) hotline, and they were quite unhelpful. They said I would need to speak to my case officer to answer any questions. I am a US citizen and submitted my partner visa September 1st.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ronjayia -

Thanks for the note. I just finished a hearing yesterday on a Sched 3 refusal for a partner visa and it was, frankly, more like a battle than a hearing. A lot will depend on the MRT member, but at least in the case of yesterday's hearing, they didn't care a lick about any financial hardships or separation issues that would happen if the applicant had to go offshore, and a strong psychologist report and the best interests of the sponsor's child (with her ex-husband) were the only 2 things that I was able to make any traction with - even then, it's not clear at all that we'll win, still waiting to hear.

Unfortunately the long-term relationship exception was deleted from the policy in July of this year - you might get lucky and the member might refer back to the previous policy as of the time of decision (which they do not have to do - they can use current policy and usually do) - if so, I'd push the long-term relationship angle and try to show that the partner relationship actually existed for 3 years, however Schedule 3 is a time of application requirement so the Member is within their rights to assess the length of the relationship at the time of application, not at the time of the MRT hearing.

You might want to consider getting professional help to go through all your evidence and all the circumstances of your case to try and pick out the most effective candidates for compelling reasons. If there are any psychological issues at all going on, that could be an additional angle. But clearly since July, DIBP and, it would appear, the MRT are taking a hard stance on Schedule 3 for partner visas, and it's going to take some highly compelling reasons to have any chance at success.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ronjayia said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> My file for partner visa MRT is opening next month. I've schdule 3 refusal. Is there anything that could be done to return the case into our favour? We will be marriage for two year in coming December and are living together from last 3 years now. Any tips or help from you would be very helpful.
> 
> Hope to hear back from you.thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMF -

Not sure if there may some confusion - DIBP will accept either General or Academic version of IELTS test, so whichever version is required by your skills assessor will also work for DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMF said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Texting you after a long while ... Hope you are fine and in the best of health
> 
> My query relates to anomaly in Australian Immigration System relating to Skilled Worker Category.
> 
> For skilled workers immigration we need to give GENERAL IELTS for Immigration. However the assesing authorites do not accept it. My assessing authority (Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia) is saying that they require 7 band each in ACADEMIC IELTS while as per your office for immigration we need GENERAL IELTS. I gave my General IELTS and got 7 band in each of the module but now the assesing authorities are not considering it. This is for assesment of my education skills relating to General Accountant Category for Independent Skills Visa Category.
> 
> So does this means that a person who wants to immigrate to Australia has to give two separate IELTS unlike Canada which requires only General IELTS for skilled worker immigration. Why is this Anamoly Sir, and are there any changes expected.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandeep -

Answered this the first time you posted on page 436 here:

http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/49513-ask-mark-436.html#post624074

Thanks,

Mark



sandeep.rajpura said:


> Hi mark
> 
> I want to know about the the exclusion period. I have three years exclusion period as i overstayed in Australia more than 28 days but when i left the country last year (july 2013) I had the Bridging visa E showing that lawful non- citizen. I am wondering that is that exclusion period apply on permanent visa such as 190 , 187 etc.
> 
> waiting for your reply
> 
> Thankyou


----------



## sandeep.rajpura

Thanks a lot mark.


----------



## Still waiting

Hi Mark!

I have a question in regards to the name change( after marriage) in my passport (foreign passport) and applying for citizenship;

I'm currently waiting for my permanent spouse visa, and have already changed my surname to my married name in my passport, however, since my previous passport has not expired yet - the surname change is in the form of an official stamp that states my surname has been changed to my married name, there have not been any issues so far.

The thing is that by the time I'll be eligable to apply for citizenship, my current passport will have been expired, and I'll have to apply for a new passport in which my maiden name will be written in brackets next to my married name ( in my country they keep the maiden name in passports - in brackets - for 7 years, probably for reference), like so - surname: 'married name' ('maiden name'),
Will this cause any problems with my citizenship application? As the department of immigration has been updated with my married name; I don't want the fact that my maiden name appears on my passport to confuse them- for them to not know I'm the same person applying for the citizenship, or for them to grant the citizenship to me under my old ( wrong) surname!


Sorry for being kinda unclear!
And thanks in advance for the reply, it's really appreciated!


----------



## lucy7

*Hi Mark*

I followed your thread for long time, a lots of people on the forum compliment you. Thank you for open this to help us out.

I'm in 573 student visa, study 2 years in tafe and 2 years in university will expire on 2016, me and my partner lodged the partner visa application on march 2014, I been given bridging visa A which is not in effective as my student visa was valid at the time. Because we put all of out saving in the application after finished tafe I decided not go to university on June this year. I contacted university to defer to next year, the university cancelled my coe, they required my current courses certificates, I provided to them and waiting for their responses.

About my agent, they're register migration and legit but I'm not happy with them. I emailed my lawyer to asked if I could go home for few weeks, my mum is unwell. I don't want to bothering my lawyer if it's not necessary and always wait few days to a week for lawyer replies. My lawyer wouldn't answer till I email for 2, 3 times or called to the office, like she said she's going to call me back and she didn't. It's really frustrated. I don't know what to do now when I paid to the agent and lodged the application through them.

I checked on vevo my student visa still in effect to 2016. I just want to know if I visit home, is there will be problems when I return to australia ? Can I apply for bridging visa B with or without my agent? I understand that I need to be onshore when the department makes decision, I wasn't plan to leave if it's not urgent.

Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Still waiting -

I'd include a letter of explanation with your citizenship application to explain the name in brackets - I would think that should clear any issues up with them - if not, they may call you to ask you about the name change history.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Still waiting said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I have a question in regards to the name change( after marriage) in my passport (foreign passport) and applying for citizenship;
> 
> I'm currently waiting for my permanent spouse visa, and have already changed my surname to my married name in my passport, however, since my previous passport has not expired yet - the surname change is in the form of an official stamp that states my surname has been changed to my married name, there have not been any issues so far.
> 
> The thing is that by the time I'll be eligable to apply for citizenship, my current passport will have been expired, and I'll have to apply for a new passport in which my maiden name will be written in brackets next to my married name ( in my country they keep the maiden name in passports - in brackets - for 7 years, probably for reference), like so - surname: 'married name' ('maiden name'),
> Will this cause any problems with my citizenship application? As the department of immigration has been updated with my married name; I don't want the fact that my maiden name appears on my passport to confuse them- for them to not know I'm the same person applying for the citizenship, or for them to grant the citizenship to me under my old ( wrong) surname!
> 
> Sorry for being kinda unclear!
> And thanks in advance for the reply, it's really appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lucy7 -

Sorry to hear your agent isn't giving your proper attention and responsive service! I hate it when agents do that, because it can make us all look bad!

With the overlapping visas (BV-A from partner, student visa) you need to be very careful how you mange things, especially if you're deferring your studies - these are typically handled on a case by case basis by DIBP, but in some cases your original student visa will end and you'll have to get another one when you come back and continue your studies. I don't have enough detail on your situation to give you any specific advice on your case, other than to suggest that before you go home for a trip, you figure out how DIBP and the Uni is going to handle the deferment. The last thing you want is to have the student visa cancelled while you're offshore due to non-enrolment, etc.

Other than that, no problem at all applying for a BV-B on your own - it's a simple form (Form 1006) plus a $140 fee.

Please advise if I can assist further - hope this helps.

Best,

Mark Northam



lucy7 said:


> I followed your thread for long time, a lots of people on the forum compliment you. Thank you for open this to help us out.
> 
> I'm in 573 student visa, study 2 years in tafe and 2 years in university will expire on 2016, me and my partner lodged the partner visa application on march 2014, I been given bridging visa A which is not in effective as my student visa was valid at the time. Because we put all of out saving in the application after finished tafe I decided not go to university on June this year. I contacted university to defer to next year, the university cancelled my coe, they required my current courses certificates, I provided to them and waiting for their responses.
> 
> About my agent, they're register migration and legit but I'm not happy with them. I emailed my lawyer to asked if I could go home for few weeks, my mum is unwell. I don't want to bothering my lawyer if it's not necessary and always wait few days to a week for lawyer replies. My lawyer wouldn't answer till I email for 2, 3 times or called to the office, like she said she's going to call me back and she didn't. It's really frustrated. I don't know what to do now when I paid to the agent and lodged the application through them.
> 
> I checked on vevo my student visa still in effect to 2016. I just want to know if I visit home, is there will be problems when I return to australia ? Can I apply for bridging visa B with or without my agent? I understand that I need to be onshore when the department makes decision, I wasn't plan to leave if it's not urgent.
> 
> Thank you very much.


----------



## Ronjayia

Thanks heaps Mark,

I'm kinda feeling very nervous and scared at the moment. I'm making this file with my wife that include all the evidence pics and 888 form from our friends and bosses, bills and etc etc. we have got on psycologiest report as well and in real note my wife would be very devastated if it's went againest us and her son loves me so much that he don't goto bed without me and waits for me to come from work at nights. I'm getting professional advised from guy name john from canberra. He Knows what he's doing. Rest is depend on luck and on the jury I guess. It will be good to hear if you win this case for your client so I can take some hope out of it. Anything from you would be great help. Thanks again once again mark. Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ronjayia -

If you mean John Hourigan, then you're in very good hands - he's one of the best in the business. If the refusal was only for Sched 3 issues, then you may want to focus on those - genuine relationship evidence would not be the issue then. If the Sched 3 issue is lack of compelling reasons, then you might spend some time on the AUSTLII site and do a search of MRT cases with the term 820.211(2)(d)(ii) - this is the compelling reasons/Sched 3 regulation, and get to know the cases and get a feel for what the MRT is approving and not, especially since the July policy change. My suggestion: get the strongest psychologist report you can for all involved who would be affected by having to lodge offshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ronjayia said:


> Thanks heaps Mark,
> 
> I'm kinda feeling very nervous and scared at the moment. I'm making this file with my wife that include all the evidence pics and 888 form from our friends and bosses, bills and etc etc. we have got on psycologiest report as well and in real note my wife would be very devastated if it's went againest us and her son loves me so much that he don't goto bed without me and waits for me to come from work at nights. I'm getting professional advised from guy name john from canberra. He Knows what he's doing. Rest is depend on luck and on the jury I guess. It will be good to hear if you win this case for your client so I can take some hope out of it. Anything from you would be great help. Thanks again once again mark. Cheers


----------



## lucy7

*Hi Mark*

I'm sure there's great agents out there, unfortunately, we didn't have a good one.

I just don't get it when the Uni cancel the Coe I thought my student visa might be the same but it's still on effect. I tried to wait how the Uni will solve the deferment, it has been weeks so I'm not sure could I wait for more. What will happen if my student visa cancelled while I'm offshore?

Does BV-B helps me return to australia safely? I've read the others apply that bridging when they need to travel, I know my one situation is quite complex.

Thank you,

I do appreciate your time and knowledges.


----------



## Lahore

Hey Mark, i hope you are doing good. I need your advice.

Here is a little background. I am from Pakistan and applied for visa through SVP 573 subclass. I got admission in a university in June and applied for Visa in same month. However, after deferring my intake from July to February due to delay in visa, i got my visa eventually in September. Now, my visa was issued 5 months prior to my course commencement date. I wanted to ask if i can travel 1 month prior to my course commencement date? My visa is already in effect. Do you think there would be any problem if i travel this early?

Second, my OSHC starts from my course commencement date, for which i have already paid. SO if i travel 1 month before the commencement date, should i get insurance for this 1 month period? And if i must, should i get any insurance like those for visit visa or i am supposed to get OSHC only?

I would really appreciate your help here.


----------



## Ronjayia

Hi mark,
Yes that's john houringan. I've high hopes from him. Yeh I'll thoroughly on those sites.
Thanks so much for your help here. Really appericiate from bottom of my heart.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lucy7 -

I don't have enough details to give you specific advice, however if CoE is canceled and not replaced by another one, DIBP may initiate cancellation proceedings at any time given you are no longer enrolled in your course. Best not to depend on Uni to solve your visa issues including notifying DIBP - not their responsibility at all.

Normally BVB provides safe way to depart and return to Australia, but if your CoE has already been cancelled and you haven't made alternative arrangements with DIBP, could be a problem if you leave & student visa is cancelled while you're outside Australia. If this happens, you would have no visa to return on and in some cases may be subject to an exclusion period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lucy7 said:


> I'm sure there's great agents out there, unfortunately, we didn't have a good one.
> 
> I just don't get it when the Uni cancel the Coe I thought my student visa might be the same but it's still on effect. I tried to wait how the Uni will solve the deferment, it has been weeks so I'm not sure could I wait for more. What will happen if my student visa cancelled while I'm offshore?
> 
> Does BV-B helps me return to australia safely? I've read the others apply that bridging when they need to travel, I know my one situation is quite complex.
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> I do appreciate your time and knowledges.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lahore -

I can't give you advice specific to your case without documents, however generally speaking you must have OSHC cover for your entire stay in Australia on a student visa, regardless of whether your course is in session, out of session, has or hasn't started yet, etc.

Normally coming 1 month prior is not a problem, however do note that you cannot work during that period until your course has actually commenced.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lahore said:


> Hey Mark, i hope you are doing good. I need your advice.
> 
> Here is a little background. I am from Pakistan and applied for visa through SVP 573 subclass. I got admission in a university in June and applied for Visa in same month. However, after deferring my intake from July to February due to delay in visa, i got my visa eventually in September. Now, my visa was issued 5 months prior to my course commencement date. I wanted to ask if i can travel 1 month prior to my course commencement date? My visa is already in effect. Do you think there would be any problem if i travel this early?
> 
> Second, my OSHC starts from my course commencement date, for which i have already paid. SO if i travel 1 month before the commencement date, should i get insurance for this 1 month period? And if i must, should i get any insurance like those for visit visa or i am supposed to get OSHC only?
> 
> I would really appreciate your help here.


----------



## Lahore

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lahore -
> 
> I can't give you advice specific to your case without documents, however generally speaking you must have OSHC cover for your entire stay in Australia on a student visa, regardless of whether your course is in session, out of session, has or hasn't started yet, etc.
> 
> Normally coming 1 month prior is not a problem, however do note that you cannot work during that period until your course has actually commenced.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Yes i am aware that i can not work before the course commencement date.

I was puzzled about the type of insurance i need to get for this extra 1 month time. So it seems OSHC is the only option.

Thank you, that was really helpful.


----------



## Peach

Hi Mark,

such a blessing we saw your post.

We are a couple from Singapore who plans to migrate in the Northern Territory, specifically Darwin.

He is a civil engineer and we are in the process of state nomination.


Please let us know the cost of living in Darwin in terms of food, rent and utilities.


Thanks in advance.


Regards,
Precious


----------



## waiting_is_happiness

I am not Mark, but I think Google would be a greater source for such infos. Please save his time for migration related issues, questions and concerns. Cheers!



Peach said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> such a blessing we saw your post.
> 
> We are a couple from Singapore who plans to migrate in the Northern Territory, specifically Darwin.
> 
> He is a civil engineer and we are in the process of state nomination.
> 
> Please let us know the cost of living in Darwin in terms of food, rent and utilities.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Regards,
> Precious


----------



## lucy7

*Hi Mark*

I'm fully understanding the consequences and what may happen. I will take your suggests and do the best I can.

Thank you a lot Mark.


----------



## hodgi_76

Peach said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> such a blessing we saw your post.
> 
> We are a couple from Singapore who plans to migrate in the Northern Territory, specifically Darwin.
> 
> He is a civil engineer and we are in the process of state nomination.
> 
> Please let us know the cost of living in Darwin in terms of food, rent and utilities.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Regards,
> Precious


Hi Precious. 
Not Mark either but thought I would help. I lived in Darwin last year so thought I could give advice. Darwin is probably one of the more expensive cities to live in in Australia. Food prices and supermarkets are not generally any more expensive (eating out can be) but rent is outrageously expensive (although I'm not sure if Singapore is expensive to compare too). From memory, a nice 2 bedroom apartment would be at least $500, but can obviously get worse and smaller for cheaper. Depends what you are wanting. In saying that, jobs usually pay a little bit more than other cities, so it does kind of level out. Hopefully this helps!
Cheers
Andrea


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peach -

Wish I knew, but my area of expertise is visas, and I'm a long way from Darwin! Suggest you do web searches for cost of living in the NT, perhaps check with the various government and social agencies there that help people who move up there to work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Peach said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> such a blessing we saw your post.
> 
> We are a couple from Singapore who plans to migrate in the Northern Territory, specifically Darwin.
> 
> He is a civil engineer and we are in the process of state nomination.
> 
> Please let us know the cost of living in Darwin in terms of food, rent and utilities.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Regards,
> Precious


----------



## Milooo Adell

*permanent residency in Australia after one-year master degree in business*

Dear Mr/ Mark

How are you? i hope you are feeling very good in the time you read this.
I wrote you couple of days ago concerning obtaining the permanent residency in Australia after master degree and you kindly advised me to apply for a two year master degree to be able to be eligible for temporary graduate visa subclass 485.

This idea seems to be great but it's too long and too expensive for me, because i have only the budget for tuition fees and living expenses for one year plus the immigration lawyer fees. So i want to know if there is any chance to apply for the permanent residency in Australia after one year master degree in business or master degree in accounting and finance (After Graduation) from within Australia without leaving the country?????

Actually i intend to study at New England University, which lies in Armidale (That's mean it's in Regional Australia)

In conclusion, I would like to know, after graduation of one year master degree of business or accounting and finance from the university of New England, Is that possible to obtain the permanent residency through, Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) Or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa (subclass 187) Or Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189) Or Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) from within Australia without leaving the country ???????


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Milooo -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



Milooo Adell said:


> Dear Mr/ Mark
> 
> How are you? i hope you are feeling very good in the time you read this.
> I wrote you couple of days ago concerning obtaining the permanent residency in Australia after master degree and you kindly advised me to apply for a two year master degree to be able to be eligible for temporary graduate visa subclass 485.
> 
> This idea seems to be great but it's too long and too expensive for me, because i have only the budget for tuition fees and living expenses for one year plus the immigration lawyer fees. So i want to know if there is any chance to apply for the permanent residency in Australia after one year master degree in business or master degree in accounting and finance (After Graduation) from within Australia without leaving the country?????
> 
> Actually i intend to study at New England University, which lies in Armidale (That's mean it's in Regional Australia)
> 
> In conclusion, I would like to know, after graduation of one year master degree of business or accounting and finance from the university of New England, Is that possible to obtain the permanent residency through, Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) Or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa (subclass 187) Or Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189) Or Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) from within Australia without leaving the country ???????


----------



## Lahore

Hey Mark, a quick question relevant to above question by Milooo.

If a person does 1.5 years Masters degree and then go on to complete a 6 month diploma in the same field, would it meet the 2 years study requirement for Graduate visa? I know there are other requirements for Graduate visa, but i am just curious about this 2 years study requirement.


----------



## rayray086

Hi Mark.

It's great what you're doing here for us answering questions in your own time, I greatly appreciate it.

I've posted this on the main board but thought I'd get a straight answer from you.

I have read some of the recent threads regarding onshore partner applications and meeting schedule 3 requirements and am confused if it applies to our situation.

My partner (the applicant) is currently on a 573 student visa (expires September 2015) and we're currently trying to apply for an onshore partner visa. Initially I came across this bit of advice - https://immigrationptyltd.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/voluntary-cancellation-of-a-student-visa/. Going from it, we were planning to submit our application (forms 47SP and 40SP) online, then cancel her student visa voluntarily and straight away submit an application for BVE (form 1008) so she can remain in Australia while we wait for the partner visa approval. Our reason for doing this is to do with our financials (her conditions stipulate full time study for the duration of her visa, despite having finished her main course).

From my understanding, the Schedule 3 requirements apply to those who are unlawful or are on a bridging visa. Now, does it apply to us, considering we are submitting our application while she's still on her student visa? Basically, will it apply to us once she cancels her student visa and applies for a bridging visa? If yes to the above questions, would it matter if the temporary partner visa is approved first before she cancels her student visa?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## victorjbl

Hi my Mark it is victorjbl again,

I am currently in a 573 international student visa. My country is assessment level 1. I have been in Australia since 9/03/2009. Due personal circumstances I had to extended my visa in this way:

1) English course, first visa obtained for six month. And then I extended for 2 years it was approved without any problems
2) advanced diploma visa I had a visa for 2 years. And I decided to do the bachelor. The visa was approved for 1.5 years. Again no problems for the approval.
3) the bachelor is not easy and I had to extende my visa again for 1.5 year. This visa wa approved without any problems. Until 15/03/2015
4) now my visa expires on the 15/03/2015. I need to extend for a short Period in that way I can finish some subjects.

I have a few questions.

1) is there a maximum of applications for extension? 
2) I full fill the requirements that are shown in the web page so. Due the amount extensions? Am I'm going to have troubles this time?

3) I want to apply in the future for the permanent residency? Is this going to affect that application

Thanks for all past answers

Regards
Victorjbl


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lahore -

Tthe Australian Study Requirement is more complex than it sounds, especially if there are things like credit being given for previous offshore (or onshore) study, etc. But yes, there are provisions where a combination of qualifications can be used to satisfy the ASR. In the case of a masters and diploma, that may or may not work depending on the circumstances, as the requirement is that the combination of qualifications must "lead to" the final qualification - it may be argued that a masters degree may not reasonably "lead to" a diploma, etc... Again, the devil is in the details...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lahore said:


> Hey Mark, a quick question relevant to above question by Milooo.
> 
> If a person does 1.5 years Masters degree and then go on to complete a 6 month diploma in the same field, would it meet the 2 years study requirement for Graduate visa? I know there are other requirements for Graduate visa, but i am just curious about this 2 years study requirement.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rayray086

Thanks for the questions. If you lodge the onshore partner visa while the applicant still holds a student visa, then Schedule 3 will not activate, even if you voluntarily cancel the student visa at a later date - Schedule 3 is a time of application requirement, so what happens after application does not generally cause Schedule 3 issues.

Re: voluntary cancellation, important to make sure the onshore partner visa is received and considered a valid application. Once that occurs, if you voluntarily cancel your student visa, you need to consider the following "penalties" of this route:

* With a BV-E, if the applicant leaves the country after holding the BV-E for more than 28 days, they will be left with no visa to return on, and will have a 3-year exclusion period on temporary visas (which does not include partner or fiance visas) unless a waiver is obtained

* Because of the unlawful time in Australia (immediately upon cancellation of the student visa), any time in Australia prior to the cancellation date will no longer be able to be used towards satisfying the 4-year residency requirement for Australian citizenship. The 4 year clock starts again when the applicant is granted a BV-E.

Another thing to consider is how much time is left on her visa and whether it's necessary to do this - under policy, if a student finishes all of the study specified on the CoE lodged with the student visa and does so early, if the student has lodged another substantive visa application (ie, partner visa), they generally will not cancel the student visa and will let the student visa expire on its own. You'll want to explore this in more detail with a migration agent if you want to look to these provisions, to make sure there's nothing in the facts that could cause an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rayray086 said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> It's great what you're doing here for us answering questions in your own time, I greatly appreciate it.
> 
> I've posted this on the main board but thought I'd get a straight answer from you.
> 
> I have read some of the recent threads regarding onshore partner applications and meeting schedule 3 requirements and am confused if it applies to our situation.
> 
> My partner (the applicant) is currently on a 573 student visa (expires September 2015) and we're currently trying to apply for an onshore partner visa. Initially I came across this bit of advice - https://immigrationptyltd.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/voluntary-cancellation-of-a-student-visa/. Going from it, we were planning to submit our application (forms 47SP and 40SP) online, then cancel her student visa voluntarily and straight away submit an application for BVE (form 1008) so she can remain in Australia while we wait for the partner visa approval. Our reason for doing this is to do with our financials (her conditions stipulate full time study for the duration of her visa, despite having finished her main course).
> 
> From my understanding, the Schedule 3 requirements apply to those who are unlawful or are on a bridging visa. Now, does it apply to us, considering we are submitting our application while she's still on her student visa? Basically, will it apply to us once she cancels her student visa and applies for a bridging visa? If yes to the above questions, would it matter if the temporary partner visa is approved first before she cancels her student visa?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victorjbl -

Thanks for the note. On the face of things, as long as you can show legitimate reasons why it's taking you longer than you expected to complete your studies, then in theory there should not be a problem with another extension - there is no limit to the number of extensions (they're actually new visas in most cases) you can get - where these types of cases run into trouble is if the applicant is seen to be wilfully delaying their completion of the coursework, has not maintained full time enrolment (that's a visa condition breach) and that is uncovered by the reasons for the delay, or is seen to be somehow manipulating the student visa system for some other reasons. So key to doing this is to make a clear and convincing case why the extra time is appropriate and that you've been abiding by all conditions of your visa, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



victorjbl said:


> Hi my Mark it is victorjbl again,
> 
> I am currently in a 573 international student visa. My country is assessment level 1. I have been in Australia since 9/03/2009. Due personal circumstances I had to extended my visa in this way:
> 
> 1) English course, first visa obtained for six month. And then I extended for 2 years it was approved without any problems
> 2) advanced diploma visa I had a visa for 2 years. And I decided to do the bachelor. The visa was approved for 1.5 years. Again no problems for the approval.
> 3) the bachelor is not easy and I had to extende my visa again for 1.5 year. This visa wa approved without any problems. Until 15/03/2015
> 4) now my visa expires on the 15/03/2015. I need to extend for a short Period in that way I can finish some subjects.
> 
> I have a few questions.
> 
> 1) is there a maximum of applications for extension?
> 2) I full fill the requirements that are shown in the web page so. Due the amount extensions? Am I'm going to have troubles this time?
> 
> 3) I want to apply in the future for the permanent residency? Is this going to affect that application
> 
> Thanks for all past answers
> 
> Regards
> Victorjbl


----------



## rayray086

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rayray086
> 
> Thanks for the questions. If you lodge the onshore partner visa while the applicant still holds a student visa, then Schedule 3 will not activate, even if you voluntarily cancel the student visa at a later date - Schedule 3 is a time of application requirement, so what happens after application does not generally cause Schedule 3 issues.
> 
> Re: voluntary cancellation, important to make sure the onshore partner visa is received and considered a valid application. Once that occurs, if you voluntarily cancel your student visa, you need to consider the following "penalties" of this route:
> 
> * With a BV-E, if the applicant leaves the country after holding the BV-E for more than 28 days, they will be left with no visa to return on, and will have a 3-year exclusion period on temporary visas (which does not include partner or fiance visas) unless a waiver is obtained
> 
> * Because of the unlawful time in Australia (immediately upon cancellation of the student visa), any time in Australia prior to the cancellation date will no longer be able to be used towards satisfying the 4-year residency requirement for Australian citizenship. The 4 year clock starts again when the applicant is granted a BV-E.
> 
> Another thing to consider is how much time is left on her visa and whether it's necessary to do this - under policy, if a student finishes all of the study specified on the CoE lodged with the student visa and does so early, if the student has lodged another substantive visa application (ie, partner visa), they generally will not cancel the student visa and will let the student visa expire on its own. You'll want to explore this in more detail with a migration agent if you want to look to these provisions, to make sure there's nothing in the facts that could cause an issue.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much for your reply Mark.

Her study specified on her current CoE does not finish for a while, and will involve a few more semesters which we are now trying to avoid, hence why we're looking into going through this route.

I will book in a time with you at your office in Parramatta. This is the first time I've dealt with anything related to DIBP and it's been a largely stressful experience because of our situation. I'd love some reassurance. I assume I'd have to call your office on 1800 847 288 to make an appointment and can go from there?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rayray086 -

Sounds good - you can actually book online 24/7 - see my website in the link in my signature below, then click on "Professional Consultation" link at the top of the page. Happy to work through all of your questions and provide specific advice & guidance.

Best,

Mark Northam



rayray086 said:


> Thank you very much for your reply Mark.
> 
> Her study specified on her current CoE does not finish for a while, and will involve a few more semesters which we are now trying to avoid, hence why we're looking into going through this route.
> 
> I will book in a time with you at your office in Parramatta. This is the first time I've dealt with anything related to DIBP and it's been a largely stressful experience because of our situation. I'd love some reassurance. I assume I'd have to call your office on 1800 847 288 to make an appointment and can go from there?


----------



## tangerine44

Hi Mark, hope you're well. I'm due to apply for my 2nd stage of partner visa and today is my eligibility date. I've been getting errors when applying online so I called immigration last Monday. I was advised to wait for today and see if it works, however, it's still giving me an error message so I couldn't proceed. I will now have to apply for it via post. When submitting evidences, does it need to be original (i.e. wedding invites addressed to myself and husband etc.)? or can I just scan them and print? Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tangerine44 -

My suggestion would be to wait a couple of days and try online - online is usually faster and I view it as better than paper. If you do end up going with paper, then originals are ok (although DIBP may not return them), and certified copies are fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tangerine44 said:


> Hi Mark, hope you're well. I'm due to apply for my 2nd stage of partner visa and today is my eligibility date. I've been getting errors when applying online so I called immigration last Monday. I was advised to wait for today and see if it works, however, it's still giving me an error message so I couldn't proceed. I will now have to apply for it via post. When submitting evidences, does it need to be original (i.e. wedding invites addressed to myself and husband etc.)? or can I just scan them and print? Thank you in advance.


----------



## quethaochi

Hi Mark
My name is Que, i just applied my partner visa 820 last week.
I read through some forum, they said do not staple, and put documents in a platic folder. However, i put them in the envelope, and i used staple( which is only for stick the paper in order like i staple the original of my country police record and the translation.
I just wondering is that a problem?
I don't have much evidence for nature of commitment. How is it affect? The rest of 3 aspects are fine. And what kind of evidence should i put in?

Thank you very much


----------



## phuhle1104

Dear Mark, 

Thank you very much for your answer. It is very useful. I also have some questions about the work requirement of visa 887. Must 1 year full time work be continuous? or the sum of working time? I mean if I work in one occupation for 3 months and then stop for one month before getting a another new job. Finally, Do I really need to work in my nominated occupation that is stated in visa 489? Please help me out. Thank you for your time. Really appreciate that.


----------



## min.ho1234

Hi Mark!

My fiance who I will be sponsoring for a PMV has been refused of a tourist visa before,. Her uncle sent her an invitation letter and support for that visa. We were already a couple that time she applied for the tourist visa. Problem is, on the application of tourist visa she did not write down my name as a contact here in australia only her uncle. Will that affect our PMV application?


----------



## asifsky

How to advice immigration to include additional information after submitting valid applicaiton under 190


----------



## tomar

Hi Mark,

I've applied for a 189 visa with my de facto girlfriend. So far, to "prove" our relationship, we've gathered (certified copies of-):
- Letters of friends vouching for our relationship
- Bank statements of joint account
- Travel tickets (holidays together)

I thought that would be enough (the immigration website is relatively cryptic for my taste), but our friends told us that they wrote a *statutory declaration* to support the nature of their relationship when they applied. Is this something we should write too? I couldn't find this on the immigration website for this particular visa. Maybe this only applies to visas where the partner is the only one applying for the visa, and not the person "sponsoring"?

If we do have to provide the statutory declaration, do we need to use the following forms? https://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/forms/partner/_pdf/stat_dec_applicant.pdf and http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/forms/partner/_pdf/stat_dec_sponsor.pdf

Also, our friends have just written formal sounding, well formed letters, but didn't use a template. Do they need to re-do it using the following form? http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/888.pdf

Is there anything else we might require to prove our relationship?

While I realize that our case officer would probably ask for anything missing, I really want to provide as many documents as I can to make the visa process progress more quickly.

Thank you so much in advance!

Kindest regards,
Tom


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Quethaochi -

Likely not a problem re: staples, etc, however we usually recommend people lodge online - removes all the issues of having to get certified copies, etc.

Re: evidence, best to look at the many threads on this forum where people have discussed what they've provided, how it worked, and lots of details - I can't give you any specific advice on evidence & statements without knowing all of the details of your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



quethaochi said:


> Hi Mark
> My name is Que, i just applied my partner visa 820 last week.
> I read through some forum, they said do not staple, and put documents in a platic folder. However, i put them in the envelope, and i used staple( which is only for stick the paper in order like i staple the original of my country police record and the translation.
> I just wondering is that a problem?
> I don't have much evidence for nature of commitment. How is it affect? The rest of 3 aspects are fine. And what kind of evidence should i put in?
> 
> Thank you very much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phyhle1104 -

Work for the 887 must be paid (at reasonable market rate), full-time (35 hrs per week or more) but does not need to be continuous - you need a total of 1 year of full time paid work experience while holding the 489, but you can have breaks. No requirement that the work be in the same nominated occupation as the 489.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your answer. It is very useful. I also have some questions about the work requirement of visa 887. Must 1 year full time work be continuous? or the sum of working time? I mean if I work in one occupation for 3 months and then stop for one month before getting a another new job. Finally, Do I really need to work in my nominated occupation that is stated in visa 489? Please help me out. Thank you for your time. Really appreciate that.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Min.ho -

No way to tell for sure - my guess is that it's not likely they will bring this up as an issue unless there are other concerns about the genuineness of the relationship, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



min.ho1234 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> My fiance who I will be sponsoring for a PMV has been refused of a tourist visa before,. Her uncle sent her an invitation letter and support for that visa. We were already a couple that time she applied for the tourist visa. Problem is, on the application of tourist visa she did not write down my name as a contact here in australia only her uncle. Will that affect our PMV application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Asifsky -

Depends on what info you want to provided - for addr change or passport change, use Form 929 and upload to your lodged app. If you are correcting mistakes on your 190, Form 1023 may work (complete & upload to your lodged app), however whether the correction will solve any potential problems that the original information caused would depend on what the information was, etc. Form 1022 is also useful for other changes in circumstances that are not mistakes on the original form and are not address or passport changes. You can also simply upload additional documents to the application depending on what the additional info is.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



asifsky said:


> How to advice immigration to include additional information after submitting valid applicaiton under 190


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tom -

Thanks for the questions. First, in the eyes of DIBP, there is no such thing as a "defacto girlfriend" - if a person is your girlfriend, then they by definition do not rise to the level of being your defacto partner, so first thing I'd do is to eliminate the word "girlfriend" from your vocabulary  - it's "defacto partner" with DIBP.

Re: statements, not necessary for Form 888 - letters signed and including a copy of their passport biodata page or ID (in English) is fine.

Re: evidence, I can't comment on your evidence without actually seeing it, but based on what you wrote, you may want to consider including more, including evidence of living together (leases, mail addressed to each at the same address, statement of landlord(s), etc), photos of you both together in social settings, etc. DIBP essentially expects the relationship to be like a married couple, except without the marriage cert. There are excellent threads elsewhere on this forum that talk about partner visa evidence that people have been successful with - I would consider these thoroughly.

Re: statements, would definitely submit signed statements from you and your partner, plus as many others as you can get within reason (ie, perhaps 6-10 total statements) and be ready for a phone interview from DIBP where they ask each of you about the other's families, employment, finances, religion, etc etc etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've applied for a 189 visa with my de facto girlfriend. So far, to "prove" our relationship, we've gathered (certified copies of-):
> - Letters of friends vouching for our relationship
> - Bank statements of joint account
> - Travel tickets (holidays together)
> 
> I thought that would be enough (the immigration website is relatively cryptic for my taste), but our friends told us that they wrote a *statutory declaration* to support the nature of their relationship when they applied. Is this something we should write too? I couldn't find this on the immigration website for this particular visa. Maybe this only applies to visas where the partner is the only one applying for the visa, and not the person "sponsoring"?
> 
> If we do have to provide the statutory declaration, do we need to use the following forms? https://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/forms/partner/_pdf/stat_dec_applicant.pdf and http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/forms/partner/_pdf/stat_dec_sponsor.pdf
> 
> Also, our friends have just written formal sounding, well formed letters, but didn't use a template. Do they need to re-do it using the following form? http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/888.pdf
> 
> Is there anything else we might require to prove our relationship?
> 
> While I realize that our case officer would probably ask for anything missing, I really want to provide as many documents as I can to make the visa process progress more quickly.
> 
> Thank you so much in advance!
> 
> Kindest regards,
> Tom


----------



## Colettepuhalski

*Extending my stay in australia*

Hi, I'm from America and I'm currently on a WORK AND HOLIDAY visa until January 5 2015. I'm here to be with my partner of 2 years that is an australian citizen. Eventually we want to move back to America hopefully by the end of 2015. I want to extend my visa to spend a bit more time with my boyfriend before I have to go hole for good. Unfortunately I can't extend it because it's not a working holiday visa. Do I go on visa run to bali or New Zealand and come back on a holiday visa or do I apply for a new visa to extend my stay? If I leave the country and apply for a holiday visa will I get approved if I've previously been in the country for a year? Or if I apply to extend my stay, do I have a good chance of getting approved? Is it a valid reason on my application that my partner lives here or do I need a better reason to stay? I don't want to pay all that money for a partner visa when I only want to stay an extra 3-6 months before I never come back to australia again. Please help! My visa ends in two and a half months and I need to figure out what to do ASAP!!

Thanks,
Colette


----------



## hope012

Hi Mark

I had put in a EOI for an 189 visa and had 60 points. It took a while but I got an Invitation the only problem is that since I put in the invitation my i have gotten married. My skill select invitation reflects my status as single. I now want to know whether I can add my wife as a dependant.

Many Thanks


----------



## quethaochi

Hi Mark
Thank you very much for your answer.
Hope for the best


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hope012 -

No problem - on the visa application online forms you can add your wife as a dependent if you have not lodged the visa application. If you have already completed and lodged the visa application, there's a link on the right side of the main page once you login that allows you to add a dependent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hope012 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I had put in a EOI for an 189 visa and had 60 points. It took a while but I got an Invitation the only problem is that since I put in the invitation my i have gotten married. My skill select invitation reflects my status as single. I now want to know whether I can add my wife as a dependant.
> 
> Many Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Colette -

Thanks for the note. Wish they'd make those USA work and holiday visas extendable like the Euro versions are!

It's a tricky question because spending time establishing residence with your partner is not a valid reason for a visitor visa per DIBP. So the key is to try and get the version that will end up with the least chance of questions being asked by DIBP. Your choices are either an onshore subclass 600 application, or an offshore ETA visa application - my guess is that the ETA probably has a lower chance of "questions", but it all depends on the case officer's acceptance of the reasons you want to spend more time in Australia. Overall, people have mixed results applying for a visitor visa right after a WH type visa as in some cases DIBP feels they have had "enough time" in Australia during the 1 year to do whatever visitor-oriented things they wanted to do, etc..

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Colettepuhalski said:


> Hi, I'm from America and I'm currently on a WORK AND HOLIDAY visa until January 5 2015. I'm here to be with my partner of 2 years that is an australian citizen. Eventually we want to move back to America hopefully by the end of 2015. I want to extend my visa to spend a bit more time with my boyfriend before I have to go hole for good. Unfortunately I can't extend it because it's not a working holiday visa. Do I go on visa run to bali or New Zealand and come back on a holiday visa or do I apply for a new visa to extend my stay? If I leave the country and apply for a holiday visa will I get approved if I've previously been in the country for a year? Or if I apply to extend my stay, do I have a good chance of getting approved? Is it a valid reason on my application that my partner lives here or do I need a better reason to stay? I don't want to pay all that money for a partner visa when I only want to stay an extra 3-6 months before I never come back to australia again. Please help! My visa ends in two and a half months and I need to figure out what to do ASAP!!
> 
> Thanks,
> Colette


----------



## contomcoi

Hi Mark,

I just wonder if you could advise me whether my below understanding of points awarded for Australian study requirement is correct: 

- An Australian master degree (1 & a half year) - worth 15 points
- A graduate certificate - 6 months, 4 core subjects of Master program (part of package leading to my master degree - since my undergraduate bachelor degree in my country was assessed as not equal to bachelor here so I had to complete a Grad cert) - not eligible for combining with the above master degree to get 5 points of 2 years Australian study

Thus in total I could get only 15 points for master only, is it right? 

This was what explained in my 485 visa application and applicable to skill select as well, wasn't it? 

As much as it goes against the AQF & the certificate award, I just need to make sure not claiming any points for the study requirement if it is true. 

Many thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Contomcoi -

Thanks for the questions - cannot assess Aus Study Req documents based on forum comments - need to see the documents and go through details, Q&A with you in order to give you specific advice - there are several factors that can affect whether a Master degree by itself is eligible for the ASR including credits, actual time studies, CRICOS quoted time, etc - happy to assist you in a consultation - see website link below for details -

Best,

Mark Northam



contomcoi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just wonder if you could advise me whether my below understanding of points awarded for Australian study requirement is correct:
> 
> - An Australian master degree (1 & a half year) - worth 15 points
> - A graduate certificate - 6 months, 4 core subjects of Master program (part of package leading to my master degree - since my undergraduate bachelor degree in my country was assessed as not equal to bachelor here so I had to complete a Grad cert) - not eligible for combining with the above master degree to get 5 points of 2 years Australian study
> 
> Thus in total I could get only 15 points for master only, is it right?
> 
> This was what explained in my 485 visa application and applicable to skill select as well, wasn't it?
> 
> As much as it goes against the AQF & the certificate award, I just need to make sure not claiming any points for the study requirement if it is true.
> 
> Many thanks,


----------



## rayray086

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rayray086 -
> 
> Sounds good - you can actually book online 24/7 - see my website in the link in my signature below, then click on "Professional Consultation" link at the top of the page. Happy to work through all of your questions and provide specific advice & guidance.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Will be seeing you tomorrow morning Mark. I work night-shifts so forgive me if I look dazed!


----------



## InesR

Dear Mark,

First of all,thank you for your kind efforts in answering questions.

I applied to an offshore Partner visa in early May (this year), from Portugal. We are married, and my partner is Australian.
After we were assigned a CO, we were told the processing time is (usually) 6-9 months. Because my partner had to start working, I applied for an E-visitor visa, and we came to Australia together in September.
I have a flight out of the country before the 3 months run out, to spend a week out of the country, and then return.

However - the question! - because this is really not the best time for a holiday, do I have any other possibilities? Could I apply, while in Australia, for another type of (longer) tourist visa, or a bridging visa? And are there any issues or particularities that would make this unadvisable or just not preferrable?

I imagine this is a common situation, but I also know the immigration rules change often. I hope you won't mind answering it.

Thanks again for your attention.


----------



## MarkNortham

No problem, Rayray086 - looking forward to meeting you and assisting you with your migration.

Best,

Mark



rayray086 said:


> Will be seeing you tomorrow morning Mark. I work night-shifts so forgive me if I look dazed!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi InesR -

Thanks for the note. As you lodged an offshore partner visa, it would not be possible for you to get a bridging visa based on that application - essentially all you can do is to try and keep on getting various visitor visas for as long as they'll grant them to you during the processing period for your partner visa. Choices are eVisitor visa lodged from offshore, or subclass 600 visitor visa lodged while onshore, however the tricky issue is that living in Australia with a partner is not generally a valid reason for a visitor visa, so you will want to come up with good visitor-like reasons whenever you have to make an application - eVisitor will probably involve fewer questions than sc600

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



InesR said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> First of all,thank you for your kind efforts in answering questions.
> 
> I applied to an offshore Partner visa in early May (this year), from Portugal. We are married, and my partner is Australian.
> After we were assigned a CO, we were told the processing time is (usually) 6-9 months. Because my partner had to start working, I applied for an E-visitor visa, and we came to Australia together in September.
> I have a flight out of the country before the 3 months run out, to spend a week out of the country, and then return.
> 
> However - the question! - because this is really not the best time for a holiday, do I have any other possibilities? Could I apply, while in Australia, for another type of (longer) tourist visa, or a bridging visa? And are there any issues or particularities that would make this unadvisable or just not preferrable?
> 
> I imagine this is a common situation, but I also know the immigration rules change often. I hope you won't mind answering it.
> 
> Thanks again for your attention.


----------



## InesR

Thanks a lot, Mark, it does help.

Best regards.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi InesR -
> 
> Thanks for the note. As you lodged an offshore partner visa, it would not be possible for you to get a bridging visa based on that application - essentially all you can do is to try and keep on getting various visitor visas for as long as they'll grant them to you during the processing period for your partner visa. Choices are eVisitor visa lodged from offshore, or subclass 600 visitor visa lodged while onshore, however the tricky issue is that living in Australia with a partner is not generally a valid reason for a visitor visa, so you will want to come up with good visitor-like reasons whenever you have to make an application - eVisitor will probably involve fewer questions than sc600
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## min.ho1234

Thanks so much Mark!

You're simply the best. You will be blessed a thousand folds for your help to all of us here.

One more quick question, If I dont know the birthdate of my fiancee's parents what would i put on the form 40sp/47sp? she doesnt know either because she didnt know either because she didnt live with them.

Thanks again



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Min.ho -
> 
> No way to tell for sure - my guess is that it's not likely they will bring this up as an issue unless there are other concerns about the genuineness of the relationship, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## tangerine44

Thanks a lot Mark for your help!  Really appreciate it.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Min.ho1234 -

Thanks for the kind words! If there is a date that you don't know and there is no way to get the date, best to put "01-Jan-1900" - this will indicate to DIBP that you were unable to get the date despite best efforts.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



min.ho1234 said:


> Thanks so much Mark!
> 
> You're simply the best. You will be blessed a thousand folds for your help to all of us here.
> 
> One more quick question, If I dont know the birthdate of my fiancee's parents what would i put on the form 40sp/47sp? she doesnt know either because she didnt know either because she didnt live with them.
> 
> Thanks again


----------



## lisaz3349

Mark, I am an American currently getting my Ph.D in Ireland. I will be doing some training and work with CSIRO outside of Melbourne for 4 months. I was advised to apply for the 402 occupational trainee visa by CSIRO and submitted an application on August 1st. On the web site, the processing time states it only takes 2 months but when I called the help line here in Europe they told me 2-3 months. I was suppose to leave last week but have postponed my trip now till till October 29th. I am not even sure if that is enough time either. I really can't push back this trip again since the fiscal year on the scholarship will be up. Thus I am thinking maybe of getting a business ETA in the meantime till this is processed any thoughts?!?! Will I be able to carry both visas at the same time or will my 402 visa be denied if an ETA is processed already? Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## contomcoi

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Contomcoi -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - cannot assess Aus Study Req documents based on forum comments - need to see the documents and go through details, Q&A with you in order to give you specific advice - there are several factors that can affect whether a Master degree by itself is eligible for the ASR including credits, actual time studies, CRICOS quoted time, etc - happy to assist you in a consultation - see website link below for details -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, thanks so much for this. I will definitely book a consultation via skype very soon and hope you could clarify the confusion for me


----------



## tomed

Hi Mark, I want to move to Oz just for a year and do some restaurant work. I am over 30 but I have family in Queensland so I can't get a WHV. Whats the score with getting sponsorship so I can work somewhere? How much does it cost and am I restricted in what I can do and where I can go? Also what type of visa should I apply for? I'm a chef of 15 years with lots of qualifications too. Thanks.


----------



## rajitsin

Hi,
I intend to apply for the Class 189 visa. On the Form 80 (background checks), I intend to declare all my employers.

*Question 1*

My employment history includes two employers (with a combined duration of 4 months), with whom I parted on parted on bad terms. I wasn't fired neither were there any ethical concerns involved but they don't hold a good opinion about my work attitude. I haven't claimed any points for these employers. *What is the chance that the immigration officer will call them up for any reason and would reject my application based on something harmful that they might say?*

*Question 2*

Apart from these 2 employers, there are some other employers for whom I will not be claiming marks because I don't have the duties list (but I do have the general experience letter with position title, duration etc). Naturally I will mention them on my Form 80 work history. *I was concerned that the immigration officer might view this with suspicion or it may otherwise harm my application. What is your opinion?*

Thanks again for all the charitable work you do for everyone here

Regards


----------



## wewie

*Where to Start?*

Mark
I am Irish, living in the UK. 
Sister is an Australian citizen living in Melbourne.

I trained in the UK as a general nurse (qualified in 2013) but I am over 35.

I have two questions I am confused about.
Where do I start to get my registration recognised by the Australian Board of nursing and midwifery?

Could my sister sponsor me as a family member (we have other family alive but not living in Australia) or do I have to try and go through the state by state skilled workers sponsorship visa?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lisaz3349 -

Normally if you already had the ETA, once the 402 was granted it would replace the ETA. You'll just need to be careful not to do any work under the ETA. DIBP processing time "estimates" are highly unpredictable...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lisaz3349 said:


> Mark, I am an American currently getting my Ph.D in Ireland. I will be doing some training and work with CSIRO outside of Melbourne for 4 months. I was advised to apply for the 402 occupational trainee visa by CSIRO and submitted an application on August 1st. On the web site, the processing time states it only takes 2 months but when I called the help line here in Europe they told me 2-3 months. I was suppose to leave last week but have postponed my trip now till till October 29th. I am not even sure if that is enough time either. I really can't push back this trip again since the fiscal year on the scholarship will be up. Thus I am thinking maybe of getting a business ETA in the meantime till this is processed any thoughts?!?! Will I be able to carry both visas at the same time or will my 402 visa be denied if an ETA is processed already? Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tomed -

The two most popular types of visas for people in your situation tend to be the 457 temporary work visa (application fee about $1,000) or for regional work the RSMS employer sponsored PR visa, or for non-regional work, the ENS employer sponsored PR visa - all comes down to whether the employer wants to sponsor you for PR at this point, or have you work on a 457 for a period of time first, etc. Another option is a skilled visa (subclass 189 or 190) - you might research these visas more to see what works for you - also note that under the skilled visas you will need a skills assessment. Re: finding a sponsoring employer, that's more about conducting a very thorough job search - also check out AustJobs

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomed said:


> Hi Mark, I want to move to Oz just for a year and do some restaurant work. I am over 30 but I have family in Queensland so I can't get a WHV. Whats the score with getting sponsorship so I can work somewhere? How much does it cost and am I restricted in what I can do and where I can go? Also what type of visa should I apply for? I'm a chef of 15 years with lots of qualifications too. Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajitsin -

Very low chance of DIBP contacting any employers you list who you are NOT claiming points for. There are many reasons people do not claim points for all relevant employment work - this is not generally treated with concern by DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rajitsin said:


> Hi,
> I intend to apply for the Class 189 visa. On the Form 80 (background checks), I intend to declare all my employers.
> 
> *Question 1*
> 
> My employment history includes two employers (with a combined duration of 4 months), with whom I parted on parted on bad terms. I wasn't fired neither were there any ethical concerns involved but they don't hold a good opinion about my work attitude. I haven't claimed any points for these employers. *What is the chance that the immigration officer will call them up for any reason and would reject my application based on something harmful that they might say?*
> 
> *Question 2*
> 
> Apart from these 2 employers, there are some other employers for whom I will not be claiming marks because I don't have the duties list (but I do have the general experience letter with position title, duration etc). Naturally I will mention them on my Form 80 work history. *I was concerned that the immigration officer might view this with suspicion or it may otherwise harm my application. What is your opinion?*
> 
> Thanks again for all the charitable work you do for everyone here
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wewie -

Here's a link for the nursing & midwifery board:

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia - Internationally qualified nurses and midwives

Your sister may be able to sponsor you for a subclass 489 visa, but there is a very low allotment of spaces for family-sponsored skilled visas and it can take quite a bit of time to get through. Would check the details for the 489 and see if it makes sense for you - note that it is a provisional skilled visa and you would not get your PR from this visa - would need to apply for a subclass 887 later and have it granted in order to become a permanent resident.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wewie said:


> Mark
> I am Irish, living in the UK.
> Sister is an Australian citizen living in Melbourne.
> 
> I trained in the UK as a general nurse (qualified in 2013) but I am over 35.
> 
> I have two questions I am confused about.
> Where do I start to get my registration recognised by the Australian Board of nursing and midwifery?
> 
> Could my sister sponsor me as a family member (we have other family alive but not living in Australia) or do I have to try and go through the state by state skilled workers sponsorship visa?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## krishhh

*489 Subseqnt info*

Hi Mark,

I previously had a 485 Graduate visa rejected due to Ielts issue so i applied for MRT and the outcome was -ve, then i applied for Minister intervention and departed AUS 6mnths back on a Bridging E visa before the minister could make a decision. Just to be clear i was not deported or asked to leave, i left willfully.

My spouse is currently holding a 489 visa. My question is Will i be able to apply for a 489 subsequent entrant visa or will the Rentry ban apply to it, any info regarding this would be of great help.

Thank you.


----------



## rbowman

*Help with condition 8503*

Hi Mark, 
I am new to the forum and would really appreciate your help. I want to bring my mum to Aus, She is 67yrs old and is widowed. She currently has a tourist visa with condition 8503 attached. I am looking at my options to have the 8503 waived. There has been no changes in her circumstances since the tourist visa was granted. 
Our only grounds are compassionate grounds that she has no immediate family back home and would benefit staying with us. Would this work? what other options do I have for her?
Many thanks 
Rachna


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Krishhh -

Thanks for the question - the 3 year exclusion period that an applicant is given per 4013, 4014 parts of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1994 when departing holding a BV-E after holding that visa for 28 days or more does not apply to the subclass 489 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



krishhh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I previously had a 485 Graduate visa rejected due to Ielts issue so i applied for MRT and the outcome was -ve, then i applied for Minister intervention and departed AUS 6mnths back on a Bridging E visa before the minister could make a decision. Just to be clear i was not deported or asked to leave, i left willfully.
> 
> My spouse is currently holding a 489 visa. My question is Will i be able to apply for a 489 subsequent entrant visa or will the Rentry ban apply to it, any info regarding this would be of great help.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## rayray086

MarkNortham said:


> No problem, Rayray086 - looking forward to meeting you and assisting you with your migration.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Mark,

It was a pleasure meeting you today. I made an appointment with you hoping that I could come out of it being 100% confident in submitting our application, and thankfully I really did feel that after our discussion. I've since submitted our application and have received our acknowledgement of application, and we will move forward from.

Thank you so much Mark!

Regards,
Raymond.

P.S. I received a follow-up thank you email from you and although it asks me to rate my experience and provide feedback, it doesn't provide me with a link to do so. Just thought I'd let you know.


----------



## Depressedfish

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Depressedfish -
> 
> Unless they change the rules, yes - it's done at the visa application stage after an invitation is generated by NSW.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark, so I can put 0 for dependents in the EOI and add my grandmother later when I received a FSW invitation?

Trying to fill out the EOI now so just wanted to confirm before proceeding.

Really appreciate your help on this site, it certainly benefited lots of people who may run afoul of DBIP's rules.

Currently my plan of attack is to get the invitation and then get you for a consultation about whether adding my grandmother to the visa application is a good idea due to health concerns.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raymond -

Thanks so much for the kind words, and it was great meeting you as well - glad I could answer your questions and assist - best of luck to you both!

Best,

Mark



rayray086 said:


> Mark,
> 
> It was a pleasure meeting you today. I made an appointment with you hoping that I could come out of it being 100% confident in submitting our application, and thankfully I really did feel that after our discussion. I've since submitted our application and have received our acknowledgement of application, and we will move forward from.
> 
> Thank you so much Mark!
> 
> Regards,
> Raymond.
> 
> P.S. I received a follow-up thank you email from you and although it asks me to rate my experience and provide feedback, it doesn't provide me with a link to do so. Just thought I'd let you know.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depressedfish -

Sounds like a plan - only thing that could be an issue is if you are going for a 190 state sponsored visa - in many cases they will want to know details on your dependents - but for 189, no problem adding/deleting them later on in the process, even after application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Depressedfish said:


> Thanks Mark, so I can put 0 for dependents in the EOI and add my grandmother later when I received a FSW invitation?
> 
> Trying to fill out the EOI now so just wanted to confirm before proceeding.
> 
> Really appreciate your help on this site, it certainly benefited lots of people who may run afoul of DBIP's rules.
> 
> Currently my plan of attack is to get the invitation and then get you for a consultation about whether adding my grandmother to the visa application is a good idea due to health concerns.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rachna -

Thanks for the question. With no significant change in her conditions, an 8503 waiver is unlikely. Lack of relatives by itself is not generally enough to get to the level of compassionate grounds. Options may include contributory parent visa (18 months to process, visitor visas usually approved during processing), offshore remaining relative visa (but long waiting time), offshore non-contributory parent visa (even longer waiting time, but long visitor visas allowed), etc.

I don't mean to discourage your plan of an 8503 waiver, however my view is that you're likely going to have to come up with more reason(s) than you have at the moment to get a reasonable chance at that. Would be happy to work through options at a consultation if you'd like see my website in the link below my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rbowman said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am new to the forum and would really appreciate your help. I want to bring my mum to Aus, She is 67yrs old and is widowed. She currently has a tourist visa with condition 8503 attached. I am looking at my options to have the 8503 waived. There has been no changes in her circumstances since the tourist visa was granted.
> Our only grounds are compassionate grounds that she has no immediate family back home and would benefit staying with us. Would this work? what other options do I have for her?
> Many thanks
> Rachna


----------



## dharabaskar

*Spouse's English*

Hi Mark,

For my wife's english proof of evidence, can I show her degree certificate or should I have to get any letter from the university where she studied?

Regards,
VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VJ -

Depends on the school - if it's without question that the school delivers classes 100% in English, then the certificate may work; otherwise you'll need other evidence as well as the certificate to show that the school taught those classes in English.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dharabaskar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> For my wife's english proof of evidence, can I show her degree certificate or should I have to get any letter from the university where she studied?
> 
> Regards,
> VJ


----------



## lisaz3349

*Work on ETA?!*

Mark for an ETA visa what do you mean by "work"? I will be training/collaborating on projects at CSIRO but they are not paying me in any way. I am a paid Ph.D student under the agricultural department in Ireland. So in a sense, I work for the Irish government. Does this qualify under a business ETA? Again thanks again for all of your help. I really appreciate it.



lisaz3349 said:


> Mark, I am an American currently getting my Ph.D in Ireland. I will be doing some training and work with CSIRO outside of Melbourne for 4 months. I was advised to apply for the 402 occupational trainee visa by CSIRO and submitted an application on August 1st. On the web site, the processing time states it only takes 2 months but when I called the help line here in Europe they told me 2-3 months. I was suppose to leave last week but have postponed my trip now till till October 29th. I am not even sure if that is enough time either. I really can't push back this trip again since the fiscal year on the scholarship will be up. Thus I am thinking maybe of getting a business ETA in the meantime till this is processed any thoughts?!?! Will I be able to carry both visas at the same time or will my 402 visa be denied if an ETA is processed already? Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## dharabaskar

Thanks Mark.

Regards,
VJ


MarkNortham said:


> Hi VJ -
> 
> Depends on the school - if it's without question that the school delivers classes 100% in English, then the certificate may work; otherwise you'll need other evidence as well as the certificate to show that the school taught those classes in English.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lisaz3349 -

Normally work in terms of Australian migration law is an activity that, in Australia, normally attracts remuneration (pay) - so the issue of whether you are paid for the work, or who pays you, is not necessarily central to determining whether what you're doing in Australia is work.

A business ETA covers a lot of things associated with work -, negotiations, signing contracts, employment enquiries, and things like participating in seminars and events as long as you're not being paid by the organiser of the event to do so. Hard to say based on what you've mentioned how your work falls in this regard -

Best,

Mark Northam



lisaz3349 said:


> Mark for an ETA visa what do you mean by "work"? I will be training/collaborating on projects at CSIRO but they are not paying me in any way. I am a paid Ph.D student under the agricultural department in Ireland. So in a sense, I work for the Irish government. Does this qualify under a business ETA? Again thanks again for all of your help. I really appreciate it.


----------



## Timmo

*A few questions.*

Dear Mark,

I have a few questions you may be able to help me with. I appreciate that you are busy so I will try to keep this concise and short as possible.

About me:

Australian citizen by birth, currently living in Italy with my Italian de facto partner and our 14 month old Italian born son. (I have UK passport in addition to Aus passport)

Planning to apply for sons citizenship by descent, then his passport, then partner visa, will be applying from Italy.

Questions:

1.For citizenship by descent, will London accept certified copies of Italian documents by the same standards as Australia (the list of occupations) or is it a specific standard for Italy?

2.Can translations be by anyone in Italy who is able to do so? Say a relative with qualifications in the language.

3.Will London accept Visa Debit cards for 118 fee payment (They say only credit cards, but I cant imagine they would have trouble processing a payment on a UK visa debit card) ?

4. As our son will be travelling by his passport, thus not being included for the partner visa application, do we still need to fill in the parts of the partner visa form which apply to children 'included' in the application? For example in form 47SP, He is listed in her family details and ticked as 'migrating with you' then in section 33 it asks 'are any of your family members included in this application for migration under 18'? Do we leave it blank, tick no, or tick yes? It feels by ticking no, we are saying he is over 18, but by ticking yes we are 'including' him in the application, when he does not require a visa. It is almost as if the form is assuming the child is from another relationship without the possibility that the child will not require visa for entry. (which, given the sponsor is Australian, would almost certainly be the case, unless the child is from another person)

I am sorry question 4 came out much more complicated, but this seems to be the most confusing part of the application.

5. In case there is something not right with the application, do they reject it, or just chase you up for missing or extra requirements?

6. As I am living with my partner in Italy, I have no address to list as her sponsor. Our plan is to sell her house here, then live with my father in Aus at first until we find somewhere else. My father is ok with this. Do I list his address as my address in Australia, then perhaps just include a couple of statements explaining our intentions?

7. For my son's citizenship by descent form, it requires evidence of other citizenships. I migrated to UK with my mother when i was 14, and incidently acquired UK citizenship by the fact I was included on her passport as a child. So now I am a dual citizen, but do not have any document that shows how and when I acquired this. I tried to contact the embassy but to no avail, so I was plannning to include copies of my passports and a written statement explaining how i acquired citizenship. I will include the date my mothers passport was issued, the passport number, and the date we moved to UK.

Seeing as though I applied for an Australian passport _after _ my stay in UK, it would seem there is no confliction of citizenships, so my status as Aus citizen is apllicable for the form. Would they accept this or do I need to dig up some form from the agencies involved stating the process by which I originlly acquired citizenship?

Again, I aprreciate your time and willingness to casually help others, it is truly generous of you. I also would apologise if any of this is outside the scope of what you can advise on.

Thanking you in advance,

Timmo


----------



## caselven

*Asking a quest*

Dear Mark
Hello
I want to know what is the process to apply for skilled immigrant
what are papers needed and minimum requirement
Cost of application and time for processing and what are the steps

Thanks for your help


----------



## Ronjayia

Hi mark, just wondering if you have the good news from the MRT case that you just attended recently just to see what are my chances in my mrt case. Another thing in worse case scenario what can be the next step for me?
Regards
Ronjayia


----------



## lisaz3349

Mark,
One more set of question I spoke with CSIRO today. Do you understand what the "study in some circumstances" means for the 601 ETA visa. I also need to know if I have the ETA can I still be granted the 402 vis?> CSIRO mentioned you need to be traveling from the country your 402 visa application states in order to qualify...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Timmo -

Will do my best with the ones you've asked - you may want to book a consultation given the amount of info you need as the forum, while a great place for genera/basic questions, is not effective for case-specific questions... See below at ***



Timmo said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a few questions you may be able to help me with. I appreciate that you are busy so I will try to keep this concise and short as possible.
> 
> About me:
> 
> Australian citizen by birth, currently living in Italy with my Italian de facto partner and our 14 month old Italian born son. (I have UK passport in addition to Aus passport)
> 
> Planning to apply for sons citizenship by descent, then his passport, then partner visa, will be applying from Italy.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1.For citizenship by descent, will London accept certified copies of Italian documents by the same standards as Australia (the list of occupations) or is it a specific standard for Italy?
> *** You would need to check with the London office to see their policies - they vary.
> 
> 2.Can translations be by anyone in Italy who is able to do so? Say a relative with qualifications in the language.
> *** Generally not. Should be done by NAATI qualified translator or equivalent professional translator in your country.
> 
> 3.Will London accept Visa Debit cards for 118 fee payment (They say only credit cards, but I cant imagine they would have trouble processing a payment on a UK visa debit card) ?
> *** Again, check with them for best info on this.
> 
> 4. As our son will be travelling by his passport, thus not being included for the partner visa application, do we still need to fill in the parts of the partner visa form which apply to children 'included' in the application? For example in form 47SP, He is listed in her family details and ticked as 'migrating with you' then in section 33 it asks 'are any of your family members included in this application for migration under 18'? Do we leave it blank, tick no, or tick yes? It feels by ticking no, we are saying he is over 18, but by ticking yes we are 'including' him in the application, when he does not require a visa. It is almost as if the form is assuming the child is from another relationship without the possibility that the child will not require visa for entry. (which, given the sponsor is Australian, would almost certainly be the case, unless the child is from another person)
> *** If he is a citizen of Australia, he cannot be included in the application. He would likely be a non-migrating dependent.
> 
> I am sorry question 4 came out much more complicated, but this seems to be the most confusing part of the application.
> 
> 5. In case there is something not right with the application, do they reject it, or just chase you up for missing or extra requirements?
> *** Can happen either way, depending on the case officer. Better to make sure it's correct in the beginning if at all possible.
> 
> 6. As I am living with my partner in Italy, I have no address to list as her sponsor. Our plan is to sell her house here, then live with my father in Aus at first until we find somewhere else. My father is ok with this. Do I list his address as my address in Australia, then perhaps just include a couple of statements explaining our intentions?
> *** That sounds like a good plan, however residential address is required so perhaps the Australia address make sense. Again, don't know enough about your case to give you specific advice.
> 
> 7. For my son's citizenship by descent form, it requires evidence of other citizenships. I migrated to UK with my mother when i was 14, and incidently acquired UK citizenship by the fact I was included on her passport as a child. So now I am a dual citizen, but do not have any document that shows how and when I acquired this. I tried to contact the embassy but to no avail, so I was plannning to include copies of my passports and a written statement explaining how i acquired citizenship. I will include the date my mothers passport was issued, the passport number, and the date we moved to UK.
> *** Sounds like a good plan. They may ask follow-up questions depending on whether they need more info about this.
> 
> Seeing as though I applied for an Australian passport _after _ my stay in UK, it would seem there is no confliction of citizenships, so my status as Aus citizen is apllicable for the form. Would they accept this or do I need to dig up some form from the agencies involved stating the process by which I originlly acquired citizenship?
> 
> *** Not sure re: other citizenships.
> 
> Thanking you in advance,
> 
> Timmo


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Caselven -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



caselven said:


> Dear Mark
> Hello
> I want to know what is the process to apply for skilled immigrant
> what are papers needed and minimum requirement
> Cost of application and time for processing and what are the steps
> 
> Thanks for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ronjayia -

No word yet, but please understand that all cases are different, and all Members at the MRT are different - the same case heard by two different members may end up with two entirely different results.

If you're referring to partner visa Schedule 3 refusal, then for most people an offshore partner visa is the next step.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ronjayia said:


> Hi mark, just wondering if you have the good news from the MRT case that you just attended recently just to see what are my chances in my mrt case. Another thing in worse case scenario what can be the next step for me?
> Regards
> Ronjayia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lisaz3349 -

Thanks for the question - I sent you a reply directly as you emailed me as well. My best advice would be to get a professional opinion regarding whether what you're intending to do on the ETA would constitute "work" according to the migration regulations, then proceed as you see fit based on that - at least you are proceeding then with a full understanding of the migration regulations that pertain to your situation. Many migration agents including myself provide professional consultations for this type of purpose.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lisaz3349 said:


> Mark,
> One more set of question I spoke with CSIRO today. Do you understand what the "study in some circumstances" means for the 601 ETA visa. I also need to know if I have the ETA can I still be granted the 402 vis?> CSIRO mentioned you need to be traveling from the country your 402 visa application states in order to qualify...


----------



## junzar

*Eoi wrong employment dates*

Hi mark,

thanks for your prompt response


----------



## Timmo

Dear Mark,


Thank you very much for your response, that was incredibly helpful.

Just one thing, we are now planning to use the online immi application method, previously we had thought it was not available outside Australia but it seems the offshore applications are available also. So we just wanted to know, do we both need separate accounts to lodge the online partner form as well as the sponsor form, or can they be both lodged through the same account. 

Also, is it correct that we do not need to certify copies. just to upload high quality colour scans of the originals? 

Thanks a million,

Timmo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Timmo -

One ImmiAccount can be used for both forms - that makes things easier. And yes, colour scans of originals are fine for all documents - once in a while they will want originals of the police certificates, but other than that colour scans are fine. However in case they want any originals or certified copies sent by post (rarely happens), I'd keep the originals handy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Timmo said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your response, that was incredibly helpful.
> 
> Just one thing, we are now planning to use the online immi application method, previously we had thought it was not available outside Australia but it seems the offshore applications are available also. So we just wanted to know, do we both need separate accounts to lodge the online partner form as well as the sponsor form, or can they be both lodged through the same account.
> 
> Also, is it correct that we do not need to certify copies. just to upload high quality colour scans of the originals?
> 
> Thanks a million,
> 
> Timmo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Junzar -

Your agent should fix this for you since he made the error. First, you need to make absolutely sure that the change does not affect your points. Next, if it cannot be changed on the visa application (many parts can be, however), you'll need to use Form 1023 to correct a mistake. However absolutely do not let it just go through, since if DIBP checks that employer and the dates don't line up, you can be refused and have more problems down the road depending on whether you're claiming that work for points, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



junzar said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> thanks for your prompt response
> i had come up with another issue please it would be really helpful if you give me proper information.
> 
> i have got invitation to apply for 190 visa,
> when i am going through my EOI i had notice that my agent had put wrong dates of one of my previous employment.
> now i am about to apply for the visa how can i correct that dates as my EOI is freezed and i am very tensed about it.
> does this have any negative effect on my visa application however that wrong dates does not effect my points (65 points)
> 
> thanks and regards
> zar


----------



## TAMZID

Hi Mr.Mark,
Hope you are doing great.
I would appreciate if you please help me with following queries:

1.If I come to Australia in 457 visa subclass, can it be possible to get PR?
2.What are the things will not be covered under this scheme like medicare, education etc?
Would appreciate your feedback.
Br,
Tamzid


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

Thanks for the note. Main pathways for PR for people who hold 457 visas are employer sponsored PR on the ENS or RSMS visa after holding the 457 for 2 years, or skilled visas if you have sufficient points and can find a sponsoring state. On 457 visa, healthcare and education is not included - you're required to maintain private health insurance during your stay in Australia, and if you have children who need to go to school, you'll have to pay whatever the state you live in charges for non-resident education, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Hi Mr.Mark,
> Hope you are doing great.
> I would appreciate if you please help me with following queries:
> 
> 1.If I come to Australia in 457 visa subclass, can it be possible to get PR?
> 2.What are the things will not be covered under this scheme like medicare, education etc?
> Would appreciate your feedback.
> Br,
> Tamzid


----------



## TAMZID

Hi Mr. Mark,
Thanks for your prompt reply.
If I can manage employment who can sponsor me, can it be helpful for my sponsored visa like 457 or ENS 186.

What do you think be helpful?
My educational background is BCom and I did MBA with more than 17 years of experience in infrastructure development related job as project /contract administration

I am currently in Melbourne and like to talk to you if you allow me.

Br,
Tamzid



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tamzid -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Main pathways for PR for people who hold 457 visas are employer sponsored PR on the ENS or RSMS visa after holding the 457 for 2 years, or skilled visas if you have sufficient points and can find a sponsoring state. On 457 visa, healthcare and education is not included - you're required to maintain private health insurance during your stay in Australia, and if you have children who need to go to school, you'll have to pay whatever the state you live in charges for non-resident education, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

Yes - a sponsoring employer is required for these visas - if you'd like to go through all the details and requirements and see which visa(s) might be a good fit for your circumstances, happy to do so at a consultation - we're in Sydney (Parramatta) but cand do consult by phone & Skype as well - see link in website in my signature below to website with more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Hi Mr. Mark,
> Thanks for your prompt reply.
> If I can manage employment who can sponsor me, can it be helpful for my sponsored visa like 457 or ENS 186.
> 
> What do you think be helpful?
> My educational background is BCom and I did MBA with more than 17 years of experience in infrastructure development related job as project /contract administration
> 
> I am currently in Melbourne and like to talk to you if you allow me.
> 
> Br,
> Tamzid


----------



## itsmann

*Need help!*

Hello,

I need your help in finding suitable skill set as i am confused while going through the details of ANZSCO Code Descriptions.

Basically i am working in DWH tools that includes informatica power center,involves in implementation,enhancement,supporting the applications,monitoring the jobs,troubleshoot the issue in production env,analysis for data issues or any coding issues in informatica.
skills-Informatica,oracle,unix.

Please advise me here, which is suitable -sofwatre engineer,system analyst.

Hoping to get prompt response.

Thanks
Manju


----------



## andyrossi

Hi Mark

I applied for a 457 (employer sponsorship) visa at the end of June. I called my agent last week for an update who advised me that company was refused sponsorship due to them not providing financial evidence in time. They subsequently submitted another application without advising me which I am not happy about, so we are back to the beginning of the process. Due to this and other issues that have arisen I'm not confident that the company are strong enough to see out the sponsorship for the next 2 years, so I have found a new employer who is willing to sponsor me. I only have 7 weeks until my second working holiday visa expires. My first question is, is it possible to transfer employers on my existing application even though the visa has not actually been granted yet? Or will we have to cancel the application and apply again? 

My next issue my partner wants to apply defacto. We have been together for nearly 5 years, however, we have only actually lived together continuously for 10 months as we spent time travelling or living with parents in order to save to travel. We have lots of travel docs, photos etc but not really any proof of the 12 month continuous requirement of tenancy, bills etc. Will this be sufficient evidence in order to apply defacto? What other evidence can we use?


----------



## Danvisa

Hi mark,
My girlfriend applied for a 12month multi visa from thailand, she got a call today to say she being granted a multi visa (she forgot to ask how long was granted.. Rolls eyes)
But the call was to tell her she wasnt allowed to just leave the country for a few days and return but she had to spend upto a month in thailand before returning, if she didnt she would be refused any more visa's....
Who is the authority on that? I didnt think case officers were allowed to put vague rules over the phone applied to visa's.
We will adhere to any stipulations applied to our visa but this seemed very un official, what if we wanted to go on a quick holiday to bali or something?
She also said the purpose was to visit my family not stay long time with me, very confused !!
Who do we call to get the absolute on what we can and cant do?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi itsmann -

I don't know nearly enough about your work history to advise you on that - suggest you explore the ANZSCO descriptions in more detail - if you are looking at an ANZSCO codes that ACS (Australia Computer Society) does skills assessments for, on the ACS site you can find much more detailed descriptions for each of the ANZSCO codes they assess.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itsmann said:


> Hello,
> 
> I need your help in finding suitable skill set as i am confused while going through the details of ANZSCO Code Descriptions.
> 
> Basically i am working in DWH tools that includes informatica power center,involves in implementation,enhancement,supporting the applications,monitoring the jobs,troubleshoot the issue in production env,analysis for data issues or any coding issues in informatica.
> skills-Informatica,oracle,unix.
> 
> Please advise me here, which is suitable -sofwatre engineer,system analyst.
> 
> Hoping to get prompt response.
> 
> Thanks
> Manju


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Danvisa -

Never heard of that sort of a "verbal condition" being put on a visa. If it's not in writing, then all they can do is to put notes on the visa in their computer that the immigration officers can see when you arrive for a re-entry at an airport. But there is no condition I know of that establishes a minimum amount of time outside the country between visits for a multiple entry visa. I would check the actual visa you get very carefully and read every word - check all the conditions, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Danvisa said:


> Hi mark,
> My girlfriend applied for a 12month multi visa from thailand, she got a call today to say she being granted a multi visa (she forgot to ask how long was granted.. Rolls eyes)
> But the call was to tell her she wasnt allowed to just leave the country for a few days and return but she had to spend upto a month in thailand before returning, if she didnt she would be refused any more visa's....
> Who is the authority on that? I didnt think case officers were allowed to put vague rules over the phone applied to visa's.
> We will adhere to any stipulations applied to our visa but this seemed very un official, what if we wanted to go on a quick holiday to bali or something?
> She also said the purpose was to visit my family not stay long time with me, very confused !!
> Who do we call to get the absolute on what we can and cant do?


----------



## Danvisa

Thanks mark, would an FOI file request show those notes?
My fear is without an exact time how do we know we are complying?
We intend to employ you for our partner visa in the new year, and we dont want to risk that visa chance in any way


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Danvisa -

An FOI might show that - hard to predict. Bottom line: the only conditions a visa legally has, are those conditions that are stated explicitly on the visa. Other regulations apply to visa holders, but these are the usual regulations, and not "one-off" regulations, etc as you described. As long as you are coming to Australia for visitor visa related reasons (ie, temporary visit to friends/family or for tourism purposes) there is nothing that DIBP can really say. Again - the only conditions in effect are those on the visa...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Danvisa said:


> Thanks mark, would an FOI file request show those notes?
> My fear is without an exact time how do we know we are complying?
> We intend to employ you for our partner visa in the new year, and we dont want to risk that visa chance in any way


----------



## krishhh

Hi Mark,

I've been granted a 489 visa 3 months back and i'm planning to move to Australia in Dec. I'd like to know if i can apply a 489 subsequent entrant visa for my spouse whilst overseas or do i have to be in Aus to do that, any info would be of great help. Thank you


----------



## Esmino

Hi Mark!

A few weeks ago I asked you for your advice considering our situation. I applied for a partner visa offshore and applied my mother as a secondary applicant (depending family member).
But my CO has now indicated that they will have to refuse her application because she cannot be considered financially dependent on me and therefore she is not eligible for this visa.
We asked her to reconsider that and tried to show that she is more dependent on me and the financial help is not sufficient, but that did not help to change this situation.
We now have the opportunity to wait for the refusal or withdraw her request as a secondary applicant (according to our CO waiting for the refusal will cause a much longer wait for my visa). 
.
What do you consider would be the best for us? Do you think a withdrawal can cause difficulties in future? (I want to sponsor her on a contributory parent visa as soon as I’ll be eligible as a sponsor.)
If we go for a withdrawal should we keep something in mind? Is it necessary to give reasons for the withdrawal? Will it make any difference? Or is a “one-liner” enough?


Thank you so much for your previous reply. I am glad that this platform exists and we have people like you who help!


Thank you, Mark!

Kind regards,

Esmino


----------



## andyrossi

Hi Mark, can you help? You may have missed my post, here it is again:

I applied for a 457 (employer sponsorship) visa at the end of June. I called my agent last week for an update who advised me that company was refused sponsorship due to them not providing financial evidence in time. They subsequently submitted another application without advising me which I am not happy about, so we are back to the beginning of the process. Due to this and other issues that have arisen I'm not confident that the company are strong enough to see out the sponsorship for the next 2 years, so I have found a new employer who is willing to sponsor me. I only have 7 weeks until my second working holiday visa expires. My first question is, is it possible to transfer employers on my existing application even though the visa has not actually been granted yet? Or will we have to cancel the application and apply again? 

My next issue my partner wants to apply defacto. We have been together for nearly 5 years, however, we have only actually lived together continuously for 10 months as we spent time travelling or living with parents in order to save to travel. We have lots of travel docs, photos etc but not really any proof of the 12 month continuous requirement of tenancy, bills etc. Will this be sufficient evidence in order to apply defacto? What other evidence can we use?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Esmino -

Thanks for the question - I would need to work with you in a consultation to get more details about your case in order to give you specific advice regarding withdrawing or waiting for refusal - there are pros and cons to both choices. However normally there is no penalty to the remaining applicant if the secondary applicant withdraws.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Esmino said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> A few weeks ago I asked you for your advice considering our situation. I applied for a partner visa offshore and applied my mother as a secondary applicant (depending family member).
> But my CO has now indicated that they will have to refuse her application because she cannot be considered financially dependent on me and therefore she is not eligible for this visa.
> We asked her to reconsider that and tried to show that she is more dependent on me and the financial help is not sufficient, but that did not help to change this situation.
> We now have the opportunity to wait for the refusal or withdraw her request as a secondary applicant (according to our CO waiting for the refusal will cause a much longer wait for my visa).
> .
> What do you consider would be the best for us? Do you think a withdrawal can cause difficulties in future? (I want to sponsor her on a contributory parent visa as soon as I'll be eligible as a sponsor.)
> If we go for a withdrawal should we keep something in mind? Is it necessary to give reasons for the withdrawal? Will it make any difference? Or is a "one-liner" enough?
> 
> Thank you so much for your previous reply. I am glad that this platform exists and we have people like you who help!
> 
> Thank you, Mark!
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Esmino


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andyrossi -

Sorry I missed your original post! Happy to help -

Re: 457, not possible to switch employers after the 457 visa application is lodged - your choice is essentially to withdraw the application, or let it be refused - withdrawal may be a much better choice depending on the circumstances.

Re: another 457 application with another employer and adding defacto to application, would need to see your documents and work with you in a consultation in order to give you any advice specific for your case - see website below for link for consultation if I can help you in that manner.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andyrossi said:


> Hi Mark, can you help? You may have missed my post, here it is again:
> 
> I applied for a 457 (employer sponsorship) visa at the end of June. I called my agent last week for an update who advised me that company was refused sponsorship due to them not providing financial evidence in time. They subsequently submitted another application without advising me which I am not happy about, so we are back to the beginning of the process. Due to this and other issues that have arisen I'm not confident that the company are strong enough to see out the sponsorship for the next 2 years, so I have found a new employer who is willing to sponsor me. I only have 7 weeks until my second working holiday visa expires. My first question is, is it possible to transfer employers on my existing application even though the visa has not actually been granted yet? Or will we have to cancel the application and apply again?
> 
> My next issue my partner wants to apply defacto. We have been together for nearly 5 years, however, we have only actually lived together continuously for 10 months as we spent time travelling or living with parents in order to save to travel. We have lots of travel docs, photos etc but not really any proof of the 12 month continuous requirement of tenancy, bills etc. Will this be sufficient evidence in order to apply defacto? What other evidence can we use?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## ianbee

*457 Renewal*

Hi Mark, 
A quick question to which I have been unable to find an answer.
What is the maximum number of years you can work on a 457 visa?
At one time I think you could only have 2 successive 457 visa's (i.e. 8 years max in total) then you had to either go for PR or leave?. Is this still the case?
(P.S. I am over 50 years of age and currently on the 3rd year of my first 4 year visa (but only with my current sponsor for 2 years) My current sponsor has stated that they will be applying for another 4 year 457 when my visa expires in July next year, and I have a permanent contract with them.
...there are all sorts of extra rules on the over 50's as far as ENS is concerned which I am well aware of (i.e. the 4 year rule and earnings above the higher earnings threshold etc.)...If the ENS scheme is not open to me I have some other possibilities with a parental visa, which I know can take some years...therefore I may need to stay on a 457 for some time and therefore want to know what the maximum time you can actually be on a 457 visa. Thanks


----------



## TAMZID

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tamzid -
> 
> Yes - a sponsoring employer is required for these visas - if you'd like to go through all the details and requirements and see which visa(s) might be a good fit for your circumstances, happy to do so at a consultation - we're in Sydney (Parramatta) but cand do consult by phone & Skype as well - see link in website in my signature below to website with more info.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thanks for your help. 
Before I call, may I know one thing like-if I come with 457 work visa which is 4 years visa and after working two years in the nominated position with the sponsored company , will I have to apply for PR with employment sponsored.
if yes, what is the chances for such PR.

Would appreciate for your hep.
Br,
Tamzid


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ianbee -

No age limit on 457's, max length of the visa is 4 years, no limit to the number of successive 457s you can have - a very flexible visa!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ianbee said:


> Hi Mark,
> A quick question to which I have been unable to find an answer.
> What is the maximum number of years you can work on a 457 visa?
> At one time I think you could only have 2 successive 457 visa's (i.e. 8 years max in total) then you had to either go for PR or leave?. Is this still the case?
> (P.S. I am over 50 years of age and currently on the 3rd year of my first 4 year visa (but only with my current sponsor for 2 years) My current sponsor has stated that they will be applying for another 4 year 457 when my visa expires in July next year, and I have a permanent contract with them.
> ...there are all sorts of extra rules on the over 50's as far as ENS is concerned which I am well aware of (i.e. the 4 year rule and earnings above the higher earnings threshold etc.)...If the ENS scheme is not open to me I have some other possibilities with a parental visa, which I know can take some years...therefore I may need to stay on a 457 for some time and therefore want to know what the maximum time you can actually be on a 457 visa. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

There is a provision for the employer to sponsor a 457 visa holder for the 186 or 187 ENS/RSMS visas after 2 years if you meet all the requirements. Other people lodge skilled visa applications after spending time on a 457, and there are direct entry pathways available for the 186/187 employer sponsored PR visas where the employer can sponsor the employee for PR without having to have the employee spend 2 years on a 457 - lots of details and conditions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your help.
> Before I call, may I know one thing like-if I come with 457 work visa which is 4 years visa and after working two years in the nominated position with the sponsored company , will I have to apply for PR with employment sponsored.
> if yes, what is the chances for such PR.
> 
> Would appreciate for your hep.
> Br,
> Tamzid


----------



## TAMZID

Dear Mr. mark,
Thanks.
Out of these two 457 and 186 , which do you think be helpful -since I donot have any working experience in Australia.Under 457 class, any assessment is needed?

If my sponsor like me with direct employment under 186 class, then there are certain factors like educational qualification assessment and so on.
Would appreciate your advise.

Br,
Tamzid



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tamzid -
> 
> There is a provision for the employer to sponsor a 457 visa holder for the 186 or 187 ENS/RSMS visas after 2 years if you meet all the requirements. Other people lodge skilled visa applications after spending time on a 457, and there are direct entry pathways available for the 186/187 employer sponsored PR visas where the employer can sponsor the employee for PR without having to have the employee spend 2 years on a 457 - lots of details and conditions.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

In some cases (certain occupations from certain countries) 457 skills assessment is necessary - the regulations can be complex in these situations - would need to work with you in a consultation to learn much more about your circumstances in order to give you specific advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Dear Mr. mark,
> Thanks.
> Out of these two 457 and 186 , which do you think be helpful -since I donot have any working experience in Australia.Under 457 class, any assessment is needed?
> 
> If my sponsor like me with direct employment under 186 class, then there are certain factors like educational qualification assessment and so on.
> Would appreciate your advise.
> 
> Br,
> Tamzid


----------



## Harry11

Hi Mark
Our medicals were reffered to MOC and haven't got CO yet..immi account now saying this message. .any idea please as we are very stressed about this now as earlier MOC has asked us please provide your occupation and advice to employer that they do not take exposure to prone procedure. .to which we sent letter last month that being dental technician they dont perform exposure prone procedure. .why they asking all this and do thing we are in big trouble. .please share your experience advice on this

Updates to health information will not occur until a case officer investigates the person's case in line with published processing times for the visa that has been applied for. There is no need to contact the department at this time concerning this matter’


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harry11 -

Sounds like you're right in the middle of a MOC assessment - not a lot you can do at this point other than to respond to the questions in a way that looks as reasonably positive to you as possible. Generally if the MOC is considering concluding that the applicant does not meet the health criteria, a natural justice letter is sent to the applicant giving an opportunity to comment on and provide reasons and evidence why the applicant should not be refused due to the health criteria - if you get this letter, would suggest you get professional assistance to help navigate the regulations in this area. Until a decision from the MOC comes, not a lot can be done until you receive that decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Harry11 said:


> Hi Mark
> Our medicals were reffered to MOC and haven't got CO yet..immi account now saying this message. .any idea please as we are very stressed about this now as earlier MOC has asked us please provide your occupation and advice to employer that they do not take exposure to prone procedure. .to which we sent letter last month that being dental technician they dont perform exposure prone procedure. .why they asking all this and do thing we are in big trouble. .please share your experience advice on this
> 
> Updates to health information will not occur until a case officer investigates the person's case in line with published processing times for the visa that has been applied for. There is no need to contact the department at this time concerning this matter'


----------



## TAMZID

TAMZID said:


> Dear Mr. mark,
> Thanks.
> Out of these two 457 and 186 , which do you think be helpful -since I donot have any working experience in Australia.Under 457 class, any assessment is needed?
> 
> If my sponsor like me with direct employment under 186 class, then there are certain factors like educational qualification assessment and so on.
> Would appreciate your advise.
> 
> Br,
> Tamzid


Thanks Mr. mark.

In that situation then why should not try for 186 direct stream.

Pls advise.
I like to speak to you .

br


----------



## Harry11

Thanks a lot Mark 
Small question again..does it mean we have chances to get letter from justice but as it says wait till CO..bit confused about this..so MOC does wait for CO to be allocated and then comes to conclusion. .hope its not that worse


----------



## Harry11

Thanks a lot Mark 
Small question again..does it mean we have chances to get letter from justice but as it says wait till CO..bit confused about this..so MOC does wait for CO to be allocated and then comes to conclusion. .hope its not that worse


----------



## Harry11

Hi mark thanks for the advice.
just a small questions. .as of now it showing wait untill CO geta allocated..that does mean MOC wait for CO to get allocated and then comes to conclusion. .as now we are extremely worried about what if we receive letter of justic3..hope its not that worse


----------



## tearsunderstars

*Would like to be granted the visa after leaving Oz*

Hello Mark

I've posted this on the expatforum, but I haven't got a response so far on this.

I've lodged the application for the 476 visa on 30th Aug 2014.

I was allocated a CO on 26 Sep, and after some discussion on meeting requirement 476.212(a), the CO requested for health and PCC on 29th Sep.

I've completed the health already on 2 Oct and received my PCC just today (16 Oct).

I'm going to Oz on 30th Oct 2014(as a tourist, on ETA) but I don't want the visa to be granted to me before I leave for Oz. The reason being is that I want to stay for longer and earn enough money to sustain my stay in Oz. (I believe that I'll be given 6 months to enter Oz once it has been granted, then the 18th month period starts. I don't want the 18 months to start immediately when I go to Oz as a tourist)

The CO did not give me deadline to submit the docs, she simply said the outcome will be finalized after all supporting docs are received, so I'm wondering how much can I delay it? I was thinking of submitting right before I leave for Oz as a tourist, so they will grant me the visa after I leave Oz.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

Would need to discuss all the details in a consultation- it's not quite that simple - need to discuss your work experience, education, etc to see how you fit the requirements for the different visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Thanks Mr. mark.
> 
> In that situation then why should not try for 186 direct stream.
> 
> Pls advise.
> I like to speak to you .
> 
> br


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harry11 -

Generally the health assessment process continues until conclusion, then results reported to case officer or case "team" and you are notified if the MOC determines that you do not meet the health criteria, then giving you a chance to respond - this is called a "natural justice letter" since natural justice requires that you be given the right to comment on adverse information, etc.

Depending on the visa you are applying for, you may or may not have the opportunity to lodge a health waiver, arguing why the overall benefits of approving the visa outweighs the estimated financial costs.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Harry11 said:


> Hi mark thanks for the advice.
> just a small questions. .as of now it showing wait untill CO geta allocated..that does mean MOC wait for CO to get allocated and then comes to conclusion. .as now we are extremely worried about what if we receive letter of justic3..hope its not that worse


----------



## Harry11

Hi mark
thanks for giving such valuable information. ..
I apologies for asking you again and again..as I am not to find what went wrong in medicals and as no option left..
do you reckon that if i contact the panel doctor and he can tell if my medicals were all good or they find anything abnormal. .are they entitled to disclose the results if you ask them...
thanks once again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harry11 -

Sometimes they will give you an indication of their findings, other times they will not - doesn't hurt to try (nicely!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Harry11 said:


> Hi mark
> thanks for giving such valuable information. ..
> I apologies for asking you again and again..as I am not to find what went wrong in medicals and as no option left..
> do you reckon that if i contact the panel doctor and he can tell if my medicals were all good or they find anything abnormal. .are they entitled to disclose the results if you ask them...
> thanks once again


----------



## MrsMuseljic

Hi,
I was wondering if there is a list of known "high risk countries".
I was going through the forum, and Bosnia was said by some of the members as a high risk country. Is this true, and if it is, why is it that way was my question. [My partner is from Bosnia, hence my curiosity].
Thank you.


----------



## mahalko

Hi Mark,

I'm an Australian Citizen by Descent, my son is Filipino.I am about to file for Child visa for my 15 year old son, problem is, I am married but have not been with his father for over 14 years and do not know his whereabouts, no support whatsoever and no contact since. So having him sign a consent to remove my son from the Philippines is out of the question. It says on the form that I need a court order for the sole custody of my son which i don't have and will take a long time I reckon to get. I don't know if I can just get something from DSWD stating I am a solo parent, then an affidavit from an Atty stating the same. If not, what should I do? I need help on this. 

FORM 40CH
Part G – Parental responsibility (custody)
and guardianship
(only for a child under 18 years of age)
18 Do you have the sole legal right to determine where the child shall live
or to permanently remove the child from their home country?

If No
You must attach either a completed form 1229 Consent to
grant an Australian visa to a child under the age of
18 years or a statutory declaration from each of these
people giving permission for the child to migrate.


If Yes
Attach a certified copy of the court order giving you sole
legal right to determine where the child shall live or the
right to permanently remove the child from the country


Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mrs Museljic -

Thanks for the note - There is no specific list of high risk countries, generally only a list of low-risk countries which would be those whose citizens are eligible for an ETA visitor visa. Beyond this, other countries are on a sliding scale between lower risk and higher risk - one indication of the perceived risk level of the country can be seen if you have a look at the student visa assessment levels information - the lower the number, the less riskier the country is considered, and vice versa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MrsMuseljic said:


> Hi,
> I was wondering if there is a list of known "high risk countries".
> I was going through the forum, and Bosnia was said by some of the members as a high risk country. Is this true, and if it is, why is it that way was my question. [My partner is from Bosnia, hence my curiosity].
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mahalko -

Thanks for the note. Philippines law will likely hold the answer to your question - if you do not have full custody and control of your child as expressed in a court order, you may need to seek this in court depending on how your local court system works. In some circumstances, with the other parent failing to show up, the parent who lodges the court action will be awarded full custody and control by default - you'll need to check with your local lawyers on this -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mahalko said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm an Australian Citizen by Descent, my son is Filipino.I am about to file for Child visa for my 15 year old son, problem is, I am married but have not been with his father for over 14 years and do not know his whereabouts, no support whatsoever and no contact since. So having him sign a consent to remove my son from the Philippines is out of the question. It says on the form that I need a court order for the sole custody of my son which i don't have and will take a long time I reckon to get. I don't know if I can just get something from DSWD stating I am a solo parent, then an affidavit from an Atty stating the same. If not, what should I do? I need help on this.
> 
> FORM 40CH
> Part G - Parental responsibility (custody)
> and guardianship
> (only for a child under 18 years of age)
> 18 Do you have the sole legal right to determine where the child shall live
> or to permanently remove the child from their home country?
> 
> If No
> You must attach either a completed form 1229 Consent to
> grant an Australian visa to a child under the age of
> 18 years or a statutory declaration from each of these
> people giving permission for the child to migrate.
> 
> If Yes
> Attach a certified copy of the court order giving you sole
> legal right to determine where the child shall live or the
> right to permanently remove the child from the country
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## ianbee

Thanks Mark , this is very helpful in planning my mid to longer term future.


----------



## mahalko

Thanks for the advise Mark! good day!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tearsunderstars -

Generally you get 28 days to "respond to" any requests from DIBP, other than in the case of cancellation notices and some others where you have 5 or 7 days. The notice will usually provide the deadline. However if you're having trouble getting some of the documents, DIBP is often flexible and will provide an extension of time - often another 28 days - if documents they requested are not available. However, by default 28 days is the typical time provided to respond to requests.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tearsunderstars said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I've posted this on the expatforum, but I haven't got a response so far on this.
> 
> I've lodged the application for the 476 visa on 30th Aug 2014.
> 
> I was allocated a CO on 26 Sep, and after some discussion on meeting requirement 476.212(a), the CO requested for health and PCC on 29th Sep.
> 
> I've completed the health already on 2 Oct and received my PCC just today (16 Oct).
> 
> I'm going to Oz on 30th Oct 2014(as a tourist, on ETA) but I don't want the visa to be granted to me before I leave for Oz. The reason being is that I want to stay for longer and earn enough money to sustain my stay in Oz. (I believe that I'll be given 6 months to enter Oz once it has been granted, then the 18th month period starts. I don't want the 18 months to start immediately when I go to Oz as a tourist)
> 
> The CO did not give me deadline to submit the docs, she simply said the outcome will be finalized after all supporting docs are received, so I'm wondering how much can I delay it? I was thinking of submitting right before I leave for Oz as a tourist, so they will grant me the visa after I leave Oz.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## Varinder

Hi I am Varinder, I am citizen of commonwealth of Australia. I was born in India and came to Australia on Student Visa. Now I want to apply for Parent Contributory Visa Subclass 103. We are 2 brothers, I am in Australia and other is in India. I think we pass the balance of family test. I have checked it Online, but wasn't much sure that's why thought of asking you guys here for some help.

To apply for 103 subclass visa I need the following documents as per the information i have collected online. Please advice how correct I am in my research.
1. Form 47PA (my parents will be filling this form)
2. Form 40 (I being their sponsor will be filling his form)
3. Passport copies of my Parents.
3. My Passport Copy/Australian Citizenship Certificate
4. Relationship proof with my parents, my documents mentioning my parents name.
5. Police Clearance Certificates and Passport Clearance Certificate for both my parents.
6. Marriage Certificate of my parents.
7. Income Documents of my parents.
8. Birth Certificate of my parents.
9. My Tax Documents, job letter, pay slips.

I am single (not married), I came Australia in the year 2008 and became Permanent Resident in 2012 and became Citizen in May 2014. Am I eligible to sponsor my parents for subclass 103 and do I need any additional documents other than listed above to apply for the visa.
What will be the Visa fee. ( not sure but is is AUD 3555 for both my parents)

and if after applying this visa, I apply for Visitor Visa sublcass 600 for my parents, will they get 5 yrs visa (they have never been to Australia and have never applied any visa earlier)


Thanks 
Varinder


----------



## saskia25

Hey Mark, 
thanks for the opportunity to ask you directly 
First of all: Sorry for my english, I really tried my best. 
We want to use the Student Visa 573 --> a stream of the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), to apply for the Permanent Residency.

Facts about me and my partner:

- I am 25 years old, he is 26
- married since august this year
- he made an apprenticeship as a tool mechanic, and he's going to finish his "state-certified mechanical engineer/technician" (it's a special german degree, which 

includes 2 years in school, but no university)
- I made an appreticeship as a Human Resources Services Consultant, now finishing my Bachelor Degree in Political Science
- we already used the Working Holiday Visa, he used even the second one

I have a question concerning the Student visa 573. The plan is to enroll for a Master programm (Master of Human Resources Management) which takes 2 years.
After the 2 years I can apply for a Post Study Visa which allows to stay in Australia for another 3 years (if all the requirements are met, like CRICOS, etc).

My question is: 
I'm bringing my Partner on this visa, so he has a work permit for 2 years (able to 

extend to 5 years). Our plan is to apply during the Student Visa (or maybe during the Post Study Visa, depends on his jobs) for the Permanent Residency. 
Is that possible? Is the visa then changing from Study Visa to PR? 
Because during this time we can grab more than 60 points for the SOL. 
We can't apply for the PR now, because he doesn't have enough work experience. 
We don't want to go on a sponsorship from an employer.

Thanks a lot for your help! Since months all we can think about is australian visas 

Best regards, Saskia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Varinder -

Thanks for the note - I am not able to assess individual visa applications and associated documents via online forum - would need to work with you in a consultation to get much more info about your case so I can properly assess your documents and information - see link to my website in the signature below if you'd like to engage me to review your application.

Thanks,

Mark



Varinder said:


> Hi I am Varinder, I am citizen of commonwealth of Australia. I was born in India and came to Australia on Student Visa. Now I want to apply for Parent Contributory Visa Subclass 103. We are 2 brothers, I am in Australia and other is in India. I think we pass the balance of family test. I have checked it Online, but wasn't much sure that's why thought of asking you guys here for some help.
> 
> To apply for 103 subclass visa I need the following documents as per the information i have collected online. Please advice how correct I am in my research.
> 1. Form 47PA (my parents will be filling this form)
> 2. Form 40 (I being their sponsor will be filling his form)
> 3. Passport copies of my Parents.
> 3. My Passport Copy/Australian Citizenship Certificate
> 4. Relationship proof with my parents, my documents mentioning my parents name.
> 5. Police Clearance Certificates and Passport Clearance Certificate for both my parents.
> 6. Marriage Certificate of my parents.
> 7. Income Documents of my parents.
> 8. Birth Certificate of my parents.
> 9. My Tax Documents, job letter, pay slips.
> 
> I am single (not married), I came Australia in the year 2008 and became Permanent Resident in 2012 and became Citizen in May 2014. Am I eligible to sponsor my parents for subclass 103 and do I need any additional documents other than listed above to apply for the visa.
> What will be the Visa fee. ( not sure but is is AUD 3555 for both my parents)
> 
> and if after applying this visa, I apply for Visitor Visa sublcass 600 for my parents, will they get 5 yrs visa (they have never been to Australia and have never applied any visa earlier)
> 
> Thanks
> Varinder


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saskia -

Your english is fine! I don't have enough information to give you advice for your specific case, however generally speaking your plan sounds OK. It is possible to apply for a skilled PR visa right after completing a student visa or even during - important to check out skills assessment requirements for the nominated occupation, plus any state requirements if you are going for 190 visa, etc.

Also, keep in mind that in the future occupation lists and requirements may change - best to keep a close eye on that as you move forward with your education, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



saskia25 said:


> Hey Mark,
> thanks for the opportunity to ask you directly
> First of all: Sorry for my english, I really tried my best.
> We want to use the Student Visa 573 --> a stream of the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), to apply for the Permanent Residency.
> 
> Facts about me and my partner:
> 
> - I am 25 years old, he is 26
> - married since august this year
> - he made an apprenticeship as a tool mechanic, and he's going to finish his "state-certified mechanical engineer/technician" (it's a special german degree, which
> 
> includes 2 years in school, but no university)
> - I made an appreticeship as a Human Resources Services Consultant, now finishing my Bachelor Degree in Political Science
> - we already used the Working Holiday Visa, he used even the second one
> 
> I have a question concerning the Student visa 573. The plan is to enroll for a Master programm (Master of Human Resources Management) which takes 2 years.
> After the 2 years I can apply for a Post Study Visa which allows to stay in Australia for another 3 years (if all the requirements are met, like CRICOS, etc).
> 
> My question is:
> I'm bringing my Partner on this visa, so he has a work permit for 2 years (able to
> 
> extend to 5 years). Our plan is to apply during the Student Visa (or maybe during the Post Study Visa, depends on his jobs) for the Permanent Residency.
> Is that possible? Is the visa then changing from Study Visa to PR?
> Because during this time we can grab more than 60 points for the SOL.
> We can't apply for the PR now, because he doesn't have enough work experience.
> We don't want to go on a sponsorship from an employer.
> 
> Thanks a lot for your help! Since months all we can think about is australian visas
> 
> Best regards, Saskia


----------



## krishhh

Hi Mark,

I've been granted a 489 visa 3 months back and i'm planning to move to Australia in Dec. I'd like to know if i can apply a 489 subsequent entrant visa for my spouse whilst overseas or do i have to be in Aus to do that, any info would be of great help. Thank you


----------



## pmoon

Hello Mark,

A silent admirer of your work on this forum. You have helped me immemsely in the visa application process.

I am an Indian citizen who lodged his visa for subclass-189 last month. I think it will take sometime before a decision is taken by DIBP. I will be travelling abroad on a new job assignment in the next 2-3 weeks. Hence, my address and work details will change and I understand that I have to intimate DIBP about these if visa is not granted by then.

My question is how much time do I have after moving to a new place to do this? I ask because it will take me atleast a week to find accomodation. Should I inform them as soon as I quit my current job and again after I find a new accomodation? Or should I wait till I find a place before informing them of both change in employment and current address? 

Thank you very much. Have a nice weekend.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Krishhh -

Thanks for the question - you can apply for the 489 for your spouse when you are either inside or outside Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



krishhh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've been granted a 489 visa 3 months back and i'm planning to move to Australia in Dec. I'd like to know if i can apply a 489 subsequent entrant visa for my spouse whilst overseas or do i have to be in Aus to do that, any info would be of great help. Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pmoon -

Thanks for the question and kind words! I'd suggest notifying them once you have found accommodation, assuming that will happen within 1-2 weeks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pmoon said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> A silent admirer of your work on this forum. You have helped me immemsely in the visa application process.
> 
> I am an Indian citizen who lodged his visa for subclass-189 last month. I think it will take sometime before a decision is taken by DIBP. I will be travelling abroad on a new job assignment in the next 2-3 weeks. Hence, my address and work details will change and I understand that I have to intimate DIBP about these if visa is not granted by then.
> 
> My question is how much time do I have after moving to a new place to do this? I ask because it will take me atleast a week to find accomodation. Should I inform them as soon as I quit my current job and again after I find a new accomodation? Or should I wait till I find a place before informing them of both change in employment and current address?
> 
> Thank you very much. Have a nice weekend.


----------



## pmoon

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pmoon -
> 
> Thanks for the question and kind words! I'd suggest notifying them once you have found accommodation, assuming that will happen within 1-2 weeks.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much for your quick reply. I really appreciate it. 
Just a quick followup question. Assuming, the decision is taken in these 1-2 weeks that i spend finding the accomodation, it means the decision is based on my old details (old address and old job), what should I do in sucha scenario? Should I still submit form 1022 and inform co that the grant was given on old information? 
Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Yes, might as well, especially if you plan to lodge future applications, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pmoon said:


> Thank you very much for your quick reply. I really appreciate it.
> Just a quick followup question. Assuming, the decision is taken in these 1-2 weeks that i spend finding the accomodation, it means the decision is based on my old details (old address and old job), what should I do in sucha scenario? Should I still submit form 1022 and inform co that the grant was given on old information?
> Thank you very much.


----------



## bonniea89

Hi Mark!
My partner and I are going to be applying for the 309 Partner visa as soon as we get all our paperwork together. We live together in Canada (I am Australian, he is Canadian). We will be applying offshore, however, I will likely be starting a Masters program back home in Aus in late Feb/early March. I understand that when you apply for this visa offshore you must NOT be in Australia when it is granted. However we are really reluctant to spend any time apart, and are worried that if we don't get the visa before I start university I will have to go back on my own. So my question is:

*Can he come across with me on a visitor visa? If our 309 is issued when he is visiting me in Aus, can he leave Aus and re-enter on the 309 or will it be void because he was technically on Australian soil when we found out the visa was issued? *

Thank you so much!
Bonnie


----------



## cyberslam

Hello Mark! 

I have a skilled - Sponsored (Family) 489 visa, got the visa activated but still living outside Australia. I am going to apply for my wife's visa (finally!) as a subsequent entrant. Firstly, do you know if i will have any problems in applying for this visa when i am still living outside Australia? I think in one of the earlier posts, you mentioned it won't be a problem. 

Secondly, while going through the visa application of my wife, i came across the attached page where it asks "Is the applicant sponsored by an eligible relative?"(1) I am confused on this one as i am her sponsor but adding her as an subsequent entrant and in the beginning of application i was asked primary applicant(mine) details like visa grant number, date of birth etc..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cyberslam -

I don't see a problem with that - you will want to make sure you understand the regional area living requirements of that visa. The sponsored by a family member box refers to a version of the 489 where the primary applicant is sponsored by a family member (rather than being sponsored by a state or territory), so sounds like No would be the answer for your case -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cyberslam said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I have a skilled - Sponsored (Family) 489 visa, got the visa activated but still living outside Australia. I am going to apply for my wife's visa (finally!) as a subsequent entrant. Firstly, do you know if i will have any problems in applying for this visa when i am still living outside Australia? I think in one of the earlier posts, you mentioned it won't be a problem.
> 
> Secondly, while going through the visa application of my wife, i came across the attached page where it asks "Is the applicant sponsored by an eligible relative?"(1) I am confused on this one as i am her sponsor but adding her as an subsequent entrant and in the beginning of application i was asked primary applicant(mine) details like visa grant number, date of birth etc..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bonnie -

For subclass 309/100 applicants who visit Australia during visa processing, important to keep in touch with DIBP and make sure they have your current contact information - normally when the visa is ready to grant the case officer will see that the applicant is in Australia and send an email or letter stating the visa is ready to be granted and requesting the applicant depart Australia - this normally requires a trip of only a few days, and the visa is issued automatically when the applicant departs Australia - then the applicant re-enters Australia on the new 309 visa just granted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bonniea89 said:


> Hi Mark!
> My partner and I are going to be applying for the 309 Partner visa as soon as we get all our paperwork together. We live together in Canada (I am Australian, he is Canadian). We will be applying offshore, however, I will likely be starting a Masters program back home in Aus in late Feb/early March. I understand that when you apply for this visa offshore you must NOT be in Australia when it is granted. However we are really reluctant to spend any time apart, and are worried that if we don't get the visa before I start university I will have to go back on my own. So my question is:
> 
> *Can he come across with me on a visitor visa? If our 309 is issued when he is visiting me in Aus, can he leave Aus and re-enter on the 309 or will it be void because he was technically on Australian soil when we found out the visa was issued? *
> 
> Thank you so much!
> Bonnie


----------



## cyberslam

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cyberslam -
> 
> I don't see a problem with that - you will want to make sure you understand the regional area living requirements of that visa. The sponsored by a family member box refers to a version of the 489 where the primary applicant is sponsored by a family member (rather than being sponsored by a state or territory), so sounds like No would be the answer for your case -
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

On the sponsorship checkbox, just so i am clear and there is no misunderstanding, i was sponsored by my brother living in Melbourne and i got the 489 visa. Now i am in the process of adding my wife as a subsequent entrant to my visa.

The screenshot i posted was from my wife's application so the answer would be definitely by NO, right? She isn't being sponsored by any eligible relative in Australia (if i click yes, it asks for Australia residence details) so this is kind of making me confused....

Sorry i just want to be sure as i don't want to make any mistake in the application which would result in delay...

Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cyberslam -

I'd like to help, but am not comfortable giving case-specific and application-specific advice anonymously and based on snippets of info and screenshots - hope you understand - unlike DIBP personnel, I am legally and professionally liable for any advice I give, and in order to give you specific advice that is dependent and related to your circumstances for a part of your application, would need more information via working with you directly.

Hope you understand - we can schedule a consultation if you'd like - see website below for details.

Best,

Mark Northam



cyberslam said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> On the sponsorship checkbox, just so i am clear and there is no misunderstanding, i was sponsored by my brother living in Melbourne and i got the 489 visa. Now i am in the process of adding my wife as a subsequent entrant to my visa.
> 
> The screenshot i posted was from my wife's application so the answer would be definitely by NO, right? She isn't being sponsored by any eligible relative in Australia (if i click yes, it asks for Australia residence details) so this is kind of making me confused....
> 
> Sorry i just want to be sure as i don't want to make any mistake in the application which would result in delay...
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## quethaochi

Hi Mark.

I just received IMMI acknowledgement yesterday. However, my fulname is not really correct as Last name is Vu , First name is Dinh Que ( DINH QUE, VU), but i fill out Last name is Vu Dinh, First name is Que ( QUE, VU DINH) in the form. ( it was wrong because i think they just follow my Driver License name, which i will correct my name soon)
My wife contact number was not correct.
I just wondering how can i fix the incorrect information? 
Thank you very much
Best Regards
Que


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I'd use Form 1022 or 1023 depending on the specifics of the information to be changed - you can download these from DIBP's site.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



quethaochi said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> I just received IMMI acknowledgement yesterday. However, my fulname is not really correct as Last name is Vu , First name is Dinh Que ( DINH QUE, VU), but i fill out Last name is Vu Dinh, First name is Que ( QUE, VU DINH) in the form. ( it was wrong because i think they just follow my Driver License name, which i will correct my name soon)
> My wife contact number was not correct.
> I just wondering how can i fix the incorrect information?
> Thank you very much
> Best Regards
> Que


----------



## quethaochi

Thank you very much


----------



## lucy7

*Hi Mark*

Hope you have a good weekend.

I have a few questions I would like to know. I lodged my partner application through an agent, I'm wondering can I contact to the DIBP myself if I need to know something about my case. Plus, I could never login my partner application on VEVO with Transaction Reference Numbers, the agent logged online. My student visa always login just fine.

Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lucy7 -

Much better to work through your agent if he is appointed to be your agent - if he refuses to assist, that's not a good sign. You always have the option of discontinuing your appointment of the agent if you wish - Form 956 is the form to use for that - if you do that, then you would communicate directly with DIBP and they would communicate directly with you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lucy7 said:


> Hope you have a good weekend.
> 
> I have a few questions I would like to know. I lodged my partner application through an agent, I'm wondering can I contact to the DIBP myself if I need to know something about my case. Plus, I could never login my partner application on VEVO with Transaction Reference Numbers, the agent logged online. My student visa always login just fine.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## lucy7

*Hi Mark*

Thank you for quick responsed. It's very clear answers.

Thanks Mark.


----------



## tomar

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your response.

Am I correct in assuming that putting my de-facto partner on my 189 requires significantly less evidence than a real "partner visa"? i.e.: a visa where a foreigner is in a relationship with an Australian..

It just seems that way from what I've read on this forum, as well as on the immigration website. Although, it doesn't really formally state this anywhere.

Thank you and best regards,
Tom



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tom -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. First, in the eyes of DIBP, there is no such thing as a "defacto girlfriend" - if a person is your girlfriend, then they by definition do not rise to the level of being your defacto partner, so first thing I'd do is to eliminate the word "girlfriend" from your vocabulary  - it's "defacto partner" with DIBP.
> 
> Re: statements, not necessary for Form 888 - letters signed and including a copy of their passport biodata page or ID (in English) is fine.
> 
> Re: evidence, I can't comment on your evidence without actually seeing it, but based on what you wrote, you may want to consider including more, including evidence of living together (leases, mail addressed to each at the same address, statement of landlord(s), etc), photos of you both together in social settings, etc. DIBP essentially expects the relationship to be like a married couple, except without the marriage cert. There are excellent threads elsewhere on this forum that talk about partner visa evidence that people have been successful with - I would consider these thoroughly.
> 
> Re: statements, would definitely submit signed statements from you and your partner, plus as many others as you can get within reason (ie, perhaps 6-10 total statements) and be ready for a phone interview from DIBP where they ask each of you about the other's families, employment, finances, religion, etc etc etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## xainab

Hi Mark
i have a quick question. I heard that right now Australian Government is not accepting student visas from high risk countries like Pakistan for students who are applying for diplomas. is that correct?
thanks in advance


----------



## pmoon

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your response. I will do as you have suggested.

Best wishes,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> Yes, might as well, especially if you plan to lodge future applications, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Austyn

Aloha once again Mark! Hope all is well with you.

I am here on an ETA Visitor visa, which ends late November, and I want to lodge a subclass 461 visa.
Quick question, What if my current visa ends before my subclass 461 is finalized and a decision is made?
Will I still need to leave Australia at the end of my current visa? Or will I be able to stay in Australia until a decision is made?

Hope you can help.
Thanks!


----------



## neil_coul

*Letter from Employer*

Hi Mark,

I am applying for a de-facto visa.Do I need to attach a letter from my sponsors employer?

I have a notice of assement year ending 30th june 2013,PAYG payment summary for year ending 30th june 2014 and a payslip from July 2014.Do I also need her to send me a Letter from her Employer?

Thanks for all your help

Neil


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tom -

It depends - generally speaking in many cases the relationship is not subject to as an exhaustive investigation as it is for partner visas. However if the case officer develops a concern about the genuineness of the relationship, they can require just as much evidence as a partner visa. In most cases, if the case officer is not satisfied with the initial evidence provided, they will request additional relationship evidence, etc if these types of concerns exist.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your response.
> 
> Am I correct in assuming that putting my de-facto partner on my 189 requires significantly less evidence than a real "partner visa"? i.e.: a visa where a foreigner is in a relationship with an Australian..
> 
> It just seems that way from what I've read on this forum, as well as on the immigration website. Although, it doesn't really formally state this anywhere.
> 
> Thank you and best regards,
> Tom


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xainab -

I haven't heard anything official (or otherwise) regarding any sort of a ban on applicants from any particular country for diplomas, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



xainab said:


> Hi Mark
> i have a quick question. I heard that right now Australian Government is not accepting student visas from high risk countries like Pakistan for students who are applying for diplomas. is that correct?
> thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

No problem - as long as you lodge your 461 onshore prior to the expiration of your 3-month stay on your ETA (assuming it's configured that way), you will receive a bridging visa when you apply for the 461 that will remain dormant until the ETA expires, then will automatically activate when the ETA expires and allow you to remain in Australia on that bridging visa until a decision is made on your 461.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Aloha once again Mark! Hope all is well with you.
> 
> I am here on an ETA Visitor visa, which ends late November, and I want to lodge a subclass 461 visa.
> Quick question, What if my current visa ends before my subclass 461 is finalized and a decision is made?
> Will I still need to leave Australia at the end of my current visa? Or will I be able to stay in Australia until a decision is made?
> 
> Hope you can help.
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neil_coul -

If you're referring to a defacto Partner visa (subclass 820/801 or 309/100), then no employer letter is required - they just want to see some evidence of her income and tax notices/assessments, etc are fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



neil_coul said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for a de-facto visa.Do I need to attach a letter from my sponsors employer?
> 
> I have a notice of assement year ending 30th june 2013,PAYG payment summary for year ending 30th june 2014 and a payslip from July 2014.Do I also need her to send me a Letter from her Employer?
> 
> Thanks for all your help
> 
> Neil


----------



## TAMZID

Thanks Mr. Mark.

In that situation then 186 direct stream should be appropriate!.

Pls advise.
I like to speak to you .

br



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tamzid -
> 
> In some cases (certain occupations from certain countries) 457 skills assessment is necessary - the regulations can be complex in these situations - would need to work with you in a consultation to learn much more about your circumstances in order to give you specific advice.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

Happy to work through all the requirements and regulations re: 186 direct entry stream with you in a consultation by phone, Skype or at our office in Parramatta - see website in my signature below to book - look for "Professional Consultation" in the top area.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Thanks Mr. Mark.
> 
> In that situation then 186 direct stream should be appropriate!.
> 
> Pls advise.
> I like to speak to you .
> 
> br


----------



## Austyn

Hey Mark, thanks so much!

That is such a big help.

I understand that the 461 visa has to bee sent by mail, which is no problem, correct? And just to be clear, as long as I lodge (send by mail) my completed visa application along with any other completed forms and documents that are required, I will be automatically put on a bridging visa at the end of my current ETA Visa right? And this will allow me to remain in Australia until my visa is finalized and a decision is made, correct?

Thanks,

Austyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

All correct, assuming the application meets all the valid application requirements - I can't assess your application at this point since I haven't seen it, etc so I'm not in a position to say you will receive a bridging visa or not, etc. However normally, a bridging visa is generated upon application for a 461 where the applicant is in Australia when the application is made, and the application is valid.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Hey Mark, thanks so much!
> 
> That is such a big help.
> 
> I understand that the 461 visa has to bee sent by mail, which is no problem, correct? And just to be clear, as long as I lodge (send by mail) my completed visa application along with any other completed forms and documents that are required, I will be automatically put on a bridging visa at the end of my current ETA Visa right? And this will allow me to remain in Australia until my visa is finalized and a decision is made, correct?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Austyn


----------



## pauly

Hi Mark, 

I have a question in regards to parents visa. I've heard there is a permanent parent visa which is relatively quick and very expensive is that true? If so how much is per person and one dependent ? 

As always thank you for your help, much appreciated!


----------



## Irish Salvana

Hi Mark, 
Thanks I found this page. Someone have told me to ask you for further advice and so to clarify my situation. 
I want to ask if we can apply for this NEW ZEALAND FAMILY RELATIONSHIP (TEMPORARY VISA SUBCLASS 461. 
MY hubby is a NEW ZEALAND CITIZEN and he still using his NEW ZEALAND PASSPORT He is already here since 1998-1999, He has a CERTIFICATE OF STATUS FOR NEW ZEALAND CITIZEN IN AUSTRALIA that prove that My hubby was in Australia on February 26th, 2001. 
I am currently on my 1 month and 15days in Australia under Tourist Visa for 3months under the condition 8201 and 8101. We are engaged to be Married on Nov. And my Visa expires on Dec. 
Can I apply this Visa after we get married? 
He is a Resident and He is the one who sponsored me and dependent of him, Can We still apply? 
Oh. Please I Need your Urgent Help of advice and Clarifications.


----------



## tearsunderstars

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the information. This helps!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tearsunderstars -
> 
> Generally you get 28 days to "respond to" any requests from DIBP, other than in the case of cancellation notices and some others where you have 5 or 7 days. The notice will usually provide the deadline. However if you're having trouble getting some of the documents, DIBP is often flexible and will provide an extension of time - often another 28 days - if documents they requested are not available. However, by default 28 days is the typical time provided to respond to requests.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## xainab

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Xainab -
> 
> I haven't heard anything official (or otherwise) regarding any sort of a ban on applicants from any particular country for diplomas, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thanks a lot Mark. That is so nice of you


----------



## jamesbrock

Hi Mark,

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to help everyone like you have.

My wife's Partner (Permanent) visa processing is now due, and we are only awaiting the 888's to be returned to us before we submit; however, I have been offered an amazing position back in Thailand, on a generous expat package, and we are both very keen to take up this offer.

How would moving back to Thailand affect the processing of her PR at this stage? I have looked everywhere and cannot find any residency requirements for PR, other than she needed to be onshore when the 820 was granted. Are there any that you know of?

Obviously, we would decline the offer if it was to affect the granting of her PR.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pauly -

You may be referring to the Subclass 143 Contributory Parent Visa - total cost is about $50,000 not including the dependent - for complete details see immi.gov.au for more details. These visas are now taking typically 18-24 months to process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pauly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question in regards to parents visa. I've heard there is a permanent parent visa which is relatively quick and very expensive is that true? If so how much is per person and one dependent ?
> 
> As always thank you for your help, much appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Irish Salvana -

Thanks for the note - if he was in Australia on 26 Feb 2001 he is an Eligible New Zealand Citizen for immigration purposes, and may be able to sponsor you for either a 461 NZ Family Relationship visa or a subclass 820/801 onshore Partner Visa - the 820/801 would end up in permanent residency for you, while the 461 would not - the 461 is a five year temporary visa. However the laws are not quite that simple and there may be advantages and disadvantages to both options depending on your and your husband's circumstances - would recommend you working with a registered migration agent to go through all the details of your circumstances and make a plan as to which visa pathway is best for both of you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Irish Salvana said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks I found this page. Someone have told me to ask you for further advice and so to clarify my situation.
> I want to ask if we can apply for this NEW ZEALAND FAMILY RELATIONSHIP (TEMPORARY VISA SUBCLASS 461.
> MY hubby is a NEW ZEALAND CITIZEN and he still using his NEW ZEALAND PASSPORT He is already here since 1998-1999, He has a CERTIFICATE OF STATUS FOR NEW ZEALAND CITIZEN IN AUSTRALIA that prove that My hubby was in Australia on February 26th, 2001.
> I am currently on my 1 month and 15days in Australia under Tourist Visa for 3months under the condition 8201 and 8101. We are engaged to be Married on Nov. And my Visa expires on Dec.
> Can I apply this Visa after we get married?
> He is a Resident and He is the one who sponsored me and dependent of him, Can We still apply?
> Oh. Please I Need your Urgent Help of advice and Clarifications.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamesbrock -

Thanks for the question. There are no particular residency requirements for the 801 portion of the onshore partner visa for the applicant - the applicant can be inside or outside Australia when the visa is granted. If you are a PR (not a citizen), then there is a "usually resident" requirement for you which could be an issue if you move offshore prior to the visa being granted - if you are an Australian citizen, this is not an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamesbrock said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly, thank you for taking the time to help everyone like you have.
> 
> My wife's Partner (Permanent) visa processing is now due, and we are only awaiting the 888's to be returned to us before we submit; however, I have been offered an amazing position back in Thailand, on a generous expat package, and we are both very keen to take up this offer.
> 
> How would moving back to Thailand affect the processing of her PR at this stage? I have looked everywhere and cannot find any residency requirements for PR, other than she needed to be onshore when the 820 was granted. Are there any that you know of?
> 
> Obviously, we would decline the offer if it was to affect the granting of her PR.


----------



## Irish Salvana

Dear Mr. Mark, 

Thank you so much for the reply. Your really such a kind man giving us time on your hectic work schedule. Yes. It really helps me a lot toUnderstand now. 

Kind Regards, 
Irish Salvana


----------



## DangerDave

Hi Mark,

I have another question. Im sponsoring my girlfriend for a 309 partner visa here in Germany.
I have bad credit rating in Australia, from not paying couple of bills and a credit card in Australia. This is few years old now. Does immigration check your credit rating if you are a sponsor? will this affect our chance for a visa? 
Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Glad I could help!

Best,

Mark



Irish Salvana said:


> Dear Mr. Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for the reply. Your really such a kind man giving us time on your hectic work schedule. Yes. It really helps me a lot toUnderstand now.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Irish Salvana


----------



## jamesbrock

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jamesbrock -
> 
> Thanks for the question. There are no particular residency requirements for the 801 portion of the onshore partner visa for the applicant - the applicant can be inside or outside Australia when the visa is granted. If you are a PR (not a citizen), then there is a "usually resident" requirement for you which could be an issue if you move offshore prior to the visa being granted - if you are an Australian citizen, this is not an issue.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark. That's great news!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DangerDave -

Immigration does not normally check a person's personal/consumer credit rating in the visa process - normally the only issues involving debts are if the applicant has a debt to the Commonwealth - ie, unpaid taxes, fines, etc - a payment plan is required to be agreed upon witht the Commonwealth if there are any debts of this type in order to be granted a partner visa, but this looks only to the applicant - normally sponsor credit/debts is not an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DangerDave said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have another question. Im sponsoring my girlfriend for a 309 partner visa here in Germany.
> I have bad credit rating in Australia, from not paying couple of bills and a credit card in Australia. This is few years old now. Does immigration check your credit rating if you are a sponsor? will this affect our chance for a visa?
> Thank you


----------



## Irish Salvana

:-D Mr. Mark, 
Hi! Again. I am sorry, I just couldn't sleep thinking about it. Making my Brain hurt. 
Can I ask you a question? one important question. 
We both don't want to be far away anymore and being both of Our Families are In our Respective country of Birth. And we are here in Australia to have our own to help each other financially and to build Our strong Relationship for Our future. 
What could be the best Visa to apply? The more Reasonable Visa. 
Oh please Mr. Mark. I really couldn't sleep and making us stress. 
Thank you for your kind reply.


----------



## kum.te

*Documentation for visa*

Hi Mark,

I believe my query is in line with the rules outlined. Could you please provide your valuable suggestion?

I have had a positive skills assessment from ACS 10 months ago. I have worked for 2 employers so far.

1) First employer from 2007 June until Jan 2010
2) Second employer from Feb 2010 till date

I have all required documentation pertaining to second employer, however, I have very minimal documentation (Offer letter, Relieving letter, Reference letter, no tax proofs) relating to first employer. Moreover I was paid in cash. This company is no longer operational and was shutdown 2 years ago. ACS had assessed my skills from both the employers and specified as below.

"The following employment after July 2011 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to software engineer"

I have 60 points including 5 points gained from experience. I have all the required documentation from the ACS specified date. After reading DIBP process I am confused whether i should submit my EOI including previous employer

I would like to seek your suggestion on what i should do( go ahead with EOI and visa or go via SS not claiming points for experience or go for reassessment of skills removing previous employer or anything else )

I am not sure if anyone else had the same situation before, but I don't want to get into trouble and be issued a pic4020, should i fail to convince the CO.

Thanks a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Would need to work through all the details of your case in a consultation in order to give you specific advice - there are lots of details and facts that could make one visa better than the other, etc. Happy to work with you in a consultation - see website below in my email signature to book - look for "Professional Consultation" at the top.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Irish Salvana said:


> :-D Mr. Mark,
> Hi! Again. I am sorry, I just couldn't sleep thinking about it. Making my Brain hurt.
> Can I ask you a question? one important question.
> We both don't want to be far away anymore and being both of Our Families are In our Respective country of Birth. And we are here in Australia to have our own to help each other financially and to build Our strong Relationship for Our future.
> What could be the best Visa to apply? The more Reasonable Visa.
> Oh please Mr. Mark. I really couldn't sleep and making us stress.
> Thank you for your kind reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kum.te -

One option is to include the first employer, but mark as not relevant to your nominated occupation - that will make sure no points are automatically claimed on the EOI. GIven your deeming date (by ACS) falls within the period of employment of the second employer, you may want to split that employment up into 2 entires on your EOI - the first one (up to July 2011) as non-relevant since you can't claim points for that, and the second one for that employer as relevant (after July 2011).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kum.te said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I believe my query is in line with the rules outlined. Could you please provide your valuable suggestion?
> 
> I have had a positive skills assessment from ACS 10 months ago. I have worked for 2 employers so far.
> 
> 1) First employer from 2007 June until Jan 2010
> 2) Second employer from Feb 2010 till date
> 
> I have all required documentation pertaining to second employer, however, I have very minimal documentation (Offer letter, Relieving letter, Reference letter, no tax proofs) relating to first employer. Moreover I was paid in cash. This company is no longer operational and was shutdown 2 years ago. ACS had assessed my skills from both the employers and specified as below.
> 
> "The following employment after July 2011 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to software engineer"
> 
> I have 60 points including 5 points gained from experience. I have all the required documentation from the ACS specified date. After reading DIBP process I am confused whether i should submit my EOI including previous employer
> 
> I would like to seek your suggestion on what i should do( go ahead with EOI and visa or go via SS not claiming points for experience or go for reassessment of skills removing previous employer or anything else )
> 
> I am not sure if anyone else had the same situation before, but I don't want to get into trouble and be issued a pic4020, should i fail to convince the CO.
> 
> Thanks a lot.


----------



## pauly

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the quick reply.

I was wondering if you can go straight on this visa or you have to be on 173 first before applying for 143? Also, is the fee for a dependent same as main applicant $43.600 ?

I appreciate your help!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pauly -
> 
> You may be referring to the Subclass 143 Contributory Parent Visa - total cost is about $50,000 not including the dependent - for complete details see immi.gov.au for more details. These visas are now taking typically 18-24 months to process.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Hala

Hi Mark,

I'm from Egypt, applied for PMV (sub class 300), got the grant, and just arrived to Australia 3 weeks ago, and got married immediately.

My question is, should I apply next for the 820? or something else? and what is the cost? my husband and I have been trying to find out exactly but the immi website shows different range or fees.

Many thanks for your great help.

Hala


----------



## TAMZID

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tamzid -
> 
> Happy to work through all the requirements and regulations re: 186 direct entry stream with you in a consultation by phone, Skype or at our office in Parramatta - see website in my signature below to book - look for "Professional Consultation" in the top area.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mr. Mark,
Thanks for your response.
Usual time frame for 457 and 186 sub class after submission of documents.
Both the cases employer sponsorship is a must .Under 457 after working two years in a nominated position, can i apply for PR with another sonsor.
Pls advise.

Best regards,
Tamzid


----------



## prissyd

Hi Mark

I just had a question about the nomination process for the 457 visa. I was let go by my sponsoring employers on the 8th of August and have since found new employers willing to sponsor me, they have lodged a nomination application but that was a month ago and my 90 days are almost up, just wondering what would happen if I that nomination doesn't get approved by then? Do I go on a bridging visa or would I have to leave the country? 

Thanks


----------



## umairhassan

Hello Mark, 
I'm really glad that people can get honest answers about their immigration problems here.
I just want to know that after finishing masters in 2008 I started business and in 2011 I started studying in UK until now. So should I mention the time period between 2008-2011 as a gap? As in university questioniore they said any gap? Didn't say in studies, just said if any gap then why?
Regards,


----------



## Stereo356

Hi mark I have applied for a student visa subclass 572. I applied for this on the 26th august I applied with all required documents including medical. My class is due to start on the 3rd November and I still have not received any notification. I have called the Australian embassy several times in warsaw and receive the same response everytime "your visa is processing and you have to be patient". Form your experiance can you tell me how long a standard student visa takes to process for a European national and what would be my options if I don't get notification before my class is due to start. Thanks for any help as it's impossible to get help or any information from anyone.


----------



## tomar

Hi Mark,

I have applied for the 189 visa and think I need to add some more documents to prove the genuineness of the relationship, since I will be adding my de-facto partner.

Amongst other documents (bank statements, travel tickets, and rent statements), I have about 8 well written letters from friends, stating that they have known us for X amount of time in Y social occasions.

I have a couple of questions before submitting these:
- Do we need certified copies of their IDs? Their contact details are mentioned on the letters, but if we need their IDs, I will try to obtain a copy of these too.
- Is there anything else we need, besides their ID?
- How do I submit this? In the dropdown when submitting there are the following options, but none of them seems appropriate for this type of document (sorry for the big post)

Adoption Document
Bank Statement - Personal
Birth Certificate
Change of Name Certificate
Coroners Report
Court Document
Custody/Access Document
Customary Adoption
Death Certificate
Divorce Decree Absolute
Emails
Estate Bank Account
Family Book/Household Booklet/Family Composition Evidence
Financial Statements - Joint
Further statement about relationship
Health Insurance Document
Internet Account Records
Lease Agreement/Rent Statement
Legal Will
Letter/Statement - Adoption Allocation
Letter/Statement - Landlord
Letters - Applicant/Sponsor
Marriage Certificate
Mortgage document
National ID Card
Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM)
Other (specify)
Passport
Photograph - Other
Police Reports
Statement from sponsor regarding previous partner or prospective marriage visa sponsorships
Statutory Declaration
Superannuation Document
Tax Document
Telephone Bill
Travel Tickets
Utilities Account

Thank you very much in advance,
Tom


----------



## tangerine44

Hi Mark, i hope you can help me. I just realised that my last name written on all form 888's is my married name. The thing is my visa is linked to my passport which is on my maiden name. Is this going to post an issue? I have renewed my passport to reflect my married name and it will be available by end of November. I'm not sure if I need to ask my witnesses to do another stat dec again or if the document I have will suffice. Please advise. thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pauly -

You can go straight for the 143, or get the 173 first and then apply for the 143 - up to you. Dependents under age 18 have a far lower 2nd VAC fee - see immi.gov.au website under the 143 visa for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pauly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for the quick reply.
> 
> I was wondering if you can go straight on this visa or you have to be on 173 first before applying for 143? Also, is the fee for a dependent same as main applicant $43.600 ?
> 
> I appreciate your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hala -

If you're onshore and married, and the applicant wishes to remain in Australia during the 9-12 month processing period, then the onshore partner visa subclass 820/801 may be a good choice. Visa application fee for this is $4,575 normally, however if you apply while holding your subclass 300 (ie, before the end of the 9 months it is valid for), the visa application fee is only $1,145.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hala said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm from Egypt, applied for PMV (sub class 300), got the grant, and just arrived to Australia 3 weeks ago, and got married immediately.
> 
> My question is, should I apply next for the 820? or something else? and what is the cost? my husband and I have been trying to find out exactly but the immi website shows different range or fees.
> 
> Many thanks for your great help.
> 
> Hala


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzed -

457 processing time depends on whether you're doing nomination + visa application - typically 4-6 weeks total. 186 is more like 3-6 months. Re 2 years, no simple answer as the regs in this area are complex - generally speaking if you change sponsors, the 2 year clock starts again, but there are some exceptions - happy to discuss in a consultation - see website below for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Hi Mr. Mark,
> Thanks for your response.
> Usual time frame for 457 and 186 sub class after submission of documents.
> Both the cases employer sponsorship is a must .Under 457 after working two years in a nominated position, can i apply for PR with another sonsor.
> Pls advise.
> 
> Best regards,
> Tamzid


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prissyd -

You would have to work with DIBP on that - since only the new nomination has been lodged, you would need to wait for a decision on that assuming you want them to take over the balance of time remaining on your 457. If DIBP contacts you to try and cancel your existing 457 as 90 days have elapsed, suggest you respond with details and evidence of the lodged nomination and ask them to hold off cancelling your 457 until you hear about the new nom. In some cases you may want to contact DIBP proactively to inform them of the new nom being lodged, etc depending on your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



prissyd said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I just had a question about the nomination process for the 457 visa. I was let go by my sponsoring employers on the 8th of August and have since found new employers willing to sponsor me, they have lodged a nomination application but that was a month ago and my 90 days are almost up, just wondering what would happen if I that nomination doesn't get approved by then? Do I go on a bridging visa or would I have to leave the country?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Umairhassan -

It likely depends on the type of visa you are now intending to apply for - many visas require Form 80 where you'll have to disclose your educational history so any gap in studies will be clear, however generally speaking most visa applications would not require you to explain a gap in studies, etc - if you're applying for a student visa here, that can become important in terms of genuine student policy area, but other than that it would depend on the type of visa you're applying for, and how the gap appears in relation to the rest of your educational and work experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



umairhassan said:


> Hello Mark,
> I'm really glad that people can get honest answers about their immigration problems here.
> I just want to know that after finishing masters in 2008 I started business and in 2011 I started studying in UK until now. So should I mention the time period between 2008-2011 as a gap? As in university questioniore they said any gap? Didn't say in studies, just said if any gap then why?
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stereo356 -

Wish I could help, but DIBP basically makes everybody wait until they are good and ready to process the visa. There's no rhyme or reason as to how long student visas take to process that I can see - can be anywhere from a few weeks to 3-4 months. May be helpful to see what procedures are in place for late arrival for your studies, given DIBP's unpredictability in this area.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Stereo356 said:


> Hi mark I have applied for a student visa subclass 572. I applied for this on the 26th august I applied with all required documents including medical. My class is due to start on the 3rd November and I still have not received any notification. I have called the Australian embassy several times in warsaw and receive the same response everytime "your visa is processing and you have to be patient". Form your experiance can you tell me how long a standard student visa takes to process for a European national and what would be my options if I don't get notification before my class is due to start. Thanks for any help as it's impossible to get help or any information from anyone.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tomar -

Re: statements, a copy of their ID is fine, no need generally to certify these. I'd make a PDF of each statement and include as the last page of each PDF the copy of the ID. You can lodge under "Social Aspects of the Relationship", subcategory "Other" and just put "Statement re relationship by John Smith" or something like that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied for the 189 visa and think I need to add some more documents to prove the genuineness of the relationship, since I will be adding my de-facto partner.
> 
> Amongst other documents (bank statements, travel tickets, and rent statements), I have about 8 well written letters from friends, stating that they have known us for X amount of time in Y social occasions.
> 
> I have a couple of questions before submitting these:
> - Do we need certified copies of their IDs? Their contact details are mentioned on the letters, but if we need their IDs, I will try to obtain a copy of these too.
> - Is there anything else we need, besides their ID?
> - How do I submit this? In the dropdown when submitting there are the following options, but none of them seems appropriate for this type of document (sorry for the big post)
> 
> Thank you very much in advance,
> Tom


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tangerine44 -

Likely not a problem and no need to get statements re-done - you could put your married name under the "Other Names you are known by" part of the application form, and once your passport is updated, then lodge a Form 1022 to update your circumstnaces to indicate your new name, assuming your application was lodged under your old name (which it should be if it is lodged before you get your new passport - the name on the application should always match the name on the current passport as of the time of application - you can always update it later).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tangerine44 said:


> Hi Mark, i hope you can help me. I just realised that my last name written on all form 888's is my married name. The thing is my visa is linked to my passport which is on my maiden name. Is this going to post an issue? I have renewed my passport to reflect my married name and it will be available by end of November. I'm not sure if I need to ask my witnesses to do another stat dec again or if the document I have will suffice. Please advise. thank you


----------



## mehaibia abdou

Hi Mark, I got refused my MRT one month ago, and im looking for a new lawyer to assist me for tourist visa, my wife living in Sydney has aPR. Can u assit me for a gud lawyers please. Thunx


----------



## amkhan

*amkhan*

Hi Mark!
I submitted EOI in July 2014 and application for state nomination. Unfortunately my state nomination application has been rejected. I have 65 points so I am going to launch EOI for visa subclass 189. I have used my existing EOI application and just changed visa subclass from 190 to 189. After updating EOI application Date of effect has changed to 22/10/2014.
Please advise that same EOI application can be used for visa subclass 189 and I can get invitation based on the same application or I need to withdraw existing application and launch new EOI application. In addition to this, please advise that in EOI application can we select both visa classes i.e. 189 and 190 at the same time.
Your feedback will be highly appreciated.


----------



## neil_coul

Thanks Mark,

Appreciate all your help

Neil


----------



## sara123

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Star Hunter -
> 
> You get the prize for the first question on the Ask Mark! thread! Here goes - and we keep answers quick and brief here for readability:
> 
> Re: additional evidence submitted after partner visa lodged: YES, they will consider it, and I've seen it make a HUGE difference in some cases. If a requirement is time-of-application (ie, defacto 12-month living together requirement) then additional info about living together BEFORE the time of application is good, but make sure you know whether a requirement is time-of-application (ie, must have been met at the time of application) or time-of-decision (evidence can be considered and added up until the point of decision) - big difference.
> 
> Re: MRT: YES they will accept new evidence and it's the best part of the MRT in my opinion - think of the MRT like a new "decision" - if a requirement is time-of-decision, then you can submit additional evidence up until the point the MRT makes their decision. Same caveat applies re: time of application requirements - if a requirement is time of application and you do not meet it (ie, minimum IELTS score for some visas, etc), then MRT may not be able to do anything to change things since you cannot go back to the time of application and change things.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark, i have a query regarding eligibility for citizenship, i recieved my PR in 2009, entered Aus in Feb 2010 and went back to my home country 5 mths later. i then came to Aus in Sept 2013 and have been here since then.
i know that we have to spend 1000 days in Australia to be eligible for citizenship. will my earlier 5 mths be counted in this period inspite of my stay of over 3 years outside australia? plz help

n i do not have any property in Aus neither did i have any close close and continuing contact with Aus except for a few job n university applications that were all rejected.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mehaibia Abdou -

Thanks for the note - the choice of a lawyer or registered migration agent depends largely on what you want the person to do, what type of visa, etc. Some agents and lawyers specialise in certain types of visas (for example, most of my work is in partner, employer sponsored and skilled visas and I specialise in "problem cases" including MRT, RRT, cancellations, refusals, health waivers, character problems etc). However if you're headed for court, only a lawyer can assist there. Two of the lawyers I recommend that are among the best in the field are David Prince and Christopher Levingston, but each has their own specialties and their style and personalities are very different.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mehaibia abdou said:


> Hi Mark, I got refused my MRT one month ago, and im looking for a new lawyer to assist me for tourist visa, my wife living in Sydney has aPR. Can u assit me for a gud lawyers please. Thunx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amkhan -

No problem using same EOI for 190 and 189. Once you tick the 189 box, you then will be put into the pool with those awaiting an invitation for your occupation, then it's a matter of waiting to see if/when you get an invitation based on your points score. Note that as you have just now selected 189, your "date of effect" (ie, your place in the queue among those with the same score as you) has changed, however no way to tell how many others are in the queue with you or how many DIBP selects each time - just a matter of waiting.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amkhan said:


> Hi Mark!
> I submitted EOI in July 2014 and application for state nomination. Unfortunately my state nomination application has been rejected. I have 65 points so I am going to launch EOI for visa subclass 189. I have used my existing EOI application and just changed visa subclass from 190 to 189. After updating EOI application Date of effect has changed to 22/10/2014.
> Please advise that same EOI application can be used for visa subclass 189 and I can get invitation based on the same application or I need to withdraw existing application and launch new EOI application. In addition to this, please advise that in EOI application can we select both visa classes i.e. 189 and 190 at the same time.
> Your feedback will be highly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sara123 -

Not sure where you're seeing the 1,000 days data - the residency requirement for Australia looks at the 4 years prior to lodging the citizenship application, and during that period you cannot have been absent from Australia for more than 12 months; also during the 1 year prior to lodging the application, you must have been a PR during that time, and cannot have been absent more than 3 months during that year. Within the 4 year period, all time lawfully in Australia is counted, including time on temporary visas such as student or visitor visas, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sara123 said:


> hi mark, i have a query regarding eligibility for citizenship, i recieved my PR in 2009, entered Aus in Feb 2010 and went back to my home country 5 mths later. i then came to Aus in Sept 2013 and have been here since then.
> i know that we have to spend 1000 days in Australia to be eligible for citizenship. will my earlier 5 mths be counted in this period inspite of my stay of over 3 years outside australia? plz help
> 
> n i do not have any property in Aus neither did i have any close close and continuing contact with Aus except for a few job n university applications that were all rejected.


----------



## Moonika

Hi Mark

I'm on a 461 visa and want to apply for 186 visa eventually. I'm working as a restaurant manager and doing 35+ hours a week on a CASUAlL basis. My question is would that apply for a full time work or do I have to be on salary?

Thanks,

Moonika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moonika -

Thanks for the question - the requirements for "full-time work" vary from one visa to another, however 35 hours per week, paid work (at market rate, etc) is generally a safe bet to qualify. Whether you are on casual basis or contract isn't relevant, as long as you're putting in the required hours per week, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Moonika said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I'm on a 461 visa and want to apply for 186 visa eventually. I'm working as a restaurant manager and doing 35+ hours a week on a CASUAlL basis. My question is would that apply for a full time work or do I have to be on salary?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Moonika


----------



## Depressedfish

Hi Mark,

Missed out on the NSW application today. Got a tricky question for 186 Employer Sponsored visa for direct entry stream:

Under this part:
are in Australia as the holder of a Special Category visa (subclass 444) or New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa (subclass 461) and have worked with your nominating employer in your nominated occupation for the past two years (not including any period of unpaid leave) in the three years before you apply for this visa.

Do people qualify for that if the work experience is with the same employer *but* different legal entity? Eg. the company doing the sponsoring is an Australian company but the work experience was for the New Zealand subsidiary.


----------



## amkhan

*Amkhan*

Thanks Mark for your feedback.
I understand from your reply, please correct me if I am wrong, I can use old EOI application and now I am put into visa class 189 pool and I will get invitation automatically on my turn.

Furthermore, can you please advise that one EOI can be submitted with both 189 and 190 and which ever invitation comes first can be used for visa application.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amkhan -

Correct on both counts. One thing also: once you have received an invitation from an EOI (for instance, for a 190), you will not receive a further invitation from that EOI until the invitation you have received has either expired (after 60 days) or you have declined it. So if you get a 190 invitation, you will not receive a 189 invitation until the 190 invitation either expires or is declined.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amkhan said:


> Thanks Mark for your feedback.
> I understand from your reply, please correct me if I am wrong, I can use old EOI application and now I am put into visa class 189 pool and I will get invitation automatically on my turn.
> 
> Furthermore, can you please advise that one EOI can be submitted with both 189 and 190 and which ever invitation comes first can be used for visa application.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depressedfish -

There are very specific and (unnecessarily) complicated rules for determining whether this can work or not, and often comes down to a close examination of the business relationship (and ownership relationship) and other factors of the 2 companies involved. Generally speaking the sponsoring entity for 186 must be the same as the employing entity for the 457 if you are going for the 2 years TRT pathway for the 186. There are some exceptions to this, and there's no shortcut to working through all the details and applying the policy - there was new policy released on this a few months ago that still has lots of people scratching their heads at the ifs/ands/buts of the policy, but at least there is some room. Also have to look at how your work benefitted both companies concerned, etc. This is something I can work thought with you at a consultation, but too complex for Q&A on the forum - too many details and questions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Depressedfish said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Missed out on the NSW application today. Got a tricky question for 186 Employer Sponsored visa for direct entry stream:
> 
> Under this part:
> are in Australia as the holder of a Special Category visa (subclass 444) or New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa (subclass 461) and have worked with your nominating employer in your nominated occupation for the past two years (not including any period of unpaid leave) in the three years before you apply for this visa.
> 
> Do people qualify for that if the work experience is with the same employer *but* different legal entity? Eg. the company doing the sponsoring is an Australian company but the work experience was for the New Zealand subsidiary.


----------



## faith555

Hi Mark;

I have a quick question for u , and i really hope that u can help, i have a co , who i beleive is incopetent, because of the lack of his profesionalism, he never confirm to me that he got the emails, i always have to call him , Also recently he sent me a request to do my medicals using the wrong Email ID!!! 

And today , i sent him and email to let him know that i am back to my country as i was visiting my husband on OZ, and the surprise is , that he called me asking me when i am planing to leave AUSTRALIA saying that my tourist visa is expired!!!!!!
he was totaly confused, i think that he didnt even read the email because i wrote in the subject that i want to let my co know that i am back to my country(wich means that i left AUSTRALIA!!)
What do u think i can do, do i have the right to ask to change my co because i feel insecured and not in a good hand, or should i complain?
Or do u think that what he did is OK!
Waiting to hear from u

Thanks a lot for ur help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Faith555 -

If you are concerned about your case officer, you may wish to make a complaint - here's the link: Client feedback

That being said, DIBP often does not acknowledge emails sent to them - sometimes you'll get an autoresponder that says the mail has been received by DIBP, but that doesn't mean that it necessarily has reached the case officer it was intended for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



faith555 said:


> Hi Mark;
> 
> I have a quick question for u , and i really hope that u can help, i have a co , who i beleive is incopetent, because of the lack of his profesionalism, he never confirm to me that he got the emails, i always have to call him , Also recently he sent me a request to do my medicals using the wrong Email ID!!!
> 
> And today , i sent him and email to let him know that i am back to my country as i was visiting my husband on OZ, and the surprise is , that he called me asking me when i am planing to leave AUSTRALIA saying that my tourist visa is expired!!!!!!
> he was totaly confused, i think that he didnt even read the email because i wrote in the subject that i want to let my co know that i am back to my country(wich means that i left AUSTRALIA!!)
> What do u think i can do, do i have the right to ask to change my co because i feel insecured and not in a good hand, or should i complain?
> Or do u think that what he did is OK!
> Waiting to hear from u
> 
> Thanks a lot for ur help


----------



## Stereo356

Hi mark thanks for your response. I am still waiting for my visa notification for student visa 572. I was wondering is it possible to apply for a visitor visa in the mean time? Any information you have is appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stereo356 -

Nothing to prevent that, however as you have already disclosed your intention to come to study in Australia, may have an issue getting past the "genuine visitor" policy criteria which states that by applying for a visitor visa you're intending to come for temporary tourism, etc purposes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Stereo356 said:


> Hi mark thanks for your response. I am still waiting for my visa notification for student visa 572. I was wondering is it possible to apply for a visitor visa in the mean time? Any information you have is appreciated.


----------



## veomzoom

*pls advise*

Dear and respected Sir MARK.

I am in a very big state of cofusion. I have been accepted in university in Australia for Master of professional accounting advanced. got the offer letter, paid fee and now waiting for the eCoE, which will hopefully be received in a week.

The problem is my educational background. I have done Matric (10th) in 2003 and have a year gap. in 2004 I started to teach voluntarily to the afghan refugees residing in Pakistan under the project of UNHCR GTZ BEFARe (Basic education for afghan refugees) and along with education kept teaching till 2007.

in 2006 I completed my intermediate and have again one year gap till the end of 2007.

in this year i kept teaching students but also participated in 3 days workshops for AIDS awareness, Bridging the digital divide and one more.

got certificates and also i have the transfer letter of from one school to other and my teaching voluntary job at a little stipend.

I then completed my 2 years graduation in 2009 but due to low grades, I appeared for improvement in 2010 after 6 months and improved by one division from 3rd to second.

but in 2012 I completed my 2 year master in economics and got two role of honor certificates for obtaining positions and 3CGPA out of 4.

Now i need your help. how to justify the gap in my education as i was voluntarily teaching alongwith my education.

Do you think the visa officer will be satisfied?

is working along education (Especially teaching) a positive point, and especially just after matric?

my grades in matric and intermediate are very low.

do you think this can lead to rejection?

Furthermore I am currently working as an assistant accountant in a pvt ltd company since 22nd march 2012 and my intentions are to join a company in an upper management position such as accounts manager and also to offer consultancy services in the area of accounting to various business plus to teach as a visiting faculty in business an law department to students in my country to share my knowledge and experiences with them which i will get from Australian education.

but as i discussed the reasons above these are confusing me.. and i am worried about that i may get a rejection.

please advise some tips for me. how can i please satisfy the case officer as i am a genuine student.

Thank you so much in advance.

Your's sincerely


----------



## Crescent

Thanks Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Veomzoom -

Thanks for the note - based on what you said, my thought would be to just provide the same kinds of details you did in your post to the case officer - maybe organise it into a timetable or chart sort of thing so it will be easy to see what was happening during each period of time, but given what you've said, openly disclosing what you were doing would seem to be a good approach in my view.

The genuine student issue can be challenging - I would also consider addressing areas such as:
* Why you want to come to Australia to study vs study in your home country
* Availability of similar courses at the same level in your home country (or unavailability, etc)
* Your plans for how you will use your degree for work in your home country, etc after graduation

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



veomzoom said:


> Dear and respected Sir MARK.
> 
> I am in a very big state of cofusion. I have been accepted in university in Australia for Master of professional accounting advanced. got the offer letter, paid fee and now waiting for the eCoE, which will hopefully be received in a week.
> 
> The problem is my educational background. I have done Matric (10th) in 2003 and have a year gap. in 2004 I started to teach voluntarily to the afghan refugees residing in Pakistan under the project of UNHCR GTZ BEFARe (Basic education for afghan refugees) and along with education kept teaching till 2007.
> 
> in 2006 I completed my intermediate and have again one year gap till the end of 2007.
> 
> in this year i kept teaching students but also participated in 3 days workshops for AIDS awareness, Bridging the digital divide and one more.
> 
> got certificates and also i have the transfer letter of from one school to other and my teaching voluntary job at a little stipend.
> 
> I then completed my 2 years graduation in 2009 but due to low grades, I appeared for improvement in 2010 after 6 months and improved by one division from 3rd to second.
> 
> but in 2012 I completed my 2 year master in economics and got two role of honor certificates for obtaining positions and 3CGPA out of 4.
> 
> Now i need your help. how to justify the gap in my education as i was voluntarily teaching alongwith my education.
> 
> Do you think the visa officer will be satisfied?
> 
> is working along education (Especially teaching) a positive point, and especially just after matric?
> 
> my grades in matric and intermediate are very low.
> 
> do you think this can lead to rejection?
> 
> Furthermore I am currently working as an assistant accountant in a pvt ltd company since 22nd march 2012 and my intentions are to join a company in an upper management position such as accounts manager and also to offer consultancy services in the area of accounting to various business plus to teach as a visiting faculty in business an law department to students in my country to share my knowledge and experiences with them which i will get from Australian education.
> 
> but as i discussed the reasons above these are confusing me.. and i am worried about that i may get a rejection.
> 
> please advise some tips for me. how can i please satisfy the case officer as i am a genuine student.
> 
> Thank you so much in advance.
> 
> Your's sincerely


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crescent -

Sorry to hear of your negative experience with that agent. I would fill out another Form 956 (you can download from DIBP site) and tick the "End Appointment" boxes, fill out the agent's name, etc, and you sign it and upload with your visa - you might include a letter saying that you wish to end the appointment of this person effectively immediately since they never responded to your emails, and never did any work on your behalf.

Next, I'd email the agent with a polite but firm email that states that you wish a full refund since they never did any work, and let her know that if you do not receive a refund within 14 days, you will make a complaint to OMARA (http://mara.gov.au) - I expect you'll get your refund promptly.

And no, that agent cannot cancel or attack your PR - I'd get the 956 lodged to End Appointment first, then go after your refund.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Stereo356

hi Mark just one more quick question. As my class starts on the 3rd November and I still have no notification about my visa it is now looking like I will have to defer my class until 27th January 2015. Since I will be deferring I will get a new COE so my question is what will happen with my application will the processing start from scratch again or will my application carry on from where it is in the processing line? Appreciate any information you have thanks.


----------



## veomzoom

*thanks mark*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Veomzoom -
> 
> Thanks for the note - based on what you said, my thought would be to just provide the same kinds of details you did in your post to the case officer - maybe organise it into a timetable or chart sort of thing so it will be easy to see what was happening during each period of time, but given what you've said, openly disclosing what you were doing would seem to be a good approach in my view.
> 
> The genuine student issue can be challenging - I would also consider addressing areas such as:
> * Why you want to come to Australia to study vs study in your home country
> * Availability of similar courses at the same level in your home country (or unavailability, etc)
> * Your plans for how you will use your degree for work in your home country, etc after graduation
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark. But do you think its a plus point to work alongwith education in same field of study in home country? Mark I would wat to avail your services for writing a professional SOP for me (by professional I mean to answer all the GTE questions, well structured writings etc.
I have visited your website but couldn't find a way to contact you personally.
Thank you.
Your's sincerely


----------



## edgar1967

*partner visa*

Hallo 
I hope I find you OK. I have twice tried to join my wife who is a nurse in Sydney, she is on works visa in Australia. We were aiming for a visitors visa to allow me access to experience Australian life then decide on our future. In both the 2 denied apps we were only traditionally married Zimbabwean way where we both come from, no evidence to show.
After the refusals we agreed my wife come back to Zimbabwe so we would legalize our marriage and we are married and got a marriage certificate now. 
My finances are not that good but hers as she is inviting me there have a good track record.
i lived in UK for 12 years as I had Indefinite leave to remain there. I was initially granted asylum. I still need to decide on our way forward because of the European experience i have. I graduated with a BSc Database Administration and Management and started a company in UK before I came back Zimbabwe to set up a transport business. Zimbabwe economy is for the toughest but people in business survive.
please help what do i need to do as i am about to reapply with us having our marriage certificate as extra evidence.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stereo356 -

Suggest you send the new CoE to the DIBP processing office once you make the decision to defer - normally they will adjust the visa application accordingly, especially if the cause for the new CoE is visa processing delay.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Stereo356 said:


> hi Mark just one more quick question. As my class starts on the 3rd November and I still have no notification about my visa it is now looking like I will have to defer my class until 27th January 2015. Since I will be deferring I will get a new COE so my question is what will happen with my application will the processing start from scratch again or will my application carry on from where it is in the processing line? Appreciate any information you have thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Veomzoom -

It may be or may not be depending on the other circumstances of your situation - hard to look at any one data point and draw a conclusion from that - key with Genuine Student is to paint an entire picture showing all the different elements that work together to show that you have more of an incentive to return to your home country after study than to stay in Australia, etc.

Sorry for communication re: can't fine contact info - if you go to our website (see my signature below), then look in the upper right hand corner on the red stripe at the top, it will say "Contact Us" - there's an email address listed on that page which comes directly to me.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



veomzoom said:


> Thank you Mark. But do you think its a plus point to work alongwith education in same field of study in home country? Mark I would wat to avail your services for writing a professional SOP for me (by professional I mean to answer all the GTE questions, well structured writings etc.
> I have visited your website but couldn't find a way to contact you personally.
> Thank you.
> Your's sincerely


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Edgar1967 -

Thanks for the post and questions. With 2 refusals already, my suggestion (and please do not consider this self-promotion as it's not intended as such) is for you to get professional help with the 3rd because simply because of the 2 refusals, you have a very high bar to meet re: getting approved. Suggest you locate a qualified registered migration agent who will thoroughly study the 2 refusals, will work closely with you to get a detailed picture of your circumstances, and submit a full Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) submission with the next application. For cases like this, there is usually no simple solution - it's a matter of a detailed, careful study of the circumstances and creating a GTE submission document with as much accompanying evidence as possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



edgar1967 said:


> Hallo
> I hope I find you OK. I have twice tried to join my wife who is a nurse in Sydney, she is on works visa in Australia. We were aiming for a visitors visa to allow me access to experience Australian life then decide on our future. In both the 2 denied apps we were only traditionally married Zimbabwean way where we both come from, no evidence to show.
> After the refusals we agreed my wife come back to Zimbabwe so we would legalize our marriage and we are married and got a marriage certificate now.
> My finances are not that good but hers as she is inviting me there have a good track record.
> i lived in UK for 12 years as I had Indefinite leave to remain there. I was initially granted asylum. I still need to decide on our way forward because of the European experience i have. I graduated with a BSc Database Administration and Management and started a company in UK before I came back Zimbabwe to set up a transport business. Zimbabwe economy is for the toughest but people in business survive.
> please help what do i need to do as i am about to reapply with us having our marriage certificate as extra evidence.


----------



## Cassandra82

Hi Mark! My partner and i will be applying for the partner visa 820/801 next weekend and i just had two questions i was hoping you could assist me with. Just a quick background - my partner is from Sweden and we are a same sex couple applying on defacto grounds. We have been together for 3 years and lived together for the most part. We have also registered our relationship.

First is regarding our own statements - I just want to clarify as people keep saying different things, can we just sign and date them ourselves without having them witnessed or do we need to have them signed by a JP or qualified witness? Our statements are written on blank paper not a stat dec form.

Secondly my partner was back home in Sweden for about 3 months earlier in the year and earned money babysitting her cousins baby - we have mentioned that she earned money over that period in our application but what she earned was not taxed in Sweden as her cousin was just paying her cash in hand - We dont want to risk anything or seem dodgy so i wonder if Immi will check this in anyway or worse case report it. Are we better off just leaving it our altogether?

Really appreciate any help you an give. Thanks in advance!

Cassandra


----------



## flyingbluebird

*working permission of student visa 574*

Dear Mark,

I have an enquiry about the working rights of my visa.

I am currently on the student 574 visa. The visa will expire on 30 October 2015. And I am planning to submit my thesis next month. I am not sure whether I can work fulltime using my student visa in Australia after submitting my thesis. On the visa conditions 8105-1, it says "_the visa holder must not engage in work in Australia for more than 40 hours a fortnight during any fortnight when the holder's course of study or training is *in session*_" . I don't know what's the exact meaning of "when the holder's course of study or training is in session", will my study still be in session after I submitting my thesis?

Because I lodged my application for Permanent Resident in August, I was also granted a bridging visa which allows me to work fulltime. But this bridging visa is not in effect because my Student visa is currently in effect. And I got a job offer recently, the job will start next month after I submitting my thesis. If I can work temporary using my student visa after I submitting my thesis, I may not need to apply for another working visa (visa 457).

Really appreciate if you could give me some suggestions. Thanks

Regards
Xumeng


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassandra -

No need to have your own statements witnessed/JP'd/etc. On your statement I probably wouldn't mention the pay for babysitting as it's not directly relevant to the relationship, however even if you do, I don't believe there is any realistic chance that this info would be reported by DIBP to your local tax authorities - the only tax authority I believe DIBP has ties to is the Australian Tax Office, and that's for things like confirming whether someone has worked unlawfully, etc. in Australia on employer sponsored visa applications, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cassandra82 said:


> Hi Mark! My partner and i will be applying for the partner visa 820/801 next weekend and i just had two questions i was hoping you could assist me with. Just a quick background - my partner is from Sweden and we are a same sex couple applying on defacto grounds. We have been together for 3 years and lived together for the most part. We have also registered our relationship.
> 
> First is regarding our own statements - I just want to clarify as people keep saying different things, can we just sign and date them ourselves without having them witnessed or do we need to have them signed by a JP or qualified witness? Our statements are written on blank paper not a stat dec form.
> 
> Secondly my partner was back home in Sweden for about 3 months earlier in the year and earned money babysitting her cousins baby - we have mentioned that she earned money over that period in our application but what she earned was not taxed in Sweden as her cousin was just paying her cash in hand - We dont want to risk anything or seem dodgy so i wonder if Immi will check this in anyway or worse case report it. Are we better off just leaving it our altogether?
> 
> Really appreciate any help you an give. Thanks in advance!
> 
> Cassandra


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Flyingbluebird -

Assuming your 574 visa is for postgraduate research, DIBP policy indicates that once you have submitted your thesis for marking, your course is considered "out of session" and you have no work rights restrictions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



flyingbluebird said:


> Dear Mark, I have an enquiry about the working rights of my visa. I am currently on the student 574 visa. The visa will expire on 30 October 2015. And I am planning to submit my thesis next month. I am not sure whether I can work fulltime using my student visa in Australia after submitting my thesis. On the visa conditions 8105-1, it says &#147;the visa holder must not engage in work in Australia for more than 40 hours a fortnight during any fortnight when the holder's course of study or training is in session&#148; . I don&#146;t know what&#146;s the exact meaning of &#147;when the holder's course of study or training is in session&#148;, will my study still be in session after I submitting my thesis? Because I lodged my application for Permanent Resident in August, I was also granted a bridging visa which allows me to work fulltime. But this bridging visa is not in effect because my Student visa is currently in effect. And I got a job offer recently, the job will start next month after I submitting my thesis. If I can work temporary using my student visa after I submitting my thesis, I may not need to apply for another working visa (visa 457). Really appreciate if you could give me some suggestions. Thanks Regards Xumeng


----------



## flyingbluebird

Thanks Mark. It is very helpful.
Do you know where can I find the official DIBP document about this policy? I might need that to pass on to the employer to prove that I have the working rights.
I am very grateful for your information.

Regards
Xumeng 


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Flyingbluebird -
> 
> Assuming your 574 visa is for postgraduate research, DIBP policy indicates that once you have submitted your thesis for marking, your course is considered "out of session" and you have no work rights restrictions.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xumeng -

It's in the Procedures Advice Manual 3 regarding condition 8105, Section 109. Unfortunately it's not available to the public without a paying subscription (which I believe is unfair), however some libraries have access to the LegendCOM system at DIBP which contains this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



flyingbluebird said:


> Thanks Mark. It is very helpful.
> Do you know where can I find the official DIBP document about this policy? I might need that to pass on to the employer to prove that I have the working rights.
> I am very grateful for your information.
> 
> Regards
> Xumeng


----------



## flyingbluebird

Thanks Mark. It is very helpful.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Flyingbluebird -
> 
> Assuming your 574 visa is for postgraduate research, DIBP policy indicates that once you have submitted your thesis for marking, your course is considered "out of session" and you have no work rights restrictions.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam





MarkNortham said:


> Hi Xumeng -
> 
> It's in the Procedures Advice Manual 3 regarding condition 8105, Section 109. Unfortunately it's not available to the public without a paying subscription (which I believe is unfair), however some libraries have access to the LegendCOM system at DIBP which contains this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## bgirl

Hello Mark!

I am sure you've answered something similar to this, so thank you for your patience.

I am scheduled to fly to Australia from the US on December 16th of this year, under a Working Holiday Visa, with a view to seeing how I like it, and hopefully to marrying my boyfriend and going back to school- I have a bachelor's in biology, and I want to go to graduate school in bioinformatics. I am headed for Adelaide. 

The travel agent, as she was processing my ticket, remarked that if I didn't have a return ticket with this visa, they would turn me back at Sydney. I understood that I was required to show that I had money for a return ticket, but I hadn't heard anything about actually needing one in my hand, so to speak.

We can get a return ticket, as that isn't a problem. But I'm looking into different visas now as I had meant to look into the ways and means of going back to school in any case, I just had preferred to do my research on the ground.

Of course, I'm looking primarily into the Higher Education visa, but I'm also looking at Skilled Migration- I understand that South Australia is considered regional/low-growth, and my boyfriend's mum had said that I probably qualified. The only question is that I have had a difficult time finding jobs in the American economy and I have not been working in my field.

What would a smart applicant do?


----------



## girpinder22

Hi mark, I am on 457 visa and my employer sponsorship was canceled last month, I did found another employer so do I need to resign first before I apply the nomination with new employer or I can apply nomination and then resign what should I have to do?


----------



## Stereo356

Hi Mark, sorry to bother you again. I have been in contact with the embassy in Warsaw they told me not to change my start date if I haven't received my visa before the 3rd nov when my class starts because then I would need to get a new CoE and that would then cancel my current application and I would then need to apply for a new student visa. I'm having trouble understanding how could they then approve my visa after the 3rd of nov when my class has already started. 
Its hard to find any clear information and very frustrating and I appreciate any helpful information you may have with any previous cases.


----------



## punter_chin

Hey Mark,

I hope you are doing well. 

I am currently getting all my documents together to apply for visa under subclass 189 as the primary applicant. I have the following questions:

1. Do I have to include my dependents at this stage of application only or Can I wait for the visa outcome and then apply for the dependents?

2. I am not claiming points for employment in the last 10 years. Do I still need to include all jobs that I have undertaken over the last 10 years? Should this also include part-time work? Do I need to provide relieving/ experience letters from all these employers?

3. What is the approx. cost of medicals? 

Thank you for all your help so far.

regards,


----------



## DangerDave

Hi Mark,

Im gathering evidence for 309 visa from Germany.Now one document I was planning to attach is the acknowledgment of paternity, but on the document it states us our marital status as single, because de-facto status doesn't really exist here. would that go against us? or should I exclude this because our child has both of our surnames anyway?

Thanks again for all your help you are giving here.
Regards,
Dave


----------



## lehine

Hi Mark,

I really hope I can get some help from you. I am so worried :-(

I got my partner visa 309 (temporary, offshore) last year in September 2013 and still had to work until February 2014 (my case officer was aware of that). Initial entry date was 9 January 2014 and I visited my partner during Christmas and activated my visa. In the end of February, my brother gave birth to his first child and I wanted to be here in Germany for that as I won't be able to see him growing up once I moved to Australia to my partner. Therefore, I just moved to my partner in April 2014. Unfortunately, already 2 weeks after my arrival I got the horrible news that my mother suffered from a bad stroke and the doctors were not sure if she survived. Of course, I booked a flight back to Germany as my family and my Mum needed me to be here. My mum was not able to walk anymore, to move her arms etc and also had problems speaking at first. She had to stay at the hospital for a long time and then went to rehab. She needed a lot of help and my dad was not able to help her properly on his own. So I unfortunately stayed longer in Germany than I wanted and expected and I am still in Germany. My mum will finish her therapy in 2 weeks and my flight to Australia is booked. My Australian partner visited me and my mum for 2 weeks in July but then had to return to Australia due to work.
I wrote our case officer in July (who was the person in charge for our 309 visa) in Berlin and said that we are very worried now as I am still not in Australia - although I am already holding the 309 partner visa. I explained her the situation and what happened to my mum. She replied that these must be compelling reasons and that I should not be too worried and should keep documents from the hospitals and rehabs which confirm that my mum was in therapy etc in case the case officer who is deciding on our 2nd stage visa 100 wants to have proof.

So, I will be back in Australia on 8 November. I am sooo sacerd... will they refuse our 100 visa because I couldnt manage to properly move to my Australia partner yet although I planned to do this already in April?

Is it very likely that they refuse our 100 visa because I had to return to Germany for such a long time?

- I have documents from the hospitals and rehabs stating that my mum had to be there
- my Australian partner calls me everyday (I have skype logs and screenshots of Viber phone calls)
- my Australian partner's mum wrote a "get well"-card to my mum
- we got invitations to 2 weddings in both our names
- we have my partner's boarding passes which show that he visited me here in Germany
- the whole time we were transferring money onto our joint Australian bank account in order so save up more money for our mutual life in Australia.
- I have a library card, addressed to our address in Australia
-I have a football membership card addressed to our mutual Australian address and we share this hobby.
- We shared the expenses for my flight to Australia in April and his flight to Germany in July.
- We will be able to attend a wedding of my partner's closest friend together as a couple and have the invitation card and will take pictures.
- We will get approx. 6 (or more) Stat Decs from family and friends confirming our relationship and my mum's stroke and the circumstances etc.

We *do not* have any mutual bills yet as we will be living at my partner's parents' place for a while until we find an affordable apartment for us. They will write a Stat Dec.
I will get a tax file number and a medi care card once I arrive in Australia on 8 Nov. We are planning to by me a car in December and using our joint bank account card regularly as soon as I arrived in Australia.

I applied for 309 in February 2013, got the visa in Sept 2013 - therefore I guess, we will receive the letter from Immigration stating that we are eligible for 2nd stage visa 100 by December this year or January 2015. Unfortunately by then we won't have much proof of a mutual life together in Australia except the things I have mentioned above.

We are so scared that they will now refuse our 100 visa because of my long stay in Germany. We are a genious and honest couple and are always planning a future together.

I would be very very grateful for any advice!! Do we still have hope?


----------



## HarryD

Hi Mark

I just have a quick question re an online eVisitor application. I've been refused an eVisitor in the past, due to not intending to travel to Oz as a genuine tourist, it's a long story, some unforeseen circumstances, had to leave Oz at the last minute as to not overstay my visa at the time, had hoped to re-enter on an eVisitor to sort a new application.

Anyway I was refused an eVisitor due to not being a genuine tourist, had my following application refused as it did not meet specific criteria.

All done and dusted last year and that it's been 18 months since I left Australia.

I now have genuine reasons to visit Oz as a tourist, family wedding, I'm about to apply for an eVisitor visa online and I'm just wondering about the section where it asks for my previous visa grant number.

It states it's not mandatory, I'm just wondering what the best option is, will it flag me with immigration if I fill it in or will I be flagged regardless of whether I fill this in or not.

I would really like to attend this family wedding in Australia so I would like to give myself the best possible chance of having an eVisitor granted.

Does it matter either way?


----------



## Cassandra82

Hi Mark! My partner and i will applying for the partner visa 820/801 next weekend and i just had two questions i was hoping you could assist me with. Just a quick background - my partner is from Sweden and we are applying on defacto grounds. We have been together for 3 years and lived together for the most part. We have also registered our relationship.

First is regarding our own statements - i just want to clarify as people keep saying different things, can we just sign and date them ourselves without having them witnessed or do we need to have them signed by a JP or qualified witness? Our statements are written on blank paper not a stat dec form.

Secondly my partner was back home in Sweden for about 3 months earlier in the year and earned money babysitting - we have mentioned that she earned money over that period in our application but what she earned was not taxed in Sweden as it was for her family who were just paying her cash in hand. We don't want to risk anything or seem dodgy so i wonder if Immi will check this in anyway or worse case report it. Are we better off just leaving it out altogether?

Really appreciate any help you can give. Thanks so much in advance!

Cas


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bgirl -

Thanks for the note. Re: return ticket and WH visa, this gets into an area of discretion with the immigration officer at the airport - a return ticket is the best and safest choice however.

Re: other types of visas, you might look into a subclass 457 visa if you are seeking employment in Australia, or potentially a student visa is you want to do further studies here - each Australian visa has a large number of requirements and rules - best to review these very carefully on the DIBP website - would also be happy to work with you in a consultation (see website below in my signature) to help you go through all the different options and answer your questions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bgirl said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I am sure you've answered something similar to this, so thank you for your patience.
> 
> I am scheduled to fly to Australia from the US on December 16th of this year, under a Working Holiday Visa, with a view to seeing how I like it, and hopefully to marrying my boyfriend and going back to school- I have a bachelor's in biology, and I want to go to graduate school in bioinformatics. I am headed for Adelaide.
> 
> The travel agent, as she was processing my ticket, remarked that if I didn't have a return ticket with this visa, they would turn me back at Sydney. I understood that I was required to show that I had money for a return ticket, but I hadn't heard anything about actually needing one in my hand, so to speak.
> 
> We can get a return ticket, as that isn't a problem. But I'm looking into different visas now as I had meant to look into the ways and means of going back to school in any case, I just had preferred to do my research on the ground.
> 
> Of course, I'm looking primarily into the Higher Education visa, but I'm also looking at Skilled Migration- I understand that South Australia is considered regional/low-growth, and my boyfriend's mum had said that I probably qualified. The only question is that I have had a difficult time finding jobs in the American economy and I have not been working in my field.
> 
> What would a smart applicant do?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Girpinder22 -

Thanks for the note - it's unusual that your "sponsorship was canceled" but you are apparently still working there....? Note that under the 457 visa you can only work for a sponsoring employer - if the employer has simply given you notice that your job will be gone soon, then you could continue to work there for that period while you worked out a new 457 nomination with another sponsor, however it's not clear from your question exactly what the circumstances were/are with your soon to be former employer so I can't advise you - normally a new nomination can occur while a person is still working for the prior sponsoring employer, or after the person is finished working for the prior sponsoring employer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



girpinder22 said:


> Hi mark, I am on 457 visa and my employer sponsorship was canceled last month, I did found another employer so do I need to resign first before I apply the nomination with new employer or I can apply nomination and then resign what should I have to do?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stereo356 -

I'd go by what the Embassy that is processing your visa application is guiding you - the Embassies have some flexibility in these matters, and apparently they want things done in a certain order. It may be that they want to approve the visa with the current CoE, then have you submit a new CoE to them after the visa is granted...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Stereo356 said:


> Hi Mark, sorry to bother you again. I have been in contact with the embassy in Warsaw they told me not to change my start date if I haven't received my visa before the 3rd nov when my class starts because then I would need to get a new CoE and that would then cancel my current application and I would then need to apply for a new student visa. I'm having trouble understanding how could they then approve my visa after the 3rd of nov when my class has already started.
> Its hard to find any clear information and very frustrating and I appreciate any helpful information you may have with any previous cases.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Punter_chin -

You would have to list all dependents anyway as non-migrating if you did not want to include them in the application, so probably best to include them as migrating if you intend on them coming over. Far easier/cheaper to do that rather than sponsoring for a separate visa (ie, Child Visa) after visa grant, and whether migrating or non-migrating, they are still required to take health exams (ie, immediate family member dependents).

Re: including work experience, yes you need to include this in the visa application part of things and EOI where asked. On EOI, if you are claiming no points for work experience, the work experience should have been marked as not relevant to your occupation.

Re: health exam info, these vary around the world from one clinic to another - here in Australia they are a few hundred dollars.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I hope you are doing well.
> 
> I am currently getting all my documents together to apply for visa under subclass 189 as the primary applicant. I have the following questions:
> 
> 1. Do I have to include my dependents at this stage of application only or Can I wait for the visa outcome and then apply for the dependents?
> 
> 2. I am not claiming points for employment in the last 10 years. Do I still need to include all jobs that I have undertaken over the last 10 years? Should this also include part-time work? Do I need to provide relieving/ experience letters from all these employers?
> 
> 3. What is the approx. cost of medicals?
> 
> Thank you for all your help so far.
> 
> regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dave -

I expect you'll have to include that for the child in either case, so might as well. If they ask about marital status issue, you can explain to them the local regulations, etc. They would need to look at the actual relationship evidence that you submitted (vs notation on a certificate of being single) to form an opinion about the genuineness of the relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DangerDave said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Im gathering evidence for 309 visa from Germany.Now one document I was planning to attach is the acknowledgment of paternity, but on the document it states us our marital status as single, because de-facto status doesn't really exist here. would that go against us? or should I exclude this because our child has both of our surnames anyway?
> 
> Thanks again for all your help you are giving here.
> Regards,
> Dave


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lehine -

I absolutely think you have hope! Especially if you kept lots of documentation about the health issues back in Germany, that should qualify under compelling circumstances for the time apart. My suggestion is that once you return to Australia, do everything you can to integrate your life, income, savings, social life, etc with your partner here and get lots of evidence of that - photos, statements from others, etc so you can make a strong case that once all of the health issues were dealt with and you were able to return to Australia, you lived together as a strong, committed couple. If you can do that, I think you have an excellent chance of being granted the sc100 permanent partner visa.

Please advise if I can assist further - hope this helps.

Best,

Mark Northam



lehine said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I really hope I can get some help from you. I am so worried :-(
> 
> I got my partner visa 309 (temporary, offshore) last year in September 2013 and still had to work until February 2014 (my case officer was aware of that). Initial entry date was 9 January 2014 and I visited my partner during Christmas and activated my visa. In the end of February, my brother gave birth to his first child and I wanted to be here in Germany for that as I won't be able to see him growing up once I moved to Australia to my partner. Therefore, I just moved to my partner in April 2014. Unfortunately, already 2 weeks after my arrival I got the horrible news that my mother suffered from a bad stroke and the doctors were not sure if she survived. Of course, I booked a flight back to Germany as my family and my Mum needed me to be here. My mum was not able to walk anymore, to move her arms etc and also had problems speaking at first. She had to stay at the hospital for a long time and then went to rehab. She needed a lot of help and my dad was not able to help her properly on his own. So I unfortunately stayed longer in Germany than I wanted and expected and I am still in Germany. My mum will finish her therapy in 2 weeks and my flight to Australia is booked. My Australian partner visited me and my mum for 2 weeks in July but then had to return to Australia due to work.
> I wrote our case officer in July (who was the person in charge for our 309 visa) in Berlin and said that we are very worried now as I am still not in Australia - although I am already holding the 309 partner visa. I explained her the situation and what happened to my mum. She replied that these must be compelling reasons and that I should not be too worried and should keep documents from the hospitals and rehabs which confirm that my mum was in therapy etc in case the case officer who is deciding on our 2nd stage visa 100 wants to have proof.
> 
> So, I will be back in Australia on 8 November. I am sooo sacerd... will they refuse our 100 visa because I couldnt manage to properly move to my Australia partner yet although I planned to do this already in April?
> 
> Is it very likely that they refuse our 100 visa because I had to return to Germany for such a long time?
> 
> - I have documents from the hospitals and rehabs stating that my mum had to be there
> - my Australian partner calls me everyday (I have skype logs and screenshots of Viber phone calls)
> - my Australian partner's mum wrote a "get well"-card to my mum
> - we got invitations to 2 weddings in both our names
> - we have my partner's boarding passes which show that he visited me here in Germany
> - the whole time we were transferring money onto our joint Australian bank account in order so save up more money for our mutual life in Australia.
> - I have a library card, addressed to our address in Australia
> -I have a football membership card addressed to our mutual Australian address and we share this hobby.
> - We shared the expenses for my flight to Australia in April and his flight to Germany in July.
> - We will be able to attend a wedding of my partner's closest friend together as a couple and have the invitation card and will take pictures.
> - We will get approx. 6 (or more) Stat Decs from family and friends confirming our relationship and my mum's stroke and the circumstances etc.
> 
> We *do not* have any mutual bills yet as we will be living at my partner's parents' place for a while until we find an affordable apartment for us. They will write a Stat Dec.
> I will get a tax file number and a medi care card once I arrive in Australia on 8 Nov. We are planning to by me a car in December and using our joint bank account card regularly as soon as I arrived in Australia.
> 
> I applied for 309 in February 2013, got the visa in Sept 2013 - therefore I guess, we will receive the letter from Immigration stating that we are eligible for 2nd stage visa 100 by December this year or January 2015. Unfortunately by then we won't have much proof of a mutual life together in Australia except the things I have mentioned above.
> 
> We are so scared that they will now refuse our 100 visa because of my long stay in Germany. We are a genious and honest couple and are always planning a future together.
> 
> I would be very very grateful for any advice!! Do we still have hope?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HarryD -

They'll see the previous refusal linked to your passport and/or name/country so no point in not including your previous visa grant info if you have that information.

Re: this application, you'll want to make sure to include lots of evidence of the purpose of the trip, an invitation & itinerary from the inviter, etc - hopefully whatever it was that caused a problem last time will be seen to be in the past, etc however a previous refusal for the same type of visa will increase the scrutiny on your current visa application in many cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HarryD said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I just have a quick question re an online eVisitor application. I've been refused an eVisitor in the past, due to not intending to travel to Oz as a genuine tourist, it's a long story, some unforeseen circumstances, had to leave Oz at the last minute as to not overstay my visa at the time, had hoped to re-enter on an eVisitor to sort a new application.
> 
> Anyway I was refused an eVisitor due to not being a genuine tourist, had my following application refused as it did not meet specific criteria.
> 
> All done and dusted last year and that it's been 18 months since I left Australia.
> 
> I now have genuine reasons to visit Oz as a tourist, family wedding, I'm about to apply for an eVisitor visa online and I'm just wondering about the section where it asks for my previous visa grant number.
> 
> It states it's not mandatory, I'm just wondering what the best option is, will it flag me with immigration if I fill it in or will I be flagged regardless of whether I fill this in or not.
> 
> I would really like to attend this family wedding in Australia so I would like to give myself the best possible chance of having an eVisitor granted.
> 
> Does it matter either way?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassandra82 -

Thanks for the questions - please see middle of page 459 as I had answered them from your first post - thanks.

Mark



Cassandra82 said:


> Hi Mark! My partner and i will applying for the partner visa 820/801 next weekend and i just had two questions i was hoping you could assist me with. Just a quick background - my partner is from Sweden and we are applying on defacto grounds. We have been together for 3 years and lived together for the most part. We have also registered our relationship.
> 
> First is regarding our own statements - i just want to clarify as people keep saying different things, can we just sign and date them ourselves without having them witnessed or do we need to have them signed by a JP or qualified witness? Our statements are written on blank paper not a stat dec form.
> 
> Secondly my partner was back home in Sweden for about 3 months earlier in the year and earned money babysitting - we have mentioned that she earned money over that period in our application but what she earned was not taxed in Sweden as it was for her family who were just paying her cash in hand. We don't want to risk anything or seem dodgy so i wonder if Immi will check this in anyway or worse case report it. Are we better off just leaving it out altogether?
> 
> Really appreciate any help you can give. Thanks so much in advance!
> 
> Cas


----------



## Cassandra82

Hi Mark! I am really sorry to be a pain but for some reason i can't find your previous response. I have looked all through the pages, very weird. Are you able to repost your reply if you wouldn't mind? 

Thank you so much!

Cas


----------



## norm

hi mark,
hope you doing good, i need some help if you can guide me with this please, i applied 887 PR visa (april 2013) from 475 ( which expired in FEB 2014) ,still on BVB as so far no decision has been made yet, for my 887 visa , problem /question is i got married in july 2013 and as i was on 475 visa and lodged my Pr before i got married, i did not knew that i had to notify department of my marriage , as i thought patner can not be added on 887 visa once application is lodged, now someone saying to me to fill up form 1022 and send it to case officer or DIBP, i have a big concern that my case officer may ask why i am notifying after 14 months (truth is i was completely unaware that i need to notify about my wife as i did not include her in the application and we were not married when i lodged 887 case ) plz if you can reply i will be really thank full to you .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassandra82 -

Sure - here it is:

No need to have your own statements witnessed/JP'd/etc. On your statement I probably wouldn't mention the pay for babysitting as it's not directly relevant to the relationship, however even if you do, I don't believe there is any realistic chance that this info would be reported by DIBP to your local tax authorities - the only tax authority I believe DIBP has ties to is the Australian Tax Office, and that's for things like confirming whether someone has worked unlawfully, etc. in Australia on employer sponsored visa applications, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cassandra82 said:


> Hi Mark! I am really sorry to be a pain but for some reason i can't find your previous response. I have looked all through the pages, very weird. Are you able to repost your reply if you wouldn't mind?
> 
> Thank you so much!
> 
> Cas


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Norm -

Thanks for the question - I don't know enough about your case to give you specific advice, but generally speaking applicants should notify DIBP of a change in circumstances - marriage would certainly qualify. You may want to include a note saying exactly what you said in the post - that since you knew you could not add her on during processing, you didn't think it was necessary to update DIBP. Form 1022 is the correct form for this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



norm said:


> hi mark,
> hope you doing good, i need some help if you can guide me with this please, i applied 887 PR visa (april 2013) from 475 ( which expired in FEB 2014) ,still on BVB as so far no decision has been made yet, for my 887 visa , problem /question is i got married in july 2013 and as i was on 475 visa and lodged my Pr before i got married, i did not knew that i had to notify department of my marriage , as i thought patner can not be added on 887 visa once application is lodged, now someone saying to me to fill up form 1022 and send it to case officer or DIBP, i have a big concern that my case officer may ask why i am notifying after 14 months (truth is i was completely unaware that i need to notify about my wife as i did not include her in the application and we were not married when i lodged 887 case ) plz if you can reply i will be really thank full to you .


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Timmo -
> 
> One ImmiAccount can be used for both forms - that makes things easier. And yes, colour scans of originals are fine for all documents - once in a while they will want originals of the police certificates, but other than that colour scans are fine. However in case they want any originals or certified copies sent by post (rarely happens), I'd keep the originals handy.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark just asking we are planning to.submit our pmv next month but my fiance.what use his credit card is.there any hassle or not affect our visa procssing


----------



## Ravest

Hi Mark,
I'm a student from Germany and currently I'm waiting for the approval of my 402 Occupational Trainee Visa to go to Queensland University of Technology for my master thesis.

Unfortunately, the process took longer than anticipated and the original start date for the Visa was already a month ago.

I have two small questions for you:

1. Is it possible to enter Australia on a tourist visa and wait for the approval of my Visa there?

2. In the document which informed me that my application is valid, it also requested "Copy of Passport - UNALTERED". Do you know what that means? I already sent a certified copy of my passport with the original application.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Normally OK to use applicant or sponsor's credit card for visa application fee payment if you lodge online. If you are planning to lodge a paper application, you will need to check with the Embassy or post where you plan to lodge it, as they all have different policies regarding how visa applications can be paid, who can pay for them, what forms of payment are accepted, currency conversion rates, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> hi mark just asking we are planning to.submit our pmv next month but my fiance.what use his credit card is.there any hassle or not affect our visa procssing


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ravest -

Normally can be difficult to get a visitor visa approved while a student visa is processing, as the purpose of a visitor visa (short term visit for tourism purposes) is contradicted by your intention to come and study as indicated by the student visa application. Re: unaltered copy of passport, not sure but I would suggest submitting a high quality colour scan of the passport biodata page and perhaps all pages just in case they need it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ravest said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm a student from Germany and currently I'm waiting for the approval of my 402 Occupational Trainee Visa to go to Queensland University of Technology for my master thesis.
> 
> Unfortunately, the process took longer than anticipated and the original start date for the Visa was already a month ago.
> 
> I have two small questions for you:
> 
> 1. Is it possible to enter Australia on a tourist visa and wait for the approval of my Visa there?
> 
> 2. In the document which informed me that my application is valid, it also requested "Copy of Passport - UNALTERED". Do you know what that means? I already sent a certified copy of my passport with the original application.


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Normally OK to use applicant or sponsor's credit card for visa application fee payment if you lodge online. If you are planning to lodge a paper application, you will need to check with the Embassy or post where you plan to lodge it, as they all have different policies regarding how visa applications can be paid, who can pay for them, what forms of payment are accepted, currency conversion rates, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thnks but when we going home next month he use the credit card when his on phil so when he comeback to oz he had credit it is ok


----------



## zaheerkhan

hey mark
i have got M.sc in chemistry my degree is equalent to bachelor of australia and have one and half teaching experience in university here in pakistan, i want to apply for university tutor. can yu tell me what are the exact requirments for this visa thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Sorry, but I don't understand what you're asking - there's not enough information. I'll repeat:

1. If you are lodging your visa online, credit cards are generally OK.
2. If you are lodging your visa with a paper application, check with the Embassy or post where you are lodging to see if credit cards are OK.

With either option, there must be enough credit on the card for the visa application charge at the moment you lodge the application - if the charge is declined by your credit card company, or is not allowed by the Embassy if you are lodging a paper application, then it will be an invalid application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> thnks but when we going home next month he use the credit card when his on phil so when he comeback to oz he had credit it is ok


----------



## santu99

Hello sir,

Is PTE ( Pearson Academic English test) taken in October 2014 valid for applying in November 2014 as it is given in the immigration site that they will accept PTE/TOEFL from November 2014?? 
In other words, I am in a dilemma that whether exams (PTE/TOEFL) written before November are accepted for immigration purposes from November or Immigration take into account only which are written in and after November 2014??


----------



## anawan

Hi Mark,
I am on 475 visa which is expiring on Dec this year, I would like to get extension and also want to add my husband in my application (as I married last month and he is in overseas). 
There are two visa on immi website one is "489 renewal" and other "adding subsequent applicant".
Since i want both (extension + subsequent entrant) in one application so my understanding is I have to apply for 489 renewal and I can add my husband in the same application?
How much time it ll take to get the approval Mark?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zaheerkhan -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa (and there are several types of these depending on your circumstances, occupation, etc).

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



zaheerkhan said:


> hey mark
> i have got M.sc in chemistry my degree is equalent to bachelor of australia and have one and half teaching experience in university here in pakistan, i want to apply for university tutor. can yu tell me what are the exact requirments for this visa thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Santu99 -

The exact date that this test will be accepted and the rules re: whether test scores previous to this date will be accepted have not yet been announced by DIBP - will have to wait until they release this information in order to know how they will be implementing the PTE. There's no way to know at this point since they have not released this info to consumers or agents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



santu99 said:


> Hello sir,
> 
> Is PTE ( Pearson Academic English test) taken in October 2014 valid for applying in November 2014 as it is given in the immigration site that they will accept PTE/TOEFL from November 2014??
> In other words, I am in a dilemma that whether exams (PTE/TOEFL) written before November are accepted for immigration purposes from November or Immigration take into account only which are written in and after November 2014??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anawan -

Correct - 489 "extended stay pathway" is the one you want. No way to predict processing times these days with DIBP - I'd guess around 6 months, but it's only a guess.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anawan said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am on 475 visa which is expiring on Dec this year, I would like to get extension and also want to add my husband in my application (as I married last month and he is in overseas).
> There are two visa on immi website one is "489 renewal" and other "adding subsequent applicant".
> Since i want both (extension + subsequent entrant) in one application so my understanding is I have to apply for 489 renewal and I can add my husband in the same application?
> How much time it ll take to get the approval Mark?


----------



## anawan

Thanks Mark, 
well in that case do I have to withdraw my 887 application since its already with DIBP? or I can keep both applications i mean ongoing 887 and 489 extension.

cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anawan -

Would need to get more details from you at a consultation to give you specific advice as there are different factors that can affect the decision of withdrawing or not - normally 489 holders who qualify for the 887 will lodge a 887 which generates a bridging visa, then the bridging visa picks up if the 489 expires prior to the 887 decision - risk of course is that if the 887 is refused, they're left with no 489.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anawan said:


> Thanks Mark,
> well in that case do I have to withdraw my 887 application since its already with DIBP? or I can keep both applications i mean ongoing 887 and 489 extension.
> 
> cheers


----------



## anawan

Hi Mark,
My 475 is expiring end of December 2014, hence my BVA will be activated after that. 

What if i only apply for my spouse as subsequent entrant on basis on 475 instead of renewal , what would be the validity of his visa as subsequent entrant as my 475 is expiring in 65 days from today. Usually subsequent entrant has same expiry date as main applicant but in my case by the time my spouse visa is granted i ll be on BVA, does it mean my spouse will get 4 years on 489 visa as i ll on BVA?

Throughout this process do i have to withdraw my current 887?

Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anawan -

Thanks for the call today - look forward to working through this scenario and other skilled visa scenarios at our consultation Thursday -

Best,

Mark Northam



anawan said:


> Hi Mark,
> My 475 is expiring end of December 2014, hence my BVA will be activated after that.
> 
> What if i only apply for my spouse as subsequent entrant on basis on 475 instead of renewal , what would be the validity of his visa as subsequent entrant as my 475 is expiring in 65 days from today. Usually subsequent entrant has same expiry date as main applicant but in my case by the time my spouse visa is granted i ll be on BVA, does it mean my spouse will get 4 years on 489 visa as i ll on BVA?
> 
> Throughout this process do i have to withdraw my current 887?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## Xyzaus

Hi Mark,

We have a question and your answer would be much appreciated.

We applied for a partner visa over an year ago and we registered our relationship in NSW - the state where we live - around 2 years ago. We are still waiting for an approval.

My partner received a job offer in another state where we can't register our relationship. Would our relationship registration from NSW still be valid in another state for immi?

Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xyzaus -

Thanks for the note - this gets to a family law question regarding whether registered relationships are recognised outside the state they were registered in - to get a definitive answer, suggest you visit a family lawyer who is licenced to practice and is knowledgeable about these laws in the state you plan to move to, to understand what rights you may or may not have (ie, family rights if one partner is severely injured, etc) in the state you're moving to, especially if they do not allow registered relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xyzaus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We have a question and your answer would be much appreciated.
> 
> We applied for a partner visa over an year ago and we registered our relationship in NSW - the state where we live - around 2 years ago. We are still waiting for an approval.
> 
> My partner received a job offer in another state where we can't register our relationship. Would our relationship registration from NSW still be valid in another state for immi?
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## TAMZID

Hi Mr. Mark,
I do reside outside of Australia. Can anyone lodge my application from Australia for sponsored skilled employer visa.

Br,
Tamzid



santu99 said:


> Hello sir,
> 
> Is PTE ( Pearson Academic English test) taken in October 2014 valid for applying in November 2014 as it is given in the immigration site that they will accept PTE/TOEFL from November 2014??
> In other words, I am in a dilemma that whether exams (PTE/TOEFL) written before November are accepted for immigration purposes from November or Immigration take into account only which are written in and after November 2014??


----------



## Xyzaus

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Xyzaus -
> 
> Thanks for the note - this gets to a family law question regarding whether registered relationships are recognised outside the state they were registered in - to get a definitive answer, suggest you visit a family lawyer who is licenced to practice and is knowledgeable about these laws in the state you plan to move to, to understand what rights you may or may not have (ie, family rights if one partner is severely injured, etc) in the state you're moving to, especially if they do not allow registered relationship.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your prompt reply. We are moving to qld and are currently in nsw where we applied for our partner visa and registered our relationship.

So if we move to qld would our 1 year living together waive still be valid for the partner visa considering we have already applied?

Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

Yes - skilled visa applications for subclasses 489, 189 and 190 can be lodged from outside Australia, as can skills assessment applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Hi Mr. Mark,
> I do reside outside of Australia. Can anyone lodge my application from Australia for sponsored skilled employer visa.
> 
> Br,
> Tamzid


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xyzaus -

My view would be that any time living together, regardless of where, would be valid evidence for your partner visa application. Regarding moving interstate after lodging the partner visa application, I expect that the registered relationship certificate, since it was valid at the time of application, would still be valid if you moved to a different state in terms of DIBP's rules - ie, if you are married in Perth and then move to NSW, you are still considered married, however marriage is a federal law and registered relationships are a state law, so it would be best if you sought advice from a family lawyer who is familiar with whether the NSW registered relationship would be changed if you moved out of NSW.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xyzaus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your prompt reply. We are moving to qld and are currently in nsw where we applied for our partner visa and registered our relationship.
> 
> So if we move to qld would our 1 year living together waive still be valid for the partner visa considering we have already applied?
> 
> Regards.


----------



## Andrew1962

*Immigration visa*

Hi Mark,

Can someone quide me on what to do.? I used to travel to Australia for few year for business trip and never broke any law there recently I have some problem with the immigration and they came to my hotel and said I was doing business but I told them I was just visiting my c,Kenya and not taking money from my clients but they didn't believe me and the now have cancelled my visa .so I try to contact to read about my visa its say I got a 4013 so mean I can apply for a visa for 3 years coz its ban that's what I would like to know what type of visa I need to apply again if I want to go back for my business. My company had just registers a company in Australia and they have the tax number also so can the company sponsor me again to get the visa or its there another way to get a visa I don't want to have problem again in apply a wrong visa.
To would appreciate if someone who know about the visa could guide me. Thanks in advance.
Andrew


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew1962 -

Thanks for the note. I haven't seen the specific regulation your visa was cancelled under, but assuming it was done the way these are usually done, part 4013 of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulation 1994 will prevent you from being granted any temporary visa until the 3 year exclusion period is over, unless you are able to get a waiver based on compassionate or compelling reasons affecting an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible NZ citizen. This would prevent you from being granted a visitor visa, 457 temporary work visa, student visa, etc but would not prevent you from being granted a PR visa of some kind such as a subclass 189 or 190 skilled PR visa or an employer sponsored PR visa. Also, I'm assuming that any review rights you may have had are no longer available due to past deadlines (your cancellation notice would have detailed this).

The question becomes whether your circumstances have a reasonable chance of qualifying you for the waiver of the 3 year period or not - would be happy to discuss all of your circumstances at a consulting session - see website in link below to book.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Andrew1962 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can someone quide me on what to do.? I used to travel to Australia for few year for business trip and never broke any law there recently I have some problem with the immigration and they came to my hotel and said I was doing business but I told them I was just visiting my c,Kenya and not taking money from my clients but they didn't believe me and the now have cancelled my visa .so I try to contact to read about my visa its say I got a 4013 so mean I can apply for a visa for 3 years coz its ban that's what I would like to know what type of visa I need to apply again if I want to go back for my business. My company had just registers a company in Australia and they have the tax number also so can the company sponsor me again to get the visa or its there another way to get a visa I don't want to have problem again in apply a wrong visa.
> To would appreciate if someone who know about the visa could guide me. Thanks in advance.
> Andrew


----------



## Andrew1962

Hi Mark,

Thanks for gor quick respond. I will try to get in touch with you as I'm right in UK on my business trip.

Kind Regards,Andrew


----------



## tangerine44

Hi Mark, thank you so much for being very helpful. Just wondering, I used a migration agent during the applciation of my 309 temporary visa. Now that I'm lodging my partner visa 100 on my own, do I still need to fill out forms 956 saying that I'm no longer using an agent? Not sure if that's still necessary. Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tangerine44 -

Yes - that's the safe bet - often agents will mark the application so the second stage partner application materials are sent to the agent, etc - if you no longer wish to use the agent who originally lodged the application, best to lodge a Form 956 ending the appointment of the agent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tangerine44 said:


> Hi Mark, thank you so much for being very helpful. Just wondering, I used a migration agent during the applciation of my 309 temporary visa. Now that I'm lodging my partner visa 100 on my own, do I still need to fill out forms 956 saying that I'm no longer using an agent? Not sure if that's still necessary. Thank you


----------



## tangerine44

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tangerine44 -
> 
> Yes - that's the safe bet - often agents will mark the application so the second stage partner application materials are sent to the agent, etc - if you no longer wish to use the agent who originally lodged the application, best to lodge a Form 956 ending the appointment of the agent.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks heaps for your help Mark. There's also a question on the informaiton package asking if I'm still using the migration agent and I ticked no, so I though that info will suffice. I agree that this will be a safer bet. Do I need to lodge this in person at the Brisbane office or can I send this via post?


----------



## jp83

Hi Mark!

Tons of useful information here, thank you so much!

My wife has been working in Australia for 2 years now (457) and I am planning on movin there as well. I applied for a subsequent entrant 457 visa and I attached (as recommended by you here in this forum) a letter from my wife's sponsor where they extend her visa for me. Other documents I included are our marriage certificate, my current CV, my passport and a Medibank statement (although I'm not 100% sure if this is necessary). The application fee is already paid. 

My question is: do I need to take an IELTS test or does that only apply for the primary visa holder? All the checklists at immi.gov.au are for the primary visa holder. I worked in the US for a couple of months but that was back in 2009. I included my reference in the application to prove that my English skills are sufficient. The thing is: I want to move to Australia as soon as possible and if I knew that I needed an IELTS test I would get on that immediately. 

Thanks!
JP


----------



## MarkNortham

I'd tick the No box and send in the 956 End Appointment (note instructions on the form for the End Appointment option). The 956 can be sent by post to the same address that sent you the papers (permanent partner dept usually).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tangerine44 said:


> Thanks heaps for your help Mark. There's also a question on the informaiton package asking if I'm still using the migration agent and I ticked no, so I though that info will suffice. I agree that this will be a safer bet. Do I need to lodge this in person at the Brisbane office or can I send this via post?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JP83 -

No IELTS test results are needed for secondary applicants (and subsequent applicants) for the 457 visa. Later on if you want to apply as a secondary applicant on your wife's PR application if she applies for a PR visa down the road, you'll need to provide an overall IELTS score of 4.5 or satisfy one of the other ways of evidencing Functional English to avoid a hefty "English Fee" for secondary applicants, but for the 457 none of this applies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jp83 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Tons of useful information here, thank you so much!
> 
> My wife has been working in Australia for 2 years now (457) and I am planning on movin there as well. I applied for a subsequent entrant 457 visa and I attached (as recommended by you here in this forum) a letter from my wife's sponsor where they extend her visa for me. Other documents I included are our marriage certificate, my current CV, my passport and a Medibank statement (although I'm not 100% sure if this is necessary). The application fee is already paid.
> 
> My question is: do I need to take an IELTS test or does that only apply for the primary visa holder? All the checklists at immi.gov.au are for the primary visa holder. I worked in the US for a couple of months but that was back in 2009. I included my reference in the application to prove that my English skills are sufficient. The thing is: I want to move to Australia as soon as possible and if I knew that I needed an IELTS test I would get on that immediately.
> 
> Thanks!
> JP


----------



## jp83

Hi Mark, 

great advice, highly appreciated! Thank you very much. 

Quick follow up: in your experience, how long does a 457 visa for a secondary entrant take to process approx.?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JP83 -

Typically 2-4 months, but can vary -

Best,

Mark Northam



jp83 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> great advice, highly appreciated! Thank you very much.
> 
> Quick follow up: in your experience, how long does a 457 visa for a secondary entrant take to process approx.?


----------



## jp83

Alrighty! Thanks again Marc, super helpful. 
Cheers!


----------



## Abedin

*Parent Migration*

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your efforts to ease our queries. I personally appreciate it.

I would like to bring my parents to Australia as now I am a permanent resident. We are total Four siblings and 3 of us living in Australia. Me and my sister are permanent resident and my younger brother is on student visa.

As more than half of the children are living in Australia, I would like to apply for my parent migration (including my younger sibling, age 14 yrs).

What would be the best possible way to approach with or should I apply for tourist visas? would the migration visa take long time (5-10 yrs)?

Any kind of cooperation would be very helpful.

Kind regards,
Abedin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abedin -

Thanks for the note - the Parent visa subclass is more affordable, but has a very long waiting time - DIBP is currently estimating at "up to 30 years" due to the huge backlog of applicants and limited places each year. A faster option is the Contributory Parent Visa, however the visa application fees are approx $50,000 for each adult applicant. Processing time on the contributory parent visa is approx 18 months currently. There are also aged dependent relative visas, however not sure if these would apply in your case - would be happy to review all of the circumstances of your parents at a consultation to determine all visa options - to book, see link in my email signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abedin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your efforts to ease our queries. I personally appreciate it.
> 
> I would like to bring my parents to Australia as now I am a permanent resident. We are total Four siblings and 3 of us living in Australia. Me and my sister are permanent resident and my younger brother is on student visa.
> 
> As more than half of the children are living in Australia, I would like to apply for my parent migration (including my younger sibling, age 14 yrs).
> 
> What would be the best possible way to approach with or should I apply for tourist visas? would the migration visa take long time (5-10 yrs)?
> 
> Any kind of cooperation would be very helpful.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Abedin


----------



## Mietsie

Hi Mark

Hope you are going well! Thanks again for all your help on this thread!
I tried to search the thread for my answer, but I couldn't find anything, but I apologise if this is a question you get regularly.

I'm currently on a Visitors Visa, but already have my Bridging Visa as I've submitted my Partner Visa application. My VV expires on the 11th of Nov. 
When will I be able to apply for a TFN and what is the procedure? Can I just do it online?

Thank you very much!

Kind regards
Mietsie


----------



## TAMZID

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tamzid -
> 
> Yes - skilled visa applications for subclasses 489, 189 and 190 can be lodged from outside Australia, as can skills assessment applications.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
I mean 457 visa or ENS 186 visa.
If you pls indicate.
Br,
Tamzid


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mietsie -

I would contact the Australia Tax Office about this - they will be able to tell you what the minimum requirements are for a Tax File No - I don't have the specific details on this, but believe that you may have to wait for the bridging visa (with work rights) to activate before you meet the criteria (this would happen when your visitor visa expires or you overstay the current 3-month stay, whatever applies to your specific visa). At that point you are a person with a visa with work rights in Australia, which I believe is the point at which you can apply for a tax file no. I believe you can apply online with the ATO - but better check with them to confirm.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mietsie said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hope you are going well! Thanks again for all your help on this thread!
> I tried to search the thread for my answer, but I couldn't find anything, but I apologise if this is a question you get regularly.
> 
> I'm currently on a Visitors Visa, but already have my Bridging Visa as I've submitted my Partner Visa application. My VV expires on the 11th of Nov.
> When will I be able to apply for a TFN and what is the procedure? Can I just do it online?
> 
> Thank you very much!
> 
> Kind regards
> Mietsie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

I can't speak to your case specifically since I don't have enough information, but generally speaking, applications for 186 or 457 visas can be lodged if the applicant is outside Australia at the time of application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Hi Mark,
> I mean 457 visa or ENS 186 visa.
> If you pls indicate.
> Br,
> Tamzid


----------



## Xyzaus

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Xyzaus -
> 
> My view would be that any time living together, regardless of where, would be valid evidence for your partner visa application. Regarding moving interstate after lodging the partner visa application, I expect that the registered relationship certificate, since it was valid at the time of application, would still be valid if you moved to a different state in terms of DIBP's rules - ie, if you are married in Perth and then move to NSW, you are still considered married, however marriage is a federal law and registered relationships are a state law, so it would be best if you sought advice from a family lawyer who is familiar with whether the NSW registered relationship would be changed if you moved out of NSW.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark. Much appreciated!


----------



## Mietsie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mietsie -
> 
> I would contact the Australia Tax Office about this - they will be able to tell you what the minimum requirements are for a Tax File No - I don't have the specific details on this, but believe that you may have to wait for the bridging visa (with work rights) to activate before you meet the criteria (this would happen when your visitor visa expires or you overstay the current 3-month stay, whatever applies to your specific visa). At that point you are a person with a visa with work rights in Australia, which I believe is the point at which you can apply for a tax file no. I believe you can apply online with the ATO - but better check with them to confirm.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark, I will do as you say.
Have a great evening!
Regards
Mietsie


----------



## Suzie1

*2nd year visa*

Hi Mark,
Could you please advise me on my sons situation.
He is currently in Australia on a working holiday visa 417 which expires in 1 month. He has completed his farm work and now wants to apply for his second year visa. 
Whilst he was staying at a working hostel in Queensland about 6 months ago, he was given a ticket for drinking in a public place (stood outside the hostel). He didn't know the law. He was badly advised by the hostel owner to just ignore it. Everyone does. He is now worried this will affect his application. He has no record of the ticket or the date of the offence. What would you recommend he does.
Many thanks
Suzie


----------



## megzchong

Hi Mark,

I just want to confirm if it is really true that we can apply tourist visa subclass 600 through immiaccount? Would u recommend this than paper application?

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Suzie1 -

Thanks for the note. I need to check on this with a criminal lawyer friend of mine in order to get you the best advice - given this is of a personal nature, would you please contact me directly via my website (see signature below) and I can email you directly with some notes and advice - better than public posting for these types of matters.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Suzie1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Could you please advise me on my sons situation.
> He is currently in Australia on a working holiday visa 417 which expires in 1 month. He has completed his farm work and now wants to apply for his second year visa.
> Whilst he was staying at a working hostel in Queensland about 6 months ago, he was given a ticket for drinking in a public place (stood outside the hostel). He didn't know the law. He was badly advised by the hostel owner to just ignore it. Everyone does. He is now worried this will affect his application. He has no record of the ticket or the date of the offence. What would you recommend he does.
> Many thanks
> Suzie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megzchong -

Yes - it's possible depending on your country of citizenship - see DIBP website for a list of countries now supporting online lodgement of a subclass 600 visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just want to confirm if it is really true that we can apply tourist visa subclass 600 through immiaccount? Would u recommend this than paper application?
> 
> Thanks,
> Megz


----------



## edgar1967

*2 visa refusals*

with 2 visitors refused and offshore and as mentioned we went to the extend of calling my wife back so we would get married, which we did and got a genuine marriage certificate , whats the point refusing us visa to experience Australian life so we decide. Honestly we are too old to waste our time and anyones all we want genuinenly decide on our future if we dont do this at 47 years we are doomed. we are genuine and law abiding.

Please assist
edgar1967


----------



## megzchong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Megzchong -
> 
> Yes - it's possible depending on your country of citizenship - see DIBP website for a list of countries now supporting online lodgement of a subclass 600 visitor visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks mark for the response! We are planning to apply tourist visa next month for a visit to my fiance and for wedding preparations. There is a question here, "Does the applicant intend to enter Australia on more than one occasion?", when i click yes and i will say i might have to apply another tourist visa if ever i cannot finish all the things needed to prepare for the wedding, would that be a valid reason?

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Edgar1967 -

As mentioned before, suggest you get professional help with the 3rd visitor visa based on 2 refusals. You may want to look at the online directory of registered migration agents here: http://mara.gov.au - Zimbabwe is considered a high-risk country, and as such it can be very difficult to get a visitor visa - a registered migration agent can go through all of your circumstances and details and help you identify the best facts and details to present to DIBP in your next visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



edgar1967 said:


> with 2 visitors refused and offshore and as mentioned we went to the extend of calling my wife back so we would get married, which we did and got a genuine marriage certificate , whats the point refusing us visa to experience Australian life so we decide. Honestly we are too old to waste our time and anyones all we want genuinenly decide on our future if we dont do this at 47 years we are doomed. we are genuine and law abiding.
> 
> Please assist
> edgar1967


----------



## TAMZID

Dear Mr. Mark,
Thanks for your reply.
I would appreciate if you please give me your opinion/advise on the following:
I have completed my School Secondary (10th standard) then Higher Secondary (12th standard) after that I have completed my Bachelor in Commerce(2 years course). All these courses were conducted in local language i.e. in Bengali under the National curriculum of the Government of Bangladesh . All these credentials are already translated into English from the respective Boards/University

After my Bachelor, I have done my Masters in Business Administration (2 years) from Bangalore ,India and the course was conducted in English.
Now my question is -will Australian Authority(Vetasees) will except my education to assess my skill.

Please note that I have more than 17 years of work experience in a multinational organization involved in development of large scale infrastructural project like Export Processing Zone as Assistant General Manager(Project Administrator). Earlier I worked in a local company(three and half years) which was involved in manufacturing of pharmaceutical products as well as distribution of FMCG. As an Executive, I used to monitor National Sales Administration.

Would appreciate your guidance.

Br,
Tamzid



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tamzid -
> 
> I can't speak to your case specifically since I don't have enough information, but generally speaking, applications for 186 or 457 visas can be lodged if the applicant is outside Australia at the time of application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## aram616

*hI*

Hi,

It was mentioned that DIBP will accept PTE/TOEFL tests for some visas from NOV2014.So I have taken PTE exam and cleared it.

It is valid till 2016 year ie for another 2 years.
So anyone can take this test and use the scorecard for Visas from Nov2014 howver we have to ge this confirmation from Australian govt.

I am eagerly waiting for this news.They may accept it from Nov seond week,2014.

Lets hope for the best

Thanks,
Ram



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Santu99 -
> 
> The exact date that this test will be accepted and the rules re: whether test scores previous to this date will be accepted have not yet been announced by DIBP - will have to wait until they release this information in order to know how they will be implementing the PTE. There's no way to know at this point since they have not released this info to consumers or agents.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

No good way to tell - the key will be your Bachelor degree in all likelihood, and VETASSESS's opinion as to whether that is equivalent to an Australian Bachelor degree - the fact that it is a 2 year degree may be an issue, but only VETASSESS can assess this. You may want to study the VETASSESS criteria very carefully for your occupation, then prepare your VETASSESS application if you think you meet the criteria and see how it comes back. They will carefully study your transcripts and based on a comparison of those to Australian standards plus other country education profile information about the country(s) you studied in, issue an opinion.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Dear Mr. Mark,
> Thanks for your reply.
> I would appreciate if you please give me your opinion/advise on the following:
> I have completed my School Secondary (10th standard) then Higher Secondary (12th standard) after that I have completed my Bachelor in Commerce(2 years course). All these courses were conducted in local language i.e. in Bengali under the National curriculum of the Government of Bangladesh . All these credentials are already translated into English from the respective Boards/University
> 
> After my Bachelor, I have done my Masters in Business Administration (2 years) from Bangalore ,India and the course was conducted in English.
> Now my question is -will Australian Authority(Vetasees) will except my education to assess my skill.
> 
> Please note that I have more than 17 years of work experience in a multinational organization involved in development of large scale infrastructural project like Export Processing Zone as Assistant General Manager(Project Administrator). Earlier I worked in a local company(three and half years) which was involved in manufacturing of pharmaceutical products as well as distribution of FMCG. As an Executive, I used to monitor National Sales Administration.
> 
> Would appreciate your guidance.
> 
> Br,
> Tamzid


----------



## TAMZID

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tamzid -
> 
> No good way to tell - the key will be your Bachelor degree in all likelihood, and VETASSESS's opinion as to whether that is equivalent to an Australian Bachelor degree - the fact that it is a 2 year degree may be an issue, but only VETASSESS can assess this. You may want to study the VETASSESS criteria very carefully for your occupation, then prepare your VETASSESS application if you think you meet the criteria and see how it comes back. They will carefully study your transcripts and based on a comparison of those to Australian standards plus other country education profile information about the country(s) you studied in, issue an opinion.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mr. Mark,
Thanks for your mail.
In that case ,can VETASSESS give credit considering both my bachelor degree and MBA for the skill assessment under Project /Program Administrator?
Pls advise.

Br,
Tamzid


----------



## MarkNortham

They may - depends on the specifics of the degrees and their assessment of them - probably best to ask these questions directly to VETASSESS.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Hi Mr. Mark,
> Thanks for your mail.
> In that case ,can VETASSESS give credit considering both my bachelor degree and MBA for the skill assessment under Project /Program Administrator?
> Pls advise.
> 
> Br,
> Tamzid


----------



## TAMZID

Hi Mark,
Since I am in Australia with tourist visa I like to see you . But before that I want to be sure about that as well. 
As advised, I will write to VETASSESS.

Thanks for your help.
Br,
Tamzid



MarkNortham said:


> They may - depends on the specifics of the degrees and their assessment of them - probably best to ask these questions directly to VETASSESS.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## hammertime

Hi Mark,
You are a generous man taking time out to answer all questions on here.

I met my fiance while studying in China. I am an Australian born citizen. He applied for a 300 prospective marriage visa in May 2014.
in June 2014 we were advised a case officer has been allocated. No further correspondence since then.
My fiance knows of others who applied for a 309 visa who had phone interviews a month after submission and their visas granted after 9 months.
Is there a different process for 300 visas? We are just a little concerned.
Thank you,
(STOP) Hammertime.


----------



## Negative Ned

CO has asked for us to arrange Military Certificate??
In Sudan, military is not compulsory at all! Sometimes you are able to fulfill duties such as work for free for 1 year or not even if you are an only child of your widowed mother, etc....
I explained that so now we have to arrange a clearance document.
When individuals leave the country, usually there is a small fee to pay on exit. That is the only thing required by the country.

Do you have any idea where a certificate like this can/should be obtained from?


----------



## HarryD

Hi Mark

Thank you very much for all your advice. I applied for the eVisitor on the 26th and it was granted on the 28th, needless to say I'm delighted 

I'm amazed immigration didn't ask for further information regarding my application, however my previous applications were always straight up and everything was always in order.

Out of curiosity is it normal for this to happen?

Thanks Mark for all your kindness to everyone on this forum 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi HarryD -
> 
> They'll see the previous refusal linked to your passport and/or name/country so no point in not including your previous visa grant info if you have that information.
> 
> Re: this application, you'll want to make sure to include lots of evidence of the purpose of the trip, an invitation & itinerary from the inviter, etc - hopefully whatever it was that caused a problem last time will be seen to be in the past, etc however a previous refusal for the same type of visa will increase the scrutiny on your current visa application in many cases.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## megzchong

Hi Mark, 

We all here are thankful for your generosity of answering our questions despite of your busy schedules. 

We are planning to apply tourist visa next month for a visit to my fiance and for wedding preparations. There is a question here, "Does the applicant intend to enter Australia on more than one occasion?", when i click yes and i will say i might have to apply another tourist visa if ever i cannot finish all the things needed to prepare for the wedding, would that be a valid reason?

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

Thanks for the kind words! That can work, however this question typically is designed to see if the applicant plans to come and go from Australia (ie, come to Australia, then go to NZ for a week, then back to Australia, etc during their time in Australia). If you answer Yes to this question and DIBP approves, that can result in a multiple-entry visa vs single-entry.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We all here are thankful for your generosity of answering our questions despite of your busy schedules.
> 
> We are planning to apply tourist visa next month for a visit to my fiance and for wedding preparations. There is a question here, "Does the applicant intend to enter Australia on more than one occasion?", when i click yes and i will say i might have to apply another tourist visa if ever i cannot finish all the things needed to prepare for the wedding, would that be a valid reason?
> 
> Thanks,
> Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hammertime -

The processing for the subclass 300 PMV visa can be different, in that it is not a permanent visa and there are various parts of the 309/100 assessment that are not present in the 300. I wouldn't read too much into the timetable - generally the 300's take 9+ months to process, and DIBP has been playing around with different modes of processing including doing a quick check shortly after application for any missing documents, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hammertime said:


> Hi Mark,
> You are a generous man taking time out to answer all questions on here.
> 
> I met my fiance while studying in China. I am an Australian born citizen. He applied for a 300 prospective marriage visa in May 2014.
> in June 2014 we were advised a case officer has been allocated. No further correspondence since then.
> My fiance knows of others who applied for a 309 visa who had phone interviews a month after submission and their visas granted after 9 months.
> Is there a different process for 300 visas? We are just a little concerned.
> Thank you,
> (STOP) Hammertime.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ned -

Wish I had details for you on this but have not run across it before - sounds like getting some sort of a letter or statement, etc from the officials in Sudan may be the solution, but I don't have any specific directions or advice for this.

Best,

Mark Northam



Negative Ned said:


> CO has asked for us to arrange Military Certificate??
> In Sudan, military is not compulsory at all! Sometimes you are able to fulfill duties such as work for free for 1 year or not even if you are an only child of your widowed mother, etc....
> I explained that so now we have to arrange a clearance document.
> When individuals leave the country, usually there is a small fee to pay on exit. That is the only thing required by the country.
> 
> Do you have any idea where a certificate like this can/should be obtained from?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HarryD -

Thanks for the kind words! Yes, this is typical processing for an eVisitor visitor where there are no "issues" such as convictions, health issues, unusual requests, etc.

Hope you enjoy your trip to Australia!

Best,

Mark Northam



HarryD said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you very much for all your advice. I applied for the eVisitor on the 26th and it was granted on the 28th, needless to say I'm delighted
> 
> I'm amazed immigration didn't ask for further information regarding my application, however my previous applications were always straight up and everything was always in order.
> 
> Out of curiosity is it normal for this to happen?
> 
> Thanks Mark for all your kindness to everyone on this forum


----------



## Milooo Adell

*permanent residency in Australia after one-year master degree in business*

Dear Mr/ Mark

How are you? i hope you are feeling very good in the time you read this.
I wrote you couple of days ago concerning obtaining the permanent residency in Australia after master degree and you kindly advised me to apply for a two year master degree to be able to be eligible for temporary graduate visa subclass 485.

This idea seems to be great but it's too long and too expensive for me, because i have only the budget for tuition fees and living expenses for one year plus the immigration lawyer fees. So i want to know if there is any chance to apply for the permanent residency in Australia after one year master degree in business or master degree in accounting and finance (After Graduation) from within Australia without leaving the country?????

Actually i intend to study at New England University, which lies in Armidale (That's mean it's in Regional Australia)

In conclusion, I would like to know, after graduation of one year master degree of business or accounting and finance from the university of New England, Is that possible to obtain the permanent residency through Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa (subclass 187) Or Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189) Or Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) from within Australia without leaving the country ???????

Kind Regards


----------



## rjohndeguzman

*Subclass 489*

Hello Mark,

I recently joined this forum and I found your thread. I've been browsing some questions of other members that you answer. This is so kind of you!

I have a question regarding the subclass 489 Family Sponsored pathway. (maternal uncle) I have a relative who will sponsor me that lives in Mackay 4740, Queensland. What documents do I need to provide to be able to show evidence for this relationship?

and also about the Designated areas of Australia, do I have to stay with my relative sponsor in his area when I get my visa, or can I stay in other designated areas upon my initial entry, lets say in Victoria?

and also, I must take this opportunity to ask for the PR Pathway (887), do I need to stay for two years and work for a year in one designated area only to be eligible for this application or I can have:

6 months in Mackay
1 year 6 months in Victoria

is it cumulative, as long as you are in a designated area?

Thank you so much for you time, Mark.


----------



## veomzoom

*help needed*

I need a little help of you.

I will be submitting my svp subclass 573 application next week. I am just a little confused. I hope you guys will help me out!

For financial capacity I will be submitting the bank statement of my sponsor (Father) and his payslips of the last few months.
and his unregistered small business letter head.

Now the thing is that my father's business is unregistered (As its legal here)

The other thing is that he doesn't directly pay the income tax but it is deducted from the his income by company.

Guide me a bit. Do i need to show company's NTN?

what about my father's unregistered business?

Remember (SVP NEVER ASKS ABOUT STATEMENTS ETC BUT ONLY NEEDS A DECLARATION) However practically its somewhat different. There theory looks great!
Thank you..


----------



## kolman

*experience befor qualification*

hi mark

this is my assessment result send from vetassess

Qualification/s: Bachelor of Metallurgical enginieering in 2013 by
...........University, ........ is at the required level. 
Country of employment:italy
Employment assessed: Job Classification Expert / Expert and Head of Job Classification (
Metallurgical or Materials Technician), ......... Co. (12/2008 to 09/2013)
Duration of employment: Based on the evidence provided, more than three year/s of employment is
assessed as highly relevant to the nominated occupation and completed at an
appropriate skill level in the five years before the date of applying for this Skills
Assessment.
The employment described above meets the minimum requirements for this
occupation.
Skills Assessment Outcome: Positive
Based on the evidence provided, the qualification/s and employment described above meet the requirements of your
nominated occupation and are assessed as suitable for migration purposes.:

all of may experience is befor qualification .my occupation was group B 
can i claim point for experience?does DIBP give me point for that?
tank you


----------



## gochitde

*489 to 887*

Hi Mark,

Applying for 887 visa comply with 2 year stay and 1 yr full time what other requirements is needs. How about IELTS if he is a primary applicant for 887 does he or even me need to sit for the IELTS ?

the documents are all under my name that are posted to my living address and if he is primary person to apply what other living proof of documents need to be produced?

Please assist.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gochitde -
> 
> Sorry for the confusion - in a scenario where 2 people together hold a 489 visa (one is primary applicant, the other is secondary) and they then together lodge an 887 visa application, only 1 of the applicants for the 887 must have met the live 2 yrs/work 1 yr requirement. So if the secondary on the 489 meets the requirement, he/she can become the primary on the 887, and the person who was the primary on the 489 can become the secondary on the 887.
> 
> Hope this helps - if you needed specific advice for your situation, would need to see you in a consultation in order to get all the details about your circumstances as the requirements for the 887 are very specific.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Milooo -

Thanks for the note - short answer is: it may be possible for one or more of those visas depending on your agent, education, and work experience.

It's not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



Milooo Adell said:


> Dear Mr/ Mark
> 
> How are you? i hope you are feeling very good in the time you read this.
> I wrote you couple of days ago concerning obtaining the permanent residency in Australia after master degree and you kindly advised me to apply for a two year master degree to be able to be eligible for temporary graduate visa subclass 485.
> 
> This idea seems to be great but it's too long and too expensive for me, because i have only the budget for tuition fees and living expenses for one year plus the immigration lawyer fees. So i want to know if there is any chance to apply for the permanent residency in Australia after one year master degree in business or master degree in accounting and finance (After Graduation) from within Australia without leaving the country?????
> 
> Actually i intend to study at New England University, which lies in Armidale (That's mean it's in Regional Australia)
> 
> In conclusion, I would like to know, after graduation of one year master degree of business or accounting and finance from the university of New England, Is that possible to obtain the permanent residency through Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa (subclass 187) Or Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189) Or Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) from within Australia without leaving the country ???????
> 
> Kind Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rjohndeguzman -

Thanks for the note. There is no specific set of documents that are required generally - often a birth certificate plus family tree plus a birth certificate from the sponsoring relative can work, but every case is different.

Re: time spent - can be in ANY of the designated regional areas, does not have to be in the area your sponsor lives in, and you can spend time in different areas as long as they are all on the list - this applies to 887 qualifying living/working as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rjohndeguzman said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I recently joined this forum and I found your thread. I've been browsing some questions of other members that you answer. This is so kind of you!
> 
> I have a question regarding the subclass 489 Family Sponsored pathway. (maternal uncle) I have a relative who will sponsor me that lives in Mackay 4740, Queensland. What documents do I need to provide to be able to show evidence for this relationship?
> 
> and also about the Designated areas of Australia, do I have to stay with my relative sponsor in his area when I get my visa, or can I stay in other designated areas upon my initial entry, lets say in Victoria?
> 
> and also, I must take this opportunity to ask for the PR Pathway (887), do I need to stay for two years and work for a year in one designated area only to be eligible for this application or I can have:
> 
> 6 months in Mackay
> 1 year 6 months in Victoria
> 
> is it cumulative, as long as you are in a designated area?
> 
> Thank you so much for you time, Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Veomzoom -

Can't speak for all countries, but usually DIBP doesn't get into the issue of whether tax was paid, etc for foreign financial evidence.I would think that bank statement + payslips would probably be enough to satisfy them unless they had some suspicion, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



veomzoom said:


> I need a little help of you.
> 
> I will be submitting my svp subclass 573 application next week. I am just a little confused. I hope you guys will help me out!
> 
> For financial capacity I will be submitting the bank statement of my sponsor (Father) and his payslips of the last few months.
> and his unregistered small business letter head.
> 
> Now the thing is that my father's business is unregistered (As its legal here)
> 
> The other thing is that he doesn't directly pay the income tax but it is deducted from the his income by company.
> 
> Guide me a bit. Do i need to show company's NTN?
> 
> what about my father's unregistered business?
> 
> Remember (SVP NEVER ASKS ABOUT STATEMENTS ETC BUT ONLY NEEDS A DECLARATION) However practically its somewhat different. There theory looks great!
> Thank you..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kolman -

Thanks for the note - the work may or may not qualify for points - generally pre-qualification work does not qualify for points on a skilled visa, but would need to look at your overall information to see if there is a way to qualfy it.

I'm not able to give you an opinion as I don't have enough information - would need to go through your resume and detail of all work experience being claimed for points, plus detail of VETASSESS letter and your circumstances at a consulting session to give you any sort of specific advice. Link to book is on our website - see email signature below.

Best,

Mark Northam



kolman said:


> hi mark
> 
> this is my assessment result send from vetassess
> 
> Qualification/s: Bachelor of Metallurgical enginieering in 2013 by
> ...........University, ........ is at the required level.
> Country of employment:italy
> Employment assessed: Job Classification Expert / Expert and Head of Job Classification (
> Metallurgical or Materials Technician), ......... Co. (12/2008 to 09/2013)
> Duration of employment: Based on the evidence provided, more than three year/s of employment is
> assessed as highly relevant to the nominated occupation and completed at an
> appropriate skill level in the five years before the date of applying for this Skills
> Assessment.
> The employment described above meets the minimum requirements for this
> occupation.
> Skills Assessment Outcome: Positive
> Based on the evidence provided, the qualification/s and employment described above meet the requirements of your
> nominated occupation and are assessed as suitable for migration purposes.:
> 
> all of may experience is befor qualification .my occupation was group B
> can i claim point for experience?does DIBP give me point for that?
> tank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gochitde -

Thanks for the note. There are no specific IELTS requirements for the 887 visa. Re: other documents, I would have to assess these at a consultation to give you specific advice for your case - there is no standard "list" of documents needed to show living/working evidence - it's necessary to look at each document and the entire group of documents to see if collectively they are "enough" to establish that you lived/worked/etc where you said you did.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gochitde said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Applying for 887 visa comply with 2 year stay and 1 yr full time what other requirements is needs. How about IELTS if he is a primary applicant for 887 does he or even me need to sit for the IELTS ?
> 
> the documents are all under my name that are posted to my living address and if he is primary person to apply what other living proof of documents need to be produced?
> 
> Please assist.


----------



## megzchong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Megz -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words! That can work, however this question typically is designed to see if the applicant plans to come and go from Australia (ie, come to Australia, then go to NZ for a week, then back to Australia, etc during their time in Australia). If you answer Yes to this question and DIBP approves, that can result in a multiple-entry visa vs single-entry.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you for your answer. I have also a question about onshore partner visa. Am I eligible to apply for visa subclass 820/801 under tourist visa without 8503 condition?

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## sumaya

Hello Mark!

It is a very helpful and informative thread, I must say. It's a fantastic effort and you've shared information regarding almost everything that is critical during the whole process. Thank you for that.

However, I am a bit stuck in a dilemma where I need a suggestion from an experienced person, someone like you. I have lodged my visa application for subclass 189 from Bangladesh on 3rd September, 2014 and I front loaded all my supporting documents as per the checklist given in the ELodgement Panel, including Form 80, PCC and Medical reports. Anyways, since October 13, there has been a change in the panel and it is showing the following message:

*Meeting the health requirement*
Health has been finalised for this person for this visa subclass based on the information provided to the department. If this person needs to do anything further to meet the health requirement, they will be contacted by the department. There is no need to contact the department at this time concerning this matter.

Complete character assessment particulars for this applicant

So could you tell me what am I going to understand from this? Is my medical requirements fulfilled? And should I re-submit my Form 80? Just to inform you, no CO/Team has contacted me yet.

I would be very kind of you if you could guide me on this. I will look forward to your response.


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, while onshore holding a visitor visa.

Best,

Mark



megzchong said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your answer. I have also a question about onshore partner visa. Am I eligible to apply for visa subclass 820/801 under tourist visa without 8503 condition?
> 
> Thanks,
> Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sumaya!

Thanks for the kind words. The health "finalised" message means there is nothing more that you need to do to complete your part of the health criteria process - DIBP will analyse the results of the health exams and inform you if they have an issue. Re: character, generally if you submit all required police certificates and Form 80, that takes care of the character matter - the message often does not reflect the status of what you've lodged, unlike the health message. Once in a while they will also ask for Form 1221, but difficult to predict when this happens or not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sumaya said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> It is a very helpful and informative thread, I must say. It's a fantastic effort and you've shared information regarding almost everything that is critical during the whole process. Thank you for that.
> 
> However, I am a bit stuck in a dilemma where I need a suggestion from an experienced person, someone like you. I have lodged my visa application for subclass 189 from Bangladesh on 3rd September, 2014 and I front loaded all my supporting documents as per the checklist given in the ELodgement Panel, including Form 80, PCC and Medical reports. Anyways, since October 13, there has been a change in the panel and it is showing the following message:
> 
> *Meeting the health requirement*
> Health has been finalised for this person for this visa subclass based on the information provided to the department. If this person needs to do anything further to meet the health requirement, they will be contacted by the department. There is no need to contact the department at this time concerning this matter.
> 
> Complete character assessment particulars for this applicant
> 
> So could you tell me what am I going to understand from this? Is my medical requirements fulfilled? And should I re-submit my Form 80? Just to inform you, no CO/Team has contacted me yet.
> 
> I would be very kind of you if you could guide me on this. I will look forward to your response.


----------



## sumaya

Thank you Mark! Thanks a lot for the information. Have a great day! 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sumaya!
> 
> Thanks for the kind words. The health "finalised" message means there is nothing more that you need to do to complete your part of the health criteria process - DIBP will analyse the results of the health exams and inform you if they have an issue. Re: character, generally if you submit all required police certificates and Form 80, that takes care of the character matter - the message often does not reflect the status of what you've lodged, unlike the health message. Once in a while they will also ask for Form 1221, but difficult to predict when this happens or not.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## themuel

*sponsorhip family visitor 1149*

hey mark!

How are you again?

I would like to ask your clarification about the sponsorhip family visitor? im a littled confused about this form.

I am currently on waiting period of my partner visa 309 and i will be visiting my husband next year. however i have read something while i was filling up the application online, "if i will be sponsored by someone in australia" "must support application sponsorship family visitor"? i know this is optional. I can submit my tourist visa without this form, but it catch my attention which i think it will help to support tourist visa application. however, i was confused about the "bond" in the form. will you be able to help me to understand what is this bond all about? i know it's like something that shows my sponsor can support me while im on a holiday... is that correct?

hope to hear from you soon.

regards,

themuel


----------



## Tashka

*Made a mistake with my application*

Hi Mark,

I have made a mistake with my application and misunderstood my skills assessment letter so I have wrongly marked down that I have met the education requirement for my visa for 5 points. After emailing GSM they pointed this error out and said I would have to make up the points some other way, an IELTS was an example. However they mentioned that 'an IELTS result can only be used if it was obtained in the 3 years prior to invitation/ application' does this mean that if I do the test now it will not count as I have already sent my application or is there a chance that doing the test will make everything ok?

Thanks again Mark for your advice, you are a lifesaver to us all as ever,

Tashka


----------



## karkar

*Applied 402 visa for 2 months but still no request for medical check yet*

Hi Mark,
I lodged the application of *402 Training and Research visa - Occupational Trainee stream* in early September,2014. However, I still haven't got a HAP ID number for medical check for processing. I have sent e-mail and called the immigration for several times about getting my HAP ID number , but not yet received any responses. According to the Processing Time Service Standards, it should be around 2 months to process the application. However, it has been nearly 2 months,I still haven't got a HAP ID number for medical check.
To your experience, is there any problem with my application?
Thank you!

Kind Regards
KarKar


----------



## dee.itsalright

Hi Mark! 
I received te letter from MRT saying that I have 28 days left to leave the country. 
I was expecting this to happen but I can't figure out if I can stay for 28 days or is it actually 27 days with depart before the 28th day has expired? 
My letter arrived on the 27th of October, and I have to figure if I can fly out on the 24th of November or if its advisible to book for the 23rd.

Hope this makes sense. 

Regards,


----------



## Tashka

Hi again, I've been looking at IELTS dates available in the UK to meet the 28 day criteria and there doesn't seem to be any general training tests which I can do in time, if I am still allowed to go ahead and get the qualification. Would the academic test be acceptable instead? 

Cheers,
Tashka


----------



## phuhle1104

*Visa 887 eligibility*

Dear Mark,

I have question regarding to the eligibility of visa 887. Must 2 year living and 1 year working in a specified regional be continuos? Can I live one year and work 6 months and then come back my country for 6 months and go back to Australia later? I am holding visa 489 and am living in Dubbo. Thank you very much for your time.

Regards, 
Phu Huu Le


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tashka -

Thanks for the note - any IELTS for points must have been taken within 3 years of the date of application - no way to take after application and have it count towards points for that application. Wish I had better news!

Best,

Mark Northam



Tashka said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have made a mistake with my application and misunderstood my skills assessment letter so I have wrongly marked down that I have met the education requirement for my visa for 5 points. After emailing GSM they pointed this error out and said I would have to make up the points some other way, an IELTS was an example. However they mentioned that 'an IELTS result can only be used if it was obtained in the 3 years prior to invitation/ application' does this mean that if I do the test now it will not count as I have already sent my application or is there a chance that doing the test will make everything ok?
> 
> Thanks again Mark for your advice, you are a lifesaver to us all as ever,
> 
> Tashka


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Themuel -

For the sponsored family visitor stream of the 600 visitor visa, DIBP has the option of requiring a bond be paid (usually between $5k and $15k) prior to grant of the visa - the bond is paid back after the applicant departs Australia assuming the applicant has not incurred any cost to the Commonwealth - ie, social services payments, etc. In addition, the sponsor must sign a guarantee that he/she will be responsible for any of your costs to the Commonwealth while in Australia, so DIBP has 2 ways to recoup any of these costs - against the bond, and against the sponsor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



themuel said:


> hey mark!
> 
> How are you again?
> 
> I would like to ask your clarification about the sponsorhip family visitor? im a littled confused about this form.
> 
> I am currently on waiting period of my partner visa 309 and i will be visiting my husband next year. however i have read something while i was filling up the application online, "if i will be sponsored by someone in australia" "must support application sponsorship family visitor"? i know this is optional. I can submit my tourist visa without this form, but it catch my attention which i think it will help to support tourist visa application. however, i was confused about the "bond" in the form. will you be able to help me to understand what is this bond all about? i know it's like something that shows my sponsor can support me while im on a holiday... is that correct?
> 
> hope to hear from you soon.
> 
> regards,
> 
> themuel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karkar -

No way for me to tell if there is an issue with your application - as the 402 is still a paper application, no way to generate a HAP ID referral letter from an online application, so all you can do is wait for the case officer (or team) to respond and send you the HAP ID referral letter - without that, no way to take the medicals. The self-generated HAP ID via My Health Declarations won't work since you have already lodged the visa application. Also, don't forget that there is a sponsorship part of the 402 application too in many cases - the delay could be with that, vs with your part.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



karkar said:


> Hi Mark,
> I lodged the application of *402 Training and Research visa - Occupational Trainee stream* in early September,2014. However, I still haven't got a HAP ID number for medical check for processing. I have sent e-mail and called the immigration for several times about getting my HAP ID number , but not yet received any responses. According to the Processing Time Service Standards, it should be around 2 months to process the application. However, it has been nearly 2 months,I still haven't got a HAP ID number for medical check.
> To your experience, is there any problem with my application?
> Thank you!
> 
> Kind Regards
> KarKar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dee.itsalright -

There is often a bit of confusion regarding this - I would check with the online VEVO system to see what date your current bridging (I assume) visa is set to expire - that would be a good way to tell. Generally you have 28 days to depart, not counting the day you receive the letter and ending at midnight on the 28th day, Australia time. However if you were sent the letter by post (not email or fax) then you may have some additional time - best to check with VEVO.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dee.itsalright said:


> Hi Mark!
> I received te letter from MRT saying that I have 28 days left to leave the country.
> I was expecting this to happen but I can't figure out if I can stay for 28 days or is it actually 27 days with depart before the 28th day has expired?
> My letter arrived on the 27th of October, and I have to figure if I can fly out on the 24th of November or if its advisible to book for the 23rd.
> 
> Hope this makes sense.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tashka -

Not sure what visa you are referring to, but generally DIBP accepts either academic or general versions of the IELTS test. Other organisations such as skills assessors and educational institutions sometimes require a specific version of the test.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tashka said:


> Hi again, I've been looking at IELTS dates available in the UK to meet the 28 day criteria and there doesn't seem to be any general training tests which I can do in time, if I am still allowed to go ahead and get the qualification. Would the academic test be acceptable instead?
> 
> Cheers,
> Tashka


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phuhle1104 -

The 2 years living and 1 year working (both in a qualified regional area) that you do while you hold the 489 in order to qualify for the 887 do not have to be continuous - you need a *total* of 2 years living and 1 year working, but you can have breaks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have question regarding to the eligibility of visa 887. Must 2 year living and 1 year working in a specified regional be continuos? Can I live one year and work 6 months and then come back my country for 6 months and go back to Australia later? I am holding visa 489 and am living in Dubbo. Thank you very much for your time.
> 
> Regards,
> Phu Huu Le


----------



## punter_chin

Thanks Mark.

I am not claiming points for the work experience. I have still disclosed all the jobs I have done over the last 10 years, however I do not have relieving letters for some of the jobs. Would that be a problem? Is it okay to remove the part-time jobs from the employment history even though it was included in the EOI?

Secondly, In relation to my education, In the EOI, I had mentioned my education dates as March 2000 to March 2004, however, I have now found out that the mark sheet states completion date as June 2004 (course was completed in March and results in June). Is it okay to make that change in the visa application?

Thanks for all your help.

regards,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Punter_chin -
> 
> You would have to list all dependents anyway as non-migrating if you did not want to include them in the application, so probably best to include them as migrating if you intend on them coming over. Far easier/cheaper to do that rather than sponsoring for a separate visa (ie, Child Visa) after visa grant, and whether migrating or non-migrating, they are still required to take health exams (ie, immediate family member dependents).
> 
> Re: including work experience, yes you need to include this in the visa application part of things and EOI where asked. On EOI, if you are claiming no points for work experience, the work experience should have been marked as not relevant to your occupation.
> 
> Re: health exam info, these vary around the world from one clinic to another - here in Australia they are a few hundred dollars.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Punter_chin -

Would need to review your actual application and the details you are considering including to give you any specific advice - generally speaking you should not exclude any employment from a visa application, however if it is not relevant to your occupation and claimable for points (if you're lodging a skilled visa) then it should be indicated as not relevant, etc so as not to result in a claim for points. When you lodge Form 80 you will need to list all employment for life, so it can be a problem if you include it on Form 80 and do not include it on the application, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Thanks Mark.
> 
> I am not claiming points for the work experience. I have still disclosed all the jobs I have done over the last 10 years, however I do not have relieving letters for some of the jobs. Would that be a problem? Is it okay to remove the part-time jobs from the employment history even though it was included in the EOI?
> 
> Secondly, In relation to my education, In the EOI, I had mentioned my education dates as March 2000 to March 2004, however, I have now found out that the mark sheet states completion date as June 2004 (course was completed in March and results in June). Is it okay to make that change in the visa application?
> 
> Thanks for all your help.
> 
> regards,


----------



## punter_chin

Thanks Mark.

If I am not claiming points for work experience, do I still need to give relieving letters as documentary evidence?

Please could you also advise on the education completion month change between EOI and visa application. Is that acceptable?

regards


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Punter_chin -
> 
> Would need to review your actual application and the details you are considering including to give you any specific advice - generally speaking you should not exclude any employment from a visa application, however if it is not relevant to your occupation and claimable for points (if you're lodging a skilled visa) then it should be indicated as not relevant, etc so as not to result in a claim for points. When you lodge Form 80 you will need to list all employment for life, so it can be a problem if you include it on Form 80 and do not include it on the application, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Punter_chin -

If not claiming points for work experience, generally not required to give any documentation at all from that work experience. If you used work experience to qualify for a skills assessment (ie, for ACS, x years of work experience after your degree), they may ask for documents, but somewhat rare.

Generally no issue with changing completion month for educational qual between EOI and visa application unless it makes that qual ineligible for something else due to the date, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Thanks Mark.
> 
> If I am not claiming points for work experience, do I still need to give relieving letters as documentary evidence?
> 
> Please could you also advise on the education completion month change between EOI and visa application. Is that acceptable?
> 
> regards


----------



## sunnyd

*Help needed with visa processing delay..*

Hi Mark,

This is Sunny, thanks for ur help to the so many people in this forum.
I need small info from you regards my gsm application.
I applied for 489 visa in june and supplied all the docs. A case officer is allocated to my file in aug 27th and requested some docs(AFP and Medicals) which already beeb uploaded by that time of application. Did they asked those docs by mistake or any other reason?

Then my agent replied to that request using case officer email id which states that the documents already there in immi account. From then its been two months, we haven't received any reply from case officer.
My agent says wait wait, but im worriying that if case officer take the decision based on the immi account, i will be in trouble.

Do you thonk that they havent read that email or we need to submit same document again?

Im so concerning abt that, i dont know how ro deal with, in immi account it shows the document requested on 27th aug.
Medicals have been finalised.

Pls give me a suggestion what to do in rhis case.


----------



## megzchong

MarkNortham said:


> Yes, while onshore holding a visitor visa.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


I was advised by one of the migration agents we know that we can apply for defacto visa 820 onshore while on a visitor visa without 8503 since we are already eligible for a defacto relationship. She also told me that being in a defacto relationship doesnt require 12months of "living together physically" but its a 12month ongoing relationship. In my case Mark, I have been to oz for 2 visitor for 3 months and he has been to my country for 3 weeks. So technically we have just lived 6 months together but our relationship is ongoing for more than 2 years already, was she making sense that we are really eligible for defacto visa 820 onshore? I just want to make sure since we plan to apply 820 onshore while on visitor visa without 8503.

P.S we are already engaged since August 2012 but we arent planning the wedding anytime soon since I wanted to work in oz and help for the wedding expenses and be hands on so we think defacto could be better and then we can sort out the wedding dates etc when i get work rights with the defacto visa.

Thanks,
Megz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunny -

I don't have enough info about your case or your application to give you advice re: this, however it's becoming more and more common for DIBP to simply ignore or not respond to emails for weeks and weeks. My view would be that as long as all files are provided to DIBP in your ImmiAccount, and your medicals are completed and your agent has also notified DIBP by email, best thing to do may be to wait.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunnyd said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This is Sunny, thanks for ur help to the so many people in this forum.
> I need small info from you regards my gsm application.
> I applied for 489 visa in june and supplied all the docs. A case officer is allocated to my file in aug 27th and requested some docs(AFP and Medicals) which already beeb uploaded by that time of application. Did they asked those docs by mistake or any other reason?
> 
> Then my agent replied to that request using case officer email id which states that the documents already there in immi account. From then its been two months, we haven't received any reply from case officer.
> My agent says wait wait, but im worriying that if case officer take the decision based on the immi account, i will be in trouble.
> 
> Do you thonk that they havent read that email or we need to submit same document again?
> 
> Im so concerning abt that, i dont know how ro deal with, in immi account it shows the document requested on 27th aug.
> Medicals have been finalised.
> 
> Pls give me a suggestion what to do in rhis case.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megz -

Difficult to assess your eligibility based on anonymous posts on the forum. The assessment of the defacto relationship is for the 12 months prior to application, and the applicant must provide evidence that the relationship (at the level of defacto partners, not just dating, etc) existed for that 12 month period (at least). DIBP accepts living together as the #1 indicator of a defacto relationship, but there can be other evidence as well depending on your situation. Any time apart during the 12 month period should be shown to be temporary in nature. Also you may look into registering your relationship with the Australian state you live in while onshore to avoid the 12 month rule. Short answer is that if you are lacking living together evidence for any substantial part of the 12 months, it can be difficult to prove that the relationship existed at the defacto level during that period in the view of DIBP, however you would need to look at your own evidence to show this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> I was advised by one of the migration agents we know that we can apply for defacto visa 820 onshore while on a visitor visa without 8503 since we are already eligible for a defacto relationship. She also told me that being in a defacto relationship doesnt require 12months of "living together physically" but its a 12month ongoing relationship. In my case Mark, I have been to oz for 2 visitor for 3 months and he has been to my country for 3 weeks. So technically we have just lived 6 months together but our relationship is ongoing for more than 2 years already, was she making sense that we are really eligible for defacto visa 820 onshore? I just want to make sure since we plan to apply 820 onshore while on visitor visa without 8503.
> 
> P.S we are already engaged since August 2012 but we arent planning the wedding anytime soon since I wanted to work in oz and help for the wedding expenses and be hands on so we think defacto could be better and then we can sort out the wedding dates etc when i get work rights with the defacto visa.
> 
> Thanks,
> Megz


----------



## sunnyd

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sunny - I don't have enough info about your case or your application to give you advice re: this, however it's becoming more and more common for DIBP to simply ignore or not respond to emails for weeks and weeks. My view would be that as long as all files are provided to DIBP in your ImmiAccount, and your medicals are completed and your agent has also notified DIBP by email, best thing to do may be to wait. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Thanks Mark, my Concern is my agent did not upload those documents again after request from 
Case officer. He just sent an email to co states that doc in immi account.

In immi account, it shows pcc and medicals requested, do i need to upload those docs again or doesn't need to upload?


----------



## Tashka

Hi Mark

I am after a 190 skilled visa, I currently have 55 points without the education requirement. However, I need 5 more points, I have put down when I started the Application that I had over 3 years foreign work experience but, as of last month I now have 5 years out side of Australia. If I provide evidence of this will I get the additional 5 points for the Visa? However, this work experience is not mentioned on my skills assessment as it was obtained last year and the extra year is with a new employer. Could you please advise? 

Thanks as ever Tashka


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunny -

If already uploaded, no need to upload again - that could cause confusion, etc. Medical results are normally sent directly by the clinic, etc. If it says the medicals are finalised, that means they have received the medical results.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunnyd said:


> Thanks Mark, my Concern is my agent did not upload those documents again after request from
> Case officer. He just sent an email to co states that doc in immi account.
> 
> In immi account, it shows pcc and medicals requested, do i need to upload those docs again or doesn't need to upload?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tashka -

You may get an additional 5 points if you have 5 years (vs less than 5 years) of overseas employment, if the case officer decides it is skilled. The safest bet is to get the additional work assessed by your skills assessing body for your occupation, however you may want to see if the case officer will accept it without a skills assessment - that all depends on the nature of the work, company, etc and the opinion of the case officer (which can be hard to predict). Also note that you get 5 points for state sponsorship if successful, so you need 55 points on your own, plus the 5 points from the state, to equal 60 points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tashka said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am after a 190 skilled visa, I currently have 55 points without the education requirement. However, I need 5 more points, I have put down when I started the Application that I had over 3 years foreign work experience but, as of last month I now have 5 years out side of Australia. If I provide evidence of this will I get the additional 5 points for the Visa? However, this work experience is not mentioned on my skills assessment as it was obtained last year and the extra year is with a new employer. Could you please advise?
> 
> Thanks as ever Tashka


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tashka -
> 
> You may get an additional 5 points if you have 5 years (vs less than 5 years) of overseas employment, if the case officer decides it is skilled. The safest bet is to get the additional work assessed by your skills assessing body for your occupation, however you may want to see if the case officer will accept it without a skills assessment - that all depends on the nature of the work, company, etc and the opinion of the case officer (which can be hard to predict). Also note that you get 5 points for state sponsorship if successful, so you need 55 points on your own, plus the 5 points from the state, to equal 60 points.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark is there any updated form of 40sp form 47sp n form 80 im waiting this nov because maybe they revise it thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Not that I have seen yet - we expect some updated forms in November, but DIBP has not announced the date yet or which forms will be updated.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> hi mark is there any updated form of 40sp form 47sp n form 80 im waiting this nov because maybe they revise it thanks


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Not that I have seen yet - we expect some updated forms in November, but DIBP has not announced the date yet or which forms will be updated.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thnks mark for the info we are planning to lodge the pmv next month on nov


----------



## Albertthapa

*Help 489 visa*

Hi mark, 
I have 489 visa currently i am in dubbo nsw regional trying to find accomodation and job which i am not able to do so its been around a week i dont know what to do what other my option wiil be in this case could you give me a good advice. Can i transfer to another state regional when can i do that. I have left job in melbourne and trying to get job in dubbo and i am living in motel which is not cheap at all.


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Albertthapa -

Sorry to hear of your job challenges - first thing to do would be to see exactly what conditions are on your visa, then see what your options are with NSW skilled based on the conditions on your visa. The arrangements that exist on 489 visas (I assume, state sponsored) are a combination of the conditions on your visa, and the conditions on whatever contractual arrangements you have made with NSW skilled. If you get stuck with both/either of those, would be happy to work with you in a consultation to go over all your paperwork from NSW and your visa - see link in website below for more info and to book. Without access to those documents, I don't have enough information to give you any specific advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Albertthapa said:


> Hi mark,
> I have 489 visa currently i am in dubbo nsw regional trying to find accomodation and job which i am not able to do so its been around a week i dont know what to do what other my option wiil be in this case could you give me a good advice. Can i transfer to another state regional when can i do that. I have left job in melbourne and trying to get job in dubbo and i am living in motel which is not cheap at all.


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> HI Albertthapa -
> 
> Sorry to hear of your job challenges - first thing to do would be to see exactly what conditions are on your visa, then see what your options are with NSW skilled based on the conditions on your visa. The arrangements that exist on 489 visas (I assume, state sponsored) are a combination of the conditions on your visa, and the conditions on whatever contractual arrangements you have made with NSW skilled. If you get stuck with both/either of those, would be happy to work with you in a consultation to go over all your paperwork from NSW and your visa - see link in website below for more info and to book. Without access to those documents, I don't have enough information to give you any specific advice for your case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi Mark is there any celebrant from registry office marriages or civil wedding are fake


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Sorry, I don't understand your question...?? In Australia, marriage at a state registry is perfectly legal, as long as it's done by a person qualified to perform marriages. Not sure about Philippines though.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> hi Mark is there any celebrant from registry office marriages or civil wedding are fake


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Sorry, I don't understand your question...?? In Australia, marriage at a state registry is perfectly legal, as long as it's done by a person qualified to perform marriages. Not sure about Philippines though.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


mark that is regarding noim it is valid if my fiance get in the.registry office only because on of the.comment in.other.site that says it is valid if the celebrant are not fake


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Either a NOIM signed by an Australian licenced marraige celebrant or a letter from the celebrant indicating your names, proposed date of marriage, etc is generally acceptable to DIBP. However Philippines are VERY picky about documents - you will need to review the DIBP website, plus the additional documents for Philippines applications very, very carefully - for instance, the CENOMAR must be sent by the NSO office directly to DIBP, you cannot get it yourself and then submit it with your application, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> mark that is regarding noim it is valid if my fiance get in the.registry office only because on of the.comment in.other.site that says it is valid if the celebrant are not fake


----------



## Harry11

Hi Mark
can you please advise me what does it mean when CO says your Health Assessment has been DEFERRED. ..as we dont know yet if you meet the health requirment or not..
just got CO yesterday and I knew before he got allocated that my medical as referred. .but on 13 june moc requested some information which we provided. .now as we got CO after 3 months he has asked the same information which MOC asked in june..it just just a letter from employer..but we are very much stressed now as the CO sent us letter saying your Health Assessment have ben DEFERRED. ..so we yet dont know if you meet health requirment or not...whats the differ3nce between Referred and Deferred. ..we called panel clinic overseas where we did medicals and they said all the results where fine except urine test of my wife as it had some plus cells in urine..are we in serious Trouble...I will go to Bupa and ask them if on there system some additional tests have recommended. .Please share your advise as we are very much stressed


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harry11 -

Thanks for the note - I need to see the documents from DIBP in order to answer your question - please feel free to contact me through the Contact Us page on our website (in my signature below) and I can have a look at the documents. In some cases "deferred" means they need to allow a passage of time and then run a duplicate test to see if the original results were confirmed or not, but this is not the case in some instances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Harry11 said:


> Hi Mark
> can you please advise me what does it mean when CO says your Health Assessment has been DEFERRED. ..as we dont know yet if you meet the health requirment or not..
> just got CO yesterday and I knew before he got allocated that my medical as referred. .but on 13 june moc requested some information which we provided. .now as we got CO after 3 months he has asked the same information which MOC asked in june..it just just a letter from employer..but we are very much stressed now as the CO sent us letter saying your Health Assessment have ben DEFERRED. ..so we yet dont know if you meet health requirment or not...whats the differ3nce between Referred and Deferred. ..we called panel clinic overseas where we did medicals and they said all the results where fine except urine test of my wife as it had some plus cells in urine..are we in serious Trouble...I will go to Bupa and ask them if on there system some additional tests have recommended. .Please share your advise as we are very much stressed


----------



## Harry11

Thanks mark
.I will send you soon the documents I received


----------



## cyanea

Hi Mark

Could you please give an example what compelling circumstances (e.q. business ties to Australia and affecting interests of Australia) can be presented to waive the 3 year exclusion period? And how long can it take to waive the ban?

I don't have a ban yet, but I desperately need to move full time into a job (have a sponsor), yet I have a 574 student visa, 8202 condition, and 1+ years of studies left. If I eave the university now, as far as I understand the ban is inevitable. I don't have compassionate circumstances (e.q. illnesses, deaths of relatives, partner issues etc). Yet I am tightly integrated (part time so far!) into business here and several companies depend on my activity + there are relationships of that companies with universities that can be damaged if I am not allowed to return for 3 years.

Anything can be done? For example, applying for the new visa before my student one gets canceled? Or is it easier to leave Au and apply for a temporary visa from offshore right away? Can't apply for permanent due to lack of experience I could prove.

Thanks, Dan
p.s. I am from high risk countries


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cyanea -

Thanks for the note - for the 3 year exclusion period on temporary visas (if you depart Australia while holding a bridging visa C, D or E you've held for 28+ days), there generally has to be a very strong reason to get a waiver such as a serious medical issue, family being split apart by the ban, etc. There may be circumstances where you are not given the ban - based on your question I'm concerned you may misunderstand the regulations involved. Would be happy to work through all of your options at a consultation session if you'd like to get specific advice for your case - see my website link below if you're interested.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cyanea said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Could you please give an example what compelling circumstances (e.q. business ties to Australia and affecting interests of Australia) can be presented to waive the 3 year exclusion period? And how long can it take to waive the ban?
> 
> I don't have a ban yet, but I desperately need to move full time into a job (have a sponsor), yet I have a 574 student visa, 8202 condition, and 1+ years of studies left. If I eave the university now, as far as I understand the ban is inevitable. I don't have compassionate circumstances (e.q. illnesses, deaths of relatives, partner issues etc). Yet I am tightly integrated (part time so far!) into business here and several companies depend on my activity + there are relationships of that companies with universities that can be damaged if I am not allowed to return for 3 years.
> 
> Anything can be done? For example, applying for the new visa before my student one gets canceled? Or is it easier to leave Au and apply for a temporary visa from offshore right away? Can't apply for permanent due to lack of experience I could prove.
> 
> Thanks, Dan
> p.s. I am from high risk countries


----------



## sunnyd

Hi there,

When i tried to login to my immi account, once logged in to account, it shows fatal error and cant display the requested information. Does it mean the decision has been made for that case or technical issue?

Im bit confused with this

Thanks
Sunny


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunny -

That's a technical issue - would try closing your browser and then starting it up again and trying again - DIBP systems may be having issues as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunnyd said:


> Hi there,
> 
> When i tried to login to my immi account, once logged in to account, it shows fatal error and cant display the requested information. Does it mean the decision has been made for that case or technical issue?
> 
> Im bit confused with this
> 
> Thanks
> Sunny


----------



## Austyn

Aloha Mark!

Hope you're doing well!

I was just wondering, for my SC 461 visa, I know the documents that I need and I have to make copies of them. But, do I need to have them certified in any way? Or are the copies fine? 

Thank you again!

Austyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Assuming you're lodging hardcopy, any official or ID type documents should be certified copies, same for police checks, etc. Other things like relationship evidence can generally be normal copies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Aloha Mark!
> 
> Hope you're doing well!
> 
> I was just wondering, for my SC 461 visa, I know the documents that I need and I have to make copies of them. But, do I need to have them certified in any way? Or are the copies fine?
> 
> Thank you again!
> 
> Austyn


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Either a NOIM signed by an Australian licenced marraige celebrant or a letter from the celebrant indicating your names, proposed date of marriage, etc is generally acceptable to DIBP. However Philippines are VERY picky about documents - you will need to review the DIBP website, plus the additional documents for Philippines applications very, very carefully - for instance, the CENOMAR must be sent by the NSO office directly to DIBP, you cannot get it yourself and then submit it with your application, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks mark GoDBless


----------



## piklu420

Dear Sir Mark
Is there any possibility to get invitation with 60 points for Computer Network and Systems engineer 263111?


----------



## mudasirali_45

Hey Mark
i want to ask you something about my case
i have applied for student visa and my file was lodged in embassy on 25 july 2014 and i gave my medical on 25 Aug 2014.and it took me 2 month after my medical and i have not get any report regarding my visa proccess.
So can you please tell me that do i need to worry about my visa process ??
Because over all my case is being proccessed for three months ??


----------



## brown_camel

Hi Mark,
I know few people who got their P.R recently from student visa (high risk)within two months thru onshore state sponsorship specifically South Australia. In contrast 820 visa are taking over a year to be finalised mainly due to Character/Asio checks. Just wondering if all P.R visas require these checks then how come some visas are getting finalised so quickly? Are there different priority streams for SECURITY CHECKS?
Thanks


----------



## Cassandra82

Hi Mark!

My partner and I have started the online process of applying for the partner visa. We completed the applicants form and submitted it and paid. The money was taken out of our account. Her application status has changed to 'submitted'. I started my application to sponsor her just after we submitted hers but keep getting an error that reads "The applicant is unable to continue this application as the related application details cannot be confirmed. The applicant may wish to review the information entered in this application prior to continuing.".

I can't seem to find much info on this and we are freaking out a bit as we haven't received any email confirmation or the info about the bridging visa! I will speak to Immi soon just wanted to see if you had come across this at all and if you could shed some light on what it could mean?

Thank you so much in advance!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Piklu420 -

No way to tell based on the limited info DIBP has released - however there are 1788 total spots for 189 and 190 visas for the programme year for group 2631 and only 469 invitations have been issued so far...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



piklu420 said:


> Dear Sir Mark
> Is there any possibility to get invitation with 60 points for Computer Network and Systems engineer 263111?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mudasirali_45 -

No way to tell whether to worry or not as there simply isn't enough information from DIBP to know or guess. Many student visas from high risk countries are taking 3-4 months these days. So 3 months is not necessarily a sign of trouble, but again, no way to really predict as DIBP doesn't give us enough info to do so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mudasirali_45 said:


> Hey Mark
> i want to ask you something about my case
> i have applied for student visa and my file was lodged in embassy on 25 july 2014 and i gave my medical on 25 Aug 2014.and it took me 2 month after my medical and i have not get any report regarding my visa proccess.
> So can you please tell me that do i need to worry about my visa process ??
> Because over all my case is being proccessed for three months ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brown_Camel -

Wish I knew. DIBP doesn't publish any details about security checks, so we're all just guessing. The 12+ month wait for partner visas, in my view, is more due to the number of applications than any particular security check issue - I've had applicants from low risk countries take 12 or more months in some cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



brown_camel said:


> Hi Mark,
> I know few people who got their P.R recently from student visa (high risk)within two months thru onshore state sponsorship specifically South Australia. In contrast 820 visa are taking over a year to be finalised mainly due to Character/Asio checks. Just wondering if all P.R visas require these checks then how come some visas are getting finalised so quickly? Are there different priority streams for SECURITY CHECKS?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassandra82 -

I'd give it 48 hours and try again, making sure you have the correct TRN number, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cassandra82 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> My partner and I have started the online process of applying for the partner visa. We completed the applicants form and submitted it and paid. The money was taken out of our account. Her application status has changed to 'submitted'. I started my application to sponsor her just after we submitted hers but keep getting an error that reads "The applicant is unable to continue this application as the related application details cannot be confirmed. The applicant may wish to review the information entered in this application prior to continuing.".
> 
> I can't seem to find much info on this and we are freaking out a bit as we haven't received any email confirmation or the info about the bridging visa! I will speak to Immi soon just wanted to see if you had come across this at all and if you could shed some light on what it could mean?
> 
> Thank you so much in advance!!


----------



## quethaochi

Hi Mark
I only have one question.
Are we allow to apply for subclass 457 while a spouse application is in process, and student visa is still effect ?
Thank you very much
Que


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Que -

No legal bar that I am aware of to doing that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



quethaochi said:


> Hi Mark
> I only have one question.
> Are we allow to apply for subclass 457 while a spouse application is in process, and student visa is still effect ?
> Thank you very much
> Que


----------



## Austyn

Thanks again Mark! 

How would I go about getting my documents certified? And the cost of getting them certified?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Easiest way is (in Australia) is to find a JP - they cannot charge to certify copies, and are frequently available at libraries, politician's offices, etc. Outside Australia, you would use whatever relevant legal authority is appropriate and authorised in your jurisdiction to witness documents or certify copies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Thanks again Mark!
> 
> How would I go about getting my documents certified? And the cost of getting them certified?


----------



## ash81

*Medicals for SC300 while in Australia*

Hi Mark,

Hope all is well.
Hoping you can help shed some light on this situation;

Background:
My fiancee is a citizen of China and have lodged an offshore PMV but yet to have a case officer.
She currently hold a multiple entry SC600 with a year validity and stay up to 3 months each visit.

Question:
While waiting for the PMV, can she wait in Australia using SC600 and potentially submit the medicals from Australia?

Thanks a lot,

Ash


----------



## Cee14

*A little help please*

Hi, this is my first post. I am an australian PR and met my husband in April 2013 whilst on holiday in Samoa (he is a Samoan PR). We have kept in contact daily and I have travelled back 5 times to date since meeting, we got married in Samoa in February 2014. during this time (19 months) we have applied for 3 visitor visas and 1 sponsored family visitor visa and have been refused everytime due to my husband not having any assets, dependent family members as or travel history to ensure incentive to depart australia during a visit and return to his country.
Our hope was to of course spend time together in Australia and especially accumulate the evidence needed for a partner visa.
I have a good job in Melbourne, and for me to move to Samoa would be financially crippling for the both of us as the income there is extremely low, especially compared to Australia. So for this reason we have not lived together as yet. So we do not have any evidence in the household area. 
I am returning to Samoa in 2 weeks and we plan to lodge the partner visa with the evidence we have (statements, stat decs, travel itinerary & accom receipts, ph & txt logs, bank statements, photos, wedding DVD, letters, money transfer receipts).
My only worry is that we have not lived together at all, is this a requirement and do I have enough evidence?


----------



## min.ho1234

Hi!

Is it ok to answer forms such as 40sp in typewritten/computer format?


----------



## Jayabharathi

*Work Experience*

Hi Mark,

I have completed BE(Electronics and communication engg) in 2006 and I have over all 8 + yrs of experience in IT industry out of which 2yr 5 months, Worked in Australia.

I have done acs , As per ACS policy, 4 years of experience will not be considered since I am from non IT background.

I will get 5 points for one year Australian experience . Can I consider remaining 1 yr and 5 months for overseas employment. So that I can claim over all 10 points for my work experience.
Can you please clarify my question
Thank you!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ash81 -

Yes. Medicals are fine from either Australia or an applicant's home country. Make sure you login to the ImmiAccount and print the health referral letter (see link below the list of required/requested documents on the left side - "Organise Medicals"), then use that and the referred HAP ID to make the medicals appointment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ash81 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope all is well.
> Hoping you can help shed some light on this situation;
> 
> Background:
> My fiancee is a citizen of China and have lodged an offshore PMV but yet to have a case officer.
> She currently hold a multiple entry SC600 with a year validity and stay up to 3 months each visit.
> 
> Question:
> While waiting for the PMV, can she wait in Australia using SC600 and potentially submit the medicals from Australia?
> 
> Thanks a lot,
> 
> Ash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jayabharathi -

Can't give you specific advice without seeing your documents and details - however generally speaking, you cannot mix overseas and Australian employment for points - each stands alone. So if all you have in ACS-approved overseas employment is 1 yr and 5 months, you would not be able to claim any points for that, as the minimum overseas employment to be able to claim points for is 3 years of employment (ie, between 3-5 years of overseas skilled employment = 5 points, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jayabharathi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have completed BE(Electronics and communication engg) in 2006 and I have over all 8 + yrs of experience in IT industry out of which 2yr 5 months, Worked in Australia.
> 
> I have done acs , As per ACS policy, 4 years of experience will not be considered since I am from non IT background.
> 
> I will get 5 points for one year Australian experience . Can I consider remaining 1 yr and 5 months for overseas employment. So that I can claim over all 10 points for my work experience.
> Can you please clarify my question
> Thank you!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Min.ho1234 -

Yes - it's actually better than handwritten since it typed (or entered into the PDF on a computer, then print out the PDF) is easier to read than handwriting. Of course, online forms are even better in many people's view!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



min.ho1234 said:


> Hi!
> 
> Is it ok to answer forms such as 40sp in typewritten/computer format?


----------



## Marc

Hi Mark, just registered to gain some advice and knowledge about a potential move to Australia.
I recently visited with the eVisitor (subclass 651) visa, now that I'm looking for work (Greenkeeper, possibly under visa 457 I believe it was) and should I be lucky enough to get a job, will the Visa transfer over easily enough? or is there some sort of time limit and I have to wait for the 651 to "end" so to speak? (June 2015 ends)

Only just started looking at the Visa options so it's a bit baffling at the moment but I'll get there!
Many Thanks,
Marc


----------



## rajitsin

Hi Mark,

I am about to file my skills assessment application with the relevant assessing authority. I plan to use this skills assessment for my 189 visa application. I worked in South Korea for about 2 years, which experience I am claiming for points in my application to the assessing authority. 

My scheduled joining date at this company was delayed by a week due to flight unavailability. The employment contract contains the initial scheduled starting date and not the actual starting date (a week later). I landed in Korea only a day before I started the company. 2 years later when I was leaving the company and got my experience certificate, the starting date on the certificate was incorrectly stated as the earlier starting date (ie the scheduled starting date per the contract) as opposed to actual starting date (which was a week later). When I noticed this discrepancy at the time I did not do anything about it because it seemed very minor to me. 

Now naturally, immigration records as evidenced by the entrance stamp by customs on my passport would all support the actual start date since the passport has the actual landing date stamped on it (which was only a day before the actual employment start date).

It has been about 7 years since I worked at this employer so they are unlikely to take out the time to correct this mistake now. 

I was thinking of stating the actual start date on my skills assessment application and explaining the above situation. I would use copies of the relevant passport page and contract as supportings for my story. Plus it could be argued that I was interacting with them by email for work purposes for that one week but I don’t how that would sound.

I don’t know how badly this discrepancy will affect my application as I desperately need the points from this employment period. Is it absolutely necessary to have this experience certificate changed (I don’t how long that will take or if at all that is possible).

As always thank you for listening to our problems.

Regards


----------



## rajitsin

Hi,

Sorry for the additional comment. The work visa start date was yet another 8 days after my actual joining date. My status during those 8 days was that of a person on a visit visa with the work visa application in process. I could just write the work visa start date as the starting date for this employment in my application to the skills assessing authority.
Your thoughts on this?

Regards



rajitsin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am about to file my skills assessment application with the relevant assessing authority. I plan to use this skills assessment for my 189 visa application. I worked in South Korea for about 2 years, which experience I am claiming for points in my application to the assessing authority.
> 
> My scheduled joining date at this company was delayed by a week due to flight unavailability. The employment contract contains the initial scheduled starting date and not the actual starting date (a week later). I landed in Korea only a day before I started the company. 2 years later when I was leaving the company and got my experience certificate, the starting date on the certificate was incorrectly stated as the earlier starting date (ie the scheduled starting date per the contract) as opposed to actual starting date (which was a week later). When I noticed this discrepancy at the time I did not do anything about it because it seemed very minor to me.
> 
> Now naturally, immigration records as evidenced by the entrance stamp by customs on my passport would all support the actual start date since the passport has the actual landing date stamped on it (which was only a day before the actual employment start date).
> 
> It has been about 7 years since I worked at this employer so they are unlikely to take out the time to correct this mistake now.
> 
> I was thinking of stating the actual start date on my skills assessment application and explaining the above situation. I would use copies of the relevant passport page and contract as supportings for my story. Plus it could be argued that I was interacting with them by email for work purposes for that one week but I don't how that would sound.
> 
> I don't know how badly this discrepancy will affect my application as I desperately need the points from this employment period. Is it absolutely necessary to have this experience certificate changed (I don't how long that will take or if at all that is possible).
> 
> As always thank you for listening to our problems.
> 
> Regards


----------



## ash81

Many thanks Mark, that's a relief.

Unfortunately we didn't log it online and will still need to wait to get our HAP ID.
Is there an occasion where we can request this HAP ID even before a case officer is assigned?

cheers,

Ash


----------



## chongesx

Hi Mark,

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to answer all the questions in this thread! I'm hoping you'll have one for mine.

I applied from a high risk country for a 189 visa in November last year. I was asked to do my medicals in March this year and I got excited ( i.e. the grant must be coming soon)

However, it's now November and prior to being asked to do my medicals ( about a month after I applied) I was contacted by Team 13.

Could this mean that I'm stuck at the external security check phrase? My CO won't confirm ( I'm not asking for timelines- I simply want to know if this could be it.)

What do you reckon?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chongesx -

It's possible, but no way to tell for sure.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chongesx said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly, thank you for taking the time to answer all the questions in this thread! I'm hoping you'll have one for mine.
> 
> I applied from a high risk country for a 189 visa in November last year. I was asked to do my medicals in March this year and I got excited ( i.e. the grant must be coming soon)
> 
> However, it's now November and prior to being asked to do my medicals ( about a month after I applied) I was contacted by Team 13.
> 
> Could this mean that I'm stuck at the external security check phrase? My CO won't confirm ( I'm not asking for timelines- I simply want to know if this could be it.)
> 
> What do you reckon?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ash -

Only if you had done it before you lodged the application (via My Health Declarations). After lodgement, for paper applications you have to wait until the case officer provides the health referral letter(s).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ash81 said:


> Many thanks Mark, that's a relief.
> 
> Unfortunately we didn't log it online and will still need to wait to get our HAP ID.
> Is there an occasion where we can request this HAP ID even before a case officer is assigned?
> 
> cheers,
> 
> Ash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marc -

Thanks for the question! If you apply for a 457 and are granted a 457, the 457 upon grant will replace the 651 visa you have now. It's not a transfer, but is the grant of a new (replacement) visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Marc said:


> Hi Mark, just registered to gain some advice and knowledge about a potential move to Australia.
> I recently visited with the eVisitor (subclass 651) visa, now that I'm looking for work (Greenkeeper, possibly under visa 457 I believe it was) and should I be lucky enough to get a job, will the Visa transfer over easily enough? or is there some sort of time limit and I have to wait for the 651 to "end" so to speak? (June 2015 ends)
> 
> Only just started looking at the Visa options so it's a bit baffling at the moment but I'll get there!
> Many Thanks,
> Marc


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajitsin -

Without seeing your documents and information, my view would probably be to list the actual dates you worked at the company - if the contract was dated 8 days earlier, I doubt that would be an issue for the skills assessor, and you could include a note with passport stamp, etc with the employment reference to show when you entered. Normally a letter is required from the company stating the start and end date of the employment, job title, and some reference to the duties you performed - this letter would normally have the actual start/end dates on it, regardless of what a contract prepared before you started (or otherwise) has.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rajitsin said:


> Hi,
> 
> Sorry for the additional comment. The work visa start date was yet another 8 days after my actual joining date. My status during those 8 days was that of a person on a visit visa with the work visa application in process. I could just write the work visa start date as the starting date for this employment in my application to the skills assessing authority.
> Your thoughts on this?
> 
> Regards


----------



## alexlulu12

Hi Mark,
I was hoping to get some help applying for my partner visa. My partner is Greek and living here in Sydney with me so we will be applying onshore. His current 457 visa is due to expire in March next year.

We do not fulfil the 12 month requirement and just formally registered our relationship yesterday with birth deaths and marriages in NSW. What I am hoping to get some advice about was whether you think we would have much success in getting approval due to the length of our relationship (when we will submit the application we will have been defacto for 4 months). 

We have other evidence like a joint bank account opened last month which we pay rent out of and other household activities like grocery shopping etc. as well as both of our names are on our household content insurance. We are each other’s beneficiaries for our superannuation and when my car insurance is renewed later this month, I will be adding him as a driver.

Other evidence that we will be including will be photos of each other with our families and friends, we have stat dec’s from relatives (his uncle, his cousins and my twin sister and mother) which all verify our relationship. Other stuff like ticket stubs to a greek dance that we went to with his family, I have receipts of his birthday present and Ive also kept receipts from our dinner dates, movies and screen shots of mutual friends on facebook which include each others family members.

Do you think once we get everything ready, that this will be strong enough for approval? We have a lot of strong evidence and we are also going to write up wills with each other in it but my concern is that immigration will take one look at us only living together for 4 months even though we are registered and laugh in our faces. Is this a genuine concern? If we have sufficient evidence of us being together and having legitimate plans to stay together in the future, do you think we will be ok?

As you can see, im freaking out a little! Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!


----------



## SqOats

Hi Mark,

Can you pls tell me if I can travel to Australia from different country than the one i applied my visa from .... 

i have applied for student visa 573 from Saudi Arabia (resident). But, would like to travel to Australia from Pakistan (Citizen). Will there be any issues?

Regards


----------



## Austyn

Hey Mark, I was just wondering. After I send my application and completed forms with my SC461. How will I know if I am on a bridging visa or not? Will I be notified? If so, how? Or am I automatically going to be able to remain in Australia when my current visa ends?


----------



## iceman01

Hi Mark,

When applying for the partner visa you need to write a history of relationship which is fair enough.

With the relationship evidence which includes
financial aspect, social context,nature of household and nature of commitment is this a seperate statement on top of the history of relationship statement?

Thanks
Rob


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alexlulu12 -

Thanks for the note. My view is that you will have a challenging application, but it may come down to how you portray the time you knew each other (if any) before you became defacto - the key is to show the quality of the relationship and how it developed, with as much evidence as possible. If you only met 4 months ago and instantly became defacto, then that will be more difficult to get through - perhaps not impossible, but it increases the emphasis you'll have to place on evidence and witness statements.

Difficult to assess relationship evidence and statements without actually seeing them and knowing more facts about your relationship, how it developed, any special circumstances, and the strength of the evidence you plan to lodge - would be happy to go over all that with you at a consultation if you'd like - that would allow a detailed examination of your case and the evidence you plan to lodge. Details are available at our website - link below.

Please advise if i can assist going forward -

Best,

Mark Northam



alexlulu12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I was hoping to get some help applying for my partner visa. My partner is Greek and living here in Sydney with me so we will be applying onshore. His current 457 visa is due to expire in March next year.
> 
> We do not fulfil the 12 month requirement and just formally registered our relationship yesterday with birth deaths and marriages in NSW. What I am hoping to get some advice about was whether you think we would have much success in getting approval due to the length of our relationship (when we will submit the application we will have been defacto for 4 months).
> 
> We have other evidence like a joint bank account opened last month which we pay rent out of and other household activities like grocery shopping etc. as well as both of our names are on our household content insurance. We are each other's beneficiaries for our superannuation and when my car insurance is renewed later this month, I will be adding him as a driver.
> 
> Other evidence that we will be including will be photos of each other with our families and friends, we have stat dec's from relatives (his uncle, his cousins and my twin sister and mother) which all verify our relationship. Other stuff like ticket stubs to a greek dance that we went to with his family, I have receipts of his birthday present and Ive also kept receipts from our dinner dates, movies and screen shots of mutual friends on facebook which include each others family members.
> 
> Do you think once we get everything ready, that this will be strong enough for approval? We have a lot of strong evidence and we are also going to write up wills with each other in it but my concern is that immigration will take one look at us only living together for 4 months even though we are registered and laugh in our faces. Is this a genuine concern? If we have sufficient evidence of us being together and having legitimate plans to stay together in the future, do you think we will be ok?
> 
> As you can see, im freaking out a little! Any advice would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

Not that I know of, assuming you are granted the visa. The only thing i could think of is if DIBP had some sort of question about why you were in the country you were in prior to Australia and suspected that you were up to some wrongdoing there, but especially if you can explain why you were there, I don't see how it would be an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SqOats said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you pls tell me if I can travel to Australia from different country than the one i applied my visa from ....
> 
> i have applied for student visa 573 from Saudi Arabia (resident). But, would like to travel to Australia from Pakistan (Citizen). Will there be any issues?
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Normally you'll get a letter or email from DIBP shortly after they receive your application containing an acknowledgement of receipt of the application plus a grant notice for a bridging visa. As long as you lodge your 461 while onshore in Australia, you should normally be granted a bridging visa. The bridging visa will automatically activate when your current visa expires, assuming you are in Australia at that time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Hey Mark, I was just wondering. After I send my application and completed forms with my SC461. How will I know if I am on a bridging visa or not? Will I be notified? If so, how? Or am I automatically going to be able to remain in Australia when my current visa ends?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Iceman01 -

Good questions! The applicant and sponsor each need to write a statement (separate) about the relationship in their own words which should include how you met, how the relationship developed, and some details about your plans for the future together. You'll note there are 5 boxes on the online partner visa form, each about the different areas of evidence you listed (ie social, financial, etc). What we normally do is put "Please see relationship statements of applicant and sponsor for details." in each of these boxes on the online form, then the statements as attached cover these areas. In addition to describing these areas in your statement, you would also upload relationship evidence to show how you meet these areas - ie, joint bank statements to evidence shared finances, pictures to show social, etc etc. There are some great threads here on the forum about partner visa evidence.

You can and should also include statements written by others attesting to the fact that your relationship is genuine, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



iceman01 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> When applying for the partner visa you need to write a history of relationship which is fair enough.
> 
> With the relationship evidence which includes
> financial aspect, social context,nature of household and nature of commitment is this a seperate statement on top of the history of relationship statement?
> 
> Thanks
> Rob


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Marc -
> 
> Thanks for the question! If you apply for a 457 and are granted a 457, the 457 upon grant will replace the 651 visa you have now. It's not a transfer, but is the grant of a new (replacement) visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark i just read the blog of australian embassy that they updated the form this coming nov 9 of this year


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes - we're all waiting to see what forms they update - no specifics available yet.

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> hi mark i just read the blog of australian embassy that they updated the form this coming nov 9 of this year


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Yes - we're all waiting to see what forms they update - no specifics available yet.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thanks mark just wanna be sure what forms will be.filling.up i hope u can tell on this site or i can ask u again Thanks and God Blesd


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

I have to ask.... why not lodge online? It's faster, no certifying documents to deal with, and no forms change hassles, and you avoid any extra charges or delays introduced by the third party "front counter services" where DIBP outsources the front counter receipting to some other company.

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> thanks mark just wanna be sure what forms will be.filling.up i hope u can tell on this site or i can ask u again Thanks and God Blesd


----------



## sajjad1

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Austyn -
> 
> Normally you'll get a letter or email from DIBP shortly after they receive your application containing an acknowledgement of receipt of the application plus a grant notice for a bridging visa. As long as you lodge your 461 while onshore in Australia, you should normally be granted a bridging visa. The bridging visa will automatically activate when your current visa expires, assuming you are in Australia at that time.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


i have to ask ...


----------



## sajjad1

i have to ask ..
Hi! Um sajjad from Pakistan. I applied my student visa SVP under subclass 573 on 23rd June 2014 in AVAC.
I got acknowledgment on 27th June 2014 and my medicals held on 9th july 2014 .. After the month of july and august i received an interview call on 1st September .. After interview i waited again for my visa .. i sent reminders and receieved a reply on 24 October 2014.
that was 
"Dear applicant,

Thanks for your email.

This application is currently undergoing internal processing.

We are aware of your concern regarding the processing of this application. We endeavour to process all applications within the average service standard of 12 weeks; however applications that require further processing will sometimes be delayed.

If required your case officer will contact you informing you of any additional documentation need to complete your application.

Regards,
Finalisation Team
Department of Immigration and Border Protection"

Now its 4th November 2014 and um still waiting .. 4 months and 7 days have passed .. um worried


----------



## Clem&Elly

Hi Mark,

As per application guidelines, it mentions to provide following documentation:
If your name has changed or the name of anyone included in your application has changed: a certified copy of evidence of the name change.

My partner who is applying for the visa was previously married, so she had changed her name but then changed it back after divorcing. Does she need to provide evidence of name change if the current name is the same as the name on all forms / birth name?

If so, what would be accepted as evidence of name change?


----------



## Austyn

Perfect! How long does it normally take for DIBP to grant the bridging visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sajjad1 -

My guess is that there is some sort of external security check going on, or they're simply backlogged with applications. Unfortunately there's not much that can be done other than waiting, as there are no legal time limits on how DIBP can take to process a visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sajjad1 said:


> i have to ask ..
> Hi! Um sajjad from Pakistan. I applied my student visa SVP under subclass 573 on 23rd June 2014 in AVAC.
> I got acknowledgment on 27th June 2014 and my medicals held on 9th july 2014 .. After the month of july and august i received an interview call on 1st September .. After interview i waited again for my visa .. i sent reminders and receieved a reply on 24 October 2014.
> that was
> "Dear applicant,
> 
> Thanks for your email.
> 
> This application is currently undergoing internal processing.
> 
> We are aware of your concern regarding the processing of this application. We endeavour to process all applications within the average service standard of 12 weeks; however applications that require further processing will sometimes be delayed.
> 
> If required your case officer will contact you informing you of any additional documentation need to complete your application.
> 
> Regards,
> Finalisation Team
> Department of Immigration and Border Protection"
> 
> Now its 4th November 2014 and um still waiting .. 4 months and 7 days have passed .. um worried


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clem & Elly -

Technically, yes. If she had changed her name legally, then whatever document was used to do/undo this would be sufficient I would think. If she did not do it legally, then I'd suggest sending a letter describing the circumstances and that there was no legal change made, hence no legal documents available.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Clem&Elly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> As per application guidelines, it mentions to provide following documentation:
> If your name has changed or the name of anyone included in your application has changed: a certified copy of evidence of the name change.
> 
> My partner who is applying for the visa was previously married, so she had changed her name but then changed it back after divorcing. Does she need to provide evidence of name change if the current name is the same as the name on all forms / birth name?
> 
> If so, what would be accepted as evidence of name change?


----------



## MarkNortham

For paper applications, they often send out the acknowledgement and bridging visa notices together, typically 1-3 days after they receive the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Perfect! How long does it normally take for DIBP to grant the bridging visa?


----------



## alexlulu12

Hi Mark,

Thanks for getting back to me. I think what we might do is wait until one week before my partner's visa expires to lodge our application. That way we will have been defacto for 6 months and dating for around 9 months. Do you think that would make it any stronger?

Thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Alexlulu12 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. My view is that you will have a challenging application, but it may come down to how you portray the time you knew each other (if any) before you became defacto - the key is to show the quality of the relationship and how it developed, with as much evidence as possible. If you only met 4 months ago and instantly became defacto, then that will be more difficult to get through - perhaps not impossible, but it increases the emphasis you'll have to place on evidence and witness statements.
> 
> Difficult to assess relationship evidence and statements without actually seeing them and knowing more facts about your relationship, how it developed, any special circumstances, and the strength of the evidence you plan to lodge - would be happy to go over all that with you at a consultation if you'd like - that would allow a detailed examination of your case and the evidence you plan to lodge. Details are available at our website - link below.
> 
> Please advise if i can assist going forward -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alexlulu12 -

Yes, that will help - much will depend on the relationship evidence though, to show that although short by traditional standards, the relationship is nonetheless genuine and ongoing as defacto partners.

Best,

Mark



alexlulu12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for getting back to me. I think what we might do is wait until one week before my partner's visa expires to lodge our application. That way we will have been defacto for 6 months and dating for around 9 months. Do you think that would make it any stronger?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## sajjad1

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sajjad1 -
> 
> My guess is that there is some sort of external security check going on, or they're simply backlogged with applications. Unfortunately there's not much that can be done other than waiting, as there are no legal time limits on how DIBP can take to process a visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


sir what do they mean by FINALISATION TEAM? IT means it is at final stage?


----------



## MarkNortham

Probably means they are taking the final steps to make a decision, but could be days or weeks - hard to predict.

Best,

Mark



sajjad1 said:


> sir what do they mean by FINALISATION TEAM? IT means it is at final stage?


----------



## sajjad1

MarkNortham said:


> Probably means they are taking the final steps to make a decision, but could be days or weeks - hard to predict.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


one week and 4 days are passed they are taking weeks!!


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> I have to ask.... why not lodge online? It's faster, no certifying documents to deal with, and no forms change hassles, and you avoid any extra charges or delays introduced by the third party "front counter services" where DIBP outsources the front counter receipting to some other company.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


good morning mark we lodge pmv and we have two weeks vacation by next week so we decided to lodgr by ourself thnks for replying all my message really appreciated


----------



## jhosie

jhosie said:


> good morning mark we lodge pmv and we have two weeks vacation by next week so we decided to lodgr by ourself thnks for replying all my message really appreciated


one more thing mark how my fiance pay the pmv visa in australia anf bring the receipt in the phil and we attach in our documents


----------



## Rodeobear

*visa*

Hey Mark, I hope you can give me a few answers and help me out a little. My girlfriend is from the Ukraine and she would like to travel here for a couple months. I'm wondering what my best options are? Last time she applied she was declined so I'm wondering ways to improve her chances. Can I be a sponser? What are the costs involved? Last application they said she didn't have enough proof she would leave even though she has a daughter, house etc to return to. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Carl


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Suggest you check out Form 1440 and lodge well in advance, to give time for them to process the form and send you back the payment receipt.

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> one more thing mark how my fiance pay the pmv visa in australia anf bring the receipt in the phil and we attach in our documents


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carl -

Thanks for the note. To maximise the chances of success, it may be helpful to write a submission to go with the next visitor visa application that shows how she meets the elements of the Genuine Temporary Entrant (aka Genuine Visitor) policy criteria - this essentially focuses on all the ties she has to her home country vs ties to Australia. Unfortunately as your girlfriend is not a family member (yet) per DIBP definitions, the sponsored family visitor stream would not be available to you, however a detailed submission of the GTE criteria supported by as much evidence as possible may improve her chances of success at another visitor visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> Hey Mark, I hope you can give me a few answers and help me out a little. My girlfriend is from the Ukraine and she would like to travel here for a couple months. I'm wondering what my best options are? Last time she applied she was declined so I'm wondering ways to improve her chances. Can I be a sponser? What are the costs involved? Last application they said she didn't have enough proof she would leave even though she has a daughter, house etc to return to. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Carl


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Suggest you check out Form 1440 and lodge well in advance, to give time for them to process the form and send you back the payment receipt.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


ok mark what the maximum time to back the receipt to.my fiance we lodging the pmv.on.the 24 this month


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

No way to tell - DIBP doesn't promise any sort of particular service standard or completion time on these. I would send the form off as soon as you can - the last one of these I did took about a week if I recall, but things may have changed.

Best,

Mark



jhosie said:


> ok mark what the maximum time to back the receipt to.my fiance we lodging the pmv.on.the 24 this month


----------



## Rodeobear

Oh thankyou for the speedy reply, also what will she need for a 6 month visitor visa? As she'll be staying with me the entire time, I'll be supporting her and so on the entire time. Is that something that will help her chances with the application ?


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> No way to tell - DIBP doesn't promise any sort of particular service standard or completion time on these. I would send the form off as soon as you can - the last one of these I did took about a week if I recall, but things may have changed.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


ok my fiance do it on online.process by the way is.charge of pmv as same before


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodeobear -

Re: documents needed for the application, see immi.gov.au website for this - typically birth cert, passport. However the key documents are those that show how she meets the Genuine Visitor policy criteria - if you're doing the application yourself, you should look up the policy and then consider what documents could best evidence how she meets the various different parts of the policy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> Oh thankyou for the speedy reply, also what will she need for a 6 month visitor visa? As she'll be staying with me the entire time, I'll be supporting her and so on the entire time. Is that something that will help her chances with the application ?


----------



## MoonRising

*Will my 573 visa be cancelled shortly?*

Hi Mark,

I need some information regarding my situation. I have a 573 student visa still in effect, expiring in 2016. But I tried to change to 572 to do a vocational course. The 572 was now refused. I have been given 21 days to appeal. I have decided to not appeal but stay on my 573 visa and return to my home country in feb/march. My question is, as I'm currently not enrolled in a higher degree course, how likely is that Immigration will soon send me a 'notification of cancellation'. And if they do cancel the 573, what kind of restrictions will be there for me? I hear about 3 year ban, is that going to be imposed on me? I have some family members coming in jan for a visit, so this is the reason I would like to stay until feb and return home with them.

I would like to return to Australia in the future as I have emotional ties to someone here and perhaps would like to apply for a partner visa in the future, so I'm concerned with the 3 year ban.

I want to add that I'm from a low risk country however have been in Australia for a longtime on several different visas... so this may obviously have an affect on my visa situation.

thanks so much for any advice you can give me! Much appreciated!

MR


----------



## Rodeobear

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rodeobear -
> 
> Re: documents needed for the application, see immi.gov.au website for this - typically birth cert, passport. However the key documents are those that show how she meets the Genuine Visitor policy criteria - if you're doing the application yourself, you should look up the policy and then consider what documents could best evidence how she meets the various different parts of the policy.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thankyou, hopefully all goes well. Another quick question. Would it be wise to wait until the Australian embassy opens up in Ukraine before application? Or is that still years away? Or does it make no difference? And sorry if that's a silly question haha but thankyou again


----------



## lauralou

Hi Mark,

I just have a couple of questions.. I don't know if this is exactly the right thread for such "minor" issues, but hoping you could help. 

1. At the time of lodging our 820/801 onshore application in September, I had only been in Australia for 10.5 months, so I didn't apply for a AFP certificate. Do I now need to apply for a AFP certificate, now that I have been here for 12+ months?
2. Also to do with post-lodgement... Do my partner & I need to continue to attach evidence to our online application, for things that are dated after application lodgement date? i.e monthly bank statements for joint account etc.. 
All our evidence on our application is dated prior to lodgement date (except partner statements which we completed within a week of lodging), but I just started (possibly over)thinking this and I'm worried we've been slack in continuing to attach evidence!

Thanks for all your help & advice.


----------



## SqOats

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the prompt reply. Another question regarding SVP. I just dont understand how one can apply under SVP visa. 

Do we have to mention it to the university before the issuance of eCOE, I mean is eCOE for SVP is different than regular, or i am automatically eligible for SVP if i am going for eligible program from eligible university...As per my knowledge there is only one visa application form for 573 ... no separate form form for 573 SVP... so it has nothing to do with DIAC but with the education provider...

i would appreciate if you can briefly explain the process of getting our visa 573 processed under SVP .... 

Thanking you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MR -

Difficult to predict when DIBP will proceed with the cancellation process, but if you're not studying now and do not have a valid CoE with DIBP to study in the near future, it's very likely your visa will be cancelled at some point, although how soon is difficult to say. If your 573 visa is cancelled, it will result in a 3 year exclusion period from Australia for all temporary visas - however you still could make an offshore application for a partner visa despite the exclusion period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MoonRising said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I need some information regarding my situation. I have a 573 student visa still in effect, expiring in 2016. But I tried to change to 572 to do a vocational course. The 572 was now refused. I have been given 21 days to appeal. I have decided to not appeal but stay on my 573 visa and return to my home country in feb/march. My question is, as I'm currently not enrolled in a higher degree course, how likely is that Immigration will soon send me a 'notification of cancellation'. And if they do cancel the 573, what kind of restrictions will be there for me? I hear about 3 year ban, is that going to be imposed on me? I have some family members coming in jan for a visit, so this is the reason I would like to stay until feb and return home with them.
> 
> I would like to return to Australia in the future as I have emotional ties to someone here and perhaps would like to apply for a partner visa in the future, so I'm concerned with the 3 year ban.
> 
> I want to add that I'm from a low risk country however have been in Australia for a longtime on several different visas... so this may obviously have an affect on my visa situation.
> 
> thanks so much for any advice you can give me! Much appreciated!
> 
> MR


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodeobear -

Probably not worth waiting for - they may still have certain visas processed in Moscow even if they expand operations in Ukraine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> Thankyou, hopefully all goes well. Another quick question. Would it be wise to wait until the Australian embassy opens up in Ukraine before application? Or is that still years away? Or does it make no difference? And sorry if that's a silly question haha but thankyou again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lauralou -

Thanks for the note. Character is a time of decision consideration, so I would suggest being proactive and sending an AFP along for yourself just in case. Re: attaching further relationship evidence after lodgement, no problem at all with this and would suggest doing so especially if you feel that the previous evidence could be strengthened by the new evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lauralou said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just have a couple of questions.. I don't know if this is exactly the right thread for such "minor" issues, but hoping you could help.
> 
> 1. At the time of lodging our 820/801 onshore application in September, I had only been in Australia for 10.5 months, so I didn't apply for a AFP certificate. Do I now need to apply for a AFP certificate, now that I have been here for 12+ months?
> 2. Also to do with post-lodgement... Do my partner & I need to continue to attach evidence to our online application, for things that are dated after application lodgement date? i.e monthly bank statements for joint account etc..
> All our evidence on our application is dated prior to lodgement date (except partner statements which we completed within a week of lodging), but I just started (possibly over)thinking this and I'm worried we've been slack in continuing to attach evidence!
> 
> Thanks for all your help & advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

Good questions! DIBP has a published list of schools that are part of the Streamlined Visa Program (SVP) for student visas - if the CoE comes from an approved course program at an approved school, then the application is automatically processed as SVP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SqOats said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the prompt reply. Another question regarding SVP. I just dont understand how one can apply under SVP visa.
> 
> Do we have to mention it to the university before the issuance of eCOE, I mean is eCOE for SVP is different than regular, or i am automatically eligible for SVP if i am going for eligible program from eligible university...As per my knowledge there is only one visa application form for 573 ... no separate form form for 573 SVP... so it has nothing to do with DIAC but with the education provider...
> 
> i would appreciate if you can briefly explain the process of getting our visa 573 processed under SVP ....
> 
> Thanking you in advance.


----------



## albertever

Hello Guys, 

I am working as an MIS & Reporting Analyst and looking to apply for Australian PR. When i look at the SOL list i am unable to identify when my experience fall in those list. Could anyone please help me on this.

My Current Job Description
• Deliver improved transparency in core Performance indictors across Payment Services 
• Facilitate the identification of issues in core Performance indicators across Payment Services 
• Build efficiency into the data collation & reporting process – capturing only what is required within given timelines, one time and automating where possible 
• Use the data to leverage best practice and drive cost efficiencies across Payment Services 
• Provide a concise synopsis of key performance indicators for Payment Services that does not require extensive analysis but can be supported by the underlying detail if required 
• Enable enhanced decision making based on accurate, standardised, reliable data
• Understand Management Information requirements to be able to produce, analyze and interpret MI 
• Interrogate core Payment Services processing platforms on a daily, weekly, monthly basis to extract core Payment Services data 
• Consolidate core Payment Services data into a single reporting template 
• Perform appropriate sanity checks on data to ensure data integrity, accuracy & completeness 
• Ensure 100% alignment to Billable Services data 
• Develop staff to achieve business objectives and individual potential, sharing knowledge, experience and providing assistance on referred issues 
• To handle escalations and liaise with the stakeholders as necessary 
• Perform other projects or special assignments as required. 
• Conduct analysis & interpretation of data & provide sophisticated commentary on data trends 
• Identify & address data gaps 
• Maintain the Payment Services data inventory & proactively pursue all opportunities to close data gaps 
• Develop material to define process flows/ procedures, facilitate understanding of key data points 
• Coordinate & respond to queries relating to the standardised Payment Services data
• Have a passion for customer service considering it is a process catering to senior management. 
• Coordinate & obtain necessary approvals to Data owners prior to publishing 
• Establish and maintain effective relationship with customers, business partners and identify areas of service improvements 
• Report & publish data per designed format/ reporting tool requirements 
• Adhere to a standard reporting cycle Ensure that processes and procedures are continually reviewed and improved and changes are communicated and implemented effectively 
• Acquire and update knowledge on procedures related to relevant processes.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Albertever -

Best thing to do would be to go to the ACS website (skills assessor) and click to go to the Migration Skills Assessment page - then click to download the ANZSCO Descriptions document (see middle section of screen) - these are much more detailed descriptions of ACS's view of the various ICT occupation codes and specifics of each one.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



albertever said:


> Hello Guys,
> 
> I am working as an MIS & Reporting Analyst and looking to apply for Australian PR. When i look at the SOL list i am unable to identify when my experience fall in those list. Could anyone please help me on this.
> 
> My Current Job Description
> • Deliver improved transparency in core Performance indictors across Payment Services
> • Facilitate the identification of issues in core Performance indicators across Payment Services
> • Build efficiency into the data collation & reporting process - capturing only what is required within given timelines, one time and automating where possible
> • Use the data to leverage best practice and drive cost efficiencies across Payment Services
> • Provide a concise synopsis of key performance indicators for Payment Services that does not require extensive analysis but can be supported by the underlying detail if required
> • Enable enhanced decision making based on accurate, standardised, reliable data
> • Understand Management Information requirements to be able to produce, analyze and interpret MI
> • Interrogate core Payment Services processing platforms on a daily, weekly, monthly basis to extract core Payment Services data
> • Consolidate core Payment Services data into a single reporting template
> • Perform appropriate sanity checks on data to ensure data integrity, accuracy & completeness
> • Ensure 100% alignment to Billable Services data
> • Develop staff to achieve business objectives and individual potential, sharing knowledge, experience and providing assistance on referred issues
> • To handle escalations and liaise with the stakeholders as necessary
> • Perform other projects or special assignments as required.
> • Conduct analysis & interpretation of data & provide sophisticated commentary on data trends
> • Identify & address data gaps
> • Maintain the Payment Services data inventory & proactively pursue all opportunities to close data gaps
> • Develop material to define process flows/ procedures, facilitate understanding of key data points
> • Coordinate & respond to queries relating to the standardised Payment Services data
> • Have a passion for customer service considering it is a process catering to senior management.
> • Coordinate & obtain necessary approvals to Data owners prior to publishing
> • Establish and maintain effective relationship with customers, business partners and identify areas of service improvements
> • Report & publish data per designed format/ reporting tool requirements
> • Adhere to a standard reporting cycle Ensure that processes and procedures are continually reviewed and improved and changes are communicated and implemented effectively
> • Acquire and update knowledge on procedures related to relevant processes.


----------



## albertever

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Albertever -
> 
> Best thing to do would be to go to the ACS website (skills assessor) and click to go to the Migration Skills Assessment page - then click to download the ANZSCO Descriptions document (see middle section of screen) - these are much more detailed descriptions of ACS's view of the various ICT occupation codes and specifics of each one.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for your prompt response. 
Have a great day ahead


----------



## Rodeobear

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rodeobear -
> 
> Probably not worth waiting for - they may still have certain visas processed in Moscow even if they expand operations in Ukraine.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Cheers Mark, also is a subclass 600 the only option we have? As I said before she was declined once before so we have had to visit other countries together to see each other, would a prospective marriage visa be a better option?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodeobear -

All depends on the relationship evidence and history as to whether you can meet the requirements for a PMV (fiance) visa - they're looking for a substantial relationship and significant plans in place withe a celebrant, etc to be married among other things - and the PMV typically takes 9 months to be granted (or more).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> Cheers Mark, also is a subclass 600 the only option we have? As I said before she was declined once before so we have had to visit other countries together to see each other, would a prospective marriage visa be a better option?


----------



## Rodeobear

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rodeobear -
> 
> All depends on the relationship evidence and history as to whether you can meet the requirements for a PMV (fiance) visa - they're looking for a substantial relationship and significant plans in place withe a celebrant, etc to be married among other things - and the PMV typically takes 9 months to be granted (or more).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Oh i see, cheers for the info. I was just looking at other options because i do not want her to be declined again, but seems a visitor visa is the best option to try.


----------



## Ginger-cat

Hi Mark,

My parents are going to apply for long-stay visitor visa subclass 600 ( valid for 3yrs with multiple entries). They travelled to Australia once this year and I'm a PR visa holder now.So hopefully they will be granted the 3yrs visitor visa.

On the other hand, they are planning to apply for parent visa subclass 143 in Mar 2015 when I meet the requirement "lawfully resident in Australia for about 2yrs".

What I'm concerned is the No further stay condition that will be imposed on their visitor visa.

1.Can my parents travel to and depart Australia in Feb 2015. Then go back country home and lodge application for parent visa 143 offshore in Mar 2015.And come back Australia after that?
2.Or they can not lodge the parent visa application while the visitor visa 's still valid?
3.Or they can lodge but must be outside Australia until a decision is made?I mean they can not use the 3yrs visitor visa to enter Australia while waiting for the parent visa being processed.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## Marc

Hi Mark, a follow up to my earlier question regarding the 457 Visa:

I'm primarily a Greenkeeper in Cricket and would like to stay in this Sport when in Australia, however with the Cricket season already about to begin it is the hardest time to find a job. 
So to my question, are there any implications if I was to get a job on a Golf Course (for example) first and then eventually find a Cricket position further down the line?

I'm wary that it maybe difficult to switch between jobs should I find something better as my current idea is to just get any Greenkeeper type job until a Cricket job becomes available...unless I get it first!!

Many Thanks,
Marc


----------



## pressmint

*ACS mm/yyyy vs EOI dd/mm/yyyy*

Hi Mark,

I hope you can answer a couple of questions for me 

I have a positive ACS skills assessment, which states my skill level met date is "after November 2006". I have a number of employments after this date, also one where I was employed at the time.

1) Do I enter dates on the EOI from 1st November 2006, or 1st December 2006? I'm not sure how to interpret the words "after November 2006".

2) For the other employments, ACS only list the MM/YYYY on the assessment, yet I can prove the exact date (DD/MM/YYYY) for them. What do I enter in the EOI?

Hope you can help!

Pressmint.


----------



## Rodeobear

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rodeobear -
> 
> All depends on the relationship evidence and history as to whether you can meet the requirements for a PMV (fiance) visa - they're looking for a substantial relationship and significant plans in place withe a celebrant, etc to be married among other things - and the PMV typically takes 9 months to be granted (or more).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hey Mark, sorry to be such a bother with questions. But with a Visitor visa(600) seeing as i can't sponsor, am I able to write a letter of invitation for my girlfriend? And what are a few points I should include?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ginger-cat -

The no further stay on the visitor visa means that they cannot lodge the 143 application while they are *in Australia* holding that (600) visa. They are free to lodge the application at any time they're outside Australia, even if they're still holding the visa and are between trips to Australia. Once they lodge the 143, it would not change their visitor visa conditions and they could return to Australia on the visitor visa (assuming it has not expired, etc) after lodging the 143 while outside Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ginger-cat said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My parents are going to apply for long-stay visitor visa subclass 600 ( valid for 3yrs with multiple entries). They travelled to Australia once this year and I'm a PR visa holder now.So hopefully they will be granted the 3yrs visitor visa.
> 
> On the other hand, they are planning to apply for parent visa subclass 143 in Mar 2015 when I meet the requirement "lawfully resident in Australia for about 2yrs".
> 
> What I'm concerned is the No further stay condition that will be imposed on their visitor visa.
> 
> 1.Can my parents travel to and depart Australia in Feb 2015. Then go back country home and lodge application for parent visa 143 offshore in Mar 2015.And come back Australia after that?
> 2.Or they can not lodge the parent visa application while the visitor visa 's still valid?
> 3.Or they can lodge but must be outside Australia until a decision is made?I mean they can not use the 3yrs visitor visa to enter Australia while waiting for the parent visa being processed.
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marc -

Thanks for the question - for the 457, if you are granted the visa in a particular occupation (would be an ANZSCO occupation code eligible for a 457), if you change employers and still are working in the same occupation code - that is, the tasks & duties of the new job still fit within the ANZSCO definition for the occupation you have your 457 under, then once the new employer has an approved nomination, it will "pick up" your 457 visa and you can then work for the new employer without having to lodge a new visa application. If the new job is a different ANZSCO code, then you'd have to lodge a new visa application for that employer instead, and the new 457 would replace your existing 457 upon grant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Marc said:


> Hi Mark, a follow up to my earlier question regarding the 457 Visa:
> 
> I'm primarily a Greenkeeper in Cricket and would like to stay in this Sport when in Australia, however with the Cricket season already about to begin it is the hardest time to find a job.
> So to my question, are there any implications if I was to get a job on a Golf Course (for example) first and then eventually find a Cricket position further down the line?
> 
> I'm wary that it maybe difficult to switch between jobs should I find something better as my current idea is to just get any Greenkeeper type job until a Cricket job becomes available...unless I get it first!!
> 
> Many Thanks,
> Marc


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pressmint -

Safest bet is the 1st of the month after the month named in the ACS letter, so in your case, 1 Dec 2006. Technically I believe the date begins after x years of employment has elapsed that ACS "takes" to deem you skilled, but as long as it doesn't affect your points, might as well do the 1st of the next month as above.

Re: EOI and employment dates, always best to put in the exact dates if you have them, as long as the month lines up with what's on the ACS letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pressmint said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you can answer a couple of questions for me
> 
> I have a positive ACS skills assessment, which states my skill level met date is "after November 2006". I have a number of employments after this date, also one where I was employed at the time.
> 
> 1) Do I enter dates on the EOI from 1st November 2006, or 1st December 2006? I'm not sure how to interpret the words "after November 2006".
> 
> 2) For the other employments, ACS only list the MM/YYYY on the assessment, yet I can prove the exact date (DD/MM/YYYY) for them. What do I enter in the EOI?
> 
> Hope you can help!
> 
> Pressmint.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodeobear -

No problem - yes, it's a very good idea to write an invitation letter for your girlfriend - you could include where she'll be staying and that you are providing accommodation (and any other support as applicable), if you are paying for any trip costs you could mention that, and you should include an itinerary, perhaps on a second page, that lists any activities you two plan while she's in Australia, ie, trips to tourist spots, etc along with any planned dates if you have those details. You should include a copy of your passport biodata page or driver licence with your letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> Hey Mark, sorry to be such a bother with questions. But with a Visitor visa(600) seeing as i can't sponsor, am I able to write a letter of invitation for my girlfriend? And what are a few points I should include?


----------



## SophieKR

Hi Mark,

I am at a loss what to do, hope you can help me figure out! 

I've applied for an *Offshore Partner visa* 3 months ago. I have been told by my Case Officer that the current* processing time* for Partner visas is *at least 12 months*.

I am *currently travelling in Australia*, on a *Working Holiday *visa. I was not planning on staying more than a few months as I have to be offshore when the visa is issued, but I am now tempted to *stay longer* as I have been *offered a good job* in Melbourne.

Do you think I could stay in Australia until I receive notification from my Case Officer that my visa is about to be issued, fly outside of the country, be granted the visa and fly back? Or* is that risky*?

Have you ever heard of Partner visas being refused because the applicants were in Australia while they should have been offshore?

Thank you in advance,
Sophie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sophie -

Thanks for the note. No problem with remaining in Australia (as long as you have a valid visa!) while your partner visa is processing - just keep in touch with the case officer and make sure they have your current contact information including address, email and phone - normally DIBP will contact you if they are ready to grant the visa and you are in Australia and advise that they are ready to do so and give you a period of time to make a trip outside Australia (normally can be for only a few days if you want) in order to be granted the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SophieKR said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am at a loss what to do, hope you can help me figure out!
> 
> I've applied for an *Offshore Partner visa* 3 months ago. I have been told by my Case Officer that the current* processing time* for Partner visas is *at least 12 months*.
> 
> I am *currently travelling in Australia*, on a *Working Holiday *visa. I was not planning on staying more than a few months as I have to be offshore when the visa is issued, but I am now tempted to *stay longer* as I have been *offered a good job* in Melbourne.
> 
> Do you think I could stay in Australia until I receive notification from my Case Officer that my visa is about to be issued, fly outside of the country, be granted the visa and fly back? Or* is that risky*?
> 
> Have you ever heard of Partner visas being refused because the applicants were in Australia while they should have been offshore?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Sophie


----------



## SophieKR

Thank you so much for this advice Mark!


----------



## sajjad1

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sajjad1 -
> 
> My guess is that there is some sort of external security check going on, or they're simply backlogged with applications. Unfortunately there's not much that can be done other than waiting, as there are no legal time limits on how DIBP can take to process a visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Mark What Do You mean by external Security Checking??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sajjad1 -

These are checks made via ASIO and other government security agencies on an applicant to determine if there are any "security" issues or concerns prior to granting a visa. DIBP doesn't discuss the details of these, and once an application is out for security checking the case officers are frequently unable to do anything but wait for the report to come back, then continue processing the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sajjad1 said:


> Mark What Do You mean by external Security Checking??


----------



## sajjad1

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sajjad1 -
> 
> These are checks made via ASIO and other government security agencies on an applicant to determine if there are any "security" issues or concerns prior to granting a visa. DIBP doesn't discuss the details of these, and once an application is out for security checking the case officers are frequently unable to do anything but wait for the report to come back, then continue processing the application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


1). Does It means if i had no security issues then my visa will be granted soon??

2). i emailed DIBP they told me that our processing time is 12-16 weeks.
now more then 18 weeks are passed.
can i inquire about my visa status via telephone? If yes kindly provide me the number


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sajjad1 -

No way to tell re: processing time - DIBP can take as long as they want, and there's no way of confirming that security checks are ongoing - DIBP does not release that information, and essentially expects you to wait until they're ready to grant the visa. Check "Contact" tab on immi.gov.au website for contact info for DIBP.

Best,

Mark



sajjad1 said:


> 1). Does It means if i had no security issues then my visa will be granted soon??
> 
> 2). i emailed DIBP they told me that our processing time is 12-16 weeks.
> now more then 18 weeks are passed.
> can i inquire about my visa status via telephone? If yes kindly provide me the number


----------



## SqOats

Hi Mark,

Thanks, you have been of great help. I have another question if you can help ... I have just received my eCoE.. but there is a small issue ... in the eCoE the address of DIBP mentioned is of *Riyadh, Saudi Arabia*...but the process here is to apply the student visa via *VFS office* which sends the case to *Australian Consulate in Dubai, UAE*...i haven't applied for the visa yet and the education provider has asked me to check the eCoE and get back to them if need any corrections...

Do you think it matters ?... as per my understanding the *Department of Education* directly sends a eCoE copy to DIBP mentioned on the eCoE.... but as I will include my eCoE with the visa application ... There shouldnt be any issue for DIBP in UAE to verify the eCoE through the reference no...

What do you suggest? ...* should i ask for the revised eCoE or go with the same one* ... i dont want to waste another week to obtain the revised eCoE because my classes are starting in Feb 2015 and i am considering atleast 3 months processing time regardless of the fact that it will be processed under SVP..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

I would proceed with the eCoE that you have now, as with that number, it should be electronically available to any DIBP office.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SqOats said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks, you have been of great help. I have another question if you can help ... I have just received my eCoE.. but there is a small issue ... in the eCoE the address of DIBP mentioned is of *Riyadh, Saudi Arabia*...but the process here is to apply the student visa via *VFS office* which sends the case to *Australian Consulate in Dubai, UAE*...i haven't applied for the visa yet and the education provider has asked me to check the eCoE and get back to them if need any corrections...
> 
> Do you think it matters ?... as per my understanding the *Department of Education* directly sends a eCoE copy to DIBP mentioned on the eCoE.... but as I will include my eCoE with the visa application ... There shouldnt be any issue for DIBP in UAE to verify the eCoE through the reference no...
> 
> What do you suggest? ...* should i ask for the revised eCoE or go with the same one* ... i dont want to waste another week to obtain the revised eCoE because my classes are starting in Feb 2015 and i am considering atleast 3 months processing time regardless of the fact that it will be processed under SVP..


----------



## SqOats

Thanks Mark...

Sorry to bother you again ... but I've found some stupid mistakes in the eCOE...actually i received two eCOE ... one for graduate certificate and other for masters but on the condition to successfully complete grad certificate with 65% plus....

In one eCOE, they have mentioned english test to be IELTS (which is correct) but on the other one they have mentioned "Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic" :S... Also, the deposit i have paid for one semester is counted towards masters program and zero "Initial Pre-Paid Tuition Fee" is mentioned in grad certificate eCOE... on the top of everything ... total tuition fee for grad certificate mentioned is half of the original .... and last but not least ... duration of masters is considered two years after the completion of grad certificate...which would be actually 1.5 years as 1 semester will be exempted upon successful completion of grad certificate ...

So, even now do you think I should proceed with the same eCOE? ... seriously I dont know why am I even asking that ...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

Thanks for the note - too many details and issues to try and work out in a forum Q&A without any visibility to your documents and case information - happy to assist you in a consulting session if you'd like to discuss the details of your case, the eCoE, etc where I can look at the documents and I can gather more detailed information - see my website below in my signature area if you'd like to proceed with this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SqOats said:


> Thanks Mark...
> 
> Sorry to bother you again ... but I've found some stupid mistakes in the eCOE...actually i received two eCOE ... one for graduate certificate and other for masters but on the condition to successfully complete grad certificate with 65% plus....
> 
> In one eCOE, they have mentioned english test to be IELTS (which is correct) but on the other one they have mentioned "Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic" :S... Also, the deposit i have paid for one semester is counted towards masters program and zero "Initial Pre-Paid Tuition Fee" is mentioned in grad certificate eCOE... on the top of everything ... total tuition fee for grad certificate mentioned is half of the original .... and last but not least ... duration of masters is considered two years after the completion of grad certificate...which would be actually 1.5 years as 1 semester will be exempted upon successful completion of grad certificate ...
> 
> So, even now do you think I should proceed with the same eCOE? ... seriously I dont know why am I even asking that ...


----------



## SqOats

Hi Mark,

Sorry, I was being too specific and i know its not easy to assist without seeing the related documents. Definitely, will let you know if things dont get sorted out after discussing with my education provider. Once again thank you for your valuable feedback ... you have been such an asset to the forums ...


----------



## sherine

Hi Mark, 

My husband and myself have recently been granted ACT state sponsorship under 190 Permanent visa category. But now we would like to settle in Victoria or Sydney due to lack of job opportunities in ACT. However, as stated in our visa grant letter, Visa Conditions are "Nil". 

Kindly provide clarifications on following:

1. Can we land in any other state other than ACT (sponsoring state)
2. When applying for citizenship in the future, will it be a problem if we haven't completed the stipulated 2 year term in ACT? 

Highly appreciate your assistance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sherine -

All depends on the contract and/or agreement you have with ACT and their position re: releasing you from that agreement - it's not really a DIBP matter (ie, visa condition), but it is a matter between you and the ACT govt. No way to predict how they may respond, however evidence of a thorough job search that was unsuccessful may be helpful in dealing with ACT. Re: citizenship, again, no way to tell - if ACT makes a big deal about it, then it would be more likely to be an issue - if you can negotiate your way out of the agreement with ACT, then I can't imagine it would be an issue.

My view: on the one hand, ACT cannot "force" you to live there - it's a free country. On the other hand, if you're seen as willfully ignoring your commitment to settle in ACT, that may invite action by ACT depending on the agreement you have and ACT's position re: enforcing it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sherine said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My husband and myself have recently been granted ACT state sponsorship under 190 Permanent visa category. But now we would like to settle in Victoria or Sydney due to lack of job opportunities in ACT. However, as stated in our visa grant letter, Visa Conditions are "Nil".
> 
> Kindly provide clarifications on following:
> 
> 1. Can we land in any other state other than ACT (sponsoring state)
> 2. When applying for citizenship in the future, will it be a problem if we haven't completed the stipulated 2 year term in ACT?
> 
> Highly appreciate your assistance.


----------



## karkar

*Agreement stream?*

HI Mark,
I wanna know more about the Agreement stream of visa 186/187. As the website of DIBP has a very brief introduction.

"You might be able to get this visa under the Agreement stream if you are being sponsored by an employer through a labour agreement. Your employer can advise you if such an agreement is in place for your industry or occupation.
You must meet the age, skills and English language requirements stated in the agreement."

What do I need to prepare for the application? What do I need to deal with an employer?

Thanks a lot!

Kind Regards,
Karen


----------



## sherine

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sherine -
> 
> All depends on the contract and/or agreement you have with ACT and their position re: releasing you from that agreement - it's not really a DIBP matter (ie, visa condition), but it is a matter between you and the ACT govt. No way to predict how they may respond, however evidence of a thorough job search that was unsuccessful may be helpful in dealing with ACT. Re: citizenship, again, no way to tell - if ACT makes a big deal about it, then it would be more likely to be an issue - if you can negotiate your way out of the agreement with ACT, then I can't imagine it would be an issue.
> 
> My view: on the one hand, ACT cannot "force" you to live there - it's a free country. On the other hand, if you're seen as willfully ignoring your commitment to settle in ACT, that may invite action by ACT depending on the agreement you have and ACT's position re: enforcing it.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks so much for your descriptive reply Mark. It was really helpful for us to make a decision.


----------



## Marc

Hi Mark further help please, I've entered all my details on the SkillsSelect page and yet the only Visa that becomes acceptable by the end is the 457. But here is where I get confused, I thought the SkillSelect helps Employers find you by way of your details, but 457 states you have to be already Sponsored/Nominated. If that's the case then how can I send an EOI without any Sponsorship/Nomination?

So I tried 189 & 190 as well, but it states I need to get a Skills Assessment from the relating Authority (TRA in my case, Greenkeeper) but on the TRA website the Greenkeeper position is not stated anywhere so I can't get a Skills Assessment  ....and yet in the Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List (CSOL), the Greenkeeper job is quite clearly stated..... 

I'm wondering whether sending an EOI will work in my case, I have ticked all the right boxes (10+ years experience plus related Qualifications) so I'm a bit confused as to why it's not working for me.

Many thanks for your previous answers, I hope you can make light of this for me!


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sajjad1 -
> 
> No way to tell re: processing time - DIBP can take as long as they want, and there's no way of confirming that security checks are ongoing - DIBP does not release that information, and essentially expects you to wait until they're ready to grant the visa. Check "Contact" tab on immi.gov.au website for contact info for DIBP.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


hi mark im just asking if there any validity or duration of form 888 done by my fiance in oz they been jp last sept but we are planning to lodge the pmv this coming 24 of nov thnks for the reply mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Unless you are onshore and subject to section 48 (sounds like you are offshore so this would not apply) there is no stated time limit. If you are referring to Sept 2014, I don't think that would be an issue - if you are referring by "last Sept" to Sept 2013, then I would have a concern that the statements may not be accurate as they are so old.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> hi mark im just asking if there any validity or duration of form 888 done by my fiance in oz they been jp last sept but we are planning to lodge the pmv this coming 24 of nov thnks for the reply mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marc -

Thanks for the questions. I don't know of anyone who "found" a job via SkillSelect - while in theory employers can go on the site and search for employees, that's incredibly rare in my experience - for employer sponsored visas (457, 186, 187) candidates in my experience always locate and negotiate the job first directly with the employer, then the employer and employee lodge the visa application (and nomination, etc) on SkillSelect.

In the case of Greenkeeper, TRA is the skills assessor - you would need to look at the Migration Skills Assessment service here:
TRA Migration Skills Assessment if you are interested in a skilled PR visa (not needed for 457).

Re: skilled PR visa, only 190 would be available, but no state is sponsoring that occupation currently, so I'd suggest a job search for a 457 sponsoring employer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Marc said:


> Hi Mark further help please, I've entered all my details on the SkillsSelect page and yet the only Visa that becomes acceptable by the end is the 457. But here is where I get confused, I thought the SkillSelect helps Employers find you by way of your details, but 457 states you have to be already Sponsored/Nominated. If that's the case then how can I send an EOI without any Sponsorship/Nomination?
> 
> So I tried 189 & 190 as well, but it states I need to get a Skills Assessment from the relating Authority (TRA in my case, Greenkeeper) but on the TRA website the Greenkeeper position is not stated anywhere so I can't get a Skills Assessment  ....and yet in the Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List (CSOL), the Greenkeeper job is quite clearly stated.....
> 
> I'm wondering whether sending an EOI will work in my case, I have ticked all the right boxes (10+ years experience plus related Qualifications) so I'm a bit confused as to why it's not working for me.
> 
> Many thanks for your previous answers, I hope you can make light of this for me!


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Unless you are onshore and subject to section 48 (sounds like you are offshore so this would not apply) there is no stated time limit. If you are referring to Sept 2014, I don't think that would be an issue - if you are referring by "last Sept" to Sept 2013, then I would have a concern that the statements may not be accurate as they are so old.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thnks mark im referring just last september this yr i really appreciated for all my queries that uve been answer help a lot God Bless


----------



## phuhle1104

*Release letter of visa 489 and eligibility for visa 887*

Dear Mark,

There are some questions occurring with my visa 489. I got the letter of release from RDA ORANA who nominates me for visa 489. I plan to go to Adelaide to work and live there. Is it legally for me to move to Adelaide although I got the nomination from Orana? If I move to Adelaide, will it affect my eligibility for visa 887? Must a specified regional area mentioned in the living and working of visa 887 be a sponsoring regional area (in my case is Orana)? I am just afraid that when I apply visa 887, the case officer will see the difference between a specified regional area that I live and a regional that I get the nomination from?

Thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate what you have done for people like me.

Kind regards,
Phu Huu Le


----------



## MoonRising

Hi Mark,

thanks so much for your response! So far I haven't heard from DIBP, thankfully. Just wondering, if in case my 573 is not cancelled until feb and I go back home in feb and cancel the 573 visa myself. Will I be able to apply for a 6 or 12 month visitor visa offshore maybe in April or May 2015 and return? I mean, will DIBP refuse the visitor visa on the grounds of having refused my 572 and then me cancelling my 573 visa. I have a sister here, but my main purpose would be to visit my boyfriend.

I am from assessment level 1 country but because of my extensive stay in Australia, I'm quite worried I won't be able to get even a visitor visa.

thanks so much!

MR



MarkNortham said:


> Hi MR -
> 
> Difficult to predict when DIBP will proceed with the cancellation process, but if you're not studying now and do not have a valid CoE with DIBP to study in the near future, it's very likely your visa will be cancelled at some point, although how soon is difficult to say. If your 573 visa is cancelled, it will result in a 3 year exclusion period from Australia for all temporary visas - however you still could make an offshore application for a partner visa despite the exclusion period.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## mariabonita

Hi Mark,

I've been a silent reader on this forum for quite a while now and I have learned a lot. I admire your generosity in imparting your knowledge and advising people in need of your expertise. I hope you could also help me. 

My husband and I are on a BVA that we got for lodging a 485 application last July after he attained a Diploma in Community Work. As Community Work is not on the SOL and only on CSOL, he got a positive assessment from Vetasses for Community work and we selected Social Work on the SOL as we thought "closely related studies" are also eligible for this visa type. But yesterday, 3.5 months after lodging our 485 visa application, we got the bad news from immigration refusing our 485 visa application with the explanation that Vetasses clearly stated that we qualify for the Community Work and not Social Work as we indicated.

Now we have 20 days to submit an appeal to MRT about this case. We are basically looking for other avenues to remain legal here. My husband asked his company where he works casual but full-time hours if they can sponsor him and he is also looking for other companies that can sponsor us an RSMS. Although, the chances might be slim at the moment, I read online that we are also unable to apply for that onshore as we are not holding any substantive visa now, so we would have to be out of the country for a while until we get an RSMS (or other substantive visa) approved and we are not really keen on that as we just moved to a new apartment so we are tied here for a year. Also, my main concern about being away is I just got a full-time job last Sept and this unexpected change in circumstances is threatening me because I don't want to let my company down by leaving them this quickly. :'(

We are really confused now. We're leaning to going ahead with the MRT to buy us time for my hubs to be able to completely gain a year work experience so we can already apply for state sponsorship, because we heard the processing time for an appeal to the MRT takes a long time like around a year. He finished school last June but our 457 visa only expired on 31st Aug. He has been working in the same field since his school days but we came to know that work experience should be post-study to be counted. I hope it's counted from after he finished school and not when our 457 visa expired. 

Apologies for the very lengthy email, Mark. I look forward to receiving your advise. We are really down now. (

Kind regards,
Andy and Randall


----------



## sunnyd

Hi Mark,

I got a quick querry, i applied my 489 in june. Co allocated in aug 27 and req docs. I Sent the reply after few days. From then i haven't heard anything from co. I rang to immigarion, they said no docs need just need to wait, i sent one more email 10 days ago but no reply.
Its been more than two months file opened and docs submitted. As per immi site the timeframe for 489 is 3 months to clear.
What do u suggest me in this case, do i need wait or u want me to ring them again?


----------



## XINGSINGH

Hi Mark

Hiw much time does it take for acs to update sttus of payment in case of direct deposit.

I did swift transfer on 3rd November 2014 and my application is on 3rd stage with status as awaiting payment


----------



## ttang

Hi Mark,
First up, I must commend you on the effort and time you put into providing advice on this forum. It has been very helpful to me and so many people on here. So really, thank you!

Having said that I should have probably asked for some advice on here before going ahead and paying our agent to begin our visa process.
At the moment we're in the process of applying for a PMV for my Russian fiance who is 21 weeks pregnant with our baby. 
The agent has advised that we apply for the PMV and mention about the pregnancy in our statement letter. Also while that is being looked at, to apply for a tourist visa for her so that she can come over to Australia with the possibility to give birth here. The agent stated as there is no question on the online tourist visa application regarding pregnancy there is no requirement to disclose the pregnancy when applying for the tourist visa. Depending on how long she would be allowed to stay, there may be a possibility to extend her visa since she would not be able to fly even if there is a NFS condition. I wonder if there will be any implications regarding not disclosing that she is pregnant and will be intending to give birth over here. 
Also during the beginning of our relationship she was refused a tourist visa with the reason being a failure to adequately demonstrate a strong commitment to her home country. Under advice from another agent she was advised not to mention our relationship at that time. As such the agent has told us to use a date after the visa refusal as an official date of when we became an exclusive couple.
Could you please tell me if it will be ok to go ahead with our current plan. We seem to be getting different advice. (One agent recommended a Medical Treatment Visa for her to give birth here, but another said that it was not possible and she would have to get an xray anyways)

Hoping you could clear it up for me Mark. Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MoonRising -

Hard to say - it depends if DIBP actually cancels your visa, or simply lets it expire on its own - if the visa is cancelled, you may be facing an exclusion period for all temporary visas; if it expires on its own, that wouldn't be the case. Depends on the specifics of how DIBP does this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MoonRising said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> thanks so much for your response! So far I haven't heard from DIBP, thankfully. Just wondering, if in case my 573 is not cancelled until feb and I go back home in feb and cancel the 573 visa myself. Will I be able to apply for a 6 or 12 month visitor visa offshore maybe in April or May 2015 and return? I mean, will DIBP refuse the visitor visa on the grounds of having refused my 572 and then me cancelling my 573 visa. I have a sister here, but my main purpose would be to visit my boyfriend.
> 
> I am from assessment level 1 country but because of my extensive stay in Australia, I'm quite worried I won't be able to get even a visitor visa.
> 
> thanks so much!
> 
> MR


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phuhle -

Normally for 887, living in any of the designated areas (or a combination of them) qualifies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> There are some questions occurring with my visa 489. I got the letter of release from RDA ORANA who nominates me for visa 489. I plan to go to Adelaide to work and live there. Is it legally for me to move to Adelaide although I got the nomination from Orana? If I move to Adelaide, will it affect my eligibility for visa 887? Must a specified regional area mentioned in the living and working of visa 887 be a sponsoring regional area (in my case is Orana)? I am just afraid that when I apply visa 887, the case officer will see the difference between a specified regional area that I live and a regional that I get the nomination from?
> 
> Thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate what you have done for people like me.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Phu Huu Le


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andy and Randall -

Sorry to hear of your 485 refusal - the 485 is a very unforgiving visa application - the slightest issue means refusal.

MRT would certainly buy you some time, and if you're looking at finding an employer sponsored 457 or RSMS, that would likely be very important time. Problem is, the MRT may take nowhere near a year - MRT processing times are falling, and cases that are essentially unwinnable (ie, a time of application criteria that was not met at the time of application that cannot be cured later) are getting expedited and processed within a few months.

I think you're on the right track - seeking an employer sponsored visa - and don't forget that you might be a good candidate too for this. MRT is probably a good choice to buy some time, and I'd push hard on the sponsored job search. Also have a look at AustJobs - this is a job board that has sponsored jobs.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mariabonita said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've been a silent reader on this forum for quite a while now and I have learned a lot. I admire your generosity in imparting your knowledge and advising people in need of your expertise. I hope you could also help me.
> 
> My husband and I are on a BVA that we got for lodging a 485 application last July after he attained a Diploma in Community Work. As Community Work is not on the SOL and only on CSOL, he got a positive assessment from Vetasses for Community work and we selected Social Work on the SOL as we thought "closely related studies" are also eligible for this visa type. But yesterday, 3.5 months after lodging our 485 visa application, we got the bad news from immigration refusing our 485 visa application with the explanation that Vetasses clearly stated that we qualify for the Community Work and not Social Work as we indicated.
> 
> Now we have 20 days to submit an appeal to MRT about this case. We are basically looking for other avenues to remain legal here. My husband asked his company where he works casual but full-time hours if they can sponsor him and he is also looking for other companies that can sponsor us an RSMS. Although, the chances might be slim at the moment, I read online that we are also unable to apply for that onshore as we are not holding any substantive visa now, so we would have to be out of the country for a while until we get an RSMS (or other substantive visa) approved and we are not really keen on that as we just moved to a new apartment so we are tied here for a year. Also, my main concern about being away is I just got a full-time job last Sept and this unexpected change in circumstances is threatening me because I don't want to let my company down by leaving them this quickly. :'(
> 
> We are really confused now. We're leaning to going ahead with the MRT to buy us time for my hubs to be able to completely gain a year work experience so we can already apply for state sponsorship, because we heard the processing time for an appeal to the MRT takes a long time like around a year. He finished school last June but our 457 visa only expired on 31st Aug. He has been working in the same field since his school days but we came to know that work experience should be post-study to be counted. I hope it's counted from after he finished school and not when our 457 visa expired.
> 
> Apologies for the very lengthy email, Mark. I look forward to receiving your advise. We are really down now. (
> 
> Kind regards,
> Andy and Randall


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunnyd -

I'd wait - if they have all your docs and if they say there are no more, and as long as they have your current contact info, then waiting is really the best option. The timeframes posted on the website are rarely achieved from what I've seen... usually significantly longer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunnyd said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I got a quick querry, i applied my 489 in june. Co allocated in aug 27 and req docs. I Sent the reply after few days. From then i haven't heard anything from co. I rang to immigarion, they said no docs need just need to wait, i sent one more email 10 days ago but no reply.
> Its been more than two months file opened and docs submitted. As per immi site the timeframe for 489 is 3 months to clear.
> What do u suggest me in this case, do i need wait or u want me to ring them again?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xingsingh -

Not sure - I'd be in touch with them by phone daily to check.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



XINGSINGH said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hiw much time does it take for acs to update sttus of payment in case of direct deposit.
> 
> I did swift transfer on 3rd November 2014 and my application is on 3rd stage with status as awaiting payment


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ttang -

Thanks for the note - there are several different strategies you could use here. I don't have enough information on your case & application to give you specific advice - re: visitor visa, there are 2 additional issues that could affect your plans - a visitor visa longer than 3 months for a Russian citizen requires a chest x-ray, and it's common for visitor visa applicants in Russia to be interviewed either in person or via phone - the issue of the pregnancy could come up there as well.

Additionally, assuming she discloses her relationship with you on the visitor visa application (which if you are lodging a PMV as well you would likely need to do), would create stronger ties to Australia.

Re: mentioning relationship, it may be that your relationship at the time of the previous visitor visa application was just as friends, and since has blossomed into something more.

There's no clear-cut way forward that I see here - assuming you are not going to go for an offshore partner visa, then the PMV plus a visitor visa seems like a reasonable course of action.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ttang said:


> Hi Mark,
> First up, I must commend you on the effort and time you put into providing advice on this forum. It has been very helpful to me and so many people on here. So really, thank you!
> 
> Having said that I should have probably asked for some advice on here before going ahead and paying our agent to begin our visa process.
> At the moment we're in the process of applying for a PMV for my Russian fiance who is 21 weeks pregnant with our baby.
> The agent has advised that we apply for the PMV and mention about the pregnancy in our statement letter. Also while that is being looked at, to apply for a tourist visa for her so that she can come over to Australia with the possibility to give birth here. The agent stated as there is no question on the online tourist visa application regarding pregnancy there is no requirement to disclose the pregnancy when applying for the tourist visa. Depending on how long she would be allowed to stay, there may be a possibility to extend her visa since she would not be able to fly even if there is a NFS condition. I wonder if there will be any implications regarding not disclosing that she is pregnant and will be intending to give birth over here.
> Also during the beginning of our relationship she was refused a tourist visa with the reason being a failure to adequately demonstrate a strong commitment to her home country. Under advice from another agent she was advised not to mention our relationship at that time. As such the agent has told us to use a date after the visa refusal as an official date of when we became an exclusive couple.
> Could you please tell me if it will be ok to go ahead with our current plan. We seem to be getting different advice. (One agent recommended a Medical Treatment Visa for her to give birth here, but another said that it was not possible and she would have to get an xray anyways)
> 
> Hoping you could clear it up for me Mark. Thanks.


----------



## mariabonita

Hi Mark.

Thank you so much for your very helpful advice. We really appreciate it. 

Just wondering if there's still any way to lodge a 457 or RSMS onshore if my husband ever gets a sponsored job? Or do we really have to lodge the application offshore as we're on BVA now, then just return when we get the 457 or RSMS approval? 

Any idea how long 457 and RSMS application overseas usually take nowadays? And do you think we can still do something to win our appeal with MRT?

A million thanks,

Andy and Randall


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mariabonita -

Because you've had an onshore refusal, section 48 of the Migration Act prevents you from making a valid application for a visa other than a protection visa or a partner visa while onshore with the current BVA you have. The only way to avoid this would be to be successful at the MRT - if the MRT remits the case back to DIBP (rather than affirming DIBP's refusal), the refusal is essentially nullified and further processing of the application by DIBP continues.

As to any chances for success at the MRT, I would need to look at your case in detail to determine the facts and assess whether there are any arguments I see that could be effective - would be happy to do this at a consultation - we offer these by phone, Skype or at our office in Parramatta - see my link below in the email signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mariabonita said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> Thank you so much for your very helpful advice. We really appreciate it.
> 
> Just wondering if there's still any way to lodge a 457 or RSMS onshore if my husband ever gets a sponsored job? Or do we really have to lodge the application offshore as we're on BVA now, then just return when we get the 457 or RSMS approval?
> 
> Any idea how long 457 and RSMS application overseas usually take nowadays? And do you think we can still do something to win our appeal with MRT?
> 
> A million thanks,
> 
> Andy and Randall


----------



## ttang

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly Mark. You've given me some food for thought.

Tam


----------



## jhosie

MoonRising said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> thanks so much for your response! So far I haven't heard from DIBP, thankfully. Just wondering, if in case my 573 is not cancelled until feb and I go back home in feb and cancel the 573 visa myself. Will I be able to apply for a 6 or 12 month visitor visa offshore maybe in April or May 2015 and return? I mean, will DIBP refuse the visitor visa on the grounds of having refused my 572 and then me cancelling my 573 visa. I have a sister here, but my main purpose would be to visit my boyfriend.
> 
> I am from assessment level 1 country but because of my extensive stay in Australia, I'm quite worried I won't be able to get even a visitor visa.
> 
> thanks so much!
> 
> MR


hi.mark im here again asking regarding the tax assessement of my fiance n payslip is he submit it he had a letter from.boss stating he.current working and when he start also stated there annual salary does he have to certified all.that


----------



## zerocoder

Hi Mark,
During the past few months this forum has been my daily dose of knowledge for migration to Australia. I would like to ask for opinion from experienced forummers and Mark for kind advice.

During last five years I have 2 Year 4 months experience gained as a Project Assistant. And before I did my degree related to industry I work, I gained 1 year 11 months experience in the same occupation. My degree is not related to Project management.

Is my experience sufficient to apply as a Project Administrator (511112)?


----------



## nmitali

Hi Mark,

I have been reading your posts for quite sometime now, and am truly full of respect and admiration for you for helping people like us.

I am Mitali Patil and my husband is a PR of Australia. I visited Australia for a period of 6 months on a tourist visa and now back in India . Meanwhile I have already applied for a partner visa (309/100) from India (application date : 01st Feb 2014).Also my medicals were already done before my Visitor Visa was granted. It's been more than 9 months (more than 36 weeks ) and I have yet not been allocated a case officer or not heard any update from the embassy. Also as I call up the visa office, you hear a recorded electronic message mentioning the timelines.

Could you kindly put some light as to when do I expect some news from them and guide me some direction.

Thanks & Regards,
Mitali


----------



## MarkNortham

jhosie said:


> hi.mark im here again asking regarding the tax assessement of my fiance n payslip is he submit it he had a letter from.boss stating he.current working and when he start also stated there annual salary does he have to certified all.that


For paper application you should certify - for online a scan of the original is fine


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> For paper application you should certify - for online a scan of the original is fine


thnks mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dale09 -

It depends on the skills assessor - for instance, EA (Engineers Australia) does not assess work experience as part of its primary migration skills assessment, but many other assessors do. Key is for a skilled PR visa (489, 189, 190, etc) you need a full migration skills assessment, whatever that entails, from your skills assessor - and you do not need a "485 skills assessment" which for most assessors only looks at the qualification. Key question to ask your assessor (or determine via research): is this a FULL migration skills assessment, and not a "485 skills assessment"?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dale09 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> silent admirer for your kind efforts here to help members out.
> 
> My question is: for migration purposes, is the skills assessment same as qualification assessments? I had my MBA assessed by EA.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zerocoder -

Thanks for the question - but need more specifics - apply for what visa? or apply for a skills assessment? The requirements vary significantly. 511112 is the most abused ANZSCO code in the Australian immigration system, and as such it's one of only 2 codes where a full skills assessment is required even for a 457 visa. You'll have to check VETASSESS very carefully, but last time I checked, without a closely related degree, it may be very difficult to get a VETASSESS skills assessment in 511112.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zerocoder said:


> Hi Mark,
> During the past few months this forum has been my daily dose of knowledge for migration to Australia. I would like to ask for opinion from experienced forummers and Mark for kind advice.
> 
> During last five years I have 2 Year 4 months experience gained as a Project Assistant. And before I did my degree related to industry I work, I gained 1 year 11 months experience in the same occupation. My degree is not related to Project management.
> 
> Is my experience sufficient to apply as a Project Administrator (511112)?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nmitali -

Wish I could help, but there are no time limits at all on how long DIBP can take to process a visa application, and I've seen partner visas go as quickly as 6 months and as long as 2.5 years in extreme cases. Until DIBP imposes reasonable time limits, we're all left waiting and hoping for timely results from them. That being said, my experience is that 9-18 months is the typical timeframe for a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nmitali said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been reading your posts for quite sometime now, and am truly full of respect and admiration for you for helping people like us.
> 
> I am Mitali Patil and my husband is a PR of Australia. I visited Australia for a period of 6 months on a tourist visa and now back in India . Meanwhile I have already applied for a partner visa (309/100) from India (application date : 01st Feb 2014).Also my medicals were already done before my Visitor Visa was granted. It's been more than 9 months (more than 36 weeks ) and I have yet not been allocated a case officer or not heard any update from the embassy. Also as I call up the visa office, you hear a recorded electronic message mentioning the timelines.
> 
> Could you kindly put some light as to when do I expect some news from them and guide me some direction.
> 
> Thanks & Regards,
> Mitali


----------



## mfa

*Experience letter issue- JD sent by HR in official mail*

Hi Mark,

I am an aspirant for 189 visa . I have an issue with employment reference.

HR has given me only a standard experience letter with my designation and showing the employment duration .

When i sent mail to HR asking for an employment letter with Job duties, they replied on the same mail , that its against company policy but however ,HR sent Job description on company letterhead of my profession.

If i use above standard experience letter plus HR official email with my designation job description , will this be suffice OR not? Do i still need to declare statutory declaration or above is enough.

I need skill assessment from Engineers Australia .

thanking you,
Moeen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moeen -

Normally ref letter + job description on company letterhead is satisfactory for skills assessors - many companies do not put the actual tasks on letters now.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mfa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am an aspirant for 189 visa . I have an issue with employment reference.
> 
> HR has given me only a standard experience letter with my designation and showing the employment duration .
> 
> When i sent mail to HR asking for an employment letter with Job duties, they replied on the same mail , that its against company policy but however ,HR sent Job description on company letterhead of my profession.
> 
> If i use above standard experience letter plus HR official email with my designation job description , will this be suffice OR not? Do i still need to declare statutory declaration or above is enough.
> 
> I need skill assessment from Engineers Australia .
> 
> thanking you,
> Moeen


----------



## kimharvey

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark, Hoping you can help with some advice. I am currently trying to help a 14 year old Fjijian national with Australian PR. Due to family violence she ran away from home and was then sent back to Fiji as punishment. Her RRV has expired and her Father has told her he will not renew it. Just after some general advice as to where we can get her some help, or if she is able to renew it herself..Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kimharvey -

Thanks for the note - wish I could help, but any application to DIBP by a minor (person less than 18 years old) will require the support and authorisation of all parents and/or adults that legally have a say in where the child can live. If she is 14 and her father will not authorise the application for any sort of a visa, you may need to see what procedures may exist in Fiji for her to be declared an "emancipated minor" which essentially removes the control of the parents. Not sure if there is any provision under Fijian law to do this or not - it becomes a question for a Fiji family lawyer I would expect.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kimharvey said:


> Hello Mark, Hoping you can help with some advice. I am currently trying to help a 14 year old Fjijian national with Australian PR. Due to family violence she ran away from home and was then sent back to Fiji as punishment. Her RRV has expired and her Father has told her he will not renew it. Just after some general advice as to where we can get her some help, or if she is able to renew it herself..Thank you


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kimharvey -
> 
> Thanks for the note - wish I could help, but any application to DIBP by a minor (person less than 18 years old) will require the support and authorisation of all parents and/or adults that legally have a say in where the child can live. If she is 14 and her father will not authorise the application for any sort of a visa, you may need to see what procedures may exist in Fiji for her to be declared an "emancipated minor" which essentially removes the control of the parents. Not sure if there is any provision under Fijian law to do this or not - it becomes a question for a Fiji family lawyer I would expect.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark im here again is there any updated form of 47sp,40sp,form 80 for all i know the lastest form is 7/14


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Nothing released yet.

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> hi mark im here again is there any updated form of 47sp,40sp,form 80 for all i know the lastest form is 7/14


----------



## kimharvey

Thank you for your prompt reply.


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Nothing released yet.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


so we havee to update now.and then as we lodging this 24 of this month


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Not necessarily - once the Nov forms are out, you can see on the IMMI website as to what the "oldest" version of the form that is still accepted is - if that is 7/14 or older, then you can still use the 7/14 forms even though a newer form has been released. This applies on a form-by-form basis - you would need to check each form.

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> so we havee to update now.and then as we lodging this 24 of this month


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Not necessarily - once the Nov forms are out, you can see on the IMMI website as to what the "oldest" version of the form that is still accepted is - if that is 7/14 or older, then you can still use the 7/14 forms even though a newer form has been released. This applies on a form-by-form basis - you would need to check each form.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thnka mark


----------



## Austyn

Aloha markʻ

Hope al is well.

So, the sc 461 visa states that I lodge my application by post to the address given. However, I live in walking distance to the Department of immigration and citizenship office in Parramatta. Would it be possible for me to lodge my application at that office rather than sending it by post? Or am I required to send it by post?

Thanks again!

Austyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

I recommend Express Post so there's proof of receipt of delivery - last I checked these had to go to the NZ Family Relationship Centre, etc - far better to send to the specified address, as failure to do so can in some cases result in an invalid application! The Parramatta office will only drop it into an internal mail system bag (no receipt!) and you'll have to wait for the internal mail system to deliver it - far better to send yourself to the specified address via trackable post.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Aloha markʻ
> 
> Hope al is well.
> 
> So, the sc 461 visa states that I lodge my application by post to the address given. However, I live in walking distance to the Department of immigration and citizenship office in Parramatta. Would it be possible for me to lodge my application at that office rather than sending it by post? Or am I required to send it by post?
> 
> Thanks again!
> 
> Austyn


----------



## will.i.am

Hi Mark,

I'm going to OZ for a couple of weeks just to activate visa. As I signed form 815 before being visa granted I have to make a call HUS. Will there any consequences if I leave OZ before HUS respond me? 

P.S. Is it possible to meet with DIBP officers in Sydney to clarify some post visa questions?


----------



## rmsprs

Hi Mark,

I applied for student visa in 2012 just after finishing my graduation in bcom for UTS in sydney for post graduation in MPA. I was interviewed by the high commission and they concluded that I was not a genuine temporary entrant because I failed to justify the reason the reason of my proposed course and I had not done proper evaluation or research about other education providers and information i presented was limited. In the rejection letter they also mentioned that my answers were quite vague and my course would not be acceptable by the employers in my home country. they mentioned that they doubt the credibility of my application. 

After that I spent two years in my family business for which I can provide an experience letter for the tasks and duties I have done. I want to re-apply for student visa in the spring intake in 2015. I applied to charles sturt, La trobe, UTS, UWS and james cook. Out of these universities every one denied me an offer letter except UTS and James Cook, universities that refused me an offer letter mentioned in the email that they do not accept applications of the students who have been rejected in the past as per the rule of the high commission. I am willing to apply for UTS for the same course i had applied for previously and I need opinion on whether I should re-apply or not. My current agent is IDP and they are quite positive that this time with proper preparation of SOP and interview I will be issued a visa. However I also met few other consultants who said I would not get the visa because I have been rejected previously. I am really confused and need an opinion and insight about this problem. Any help or opinion would be really really appreciated as it is a huge decision for me to make.

Finished B com in 2012 with first class
2012 Ielts - 7.5 bands
2014 Ielts - 8 bands

Thanks in advance


----------



## supreet.ahuja

Hi Mark
Really appreciate you for the time you devote to this forum and helping aspirants.
My query is that before invitation (for subclass 190) from state, nominating state access total points in each and every manner from all departments(like Vetassess and IELTS)and can't be reduced at final stage by case officer.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Will -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on your visa grant! Re: 815 (health undertaking), you need to call the HUS service both upon your arrival in Australia, and to advise them that you are leaving - you'll need to tell them how long you'll be gone, etc. Suggest you provide updated contact information for them as necessary so they can keep in touch with you re: any requests.

Re: meeting with visa officers, DIBP has drastically curtailed counter service to the public - suggest you call 131 881 when in Australia (and be prepared for a 1 hour+ hold time as they seem to be pushing all enquiries to their phone service.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



will.i.am said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm going to OZ for a couple of weeks just to activate visa. As I signed form 815 before being visa granted I have to make a call HUS. Will there any consequences if I leave OZ before HUS respond me?
> 
> P.S. Is it possible to meet with DIBP officers in Sydney to clarify some post visa questions?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rmsprs -

Thanks for the note - some observations:

** It's not possible for me to give you any sort of opinion on your chances of being approved based on the limited info in your post - would need to study your DIBP refusal letter and circumstances in detail in order to form an opinion about this - could do so at a consultation (see website link below for more on this).

** Generally speaking, if you can address all of the reasons for refusal with evidence, that would increases the chances of success.

** The schools that you mentioned are, I believe, SVP programme schools who end up getting penalised if they approve a person who is then refused a visa by DIBP for genuine student reasons - this is probably why you experienced a high refusal rate from some of the schools - they figure you failed once, and that you'll fail again, and don't want to endanger their rating with DIBP.

** IDP (at least some of their offices) are quite experienced at getting student visas through - I'd value their opinion somewhat highly if they are familiar with your case and believe it will go through.

** Just because someone is refused a visa once doesn't mean they will be refused again. The key is to address the reasons for the refusal, and look at the entire genuine student policy criteria and include with your visa application a submission (letter) that explains how you meet the criteria, point by point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rmsprs said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for student visa in 2012 just after finishing my graduation in bcom for UTS in sydney for post graduation in MPA. I was interviewed by the high commission and they concluded that I was not a genuine temporary entrant because I failed to justify the reason the reason of my proposed course and I had not done proper evaluation or research about other education providers and information i presented was limited. In the rejection letter they also mentioned that my answers were quite vague and my course would not be acceptable by the employers in my home country. they mentioned that they doubt the credibility of my application.
> 
> After that I spent two years in my family business for which I can provide an experience letter for the tasks and duties I have done. I want to re-apply for student visa in the spring intake in 2015. I applied to charles sturt, La trobe, UTS, UWS and james cook. Out of these universities every one denied me an offer letter except UTS and James Cook, universities that refused me an offer letter mentioned in the email that they do not accept applications of the students who have been rejected in the past as per the rule of the high commission. I am willing to apply for UTS for the same course i had applied for previously and I need opinion on whether I should re-apply or not. My current agent is IDP and they are quite positive that this time with proper preparation of SOP and interview I will be issued a visa. However I also met few other consultants who said I would not get the visa because I have been rejected previously. I am really confused and need an opinion and insight about this problem. Any help or opinion would be really really appreciated as it is a huge decision for me to make.
> 
> Finished B com in 2012 with first class
> 2012 Ielts - 7.5 bands
> 2014 Ielts - 8 bands
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Supreet -

Thanks for the note. First, it's important to understand that DIBP is the final decider of points. That being said, DIBP generally follows the advice of experts, such as skills assessors, so if a skills assessor has deemed that certain work over certain dates is "skilled", it is somewhat rare for DIBP to dispute that. However some skills assessors don't ask for payslips and other proof of payment, while DIBP does require these documents generally for work experience claimed for points. If you cannot provide these, DIBP may refuse to accept certain work as skilled for points purposes, which could reduce your points score and thus disqualify you for the visa. Same goes for work experience where DIBP believes an applicant may have provided incorrect information or bogus documents.

Re: IELTS, these points values are established based on your score - as long as there is no question as to the date of the test or the authenticity of the IELTS document, etc, then points for this would not be contested.

Also, remember that points for age and other factors is determined as of the date of invitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



supreet.ahuja said:


> Hi Mark
> Really appreciate you for the time you devote to this forum and helping aspirants.
> My query is that before invitation (for subclass 190) from state, nominating state access total points in each and every manner from all departments(like Vetassess and IELTS)and can't be reduced at final stage by case officer.


----------



## SMC

i need five posts so i can add a link to my other thread i could use your advice on


----------



## SMC

this is post 4


----------



## SMC

Could you possibly give some advice on the next post i make


----------



## SMC

It still wont let me post the link to my thread.. so i'll copy and paste it here.

Long read, but help if you can plz

Me and my spouse are about to do an onshore 820 and have some concerns now after looking at FORM 80.

Apparently I have character concerns. It never dawned on me that my prior military charges from 15 years ago were crimes. idk y. I went to court and did 8 months in the brig (but was sentenced to 12 i believe) while getting kicked out on a bad conduct discharge. I got this for being awol and missing a troop movement. I wasnt considered a deserter, since i came back, nor was it war time - but i was still gone for two weeks. a young drunk 19 yr old mistake. I always considered this being disciplined, it never came up on any criminal and background checks ive ever done. However, perhaps its more than that technically.

However, ive never checked yes to anything as being convicted of a criminal charge. for some reason i always presumed this to be civilian related. Ive never committed any civilian crimes. Other than those military charges, ive never been charged with a thing.

Now, Im concerned on two fronts. One, my prior applications and current visas i checked no to convictions. Will this haunt me when i do a new application and check yes. Im not even sure if i have to check yes. However form 80 wants a copy of my military record.

Two, if they let me slide on the current visa, since it was a honest mistake and misunderstanding what will come with my new visa?

I wonder if i can get a waiver of some sort on compassionate grounds? I have a son near 2 yrs old here and a sick wife. Our son was born here and my wife is australian. Shes sick now, to the point where centrelink considers her 95% disabled. They actually classify me as her carer, though im not on a PR, im on a student visa and get zero centrelink benefits.

She has serve health issues which is mental (ptsd) and several types of physical issues.. which limits her mobility as well. She cannot care for our son alone. Its been said and documented by several doctors. This is due to the fact that a lot of her injuries was due to medical negligence and we have several drs (professors), psychologists and rehabilitation specialists on our side writing these statements - so its been well documented the past 4 years.

I mean our son has seen me everyday since hes been alive, you would think the long term emotional damage it would cause him would be grounds enough. if i were denied my visa, not only would he suffer emotionally, he wouldn't get proper care, and my wife suffers.

Plus, i suffer. Im all in with my family and put myself this way, if i were to leave i have no home to go to, this is my home. I would be homeless, without a job, and without family support in that country - The USA

We may have to get an agent/lawyer. If anyone is familiar which compassionate grounds it would be nice to hear your opinions and the such, if an agent would even help.

Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMC -

Thanks for the note. The military charges would likely be considered "offences" and the fact that you did not disclose them on previous Australia visa applications (or on, I assume, any Incoming Passenger Cards (IPC) when you arrived in Australia) can result in 2 potential issues for a partner visa application - first, it can trigger the PIC 4020 inaccurate information/bogus document provisions which, if cause a refusal of the visa based on PIC4020 grounds, will result in a 3 year exclusion period for virtually all visas including family and visitor visas. I recently had a PR visa client facing this regarding a minor charge in the USA (challenging someone to fight in a public place - a misdemeanor) and was able to argue successfully that the omission of this on 2 previous visa applications and IPC's should not result in the refusal of his PR visa, but it took a strong argument to do so.

The other potential issue is a character issue - if the sentence was 12 months or more, that would trigger the Character Test policy criteria which could result in refusal, however from what you've said there appear to be good compassionate and compelling grounds that, combined with the type of offence that was committed (ie, no violence, etc), would have a very good chance of getting through any sort of character allegations from DIBP.

Either of these issues alone (PIC 4020, Character) is of a sufficiently complex nature that I would advise you to get professional assistance - as you've got both to deal with potentially, it's certainly something that you would benefit from having a knowledgeable migration agent handle for you, in my view.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMC said:


> It still wont let me post the link to my thread.. so i'll copy and paste it here.
> 
> Long read, but help if you can plz
> 
> Me and my spouse are about to do an onshore 820 and have some concerns now after looking at FORM 80.
> 
> Apparently I have character concerns. It never dawned on me that my prior military charges from 15 years ago were crimes. idk y. I went to court and did 8 months in the brig (but was sentenced to 12 i believe) while getting kicked out on a bad conduct discharge. I got this for being awol and missing a troop movement. I wasnt considered a deserter, since i came back, nor was it war time - but i was still gone for two weeks. a young drunk 19 yr old mistake. I always considered this being disciplined, it never came up on any criminal and background checks ive ever done. However, perhaps its more than that technically.
> 
> However, ive never checked yes to anything as being convicted of a criminal charge. for some reason i always presumed this to be civilian related. Ive never committed any civilian crimes. Other than those military charges, ive never been charged with a thing.
> 
> Now, Im concerned on two fronts. One, my prior applications and current visas i checked no to convictions. Will this haunt me when i do a new application and check yes. Im not even sure if i have to check yes. However form 80 wants a copy of my military record.
> 
> Two, if they let me slide on the current visa, since it was a honest mistake and misunderstanding what will come with my new visa?
> 
> I wonder if i can get a waiver of some sort on compassionate grounds? I have a son near 2 yrs old here and a sick wife. Our son was born here and my wife is australian. Shes sick now, to the point where centrelink considers her 95% disabled. They actually classify me as her carer, though im not on a PR, im on a student visa and get zero centrelink benefits.
> 
> She has serve health issues which is mental (ptsd) and several types of physical issues.. which limits her mobility as well. She cannot care for our son alone. Its been said and documented by several doctors. This is due to the fact that a lot of her injuries was due to medical negligence and we have several drs (professors), psychologists and rehabilitation specialists on our side writing these statements - so its been well documented the past 4 years.
> 
> I mean our son has seen me everyday since hes been alive, you would think the long term emotional damage it would cause him would be grounds enough. if i were denied my visa, not only would he suffer emotionally, he wouldn't get proper care, and my wife suffers.
> 
> Plus, i suffer. Im all in with my family and put myself this way, if i were to leave i have no home to go to, this is my home. I would be homeless, without a job, and without family support in that country - The USA
> 
> We may have to get an agent/lawyer. If anyone is familiar which compassionate grounds it would be nice to hear your opinions and the such, if an agent would even help.
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## norm

hi mark,
do you know if *personal insolvency* not bankruptcy ( one of the bankruptcy act) impact on 887 (skilled relative sponsored) visa? i got an information that its not a criminal offence, so would it make any negative impact on the 887 decision? please if you can reply.


----------



## Joanne.L

Gday, Mark.
i lodged subclass 309 online in Hong Kong. and i am wondering about the processing office was DIBP in Australia or Australian Embassy in HK. i was told that the waiting time was 12 months if i did paper application at Hong Kong embassy. so i decided lodging online application.
however, i haven't hear nothing from the department after i received the "IMMI Acknowledgement of Application Received " letter. i have no idea for the further action i should do. seen i have nothing to do but waiting. 
Mark, could u please give me some advise if who could i contact with, Australian Embassy in HK or DIBP in Australia? 
thanks for your time and patience.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Norm -

Assuming you meet the usual requirements of the 887, I don't see that it would negatively impact the employment/living criteria of the 887 or trigger a character issue if it is not considered an offence. However if there is a debt to the Commonwealth involved, item 4004 of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1998 states that if an applicant has a debt to the Commonwealth (which includes public agencies, but does not include private debt such as credit cards, etc), the applicant must have a payment arrangement in place related to that debt in order to satisfy 4004 which is part of the 887 time of decision requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



norm said:


> hi mark,
> do you know if *personal insolvency* not bankruptcy ( one of the bankruptcy act) impact on 887 (skilled relative sponsored) visa? i got an information that its not a criminal offence, so would it make any negative impact on the 887 decision? please if you can reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Joanne.L -

For 309/100, these are generally processed in the applicant's country of citizenship or the closest DIBP processing office to that country - this is true regardless of whether the application is lodged online or on paper. I'd be prepared for 12-18 month processing time - it's impossible to tell or predict how long processing will take these days, and DIBP imposes no time limits on themselves for processing. Re: contact info, first check the letterhead for the application, but also I'd assume that the DIBP office in the country of the applicant's citizenship will likely end up with the application unless it is transferred elsewhere. DIBP offices worldwide contact info is on the Contact tab on the immi.gov.au website.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Joanne.L said:


> Gday, Mark.
> i lodged subclass 309 online in Hong Kong. and i am wondering about the processing office was DIBP in Australia or Australian Embassy in HK. i was told that the waiting time was 12 months if i did paper application at Hong Kong embassy. so i decided lodging online application.
> however, i haven't hear nothing from the department after i received the "IMMI Acknowledgement of Application Received " letter. i have no idea for the further action i should do. seen i have nothing to do but waiting.
> Mark, could u please give me some advise if who could i contact with, Australian Embassy in HK or DIBP in Australia?
> thanks for your time and patience.


----------



## depth77

Hi Mark, 


My Filipina wife has already received her 309/ 100 visa grant notice. 
Our Child was born in the Philippines about 2 months after receiving the 309 / 100 grant notice. 


Can I please ask, what is the correct procedure for our child? We are all still in the Philippines, my wife is yet to make her first trip to Australia. Do we just apply for Australian citizenship and passport for our child in the Philippines, treat our child as separate from my wife’s visa application, and fill in Form 1022 Notification of changes in circumstance? Will there be any added fees to my wife’s visa? Will having a child now detrimentally affect my wife’s partner visa?

Thank you for any advice,


----------



## VisaAussie

Hi Mark, 

I would be so grateful for any help or guidance you could give me with the following procedural question..

Once lodging an application offshore for PMV visa for a low risk country citizen, can one immediately (the next day or two) lodge an application for a tourist visa to go to Australia and be with the partner? Or, can one only lodge the tourist visa application after a case office for the PMV application has been lodged, and, in this case, does this mean the applicant might have to wait several months before lodging the tourist visa and going to Aus?

Thanks a lot


----------



## rmsprs

Greetings Mark !

You are one of the reasons why internet is such an awesome place! Thank you for your prompt and earliest response.

It would be really kind of you if you could give me your opinion, I can provide you with additional details you need and if you want to take a look at my refusal letter I can provide you that too. Would it require for me to pay some kind of consultation fees for that matter?

I get it that I need to address the issues DIBP raised in my previous rejection, but some people tell me that my circumstances have not changed and I have no industrial level experience because I have worked in the family business for the two years in-between. So DIBP might feel that I am a student who does not have genuine intention to study but to migrate and is looking for a way to get an entry in the country. I get paranoid when people tell me things like these. Is there a way to justify and address this issue? Honestly, I am someone who genuinely intends to return to my country after gaining international experience and working in a multinational for few years. Do my reasons look unsatisfactory already? I was little nervous and not prepared well for the interview the first time which I think is the main reason they have interpret me wrong.

Yes all of them universities are under SVP and my consultant told me the same thing, I understand

Yes they have been really helpful and taken good care of my case so far but my previous consultants were deficient and careless, which is why I seek for a second opinion from you and since a lot depends on the decision I am going to make soon.

Looked at the GTE criteria list and found a clause 
"a. The applicant's ties with Australia which would present as a strong 
incentive to remain in Australia. This may include family and 
community ties."
Does the DIBP judge my application on basis of my siblings residing in the same country?

Sorry for the long post, but I do not want a second rejection which why i am worried about the whole thing and want little help from an expert like you.

Thank you 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rmsprs -
> 
> Thanks for the note - some observations:
> 
> ** It's not possible for me to give you any sort of opinion on your chances of being approved based on the limited info in your post - would need to study your DIBP refusal letter and circumstances in detail in order to form an opinion about this - could do so at a consultation (see website link below for more on this).
> 
> ** Generally speaking, if you can address all of the reasons for refusal with evidence, that would increases the chances of success.
> 
> ** The schools that you mentioned are, I believe, SVP programme schools who end up getting penalised if they approve a person who is then refused a visa by DIBP for genuine student reasons - this is probably why you experienced a high refusal rate from some of the schools - they figure you failed once, and that you'll fail again, and don't want to endanger their rating with DIBP.
> 
> ** IDP (at least some of their offices) are quite experienced at getting student visas through - I'd value their opinion somewhat highly if they are familiar with your case and believe it will go through.
> 
> ** Just because someone is refused a visa once doesn't mean they will be refused again. The key is to address the reasons for the refusal, and look at the entire genuine student policy criteria and include with your visa application a submission (letter) that explains how you meet the criteria, point by point.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## jimmy2014

Dear Mark,

I just had a brief query regarding advising change of circumstances to DIBP.

I uploaded form 1022 in the Immi account at the time of my partner coming to stay with me on a tourist visa whilst her partner visa application is in progress. 

I provided the Australian address in that form itself and now that she has returned back, do I need to provide 1022 again to advise the change of circumstances i.e. address (noting that I clearly indicated in the 1st form itself her arrival and departure date from Australia) 

Please assist.

Kind Regards.


----------



## kaiko

Dear Mark, 

I am gonna apply for the partner visa (820) in Australia. However there is one short question would like you to address me.

- Do I need to have insurance before my application? What kind of insurance? Is there any specific requirement from the government?

The government website isn't explain it clearly and I am running out of time to prepare for the application.

Thank you very much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Depth77 -

Assuming you are an Australian citizen, then you may want to apply for the child's citizenship - once the child is a citizen of Australia, the child is free to travel without a visa - issue would be if you wanted the child to travel before the citizenship is issued - that could be a headache, but likely could get visitor visa for the child to cover that period. No effect on the partner visa that I see based on what you've said.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



depth77 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My Filipina wife has already received her 309/ 100 visa grant notice.
> Our Child was born in the Philippines about 2 months after receiving the 309 / 100 grant notice.
> 
> Can I please ask, what is the correct procedure for our child? We are all still in the Philippines, my wife is yet to make her first trip to Australia. Do we just apply for Australian citizenship and passport for our child in the Philippines, treat our child as separate from my wife's visa application, and fill in Form 1022 Notification of changes in circumstance? Will there be any added fees to my wife's visa? Will having a child now detrimentally affect my wife's partner visa?
> 
> Thank you for any advice,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VisaAussie -

A person can apply for an offshore visitor visa at any time -  no limits. Once the PMV has been received by DIBP and is "on the books" there (usually takes 2 weeks or so), the chances of visitor visa grant may be increased depending on the circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



VisaAussie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would be so grateful for any help or guidance you could give me with the following procedural question..
> 
> Once lodging an application offshore for PMV visa for a low risk country citizen, can one immediately (the next day or two) lodge an application for a tourist visa to go to Australia and be with the partner? Or, can one only lodge the tourist visa application after a case office for the PMV application has been lodged, and, in this case, does this mean the applicant might have to wait several months before lodging the tourist visa and going to Aus?
> 
> Thanks a lot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rmsprs -

Thanks for the kind words!

Would suggest you download and study the Genuine Student policy criteria here: https://www.immi.gov.au/students/gte-requirement.htm (note the PDF download link in the middle of the page- that's important) and assess how your situation matches to the various policy criteria - this is the assessment that DIBP does on all student visa application - if you believe you can successfully address most or many of these criteria, then another student visa application may make sense. And yes, DIBP will assess your family ties in both Australia and your home country.

Re: consultants, etc, would suggest using only MARA registered agents for the actual visa application part of things - offshore unregistered agents can be problematic.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rmsprs said:


> Greetings Mark !
> 
> You are one of the reasons why internet is such an awesome place! Thank you for your prompt and earliest response.
> 
> It would be really kind of you if you could give me your opinion, I can provide you with additional details you need and if you want to take a look at my refusal letter I can provide you that too. Would it require for me to pay some kind of consultation fees for that matter?
> 
> I get it that I need to address the issues DIBP raised in my previous rejection, but some people tell me that my circumstances have not changed and I have no industrial level experience because I have worked in the family business for the two years in-between. So DIBP might feel that I am a student who does not have genuine intention to study but to migrate and is looking for a way to get an entry in the country. I get paranoid when people tell me things like these. Is there a way to justify and address this issue? Honestly, I am someone who genuinely intends to return to my country after gaining international experience and working in a multinational for few years. Do my reasons look unsatisfactory already? I was little nervous and not prepared well for the interview the first time which I think is the main reason they have interpret me wrong.
> 
> Yes all of them universities are under SVP and my consultant told me the same thing, I understand
> 
> Yes they have been really helpful and taken good care of my case so far but my previous consultants were deficient and careless, which is why I seek for a second opinion from you and since a lot depends on the decision I am going to make soon.
> 
> Looked at the GTE criteria list and found a clause
> "a. The applicant's ties with Australia which would present as a strong
> incentive to remain in Australia. This may include family and
> community ties."
> Does the DIBP judge my application on basis of my siblings residing in the same country?
> 
> Sorry for the long post, but I do not want a second rejection which why i am worried about the whole thing and want little help from an expert like you.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmy2014 -

Yes, just to be safe.

Best,

Mark



jimmy2014 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I just had a brief query regarding advising change of circumstances to DIBP.
> 
> I uploaded form 1022 in the Immi account at the time of my partner coming to stay with me on a tourist visa whilst her partner visa application is in progress.
> 
> I provided the Australian address in that form itself and now that she has returned back, do I need to provide 1022 again to advise the change of circumstances i.e. address (noting that I clearly indicated in the 1st form itself her arrival and departure date from Australia)
> 
> Please assist.
> 
> Kind Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaiko -

Not sure what to say - it's clearly listed on the document checklist at Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801) document checklist but I can find no legal requirement that applicants must have health insurance to apply for an 820. Plus, it doesn't make sense - once you apply for the 820/801, you are instantly eligible for Medicare, so why would you need health insurance?

I'll check into this further and let you know if I can find anything -

Best,

Mark Northam



kaiko said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am gonna apply for the partner visa (820) in Australia. However there is one short question would like you to address me.
> 
> - Do I need to have insurance before my application? What kind of insurance? Is there any specific requirement from the government?
> 
> The government website isn't explain it clearly and I am running out of time to prepare for the application.
> 
> Thank you very much


----------



## depth77

Hello Mark,

Thank you so much for your advice. Your helpful knowledge is really appreciated and we are very grateful to you.

regards,
Depth 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Depth77 -
> 
> Assuming you are an Australian citizen, then you may want to apply for the child's citizenship - once the child is a citizen of Australia, the child is free to travel without a visa - issue would be if you wanted the child to travel before the citizenship is issued - that could be a headache, but likely could get visitor visa for the child to cover that period. No effect on the partner visa that I see based on what you've said.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## bossshakil

*489 - Clarification needed before apply*

Dear Mr. Mark,

I am one of the unlucky person who couldn't apply for NSW SS-190 in October intake . I cannot wait and watch the same situation in February opening. My occupation is "Mechanical Engineer" and IELTS minimum score is 6.5. So I have only one option open to apply now, 489-regional. And for my profession, only Southern Inland - NSW is offering for the SRS . before I proceed I have few questions in my mind which needs to be clarified.

1. My Understanding is the visa will be valid for 4 years. Am I right?
2. My understanding is that to be eligible for the pathway-887 visa, I have to work-full time for 1 year in Southern Inland area + Live for 2 years in Southern Inland. Am I right?
3. Can this condition be done anytime within 4 years?
4. Can I live outside Southern Inland for a duration of time, say 1 year?
5. Can I work in metropolitan areas? Or do I have to work only in the regional areas? Or do I have to work only in Southern Inland?
6. If I don't have any work in the regional areas and I need to earn money, cannot I go to Sydney temporarily and work/Live there?
7. Can I live anywhere in the whole southern Inland areas and show it as evidence of living 2 years for the pathway visa? Or will they restrict to any specific town?
8. There is town called Queanbeyan in southern inland, which is only 15 Km from Canberra. Can I live in Queanbeyan and work in canberra for some time to earn some money?
9. Why this area, Southern Inland, offering SRS for all types of Engineering occupation? Is it an Industrial area? Is the infra-structure is being developed recently? Is it a fast developing area? How is the economic condition? Where is most of the Industries located in Southern-Inland? Which types of Industries are there?
10. Is there any University in that region? 
11. Can I study in Sydney or Canberra with this 489 Visa?
12. Can my wife do job/Study in Sydney or Canberra??
13. What are the other drawbacks of 489 visa other than this living/working barrier?

I know I have asked so many questions. But I have seen you are kind enough to reply any types of queries 

Regards
Shakil


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bossshakil -

Thanks for the note - while some of your questions have fairly simple answers, others do not and require more information from you. The simple answer is that under a regional sponsored 489, you must study, live and work in the specified regional area that sponsored you - those are the terms of the sponsorship. It may be possible to get a release from NSW Skilled from those terms in certain conditions. Beyond that, would need to discuss this with you in a consultation so I could gather further information via questions/answers and give you specific advice for your case - more info on that on our website - see link below in signature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bossshakil said:


> Dear Mr. Mark,
> 
> I am one of the unlucky person who couldn't apply for NSW SS-190 in October intake . I cannot wait and watch the same situation in February opening. My occupation is "Mechanical Engineer" and IELTS minimum score is 6.5. So I have only one option open to apply now, 489-regional. And for my profession, only Southern Inland - NSW is offering for the SRS . before I proceed I have few questions in my mind which needs to be clarified.
> 
> 1. My Understanding is the visa will be valid for 4 years. Am I right?
> 2. My understanding is that to be eligible for the pathway-887 visa, I have to work-full time for 1 year in Southern Inland area + Live for 2 years in Southern Inland. Am I right?
> 3. Can this condition be done anytime within 4 years?
> 4. Can I live outside Southern Inland for a duration of time, say 1 year?
> 5. Can I work in metropolitan areas? Or do I have to work only in the regional areas? Or do I have to work only in Southern Inland?
> 6. If I don't have any work in the regional areas and I need to earn money, cannot I go to Sydney temporarily and work/Live there?
> 7. Can I live anywhere in the whole southern Inland areas and show it as evidence of living 2 years for the pathway visa? Or will they restrict to any specific town?
> 8. There is town called Queanbeyan in southern inland, which is only 15 Km from Canberra. Can I live in Queanbeyan and work in canberra for some time to earn some money?
> 9. Why this area, Southern Inland, offering SRS for all types of Engineering occupation? Is it an Industrial area? Is the infra-structure is being developed recently? Is it a fast developing area? How is the economic condition? Where is most of the Industries located in Southern-Inland? Which types of Industries are there?
> 10. Is there any University in that region?
> 11. Can I study in Sydney or Canberra with this 489 Visa?
> 12. Can my wife do job/Study in Sydney or Canberra??
> 13. What are the other drawbacks of 489 visa other than this living/working barrier?
> 
> I know I have asked so many questions. But I have seen you are kind enough to reply any types of queries
> 
> Regards
> Shakil


----------



## Samanthayang

Hi Mark, 
My mother came to Australia 3 years ago by partner visa subclass 100 (she got married). 
She is just wondering if she can leave Australia more than 6 months as she said when she got her visa letter it said something about leaving australia in a limit time.
She got her PR already but if she stays outside Australia for more than 6 months, will anything happen ? How long can we leave for ? 
As my grandma is not in good condition so she has to go back to Vietnam a few times a year. 
Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samanthayang -

No problem - the key is that on the 5 year mark of her subclass 100 visa grant, her PR re-entry rights will expire (if she has not become a citizen yet) and she'll need to get a Resident Return Visa. The easiest way to get one of these is if she has been in Australia at least 24 months in the 5 years prior to applying for that visa, so any amount of time outside Australia is fine, however she may want to try and limit her time outside of Australia so that when the 5 year mark comes (from grant date of the 100 visa), she's back in Australia and has not been gone more than 24 months in the 5 years prior.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Samanthayang said:


> Hi Mark,
> My mother came to Australia 3 years ago by partner visa subclass 100 (she got married).
> She is just wondering if she can leave Australia more than 6 months as she said when she got her visa letter it said something about leaving australia in a limit time.
> She got her PR already but if she stays outside Australia for more than 6 months, will anything happen ? How long can we leave for ?
> As my grandma is not in good condition so she has to go back to Vietnam a few times a year.
> Thank you.


----------



## Samanthayang

It really helps Mark. Thank you very much. 
So that means if her PR expires, she has to apply fir the Resident Return Visa ( not like extend her PR). And the condition is: she must not be outside Australia for more than 24 months.
Can she still get her citizenship after that Resident Return Visa ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

The RRV essentially extends her PR re-entry rights - if you google visa subclass 155 on the DIBP site it will have all the details - the 5 year RRV is available if the applicant has not been outside Australia more than 24 months in the 5 years prior to application - there are a couple of other variations on the visa you can see details about. Re: citizenship, she may still be able to get that - there is a 4 year residency requirement there with various rules (different) re: being outside Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Samanthayang said:


> It really helps Mark. Thank you very much.
> So that means if her PR expires, she has to apply fir the Resident Return Visa ( not like extend her PR). And the condition is: she must not be outside Australia for more than 24 months.
> Can she still get her citizenship after that Resident Return Visa ?


----------



## riazur

Hi Mark

I hope that you are doing great! 

I am Bangladeshi national and have applied for 189 visa on 24 April 2014. Few weeks after CO appointment, I got medical request and did my medical on 10th September 2014. I received a mail to submit form 815 on 14th October 2014 and submitted on next day. Since then I am waiting. It is already 2 months since medical and almost 4 weeks since I submitted form 815. What is the maximum duration you have seen between form 815 submission and visa decision? Now a days, what is usual time given for first entry? Did they ask for any more document/form after form 815?

Thanks in advance.
Riazur


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Riazur -

Thanks for the note. DIBP is not consistent in where in the overall process the medical undertaking (815) form occurs - could be any time from a few weeks to 2+ months before a decision is made. No way to predict if they may want further documents; usually several months given for activation date for visas, but this can vary as it can depend on the expiration date(s) of your health and/or police certificates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



riazur said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I hope that you are doing great!
> 
> I am Bangladeshi national and have applied for 189 visa on 24 April 2014. Few weeks after CO appointment, I got medical request and did my medical on 10th September 2014. I received a mail to submit form 815 on 14th October 2014 and submitted on next day. Since then I am waiting. It is already 2 months since medical and almost 4 weeks since I submitted form 815. What is the maximum duration you have seen between form 815 submission and visa decision? Now a days, what is usual time given for first entry? Did they ask for any more document/form after form 815?
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> Riazur


----------



## riazur

Thank you very much for your reply. It seems like I need to wait for a uncertain period.

Thanks again, Mark!


----------



## kaiko

Dear Mark, 

Thanks for your reply. 

Because the website state that "evidence of adequate health insurance (including travel insurance) to cover you until you enrol in Medicare". I think the word "adequate" is bit vague. Is that mean I can just purchase any basic hospital insurance policy as long as is covered in Australia. 

Thanks a lot for your help.


----------



## GURI BRAR

*student visa delay*

Hello Mr. Mark,
I have applied for student visa with spouse on 8th July 2014 and i had gone through interview on 29th July. Still the application is under process. Even i had talk with embassy officers they are keep on saying from last 3 weeks that my application is pending for last decision.
As i did Masters in business Economics after that i worked as assistant accountants under chartered accountant for 1 n half year. My interview was good and it was of 45 mins.Due to waiting i deferred my course Masters in Professional accounting to February batch in Edith Cowan university Perth. 
Its been more than 4 months still m waiting ??? why they are taking so long ??? 
Thanks,
Gurpreet kaur brar


----------



## jonsmile

*a question on work history*

Hi Mark,
I hope you can help (thanks in advance for your offer to answer some questions).

I am looking to come to Aus with my family.

I want to come on a professional visa - via accountancy.

I am a qualified accountant and have been for over 10 years. I have been running my own limited company for the past 7 years and therefore I am struggling to understand how to get my work experience signed off (as I am the director of my ltd company).

Can you please advise (as I need the points!!)

Thanks
Jon


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gurpreet -

Wish I knew, but DIBP processing times are very difficult to predict and subject to delays. Until DIBP implements some sort of rule about how long they can take to process a visa application, as things are now they can take as long as they'd like.

Best,

Mark Northam



GURI BRAR said:


> Hello Mr. Mark,
> I have applied for student visa with spouse on 8th July 2014 and i had gone through interview on 29th July. Still the application is under process. Even i had talk with embassy officers they are keep on saying from last 3 weeks that my application is pending for last decision.
> As i did Masters in business Economics after that i worked as assistant accountants under chartered accountant for 1 n half year. My interview was good and it was of 45 mins.Due to waiting i deferred my course Masters in Professional accounting to February batch in Edith Cowan university Perth.
> Its been more than 4 months still m waiting ??? why they are taking so long ???
> Thanks,
> Gurpreet kaur brar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jon -

Thanks for the note - if you need to provide evidence of work experience for your skills assessment, you'd have to look to the specific rules of your skills assessor re: self-employment, etc to see what documents they will accept. As for DIBP, that's a different situation - there is no specific set of documents they require for self employed work, but they need sufficient documents to be satisfied that the work was genuine, occurred, and was paid. The documents are different for each person depending on what is available typically - often, contracts or invoices with clients are an important part of this, plus records of pay such as bank statements showing payments from clients. Other types of documents that can help support a claim for self-employment can be statutory declarations or signed statements from clients, statements from co-workers in some cases, etc. The key is to submit sufficient documents to describe: 1) What work you did, and for whom, 2) when the work occurred, 3) that you were paid for the work via evidence of payment. The more challenging part of this is to show that the work was full time - this may involve making a spreadsheet of all your projects over a year, etc and showing how many hours you worked for each, unless you paid yourself on a regular salary which specified a number of hours, etc - but even then some evidence of the work/hours info can be important.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jonsmile said:


> Hi Mark,
> I hope you can help (thanks in advance for your offer to answer some questions).
> 
> I am looking to come to Aus with my family.
> 
> I want to come on a professional visa - via accountancy.
> 
> I am a qualified accountant and have been for over 10 years. I have been running my own limited company for the past 7 years and therefore I am struggling to understand how to get my work experience signed off (as I am the director of my ltd company).
> 
> Can you please advise (as I need the points!!)
> 
> Thanks
> Jon


----------



## IndyMama

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kaiko - Not sure what to say - it's clearly listed on the document checklist at Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801) document checklist but I can find no legal requirement that applicants must have health insurance to apply for an 820. Plus, it doesn't make sense - once you apply for the 820/801, you are instantly eligible for Medicare, so why would you need health insurance? I'll check into this further and let you know if I can find anything - Best, Mark Northam


Hi Mark
It would still be great if you were able to confirm through your channels of communication with DIBP, but I was told by the Americas service center that health insurance is NOT required for partner visas and that the web page list is wrong. I am a PMV applicant, but they did say not required for "partner visas."
Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

It's my view that the webpage is wrong - health insurance is not required for partner visas or for the PMV.

Best,

Mark



IndyMama said:


> Hi Mark
> It would still be great if you were able to confirm through your channels of communication with DIBP, but I was told by the Americas service center that health insurance is NOT required for partner visas and that the web page list is wrong. I am a PMV applicant, but they did say not required for "partner visas."
> Cheers!


----------



## Sedamoon

Dear Mark,

I hope you could help me a bit about the BVA.

I was granted a BVA after I lodged in 820 recently. I was holding a 574 visa which allows the holder to work 40h per fornight during any preliminary courses and there is no work right limit of the holder. On my BVA, there is not any indication about work right. 

I wonder if I could work when I am holding this BVA. If yes, is the working time still the same as my previous visa? I saw some webs said that " if you are applying for an onshore partner visa (sc 820), you will automatically be granted work rights while your visa is being processed."

Thank you very much!

Cheers,
Seda


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sedamoon -

Thanks for the note - if you look at your BVA closely you'll see a list of conditions - these are 4-digit codes beginning with an 8. If there is no condition limiting your work, then you have full work rights by default. Most BVA's for partner visas come with full work rights by default. However, also make sure that your BVA is activated - until your student visa expires, the BVA will remain unactivated and not in force - it will activate upon expiration of your student visa normally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sedamoon said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I hope you could help me a bit about the BVA.
> 
> I was granted a BVA after I lodged in 820 recently. I was holding a 574 visa which allows the holder to work 40h per fornight during any preliminary courses and there is no work right limit of the holder. On my BVA, there is not any indication about work right.
> 
> I wonder if I could work when I am holding this BVA. If yes, is the working time still the same as my previous visa? I saw some webs said that " if you are applying for an onshore partner visa (sc 820), you will automatically be granted work rights while your visa is being processed."
> 
> Thank you very much!
> 
> Cheers,
> Seda


----------



## johnvegas

Hi Mark, 

Thanks in advance for any help. 

I am currently on an ETA and have just come back from America in September and was told I am not allowed to use my ETA anymore even though it still has 10 months left. Which is fine since I was planning on apply for the de facto visa anyways. 

So I am now done with my de facto application and ready to submit. My question is does the bridging visa kick in right away and automatically cancel my ETA or will I need to leave country before the 3 month time frame and then the bridging visa kicks in? 

Thanks again for any help, 

John


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John -

Assuming you lodge your defacto partner visa application onshore prior to the end of your current 3-month stay, if you overstay the three months (ie, remain in Australia after the last day of the 3 months), the Bridging Visa A that you would have received from the partner visa lodgement will automatically activate and you would then be on that BV-A until the partner visa is decided. Note that once you're on a BV-A, you'll have to apply for Bridging Visa B in order to depart Australia and have a visa to return on - the BV-B is the only bridging visa that survives departure form Australia. Once you're on the BV-A, you are subject to the conditions of the BV-A, which typically means you can work whereas you could not work on the ETA, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



johnvegas said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help.
> 
> I am currently on an ETA and have just come back from America in September and was told I am not allowed to use my ETA anymore even though it still has 10 months left. Which is fine since I was planning on apply for the de facto visa anyways.
> 
> So I am now done with my de facto application and ready to submit. My question is does the bridging visa kick in right away and automatically cancel my ETA or will I need to leave country before the 3 month time frame and then the bridging visa kicks in?
> 
> Thanks again for any help,
> 
> John


----------



## johnvegas

Thanks for the quick reply Mark that really helps


----------



## giver

*State sponsored, but unfortunately might have to move somewhere*

Hie Mark

As always, your answers are very helpful on all fronts. I have messaged a number of times regarding my ex husbands state sponsored visa, on which I was the secondary applicant.

Sydney was our home, and to be honest I would not have it any other way i love Sydney so much, those 2 years were the happiest of my life!

But while I gear to come back on the Sub 176 visa, state sponsored by NSW government, there might be a chance(and I am getting miserable thinking that might be the case) that my Masters/MPHIL program is so intensive that I may not get into a NSW university for my subject while another state might take me. That would mean that I would have to move states.

I am unaware what the moral and legal obligations are regarding moving state without having lived even a minimum time there. I know that this is obviously NOT something people should really do, state sponsored one visa, and jump of to another state. But in my case, I might just not have the choice, if no NSW university takes me!

What do I need to do?Would it affect my chances of RRV when I apply, or citizenship?I do NOT under any circumstances want to create any sort of impression of being a state jumper on another state sponsored visa!

Who can I inform or let them know?Any specific person?
Any input would be really appreciated


----------



## Rodeobear

hey Mark, im a little confused by this. My girlfriend is applying for a 600 visa for 3 months and it asks about health checks, does she need to do that before application or can she do that in Australia?


----------



## Kaddi

*explain Health waiver*

Hi Mark,

thank you for offering your help here, that is very kind.

I would like to know how a health waiver works, as I can`t find any information on the internet.

I understand that the DIBP sends it to me and (on a 457 VISA) my sponsor has to sign it.

But what law is this contract under?
Does he has to pay the whole amount at once / a month?

I mean there comes no explanation with the waiver and I would like to understand the risks of it.

Thank you in advance

Kaddi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Giver -

First thing is to check the visa itself to determine if there are any conditions listed on the visa that you'd be breaching. If there are none, then it's more of a civil matter between you and the NSW Skilled people. We've found that often, state sponsorship officials can be reasonable about providing a "release" from the commitment to live/work for 2 years, etc in the state if the applicant shows evidence of a good-faith job search that produced no suitable results, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



giver said:


> Hie Mark
> 
> As always, your answers are very helpful on all fronts. I have messaged a number of times regarding my ex husbands state sponsored visa, on which I was the secondary applicant.
> 
> Sydney was our home, and to be honest I would not have it any other way i love Sydney so much, those 2 years were the happiest of my life!
> 
> But while I gear to come back on the Sub 176 visa, state sponsored by NSW government, there might be a chance(and I am getting miserable thinking that might be the case) that my Masters/MPHIL program is so intensive that I may not get into a NSW university for my subject while another state might take me. That would mean that I would have to move states.
> 
> I am unaware what the moral and legal obligations are regarding moving state without having lived even a minimum time there. I know that this is obviously NOT something people should really do, state sponsored one visa, and jump of to another state. But in my case, I might just not have the choice, if no NSW university takes me!
> 
> What do I need to do?Would it affect my chances of RRV when I apply, or citizenship?I do NOT under any circumstances want to create any sort of impression of being a state jumper on another state sponsored visa!
> 
> Who can I inform or let them know?Any specific person?
> Any input would be really appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodeobear -

In some cases, applicants for a subclass 600 visitor visa are required to have a chest x-ray and/or medical exam - there's a chart on the DIBP site that shows, based on the country of citizenship and length of stay plus the activities intended, whether or not an applicant needs any sort of a medical test - see https://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/health-requirements/health-exam.htm

Any medical exam would normally need to be done prior to visa grant - DIBP publishes a list of approved medical facilities around the world in different countries on their website - if a medial exam, etc is required it must be done at an approved DIBP facility.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> hey Mark, im a little confused by this. My girlfriend is applying for a 600 visa for 3 months and it asks about health checks, does she need to do that before application or can she do that in Australia?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaddi -

For the 457 visa under part 4006A of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations (only applicable to 457 visas), if an applicant fails the health criteria, it may be possible for the sponsor to assume the responsibility for all medical costs related to the applicant's condition that resulted in a failure of the health criteria. This is done with what's called a health undertaking, and essentially is an agreement/contract (called a "nominator undertaking") where the sponsor agrees to pay or reimburse the Commonwealth for ALL costs related to the condition - there are no limits, and it's an open-ended, unlimited agreement. If a company is required to pay under this agreement, the payments are generally payable as they become due to whatever health provider, etc is involved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kaddi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> thank you for offering your help here, that is very kind.
> 
> I would like to know how a health waiver works, as I can`t find any information on the internet.
> 
> I understand that the DIBP sends it to me and (on a 457 VISA) my sponsor has to sign it.
> 
> But what law is this contract under?
> Does he has to pay the whole amount at once / a month?
> 
> I mean there comes no explanation with the waiver and I would like to understand the risks of it.
> 
> Thank you in advance
> 
> Kaddi


----------



## Kaddi

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kaddi -
> 
> For the 457 visa under part 4006A of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations (only applicable to 457 visas), if an applicant fails the health criteria, it may be possible for the sponsor to assume the responsibility for all medical costs related to the applicant's condition that resulted in a failure of the health criteria. This is done with what's called a health undertaking, and essentially is an agreement/contract (called a "nominator undertaking") where the sponsor agrees to pay or reimburse the Commonwealth for ALL costs related to the condition - there are no limits, and it's an open-ended, unlimited agreement. If a company is required to pay under this agreement, the payments are generally payable as they become due to whatever health provider, etc is involved.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark,

I know we get a waiver as our son has Down Syndrome.
The numbers for other Downs cases I found vary between waivers of 10 000 AUD up to 1.1 mio. I`d like to know how this gets calculated as there are obviously some kind of differences.

To be fair they didn't ask for much information and the reports and tests for my son were quiet good, so I´m even more surprised they come up with a rather high number.


----------



## kaiko

Dear Mark., 

Thanks for your help.

So if the medical insurance is not necessary for the application, then when can I apply for the medicare? 

I am currently holding a ETA visa and the bridging visa will only activate after 3 months. So is that me I have to wait for 3 months or I can apply for it as soon as I got the letter from immigration?

Thanks a lot. 
I know I got so many question. I'm really appreciate your help. =]


----------



## masudparves

Dear Mark,
I hope you are doing good,i have two question if can answer that will be much helpful for me.
my employer's last year total wages payroll is below $100k including my salary $54k.is that okay for immigration because i get more than half of total wages.i am on 457 visa and i will finish my 2 years for 186 visa soon.
and my employer take salary from the business as a manager so can he go for training course to spend 1 % of payroll to meet training benchmark.
Thank you Mark for your time.
Regards 
Masud


----------



## hweetee

Dear Mark,
I am applying Skilled Migration subclass 189 visa with my husband and a 2 year-old kid. The chest x-ray is one of the requirement for the medical examination but I am now 8 weeks pregnancy for my 2nd child and the radiographer did not recommend me to do the chest x-ray now until 16 weeks of pregnancy. I do not wish to wait until 16 weeks, in this case, should I apply for Pregnancy Health Undertaking (Form 1392)? Will the government possibly grant a visa in this case? Would you suggest me to apply for Pregnancy Health Undertaking? I hope I would be granted a visa before my due date so that I could give birth my 2nd child in Australia.
Thank you for your time.
Best regards,
Hweetee


----------



## mmmfreecake

Hi Mark,

This may have been asked before, but I can't seem to find the answer here.

I am applying for a 187 Employer Sponsored Visa. I am wondering if I need to submit Form 80 with my application or not? On the immi.gov.au website, Form 80 is listed in the Document Checklist for the 187 visa. However, when I phoned them yesterday they told me that not everyone needs to submit Form 80, and I can submit it if I want to but don't necessarily have to, and my case officer will request it if they want it.

That seems slightly conflicting - the website says I need it but the person on their customer service line says I don't need to submit it unless it's requested.

Is it likely to be requested? I don't want to go through the agony of remembering everywhere I've ever lived, worked, and sneezed since I was in the womb unless I reeeeeally have to. 

What's the general verdict on this? Has anyone successfully obtained a visa without this form?

Thanks!


----------



## Lisatka

*Work experience gained before degree completed*

hello Mark, i would really apreciate your advice. I have been a teacher of english as a second language for 8 years. I work for a language school that is attended by all age groups. Last year i completed my bachelor of education and now i am qualified secondary school teacher.the degree included 12 weeks of teaching practice. Now i want to move to australia but i read that only experience gained after my degree counts for skill assessment. Then i was told that i can gain points for my 8 years anyway and i will get my skill assessment because i got my degree. No i am confused. Is it true? Should i apply for visa as a secondary school teacher or as an esl teacher? Thank you for your help.


----------



## mfa

*Employment overall in experience certificate*

Hi Mark,

I really appreciate for your expert advises on this forum. My problem is as below.

I have one experience letter from company 1 for work period from 01 Jan 2005 until 08March 2008. Then i have second experience letter from 10 February 2008 until 31 Jan 2010.

There is one month overlap in experience ( i.e 08 march 2008 and 10 feb 2008, simulatenously coming with both employers) - which happened , as i took 1 month leave from employer 1 and started work with employer 2 , once i was satisfied then i resigned from employer 1 . So employer 1 issued certificate considering the leave period.

Please help me will this be an issue while claiming points for skilled employment ? I am applying under 189

thanking you in advance.

Moeen


----------



## phuhle1104

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Phuhle -
> 
> Normally for 887, living in any of the designated areas (or a combination of them) qualifies.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Do you mean that one year living in Orana and one year in Adelaide is considered as 2 year living in a specified regional area as required for visa 887? Thank you very much, Mark.

Best regards, 
Phu Huu Le


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaiko -

Technically once you've lodged your partner visa you can apply for Medicare using the acknowledgement letter from DIBP for the partner visa - you're entitled to it because you have an application pending for a permanent visa (the permanent part - 801 - of the partner visa). They will ask you if you are and plan to be resident in Australia - if you answer "yes", that satisfies another Medicare requirement (hint!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kaiko said:


> Dear Mark.,
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> So if the medical insurance is not necessary for the application, then when can I apply for the medicare?
> 
> I am currently holding a ETA visa and the bridging visa will only activate after 3 months. So is that me I have to wait for 3 months or I can apply for it as soon as I got the letter from immigration?
> 
> Thanks a lot.
> I know I got so many question. I'm really appreciate your help. =]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Masud -

Thanks for the note - not really able to comment on numbers and immigration as immigration would look at the entire financials of the business, not just the payroll - but they do this when the employer applies for or renews their SBS sponsorship, not generally in between.

There are also limits on how much the upper management of a business can spend of the 1% on their own training vs training of employees (Australian citizen and PR only) below them - if your employer has questions, best to sit down with a registered migration agent who is experienced with the 457 programme and go over the financials, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam

QUOTE=masudparves;664666]Dear Mark,
I hope you are doing good,i have two question if can answer that will be much helpful for me.
my employer's last year total wages payroll is below $100k including my salary $54k.is that okay for immigration because i get more than half of total wages.i am on 457 visa and i will finish my 2 years for 186 visa soon.
and my employer take salary from the business as a manager so can he go for training course to spend 1 % of payroll to meet training benchmark.
Thank you Mark for your time.
Regards 
Masud[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hweetee -

These are handled on a case-by-case basis - I'd put the health of your baby first before any immigration concerns, then see if they will accept the 1392 form in your case - if so, you can wait until after the baby is born to have your chest x-ray.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hweetee said:


> Dear Mark,
> I am applying Skilled Migration subclass 189 visa with my husband and a 2 year-old kid. The chest x-ray is one of the requirement for the medical examination but I am now 8 weeks pregnancy for my 2nd child and the radiographer did not recommend me to do the chest x-ray now until 16 weeks of pregnancy. I do not wish to wait until 16 weeks, in this case, should I apply for Pregnancy Health Undertaking (Form 1392)? Will the government possibly grant a visa in this case? Would you suggest me to apply for Pregnancy Health Undertaking? I hope I would be granted a visa before my due date so that I could give birth my 2nd child in Australia.
> Thank you for your time.
> Best regards,
> Hweetee


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mmmfreecake -

Whether a Form 80 is requested depends on several factors including your country of citizenship - Canadians are considered very low risk applicants, so my guess is that there is a low chance of Form 80 being requested. I'd probably wait until they request it, if they even do.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mmmfreecake said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This may have been asked before, but I can't seem to find the answer here.
> 
> I am applying for a 187 Employer Sponsored Visa. I am wondering if I need to submit Form 80 with my application or not? On the immi.gov.au website, Form 80 is listed in the Document Checklist for the 187 visa. However, when I phoned them yesterday they told me that not everyone needs to submit Form 80, and I can submit it if I want to but don't necessarily have to, and my case officer will request it if they want it.
> 
> That seems slightly conflicting - the website says I need it but the person on their customer service line says I don't need to submit it unless it's requested.
> 
> Is it likely to be requested? I don't want to go through the agony of remembering everywhere I've ever lived, worked, and sneezed since I was in the womb unless I reeeeeally have to.
> 
> What's the general verdict on this? Has anyone successfully obtained a visa without this form?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lisatka -

Thanks for the note. There are 2 separate hurdles to get over here - the requirements of the skills assessor, and the requirements of DIBP. If you are applying for state sponsorship (190 or 489 visa) for a skilled visa, then the state sponsorship authority may have their own set of rules. Each one requires careful research to see if you meet them - generally speaking DIBP won't give points for work experience pre-qualification, however if you can meet the skills assessor's requirements for establishing that you were "skilled" at a date prior to the qualification date, there may be a way to claim some points. From this point on it gets complicated as you're into the finer points of the rules of the 3 organisations I mentioned above. It's not possible for me to sort out all the ins & outs of a case online in the forum, but would be happy to work with you in a consultation to go through all the details of your case, gather more information, and determine which visa(s) may be the best fit for you - link for consultation is on our website (link below in my signature).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lisatka said:


> hello Mark, i would really apreciate your advice. I have been a teacher of english as a second language for 8 years. I work for a language school that is attended by all age groups. Last year i completed my bachelor of education and now i am qualified secondary school teacher.the degree included 12 weeks of teaching practice. Now i want to move to australia but i read that only experience gained after my degree counts for skill assessment. Then i was told that i can gain points for my 8 years anyway and i will get my skill assessment because i got my degree. No i am confused. Is it true? Should i apply for visa as a secondary school teacher or as an esl teacher? Thank you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi mfa -

Probably not an issue as long as you explain this to DIBP, and you claim the overlap month with one employer only re: points. I'd suggest putting the ending date of the first job to be prior to the start date of the second job to make things line up better - then all you have to do is to explain the extra month in the ref letter vs what you are claiming.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mfa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I really appreciate for your expert advises on this forum. My problem is as below.
> 
> I have one experience letter from company 1 for work period from 01 Jan 2005 until 08March 2008. Then i have second experience letter from 10 February 2008 until 31 Jan 2010.
> 
> There is one month overlap in experience ( i.e 08 march 2008 and 10 feb 2008, simulatenously coming with both employers) - which happened , as i took 1 month leave from employer 1 and started work with employer 2 , once i was satisfied then i resigned from employer 1 . So employer 1 issued certificate considering the leave period.
> 
> Please help me will this be an issue while claiming points for skilled employment ? I am applying under 189
> 
> thanking you in advance.
> 
> Moeen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phyhle -

Yes, as long as both areas are within the designated areas for the 489, etc visa.A person can combine living periods in 2 different areas within the list of designated areas around Australia to accumulate time to qualify for the 887 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Do you mean that one year living in Orana and one year in Adelaide is considered as 2 year living in a specified regional area as required for visa 887? Thank you very much, Mark.
> 
> Best regards,
> Phu Huu Le


----------



## jhosie

johnvegas said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help.
> 
> I am currently on an ETA and have just come back from America in September and was told I am not allowed to use my ETA anymore even though it still has 10 months left. Which is fine since I was planning on apply for the de facto visa anyways.
> 
> So I am now done with my de facto application and ready to submit. My question is does the bridging visa kick in right away and automatically cancel my ETA or will I need to leave country before the 3 month time frame and then the bridging visa kicks in?
> 
> Thanks again for any help,
> 
> John


Hi Mark im.here again asking advice to u me n fiance r going home this nov 19 2014 we have two weeks vacation getting engagr and we are lodging the pmv on the 24 my question is im currently working here in taiwan as ocw but my contract finished on may 5,2015 next yr so in my form 47sp asking.about my address what address do i have to put the phils address or taiwan address and another question can i.put my current address as addtl informatin at the last page of my form n also my form 80 as well


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

If you're going to be living in Taiwan until May 2015, I'd probably put that address as your current residential address - if you move elsewhere after that, then you can use form 929 to update your information with DIBP to include the new address. Your Phils. address would be included along with other previous addresses in the address history section of the forms (address history for Form 80, countries you've lived in on 47sp).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> Hi Mark im.here again asking advice to u me n fiance r going home this nov 19 2014 we have two weeks vacation getting engagr and we are lodging the pmv on the 24 my question is im currently working here in taiwan as ocw but my contract finished on may 5,2015 next yr so in my form 47sp asking.about my address what address do i have to put the phils address or taiwan address and another question can i.put my current address as addtl informatin at the last page of my form n also my form 80 as well


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> If you're going to be living in Taiwan until May 2015, I'd probably put that address as your current residential address - if you move elsewhere after that, then you can use form 929 to update your information with DIBP to include the new address. Your Phils. address would be included along with other previous addresses in the address history section of the forms (address history for Form 80, countries you've lived in on 47sp).
> 
> ok i put my current address here.in taiwan as current.residential add to my form 47sp form 80 so when im home in may i chnge so where i can pass that form 929 in vfs or i send it thru emaik for the follw up question do u think where i can do my medicals , mark i can attach my a cover letter.on my pmv stating that i did my medical.here last oct 27 what do u think
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


ok when im going home on may


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> If you're going to be living in Taiwan until May 2015, I'd probably put that address as your current residential address - if you move elsewhere after that, then you can use form 929 to update your information with DIBP to include the new address. Your Phils. address would be included along with other previous addresses in the address history section of the forms (address history for Form 80, countries you've lived in on 47sp).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi again Mark when my fiance get the noim i put my philippines address der is that ok


----------



## kaiko

Thank you so much Mark.

This question border me a long time. So lucky that I can find this forum. Really appreciate for your help =]

Cheers



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kaiko -
> 
> Technically once you've lodged your partner visa you can apply for Medicare using the acknowledgement letter from DIBP for the partner visa - you're entitled to it because you have an application pending for a permanent visa (the permanent part - 801 - of the partner visa). They will ask you if you are and plan to be resident in Australia - if you answer "yes", that satisfies another Medicare requirement (hint!).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Probably not an issue that I can see as long as your name is clearly entered on the NOIM and celebrant letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> Hi again Mark when my fiance get the noim i put my philippines address der is that ok


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> Probably not an issue that I can see as long as your name is clearly entered on the NOIM and celebrant letter.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark my.mind is really clear thnk u so much to answer all.my querie its a big help for.me


----------



## jhosie

jhosie said:


> Thank you so much Mark my.mind is really clear thnk u so much to answer all.my querie its a big help for.me


Mark ask of i know update the form 47,40 and 80 they not updating yet so can we used the old man


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

They just announced the expected forms changes here: Summary of Forms Changes - July 2014

Bottom line: you can use form 40sp and 80 as they are now, and probably can use 47sp as the form change is listed as "non-essential" which generally means you can use the previous form without a problem. If the change was an "essential" change then you'd have to use the new form, but the new forms are not out yet.

More info here: Changes to forms and booklets

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> Mark ask of i know update the form 47,40 and 80 they not updating yet so can we used the old man


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jhosie -
> 
> They just announced the expected forms changes here: Summary of Forms Changes â July 2014
> 
> Bottom line: you can use form 40sp and 80 as they are now, and probably can use 47sp as the form change is listed as "non-essential" which generally means you can use the previous form without a problem. If the change was an "essential" change then you'd have to use the new form, but the new forms are not out yet.
> 
> More info here: Changes to forms and booklets
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Thank you Mark


----------



## musmanbutt

Dear Mr Mark

I trust you are doing well.
I would like to seek your advice/Opinion with regards to occupations on schedule2 in WAMSOL. I was waiting earlier for my grant of 489 which i have already gotten but since i have project management/Production background so i wanted to apply for PR190.
I did have chance only to look at SOL on November 1,2014 & by that time my occupation(against which i was being assessed) 233513 already went to schedule 2. Anyway I have lodged the EOI on November 2.
Please advise, if the occupation is on schedule 2, is there any chance to receive the invitation from state without offer letter. Normally, once the occupation goes to schedule 2, when it has probability to go back to schedule 1? In next Year July or not any known time frame.

Looking forward from hearing you soon.

Thanking you in anticipation.
Reg
MUB


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Musmanbutt -

Thanks for the note. Once an occupation goes onto Schedule 2 for the WA Skilled list it requires a signed contract for employment be provided in order to be approved for sponsorship - no way around that that I know of. Have only seen occupations move from Sched 2 to Sched 1 in July when the annual quotas are reset, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



musmanbutt said:


> Dear Mr Mark
> 
> I trust you are doing well.
> I would like to seek your advice/Opinion with regards to occupations on schedule2 in WAMSOL. I was waiting earlier for my grant of 489 which i have already gotten but since i have project management/Production background so i wanted to apply for PR190.
> I did have chance only to look at SOL on November 1,2014 & by that time my occupation(against which i was being assessed) 233513 already went to schedule 2. Anyway I have lodged the EOI on November 2.
> Please advise, if the occupation is on schedule 2, is there any chance to receive the invitation from state without offer letter. Normally, once the occupation goes to schedule 2, when it has probability to go back to schedule 1? In next Year July or not any known time frame.
> 
> Looking forward from hearing you soon.
> 
> Thanking you in anticipation.
> Reg
> MUB


----------



## bhalo_fish

Dear Mark, 

Please guide me necessary steps because my boss is planing to open restaurant in NSW region.
It's old business but he is going to take over. What is requirements if he wants to sponsor me on visa 457. What procedure needs to be done to become approved sponsor. Later he will contact u for compline application. 

Thank you
Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

Thanks for the note - too many details & questions to answer your questions via forum, would need to do so at a consultation - I wish 457 sponsorship was a 1-2-3 kind of thing, but there is planning to be done, especially for restaurants where there is a lot of 457 abuse, to try and make sure that everything has the best chance of being approved by DIBP. The SBS Sponsorship info on the DIBP website is one place to start, but you also have to factor in and plan ahead for the 457 nomination re: genuine position, etc, also decisions to be made re: best way to portray the new business to DIBP re: which financial documents to send of the several options there are for this.

If you or your new boss are interested in a consultation, happy to assist as that would give us the time to go through things in detail - link is in my signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Please guide me necessary steps because my boss is planing to open restaurant in NSW region.
> It's old business but he is going to take over. What is requirements if he wants to sponsor me on visa 457. What procedure needs to be done to become approved sponsor. Later he will contact u for compline application.
> 
> Thank you
> Bharat


----------



## Bulba

Hi Mark, I have been suggested to seek some advice in this thread. Please, could you give your opinion on the following?
I'm a Mechanical Engineer, have got a positive qualification assessment with Enginerrs Australia. It was done in June 2014, with an indication of an Overseas Working Experience from November 2009 until June 2014. It is almost 5 years.
The question is: will I be able to claim 5 years of the relevant work experience? I'm still working in the same engineering position and can provide a letter from my company. Or does only the work experience which is indicated in the Skills Assessment count? 
Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bulba -

Generally DIBP accepts a letter from your employer as evidence of continued employment in a skilled position - this assumes your employer and position are the same as what was assessed previously, and is simply a continuation of that employment. No need generally to have the additional time assessed since you're at the same employer doing the same job.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bulba said:


> Hi Mark, I have been suggested to seek some advice in this thread. Please, could you give your opinion on the following?
> I'm a Mechanical Engineer, have got a positive qualification assessment with Enginerrs Australia. It was done in June 2014, with an indication of an Overseas Working Experience from November 2009 until June 2014. It is almost 5 years.
> The question is: will I be able to claim 5 years of the relevant work experience? I'm still working in the same engineering position and can provide a letter from my company. Or does only the work experience which is indicated in the Skills Assessment count?
> Thank you.


----------



## _teddy

*Visa 189: Secondary applicant pregnant after Medicals*

Hi Mark,

I have applied for visa subclass 189 on the 9th of June 2014 (Onshore, Online). My wife got pregnant after we both have done our medicals. When the CO contacted me on Sept. 18, I notified her the pregnancy and she came back with another email on October 27 requesting for proof of pregnancy and the estimated date of birth which is 08 March 2014. I submitted the required document on October 27 and I am yet to hear back from her. In the same email she has stated quote Once you advise us of the birth of the baby and a formal request letter will be sent to you to request the following documents : the child's birth certificate, passport bio page, and medicals quote. So, my question:

Does that mean the decision on my and my partners visa would be on hold until the submission of the baby's documents? Or am I over-thinking here?

Kind regards


----------



## Bulba

Mark, thank you for the advice. I hope my case will be treated generally.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bulba -
> 
> Generally DIBP accepts a letter from your employer as evidence of continued employment in a skilled position - this assumes your employer and position are the same as what was assessed previously, and is simply a continuation of that employment. No need generally to have the additional time assessed since you're at the same employer doing the same job.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## JRS

*IELTS score- Eligibility for Immigration*

Hi All ,

IELTS score for my Hubby (Primary applicant)

Listening :7.5
Reading :8.0
Writing :6.5
Speaking :7.0
Overall : 7.5

Are we eligible to apply for immigration for Australia with this score?
Do we want individual 7 or overall 7 for Eligibility ?

Please help us out with this query.

Regards
JRS


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Teddy -

Normally a visa decision is not delayed due to a pregnancy as long as all the health exams are completed. If you have been granted the 189 prior to the baby being born and if the baby is born in Australia, the baby may claim citizenship as at least one parent was an Australian permanent resident as of the date of birth.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



_teddy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied for visa subclass 189 on the 9th of June 2014 (Onshore, Online). My wife got pregnant after we both have done our medicals. When the CO contacted me on Sept. 18, I notified her the pregnancy and she came back with another email on October 27 requesting for proof of pregnancy and the estimated date of birth which is 08 March 2014. I submitted the required document on October 27 and I am yet to hear back from her. In the same email she has stated quote Once you advise us of the birth of the baby and a formal request letter will be sent to you to request the following documents : the child's birth certificate, passport bio page, and medicals quote. So, my question:
> 
> Does that mean the decision on my and my partners visa would be on hold until the submission of the baby's documents? Or am I over-thinking here?
> 
> Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JRS -

It depends on which visa - there are many. Normally for skilled visas, the overall score is not counted unless you are trying to prove Functional English for a secondary applicant to avoid the English surcharge. But for the primary applicant in a skilled visa, to get the additional 10 points for IELTS 7, you must score 7 or higher on all bands of the test. However if you don't need the 10 points, then 6 or higher on all bands is generally sufficient to prove Competent English which is the minimum for skilled visas, unless a skills assessor requires a higher score.

As you can see, there are some complexities to the Australian immigration system - you may want to work with a registered migration agent to learn more about the details of the different types of visas and what the requirements of each are in order to help you plan your migration.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JRS said:


> Hi All ,
> 
> IELTS score for my Hubby (Primary applicant)
> 
> Listening :7.5
> Reading :8.0
> Writing :6.5
> Speaking :7.0
> Overall : 7.5
> 
> Are we eligible to apply for immigration for Australia with this score?
> Do we want individual 7 or overall 7 for Eligibility ?
> 
> Please help us out with this query.
> 
> Regards
> JRS


----------



## JRS

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the swift response.

We are planning for 189 .

Apart from Ielts we have only 55 points (30- for Age +10- For work Exp+15 for Qualification).

If I need to claim the my 5 point to support primary applicant score do i need to write IELTS or can i prove the competent English through the education certificate as the medium of instruction , through out my studies is English

Or can i go for 190 as i get 5 points for State sponsership. But for this do we need to show any financial deposits as security amount ...

Thanks 
JRS



MarkNortham said:


> Hi JRS -
> 
> It depends on which visa - there are many. Normally for skilled visas, the overall score is not counted unless you are trying to prove Functional English for a secondary applicant to avoid the English surcharge. But for the primary applicant in a skilled visa, to get the additional 10 points for IELTS 7, you must score 7 or higher on all bands of the test. However if you don't need the 10 points, then 6 or higher on all bands is generally sufficient to prove Competent English which is the minimum for skilled visas, unless a skills assessor requires a higher score.
> 
> As you can see, there are some complexities to the Australian immigration system - you may want to work with a registered migration agent to learn more about the details of the different types of visas and what the requirements of each are in order to help you plan your migration.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JRS -

Re: Competent English, only an approved English test will suffice for the primary applicant. Re: 190, you'd have to check each state as they are all different in terms of specifics like showing sufficient financial assets to migrate here, etc.

The skilled PR visas are complex - you've got 3 overlapping sets of rules - state sponsorship authority, skills assessor, and DIBP's own rules - if you're looking at one of these visas, important to research each set of rules very carefully to see how you can meet them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JRS said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the swift response.
> 
> We are planning for 189 .
> 
> Apart from Ielts we have only 55 points (30- for Age +10- For work Exp+15 for Qualification).
> 
> If I need to claim the my 5 point to support primary applicant score do i need to write IELTS or can i prove the competent English through the education certificate as the medium of instruction , through out my studies is English
> 
> Or can i go for 190 as i get 5 points for State sponsership. But for this do we need to show any financial deposits as security amount ...
> 
> Thanks
> JRS


----------



## _teddy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Teddy -
> 
> Normally a visa decision is not delayed due to a pregnancy as long as all the health exams are completed. If you have been granted the 189 prior to the baby being born and if the baby is born in Australia, the baby may claim citizenship as at least one parent was an Australian permanent resident as of the date of birth.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you for your swift reply. You helped clear my confusions.


----------



## leomama

*Partner visa relationship breakdown with a child*

Hi Mark, 
I would like to seek for your advice.
I applied for a partner visa in April 2013, and am currently on a bridging visa B which will expire on the 17th of Dec and back home in Japan. I have a one year old son with my husband and am currently expecting our second child who will be born in next Feb. Sadly our relationship is ending and we will have to notify the immigration office soon. My husband is intending to withdraw the sponsorship and does not want to support me even if I can come back to Australia. I understand if I was in australia and notify the immigration I still may remain as an applicant for the residency because we have an australian child together. My questions are
1) what would happen if we notify the immigration while I am in Japan on a bridging visa B? Can I still come back to Australia?
2) If I may come back to australia would it be possible to come back after the baby is born? Do I have to come back by the expiring date of the bridging visa B?
3) If I can come back to australia, how long would the process take till I am granted a substantial visa? I am worried because even if I could come back, I will have no access to social benefits unless I have some sort of substantial visa, and without any support from my husband or government I will have no means to support kids let alone myself.

Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## A.Naji

Hi Sir,
Would like to thank you for the effort you put in answering these questions.

To begin with, I'm a curious and somewhat worried student who applied for his student visa a month ago. It is my very first time I go through such process and thus am unfamiliar with what to expect. For now, I want to understand what is this "Letter of Acknowledgement" I hear of. When is it issued? I have received no kind of contact after lodging my application.

Applying outside Australia, AL3, and the payment is *confirmed *by the bank. Moreover, the status of my application is "_received_" (Been so for a month)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leomama -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about your relationship ending.

There is a specific pathway in the regulations for continuing a 820/801 partner visa application when the relationship breaks down and the applicant and spouse have a child together - beyond the requirements, it is important that you notify DIBP and provide your claim to continue the visa application, and that you make sure DIBP has your current contact information at all times re: notices related to the partner visa.

Given the very specific regulations in this area, I'm not able to give advice on this on the forum as there are simply too many questions re: the circumstances of the partner visa application and your circumstances personally that could have a bearing on the advice, especially given you're offshore. Would be happy to go through all of this with you at a consultation which would give us the opportunity to work through the details and determine the specific steps you need to take at this time - see link in my email signature below for more information or to book. But either way, would strongly suggest you work with a registered migration agent to determine the steps you need to take, timing, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leomama said:


> Hi Mark,
> I would like to seek for your advice.
> I applied for a partner visa in April 2013, and am currently on a bridging visa B which will expire on the 17th of Dec and back home in Japan. I have a one year old son with my husband and am currently expecting our second child who will be born in next Feb. Sadly our relationship is ending and we will have to notify the immigration office soon. My husband is intending to withdraw the sponsorship and does not want to support me even if I can come back to Australia. I understand if I was in australia and notify the immigration I still may remain as an applicant for the residency because we have an australian child together. My questions are
> 1) what would happen if we notify the immigration while I am in Japan on a bridging visa B? Can I still come back to Australia?
> 2) If I may come back to australia would it be possible to come back after the baby is born? Do I have to come back by the expiring date of the bridging visa B?
> 3) If I can come back to australia, how long would the process take till I am granted a substantial visa? I am worried because even if I could come back, I will have no access to social benefits unless I have some sort of substantial visa, and without any support from my husband or government I will have no means to support kids let alone myself.
> 
> Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi A. Naji -

Thanks for the note - normally a letter or email is sent to the applicant when a student visa is lodged, however if you lodged offshore as I expect, the Embassy or post that you lodged the application with may not follow this procedure. If you're seeing evidence on the DIBP website, etc that the application has been received, and the payment has been taken, that's generally good evidence that they application has been successfully received by DIBP. They will now go through various processing steps to assess whether it is a valid application, and then assess you for the visa. It can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for them to do this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



A.Naji said:


> Hi Sir,
> Would like to thank you for the effort you put in answering these questions.
> 
> To begin with, I'm a curious and somewhat worried student who applied for his student visa a month ago. It is my very first time I go through such process and thus am unfamiliar with what to expect. For now, I want to understand what is this "Letter of Acknowledgement" I hear of. When is it issued? I have received no kind of contact after lodging my application.
> 
> Applying outside Australia, AL3, and the payment is *confirmed *by the bank. Moreover, the status of my application is "_received_" (Been so for a month)


----------



## gtbmad

*Partner Visa*

Hi Mark

I am a Australian Citizen married to a Chinese national we were married in Australia over 5 years ago (and have been living together together for 7 years }whilst my wife was on a 457 now expired.

We have been living together in China since Aug 2009 , we are looking to return to Australia to start a family next year. Since it could take more than 6 months to process a offshore visa would we be better served to visit and apply for a onshore partner visa and then get a bridging Visa whilst in Australia.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gtbmad -

Thanks for the note - that could work as long as the visitor visa she gets to come to Australia does not have condition 8503 (no further stay) on it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gtbmad said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am a Australian Citizen married to a Chinese national we were married in Australia over 5 years ago (and have been living together together for 7 years }whilst my wife was on a 457 now expired.
> 
> We have been living together in China since Aug 2009 , we are looking to return to Australia to start a family next year. Since it could take more than 6 months to process a offshore visa would we be better served to visit and apply for a onshore partner visa and then get a bridging Visa whilst in Australia.


----------



## theri

Hi Mark

I just found out about this thread and wanted to thank you first for answering questions here.

I have a question (which might have already been asked before) regarding my visa application. I applied for Subclass 886 (Family Sponsored - Skilled) visa in February 2010. I'm currently still living onshore with bridging visa, waiting for my permanent residency to be approved.

It's getting close to 5 years soon and I still haven't heard back. Do you have any advice or know what is going on? I know that I fall under the Priority Group 5 category. I'm very settled here in Australia and have also bought my first property here.

Should I keep waiting or should I look into another option (like getting an employer to sponsor me)?

Thank you in advance
Richie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Richie -

Thanks for the note. Wish I could give you some sort of a timeframe for a Priority 5 situation, but DIBP doesn't have any - however I've seen some 2008 and 2009 cases coming up over the last 12 months if that's any indication (again, very hard to predict).

You could certainly look for a different type of visa, as that would not affect your situation with the 886.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



theri said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I just found out about this thread and wanted to thank you first for answering questions here.
> 
> I have a question (which might have already been asked before) regarding my visa application. I applied for Subclass 886 (Family Sponsored - Skilled) visa in February 2010. I'm currently still living onshore with bridging visa, waiting for my permanent residency to be approved.
> 
> It's getting close to 5 years soon and I still haven't heard back. Do you have any advice or know what is going on? I know that I fall under the Priority Group 5 category. I'm very settled here in Australia and have also bought my first property here.
> 
> Should I keep waiting or should I look into another option (like getting an employer to sponsor me)?
> 
> Thank you in advance
> Richie


----------



## doodler

*prospective marrige eligabillity*

hello mark
i want to sponsor my partner for the prospective marriage visa but I'm afraid I'm not eligible.
my partner is from Indonesia, we are both 23 years old & she is currently in Australia on a work visa.
We have been together for 4 months & i told her i intend to sponsor her after her work visa expires in may next year but i am currently a university student & have no work experience prior to studying, is this a huge factor in sponsoring my partner & to keep her in Australia permanently?


----------



## UKStudent

*Relationship declaration 573 student visa*

Hi Mark

I'm a UK citizen with a confirmed place at an Australian university for a 2 year taught postgrad course starting Feb 2015. I'm already in Australia on a visitor visa and about to apply for a 573 student visa whilst onshore. But I'm a few months in to a relationship with an Australian resident. I'm worried that declaring my relationship on my 573 application might make Immi think I'm not a genuine temporary entrant and that my 573 visa will be declined on that basis. Yet if I don't declare it, I could be misleading them. Do you have any advice on how I could handle this?


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi JRS -
> 
> Re: Competent English, only an approved English test will suffice for the primary applicant. Re: 190, you'd have to check each state as they are all different in terms of specifics like showing sufficient financial assets to migrate here, etc.
> 
> The skilled PR visas are complex - you've got 3 overlapping sets of rules - state sponsorship authority, skills assessor, and DIBP's own rules - if you're looking at one of these visas, important to research each set of rules very carefully to see how you can meet them.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Mark im just asking.some question regarding our history relationship this all bt the engagement its ok we put in the history that we engage on 22 we put the date on the history n we lodge on the 24 it doesnt matter that 2days before lodging but we are 3yrs in relationship thnks for reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Doodler -

Thanks for the note - actually your work experience and student status, etc is not a factor in a fiance (PMV) visa. The focus is on your relationship with your fiance, that it's genuine, and that you both have genuine plans to enter into a marriage together. Note she'll need to be offshore when you apply for this visa, and these typically take about 9 months to process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



doodler said:


> hello mark
> i want to sponsor my partner for the prospective marriage visa but I'm afraid I'm not eligible.
> my partner is from Indonesia, we are both 23 years old & she is currently in Australia on a work visa.
> We have been together for 4 months & i told her i intend to sponsor her after her work visa expires in may next year but i am currently a university student & have no work experience prior to studying, is this a huge factor in sponsoring my partner & to keep her in Australia permanently?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi UKStudent -

It could be an issue, but unless you believe that the relationship has escalated to the level of defacto partners (which, according to DIBP, generally requires living together for 12 months) or are married to her, then there is no obligation to disclose this on the visa application. If you want to list her as a "friend", etc then that's one thing, but no need that I see to disclose the relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



UKStudent said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I'm a UK citizen with a confirmed place at an Australian university for a 2 year taught postgrad course starting Feb 2015. I'm already in Australia on a visitor visa and about to apply for a 573 student visa whilst onshore. But I'm a few months in to a relationship with an Australian resident. I'm worried that declaring my relationship on my 573 application might make Immi think I'm not a genuine temporary entrant and that my 573 visa will be declined on that basis. Yet if I don't declare it, I could be misleading them. Do you have any advice on how I could handle this?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

There's no fixed period of time you have to wait after you become engaged to lodge the PMV visa application. I would spend plenty of time showing the details of the 3 years relationship so DIBP doesn't think that it's a last-minute type of relationship. Also, don't forget to also talk in your relationship statements about all your plans for the future together, when/where you'll get married, etc. Also be ready for a phone interview, etc from DIBP and be very, very familiar with your partner's life, family, work, finances, etc. (Partner might get interviewed too, so he need to be very familiar with the same elements of your life)

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> Mark im just asking.some question regarding our history relationship this all bt the engagement its ok we put in the history that we engage on 22 we put the date on the history n we lodge on the 24 it doesnt matter that 2days before lodging but we are 3yrs in relationship thnks for reply


----------



## Austyn

Aloha Mark, me again.

I was just wondering, if I send my sc 461 visa through express next day mail, how long until I get notified that they have recieved my application and that I am eligible for a bridging visa ? Will I be contacted via post or email? 

Thank you!


----------



## ecko123

Hi Mark 
Can you shed some light on

What is meant here by ceiling value and results to date ..
Also what is meant by pro rata arrangements ??



> As there are high levels of interest from prospective skilled migrants in the below occupations, pro rata arrangements for this occupational group will apply. These arrangements are subject to change throughout the programme years:
> 
> ICT Business and Systems Analysts
> Software and Applications Programmers
> Accountants.





> Occupation ID
> 
> Description
> 
> Ceiling Value
> 
> Results to date
> 
> 1331
> 
> Construction Managers
> 
> 5178
> 
> 58


----------



## myahya

*DOB Issue*

Hi Mark,

Was referred to this thread by Mish. Have a potential (major) issue in the future. My Indonesian Girlfriend (of 2+ years) has conflicting DOB on Passport and Birth Certificate. As I understand the situation, Passport was arranged by an agency to allow her to work in Singapore 7+ years ago in which DOB was altered. Birth Certificate is also incorrect since she was born in a village, and reported at a later date, by illiterate parents, so birth date really could be anything - We don't know for certain. So actually all dates are incorrect.

Before processing any Visa application (on that note I believe PMV would be best from what I've read), would it be best to alter birth certificate since we cannot really confirm actual DOB anyway? I would also assume that if passport DOB were instead changed that this would also create problems with the countries that she has previously worked in and/or visited since she would have used this passport.

I suppose that my major concern would be that if PMV was not approved after changing Passport DOB, then that she would not be able to return to those other countries to work again (to support her Family in Indonesia), forcing her to return to Indonesia where she would remain indefinitely, and the rest of her Family would also suffer as a result of having no income.

 doom and gloom currently forecast for the future


----------



## vleong01

*Working in New Zealand*

Hi Mark,
I'm currently holding an Australian Permanent Residency and I have stayed in Australia for about 1 year 6 months now. I've got a job offer in New Zealand and I'm planning to go there to work. Can I still renew my Australian PR after the 5 years expiry lapsed? Does the duration of staying/working in New Zealand counted in the duration of stay in Australia for Australian PR renewal? What are the alternatives that I have if I really want to grab the job opportunities in New Zealand?

Cheers!


----------



## killtheoriginal

HI Mark,

I am applying for 485 (graduate work scheme) as I obtained my student visa before nov 2011. I will be graduating from law this december. Will be getting a provisional skill assessment from the NSW legal admission board

My question is. I do not know whether i should be taking general or academic ielts test. I tried to look it up on the immigration website and it does not specify which one i should take. Also to obtain the provisional skill assessment, i do not need ielts (if i understand correctly). Does this mean i can take either general or academic ielts test? 

Thanks a lot! 

Regards 
Yuan


----------



## clund

*De Facto*

Hi Mark 
I am a bit confused around the de facto visa. 
Is there just the one application that you lodge? Or is there more?
Where can I find the application?
I noticed that it was $3050 to lodge this application, is this the only fee or is there any more? Someone told me it would cost about $6500 by the time I had finished but that doesn't seem right?
Thanks for your help  
Carly


----------



## Charlieellen

Hi Mark,

I wondered if you could help us with a few questions we had about the police clearances. My partner is Fijian and applying for a De Facto partner visa in March 2015. My partner went today to get a police clearance, however he was told he needed a case number before he applied. I'm assuming this is the case number you are given when you apply for a Partner Visa. So our questions are;

- Can you send the police clearance after you have already applied for the partner visa? If so, how long after your application is received are you able to send it?
- Can you apply for a Police Check for Fiji while you are living in Australia? 
- Do we apply online or send an application by post?
- Will the clearance be sent directly to Immigration in Australia or will they post it to us and then we attach it to our online application?
- Are they able to email it to us?

Thank you in advance for your advice on this matter.

Kind regards,

Charlotte and Erwin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ecko123 -

Ceiling value is the max number of invitations that will be issued for this occupation for the program year (July - June); results to date are how many invitations have been issued since the beginning of the program year, pro rata arrangements mean they will take the remaining spots and apportion them over the months remaining so they won't all run out at once.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ecko123 said:


> Hi Mark
> Can you shed some light on
> 
> What is meant here by ceiling value and results to date ..
> Also what is meant by pro rata arrangements ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Myahya -

Hard to give advice on this one as there could be any number of additional issues depending on where you have used the birth cert before. Assuming you have not used it for Australian immigration before and you have no idea what the actual birth date is, if you could change that it may make your Australian visa applcation process more smoothly. However if DIBP (Australian immigration) discover somehow that you've altered the date, they would want to know all the reasons why, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



myahya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Was referred to this thread by Mish. Have a potential (major) issue in the future. My Indonesian Girlfriend (of 2+ years) has conflicting DOB on Passport and Birth Certificate. As I understand the situation, Passport was arranged by an agency to allow her to work in Singapore 7+ years ago in which DOB was altered. Birth Certificate is also incorrect since she was born in a village, and reported at a later date, by illiterate parents, so birth date really could be anything - We don't know for certain. So actually all dates are incorrect.
> 
> Before processing any Visa application (on that note I believe PMV would be best from what I've read), would it be best to alter birth certificate since we cannot really confirm actual DOB anyway? I would also assume that if passport DOB were instead changed that this would also create problems with the countries that she has previously worked in and/or visited since she would have used this passport.
> 
> I suppose that my major concern would be that if PMV was not approved after changing Passport DOB, then that she would not be able to return to those other countries to work again (to support her Family in Indonesia), forcing her to return to Indonesia where she would remain indefinitely, and the rest of her Family would also suffer as a result of having no income.
> 
> doom and gloom currently forecast for the future


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vleong01 -

Thanks for the question. Time spent in NZ does not count towards time in Australia for purposes of the Resident Return Visa you'll need to apply for before your PR 5 year period expires. See DIBP site for "155 visa" and you can see the various options for the RRV which is essentially a renewal for 5 years of the re-entry rights of your PR visa. Easiest way is to be physically in Australia for 24 months during the 5 years before your RRV application date - this gets you a 5 year RRV. Short of that, substantial ties to Australia or Australians (see website for many more details on this) can get you a 1-year RRV.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vleong01 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm currently holding an Australian Permanent Residency and I have stayed in Australia for about 1 year 6 months now. I've got a job offer in New Zealand and I'm planning to go there to work. Can I still renew my Australian PR after the 5 years expiry lapsed? Does the duration of staying/working in New Zealand counted in the duration of stay in Australia for Australian PR renewal? What are the alternatives that I have if I really want to grab the job opportunities in New Zealand?
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Usually a few days to a few weeks. If you allow email on your application notification options, they'll generally email, although sometimes they send the acknowledgement by post even if you allow email.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Aloha Mark, me again.
> 
> I was just wondering, if I send my sc 461 visa through express next day mail, how long until I get notified that they have recieved my application and that I am eligible for a bridging visa ? Will I be contacted via post or email?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Killtheoriginal -

You need IELTS of 6 or higher on all bands of the test in order to apply for the 485. For DIBP purposes, either version works. You need to confirm with the legal admission board whether they require IELTS or not, and if they do, what version(s) of the test they accept. Again, either version is OK with DIBP, but you must have the IELTS results in hand at the time of application for the 485.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



killtheoriginal said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> I am applying for 485 (graduate work scheme) as I obtained my student visa before nov 2011. I will be graduating from law this december. Will be getting a provisional skill assessment from the NSW legal admission board
> 
> My question is. I do not know whether i should be taking general or academic ielts test. I tried to look it up on the immigration website and it does not specify which one i should take. Also to obtain the provisional skill assessment, i do not need ielts (if i understand correctly). Does this mean i can take either general or academic ielts test?
> 
> Thanks a lot!
> 
> Regards
> Yuan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carly -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you lodge this online and you're offshore, you would open up an ImmiAccount online account (free), and lodge a "Migration for a Partner..." new application in the ImmiAccount. You'd then lodge this and pay for it, which is $3,050 to DIBP for the visa application charge. Then you'd complete another online form called "Sponsorship for a partner..." which is a similar form that you fill out about the sponsor. You would then submit this form (no additional charge) online. And that's it! You may have to pay for health exams, police clearance certificates, etc, but those are all the DIBP charges for the PMV visa.

If you're onshore and lodge, the procedure above is the same, but the visa application charge is $4,575.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



clund said:


> Hi Mark
> I am a bit confused around the de facto visa.
> Is there just the one application that you lodge? Or is there more?
> Where can I find the application?
> I noticed that it was $3050 to lodge this application, is this the only fee or is there any more? Someone told me it would cost about $6500 by the time I had finished but that doesn't seem right?
> Thanks for your help
> Carly


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charlie & Ellen -

Thanks for the question. A number of countries including Fiji only accept applications for police clearance certificates (PCCs) if a request letter from DIBP is provided. See details here: Fiji

Normally DIBP will not provide a request letter until a case officer is allocated for your application - once that happens and they request the PCCs, you then email them back and request a request letter since Fiji requires it, then upon receipt of the request letter from DIBP you make the request to the Fiji authorities per the procedures on the link above. Normally the authorities will email you the certificate - you then get a high quality colour scan of the document and upload to your ImmiAccount for your partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Charlieellen said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I wondered if you could help us with a few questions we had about the police clearances. My partner is Fijian and applying for a De Facto partner visa in March 2015. My partner went today to get a police clearance, however he was told he needed a case number before he applied. I'm assuming this is the case number you are given when you apply for a Partner Visa. So our questions are;
> 
> - Can you send the police clearance after you have already applied for the partner visa? If so, how long after your application is received are you able to send it?
> - Can you apply for a Police Check for Fiji while you are living in Australia?
> - Do we apply online or send an application by post?
> - Will the clearance be sent directly to Immigration in Australia or will they post it to us and then we attach it to our online application?
> - Are they able to email it to us?
> 
> Thank you in advance for your advice on this matter.
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Charlotte and Erwin


----------



## Milooo Adell

*Streamlined visa with Kaplan Business School Master Degree Program*

Dear Mr Mark

After long search i finally found the suitable institution with a campus in Sydney, and offers 2 years master degree in both business administration and accounting. And at the same time with a reasonably prices and cheaper than all the other universities.
It's called Kaplan Business School, It offers master degrees which is suitable for the Streamlined Student Visa but it's not a public university or a public institution, it's a private business school.
Now i would like to know if such private Institutions are fully accredited from the Official Authorities in Australia ???
Is that Possible through kaplan Business School to get the Streamlined Visa Subclass 573 ???
And after graduation from this Business School will be possible to get the temporary graduate Visa subclass 485???

Kind Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Milooo -

Thanks for the note. Re: SVP, you would need to research the SVP list (a new one was just released today, effective 23 Nov) to see where Kaplan Business School is situated. I took a quick look and it appears that Kaplan only works as SVP when a degree there is combined with a degree from an affiliated University. If the course is listed on CRICOS, then you can likely assume it is accredited as an AQF course. Meeting the Australian Study Requirement (92 weeks duration in Cricos, etc) is the primary requirement for the 485.

Many details to all of your questions - too many to work through via anonymous emails on a forum - if you'd like to discuss any of this at a consultation, would be happy to do so - see my website link in my signature below. Short of that, I'd carefully research Kaplan and find out if standalone degrees from Kaplan would qualify for SVP. If the course is CRICOS listed, then it qualifies for study under a student visa and is considered at the AQF standard.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Milooo Adell said:


> Dear Mr Mark
> 
> After long search i finally found the suitable institution with a campus in Sydney, and offers 2 years master degree in both business administration and accounting. And at the same time with a reasonably prices and cheaper than all the other universities.
> It's called Kaplan Business School, It offers master degrees which is suitable for the Streamlined Student Visa but it's not a public university or a public institution, it's a private business school.
> Now i would like to know if such private Institutions are fully accredited from the Official Authorities in Australia ???
> Is that Possible through kaplan Business School to get the Streamlined Visa Subclass 573 ???
> And after graduation from this Business School will be possible to get the temporary graduate Visa subclass 485???
> 
> Kind Regards


----------



## andyrossi

Hi Mark.
I am preparing my 189 independent skilled application but I am slightly worried about my UK qualification.

My trade (fibrous plasterer) falls within the TRA skills assessment authority and Ive heard that they are the worst authority to deal with...

My qualification is an NVQ Level 2. However an NVQ Level 3 is equivilent to a AQF qualification: Certificate IV

Is it a dead certainty that my application would be refused if I applied with a NVQ level 2 and waste $1000.

We want to get PR as fast as possible. The only other option would be to get my employer to sponsor me on a 457.

Can you suggest anything?

Thanks
Andy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andy -

I've heard of some cases where an NVQ2 has gotten through, but have never done one like that myself. I would call up TRA and have a chat with them about whether your qual will have a reasonable chance of success. I've heard that in some cases, if there was an apprenticeship involved with the NVQ2, it can help. But rather than risk $1k, give them a call. If you don't get a helpful person the first time, then call back again (and again) until you do.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andyrossi said:


> Hi Mark.
> I am preparing my 189 independent skilled application but I am slightly worried about my UK qualification.
> 
> My trade (fibrous plasterer) falls within the TRA skills assessment authority and Ive heard that they are the worst authority to deal with...
> 
> My qualification is an NVQ Level 2. However an NVQ Level 3 is equivilent to a AQF qualification: Certificate IV
> 
> Is it a dead certainty that my application would be refused if I applied with a NVQ level 2 and waste $1000.
> 
> We want to get PR as fast as possible. The only other option would be to get my employer to sponsor me on a 457.
> 
> Can you suggest anything?
> 
> Thanks
> Andy


----------



## IndyMama

Mark, you told me once that I should carefully consider when to involve my children in the migration process. I've applied for a pmv and the biological father will not give permission for anything other than a tourist visa. When the kids are 18 and legal adults, will I have any options to sponsor them to come live in Australia?
Thanks


----------



## Rodeobear

mark i have a little dilemma, doing a application for a visitor visa 600 for a friend in Ukraine, would the situation in Ukraine affect the decision of her visa? And how much would it affect it? So really what I'm asking is, is there actually any hope of getting approved?


----------



## clund

Thanks mark ... onne ive apolied and am waiting for approval what type of visa am i on?

Thanks again

Carly.

QUOTE=MarkNortham;668625]Hi Carly -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you lodge this online and you're offshore, you would open up an ImmiAccount online account (free), and lodge a "Migration for a Partner..." new application in the ImmiAccount. You'd then lodge this and pay for it, which is $3,050 to DIBP for the visa application charge. Then you'd complete another online form called "Sponsorship for a partner..." which is a similar form that you fill out about the sponsor. You would then submit this form (no additional charge) online. And that's it! You may have to pay for health exams, police clearance certificates, etc, but those are all the DIBP charges for the PMV visa.

If you're onshore and lodge, the procedure above is the same, but the visa application charge is $4,575.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam[/QUOTE]


----------



## syd

Hello Mark,
I have a query regarding PMV.

If I apply for PMV $3085 but decide to get married before PMV is granted, will I need to pay the full fee of $4575 for 820 or will we pay the difference of $1500?


----------



## BvizMi

*Q about multiple entrance temporary visa*

Hi Mark 
Thanks for your help and suggestions, my fiancée and I had submitted our PMV visa back to September this year. Recently I got granted tourist visa with multiple entries (subclass 600) and visited my fiancée last month in Australia. 
I quote part content from this temporary visa for your convenience. "Stay---for/until 3 month(s); Entries---Multiple". I got one concern relates to the understanding of "Multiple entries". 
So, if I stay for 2 months in Australia then Could I fly out to another country for a few days and re-enter Australia for another 3 months? 
I really want to take good advantages of the "multipe entries" to spend more time with my fiancée in Australia. So both of us came up with this idea when we noticed the "multiple entries" item. I just hope the way of my temporay stay could work out and not break the laws.
We are looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Wish you have a pleasant day.
Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IndyMama -

Generally speaking (since I am not familiar with all the details of your case), it may be possible to sponsor them on a child visa if they remain in school full-time after they graduate high school, but to do this you would need to show primary financial dependence on you, and DIBP will likely expect that they live with you other than if they're away at school.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Mark, you told me once that I should carefully consider when to involve my children in the migration process. I've applied for a pmv and the biological father will not give permission for anything other than a tourist visa. When the kids are 18 and legal adults, will I have any options to sponsor them to come live in Australia?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodeobear -

Yes, it would affect things - any country that is suffering war or violence tends to make it harder to get a visitor visa from, as DIBP will assume that escaping the violence is the "real reason" they want to come to Australia, and this increases the chance (in DIBP's view) that they will lodge a refugee application once here, etc.

A detailed, thorough submission addressing all the elements of the Genuine Visitor policy criteria is the best way to maximise the chances of success.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> mark i have a little dilemma, doing a application for a visitor visa 600 for a friend in Ukraine, would the situation in Ukraine affect the decision of her visa? And how much would it affect it? So really what I'm asking is, is there actually any hope of getting approved?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carly -

If you apply offshore for a partner visa, you have no visa unless you separately apply for a visitor visa, etc. If you apply onshore (in Australia) for a visitor visa, assuming you don't have any legal bar to do so, you would be granted a bridging visa that would activate at the end of whatever current visa you are on in Australia and would allow you to remain in Australia until the partner visa is decided.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



clund said:


> Thanks mark ... onne ive apolied and am waiting for approval what type of visa am i on?
> 
> Thanks again
> 
> Carly.
> 
> QUOTE=MarkNortham;668625]Hi Carly -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Assuming you lodge this online and you're offshore, you would open up an ImmiAccount online account (free), and lodge a "Migration for a Partner..." new application in the ImmiAccount. You'd then lodge this and pay for it, which is $3,050 to DIBP for the visa application charge. Then you'd complete another online form called "Sponsorship for a partner..." which is a similar form that you fill out about the sponsor. You would then submit this form (no additional charge) online. And that's it! You may have to pay for health exams, police clearance certificates, etc, but those are all the DIBP charges for the PMV visa.
> 
> If you're onshore and lodge, the procedure above is the same, but the visa application charge is $4,575.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Syd -

If you marry after the PMV is applied for but before it is granted/decided, you would need to then inform DIBP and it would be considered to be an offshore partner visa application (you would need to submit further evidence at that point). Price is the same, so no charge if that happens. This happens even if you are in Australia when you are married, so no bridging visa. If you plan to marry in Australia, far better to wait until the PMV is approved, then marry in Australia while on the PMV, then apply for an onshore partner visa which gets you a bridging visa to remain in Australia after the PMV expires. Then you pay $1,145 difference (assuming no children, etc) between offshore & onshore partner visa when you apply for the partner visa onshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



syd said:


> Hello Mark,
> I have a query regarding PMV.
> 
> If I apply for PMV $3085 but decide to get married before PMV is granted, will I need to pay the full fee of $4575 for 820 or will we pay the difference of $1500?


----------



## syd

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Syd -
> 
> If you marry after the PMV is applied for but before it is granted/decided, you would need to then inform DIBP and it would be considered to be an offshore partner visa application (you would need to submit further evidence at that point). Price is the same, so no charge if that happens. This happens even if you are in Australia when you are married, so no bridging visa. If you plan to marry in Australia, far better to wait until the PMV is approved, then marry in Australia while on the PMV, then apply for an onshore partner visa which gets you a bridging visa to remain in Australia after the PMV expires. Then you pay $1,145 difference (assuming no children, etc) between offshore & onshore partner visa when you apply for the partner visa onshore.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Ah, thank you so much  You are a blessing to this forum.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BvizMi -

Thanks for that question - you can certainly exit and re-enter after a few days, however if you do that too many times, DIBP can become concerned that you are no longer visiting Australia for "temporary visitor" reasons.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BvizMi said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanks for your help and suggestions, my fiancée and I had submitted our PMV visa back to September this year. Recently I got granted tourist visa with multiple entries (subclass 600) and visited my fiancée last month in Australia.
> I quote part content from this temporary visa for your convenience. "Stay---for/until 3 month(s); Entries---Multiple". I got one concern relates to the understanding of "Multiple entries".
> So, if I stay for 2 months in Australia then Could I fly out to another country for a few days and re-enter Australia for another 3 months?
> I really want to take good advantages of the "multipe entries" to spend more time with my fiancée in Australia. So both of us came up with this idea when we noticed the "multiple entries" item. I just hope the way of my temporay stay could work out and not break the laws.
> We are looking forward to hearing from you soon.
> Wish you have a pleasant day.
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## Rodeobear

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rodeobear -
> 
> Yes, it would affect things - any country that is suffering war or violence tends to make it harder to get a visitor visa from, as DIBP will assume that escaping the violence is the "real reason" they want to come to Australia, and this increases the chance (in DIBP's view) that they will lodge a refugee application once here, etc.
> 
> A detailed, thorough submission addressing all the elements of the Genuine Visitor policy criteria is the best way to maximise the chances of success.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for the info
You have probably heard this a lot, but what you're doing here is a great thing. I'm sure a lot of people are grateful for you taking the time out of your day to answer our questions so thankyou


----------



## killtheoriginal

Hi Mark,

I understand that i would have to do a health check for 485 application. But does it require to be done at specific hospitals and do i just walk in and say i would like a body check up for the 485 application or is there any guidelines or forms i could show the hiospital? I couldn't find these answers on the immigration website. Could you please help?


Thanks

Regards.


----------



## calvinsum

Hi Mark,
Thanks for offering us such a good opportunity to ask general questions!
I just finished my PhD in the University of New South Wales and am about to seek a job of biomedical scientist (postdoctoral scientist) in a university or research institute in Australia. My question is about the direct entry stream. If I want to get my PR visa through this stream, should my prospective supervisor offer me with a at least two-year contract as well as s/he is eligible and would like to sponsor me to get it? 
Thanks for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Killtheoriginal -

No, must be done per protocol at a BUPA Visa Medical Services facility - see http://bupamvs.com for more - if you do this prior to lodging, you need to set up an ImmiAccount, fill out a new application for "My Health Declarations", then generate the health referral letter from that process and use the info in the referral letter to make your appt with BUPA.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



killtheoriginal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I understand that i would have to do a health check for 485 application. But does it require to be done at specific hospitals and do i just walk in and say i would like a body check up for the 485 application or is there any guidelines or forms i could show the hiospital? I couldn't find these answers on the immigration website. Could you please help?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks for the kind words, Rodeobear! Means a lot - helping people is why I'm in this business.

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> Thanks for the info
> You have probably heard this a lot, but what you're doing here is a great thing. I'm sure a lot of people are grateful for you taking the time out of your day to answer our questions so thankyou


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Calvinsum -

Thanks for the note - I believe you're asking about the subclass 186 ENS visa? If so, yes you need a 2-year contract - there are some special exceptions for University Researchers for this visa that may or may not apply to your situation depending on the details - see DIBP site for more information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



calvinsum said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for offering us such a good opportunity to ask general questions!
> I just finished my PhD in the University of New South Wales and am about to seek a job of biomedical scientist (postdoctoral scientist) in a university or research institute in Australia. My question is about the direct entry stream. If I want to get my PR visa through this stream, should my prospective supervisor offer me with a at least two-year contract as well as s/he is eligible and would like to sponsor me to get it?
> Thanks for your time!


----------



## jhosie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ecko123 -
> 
> Ceiling value is the max number of invitations that will be issued for this occupation for the program year (July - June); results to date are how many invitations have been issued since the beginning of the program year, pro rata arrangements mean they will take the remaining spots and apportion them over the months remaining so they won't all run out at once.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark can i ask u again.reg my 47sp there question there the country.of.passport.what should i write, i renew my passport here in taiwan


----------



## Charlieellen

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Charlie & Ellen -
> 
> Thanks for the question. A number of countries including Fiji only accept applications for police clearance certificates (PCCs) if a request letter from DIBP is provided. See details here: Fiji
> 
> Normally DIBP will not provide a request letter until a case officer is allocated for your application - once that happens and they request the PCCs, you then email them back and request a request letter since Fiji requires it, then upon receipt of the request letter from DIBP you make the request to the Fiji authorities per the procedures on the link above. Normally the authorities will email you the certificate - you then get a high quality colour scan of the document and upload to your ImmiAccount for your partner visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks so much for the prompt reply. Thanks for your time in answering our questions. This makes sense now.

Kind regards,

Charlotte


----------



## Austyn

Aloha Mark!

Hope you are well.

I just had some questions. And you are by far the best resource I have came across so far.

I recently lodged my sc 461 to the New Zealand relationship visa centre via next day express. And I have a tracking number and everything for it. And it is in transit and not delivered yet. I was just wondering. 

Will I be notified/issued (if eligible) a bridging visa when my application is recieved?

What would I have to do if my application isn't recieved before my current eta visitor visa ends?

Is there a onshore visa I can apply for that will allow me to stay in Australia while awaiting my bridging visa or sc 461 final decision?

Or will I have to leave Australia and return so my 90 days of my eta visa is reset?


----------



## killtheoriginal

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Killtheoriginal -
> 
> No, must be done per protocol at a BUPA Visa Medical Services facility - see bupamvs.for more - if you do this prior to lodging, you need to set up an ImmiAccount, fill out a new application for "My Health Declarations", then generate the health referral letter from that process and use the info in the referral letter to make your appt with BUPA.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


HI Mark,

Thanks for replying me. I'm not too sure that i understand fully what you mean. R u saying that the Health check is normally done after i have submitted my 485 application? Could you please explain to me again?

Sorry for the trouble. But really thanks a lot.

Regards


----------



## Irish Salvana

Hello Mark, 
Good day. I would like to ask about my Spouse Visa application. I send my subclass 820/801 application last Friday 14th. I guess been received Monday 17th. How many days they will probably reply?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhosie -

Sorry, difficult for me to assist without seeing documents. Generally the country of passport refers to the actual country that ***issued*** the passport - that is, the country you are a citizen of. Whether you received or renewed that passport from an embassy in another country isn't that important - key is citizenship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhosie said:


> Hi Mark can i ask u again.reg my 47sp there question there the country.of.passport.what should i write, i renew my passport here in taiwan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Killtheoriginal -

Sorry for the confusion - No, absolutely not - you must submit evidence that you have arranged for health examinations with your 485 application or it will be refused.As of the date of the application, you must have at least made arrangements (ie, made a booking) and submit evidence of this. If you have completed the exams by the date of application (a good idea), then you must submit a receipt or other proof of this with your 485 application.

Not possible for me to walk you through all the steps on an anonymous forum like this - suggest you carefully consult the DIBP website if you are not using an agent, and make sure you go through all of the steps in order to book your medical with BUPA if you are in Australia BEFORE you lodge the 485.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



killtheoriginal said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> Thanks for replying me. I'm not too sure that i understand fully what you mean. R u saying that the Health check is normally done after i have submitted my 485 application? Could you please explain to me again?
> 
> Sorry for the trouble. But really thanks a lot.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Irish Salvana -

No way to tell - online lodgements generally work far better as you get a bridging visa instantly. I'd give it 1-2 weeks to be receipted and a bridging visa, etc issued.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Irish Salvana said:


> Hello Mark,
> Good day. I would like to ask about my Spouse Visa application. I send my subclass 820/801 application last Friday 14th. I guess been received Monday 17th. How many days they will probably reply?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Thanks for the note. Lodging paper applications close to the expiry of your current stay or current visa can be risky, as DIBP does not always receipt and issue a bridging visa the day it arrives at the mailbox there. The effective date of lodgement is the day DIBP opens the package, generally. If it's looking like your ETA will expire and DIBP has not issued a bridging visa, you have a tough choice - contact DIBP by phone and get them to issue the bridging visa quickly (may be a challenge), or depart Australia and come right back. Then you get another 3 month stay in Australia, and assuming the bridging visa was issued during that 3 month stay, it will activate at the end of the 3 month stay. However if you're unlucky and DIBP receipts the application while you're outside Australia, then you will not get a bridging visa (!). Once you return you may be able to manually apply for one, but depending on the details of the visa (some types of applications work OK for manual later BV applications, others do not), it may be a problem as bridging visas are not issued to applicants if they are outside Australia at the date of application.

Hope this all works out for you!

Best,

Mark



Austyn said:


> Aloha Mark!
> 
> Hope you are well.
> 
> I just had some questions. And you are by far the best resource I have came across so far.
> 
> I recently lodged my sc 461 to the New Zealand relationship visa centre via next day express. And I have a tracking number and everything for it. And it is in transit and not delivered yet. I was just wondering.
> 
> Will I be notified/issued (if eligible) a bridging visa when my application is recieved?
> 
> What would I have to do if my application isn't recieved before my current eta visitor visa ends?
> 
> Is there a onshore visa I can apply for that will allow me to stay in Australia while awaiting my bridging visa or sc 461 final decision?
> 
> Or will I have to leave Australia and return so my 90 days of my eta visa is reset?


----------



## arunraman7

Hi Mark,

How are you? As an applicant for Skilled Independent Visa (189), would you recommend me writing PTE (Academic) for english skills exam as government has announced it would accepting it from November or would you suggest I wait till the official date is announced?

I would also like to know if PTE (Academic) would be accepted for 189 visa. Thank you.


----------



## aaronbam

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your help in this often confusing process!

Me and my Partner are in the process of applying for a de facto visa. We are currently living in Boise, ID (I am an Australian citizen, she is an American citizen), I am here on a 12 month visa. 

We are heading back to Melbourne in April, and want to make sure that my partner can get a bridging visa so she can stay whilst the application is processed.

How do we do this with the current online system? Are we able to fill in all the information before we arrive back to Australia and then submit when we arrive, or can we only submit it from America? 

I might also add she was on a working holiday visa in Australia last year, does this influence anything?

I hope this makes sense!

Thank you


----------



## Rodeobear

Mark, I've googled this and find conflicting answers, if I apply for a 3 month visitor visa and say I'm coming for 3 weeks, if it's approved as a 3 month visa can i change my mind and stay for 3 months? or do they only allow 3 weeks?


----------



## Austyn

I understand. Let's say DIBP doesn't issue a bridging visa before the expiry of my current eta and I have to depart Australia. Is there a certain minimum amount of time I would have to be away from Australia before returning? 

Thanks again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arunraman7 -

Thanks for the note - for applications lodged 23 Nov 2014 and after, the PTE Academic test as well as others are accepted for establishing English language skills for Australian visas where an English level is required. Here are the scores required for the various accepted tests (note that these are not set for "Functional English" for secondary applicants for certain skilled and other visas that have that as a requirements - see DIBP site for those options):

_*Reg 1.15B - Vocational English*

IELTS - 5 in each of the four sections
OET - B in each of the four sections
TOEFL iBT - Speaking 14, Reading 4, Writing 14, Listening 4
Pearson (PTE Academic) - 36 for the four components

OR a valid passport issued by the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland, to a citizen of that country

*Reg 1.15C - Competent English*

IELTS - 6 in each of the four sections
OET - B for each of the four components
TOEFL iBT - Speaking 18, Reading 13, Writing 21, Listening 12
Pearson (PTE Academic) - at least 50 for the four components

OR a valid passport issued by the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland, to a citizen of that country

*Reg 1.15D - Proficient English*

IELTS - 7 in each of the four sections
OET - B for each of the four components
TOEFL iBT - Speaking 23, Reading 24, Writing 27, Listening 24
Pearson (PTE Academic) - at least 65 for the four components

*Reg 1.15 EA - Superior English*

IELTS - 8 in each of the four sections
OET - A for each of the four components
TOEFL iBT - Speaking 26, Reading 29, Writing 30, Listening 28
Pearson (PTE Academic) - at least 79 for the four test components
_

Re: which test to take, I don't have information on the differences between the tests - probably better for you to research that yourself and see if your particular abilities might be better served by one vs the other tests, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arunraman7 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> How are you? As an applicant for Skilled Independent Visa (189), would you recommend me writing PTE (Academic) for english skills exam as government has announced it would accepting it from November or would you suggest I wait till the official date is announced?
> 
> I would also like to know if PTE (Academic) would be accepted for 189 visa. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aaronbam -

You can complete the online application form in the USA, then as long as she can get a visitor visa to come back to Australia that is issued without Condition 8503 (an ETA visitor visa would be the usual visa for USA applicants), once you both are here, you can update the unlodged application form to indicate she is "In Australia" (the question is on one of the earlier pages of the form), and lodge while she's here. That will generate a bridging visa which will activate at the end of her current stay on the ETA visa, and allow her to remain in Australia until the partner visa decision is made.

Note that if you lodge the application offshore, she will not get a bridging visa - an important difference (and a $1,500 price difference too in the DIBP fee which is $4575 if lodged onshore in Australia!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aaronbam said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your help in this often confusing process!
> 
> Me and my Partner are in the process of applying for a de facto visa. We are currently living in Boise, ID (I am an Australian citizen, she is an American citizen), I am here on a 12 month visa.
> 
> We are heading back to Melbourne in April, and want to make sure that my partner can get a bridging visa so she can stay whilst the application is processed.
> 
> How do we do this with the current online system? Are we able to fill in all the information before we arrive back to Australia and then submit when we arrive, or can we only submit it from America?
> 
> I might also add she was on a working holiday visa in Australia last year, does this influence anything?
> 
> I hope this makes sense!
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodeobear -

You can stay as long as the visa allows you to stay, considering all the conditions included in the visa (which are on the visa grant letter). Changing your mind is not an issue generally, and might only be brought up later if there were concerns about the genuineness of your application and/or if you made a formal request for the 3 weeks (ie,your business sponsor wrote a letter inviting you for a 3-week conference, and you decided to stay over 2 more months, etc). But for personal visits, lots of people change their mind and change their schedule - very little risk in my view as along as you abide by the conditions of the visa as issued.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> Mark, I've googled this and find conflicting answers, if I apply for a 3 month visitor visa and say I'm coming for 3 weeks, if it's approved as a 3 month visa can i change my mind and stay for 3 months? or do they only allow 3 weeks?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Nope, but I'd make it at least 2 days.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> I understand. Let's say DIBP doesn't issue a bridging visa before the expiry of my current eta and I have to depart Australia. Is there a certain minimum amount of time I would have to be away from Australia before returning?
> 
> Thanks again.


----------



## Gauisa10

*HI Mark*

I am currently waiting on the process of my husbands Partner Visa (309) which was lodged on the 27/04/2014 in Apia, Samoa. I have been looking everywhere for a forum which have applicants from the south pacific to no avail lol.

DOL- 27/04/2014
POL- Apia, Samoa
Processed: Suva, Fiji
CO assigned: 03/04/2014
Healthcheck: 05/04/2014

I am well aware of the processing times for partner visas, but i had emailed the suva office in regards to my husbands application in October on any news. Now i never really got back an email from the actual case officer, it was always from someone else but they would give us the normal response. They told me in October that his application is still in early stages. My husband recently received an email on 04/11/2014 from CO asking whether his health check was done and with whom. Also saying she will be returning all our evidence back to the office we applied it to. I didn't understand why she would ask when it was done months ago. We emailed her back to let her know, with her response being, she will contact the panel doctor to ascertain when it was sent for clearance. Does this mean she doesn't have it? Its been 2 weeks now and we've even called the panel doctor to ask whether the case officer has called in regards to his health check but they said once its sent to Fiji they have nothing to do with it anymore.

We are praying we will get an answer before Christmas our kids sake. We were going to apply for a visitor visa for him to spend xmas with us, but when we received that email, we didn't know whether we should incase there is an answer around the corner?? Is this a good sign??

Would really appreciate your advice on this.

Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gauisa10 -

Thanks for the note. With partner visas typically taking 9-12 months or longer, they are very difficult to predict - it could be a matter of weeks, or it could be some months to go. My suggestion would be to go with the visitor visa if you want to travel any time soon, just to be safe. Wish I could help more, but there's no way to tell or predict how/when DIBP will complete processing and there are no regulations I know of that impose any time limits at all on them. I'd stay on top of the health check issue to make sure the results reach the case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gauisa10 said:


> *HI Mark*
> 
> I am currently waiting on the process of my husbands Partner Visa (309) which was lodged on the 27/04/2014 in Apia, Samoa. I have been looking everywhere for a forum which have applicants from the south pacific to no avail lol.
> 
> DOL- 27/04/2014
> POL- Apia, Samoa
> Processed: Suva, Fiji
> CO assigned: 03/04/2014
> Healthcheck: 05/04/2014
> 
> I am well aware of the processing times for partner visas, but i had emailed the suva office in regards to my husbands application in October on any news. Now i never really got back an email from the actual case officer, it was always from someone else but they would give us the normal response. They told me in October that his application is still in early stages. My husband recently received an email on 04/11/2014 from CO asking whether his health check was done and with whom. Also saying she will be returning all our evidence back to the office we applied it to. I didn't understand why she would ask when it was done months ago. We emailed her back to let her know, with her response being, she will contact the panel doctor to ascertain when it was sent for clearance. Does this mean she doesn't have it? Its been 2 weeks now and we've even called the panel doctor to ask whether the case officer has called in regards to his health check but they said once its sent to Fiji they have nothing to do with it anymore.
> 
> We are praying we will get an answer before Christmas our kids sake. We were going to apply for a visitor visa for him to spend xmas with us, but when we received that email, we didn't know whether we should incase there is an answer around the corner?? Is this a good sign??
> 
> Would really appreciate your advice on this.
> 
> Cheers


----------



## Austyn

Aloha Mark! 

Thank you for all of your help! 

I have been granted a bridging visa A. (Class WA)

Since my eta visa is still in affect until next week, the 28th of November I believe. Will the bridging visa come in to affect when my current stay is up?

Also, in my confirmation email I have recieved from DIBP it states, "When your bridging visa (Class WA) is in effect, you will have full permission to work/study" . Is this information correct?


----------



## hamoon

*Question about Defacto Visa*

Hi,
I have a situation and I'll be grateful if you can help me how to figure it out. I came to Australia by a Skilled Select visa (subclass 476) and now I've earned all 60 required point and I'm going to apply for my permanent residency (subclass 189). My defacto partner is living outside Australia and I'm going to apply a visa for her but I know that while I'm on Bridging visa I cannot apply for a defacto or partner visa. Unfortunately, since I'm from Iran, my permanent residency process will take more than a year and we cannot stay apart that long.

So, my question is that how can we get her a visa? I've heard that while I'm on bridging visa, we can apply for a long term (8 month) visitor visa for her. Is that true?

My subclass 476's visa will be finished at the end of Feb 2015.

I'll be really grateful if you can help me.
thanking you in anticipation.


----------



## riazur

*"Complete character assessment particulars for this applicant"*

Hi Mark

I hope that you are doing good. I have applied for 189 visa in 21 April 2014.

I have completed my medicals in 10 Sep 2014 and sent 'Form 815 Health Undertaking' more than a month ago.

I see the following lines for some time in my Online visa application below the checklist:

"Complete character assessment particulars for this applicant"

After clicking on the "?" sign beside the above, it shows

Security Referral Application Form (SRAF)

"The Complete character assessment particulars for this applicant link will direct you to download a form (FORM80) which can be completed and submitted to the department."

ALSO

My medicals status also still shows "Requested" in seated of "Received".

I have already uploaded Form80 (5 month ago) and PCC ( 6 months ago).

I want to know if I need to do anything and why this line is appearing in my online form?

Do they go for external security check after medicals??

Thank you in advance for your time.

Riazur Rahman


----------



## Irish Salvana

Thank you so much Mark. Hopefully Soon. :-D Thank you for unconditionally helping us. God Bless you always and your family. 

Regards, 
Irish Salvana


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Yes to all - once the BVA activates, you have full work rights. You can see what visa is active for you at any time via the online VEVO service from DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austyn said:


> Aloha Mark!
> 
> Thank you for all of your help!
> 
> I have been granted a bridging visa A. (Class WA)
> 
> Since my eta visa is still in affect until next week, the 28th of November I believe. Will the bridging visa come in to affect when my current stay is up?
> 
> Also, in my confirmation email I have recieved from DIBP it states, "When your bridging visa (Class WA) is in effect, you will have full permission to work/study" . Is this information correct?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hamoon -

Thanks for the note - a visitor visa for her is the answer - there are no specific changes to her eligibility that are triggered by you being on a bridging visa (vs 476). She would need to apply for a subclass 600 visitor visa and see how long a visit she could get. You may also want to consider adding her as your partner on the 189 application depending on the circumstances of your defacto relationship, although living together time may be a concern, etc. re: qualifying at that point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hamoon said:


> Hi,
> I have a situation and I'll be grateful if you can help me how to figure it out. I came to Australia by a Skilled Select visa (subclass 476) and now I've earned all 60 required point and I'm going to apply for my permanent residency (subclass 189). My defacto partner is living outside Australia and I'm going to apply a visa for her but I know that while I'm on Bridging visa I cannot apply for a defacto or partner visa. Unfortunately, since I'm from Iran, my permanent residency process will take more than a year and we cannot stay apart that long.
> 
> So, my question is that how can we get her a visa? I've heard that while I'm on bridging visa, we can apply for a long term (8 month) visitor visa for her. Is that true?
> 
> My subclass 476's visa will be finished at the end of Feb 2015.
> 
> I'll be really grateful if you can help me.
> thanking you in anticipation.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Riazur -

There's no set order for health vs external security checking, and DIBP doesn't release details about their processing sequence, especially in the area of the external security check. With medicals, sometimes it takes weeks or even months for the results to be reviewed by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth. If you have some evidence that the health exam was completed, I'd definitely upload that to the application. At some point you may want to email DIBP to confirm if they have received the health exam results or not - if email doesn't work, then phone call may be the next option.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



riazur said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I hope that you are doing good. I have applied for 189 visa in 21 April 2014.
> 
> I have completed my medicals in 10 Sep 2014 and sent 'Form 815 Health Undertaking' more than a month ago.
> 
> I see the following lines for some time in my Online visa application below the checklist:
> 
> "Complete character assessment particulars for this applicant"
> 
> After clicking on the "?" sign beside the above, it shows
> 
> Security Referral Application Form (SRAF)
> 
> "The Complete character assessment particulars for this applicant link will direct you to download a form (FORM80) which can be completed and submitted to the department."
> 
> ALSO
> 
> My medicals status also still shows "Requested" in seated of "Received".
> 
> I have already uploaded Form80 (5 month ago) and PCC ( 6 months ago).
> 
> I want to know if I need to do anything and why this line is appearing in my online form?
> 
> Do they go for external security check after medicals??
> 
> Thank you in advance for your time.
> 
> Riazur Rahman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks so much for the kind words!!

Best,

Mark



Irish Salvana said:


> Thank you so much Mark. Hopefully Soon. :-D Thank you for unconditionally helping us. God Bless you always and your family.
> 
> Regards,
> Irish Salvana


----------



## riazur

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for the useful information.

Riazur.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Riazur -
> 
> There's no set order for health vs external security checking, and DIBP doesn't release details about their processing sequence, especially in the area of the external security check. With medicals, sometimes it takes weeks or even months for the results to be reviewed by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth. If you have some evidence that the health exam was completed, I'd definitely upload that to the application. At some point you may want to email DIBP to confirm if they have received the health exam results or not - if email doesn't work, then phone call may be the next option.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Sorayam7

*Negative cpa skilled employment for Depth and complexity*

Lightbulb Negative CPA Skilled Employment
Hello Mark

I would like to know if this happened to anyone else, and I am still trying to understand what CPA said about my skilled employment assessment. (221111- ACCOUNTANT GENERAL)

I have 3 years experience in one company as accountant, and another 2 in another as financial accountant. In both I got the letters from my employers stating what I was doing ( monthly/yearly budgets, cost control, book keeping, financial statements, taxation, auditing, year end closings, etc) and their answer was "the duties are NOT condieres to be at the level of DEPTH and COMPLEXITY expected in a professional accounting role."

On my first job I was doing all the accountancy for a small company together with another person. The other I was the only person in charge and responsible for the accountancy of the spanish company and reporting of another for an external company as it was based in London and had to be done there so I had to provide them with all the information, I reported directly to the CFO.

I really do not understand the outcome and I would like to know what can I do, and if I really need their letter for the EOI, of if I can upload it without it??????
In any way I would like to know how I can solve this out as more relevant my jobs can not be, what else can I give them ? Another letter explaining more in depth?

Thanks so much for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sorayam7 -

Thanks for the note. I would suggest exploring whatever appeal or review that CPA Australia has for a skills assessment. If you're going for a skilled visa (189, 190, 489), you must have a positive skills assessment in order to lodge an EOI and be ready for an invitation to apply for the visa. My guess is that they thought your work was too much oriented towards bookkeeping tasks and not enough oriented towards more complex accounting tasks, but that's just a guess. You might also look at the other skills assessors for Accountant (General) to see if you would have a better opportunity there at getting a positive skills assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sorayam7 said:


> Lightbulb Negative CPA Skilled Employment
> Hello Mark
> 
> I would like to know if this happened to anyone else, and I am still trying to understand what CPA said about my skilled employment assessment. (221111- ACCOUNTANT GENERAL)
> 
> I have 3 years experience in one company as accountant, and another 2 in another as financial accountant. In both I got the letters from my employers stating what I was doing ( monthly/yearly budgets, cost control, book keeping, financial statements, taxation, auditing, year end closings, etc) and their answer was "the duties are NOT condieres to be at the level of DEPTH and COMPLEXITY expected in a professional accounting role."
> 
> On my first job I was doing all the accountancy for a small company together with another person. The other I was the only person in charge and responsible for the accountancy of the spanish company and reporting of another for an external company as it was based in London and had to be done there so I had to provide them with all the information, I reported directly to the CFO.
> 
> I really do not understand the outcome and I would like to know what can I do, and if I really need their letter for the EOI, of if I can upload it without it??????
> In any way I would like to know how I can solve this out as more relevant my jobs can not be, what else can I give them ? Another letter explaining more in depth?
> 
> Thanks so much for your help!


----------



## myahya

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Myahya -
> 
> Hard to give advice on this one as there could be any number of additional issues depending on where you have used the birth cert before. Assuming you have not used it for Australian immigration before and you have no idea what the actual birth date is, if you could change that it may make your Australian visa applcation process more smoothly. However if DIBP (Australian immigration) discover somehow that you've altered the date, they would want to know all the reasons why, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you for your advice. Found out that Passport cannot be changed, so only other option is Birth Certificate change.

Birth Certificate can however be linked to previous divorce within Indonesia, which as I believe is required for migration documents.

In that case, can you give any further advice? 
If the divorce is not mentioned, can DIBP find out?
If the truth is told up front, will approval be possible at all?

As I understand, after having run away from home from an abusive Father (mother was working overseas at the time and still is), and being on the street for several years, an agency said that she could work overseas and processed her passport without any supporting documents, altering her age at the same time so that she would be legal for overseas work. She only had schooling up to the age of 15 and was tricked into giving them 7 months salary (AU$3,000) in exchange, for them finding her an employer.


----------



## jfm

Hi Mark

I have been a silent viewer of this forum for quite some time and appreciate how you assist members with queries. I have a few queries regarding my 189 visa, which I applied for on 11th June 2014. I applied for 189 from Pakistan under Engineering Manager Occupation and was soon asked for form 80 and 1221 for me and my spouse. I was again contacted by team 13 about gaps and how I supported myself during those gaps in early August 2014. On 28th August I received a request for PCC for me and my wife as well as medical for us including our children, along with my wife’s IELTS scores.
I uploaded my wife’s IELTS score twice on Immi account, PCC was uploaded on 10th September, 2014 and Medicals on 11 September. 
Although Form 80 has been emailed twice, the following still appears under my account:
“Complete character assessment particulars for this applicant”

My query is that all of the above mentioned documents’ (PCC, medicals, wife’s IELTS score) status still shows required and requested. I have written twice to my CO through my consultant and have not received a response. My account hasn’t been updated since 28th Aug, 2014. I know the medicals were fine because below each applicant it is written “Health has been finalised for this person for this visa subclass based on the information provided to the department. If this person needs to do anything further to meet the health requirement, they will be contacted by the department. There is no need to contact the department at this time concerning this matter”.
What can I do in this case as it has been two and half months since I have completed all the requirements regarding medicals, PCC and wife’s IELTS score.
In my case do you think that receiving requests for medicals and PCC is a good sign and does this mean that my external checks are over? I have seen from different peoples’ timelines that they usually get their visa soon after they are requested for PCC and medicals. 

Thanks.


----------



## dev123

Hi Mark, I want to ask a very basic question. I applied for partner visa subclass 820/801 through migration agent. Is it possible to check the progress of the application online on my immigration account.


----------



## Sorayam7

Thank you for the fast reply Mark!

I just have one more doubt, I do have a positive skills assesment ( regarding my degree) so that part is done. 
They did not give me the skilled employment, but according to the inmi booklet it is not mandatory right, or I do really need to have the employment letter from CPA as well?

Thank you in advance.
Soraya


----------



## Gauisa10

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gauisa10 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. With partner visas typically taking 9-12 months or longer, they are very difficult to predict - it could be a matter of weeks, or it could be some months to go. My suggestion would be to go with the visitor visa if you want to travel any time soon, just to be safe. Wish I could help more, but there's no way to tell or predict how/when DIBP will complete processing and there are no regulations I know of that impose any time limits at all on them. I'd stay on top of the health check issue to make sure the results reach the case officer.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


*Hi Mark

Thank you so much for your reply. I greatly appreciate your time. Just with the Visitor Visa it requires us to have evidence that he will return to his country and usually his work letter would work but now he no longer works, I dont know what other evidence we can use that will prove he is only here for a visit. I see how a lot of the othr applicants are able to speak directly to their CO but for my husbands case, everytime we call Fiji, they wont allow us to talk to them. They would tell me to ring Apia where we lodged his form and they will email Fiji which then Fiji would email us bck. But once we do get response its just the automated response.

Its quite frustrating. They won't give us an update but just the usual 12 months. Thsnk you for taking time out of your busy schedule to reply to each and everyone of us. Cheers

GOD BLESS*


----------



## calvinsum

Hi Mark,

For the ENS direct entry stream, I have another question. In the direct entry stream, one of the the requirements say "you have never or only briefly, worked in Australia". How is the "briefly" defined? For example, for my situation, after my degree was awarded, I have been working in the lab as a Research Officer with one year contract, but I am still using my student 574 visa (it is valid for 4 years but I finished my PhD in 3 years, so I am undertaking full time job with a 574 visa). Am I still eligible to go through the direct entry stream when I get my next job offer with 457 visa?

Many thanks!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Calvinsum -
> 
> Thanks for the note - I believe you're asking about the subclass 186 ENS visa? If so, yes you need a 2-year contract - there are some special exceptions for University Researchers for this visa that may or may not apply to your situation depending on the details - see DIBP site for more information.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## hamoon

Thanks a million Mark. your answers are very helpful. 

Can I ask another question please? I have my Subclass476's visa untill end of Feb2015. If we can get defacto partnership visa for my partner until that time and she come to Australia for a while, can she get bridging visa with me? because she will be my dependent and when I get bridging visa, she should be able to get bridging as well. 
if this is possible, can I do this after lodging my PR (subclass 189) and before expiry of my 476's visa (end of Feb 2015)?

I'll be grateful if you can help me with that.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hamoon -
> 
> Thanks for the note - a visitor visa for her is the answer - there are no specific changes to her eligibility that are triggered by you being on a bridging visa (vs 476). She would need to apply for a subclass 600 visitor visa and see how long a visit she could get. You may also want to consider adding her as your partner on the 189 application depending on the circumstances of your defacto relationship, although living together time may be a concern, etc. re: qualifying at that point.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hamoon -

Thanks for the note -adding adult dependents onto a visa application (or existing visa) is a tricky and complex issue as the evidence requirements for this are strict - would need to work through the situation and details with you in a consultation to give you any sort of an idea as to chances of success for this - if you'd like to book a consultation, please see email link in my signature below -

Thanks,

Mark Northam



hamoon said:


> Thanks a million Mark. your answers are very helpful.
> 
> Can I ask another question please? I have my Subclass476's visa untill end of Feb2015. If we can get defacto partnership visa for my partner until that time and she come to Australia for a while, can she get bridging visa with me? because she will be my dependent and when I get bridging visa, she should be able to get bridging as well.
> if this is possible, can I do this after lodging my PR (subclass 189) and before expiry of my 476's visa (end of Feb 2015)?
> 
> I'll be grateful if you can help me with that.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Soraya -

As long as you have a full skills assessment (not 485-only), then that will satisfy the skills assessment requirement. Re: work experience, optional to get that assessed or not - if you are confident that the work will be judged by DIBP to be closely related to your nominated occupation, then you may want to skip having it assessed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sorayam7 said:


> Thank you for the fast reply Mark!
> 
> I just have one more doubt, I do have a positive skills assesment ( regarding my degree) so that part is done.
> They did not give me the skilled employment, but according to the inmi booklet it is not mandatory right, or I do really need to have the employment letter from CPA as well?
> 
> Thank you in advance.
> Soraya


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gauisa10 -

Thanks for the kind words! Key is satisfying as many of the Genuine Visitor policy criteria as possible - if you'd like to see the policy criteria, we have it listed on our website here: Northam & Associates - Genuine Visitor Regulations

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gauisa10 said:


> *Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you so much for your reply. I greatly appreciate your time. Just with the Visitor Visa it requires us to have evidence that he will return to his country and usually his work letter would work but now he no longer works, I dont know what other evidence we can use that will prove he is only here for a visit. I see how a lot of the othr applicants are able to speak directly to their CO but for my husbands case, everytime we call Fiji, they wont allow us to talk to them. They would tell me to ring Apia where we lodged his form and they will email Fiji which then Fiji would email us bck. But once we do get response its just the automated response.
> 
> Its quite frustrating. They won't give us an update but just the usual 12 months. Thsnk you for taking time out of your busy schedule to reply to each and everyone of us. Cheers
> 
> GOD BLESS*


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Calvinsum -

For ENS direct entry, any full-time, paid employment in your occupation is eligible, as long as you were working legally within the rights of your visa (if working in Australia). The text you quoted re: never/briefly/etc is not part of the legal requirements for the visa and can be ignored. The 3 years' work experience you need to qualify for the direct entry ENS can be in Australia or outside Australia as long as it meets the relevancy requirements and is full time and paid.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



calvinsum said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> For the ENS direct entry stream, I have another question. In the direct entry stream, one of the the requirements say "you have never or only briefly, worked in Australia". How is the "briefly" defined? For example, for my situation, after my degree was awarded, I have been working in the lab as a Research Officer with one year contract, but I am still using my student 574 visa (it is valid for 4 years but I finished my PhD in 3 years, so I am undertaking full time job with a 574 visa). Am I still eligible to go through the direct entry stream when I get my next job offer with 457 visa?
> 
> Many thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Myahya -

As this gets more complicated, my feeling is that you may want to tell DIBP what's going on including the history, and ask them what documents they want in order to be satisfied of your identity and citizenship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



myahya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your advice. Found out that Passport cannot be changed, so only other option is Birth Certificate change.
> 
> Birth Certificate can however be linked to previous divorce within Indonesia, which as I believe is required for migration documents.
> 
> In that case, can you give any further advice?
> If the divorce is not mentioned, can DIBP find out?
> If the truth is told up front, will approval be possible at all?
> 
> As I understand, after having run away from home from an abusive Father (mother was working overseas at the time and still is), and being on the street for several years, an agency said that she could work overseas and processed her passport without any supporting documents, altering her age at the same time so that she would be legal for overseas work. She only had schooling up to the age of 15 and was tricked into giving them 7 months salary (AU$3,000) in exchange, for them finding her an employer.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jfm -

Could mean that decision is coming in 4-8 weeks, but no guarantees. At this point if you've uploaded Form 80 and any other required character docs (ie, policy certs), and those are showing on the ImmiAccount as being uploaded, then I'd wait to see whether DIBP requests anything else. The notification re: character that you are referring to is not dependable and often does not reflect what's been uploaded, whereas the health notification is a bit more dependable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jfm said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have been a silent viewer of this forum for quite some time and appreciate how you assist members with queries. I have a few queries regarding my 189 visa, which I applied for on 11th June 2014. I applied for 189 from Pakistan under Engineering Manager Occupation and was soon asked for form 80 and 1221 for me and my spouse. I was again contacted by team 13 about gaps and how I supported myself during those gaps in early August 2014. On 28th August I received a request for PCC for me and my wife as well as medical for us including our children, along with my wife's IELTS scores.
> I uploaded my wife's IELTS score twice on Immi account, PCC was uploaded on 10th September, 2014 and Medicals on 11 September.
> Although Form 80 has been emailed twice, the following still appears under my account:
> "Complete character assessment particulars for this applicant"
> 
> My query is that all of the above mentioned documents' (PCC, medicals, wife's IELTS score) status still shows required and requested. I have written twice to my CO through my consultant and have not received a response. My account hasn't been updated since 28th Aug, 2014. I know the medicals were fine because below each applicant it is written "Health has been finalised for this person for this visa subclass based on the information provided to the department. If this person needs to do anything further to meet the health requirement, they will be contacted by the department. There is no need to contact the department at this time concerning this matter".
> What can I do in this case as it has been two and half months since I have completed all the requirements regarding medicals, PCC and wife's IELTS score.
> In my case do you think that receiving requests for medicals and PCC is a good sign and does this mean that my external checks are over? I have seen from different peoples' timelines that they usually get their visa soon after they are requested for PCC and medicals.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dev123 -

Not sure if 2 immi accounts can see the same application - I believe an application for a partner visa can only exist in 1 (online) immi account at a time. Not all that helpful, though, because for status is says "In progress" or "submitted" for the duration of the processing - no interim steps or progress info is available, unfortunately. Main thing to make sure is that your agent immediately alerts you to any requests for info or docs from DIBP so you and your agent can work together to address all DIBP requests.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dev123 said:


> Hi Mark, I want to ask a very basic question. I applied for partner visa subclass 820/801 through migration agent. Is it possible to check the progress of the application online on my immigration account.


----------



## dev123

Thanks for your prompt reply Mark.
I applied my partner visa in July. I feel worried because the agent didn't request some documents that I think are very important. He didn't request,
1Stat Dec by sponsor and applicant.
2 history of relationship from the applicant and sponsors.
I sent him the history of our relationship and asked him to go through it and make corrections as my English and grammar is not that that good. But he says he will submit these documents once the case officer is allocated to my file. No need to hurry.And since its only 4 months I should wait for May be 12-15 months.
I'm very frustrated with the situation that my file was submitted incomplete. Even though paid full fee for visa services. I tried to insist him to submit these documents but his response been negative and he seems too busy to work on my file before any co is allocated. My frustration is I don't know what's happening at the other end. I'm not even quite sure that he might have not submitted other core documents as he doesnt want to do it until the co is assigned. Hard to trust him anymore. 
It would be much appreciated if you could just advice me how important are these documents to submit now or should I wait until the case officer is allocated as my migration agent says. Dibp says incomplete application may be rejected or will take longer to get a decision. But also says CO will request documents that are required. Makes it even complex to understand how does it work simultaneously.
I feel like I should change my migration agent but don't want to do anything in too hurry as another agents also cost around $4000-$5000. Please advise. I've been so stressed about my current situation. Thanks very much.


----------



## brethart

Hi Mark,

I would extremely appreciate if you could shed some light on my concerns.

Actually I received Masters degree from one of the prestigious UK universities prior to getting the relevant work experience. *I don't have Bachelors degree* as I took different route.

I received *'POSITIVE'* assessment from Vetassess with regards to my qualification and work experience.

I only had Masters prior to my relevant work experience, and recently qualified ACCA.

I have confirmed that my Masters degree is equivalent to OZ Masters degree.

So while filing my skilled visa application would I receive 15 points from DIBP for my qualification or just 10 points???

I am receiving a mix feedback. Some say that in order to claim 15 points from DIBP one need to have Bachelors degree as well. On the other hand some say that if Masters is recognized as equivalent to Australian Masters then I would straight away get 15 points...

This is literally confusing...

Thanx in advance...

Bret


----------



## Jaan

*hai mark*

hai mark,

i have a problem.,

i applied student visa 573 under the streamline visa process (in srilanka). i received a phone call from embassy 5 days before and i missed it. this is my 3rd application as a student visa to australian (first 2 app was not svp).. my two application was refused when due to not attached ceo and 2nd one refused saying i am not a genuine student and that time i was in londo on post study work visa category because i finished my bachelor degree in middlesex univerity.. (now i am in sri lanka)..

now all i am worried whether this missed call will effect my visa process or not.

i do not know what i have to do regarding this issue as i am facing it first time. my counselor said do not mail or call them..

so please can you give me your suggestion regarding this issue..

thank you in advance..!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dev123 -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the issues with your agent.

Legally it is a time of application requirement to establish that you and your spouse demonstrate a genuine relationship. While it is true that it is often months before a case officer or team is assigned to a case, that "flexibility" can only work so far. In my view, and it's only my view here, a gap of a few weeks before getting in the bulk of the important relationship evidence is fine in many cases if unavoidable. However 4 months, in my view, is going "over the line" and has the potential to create an issue. DIBP is getting more and more "tough" on lodging partner visas that are incomplete, and they have every right to refuse an incomplete application. But assuming they are going to send a Request for Information anyway for health & police, and any other items, it doesn't make sense to delay important statements like that. Here's why: with partner visas you basically get 1 "shot" at an RFI to cure any problems. If you get the important things like relationship statements in early, before requested in an RFI, then you essentially get 2 bites at the apple - if they assess the statements and then request more info in the RFI, then that's a good indication you need more/better statements and you have the opportunity to put them in in response to the RFI. However if you wait for the RFI to put them in in the first place, you only get one bite at the apple, since you won't get a second RFI if the statements and other relationship evidence are insufficient in the view of the case officer or team assigned to assess your application.

That, plus there's common sense - it obviously irritates case officers to pull up an application prepared by a professional and find glaring holes in terms of obvious evidence that's missing. Given case officers have a wide degree of opinion/judgment in terms of assessing the genuineness of a relationship, and especially if there are any risk factors in the application, it just doesn't make any sense to be lazy and delay lodging the important stuff. You risk irritating the case officer, which is a stupid thing to do if you have the opportunity to do otherwise.

Again, this is my view/opinion - there may be others!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dev123 said:


> Thanks for your prompt reply Mark.
> I applied my partner visa in July. I feel worried because the agent didn't request some documents that I think are very important. He didn't request,
> 1Stat Dec by sponsor and applicant.
> 2 history of relationship from the applicant and sponsors.
> I sent him the history of our relationship and asked him to go through it and make corrections as my English and grammar is not that that good. But he says he will submit these documents once the case officer is allocated to my file. No need to hurry.And since its only 4 months I should wait for May be 12-15 months.
> I'm very frustrated with the situation that my file was submitted incomplete. Even though paid full fee for visa services. I tried to insist him to submit these documents but his response been negative and he seems too busy to work on my file before any co is allocated. My frustration is I don't know what's happening at the other end. I'm not even quite sure that he might have not submitted other core documents as he doesnt want to do it until the co is assigned. Hard to trust him anymore.
> It would be much appreciated if you could just advice me how important are these documents to submit now or should I wait until the case officer is allocated as my migration agent says. Dibp says incomplete application may be rejected or will take longer to get a decision. But also says CO will request documents that are required. Makes it even complex to understand how does it work simultaneously.
> I feel like I should change my migration agent but don't want to do anything in too hurry as another agents also cost around $4000-$5000. Please advise. I've been so stressed about my current situation. Thanks very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaan -

Thanks for the note. I would have to disagree with your counselor - BTW is he a registered migration agent? Can be dangerous dealing with unlicensed "agents". However, he probably knows the local situation there well, so hard for me to really offer you any different opinion.

However, I'd be tempted to call the Embassy and see if you can track down who called you and offer to answer any questions, etc. At least here in Australia, it's generally not a good idea to assume that DIBP will keep trying and trying to reach people by phone if they miss a call.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jaan said:


> hai mark,
> 
> i have a problem.,
> 
> i applied student visa 573 under the streamline visa process (in srilanka). i received a phone call from embassy 5 days before and i missed it. this is my 3rd application as a student visa to australian (first 2 app was not svp).. my two application was refused when due to not attached ceo and 2nd one refused saying i am not a genuine student and that time i was in londo on post study work visa category because i finished my bachelor degree in middlesex univerity.. (now i am in sri lanka)..
> 
> now all i am worried whether this missed call will effect my visa process or not.
> 
> i do not know what i have to do regarding this issue as i am facing it first time. my counselor said do not mail or call them..
> 
> so please can you give me your suggestion regarding this issue..
> 
> thank you in advance..!


----------



## dev123

Thanks for your valuable comments Mark. All you said makes a good sense. I would make sure everything is submitted in the next few days or would seek help from other professional. Would you be able to privately msg me about your business contacts. Once again Many thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dev123 -

Happy to. Bottom line: it's your application, and it's your life and future in Australia on the line. If your agent is not treating this application as importantly as you do, then you may not have the right agent.

Best,

Mark Northam



dev123 said:


> Thanks for your valuable comments Mark. All you said makes a good sense. I would make sure everything is submitted in the next few days or would seek help from other professional. Would you be able to privately msg me about your business contacts. Once again Many thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bret -

It's a tricky question! Here's the policy direct from the PAM3 Procedures Advice Manual which DIBP case officers use:

_Case officers may also be presented with claims of a masters qualifications either attained at a tertiary institution in Australia or outside Australia for the purpose of gaining points. To be eligible for 15 points, the masters degree holder must have also completed a bachelor qualification either in Australia or outside Australia.

Persons with a masters qualification who have not completed a bachelor qualification will only be able to claim 10 points unless the relevant assessing authority provides an opinion that the masters degree of itself is at least comparable to an Australian bachelor degree. In the absence of such an opinion, case officers should also refer to Country Education Profiles when assessing whether a masters qualification is at least comparable to an Australian bachelor degree.

For example, the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA), the relevant assessing authority for architects, currently sets the standards for the occupation for migration purposes to be at comparable Australian masters degree level. In these cases, although the applicant undertakes studies that include both bachelor level and masters level courses, the applicant may only be awarded a degree at masters level. If AACA recognises the award at masters level to be comparable to at least Australian bachelor level, case officers must have regard to this opinion when awarding points.
_

While the policy isn't all that clear on the heart of your question, the example given would tend to indicate that you would get only 10 points as the Masters degree you have is not a combo Bachelor/Masters for which you only received the Masters degree. It's my view that if VETASSESS says your Masters degree is equivalent to "at least an Australian Bachelor Degree", then you could claim 15 points; otherwise, I'd take the safe route and claim 10. Given that in Australia there are 1 and 2 years Masters Degrees, and that a Bachelor degree takes 3 years in Australia, I think that also lends credence to the interpretation of the above policy that a Masters alone done in 1 or 2 years would not be equivalent to a Bachelor degree, despite the more advance level of teaching and subject matter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



brethart said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would extremely appreciate if you could shed some light on my concerns.
> 
> Actually I received Masters degree from one of the prestigious UK universities prior to getting the relevant work experience. *I don't have Bachelors degree* as I took different route.
> 
> I received *'POSITIVE'* assessment from Vetassess with regards to my qualification and work experience.
> 
> I only had Masters prior to my relevant work experience, and recently qualified ACCA.
> 
> I have confirmed that my Masters degree is equivalent to OZ Masters degree.
> 
> So while filing my skilled visa application would I receive 15 points from DIBP for my qualification or just 10 points???
> 
> I am receiving a mix feedback. Some say that in order to claim 15 points from DIBP one need to have Bachelors degree as well. On the other hand some say that if Masters is recognized as equivalent to Australian Masters then I would straight away get 15 points...
> 
> This is literally confusing...
> 
> Thanx in advance...
> 
> Bret


----------



## brethart

Thanks a lot Mark for your comments.

Though I have read the policy manual you referred I am losing the hope to survive. Actually I have filed my 189 application. In case I had chosen to only claim 10 points for my qualification, I was not qualifying the point test and was scoring 55.

I have claim 15 points to score passing 60, as Vetassess has given a positive verdict and it does make some sense...

Does it mean that I would be refused straight away or you still think I could make it...

I am helpless...That's hell a lot ambiguity...

Thanks.

Bret



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bret -
> 
> It's a tricky question! Here's the policy direct from the PAM3 Procedures Advice Manual which DIBP case officers use:
> 
> _Case officers may also be presented with claims of a masters qualifications either attained at a tertiary institution in Australia or outside Australia for the purpose of gaining points. To be eligible for 15 points, the masters degree holder must have also completed a bachelor qualification either in Australia or outside Australia.
> 
> Persons with a masters qualification who have not completed a bachelor qualification will only be able to claim 10 points unless the relevant assessing authority provides an opinion that the masters degree of itself is at least comparable to an Australian bachelor degree. In the absence of such an opinion, case officers should also refer to Country Education Profiles when assessing whether a masters qualification is at least comparable to an Australian bachelor degree.
> 
> For example, the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA), the relevant assessing authority for architects, currently sets the standards for the occupation for migration purposes to be at comparable Australian masters degree level. In these cases, although the applicant undertakes studies that include both bachelor level and masters level courses, the applicant may only be awarded a degree at masters level. If AACA recognises the award at masters level to be comparable to at least Australian bachelor level, case officers must have regard to this opinion when awarding points.
> _
> 
> While the policy isn't all that clear on the heart of your question, the example given would tend to indicate that you would get only 10 points as the Masters degree you have is not a combo Bachelor/Masters for which you only received the Masters degree. It's my view that if VETASSESS says your Masters degree is equivalent to "at least an Australian Bachelor Degree", then you could claim 15 points; otherwise, I'd take the safe route and claim 10. Given that in Australia there are 1 and 2 years Masters Degrees, and that a Bachelor degree takes 3 years in Australia, I think that also lends credence to the interpretation of the above policy that a Masters alone done in 1 or 2 years would not be equivalent to a Bachelor degree, despite the more advance level of teaching and subject matter.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## andyrossi

Hi mark.
Ive been a fibrous plasterer for around 8 years in the UK and just under one in Australia.
My qualification is a work based NVQ level 2 and I am worried that it wont be comparable to an AQF Cert III as I didnt do a formal apprenticeship.
We are 3 weeks away from going back to the UK. We're on our 2nd WHV.
Do we have any other options apart from a 457 (I have an employer willing to sponsor but not 457 approved but has PR approved before) and the 189 visa?
We want to get our PR as soon as possible rather than be tied to an employer for 2 years. My trade is on the SOL and the skills assessment authority I would have to use is TRA.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bret -

I don't have nearly enough information to answer your question. My advice: it's already lodged, so prepare for the worst: the case officer says your degree is only worth 10 points. I'd get in touch with VETASSESS now and see if there is a way they will look at your Masters degree and write a letter or do an assessment to say that it is equivalent to "at least an Australian bachelor degree". Be polite but firm, don't take no for an answer, and point out that this is the test that DIBP has established, and VETASSESS is the only enttity for your occupation that is able to conduct such a test. Additionally I'd prepare a comparison of the courses you took with an equivalent Australian bachelor degree and see how things match up - you might even present this as evidence to VETASSESS depending on how it turns out.

I'd take the bull by the horns as they say - there's nothing worse than waiting helplessly, hoping someone else will act in your favour. Take control.

Best,

Mark



brethart said:


> Thanks a lot Mark for your comments.
> 
> Though I have read the policy manual you referred I am losing the hope to survive. Actually I have filed my 189 application. In case I had chosen to only claim 10 points for my qualification, I was not qualifying the point test and was scoring 55.
> 
> I have claim 15 points to score passing 60, as Vetassess has given a positive verdict and it does make some sense...
> 
> Does it mean that I would be refused straight away or you still think I could make it...
> 
> I am helpless...That's hell a lot ambiguity...
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Bret


----------



## jfm

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jfm -
> 
> Could mean that decision is coming in 4-8 weeks, but no guarantees. At this point if you've uploaded Form 80 and any other required character docs (ie, policy certs), and those are showing on the ImmiAccount as being uploaded, then I'd wait to see whether DIBP requests anything else. The notification re: character that you are referring to is not dependable and often does not reflect what's been uploaded, whereas the health notification is a bit more dependable.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thank you for the prompt reply. You are right maybe things are going smoothly. But I saw on another forum that DIBP is requesting early medicals from HR applicants but usually they end up doing these medical again because the security checks take longer.

Lets hope for the best.

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andyrossi -

457 seems like the best choice from what you've said - either ENS or RSMS direct entry, or skilled 489, 189 or 190 visas will require successful TRA skills assessment for your occupation - I'd get in touch with TRA now and try and get some guidance from them as to chances of success given your occupation and situation. Other option might be to study further here on a student visa...?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andyrossi said:


> Hi mark.
> Ive been a fibrous plasterer for around 8 years in the UK and just under one in Australia.
> My qualification is a work based NVQ level 2 and I am worried that it wont be comparable to an AQF Cert III as I didnt do a formal apprenticeship.
> We are 3 weeks away from going back to the UK. We're on our 2nd WHV.
> Do we have any other options apart from a 457 (I have an employer willing to sponsor but not 457 approved but has PR approved before) and the 189 visa?
> We want to get our PR as soon as possible rather than be tied to an employer for 2 years. My trade is on the SOL and the skills assessment authority I would have to use is TRA.


----------



## wso22

Hi Mark,

I have got a query and wondering if you can help me.

I am a recently graduate in Australia. A few days ago i obtained a suitable skill assessment for External Auditor from ICAA. Then I have read some information on immi website that registration or licence is required for External Auditor. My question is, do i need to have registration or licence in order to apply for Skilled Independent Visa 189?

Does anyone experience applying for 189 visa under External Auditor with no experience before?

I look forward to hearing from you all.

Many thanks in advance


----------



## arunraman7

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your support so far. Your patience and expertise never ceases to amaze me.  

I'm in the process of submitting my EOI for Visa 189, for the role 263111-Network and System Engineer. I got my experience verified through ACS back in Feb 2014. Now, I have been working in the same role (network engineer) performing same tasks which was accepted by ACS since Feb, but ACS letter only testifies it till Feb 2014 (as its the date when letter was issued). Now, should I re apply for an assessment and get it updated till date before mentioning in EOI that i am currently working in the same role and gain additional points for it?


----------



## Sorayam7

Thanks soo much Mark you are awsome!

Yes. I am confident, as it was a fully accountancy job, and has all the tasks that are required and more, I have the payslips as well.
It all depends on who does it as I did same degree at same university as my husband even same years, and I prepare all documentation together as we sent exactly same documents and syllabus and send all docs to cpa together (same envelope) and came up with totally different outcomes! So I really think it all depends on who takes your case, I will ask to rewrite letters and send them again see what happens.

thanks again for you help!
You are terrific!
Soraya


----------



## myahya

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Myahya -
> 
> As this gets more complicated, my feeling is that you may want to tell DIBP what's going on including the history, and ask them what documents they want in order to be satisfied of your identity and citizenship.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks again for your prompt replies.

Regarding contacting DIBP, do I do this while applying for the visa, or beforehand? If beforehand, can you advise contact details?

Thank you so much for your help!!!


----------



## IndyMama

Thanks for the help, Mark.


----------



## niveditat

Hi Mark,

I Got the subclass 189 Visa and i am travelling in Feb first week to Sydney. Two questions:

1: Apart from e visa print with passport anything else i need to carry for my flight?
2: What is the scope for me as a Job seeker once i land. Do i get some assistance from government in case i am not able to get any Job?

Regards
Nivedita


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Niveditat -

Re: passport, as long as that has not changed since you were granted your visa, you're all set with that - a paper printout of the visa grant is a good idea too if it's the first time you use the visa to enter Australia.

Re: benefits, not my area of expertise, don't know about that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



niveditat said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I Got the subclass 189 Visa and i am travelling in Feb first week to Sydney. Two questions:
> 
> 1: Apart from e visa print with passport anything else i need to carry for my flight?
> 2: What is the scope for me as a Job seeker once i land. Do i get some assistance from government in case i am not able to get any Job?
> 
> Regards
> Nivedita


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wso22 -

Would require research to determine this - if the licence is required in order to perform virtually all of the job (like it is, for instance, for a doctor), then you would need to have that licence in place in order to apply for a 189 or 190 skilled PR visa. However if there are elements of the job under that occupation that you can do without the licence (for instance, work under the supervision of a licenced person, or would only need the licence for certain aspects of the occupation that you may not do at your job), then it may not be necessary to have the licence in order to apply for the PR visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wso22 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have got a query and wondering if you can help me.
> 
> I am a recently graduate in Australia. A few days ago i obtained a suitable skill assessment for External Auditor from ICAA. Then I have read some information on immi website that registration or licence is required for External Auditor. My question is, do i need to have registration or licence in order to apply for Skilled Independent Visa 189?
> 
> Does anyone experience applying for 189 visa under External Auditor with no experience before?
> 
> I look forward to hearing from you all.
> 
> Many thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arunraman7 -

Thanks for the kind words! Generally no need to get an additional assessment if you have additional time working in a job where the position, employer and occupation have already been assessed - that is, it's an extension of time for a job that has already been assessed by the assessor. In these cases, generally a letter from your employer stating that you have continued to work in the same position as you had that was previously assessed and including the dates involved will satisfy DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arunraman7 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your support so far. Your patience and expertise never ceases to amaze me.
> 
> I'm in the process of submitting my EOI for Visa 189, for the role 263111-Network and System Engineer. I got my experience verified through ACS back in Feb 2014. Now, I have been working in the same role (network engineer) performing same tasks which was accepted by ACS since Feb, but ACS letter only testifies it till Feb 2014 (as its the date when letter was issued). Now, should I re apply for an assessment and get it updated till date before mentioning in EOI that i am currently working in the same role and gain additional points for it?


----------



## shyster

*Please HELP!!*

Hi Mark,
Im in a bit of a bad situation here and wanted to know if you can help. Im married to Australian lady, with three young children that all have dual (CAN/AUZ) citizenship. We have been married for 10 years and together for 16 years. We have lived between Can and Auz over the last 10 years and just recently moved back to Auz (5 months ago) family and all. Im on a Resident Return Visa Sub Class 155 and it is renewable on a yearly basis.
We have had some troubled times in the past, and there is a very strong possiblity that we may in fact be looking at a separation. Recently its become obvious that this marriage just isnt working. Im working FT in Auz, my children are all in school and Im looking at the very real possibility of moving out and possibly separating. My question is if I were to move out, adn we were to decide to go our own ways over time, with my renewal on a yearly basis (coming this Feb 2015) how can that affect my renewal application? Can they refuse to grant me the continued 155 RR Visa and send me back to Canada leaving my children here? Im very worried as my family is everything, however I feel like Im caught between a rock and a hard place and dont want to make any moves (out) until I see things clearly. 
Can you please offer me some advice (or anyone out there reading this post) on what I should do to protect my right to live/stay in Australia as I dont want to stay in a troubled marriage however Im very afraid of losing my children if the Visa Dept were to be made aware that my wife and I have or were separated. I dont know if my wife is making any efforts to advise the Visa Dept however in every separation thing never are pretty and usually the claws come out. What can I do?? Could I be facing deportation?

PLEASE HELP


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

You might do it either way - contact details vary from one visa to another - you might call them via phone to see - all contact info on Contact Us tab on DIBP site.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



myahya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks again for your prompt replies.
> 
> Regarding contacting DIBP, do I do this while applying for the visa, or beforehand? If beforehand, can you advise contact details?
> 
> Thank you so much for your help!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shyster -

Thanks for the note - I would need to work with you in a consultation to give you any specific advice re: your situation, however it occurs to me that you may have substantial ties to your children if they are still in Australia, even if your relationship with your partner is over. The substantial ties test is what's required for the one year RRV - you could also keep an eye on the time you're in Australia as once you've been in Australia 24 months within a period of up to 5 years, you can apply for a 5 year RRV without having to show any substantial ties.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shyster said:


> Hi Mark,
> Im in a bit of a bad situation here and wanted to know if you can help. Im married to Australian lady, with three young children that all have dual (CAN/AUZ) citizenship. We have been married for 10 years and together for 16 years. We have lived between Can and Auz over the last 10 years and just recently moved back to Auz (5 months ago) family and all. Im on a Resident Return Visa Sub Class 155 and it is renewable on a yearly basis.
> We have had some troubled times in the past, and there is a very strong possiblity that we may in fact be looking at a separation. Recently its become obvious that this marriage just isnt working. Im working FT in Auz, my children are all in school and Im looking at the very real possibility of moving out and possibly separating. My question is if I were to move out, adn we were to decide to go our own ways over time, with my renewal on a yearly basis (coming this Feb 2015) how can that affect my renewal application? Can they refuse to grant me the continued 155 RR Visa and send me back to Canada leaving my children here? Im very worried as my family is everything, however I feel like Im caught between a rock and a hard place and dont want to make any moves (out) until I see things clearly.
> Can you please offer me some advice (or anyone out there reading this post) on what I should do to protect my right to live/stay in Australia as I dont want to stay in a troubled marriage however Im very afraid of losing my children if the Visa Dept were to be made aware that my wife and I have or were separated. I dont know if my wife is making any efforts to advise the Visa Dept however in every separation thing never are pretty and usually the claws come out. What can I do?? Could I be facing deportation?
> 
> PLEASE HELP


----------



## shyster

*Thanks for the reply Mark*

Mark,
THANK YOU for taking the time to reply. Basically what you are saying is that I need to stay here 24 months just to be sure without leaving? Do I need to re-apply for my working Visa SC155 when it expires in Feb 2015? I suspect they will ask if I am still married...

Am I on the right path here or maybe not? Im going to your website to contact you.
Thanks Mark


----------



## henryyifengxu

*Quary about 186*

Hi Mark.I'd like to ask you a question about 457 converting to186,I am going to get a 457 visa with an employer from meats production .The contract is 4 years length. my question is Can i convert 457 to 186 (PR)after 2 years contrac easily and how many percentage of probability can i get 186 ? Thanks a lot..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Henryyifengxu -

Generally an applicant can apply for a 186 visa if their employer nominates them to do so after they've worked for that employer under a 457 visa for 2 years in the same occupation, etc. Beyond that, however, there are more than a few specific requirements for the 186 visa - it's not just a simple "2 years" requirement.

No way to predict specific chances of success for an application or application without looking at all the facts & evidence to be presented with the application however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



henryyifengxu said:


> Hi Mark.I'd like to ask you a question about 457 converting to186,I am going to get a 457 visa with an employer from meats production .The contract is 4 years length. my question is Can i convert 457 to 186 (PR)after 2 years contrac easily and how many percentage of probability can i get 186 ? Thanks a lot..


----------



## Thomaz

Hi Mark,
I have lodged an online application last month, have paid and attached documents, it shows as "submitted''
I called, and they told me that have been a glitch in the system and my application has not gone 'forward'. now all I can do is wait (as they said).
Do you know how long do i need to wait or heard anything similar?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thomaz -

I would immediately request an explanation as to what has happened with your application, whether they are questioning whether the application is/was a valid application or not, and how they plan to cure whatever issue there was. I would also make sure that the payment has been taken from you card, etc. I'd take a proactive approach to this situation and communicate with them in writing so there's a paper trail.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Thomaz said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have lodged an online application last month, have paid and attached documents, it shows as "submitted''
> I called, and they told me that have been a glitch in the system and my application has not gone 'forward'. now all I can do is wait (as they said).
> Do you know how long do i need to wait or heard anything similar?


----------



## Thomaz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Thomaz -
> 
> I would immediately request an explanation as to what has happened with your application, whether they are questioning whether the application is/was a valid application or not, and how they plan to cure whatever issue there was. I would also make sure that the payment has been taken from you card, etc. I'd take a proactive approach to this situation and communicate with them in writing so there's a paper trail.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks.
It has been a month, the payment has been done correctly and was debbited form my bank account.
As they said my problem was sent to the technical support and is on course, I called to 1-613-238-1040 (America's Department ). 
Is there any other phone that i could call?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thomaz -

Not sure - depends on the nature of the problem. I'd start with the number you're calling and see where it leads.

Best,

Mark



Thomaz said:


> Thanks.
> It has been a month, the payment has been done correctly and was debbited form my bank account.
> As they said my problem was sent to the technical support and is on course, I called to 1-613-238-1040 (America's Department ).
> Is there any other phone that i could call?


----------



## Thomaz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Thomaz -
> 
> Not sure - depends on the nature of the problem. I'd start with the number you're calling and see where it leads.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Thanks a lot for your time! Going to keep calling there.


----------



## niveditat

Thank you mark !!!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Niveditat -
> 
> Re: passport, as long as that has not changed since you were granted your visa, you're all set with that - a paper printout of the visa grant is a good idea too if it's the first time you use the visa to enter Australia.
> 
> Re: benefits, not my area of expertise, don't know about that.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## musmanbutt

Dear Mark

How are you? I hope all is well with you.
Based upon current stats, do you think that WA 190 sub class occupations will come back to schedule 1 since as of now, mostly are falling in category of schedule 2.
This will happen only by July next year?? 

Thanks to revert back.

regards
Usman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Musmanbutt -

Impossible to predict, but generally these sorts of changes (expanding an occupation, vs restricting it) happen in July. Some occupations may start the year as open, etc and then change to closed or more restricted later in the year (the program year in Australia runs from July to June) as more applications are received.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



musmanbutt said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> How are you? I hope all is well with you.
> Based upon current stats, do you think that WA 190 sub class occupations will come back to schedule 1 since as of now, mostly are falling in category of schedule 2.
> This will happen only by July next year??
> 
> Thanks to revert back.
> 
> regards
> Usman


----------



## Romulus

Hi Mark.

A quick question. Is it possible to extend an existing 12 month Tourist Visa on shore? Visa applicant is from Philippines, total lenght of stay in Australia will reach 12 months January 2015.

Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romulus -

It's possible to apply for it (subclass 600) however in practice it's very difficult to get as there is the requirement for "exceptional circumstances" if the total time of visitor visas including current + requested extension goes beyond 12 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Romulus said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> A quick question. Is it possible to extend an existing 12 month Tourist Visa on shore? Visa applicant is from Philippines, total lenght of stay in Australia will reach 12 months January 2015.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## Romulus

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Romulus -
> 
> It's possible to apply for it (subclass 600) however in practice it's very difficult to get as there is the requirement for "exceptional circumstances" if the total time of visitor visas including current + requested extension goes beyond 12 months.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for your prompt reply Mark.

The visa is for my mother in law. She is currently visiting as my sister in law just gave birth. My wife is due in late February/March next year. Would that constitute exceptional circumstances for an extension of my mother in law's visa?


----------



## Saaussie

Hi Mark! 
First of all thanks for your great help on this forum!
I withdrew my 457 application to Mrt becuase my sponsor could not renew the nomination due to some problems... I'm leaving Australia in few days.
I have been currently living with my partner for 1.5 years and we were thinking about applying for a student visa for me ( obviously i have to do it offshore) in a couple of months and then apply for a partner visa onshore when my student visa is about to expire. I'd like to enrol in a certificate IV course that will take 6 months.
At this point i am really frustrated because I'm afraid the berlin embassy will put a "no further stay" condition on my student visa...and I really don't know what is the best thing to do. I know I could apply for a partner visa offshore but the current processing times discouraged me a lot!
My question is: do you believe is it possible that I get a NFS condition (due to my immigration history)?

Thanks again for your help!


----------



## Nagel

Hi, Im lodging my application for partnervisa onshore online any day now since my whv expires on the 29th. So Ill get the bridging visa.

What I wonder is if I can leave Australia while Im on my bridging visa? Because my mother is having a major surgery that can be risky. Only in case something would go wrong during the surgery.

Regards Daniel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romulus -

Hard to say - I'm guessing 50/50 chance at best. Problem is, if she is acting as a carer, that would be inconsistent with the purposes of a visitor visa and could be refused on that basis alone. Might be better to try and describe the support activities she would do, but be careful it doesn't venture into the role of a carer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Romulus said:


> Thank you for your prompt reply Mark.
> 
> The visa is for my mother in law. She is currently visiting as my sister in law just gave birth. My wife is due in late February/March next year. Would that constitute exceptional circumstances for an extension of my mother in law's visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nagel -

Thanks for the question. Answer is that assuming you are granted a Bridging Visa A when you lodge your partner visa onshore (which is normally the case as long as you hold a non-bridging visa such as the WHV when you lodge your partner visa), you would then need to apply for a Bridging Visa B (only available to BV-A holders) that would allow you to make 1 trip out and back for a "significant reason" - a sick relative would certainly qualify, however I'd include some evidence such as a letter or medical document just in case with the BV-B application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nagel said:


> Hi, Im lodging my application for partnervisa onshore online any day now since my whv expires on the 29th. So Ill get the bridging visa.
> 
> What I wonder is if I can leave Australia while Im on my bridging visa? Because my mother is having a major surgery that can be risky. Only in case something would go wrong during the surgery.
> 
> Regards Daniel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saaussie -

Thanks for the note. Very good chance of a NFS condition primarily due to the short length of the course (< 10 months). Additionally, you could run into genuine student assessment problems as you've already indicated a desire to stay in Australia and work (via 457 application) which, if not causing genuine student issues, could be a contributing factor to the NFS decision.

I'd probably consider offshore partner visa plus another visitor visa to come back and visit during the processing period, assuming you currently hold a Bridging Visa A. If it's a different type of bridging visa (ie, C, E) then you're looking at a 3 year exclusion period for all temporary visas (including visitor, 457, student) once you depart, however offshore partner visa would not be affected by that exclusion period. Please advise if I can provide more detailed info in a consultation, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Saaussie said:


> Hi Mark!
> First of all thanks for your great help on this forum!
> I withdrew my 457 application to Mrt becuase my sponsor could not renew the nomination due to some problems... I'm leaving Australia in few days.
> I have been currently living with my partner for 1.5 years and we were thinking about applying for a student visa for me ( obviously i have to do it offshore) in a couple of months and then apply for a partner visa onshore when my student visa is about to expire. I'd like to enrol in a certificate IV course that will take 6 months.
> At this point i am really frustrated because I'm afraid the berlin embassy will put a "no further stay" condition on my student visa...and I really don't know what is the best thing to do. I know I could apply for a partner visa offshore but the current processing times discouraged me a lot!
> My question is: do you believe is it possible that I get a NFS condition (due to my immigration history)?
> 
> Thanks again for your help!


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi mark,

Thanks for kind help, my employer send me contract for 457 visa nomination. In contract I see it's company ACN number instead of ABN number. Is it usual or mistake . 

Please reply me.

Thanks
Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

Thanks for the note. Can't comment on the contract as I have not seen it, however Australian companies typically have both an ABN and an ACN. The ABN refers to registration with the tax authorities, and the ACN refers to registration with ASIC, the registrar of companies and businesses. The ABN is usually made up of the ACN with 2 additional digits added at the beginning. DIBP usually asks for at least the ABN, for 457 applications, sometimes both.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Thanks for kind help, my employer send me contract for 457 visa nomination. In contract I see it's company ACN number instead of ABN number. Is it usual or mistake .
> 
> Please reply me.
> 
> Thanks
> Bharat


----------



## Saaussie

Thanks Mark, it was exactly what I was thinking about... What about I enrol in a 12 month course like a diploma? Is it still the same chance to have NFS? Otherwise, if i'am going to apply for the partner visa offshore, can I come back to Australia in a student visa for 6 months?
Thanks!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saaussie -

If you lodge an offshore partner visa first, it solves the NFS problem, however not sure of how they'll consider the student visa application in light of the "genuine student" policy that says that a student's ties to their home country and those there must generally be stronger than their ties to Australia and people here - if you've already lodged a partner visa with an onshore Australian sponsor, that could prove to be an issue, but it's a discretion of the case officer so no way to really predict.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Saaussie said:


> Thanks Mark, it was exactly what I was thinking about... What about I enrol in a 12 month course like a diploma? Is it still the same chance to have NFS? Otherwise, if i'am going to apply for the partner visa offshore, can I come back to Australia in a student visa for 6 months?
> Thanks!!


----------



## Nkd1

*VETASSESS skill assessment validity period*

Dear Mark,

I have a question regarding the VETASSESS skill assessment validity period.

I got a positive skill assessment (VETASSESS) on 28/09/2011 for skill occupation Civil Engineering Technician.

In this assessment it has mentioned that it will expired on 28/09/2013 and therefore I applied for reissue of my Vetassess assessment results and I got the reissued skill assessment result on 13/10/2013.

My question is according to new skill assessment validity period condition given by DIBP (July 2014), can I use my reisuue skill assessment to apply for vias 190 or do I need to do a reassessment before apply visa 190?

Sorry to trouble you

Thanking you for your time,

NKD


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi NKD -

Thanks for the question. Your reissued skills assessment should be valid for 3 years from the date of issue by default, unless that document has an earlier expiration date on it, in which case it expires on the earlier date. If no expiration date is on the document, then the default is that it is valid for migration purposes for 3 years unless a specific visa's regulations state otherwise.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nkd1 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding the VETASSESS skill assessment validity period.
> 
> I got a positive skill assessment (VETASSESS) on 28/09/2011 for skill occupation Civil Engineering Technician.
> 
> In this assessment it has mentioned that it will expired on 28/09/2013 and therefore I applied for reissue of my Vetassess assessment results and I got the reissued skill assessment result on 13/10/2013.
> 
> My question is according to new skill assessment validity period condition given by DIBP (July 2014), can I use my reisuue skill assessment to apply for vias 190 or do I need to do a reassessment before apply visa 190?
> 
> Sorry to trouble you
> 
> Thanking you for your time,
> 
> NKD


----------



## Nkd1

*VETASSESS skill assessment validity period*

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your prompt reply.
Greatly appreciated.

NKD


----------



## TAMZID

Dear Mr. Mark,

I would appreciate if you please advise me on the following:

I have wide long experience in working as office or project administrator in addition I am involved with with a company business since 2003 providing all sort of logistic supports including liaison with the exporters to complete the entire procedure.

My question is with that experience /skill can I apply as Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188).
Please advise.
Thanks and regards,
Tamzid


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

Thanks for the quote - note the requirements for that stream per DIBP include:
_

be under 55 years of age, although a state or territory can waive this requirement if your proposed business will be of exceptional economic benefit to the nominating state or territory.
score at least 65 on the points test
for two out of the four fiscal years immediately before you are invited to apply, have had an ownership interest in an established business or businesses that had at least AUD500 000 turnover in each of those years
own at least one of the following percentage of your nominated main business:
51 per cent, if the business has a turnover of less than AUD400 000 per year
30 per cent, if the business has a turnover of AUD400 000 or more per year
10 per cent, if the business is a publicly listed company
have an overall successful business career
have a genuine desire to continuously own and maintain a management role in a business in Australia.
If your nominated main business provides professional, technical or trade services, you must have spent no more than half your time providing those services, as opposed to general management of the business.

At the time of invitation, you, your partner, or you and your partner combined must have total net assets of at least AUD800 000 that are lawfully acquired and available for legal transfer to Australia within two years of the visa being granted.

You and your partner must have had no involvement in unacceptable business or investment activities.
_
Complete requirements at: Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188)

As with most visas, eligibility has many factors - would be happy to work with you in a consultation to go through your specific circumstances, the BIIP points test, and determine your eligibility - too many factors and questions to go through in back & forth emails.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Dear Mr. Mark,
> 
> I would appreciate if you please advise me on the following:
> 
> I have wide long experience in working as office or project administrator in addition I am involved with with a company business since 2003 providing all sort of logistic supports including liaison with the exporters to complete the entire procedure.
> 
> My question is with that experience /skill can I apply as Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188).
> Please advise.
> Thanks and regards,
> Tamzid


----------



## TAMZID

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tamzid -
> 
> Thanks for the quote - note the requirements for that stream per DIBP include:
> _
> 
> be under 55 years of age, although a state or territory can waive this requirement if your proposed business will be of exceptional economic benefit to the nominating state or territory.
> score at least 65 on the points test
> for two out of the four fiscal years immediately before you are invited to apply, have had an ownership interest in an established business or businesses that had at least AUD500 000 turnover in each of those years
> own at least one of the following percentage of your nominated main business:
> 51 per cent, if the business has a turnover of less than AUD400 000 per year
> 30 per cent, if the business has a turnover of AUD400 000 or more per year
> 10 per cent, if the business is a publicly listed company
> have an overall successful business career
> have a genuine desire to continuously own and maintain a management role in a business in Australia.
> If your nominated main business provides professional, technical or trade services, you must have spent no more than half your time providing those services, as opposed to general management of the business.
> 
> At the time of invitation, you, your partner, or you and your partner combined must have total net assets of at least AUD800 000 that are lawfully acquired and available for legal transfer to Australia within two years of the visa being granted.
> 
> You and your partner must have had no involvement in unacceptable business or investment activities.
> _
> Complete requirements at: Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188)
> 
> As with most visas, eligibility has many factors - would be happy to work with you in a consultation to go through your specific circumstances, the BIIP points test, and determine your eligibility - too many factors and questions to go through in back & forth emails.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mr. Mark,
Thanks for your reply.
Do you have any office in Melbourne?
If yes can i have your address for face to face discussion.

br
Tamzid


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

I'm in Parramatta (Sydney) - no office in Melbourne. Would be happy to do a consultation via phone or Skype if you'd like - see website link in signature below and look for "Professional Consultation" to book.

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Dear Mr. Mark,
> Thanks for your reply.
> Do you have any office in Melbourne?
> If yes can i have your address for face to face discussion.
> 
> br
> Tamzid


----------



## jsr

*partner visa with a record*

Hello Mark,
I have just joined this forum and would really appreciate your input. I have just moved back to Australia from the USA . My partner of 15yrs and I have three children together and he is presently still in the USA.
He had a 2yr conviction 30 yrs ago on drug related charges while in the air force and a recent dui in 2010, has gone through all rehab programs and sobriety since. As I keep reading that his total jail time has exceeded the acceptable time, will he be automatically denied for a visa or will they consider our children and the length of the relationship?

Hoping you have some words of wisdom and help !

Thank you


----------



## mfa

*Engineers Australia- Additional Assessment for relevant skilled employment*

Hi Mark,

Today i have applied online for Engineers Australia "Standard" assessment using "CDR method " ( without ticking additional relevant skilled employment) and paid fee for this 635 AUS $.

I have more than 8 years experience , which i will claim during EOI.

I read some threads , where , ppl have mentioned that, its must to tick additional relevant skilled employment for claiming points during EOI.

Please can you comment on additional assessment is mandatory for more than 3 years skilled experience or not ?

thanks,
Moeen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jsr -

Thanks for the note. Based on your partner's record, it is likely he will fail the "character test" provisions of the migration law and will need to lodge a character defence to argue why he should be given a waiver of the character provisions based on a variety of factors including no recent convictions, length of your relationship and best interests of the children, etc. Chances of success are difficult to determine without knowing much more about your case. Would suggest having a registered migration agent familiar with character issues prepare and lodge your partner visa application, and prepare (upon request) a character defence package.

Also, timewise it may be good to move forward on this ASAP as the Parliament is currently considering a package of new legislation that would make it much more difficult for people with a sentence of 12mo or longer to be granted a visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jsr said:


> Hello Mark,
> I have just joined this forum and would really appreciate your input. I have just moved back to Australia from the USA . My partner of 15yrs and I have three children together and he is presently still in the USA.
> He had a 2yr conviction 30 yrs ago on drug related charges while in the air force and a recent dui in 2010, has gone through all rehab programs and sobriety since. As I keep reading that his total jail time has exceeded the acceptable time, will he be automatically denied for a visa or will they consider our children and the length of the relationship?
> 
> Hoping you have some words of wisdom and help !
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moeen -

Assessment of your employment by EA is only necessary if the case officer does not accept that employment as closely related to your occupation - you may want to wait until this issue is raised (if it is raised at all by the case officer) and then have it assessed as necessary. Whether or not to proactively have it assessed now before lodging would be based on your view of whether it is obvious or clear from the employment info that it is closely related to your occupation. But it's not mandatory unless the case officer decides to require it, which is somewhat rare.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mfa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Today i have applied online for Engineers Australia "Standard" assessment using "CDR method " ( without ticking additional relevant skilled employment) and paid fee for this 635 AUS $.
> 
> I have more than 8 years experience , which i will claim during EOI.
> 
> I read some threads , where , ppl have mentioned that, its must to tick additional relevant skilled employment for claiming points during EOI.
> 
> Please can you comment on additional assessment is mandatory for more than 3 years skilled experience or not ?
> 
> thanks,
> Moeen


----------



## tbl123

Hi Mark

I have a question concerning class 189 visas and timing. 

I am keen to move to Australia but am not in a position to do so immediately - I am probably looking to move in 2-3 years time. 

I currently qualify for a class 189 visa but won't from March 2016 (due to a reduction in age related points). I am unlikely to be in a position to move before March 2016 so ideally I would get the visa in early 2016.

How long in advance of March 2016 should I apply for the visa? How long does the process take? 

Many thanks in anticipation

TBL


----------



## mfa

*Exact Requirements by DIBP for proving work experience*

Hi Mark,

What are the exact requirements set by DIBP to prove work experience ? Where they can be found ? Can you share the webpage or document ?

I mean , if one has , experience letter from HR with job designation, period of employment and HR contact details, do case officer still need salary slips or tax return ?

Unfortunately , i don't have with me any salary slip and i worked in United arab emirates - where there is no tax return.

I have contract letter showing salary paid to me. Will this be suffice ? Please help, as i came to know , some people visa was refused due to their inability to provide salary slips but this is very tough requirement ,as CO can call HR and ask if employee was paid or not ?

thanks for your great help always.

Moeen


----------



## flower1

Hi Mark!

My parents have recently been granted visitors visas (600). In the grant letters the only conditions mentioned are 8101 - NO WORK and 8201 - MAX 3 MONTHS STUDY. Does it mean the “no further stay” condition has not been placed? Does it mean they can apply for the Aged Parent Visas when in Australia? They had the “no further stay” condition placed on their two previous visas. Is it possible that this condition is actually in place but not mentioned in the grant letter? Sorry if my question is rather silly, just want to make sure ☺


----------



## jsr

Hi Mark,
Thank you very much for your fast and honest answer. Although it is extremely disheartening, we will move forward and see what we can achieve . 
I appreciate your help


----------



## bhalo_fish

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bharat - Thanks for the note. Can't comment on the contract as I have not seen it, however Australian companies typically have both an ABN and an ACN. The ABN refers to registration with the tax authorities, and the ACN refers to registration with ASIC, the registrar of companies and businesses. The ABN is usually made up of the ACN with 2 additional digits added at the beginning. DIBP usually asks for at least the ABN, for 457 applications, sometimes both. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Hi Mr Mark,

Thank you for your kind assistance. I am looking at arrange consult on Skype .

Thanks 
Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Flower1 -

If the condition is not listed on the actual visa grant notice, then the condition is not on the visa. You can double check this by looking them up in the VEVO online system to see what conditions are on their visa.

Re: applying for an onshore visa, would need to assess them at a consultation in order to determine eligibility, etc. See link in my email signature below to the website if you'd like to do this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



flower1 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> My parents have recently been granted visitors visas (600). In the grant letters the only conditions mentioned are 8101 - NO WORK and 8201 - MAX 3 MONTHS STUDY. Does it mean the "no further stay" condition has not been placed? Does it mean they can apply for the Aged Parent Visas when in Australia? They had the "no further stay" condition placed on their two previous visas. Is it possible that this condition is actually in place but not mentioned in the grant letter? Sorry if my question is rather silly, just want to make sure ☺


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moeen -

DIBP generally requires proof of payment for employment claimed for points on a skilled visa. Employer ref letter is not sufficient for this generally. They will accept a variety of items - payslips, bank acct records, tax records, etc. With none of these, it would come down to whether they can be satisfied by the HR Director's assurances - no guarantee of that however!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mfa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> What are the exact requirements set by DIBP to prove work experience ? Where they can be found ? Can you share the webpage or document ?
> 
> I mean , if one has , experience letter from HR with job designation, period of employment and HR contact details, do case officer still need salary slips or tax return ?
> 
> Unfortunately , i don't have with me any salary slip and i worked in United arab emirates - where there is no tax return.
> 
> I have contract letter showing salary paid to me. Will this be suffice ? Please help, as i came to know , some people visa was refused due to their inability to provide salary slips but this is very tough requirement ,as CO can call HR and ask if employee was paid or not ?
> 
> thanks for your great help always.
> 
> Moeen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TBL -

That's hard to predict since you can't apply directly for this visa - you have to lodge an Expression of Interest (EOI) and wait for an invitation- which may take months (or more) to be issued depending on how many other people are competing for the places available for your occupation. Once you do receive an invitation and lodge your application, typical processing times on these is 6-9 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tbl123 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have a question concerning class 189 visas and timing.
> 
> I am keen to move to Australia but am not in a position to do so immediately - I am probably looking to move in 2-3 years time.
> 
> I currently qualify for a class 189 visa but won't from March 2016 (due to a reduction in age related points). I am unlikely to be in a position to move before March 2016 so ideally I would get the visa in early 2016.
> 
> How long in advance of March 2016 should I apply for the visa? How long does the process take?
> 
> Many thanks in anticipation
> 
> TBL


----------



## TAMZID

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tamzid -
> 
> I'm in Parramatta (Sydney) - no office in Melbourne. Would be happy to do a consultation via phone or Skype if you'd like - see website link in signature below and look for "Professional Consultation" to book.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mr. mark,
I have a question to ask for your advise.
I have visited Australia as a tourist and while obtaining visa, I have shown I am working .

My question is- in that situation can I lodge my application under Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) since I have business experiences since 2003(looking after entire business including import,logistic etc.


----------



## barefoot

Hi Mark,

Been having a look through the replies and wow, you're a super helpful person and I hope you can help me too!

Here's the situation. My partner and I want to apply for a 820 visa and will be getting to Australia in April to apply onshore. We've been together since 02/2013 so we know we make the eligibility, and we've been living together in England for nearly 12 months so that's fine as well. 
The big thing I'm worried about is that I'm only 23, and since I've finished university in 2012 I've been launching myself as a freelancer online. Obviously, this hasn't been a massively lucrative position, and as I've been travelling the world as well money has been here and there, but nothing solid. Is this going to be an impact for my visa?
I know that as his sponsor I have to show that I'm going to support my partner, but to be honest he makes a lot more money than me, and a lot more regularly as well. I can get a job when we get back to Oz, but will that be enough?

Thanks for any answers you can provide


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

The BIIP visas (188, 888, etc) are too complex to work through all the details in the forum - would need to work through all the requirements of the visa and your circumstances in a consultation in order to provide advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Dear Mr. mark,
> I have a question to ask for your advise.
> I have visited Australia as a tourist and while obtaining visa, I have shown I am working .
> 
> My question is- in that situation can I lodge my application under Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) since I have business experiences since 2003(looking after entire business including import,logistic etc.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Barefoot -

Happy to help - the minimum income requirements to sponsor a partner were eliminated years ago, thankfully. DIBP will want to get a picture of the financial support for the family in whole, but that can also include financial support from parents, savings, etc. Would suggest putting together a letter to DIBP listing all financial support (including the applicant's) and most likely that would satisfy them. The main thing they want to determine is that the applicant is not likely to be a cost to the Commonwealth via claims for social security payments, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



barefoot said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Been having a look through the replies and wow, you're a super helpful person and I hope you can help me too!
> 
> Here's the situation. My partner and I want to apply for a 820 visa and will be getting to Australia in April to apply onshore. We've been together since 02/2013 so we know we make the eligibility, and we've been living together in England for nearly 12 months so that's fine as well.
> The big thing I'm worried about is that I'm only 23, and since I've finished university in 2012 I've been launching myself as a freelancer online. Obviously, this hasn't been a massively lucrative position, and as I've been travelling the world as well money has been here and there, but nothing solid. Is this going to be an impact for my visa?
> I know that as his sponsor I have to show that I'm going to support my partner, but to be honest he makes a lot more money than me, and a lot more regularly as well. I can get a job when we get back to Oz, but will that be enough?
> 
> Thanks for any answers you can provide


----------



## EDT

Hi Mark

How long does DIBP take to vefiry if a birth ceritificate is genuine. We first heard of this verification since September this year and still they're verifying up until now. What exactly are they looking for ? My hubby has lived and studied outside our home country for 12 years now and has always used the same birth cetificate to process his papers . We're both from the same country so our birth certificates have the same format and I've never had any trouble in obtaining my citizenship .


----------



## Reginleif

Hi Mark,

First of all, I would like to express my utmost gratitude as I was trying to find more info about my case and calling the National Help Line doesn't really help, especially with their attitude.

I'm actually trying to sponsor my wife to apply for the Partner Visa (801) - below are our details.

1. She is currently on Visitor Visa (600), expiring on April 2017 with the following conditions:
- No Work
- Multiple Entries
- Max 3 Months Study

2. She has been here since April 2014, stayed here for 3 months, went out of Australia for a couple of weeks then returned back to Australia in July, stayed for another 3 months, then left Australia for 10 days and returned back here to Australia. This is her third consecutive stayed in Australia.

3. We weren't aware that Visitor Visa cannot actually be used for mutiple entries in close range of time as illustrated above and thus we got held by the border/immigration the last time we flew back into Australia and has been warned that this would be the last time my wife could enter Australia with her Visitor Visa.

4. We've been married for 2 years now and I myself is an Permanent Resident.


My questions are:

1. Considering that she's on Visitor Visa with the above conditions, can I still sponsor her to apply for a onshore Partner Visa? 
I've tried to browse the eligibility criteria and I couldn't find any details about what type of visa could actually apply for onshore Partner Visa. All it says is that she would need to be de facto/married to Australian Citizen/PR, meet the health and character requirements, etc.

2. Since she's on Visitor Visa at the moment, and it says on the requirements that she would need to provide adequate health cover while she's in Australia - would I need to get her a health insurance (Medibank, etc) before she applies for the Partner Visa? 
I believe as soon as we're applying for Partner Visa and she gets her Bridging Visa, she should be eligible to apply for Medicare.

Hopefully we can still apply for the Partner Visa as end of January would be her 3 months deadline 

Thanks in advance!


----------



## OmOmSplat

*Sponsorship*

Hi Mark,

I currently hold a 189 visa but am not living in Australia. I'm getting married soon and shortly after i will want to sponsor my wife (Partner Temporary Visa (Subclass 309) and Permanent Visa (Subclass 100). I have the following questions:

1. Do i have to be living IN australia to sponsor her? I'd rather sponsor her then when she gets the visa we can move together.

2. How long does the process take till she gets the temp visa and can move to Australia?

3. For the health requirement, my fiancee has a vision disability; She has a non-infectious condition where her eyesight is progressively deteriorating with no cure or treatment available. She can see properly right now, but by the time she has her medical check her eyesight might be quite low. My question here: Can such an eye condition result in refusal of her sponsorship visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi EDT -

No way to predict, unfortunately. You may wish to ask them what additional documents and/or information they want, or provide them with a contact at whatever government agency or hospital can verify the birth certificate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



EDT said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> How long does DIBP take to vefiry if a birth ceritificate is genuine. We first heard of this verification since September this year and still they're verifying up until now. What exactly are they looking for ? My hubby has lived and studied outside our home country for 12 years now and has always used the same birth cetificate to process his papers . We're both from the same country so our birth certificates have the same format and I've never had any trouble in obtaining my citizenship .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Reginleif -

Thanks for the note - as long as the visitor visa does not have condition 8503 on it, and there are no other outstanding issues (ie, onshore previous refusal on this trip, etc), she can generally make a valid application for a partner visa (subclass 820/801). There is no set list of qualifying previous visas for the partner visa.

The number of times a person can re-enter on a visitor visa isn't set in the visa, but too many times will cause issues with DIBP as you found out. Typically an applicant will lodge the partner visa while onshore before the end of the current stay, in which case a bridging visa is generated. The applicant then remains in Australia past the end of the current stay, which activates the bridging visa. Note if she wants to leave Australia after that she'll need a Bridging Visa B to re-enter. No need to evidence health insurance to lodge a partner visa; once she lodges she can apply immediately for Medicare (use the acknowledgement of application letter you'll get after lodgement. Suggest lodging 1-2 weeks (or more) before the end of the visitor visa current stay period. Suggest carefully reviewing all of the requirements for the partner visa, including the "usually resident" requirement for PR sponsors.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Reginleif said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all, I would like to express my utmost gratitude as I was trying to find more info about my case and calling the National Help Line doesn't really help, especially with their attitude.
> 
> I'm actually trying to sponsor my wife to apply for the Partner Visa (801) - below are our details.
> 
> 1. She is currently on Visitor Visa (600), expiring on April 2017 with the following conditions:
> - No Work
> - Multiple Entries
> - Max 3 Months Study
> 
> 2. She has been here since April 2014, stayed here for 3 months, went out of Australia for a couple of weeks then returned back to Australia in July, stayed for another 3 months, then left Australia for 10 days and returned back here to Australia. This is her third consecutive stayed in Australia.
> 
> 3. We weren't aware that Visitor Visa cannot actually be used for mutiple entries in close range of time as illustrated above and thus we got held by the border/immigration the last time we flew back into Australia and has been warned that this would be the last time my wife could enter Australia with her Visitor Visa.
> 
> 4. We've been married for 2 years now and I myself is an Permanent Resident.
> 
> My questions are:
> 
> 1. Considering that she's on Visitor Visa with the above conditions, can I still sponsor her to apply for a onshore Partner Visa?
> I've tried to browse the eligibility criteria and I couldn't find any details about what type of visa could actually apply for onshore Partner Visa. All it says is that she would need to be de facto/married to Australian Citizen/PR, meet the health and character requirements, etc.
> 
> 2. Since she's on Visitor Visa at the moment, and it says on the requirements that she would need to provide adequate health cover while she's in Australia - would I need to get her a health insurance (Medibank, etc) before she applies for the Partner Visa?
> I believe as soon as we're applying for Partner Visa and she gets her Bridging Visa, she should be eligible to apply for Medicare.
> 
> Hopefully we can still apply for the Partner Visa as end of January would be her 3 months deadline
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi OmOmSplat -

Thanks for the questions. As a permanent resident, you will need to be "usually resident" in Australia in order to sponsor her - suggest you carefully research this with DIBP if you're doing your own visa application.

Re: length of time, anybody's guess - DIBP is very unpredictable. I'd count on 12-18 months, then be happy if it comes in less than that.

Re: eye issue, could be an issue depending on the anticipated cost of treatment and medical services estimated by the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth after the medical check. There is a health waiver available for partner visas, however I do not recommend you try that yourself if she is failed on the health criteria and you get an "invitation to comment" letter on that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



OmOmSplat said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I currently hold a 189 visa but am not living in Australia. I'm getting married soon and shortly after i will want to sponsor my wife (Partner Temporary Visa (Subclass 309) and Permanent Visa (Subclass 100). I have the following questions:
> 
> 1. Do i have to be living IN australia to sponsor her? I'd rather sponsor her then when she gets the visa we can move together.
> 
> 2. How long does the process take till she gets the temp visa and can move to Australia?
> 
> 3. For the health requirement, my fiancee has a vision disability; She has a non-infectious condition where her eyesight is progressively deteriorating with no cure or treatment available. She can see properly right now, but by the time she has her medical check her eyesight might be quite low. My question here: Can such an eye condition result in refusal of her sponsorship visa?


----------



## EDT

MarkNortham said:


> Hi EDT -
> 
> No way to predict, unfortunately. You may wish to ask them what additional documents and/or information they want, or provide them with a contact at whatever government agency or hospital can verify the birth certificate.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark thanks for your reply . unfortunately our CO has not even asked for any additional documents / name of an agency or hospital to activate this verification. Instead he has requested the Embassy in Kenya to drive this verification because if my hubby had applied from our home country ( Kenya would have been the country he would have applied from). We just don't know what to do. Is this an internal or external check?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi EDT -

No good way to tell internal vs external, as DIBP won't discuss external checks. I'd guess they probably have their own people doing this though.

Best,

Mark



EDT said:


> Hi Mark thanks for your reply . unfortunately our CO has not even asked for any additional documents / name of an agency or hospital to activate this verification. Instead he has requested the Embassy in Kenya to drive this verification because if my hubby had applied from our home country ( Kenya would have been the country he would have applied from). We just don't know what to do. Is this an internal or external check?


----------



## barefoot

*Whoops!*

Sorry accidental double post!


----------



## kamal28

*For "mark'sir*

Hi everyone ,
I just need some genuine information regarding my visa ,as i am on 487 visa ( family sponsor) issued on 30th July 2014 .What I am confused of is that my cousin who's points I got is now not in position to talk as he is not mentally well and also he doesn't talk to me anymore due to some personal issues but now what I am afraid that after my 2 year visa conditions( 1 yr full time work and 2 yr stay in Vic) still I need his authority or his presence or his documentation or signature because I don't think I am gonna talk to him again .so please reply sir


----------



## markmc

*Hello all*

Hello to all on the forum and especially Mark Northam.
I have been off the forum for a few months and have yet to update our details, but to sum it up:
My fiancee is a British Citizen and has moved to Australia.
Put in PMV in Jan 2014 from Jakarta.
Have had PMV granted on 28th Oct and entered on the 5th Nov.
Now, because we like to make things rather difficult, My fiancee is pregnant and is due in Jan 2015. We will be legally married by then and will have our application in for her Perm Res.
Just wanting to know if there is a way in which we could get her permanency earlier if we write to immigration or somebody else to plead our case?
Any assistance from any angle would be most appreciated.
Thanks again
Mark


----------



## shiblu

Dear Mark,
Thank you for this helpful site and your valuable time.if you have any time can you please tell me that- 
*For 186 ENS visa application is that Financial reports – to give evidence that the business can support the two year e.g. BAS, Profit & Loss statement means business have to make profit for 2 years ?Kindly please answer.
Thank you


----------



## kicktoria

*457 self-sponsorship - documents to provide?*

Hi Mark,

Many thanks for your fantastic job!

I was looking into the option of 457 Self-Sponsorship but have not located clear information on the Immigration website. Would you happen to know where I can find more detailed information about requirements, forms, documents to provide etc?

Regards,

Kicktoria


----------



## TAMZID

kicktoria said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Many thanks for your fantastic job!
> 
> I was looking into the option of 457 Self-Sponsorship but have not located clear information on the Immigration website. Would you happen to know where I can find more detailed information about requirements, forms, documents to provide etc?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Kicktoria


Hi Kictoria,
I also heard about 457 self sponsorship but could not find any details information.If you find it, I would appreciate your help.
Br,
Tamzid


----------



## Eilidh123

Hi Mark.

Quick Question on Student visas. I am currently on a 573 student visa valid until March 2015. My CoE is valid until 31st Dec 2014. 

In the period between the completion of my course on my CoE and the expiry of my visa can I remain validly in Aus and work? Will this time period be considered 'out of session' with full working rights or still restricted to 40hrs/fortnight?

Also if I decide to commence a further course of study can I apply for a further student visa at anytime before the expiry of my current visa?

I have called DIAC who quote that you have 28 days from completion of the course to depart or apply for a further visa but is my understanding that this requirement only applies when you complete the course early and that the expiry date of my visa is what is relevant as I am due to complete the course on time.

Any info would be appreciated!

Eilidh


----------



## edit2403

Hi Mark,

I've been married for four years to a Chinese national and have my marriage registered in P.R. China. At the time, I did not register my marriage in Australia because all official information on Australian Govt websites, such as Marriage overseas | Smartraveller, indicates that overseas marriages are generally recognized in Australia. (And there are no issues that would otherwise invalidate my marriage under Australian law). I therefore did not feel it necessary to pay the fee and register my marriage in my home country.

Now I read advice from another migration agent on another web forum that relationships registered overseas are NOT recognized in Australia.

I want to apply for a partner visa and intend to use my Chinese marriage registration as proof of relationship.

Can you clarify this for me please?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamzid -

Very difficult to do these days, requires very specific circumstances - many of these fail as a result - if you want to try this, would suggest working closely with a migration agent to put all the pieces in place, as these are very tricky thanks to last year's 457 program changes. DIBP hates these, hence no info on the website - trickiest part is satisfying the "Genuine Position" of the SBS nomination.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAMZID said:


> Hi Kictoria,
> I also heard about 457 self sponsorship but could not find any details information.If you find it, I would appreciate your help.
> Br,
> Tamzid


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kamal28 -

Thanks for the question. Without working with you in a consultation it's difficult to give you specific advice for your circumstances. If you are referring to qualifying for the 887, as long as you provide convincing evidence of the living and working requirements, it is not necessary for anyone to sponsor you or approve you for the 887 (other than DIBP of course!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kamal28 said:


> Hi everyone ,
> I just need some genuine information regarding my visa ,as i am on 487 visa ( family sponsor) issued on 30th July 2014 .What I am confused of is that my cousin who's points I got is now not in position to talk as he is not mentally well and also he doesn't talk to me anymore due to some personal issues but now what I am afraid that after my 2 year visa conditions( 1 yr full time work and 2 yr stay in Vic) still I need his authority or his presence or his documentation or signature because I don't think I am gonna talk to him again .so please reply sir


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on your PMV (fiance visa) grant and your upcoming child's birth.

Generally the only way to get the PR part of the partner visa first (without waiting the 2 years from application while holding the provisional partner visa) is if the couple has a child and has been in a partner relationship for 2 years prior to application for the partner visa (or 3 year partner relationship without a child) - these are the definitions of a "long term partner relationship" per DIBP that would allow for the PR visa to be granted without the provisional partner visa being granted first. Other than in these situations, even with a child, no good pathway to get the PR visa straight away.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



markmc said:


> Hello to all on the forum and especially Mark Northam.
> I have been off the forum for a few months and have yet to update our details, but to sum it up:
> My fiancee is a British Citizen and has moved to Australia.
> Put in PMV in Jan 2014 from Jakarta.
> Have had PMV granted on 28th Oct and entered on the 5th Nov.
> Now, because we like to make things rather difficult, My fiancee is pregnant and is due in Jan 2015. We will be legally married by then and will have our application in for her Perm Res.
> Just wanting to know if there is a way in which we could get her permanency earlier if we write to immigration or somebody else to plead our case?
> Any assistance from any angle would be most appreciated.
> Thanks again
> Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shiblu -

Thanks for the note. There is no strict requirement that the business be profitable for the 2 year period, however the overall financial "health" of the business is assessed as part of the genuine position assessment process. For example, if a startup or tech company is not profitable, but has ample capital reserves of cash, etc so it can continue to operate comfortably, that can work - so every company is different in this regard.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shiblu said:


> Dear Mark,
> Thank you for this helpful site and your valuable time.if you have any time can you please tell me that-
> *For 186 ENS visa application is that Financial reports - to give evidence that the business can support the two year e.g. BAS, Profit & Loss statement means business have to make profit for 2 years ?Kindly please answer.
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kicktoria -

See my reply to TAMZID above - sorry, I got the posts confused and thought he was asking instead of you (!)

Best,

Mark Northam



kicktoria said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Many thanks for your fantastic job!
> 
> I was looking into the option of 457 Self-Sponsorship but have not located clear information on the Immigration website. Would you happen to know where I can find more detailed information about requirements, forms, documents to provide etc?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Kicktoria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Edit2403 -

Depends on the "registration" - a registered, legal marriage overseas is generally recognised by Australia as long as the elements of the marriage (especially the age of the parties) and the genders, etc would be legal in Australia. So a marriage legally registered marriage overseas between a man and a woman, both 18 years of age or older, would generally be recognised in Australia. What's generally not recognised in Australia as marriages are civil unions and other non-marriage registered relationships done overseas, as well as overseas legal marriages that are not legal in Australia due to age, gender, etc issues. Some of these might be recognised as defacto relationships in Australia (ie, same sex marriages from abroad) however that would depend on the specifics of each situation.

Hope this helps clear things up -

Best,

Mark Northam



edit2403 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've been married for four years to a Chinese national and have my marriage registered in P.R. China. At the time, I did not register my marriage in Australia because all official information on Australian Govt websites, such as Marriage overseas | Smartraveller, indicates that overseas marriages are generally recognized in Australia. (And there are no issues that would otherwise invalidate my marriage under Australian law). I therefore did not feel it necessary to pay the fee and register my marriage in my home country.
> 
> Now I read advice from another migration agent on another web forum that relationships registered overseas are NOT recognized in Australia.
> 
> I want to apply for a partner visa and intend to use my Chinese marriage registration as proof of relationship.
> 
> Can you clarify this for me please?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eilidh123 -

Great question. According to DIBP policy, the work restriction remains in place for both of the following periods:

* The duration of the "advertised semesters" of your course, including the final exam period; and
* The duration of your CoE (ie, until the end date of the course as specified by your CoE).

If your CoE has expired (end date for the course as shown on the CoE has been reached), and the end of the last semester of your course (incl final exam period) has been reached, then you would have unrestricted work rights until the expiry date of your student visa.

An important issue however: if you decide to apply for another student visa while onshore, upon grant of that student visa it replaces your previous student visa, and your work rights would cease at that point until the course of study under the new visa begins. This is because you have no work rights from the period of student visa grant until your course begins; once the course begins, you have the usual restricted work rights while the course is in session, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Eilidh123 said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> Quick Question on Student visas. I am currently on a 573 student visa valid until March 2015. My CoE is valid until 31st Dec 2014.
> 
> In the period between the completion of my course on my CoE and the expiry of my visa can I remain validly in Aus and work? Will this time period be considered 'out of session' with full working rights or still restricted to 40hrs/fortnight?
> 
> Also if I decide to commence a further course of study can I apply for a further student visa at anytime before the expiry of my current visa?
> 
> I have called DIAC who quote that you have 28 days from completion of the course to depart or apply for a further visa but is my understanding that this requirement only applies when you complete the course early and that the expiry date of my visa is what is relevant as I am due to complete the course on time.
> 
> Any info would be appreciated!
> 
> Eilidh


----------



## markmc

Thank you for your help and kindness Mark. 
You truely are a great resource to this community


----------



## MarkNortham

You're welcome! Thanks for the kind words - glad I could help.

Best,

Mark



markmc said:


> Thank you for your help and kindness Mark.
> You truely are a great resource to this community


----------



## Vinayak

Hi , 

My spouse is having 3 years of experience and got Band 7 in all streams , is she eligible to apply for permanent resident program .

Education :- Masters in English
Age :- 36
Experience :- 3 years

Note :- I have also done my assessment (Positive) 

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vinayak -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vinayak said:


> Hi ,
> 
> My spouse is having 3 years of experience and got Band 7 in all streams , is she eligible to apply for permanent resident program .
> 
> Education :- Masters in English
> Age :- 36
> Experience :- 3 years
> 
> Note :- I have also done my assessment (Positive)
> 
> Thanks


----------



## Vinayak

Thanks Mark for your quick response...


----------



## kicktoria

Hi Mark,

Not a problem. 

I can't believe it's not listed on the Immigration website, the department is not fulfilling its role!

Is there anywhere on the web where I can research the 457 self-sponsorship visa before contacting an immigration agent?

Regards,

Kicktoria



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kicktoria -
> 
> See my reply to TAMZID above - sorry, I got the posts confused and thought he was asking instead of you (!)
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kicktoria -

Not that I know of unless you want to purchase an $800 subscription to LegendCOM so you can go through the DIBP policy yourself and try and sort out the pitfalls - there is no step-by-step guide to this as the entire practice is, essentially, discouraged by DIBP via various policy elements.

These are very tricky to get through these days as DIBP policy makes it very difficult to get these through - essentially the company cannot be assessed as a device to enable a visa application by a particular person, which can defeat self-sponsorship via the genuine position test for the nomination phase. If a company already has existing contracts for work and is reasonably well financed (ie, an IT contractor comes to Australia, already has clients with signed contracts, and sets up a company to sponsor himself/herself based on already contracted work, etc), that can work in some cases, But any amount of speculative elements (ie, the company needs to look for clients, etc) can make the whole thing very easily look like a way to dodge the requirements of other visas (skilled, etc). In short, they make it very hard to get self-sponsorship through because (my guess) if they made it easy, everybody would just set up their own company (very easy & cheap) and "sponsor" themselves - far easier than skilled visas, etc. The political side of things is that the 457 program is supposed to be responding to demand in Australia for skills that are difficult to find here - that's why a new company that already has lots of evidence of demand (ie, signed contracts with Australian companies) may have a shot at this type of sponsorship method. But absent any sort of demand evidence, the genuine position test for the nomination can very easily fail, as can the financial tests for being approved for sponsorship.

Hope this helps explain things a bit more -

Best,

Mark Northam



kicktoria said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Not a problem.
> 
> I can't believe it's not listed on the Immigration website, the department is not fulfilling its role!
> 
> Is there anywhere on the web where I can research the 457 self-sponsorship visa before contacting an immigration agent?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Kicktoria


----------



## leena666

hi mark ,

I came to Australia with Working holiday Visa on March this year and lodged the Partner Visa(820/801) afterward. I have started to work at a company as causal staff since June. According to the condition 8547 of WHV, I cannot work for the same employer for more than 6 mths unless exceptional circumstances. 

I d like to extend the six months limitation and have been told to send a "Request Permission to Work with an Employer beyond Six Months on a Working Holiday or Work and Holiday Visa" form and the letter of my employer to WA office. It's already 3 weeks and still didn't receive any reply yet. Just wonder do you know anything about this situation ? 

Btw in case they don't accept my extention application, when is the last day I can work until ? (I started at 1st June 2014) 1st Dec or 31st Dec ,Thanks a lot .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leena666 -

Thanks for the note - you might check in with them this week since 1 Dec is coming up fast - if you started work 1 June, that means that 30 Nov would be the last date you can work under the WHV.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leena666 said:


> hi mark ,
> 
> I came to Australia with Working holiday Visa on March this year and lodged the Partner Visa(820/801) afterward. I have started to work at a company since June. According to the condition 8547 of WHV, I cannot work for the same employer for more than 6 mths unless exceptional circumstances.
> 
> I d like to extend the six months limitation and have been told to send a "Request Permission to Work with an Employer beyond Six Months on a Working Holiday or Work and Holiday Visa" form and the letter of my employer to WA office. It's already 3 weeks and still didn't receive any reply yet. Just wonder do you know anything about this situation ?
> 
> Btw in case they don't accept my extention application, when is the last day I can work until ? (I started at 1st June 2014) 1st Dec or 31st Dec ,Thanks a lot .


----------



## kicktoria

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your reply, it clarified the questions I had.

Much regards,

Kicktoria



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kicktoria -
> 
> Not that I know of unless you want to purchase an $800 subscription to LegendCOM so you can go through the DIBP policy yourself and try and sort out the pitfalls - there is no step-by-step guide to this as the entire practice is, essentially, discouraged by DIBP via various policy elements.
> 
> These are very tricky to get through these days as DIBP policy makes it very difficult to get these through - essentially the company cannot be assessed as a device to enable a visa application by a particular person, which can defeat self-sponsorship via the genuine position test for the nomination phase. If a company already has existing contracts for work and is reasonably well financed (ie, an IT contractor comes to Australia, already has clients with signed contracts, and sets up a company to sponsor himself/herself based on already contracted work, etc), that can work in some cases, But any amount of speculative elements (ie, the company needs to look for clients, etc) can make the whole thing very easily look like a way to dodge the requirements of other visas (skilled, etc). In short, they make it very hard to get self-sponsorship through because (my guess) if they made it easy, everybody would just set up their own company (very easy & cheap) and "sponsor" themselves - far easier than skilled visas, etc. The political side of things is that the 457 program is supposed to be responding to demand in Australia for skills that are difficult to find here - that's why a new company that already has lots of evidence of demand (ie, signed contracts with Australian companies) may have a shot at this type of sponsorship method. But absent any sort of demand evidence, the genuine position test for the nomination can very easily fail, as can the financial tests for being approved for sponsorship.
> 
> Hope this helps explain things a bit more -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## ernest1

Hi there,

I could not really find any information specific to our situation on the forum, so I was hoping to get some advice here.

My girlfriend and I have been together since March 2012. We lived together as a couple in her country for approximately 23 months until March this year. For these 23 months we have much evidence of our relationship as genuine. However, in March this year I came back to Australia to recommence my studies. We were separated for 2 months and then she came to Australia on a one year multiple-entry tourist visa. She has been staying with me and my family as a tourist in Melbourne for the past six months. So overall we have been together for about 31 months. She has now gone back to her home country and we plan to soon apply for the off-shore partner visa. We are just not sure if these last eight month of not officially living together will affect our application or make us not eligible in regards to showing that “you and your partner have been in a de facto relationship for the entire 12 months immediately prior to lodging you application”.

Any information would be very helpful.


----------



## goldengraham89

Hi Mark.

I have a bit of a sticky situation regarding my second year visa. I'll try to keep it as basic as possible.

Back in May I went to Mildura to do my farm work having arrived in the country in April. I stayed at a hostel where they promised work. long story short, i was passed around to roughly 10 different farmers, all paid different and horrible wages which left me nearly a grand in debt with the hostel. I stuck it out til the end and I asked the hostel if they could sign off those days I worked if I paid off my debt. They said they will.

I then got an hourly paid job with a contractor which was great. towards the end of my days, i told the hostel i was leaving mildura to go back to melbourne. i gave them a week's notice. i then asked the contractor who was working on a vineyard, one hour from melbourne if i could do another week's work for some pocket money for when i got back to melbourne. In doing so I forgot to ask the hostel to sign off my days so while i was on the vineyard i constantly rang them asking if they would sign them off.

Apon returning to melbourne, i gave them another ring in which they told me I lied about going back to melbourne. they basically took it personal that i went back to work with the contractor even though i wasnt under any contract with the hostel as in the previous month. so they now refuse to sign off roughly 40-50 of my days that i worked on nearly 10 farms.

I am currently sending off a form for the contractor to sign off the days i worked with them which is around 45. 

with my visa expiring this april, i find it depressing to know i would have to go off and do another month or so of farm work just to apply for my 2nd year even though i spent 4 and a half months already breaking my back and paying off a debt and considering i have a pretty good job right now in melbourne i really do not want to have to leave.

i have reciepts from when i stayed at the hostel, i have payslips and bank statements that show i had worked on different farms over the 4 month course.

my question is how possible is it i can still apply for my second year without having to resort to another month of farm work?

is there something that can be done with the hostel in mildura?

thanks,
graham


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ernest1 -

Thanks for the question. Essentially your case will come down to being able to demonstrate with evidence that the defacto relationship existed for the 12 months prior to lodging your application. Living together is the primary indicator of a defacto relationship, according to DIBP. My suggestion if you're doing the visa yourself would be to put together a detailed timetable of the relationship from the time you first started living together, and include evidence for the entire period from that date up until the application date as you have that evidence available. Put in as much as you can, in order to demonstrate that the defacto relationship had existed for quite some time before the important 12-month period, and that it continues. The key is to show, with evidence, that any time apart is "temporary in nature". That get more difficult with longer periods of time, and in the end I expect this will come down to the judgment of the case officer as to whether any periods apart during the 12-month period were temporary in nature in his/her opinion.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ernest1 said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I could not really find any information specific to our situation on the forum, so I was hoping to get some advice here.
> 
> My girlfriend and I have been together since March 2012. We lived together as a couple in her country for approximately 23 months until March this year. For these 23 months we have much evidence of our relationship as genuine. However, in March this year I came back to Australia to recommence my studies. We were separated for 2 months and then she came to Australia on a one year multiple-entry tourist visa. She has been staying with me and my family as a tourist in Melbourne for the past six months. So overall we have been together for about 31 months. She has now gone back to her home country and we plan to soon apply for the off-shore partner visa. We are just not sure if these last eight month of not officially living together will affect our application or make us not eligible in regards to showing that "you and your partner have been in a de facto relationship for the entire 12 months immediately prior to lodging you application".
> 
> Any information would be very helpful.


----------



## ernest1

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your quick reply.

I came back to melbourne for finish my studies and for financial reasons as we were having a lot of difficulties in her country so we decided to move to australia. and I came earlier than her so she kept continuing studying and joined me after. financially I have been supporting her during the seperation and the time in Australia before that we have more evidence that she is supporting me as her names on bills but we do have a joint lease and a letter from our landlord saying we lived together for 2 years As a couple in his apartment.

Swould you recommend us to try our chance or just try to live all 12 mounts constantly before we apply ?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ernest1 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Essentially your case will come down to being able to demonstrate with evidence that the defacto relationship existed for the 12 months prior to lodging your application. Living together is the primary indicator of a defacto relationship, according to DIBP. My suggestion if you're doing the visa yourself would be to put together a detailed timetable of the relationship from the time you first started living together, and include evidence for the entire period from that date up until the application date as you have that evidence available. Put in as much as you can, in order to demonstrate that the defacto relationship had existed for quite some time before the important 12-month period, and that it continues. The key is to show, with evidence, that any time apart is "temporary in nature". That get more difficult with longer periods of time, and in the end I expect this will come down to the judgment of the case officer as to whether any periods apart during the 12-month period were temporary in nature in his/her opinion.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ernest1 -

Hard to say - the safer bet, of course, is to simply live together for the 12 months prior to lodging. However based on the evidence, it sounds like you have a good argument that the defacto relationship was in place - depends on the judgment of the case officer, which is hard to predict. I'd say your arguments, depending on the evidence, likely have 60% chance of being successful, but that's just a guess not having seen any of the evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ernest1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your quick reply.
> 
> I came back to melbourne for finish my studies and for financial reasons as we were having a lot of difficulties in her country so we decided to move to australia. and I came earlier than her so she kept continuing studying and joined me after. financially I have been supporting her during the seperation and the time in Australia before that we have more evidence that she is supporting me as her names on bills but we do have a joint lease and a letter from our landlord saying we lived together for 2 years As a couple in his apartment.
> 
> Swould you recommend us to try our chance or just try to live all 12 mounts constantly before we apply ?


----------



## ernest1

Hi mark,

Thank you very much again for all information.

My last questions will be, 


Does last 6 mounts account which my partner spent with me here in my family's house if we wanted start to 12 mounts again, would you say another 6 mounts will ne enough as my partner have still valid multi entry tourist visa and can come live with me and I can spent some time with her overseas.


Also 2 mounts seperate for studying counts as a permanent seperation?

I just wanna know where exactly we are disadvantaged .


Thank you once again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ernest -

There are no specific rules on what "counts" and what doesn't re: living together - it's all about what evidence you can provide that you were living together at the same address. So with proper evidence and statements, I would think that the 6 months you two lived together at your family house could qualify as living together.

2 months' separation while studying may or may not be considered as temporarily apart depending on the circumstances and evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ernest1 said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Thank you very much again for all information.
> 
> My last questions will be,
> 
> Does last 6 mounts account which my partner spent with me here in my family's house if we wanted start to 12 mounts again, would you say another 6 mounts will ne enough as my partner have still valid multi entry tourist visa and can come live with me and I can spent some time with her overseas.
> 
> Also 2 mounts seperate for studying counts as a permanent seperation?
> 
> I just wanna know where exactly we are disadvantaged .
> 
> Thank you once again.


----------



## alekhya538

*Tourist Visa - Proof of Genuine Return*

Hello Mark,

Greetings for the day !

I have a small query regarding Visitor visa.

I am going to apply for tourist visa subclass - 600 to visit my husband who is a PR holder in Australia. After going through the required documents checklist, I got to know that it is mandatory to show a genuine proof of Return to home country once the visiting period is over.

I have already applied for Partner Visa (subclass 309/100) five months back. Since the average processing time for Partner visa is 8 - 12 months, I am planning to get tourist visa and have a short trip so that I can see my husband.

My question is, Can i show my Spouse Visa application as a Proof of Return to my country ?
(I am not a student or Job holder to show university/ employment letter.)

I have Lodged my Spouse visa application from India. So It is mandatory that I should be in India at the time of Visa Approval.

Can my Spouse Visa application work as a Proof of Return for my tourist visa ? Please advice !

Thanks in advance. Any suggestion would be of great help.

Regards,
Alekhya
Hyderabad, India


----------



## Eilidh123

Thank you Mark, much appreciated!

Just 1 more question, I have been given information from the general enquiries line at immigration that I will only have 28 days from *completion* of my course in which to either depart Australia, register in another course or apply for a new visa. They have said it is irrelevant that my visa is valid until March as I will cease to be a registered student upon completion of my course.

My course was greater than 10 months in duration and finishes at the end of the academic year (nov/dec) therefore the visa granted to me does not expire until March 2015.

It is my understanding that the 28 day requirement they have mentioned is only relevant for courses of a shorter duration or in a situation where a student has completed the course early or had their CoE cancelled.

As I will have completed my course on time as scheduled ( in line with my CoE) am I right in thinking I can remain in Australia validly and apply for a further student visa at anytime up until the March expiry of my visa. (i.e the 28 day from course completion rule does not apply)?

The new course would not start until May- would the time gap between the end of my current visa in March and the start of the course in May cause any issues?

Thank you I'm advance for your help, 
Eilidh



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Eilidh123 -
> 
> Great question. According to DIBP policy, the work restriction remains in place for both of the following periods:
> 
> * The duration of the "advertised semesters" of your course, including the final exam period; and
> * The duration of your CoE (ie, until the end date of the course as specified by your CoE).
> 
> If your CoE has expired (end date for the course as shown on the CoE has been reached), and the end of the last semester of your course (incl final exam period) has been reached, then you would have unrestricted work rights until the expiry date of your student visa.
> 
> An important issue however: if you decide to apply for another student visa while onshore, upon grant of that student visa it replaces your previous student visa, and your work rights would cease at that point until the course of study under the new visa begins. This is because you have no work rights from the period of student visa grant until your course begins; once the course begins, you have the usual restricted work rights while the course is in session, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Vinayak

Dear Mark ,

In continuity of m previous post , please find required information listed below....

Visa - Sub Class 190 
Yes she is working in export house in production department.
Yes her occupation is in state migration list ((133512: Production Manager (Manufacturing) 
Kindly suggest, is it fine to go for patner positive skills assessment with 3 years of experience? Although we can meet 60 points excluding experience 

Point’s calculation as per our understanding:-
• Age :- 25 points
• Education: - 15 points (masters in English) 
• Spouse Assessment :- 5 points ( My positive assessment is already done this year through ACS)
• State Sponsor : 5 Points 
• IELTS :- 10 points (7 Band in all streams)
• Experience ???

Thanks


----------



## tahir89

Hi Mark,

I finished my two years of master's degree in engineering and now sitting for ielts exams , if I get 7 in each band my points will be 60, so my question is should go for PSW or apply EOI for PR and for this visa is general ielts valid ? or do i have to give academic ? 
Will waiting for your response

Thanks


----------



## killtheoriginal

HI Mark,

I'm now on student visa, will be graduating this december and am going to apply for 485. I noticed that my OSHC expired yesterday. DO i have to renew it right now? If i do not renew it, will that affect my 485 application?

Thanks a lot.

Regards


----------



## Kuley

*Hi Mark*

Hope you are well, just want to ask in regards about payments, I am going to lodge my onshore partner visa in 2 weeks, my partner will be the one who will pay for my visa (4650 aud) via credit card, he has a $11,000 credit limit and he owns it for only 4 months now to pay a plan for $50 a month, my question is when we pay the visa in 2 weeks will there be a problem? I read somewhere in here that there is a credit daily limit to use everyday is that true? Pls enlighten us since we are kind of stressing out right now.. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

You're currently in breach of your student visa - suggest you renew your OSHC immediately - a condition of a student visa is that the student must maintain sufficient health insurance during their entire stay in Australia while holding a student visa.

You will need to provide proof of health insurance at the time of application for a 485 visa - suggest you renew your OSHC now and keep it in place, or get some other qualifying health insurance in place ASAP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



killtheoriginal said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> I'm now on student visa, will be graduating this december and am going to apply for 485. I noticed that my OSHC expired yesterday. DO i have to renew it right now? If i do not renew it, will that affect my 485 application?
> 
> Thanks a lot.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kuley -

Sorry, not sure what you're asking. When you lodging an online application with DIBP, you have to pay at the time of lodgement with a credit card or approved debit card (ie, with Visa or Mastercard logo) or other approved credit card. They charge the entire application fee in one go. You would need to check with your credit card company to make sure they will authorise a transaction of the size you'll need to pay your visa application fee.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kuley said:


> Hope you are well, just want to ask in regards about payments, I am going to lodge my onshore partner visa in 2 weeks, my partner will be the one who will pay for my visa (4650 aud) via credit card, he has a $11,000 credit limit and he owns it for only 4 months now to pay a plan for $50 a month, my question is when we pay the visa in 2 weeks will there be a problem? I read somewhere in here that there is a credit daily limit to use everyday is that true? Pls enlighten us since we are kind of stressing out right now.. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tahir -

Thanks for the note - too many rules & regs to work out your eligibility for various visas here - happy to do so at a consultation (see link in my signature below). DIBP accepts either general or academic IELTS test results, however some skills assessors may only accept Academic, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tahir89 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I finished my two years of master's degree in engineering and now sitting for ielts exams , if I get 7 in each band my points will be 60, so my question is should go for PSW or apply EOI for PR and for this visa is general ielts valid ? or do i have to give academic ?
> Will waiting for your response
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vinayak -

Thanks for the post, however as I said, I am not able to do skilled visa assessments via forum - way too many complex rules & regulations (ie, every skills assessor has their own rules, and many conflict or overlap with DIBP rules!), and if we miss even one, it can cost you thousands of dollars and a refused visa. Happy to assist you at a consultation (see website below).

I wish the Australian visa system were simple enough to make these sorts of decisions and assessments easy, but it's not.

Best,

Mark Northam



Vinayak said:


> Dear Mark ,
> 
> In continuity of m previous post , please find required information listed below....
> 
> Visa - Sub Class 190
> Yes she is working in export house in production department.
> Yes her occupation is in state migration list ((133512: Production Manager (Manufacturing)
> Kindly suggest, is it fine to go for patner positive skills assessment with 3 years of experience? Although we can meet 60 points excluding experience
> 
> Point's calculation as per our understanding:-
> • Age :- 25 points
> • Education: - 15 points (masters in English)
> • Spouse Assessment :- 5 points ( My positive assessment is already done this year through ACS)
> • State Sponsor : 5 Points
> • IELTS :- 10 points (7 Band in all streams)
> • Experience ???
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eilidh123 -

It's a bit complicated. The 28 day rule technically applies to all student visas, however in practice DIBP does not enforce it when you finish a course on time - ie, you can stay until your expiry date. Where it gets enforced is where a person ends a course early and then does not either enrol in another one within 28 days, or doesn't apply for a further visa within that period.

So yes, you can apply for another student visa as long as you hold the visa you now have. Hope this clears things up -

Best,

Mark Northam



Eilidh123 said:


> Thank you Mark, much appreciated!
> 
> Just 1 more question, I have been given information from the general enquiries line at immigration that I will only have 28 days from *completion* of my course in which to either depart Australia, register in another course or apply for a new visa. They have said it is irrelevant that my visa is valid until March as I will cease to be a registered student upon completion of my course.
> 
> My course was greater than 10 months in duration and finishes at the end of the academic year (nov/dec) therefore the visa granted to me does not expire until March 2015.
> 
> It is my understanding that the 28 day requirement they have mentioned is only relevant for courses of a shorter duration or in a situation where a student has completed the course early or had their CoE cancelled.
> 
> As I will have completed my course on time as scheduled ( in line with my CoE) am I right in thinking I can remain in Australia validly and apply for a further student visa at anytime up until the March expiry of my visa. (i.e the 28 day from course completion rule does not apply)?
> 
> The new course would not start until May- would the time gap between the end of my current visa in March and the start of the course in May cause any issues?
> 
> Thank you I'm advance for your help,
> Eilidh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alekhya538 -

No easy answer to this question - the "genuine visitor" policy requirements say that an applicant generally needs to have more ties to their home country than they do to Australia. However these requirements don't make sense when a couple is married and an offshore spouse wishes to visit their onshore partner. It all depends on whether the case officer believes the partner relationship is genuine, in my view. If they believe it is, then visitor visas are generally granted without the offshore partner having to show substantial ties to their home country. However if the case officer has concerns about the partner relationship or considers it untested or unproven, then there could be an issue with a visitor visa.

To be on the safe side, I would suggest including evidence of whatever employment, personal/family, social, financial, economic, etc ties you have to your home country with the application in case the officer is concerned. Generally speaking, just having lodged a partner application is by itself not considered a strong tie to your home country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alekhya538 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Greetings for the day !
> 
> I have a small query regarding Visitor visa.
> 
> I am going to apply for tourist visa subclass - 600 to visit my husband who is a PR holder in Australia. After going through the required documents checklist, I got to know that it is mandatory to show a genuine proof of Return to home country once the visiting period is over.
> 
> I have already applied for Partner Visa (subclass 309/100) five months back. Since the average processing time for Partner visa is 8 - 12 months, I am planning to get tourist visa and have a short trip so that I can see my husband.
> 
> My question is, Can i show my Spouse Visa application as a Proof of Return to my country ?
> (I am not a student or Job holder to show university/ employment letter.)
> 
> I have Lodged my Spouse visa application from India. So It is mandatory that I should be in India at the time of Visa Approval.
> 
> Can my Spouse Visa application work as a Proof of Return for my tourist visa ? Please advice !
> 
> Thanks in advance. Any suggestion would be of great help.
> 
> Regards,
> Alekhya
> Hyderabad, India


----------



## Jaan

*Critical situation*

Hello Mark,

I am in critical position please give me reply or all advises and answers are acceptable

Applied visa on: 27/10/2014 and the medical following week

I took ELICOS and main course. Elicos last date 13/11/2014 but unfortunately I did not get visa till now. university differed ELICOS and Main course. Giving new ELICOS COE with start date March 2015 and Main course COE start date with July 2015. So If I Continue my Visa application with New COE's.

When can I expect my Visa?? Will High commission keep my file hold?
if they keep hold when will reopen my file issue my visa??

Maximum How long before course start date High commission will give visa?

Please any one give me suggestions and answers all to be accepted?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaan -

You'll need to get the new CoE to the case officer and see what options they give you. Wish I could give you any sort of timeframe, but DIBP has no time limits! They can take as long or as short as they want to make a decision on a visa. I've seen student visa applications take as short as 2 weeks, and as long as 4.5 months.

Hope this helps - if you'd like to ask for opinions from others, please post your msg outside the "Ask Mark" topic out on the general board (ie, make up your own topic and invite general opinions from readers, etc).

Best,

Mark Northam



Jaan said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am in critical position please give me reply or all advises and answers are acceptable
> 
> Applied visa on: 27/10/2014 and the medical following week
> 
> I took ELICOS and main course. Elicos last date 13/11/2014 but unfortunately I did not get visa till now. university differed ELICOS and Main course. Giving new ELICOS COE with start date March 2015 and Main course COE start date with July 2015. So If I Continue my Visa application with New COE's.
> 
> When can I expect my Visa?? Will High commission keep my file hold?
> if they keep hold when will reopen my file issue my visa??
> 
> Maximum How long before course start date High commission will give visa?
> 
> Please any one give me suggestions and answers all to be accepted?


----------



## Nagraju

Hello Mark,

Normally after allocation of case officer how long they will take to grant visa??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nagraju -

There are no time limits on how long DIBP can take to grant a visa, so very difficult to predict and cases vary widely even with the same processing office. All you can do is to keep in touch with the case officer without being too pushy. I would continue to periodically communicate until they at least give you the courtesy of acknowledging that they received your deferred CoE.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nagraju said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I applied visa on 23/10/2014 for November Intake Unfortunately my course deferred and they gave me new COE. one week back I got mail from case officer. he mentioned in the mail send the deferred COE. I sent deferred coe one week back itself but I have not got any reply from case officer.
> 
> No visa and No update till now. I dont know whats going on?? Can I ask case officer regarding my status and update?
> 
> Normally after allocation of case officer how long they will take to grant visa??


----------



## drebarr

Tourist Visa to 820/801
Hi Mark, 

my partner and i have been together 5 months now and are marrying very soon. He lives in Australia and i in the middle east although not from here.
I plan on moving to australia as soon as we are married on my tourist visa ( no restriction on that visa) and then applying for 820/801 once i arrive there.
Please share your thoughts and advise on my planned intentions.

My tourist visa conditions as follows:

Conditions:
8101 - NO WORK
8201 - MAX 3 MONTHS STUDY

My understanding is i am able to apply in Australia i.e. onshore?


----------



## Nagraju

Hello Mark


----------



## rose mary

Hello Mark 
I am Monica which asked u to give advice on mobile about student visa cancelation and apply for BvE last year .
Thx u so much that u guide me that time.
u told me at that time that u think my application is de factor as i didn't have marriage certificate at the time I lodged .i was sure at that time that it is a marriage application as my immigration told me . I didn't know until I got a letter from immigration asking me to show 12months relationship .now it is a problem as I don't have evidence to show 12months relationship .
I did live with my husband nearly 3years now, just I didn't join bill or anything because my husband take care of everything .

What I have now :
Married certificate .
Bank statement showing that I buy grocery n food near my husband 's address 11months 10day prior the time lodge application .
Satiation declaration from transport company stating that they move my belonging to my husband home 13 months b4 I lodge application . Face book updated about my engagement more than 12months before the application lodge .
Statuary declaration from the place I rent b4 stating that I lived that place more than 2years .
I don't know all I mention satisfy 12 months relationship or not ?
Plz u give me advice what should I do next ?
My relationship is genuine . All local people , shop owner near my home , they know all.


----------



## WendelCosta

*Deferment of studies - 485*

Hi Mark,

My student visa subclass 572 is valid until 27 of April next year and I just applied for my 485 and a Bridging visa A was granted.
My question is:
I want to discontinue my studies now as I want to enroll on a professional year program from acs next year.
If i cancel my studies will my student visa be canceled and I will be on the bridging visa straight away? Do I have to go on with my current studies to the end of my student visa? 
I'm just afraid to discontinue my studies and have problem with my bridging visa or my 485 application.

Regards,

Wendel Costa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Drebarr -

As long as you do not have Condition 8503 on your visitor visa and there are no other extenuating circumstances, there would generally be no legal bar to applying for an onshore partner visa. That being said, you may not want to announce your intentions to do this to the immigration officer at the airport when you arrive, as an intention to remain in Australia permanently is not within the usual criteria for a visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



drebarr said:


> Tourist Visa to 820/801
> Hi Mark,
> 
> my partner and i have been together 5 months now and are marrying very soon. He lives in Australia and i in the middle east although not from here.
> I plan on moving to australia as soon as we are married on my tourist visa ( no restriction on that visa) and then applying for 820/801 once i arrive there.
> Please share your thoughts and advise on my planned intentions.
> 
> My tourist visa conditions as follows:
> 
> Conditions:
> 8101 - NO WORK
> 8201 - MAX 3 MONTHS STUDY
> 
> My understanding is i am able to apply in Australia i.e. onshore?


----------



## drebarr

Thanks for that Mark. Will look at other available options.

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nagraju -

I'm sorry, but I have no way to guess or predict how your case officer will act. They are all different, and respond differently. You might give him another week or 2 to respond, then maybe check in again, but always doing so politely, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nagraju said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> If I contact case officer regrading acknowledgment of Deferred COE, Is it create any problem? If it is not a problem so what I need to send my case officer??
> 
> Case officer mentioned that I must send deferred COE with in week so I submitted on same day when I got mail from case officer. now its more than 1 week till now I did not get any reply.
> 
> will they lie about I did not send deferred COE?
> 
> Please help me out in this problem one of my friend submitted deferred COE and he got visa next day. I dont know why my case officer taking too much time??
> 
> Thanks Mark Please give me reply


----------



## GraphDesigning

Hi, Mark:

I'm just starting to explore my options.

Background: born in England, lived in Australia from age 4 - 30. Permanent resident, but never applied for citizenship...

Moved to the USA in 1992 with my American husband and Australian born daughter, because she had health issues, and we weren't able to get a diagnosis in Australia. We thought we would be there for a couple of months maximum, and then return to Australia. Long story short - she didn't get well, we stayed, and by time she passed away 3 years later, we were established in jobs, housing, careers etc.

Now, 20+ years later, I would like to explore my options for returning to Australia to live permanently. My parents and three siblings still live in Australia, and are all Australian citizens. Only relatives I have in the USA are my husband and son. 

Have I been gone too long to return? Am I too old (53?).


----------



## josephk

Hello Mark,

you are helpful to everyone who have doubts in visas and other queries.

I have small queries, those are my wife filed student visa few days back and I am dependent ( both are applied same time). Now we are waiting for visa. Actually I Created EOI ID 1 and half year back that was on early 2013. Just created EOI that's it. I did not get any invitation and not qualified for any visa. I did not submit any documents or I did not apply visa at all. I think I have my name DOB when creating EOI. 
That EOI create any problem to our student visa and dependent visa??

Please give me reply for this that would be highly helpful for us


----------



## jsr

*married versus defacto relationship*

Hi Mark,
I just have another quick question for partner visa'
Do you have a stronger case if you are married versus defacto?

Thanks


----------



## nickl62

Hi Mark

Thanks for providing this- if you could help me with my query I would be more than thankful.

Essentially I am applying as a de facto partner on my partner's 189 visa; my previous one was a 485 temporary graduate visa. In a nutshell, I did not apply for/have health insurance at the time of grant, not until I realised months later. I received no indication from DIAC regarding the lack of this document and was issued the 485 with no problem at that point in time.

I have since applied for the appropriate health cover and am looking to get the 189- my concern is the gap in which I was not covered, will it affect my 189 application? There is remarkably little information on this online, seems to me that I'm one of the careless few 

Frankly I am happy to backpay the cost of the cover (if it's possible) and am open to any other solution if this is an issue.

Your opinion on the matter would be very much appreciated!

Thank you and kind regards


----------



## Nagraju

*Regarding OSHC*

HI MARK

I applied visa for march intake but my agent is telling that in COE OSHC starts in March so you will get visa in feb or march because of OSHc so please tell me DIBP will issue visas according OSHC start date??

But one of my friend got visa few days back for march intake how did he get it?

thanks


----------



## atgreg

Howdy Mark,

thanks for the consult today , very good to know we are on the right track with our stuff.

one question I forgot to ask is, are there any tricks for naming files for upload ?, any characters not to use etc.

thanks
Greg and Anette


----------



## katbat

*Potential Convictions*

Hello Mark!

I've searched around a bit on the threads and found them quite helpful, but just thought I'd ask you since you seem the most knowledgable! I am currently in Australia on a student visa for a bachelors degree. I've recently taken a position at a shop that sells new age/smoking paraphernalia items, including water pipes and legal highs. Upon taking the position, I was informed that occasionally the police do come to the shop due to the water pipes and legal highs, however no one has ever received a criminal conviction in the 30 years the shop has been open/this has been happening. All charges in the past have either been dismissed due to their trivial nature or in terms of legal highs, they've never contained the illegal ingredients so they've been found to be not guilty of selling whatever it is that is illegal in herbal alternatives to cannibis, and the charges dismissed as well.

My question is if I were to continue working at said shop and happen to be the person working on the day they come (they only charge who is working the shop that day/the owner) and were to be charged could this effect my visa and my applications for further visas? I'm hoping/guessing not since another girl who works here is from the UK and was charged/charges dismissed and nothing happened with her visa. Plus, they seem to be misdemeanors if I ever were convicted of a charge/do not carry any jail time which seems to be what the DIAC cares about more.

Also, lastly, if this were to happen more than once (i.e. i continue to work there after being charged and not convicted) would that have any impact on my visa/future visas as well?

Cheers!


----------



## A.Naji

Hey Mark, I'm back for more I guess. I finally received an email from the department asking me to fill *FORM 80* for my processing to continue. I've got some questions around the form as a whole but I have another post dedicated for that. For now I'd like to ask about how my "_Residence Permit_" is handled.

Currently living in Saudi Arabia. From my understanding, permanent residency is non-existent over here. We own a temporary permit that we are forced to renew over an annual basis to sustain our stay. My parents lived this way for more than 30 years without any issue as far as I can tell. 
However, the form directly asks if I have a form of "_PERMANENT RESIDENCY_". I don't technically own that because it doesn't exist, however the temporary residence renewal somehow *simulates *the effects of a permanent residency. Should I answer the question with a bold _NO_? 
I'm assuming the department is working by accurate definition, and for that, they might consider my residence invalid if claimed permanent.


----------



## M.observer

*Canceling PR visa*

Hi Mark,

I posted this on Nov 25, somehow the message was removed on forum.

I sponsored my wife and child and we were all granted PRs under 189 this year. We just settled in. One month after, she is asking for divorce. She expressed openly she will give up on PR. Based on divorce law, the child might go to her custody. As primary applicant for 189, what are my eligibility? Can I seek a procedure via immi to cancel her PR visa to accommodate her request for giving up her PR? What are the right procedures available under my circumstance?

In the complex immigration field, we prefer to discuss about 'addition' and 'inclusion'. I want to pay attention to 'subtraction' and 'exclusion' (requested) on this forum using my own example.

I will appreciate for your early reply.

Thanks in advance.

M.observer


----------



## majoroz

*ACS and VETASSESS*

Hi Mark,

I have received my ACS assessment which is possitive. It states *"Your Master of Business Administration in Information Technology from XXXX University completed October 2013 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Master Degree with a minor in computing."*

I have a Bachelors in Zoology (Non-ICT). Do I have to get it assessed as well from VETASSESS?


----------



## Jaan

hai mark,

thanks for your info.. i got my visa today.. but i do not when i have to reach australia.. my visa valid from today but my course is starting on march.. is it okie to go to australia start of next week ?

thanks in advance


----------



## Austranada

Hi Mark, 

I'm just wondering about the 309 Partner visa "Temporary Separation" clause. 
My partner and I have been de facto for almost 2 years now, but have been unable to live together for 12 months due to my University studies in Canada which I was committed to before the relationship began. In the last year we have a total of 6 months living together, with good evidence of this time together. 2 months living together (starting January) in Canada before she was forced to return to Australia for a family emergency and a 4 month period (starting in May) when I was on a WHV in Australia. We have evidence to support our continued relationship during our periods of separation. 

Will this time apart affect our chances at being approved? 

Any help you could provide would be much appreciated!


----------



## mattshan

Hi Mark,

My partner and I are applying for the de facto parnter visa. Since we have met and been together, we have been traveling (for about 2 1/2 years now) and have been unable to open combined bank accounts together, have any bills in both of our names or sign any rental lease agreements, etc. All of our lodging and bills have been taken care of by our employers (mostly onsite accommodation at our place of work) as we travel in exchange for work. Would you have any suggestions of "supporting evidence" that we can provide in our application in these areas?


----------



## furqanfd

*E-Medical*

Hi,

My name is Furqan and i have applied for Visa sub class 190, i have recently done with my e-medical and the report has been sent by Medical center also, i need to know that what next now ? what will be next step? is that means that all is done now and for sure i will get the visa?

Secondly, when i was at medical center i saw people comes with their parents also for the medical , my mother is dependant on me someone told me that i cannot apply for my mother along with me for Visa sub class 190, is that true? or i missed the chance and i can apply her with me also?

Thanks in advance for taking out the time to read and reply.

Furqan


----------



## kadmus

Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer peoples' questions. Australian Immigration is a confusing thing!

May I ask you....Is it possible for someone to be sponsored on a 457 visa if they are in Australia at the time on a working holiday visa? My partner works for the Hilton group but they really need to see how someone works before agreeing to sponsor and that seems like the easiest way. 

He would only work for the 6 months allowed on that visa so as not to break the rules, but I've read the working holiday visa has a lot of restrictions when it comes to extending your stay.


----------



## Danvisa

*Apply fiance visa while on tourist visa*

Hi mark, thanks for all your help during my visa application.
As i mentioned my girlfriend has a 12 month multi entry visa from thailand (yay).
Now that she can come visit anytime she likes, Our next step is a fiance visa.
My question is how we go about applying fir a fiance visa now that she has the visitor visa, i know she will need to be in thailand to apply and recieve the fiance visa, but what affect, if any will that application have on her current visa....
I plan on having a family engagement party/announcement on her first entry this new years eve.
Thanks again
Dan


----------



## KhurramS

Hi Mark,

I am an AML and Compliance Manager working in UAE and trying to find the right occupation to apply under the skilled occupations list. Please advice.

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rose Mary -

Thanks for the note - difficult for me to discuss evidence without seeing it, but the one thing that occurs to me would be that you might get as many statements and statutory declarations from as many people as possible stating that they observed the two of you living together for 12+ months prior to application, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rose mary said:


> Hello Mark
> I am Monica which asked u to give advice on mobile about student visa cancelation and apply for BvE last year .
> Thx u so much that u guide me that time.
> u told me at that time that u think my application is de factor as i didn't have marriage certificate at the time I lodged .i was sure at that time that it is a marriage application as my immigration told me . I didn't know until I got a letter from immigration asking me to show 12months relationship .now it is a problem as I don't have evidence to show 12months relationship .
> I did live with my husband nearly 3years now, just I didn't join bill or anything because my husband take care of everything .
> 
> What I have now :
> Married certificate .
> Bank statement showing that I buy grocery n food near my husband 's address 11months 10day prior the time lodge application .
> Satiation declaration from transport company stating that they move my belonging to my husband home 13 months b4 I lodge application . Face book updated about my engagement more than 12months before the application lodge .
> Statuary declaration from the place I rent b4 stating that I lived that place more than 2years .
> I don't know all I mention satisfy 12 months relationship or not ?
> Plz u give me advice what should I do next ?
> My relationship is genuine . All local people , shop owner near my home , they know all.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi WendelCosta -

The BV-A for your 485 will not activate until your student visa expires next year, leaving your student visa active until then and requiring you to abide by the conditions of that visa. One way around it is manual cancellation of your student visa, however that leaves you with no visa at all, requiring you then to go apply for a bridging visa E at DIBP which has no work rights by default - would urge you to consult with a registered migration agent if you're considering that route as there are a number of negative side effects including loss of residency time towards citizenship, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



WendelCosta said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My student visa subclass 572 is valid until 27 of April next year and I just applied for my 485 and a Bridging visa A was granted.
> My question is:
> I want to discontinue my studies now as I want to enroll on a professional year program from acs next year.
> If i cancel my studies will my student visa be canceled and I will be on the bridging visa straight away? Do I have to go on with my current studies to the end of my student visa?
> I'm just afraid to discontinue my studies and have problem with my bridging visa or my 485 application.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Wendel Costa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi GraphDesigning -

You'd need to get a Resident Return Visa or other type of resident visa to renew your re-entry rights to Australia - would need to see you in a consultation to go over your situation in detail and assess your eligibility to determine the best visa pathway for you - there are a number of possibilities, but need to go into the finer details of your situation to see what may work. If you'd like to proceed with this, please see link in my signature below to the website, then click Professional Consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GraphDesigning said:


> Hi, Mark:
> 
> I'm just starting to explore my options.
> 
> Background: born in England, lived in Australia from age 4 - 30. Permanent resident, but never applied for citizenship...
> 
> Moved to the USA in 1992 with my American husband and Australian born daughter, because she had health issues, and we weren't able to get a diagnosis in Australia. We thought we would be there for a couple of months maximum, and then return to Australia. Long story short - she didn't get well, we stayed, and by time she passed away 3 years later, we were established in jobs, housing, careers etc.
> 
> Now, 20+ years later, I would like to explore my options for returning to Australia to live permanently. My parents and three siblings still live in Australia, and are all Australian citizens. Only relatives I have in the USA are my husband and son.
> 
> Have I been gone too long to return? Am I too old (53?).


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Josephk -

Thanks for the note. Based on what you said, I can't see how simply creating an EOI would cause an issue with a different, unrelated visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



josephk said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> you are helpful to everyone who have doubts in visas and other queries.
> 
> I have small queries, those are my wife filed student visa few days back and I am dependent ( both are applied same time). Now we are waiting for visa. Actually I Created EOI ID 1 and half year back that was on early 2013. Just created EOI that's it. I did not get any invitation and not qualified for any visa. I did not submit any documents or I did not apply visa at all. I think I have my name DOB when creating EOI.
> That EOI create any problem to our student visa and dependent visa??
> 
> Please give me reply for this that would be highly helpful for us


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jsr -

Wish it were that simple. There are a number of (unpublished) risk criteria that DIBP uses to consider the risk level of a partner visa, which may include the country of origin, age difference, previous immigration history, etc. It's my experience that defacto relationship seem to get a bit more scrutiny than married ones, but it's hard to generalise because there are so many other factors involved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jsr said:


> Hi Mark,
> I just have another quick question for partner visa'
> Do you have a stronger case if you are married versus defacto?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## josephk

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Josephk -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Based on what you said, I can't see how simply creating an EOI would cause an issue with a different, unrelated visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for all the help.... Please last 2 questions answer me please....... I am eagerly waiting for your reply

I did not understand what did you say? Is EOI create any problem to my student visa??

I Have work experience of 3 years and I kept work exp and my salary slips with the application. Is work experience creating delay of my visa??

because most of my friends don't have work experience got visa after submission of differed COE but I submitted one week back till now I did not hear anything from Visa officer


----------



## swavik

Hey Mark,

Wanted to ask you where to attach the change of name proof(marriage certificate) while applying to the ACS . I cant find any place where i can upload the PDF.

Thank you,
Kind Regards
Swati


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nickl62 -

As the 189 visa does not have a requirement that you must have abided by all conditions of your previous visa, I don't see any way that DIBP could look back and do anything about the gap, and don't see why they would want to or be inclined to do so. No legal mechanism I see to be able to do this, and for the 189 they do not require you to evidence health insurance for the period of your 485, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nickl62 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for providing this- if you could help me with my query I would be more than thankful.
> 
> Essentially I am applying as a de facto partner on my partner's 189 visa; my previous one was a 485 temporary graduate visa. In a nutshell, I did not apply for/have health insurance at the time of grant, not until I realised months later. I received no indication from DIAC regarding the lack of this document and was issued the 485 with no problem at that point in time.
> 
> I have since applied for the appropriate health cover and am looking to get the 189- my concern is the gap in which I was not covered, will it affect my 189 application? There is remarkably little information on this online, seems to me that I'm one of the careless few
> 
> Frankly I am happy to backpay the cost of the cover (if it's possible) and am open to any other solution if this is an issue.
> 
> Your opinion on the matter would be very much appreciated!
> 
> Thank you and kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nagraju -

No idea on how your friend got it - DIBP's prioritising and processing order is hard to understand. Normally DIBP would request additional OSHC cover if the dates of cover you have are not sufficient in their view.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nagraju said:


> HI MARK
> 
> I applied visa for march intake but my agent is telling that in COE OSHC starts in March so you will get visa in feb or march because of OSHc so please tell me DIBP will issue visas according OSHC start date??
> 
> But one of my friend got visa few days back for march intake how did he get it?
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Atgreg -

Great meeting you both! No tricks for naming files, other than to avoid special characters ([email protected]#$%& etc) but letters, numbers and spaces seem to work fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



atgreg said:


> Howdy Mark,
> 
> thanks for the consult today , very good to know we are on the right track with our stuff.
> 
> one question I forgot to ask is, are there any tricks for naming files for upload ?, any characters not to use etc.
> 
> thanks
> Greg and Anette


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Katbat -

You might have to declare any current unresolved charges if you have them when you apply for your next visa, and if you were arrested multiple times it may be a concern re: the "general conduct" parts of the Character Test, however generally speaking charges that are dismissed do not negatively impact visa applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



katbat said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I've searched around a bit on the threads and found them quite helpful, but just thought I'd ask you since you seem the most knowledgable! I am currently in Australia on a student visa for a bachelors degree. I've recently taken a position at a shop that sells new age/smoking paraphernalia items, including water pipes and legal highs. Upon taking the position, I was informed that occasionally the police do come to the shop due to the water pipes and legal highs, however no one has ever received a criminal conviction in the 30 years the shop has been open/this has been happening. All charges in the past have either been dismissed due to their trivial nature or in terms of legal highs, they've never contained the illegal ingredients so they've been found to be not guilty of selling whatever it is that is illegal in herbal alternatives to cannibis, and the charges dismissed as well.
> 
> My question is if I were to continue working at said shop and happen to be the person working on the day they come (they only charge who is working the shop that day/the owner) and were to be charged could this effect my visa and my applications for further visas? I'm hoping/guessing not since another girl who works here is from the UK and was charged/charges dismissed and nothing happened with her visa. Plus, they seem to be misdemeanors if I ever were convicted of a charge/do not carry any jail time which seems to be what the DIAC cares about more.
> 
> Also, lastly, if this were to happen more than once (i.e. i continue to work there after being charged and not convicted) would that have any impact on my visa/future visas as well?
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi A.Naji -

Sounds like temporary residency to me, not permanent residency - I'd answer accordingly. You can always include an explanatory note on the extension page at the end of the form to clear up any confusion.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



A.Naji said:


> Hey Mark, I'm back for more I guess. I finally received an email from the department asking me to fill *FORM 80* for my processing to continue. I've got some questions around the form as a whole but I have another post dedicated for that. For now I'd like to ask about how my "_Residence Permit_" is handled.
> 
> Currently living in Saudi Arabia. From my understanding, permanent residency is non-existent over here. We own a temporary permit that we are forced to renew over an annual basis to sustain our stay. My parents lived this way for more than 30 years without any issue as far as I can tell.
> However, the form directly asks if I have a form of "_PERMANENT RESIDENCY_". I don't technically own that because it doesn't exist, however the temporary residence renewal somehow *simulates *the effects of a permanent residency. Should I answer the question with a bold _NO_?
> I'm assuming the department is working by accurate definition, and for that, they might consider my residence invalid if claimed permanent.


----------



## josephk

Hi Mark,

Thanks for all the help.... Please last 2 questions answer me please....... I am eagerly waiting for your reply

I did not understand what did you say? Is EOI create any problem to my student visa??

I Have work experience of 3 years and I kept work exp and my salary slips with the application. Is work experience creating delay of my visa??

because most of my friends don't have work experience got visa after submission of differed COE but I submitted one week back till now I did not hear anything from Visa officer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi M.observer -

Sorry about any confusion over deleted msgs, etc - I wasn't involved in that.

Once a person is granted PR, it is no longer required for the relationship that enabled the PR grant to exist (ie, the marriage or defacto relationship). There is no legal mechanism for a PR visa to be revoked after grant, unless fraud, etc was involved in the application. Absent provable fraud, she will retain her PR, and you nor anyone else has a legal mechanism or ability to remove it.

I would expect if she wanted to voluntarily give up her PR, there is some way she could do this, but I've never seen it done. Again, she has every right to retain her PR even if the relationship breaks down - that's how the law reads.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



M.observer said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I posted this on Nov 25, somehow the message was removed on forum.
> 
> I sponsored my wife and child and we were all granted PRs under 189 this year. We just settled in. One month after, she is asking for divorce. She expressed openly she will give up on PR. Based on divorce law, the child might go to her custody. As primary applicant for 189, what are my eligibility? Can I seek a procedure via immi to cancel her PR visa to accommodate her request for giving up her PR? What are the right procedures available under my circumstance?
> 
> In the complex immigration field, we prefer to discuss about 'addition' and 'inclusion'. I want to pay attention to 'subtraction' and 'exclusion' (requested) on this forum using my own example.
> 
> I will appreciate for your early reply.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> M.observer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Majoroz -

It depends on how you are claiming points. You get no extra points for the Masters degree, and would get 15 points for the Bachelor degree assuming it is from an accredited university and is assessed as equivalent to an Australian bachelor degree - safest bet if it is not from a well-known, recognised school would be to have it assessed by VETASSESS. Also note that you may have a problem claiming points for the Australian Study Requirement (if you are attempting this) with an unrelated Bachelor degree.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



majoroz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have received my ACS assessment which is possitive. It states *"Your Master of Business Administration in Information Technology from XXXX University completed October 2013 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Master Degree with a minor in computing."*
> 
> I have a Bachelors in Zoology (Non-ICT). Do I have to get it assessed as well from VETASSESS?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaan -

Would need to see your visa to give you specific advice. Note that you have no work rights until your course commences.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jaan said:


> hai mark,
> 
> thanks for your info.. i got my visa today.. but i do not when i have to reach australia.. my visa valid from today but my course is starting on march.. is it okie to go to australia start of next week ?
> 
> thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austranada -

Thanks for the note. Would need to go through the details of this with you at a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case and chances of success - 50% separation in the 12 months prior to lodging will get a close look by DIBP - may be the case officer's discretion as to whether it was considered "living together, but temporarily apart" or "living apart temporarily" etc. My guess: you're right on the border of one vs the other, but would need to see your evidence and more details to give you anything more detailed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Austranada said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm just wondering about the 309 Partner visa "Temporary Separation" clause.
> My partner and I have been de facto for almost 2 years now, but have been unable to live together for 12 months due to my University studies in Canada which I was committed to before the relationship began. In the last year we have a total of 6 months living together, with good evidence of this time together. 2 months living together (starting January) in Canada before she was forced to return to Australia for a family emergency and a 4 month period (starting in May) when I was on a WHV in Australia. We have evidence to support our continued relationship during our periods of separation.
> 
> Will this time apart affect our chances at being approved?
> 
> Any help you could provide would be much appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mattshan -

Thanks for the note - this could be a major issue for DIBP in my view - I would get as many statements as I could from as many people as I could including your employers during the 12 months prior to lodgement (and perhaps before that too) to show that you were living together with your partner. Any other receipts showing you were traveling together would of course be very helpful too.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mattshan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I are applying for the de facto parnter visa. Since we have met and been together, we have been traveling (for about 2 1/2 years now) and have been unable to open combined bank accounts together, have any bills in both of our names or sign any rental lease agreements, etc. All of our lodging and bills have been taken care of by our employers (mostly onsite accommodation at our place of work) as we travel in exchange for work. Would you have any suggestions of "supporting evidence" that we can provide in our application in these areas?


----------



## josephk

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Josephk -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Based on what you said, I can't see how simply creating an EOI would cause an issue with a different, unrelated visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for all the help.... Please last 2 questions answer me please....... I am eagerly waiting for your reply

I did not understand what did you say? Is EOI create any problem to my student visa??

I Have work experience of 3 years and I kept work exp and my salary slips with the application. Is work experience creating delay of my visa??

because most of my friends don't have work experience got visa after submission of differed COE but I submitted one week back till now I did not hear anything from Visa officer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Furqanfd -

Thanks for the note - no "for sure" in getting any visa - there always can be issues. Assuming you've provided all required and/or requested documents to DIBP, then all you can do is wait for them to either request more information or give you a decision. Re: dependent, if your mother fits the requirements for dependency you could add her to your application (via online ImmiAccount - see options on right side of the page), but you'd need to do that quickly. She would also need a health exam if you're doing that, and if she failed the health exam it would mean that you would be refused as well unless you then removed her from the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



furqanfd said:


> Hi,
> 
> My name is Furqan and i have applied for Visa sub class 190, i have recently done with my e-medical and the report has been sent by Medical center also, i need to know that what next now ? what will be next step? is that means that all is done now and for sure i will get the visa?
> 
> Secondly, when i was at medical center i saw people comes with their parents also for the medical , my mother is dependant on me someone told me that i cannot apply for my mother along with me for Visa sub class 190, is that true? or i missed the chance and i can apply her with me also?
> 
> Thanks in advance for taking out the time to read and reply.
> 
> Furqan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kadmus -

Thanks for the note - generally no issue with applying for a 457 while here on a Working Holiday Visa unless your particular visa prohibits further stay (ie, condition 8503) as long as you meet all the other requirements for the 457.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kadmus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer peoples' questions. Australian Immigration is a confusing thing!
> 
> May I ask you....Is it possible for someone to be sponsored on a 457 visa if they are in Australia at the time on a working holiday visa? My partner works for the Hilton group but they really need to see how someone works before agreeing to sponsor and that seems like the easiest way.
> 
> He would only work for the 6 months allowed on that visa so as not to break the rules, but I've read the working holiday visa has a lot of restrictions when it comes to extending your stay.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Danvisa -

Thanks for the note. Lodging a PMV would not change the terms or conditions of her current visitor visa. Once the PMV is granted, it would replace the visitor visa if the visitor visa is still in effect.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Danvisa said:


> Hi mark, thanks for all your help during my visa application.
> As i mentioned my girlfriend has a 12 month multi entry visa from thailand (yay).
> Now that she can come visit anytime she likes, Our next step is a fiance visa.
> My question is how we go about applying fir a fiance visa now that she has the visitor visa, i know she will need to be in thailand to apply and recieve the fiance visa, but what affect, if any will that application have on her current visa....
> I plan on having a family engagement party/announcement on her first entry this new years eve.
> Thanks again
> Dan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Josephk -

Sorry but I don't have enough information to answer your questions. I cannot guess or know why your visa is being delayed - this is an issue between you and DIBP, and often DIBP will not comment on processing time other than to say "be patient", etc. If you'd like me to go through all your documents, your EOI, application, etc to see if I can spot a problem, would be happy to do this at a consultation - see website link in my signature below for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



josephk said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for all the help.... Please last 2 questions answer me please....... I am eagerly waiting for your reply
> 
> I did not understand what did you say? Is EOI create any problem to my student visa??
> 
> I Have work experience of 3 years and I kept work exp and my salary slips with the application. Is work experience creating delay of my visa??
> 
> because most of my friends don't have work experience got visa after submission of differed COE but I submitted one week back till now I did not hear anything from Visa officer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KhurramS -

First suggestion: avoid using abbreviations like "AML" unless you are 100% sure that the person reading your resume, post, email, etc understands what that stands for 

Best resource would be to look at the SOL and CSOL lists on the DIBP website to see what occupations are available for skilled visas, and then look at the ASRI Australian Skills Recognition Information (ASRI) and the ANZSCO occupation definitions to explore what occupations might best fit your particular educations, skills and experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KhurramS said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am an AML and Compliance Manager working in UAE and trying to find the right occupation to apply under the skilled occupations list. Please advice.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swavik -

I'd contact them directly to see the best way to submit this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swavik said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Wanted to ask you where to attach the change of name proof(marriage certificate) while applying to the ACS . I cant find any place where i can upload the PDF.
> 
> Thank you,
> Kind Regards
> Swati


----------



## kadmus

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for the speedy reply. I just have a further question if I may?

If he applies for the 457 whilst in Australia, so hopefully continuing his stay, what would I as the defacto have to do to be able to join him on the visa? I would still be in the UK during this time.

Also, he is 30 now. If he is granted the working holiday visa, can he make his first journey on it when he is 31?

Cheers 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kadmus -
> 
> Thanks for the note - generally no issue with applying for a 457 while here on a Working Holiday Visa unless your particular visa prohibits further stay (ie, condition 8503) as long as you meet all the other requirements for the 457.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kadmus -

Generally 12 months living together evidence (ie, for 12 months prior to the date of application) is required with any time apart demonstrated as temporary; re: age, he must be less than 31 years old at the time of application - OK to be 31 if he turns 31 after application, but before visa is granted or first trip is made.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kadmus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for the speedy reply. I just have a further question if I may?
> 
> If he applies for the 457 whilst in Australia, so hopefully continuing his stay, what would I as the defacto have to do to be able to join him on the visa? I would still be in the UK during this time.
> 
> Also, he is 30 now. If he is granted the working holiday visa, can he make his first journey on it when he is 31?
> 
> Cheers


----------



## kadmus

Thanks again Mark,

He turns 31 in October next year so plenty of time. Though I'll tell him to apply before July next year, in case the rules change!

We've been in a Civil Union and living together for 8 years so I think that should be ok. Would he breaking the conditions of the visa if he works for his current employer over there (Hilton Hotels)? Only for the 6 months. It seems the only way for them to see how he works before agreeing a sponsorship.

Cheers.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kadmus -
> 
> Generally 12 months living together evidence (ie, for 12 months prior to the date of application) is required with any time apart demonstrated as temporary; re: age, he must be less than 31 years old at the time of application - OK to be 31 if he turns 31 after application, but before visa is granted or first trip is made.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kadmus -

No problem working under a WH visa, as long as no longer than 6 months for any one employer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kadmus said:


> Thanks again Mark,
> 
> He turns 31 in October next year so plenty of time. Though I'll tell him to apply before July next year, in case the rules change!
> 
> We've been in a Civil Union and living together for 8 years so I think that should be ok. Would he breaking the conditions of the visa if he works for his current employer over there (Hilton Hotels)? Only for the 6 months. It seems the only way for them to see how he works before agreeing a sponsorship.
> 
> Cheers.


----------



## kadmus

Thanks again Mark!! It's encouraging to know that it isn't a trial to convert from the WH to 457! 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kadmus -
> 
> No problem working under a WH visa, as long as no longer than 6 months for any one employer.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## andyd85

*de facto visa*

Hi Mark!
Great advice on here thanks very much.
I am a UK citizen here on a WHV. my partner is an Oz citizen, We have been together almost 3 years, just over two years in England and 6 months in Australia. We are in the process of preparing a de facto visa application. However, the state of Victoria requires that you provide evidence of living together in Victoria for 12 months before you can.register your relationship with the state government. As my WHV is only for 1 year, this is not possible. So I am enquiring as to whether we can submit the rest of our application just before my WHV expires, be granted a BVA, then register our relationship and submit the certificate as soon as soon as it is granted? Or would the fact that our relationship hasn't been registered be sufficient grounds for an unsuccessful application and no BVA being granted?
Any help and advice will be gratefully received!
Many thanks Andy


----------



## gto21

My TR is going to expire soon, i want to apply for a student visa. I did a degree in accounting. Is it better for me to apply for a Master?

I prefer advance diploma as its cheaper, but is it risky to apply for it as i already have a degree?

Or choosing a course not related to accounting represent a high risk of not granted?

To sum up, is master my best option for student visa? Problem with Master its expensive.

I don't want to take to much risk of it not granted.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andyd85 -

There is a specific DIBP policy provision that states:

Unlike regulation 2.03(A)(3), which explicitly requires the 12 month relationship criterion to be met at the time of visa application, regulation 2.03A(5) is silent on when the relationship must be registered. As such, an applicant who registers their de facto relationship after the application is made but before it is decided is taken to have met regulation 2.03A(5).

As a result, if you register your relationship after you apply, but before the visa is decided, and submit the registration certificate before the visa is decided, per policy it meets the 12 month rule. The relationship is still assessed on genuineness, etc, but registration automatically satisfies the 12 month rule.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andyd85 said:


> Hi Mark!
> Great advice on here thanks very much.
> I am a UK citizen here on a WHV. my partner is an Oz citizen, We have been together almost 3 years, just over two years in England and 6 months in Australia. We are in the process of preparing a de facto visa application. However, the state of Victoria requires that you provide evidence of living together in Victoria for 12 months before you can.register your relationship with the state government. As my WHV is only for 1 year, this is not possible. So I am enquiring as to whether we can submit the rest of our application just before my WHV expires, be granted a BVA, then register our relationship and submit the certificate as soon as soon as it is granted? Or would the fact that our relationship hasn't been registered be sufficient grounds for an unsuccessful application and no BVA being granted?
> Any help and advice will be gratefully received!
> Many thanks Andy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gto21 -

Not possible to tell based on the info you provided - they will assess the "genuine student" criteria on many factors, including how the proposed education fits in with what you previously studied, etc. Cheaper is generally not a consideration of DIBP. Master may make sense as a follow-on on your previous studies, but need to consider all the factors in the genuine student policy criteria to really tell.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gto21 said:


> My TR is going to expire soon, i want to apply for a student visa. I did a degree in accounting. Is it better for me to apply for a Master?
> 
> I prefer advance diploma as its cheaper, but is it risky to apply for it as i already have a degree?
> 
> Or choosing a course not related to accounting represent a high risk of not granted?
> 
> To sum up, is master my best option for student visa? Problem with Master its expensive.
> 
> I don't want to take to much risk of it not granted.


----------



## dajo

*Child Migration Queries under Partner Visa Subclass 309 / 100*

Hello,

I am going to apply for a Partner Visa (Subclass 309 / 100). My husband is a Permanent Resident and he will be sponsoring the visa. We have an 18 month old baby who was born in India. So can I include this child in the same visa application as mine under Dependent Section? Or should I apply for a different child visa altogether?

Please provide assistance with the same.

Also, can I get my Police Clearance done before I apply for my visa and attach it along with the other documents? The validity of the PCC is for 1 year.

I will appreciate response to clear my doubt.

Thank you


----------



## andyd85

Thank you so much for the advice mate, I really appreciate it. Just a couple of other quick questions. I have a juvenile criminal conviction from 2001. Obviously this was declared when I applied for my WHV and a UK police certificate supplied. Am I able to provide the same UK police certificate which is dated from 4 months before I entered australia on my WHV or should I obtain a new UK police certificate along with one fron Australian police?
And is a medical mandatory for everyone applying and should it be completed before applying or will it be requested by a case officer?
Thanks again for everything, you are truly providing a fantastic service here!
Andy


----------



## prashanth8101

*Medicals Problem*

Hi Mark,

I'm new to this Forum. Before proceeding with my question I would like to thank you for the valuable suggestion and help you are providing for the fellow members.

Coming to my case, I'm planning to to apply 485 visa (post study work visa) but the thing is I haven't completed my medicals yet the reason being my passport is with Indian embassy for PCC clearance as a result I'm unable to book a date for medicals.
So is it ok to submit the application with options "No" for the 2 Health related questions that are being asked in the online application.

" Have you and all persons included in this application booked or undergone a medical examination for the purpose of this application?
No Yes

If No, has the Department's My Health Declarations service advised that no health examinations are required?
No Yes"

And when we select "No" options following error message pops up saying

"The following errors have been encountered:
1. All persons included in this application need to use the department's My Health Declarations service to determine whether health examinations are required and then proceed to complete any required health examinations - otherwise you will not meet the criteria for grant of this visa."

I have already completed submitted My Health Declaration.Its just the medicals that I'm not able to book.

One of friend who is facing the same situation has called Immigration Department, they have advised to submitted the application with "No" options but leave a note while uploading the documents so that the case officer will know what has happened.

Kindly request you let me know how to proceed.Appreciate your speedy response as my visa would be expiring on 10 Dec 2014 and I need to drop the application before that.

Thanks in advance in help.

Regards,
Prashanth.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dajo -

Yes, your child can be a dependent on the 309/100 application. PCC OK to get before applying, but not too long before (ie, not more than 2 months before) - will depend on how long the application takes to process, etc. Some embassies prefer you only get PCC's after they request it, etc but most are OK with PCC's obtained just prior to lodging.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dajo said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am going to apply for a Partner Visa (Subclass 309 / 100). My husband is a Permanent Resident and he will be sponsoring the visa. We have an 18 month old baby who was born in India. So can I include this child in the same visa application as mine under Dependent Section? Or should I apply for a different child visa altogether?
> 
> Please provide assistance with the same.
> 
> Also, can I get my Police Clearance done before I apply for my visa and attach it along with the other documents? The validity of the PCC is for 1 year.
> 
> I will appreciate response to clear my doubt.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andy85 -

Re: UK PCC, depends on how old it is (they are only valid for 1 year) - generally should be no more than 2-3 months old when you lodge any visa application requiring it.

Medical depends on the specific visa you are applying for, length of stay, etc. Full medicals (includng chest x-rey, medical exam, HIV blood test) generally required for all PR visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andyd85 said:


> Thank you so much for the advice mate, I really appreciate it. Just a couple of other quick questions. I have a juvenile criminal conviction from 2001. Obviously this was declared when I applied for my WHV and a UK police certificate supplied. Am I able to provide the same UK police certificate which is dated from 4 months before I entered australia on my WHV or should I obtain a new UK police certificate along with one fron Australian police?
> And is a medical mandatory for everyone applying and should it be completed before applying or will it be requested by a case officer?
> Thanks again for everything, you are truly providing a fantastic service here!
> Andy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prashanth8101 -

Your friend's idea sounds reasonable. Technically it is a requirement for the 485 that at the time of application, you have at least booked a medical exam. The visa can be refused if this is not the case, however it would be up to the discretion of the case officer to allow you extra time because your passport is not available to book the exam.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



prashanth8101 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm new to this Forum. Before proceeding with my question I would like to thank you for the valuable suggestion and help you are providing for the fellow members.
> 
> Coming to my case, I'm planning to to apply 485 visa (post study work visa) but the thing is I haven't completed my medicals yet the reason being my passport is with Indian embassy for PCC clearance as a result I'm unable to book a date for medicals.
> So is it ok to submit the application with options "No" for the 2 Health related questions that are being asked in the online application.
> 
> " Have you and all persons included in this application booked or undergone a medical examination for the purpose of this application?
> No Yes
> 
> If No, has the Department's My Health Declarations service advised that no health examinations are required?
> No Yes"
> 
> And when we select "No" options following error message pops up saying
> 
> "The following errors have been encountered:
> 1. All persons included in this application need to use the department's My Health Declarations service to determine whether health examinations are required and then proceed to complete any required health examinations - otherwise you will not meet the criteria for grant of this visa."
> 
> I have already completed submitted My Health Declaration.Its just the medicals that I'm not able to book.
> 
> One of friend who is facing the same situation has called Immigration Department, they have advised to submitted the application with "No" options but leave a note while uploading the documents so that the case officer will know what has happened.
> 
> Kindly request you let me know how to proceed.Appreciate your speedy response as my visa would be expiring on 10 Dec 2014 and I need to drop the application before that.
> 
> Thanks in advance in help.
> 
> Regards,
> Prashanth.


----------



## prashanth8101

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the reply. I would be doing the same submitting the application and leaving a note.

Regards,
Prashanth.


----------



## Austyn

Aloha Mark, I hope you are doing well!

I just had a few questions regarding my bridging visa.

So, I was granted a bridging visa class A (subclass WA) which gives me full work and study rights when in affect. However, It wouldn't activate until my current stay on my eta was up. And my eta ended on the 28th of November. I was just wondering if My bridging visa would already be eligible for me to work and study as of now. I tried viewing my visa via vevo, but I am not able to get in as there always is an error.

I just don't want to start working, and my bridging visa isn't active. I want to make sure everything is clear before I take the step.

And also, when a decision is made on my visa, will I be notified via email or post?

Thanks again Mark!

Austyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Austyn -

Based on your info, it should be active now. May be that the consumer side of VEVO will not access your record properly - could try the agent side if you'd like - if you want to contact me (see website below, then "Contact" link in upper right corner) via email I can get your passport number and date of birth to access your current visa via migration agent VEVO link.

Best,

Mark



Austyn said:


> Aloha Mark, I hope you are doing well!
> 
> I just had a few questions regarding my bridging visa.
> 
> So, I was granted a bridging visa class A (subclass WA) which gives me full work and study rights when in affect. However, It wouldn't activate until my current stay on my eta was up. And my eta ended on the 28th of November. I was just wondering if My bridging visa would already be eligible for me to work and study as of now. I tried viewing my visa via vevo, but I am not able to get in as there always is an error.
> 
> I just don't want to start working, and my bridging visa isn't active. I want to make sure everything is clear before I take the step.
> 
> And also, when a decision is made on my visa, will I be notified via email or post?
> 
> Thanks again Mark!
> 
> Austyn


----------



## shaahul21

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing well.

I am Shaahul and have few questions regarding Visitor Visa(600).

My parents got a 600 visa for 3 month visit (2 year validity with multiple entries) without the "No Further Stay" clause. They are 55 and 65 year old

My questions are:
1. If I apply for a extension of the visa and if it gets rejected what happens to their existing visa?

2. Is is easier to get an extension visa?

3. How much will it cost to get the extension including medicals(we live in NSW).

Appreciate your help, Mark!

Thanks,
Shaahul.


----------



## thomasvo

Hi Mark,

I'm about to submit my visa application but I still have a question.
I am not claiming any points for work experience but my EOI had 2 months of experience (which is after ACS subtracted 4 years)
in my EOI it was split up in two first part was marked as 4 years of non relevant and second part as 2 months of relevant experience.
What do I do in my visa application? Do I keep it like my EOI or am I better off marking all 4 years and 2 months of non relevant?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shaahul21 -

Thanks for the note. If the extension visa application (a further subclass 600 visa) is refused, that will not affect their current visa application, which will run its course and expire as normal.

Re: chances of success, not possible to estimate without a lot more information and seeing documents.

Re: DIBP fees - fee if applicant in Australia for sc600 is $335 per applicant, assuming that the first 600 they applied for (ie, the one they hold now) was applied for when they were offshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shaahul21 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well.
> 
> I am Shaahul and have few questions regarding Visitor Visa(600).
> 
> My parents got a 600 visa for 3 month visit (2 year validity with multiple entries) without the "No Further Stay" clause. They are 55 and 65 year old
> 
> My questions are:
> 1. If I apply for a extension of the visa and if it gets rejected what happens to their existing visa?
> 
> 2. Is is easier to get an extension visa?
> 
> 3. How much will it cost to get the extension including medicals(we live in NSW).
> 
> Appreciate your help, Mark!
> 
> Thanks,
> Shaahul.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thomasavo -

Hard to say without seeing the ACS document and how you plan to complete the EOI, but generally speaking if you only have 2 months of relevant experience, unless there's a particular rule from the state sponsor or some other requirement related to this, generally would not matter whether you claimed it or not since it would generate any points. I'd probably not claim it as relevant just to save any hassles if DIBP asks for payslips, etc on the visa application (they should not anyway because it doesn't generate any points).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thomasvo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm about to submit my visa application but I still have a question.
> I am not claiming any points for work experience but my EOI had 2 months of experience (which is after ACS subtracted 4 years)
> in my EOI it was split up in two first part was marked as 4 years of non relevant and second part as 2 months of relevant experience.
> What do I do in my visa application? Do I keep it like my EOI or am I better off marking all 4 years and 2 months of non relevant?


----------



## eraldo

Hi Markthanksfor your time,im on spouse visa 100 and i will like to know if i can apply for the Australian citizenship after 12 months ,i enteredin Australia in March this year.
Thanks Eraldo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eraldo -

Thanks for the note - for citizenship you'll need 4 years of total residency in Australia, with the last 12 months being as a holder of a PR visa (such as the subclass 100). For details and allowable time away during those years, see: https://www.ecom.immi.gov.au/citz/startIntervalCalc.do

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



eraldo said:


> Hi Markthanksfor your time,im on spouse visa 100 and i will like to know if i can apply for the Australian citizenship after 12 months ,i enteredin Australia in March this year.
> Thanks Eraldo


----------



## Reginleif

Hi Mark,

I'm really grateful that you're out there helping us for direction and I'm pretty sure others would definitely appreciate what you have done for us 

I'm currently in the middle of preparing for all the necessary documents, however there are few points that I would like to clarify with you if you don't mind please.

1. It says for Partner Visa, my wife (the applicant) would need to submit a medical examination results however based on my research on other forums, it is advisable to book for medical appointment only when being asked to by the Case Officer as the application process may sometime take more than 12 months where as the medical examination has already expired - Should I just wait until the medical examination is neccessary when the Case Officer calls it? Will this actually prolong the application process?

2. AFP Police Check
My wife has only been in Australia less than 12 months and I believe no AFP Police Check would be required in this case for her - Am I right here?

*I believe as a sponsor, I won't need to provide either the Medical examinations nor the AFP Police Check?

3. Statutory Declarations for supporting evidence
It says there that if I cannot get a PR or Australian citizen to write the Statutory Declaration statement, I could get someone from overseas to fill the form 888 for the statement and no witness signature is required. Would this mean I could get a friend or parents from Indonesia (our home country) who know both me and my wife to write the Statutory Declaration?

4. Certified Documents
As we already have some documents translated and certified/legalised by the required authority from Indonesia, do we still need to get those documents certified according to Australian law as well?

Once again, thanks for your time helping us here!



> Hi Reginleif -
> 
> Thanks for the note - as long as the visitor visa does not have condition 8503 on it, and there are no other outstanding issues (ie, onshore previous refusal on this trip, etc), she can generally make a valid application for a partner visa (subclass 820/801). There is no set list of qualifying previous visas for the partner visa.
> 
> The number of times a person can re-enter on a visitor visa isn't set in the visa, but too many times will cause issues with DIBP as you found out. Typically an applicant will lodge the partner visa while onshore before the end of the current stay, in which case a bridging visa is generated. The applicant then remains in Australia past the end of the current stay, which activates the bridging visa. Note if she wants to leave Australia after that she'll need a Bridging Visa B to re-enter. No need to evidence health insurance to lodge a partner visa; once she lodges she can apply immediately for Medicare (use the acknowledgement of application letter you'll get after lodgement. Suggest lodging 1-2 weeks (or more) before the end of the visitor visa current stay period. Suggest carefully reviewing all of the requirements for the partner visa, including the "usually resident" requirement for PR sponsors.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Originally Posted by Reginleif
> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all, I would like to express my utmost gratitude as I was trying to find more info about my case and calling the National Help Line doesn't really help, especially with their attitude.
> 
> I'm actually trying to sponsor my wife to apply for the Partner Visa (801) - below are our details.
> 
> 1. She is currently on Visitor Visa (600), expiring on April 2017 with the following conditions:
> - No Work
> - Multiple Entries
> - Max 3 Months Study
> 
> 2. She has been here since April 2014, stayed here for 3 months, went out of Australia for a couple of weeks then returned back to Australia in July, stayed for another 3 months, then left Australia for 10 days and returned back here to Australia. This is her third consecutive stayed in Australia.
> 
> 3. We weren't aware that Visitor Visa cannot actually be used for mutiple entries in close range of time as illustrated above and thus we got held by the border/immigration the last time we flew back into Australia and has been warned that this would be the last time my wife could enter Australia with her Visitor Visa.
> 
> 4. We've been married for 2 years now and I myself is an Permanent Resident.
> 
> My questions are:
> 
> 1. Considering that she's on Visitor Visa with the above conditions, can I still sponsor her to apply for a onshore Partner Visa?
> I've tried to browse the eligibility criteria and I couldn't find any details about what type of visa could actually apply for onshore Partner Visa. All it says is that she would need to be de facto/married to Australian Citizen/PR, meet the health and character requirements, etc.
> 
> 2. Since she's on Visitor Visa at the moment, and it says on the requirements that she would need to provide adequate health cover while she's in Australia - would I need to get her a health insurance (Medibank, etc) before she applies for the Partner Visa?
> I believe as soon as we're applying for Partner Visa and she gets her Bridging Visa, she should be eligible to apply for Medicare.
> 
> Hopefully we can still apply for the Partner Visa as end of January would be her 3 months deadline
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## prashanth8101

*Medicals Problem*

Hi Mark,

Recently I have spoken to Immigration Customer Care service. They have advised me submit the online application with "Yes" option for Medicals booked or Completed.(Otherwise you wont be satisfying the Visa Grant Criteria) Reason being all they want is the HAP ID.
He also recommended to reschedule the medical booking once the application is submitted. So that I can reschedule until I get my passport back( which sounds Illogical ).
Now question is how many times a visa medical booking be rescheduled ?
If that the case I don't know how many times I have to rescheduled. Kindly request you to let me know which way to proceed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous CHAT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Prashanth8101 -

Your friend's idea sounds reasonable. Technically it is a requirement for the 485 that at the time of application, you have at least booked a medical exam. The visa can be refused if this is not the case, however it would be up to the discretion of the case officer to allow you extra time because your passport is not available to book the exam.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam

Quote:
Originally Posted by prashanth8101 View Post
Hi Mark,

I'm new to this Forum. Before proceeding with my question I would like to thank you for the valuable suggestion and help you are providing for the fellow members.

Coming to my case, I'm planning to to apply 485 visa (post study work visa) but the thing is I haven't completed my medicals yet the reason being my passport is with Indian embassy for PCC clearance as a result I'm unable to book a date for medicals.
So is it ok to submit the application with options "No" for the 2 Health related questions that are being asked in the online application.

" Have you and all persons included in this application booked or undergone a medical examination for the purpose of this application?
No Yes

If No, has the Department's My Health Declarations service advised that no health examinations are required?
No Yes"

And when we select "No" options following error message pops up saying

"The following errors have been encountered:
1. All persons included in this application need to use the department's My Health Declarations service to determine whether health examinations are required and then proceed to complete any required health examinations - otherwise you will not meet the criteria for grant of this visa."

I have already completed submitted My Health Declaration.Its just the medicals that I'm not able to book.

One of friend who is facing the same situation has called Immigration Department, they have advised to submitted the application with "No" options but leave a note while uploading the documents so that the case officer will know what has happened.

Kindly request you let me know how to proceed.Appreciate your speedy response as my visa would be expiring on 10 Dec 2014 and I need to drop the application before that.

Thanks in advance in help.

Regards,
Prashanth.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prashanth8101 -

Thanks for the note. I can't advise you what to do in this situation, as I don't know enough about your case and situation. If DIBP is advising you what to do, and you plan to follow their advice, I would definitely get the name and position number of the person who has advised you to do this, so in case there are issues later, you can point to the advice that you were given. If you want to get more detailed help from a migration agent, suggest you book a consultation so you and the agent can go through things in detail - given the price of a refused visa (thousands of dollars of lost application fees, MRT fees, etc etc) , a consultation is a very small price to pay to get specific advice. But either way, anonymous forums are just not the way to go for this particular type of issue, in my opinion - too many details, too many ifs/ands/buts, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



prashanth8101 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Recently I have spoken to Immigration Customer Care service. They have advised me submit the online application with "Yes" option for Medicals booked or Completed.(Otherwise you wont be satisfying the Visa Grant Criteria) Reason being all they want is the HAP ID.
> He also recommended to reschedule the medical booking once the application is submitted. So that I can reschedule until I get my passport back( which sounds Illogical ).
> Now question is how many times a visa medical booking be rescheduled ?
> If that the case I don't know how many times I have to rescheduled. Kindly request you to let me know which way to proceed.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Previous CHAT
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Prashanth8101 -
> 
> Your friend's idea sounds reasonable. Technically it is a requirement for the 485 that at the time of application, you have at least booked a medical exam. The visa can be refused if this is not the case, however it would be up to the discretion of the case officer to allow you extra time because your passport is not available to book the exam.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Quote:
> Originally Posted by prashanth8101 View Post
> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm new to this Forum. Before proceeding with my question I would like to thank you for the valuable suggestion and help you are providing for the fellow members.
> 
> Coming to my case, I'm planning to to apply 485 visa (post study work visa) but the thing is I haven't completed my medicals yet the reason being my passport is with Indian embassy for PCC clearance as a result I'm unable to book a date for medicals.
> So is it ok to submit the application with options "No" for the 2 Health related questions that are being asked in the online application.
> 
> " Have you and all persons included in this application booked or undergone a medical examination for the purpose of this application?
> No Yes
> 
> If No, has the Department's My Health Declarations service advised that no health examinations are required?
> No Yes"
> 
> And when we select "No" options following error message pops up saying
> 
> "The following errors have been encountered:
> 1. All persons included in this application need to use the department's My Health Declarations service to determine whether health examinations are required and then proceed to complete any required health examinations - otherwise you will not meet the criteria for grant of this visa."
> 
> I have already completed submitted My Health Declaration.Its just the medicals that I'm not able to book.
> 
> One of friend who is facing the same situation has called Immigration Department, they have advised to submitted the application with "No" options but leave a note while uploading the documents so that the case officer will know what has happened.
> 
> Kindly request you let me know how to proceed.Appreciate your speedy response as my visa would be expiring on 10 Dec 2014 and I need to drop the application before that.
> 
> Thanks in advance in help.
> 
> Regards,
> Prashanth.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Reginleif -

Re: 1, I agree with your plan - get the medicals done when asked.
Re: 2, Correct, no AFP for her unless she has convictions in Australia, assuming she has spent a total of less than 12 months in Australia during the last 10 years. No AFP for the sponsor unless there is a child on the visa application
Re: 3, yes.
Re: 4, no need to have documents re-certified - colour scans of originals or colour scans of previously certified/notarised documents are generally fine as long as you are lodging online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Reginleif said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm really grateful that you're out there helping us for direction and I'm pretty sure others would definitely appreciate what you have done for us
> 
> I'm currently in the middle of preparing for all the necessary documents, however there are few points that I would like to clarify with you if you don't mind please.
> 
> 1. It says for Partner Visa, my wife (the applicant) would need to submit a medical examination results however based on my research on other forums, it is advisable to book for medical appointment only when being asked to by the Case Officer as the application process may sometime take more than 12 months where as the medical examination has already expired - Should I just wait until the medical examination is neccessary when the Case Officer calls it? Will this actually prolong the application process?
> 
> 2. AFP Police Check
> My wife has only been in Australia less than 12 months and I believe no AFP Police Check would be required in this case for her - Am I right here?
> 
> *I believe as a sponsor, I won't need to provide either the Medical examinations nor the AFP Police Check?
> 
> 3. Statutory Declarations for supporting evidence
> It says there that if I cannot get a PR or Australian citizen to write the Statutory Declaration statement, I could get someone from overseas to fill the form 888 for the statement and no witness signature is required. Would this mean I could get a friend or parents from Indonesia (our home country) who know both me and my wife to write the Statutory Declaration?
> 
> 4. Certified Documents
> As we already have some documents translated and certified/legalised by the required authority from Indonesia, do we still need to get those documents certified according to Australian law as well?
> 
> Once again, thanks for your time helping us here!


----------



## Shabzz

Dear Mark,

I have a quick question regarding the skilled employment references and experience letter requirements while filling online visa application. 

Do I need to provide references and experience letters for all the different employments I have done in past 10 years or do I need to provide documents only the skilled assessed employment/s I have claimed in my EOI ? 

Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shabzz -

Normally you need to provide employment ref letters and other docs (such as proof of pay) only for employment you are claiming points for, for a skilled visa. You will need to list all employment per the application, but ref letters only required for those jobs you are claiming points for normally (for skilled visas - other visas such as 457 are different).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Shabzz said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a quick question regarding the skilled employment references and experience letter requirements while filling online visa application.
> 
> Do I need to provide references and experience letters for all the different employments I have done in past 10 years or do I need to provide documents only the skilled assessed employment/s I have claimed in my EOI ?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## Shabzz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shabzz -
> 
> Normally you need to provide employment ref letters and other docs (such as proof of pay) only for employment you are claiming points for, for a skilled visa. You will need to list all employment per the application, but ref letters only required for those jobs you are claiming points for normally (for skilled visas - other visas such as 457 are different).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark for the information.

Regards,
Shabzz


----------



## twid

*Queried for visa 189*

Hi Mark,
I appreciate effort you are putting to help others.
I have few quick queries regarding visa 189,
1. What is minimum work experience required?
2. Is there any cutoff in work experience like they deduct first 2 years and then count experience?

Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Twid -

From a DIBP perspective there is no minimum work requirement for the 189 visa if you can achieve the required points via other means (English, age, education, etc). However each skills assessor has their own rules re: work experience, and most require some sort of work experience - you would need to check the specific rules with your assessor for your occupation. Note that some assessors such as ACS provide a "deeming date" which is a date which you are "deemed" to be skilled - you can only claim points with DIBP for a skilled visa for work you perform AFTER the deeming date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



twid said:


> Hi Mark,
> I appreciate effort you are putting to help others.
> I have few quick queries regarding visa 189,
> 1. What is minimum work experience required?
> 2. Is there any cutoff in work experience like they deduct first 2 years and then count experience?
> 
> Best Regards


----------



## julio69x

*Partner Visa Question*

Good morning Mark,

After a 175 was granted to the main applicant and a Divorce,

how long to wait before applying for a partner visa onshore for a new partner?

does the 5 year sponsorship stated in the forms apply?

Thank you for your help

Julio


----------



## shrav07

*migration to aus*

i am shravan from India.i have my commercial pilot license from australia.i want to migrate to oz land and then explore my options as a pilot.i am 29.any suggestions as to what can be done?any other course which could be done as to enhance my profile?


----------



## twid

Thanks for you reply, 
I am software developer, Does this require any work experience to apply under visa 189?
I have 2 years of overseas experience.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Twid -
> 
> From a DIBP perspective there is no minimum work requirement for the 189 visa if you can achieve the required points via other means (English, age, education, etc). However each skills assessor has their own rules re: work experience, and most require some sort of work experience - you would need to check the specific rules with your assessor for your occupation. Note that some assessors such as ACS provide a "deeming date" which is a date which you are "deemed" to be skilled - you can only claim points with DIBP for a skilled visa for work you perform AFTER the deeming date.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## akrish

Hi Mark, I have applied for 489 visa regional sponsored with my first cousin as the sponsor. What documents do I need to submit to show my relationship with him? Thanks.


----------



## jfm

Hi Mark!

You have been quite helpful in guiding me earlier as well. I am a 189 applicant from Pakistan. My skills had been assessed by Engineers Australia as an Engineering Manger. I lodged my application on 11th June 2014 and was asked for certain documents and finally was asked to do meds and pcc for me and my family. Although they haven't updated my account since August but as you said I should wait.

Now the issue is that I have around 9 years of previous job experience as an engineer and now I am doing my own business since 2013. I was confused by reading on some thread that I had to assess my work experience from Engineers Australia. Although I have claimed my experience in my application to DIBP but have not assessed it from EA. Now my consultant is confused as well. I have uploaded my experience certificates and salary slips etc for the whole period. Please guide me. Do I have to get my experience assessed by EA as well because its worrying me as my application is nearly complete and I would hate for something to go wrong at the last minute.

Thanks!


----------



## nicolo

Hi Mark

I have been with my current employer on 457 visa for more than 2 years.Now he is willing to nominate me under the RSMS 187 TRTS. However, their Standard Business Sponsorship has expired in 2012 and they have not applied for a new one. Do we need a current/unexpired SBS to lodge a 187 TRTS nomination? Is a current SBS a requirement for 187 TRTS?


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

I have a small clarification. My husband recently granted a tourist visa and it says..

Visa Stream Tourist 
Stay For/Until 3 Month(s) 
Entries Multiple 
Last Date to Arrive dd/mm/yyyy

*The last date of arrive* is one year after the grant date. Is that mean my husband got one year tourist visa with multiple entries but maximum stay for one entry is three months??

Really appreciate your thoughts on this.

Regards
Dhanu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Julio69x -

Thanks for the question. The five year waiting rules apply to partner visas, but do not apply to the subclass 175 visa. That being said, there would still need to be sufficient relationship evidence, etc provided with the new visa to demonstrate to the case officer that the new relationship was genuine, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



julio69x said:


> Good morning Mark,
> 
> After a 175 was granted to the main applicant and a Divorce,
> 
> how long to wait before applying for a partner visa onshore for a new partner?
> 
> does the 5 year sponsorship stated in the forms apply?
> 
> Thank you for your help
> 
> Julio


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shraven -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



shrav07 said:


> i am shravan from India.i have my commercial pilot license from australia.i want to migrate to oz land and then explore my options as a pilot.i am 29.any suggestions as to what can be done?any other course which could be done as to enhance my profile?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Twid -

No, but ACS will require experience, depending on your degree and other factors, to provide a positive skills assessment - without that assessment you cannot be granted a 189. Suggest you carefully study ACS rules, including the number of years of work experience required based on different types of educational qualifications, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



twid said:


> Thanks for you reply,
> I am software developer, Does this require any work experience to apply under visa 189?
> I have 2 years of overseas experience.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akrish -

It's different for each person and their situation, but generally a combination of birth certificate(s) and a family tree to show the relationship between the people as evidenced in the birth certificates. Sometimes a "family book" or other similar document if appropriate for your country is helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



akrish said:


> Hi Mark, I have applied for 489 visa regional sponsored with my first cousin as the sponsor. What documents do I need to submit to show my relationship with him? Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jfm -

With EA there is no requirement that any work experience be assessed, unless the case officer questions whether the work experience is closely related to your occupation - if that happens, then you would normally be given the opportunity to have the work assessed by a skills assessor, and the case officer would abide by the results of the assessor in most cases. EA is a little different in that you do not have to prove any minimum amount of work experience in order to be given a positive skills assessment. The final decision for awarding points, however, remains with DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jfm said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> You have been quite helpful in guiding me earlier as well. I am a 189 applicant from Pakistan. My skills had been assessed by Engineers Australia as an Engineering Manger. I lodged my application on 11th June 2014 and was asked for certain documents and finally was asked to do meds and pcc for me and my family. Although they haven't updated my account since August but as you said I should wait.
> 
> Now the issue is that I have around 9 years of previous job experience as an engineer and now I am doing my own business since 2013. I was confused by reading on some thread that I had to assess my work experience from Engineers Australia. Although I have claimed my experience in my application to DIBP but have not assessed it from EA. Now my consultant is confused as well. I have uploaded my experience certificates and salary slips etc for the whole period. Please guide me. Do I have to get my experience assessed by EA as well because its worrying me as my application is nearly complete and I would hate for something to go wrong at the last minute.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhanu -

Yes, that's correct.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dhanu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a small clarification. My husband recently granted a tourist visa and it says..
> 
> Visa Stream Tourist
> Stay For/Until 3 Month(s)
> Entries Multiple
> Last Date to Arrive dd/mm/yyyy
> 
> *The last date of arrive* is one year after the grant date. Is that mean my husband got one year tourist visa with multiple entries but maximum stay for one entry is three months??
> 
> Really appreciate your thoughts on this.
> 
> Regards
> Dhanu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicolo -

Thanks for the note. This is a complex area of migration law and I would need some more information from you in order to give you any specific advice. If you could contact me directly through my website (see link below in my signature) via email I could email you the additional pieces of info I need to answer your questions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nicolo said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have been with my current employer on 457 visa for more than 2 years.Now he is willing to nominate me under the RSMS 187 TRTS. However, their Standard Business Sponsorship has expired in 2012 and they have not applied for a new one. Do we need a current/unexpired SBS to lodge a 187 TRTS nomination? Is a current SBS a requirement for 187 TRTS?


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for the reply. This is very helpful. 

Regards
Dhanu



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dhanu -
> 
> Yes, that's correct.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## M.observer

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your reply. In immigration law as in life, man has obligations but few rights.

I am really appreciative though.

M.observer



MarkNortham said:


> Hi M.observer -
> 
> Sorry about any confusion over deleted msgs, etc - I wasn't involved in that.
> 
> Once a person is granted PR, it is no longer required for the relationship that enabled the PR grant to exist (ie, the marriage or defacto relationship). There is no legal mechanism for a PR visa to be revoked after grant, unless fraud, etc was involved in the application. Absent provable fraud, she will retain her PR, and you nor anyone else has a legal mechanism or ability to remove it.
> 
> I would expect if she wanted to voluntarily give up her PR, there is some way she could do this, but I've never seen it done. Again, she has every right to retain her PR even if the relationship breaks down - that's how the law reads.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## julio69x

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Julio69x -
> 
> Thanks for the question. The five year waiting rules apply to partner visas, but do not apply to the subclass 175 visa. That being said, there would still need to be sufficient relationship evidence, etc provided with the new visa to demonstrate to the case officer that the new relationship was genuine, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark.

Julio


----------



## rjohndeguzman

Hello again Mark,

I would just like to ask if you have any experience for people getting an invite from employers (RSMS 187) by submitting an EOI? I don't have an employer to sponsor for me right now, so I guess the idea is submit an EOI then wait for the invite.

Warm regards,

Reinier


----------



## AmanAus

hi. i hav got a technical interview in like 2 days on skype. 
can anyone tell me what ques they ask for cabinet making so i can get a hint. 
thanks
PLEASE hELp mE


----------



## Wombatgirl

Hi mark! 
my fiancé is coming here on a 3month tourist visa from singapore (which doesn't have a "no further stay" condition attached) and i was wondering how would i go about extending it for an additional 3 months (so 6 months in total) ?

we've been together for 2 years, got engaged for a year, and i want to marry him when he is in australia because all my friends and family are here. We constantly go back and forth to see each other every 3-4 months (so technically we've been in a long distance relationship)

we know we are going to get married eventually so he has joint bank acc here with me so we can contribute to our married life when he does wanna move here.

looking forward to your reply and thanks for your time!


----------



## bubblebluez

Dear Mark,

I have completed a 4 year Chemical Engineering Degree end of last year (2013). And I enrolled myself to a 1 year program of Masters of Environmental Engineering which I will be graduating end of this month.

485 visa clearly specifies the lodgement of visa must be taken within the 6 months duration after the completion of studies and also the two year study requirement. At this stage, am I still eligible in applying a 485 visa despite my Masters is only 1 year duration? How does the overlap of qualification works?

Your help and advice is very much appreciated.

Regards
Karen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Reinier -

Thanks for the note. Never heard of it happening, however my caseload for ENS and RSMS is all based on employers already having chosen a candidate where we prepare and lodge all elements of the application - in theory SkillSelect could allow an employer to go search for a person who is wanting to be sponsored, but again, have not heard of that happening commonly. It comes down to supply & demand I expect, and the supply of potential employees is still far greater than the number of job openings with companies who will nominate, in my view.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rjohndeguzman said:


> Hello again Mark,
> 
> I would just like to ask if you have any experience for people getting an invite from employers (RSMS 187) by submitting an EOI? I don't have an employer to sponsor for me right now, so I guess the idea is submit an EOI then wait for the invite.
> 
> Warm regards,
> 
> Reinier


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AmanAus -

Would suggest you post this out on the general forum as a new topic for better visibility and responses by others - you might study the TRA website for any details on required skills, etc for your occupation (and the TradeSet list of questions can also be helpful).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AmanAus said:


> hi. i hav got a technical interview in like 2 days on skype.
> can anyone tell me what ques they ask for cabinet making so i can get a hint.
> thanks
> PLEASE hELp mE


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wombatgirl -

If it's a single-entry 3 month visa (as opposed to a multiple-entry), then you could lodge a subclass 600 visa while he's onshore to get another visa to extend his onshore stay. However you'll need to be careful as lodging an onshore partner visa is not generally considered a valid reason to be granted a visitor visa (since it's not for temporary tourism purposes). More time to see the sights and sounds of Australia could work among other reasons, but depends on your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wombatgirl said:


> Hi mark!
> my fiancé is coming here on a 3month tourist visa from singapore (which doesn't have a "no further stay" condition attached) and i was wondering how would i go about extending it for an additional 3 months (so 6 months in total) ?
> 
> we've been together for 2 years, got engaged for a year, and i want to marry him when he is in australia because all my friends and family are here. We constantly go back and forth to see each other every 3-4 months (so technically we've been in a long distance relationship)
> 
> we know we are going to get married eventually so he has joint bank acc here with me so we can contribute to our married life when he does wanna move here.
> 
> looking forward to your reply and thanks for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karen -

Thanks for the question. The masters by itself would likely not qualify for the 485 as it doesn't meet the Australia Study Requirement element that the course must be listed on CRICOS for 92 weeks in duration or more, so you'd have to use the 2 degrees together. Generally as long as you can demonstrate that the 1st degree "led to" the second one and they are both closely related to your occupation, the combination can be used to satisfy the ASR. The 6 month period for doing that for the 485 begins upon the course completion of the second degree.

That being said, the 485 is a very picky visa - you may want to get professional assistance in terms of an opinion of whether the 2 degrees can work in your circumstances given your occupation code, and based on an examination of the transcripts for both degrees to determine relevancy to your occupation per ANZSCO and other elements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bubblebluez said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have completed a 4 year Chemical Engineering Degree end of last year (2013). And I enrolled myself to a 1 year program of Masters of Environmental Engineering which I will be graduating end of this month.
> 
> 485 visa clearly specifies the lodgement of visa must be taken within the 6 months duration after the completion of studies and also the two year study requirement. At this stage, am I still eligible in applying a 485 visa despite my Masters is only 1 year duration? How does the overlap of qualification works?
> 
> Your help and advice is very much appreciated.
> 
> Regards
> Karen


----------



## pauly

Hi Mark, 

I would appreciate your advice about this. 

I would like to apply for 103 visa for mum and include my sister as well as her dependent how hard is that and what sort of evidence do I need to prove the dependency ? At the moment my sister is studying but someone told me it's better off to wait till she finishes her studies is that true does it matter or makes any difference?

As always thank you for your help!

Regards,
pauly


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pauly -

Thanks for the question - dependency for persons 18 years of age and older is complicated, as it involves many factors - financial factors, age, and others, and there are special provisions in certain cases where a person has been studying full time since graduating from high school. The primary factor is financial dependency, but it would be best to either get a professional assessment of dependency from a migration agent based on the legislation and policy, or study the legislation/policy if you want to do the assessment yourself.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pauly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would appreciate your advice about this.
> 
> I would like to apply for 103 visa for mum and include my sister as well as her dependent how hard is that and what sort of evidence do I need to prove the dependency ? At the moment my sister is studying but someone told me it's better off to wait till she finishes her studies is that true does it matter or makes any difference?
> 
> As always thank you for your help!
> 
> Regards,
> pauly


----------



## pauly

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your quick answer.

She has never had a job so basically been supported by mum but where do I find the policy regarding the dependency?

Thanks for ur help & have a good weekend.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pauly -
> 
> Thanks for the question - dependency for persons 18 years of age and older is complicated, as it involves many factors - financial factors, age, and others, and there are special provisions in certain cases where a person has been studying full time since graduating from high school. The primary factor is financial dependency, but it would be best to either get a professional assessment of dependency from a migration agent based on the legislation and policy, or study the legislation/policy if you want to do the assessment yourself.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## rahat

Dear Mr Mark,

Hello I am a new user here. I have submitted my visa application (online lodgement) through immiaccount for subclass 189. After submission the application, I have also made required payment. But unfortunately I did not download the application summary pages at that time. Now at this time I need to review what I information I have given. After payment upload option is created but I cannot find any link which enable me to see my submitted information. I would highly appreciate if you give me any guideline or assistance regarding this.

Thanks
Rahat


----------



## jfm

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jfm -
> 
> With EA there is no requirement that any work experience be assessed, unless the case officer questions whether the work experience is closely related to your occupation - if that happens, then you would normally be given the opportunity to have the work assessed by a skills assessor, and the case officer would abide by the results of the assessor in most cases. EA is a little different in that you do not have to prove any minimum amount of work experience in order to be given a positive skills assessment. The final decision for awarding points, however, remains with DIBP.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks once again!


----------



## jetlagged

Hi Mark! I have a question I haven't been able to find the answer to. I will be traveling to Australia on an ETA next year, for 6-8 weeks. I am a self-employed e-book author and my website is automated. Basically, I make money while I sleep. 

My question is about the "no work" condition on the ETA. I can understand this to mean sightseeing and not writing/releasing a new book while in Oz. But, do I need to worry about completely shutting down my ebook sales? Authors must travel all the time without pulling their books from the shelves and refusing royalty payments? Most people take paid leave from their jobs and continue to earn a salary.

The laws seem to have been written before things like this existed. We will eventually be applying for some sort of partner visa, so I want to do it right. Oh, and I am too old for a WHV.

Thank you!


----------



## josephk

Hello MARK,

I applied 573 student visa under SVP. most of my friends got visas with in a week after submission of Differ COE. we are really in critical situation please tell me


----------



## tadone

Hello Everyone, Mark,

I was just granted work and holiday visa but I noticed in the grant letter that DOB is incorrect. How much should I be worried about not getting in? What should I do to correct this mistake? I'm bit freaked out so any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.


----------



## mridulrajk

*Query Regarding ACS Scrutiny*

Hi Mark,

I have the following question regarding the skill assessment, any help would be deeply appreciated.

Timeline of events

2003 Apr/May Mechanical Engineering course completed

Aug 2003- Jan 2004 enrolled for a diploma course in IT

Oct 2004 Started my working career in IT

May -2005 - Cleared all my arrears in engineering.

My question about how the above time line is how would the ACS consider this scenario.

1. Would experience count from 2004 Oct onwards, or would they consider it post my graduation in may 2005?

2. My degree is not relevant to my current profession, how would this impact ACS?

Regards,
Mridul


----------



## kundun

hello 

im unable to understand the acs result sheet is there anyone here who can help me out please.

my question is i have applied for 263111 and my total work experience is of 7 yrs, while they acs replied me like this:


The following employment after September 2012 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.

Dates: 09/06 - 01/14 (7yrs 4mths)
Position: Senior Network and System Engineer
Employer: 
Country: 

im too much in tense and even unable to speak, can anyone plz help what does their mean, whether they consider my 7 yrs or just 1 and half yrs.
Mrs Kundun Jacbo
India


----------



## sweetpea

*2yrs on*

Hello Mark,
I lodged a partner visa application in Nov 2012 for my husband and son who are in Greece. 2 yrs later and still waiting. Today recvd an email confirming date for telephone interviews for husband in Gr and myself in Melb. No issue re documents nothing is outstanding-confirmed through high commission in London. Once interviews are complete do you have an idea of how much longer before husband is told to go for health check and after a health check how much longer are we expected to be patient. Surely getting into the 3rd year is time enough?
thanks


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark, 

Hope all is well with you. A quick question... I just received my new passport. How do I inform IMMI of new details? Do I inform through paper or online?
Thank you in advance.
Have a great weekend!
Ninja 69


----------



## jjaros84

Hi Mark!

Quick question: How probable do you think it is for WH visa approval if one was:

1) a Registered Nurse from the US
2) engaged to an Australian

Trying to help out a friend, and any advice is greatly appreciated. Hope this finds you well,
Joseph


----------



## Theseus

*chronic medical condition*

Dear Mark,

I have been considering an offer of employment for a permanent academic position at a university in Australia. I am trying to decide if I should accept the position due to a chronic medical condition which might be an issue in being granted a skilled work visa.

The chronic condition is an anxiety disorder which can lead to bouts of depression. This is one of those conditions where the cost is nebulous, in terms of treatment. Additionally, I recently experienced an episode of severe depression due to environmental conditions related to work and climate with a new job. I have since recovered and been stable for several months, and have a very good prognosis. However, the anxiety will require ongoing treatment. I feel very positive about the position, and see myself happy and stable if I take the job. I have consulted with professionals, and they have expressed similar opinions. I should probably say I have never been hospitalized, have always maintained employment, and am not a danger to myself or others.

My concern is that my visa might get denied, due to concerns over cost of treatment. Given the above and your experience, do you happen to have any thoughts or advice about this, or applying for a 457 visa.

Thank you!


----------



## Rohan

Hi Mark,

I am from Indian & planning to go on 573 visa along with my wife, could you please guide me *is it possible to get Visa* if I go for "Advance Diploma Of Management" (Under Graduate Program) instead of Post Graduation / MBA ?

Please note I am graduate (B.Sc in Computers) and having 8.5 year experience as system engineer.

So, I like to know what are my chances to get Student Visa under SVP.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pauly -

You need to read the Procedures Advice Manual 3 (PAM3) notes on dependency that is appropriate for the type of visa you are applying for - unfortunately these are not available to the general public, but some libraries have database subscriptions to the LegendCOM online legislation/policy service published by DIBP. Another alternative is to consult with a registered migration agent who can explain the policy to you and print off the relevant sections for you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pauly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your quick answer.
> 
> She has never had a job so basically been supported by mum but where do I find the policy regarding the dependency?
> 
> Thanks for ur help & have a good weekend.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahat -

Thanks for the note - on the page where you can upload documents, look in the top section for a different area where there is a link to "view application" - that will be right above the "view receipt" option - that's the place where you can generate a PDF of your application responses.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rahat said:


> Dear Mr Mark,
> 
> Hello I am a new user here. I have submitted my visa application (online lodgement) through immiaccount for subclass 189. After submission the application, I have also made required payment. But unfortunately I did not download the application summary pages at that time. Now at this time I need to review what I information I have given. After payment upload option is created but I cannot find any link which enable me to see my submitted information. I would highly appreciate if you give me any guideline or assistance regarding this.
> 
> Thanks
> Rahat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jetlagged -

No problem - as long as you are doing occasional things like checking email (or ebook sales!) periodically, engaging in occasional correspondence with others including customers, etc you should be fine. What they do not want to see is you undertaking normal, scheduled work activities such as working from 9am to 5pm, etc, especially if it involves direct interaction in Australia with someone here who is paying you, etc. What you do is akin to earning royalties from a previous investment, and generally would not be considered work unless you were doing specific activities for a party here, etc as described above.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jetlagged said:


> Hi Mark! I have a question I haven't been able to find the answer to. I will be traveling to Australia on an ETA next year, for 6-8 weeks. I am a self-employed e-book author and my website is automated. Basically, I make money while I sleep.
> 
> My question is about the "no work" condition on the ETA. I can understand this to mean sightseeing and not writing/releasing a new book while in Oz. But, do I need to worry about completely shutting down my ebook sales? Authors must travel all the time without pulling their books from the shelves and refusing royalty payments? Most people take paid leave from their jobs and continue to earn a salary.
> 
> The laws seem to have been written before things like this existed. We will eventually be applying for some sort of partner visa, so I want to do it right. Oh, and I am too old for a WHV.
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Josephk -

I don't have enough information to give you any specific advice for your case, however from what you've said, I don't see anything that would present a problem for him being a partner (secondary applicant) on your student visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



josephk said:


> Hello MARK,
> 
> I applied 573 student visa under SVP and Included my Husband Name in same application. Unfortunately my course got differed because I did not get visa on time and 15 days before case officer asked us Differ COE and we submitted same day. But till now no reply. My husband done his Masters in UK and stayed in UK more than 2 Years (1 year as student and 1 and half year on Post study work visa). 5 months before expiry date of his PSW visa he came back to home country and he did not breech the visa conditions all the time. That will create any problem for my Student visa? because of most of my friends got visas with in a week after submission of Differ COE. we are really in critical situation please tell me


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tadone -

Normally not a huge issue, however if the airport officer noticed the mismatch it could be an issue. I'd contact DIBP by responding to the office that granted you the visa and request that they correct the information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tadone said:


> Hello Everyone, Mark,
> 
> I was just granted work and holiday visa but I noticed in the grant letter that DOB is incorrect. How much should I be worried about not getting in? What should I do to correct this mistake? I'm bit freaked out so any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mridulrajk -

Thanks for the note. Normally unless you have other degrees, etc that are relevant, DIBP will only allow points to be claimed for work done after you have completed your work for your qualification and have been granted that qualification (graduation ceremony date, etc doesn't really matter). Same for ACS. Degree in an unrelated field usually means ACS requires more years of work experience after that degree before they will deem you as "skilled" - the skilled deeming date is important, as you can only claim work after that date for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mridulrajk said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have the following question regarding the skill assessment, any help would be deeply appreciated.
> 
> Timeline of events
> 
> 2003 Apr/May Mechanical Engineering course completed
> 
> Aug 2003- Jan 2004 enrolled for a diploma course in IT
> 
> Oct 2004 Started my working career in IT
> 
> May -2005 - Cleared all my arrears in engineering.
> 
> My question about how the above time line is how would the ACS consider this scenario.
> 
> 1. Would experience count from 2004 Oct onwards, or would they consider it post my graduation in may 2005?
> 
> 2. My degree is not relevant to my current profession, how would this impact ACS?
> 
> Regards,
> Mridul


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kundun -

Without seeing the ACS report in its entirety I cannot give you specific advice, however it appears that they took 6 years of your skilled employment and used that in lieu of a suitable IT educational qualification. There are a number of different scenarios where ACS "takes" years of experience before considering you as skilled - you can see them all here:

https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/7324/Summary-of-Criteria-2014.pdf

You would need to see how they assessed any educational qualification you submitted to determine which of the classifications they have assessed you as meeting.

However unless you can get ACS to change their assessment, you can only claim points for a skilled visa application for work completed after the ACS deeming date - that is, after Sep 2012.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kundun said:


> hello
> 
> im unable to understand the acs result sheet is there anyone here who can help me out please.
> 
> my question is i have applied for 263111 and my total work experience is of 7 yrs, while they acs replied me like this:
> 
> The following employment after September 2012 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Dates: 09/06 - 01/14 (7yrs 4mths)
> Position: Senior Network and System Engineer
> Employer:
> Country:
> 
> im too much in tense and even unable to speak, can anyone plz help what does their mean, whether they consider my 7 yrs or just 1 and half yrs.
> Mrs Kundun Jacbo
> India


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sweetpea -

Hard to say - DIBP sets no rules or limitations for itself, and it's becoming more and more common to see partner visa applications head close to the 2 year mark, if not go beyond. Wish I could help, but until DIBP establishes some guidelines or rules for processing, we're all just waiting for them to complete processing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sweetpea said:


> Hello Mark,
> I lodged a partner visa application in Nov 2012 for my husband and son who are in Greece. 2 yrs later and still waiting. Today recvd an email confirming date for telephone interviews for husband in Gr and myself in Melb. No issue re documents nothing is outstanding-confirmed through high commission in London. Once interviews are complete do you have an idea of how much longer before husband is told to go for health check and after a health check how much longer are we expected to be patient. Surely getting into the 3rd year is time enough?
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

That would be Form 929 - you can see submission instructions on the form itself.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope all is well with you. A quick question... I just received my new passport. How do I inform IMMI of new details? Do I inform through paper or online?
> Thank you in advance.
> Have a great weekend!
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Joseph -

Wish I could give you an opinion on this, but there's just no way to tell. The registered nurse part would not normally be an issue, however if the applicant discloses an engagement to an Australian, that could be an issue potentially since it could be alleged that the applicant has more than a temporary/tourism/casual work interest in visiting Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jjaros84 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Quick question: How probable do you think it is for WH visa approval if one was:
> 
> 1) a Registered Nurse from the US
> 2) engaged to an Australian
> 
> Trying to help out a friend, and any advice is greatly appreciated. Hope this finds you well,
> Joseph


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Theseus -

Thanks for the question - for situations like yours it can be very difficult to predict the anticipated medical costs with anything close to certainty. All you can do really is to answer the medical questions on the 457 visa and see what the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) assesses your health situation as re: future anticipated costs for medical services and pharmaceuticals. With the 457 visa, there is an option that if the applicant fails the health criteria (ie, anticipated costs too high), the employer has the option of assuming all costs related to the specified medical condition that is at issue - it's part 4006a of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1994 if you want to research that further.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Theseus said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have been considering an offer of employment for a permanent academic position at a university in Australia. I am trying to decide if I should accept the position due to a chronic medical condition which might be an issue in being granted a skilled work visa.
> 
> The chronic condition is an anxiety disorder which can lead to bouts of depression. This is one of those conditions where the cost is nebulous, in terms of treatment. Additionally, I recently experienced an episode of severe depression due to environmental conditions related to work and climate with a new job. I have since recovered and been stable for several months, and have a very good prognosis. However, the anxiety will require ongoing treatment. I feel very positive about the position, and see myself happy and stable if I take the job. I have consulted with professionals, and they have expressed similar opinions. I should probably say I have never been hospitalized, have always maintained employment, and am not a danger to myself or others.
> 
> My concern is that my visa might get denied, due to concerns over cost of treatment. Given the above and your experience, do you happen to have any thoughts or advice about this, or applying for a 457 visa.
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rohan -

Thanks for the note. It would all depend on whether the case officer thought you met the genuine student policy criteria, and whether the course made sense with your overall academic history. An established period of work experience can sometimes cause issues with this, as DIBP will sometimes assume that a person with that much experience would not have a "genuine reason" to go back to school, especially to get a degree (advanced diploma) which is at a lower level than the degree they already have (bachelor). It's not possible to predict this with any accuracy since it's the "opinion" of the case officer that will determine the result, however you might have a better chance of success if you enrolled in an MBA course which is considered at a higher level than a bachelor degree, so it would not look as if you were going backwards, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rohan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am from Indian & planning to go on 573 visa along with my wife, could you please guide me *is it possible to get Visa* if I go for "Advance Diploma Of Management" (Under Graduate Program) instead of Post Graduation / MBA ?
> 
> Please note I am graduate (B.Sc in Computers) and having 8.5 year experience as system engineer.
> 
> So, I like to know what are my chances to get Student Visa under SVP.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## liamturbett

Hi Mark,

I was referred here by a member of pomsinoz forum to ask for your advice on my current visa situation. My partner are I were about to apply for our visa 820 this coming Wednesday, however after speaking with some members of pomsinoz we are beside ourselves with confusion.

I met my partner in London, where I lived in June 2013, we became official in August after about 6 weeks of dating. He was on a working holiday visa that was due to expire in July 2014, however he lost both of his grandparents in the space of a week and had to return home due to this in September. We decided to stay together and that I would follow him over as soon as I could. However due to financial burdens i wasn't able to come over to Australia until December and arrived in Melbourne on the 27th of December. We painted constant communication during this time. Now since I arrived here I have lived with my partner in Melbourne and then we moved to Canberra in September, so that is a short timeline of our time together. Now until this moment we hadn't thought much about the UK part of our relationship as we assumed that it would be understood that my partner had to leave due to the circumstances and that because we have evidence of constant communication, that would be enough. However after speaking to a few members on pomsinoz they have expressed their concern that the government may not consider any of our time in the UK as a relationship and therefore, say we went ahead with our application on Wednesday 10th, we would be 'short 17 days' of our de facto relationship, this again, is assuming they discredit our time together in the UK.

Now originally our plan was for me to complete regional work and apply for a second WHV, however decided against that as we didn't want to be separated for 3 months, so that option is out the window. We were planning to register our relationship however with the processing time, this is also out the window, so we are really left with no options and Engaus advised me to you because we have great supporting evidence for my entire time in Australia, but bar UK friends statements and communication evidence we have nothing else and it worries us that they will discredit this part of our relationship and only consider the time I have been here, which as stated will put us short of 17 days.

If it is a case of providing evidence of the reasons my partner had to leave the UK so abruptly would that assist us? Also would us committing to a civil partnership also help in this short time frame? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as the thought of applying was scary, let alone applying with this hanging over us. We worry that they will look at our application very black and white and not take into consideration situations that surround it.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liamturbett -

Thanks for the note. The key to the requirement is that the "defacto relationship has existed during the 12 months prior to application lodgement, and that any time apart was temporary in nature". In my view it would depend on the quality of evidence you have to show that you were living together in the UK before he had to come back to Australia - certainly the circumstances of medical emergencies, etc would go to explain the time apart - they key then would be establishing that before he had to leave, the two of you were living together in a defacto relationship. Statements are helpful, as well as any other documentary evidence like bills, statements, mail, etc that show you were living at the same address as he.

Would need to assess your evidence to give you any specific opinion on that - could do so at a consultation (see website link below in my signature). Also, if you qualify for ACT relationship registration, that may be a good idea - note that there is a specific provision in DIBP policy where you can actually submit the certificate of registration of your relationship after you lodge the visa application, as long as it's lodged before DIBP makes a decision on the visa.

Hope this helps - please advise if i can assist further.

Best,

Mark Northam



liamturbett said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was referred here by a member of pomsinoz forum to ask for your advice on my current visa situation. My partner are I were about to apply for our visa 820 this coming Wednesday, however after speaking with some members of pomsinoz we are beside ourselves with confusion.
> 
> I met my partner in London, where I lived in June 2013, we became official in August after about 6 weeks of dating. He was on a working holiday visa that was due to expire in July 2014, however he lost both of his grandparents in the space of a week and had to return home due to this in September. We decided to stay together and that I would follow him over as soon as I could. However due to financial burdens i wasn't able to come over to Australia until December and arrived in Melbourne on the 27th of December. We painted constant communication during this time. Now since I arrived here I have lived with my partner in Melbourne and then we moved to Canberra in September, so that is a short timeline of our time together. Now until this moment we hadn't thought much about the UK part of our relationship as we assumed that it would be understood that my partner had to leave due to the circumstances and that because we have evidence of constant communication, that would be enough. However after speaking to a few members on pomsinoz they have expressed their concern that the government may not consider any of our time in the UK as a relationship and therefore, say we went ahead with our application on Wednesday 10th, we would be 'short 17 days' of our de facto relationship, this again, is assuming they discredit our time together in the UK.
> 
> Now originally our plan was for me to complete regional work and apply for a second WHV, however decided against that as we didn't want to be separated for 3 months, so that option is out the window. We were planning to register our relationship however with the processing time, this is also out the window, so we are really left with no options and Engaus advised me to you because we have great supporting evidence for my entire time in Australia, but bar UK friends statements and communication evidence we have nothing else and it worries us that they will discredit this part of our relationship and only consider the time I have been here, which as stated will put us short of 17 days.
> 
> If it is a case of providing evidence of the reasons my partner had to leave the UK so abruptly would that assist us? Also would us committing to a civil partnership also help in this short time frame? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as the thought of applying was scary, let alone applying with this hanging over us. We worry that they will look at our application very black and white and not take into consideration situations that surround it.


----------



## seekingpr

*Changing Tourist Visa to Graduate Visa*

Hello Mark,
Wish to seek help on behalf of my friend.
Her situation:

She graduated with a bachelors of hospitality management on 24th Nov 2014 and wanted to apply for a graduate visa. However her student visa was ending on the 10th dec 2014 and she had to change her visa to tourist visa to extend her stay here before applying for the graduation visa as she is required appear for ielts and get required Bands.

Query:
Can she change her tourist visa to graduation visa? Or she has to go thru' some other path?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seekingpr -

The skilled graduate visa (subclass 485) is actually a complicated visa, as it has a long list of requirements, most of which must be met at the time of application - it's vital to check these requirements carefully in order to lodge a successful 485 application. Re: previous visa, for the 485 visa if the applicant holds a substantive (ie, non-bridging) visa at the time of application, and the applicant held a qualifying student visa within 6 months of the date of application, then a visitor visa can work. However make sure to note the 6 month requirements, both as described above, and the requirement that the 485 be applied for no later than 6 months from the time the applicant completes their requirements for the degree.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> Hello Mark,
> Wish to seek help on behalf of my friend.
> Her situation:
> 
> She graduated with a bachelors of hospitality management on 24th Nov 2014 and wanted to apply for a graduate visa. However her student visa was ending on the 10th dec 2014 and she had to change her visa to tourist visa to extend her stay here before applying for the graduation visa as she is required appear for ielts and get required Bands.
> 
> Query:
> Can she change her tourist visa to graduation visa? Or she has to go thru' some other path?


----------



## liamturbett

Thank you mark, in regards to the relationship registering can I confirm what you mean?
just to clarify I am going to apply for the visa on December 10th, keeping in mind my current visa expires the 27th. If i was to apply for a registration of a civil partnership in the ACT in January and received the certificate of registration before the DIBP considered my application (I understand it can take about 9 months), the certificate would still be relevant evidence to support my visa and waive the required 12 months of being in a de facto relationship?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liamturbett -

Correct, however the problem would occur if DIBP assessed the defacto nature of the application prior to receiving the relationship registration certificate - at that point without the certificate, they would look to the 12 months prior to application for evidence of the defacto relationship - you'd still need to put together that evidence just in case the certificate did not arrive in time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



liamturbett said:


> Thank you mark, in regards to the relationship registering can I confirm what you mean?
> just to clarify I am going to apply for the visa on December 10th, keeping in mind my current visa expires the 27th. If i was to apply for a registration of a civil partnership in the ACT in January and received the certificate of registration before the DIBP considered my application (I understand it can take about 9 months), the certificate would still be relevant evidence to support my visa and waive the required 12 months of being in a de facto relationship?


----------



## seekingpr

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Seekingpr -
> 
> The skilled graduate visa (subclass 485) is actually a complicated visa, as it has a long list of requirements, most of which must be met at the time of application - it's vital to check these requirements carefully in order to lodge a successful 485 application. Re: previous visa, for the 485 visa if the applicant holds a substantive (ie, non-bridging) visa at the time of application, and the applicant held a qualifying student visa within 6 months of the date of application, then a visitor visa can work. However make sure to note the 6 month requirements, both as described above, and the requirement that the 485 be applied for no later than 6 months from the time the applicant completes their requirements for the degree.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you , you have always been prompt in helping.


----------



## liamturbett

Ok, so what if I was to apply tomorrow and I believe processing time for these types of certificates is 1 month, surely my application wouldn't have been assed, considering they give you a 9-15 month time frame of even being looked at. What would be your opinion regarding this because as stated our evidence from the UK is so minimal, I genuinely believe they will disregard our time together in the UK and consider us deficit since i arrived in Australia.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Liamturbett -
> 
> Correct, however the problem would occur if DIBP assessed the defacto nature of the application prior to receiving the relationship registration certificate - at that point without the certificate, they would look to the 12 months prior to application for evidence of the defacto relationship - you'd still need to put together that evidence just in case the certificate did not arrive in time.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liamturbett -

I'd like to help, but I would have to see any relationship evidence directly to be able to comment on it or the chances of it being sufficient for DIBP. Re: processing time, I think it would be very unlikely that DIBP would assess your relationship evidence in 1 month - have only seen that happen once and it was apparently a fluke. Even if they want more relationship evidence, assuming they send a request for this you'll have 28 days to respond to that, so again, hard to imagine any circumstances where you would not be able to get the certificate lodged with DIBP assuming it arrives a month or so after you lodge.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



liamturbett said:


> Ok, so what if I was to apply tomorrow and I believe processing time for these types of certificates is 1 month, surely my application wouldn't have been assed, considering they give you a 9-15 month time frame of even being looked at. What would be your opinion regarding this because as stated our evidence from the UK is so minimal, I genuinely believe they will disregard our time together in the UK and consider us deficit since i arrived in Australia.


----------



## andrewcool

Hi Mark

I would like to ask a quick question in regards to the stat declaration for the form 888. I have a few close friends Australian citizen who is able to do it for me but however, they are currently residing in Hong Kong. I know in Aus, you get the dentist, JP, bank manager etc to witness, certify the passport and sign it 

There are a few questions that I am puzzled and hope you can help me

1) What about in my situation, who do they need to find? Whatever that is relevant to the HK law for witness statement?

2) Do they need to have the passport certified in colour by JP, police officer even they are in overseas?

3) In the 888 form, one question asks the residential address. As said, they are Aussie citizen but live in HK, so do they still write their HK address and contact details anyway? 

Thanks

Andrew


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

For offshore partner visa (subclass 309/100), then whoever is equivalent to a JP in HK who can legally witness documents for immigration purposes should be fine. Colour scan of their passport (or Australian citizenship certificate) is fine, no need to certify copy of passport. Yes, they would put their current residential address in, even if in HK.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andrewcool said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I would like to ask a quick question in regards to the stat declaration for the form 888. I have a few close friends Australian citizen who is able to do it for me but however, they are currently residing in Hong Kong. I know in Aus, you get the dentist, JP, bank manager etc to witness, certify the passport and sign it
> 
> There are a few questions that I am puzzled and hope you can help me
> 
> 1) What about in my situation, who do they need to find? Whatever that is relevant to the HK law for witness statement?
> 
> 2) Do they need to have the passport certified in colour by JP, police officer even they are in overseas?
> 
> 3) In the 888 form, one question asks the residential address. As said, they are Aussie citizen but live in HK, so do they still write their HK address and contact details anyway?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Andrew


----------



## AliQ

Hi Mark,

I'm a British citizen in a defacto relationship with an Australian citizen (12 years together and have lived and worked in Australia previously. I've had a working visa and a sponsored business visa back in 2005)
We're currently in Greece and are planning to fly over around May 2015.

If we use the following method will I need to purchase a return fight ticket? Or will I be able to come in on a single ticket? I can't find an answer to this on the immi.gov.au site. 

601 Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601)
Bridging visa C – BVC – (subclass 030)
Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801)

Thanks in advance.
Alison


----------



## nocrack

Hi Mark,

I have a few questions with regards to my visa application which I hope will be simple for you to answer.
I have received an invitation to apply for a visa under the subclass 189.
I am almost ready to send it but I have a few question first. The application is under my name, and my partner is a de facto in this application

1. My partner is French (so am I) and she hasn't taken an English test. I have (IETLS - Proficient), and claimed point for it. My understanding is that I can't even say that she has functional English because she never studied in an English country or taken any sort of test/assessment. She has been working in the UK for the past 4 years though which should demonstrate a functional English. 
So Am I right to think that I can't select functional English. And if so, how much of a problem is this ? Could the visa be not granted because of this ? What are our options ? Can she take a test at a later stage if they ask or something like that ?

2. To submit the visa application, I need to pay the whole fee. Roughly $5000AUS.
Should they not grant the visa, do they refund you ? My understanding was that you pay the complete fees only when the visa is granted...

3. I haven't seen anything to upload documents at that stage, such as docs to prove that we have been living together for more than 12 month, and so on. Is this normal ? Do you get asked for the documents at a later stage ?


Many thanks for your help
Arnaud


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AliQ -

Only danger is if the immigration officer at the airport sees no return ticket when you arrive on a visitor visa - this can be an issue in some cases, but hard to predict in advance - it's based on the judgment of the airport immigration officer. Safer bet is to get refundable return ticket, etc. Re: bridging visa, you would get a BV-A automatically if you make an application onshore for the 820/801 partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AliQ said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm a British citizen in a defacto relationship with an Australian citizen (12 years together and have lived and worked in Australia previously. I've had a working visa and a sponsored business visa back in 2005)
> We're currently in Greece and are planning to fly over around May 2015.
> 
> If we use the following method will I need to purchase a return fight ticket? Or will I be able to come in on a single ticket? I can't find an answer to this on the immi.gov.au site.
> 
> 601 Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601)
> Bridging visa C - BVC - (subclass 030)
> Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801)
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> Alison


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nocrack -

Thanks for the note. Re functional English for secondary applicants 18 yrs of age and older, if you cannot demonstrate functional English via one of the means provided for by DIBP (see their site for more on this), you can pay the English "fee" which is collected by DIBP shortly before they're ready to grant the visa - it's currently $4885.

Re: fees, all fees to DIBP are nonrefundable in the case of visa refusal.

Re: uploading documents, this happens after you lodge and pay - the next screen gives you the opportunity to upload all the various documents you'll need - ID docs, relationship evidence & statements, documents to evidence points you are claiming, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nocrack said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a few questions with regards to my visa application which I hope will be simple for you to answer.
> I have received an invitation to apply for a visa under the subclass 189.
> I am almost ready to send it but I have a few question first. The application is under my name, and my partner is a de facto in this application
> 
> 1. My partner is French (so am I) and she hasn't taken an English test. I have (IETLS - Proficient), and claimed point for it. My understanding is that I can't even say that she has functional English because she never studied in an English country or taken any sort of test/assessment. She has been working in the UK for the past 4 years though which should demonstrate a functional English.
> So Am I right to think that I can't select functional English. And if so, how much of a problem is this ? Could the visa be not granted because of this ? What are our options ? Can she take a test at a later stage if they ask or something like that ?
> 
> 2. To submit the visa application, I need to pay the whole fee. Roughly $5000AUS.
> Should they not grant the visa, do they refund you ? My understanding was that you pay the complete fees only when the visa is granted...
> 
> 3. I haven't seen anything to upload documents at that stage, such as docs to prove that we have been living together for more than 12 month, and so on. Is this normal ? Do you get asked for the documents at a later stage ?
> 
> Many thanks for your help
> Arnaud


----------



## nocrack

Hi Mark.

Thank you very much for your help and such a fast reply.

Can she take an exam (I.e. the ietls) after lodging the application ? Without having to pay the extra fee ? And if so should I put that we can demonstrate functional English or not. If not, do I need to do something special to notify DIBS of the change ? I'm consious of the timing here because the invitation to apply is only valid until beginning of January.

Thanks again
Arnaud


----------



## kundun

*ACS Assessment*

Hello Respected Mark Northam,

It is highly requested to Sir Mark Northam PLZ HELP ME.

I got my ACS assessment and I am too much disappointed on my assessment, on below link you will see my assessment result.
http://www.4shared.com/download/ZeRUXcvEce/20141205105338373_912780_32547.jpg?lgfp=3000

I am too much depressed and continuously in tension since I received this horrible assessment reply from ACS team.
As shown in my letter that:

"Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code."

By mentioned above words they are saying I'm suitable for migration under 263111,

And later below they mentioned in my work experienced that:

The following employment after September 2012 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.

Dates: 09/06 - 01/14 (7yrs 4mths)
Position: Senior Network and System Engineer
Employer: 
Country:

What I understand by this? I am totally confused, while I have no two jobs, I did my single job since 2006 till 2014 and how come and by which rule and measurement unit they calculate that my work equate after September 2012, while my work experience letter mentioned all my work done that related to the ANZSCO code description details page no. 04, found on below link
https://acs.org.au/_data/assets/pdf_file/0018/7641/ANZSCO-Description.pdf

Besides, as mentioned in my qualification assessment they said my master in i.t is equal to associate degree with major in computing, while I did my master in 2006 and after that I have continuously 7 years same relevant field experienced which they require for eligibility that is mentioned in below link file, in Summary of Criteria:
https://acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/7324/Summary-of-Criteria-2014.pdf

Last but not the least, plz plz also guide me plz as per work experience they gave me 1 year and 4 months (September 2012 to January 2014) can I claim my points on 7 years or not?
Can I apply EOI without work experience if I can't add my 7 years work experience points in this scenario, i.e.,
1)	Age= 25 points (my age is 37)
2)	English= 20 points (I secured 8.0 in all four section of IELTS)
3)	Education=10 points (already acs assess my master degree as their associate degree)
4)	Station nomination=5 points
And total would be 60 points.
So my question is can I apply EOI without having any points in my work experience.

Plz its my humble request to all of you Respected Members please please help me out.

My and Maggie-May24, discussion found on below link:

http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/97530-acs-reply.html

waiting for your support plz.

regards,
Mrs. Kundun Jacbo


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Matk, 

Thak you for answering my inquiry regarding change of passport details. 
I applied online Partner Visa ( Defacto) last September. Do I need to upload more documents say every 3 months while waiting for the outcome of my visa application? 

Thank you in advance,
Ninja69


----------



## jetlagged

Thank you! This helps my anxiety level so much. 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jetlagged -
> 
> No problem - as long as you are doing occasional things like checking email (or ebook sales!) periodically, engaging in occasional correspondence with others including customers, etc you should be fine. What they do not want to see is you undertaking normal, scheduled work activities such as working from 9am to 5pm, etc, especially if it involves direct interaction in Australia with someone here who is paying you, etc. What you do is akin to earning royalties from a previous investment, and generally would not be considered work unless you were doing specific activities for a party here, etc as described above.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## gogirl

*804 Parent Visa*

Hi Mark,

I am in the process of helping my parents compete their application form 47PA for the 804 parent visa. We are stuck on one question which I wonder if you could give us your advice.

Part J on page 19 says..... details of other family members. My father has completed his direct family members (mother, father and sister) details with no problem. But he has step parents and step/half brothers and sisters whom he lost contact with more than 50 years ago and some he has never met so no idea where they are or if they are even still alive. Is it necessary for him to include them in the application as it will be almost impossible to find them.

I look forward to your earliest response.

Kind regards


----------



## liamturbett

Hi Mark,

I wanted to again say thank you for all of your help and advice regarding my de facto visa. My partner and I successfully registered our civil partnership today, with the certificate being available in ten working days.
I have one last question, someone on the pomsinoz forum stated that immigration may require a civil union, opposed to a civil partnership, in my opinion and civil partnership is a more serious commitment so I assume that this is fine to assist in waiving the 12 month requirement?
But I wanted to get your opinion on it anyway?
Liam


----------



## Elongran

*Health check and bridging visa*

Hi mark!

Me and my australian boyfriend are in the process of applaying for a de facto visa and I just have a couple of questions...

I haven't done the health check yet, I've read that tits better to wait until your case agent says I have to go and do it (since it only last a year and the process can take longer than that). What do you reckon?
Also, we're planning a trip to Thailand next year. Will that be a problem when I'm on my bridging visa?
Do I need a police check before I apply or is it the same as the health check? 
Can I still attatch health check and other documents later on after I submitted the application?

Would be sooo grateful if you replied!

Thanks,
Elin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liam -

Here's the DIBP policy on this:

_*Relationship registration certificates issued in the ACT*
The ACT's Civil Partnerships Act 2008 has been repealed and relationship registration certificates issued in the ACT are now issued under the Domestic Relationships Act 1994. The Domestic Relationships Act 1994 is, however, not prescribed in the Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2008 (Cth).
As this situation is a circumstance outside the applicant's control, it is the department's policy to accept registration certificates issued under the Domestic Relationships Act 1994.
_

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



liamturbett said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I wanted to again say thank you for all of your help and advice regarding my de facto visa. My partner and I successfully registered our civil partnership today, with the certificate being available in ten working days.
> I have one last question, someone on the pomsinoz forum stated that immigration may require a civil union, opposed to a civil partnership, in my opinion and civil partnership is a more serious commitment so I assume that this is fine to assist in waiving the 12 month requirement?
> But I wanted to get your opinion on it anyway?
> Liam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gogirl -

Suggest he upload a statement with the form (or include one if hardcopy application) explaining the situation re: family members he has little to no information on.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gogirl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am in the process of helping my parents compete their application form 47PA for the 804 parent visa. We are stuck on one question which I wonder if you could give us your advice.
> 
> Part J on page 19 says..... details of other family members. My father has completed his direct family members (mother, father and sister) details with no problem. But he has step parents and step/half brothers and sisters whom he lost contact with more than 50 years ago and some he has never met so no idea where they are or if they are even still alive. Is it necessary for him to include them in the application as it will be almost impossible to find them.
> 
> I look forward to your earliest response.
> 
> Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Elin -

For partner visa, best to wait until after lodgment and you're requested to do the health & police checks. If you get a Bridging Visa A with your partner visa, then you'd need to apply for and be granted a Bridging Visa B in order to travel out and back to Australia.Yes, can attached any documents after lodgement up until time of decision.

Also, suggest you eliminate the word "boyfriend" from the application in any form, as that (in the view of DIBP) does not rise to the level of defacto partner - suggest you use the word "partner" 

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Elongran said:


> Hi mark!
> 
> Me and my australian boyfriend are in the process of applaying for a de facto visa and I just have a couple of questions...
> 
> I haven't done the health check yet, I've read that tits better to wait until your case agent says I have to go and do it (since it only last a year and the process can take longer than that). What do you reckon?
> Also, we're planning a trip to Thailand next year. Will that be a problem when I'm on my bridging visa?
> Do I need a police check before I apply or is it the same as the health check?
> Can I still attatch health check and other documents later on after I submitted the application?
> 
> Would be sooo grateful if you replied!
> 
> Thanks,
> Elin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mrs Jacbo -

Thanks for the note - I would like to help, but can only do skilled visa assessments via consultation (see my website below in my signature, then click on "Professional Consultation"). There are too many details and questions to be asked to try and work this out over days of back & forth emails on an anonymous forum like this, plus I need to see the actual documents involved to give you a professional opinion.

Remember that state sponsorship authorities and DIBP (immigration dept) have different sets of regulations, and you need to work out whether you meet both sets of regulations if you are considering a subclass 190 visa.

Generally speaking DIBP has no minimum work experience requirement for a skilled visa (189, 190) - if people have sufficient points from other areas (age, IELTS, etc), then they can apply with no points for work experience. However you need to make sure all other points claims are fully justified with evidence. That being said, some state sponsorship authorities do have work experience requirements for particular occupations.

If you are looking at investing thousands of dollars in a visa application, I strongly suggest you engage some professional assistance to help you understand if you meet all the requirements - anonymous forum posts are not the best way to do this, as there are too many specific details to your case to post here. I say this not to promote myself - there are many good migration agents out there - but to assist you. If you claim too many points or lack sufficient documentation with an application, it can be refused and you can lose thousands of dollars and months or years of time. Better to get professional help in the beginning before you lodge, to make sure you understand all the appropriate requirements and lodge accordingly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kundun said:


> Hello Respected Mark Northam,
> 
> It is highly requested to Sir Mark Northam PLZ HELP ME.
> 
> I got my ACS assessment and I am too much disappointed on my assessment, on below link you will see my assessment result.
> http://www.4shared.com/download/ZeRUXcvEce/20141205105338373_912780_32547.jpg?lgfp=3000
> 
> I am too much depressed and continuously in tension since I received this horrible assessment reply from ACS team.
> As shown in my letter that:
> 
> "Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code."
> 
> By mentioned above words they are saying I'm suitable for migration under 263111,
> 
> And later below they mentioned in my work experienced that:
> 
> The following employment after September 2012 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Dates: 09/06 - 01/14 (7yrs 4mths)
> Position: Senior Network and System Engineer
> Employer:
> Country:
> 
> What I understand by this? I am totally confused, while I have no two jobs, I did my single job since 2006 till 2014 and how come and by which rule and measurement unit they calculate that my work equate after September 2012, while my work experience letter mentioned all my work done that related to the ANZSCO code description details page no. 04, found on below link
> https://acs.org.au/_data/assets/pdf_file/0018/7641/ANZSCO-Description.pdf
> 
> Besides, as mentioned in my qualification assessment they said my master in i.t is equal to associate degree with major in computing, while I did my master in 2006 and after that I have continuously 7 years same relevant field experienced which they require for eligibility that is mentioned in below link file, in Summary of Criteria:
> https://acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/7324/Summary-of-Criteria-2014.pdf
> 
> Last but not the least, plz plz also guide me plz as per work experience they gave me 1 year and 4 months (September 2012 to January 2014) can I claim my points on 7 years or not?
> Can I apply EOI without work experience if I can't add my 7 years work experience points in this scenario, i.e.,
> 1)	Age= 25 points (my age is 37)
> 2)	English= 20 points (I secured 8.0 in all four section of IELTS)
> 3)	Education=10 points (already acs assess my master degree as their associate degree)
> 4)	Station nomination=5 points
> And total would be 60 points.
> So my question is can I apply EOI without having any points in my work experience.
> 
> Plz its my humble request to all of you Respected Members please please help me out.
> 
> My and Maggie-May24, discussion found on below link:
> 
> http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/97530-acs-reply.html
> 
> waiting for your support plz.
> 
> regards,
> Mrs. Kundun Jacbo


----------



## jsr

*registering relationships*

Hello Mark,
this is probably a dumb question,
In Regard to the N.S.W relationship registration by mail.
It states that only one person had to reside in N.S.W...can the partner have his section signed and notarized in the USA and I have my section completd and have a JP witness my section here as long as we have all certified supporting documents of identity?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JSR -

Not a dumb question at all! But one I can't give you an authoritative answer on - best to check with the NSW Births/Deaths/Marriages office directly by phone to determine their specific requirements for documentation, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jsr said:


> Hello Mark,
> this is probably a dumb question,
> In Regard to the N.S.W relationship registration by mail.
> It states that only one person had to reside in N.S.W...can the partner have his section signed and notarized in the USA and I have my section completd and have a JP witness my section here as long as we have all certified supporting documents of identity?


----------



## andrewcool

Hi Mark

Thanks for the answer

I forgot to emphasis that this is for onshore partner visa and NOT for offshore so would the answer you told me apply to that as well or passport needs to be certified etc

Andrew



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Andrew -
> 
> For offshore partner visa (subclass 309/100), then whoever is equivalent to a JP in HK who can legally witness documents for immigration purposes should be fine. Colour scan of their passport (or Australian citizenship certificate) is fine, no need to certify copy of passport. Yes, they would put their current residential address in, even if in HK.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

No different for onshore/offshore - as long as you lodge online, colour scans of originals are generally fine.

Best,

Mark



andrewcool said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for the answer
> 
> I forgot to emphasis that this is for onshore partner visa and NOT for offshore so would the answer you told me apply to that as well or passport needs to be certified etc
> 
> Andrew


----------



## JohnF

Hello Mark, my friend was hired as Duty Manager under 457 visa but when he arrived he work as receptionist for a month and now as a waiter. He has no choice at all but to accept it considering that he spent too much money for agency placement fee. Is he has the right to demand his contract position? 
Thank you for your time and more power.
Cheers,
John


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John -

That may be a question for an employment/workplace lawyer. From an immigration point of view, however, what the sponsor has done is put both himself and your friend in breach of DIBP regulations as working other than in the nominated occupation/position is a breach of the visa conditions and the sponsor's obligations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JohnF said:


> Hello Mark, my friend was hired as Duty Manager under 457 visa but when he arrived he work as receptionist for a month and now as a waiter. He has no choice at all but to accept it considering that he spent too much money for agency placement fee. Is he has the right to demand his contract position?
> Thank you for your time and more power.
> Cheers,
> John


----------



## JDR

Hi Mark,
Just wanted to get your opinion on this.
My wife & I have been married for 2 years and currently live in the Philippines. I'm a OZ resident & citizen. Together we've been traveling in & out of OZ since 2009. We finally decided to make the move to Melbourne for good.

Shes had 5 tourist visas and currently holds a multiple entry visitor visa 600 and doesnt have a NFS condition. Max stay 3 months.

So my question is should we lodge a partner visa onshore 820>801 or offshore 309>301.

If we go the onshore 820 route and she gets approved during our vacation does she need to be in the Philippines when she gets approved or can she stay in Aus?

Also does this way have a faster processing time since its processed on shore?

And if we go the offshore 309 route would she still be allowed to visit with her vistor visa?

Reason being is that Philippines is the only country I have heard of that they make you return to that country for a decision to be made?

Thanks for your time Mark.
Regards,
Jay


----------



## akadar

Dear Mark

I have applied for 189 visa and I think im on the brink of getting my PR.
However, I went through a divorce during the time of submission of the application and my martial status was divorced on the application,

Now me and my ex are considering to get back together, and reconcile our marriage,

My question is how easy it will be to bring her to Oz ( as a PR) after my visa is granted and if I'm already in Australia? ( she still lives in our native country and ten we would reconcile our marriage) 

Or should I fill in the Chance of circumstance form?

I think the latter option will be tedious, ( need a new marriage cert, medical for her etc etc)

Can you please advice, I appreciate your kind help


----------



## zafraz

Hi Mark,

I was granted this visa for skilled independent subclass ve 175 in November 2012 and I did the 1st entry to Perth in December 2012 for a couple of days and I returned back to Dubai.

Now I have my visa period remaining for another 3 years till November 2017 (as 2 years have already gone). And I want to stay in Dubai till the end of 2017 or even might be up until end of 2018. And after this period, I wish to return back to Australia and live & work thereafter.

So in the above scenario, I have the following questions please,

1.0 Can I renew / extend my visa for another 5 years from November 2017 on wards? And by when I should do it? And which visa category or form should I fill in and submit?

2.0 If the above can be done, can I do it while staying in Dubai or should I visit Australia?

I came across the RRV case, but getting 5 years under subclass 155 and 3 months under subclass 157, were all confusing me.

Thanks,
Zafraz


----------



## XINGSINGH

Hi Mark

In my EOI my masters degree start date is 1st july 2006 and in immi account its 1st August 2006. Immi account date id correct. 

Is this going to be a problem.


----------



## pigby

Hi Mark,

My PR visa was granted in June 24, 2014, with first entry date being February 24, 2015. I visited Sydney in October 2014, and as I understand, this should serve as my first entry, thereby officially activating my PR status. The thing is, I do not see anything different in my VEVO, the details look the same as they were before I went in October. I have emailed the embassy to ask for confirmation, but have not received a response. Can you help me by letting me know where I can verify this information in writing? I am planning to move permanently in April 2015, and am very worried that my visa will become invalid if for some reason my October trip did not activate the PR after all.


----------



## pk.

Dear Mark, 

I sincerely request your advice. 

I received invite to apply for 189 visa on 5th December 2014. ACS had mentioned my work experience after November 2011 is relevant. I received a correspondence on 29th November 2014 stating that my EOI is auto updated( I am assuming that 5 points are added for experience as I have completed 3 years). Now the issue is 

1)	I got promoted to next level with an effective date of 01 December 2014 
2)	I got the promotion communication letter more or less on 01 December 2014. I postponed doing the EOI update to weekend (5th/ 6th December 2014) due to work load, however, I have received the invite on 4th Dec 2014 itself and now the EOI is frozen. 

Although I am promoted, the roles and responsibilities I am performing are still the same as assessed by ACS. 

Could you please let me know if I can go ahead and apply for VISA stating that I am promoted with an effective date 1st December 2014? I am worried if it would be an issue as the EOI is not updated immediately and won’t be same with VISA application (If I add new position in addition to the ones in EOI). 

Thanking you. 
PK.


----------



## mmmfreecake

Hi Mark!

Submitted both employer nomination and personal application for 187 visa last week.

I've been trying to log in to attach a couple additional documents to my personal application, and I can log in fine but as soon as I click on the application, it takes me to the page where you upload stuff but just gives me this error in red at the top: "This service is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later." It's also not showing any of the documents I uploaded already. It's all just blank and I can't click on anything to upload.

However, I can click on my Working Holiday visa in the same account, and that is fine, brings up all the documents I submitted last year when I applied for it. The employer nomination is also fine, I can sign into my employer's account and click the application and still upload docs, etc.

Just my personal 187 application has been doing this the past few days now - any clue what's going on? Do I need to contact Immi about it? Is this a common issue?

Thanks!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JDR -

If you lodge the onshore partner visa (820/801), she must be in Australia at the time of grant. If the offshore version (309/100), she must be outside Australia (can be any country) at the time of grant. I don't have any info re: having to return to the Phil. at grant 309/100 only requires being outside Australia at time of grant (they'll usually give you some notice so you can plan a quick trip, etc). Re: processing speed, difficult to estimate these days. Main advantage of onshore is bridging visa allowing stay in Australia until a decision is made on the partner visa - this would replace her visitor visa. If lodging offshore version 309/100, can retain visitor visa and keep using it to visit Australia while visa is processing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JDR said:


> Hi Mark,
> Just wanted to get your opinion on this.
> My wife & I have been married for 2 years and currently live in the Philippines. I'm a OZ resident & citizen. Together we've been traveling in & out of OZ since 2009. We finally decided to make the move to Melbourne for good.
> 
> Shes had 5 tourist visas and currently holds a multiple entry visitor visa 600 and doesnt have a NFS condition. Max stay 3 months.
> 
> So my question is should we lodge a partner visa onshore 820>801 or offshore 309>301.
> 
> If we go the onshore 820 route and she gets approved during our vacation does she need to be in the Philippines when she gets approved or can she stay in Aus?
> 
> Also does this way have a faster processing time since its processed on shore?
> 
> And if we go the offshore 309 route would she still be allowed to visit with her vistor visa?
> 
> Reason being is that Philippines is the only country I have heard of that they make you return to that country for a decision to be made?
> 
> Thanks for your time Mark.
> Regards,
> Jay


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I'd contact IMMI about that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mmmfreecake said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Submitted both employer nomination and personal application for 187 visa last week.
> 
> I've been trying to log in to attach a couple additional documents to my personal application, and I can log in fine but as soon as I click on the application, it takes me to the page where you upload stuff but just gives me this error in red at the top: "This service is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later." It's also not showing any of the documents I uploaded already. It's all just blank and I can't click on anything to upload.
> 
> However, I can click on my Working Holiday visa in the same account, and that is fine, brings up all the documents I submitted last year when I applied for it. The employer nomination is also fine, I can sign into my employer's account and click the application and still upload docs, etc.
> 
> Just my personal 187 application has been doing this the past few days now - any clue what's going on? Do I need to contact Immi about it? Is this a common issue?
> 
> Thanks!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akadar -

May be difficult to add her back into the 189 visa as there could be doubts about genuine relationship, etc. Probably better to sponsor her for a partner visa after you get your PR and are resident in Australia. Check out partner visas on DIBP website - there is an onshore version (820/801) and offshore (309/100) depending on where your partner is at time of application and where she would want to be during the 12-18 month processing period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



akadar said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I have applied for 189 visa and I think im on the brink of getting my PR.
> However, I went through a divorce during the time of submission of the application and my martial status was divorced on the application,
> 
> Now me and my ex are considering to get back together, and reconcile our marriage,
> 
> My question is how easy it will be to bring her to Oz ( as a PR) after my visa is granted and if I'm already in Australia? ( she still lives in our native country and ten we would reconcile our marriage)
> 
> Or should I fill in the Chance of circumstance form?
> 
> I think the latter option will be tedious, ( need a new marriage cert, medical for her etc etc)
> 
> Can you please advice, I appreciate your kind help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zafraz -

Thanks for the note. You would not be able to renew your PR re-entry rights via a Resident Return Visa (RRV) for 5 years under your scenario. These are essentially available in 2 verisons: 5 year, and 1 year. The 5 year RRV requires 24 months or more time physically in Australia during the 5 years prior to application. 1 year RRV requires substantial business, economic, cultural or personal ties to Australia plus some other compelling reasons issues if applicable. There is also a 3 month RRV (subclass 157) you can investigate on the DIBP site.

Essentially DIBP is making it hard to renew your PR if you're not using it (ie, being in Australia for a substantial amount of time).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zafraz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was granted this visa for skilled independent subclass ve 175 in November 2012 and I did the 1st entry to Perth in December 2012 for a couple of days and I returned back to Dubai.
> 
> Now I have my visa period remaining for another 3 years till November 2017 (as 2 years have already gone). And I want to stay in Dubai till the end of 2017 or even might be up until end of 2018. And after this period, I wish to return back to Australia and live & work thereafter.
> 
> So in the above scenario, I have the following questions please,
> 
> 1.0 Can I renew / extend my visa for another 5 years from November 2017 on wards? And by when I should do it? And which visa category or form should I fill in and submit?
> 
> 2.0 If the above can be done, can I do it while staying in Dubai or should I visit Australia?
> 
> I came across the RRV case, but getting 5 years under subclass 155 and 3 months under subclass 157, were all confusing me.
> 
> Thanks,
> Zafraz


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Xingsingh -

Not unless the change means a change in points you can claim - hard to see how this would happen based on what you've said. Immi account date is most important to be accurage.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



XINGSINGH said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> In my EOI my masters degree start date is 1st july 2006 and in immi account its 1st August 2006. Immi account date id correct.
> 
> Is this going to be a problem.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pigby -

No way to get that in writing that I know of. As long as you have some sort of proof of your entry to Sydney (passport stamp, etc), that should be fine if there are any questions. If you did not activate your visa, eventually it would be cancelled and you'd receive correspondence about that if your contact info from the visa application remained valid.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pigby said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My PR visa was granted in June 24, 2014, with first entry date being February 24, 2015. I visited Sydney in October 2014, and as I understand, this should serve as my first entry, thereby officially activating my PR status. The thing is, I do not see anything different in my VEVO, the details look the same as they were before I went in October. I have emailed the embassy to ask for confirmation, but have not received a response. Can you help me by letting me know where I can verify this information in writing? I am planning to move permanently in April 2015, and am very worried that my visa will become invalid if for some reason my October trip did not activate the PR after all.


----------



## XINGSINGH

MarkNortham said:


> HI Xingsingh -
> 
> Not unless the change means a change in points you can claim - hard to see how this would happen based on what you've said. Immi account date is most important to be accurage.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for encouraging response Mark. There is no change in poinys claimed and I can produce all evidence of 60 points claimed in Eoi only typing error led to this mistake in EOI. Believe this will be ignored as immi account details are correct


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi PK -

You should be OK as long as the new position, if required to be assessed by ACS, is still in line with the tasks/duties of the nominated occupation. On the visa application online form, you could break the job up into 2 sections - one for the old position, and another starting 1 Dec for the new position - both relevant to your nominated occupation. DIBP may ask for an assessment of the new position by ACS, but they probably won't, especially if the employer includes a statement that the new position has the same tasks,duties as the position already assessed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pk. said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I sincerely request your advice.
> 
> I received invite to apply for 189 visa on 5th December 2014. ACS had mentioned my work experience after November 2011 is relevant. I received a correspondence on 29th November 2014 stating that my EOI is auto updated( I am assuming that 5 points are added for experience as I have completed 3 years). Now the issue is
> 
> 1)	I got promoted to next level with an effective date of 01 December 2014
> 2)	I got the promotion communication letter more or less on 01 December 2014. I postponed doing the EOI update to weekend (5th/ 6th December 2014) due to work load, however, I have received the invite on 4th Dec 2014 itself and now the EOI is frozen.
> 
> Although I am promoted, the roles and responsibilities I am performing are still the same as assessed by ACS.
> 
> Could you please let me know if I can go ahead and apply for VISA stating that I am promoted with an effective date 1st December 2014? I am worried if it would be an issue as the EOI is not updated immediately and won't be same with VISA application (If I add new position in addition to the ones in EOI).
> 
> Thanking you.
> PK.


----------



## gogirl

Hi Mark,

Not sure if you saw my post... not to sure on how to use the forum as this was my first post.

Please advise asap if possible as just waiting on advice for this question then ready to submit application.

Thanks 
gogirl


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gogirl -

No problem - see my response about half way down page 539.

Best,

Mark



gogirl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Not sure if you saw my post... not to sure on how to use the forum as this was my first post.
> 
> Please advise asap if possible as just waiting on advice for this question then ready to submit application.
> 
> Thanks
> gogirl


----------



## JDR

MarkNortham said:


> Hi JDR -
> 
> If you lodge the onshore partner visa (820/801), she must be in Australia at the time of grant. If the offshore version (309/100), she must be outside Australia (can be any country) at the time of grant. I don't have any info re: having to return to the Phil. at grant 309/100 only requires being outside Australia at time of grant (they'll usually give you some notice so you can plan a quick trip, etc). Re: processing speed, difficult to estimate these days. Main advantage of onshore is bridging visa allowing stay in Australia until a decision is made on the partner visa - this would replace her visitor visa. If lodging offshore version 309/100, can retain visitor visa and keep using it to visit Australia while visa is processing.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thanks for your reply. So if she went there on a visitor visa (600) and applied for the 820 we would be granted a bridging visa when the Max 3 month stay expires right?

So it goes something like this? 600> bridging visa 820 > temp residence 801> permanent residence?

Thanks for your help Mark


----------



## akadar

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Akadar -
> 
> May be difficult to add her back into the 189 visa as there could be doubts about genuine relationship, etc. Probably better to sponsor her for a partner visa after you get your PR and are resident in Australia. Check out partner visas on DIBP website - there is an onshore version (820/801) and offshore (309/100) depending on where your partner is at time of application and where she would want to be during the 12-18 month processing period.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Respected Mark,

I appreciate your quick response.

I forget to mention mention that we have a child, he is listed as one of my dependent on my application,

Lets imagine she would come to OZ on (820/801) visa, then ,the process of getting her PR afterwards, how hard it will be, the rough time frame in your past experiences?

Can you also let me know if a Secondary application will require police certification as well?

Thank you again for your valuable insight


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JDR -

That's the basic idea. The bridging visa (BV) is granted shortly after application is lodged, which should occur during the 3 month stay sometime. Then, when the 3 month stay expires, the BV automatically activates and covers the applicant from that point until a decision is made on the partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JDR said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your reply. So if she went there on a visitor visa (600) and applied for the 820 we would be granted a bridging visa when the Max 3 month stay expires right?
> 
> So it goes something like this? 600> bridging visa 820 > temp residence 801> permanent residence?
> 
> Thanks for your help Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akadar -

Thanks for the note - re police cert, would need to look over the application to determine who needs what police certificates - depends on time spent in Australia, age, etc.

Partner visas typically take 9-14 months to process; depending on the duration of your relationship with your partner, if the PR part (801) is not granted straight away, she is eligible to continue the application for that 2 years after the initial partner visa application date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



akadar said:


> Dear Respected Mark,
> 
> I appreciate your quick response.
> 
> I forget to mention mention that we have a child, he is listed as one of my dependent on my application,
> 
> Lets imagine she would come to OZ on (820/801) visa, then ,the process of getting her PR afterwards, how hard it will be, the rough time frame in your past experiences?
> 
> Can you also let me know if a Secondary application will require police certification as well?
> 
> Thank you again for your valuable insight


----------



## seva

Hi Mark,
Thank you for your time taking to help people here. I have a question regarding my Pr application. I am currently a PhD student in an Australian university and I am paid by scholarship. I have my bachelor degree assessed positively by Vetassess and in the point test advice letter they have advised immigration office that I have 3/5 years job experience as a PhD scholar. My question is, will immigration office and my case officer also consider this 3/5 PhD studies as job experience as well? I have payslips, bank statements, suervisor letter and also Vetassess letter for proving that.

I called immigration 2 times and each time they positively encouraged me to apply and they stated that " as the authority organization has considered your studies as job experience DIAC will do so". I'm just confused as I have heard contradictory ideas from different people and agents. I would very much appreciate if you let me know your opinion o this matter.

Thank you for your help
Regards
Seva


----------



## XINGSINGH

Hi Mark

Hope mismatch between course start dates will not be problem as all my claims are genuine


----------



## killtheoriginal

Hi Mark,

If i got my bridging visa B granted and returned to Australia, would i need to reapply/reinstate my bridging visa A?

If yes, do i reapply/reinstate my bridging visa by following the "how to apply" tab on this webpage Bridging visa A - BVA - (subclass 010) ?

Thanks.

Regards,
killtheoriginal


----------



## zafraz

Hi Pigby,

You don't have to worry about you PR being activated, as long as you did the 1st entry within the said stipulated time limits. Everything is electronically linked, from your PP to VISA to immigration stamping. So your PR is active, don't worry at all.

The VEVO is not updated each and every time, that is just a document to show or list for you the terms of your visa, entitlements, etc., that's it, don't expect that to get updated every time you enter and exit Australia.

Thanks,
Zafraz


----------



## akrishnanca

*Clarification*

Hi Mark,

I am a Chartered Accountant from India currently in Dubai. I am planning to apply for a visa under class 189.

As part of the required documents, the syllabus for my bachelors degree in Commerce and that of Chartered Accountancy is needed. However since I completed my bachelors 10 years ago, I am unable to find the syllabus from the university website. However I am able to get the syllabus for the Chartered Accountancy course.

If I don't submit the syllabus of my bachelors degree, Will it have any impact on my 60 points as I had completed Chartered Accountancy or not?

Kindly clarify.


----------



## vnavarro

Hey Mark

My partner and I are applying for the Onshore PV 820 in a few months from now. In July 2014 we opened a joint account to put money in as a savings account for us both. We do not use this account for any spending, just to save for future travel plans and most importantly to have money for us in case a financial dilemma occurs. I know that we need to prove that we support each other financially for the application and not too sure how I can go about proving this? Would copies of both of our bank details with statements behind transactions suffice?

Thank You,
Victoria


----------



## zafraz

Hi Mark,

Many thanks for your previous reply. And I need another big help from you please.

- My subclass 175 visa expires in Nov 2017.
- I am planning to arrive in Aussie in Jan 2017 and start establishing ties in Aussie such as job and housing from that point on wards.

My questions are,

1.0 Although my visa condition says "indefinite stay", do I need to worry about staying in Aussie after Nov 2017 without a valid visa?

2.0 I understand that I can travel till Nov 2017 with the existing visa. But say I need to travel to Sri Lanka to see my parents after Nov 2017 expiry of my visa, so in that case, I believe I need to apply for a RRV (either it be a subclass 155 for 1 year or subclass 157 for 3 months). Can I do the RRV anytime soon after Nov 2017 or should it be done before the expiry, irrespective of whether I travel to Sri Lanka or no, because emergency could arise anytime, who knows.

3.0 I believe the RRV is just an exit and entry visa permit and it will not take away my previous visa condition of “indefinite stay” right?

4.0 For a child 101 visa, is there an initial entry requirement (just like subclass 175)? 

Thanks,
Zafraz


----------



## pk.

Thanks a lot Mark. I will try to get a reference letter from my employer with the same roles and responsibilities. 

Regards,
PK


----------



## pk.

Thanks a lot Mark. I will try to get a reference letter from my employer with the same roles and responsibilities.

Regards,
PK



MarkNortham said:


> Hi PK -
> 
> You should be OK as long as the new position, if required to be assessed by ACS, is still in line with the tasks/duties of the nominated occupation. On the visa application online form, you could break the job up into 2 sections - one for the old position, and another starting 1 Dec for the new position - both relevant to your nominated occupation. DIBP may ask for an assessment of the new position by ACS, but they probably won't, especially if the employer includes a statement that the new position has the same tasks,duties as the position already assessed.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seva -

The basic requirement is that the employment be paid, and be at least 20 hours per week in order to be considered for points. The hours per week is fairly easy to calculate - the tricky part comes in the "paid" part (or as it's specified in the legislation, "remunerated". This essentially means paid at somewhere near the market or typical rate of pay for the job. Note that if you are only receiving a living allowance, scholarship, or token payment of some sort as payment for the work, this would normally not qualify. A key issue is that some skills assessors do not consider the "paid" part of things, and only look at the skills/duties of the job and decide if it is "skilled" or not. DIBP will usually abide by that decision re: the duties of the job, but DIBP will also usually require pay evidence to assess the "paid" part of the requirement.

The other part of the requirement, that the work occurred after you already met the minimum entry level requirement for the job (usually a Bachelor degree or Diploma/Adv Dip/etc - see ANZSCO for specifics for your occupation), I assume is met since you were on a PhD at the time, but best to double check, especially if your Bachelor degree is not closely related to your occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seva said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for your time taking to help people here. I have a question regarding my Pr application. I am currently a PhD student in an Australian university and I am paid by scholarship. I have my bachelor degree assessed positively by Vetassess and in the point test advice letter they have advised immigration office that I have 3/5 years job experience as a PhD scholar. My question is, will immigration office and my case officer also consider this 3/5 PhD studies as job experience as well? I have payslips, bank statements, suervisor letter and also Vetassess letter for proving that.
> 
> I called immigration 2 times and each time they positively encouraged me to apply and they stated that " as the authority organization has considered your studies as job experience DIAC will do so". I'm just confused as I have heard contradictory ideas from different people and agents. I would very much appreciate if you let me know your opinion o this matter.
> 
> Thank you for your help
> Regards
> Seva


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Some people will reapply for a BV-A, others will remain on the BV-B. Normally no difference assuming the BV-B has no expiration date, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



killtheoriginal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> If i got my bridging visa B granted and returned to Australia, would i need to reapply/reinstate my bridging visa A?
> 
> If yes, do i reapply/reinstate my bridging visa by following the "how to apply" tab on this webpage Bridging visa A - BVA - (subclass 010) ?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Regards,
> killtheoriginal


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akrishnanca -

It depends on whether that document is required by the skills assessor primarily. DIBP will typically accept a transcript and certificate as evidence of completion of a degree, but a skills assessor often wants to get deeper into the content of the degree to assess equivalence to Australian degree(s).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



akrishnanca said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a Chartered Accountant from India currently in Dubai. I am planning to apply for a visa under class 189.
> 
> As part of the required documents, the syllabus for my bachelors degree in Commerce and that of Chartered Accountancy is needed. However since I completed my bachelors 10 years ago, I am unable to find the syllabus from the university website. However I am able to get the syllabus for the Chartered Accountancy course.
> 
> If I don't submit the syllabus of my bachelors degree, Will it have any impact on my 60 points as I had completed Chartered Accountancy or not?
> 
> Kindly clarify.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vnavarro -

Joint statements are a start (plus other things like wills and superannuation beneficiary statements naming each other as beneficiaries, etc) however DIBP wants to see you sharing and mixing and sharing your money, so I would advise that you have a joint account you use regularly for all household expenses, vs an account with a low level of activity.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vnavarro said:


> Hey Mark
> 
> My partner and I are applying for the Onshore PV 820 in a few months from now. In July 2014 we opened a joint account to put money in as a savings account for us both. We do not use this account for any spending, just to save for future travel plans and most importantly to have money for us in case a financial dilemma occurs. I know that we need to prove that we support each other financially for the application and not too sure how I can go about proving this? Would copies of both of our bank details with statements behind transactions suffice?
> 
> Thank You,
> Victoria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zafraz -

I'd look at applying for the RRV just after your 5 year initial re-entry period ends (Nov 2017). Best to have it so you can leave quickly if an emergency comes up, and be assured of re-entry rights. Answers to 3 & 4 are Yes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zafraz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Many thanks for your previous reply. And I need another big help from you please.
> 
> - My subclass 175 visa expires in Nov 2017.
> - I am planning to arrive in Aussie in Jan 2017 and start establishing ties in Aussie such as job and housing from that point on wards.
> 
> My questions are,
> 
> 1.0 Although my visa condition says "indefinite stay", do I need to worry about staying in Aussie after Nov 2017 without a valid visa?
> 
> 2.0 I understand that I can travel till Nov 2017 with the existing visa. But say I need to travel to Sri Lanka to see my parents after Nov 2017 expiry of my visa, so in that case, I believe I need to apply for a RRV (either it be a subclass 155 for 1 year or subclass 157 for 3 months). Can I do the RRV anytime soon after Nov 2017 or should it be done before the expiry, irrespective of whether I travel to Sri Lanka or no, because emergency could arise anytime, who knows.
> 
> 3.0 I believe the RRV is just an exit and entry visa permit and it will not take away my previous visa condition of "indefinite stay" right?
> 
> 4.0 For a child 101 visa, is there an initial entry requirement (just like subclass 175)?
> 
> Thanks,
> Zafraz


----------



## irkc

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

How are you? Thank you very much for the support you have done for the community. I have some queries for you. I beIieve my questions will be answered. Your guidance will be highly appreciated.

My question is regarding initial registration, skill assessment with ANMAC. I had completed my Diploma of Nursing (3 years ) 6 semesters from (Nanyang Polytechnic)Singapore on 31.05.2005. I am registered as a nurse in Singapore Nursing Board. I have also worked in one of the hospital for almost 3.5 years. And I have also got the registration from Nepal Nursing Council and I also worked there as a nurse for 3 years.And at the moment,I have completed my nursing degree from Deakin University. My question is whether I can do the skill assessment with the qualification and experience gained in Singapore or not as my initial registration is from Singapore? Am I be able to do skill assessment separately and then get registration with AHPRA separately. I would be grateful if you would provide me with detail information. Hope to hear from you soon.

Regards
IRKC


----------



## irkc

Dear Mark,

How are you? Thank you very much for the support you have done for the community. I have some queries for you. I beIieve my questions will be answered. Your guidance will be highly appreciated.

My question is regarding initial registration, skill assessment with ANMAC. I had completed my Diploma of Nursing (3 years ) 6 semesters from (Nanyang Polytechnic)Singapore on 31.05.2005. I am registered as a nurse in Singapore Nursing Board. I have also worked in one of the hospital for almost 3.5 years. And I have also got the registration from Nepal Nursing Council and I also worked there as a nurse for 3 years.And at the moment,I have completed my nursing degree from Deakin University. My question is whether I can do the skill assessment with the qualification and experience gained in Singapore or not as my initial registration is from Singapore? Am I be able to do skill assessment separately and then get registration with AHPRA separately. I would be grateful if you would provide me with detail information. Hope to hear from you soon.

Regards
IRKC


----------



## isimple

Hi Mark, 

Thank you for your unconditional support to the community. I am a silent reader and admirer of your helpful posts. Currently completing my EOI and in need of your opinion on the following:

1. I received my ACS assessment in June 2014 on my old passport which is now expired however in my EOI, I have filled in new passport's details. Is it required to explicitly mention about the passport change while submitting my EOI? If yes, how?

2. Under the Work Experience section of EOI, is it required to include all work experience or only the experience recognized by ACS (the period after "Requirements Met Date") to be eligible for claiming skill migration points

3. For the current employer, ACS assessment is till April 2014 however I am still working for that employer. Should I mention the "To Date" to be April 2014 or December 2014 in my EOI for that employer?

I apologize if the questions sounds naive but I was confused and certainly don't want to take any chances of inadvertent submission of incorrect information.

Regards,
H. Ali


----------



## sunnyd

Hi Mark,

My medicals have been sent for MOC review for grading on 20th nov.

How many days this process will take, is there any time frame for it? Or we have to wait untill they finish.

Thanks
Sunny


----------



## XINGSINGH

XINGSINGH said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hope mismatch between course start dates will not be problem as all my claims are genuine


Hey mark

Pls reply


----------



## irkc

*Confusion about Initial registraion.ANMAC skill assessment.*

Dear Mark,

How are you? Thank you very much for the support you have done for the community. I have some queries for you. I beIieve my questions will be answered. Your guidance will be highly appreciated.

My question is regarding initial registration, skill assessment with ANMAC. I had completed my Diploma of Nursing (3 years ) 6 semesters from (Nanyang Polytechnic)Singapore on 31.05.2005. I am registered as a nurse in Singapore Nursing Board. I have also worked in one of the hospital for almost 3.5 years. And I have also got the registration from Nepal Nursing Council and I also worked there as a nurse for 3 years.And at the moment,I have completed my nursing degree from Deakin University. My question is whether I can do the skill assessment with the qualification and experience gained in Singapore or not as my initial registration is from Singapore? Am I be able to do skill assessment separately and then get registration with AHPRA separately. I would be grateful if you would provide me with detail information. Hope to hear from you soon.

Regards
IRKC


----------



## killtheoriginal

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> Some people will reapply for a BV-A, others will remain on the BV-B. Normally no difference assuming the BV-B has no expiration date, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply.
Just want to clarify. Are you saying that there is no need to reapply for BV-A again after i return the country using BV-B?

I'm going to apply for 485 and i thought the 485 application would only be granted if i was at the time in Australia? And they would not grant me the 485 visa while i am holding BV-B. Are these not correct?

Thanks

Regards,
Killtheoriginal


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

I am a PR holder of Australia and I will be going to Australia to settle down in January 2015. (this will be my first entry to Australia) I will be rent a house , find a job and will be settle there. 

After about one month later my husband is planing to apply for his partner visa (offshore) .

Will that time frame will be a problem for the partner visa? 

Appreciate your thoughts regarding this.

Thank You and Regards
Dhanu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Irkc -

Thanks for the note. I wish I could help answer your questions, but there have been a lot of issues in the area you discussed that have emerged over the last 12 months and I am not up to date on the very latest developments. I would suggest researching this further online, as there are a number of online resources for overseas nurses who are running into registration and skills assessment issues because of, essentially, incompatible requirements between ANMAC and AHPRA. The issues are in the process of being addressed, from what I've heard, but you should check out the very latest developments with both of those organisations and with the online community of nurses who are very involved in trying to influence the situation to get to a resolution.

Best,

Mark Northam



irkc said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> How are you? Thank you very much for the support you have done for the community. I have some queries for you. I beIieve my questions will be answered. Your guidance will be highly appreciated.
> 
> My question is regarding initial registration, skill assessment with ANMAC. I had completed my Diploma of Nursing (3 years ) 6 semesters from (Nanyang Polytechnic)Singapore on 31.05.2005. I am registered as a nurse in Singapore Nursing Board. I have also worked in one of the hospital for almost 3.5 years. And I have also got the registration from Nepal Nursing Council and I also worked there as a nurse for 3 years.And at the moment,I have completed my nursing degree from Deakin University. My question is whether I can do the skill assessment with the qualification and experience gained in Singapore or not as my initial registration is from Singapore? Am I be able to do skill assessment separately and then get registration with AHPRA separately. I would be grateful if you would provide me with detail information. Hope to hear from you soon.
> 
> Regards
> IRKC


----------



## zafraz

Hi Mark,

Many thanks for the previous replies, was very helpful. 

I just need a small information on below, 

For a child 101 visa, what would be an approximate initial entry deadline, is it like the initial entry must be completed within the 1st 12 months from granting the visa?

Thanks,
Zafraz


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Zafraz -

It's determined by the case officer, usually based on the expiration date(s) of the police and health checks, difficult to predict - often 1-2 months after grant, but can vary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zafraz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Many thanks for the previous replies, was very helpful.
> 
> I just need a small information on below,
> 
> For a child 101 visa, what would be an approximate initial entry deadline, is it like the initial entry must be completed within the 1st 12 months from granting the visa?
> 
> Thanks,
> Zafraz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhanu -

That sounds reasonable - you'll just need to have evidence that you are making Australia your home (rent, job, etc is very good) to satisfy the "usually resident" requirement for permanent residents who sponsor partners on a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dhanu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a PR holder of Australia and I will be going to Australia to settle down in January 2015. (this will be my first entry to Australia) I will be rent a house , find a job and will be settle there.
> 
> After about one month later my husband is planing to apply for his partner visa (offshore) .
> 
> Will that time frame will be a problem for the partner visa?
> 
> Appreciate your thoughts regarding this.
> 
> Thank You and Regards
> Dhanu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xingsingh -

I haven't seen your documents and cannot estimate whether it will be an issue or not.

Best,

Mark



XINGSINGH said:


> Hey mark
> 
> Pls reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Isimple -

If EOI has not been locked, suggest you update with new passport. Re: experience, if you have continued in the same job/position/employer that was previously assessed by ACS, then generally you can claim extra time in that same position for the same employer up until you receive an invitation from DIBP. You'll need to get a letter from your employer evidencing that you have continued in that same position.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



isimple said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your unconditional support to the community. I am a silent reader and admirer of your helpful posts. Currently completing my EOI and in need of your opinion on the following:
> 
> 1. I received my ACS assessment in June 2014 on my old passport which is now expired however in my EOI, I have filled in new passport's details. Is it required to explicitly mention about the passport change while submitting my EOI? If yes, how?
> 
> 2. Under the Work Experience section of EOI, is it required to include all work experience or only the experience recognized by ACS (the period after "Requirements Met Date") to be eligible for claiming skill migration points
> 
> 3. For the current employer, ACS assessment is till April 2014 however I am still working for that employer. Should I mention the "To Date" to be April 2014 or December 2014 in my EOI for that employer?
> 
> I apologize if the questions sounds naive but I was confused and certainly don't want to take any chances of inadvertent submission of incorrect information.
> 
> Regards,
> H. Ali


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunnyd -

You'll have to wait until they finish - no legal time limits, I've seen them take weeks or months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunnyd said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My medicals have been sent for MOC review for grading on 20th nov.
> 
> How many days this process will take, is there any time frame for it? Or we have to wait untill they finish.
> 
> Thanks
> Sunny


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KTO -

You would need to be in Australia when the visa is ready to be granted, but while in Australia you can be holding a BVA or BVB at the time of grant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



killtheoriginal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply.
> Just want to clarify. Are you saying that there is no need to reapply for BV-A again after i return the country using BV-B?
> 
> I'm going to apply for 485 and i thought the 485 application would only be granted if i was at the time in Australia? And they would not grant me the 485 visa while i am holding BV-B. Are these not correct?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Regards,
> Killtheoriginal


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

Thank You so much for the reply  You are the best 

Regards
Dhanu



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dhanu -
> 
> That sounds reasonable - you'll just need to have evidence that you are making Australia your home (rent, job, etc is very good) to satisfy the "usually resident" requirement for permanent residents who sponsor partners on a partner visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## NeverEasy

Hi Mark,

Need some advice I'm applying for the MRT at the moment. I've been advised by a migration agent not to upload the decision record and just the notification letter. The reason being was the decision could be used against you if the case officer missed something in the paper work. I'm not to sure what to do.This is the part I'm up to: 

Please now upload the following documents:
the notification letter from the department
the decision record received from the department

Thanks in advance for the help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi NeverEasy -

Your agent may not be very familiar with the MRT process. The MRT will automatically have a copy of the decision record anyway since they automatically get the entire DIBP file on the case. There is nothing to be gained by not uploading the decision record since the MRT will have a copy anyway! Wow.

Suggest you follow the MRT instructions and upload both the notification letter and the decision record as instructed by the MRT.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



NeverEasy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Need some advice I'm applying for the MRT at the moment. I've been advised by a migration agent not to upload the decision record and just the notification letter. The reason being was the decision could be used against you if the case officer missed something in the paper work. I'm not to sure what to do.This is the part I'm up to:
> 
> Please now upload the following documents:
> the notification letter from the department
> the decision record received from the department
> 
> Thanks in advance for the help.


----------



## Traveler

Hi Mark,

I would be grateful for your advice related to a question about filling online form for skilled migration in immi account. 
Recently, after submitting the form and finilizing the payment I decided to review all my answers and after it I got some doubts about the question related to place of birth. This question has fields Town/City and State/Province. I put correct name of the city in the first field, and because in my country (Kazakhstan) we haven't states I put the name of the city in the second one as well.

In addition, in my birth certificate there are no such fields as State or Province and smth. similar to it in the meaning is blank. Only the name of the city present in this document. So, I decided not to put anything which is not stated in my documents in this form. However, I still have doubts, because in terms of the law there is an administrative name of the territory to which the city belongs to.

Therefore, should I send Form 1023? If yes what should I put in the field State/Province if we don't have states?

Thanks in advance for the help.


----------



## seva

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Seva -
> 
> The basic requirement is that the employment be paid, and be at least 20 hours per week in order to be considered for points. The hours per week is fairly easy to calculate - the tricky part comes in the "paid" part (or as it's specified in the legislation, "remunerated". This essentially means paid at somewhere near the market or typical rate of pay for the job. Note that if you are only receiving a living allowance, scholarship, or token payment of some sort as payment for the work, this would normally not qualify. A key issue is that some skills assessors do not consider the "paid" part of things, and only look at the skills/duties of the job and decide if it is "skilled" or not. DIBP will usually abide by that decision re: the duties of the job, but DIBP will also usually require pay evidence to assess the "paid" part of the requirement.
> 
> The other part of the requirement, that the work occurred after you already met the minimum entry level requirement for the job (usually a Bachelor degree or Diploma/Adv Dip/etc - see ANZSCO for specifics for your occupation), I assume is met since you were on a PhD at the time, but best to double check, especially if your Bachelor degree is not closely related to your occupation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,
Thank you very much for your reply. As I mentioned before I called immigration office two times and in both times they assured me that if the Vetassess has considered my PhD studies job experience, the immigration office will accept it as well. I even explained them that it has been scholarship but they said there are no restrictions for scholarship payment to be considered as a paid job anymore. They even asked me to provide them the booklet or the reference which I have read this restriction about scholarship. I remember I read it in booklet 6 but it seems it is no longer available and they could not find anything. Any way, I am so confused. I took the risk and submit an EOI which immediately I was asked for documents for state sponsorship (190 visa). I am hoping in case of getting state sponsorship I get DIBP's approval for my visa as well. Otherwise, I will lose 5 point that again I'm hoping to be given a little time to sit NAATI.
Thank you again for your help

Regards
Sevda


----------



## pauly

Hi Mark,

I was wondering, when applying overseas for a 103 visa, how long does it normally take to get a bridging visa ?

Thank you for your help!


----------



## tmdals8080

G'day Mark, 

My wife is under 457 as a hair salon manager, and has been worked current place for more than 20 months. Unfortunately current owner doesn't want to approve her PR application on March, now my wife is thinking of looking for a new sponsorship as a hair dresser. Can she change employer while she's on current 457? If so, are their any documentation signed by current owner?(e.g. pay slips, bank statement, employment details..etc) Also, is that 20 months of period (that she has been worked for so far) transferable to new sponsor ?, and at last, if she ceased to work in current work place, does she have 90 days to find new sponsor ? or 28 days to leave Australia? 

Many thanks in advance !


----------



## nicole-s

Hi Mark,

Question: I already hold a BVB for 6 months multiple entry until 23 Jan 2015. I've gone out of the country once on it for the original reason I applied.

Obviously I'm able to travel out again as long as I'm back in by the 23rd.

I was wondering if I need to email to inform the department that I'll be out just so they're aware?

I'm flying home to the states on Saturday so I just wanted to make sure I didn't need to tell them, or if I did, that I email them today!

Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Traveler -

Should not be a problem - I don't know whether a administrative territory is equivalent to a state or province, however I don't believe that leaving that territory out would cause you any problems with the visa application. If you wish to lodge Form 1023, you can certainly do that if it clears things up for you, but either way I don't believe it would cause a problem for your visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Traveler said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would be grateful for your advice related to a question about filling online form for skilled migration in immi account.
> Recently, after submitting the form and finilizing the payment I decided to review all my answers and after it I got some doubts about the question related to place of birth. This question has fields Town/City and State/Province. I put correct name of the city in the first field, and because in my country (Kazakhstan) we haven't states I put the name of the city in the second one as well.
> 
> In addition, in my birth certificate there are no such fields as State or Province and smth. similar to it in the meaning is blank. Only the name of the city present in this document. So, I decided not to put anything which is not stated in my documents in this form. However, I still have doubts, because in terms of the law there is an administrative name of the territory to which the city belongs to.
> 
> Therefore, should I send Form 1023? If yes what should I put in the field State/Province if we don't have states?
> 
> Thanks in advance for the help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sevda -

Sounds good, however you must have your IELTS results prior to being issued an invitation - if you do not, they cannot be accepted for points and your visa will likely be refused since English is a requirement of the visa. It can be risky to lodge an EOI without your skills assessment and IELTS score already in hand, since you cannot control when an invitation will be received, and once an invitation is generated your EOI is locked for points purposes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seva said:


> Dear Mark,
> Thank you very much for your reply. As I mentioned before I called immigration office two times and in both times they assured me that if the Vetassess has considered my PhD studies job experience, the immigration office will accept it as well. I even explained them that it has been scholarship but they said there are no restrictions for scholarship payment to be considered as a paid job anymore. They even asked me to provide them the booklet or the reference which I have read this restriction about scholarship. I remember I read it in booklet 6 but it seems it is no longer available and they could not find anything. Any way, I am so confused. I took the risk and submit an EOI which immediately I was asked for documents for state sponsorship (190 visa). I am hoping in case of getting state sponsorship I get DIBP's approval for my visa as well. Otherwise, I will lose 5 point that again I'm hoping to be given a little time to sit NAATI.
> Thank you again for your help
> 
> Regards
> Sevda


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pauly -

Thanks for the question. Visa applications made overseas are not eligible for a bridging visa, so a 103 overseas application will not generate a bridging visa, and you cannot apply for a bridging visa related to an overseas 103 application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pauly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was wondering, when applying overseas for a 103 visa, how long does it normally take to get a bridging visa ?
> 
> Thank you for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tmdals8080 -

Sorry to hear your wife's employer doesn't want to nominate her for PR. She can certainly change employers under the 457, and if the employer is approved for sponsorship (a requirement) and the nomination with the new employer is for the same occupation as she already holds a 457 for, her 457 will simply transfer to the new employer as of the date the new employer's nomination for her position is approved. There is generally not paperwork required from the former employer, unless DIBP wants some sort of a work reference letter, which often only happens if the applicant lacks sufficient work experience - very rare. If she ceases work for her employer, she as 90 days to find a new sponsoring employer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tmdals8080 said:


> G'day Mark,
> 
> My wife is under 457 as a hair salon manager, and has been worked current place for more than 20 months. Unfortunately current owner doesn't want to approve her PR application on March, now my wife is thinking of looking for a new sponsorship as a hair dresser. Can she change employer while she's on current 457? If so, are their any documentation signed by current owner?(e.g. pay slips, bank statement, employment details..etc) Also, is that 20 months of period (that she has been worked for so far) transferable to new sponsor ?, and at last, if she ceased to work in current work place, does she have 90 days to find new sponsor ? or 28 days to leave Australia?
> 
> Many thanks in advance !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicole-s -

No need to tell immigration about your trip as long as it falls within the bounds of the BV-B dates. They automatically track your movement records via your passport, but do make sure if you have a visa application pending, that DIBP know your current contact info. This is especially true if you have not given them permission to communicate with you electronically.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nicole-s said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Question: I already hold a BVB for 6 months multiple entry until 23 Jan 2015. I've gone out of the country once on it for the original reason I applied.
> 
> Obviously I'm able to travel out again as long as I'm back in by the 23rd.
> 
> I was wondering if I need to email to inform the department that I'll be out just so they're aware?
> 
> I'm flying home to the states on Saturday so I just wanted to make sure I didn't need to tell them, or if I did, that I email them today!
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## nicole-s

Thanks Mark! My contact info is current and they can communicate with me electronically so I'm set. Cheers!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nicole-s -
> 
> No need to tell immigration about your trip as long as it falls within the bounds of the BV-B dates. They automatically track your movement records via your passport, but do make sure if you have a visa application pending, that DIBP know your current contact info. This is especially true if you have not given them permission to communicate with you electronically.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## giver

*Moving 2 months before PR expires.*

Hie Mark
I had a questions I was unsure about. It is a VE 176 secondary. My PR visa expire in August 2016. I am planning on moving there in July 2016 and visited there when I did my landing in 2011.
Is there any issue with moving there so close to the date of my PR expiring? Can there be any reason they can deny me entry?

I am confused and unsure about that and would appreciate your input.
Thanks!


----------



## punter_chin

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing well.

I have now lodged my application and have uploaded all the documents. For most of the documents I have uploaded color photocopies and for the educational documents I have uploaded certified (notarized) copies. Please confirm if that is okay or all copies need to be notarized?

Secondly, where do I need to upload the latest photographs? Can I name the file with the applicant's name or should the name be mentioned below the photograph?

Would appreciate your responses to the above queries.

regards.


----------



## punter_chin

Hi Mark,

Just one more question. Its a bit late to ask this question but you reply will provide some much needed relief.

I had taken the Academic IELTS and scored 7.0 to get a positive skills assessment under CPA Australia, 

I then took the General IELTS for the visa purposes and scored 8.0 on each band to get the 20 points needed to qualify for the visa.

I just want to make sure that is acceptable by DIBP.

For my visa application, I have only provided my General IELTS results.

Thanks for all your help so far.

regards.


----------



## zafraz

Hi Mark,

Just a clarification, at the time of getting 175, I was just married, but after 2 years now we are going to have a baby, and we are out of Australia.

So in that case, is there a possibility for reporting change or circumstance and get the child's visa done at no cost or we have to apply for child visa 101?

Thanks,
Zafraz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Giver -

Should be no problem - just make sure you have a Resident Return Visa if you depart after the PR visa expires so you can re-enter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



giver said:


> Hie Mark
> I had a questions I was unsure about. It is a VE 176 secondary. My PR visa expire in August 2016. I am planning on moving there in July 2016 and visited there when I did my landing in 2011.
> Is there any issue with moving there so close to the date of my PR expiring? Can there be any reason they can deny me entry?
> 
> I am confused and unsure about that and would appreciate your input.
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Punter_chin -

No need to write on photos - just put the applicant's name in the filename, ie "passport-photo-james-smith.jpg" and you can upload to the Photographs category when you upload. With online applications, normally no need to certify any copies as long as you are uploading colour scans of originals.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well.
> 
> I have now lodged my application and have uploaded all the documents. For most of the documents I have uploaded color photocopies and for the educational documents I have uploaded certified (notarized) copies. Please confirm if that is okay or all copies need to be notarized?
> 
> Secondly, where do I need to upload the latest photographs? Can I name the file with the applicant's name or should the name be mentioned below the photograph?
> 
> Would appreciate your responses to the above queries.
> 
> regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Punter_chin -

No problem as long as the date of the IELTS test you are using for DIBP purposes is before the invitation date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



punter_chin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just one more question. Its a bit late to ask this question but you reply will provide some much needed relief.
> 
> I had taken the Academic IELTS and scored 7.0 to get a positive skills assessment under CPA Australia,
> 
> I then took the General IELTS for the visa purposes and scored 8.0 on each band to get the 20 points needed to qualify for the visa.
> 
> I just want to make sure that is acceptable by DIBP.
> 
> For my visa application, I have only provided my General IELTS results.
> 
> Thanks for all your help so far.
> 
> regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zafraz -

If the child had been born after you applied for the 175 but before grant, it might have been possible to add to the 175, but in your case you'll need to apply for and be granted a subclass 101 child visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zafraz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a clarification, at the time of getting 175, I was just married, but after 2 years now we are going to have a baby, and we are out of Australia.
> 
> So in that case, is there a possibility for reporting change or circumstance and get the child's visa done at no cost or we have to apply for child visa 101?
> 
> Thanks,
> Zafraz


----------



## zafraz

Hi Mark,

On the visa processing times, there is something on low risk and high risk based on ETA.

I am a Sri Lankan and my passport is machine readable and Sri Lanka itself issues ETA's for visitors (Online Visa Application). But in the Australian ETA website or immigration website does not list Sri Lanka as ETA eligible, so I fall under high risk category, is this correct.

Thanks,
Zafraz


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi mark,

Thanks for helping me many times. I am in India and I wants to buy restaurant in ocenshore , nsw. Is it possible for me ? What r requirements and which visa to apply.

Thanks 
Bharat


----------



## AliQ

MarkNortham said:


> Hi AliQ -
> 
> Only danger is if the immigration officer at the airport sees no return ticket when you arrive on a visitor visa - this can be an issue in some cases, but hard to predict in advance - it's based on the judgment of the airport immigration officer. Safer bet is to get refundable return ticket, etc. Re: bridging visa, you would get a BV-A automatically if you make an application onshore for the 820/801 partner visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark, I think I'll just purchase a return ticket to be on the safe side then. ;-)

Thanks very much for your advice.


----------



## Rohan

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your previous advice here in the same thread. Now we decided, my wife will go for post graduation program instead of Advance diploma.

I have two questions:

1. Can my mother,father and grandfather provide financial sponsorship to my wife under streamline visa ? 

2. Can a applicant have multiple financial sponsors ? Is it good or bad to have multiple financial sponsors ?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zafraz -

Correct.

Best,

Mark



zafraz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> On the visa processing times, there is something on low risk and high risk based on ETA.
> 
> I am a Sri Lankan and my passport is machine readable and Sri Lanka itself issues ETA's for visitors (Online Visa Application). But in the Australian ETA website or immigration website does not list Sri Lanka as ETA eligible, so I fall under high risk category, is this correct.
> 
> Thanks,
> Zafraz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

The old small business visas where you could own a business between $100k-$500k and get a PR visa from that were eliminated years ago; now self-sponsorship under 457 or 186/187 are all that remain generally for this sort of thing, however not easy to get self-sponsorship - lots of details to go through to make sure you have a good shot at the genuine position policy, etc. Suggest you get professional help in planning and lodging this sort of an application - happy to assist at a consultation if you'd like, see website below for link.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Thanks for helping me many times. I am in India and I wants to buy restaurant in ocenshore , nsw. Is it possible for me ? What r requirements and which visa to apply.
> 
> Thanks
> Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rohan -

For Streamlined Visa Processing, generally you only need to declare that you have access to sufficient funds - DIBP can, however, ask you for evidence of this if they want to. In such case, you need to show that you have access to sufficient funds, but under SVP there is no limitation that the funds may only come from one person, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rohan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your previous advice here in the same thread. Now we decided, my wife will go for post graduation program instead of Advance diploma.
> 
> I have two questions:
> 
> 1. Can my mother,father and grandfather provide financial sponsorship to my wife under streamline visa ?
> 
> 2. Can a applicant have multiple financial sponsors ? Is it good or bad to have multiple financial sponsors ?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## RedondoGirl

*189 Criminal History & Medical Exam ?'s*

Hi Mark!

You are so generous to offer your expertise. THANK YOU!

I'm applying for my 189 and have 3 questions.

The California State Dept. says "some" countries require an additional certification that the signature is legit on my criminal history report, but won't tell me which ones lol. Does AU require the document to be notarized "and" certified, or just notarized?

Should I get a medical exam and include all documents with my application for a faster decision vs. waiting for a CO to ask for it?

I'm already in AU, are there certain centers that provide this medical exam or can I go to any doctor? How does this work for foreigners?

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

- Sherri


----------



## Giles

Hi Mark:
I'm aplying for a 820 Sponsorship for a partners　migration to Australia for the second time and I don't have the details of the privious sponsorship including the date the application was lodged for the privious　sponsorship.
Do you know ware I can acsess this information?

Regards.
Giles.


----------



## spfh84

Hi Mark,

We're in a somewhat unique scenario. A job opportunity has come up for my partner on a leave of absence basis from his current position. He is fully contracted to return in 2020. It's a great opportunity for the both of us to live in some great parts of the world so we'd like to do it. My visa is a subclass 309, with a subclass 100 permanent partner visa in progress. Through our line of enquiry the immigration department have become aware of our intention and are now saying the requirement of 2 consecutive years within the 5 year visa needs to be proven or a refusal may occur. Does anyone have any experience in this? I'm trying to find out if we can withdraw our application for the subclass 100 but keep the 309 valid until we meet the 2 year requirement. We are clearly planning on returning, I have spent the last year obtaining my Australian Psychology registration which is now complete and my partner, as I said, is contracted to return to work in 2020. We don't want to let this opportunity pass us and we'd also like to avoid the costly, lengthy, stressful initial application process again. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sherri -

Thanks for the kind words! Re: policy reports, a colour scan of the original is generally fine for online visa applications for Australia - just make a PDF from a colour scan (if multiple pages in the report, then combine into 1 multipage PDF) and upload with your application. No need for certification, etc if you're scanning an original.

You could get a medical check in advance if you'd like - would recommend doing this no more than 4 weeks before lodging. Assuming you are lodging online, go to your ImmiAccount (or open one if you have not) and under New Application button click "My Health Declarations" and follow the directions to generate a health referral letter. If in Australia you would need to use this letter to book a visa medical with BUPA Visa Medical Services (Welcome to Bupa Medical Services)

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RedondoGirl said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> You are so generous to offer your expertise. THANK YOU!
> 
> I'm applying for my 189 and have 3 questions.
> 
> The California State Dept. says "some" countries require an additional certification that the signature is legit on my criminal history report, but won't tell me which ones lol. Does AU require the document to be notarized "and" certified, or just notarized?
> 
> Should I get a medical exam and include all documents with my application for a faster decision vs. waiting for a CO to ask for it?
> 
> I'm already in AU, are there certain centers that provide this medical exam or can I go to any doctor? How does this work for foreigners?
> 
> Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
> 
> - Sherri


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Giles -

You could contact the Immigration Department (DIBP) to ask them if they can provide this to you, or alternatively include a note with your application that you were unable to obtain the details. If a visa was issued in relation to the previous sponsorship, do keep in mind the 5 year limitation before lodging another sponsorship that applies in these cases depending on the circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Giles said:


> Hi Mark:
> I'm aplying for a 820 Sponsorship for a partners　migration to Australia for the second time and I don't have the details of the privious sponsorship including the date the application was lodged for the privious　sponsorship.
> Do you know ware I can acsess this information?
> 
> Regards.
> Giles.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Spfh84 -

That information does not sound accurate. If they are referring to a Resident Return Visa, which you'd need to get to renew your re-entry rights if you re-enter more than 5 years after the subclass 100 visa is granted, the 2 years do not need to be consecutive, and there are other ways to get the re-entry rights renewed (for example, substantial employment tie to Australia at that time by your husband).

Assuming your husband is an Australian citizen, there is no residency requirement for the subclass 100 visa on your part.

You may want to book a consultation with a migration agent to go through this in detail to develop a better understanding of the regulations involved - happy to assist if you'd like, see link in my email signatur ebelow.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



spfh84 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We're in a somewhat unique scenario. A job opportunity has come up for my partner on a leave of absence basis from his current position. He is fully contracted to return in 2020. It's a great opportunity for the both of us to live in some great parts of the world so we'd like to do it. My visa is a subclass 309, with a subclass 100 permanent partner visa in progress. Through our line of enquiry the immigration department have become aware of our intention and are now saying the requirement of 2 consecutive years within the 5 year visa needs to be proven or a refusal may occur. Does anyone have any experience in this? I'm trying to find out if we can withdraw our application for the subclass 100 but keep the 309 valid until we meet the 2 year requirement. We are clearly planning on returning, I have spent the last year obtaining my Australian Psychology registration which is now complete and my partner, as I said, is contracted to return to work in 2020. We don't want to let this opportunity pass us and we'd also like to avoid the costly, lengthy, stressful initial application process again. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks


----------



## spfh84

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Spfh84 -
> 
> That information does not sound accurate. If they are referring to a Resident Return Visa, which you'd need to get to renew your re-entry rights if you re-enter more than 5 years after the subclass 100 visa is granted, the 2 years do not need to be consecutive, and there are other ways to get the re-entry rights renewed (for example, substantial employment tie to Australia at that time by your husband).
> 
> Assuming your husband is an Australian citizen, there is no residency requirement for the subclass 100 visa on your part.
> 
> You may want to book a consultation with a migration agent to go through this in detail to develop a better understanding of the regulations involved - happy to assist if you'd like, see link in my email signatur ebelow.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for the prompt reply,

This is an exert from the e-mail reply we received from a case officer in Brisbane:

"A requirement of the permanent residency visa is that you demonstrate an intention to reside in Australia. In order to maintain permanent residency beyond 5 years from the grant date, you will also be required to spend at least 2 accumulative years. Unfortunately, it does appear that your intentions to move for 5 years will have an effect on your visa decision. You may wish to consider withdrawing your application to avoid a refusal decision. A refusal decision can impact any future visa applications you lodge."

I think we will book an appointment with you just to clear the confusion.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Spfh84 -

Suggest we speak ASAP as this goes well beyond the Resident Return Visa issue. It appears your visa may be headed for refusal based on your admissions to the case officer re: intent, however need to get more information to assist you. If your partner is a permanent resident of Australia (and not a citizen), this could be a refusal based on the "usually resident" requirement for sponsors rather than being about you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



spfh84 said:


> Thanks for the prompt reply,
> 
> This is an exert from the e-mail reply we received from a case officer in Brisbane:
> 
> "A requirement of the permanent residency visa is that you demonstrate an intention to reside in Australia. In order to maintain permanent residency beyond 5 years from the grant date, you will also be required to spend at least 2 accumulative years. Unfortunately, it does appear that your intentions to move for 5 years will have an effect on your visa decision. You may wish to consider withdrawing your application to avoid a refusal decision. A refusal decision can impact any future visa applications you lodge."
> 
> I think we will book an appointment with you just to clear the confusion.


----------



## RedondoGirl

Thank you so much! You're brilliant!

One more question: 

I have a 12 month tourist visa which expired while I was in AU this past August 2014 (4 months ago). I still have until June 2015 to travel (since I only just entered this June) and I'm in process of applying for my 189. 

Will I need a bridging visa in order to obtain my 189? Or if I get my 189 before June 2015 I won't need one?

I'm hearing lots of bad opinions about bridging visas...

Thank you again! 

- Sherri


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sherri -

If you apply for your 189 while onshore with the tourist visa, you will automatically be granted a Bridging Visa A which will be inactive, and will only activate if you overstay your current visitor visa stay period. I'm assuming your visitor visa is configured for a 12 month single entry visit based on what you said - if not, you may want to carefully look at the visitor visa.

Assuming the current stay is valid until June 2015, if you are granted the 189 before that date, it will simply replace the visitor visa upon grant and the bridging visa will never activate. If the 189 is not granted and you are here in June 2015 and stay past the end of your stay period, the bridging visa will automatically activate to allow you to remain in Australia until a decision is made on your 189.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RedondoGirl said:


> Thank you so much! You're brilliant!
> 
> One more question:
> 
> I have a 12 month tourist visa which expired while I was in AU this past August 2014 (4 months ago). I still have until June 2015 to travel (since I only just entered this June) and I'm in process of applying for my 189.
> 
> Will I need a bridging visa in order to obtain my 189? Or if I get my 189 before June 2015 I won't need one?
> 
> I'm hearing lots of bad opinions about bridging visas...
> 
> Thank you again!
> 
> - Sherri


----------



## akadar

Dear Mark, 

I posted a couple of days ago, and your suggestion was great eye opener.

Basically, I've applied for 189 visa. I have included my son who is 10 years old as a secondary applicant. My wife is not included on the application, as we have divorced , 

Now, the CO asks for a my childs custody proof, who is the custodian. 

Im not so sure about declaring the outcome of, ... me, being the sole custodian vs shared custody arrangement with my ex wife.

My question is "Will there be any negative effect if I say to them that we have shared custody arrangement?"
Or its better to prove to them that I am the sole custodian of my son? 

The court order says, its our shared responsibility , but I fear the they will deny visa (PR) for my son, for that 

Thanks again for your valuable suggestions as always ,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akadar -

Thanks for the note. In this area you really don't have a lot of room to choose - if both biological parents are not on the application, DIBP will require a court order to determine who has parental responsibility for the child, and/or a signed declaration from the non-applicant parent stating they are giving permission for the child to migrate to Australia. It's not a matter of telling them or not telling them re: any custody arrangements - they are going to require complete paperwork to ensure that all persons with any say in where the child lives sign off on the visa before it's granted. But assuming you provide all necessary paperwork, it would not negatively affect your visa application normally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



akadar said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I posted a couple of days ago, and your suggestion was great eye opener.
> 
> Basically, I've applied for 189 visa. I have included my son who is 10 years old as a secondary applicant. My wife is not included on the application, as we have divorced ,
> 
> Now, the CO asks for a my childs custody proof, who is the custodian.
> 
> Im not so sure about declaring the outcome of, ... me, being the sole custodian vs shared custody arrangement with my ex wife.
> 
> My question is "Will there be any negative effect if I say to them that we have shared custody arrangement?"
> Or its better to prove to them that I am the sole custodian of my son?
> 
> The court order says, its our shared responsibility , but I fear the they will deny visa (PR) for my son, for that
> 
> Thanks again for your valuable suggestions as always ,


----------



## Caylee

Hello Mark,

I have a question regarding citizenship and I hope you can help me.

So 2 years ago, my
PMV must not arrive : 13 June 2012
Applied for 820 : 05 May 2012
Granted 820 : 16 June 2012

I was on bridging visa for 3 days (after my PMV expired before I was granted the 820). Does this count as a "lawful" period for my citizenship application?

Thanks for your time and help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Caylee -

Yes. As long as you were in Australia and at all times had a visa of some kind (ie, were not unlawful without a visa), that time counts towards the citizenship residency requirement. Bridging visas OK, visitor visas OK, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Caylee said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding citizenship and I hope you can help me.
> 
> So 2 years ago, my
> PMV must not arrive : 13 June 2012
> Applied for 820 : 05 May 2012
> Granted 820 : 16 June 2012
> 
> I was on bridging visa for 3 days (after my PMV expired before I was granted the 820). Does this count as a "lawful" period for my citizenship application?
> 
> Thanks for your time and help!


----------



## Rodeobear

hey mark, i don't know if you remember but i asked about visitor visa from Ukraine to Australia. sadly it was refused for the second time. There reasons state she isn't a genuine visitor. We supplied invitation letters, i supplied 6 months of pay slips/bank statements, proof of accommodation, proof of money in her bank and proof of employment every document known to man.. Is it just impossible for a Ukrainian to get a visitor visa? what are our other options ? any help would be much appreciated thankyou


----------



## scorpweb

hey Mark,

I am currently on a Bridging BVA ...i was not aware i wasn't allowed to leave the country and it was only when i actually had left that I had become aware.

would i be able to apply for a BVB now? or can i apply for a tourist visa to get back in? 

when i get back in can i just apply to reinstate my BVA?

thanks


----------



## backpacker

Hi Mark!

First of all - thank you for taking the time to help out us - the folk!

I tried to find the answer on my question myself in search and old posts, but nothing.

My situation:

I'm in Sydney.
On a 3 month tourist visa which is OVERdue 9 month.

I'm volunteering to LEAVE the country, since I'm done with my travels.

Question:
Can I just buy the ticket and go to airport on the same day?
As I understand they will want to interview me. No problem with that. Just I don't want to miss the plane.

Or - I should go to the immigration office before I but the ticket?

Any advice?

Thanks a lot!


----------



## XINGSINGH

Hi Mark

My spouse surname is not mentioned on her graduation and post graduate docs. But passport 10th 12 th ielts all have complete name and I think we have may mentioned that in visa application. Is this going to be a problem.

Can we rectify.


----------



## R1983

Hi Mark,

Firstly thank you for all of your help on here, I have found your threads very helpful, also I'm sorry if this has been asked previously.

I am currently on a Bridging Visa A, which I know does not allow me to travel outside of Australia. However, my partner and I recently booked a trip to Tasmania (we are based in Melbourne). I would like to confirm that I am OK to travel there and return to Melbourne without getting a BVB. 

Many thanks


----------



## Tassi_girl

hello mark,

I am glad to find someone to ask and you might help

I applied for my de facto partner visa on the 3/11/14.
Everything is good so far the only problem I have is that I cant attach more files to my application form ( I reached to upload limit of 60 files and I aalso could not attach more files to my partners part of the form).
I have sent an email to [email protected] but no responds yet.
Some people recommended to send in per email and other said no do not.

I am not sure what to do and how and also do not now how long I have time to do it.

Thanks for taking the time and reading my post.
You might have an answer for me.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodeobear -

They are very, very difficult to get currently. You might talk to your local Federal member (MP) and see if there is any sort of letter you can have written to vouch for your standing in the community, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> hey mark, i don't know if you remember but i asked about visitor visa from Ukraine to Australia. sadly it was refused for the second time. There reasons state she isn't a genuine visitor. We supplied invitation letters, i supplied 6 months of pay slips/bank statements, proof of accommodation, proof of money in her bank and proof of employment every document known to man.. Is it just impossible for a Ukrainian to get a visitor visa? what are our other options ? any help would be much appreciated thankyou


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Scorpweb -

You would have to apply for a visitor or other visa to get back in, then apply to reinstate your BV-A. The BV-A disappears once you leave Australia, and you must hold a BV-A in order to apply for a BV-B.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



scorpweb said:


> hey Mark,
> 
> I am currently on a Bridging BVA ...i was not aware i wasn't allowed to leave the country and it was only when i actually had left that I had become aware.
> 
> would i be able to apply for a BVB now? or can i apply for a tourist visa to get back in?
> 
> when i get back in can i just apply to reinstate my BVA?
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Backpacker -

I'd either get to the airport VERY early (5 hours before your flight ought to do it) or go to DIBP and let them know what's happened, show them your outbound air tickets, and ask them for a Bridging Visa for whatever period of time you need before you depart. Note that in either situation, you'll be given a Bridging Visa E and will excluded from any further temporary visas for 3 years. Do not let them get to you before you visit them, or you may end up in immigration detention - not a good thing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



backpacker said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> First of all - thank you for taking the time to help out us - the folk!
> 
> I tried to find the answer on my question myself in search and old posts, but nothing.
> 
> My situation:
> 
> I'm in Sydney.
> On a 3 month tourist visa which is OVERdue 9 month.
> 
> I'm volunteering to LEAVE the country, since I'm done with my travels.
> 
> Question:
> Can I just buy the ticket and go to airport on the same day?
> As I understand they will want to interview me. No problem with that. Just I don't want to miss the plane.
> 
> Or - I should go to the immigration office before I but the ticket?
> 
> Any advice?
> 
> Thanks a lot!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Can't tell without seeing all the documents in question at a consultation. If school docs are all that are affected, may not be a problem, but to be sure you should see if you can submit other documents that verify that she was the one who attended the education, or change of name docs if appropriate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



XINGSINGH said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My spouse surname is not mentioned on her graduation and post graduate docs. But passport 10th 12 th ielts all have complete name and I think we have may mentioned that in visa application. Is this going to be a problem.
> 
> Can we rectify.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi R1983 -

No problem - Tasmania is an Australian state, so travel there is considered domestic travel and therefore not subject to needing a BV-B.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



R1983 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly thank you for all of your help on here, I have found your threads very helpful, also I'm sorry if this has been asked previously.
> 
> I am currently on a Bridging Visa A, which I know does not allow me to travel outside of Australia. However, my partner and I recently booked a trip to Tasmania (we are based in Melbourne). I would like to confirm that I am OK to travel there and return to Melbourne without getting a BVB.
> 
> Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tassi_girl -

Thanks for the question. Best thing to do is to email the department at the email you mentioned and let them know you have additional files to lodge that the system will not accept. You can ask them to, when they are ready to process your file (may be months), to please specify how they want you to get the additional files to them. Then wait - generally if they are missing anything you'll get a checklist that has what they are looking for - that's a good time to check with them since you're locked out uploading any further files re: ImmiAccount.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tassi_girl said:


> hello mark,
> 
> I am glad to find someone to ask and you might help
> 
> I applied for my de facto partner visa on the 3/11/14.
> Everything is good so far the only problem I have is that I cant attach more files to my application form ( I reached to upload limit of 60 files and I aalso could not attach more files to my partners part of the form).
> I have sent an email to [email protected] but no responds yet.
> Some people recommended to send in per email and other said no do not.
> 
> I am not sure what to do and how and also do not now how long I have time to do it.
> 
> Thanks for taking the time and reading my post.
> You might have an answer for me.


----------



## Rodeobear

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rodeobear -
> 
> They are very, very difficult to get currently. You might talk to your local Federal member (MP) and see if there is any sort of letter you can have written to vouch for your standing in the community, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


So it's perfectly fine to put another application in? And does getting refused effect her other applications to other countries and to Australia? She does a lot of traveling to other countries


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodeobear -

I don't know about what impact it may or may not have on other countries; re: putting in another application, probably best if you only do so if you can present significant new evidence or circumstances, otherwise it may be refused without a close look as being not substantially different than the previous application, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> So it's perfectly fine to put another application in? And does getting refused effect her other applications to other countries and to Australia? She does a lot of traveling to other countries


----------



## Rodeobear

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rodeobear -
> 
> I don't know about what impact it may or may not have on other countries; re: putting in another application, probably best if you only do so if you can present significant new evidence or circumstances, otherwise it may be refused without a close look as being not substantially different than the previous application, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Well we cant really provide more documents because we provided everything, unless a letter from my local government would actually make much difference??


----------



## MarkNortham

No way to tell, but you might want to have a migration agent go through the last application you sent, especially all the evidence, and see if he/she could give you any suggestions as to how to improve the application in any way.

Best,

Mark



Rodeobear said:


> Well we cant really provide more documents because we provided everything, unless a letter from my local government would actually make much difference??


----------



## Wombatgirl

Hi mark 
im not sure if you're able to answer my question, but just giving it a shot 

Im Australian and my fiancé is from singapore, and he is coming here to get married to me in february and we are planning to go on a getaway around australia for 3 months (not sure where though yet) after which we plan to apply for the onshore partner visa. We have been together for a long time and we have evidence of our relationship so this isn't he issue. But the question is, my fiancé is a former thyroid patient and so he is on a few medications which he needs to bring here. Would he be allowed to enter Australia with 1 years supply of medications? (as he needs it for him to take during his visit here and also while waiting for the visa 820 to be processed) ? 

Hope you can shed some light?   thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wombatgirl -

Thanks for the note - this is a question for the Australian Customs authority - wish I had the answer, but my focus is on visas. I would contact Customs and ask what the limitations and/or requirements are for bringing significant quantities of medication for personal use - it may be that they require a doctor's letter or something like that, not sure how they differentiate between personal use and "for sale", etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wombatgirl said:


> Hi mark
> im not sure if you're able to answer my question, but just giving it a shot
> 
> Im Australian and my fiancé is from singapore, and he is coming here to get married to me in february and we are planning to go on a getaway around australia for 3 months (not sure where though yet) after which we plan to apply for the onshore partner visa. We have been together for a long time and we have evidence of our relationship so this isn't he issue. But the question is, my fiancé is a former thyroid patient and so he is on a few medications which he needs to bring here. Would he be allowed to enter Australia with 1 years supply of medications? (as he needs it for him to take during his visit here and also while waiting for the visa 820 to be processed) ?
> 
> Hope you can shed some light?   thank you


----------



## backpacker

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Backpacker -
> 
> I'd either get to the airport VERY early (5 hours before your flight ought to do it) or go to DIBP and let them know what's happened, show them your outbound air tickets, and ask them for a Bridging Visa for whatever period of time you need before you depart. Note that in either situation, you'll be given a Bridging Visa E and will excluded from any further temporary visas for 3 years. Do not let them get to you before you visit them, or you may end up in immigration detention - not a good thing.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Sir!

Will do - 5h early. (Bridging Visa E it is)
Are there any fines (underwater rocks) that immigration can impose on me?
Do I have to worry about bringing my funds as cash with me? (Its just cheaper to bring my own cash with me than doing it via bank transfer or debit card, since I will not use my ANZ bank account anymore).

I will let this forum know how it went, since some people might find this info useful.

Thanks once again Mark!

Best regards,
Backpacker


----------



## backpacker

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Backpacker -
> 
> I'd either get to the airport VERY early (5 hours before your flight ought to do it) or go to DIBP and let them know what's happened, show them your outbound air tickets, and ask them for a Bridging Visa for whatever period of time you need before you depart. Note that in either situation, you'll be given a Bridging Visa E and will excluded from any further temporary visas for 3 years. Do not let them get to you before you visit them, or you may end up in immigration detention - not a good thing.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Sir!

Will do - 5h early. (Bridging Visa E it is)
Are there any fines (underwater rocks) that immigration can impose on me?
Do I have to worry about bringing my funds as cash with me? (Its just cheaper to bring my own cash with me than doing it via bank transfer or debit card, since I will not use my ANZ bank account anymore).

I will let this forum know how it went, since some people might find this info useful.

Thanks once again Mark!

Best regards,
Backpacker


----------



## _teddy

*Medical*

Hi Mark,

I have done medical for my 476 (temporary) visa and it is still valid. Can I use the same medical for my 189 (Permanent) visa application?

Kind regards,

_teddy


----------



## Ninja69

Hi Mark.

Hope you can help me on this...

I renewed my passport and Got it last week. How will I inform DIBP through application? Can I do it online?

Also I am travelling to Manila Marcch 3015. How doI I apply for Bridging Visa B?online?paper application? 
It will only be for two weeks. When I arrive here do I need to inform DIBP? 

Thank you in advance,
Ninja 69


----------



## 530i

Hey mark recently applied for an 820 partner visa, which all information has been submitted.

Due to circumstances i want cancel my student visa and get a refund on studies i have not yet attended or undergone at SCU.

i have put in my letter of withdrawal and tried getting a refund on my road to applying for bridging e visa.

this is what i have en-counted:

1. If you are returning home, please provide the following documents

(a) flight itinerary
(b) copy of boarding pass
(c) copy of immigration stamp in passport for departure from Australia and arrival in home county
(d) any other supporting documentation as required to support the student's refund case.

2. If you are going to another provider, you will be required to produce an eCOE from another SVP provider (in related field of study) to support your refund case.

Please note that we are unable to proceed with the refund until these documents are provided.

So does this make me not eligible for a refund at all?? this is pretty unfair considering they want to keep all my money when im not undergoing their studies.

How do i go about the refund so i can finally cancel my student visa and apply for bridging e visa.

Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Backpacker -

Nope, no fines involved, but they will warn you that you will not be allowed back into Australia on any temporary visa for 3 years, etc. Not sure about rules re: how much cash you can take out of the country, etc - check with Customs Dept about that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



backpacker said:


> Thank you Sir!
> 
> Will do - 5h early. (Bridging Visa E it is)
> Are there any fines (underwater rocks) that immigration can impose on me?
> Do I have to worry about bringing my funds as cash with me? (Its just cheaper to bring my own cash with me than doing it via bank transfer or debit card, since I will not use my ANZ bank account anymore).
> 
> I will let this forum know how it went, since some people might find this info useful.
> 
> Thanks once again Mark!
> 
> Best regards,
> Backpacker


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Teddy -

Depends how long your 189 takes to process and how much time is left on your medicals, plus the judgment of the case officer. You can always submit them and see if DIBP accepts them - they can always ask for you to take new ones if they are not satisfied with the amount of time left on the existing ones.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



_teddy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have done medical for my 476 (temporary) visa and it is still valid. Can I use the same medical for my 189 (Permanent) visa application?
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> _teddy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninja69 -

Assuming you have an application lodged but not decided yet, you would use Form 929 and upload it to your application to notify DIBP of new passport. BV-B still (sadly) a paper application - see form 1006, follow instructions on the form to lodge. Once you have BV-B, if you only travel out for 2 weeks, generally no need to update address with DIBP, but keep an eye on your email assuming you gave DIBP permission to communicate with you by email.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninja69 said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> Hope you can help me on this...
> 
> I renewed my passport and Got it last week. How will I inform DIBP through application? Can I do it online?
> 
> Also I am travelling to Manila Marcch 3015. How doI I apply for Bridging Visa B?online?paper application?
> It will only be for two weeks. When I arrive here do I need to inform DIBP?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Ninja 69


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 530i (you a BMW driver?)

Wish I could help, but don't have any info - these policies vary from school to school. However as far as I know, DIBP does not require you to have any particular document or status from the school in order to cancel the student visa voluntarily - you simply tell them you want to do this (after your partner visa is lodged, of course), then after they cancel it you appear at DIBP, show proof you have applied for a partner visa, and they would normally give you a BV-E. You'll lose any time spent in Australia up until that point for citizenship purposes, and if you depart Australia before the partner visa is issued you can have all kinds of issues getting back in due to an exclusion period on temporary visas, but that's the basic process. You may want to consult a migration agent to get complete details on the process and resultant effects on your migration situation (ie, cannot leave Australia and return, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



530i said:


> Hey mark recently applied for an 820 partner visa, which all information has been submitted.
> 
> Due to circumstances i want cancel my student visa and get a refund on studies i have not yet attended or undergone at SCU.
> 
> i have put in my letter of withdrawal and tried getting a refund on my road to applying for bridging e visa.
> 
> this is what i have en-counted:
> 
> 1. If you are returning home, please provide the following documents
> 
> (a) flight itinerary
> (b) copy of boarding pass
> (c) copy of immigration stamp in passport for departure from Australia and arrival in home county
> (d) any other supporting documentation as required to support the student's refund case.
> 
> 2. If you are going to another provider, you will be required to produce an eCOE from another SVP provider (in related field of study) to support your refund case.
> 
> Please note that we are unable to proceed with the refund until these documents are provided.
> 
> So does this make me not eligible for a refund at all?? this is pretty unfair considering they want to keep all my money when im not undergoing their studies.
> 
> How do i go about the refund so i can finally cancel my student visa and apply for bridging e visa.
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## 530i

Yes a bmw driver.

Refunds and Withdrawals FAQ - International Students - SCU

Sweet, im knowledgeable on the e visa, just the refund of money seems to be a bit of a grey area.


----------



## phuhle1104

*Subsequent application for visa 489*

Dear Mark,

As I mentioned in the previous posts, I am now holding visa 489 and want to sponsor my girlfriend to come to Australia. We have been in relationship for 3 years and lived together in Wollongong and Sydney before when we were students. However, At that time, we did not intend to migrate to Australia and we lived in our friends' house. Therefore, we do not have enough evidences to prove that we lived together for 12 months as required for the de facto relationship under visa 489. We saw on the website of immi that another way is that we have to get married. My questions are as below.

Can I go back my country to get married with girlfriend and then she will apply for the subsequent visa? What documents that we need to show besides the marriage certificate?

Thank you very much.

Phu


----------



## Duszek

dear Mark

I just got my visa approved which is a great news but there is an issue. I uploaded new police certificate to change my entry date and my CO informed me that she have got my new police cert and I even got an email saying now the date enter by will be the date of my medical examin. expiring date... What do I do now? They clearly made a mistake is it somehow possible to change the date to the right one or once its granted its done?

Thank you
Kasia


----------



## texmex

Hi Mark,
I'm an American looking to get a Work and Holiday visa (462) sometime in the next year or so. I see that you have to be <31 years old to be eligible for the visa. My question is, what is the latest date I can apply for the visa? I have to be <31 years old when I apply, but does that include being approved? I will be turning 29 this month and I'm wondering what the deadline will be to get this going. My overall plan is to come in on a 462 visa and find short term engineering work and then hopefully get sponsored by a company for a longer stay on a different visa.

Thanks!
texmex


----------



## thelady

Hi Mark, I've just applied for the 462 work and holiday visa online and have been waiting for a response for some days now. I was in Australia previously as a student. I have a couple questions:

-if I traveled to Thailand for a week this year would they require me to undergo a health exam even if my student visa gave me a clean bill of health?

-I have a misdemeanor on my record. When applying for my previous visa many years ago, I submitted and passed the character assessment form, and the court faxed AU immigration a letter stating I'd fulfilled my sentence (community service hours). Would they ask me to hand this over again or would they still have it on their records and refer back to it from my student visa application?

-If I submitted online, would they still require two passport sized photos? I'm happy to do it, but I thought it redundant since many seem to get this visa easily with NO documentation. Just wondering why it's taking days for me. 

I'd call Immigration to ask these questions but it's very hard getting a live person on the phone on the overseas hotline, so I thought i'd ask you guys since you seem so informative.


----------



## RedondoGirl

Hi Mark, 

If a company nominates me for sponsorship of a 457 visa, am I required to get my skills assessed by Vetassess for approval? Vetassess just told me I don’t qualify for a 189 because I don’t have a bachelors degree in my listed occupation (technical sales representative). I’m trying to figure out if I’ll still be denied even if a company is wiling to sponsor & nominate me. Thank you! 

- Sherri


----------



## Ushakiran

*189 Subclass visa help- 60pts - Lodged on 26th Sep 2014*

Hi Mark,

We have applied for 189 subclass on 26th Sep 2014. Its been more than 82 days to assign CO. Could you please advise on below points.

My ACS Expires on : 23rd Jan 2015 (I am worried as there would be a Christmas vacation from next week)

My ACS : Developer Programmer +ve 5 years 
My Wife ACS : Developer Programmer +ve

Me and My wife IELTS scores : 6 in all

All required documents front loaded (PCC, Marriaage Certificate,Emp proofs, Form 80 for both etc..)

Me and My wife IELTS: May 2014 
EOI: 14:09.14 Invited 22.09.14 
Visa lodged 26.09.14 
Medical's 04.10.14 -- Case Officer allocated: Not Yet

Thanks,
Ushakiran Madivada


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phu -

Thanks for the note. If you're married, you will still have to show sufficient relationship evidence (similar to a partner visa application) to show that the married relationship is genuine. Many people make the mistake of thinking that a marriage certificate is all that's needed - the assessment of whether you're legally married is actually separate from the assessment as to whether DIBP thinks the relationship is genuine.

There are many partner visa evidence topics here on the forum, and you can download the DIBP Partner Visa Booklet (Booklet #1) where it discusses the 4 types of partner visa evidence, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> As I mentioned in the previous posts, I am now holding visa 489 and want to sponsor my girlfriend to come to Australia. We have been in relationship for 3 years and lived together in Wollongong and Sydney before when we were students. However, At that time, we did not intend to migrate to Australia and we lived in our friends' house. Therefore, we do not have enough evidences to prove that we lived together for 12 months as required for the de facto relationship under visa 489. We saw on the website of immi that another way is that we have to get married. My questions are as below.
> 
> Can I go back my country to get married with girlfriend and then she will apply for the subsequent visa? What documents that we need to show besides the marriage certificate?
> 
> Thank you very much.
> 
> Phu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kasia -

You could try and see if the case officer can fix the problem, but it may not be likely to happen - once a visa is granted, by law it cannot be changed except in very rare circumstances related to administrative error, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Duszek said:


> dear Mark
> 
> I just got my visa approved which is a great news but there is an issue. I uploaded new police certificate to change my entry date and my CO informed me that she have got my new police cert and I even got an email saying now the date enter by will be the date of my medical examin. expiring date... What do I do now? They clearly made a mistake is it somehow possible to change the date to the right one or once its granted its done?
> 
> Thank you
> Kasia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Texmex -

I used to live in Houston and sure miss the Tex-Mex food there!! Nothing anywhere like it in Sydney.

The age limit for the 462 visa is at the time of application for that visa, so if you turn 31 after applying, it's not a problem.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



texmex said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm an American looking to get a Work and Holiday visa (462) sometime in the next year or so. I see that you have to be <31 years old to be eligible for the visa. My question is, what is the latest date I can apply for the visa? I have to be <31 years old when I apply, but does that include being approved? I will be turning 29 this month and I'm wondering what the deadline will be to get this going. My overall plan is to come in on a 462 visa and find short term engineering work and then hopefully get sponsored by a company for a longer stay on a different visa.
> 
> Thanks!
> texmex


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thelady -

Happy to help. Re: medicals, any medical exam results older than 1 year are not valid. For USA citizens, as long as you have not spent more than 3 consecutive months in another country during the last 5 years, you're assessed as a USA citizen, which means no health exam for the 462 visa unless one of the "special significances" apply to you - classroom situation, pregnant, work as doctor, etc, childcare centre - see DIBP under temporary visa health provisions for a complete list.

Don't know re: your previous offence, however if asked on the 462 application if you have ever been convicted of an offence, you would need to make sure you said "Yes" and provided a brief explanation. They may ask for the court papers again, etc.

Re: photos, if paper application then 2 photos required; if online, you can just upload a digital scan of a passport photo.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thelady said:


> Hi Mark, I've just applied for the 462 work and holiday visa online and have been waiting for a response for some days now. I was in Australia previously as a student. I have a couple questions:
> 
> -if I traveled to Thailand for a week this year would they require me to undergo a health exam even if my student visa gave me a clean bill of health?
> 
> -I have a misdemeanor on my record. When applying for my previous visa many years ago, I submitted and passed the character assessment form, and the court faxed AU immigration a letter stating I'd fulfilled my sentence (community service hours). Would they ask me to hand this over again or would they still have it on their records and refer back to it from my student visa application?
> 
> -If I submitted online, would they still require two passport sized photos? I'm happy to do it, but I thought it redundant since many seem to get this visa easily with NO documentation. Just wondering why it's taking days for me.
> 
> I'd call Immigration to ask these questions but it's very hard getting a live person on the phone on the overseas hotline, so I thought i'd ask you guys since you seem so informative.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RedondoGirl -

No skills assessment required for 457 visa for your occupation, unless DIBP has reason to believe you do not have the skills/education for the job and requests one (extremely rare). If you get a 457 and work on that for 2 years and then your employer nominates you for a 186 or 187 employer sponsored PR visa, no skills assessment needed for that either.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RedondoGirl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> If a company nominates me for sponsorship of a 457 visa, am I required to get my skills assessed by Vetassess for approval? Vetassess just told me I don't qualify for a 189 because I don't have a bachelors degree in my listed occupation (technical sales representative). I'm trying to figure out if I'll still be denied even if a company is wiling to sponsor & nominate me. Thank you!
> 
> - Sherri


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ushakiran -

Thanks for the note. ACS only needs to be valid as of time of invitation, so no problem of it expires after you apply, etc. Can't give points assessment without reviewing all of your documents in a consulting session (see website link in my signature below for more on this) - too many rules/regs/questions to be asked to determine a specific opinion on your points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ushakiran said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We have applied for 189 subclass on 26th Sep 2014. Its been more than 82 days to assign CO. Could you please advise on below points.
> 
> My ACS Expires on : 23rd Jan 2015 (I am worried as there would be a Christmas vacation from next week)
> 
> My ACS : Developer Programmer +ve 5 years
> My Wife ACS : Developer Programmer +ve
> 
> Me and My wife IELTS scores : 6 in all
> 
> All required documents front loaded (PCC, Marriaage Certificate,Emp proofs, Form 80 for both etc..)
> 
> Me and My wife IELTS: May 2014
> EOI: 14:09.14 Invited 22.09.14
> Visa lodged 26.09.14
> Medical's 04.10.14 -- Case Officer allocated: Not Yet
> 
> Thanks,
> Ushakiran Madivada
> Mob:+91-9885517051


----------



## RedondoGirl

*Standard Business Sponsor*

You are just absolutely lovely! Thank you!

Do you know how long it takes (on average) for a company to become a Standard Business Sponsor? The company who wants to sponsor me is new and not fully operational yet. I want to know how early they can apply to be a sponsor and how long it takes before they can nominate me.

Thank you!!
- Sherri

The company sponsoring me is a small busines



MarkNortham said:


> Hi RedondoGirl -
> 
> No skills assessment required for 457 visa for your occupation, unless DIBP has reason to believe you do not have the skills/education for the job and requests one (extremely rare). If you get a 457 and work on that for 2 years and then your employer nominates you for a 186 or 187 employer sponsored PR visa, no skills assessment needed for that either.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sherri -

Usually something like 4-6 weeks to process a SBS application, but they need to make sure the application is 100% accurate and complete, and all required docs are included. As to when they can apply, that would depend typically on how far along they are in the startup process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RedondoGirl said:


> You are just absolutely lovely! Thank you!
> 
> Do you know how long it takes (on average) for a company to become a Standard Business Sponsor? The company who wants to sponsor me is new and not fully operational yet. I want to know how early they can apply to be a sponsor and how long it takes before they can nominate me.
> 
> Thank you!!
> - Sherri
> 
> The company sponsoring me is a small busines


----------



## Theresa

Hey Mark

My partner and I are staying in the NT. He is a qualified car mechanic and he is doing his skill assesment at the moment and the IELTs in January. Then he wants to apply for the visa subclass 489. And I will go as de facto on his visa.
When he will send his expressioin of interest, is it 100% sure that he will get the invitation from the government? Or is there a chance that they will say no?
An other question is: would the government in South Australia or Western Australia be able to sponsor him as well? Or is that just possible with the NT government?
If it is possible in the other states: do we have to live there and hold a job there? Or could we apply from Darwin and then later move there?
Our current 2nd working holiday visa will expire in June 2015. But we have to go back to Europe in July for a very important wedding from his sister. If we would be on a bridging visa at that time, would we be allowed to leave the county? And if yes: just for a limited time?

That are enough questions now!
We already tried a couple of times to get informations from the immigration department here in Darwin. But they are telling us all the time different things....and its so complicated on the webside....

Thanks already for your effort =)

Cheers
Theresa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Theresa -

Thanks for your note - to respond to your questions, there is no guarantee he will get an invitation - the state governments reserve the right to invite who they want to among those who meet the qualifications, so it is definitely not 100% sure he will get an invite.

Re: other states, you would need to check each state's website to see if your partner's occupation is on their current sponsorship list and see if any additional criteria or requirements exist in that state for that occupation. If you were invited by a state and approved for the visa, you would be required to move to that state and live/work in a designated area (or areas) of that state.

Re: leaving while on a bridging visa, if you have a bridging visa A at that time, you can apply for a bridging visa B while in Australia before the trip - a BVB is good for one trip out & back generally, for a trip for a substantial reason - a family wedding or get-together is fine for that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Theresa said:


> Hey Mark
> 
> My partner and I are staying in the NT. He is a qualified car mechanic and he is doing his skill assesment at the moment and the IELTs in January. Then he wants to apply for the visa subclass 489. And I will go as de facto on his visa.
> When he will send his expressioin of interest, is it 100% sure that he will get the invitation from the government? Or is there a chance that they will say no?
> An other question is: would the government in South Australia or Western Australia be able to sponsor him as well? Or is that just possible with the NT government?
> If it is possible in the other states: do we have to live there and hold a job there? Or could we apply from Darwin and then later move there?
> Our current 2nd working holiday visa will expire in June 2015. But we have to go back to Europe in July for a very important wedding from his sister. If we would be on a bridging visa at that time, would we be allowed to leave the county? And if yes: just for a limited time?
> 
> That are enough questions now!
> We already tried a couple of times to get informations from the immigration department here in Darwin. But they are telling us all the time different things....and its so complicated on the webside....
> 
> Thanks already for your effort =)
> 
> Cheers
> Theresa


----------



## bhw080809

Hi Mark,

I am holding visa 489 now, so after lodging visa 887 application, could I move to metropolis straight away and wait for the result of the application there? Or do I have to continue to stay in a specified regional area until I receive the result of the appication?

Thanks


----------



## ramya thoti

Hi Mark,

hope you are doing good!

Could you please clarify on below as i am planning to apply skilled visa190.
I am from non technical( non ICT) having 10 years of software testing(manual and automation) experience in banking and Finance,very good SME at Finance.
Having age of 33 years 2 months.

Could you please assist whether i can eligible to get Visa 189/190?


----------



## virginiap

Hi Mark,

I was planning on applying for the Partner Visa in March 2015, but just found yesterday about the increase in price of the application fee. 
From what I have gathered, I would have to pay for the application before the 1st of January to avoid the increase in fees.
Does it mean that I would also have to have my application ready before that time as well?

Thank you,

Regards.


----------



## seva

Hi Mark,
I recieved my invitation for 190 visa and I am planning to apply with 65 point. I have been living in Australia for 4 years now and I have never left it except for a week for a conference. I am wondering does this make the security check process faster? Regarding being from a very high risk country how long it would take to get my visa?

Thank you very much for your help
Regards
Seva


----------



## edit2403

Hi Mark,

I'm putting together an application for a partner visa. Not sure how to address Part C Q27 on form 47SP: How well do you communicate in English? My wife has never taken an English test (although I estimate she has a functional level of English). If I tick functional, are they likely to ask for a certificate? If I tick limited, is this likely to negatively affect the outcome of my application? I mean, I do have a lot of solid evidence demonstrating the genuineness and long-term nature of our marriage. Does language ability necessarily trump this?

**Also interested to know what you think about the 50% increase in partner visa fees.


----------



## Tran

Dear Mark,

My wife will get the visa subclass 457 for working in 2 years. I may get dependant visa subclass 457 also.
In addition, I have got the award from Australian Government for research. So, I can work 6 months with visa subclass 416. Of course, the period of this visa in the range of 2 years of subclass 457.
Should I still need to get the ​visa ​subclass 416 after I get the ​visa ​subclass 407?


----------



## josephk

Hello Mark,

I applied student visa in my home country. But I got call from +60379539000 this number. she just asked me did u pay tutition fee and did u get COE then I answered yes. then she asked me why LTB university and then I told her about university and she asked did you apply any other university I siad NO. She told me ok great thing she said bye that's it 

Is it interview call from High commission? I am really confused she just spoke to 2minutes 15 seconds. I dont know is it from high commission or University?? Please help me Mark
Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

There are several configurations of the 489 - it would depend on that (as long as the 489 was in effect) - happy to assist at a consultation where we could look at your visa grant for the 489 and determine specifics.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhw080809 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am holding visa 489 now, so after lodging visa 887 application, could I move to metropolis straight away and wait for the result of the application there? Or do I have to continue to stay in a specified regional area until I receive the result of the appication?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ramya -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



ramya thoti said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> hope you are doing good!
> 
> Could you please clarify on below as i am planning to apply skilled visa190.
> I am from non technical( non ICT) having 10 years of software testing(manual and automation) experience in banking and Finance,very good SME at Finance.
> Having age of 33 years 2 months.
> 
> Could you please assist whether i can eligible to get Visa 189/190?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginiap -

Yes. Fee is determined at the time of lodgement of the application. You could add on some additional relationship evidence documents for a period of time after you lodge, but the primary documents should be included with the application at lodgement, plus the online forms.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



virginiap said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was planning on applying for the Partner Visa in March 2015, but just found yesterday about the increase in price of the application fee.
> From what I have gathered, I would have to pay for the application before the 1st of January to avoid the increase in fees.
> Does it mean that I would also have to have my application ready before that time as well?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seva -

No way to predict on either, unfortunately. DIBP does not discuss elements, timing, etc of security checks. Given this week's incident in Sydney, I expect things to get worse, not better when it comes to security-related delays.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seva said:


> Hi Mark,
> I recieved my invitation for 190 visa and I am planning to apply with 65 point. I have been living in Australia for 4 years now and I have never left it except for a week for a conference. I am wondering does this make the security check process faster? Regarding being from a very high risk country how long it would take to get my visa?
> 
> Thank you very much for your help
> Regards
> Seva


----------



## MarkNortham

Re: English, you can safely estimate - there are no English requirements for partner visa applicants, thankfully, so no evidence would be needed if you ticked functional, etc.

Re: 50% increase in partner visa fees, I think that's outrageous. It's a pure money grab by the government, who are targeting the people who have the least choice in deciding whether to lodge a visa. I hope this isn't the beginning of a further escalation of the "targeting" of partner visa applicants - from the heightened Schedule 3 enforcement, to the major negative change in Schedule 3 policy in July 2014 for partner visa applicants, to the seemingly tougher enforcement of second stage partner visas (ie, 801, 100) with more and more refusals for those despite previous approval for the provisional stage (309, 820) it looks like things are getting worse for partner visa applicants, thus requiring very high quality applications with lots of excellent relationship evidence, statements, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



edit2403 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm putting together an application for a partner visa. Not sure how to address Part C Q27 on form 47SP: How well do you communicate in English? My wife has never taken an English test (although I estimate she has a functional level of English). If I tick functional, are they likely to ask for a certificate? If I tick limited, is this likely to negatively affect the outcome of my application? I mean, I do have a lot of solid evidence demonstrating the genuineness and long-term nature of our marriage. Does language ability necessarily trump this?
> 
> **Also interested to know what you think about the 50% increase in partner visa fees.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tran -

I don't know enough about your case to give you specific advice, but as 457 secondary holders have unlimited work rights, probably no need to get a 416 - plus, you cannot hold 2 visas at the same time, so a 416 would eliminate your 457.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tran said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> My wife will get the visa subclass 457 for working in 2 years. I may get dependant visa subclass 457 also.
> In addition, I have got the award from Australian Government for research. So, I can work 6 months with visa subclass 416. Of course, the period of this visa in the range of 2 years of subclass 457.
> Should I still need to get the visa subclass 416 after I get the visa subclass 407?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Josephk -

No way for me to know who that phone number belongs to. Sounds like a DIBP call, but no way I can tell from here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



josephk said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I applied student visa in my home country. But I got call from +60379539000 this number. she just asked me did u pay tutition fee and did u get COE then I answered yes. then she asked me why LTB university and then I told her about university and she asked did you apply any other university I siad NO. She told me ok great thing she said bye that's it
> 
> Is it interview call from High commission? I am really confused she just spoke to 2minutes 15 seconds. I dont know is it from high commission or University?? Please help me Mark
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MissCookie

Hi Mark!

How long does it take to receive an acknowledgement letter along with a HAP ID after lodging a partner visa application? Its been a week and I havent received one yet.

Thanks


----------



## MissCookie

Hi Mark!

How long does it take to receive an acknowledgement letter along with a HAP ID after lodging a partner visa application? Its been a week and I havent received one yet.

Thanks


----------



## edit2403

MarkNortham said:


> Re: English, you can safely estimate - there are no English requirements for partner visa applicants, thankfully, so no evidence would be needed if you ticked functional, etc.
> 
> Re: 50% increase in partner visa fees, I think that's outrageous. It's a pure money grab by the government, who are targeting the people who have the least choice in deciding whether to losa. I hope this isn't the beginning of a further escalation of the "targeting" of partner visa applicants - from the heightened Schedule 3 enforcement, to the major negative change in Schedule 3 policy in July 2014 for partner visa applicants, to the seemingly tougher enforcement of second stage partner visas (ie, 801, 100) with more and more refusals for those despite previous approval for the provisional stage (309, 820) it looks like things are getting worse for partner visa applicants, thus requiring very high quality applications with lots of excellent relationship evidence, statements, etc.
> A
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Many thanks Mark. I really appreciate you being here in this forum.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm a bit apprehensive that Australia, with its centre-right government, will go down a similar path to the UK recently and introduce draconian rules for partner visas. That's why I'm making a move back to Australia now. Luckily Australia's not quite at that stage yet, but this sudden big fee increase has made me realize just how quickly things can change.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MIssCookie -

If online, generally within 24 hours for the ackn letter. To generate health referral letter with HAP ID, need to login to ImmiAccount for your application and wait for "Organise health" link to appear below the list of upload docs for each applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MissCookie said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> How long does it take to receive an acknowledgement letter along with a HAP ID after lodging a partner visa application? Its been a week and I havent received one yet.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## andrewcool

Hi Mark

I am wondering one thing. My parents will be writing a statement saying that they will provide accommodation, expenses for my wife (to apply for PV) so do they they write 1 letter and then sign them together? Or they need to have 2 statement letters and sign them separately? 


Also, is this part of Stat declaration 888 form? or its different thing they need to write and sign off?

Thanks

Andrew


----------



## Lisa.Scarlette

Hey Mark, 
We've applied for an 820 visa with a decision-ready application. I know that if my police clearance expires during the 12-15 month wait, they will request another updated one. 
The problem is that it takes about 4 months (up to 6 months) for my home country to process the clearance and send it. I've seen people on here say that their CO gave them 28 days to submit an updated clearance. What happens when it inevitably takes longer than 28 days for me?
Should I inform immigration of the potential problem now, or wait until it's requested?


----------



## A.Naji

Hey Mark! I've got a very generic and simple question and I hope it isn't much of a bother. My last contact with my officer was around 25-26 of last month. I was asked to submit an additional form within 28 days. The text also states "_Once the period above has passed, a decision may be made on the application using the information on-hand and without taking any further action to obtain the additional information_."

According to what's stated above, will my decision arrive after the month time limit passes? Or does the 28 days period mark when they will check and start processing and beyond? I am unaware how my application is handled; it's worrying when my courses commence in 2 months. If the note doesn't mean I'll be receiving my results in this month, then I'm afraid I won't make it in time given the rate things have been going.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lisa - Thanks for the question. Normally they can extend the validity of your police clearance if it's set to expire near when they are making a decision. However in any case if you're asked to get another one, I'd inform of the delay if/when asked, and see if they extend the old one. If not, then they would wait for you (and not enforce a 28 day deadline) to get the new one normally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lisa.Scarlette said:


> Hey Mark,
> We've applied for an 820 visa with a decision-ready application. I know that if my police clearance expires during the 12-15 month wait, they will request another updated one.
> The problem is that it takes about 4 months (up to 6 months) for my home country to process the clearance and send it. I've seen people on here say that their CO gave them 28 days to submit an updated clearance. What happens when it inevitably takes longer than 28 days for me?
> Should I inform immigration of the potential problem now, or wait until it's requested?


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

I am a PR holder of Australia and my husband is planing to apply for offshore partner visa. For that we need two "Statutory declaration" forms from Australian PR holder/citizens. 

One of my friend in Australia willing to fill this form for us. But he is worrying if filling this will affect him in sponsoring his brother. Is there any affect for that?

Really appreciate your thoughts regarding this..

Thank You and Regards
Dhanu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhanu -

No negative effect I can think of.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dhanu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a PR holder of Australia and my husband is planing to apply for offshore partner visa. For that we need two "Statutory declaration" forms from Australian PR holder/citizens.
> 
> One of my friend in Australia willing to fill this form for us. But he is worrying if filling this will affect him in sponsoring his brother. Is there any affect for that?
> 
> Really appreciate your thoughts regarding this..
> 
> Thank You and Regards
> Dhanu


----------



## Tran

Dear Mark,

Thank you very much for your reply


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

This is really helpful  thanks a lot.

Regards
Dhanu



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dhanu -
> 
> No negative effect I can think of.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## daveenajohns

Deleted bcoz of personal reasons


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daveenajohns -

Thanks for the question. Simplest thing to do would be to have her write the statement in her own language, then send a copy of that to you with a copy of her ID (passport, driver licence, etc). Then have the statement translated by a professional translation service (ie, The Migration Translators Provide Fast & Professional Immigration Translations or a service like that).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



daveenajohns said:


> Hi Mark, thank you for the remarkable work you are doing
> My 801 eligiblilty date is in the March. I was thinking to get statement from my mother from overseas
> But the problem is my mum does not write or read English. She can only speak very limited English.
> She told me that somebody at Notary office in my home country told her that she does not have to write statement in the native language and then translated into English. She can verbalized what she wants to say and then notary person can write that in English and she can sign that english statement.
> Is it possible? Has somebody done this sort of thing before?
> My main concern is immi asking me how come somebody sign the statement when they dont read or write the language in which statement has been written. Or should we explained to Immi how it has done or just don't mentioned anything until they ask.


----------



## virginiap

Hi Mark, 

I was going through the Migration Booklet and on page 11, it says that Partner Applications won't be available online.

Can you confirm that, or did I just misinterpret the whole thing?

Thank you

Virginia


----------



## andrewcool

Gday Mark

I have posted a message early and in case you have missed it, I will repost it again here below, thank you.

Hi Mark

I am wondering one thing. My parents will be writing a statement saying that they will provide accommodation, expenses for my wife (for PV) so can they they write as in 1 letter and then sign them together? Or they need to have 2 statement letters and sign them separately? 


Also, is this part of Stat declaration 888 form? or its different thing they need to write and sign off?

Thanks

Andrew


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginiap -

I think that booklet may be outdated - Partner Visas, fiance visas, and some other visas have been available online via the ImmiAccount feature since December 2013.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



virginiap said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was going through the Migration Booklet and on page 11, it says that Partner Applications won't be available online.
> 
> Can you confirm that, or did I just misinterpret the whole thing?
> 
> Thank you
> 
> Virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

Sorry if I missed your message - I try to stay on top of all the ones as they come in as time allows.

For a financial support statement, it's fine if it's a joint statement with both parents signing a single statement. For Form 888 or witness support statements for a partner visa, however, each person should make their own statement in their own words. Always include a copy of a person's ID (passport or driver licence, etc) if the statement is not in Statutory Declaration format (or Form 888 which is a stat dec).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andrewcool said:


> Gday Mark
> 
> I have posted a message early and in case you have missed it, I will repost it again here below, thank you.
> 
> Hi Mark
> 
> I am wondering one thing. My parents will be writing a statement saying that they will provide accommodation, expenses for my wife (for PV) so can they they write as in 1 letter and then sign them together? Or they need to have 2 statement letters and sign them separately?
> 
> Also, is this part of Stat declaration 888 form? or its different thing they need to write and sign off?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Andrew


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi A.Naji -

The 28 day period doesn't have any specific bearing on the processing time - it only means that they reserve the right (if they want to) to make a decision after the 28 day period regardless of whether you have responded to the invitation to comment or provide additional documents. Unfortunately there's nothing you can really conclude from the 28 day deadline - I've seen visas decided within 24 hours after one of those deadlines, and other visas can take weeks (or months for partner and other visas) after a 28 day deadline.

Wish I had better news for you -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



A.Naji said:


> Hey Mark! I've got a very generic and simple question and I hope it isn't much of a bother. My last contact with my officer was around 25-26 of last month. I was asked to submit an additional form within 28 days. The text also states "_Once the period above has passed, a decision may be made on the application using the information on-hand and without taking any further action to obtain the additional information_."
> 
> According to what's stated above, will my decision arrive after the month time limit passes? Or does the 28 days period mark when they will check and start processing and beyond? I am unaware how my application is handled; it's worrying when my courses commence in 2 months. If the note doesn't mean I'll be receiving my results in this month, then I'm afraid I won't make it in time given the rate things have been going.


----------



## A.Naji

Thanks as always Mark, your insight is always a relief!

I finally want to ask about a potential basis a student visa is assess against. If I recall correctly, my father's visitor visa got *denied *because they claimed his evidence and incentive to comply with the "_temporary stay_" condition was not _enough_. 
As a student, I can't help but worry if this will be my case. Are we deeply scrutinized for our incentive to temporarily stay? My father provided everything that can be possibly asked for to no avail; my living conditions are not different from his...will I be assessed under the same scrutiny or will the CoE and the overall nature of my application alleviate this pressure?


----------



## virginiap

Hi Mark,

Sorry for so many questions, I have been trying to power it through this whole application before the 1st of Jan! 

My partner has been working casually over the year, as he is a student and he is on Centrelink as well. Being an international student and doing uni, I did work for a bit, but I am not at the moment. From what I have gathered, this will affect his Centrelink payments, as he will result of being financially responsible for me as well.

Once I will get a job after the bridging visa kicks in, will his payments will remain the same even though I am earning an income and not financially relying on him anymore?

Thank you for your time again. 

Virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi A. Naji -

All student visa applications are assessed against the Genuine Student policy criteria, and the higher risk the country is considered by DIBP, the more tough the assessment tends to be. No way around it other than to study the policy criteria very carefully and lodge as much evidence as you can to show that you meet it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



A.Naji said:


> Thanks as always Mark, your insight is always a relief!
> 
> I finally want to ask about a potential basis a student visa is assess against. If I recall correctly, my father's visitor visa got *denied *because they claimed his evidence and incentive to comply with the "_temporary stay_" condition was not _enough_.
> As a student, I can't help but worry if this will be my case. Are we deeply scrutinized for our incentive to temporarily stay? My father provided everything that can be possibly asked for to no avail; my living conditions are not different from his...will I be assessed under the same scrutiny or will the CoE and the overall nature of my application alleviate this pressure?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginiap -

Thanks for the note - would like to help but I am not an expert on Centrelink payments, etc - out of my area of expertise.

Best,

Mark



virginiap said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Sorry for so many questions, I have been trying to power it through this whole application before the 1st of Jan!
> 
> My partner has been working casually over the year, as he is a student and he is on Centrelink as well. Being an international student and doing uni, I did work for a bit, but I am not at the moment. From what I have gathered, this will affect his Centrelink payments, as he will result of being financially responsible for me as well.
> 
> Once I will get a job after the bridging visa kicks in, will his payments will remain the same even though I am earning an income and not financially relying on him anymore?
> 
> Thank you for your time again.
> 
> Virginia


----------



## MissCookie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi MIssCookie -
> 
> If online, generally within 24 hours for the ackn letter. To generate health referral letter with HAP ID, need to login to ImmiAccount for your application and wait for "Organise health" link to appear below the list of upload docs for each applicant.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


ThankS mark! I applied through paper and its more than a week


----------



## edgar1967

Hie Mark
Really need advise. I have a 3rd attempt tourist visa to Australia pending. I was called for an interview which I attended. My question is I was once married our traditional way and have lived in UK where my former wife and children are. i am in Zimbabwe alone since my new wife is in Australia. I am reliably told those old marriages are now registered and are valid as the new one I got since I am now traditionally and legally married to my new wife. 
the case worker has both certificates. it wasn't deliberate what can i do. my new wife is worried it might take longer for us to unite. 3rd attempt. 
if it turns out like i said what are my chances and if the worst is realized what can i do.
worried , both me and my wife are 47 yrs old


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Edgar -

Thanks for the note - I expect you'd have to work out the validity of your old marriages and your new marriages with family lawyer(s) from the countries where the marriages in question occurred. From the Australian point of view, any marriage that occurs when you are already married to someone else (and not divorced, and that previous marriage had not been annulled) would result in the new marriage being declared void (as if it never happened). Probably need to sort all that out in order to figure out where you are re: partner visa options - assuming the new marriage is OK, then if DIBP will not grant a visitor visa, you may want to lodge an offshore partner visa application depending on your relationship evidence, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



edgar1967 said:


> Hie Mark
> Really need advise. I have a 3rd attempt tourist visa to Australia pending. I was called for an interview which I attended. My question is I was once married our traditional way and have lived in UK where my former wife and children are. i am in Zimbabwe alone since my new wife is in Australia. I am reliably told those old marriages are now registered and are valid as the new one I got since I am now traditionally and legally married to my new wife.
> the case worker has both certificates. it wasn't deliberate what can i do. my new wife is worried it might take longer for us to unite. 3rd attempt.
> if it turns out like i said what are my chances and if the worst is realized what can i do.
> worried , both me and my wife are 47 yrs old


----------



## MarkNortham

Paper can take much longer to get receipted - you probably have to wait for an acknowledgement letter from DIBP, then see if the health referral letter is included with that, or whether you need to write back to them to request the referral letter. It may be that they want you to wait until they ask for the health checks to be done, which could mean waiting for some number of months before they are ready to proceed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MissCookie said:


> ThankS mark! I applied through paper and its more than a week


----------



## Buffal0

hi Mark, 

I currently hold sc489 - state sponsored(wa), got invited by nsw to apply sc190. My question, do i need to inform wa regarding this or is there any thing i would need to do before applying for visa 190? Cheers..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Buffal0 -

Not that I know of, as long as you are abiding by the conditions of the 489 visa until the point the 190 visa is granted. You may want to check the conditions of your state sponsorship with the 489, but I'm not aware of anything that would restrict your ability to lodge another visa application and be granted another visa. If/when you are granted the 190, it replaces the 489 and the 489 no longer is in effect (and you're no longer bound by he DIBP conditions of the 489 visa).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Buffal0 said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> I currently hold sc489 - state sponsored(wa), got invited by nsw to apply sc190. My question, do i need to inform wa regarding this or is there any thing i would need to do before applying for visa 190? Cheers..


----------



## rajitsin

Hi Mark

I am interested in the class 189 visa. I have the following questions:

1.	If I would lodge an EOI and then receive an invitation to apply which lapses (ie I don’t apply) will that prejudice/harm my chances to file a new EOI and receive an invitation to apply again.

2.	I will also be out of country for quite a while when I receive an invitation to apply. Don’t know what the application form looks like since DIBP sends a link to the electronic application form. I wanted to know in advance:
a.	What information would be required in the form?
b.	What supporting documents would be required?

So that I could gather the info and required documents in advance. 

Thanks again for all your help

Regards


----------



## miquiita

Hi Mark, 

I am not sure if this question has been asked before but I am applying for a partner visa in Australia. But due to the increase of the price of visa soon I wanted to get it in before this year is over, 2014. But I have not done everything I need to do before applying. Have some documents, but not all yet. Can I put them in later on? In the application? 

Also I have not yet registered us as a couple, but do I need the certificate before applying or can I get it later and put it in? Just show a recite of the application for registration of relationship? 

We been living together for longer than a year, but having two apartments, so we were not on the lease together. Is this a huge problem or is there away around it? 

thanks for any answer as soon as possible when this is time sensitive and thanks for all other answers here.


----------



## Ria

Hi Mark, 
Hope you still be able to shed some light into my confusions before you take break for end of year.
I received my PR 100 on 12th dec, still fresh..while i am relieved and gratefull to have it, my next visa journey will need to be put in gear.
Im planning to bring my kids 13 and 9 with me to Australia, with or without my partners help (he sponsored me on my 309/100)
I understand tht i need to use the 101 child visa, but thts about it.
I have read the booklet frm the immi website but somehow im lost in translation.
My question is would i be able to put them in 1 application?, will the price be according to number of person or number of application?
I hv been saving and saving, but as we know the price increases every year, doesnt matter it needs to be done.
My kids are still enrolled in their school, will enrollment in the new school in aus help with the application? One will be in highschool and one still in primary.
Can my partner hinder this plan by somehow mentioning it to immi? Or when i got my PR tht means i am technically a "free" person?
All this things goes in my head, Im hoping you would be able to help with them, 
Wishing you and your fam a happy christmas and a happy new year!
Thank you!!


----------



## MoonRising

Hi Mark,

I have an old 3 year psychology degree from an Australian university, completed 2007. I have however not really used it for work purposes and do not work in the field. I have a sister who now has Australian citizenship and lives in Gisborne.

I wonder if I can use my 3 years degree to apply for a 489 visa with my sister sponsoring me? I know it is probably unlikely as my degree is very old. But I wanted to double check. 

thanks so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajitsin -

Generally no problem if you do not accept an invitation; after 2 unaccepted invitations your EOI is expired.

Re: online form, not sure what I can do to assist with that - re: documents needed, see Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) document checklist

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rajitsin said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am interested in the class 189 visa. I have the following questions:
> 
> 1.	If I would lodge an EOI and then receive an invitation to apply which lapses (ie I don't apply) will that prejudice/harm my chances to file a new EOI and receive an invitation to apply again.
> 
> 2.	I will also be out of country for quite a while when I receive an invitation to apply. Don't know what the application form looks like since DIBP sends a link to the electronic application form. I wanted to know in advance:
> a.	What information would be required in the form?
> b.	What supporting documents would be required?
> 
> So that I could gather the info and required documents in advance.
> 
> Thanks again for all your help
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Miquiita -

Generally non-critical documents can be uploaded days later - no clear limit as to how long that can be. Suggest you upload more important documents at lodgement - ie, ID documents, at least 2 Form 888's, etc.

Re: registered relationship certificate, there is specific DIBP policy that this can be provided after lodgement, but prior to decision - would suggest lodging this as soon as you get it, however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



miquiita said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am not sure if this question has been asked before but I am applying for a partner visa in Australia. But due to the increase of the price of visa soon I wanted to get it in before this year is over, 2014. But I have not done everything I need to do before applying. Have some documents, but not all yet. Can I put them in later on? In the application?
> 
> Also I have not yet registered us as a couple, but do I need the certificate before applying or can I get it later and put it in? Just show a recite of the application for registration of relationship?
> 
> We been living together for longer than a year, but having two apartments, so we were not on the lease together. Is this a huge problem or is there away around it?
> 
> thanks for any answer as soon as possible when this is time sensitive and thanks for all other answers here.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ria -

Thanks for the note - with DIBP's new policy, each sibling would pay their own base application charge (ie, the full price for the visa, not the < 18 year old dependent). Their reasoning is that one sibling is not the "dependent" of the other, etc.

Re: enrolment in school, this is probably not a major consideration, but I'd include it anyway.

Re: partner support, etc, once you were granted the subclass 100 visa, you became a permanent resident of Australia. You have the full right to sponsor a child without any support from your partner - your partner relationship is no longer a factor in your visa or your ability to sponsor others, etc per the regulations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ria said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hope you still be able to shed some light into my confusions before you take break for end of year.
> I received my PR 100 on 12th dec, still fresh..while i am relieved and gratefull to have it, my next visa journey will need to be put in gear.
> Im planning to bring my kids 13 and 9 with me to Australia, with or without my partners help (he sponsored me on my 309/100)
> I understand tht i need to use the 101 child visa, but thts about it.
> I have read the booklet frm the immi website but somehow im lost in translation.
> My question is would i be able to put them in 1 application?, will the price be according to number of person or number of application?
> I hv been saving and saving, but as we know the price increases every year, doesnt matter it needs to be done.
> My kids are still enrolled in their school, will enrollment in the new school in aus help with the application? One will be in highschool and one still in primary.
> Can my partner hinder this plan by somehow mentioning it to immi? Or when i got my PR tht means i am technically a "free" person?
> All this things goes in my head, Im hoping you would be able to help with them,
> Wishing you and your fam a happy christmas and a happy new year!
> Thank you!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MoonRising -

There are many requirements for the 489, especially depending on how you satisfy the points test. However looking just at your degree, there is no particular time limit on when you were granted the degree. Other visas (like the 485 visa) have a 6-month limit re: applying after completing a degree, but the 489 visa generally has no such limit. You should carefully review all of the requirements for the 489 to make sure you are satisfying all and calculating your points correctly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MoonRising said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have an old 3 year psychology degree from an Australian university, completed 2007. I have however not really used it for work purposes and do not work in the field. I have a sister who now has Australian citizenship and lives in Gisborne.
> 
> I wonder if I can use my 3 years degree to apply for a 489 visa with my sister sponsoring me? I know it is probably unlikely as my degree is very old. But I wanted to double check.
> 
> thanks so much!


----------



## miquiita

Hi, what does the DIPB mean? Sorry mark I did not understand the part about registration of relationship? Or is I better to get married ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Miquiita -

Sorry - DIBP is the immigration dept (Department of Immigration and Border Protection). Re: lodging as defacto partners or married partners, that's a big question that involves various aspects - relationship evidence, 12 month living together requirement, etc. Too many issues/factors to really get into on a forum, etc.

Registration of a defacto partner relationship is possible in many Australia states (but not WA or SA) where defacto partner by registering can automatically satisfy the 12 month living together requirement. Married persons do not have this requirement, however the duration of the relationship and whether they have lived together can still be taken into account as part of the overall relationship assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



miquiita said:


> Hi, what does the DIPB mean? Sorry mark I did not understand the part about registration of relationship? Or is I better to get married ?


----------



## majedulhuq

Hi Mark,

Greetings in advance. I just realized that in one of your previous posts, you suggested me not to travel in between my completion of studies and student visa expiry date (that's before the activation of BVA as I've already applied for my 189 visa). May I please know the reason behind this? If I travel between this period and arrive before my student visa expires, does it put me under any threat? And FYI, I have not yet been assigned a CO but have uploaded all required docs and will undergo medical tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

Majed


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Majed -

Thanks for the note - I answered you over on the thread you had asked the question on re: issues with being out of Australia on unactivated BVA, etc.

Thanks,

Mark



majedulhuq said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Greetings in advance. I just realized that in one of your previous posts, you suggested me not to travel in between my completion of studies and student visa expiry date (that's before the activation of BVA as I've already applied for my 189 visa). May I please know the reason behind this? If I travel between this period and arrive before my student visa expires, does it put me under any threat? And FYI, I have not yet been assigned a CO but have uploaded all required docs and will undergo medical tomorrow. Thanks in advance.
> 
> Majed


----------



## qimtiaz

Hi Mark,

I need to understand the criteria of awarding experience points, I have completed my ACS assessment in May 2014 with overall 10 years of experience in Developer Programmer category(261312) and as usual ACS deducted 2 years of experience which seems OK to me. 

Following is the response from ACS:

Your qualification has been assessed as follows: 

Your Master of Computer Science from XXXXXXX University completed March 2006 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in computing. 

The following employment after November 2006 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261312 (Developer Programmer) of the ANZSCO Code.

My 8 years of experience as Per ACS has been completed in November 2014. My Question is, do i need to re-asses my experience although i am working in same company from last 5 years with same designation and Job responsibilities.

I would appreciate if you can shed some light on it because i want to apply 190 in February 2015. 

Thanks & Regards,


----------



## miquiita

Hi Mark, 

Does the amount of time from when I and my partner was on the lease together count if we regiester the relationship now? I have been on the lease for 4 months and lived there longer. 

Also if the application of the partner visa gets denied, will I lose all the money or can I appeal it somehow (get more evidence together)? Or anything? 

Or is there anything else I can do? Would the marriage be better doing now, not wait? We been together for nearly 1 year and 10 months and been living together since november last year but still having two leases due to commitments of those.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Qimtiaz -

Thanks for the note. If you have additional time in a position/employer that continues the same position/employer that was assessed by ACS, DIBP will generally accept a letter from the employer stating that you have continued to hold the position through a particular date, and there is usually no need to have that additional time assessed by ACS. DIBP will as usual want payslips or other evidence of payment through the entire period you are claiming, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



qimtiaz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I need to understand the criteria of awarding experience points, I have completed my ACS assessment in May 2014 with overall 10 years of experience in Developer Programmer category(261312) and as usual ACS deducted 2 years of experience which seems OK to me.
> 
> Following is the response from ACS:
> 
> Your qualification has been assessed as follows:
> 
> Your Master of Computer Science from XXXXXXX University completed March 2006 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in computing.
> 
> The following employment after November 2006 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261312 (Developer Programmer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> My 8 years of experience as Per ACS has been completed in November 2014. My Question is, do i need to re-asses my experience although i am working in same company from last 5 years with same designation and Job responsibilities.
> 
> I would appreciate if you can shed some light on it because i want to apply 190 in February 2015.
> 
> Thanks & Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Miquiita -

Thansk for the note - not possible for me to answer your questions without knowing much more about your circumstances - would be happy to do this at a consultation which would give us the time and resources to get into your case in detail and give you specific advice on your case. See my website below for link to our consulting page. The system shows we're booked out for the rest of December, but could accommodate you on Saturday 27 Dec if necessary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



miquiita said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Does the amount of time from when I and my partner was on the lease together count if we regiester the relationship now? I have been on the lease for 4 months and lived there longer.
> 
> Also if the application of the partner visa gets denied, will I lose all the money or can I appeal it somehow (get more evidence together)? Or anything?
> 
> Or is there anything else I can do? Would the marriage be better doing now, not wait? We been together for nearly 1 year and 10 months and been living together since november last year but still having two leases due to commitments of those.


----------



## virginiap

Hi Mark, 

When we we have to provide coloured scans of documents for the Partner Visa (on-shore and online), does it strictly have to be a scanner, or can we just use a ScannerApp for an Ipad? 

Also, I got my birth certificate in Italian, but as my parents don't live together and are divorced, only my mother's name on it. I have two questions: 1) Do I have to get the document translated and then can just attach the scan of that copy? 2) Do I even have to provide a birth certificate, if I got a passport for the online application? 

Thank you,

Virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginiap -

Any scan is fine (app-based, hardware scanner, etc) as long as it's in colour, and it's of a reasonably high quality. What you want to avoid is "mobile phone photos" of documents, etc which are usually not clear enough to read clearly.

Re: birth certificate, DIBP generally requires these for applicants for partner visas (but not necessarily for sponsors). No problem generally if only one parent name is on it. If not in English, and English subtitles not included, then should be translated by a NAATI qualified translator or equivalent professional translator in your country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



virginiap said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> When we we have to provide coloured scans of documents for the Partner Visa (on-shore and online), does it strictly have to be a scanner, or can we just use a ScannerApp for an Ipad?
> 
> Also, I got my birth certificate in Italian, but as my parents don't live together and are divorced, only my mother's name on it. I have two questions: 1) Do I have to get the document translated and then can just attach the scan of that copy? 2) Do I even have to provide a birth certificate, if I got a passport for the online application?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Virginia


----------



## miquiita

HI Mark, Thanks for the information. I decided to not apply until the end of February due to the immigration told me I need the certificate before applying for the visa, (cert. of a relationship).

Thanks anyway.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Miquiita -
> 
> Thansk for the note - not possible for me to answer your questions without knowing much more about your circumstances - would be happy to do this at a consultation which would give us the time and resources to get into your case in detail and give you specific advice on your case. See my website below for link to our consulting page. The system shows we're booked out for the rest of December, but could accommodate you on Saturday 27 Dec if necessary.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## qimtiaz

*ACS result*

Thanks allot Mark for your quick reply and useful information. I have asked same question to DIBP couple of weeks before and this what i got from them.

"Please note, the relevant assessing authority provides an opinion in your suitable skills assessment that your employment is skilled(You must use the date that skilled employment commence stated in your skills assessment). If you wish to use any dates after this, you should obtain a new skills assessment to reflect these dates."

I am kind of confused with above statement.

Would you please help me to understand this.

Regards,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Qimtiaz -
> 
> Thanks for the note. If you have additional time in a position/employer that continues the same position/employer that was assessed by ACS, DIBP will generally accept a letter from the employer stating that you have continued to hold the position through a particular date, and there is usually no need to have that additional time assessed by ACS. DIBP will as usual want payslips or other evidence of payment through the entire period you are claiming, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## stellah

Hi Mark. I see at this forum that you are very helpful and trustworthy, hence I would like to ask you for help. I need some advice regarding my partner visa. So me and my partner are now on Temporary Graduate Visa subclass 485. My visa expires at Nov 2015 while my partner's visa expires at Jan 2016. We want to get partner visa, but he just got Accounting job which will be eligible for PR, so in order to get 1 year experience, we have to wait until he works for 1 year, which will be Dec next year. By then, my TR visa has expires (there's 1 month gap), what to do then? Do you have any advice? Appreciate your help so much Mark.


----------



## Runa

Hi Mark, I have a question regarding citizenship. Do I need to provide police check if 3 years ago I went to my home country for 7 months *while holding my 820 visa*? Thank you for your time and answer, I appreciate it!


----------



## edit2403

Hi Mark,

I know the 1127 Partner Migration booklet says the applicant and sponsor statements can be written on blank paper and signed, but is it stronger to write these as statutory declarations? Would my wife who is not Australian use an Australian stat. dec. form or use one provided by the local Public Notary? And if part of that stat. dec. relates to our future settlement plans, are we more bound by those plans than we might otherwise be by using a stat. dec.?

many thanks!


----------



## gnam6174

Hi Mark.
I have a question about my student visa.
I've got a visa for my course in February 2014. However, I decided to change my course in August( after 1 semester). I know that I must have a new eCOE to apply a new visa. However, my university havent yet sent it to my for a 4 month. I tried to contact them, but they said COE maybe come in January 2015. 
Is there any trouble with immigration office. Will they provide me a new visa after a long time like that?

Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Miquita -

Thanks for the note - however to correct the record, the person you spoke to at DIBP is wrong. Here's the passage directly from the Procedures Advice Manual 3 (PAM3), which is the departmental policy document that case officers must follow:

_6.5 If the relationship is registered under Australian State/Territory law
Under regulation 2.03A(5), the 12 month minimum relationship period does not apply if the relationship is registered under a State/Territory law prescribed in the Acts Interpretation Act (Registered Relationship) Regulations (namely, regulation 3) as a kind of relationship as prescribed in those Regulations.

Unlike regulation 2.03(A)(3), which explicitly requires the 12 month relationship criterion to be met at the time of visa application, regulation 2.03A(5) is silent on when the relationship must be registered. *As such, an applicant who registers their de facto relationship after the application is made but before it is decided is taken to have met regulation 2.03A(5).*
_

Hope this helps - best of luck with your application -

Best,

Mark Northam



miquiita said:


> HI Mark, Thanks for the information. I decided to not apply until the end of February due to the immigration told me I need the certificate before applying for the visa, (cert. of a relationship).
> 
> Thanks anyway.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Qimtiaz -

I'm confused by the DIBP quote you sent - they are talking about using a different commencement date? Have never heard of a person being required to get a new skills assessment simply for continuing a job already assessed past the date of the skills assessment, unless there was a change at that job. Since it take 3 months to get a skills assessment from many of the assessors, this would essentially rob applicants of 3 months of work experience.

Just my .02 cents...

Best,

Mark Northam



qimtiaz said:


> Thanks allot Mark for your quick reply and useful information. I have asked same question to DIBP couple of weeks before and this what i got from them.
> 
> "Please note, the relevant assessing authority provides an opinion in your suitable skills assessment that your employment is skilled(You must use the date that skilled employment commence stated in your skills assessment). If you wish to use any dates after this, you should obtain a new skills assessment to reflect these dates."
> 
> I am kind of confused with above statement.
> 
> Would you please help me to understand this.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stellah -

Thanks for the note. You might look for a sponsoring employer and try to get a 457 temporary work visa for a period of time after your 485 expires - that could hold you over until you're ready to be included on your partner's PR application. However another factor to consider is that every year now they keep threatening to remove Accounting from the SOL occupation list for PR skilled visas - although they haven't removed it yet, I'd keep a close eye on that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stellah said:


> Hi Mark. I see at this forum that you are very helpful and trustworthy, hence I would like to ask you for help. I need some advice regarding my partner visa. So me and my partner are now on Temporary Graduate Visa subclass 485. My visa expires at Nov 2015 while my partner's visa expires at Jan 2016. We want to get partner visa, but he just got Accounting job which will be eligible for PR, so in order to get 1 year experience, we have to wait until he works for 1 year, which will be Dec next year. By then, my TR visa has expires (there's 1 month gap), what to do then? Do you have any advice? Appreciate your help so much Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Runa -

Not unless requested to by DIBP, as an 820 visa is not a permanent residency visa, so therefore that period of time would not fall into the "since the grant of your permanent visa" scope for police checks described here under "good character documents": Australian Citizenship - Document checklist for Australian citizenship

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Runa said:


> Hi Mark, I have a question regarding citizenship. Do I need to provide police check if 3 years ago I went to my home country for 7 months *while holding my 820 visa*? Thank you for your time and answer, I appreciate it!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi edit2403 -

I see no advantage in putting relationship statements into stat dec form. Plus, it creates the additional issue of having to phrase everything as a declarative fact, rather than an opinion or feeling, etc. I don't think it binds you to anything re: future plans, as it does not constitute an "agreement" or contract.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



edit2403 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I know the 1127 Partner Migration booklet says the applicant and sponsor statements can be written on blank paper and signed, but is it stronger to write these as statutory declarations? Would my wife who is not Australian use an Australian stat. dec. form or use one provided by the local Public Notary? And if part of that stat. dec. relates to our future settlement plans, are we more bound by those plans than we might otherwise be by using a stat. dec.?
> 
> many thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi gnam6174 -

Thanks for the question - hard to predict, however I'd make sure you have documentation of the Uni refusing to issue you a new eCOE before January so in case DIBP has an issue, you can show evidence that the University refused to provide the required document. It also can come down to if/when the University reported you as having stopped studying your previous course.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gnam6174 said:


> Hi Mark.
> I have a question about my student visa.
> I've got a visa for my course in February 2014. However, I decided to change my course in August( after 1 semester). I know that I must have a new eCOE to apply a new visa. However, my university havent yet sent it to my for a 4 month. I tried to contact them, but they said COE maybe come in January 2015.
> Is there any trouble with immigration office. Will they provide me a new visa after a long time like that?
> 
> Thank you very much.


----------



## DanielsEU

Dear Mark,
I am yet to familiarize myself with this app, but while I am at it, I need your help for a pressing question. Can you advise if my IELTS score (L=8.0, R=8.0,W=5.5,S=6.5, Overall Band=7.0) gives me eligibility to submit application to Engineers Australia for Skill Assessment that will lead to my application for immigration visa to Australia. The test is, so far the first action I have taken for migrant visa processes Australia. You answer with break my inertia in the exercise.

I am at a cross road whether to appeal my band score with the British Council, the examiners, or whether to reapply for another test in March or to proceed with the application using this ielts score right away this December, 2014.

Kind regards
DanielsEU


----------



## qimtiaz

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your insightful reply, So what do you suggest, should i go to file without re-assess or need to re-assess experience and Qualification?

Regards,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Qimtiaz -
> 
> I'm confused by the DIBP quote you sent - they are talking about using a different commencement date? Have never heard of a person being required to get a new skills assessment simply for continuing a job already assessed past the date of the skills assessment, unless there was a change at that job. Since it take 3 months to get a skills assessment from many of the assessors, this would essentially rob applicants of 3 months of work experience.
> 
> Just my .02 cents...
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## karan812

*Visa validity*

Dear Mark,

I have a quick question about tourist (subclass 600) visa validity.

My visa says:

Visa Grant Date: 03 January, 2014
Visa Expiry Date: 03 January, 2015
Entires allowed: Multiple
Must not arrive after: 03 January 2015. 
Peroid of stay: 03 months on each arrival.

I'm planning to enter Australia on the 26th of December, 2014, and my return is open. Am I allowed to stay for 3 months after the 26th of December, i.e, until 26 March, or do I have to leave on the 3rd of January, considering my visa "expires" then?

I'm sorry if this question has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything on the forum that helped.

With my best regards,
K


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DanielsEU -

Thanks for the note - for migration purposes generally, the overall score for the IELTS test is not considered, only the 4 band scores. As EA requires at least 6 in each of the 4 band scores, you would not be eligible to apply for an EA skills assessment with the scores you provided - I'd consider a recheck of your test, etc. As long as you get at least 6 in each band, then you would meet the EA English requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DanielsEU said:


> Dear Mark,
> I am yet to familiarize myself with this app, but while I am at it, I need your help for a pressing question. Can you advise if my IELTS score (L=8.0, R=8.0,W=5.5,S=6.5, Overall Band=7.0) gives me eligibility to submit application to Engineers Australia for Skill Assessment that will lead to my application for immigration visa to Australia. The test is, so far the first action I have taken for migrant visa processes Australia. You answer with break my inertia in the exercise.
> 
> I am at a cross road whether to appeal my band score with the British Council, the examiners, or whether to reapply for another test in March or to proceed with the application using this ielts score right away this December, 2014.
> 
> Kind regards
> DanielsEU


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Qimtiaz -

Thanks for the note. I am not familiar enough with your application, and would need to see all the documents, etc to give you any specific advice. Can do this at a consultation (see website link in my signature below).

Thanks,

Mark



qimtiaz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your insightful reply, So what do you suggest, should i go to file without re-assess or need to re-assess experience and Qualification?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karan812 -

As long as you arrive prior to 3 Jan 2015, you can stay for the full 3 months of the visa, even if that period goes beyond the "expiry" date as shown on the visa.

Thanks,

Mark



karan812 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a quick question about tourist (subclass 600) visa validity.
> 
> My visa says:
> 
> Visa Grant Date: 03 January, 2014
> Visa Expiry Date: 03 January, 2015
> Entires allowed: Multiple
> Must not arrive after: 03 January 2015.
> Peroid of stay: 03 months on each arrival.
> 
> I'm planning to enter Australia on the 26th of December, 2014, and my return is open. Am I allowed to stay for 3 months after the 26th of December, i.e, until 26 March, or do I have to leave on the 3rd of January, considering my visa "expires" then?
> 
> I'm sorry if this question has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything on the forum that helped.
> 
> With my best regards,
> K


----------



## seekingpr

*Extension of Last day of arrival in Australia on Tourist Visa*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Karan812 -
> 
> As long as you arrive prior to 3 Jan 2015, you can stay for the full 3 months of the visa, even if that period goes beyond the "expiry" date as shown on the visa.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mark


Hi Mark,
Another related query about tourist (subclass 600) visa.

I am PR here in Australia.

My Parents' visas says:

Visa Grant Date: 05th May, 2014
Visa Expiry Date: 05th May, 2015
Entries allowed: Multiple
Must not arrive after: 05th May 2015.
Period of stay: 03 months on each arrival.

My parents may or may not be able to travel before 5th May 2015.In such case, can they apply for extension of date for "Must not arrive after: 5th May 2015". If yes, how could they do it.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Regards


----------



## rudylee

Hi Mark,

Sorry if this question has been asked before. I am currently holding temporary graduate visa ( 485 ) which is due to expire on June 2015. I just received my EOI invitation for Skilled Independent Visa ( 189 ) last week. 

I am aware that you will be granted Bridging Visa A as soon as you submit your PR application. I am currently on holiday overseas and afraid I won't be able to enter Australia if I submit my application offshore.

So my questions is: will submitting my PR application (189) cancel my current TR (485) ?

Thanks for your help,

Rudy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seekingpr -

In Australia once a visa is granted, there is no facility under the law to alter the terms of the visa - it can only expire, be cancelled, or be replaced by another visa. If the must not arrive by date is not met (ie, the visa has been issued for a year and never used), there's no way I know of to alter that visa, used or not. They would have to apply for another visitor visa to enter after that date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> Hi Mark,
> Another related query about tourist (subclass 600) visa.
> 
> I am PR here in Australia.
> 
> My Parents' visas says:
> 
> Visa Grant Date: 05th May, 2014
> Visa Expiry Date: 05th May, 2015
> Entries allowed: Multiple
> Must not arrive after: 05th May 2015.
> Period of stay: 03 months on each arrival.
> 
> My parents may or may not be able to travel before 5th May 2015.In such case, can they apply for extension of date for "Must not arrive after: 5th May 2015". If yes, how could they do it.
> 
> Thank you in advance for your help.
> 
> Regards


----------



## virginiap

Hi Mark,
I am in the process of lodging my application (partner visa on-shore) online, but I am not 100% sure whether I am meant to fill out the 40SP form by hand or on the computer. Also, in the statements about our relationship, such as nature of household etc, do they have to be typed in a certain way or it's fine with normal letters and punctuation? And is it preferable to write a lot, or does it not really matter, as long as it's genuine and supported by evidence in the uploaded documents?

Thank you again,

Virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rudylee -

Actually if you are offshore when you lodge a PR visa application, you are not granted a Bridging Visa A. The problem is, if you lodge offshore and then return to Australia on your 485, you'll get no bridging visa so you'll have no visa when your 485 expires, unless the 189 is granted before the 485 runs out If you lodged the 189 onshore in Australia, you'd get a bridging visa A which would remain unactivated until your 485 expired, and would cover you from the expiry of the 485 until the 189 decision is made.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rudylee said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Sorry if this question has been asked before. I am currently holding temporary graduate visa ( 485 ) which is due to expire on June 2015. I just received my EOI invitation for Skilled Independent Visa ( 189 ) last week.
> 
> I am aware that you will be granted Bridging Visa A as soon as you submit your PR application. I am currently on holiday overseas and afraid I won't be able to enter Australia if I submit my application offshore.
> 
> So my questions is: will submitting my PR application (189) cancel my current TR (485) ?
> 
> Thanks for your help,
> 
> Rudy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginiap -

Re: 40sp, if you're lodging online, better to lodge this online as well - after you lodge & pay your main application form, then in ImmiAccount select New Application, then "Sponsorship for a Partner...." which is the equivalent of the 40sp form. Complete and submit that form, and you're good.

Re: statements, normal punctuation, etc is fine.I'd write enough to tell the story, especially the important points/dates, and include a couple of paragraphs at the end re: future plans.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



virginiap said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am in the process of lodging my application (partner visa on-shore) online, but I am not 100% sure whether I am meant to fill out the 40SP form by hand or on the computer. Also, in the statements about our relationship, such as nature of household etc, do they have to be typed in a certain way or it's fine with normal letters and punctuation? And is it preferable to write a lot, or does it not really matter, as long as it's genuine and supported by evidence in the uploaded documents?
> 
> Thank you again,
> 
> Virginia


----------



## Augusto

Hi Mark I'm new here.. I really need your help.. I'm a 20-years-old argentinian/italian guy, my name is Augusto, and I'm really really frustrated, the thing is that I want to study cinematics, I planned everything.. I'm going to need to work 3 years in Melbourne so I can pay my studies in i-animate (an online animation school with mentors from pixar, dreamwork, disney, EA, Ubisoft, etc), and then go to Vancouver Canada to study 3D animation and Visual Effects.

I planned everything, even financial stuff, how much is the minimum needed to live, to rent, the minimum wage of almost 700 per week or 16 per hour, everything, EVERYTHING, but then the visas.. it's the most difficult thing for me, I've never done that, but I don't care, there HAS TO BE A WAY for me to reach my goals, my dreams, THERE HAS TO.

I've seen different types of visas, working holiday visas, internships, work visas but for SKILLED people, and I AM skilled in animation, 3D, CG and stuff because is my passion but I don't have a formal certificate, and actually to be honest I dumped my college I was studying direction in animation film making, but they are SO poor, I mean the prestige of their certificate and the things they teach I already know it from high school, and I don't want to waste my time with teachers that don't know shit and their certificate doesn't have any prestige at all ass VFC (Vancouver film school), so I've decided this, to study in i-animate, 7 sessions, each one 11 weeks, for 1700 dollars per session, that's why I need to work in a 1st world country, with a high minimum wage that will allow me to pay my rent, living AND studies, and also I've chosen Melbourne because if I'm going to be 3 years and more in a city it will be the better for me if it's a city that I'll be enjoying, and Melbourne is one of the top 5 cities to live in the world, so what the hell, and if we are talking about art, our motivation is happiness, the more happy we are the better content we can create.


Okey sorry for writing a lot of crap and not saying what I want or what is my problem, and my problem are the VISAS, HOW, HOW can I do to work in melbourne legally? how can I do it? can I look for work with a holiday visa? how? what should I have to do to be able to stay 3 years there or more working at a bar or something for the first years? there has to be a way, even if it's not europe (I'm an european citizen), and I know that europe for me it would be more easy, but I DON'T WANT EUROPE, I want you, I want Melbourne, this is what I want, even if it's the most difficult thing to do, I don't care.. there has to be a way! I don't care if I have to work 12 hours and then study 8 hours and only sleep 4 hours, I. DON'T. CARE.. And I don't have a degree to do an internship.




Please, I never ask for help, I prefer to be independent and not rely on people, i never rely on anyone except my parents, but this time.. I've researched since 1 year, 1 YEAR, all my options, all the countries, england, germany, korea, japan, canada, usa, france, new zealand, and I made like a point system, so I've compared all the pros and cons, and the result was Melbourne being the BEST choice and it IS, even with it's cons like visas and stuff IT IS.


SO there HAS to be a WAY, I KNOW THERE HAS TO BE A WAY..


----------



## Augusto

I believe maybe with visa 457? Maybe I don't need to be fully skilled?


----------



## sahil1604

*Query regarding invite for 189*

Hi Mark, 
I am new here. 
I have a query , I got an invite for 189 on 20th Dec 2014, I need to file my VISA in 60 days .
in my file only me and my wife were mentioned and we have got a baby boy who is born on 10th Dec 2014.
So How can i add him in my VISA when i ll be paying fee. 
What documents will be required for him ?
I have got a birth certificate for him however getting a Passport for him I am not sure I will be able to get it .
Can I file the Visa fee with his birth certificate details and provide his passport later ? or what will be the best approach.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Augusto -

Thanks for the messages, and I congratulate you for your ambition and drive to get the education you want!

The reality is that Australia has one of the most restrictive immigration systems in the world. Also one of the most complex, unfortunately. My job is to help people sort things out and determine the best visa(s) for them.

Re: working in Australia, the working holiday visa could work for 1 year, however you would have needed to have completed at least 2 years of Uni study (but you do not need to have graduated). If that's not the case, then the 457 visa is probably your best bet - you would need to find a sponsoring employer, and would need to find an occupation on the CSOL list (you can google "DIBP CSOL LIST" for that) and show that you have either the minimum education requirement or the minimum number of years of experience requirement per the ASRI for your occupation - you can see the ASRI info here: Australian Skills Recognition Information (ASRI)

If none of that works, a student visa is possible, however you can only work 40 hours per fortnight, and school tuition in Australia is considered expensive by many.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Augusto said:


> I believe maybe with visa 457? Maybe I don't need to be fully skilled?


----------



## vnavarro

Hey Mark,

for the statements from friends and family, since I'm applying online, is it ok that they just email me their statements with copies of their identification or is the 888 form required?
Thanks,
Victoria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victoria -

Emailed statements with ID is fine - normally you need 2 form 888's with a partner visa application, but the rest can be regular statements typed on a word processor, printed out & signed - no special forms needed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vnavarro said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> for the statements from friends and family, since I'm applying online, is it ok that they just email me their statements with copies of their identification or is the 888 form required?
> Thanks,
> Victoria


----------



## Augusto

Thank you a lot Mark! yes of course it helped a lot! I was talking to a friend here who lives in Melbourne and he said to me the same as you, and I did my research too, and camed to the conclusion that England would be a better choice for we to begin my studies, as I have italian european citizenship.

But don't worry! I will visit you guys in the future! I swear!


So see you soon! and thanks for all the help!!


----------



## sweetpea

Thanks for the reply Mark I have no further questions at this point. 
We had telephone interviews a couple of weeks ago & were told not to apply for new police clearance certificates 'just in case' - after all the waiting we aren't allowed to get our hopes up it's just so humiliating and debilitating the way we're treated, just left hanging in mid air, we can't plan and we can't not plan!! We will be given an answer in early January. I believe we have ticked all the boxes eg all documents provided, I have travelled to Greece to be with my husband & son every year since 2010 so we've fulfilled the 'live together for at least 12mths part of the application, we are law abiding, upstanding citizens, I cannot even imagine what we will be asked for next! Good luck to everyone waiting for approval, all the best and have a lovely (skype) Christmas :0


----------



## Fress313

Hi mark 
My wife is here on a 12 month multiple entry tourist visa with max stay of 3 months 
And is currently here with me in australia from thailand
we have applied online offshore for a partner visa in bangkok in Septemper 10/09/14 I am not expecting an outcome from that until September next year . Will she need to get a police clearance from Australia as by then I am expecting she willhave spent over 12 months in oz 
3 month holiday June through September and I would say she will have built up close to 12 months by sept .?
Also she is due to have a baby in April will that make any major changes to our partner visa 
if it's born here it will be an australian Citizen if born in thailand I will do citizenship by decent .
And will that qualify is for automatic subclass 100 and let us skip 309 

Regards
Fress


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fress -

As long as she has not spent a total of 12 months or more in Australia during the last 10 years (as of time of application) they likely will not require an Australian police cert, however they might request one during processing - best to wait and see on that one. The discretion to give a subclass 100 straight away (vs 309 first) is usually when there is a relationship of at least 2 years and the couple has a child. Once the baby is born, if the visa is not yet decided, I'd definitely write the case officer to let them know of the birth, and enquire as to whether she/he would be inclined to grant the 100 visa assuming your partner relationship has been of at least 2 years duration at that time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Fress313 said:


> Hi mark
> My wife is here on a 12 month multiple entry tourist visa with max stay of 3 months
> And is currently here with me in australia from thailand
> we have applied online offshore for a partner visa in bangkok in Septemper 10/09/14 I am not expecting an outcome from that until September next year . Will she need to get a police clearance from Australia as by then I am expecting she willhave spent over 12 months in oz
> 3 month holiday June through September and I would say she will have built up close to 12 months by sept .?
> Also she is due to have a baby in April will that make any major changes to our partner visa
> if it's born here it will be an australian Citizen if born in thailand I will do citizenship by decent .
> And will that qualify is for automatic subclass 100 and let us skip 309
> 
> Regards
> Fress


----------



## fitzroyy

*POSTIVE REVIEW FOR MARK*

This is a review feedback of Mark that I have consulted with him in person today and it is my second time I have seen him since last time and like usual, he is great, funny and very helpful. He is so hard working that he even works on Xmas day! I have never seen any agent who works as hard as this! Two big thumbs up!

If you have read my previous review about him, he has been very professional like he usually answers in the forum. The only difference is that he would go through with you in every detail making sure that you won't miss anything out or advise you what's best for you in person and is worth every penny.

I would be seeing him again in near future if there's any other issues. I was supposed to give him a little Xmas gift today but forgot to do so!

So guys, if there are any migration issues, PLEASE do find him for consultation whether it is by Skype or in person! I originally was going to submit the 820 form around Feb next year but all of a sudden, the government has increased the price by 50% which is really shocking and rip off so I had to consult with him in an urgent matter so that I can submit before the deadline. Mark has also increased the price since I have seen him last time, but however, it is definitely reasonable, so therefore I do not feel ripped off because he surely deserves it and is worth it, unlike from the government

Any further questions, do not hesitate to contact me and I would be happy to give you my further experiences and answers about Mark! Thanks once again and have a merry Xmas Mark and everyone! =)


----------



## irina_pandey

Dear Mark, 
Hi, I was writing earlier in this forum, I am based in India. My husband was taking ielts and is taking cpa exams, now professional level. So far he has taken ielts three times and every time getting 6.5 in one of the bands. As band is 6.5 we cannot go for skill assessment with CPA. I am not sure he is willing to take ielts again. More concerned about clearing the remaining 4 CPA exams.
Now we got another option, sending me for nursing courses to New Zealand for 3 years in February 2015 (fees for 3 years 60000 Australian Dollars). I already have 2 degrees, Pedagogy+MBA, its not like that that I am eager to go and study at the age of 40 again, its just my personal feeling of love and affection towards medical things. I have 2 daughters. As far as I understood from a friend with whom I will be going, I will be getting student visa. I just want to clarify few things with you if your time allows as you are the person whom I trust completely in the matter related to Immigration. Which visa my daughters and husband will be getting? What are the chances that we get PR even if I complete my studies there? When can I apply for PR: during studies or after completing? Actually I have no idea about the entire thing. All the information is of great help. 

Thank you Mark. Merry Christmas. God bless you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Irina_Pandey -

Thanks for the note. If you are going to study in Australia, a student visa is the most popular way to do that. Should you come to study, you can add your husband onto the visa as your partner, and if your children are under 18 years of age (and in some cases where they are 18 or over) they can also be dependents and added to your student visa.

Re: getting a student visa, I recommend you work with an established Education Agent, as they can help you select and become enrolled in an educational program that meets your needs, and they often bundle in a student visa application at little or no cost, as they are making their primary income from school enrolment commissions paid by the schools.

Re: PR, this usually takes the form of an employer sponsored PR visa such as a 186 or 187 visa (ENS, RSMS), or a skilled visa (subclass 489, 189, 190). Would need to go through your case in much more detail at a consultation in order to give you any specific advice on visas.

Hope this helps, and Merry Christmas!

Best,

Mark



irina_pandey said:


> Dear Mark,
> Hi, I was writing earlier in this forum, I am based in India. My husband was taking ielts and is taking cpa exams, now professional level. So far he has taken ielts three times and every time getting 6.5 in one of the bands. As band is 6.5 we cannot go for skill assessment with CPA. I am not sure he is willing to take ielts again. More concerned about clearing the remaining 4 CPA exams.
> Now we got another option, sending me for nursing courses to New Zealand for 3 years in February 2015 (fees for 3 years 60000 Australian Dollars). I already have 2 degrees, Pedagogy+MBA, its not like that that I am eager to go and study at the age of 40 again, its just my personal feeling of love and affection towards medical things. I have 2 daughters. As far as I understood from a friend with whom I will be going, I will be getting student visa. I just want to clarify few things with you if your time allows as you are the person whom I trust completely in the matter related to Immigration. Which visa my daughters and husband will be getting? What are the chances that we get PR even if I complete my studies there? When can I apply for PR: during studies or after completing? Actually I have no idea about the entire thing. All the information is of great help.
> 
> Thank you Mark. Merry Christmas. God bless you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks so much for the wonderful review! Glad I was able to help, and it was great seeing you again. Best of luck with all, and happy holidays -

Best,

Mark Northam



fitzroyy said:


> *POSTIVE REVIEW FOR MARK*
> 
> This is a review feedback of Mark that I have consulted with him in person today and it is my second time I have seen him since last time and like usual, he is great, funny and very helpful. He is so hard working that he even works on Xmas day! I have never seen any agent who works as hard as this! Two big thumbs up!
> 
> If you have read my previous review about him, he has been very professional like he usually answers in the forum. The only difference is that he would go through with you in every detail making sure that you won't miss anything out or advise you what's best for you in person and is worth every penny.
> 
> I would be seeing him again in near future if there's any other issues. I was supposed to give him a little Xmas gift today but forgot to do so!
> 
> So guys, if there are any migration issues, PLEASE do find him for consultation whether it is by Skype or in person! I originally was going to submit the 820 form around Feb next year but all of a sudden, the government has increased the price by 50% which is really shocking and rip off so I had to consult with him in an urgent matter so that I can submit before the deadline. Mark has also increased the price since I have seen him last time, but however, it is definitely reasonable, so therefore I do not feel ripped off because he surely deserves it and is worth it, unlike from the government
> 
> Any further questions, do not hesitate to contact me and I would be happy to give you my further experiences and answers about Mark! Thanks once again and have a merry Xmas Mark and everyone! =)


----------



## irina_pandey

Thank you Mark so much. When things get more serious, I will be taking your help and consultation.


----------



## IndyMama

*Old stat decs*

Hi Mark,
Due to various delays between the time I got my form 888 stat decs from friends and family and the time I made my application, the forms were more than 6 weeks old.
I submitted three -- all were old, including the two by the individuals I named on the application itself.
What are my options? Can I submit additional, more recent forms or will my application be rejected based on this?
As you can imagine, this is incredibly stressful to realize four months after submitting my application 
Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IndyMama -

Note that the Form 888 time limit of no more than 6 weeks old applies only if you are applying onshore, have been previously refused a visa (and are section 48 barred), and are lodging a partner visa after being refused for another visa. Other than that, the 6 week time limit does not apply.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Hi Mark,
> Due to various delays between the time I got my form 888 stat decs from friends and family and the time I made my application, the forms were more than 6 weeks old.
> I submitted three -- all were old, including the two by the individuals I named on the application itself.
> What are my options? Can I submit additional, more recent forms or will my application be rejected based on this?
> As you can imagine, this is incredibly stressful to realize four months after submitting my application
> Thank you.


----------



## IndyMama

MarkNortham said:


> Hi IndyMama - Note that the Form 888 time limit of no more than 6 weeks old applies only if you are applying onshore, have been previously refused a visa (and are section 48 barred), and are lodging a partner visa after being refused for another visa. Other than that, the 6 week time limit does not apply. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Thank you so much for the clarification!
Happiest of holidays to you Mark.


----------



## Martin1

Hello Mark,
I have a question about visa 189 and 190. 
I have around 5 years experience of having MY OWN COMPANY in Sweden. I was wondering to know if I can use this time as work experience in 189 or 190 visa? It's worth to mention that the work was completely related to my university degree. 
thanks in advance


----------



## Fress313

Hi mark
I have a question about travelling to Australia while pregnant on a tourist visa .
My wife has a 12 month multiple entry tourist visa ( max stay 3 months) we are wanting to have the baby in Australia do you think we will encounter any grief with immigration travelling into Australia at 33 weeks pregnant ? I know all the stuff about the airlines was just curious about when we get to the airport in oz .
Cheers Matt


----------



## Mietsie

Hi Mark

Hope you had a great Christmas and may you have an awesome 2015!
Again, thank you for helping us on this site. I regularly read through some posts and I'm amazed at your knowledge.

Just a quick question, I'm on a Bridging Visa A (subclass 010) and I'm planning a cruise from Brisbane to Newcastle and back to Brisbane in March 2015. Do I need a Bridging Visa B for this?

Thank you very much!
Kind regards
Mietsie


----------



## mayaasen

Hi Mark, I have a quick question about applying for a tourist visa with a 820 visa pending in Australia

I was in a Bridging visa A waiting for my partner visa, I applied for a BVB however it wasn't granted before my travel overseas with my partner. Now that I'm overseas I've been informed the only way to get back into AUS is to apply for a tourist visa. But I'm worried about how I should word my application. If I should explain my situation on the tourist visa OR if I should say I'm visiting my de facto partner and plan on leaving Australia before the 3 months is up. I'm worried that the visa won't be approved if they can see my intentions to possibly stay in AUS

Thankyou
Maya


----------



## mazumder

*457 or 186 for applying for spouse*

*Hi Mark
Thanks for giving your valuable time.
Currently im on 457 visa (granted on 11/05/2012) , I haven't apply for ENS yet. Because ive got married this year and I want to bring my wife here asap, my sponsor has no problem to sponsor both of us. Im confused to choose my best available option.Please advise me which option I should choose ?
Option 1. Apply for my wife under my current visa (457) spouse. But, if it takes too long (like 12 months) to get the decision , it will delay my ens application afterwards. As I think, once I apply for her, I shouldn't apply for my ens before getting her visa decision
Option 2. apply for 186 for both. Me, my wife ,my employer all parties are ready to apply for my ens with all required documents except my wife's ielts ( She achieved avg 4 , for 186 visa functional English requirement for partner is 4.5) .
Option 3. Apply just for me for 186. And whenever she achieve the score,apply for her separately later on.in that case ,if my employer change at that time to provide sponsorship for my wife,I will be in trouble

If some thing what ive wrote here isn't the correct info or I am wrong about any info,please correct me.and advise me the best option.
Thanks a million in advance.
Mazumder*


----------



## TrishuliGuide

*From Temporary to Permanent Residency*

Hello Mark, Happy Holidays!

I applied for 820/801 after my son was born here in Australia. Later my partner and I decided to separate and she withdrew her sponsorship. I requested to Immi that they continue my application based on the fact that my son is an Australian citizen and resident. They granted me 820 just before Christmas.

My question is in regards to applying for 801 Permanent Residency: do I still have to wait the standard 2 years since the time of application? But what would I provide to Immi at that time since my application is no longer based on me being in a relationship?

I'm just not sure what to do now and your guidance would be much appreciated! Thank you.


----------



## Scotty

Hi Mark, 
I am Australian citizen by birth, married in Philippines my fiancee of year and half relationship month ago, and week later she with me in Australia on tourist visa without "no further stay". This her second time here on tourist visa. We have had over 6 months actually physical time together. 

Anyhow, called immigration and guy told me that we can apply for 820 onshore visa, but he said do it before 1st January 2015 before price increase. Then he said she will get bridging visa A and be allowed to work and get Medicare. 

I said but we will need month to get all the evidence letters etc together. He said that is ok, just fill out the application online and pay before the 1st January and that way avoid the price increase. Then add the attachments within the month. 

My concern is will they possibly charge us the extra because the actual application is not all finalised by price increase day? 

Also, concerned that they may look at our application before actually finished attaching the full evidence? 

He also told me to start her on the ehealth, but my reading of that said to not do the health check if suspect the visa applying for will take over 6 months, and this visa is likely to take over 15 months!!

Another topic I raised is what if my wife become pregnant? He said, then she will only complete medical and blood check but no xray till after baby born. Also if pregnant then will need add that detail when confirmed by doctor. 

I feel that the information I being told could be misleading? 

Thanks if can even answer just the part about will I be charged more?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martin1 -

DIBP will need sufficient documentation to show the hours you worked and that tasks were completed - this typically involves contracts, invoices, and whatever other documents you can produce to evidence the time you've spent. As this area is open to abuse, they typically are very picky about requiring documentary evidence that can be verified with others (ie, contracts with other companies, etc). Re: degree, note that only work experience gained after you completed the minimum education qualification for your occupation can be claimed for points for skilled visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Martin1 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I have a question about visa 189 and 190.
> I have around 5 years experience of having MY OWN COMPANY in Sweden. I was wondering to know if I can use this time as work experience in 189 or 190 visa? It's worth to mention that the work was completely related to my university degree.
> thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fress -

Generally if there's going to be an issue, it usually happens at the departure airport before you depart, but somewhat unpredictable. Obviously there are other issues - ie, hospital care, etc which I assume you've worked out.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Fress313 said:


> Hi mark
> I have a question about travelling to Australia while pregnant on a tourist visa .
> My wife has a 12 month multiple entry tourist visa ( max stay 3 months) we are wanting to have the baby in Australia do you think we will encounter any grief with immigration travelling into Australia at 33 weeks pregnant ? I know all the stuff about the airlines was just curious about when we get to the airport in oz .
> Cheers Matt


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mietsie -

Thanks for the kind words! Assuming you mean Newcastle NSW (not UK), no bridging visa B needed as you are not an international arrival into Australia. Hope you have a great cruise!

Best,

Mark



Mietsie said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hope you had a great Christmas and may you have an awesome 2015!
> Again, thank you for helping us on this site. I regularly read through some posts and I'm amazed at your knowledge.
> 
> Just a quick question, I'm on a Bridging Visa A (subclass 010) and I'm planning a cruise from Brisbane to Newcastle and back to Brisbane in March 2015. Do I need a Bridging Visa B for this?
> 
> Thank you very much!
> Kind regards
> Mietsie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mayaasen -

They'll see the pending partner visa on your record anyway, so might as well tell them the story, especially if there were some compassionate/compelling circumstances that caused you to have to leave prior to the BV-B being granted. Usually not an issue however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mayaasen said:


> Hi Mark, I have a quick question about applying for a tourist visa with a 820 visa pending in Australia
> 
> I was in a Bridging visa A waiting for my partner visa, I applied for a BVB however it wasn't granted before my travel overseas with my partner. Now that I'm overseas I've been informed the only way to get back into AUS is to apply for a tourist visa. But I'm worried about how I should word my application. If I should explain my situation on the tourist visa OR if I should say I'm visiting my de facto partner and plan on leaving Australia before the 3 months is up. I'm worried that the visa won't be approved if they can see my intentions to possibly stay in AUS
> 
> Thankyou
> Maya


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mazumder -

Thanks for the note. A key issue in all this is whether your employer will be willing to sponsor both of you (and won't change his mind). Since 457 subequent entrant visas are generally granted in a matter of weeks (4-8 usually), I'd suggest applying that way to get her onto your existing 457, then once she's here, apply for the 186 with both of you on the application. This way, she'll be able to stay here as long as necessary for the 186 to be granted. If you apply for the 186 with her offshore at the time, she won't get a bridging visa and would be limited to coming here on visitor visas until the 186 is decided, and if the 186 is refused, there may be an issue with review rights if she is offshore - all in all, better to have here here and on the 457 when you apply for the 186.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mazumder said:


> *Hi Mark
> Thanks for giving your valuable time.
> Currently im on 457 visa (granted on 11/05/2012) , I haven't apply for ENS yet. Because ive got married this year and I want to bring my wife here asap, my sponsor has no problem to sponsor both of us. Im confused to choose my best available option.Please advise me which option I should choose ?
> Option 1. Apply for my wife under my current visa (457) spouse. But, if it takes too long (like 12 months) to get the decision , it will delay my ens application afterwards. As I think, once I apply for her, I shouldn't apply for my ens before getting her visa decision
> Option 2. apply for 186 for both. Me, my wife ,my employer all parties are ready to apply for my ens with all required documents except my wife's ielts ( She achieved avg 4 , for 186 visa functional English requirement for partner is 4.5) .
> Option 3. Apply just for me for 186. And whenever she achieve the score,apply for her separately later on.in that case ,if my employer change at that time to provide sponsorship for my wife,I will be in trouble
> 
> If some thing what ive wrote here isn't the correct info or I am wrong about any info,please correct me.and advise me the best option.
> Thanks a million in advance.
> Mazumder*


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TrishuliGuide -

Thanks for the note. I'm guessing that DIBP did not correctly process your request to continue the application due to the child, and granted the 820 in error. Normally the 801 is granted straight away in these conditions - it's not a strict requirement, but the legislation for the 801 has a clear exception for the 2 year requirement in cases like yours.

No need to wait for the 2 years - I would enquire with DIBP as to how they would like you to continue your sc801 application, as it's still on board at DIBP and will be until a decision is made on it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TrishuliGuide said:


> Hello Mark, Happy Holidays!
> 
> I applied for 820/801 after my son was born here in Australia. Later my partner and I decided to separate and she withdrew her sponsorship. I requested to Immi that they continue my application based on the fact that my son is an Australian citizen and resident. They granted me 820 just before Christmas.
> 
> My question is in regards to applying for 801 Permanent Residency: do I still have to wait the standard 2 years since the time of application? But what would I provide to Immi at that time since my application is no longer based on me being in a relationship?
> 
> I'm just not sure what to do now and your guidance would be much appreciated! Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Scotty -

As long as you lodge and pay before 1 Jan 2015 (and I suggest you don't wait until the last minute as there is likely to be heavy demand on their online systems in the last 24 hours before that deadline), the old fee will be applicable. After you lodge and pay, you then upload the various documents. While there is no guarantee as to how soon they will look at the application, generally 1-2 weeks is reasonable to upload all docs. If they look at it before you upload all docs, they will generally send you a letter stating what is missing & required to be provided, and give you 28 days to do so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Scotty said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am Australian citizen by birth, married in Philippines my fiancee of year and half relationship month ago, and week later she with me in Australia on tourist visa without "no further stay". This her second time here on tourist visa. We have had over 6 months actually physical time together.
> 
> Anyhow, called immigration and guy told me that we can apply for 820 onshore visa, but he said do it before 1st January 2015 before price increase. Then he said she will get bridging visa A and be allowed to work and get Medicare.
> 
> I said but we will need month to get all the evidence letters etc together. He said that is ok, just fill out the application online and pay before the 1st January and that way avoid the price increase. Then add the attachments within the month.
> 
> My concern is will they possibly charge us the extra because the actual application is not all finalised by price increase day?
> 
> Also, concerned that they may look at our application before actually finished attaching the full evidence?
> 
> He also told me to start her on the ehealth, but my reading of that said to not do the health check if suspect the visa applying for will take over 6 months, and this visa is likely to take over 15 months!!
> 
> Another topic I raised is what if my wife become pregnant? He said, then she will only complete medical and blood check but no xray till after baby born. Also if pregnant then will need add that detail when confirmed by doctor.
> 
> I feel that the information I being told could be misleading?
> 
> Thanks if can even answer just the part about will I be charged more?


----------



## Fress313

Thank you so much for your reply 
Yes have looked into all the costs here mate
So as long as we have everything covered with the airline there shouldn't be an issue with the immigration side .
Regards
Matt


----------



## Scotty

Thanks Mark. 
Seems some people have not been requested more evidence and just get rejected. 
Maybe in mean time we will have baby on the way and hopefully that adds to evidence and not hinders application.


----------



## Martin1

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Martin1 -
> 
> DIBP will need sufficient documentation to show the hours you worked and that tasks were completed - this typically involves contracts, invoices, and whatever other documents you can produce to evidence the time you've spent. As this area is open to abuse, they typically are very picky about requiring documentary evidence that can be verified with others (ie, contracts with other companies, etc). Re: degree, note that only work experience gained after you completed the minimum education qualification for your occupation can be claimed for points for skilled visas.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much for the reply, 
I have opened my company after finishing my bachelor so it wouldn't be any problem it that side, but now I have two other questions about the work experience that I would really appreciate if you could help me with them:

1- around 70% of my income in that company was in software field (which I need) and the other 30% was other things (especially hardware design). I can show all the transactions (from Swedish taxing office and my bank account) and contracts to confirm that. I was wondering to know if there would be a problem that ONLY 70% OF MY BUSINESS WAS IN THE REQUIRED FIELD?

2- I can already reach 60 points for 189 visa without even having work experience. Is it possible for me NOT TO SHOW ANY WORK EXPERIENCE so that my case would be easier to process? Because a friend told me that work experience would be needed anyway for visa 189.

Best Regards
Martin


----------



## Johann

Hi Mark,

About 4 months ago, my partner and I received permanent residency via my 189 application. I applied and she was listed as "de facto partner".

Unfortunately, we have just broken up. I'm happy she has the visa; we're just not meant to be. Do I need to take any action? Do I need to let DIPB know? I assume we both just have individual visas and go our own ways from here on, correct?

We're both planning to apply for citizenship in 8 months (have been in the country for long enough, and by then we will have had a permanent visum for 12 months). Will this cause any problems, if we don't apply together?

Are there any other concerns I should be wary of?

Thanks Mark!
Johann


----------



## lagitana06

Hi Mark,

As a New Zealander who has lived here for the past 12 years (I moved here as a 13 year old with my family end of 2002 when SCV was all the craze), I have finally been able to apply for permanent residence via general skilled migration visa.

I am aware that I need to be a permanent resident for 12 months before I can apply for citizenship however I have been presented with a really fantastic opportunity to teach in France in October 2015 for 7 months. My plan was to apply for Australian citizenship on my one year PR anniversary (June 6th 2015).

My question relating to this: If I were to take on the opportunity to travel to France three months after this date - would this still be possible or am I risking losing my PR status and having to apply all over again or do things change once I've applied for citizenship, considering it will be three months prior to my departure? 

Thanks in anticipation!


----------



## gnam6174

MarkNortham said:


> Hi gnam6174 -
> 
> Thanks for the question - hard to predict, however I'd make sure you have documentation of the Uni refusing to issue you a new eCOE before January so in case DIBP has an issue, you can show evidence that the University refused to provide the required document. It also can come down to if/when the University reported you as having stopped studying your previous course.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thank very much for your help.

I've read on the Immigration website, and they write about the change of course for non-streamlined visa holders : "If you want to change to a new course to study towards the same level of qualification and your visa was not granted under streamlined arrangements, you do not need to apply for a new student visa unless your current visa is about to expire"

In my case, I enrolled the International Business course at the beginning ( Feb-2014). In August, I change my course to the Professional Accounting. Both of them are 2 years master courses, and my visa now will expire in March 2016, it's enough for me to complete the course.

So, I need to apply a new visa or not? I'm not sure about that.

Thank you


----------



## singh1989

wats up guys ?i wanna ask u everybody here i been to australia in 2009 on student visa due to some problems i quit my studies ,then after i was constantly working under the immigartion radar ,but finally one day cops just stop me ouside the club ,they ask me to produce the id then they goes through immi records ,they find out straight away i am illegal long story short then immi deport me back to india ,in march 2014..my girlfriend she is in australian and even she is a aus citizen ,we both wanna marry now down here in my country ,wat u guys think is that still possible i can get a partner visa 309,thanks in advance ,let me know what i have to do


----------



## seerang2015

*What should I do*

Hi all and Mr Northan

To apply for a NSW Skilled-Nominated visa (subclass 190), after receiving the letter of invitation from NSW, I think I have to apply within next 60 days. But I want to apply 4 months later. (I will receive the invitation letter after 2015 New Year holiday, but I want to apply in May 2015). What should I do?
Guide me please,


----------



## Marlee6

*Question on visa 461 (temp)*

Hi there, I've been searching the Internet for ages trying to figure out the ins and outs of this visa. So basically I'm Irish and my partner is Kiwi. I found out that I am pregnant but I'm currently on a WH visa which doesn't allow for dependant children so applying for a 461 temporary visa.

However I just want to make sure that I can actually have a baby on this visa before I go through the whole process.

I was also wondering do I need to apply for another 461 for the baby as soon as its born or is it automatically covered under my visa or perhaps he won't need a visa because my partner is NZ citizen.

Thanks so much for reading and/or replying.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martin1 -

Re: 1, not sure - I expect this will be OK as the other field (hardware) is somewhat related to the software field.

Re: 2, No work experience is required to be claimed for points for 189 if you can satisfy the points other ways - your friend is incorrect. And yes, it can definitely speed up the application processing. Years ago the old rules required 2 years of work for DIBP, but that was changed long ago.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Martin1 said:


> Thank you so much for the reply,
> I have opened my company after finishing my bachelor so it wouldn't be any problem it that side, but now I have two other questions about the work experience that I would really appreciate if you could help me with them:
> 
> 1- around 70% of my income in that company was in software field (which I need) and the other 30% was other things (especially hardware design). I can show all the transactions (from Swedish taxing office and my bank account) and contracts to confirm that. I was wondering to know if there would be a problem that ONLY 70% OF MY BUSINESS WAS IN THE REQUIRED FIELD?
> 
> 2- I can already reach 60 points for 189 visa without even having work experience. Is it possible for me NOT TO SHOW ANY WORK EXPERIENCE so that my case would be easier to process? Because a friend told me that work experience would be needed anyway for visa 189.
> 
> Best Regards
> Martin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Johann -

Sorry to hear of your break-up. Nothing needs to be done re: DIBP, and you are under no obligation to inform them of this - once you both became permanent residents, it ceased to matter whether the relationship remains intact or not. Should not affect citizenship unless DIBP made some claim (very unlikely) that the relationship was fraudulent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Johann said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> About 4 months ago, my partner and I received permanent residency via my 189 application. I applied and she was listed as "de facto partner".
> 
> Unfortunately, we have just broken up. I'm happy she has the visa; we're just not meant to be. Do I need to take any action? Do I need to let DIPB know? I assume we both just have individual visas and go our own ways from here on, correct?
> 
> We're both planning to apply for citizenship in 8 months (have been in the country for long enough, and by then we will have had a permanent visum for 12 months). Will this cause any problems, if we don't apply together?
> 
> Are there any other concerns I should be wary of?
> 
> Thanks Mark!
> Johann


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lagitana06 -

Thanks for the question. The issue comes re: the requirement that a person is likely to reside or continue to reside in Australia, or to maintain a "close and continuing association with Australia" - note policy below - as your trip is only 7 months in duration, that would help your case and my guess is that it would not be likely to derail your citizenship application

_5.7 Likely to reside, or continue to reside, in Australia or to maintain a close and continuing association with Australia (s21(2)(g))
The application (Forms 1300t and 1290) contain a declaration which refers to an intention to reside, or continuing intention to reside, in Australia, or to maintain a close and continuing association with Australia. This declaration would generally be sufficient evidence of the applicant's intentions unless there is information to the contrary.

5.7.1 Likely to reside, or continue to reside in Australia
Intention to reside should be investigated further in situations where:

the applicant has spent significant periods outside of Australia since becoming a permanent resident or
has requested a citizenship test or citizenship ceremony be conducted overseas.
Where a person indicates that they intend to leave Australia or remain overseas for an indeterminate period, officers must consider whether they have a close and continuing relationship with Australia. Officers should note that the applicant must meet either likely to reside, or continue to reside, in Australia OR maintain a close and continuing association with Australia, not both, to meet requirements of this provision.

5.7.2 Maintain a close and continuing association with Australia
Factors that may contribute to a close and continuing association with Australia include:

Australian citizen spouse or de facto partner
Australian citizen children
length of relationship with Australian citizen spouse or de facto partner
extended family in Australia
return visits to Australia
periods of residence in Australia
intention to reside in Australia
employment in Australia (for example, public or private sector)
ownership of property in Australia and
evidence of income tax payment in Australia
5.7.3 Minister may cancel approval
Section 25(2) of the Act applies where a person may no longer meet the eligibility requirements, despite being approved. This applies when a person is:

not a permanent resident,
not likely to reside, or continue to reside, in Australia or maintain a close and continuing association with Australia or
not of good character.
Officers may be prompted to assess whether a person no longer meets likely to reside, or continue to reside, in Australia or maintain a close and continuing association with Australia in situations where:

a person requests an urgent citizenship ceremony because they are intending to go overseas for an extended period of time and do not have a return date or
a person has not attended a citizenship ceremony in Australia and have requested an overseas ceremony.
Section 25(3) requires that a person must have one of the prescribed reasons (in regulation 7 of the Australian Citizenship Regulations) for failing to make the pledge of commitment within 12 months of receiving approval, to avoid cancellation of approval.

Prescribed reasons are limited only to a person overseas for:

Medical treatment that was not available in Australia
Unexpected hospitalisation while overseas for a reason unrelated to that hospitalisation
Caring for a person who was critically ill or
Funeral and associated arrangements.
Applicants must provide a signed statement and written evidence to support their claims.
_

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lagitana06 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> As a New Zealander who has lived here for the past 12 years (I moved here as a 13 year old with my family end of 2002 when SCV was all the craze), I have finally been able to apply for permanent residence via general skilled migration visa.
> 
> I am aware that I need to be a permanent resident for 12 months before I can apply for citizenship however I have been presented with a really fantastic opportunity to teach in France in October 2015 for 7 months. My plan was to apply for Australian citizenship on my one year PR anniversary (June 6th 2015).
> 
> My question relating to this: If I were to take on the opportunity to travel to France three months after this date - would this still be possible or am I risking losing my PR status and having to apply all over again or do things change once I've applied for citizenship, considering it will be three months prior to my departure?
> 
> Thanks in anticipation!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gnam6174 -

Based on what you have said, I don't see a need to apply for a new visa - make sure your eCOE is properly completed, and you might even want to notify DIBP that you have changed courses and make sure they have the ID of the new eCOE - the problem in this area can happen when the school screws up and doesn't properly handle the old eCOE or the new one.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gnam6174 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank very much for your help.
> 
> I've read on the Immigration website, and they write about the change of course for non-streamlined visa holders : "If you want to change to a new course to study towards the same level of qualification and your visa was not granted under streamlined arrangements, you do not need to apply for a new student visa unless your current visa is about to expire"
> 
> In my case, I enrolled the International Business course at the beginning ( Feb-2014). In August, I change my course to the Professional Accounting. Both of them are 2 years master courses, and my visa now will expire in March 2016, it's enough for me to complete the course.
> 
> So, I need to apply a new visa or not? I'm not sure about that.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Singh1989 -

I would suggest posting this as a separate topic in addition to the "Ask Mark" topic in order to get other opinions - the issue for you may be the Character Requirement, where substantial breaches of migration law can result in a finding by DIBP that you do not pass the Character Test due to that conduct. Suggest you sit down with a registered migration agent in your country or Australia (via Skype, etc) and go through your history in detail. May not be possible to predict chances of success for a partner visa, may have to apply and see how it is assessed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



singh1989 said:


> wats up guys ?i wanna ask u everybody here i been to australia in 2009 on student visa due to some problems i quit my studies ,then after i was constantly working under the immigartion radar ,but finally one day cops just stop me ouside the club ,they ask me to produce the id then they goes through immi records ,they find out straight away i am illegal long story short then immi deport me back to india ,in march 2014..my girlfriend she is in australian and even she is a aus citizen ,we both wanna marry now down here in my country ,wat u guys think is that still possible i can get a partner visa 309,thanks in advance ,let me know what i have to do


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seerang2015 -

Unfortunately there's no way to "extend" an invitation - the invitation will automatically expire 60 days from issue unless you make a valid application for a visa within that timeframe. You would have to get a new invitation to apply later, but with NSW that may be exceptionally difficult given their problems with being able to lodge an application to NSW with all their system problems and ridiculously short deadlines.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seerang2015 said:


> Hi all and Mr Northan
> 
> To apply for a NSW Skilled-Nominated visa (subclass 190), after receiving the letter of invitation from NSW, I think I have to apply within next 60 days. But I want to apply 4 months later. (I will receive the invitation letter after 2015 New Year holiday, but I want to apply in May 2015). What should I do?
> Guide me please,


----------



## Hopefulone

*Medical Advice*

Hi Mark,

Looking for some guidance please.

I'm currently on a 457 visa and have an application lodged for a 186 visa. Recently we were requested to do medicals, which we did 2 weeks ago and the results have been submitted to DIBP. It occurred to me over the Xmas holidays that I forgot to include minor depression which I sook help for earlier this year - I went to 4 counselling sessions at my local GP in Sydney for this. I didn't include this as I thought at the time DIBP were only interested in hospitalisation and diagnosed conditions' - both of which do not apply to me. In hindsight this was a bad assumption on my part.

I have completed form 1023 and sent this to my case officer. Based on the above what do you think the likely outcome will be? Have I put my application in jeopardy?

What do you think will happen as a result of this


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marlee6 -

You're much better off on a 461 than on a working holiday visa. Best thing to do is to contact DIBP as soon as your baby is born and ask them what form(s) they want you to lodge depending on your circumstances at the time. Re: father and baby's citizenship, that would depend on the father obtaining NZ citizenship by descent for the baby (in that case, the baby should apply for a 444 visa) - again, best to contact DIBP with your circumstances and plans once the child is born and they can help you through the process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Marlee6 said:


> Hi there, I've been searching the Internet for ages trying to figure out the ins and outs of this visa. So basically I'm Irish and my partner is Kiwi. I found out that I am pregnant but I'm currently on a WH visa which doesn't allow for dependant children so applying for a 461 temporary visa.
> 
> However I just want to make sure that I can actually have a baby on this visa before I go through the whole process.
> 
> I was also wondering do I need to apply for another 461 for the baby as soon as its born or is it automatically covered under my visa or perhaps he won't need a visa because my partner is NZ citizen.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and/or replying.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopefulone -

As nothing was diagnosed, my guess is that this would not be a major problem. I'd wait to hear from them - they may ask for more records or a referral letter from your GP re: counselling.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hopefulone said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Looking for some guidance please.
> 
> I'm currently on a 457 visa and have an application lodged for a 186 visa. Recently we were requested to do medicals, which we did 2 weeks ago and the results have been submitted to DIBP. It occurred to me over the Xmas holidays that I forgot to include minor depression which I sook help for earlier this year - I went to 4 counselling sessions at my local GP in Sydney for this. I didn't include this as I thought at the time DIBP were only interested in hospitalisation and diagnosed conditions' - both of which do not apply to me. In hindsight this was a bad assumption on my part.
> 
> I have completed form 1023 and sent this to my case officer. Based on the above what do you think the likely outcome will be? Have I put my application in jeopardy?
> 
> What do you think will happen as a result of this


----------



## Mietsie

Hi Mark

Thank you very much for your help!
You assumed correctly! Yes, it's Newcastle NSW! 
Can't wait for the cruise.

Take care.
Kind regards
Mietsie

I


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mietsie -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words! Assuming you mean Newcastle NSW (not UK), no bridging visa B needed as you are not an international arrival into Australia. Hope you have a great cruise!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## Crystal 999

Hi Mark, 
Happy New Year.

Where can i get information about your agency or contact details ?

Thank you


----------



## statbat

Crystal 999 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Happy New Year.
> 
> Where can i get information about your agency or contact details ?
> 
> Thank you


Hello Crystal,

his website is mnvisa.com
Happy New year to you too

Thanks


----------



## statbat

*Usually settled*

Hello Mark,

Happy new year.
I hope you are doing great.

I have a question.

I am new to Australia, 1.5 month here.
I am looking to sponsor for partner visa. What can i use to prove to DIBP that I have intention to live here in Australia "usually settled" ?

Following I am planning to provide:

- tenancy agreement
- foxtel bill / electricity bill
- ABN number applied
- TFN & medicare applied and received
- Learner license as well as PAID BOOKING for future test date

Thanks for your valued time.


----------



## m_d_p29

Hi,

I have applied for 189 visa and it is waiting for PCC for my spouse from USA. I have submitted Indian PCC already.

I had applied to FBI with 2 sets of fingerprint, but both were rejected as they were illegible. We went to two fingerprint agencies and both have expressed little hope with new set of fingerprints. They believe that it would be rejected again and the problem is with the state of my wife's fingeprints. The fingerprints at the fingertip are completely worn off and has natural fissures at the upper side of the finger which causes illegible fingerprints. I am really struck and do not know a way out. She has also shown it to a skin specialist and he sees no issue with the hand but mentioned that it is natural and no medicine can help that.

Is there any other option like submitting state police clearance or can i request for a waiver of pcc as I know that the second time as well the fingerprints would be rejected. 

Please help me with my situation.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crystal 999 -

Happy New Year to you too! Link for my website is below in my signature -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Crystal 999 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Happy New Year.
> 
> Where can i get information about your agency or contact details ?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Statbat -

The tenancy agreement is the strongest item of the ones you mentioned. Other things that are often used:

* Evidence of employment or ongoing job search
* Purchase, lease or ownership of any household assets such as furniture, appliances
* Purchase, lease or ownership of a car
* Any other obligations that require you to be in Australia (loans, etc to repay, etc)

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



statbat said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Happy new year.
> I hope you are doing great.
> 
> I have a question.
> 
> I am new to Australia, 1.5 month here.
> I am looking to sponsor for partner visa. What can i use to prove to DIBP that I have intention to live here in Australia "usually settled" ?
> 
> Following I am planning to provide:
> 
> - tenancy agreement
> - foxtel bill / electricity bill
> - ABN number applied
> - TFN & medicare applied and received
> - Learner license as well as PAID BOOKING for future test date
> 
> Thanks for your valued time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi m_d_p29 -

First, have you tried ink (rolled) and electronic fingerprint sampling? I believe the FBI is set up with some sort of international network where a person can provide their fingerprints offshore electronically. I'd try both methods if available.

Next, you could request a waiver of the PCC or could see if the FBI could run one based on name only, which you'd also have to have a waiver from DIBP to use. Doctor letters and the FBI rejection letters would be very important in trying to get a waiver.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



m_d_p29 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have applied for 189 visa and it is waiting for PCC for my spouse from USA. I have submitted Indian PCC already.
> 
> I had applied to FBI with 2 sets of fingerprint, but both were rejected as they were illegible. We went to two fingerprint agencies and both have expressed little hope with new set of fingerprints. They believe that it would be rejected again and the problem is with the state of my wife's fingeprints. The fingerprints at the fingertip are completely worn off and has natural fissures at the upper side of the finger which causes illegible fingerprints. I am really struck and do not know a way out. She has also shown it to a skin specialist and he sees no issue with the hand but mentioned that it is natural and no medicine can help that.
> 
> Is there any other option like submitting state police clearance or can i request for a waiver of pcc as I know that the second time as well the fingerprints would be rejected.
> 
> Please help me with my situation.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## statbat

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Statbat -
> 
> The tenancy agreement is the strongest item of the ones you mentioned. Other things that are often used:
> 
> * Evidence of employment or ongoing job search
> * Purchase, lease or ownership of any household assets such as furniture, appliances
> * Purchase, lease or ownership of a car
> * Any other obligations that require you to be in Australia (loans, etc to repay, etc)
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark.

Besides lease agreement based on your advise i can easily show the car purchase as well as all home appliances / furniture purchase in last 1 month.

Thanks a lot again.


----------



## m_d_p29

MarkNortham said:


> Hi m_d_p29 -
> 
> First, have you tried ink (rolled) and electronic fingerprint sampling? I believe the FBI is set up with some sort of international network where a person can provide their fingerprints offshore electronically. I'd try both methods if available.
> 
> Next, you could request a waiver of the PCC or could see if the FBI could run one based on name only, which you'd also have to have a waiver from DIBP to use. Doctor letters and the FBI rejection letters would be very important in trying to get a waiver.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark for your prompt response.

We had our first set as ink rolled fingeprints. By international network, do you mean approved channelers? If so, does DIBP accept results done through electronic fingerprinting?

Thanks


----------



## Chinny

*App 186 visa*

Hi mark, please help, we so frustrated!!

My husband and I are trying to lodge our application for 186 direct entry. The nomination has been lodged but not approved yet. We have the reference number. 
When we get to page 4 of the application we get a warning message that says:-
"The applicant is unable to continue this application as related application details cannot be confirmed. The applicant may wish to review the information entered in this application prior to continuing"
We have been in contact with Dept of Imm twice today and they cannot understand why we are getting this as nomination is visable on their system and we have the correct reference.

Any thoughts or ideas on how to get to page 5???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MDP29 -

Not sure of the name of the network, but it is an issue for the FBI - you might contact them directly and ask them if they are linked with any electronic fingerprinting networks in your country - if so, find out which one(s) and what the process is for having your prints taken by the local network member and transmitted to the FBI.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



m_d_p29 said:


> Thanks Mark for your prompt response.
> 
> We had our first set as ink rolled fingeprints. By international network, do you mean approved channelers? If so, does DIBP accept results done through electronic fingerprinting?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chinny -

Sounds like a DIBP IT problem - not much you or I can do, but I'd be in touch with them and ask them what you should do to make the application validly. If they cannot solve the problem, they may have you lodge a paper application (but you normally can only do this with their specific permission & arrangements made by them in advance. However don't just take "we don't know" for an answer - you're a paying customer and they need to provide a solution. For the fees they're charging, they need to at least solve their own problems.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chinny said:


> Hi mark, please help, we so frustrated!!
> 
> My husband and I are trying to lodge our application for 186 direct entry. The nomination has been lodged but not approved yet. We have the reference number.
> When we get to page 4 of the application we get a warning message that says:-
> "The applicant is unable to continue this application as related application details cannot be confirmed. The applicant may wish to review the information entered in this application prior to continuing"
> We have been in contact with Dept of Imm twice today and they cannot understand why we are getting this as nomination is visable on their system and we have the correct reference.
> 
> Any thoughts or ideas on how to get to page 5???


----------



## Zushi

Hi Mark,

Just a quick question. What is considered adequate accomodation for sponsoring a PMV? I live with my Father rent free and he is happy to let me and my partner live here. I work full time and have a steady income stream, just not sure if not owning my own house or renting is considered an issue.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## MekaAnil78

Hi Mark,

Greetings.

I have a small question about the ACS result. 

I want to Apply for 189 visa

I applied for ACS in Nov 2013 and got my ACS result in Feb-2014. 
My Bachelors degree is in Electrical and Electronics Engineering completed in 2001. I have non IT experience till MARCH 2005.I started my IT profession in APRIL 2005.
I applied for ACS for assessing my work from APRIL 2005. I worked with the same firm (COGNIZANT) till April 2014. I changed to WIPRO in May 2014 and worked till AUGUST 2014 and then came to Australia as a dependent on my wife visa (573 visa- Studying in Melbourne)
All my ACS application process was done from India. Now I am in Australia.

The following is my ACS result.

Thank you for your ICT skills assessment which was received by the Australian Computer Society on 28 November 2013. 

Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 261112 (Systems Analyst) of the ANZSCO Code. 

Your qualification has been assessed as follows: 

Your BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING from UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS completed October 2001 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in computing 

The following employment after April 2009 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261112 (Systems Analyst) of the ANZSCO Code. 



Dates: 04/05 - 09/06 (1yrs 5mths) 

Position: SAP CONSULTANT 

Employer: WDC - IBM 

Country: INDIA 

Dates: 09/06 - 08/07 (0yrs 11mths) 

Position: ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT 

Employer: WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES 

Country: INDIA 

Dates: 08/07 - 10/12 (5yrs 2mths) 

Position: TEAM LEAD 

Employer: ACCENTURE 

Country: INDIA 

Dates: 10/12 - 11/13 (1yrs 1mths) 

Position: SENIOR ASSOCIATE 

Employer: COGNIZANT 

Country: INDIA


My doubt is can I claim 10 points for my experience or will I get only 5 points?
If I want to claim for 10 points should I apply for Assessment again? If I need to apply for new Assessment can I apply only till AUGUST 2014 or should I apply till date
Currently I am working but cannot produce my payslips.

The following is the point I have
AGE - 25 (33-39)
DEGREE - 15
IELTS ( trying for 7)

I am confused regarding this. Hope I get clarification for this.

Thank you in advance.
Regards
Anil


----------



## Akya

Happy New Year Mark!

I have a question regarding PMV (subclass 300).

On the immigration website it states:



> If you marry before a decision is made on your application, write immediately to the office processing your application. Send them:
> 
> a certified copy of proof that you have married
> a request that, due to your marriage, you want to withdraw the application for a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) and be considered for a Partner visa instead.


Would you know any of the complications with this if we (or anyone else) decides to go this way? Since my fiance's family in Italy all want to travel to Australia for the wedding, they prefer to book the flights sooner than later when the visa is granted because they want to get good flights before everything is booked.

We also set the date thinking that the 6 to 9 months stated on the immi website was the correct time, not the 10-14 months that we found out from this forum and our CO after applying.

How much extra does it cost and what else should we know before considering marrying before the visa is granted?


----------



## qimtiaz

Hi Mark,

Happy new year,

I have one quick question, what are the documents required to upload for NSW state nomination during application lodging process.

Regards,


----------



## andrew144

Hi Mark,

I have a bit complicated situation here. I am currently on Bridging Visa C awaiting decision on the partner visa applicatuon(temporary first phase). The problem is that recently we have split with my partner and both found a new one. I have to inform IMMI within 28 days which I'm intending to do. My question is, my new partner who is on 457 wants to include me on his application as dependant. What is the best way to do it? Do I need to leave the country or can I apply onshore? I am currently in the 90 day cooling period de-registration process and can't register another relationship. What should we do?

Andrew


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zushi -

Sounds good to me - evidence of your employment and a letter from your father that he's happy to provide accommodation for you and your partner should be fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zushi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a quick question. What is considered adequate accomodation for sponsoring a PMV? I live with my Father rent free and he is happy to let me and my partner live here. I work full time and have a steady income stream, just not sure if not owning my own house or renting is considered an issue.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anil -

Thanks for the question and for the email - please see my email response to you for more on this. In short, impossible to sort out your situation via forum or email - would need to look at all documents involved and work this out with you in a consultation. The no payslips situation may be a problem as DIBP will generally not award points for work experience without proof of payment, regardless of what ACS might or might not say about that work experience.

Best,

Mark Northam



MekaAnil78 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Greetings.
> 
> I have a small question about the ACS result.
> 
> I want to Apply for 189 visa
> 
> I applied for ACS in Nov 2013 and got my ACS result in Feb-2014.
> My Bachelors degree is in Electrical and Electronics Engineering completed in 2001. I have non IT experience till MARCH 2005.I started my IT profession in APRIL 2005.
> I applied for ACS for assessing my work from APRIL 2005. I worked with the same firm (COGNIZANT) till April 2014. I changed to WIPRO in May 2014 and worked till AUGUST 2014 and then came to Australia as a dependent on my wife visa (573 visa- Studying in Melbourne)
> All my ACS application process was done from India. Now I am in Australia.
> 
> The following is my ACS result.
> 
> Thank you for your ICT skills assessment which was received by the Australian Computer Society on 28 November 2013.
> 
> Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 261112 (Systems Analyst) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Your qualification has been assessed as follows:
> 
> Your BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING from UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS completed October 2001 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in computing
> 
> The following employment after April 2009 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261112 (Systems Analyst) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Dates: 04/05 - 09/06 (1yrs 5mths)
> 
> Position: SAP CONSULTANT
> 
> Employer: WDC - IBM
> 
> Country: INDIA
> 
> Dates: 09/06 - 08/07 (0yrs 11mths)
> 
> Position: ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT
> 
> Employer: WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES
> 
> Country: INDIA
> 
> Dates: 08/07 - 10/12 (5yrs 2mths)
> 
> Position: TEAM LEAD
> 
> Employer: ACCENTURE
> 
> Country: INDIA
> 
> Dates: 10/12 - 11/13 (1yrs 1mths)
> 
> Position: SENIOR ASSOCIATE
> 
> Employer: COGNIZANT
> 
> Country: INDIA
> 
> My doubt is can I claim 10 points for my experience or will I get only 5 points?
> If I want to claim for 10 points should I apply for Assessment again? If I need to apply for new Assessment can I apply only till AUGUST 2014 or should I apply till date
> Currently I am working but cannot produce my payslips.
> 
> The following is the point I have
> AGE - 25 (33-39)
> DEGREE - 15
> IELTS ( trying for 7)
> 
> I am confused regarding this. Hope I get clarification for this.
> 
> Thank you in advance.
> Regards
> Anil


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akya -

Generally the most common issue with these situations is making sure you have accumulated enough relationship evidence so that you have that available to submit for the partner visa application when the conversion takes place (ie, after you inform them you've married). If you've spent some time living together prior to marriage, that can be helpful in accumulating the kind of evidence you'll need, which FYI is significantly more/different than a fiance visa - see the 4 major types of relationship evidence described on the DIBP site, and there are many great threads here on the forum about relationship evidence.

Re: cost, from what I understand, DIBP will charge the difference between what you paid and the current offshore partner visa price, although I have not confirmed that as I've been on holiday since the price change on 1 Jan (I return to the office on 13 Jan).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Akya said:


> Happy New Year Mark!
> 
> I have a question regarding PMV (subclass 300).
> 
> On the immigration website it states:
> 
> Would you know any of the complications with this if we (or anyone else) decides to go this way? Since my fiance's family in Italy all want to travel to Australia for the wedding, they prefer to book the flights sooner than later when the visa is granted because they want to get good flights before everything is booked.
> 
> We also set the date thinking that the 6 to 9 months stated on the immi website was the correct time, not the 10-14 months that we found out from this forum and our CO after applying.
> 
> How much extra does it cost and what else should we know before considering marrying before the visa is granted?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Best to check the NSW skilled site for this as they list them there and the list is subject to change.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



qimtiaz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Happy new year,
> 
> I have one quick question, what are the documents required to upload for NSW state nomination during application lodging process.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

Hard to give you any specific advice about your situation without knowing more details, however the key will come down to how much and what type(s) of relationship evidence you can provide to demonstrate that your relationship with your new partner is genuine and ongoing - the registered relationship certificate is only one part of this. Suggest you check out the other threads here on the forum re: relationship evidence for partner visas - while the relationship evidence assessment for 457's is not as strict or in-depth as partner visas, people claiming defacto partners for 457's still are having to show substantial relationship evidence. Re: onshore vs offshore, as subsequent entrant fortunately you are not subject to the Schedule 3 requirements that the primary applicant would be, so you can lodge onshore or offshore. However once you inform DIBP you wish to withdraw your previous partner visa, your bridging visa will cease in 28 days, so that leaves you a very tight timeframe to put together enough relationship evidence to lodge a 457 subsequent entrant application.

Happy to assist you in more detail at a consultation where I can learn more about the type(s) of relationship evidence that you have, and can advise re: best evidence to use in situations like this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andrew144 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a bit complicated situation here. I am currently on Bridging Visa C awaiting decision on the partner visa applicatuon(temporary first phase). The problem is that recently we have split with my partner and both found a new one. I have to inform IMMI within 28 days which I'm intending to do. My question is, my new partner who is on 457 wants to include me on his application as dependant. What is the best way to do it? Do I need to leave the country or can I apply onshore? I am currently in the 90 day cooling period de-registration process and can't register another relationship. What should we do?
> 
> Andrew


----------



## andrew144

Thank you very much for your answer Mark. One more question. We have come up with this plan: I am gonna leave Australia within the legal 28 day period for a week holiday and apply for an evisitor visa offshore. I will return to Australia holding evisitor visa which will give me couple of months to gather further evidence of our relationship(living together, car loan etc) and apply to add me on my partner's 457 then onshore after couple of months. Would this work?
Andrew


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Andrew -
> 
> Hard to give you any specific advice about your situation without knowing more details, however the key will come down to how much and what type(s) of relationship evidence you can provide to demonstrate that your relationship with your new partner is genuine and ongoing - the registered relationship certificate is only one part of this. Suggest you check out the other threads here on the forum re: relationship evidence for partner visas - while the relationship evidence assessment for 457's is not as strict or in-depth as partner visas, people claiming defacto partners for 457's still are having to show substantial relationship evidence. Re: onshore vs offshore, as subsequent entrant fortunately you are not subject to the Schedule 3 requirements that the primary applicant would be, so you can lodge onshore or offshore. However once you inform DIBP you wish to withdraw your previous partner visa, your bridging visa will cease in 28 days, so that leaves you a very tight timeframe to put together enough relationship evidence to lodge a 457 subsequent entrant application.
> 
> Happy to assist you in more detail at a consultation where I can learn more about the type(s) of relationship evidence that you have, and can advise re: best evidence to use in situations like this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

Sounds like a good plan. Only risk I see is if DIBP asks you why you're coming and you say that you plan on lodging a further visa application - this is technically against the rules for a visitor visa which is for temporary visits for tourism, etc purposes only. However very low risk of this happening in my view. Only other risk would be if your eVisitor visa was issued with Condition 8503 (no further stay) which would prevent an onshore application for another type of visa such as the 457, but again, low risk of this happening. Also don't forget that you'll need a letter from your partner's employer specifically extending the benefits of the nomination (ie, 457 visa) to you once you're ready to lodge the 457 subsequent entrant applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andrew144 said:


> Thank you very much for your answer Mark. One more question. We have come up with this plan: I am gonna leave Australia within the legal 28 day period for a week holiday and apply for an evisitor visa offshore. I will return to Australia holding evisitor visa which will give me couple of months to gather further evidence of our relationship(living together, car loan etc) and apply to add me on my partner's 457 then onshore after couple of months. Would this work?
> Andrew


----------



## andrew144

Hi Mark. Thank you very much again for your answer. Evisitor visas a computer generates for EU citizens without this condition so hopefully this will be the case as well. In case of 8503 we will lodge an offshore application when ready. Thanks again for your help. Really appreciate it. Andrew



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Andrew -
> 
> Sounds like a good plan. Only risk I see is if DIBP asks you why you're coming and you say that you plan on lodging a further visa application - this is technically against the rules for a visitor visa which is for temporary visits for tourism, etc purposes only. However very low risk of this happening in my view. Only other risk would be if your eVisitor visa was issued with Condition 8503 (no further stay) which would prevent an onshore application for another type of visa such as the 457, but again, low risk of this happening. Also don't forget that you'll need a letter from your partner's employer specifically extending the benefits of the nomination (ie, 457 visa) to you once you're ready to lodge the 457 subsequent entrant applicant.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Claire212

Hi Mark I'm an international student studying in Perth. I failed Uni so my academic status is now terminated. I was being informed that DIBP may cancel my student visa and also a 3-year exclusion on further visa applications to Australia. I've received offer letter from other Uni and will have to accept by 12 jan. My ques is how will I know if my visa is being terminated? And when will DIBP imform me? I don't want to accept the offer and get partial refund because of my visa..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Claire212 -

This happens frequently - a student may choose a university that isn't the best fit for them for one reason or another, so don't feel bad. DIBP has to notify you either in writing or by email depending on whether you gave them permissions to communicate with you electronically on your student visa application. Absolutely important at this point to make sure DIBP has your current contact information. As it's likely your new CoE will have a later end-date for the course than your current one does, and in lieu of the issues a the 1st Uni, likely best that you contact DIBP and let them know what you're doing, and see what they are going to require of you re: the change of Universities - they have some discretion in these matters given the dates involved and other factors, so probably best to find out from them sooner rather than later as to what options you may have - it may be that you have to lodge a new student visa application while onshore to replace the old one, if that can be done prior to them cancelling the current visa - I'd move quickly to contact DIBP and see if there's any way you can avoid cancellation given you have a new offer - I'd be ready to explain to them all the reasons why the old Uni didn't work out, and stress that the new Uni has extended an offer, etc. 

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## sabina

*Australian Study Requirement*

Hi Mark,

I recently finished 2 master's degree in University of Wollongong (each consisting of 1 years of study) on a student visa. I got exemptions on 2 subjects from my first masters degree on my second degree, so my total study period only constitutes to 91 weeks.

Now, My husband is studying on a student Visa and I am his dependent.

My VISA states that under condition 8201 I can only study for a maximum of 3 months.
I am in the process of getting my nursing registration from AHPRA but to get that I have to do a bridging course for 3 months. The bridging course is a NON AQF award course.

Now, my query is:
Will the bridging course count towards my Australian study requirement because I am just 1 week short of meeting it. If it counts then I will be able to apply for a skilled independent VISA as I fit all the other criteria.

Please let me know if my bridging course will count towards Australian study requirement of not.

Waiting for your response,

Sabina Shivakoti


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sabina -

Thanks for the question. A key issue is whether the course is registered with CRICOS or not - I'm guessing it may not be from what you've said, but it's a critical detail - if a course is not registered with CRICOS, it cannot be used towards the Australian Study Requirement. If it is registered with CRICOS, then the next challenge is demonstrating that the bridging course "contributes to the grant of a degree, diploma or trade qualification" which may be difficult in your circumstances since a positive skills assessment or licence approval is not a degree/diploma/trade qualification.

Hope this is helpful in determining your options going forward -

Best,

Mark



sabina said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I recently finished 2 master's degree in University of Wollongong (each consisting of 1 years of study) on a student visa. I got exemptions on 2 subjects from my first masters degree on my second degree, so my total study period only constitutes to 91 weeks.
> 
> Now, My husband is studying on a student Visa and I am his dependent.
> 
> My VISA states that under condition 8201 I can only study for a maximum of 3 months.
> I am in the process of getting my nursing registration from AHPRA but to get that I have to do a bridging course for 3 months. The bridging course is a NON AQF award course.
> 
> Now, my query is:
> Will the bridging course count towards my Australian study requirement because I am just 1 week short of meeting it. If it counts then I will be able to apply for a skilled independent VISA as I fit all the other criteria.
> 
> Please let me know if my bridging course will count towards Australian study requirement of not.
> 
> Waiting for your response,
> 
> Sabina Shivakoti


----------



## Rajnish

HI Mark, Myself Rajnish Nath from India, I am Graduate and also have completed post graduate diploma in Fire n safety Eng. currently working as Safety Officer in L&T Manufacturing Company here in India, from past one n half year, i am interested to work in Australia, is it possible to get a work visa, as i am HSE profile. please help n guide me to find a job


----------



## sabina

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sabina -
> 
> Thanks for the question. A key issue is whether the course is registered with CRICOS or not - I'm guessing it may not be from what you've said, but it's a critical detail - if a course is not registered with CRICOS, it cannot be used towards the Australian Study Requirement. If it is registered with CRICOS, then the next challenge is demonstrating that the bridging course "contributes to the grant of a degree, diploma or trade qualification" which may be difficult in your circumstances since a positive skills assessment or licence approval is not a degree/diploma/trade qualification.
> 
> Hope this is helpful in determining your options going forward -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Thank you for your response Mark. The bridging course I am after is in fact registered in CRICOS but as you said, it is not a degree/diploma/trade qualification.

And since i am on a dependent VISA i am only allowed a study of maximum 3 months and I have to do the bridging course to gain Nursing registration.

My other query is, If i do another 10 weeks Certificate 3 course which is registered in CRICOS as an AQF award course, Will that help me fullfill the Australian Study Requirement ? 
Also, which visa do i have to apply if I want to study that course because the 3 month limit on my current VISA will be used up by the bridging course.

Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajnish -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rajnish said:


> HI Mark, Myself Rajnish Nath from India, I am Graduate and also have completed post graduate diploma in Fire n safety Eng. currently working as Safety Officer in L&T Manufacturing Company here in India, from past one n half year, i am interested to work in Australia, is it possible to get a work visa, as i am HSE profile. please help n guide me to find a job


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sabina -

You'd need to get a student visa in order to study for more than 3 months. Cert III course may have the same issue as the bridging course - that is, that the C3 course may not be seen as "leading to" the grant of a degree/diploma/trade qual, especially if it's taken after a higher level course has been completed - if it is in the same occupational area, etc and is taken before the higher level course, then it might have a shot depending on the specifics of all of your qualifications, however for multiple qualifications to be considered for the Australia Study Requirement, they have to all lead to a single outcome - ie, C3 leads to C4, those lead to Diploma, so the C3, C4 + Diploma can all be considered because they all lead to the DIploma, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sabina said:


> Thank you for your response Mark. The bridging course I am after is in fact registered in CRICOS but as you said, it is not a degree/diploma/trade qualification.
> 
> And since i am on a dependent VISA i am only allowed a study of maximum 3 months and I have to do the bridging course to gain Nursing registration.
> 
> My other query is, If i do another 10 weeks Certificate 3 course which is registered in CRICOS as an AQF award course, Will that help me fullfill the Australian Study Requirement ?
> Also, which visa do i have to apply if I want to study that course because the 3 month limit on my current VISA will be used up by the bridging course.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## Claire212

Thanks you so much Mark! I'll contact them first thing tomorrow. Thanks again 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Claire212 -
> 
> This happens frequently - a student may choose a university that isn't the best fit for them for one reason or another, so don't feel bad. DIBP has to notify you either in writing or by email depending on whether you gave them permissions to communicate with you electronically on your student visa application. Absolutely important at this point to make sure DIBP has your current contact information. As it's likely your new CoE will have a later end-date for the course than your current one does, and in lieu of the issues a the 1st Uni, likely best that you contact DIBP and let them know what you're doing, and see what they are going to require of you re: the change of Universities - they have some discretion in these matters given the dates involved and other factors, so probably best to find out from them sooner rather than later as to what options you may have - it may be that you have to lodge a new student visa application while onshore to replace the old one, if that can be done prior to them cancelling the current visa - I'd move quickly to contact DIBP and see if there's any way you can avoid cancellation given you have a new offer - I'd be ready to explain to them all the reasons why the old Uni didn't work out, and stress that the new Uni has extended an offer, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## sabina

HI mark!!
One more question, if i get my registration as a nurse can i apply for 190 visa though i am on a student dependent visa ? I lack 5 points which i can get through state nomination.


thanks


----------



## hitin

Dear Mak,

 Wish you and your loved one's a very happy new year! 

I have been working since 2007, however I only graduated in 2011 (B.Sc In IT) under distance education. Based on my initial analysis I can see that I qualify to immigrate and therefore I have decided to go ahead. I am planning to apply under Developer Programmer category.

I have 2 main queries as below.

Firstly I want to know, how should my experience letter look like? Having said that, at present I have letters from my employers which states my total duration at the workplace and my title. It doesn't say anything else, like what my role and responsibilities were while I was employed. Should it be details or what I have as of now is enough?

Secondly I want to know is that, working as a trainer for Software Development and Programming is consider as Analyst/Developer programmer or it would be considered as another occupation?

My work experience is as follows:

2007-2008 - IT Consultant

2008-2012 - IT Trainer (Software Programming and Development)

2012- Present - Software Analyst Programmer

I will be very thankful to any piece of advise you may have for me.

Looking forward to hear from you.

Thank you very much!

Hitin


----------



## arsquare

Hi Mark

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

My fiancee has an application for partner visa which was lodge May 2014. It looks like the processing of this visa can take up to to 9 months to 12 monhths as per DIBP standard. I and My fiancee is planning of applying for a tourist visa for her. 
I understand that the rquirements in applying for a tourist visa is that you have work and financially capable for your stay. Hence my fiancee already stop working and does not have enough funds. Will I be able to write a letter of support "stat declaration" that I will support her financially during her vacation in Australia?

Thanks for any advise help that you can provide


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sabina -

Yes, as long as you meet all the other requirements for the 190 visa. There is no restriction on what particular visa you can hold in order to qualify to lodge an Expression of Interest and state sponsorship application for a 190, then apply for the 190 upon invitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sabina said:


> HI mark!!
> One more question, if i get my registration as a nurse can i apply for 190 visa though i am on a student dependent visa ? I lack 5 points which i can get through state nomination.
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hitin -

DIBP (and the skills assessor) will want to get some evidence as to the primary responsibilities/tasks/duties you had for each job experience - this can be included within the employer reference letter, or can be a separate document on company letterhead (ie, standard job description for the position) or a separate letter or document from the company that includes these details.

Re: whether working as an IT trainer will qualify, that would take a detailed study of the tasks/duties/responsibilities for the position as compared to the ANZSCO definition for the occupation you're trying to qualify for. Also, if it's an ACS assessed occupation, ACS publishes more detailed descriptions of each of the ANZSCO occupations it assesses which can make comparisons much easier.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hitin said:


> Dear Mak,
> 
> Wish you and your loved one's a very happy new year!
> 
> I have been working since 2007, however I only graduated in 2011 (B.Sc In IT) under distance education. Based on my initial analysis I can see that I qualify to immigrate and therefore I have decided to go ahead. I am planning to apply under Developer Programmer category.
> 
> I have 2 main queries as below.
> 
> Firstly I want to know, how should my experience letter look like? Having said that, at present I have letters from my employers which states my total duration at the workplace and my title. It doesn't say anything else, like what my role and responsibilities were while I was employed. Should it be details or what I have as of now is enough?
> 
> Secondly I want to know is that, working as a trainer for Software Development and Programming is consider as Analyst/Developer programmer or it would be considered as another occupation?
> 
> My work experience is as follows:
> 
> 2007-2008 - IT Consultant
> 
> 2008-2012 - IT Trainer (Software Programming and Development)
> 
> 2012- Present - Software Analyst Programmer
> 
> I will be very thankful to any piece of advise you may have for me.
> 
> Looking forward to hear from you.
> 
> Thank you very much!
> 
> Hitin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arsquare -

Yes, you can - I'd include a letter inviting her, stating that you will be responsible for all costs incurred during her trip, and also include a proposed itinerary (schedule) of what you plan to do together - ie, dates you plan to visit certain places, etc. You may also want to include a copy of your bank statement or credit card statement showing available funds to demonstrate that you have funds available to pay for her costs.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arsquare said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
> 
> My fiancee has an application for partner visa which was lodge May 2014. It looks like the processing of this visa can take up to to 9 months to 12 monhths as per DIBP standard. I and My fiancee is planning of applying for a tourist visa for her.
> I understand that the rquirements in applying for a tourist visa is that you have work and financially capable for your stay. Hence my fiancee already stop working and does not have enough funds. Will I be able to write a letter of support "stat declaration" that I will support her financially during her vacation in Australia?
> 
> Thanks for any advise help that you can provide


----------



## crystalejacobs

What an offer, thanks Mark 

Would value you advice... My 24 yo daughter in South Africa is ready to make the move to join me in Sydney. I'm currently on a Spousal PR visa. Any ideas on what my options are to expedite a working / living / long stay visa?

Thanks in advance.
Crys


----------



## mike88

Hello Mark, 

I want to ask a few quick questions and hope you can answer
Because of the price increase for onshore Visa 820, we actually paid before the new year and thank god its all over but feel bad for the ones who will need to pay for the increase price.

1) I heard that you can only upload 60 documents online and that is it, correct? But on the site, it said it can upload 60 documents per applicant and sponsor, so does it mean, you can upload 120 i.e. 60 each? Or 60 only in total?

2) I can see the process is still progressing. Any idea when we will know when the CO is assigned or it's a waiting game now?

3) I heard for the medical check, I was advised not to do it until the CO even you had filled in the 10 yes and no questions? 

4) What are the things we can do now to help our further application as we have uploaded pretty much everything. 

5) If apply for BV-B for travelling overseas after the ETA expires, what are the cost for applying and where to apply?

Thanks and happy new year

Mike


----------



## arsquare

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Arsquare -
> 
> Yes, you can - I'd include a letter inviting her, stating that you will be responsible for all costs incurred during her trip, and also include a proposed itinerary (schedule) of what you plan to do together - ie, dates you plan to visit certain places, etc. You may also want to include a copy of your bank statement or credit card statement showing available funds to demonstrate that you have funds available to pay for her costs.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks heaps Mark ... Best regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crystal -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately the Australian visa system does not have specific visas that allow sponsorship of adult children who are not financially dependent on their parents - even in cases where dependency is claimed, it can be difficult to meet the requirements that DIBP (immigration dept) has for this. Visitor visas are of course an option, but do not allow work. Re: work visas, then it comes down to either an employer sponsored visa such as a 457 temporary work visa, or a skilled visa depending on her occupation, age, work experience, qualifications, etc. Unfortunately South African citizens are not eligible for the working holiday visa programme which would be a great choice for your circumstances.

I'd consider visitor visas to start, then consider an employer sponsored work visa, skilled visa, or perhaps a student visa if she wishes to study in Australia as a next step.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crystalejacobs said:


> What an offer, thanks Mark
> 
> Would value you advice... My 24 yo daughter in South Africa is ready to make the move to join me in Sydney. I'm currently on a Spousal PR visa. Any ideas on what my options are to expedite a working / living / long stay visa?
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> Crys


----------



## maklaw

Hello Mark could you please advise me about my child visa...

I am australian citizen and my wife is indian citizen. we also have 17 months old daughter who born in india.

In 2014 we applied for my wife visa under 309/100 and added my indian born daughter as well,who is holding indian passport.

i just got call from My wife's visa CO and she asked me why i didnt applied for my daughter's australian passport as she is eligible for one.

i told her one of my friend told me not to apply for australian passport,because then its very hard to get exit visa for your daughter from india.

as my daughter born in india and we had to choose between indian and australian passport,so we choose for indian passport,and applied for her australian visa along with my wife visa.

I told this facts to CO and she replied that she will discuss this with her seniors and she will get back to me ASAP.she also mentioned that we cant added/apply my daughter visa under 309/100.

please give me some suggestion,i am freaked out.

Thanks.


----------



## Peter Sadek

*an important inquiry*

Dear Mark, 
happy new year ............ wish u one of the best years ever.................

i just want to ask about my situation .............

i have applied for VISA 190 ..........me & my wife ..........
that was on 9th of August 2014

In October, my case officer started contacting me ,,,,,,, actually this was a shared email box ...........they asked for my documents that prove my skills assessment & i provided these documents to them ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

In November 16th , they sent me an email telling me that i have provided all their required documents ..............

then next day , one of the agents from the Australian embassy called me & carried out an interview with me about my work experience..........

from that time ,,,,,,,,they didn't contact me at all and on December 8th , December 12th i sent them 2 emails asking about my baby's situation & how i am supposed to pay his fees , but i didn't receive any reply till now ..............

Does this mean that my VISA application has been rejected???

thank you a lot for your precious time & for your wonderful help.

kind regards , 
Peter Sadek


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peter -

DIBP often does not respond to emails, so that in itself is not necessarily a problem. At this point it may be too early to say what the outcome is - if DIBP is going to refuse the visa, they have to follow certain procedures and notify you in writing or by email. I'd wait a bit longer and see what develops.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Peter Sadek said:


> Dear Mark,
> happy new year ............ wish u one of the best years ever.................
> 
> i just want to ask about my situation .............
> 
> i have applied for VISA 190 ..........me & my wife ..........
> that was on 9th of August 2014
> 
> In October, my case officer started contacting me ,,,,,,, actually this was a shared email box ...........they asked for my documents that prove my skills assessment & i provided these documents to them ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
> 
> In November 16th , they sent me an email telling me that i have provided all their required documents ..............
> 
> then next day , one of the agents from the Australian embassy called me & carried out an interview with me about my work experience..........
> 
> from that time ,,,,,,,,they didn't contact me at all and on December 8th , December 12th i sent them 2 emails asking about my baby's situation & how i am supposed to pay his fees , but i didn't receive any reply till now ..............
> 
> Does this mean that my VISA application has been rejected???
> 
> thank you a lot for your precious time & for your wonderful help.
> 
> kind regards ,
> Peter Sadek


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maklaw -

Thanks for the note. While a child that is born after a partner visa is applied for but before the partner visa is decided is automatically taken to have applied as a dependent for the partner visa, as your child was already born at the time of application, unless you included the child in the original 309/100 application, you cannot add her to the application as dependents for this type of visa must have made a combined application. However if the case officer is willing to allow you to do this, that's great.

Re: Indian exit visa, I don't have any information on that.

If they do not allow you to add the child to the application, you may have to either withdraw the application (no refund, however) and re-apply with the daughter included in the original application, or look to sponsor the child under a child visa (best to check out all the requirements for that visa if you are considering that). Other than that, likely good to wait to see what DIBP comes back to you with re: options. Also note that if your partner is approved for the 309, while she holds the 309 you can apply for a subclass 445 dependent child visa for the child to bring the child to Australia, then include the child on the subclass 100 part of the application later. Suggest it might be good for you to sit down with a registered migration agent to go through the different options available to you - you may shortly have to make some important decisions on which way to go with handling the child, and you're better off working with an agent directly vs depending on an anonymous forum (and friends who say they know about migration) to make informed decisions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



maklaw said:


> Hello Mark and other senior members could you please advise me about my child visa...
> 
> I am australian citizen and my wife is indian citizen. we also have 17 months old daughter who born in india.
> 
> In 2014 we applied for my wife visa under 309/100 and added my indian born daughter as well,who is holding indian passport.
> 
> i just got call from My wife's visa CO and she asked me why i didnt applied for my daughter's australian passport as she is eligible for one.
> 
> i told her one of my friend told me not to apply for australian passport,because then its very hard to get exit visa for your daughter from india.
> 
> as my daughter born in india and we had to choose between indian and australian passport,so we choose for indian passport,and applied for her australian visa along with my wife visa.
> 
> I told this facts to CO and she replied that she will discuss this with her seniors and she will get back to me ASAP.she also mentioned that we cant added/apply my daughter visa under 309/100.
> 
> please give me some suggestion,i am freaked out.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## SerendipitousNomads

*Some Advice for 40SP Please.*

Hi Mark,

I would really appreciate some of your input and advice if you are able to offer any on the following regarding the Form 40SP for Partner Visa 309:

We have already lodged the application and are trying to get all our documentation uploaded online asap but I am coming across some hurdles with the 40SP form in regards to some of the answers... I would very much appreciate any feedback anyone could provide in how to supply the following information:

QUESTION 11: Your current residential address: 
Our Background: Currently, we do not have a residential address. We are travellers and currently we are both in the Netherlands staying with my partner's parents while we get the documentation for the visa sorted and some other things organised before continuing our travel. My partner owns a house here, which is his registered residential address, but we have other people renting it. For this reason we are staying at his parent's abode.

Under the question, it states: "Note: If your residential address is not in Australia, please attach a statement at the end of this form outlining how you will meet your sponsorship obligations. See Question 52 Undertaking"

Obviously, I wish to stay with my partner until his visa is granted, once it has been, we will both return to Australia and live with my parents until we find our own acccommodations and employment.

Do I put my parent's address in Australia, to which I am registered to or do I put where I am currently located?

QUESTION 25: Since you and the visa applicant committed to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others, have you lived separately and apart for any periods or time?

We have been in an exclusive relationship since we met in 2011. Can we put the date that we met here? Also, do we have to include brief holidays undertaken separately?

QUESTION 27: Have you been married to a person other than the current visa applicant (including if you are still legally married to that person)?

I was previously married. When filling in "Date Marriage Ended", do I put the date the relationship ended or the official divorce date?

QUESTION 29: Previous Sponsorship.

I previously sponsered my ex-husband through the same visa in 2003, neither he nor I know of the previous application date or the date it was granted.

Is there any way I can obtain this information? 
Is it acceptable to put approximate dates?
The only date that my ex-husband has is the date his Permament Residency was granted in 2006, not the partner visa dates.

PART H: About your dwelling:

We are travellers without a current fixed residential address. What information do we provide in this section? Do we fill this out according to our living situation with his parents at the moment?

Thank you for your time. I hope you can help.
Cheers.


----------



## thanna

*820 Visa to help friend*

Hi there Mark,

I have a dilemma.

My recent ex-girlfriend (32 F) is an Australian citizen. She is friends to a family that are from Israel but have Australian citizenship. They consist of a husband (~36 M), wife (~ 34 F) and son (4 M).

The brother of the husband (30 M) is an Israeli citizen on a student Visa, but he wants to stay in the country.

My ex has offered to marry him so he can get a 820 partner visa.

This would allow him to live here, and also the families parents I believe, being the last remaining relatives in Israel.

The family are very keen and supportive of her doing this for their family. But I have concerns with her going through with it.

The problem is my ex:

- she is unemployed on centrelink disability benefits for a herniated disk, and has been for years now.
- she has had no taxable income to speak of for 2-3 years
- the lease for the house we rent is still in her and my name until february this year.

To make it even more complicated:

- the guy she is going to marry has feelings for her, but she just wants to be friends.

She seems to think that she has thought it through and that nothing can go wrong for her. She thinks that if things go sour she can just talk it through with the family.

I'm not so sure...

My concerns are:

- what if there is a falling out between her and the family?
- what if she changes her mind mid way through?
- is she financially responsible for them?
- can she lose a lot of money?
- can she get in to legal trouble?
- can she suffer psychologically and personally?
- if it is successful, can the 'husband' make her life difficult, ie refusing to divorce, or taking half her assets in the divorce?
- if its not successful, can it ruin the chances of the rest of the family (the remaining brother and parents) ever living in Australia permanently?

I'd love to hear if you've had any experience with situations like this, and if you have any wisdom you could pass on?

Am I right for being concerned, or will she be fine and Im just being overprotective?


----------



## bee14

Hi Mark,

my partner and I applied for the Prospective Marriage Visa in September 2014. He is Australian and I'm German. 
We used immiaccount when we applied to the embassy in Berlin. 
My case officer sent me an email three weeks ago saying that he has received all of the outstanding requested additional information/documentation and requires no further additional information in order to continue with the processing of our visa application. That is positive so far. 

When we prepared our application, my partner and I wrote a statement about our relationship together. I copied and pasted the statement into my application form and so did he. In the booklet 1 Partner Migration it says that everyone must have their own written statement.
Since we have the same written statement, is that going to be bad for our visa outcome? Can our visa application be rejected because of this?

Thanks


----------



## maklaw

Hello Mark sorry for the confusion,as i mentioned in my previous post/question that CO mentioned we cant apply/added my daughter under 309/100.

Actually My daughter is co-applicant and we applied for both my wife and daughter in same application under 309/100.and they both gone through medical last year June 2014.

Hope this help for right advise


----------



## Vivian

Hi Mark,

I am going to apply for Skilled Independant Visa 189 in a month time (after I receive my skill assessment from AACA). Would I be able to do " My Health Declaration" as I couldn't find the subclass 189 in the application.


----------



## mike88

Hello Mark

I actually sent you some questions which I think you might have missed out by accident, would you mind answering please? (as below)

Thank you in advance and have a great day!

Mike



mike88 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I want to ask a few quick questions and hope you can answer
> Because of the price increase for onshore Visa 820, we actually paid before the new year and thank god its all over but feel bad for the ones who will need to pay for the increase price.
> 
> 1) I heard that you can only upload 60 documents online and that is it, correct? But on the site, it said it can upload 60 documents per applicant and sponsor, so does it mean, you can upload 120 i.e. 60 each? Or 60 only in total?
> 
> 2) I can see the process is still progressing. Any idea when we will know when the CO is assigned or it's a waiting game now?
> 
> 3) I heard for the medical check, I was advised not to do it until the CO even you had filled in the 10 yes and no questions?
> 
> 4) What are the things we can do now to help our further application as we have uploaded pretty much everything.
> 
> 5) If apply for BV-B for travelling overseas after the ETA expires, what are the cost for applying and where to apply?
> 
> Thanks and happy new year
> 
> Mike


----------



## hitin

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hitin -
> 
> DIBP (and the skills assessor) will want to get some evidence as to the primary responsibilities/tasks/duties you had for each job experience - this can be included within the employer reference letter, or can be a separate document on company letterhead (ie, standard job description for the position) or a separate letter or document from the company that includes these details.
> 
> Re: whether working as an IT trainer will qualify, that would take a detailed study of the tasks/duties/responsibilities for the position as compared to the ANZSCO definition for the occupation you're trying to qualify for. Also, if it's an ACS assessed occupation, ACS publishes more detailed descriptions of each of the ANZSCO occupations it assesses which can make comparisons much easier.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for the clarification!! Appreciated!!


----------



## hitin

Hi Mark,

Since 2007 I have been working full time with responsibilities and duties similar to that of analyst/developer programmer.

However, I completed my Bachelors in IT by May 2011 via distance education.

Since I am planning to send my documents for ACS evaluation, I want to make sure that my qualification and life experience will be valid for EOI/Immigration?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## victorjbl

Dear Mark merry chrismaths and happy new year,

My bame is victor, i will finish the bachellor of accounting on june of this year. In regards to this, i do not have any work experience. However, i am 25, and i got 8 on band for the ielts.

I have a question. How can i get a positive assesment from the cpa?


----------



## crolladx

Hi Mark

Would like you to have an opinion on our current situation whether we should apply now or deffer. 
My wife currently on 573. 
Visa expiry date: 15th March 2015

Previously, my wife had delayed her master degree due to her English score not reach the requirement. As a result, after she passed Eng course she began her master on July last year. Basically, her visa and her Master suppose to expire the same time but due to the reason as above so she will have one more semester to go which is on March 2015.

We have book in for consultation with her agent before and advise us that, if that's the case since we are applying partner visa 820/801 on marriage ground, we can just apply for that instead of renewing her student visa. Since she can still continue study on BVA that has unlimited study/full working right. 

Her university wants her to enroll between 10th - 15th of March 2015. However payment can be due in 29th of March. 
Her current student visa 573 doesn't allow her to study part-time at all so we are worried even though we are applying for 820/801 would it matter if we enroll my wife as part time by 15th of March? Or would this consider as a breach of student visa since the student visa condition stay affect until 15th of March at the same date the partner visa BVA kicks in.

So pretty much myself as a sponsor worries that whether we are making the right decision on applying 820/801 soon since her current student visa will expire own its own in few months. On the other hand, should we wait out on the 820/801 and extend her student visa (573) then after she graduate then apply for 820/801 partner visa later near end of 2015. I personally wouldn't want this decision of 820/801 have a problem for my wife to not be able to complete her last semester of master degree. 

Would our situation and case like this is consider as a complicate case or any bad effect for our partner visa application because she didn't finished on the time given at first so she had to extend her student visa but instead we are applying the 802/801 online soon?

Thank you kindly
Hope to hear from you soon.


----------



## Bimal

*Visa 189: Experience Letter, Reference Letter Alternative*

Hi Mark,

Trust you have had a great Christmas and your New Year is going great!

I have a doubt because of which I am really stuck and wondering that if I still go ahead with 189 visa, would I be risking loosing whole my application fee money. I am sure you would have hear it before, but its a bit different.

I am a business analyst with 8 years 2 months of experience. Out of these 8.2 years, I have experience letter from my previous employer, where i worked 4.5 years, but my current org would not issue me an experience letter as long as I am with the company. 
And I am really apprehensive about asking my supervisor for a reference letter as I do not wish to disclose my intentions of applying for PR, plus, the org environment is really fickle currently with everyone in fear about layoffs.

Now, my company is applying for my work permit (457) and I have already been to Australia for almost 90 days on Business Visa.

Could you please advise me that if I provide 
1. print out of mail from HR stating that they cannot provide me the experience letter, and also, 
2. I furnish my starting and current salary slips, 
3. along with my promotion letters, 
4. compensation (salary revision) letters and,
5. the deputation letter (for deputing me on assignment to Australia on 457 visa) that I have received from company

Would these documents help me get through ACS and DIAC verifications on my experience? Would these serve ok as alternatives for Experience letter/Reference letter?

Please help me. Hope to hear back from you soon!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Re Q11, I don't have enough info to give you specific advice on that. If your sponsor is an Australian Permanent Resident, you need to consider the "usually resident" requirement for partner visa sponsors; if citizen, not an issue. Normally this is the address where the two of you normally reside.

Q25 - yes, although most people become "exclusive" at some point after they have met and established a relationship.

Q27 - divorce date

Q29 - I would estimate as best you can, and upload a note indicating that you are not sure of the exact dates and estimated.

Dwelling - same answer as Q11.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SerendipitousNomads said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would really appreciate some of your input and advice if you are able to offer any on the following regarding the Form 40SP for Partner Visa 309:
> 
> We have already lodged the application and are trying to get all our documentation uploaded online asap but I am coming across some hurdles with the 40SP form in regards to some of the answers... I would very much appreciate any feedback anyone could provide in how to supply the following information:
> 
> QUESTION 11: Your current residential address:
> Our Background: Currently, we do not have a residential address. We are travellers and currently we are both in the Netherlands staying with my partner's parents while we get the documentation for the visa sorted and some other things organised before continuing our travel. My partner owns a house here, which is his registered residential address, but we have other people renting it. For this reason we are staying at his parent's abode.
> 
> Under the question, it states: "Note: If your residential address is not in Australia, please attach a statement at the end of this form outlining how you will meet your sponsorship obligations. See Question 52 Undertaking"
> 
> Obviously, I wish to stay with my partner until his visa is granted, once it has been, we will both return to Australia and live with my parents until we find our own acccommodations and employment.
> 
> Do I put my parent's address in Australia, to which I am registered to or do I put where I am currently located?
> 
> QUESTION 25: Since you and the visa applicant committed to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others, have you lived separately and apart for any periods or time?
> 
> We have been in an exclusive relationship since we met in 2011. Can we put the date that we met here? Also, do we have to include brief holidays undertaken separately?
> 
> QUESTION 27: Have you been married to a person other than the current visa applicant (including if you are still legally married to that person)?
> 
> I was previously married. When filling in "Date Marriage Ended", do I put the date the relationship ended or the official divorce date?
> 
> QUESTION 29: Previous Sponsorship.
> 
> I previously sponsered my ex-husband through the same visa in 2003, neither he nor I know of the previous application date or the date it was granted.
> 
> Is there any way I can obtain this information?
> Is it acceptable to put approximate dates?
> The only date that my ex-husband has is the date his Permament Residency was granted in 2006, not the partner visa dates.
> 
> PART H: About your dwelling:
> 
> We are travellers without a current fixed residential address. What information do we provide in this section? Do we fill this out according to our living situation with his parents at the moment?
> 
> Thank you for your time. I hope you can help.
> Cheers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thanna -

Have to be blunt here, I have major problems with anyone trying to get a partner visa when the relationship is not that of partners, which "just friends" obviously is not. All of your concerns are justified, plus it's against the law in Australia to participate in a fraudulent partner visa application. And if/when DIBP finds out, it only makes it that much harder for legitimate partners to get their applications approved as the level of suspicion, assessment, etc grows. I'd stay way, way far aware from any arrangements like this, and if you care about the people involved, would strongly urge them not to proceed - there are other ways to get visas for Australia and the penalties (not to mention black mark on immigration history) is just not worth it.

Best,

Mark



thanna said:


> Hi there Mark,
> 
> I have a dilemma.
> 
> My recent ex-girlfriend (32 F) is an Australian citizen. She is friends to a family that are from Israel but have Australian citizenship. They consist of a husband (~36 M), wife (~ 34 F) and son (4 M).
> 
> The brother of the husband (30 M) is an Israeli citizen on a student Visa, but he wants to stay in the country.
> 
> My ex has offered to marry him so he can get a 820 partner visa.
> 
> This would allow him to live here, and also the families parents I believe, being the last remaining relatives in Israel.
> 
> The family are very keen and supportive of her doing this for their family. But I have concerns with her going through with it.
> 
> The problem is my ex:
> 
> - she is unemployed on centrelink disability benefits for a herniated disk, and has been for years now.
> - she has had no taxable income to speak of for 2-3 years
> - the lease for the house we rent is still in her and my name until february this year.
> 
> To make it even more complicated:
> 
> - the guy she is going to marry has feelings for her, but she just wants to be friends.
> 
> She seems to think that she has thought it through and that nothing can go wrong for her. She thinks that if things go sour she can just talk it through with the family.
> 
> I'm not so sure...
> 
> My concerns are:
> 
> - what if there is a falling out between her and the family?
> - what if she changes her mind mid way through?
> - is she financially responsible for them?
> - can she lose a lot of money?
> - can she get in to legal trouble?
> - can she suffer psychologically and personally?
> - if it is successful, can the 'husband' make her life difficult, ie refusing to divorce, or taking half her assets in the divorce?
> - if its not successful, can it ruin the chances of the rest of the family (the remaining brother and parents) ever living in Australia permanently?
> 
> I'd love to hear if you've had any experience with situations like this, and if you have any wisdom you could pass on?
> 
> Am I right for being concerned, or will she be fine and Im just being overprotective?


----------



## MarkNortham

Probably wouldn't be a reason for rejection just by itself, but it's still not too late for each of you to upload your own individual statements to the application - just make sure that nothing in those statements conflicts with anything you said in the first joint statement or the other's new statement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bee14 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> my partner and I applied for the Prospective Marriage Visa in September 2014. He is Australian and I'm German.
> We used immiaccount when we applied to the embassy in Berlin.
> My case officer sent me an email three weeks ago saying that he has received all of the outstanding requested additional information/documentation and requires no further additional information in order to continue with the processing of our visa application. That is positive so far.
> 
> When we prepared our application, my partner and I wrote a statement about our relationship together. I copied and pasted the statement into my application form and so did he. In the booklet 1 Partner Migration it says that everyone must have their own written statement.
> Since we have the same written statement, is that going to be bad for our visa outcome? Can our visa application be rejected because of this?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I'd wait to see what DIBP says when they consider the issues, then based on what they say, consider getting professional advice via a consultation with a registered migration agent based on what option(s) they give you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



maklaw said:


> Hello Mark sorry for the confusion,as i mentioned in my previous post/question that CO mentioned we cant apply/added my daughter under 309/100.
> 
> Actually My daughter is co-applicant and we applied for both my wife and daughter in same application under 309/100.and they both gone through medical last year June 2014.
> 
> Hope this help for right advise


----------



## jimmyc

Hi Mark,

I have a number questions in regards to subclass 300 visa for my Thai partner who lives in Abu Dhabi and works a cabin crew.

1. Is it better to apply online or through VFS?
2. If VFS, should application be lodged in Thailand instead of in Abu Dhabi?
3. Is migration agent needed given that I don't think our case is completed? Would using one help increase the chance of a successful application?
4. If an agent is recommended, can anyone recommend one?

Many thanks,
James.


----------



## BerniceM

MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

It has been suggested that I speak with you about my situation:

My name is Bernice and I'm almost 60 years of age. Back in 1997, while living in Australia, I met a man from Washington State online - and 3 years later (2000) we were married in Melbourne and moved to Oregon to live. The marriage became abusive and my divorce was finalized in 2014.

Before leaving Australia in 2000 I was unaware that I should have taken out a specific visa to ensure that I could return at any time.

Background:

I was born in Sth. Africa but moved to London with my parents where we lived for 5 years till I was 9 years of age, (April, 1969) at which time my parents divorced and my mother and I moved to Australia, where we remained. I am still on a British passport.

I've lived permanently in Australia from 1964 - 2000. I always worked, was never out of a job, never claimed any government assistance and always paid my taxes.

A few months ago I called the Consulate in Washington D.C. who told me that I have "no status" in Australia and that I am unable to return to live.

I have two sons born in Melbourne and still living there. One now, has 2 daughters of his own. I want desperately to return to Australia to live out my life with my family. I've explored a Parent's Visa but the cost is phenomenal and I can't afford the fee.

Is it possible that the Consulate is wrong? Do I have any other options to return to Australia permanently? I am completely alone in this country with no friends or family.

I have written to both the Consulate here and in Australia months ago with no reply.

I'm so desperate to get home, if you can offer any advice, I'd be so grateful ... thank you!
~ Bernice


----------



## maklaw

Thanks Mark for you valuable advise,i will wait to see what CO come back to us.

You always helpful to people who need advise,i will always remember you in my prayers.

God bless thanks once again.


----------



## Hardworker

Hello Mark,

I have a question about the procedure of notification of DIBP of changes in circumstances.
To begin with, I'm in the middle of my 189 visa process. All documents have been uploaded, but CO hasn't been allocated yet.
My question actually consist from two parts:

1. A week ago I read in the internet that my ex-employer (my tenure in which is a part of my application and I claim points for the experience in this company) is about to change name of the company. Official information was found on their website and according to it they are going to do it by end of January. I'm not sure about all telephones of the company whether they are also going to be changed. There was no information about them. Thus, at least the company name will be different in near future from what it was on my attached reference and payslips. Therefore, my question is about necessity to inform DIBP about name changing of the company: 
1.1 Should information about such change been sent to DIBP or it is no necessity in it? 
1.2 Should I proceed right now or wait for my Case Officer?
1.3 How it should be done? Form 1022 would be enough or it is necessary to get official document from the company with statement about renaming and then attach it?

2. My current employer has changed address of the office. We have moved from one building to another in the same city. Again my question related to this procedure:
2.1 Should I inform DIBP about such changes? 
2.2 Should I attach Form 1022 to my online application or wait for my CO?

Thank you in advance!


----------



## cec2725

Dear Mark,

I applied for a partner visa 309/100 on October 2, 2014. I am French, my husband is Australian, we have been married for 5 years, have 2 little children together - both Australian citizens. 
We live in the US, we are selling our property here and we are moving to Australia all together at the beginning of February (my husband is starting a new position). 

Since we don't want to/can't be apart (with 2 little children this is just inconceivable), and there is very little chance my partner visa will be granted before we move, I need to get a tourist visa. 

I would like to get a tourist visa, subclass 600 for 12 months so I don't have to get out of the country every 3 months. 

I am ready to apply for my tourist visa. We wanted to be very upfront about our intentions when applying for the tourist visa: We want to be absolutely 100% clear the whole way through that we are only getting a tourist visa so that I can accompany my husband and my kids while the spouse visa is being processed.

We have enough funds so money is not an issue. We are going to be living with my in-laws so they wrote a statutory declaration for us to state it. I am a stay at home mother in the US and so I will be in Australia. My husband supports us. 

Now I just read on this forum that I the purpose of a tourist visa is decidedly NOT to wait out the decision on a partner visa, and was advised not to say that in my application. And just say I want a tourist visa to get a vacation. I am very confused. 

What would you recommend to do? be honest, state the truth (which is obvious - how can I be on a vacation when I'm arriving in Australia with my husband and 2 kids after I lodged a partner visa application?) OR just pretend that we are taking a big long 12 month holiday in Australia?

Also, I am going to get a travel health insurance while on the tourist visa. Do I have to give a proof of it at the time of my application? (I was going to get it closer to my departure date)

Thank you very much. 

Cecile


----------



## KEEPGOING

Hi Mark, 

Hope you had a great Christmas and New Year holiday. I think we all appreciate that you took enormous time to answer our questions, which provides us hope. 

My situation is:

I have got an invitation of visa 189 recently. I have an old ACS assessment report granted by 31 Jan 2013 and be valid until 31 Jan 2015. It doesn’t mention the “After month/year will be considered relevant working experience”. Just say “Your work experience has been calculated as follows on the basis of full time employment of at least 20hrs per week 01/02-08/06 (4yr 7mths)”. This was my first work experience and I had second part of work experience occurred between 09/2006 to 09/2008 which is not in the ACS result letter. I did not provide second part employment letter to ACS because at that time there was possibilities of 187 employer sponsored visa and I only needed a positive feedback. I did not expect that I need to apply for 189 until end of this year. The second part work experience is true and I have employment letter and tax pay to prove it. Based on my situation, my work experience will be deducted 2 to 4 years in a new ACS report. 

My questions are:
1.	Will DIBP recognise the old ACS assessment? Or they may ask me to provide a new one even if it is valid?
2.	Will my second part work experience will be considered and calculated by DIBP itself because it does not show on the report? Or they may ask me to reassess the second part work experience from ACS. 

I would be really appreciated it if you could shed some light on me.
Best regards,


----------



## KhurramS

*AML and Compliance job category*

Hi Mark,

I was trying to find a suitable job category to apply under as I work as an AML and Compliance Manager with above 6 years of work experience. The closest match i found was 224412 (policy analysts). In your opinion, can i apply under this group or do you suggest another code?

Regards,

Khurram


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivian -

Suggest you wait to do this until you receive an invitation from DIBP to apply for the visa. To do this, go to your immi account, choose "New Application" and then choose My Health Declarations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vivian said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am going to apply for Skilled Independant Visa 189 in a month time (after I receive my skill assessment from AACA). Would I be able to do " My Health Declaration" as I couldn't find the subclass 189 in the application.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mike -

Sorry I missed your questions! I'm on holiday (ends on Tuesday 13 Jan) and the ship I'm on has very slow internet - it's playing up a bit with the forum software. Here you go:

1) I heard that you can only upload 60 documents online and that is it, correct? But on the site, it said it can upload 60 documents per applicant and sponsor, so does it mean, you can upload 120 i.e. 60 each? Or 60 only in total? *** 60 docs per applicant for partner visas - see more info here: Attach documents to an online application

2) I can see the process is still progressing. Any idea when we will know when the CO is assigned or it's a waiting game now? *** DIBP provides no progress or tracking info - all you can do is wait. Typically 12-18 months for onshore partner visas these days, but sometimes shorter. These days you will be assigned to a team, not an individual CO.

3) I heard for the medical check, I was advised not to do it until the CO even you had filled in the 10 yes and no questions? *** Your choice - you can do the medical checks now and hope your visa is processed within 12 months (that's when medical expire), or can wait. Sometimes doing them now speeds things up a bit, other times it does not.

4) What are the things we can do now to help our further application as we have uploaded pretty much everything. *** Be patient, and you can continue to upload further relationship evidence periodically until a decision is made if you'd like.

5) If apply for BV-B for travelling overseas after the ETA expires, what are the cost for applying and where to apply? $140 currently, and you would fill out Form 1006 and lodge it according to the instructions on the form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mike88 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I actually sent you some questions which I think you might have missed out by accident, would you mind answering please? (as below)
> 
> Thank you in advance and have a great day!
> 
> Mike


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hitin -

Your degree will likely not be valid for the Australia Study Requirement (5 points) since it was completed via distance education. As for the relevance of the work experience and degree, that would be for ACS to determine. If you want to get another opinion prior to lodging with ACS, you could consult with a registered migration agent who could go through all of your documents and information to give you an opinion. We offer these types of consultations - see website link below in my signature for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hitin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Since 2007 I have been working full time with responsibilities and duties similar to that of analyst/developer programmer.
> 
> However, I completed my Bachelors in IT by May 2011 via distance education.
> 
> Since I am planning to send my documents for ACS evaluation, I want to make sure that my qualification and life experience will be valid for EOI/Immigration?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victorjbl -

Thanks for the question. CPA Australia does not require any specific work experience in order to get a positive skills assessment, but they are very picky about your Bachelor degree and the courses you studied. Suggest you study the requirements at the CPA Australia website, especially for English (at least 7 in each band of the IELTS, etc) and for the qualification.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



victorjbl said:


> Dear Mark merry chrismaths and happy new year,
> 
> My bame is victor, i will finish the bachellor of accounting on june of this year. In regards to this, i do not have any work experience. However, i am 25, and i got 8 on band for the ielts.
> 
> I have a question. How can i get a positive assesment from the cpa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crolladx -

Thanks for the note. I don't know enough about your 820/801 situation and details to give you any specific advice on that - I expect your agent is in a much better position to do that. Re: enrolling in a part-time course during the last few weeks of a student visa, my view is that it would be very unlikely that DIBP would have an issue with that - by the time they realised what was going on, the visa would likely have long since expired. That's no guarantee of course, and if you want to take the safe route you could wait to do the last course until she was already on the BVA from the partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crolladx said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Would like you to have an opinion on our current situation whether we should apply now or deffer.
> My wife currently on 573.
> Visa expiry date: 15th March 2015
> 
> Previously, my wife had delayed her master degree due to her English score not reach the requirement. As a result, after she passed Eng course she began her master on July last year. Basically, her visa and her Master suppose to expire the same time but due to the reason as above so she will have one more semester to go which is on March 2015.
> 
> We have book in for consultation with her agent before and advise us that, if that's the case since we are applying partner visa 820/801 on marriage ground, we can just apply for that instead of renewing her student visa. Since she can still continue study on BVA that has unlimited study/full working right.
> 
> Her university wants her to enroll between 10th - 15th of March 2015. However payment can be due in 29th of March.
> Her current student visa 573 doesn't allow her to study part-time at all so we are worried even though we are applying for 820/801 would it matter if we enroll my wife as part time by 15th of March? Or would this consider as a breach of student visa since the student visa condition stay affect until 15th of March at the same date the partner visa BVA kicks in.
> 
> So pretty much myself as a sponsor worries that whether we are making the right decision on applying 820/801 soon since her current student visa will expire own its own in few months. On the other hand, should we wait out on the 820/801 and extend her student visa (573) then after she graduate then apply for 820/801 partner visa later near end of 2015. I personally wouldn't want this decision of 820/801 have a problem for my wife to not be able to complete her last semester of master degree.
> 
> Would our situation and case like this is consider as a complicate case or any bad effect for our partner visa application because she didn't finished on the time given at first so she had to extend her student visa but instead we are applying the 802/801 online soon?
> 
> Thank you kindly
> Hope to hear from you soon.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bimal -

Would need to see those documents in a consultation in order to give you any opinion on whether they would be helpful. However there's another issue - if you are applying for a 457 visa and are using your previous experience with the company to show your experience, etc, they would have to write an employment reference letter anyway for the 457! If you'd like me to review your docs in a consultation, please see link to my website in the signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bimal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Trust you have had a great Christmas and your New Year is going great!
> 
> I have a doubt because of which I am really stuck and wondering that if I still go ahead with 189 visa, would I be risking loosing whole my application fee money. I am sure you would have hear it before, but its a bit different.
> 
> I am a business analyst with 8 years 2 months of experience. Out of these 8.2 years, I have experience letter from my previous employer, where i worked 4.5 years, but my current org would not issue me an experience letter as long as I am with the company.
> And I am really apprehensive about asking my supervisor for a reference letter as I do not wish to disclose my intentions of applying for PR, plus, the org environment is really fickle currently with everyone in fear about layoffs.
> 
> Now, my company is applying for my work permit (457) and I have already been to Australia for almost 90 days on Business Visa.
> 
> Could you please advise me that if I provide
> 1. print out of mail from HR stating that they cannot provide me the experience letter, and also,
> 2. I furnish my starting and current salary slips,
> 3. along with my promotion letters,
> 4. compensation (salary revision) letters and,
> 5. the deputation letter (for deputing me on assignment to Australia on 457 visa) that I have received from company
> 
> Would these documents help me get through ACS and DIAC verifications on my experience? Would these serve ok as alternatives for Experience letter/Reference letter?
> 
> Please help me. Hope to hear back from you soon!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James -

Thanks for the questions - I highly recommend lodging partner and fiance visas online, as it simplifies things, removes the need for certified copies of documents, and can make the process a bit shorter. I see no benefit at all in lodging hardcopy applications any more, unless you enjoy waiting longer and spending money on courier bills, etc. (!)

An agent won't make your application go through any faster or increase your chances of success (disclaimer: I'm a registered migration agent), but depending on your circumstances can help you avoid any errors or misunderstandings about the migration laws and regulations, and in the case of finance or partner visas can provide valuable reviews of the 3rd party witness statements and relationship statements, as well as assist you with responding to any DIBP requests for further information or documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmyc said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a number questions in regards to subclass 300 visa for my Thai partner who lives in Abu Dhabi and works a cabin crew.
> 
> 1. Is it better to apply online or through VFS?
> 2. If VFS, should application be lodged in Thailand instead of in Abu Dhabi?
> 3. Is migration agent needed given that I don't think our case is completed? Would using one help increase the chance of a successful application?
> 4. If an agent is recommended, can anyone recommend one?
> 
> Many thanks,
> James.


----------



## hubby68

Hi Mark and appreciate your time once again...

We are currently on the 820 temporary visa, granted June/July last year and now waiting to apply for the 801. We are married and have a baby together now.

When does the elligibility period begin for the 801 ? From memory it says that you have to be together for 2 years if there is a child of the relationship..

We started our relationship online (fb and skype) in August 2012, first met in person in April 2013 and applied for PMV in June 2013.

Hope you can help..

Regards
Guy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BerniceM -

Thanks for the note. I need to research your situation to see if there may be any options that I can find - would you please visit my website (in my signature below) and use the "Contact Us" link in the upper right corner of the site to contact me directly by email with your email address - I may need to get some additional information from you to explore options - thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



BerniceM said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> It has been suggested that I speak with you about my situation:
> 
> My name is Bernice and I'm almost 60 years of age. Back in 1997, while living in Australia, I met a man from Washington State online - and 3 years later (2000) we were married in Melbourne and moved to Oregon to live. The marriage became abusive and my divorce was finalized in 2014.
> 
> Before leaving Australia in 2000 I was unaware that I should have taken out a specific visa to ensure that I could return at any time.
> 
> Background:
> 
> I was born in Sth. Africa but moved to London with my parents where we lived for 5 years till I was 9 years of age, (April, 1969) at which time my parents divorced and my mother and I moved to Australia, where we remained. I am still on a British passport.
> 
> I've lived permanently in Australia from 1964 - 2000. I always worked, was never out of a job, never claimed any government assistance and always paid my taxes.
> 
> A few months ago I called the Consulate in Washington D.C. who told me that I have "no status" in Australia and that I am unable to return to live.
> 
> I have two sons born in Melbourne and still living there. One now, has 2 daughters of his own. I want desperately to return to Australia to live out my life with my family. I've explored a Parent's Visa but the cost is phenomenal and I can't afford the fee.
> 
> Is it possible that the Consulate is wrong? Do I have any other options to return to Australia permanently? I am completely alone in this country with no friends or family.
> 
> I have written to both the Consulate here and in Australia months ago with no reply.
> 
> I'm so desperate to get home, if you can offer any advice, I'd be so grateful ... thank you!
> ~ Bernice


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hardworker -

Thanks for the questions. Re: the ex-employer, you may want to upload a letter to DIBP with the new details of the company - I'd upload this to your application under one of the "Employment" categories. Re: current employer, I'd upload a From 1022 to the application listing the changes in circumstances. You could also mention the ex-employer's change in this form as well since employment history is part of the application, but I'd still upload the additional letter described above to help draw attention to the changes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hardworker said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a question about the procedure of notification of DIBP of changes in circumstances.
> To begin with, I'm in the middle of my 189 visa process. All documents have been uploaded, but CO hasn't been allocated yet.
> My question actually consist from two parts:
> 
> 1. A week ago I read in the internet that my ex-employer (my tenure in which is a part of my application and I claim points for the experience in this company) is about to change name of the company. Official information was found on their website and according to it they are going to do it by end of January. I'm not sure about all telephones of the company whether they are also going to be changed. There was no information about them. Thus, at least the company name will be different in near future from what it was on my attached reference and payslips. Therefore, my question is about necessity to inform DIBP about name changing of the company:
> 1.1 Should information about such change been sent to DIBP or it is no necessity in it?
> 1.2 Should I proceed right now or wait for my Case Officer?
> 1.3 How it should be done? Form 1022 would be enough or it is necessary to get official document from the company with statement about renaming and then attach it?
> 
> 2. My current employer has changed address of the office. We have moved from one building to another in the same city. Again my question related to this procedure:
> 2.1 Should I inform DIBP about such changes?
> 2.2 Should I attach Form 1022 to my online application or wait for my CO?
> 
> Thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cec2725 -

I'd lodge the visitor visa and explain the circumstances, emphasising the importance of you and your partner staying together in the same place for the best interests of the 2 children - typically in these types of situations, the interests of the children trump any concern about waiting out partner visa, etc so I think there's a high likelihood you'll get the visa without any difficulties. Travel insurance not required for a visitor visa, so no need to declare it at application. Once you arrive in Australia, if you tell Medicare that you are now resident here, you are eligible for Medicare as you are an applicant for a permanent residence visa (the subclass 100 part of your 309/100 application), but i'd probably still get travel insurance to cover you for the time until the Medicare paperwork, etc is complete.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cec2725 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I applied for a partner visa 309/100 on October 2, 2014. I am French, my husband is Australian, we have been married for 5 years, have 2 little children together - both Australian citizens.
> We live in the US, we are selling our property here and we are moving to Australia all together at the beginning of February (my husband is starting a new position).
> 
> Since we don't want to/can't be apart (with 2 little children this is just inconceivable), and there is very little chance my partner visa will be granted before we move, I need to get a tourist visa.
> 
> I would like to get a tourist visa, subclass 600 for 12 months so I don't have to get out of the country every 3 months.
> 
> I am ready to apply for my tourist visa. We wanted to be very upfront about our intentions when applying for the tourist visa: We want to be absolutely 100% clear the whole way through that we are only getting a tourist visa so that I can accompany my husband and my kids while the spouse visa is being processed.
> 
> We have enough funds so money is not an issue. We are going to be living with my in-laws so they wrote a statutory declaration for us to state it. I am a stay at home mother in the US and so I will be in Australia. My husband supports us.
> 
> Now I just read on this forum that I the purpose of a tourist visa is decidedly NOT to wait out the decision on a partner visa, and was advised not to say that in my application. And just say I want a tourist visa to get a vacation. I am very confused.
> 
> What would you recommend to do? be honest, state the truth (which is obvious - how can I be on a vacation when I'm arriving in Australia with my husband and 2 kids after I lodged a partner visa application?) OR just pretend that we are taking a big long 12 month holiday in Australia?
> 
> Also, I am going to get a travel health insurance while on the tourist visa. Do I have to give a proof of it at the time of my application? (I was going to get it closer to my departure date)
> 
> Thank you very much.
> 
> Cecile


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Keepgoing -

Thanks for the note. Re: DIBP and the old ACS report, I've seen it happen both ways - in some cases DIBP will take the assessment report as-is; however in others including one well-discussed case here on the forum, the case officer has gone in and deducted years from the work experience, claiming that the old ACS rules still had a deeming date (calculation of a skilled date based on qualification, etc). So no good way to tell. The safe bet is to get a new ACS, but I understand why you'd want to use the old one.

Re: second part of employment, there is no requirement that ACS assess all employment, however if DIBP has concerns about the employment, they may require you to have it assessed. Key for employment is proof of employment, proof of payment, etc - DIBP requires far more in documentation from employers than ACS does, and DIBP is the final decider of points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KEEPGOING said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you had a great Christmas and New Year holiday. I think we all appreciate that you took enormous time to answer our questions, which provides us hope.
> 
> My situation is:
> 
> I have got an invitation of visa 189 recently. I have an old ACS assessment report granted by 31 Jan 2013 and be valid until 31 Jan 2015. It doesn't mention the "After month/year will be considered relevant working experience". Just say "Your work experience has been calculated as follows on the basis of full time employment of at least 20hrs per week 01/02-08/06 (4yr 7mths)". This was my first work experience and I had second part of work experience occurred between 09/2006 to 09/2008 which is not in the ACS result letter. I did not provide second part employment letter to ACS because at that time there was possibilities of 187 employer sponsored visa and I only needed a positive feedback. I did not expect that I need to apply for 189 until end of this year. The second part work experience is true and I have employment letter and tax pay to prove it. Based on my situation, my work experience will be deducted 2 to 4 years in a new ACS report.
> 
> My questions are:
> 1.	Will DIBP recognise the old ACS assessment? Or they may ask me to provide a new one even if it is valid?
> 2.	Will my second part work experience will be considered and calculated by DIBP itself because it does not show on the report? Or they may ask me to reassess the second part work experience from ACS.
> 
> I would be really appreciated it if you could shed some light on me.
> Best regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KhurramS -

Could only answer that question if I were able to do a detailed study of your work experience and qualifications - can do this in a consult if you wish - see my website below in the signature for more info on this. The skills assessment and DIBP requirements for skilled visas are complex, overlapping, and do not always agree - the "am I eligible" question is complex and requires careful analysis of the skills assessment, DIBP, and perhaps state sponsorship requirements and regulations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KhurramS said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was trying to find a suitable job category to apply under as I work as an AML and Compliance Manager with above 6 years of work experience. The closest match i found was 224412 (policy analysts). In your opinion, can i apply under this group or do you suggest another code?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Khurram


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Guy -

Thanks for the note - you are eligible to apply for the 801 2 years after the original application date for the partner visa. For more on this, see: Partner (Permanent) Calculator

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hubby68 said:


> Hi Mark and appreciate your time once again...
> 
> We are currently on the 820 temporary visa, granted June/July last year and now waiting to apply for the 801. We are married and have a baby together now.
> 
> When does the elligibility period begin for the 801 ? From memory it says that you have to be together for 2 years if there is a child of the relationship..
> 
> We started our relationship online (fb and skype) in August 2012, first met in person in April 2013 and applied for PMV in June 2013.
> 
> Hope you can help..
> 
> Regards
> Guy


----------



## KEEPGOING

Hi Mark, 

Thank you so much for your quick response and point of view. I have provided as much as I could to prove the second part of work experience. I wish my case officer do not deduct the year and I will let you know the result. 

Really appreciate for your time. 

Regards,


----------



## Tobby

Dear Mark,

I follow this thread for a while already and find many useful information through people’s queries and your generous answers. Thank you for that!

I have some concerns regarding my previous health history, which can negatively impact my submission for 189 Skilled Independent subclass. 
Few years ago I underwent surgical procedure of a lung (spontaneous pneumothorax), which wasn’t so serious, and since then everything is alright. However given the thought that the lung was surgically intervened, might create an impression that it is a serious medical background, and based on that, my application would be refused.

Do you think it is a good reason for concern? Should I consider applying for another subclass instead? 

Thank you again, your advice will be very much appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tobby -

Thanks for the note and kind words!

If your condition does not cause any continuing or chronic disability, and you don't have to continue to take medication for it, I would think it would not be likely to be a problem (however I'm not a doctor!). The key to the health waiver is showing that your ongoing costs (if any) aren't over the limits of the health regulations. If you do not have ongoing costs or care needs related to a health condition, and if the condition has not made it so you are more likely to require more care in the future, etc, then that substantially decreases the likelihood that the condition would trigger the health criteria.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tobby said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I follow this thread for a while already and find many useful information through people's queries and your generous answers. Thank you for that!
> 
> I have some concerns regarding my previous health history, which can negatively impact my submission for 189 Skilled Independent subclass.
> Few years ago I underwent surgical procedure of a lung (spontaneous pneumothorax), which wasn't so serious, and since then everything is alright. However given the thought that the lung was surgically intervened, might create an impression that it is a serious medical background, and based on that, my application would be refused.
> 
> Do you think it is a good reason for concern? Should I consider applying for another subclass instead?
> 
> Thank you again, your advice will be very much appreciated!


----------



## cec2725

Thank you so much Mark for such a quick response and useful information! 
Applying today for my tourist visa then 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cec2725 -
> 
> I'd lodge the visitor visa and explain the circumstances, emphasising the importance of you and your partner staying together in the same place for the best interests of the 2 children - typically in these types of situations, the interests of the children trump any concern about waiting out partner visa, etc so I think there's a high likelihood you'll get the visa without any difficulties. Travel insurance not required for a visitor visa, so no need to declare it at application. Once you arrive in Australia, if you tell Medicare that you are now resident here, you are eligible for Medicare as you are an applicant for a permanent residence visa (the subclass 100 part of your 309/100 application), but i'd probably still get travel insurance to cover you for the time until the Medicare paperwork, etc is complete.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Tobby

Thank you very much for your quick response!

I don't have any disabilities, ongoing treatments or medications associated with the surgery. It is just the fact that some people have been refused their visa based on their previous medical history makes me feel very concerned about the issue.

Are there any ways of checking whether it would be considered by DIBP as a one-off event or something that possibly can occur again?

And general speaking, is it recommended to arrange health examinations upfront, before lodging a visa application? Does it save some time for making a final decision? or is it better to receive formal request from the case officer?

Thank you again!

Tobby



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tobby -
> 
> Thanks for the note and kind words!
> 
> If your condition does not cause any continuing or chronic disability, and you don't have to continue to take medication for it, I would think it would not be likely to be a problem (however I'm not a doctor!). The key to the health waiver is showing that your ongoing costs (if any) aren't over the limits of the health regulations. If you do not have ongoing costs or care needs related to a health condition, and if the condition has not made it so you are more likely to require more care in the future, etc, then that substantially decreases the likelihood that the condition would trigger the health criteria.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tobby -

DIBP can only assess something once you've lodged a visa and had your medical exam, so no way to get anything definitive before that. Re: getting exam before lodging visa, that's generally only helpful if the visa can be granted in well less than 1 year. If so, you can open an immiaccount at the DIBP website, then login, choose New Application, then My Health Declarations to generate the referral letter you'll need to book the health exam.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tobby said:


> Thank you very much for your quick response!
> 
> I don't have any disabilities, ongoing treatments or medications associated with the surgery. It is just the fact that some people have been refused their visa based on their previous medical history makes me feel very concerned about the issue.
> 
> Are there any ways of checking whether it would be considered by DIBP as a one-off event or something that possibly can occur again?
> 
> And general speaking, is it recommended to arrange health examinations upfront, before lodging a visa application? Does it save some time for making a final decision? or is it better to receive formal request from the case officer?
> 
> Thank you again!
> 
> Tobby


----------



## Erikaa

*572 offshore de facto visa application*

Dear Mark,

Hello and happy new year!

I hope you can help me.

How do I apply for a visa to join my de facto partner currently in Australia on a working holiday visa but about to apply for a 572 student visa? We are both Italian, he is in Australia, I am in Italy.

We can prove we have been in a genuine relationship for 2 years.

From my understanding I have to wait for his visa to get granted, fill a paper application and send it to the Australian Embassy in Berlin together with all of our evidence. I looked for guidelines on the IMMI website but could not find them. Can I follow the same document checklist as visa 572 (+ de facto relationship evidence)?

Many thanks,

Erika


----------



## Tobby

Thank you very much for the advice!

Tobby



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tobby -
> 
> DIBP can only assess something once you've lodged a visa and had your medical exam, so no way to get anything definitive before that. Re: getting exam before lodging visa, that's generally only helpful if the visa can be granted in well less than 1 year. If so, you can open an immiaccount at the DIBP website, then login, choose New Application, then My Health Declarations to generate the referral letter you'll need to book the health exam.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MelVei

*confused on which Visa is right for us. 820 or 309*

Hi Mark, thank you for creating this thread. I have a subclass 856 visa and i would like to sponsor my fiance to live here in Melbourne with me. We're planning to get married in March and have already submitted the NOIM.

He is a Malaysian citizen and is now in Melbourne on a a ETA that expires on 26th August this year. We want to submit an application for a partner visa but we're unsure if he is eligible for a 820 with a tourist visa. I called immigration hotline to ask and they said if he submits the application here in Australia (onshore) we apply for 820. they don't seem to understand my concern when i told them he can only stay in Australia for a max of 3 months from the date of entry. How can he remain in Australia and must be in Australia when the visa is granted when he has to leave every 3 months? Will he be granted a bridging visa after immigration receives our application?

Thank you in advance for your help with our questions Mark. Truly appreciate it.

-Mel


----------



## DoctorSA

*Previous TB*

Dear Mark

I am a medical doctor and my husband a mechanical engineer. We are planning on applying via the skilled applicant visa. We qualify easily with 75 points with either of us applying as the primary applicant.

I worked in public hospitals in south africa and as a result contracted TB. I no longer work in that environment as I want to remain TB free. I have completed 8 months treatment, my chest X-ray has cleared (except for some scarring), I am sputum negative and have my full medical history and pulmonologist report (including old X-rays etc). Do you think this will be a major problem when applying for visas. I expect it will cause a delay as they may want new sputum's (although I have all of those on record).

Thank you for your time


----------



## DoctorSA

To Mark

My husband and I are applying for a skilled visa. He is a mechanical engineer and I am a doctor. We will have 70-75 points with him as the primary applicant. 

Our big issue is that I have recently been treated for TB (which I acquired from working in hospitals in south africa). I have completed treatment and am now sputum negative and chest X-ray has cleared with just residual scarring. I have full medical records, including X-rays, sputum results and pulmonologist reports. I was also treated for TB in 2010 as I worked in a TB hospital. I have since resigned and am no longer working in a hospital. How much of an issue do you think this will be and how long do you think that this will delay us?

thank you for your time


----------



## ibbeh

Hi mark ! I am an Indian with HSC Subclass 573 student visa , which i got on 8th january 2015 ! My masters course starts 22nd february 2015 ( QUT Brisbane ) ! my question is " by what date can i step inside Australia ! Thanks ! Waiting for your reply


----------



## SerendipitousNomads

Thanks for your answer Mark.
Just to clarify the answers regarding a dwelling, as I am still unsure as to what to write... If you are travelling such as we are and do not currently have a fixed residential address, how can you describe your living arrangements in Part H?
Thank you.


----------



## SerendipitousNomads

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> Re Q11, I don't have enough info to give you specific advice on that. If your sponsor is an Australian Permanent Resident, you need to consider the "usually resident" requirement for partner visa sponsors; if citizen, not an issue. Normally this is the address where the two of you normally reside.
> 
> Q25 - yes, although most people become "exclusive" at some point after they have met and established a relationship.
> 
> Q27 - divorce date
> 
> Q29 - I would estimate as best you can, and upload a note indicating that you are not sure of the exact dates and estimated.
> 
> Dwelling - same answer as Q11.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your answer Mark.
Just to clarify the answers regarding a dwelling, as I am still unsure as to what to write... If you are travelling such as we are and do not currently have a fixed residential address, how can you describe your living arrangements in Part H?
Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Erika -

Generally much better if he applies with you on his application as a secondary applicant (so both of you applying together), as in many cases it is not possible to add you on later, unless you claim that as of the date of his application, your relationship (defacto) did not exist, which is not the case. Yes, partner visa relationship guidelines are good for defacto student visa, however the emphasis for defacto will be on living together during the 12 months prior to application.

Would need to work with you in a consultation to give you specific advice via relationship evidence, etc - see website link below in my signature to go to our website for more info about a professional consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Erikaa said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hello and happy new year!
> 
> I hope you can help me.
> 
> How do I apply for a visa to join my de facto partner currently in Australia on a working holiday visa but about to apply for a 572 student visa? We are both Italian, he is in Australia, I am in Italy.
> 
> We can prove we have been in a genuine relationship for 2 years.
> 
> From my understanding I have to wait for his visa to get granted, fill a paper application and send it to the Australian Embassy in Berlin together with all of our evidence. I looked for guidelines on the IMMI website but could not find them. Can I follow the same document checklist as visa 572 (+ de facto relationship evidence)?
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> Erika


----------



## CN84

Hi Mark,

Do you know the criteria for including a divorced parent in 190 visa? I dont think the DIAC website is very clear. One of my parents is dependent on me for support. I send him money nearly every month (from uk). 

Also how can I prove he is dependent on me?

Can my application be rejected if DIAC decides he is not dependent?


----------



## BerniceM

Hello Mark,

Thank you for your prompt response. I have sent you an email direct as you suggested and I look forward to hearing back from you.
~ Bernice


----------



## isy&chris

Hello Mark,

Thanks so much for offering your help. 
I have applied for the partner visa (309) outside of Australia about 4 months ago. I handed in the medical health examination at start of november, and havent been given any case officer yet. I haven´t heard back from the immigration departement since. Is that normal, do you know?

Thank you very much 
Isabell


----------



## myla

*applicant separated year 2000, can he apply for prospective visa?*

Hello Mark, I am hoping you could point us in the right direction. I am trying to assist my friend who has lost hope in uniting with fiancé permanently. Here's a brief history - couple met in 2000. 'Boyfriend' applied for tourist visas 2008/2009/2010, all rejected. 2007 tourist visa approved after church minister wrote letter for him to visit. Stayed 1 month only. Migration agent hired 2012 but incorrectly lodged de facto visa application so denied. Now she knows it was the wrong visa because they had not lived together. My friend has been travelling back and forth to visit him since 2000. The catch - fiancé has been separated from ex-wife before 2000. All children are adults now. They obviously wish to be together but have found themselves disheartened by the visa rejections.

Question - can they apply for prospective marriage visa (even when the fiancé is separated only)? Annulment is a lengthy (not to mention ridiculously expensive) process. Do you think they still have a chance?

Thank You and I hope to hear from you soon.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MelVei -

Thanks for the question. If you lodge an onshore partner visa while he is here on an ETA, you will automatically get a bridging visa that allows him to remain past the end of the 3 month stay period and stay until a decision is made on the partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MelVei said:


> Hi Mark, thank you for creating this thread. I have a subclass 856 visa and i would like to sponsor my fiance to live here in Melbourne with me. We're planning to get married in March and have already submitted the NOIM.
> 
> He is a Malaysian citizen and is now in Melbourne on a a ETA that expires on 26th August this year. We want to submit an application for a partner visa but we're unsure if he is eligible for a 820 with a tourist visa. I called immigration hotline to ask and they said if he submits the application here in Australia (onshore) we apply for 820. they don't seem to understand my concern when i told them he can only stay in Australia for a max of 3 months from the date of entry. How can he remain in Australia and must be in Australia when the visa is granted when he has to leave every 3 months? Will he be granted a bridging visa after immigration receives our application?
> 
> Thank you in advance for your help with our questions Mark. Truly appreciate it.
> 
> -Mel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DoctorSA -

Thanks for the question. If you are TB free, they will likely note the scars in the x-rays taken for the medical exam and may request additional xrays. Depending on the results, they may ask you to take additional sputum tests over a period (sometimes 3 months) and examine the results before granting the visa. However as long as you do not have active TB, and as long as there is not any other health condition that could trigger an issue with the health criteria (ie, chronic or continuing condition(s) that require continuing or future care or medications), the worst that seems likely is that things may be delayed while they require you to do more sputum tests. They also may require you to promise to take TB exams periodically once you enter Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DoctorSA said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I am a medical doctor and my husband a mechanical engineer. We are planning on applying via the skilled applicant visa. We qualify easily with 75 points with either of us applying as the primary applicant.
> 
> I worked in public hospitals in south africa and as a result contracted TB. I no longer work in that environment as I want to remain TB free. I have completed 8 months treatment, my chest X-ray has cleared (except for some scarring), I am sputum negative and have my full medical history and pulmonologist report (including old X-rays etc). Do you think this will be a major problem when applying for visas. I expect it will cause a delay as they may want new sputum's (although I have all of those on record).
> 
> Thank you for your time


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ibbeh -

Thanks for the question and the email - as mentioned in the email, you cannot enter Australia until the start date of your health coverage since it is a requirement of the visa that you be covered by health coverage for the entire time you are physically in Australia holding a student visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ibbeh said:


> Hi mark ! I am an Indian with HSC Subclass 573 student visa , which i got on 8th january 2015 ! My masters course starts 22nd february 2015 ( QUT Brisbane ) ! my question is " by what date can i step inside Australia ! Thanks ! Waiting for your reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

If none of the answers fit, then you may want to upload a note to the application explaining the circumstances. However, remember that a requirement of the visa is that you have an intention to reside in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SerendipitousNomads said:


> Thanks for your answer Mark.
> Just to clarify the answers regarding a dwelling, as I am still unsure as to what to write... If you are travelling such as we are and do not currently have a fixed residential address, how can you describe your living arrangements in Part H?
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CN84 -

Thanks for the question. Proving adult dependency is difficult, as it involves proving financial dependance AND that the person is a member of your household - if both are not true, very difficult to get dependency approved. Generally if a dependent is not approved, DIBP will usually give an opportunity to remove that person from the application prior to decision. You may want to consult with a migration agent to go over all the legal requirements for dependency for migration purposes for the visa you're looking to apply for to help you better understand the requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CN84 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Do you know the criteria for including a divorced parent in 190 visa? I dont think the DIAC website is very clear. One of my parents is dependent on me for support. I send him money nearly every month (from uk).
> 
> Also how can I prove he is dependent on me?
> 
> Can my application be rejected if DIAC decides he is not dependent?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Isabell -

Yup, that's typical. DIBP is often taking 12-18 months for partner visas these days, and they provide no tracking or progress information - you won't hear from them generally unless they need more info or documents, or want to interview you and/or your partner.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



isy&chris said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thanks so much for offering your help.
> I have applied for the partner visa (309) outside of Australia about 4 months ago. I handed in the medical health examination at start of november, and havent been given any case officer yet. I haven´t heard back from the immigration departement since. Is that normal, do you know?
> 
> Thank you very much
> Isabell


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Myla -

Thanks for the question. For the fiance visa, the applicant must have no impediment to marriage at the time the visa decision is made - an offshore previous marriage that is not terminated by a divorce or annullment would likely be an impediment to marry, since Australia's marriage laws require that a person not be already married in order to marry in Australia, and if a person is found to be already married, that makes the Australian marriage void. They could lodge the fiance visa application, but that requires a letter from a celebrant who states they intend to marry the couple - that itself may be difficult to get if the previous marriage is still unresolved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



myla said:


> Hello Mark, I am hoping you could point us in the right direction. I am trying to assist my friend who has lost hope in uniting with fiancé permanently. Here's a brief history - couple met in 2000. 'Boyfriend' applied for tourist visas 2008/2009/2010, all rejected. 2007 tourist visa approved after church minister wrote letter for him to visit. Stayed 1 month only. Migration agent hired 2012 but incorrectly lodged de facto visa application so denied. Now she knows it was the wrong visa because they had not lived together. My friend has been travelling back and forth to visit him since 2000. The catch - fiancé has been separated from ex-wife before 2000. All children are adults now. They obviously wish to be together but have found themselves disheartened by the visa rejections.
> 
> Question - can they apply for prospective marriage visa (even when the fiancé is separated only)? Annulment is a lengthy (not to mention ridiculously expensive) process. Do you think they still have a chance?
> 
> Thank You and I hope to hear from you soon.


----------



## amkhan

Hi Mark,

I applied for visa subclass 189, CO is assigned on 8-jan-2015 and requested for documents. CO requested for Certified copy of my birth certificate which unfortunately I don't have and I am not able to get it from my country. I have my secondary school certificates, national identity card with me. Appreciate your advise to move forward from here on.

Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amkhan -

I would have to see the request and learn more details about your situation to give you specific advice, however you may want to write a letter describing how you have tried to get the birth certificate and why it is that it is unavailable, and provide the documents you have that are available to see if they would accept your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amkhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for visa subclass 189, CO is assigned on 8-jan-2015 and requested for documents. CO requested for Certified copy of my birth certificate which unfortunately I don't have and I am not able to get it from my country. I have my secondary school certificates, national identity card with me. Appreciate your advise to move forward from here on.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## jaskirat.bijan

*Partner Visa Sub class 309 and Visitor Visa*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing well.

I am new member to this forum and will like to seek assistance in relation to partner visa application for my wife.

I have made a partner visa application for my wife through online immi account on 6th July, 2014. I need to enquire does the application fall under the scope of Australian High Commission, New Delhi or DIBP Global Processing Centre.

Furthermore, my wife applied for visitor visa to come over to australia on 23 December, 2014 for a period of 6 months, however she has only been offered a visa until 6th march, 2015 on the grounds that partner visa application takes 9 to 12 months to process and they can't offer any longer than 2 months, which is equivalent to total 8 months for partner visa application in process as Immigration requires applicant to be offshore when case office is allocated and application is processed. The case officer I have spoken to mentioned its a local policy followed by AHC, New Delhi. 
Our situation now is that I have booked her ticket for travel on 20th February, 2015 to arrive in Australia, though it only offer her 12 days to stay.

My question is 
1. Given that current visitor visa issued has not been applied with "8503 No Further Stay" condition, will we be able to apply for extension and what is the probability of it getting approved?

2. Does she require to have a return ticket when she travels to Australia to prove her return within visa period issued until 6th March, 2015.

Highly appreciate your valuable feedback.

Kind Regards, 
Jaskirat Bijan


----------



## Erikaa

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your reply! I was hoping that we could apply together, but I thought that because he is in Australia and I am in Italy, we had to apply separately. I thought he had to apply online,, declaring that he had a de facto partner and that I had to apply separetely once his visa got granted.

Can he apply online for both of us adding me as his de facto partner and sending all the evidence?

Is checking evidence a service that you offer if I contact you by email?


----------



## amkhan

Dear Mark,

I really appreciate your support and quick response.

Actually I don't have birth certificate because it was lost long time back. Currently I am located in UAE and not in my home country. I have enquired from Pakistan embassy here in Dubai, that I need a birth certificate for immigration purpose and they answered that they cant assist in this case.

Do you suggest me to take a letter from Pakistan embassy stating that they cant assist in issuing birth certificate. Afterwards, I can use this letter along with alternate secondary school certificate. Appreciate your advise.

Regards,


----------



## ernest1

Hello Mark, 

I have a question . I just realise few mistakes on my offshore partner visa application. And I'm curious if it's still fixeable as I can still upload more documents.

Firstly , we took a letter from our landlord saying that we lived together as a couple in this apartmet until the date of 01.02.2014 but the actual date was 01.03.2014 and we say that in our history of relationships.

I don't remember if it's a mistake but probably it was 01.02.2014 because the date he signed it was this date. After a month later we left the apartment.

I am not able to get a new statement from him saying that the date was incorrect and the actual date was 01.03.2014. Because we don't rent the property anymore and don't have any connection with him.


Is it a explainable mistake or simply are we in trouble?

Any advice would be helpful, thanks for your time .


----------



## wonder

Hi Mark,
I have applied for svp 573 dependent visa ,any idea what would be average timeframe to get it.

Regards.


----------



## shaunmw87

Hi Mark hope your year has got off yo a great start!

Was wondering if you could help me with some advice. Me and my wife are looking to come to Australia in July this year (2015). We don't know yet whether we want to settle permanently or not but would like to have that option.

As I am a British citizen I was wanting to get a work/holiday visa for 1yr, my wife who is Brazilian would look to get a study visa for the same period or longer- she has studied in Australia before in 2008-2009. Once in Australia I would want to find work and hopefully be able to get sponsored- then my wife would be able to move onto my visa- in order to stay longer if we choose to.

What I am wondering is, is this all feasible, and would you perhaps recommend a different way of working the visa process? 

Is it even possible for me to come to Australia on a work/holiday visa and then change over to a work sponsored visa?

Would my wife getting her own visa be the best option, or should she join me on my work/holiday visa?

For the record I work as a joiner, but have worked in many construction trades. I also have a degree in environmental management. Those would be my top job focuses while I am there.

Please any advice would be very much appreciated. 

Regards Shaun


----------



## Prasanth

*Medical query*

Hi Mark,

My friend was detected with lymph node tuberculosis(not contagious) on Dec 17 2014(190 visa granted in october). He has been under medication since the same day. He has a PR to Australia and plans to move to Melbourne the first week of Feb 2015.
I have a few queries:
1. Is he allowed to travel to Australia?
2.What should he mention in the passenger card,in the column 'Are you suffering from tb'?
3. Can he carry his medications?
4. Should he carry any other document for the ailment/ treatment details

Can anybody help me find whom to ask these questions to get the right answers.

Thanks and regards,
Prasanth


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaskirat -

Offshore partner visas are generally processed by the AHC or embassy closest to the applicant's country of citizenship. If she does not have condition 8503 on her visa, she could apply while onshore for a further subclass 600 visitor visa to extend her trip - impossible for me to predict whether it would be approved or chances of approval. Re: return ticket, always a good idea for people coming on a visitor visa, especially for short trips. While the return ticket is not required by the legislation, lack of a return ticket may give an airport immigration official reason to doubt the genuine intention to depart Australia within the terms of the visa, which could cause big problems.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jaskirat.bijan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well.
> 
> I am new member to this forum and will like to seek assistance in relation to partner visa application for my wife.
> 
> I have made a partner visa application for my wife through online immi account on 6th July, 2014. I need to enquire does the application fall under the scope of Australian High Commission, New Delhi or DIBP Global Processing Centre.
> 
> Furthermore, my wife applied for visitor visa to come over to australia on 23 December, 2014 for a period of 6 months, however she has only been offered a visa until 6th march, 2015 on the grounds that partner visa application takes 9 to 12 months to process and they can't offer any longer than 2 months, which is equivalent to total 8 months for partner visa application in process as Immigration requires applicant to be offshore when case office is allocated and application is processed. The case officer I have spoken to mentioned its a local policy followed by AHC, New Delhi.
> Our situation now is that I have booked her ticket for travel on 20th February, 2015 to arrive in Australia, though it only offer her 12 days to stay.
> 
> My question is
> 1. Given that current visitor visa issued has not been applied with "8503 No Further Stay" condition, will we be able to apply for extension and what is the probability of it getting approved?
> 
> 2. Does she require to have a return ticket when she travels to Australia to prove her return within visa period issued until 6th March, 2015.
> 
> Highly appreciate your valuable feedback.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Jaskirat Bijan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Erika -

For student visas, adding a partner after the visa is granted is generally only allowed if the partner relationship began AFTER the date the visa was granted - if the partner relationship was in place as of the date the visa grant, the partner generally cannot be added to the visa later - it's a special requirement for student visas.

Re: being in different locations, this could prove to be a problem to convincing DIBP that you are in (by their definition) a genuine defacto relationship, as DIBP considers living together to be the prime indicator of a defacto relationship. You may want to seek assistance from a migration agent to work through the details of your situation and see how you may be able to have the best chance of meeting the requirements. I'd be happy to do this in a consultation with you - see my website address in my signature below for more info, then look for "Professional Consultation" on the website.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Erikaa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your reply! I was hoping that we could apply together, but I thought that because he is in Australia and I am in Italy, we had to apply separately. I thought he had to apply online,, declaring that he had a de facto partner and that I had to apply separetely once his visa got granted.
> 
> Can he apply online for both of us adding me as his de facto partner and sending all the evidence?
> 
> Is checking evidence a service that you offer if I contact you by email?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amkhan -

That may work, depending on the office processing your application - no way for me to predict. I do know that in some cases, DIBP has expected people to travel to their home country if necessary in order to get a required document, so if that is the case, a lack of assistance from your local embassy may not be enough to satisfy them, not sure.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amkhan said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I really appreciate your support and quick response.
> 
> Actually I don't have birth certificate because it was lost long time back. Currently I am located in UAE and not in my home country. I have enquired from Pakistan embassy here in Dubai, that I need a birth certificate for immigration purpose and they answered that they cant assist in this case.
> 
> Do you suggest me to take a letter from Pakistan embassy stating that they cant assist in issuing birth certificate. Afterwards, I can use this letter along with alternate secondary school certificate. Appreciate your advise.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ernest -

Not a big issue from what you said - you could complete and upload Form 1023 to correct the mistake and any other mistakes you may have made on the application form(s). Also, yes it's possible to upload additional relationship documents and other documents for the period after you've lodged until DIBP makes their decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ernest1 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a question . I just realise few mistakes on my offshore partner visa application. And I'm curious if it's still fixeable as I can still upload more documents.
> 
> Firstly , we took a letter from our landlord saying that we lived together as a couple in this apartmet until the date of 01.02.2014 but the actual date was 01.03.2014 and we say that in our history of relationships.
> 
> I don't remember if it's a mistake but probably it was 01.02.2014 because the date he signed it was this date. After a month later we left the apartment.
> 
> I am not able to get a new statement from him saying that the date was incorrect and the actual date was 01.03.2014. Because we don't rent the property anymore and don't have any connection with him.
> 
> Is it a explainable mistake or simply are we in trouble?
> 
> Any advice would be helpful, thanks for your time .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wonder -

Very hard to predict since DIBP doesn't provide reliable processing timeframes - my guess would be 1-3 months, hopefully shorter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wonder said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have applied for svp 573 dependent visa ,any idea what would be average timeframe to get it.
> 
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shaunmw87 -

Thanks for the note - as working holiday visas do not allow dependents (each person would have to qualify on their own), she would not be able to be an additional applicant on your working holiday visa. Assuming she gets a student visa, this all sounds reasonable from what you've said - she would need to qualify for the student visa, etc and DIBP would need to be convinced that her primary reason in coming to Australia is to study, not to be with you (see genuine student policy criteria).

Many people who come on working holiday visas end up continuing their stay in Australia on an employer sponsored or skilled visa, so that's not an issue at all, especially given the generous work allowance under the working holiday visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shaunmw87 said:


> Hi Mark hope your year has got off yo a great start!
> 
> Was wondering if you could help me with some advice. Me and my wife are looking to come to Australia in July this year (2015). We don't know yet whether we want to settle permanently or not but would like to have that option.
> 
> As I am a British citizen I was wanting to get a work/holiday visa for 1yr, my wife who is Brazilian would look to get a study visa for the same period or longer- she has studied in Australia before in 2008-2009. Once in Australia I would want to find work and hopefully be able to get sponsored- then my wife would be able to move onto my visa- in order to stay longer if we choose to.
> 
> What I am wondering is, is this all feasible, and would you perhaps recommend a different way of working the visa process?
> 
> Is it even possible for me to come to Australia on a work/holiday visa and then change over to a work sponsored visa?
> 
> Would my wife getting her own visa be the best option, or should she join me on my work/holiday visa?
> 
> For the record I work as a joiner, but have worked in many construction trades. I also have a degree in environmental management. Those would be my top job focuses while I am there.
> 
> Please any advice would be very much appreciated.
> 
> Regards Shaun


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prasanth -

Thanks for the question. I'll include the relevant DIBP policy below, however non-pulminary TB is not considered to be a public health threat in Australia, and is generally considered non-infectious. He'll need to answer "Yes" to the TB question on the passenger card since he does have active TB, and should bring all documentation re: his diagnosis, treatment, etc with him to present to the immigration officer at the airport showing that his TB is non-pulminary, and therefore not reason to exclude him from Australia. It's likely that he will be required to promise to have follow-up medical tests and submit the results to DIBP after he arrives, and will need to notify the authorities of his disease as it is a reportable condition (see below).

Policy listed below:

_Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis
12. Brief description of disease

12.1. Extra-pulmonary TB can occur in virtually all organ systems2. In Australia in 2006, 39.7% of notified TB cases were extra-pulmonary with no lung involvement. The most common sites of extra-pulmonary disease seen in Australia in 2006 were lymph nodes, pleura, bone/joint, genito-urinary tract, meningeal, miliary (disseminated) and peritoneal space5.

12.2. It should be recalled that pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB can co-exist in the same patient at the same time. In 2006, 9.7% of cases in Australia had both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary disease.9

12.3. Extra-pulmonary disease without pulmonary involvement was slightly more common in overseas born than in Australian born people in 2006.

12.4. Despite a very small risk of transmission from skin wounds and discharging lymph nodes, extra-pulmonary TB is generally considered to be non infectious. Extra-pulmonary TB is therefore of individual rather than public health significance.

12.5. Like pulmonary TB, extra-pulmonary TB is notifiable in all Australian states and territories.
_
Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Prasanth said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My friend was detected with lymph node tuberculosis(not contagious) on Dec 17 2014(190 visa granted in october). He has been under medication since the same day. He has a PR to Australia and plans to move to Melbourne the first week of Feb 2015.
> I have a few queries:
> 1. Is he allowed to travel to Australia?
> 2.What should he mention in the passenger card,in the column 'Are you suffering from tb'?
> 3. Can he carry his medications?
> 4. Should he carry any other document for the ailment/ treatment details
> 
> Can anybody help me find whom to ask these questions to get the right answers.
> 
> Thanks and regards,
> Prasanth


----------



## DoctorSA

Thank you for your quick response. This is what I expected and what seems reasonable. Hoping it all goes smoothly.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi DoctorSA -
> 
> Thanks for the question. If you are TB free, they will likely note the scars in the x-rays taken for the medical exam and may request additional xrays. Depending on the results, they may ask you to take additional sputum tests over a period (sometimes 3 months) and examine the results before granting the visa. However as long as you do not have active TB, and as long as there is not any other health condition that could trigger an issue with the health criteria (ie, chronic or continuing condition(s) that require continuing or future care or medications), the worst that seems likely is that things may be delayed while they require you to do more sputum tests. They also may require you to promise to take TB exams periodically once you enter Australia.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## mfa

*Adding Mother as Dependent during visa application*

Hi Mark,

plz help on below query.

if i add mother as dependent migrating member during 189 visa application (consider that "mother" is fulfilling all financial and other dependance requirements specified on DIAC website)...and if her medical fails , then , what is the "probability" that CO will allow at this stage , to remove her , from migrating member list to "other family members"....

Will CO refused all other migrating visa applicants, if my mother medical is not passed ?

my mother is 65 and suffers from chronic diabetes ( without any end organ damage), 5 year old angioplasty ( continuous medications taken to control any future event) , and a treated hepatitis C ( no medication taken currently , LFT and liver is OK).

I was reading somewhere on internet, that there is an objective test to determine medical burden on Australian health service and that is medical cost should not exceed AUD 21,000 over the period of three years. The post was a year old. I am just wondering is it still stand true.

Do you have any idea about it.

thanks
Moeen


----------



## SWG

Hello Mark,

I was granted a visa subclass 189 last October, and i'm going for my first Entry this February.

I've couple of questions related to the visa:


- I've been thinking to postpone my moving to Australia for few years, but i'm not sure if i'll be able to do this. I want to keep my visa valid, and there's a chance i might move to Australia after 2-3 years. But i need to know if i'll be able to keep my visa valid while i'm out of Australia just in case i decided to move later, and how to do this? I know it's valid for 5 years but what are the conditions of renewal of the visa? Since it's valid till October 2019, and i'm thinking to move after 2-4 years.

- I'll be moving to live in Dubai, so do I've to notify them with that? Or not necessary? (My Address in passport will stay the same, however, i'll be granted a resident Visa in Dubai)


- My passport will expire in 2018, I'm assuming i'll have to notify them. Which form i should use, 1022 or 929?

Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## CN84

amkhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for visa subclass 189, CO is assigned on 8-jan-2015 and requested for documents. CO requested for Certified copy of my birth certificate which unfortunately I don't have and I am not able to get it from my country. I have my secondary school certificates, national identity card with me. Appreciate your advise to move forward from here on.
> 
> Regards,


Can you not give them copy of your passport? It should have your birthday on it. Or do they not accept a passport copy?


----------



## CN84

Thank Mark for your reply. Can you lodge another EOI once your previous one is removed? Lets say you lodge your EOI, got invited twice and didnt apply for visa, after which your EOI is removed from skillselect, can you lodge a new EOI?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CN84 -

Yes.

Best,

Mark



CN84 said:


> Thank Mark for your reply. Can you lodge another EOI once your previous one is removed? Lets say you lodge your EOI, got invited twice and didnt apply for visa, after which your EOI is removed from skillselect, can you lodge a new EOI?


----------



## MarkNortham

DIBP normally requires passport and birth certificate for PR visas. They will normally accept a certified copy of these (if hardcopy application) or colour scanned certified copy or colour scanned original of an online application.

Best,

Mark



CN84 said:


> Can you not give them copy of your passport? It should have your birthday on it. Or do they not accept a passport copy?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SWG -

The visa you have will remain valid (as long as you do a first entry on time) for the entire 5 year period. If you change your passport or address, Form 929 is the form to use to update DIBP. Re: renewing the visa, you can extend your re-entry rights with a Resident Return Visa (RRV) - see Resident Return visa (subclasses 155 and 157) for more information. There are 2 primary types - one available if you spend at least 24 months in Australia during the 5 years prior to applying for the RRV - that one gets you a 5 year extension of your re-entry rights to Australia, and another type where you have to show significant ties to Australia and if you are able to, you get a 1 year extension of your re-entry rights to Australia. Check out the DIBP page above for all the details on these visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SWG said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I was granted a visa subclass 189 last October, and i'm going for my first Entry this February.
> 
> I've couple of questions related to the visa:
> 
> - I've been thinking to postpone my moving to Australia for few years, but i'm not sure if i'll be able to do this. I want to keep my visa valid, and there's a chance i might move to Australia after 2-3 years. But i need to know if i'll be able to keep my visa valid while i'm out of Australia just in case i decided to move later, and how to do this? I know it's valid for 5 years but what are the conditions of renewal of the visa? Since it's valid till October 2019, and i'm thinking to move after 2-4 years.
> 
> - I'll be moving to live in Dubai, so do I've to notify them with that? Or not necessary? (My Address in passport will stay the same, however, i'll be granted a resident Visa in Dubai)
> 
> - My passport will expire in 2018, I'm assuming i'll have to notify them. Which form i should use, 1022 or 929?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## qimtiaz

Hi Mark,

Thanks allot for providing such a useful information to immigration aspirants. I was wondering about point allocation.

I did ACS and they awarded me AQF Bachelor degree in computer Science which gives me 15 points.

I have Microsoft certification MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer) as mentioned in the Summary of criteria. _*"Vendor Certification - The following certifications are accepted by the ACS as comparable to graduate outcomes of an ICT major at the AQF Diploma level*_"

My question is, can i claim 5 points based on this certification along with my bachelor degree??

Thanks & Regards,


----------



## mfa

mfa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> plz help on below query.
> 
> if i add mother as dependent migrating member during 189 visa application (consider that "mother" is fulfilling all financial and other dependance requirements specified on DIAC website)...and if her medical fails , then , what is the "probability" that CO will allow at this stage , to remove her , from migrating member list to "other family members"....
> 
> Will CO refused all other migrating visa applicants, if my mother medical is not passed ?
> 
> my mother is 65 and suffers from chronic diabetes ( without any end organ damage), 5 year old angioplasty ( continuous medications taken to control any future event) , and a treated hepatitis C ( no medication taken currently , LFT and liver is OK).
> 
> I was reading somewhere on internet, that there is an objective test to determine medical burden on Australian health service and that is medical cost should not exceed AUD 21,000 over the period of three years. The post was a year old. I am just wondering is it still stand true.
> 
> Do you have any idea about it.
> 
> thanks
> Moeen


Hi Mark,

Can you please give your expert opinion on above case ?

thanks,


----------



## Gkennelly

Hi we applied for offshore 309/100 partner visa in August 2014. I was just wondering if you knew the main reasons for refusal and at what stage there are usually rejected. My husband is a perm resident and we have been together 5 years married 2 and a 1.5 year old girl. If our visa is refused is there any other options for us just want a back up just in case


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Qimtiaz -

Thanks for the question and happy to help. You can only claim for one degree (usually the highest), so you would not be able to get more than 15 points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



qimtiaz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks allot for providing such a useful information to immigration aspirants. I was wondering about point allocation.
> 
> I did ACS and they awarded me AQF Bachelor degree in computer Science which gives me 15 points.
> 
> I have Microsoft certification MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer) as mentioned in the Summary of criteria. _*"Vendor Certification - The following certifications are accepted by the ACS as comparable to graduate outcomes of an ICT major at the AQF Diploma level*_"
> 
> My question is, can i claim 5 points based on this certification along with my bachelor degree??
> 
> Thanks & Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mfa -

Thanks for the question. Would need to know much more about the case and applicant in order to give any specific advice. Generally speaking, when a person is an adult dependent, it may be possible to remove them from the application in case of health criteria issues, however this is generally not the case with minor (< 18 yrs old) applicants. Ability to do so usually involves the ability to convince DIBP that the adult has the ability to NOT be a dependent if circumstances allow - it can be very tricky to do this, because you'll want to not contradict anything that has been claimed in the dependency argument.

The info in the post you read is outdated - the current significant cost threshold is $35,000 over the first 5 years of permanent residency; 3 years if the person is 75 years of age or older, however in some cases if the condition is predictable, they can use the projected health costs for the remainder of the person's estimated lifespan.

Suggest if you get into health criteria issues you get professional help.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mfa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you please give your expert opinion on above case ?
> 
> thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi GKennelly -

Thanks for the question. These typically take 12+ months to process, so it's early days still. Primary reasons for rejection are lack of sufficient evidence of a genuine relationship, however having a child together goes a LONG way towards getting these approved as the best interests of a child become an issue. I noted your "flag" in your post is the UK - if your husband is a PR and you are living in the UK, would be very important for you to learn about the "usually resident" requirement for permanent resident sponsors for partner visas - if this is not the case and you're living in Australia, you can disregard that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gkennelly said:


> Hi we applied for offshore 309/100 partner visa in August 2014. I was just wondering if you knew the main reasons for refusal and at what stage there are usually rejected. My husband is a perm resident and we have been together 5 years married 2 and a 1.5 year old girl. If our visa is refused is there any other options for us just want a back up just in case


----------



## Gkennelly

MarkNortham said:


> Hi GKennelly -
> 
> Thanks for the question. These typically take 12+ months to process, so it's early days still. Primary reasons for rejection are lack of sufficient evidence of a genuine relationship, however having a child together goes a LONG way towards getting these approved as the best interests of a child become an issue. I noted your "flag" in your post is the UK - if your husband is a PR and you are living in the UK, would be very important for you to learn about the "usually resident" requirement for permanent resident sponsors for partner visas - if this is not the case and you're living in Australia, you can disregard that.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


What us the usually resident part? My husband has been in UK military and got granted his return visa in August then we applied for our partner visa


----------



## SqOats

Hi Mark,

I am Pakistani citizen and residing in Saudi Arabia. I applied for student visa 573 on 20/11/2014 through VFS office (expatriate cases are assessed in Australian Consulate in UAE) and got application fee charged on my credit card the after two days. Till now i didnt receive any acknowledgment letter from DIBP. But, VFS has a tracking system where it gives me the below message once provided VFS tracking number.

"Application received at the Australia Visa Application Centre, UAE Embassy on 23/11/2014." 

My classes are starting in one month time and I am getting worried. My question is that Is fee deduction proof enough that my application is under process or shall I contact DIBP to get an acknowledgment letter.

Thanks


----------



## CarroConnor

Hi Mark!
Im from Sweden, and me and my Australian partner have applied *online* for Partner (Provisional) (class UF) (subclass 309) /
Partner (Migrant) (class BC) (subclass 100) visa.

We did this on the 24th of November 2014, and so far have not got any reply (except for acknowledgment they have received the application).
Wondering if this is normal and to be expected?
I thought we would have been assigned a Case Officer by now who would have contacted us. No?

I read somewhere that it was best NOT to send in police checks nor health check in your application UNTIL asked to do so by your case officer. 
So I have not yet sent them in, do you think I should do that ASAP or like I said, wait until hearing from Case officer?

Thanks for your help!
Kind regards, Caroline.


----------



## mfa

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mfa -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Would need to know much more about the case and applicant in order to give any specific advice. Generally speaking, when a person is an adult dependent, it may be possible to remove them from the application in case of health criteria issues, however this is generally not the case with minor (< 18 yrs old) applicants. Ability to do so usually involves the ability to convince DIBP that the adult has the ability to NOT be a dependent if circumstances allow - it can be very tricky to do this, because you'll want to not contradict anything that has been claimed in the dependency argument.
> 
> The info in the post you read is outdated - the current significant cost threshold is $35,000 over the first 5 years of permanent residency; 3 years if the person is 75 years of age or older, however in some cases if the condition is predictable, they can use the projected health costs for the remainder of the person's estimated lifespan.
> 
> Suggest if you get into health criteria issues you get professional help.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

The applicant whose medical may have issue is my mother ( aged :65 years) with chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure and history of Angioplasty.

The issue is that ,if i don't include her now during visa application filing as dependent, latter on , the only choice left are "Contributory parent visa" - and as you are aware , "Contributory Parent Visa" involves "Balance of Family test" as a Mandatory condition -which i will not be able to fulfill ( as we are total of 4 kids ( 3 sisters, 1 brother myself), 3 living in one country, 1 will be living in Australia)

do you know , any method or way, by which, we can get a "Pre-assessment " result about medical of a suspected patient before filling visa application?

thanks Mark for your opinions.

regards,


----------



## amkhan

Thanks a lot Mark for your value able suggestions.


----------



## tp424

Dear Mark,

I am pretty new to this forum and have just started to evaluate the possibility to move to Australia with a permanent visa to live and work there 

My background -

I am from Software testing background with 5+ years of experience including 3+ years if experience in Paris, France ( Still in France ). I do not have any employment offer from Australia.

My queries - 
- From my research I understand that my profession not present in SOL , but it's there CSOL. Am I eligible to apply for all three below types ? or any other type of visa ?

1. Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186)
2. Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa (subclass 187)
3. Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)

Cheers !


----------



## CN84

Hi Mark,

I want to include my dad who is recently divorced and my teenage brother in my application for 190 visa. They live back home and I send them money regularly. Is that enough to prove their dependency on me? In our country the gov. dont provide birth or death certificates etc or any support.

If I include them on my application and DIAC decides they are not defendants, would my application be refused or can I remove later in process? What if they fail medicals? (I heard even if DIAC accepts them as defendants and one of them fails medicals then visa is refused for everyone!)

Thanks a lot


----------



## myla

Thank You Mark.

Much appreciated. You are doing such a wonderful job here. 
More power to you.




MarkNortham said:


> Hi Myla -
> 
> Thanks for the question. For the fiance visa, the applicant must have no impediment to marriage at the time the visa decision is made - an offshore previous marriage that is not terminated by a divorce or annullment would likely be an impediment to marry, since Australia's marriage laws require that a person not be already married in order to marry in Australia, and if a person is found to be already married, that makes the Australian marriage void. They could lodge the fiance visa application, but that requires a letter from a celebrant who states they intend to marry the couple - that itself may be difficult to get if the previous marriage is still unresolved.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Gauisa10

Hi Mark,

I do hope you had a great Christmas and New Year. I have been keeping an eye on the forum and I am in awe in your prompt response to all. Other websites, the agents take forever to reply, so we are all truly thankful for what you do.

My enquiry is, we are still waiting on a decision for our Partner Visa (309/100) we lodged in Apia, Samoa 27/03/2014. We know who our CO is and she only contacted us back in November in regards to health check when it was done, which we had sent in April. Now we have emailed 4 times already to ask whether all is ok with the health check and if we can send some more evidence for our visa as I have returned with our daughter to Australia while hubby is waiting it out in Samoa since March, 2014 just to prove we are still keeping in contact but they have not replied to any of our mails even calls. Its frustrating as noone in the Fiji office or the samoan office is giving us any information on who we can send the documents too. Now we are hitting the 10 month mark this month and my kids are missing him terribly. DO you think its too late to apply for a Visitor visa to bring him over so he can spend time with us? He was suppose to for Christmas, but due to his family reunion he had to stay, but do you think we should apply or maybe just wait out the visa as its nearly March? Its disheartening seeing other high risk countries grant partner visa to those who applied later then me, while we are still patiently waiting. 

Enjoy the rest of your day


----------



## moosh

*research assistant as a work experience?*

Hi Mark,

I am currently PhD student at Australia (for more than 2 years) and I intend to lodge my application in subclass 189. Does immigration office count research assistant during my study in Australia and abroad as a work experience? Thanks


----------



## ddbandgr

Mark, my Fiance and I are planning to apply for 309.

(1) We have evidence of living together/cohabitation for about 18 months till October 2014. I moved to Australia (as a PR) after that - so we have 3 months of separation (since she has a job in India, and wouldn't want to move here and discontinue her career)
(2) She is here on a visitor visa for 2 weeks, visiting me. We decided recently to get married to strengthen our case. We will be marrying in NSW
(3) While we don't have a joint bank account, we have shared expenses we can show (she still lives in a house leased my name, where she pays the rent) 

My questions are:

Does our marriage in NSW increase our chances of getting a 309, or does it further complicate it, and we are just better off cancelling the wedding, and applying for an offshore PMV?


----------



## ernest1

Hi Mark, 

I lodged my offshore partner application few weeks ago and I'm not requested to do my medicals yet. And I'm planning to travel australia in a month to visit my partner during process. I'm curious if I can do my medicals in australia if I'm requested , even I applied offshore ? 

Thank you for your time and answer.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

The Usually Resident requirement for Australian permanent residents states that the sponsor must (or will) normally reside in, or consider Australia as his/her home. If he's returned to Australia in August, then should be fine - key is that either has returned to Australia, or has evidence he will be doing so in the very near future.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gkennelly said:


> What us the usually resident part? My husband has been in UK military and got granted his return visa in August then we applied for our partner visa


----------



## Gkennelly

Ideal thanks for that set my mind at rest! He's going out in August we have booked flights and everything so now just a waiting game! Thanks for your help is very kind


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

That all looks OK, but if I were you I'd enquire about an acknowledgement letter from DIBP. Problem is, DIBP makes no guarantees at all about processing time, and some student visas are taking 3-4 months to process.It can pay to stay on top of things to make sure no clerical delays are introduced into the process. Here's hoping that all visa applications will be online soon, so the unnecessary middle-men like VFS that add on costs simply for forwarding on a hardcopy application can be eliminated in favour of direct applications to DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SqOats said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am Pakistani citizen and residing in Saudi Arabia. I applied for student visa 573 on 20/11/2014 through VFS office (expatriate cases are assessed in Australian Consulate in UAE) and got application fee charged on my credit card the after two days. Till now i didnt receive any acknowledgment letter from DIBP. But, VFS has a tracking system where it gives me the below message once provided VFS tracking number.
> 
> "Application received at the Australia Visa Application Centre, UAE Embassy on 23/11/2014."
> 
> My classes are starting in one month time and I am getting worried. My question is that Is fee deduction proof enough that my application is under process or shall I contact DIBP to get an acknowledgment letter.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Caroline -

With partner visas now taking 12-18 months to process, you'll need to be patient . Many times, DIBP will not contact you at all after the acknowledgement letter unless they have questions or need further information. Given the long processing time on partner visas, many people are opting to wait until the health/police docs are requested, since they both expire in 12 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CarroConnor said:


> Hi Mark!
> Im from Sweden, and me and my Australian partner have applied *online* for Partner (Provisional) (class UF) (subclass 309) /
> Partner (Migrant) (class BC) (subclass 100) visa.
> 
> We did this on the 24th of November 2014, and so far have not got any reply (except for acknowledgment they have received the application).
> Wondering if this is normal and to be expected?
> I thought we would have been assigned a Case Officer by now who would have contacted us. No?
> 
> I read somewhere that it was best NOT to send in police checks nor health check in your application UNTIL asked to do so by your case officer.
> So I have not yet sent them in, do you think I should do that ASAP or like I said, wait until hearing from Case officer?
> 
> Thanks for your help!
> Kind regards, Caroline.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MFA -

No way I know of, as it must be done by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth as part of a visa application process. Wish I had a better answer!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mfa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> The applicant whose medical may have issue is my mother ( aged :65 years) with chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure and history of Angioplasty.
> 
> The issue is that ,if i don't include her now during visa application filing as dependent, latter on , the only choice left are "Contributory parent visa" - and as you are aware , "Contributory Parent Visa" involves "Balance of Family test" as a Mandatory condition -which i will not be able to fulfill ( as we are total of 4 kids ( 3 sisters, 1 brother myself), 3 living in one country, 1 will be living in Australia)
> 
> do you know , any method or way, by which, we can get a "Pre-assessment " result about medical of a suspected patient before filling visa application?
> 
> thanks Mark for your opinions.
> 
> regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tp424 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



tp424 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am pretty new to this forum and have just started to evaluate the possibility to move to Australia with a permanent visa to live and work there
> 
> My background -
> 
> I am from Software testing background with 5+ years of experience including 3+ years if experience in Paris, France ( Still in France ). I do not have any employment offer from Australia.
> 
> My queries -
> - From my research I understand that my profession not present in SOL , but it's there CSOL. Am I eligible to apply for all three below types ? or any other type of visa ?
> 
> 1. Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186)
> 2. Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa (subclass 187)
> 3. Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
> 
> Cheers !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CN84 -

Financial "support" is generally not enough to show dependency, as DIBP also expects the dependents to live under the same roof as you in addition to other requirements. Re: removal from the application if they fail the dependency criteria, this is generally allowed. Re: one fails - all fail re: health, this is also accurate - if you succeed in getting them established as dependents, that can lock in their inclusion in the health criteria - there can be some flexibility in this, especially for parent/older adult dependents, but that can involve showing that they "can be" dependent on others and can get messy - essentially you're undoing all the work you did in establishing them as dependents, and that does not always have a good end result.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CN84 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I want to include my dad who is recently divorced and my teenage brother in my application for 190 visa. They live back home and I send them money regularly. Is that enough to prove their dependency on me? In our country the gov. dont provide birth or death certificates etc or any support.
> 
> If I include them on my application and DIAC decides they are not defendants, would my application be refused or can I remove later in process? What if they fail medicals? (I heard even if DIAC accepts them as defendants and one of them fails medicals then visa is refused for everyone!)
> 
> Thanks a lot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gauisa10 -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your frustration. Non-responded to emails is a problem at DIBP, and I believe it is an unacceptable situation. That being said, there's not much you or I can do about it.You have the right to submit whatever evidence you wish to up until the point that DIBP makes a decision or gives you a specific deadline for submitting further relationship evidence, so you can submit additional evidence to the same place you sent your application unless directed otherwise by DIBP.

Re: visitor visa, with highly unpredictable visa processing times, hard to say, but it doesn't hurt to try for a visitor visa (and the application fee is reasonable).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gauisa10 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I do hope you had a great Christmas and New Year. I have been keeping an eye on the forum and I am in awe in your prompt response to all. Other websites, the agents take forever to reply, so we are all truly thankful for what you do.
> 
> My enquiry is, we are still waiting on a decision for our Partner Visa (309/100) we lodged in Apia, Samoa 27/03/2014. We know who our CO is and she only contacted us back in November in regards to health check when it was done, which we had sent in April. Now we have emailed 4 times already to ask whether all is ok with the health check and if we can send some more evidence for our visa as I have returned with our daughter to Australia while hubby is waiting it out in Samoa since March, 2014 just to prove we are still keeping in contact but they have not replied to any of our mails even calls. Its frustrating as noone in the Fiji office or the samoan office is giving us any information on who we can send the documents too. Now we are hitting the 10 month mark this month and my kids are missing him terribly. DO you think its too late to apply for a Visitor visa to bring him over so he can spend time with us? He was suppose to for Christmas, but due to his family reunion he had to stay, but do you think we should apply or maybe just wait out the visa as its nearly March? Its disheartening seeing other high risk countries grant partner visa to those who applied later then me, while we are still patiently waiting.
> 
> Enjoy the rest of your day


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moosh -

It depends on the specifics of the work - if you are paid a normal/market rate for the work and it is full time (20 hrs/week or higher), and it occurred after the completion of your relevant Bachelor degree or whatever minimum degree is required for your occupation, then in many cases it can count for points. Would suggest you consider having it assessed by the skills assessor for your occupation if that's not already a requirement for your occupation - DIBP generally abides by a skills assessor's determination of whether work is relevant, then you'd need to provide payment evidence to DIBP in order to claim it for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



moosh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently PhD student at Australia (for more than 2 years) and I intend to lodge my application in subclass 189. Does immigration office count research assistant during my study in Australia and abroad as a work experience? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ddbandgr -

Thanks for the question. I would have to see all of your documents and discuss your case in much more detail in a consultation (see website in my signature below to book if you're interested) in order to give you a specific opinion about whether the 309/100 or 300 is the best option for you. It sounds like you might be right on the edge of qualifying for a 309/100, which could save you time in terms of establishing PR. Marrying in NSW vs lodging as defacto partners would help a bit, as married applicants seem to get a bit less scrutiny than defacto applicants, however the other thing to realise is that 309/100 is going to require substantially more relationship evidence than a 300. If you have or can put together the relationship evidence, that's great, but if you're weak on that, the 300 may be a better option. Can explore in much more detail with you in a consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ddbandgr said:


> Mark, my Fiance and I are planning to apply for 309.
> 
> (1) We have evidence of living together/cohabitation for about 18 months till October 2014. I moved to Australia (as a PR) after that - so we have 3 months of separation (since she has a job in India, and wouldn't want to move here and discontinue her career)
> (2) She is here on a visitor visa for 2 weeks, visiting me. We decided recently to get married to strengthen our case. We will be marrying in NSW
> (3) While we don't have a joint bank account, we have shared expenses we can show (she still lives in a house leased my name, where she pays the rent)
> 
> My questions are:
> 
> Does our marriage in NSW increase our chances of getting a 309, or does it further complicate it, and we are just better off cancelling the wedding, and applying for an offshore PMV?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ernest1 -

Yes. You can have your medicals done in Australia or anywhere else. Make sure you generate the health referral letter from your online visa application screen (look on screen under the list of documents required, etc in your ImmiAccount for the application for a link that says Organise your Health Examination, etc. - you'll need this letter and the HAP ID number on it to book your medical exam, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ernest1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I lodged my offshore partner application few weeks ago and I'm not requested to do my medicals yet. And I'm planning to travel australia in a month to visit my partner during process. I'm curious if I can do my medicals in australia if I'm requested , even I applied offshore ?
> 
> Thank you for your time and answer.


----------



## LolaRose

*Health not met-chronic renal disease*

Hello Mark,

We applied a visitor visa for my grandmother (sponsored 600,1 year, my parents are AUS citizens) (76 years old) and she gave her medical examination. Everything else was fine except they had to take two urine tests followed by a blood test due to high creatinine levels. The VISA officer emailed after about 4 weeks that health was not met according to the MOC's opinion (Chronic renal disease and probable high costs to the Australian society)

We called the officer and emailed her that her creatinine levels are usually under control except for the period of the medical examination where she was going through a lot of stress and high blood pressure as my grandfather passed away recently.

There has been no reply from the visa officer and it has been 7 days now. Is it possible for the VISA to be granted, i.e., is there a review process that is being undertaken? And if so, what are the chances of it being granted?

Waiting anxiously as my grandmother really needs the support and stability at this point in time.

Any help would be highly appreciated.


----------



## mfa

*Paying Visa fee -credit card limit issue*

hi Mark,

I have to pay visa fee of 6200 AUD for visa subclause 189 online application.

i am from Pakistan and here its very very hard to find anyone with this much amount allowed on Credit or Master cards. Maximum amount allowed for top salary makers is around 5000 AUD.

can you suggest me what can i do under this situation ? I have enough cash but i don't have any credit or master card with this much transcation allowed ?

Plz help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LolaRose -

It is sometimes possible to put up an argument that the medical testing came to the wrong conclusion, however generally it's best to fight their medical evidence with medical evidence of your own - ie, your own doctor's or specialist's examination that shows that she in fact does not have chronic renal disease and that the symptoms noted were caused by something else. In my view DIBP may be unlikely to accept a non-Doctor's explanation of symptoms over the medical conclusions of the MOC - Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (a doctor usually) who is the one who is making the probably cost and "hypothetical person" estimates and conclusions.

The sponsored visitor visa (sc600) does not have a health waiver available, so there is no availability to make the argument for a waiver - the only thing you can do in the face of a conclusion that she does not meet the health criteria is to try and put forth the best arguments you can with medical evidence that shows that the conclusions of the MOC were incorrect, and that while the creatinine levels were high, this was caused by something other than what the MOC concluded (chronic renal disease).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LolaRose said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> We applied a visitor visa for my grandmother (sponsored 600,1 year, my parents are AUS citizens) (76 years old) and she gave her medical examination. Everything else was fine except they had to take two urine tests followed by a blood test due to high creatinine levels. The VISA officer emailed after about 4 weeks that health was not met according to the MOC's opinion (Chronic renal disease and probable high costs to the Australian society)
> 
> We called the officer and emailed her that her creatinine levels are usually under control except for the period of the medical examination where she was going through a lot of stress and high blood pressure as my grandfather passed away recently.
> 
> There has been no reply from the visa officer and it has been 7 days now. Is it possible for the VISA to be granted, i.e., is there a review process that is being undertaken? And if so, what are the chances of it being granted?
> 
> Waiting anxiously as my grandmother really needs the support and stability at this point in time.
> 
> Any help would be highly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mfa -

Wish I had better news, but as far as I know DIBP only allows a single credit card transaction for online applications. As they have been steadily increasing their application fees, it seems logical that they would implement a way to split a fee over multiple cards, however that is not the case at the moment. One way some of our clients have avoided this limitation is to purchase a prepaid credit card (Mastercard or Visa) and prepay the amount onto the card - from what I understand, some of these have high or no limits as long as you've prepaid the amount necessary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mfa said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> I have to pay visa fee of 6200 AUD for visa subclause 189 online application.
> 
> i am from Pakistan and here its very very hard to find anyone with this much amount allowed on Credit or Master cards. Maximum amount allowed for top salary makers is around 5000 AUD.
> 
> can you suggest me what can i do under this situation ? I have enough cash but i don't have any credit or master card with this much transcation allowed ?
> 
> Plz help.


----------



## alikaup

Hi Mark,

Just a quick question regards if Form 1022 - Notification of Changes in Circumstances is required or not?!

I have applied for my 820/801 visa back in June 2014, in meantime my wife has given birth (in December 2014) to our second child. Child is Australian citizen by decent as his mother is citizen as well. Will i need to fill in and submit form 1022?


----------



## A.Naji

Hey Mark,

It's been a long 3 month since my student visa application with no decision yet. I have no problem waiting in general, as I do understand its purpose. However, my problem here is...studies commence at February 12, exactly 1 month from now. Ideally, I expected a decision to be made 1 month prior to course commencement (be it approval, or denial). Normally, students will need time to setup and arrange their travel and all that. It doesn't help that my father isn't accompanying me as well. I also expect a denial notification during this month if all goes south. My concern is not my outcome, but rather how long will the decision take. I do want to explore further plans after all, rather than waiting for long hopelessly. 

So my question would be, who should I contact to remedy these concerns? The Visa officer takes forever to reply to emails to the point that I expect his/her reply to overshoot my schedule. Anyone else I can reach to address this weird timing window issue?


----------



## Indu9

Hi Mark,

I applied for 820 onshore online on marriage grounds in September 2014. I have not heard anything from immigration apart from receiving an acknowledgment and Bridging visa. My question is 1) Should I do my health check and apply for PCC now or wait for DIAC to ask for it? 
My concern is the Indian embassy takes about 2 months to grant PCC.


----------



## VivaRonnie

*Awaiting Onshore Partner Visa, Potentially Need to Work Overseas*

Hi Mark:

Since around Sept-2013, my wife (partner at the time) and I have been waiting for her onshore partner 820 temporary / 801 permanent visa to process - I'm an Australian citizen and she held a student visa at the time and it was mentioned on the application receipt that the expected process time was 9-12 months. We since then got married in Jun-2014 and went for a 2.5 week honeymoon overseas after notifying immigration and we returned through customs and immigration without a problem.

Currently, it looks as though I may potentially get a good job offer overseas and we may both have to move around Apr this year. Could I please ask a few questions if you don't mind:

- Could the 16 months and counting waiting period so far mean some issues with our application? We basically received no contact from immigration. Is there a way we can check our process? (I tried calling but the waiting time was too long and our application at the time were not online so we don't have a login.)

- While waiting for temporary, if my wife go overseas with me (as holiday for her) and we both come back to Australia for weekends every 3 months or so, can the current application still progress?

- If her approval is just weeks or a few months away, then if she stays in Australia while I go overseas, can the current application still progress? (Obviously, that is not preferable for us.)

- If she gets a temporary visa, then can we await for a permanent 801 visa while we are both overseas? Would there be an expiry period for a temporary 820 visa if we move overseas for the long-term?

Thanks very much for your help.


----------



## Vivian

Hi Mark,

I am now holding student visa 573 which will be expired on 15th March 2015. I am ready and qualified to apply for PR (Skilled Independent subclass 189, points 70). Say I receive my EOI invitation before 15/3/2015 and lodge the application straight away, I will be granted bridging visa A. Can I cancel my student visa and let my bridging visa A come into effect straight away so I get the full work permission?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alikaup -

It wouldn't hurt to do this - I'd wait until the child's Australian citizenship is established, then submit Form 1022. Even though the child is not on the application as a migrating family member, the child would still be a family member and therefore info about the child should be included.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alikaup said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a quick question regards if Form 1022 - Notification of Changes in Circumstances is required or not?!
> 
> I have applied for my 820/801 visa back in June 2014, in meantime my wife has given birth (in December 2014) to our second child. Child is Australian citizen by decent as his mother is citizen as well. Will i need to fill in and submit form 1022?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi A.Naji -

Wish I had better news - unfortunately DIBP takes as much times as it wants to process applications, and there are no legal time limits that govern them in this regard. You could quote the published estimates (for 70% of the applications), and could even lodge a complaint with the Global Feedback Unit, but not sure what that would do to actually expedite the decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



A.Naji said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> It's been a long 3 month since my student visa application with no decision yet. I have no problem waiting in general, as I do understand its purpose. However, my problem here is...studies commence at February 12, exactly 1 month from now. Ideally, I expected a decision to be made 1 month prior to course commencement (be it approval, or denial). Normally, students will need time to setup and arrange their travel and all that. It doesn't help that my father isn't accompanying me as well. I also expect a denial notification during this month if all goes south. My concern is not my outcome, but rather how long will the decision take. I do want to explore further plans after all, rather than waiting for long hopelessly.
> 
> So my question would be, who should I contact to remedy these concerns? The Visa officer takes forever to reply to emails to the point that I expect his/her reply to overshoot my schedule. Anyone else I can reach to address this weird timing window issue?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Indu9 -

Given you're 4 months into the application, I'd probably go ahead with both health and police. Note that you can generate the health referral letter from your online application under the "Organise health examinations" link located on the left side of the page under the list of documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Indu9 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for 820 onshore online on marriage grounds in September 2014. I have not heard anything from immigration apart from receiving an acknowledgment and Bridging visa. My question is 1) Should I do my health check and apply for PCC now or wait for DIAC to ask for it?
> My concern is the Indian embassy takes about 2 months to grant PCC.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivian -

I don't have enough info about your case to give you specific advice, but if you cancel your student visa (as opposed to letting it expire on it's own on the scheduled date printed on the visa), your BV-A will also be cancelled automatically leaving you in Australia with no visa. You can then get a Bridging Visa E to wait out the PR application, but it's a much less desirable situation for a number of reasons. If at all possible, likely best to let the student visa expire on its own. Again, would need to learn much more about your situation to give you specific advice. Also you may want to investigate your work rights - if you have completed your coursework and are simply awaiting the expiry of your student visa, you may already have full work rights depending on the circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vivian said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am now holding student visa 573 which will be expired on 15th March 2015. I am ready and qualified to apply for PR (Skilled Independent subclass 189, points 70). Say I receive my EOI invitation before 15/3/2015 and lodge the application straight away, I will be granted bridging visa A. Can I cancel my student visa and let my bridging visa A come into effect straight away so I get the full work permission?


----------



## Vivian

Mark,

Thank you for your information.

Cheers,
Vivian



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vivian -
> 
> I don't have enough info about your case to give you specific advice, but if you cancel your student visa (as opposed to letting it expire on it's own on the scheduled date printed on the visa), your BV-A will also be cancelled automatically leaving you in Australia with no visa. You can then get a Bridging Visa E to wait out the PR application, but it's a much less desirable situation for a number of reasons. If at all possible, likely best to let the student visa expire on its own. Again, would need to learn much more about your situation to give you specific advice. Also you may want to investigate your work rights - if you have completed your coursework and are simply awaiting the expiry of your student visa, you may already have full work rights depending on the circumstances.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VivaRonnie -

Thanks for the questions. Your wife would need a Bridging Visa B for any offshore travel, which would allow her to return to Australia on that visa. While you may get a longer term BV-B (depending on case officer's discretion), sometimes you end up having to get a BV-B for each trip out, which can be a hassle in circumstances like yours. Regardless of whether your wife is inside or outside Australia, the partner visa will continue to progress (no way to check other than if you can call and get lucky with a case officer that will give you some details - rare). If they are ready to grant the onshore partner visa and she is offshore, they'll usually notify her/you that they are ready to grant the visa and to please return to Australia within a particular number of weeks - once she's back onshore they usually quickly grant the visa, and then she's on the 820 (assuming that's granted first) and can come and go from Australia on that visa as she likes.

The 820 expires when they make a decision on the 801 - 2 years after the original partner visa application date you are eligible (and must) submit the additional paperwork and statements required to progress the 801. While she must be in Australia for the 820 to be granted, she can be inside or outside Australia at grant time for the 801.

Another note - it would be wise to characterise any travel prior to the 820 being granted as temporary in nature - a permanent move offshore could interfere with the 820 application re: applicant's intent to reside in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



VivaRonnie said:


> Hi Mark:
> 
> Since around Sept-2013, my wife (partner at the time) and I have been waiting for her onshore partner 820 temporary / 801 permanent visa to process - I'm an Australian citizen and she held a student visa at the time and it was mentioned on the application receipt that the expected process time was 9-12 months. We since then got married in Jun-2014 and went for a 2.5 week honeymoon overseas after notifying immigration and we returned through customs and immigration without a problem.
> 
> Currently, it looks as though I may potentially get a good job offer overseas and we may both have to move around Apr this year. Could I please ask a few questions if you don't mind:
> 
> - Could the 16 months and counting waiting period so far mean some issues with our application? We basically received no contact from immigration. Is there a way we can check our process? (I tried calling but the waiting time was too long and our application at the time were not online so we don't have a login.)
> 
> - While waiting for temporary, if my wife go overseas with me (as holiday for her) and we both come back to Australia for weekends every 3 months or so, can the current application still progress?
> 
> - If her approval is just weeks or a few months away, then if she stays in Australia while I go overseas, can the current application still progress? (Obviously, that is not preferable for us.)
> 
> - If she gets a temporary visa, then can we await for a permanent 801 visa while we are both overseas? Would there be an expiry period for a temporary 820 visa if we move overseas for the long-term?
> 
> Thanks very much for your help.


----------



## mhabbal

*Mechanical Engineer - Skilled Migration*

Hello Mark!

Very happy to see all the responsiveness above 

I'm a Mechanical Engineer with 6 years professional experience in industrial and mechanical projects.

I'm 27 years old and have already obtained the following academic degrees:

- Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering (2008)
- Masters in Mechatronics Engineering (2010)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management (2014)

I'm looking to apply for the Skilled-Independent visa (subclass 189).

I would typically get the following points:

Age: 30
English: 10
Education: 15
Work Experience: 10
Total: 65

However, in order to increase my score - I'm thinking of applying to a 2 years full time masters program in Regional Australia in order to complete the Australian Study Requirement and the Study in Regional Australia Requirement (each would grant me an extra 5 points).

Accordingly, upon graduation I would have accumulated 75 points.

Questions:

1) Would you recommend I pursue a 2 years masters degree to get the extra points and apply onshore or would it be better to apply offshore as of today?

2) Would an MBA help my case or distort the migration agent since I'm applying for the Skilled-Independent visa as a Mechanical Engineer?

3) Can I apply for a 1 professional year at Engineers Australia, knowing that I'm no longer a fresh engineering grad?

Many thanks!!

I'm sure your reply will answer the doubts of many.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mhabbal -

Thanks for the questions. There are too many factors and options in skilled visa applications to do any sort of meaningful assessment or provide any specific advice in a forum or back & forth emails - would need to work with you in a consultation to get many more details about you and your case in order to give you specific advice - happy to do this at a consultation - see my website below in my signature for more.

Best,

Mark Northam



mhabbal said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> Very happy to see all the responsiveness above
> 
> I'm a Mechanical Engineer with 6 years professional experience in industrial and mechanical projects.
> 
> I'm 27 years old and have already obtained the following academic degrees:
> 
> - Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering (2008)
> - Masters in Mechatronics Engineering (2010)
> - Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management (2014)
> 
> I'm looking to apply for the Skilled-Independent visa (subclass 189).
> 
> I would typically get the following points:
> 
> Age: 30
> English: 10
> Education: 15
> Work Experience: 10
> Total: 65
> 
> However, in order to increase my score - I'm thinking of applying to a 2 years full time masters program in Regional Australia in order to complete the Australian Study Requirement and the Study in Regional Australia Requirement (each would grant me an extra 5 points).
> 
> Accordingly, upon graduation I would have accumulated 75 points.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1) Would you recommend I pursue a 2 years masters degree to get the extra points and apply onshore or would it be better to apply offshore as of today?
> 
> 2) Would an MBA help my case or distort the migration agent since I'm applying for the Skilled-Independent visa as a Mechanical Engineer?
> 
> 3) Can I apply for a 1 professional year at Engineers Australia, knowing that I'm no longer a fresh engineering grad?
> 
> Many thanks!!
> 
> I'm sure your reply will answer the doubts of many.


----------



## sarahang

RE: Including spouse on an employer sponsored 457 visa.

Hi there Mark,

My name is Sarah, I am currently on a student visa and has studied in AU for a year and now, a hospital will sponsor me a 457 visa. 

I got married on the 7th of Februrary 2014, and left the Philippines on the 12th of February 2014. My student visa decision date was the 3rd of February 2014. 

My question is, I have been married for almost a year now but our relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend was almost 7 years. We only have a marriage certificate in the Philippines as we didn't have time to open a bank account.

Is it possible for me to include him as my dependant? Is marriage certificate enough evidence to include in the application? 

Thanks very much.

Kind regards,
Sarah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarahang -

Thanks for the note. Difficult to add him to your student visa as this can generally only be done if the relationship didn't exist as of the date you applied for the student visa. However including as secondary applicant on the 457 seems more likely - you'd need to get more relationship evidence than just a marriage certificate - some things that might help are witness statements from others showing that you hold yourselves out as a married couple, shared lease or letter from landlord indicating you live together, etc - you can check out the partner visa threads here on the forum for examples of evidence - normally for a 457 you don't need nearly as much evidence as you do for a partner visa, but often more than just a marriage cert is required. Also note that for the 457 application, your employer must write a letter specifically extending the nomination to cover your partner.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sarahang said:


> RE: Including spouse on an employer sponsored 457 visa.
> 
> Hi there Mark,
> 
> My name is Sarah, I am currently on a student visa and has studied in AU for a year and now, a hospital will sponsor me a 457 visa.
> 
> I got married on the 7th of Februrary 2014, and left the Philippines on the 12th of February 2014. My student visa decision date was the 3rd of February 2014.
> 
> My question is, I have been married for almost a year now but our relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend was almost 7 years. We only have a marriage certificate in the Philippines as we didn't have time to open a bank account.
> 
> Is it possible for me to include him as my dependant? Is marriage certificate enough evidence to include in the application?
> 
> Thanks very much.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Sarah


----------



## isy&chris

*Help please*

Hello Mark. There is news, I am pregnant (we tried because for us it is the best time we decided - also because of the waiting period) that means we haven´t got the approval for the partner visa we lodged in september 2014 yet. My insurance covers pregnancy, so that´s not the problem. The question is how it is working with the baby and his residency (it´s date of birth will be september 2015). Is it better to get the baby in oz or back home in germany? ( I would prefer germany) Please help:-/


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Isy & Chris -

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Re: where to have the baby and how that would intersect with any visa application, would need to work with you in a consultation to get more details about your case and work through the options. Once thing that may be of interest - if your partner is a permanent resident of Australia, if the baby is born in Australia, the baby is automatically eligible for citizenship by descent; if the baby is not born in Australia, the baby would need to get a visa another way, either via partner visa application or by being sponsored by a permanent resident under a child visa.

If you're interested in a consultation, see my website below for more info.

Thanks,

Mark Northam



isy&chris said:


> Hello Mark. There is news, I am pregnant (we tried because for us it is the best time we decided - also because of the waiting period) that means we haven´t got the approval for the partner visa we lodged in september 2014 yet. My insurance covers pregnancy, so that´s not the problem. The question is how it is working with the baby and his residency (it´s date of birth will be september 2015). Is it better to get the baby in oz or back home in germany? ( I would prefer germany) Please help:-/


----------



## virginiap

Hi Mark, 

I have been employed part-time at a restaurant for the last year and a half and they are paying me in cash with pay slips and as I am not earning enough money to pay taxes, they have submitted the Tax-Free threshold application.
Now, I am applying for the Partner Visa, so I have to mention my employment on the application, but some people have strongly advised me against mentioning that I am getting paid like that and about the whole tax-free thing, because I could get in trouble, so I wanted to ask you what I should do. I am not intending to continue my employment there, but I can't really ignore the year of working there either, so I am sort of confused on what to do. 

Thank you again for your help,

Virginia


----------



## alikaup

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Alikaup -
> 
> It wouldn't hurt to do this - I'd wait until the child's Australian citizenship is established, then submit Form 1022. Even though the child is not on the application as a migrating family member, the child would still be a family member and therefore info about the child should be included.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for the information. i assume "I'd wait until the child's Australian citizenship is established" you mean when the birth certificate has been issued?!


----------



## Goksu

Hi Mark!

I am from Turkey and my husband holds a permanent residency here in Australia. We lodged our partner visa application (subclass 309/100) about 6 months ago (15 July 2014) in Turkey, received acknowledgment letter on July 25th and waiting since then. Since the waiting period was unbearable and we've been told by our authorised migration agent that the outcome of our application won't last more than 5 months according to previous cases, I've decided to apply for a tourist visa which has been granted 4 days later (for 1 year with multiple entry) after lodging my applicaton and I've arrived to Australia on 7 Nov 2014. 

We haven't heard anything about the process of my partner visa application since then except the warning from my agent that I have to leave Australia as soon as my visa is ready so it could get finalised. When I called the embassy in Turkey as well as the immigration office here in NSW, I've been told that I will be notified by the case officer to leave Australia when the visa is ready and that I shouldn't worry about it.

From what I heard here in some forums and other cases, there is no guarantee that case officers contact you and it is highly possible that waiting for the outcome in Australia could cause delays. I've just thought that during this waiting period in Sydney my application would have been finalised long time ago and we could go to New Zealand as soon as its ready so the visa can be granted.

But slowly I'm starting to think that I'm waiting here to no avail and even causing delay for its outcome. 
Is this could be the reason for delay (although the official waiting time for Turkey which is a high risky country can take up to 12 months) ? 
Would it be safer to go back to Turkey where I've lodged my application until a final decision is made?
Is there a possibility that they just postponed my application file instead of notifying me only because I'm in Australia now?


----------



## beachbum

Hi Mark,

I want to apply for 189 skilled indipendent visa but 6 months ago I was diagnosed with rhumathoid arthritis and now I'm not sure if this is cause for denial?! Will I waste my money or do I have a chance of getting granted? Hava you heard of a similar situation? 

I'm 30 yrs old, from europe and I was granted my 2nd WHV with a referral from my doctor reguarding my medical costs during this one year. And from what I understande there is no health wavier avaiblable for a 189 visa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginiap -

Thanks for the note - employment is not a factor on a partner visa application, and would normally only be relevant for the Form 80 background info form that many partner visa applicants must lodge. I am not aware of whether the scheme they are using to pay you is legal or not - that's a good question for an accountant. My advice would be not to omit the employment, as that would result in incorrect information being lodged on a visa application form, which if discovered by DIBP could be a problem.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



virginiap said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been employed part-time at a restaurant for the last year and a half and they are paying me in cash with pay slips and as I am not earning enough money to pay taxes, they have submitted the Tax-Free threshold application.
> Now, I am applying for the Partner Visa, so I have to mention my employment on the application, but some people have strongly advised me against mentioning that I am getting paid like that and about the whole tax-free thing, because I could get in trouble, so I wanted to ask you what I should do. I am not intending to continue my employment there, but I can't really ignore the year of working there either, so I am sort of confused on what to do.
> 
> Thank you again for your help,
> 
> Virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alikaup -

Unless there are reasons not to, I'd wait until the child has an Australian passport, which can be obtained after the birth certificate is issued (assuming the child is born here) and the application for citizenship by descent is approved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alikaup said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for the information. i assume "I'd wait until the child's Australian citizenship is established" you mean when the birth certificate has been issued?!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Goksu -

Thanks for the question. You being in Australia would not delay your partner visa application in any way I know of. As long as you have provided your current contact info to your case officer, it is normal procedure for them to email you when they are ready to grant the visa if you are in Australia at the time. Then, as you said, you would be given a period of time to go offshore to enable the grant, which usually happens automatically or within a few days of you departing Australia. If you want to stay in Australia on the visitor visa, I'd make sure you inform them of your intended dates in Australia and ask them to email you if the visa should become ready to grant while you're in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Goksu said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I am from Turkey and my husband holds a permanent residency here in Australia. We lodged our partner visa application (subclass 309/100) about 6 months ago (15 July 2014) in Turkey, received acknowledgment letter on July 25th and waiting since then. Since the waiting period was unbearable and we've been told by our authorised migration agent that the outcome of our application won't last more than 5 months according to previous cases, I've decided to apply for a tourist visa which has been granted 4 days later (for 1 year with multiple entry) after lodging my applicaton and I've arrived to Australia on 7 Nov 2014.
> 
> We haven't heard anything about the process of my partner visa application since then except the warning from my agent that I have to leave Australia as soon as my visa is ready so it could get finalised. When I called the embassy in Turkey as well as the immigration office here in NSW, I've been told that I will be notified by the case officer to leave Australia when the visa is ready and that I shouldn't worry about it.
> 
> From what I heard here in some forums and other cases, there is no guarantee that case officers contact you and it is highly possible that waiting for the outcome in Australia could cause delays. I've just thought that during this waiting period in Sydney my application would have been finalised long time ago and we could go to New Zealand as soon as its ready so the visa can be granted.
> 
> But slowly I'm starting to think that I'm waiting here to no avail and even causing delay for its outcome.
> Is this could be the reason for delay (although the official waiting time for Turkey which is a high risky country can take up to 12 months) ?
> Would it be safer to go back to Turkey where I've lodged my application until a final decision is made?
> Is there a possibility that they just postponed my application file instead of notifying me only because I'm in Australia now?


----------



## roxxy18

Hi,

My partner and i put in a 820 application in Nov 2013. Last Oct we received correspondence finally asking for more info (ANOTHER health check and police check) so we proceeded. In Nov 2014 we were asked to answer schedule 3 criteria which we have also done. My concern is if it is refused what will happen? I love my partner very much and don't want him to have to go back to the US. What will our options be if it is refused? We have been together now since sept 2012. 

Also how much is legal representation if need be? we have already put so much MONEY into this process.

Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beachbum -

Thanks for the question. You're correct - there is no health waiver available on the 189 visa (or 190). Difficult to predict whether your health costs would result in a health criteria failure or not - I don't have enough information. The basic guideline is whether the costs would exceed $35,000 in the first 5 years of your permanent residency in Australia, however in some cases they can use the anticipated lifetime cost instead. It all comes down to expected prognosis for the disease in your case. Wish I could give you a prediction, but it can be difficult to predict how the medical officer will calculate projected medical and medication costs.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



beachbum said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I want to apply for 189 skilled indipendent visa but 6 months ago I was diagnosed with rhumathoid arthritis and now I'm not sure if this is cause for denial?! Will I waste my money or do I have a chance of getting granted? Hava you heard of a similar situation?
> 
> I'm 30 yrs old, from europe and I was granted my 2nd WHV with a referral from my doctor reguarding my medical costs during this one year. And from what I understande there is no health wavier avaiblable for a 189 visa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roxxy18 -

Thanks for the note - the Schedule 3 policy was changed in July of 2014 and now is much tougher to satisfy - sometimes with our clients we've been able to help them after they've been refused by DIBP and have achieved success at the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) in a review of the refusal decision.

If your visa is refused, you'll have 21 days to lodge a review application to the MRT - if you are going to the MRT with a Schedule 3 refusal, I would recommend you engage a registered migration agent who is familiar with these types of cases as they are challenging and complex. It's also important for you (or your agent) to research similar MRT cases to help prepare a strong legal submission based on DIBP policy and legislation, plus any applicable precedents from the MRT or court cases, to have the best chances of success at the MRT. The entire submission does not need to be made to the MRT in 21 days, only the application - the submission can be lodged later. The MRT waiting time for Sched 3 related refusals now is in the range of 6-9 months.

Also - if you'd like to ask others on the forum for their input or experiences, please start a new topic on the forum outside the "Ask Mark" topic and I'm sure others may add their experiences.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist going forward -

Best,

Mark Northam



roxxy18 said:


> Hi,
> 
> My partner and i put in a 820 application in Nov 2013. Last Oct we received correspondence finally asking for more info (ANOTHER health check and police check) so we proceeded. In Nov 2014 we were asked to answer schedule 3 criteria which we have also done. My concern is if it is refused what will happen? I love my partner very much and don't want him to have to go back to the US. What will our options be if it is refused? We have been together now since sept 2012.
> 
> Anyone who has had a similar situation i would love your input.
> Also how much is legal representation if need be? we have already put so much MONEY into this process.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## roxxy18

Thanks Mark, I'm still hoping for the best and that we receive a GRANTED email. 

I think we will take it to MRT if we have to, we've waited this long. Do you know how expensive a migration agent would be?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roxxy18 -

I hope you get that GRANTED email too! As a migration agent, I regularly represent clients at the MRT - if you'd like to contact me via my website (see link in signature below), I'd be happy to get you a quote for the MRT.

Thanks,

Mark



roxxy18 said:


> Thanks Mark, I'm still hoping for the best and that we receive a GRANTED email.
> 
> I think we will take it to MRT if we have to, we've waited this long. Do you know how expensive a migration agent would be?


----------



## roxxy18

Thanks again I will do that!


----------



## SMF

Dear Mark ...
Need your advice plz ...

I want to apply for permanent residence immigration category and I am a Finance Manager. However I don't have the requisite I
ELTS requirement for my skills evaluation ( I have 7 and above band in each IELTS but the skills assesment org requires Academic IELTS) .... Is there any way / category i which I can apply which does not require skills assesment ... Please guide me Mark !! Thanks


----------



## alikaup

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Alikaup -
> 
> Unless there are reasons not to, I'd wait until the child has an Australian passport, which can be obtained after the birth certificate is issued (assuming the child is born here) and the application for citizenship by descent is approved.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


No worries. I have birth certificate for both of the children, but haven't seen the need for applying passports for them (they both are born in Australia and the mother is Australian citizen). Oh well, i just might submit the form 1022 along with copy of the birth certificate and hope for the best. Thank you Mark for prompt answers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMF -

All occupations require skills assessments for skilled visas, however different assessing authorities have different requirements, and many are OK with the general version of IELTS and do not require the Academic version. You may want to look through the occupations that are eligible for skilled migration (SOL List - independent; CSOL List - state sponsored) and see if there are other occupations you may qualify for based on your work experience and education qualifications - these may be assessed by different authorities that have different requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMF said:


> Dear Mark ...
> Need your advice plz ...
> 
> I want to apply for permanent residence immigration category and I am a Finance Manager. However I don't have the requisite I
> ELTS requirement for my skills evaluation ( I have 7 and above band in each IELTS but the skills assesment org requires Academic IELTS) .... Is there any way / category i which I can apply which does not require skills assesment ... Please guide me Mark !! Thanks


----------



## SMF

Thanks Mark for your prompt response ...


MarkNortham said:


> Hi SMF -
> 
> All occupations require skills assessments for skilled visas, however different assessing authorities have different requirements, and many are OK with the general version of IELTS and do not require the Academic version. You may want to look through th
> e occupations that are eligible for skilled migration (SOL List - independent; CSOL List - state sponsored) and see if there are other occupations you may qualify for based on your work experience and education qualifications - these may be assessed by different authorities that have different requirements.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## mfa

*unable to obtain PCC from one country*

Hi Mark,

Can you giver your advise about below...i have lodged 189 visa application , and CO requested to provide PCC from all countries stayed in 10 years for more than 1 year.

i have provide 1 PCC, but second PCC from another UAE is not issued without giving any reason by their embassy in Pakistan.

its been 3 months now , that i submitted application .

i have shown CO all the receipts and other documents which were submitted at UAE embassy in Pakistan for PCC request from UAE .

As i ask one of my friend in UAE to check on his behalf, he told, me in UAE , Govt , sometimes not issue certificate due to your bank loans or complaint from employer but they will not give this reason to you . They will simply not issue . I mean neither issue nor refuse.

i have also shown CO , my exit papers from UAE , exist visa stamp ..

what could happen in this case ? will my visa be refused ? can a PCC waiver work ?

thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi mfa -

It's at the discretion of the case officer - you might have your friend write up and sign a statement re: his efforts in checking on your behalf.

Best,

Mark



mfa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you giver your advise about below...i have lodged 189 visa application , and CO requested to provide PCC from all countries stayed in 10 years for more than 1 year.
> 
> i have provide 1 PCC, but second PCC from another UAE is not issued without giving any reason by their embassy in Pakistan.
> 
> its been 3 months now , that i submitted application .
> 
> i have shown CO all the receipts and other documents which were submitted at UAE embassy in Pakistan for PCC request from UAE .
> 
> As i ask one of my friend in UAE to check on his behalf, he told, me in UAE , Govt , sometimes not issue certificate due to your bank loans or complaint from employer but they will not give this reason to you . They will simply not issue . I mean neither issue nor refuse.
> 
> i have also shown CO , my exit papers from UAE , exist visa stamp ..
> 
> what could happen in this case ? will my visa be refused ? can a PCC waiver work ?
> 
> thanks,


----------



## vinodya

Hi Mark,
I am a Sri Lankan student currently studying in the Univsersity of Sunshine Coast. I joined the university for completing my bachelors with credit exemptions for my previous academic qualifications and the university offered me to complete my degree in 3 semesters. However I extended my course for another semester recently since I wanted to complete my degree with double major and got a CoE for extending my visa as well. 

Now when I go to apply the visa online, it shows a condition that I cannot apply any other visa subclass other than 497 after finishing this course, since I am currently applying a visa for a period less than 1 year. As I know the 497 subclass has been terminated since 2012. 

Is there any solution for me to apply for a student or work visa after I finish my course.

One of my friend told me to apply for another course from the same university (Something like graduate diploma) so that I can apply for visa with 2 CoEs and my visa will be longer than 1 year. If so is it possible for me to apply for visa with 2CoEs. Please help me on this. Thank you.


----------



## kharels

*Question regarding eligiblity*

Mark,
I have 4 year Bachelor's degree in mechanical Engineering and 3+ years of experience as Unix system admin in United States. Since my line of work is not related to my education is that going to be a problem in terms of being eligible for the skilled migration program?

PS: I am 28 years old. I have scored 8 overall in IELTS but have only 7.5 in listening and writing.

Please enlighten me.

Regards
SK


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vinodya -

I'd look carefully into the subclass 485 visa - note that the requirements are that you have completed a qualification (or series of qualifications) that total 2 years of study (92 weeks) per CRICOS, and were completed in no less than 16 months. Note the CRICOS # of weeks for each qual must be reduced by the number of units you were given previous exemption/credit for. If you'd like assistance with working through the options, can do this in a consultation - see my website below in signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vinodya said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am a Sri Lankan student currently studying in the Univsersity of Sunshine Coast. I joined the university for completing my bachelors with credit exemptions for my previous academic qualifications and the university offered me to complete my degree in 3 semesters. However I extended my course for another semester recently since I wanted to complete my degree with double major and got a CoE for extending my visa as well.
> 
> Now when I go to apply the visa online, it shows a condition that I cannot apply any other visa subclass other than 497 after finishing this course, since I am currently applying a visa for a period less than 1 year. As I know the 497 subclass has been terminated since 2012.
> 
> Is there any solution for me to apply for a student or work visa after I finish my course.
> 
> One of my friend told me to apply for another course from the same university (Something like graduate diploma) so that I can apply for visa with 2 CoEs and my visa will be longer than 1 year. If so is it possible for me to apply for visa with 2CoEs. Please help me on this. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SK -

Thanks for the question. An unrelated bachelor degree causes a lot of problems in many cases for skilled visa applicants, primarily due to the skills assessor rules. For a skilled visa, points can be claimed from DIBP for an unrelated Bachelor degree with no problem. However, most skills assessors require a related Bachelor degree, and without one, the assessment is either impossible to get through, or requires sacrificing years of work experience. Best to check the specific rules at the skills assessor that is nominated for your occupation to see how they handle this. If it's ACS for IT occupations, check the Summary of Qualifications page - they require far more than 3 years of work experience to compensate for a non-relevant degree - see https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/7324/Summary-of-Criteria-2014.pdf

You may want to look at the employer-sponsored visas (ie, 2 years on 457 visa, then employer sponsors you for PR via 186 or 187 visa) where skills assessments are not required.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kharels said:


> Mark,
> I have 4 year Bachelor's degree in mechanical Engineering and 3+ years of experience as Unix system admin in United States. Since my line of work is not related to my education is that going to be a problem in terms of being eligible for the skilled migration program?
> 
> PS: I am 28 years old. I have scored 8 overall in IELTS but have only 7.5 in listening and writing.
> 
> Please enlighten me.
> 
> Regards
> SK


----------



## Gauisa10

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gauisa10 -
> 
> Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your frustration. Non-responded to emails is a problem at DIBP, and I believe it is an unacceptable situation. That being said, there's not much you or I can do about it.You have the right to submit whatever evidence you wish to up until the point that DIBP makes a decision or gives you a specific deadline for submitting further relationship evidence, so you can submit additional evidence to the same place you sent your application unless directed otherwise by DIBP.
> 
> Re: visitor visa, with highly unpredictable visa processing times, hard to say, but it doesn't hurt to try for a visitor visa (and the application fee is reasonable).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you for your response. Yes i thought the same thing about how it is unacceptable on their behalf that they don't acknowledge the emails that I have sent. It is not as if i have bombarded them everyday with an email. I am just worried about whether they have located his health check and whether anything else is needed. I have had previous problems with the Samoa/Fiji Office in the past, as we tried to lodge our partner visa back in 2012 after we got married, but was told from the office in Samoa we weren't able to apply until after 12 month of marriage which i knew was not true, but they refused to accept my application. Now we have applied later and only to find out that we could have applied back in 2012, has really frustrated myself and husband.

They still haven't replied back to any of my emails so I am just going to apply for a Visitor Visa. Would you know whether we would have to wait another whole month before we get an answer on the visitor visa? I see other getting it within a few days, but the Fiji Office is very slack when it comes to visa grants. (We applied for a Visitor Visa for my husband May2013 to make it for the birth of our child and had to wait 2 months for a response and only for it to come back refused and it was dated back 5 weeks before we received it). So you see Mark the rollercoaster ride we are having at the moment lol. I guess nothing we can do is sit it out and wait. I know they cant refuse my visa as we have supplied relevant documents to prove our relationship is genuine so its just the waiting game for that golden email.

Cheers Mark and thanks for everything


----------



## killtheoriginal

Hi Mark, 

Is there a need to reinstate my Brigdging visa A after i return australia holding a bridging B? I'm applying for 485 visa.

Thanks a lot.

Regards


----------



## roxxy18

Hi Mark,

My partner and I just replied to the Schedule 3 Criteria. So we are waiting on our partner visa 820 to be approved. Can he work in this time? Or can he get permission? if so how do we do this?

Thank you,

Roxxy18


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Killtheoriginal -

Normally not, unless the BV-B has some sort of expiration date on it - check closely.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



killtheoriginal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Is there a need to reinstate my Brigdging visa A after i return australia holding a bridging B? I'm applying for 485 visa.
> 
> Thanks a lot.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roxxy18 -

Depends on this bridging visa and the conditions that are imposed on it - if there is no mention of work, then he has full work rights. Alternatively he may have a No Work restriction which means he cannot work - check the bridging visa and see. If he has a Bridging C or E without work rights, often work rights can be added - use Form 1005 to show financial hardship (that the sponsor's income will not cover the joint monthly expenses of the applicant & sponsor).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roxxy18 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I just replied to the Schedule 3 Criteria. So we are waiting on our partner visa 820 to be approved. Can he work in this time? Or can he get permission? if so how do we do this?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Roxxy18


----------



## kinnes

*Visa Processing Times*

Hi Mark,

I intend to apply in a few months for a partner visa through the London office. Currently spouse visas have a 10-14 month processing time, which is such a long time to wait. I know you can't give specific details on processing times but I wondered - is there a 'better' time of year to apply when the embassy tends to have fewer applications, or more slots?

Many thanks

Kinnes


----------



## adoreman

Hi mark,

I am new to the forum and just wanted some help regarding a Bridging Visa B application.I am on a Prospective Marriage Visa which will expire on Feb 2, 2015. I have lodged the Application for my Partner Visa (Subclass 820/801) yesterday and it was received today. I am waiting for the reply from immigration to be able to get My Bridging Visa A. I am worried because My PMV will expire soon and need a BVA approved asap. I included a money order in my application payable to the "department of immigration and border protection " to the amount of $1145 (amount shown on website and i also called immigration to check) Do you know how long before they would be able to give me a BVA?

Also, My wife and I are planning to travel to the Philippines on Feb 28-March 14, 2015 to visit my family and to attend a friend's wedding in which my wife will be a bridesmaid. I have checked and you are not allowed to travel whilst on a Bridging Visa A. 
I am looking to apply for the Bridging Visa B straight away when I receive a bridging Visa A. The only problem I am worrying about is that the Application form for the Bridging Visa B has the questions regarding the Character check. I am currently on a Good Behavior Bond in Australia for 6 months for a drug possessions charge. (just for personal use) (something very stupid of me) and I have no previous records in any country. I have been to Australia countless times as I studied here for 9 years on a student visa and visited many times after that; i have no other bad records. Will the character check have an effect and may a Bridging Visa B be refused because of this? Is the reason to travel to visit family and attend a wedding sufficient for an application? thanks.

Best Regards, 
Adoreman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kinnes -

Not that I know of. I've seen them go through in as little as 3-6 months, and have seen them take over 2 years - it's very unpredictable, but 12-16 months seems somewhat typical these days.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kinnes said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I intend to apply in a few months for a partner visa through the London office. Currently spouse visas have a 10-14 month processing time, which is such a long time to wait. I know you can't give specific details on processing times but I wondered - is there a 'better' time of year to apply when the embassy tends to have fewer applications, or more slots?
> 
> Many thanks
> 
> Kinnes


----------



## Bassim

Dear Sir,
My student visa ( subclass 573) has a condition of notify address within 7 days at time you land in Australia. What will happen if I land in Australia and tell them my address after, let's say, 10 days?

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adoreman -

Thanks for the questions. First, have to ask, why didn't you lodge online? It's faster, and you get the BV-A within minutes. Plus, no certified copy hassles to go through.

Re: your good behaviour bond question, that's a very important issue. I would need to know more about your specific court outcome in order to give you specific advice about this - you may have received a Section 10 dismissal with the bond, or may have been found guilty and the penalty was imposing the bond, or some other scenario. The key issue is: was there a conviction? I expect the answer will end up being "yes", but again would have to see your court papers to determine this - a consultation would be a good way for us to discuss this aspect of things privately and I would be able to examine your court papers (see website link below in my signature if you'd like to book a consultation). Bottom line is that if there is/was a conviction, including a conviction that has been removed from official records (such as a Section 10 dismissal with a good behaviour bond), then you'll have to answer "Yes" to the character question "have you been convicted of a crime or offence...". You would then need to provide details about this in the details. Could it interfere with a BV-B application? Possibly, depending on the details of the offence, whether there was a conviction, and your history since the offence. Again, can discuss with you in more detail at a consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



adoreman said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> I am new to the forum and just wanted some help regarding a Bridging Visa B application.I am on a Prospective Marriage Visa which will expire on Feb 2, 2015. I have lodged the Application for my Partner Visa (Subclass 820/801) yesterday and it was received today. I am waiting for the reply from immigration to be able to get My Bridging Visa A. I am worried because My PMV will expire soon and need a BVA approved asap. I included a money order in my application payable to the "department of immigration and border protection " to the amount of $1145 (amount shown on website and i also called immigration to check) Do you know how long before they would be able to give me a BVA?
> 
> Also, My wife and I are planning to travel to the Philippines on Feb 28-March 14, 2015 to visit my family and to attend a friend's wedding in which my wife will be a bridesmaid. I have checked and you are not allowed to travel whilst on a Bridging Visa A.
> I am looking to apply for the Bridging Visa B straight away when I receive a bridging Visa A. The only problem I am worrying about is that the Application form for the Bridging Visa B has the questions regarding the Character check. I am currently on a Good Behavior Bond in Australia for 6 months for a drug possessions charge. (just for personal use) (something very stupid of me) and I have no previous records in any country. I have been to Australia countless times as I studied here for 9 years on a student visa and visited many times after that; i have no other bad records. Will the character check have an effect and may a Bridging Visa B be refused because of this? Is the reason to travel to visit family and attend a wedding sufficient for an application? thanks.
> 
> Best Regards,
> Adoreman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bassim -

I'm guessing you are referring to Condition 8533 which requires you to notify the education provider of your address within 7 days of arriving. If you breach this, it depends on whether the education provider reports you to DIBP for the breach or not. If they do, it may cause problems for your next application, however difficult to predict. I highly recommend you avoid any issues and do the notification within 7 days - if you end up moving to another place within a few days after you report your address, you can simply report the new address once you're there, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bassim said:


> Dear Sir,
> My student visa ( subclass 573) has a condition of notify address within 7 days at time you land in Australia. What will happen if I land in Australia and tell them my address after, let's say, 10 days?
> 
> Regards


----------



## Bassim

Dear Sir,
My student visa ( subclass 573) has a condition of notify address within 7 days at time you land in Australia. What will happen if I land in Australia and tell them my address after, let's say, 10 days?

Regards


----------



## Bassim

Dear Mark Northam,
first, thank you for helpful and quick reply.
second, my education provider is USQ locates in Toowoomba,Queensland. I will arrive Australia at 05-02-2015 at melbourne where my friend lives there. I am planning to stay there for 9 days then travel to Toowoomba. if I tell them my address in Melbourne then after reach Toowoomba I will tell them my new address. is there any problem with staying in melbourne or I should go to Toowoomba, where my education provider locates, directly when I arrive Australia?
keep in mind my semester starts in 02-03-2015.

Thank you again

Regards
Bassim


----------



## sumitror660

*advice*

Hello sur.i want to know about uni.of tasmania.please help me.it is about evidence of funds


----------



## roxxy18

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Roxxy18 -
> 
> Depends on this bridging visa and the conditions that are imposed on it - if there is no mention of work, then he has full work rights. Alternatively he may have a No Work restriction which means he cannot work - check the bridging visa and see. If he has a Bridging C or E without work rights, often work rights can be added - use Form 1005 to show financial hardship (that the sponsor's income will not cover the joint monthly expenses of the applicant & sponsor).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi, that definitely help I'm just worried if we apply to change the work conditions and ask for permission will that then result in a bad effect on our 820 application?

Thanks again


----------



## adoreman

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Adoreman -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. First, have to ask, why didn't you lodge online? It's faster, and you get the BV-A within minutes. Plus, no certified copy hassles to go through.
> 
> Re: your good behaviour bond question, that's a very important issue. I would need to know more about your specific court outcome in order to give you specific advice about this - you may have received a Section 10 dismissal with the bond, or may have been found guilty and the penalty was imposing the bond, or some other scenario. The key issue is: was there a conviction? I expect the answer will end up being "yes", but again would have to see your court papers to determine this - a consultation would be a good way for us to discuss this aspect of things privately and I would be able to examine your court papers (see website link below in my signature if you'd like to book a consultation). Bottom line is that if there is/was a conviction, including a conviction that has been removed from official records (such as a Section 10 dismissal with a good behaviour bond), then you'll have to answer "Yes" to the character question "have you been convicted of a crime or offence...". You would then need to provide details about this in the details. Could it interfere with a BV-B application? Possibly, depending on the details of the offence, whether there was a conviction, and your history since the offence. Again, can discuss with you in more detail at a consultation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much for that Mark,

The reason I was unable to process the subclass 820/801 "online" because i lost my passport connected with my PMV. I ended up having to wait for the new passport which took at least 9 weeks. And it took at least a month before my new passport details was updated with my visa after sending the Form 929 (change of details). I just checked vevo on monday and my new passport has been updated on the system just this week. However, i did not lodge the 820/801 online because I already fixed all the paper works to be lodged by post and got the money order ready already. That is why i am worried because they took a month to change my passport details. and my current visa is only valid until the 2nd of Feb.

Yes i did receive a "section 10, with good behavior bond for 6 months proceeding to NO conviction " from the court bond notice. However, on my police clearance, It shows CONVICTED, six months good behavior bond. I have not offended anytime before or after the offece "it was my one and only offence, not even traffic violations. I have researched and found out that "it would show convicted until the 6 months bond is finished" (i would have to get it checked again after the bond finishes in may) would the subclass 820 be affected "if" the bridging B visa is refused?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bassim -

I'd abide exactly by the terms of the visa: If you stay in Melbourne for 9 days, then advise USQ of that address within the 7 day limit and let them know how long you'll be staying there. Then, when you reach QLD, advise them again of your address there. No problem with DIBP re: stopping for a period in Melbourne, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bassim said:


> Dear Mark Northam,
> first, thank you for helpful and quick reply.
> second, my education provider is USQ locates in Toowoomba,Queensland. I will arrive Australia at 05-02-2015 at melbourne where my friend lives there. I am planning to stay there for 9 days then travel to Toowoomba. if I tell them my address in Melbourne then after reach Toowoomba I will tell them my new address. is there any problem with staying in melbourne or I should go to Toowoomba, where my education provider locates, directly when I arrive Australia?
> keep in mind my semester starts in 02-03-2015.
> 
> Thank you again
> 
> Regards
> Bassim


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sumitror660 -

Thanks for the note - student visa evidence questions can get complex and I would need to understand much more about your case. The Univeristy of Tasmania, I believe, is part of the Streamlined Visa Program or SVP where you need to satisfy the University re: your funds and your English ability, rather than having DIBP assess it. I would suggest you direct any questions about the Uni of Tas to the University itself as each school as different rules regarding funds, etc. Also, if you are working with an Education Agent, they may be able to help you with this information as their job is to help get people enrolled in schools, ,etc. I'm not able to assist with this as I'm not an Education Agent and only focus on visa requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sumitror660 said:


> Hello sur.i want to know about uni.of tasmania.please help me.it is about evidence of funds


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roxxy18

The right to work (or not) is not a factor in partner visa assessment, so I would not be concerned about that happening. Have never seen a work rights application interfere with a partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roxxy18 said:


> Hi, that definitely help I'm just worried if we apply to change the work conditions and ask for permission will that then result in a bad effect on our 820 application?
> 
> Thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adoreman -

Thanks for the details. A Sec 10 with bond means a conviction was recorded, which will later be removed if you comply with the bond requirements. However since a conviction was recorded, you will need to answer Yes on the convictions question on the BV-B application, as well as on the partner visa application assuming the conviction occurred prior to you lodging the application. If the conviction occurred after you lodged the application, you would need to correct that answer using Form 1023 if you answered "No" to the convictions question - this is because the convictions question on both the partner visa and the BV-B application specifically include convictions that have been removed from the official records, as will be the case with a Sec 10/Bond penalty.

If the BV-B is refused on character grounds, that could cause them to consider character refusal for the partner visa, but I think that's unlikely to happen. The more likely problem is if you didn't answer "Yes" on the convictions question on the partner visa and DIBP discovers the conviction - that could trigger a false/inaccurate information allegation which could scuttle the partner visa and impose a 3 year ban on any Australian visa.

You may want to consult with a registered migration agent to help sort out how to fix any incorrect answers and how to draft the language explaining your offence in a way that will minimise the chances of any further problems/questions from DIBP. Also note that if you've travelled into Australia after the conviction, you'll have to answer "Yes" on the Incoming Passenger Card convictions question - if you have answered "No", that can also cause a problem.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



adoreman said:


> Thank you very much for that Mark,
> 
> The reason I was unable to process the subclass 820/801 "online" because i lost my passport connected with my PMV. I ended up having to wait for the new passport which took at least 9 weeks. And it took at least a month before my new passport details was updated with my visa after sending the Form 929 (change of details). I just checked vevo on monday and my new passport has been updated on the system just this week. However, i did not lodge the 820/801 online because I already fixed all the paper works to be lodged by post and got the money order ready already. That is why i am worried because they took a month to change my passport details. and my current visa is only valid until the 2nd of Feb.
> 
> Yes i did receive a "section 10, with good behavior bond for 6 months proceeding to NO conviction " from the court bond notice. However, on my police clearance, It shows CONVICTED, six months good behavior bond. I have not offended anytime before or after the offece "it was my one and only offence, not even traffic violations. I have researched and found out that "it would show convicted until the 6 months bond is finished" (i would have to get it checked again after the bond finishes in may) would the subclass 820 be affected "if" the bridging B visa is refused?


----------



## BennyJayKay

Hi Mark!

My partner and I have submitted the partner visa 820 application and I obtained a bridging visa - A back in June 2014. Our circumstances have changed where we have moved out together since Oct 2014. Our names are on the lease agreement together and I have a better job now. Obviously, THAT information wasn't included when we submitted it back in June 2014. My partner also hasn't finished her part of becoming the sponsor so I was wondering if I need to lodge a Notification of changes in circumstances form or can she just add the newer details in her sponsor application?

Thanks!


----------



## adoreman

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Adoreman -
> 
> Thanks for the details. A Sec 10 with bond means a conviction was recorded, which will later be removed if you comply with the bond requirements. However since a conviction was recorded, you will need to answer Yes on the convictions question on the BV-B application, as well as on the partner visa application assuming the conviction occurred prior to you lodging the application. If the conviction occurred after you lodged the application, you would need to correct that answer using Form 1023 if you answered "No" to the convictions question - this is because the convictions question on both the partner visa and the BV-B application specifically include convictions that have been removed from the official records, as will be the case with a Sec 10/Bond penalty.
> 
> If the BV-B is refused on character grounds, that could cause them to consider character refusal for the partner visa, but I think that's unlikely to happen. The more likely problem is if you didn't answer "Yes" on the convictions question on the partner visa and DIBP discovers the conviction - that could trigger a false/inaccurate information allegation which could scuttle the partner visa and impose a 3 year ban on any Australian visa.
> 
> You may want to consult with a registered migration agent to help sort out how to fix any incorrect answers and how to draft the language explaining your offence in a way that will minimise the chances of any further problems/questions from DIBP. Also note that if you've travelled into Australia after the conviction, you'll have to answer "Yes" on the Incoming Passenger Card convictions question - if you have answered "No", that can also cause a problem.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for the prompt reply Mark. I did state is as a " YES" on the conviction question in my form 47SP and Form 80. so I am hoping there wouldn't be an issue with it (Hopefully). i described the details of the offence and stated the exact sentence I received: found guilty but proceeding to no convictions, must be of good behaviour of six months . I have also included the original police clearance showing convicted. and certified copies of the court attendance notice and also the Bond details (which shows the exact sentence the judge gave" I have not yet left Australia since then, so next time i enter australia; i would know what to put (yes) thanks!

How about with the issue when i lodged my subclass 820 and they just received it today by express post? would i have any problem as my PMV would expire on feb 2, 2015. i am worried that if i dont receive a BVA on time. (Engaus told me i should be fine and receive the bva soon ) hopefully. what is your opinion on this sir?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adoreman -

Good job on the conviction questions. Typically a BV-A is granted within a week of receipt of the hardcopy application, so given your dates, I think you'll be OK.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



adoreman said:


> Thanks for the prompt reply Mark. I did state is as a " YES" on the conviction question in my form 47SP and Form 80. so I am hoping there wouldn't be an issue with it (Hopefully). i described the details of the offence and stated the exact sentence I received: found guilty but proceeding to no convictions, must be of good behaviour of six months . I have also included the original police clearance showing convicted. and certified copies of the court attendance notice and also the Bond details (which shows the exact sentence the judge gave" I have not yet left Australia since then, so next time i enter australia; i would know what to put (yes) thanks!
> 
> How about with the issue when i lodged my subclass 820 and they just received it today by express post? would i have any problem as my PMV would expire on feb 2, 2015. i am worried that if i dont receive a BVA on time. (Engaus told me i should be fine and receive the bva soon ) hopefully. what is your opinion on this sir?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BennyJayKay -

Thanks for the questions. I'm not sure what you mean by "we have moved out together" - does that mean moved in together (living in the same place)? A change of address should be done by lodging Form 929 with DIBP in that case if you've changed your residential address or your partner has. Re: "finished her part of becoming the sponsor", not sure what that means....??

Best,

Mark



BennyJayKay said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> My partner and I have submitted the partner visa 820 application and I obtained a bridging visa - A back in June 2014. Our circumstances have changed where we have moved out together since Oct 2014. Our names are on the lease agreement together and I have a better job now. Obviously, THAT information wasn't included when we submitted it back in June 2014. My partner also hasn't finished her part of becoming the sponsor so I was wondering if I need to lodge a Notification of changes in circumstances form or can she just add the newer details in her sponsor application?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## adoreman

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Adoreman -
> 
> Good job on the conviction questions. Typically a BV-A is granted within a week of receipt of the hardcopy application, so given your dates, I think you'll be OK.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much for all your helpful insights Mark. I will update you once i get updates on it.


----------



## roxxy18

Thank you for all of your help. I really appreciate it.


----------



## adoreman

Hi Mark, 
Just a quick question. I put YES on the conviction question in the 820/801 question. (due to the section 10 good behavior bond) 

However, i put NO on the question regarding
"have you been charged with an offence currently awaiting legal action?" 
I am assuming that it is "not currently awaiting legal action because the judge has given a sentence already" 
however, does being on a bond and waiting for the 6 months period count as "awaiting legal action" ?


----------



## killtheoriginal

Hi Mark,

My student visa expires on 15th march 2015. i planned to go back to my home country in February and apply 485 in a few days (January).

My plan is to apply for BVB after I have applied and been granted for a BVA.

My question is whether my BVA kicks in straightly after I have submitted my 485 application or does it kick in after my student visa expires. 
In other words, if i return to australia before 15th March 2015 (before my student visa ends) do i need to apply for BVB?

Thanks in advance.

Regards


----------



## BennyJayKay

MarkNortham said:


> Hi BennyJayKay -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. I'm not sure what you mean by "we have moved out together" - does that mean moved in together (living in the same place)? A change of address should be done by lodging Form 929 with DIBP in that case if you've changed your residential address or your partner has. Re: "finished her part of becoming the sponsor", not sure what that means....??
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Apologies for not being clear. Yes, we are living together now and what I meant for the "becoming the sponsor" bit, she's completed the "40SP Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia" up to the "Relationship Details" part. So I was just wondering if I do need to add the newest details by submitting Form
1022 with additional info or can she fill the newest information on her "40SP Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia" in the "Relation Details" portion.


----------



## KalSez

Hi Mark,
I cannot see anywhere if what I'm pondering will work and haven't seen any success stories so I'm hoping you can clear it up for me?
I am a NZ citizen who arrived in Australia in Dec of 2004 (woo hoo 10 years!) That's 10 years of paying my own way by working. I now have 2 children to 2 different Australian citizen fathers and my name on a mortgage. July last year I moved out of that mortgaged home and now rent a house with my children, I work full time and appreciate some of my tax dollars coming back in the form of childcare assistance and the fortnightly family tax benefit but I want to vote!! I want to be able to have my say! When I left NZ I was 20 years old and couldn't give a darn about politics but I've become so sad about the state of government policies etc that I'd love to have the chance to sway how my tax dollars are spent. I would also love a chance at being elected for our local city council, I've lived here 9.5yrs and am so involved in our community.
After using the visa wizard though I am disheartened so I've come up with a crazy scheme.
As my children are citizens by descent and place of birth and have lived here legally for the past 2 plus years can they sponsor me for a Contributory Parental Visa subclass 143? I can see that as they are under 18 it would need to be their guardian or closest relative that would actually sponsor me. (Doh that IS me!) There is a clause that the sponsor must take responsibility to accommodate and provide for me for the next 2 years (um....quite capable of doing this myself?)
I cannot see any age requirements though? I understand that it is most likely for older parents but it doesn't say anywhere obviously that I wouldn't be considered. 4k is a lot of money seeing as I only thought of this today but I will make it happen if you could give me more accurate insights into my elegibility?
What would happen to my life here if for any reason they decline my application?
Thank you Mark for reading this, yours and any other guidance would be sooooo appreciated!


----------



## Holtymet

Good day Mark,

I'm getting very confused regarding work experience evidence.
From what I believe I will be assessed by ACS and IMMI/DIBP,
I am coming up to the minimum 2 years work experience required by ACS and want to gather all the documents that I will need; Work references being my main issue!

My previous employer will either not provide the duty reference or they will produce a very basic one which doesn't truly reflect all the duties I held. If the latter then I think that ACS will not believe that i have the relevant experience for the position i am applying for.

One option I have seen is a statutory declaration from an ex colleague however many forums have contradicted each other ranging from:
1) UK citizens cannot sign statutory declarations
2) statutory declarations are only for partner visas

Which is true?

Regards


----------



## luckyduck12

*Remaining relative visa*

Hi Mark,

My sister has never been married or in de facto relationship. I am an Permanent resident (with my wife and children here). I have another 3 siblings who are married and not PR. Can I sponsor my sister for remaining relative visa?

To clarify I make a diagram below:

Parent ---- Parent: 
1. Me  (PR holder, married with children)
2. Married sister
3. Married sister
4. Unmarried, never in de facto relationship sister
5. Defacto sister

Can I (number 1) sponsor number 4 for remaining relative visa?
Thanks Mark


----------



## adoreman

Hi mark! Thanks for all your help! I was granted the subclass 820 today. I was surprised i didnt have to go on a bridging visa anymore. And it took only two days! Lodged the application jan 14. I received an email visa granted 820 on jan 16,2015
When i am eligible for the 801 visa, what things do they usually ask for when they said they will contact the applicant to send additional information etc?


----------



## Tobby

Hello Mark,

We are heading for submitting our EOI for a 189 visa, but haven’t done it yet as we are waiting for all the relevant documents to be translated and certified. At the same time we decided to go ahead and arrange our police checks before being requested to do so by DIAC, as it might take some time to obtain. I recently opened Immi Account and tried to find the TFN or any other reference number/ address for the police (overseas and in Australia) to send their summary directly into our account as requested by DIAC. However, I don’t see any of these and do not know how to do it. I want to send the request for a few countries (where my partner was living) before we submit our EOI, but do not have an c/o department or case reference number to indicate it as a postal address for the return of the certificate. 
Can you please help me by giving some advice on how to manage it? I am afraid that having sent it to my residential address, DIAC won’t accept it from us and will require for another one later.

Thank you ahead, your help is highly appreciated 

Tobby


----------



## candice

*defacto issue*

Hi,
I am wondering can I apply defacto visa in January 2015 or August 2015 since I moved in with my partner house since January 2014. but we apply joint bank account since august 2014. 
When we joint the bank account is saver account, we don't want to withdraw money from it because we want save money.Should we have to withdraw money regularly ?
We are living in his parent's house which means we don't have any water or electricity bill under our name.
Besides, when i will get bridging visa which means allow me work permanently and have all insurance like medicare.

Thanks 
Candice


----------



## Bassim

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bassim -
> 
> I'm guessing you are referring to Condition 8533 which requires you to notify the education provider of your address within 7 days of arriving. If you breach this, it depends on whether the education provider reports you to DIBP for the breach or not. If they do, it may cause problems for your next application, however difficult to predict. I highly recommend you avoid any issues and do the notification within 7 days - if you end up moving to another place within a few days after you report your address, you can simply report the new address once you're there, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam





MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bassim -
> 
> I'd abide exactly by the terms of the visa: If you stay in Melbourne for 9 days, then advise USQ of that address within the 7 day limit and let them know how long you'll be staying there. Then, when you reach QLD, advise them again of your address there. No problem with DIBP re: stopping for a period in Melbourne, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much


----------



## kknd24

*Mark, help me*

Hi,Mark. I had 457 visa about more than 1years, I can apply to 186 visa in July 2015 , but I only have overall 5.0 IELTS, to be honest, I really do not want to do IELTS again...I hear about Australia government will make new policy for 186 visa in July 2015,and just need overall 5.0 IELTS, the 457 visa holder can apply 186 visa, what do you think, it is true....thank you very much!


----------



## ahmedwk

Hi Mark,
I have PR visa (independent skilled immigration), subclass 175.
I recently applied for a tourist visa for my wife subclass 600 and got granted .
We will visit Australia during April for her to deliver our baby. 
The situation is : during filling her visit visa, we answered No to question 35, which asks about medical conditions that might require any health assistance in Australia (pregnancy is one of them).
My question : can immigration officer at the airport refuse entry to my wife because we "lied" in our application and if we didn't then because we didn't notify them of changes via form 1022?
Are you aware of any similar cases that were granted entry or rejected because of pregnancy?
Note: I am not gonna use any kind of Medicare. I will pay for maternity and baby delivery costs myself.
Thanks alot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kknd24 -

Thanks for the note - I have heard various rumours, but am suspicious about any idea of lowering the English requirement for ENS - if anything, they might consider lowering it for 457's, but would think that they might conclude that after a person has been on a 457 for 2 years (for the TRT ENS), their English could be expected to improve. Also, there's been some talk about making the English requirements vary per occupation - this is already done to some extent by licencing authorities like CPA Australia and some others who have English requirements higher than DIBP's, however it may end up going the other way too - ie, a chef in a Chinese restaurant may end up with a lower English requirement than a marketing specialist, etc. But again, these are all rumours and stories - we'll have to wait and see what they come up with.

Best,

Mark



kknd24 said:


> Hi,Mark. I had 457 visa about more than 1years, I can apply to 186 visa in July 2015 , but I only have overall 5.0 IELTS, to be honest, I really do not want to do IELTS again...I hear about Australia government will make new policy for 186 visa in July 2015,and just need overall 5.0 IELTS, the 457 visa holder can apply 186 visa, what do you think, it is true....thank you very much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ahmedwk -

Yes, they could cancel her visa if they determine she provided false information on the visa application, and they could also slap her with a 3 year exclusion period from Australia due to the PIC 4020 re: false information/bogus documents. Even once she's in Australia, if she applies for another visa within 12 months of holding the visitor visa and they determine she intentionally provided false info on the visitor visa, she could also face refusal of that visa plus the 3 year ban.

Intentionally providing false information on a visa application is a big deal to DIBP.

Best,

Mark



ahmedwk said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have PR visa (independent skilled immigration), subclass 175.
> I recently applied for a tourist visa for my wife subclass 600 and got granted .
> We will visit Australia during April for her to deliver our baby.
> The situation is : during filling her visit visa, we answered No to question 35, which asks about medical conditions that might require any health assistance in Australia (pregnancy is one of them).
> My question : can immigration officer at the airport refuse entry to my wife because we "lied" in our application and if we didn't then because we didn't notify them of changes via form 1022?
> Are you aware of any similar cases that were granted entry or rejected because of pregnancy?
> Note: I am not gonna use any kind of Medicare. I will pay for maternity and baby delivery costs myself.
> Thanks alot


----------



## htcerica

Hello Mark
This is Erica
I lodged a partner visa application 2 months ago and now I'm still under the student visa conditions.
my question is that I will travel oversea for 2 weeks during study period on April,the school already calculate the classes that I will miss during travel and it still above 80% attendance,just in case,should I apply bridge visa B and inform immigration for that? my student visa will ends on October.
Thank you!!~~~~


----------



## Suria

*Need advice urgently*

Hi Mark,

With reference to the above, I am the applicant under Skilled Nominated (Permanent)(class SN) (subclass 190).

I was informed by my appointed agent in Malaysia that my application was denied recently based on medical assessment. However, since 22 Sept 2014 when my agent submitted the application, I was waiting for the request for medical assessment or for my file to be allocated to a case worker. Until to date, I have not received any request and so is my agent.

Upon further inquiry to GSM since it had been 3 months, my agent was notified that the application failed due to medical check.I am surprise that this happened since all the while I was waiting for the request for medical assessment.

I had not done the medical assessment as I had never received the request to do the medical check. However, email corresponds between GSM and my agent said that a request had been sent but I had not receive it and so is my agent. My agent had sent statutory declaration and 3rd party IT confirmation to immi that the request for medical check never reach their IT server. Immi claimed that it was sent on 2nd Oct 2014.

The thing is I am reaching the age limit that gives me point in May. Thus, it very urgent the appeal is right this time around. It worries me so much.

Thus, can you assist me on what need to be done on this matter.

Thanks, appreciate very much for your advice on this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Suria -

Thanks for the note - the first thing your agent (hopefully a MARA agent, and not an offshore unregistered agent) should be doing is preparing a legal submission with evidence to formally request DIBP vacate the decision based on a problem with notification. The agent should be re-notified, and you given the opportunity to submit the required reports. If the request to vacate is not approved, I'd then push for it to be considered at a higher level at DIBP. If that is not successful, you may want to engage an immigration lawyer in Australia to explore lodging a case in the federal court based on jurisdictional error. However given the long delays in the court system in Australia, this could endanger your eligibility for the visa. Key is to somehow preserve the previous invitation to apply for the 190 since that locks in your age no matter how long it takes to approve that particular application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Suria said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> With reference to the above, I am the applicant under Skilled Nominated (Permanent)(class SN) (subclass 190).
> 
> I was informed by my appointed agent in Malaysia that my application was denied recently based on medical assessment. However, since 22 Sept 2014 when my agent submitted the application, I was waiting for the request for medical assessment or for my file to be allocated to a case worker. Until to date, I have not received any request and so is my agent.
> 
> Upon further inquiry to GSM since it had been 3 months, my agent was notified that the application failed due to medical check.I am surprise that this happened since all the while I was waiting for the request for medical assessment.
> 
> I had not done the medical assessment as I had never received the request to do the medical check. However, email corresponds between GSM and my agent said that a request had been sent but I had not receive it and so is my agent. My agent had sent statutory declaration and 3rd party IT confirmation to immi that the request for medical check never reach their IT server. Immi claimed that it was sent on 2nd Oct 2014.
> 
> The thing is I am reaching the age limit that gives me point in May. Thus, it very urgent the appeal is right this time around. It worries me so much.
> 
> Thus, can you assist me on what need to be done on this matter.
> 
> Thanks, appreciate very much for your advice on this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Erica -

Probably not necessary, plus the BV-B would not activate as long as your student visa was in effect. To cancel your student visa, DIBP needs to get info from the school and then go through a cancellation process that would take weeks, if not months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



htcerica said:


> Hello Mark
> This is Erica
> I lodged a partner visa application 2 months ago and now I'm still under the student visa conditions.
> my question is that I will travel oversea for 2 weeks during study period on April,the school already calculate the classes that I will miss during travel and it still above 80% attendance,just in case,should I apply bridge visa B and inform immigration for that? my student visa will ends on October.
> Thank you!!~~~~


----------



## BennyJayKay

Hey Mark, I responded to your previous response but I wasn't sure if you saw it. Here it is again:



> Apologies for not being clear. Yes, we are living together now and what I meant for the "becoming the sponsor" bit, she's completed the "40SP Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia" up to the "Relationship Details" part. So I was just wondering if I do need to add the newest details by submitting Form
> 1022 with additional info or can she fill the newest information on her "40SP Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia" in the "Relationship Details" portion.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BennyJayKay -

Sorry I missed your earlier response - if there is incorrect info on the lodged 47SP (or equivalent online form) then that should be corrected with Form 1022 to update the address. In addition, the new address should be included when she lodges the 40SP form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BennyJayKay said:


> Apologies for not being clear. Yes, we are living together now and what I meant for the "becoming the sponsor" bit, she's completed the "40SP Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia" up to the "Relationship Details" part. So I was just wondering if I do need to add the newest details by submitting Form
> 1022 with additional info or can she fill the newest information on her "40SP Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia" in the "Relation Details" portion.


----------



## candice

Hi Mark,
I am wondering can I apply defacto visa in January 2015 or August 2015 since I moved in with my partner house since January 2014. but we apply joint bank account since august 2014. 
When we joint the bank account is saver account, we don't want to withdraw money from it because we want save money.Should we have to withdraw money regularly ?
We are living in his parent's house which means we don't have any water or electricity bill under our name.
Besides, when i will get bridging visa which means allow me work permanently and have all insurance like medicare. 

Thanks 
Candice


----------



## candice

Hi Mark,
I am wondering can I apply defacto visa in January 2015 or August 2015 since I moved in with my partner house since January 2014. but we apply joint bank account since august 2014. 
When we joint the bank account is saver account, we don't want to withdraw money from it because we want save money.Should we have to withdraw money regularly ?
We are living in his parent's house which means we don't have any water or electricity bill under our name.
Besides, when i will get bridging visa which means allow me work permanently and have all insurance like medicare. 

Thanks 
Candice


----------



## sonikatalwar

hii mark..
your advise are very good..
my question is "govt. telling for review 457 visa scheme"is this true or not yet or its only a sweet candy?
regards
Sonika


----------



## wmtan01

*Question regarding work experience*

Hi! I am currently planning on applying for permanent residency in Australia via Visa189 which requires the Australian point system. I was wondering if my work experience would be counted as 3 years to get the 5 additional points if I worked for two companies, 1 and a half year for each one? Or does the experience have to come from a single company for 3 years for it to be counted?

Thanks!


----------



## maha

*hi Mark*

I have migrated in last june to Darwin Australia - (visa subclass 489). i am the main applicant for the visa grant and i am finding difficulties to get along with the job here. but by husband is engaged with the full time position in IT ( In his area of study). i would like to know is there any means to move for PR 887 by showing his work? if we can make a try,. please do some advice on this regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Candice -

Thanks for the question. Difficult to give you specific advice without seeing your documents and knowing much more about your case and specifics. Re: joint bank acct, DIBP wants to see a couple sharing their money, so just using it for savings here and there is not nearly as helpful as using it for daily expenses to show a continual sharing of money/expenses. A statement from your partner's parents should be helpful in establishing that you were living together, but defacto applications are looked at very carefully by DIBP because of abuse. Suggest you have a registered migration agent go through all of your evidence with you to give you an opinion on that and perhaps suggestions of how to improve your evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



candice said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am wondering can I apply defacto visa in January 2015 or August 2015 since I moved in with my partner house since January 2014. but we apply joint bank account since august 2014.
> When we joint the bank account is saver account, we don't want to withdraw money from it because we want save money.Should we have to withdraw money regularly ?
> We are living in his parent's house which means we don't have any water or electricity bill under our name.
> Besides, when i will get bridging visa which means allow me work permanently and have all insurance like medicare.
> 
> Thanks
> Candice


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonikatalwar -

The government is in the process of implementing changes to the 457 program that are expected to be rolled out during 2015. We don't have all of the specifics yet, but I'd stay tuned to the news in this area as 2015 will be an important year as we see exactly which changes will be implemented, how they will be implemented, and when.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sonikatalwar said:


> hii mark..
> your advise are very good..
> my question is "govt. telling for review 457 visa scheme"is this true or not yet or its only a sweet candy?
> regards
> Sonika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wmtan01 -

Thanks for the question. No problem combining work from different employers as long as each job you claim for points meets the requirements - ie, paid, full-time, closely related to your nominated occupation. However you cannot combine Australian work experience and offshore work experience - these are 2 separate categories re: points - see points test for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wmtan01 said:


> Hi! I am currently planning on applying for permanent residency in Australia via Visa189 which requires the Australian point system. I was wondering if my work experience would be counted as 3 years to get the 5 additional points if I worked for two companies, 1 and a half year for each one? Or does the experience have to come from a single company for 3 years for it to be counted?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maha -

Thanks for the question. Yes, it is possible for the secondary applicant on a 489 to become the main applicant for the 887 PR visa - same requirements apply re: live for 2 years, work for 1 year, etc. Note that only the primary applicant for the 887 has to satisfy these requirements. Re: specific advice for your case, would need to work with you in a consultation to review your specifics re: work, documentation, etc. See my website below in my signature and look for "Professional Consultation" if you're interested in assistance.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



maha said:


> I have migrated in last june to Darwin Australia - (visa subclass 489). i am the main applicant for the visa grant and i am finding difficulties to get along with the job here. but by husband is engaged with the full time position in IT ( In his area of study). i would like to know is there any means to move for PR 887 by showing his work? if we can make a try,. please do some advice on this regards.


----------



## Pianolover1971

*A question, thank you very much.*

Dear Mark,

Nice to meet you here!

I am writing to make an enquiry about partner visa 801.

I got my partner visa 820 onshore in Jan. 2013. Later on, my partner and I moved to England due to his work situation. Currently, I have just lodged my permanent partner visa application online and I am still living in England with my partner at the moment. In terms of our intention to settle down in Australia permanently, we stated in our statements that we are going to move back to Australia this year. Apart from that, I am going to apply a course in Melbourne that starts in August this year. In addition, both of us are looking for a job in Melbourne on seek.com.au. That's all the evidence we can give for our intention to settle down in Australia permanently. I don't know if it is enough. I was told by an immigration officer who works in the Department of Immigration that our genuine relationship and intention to live in Australia permanently are the two foctors in the decision on my application.

Do you think the evidence of our intention to live in Australia permanently is enough?

Thank yo very much and hope to hear from you very soon.

Best wishes

Sincerely yours

Anna


----------



## Suria

Thanks, Mark. Your advice is very helpful. 
I am now looking at few options on whether to wait or on another note, would it be possible and whether time permits if I reapply should the decision to vacate is not successful. Or do I have to wait for DIBP's decision before I could reapply, meaning can I do these two at the same time? I am reluctant to go on the legal route due to time and cost involved. Based on your experience is 3 months sufficient to get an invitation before my next birthday since all documents are already in order. Do I have to get another approval from Australia's accountancy body and state invitation?

Thank you


----------



## wmtan01

*Question regarding work experience*

Hi! Thanks for the fast reply. . I have another question, how can I know if my work experience can be joined together to form the three years needed? Is there a list of jobs that are classified under the same categories so I can check if I can count my work experience as 3 years? I am an engineer and I tried looking at engineersaustralia and failed to find such list.

Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anna -

Difficult to assess the evidence without seeing it; an intention with no evidence may be difficult - I'd try and get as much documentary evidence of commitments and obligations in Australia, evidence of making arrangements to live there, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pianolover1971 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Nice to meet you here!
> 
> I am writing to make an enquiry about partner visa 801.
> 
> I got my partner visa 820 onshore in Jan. 2013. Later on, my partner and I moved to England due to his work situation. Currently, I have just lodged my permanent partner visa application online and I am still living in England with my partner at the moment. In terms of our intention to settle down in Australia permanently, we stated in our statements that we are going to move back to Australia this year. Apart from that, I am going to apply a course in Melbourne that starts in August this year. In addition, both of us are looking for a job in Melbourne on seek.com.au. That's all the evidence we can give for our intention to settle down in Australia permanently. I don't know if it is enough. I was told by an immigration officer who works in the Department of Immigration that our genuine relationship and intention to live in Australia permanently are the two foctors in the decision on my application.
> 
> Do you think the evidence of our intention to live in Australia permanently is enough?
> 
> Thank yo very much and hope to hear from you very soon.
> 
> Best wishes
> 
> Sincerely yours
> 
> Anna


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Suria -

You could certainly apply again at any time assuming you are not onshore (if you're onshore, you may be section 48 barred from a further onshore application on this trip, however would need to see your documents and information in more detail at a consultation in order to give you any specific advice about your case. If your skills assessment is still valid, you could use that again; re: state sponsorship, you would likely have to get a new invitation - check with the state that invited you for more details and what the availability of another invitation (if available) may be.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Suria said:


> Thanks, Mark. Your advice is very helpful.
> I am now looking at few options on whether to wait or on another note, would it be possible and whether time permits if I reapply should the decision to vacate is not successful. Or do I have to wait for DIBP's decision before I could reapply, meaning can I do these two at the same time? I am reluctant to go on the legal route due to time and cost involved. Based on your experience is 3 months sufficient to get an invitation before my next birthday since all documents are already in order. Do I have to get another approval from Australia's accountancy body and state invitation?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wmtan01 -

There's no list like that that I know of - you would need to look at the duties & responsibilities of each job and compare that to the ANZSCO definition for your occupation to assess how closely related each job is to the ANZSCO definition. You could also ask the skills assessor for your occupation to assess any particular work experience if you wanted to get an opinion on that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wmtan01 said:


> Hi! Thanks for the fast reply. . I have another question, how can I know if my work experience can be joined together to form the three years needed? Is there a list of jobs that are classified under the same categories so I can check if I can count my work experience as 3 years? I am an engineer and I tried looking at engineersaustralia and failed to find such list.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## ahmedwk

Hi Mark,
I will keep it short.
My wife was pregnant at the time of submission her visa application (subclass 600).
But we didn't know so I answered no to question 35 about any expected medical follow up in Australia.
Now we know. Should we use form 1022 or form 1023?
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ahmedwk -

I'd probably lodge Form 1022 since it was not a mistake, but a new development in your circumstances.

Best,

Mark Northam



ahmedwk said:


> Hi Mark,
> I will keep it short.
> My wife was pregnant at the time of submission her visa application (subclass 600).
> But we didn't know so I answered no to question 35 about any expected medical follow up in Australia.
> Now we know. Should we use form 1022 or form 1023?
> Thanks


----------



## ahmedwk

Thanks Mark. You are awesome!!


----------



## hector08

*Sub class 190*

Hi Mark. I have just joined the forum. I have some questions and I think you will be able to help me with the answers.

i have my assessment done but the category is under special condition from 1st July 2014. In this case what should I do? Can i get into the queue in that category so that if they re-open it i can get a chance for getting the invitation?

My sister-in-law got a PR for Adelaide. Can she sponsor me and my family to get a PR? If yes then what are the requirements?

Thank you
Hector


----------



## killtheoriginal

Hi Mark,

My student visa expires on 15th march 2015. i planned to go back to my home country in February and apply 485 in a few days (January).

My plan is to apply for BVB after I have applied and been granted for a BVA.

My question is whether my BVA kicks in straightly after I have submitted my 485 application or does it kick in after my student visa expires. 
In other words, if i return to australia before 15th March 2015 (before my student visa ends) do i need to apply for BVB?

Thanks in advance.

Regards


----------



## amkhan

Hi Mark,

CO has requested few certified documents i.e. passport copies and birth certificates of all applicants. Local authority here in Dubai has requested Birth certificates to be attested from Ministry of foreign affairs Pakistan. 

I want to get my documents attested from Pakistan instead of UAE. Can you suggest me that if I send all my documents i.e. passport and birth certificate copies to Pakistan and get them certified from there from commissioner for declaration. Will it be fine with DIBP CO. Appreciate your comments.


----------



## virginiap

Hi Mark,

I have read somewhere on here that it is suggested to finish uploading everything within 28 days of the submission date. What are the consequences of uploading everything a few days later than those 28 days? 
I am referring to on-shore application for partner visas.

Thank you

Virginia


----------



## dpetlin

Hi Mark!

Thanks first of all for making this thread. As I could notice you helped so many people! I have read multiple stories similar to my case, but none of them were similar enough. So I really hope, your advice would help me.
My question is about my girlfriend (de facto partner), we date since October 2013, so more than a year.
In January 2014 I applied for australian visa (*subclass 574*), but did not include my partner in the application, because my commencement date was really soon in Australia, and I decided that additional information could delay the visa granting process. Plus I did not know it was so desperately necessary at that moment. So, everything went fine, I am currently in Australia and happily doing my PhD research. My girlfriend was with me here for 3 months with tourist visa in 2014 (June-August). And I was on holidays at home with her for a month (Dec 2014 - Jan 2015).

We are not married, she is back in Russia now, what can I or she or we do to make changes to my visa so *she would be included as my de facto partner* and could join me in Australia for next several years?

And I also did not include my parents, but I guess in parents case I can just use form 919, am I right?

Thanks in advance.
Looking forward to your respond.

Best regards,

Dan


----------



## Amanda 15

Hi Mark,

Firstly, I applied 489 NSW regional sponsored (Orana region) visa on July. When my visa was processing I got an invitation to apply 189 permanent residency visa. I applied 189 visa on 1st of December and my 489 visa granted 2nd of December. My 189 visa is currently processing. My question is;
According to 489 visa rules I have to move Orana within 3 months. Currently, I live in Brisbane. I do not like to move because my permanent residence visa is currently processing. *Can I get extension or can I wait until my 189 visa finished processing? * (still 1 month and 18 days of granted 489)..

I would be grateful if you could give me an answer...Thank you.


----------



## MaggieMay2014

Hi Mark,

First of all thanks for your time on reading my message. I have below question:
1. Currently I am on student visa together with my husband and my new born baby. I will bring my baby back to my country for a few months, then me and my husband will come back to continue my study. My student visa will expire in May, I am trying to apply for 457 visa but I am not sure if I can get it approved before May or not. So if I can lodge 457 in April but still wait for approval by the time my student visa expire, do you think it would be better for me to extend student visa while waiting for 457? Or I should just hold bridging visa A after my student visa expire?

2. If I extend student visa, my baby is offshore, does it mean I can only apply onshore student visa with my husband only? I can't include my baby unless I bring her back to Australia right?

3. If apply onshore for 457, same question as above, I can't include my my baby if she is offshore right?

4. If I don't extend student visa within 28 days after my current visa expires, then I will be holding bridging visa A while waiting for 457. Can I work full time while waiting for 457? If later my 457 visa is refused, I need to apply for MRT, then what type of bridging visa I will get after lodge MRT? Will I be allowed to work full time while waiting for MRT result?

Thanks again for your time!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hector -

Thanks for the questions - skilled visas have too many factors/details for a discussion or assessment in the forum - every occupation, skills assessor and state is different. Would be happy to assist you in a consultation to work out specific best options for you - see Northam & Associates - Professional Migration Consulting Session

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hector08 said:


> Hi Mark. I have just joined the forum. I have some questions and I think you will be able to help me with the answers.
> 
> i have my assessment done but the category is under special condition from 1st July 2014. In this case what should I do? Can i get into the queue in that category so that if they re-open it i can get a chance for getting the invitation?
> 
> My sister-in-law got a PR for Adelaide. Can she sponsor me and my family to get a PR? If yes then what are the requirements?
> 
> Thank you
> Hector


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the question. Your BVA activates upon the expiration of your student visa, but only if you are onshore at that moment. However once you lodge the 485 and get the BVA (should happen within an hour ideally), you can make an application for a BVB even while your BVA is still unactivated. This way, if you get the BVB while still in Australia, you can travel offshore before your student visa expires, and the BVB will activate upon student visa expiration even if you're outside the country. Then you can re-enter on the BVB when you're ready, however remember you must be back in Australia when DIBP is ready to grant the 485, as you can only be granted that visa while in Australia. Keep in touch with DIBP while you're outside, and make sure they can contact you to advise you of the 485 ready to grant if that happens.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



killtheoriginal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My student visa expires on 15th march 2015. i planned to go back to my home country in February and apply 485 in a few days (January).
> 
> My plan is to apply for BVB after I have applied and been granted for a BVA.
> 
> My question is whether my BVA kicks in straightly after I have submitted my 485 application or does it kick in after my student visa expires.
> In other words, if i return to australia before 15th March 2015 (before my student visa ends) do i need to apply for BVB?
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amkhan -

That's up to local policy there - I'd check with whoever is requesting the documents and see if your plan is OK with them. This sort of thing varies from one embassy to another.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amkhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> CO has requested few certified documents i.e. passport copies and birth certificates of all applicants. Local authority here in Dubai has requested Birth certificates to be attested from Ministry of foreign affairs Pakistan.
> 
> I want to get my documents attested from Pakistan instead of UAE. Can you suggest me that if I send all my documents i.e. passport and birth certificate copies to Pakistan and get them certified from there from commissioner for declaration. Will it be fine with DIBP CO. Appreciate your comments.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginiap -

There is no specific policy about how long you have to upload documents, unless there are certain documents that must be present at time of application (this applies in cases of section 48 barred applicants who had a refusal previously while onshore, etc). However I would not let it go more than 1-2 weeks (after lodgement date). 28 days too risk in my view. If DIBP decides they are ready to process your application, they will use whatever is uploaded and decide based on that. Often you'll get a letter if they need more documents, but there's no guarantee. DIBP is cracking down on visas that are lodged without the required documents - no point in risking the entire visa. I'd get the important things lodged now, then additional relationship evidence can be added as time goes on in the coming months until a decision is made.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



virginiap said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have read somewhere on here that it is suggested to finish uploading everything within 28 days of the submission date. What are the consequences of uploading everything a few days later than those 28 days?
> I am referring to on-shore application for partner visas.
> 
> Thank you
> 
> Virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dpetlin -

Thanks for the question. There is a huge difference in the eyes of DIBP between a girlfriend and a defacto partner - girlfriends are not permitted to be secondary applicants on student visas, etc. Defacto partners require substantial evidence to prove living together and the genuineness of an ongoing defacto partner relationship.

Re: adding your partner to your student visa, suggest you consult with a migration agent to determine what relevant relationship evidence you may be able to provide to prove the relationship to DIBP. Also, with a student visa, you may need to show that the defacto relationship began (or got to the defacto level) after your student visa application was made, as there are specific regulations re: inability to add a spouse or partner if the relationship was in place at the time of student visa but was undeclared on the visa application.

Re: adding parents as dependents on a student visa application, generally not possible since in most cases being married makes a person ineligible to be a dependent. In the case of an unmarried parent, may be possible if you can provide evidence of financial dependence and a number of other factors - not easy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dpetlin said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Thanks first of all for making this thread. As I could notice you helped so many people! I have read multiple stories similar to my case, but none of them were similar enough. So I really hope, your advice would help me.
> My question is about my girlfriend (de facto partner), we date since October 2013, so more than a year.
> In January 2014 I applied for australian visa (*subclass 574*), but did not include my partner in the application, because my commencement date was really soon in Australia, and I decided that additional information could delay the visa granting process. Plus I did not know it was so desperately necessary at that moment. So, everything went fine, I am currently in Australia and happily doing my PhD research. My girlfriend was with me here for 3 months with tourist visa in 2014 (June-August). And I was on holidays at home with her for a month (Dec 2014 - Jan 2015).
> 
> We are not married, she is back in Russia now, what can I or she or we do to make changes to my visa so *she would be included as my de facto partner* and could join me in Australia for next several years?
> 
> And I also did not include my parents, but I guess in parents case I can just use form 919, am I right?
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> Looking forward to your respond.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Dan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amanda -

That would depend on NSW Skilled's position on things. However if living in the designated area is included as a condition of your 489 visa (ie, specified in the visa grant notice, etc), you're in breach of your visa unless you live there, and would need to abide by the conditions of the visa or risk cancellation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Amanda 15 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly, I applied 489 NSW regional sponsored (Orana region) visa on July. When my visa was processing I got an invitation to apply 189 permanent residency visa. I applied 189 visa on 1st of December and my 489 visa granted 2nd of December. My 189 visa is currently processing. My question is;
> According to 489 visa rules I have to move Orana within 3 months. Currently, I live in Brisbane. I do not like to move because my permanent residence visa is currently processing. *Can I get extension or can I wait until my 189 visa finished processing? * (still 1 month and 18 days of granted 489)..
> 
> I would be grateful if you could give me an answer...Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MaggieMay2014 -

Thanks for all the questions - too many factors to give you quick or simple answers on the forum. We'd be doing back & forth emails for a week. Basic info: For 457, all applicants included on the application as migrating applicants must be in the same place at application, however you can add family members on later after grant with a separate 457 subsequent entrant application. Same basic info for student visas.

Re: BVA, BVA for 457 normally is granted with full work rights, so when the BVA activates, you have full work rights. If 457 refused and you lodge MRT application on time and validly, your BVA w/work rights will automatically be extended until 28 days after the MRT decision.

Hope this helps - if you'd like more detailed advice about your case, happy to work through your specifics in a consultation - see my website below in the signature and look for link re: consulting.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MaggieMay2014 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all thanks for your time on reading my message. I have below question:
> 1. Currently I am on student visa together with my husband and my new born baby. I will bring my baby back to my country for a few months, then me and my husband will come back to continue my study. My student visa will expire in May, I am trying to apply for 457 visa but I am not sure if I can get it approved before May or not. So if I can lodge 457 in April but still wait for approval by the time my student visa expire, do you think it would be better for me to extend student visa while waiting for 457? Or I should just hold bridging visa A after my student visa expire?
> 
> 2. If I extend student visa, my baby is offshore, does it mean I can only apply onshore student visa with my husband only? I can't include my baby unless I bring her back to Australia right?
> 
> 3. If apply onshore for 457, same question as above, I can't include my my baby if she is offshore right?
> 
> 4. If I don't extend student visa within 28 days after my current visa expires, then I will be holding bridging visa A while waiting for 457. Can I work full time while waiting for 457? If later my 457 visa is refused, I need to apply for MRT, then what type of bridging visa I will get after lodge MRT? Will I be allowed to work full time while waiting for MRT result?
> 
> Thanks again for your time!!


----------



## killtheoriginal

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Your BVA activates upon the expiration of your student visa, but only if you are onshore at that moment. However once you lodge the 485 and get the BVA (should happen within an hour ideally), you can make an application for a BVB even while your BVA is still unactivated. This way, if you get the BVB while still in Australia, you can travel offshore before your student visa expires, and the BVB will activate upon student visa expiration even if you're outside the country. Then you can re-enter on the BVB when you're ready, however remember you must be back in Australia when DIBP is ready to grant the 485, as you can only be granted that visa while in Australia. Keep in touch with DIBP while you're outside, and make sure they can contact you to advise you of the 485 ready to grant if that happens.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your reply, Mark.

I'm afraid i still need a few more clarifications:
1. It does not matter if i return to australia before or after my student visa expires as long as I am granted a BVB?

2. DIBP will grant me a BVB even when my student visa has not expired? In other words, I will not have issue applying for and being granted a BVB while my student visa has not expired?

3. It sounds like a bad idea going back to home country while my visa is processing. I will go back to my home country for not more than 1 and a half month. Will this have effect on my 485 application? I have nominated to be contacted via email. When they are ready to grant me, will they check whether i am in Australia or not? and will they contact me if i am not in australia instead of rejecting my application?

I really can't thank you enough for answering these questions which can't be found on the immi website.


----------



## ahn

Hi Mark, 
I do apology in advance if there are posts related to my questions already.
I'm applying for my 801 partner visa as I'm 2 months away from my eligibility date. Could I please ask you few questions regarding to the applying process
1. Do I need to provide an overseas penal certificate if I did not go oversea since I was granted 820?
2. I'm applying online so should I submit my application right on my eligibility date or I can submit anytime prior the eligibility date?
Thank you so much for your time!!!


----------



## vasudevdchavan

*Spelling Mistake in Surname*

Respected Sir,

I am planning to apply for Australian PR - Session 189.

My SSLC(10th) marks card has a spelling mistake.
Original name: "Vasudev Chavan" and in marks cards its "Vasudev Chawan".
In PUC(12) the name has no issue its "Vasudev Chavan".
For engineering again the same mistake "Vasudev Chawan".

Sir i would like to know is there any legal way via affidavit which can support me in proving that both the name are same.
Because i am planning to apply for Skill assessment and all documents are ready expect this major mistake which happened during my school days.
Also in parallel i am working on getting a permanent solution but it needs more time so i am looking for an alternative which can help me.

Thanks & Regards,
Vasudev Chavan


----------



## rose2014

Hi Mark,

we have applied for PMV and waiting for a decision. We do understand that , we can only get married, once i get the visa and activating it. but we are hoping to have our traditional ceremony according to an auspicious time , in my country, where my parents and siblings can attend. But we will only sign the legal marraige papers, in australia, after getting the visa. My question is, will this be ok? and can we use these pics as evidents for marraige pics, for the 820 visa, even though we took these pics before we got legally married in australia. becuase we wont be having another party or celebration in aus ,when we sign the papers, as we dont have our families in here. 

second question is, i've been advised by the CO, that our application will be reviewed within 10months. Is that from the day , they rcvd the app or from the date, they assigned the app to senior officer's queue? the reason, i want to ask this is, there's a 2months gap between the submission date and final queue allocation. I have rcvd that email from the CO, stating the 10months, after she assigned our app to seniors officer. 

looking forward to hear from you soon, Mark.

Thank you so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

See below at ***:



killtheoriginal said:


> Thanks for your reply, Mark.
> 
> I'm afraid i still need a few more clarifications:
> 1. It does not matter if i return to australia before or after my student visa expires as long as I am granted a BVB? *** Correct - the BVB needs to be granted before you depart Australia however.
> 
> 2. DIBP will grant me a BVB even when my student visa has not expired? In other words, I will not have issue applying for and being granted a BVB while my student visa has not expired? *** Correct, as long as you have already applied for the 485 and the BVA has been issued. Then you apply to DIBP to have the unactivated BVA turned into an unactivated BVB. The BVB then activates whenever the student visa expires.
> 
> 3. It sounds like a bad idea going back to home country while my visa is processing. I will go back to my home country for not more than 1 and a half month. Will this have effect on my 485 application? I have nominated to be contacted via email. When they are ready to grant me, will they check whether i am in Australia or not? and will they contact me if i am not in australia instead of rejecting my application? *** They will normally contact you and let you know the visa is ready for grant, to give you an opportunity to return to Australia so the visa can be granted. You may also want to submit a letter with your 485 informing them of the beginning/end dates of your trip, etc as an added safeguard to let them know.
> 
> I really can't thank you enough for answering these questions which can't be found on the immi website.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ahn -

Re: overseas police cert, you can generally wait for them to ask for these if they need them - most of the time if you have not been overseas they will not ask for them. Re: submission date, suggest on or after your eligibility date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ahn said:


> Hi Mark,
> I do apology in advance if there are posts related to my questions already.
> I'm applying for my 801 partner visa as I'm 2 months away from my eligibility date. Could I please ask you few questions regarding to the applying process
> 1. Do I need to provide an overseas penal certificate if I did not go oversea since I was granted 820?
> 2. I'm applying online so should I submit my application right on my eligibility date or I can submit anytime prior the eligibility date?
> Thank you so much for your time!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vasudev -

Thanks for the question. There is no specific procedure, but you could include a letter with your application pointing out the mistakes. If there was some sort of a letter from the school(s) involved that could be available that would be better, but even without the letter I think it's unlikely they will give you a problem over that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vasudevdchavan said:


> Respected Sir,
> 
> I am planning to apply for Australian PR - Session 189.
> 
> My SSLC(10th) marks card has a spelling mistake.
> Original name: "Vasudev Chavan" and in marks cards its "Vasudev Chawan".
> In PUC(12) the name has no issue its "Vasudev Chavan".
> For engineering again the same mistake "Vasudev Chawan".
> 
> Sir i would like to know is there any legal way via affidavit which can support me in proving that both the name are same.
> Because i am planning to apply for Skill assessment and all documents are ready expect this major mistake which happened during my school days.
> Also in parallel i am working on getting a permanent solution but it needs more time so i am looking for an alternative which can help me.
> 
> Thanks & Regards,
> Vasudev Chavan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rose2014 -

That may work as long as the only LEGAL marriage ceremony (ie, recognised by Australian law) is done during the period the visa is granted (ie, within 9 months after the visa is granted) - that's a condition of the visa. The ceremony outside Australia would be essentially a pre-marriage religious ceremony of some kind. OK for pictures, however I wouldn't refer to the ceremony as a "marriage".

Re: processing time, completely unpredictable, I would not depend on any estimates provided by DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rose2014 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> we have applied for PMV and waiting for a decision. We do understand that , we can only get married, once i get the visa and activating it. but we are hoping to have our traditional ceremony according to an auspicious time , in my country, where my parents and siblings can attend. But we will only sign the legal marraige papers, in australia, after getting the visa. My question is, will this be ok? and can we use these pics as evidents for marraige pics, for the 820 visa, even though we took these pics before we got legally married in australia. becuase we wont be having another party or celebration in aus ,when we sign the papers, as we dont have our families in here.
> 
> second question is, i've been advised by the CO, that our application will be reviewed within 10months. Is that from the day , they rcvd the app or from the date, they assigned the app to senior officer's queue? the reason, i want to ask this is, there's a 2months gap between the submission date and final queue allocation. I have rcvd that email from the CO, stating the 10months, after she assigned our app to seniors officer.
> 
> looking forward to hear from you soon, Mark.
> 
> Thank you so much


----------



## Nigel

Hi Mark,

First I just want to say how amazing it is that you do this, it is so kind of you to offer your time like this to help people. So please keep it up and know what a difference you are making in peoples lives!

So currently I applied for an 820 Partner Visa almost a year ago and I am still waiting on my decision, hopefully some point this year!
My question is, if and when the visa comes back approved would there be any consequences if myself and my partner went and lived overseas for a year or so?

We are still quite young and are wanting to go and do some traveling and visit my family in England but I'm hoping that this won't cause an issue with Immigration.

Kind Regards,
Nigel


----------



## bubu_australia

*Wife got Seperated*

Hi Mark,

I was married for 4 years and I have got my PR 6 months ago.

My spouse relationship was not going well from the beginning and recently we decided to get separated.

I was the main applicant, My question is I want to cancel by wife PR cause she is not coming to australia and I want to sponsor my second wife for PR.

Please advise.

Regards,

Adnan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nigel -

Thanks for the kind words! Generally no problem with a year overseas - when it's time to continue your application for the 801 (2 years after initial application date), you'll probably want to be back in Australia so you can demonstrate an intention to live in Australia. After that, the next time you'll want to think about this is 5 years after the grant of your 801 - if you're not a citizen yet, and if you have spent 2 years of those 5 years in Australia, that would likely qualify you for a subclass 155 Resident Return Visa, whereas less time than that in Australia during the 5 years may make getting a RRV more difficult.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nigel said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First I just want to say how amazing it is that you do this, it is so kind of you to offer your time like this to help people. So please keep it up and know what a difference you are making in peoples lives!
> 
> So currently I applied for an 820 Partner Visa almost a year ago and I am still waiting on my decision, hopefully some point this year!
> My question is, if and when the visa comes back approved would there be any consequences if myself and my partner went and lived overseas for a year or so?
> 
> We are still quite young and are wanting to go and do some traveling and visit my family in England but I'm hoping that this won't cause an issue with Immigration.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Nigel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adnan -

Would need to know specifically what visa (subclass) you received your PR on in order to assist, also not clear about "cancel by wife PR" means - can you explain?

Thanks,

Mark Northam



bubu_australia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was married for 4 years and I have got my PR 6 months ago.
> 
> My spouse relationship was not going well from the beginning and recently we decided to get separated.
> 
> I was the main applicant, My question is I want to cancel by wife PR cause she is not coming to australia and I want to sponsor my second wife for PR.
> 
> Please advise.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Adnan


----------



## bubu_australia

Hi Mark,

I got PR on subclass 189, what I meant to say In order to get PR for my newly second wife do I have to cancel PR for my first separated wife.

Again, I am the main applicant here.

Thanks,

Adnan.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Adnan -
> 
> Would need to know specifically what visa (subclass) you received your PR on in order to assist, also not clear about "cancel by wife PR" means - can you explain?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## tidoo

Hi Mark

I am applying for a student visa 573 to study pharmacy and I will be getting married in June 2015. Do I include my fiancee details on the 573 form now although she will not be accompanying me?

She is planning to apply for skilled migration 189 visa after our official marriage in June 2015. She is currently waiting for her Ielts results to do her skills assessment and apply to AHPRA etc. As she will be the primary applicant then, will I have any problems with my student visa if I am included on the 189 visa as a secondary applicant?

Thank-you and Best Regards.
Kish Naidu


----------



## dpetlin

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dpetlin -
> 
> Thanks for the question. There is a huge difference in the eyes of DIBP between a girlfriend and a defacto partner - girlfriends are not permitted to be secondary applicants on student visas, etc. Defacto partners require substantial evidence to prove living together and the genuineness of an ongoing defacto partner relationship.
> 
> Re: adding your partner to your student visa, suggest you consult with a migration agent to determine what relevant relationship evidence you may be able to provide to prove the relationship to DIBP. Also, with a student visa, you may need to show that the defacto relationship began (or got to the defacto level) after your student visa application was made, as there are specific regulations re: inability to add a spouse or partner if the relationship was in place at the time of student visa but was undeclared on the visa application.
> 
> Re: adding parents as dependents on a student visa application, generally not possible since in most cases being married makes a person ineligible to be a dependent. In the case of an unmarried parent, may be possible if you can provide evidence of financial dependence and a number of other factors - not easy.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot for respond! 
You clarified some important points for me! Just a couple of tiny questions to make the situation clear completely. As I understood, we can mention to migration agent that we've been together before I applied for student visa, but defacto relationship began after I applied, is it correct? If you can give an evaluation, what are the chances to prove defacto relationship in our case (we practically lived together right before I went to Aus last february, then 3 months in Aus, then a month of holidays back in Russia)?
And a mostly ridiculous question, how do I contact with a specific migration agent to begin all the process?

Thanks in advance.
Best regards,

Dan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adnan -

Answer is no, however it's also important to note that if your first wife has already been granted a PR visa (189), you cannot cancel it anyway, and her PR would stand regardless of whether your relationship broke down after the 189 visa was granted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bubu_australia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I got PR on subclass 189, what I meant to say In order to get PR for my newly second wife do I have to cancel PR for my first separated wife.
> 
> Again, I am the main applicant here.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Adnan.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kish -

Thanks for the questions. Re: including her on your 573 visa, if she is only your fiance at the time of applying for the student visa, then she would not generally be considered as a family member so you do not need to list her. Re: any problems with your student visa if you are listed as a secondary applicant on her 189, I don't see any issues - once the 189 is issued, it would replace your student visa and you would then be a permanent resident of Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tidoo said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am applying for a student visa 573 to study pharmacy and I will be getting married in June 2015. Do I include my fiancee details on the 573 form now although she will not be accompanying me?
> 
> She is planning to apply for skilled migration 189 visa after our official marriage in June 2015. She is currently waiting for her Ielts results to do her skills assessment and apply to AHPRA etc. As she will be the primary applicant then, will I have any problems with my student visa if I am included on the 189 visa as a secondary applicant?
> 
> Thank-you and Best Regards.
> Kish Naidu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dan -

Yes, that sounds right. Re: an evaluation, I'm a registered migration agent and would be happy to see you at a consultation and evaluate your circumstances and evidence - see our website in my signature below, then click on "Professional Consultation".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dpetlin said:


> Thanks a lot for respond!
> You clarified some important points for me! Just a couple of tiny questions to make the situation clear completely. As I understood, we can mention to migration agent that we've been together before I applied for student visa, but defacto relationship began after I applied, is it correct? If you can give an evaluation, what are the chances to prove defacto relationship in our case (we practically lived together right before I went to Aus last february, then 3 months in Aus, then a month of holidays back in Russia)?
> And a mostly ridiculous question, how do I contact with a specific migration agent to begin all the process?
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> Best regards,
> 
> Dan


----------



## killtheoriginal

MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> See below at ***:


Thanks so much for your help, Mark.

You said _"They will normally contact you and let you know the visa is ready for grant, to give you an opportunity to return to Australia so the visa can be granted. You may also want to submit a letter with your 485 informing them of the beginning/end dates of your trip, etc as an added safeguard to let them know."_

By submitting the letter to DIBP informing my traveling dates, do you mean mailing them a letter? Can i mail to any offices in Australia or does it have to be, for example, Adelaide office? Or can i do it by email? If so, would you be able to tell me the email address please?

THanks!


----------



## Keng

Hello,

I am a holder of an Australia Visa Sub-class 600 and it DOES NOT HAVE a condition of " 8503-No Further Stay". It allows me to stay in Australia for 3 months. I am from Philippines, and my country is on the high-risk list. I have a girlfriend here and she is a citizen in Australia.

Our long distance relationship started last January 2014 and we met in July 2014 she visited me in the Philippines. and I visited her here in Melbourne last October 2014 now where living together for more than 3 months. We decided to apply for a partner visa before my Visa 600 ends in April 2015. 

Question:

1. Can I apply onshore for partner visa even if we have not living together for 12 months?

Our proof of relationship.
>calls, video calls, letters and emails since January 2014
>travel together and pictures with Family and Friends in the Philippines since July 2014
>Joint Bank accts since I got here last October 2014
>Letters from banks, companies etc showing we lived together.
>Travel together (Cinemas, restaurant, hotels)
>Relationship Certificate issued in Melbourne (January 2015)


----------



## Suria

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Anna -
> 
> Difficult to assess the evidence without seeing it; an intention with no evidence may be difficult - I'd try and get as much documentary evidence of commitments and obligations in Australia, evidence of making arrangements to live there, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, thanks for all your advices. They are all very helpful to me. I am now waiting for audit process. Will consider the reapply if need be. Do you know how long normally audit process take?


----------



## htcerica

Dear Mark:
you are so kind!!!
THANK YOU for your answers^^
I just got a new question that relay to my student visa
since my course will ends on 9th of June but student visa expires on 1st of October (I change school before),do I need to apply the new course to fill the gap or I can just wait till BVA kick in?
Thanks!!



htcerica said:


> Hello Mark
> This is Erica
> I lodged a partner visa application 2 months ago and now I'm still under the student visa conditions.
> my question is that I will travel oversea for 2 weeks during study period on April,the school already calculate the classes that I will miss during travel and it still above 80% attendance,just in case,should I apply bridge visa B and inform immigration for that? my student visa will ends on October.
> Thank you!!~~~~


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Keng -

Would have to look at your evidence at a consultation to give you specific advice re: chances for success at a partner visa. 12 month living together requirement is automatically satisfied by a registered relationship certificate, however I'm concerned you may not have received the correct one, as in VIC it requires 12 months residency which it does not sound like the applicant has...? See my website in my signature below if you'd like to book a consultation to go through your case in details -

Best,

Mark Northam



Keng said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am a holder of an Australia Visa Sub-class 600 and it DOES NOT HAVE a condition of " 8503-No Further Stay". It allows me to stay in Australia for 3 months. I am from Philippines, and my country is on the high-risk list. I have a girlfriend here and she is a citizen in Australia.
> 
> Our long distance relationship started last January 2014 and we met in July 2014 she visited me in the Philippines. and I visited her here in Melbourne last October 2014 now where living together for more than 3 months. We decided to apply for a partner visa before my Visa 600 ends in April 2015.
> 
> Question:
> 
> 1. Can I apply onshore for partner visa even if we have not living together for 12 months?
> 
> Our proof of relationship.
> >calls, video calls, letters and emails since January 2014
> >travel together and pictures with Family and Friends in the Philippines since July 2014
> >Joint Bank accts since I got here last October 2014
> >Letters from banks, companies etc showing we lived together.
> >Travel together (Cinemas, restaurant, hotels)
> >Relationship Certificate issued in Melbourne (January 2015)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Suria -

Thanks for the kind words. The application assessment process is not predictable re: DIBP timeframe - wish I could help, but they are very unpredictable.

Best,

Mark



Suria said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for all your advices. They are all very helpful to me. I am now waiting for audit process. Will consider the reapply if need be. Do you know how long normally audit process take?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Htcerica -

Thanks for the kind words! Normally DIBP will not cancel a student visa if you've lodged another substantive visa application. In your case, would probably wait (if you don't want to apply for a new course) - if DIBP contacts you re: cancellation, you would then point out to them that you have a partner visa lodged, and please not to cancel the student visa. However if there was another course in your original CoE that you didn't attend, the school may report that and that could trigger the cancellation process. But normally if you have another visa application lodged, DIBP just lets the student visa expire on its own.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



htcerica said:


> Dear Mark:
> you are so kind!!!
> THANK YOU for your answers^^
> I just got a new question that relay to my student visa
> since my course will ends on 9th of June but student visa expires on 1st of October (I change school before),do I need to apply the new course to fill the gap or I can just wait till BVA kick in?
> Thanks!!


----------



## MarkNortham

I'd send it to the office that is processing your visa application (see the address/office on any letters that they sent you) - also you could upload it to your 485 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



killtheoriginal said:


> Thanks so much for your help, Mark.
> 
> You said _"They will normally contact you and let you know the visa is ready for grant, to give you an opportunity to return to Australia so the visa can be granted. You may also want to submit a letter with your 485 informing them of the beginning/end dates of your trip, etc as an added safeguard to let them know."_
> 
> By submitting the letter to DIBP informing my traveling dates, do you mean mailing them a letter? Can i mail to any offices in Australia or does it have to be, for example, Adelaide office? Or can i do it by email? If so, would you be able to tell me the email address please?
> 
> THanks!


----------



## Danjing

Hi Mark, 

People guided me here to ask you, cause you are an expert to any question. Thanks in advance.

My fiancee is in Singapore, I am in Australia. Cause we want to sign the NOIM and get it lodged before she come to Australia, so we can plan a quick marriage ceremony when she come (she tourist visa has 1 month maximum stay limit). Our plan is get a Australian Diplomatic Officer from Australia Embassy in Singapore signed as witness for her, and post the NOIM to me, and I can get my celebrant signed, then lodge.

However, ask she ask the Australia Embassy in Singapore, the officer told she that they need a notice from some "organization" to show she need to do it in Singapore, but we just lost our mind, what "organization" they meant, and where can we get a notice, do you think my marriage celebrant can make a notice for us?

Appreciate any kind of help.


----------



## ahmedwk

Hi Mark,
Is it possible that immigration officers at the airport may refuse entry for a pregnant tourist (subclass 600) if they suspected that she is here for baby delivery (and yes the husband,myself, is a PR holder)?
I have private medical insurance that will cover any birth related costs.
Thanks


----------



## shambles

Hi Mark

Thank you for giving your time to this forum! I hope you will be able to help I have a few questions re: secondary application to my partners 457 visa!

My partner has been offered a job on a 457 Visa in Sydney. His company are willing to have me added to it. We however do not class as defacto at the moment. It has been suggested that we 'register our relationship' with the NSW government (automatically making us defacto and voiding the 12 month period usually needed). It has been suggested that we fill these out together in the UK and once he is in Australia he can register us. It will take 28 days for a certificate to be processed and following that we can apply for me to be added onto his 457.

What I was wondering was-
Do you know hold long this process could take for my visa to be granted?
Can I do it while in Australia? i.e. go out on a tourist visa and then be put on a bridging visa.
and the touch costs this may incur? 

Would greatly appreciate any help!
Thanks
Emma


----------



## aomar

*Skilled Employment Duration Calculation*

Hi Mark

On Jan, 19 I received my Qualification & Employment assessment result letter from Australian Computer Society, in employment assessment part the letter says:

*The following employment after December 2011 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately
skilled level and relevant to 261313 (Software Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.

Dates: 12/09 - 12/14 (5yrs 0mths)
Position: Software Engineer
Employer: Informatique (S.A.E.)
Country: EGYPT*

And as it's showing they counted from Dec. 2009 to Dec.2011 as only 2 years (I think there is a missing month ).

Accordingly and as the letter says, my Skilled Employment Duration starts from January 2012 and ends by December 2014.

My question is:

How will DIBP calculate my Skilled Employment duration? Is this will give me a 3 years of skilled employment or not?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## KhurramS

Hi Mark

I had posted a question earlier which you might have accidently missed due to the high volume of questions in this thread. I was trying to find a suitable job category to apply under as I work as an Anti Money Laundry and Compliance Manager with above 6 years of work experience. The closest match i found was 224412 (policy analysts). In your opinion, can i apply under this group or do you suggest another code?

Regards,
Khurram


----------



## 530i

Hey Mark, recently got my refund from my university and quitting school on my 573 (TU) visa, im going to immigration Brisbane Friday to cancel my student visa as i have applied for 820 visa, i wish to go on bridging e visa, with working condition approval, my partner is a miner who has been out of work for 2 months now, although i have some savings how do you advise i approach being approved for the work conditions?

i have my tuition fees in savings and my partner and me normally support each other, due to his financial hardship at the moment and contract mine work is it acceptable to claim that i need to work for the terms that we both support each other? rather then him supporting me as stated in the 820 visa?

Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ahmedwk:

My view: possible but not likely as you are a PR holder, assuming you disclosed the pregnancy if the question was asked as part of the visitor visa application, etc.

Best,

Mark



ahmedwk said:


> Hi Mark,
> Is it possible that immigration officers at the airport may refuse entry for a pregnant tourist (subclass 600) if they suspected that she is here for baby delivery (and yes the husband,myself, is a PR holder)?
> I have private medical insurance that will cover any birth related costs.
> Thanks


----------



## virginiap

Hi Mark, 

My partner and I have been together for almost 4 years and are applying for the partner visa on-shore. I have read on here that some people who have been together for longer than 2yrs they have been sent straight through PR. Is that possible, or is it because they might be off-shore?
And if it is possible, do we have to explicitly ask them to consider us to PR and provide all the appropriate documentation? 

Thank you again, 

Virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma -

Thanks for the question. 12-month living together is not a requirement for the 457 visa for defacto relationships, however registering your relationship would help as an additional piece of relationship evidence to prove your defacto relationship. Re: visa processing times - for 457's, typically 4-6 weeks but DIBP is very unpredictable. Cost is $1,035 for an adult applicant for 457 - more on DIBP website on that. You can be onshore or offshore if you are applying to be added onto an existing 457 visa. If you are applying at the same time as your partner, you both should be in the same place when applying.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shambles said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for giving your time to this forum! I hope you will be able to help I have a few questions re: secondary application to my partners 457 visa!
> 
> My partner has been offered a job on a 457 Visa in Sydney. His company are willing to have me added to it. We however do not class as defacto at the moment. It has been suggested that we 'register our relationship' with the NSW government (automatically making us defacto and voiding the 12 month period usually needed). It has been suggested that we fill these out together in the UK and once he is in Australia he can register us. It will take 28 days for a certificate to be processed and following that we can apply for me to be added onto his 457.
> 
> What I was wondering was-
> Do you know hold long this process could take for my visa to be granted?
> Can I do it while in Australia? i.e. go out on a tourist visa and then be put on a bridging visa.
> and the touch costs this may incur?
> 
> Would greatly appreciate any help!
> Thanks
> Emma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aomar -

Assuming you can evidence the employment with pay slips or equivalent, ACS is saying that your employment for 3 years starting Jan 2012 is skilled, so you should be able to claim that for points, plus you could claim any further time you're still at that same job/position after the ACS-assessed period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aomar said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> On Jan, 19 I received my Qualification & Employment assessment result letter from Australian Computer Society, in employment assessment part the letter says:
> 
> *The following employment after December 2011 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately
> skilled level and relevant to 261313 (Software Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Dates: 12/09 - 12/14 (5yrs 0mths)
> Position: Software Engineer
> Employer: Informatique (S.A.E.)
> Country: EGYPT*
> 
> And as it's showing they counted from Dec. 2009 to Dec.2011 as only 2 years (I think there is a missing month ).
> 
> Accordingly and as the letter says, my Skilled Employment Duration starts from January 2012 and ends by December 2014.
> 
> My question is:
> 
> How will DIBP calculate my Skilled Employment duration? Is this will give me a 3 years of skilled employment or not?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KhurramS -

Sorry if I missed your question earlier - I would need to research your work history and the tasks/duties/responsibilities of each relevant job and compare that to the ANZSCO definition in order to give you any sort of an opinion on occupation code option(s) for you - not simple or quick, but this is what DIBP will do (ie, compare your education and work experience to the ANZSCO definition) and the skills assessor will do as part of any skilled visa application. Happy to assist in a consultation - see website below for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KhurramS said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I had posted a question earlier which you might have accidently missed due to the high volume of questions in this thread. I was trying to find a suitable job category to apply under as I work as an Anti Money Laundry and Compliance Manager with above 6 years of work experience. The closest match i found was 224412 (policy analysts). In your opinion, can i apply under this group or do you suggest another code?
> 
> Regards,
> Khurram


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 530i -

Once you have the BV-E, you can then apply to have work rights added to it. Not sure how the case officer will assess your partner's situation (ie, likelihood he will get another job), and they may expect you to burn through your savings before they will give you work rights - they've been getting tougher on this lately from what I can tell. I'd try and stress the current situation with him having no income, and see how they react.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



530i said:


> Hey Mark, recently got my refund from my university and quitting school on my 573 (TU) visa, im going to immigration Brisbane Friday to cancel my student visa as i have applied for 820 visa, i wish to go on bridging e visa, with working condition approval, my partner is a miner who has been out of work for 2 months now, although i have some savings how do you advise i approach being approved for the work conditions?
> 
> i have my tuition fees in savings and my partner and me normally support each other, due to his financial hardship at the moment and contract mine work is it acceptable to claim that i need to work for the terms that we both support each other? rather then him supporting me as stated in the 820 visa?
> 
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginiap -

Partner relationship that have been at that level (ie, partners, not boyfriend/girlfriend, etc) for 3 years (with no children) or 2 years (with a child) are eligible as long-term partner relationships and may, at the case officer's discretion, be granted the PR partner straight away without having to be first granted the provisional partner visa. I would upload a letter to the partner application giving the dates involved and requesting the PR visa on the basis of a long-term partner relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



virginiap said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I have been together for almost 4 years and are applying for the partner visa on-shore. I have read on here that some people who have been together for longer than 2yrs they have been sent straight through PR. Is that possible, or is it because they might be off-shore?
> And if it is possible, do we have to explicitly ask them to consider us to PR and provide all the appropriate documentation?
> 
> Thank you again,
> 
> Virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Danjing -

Not sure what they are referring to by "organisation" either, however I'd see if the celebrant can write a letter saying that because of the 1-month duration of the visitor visa, the NOIM must be filed before she arrives in order to be processed and available for use during the 1-month visitor visa term.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Danjing said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> People guided me here to ask you, cause you are an expert to any question. Thanks in advance.
> 
> My fiancee is in Singapore, I am in Australia. Cause we want to sign the NOIM and get it lodged before she come to Australia, so we can plan a quick marriage ceremony when she come (she tourist visa has 1 month maximum stay limit). Our plan is get a Australian Diplomatic Officer from Australia Embassy in Singapore signed as witness for her, and post the NOIM to me, and I can get my celebrant signed, then lodge.
> 
> However, ask she ask the Australia Embassy in Singapore, the officer told she that they need a notice from some "organization" to show she need to do it in Singapore, but we just lost our mind, what "organization" they meant, and where can we get a notice, do you think my marriage celebrant can make a notice for us?
> 
> Appreciate any kind of help.


----------



## 530i

MarkNortham said:


> Hi 530i -
> 
> Once you have the BV-E, you can then apply to have work rights added to it. Not sure how the case officer will assess your partner's situation (ie, likelihood he will get another job), and they may expect you to burn through your savings before they will give you work rights - they've been getting tougher on this lately from what I can tell. I'd try and stress the current situation with him having no income, and see how they react.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best
> 
> Mark Northam


Will do an will keep you posted cheers.


----------



## Jille Lelong

Good afternoon Mark,

hope your day is going well.

I have some questions and was hoping you could help me out.

I am on a working holiday visa and my girlfriend is on a 457. We are looking into the possibility to add myself to that 457 as a de facto partner. We already registered our relationship at the NSW government and are collecting all the necessary evidence. As her company needs to extend their obligations to me and confirm this in a letter, they are having some questions. The most important one is, who has to pay the visa application fees? I am of the opinion that my girlfriend and I can pay these? They think the company needs to pay. Could you clarify this for us? Or point to some official immi website where it states who has to pay?

Thank you in advance,

Jille


----------



## JonDoe

*ACS reduced years- Should I risk applying?*

Hi Mark,
I have a total 14 years experience in ICT. The first few years I worked as a developer and then a few years ago shifted to doing work that can qualify as a ICT BA(261111).

After applying to ACS for certification as a ICT- BA they identified 11 years as BA but shaved off 4 years (I assume due to my qualification) which makes my experience as BA 11- 4 = 7 years. The rest of my development years were not considered as they were not work related to ICT-Business Analyst.

Now when I am applying to EOI if I consider the full 11 years my points come to 65. If I consider only 7 years my points come to 60.

I am getting a mixed suggestion from people. Some people say that I can apply with 65 points and then discuss my case with the CO. Others say that it could be rejected as there have been such cases in the past.

My questions are
1) What is the chance that the CO would be convinced and would accept my points as 65
2) In case of my rejection would I loose 100% of my visa fees(Me+spouse+2 kids) or would I be able to get some refund.

Waiting for your reply.

Thanks


----------



## phuhle1104

*visa 189 application*

Dear Mark,

I have a question regarding to the application of visa 189. I have got married and plan to apply visa 189 in April. However, my wife does not want to move to Australia in the next few years. Do I need to include her in the application of 189? What documents in these categories (financial aspects; the nature of the household; social context of the relationship; and the nature of your commitment to each other) do I need to provide for the genuine relationship or just a marriage certificate? my wife plans to apply for partner visa when I get a job and settle down in Australia?
Regards,

Phu Huu Le


----------



## Claire100

*Subclass 300 health check*

I'm an Australian PR and my fiancé lives in Singapore. We are about to apply for a subclass 300 visa and I am his sponsor. We are in the midst of preparing our documents.

My fiancé is divorced and his ex has full custody of their child. In the Partner Migration handbook, under the health category, it states that even if the applicant's dependants are not included in the visa application, they must still be assessed against the health requirement. However my fiancé does not get to see the child because his ex is making it really difficult for him. What more get the child to do a health check.

Are we able to write a statutory declaration stating that the child is not migrating with my fiancé and that he has no access to the child?
Would appreciate some advice. Thanks Mark!

Claire


----------



## RedondoGirl

*457 Sponsor Questions*

Mark,

Happy New Year and almost Australia Day, woohoo!! 457 questions I'm hoping you can answer 

A biz operating less than 12 months wants to sponsor me. The management team works out of a home office and employees are contractors working in the sales market each day. Do we have to get an outside commercial office or can we still be approved with having a home office?

If we rent a room in another corporation's office, will that suffice? What proof do we need to provide (e.g. utility bills with our name or just an office immigration can visit and take photos of)?

Does my sponsor pay my taxes and super? Where can they find more info about what's required of them?

Thank you very, very much! You rock!!!!

Kind Regards,
RedondoGirl


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JonDoe -

Thanks for the question. You can only claim work that has been assessed as skilled for points - if ACS has disallowed part of the work (as they do), you cannot claim that disallowed work for points. There is no discussion to be done with DIBP over this - it's a black & white issue. The only way to try and reclaim the years ACS disallowed is to appeal the ACS decision and deal with them about it - I'd read their "Summary of Criteria" document very carefully to see if there is room for an appeal depending on your circumstances.

If you are not able to justify all points claimed to DIBP's satisfaction, you will be left with the choice of facing refusal, or having to withdraw your application - no refunds from DIBP in either scenario.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JonDoe said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a total 14 years experience in ICT. The first few years I worked as a developer and then a few years ago shifted to doing work that can qualify as a ICT BA(261111).
> 
> After applying to ACS for certification as a ICT- BA they identified 11 years as BA but shaved off 4 years (I assume due to my qualification) which makes my experience as BA 11- 4 = 7 years. The rest of my development years were not considered as they were not work related to ICT-Business Analyst.
> 
> Now when I am applying to EOI if I consider the full 11 years my points come to 65. If I consider only 7 years my points come to 60.
> 
> I am getting a mixed suggestion from people. Some people say that I can apply with 65 points and then discuss my case with the CO. Others say that it could be rejected as there have been such cases in the past.
> 
> My questions are
> 1) What is the chance that the CO would be convinced and would accept my points as 65
> 2) In case of my rejection would I loose 100% of my visa fees(Me+spouse+2 kids) or would I be able to get some refund.
> 
> Waiting for your reply.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## man41

Hi Mark

I studied the University Study Abroad Year (CRICOS Course Code: 012704B) in 2013 and the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (CRICOS Course Code: 009034F) in 2014. I am now planning to apply for the Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189).

I was only allowed to study the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice if I had completed the 8 law units in The University Study Abroad Year. According to the information on the CRICOS web site, the course level of the University Study Abroad Year is non AQF award. Does it still count towards the 2 years australia study requirement?

The total duration of the two course stated on the CRICOS web site is 77 weeks. Therefore, I have achieved a total of 77 weeks out of the 92 weeks requirement, am I correct?

Thank you for your help in advance.

Yours faithfully

George


----------



## Charles_Haynes

I had a similar situation and after making a good faith effort to get the health check I was able to provide documentary proof (copies of letters, emails, and phone logs) that I had tried to comply but that could not due to non-cooperation of my ex.

Good luck.


----------



## Charles_Haynes

*With respect to ex-spouse not cooperating with obtaining health checks for minor chil*

I had a similar situation and after making a good faith effort to get the health check I was able to provide documentary proof (copies of letters, emails, and phone logs) that I had tried to comply but that could not due to non-cooperation of my ex.

Good luck.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jille -

Thanks for the note. This question has to do with Regulation 2.87 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (you can look this up on AustLII or CommLaw) which deals with 457 sponsors shifting the cost of sponsorship to applicants and prohibits this. However, 2.87 applies to the costs of sponsorship and nomination, but not to the actual 457 visa application fees. Essentially for the 457 program, employers are obligated to pay the costs (including agent, DIBP fees, etc) of the sponsorship and nomination applications, but are not required to pay the visa application fees of the applicant (unless they choose to voluntarily).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jille Lelong said:


> Good afternoon Mark,
> 
> hope your day is going well.
> 
> I have some questions and was hoping you could help me out.
> 
> I am on a working holiday visa and my girlfriend is on a 457. We are looking into the possibility to add myself to that 457 as a de facto partner. We already registered our relationship at the NSW government and are collecting all the necessary evidence. As her company needs to extend their obligations to me and confirm this in a letter, they are having some questions. The most important one is, who has to pay the visa application fees? I am of the opinion that my girlfriend and I can pay these? They think the company needs to pay. Could you clarify this for us? Or point to some official immi website where it states who has to pay?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> 
> Jille


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phuhle -

You could include her as a non-migrating family member in your 189 application. At such point as you wanted her to migrate, you might sponsor her on a partner vis, however this is a more expensive and time-consuming path vs her migrating as a secondary applicant on your 189. At whatever point you would want her to migrate (on partner app, or 189 app), you would need to include substantial relationship evidence to satisfy the 4 major areas - marriage cert alone is not sufficient in either instance. And she would need to have complete health exams for the 189 even if she is a non-migrating family member.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding to the application of visa 189. I have got married and plan to apply visa 189 in April. However, my wife does not want to move to Australia in the next few years. Do I need to include her in the application of 189? What documents in these categories (financial aspects; the nature of the household; social context of the relationship; and the nature of your commitment to each other) do I need to provide for the genuine relationship or just a marriage certificate? my wife plans to apply for partner visa when I get a job and settle down in Australia?
> Regards,
> 
> Phu Huu Le


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Claire100 -

Yes - there's an exception to the health checks regulation that essentially says if the Minister is convinced that it is unreasonable to require health checks of non-migrating family members, that the checks can be waived. I'd put together as much evidence as you can, including dates/times of attempts to contact the ex, any statement from the ex that she will not permit health checks or contact, etc. plus stat dec from the applicant. I expect they will want to somehow confirm the applicant's claims.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Claire100 said:


> I'm an Australian PR and my fiancé lives in Singapore. We are about to apply for a subclass 300 visa and I am his sponsor. We are in the midst of preparing our documents.
> 
> My fiancé is divorced and his ex has full custody of their child. In the Partner Migration handbook, under the health category, it states that even if the applicant's dependants are not included in the visa application, they must still be assessed against the health requirement. However my fiancé does not get to see the child because his ex is making it really difficult for him. What more get the child to do a health check.
> 
> Are we able to write a statutory declaration stating that the child is not migrating with my fiancé and that he has no access to the child?
> Would appreciate some advice. Thanks Mark!
> 
> Claire


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RedondoGirl -

Happy New Year! There is specific requirement that a 457 sponsor operate from a commercial office. However DIBP also needs to see that it is a "real company" that is properly registered and trading, and that there is a genuine need for the position being nominated. Sometimes, depending on the company, having a commercial office helps establish that the company is "real" in the absence of contracts, leases, and other obligations and documents that a company may have, but this is considered on a company-by-company basis.

Yes, your sponsor must pay all employer obligations (ie, super, etc) and you must be paid as an employee, not a contractor.

There are some good lists of 457 sponsor obligations on the DIBP website at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection or you might google "457 sponsor obligations". A registered migration agent can also be very helpful with companies in helping them understand the requirements and obligations of the 457 Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS) application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RedondoGirl said:


> Mark,
> 
> Happy New Year and almost Australia Day, woohoo!! 457 questions I'm hoping you can answer
> 
> A biz operating less than 12 months wants to sponsor me. The management team works out of a home office and employees are contractors working in the sales market each day. Do we have to get an outside commercial office or can we still be approved with having a home office?
> 
> If we rent a room in another corporation's office, will that suffice? What proof do we need to provide (e.g. utility bills with our name or just an office immigration can visit and take photos of)?
> 
> Does my sponsor pay my taxes and super? Where can they find more info about what's required of them?
> 
> Thank you very, very much! You rock!!!!
> 
> Kind Regards,
> RedondoGirl


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Man41 -

Not sure I have all the data here, but see two problems: First, non-award precedent courses or pre-requisites are not counted towards the 92 week requirement, so that would cause a problem with counting the Study Abroad Year course (also, if that study was not undertaken while you were physically in Australia, that would also disallow it - not clear from your post whether this was study in or outside Australia). Plus from your post it sounds like even if the study abroad course was counted, you'd still not have the 92 weeks required. I don't see a way to meet the Australian Study Requirement based on the 2 courses you mentioned. Happy to do a more detailed analysis of your situation in a consultation if you'd like.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



man41 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I studied the University Study Abroad Year (CRICOS Course Code: 012704B) in 2013 and the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (CRICOS Course Code: 009034F) in 2014. I am now planning to apply for the Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189).
> 
> I was only allowed to study the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice if I had completed the 8 law units in The University Study Abroad Year. According to the information on the CRICOS web site, the course level of the University Study Abroad Year is non AQF award. Does it still count towards the 2 years australia study requirement?
> 
> The total duration of the two course stated on the CRICOS web site is 77 weeks. Therefore, I have achieved a total of 77 weeks out of the 92 weeks requirement, am I correct?
> 
> Thank you for your help in advance.
> 
> Yours faithfully
> 
> George


----------



## Polar

Hi Mark,

I have a question if you can find the time. I'm currently on a 457 but am supposed to get a 186 any day now. I was offered to do some research but couldn't accept it as my 457 doesn't allow me to work for anyone except my sponsor (not even for a couple of weeks).

DIBP told me that there are no such conditions on the 186 as long as an effort is made to work for the sponsor. The representative wouldn't say anything else and only quoted what her file said.

My question is a) is it allowed to work with more than one employer on a 186 and b) would I be able to take up the offer from last week if I get my 186, let's say, this week or would that be considered a breach or c) should I only consider one post-186 grant week out of two weeks?

I hope that makes sense.

Thanks in advance,
Polar


----------



## phuhle1104

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your answer. I am still quite confused about the evidence of the relationship. Regarding to your answer, do I need to provide evidence of the genuine relationship if she is a non-migrating family member?

Regards,
Phu



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Phuhle -
> 
> You could include her as a non-migrating family member in your 189 application. At such point as you wanted her to migrate, you might sponsor her on a partner vis, however this is a more expensive and time-consuming path vs her migrating as a secondary applicant on your 189. At whatever point you would want her to migrate (on partner app, or 189 app), you would need to include substantial relationship evidence to satisfy the 4 major areas - marriage cert alone is not sufficient in either instance. And she would need to have complete health exams for the 189 even if she is a non-migrating family member.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Polar -

No work restrictions at all on a 186, other than the employment contract which is a matter between you and your employer. However from a DIBP point of view, there are no work conditions on your visa once granted. If you immediately quit your sponsoring employer after the visa was granted, however, that could raise suspicions that the visa was entered into fraudulently, etc in some cases. But as far as employment in addition to what your 186 nominator provides for you, no restrictions at all on the visa for that.

Re: when you can take up the offer of additional employment, that would be only after your 186 is granted; prior to that you are covered by the 457 which prevents work other than for your current sponsoring employer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Polar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question if you can find the time. I'm currently on a 457 but am supposed to get a 186 any day now. I was offered to do some research but couldn't accept it as my 457 doesn't allow me to work for anyone except my sponsor (not even for a couple of weeks).
> 
> DIBP told me that there are no such conditions on the 186 as long as an effort is made to work for the sponsor. The representative wouldn't say anything else and only quoted what her file said.
> 
> My question is a) is it allowed to work with more than one employer on a 186 and b) would I be able to take up the offer from last week if I get my 186, let's say, this week or would that be considered a breach or c) should I only consider one post-186 grant week out of two weeks?
> 
> I hope that makes sense.
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Polar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phu -

It's a gray area under the regulations, and is within the case officer's discretion if he/she doubts the relationship is genuine (however this is somewhat unlikely with non-migrating dependents). My suggestion would be to include the marriage cert plus whatever basic evidence you can for the 4 evidence types, plus some photos of the two of you together. Beyond that, they will generally ask you if they want more evidence - then it's time to put in everything.

The other issue is to be prepared if/when the case officer enquires as to why your partner is not migrating with you and how you plan to continue your genuine relationship while you're away in Australia, etc. These types of questions have been known to come up sometimes - better to be prepared.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your answer. I am still quite confused about the evidence of the relationship. Regarding to your answer, do I need to provide evidence of the genuine relationship if she is a non-migrating family member? I need to know to start gathering evidence.
> 
> Regards,
> Phu


----------



## man41

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Man41 -
> 
> Not sure I have all the data here, but see two problems: First, non-award precedent courses or pre-requisites are not counted towards the 92 week requirement, so that would cause a problem with counting the Study Abroad Year course (also, if that study was not undertaken while you were physically in Australia, that would also disallow it - not clear from your post whether this was study in or outside Australia). Plus from your post it sounds like even if the study abroad course was counted, you'd still not have the 92 weeks required. I don't see a way to meet the Australian Study Requirement based on the 2 courses you mentioned. Happy to do a more detailed analysis of your situation in a consultation if you'd like.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thank you for your quick reply.

Firstly, the Study Abroad Year course contained a total of 8 units which were at undergraduate level and was completed throughout 2 semesters. So, I thought it counted towards the 92 weeks requirement.

Secondly, I studied both two courses in Queensland while holding a student visa. I am currently working at Brisbane. But my student visa will expire in March. Therefore, I am planning to study a half year course and fulfill the 92 weeks requirements if the Study Abroad Year course counts towards the requirement.

I am now 5 points short of the 60 points requirement. I would have enough points if I got an 8 in IELTS. But I only got a 7 last time. Furthermore, getting sponsored by my firm is not an option because my boss had a bad experience before.

Thank you for answering my queries and I really appreciate your help.

Yours faithfully

George


----------



## Polar

Indeed it helps. Much appreciated.

Of course, I'm not planning to do anything against the rules, but the DIBP seem to be hesitant about providing advice so I just wanted to make sure.

Thanks,
Polar



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Polar -
> 
> No work restrictions at all on a 186, other than the employment contract which is a matter between you and your employer. However from a DIBP point of view, there are no work conditions on your visa once granted. If you immediately quit your sponsoring employer after the visa was granted, however, that could raise suspicions that the visa was entered into fraudulently, etc in some cases. But as far as employment in addition to what your 186 nominator provides for you, no restrictions at all on the visa for that.
> 
> Re: when you can take up the offer of additional employment, that would be only after your 186 is granted; prior to that you are covered by the 457 which prevents work other than for your current sponsoring employer.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Polar -

Glad to help. DIBP is actually not allowed by law to provide migration advice - that's probably reason for the hesitation, etc. Best of luck going forward!

Best,

Mark Northam



Polar said:


> Indeed it helps. Much appreciated.
> 
> Of course, I'm not planning to do anything against the rules, but the DIBP seem to be hesitant about providing advice so I just wanted to make sure.
> 
> Thanks,
> Polar


----------



## Tobby

Hello Mark,

Thank you for taking time to help everyone out!

We are heading for submitting our EOI for a 189 visa, but haven’t done it yet. At the same time we decided to go ahead and arrange our police checks before being requested to do so by DIAC, as it might take some time to obtain. I recently opened Immi Account and tried to find the TFN or any other reference number/ address for the police (overseas and in Australia) to send their summary directly into our account as requested by DIAC. However, I don’t see any of these and do not know how to do it. I want to send the request for a few countries (where my partner was living for more than a year) before we submit our EOI, but do not have an c/o department or case reference number to indicate it as a postal address for the return of the certificate. 
Can you help me please by giving some advice on how to manage it? I am afraid that having sent it to my residential address, DIAC won’t accept it from us and will require for another one later.

Thank you ahead, your help is highly appreciated 

Tobby


----------



## JonDoe

*ICT Business Analyst Trends 189*

Hi Mark,
Last cycle , 9 Jan 2015, we saw that people who logged EOI for ICT Business Analyst even on 8 Jan 2015(1 day before the invitation date) and having 60 points got invited.
There also seemed to be an update of the quota of ICT Business Analyst and System Analyst which became 1300 filled out of 1600 for the year.
Not sure how suddenly so many people got an invite. In your experience does this happen frequently or this is a one off incident ?

Based on your experience, whats the chance that ICT Business Analyst with 60 points can get invited in the next few rounds.


----------



## HarryMSIA

*Visitor to Patner*

Hi Mark ,

My Harri here.I am a PR here is Australia. I would like to bring my gf to stay with me here permanently.She is from Malaysia and we have been in relationship for more than 3 years.
Due to cultural difference we did not stay together , but have evidence of

>calls, video calls, letters and emails since 3 years back
>travel together and pictures with Family and Friends in the Malaysia since 3 years back
>>>Travel together (Cinemas, restaurant, hotels)
>Birthday present receives
>Phone bills from a year back.

What would be the quickest way to do this>?

She is going to come in tourist ETA in March 2015.
I would like to apply an onshore partner visa , can a partner visa be applied when your are on tourist visa .Will she be granted a Bridging visa A? 
I don't mind she there is no work right immediately. As long as she here with me i'm fine. To save cost on going out of country every 3 months and getting back in .


----------



## SqOats

Hi Mark,

Finally today i received first email from visa officer after 2 months of lodging the visa 573 application. She has requested for FORM 80 which i will submit max by tomorrow. My question is, is it possible to get visa in time after asking for FORM 80 as my classes are starting from 16 feb 2015 . As per my knowledge, they ask FORM 80 for external security check which takes ages to clear. Also, is it normal to ask for form 80 from a student applicant.

Thanks,


----------



## saroj85

*Incomplete ICAA Assessment*

Dear Mark,
I am a Chartered Accountant with 4 years of external audit experience after completion of Chartered Accountancy Course. My CA is not among list of Recognised accounting qualifications of ICAA.

I first did a 3 years Bachelor in Business degree (from AB University) and after that joined CA which is a 3 years course. AB University has given a Master's equivalency certificate for my CA after Bachelor in Business degree.

I had submitted an application to ICAA for skill + qualification assessment with detail syllabus and mark sheet of my Bachelor degree, CA degree and Master's equivalency certificate of AB University.

Today I received an assessment from ICAA stating "Your Bachelor of Business from AB University is assessed as comparable to at least the level of an Australian Associate Degree based on AEI-NOOSR guidelines. As your qualifications are not recognised as being comparable to at least an Australian Bachelor degree, you have been assessed by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand as not suitable for nominated occupation classification."

The letter does not state anything about my CA qualification. Would this mean that their assessment of my CA qualification was negative? Even in that case, isn't it necessary to refer to my CA qualification in their assessment report? Would it be possible that ICAA did not consider all my documents in their review? My this question is because one month after my application, they send me a mail saying they didn't find my IELTS result and application form and so I resend these documents again.

One of my friend with similar case had submitted an application to VETASSESS for assessment for internal auditor with the same documents referred above. And his qualification was assessed as Bachelor equivalent by VETASSESS.

I would be grateful if you could advise on this.


----------



## roryjenkins

Hi Mark Rory here again well we've just stopped celebrating enough from getting my wife & sons partner visa granted a couple of days ago ! However now I've read the grant letter properly my wife has been granted a 309 temp visa, as we have been together for nearly 6 years (married for over 3) & have a 4yo I was led to believe she would be granted a 100 PR visa immediately ? Could this just be an admin cock up, for want of a better phrase!, or is this normal ? It's just when we arrive in Oz my wife wants to apply to join Vic Police & PR is the minimum requirement so we could do without the 2yr wait. Once again many thanks for taking the time for giving your greatly appreciated advice to us all.
Rory Jenkins


----------



## SerendipitousNomads

*Do the Applicant and Sponsor need to provide Statutory Declarations for online apps?*

Hi Mark,

Could you tell me if the Sponsor and Applicant need to provide statutory declarations if they have applied online?
It seems that all the information they ask you to provide on this form https://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/forms/partner/_pdf/stat_dec_applicant.pdf is the same as the questions in the 40sp and Applicant's application.

Can you please clarify?
Thanks, 
Bea


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tobby -

Thanks for the question. You'll get a TRN once you start your application, however normally police clearance certificates (PCCs) are sent to the applicant, then the applicant does a colour scan of the cert and uploads to the application along with the other documents necessary (passport, etc). In some cases DIBP will ask that the certificate itself be sent to them, but this is fairly rare and usually done by overseas posts for some reason.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tobby said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you for taking time to help everyone out!
> 
> We are heading for submitting our EOI for a 189 visa, but haven't done it yet. At the same time we decided to go ahead and arrange our police checks before being requested to do so by DIAC, as it might take some time to obtain. I recently opened Immi Account and tried to find the TFN or any other reference number/ address for the police (overseas and in Australia) to send their summary directly into our account as requested by DIAC. However, I don't see any of these and do not know how to do it. I want to send the request for a few countries (where my partner was living for more than a year) before we submit our EOI, but do not have an c/o department or case reference number to indicate it as a postal address for the return of the certificate.
> Can you help me please by giving some advice on how to manage it? I am afraid that having sent it to my residential address, DIAC won't accept it from us and will require for another one later.
> 
> Thank you ahead, your help is highly appreciated
> 
> Tobby


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JonDoe -

Wish I could help, but DIBP just doesn't release enough info for us to predict how their quotas are being filled, other than watching each round and seeing how the no. of invitations figures are increasing and at what rate. I wouldn't hazard a guess as to how they will be filling this going forward, other than to guess that they might pro-rate the remaining spots among the time left in the program year (ie, from now through 30 June), but that's only a guess.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JonDoe said:


> Hi Mark,
> Last cycle , 9 Jan 2015, we saw that people who logged EOI for ICT Business Analyst even on 8 Jan 2015(1 day before the invitation date) and having 60 points got invited.
> There also seemed to be an update of the quota of ICT Business Analyst and System Analyst which became 1300 filled out of 1600 for the year.
> Not sure how suddenly so many people got an invite. In your experience does this happen frequently or this is a one off incident ?
> 
> Based on your experience, whats the chance that ICT Business Analyst with 60 points can get invited in the next few rounds.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harri -

Thanks for the question. You could apply for an onshore partner visa as long as her visitor visa did not have condition 8503 on it, and she would get a BV-A upon application for the partner visa that would give her full work rights once the BV-A activated (when she overstays the visitor visa). However, my concern is that you may not have sufficient relationship evidence to show that your relationship is at the partner level, and not just girlfriend/boyfriend. With no living together, you'll either need to get married in Australia and lodge based on the marriage, or register your relationship as defacto partners in NSW (or your state if the state allows it), but DIBP will still be looking for evidence that your relationship has reached the partner level. Suggest you consider discussing your case in detail with a registered migration agent who can go over all your circumstances and documents and get you a specific opinion.

Another option is a Prospective Marriage Visa (PMV) aka fiance visa, which your relationship evidence as listed might be a better fit for. This visa typically takes 9+ months to process (during which she'd have to still keep using visitor visas) and once approved, allows her to come to Australia to lodge the partner visa onshore after marriage.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HarryMSIA said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> My Harri here.I am a PR here is Australia. I would like to bring my gf to stay with me here permanently.She is from Malaysia and we have been in relationship for more than 3 years.
> Due to cultural difference we did not stay together , but have evidence of
> 
> >calls, video calls, letters and emails since 3 years back
> >travel together and pictures with Family and Friends in the Malaysia since 3 years back
> >>>Travel together (Cinemas, restaurant, hotels)
> >Birthday present receives
> >Phone bills from a year back.
> 
> What would be the quickest way to do this>?
> 
> She is going to come in tourist ETA in March 2015.
> I would like to apply an onshore partner visa , can a partner visa be applied when your are on tourist visa .Will she be granted a Bridging visa A?
> I don't mind she there is no work right immediately. As long as she here with me i'm fine. To save cost on going out of country every 3 months and getting back in .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

Thanks for the question. Yes, Form 80 is typical for applicants from higher-risk countries (ie, non-ETA countries). No way to predict how fast they will move on processing - I've seen these go through relatively quickly, and others can take 3-4 months.

Best,

Mark



SqOats said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Finally today i received first email from visa officer after 2 months of lodging the visa 573 application. She has requested for FORM 80 which i will submit max by tomorrow. My question is, is it possible to get visa in time after asking for FORM 80 as my classes are starting from 16 feb 2015 . As per my knowledge, they ask FORM 80 for external security check which takes ages to clear. Also, is it normal to ask for form 80 from a student applicant.
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saroj85 -

The accounting skills assessors are among the toughest of all of them - I would follow up with ICAA and ask them the questions you've posed - ie, did they consider your CA, etc. With the accounting assessors, they often do a course-by-course comparison to Australian degrees in a very detailed way, which can result in major changes in degree recognition, as happened in your case (ie, Bachelor degree being recognised as Associate degree), etc.

Best,

Mark



saroj85 said:


> Dear Mark,
> I am a Chartered Accountant with 4 years of external audit experience after completion of Chartered Accountancy Course. My CA is not among list of Recognised accounting qualifications of ICAA.
> 
> I first did a 3 years Bachelor in Business degree (from AB University) and after that joined CA which is a 3 years course. AB University has given a Master's equivalency certificate for my CA after Bachelor in Business degree.
> 
> I had submitted an application to ICAA for skill + qualification assessment with detail syllabus and mark sheet of my Bachelor degree, CA degree and Master's equivalency certificate of AB University.
> 
> Today I received an assessment from ICAA stating "Your Bachelor of Business from AB University is assessed as comparable to at least the level of an Australian Associate Degree based on AEI-NOOSR guidelines. As your qualifications are not recognised as being comparable to at least an Australian Bachelor degree, you have been assessed by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand as not suitable for nominated occupation classification."
> 
> The letter does not state anything about my CA qualification. Would this mean that their assessment of my CA qualification was negative? Even in that case, isn't it necessary to refer to my CA qualification in their assessment report? Would it be possible that ICAA did not consider all my documents in their review? My this question is because one month after my application, they send me a mail saying they didn't find my IELTS result and application form and so I resend these documents again.
> 
> One of my friend with similar case had submitted an application to VETASSESS for assessment for internal auditor with the same documents referred above. And his qualification was assessed as Bachelor equivalent by VETASSESS.
> 
> I would be grateful if you could advise on this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rory -

I expect it's an administrative error. I would immediately write to them, politely, and point out that you meet the definition of a "long-term partner relationship" as you ave been married for over 3 years and have a child (the requirement with a child is 2 years marriage) and request that they kindly consider granting the subclass 100 visa. While it is a discretion on the case officer's part, I would think they would need to show a good reason why they would not grant the 100 visa straight away since your relationship fits the definition for a long-term partner relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roryjenkins said:


> Hi Mark Rory here again well we've just stopped celebrating enough from getting my wife & sons partner visa granted a couple of days ago ! However now I've read the grant letter properly my wife has been granted a 309 temp visa, as we have been together for nearly 6 years (married for over 3) & have a 4yo I was led to believe she would be granted a 100 PR visa immediately ? Could this just be an admin cock up, for want of a better phrase!, or is this normal ? It's just when we arrive in Oz my wife wants to apply to join Vic Police & PR is the minimum requirement so we could do without the 2yr wait. Once again many thanks for taking the time for giving your greatly appreciated advice to us all.
> Rory Jenkins


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bea -

The sponsor and applicant normally need to supply relationship statements, but these do not need to be statutory declarations, just signed by each. I find the individual questions on the 47sp form re: relationship (ie, "Please describe the financial aspects...") to be too confining, so we usually put "Please see the attached relationship statements of the applicant and sponsor" in the online form for all 4 questions plus the "how did your relationship develop" question.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SerendipitousNomads said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Could you tell me if the Sponsor and Applicant need to provide statutory declarations if they have applied online?
> It seems that all the information they ask you to provide on this form https://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/forms/partner/_pdf/stat_dec_applicant.pdf is the same as the questions in the 40sp and Applicant's application.
> 
> Can you please clarify?
> Thanks,
> Bea


----------



## som

Hi Mark,
I found your quick answers very helpful and have lot of good information and I was a silent reader and got lot of information. 

I have applied for 309 offshore visa last week online for my wife. Looking at visa wait timing, seems to be a long road, planning to apply for tourist visa for my wife, here are my questions:

1. Can I apply for tourist visa 600 family sponsor for my wife and how long do I get the tourist visa for 3 month or 6monhts..?? provided my wife is house wife and not working and has no significant assets in india to show incentive to return back proof, but I am PR and living in sydney for past 1 and half year and has good salary to provide any bond for the visa..

2. If my wife gets tourist visa for 6 months and she flies to Sydney and case officer request for medicals & pcc, Can we do that medicals and pcc from sydney for my wife while she is on tourist visa here?

Applied partner visa for my wife , Chennai: 16/01/2015 

Thank you very much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Som -

Thanks for the note - yes, your wife can apply for a sc600 visitor visa - chances of success are difficult to predict - if DIBP is convinced that you are in a genuine married relationship, then chances of success are better. Normally a person has to have more ties to their home country (ie, job, assets, family, etc) than they do to Australia in order to get a visitor visa in many cases, however once a partner visa has been lodged, that changes things a bit. You can ask for as long as you want for the visitor visa, however I wouldn't ask for more than 6 months. If you are concerned about being approved, consider asking for a shorter visa.

Yes, you can do medical exams in Australia while she's here, and PCC's can be ordered from anywhere as long as you follow the directions for each country's PCCs.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



som said:


> Hi Mark,
> I found your quick answers very helpful and have lot of good information and I was a silent reader and got lot of information.
> 
> I have applied for 309 offshore visa last week online for my wife. Looking at visa wait timing, seems to be a long road, planning to apply for tourist visa for my wife, here are my questions:
> 
> 1. Can I apply for tourist visa 600 family sponsor for my wife and how long do I get the tourist visa for 3 month or 6monhts..?? provided my wife is house wife and not working and has no significant assets in india to show incentive to return back proof, but I am PR and living in sydney for past 1 and half year and has good salary to provide any bond for the visa..
> 
> 2. If my wife gets tourist visa for 6 months and she flies to Sydney and case officer request for medicals & pcc, Can we do that medicals and pcc from sydney for my wife while she is on tourist visa here?
> 
> Applied partner visa for my wife , Chennai: 16/01/2015
> 
> Thank you very much


----------



## diletta.laino

*Partner Visa 309 or Prospective Marriage?*

Hi Mark, 
Im here writing you as I am not too sure about what I shall do next.

So, I have been in a relationship with my Australian partner since mid 2013 and we registered our relationship at Birth&Marriage Melbourne, VIC, in Jan 2014. We have been collecting all the documents necessary to apply for a partner visa such as all that is stated in the booklet 1 along with whats said in the immigration website. I also have been reading threads here and took tips from others whom have been so kind to share their checklist on the forum. 
Only thing we don't have is a lease together (although we can have the owner of the house to make a statement saying that we have lived together for more than 12 months) as well as bills addressed to us both. We have though letters addressed to us both for a year long to prove our household.

So we are low on the household side but Ive read that every couple is different in fact, on the other hand, we have lots of sharing travel and we have lots of pics with family and friends, joint bank account with plenty of transactions for a year and a half long etc. Periods of separation have been monitored by skype calls and facebook as well as he coming to visit me, interstate and overseas. This is just what I remember but Im 100% sure we have all that is necessary.

I feel we would be kinda ready to handle a Partner Visa.

Now, the problem is that I had to leave Oz because my 2nd working holiday visa expired (in Nov 2014) and we didn't yet feel like rushing up the Partner Visa 820 at the time, so we decided for the 309 from New Zealand.

I am actually in Auckland, my Partner said he wants to join me and get married here so that hopefully we will be able to have the Partner Visa approved quickly (by amount of proves??) and be finally able to go back to Melbourne together.

I can't wait. All this has brought so much stress to us and our relationship both.

But I know there's the prospective marriage Visa option as well.

Is there a way that we can combine a Partner Visa 309 including the intention of getting married once reunited in Melbourne? So they would let me back in Oz through the 309 criteria and we will have to get married on (or before) the date we stated we would have done our wedding?

With this I mean, if I apply for a Partner 309 including the proof of our intended marriage in May 2015 in Melbourne, will this help our application? Or is this totally unnecessary?

Should we better of get married in NZ and then handle in the application? On this option I have concerns about my health check as I undergo it in Feb 2014 and I have read that if applying from outside australia my health check should be valid at the time the Visa will be approved to assure me the right to enter Australia and the health checks are valid for one year, so mine would look like its expired. Do they pay so much attention about this?

Also, what is the law about Overseas marriages? Will we need another certificate to make our New Zealander marriage valid to Australian law?

I hope this all makes sense and sorry for the long reply.

Thank you so much 

Best regards


----------



## som

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your quick response and hlep. Appreciate your time and great efforts on this forum. 

Few more clarifications please..

Will the success rate for Family sponsor 600 visa is better than general 600 tourist visa, considering my wife is house wife with no job and no significant assets in India? 

Is it good to mention that I already applied partner visa 309 and visa application number for my wife 600 sponsor tourist application invitation letter, will that add more points to get approved?

is 600 family sponsor tourist visa is always issued with NoFurther Stay condition for high risk countries like India even for married applicants?

Have a great weekend..

Som..


----------



## mth17

Hi Mark,

I am fresh graduate and have completed the course in December last year.
I intend to apply for a graduate visa next month.Due to some reasons, I want to go back to my country for a short time, like 10 days only. After that, I will apply for the visa, as my student visa expires on 30/8/2015.
However, I am not certain if I am eligible to return to Australia after the visit, because some people told me that if I graduate and go back to my home country, my visa will probably be cancelled or I will have trouble with the officials at the airport. Although my visa is still valid, it is hard to arrive in Australia if I am not under any study courses.

Please let me know if the information is correct and give me some advices about what I should do under this circumstance.

Many thanks


----------



## wonder

Hi Mark,
My Partner is in Australia under 573 svp student visa ,What would be my assessment level .I guess I will also be treated under 573 svp which makes visa processing bit faster as compaired to normal 573 dependent visa .

Regards,
Shubhra.


----------



## saroj85

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Saroj85 -
> 
> The accounting skills assessors are among the toughest of all of them - I would follow up with ICAA and ask them the questions you've posed - ie, did they consider your CA, etc. With the accounting assessors, they often do a course-by-course comparison to Australian degrees in a very detailed way, which can result in major changes in degree recognition, as happened in your case (ie, Bachelor degree being recognised as Associate degree), etc.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hi Mark,
Thanks a lot for this quick response. 
I got a response from ICAA that my CA education is not as per AEI-NOOSR guidelines and hence not included in assessment. I understand that the my CA has not been assessed by AEI-NOOSR and so is not included in their Country Education Profile (CEP). 
AEI-NOOSR CEP recognizes Masters from AB University as equivalent to Australia Bachelors degree. AB University Bachelors in an associate degree.
But I have a equivalency certificate from AB University saying that my CA after 3 years Bachelor is equivalent to Masters from AB University. In such condition, can they ignore Masters equivalency certificate from University recognised by AEI-NOOSR?

What do you suggest way out for me?

Thanks and regards,


----------



## prashanth8101

*Mr.*

Hi Mr.Mark,

Before proceeding with my questions I would like introduce myself, I have recently completed my studies in australia and got my TR- 485. I would like to drop an EOI and I have already done with my ACS skill assessement. But in the ACS letter only my overseas bachelor degree (in Computer Science) and work experience has been assessed. But recently I have completed my Masters(IT) in Australia.So now my question is Can I use this letter while submitting EOI? or Do I need to update the ACS letter? ( Is there any option like that), or Do I need to submit a new application with my highest qualification.

Thanks for your reply.

Regards,
Prashanth.


----------



## SqOats

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your tremendous support you have provided me so far ... I cant be thankful enough.

I am in a tricky situation. I applied 573 visa through VFS and enclosed all the documents as per checklist. VFS officer checked my docs and asked for local residence permit (i am a Pakistani but living in Saudi Arabia) and attached the copy in Arabic. I argued with him that it isnt required and asked him that atleast I have to translate it in English but he said no it is required and no need for translation as it will be sent to Australian Consulate in Dubai. Now, my visa officer has contacted me and asked for FORM 80 and certified copies of any docs which were not in English.

Now the issue is that the residence permit got expired last month and is still under process for renewal. Hence, I would really appreciate if you can provide your expert advise on these two points.

1) If i provide him the translation of expired copy, would it be considered as a case of overstay and be considered negative. Although, I can attach a letter from my employer stating that it is under process.

2) If I only provide him form 80 and no English translation of residence permit. Can the decision be made based upon other documents included in my application. Most importantly, when residence permit requirement is no where mentioned in DIBP checklists.

Thanks a million.....


----------



## Paolo89

Hi Mark,

Im Paolo , I want ask you some question about visa 858 , because in internet is really too hard find information about this visa.

Currently Im in Parramatta, I work in rosehill racecourse , I am jockey ( but not here in australia, because I need before 5.5 ielts and work visa, )

I take my result ielts 2 day before, and I take 5 - 5 - 4.5 - 4.5 overall band score 5

For this visa, my english is enought, need just overall band score 4.5.

Now I want understand if my profession is enought for take this visa.

Because for jockey dont have significant record, I have just some races in Italy and switzerland.

But for rider same job horse trainer I have really very good curriculum , I worked for top stable in europe , Dubai ....I worked Italy, England ,France, switzerland. Dubai and currently australia .

For take job here in australia , is really easy, I have many offer.

I understand I have all qualification for this visa, but dont understand if Horse Trainer or track rider is available for sport or profession for this visa.

I hope you can Give me good news.
Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Diletta.laino -

Thanks for the question. It may be helpful to have a private consultation to talk through the various options and questions you have, but wanted to try to answer what I could here. Re: 309, requirement is that you are married by the time of the visa grant - most of the time, however, the 309 is lodged very shortly before the marriage occurs. Different DIBP posts may interpret this differently if there is a long gap between time of application and the time of proposed marriage. An offshore lodgement of a 309 does not create any sort of bridging or other visa to allow entry to Australia.

Not sure it is of significant benefit to lodge the 309, then marry 4+ months later.You may gain 4 months in the processing time, but if anything goes wrong with your ability to marry in time, you may have to withdraw the application and lose the visa application fee.

Re: overseas marriages - they are generally accepted by Australia if the marriage would have been legal in Australia had it occurred here.

Hope this helps - happy to see you in a consultation if you'd like to go through issues and options in more detail - see website link below.

Best,

Mark



diletta.laino said:


> Hi Mark,
> Im here writing you as I am not too sure about what I shall do next.
> 
> So, I have been in a relationship with my Australian partner since mid 2013 and we registered our relationship at Birth&Marriage Melbourne, VIC, in Jan 2014. We have been collecting all the documents necessary to apply for a partner visa such as all that is stated in the booklet 1 along with whats said in the immigration website. I also have been reading threads here and took tips from others whom have been so kind to share their checklist on the forum.
> Only thing we don't have is a lease together (although we can have the owner of the house to make a statement saying that we have lived together for more than 12 months) as well as bills addressed to us both. We have though letters addressed to us both for a year long to prove our household.
> 
> So we are low on the household side but Ive read that every couple is different in fact, on the other hand, we have lots of sharing travel and we have lots of pics with family and friends, joint bank account with plenty of transactions for a year and a half long etc. Periods of separation have been monitored by skype calls and facebook as well as he coming to visit me, interstate and overseas. This is just what I remember but Im 100% sure we have all that is necessary.
> 
> I feel we would be kinda ready to handle a Partner Visa.
> 
> Now, the problem is that I had to leave Oz because my 2nd working holiday visa expired (in Nov 2014) and we didn't yet feel like rushing up the Partner Visa 820 at the time, so we decided for the 309 from New Zealand.
> 
> I am actually in Auckland, my Partner said he wants to join me and get married here so that hopefully we will be able to have the Partner Visa approved quickly (by amount of proves??) and be finally able to go back to Melbourne together.
> 
> I can't wait. All this has brought so much stress to us and our relationship both.
> 
> But I know there's the prospective marriage Visa option as well.
> 
> Is there a way that we can combine a Partner Visa 309 including the intention of getting married once reunited in Melbourne? So they would let me back in Oz through the 309 criteria and we will have to get married on (or before) the date we stated we would have done our wedding?
> 
> With this I mean, if I apply for a Partner 309 including the proof of our intended marriage in May 2015 in Melbourne, will this help our application? Or is this totally unnecessary?
> 
> Should we better of get married in NZ and then handle in the application? On this option I have concerns about my health check as I undergo it in Feb 2014 and I have read that if applying from outside australia my health check should be valid at the time the Visa will be approved to assure me the right to enter Australia and the health checks are valid for one year, so mine would look like its expired. Do they pay so much attention about this?
> 
> Also, what is the law about Overseas marriages? Will we need another certificate to make our New Zealander marriage valid to Australian law?
> 
> I hope this all makes sense and sorry for the long reply.
> 
> Thank you so much
> 
> Best regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Som -

I would definitely mention you've lodged a partner visa with any application for any type of visitor visa you make after that. Family sponsored visitor visa is sometimes helpful in higher-risk situations. 8503 required for family sponsored visitor visa, but generally no problem since you've already lodged your partner visa offshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



som said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your quick response and hlep. Appreciate your time and great efforts on this forum.
> 
> Few more clarifications please..
> 
> Will the success rate for Family sponsor 600 visa is better than general 600 tourist visa, considering my wife is house wife with no job and no significant assets in India?
> 
> Is it good to mention that I already applied partner visa 309 and visa application number for my wife 600 sponsor tourist application invitation letter, will that add more points to get approved?
> 
> is 600 family sponsor tourist visa is always issued with NoFurther Stay condition for high risk countries like India even for married applicants?
> 
> Have a great weekend..
> 
> Som..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mth17 -

Thanks for the question. It appears you have finished your course early, since student visas are generally scheduled to expire 1-2 months after your course is scheduled to complete. Given that, you generally have 30 days to either lodge another visa application or depart Australia, although this is not always strictly enforced in a timely way by DIBP (but no guarantees of this). Would strongly recommend you lodge any further visa application in Australia before you depart - this would generally result in DIBP disregarding the 30 days policy and allowing you to let your student visa remain in place until it expires on it's own. However if you do not lodge another visa and depart (or even if you do not depart), your student visa is liable for cancellation at any time after the 30 days is up.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mth17 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am fresh graduate and have completed the course in December last year.
> I intend to apply for a graduate visa next month.Due to some reasons, I want to go back to my country for a short time, like 10 days only. After that, I will apply for the visa, as my student visa expires on 30/8/2015.
> However, I am not certain if I am eligible to return to Australia after the visit, because some people told me that if I graduate and go back to my home country, my visa will probably be cancelled or I will have trouble with the officials at the airport. Although my visa is still valid, it is hard to arrive in Australia if I am not under any study courses.
> 
> Please let me know if the information is correct and give me some advices about what I should do under this circumstance.
> 
> Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shubhra -

Correct - a secondary applicant application is considered in the same class/subclass/etc as the primary applicant, however a subsequent entry or dependent visa application doesn't have to be assessed by all the financial, academic, etc standards so normally these go through in a shorter time than primary applicants (however no guarantees re: DIBP - their processing times are at best difficult to predict).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wonder said:


> Hi Mark,
> My Partner is in Australia under 573 svp student visa ,What would be my assessment level .I guess I will also be treated under 573 svp which makes visa processing bit faster as compaired to normal 573 dependent visa .
> 
> Regards,
> Shubhra.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saroj85 -

It's all up to the skills assessor - they make up their own rules, and have a very wide ability to do things however they want. It sounds like they are saying that being "equivalent to" an AB Masters as your CA education is, is not the same as being an actual AB Masters. I would investigate any appeal/review procedures that ICAA may currently offer, and try to get more documentation from AB to support your argument that the CA education should be treated the same and given the same credit as an AB Masters.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



saroj85 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks a lot for this quick response.
> I got a response from ICAA that my CA education is not as per AEI-NOOSR guidelines and hence not included in assessment. I understand that the my CA has not been assessed by AEI-NOOSR and so is not included in their Country Education Profile (CEP).
> AEI-NOOSR CEP recognizes Masters from AB University as equivalent to Australia Bachelors degree. AB University Bachelors in an associate degree.
> But I have a equivalency certificate from AB University saying that my CA after 3 years Bachelor is equivalent to Masters from AB University. In such condition, can they ignore Masters equivalency certificate from University recognised by AEI-NOOSR?
> 
> What do you suggest way out for me?
> 
> Thanks and regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prasanth -

Thanks for the question. The Masters Degree, while good for job-seeking, does not provide any additional points for skilled visas. You'd have to see if having that degree would change the deeming date for your ACS report or not - if it does, and that helps you by providing more years of skilled work experience, then that might be a reason to have it assessed, however in most cases a Master degree makes no difference in points or deeming date if your Bachelor degree is assessed as equivalent to an Australian Bachelor degree.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



prashanth8101 said:


> Hi Mr.Mark,
> 
> Before proceeding with my questions I would like introduce myself, I have recently completed my studies in australia and got my TR- 485. I would like to drop an EOI and I have already done with my ACS skill assessement. But in the ACS letter only my overseas bachelor degree (in Computer Science) and work experience has been assessed. But recently I have completed my Masters(IT) in Australia.So now my question is Can I use this letter while submitting EOI? or Do I need to update the ACS letter? ( Is there any option like that), or Do I need to submit a new application with my highest qualification.
> 
> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> Regards,
> Prashanth.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

Wish i could help, but this gets to the specific immigration laws of Saudi Arabia and what the legal status is re: an expired residence permit and whether that represents an "overstay" or not. The requirement for this permit appears to be a local requirement, and as such I'm not able to provide any info re: how the locals would handle this. Normally we advise clients to provide DIBP with whatever documents they ask for as long as the request is reasonable and directly related to their visa application.

Best,

Mark



SqOats said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your tremendous support you have provided me so far ... I cant be thankful enough.
> 
> I am in a tricky situation. I applied 573 visa through VFS and enclosed all the documents as per checklist. VFS officer checked my docs and asked for local residence permit (i am a Pakistani but living in Saudi Arabia) and attached the copy in Arabic. I argued with him that it isnt required and asked him that atleast I have to translate it in English but he said no it is required and no need for translation as it will be sent to Australian Consulate in Dubai. Now, my visa officer has contacted me and asked for FORM 80 and certified copies of any docs which were not in English.
> 
> Now the issue is that the residence permit got expired last month and is still under process for renewal. Hence, I would really appreciate if you can provide your expert advise on these two points.
> 
> 1) If i provide him the translation of expired copy, would it be considered as a case of overstay and be considered negative. Although, I can attach a letter from my employer stating that it is under process.
> 
> 2) If I only provide him form 80 and no English translation of residence permit. Can the decision be made based upon other documents included in my application. Most importantly, when residence permit requirement is no where mentioned in DIBP checklists.
> 
> Thanks a million.....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paolo -

Thanks for the question. There is no specific list of "sports" for this visa, however the requirements are very high re: having an international reputation and having a sustained record of exceptional and outstanding achievement. Would need to see you at a consultation to go through your CV and give you any sort of opinion on your chances of meeting the requirements for this visa - our office is in Parramatta so this would be close by. If interested, please click website link below and look for Professional Consultation link at the top of the website page.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Paolo89 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Im Paolo , I want ask you some question about visa 858 , because in internet is really too hard find information about this visa.
> 
> Currently Im in Parramatta, I work in rosehill racecourse , I am jockey ( but not here in australia, because I need before 5.5 ielts and work visa, )
> 
> I take my result ielts 2 day before, and I take 5 - 5 - 4.5 - 4.5 overall band score 5
> 
> For this visa, my english is enought, need just overall band score 4.5.
> 
> Now I want understand if my profession is enought for take this visa.
> 
> Because for jockey dont have significant record, I have just some races in Italy and switzerland.
> 
> But for rider same job horse trainer I have really very good curriculum , I worked for top stable in europe , Dubai ....I worked Italy, England ,France, switzerland. Dubai and currently australia .
> 
> For take job here in australia , is really easy, I have many offer.
> 
> I understand I have all qualification for this visa, but dont understand if Horse Trainer or track rider is available for sport or profession for this visa.
> 
> I hope you can Give me good news.
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## mth17

HI Mark,
thank you very much for the quick reply.
Actually,I did not finish the course earlier than the completion date in my ecoe.I don't why the immigration office give me extra months in the visa.Since I have checked with the VevO, my visa is still valid until 30/8/2015.it is already 30 days since I completed the course.
Please let me know if the rule still applies because I finished the course as expected



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mth17 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. It appears you have finished your course early, since student visas are generally scheduled to expire 1-2 months after your course is scheduled to complete. Given that, you generally have 30 days to either lodge another visa application or depart Australia, although this is not always strictly enforced in a timely way by DIBP (but no guarantees of this). Would strongly recommend you lodge any further visa application in Australia before you depart - this would generally result in DIBP disregarding the 30 days policy and allowing you to let your student visa remain in place until it expires on it's own. However if you do not lodge another visa and depart (or even if you do not depart), your student visa is liable for cancellation at any time after the 30 days is up.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mth17 -

You're in a gray area. If you remained in Australia, I don't think there would be any problem, however exiting and re-entering could pose an issue depending on the immigration officer at the airport. As such, I'd suggest taking the safer route and lodging your next visa application before you depart if possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mth17 said:


> HI Mark,
> thank you very much for the quick reply.
> Actually,I did not finish the course earlier than the completion date in my ecoe.I don't why the immigration office give me extra months in the visa.Since I have checked with the VevO, my visa is still valid until 30/8/2015.it is already 30 days since I completed the course.
> Please let me know if the rule still applies because I finished the course as expected


----------



## mth17

Hi Mark,
Thanks for your advice,
I just have 1 more question if I apply visa 485, the bridging visa will kick in immediately or after my student visa expires.Also, is it okay if after applying visa 485, I return home within the time student visa is still valid.Do I need to apply for bridging visa B ?
thanks a lot.I have already booked the flight ticket next week but seem like I have to change my plan.


----------



## DoctorSA

Hi Mark

I have asked you a previous question about having previous TB. We are planning to send in application for 189 visa in march. I expect my application will be referred to MOC. Do you have any idea how long the processing time is currently taking with them. I assume they will then come back to me and I will do sputum's and this will take another 2 months. Just trying to work out a rough time line.

Thanks for your time!


----------



## miquiita

Hi Mark,

I got a degree and mechanical engineering and soon a masters too. I was wondering if this will give me grounds to apply for The Skilled — Recognised Graduate visa (subclass 476) ? I am Swedish and got my degree from the royal institute of technology in Stockholm, KTH. I looked at the immi home page and only lulea school of technology is on the list, although my school is famous and well recognized.

Thanks

Michelle


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mth17 -

If you apply onshore for 485 (make sure you read ALL the requirements for that visa as it's very strict - ie, IELTS report at time of application, etc), you'll get a BV-A with application that will remain inactive under your student visa. As long as your student visa remains active, the BV-A will not activate - if you return on your student visa (ie, return before the student visa expires), no need to apply for a BV-B.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mth17 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your advice,
> I just have 1 more question if I apply visa 485, the bridging visa will kick in immediately or after my student visa expires.Also, is it okay if after applying visa 485, I return home within the time student visa is still valid.Do I need to apply for bridging visa B ?
> thanks a lot.I have already booked the flight ticket next week but seem like I have to change my plan.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DoctorSA -

Thanks for the question. MOC referrals seem to be taking anywhere from 1-3 months currently, usually 1-2, however as with anything related to DIBP, the processing times are highly unpredictable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DoctorSA said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have asked you a previous question about having previous TB. We are planning to send in application for 189 visa in march. I expect my application will be referred to MOC. Do you have any idea how long the processing time is currently taking with them. I assume they will then come back to me and I will do sputum's and this will take another 2 months. Just trying to work out a rough time line.
> 
> Thanks for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Miquiita -

Thanks for the question. Unfortunately only degrees from listed institutions are eligible for the 476. Wish I had better news!

Best,

Mark



miquiita said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I got a degree and mechanical engineering and soon a masters too. I was wondering if this will give me grounds to apply for The Skilled - Recognised Graduate visa (subclass 476) ? I am Swedish and got my degree from the royal institute of technology in Stockholm, KTH. I looked at the immi home page and only lulea school of technology is on the list, although my school is famous and well recognized.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Michelle


----------



## miquiita

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Miquiita -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Unfortunately only degrees from listed institutions are eligible for the 476. Wish I had better news!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hi mark,

What about the "other institution" section. What universities are on that? Can I as a engineer get an other kind of visa? With my degree from Sweden.

Or how is the best approach for a job sponsored of a company?

Thanks


----------



## skywalker

*Skills experience without formal qualification?*

Mark,
I'm looking at my options for a 190, 489 or 457 visa. I have almost 6 years experience in the UK. It's difficult to find an anzsco category for my skill as it varied across government service but I think best fits 'Corporate Services Manager' (132111) which is currently open on SA's list. DIBP states that '5 years experience may substitute for formal qualification' in lots of their codes including this one. However, I'm yet to find anything on forums or from Vetasses which suggests this is the case. Can you advise?
I have maximum age points and an overall 9 in IELTS so my work experience is the key. I note that other management roles are assessed by AIM who do stipulate that experience in place of qualification is acceptable. Is there any challenge to Vetasses on this matter if they do insist on degree level qualification? Can I submit an EOI without a skills assessment?

Are skills assessments required for 457s?

Any help/guidance greatly appreciated!

Thanks


----------



## amkhan

Hi Mark,

Can you please advise that how many days do I have to upload all my documents in case for visa 189 from the date of CO assignment. My CO was assigned on 4th Jan and I am gathering all documents. Since few documents I need to collect from my home country and it will take at least another 10 to 15 days. 

I have sent an email to CO around 10 days back asking the same question but got no feedback. 

Please advise the best way to move forward from here on.

Thanks,


----------



## IndyMama

Hi Mark,
DIBP told me I would have to supply an FBI background check for my non-migrating child if my PMV is not finalized before the child's 16th birthday. Does this sound right to you? Have to ask, given I've gotten incorrect information from them before.
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Miquiita -

Thanks for the note. I can't help with getting a job with a sponsored company, but would be happy to help you at a consultation go through the various visa options that may be available to you and assess your eligibility - see website link below in my signature, then look for "Professional Consultation".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



miquiita said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> What about the "other institution" section. What universities are on that? Can I as a engineer get an other kind of visa? With my degree from Sweden.
> 
> Or how is the best approach for a job sponsored of a company?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skywalker -

Vetassess has a different set of rules than DIBP - if your occupation is assessed by Vetassess, then you'll have to get through their process before you can lodge an EOI for a skilled visa. For most occupations, Vetassess requires both an appropriate qualification AND appropriate work experience of at least 1 year. I'd check the Vetassess site carefully to see the specific requirements for your occupation. Every skills assessment organisation has their own rules, and they are all different - generally not much of an appeal route unless you have a degree that they say is not equivalent to an Australian degree and you want to prove that it is equivalent by a comparison of courses, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



skywalker said:


> Mark,
> I'm looking at my options for a 190, 489 or 457 visa. I have almost 6 years experience in the UK. It's difficult to find an anzsco category for my skill as it varied across government service but I think best fits 'Corporate Services Manager' (132111) which is currently open on SA's list. DIBP states that '5 years experience may substitute for formal qualification' in lots of their codes including this one. However, I'm yet to find anything on forums or from Vetasses which suggests this is the case. Can you advise?
> I have maximum age points and an overall 9 in IELTS so my work experience is the key. I note that other management roles are assessed by AIM who do stipulate that experience in place of qualification is acceptable. Is there any challenge to Vetasses on this matter if they do insist on degree level qualification? Can I submit an EOI without a skills assessment?
> 
> Are skills assessments required for 457s?
> 
> Any help/guidance greatly appreciated!
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amkhan -

DIBP does not publish rules on this, however typically you have a few weeks to upload documents, however DIBP reserves the right to assess an application at any time after lodgement and decide based on whatever docs are available at that time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amkhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you please advise that how many days do I have to upload all my documents in case for visa 189 from the date of CO assignment. My CO was assigned on 4th Jan and I am gathering all documents. Since few documents I need to collect from my home country and it will take at least another 10 to 15 days.
> 
> I have sent an email to CO around 10 days back asking the same question but got no feedback.
> 
> Please advise the best way to move forward from here on.
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IndyMama -

That sounds right - DIBP has the right to request police certs from 16+ year old non-migrating children, and health checks as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IndyMama said:


> Hi Mark,
> DIBP told me I would have to supply an FBI background check for my non-migrating child if my PMV is not finalized before the child's 16th birthday. Does this sound right to you? Have to ask, given I've gotten incorrect information from them before.
> Thanks


----------



## candice

Hi mark
Me and my partner living in his parent's house. So,no electricity bill or water bill under our name. I would like to write the extra statement like a letter to prove our de fav to relationship or they just can fill in form 888?
Which one is better ? A letter or form 888
Thanks


----------



## darkclaw3000

Hi Mark! 

Thanks so much for helping out. Really appreciate it! Here's my question.

I'm from Singapore and my girlfriend is staying in Melbourne, Vic. She's a citizen.

We decided we want to live together and so I'm moving there, hopefully for good.

We've been together for 8 months now.

We're planning to get the de facto visa but that requires us to have proof of being together for 12months. This will be difficult as we're having a long-distance relationship so far. (Those 8 months, we're only physically together for 2 weeks.)

So we kinda plan to start having a joint bank account and me pitching in rent when I'm there.

So the question is, how do I stay there legally (with as little problems) for 12 months to quality for that de facto. (and what proof do we need)

My plan was to get the ETA, since I can stay there for 3 months,
fly out to NZ when visa is expiring, stay in NZ for a week or so, apply another ETA and stay in Melb for another 3 months.

I'll fly out again, but then upon return I try to get a 6month visa (can't remember the name of this visa).

This will then qualify me for the de facto as I've done my 12-months.

Another question is, is all of this steps I've laid out possible and legal?

Some other notes: When buying a two-way ticket, I know I will be subjected to questioning about my funds when I'm staying in Melb. Can I book a two-way ticket that flies out for a week, and when I'm in Melb, I cancel the return flight, and book a flight out to NZ?

Thank you so so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Candice -

Re: living together in parent's house, a signed statement/letter from the parents stating the time the two of you have lived there with them would be helpful. Re: Form 888, they could also fill out a Form 888 where they declare that the two of you are in a genuine defacto relationship and say why they believe this. These would be separate from the letter re: you living there, etc. Suggest you use both if you need further evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



candice said:


> Hi mark
> Me and my partner living in his parent's house. So,no electricity bill or water bill under our name. I would like to write the extra statement like a letter to prove our de fav to relationship or they just can fill in form 888?
> Which one is better ? A letter or form 888
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Darkclaw3000 -

All of what you propose sounds fine, and as you're from an ETA country, there's a good chance you'll get a 12-month ETA where you have to leave/re-enter the country each 3 months. That may be preferable to applying for a further visa (subclass 600) to remain in the country beyond the end of one of the 3 month stays on the ETA - there is specific DIBP policy against allowing applicants to string together multiple visitor visas in order to accumulate residency time in Australia. As such, the ETA visa (which is usually approved electronically with no Q&A interview from DIBP) may be the best bet. It remains a question as to whether, on your 3rd or 4th entry into Australia on the ETA, immigration may ask you questions at the airport upon entry, but you could say that your relationship is growing, you're not sure where it will end up, but that you want to spend some more time together. Also important to be able to say how you will support yourself in Australia for all those months since you cannot work in Australia on a visitor visa, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



darkclaw3000 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Thanks so much for helping out. Really appreciate it! Here's my question.
> 
> I'm from Singapore and my girlfriend is staying in Melbourne, Vic. She's a citizen.
> 
> We decided we want to live together and so I'm moving there, hopefully for good.
> 
> We've been together for 8 months now.
> 
> We're planning to get the de facto visa but that requires us to have proof of being together for 12months. This will be difficult as we're having a long-distance relationship so far. (Those 8 months, we're only physically together for 2 weeks.)
> 
> So we kinda plan to start having a joint bank account and me pitching in rent when I'm there.
> 
> So the question is, how do I stay there legally (with as little problems) for 12 months to quality for that de facto. (and what proof do we need)
> 
> My plan was to get the ETA, since I can stay there for 3 months,
> fly out to NZ when visa is expiring, stay in NZ for a week or so, apply another ETA and stay in Melb for another 3 months.
> 
> I'll fly out again, but then upon return I try to get a 6month visa (can't remember the name of this visa).
> 
> This will then qualify me for the de facto as I've done my 12-months.
> 
> Another question is, is all of this steps I've laid out possible and legal?
> 
> Some other notes: When buying a two-way ticket, I know I will be subjected to questioning about my funds when I'm staying in Melb. Can I book a two-way ticket that flies out for a week, and when I'm in Melb, I cancel the return flight, and book a flight out to NZ?
> 
> Thank you so so much.


----------



## Pengaz

Hi Mark,
Can you tell me if my thai wife has had her partner visa refused after 5 years in June2014, and then she overstayed her bridging visa by 1 month. She then returned to Thailand. How long would she have to wait before she can re apply for 1/ a tourist visa 2/ a partner visa again. Also can the Australia immigration people provide me which specifics as to when she could re apply if I rang them rather than my wife who is in the eastern part of Thailand. Gary


----------



## josephk

*Delay 573 Visa under SVP*

Hi Mark,

I applied 573 visa under SVP. Actually I applied for November 2014 intake unfortunately i did not get visa on time so I deferred my course to March 2015. In November visa officer asked me Deferred COE from University and I submitted to visa office. After that No reply from Embassy. I submitted deferred COE 70 days back.I am waiting for my visa more than 90 days. I dont know why they are delaying my visa most of members are applied after me they got visa 20-25 days and moreover who submitted deferred COE they got visa within single day after submitting their deferred COE. But in my case I submitted deferred COE 70 days back. All to gether I am waiting since 95 days for my visa so

Please tell me anyone what could be the chances of approval of visa??? 
Is my application approve or not??
Because my friends told me that you are waiting since 95 days so more chances of rejection 
Please give me reply I would thankful forever


----------



## MotoMas

Dear Mark,
How great is it to get advise this way before taking the big leap to apply for any accreditation, visa, PR and such.

Bit of background: I am Dutch (from the Netherlands) and have done a Masters in Environmental Engineering at UNSW (Sydney) and want to apply for accreditation by Engineers Australia. I am also currently doing a PhD at UNSW in Sustainable Mining Engineering.

I just saw in a post above that EA does not need proof of work experience, but "educational qualification and (if applicable) your CDR submission". I find the EA site quite overwhelming with all the information and hope you can help me out with a question or 2? Would be hugely appreciated!

Questions:
1. My Masters of Environmental Engineering at UNSW is not on the Education List (accredited Australian Engineering Qualifications - Program accreditation) of EA. Does that mean it won't count as appropriate education, or would it still be possible to apply to EA with my UNSW Masters? Will they assess my Master separately? If so, what might they look for?

2. Having done this Masters and assuming they would allow it for application. Is it then enough for the application or would I need more proof of (Environmental) Engineering experience?

Many, many thanks for any help you could give me!
Cheers,
Mascha


----------



## Fress313

Hi mark
Just after a bit of advice , 
On November 27 last year my wife was granted a 12 months multiple entry tourist visa . We entered australia on the 28th of November . She has these 3 conditions
No work
Max study 3 months 
And max stay of 3 months at a time . 
We where due to go back to thailand for a while on the 1st of February 
She was 30 weeks pregnant up until the 26th of January and then went into premature labour and had our baby at 30 weeks ( 10 weeks premature )
The baby is in icu and we won't be going anywhere on the 1st of February let alone the 28th of February when her 3 month stay is up .

I called Immi and they advised to apply for a extention of her tourist visa 
Is that correct ? 
Should I ask for it to extend until the 27th November as they also informed me that she wouldn't be able to let her stay more than a year . ?
And they told me to get a letter from the doctor 
What should I get in this letter what information should be included 
?? 

Also please note we applied for a partner visa offshore in bkk on the 10th of September last year she has done all her medicals and police checks


Thank you so much for your advice
Matt fresser


----------



## wonder

Thank You Mark for your response .


----------



## Starmoon

Hi mark 
Acs assessed my skill, I have 8+ year of experience but ACS deducted 6 year from it so can they deducted this many years? Now I am not eligible because my point is 55 though ACS written that it is positive. What should I have to do??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gary -

Thanks for the question. Re: overstay, would need to know the exact details, but if she departed while unlawful (ie, no visa), she would likely incur an automatic 3 year exclusion period on all temporary visas. This would prevent her from being granted a visitor visa within the 3 year period unless she was granted a waiver of the exclusion period, but would not prevent a partner visa grant since partner visas are permanent visas and are not affected by the 3-year exclusion period in these types of situations. DIBP may not be too much help as they would need some sort of a legal release in order for you to get info on her.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pengaz said:


> Hi Mark,
> Can you tell me if my thai wife has had her partner visa refused after 5 years in June2014, and then she overstayed her bridging visa by 1 month. She then returned to Thailand. How long would she have to wait before she can re apply for 1/ a tourist visa 2/ a partner visa again. Also can the Australia immigration people provide me which specifics as to when she could re apply if I rang them rather than my wife who is in the eastern part of Thailand. Gary


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Josephk -

Thanks for the question. Wish I could help, but it's like trying to guess what's inside a closed box - no way to tell! I realise you are very frustrated, but best thing to do is to periodically check in with DIBP to see if they need any further documents or information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



josephk said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied 573 visa under SVP. Actually I applied for November 2014 intake unfortunately i did not get visa on time so I deferred my course to March 2015. In November visa officer asked me Deferred COE from University and I submitted to visa office. After that No reply from Embassy. I submitted deferred COE 70 days back.I am waiting for my visa more than 90 days. I dont know why they are delaying my visa most of members are applied after me they got visa 20-25 days and moreover who submitted deferred COE they got visa within single day after submitting their deferred COE. But in my case I submitted deferred COE 70 days back. All to gether I am waiting since 95 days for my visa so
> 
> Please tell me anyone what could be the chances of approval of visa???
> Is my application approve or not??
> Because my friends told me that you are waiting since 95 days so more chances of rejection
> Please give me reply I would thankful forever


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mascha -

Thanks for the question. I can't predict whether EA would accept your degree as an accredited qualification or not, or whether they have circumstances under one of the accords, etc that allow this - it's a matter for EA - I would give them a call and see if you can get one of the assessors to help you out to better understand whether there is any way for you to access the accredited pathway. If not, then the next step is whether you can access the non-accredited (CDR) pathway - there you will have to write 3 "Career episodes" about either engineering projects in school, or projects you did for work. However even with the CDR pathway, there is no minimum requirement for work experience with EA to get a positive skills assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MotoMas said:


> Dear Mark,
> How great is it to get advise this way before taking the big leap to apply for any accreditation, visa, PR and such.
> 
> Bit of background: I am Dutch (from the Netherlands) and have done a Masters in Environmental Engineering at UNSW (Sydney) and want to apply for accreditation by Engineers Australia. I am also currently doing a PhD at UNSW in Sustainable Mining Engineering.
> 
> I just saw in a post above that EA does not need proof of work experience, but "educational qualification and (if applicable) your CDR submission". I find the EA site quite overwhelming with all the information and hope you can help me out with a question or 2? Would be hugely appreciated!
> 
> Questions:
> 1. My Masters of Environmental Engineering at UNSW is not on the Education List (accredited Australian Engineering Qualifications - Program accreditation) of EA. Does that mean it won't count as appropriate education, or would it still be possible to apply to EA with my UNSW Masters? Will they assess my Master separately? If so, what might they look for?
> 
> 2. Having done this Masters and assuming they would allow it for application. Is it then enough for the application or would I need more proof of (Environmental) Engineering experience?
> 
> Many, many thanks for any help you could give me!
> Cheers,
> Mascha


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Matt -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on your baby's birth - hope all goes well.

Re: visa, you need to apply for a subclass 600 visitor visa ASAP. The way the date math goes, your 3-month stay may be ending very soon, as "months" are normally calculated for immigration reasons is to the day of the next month - 1. That is, a one-month period from the 15th one Month 1 ends at the end of the 14th day of Month 2. This avoids any issues of the number of days each month has. You can lodge these online in many cases. Yes, I'd ask for an extension until 27 November as you don't know what health issues may be forthcoming with the baby,mother, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Fress313 said:


> Hi mark
> Just after a bit of advice ,
> On November 27 last year my wife was granted a 12 months multiple entry tourist visa . We entered australia on the 28th of November . She has these 3 conditions
> No work
> Max study 3 months
> And max stay of 3 months at a time .
> We where due to go back to thailand for a while on the 1st of February
> She was 30 weeks pregnant up until the 26th of January and then went into premature labour and had our baby at 30 weeks ( 10 weeks premature )
> The baby is in icu and we won't be going anywhere on the 1st of February let alone the 28th of February when her 3 month stay is up .
> 
> I called Immi and they advised to apply for a extention of her tourist visa
> Is that correct ?
> Should I ask for it to extend until the 27th November as they also informed me that she wouldn't be able to let her stay more than a year . ?
> And they told me to get a letter from the doctor
> What should I get in this letter what information should be included
> ??
> 
> Also please note we applied for a partner visa offshore in bkk on the 10th of September last year she has done all her medicals and police checks
> 
> Thank you so much for your advice
> Matt fresser


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Starmoon -

Thanks for the question. ACS does not concern itself with points, only whether work is skilled. I'd check to see if there is any reason to request a review or appeal of the ACS decision (see Summary of Criteria page on their site which lists how many years they deduct in various circumstances). If no chance there, then consider studying for IELTS and increasing that, or look at employer sponsored visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Starmoon said:


> Hi mark
> Acs assessed my skill, I have 8+ year of experience but ACS deducted 6 year from it so can they deducted this many years? Now I am not eligible because my point is 55 though ACS written that it is positive. What should I have to do??


----------



## T&M

Hello Mark, I am from Cameroon and live and work here in Philippines, i apply for the PMV last November, last week i was request for Medicals and further documents. Also i was asked to complete and submit form 80. Question, How long do you think they need to process my security checks? Have you had anyone from Africa living in any Asian country being asked for this form? Thank you in advance for your reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi T&M -

Thanks for the question. Form 80 very common for citizens of African nations and elsewhere. No way to predict security check times - usually some number of months, but could be anywhere from 1-2 months to 12+. Typical PMV processing time in total is still 9-12 months, but some go longer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



T&M said:


> Hello Mark, I am from Cameroon and live and work here in Philippines, i apply for the PMV last November, last week i was request for Medicals and further documents. Also i was asked to complete and submit form 80. Question, How long do you think they need to process my security checks? Have you had anyone from Africa living in any Asian country being asked for this form? Thank you in advance for your reply.


----------



## T&M

MarkNortham said:


> Hi T&M -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Form 80 very common for citizens of African nations and elsewhere. No way to predict security check times - usually some number of months, but could be anywhere from 1-2 months to 12+. Typical PMV processing time in total is still 9-12 months, but some go longer.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for you answer, i was very worry because someone mention on here shortly africans countries security check can be 18months or 2 years. Thanks again for your answer. i will keep you update how my application goes.


----------



## sandeep.rajpura

Hi mark

I am just wondering . how long does it take to get PR after sending form 80 and 1221 in 190 state nomination visa ? and also is that good things as they asked to fill for these forms ?

Thanks in advance
Regards
Sandeep Sharma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandeep -

No way to tell for sure - typically 4-8 month total processing time for 189 or 190 visas, shorter if no work experience is claimed for points. No particular significance to having been asked to complete these forms - ie, no sign good/bad.

Best,

Mark



sandeep.rajpura said:


> Hi mark
> 
> I am just wondering . how long does it take to get PR after sending form 80 and 1221 in 190 state nomination visa ? and also is that good things as they asked to fill for these forms ?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> Regards
> Sandeep Sharma


----------



## sbn0205

*New Query Subclass 189 Processing Times*

Hi Mark,

I was wondering if you could help me..... I have submitted a full application with supporting documents for a subclass 189 (secondary teacher) on the 2nd Dec 2014.

What are the current processing times? I have seen that it says 3 months on the immi website however it does say other processing times on different threads etc.

Is the 3 months from when you submit your full visa like we have?

Thank you in advance
Sarah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarah -

Thanks for the question. Very difficult to predict processing times for DIBP - for 189's, I'd say 3-6 months is typical currently, unless there are extenuating factors (ie, security check from a very high risk country, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sbn0205 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was wondering if you could help me..... I have submitted a full application with supporting documents for a subclass 189 (secondary teacher) on the 2nd Dec 2014.
> 
> What are the current processing times? I have seen that it says 3 months on the immi website however it does say other processing times on different threads etc.
> 
> Is the 3 months from when you submit your full visa like we have?
> 
> Thank you in advance
> Sarah


----------



## sbn0205

Thank you for that information. 

We are applying from the UK and are both British Citizens. Is there anything we can do to speed up the process at all?

Thank You
Sarah


----------



## josephk

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Josephk -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Wish I could help, but it's like trying to guess what's inside a closed box - no way to tell! I realise you are very frustrated, but best thing to do is to periodically check in with DIBP to see if they need any further documents or information.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark
Thanks for reply. I mailed to case officer in December regarding my status but she did not give me any reply. I called AHC in December they told they received my Deferred COE and attached to my file and told me to wait thats it. Can I call once again to AHC or Can I mail them? for mail she is not at all giving reply
what would be chances of approval after 95 days?
will they reject my application?
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Not that I know of, sadly. You might keep in touch with DIBP and periodically ask if there are any additional documents or further information they need, but beyond that until DIBP starts putting some time limits on itself, they will take as long as they want...

Mark



sbn0205 said:


> Thank you for that information.
> 
> We are applying from the UK and are both British Citizens. Is there anything we can do to speed up the process at all?
> 
> Thank You
> Sarah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Josephk -

You can call or email all you like - there are no laws against it. I have no way to predict how DIBP will respond or what your chances are - you might as well hire a fortune teller with a crystal ball. DIBP is a closed box, and you get processed whenever they decide to. As I mentioned above, until DIBP puts some time limits on itself, it can take as long as it wants and there isn't a single thing you or I can do to change that, unfortunately.

Best,

Mark



josephk said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanks for reply. I mailed to case officer in December regarding my status but she did not give me any reply. I called AHC in December they told they received my Deferred COE and attached to my file and told me to wait thats it. Can I call once again to AHC or Can I mail them? for mail she is not at all giving reply
> what would be chances of approval after 95 days?
> will they reject my application?
> Thanks


----------



## darkclaw3000

Thank you Mark! That was really helpful.

Another thing, if I were to go with the ETA, I will have to fly out after the first 3 months, enter, fly out again after another 3 months.

Then, I will get the Visitor Visa (Subclass 600) as this will allow me to stay up to 6months or more.

Would this be a good idea?

Eventually we will have enough proof for 12months defacto.

What would be the next step so I can be living in Australia permanently and legally?

Thank so much Mark



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Darkclaw3000 -
> 
> All of what you propose sounds fine, and as you're from an ETA country, there's a good chance you'll get a 12-month ETA where you have to leave/re-enter the country each 3 months. That may be preferable to applying for a further visa (subclass 600) to remain in the country beyond the end of one of the 3 month stays on the ETA - there is specific DIBP policy against allowing applicants to string together multiple visitor visas in order to accumulate residency time in Australia. As such, the ETA visa (which is usually approved electronically with no Q&A interview from DIBP) may be the best bet. It remains a question as to whether, on your 3rd or 4th entry into Australia on the ETA, immigration may ask you questions at the airport upon entry, but you could say that your relationship is growing, you're not sure where it will end up, but that you want to spend some more time together. Also important to be able to say how you will support yourself in Australia for all those months since you cannot work in Australia on a visitor visa, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## sandeep.rajpura

Thanks for the information mark.

Regards
Sandeep


----------



## zarak1991

hi mark your awseom for helping people,, hatss off to you , i want to ask a question as i have applied for my visa for college , raffeles institute sydney , visa application submited on 21 october 2014 , then did medical on 10 november , now it has been more than 3 months passed i havnt got any answe , my clases are starting 2 weeks after now i m so worried , can u tell me how much time did it takes? plzz reply me sir


----------



## MotoMas

*Thank you so much...*

Thank you SO much Mark, that definitely helps! I will give them a call soon to see what my possibilities are.
Many thanks! Mascha



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mascha -
> 
> Thanks for the question. I can't predict whether EA would accept your degree as an accredited qualification or not, or whether they have circumstances under one of the accords, etc that allow this - it's a matter for EA - I would give them a call and see if you can get one of the assessors to help you out to better understand whether there is any way for you to access the accredited pathway. If not, then the next step is whether you can access the non-accredited (CDR) pathway - there you will have to write 3 "Career episodes" about either engineering projects in school, or projects you did for work. However even with the CDR pathway, there is no minimum requirement for work experience with EA to get a positive skills assessment.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Marcantony

Hi Mark,

We applied for my daughter and her baby to migrate here (visa subclass 101) from the philippines almost 12 months ago. They made her do the medical 2 days after we applied. Since submitting the medical we've heard absolutely nothing, aside from the receipt email. 
According to here, average processing time for high risk outside australia is 14 months.

How long do you think it is reasonable to wait before sending an email asking what is happening with her case?


----------



## JonDoe

*Made mistake in entering Health questionaire what do I do?*

I was filling my 189 Visa Application firm.
While completing my visa health section "Organise your health examinations section" I entered my details in my wife's section by mistake and submitted it. Now I do not see any place to correct it and a HAP ID is generated.
I searched the IMMI site to see if I can write to someone to correct this but cant find any contact email ID to get this corrected.
Can you help with information as to whom I can contact to correct this? 
How do I contact DIBP for clarifications????


----------



## renx

*Skilled Visa*

Hi,

Im intrested to apply for a Programmer Developer Skilled Visa.

Im from Estonia, 26 y old and have 6 years web development skills (mostly object orjented PHP, SQL, HTML, CSS, JavaScript).

I have finished Estonian College, where my specialty was Software Developer (have all the diplomas).

I havent worked in Australia as a software developer. (Im here with 2nd year Working Holiday Visa) and nobody wont take me seriously.

Maybe you know, how big are my changes to get this visa or is there a point of trying? I havent made the skills assessment and IELTS English test yet, but should get at least 60 points for that visa.

Regards


----------



## Arun M B

Hi Mark, 

This is Arun , hope you are doing good. I am applying for Australian Visa.

While applying for skill assessment I noticed that my name in Passport and on my study certificate slightly different.

Passport : Basavarajappa Arun (Given name) , Mallapura (Sur name)
Certificate: Arun M B

Could you please tell me, will it be a concern for my skilled assessment, if yes what can be done?. Waiting for your response.

Thanks in advance
Arun


----------



## josephk

Hi Mark
Thank youe support
got visa today at last....but I have last question please answer me
I got grant notice and I checked in VEVO my name is not correct. My surname and all the details are correct but only my given name is incorrect and typed wrongly (spelled wrongly) How to correct my name in VEVO please help me out 
Is it create any problem for me???


----------



## zarak1991

hey congratz , i want to ask a qustion if u dnt mind which visa u got student? can u tell me how much time student visa takes from minimum to maximam plzzz bro i have applied and its been 3 months


----------



## Toddinaus

Mark, You truly are the best help, along with everyone answering on this forum. It fills me with confidence for the next years of visa hurdles!

I'll keep it short. This year I'll be on a student visa, (finishes March 16) In July...after living together for 14 months, my Defacto partner and I will apply for 820 or 309 (depending on your answer) The fees have gone up considerably for both onshore and offshore applicants,

I am wondering whether there is anyway the 309 is possible whilst on a student visa?


----------



## doctdavis

*Immigrating with Kids*

Mark, 
My wife and I are so excited about moving to Australia. I've submitted my EOI and hope to be invited in the first round of Feb. My question to you is: I have applied for myself (39), my wife (37) and my 4 children (ages 17, 13, 11 and 9). Have you noticed any trends with invitations or visa approvals for people immigrating with kids? Is it more or less likely to be accepted when coming with a family?

The visa we have applied for is a 189.

Thanks for any opinion or advice you can offer.

Travis


----------



## Rahulp92

*Student visa approval*

Hie Sir,
I have applied for Australian student visa AHC New Delhi on 12 January.

But still have not received any reply.
Please help me with when can i get my visa approval.
My University is commencing from 9 February.


----------



## jnsgirls

hi Mark, 

i need your help i need advice, i want to apply for a visitor visa 600

i am on Working Holiday Visa and i can't renew it because i haven't done the 3 months required

i want to stay in Australia because i have a partner

i'm really scared to get a refusal because i want to stay with my partner and not really for tourism but i can say i want to travel with my partner

i have enough funds even though i've been unemployed for the past 8 months

do you think i will get a refusal?

what should i put on the application, i'm completely lost

i can't apply for a partner visa yet only next year

i'm currently in perth and i'm from France

thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Darkclaw3000 -

I don't have enough info on your case to give you specific advice - I assume you're perhaps considering an onshore partner visa application?

Best,

Mark



darkclaw3000 said:


> Thank you Mark! That was really helpful.
> 
> Another thing, if I were to go with the ETA, I will have to fly out after the first 3 months, enter, fly out again after another 3 months.
> 
> Then, I will get the Visitor Visa (Subclass 600) as this will allow me to stay up to 6months or more.
> 
> Would this be a good idea?
> 
> Eventually we will have enough proof for 12months defacto.
> 
> What would be the next step so I can be living in Australia permanently and legally?
> 
> Thank so much Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarak1991 -

Wish I could help, but DIBP is very unpredictable re: processing times. All you can do is to keep in touch with the office processing your visa, perhaps gently remind them that your classes are starting very soon and that you applied within the recommended timeframe.

Best,

Mark



zarak1991 said:


> hi mark your awseom for helping people,, hatss off to you , i want to ask a question as i have applied for my visa for college , raffeles institute sydney , visa application submited on 21 october 2014 , then did medical on 10 november , now it has been more than 3 months passed i havnt got any answe , my clases are starting 2 weeks after now i m so worried , can u tell me how much time did it takes? plzz reply me sir


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marcantony -

I'd wait until 13 months or so (maybe 14), then enquire as to whether they need any further documents or information. Also, if it would benefit the baby to be here (vs in Phil.), you might say something about the visa grant being in the best interests of the child if things go longer than 14 months, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Marcantony said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We applied for my daughter and her baby to migrate here (visa subclass 101) from the philippines almost 12 months ago. They made her do the medical 2 days after we applied. Since submitting the medical we've heard absolutely nothing, aside from the receipt email.
> According to here, average processing time for high risk outside australia is 14 months.
> 
> How long do you think it is reasonable to wait before sending an email asking what is happening with her case?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JonDoe -

I'd lodge Form 1023 explaining the mistake.

Best,

Mark



JonDoe said:


> I was filling my 189 Visa Application firm.
> While completing my visa health section "Organise your health examinations section" I entered my details in my wife's section by mistake and submitted it. Now I do not see any place to correct it and a HAP ID is generated.
> I searched the IMMI site to see if I can write to someone to correct this but cant find any contact email ID to get this corrected.
> Can you help with information as to whom I can contact to correct this?
> How do I contact DIBP for clarifications????


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Renx -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa - would need to look closely at your work experience and educational qualifications especially.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



renx said:


> Hi,
> 
> Im intrested to apply for a Programmer Developer Skilled Visa.
> 
> Im from Estonia, 26 y old and have 6 years web development skills (mostly object orjented PHP, SQL, HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
> 
> I have finished Estonian College, where my specialty was Software Developer (have all the diplomas).
> 
> I havent worked in Australia as a software developer. (Im here with 2nd year Working Holiday Visa) and nobody wont take me seriously.
> 
> Maybe you know, how big are my changes to get this visa or is there a point of trying? I havent made the skills assessment and IELTS English test yet, but should get at least 60 points for that visa.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arun -

Hard to predict this one. Suggest you maybe put together a letter of explanation with links to your birth certificate or any other documents that illustrate that the two names are actually the same person. If the problem persists anyway, may need to get a letter from the school you received the study certificate stating that you are the person who received the certificate and listing both versions of the name (yours, theirs).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Arun M B said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This is Arun , hope you are doing good. I am applying for Australian Visa.
> 
> While applying for skill assessment I noticed that my name in Passport and on my study certificate slightly different.
> 
> Passport : Basavarajappa Arun (Given name) , Mallapura (Sur name)
> Certificate: Arun M B
> 
> Could you please tell me, will it be a concern for my skilled assessment, if yes what can be done?. Waiting for your response.
> 
> Thanks in advance
> Arun


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Josephk -

Very unusual that VEVO spelling does not match grant notice spelling. Suggest you get in touch with the VEVO people (there's a technical support/enquiry facility for VEVO somewhere I believe), submit your visa grant notice, and make a formal request that they correct the VEVO records so that any employers, etc that check VEVO will not find different data. VEVO is primarily keyed from your passport number and date of birth.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



josephk said:


> Hi Mark
> Thank youe support
> got visa today at last....but I have last question please answer me
> I got grant notice and I checked in VEVO my name is not correct. My surname and all the details are correct but only my given name is incorrect and typed wrongly (spelled wrongly) How to correct my name in VEVO please help me out
> Is it create any problem for me???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarak1991 -

See question answered previously - no way to tell, DIBP puts no time limits on themselves, so they can take as long as they want. Suggest you nicely let them know that your study is beginning very soon. I expect the application may be delayed by external security checks, but no way to tell for sure. If so, nothing you can do but wait. More and more people are having to defer their studies because DIBP cannot process their visas quickly enough - not a good situation!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zarak1991 said:


> hey congratz , i want to ask a qustion if u dnt mind which visa u got student? can u tell me how much time student visa takes from minimum to maximam plzzz bro i have applied and its been 3 months


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Toddinaus -

Thanks for the kind words! No problem at all for 309 visa application lodged while you hold a student visa, although most people lodge the onshore 820/801 visa application if they are here studying on a student visa and want to remain after studies on a bridging visa (from the partner visa application). For 309, you'd have to go offshore to apply, and no bridging visa is available so you'd end up in your home country while the 309/100 processes, unless you have some other visa to be in Australia on.

ALSO... this assumes you have no conditions on your student visa that prohibit a further onshore application (like 8534 or 8535) - you should check for those carefully.

Happy to assist you further in a consultation if you'd like to go over the finer points of partner visa applications - see link in website below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Toddinaus said:


> Mark, You truly are the best help, along with everyone answering on this forum. It fills me with confidence for the next years of visa hurdles!
> 
> I'll keep it short. This year I'll be on a student visa, (finishes March 16) In July...after living together for 14 months, my Defacto partner and I will apply for 820 or 309 (depending on your answer) The fees have gone up considerably for both onshore and offshore applicants,
> 
> I am wondering whether there is anyway the 309 is possible whilst on a student visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Doctdavis -

Thanks for the question. No particular trends re: kids - generally they do not make a big difference either way, unless there are any health issues present.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



doctdavis said:


> Mark,
> My wife and I are so excited about moving to Australia. I've submitted my EOI and hope to be invited in the first round of Feb. My question to you is: I have applied for myself (39), my wife (37) and my 4 children (ages 17, 13, 11 and 9). Have you noticed any trends with invitations or visa approvals for people immigrating with kids? Is it more or less likely to be accepted when coming with a family?
> 
> The visa we have applied for is a 189.
> 
> Thanks for any opinion or advice you can offer.
> 
> Travis


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahulp92 -

No way to tell how long a visa will take - as you'll notice in this thread, there is another poster who has been waiting over 3 months for a student visa decision! All you can do is keep in touch with the AHC where you lodged the visa to ask if they need any further documents or information. Wish I could help more, but since DIBP puts no time limits on themselves, they can essentially take as long as they want to process a visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rahulp92 said:


> Hie Sir,
> I have applied for Australian student visa AHC New Delhi on 12 January.
> 
> But still have not received any reply.
> Please help me with when can i get my visa approval.
> My University is commencing from 9 February.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jnsgirls -

Thanks for the question. Hard to say what chances are of refusal/success for an additional visa, however DIBP may not approve a visitor visa if the only reason it believes you are staying is to establish residence with a partner. It's a tough spot - you might also consider a student visa if you wish to study in Australia...? If you go for the visitor visa, important to come up with an itinerary of places you plan to visit, etc. and to show that you have sufficient funds to finance yourself for an extended vacation, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jnsgirls said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> i need your help i need advice, i want to apply for a visitor visa 600
> 
> i am on Working Holiday Visa and i can't renew it because i haven't done the 3 months required
> 
> i want to stay in Australia because i have a partner
> 
> i'm really scared to get a refusal because i want to stay with my partner and not really for tourism but i can say i want to travel with my partner
> 
> i have enough funds even though i've been unemployed for the past 8 months
> 
> do you think i will get a refusal?
> 
> what should i put on the application, i'm completely lost
> 
> i can't apply for a partner visa yet only next year
> 
> i'm currently in perth and i'm from France
> 
> thanks


----------



## ajm

Hi mark!

I just wanna ask about my visa. I am planning to apply for 485 visa. I finished tafe(cert 3 in aged care) last 2012 and nursing at uni in 2013-14. However, when i asked for a letter of completion fro uni, i was a part time student in the last semester. One of the requirements of the visa is 2 academic years. I wasn't able to comply it because i have 2 extra subject credits in the last semester. 

Am i still eligible if i attached my tafe course then my uni qualification? Is cert 3 in aged care can help me fulfill my 2 years of full time study? Thanks


----------



## ajm

Hello mark! I just wanna ask about my visa. I am planning to apply for 485 visa. I finished tafe(cert 3 in aged care) last 2012 and nursing at uni in 2013-14. However, when i asked for a letter of completion fro uni, i was a part time student in the last semester. One of the requirements of the visa is 2 academic years. I wasn't able to comply it because i have 2 extra subject credits in the last semester. 

Am i still eligible if i attached my tafe course then my uni qualification? Is cert 3 in aged care can help me fulfill my 2 years of full time study? Thank you


----------



## Arun M B

Hi Mark,

Thanks for info.
There is an option of having affidavit stating all these names belong to the same person. But I have a problem of uploading this affidavit in the online application form of ACS skill assessment. as there is no option in the online application form to upload the affidavit. i heard ACS is strict in the uploaded documents where the document name should exactly match the document type selected from the options on the form.
If I submit this without any affidavit, does ACS come back asking more information to submit affidavit or any other documents? or do they directly reject my application without any notice or communication?

Please let me know.
Thanks,
Arun


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Arun -
> 
> Hard to predict this one. Suggest you maybe put together a letter of explanation with links to your birth certificate or any other documents that illustrate that the two names are actually the same person. If the problem persists anyway, may need to get a letter from the school you received the study certificate stating that you are the person who received the certificate and listing both versions of the name (yours, theirs).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AJM -

Thanks for the question - I would need to examine the specific transcripts of both programs in order to get you an opinion on whether combination of qualifications meet the Australia Study Requirement - the rules are too detailed and picky to deal with general references on a forum, etc. Happy to assist you in a consultation - see website link below in my signature for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ajm said:


> Hi mark!
> 
> I just wanna ask about my visa. I am planning to apply for 485 visa. I finished tafe(cert 3 in aged care) last 2012 and nursing at uni in 2013-14. However, when i asked for a letter of completion fro uni, i was a part time student in the last semester. One of the requirements of the visa is 2 academic years. I wasn't able to comply it because i have 2 extra subject credits in the last semester.
> 
> Am i still eligible if i attached my tafe course then my uni qualification? Is cert 3 in aged care can help me fulfill my 2 years of full time study? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arun -

They could do either. I suggest you phone ACS to ask them what evidence they might accept to prove the two names belong to the same person, then ask how to provide that to them (ie, upload, or email after lodging, or something else).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Arun M B said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for info.
> There is an option of having affidavit stating all these names belong to the same person. But I have a problem of uploading this affidavit in the online application form of ACS skill assessment. as there is no option in the online application form to upload the affidavit. i heard ACS is strict in the uploaded documents where the document name should exactly match the document type selected from the options on the form.
> If I submit this without any affidavit, does ACS come back asking more information to submit affidavit or any other documents? or do they directly reject my application without any notice or communication?
> 
> Please let me know.
> Thanks,
> Arun


----------



## zarak1991

thanks alot but my agent is not telling me about my case officer how to know my case officer respected sir


----------



## AfricaTwin

Hello Mark,

I am new to this site. My application has been dragging on for over a year now so I thought I’d seek some input/advice from this forum.

Applied and paid online - 04/01/2014
Received email from CO – standard attachments saying processing time at least 8-9 months
Medical - two weeks later
Form 80 – submitted a week later after medical
No contact from CO after that.
At the time of applying my relationship with my wife was 3.5 yrs long, now its over 4.5years
I am a Kenyan citizen so considered “high risk”

Sent CO email asking for timeframe for decision 27th Jan 2015, no reply yet. I applied from London where I have been living for the last 13 years.

Can you shed some light on security checks in my case?

Any advice/input will be most welcome and appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarak1991 -

Re: case officer, these days at DIBP most visa applications do not have an individual case officer - instead it's a "team" that an application gets assigned to. Each team will typically have an ID number, ie "Team 2, NSW Partner Visas (temporary)" or something like that. The team will also have an email address - it's on the correspondence your agent would receive from DIBP. If you're working with an agent, you should have him communicate with DIBP on your behalf - after all, that's what you're paying him for!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zarak1991 said:


> thanks alot but my agent is not telling me about my case officer how to know my case officer respected sir


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Africa Twin -

Thanks for the question. Security checks are impossible to predict, unfortunately - normally partner visas are taking 12-18 months to process in cases where there are no exceptional security check situations (ie, high risk countries), so I'd probably hope for an answer in 2015, but impossible to say when. No response from DIBP is, unfortunately, typical. I expect they are swamped with huge numbers of people enquiring about why their visas are taking so long to process, and simply choose to ignore those emails in many cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AfricaTwin said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am new to this site. My application has been dragging on for over a year now so I thought I'd seek some input/advice from this forum.
> 
> Applied and paid online - 04/01/2014
> Received email from CO - standard attachments saying processing time at least 8-9 months
> Medical - two weeks later
> Form 80 - submitted a week later after medical
> No contact from CO after that.
> At the time of applying my relationship with my wife was 3.5 yrs long, now its over 4.5years
> I am a Kenyan citizen so considered "high risk"
> 
> Sent CO email asking for timeframe for decision 27th Jan 2015, no reply yet. I applied from London where I have been living for the last 13 years.
> 
> Can you shed some light on security checks in my case?
> 
> Any advice/input will be most welcome and appreciated.


----------



## shaunmw87

shaunmw87 said:


> Hi Mark hope your year has got off yo a great start!
> 
> Was wondering if you could help me with some advice. Me and my wife are looking to come to Australia in July this year (2015). We don't know yet whether we want to settle permanently or not but would like to have that option.
> 
> As I am a British citizen I was wanting to get a work/holiday visa for 1yr, my wife who is Brazilian would look to get a study visa for the same period or longer- she has studied in Australia before in 2008-2009. Once in Australia I would want to find work and hopefully be able to get sponsored- then my wife would be able to move onto my visa- in order to stay longer if we choose to.
> 
> What I am wondering is, is this all feasible, and would you perhaps recommend a different way of working the visa process?
> 
> Is it even possible for me to come to Australia on a work/holiday visa and then change over to a work sponsored visa?
> 
> Would my wife getting her own visa be the best option, or should she join me on my work/holiday visa?
> 
> For the record I work as a joiner, but have worked in many construction trades. I also have a degree in environmental management. Those would be my top job focuses while I am there.
> 
> Please any advice would be very much appreciated.
> 
> Regards Shaun





MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shaunmw87 -
> 
> Thanks for the note - as working holiday visas do not allow dependents (each person would have to qualify on their own), she would not be able to be an additional applicant on your working holiday visa. Assuming she gets a student visa, this all sounds reasonable from what you've said - she would need to qualify for the student visa, etc and DIBP would need to be convinced that her primary reason in coming to Australia is to study, not to be with you (see genuine student policy criteria).
> 
> Many people who come on working holiday visas end up continuing their stay in Australia on an employer sponsored or skilled visa, so that's not an issue at all, especially given the generous work allowance under the working holiday visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks so much for your reply Mark.

I have a few more questions regarding this visa and that of my wife.

A friend of mine mentioned that it would be a good idea to do my regional work for this visa first up, that way it gives me two years uninterrupted to work and settle in without having to go and do this work in the middle of my year. I thought this was a good idea however now I am not sure about my wife's visa.

As far as I know she can only enter Australia one month prior to the start of her studies. I would wanna come three or four months before this in order to do the regional work first then move to the city where she can study.

Is it possible for her to get in any earlier? Or perhaps enter on a tourist visa and then sign up to study once we are in Australia?

Any help appreciated Mark thanks

Shaun


----------



## CantoAus

Hi Mark - it was recommended to me that I post here for info  I am wanting to applly for a PMV from Canada for myself and my two daughters. My youngest, age 4 has some developmental delays....nothing severe, she has a speech delay (she speaks, just not clearly or with a huge vocabulary yet) and she has met many of her milestones (sitting up, walking, crawling, talking, potty training, etc) slower than most children. She has had so many tests and does not have a diagnosis, other than that she does things slower than average. Will this prevent or cause issues in applying for the PMV? Gosh, I hope not!!


----------



## Caz

Hi Mark, I'm sorry if I have posted this in the wrong section, I'm not good at computers which is making me more nervous about the application.

So this may be a thick question and really obvious but here goes...

Can you choose whether you make your application online or on paper?? I cant work it out from what people are saying?? Also if it is online, would you make your own file so the pages where in order or something or is there like a template once you start applying and just upload documents? 

I am confident I have enough evidence, though finding it is more time consuming than I thought but now I'm stressing at the actual applying bit. I really hope you can help.

thanks!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shaun -

DIBP is inconsistent re: start dates of student visas, hard to predict. Applying onshore for student visa can work, however you'll want to check the list of qualifying visas very carefully and make sure everything is in place for the student visa application. Other issue is making sure if she comes here first on a visitor visa, that the visitor visa does not have condition 8503 which would prevent an onshore application while holding that visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shaunmw87 said:


> Thanks so much for your reply Mark.
> 
> I have a few more questions regarding this visa and that of my wife.
> 
> A friend of mine mentioned that it would be a good idea to do my regional work for this visa first up, that way it gives me two years uninterrupted to work and settle in without having to go and do this work in the middle of my year. I thought this was a good idea however now I am not sure about my wife's visa.
> 
> As far as I know she can only enter Australia one month prior to the start of her studies. I would wanna come three or four months before this in order to do the regional work first then move to the city where she can study.
> 
> Is it possible for her to get in any earlier? Or perhaps enter on a tourist visa and then sign up to study once we are in Australia?
> 
> Any help appreciated Mark thanks
> 
> Shaun


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CantoAus -

That's a difficult one to predict - if there is a diagnosis of some sort of a learning impairment, that could certainly trigger a health criteria issue, although difficult to predict severity of the problem and whether it would rise to being an issue with the visa application. Short of a diagnosis, it may be based on whatever the medical check doctor decides is appropriate re: current impairment and what future impairment may be.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CantoAus said:


> Hi Mark - it was recommended to me that I post here for info  I am wanting to applly for a PMV from Canada for myself and my two daughters. My youngest, age 4 has some developmental delays....nothing severe, she has a speech delay (she speaks, just not clearly or with a huge vocabulary yet) and she has met many of her milestones (sitting up, walking, crawling, talking, potty training, etc) slower than most children. She has had so many tests and does not have a diagnosis, other than that she does things slower than average. Will this prevent or cause issues in applying for the PMV? Gosh, I hope not!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Caz -

Thanks for the note, and I think you're doing just fine with computers! Your message was clear, posted correctly, and gave me a very good idea of what your question is.

Re: paper or online, that's a choice that changes depending on the type of visa you are applying for. For partner and fiance visas, you can choose whichever type you wish (we recommend online for speed and having control over what goes in). For some types of visas (such as 457 visas and skilled visas) online is required unless you get permission from DIBP to lodge a paper application (rare unless there are DIBP system problems that prevent an online application from being made). For other types, it can depend on what country you are in (student visas, visitor visas) as to whether you can lodge online or paper.

Re: online applications, the basic steps are:

1. Complete the online application - basically pages of questions where you put in your response. You can always save these as you go along, so you can go back and pick up again later. These are usually lodged by using an ImmiAccount - you can sign up for a free ImmiAccount at the DIBP website at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection and this is where you complete and lodge your online applications.

2. Lodge your online application - when you are done filling in all the blanks on the online form and have checked your work very carefully, you click "Submit" and pay the fee via a credit card.

3. Upload your documents after lodgement - after you pay, you are presented with a screen where you can upload documents (passport, birth cert, work or educational documents, etc as required by the particular visa you are applying for). For many visas you can continue to upload further documents as they become available until a decision is made, however each visa has "time of application" requirements that must be met at the time of application.

Hope this helps serve as an into to the process -

Best,

Mark Northam



Caz said:


> Hi Mark, I'm sorry if I have posted this in the wrong section, I'm not good at computers which is making me more nervous about the application.
> 
> So this may be a thick question and really obvious but here goes...
> 
> Can you choose whether you make your application online or on paper?? I cant work it out from what people are saying?? Also if it is online, would you make your own file so the pages where in order or something or is there like a template once you start applying and just upload documents?
> 
> I am confident I have enough evidence, though finding it is more time consuming than I thought but now I'm stressing at the actual applying bit. I really hope you can help.
> 
> thanks!!


----------



## mfish38

Hi Mark quick ? for you
I got after 3 months registered letter from immi saying my wifes sponsorship withdrawn. I was told on the downlow no decision made with her yet!!!

Would she have gotten a letter about the same time as me?
whats the process for her now?
28 days etc??
She tried a DVO (totally false claims) we got it thrown out however my barrister and I decided to do an undertaking to keep her off my back.
Ive been told this gives her nothing to use, been told she could use the undertaking as non judicial and also been told to use an undertaking it needed to be made by both of us. Whats your opinion?
And believe it or not I still love the lady and if she steered away from the negative people who caused all the problems in our marriage and got her drinking id take her back even after all she has done to me, provided she changed of course.
How much longer as a rough estimate would you think she has before shes asked to leave. Letter dated 12/1/15
Cheers


----------



## jnsgirls

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the answer it helped.
The other thing I want is that for the visitor visa 600, they ask for an evidence that you want to return home and I want to show them that all my family members are in France. What kind of documents can I give them to prove that.

Thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jnsgirls -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Hard to say what chances are of refusal/success for an additional visa, however DIBP may not approve a visitor visa if the only reason it believes you are staying is to establish residence with a partner. It's a tough spot - you might also consider a student visa if you wish to study in Australia...? If you go for the visitor visa, important to come up with an itinerary of places you plan to visit, etc. and to show that you have sufficient funds to finance yourself for an extended vacation, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Caz

Thank you so much mark! That helps loads!!

p.s You're lovely


----------



## dajo

*partner visa 309 dependent child queries*

Hello Mark,
I am about to lodge a Partner Visa (Subclass 309) and it shall include my baby under 2 years of age.

My query is that in the form 47SP should I leave the field for Dependent Applicant's Signature blank? or Should I sign there as well instead being the parent?

Kindly guide me regarding the same.

Thank you


----------



## Marcantony

Thank you for the reply.


----------



## Rahulp92

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rahulp92 -
> 
> No way to tell how long a visa will take - as you'll notice in this thread, there is another poster who has been waiting over 3 months for a student visa decision! All you can do is keep in touch with the AHC where you lodged the visa to ask if they need any further documents or information. Wish I could help more, but since DIBP puts no time limits on themselves, they can essentially take as long as they want to process a visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Sir,

But i have heard that under svp the processing time for student visa becomes 14 working days.

Is it true?


----------



## Rahulp92

Rahulp92 said:


> Hello Sir,
> 
> But i have heard that under svp the processing time for student visa becomes 14 working days.
> 
> Is it true?


Please reply me soon sir


----------



## jigz1283

Hi Mark,

I'd like to seek your expert advise on these two scenarios.

1. I just got invited for a 189 visa via skillselect, but my wife and I are expecting a baby by early september of this year. I'd like to know if it is best to pursue the application now or wait for my baby to be born. Are there any provisions in DIBP migration rules that tackle this particular case? I'm in a dilemma right now:
-If I pursue the visa application now - I might not or cannot include my baby in the application
-If I wait for my baby to be born - I might lose the opportunity as the DIBP may change migration rules/policies by July

2. Can I get a refund of the visa application charge if the visa is refused due to failed health/medical requirement (like having a medical condition that incurs high costs)? Do you have an idea of the specific medical tests to be performed for a 189 visa? The reason why I'm asking this is that my wife and I might need to pre-screened ourselves of these medical tests. It is just a waste of money to apply for a visa only to be refused at the end.

Hope you can enlighten me.

Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mfish38 -

Thanks for the note - no way to predict how much time she may have, plus no way to tell what additional options (MRT, Ministerial Intervention, Federal Court) she might choose to pursue that could radically affect how much time she has in Australia.

Best,

Mark



mfish38 said:


> Hi Mark quick ? for you
> I got after 3 months registered letter from immi saying my wifes sponsorship withdrawn. I was told on the downlow no decision made with her yet!!!
> 
> Would she have gotten a letter about the same time as me?
> whats the process for her now?
> 28 days etc??
> She tried a DVO (totally false claims) we got it thrown out however my barrister and I decided to do an undertaking to keep her off my back.
> Ive been told this gives her nothing to use, been told she could use the undertaking as non judicial and also been told to use an undertaking it needed to be made by both of us. Whats your opinion?
> And believe it or not I still love the lady and if she steered away from the negative people who caused all the problems in our marriage and got her drinking id take her back even after all she has done to me, provided she changed of course.
> How much longer as a rough estimate would you think she has before shes asked to leave. Letter dated 12/1/15
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jnsgirls -

Thanks for the question. A family book, or set of birth certificates showing parentage, etc to put together a family tree can be helpful in these situations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jnsgirls said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the answer it helped.
> The other thing I want is that for the visitor visa 600, they ask for an evidence that you want to return home and I want to show them that all my family members are in France. What kind of documents can I give them to prove that.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks for the kind words! Good luck with all -

Best,

Mark



Caz said:


> Thank you so much mark! That helps loads!!
> 
> p.s You're lovely


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dajo -

For children, you can sign your name and write underneath it (parent)

Best,

Mark



dajo said:


> Hello Mark,
> I am about to lodge a Partner Visa (Subclass 309) and it shall include my baby under 2 years of age.
> 
> My query is that in the form 47SP should I leave the field for Dependent Applicant's Signature blank? or Should I sign there as well instead being the parent?
> 
> Kindly guide me regarding the same.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahulp92 -

In some cases, it is true. In other cases, I've seen SVP applications go for 2+ months. There's no predicting things with DIBP re: their processing times.

Best,

Mark



Rahulp92 said:


> Hello Sir,
> 
> But i have heard that under svp the processing time for student visa becomes 14 working days.
> 
> Is it true?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jigz1283 -

Thanks for the questions. Re: newborn, the general rule is that if a baby is born while the parents have a visa application pending, the baby is automatically taken to have applied for the same visa that the parents have. Form 1022 is lodged which advises DIBP of the baby's birth, and DIBP may ask for further documents for the child.

Re: refunds on health refusals, DIBP does not provide these. Re: pre-screen, hard to say - the situations that tend to cause issues are long-term chronic conditions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jigz1283 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'd like to seek your expert advise on these two scenarios.
> 
> 1. I just got invited for a 189 visa via skillselect, but my wife and I are expecting a baby by early september of this year. I'd like to know if it is best to pursue the application now or wait for my baby to be born. Are there any provisions in DIBP migration rules that tackle this particular case? I'm in a dilemma right now:
> -If I pursue the visa application now - I might not or cannot include my baby in the application
> -If I wait for my baby to be born - I might lose the opportunity as the DIBP may change migration rules/policies by July
> 
> 2. Can I get a refund of the visa application charge if the visa is refused due to failed health/medical requirement (like having a medical condition that incurs high costs)? Do you have an idea of the specific medical tests to be performed for a 189 visa? The reason why I'm asking this is that my wife and I might need to pre-screened ourselves of these medical tests. It is just a waste of money to apply for a visa only to be refused at the end.
> 
> Hope you can enlighten me.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahulp92 -

Thanks - no need to post a message reminding me to respond to the message you posted moments before - I do my best to get to all as time allows (it's 2:00am now and I'm just finishing)...

If you require immediate service, it might be wise to engage a professional migration agent and not depend on anonymous free forums...!

Best,

Mark



Rahulp92 said:


> Please reply me soon sir


----------



## AfricaTwin

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Africa Twin -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Security checks are impossible to predict, unfortunately - normally partner visas are taking 12-18 months to process in cases where there are no exceptional security check situations (ie, high risk countries), so I'd probably hope for an answer in 2015, but impossible to say when. No response from DIBP is, unfortunately, typical. I expect they are swamped with huge numbers of people enquiring about why their visas are taking so long to process, and simply choose to ignore those emails in many cases.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Many thanks for the reply, it does help.


----------



## Rahulp92

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rahulp92 -
> 
> Thanks - no need to post a message reminding me to respond to the message you posted moments before - I do my best to get to all as time allows (it's 2:00am now and I'm just finishing)...
> 
> If you require immediate service, it might be wise to engage a professional migration agent and not depend on anonymous free forums...!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


hi Mark,

Sorry sir my intentions where not to hurt you.

It is just that i am too worried.


----------



## kiltedscot

Hi Mark,

Bit of a long one this.. Had applied for Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (187). My prospective employer submitted their nomination and I also submitted my application. My prospective employers application has just been rejected/ unsuccessful. Now I have been informed via email from immigration of a 'Invitation to comment' - either withdraw my application or continue (but immigration say that there is no way my visa will be approved due to my prospective employers application being refused). My prospective employers application was refused as apparently further documents being requested by immigration not being submitted within the time frame. My prospective employer was informed via telephone such documents might be needed but was advised contact would be made via email by immigration to confirm. No email was received so they did not think they had to submit further documentation. They are currently trying to protest this decision (to not much joy) and have been told it is unlikely they will be allowed to submit the further documents. They are now being told to appeal will cost money (this whole process has already cost a lot of money from both their side and my side of applications), and that starting again might be a better option.
I have to reply to the immigration email about my application within 28 days. What do you suggest my next plan of action. I feel it's fully unacceptable on immigration part as it is their mistake, yet it seems they don't want to hear. I pretty much think I am going to lose the money spent on the application, whether I subtract my application or continue with it (as it is simply going to be refused). I am even considering now going to an agent, but time is ticking and not on our side.
Hope all this makes sense.
Regards.


----------



## Ruth7862

*AoS for 103 visa*

Hi Mark,
We are a couple wanting to apply for a 103 visa as happy to wait about 15 years to obtain the visa. My son would be sponsoring us. He has citizenship and is working part time and doing a degree. The bond is not an issue as we would pay that into our son's account but worried about what income he would have to have. Would his income have to be sufficient at the point of our application or just prior to granting the visa many years hence. If now how much would his income need to be? He has no dependants,
Many thanks for any advice you can offer,
Regards,
Ruth


----------



## andrewcool

Gday Mark

Nice to see you are helping the folks here and hope you had a wonderful Aussie Day holiday

Would like to ask 2 quick questions about travel insurance & evidence uploading and hope you can help me

1) My wife just applied onshore 820 Partner visa and got married here and she just got her medicare card. I know the medicare card covers general medical stuffs if something happens but my wife had purchased like 1 year travel holiday insurance in her country already and I am wondering if it will work here if something happens? Usually if you buy travel insurance for holiday and an accident happens, you get covered, but what happens in this case?
If something happens, can she claim insurance given she purchased it oversea or it is not valid once she applied for partner visa? Or it applies for medicare only since she is not regarded as a tourist or something?

2) Since we just got married here, live here and just opened the joint bank account, the statement is sent out every 3 months, so my question can we wait the statement 3 months later and upload the evidence online by then? Or its too long/risky for the wait?

Your help would be appreciated. Cheers. Andrew


----------



## josephk

Hi Mark
Thanks for reply. I already spoke with you regarding my name wrongly spelled in VEVO. I did not find any email id or contact number of VEVO department/people. so How will I change my name in VEVO everything my passport no and all details are correct except my name. Is it create any problem after landing in Australia??


----------



## mfish38

Mark is the undertaking of any use to her?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mfish38 -

I don't have enough information to determine that - would need to see the case in full and all documents. And, of course, it would depend on the case from her point of view, what option(s) she's pursuing, etc... Sorry, not enough info to give you an opinion.

Best,

Mark Northam



mfish38 said:


> Mark is the undertaking of any use to her?


----------



## Arun M B

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Arun -
> 
> They could do either. I suggest you phone ACS to ask them what evidence they might accept to prove the two names belong to the same person, then ask how to provide that to them (ie, upload, or email after lodging, or something else).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for you valuable suggestion.
I had sent query to ACS ([email protected]) and they replied promptly saying, Affidavit has to be uploaded under the document type "CV" in the personal section of the online application form with the pdf file name as affidavit.pdf.

Thanks again for your suggestion.
Arun


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Josephk -

I don't know whether it would cause a problem after landing - I'm thinking not, but obviously that's only an estimate. I believe they have eliminated the direct VEVO support number/email so you'll have to deal with the main DIBP phone numbers, etc listed on their website.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



josephk said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanks for reply. I already spoke with you regarding my name wrongly spelled in VEVO. I did not find any email id or contact number of VEVO department/people. so How will I change my name in VEVO everything my passport no and all details are correct except my name. Is it create any problem after landing in Australia??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kiltedscot -

Thanks for the note. Re: the employer nomination, your employer may wish to have this reviewed at the Migration Review Tribunal re: the controversy re: notification - I would recommend a migration agent if he chooses this route (I'd be happy to assist if you'd like as I'm an agent). Re: your application, if you withdraw, assuming you are on a bridging visa at the moment, that will likely cease 28 days from withdrawal. However if you allow the applcation to be refused and then appeal the visa application (also) to the MRT, the bridging visa would continue.

Other issues that are present here include what visa you are on now, chances of success at an MRT review for the nomination, etc. I'd consider consulting with a migration agent to consider different pathways forward to make sure you are considering all the options. Would be happy to work with you (see website in signature below), but would urge you to make sure you understand all the options and choices/consequences of different options and pathways before making a decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kiltedscot said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Bit of a long one this.. Had applied for Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (187). My prospective employer submitted their nomination and I also submitted my application. My prospective employers application has just been rejected/ unsuccessful. Now I have been informed via email from immigration of a 'Invitation to comment' - either withdraw my application or continue (but immigration say that there is no way my visa will be approved due to my prospective employers application being refused). My prospective employers application was refused as apparently further documents being requested by immigration not being submitted within the time frame. My prospective employer was informed via telephone such documents might be needed but was advised contact would be made via email by immigration to confirm. No email was received so they did not think they had to submit further documentation. They are currently trying to protest this decision (to not much joy) and have been told it is unlikely they will be allowed to submit the further documents. They are now being told to appeal will cost money (this whole process has already cost a lot of money from both their side and my side of applications), and that starting again might be a better option.
> I have to reply to the immigration email about my application within 28 days. What do you suggest my next plan of action. I feel it's fully unacceptable on immigration part as it is their mistake, yet it seems they don't want to hear. I pretty much think I am going to lose the money spent on the application, whether I subtract my application or continue with it (as it is simply going to be refused). I am even considering now going to an agent, but time is ticking and not on our side.
> Hope all this makes sense.
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahulp92 -

No problem, I completely understand. 

Best,

Mark



Rahulp92 said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> Sorry sir my intentions where not to hurt you.
> 
> It is just that i am too worried.


----------



## mfish38

she tried to get a DVO (false allegations) it was not granted, my barrister and I gave a signed undertaking to the court to stay away from her but she could contact be to safeguard me from futher hassels.
It was not a joint undertaking between my wife and I just me.
As I understand it but am no expert that's not able to be classed as non judicial
Just seeking your clarification
She has a letter from DIAC and has said she will accept it when they tell her to leave so going on that I don't believe she has anything to submit

But just curious on the undertaking


----------



## kiltedscot

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kiltedscot -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Re: the employer nomination, your employer may wish to have this reviewed at the Migration Review Tribunal re: the controversy re: notification - I would recommend a migration agent if he chooses this route (I'd be happy to assist if you'd like as I'm an agent). Re: your application, if you withdraw, assuming you are on a bridging visa at the moment, that will likely cease 28 days from withdrawal. However if you allow the applcation to be refused and then appeal the visa application (also) to the MRT, the bridging visa would continue.
> 
> Other issues that are present here include what visa you are on now, chances of success at an MRT review for the nomination, etc. I'd consider consulting with a migration agent to consider different pathways forward to make sure you are considering all the options. Would be happy to work with you (see website in signature below), but would urge you to make sure you understand all the options and choices/consequences of different options and pathways before making a decision.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Many thanks for reply Mark. I'm currently applying from out with Australia, back in the UK. This is what is making it tricky. I really don't know if I should continue with application then appeal or withdraw it and start over. The problem really involves my prospective employer and trying to appeal that decision.


----------



## Deano

Hi Mark
I am an Australian married to a Philippine girl, she is pregnant with my child and here on a tourist visa, she will give birth here before her visa runs out
We are intending to apply for PR partner visa but just saw fees went up 50% and I now won't have the funds to apply before she gives birth
If she were to give birth here while still on a tourist visa does that change anything ?
I assume our child will be an automatic Australian citizen yes...
Is there a better (cheaper) way to get her PR visa now that she has an Australian child ?

Any pointers would be helpful

Thanks in advance Deano


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mfish38 -

No way to tell usefulness of the undertaking unless we knew exactly what procedures she was attempting to utilise, etc. The context is everything.

Best,

Mark



mfish38 said:


> she tried to get a DVO (false allegations) it was not granted, my barrister and I gave a signed undertaking to the court to stay away from her but she could contact be to safeguard me from futher hassels.
> It was not a joint undertaking between my wife and I just me.
> As I understand it but am no expert that's not able to be classed as non judicial
> Just seeking your clarification
> She has a letter from DIAC and has said she will accept it when they tell her to leave so going on that I don't believe she has anything to submit
> 
> But just curious on the undertaking


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kiltedscot -

I agree - I'd get some professional advice from someone who can review all the circumstances of your situation and explain in detail the options and results.

Best,

Mark



kiltedscot said:


> Many thanks for reply Mark. I'm currently applying from out with Australia, back in the UK. This is what is making it tricky. I really don't know if I should continue with application then appeal or withdraw it and start over. The problem really involves my prospective employer and trying to appeal that decision.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deano -

Thanks for the note, and congratulations on the upcoming birth!

No cheaper way I know of to lodge a partner visa, other than applying for an offshore partner visa (now $4,640 application fee), then she and the child would come back on a visitor visa (likely to be approved since there is a child involved). As you're the father of the child and you're an Australian citizen, you can apply for citizenship by descent for the child upon birth, then apply for an Australian passport for the child - the child does not need to be included in the partner visa at all (and should not be).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Deano said:


> Hi Mark
> I am an Australian married to a Philippine girl, she is pregnant with my child and here on a tourist visa, she will give birth here before her visa runs out
> We are intending to apply for PR partner visa but just saw fees went up 50% and I now won't have the funds to apply before she gives birth
> If she were to give birth here while still on a tourist visa does that change anything ?
> I assume our child will be an automatic Australian citizen yes...
> Is there a better (cheaper) way to get her PR visa now that she has an Australian child ?
> 
> Any pointers would be helpful
> 
> Thanks in advance Deano


----------



## mfish38

Hi Mark another quick one for you
When a letter is issued by DIAC and you are given 28 days to explain your case, does the 28 days start from the date on the letter.

Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mfish38 -

It starts from the date you are deemed to have received the letter which depends on the method of transmission - if by email, you are deemed to have received it at the end of the day it was sent; if sent by post to an onshore address in Australia, you are deemed to have received it 7 working days after it was sent, etc.

Best,

Mark



mfish38 said:


> Hi Mark another quick one for you
> When a letter is issued by DIAC and you are given 28 days to explain your case, does the 28 days start from the date on the letter.
> 
> Cheers


----------



## mfish38

thank you Mark


----------



## qimtiaz

Hi Mark,

I need your guidance on below:

1: I have done my ACS with Job title Software programmer where my actual title on salary slips and contract is Computer programmer, 
do i need to re-asses my experience from ACS although the job responsibilities are same.

2: My friend have done his ACS with Job title Sr. Software Developer where his actual title on salary slips and contract is Sr. Computer programmer, do he need to re-asses his experience from ACS although the job responsibilities are same.

Thanks allot for providing guidance to immigrant aspirants.

Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Qimtiaz -

The title on the pay slips is unlikely to be of much interest to DIBP or ACS, however the title and duties/responsibilities as described in the employer reference letters would be very important.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



qimtiaz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I need your guidance on below:
> 
> 1: I have done my ACS with Job title Software programmer where my actual title on salary slips and contract is Computer programmer,
> do i need to re-asses my experience from ACS although the job responsibilities are same.
> 
> 2: My friend have done his ACS with Job title Sr. Software Developer where his actual title on salary slips and contract is Sr. Computer programmer, do he need to re-asses his experience from ACS although the job responsibilities are same.
> 
> Thanks allot for providing guidance to immigrant aspirants.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## andrewcool

Gday Mark

Nice to see you are helping the folks here and hope you had a wonderful Aussie Day holiday

Would like to ask 2 quick questions about travel insurance & evidence uploading and hope you can help me


1) My wife just applied onshore 820 Partner visa and got married here and she just got her medicare card. I know the medicare card covers general medical stuffs if something happens but my wife had purchased like 1 year travel holiday insurance in her country already and I am wondering if it will work here if something happens? Usually if you buy travel insurance for holiday and an accident happens, you get covered, but what happens in this case?
If something happens, can she claim insurance given she purchased it oversea or it is not valid once she applied for partner visa? Or it applies for medicare only since she is not regarded as a tourist or something?


2) Since we just got married here, live here and just opened the joint bank account, the statement is sent out every 3 months, so my question can we wait the statement 3 months later and upload the evidence online by then? Or its too long/risky for the wait?


Your help would be appreciated. Cheers. Andrew


----------



## mfish38

As a rule Mark once the 28 days are up if no evidence to stay is produced is that when she will be told to leave, and Im guessing its 28 days again like the first letter.
Is it a quick turn around between first 28 days ending next letter being issued?
Like I said as a rule of thumb


----------



## Ruth7862

Hi Mark,

I only joined the forum yesterday and it has already been really helpful reading stuff on the site. I sent you a question yesterday and you may have replied already but I was worried I might be missing it by not looking in the right place! If you haven't had a chance yet, no worries,
Thanks,

Ruth7862


----------



## JonDoe

*Do we need to get ACS certificate Notarised/Attested?*

I was wondering if I need to get the ACS certificate Notarised or Attested while filling the Visa documents


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrewcool -

Thanks for the question. Re: travel insurance coverage, I don't know about that area of things - best to consult an insurance person.

Re: uploading docs, I wouldn't wait 3 months for all evidence - maybe do an online statement from your bank, save as PDF and upload to get at least the one statement from the account in, then when the paper one comes in 3 months, upload that as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andrewcool said:


> Gday Mark
> 
> Nice to see you are helping the folks here and hope you had a wonderful Aussie Day holiday
> 
> Would like to ask 2 quick questions about travel insurance & evidence uploading and hope you can help me
> 
> 1) My wife just applied onshore 820 Partner visa and got married here and she just got her medicare card. I know the medicare card covers general medical stuffs if something happens but my wife had purchased like 1 year travel holiday insurance in her country already and I am wondering if it will work here if something happens? Usually if you buy travel insurance for holiday and an accident happens, you get covered, but what happens in this case?
> If something happens, can she claim insurance given she purchased it oversea or it is not valid once she applied for partner visa? Or it applies for medicare only since she is not regarded as a tourist or something?
> 
> 2) Since we just got married here, live here and just opened the joint bank account, the statement is sent out every 3 months, so my question can we wait the statement 3 months later and upload the evidence online by then? Or its too long/risky for the wait?
> 
> Your help would be appreciated. Cheers. Andrew


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mfish38 -

Again, depends on the procedure - I can think of several things she could do to delay being asked to leave - Federal court case, another type of visa application, etc etc. If she did nothing, then it depends on how fast DIBP moves if she does nothing in 28 days - often there can be a delay of days or weeks before they take action in these types of situations, hard to predict.

Best,

Mark



mfish38 said:


> As a rule Mark once the 28 days are up if no evidence to stay is produced is that when she will be told to leave, and Im guessing its 28 days again like the first letter.
> Is it a quick turn around between first 28 days ending next letter being issued?
> Like I said as a rule of thumb


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ruth -

Sorry I missed your question yesterday!

The sponsorship undertaking for a parent visa refers to the sponsor's ability to support the applicants (parents) for the first two years they are on the parent visa. DIBP generally accepts evidence of this (ie, income, savings, etc) on face value, however this is generally determined at the time of decision, since only then would DIBP know what 2 years are involved. Suggest the applicant include available income or job history information at the time of application, along with a letter that says that they are happy to provide further information re: financial undertaking upon request. Then when the visa is being actively considered (some years in the future), they will ask for further docs if the ones included are either out of date (likely) or they want more information.

I've included the DIBP policy on this below - should help clear things up hopefully!

Best,

Mark Northam

_
PARENT VISAS - FINANCIAL UNDERTAKING
23 The financial undertaking
23.1 Bac kground
Regulation 1.20 requires officers to be satisfied that the sponsor can meet the financial needs of the applicant, to the extent necessary, for the 2 year period specified in the applicable regulation 1.20(2) provision. In general terms, officers are to assess the risk of whether or not a sponsor can provide sufficient support for the applicant so as to prevent the applicant from becoming a cost to the Australia taxpayer within the first two years of their settlement in Australia.

Generally, a judgment of the sponsor's ability to fulfil this undertaking may be taken on the face of the information provided as part of the sponsorship application. It is, however, open to officers to obtain further details or supporting information, especially where there is concern about the genuineness of information provided.

For Partner visa cases, however, see section 26 Partner cases and the sponsorship undertaking.
23.2 The applic ant's likely need for assistance
Relevant factors must be determined and assessed individually for each case. Depending on the circumstances of the visa applicant (and accompanying family), these factors could include:
the applicant's skills and work prospects
the applicant's fluency in English
whether or not the applicant will be entitled to social welfare payments (for example, carer payment)
the assets to be brought to Australia by the applicant
any income stream of the applicant and
the age of the applicant.
23.3 The sponso r's capacity to provide assistance, should it be necessary
Officers may ask the sponsor to provide more information regarding their circumstances to support their case, including but not limited to:
most recent tax assessment
current pay slips or other evidence of an alternative income
evidence of major assets, including bank or credit union savings accounts, details of real estate or motor vehicle ownership
confirmation of liabilities such as mortgage repayments, rent, hire purchase, credit card repayments
evidence of arrangements the sponsor may have with third parties to provide assistance if required, for example, offers from community groups, friends or relatives to provide general or specific assistance and
the likelihood of the sponsor being unavailable for some months if they are required to travel interstate or be transferred to another part of Australia or overseas and, if so, how this would affect the sponsor's capacity to fulfil the sponsorship undertaking._



Ruth7862 said:


> Hi Mark,
> We are a couple wanting to apply for a 103 visa as happy to wait about 15 years to obtain the visa. My son would be sponsoring us. He has citizenship and is working part time and doing a degree. The bond is not an issue as we would pay that into our son's account but worried about what income he would have to have. Would his income have to be sufficient at the point of our application or just prior to granting the visa many years hence. If now how much would his income need to be? He has no dependants,
> Many thanks for any advice you can offer,
> Regards,
> Ruth


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JonDoe -

If you're referring to the results letter from ACS if you are using that for a further application to DIBP, answer is No if you lodge online. If you lodge a paper application, likely not needed either as DIBP can check with ACS to determine the authenticity of a results letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JonDoe said:


> I was wondering if I need to get the ACS certificate Notarised or Attested while filling the Visa documents


----------



## rose2014

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rose2014 - That may work as long as the only LEGAL marriage ceremony (ie, recognised by Australian law) is done during the period the visa is granted (ie, within 9 months after the visa is granted) - that's a condition of the visa. The ceremony outside Australia would be essentially a pre-marriage religious ceremony of some kind. OK for pictures, however I wouldn't refer to the ceremony as a "marriage". Re: processing time, completely unpredictable, I would not depend on any estimates provided by DIBP. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Thank you so much, Mark..


----------



## nicolo

Hi Mark

I am preparing my documents for the RSMS 187 Transition stream visa. I do not have IELTS and will be claiming exemption on the English Language requirement based on having 5 years study in English( 4 years in high school and another 4 years in College). I have certificates from school dated in 2011, do I have to get a new (recently issued certificate from school?) or can I still used the one issued in 2011 ( the same certificates I used for my 457 visa). Is there an expiration date for this (does it have to be issued within 3 years from lodging application like the IELTS?).

Also, do I need to have these school English certificates "certified as true copy" by a JP. or can I just upload the original certificates without JP stamp?


----------



## qimtiaz

Thanks allot Mark for your quick reply. You are really helpful.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Qimtiaz -
> 
> The title on the pay slips is unlikely to be of much interest to DIBP or ACS, however the title and duties/responsibilities as described in the employer reference letters would be very important.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## crish_mac

Hi,

I have just joined the Forum, and it's really great.

I have a question about Work Experience. I have total of 11 years of experience(2004-2015), but the first company (Non Registered) i worked(2004-2007) has gone out of business in 2008.

I do have Offer letter, Appointment letter and Experience letter from the company and bank statement showing payments.

My questions: 
1. Because the company doesn't exist anymore and the links are also not working(Web and Phones are closed), does that mean I will fail the job verification when it is done? or would the documents that I supplied be enough to pass the job verification?

2. One of the colleague from the closed company is still in contact, will it be helpful to get statutory declaration.

Regards,


----------



## Ruth7862

*103 versus143*

That's great Mark, thanks.

One more question. When applying for the 103 visa at what point would the AoS be assessed? i understand it takes about 18 to 24 months to get in the (long) queue. Is this because you don't get in the queue until your visa has been approved but not issued due to the quota? So is the AoS assessed during that time or later when the visa is about to be issued?

Thanks,
Ruth


----------



## rimmonamin

*Visa 189/190*

Dear *Mark*,

I am on a temporary working visa and I'm married. Unfortunately, my marriage is on the verge of collapse. If I want to apply for permanent visa (visa subclass 189/190), Can I exclude my wife in my application? Since our divorce might take long to be finalized, I need to know I have the rights to exclude her in my application or not. Thanks in advance. 

Regards


----------



## sezzadee

*Marrying Georgian Man in Tassie and want his parents here*

Hi Mark,
I hope you are well.
My partner and I were successful in getting the PMV 300 so we are getting married in May 2015 as per the visa requirements. We are getting married in Tasmania. We would like to bring his parents and his sister from Georgia, Europe for two weeks so they can be at the wedding. I have set up their immi accounts and have started applications for visitor visa 600. My family and I are paying for flights as well as fully supporting them whilst they are here. Only thing is, to be able to support them you have to be a family member. Is there any way around this? Also is it ok if I do their visa application for them?

Thank you 
Sarah


----------



## HarryD

Hi Mark
I’m currently in Australia on an eVisitor and I would like to extend my stay a little longer when my 3 months expires in March, the eVisitor is valid until October.

I came here for my brother’s wedding in December and am now having an extended holiday.

I’m intending on travelling to New Zealand for a week or so to visit some friends and then reentering Australia.

I’ve had some visa refusals in the past from DIPB, I lived in Oz for 4 years and I had to leave before my visa expired as I couldn’t submit an application for another in time due to some unforeseen circumstances, anyway I applied for an eVisitor at the time with the intention of reentering Oz to sort out my visa, I was subsequently refused the eVisitor on the grounds that I wouldn’t be a genuine tourist.

I applied for my current eVisitor and had it granted within a couple of days and I sailed through immigration in December without any problems

Given my previous refusal am I at a higher risk of being stopped at immigration or refused entry?

I have a substantial amount of money in my bank account to provide evidence that I can support myself and I have a brother living here in Sydney who I can stay with,

I can provide evidence of some tourist activities which I have undertaken whilst here, albeit mostly In Sydney, and I have some events that I’m going to attend when I return, I would also be able to provide an onward flight itinerary with the flight being within a couple of weeks.

Would this be enough to satisfy immigration?

Also there may be a chance that I will stay on in Oz on a long stay activity visa sponsored through an organisation here in Sydney, it’s a slight chance but if I were to apply for this visa would being here on a 2nd 3 month stay on an eVisitor visa affect the application in anyway?

Just wondering would DIPB take a dim view of it?

Thanks for all your help Mark  


----------



## JonDoe

*Anxity Disorder does it cause any problems in medicals?*

Hi Mark,

I have had anxiety disorder and have specific phobia. I take medication for it regularly.

My behavior and working capability is absolutely normal and I have been working for 15 years with companies just as an average person would. I have infact been promoted through jobs as an average person would. I am currently a manager. I am applying for migration under an ICT role.

I wanted to know if there is any risk involved with the medicals by mentioning this medical condition?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicolo -

Qualification certificates generally do not expire, and DIBP usually accepts a colour scan of the original (ie, no certified copy needed) uploaded to your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nicolo said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am preparing my documents for the RSMS 187 Transition stream visa. I do not have IELTS and will be claiming exemption on the English Language requirement based on having 5 years study in English( 4 years in high school and another 4 years in College). I have certificates from school dated in 2011, do I have to get a new (recently issued certificate from school?) or can I still used the one issued in 2011 ( the same certificates I used for my 457 visa). Is there an expiration date for this (does it have to be issued within 3 years from lodging application like the IELTS?).
> 
> Also, do I need to have these school English certificates "certified as true copy" by a JP. or can I just upload the original certificates without JP stamp?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crish_Mac -

Thanks for the question. Those docs should help, and I would definitely get the stat dec you mentioned. Final decision is the judgment of the case officer, but with all the docs you mentioned plus the stat dec (make sure to include contact email and phone for the stat dec person in case DIBP wants to call them to verify), I think you have a good chance of the work experience being accepted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crish_mac said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have just joined the Forum, and it's really great.
> 
> I have a question about Work Experience. I have total of 11 years of experience(2004-2015), but the first company (Non Registered) i worked(2004-2007) has gone out of business in 2008.
> 
> I do have Offer letter, Appointment letter and Experience letter from the company and bank statement showing payments.
> 
> My questions:
> 1. Because the company doesn't exist anymore and the links are also not working(Web and Phones are closed), does that mean I will fail the job verification when it is done? or would the documents that I supplied be enough to pass the job verification?
> 
> 2. One of the colleague from the closed company is still in contact, will it be helpful to get statutory declaration.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ruth -

Generally AoS is checked and assessed near the time of grant of the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ruth7862 said:


> That's great Mark, thanks.
> 
> One more question. When applying for the 103 visa at what point would the AoS be assessed? i understand it takes about 18 to 24 months to get in the (long) queue. Is this because you don't get in the queue until your visa has been approved but not issued due to the quota? So is the AoS assessed during that time or later when the visa is about to be issued?
> 
> Thanks,
> Ruth


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rimmonamin -

Sorry to hear about your marriage issues. As an applicant, there is no legal obligation that you include any of your dependents on your PR visa application. However DIBP will generally require health checks for all dependents (migrating or not) unless they are convinced that it would be unreasonable to expect these health checks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rimmonamin said:


> Dear *Mark*,
> 
> I am on a temporary working visa and I'm married. Unfortunately, my marriage is on the verge of collapse. If I want to apply for permanent visa (visa subclass 189/190), Can I exclude my wife in my application? Since our divorce might take long to be finalized, I need to know I have the rights to exclude her in my application or not. Thanks in advance.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarah -

As close family members may provide support and migration assistance (see http://www.immi.gov.au/gateways/agents/pdf/immigration-assistance.pdf) it would be important for your partner to be the one providing the migration assistance and support. Unfortunately you're not considered a family member until you are married, so that puts you in a tough spot if DIBP decided to get picky about what you were doing to help, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sezzadee said:


> Hi Mark,
> I hope you are well.
> My partner and I were successful in getting the PMV 300 so we are getting married in May 2015 as per the visa requirements. We are getting married in Tasmania. We would like to bring his parents and his sister from Georgia, Europe for two weeks so they can be at the wedding. I have set up their immi accounts and have started applications for visitor visa 600. My family and I are paying for flights as well as fully supporting them whilst they are here. Only thing is, to be able to support them you have to be a family member. Is there any way around this? Also is it ok if I do their visa application for them?
> 
> Thank you
> Sarah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HarryD -

Thanks for the question. Difficult to predict how DIBP will respond, however with refusals in the past, that always raises the chance that further visitor visas may not be approved. Not sure that eVisitor stays would work against you in any way re: the other visa you mentioned you may apply for, however the biggest risk in all of this is if DIBP forms the opinion that you are working here. Sometimes they form this opinion after going through your phone's contents upon entry at the airport (have a client this happened to last year), so you'll want to make sure that there is absolutely no evidence that could be construed as you having worked in Australia during your stays here on the eVisitor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HarryD said:


> Hi Mark
> I'm currently in Australia on an eVisitor and I would like to extend my stay a little longer when my 3 months expires in March, the eVisitor is valid until October.
> 
> I came here for my brother's wedding in December and am now having an extended holiday.
> 
> I'm intending on travelling to New Zealand for a week or so to visit some friends and then reentering Australia.
> 
> I've had some visa refusals in the past from DIPB, I lived in Oz for 4 years and I had to leave before my visa expired as I couldn't submit an application for another in time due to some unforeseen circumstances, anyway I applied for an eVisitor at the time with the intention of reentering Oz to sort out my visa, I was subsequently refused the eVisitor on the grounds that I wouldn't be a genuine tourist.
> 
> I applied for my current eVisitor and had it granted within a couple of days and I sailed through immigration in December without any problems
> 
> Given my previous refusal am I at a higher risk of being stopped at immigration or refused entry?
> 
> I have a substantial amount of money in my bank account to provide evidence that I can support myself and I have a brother living here in Sydney who I can stay with,
> 
> I can provide evidence of some tourist activities which I have undertaken whilst here, albeit mostly In Sydney, and I have some events that I'm going to attend when I return, I would also be able to provide an onward flight itinerary with the flight being within a couple of weeks.
> 
> Would this be enough to satisfy immigration?
> 
> Also there may be a chance that I will stay on in Oz on a long stay activity visa sponsored through an organisation here in Sydney, it's a slight chance but if I were to apply for this visa would being here on a 2nd 3 month stay on an eVisitor visa affect the application in anyway?
> 
> Just wondering would DIPB take a dim view of it?
> 
> Thanks for all your help Mark  


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JonDoe -

Thanks for the question. There is always a risk of triggering a health criteria refusal with any chronic condition that requires regular medication, however there is also a risk in not disclosing a known condition on a visa application (!) that can come back to haunt you later. Risk of health criteria depends on the anticipated costs to the Commonwealth related to your condition, and the type of visa you are applying for, as some visas allow for a "health waiver" submission where you argue that the overall benefit of granting the visa outweighs any anticipated financial costs of your care.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JonDoe said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have had anxiety disorder and have specific phobia. I take medication for it regularly.
> 
> My behavior and working capability is absolutely normal and I have been working for 15 years with companies just as an average person would. I have infact been promoted through jobs as an average person would. I am currently a manager. I am applying for migration under an ICT role.
> 
> I wanted to know if there is any risk involved with the medicals by mentioning this medical condition?


----------



## mark1980

*Partner visa 820-801 when to sumbmit health examination and police check?!*

I have all the paper work ready to lodge my application for a partner visa 820-801 but I have a some doubts that maybe someone can help me with

1- When I'm supposed to undergo a health examinations before I submit my application or a CO will contact me and ask me for one after I apply ?

2- Same question about an Australian police check ?

3- If a CO contacts me after I lodge my aplication, he is the one who is going to give me a HAP ID number which I will need to book an appointment in a clinic and get a health examinations done?

4- Does my Australian partner needs to get any of this two process done (health and police check) or only me?

Any information would be really helpful, thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark1980 -

Thanks for the question. For visas such as partner visas that are anticipated to take 12 months to process, DIBP generally recommends that you wait until they ask for the exams. However many people also do them before this - most lodge online, then after lodgement click on the 'Organise your health examinations' link available on the online lodgement page below the area where you upload your documents. If you wait for DIBP to request the exams, they may either send you a health referral letter with HAP ID, or advise you to use the link on your online lodgement page as above.

Same advice for police checks - you can get these at lodgement, or wait until asked - these can sometimes take months to get depending on the country, so I'd probably get onto these close to lodgement date and not wait.

Your Australian partner will not need any health check. Re: police check, your Australian partner will generally not need one unless there is a child on the application migrating with you that us under 18 years of age.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mark1980 said:


> I have all the paper work ready to lodge my application for a partner visa 820-801 but I have a some doubts that maybe someone can help me with
> 
> 1- When I'm supposed to undergo a health examinations before I submit my application or a CO will contact me and ask me for one after I apply ?
> 
> 2- Same question about an Australian police check ?
> 
> 3- If a CO contacts me after I lodge my aplication, he is the one who is going to give me a HAP ID number which I will need to book an appointment in a clinic and get a health examinations done?
> 
> 4- Does my Australian partner needs to get any of this two process done (health and police check) or only me?
> 
> Any information would be really helpful, thanks


----------



## mark1980

*820-801*

Thanks for the reply Mark It's realy helpful the inforamtion!

1- I wanted to ask you in case I decided to do the health check before the DIBP ask me for one, when I'm in the online lodgment page and I click on ''Organise your health examinations'' after I click on that option the website will give me a HAP ID so can use it to book an appoinment with BUPA?

2- Also where can I find the differents locations and addresses of clinics in Australia where I can go and do the health check ??
because I can't find it on the immigration website.

3- Other doubt that I have is I will need a health insurance to meet the Health requirement to apply for a 820-801 ?
I ask because I don't have any at the moment

4 - Last question I won't be able to get a police check on time before I lodge my application, am I going to be able to upload this document after I lodge my application ? ( I will recive the police the check from my country a month after I lodge my application)

Thank you again for all the information !


----------



## Mythilymaiya

*Child visa*

Hi Mark

Can you please provide me some information regarding child visa to australia for my 4 months baby. I am a permanent resident of Australia and my husband is an Australian citizen. However, we are not living together now. I came to india to deliver the baby as my mom and family is in India. 
I have a permanent job in australia. I would like to take my baby to australia under child visa. But I wouldn't be able to get consent letter from my husband. I can sponsor my baby.
Can you please provide me information and please suggest me how can I proceed with the visa for my baby. And also please let me know what are all the documents which required for the visa and the processing time.
It would be appreciated if you can help me ASAP.

Regards
Mythily


----------



## nep12

Hi Mark,

I am nearby date to apply for visa 887 , need some advise , as per DIBP website it says color scanned copy for passport ,birth certificates and for other documents it doesn't mention anything either I can upload scanned copy or not. just wondering if I have to certify all the documents and upload or DIBP will accept scanned color copy. cause I have some documents which only available online such as payslips ,bank statement etc.

thank you


----------



## farawayfromhome

*Cheated and Used to get PR!!!*

Hi Mark,

I got married few years ago and was living an average couple life in my home country.

In June 2014 we got our Australian PR, so I decided to move to Australia.

Me and my decided that first I will move to Australia, settle down and find a job then I will bring my wife to Australia.

So we made our first entry in October 2014 and my wife left to our home country after 15 days staying in Australia.

Last month my wife filled a divorce stating that I am incapable of maintaining a married relationship and gave a list of stupid reasons which does not make any sense.

Later I found out that she is having an affair and after divorcing me she will move to Australia with her boyfriend.

This is cheating because she used me to get a PR as her boyfriend is incapable of getting a PR due to lack of education and experience. She is now dumping me and moving to Australia with her boyfriend.

Please advise that can be done to cancel her PR and report this fraud to proper authorities.

I don't want to get my PR status in trouble so please advise as I am the victim here.

Regards,

Shaun


----------



## lizamary

Hello Mark,
I'm not sure whom or where to approach with my query.Hope you could be of help.
Thanks in advance

I got my Australian PR in 2010. In April 2011 ,we did our first entry and returned to our home country. The entry permit is till Aug2015. We were planning to shift to Aus by July 2015 as our daughter would be finishing her academic year and she could start with her new class in Australia in Feb. However , things are not working as we planned .because of some health issues of our parent we are not able to move down by the deadline i.e Aug 2015. We really want to settle in Australia.Is there any way we can get our PR extended?
Meanwhile, we also had another baby in 2013 and we need to apply for his visa also.But first we need to know how can we get our PR extended.

Would greatly appreciate your help


----------



## KaterinaT

I'm an Australian citizen currently living in Macedonia and I got married a few years back. I intend to renew my Australian passport soon with my maiden name (because I was told it was a bit complicated to add my new name from here). Next year we intend to apply for a spouse visa for him and I was wondering since I've legally added my husband's last name to my own surname in Macedonia, will there be any problems with his visa application?

Hope to hear from you soon thanks!


----------



## zarak1991

hey mark sir , i have applied for college ,, for visa class 573 , i have applied on 21 october , now its has almost 3 months and 12 days , my courses is staring this week , can u kindly tell me how long student visa is taking nowadays ,, tell me aproximate time for high risk countries, plz... i am waiting for reply ,, 
p,s i have applied from pakistan ,,


----------



## philipg

Hi Mark

Thank you for making your time and expertise available to this forum.
Your advise is very valuable.

I'm helping an overseas sister-in-law to complete a tourist visa (600) application 1419.
The instructions on the form say, "If an unregistered person in Australia, who is not exempt from registration, gives you immigration assistance they are
committing a criminal offence and may be prosecuted."

I'm not a registered immigration agent or exempt person.
My relative has no computer or internet access. I'm completing the form with her information that she provides. I'm not providing any advice.

Q 43 asks "Did you receive assistance in completing this form?"
Should I answer "No"? 

Thank you for your help.


----------



## MaggieMay2014

Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot for your answer on my post few weeks ago. Now I have below question:
1. I have diploma of hospitality and commercial cookery certificate IV, if I can get sponsorship to work as a cook/Chef in Canberra, can I apply for RSMS 187? Or I only can apply 457? Because on the immi website Canberra is not on the regional area list. But a lot of people told me in Canberra can apply for direct 187. I am a bit confused.

2. If nominated as a cook/chef under 457 or under 187, is skill assessment required? Because I done my skill assessment 3 years ago now it is expired. 

Thanks for your time!


----------



## NirmalaJain

As per the advice from Maggie-May24 I am posting my question to Ask Mark thread and originally it was posted at this. 

Mark, I will really appreciate your response & help. Please help me out. 

I am a Montessori Certified Teacher in India and having a work experience of 10.5 years. The problem is as per the ANZSCO 241111 (Early Childhoold Education / Pre-Primary School), the minimum year of graduation is 4 years. My education is not related to the experience that I have and also it is a 3-Year degree in Bachelor in Arts. 

In addition to the Bachelor of Arts Degree, I also have a Montessori Certificate which was 9 month certification.

Do I still qualify to apply for 189/190 VISA?

The points I calculated are:
Age - 25 Points (35 Years)
English - 10 Points
Qualification - ?
Experience - 15 Points (Assuming for 8 years and above it is 15 points)

If my experience and education is qualified, then I can apply for even 190 for the state sponsorship in case if I don't score the 60 points.

Regards
Nirmala


----------



## diletta.laino

*what do i have to do?*

Dear Mark, 
thank you in advance for your help.

I am not sure about what visa I should apply for. Me and my Ozi partner have been in a de facto relationship for more than a year now and we have the checklist ready to apply for a partner visa offshore, (Auckland, since I had a Tourist visa refused in 2014 and so I was not eligible to apply onshore).

Now my partner has proposed although we haven't take any action towards booking with a marriage celebrant yet. Then, we aren't officially engaged I guess, (just have pictures of engagement party and the receipt of engagement ring).

I am wondering if this means that we must apply for Prospective marriage Visa? Or can engaged couples apply for de facto Partner Visa?

I feel like we should keep following what we started and got prepared for, which is the 309 Partner visa, (WE HAVENT SUBMIT ANY APPLICATION YET, just unsure about which one to submit) but I fear that if i say we got engaged DIBP will have a say about why we did not apply for Prospective marriage.

In the same time, is it true that doing a prospective marriage and then apply for a partner visa onshore is a quicker choice to be reunited to my partner in Oz?

Considering I had a tourist visa refused, will I be able to apply for partner visa 820 after have done the prospective marriage 300?

Or is it best to do not say we are engaged and just apply for de facto Partner visa 309?

I am very confused, if you could advise me on whats the best way considering I had a tourist visa refused and also considering what way is the quickest to be back in Oz.

Thank you 

Diletta.


----------



## Prasanth

*Thanks for the reply!!*

Dear Mark,

Thanks a lot for the reply!!!! It was very kind of you to send me such a detailed reply. My friend is travelling next month and hope he faces no hurdles.

Is there a way he may get a copy of the DIBP policy-the one you have quoted to be in better position while migration check?

Thanks a ton again. You are doing a great help to many a people like us.

Warm Regards,
Prasanth



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Prasanth -
> 
> Thanks for the question. I'll include the relevant DIBP policy below, however non-pulminary TB is not considered to be a public health threat in Australia, and is generally considered non-infectious. He'll need to answer "Yes" to the TB question on the passenger card since he does have active TB, and should bring all documentation re: his diagnosis, treatment, etc with him to present to the immigration officer at the airport showing that his TB is non-pulminary, and therefore not reason to exclude him from Australia. It's likely that he will be required to promise to have follow-up medical tests and submit the results to DIBP after he arrives, and will need to notify the authorities of his disease as it is a reportable condition (see below).
> 
> Policy listed below:
> 
> _Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis
> 12. Brief description of disease
> 
> 12.1. Extra-pulmonary TB can occur in virtually all organ systems2. In Australia in 2006, 39.7% of notified TB cases were extra-pulmonary with no lung involvement. The most common sites of extra-pulmonary disease seen in Australia in 2006 were lymph nodes, pleura, bone/joint, genito-urinary tract, meningeal, miliary (disseminated) and peritoneal space5.
> 
> 12.2. It should be recalled that pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB can co-exist in the same patient at the same time. In 2006, 9.7% of cases in Australia had both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary disease.9
> 
> 12.3. Extra-pulmonary disease without pulmonary involvement was slightly more common in overseas born than in Australian born people in 2006.
> 
> 12.4. Despite a very small risk of transmission from skin wounds and discharging lymph nodes, extra-pulmonary TB is generally considered to be non infectious. Extra-pulmonary TB is therefore of individual rather than public health significance.
> 
> 12.5. Like pulmonary TB, extra-pulmonary TB is notifiable in all Australian states and territories.
> _
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark1980 -

See below at ***



mark1980 said:


> Thanks for the reply Mark It's realy helpful the inforamtion!
> 
> 1- I wanted to ask you in case I decided to do the health check before the DIBP ask me for one, when I'm in the online lodgment page and I click on ''Organise your health examinations'' after I click on that option the website will give me a HAP ID so can use it to book an appoinment with BUPA? *** Yes. You answer the health questions, then click to generate the referral letter, download, print & use to make appt and take to the appt.
> 
> 2- Also where can I find the differents locations and addresses of clinics in Australia where I can go and do the health check ??
> because I can't find it on the immigration website. *** In Australia must be BUPA Visa Medical Services - see http://bupamvs.com.au
> 
> 3- Other doubt that I have is I will need a health insurance to meet the Health requirement to apply for a 820-801 ?
> I ask because I don't have any at the moment *** Not required for the 820/801, since applicants for this visa who are resident in Australia are immediately eligible for Medicare upon lodging the 820/801 application onshore.
> 
> 4 - Last question I won't be able to get a police check on time before I lodge my application, am I going to be able to upload this document after I lodge my application ? ( I will recive the police the check from my country a month after I lodge my application) *** Sounds good.
> 
> Thank you again for all the information !


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mythilymaiya -

Thanks for the note. Assuming your husband is on the birth certificate and/or has legal rights re: the child, you will likely not be able to get a visa granted for the child without his permission. DIBP will also likely wonder why you are applying for a visa for the child, when the child would automatically qualify for citizenship by descent from your husband. You need to sort out your legal relationship with your husband first, since as long as he has any legal say over where the baby lives/travels/etc, DIBP will require his permission to grant a visa (ie, permission of both parents).

Re: forms, etc - that's all on the DIBP website - see Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mythilymaiya said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Can you please provide me some information regarding child visa to australia for my 4 months baby. I am a permanent resident of Australia and my husband is an Australian citizen. However, we are not living together now. I came to india to deliver the baby as my mom and family is in India.
> I have a permanent job in australia. I would like to take my baby to australia under child visa. But I wouldn't be able to get consent letter from my husband. I can sponsor my baby.
> Can you please provide me information and please suggest me how can I proceed with the visa for my baby. And also please let me know what are all the documents which required for the visa and the processing time.
> It would be appreciated if you can help me ASAP.
> 
> Regards
> Mythily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nep12 -

DIBP policy is that they will generally accept high quality colour scans of any original document. No certification needed. These would be uploaded to your online application after you lodge & pay.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nep12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am nearby date to apply for visa 887 , need some advise , as per DIBP website it says color scanned copy for passport ,birth certificates and for other documents it doesn't mention anything either I can upload scanned copy or not. just wondering if I have to certify all the documents and upload or DIBP will accept scanned color copy. cause I have some documents which only available online such as payslips ,bank statement etc.
> 
> thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shaun -

Sorry to hear of this. To be blunt, it's very difficult to get someone's PR cancelled, especially as from DIBP's point of view, generally what happens after a PR visa is granted (ie, relationship breakdowns) are no concern of theirs, and do not have any effect on the visa once granted.

If you believe she has committed immigration fraud, you can report her via the DIBP dob-in line - see Immigration dob-in service

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



farawayfromhome said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I got married few years ago and was living an average couple life in my home country.
> 
> In June 2014 we got our Australian PR, so I decided to move to Australia.
> 
> Me and my decided that first I will move to Australia, settle down and find a job then I will bring my wife to Australia.
> 
> So we made our first entry in October 2014 and my wife left to our home country after 15 days staying in Australia.
> 
> Last month my wife filled a divorce stating that I am incapable of maintaining a married relationship and gave a list of stupid reasons which does not make any sense.
> 
> Later I found out that she is having an affair and after divorcing me she will move to Australia with her boyfriend.
> 
> This is cheating because she used me to get a PR as her boyfriend is incapable of getting a PR due to lack of education and experience. She is now dumping me and moving to Australia with her boyfriend.
> 
> Please advise that can be done to cancel her PR and report this fraud to proper authorities.
> 
> I don't want to get my PR status in trouble so please advise as I am the victim here.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Shaun


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lizamary -

Thanks for the note. If you do not re-enter Australia by the time your initial 5 year PR re-entry time expires, you would have to get a Resident Return Visa (RRV) to continue your re-entry rights to Australia. If you not spent 24 months in Australia in the 5 year period (which would get you a 5 year RRV), then you would need to evidence substantial ties to Australia in order to get a 1 year RRV (extension of your re-entry rights). See 155 visa page on DIBP website for more details -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lizamary said:


> Hello Mark,
> I'm not sure whom or where to approach with my query.Hope you could be of help.
> Thanks in advance
> 
> I got my Australian PR in 2010. In April 2011 ,we did our first entry and returned to our home country. The entry permit is till Aug2015. We were planning to shift to Aus by July 2015 as our daughter would be finishing her academic year and she could start with her new class in Australia in Feb. However , things are not working as we planned .because of some health issues of our parent we are not able to move down by the deadline i.e Aug 2015. We really want to settle in Australia.Is there any way we can get our PR extended?
> Meanwhile, we also had another baby in 2013 and we need to apply for his visa also.But first we need to know how can we get our PR extended.
> 
> Would greatly appreciate your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KaterinaT -

Probably not - DIBP will want to see the legal name change document(s) you have when you changed your name - that should help them match things up. Re: passport renewal, I'd carefully check into getting the name change with whatever legal docs you have there, as it will make things go much smoother if your legal name matches your passport name.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KaterinaT said:


> I'm an Australian citizen currently living in Macedonia and I got married a few years back. I intend to renew my Australian passport soon with my maiden name (because I was told it was a bit complicated to add my new name from here). Next year we intend to apply for a spouse visa for him and I was wondering since I've legally added my husband's last name to my own surname in Macedonia, will there be any problems with his visa application?
> 
> Hope to hear from you soon thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Zarak1991 -

No way to predict - DIBP takes as much time as they want. Everybody is different, and every country is different. All you can do is to keep in touch with your case officer or team assessing your visa. Likely they are waiting for external security checks, which can take weeks or months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zarak1991 said:


> hey mark sir , i have applied for college ,, for visa class 573 , i have applied on 21 october , now its has almost 3 months and 12 days , my courses is staring this week , can u kindly tell me how long student visa is taking nowadays ,, tell me aproximate time for high risk countries, plz... i am waiting for reply ,,
> p,s i have applied from pakistan ,,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Philipg -

Thanks for the question. If you are merely transcribing information she provides onto the form without providing any advice or comment, then you are not providing immigration assistance, so answer should be "no".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



philipg said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for making your time and expertise available to this forum.
> Your advise is very valuable.
> 
> I'm helping an overseas sister-in-law to complete a tourist visa (600) application 1419.
> The instructions on the form say, "If an unregistered person in Australia, who is not exempt from registration, gives you immigration assistance they are
> committing a criminal offence and may be prosecuted."
> 
> I'm not a registered immigration agent or exempt person.
> My relative has no computer or internet access. I'm completing the form with her information that she provides. I'm not providing any advice.
> 
> Q 43 asks "Did you receive assistance in completing this form?"
> Should I answer "No"?
> 
> Thank you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MaggieMay2014 -

You may be reading the immi website incorrectly - all of ACT is eligible for 187 visa - see Eligible Postcodes for the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme

Chef and Cook both require skills assessments for RSMS DIrect Entry pathway (ie, apply direct for RSMS visa, do not spend 2 years on 457 visa first then be sponsored for RSMS).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MaggieMay2014 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot for your answer on my post few weeks ago. Now I have below question:
> 1. I have diploma of hospitality and commercial cookery certificate IV, if I can get sponsorship to work as a cook/Chef in Canberra, can I apply for RSMS 187? Or I only can apply 457? Because on the immi website Canberra is not on the regional area list. But a lot of people told me in Canberra can apply for direct 187. I am a bit confused.
> 
> 2. If nominated as a cook/chef under 457 or under 187, is skill assessment required? Because I done my skill assessment 3 years ago now it is expired.
> 
> Thanks for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi NirmalaJain -

Thanks for the note. Not able to do skilled assessments on the forum as there are too many questions to ask to get to a definite answer. For skilled points, a Bachelor degree does not need to be related to the occupation you are seeking nomination under. However, you need to find out who the skills assessor is for your occupation and very carefully check their requirements - they're all different - and they are different than DIBP's. You must have a positive skills assessment in order to lodge an EOI for a 489, 189 or 190 visa.

Re: points, for 190 you need 55 points (at least) prior to the state sponsoring you and adding their 5 points to get you to the 60 point pass mark.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



NirmalaJain said:


> As per the advice from Maggie-May24 I am posting my question to Ask Mark thread and originally it was posted at this.
> 
> Mark, I will really appreciate your response & help. Please help me out.
> 
> I am a Montessori Certified Teacher in India and having a work experience of 10.5 years. The problem is as per the ANZSCO 241111 (Early Childhoold Education / Pre-Primary School), the minimum year of graduation is 4 years. My education is not related to the experience that I have and also it is a 3-Year degree in Bachelor in Arts.
> 
> In addition to the Bachelor of Arts Degree, I also have a Montessori Certificate which was 9 month certification.
> 
> Do I still qualify to apply for 189/190 VISA?
> 
> The points I calculated are:
> Age - 25 Points (35 Years)
> English - 10 Points
> Qualification - ?
> Experience - 15 Points (Assuming for 8 years and above it is 15 points)
> 
> If my experience and education is qualified, then I can apply for even 190 for the state sponsorship in case if I don't score the 60 points.
> 
> Regards
> Nirmala


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Diletta -

Thanks for the question. First, the visitor visa refusal should not interfere with the partner visa or prospective marriage visa (PMV, aka fiance visa).

Re: which to lodge, that will come down to your relationship evidence, how much you have, of what quality, how much living together time, and a host of other factors in that area - too many to try and sort out with back & forth emails on the forum - I would be happy to advise you re: this at a consultation where we would have time to go through all facts of your case and see if there are any strong indicators of which option would work best for you. If you'd like to proceed with this, please see my website below in my signature, then click on "Consultation" at the top menu area.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



diletta.laino said:


> Dear Mark,
> thank you in advance for your help.
> 
> I am not sure about what visa I should apply for. Me and my Ozi partner have been in a de facto relationship for more than a year now and we have the checklist ready to apply for a partner visa offshore, (Auckland, since I had a Tourist visa refused in 2014 and so I was not eligible to apply onshore).
> 
> Now my partner has proposed although we haven't take any action towards booking with a marriage celebrant yet. Then, we aren't officially engaged I guess, (just have pictures of engagement party and the receipt of engagement ring).
> 
> I am wondering if this means that we must apply for Prospective marriage Visa? Or can engaged couples apply for de facto Partner Visa?
> 
> I feel like we should keep following what we started and got prepared for, which is the 309 Partner visa, (WE HAVENT SUBMIT ANY APPLICATION YET, just unsure about which one to submit) but I fear that if i say we got engaged DIBP will have a say about why we did not apply for Prospective marriage.
> 
> In the same time, is it true that doing a prospective marriage and then apply for a partner visa onshore is a quicker choice to be reunited to my partner in Oz?
> 
> Considering I had a tourist visa refused, will I be able to apply for partner visa 820 after have done the prospective marriage 300?
> 
> Or is it best to do not say we are engaged and just apply for de facto Partner visa 309?
> 
> I am very confused, if you could advise me on whats the best way considering I had a tourist visa refused and also considering what way is the quickest to be back in Oz.
> 
> Thank you
> 
> Diletta.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prasanth -

Thanks for the note and kind words! The policy I quoted from PAM3 is the only policy I could find re: this type of TB - unfortunately it's not publicly available from DIBP other than if you have a LegendCOM subscription or can locate a library, etc that has one.

Best,

Mark



Prasanth said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot for the reply!!!! It was very kind of you to send me such a detailed reply. My friend is travelling next month and hope he faces no hurdles.
> 
> Is there a way he may get a copy of the DIBP policy-the one you have quoted to be in better position while migration check?
> 
> Thanks a ton again. You are doing a great help to many a people like us.
> 
> Warm Regards,
> Prasanth


----------



## Prasanth

Dear Mark,

Thanks for the quick response.

Regards,
Prasanth


----------



## rashian

Hello Mark,

Hope you could be of help and thanks in advance

I got Australian PR in 2008 (skill migration) and my parents got Australia PR in 2014 (parents migration). My parents arrived in Australia late 2014 and became Australia PR for 3 months by now. I was the sponsor and provided the AOS (10 years).

My only brother is currently in Malaysia, divorced for 2 years, no kids. My question: (1) can I sponsor my brother for the 115 remaining relative visa? or it has to be my parents? (2) if it has to be my parents, I assume they will have to wait for 2 years and then eligible to be the sponsor, right? (3) can I provide AOS (2 years) for my brother?

Would greatly appreciate your help
John


----------



## Johnners45

Hey Mark,

I am currently at college in Oregon, USA studying and playing basketball. I am an Australian citizen and am 23 years old. I've been over here in the states for 4 years now and am due to graduate in June 2015.

My long-term girlfriend (we would have been dating for 3 years on feb 5, 2015), now fiance (Since Dec.23 2014) is an American citizen and looking to move back with me to Australia in August. We just submitted her Partner Visa application (NOT a prospective marriage visa) on the 2nd of Feb 2015. Currently attaching all the documents required and working through it. How do we go about getting her a police clearance? is it required? 

Also after reading a lot of the topics on this forum i'm pretty worried that there's no way she'll get her visa before August. If it isn't approved by August can she just come over and stay with me anyway and say it's a holiday until the Visa is granted? Or are there better options like her getting a holiday visa in the meantime? Obviously we dont want to live apart from each other if possible. 

Obviously we are young and trying to get through this process is pretty stressful, so any help would be great!

Thanks.


----------



## JonDoe

*Made mistake in entering Health questionaire what do I do?*

Hi Mark,

I was in the documents upload section after paying of visa fees while applying for 189.

I filled the health questionnaire under the link "Organise your health examinations section". Due to me not noticing I had clicked my wifes link and put my health details there. It is only after the HAP ID was generated did I realise I have put my health information in my wifes section. To keep the record clean I have anyways uploaded a form 1023 stating the mistake.

Here is the dilemma I face now. I still do not have a CO allocated. Should I go ahead with the health checkup of my wife or wait for the CO to be allocated? In the case of my wife her health decleration answers to any major health issues to declare is "No" and she is on no medication. In my case I have declared I have a medication that I take regularly and this is what is currently erroneously against the HAPID for my.

So logically speaking even if she is examined she would be so for only something extra.

Your advice would be appreciated.


----------



## doctdavis

Hi Mark! 
I see the next invitation round has been scheduled for Feb 13th. Should I expect an invitation the week preceding this date or do the invitations not go out until on or after this date? 
Thanks in advance. 
Travis


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Doctdavis -

Invitations generally go out on the day of the invitation round.

Best,

Mark Northam



doctdavis said:


> Hi Mark!
> I see the next invitation round has been scheduled for Feb 13th. Should I expect an invitation the week preceding this date or do the invitations not go out until on or after this date?
> Thanks in advance.
> Travis


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JonDoe -

I'd get some guidance from DIBP on how to handle this - they may want you to get new HAP ID's via the My Health Declarations process, or they can fix the HAP ID's you have now - you might want to email DIBP to see what can be done - if they do not respond, then perhaps lodge a note with your application to note the problem and that you're awaiting advice from them on how to solve it to make their records look correct.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JonDoe said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was in the documents upload section after paying of visa fees while applying for 189.
> 
> I filled the health questionnaire under the link "Organise your health examinations section". Due to me not noticing I had clicked my wifes link and put my health details there. It is only after the HAP ID was generated did I realise I have put my health information in my wifes section. To keep the record clean I have anyways uploaded a form 1023 stating the mistake.
> 
> Here is the dilemma I face now. I still do not have a CO allocated. Should I go ahead with the health checkup of my wife or wait for the CO to be allocated? In the case of my wife her health decleration answers to any major health issues to declare is "No" and she is on no medication. In my case I have declared I have a medication that I take regularly and this is what is currently erroneously against the HAPID for my.
> 
> So logically speaking even if she is examined she would be so for only something extra.
> 
> Your advice would be appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Johnners45 -

Yes, she'll need a police clearance certificate (PCC) from each country she's lived in for a total of 12 months or more since age 16. See info on DIBP website under their "Offices outside Australia" contact link for exactly what's needed - for USA, she'll need a PCC from the FBI and another one from her current state of residence.

If partner visa not approved by the time she wants to visit, certainly a visitor visa or something like that would be a good idea - since she lodged the partner visa offshore however, if she's in Australia when they are ready to grant the visa, she'll need to briefly depart Australia in order to be granted the partner visa, then will return on the partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Johnners45 said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I am currently at college in Oregon, USA studying and playing basketball. I am an Australian citizen and am 23 years old. I've been over here in the states for 4 years now and am due to graduate in June 2015.
> 
> My long-term girlfriend (we would have been dating for 3 years on feb 5, 2015), now fiance (Since Dec.23 2014) is an American citizen and looking to move back with me to Australia in August. We just submitted her Partner Visa application (NOT a prospective marriage visa) on the 2nd of Feb 2015. Currently attaching all the documents required and working through it. How do we go about getting her a police clearance? is it required?
> 
> Also after reading a lot of the topics on this forum i'm pretty worried that there's no way she'll get her visa before August. If it isn't approved by August can she just come over and stay with me anyway and say it's a holiday until the Visa is granted? Or are there better options like her getting a holiday visa in the meantime? Obviously we dont want to live apart from each other if possible.
> 
> Obviously we are young and trying to get through this process is pretty stressful, so any help would be great!
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John -

Thanks for the question. If your brother is eligible, you can sponsor your brother for a 115 visa - sponsorship by a sibling is fine for this visa, and you can provide the AOS. Would need to work with you in a consultation to go over all of the requirements to give you advice on his eligibility for the visa (see website below).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rashian said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hope you could be of help and thanks in advance
> 
> I got Australian PR in 2008 (skill migration) and my parents got Australia PR in 2014 (parents migration). My parents arrived in Australia late 2014 and became Australia PR for 3 months by now. I was the sponsor and provided the AOS (10 years).
> 
> My only brother is currently in Malaysia, divorced for 2 years, no kids. My question: (1) can I sponsor my brother for the 115 remaining relative visa? or it has to be my parents? (2) if it has to be my parents, I assume they will have to wait for 2 years and then eligible to be the sponsor, right? (3) can I provide AOS (2 years) for my brother?
> 
> Would greatly appreciate your help
> John


----------



## ZAINABASEM

*State Sponsership info*

hi all,

Our agent lodged our Eoi on 5th Jan, got selected on 22nd but then send skilled declaration on 29th of Jan for SS from Victoria? just wondering how many days more to get approval or decision? any ideas? with 55 points expecting 5 from SS for job code 263111...


----------



## JonDoe

MarkNortham said:


> Hi JonDoe -
> 
> I'd get some guidance from DIBP on how to handle this - they may want you to get new HAP ID's via the My Health Declarations process, or they can fix the HAP ID's you have now - you might want to email DIBP to see what can be done - if they do not respond, then perhaps lodge a note with your application to note the problem and that you're awaiting advice from them on how to solve it to make their records look correct.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thanks for a quick response. Do you by any chance have the e-mail ID of DIBP? I cant seem to locate it.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Very difficult to predict turnaround times with state sponsorship authorities - depends on how much checking they elect to do on your application and their current backlog. Sorry, wish I had a good prediction for you, but not a lot of consistency re: turnaround times.

Best,

Mark



ZAINABASEM said:


> hi all,
> 
> Our agent lodged our Eoi on 5th Jan, got selected on 22nd but then send skilled declaration on 29th of Jan for SS from Victoria? just wondering how many days more to get approval or decision? any ideas? with 55 points expecting 5 from SS for job code 263111...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Check any acknowledgement correspondence you receive from DIBP - often they will list the email of the office or team that is processing your visa somewhere on the letter. There is no general email address for DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JonDoe said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for a quick response. Do you by any chance have the e-mail ID of DIBP? I cant seem to locate it.


----------



## Ruth7862

*47pa*

Hi Mark,

Just a quick query please,

I am filling out a 47PA and on page 8 question 3 it asks you to sign to withdraw any previous applications. I haven't made any previous applications but as it doesn't say to skip this question if you haven't applied before I wondered if I should sign it in any case.

Your advise would be much appreciated,

Regards,

Ruth


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ruth -

Thanks for the question. I'd sign, but write "NONE" over the boxes above the signature area in that section where you are asked to specify the type of parent visa you had previously applied for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ruth7862 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a quick query please,
> 
> I am filling out a 47PA and on page 8 question 3 it asks you to sign to withdraw any previous applications. I haven't made any previous applications but as it doesn't say to skip this question if you haven't applied before I wondered if I should sign it in any case.
> 
> Your advise would be much appreciated,
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Ruth


----------



## laurenrose24

Hi Mark,

I am currently on my second WHV, due to expire 1st December 2015. 

My Australian partner and myself are heading to the UK end of June for a holiday to visit my family etc. Can I apply for a PMV whilst in the UK, come back in to Australia on my second WHV and then leave Australia when and if the PMV is granted? For work purposes, its not ideal for my partner to reside in the UK and we already have a life being built here. 

We would only just cut the 12 month mark in September and we are more than willing to elopse to get married!!

Thanks in advance L


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Laurenrose24 -

Yes, no problem lodging PMV while in the UK; you'll have to depart Australia briefly when they are ready to grant the PMV since you have to be offshore at time of grant. Don't have enough info to comment on the PMV or WHV scenarios, but what you propose sounds reasonable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



laurenrose24 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently on my second WHV, due to expire 1st December 2015.
> 
> My Australian partner and myself are heading to the UK end of June for a holiday to visit my family etc. Can I apply for a PMV whilst in the UK, come back in to Australia on my second WHV and then leave Australia when and if the PMV is granted? For work purposes, its not ideal for my partner to reside in the UK and we already have a life being built here.
> 
> We would only just cut the 12 month mark in September and we are more than willing to elopse to get married!!
> 
> Thanks in advance L


----------



## laurenrose24

Hi Mark,

Thank you for that.

One other thing, if we say go over to New Zealand next month, I could apply from there right? 

Lauren


----------



## MarkNortham

Yup.

Mark



laurenrose24 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for that.
> 
> One other thing, if we say go over to New Zealand next month, I could apply from there right?
> 
> Lauren


----------



## ZAINABASEM

*NSW occupation list*

Hi Mark,

Thanks for you reply, I am just confused about NSW ICT occupation lists did they open or they going to open the new 190 class visa? as in ANZSCO its still says pending...

My other question is that we have applied in Victoria can we also apply to NSW too?

Thanks..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zainabasem -

I checked earlier today and the NSW 190 list is not up yet, so I'd keep checking that - they said it would be published in "early Febraury". Re: also applying in VIC, no rule against that, however it is unclear if VIC or NSW will penalise or de-prioritise you if you have not "only" selected their state on your EOI.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ZAINABASEM said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for you reply, I am just confused about NSW ICT occupation lists did they open or they going to open the new 190 class visa? as in ANZSCO its still says pending...
> 
> My other question is that we have applied in Victoria can we also apply to NSW too?
> 
> Thanks..


----------



## zarak1991

hello mark sir , i want to know about my case officer i have applied for college visa, sub class 573 , it has been 3 months and 2 weeks no reply frm them after medical i want to knw is it ok that my agent has applied on my offer lettler not on coe cz he told me college wll ask foe coe then we wl provide it , and also i want to knw abt my case officer my agent also dont knw, my admin officer is Dina polisena but i dnt knw my case officer plz replt my question thnks alot sir


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarak1991 -

Student visas do not get assigned "a case officer" these days - they are processed by teams or groups of people.Re: not providing CoE, I would need to research the law to see if an exception exists in your case to the requirement that a CoE be provided at the time of application. No idea what may be causing the delay - DIBP is highly unpredictable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zarak1991 said:


> hello mark sir , i want to know about my case officer i have applied for college visa, sub class 573 , it has been 3 months and 2 weeks no reply frm them after medical i want to knw is it ok that my agent has applied on my offer lettler not on coe cz he told me college wll ask foe coe then we wl provide it , and also i want to knw abt my case officer my agent also dont knw, my admin officer is Dina polisena but i dnt knw my case officer plz replt my question thnks alot sir


----------



## zarak1991

thnks for u precious tim sir , so it mean i cann apply on offer letter?? and is it true australia embassy was closed during christmats holidays from 25 decmber to 4 january ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarak1991 -

Not sure, not enough information to give you an opinion on that. Would need to see all documents related to the application at a consultation - see website below in my signature to book if you'd like a professional opinion.

Thanks,

Mark



zarak1991 said:


> thnks for u precious tim sir , so it mean i cann apply on offer letter?? and is it true australia embassy was closed during christmats holidays from 25 decmber to 4 january ??


----------



## tarekshabib

*Police check from KSA*

Hi Mark,

I am applying to 189 Visa and here is my progress:

1- ACS assessment - Done
2- IELTS exam - next 28-Feb
If I get the needed score I will submit the EOI right away (15-March).

In addition, I am Egyptian living in Saudi Arabia as resident and while preparing my documents I discovered that the police check for non-citizens in Saudia Arabia takes more than 6 months. However, according to the DIBP website I have only 60 days from the Invitation to apply to lodge my application. do you recommend to apply for the police check from now or your advice is to wait until lodging of the application and to be assigned to CO which roughly will be after 4 months.

Thanks


----------



## akrish

Hi Mark, I applied for a 489 visa nominating my wife's mother as my sponsor but I got told that she is ineligible because my wife is Australian. As I was unaware of this rule, are there any grounds to claim a refund? Thanks.


----------



## zarak1991

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Zarak1991 -
> 
> Student visas do not get assigned "a case officer" these days - they are processed by teams or groups of people.Re: not providing CoE, I would need to research the law to see if an exception exists in your case to the requirement that a CoE be provided at the time of application. No idea what may be causing the delay - DIBP is highly unpredictable.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


so by any means can i knw the team which is proceesing my visa , i am so worried my clases has stared , i wll have to differ but plz tel me how to knw abt my visa team


----------



## nep12

Hi Mark 

again need some advice
here is a my situation.

some problem is being occurred for online application 887 , as I am a secondary applicant of 489 and fulfilled 2 year stay and 1 year work requirement ,I am going to be a main applicant for visa 887 ,which I think is acceptable to DIBP ,my visa was active from 4/02/2013 , but while filling up the online application ,it is giving error saying "you do not hold a valid prerequisite visa to enable use this service" , initially I thought that it is a technical problem ,when I called IMMI ,they said that it is a technical problem and they will send email to technical team, as per immi it will take 1 week to get reply from technical team , its sad that I cant apply 887 visa for whole week .

In other hand,
when I try from my wife immi account, and filled a details of her as a main applicant on online application ,the system is not showing any error message ,that shown for my immi account when I filled application as a main applicant with my details. my wife was a main applicant for visa subclass 489 but she couldn't fulfil fulltime employment for visa 887 that's why I need to apply for visa 887 as a main applicant . as far as I know DIBP regulation is allowing secondary applicant of 489 to apply 887 as a main applicant.

BIG confusion and stressed


----------



## KZL

Hi Mark,

I hope you can help me with my question.
My husband applied for partner visa at Cairo. He is from Algeria
We used a qualified translator to translate our official documets.
My husband english communication is not excellent so i helped him translating his statement. 

However someone told me that he should have written the statement in his own language then get it officially translated.

Now i am stressed out about it. It was an honest mistake, we thought only official documents must be officially translated.

Should i contact our case officer and explain our situation and send him a statement with official translation? 
Please note that i am originally from Algeria so i can speak arabic, that's how i was able to help him.

Also we have more evidence to support our case. Should we send it or ask our case officer first.

Thank you


----------



## JYN48

Hi Mark,

I am currently onshore with a student visa expiring by the 13th of March and I am planning to submit my application for a Temporary Graduate Visa (485) - Graduate Work Stream early March. 
The problem I have now is that my passport expires in June and the application states that 'it is strongly recommended that the passport be valid for at least 6 months'. Renewing my passport now would mean travelling to the consulate in Canberra and I am worried that I would not be issued with a new passport on time. 
Is it critical for my passport to be valid for 6 months or can I simply renew my passport after my application and subsequently update my new passport details with the DIAC?

Thanks for your help.

Regards,
Jordan


----------



## Abedin

*Partner Visa 309*

Hi Mark,

Thank you for doing the awesome work.

I would like to apply for my wife's Partner visa 309.

Is it possible to apply it through online using my Immiaccount, as I am her sponsor?

I am a permanent resident and my wife is overseas. I understand that, once the application gets through, the case will be assigned to the office where my wife is residing at the moment.

I have all the documents ready to upload and If I am eligible to lodge my wife's visa using my immiaccount, I would like to do it soon.

Please do englighten.

Regards & Thanks,
Mohammed Abedin


----------



## kush_B

*Facing expulsion from university*

Hi,my name is kush.I am an international student on a student visa, currently enrolled in a bachelor degree.

Due to unsatisfactory academic performance,the university has recommended me for expulsion from my course.I have 20 days to appeal to the university.

If my appeal is unsuccessful what are my options to remain in Australia.?
Can i enroll in a new degree at another university before the university notify the department of immigration?

I really need help on this urgently.
Thank you


----------



## sugarboy

Hi Mark,

Let me first of all thank you for all the assistance you provide to everyone on this forum.

I've got a simple case, just need clarity on a few aspects:

I've applied for a subclass 887 visa in late December 2013, and is yet to be finalized to due to external security checks. My questions are as follows:

1. I understand there's not much can be done to expedite the visa processing as its out of DIBP's control, but this case is a little bit different. Whilst I'm seeing other applicants from other sub classes having their applications eventually progressed, 887 on the other hand is completely stalled and there are even applicants waiting from April 2013. Can you recommend any legal avenues which can be considered to get further clarification or updates on these cases as it seems like there might be an administrative error or technical glitch somewhere?

2. I'm currently on Bridging Visa A and I'm really looking forward to getting married and getting settled. Unfortunately this long wait is pushing everything out indefinitely. I was wondering if I can lodge a 189 application along with my spouse as a secondary application whilst being on a Bridging Visa B as an applicant for an ongoing 887 (Will need to leave Australia to get married and come back, hence bridging visa B)?

3. I understand if I do apply for 189, I will be granted a Bridging Visa C (with no work rights) as a result of lodging a substantive visa application when being on a bridging visa. Will this Bridging visa C override my bridging visa B and will leave me with no work rights OR the Bridging visa C will not come into affect until and unless my Bridging visa B ceases to exist?

4. If 887 is granted first, what happens to 189 application? Can I still continue with that so that me and my prospective wife can be on that visa together once that's granted? Can I be onshore and my wife offshore when this happens?

5. If 189 is granted first, I'm assuming then it'll be straight forward just to withdraw the 887.

Thanks for your assistance, highly appreciated.


----------



## SMC

Hello mark,

college girl said i should ask you this question.

currently, i have a default government student loan in the usa (around 1500 usd). i had it in deferment but forgot to renew it, thus it went to default. is this going to cause us problems submitting our 820. 

i set up a default rehabilitation plan with the creditor handling the loan. In this set up, after you pay 9 months, its no longer in default.

Thanks


----------



## leena666

Hi Mark ,I got some question about ''One-Year Relationship Requirement'' for De Facto Partners :
To satisfy this requirement, the couple must demonstrate that they have been in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months before the visa application is made. 

So does it mean 12 months in a row ??

My case is : We ve living together from 5/3/2013 to 26/1/2014 (11 months) ,then I went back to my country and applied a WHV came back OZ. I came back on 22/3/2014 and lodged the application on 13/4/2104 (1 month).
We keep contact via whatsapp everyday during the separation period and I submitted the conversation records when i lodged the visa application.

We can't register our relationship bcoz we live in SA. Does it satisfy the one year requirement ?? Thanks


----------



## zarak1991

*apply on offer letter ?*

hi mark sir still waiting for u reply can i apply to colleg in sydney on offer letter without COe , ? i have applied , and waiting when thy wll ask for the coe ,, plz guide me i am so worried ,, thnx


----------



## Paramvir

*190 Visa 2015*

Dear Mark

Please advise , its been long to get a grant notice.

190 visa applied on ---------------31-10-2014
CO assigned on--------------------- 18-12-2014
Form 80 sub on-----------------------27-12-2015
Got a call from
High Commission on-------------- 13-01-2015

Medicals PCC all done

Its been over 3 months now, my questions are.

1. Can CO call my employers for further verification.
2. Can CO has assessed that I qualify as per 60 points are concerned.
3. How long it takes to get a Grand Notice from now.

Thx
P.Singh


----------



## dariyush

Hi. I have a phd in Electrical Engineering. I have been working as a university lecturer for more than 8 years. now I am an assistant professor. Last month, I apply an EOI based on Electrical Engineering Occupation. the EOI has been selected. I have my work certificates based on my Electrical Engineering researches. the certificates address the tasks which adapt an electrical engineer. Is there any experience or any suggestion?? If I lodge my visa application, what would be the case officer opinion about my Qualification and my skilled occupations. Are they related or closely related?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tarekshabib -

Depends how confident you are that you will get an invitation - you can apply for the police cert now, and it's good for 1 year once issued, then hope to get an invitation during the time it is valid. Other option is to wait until you get an invitation, then apply for the police cert - no problem lodging the police cert after you apply for the visa. Most people I know choose the second option, but either can work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tarekshabib said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying to 189 Visa and here is my progress:
> 
> 1- ACS assessment - Done
> 2- IELTS exam - next 28-Feb
> If I get the needed score I will submit the EOI right away (15-March).
> 
> In addition, I am Egyptian living in Saudi Arabia as resident and while preparing my documents I discovered that the police check for non-citizens in Saudia Arabia takes more than 6 months. However, according to the DIBP website I have only 60 days from the Invitation to apply to lodge my application. do you recommend to apply for the police check from now or your advice is to wait until lodging of the application and to be assigned to CO which roughly will be after 4 months.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akrish -

Sorry to hear of the issue - it's correct that she is ineligible as there is a requirement under the 489 visa that all members of your family unit must be sponsored by the sponsor. As your wife is an Australian citizen, she cannot be sponsored for a visa, so that makes her mother ineligible as a sponsor for your family. No grounds for refund under this type of scenario that I know of.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



akrish said:


> Hi Mark, I applied for a 489 visa nominating my wife's mother as my sponsor but I got told that she is ineligible because my wife is Australian. As I was unaware of this rule, are there any grounds to claim a refund? Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarak1991 -

May be best to talk to your agent about all these questions. The name of the team processing the visa would likely be on the letters of any correspondence he/she has received from DIBP related to the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zarak1991 said:


> so by any means can i knw the team which is proceesing my visa , i am so worried my clases has stared , i wll have to differ but plz tel me how to knw abt my visa team


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nep12 -

I'd see how things work out with DIBP's technical people and try again in a week (or sooner) as long as you don't have a visa expiring soon, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nep12 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> again need some advice
> here is a my situation.
> 
> some problem is being occurred for online application 887 , as I am a secondary applicant of 489 and fulfilled 2 year stay and 1 year work requirement ,I am going to be a main applicant for visa 887 ,which I think is acceptable to DIBP ,my visa was active from 4/02/2013 , but while filling up the online application ,it is giving error saying "you do not hold a valid prerequisite visa to enable use this service" , initially I thought that it is a technical problem ,when I called IMMI ,they said that it is a technical problem and they will send email to technical team, as per immi it will take 1 week to get reply from technical team , its sad that I cant apply 887 visa for whole week .
> 
> In other hand,
> when I try from my wife immi account, and filled a details of her as a main applicant on online application ,the system is not showing any error message ,that shown for my immi account when I filled application as a main applicant with my details. my wife was a main applicant for visa subclass 489 but she couldn't fulfil fulltime employment for visa 887 that's why I need to apply for visa 887 as a main applicant . as far as I know DIBP regulation is allowing secondary applicant of 489 to apply 887 as a main applicant.
> 
> BIG confusion and stressed


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KZL -

Thanks for the question. It is DIBP policy that all translations must be done by a NAATI qualified (or equivalent in your country) professional translator. My suggestion would be to have the statement professionally translated, then compare that translation to the one you already lodged. If there are no differences of any great degree, then I'd lodge the original & official translation in addition to what you had already lodged. If there are any material (significant) differences, then you may want to hold off and only submit the official translation if requested, as that might avoid having to explain the differences. But safest bet generally would be to lodge the original and officially translated version.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KZL said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you can help me with my question.
> My husband applied for partner visa at Cairo. He is from Algeria
> We used a qualified translator to translate our official documets.
> My husband english communication is not excellent so i helped him translating his statement.
> 
> However someone told me that he should have written the statement in his own language then get it officially translated.
> 
> Now i am stressed out about it. It was an honest mistake, we thought only official documents must be officially translated.
> 
> Should i contact our case officer and explain our situation and send him a statement with official translation?
> Please note that i am originally from Algeria so i can speak arabic, that's how i was able to help him.
> 
> Also we have more evidence to support our case. Should we send it or ask our case officer first.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JYN48 -

Generally OK to lodge with your current passport, then apply for another and update DIBP when you get the new one (using Form 929).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JYN48 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently onshore with a student visa expiring by the 13th of March and I am planning to submit my application for a Temporary Graduate Visa (485) - Graduate Work Stream early March.
> The problem I have now is that my passport expires in June and the application states that 'it is strongly recommended that the passport be valid for at least 6 months'. Renewing my passport now would mean travelling to the consulate in Canberra and I am worried that I would not be issued with a new passport on time.
> Is it critical for my passport to be valid for 6 months or can I simply renew my passport after my application and subsequently update my new passport details with the DIAC?
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Regards,
> Jordan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abedin & Mohammed-

It's fine to lodge online using either your or your wife's ImmiAccount. Better if both forms (the migrate to Australia form, and the sponsorship to migrate form) are done from the same ImmiAccount so you can see status of both.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abedin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for doing the awesome work.
> 
> I would like to apply for my wife's Partner visa 309.
> 
> Is it possible to apply it through online using my Immiaccount, as I am her sponsor?
> 
> I am a permanent resident and my wife is overseas. I understand that, once the application gets through, the case will be assigned to the office where my wife is residing at the moment.
> 
> I have all the documents ready to upload and If I am eligible to lodge my wife's visa using my immiaccount, I would like to do it soon.
> 
> Please do englighten.
> 
> Regards & Thanks,
> Mohammed Abedin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi kush_B -

You'd have to have the new student visa approved before DIBP cancelled your existing student visa - suggest you check with an Education Agent for more details on this - they usually have a migration agent on staff who is an expert at student visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kush_B said:


> Hi,my name is kush.I am an international student on a student visa, currently enrolled in a bachelor degree.
> 
> Due to unsatisfactory academic performance,the university has recommended me for expulsion from my course.I have 20 days to appeal to the university.
> 
> If my appeal is unsuccessful what are my options to remain in Australia.?
> Can i enroll in a new degree at another university before the university notify the department of immigration?
> 
> I really need help on this urgently.
> Thank you


----------



## nep12

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nep12 -
> 
> I'd see how things work out with DIBP's technical people and try again in a week (or sooner) as long as you don't have a visa expiring soon, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for reply,

I have received email from technical team of DIBP ,which is as follow:

Unfortunately, there is a known defect with the online system, which effects clients (including dependants) trying to apply online. This returns an error stating "Client does not have a current pre-requisite visa".

As you are aware some clients are unable to lodge an application because of a system defect. Affected clients are those reliant on more than one qualifying visa to satisfy part (7) of Item 1136 -Skilled (Residence) (Class VB) including those clients where not all of the family members seeking to make an application hold the same qualifying visas.

Pending resolution of this problem affected clients can make their application to the department by one of the following methods (with e-mail being the preferred channel):

• Scanning and emailing the completed form 1276 and any attachments to [email protected]

OR

• Mailing the form 1276, payment and supporting documentation to

Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre

Department of Immigration and Border Protection

GPO Box 1638

ADELAIDE SA 5001

AUSTRALIA

OR

• Couriering the form 1276, payment and supporting documentation to

Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre

Department of Immigration and Border Protection

4th Floor

70 Franklin Street

ADELAIDE SA 5000

AUSTRALIA

Please note that this method of making an application only applies to clients making an otherwise valid application for a subclass 887 visa on or after 1 January 2013 who are unable to lodge an application on-line.

The commencement date of the application will be the date that the department is satisfied that the remaining requirements for a valid application other than the lodgement of the application form itself are met including payment of relevant visa application charges.

The supporting documentation provided to the department must include any available evidence or claims the client is relying on to demonstrate that they were unable to lodge an electronic application given this option is only available for these clients.

Clients should be aware that the department has the capacity to search for attempted e-lodgement of applications.

As per above email from technical I understand that I can apply through 3 option , from 3 option , ,I think best option would be through , just need advice if it will be ok to apply through email but I am confused how we can send documents of evidence , there is lots of documents to submit ,which we cant send in on shot of email. PLS Advice.

as per response email, I have to fill up form 1276 as well which was attached in the response email. in form 1276 , Part B Applicant s skills Q. 25 ,what I should mention ,confused cause I was a secondary applicant of 489 ,where I haven't got any skill assessment and skill occupation. now I am main applicant for 887 visa but form 1276 has a q. regarding skilled occupation ,do u suggest me to leave blank ,cause I don't have any skill occupation and skill assessment or will be there any problem cause I don't have any skill occupation or skill assessment for 887 visa that is asking in 1276 form.

Your advice will be highly appreciated.

Thanks


----------



## Paramvir

Dear Mark

Your reply on my thread is still awaited

Thx
P.Singh


----------



## teven

Hi Mark,
My question is my girlfriends working holiday visa ends in september, and we are going for defacto for 6 months along with registration of the relationship in NSW. when would be the latest to send off the application. Can it be done in september or should it be done before her working holiday visa ends?


----------



## soham

*SVP jan 2015*

hello Mark,
it's really great of u that you are helping everyone. and i thank you for that.

i have applied for student visa on jan 23 and it is already 14 days but i haven't heard from anyone regarding my visa. i have already completed health checkup before lodging the application and all my documents are perfect(according to my agent). i called high commission and i got an answer that no case officer is assigned to my case yet. my course is starting from 23rd feb and i am really worried. so how long it might take according to u as no CO is assigned yet. 
please comment on my situation.
thanking you,
Soham.


----------



## zarak1991

soham said:


> hello Mark,
> it's really great of u that you are helping everyone. and i thank you for that.
> 
> i have applied for student visa on jan 23 and it is already 14 days but i haven't heard from anyone regarding my visa. i have already completed health checkup before lodging the application and all my documents are perfect(according to my agent). i called high commission and i got an answer that no case officer is assigned to my case yet. my course is starting from 23rd feb and i am really worried. so how long it might take according to u as no CO is assigned yet.
> please comment on my situation.
> thanking you,
> Soham.


heloo soham brother i have alos applied ,, can u give me ur email id i want to discuss with u , plz reply i have paplied from pakistan btw , it has 
been 4 months that i have submitted my application , i thnk 14 days so early


----------



## som

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Som -
> 
> Thanks for the note - yes, your wife can apply for a sc600 visitor visa - chances of success are difficult to predict - if DIBP is convinced that you are in a genuine married relationship, then chances of success are better. Normally a person has to have more ties to their home country (ie, job, assets, family, etc) than they do to Australia in order to get a visitor visa in many cases, however once a partner visa has been lodged, that changes things a bit. You can ask for as long as you want for the visitor visa, however I wouldn't ask for more than 6 months. If you are concerned about being approved, consider asking for a shorter visa.
> 
> Yes, you can do medical exams in Australia while she's here, and PCC's can be ordered from anywhere as long as you follow the directions for each country's PCCs.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your clarifications, great help. I had applied for my wife visitor visa family sponsored, and got it today granted in just 4 days after I applied.

Appreciate your help and efforts.. Have a great weekend.


----------



## farina

*ask mark*

Dear Sir Mark,
I have scored in IELTS Speaking:7,Reading:6,Listening:6.5 writing :6.5 in two different test(date :10Jan,2015 and 15Aug,2014).In this situation would you Canberra able to consider me overall 7?Kindly advice for the same.
Test Date 16August, 2014
Listening-5.0, Reading-5.0, Writing-6.5, Speaking-7
Test Date 10January, 2015
Listening-6.5, Reading-6.0, Writing-5.5, Speaking-6
Due to saturation in IT filed, I am unable to obtain Job offer in Canberra. Will this condition remain same for ICT business Analyst? (Occupation: 261111) what should I do to attain state sponsorship in Canberra or any other state in Australia?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sugarboy -

Thanks for the question. See below at ***:



sugarboy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Let me first of all thank you for all the assistance you provide to everyone on this forum.
> 
> I've got a simple case, just need clarity on a few aspects:
> 
> I've applied for a subclass 887 visa in late December 2013, and is yet to be finalized to due to external security checks. My questions are as follows:
> 
> 1. I understand there's not much can be done to expedite the visa processing as its out of DIBP's control, but this case is a little bit different. Whilst I'm seeing other applicants from other sub classes having their applications eventually progressed, 887 on the other hand is completely stalled and there are even applicants waiting from April 2013. Can you recommend any legal avenues which can be considered to get further clarification or updates on these cases as it seems like there might be an administrative error or technical glitch somewhere? *** Nothing available that I know of, you just have to wait. DIBP doesn't provide status updates, just lets you wait and wait until they finish, which can be any time they want to - no legal limits on how long they may take to process a visa application unfortunately.
> 
> 2. I'm currently on Bridging Visa A and I'm really looking forward to getting married and getting settled. Unfortunately this long wait is pushing everything out indefinitely. I was wondering if I can lodge a 189 application along with my spouse as a secondary application whilst being on a Bridging Visa B as an applicant for an ongoing 887 (Will need to leave Australia to get married and come back, hence bridging visa B)? *** Yes, but not sure what benefit 189 would be - if security checks are the problem for the 887, they would be for the 189 as well.
> 
> 3. I understand if I do apply for 189, I will be granted a Bridging Visa C (with no work rights) as a result of lodging a substantive visa application when being on a bridging visa. Will this Bridging visa C override my bridging visa B and will leave me with no work rights OR the Bridging visa C will not come into affect until and unless my Bridging visa B ceases to exist? *** The latter - the C will not activate until the B ceases.
> 
> 4. If 887 is granted first, what happens to 189 application? Can I still continue with that so that me and my prospective wife can be on that visa together once that's granted? Can I be onshore and my wife offshore when this happens? *** They will usually ask you to withdraw the 189 if they are ready to grant the 887.
> 
> 5. If 189 is granted first, I'm assuming then it'll be straight forward just to withdraw the 887. *** They would then ask you to withdraw the 887 prior to granting the 189.
> 
> Thanks for your assistance, highly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMC -

I don't think that would be a problem with the 820 as the regulation re: debts for 820 refers to a debt of the Commonwealth (of Australia). If it's a debt to anyone else, it should not fall under that regulation, and credit checks, etc are not part of the routine for assessing a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMC said:


> Hello mark,
> 
> college girl said i should ask you this question.
> 
> currently, i have a default government student loan in the usa (around 1500 usd). i had it in deferment but forgot to renew it, thus it went to default. is this going to cause us problems submitting our 820.
> 
> i set up a default rehabilitation plan with the creditor handling the loan. In this set up, after you pay 9 months, its no longer in default.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leena666 -

Thanks for the question. The regulation refers to the 12 months prior to applying for the partner visa, and requires that unless the relationship is registered, you lived together for that period (ie, the 12 months immediately prior to application) and that any time apart was "temporary in nature". Evidence is key for all of this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leena666 said:


> Hi Mark ,I got some question about ''One-Year Relationship Requirement'' for De Facto Partners :
> To satisfy this requirement, the couple must demonstrate that they have been in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months before the visa application is made.
> 
> So does it mean 12 months in a row ??
> 
> My case is : We ve living together from 5/3/2013 to 26/1/2014 (11 months) ,then I went back to my country and applied a WHV came back OZ. I came back on 22/3/2014 and lodged the application on 13/4/2104 (1 month).
> We keep contact via whatsapp everyday during the separation period and I submitted the conversation records when i lodged the visa application.
> 
> We can't register our relationship bcoz we live in SA. Does it satisfy the one year requirement ?? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarak1991 -

Happy to assist you in a consultation - would need time to research whether there is an exception to the "COE Required" regulation that applies to most student visas. Would need to see all your documents as well - see website below in my signature if you'd like to book - go to the website and click on "consultation" at the top.

Best,

Mark



zarak1991 said:


> hi mark sir still waiting for u reply can i apply to colleg in sydney on offer letter without COe , ? i have applied , and waiting when thy wll ask for the coe ,, plz guide me i am so worried ,, thnx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paramir -

Actually it's not long as the typical 190 can take 6-9 months (although some have been faster during the latter part of 2014).

Yes, DIBP can contact your employer at any time prior to grant with any questions whatsoever about your claimed employment with them. DIBP can also at any time decide that you have or have not provided sufficient evidence for the points you claim. No idea when your visa will be granted - DIBP provides no firm timetables or promises in this regard.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Paramvir said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Please advise , its been long to get a grant notice.
> 
> 190 visa applied on ---------------31-10-2014
> CO assigned on--------------------- 18-12-2014
> Form 80 sub on-----------------------27-12-2015
> Got a call from
> High Commission on-------------- 13-01-2015
> 
> Medicals PCC all done
> 
> Its been over 3 months now, my questions are.
> 
> 1. Can CO call my employers for further verification.
> 2. Can CO has assessed that I qualify as per 60 points are concerned.
> 3. How long it takes to get a Grand Notice from now.
> 
> Thx
> P.Singh


----------



## arminIT

Hi Mark,

Thanks for all of your helping,

I would like to apply through NSW nomination process (Visa 190), which for this year, 2015, my Occupation which is software engineer is in their list:
http://www.trade.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/66878/NSW-190-list.pdf

They said that :"The selection process will be competitive. NSW will rank candidates based on core criteria which is: firstly, a candidate's DIBP points score, then their English ability, and then their skilled employment. Where candidates score the same on these core criteria at time of selection, they will be further ranked based on the date and time that their EOI was submitted in SkillSelect."

My IELTS result is the competent with overall 7.5 and L:8, R:8, S:6.5,W:6.5 band score. I will appreciate if you help me out how their new selection process work is working. Am I have any chance against other users same IELTS result but with lower band score?

Thanks you again for your time and consideration.
Regards,
Armin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dariyush -

Thanks for the question. I would need to see all your documents in a consultation in order to give you specific advice about your case (see website below, choose Consultation from top menu to book). The problem in your type of case comes in when DIBP decides that your work is more properly categorised as a University Lecturer, not as an Electrical Engineer, and decides that teaching about your subject is not related to actually working as a practicing electrical engineer (and then disallows your work experience points as a result, assuming you are applying for a skilled visa under Electrical Engineer). All I can suggest is that you carefully review the tasks/duties under ANZSCO of an Electrical Engineer and show how your research work, etc tasks are closely related to the ANZSCO tasks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dariyush said:


> Hi. I have a phd in Electrical Engineering. I have been working as a university lecturer for more than 8 years. now I am an assistant professor. Last month, I apply an EOI based on Electrical Engineering Occupation. the EOI has been selected. I have my work certificates based on my Electrical Engineering researches. the certificates address the tasks which adapt an electrical engineer. Is there any experience or any suggestion?? If I lodge my visa application, what would be the case officer opinion about my Qualification and my skilled occupations. Are they related or closely related?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nep12 -

Can't give advice on specific answers on forms in the forum, as I have to be much more familiar with your case in order to give you that advice - too many potential issues, factors, etc - and if the advice I give is incorrect because I was not aware of some factor or aspect of your application, I'm still liable! Happy to assist at a consultation where we can review all docs and get a full understanding of your case in order to provide advice - see website below in my signature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nep12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for reply,
> 
> I have received email from technical team of DIBP ,which is as follow:
> 
> Unfortunately, there is a known defect with the online system, which effects clients (including dependants) trying to apply online. This returns an error stating "Client does not have a current pre-requisite visa".
> 
> As you are aware some clients are unable to lodge an application because of a system defect. Affected clients are those reliant on more than one qualifying visa to satisfy part (7) of Item 1136 -Skilled (Residence) (Class VB) including those clients where not all of the family members seeking to make an application hold the same qualifying visas.
> 
> Pending resolution of this problem affected clients can make their application to the department by one of the following methods (with e-mail being the preferred channel):
> 
> • Scanning and emailing the completed form 1276 and any attachments to [email protected]
> 
> OR
> 
> • Mailing the form 1276, payment and supporting documentation to
> 
> Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre
> 
> Department of Immigration and Border Protection
> 
> GPO Box 1638
> 
> ADELAIDE SA 5001
> 
> AUSTRALIA
> 
> OR
> 
> • Couriering the form 1276, payment and supporting documentation to
> 
> Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre
> 
> Department of Immigration and Border Protection
> 
> 4th Floor
> 
> 70 Franklin Street
> 
> ADELAIDE SA 5000
> 
> AUSTRALIA
> 
> Please note that this method of making an application only applies to clients making an otherwise valid application for a subclass 887 visa on or after 1 January 2013 who are unable to lodge an application on-line.
> 
> The commencement date of the application will be the date that the department is satisfied that the remaining requirements for a valid application other than the lodgement of the application form itself are met including payment of relevant visa application charges.
> 
> The supporting documentation provided to the department must include any available evidence or claims the client is relying on to demonstrate that they were unable to lodge an electronic application given this option is only available for these clients.
> 
> Clients should be aware that the department has the capacity to search for attempted e-lodgement of applications.
> 
> As per above email from technical I understand that I can apply through 3 option , from 3 option , ,I think best option would be through , just need advice if it will be ok to apply through email but I am confused how we can send documents of evidence , there is lots of documents to submit ,which we cant send in on shot of email. PLS Advice.
> 
> as per response email, I have to fill up form 1276 as well which was attached in the response email. in form 1276 , Part B Applicant s skills Q. 25 ,what I should mention ,confused cause I was a secondary applicant of 489 ,where I haven't got any skill assessment and skill occupation. now I am main applicant for 887 visa but form 1276 has a q. regarding skilled occupation ,do u suggest me to leave blank ,cause I don't have any skill occupation and skill assessment or will be there any problem cause I don't have any skill occupation or skill assessment for 887 visa that is asking in 1276 form.
> 
> Your advice will be highly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paramvir -

See response earlier today. It's the weekend. I'm sorry my response time (for FREE advice!) is not up to your expectations...

Mark



Paramvir said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Your reply on my thread is still awaited
> 
> Thx
> P.Singh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Som -

That's great news - well done! Great outcome.

Best,

Mark



som said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your clarifications, great help. I had applied for my wife visitor visa family sponsored, and got it today granted in just 4 days after I applied.
> 
> Appreciate your help and efforts.. Have a great weekend.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ArminIT -

Wish I could help, but DIBP has not released any further details of their "scoring" system so all we know is what's on the website. From my view, important missing elements include: 1) Weight of each factor - are they weighted equally? 2) Re work experience, is overseas and Australian work experience weighted equally or not (DIBP weights it unequally in the points system giving more points to Australian work experience), 3) Are there any other factors that can work against an applicant's score, such as having relatives living in another Australian state?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arminIT said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for all of your helping,
> 
> I would like to apply through NSW nomination process (Visa 190), which for this year, 2015, my Occupation which is software engineer is in their list:
> http://www.trade.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/66878/NSW-190-list.pdf
> 
> They said that :"The selection process will be competitive. NSW will rank candidates based on core criteria which is: firstly, a candidate's DIBP points score, then their English ability, and then their skilled employment. Where candidates score the same on these core criteria at time of selection, they will be further ranked based on the date and time that their EOI was submitted in SkillSelect."
> 
> My IELTS result is the competent with overall 7.5 and L:8, R:8, S:6.5,W:6.5 band score. I will appreciate if you help me out how their new selection process work is working. Am I have any chance against other users same IELTS result but with lower band score?
> 
> Thanks you again for your time and consideration.
> Regards,
> Armin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Farina -

Please see my response on the other thread (Mark Northam services) you posted this question on - thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



farina said:


> Dear Sir Mark,
> I have scored in IELTS Speaking:7,Reading:6,Listening:6.5 writing :6.5 in two different test(date :10Jan,2015 and 15Aug,2014).In this situation would you Canberra able to consider me overall 7?Kindly advice for the same.
> Test Date 16August, 2014
> Listening-5.0, Reading-5.0, Writing-6.5, Speaking-7
> Test Date 10January, 2015
> Listening-6.5, Reading-6.0, Writing-5.5, Speaking-6
> Due to saturation in IT filed, I am unable to obtain Job offer in Canberra. Will this condition remain same for ICT business Analyst? (Occupation: 261111) what should I do to attain state sponsorship in Canberra or any other state in Australia?


----------



## arminIT

Thanks for your prompt reply,

I know how busy your schedule is but you always are helping and supporting us.

Thanks again, 
Have a nice weekend.

Cheers,
Armin



MarkNortham said:


> Hi ArminIT -
> 
> Wish I could help, but DIBP has not released any further details of their "scoring" system so all we know is what's on the website. From my view, important missing elements include: 1) Weight of each factor - are they weighted equally? 2) Re work experience, is overseas and Australian work experience weighted equally or not (DIBP weights it unequally in the points system giving more points to Australian work experience), 3) Are there any other factors that can work against an applicant's score, such as having relatives living in another Australian state?
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## SMC

Hello mark,

college girl said i should ask you this question.

currently, i have a default government student loan in the usa (around 1500 usd). i had it in deferment but forgot to renew it, thus it went to default. is this going to cause us problems submitting our 820.

i set up a default rehabilitation plan with the creditor handling the loan. In this set up, after you pay 9 months, its no longer in default. Should it be fine as long as im paying at least

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMC -

Already answered - look on page 628 of this thread.

Best,

Mark



SMC said:


> Hello mark,
> 
> college girl said i should ask you this question.
> 
> currently, i have a default government student loan in the usa (around 1500 usd). i had it in deferment but forgot to renew it, thus it went to default. is this going to cause us problems submitting our 820.
> 
> i set up a default rehabilitation plan with the creditor handling the loan. In this set up, after you pay 9 months, its no longer in default. Should it be fine as long as im paying at least
> 
> Thanks


----------



## sugarboy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sugarboy -
> 
> Thanks for the question. See below at ***:


Hi Mark, thanks for your response in post number: 6273 - Page 628

Just a few comments and one small question:

1. I'm thinking about the avenue of 189 as it seems like that applicants from this subclass are eventually getting processed roughly about 12 months wait, but 887 applicants are still waiting for 22+ months. Seems like its something to do with the priority directions DIBP allocates to ASIO, just a guess only.

2. Also 189 will mean that I'll get my partner granted visa along with me, which I can't do with 887. If I stay with 887 I'll need to wait for her partner visa to be granted which will be another I don't know how many months.

Just a question if 189 is read to be granted, can it be granted whilst me being onshore and my partner offshore?

Also another question on bridging visa, If I'm on bridging visa A and have been granted C as a result of lodging 189 and then apply Bridging Visa B to travel offshore and acquire it, I'll never jump onto the C anytime during process that right?

Thanks for your much assistance.


----------



## soham

Hello Mark,
I am sorry sir but i think you might have unintentionally skipped my post... Its on page 627, post 6269.
Awaiting your response. i know it's weekend so please answer when possible.
Thanking you,
Soham.


----------



## leena666

Thanks Mark



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Leena666 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. The regulation refers to the 12 months prior to applying for the partner visa, and requires that unless the relationship is registered, you lived together for that period (ie, the 12 months immediately prior to application) and that any time apart was "temporary in nature". Evidence is key for all of this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sugarboy -

Re: location at grant, not a problem if you are onshore and secondary applicant is offshore at time of grant - the 189 visa can be granted to an applicant whether they are onshore or offshore at the time.

Re: BV-C, your understanding is correct - as long as the BV-B never ceases, the BV-C granted after the BV-B would not activate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sugarboy said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for your response in post number: 6273 - Page 628
> 
> Just a few comments and one small question:
> 
> 1. I'm thinking about the avenue of 189 as it seems like that applicants from this subclass are eventually getting processed roughly about 12 months wait, but 887 applicants are still waiting for 22+ months. Seems like its something to do with the priority directions DIBP allocates to ASIO, just a guess only.
> 
> 2. Also 189 will mean that I'll get my partner granted visa along with me, which I can't do with 887. If I stay with 887 I'll need to wait for her partner visa to be granted which will be another I don't know how many months.
> 
> Just a question if 189 is read to be granted, can it be granted whilst me being onshore and my partner offshore?
> 
> Also another question on bridging visa, If I'm on bridging visa A and have been granted C as a result of lodging 189 and then apply Bridging Visa B to travel offshore and acquire it, I'll never jump onto the C anytime during process that right?
> 
> Thanks for your much assistance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Teven -

Thanks for the question. I would suggest lodging your partner visa online at least a week prior to the expiration of the working holiday visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



teven said:


> Hi Mark,
> My question is my girlfriends working holiday visa ends in september, and we are going for defacto for 6 months along with registration of the relationship in NSW. when would be the latest to send off the application. Can it be done in september or should it be done before her working holiday visa ends?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Soham -

My apologies for missing your message earlier today - I missed 3 of them on that page and am catching up now.

Wish I could give you a good answer, but there is no predictability about DIBP processing times, and by them posting the "estimated" times, it almost makes things worse. We're seeing processing times taking anywhere from 1-2 weeks to 3-4 months now - the longer ones are usually from higher risk countries where the security check process takes longer. All you can do is to keep in touch with them and gently remind them as you see fit as to when your classes will begin.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



soham said:


> hello Mark,
> it's really great of u that you are helping everyone. and i thank you for that.
> 
> i have applied for student visa on jan 23 and it is already 14 days but i haven't heard from anyone regarding my visa. i have already completed health checkup before lodging the application and all my documents are perfect(according to my agent). i called high commission and i got an answer that no case officer is assigned to my case yet. my course is starting from 23rd feb and i am really worried. so how long it might take according to u as no CO is assigned yet.
> please comment on my situation.
> thanking you,
> Soham.


----------



## zarak1991

hi MARK 
I am so worried about my case , can i contact DIBP on my behalf as my agent is just stupid he dnt knw how to asses my case i have done a big mistake soory for my words sir but he dont recived my aknwlodegnt letter its has been 3, months and 3 weeks, i want to knw my case officer so can i email them will it be a negtive point in my case kindly reply , 
and GOD bless u for helping peolples like us thanks alot u r our hero ,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarak1991 -

Yes you can, but DIBP may insist on dealing through your agent unless or until you cancel the appointment of your agent, which you can do with Form 956 (downloadable from DIBP site).

Best,

Mark



zarak1991 said:


> hi MARK
> I am so worried about my case , can i contact DIBP on my behalf as my agent is just stupid he dnt knw how to asses my case i have done a big mistake soory for my words sir but he dont recived my aknwlodegnt letter its has been 3, months and 3 weeks, i want to knw my case officer so can i email them will it be a negtive point in my case kindly reply ,
> and GOD bless u for helping peolples like us thanks alot u r our hero ,


----------



## zarak1991

if i want to withdrwa my agent will my college raflles institute also withdraw my offer letter? will it eefect my admission in college cause this agent has applied for me to that college so what if he just cancel my offer letter? then ?


----------



## nebsta

Hi Mark,

Im a UK national and have been living in Australia for 18 months - initially on a WHV and now on a 457. I met my (same sex) partner 1 year ago and we have been in a relationship ever since. We moved in together just over a month ago and havent lived together up until now as I work in Sydney and he works in Wollongong. We have registered our relationship (in NSW) in November 2014 and we have had a joint bank account since September 2014. 

I am now thinking longer term about my visa situation and would like to get some security of not being shipped home if I get made redundant. I am likely to be offered a 186 visa from my work when I become eligible (May 2016) but am thinking that the 801/820 visa is the best bet as I would be able to apply now and it will likely be granted by the time I am eligible for the 186. 

Given that we have registered our relationship and so mitigate the need to be cohabiting for 12 months, are you able to comment on how likely we are going to be able to satisfy the needs to prove that we are in a committed relationship given our timeline of events? We would be able to provide evidence of the relationship such as:
-Joint bank account statements
-Superannuation beneficiary
-Relationship certificate
-Stat decs from friends/family
-Joint travel, attending events etc
I am wondering if we could begin gathering evidence for and begin the application in the near future or if we should wait until we were living together for a longer period first. I don't want to apply if I am unlikely to be granted a visa, however, given the long waiting periods I don't want to wait for too long.

Thanks in advance for your help!


----------



## A.Naji

Hi Mark,
I recall asking about my relative decision delays and I would like to ask for more insight if that isn't any problem.

So as it stands, it's around 4 months with no reply/decision; my course will start in February 12. At this point, it's fair to say the process is hopeless. My question is: What is potentially happening in the process that can take this long? I don't want to know *WHEN *will the decision be made; I just want to know what can possibly result in such delay. I can understand that some cases would take an exceptional amount of time, but I would never expect it to be so for students (with all sufficient documents present).

Also, any insight about this "security check" I hear of? Can it be the reason?

At this point, it should be clear that I don't care about the result of the visa; however, the lack of decision makes it impossible for me to carry on my education elsewhere. It's a weird situation now, and I can never guarantee when is the decision to be made...especially when the visa officer and consulate refuse to respond to inquiries. 

Thanks in Advance...


----------



## eric2014

Hi Mark,

My family and I are currently on 444 SCVs and I have applied for Subclass 186. We put our NZ passports on the application. 

My wife and kids have also French citizenship. Since their French passports were expired we did not list those on the application. During a recent visit in France they have been issued with new French passports.

The immi website won't let me update the information online. Do we have to fill in a form 929 for each of them and submit it via registered mail? It appears form 929 caters for swapping from an old to a new passport rather than adding an additional passport? 

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.


----------



## crish_mac

Hi Mark,

I submitted my documents for ACS from April 2004 till Jan 2015 and received my ACS result stating:
The following employment after October 2006 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261311 (Analyst Programmer) of the ANZSCO Code.

As per ACS i have 8+ yrs of Exp.

My questions:
1. While lodging EOI, in Employment section, do i have to put all my experience or only relevant experience (After Oct 2006).

2. If i am claiming points for 8 years (After Oct 2006), do i have to have Bank statements from April 2004 or from Oct 2006 to prove my experience.

3. i was working in India during first 5 years of my Experience, but was not paying tax for the first 3 years (2004-2007) as i was not in tax bracket. Will this be a problem ?

Thanks,
Crish


----------



## SMC

MarkNortham said:


> Hi SMC -
> 
> Already answered - look on page 628 of this thread.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Mark,

Sorry, I must of scrolled past it the first time.

Thanks for the help

Kindest Regards,
SMC


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarak1991 -

That would depend on the relationship between your agent and your college - I'd call the college and ask them if there would be any changes to your enrolment if you change your migration agent. Also, I would ask them what would be involved in providing a CoE for you rather than an offer letter.

Best,

Mark



zarak1991 said:


> if i want to withdrwa my agent will my college raflles institute also withdraw my offer letter? will it eefect my admission in college cause this agent has applied for me to that college so what if he just cancel my offer letter? then ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nebsta -

Thanks for the note. I would need to see and review your relationship evidence in a consultation to give you any sort of an opinion re: chances of success. See website in my signature below if interested - as with anything in migration, the devil is in the details, so impossible to evaluate evidence without actually seeing/reading it and knowing much more about your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nebsta said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Im a UK national and have been living in Australia for 18 months - initially on a WHV and now on a 457. I met my (same sex) partner 1 year ago and we have been in a relationship ever since. We moved in together just over a month ago and havent lived together up until now as I work in Sydney and he works in Wollongong. We have registered our relationship (in NSW) in November 2014 and we have had a joint bank account since September 2014.
> 
> I am now thinking longer term about my visa situation and would like to get some security of not being shipped home if I get made redundant. I am likely to be offered a 186 visa from my work when I become eligible (May 2016) but am thinking that the 801/820 visa is the best bet as I would be able to apply now and it will likely be granted by the time I am eligible for the 186.
> 
> Given that we have registered our relationship and so mitigate the need to be cohabiting for 12 months, are you able to comment on how likely we are going to be able to satisfy the needs to prove that we are in a committed relationship given our timeline of events? We would be able to provide evidence of the relationship such as:
> -Joint bank account statements
> -Superannuation beneficiary
> -Relationship certificate
> -Stat decs from friends/family
> -Joint travel, attending events etc
> I am wondering if we could begin gathering evidence for and begin the application in the near future or if we should wait until we were living together for a longer period first. I don't want to apply if I am unlikely to be granted a visa, however, given the long waiting periods I don't want to wait for too long.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi A. Naji -

I agree it's a terrible situation, and sadly they don't tell us anything more than they tell you. It's complete and utter un-accountability, with no transparency in the process and arrogant refusals to even respond to communications.

It might be security checks, or might just be their backlog. Until we get some real requirements on DIBP to process applications in a specified time, all bets are off. Wish I had better news for you!

Best,

Mark



A.Naji said:


> Hi Mark,
> I recall asking about my relative decision delays and I would like to ask for more insight if that isn't any problem.
> 
> So as it stands, it's around 4 months with no reply/decision; my course will start in February 12. At this point, it's fair to say the process is hopeless. My question is: What is potentially happening in the process that can take this long? I don't want to know *WHEN *will the decision be made; I just want to know what can possibly result in such delay. I can understand that some cases would take an exceptional amount of time, but I would never expect it to be so for students (with all sufficient documents present).
> 
> Also, any insight about this "security check" I hear of? Can it be the reason?
> 
> At this point, it should be clear that I don't care about the result of the visa; however, the lack of decision makes it impossible for me to carry on my education elsewhere. It's a weird situation now, and I can never guarantee when is the decision to be made...especially when the visa officer and consulate refuse to respond to inquiries.
> 
> Thanks in Advance...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eric2014 -

Actually, I'd probably use Form 1022 and include the information that the French passports are ADDITIONAL passports that were recently obtained and ARE NOT intended as replacements for the NZ passports you included with the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



eric2014 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My family and I are currently on 444 SCVs and I have applied for Subclass 186. We put our NZ passports on the application.
> 
> My wife and kids have also French citizenship. Since their French passports were expired we did not list those on the application. During a recent visit in France they have been issued with new French passports.
> 
> The immi website won't let me update the information online. Do we have to fill in a form 929 for each of them and submit it via registered mail? It appears form 929 caters for swapping from an old to a new passport rather than adding an additional passport?
> 
> Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crish_mac -

See below at ***:



crish_mac said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I submitted my documents for ACS from April 2004 till Jan 2015 and received my ACS result stating:
> The following employment after October 2006 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261311 (Analyst Programmer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> As per ACS i have 8+ yrs of Exp.
> 
> My questions:
> 1. While lodging EOI, in Employment section, do i have to put all my experience or only relevant experience (After Oct 2006).
> *** All experience within the time asked for. Be careful to only make the entries that are approved by ACS as relevant. If the relevant time (Nov 2006) begins in the middle of an employment period, then I'd split it into the non-relevant part (up to Oct 2006) and the relevant part (Nov 2006 onwards).
> 
> 2. If i am claiming points for 8 years (After Oct 2006), do i have to have Bank statements from April 2004 or from Oct 2006 to prove my experience.\
> *** You will likely be required by DIBP to provide some evidence of payment for all work periods claimed for points. This can be payslips, bank statements, govt tax info, etc, whatever you may have.
> 
> 3. i was working in India during first 5 years of my Experience, but was not paying tax for the first 3 years (2004-2007) as i was not in tax bracket. Will this be a problem ?
> *** As long as you can provide some evidence of payment, should not be a problem as DIBP doesn't care if you paid tax or not.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Thanks,
> Crish


----------



## mark1980

*Partner visa 820-801*

Hi Mark 2 questions

1- I have 2 statutory declaration by supporting witness from my partner parents, but they don't have valid evidence that they are Australian citizenships, they don't have a birth certificate and the passport that they have are expired..what other evidence can I use to prove that they are Australian??

2- at the moment of lodging my application online do I have to complete and upload the forms 40SP 47 SP and 80 or I answear every question of the forms online at the moment of the application?

- and if I answear online the same questions that are in the forms do I still have to fill in the paper version of the forms and upload it to the online application?

thanks in advanced, I hope you can help me with some information


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark1980 -

Thanks for the questions. Re: citizenship, you might look them up on the voter poll lists online and provide evidence they're registered to vote. Re: forms, the online application forms are very similar to 47sp and 40sp, so if you complete those on paper, it's a matter of copying the info into the online forms. Form 80 is not online, so you would download that form, complete it, sign, scan and upload to your lodged application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mark1980 said:


> Hi Mark 2 questions
> 
> 1- I have 2 statutory declaration by supporting witness from my partner parents, but they don't have valid evidence that they are Australian citizenships, they don't have a birth certificate and the passport that they have are expired..what other evidence can I use to prove that they are Australian??
> 
> 2- at the moment of lodging my application online do I have to complete and upload the forms 40SP 47 SP and 80 or I answear every question of the forms online at the moment of the application?
> 
> - and if I answear online the same questions that are in the forms do I still have to fill in the paper version of the forms and upload it to the online application?
> 
> thanks in advanced, I hope you can help me with some information


----------



## mark1980

*820-801*

thank you mark!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mark1980 -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Re: citizenship, you might look them up on the voter poll lists online and provide evidence they're registered to vote. Re: forms, the online application forms are very similar to 47sp and 40sp, so if you complete those on paper, it's a matter of copying the info into the online forms. Form 80 is not online, so you would download that form, complete it, sign, scan and upload to your lodged application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## mark1980

*820-801*

thanks for the reply mark you think that a expired passport won't work as evidence ??

if not I'm gonna to try to look them up on the voter poll lists like you suggested



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mark1980 -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Re: citizenship, you might look them up on the voter poll lists online and provide evidence they're registered to vote. Re: forms, the online application forms are very similar to 47sp and 40sp, so if you complete those on paper, it's a matter of copying the info into the online forms. Form 80 is not online, so you would download that form, complete it, sign, scan and upload to your lodged application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

The expired passport might be helpful as additional evidence, but often DIBP tends to disregard them. I'd put all of it in.

Mark



mark1980 said:


> thanks for the reply mark you think that a expired passport won't work as evidence ??
> 
> if not I'm gonna to try to look them up on the voter poll lists like you suggested


----------



## zarak1991

This list identifies all of the applicants who have made a combined visa application,
who are required to undergo health examinations, to ensure they meet the health requirement
for an Australian 573 - HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR visa.
The required health examinations are listed against each applicant below.
Please make sure that you read this document and provide it to the clinic undertaking your health examinations.
Required health examinations
HAP ID: 697*****
Main Applicant: Muhammad Zarak KHAN
Date of Birth: 20 December 1991
Passport Number: ZT*************
Passport Country: PAKISTAN
*HAP **********



this is what my agent recived from DIBP for my medicals which i have done so is this mean that they had receved my application thats why they have asked about my medicals , i am so worried because my agent dont knw my case officer and he didnt got any akwlodge letter ? it has been 3 months 3 weeks


----------



## zarak1991

zarak1991 said:


> This list identifies all of the applicants who have made a combined visa application,
> who are required to undergo health examinations, to ensure they meet the health requirement
> for an Australian 573 - HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR visa.
> The required health examinations are listed against each applicant below.
> Please make sure that you read this document and provide it to the clinic undertaking your health examinations.
> Required health examinations
> HAP ID: 697*****
> Main Applicant: Muhammad Zarak KHAN
> Date of Birth: 20 December 1991
> Passport Number: ZT*************
> Passport Country: PAKISTAN
> *HAP **********
> 
> this is what my agent recived from DIBP for my medicals which i have done so is this mean that they had receved my application thats why they have asked about my medicals , i am so worried because my agent dont knw my case officer and he didnt got any akwlodge letter ? it has been 3 months 3 weeks


also mark sir i want to knw is my college Raffles College of Design and Commerce have SVP or not how can i find it :O ?????


----------



## inahy

*Visa 190*

Hi Mark,

I hope you are well, I am quite confused about visa subclass 190. I have already consulted three different consultants and sadly things are not clear to me yet. I am a Computer Networks and Systems Engineer 31 age, 7 years of experience with IELTS 6.5 each band.

The issue is my first and second consultants told me that it is relatively easy to get a state sponsorship as IT people are on demand and it is normal procedure.

However, my third consultant informed me that it would be difficult for me to get a state nomination as I have only chance to apply in Sydney and there is ceiling limit of the number of the applicants (1000 max).

also other states my not nominate me as they require better IELTS[7 each] marks.

I would really appreciate your assistance to enlighten me.

Thanks


----------



## A.Naji

MarkNortham said:


> Hi A. Naji -
> 
> I agree it's a terrible situation, and sadly they don't tell us anything more than they tell you. It's complete and utter un-accountability, with no transparency in the process and arrogant refusals to even respond to communications.
> 
> It might be security checks, or might just be their backlog. Until we get some real requirements on DIBP to process applications in a specified time, all bets are off. Wish I had better news for you!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Thanks for the reply. With that being said, may I ask you for some general overview of the security check process sir? What is it like, what does it depend on maybe, average time for high risk nations like mine etc...
I ask because I would like to estimate a time period where I would get a response in order for me to safely proceed into further options -- I can't halt my education for years with no legit justification. It would also assert our decisions for the future rather than helplessly waiting for a gamble in the decision.


----------



## DavidV

*Migration agent or not?*

Hi Mark,

Our plan is to assist my wife's niece to come to Australia (We are Australian citizens from the central coast nsw) and study. Rachael aged 21is from the Philippines and haIs a BS in International Tourism & Travel. Is a masteral course going to be her best option considering there are no such courses in her degree? Is it visa 573 she will require to apply for? We have enough funds 45K +. Would it be adviseable to use an agent?

Kind regards,
Dave


----------



## laurenrose24

Hi Mark,

I am applying for a Partner Visa on shore in a couple months. WHV expires December. Currently in my job until June and would really like to stay here as its with the Department of Health. Am I right in thinking that no other visa, inc the bridging visa will not come into effect until my WHV expires in December? 

Thank you.


----------



## vnavarro

Hi Mark,
I am currently on a Working Holiday Visa, my six month employer restriction comes into play about 3-4 weeks before my WHV visa expires. After I apply for the Partner visa (which will be roughly a month before my WHV expires) and the bridging visa is granted, am I able to keep working at my place of employment. If not, can I quit and then reapply at the same establishment once the bridging visa has started?


----------



## miquiita

*Further stay visa application*

Hi Mark,

I am now applying for a student visa of further stay, student temporary visa 575.

When making the application I got the notice of the picture attached.

My question is if I can after this visa apply for a skilled visa or partner visa and not be subjected to a no further stay condition.

Thanks so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarak1991 -

The letter you quoted is the usual letter that's sent requesting an applicant to go for medical tests. That means your application definitely has been received by DIBP.

Best,

Mark



zarak1991 said:


> This list identifies all of the applicants who have made a combined visa application,
> who are required to undergo health examinations, to ensure they meet the health requirement
> for an Australian 573 - HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR visa.
> The required health examinations are listed against each applicant below.
> Please make sure that you read this document and provide it to the clinic undertaking your health examinations.
> Required health examinations
> HAP ID: 697*****
> Main Applicant: Muhammad Zarak KHAN
> Date of Birth: 20 December 1991
> Passport Number: ZT*************
> Passport Country: PAKISTAN
> *HAP **********
> 
> this is what my agent recived from DIBP for my medicals which i have done so is this mean that they had receved my application thats why they have asked about my medicals , i am so worried because my agent dont knw my case officer and he didnt got any akwlodge letter ? it has been 3 months 3 weeks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarak -

Here's the list & related info:

Streamlined visa processing arrangements

Best,

Mark



zarak1991 said:


> also mark sir i want to knw is my college Raffles College of Design and Commerce have SVP or not how can i find it :O ?????


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Inahy -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual skilled visa assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa. A big question in your case will be how many years of work you will be able to claim after the ACS skills assessment is complete and they determine the "deeming date" - that is, the date you are deemed as skilled.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



inahy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you are well, I am quite confused about visa subclass 190. I have already consulted three different consultants and sadly things are not clear to me yet. I am a Computer Networks and Systems Engineer 31 age, 7 years of experience with IELTS 6.5 each band.
> 
> The issue is my first and second consultants told me that it is relatively easy to get a state sponsorship as IT people are on demand and it is normal procedure.
> 
> However, my third consultant informed me that it would be difficult for me to get a state nomination as I have only chance to apply in Sydney and there is ceiling limit of the number of the applicants (1000 max).
> 
> also other states my not nominate me as they require better IELTS[7 each] marks.
> 
> I would really appreciate your assistance to enlighten me.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi A.Naji -

Wish I could help, but the details of security check procedures are not provided by DIBP, DFAT or any of the agencies involved. The time to process is completely unpredictable, and can range from a few months to 1-2 years. Wish I could give you something more definite, but that's the reality of it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



A.Naji said:


> Thanks for the reply. With that being said, may I ask you for some general overview of the security check process sir? What is it like, what does it depend on maybe, average time for high risk nations like mine etc...
> I ask because I would like to estimate a time period where I would get a response in order for me to safely proceed into further options -- I can't halt my education for years with no legit justification. It would also assert our decisions for the future rather than helplessly waiting for a gamble in the decision.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DavidV -

Thanks for the question. Yes, a Masters course or perhaps a Bachelor degree in a related subject (ie, business if she is considering opening up her own tourism & travel firm, etc) is best. I don't work a lot in the student visa area as most of these are done by migration agents who work at education agent firms and do these visas for free or very cheap. The reason they do this is that the education agent part of the firm makes a large commission from the schools, which helps pay for the migration part of the work. I'd check out an education agent (see PIER Directory of these online if you need to locate one) with a migration agent on staff to help with this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DavidV said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Our plan is to assist my wife's niece to come to Australia (We are Australian citizens from the central coast nsw) and study. Rachael aged 21is from the Philippines and haIs a BS in International Tourism & Travel. Is a masteral course going to be her best option considering there are no such courses in her degree? Is it visa 573 she will require to apply for? We have enough funds 45K +. Would it be adviseable to use an agent?
> 
> Kind regards,
> Dave


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Laurenrose24 -

Correct. However if you go to the WHV page on the DIBP site and look around, there's a work extension form you can lodge so that after you lodge the partner visa, you can then lodge the extension form to request that they lift the 6-month limit on a single employer since you have already lodged a partner visa. Important to first lodge the partner visa, then lodge the extension form on time (see form for instructions, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



laurenrose24 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for a Partner Visa on shore in a couple months. WHV expires December. Currently in my job until June and would really like to stay here as its with the Department of Health. Am I right in thinking that no other visa, inc the bridging visa will not come into effect until my WHV expires in December?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

See last msg I just answered re WHV extension - I'd lodge the partner visa at least 6 weeks before the employer 6-month period ends, then immediately lodge the WHV extension form as they like to have 6 weeks to process these.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vnavarro said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am currently on a Working Holiday Visa, my six month employer restriction comes into play about 3-4 weeks before my WHV visa expires. After I apply for the Partner visa (which will be roughly a month before my WHV expires) and the bridging visa is granted, am I able to keep working at my place of employment. If not, can I quit and then reapply at the same establishment once the bridging visa has started?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Miquiita -

Short answer: no. The 575 visa (non-award other than ELICOS) has strict conditions that prevent the further onshore application of most visa applications - see the condition 8535 message you posted for the specific options you have available to lodge for further visas once onshore with the 575.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



miquiita said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am now applying for a student visa of further stay, student temporary visa 575.
> 
> When making the application I got the notice of the picture attached.
> 
> My question is if I can after this visa apply for a skilled visa or partner visa and not be subjected to a no further stay condition.
> 
> Thanks so much.


----------



## mark1980

*Form 80 for visa 820*

Hi Mark for the visa 820-801 I have a few questions about the form 80

-question 19 ''international travel'' in the las 3 years I been to more than 15 coutries do I have to write about all of them?

-question 20 ''employment'' if I don't know the exact dates when I worked in some companyes should I leave it black?

-question 26 ''further stay'' if I write that the main reason to stay in Australia It's to continue my relationship with my partner It's ok or this question refers to something else ?

-question 29 ''are you applying for a temporary visa'' I'm supposed to put NO right?

thanks!


----------



## marikaas82

Hi Mark,
I am currently residing in US. In deportation process. I also have 1 DWI dating back 2011. My husband is a US citizen, we have an infant daughter. He has more than 10 years experience in Business Analyst profession. Is there any chance we can move to Australia? Do they look so closely at DWI and the fact that i am in deportation proceedings? I am currently in Nursing school, in the middle on my first semester and ultimately planning to work as an RN in future. 
Thank you much in advance
Mari


----------



## miquiita

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Miquiita -
> 
> Short answer: no. The 575 visa (non-award other than ELICOS) has strict conditions that prevent the further onshore application of most visa applications - see the condition 8535 message you posted for the specific options you have available to lodge for further visas once onshore with the 575.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for that. But I am already on a 575 visa and there is nothing in my visa papers now that say I cant apply for another 575 further stay student visa.

Sorry I do not understand, if I apply for this visa, will I never be able to apply for a visa again ? Skilled or partner?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark1980 -

Re Q19, Yes. Re 20, I'd estimate and include a note on the extension page at the back of the form that you estimated using best available information for this question. Q26, that's fine. Q29, Correct.

Best,

Mark



mark1980 said:


> Hi Mark for the visa 820-801 I have a few questions about the form 80
> 
> -question 19 ''international travel'' in the las 3 years I been to more than 15 coutries do I have to write about all of them?
> 
> -question 20 ''employment'' if I don't know the exact dates when I worked in some companyes should I leave it black?
> 
> -question 26 ''further stay'' if I write that the main reason to stay in Australia It's to continue my relationship with my partner It's ok or this question refers to something else ?
> 
> -question 29 ''are you applying for a temporary visa'' I'm supposed to put NO right?
> 
> thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marikaas82 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



marikaas82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am currently residing in US. In deportation process. I also have 1 DWI dating back 2011. My husband is a US citizen, we have an infant daughter. He has more than 10 years experience in Business Analyst profession. Is there any chance we can move to Australia? Do they look so closely at DWI and the fact that i am in deportation proceedings? I am currently in Nursing school, in the middle on my first semester and ultimately planning to work as an RN in future.
> Thank you much in advance
> Mari


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Miquiita -

You can check your current visa for the visa "Conditions" (a series of 4-digit numbers that begin with 8) to see what limitations you have on your current 575 visa. The limitation you referred to on your new visa would only affect what you could apply for while you were in Australia onshore, hold that new visa. Once that visa expires, you can apply for anything else you'd like that you qualify for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



miquiita said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for that. But I am already on a 575 visa and there is nothing in my visa papers now that say I cant apply for another 575 further stay student visa.
> 
> Sorry I do not understand, if I apply for this visa, will I never be able to apply for a visa again ? Skilled or partner?


----------



## Ruth7862

*103 application*

Hi Mark,

We are about to send in an application for a 103 visa. I have read on the immi website that the queue date given is the date of assessment that the application meets the required initial criteria for the 103 visa. My query is what is included in the required initial criteria?

I am guessing it is balance of family and that the sponsor is an Australia citizen or has PR and settled for at least two years. Are there any other initial criteria that have to be satisfied at that point such as the AoS requirements or is that much much later?

Thanks again,
Ruth


----------



## DavidV

MarkNortham said:


> Hi DavidV -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Yes, a Masters course or perhaps a Bachelor degree in a related subject (ie, business if she is considering opening up her own tourism & travel firm, etc) is best. I don't work a lot in the student visa area as most of these are done by migration agents who work at education agent firms and do these visas for free or very cheap. The reason they do this is that the education agent part of the firm makes a large commission from the schools, which helps pay for the migration part of the work. I'd check out an education agent (see PIER Directory of these online if you need to locate one) with a migration agent on staff to help with this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

This is helpful info thank you. I will look at this directory to find an education agent.

Cheers,
Dave


----------



## DavidV

Hi Mark,

Thank you for this information. I will search in this directory for an education agent.

Cheers,
Dave


----------



## diletta.laino

*Stat Dec for 309 Which one is correct*

Hi Mark,

Thanks for taking the time.

Briefly: I am Italian, my partner is Australian by birth and I am in New Zealand at the moment waiting to collect the last documents for 309 Partner Provisional Visa.

*I have one question first and it's related to HAP ID and Health Check*. 
Being in contact with the Australian High commission in Auckland I got told that I don't need to submit health examinations with my application, 309, but instead I will have to wait when the CO will contact me, closer to the finalisation of my application to undergo medicals.

Is this true by what you know? Or have the rules changed recently for 309 so we don't have to submit medicals with application?

I figured that the only reason would be because the processing times are getting so long that any medical would be expired at the time of visa grant? (They're making it so hard :/)

It also says they CANT generate a HAP ID unless after I applied for the Visa. 
I already have a HAP ID though, which I had because I underwent the medical check for partner visa 820 at the time I was in Oz, a year ago, thinking I would have applied before, in 2014. Long story, sorry. But so how can I make sure all of this won't delay my application? We are applying for Decision Ready. (But it can't be ready with no Medicals??)

*The second point is about the plain Statutory Declaration *(NOT 888). 
We have the owner of the house we lived in (Sep 2013 - Oct 2014) keen to write a stat dec about the household and sharing of bills as we weren't officially on the lease, event though we were covering the rent and bills costs. 
The address we lived at the time was in Melbourne, VIC.
Will the house owner have to use the Victorian Statutory Declaration? Because on the Immi website, under 309 Checklist at section statutory Declaration the link we get directed is to Commonwealth Stat Decs.

BUT on the Government website (Attorney Department) says

_"Commonwealth statutory declarations are made on matters relating to the Commonwealth or the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), and some smaller territories. They are not used for declarations on matters relating to Australian states and territories."_

Thank you Mark,

Best Regards


----------



## Bassim

Dear Mark,
studying and living in a regional area for 2 years would give you an additional 5 points.

My question is that can I leave my regional area within semester's break? or I have to stay within my regional area the whole of two years.

Best regards,
Bassim


----------



## Tom2015

*Evidence for partner 820-801*

Hi Mark
Do I have enough evidence for this 4 categories:joint finances, nature of household, social commitment, nature of commitment to each other??

this are the evidence that I'm going to submit

-photos with friends and family
-boarding passes from flight we took together
-car insurance both our names
-car registration both our names
-electricity bills both our names
-water bills both our names
-emails sent to each other
-joint account for every day expenses
-joint account for savings
-joint invitations
-superannuation beneficiaries
-we both wrote a will
-postcards and letter we send eachother
-facebook messages
-Skype records
-booking from flights we took together
-bookings from hotels we stayed together
-five 888 forms from family and friends

- I'm afraid that It's not enough evidence that we live together because we don't rent so I don't have a rental contract 
(my Australian partner owns her property and we always lived together in her house)

*Any idea of other evidences that I can submit??


----------



## qimtiaz

Hi Mark,
I have one question regarding federal and state nomination. Can state nominated person work in other state within first 2 years. is there any legal bonding with state? 

Regards,


----------



## Wise Education

Hello Mark,

I have a friend that wants to work in Australia, or visit on a tourist visa.. I can invite him but we are unsure of what visa to apply for..
He hold an Egyptian passport, however is currently working in Saudia Arabia, he has a work visa for there..
Pleas advise what the best way to get him here

Kind regards
Erica


----------



## andyman_82

Hi Mark,
I am wanting to apply for a Partner visa as I am in a defacto relationship with a same sex partner. Unfortunately this visa requires the two of us to have had 12 months living together which we do not have. I live in Australia and do not want to quit my job and he is from Greece but is currently living in UAE.
He isn't eligible to work in Australia so we want to apply for an offshore application so that he can continue to work until the decision is made.
We see each other nearly every fortnight and have done so for the past 12 months. I am living with parents so I don't have any lease in my name but we do have a joint bank account and he is beneficary to my will and super.

Do you think we would be able to prove our relationship is genuine and would the consider disregarding the 12 months living together as we want to live together in Australia and I don't want to quit my job and move overseas. Also it is illegal in his country to be in a same sex relationship which makes it impossible to live together.

Appreciate your help


----------



## themuel

Hi Mark,

How are you?

Quick question, my sister was approved for a multiple entry tourist visa valid until december 2015, however in the visa it only says one month, instead of the normal validity that you can stay upto 3 months. We never question the officer but the officer in melbourne also wonders why she was only granted for one month stay for every visit. If she plan to extend for 2 to 3 months do you think this is possible?

regards,
themuel


----------



## potyec

Dear Mark can you tell me your opinion I will be the most happy person on this world If I can finally get some proper answer Thank you !

My post in different topic as well :

My case is a bit twisty but i try to explain easy .

I came to Australia to my father (citizen) with E.Visitor . After 3 month we lodged Remaining Relative visa onshore . I got the visa Refusal around 12 month later.
I got the hearing date after 4 month if Im correct .
Now its coming the rarity .
My father get in Jail ( extradition to different country to go to be forced to go to court in ) 
My father was waiting his extradition meanwhile the MRT interview date came up and before 1 month I let MRT know about this situation ( give them any evidence AFP arrest etc.) And ask them in written letter that please give me some extension because my father cant attend with me on the interview ( he was my sponsor and the remaining relative is connected to him ) and I want to call my father with me like a witness . So they got this letter in time they didn`t answer so before 1 day my hearing date I called them in the morning that Im not gonna attend if my father/sponsor/witness can`t come with me ( my imi lawyer told me my sponsor have to be there thats against the law ). 
I heard on phone they was not even touching my letter they was trying to fix quickly something they forgot to answer me . So around 2pm I got an email they don`t accept my request ( 13 hours before my hearing starts).
So I lodged this case to Federal Court and I got a date for next year , my court hearing next month 03/2015. So Im close to this date now . 
But !!!

Meanwhile I met a beautiful girl who I fall in love deeply even before my father went to jail and we moved together we live now together more than 1year 3 month and we gonna merry next this march 16.
We wanted to lodge a Partner Visa On Shore but my lawyer told me Im gonna get if I do on shore Scheduel 3 problem and mostly likely I will not match the criteria .

Now Im devastated because even if I will win on Federal Court and they forcing MRT to give me new hearing date ( meanwhile my father extradited to the other country and his court finishing soon but he cant be here ) 

It can happen I have around 3-4 month and I have to leave because if I lodge Partner Visa On Shore Im gonna get Scheduel 3 and mostly likely I will be refused and loose a top of it 6800$ and will get a bad visa history .

Here is my question and if somebody can answer I will be so happy and thank full !!!

1. If I go out and lodge Off Shore Partner visa 309/100 is it possible to come back meanwhile with Tourist visa ?

2. Is it possible that if MRT not organising 2nd time with my dad a video conversation (becouse he is extradited to the country ) or giving a 2nd hearing date than Can I take this case again to Federal Court ( 2nd. time ) Or you just can go federal court 1 time even if you win there first time again MRT.

3. Do I have an option to lodge Minister letter if I loose on federal court and does that Minister letter will affect on my OFF SHORE Partner 309/100 later on ?

What you people would do in my case ? 

Thank you whoever take the time and read my post and thank you if you can help me ! Im so sad and don`t know whats gonna happen with my life ...


Regs ,
P


----------



## VIME

Hi Mark

Lodging an 187 waiting for IELTS result. Is it possible?
My visa expires 2 days before I receive the result and I am ready to apply 187 - just need IELTS.

Thanks


----------



## mark1980

*when to apply for a 820.801*

-My 2 W&H expires in exactly 2 weeks should I wait until the last day to apply for the 820-801 while I finish a few things.. or should I apply now, and I aupload a few more evidence in the next couple of weeks??

-Also I have a IMMI account that I opened more than a year ago to apply for my working holiday, should I use the same account or I'm supposed to open a new one?


----------



## Marcell

Hi Mark,
I have a question on 489 and possibly 835 as an alternative option.
1. What is the criteria to sponsor a sister(she currently has a 3 yrs Visitors Visa with 3 month duration per visit) in terms of my length of stay in the specific state?
2. Do you apply to the state for authorisation to be a sponsor from where you will then get an invite or how does it work?
3.Is 835 a valid(reliable) option if length of stay before sponsorship is an issue?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ruth -

You're correct, plus the usual ID documents, etc. AoS issues come much later in the process.

Best,

Mark



Ruth7862 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We are about to send in an application for a 103 visa. I have read on the immi website that the queue date given is the date of assessment that the application meets the required initial criteria for the 103 visa. My query is what is included in the required initial criteria?
> 
> I am guessing it is balance of family and that the sponsor is an Australia citizen or has PR and settled for at least two years. Are there any other initial criteria that have to be satisfied at that point such as the AoS requirements or is that much much later?
> 
> Thanks again,
> Ruth


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Diletta.laino -

No requirement that you submit health results with application for onshore or offshore partner visa. "Decision ready" prioritising is somewhat outdated and generally does not apply to partner visas any more. Once you lodge (strongly suggest you lodge online), you'll see a link "Organise your health examinations" on the main page under the window that lists your documents uploaded, etc. As your old results are outdated, you'll likely get a new HAP ID number on the referral letter you generate from that link after lodging the application.

Re: Stat Dec, always use Commonwealth Stat Dec format for immigration purposes - since the immigration dept is a federal department, that's why you would us a Commonwealth format regardless of what state the writer of the declaration lives in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



diletta.laino said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for taking the time.
> 
> Briefly: I am Italian, my partner is Australian by birth and I am in New Zealand at the moment waiting to collect the last documents for 309 Partner Provisional Visa.
> 
> *I have one question first and it's related to HAP ID and Health Check*.
> Being in contact with the Australian High commission in Auckland I got told that I don't need to submit health examinations with my application, 309, but instead I will have to wait when the CO will contact me, closer to the finalisation of my application to undergo medicals.
> 
> Is this true by what you know? Or have the rules changed recently for 309 so we don't have to submit medicals with application?
> 
> I figured that the only reason would be because the processing times are getting so long that any medical would be expired at the time of visa grant? (They're making it so hard :/)
> 
> It also says they CANT generate a HAP ID unless after I applied for the Visa.
> I already have a HAP ID though, which I had because I underwent the medical check for partner visa 820 at the time I was in Oz, a year ago, thinking I would have applied before, in 2014. Long story, sorry. But so how can I make sure all of this won't delay my application? We are applying for Decision Ready. (But it can't be ready with no Medicals??)
> 
> *The second point is about the plain Statutory Declaration *(NOT 888).
> We have the owner of the house we lived in (Sep 2013 - Oct 2014) keen to write a stat dec about the household and sharing of bills as we weren't officially on the lease, event though we were covering the rent and bills costs.
> The address we lived at the time was in Melbourne, VIC.
> Will the house owner have to use the Victorian Statutory Declaration? Because on the Immi website, under 309 Checklist at section statutory Declaration the link we get directed is to Commonwealth Stat Decs.
> 
> BUT on the Government website (Attorney Department) says
> 
> _"Commonwealth statutory declarations are made on matters relating to the Commonwealth or the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), and some smaller territories. They are not used for declarations on matters relating to Australian states and territories."_
> 
> Thank you Mark,
> 
> Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bassim -

I don't have enough info about your circumstances (for instance, the type of visa you are applying for) to give you a specific answer, but if you are referring to the regional study points for a skilled visa, it is not against the rules if you were to take trips on leave, between semesters, etc outside of the area. Key is to live (ie, maintain a resident you normally live at) and study (full time) in an area approved for these points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bassim said:


> Dear Mark,
> studying and living in a regional area for 2 years would give you an additional 5 points.
> 
> My question is that can I leave my regional area within semester's break? or I have to stay within my regional area the whole of two years.
> 
> Best regards,
> Bassim


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tom2015 -

In general that looks good to me! Would have to see your documents to give you any specific feedback for your case.

Best,

Mark



Tom2015 said:


> Hi Mark
> Do I have enough evidence for this 4 categories:joint finances, nature of household, social commitment, nature of commitment to each other??
> 
> this are the evidence that I'm going to submit
> 
> -photos with friends and family
> -boarding passes from flight we took together
> -car insurance both our names
> -car registration both our names
> -electricity bills both our names
> -water bills both our names
> -emails sent to each other
> -joint account for every day expenses
> -joint account for savings
> -joint invitations
> -superannuation beneficiaries
> -we both wrote a will
> -postcards and letter we send eachother
> -facebook messages
> -Skype records
> -booking from flights we took together
> -bookings from hotels we stayed together
> -five 888 forms from family and friends
> 
> - I'm afraid that It's not enough evidence that we live together because we don't rent so I don't have a rental contract
> (my Australian partner owns her property and we always lived together in her house)
> 
> *Any idea of other evidences that I can submit??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Qimtiaz -

Depends on the circumstances and state. For the 190 visa, the 2 year live/work in the sponsoring state requirement is a factor between the applicant and the state government generally, and is looked upon by most state governments as a contractual issue - the applicant agrees to live/work in the state as part of the agreement to sponsor. You'd have to look at the specific state sponsorship agreements to get any further details on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



qimtiaz said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have one question regarding federal and state nomination. Can state nominated person work in other state within first 2 years. is there any legal bonding with state?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Erica -

Thanks for the question. Work vs tourism are two very different scenarios, with different visas available and different requirements. For work, would need to look at perhaps a subclass 457 temporary work visa from a sponsoring employer, or a skilled visa (subclass 189 or 190 or 489) depending on his occupation, skills, experience and education. For a visitor visa, that would be a subclass 600 visitor visa - the challenge with that, depending on his circumstances, would be the Genuine Temporary Entrant requirements - I'd google that term and see how that policy fits with your friend's circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wise Education said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a friend that wants to work in Australia, or visit on a tourist visa.. I can invite him but we are unsure of what visa to apply for..
> He hold an Egyptian passport, however is currently working in Saudia Arabia, he has a work visa for there..
> Pleas advise what the best way to get him here
> 
> Kind regards
> Erica


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andyman_82 -

Thanks for the question. The 12-month living together requirement is not waivable unless either you register your relationship with one of the states in Australia that permits this, or DIBP is convinced that the defacto relationship existed even if you were not living together. There is no automatic waiver if same-sex couples living together is not legal in the applicant's home country, however the opportunity still exists to provide evidence to show that the two of you were still in a defacto relationship for the 12 months prior to lodging. However, many people in your situation have found this very challenging and many end up having the offshore partner come to Australia where they live together (and generate lots of living together evidence) and then lodge an onshore partner visa application.

Another thing to remember - for defacto partner visas there are 2 assessments done: First, the defacto 12-month living together assessment is done (unless the relationship is registered which automatically satisfies this requirement) and secondly the whole of the defacto relationship evidence is considered and DIBP determines whether they believe the relationship is genuine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andyman_82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am wanting to apply for a Partner visa as I am in a defacto relationship with a same sex partner. Unfortunately this visa requires the two of us to have had 12 months living together which we do not have. I live in Australia and do not want to quit my job and he is from Greece but is currently living in UAE.
> He isn't eligible to work in Australia so we want to apply for an offshore application so that he can continue to work until the decision is made.
> We see each other nearly every fortnight and have done so for the past 12 months. I am living with parents so I don't have any lease in my name but we do have a joint bank account and he is beneficary to my will and super.
> 
> Do you think we would be able to prove our relationship is genuine and would the consider disregarding the 12 months living together as we want to live together in Australia and I don't want to quit my job and move overseas. Also it is illegal in his country to be in a same sex relationship which makes it impossible to live together.
> 
> Appreciate your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Themuel -

Probably not; would need to apply for and be granted a new visa with new conditions; once a visa is granted it is almost impossible to have it altered or changed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



themuel said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> How are you?
> 
> Quick question, my sister was approved for a multiple entry tourist visa valid until december 2015, however in the visa it only says one month, instead of the normal validity that you can stay upto 3 months. We never question the officer but the officer in melbourne also wonders why she was only granted for one month stay for every visit. If she plan to extend for 2 to 3 months do you think this is possible?
> 
> regards,
> themuel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Potyec -

Thanks for the questions. Re: visitor visa, as long as the bridging visa you were holding when you departed is not a C, D or E that was granted more than 28 days after you held a substantive visa, then the 3-year exclusion period specified by Schedule Items 4013/4014 should not apply and you could apply for a visitor visa.

Re: Federal court, can't help you with that, would need to know much more about your case and examined your documents. Yes, you could lodge a Ministerial Intervention request (s351 of the Migration Act) after a failed court bid, however there is information that in the past, DIBP has increased the risk factor when they process partner visas when the applicant had previously lodged a Ministerial Intervention request. No way to tell for sure how much impact that could have.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



potyec said:


> Dear Mark can you tell me your opinion I will be the most happy person on this world If I can finally get some proper answer Thank you !
> 
> My post in different topic as well :
> 
> My case is a bit twisty but i try to explain easy .
> 
> I came to Australia to my father (citizen) with E.Visitor . After 3 month we lodged Remaining Relative visa onshore . I got the visa Refusal around 12 month later.
> I got the hearing date after 4 month if Im correct .
> Now its coming the rarity .
> My father get in Jail ( extradition to different country to go to be forced to go to court in )
> My father was waiting his extradition meanwhile the MRT interview date came up and before 1 month I let MRT know about this situation ( give them any evidence AFP arrest etc.) And ask them in written letter that please give me some extension because my father cant attend with me on the interview ( he was my sponsor and the remaining relative is connected to him ) and I want to call my father with me like a witness . So they got this letter in time they didn`t answer so before 1 day my hearing date I called them in the morning that Im not gonna attend if my father/sponsor/witness can`t come with me ( my imi lawyer told me my sponsor have to be there thats against the law ).
> I heard on phone they was not even touching my letter they was trying to fix quickly something they forgot to answer me . So around 2pm I got an email they don`t accept my request ( 13 hours before my hearing starts).
> So I lodged this case to Federal Court and I got a date for next year , my court hearing next month 03/2015. So Im close to this date now .
> But !!!
> 
> Meanwhile I met a beautiful girl who I fall in love deeply even before my father went to jail and we moved together we live now together more than 1year 3 month and we gonna merry next this march 16.
> We wanted to lodge a Partner Visa On Shore but my lawyer told me Im gonna get if I do on shore Scheduel 3 problem and mostly likely I will not match the criteria .
> 
> Now Im devastated because even if I will win on Federal Court and they forcing MRT to give me new hearing date ( meanwhile my father extradited to the other country and his court finishing soon but he cant be here )
> 
> It can happen I have around 3-4 month and I have to leave because if I lodge Partner Visa On Shore Im gonna get Scheduel 3 and mostly likely I will be refused and loose a top of it 6800$ and will get a bad visa history .
> 
> Here is my question and if somebody can answer I will be so happy and thank full !!!
> 
> 1. If I go out and lodge Off Shore Partner visa 309/100 is it possible to come back meanwhile with Tourist visa ?
> 
> 2. Is it possible that if MRT not organising 2nd time with my dad a video conversation (becouse he is extradited to the country ) or giving a 2nd hearing date than Can I take this case again to Federal Court ( 2nd. time ) Or you just can go federal court 1 time even if you win there first time again MRT.
> 
> 3. Do I have an option to lodge Minister letter if I loose on federal court and does that Minister letter will affect on my OFF SHORE Partner 309/100 later on ?
> 
> What you people would do in my case ?
> 
> Thank you whoever take the time and read my post and thank you if you can help me ! Im so sad and don`t know whats gonna happen with my life ...
> 
> Regs ,
> P


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VIME -

No. You must satisfy the English requirement at the time of application for the187 visa. Sorry I don't have better news -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



VIME said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Lodging an 187 waiting for IELTS result. Is it possible?
> My visa expires 2 days before I receive the result and I am ready to apply 187 - just need IELTS.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark1980 -

I'd apply at least 3 days before your WHV expires - DIBP from time to time (like much of yesterday afternoon!) has IT problems with their online application process and you wouldn't want to have that come up if you only give yourself 1 day to lodge. Normally OK to lodge additional relationship evidence in the days/weeks following the application as long as the primary/core items are done at lodgement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mark1980 said:


> -My 2 W&H expires in exactly 2 weeks should I wait until the last day to apply for the 820-801 while I finish a few things.. or should I apply now, and I aupload a few more evidence in the next couple of weeks??
> 
> -Also I have a IMMI account that I opened more than a year ago to apply for my working holiday, should I use the same account or I'm supposed to open a new one?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marcell -

Thanks for the question. Family sponsorship for a work/skilled visa only works for 489, and there's a long time to wait for an invitation to apply for those from the Minister due to a big backlog and small quota number. You lodge an EOI with family sponsorship marked and wait for an invitation from the Minister to apply. Would need to work with you in a consult to explore options for 835.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Marcell said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a question on 489 and possibly 835 as an alternative option.
> 1. What is the criteria to sponsor a sister(she currently has a 3 yrs Visitors Visa with 3 month duration per visit) in terms of my length of stay in the specific state?
> 2. Do you apply to the state for authorisation to be a sponsor from where you will then get an invite or how does it work?
> 3.Is 835 a valid(reliable) option if length of stay before sponsorship is an issue?


----------



## Marcell

Thanks Mark.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Marcell -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Family sponsorship for a work/skilled visa only works for 489, and there's a long time to wait for an invitation to apply for those from the Minister due to a big backlog and small quota number. You lodge an EOI with family sponsorship marked and wait for an invitation from the Minister to apply. Would need to work with you in a consult to explore options for 835.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## ChaoticSam

Hi Mark,

Long time reader, first time poster. Just wanted to offer my thanks for all you do for this forum- it's been a great resource to assist in a difficult process. 

I'm guessing my question is a common one, but haven't found too much after searching. My partner and I lodged out application for 820/801 on the 24th of July 2014, however since then the only communication we've received is her Bridging Visa A grant (as well as the notice of receiving a complete submission) on the 26th of July. 

There has been no Case Officer assigned to us yet. Is this normal? In addition, we haven't lodged our Criminal History Checks or Health Checks yet, as I understand that the 'relationship' is assessed first and then those, and we figured we'd see if we get past that stage first before moving onto paying for these. However, as time has progressed we're going to be organising it all shortly. 

And just a question purely out of fear: Can they simply reject the application without contact/requesting for more information? 

Thanks again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chaotic Sam -

Generally not - once an application comes up for processing, they will usually send at least one email requesting police & health plus anything else they want at that time. Many people wait for that email, as police & health certs expire in 1 year and partner visas can easily take 1 year to process. If you lodged online, you can always move forward with the health exam by clicking the "Organise your health examination" link on your lodgement screen under the list of documents uploaded, and you can lodge your police certs at any time. Not unusual to not hear from a case officer (or team, as they are now processed) for 9-12 months after application is lodged.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ChaoticSam said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Long time reader, first time poster. Just wanted to offer my thanks for all you do for this forum- it's been a great resource to assist in a difficult process.
> 
> I'm guessing my question is a common one, but haven't found too much after searching. My partner and I lodged out application for 820/801 on the 24th of July 2014, however since then the only communication we've received is her Bridging Visa A grant (as well as the notice of receiving a complete submission) on the 26th of July.
> 
> There has been no Case Officer assigned to us yet. Is this normal? In addition, we haven't lodged our Criminal History Checks or Health Checks yet, as I understand that the 'relationship' is assessed first and then those, and we figured we'd see if we get past that stage first before moving onto paying for these. However, as time has progressed we're going to be organising it all shortly.
> 
> And just a question purely out of fear: Can they simply reject the application without contact/requesting for more information?
> 
> Thanks again!


----------



## ChaoticSam

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Chaotic Sam -
> 
> Generally not - once an application comes up for processing, they will usually send at least one email requesting police & health plus anything else they want at that time. Many people wait for that email, as police & health certs expire in 1 year and partner visas can easily take 1 year to process. If you lodged online, you can always move forward with the health exam by clicking the "Organise your health examination" link on your lodgement screen under the list of documents uploaded, and you can lodge your police certs at any time. Not unusual to not hear from a case officer (or team, as they are now processed) for 9-12 months after application is lodged.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks very much for the info. Happy to wait on the Police & Health checks until the request comes in if 'they' (immigration) are used to people waiting until then. We applied in paper so it's a little scary not having an online portal to update us. Good news that this wait is normal!


----------



## VIME

MarkNortham said:


> Hi VIME -
> 
> No. You must satisfy the English requirement at the time of application for the187 visa. Sorry I don't have better news -
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Appreciated Mark,

How if my wife applied a student visa (she will study english redardless) than we get on bridging visa, than I apply for 187 2 days later than we withdraw the student application straight after. Does that sounds like ok? can I apply for 187 from bridging Visa a? Despite losing money, I dont see any further problems.


----------



## lauraebm

Hello Mark, 
Thanks for your willingness to help. I am currently awaiting my visa grant decision for my partner visa. I am in Australia at the moment, visiting my husband on an ETA. I am an American citizen. My 90 days is due to expire in mid March. I have a trip planned to India with my husband at the end of March. I am wondering if it's possible to leave Australia for a a very short period of time (trip to a country near by) so that I may return to be with my husband for a couple more weeks before we leave for India?


----------



## zarak1991

hi MARK sir i am so wooried today i recived a call from australiam embasy which is here in pakistan, i was not ready for interview and they asked my some questions all questions answered good exept my course,,, such a shame , actualy my course was diploma in mangment and bachleor of commerce but i asnwered buisness he asked me do i knw abt the course so i replyed yes it contain commerce so what u think ,,,, i m sooo damnnnnnnnnnnnn woried plz reply sir


----------



## Bassim

I am applying for skilled independent visa subclass 189
So, can I leave the regional area as long as the course is not in session?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bassim -
> 
> I don't have enough info about your circumstances (for instance, the type of visa you are applying for) to give you a specific answer, but if you are referring to the regional study points for a skilled visa, it is not against the rules if you were to take trips on leave, between semesters, etc outside of the area. Key is to live (ie, maintain a resident you normally live at) and study (full time) in an area approved for these points.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## chezbilal

Hi Mark ..

I had a quick question for you - I posted this in the forums too, but don't know if you see those posts .. here's the question: 

I applied for the last remaining relative application .. and they've issued me a BVA .. now I know that means I can only be overseas 3 months at a time .. but suppose I get an amazing job offer overseas .. can the 835 be converted to a 115? 

Bilal


----------



## manimehra22

HI MARK..
please help me in my critical condition.

my student visa was cancelled on 19 nov 2102 on section 116 after dat i applied for MRT and minister intervention. In short i left australia on BVE on 23 feb 2014.

I am in relation with new zealand citizen girl who is in australia since 2010.
we r in relation since 2012 and we married on 9 nov 2013. also now she is 6months pragnant and delivery date is 20 may 2015. now she is unemployed.

i already applied for subclass 461 visa on 3rd sept 2014 at AHC new delhi.
my application result will b coming very soon...

im worried that my application will b refused or i'll get waiver bcoz of compelling reason.


thanks


----------



## chezbilal

I understand that a 835 can not be changed into 135 .. I would have to reapply ..

but suppose I'm not there when the BVA is being issues .. and the BVA is declined/canceled .. because I want to work overseas for now .. will that affect my "remaining relative" application?

thanks in advance,

BIlal



chezbilal said:


> Hi Mark ..
> 
> I had a quick question for you - I posted this in the forums too, but don't know if you see those posts .. here's the question:
> 
> I applied for the last remaining relative application .. and they've issued me a BVA .. now I know that means I can only be overseas 3 months at a time .. but suppose I get an amazing job offer overseas .. can the 835 be converted to a 115?
> 
> Bilal


----------



## Tom2015

*820-801*

Hi Mark in the booklet says that I need to provide an original police checks with my application, If I'm applying online do I still need to provide an original or It can be a certified copy?


----------



## roaamoey2014

*Joint account and financial proof*

Hi Mark,

Hi,
can you please tell me if I need to have a joint bank account between me and my wife while shes overseas knowing that it might be not possible in her country (Iraq) I can only send her money through money transfer agent which I have been doing regularly.
also will I have to provide any payment summary for my work as its just casual work along with centerlink or it would be disadvantage for me if I don't have a full time job,
Thanks.


----------



## mtfranklin.89

Hi Mark!

I want to apply for a 457 Visa as "Other Sport Instructor" and due to time constraints, can only register for an IELTS Academic exam.

The 457 visa booklet states:

_Applicants only need to take the general training test unless advised otherwise by a registration or licensing body._

To me this implies that the general training exam is a lesser exam than the academic exam- but will an academic result be accepted even if I don't need it for registration or a licensing body?

I'm worried that my 457 visa might be refused because I submitted an IELTS academic exam result.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.


----------



## 25wish

Hi Mr Mark,


I have a Q regarding 3 year ban due to unfinished studies? Is the ban calculated from the last departure from Australia?

I was not deported or anything, It was my wish to discontinue my studies. I did not inform my student services officer and hence I probably got the ban. 

But its okay, since I have passed the ban (Feb 2015). 

....

EXCEPT when I applied a Tourist Visa (after the Feb 2015 ban of course) , they told me that the ban is still in effect until (JUNE 2015)? 

I have the CCR letter from the previous Immigration Officer saying the ban was until (Feb 2015) and now I received another CCR letter informing that my ban is until (JUNE 2015).

How confusing is this?

At this moment, I am beyond terrified as I feel like I am a student outlaw (for not completing my studies) and that they will never let me in the country again?

Please help.

Thank you!

P.S here's the clause/ regulations in regards of my 3 year ban: 
(under Section 116 and/or 128 of the Regulations) because you breached your visa
condition(s) (Clause 4013, Schedule 4 of the Regulations)


----------



## sam1988

*Need help*

Hi Mark , please help

I have received a 489 visa invite. I have a few queries

1) My current job is not of same job code as I a being invited for. I am being assessed as a Software Engineer, my recent job title of 6 months is as a Test engineer and rest 4 years is as a software engineer. Will my current job be a problem ?

2) Do i mark the first two years of experience as irrelevant here as well, like I did in EOI, or I can mark it here as relevant ? Will they compute points for this experience ?

Also, I made a blunder while declaring experience in EOI. I have 3.7 years experience At company A. While declaring experience I mistakenly mixed up one promotion. 
My experience is correct. 
My points evaluation is correct, but one promotion timeline was not correct in EOI. Should i correct it while lodging the final experience declaration while submitting my visa application ?

Thanks in advance

Nationality -Indian
IELTS - 7 band
ACS - Software engineer 
Relevant experience < 3
Age - 26
Visa applied - 489 Family sponsored (Sister in Victoria)

Points - 65


----------



## Vik324

Hi Mark ..

I am an Indian Chartered accountant (ICAI) and we have to do training with practical experience, under the guidance of a qualified and experienced Chartered Accountant as mentor, same needed by ICAA before completion of Chartered Accountant Program 

ICAI is a partially recognized overseas accounting body and we have exemption from All technical modules and practical Experience, but must complete the final EBA module, to be an ICAA member

Can you please guide me if my practical experience cum Training, Counts as skilled employment for Visa (subclass 189/190)? Accountant (General) - ANZSCO 221111

Thanks in adavnce

PS.. Training was for more than 35 hrs a week and was stipend


----------



## Tom2015

*820-801*

Another question about the online application Mark

-what is the limit of documents that I can upload at the moment of lodging the 820-801online application??
(so far I have more than 20 PDF of evidence and they are all under 5MB but I'm not sure how many I can upload)


----------



## Engaus

Tom2015 said:


> Another question about the online application Mark
> 
> -what is the limit of documents that I can upload at the moment of lodging the 820-801online application??
> (so far I have more than 20 PDF of evidence and they are all under 5MB but I'm not sure how many I can upload)


This info is available on the IMMI website - I just Googled "document limit for Australian online visas". I find it's the easiest way to find information on the IMMI website :

Attach documents to an online application

See "Guidelines on attaching documents to an online visa application"

Sorry Mark, thought i'd answer that one as it's a common one on the forum.


----------



## brunswick

Mark, can local governments (Councils) sponsor employees for PR? Do they?


----------



## ozrob101

*stat dec 6 week rule question*

Hi Mark,

My partner (from Canada) and I are applying for our 820/801 Partner Visa very shortly (her WHV expires at the start of April). We have 4 stat decs from Australian citizens and have a few from Canadian citizens (done according to their standards). We have only just learned about the rule that stat decs must be no more than 6 weeks old when applying. As we have been preparing for the application gradually, by the time the stat dec's were sent from overseas and the time comes to apply they would have expired by about a week or two. Will they still be considered? The Australian stat decs are within the 6 weeks however the overseas ones we feel possess quite hard evidence, one of which includes proof of residency while we were in Canada (we lived in staff residence together so do not have joint bills etc, so without it we will not meet 12 months defacto rule). We do have other evidence to show our genuine relationship began over there however just wanted to know if these statements will still be looked at.
If you could enlighten us on this circumstance I would be very thankful!

Rob


----------



## Johnners45

*Offshore Visa App*

Hey Mark,

Thanks for answering my last question!

I have another question, you said that if my american fiance applies offshore for her partner visa but comes to Australia before her Visa is approved (on a holiday visa) she would have to leave the country once her visa is approved... Can she just leave to say Bali for a weekend and have the visa issued in Australia? or does she have to return home to the US to get her visa before she can come back in?

Thanks.


----------



## la.vie

Hi Mark,

I just posted this on another thread, but could not delete and just post here as well.

I am on a 574 visa doing a PhD and my visa is due to expire in end of May 2015.

I want to continue and finish my PhD, so I want to I want to extend my visa. My uni is giving my an extended confirmation of enrollment and I still hold my scholarship.

I also applied for a partner visa 820/801 in end of May 2014. As I understand I need to apply and have granted my visa extension (or my new 574) before the 820 is granted, otherwise receiving the 574 a few days after the 820 would mean my 820 is cancelled. Correct?
If I apply at this point, before the 820, I shouldn't be risking loosing the 820/801 application or could I?

Do you know if 820 visa holders have to pay tuition fees like international students or like national students? Or how are they treated when applying for study?

As a note, I hold a scholarship from the uni and should have it until I finish in November, but I just realized reading a thread on cancelling student visas when becoming a partner visa applicant, that I do not understand this process well enough and what an 820 visa holder can/cannot do.

Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VIME -

I would need to evaluate your case at a consultation to give you an opinion on that - student visa applications are far more tricky than they initially appear (or ought to be), and you need to avoid any issues that would create an invalid application (which means no bridging visa). Happy to see you at a consultation (or via phone/Skype) to go over all the details of your plan and give you an opinion. You have no room for error in a situation like this and need to make sure that there's nothing in your circumstances that will cause an issue, so suggest you get more formal advice vs casual advice on forums, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



VIME said:


> Appreciated Mark,
> 
> How if my wife applied a student visa (she will study english redardless) than we get on bridging visa, than I apply for 187 2 days later than we withdraw the student application straight after. Does that sounds like ok? can I apply for 187 from bridging Visa a? Despite losing money, I dont see any further problems.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lauraebm -

As long as your ETA is configured for multiple entries, and when you plan to return is not past the expiry date (or "must not arrive after", etc date) of your ETA, then that sounds fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lauraebm said:


> Hello Mark,
> Thanks for your willingness to help. I am currently awaiting my visa grant decision for my partner visa. I am in Australia at the moment, visiting my husband on an ETA. I am an American citizen. My 90 days is due to expire in mid March. I have a trip planned to India with my husband at the end of March. I am wondering if it's possible to leave Australia for a a very short period of time (trip to a country near by) so that I may return to be with my husband for a couple more weeks before we leave for India?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zarak1991 -

As before, no way for me to predict. I didn't hear the interview, haven't seen your application, etc. Hopefully you will get an answer soon to end your worrying!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zarak1991 said:


> hi MARK sir i am so wooried today i recived a call from australiam embasy which is here in pakistan, i was not ready for interview and they asked my some questions all questions answered good exept my course,,, such a shame , actualy my course was diploma in mangment and bachleor of commerce but i asnwered buisness he asked me do i knw abt the course so i replyed yes it contain commerce so what u think ,,,, i m sooo damnnnnnnnnnnnn woried plz reply sir


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bassim -

The 189 visa is an independent skilled visa and has no regional, etc restrictions. Not sure what you're asking...

Best,

Mark Northam



Bassim said:


> I am applying for skilled independent visa subclass 189
> So, can I leave the regional area as long as the course is not in session?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bilal -

Not sure - they are different classes of visas, so that would likely make it difficult to do this - suggest you contact DIBP directly to see if they have any provisions in place to allow this. However if they do allow this, my guess is that you would lose your bridging visa since the 115 does not provide for a bridging visa to be issued.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chezbilal said:


> Hi Mark ..
> 
> I had a quick question for you - I posted this in the forums too, but don't know if you see those posts .. here's the question:
> 
> I applied for the last remaining relative application .. and they've issued me a BVA .. now I know that means I can only be overseas 3 months at a time .. but suppose I get an amazing job offer overseas .. can the 835 be converted to a 115?
> 
> Bilal


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manimehra22 -

It's not clear from the details you've provided whether you would have a 3 year exclusion period due to the cancellation, but in many s116 cases the exclusion period applies. You may want to work with a registered migration agent to show him/her all of your documents and get them all the facts of the refusal and following events in order to better predict whether the 4013/4014 elements of Schedule 4 (these enable the 3-year exclusion period, which would apply to the 461 visa if the exclusion period were imposed) apply in your particular case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



manimehra22 said:


> HI MARK..
> please help me in my critical condition.
> 
> my student visa was cancelled on 19 nov 2102 on section 116 after dat i applied for MRT and minister intervention. In short i left australia on BVE on 23 feb 2014.
> 
> I am in relation with new zealand citizen girl who is in australia since 2010.
> we r in relation since 2012 and we married on 9 nov 2013. also now she is 6months pragnant and delivery date is 20 may 2015. now she is unemployed.
> 
> i already applied for subclass 461 visa on 3rd sept 2014 at AHC new delhi.
> my application result will b coming very soon...
> 
> im worried that my application will b refused or i'll get waiver bcoz of compelling reason.
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bilal -

See previous post - no BV-A with a 135 offshore application as it's an offshore application. Suggest you work with a migration agent to go through your case in detail to form a workable plan.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chezbilal said:


> I understand that a 835 can not be changed into 135 .. I would have to reapply ..
> 
> but suppose I'm not there when the BVA is being issues .. and the BVA is declined/canceled .. because I want to work overseas for now .. will that affect my "remaining relative" application?
> 
> thanks in advance,
> 
> BIlal


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tom2015 -

A few countries still require this even if you lodge online, however many do not and allow you to upload high quality colour scans of the police certificates. I'd lodge online and upload the scans, then send the original if requested to.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tom2015 said:


> Hi Mark in the booklet says that I need to provide an original police checks with my application, If I'm applying online do I still need to provide an original or It can be a certified copy?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roaamoey2014 -

There is no specific requirement for a joint bank account, only that you provide sufficient evidence of all 4 of the prescribed types of relationship evidence, assuming you are applying for a partner visa. DIBP understand that in many countries that have cash economies, etc, that joint bank accounts are not practical (and when the couple is not living in the same country, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roaamoey2014 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hi,
> can you please tell me if I need to have a joint bank account between me and my wife while shes overseas knowing that it might be not possible in her country (Iraq) I can only send her money through money transfer agent which I have been doing regularly.
> also will I have to provide any payment summary for my work as its just casual work along with centerlink or it would be disadvantage for me if I don't have a full time job,
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mtfranklin89 -

No problem - DIBP accepts either the academic or general versions of IELTS and there is no difference in their weight, etc at DIBP. The same is not true for some skills assessors, etc however, if that's a part of the visa you're applying for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mtfranklin.89 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I want to apply for a 457 Visa as "Other Sport Instructor" and due to time constraints, can only register for an IELTS Academic exam.
> 
> The 457 visa booklet states:
> 
> _Applicants only need to take the general training test unless advised otherwise by a registration or licensing body._
> 
> To me this implies that the general training exam is a lesser exam than the academic exam- but will an academic result be accepted even if I don't need it for registration or a licensing body?
> 
> I'm worried that my 457 visa might be refused because I submitted an IELTS academic exam result.
> 
> Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 25wish -

Would need to review your documents from DIBP in detail at a consultation to give you specific advice for your case, however generally the 3-year exclusion period on temporary visas caused by a student visa cancellation is calculation beginning at the date you depart from Australia (not the date of the actual cancellation). This can cause problems for some people who had an MRT review, etc then departed months after their student visa was cancelled and thought the 3 year period began on the date of cancellation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



25wish said:


> Hi Mr Mark,
> 
> I have a Q regarding 3 year ban due to unfinished studies? Is the ban calculated from the last departure from Australia?
> 
> I was not deported or anything, It was my wish to discontinue my studies. I did not inform my student services officer and hence I probably got the ban.
> 
> But its okay, since I have passed the ban (Feb 2015).
> 
> ....
> 
> EXCEPT when I applied a Tourist Visa (after the Feb 2015 ban of course) , they told me that the ban is still in effect until (JUNE 2015)?
> 
> I have the CCR letter from the previous Immigration Officer saying the ban was until (Feb 2015) and now I received another CCR letter informing that my ban is until (JUNE 2015).
> 
> How confusing is this?
> 
> At this moment, I am beyond terrified as I feel like I am a student outlaw (for not completing my studies) and that they will never let me in the country again?
> 
> Please help.
> 
> Thank you!
> 
> P.S here's the clause/ regulations in regards of my 3 year ban:
> (under Section 116 and/or 128 of the Regulations) because you breached your visa
> condition(s) (Clause 4013, Schedule 4 of the Regulations)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sam1988 -

Thanks for the question. These questions are so case-specific that I would need to see all the documents involved at a consultation in order to give you specific advice. The answer is: it depends on your case and your individual circumstances (and that of your work experience, etc). Migration law is incredibly detailed and sometimes the smallest issue can become a big problem, so need to see all the details on paper (or via Skype/phone). Please see my website below if you'd like to book a consult.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sam1988 said:


> Hi Mark , please help
> 
> I have received a 489 visa invite. I have a few queries
> 
> 1) My current job is not of same job code as I a being invited for. I am being assessed as a Software Engineer, my recent job title of 6 months is as a Test engineer and rest 4 years is as a software engineer. Will my current job be a problem ?
> 
> 2) Do i mark the first two years of experience as irrelevant here as well, like I did in EOI, or I can mark it here as relevant ? Will they compute points for this experience ?
> 
> Also, I made a blunder while declaring experience in EOI. I have 3.7 years experience At company A. While declaring experience I mistakenly mixed up one promotion.
> My experience is correct.
> My points evaluation is correct, but one promotion timeline was not correct in EOI. Should i correct it while lodging the final experience declaration while submitting my visa application ?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Nationality -Indian
> IELTS - 7 band
> ACS - Software engineer
> Relevant experience < 3
> Age - 26
> Visa applied - 489 Family sponsored (Sister in Victoria)
> 
> Points - 65


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vik324 -

Thanks for the question. Would need to go over the details of the training with you in detail to give you advice - this is a tricky area, and an unsupportable claim for employment that is disallowed can cost thousands of dollars and months of time in a withdrawn visa application - no way to give you general advice on a forum like this for your question as it's extremely case-specific. Happy to see you at a consultation (or visa phone/skype) to go through all of this and get you specific advice - link in my website in the signature below.

Best,

Mark Northam



Vik324 said:


> Hi Mark ..
> 
> I am an Indian Chartered accountant (ICAI) and we have to do training with practical experience, under the guidance of a qualified and experienced Chartered Accountant as mentor, same needed by ICAA before completion of Chartered Accountant Program
> 
> ICAI is a partially recognized overseas accounting body and we have exemption from All technical modules and practical Experience, but must complete the final EBA module, to be an ICAA member
> 
> Can you please guide me if my practical experience cum Training, Counts as skilled employment for Visa (subclass 189/190)? Accountant (General) - ANZSCO 221111
> 
> Thanks in adavnce
> 
> PS.. Training was for more than 35 hrs a week and was stipend


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tom 2015 -

60 for the applicant and 60 for the sponsor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tom2015 said:


> Another question about the online application Mark
> 
> -what is the limit of documents that I can upload at the moment of lodging the 820-801online application??
> (so far I have more than 20 PDF of evidence and they are all under 5MB but I'm not sure how many I can upload)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brunswick -

I don't believe that is done by governments (and suspect it is against policy anyway).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



brunswick said:


> Mark, can local governments (Councils) sponsor employees for PR? Do they?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozrob101 -

Thanks for the question. The 6-week rule only applies if the applicant has been refused a visa onshore and is therefore barred from most other visa applications by section 48 of the Migration Act. If this is not the case, the 6-week rule does not apply.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozrob101 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner (from Canada) and I are applying for our 820/801 Partner Visa very shortly (her WHV expires at the start of April). We have 4 stat decs from Australian citizens and have a few from Canadian citizens (done according to their standards). We have only just learned about the rule that stat decs must be no more than 6 weeks old when applying. As we have been preparing for the application gradually, by the time the stat dec's were sent from overseas and the time comes to apply they would have expired by about a week or two. Will they still be considered? The Australian stat decs are within the 6 weeks however the overseas ones we feel possess quite hard evidence, one of which includes proof of residency while we were in Canada (we lived in staff residence together so do not have joint bills etc, so without it we will not meet 12 months defacto rule). We do have other evidence to show our genuine relationship began over there however just wanted to know if these statements will still be looked at.
> If you could enlighten us on this circumstance I would be very thankful!
> 
> Rob


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi La.vie -

May have answered this before (?) - no point in getting another student visa as your bridging visa A (BV-A) that you got from the partner visa lodgement would automatically activate upon the expiration of your 574 assuming the 574 expires on time (ie, you don't cancel it before expiration), and the BV-A would normally come with full study rights.

Please write if any clarification needed or there are any issues in your case which may interfere with the above.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



la.vie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just posted this on another thread, but could not delete and just post here as well.
> 
> I am on a 574 visa doing a PhD and my visa is due to expire in end of May 2015.
> 
> I want to continue and finish my PhD, so I want to I want to extend my visa. My uni is giving my an extended confirmation of enrollment and I still hold my scholarship.
> 
> I also applied for a partner visa 820/801 in end of May 2014. As I understand I need to apply and have granted my visa extension (or my new 574) before the 820 is granted, otherwise receiving the 574 a few days after the 820 would mean my 820 is cancelled. Correct?
> If I apply at this point, before the 820, I shouldn't be risking loosing the 820/801 application or could I?
> 
> Do you know if 820 visa holders have to pay tuition fees like international students or like national students? Or how are they treated when applying for study?
> 
> As a note, I hold a scholarship from the uni and should have it until I finish in November, but I just realized reading a thread on cancelling student visas when becoming a partner visa applicant, that I do not understand this process well enough and what an 820 visa holder can/cannot do.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## manimehra22

hi mark
please help and advise me in my critical condition.

my student visa was cancelled on 19 nov 2102 under section 116 after dat i applied for MRT and minister intervention. In short i left australia on BVE on 23 feb 2014.

BCOZ OF MY VISA CANCELLATION I WENT TO MRT, JUDICIAL REVIEW.
I LEFT AUSTRALIA ON Briding Visa E ON 22 FEB 2014. i was on BVE for 14months. thats why i got 3 year ban.

_I am in relation with new zealand citizen girl who is in australia since 2010.
we r in relation since 2012 and we married on 9 nov 2013. also now she is 7months pragnant and delivery date is 20 may 2015. now she is unemployed. our relation is long term relation. it is now 3year old relation._

i already applied for subclass 461 visa on 3rd sept 2014 at AHC new delhi.
Today i got a email from my case office . the email said

-->>"Based on departmental information currently available to me, your application is likely to be refused on the grounds that you do not satisfy criteria for this class of visa because you do not satisfy public interest criterion 4013 and 4014 in Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations
1994.
You do not satisfy public interest criterion 4014 in Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations
1994 as you have applied for the visa within 3 years of departing Australia on a Bridging Visa E""<<--

she is asking for compelling reason to get waiver PIC 4014&#8230;
my wife only NZ citizen she is not eligible NZ citizen. she is living in australia since may 2010.
is this possible to get waiver in this circumstances that my wife is now 7months pregnant. she is alone there. she is un employed. if they refused my visa then there is nobody to care for them.

im worried that my application will b refused or i'll get waiver bcoz of this compelling reason.

thanks
mani


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mani -

That sounds like the basis of what could be a good compelling reasons argument, however as a NZ citizen (not ENZ) she would normally be outside the focus of the compelling reasons provisions of item 4014 of Schedule 4. If you're going to attempt putting together this waiver request by yourself, I expect you're going to have to do some hard thinking about ways to somehow show that the pregnancy (and not abandoning her, etc) would be in the interests of Australia. If I was preparing the waiver, the first step would be an in-depth interview with you and your partner about any possible ways that your lives intersect with and/or benefit Australia or Australian citizens or permanent residents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



manimehra22 said:


> hi mark
> please help and advise me in my critical condition.
> 
> my student visa was cancelled on 19 nov 2102 under section 116 after dat i applied for MRT and minister intervention. In short i left australia on BVE on 23 feb 2014.
> 
> BCOZ OF MY VISA CANCELLATION I WENT TO MRT, JUDICIAL REVIEW.
> I LEFT AUSTRALIA ON Briding Visa E ON 22 FEB 2014. i was on BVE for 14months. thats why i got 3 year ban.
> 
> _I am in relation with new zealand citizen girl who is in australia since 2010.
> we r in relation since 2012 and we married on 9 nov 2013. also now she is 7months pragnant and delivery date is 20 may 2015. now she is unemployed. our relation is long term relation. it is now 3year old relation._
> 
> i already applied for subclass 461 visa on 3rd sept 2014 at AHC new delhi.
> Today i got a email from my case office . the email said
> 
> -->>"Based on departmental information currently available to me, your application is likely to be refused on the grounds that you do not satisfy criteria for this class of visa because you do not satisfy public interest criterion 4013 and 4014 in Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations
> 1994.
> You do not satisfy public interest criterion 4014 in Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations
> 1994 as you have applied for the visa within 3 years of departing Australia on a Bridging Visa E""<<--
> 
> she is asking for compelling reason to get waiver PIC 4014&#8230;
> my wife only NZ citizen she is not eligible NZ citizen. she is living in australia since may 2010.
> is this possible to get waiver in this circumstances that my wife is now 7months pregnant. she is alone there. she is un employed. if they refused my visa then there is nobody to care for them.
> 
> im worried that my application will b refused or i'll get waiver bcoz of this compelling reason.
> 
> thanks
> mani


----------



## manimehra22

thanks mark for ur precious reply and a very quick reply.. 

NZ citizen child born in australia will b be eligible to NZ citizen by decent. but after 10 year he/she will b eligible for australian citizenship.
also my wife decided she will be living in australia for her whole life. and i decided to.
now only the problem is waiver..also nowdays bcoz of her 7 months going on she is not well. she is in dire need of my support.


----------



## chezbilal

*835 / 115 .. please help*

Hi Mark ..

thank you for taking out the time to reply to my question. I am working with a lawyer who has filed my case.

I understand that a 835 application CAN NOT be changed to 115 ..

I need to be in Australia when my 457 expires and my BVA kicks in ..

here's another scenario: .. suppose I'm on a BVA .. can I leave the country and just stay offshore till my decision is made? .. or even a BVB .. or would that be illegal and cancel my 835 application?

Bilal


----------



## EDT

Hi Mark

Recently my hubby got his visa but his DOB was incorrectly written ( they wrote 10/02 instead of 19/02) . I contacted the CO to advise of their error and he asked to email a copy of my hubby's passport which we did. Still he has done anything . My hubby is due to travel soon , would he be in trouble at the airport ? He will be travelling via Dubai and we're scare they could complicate him.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bilal -

You would have to be in Australia at the time of grant of the 835 visa - probably best for you to direct these questions to your lawyer who you've paid and who is familiar with your case.

Best,

Mark



chezbilal said:


> Hi Mark ..
> 
> thank you for taking out the time to reply to my question. I am working with a lawyer who has filed my case.
> 
> I understand that a 835 application CAN NOT be changed to 115 ..
> 
> I need to be in Australia when my 457 expires and my BVA kicks in ..
> 
> here's another scenario: .. suppose I'm on a BVA .. can I leave the country and just stay offshore till my decision is made? .. or even a BVB .. or would that be illegal and cancel my 835 application?
> 
> Bilal


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi EDT -

Probably not, but no way to predict. I would keep on communicating with DIBP until they acknowledge that they have fixed the error.

Best,

Mark



EDT said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Recently my hubby got his visa but his DOB was incorrectly written ( they wrote 10/02 instead of 19/02) . I contacted the CO to advise of their error and he asked to email a copy of my hubby's passport which we did. Still he has done anything . My hubby is due to travel soon , would he be in trouble at the airport ? He will be travelling via Dubai and we're scare they could complicate him.


----------



## nicolo

Hi Mark,

I am preparing to lodge 187 visa transition stream and have a couple of questions.

1. Police check from former country of residence:
I have PCC issued 8 months after I left the Philippines and it is still valid so I will be submitting it when I lodge my 187. My question is, if this PCC expires while application is still in process, do I have to get a new PCC from the Philippines? (I haven't been back in there since my current PCC was issued). 

2. if I lodge 187 TRTS onshore, do I have to be onshore when it is granted or can I be offshore? I am planning to go offshore for about a month on May or June. My 457 is still valid until 2016

3. For health check. I plan to do Health check before getting Co allocated. Do I do this before lodging via "my health declaration" or do I do this after lodging via "organise your health exam" link. in the online application form for 187 visa it asks if health check has been done and asks for Hap ID if already done.

In "my health declaration" it also states that if visa has already been lodged then we have to wait for CO to give Hap ID so I am confused if health checks can be done after visa lodgement but before CO allocation or not


----------



## la.vie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi La.vie -
> 
> May have answered this before (?) - no point in getting another student visa as your bridging visa A (BV-A) that you got from the partner visa lodgement would automatically activate upon the expiration of your 574 assuming the 574 expires on time (ie, you don't cancel it before expiration), and the BV-A would normally come with full study rights.
> 
> Please write if any clarification needed or there are any issues in your case which may interfere with the above.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

Thank you for this reply and the reply on another thread (quoted below for reference). I did indeed receive a BV-A with full rights for work and study, no complications. I absolutely do not plan on cancelling the 574. It seems I need to check with the uni about how BVA and 820 students are treated and if I do not have to pay tuition.

Do not expect to have issues with the partner visa. I actually tried asking for straight for 801 if I qualify. From your experience would the department award an 801 based on just one piece of "hard" evidence like a joint account? 
We had all the categories of proof. As "hard" evidence our joint account had a history of >3yrs at lodgement, the joint home rental was just 2.5yrs and the relationship certificate was 1.5 yrs long. Our friends were happy to vouch they have known us as a couple for more than 6-7 years ("soft" evidence), just it was a long struggle to get to live together.

Thank you for your time.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi La.vie -
> 
> Thanks for the question. I haven't seen your documents, but assuming you were granted a Bridging Visa A when you applied for your 820/801 last year, that visa normally has full study & work rights, so you could simply let your 574 visa expire as scheduled, your BV-A would automatically activate, and you could continue your studies on the BV-A until the partner visa decision came in. Only risk I see from what you've said is that if the partner visa is refused, you wouldn't have the student visa to fall back on, but you could always appeal the refusal to the MRT in that case which would likely take another 6+ months to be decided, during which your BV-A would be automatically continued.
> 
> I don't know about 820/801 visas and school fees - probably a better question for the school.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## A.Naji

Hi Mark,
As you probably heard from me a lot of times, my visa process is taking an obnoxious processing period. My studies already commenced while no signs of life are being shown.

I've contacted the college; they were quite shocked how can the case be so when they provided their CoE accordingly (since a long time as well). They want to try and redirect me to another intake. According to them, this would mean they will issue a new CoE.

What is exactly my position here? Do I have to notify someone that I am deferring my course? Or do I still wait for my current visa decision. What am I expected to do if I get approved. _I might sound miserable saying this...but I really wish I get a denial for the sake of ending this faster. This situation is just unbearable...I can wait..but yet again, the response is unreliable. We are talking about a waste of potentially 1-2 years at this _point :\


----------



## akrish

Hi ark, I got my 489 visa refused but I also got invited to apply for 189. Under Fact sheet 1026i, it states that I can apply only for limited visas if I do not hold a substantive visa while I am in Australia. However, I do hold a 476 visa. So, I am pretty sure I can apply for 189? Thanks for your help.


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi Mark,

Many thanks for always helping me, Please let me know which visa for investing $500,000 in Australia regional and What is process for this visa?

Regards
Bharat


----------



## Imanh

*PCC waiver*

hi Mark

My situation is my fiancé is currently in India studying so we applied for a prospective marriage visa on 31/10/2013. We provided everything the case officer asked for till August 2014 the CO told us that my fiancé will need a PCC from Saudi Arabia where he used to live 2002/2009. The problem is Saudi Arabia does not issue PCC if you are outside the country therefore my fiancé needs to show the CO the exit stamp from Saudi arabiya on his passport which he doesn't have because it expired and was taken away from him during renewal.

The problem is we can not prove he left Saudi Arabia legally because he doesn't have his old passport. The CO told us today that she will need to apply for a waiver for him to get the requirement for PCC waived.

She asked him to write in details what happened to his passport and what steps he took to get a PCC. So my fiancé wrote the details and sent copy's of emails he sent to the Saudi Arabian embassy requesting a PCC. He also filled in a stat declaration form and sent it to the CO.

My questions is how long does this take. And who will be waving the requirement, the CO, her manager or a different government body.

And are waivers ussaly issued?

What are our chances of getting this visa

Thanks


----------



## Jewlsbotz

Hi there,
my husband and I are currently having problems communicating with the Chilean Embassy. Long story short, my husbands visa was submitted to the Argentinean Embassy Sept 2014. Was sitting there for 4 months than transferred to the Chilean Embassy ( He is Colombian but holds a Argie DNI), during this period he could get his medical. Anyways the Chilean Embassy have told us we have to wait another 10 months for the visa to be processed as the timeframe has had to start again, our immigration agent advised this information is incorrect. But the Chilean Embassy have not responded. Anyone else experienced these problems with the Chilean Embassy? Or have any ideas or hints?? We have been apart for 8 months now, when we were dealing with the Argentinean Embassy they advised us we could apply for a tourist visa in Feb now we feel we are stuck and not sure what we can do


----------



## jnsgirls

*help!!!!*

Hi Mark,

So i applied for a visitor visa 600 which was refused.

The reason why it was refused is because i've already spend a year in Australia with a Working holiday visa and can't spend more than 1 year>

I know I can get a review on the decision with the tribunal but it's really expensive.

What do you think i should do?

Apply for a review? or get out of the country and apply for a evisitor instead?

thanks


----------



## roxxy18

*Schedule 3*

Hi Mark,

Unfortunately today my partner and i received a refusal letter from DIBP regarding our partner visa 820 which we applied for in NOV 2013. We had to reply to schedule 3 which we did but the reasons were not compelling enough I guess. We now have 21 days to apply to MRT and I am just wondering what the best steps to take are?

Thank you,

Roxy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicolo -

Re: 1, depends if they ask for it or not.
Re: 2, you can be either inside or outside Australia at time of grant for 187
Re: 3, if before you lodge, use My Health Decl; if after you lodge, use the Organise Health Examinations link.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nicolo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am preparing to lodge 187 visa transition stream and have a couple of questions.
> 
> 1. Police check from former country of residence:
> I have PCC issued 8 months after I left the Philippines and it is still valid so I will be submitting it when I lodge my 187. My question is, if this PCC expires while application is still in process, do I have to get a new PCC from the Philippines? (I haven't been back in there since my current PCC was issued).
> 
> 2. if I lodge 187 TRTS onshore, do I have to be onshore when it is granted or can I be offshore? I am planning to go offshore for about a month on May or June. My 457 is still valid until 2016
> 
> 3. For health check. I plan to do Health check before getting Co allocated. Do I do this before lodging via "my health declaration" or do I do this after lodging via "organise your health exam" link. in the online application form for 187 visa it asks if health check has been done and asks for Hap ID if already done.
> 
> In "my health declaration" it also states that if visa has already been lodged then we have to wait for CO to give Hap ID so I am confused if health checks can be done after visa lodgement but before CO allocation or not


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi La.Vie -

Hard to predict re: 801 straight away, but I have a feeling they may look at the 1.5 yr relationship certificate and not give you the 801 straight away based on that. Just a guess.

Best,

Mark



la.vie said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for this reply and the reply on another thread (quoted below for reference). I did indeed receive a BV-A with full rights for work and study, no complications. I absolutely do not plan on cancelling the 574. It seems I need to check with the uni about how BVA and 820 students are treated and if I do not have to pay tuition.
> 
> Do not expect to have issues with the partner visa. I actually tried asking for straight for 801 if I qualify. From your experience would the department award an 801 based on just one piece of "hard" evidence like a joint account?
> We had all the categories of proof. As "hard" evidence our joint account had a history of >3yrs at lodgement, the joint home rental was just 2.5yrs and the relationship certificate was 1.5 yrs long. Our friends were happy to vouch they have known us as a couple for more than 6-7 years ("soft" evidence), just it was a long struggle to get to live together.
> 
> Thank you for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi A.Naji -

All you can do is to keep trying to communicate with DIBP to see how they want to handle the fact that you were unable to start the course. Often they will keep processing, you send in a new CoE for the new course dates, and things are decided eventually. You do not want a refusal, because that means it will be that much harder to get a visa next time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



A.Naji said:


> Hi Mark,
> As you probably heard from me a lot of times, my visa process is taking an obnoxious processing period. My studies already commenced while no signs of life are being shown.
> 
> I've contacted the college; they were quite shocked how can the case be so when they provided their CoE accordingly (since a long time as well). They want to try and redirect me to another intake. According to them, this would mean they will issue a new CoE.
> 
> What is exactly my position here? Do I have to notify someone that I am deferring my course? Or do I still wait for my current visa decision. What am I expected to do if I get approved. _I might sound miserable saying this...but I really wish I get a denial for the sake of ending this faster. This situation is just unbearable...I can wait..but yet again, the response is unreliable. We are talking about a waste of potentially 1-2 years at this _point :\


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akrish -

If you held the 476 at the time of the 189 refusal, then you are not section 48 barred from applying for another visa onshore. Next issue to look at is the reason for the 489 refusal - as long as it's not something that would affect other visas (like PIC4020 bogus documents, etc for instance) then the refusal would likely not impact your 189 invite. I cannot give you specific advice, however, without seeing all of your documents as with immigration, the devil is in the details - sometimes the smallest thing can make a big difference.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



akrish said:


> Hi ark, I got my 489 visa refused but I also got invited to apply for 189. Under Fact sheet 1026i, it states that I can apply only for limited visas if I do not hold a substantive visa while I am in Australia. However, I do hold a 476 visa. So, I am pretty sure I can apply for 189? Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

No specific visa like that any more, however the investment visas all got rolled into different streams of the 188 visa - see: Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188)

for options.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhalo_fish said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Many thanks for always helping me, Please let me know which visa for investing $500,000 in Australia regional and What is process for this visa?
> 
> Regards
> Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Imanh -

No way to predict how long a waiver like this would take or the chances of success - it's completely up to the judgment and opinion of the particular case officer and processing office for the visa. Wish I could help.

Best,

Mark



Imanh said:


> hi Mark
> 
> My situation is my fiancé is currently in India studying so we applied for a prospective marriage visa on 31/10/2013. We provided everything the case officer asked for till August 2014 the CO told us that my fiancé will need a PCC from Saudi Arabia where he used to live 2002/2009. The problem is Saudi Arabia does not issue PCC if you are outside the country therefore my fiancé needs to show the CO the exit stamp from Saudi arabiya on his passport which he doesn't have because it expired and was taken away from him during renewal.
> 
> The problem is we can not prove he left Saudi Arabia legally because he doesn't have his old passport. The CO told us today that she will need to apply for a waiver for him to get the requirement for PCC waived.
> 
> She asked him to write in details what happened to his passport and what steps he took to get a PCC. So my fiancé wrote the details and sent copy's of emails he sent to the Saudi Arabian embassy requesting a PCC. He also filled in a stat declaration form and sent it to the CO.
> 
> My questions is how long does this take. And who will be waving the requirement, the CO, her manager or a different government body.
> 
> And are waivers ussaly issued?
> 
> What are our chances of getting this visa
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jewlsbotz -

Thanks for the question. Probably not much you can do, as the Embassys all control their own workloads and make up their own rules for prioritisation, how long things will take, etc. I'd probably look into a visitor visa of some kind with your agent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jewlsbotz said:


> Hi there,
> my husband and I are currently having problems communicating with the Chilean Embassy. Long story short, my husbands visa was submitted to the Argentinean Embassy Sept 2014. Was sitting there for 4 months than transferred to the Chilean Embassy ( He is Colombian but holds a Argie DNI), during this period he could get his medical. Anyways the Chilean Embassy have told us we have to wait another 10 months for the visa to be processed as the timeframe has had to start again, our immigration agent advised this information is incorrect. But the Chilean Embassy have not responded. Anyone else experienced these problems with the Chilean Embassy? Or have any ideas or hints?? We have been apart for 8 months now, when we were dealing with the Argentinean Embassy they advised us we could apply for a tourist visa in Feb now we feel we are stuck and not sure what we can do


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jnsgirls -

These types of refusals are common, with DIBP figuring that you've already had a year to do all the "visiting" that a person would need to do.

You might consider going offshore, then applying for an evisitor at a later date and include an invitation and itinerary from a person in Australia who is inviting you to come if possible.

Assuming you are holding a Bridging Visa A from the visitor visa application, make sure you depart on time before that visa expires to avoid any issues later.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jnsgirls said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> So i applied for a visitor visa 600 which was refused.
> 
> The reason why it was refused is because i've already spend a year in Australia with a Working holiday visa and can't spend more than 1 year>
> 
> I know I can get a review on the decision with the tribunal but it's really expensive.
> 
> What do you think i should do?
> 
> Apply for a review? or get out of the country and apply for a evisitor instead?
> 
> thanks


----------



## Sam89

Hi Mark,

I am not sure if I have posted this correctly so admin please move to correct spot in the forum if I have made a mistake.

I will try to keep this simple.

I am an Australian citizen by birth. I have been married to a british citizen for 5 years and we live together in the UK. We wish to apply for the partner visa. 

I have a longterm disability for which my husband is my carer.

I have a substantial amount of money from the sale of a flat I owned whilst living in London.

My parents will provide us with free accommodation in Australia.

My first question is can I still qualify as a sponsor for my husband even though I have a disability?

Secondly the reason we are applying is we have recently had a baby. My husband is my fulltime carer (though he also works fulltime). It is impossible to look after me and the baby without additional family help. We have no family in the UK. My parents have been over living with us for 3 months helping us care for me and my son. They are unable to stay permanently in the UK so we need to move to OZ so we can get the help from family we need. I wish to know is there any way that we can get to live in Australia sooner. We are in a desperate situation as without family assistance it is impossible for us to look after our son. I am not sure if there is any special provisions for people with disabilities. I appreciate any help anyone can give. many thanks Sam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roxy -

Sorry to hear of the refusal. We're finding that many clients that were refused by DIBP are finding success at the MRT with a properly prepared and detailed submission to the MRT which includes strong evidence. I say this not as a sales pitch for me, but as general advice: I would at this point engage an experienced migration agent to assess your case, and if you wish, represent you at the MRT and prepare your submission - you're now deep into a controversial area of migration law (Schedule 3 for 820/801 visas) and to give yourself the best chance of success at the MRT, unless you want to do all the legal research yourself and study all the MRT cases yourself to get up to speed on how to maximise your chances of success at the MRT re Sched 3, then I'd engage a professional. Other option of course is for the applicant to go offshore and to lodge a fresh offshore partner visa application, as those are not subject to Sched 3.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roxxy18 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Unfortunately today my partner and i received a refusal letter from DIBP regarding our partner visa 820 which we applied for in NOV 2013. We had to reply to schedule 3 which we did but the reasons were not compelling enough I guess. We now have 21 days to apply to MRT and I am just wondering what the best steps to take are?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Roxy


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hi mark,

Thanks for help.

Regards
Bharat


----------



## leila1981

Hi Mark, can you please advise? I am applying for 189 visa for me and my dependents (H and D). My 3-year old daughter has global developmental delay. She's been on therapy since she was 9 months. Currently, she still undergoes physical therapy for her gross motor skills, 1x /mo and speech therapy every week. She has greatly improved for the past 3 years and according to her therapist and doctor, her level is between 2-3 years old, which means she's catching up. 

However, I did not know that this will be a concern until her medical check-up, when the panel doctor asked if she had developmental delays. The doctor asked her questions and she was able to answer all of them. Although she noticed that she lacks focus, but saying it's normal for toddlers at her age. After the test, she's asking for a copy of the latest progress report from her dev paediatrician.

We discussed with her therapists and developmental paedia about this and requested them to provide us the latest development report. According to her doctor, she's still a bit behind for her age but she has greatly improved. He said he would note in his findings that she would still need therapy sessions (physical and speech) for the next 6-12 months, but pointing out that she is more independent and has vastly improved from her previous condition. 

My question is, will this result to a visa refusal? Will the therapy for the next 6-12 months would lead to additional burden in Australia's health system? As far as I can see, her's is now mild delay. Aside from her latest progress report, what other documents do we need to show them? Do we have to present all her progress from day 1? Thank you so much.


----------



## mark1980

*820 visa form 40 and 47 need to be signed and upload?*

I read on the forum that the info from the forms 40 and 47 I have to write it online at the moment of lodging my application online so there was no need to upload them (because they have the same question that the application online)..

but the last page needs to be signed,, Im not supposed to upload this last pages?

*If I do have to upload them.. in some cases is better to write NA or leave the question without answer??


----------



## ra314

Hi Mark I applied for 186 through M.A all pcc and form 80 has been submitted, CO is asking to fill form 1221. Can you please comment why form 1221 is requested when from 80 is already submitted. I'm from high risk country. Thanks


----------



## Ellektra

Hello Mr. Northam.

Over the past few months, I have consulted quite a few migration agents. However, this has left me very confused as I have been given contradictory information (to say the least).

My situation is the following: I am 26 and will soon graduate with a (second) masters in law from a Belgian university. As a soon to be graduate, I have no work experience. I'm looking into relocating to Australia under the Skilled Independent visa. My Belgian law degree will never pass the skill assessment, so I went looking for another occupations that would be suitable and ended up with Accountants (also on the SOL).

This is where the contradictory information has been given. I hope you can help me clear things up.
1. CPA skill assessment: "a qualification that is assessed by CPA Australia as equivalent to at least an Australian Bachelor degree".
Are they referring to a Bachelor degree in general (in my case, it would be a Bachelor + Master degree in Law), or are they referring to a Bachelor degree related to the occupation I am nominating? If the former, will a European Bachelor degree (degree obtained after the Bologna agreement) be recognized as equivalent to an Australian Bachelor degree?
2. CPA skill assessment: Is work experience required to get a positive skill assessment? On the website of the CPA, the only criteria listed are a degree, areas of study and language test. Is it correct to conclude that work experience is not a necessary component to get a positive skill assessment?
3. Point test (qualifications): same question as 1.
4. Point test (skilled employment): Can you apply for a Skilled Independent visa if you have no previous work experience? Some say I need to have worked in my nominated occupation for 12 months in the past 24 months, others say 3 years and some say none at all.
5. Point test (credentialled community language): I am raised bilingual Dutch and French. Does this allow me to sit for a test with Naati to get accredited?

If you could give me an insight, it would be much appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leila1981 -

No way to predict - have to wait for the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth's assessment of the anticipated costs for care and access to services. Unfortunately for the 189 visa, if the significant cost threshold is exceeded, there is no health waiver available - can only argue that the MOC used the wrong criteria in determining the "hypothetical person" standard/scenario for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leila1981 said:


> Hi Mark, can you please advise? I am applying for 189 visa for me and my dependents (H and D). My 3-year old daughter has global developmental delay. She's been on therapy since she was 9 months. Currently, she still undergoes physical therapy for her gross motor skills, 1x /mo and speech therapy every week. She has greatly improved for the past 3 years and according to her therapist and doctor, her level is between 2-3 years old, which means she's catching up.
> 
> However, I did not know that this will be a concern until her medical check-up, when the panel doctor asked if she had developmental delays. The doctor asked her questions and she was able to answer all of them. Although she noticed that she lacks focus, but saying it's normal for toddlers at her age. After the test, she's asking for a copy of the latest progress report from her dev paediatrician.
> 
> We discussed with her therapists and developmental paedia about this and requested them to provide us the latest development report. According to her doctor, she's still a bit behind for her age but she has greatly improved. He said he would note in his findings that she would still need therapy sessions (physical and speech) for the next 6-12 months, but pointing out that she is more independent and has vastly improved from her previous condition.
> 
> My question is, will this result to a visa refusal? Will the therapy for the next 6-12 months would lead to additional burden in Australia's health system? As far as I can see, her's is now mild delay. Aside from her latest progress report, what other documents do we need to show them? Do we have to present all her progress from day 1? Thank you so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark1980 -

If you lodge online for partner or fiance visa, you do not need to complete paper forms 47sp and 47 - you complete online forms that are very similar to these (see "New Application", "Family" category for the applicant and sponsor online forms. You might still have to complete paper Form 80 and sign/scan/upload however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mark1980 said:


> I read on the forum that the info from the forms 40 and 47 I have to write it online at the moment of lodging my application online so there was no need to upload them (because they have the same question that the application online)..
> 
> but the last page needs to be signed,, Im not supposed to upload this last pages?
> 
> *If I do have to upload them.. in some cases is better to write NA or leave the question without answer??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ra314 -

I never understood that, but that's what they do in some cases, and they're the boss. I expect there might be a few questions on Form 1221 that are not on Form 80, but have never taken the time to try and do a matching exercise to see if that's true. Usually 1221 is requested for people from Philippines, some Middle Eastern Countries, India, and some others.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ra314 said:


> Hi Mark I applied for 186 through M.A all pcc and form 80 has been submitted, CO is asking to fill form 1221. Can you please comment why form 1221 is requested when from 80 is already submitted. I'm from high risk country. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ellektra -

Thanks for the note - hope I can clear things up - see my notes below at ***:



Ellektra said:


> Hello Mr. Northam.
> 
> Over the past few months, I have consulted quite a few migration agents. However, this has left me very confused as I have been given contradictory information (to say the least).
> 
> My situation is the following: I am 26 and will soon graduate with a (second) masters in law from a Belgian university. As a soon to be graduate, I have no work experience. I'm looking into relocating to Australia under the Skilled Independent visa. My Belgian law degree will never pass the skill assessment, so I went looking for another occupations that would be suitable and ended up with Accountants (also on the SOL).
> 
> This is where the contradictory information has been given. I hope you can help me clear things up.
> 1. CPA skill assessment: "a qualification that is assessed by CPA Australia as equivalent to at least an Australian Bachelor degree".
> Are they referring to a Bachelor degree in general (in my case, it would be a Bachelor + Master degree in Law), or are they referring to a Bachelor degree related to the occupation I am nominating? If the former, will a European Bachelor degree (degree obtained after the Bologna agreement) be recognized as equivalent to an Australian Bachelor degree?
> *** It's an Australian Bachelor degree in general, however note on the site that they look at the degree and determine if it covers certain core knowledge areas specific to accounting - if not, then they will require you to take additional courses in order to satisfy this requirement.
> 
> 2. CPA skill assessment: Is work experience required to get a positive skill assessment? On the website of the CPA, the only criteria listed are a degree, areas of study and language test. Is it correct to conclude that work experience is not a necessary component to get a positive skill assessment? *** Correct.
> 
> 3. Point test (qualifications): same question as 1.
> *** As long as Bachelor degree is equivalent to Australian Bachelor degree, the subject doesn't matter in terms of getting points. Does not have to be relevant to the occupation in order to get 15 points, only equivalent to Aus. degree.
> 
> 4. Point test (skilled employment): Can you apply for a Skilled Independent visa if you have no previous work experience? Some say I need to have worked in my nominated occupation for 12 months in the past 24 months, others say 3 years and some say none at all. *** No work experience required for 189/190/489 visa as long as your skills assessor doesn't require it (see above), and you can satisfy the points requirement via other ways.
> 
> 5. Point test (credentialled community language): I am raised bilingual Dutch and French. Does this allow me to sit for a test with Naati to get accredited?
> *** You would need to talk to the NAATI people about this, not sure what their requirements are. They are somewhat picky/strict from my experience.
> 
> If you could give me an insight, it would be much appreciated.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sam -

Thanks for the question (and for asking it in such plain, direct language!). Short answer: no problem with qualifying for sponsor of partner visa if you have a disability / are on disability pension income, etc. Re: getting expedited service, I would write a letter to DIBP along with your application and request this, and provide the reasons (and evidence of them) - I have seen them respond quickly to compassionate/compelling circumstances involving the health of the applicant or sponsor before.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sam89 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am not sure if I have posted this correctly so admin please move to correct spot in the forum if I have made a mistake.
> 
> I will try to keep this simple.
> 
> I am an Australian citizen by birth. I have been married to a british citizen for 5 years and we live together in the UK. We wish to apply for the partner visa.
> 
> I have a longterm disability for which my husband is my carer.
> 
> I have a substantial amount of money from the sale of a flat I owned whilst living in London.
> 
> My parents will provide us with free accommodation in Australia.
> 
> My first question is can I still qualify as a sponsor for my husband even though I have a disability?
> 
> Secondly the reason we are applying is we have recently had a baby. My husband is my fulltime carer (though he also works fulltime). It is impossible to look after me and the baby without additional family help. We have no family in the UK. My parents have been over living with us for 3 months helping us care for me and my son. They are unable to stay permanently in the UK so we need to move to OZ so we can get the help from family we need. I wish to know is there any way that we can get to live in Australia sooner. We are in a desperate situation as without family assistance it is impossible for us to look after our son. I am not sure if there is any special provisions for people with disabilities. I appreciate any help anyone can give. many thanks Sam


----------



## Seema8

Hi Mark, I have a very frustrating situation. I didn't realise I should maintain 8501 visa condition for 485, it's almost a year now. What should I do  advice pls


----------



## Johnners45

Hey Mark,

Thanks for answering my last question! 

I have another question, you said that if my american fiance applies offshore for her partner visa but comes to Australia before her Visa is approved (on a holiday visa) she would have to leave the country once her visa is approved... Can she just leave to say Bali for a weekend and have the visa issued in Australia? or does she have to return home to the US to get her visa before she can come back in?

Thanks.


----------



## Vik324

Thanks for taking out time to reply i really appreciate it 
soon will contact you on skype or visa phone



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vik324 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Would need to go over the details of the training with you in detail to give you advice - this is a tricky area, and an unsupportable claim for employment that is disallowed can cost thousands of dollars and months of time in a withdrawn visa application - no way to give you general advice on a forum like this for your question as it's extremely case-specific. Happy to see you at a consultation (or visa phone/skype) to go through all of this and get you specific advice - link in my website in the signature below.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## jnsgirls

hi Mark,

I'm going to apply for a review and I just want to know if i get a rejection from that review, would it affect any further visa application.

For example if I get a rejection and leave the country and later i want to apply for a visa offshore, would i have any problem to do so.

My visa is expiring on the 20th of february, can I apply for a visa that same day?

Thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jnsgirls -
> 
> These types of refusals are common, with DIBP figuring that you've already had a year to do all the "visiting" that a person would need to do.
> 
> You might consider going offshore, then applying for an evisitor at a later date and include an invitation and itinerary from a person in Australia who is inviting you to come if possible.
> 
> Assuming you are holding a Bridging Visa A from the visitor visa application, make sure you depart on time before that visa expires to avoid any issues later.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Thao Le

*186 Police check*

Hi Mark,

Appreciate if I could ask one question regarding police checks.

Do I need to hold a police check certificate at the time of the visa lodgement? Regarding overseas police check, I had one done in 2011 (for my 485 visa then) and since 2008 I have been living in Australia, so just wondering if I do need to get a new overseas police check for 186?

Many thanks,
Thao


----------



## Deano

Hi Mark
We have just applied for partner visa and looks like we have been given a bridging visa A
My wife is on tourist visa
Her son is on a 571 Student visa, he has been in and out of school due to a trip home last year and has been flagged for his poor attendance
His student visa runs out mid March, but Immi has been in contact saying get him in school soon or he will be cancelled 
International student school fees are expensive

My questions are:
When he gets onto his bridging visa will he still be classed as an international student or a temporary resident ?
If so, is there a way he can exit the country for one month, return and apply to study as a temporary resident, perhaps by applying for a bridging visa B ?
Is there a way that he can stay here until his bridging visa comes into effect ?
Any help would be appreciated

Thanks Deano


----------



## SqOats

Hi Mark....

Just wanted to inform you that I have got my student visa against all the odds.... It took them exactly 12 weeks . Yesterday, i called the consulate and asked for update ... operator told me its still under process... i asked her to inform my case officer as my classes have already started from today....she assured me she will .... and guess what ....I got the grant letter in 3 hours ... Phewww... 

I just wanted to thank you for all the support you have provided me through desperate times .... you are doing a tremendous job by helping people ... and the way you keep it cool all the time...Man i admire it ...

Thanks a million .....


----------



## lin81

Hi Mark

here is short story about myself. I married last year in December in overseas. I lived in australia for 9 months now and my husband is overseas.i contacted one of the immigration agent. they said since im a new zealand citizen im not eligible form to sponsor for partner visa subclass 800 or something. they suggest nz family relationship visa.i need to prepare before i submit my form.
1.should i register change of my name in australia before i applied
2. would it affect my nz citizenship if i change my last name.do i need a new passport?
3.is it possible to apply for partner visa if this family relationship visa granted?
4. do i have to apply for special category visa 444 first?


----------



## Becki

*Moving frmo NZ 461 Visa to 820 visa (husband's mother is Australian)*

Hi Mark,

I am from the UK and am currently living in Australia with my New Zealand husband on a 461 visa, and have been since September 2011. We married in November 2014 and are now thinking about having children. My husband's mum is Australian, so we were thinking about him getting dual citizenship (New Zealand & Australian), at which point we assume that my 461 visa would end, and then we would immediately apply for an 820 Australian Partner Visa in order to get Paid Parental Leave when we have children, plus any additional family benefits.

Before we move forward, I just wanted to know if is this even possible? Can I jump from one type of partner visa to another? Are there any restrictions regarding the length of time between partner applications (with the same partner)?

I really just need more information so we know if it is actually feasible, and the internet doesn't seem to want to provide it. But then I stumbled across this great forum and so thought I'd ask you, in case you could offer any insight or advice on our situation.

Thanks!

Becki


----------



## leila1981

Hi Mark, thanks for the reply. I just hope and pray for the best.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Leila1981 -
> 
> No way to predict - have to wait for the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth's assessment of the anticipated costs for care and access to services. Unfortunately for the 189 visa, if the significant cost threshold is exceeded, there is no health waiver available - can only argue that the MOC used the wrong criteria in determining the "hypothetical person" standard/scenario for your case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## akrish

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Akrish -
> 
> If you held the 476 at the time of the 189 refusal, then you are not section 48 barred from applying for another visa onshore. Next issue to look at is the reason for the 489 refusal - as long as it's not something that would affect other visas (like PIC4020 bogus documents, etc for instance) then the refusal would likely not impact your 189 invite. I cannot give you specific advice, however, without seeing all of your documents as with immigration, the devil is in the details - sometimes the smallest thing can make a big difference.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


The 489 visa got refused because I wrongly thought that my mother-in-law was eligible to be my sponsor and when I got another opportunity to nominate someone else, my cousin refused to do so for fear the of financial liabilities associated with the visa. Just wanted to make sure that my case is not too complex to need an agent to lodge.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seema8 -

Not much to do except get health insurance and hope DIBP doesn't figure out what happened. Fortunately you generally do not have to provide proof of past health insurance for past visas when you apply for a new visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Seema8 said:


> Hi Mark, I have a very frustrating situation. I didn't realise I should maintain 8501 visa condition for 485, it's almost a year now. What should I do  advice pls


----------



## MarkNortham

hi Johnners45 -

She only has to be offshore (ie, not in Australia) when they are ready to grant the visa - usually you'll get a few weeks' notice if they detect she is onshore near that time. She can go offshore for a few days, be granted the visa, then return to Australia on the newly-granted partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Johnners45 said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Thanks for answering my last question!
> 
> I have another question, you said that if my american fiance applies offshore for her partner visa but comes to Australia before her Visa is approved (on a holiday visa) she would have to leave the country once her visa is approved... Can she just leave to say Bali for a weekend and have the visa issued in Australia? or does she have to return home to the US to get her visa before she can come back in?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jnsgirls -

Thanks for the question. Too many regulations and laws involved in this area to give you any general or blanket advice - need to go over your case, dates/timeline, etc in a consultation to give you specific advice for your case. To book, see website link in signature below, then click on "Consultation" on top area on the home page.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jnsgirls said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> I'm going to apply for a review and I just want to know if i get a rejection from that review, would it affect any further visa application.
> 
> For example if I get a rejection and leave the country and later i want to apply for a visa offshore, would i have any problem to do so.
> 
> My visa is expiring on the 20th of february, can I apply for a visa that same day?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thao -

You'll probably need a new one - however you can lodge the application without it and provide later when you have it (however don't wait more than 1-2 months in the case of a 186 as these are getting processed more quickly now.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Thao Le said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Appreciate if I could ask one question regarding police checks.
> 
> Do I need to hold a police check certificate at the time of the visa lodgement? Regarding overseas police check, I had one done in 2011 (for my 485 visa then) and since 2008 I have been living in Australia, so just wondering if I do need to get a new overseas police check for 186?
> 
> Many thanks,
> Thao


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deano -

Re: wife, BV-A won't activate until the visitor visa expires on its own or she overstays her current maximum stay period (ie, max 3 months stay on the visa, and she stays over 3 months). Re: son, this is trickier - you need to try and convince DIBP not to cancel the student visa, or that will wipe out his BV-A from the partner visa application (I assume he's on the application as a secondary applicant?) and leave him unlawful - he'll have to get a Bridging Visa E to stay in the country to await the partner visa decision.

Normal DIBP policy is not to cancel a student visa if a PR visa has been lodged, but this typically applies to students who end their studies early, not ones who breach the student visa condition.

No idea how the school will treat son - this varies from school to school re: intl fees vs resident fees. Some places may give you a lower rate if you show you have a PR visa application lodged, etc, but again this is a school-by-school policy that may be different in the different Australian states - best to contact the school directly. If visa gets cancelled, he cannot travel out & back on a BV-E. Try to avoid cancellation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Deano said:


> Hi Mark
> We have just applied for partner visa and looks like we have been given a bridging visa A
> My wife is on tourist visa
> Her son is on a 571 Student visa, he has been in and out of school due to a trip home last year and has been flagged for his poor attendance
> His student visa runs out mid March, but Immi has been in contact saying get him in school soon or he will be cancelled
> International student school fees are expensive
> 
> My questions are:
> When he gets onto his bridging visa will he still be classed as an international student or a temporary resident ?
> If so, is there a way he can exit the country for one month, return and apply to study as a temporary resident, perhaps by applying for a bridging visa B ?
> Is there a way that he can stay here until his bridging visa comes into effect ?
> Any help would be appreciated
> 
> Thanks Deano


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

Congratulations on your visa approval, and thanks for the kind words! Happy travels to Australia and have fun with your studies.

Best,

Mark



SqOats said:


> Hi Mark....
> 
> Just wanted to inform you that I have got my student visa against all the odds.... It took them exactly 12 weeks . Yesterday, i called the consulate and asked for update ... operator told me its still under process... i asked her to inform my case officer as my classes have already started from today....she assured me she will .... and guess what ....I got the grant letter in 3 hours ... Phewww...
> 
> I just wanted to thank you for all the support you have provided me through desperate times .... you are doing a tremendous job by helping people ... and the way you keep it cool all the time...Man i admire it ...
> 
> Thanks a million .....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lin81 -

If you're a NZ citizen, then the NZ family relationship visa is the best one in most cases - it's the subclass 461 visa. As a NZ citizen, you automatically get a 444 visa when you enter Australia, no need to apply.

Re: NZ passport and name change questions, best to ask a NZ immigration advisor (like a migration agent) regarding those questions.

Re: Sponsoring your husband, as a 444 visa holder you're not a permanent resident of Australia so you would not be able to sponsor him for an Australian partner visa. You'd have to get PR first in Australia some way, then you could sponsor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lin81 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> here is short story about myself. I married last year in December in overseas. I lived in australia for 9 months now and my husband is overseas.i contacted one of the immigration agent. they said since im a new zealand citizen im not eligible form to sponsor for partner visa subclass 800 or something. they suggest nz family relationship visa.i need to prepare before i submit my form.
> 1.should i register change of my name in australia before i applied
> 2. would it affect my nz citizenship if i change my last name.do i need a new passport?
> 3.is it possible to apply for partner visa if this family relationship visa granted?
> 4. do i have to apply for special category visa 444 first?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Becki -

Thanks for the question. The law in this area is a bit tricky, especially the timing issues. Would need to work with you in a consultation to go through the scenario in detail, including the estimated timing of things, the citizenship process, etc. to make sure I give you proper and accurate advice. If interested, see website link in my signature below - thanks!

best,

Mark



Becki said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am from the UK and am currently living in Australia with my New Zealand husband on a 461 visa, and have been since September 2011. We married in November 2014 and are now thinking about having children. My husband's mum is Australian, so we were thinking about him getting dual citizenship (New Zealand & Australian), at which point we assume that my 461 visa would end, and then we would immediately apply for an 820 Australian Partner Visa in order to get Paid Parental Leave when we have children, plus any additional family benefits.
> 
> Before we move forward, I just wanted to know if is this even possible? Can I jump from one type of partner visa to another? Are there any restrictions regarding the length of time between partner applications (with the same partner)?
> 
> I really just need more information so we know if it is actually feasible, and the internet doesn't seem to want to provide it. But then I stumbled across this great forum and so thought I'd ask you, in case you could offer any insight or advice on our situation.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Becki


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akrish -

My suggestion would be to book a consult with a migration agent to go through the aspects of your case and your plan to lodge the visa (including timing issues) to make sure the agent doesn't spot any potential issues. Hard to diagnose these on forums as too many questions & answers to be asked to get to the bottom line.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



akrish said:


> The 489 visa got refused because I wrongly thought that my mother-in-law was eligible to be my sponsor and when I got another opportunity to nominate someone else, my cousin refused to do so for fear the of financial liabilities associated with the visa. Just wanted to make sure that my case is not too complex to need an agent to lodge.


----------



## Thao Le

Thank you Mark - much appreciated



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Thao -
> 
> You'll probably need a new one - however you can lodge the application without it and provide later when you have it (however don't wait more than 1-2 months in the case of a 186 as these are getting processed more quickly now.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## orangel123

*Certified Copies*

Greetings! i am currently collecting all the necessary documents to apply and found a problem.

I already have certified copies for all my documents, but my assesment authority (ACS, Australian Computer Society) demands that certified copies must have the details of the certifying officer in every page of the document.

The local procedure to certify copies is to have a lawyer sign a document where he testifies that he has seen the originals and provides his signature. Then, a notary public signs and seals the lawyer's document and all copies, and also includes a cover document where they provide details of the certifying officer.

I was thinking the closest thing i can get is the lawyer's signature on all copies and then pass them to the notary public. Would you agree with that or is something else i could do?


----------



## mark1980

*820-801*

I finished my application yesterday for a partner visa and the I the only thing that I received was a Acknowledgement email of application for a ''Partner (Temporary) (class UK) (subclass 820) / Partner (Residence) (class BS) (subclass 801)'' with my details and a Application ID number as well as the TRN and in another email the tax invoice for the payment of the visa application, am I supposed to receive some other email in the form of a letter where it says my bridging visa number and rights?

-My W&H It's going to expire in a week and a half and I'm waiting for this bridging visa now..


----------



## Tom2015

*820-801*

hi Mark
After doing the application for the applicant and attaching the doc now I'm attaching doc for the sponsor and is asking for the form 40SP should I attach it?

- how can the applicant apply for the medical exam?
by going to this link: My Health Declarations

and clicking on start my health declaration is the right way to do it?

- is the ''Acknowledgment of application received'' the bridging visa or I am supposed to receive a different email with the bridging visa?


----------



## lin81

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lin81 -
> 
> If you're a NZ citizen, then the NZ family relationship visa is the best one in most cases - it's the subclass 461 visa. As a NZ citizen, you automatically get a 444 visa when you enter Australia, no need to apply.
> 
> Re: NZ passport and name change questions, best to ask a NZ immigration advisor (like a migration agent) regarding those questions.
> 
> Re: Sponsoring your husband, as a 444 visa holder you're not a permanent resident of Australia so you would not be able to sponsor him for an Australian partner visa. You'd have to get PR first in Australia some way, then you could sponsor.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Thank you Mark for your help.You are the best!!


----------



## Tom2015

*820 should I wait to do the health examination or I do it now?*

I lodge my application 820-801

should I wait until the CO ask me for a health examination and provides me a HAP ID?? or should I 
do it now to try to accelerate the process?

My only fear is that If start the process and get a HAP ID and then my CO contacts me with a new HAP ID it will get confusing..


----------



## SqOats

MarkNortham said:


> Hi SqOats -
> 
> Congratulations on your visa approval, and thanks for the kind words! Happy travels to Australia and have fun with your studies.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Thanks Mark...

Sorry to bother you again... As i informed you that I have got the visa on 16-2-15 (the same day my classes commenced). I wasnt expecting a visa for this semester hence i didnt make any arrangements and now find it really hectic to make all the preps in 2 days (i have late arrival letter with deadline of 25-2-15). Therefore, I would like to know about the possibility of deferring my commencement for July 2015 and travel to Australia in June 2015 (a month in advance to be in a better position).

Apart from hectic preps, also my other concern is that i will be missing 10 days of classes if i go for feb 2015 semester and as per conditional offer i have to achieve min 65% in grad certificate before advancing for masters program which would be difficult by missing classes.

Hence, I would appreciate if you can help me with the following questions.

1) What steps will be involved, from DIBP point of view, if i want to defer my commencement for next semester.
2) I know that i will have to get revised COE from university. But, will i have to inform DIBP about this change?. (There is no condition on travelling dates in my visa, It is valid with multiple entries from 16-2-15 to 15-3-17)
3) Will DIBP provide me new visa based on revised COE dates? Or, will i have to apply for extension once my visa will expire on 15 March 2017 as per my visa grant letter(which should not be an issue because I DONT have "further stay restricted" condition).
4)Finally, is it advisable to defer in your point of view?

Your expert advice on this issue will be of great help.

Thanking you in advance.


----------



## CantoAus

Hi Mark!
I have a question for you - in regards to applying for a PMV with my two children. My ex husband has given me permission to migrate with them both verbally, and in our court-filed separation agreement. I also have sole custody and sole guardianship since 2011, and this is in our court-filed separation agreement. This is basically the same as a court order (here in Canada and the contract is just as valid as a court order). Is this enough to submit with the PMV application? Or should I also be submitting a stat dec from him that gives permission? or is there a form? I just wonder if that would come across as confusing as he has given permission and technically he doesn't have the legal right as to where the children live. Would it make sense to submit it anyways? And what exactly should I be submitting if so....if a stat dec is what is needed...what should it say exactly? And if a form is needed (and not a stat dec), could you tell me what the form # is? Thanks in advance Mark! Appreciate all you do on this board


----------



## mustafasabir

*Confusion for EOI*

Dear Mark,

I have a quick question about claiming points for experience.

My total experience is;
1) Bohra Developers - (January 2004 - February 2008)
2) CMA Systems - (March 2008 - Present)

ACS has awarded me the points for the experience AFTER December 2007 i.e. from January 2008 onwards. It means that the last 2 months of my previous employer is counted towards Skilled Employment.

My question is;

Will there be any problem if I do not claim points for these last 2 months?

What if I claim points only for my current employer to avoid providing added documents of my previous employer.

Please clarify.

Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

That seems reasonable to me - I would include all contact details for the lawyer and the notary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



orangel123 said:


> Greetings! i am currently collecting all the necessary documents to apply and found a problem.
> 
> I already have certified copies for all my documents, but my assesment authority (ACS, Australian Computer Society) demands that certified copies must have the details of the certifying officer in every page of the document.
> 
> The local procedure to certify copies is to have a lawyer sign a document where he testifies that he has seen the originals and provides his signature. Then, a notary public signs and seals the lawyer's document and all copies, and also includes a cover document where they provide details of the certifying officer.
> 
> I was thinking the closest thing i can get is the lawyer's signature on all copies and then pass them to the notary public. Would you agree with that or is something else i could do?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark1980 -

Make sure you check all the pages on all the PDFs that were sent with those emails. Sometimes the bridging visa is included in those, other times it comes separately a few days later, especially if you are applying while holding a bridging visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mark1980 said:


> I finished my application yesterday for a partner visa and the I the only thing that I received was a Acknowledgement email of application for a ''Partner (Temporary) (class UK) (subclass 820) / Partner (Residence) (class BS) (subclass 801)'' with my details and a Application ID number as well as the TRN and in another email the tax invoice for the payment of the visa application, am I supposed to receive some other email in the form of a letter where it says my bridging visa number and rights?
> 
> -My W&H It's going to expire in a week and a half and I'm waiting for this bridging visa now..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tom2014 -

Re: medical, look for the link "Organise your health examinations" on the lodgement page below the list of docs you're supposed to upload. Do not use My Health Decl if you have already lodged your visa.

Re: 40sp, better to use the online version - click New Application, then look in the family section for the "Sponsor a person..." in the partner section, then complete that and click Submit online on the last page.

Re: Ackn of app received, check the last pages for a bridginig visa, otherwise the bridging visa arrives in a separate email a few days later typically.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tom2015 said:


> hi Mark
> After doing the application for the applicant and attaching the doc now I'm attaching doc for the sponsor and is asking for the form 40SP should I attach it?
> 
> - how can the applicant apply for the medical exam?
> by going to this link: My Health Declarations
> 
> and clicking on start my health declaration is the right way to do it?
> 
> - is the ''Acknowledgment of application received'' the bridging visa or I am supposed to receive a different email with the bridging visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Will be same HAP ID in any case - I'd organise them yourself if you are ready to do them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tom2015 said:


> I lodge my application 820-801
> 
> should I wait until the CO ask me for a health examination and provides me a HAP ID?? or should I
> do it now to try to accelerate the process?
> 
> My only fear is that If start the process and get a HAP ID and then my CO contacts me with a new HAP ID it will get confusing..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

Thanks for the question. DIBP has some flexibility about how they handle these types of situations. Best thing is to contact them to ask the question: if I defer and get a new CoE to start XX/XX/XXXX, can you please advise what steps I would need to take regarding my student visa just granted. (and let them know the additional details you mentioned re: missing days, etc). Too many factors (ie academic, etc) to advise you on whether to defer or not. I'd see what DIBP says - if they are going to make you go through the entire application process again, that might be a reason not to defer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SqOats said:


> Thanks Mark...
> 
> Sorry to bother you again... As i informed you that I have got the visa on 16-2-15 (the same day my classes commenced). I wasnt expecting a visa for this semester hence i didnt make any arrangements and now find it really hectic to make all the preps in 2 days (i have late arrival letter with deadline of 25-2-15). Therefore, I would like to know about the possibility of deferring my commencement for July 2015 and travel to Australia in June 2015 (a month in advance to be in a better position).
> 
> Apart from hectic preps, also my other concern is that i will be missing 10 days of classes if i go for feb 2015 semester and as per conditional offer i have to achieve min 65% in grad certificate before advancing for masters program which would be difficult by missing classes.
> 
> Hence, I would appreciate if you can help me with the following questions.
> 
> 1) What steps will be involved, from DIBP point of view, if i want to defer my commencement for next semester.
> 2) I know that i will have to get revised COE from university. But, will i have to inform DIBP about this change?. (There is no condition on travelling dates in my visa, It is valid with multiple entries from 16-2-15 to 15-3-17)
> 3) Will DIBP provide me new visa based on revised COE dates? Or, will i have to apply for extension once my visa will expire on 15 March 2017 as per my visa grant letter(which should not be an issue because I DONT have "further stay restricted" condition).
> 4)Finally, is it advisable to defer in your point of view?
> 
> Your expert advice on this issue will be of great help.
> 
> Thanking you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CantoAus -

I'd ask the ex to sign Form 1229 and lodge that in addition to the court documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CantoAus said:


> Hi Mark!
> I have a question for you - in regards to applying for a PMV with my two children. My ex husband has given me permission to migrate with them both verbally, and in our court-filed separation agreement. I also have sole custody and sole guardianship since 2011, and this is in our court-filed separation agreement. This is basically the same as a court order (here in Canada and the contract is just as valid as a court order). Is this enough to submit with the PMV application? Or should I also be submitting a stat dec from him that gives permission? or is there a form? I just wonder if that would come across as confusing as he has given permission and technically he doesn't have the legal right as to where the children live. Would it make sense to submit it anyways? And what exactly should I be submitting if so....if a stat dec is what is needed...what should it say exactly? And if a form is needed (and not a stat dec), could you tell me what the form # is? Thanks in advance Mark! Appreciate all you do on this board


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mustafasabir -

Thanks for the question. DIBP generally does not ask for employer documents and pay evidence from employment not claimed for points, so if that's an issue, I would not claim those 2 months for points. DIBP has the right to ask for these, as the work was used to satisfy a skills assessment requirement, but that's unlikely to happen - not impossible, but unlikely in my view.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mustafasabir said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a quick question about claiming points for experience.
> 
> My total experience is;
> 1) Bohra Developers - (January 2004 - February 2008)
> 2) CMA Systems - (March 2008 - Present)
> 
> ACS has awarded me the points for the experience AFTER December 2007 i.e. from January 2008 onwards. It means that the last 2 months of my previous employer is counted towards Skilled Employment.
> 
> My question is;
> 
> Will there be any problem if I do not claim points for these last 2 months?
> 
> What if I claim points only for my current employer to avoid providing added documents of my previous employer.
> 
> Please clarify.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## Cubiscus

Hi Mark,

Just got my skills assessment back from ACS, it takes two years off to qualify – do I only enter employment AFTER this date in my EOI as skilled?

I have employment that covers 3 years, two for the qualification and one after, do I split these out to only claim the last year as skilled?

Cheers.


----------



## Zainer

*evidence of relationship to my wife*

Dear Mark,
Thanks for your help to answer our questions, this is really appreciated !
My case officer was assigned on Dec-2014, one of the questions was to provide evidence of relationship to my wife.
questions were:

_The decision maker must be satisfied that you and your spouse:
● are validly married under Australian law;
● have a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all
others;
● have a relationship that is genuine and continuing; and
● live together; or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis.
To assist in deciding your application the decision maker may have regard to any of the
circumstances of your relationship with your spouse including: the financial aspects of the
relationship, the nature of the household, the social aspects of the relationship and the nature
of your commitment to each other.
Please provide evidence of any of the following aspects of your relationship:
The financial aspects of your relationship. This may include:
● any joint ownership of real estate or other major assets;
● any joint liabilities;
● the extent of any pooling of financial resources, especially in relation to major financial
commitments;
● whether you or your spouse owe any legal obligation in respect of the other;
● the basis of any sharing of day-to-day household expenses.
The nature of your household. This may include:
● any joint responsibility for care and support of children, if any;
● your living arrangements;
● any sharing of responsibility for housework.
The social aspects of your relationship. This may include:
● whether you and your spouse represent yourselves to other people as being married to
each other;
● statements from family and friends about the nature of your relationship;
● any basis on which you and your spouse plan and undertake joint social activities.
The nature of your commitment to each other. This may include:
● the duration of your relationship;
● the length of time you and your spouse have lived together;
● the degree of companionship and emotional support that you draw from each other;
● whether you and your spouse see the relationship as a long-term one._

the main reason he asked for this was because until December we used to live separately. However, we are living together now.
we already sent a letter with brief explanation why we lived separately for 6 months and a copy of our marriage certificate.
However, they asked us to provide further evidence of our relationship.

Would you please advise what evidence can help to clear this concern.
As now we are living together now.

Please note that we don't have any shared financial commitments or properties, do you think it is a good idea to ask for embassy interview ?

Thanks again !


----------



## krucznik

Hi Mark,

I'm on a ELICOS student 570 visa .
When I was extending this visa for the second time there was no problem and visa was issued in one day.

Do you guys think that it could be risky to apply for this visa for the 3rd time?
I'm in group 1 so I'm from low risk countries.

What could be consequences of visa refusal? 
Would it prevent me from applying for skilled visa in future?

The reason for applying for this visa again is that I'm waiting for state sponsorship and my actual visa is about to expire.

Thanks for any advice.
Martin


----------



## Fress313

*Case officer*

Hi mark

My wife has a Pmv subclass 100 lodged in bangkok
It has been about 5 months since application all medicals where completed on application aswell as a police check .
We just recieved an email from a case officer Monday ( first contact)
Asking for a copy of our joint bank our sons birth certificate ( he was born in Australia) and some more photos .

I have just sent this all back to him ( within 5 days of him asking )

What happens from here ... Around what time frame should we expect a decision ? Now that they have everything they have asked for ? 
Does the co pass it on or do they make a decision

Thanks in advance
Matt


----------



## jnsgirls

*review and bridging visa*

Hi Mark,

I lodged an application for a tourist visa the 13th of february and i've been granted a bridging visa A.
On my grant letter for the bridging visa it says that my bridging visa is not in effect because my Working Holiday visa is in effect.
Then the next monday i got a notification saying that my application for a tourist visa is refused. My Working holiday visa is still in effect.
So i decide to lodge a application for review to the tribunal.
My question is : Will my bridging visa come into effect at the end of my working holiday visa now that i applied for a review????


----------



## chocolate33

*permanent entry with son*

Hi mark,
im hoping you can help me by answering a couple of questions: if i want to enter australia permanently with my son, who is 22 months old, does he need his own australian passport? he has an italian passport and an australian citizenship certificate. i have not yet applied for his australian passport. also, would i need permission from his father to enter australia permanently? if so, what form would it need to take, eg. a letter?
kind regards, virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, exactly. Can only claim work past the ACS deeming date as skilled/relevant to occupation/etc. If deeming date happens midway through an employment, then split into non-skilled and skilled.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cubiscus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just got my skills assessment back from ACS, it takes two years off to qualify - do I only enter employment AFTER this date in my EOI as skilled?
> 
> I have employment that covers 3 years, two for the qualification and one after, do I split these out to only claim the last year as skilled?
> 
> Cheers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zainer -

Thanks for the question. I'd look through some of the threads here on the forum about partner visa relationship evidence - there is some great information here. Note 4 categories: financial evidence, social evidence, nature of the commitment to each other, and nature of the household. Documentary evidence is the most important. Interviews are normally not available by request - DIBP decides whether risk factor is high enough to warrant requiring an interview.

I can't really recommend specific evidence as it's different for everyone based on their circumstances, relationship history, etc. Happy to work with you in a consultation if you'd like to go through your circumstances and suggest specific relationship evidence - see website below in signature for more and to book.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zainer said:


> Dear Mark,
> Thanks for your help to answer our questions, this is really appreciated !
> My case officer was assigned on Dec-2014, one of the questions was to provide evidence of relationship to my wife.
> questions were:
> 
> _The decision maker must be satisfied that you and your spouse:
> ● are validly married under Australian law;
> ● have a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all
> others;
> ● have a relationship that is genuine and continuing; and
> ● live together; or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis.
> To assist in deciding your application the decision maker may have regard to any of the
> circumstances of your relationship with your spouse including: the financial aspects of the
> relationship, the nature of the household, the social aspects of the relationship and the nature
> of your commitment to each other.
> Please provide evidence of any of the following aspects of your relationship:
> The financial aspects of your relationship. This may include:
> ● any joint ownership of real estate or other major assets;
> ● any joint liabilities;
> ● the extent of any pooling of financial resources, especially in relation to major financial
> commitments;
> ● whether you or your spouse owe any legal obligation in respect of the other;
> ● the basis of any sharing of day-to-day household expenses.
> The nature of your household. This may include:
> ● any joint responsibility for care and support of children, if any;
> ● your living arrangements;
> ● any sharing of responsibility for housework.
> The social aspects of your relationship. This may include:
> ● whether you and your spouse represent yourselves to other people as being married to
> each other;
> ● statements from family and friends about the nature of your relationship;
> ● any basis on which you and your spouse plan and undertake joint social activities.
> The nature of your commitment to each other. This may include:
> ● the duration of your relationship;
> ● the length of time you and your spouse have lived together;
> ● the degree of companionship and emotional support that you draw from each other;
> ● whether you and your spouse see the relationship as a long-term one._
> 
> the main reason he asked for this was because until December we used to live separately. However, we are living together now.
> we already sent a letter with brief explanation why we lived separately for 6 months and a copy of our marriage certificate.
> However, they asked us to provide further evidence of our relationship.
> 
> Would you please advise what evidence can help to clear this concern.
> As now we are living together now.
> 
> Please note that we don't have any shared financial commitments or properties, do you think it is a good idea to ask for embassy interview ?
> 
> Thanks again !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martin -

Hard to say without knowing much more about your circumstances - the last renewal was so quick that it would tend to indicate that DIBP views you as a low risk, but that's no guarantee of future performance.

If the new visa is refused while you're still holding your current visa, then you have no bar on further applications while onshore on this trip; if the new visa is refused after your current visa expires (and while you're on the bridging visa associated with the new visa application), then you'll be section 48 barred from further visa applications while onshore on this trip - might be better to go offshore at that point and await progress on the skilled visa, although can't give you specific advice without knowing much more about your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



krucznik said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm on a ELICOS student 570 visa .
> When I was extending this visa for the second time there was no problem and visa was issued in one day.
> 
> Do you guys think that it could be risky to apply for this visa for the 3rd time?
> I'm in group 1 so I'm from low risk countries.
> 
> What could be consequences of visa refusal?
> Would it prevent me from applying for skilled visa in future?
> 
> The reason for applying for this visa again is that I'm waiting for state sponsorship and my actual visa is about to expire.
> 
> Thanks for any advice.
> Martin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fress313 -

Thanks for the question. Note that PMV means Prospective Marriage Visa (subclass 300, aka "fiance visa") and a subclass 100 is the permanent part of the combined subclass 309/100 offshore partner visa - a completely separate visa.

Re: processing time, DIBP provides no firm commitments and it can vary from 6 to 18 months for partner visas - wish I could give you something to go on, but there's no telling. The fact that they have asked you for specific evidence is a sign they are actively processing your application which hopefully means you'll get a decision within a matter of weeks or a few months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Fress313 said:


> Hi mark
> 
> My wife has a Pmv subclass 100 lodged in bangkok
> It has been about 5 months since application all medicals where completed on application aswell as a police check .
> We just recieved an email from a case officer Monday ( first contact)
> Asking for a copy of our joint bank our sons birth certificate ( he was born in Australia) and some more photos .
> 
> I have just sent this all back to him ( within 5 days of him asking )
> 
> What happens from here ... Around what time frame should we expect a decision ? Now that they have everything they have asked for ?
> Does the co pass it on or do they make a decision
> 
> Thanks in advance
> Matt


----------



## ehtisham103

My name is Ehtisham...i am from pakistan..I am really worried about my visa application as I filed it on 5 nov 2014 and my study commencement is on 23 feb given medical but no interview ...enquired the status and reply is that file in going through internal processing its now more than 3.5 month since I logged the application....what do you think is causing delay ???I would be very grateful to ful for helping me out.Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jnsgirls -

Great question! In theory, the answer is yes, because a valid MRT application is supposed to automatically extend your current bridging visa. However I've seen this go wrong on occasion when the bridging visa is unactivated as of the date you lodge at the MRT. Best thing to do is once you've lodged your MRT, and before the WHV expires, contact DIBP by phone 131 881 and enquire as to the status of the BV-A you have and ask them to ensure that it will be extended by the MRT lodgement despite being inactive - they can put a note on your file as well. If they give you a problem and say that the BVA is somehow not valid because it was unactivated as of the date of refusal, etc, then you can apply for a separate BV-A to cover you for the duration of the MRT review - again, work wtih DIBP to coordinate on this so no problems.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jnsgirls said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I lodged an application for a tourist visa the 13th of february and i've been granted a bridging visa A.
> On my grant letter for the bridging visa it says that my bridging visa is not in effect because my Working Holiday visa is in effect.
> Then the next monday i got a notification saying that my application for a tourist visa is refused. My Working holiday visa is still in effect.
> So i decide to lodge a application for review to the tribunal.
> My question is : Will my bridging visa come into effect at the end of my working holiday visa now that i applied for a review????


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginia -

I'm not sure how the immi officers at the airport would handle that situation (has citizenship cert but no Australian passport), and would suggest you find a way to get the Australian passport issued before you travel if this is possible - it will likely make things much easier at the airport depending on how they handle things.

In terms of permission to enter Australia, normally an Australian citizen does not need any permissions to enter Australia. Unless the immigration persons at the airport thought something was wrong (ie, you were taking the child to Australia improperly, etc), I can't imagine that they would look for permission of the father who is not present. Form 1229 is used for non-citizen children to get permission from both parents - I suppose you could use that (or a letter signed by the father with ID of the father) as evidence the father has no issues with travel to Australia. If there is some sort of custody dispute, etc between you and the father, that may become more of a civil court matter where the court might order that international travel not occur without both parents' permission rather than it being a matter for immigration authorities.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> Hi mark,
> im hoping you can help me by answering a couple of questions: if i want to enter australia permanently with my son, who is 22 months old, does he need his own australian passport? he has an italian passport and an australian citizenship certificate. i have not yet applied for his australian passport. also, would i need permission from his father to enter australia permanently? if so, what form would it need to take, eg. a letter?
> kind regards, virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ehtisham103 -

Thanks for the question. Unfortunately no way to predict processing time or reasons for delay with DIBP - if you look around on the forum, you'll see many examples of Pakistani students having to wait months and months for DIBP to process their applications. Many students have had to defer their studies as a result. Wish I could help, but all you can do is keep in touch with the processing officer(s) and wait.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ehtisham103 said:


> My name is Ehtisham...i am from pakistan..I am really worried about my visa application as I filed it on 5 nov 2014 and my study commencement is on 23 feb given medical but no interview ...enquired the status and reply is that file in going through internal processing its now more than 3.5 month since I logged the application....what do you think is causing delay ???I would be very grateful to ful for helping me out.Thanks


----------



## ehtisham103

Wait is the only thing i have been doing during this period and its annoying...Thank you for replying me taking out your precious time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ehtisham103 -

I agree with you 100%. It's frustrating, and making it impossible for people to make their plans, start their education, etc. Many unhappy people out there, but until DIBP commits to some firm timeframes, they can essentially take as much time as they want to process a visa application.

Wish I could do more - I've seen a couple of cases recently when the visas were granted within 5 days of the beginning of study, both from Pakistan. Maybe with any luck they'll have some sense and prioritise your application based on study start date, etc.

Best,

Mark



ehtisham103 said:


> Wait is the only thing i have been doing during this period and its annoying...Thank you for replying me taking out your precious time.


----------



## Tom2015

*police clearance for 820*

.I'm having problems to obtain a police clearance from my home country, and I'm planing to apply this week for the partner visa, but I won't be able to have the police clearance for at least 2 more months..

-Can I submitted the police clearance from my home country 2 months after I lodge my online application for the 820-801??


----------



## kagopala

*PR assistance required*

Hello Mark,

Hello Friends,

I am new to this forum,

can you help me out with the procedure on how to apply PR in australia?
any links on the procedure and for the application forms would be greatly appreciated

moreover about me:

nationality : INDIAN
redience: Canada (under Temperory work permit) 3 years canadaian work experience

IELTS score : 6 for each of the 4 testing components, is this score good enough to apply for PR?

Employment expereince: 10+ years of Skilled working experience
Age: 32, Married

am i eligible in any of the category to apply PR in australia?

Any kind of assistance will be greatly appreciated

Thanks
Kagopala


----------



## cak31

*PIC 4020 Help*

Hi Mark--
My fiancé applied for a Student (Class TU) visa and unintentionally failed to include one of the colleges he attended when he previously applied for a visitor visa which got denied. As a result, they say he has provided a bogus document or false or misleading information and may fail to satisfy PIC 4020(1). He's been asked to comment. This was purely and genuinely an oversight on his part. What are his options and/or course of actions? Should he admit that this was just an oversight and provide affidavits of his good moral character? Or should he withdraw the application and re-apply at a later time? Please advise.

Thank you in advance for your time and prompt response.


----------



## archi

*Immigration*

Hi Mark

I am very new to this forum and I am interested in migrating to australia. I am currently in India. I am an architect with 7 years experience and my husband is a civil engineer with 15 years experience. Both of us have got our ielts done. We are yet to get our educational qualifications assessed. From what i have understood i think we fall under the category of 189.
Planning of keeping my husband as the primary applicant. 
I want to know :
Since my husband is the primary applicant do I have to get my educational qualifications assessed as well.
what is the estimated time required for the entire process.
Are job prospects good for a civil engineer and architect.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## ozrob101

*What is considered a 'period of separation'*

Hi Mark,

My partner and I are putting together all our info for our partner visa application and were wondering what length of time would be considered as a 'period of separation'? We have disclosed two periods which were about a month long, however we were also apart for two days during another time, does this count? I know it seems trivial however we are supplying flight details in the application and wasn't sure whether they would question our flights being two days apart in this instance.

Thanks,
Rob


----------



## JO_2012

Hi Mark,

My partner has applied for a subclass 309 visa. We had an interview not long ago which went fine. The case officer has now requested health checks & police certificate, which we know won't turn up any issues. The email specifically states that this request doesn't mean the application will be approved, and we had some concern over whether it might be refused on character grounds due to a dodgy immigration history (many years ago, partner is reformed and now a very productive citizen). Still, I feel fairly optimistic now. I know you can't tell me what Immi will do, but have you ever heard of a case where the CO requested police and health checks and subsequently refused the visa even when there was no adverse information turned up in them? Also, in your experience how long does it usually take for the visa to be granted once these checks have been submitted (in cases where they are requested by the CO after initial assessment of the application)? Thanks!


----------



## DoctorSA

Hi Mark

My wife and I are applying for the skilled independent visa (class 189). I will be the primary applicant and I want to prove that I have superior English so that we can get the maximum 20 points. I just received my IELTS results, which are: Listening 9; Reading 9; Writing 7.5; Speaking 9 = 8.5 Overall. However, I'm not sure whether this is sufficient because my writing result is less than 8. Is 8.5 overall good enough or do I need to redo the writing to ensure that I get the 20 points? Thanks in advance


----------



## Deano

Quick question sort of
Have applied for permanent residency
Still have 3 months remaining on current tourist visa
Understand that bridging visa starts after this
Is it possible to cancel the TOURIST visa to get onto the bridging visa quicker ?
Bridging visa allows work and medicare etc...

Thanks Deano


----------



## ozluck

Hi, Mark,
Hope you are well. I m applying 820/801 partner visa, but unfortunately I have to go through health waiver process because my health condition. We already submitted all the health waiver documents and some additional documents as DIBP asked on July of last year, it already has been 7 months by now (total time has been 27 months now since we lodged our application). I would like to ask you how long will be take for health waiver process, it is way too long and we are so frustrating about it. Thank you very much!


----------



## Molesades

Hi mark

Wondering if you could help  looking to appy for visa 461 nz family relationship as a partner to my nz Partner but have seen conflicting I formation regarding the relationship requirements of how long we have to have been together 6 or 12 months, we have currently been living together for 5 months and my current whv doesn't expire Untill aug, also we can't get my name added to the tenacy agreement untill that ends in June as real estate won't log a new application and also if I'm not working when we log the application could that affect my chances of getting the visa ? Any information u can give would be amazzzzing thanks in advance  also do u know if this visa is particularly difficult to obtain? I'm from the uk btw and this is a same sex relationship


----------



## Molesades

Hi mark I'm going to be applying for a 461 VISA with my nz partner in currently on a whv from the U.K., when would be the best time to lodge the app? My current visa expires end of July w have been togeyjer for 5 months now but we keep seeing conflicting info online regarding how long we have to have been in a relationship for if its 6 or 12? Also I cannot get added to the tenancy agreement until this lease is up in June would that be such a bad thing if we didn't have my name on the agreement or is there some kind of documentation we can ask for to show I lived here? We have a joint savings account and my name is on the power bill plenty of pictures cards, and plane tickets from our trips together is this enough ? Also my partner works in the mines on a 2:1 shift would that count as periods of separation as that's ALOT of of separate occasions to show we have been in constant contact Etc what would be the easiest way to prove this as we're both on pre pay any info you could give would be great thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tom2015 -

Yes.

Best,

Mark



Tom2015 said:


> .I'm having problems to obtain a police clearance from my home country, and I'm planing to apply this week for the partner visa, but I won't be able to have the police clearance for at least 2 more months..
> 
> -Can I submitted the police clearance from my home country 2 months after I lodge my online application for the 820-801??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kagopala -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry - wish there was a simple answer to your question, but there are many factors to consider together.

Best,

Mark Northam



kagopala said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hello Friends,
> 
> I am new to this forum,
> 
> can you help me out with the procedure on how to apply PR in australia?
> any links on the procedure and for the application forms would be greatly appreciated
> 
> moreover about me:
> 
> nationality : INDIAN
> redience: Canada (under Temperory work permit) 3 years canadaian work experience
> 
> IELTS score : 6 for each of the 4 testing components, is this score good enough to apply for PR?
> 
> Employment expereince: 10+ years of Skilled working experience
> Age: 32, Married
> 
> am i eligible in any of the category to apply PR in australia?
> 
> Any kind of assistance will be greatly appreciated
> 
> Thanks
> Kagopala


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cak31 -

Thanks for the question. The options are essentially to argue against the 4020(1) allegations or withdraw the application. The advantage of fighting is that if you win, they can't use 4020 against you in the future related to the issue under consideration. If you fail, then you've got a 3-year ban on almost all visas. And if it's an offshore application, then there are no MRT review rights and you're stuck with the ban. A somewhat safer option (depending on the circumstances) is to withdraw the application and lodge again. I can't comment on chances of success as I haven't seen the application, but this may well be a situation where DIBP is over-using the 4020 provisions - they are supposed to catch bogus documents, not typos and honest oversights, plus the missing information must be material (of importance or relevance) to the application in question - ie, could reasonably affect the outcome.

You might want to consult with a migration agent and have him/her look at the documents involved and give you an opinion on what arguments can be made. But in the end, it's definitely either withdraw or fight, as if you do nothing they will almost certainly refuse on 4020 grounds, creating the 3-year ban.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cak31 said:


> Hi Mark--
> My fiancé applied for a Student (Class TU) visa and unintentionally failed to include one of the colleges he attended when he previously applied for a visitor visa which got denied. As a result, they say he has provided a bogus document or false or misleading information and may fail to satisfy PIC 4020(1). He's been asked to comment. This was purely and genuinely an oversight on his part. What are his options and/or course of actions? Should he admit that this was just an oversight and provide affidavits of his good moral character? Or should he withdraw the application and re-apply at a later time? Please advise.
> 
> Thank you in advance for your time and prompt response.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Archi -

Re: 189 visa, no need for the secondary applicant to have their qualifications assessed unless the primary applicant is claiming the 5 partner points that are available in some cases - to claim these the secondary applicant must have a positive skills assessment from an occupation on the same list as the primary applicant, and must meet the age and IELTS requirements. Re: job prospects, better to talk to recruiters in your industry, etc - I don't have info on that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



archi said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am very new to this forum and I am interested in migrating to australia. I am currently in India. I am an architect with 7 years experience and my husband is a civil engineer with 15 years experience. Both of us have got our ielts done. We are yet to get our educational qualifications assessed. From what i have understood i think we fall under the category of 189.
> Planning of keeping my husband as the primary applicant.
> I want to know :
> Since my husband is the primary applicant do I have to get my educational qualifications assessed as well.
> what is the estimated time required for the entire process.
> Are job prospects good for a civil engineer and architect.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozrob101 -

My view would be, unless the circumstances clearly indicate otherwise (such as, you had a fight, one of you moved out and took your things for 2 days, etc) , that being apart for 2 days would not generally constitute a "period of separation" - business and personal trips of that duration are very common and don't really constitute living apart, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozrob101 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I are putting together all our info for our partner visa application and were wondering what length of time would be considered as a 'period of separation'? We have disclosed two periods which were about a month long, however we were also apart for two days during another time, does this count? I know it seems trivial however we are supplying flight details in the application and wasn't sure whether they would question our flights being two days apart in this instance.
> 
> Thanks,
> Rob


----------



## Scott1984

Hi Mark,

Hope things are good. I had a query regarding the points test advice from VETASSESS. 
In my case I got a positive skill assessment from ACS however they did not recommend anything on the education qual. 
My query is that is it absolutely necessary to go for the VETASSESS PTA to claim the 15 points for education or can we do without it ?
There was nothing in the education section in the EOI that says that I need to attach the PTA / or any kind of number required to be input as in the case of IELTS and the experience section.
I have already submitted the EOI, so what would you suggest, should I withdraw and get the VATASSESS PTA ?

Would really appreciate your help, I in a lot of confusion here 
Many thanks Mark


----------



## ozrob101

Apppreciate your help again Mark, thank you!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ozrob101 -
> 
> My view would be, unless the circumstances clearly indicate otherwise (such as, you had a fight, one of you moved out and took your things for 2 days, etc) , that being apart for 2 days would not generally constitute a "period of separation" - business and personal trips of that duration are very common and don't really constitute living apart, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jo_2012 -

Thanks for the question. I don't mean to be a downer here, but I would not necessarily read a lot into the health/police request - sometimes these are done purely based on how much time has passed since application, and other times they are done once certain initial steps of processing are completed. It certainly could mean that things are progressing, but it's hard to predict how much is left or how long it will take as DIBP is highly unpredictable in that regard.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JO_2012 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner has applied for a subclass 309 visa. We had an interview not long ago which went fine. The case officer has now requested health checks & police certificate, which we know won't turn up any issues. The email specifically states that this request doesn't mean the application will be approved, and we had some concern over whether it might be refused on character grounds due to a dodgy immigration history (many years ago, partner is reformed and now a very productive citizen). Still, I feel fairly optimistic now. I know you can't tell me what Immi will do, but have you ever heard of a case where the CO requested police and health checks and subsequently refused the visa even when there was no adverse information turned up in them? Also, in your experience how long does it usually take for the visa to be granted once these checks have been submitted (in cases where they are requested by the CO after initial assessment of the application)? Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DoctorSA -

Thanks for the question. For primary applicants, overall IELTS score is not relevant - only the 4 band scores are (ie, reading, writing, speaking listening). In order to get 20 points in the skilled visa points test for superior English, all 4 of the scores must be at least 8.0.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DoctorSA said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My wife and I are applying for the skilled independent visa (class 189). I will be the primary applicant and I want to prove that I have superior English so that we can get the maximum 20 points. I just received my IELTS results, which are: Listening 9; Reading 9; Writing 7.5; Speaking 9 = 8.5 Overall. However, I'm not sure whether this is sufficient because my writing result is less than 8. Is 8.5 overall good enough or do I need to redo the writing to ensure that I get the 20 points? Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deano -

Possible, but not a good idea in most cases since the cancellation of the visitor visa also automatically cancels your bridging visa that was issued with your PR application, leaving you unlawfully in Australia with no visa at all.

Also note that with a visitor visa, if it's configured with a "maximum stay period" - for example, 3 months maximum stay, then if you overstay the current max stay period, the bridging visa will activate even if the visitor visa doesn't expire until some time after the end of the current stay period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Deano said:


> Quick question sort of
> Have applied for permanent residency
> Still have 3 months remaining on current tourist visa
> Understand that bridging visa starts after this
> Is it possible to cancel the TOURIST visa to get onto the bridging visa quicker ?
> Bridging visa allows work and medicare etc...
> 
> Thanks Deano


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozluck -

Thanks for the question. Consideration of a health waiver by DIBP can easily take 6-12 months after submission of the health waiver arguments and evidence, so you may be waiting a bit longer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozluck said:


> Hi, Mark,
> Hope you are well. I m applying 820/801 partner visa, but unfortunately I have to go through health waiver process because my health condition. We already submitted all the health waiver documents and some additional documents as DIBP asked on July of last year, it already has been 7 months by now (total time has been 27 months now since we lodged our application). I would like to ask you how long will be take for health waiver process, it is way too long and we are so frustrating about it. Thank you very much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Molesades -

Thanks for the question. Re: duration of relationship, as the 461 is a temporary visa and not covered by Reg 2.03A(3)(a) of the Migration Act which refers to those visas (general skilled, partner, student, PR visas) that require 12 months living together for defacto partner unless waived by state registration, for the 461 visa under DIBP policy they look at the 6 months prior to application to satisfy the living together requirement to evidence a defacto partner relationship.

In addition to the 6 months' living together time, they will also look at the usual 5 factors that are considered in partner visa relationship evidence (social, financial, commitment, household) - more on that in other threads here on the forum.

Re: relationship evidence, really would have to work with you in a consultation to see what documents you may have available, learn more about your relationship details, etc in order to recommend specific evidence - it's different for everyone. If interested, link to website is in my signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Molesades said:


> Hi mark I'm going to be applying for a 461 VISA with my nz partner in currently on a whv from the U.K., when would be the best time to lodge the app? My current visa expires end of July w have been togeyjer for 5 months now but we keep seeing conflicting info online regarding how long we have to have been in a relationship for if its 6 or 12? Also I cannot get added to the tenancy agreement until this lease is up in June would that be such a bad thing if we didn't have my name on the agreement or is there some kind of documentation we can ask for to show I lived here? We have a joint savings account and my name is on the power bill plenty of pictures cards, and plane tickets from our trips together is this enough ? Also my partner works in the mines on a 2:1 shift would that count as periods of separation as that's ALOT of of separate occasions to show we have been in constant contact Etc what would be the easiest way to prove this as we're both on pre pay any info you could give would be great thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Scott1984 -

It's a bit unusual for a VETASSESS skills assessment outcome letter not to issue an opinion on whether your qual satisfies the minimum qual for your occupation. In any case, not required to get a separate advice letter on your qual - if DIBP disputes the equivalency of your qual to whatever AQF qual you are claiming points for, generally at that point you can request the VETASSESS letter and DIBP will honour whatever VETASSESS says re: equivalency of the qualification.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Scott1984 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope things are good. I had a query regarding the points test advice from VETASSESS.
> In my case I got a positive skill assessment from ACS however they did not recommend anything on the education qual.
> My query is that is it absolutely necessary to go for the VETASSESS PTA to claim the 15 points for education or can we do without it ?
> There was nothing in the education section in the EOI that says that I need to attach the PTA / or any kind of number required to be input as in the case of IELTS and the experience section.
> I have already submitted the EOI, so what would you suggest, should I withdraw and get the VATASSESS PTA ?
> 
> Would really appreciate your help, I in a lot of confusion here
> Many thanks Mark


----------



## Scott1984

Thanks very much for the response and the help Mark !

Actually the skills assessment was done by ACS for ICT BA (through RPL) - and it was a positive assessment, however, they have not mentioned anything on the education qualification and nor have they mentioned recommendations for getting the education assessment from another authority.

I thought of getting the points test advice (education assessment) from VETASSES as I have been reading some forums, however still not sure if that would be required.

So, with this information, would your earlier response hold good.

Many Thanks again Mark !
Regards
Scott



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Scott1984 -
> 
> It's a bit unusual for a VETASSESS skills assessment outcome letter not to issue an opinion on whether your qual satisfies the minimum qual for your occupation. In any case, not required to get a separate advice letter on your qual - if DIBP disputes the equivalency of your qual to whatever AQF qual you are claiming points for, generally at that point you can request the VETASSESS letter and DIBP will honour whatever VETASSESS says re: equivalency of the qualification.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Molesades

Thank u for your reply will be using your service nearer to the time  could you just help me wit the information I have regarding partner working away in the mines on a 2 weeks on 1 week off roster does this count as period of separation? Should we mention that?


----------



## amkhan

Hi Mark,

I have received visa grant on 12th Feb 2015. As per letter, I have to make entry within 12 months and visa is valid for 5 years. Can you please advise that out of 5 years, how much time can I spend out of Australia and what will happen after completion of 5 years if I visit Australia within first year only.

Looking forward to your feedback.

Regards,


----------



## robfc34

Hi Mark,

My fiance and I are getting married this year - June 26th 2015. She is Sth Korean and living in Seoul where as I'm an Australian citizen living in Melbourne.
We have met several times, have met our parents and have been on overseas holidays already. The wedding will take place in Sth Korea.

I know we qualify for Prospective Marriage Visa and is often a better option for engaged couples. But I'm concern of the processing times and might not be granted before June 26th. Can you shed some lights on this?

Thanks heaps!

Rob


----------



## Zainer

amkhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have received visa grant on 12th Feb 2015. As per letter, I have to make entry within 12 months and visa is valid for 5 years. Can you please advise that out of 5 years, how much time can I spend out of Australia and what will happen after completion of 5 years if I visit Australia within first year only.
> 
> Looking forward to your feedback.
> 
> Regards,


Congrats mate 
question please, how long it took from the time that you have submitted health check and police clearance till visa was granted ?

which Visa type is this ?
how long it took for security/background check ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Probably not, assuming your partner still lives with you, keeps most of their things there, etc, but would have to examine the situation in more detail to give you any specific advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Molesades said:


> Thank u for your reply will be using your service nearer to the time  could you just help me wit the information I have regarding partner working away in the mines on a 2 weeks on 1 week off roster does this count as period of separation? Should we mention that?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amkhan -

Once you active the visa, you are free to spend as much (or as little) time as you wish over the 5 year initial PR period. After that 5 year period, you would need a Resident Return Visa (RRV) to extend your re-entry rights. You can have a look at the DIBP site for full details on this visa, where the amount of time you spend in Australia during the 5 years will determine your available options - see Resident Return visa (subclasses 155 and 157)

In summary, if you spend 24 months of the 5 year period in Australia, you can get a 5-year RRV. If you spend less than that, and can evidence substantial business, cultural, economic or personal ties to Australia, then you may be able to get a 1-year RRV. See DIBP site above for complete details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amkhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have received visa grant on 12th Feb 2015. As per letter, I have to make entry within 12 months and visa is valid for 5 years. Can you please advise that out of 5 years, how much time can I spend out of Australia and what will happen after completion of 5 years if I visit Australia within first year only.
> 
> Looking forward to your feedback.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zainer -

Suggest you PM (Private message) the poster to get the info you seek - thanks.

Best,

Mark



Zainer said:


> Congrats mate
> question please, how long it took from the time that you have submitted health check and police clearance till visa was granted ?
> 
> which Visa type is this ?
> how long it took for security/background check ?


----------



## bubble

*309 de facto:financial evidence*

Hi Mark,
I am new in the forum so apologies if I am doing something wrong!

I am a Spanish citizen living in the UK since 2 years and a half ago,all that time with my boyfriend (it is a funny story, basically we met in Dublin in October 2012 and I moved with him in December 2012). He is obviously Australian but went travelling in Europe around that time and then moved to London with his cousin. This is where we have been living since then.

We are thinking of lodging a de facto visa application but I am worried we don't have enough financial proof, as:
- We live in his cousin's house (he owns it and rent the rooms) and don't pay rent, we don't have a contract and no bills in our names and his cousin pays for these.
- We could get statements from his cousin and other people we live with saying we live here and share a room.
- We don't have joint account or own anything together(car,appliances).
We have:
- letters from the bank and invoices to his name to this address.
- letters from the bank, hospital, nhs to my name to this address.
- confirmation orders from amazon, other retailers with this address to either his name or my name.
- bank statements showing payments in the are we live in (groceries, underground, restaurants, retailers).
- phone bills.
- lots of flight tickets and hostels reservations to either his card or my card, some ATM operations in the cities we have visited together.
- pictures
- a couple of christmas cards to both of our names
- bank statements showing we were both in Dublin when we met, staying in the same place, facebook conversations after that.
- tickets from theatre and so on (only with one of our names, the one that bought them), welcome email to both of us to the same gym.
- proof that we went to visit my family twice and his family in Ireland once.
We can get statutory declarations from 2 Australian citizens (his mum that came to visit and one of our housemates) and lots from non Australian.

The other thing that worries me is that my boyfriend has been working with his cousin but without a contract and no paying taxes, I know it is not right, but it started as an informal thing and it just stayed like that. I'm worried this could cause him problems with the visa or even legal problems. I have seen as well that being able to support me (proof of contract, tax payment) used to be a requirement for the sponsor, but there is nothing like that anymore in the checklist. I have been working in the UK for 2 years as a computer programmer.Should I attach any proof of this to show I can (hopefully) find a job? We could stay with his parents when we get there.

Another thing I am not sure about is the new requirement in the checklist for Medicare. Does it mean that I need to hire a travel insurance before even knowing if I will be granted the visa?

Regarding health and police checks, I have read in different places that you should have them upfront or wait until your case officer asks you for them. In the checklist I understand I have to have them upfront, anyone could clarify this? I understand as well the police checks are for both of us and the health check only for me.

Sorry for such a long post but I have so many questions and I have read everything on the website without finding answers, if you could help me I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bubble -

Thanks for the questions. Re: relationship evidence, hard for me to assess without seeing it, especially the statements. As you're applying as defacto partners, remember that that classification in the view of DIBP (immigration dept) is at a much higher level (of commitment, etc) than boyfriend/girlfriend or "just living together". Important to make sure your evidence shows this.

Would definitely get a contract from whoever you are staying with to formalise the arrangement. Re: employment of sponsor, not generally an issue, and again you could get a contract for this as well - would probably be a good idea if tax statements are not available.

Re: health insurance, is not a requirement for partner visas. Plus, if you travel to Australia after having applied for the 309/100 visa and tell Medicare that you are now "resident" in Australia, you will get Medicare since you have an application for a PR visa (the 100 part of the 309/100) currently being considered.

Re: health/police, can be lodged after you lodge your application if you'd like. As partner visas are often taking over 1 year to process now, and as they recommend not getting health checks done prior to application for visas that are expected to take 12+ months to process, you may want to wait until DIBP requests health exams.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bubble said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am new in the forum so apologies if I am doing something wrong!
> 
> I am a Spanish citizen living in the UK since 2 years and a half ago,all that time with my boyfriend (it is a funny story, basically we met in Dublin in October 2012 and I moved with him in December 2012). He is obviously Australian but went travelling in Europe around that time and then moved to London with his cousin. This is where we have been living since then.
> 
> We are thinking of lodging a de facto visa application but I am worried we don't have enough financial proof, as:
> - We live in his cousin's house (he owns it and rent the rooms) and don't pay rent, we don't have a contract and no bills in our names and his cousin pays for these.
> - We could get statements from his cousin and other people we live with saying we live here and share a room.
> - We don't have joint account or own anything together(car,appliances).
> We have:
> - letters from the bank and invoices to his name to this address.
> - letters from the bank, hospital, nhs to my name to this address.
> - confirmation orders from amazon, other retailers with this address to either his name or my name.
> - bank statements showing payments in the are we live in (groceries, underground, restaurants, retailers).
> - phone bills.
> - lots of flight tickets and hostels reservations to either his card or my card, some ATM operations in the cities we have visited together.
> - pictures
> - a couple of christmas cards to both of our names
> - bank statements showing we were both in Dublin when we met, staying in the same place, facebook conversations after that.
> - tickets from theatre and so on (only with one of our names, the one that bought them), welcome email to both of us to the same gym.
> - proof that we went to visit my family twice and his family in Ireland once.
> We can get statutory declarations from 2 Australian citizens (his mum that came to visit and one of our housemates) and lots from non Australian.
> 
> The other thing that worries me is that my boyfriend has been working with his cousin but without a contract and no paying taxes, I know it is not right, but it started as an informal thing and it just stayed like that. I'm worried this could cause him problems with the visa or even legal problems. I have seen as well that being able to support me (proof of contract, tax payment) used to be a requirement for the sponsor, but there is nothing like that anymore in the checklist. I have been working in the UK for 2 years as a computer programmer.Should I attach any proof of this to show I can (hopefully) find a job? We could stay with his parents when we get there.
> 
> Another thing I am not sure about is the new requirement in the checklist for Medicare. Does it mean that I need to hire a travel insurance before even knowing if I will be granted the visa?
> 
> Regarding health and police checks, I have read in different places that you should have them upfront or wait until your case officer asks you for them. In the checklist I understand I have to have them upfront, anyone could clarify this? I understand as well the police checks are for both of us and the health check only for me.
> 
> Sorry for such a long post but I have so many questions and I have read everything on the website without finding answers, if you could help me I would really appreciate it.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## oznick

Hi Mark,

I was wondering if you could provide us any advice on my partner's visa application?

We started our application with a prospective marriage visa two years ago (we didn't use a migration agent). Everything went smooth and we got married October 2013 and she is now on her 820 visa. She should be ready to apply for 801/PR in November this year.

However, her only remaining relatives (grandparents), back in Europe, are very old and are feeling very badly. So my wife really wants to go back and spend with them some (quite prolonged) time. 

Unfortunately, due to the nature of my work, I have no possibility for at least the next year or so to leave Australia for any reasonable period to be with her.

We were wondering, do you know if there are any limits on how much time a person is required to spend in Australia with their partner for their application to be successful? The biggest problem here is that after getting her 820 visa, she already spent 8 months back in Europe completing her studies (at that time we emailed the immigration office, and the only reply we got was that there were "no restrictions on the applicant's travel"). 

If that matters at all, we are quite used to spending time apart, without any major issues. During this time we always keep in contact, Skyping and calling each other. And by now my wife has established quite a lot of ties with Australia, she has a lot of friends, and is running her own business here in Perth (with me helping her out a lot).

Any help would be really very much appreciated!

Kind Regards,
Nick


----------



## eddie tattersall

Hi mark first I'd really like to say I appreciate you even taking the time to read this and say how generous you are to give your time helping people.

I'm currently holding a 457 visa (until april 2018) and I was let go by my sponsor because he wasn't paying me the correct wage that he was required to by immigration.

I have been with my Australian partner nearly 2 years now we have lived together for the last 16 months and I am going to apply for the 801/820 partner visa

My problem is I am struggling to find a sponsor to take me on, a lot of small businesses don't sponsor and the bigger ones that do aren't recruiting at the moment so I am looking at the possibility of cancelling my 457 once I have applied for the 801/820 which will put me on bridging visa E not allowing me work or travel rights

My partner is 4 months pregnant and soon will be on maternity leave which would be our only income and not even enough to cover bills never mind raise a child. 
I am just after a little advice how I would be able to apply to work on bridging visa E. 

Many Thanks 

Eddie Tattersall


----------



## 162057

MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


 Hi Everyone,
just trying the Google for my situation and come across this site
My Case,
I Came from India in 2010 on student visa and have extended my visas so successfully far. I last extended my visa on the course 'Diploma in Front line Management' and my visa expires in Dec 2015 .i live in Sydney,NSW.
I have been in relationship with an Aussie born Girl for last two years. she doesn't work as she has the Chronic fatigue syndrome and Also gets Anxiety attacks.she is also suffering from the thyroid and is advised to have the tablets for the rest of her life.She lives in Regional area SA. Because of her problems she is advised to stay home and she is on the center link disability pension.
we know each other for more than two years but we have been in the official relationship (known and accepted by both pf our families) and we got engaged this feb and i am planning to get married next month.
i have already filled the notice Intention to marriage form and submitted to SA registered Marriage Celebrant.
we have not been together anytime as she is home sick and cant stay away from her family and i couldnt find any college there but we were talking to each other and have all the receipts of gifts and financial helps i did her also the travel tickets etc with us to prove the on going relationship
i just want to know what visas should i apply to stay in australia?
also one more thing that my father had a stroke last year which made him paralyzed and my family had to spend a whole lot of money for the treatment and meanwhile i had to go back to india and support my family which stopped me from my work and also put me in deep financial trouble also my coe was cancelled at that time but i manage to get another one in the required time limit but now again i had some financial hardship as of my father's on going heath problem which made me default for paying my fees and my college has reported me on the basis of non payment of fees to the immigration.
pls tell me what are my options and what should i do now


----------



## z_jmac

*Visa 190*

Hi Mark,
I would like to ask you a question regarding visa 190. I applied for state sponsorship in Jan 2015. In my state nomination application form, I put 55 as my points though I had 50 points at that time but since I would get another 5 points In the next month, I counted the point. I reckoned that by the time they process my application I would have got another 5 points, but surprisingly they processed my application only in one week and gave me the nomination. Now it is time for me to Lodge my EOI as I have 60 points including state nomination point. I am so worried If I lodge my PR application then DIAC refuse my application because I didn't have 55 points at the time of application for state nomination and claimed wrong information. Can you please advise your opinion regarding this case.
I appreciate your reply.


----------



## Rodeobear

Hello Mark, I was reading online and it says all visa applications for Ukrainians will now be done in London, how all this affect the process? Thanks


----------



## taco

Mark,

Wonderful website and I can imagine this thread in particular gets pretty busy. I was hoping you might have some insight into the following:

I intend to migrate to Australia within the next 3 years or so, depending on the job market. My wife is Australian and we have been married 5 years (and living together almost 10). Hence looking at a 309/100 visa. However, I would likely also qualify for the 189, especially if applying within 18 months (when I loose 10 "age" points). 

The 189 is a bit cheaper, but are you aware of any other potential advantages of a 189 compared to the partner visa? I assume I would go straight to the 100 and not have to wait two years for that in any case (i.e. both would likely be permanent on grant).

Thanks.


----------



## Akasha

Hello Mark,

I am currently looking into the Skilled Independent visa. I am 27 years of age and not planning to bring a spouse or depending child/relative. However, I am afraid that I will be turned down for health reasons. When I was 2 years old, I underwent a (partial) amputation of my lower leg, and as a result, I wear a prosthetic leg. The leg itself has to be replaced every few years (in my country, it is every 4 years). Apart from that, I do not require any kind of assistance. I am perfectly capable of working a full time job, just as any able person would.

In your opinion, would I still stand a chance of getting a skilled independent visa or will this be a futile effort?

Thank you in advance.


----------



## ravinder.sharma

MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

I am new to this forum and found information provided by you very helpful.

My query is I am planning for migration(Me and my wife) and would like to know does qualification obtained in India(Graduate and PG) for Primary Teacher is good enough for applying for immigration..?

Regards
Ravinder


----------



## mustafasabir

*Proof of English for an additional applicant (Partner)*

Hi Mark,

I have one small query.


I have filed an EOI for 189 Skilled Independent Visa.

I have not claimed any points for my partner. However, I need to give proof of functional english for my partner.

Could you please let me know if I can submit a letter from her university stating that the medium of education was in English when she graduated OR does she needs to sit in IELTS exam?

Thanks.

Regards,
Mustafa.


----------



## miladofsky

Hi Mark,

Tanx a lot for your effort in this forum, it has helped me a lot.
I recently filled an EOI form with 55 +5 score ( NSW 190 )
I have assessed with acs in Developer Programmer, I got my ielts too ( S:6, W:6.5, R:7,L:8) .
As you know there are many requests in my field, so in your opinion is there a chance that i get nominated? or i should spend time to get a better result in Ielts?

tanx in advance
Milad


----------



## mth17

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding the health examination.

I have recently applied for skilled graduate visa.I have submitted all the required documents, except for the medical examination. I am not certain when the best time would be to undertake it .I read on the Immi website,It said that we should only take the examination when the case officer request you to. I just submitted the application for almost 2 weeks so
surely my case is still in the waiting lists. 
I have almost booked an appointment with Bupa but then I cancelled it to wait for the request from the officer.
From your experience, Please give me some advice under this circumstance in order not to cause any processing delays. Many thanks


----------



## kraviraj82

*Work Exp accountability between ACS and EOI*

Hi Mark, 
Please can you help me on this
I have queries on counting work experience based on ACS assessment date and EOI submission date.

I am Master in Mechanical engineering and having 8 years of experience in IT industry in a same company and planning to apply as System Analyst.
As per the ACS and from various forums, I understand 4yrs of exp will be deducted.
Assume I apply ACS now-March,2015 and get certified for 4yrs

If I submit EOI after one year i.e. in July 2016 , What exp will be counted to claim points, will it be 4yrs (5 points) or 5yrs (10 points) by July,2016 ?

Thanks
Ravi


----------



## shamtah

Hi mark
Thank you for the very useful thread.

I recieved an invitation to apply for the visa subclass 190.I submitted an aplication on 2/2/2015 and payed the fees.I want to ask you how long will it takes for a case officer to be assigned for me approximately because i did not recieve anything from the department since my application? i want also to ask do i need to make my health check now or i must wait till my case officer tell me to do?
again thank yopu and have a nice time.


----------



## rimmonamin

*de-facto partner*

Dear Mark,

I am a married person for less than a year and I am unfortunately getting divorced from my wife. If I apply for Australian permanent residency, am I still be eligible to apply for partner's point (5 points) based on a de-facto relationship with someone else or not? I am applying for PR before the issue of my divorce, since the divorce process would take time to be finalised.

Warmest regard,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eddie -

Thanks for the kind words! Should you cancel your 457 (after lodging a valid 820/801 partner visa application onshore) and go onto a BV-E, the BV-E will initially have no work rights. You could then apply for work rights to be added to the BV-E based on financial hardship. The basic requirement for this is to demonstrate that if you were not to work, your combined expenses (you and your partner) each month would be substantially more than her income. DIBP may also require you to spend down any savings, etc before providing work rights depending on the entirety of your circumstances.

Hope this helps better understand the process - please advise if any further questions.

Best,

Mark



eddie tattersall said:


> Hi mark first I'd really like to say I appreciate you even taking the time to read this and say how generous you are to give your time helping people.
> 
> I'm currently holding a 457 visa (until april 2018) and I was let go by my sponsor because he wasn't paying me the correct wage that he was required to by immigration.
> 
> I have been with my Australian partner nearly 2 years now we have lived together for the last 16 months and I am going to apply for the 801/820 partner visa
> 
> My problem is I am struggling to find a sponsor to take me on, a lot of small businesses don't sponsor and the bigger ones that do aren't recruiting at the moment so I am looking at the possibility of cancelling my 457 once I have applied for the 801/820 which will put me on bridging visa E not allowing me work or travel rights
> 
> My partner is 4 months pregnant and soon will be on maternity leave which would be our only income and not even enough to cover bills never mind raise a child.
> I am just after a little advice how I would be able to apply to work on bridging visa E.
> 
> Many Thanks
> 
> Eddie Tattersall


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dnsh20 -

Thanks for the note and questions. If you are not going to be able to continue your studies for financial reasons, then cancellation of your student visa may happen at any time (they give you a notice of intention to cancel and some period of time to respond and argue if you choose to). As you're in Australia, and assuming you want to stay here with your partner, an onshore partner visa may be the best bet (subclass 820/801) either based on being married or defacto partners. The fact that you don't have any living together time is problematic for both types of visa - typically a couple will get married, live together for some amount of time (may only be weeks or months) and then lodge an onshore partner visa based on the marriage. For defacto, you have to show 12 months living together unless you register the relationship in the state you live in, if that state supports relationship registration. But even then, for defacto the lack of living together time may be a considerable challenge. Once you have married and moved in together, that would in my view be the time to consider lodging an onshore partner visa application if you have the appropriate relationship evidence (see other threads on the forum re: relationship evidence for partner visas).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dnsh20 said:


> Hi Everyone,
> just trying the Google for my situation and come across this site
> My Case,
> I Came from India in 2010 on student visa and have extended my visas so successfully far. I last extended my visa on the course 'Diploma in Front line Management' and my visa expires in Dec 2015 .i live in Sydney,NSW.
> I have been in relationship with an Aussie born Girl for last two years. she doesn't work as she has the Chronic fatigue syndrome and Also gets Anxiety attacks.she is also suffering from the thyroid and is advised to have the tablets for the rest of her life.She lives in Regional area SA. Because of her problems she is advised to stay home and she is on the center link disability pension.
> we know each other for more than two years but we have been in the official relationship (known and accepted by both pf our families) and we got engaged this feb and i am planning to get married next month.
> i have already filled the notice Intention to marriage form and submitted to SA registered Marriage Celebrant.
> we have not been together anytime as she is home sick and cant stay away from her family and i couldnt find any college there but we were talking to each other and have all the receipts of gifts and financial helps i did her also the travel tickets etc with us to prove the on going relationship
> i just want to know what visas should i apply to stay in australia?
> also one more thing that my father had a stroke last year which made him paralyzed and my family had to spend a whole lot of money for the treatment and meanwhile i had to go back to india and support my family which stopped me from my work and also put me in deep financial trouble also my coe was cancelled at that time but i manage to get another one in the required time limit but now again i had some financial hardship as of my father's on going heath problem which made me default for paying my fees and my college has reported me on the basis of non payment of fees to the immigration.
> pls tell me what are my options and what should i do now


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Z-jmac -

Thanks for the question. Can't give you specific advice for your case without more information and seeing your documents, however DIBP requires that you have the required points at the time of invitation (from DIBP) to lodge the 190 visa. Normally a person puts the EOI in first, then state nominates, then DIBP Issues an invitation - everything rests on the facts in existence at the time DIBP issues an invitation. In terms of state nomination, if the state has already nominated you based on inaccurate information, difficult to tell where that would go, however I expect DIBP's primary focus to be your points in effect as of the date of invitation from DIBP. If you don't have the points on that date, no point in lodging the application for the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



z_jmac said:


> Hi Mark,
> I would like to ask you a question regarding visa 190. I applied for state sponsorship in Jan 2015. In my state nomination application form, I put 55 as my points though I had 50 points at that time but since I would get another 5 points In the next month, I counted the point. I reckoned that by the time they process my application I would have got another 5 points, but surprisingly they processed my application only in one week and gave me the nomination. Now it is time for me to Lodge my EOI as I have 60 points including state nomination point. I am so worried If I lodge my PR application then DIAC refuse my application because I didn't have 55 points at the time of application for state nomination and claimed wrong information. Can you please advise your opinion regarding this case.
> I appreciate your reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodeobear -

No way to predict, but hopefully it will speed things up - we've had some applications for Ukranian clients which have taken a very long time, far longer than expected.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> Hello Mark, I was reading online and it says all visa applications for Ukrainians will now be done in London, how all this affect the process? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nick -

Thanks for the question. Time together while on the 820 is certainly a consideration, especially as DIBP seems to be refusing a lot more 801's these days based on lack of relationship evidence. That being said, time apart with good reason (sick relatives with medical evidence provided to DIBP) is certainly reasonable, especially with evidence that the two of you are maintaining your partnership and dependence/sharing on each other, including shared finances, etc. I'd look for as many ways as you can to evidence the continued partnership while she is away, and on the 801 provide a large amount of evidence to DIBP to show this. I would especially consider medical evidence of the parents, and statements from the parents and others in her country stating that it was necessary for her to be there to help them, and that she has continued to share her life with you as is possible when away.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



oznick said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was wondering if you could provide us any advice on my partner's visa application?
> 
> We started our application with a prospective marriage visa two years ago (we didn't use a migration agent). Everything went smooth and we got married October 2013 and she is now on her 820 visa. She should be ready to apply for 801/PR in November this year.
> 
> However, her only remaining relatives (grandparents), back in Europe, are very old and are feeling very badly. So my wife really wants to go back and spend with them some (quite prolonged) time.
> 
> Unfortunately, due to the nature of my work, I have no possibility for at least the next year or so to leave Australia for any reasonable period to be with her.
> 
> We were wondering, do you know if there are any limits on how much time a person is required to spend in Australia with their partner for their application to be successful? The biggest problem here is that after getting her 820 visa, she already spent 8 months back in Europe completing her studies (at that time we emailed the immigration office, and the only reply we got was that there were "no restrictions on the applicant's travel").
> 
> If that matters at all, we are quite used to spending time apart, without any major issues. During this time we always keep in contact, Skyping and calling each other. And by now my wife has established quite a lot of ties with Australia, she has a lot of friends, and is running her own business here in Perth (with me helping her out a lot).
> 
> Any help would be really very much appreciated!
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Nick


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Taco -

Thanks for the kind words. Both would likely get you permanent residency fairly quickly - the 189 would probably get processed considerably faster than the 309/100 these days. I'd probably choose the 189 based on less hassle with relationship evidence, etc and the fact that it will get processed faster, as long as you're 100% OK on all evidence on points-related areas (work references, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



taco said:


> Mark,
> 
> Wonderful website and I can imagine this thread in particular gets pretty busy. I was hoping you might have some insight into the following:
> 
> I intend to migrate to Australia within the next 3 years or so, depending on the job market. My wife is Australian and we have been married 5 years (and living together almost 10). Hence looking at a 309/100 visa. However, I would likely also qualify for the 189, especially if applying within 18 months (when I loose 10 "age" points).
> 
> The 189 is a bit cheaper, but are you aware of any other potential advantages of a 189 compared to the partner visa? I assume I would go straight to the 100 and not have to wait two years for that in any case (i.e. both would likely be permanent on grant).
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akasha -

Thanks for the note. The key to the health criteria is the anticipated medical costs to the Commonwealth in the first 5 years of permanent residency ($35,000 is the threshold for whether the costs are "significant" or not). However in some cases if a condition is highly predictable, they will consider costs based on the rest of your lifetime.

I think there is a significant chance you may have health criteria issues, however it will depend on the replacement cost of the leg and how often DIBP decides it would need to be replaced - not sure if the every 4 years rate is something unique to your country, or to the leg itself. If DIBP assigns a longer useful lifetime to the leg (ie, every 10 years, etc) then that could affect the calculation considerably.

Is it worth it to try? That's a question for you - my guess is 50-60% chance of health criteria problems, but that's a very rough guess based on what you've said in your email. While the skilled independent (subclass 189) visa doesn't have a health waiver available, some of the employer sponsored visas (186, 187 in the temporary resident transition streams with 2 years on a 457 visa first) do.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Akasha said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am currently looking into the Skilled Independent visa. I am 27 years of age and not planning to bring a spouse or depending child/relative. However, I am afraid that I will be turned down for health reasons. When I was 2 years old, I underwent a (partial) amputation of my lower leg, and as a result, I wear a prosthetic leg. The leg itself has to be replaced every few years (in my country, it is every 4 years). Apart from that, I do not require any kind of assistance. I am perfectly capable of working a full time job, just as any able person would.
> 
> In your opinion, would I still stand a chance of getting a skilled independent visa or will this be a futile effort?
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ravinder -

It may be - depends on how the skills assessing authority (assuming you are applying for a skileld visa) assess the specific qualifications as being equivalent to an Australian qualification or not - you should investigate the requirements of the skills assessor for your nominated occupation to find out more as different skills assessors have different requirements. For points for DIBP, as long as the qualifications are from an accredited institution (ie, recognised by the accreditation authority in your country), they are likely to qualify for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ravinder.sharma said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am new to this forum and found information provided by you very helpful.
> 
> My query is I am planning for migration(Me and my wife) and would like to know does qualification obtained in India(Graduate and PG) for Primary Teacher is good enough for applying for immigration..?
> 
> Regards
> Ravinder


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mustafa -

Thanks for the question. Here's a link with the different ways DIBP will accept that a person has Functional English: How can I prove I have functional English?

If she is not able to satisfy one of these methods, then the other option is to pay the English charge (several thousand dollars) for her application prior to grant of the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mustafasabir said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have one small query.
> 
> 
> I have filed an EOI for 189 Skilled Independent Visa.
> 
> I have not claimed any points for my partner. However, I need to give proof of functional english for my partner.
> 
> Could you please let me know if I can submit a letter from her university stating that the medium of education was in English when she graduated OR does she needs to sit in IELTS exam?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Regards,
> Mustafa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Milad -

Thanks for the note. In short, there's no way to predict this since NSW is using certain factors in their internal "points" system that are not published - for example, does offshore work experience count more or less or is equal to Australian work experience, etc. Certainly having 10 more points from IELTS will put you farther ahead in the process with NSW from what they have said, however whether it is enough to get an invitation is not possible to predict since we don't know how many other people may have applications in with scores equal to or higher than yours.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



miladofsky said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Tanx a lot for your effort in this forum, it has helped me a lot.
> I recently filled an EOI form with 55 +5 score ( NSW 190 )
> I have assessed with acs in Developer Programmer, I got my ielts too ( S:6, W:6.5, R:7,L:8) .
> As you know there are many requests in my field, so in your opinion is there a chance that i get nominated? or i should spend time to get a better result in Ielts?
> 
> tanx in advance
> Milad


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mth17 -

Please confirm which visa you have applied for - if you are talking about the subclass 485 visa, that visa requires that you submit evidence that at the time of application, you have at least booked a medical exam (if not taken one). If you have not booked a medical exam and have already applied, you have a big problem - DIBP is well within it's rights to refuse the visa based on that alone (even if you go and get the health exam now). Depending on your circumstances (and whether you have enough time left given the 6 month time limit on the Australian Study Requirement factor, you may want to withdraw the application prior to refusal, then book the medical exam and re-apply for the 485. You may want to work with a registered migration agent to make sure you fully understand all of the requirements for this visa going forward.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mth17 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding the health examination.
> 
> I have recently applied for skilled graduate visa.I have submitted all the required documents, except for the medical examination. I am not certain when the best time would be to undertake it .I read on the Immi website,It said that we should only take the examination when the case officer request you to. I just submitted the application for almost 2 weeks so
> surely my case is still in the waiting lists.
> I have almost booked an appointment with Bupa but then I cancelled it to wait for the request from the officer.
> From your experience, Please give me some advice under this circumstance in order not to cause any processing delays. Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ravi -

Great question. This has to do with work experienced you gain after you've applied for the ACS assessment, but before you receive an invitation for a visa or lodge your EOI. The answer is that as long as you continue working for the same employer as you did at your last ACS accessed job period and in the same position for that employer, assuming ACS assessed the experience with that employer/position as skilled, you can claim the additional time up until EOI (and up until Invitation date) with a letter from the employer stating that you continued to be employed in that position for the additional time period. DIBP will want pay evidence for the entire period you are claiming points for. If you have changed positions and/or employers after ACS, then you may want to get an ACS assessment of the additional new work for the new position.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kraviraj82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Please can you help me on this
> I have queries on counting work experience based on ACS assessment date and EOI submission date.
> 
> I am Master in Mechanical engineering and having 8 years of experience in IT industry in a same company and planning to apply as System Analyst.
> As per the ACS and from various forums, I understand 4yrs of exp will be deducted.
> Assume I apply ACS now-March,2015 and get certified for 4yrs
> 
> If I submit EOI after one year i.e. in July 2016 , What exp will be counted to claim points, will it be 4yrs (5 points) or 5yrs (10 points) by July,2016 ?
> 
> Thanks
> Ravi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shamtah -

Normally from an online application you would receive an email acknowledging receipt of the application (and sometimes a payment receipt). Getting assigned to a case "team" may take weeks or a few months. I'd double check the email address you provided with the application, then call DIBP and ask if they can check if the application was received OK since you received no acknowledgement of it by email.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shamtah said:


> Hi mark
> Thank you for the very useful thread.
> 
> I recieved an invitation to apply for the visa subclass 190.I submitted an aplication on 2/2/2015 and payed the fees.I want to ask you how long will it takes for a case officer to be assigned for me approximately because i did not recieve anything from the department since my application? i want also to ask do i need to make my health check now or i must wait till my case officer tell me to do?
> again thank yopu and have a nice time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rimmonamin -

There's no specific bar to claiming defacto relationship time before your divorce is finalised, however DIBP is likely to look very closely at your relationship evidence to see if, in their view, a genuine defacto relationship and that for the period you're claiming a defacto relationship that your relationship with your ex-wife has been finally and completely over. Will depend on the circumstances of your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rimmonamin said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am a married person for less than a year and I am unfortunately getting divorced from my wife. If I apply for Australian permanent residency, am I still be eligible to apply for partner's point (5 points) based on a de-facto relationship with someone else or not? I am applying for PR before the issue of my divorce, since the divorce process would take time to be finalised.
> 
> Warmest regard,


----------



## Kika88

Mark I am desperate for an answer to the following: 

Any information you can give me will be of immense assistance.

Ok so I am an Australian citizen and I met and fell in love with my fiance a citizen of El Salvador living in the USA. Unfortunately he had to relocate there illegally due to the extreme violence in El Salvador. I am worried that this will affect our PMV visa. ?? I love him and want to start a life together as soon as possible


----------



## canchi_mohd

*Few Doubts*

Hi Mark,

I would really appreciate if you could clarify few points.

I had overall 9+ Years of experience in "Training and Development Professionals" - 223311. In the current company i had 3 years and 6 months of experience. I applied to Vetassess for Skill assessment and it was a positive outcome which came on 25-07-2013. I cleared my IELTS with 6 in each band.

In July 2014, i applied for South Australia state sponsorship and applied for the State Sponsorship 190 PR Visa. On 31st October, i received an email that my Visa had been refused, stating that the first other three employments are not relevant to the SS applied, and more points claimed for those number of years. And there was nothing mentioned aabout banning or re-applying in the refusal document.
And the CO had just considered the current employment which vetassess had assessed. So here i got only 5 points for the current employment.

Please find the below details WHEN applied for Visa
Points
Age : - 25
Education : - 15
Employment	: - 15 (15 points for 9+ years which i claimed for)
IELTS : - 00
SS : - 05
-------------------------
Total : 60 Points
-------------------------
=================================================
Please find the below details for CO listed points
Points
Age : - 25
Education : - 15
Employment	: - 05 (15 points for 9+ years which i claimed for)
IELTS : - 00
SS : - 05
-------------------------
Total : 50 Points
-------------------------

As of now i had completed 5 years & 4 months to be more clearly and i have submitted for PTA only for the current employment alone, And i have cleared PTE Academic and scored 65 and above in each so that i can claim 10 points here. Also i had done my partners skill assessment and PTA for (Human Resource Adviser) where i can claim 5 points.

My doubts is 
1. Can i re-apply as a Primary for the same state (SA) with the same Professionals with the updated points as shown below, or is there any restriction from applying?

Points
Age : - 25
Education : - 15
Employment	: - 10 (Completed 5 years in the same employment and not claiming points for other 3 employments))
IELTS : - 10
SS : - 05
Partner : - 05
-------------------------
Total : 70 Points
-------------------------

2. Will there be any possibility of rejecting again? (Since previously it was rejected)
3. Can i apply for other state if the occupation list gets opened in coming months?
4. Can i make my partner as a primary applicant and apply for the state sponsorship Partner also has 70 points)
5. Whether is it possible to apply now with the updated points & get the visa fees adjusted.

OR any other suggestions. Please Advice.

thanks
Mohd.


----------



## Rodeobear

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rodeobear -
> 
> No way to predict, but hopefully it will speed things up - we've had some applications for Ukranian clients which have taken a very long time, far longer than expected.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Cheers, will they also do visitor visas in London?, also me and my fiance are looking to apply for a pmv, we were looking to get your help, and was wondering were we should start with it all?, it Is very daunting Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kika88

Thanks for the note. From your question, I take it that your fiance is currently in the USA without a visa. That is not necessarily a deal-killer for an Australian visa, unless he has a history of deportation, removal, being asked to leave a country, etc. And even then it would depend on the circumstances of his immigration history as to how severe DIBP (Australian immigration dept) would see the problem.

Would be happy to explore this in detail with you in a consultation where we can privately discuss the details of his situation and I can then get you a specific opinion or advice for your case - see website below in my signature if you'd like to proceed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kika88 said:


> Mark I am desperate for an answer to the following:
> 
> Any information you can give me will be of immense assistance.
> 
> Ok so I am an Australian citizen and I met and fell in love with my fiance a citizen of El Salvador living in the USA. Unfortunately he had to relocate there illegally due to the extreme violence in El Salvador. I am worried that this will affect our PMV visa. ?? I love him and want to start a life together as soon as possible


----------



## IzabelaH

Hey Mark, just want to give you some kudos for the work you do on this website. It's absolutely refreshing to see someone so genuinely care & try to help. So thank you so much on behalf of everyone! 
I do have just a general question.. me & my husband received a 309 spouse visa refusal in October 2013... exactly one year after applying. 
We applied to MRT on the 21st of November 2013 - we still have not even been allocated a member and it's been 15 months & counting.. does this seem normal to you?? I understand there is a lot of workload but I've heard of other people in Brisbane who had an onshore visa refusal in Brisbane (where my case will be) heard at the 13 month mark who applied around the same time. My husband has been refused 2 tourist visas after the intial 309 refusal.. & I work full time so only get to use my annual leave once a year.. I just feel like they should priorities these cases a little better. I know my husband and I wouldn't care waiting for 5years to have our case heard if we were living together. It just doesn't seem fair.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IzabelaH -

Thanks for the kind words! You're absolutely right - it's not fair. I would suggest contacting the MRT by telephone and enquiring to see what's going on - 15+ months is a bit unusual, even for partner visas, and while it may be because they have somehow de-prioritised you as you're offshore (not sure as they do not release this sort of info), you'll want to make sure you didn't miss any correspondence from them that may have happened in the interim. The MRT people are generally very friendly and helpful via phone - and while they don't control the timetable and scheduling, you may be able to get some useful info from them if you approach them in a positive way.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IzabelaH said:


> Hey Mark, just want to give you some kudos for the work you do on this website. It's absolutely refreshing to see someone so genuinely care & try to help. So thank you so much on behalf of everyone!
> I do have just a general question.. me & my husband received a 309 spouse visa refusal in October 2013... exactly one year after applying.
> We applied to MRT on the 21st of November 2013 - we still have not even been allocated a member and it's been 15 months & counting.. does this seem normal to you?? I understand there is a lot of workload but I've heard of other people in Brisbane who had an onshore visa refusal in Brisbane (where my case will be) heard at the 13 month mark who applied around the same time. My husband has been refused 2 tourist visas after the intial 309 refusal.. & I work full time so only get to use my annual leave once a year.. I just feel like they should priorities these cases a little better. I know my husband and I wouldn't care waiting for 5years to have our case heard if we were living together. It just doesn't seem fair.


----------



## Marcantony

Hi again Mark,

we finally just recieved a reply from the embassy and it was a bit of a shock;



> In order for us to assess your application, you are required to provide the
> additional documentation or further information outlined below.
> 
> Additional Information Requested;
> § National Statistics Office (NSO) through online facility, directly
> sent and delivered to the Australian Embassy. (Please refer to the NSO
> website at https://www.ecensus.com.ph for current procedures on how to
> apply for documents online. Please note that we only accept NSO documents
> which were obtained using the prescribed procedure.)
> o Where a birth is late registered, you must also provide a baptismal
> certificate and other acceptable forms of identity, such as Elementary
> School Permanent Record (form 137-E), Secondary Student's Permanent Record
> (form 137-A) and/or hospital records. Certified copies from the Local Civil
> Registrar are not acceptable.
> § Bridal check (Certificate of No Marriage or Advisory on Marriages) of
> the applicant on Security Paper from the National Statistics Office (NSO)
> through online facility, directly sent and delivered to the Australian
> Embassy. (Please refer to the NSO website at https://www.ecensus.com.ph for
> current procedures on how to apply for documents online. Please note that
> we only accept NSO documents which were obtained using the prescribed
> procedure.)
> 
> The applicant must apply for it online (e-census) and choose the option to
> have it delivered directly to the Embassy.
> 
> § Evidence of your current and continuing enrolment in studies (High
> School and college transcripts, and/or a certificate verifying current
> enrolment at school/college) since turning 18 years of age. Please provide
> a signed and dated statement explaining study gaps, if any.
> § Updated National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) certificate for all
> applicants aged 17 yrs and above - must be marked "Valid for Travel to
> Australia" and carry your thumbprint;
> § Consent to Migrate: For minors, form 1229 signed by the
> non-migrating parent with a valid photo ID bearing the appropriate
> signature. If you are unable to provide consent, a court order from the
> relevant family court giving your biological parent in Australia full
> custody thereby allowing him/her to determine where you should live (Please
> visit http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms);
> § Sponsors of visa applicants with migrating children under the age of
> 18 need to provide:
> § A National Police Certificate if the person has spent a total of 12
> months or more in Australia since turning 16 years of age (Details on how
> to obtain this clearance is available from the AFP website at:
> AFP Homepage - Australian Federal Police) NB: The certificate should state "Complete
> Disclosure - All Recorded Offences Released"; and
> § police checks from each country other than Australia in which the
> person has spent a total of 12 months or more, whether continuous or
> cumulative, in the last 10 years since turning 16 years of age (Please
> refer to
> Which character requirements apply to you?
> ).
> § INTERVIEW
> § Face-to-face interview may not be required for some visa applicants
> depending on the results of the document checks (3-4 weeks) and the
> documents provided to support the application. If further clarification is
> needed, the undersigned case officer will book an interview appointment or
> may conduct the interview by phone. Please note that concerned applicants
> do not need to contact the call centre for an interview booking.
> 
> Please provide this information within 28 days of the date of this letter.
> If you cannot provide the information within 28 days you should contact
> this office as soon as possible and explain why you are unable to do so. If
> you do not provide the requested information within 28 days your
> application may be decided without the information requested being taken
> into account.


We already submitted all of this on physical paper. So now theyre saying it was a waste of money, and we have to do it all again because they want it done through ecensus?



> § Evidence of your current and continuing enrolment in studies (High
> School and college transcripts, and/or a certificate verifying current
> enrolment at school/college) since turning 18 years of age. Please provide
> a signed and dated statement explaining study gaps, if any.


My daughter isnt doing any study at the moment because has a young baby so to look after, but we have records of having provided financial support. Besides she applied before turning 18. When we first applied immigration told me further study is only meant to apply if you apply after turning 18. 
On immigration's website it says


> younger than 18 years of age, or: a full-time student between 18 and 25 years of age


So why are they asking about that? Its almost like something's changed.



> § Consent to Migrate: For minors, form 1229 signed by the
> non-migrating parent with a valid photo ID bearing the appropriate
> signature.


We already submitted this from the father of her baby, why do they want it again?

And Im so impressed that since our application went past a year theyre making us redo all the police checks again. Not to mention now my wife needs to get the police check from malaysia done again, and thats not quick.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marcantony -

That's exactly why dealing with partner or fiance visas for the Philippines is a huge hassle - we've done a lot of these, so we know what the various special requirements are, but for those lodge on their own, all the various bells & whistles that Manila adds to the requirements can often come as a shock.

In order to answer your questions I would need to review the documents you already lodged - re: the various docs that can only be submitted directly from the NSO, etc to DIBP and cannot touch your hands, etc, nothing to do about that but to go on the DIBP website for Manila and get the specific procedure as to how they want that done.

Re: daughter, this gets to the automatic exception for dependency if a child has continued their studies after high school without a break (and is less than 23 yrs old) - without qualifying for the exception, they may put you through the process of proving financial dependency of your daughter on you.

I agree police check repeats are a big hassle - it's the risk of lodging them up front and hoping DIBP will provide a reasonable (ie, under 1 year) processing time.

Happy to go through your case and look at your documents to give you any specific advice at a consultation - would need the time to work through your questions and review your documents - see website below to book if you're interested.Sorry again they're putting you through all this!

Best,

Mark Northam



Marcantony said:


> Hi again Mark,
> 
> we finally just recieved a reply from the embassy and it was a bit of a shock;
> 
> We already submitted all of this on physical paper. So now theyre saying it was a waste of money, and we have to do it all again because they want it done through ecensus?
> 
> My daughter isnt doing any study at the moment because has a young baby so to look after, but we have records of having provided financial support. Besides she applied before turning 18. When we first applied immigration told me further study is only meant to apply if you apply after turning 18.
> On immigration's website it says
> So why are they asking about that? Its almost like something's changed.
> 
> We already submitted this from the father of her baby, why do they want it again?
> 
> And Im so impressed that since our application went past a year theyre making us redo all the police checks again. Not to mention now my wife needs to get the police check from malaysia done again, and thats not quick.


----------



## kraviraj82

Hi Mark,

Can you pl tell me under which ICT category I fall.

I have Masters in Mechanical Engineering with 25% ICT content completed 2007 and working as Business analyst since 2007 in an IT company.
I am also SAP Certified functional consultant, if that in case is also assessed in ACS.
As per ANZSCO my role fits under 261112 - Systems Analysts and I am panning to apply the same.

As per ACS my qualification falls under Non ICT.
But I have seen many people with BE in electrical engineering being considered under ICT Major. (In INDIA whether it is EEE or mechanical the ICT content is very minimal)
I am not sure under which ICT category I fall whether it is ICT Major/ICT Minor/Non ICT ?

Pl clarify

Thanks
Ravi


----------



## Anshu

Hi Mark,
I am currently in Australia on 457 visa.
I recently received the invite for visa subclass 190. To speed up the process, I want to fill form 80 beforehand incase the CO asks for it. There is a question - Do you currently have or have you ever had the national identity documents or numbers.
I am not sure if I have to mention numbers of my country of origin (India) or other countries as well. I have TFN of Australia , should I mention it.
Also, the problem is, I had SSN of USA. But I lost it and never bothered to apply for new as my work permit also got expired. I am not sure if I have to mention it as I do not even remember my SSN. Please guide.


Best Regards
Anshu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kraviraj82 -

It's all up to the opinion of ACS if you are nominating for an ACS-asessed occupation - they typically take a close look at the individual courses you take in the degree and then assess what the ICT%, etc is based on their own rules and policies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kraviraj82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you pl tell me under which ICT category I fall.
> 
> I have Masters in Mechanical Engineering with 25% ICT content completed 2007 and working as Business analyst since 2007 in an IT company.
> I am also SAP Certified functional consultant, if that in case is also assessed in ACS.
> As per ANZSCO my role fits under 261112 - Systems Analysts and I am panning to apply the same.
> 
> As per ACS my qualification falls under Non ICT.
> But I have seen many people with BE in electrical engineering being considered under ICT Major. (In INDIA whether it is EEE or mechanical the ICT content is very minimal)
> I am not sure under which ICT category I fall whether it is ICT Major/ICT Minor/Non ICT ?
> 
> Pl clarify
> 
> Thanks
> Ravi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anshu -

I think I answered this in an email from you - generally national ID numbers are for identification-related numbers - SSN (USA) and TFN (Australia) are taxation IDs primarily, so while you could certainly include these if you wanted to, as they are not primarily for identification, I don't see an issue if you don't include them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Anshu said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am currently in Australia on 457 visa.
> I recently received the invite for visa subclass 190. To speed up the process, I want to fill form 80 beforehand incase the CO asks for it. There is a question - Do you currently have or have you ever had the national identity documents or numbers.
> I am not sure if I have to mention numbers of my country of origin (India) or other countries as well. I have TFN of Australia , should I mention it.
> Also, the problem is, I had SSN of USA. But I lost it and never bothered to apply for new as my work permit also got expired. I am not sure if I have to mention it as I do not even remember my SSN. Please guide.
> 
> Best Regards
> Anshu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohd -

Skilled migration regulations are very complex - would need to work with you at a consultation (via Skype, phone or at our office) to go over all the documents and get more information in order to answer your questions - the various details of all of these factors are what may determine your next move. See website in my signature below if you'd like to book a consultation - would be happy to help you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



canchi_mohd said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would really appreciate if you could clarify few points.
> 
> I had overall 9+ Years of experience in "Training and Development Professionals" - 223311. In the current company i had 3 years and 6 months of experience. I applied to Vetassess for Skill assessment and it was a positive outcome which came on 25-07-2013. I cleared my IELTS with 6 in each band.
> 
> In July 2014, i applied for South Australia state sponsorship and applied for the State Sponsorship 190 PR Visa. On 31st October, i received an email that my Visa had been refused, stating that the first other three employments are not relevant to the SS applied, and more points claimed for those number of years. And there was nothing mentioned aabout banning or re-applying in the refusal document.
> And the CO had just considered the current employment which vetassess had assessed. So here i got only 5 points for the current employment.
> 
> Please find the below details WHEN applied for Visa
> Points
> Age : - 25
> Education : - 15
> Employment	: - 15 (15 points for 9+ years which i claimed for)
> IELTS : - 00
> SS : - 05
> -------------------------
> Total : 60 Points
> -------------------------
> =================================================
> Please find the below details for CO listed points
> Points
> Age : - 25
> Education : - 15
> Employment	: - 05 (15 points for 9+ years which i claimed for)
> IELTS : - 00
> SS : - 05
> -------------------------
> Total : 50 Points
> -------------------------
> 
> As of now i had completed 5 years & 4 months to be more clearly and i have submitted for PTA only for the current employment alone, And i have cleared PTE Academic and scored 65 and above in each so that i can claim 10 points here. Also i had done my partners skill assessment and PTA for (Human Resource Adviser) where i can claim 5 points.
> 
> My doubts is
> 1. Can i re-apply as a Primary for the same state (SA) with the same Professionals with the updated points as shown below, or is there any restriction from applying?
> 
> Points
> Age : - 25
> Education : - 15
> Employment	: - 10 (Completed 5 years in the same employment and not claiming points for other 3 employments))
> IELTS : - 10
> SS : - 05
> Partner : - 05
> -------------------------
> Total : 70 Points
> -------------------------
> 
> 2. Will there be any possibility of rejecting again? (Since previously it was rejected)
> 3. Can i apply for other state if the occupation list gets opened in coming months?
> 4. Can i make my partner as a primary applicant and apply for the state sponsorship Partner also has 70 points)
> 5. Whether is it possible to apply now with the updated points & get the visa fees adjusted.
> 
> OR any other suggestions. Please Advice.
> 
> thanks
> Mohd.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodeobear -

I don't have info on whether visitor visas will be transferred there - would be happy to work with you and your fiance - you might consider booking a consultation (see website link below in my signature) to go over all the questions and evidence plans you have, then can decide whether you want to do the application on your own or whether you want to engage professional assistance.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> Cheers, will they also do visitor visas in London?, also me and my fiance are looking to apply for a pmv, we were looking to get your help, and was wondering were we should start with it all?, it Is very daunting Thanks


----------



## jnsgirls

hi Mark,

I'm about to get married and then i will apply for the partner visa.

I was wondering if I have to change my name right away.

If i haven't changed my name when i apply for the visa would it look bad?

if I decide to change my name, do I have to ask for a new passport before applying?

If yes, do you know how it works? I'm from France.

thanks


----------



## Marcantony

Thank you kindly for your reply.



MarkNortham said:


> Re: daughter, this gets to the automatic exception for dependency if a child has continued their studies after high school without a break (and is less than 23 yrs old) - without qualifying for the exception, they may put you through the process of proving financial dependency of your daughter on you.
> 
> I agree police check repeats are a big hassle - it's the risk of lodging them up front and hoping DIBP will provide a reasonable (ie, under 1 year) processing time.


I spoke to immigration and they said so long as we can show ongoing financial support (which we can, Ive kept all our western union reciepts from money we send every couple of months) the study part is not a dealbreaker.

We lodged the police checks up front because they asked for them straight away at the same as the medicals.

Thanks again for the reply.


----------



## CantralianLove

Hi Mark, 

I have a question regarding online offshore partner visa applications. 

Little about myself and my situation:

309/100 visa applied Dec 16th, 2014 from Canada for a defacto couple together for >3 years. Medicals/Police checks done and uploaded quickly. Everything else should have been uploaded fairly quickly.

Now, I did not know until early February that you had to send in a second application for your sponsor (since his name and documents were already uploaded onto my application). I actually found out from this forum that it was needed. It is really not made explicit on the immigration website. 

I remember you saying that it is in your best interest to attach everything to your application within 2 weeks (max a month), but I didn't even have the sponsorship application submitted until Feb.5th 2015! 

Has this completely ruined my application? Currently, immiaccount states my application is in progress and his is only "submitted". Is this a bad or good sign?

Thank you!


----------



## Jo Whittington

*Can I cancel my Permanent Residency to access my Super?*

Hi Mark,

Thanks for offering up your services free of charge, it is a great help to people like me living in the UK but needing to speak to an Aussie specialist!

I am a permanent resident of Australia and have been since about July 2011. I at first had a working holiday visa and then sought a spousal visa or partner visa after about 6 months. Unfortunately, the relationship that led me to seeking permanent residency broke down in the 6 months before it was granted and I decided to return home to the UK, not having much of a life in Australia outside of my ex.

I have done some research and have discovered that you are only allowed to travel in and out of Australia for a period of 5 years after you gain this visa, after that you have to apply for a re-entry visa and prove you have been living in the country for at least 2 years to get your PR renewed. I have not returned to Australia since and I doubt I ever will, especially not to live there.

My question is: If my visa doesn't get renewed does it expire completely, and does this mean it is then cancelled? If not, is there a way for me to cancel my own PR visa and can I do it earlier than the July 2016 expiry date?

The sole reason I ask is that I want to access my superannuation fund. I need to save hard to buy a house in the UK and having access to this money would make things a lot easier for me. I'm also concerned if I don't act now the money could be trapped there in the country somehow.

I understand that there are some laws surrounding permanent residents and reclaiming super funds, but as stated in an section from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website labeled 'Exceptions', if you were on a temporary visa before you became an Australian Permanent Resident, you might be able to claim any superannuation contributions you made whilst you held that temporary visa.

I class this as being the entire time I was in Australia until I officially received my permanent residency, which was in fact granted once I had reached UK soil. It doesn't however, mention anything about claiming back funds earned after that temporary visa expired and since then (almost 3.5 years) I have made considerable interest on my super, so it now stands at roughly $9000 AUD.

As you can imagine, I really want to get to the bottom of what I am entitled to, how I can claim it and what the process is. I appreciate this is a unique case and I have not been able to find anything about it online.

Any advice would be greatly welcomed!

Many thanks,
Jo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jnsgirls -

Thanks for the question. I dont' have detailed info about the various procedure(s) to change your name, however from the DIBP point of view, the passport is the key - however your name is presented in your passport is how DIBP wants to see all of their forms completed. If you change your name AND get a new passport in your new name, that's the trigger to change your name with DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jnsgirls said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> I'm about to get married and then i will apply for the partner visa.
> 
> I was wondering if I have to change my name right away.
> 
> If i haven't changed my name when i apply for the visa would it look bad?
> 
> if I decide to change my name, do I have to ask for a new passport before applying?
> 
> If yes, do you know how it works? I'm from France.
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CantralianLove -

No problems that I can see - the "submitted" status is normally what appears for the online sponsor form once completed and submitted (it's equivalent to the old 40sp paper form).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CantralianLove said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding online offshore partner visa applications.
> 
> Little about myself and my situation:
> 
> 309/100 visa applied Dec 16th, 2014 from Canada for a defacto couple together for >3 years. Medicals/Police checks done and uploaded quickly. Everything else should have been uploaded fairly quickly.
> 
> Now, I did not know until early February that you had to send in a second application for your sponsor (since his name and documents were already uploaded onto my application). I actually found out from this forum that it was needed. It is really not made explicit on the immigration website.
> 
> I remember you saying that it is in your best interest to attach everything to your application within 2 weeks (max a month), but I didn't even have the sponsorship application submitted until Feb.5th 2015!
> 
> Has this completely ruined my application? Currently, immiaccount states my application is in progress and his is only "submitted". Is this a bad or good sign?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jo -

Wish I could help on this one, but I expect it's in the realm of the superannuation funds and their rules. I believe it may be technically possible to voluntarily cancel a PR visa, but having never encountered a request to do so before, I don't have any specific information on it. I'd first contact the Department of Immigration and Border Protection by phone (expect a 1 hour hold) and ask them what the procedure would be to do this (or check with your local Embassy). I would also check with your superannuation fund to find out exactly what they need in order to release the funds and ask them specifically if you cease to become a PR of Australia, would that allow release of the funds that were accrued while you still were a PR of Australia - that's the key question. If they won't agree to this, may be no point to voluntary cancellation of your PR visa.

Wish I could assist further on this -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jo Whittington said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for offering up your services free of charge, it is a great help to people like me living in the UK but needing to speak to an Aussie specialist!
> 
> I am a permanent resident of Australia and have been since about July 2011. I at first had a working holiday visa and then sought a spousal visa or partner visa after about 6 months. Unfortunately, the relationship that led me to seeking permanent residency broke down in the 6 months before it was granted and I decided to return home to the UK, not having much of a life in Australia outside of my ex.
> 
> I have done some research and have discovered that you are only allowed to travel in and out of Australia for a period of 5 years after you gain this visa, after that you have to apply for a re-entry visa and prove you have been living in the country for at least 2 years to get your PR renewed. I have not returned to Australia since and I doubt I ever will, especially not to live there.
> 
> My question is: If my visa doesn't get renewed does it expire completely, and does this mean it is then cancelled? If not, is there a way for me to cancel my own PR visa and can I do it earlier than the July 2016 expiry date?
> 
> The sole reason I ask is that I want to access my superannuation fund. I need to save hard to buy a house in the UK and having access to this money would make things a lot easier for me. I'm also concerned if I don't act now the money could be trapped there in the country somehow.
> 
> I understand that there are some laws surrounding permanent residents and reclaiming super funds, but as stated in an section from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website labeled 'Exceptions', if you were on a temporary visa before you became an Australian Permanent Resident, you might be able to claim any superannuation contributions you made whilst you held that temporary visa.
> 
> I class this as being the entire time I was in Australia until I officially received my permanent residency, which was in fact granted once I had reached UK soil. It doesn't however, mention anything about claiming back funds earned after that temporary visa expired and since then (almost 3.5 years) I have made considerable interest on my super, so it now stands at roughly $9000 AUD.
> 
> As you can imagine, I really want to get to the bottom of what I am entitled to, how I can claim it and what the process is. I appreciate this is a unique case and I have not been able to find anything about it online.
> 
> Any advice would be greatly welcomed!
> 
> Many thanks,
> Jo


----------



## eddie tattersall

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Eddie -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words! Should you cancel your 457 (after lodging a valid 820/801 partner visa application onshore) and go onto a BV-E, the BV-E will initially have no work rights. You could then apply for work rights to be added to the BV-E based on financial hardship. The basic requirement for this is to demonstrate that if you were not to work, your combined expenses (you and your partner) each month would be substantially more than her income. DIBP may also require you to spend down any savings, etc before providing work rights depending on the entirety of your circumstances.
> 
> Hope this helps better understand the process - please advise if any further questions.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Thank You Mark for your advice, this is most likely the route I will be taking if I don't find a sponsor soon.
I was wondering if I should include my circumstances on a cover letter in the application for the 801/820 visa? 
Also is there a way of getting priority in the decision process for said visa?
I am already lodging the application 'decision ready' but I am not sure how to inform them of this do I also include that in the cover letter?

once again thank you for your time and assistance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eddie -

You might as well try to get expedited processing - typically DIBP doesn't provide it under these circumstances (although a couple of times I've seen this work!) but it never hurts to ask!

Best,

Mark



eddie tattersall said:


> Thank You Mark for your advice, this is most likely the route I will be taking if I don't find a sponsor soon.
> I was wondering if I should include my circumstances on a cover letter in the application for the 801/820 visa?
> Also is there a way of getting priority in the decision process for said visa?
> I am already lodging the application 'decision ready' but I am not sure how to inform them of this do I also include that in the cover letter?
> 
> once again thank you for your time and assistance


----------



## adgey

Hi Mark,

My girlfriend and I are in the process of looking at what is the easiest and most trouble free way of bringing her into the country permanently.

We were looking into enrolling her into an ELICOS school and applying for a student visa and while here bridging onto a partner visa.

I am looking for advice as to whether there are things that affect the chances of her receiving a No Further Stay on her visa such as length of course, money in an account, etc or it is completely at the discretion of the officer processing the visa. Is it a common occurrence to receive such condition on student visas and we are better off just applying straight for a partner visa while she is out of country?

She is Ukrainian, we have been together for over 2 years, lived together for 10 months and she has also spent 2 months here last year on a tourist visa living with me.

Thank you for any advice you can offer.

Kind Regards,

Adrian


----------



## Anshu

*Regarding Police Checks after submitting the application for Visa*

Hi Mark,
I am preparing for filing applications for Police Checks. I have already submitted for AUstralian verification (AFP). Now I need to submit application for Indian police check. 
I need to mention my past addresses of 10 years. I want to know how important it is ti stick to the accurate start and end date of a residence. I have all the addresses, but I might make a mistake in start dates as I do not know exact dates. Will it make any difficulty in my PCC.
Please guide.

Best Regards
Anshu


----------



## diletta.laino

*PMV concerns...*





Hi Mark! 
Thank You in advance for the help 

Me and my Australian partner have been in a de facto relationship since Jan 2013 (registered in VIC in Feb 2013) but we recently got engaged! This is such a happy news but in the same time its changing our plans regarding which application to submit.

On our facebook pages we changed the status to 'Engaged' and I know DIBP goes on fb to look at our details so my concern is that if we submit 309 they will then ask us why we did so rather than applying for PMV since we are engaged.

What do you suggest us to do for the best? We have all the documents on checklist ready to go (it took us a year!)

Another concern I have is about paper/on line application.

I just don't feel confident with lodging online since I have read posts saying that its pretty grippy. 
I know the online application is quicker though to get approved, Could you explain me why?

If I will end up submitting a paper application will this take longer for sure?

Sending lots of good karma your way.

Diletta.


----------



## diletta.laino

*updates about the reply*

sorry Mark, I was meant to write 2014 regarding our relationship registration.

Also, I am currently in Auckland. If this can help.

Regards, 
Diletta.


----------



## emivovo

Hello Mark! 

Hope this message finds you well 

My partner is Turkish and we were recently granted a PMV visa for him (YAY!). We will marry in June, and so will apply for the Partner visa from then. 

Could you tell me what the rules are for him leaving the country on the partner visa? There's a chance we might have to return to his country for family events later in the year, plus we have our honeymoon. Not permanently, but possibly for reasonable lengths of time (such as a month or two). I wondered if there were maximum time limits he was allowed to be outside Australia?

Thank you so much!


----------



## Jo Whittington

Thanks for your help Mark, this is still helpful so much appreciated


----------



## icehorizon88

Hi Mark,

My parents have been granted visitor visa (Class FA)(Subclass 600).

On the visa grant notice, it says 
Stay For/Until 3 Months
Entries Multiple
Last Date to Arrive 11 August 2015

My question is "can they stay in Australia for 3 months and exit the country and enter again by 11 August 2015 and stay for another 3 months?" 

Thanks and best regards,
Chan


----------



## nacrmartin

Hi Mark,

I'm Nicole from the Philippines, I submitted my PMV subclass 300 application here in Manila last October 2014. They requested for a medical by November 2014 then requested to submit an additional document such as NSO Certified birth certificate and certificate of no marriage.

They have given an instruction how to request, apparently upon reviewing my emails from the immigration I found out I had a mistake in submitting the NSO copies of my birth certificate and certificate of no marriage. I want to know if they will allow me and reconsider for me to submit it. I submitted other documents to prove my identity such as school records.

I'm really hoping this won't affect my application. I sent an email to my case officer to inform that I misread the instructions. 

Hope to hear from you soon. 

Thanks


----------



## msadeed

*Info required*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing good, can you please answer the below two questions:

1. I have been asked to submit my Medical along with my family under 189 proccesing. The letter states that the medical exam has to be taken within 28 days The question is can we hold it for some later date keeping in view the total time at our disposal before first landing date from the actual visa grant date. (This is to fact that Medical Exam is usually valid for one year and if the grant is to take more than 10 to 11 month then medical might get expired or the period to enter for the first time from actual grant date might get squeezed to may be 1 or 2 month only.)
Considering the same, can we push our medicals to some later date or we should have them now.

2. The document Request Checklist for My Spouse, says evidence of functional English. Can you please confirm as we have mentioned that she has the competent English in our initial online application form and her IELTS was taken in June 2013 while for functional English it is mentioned that the test must have been conducted not more than 12 months before lodging the relevant application to migrate. Can we provide the same IELTS report falling under the competent English or her report should not be older than 12 months and should she need to register for IELTS and get the new IELTS result report.

Thanks you for time.

Regards
Sid


----------



## D.Hall

*EOI Submission, Invitation and ACS Re-assessment*

Hi Mark,

This is a question regarding a nerve-wracking issue am having the at moment with an invitation and the revised ACS results.

Initial ACS results marked a particular ICT job experience as not assessable due to insufficient docs. So I needed sometime to get the additional docs ready. 
IELTS results came in and I applied for EOI with the original ACS results. But I also included the said-job experience and sent for ACS review on the same day expecting to update my EOI. Everyone has mentioned that invitation will take time. So I had the impression I could update EOI with re-assessment results before getting an invitation. 
However, I received an inviation quickly and almost at the same time, same day that I received the ACS resutls. Thus I have lost the window of updating EOI. I also really can't afford to wait for 60 days.

Although I am able to support points claimed in EOI with concrete evidence, I am not able to figure out if applying for visa is right or not at this point. But I am scared to death to apply for it anyway. How can I get in touch with an DIBP officer? Can someone please direct me to right information and path? What are my options to submit a new EOI immediately? Thanks.


----------



## JonDoe

Hey Mark

Need an urgent help. While logging my ACS and Visa application, I have entered the last designations held by me in my organizations as in the position field under employment. 

The period of certification is for the full period of employment in all cases but with last designation mentioned in ACS form.

The deliema I have is that in the organisations I worked in I got a promotion and the position changed although the nature of work I am certified for remains the same and is as per the ACS certification albeit with the position field as the last designation held. All my reference letters submitted to ACS and VISA application explicitly mention the entire period of work with the roles and responsibilities also mentioning ONLY the last designation as "last designation held"

The payslips I have submitted as part of my proof of employment have the designation mentioned for the respective periods I was in them.

What do I do ? Can this impact my grant?


----------



## ozrob101

*Partner on WHV applying for Partner visa, what happens to work rights?*

Hi again Mark,

My partner and I are applying for our Partner visa (820) in a few weeks. She is currently on a Working Holiday Visa (first year) which expires on April 3rd. We have been told many varying stories about what happens to her work rights once we apply, are you able to clarify? From my understanding once we apply online we can then apply (or are directly put on) a Bridging visa A. From there I was told by migration that work rights are then the same as the previous visa. If this is the case, what happens if she has worked for an employer coming up to 6months? Can she just continue on working for them past 6 months (ie does that restriction get reset with the new visa and does it still apply?)
I have also been told she needs to apply for financial hardship to continue working, is this correct or false? If that's the case, I have some savings in my account (which will be disclosed for partner visa evidence), will they look at that and reject her application and say I can support her?

Thanks again for your help Mark
Rob


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adrian -

Thanks for the question. Condition 8503 is discretionary for student visas (the actual conditions for student visas are 8534 and 8535, plus in some cases 8503), and for shorter ELICOS courses (10 months or under if I recall) is required. You might have better luck re: avoiding 8503 with a longer course of study, but the entire student visa issue brings up the "genuine student" policy criteria where she will need to show with evidence that her primary reason in coming to Australia is to study, not for partner reasons. Would be happy to discuss your details and circumstances further in a consultation if you'd like - see website in my signature below for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



adgey said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My girlfriend and I are in the process of looking at what is the easiest and most trouble free way of bringing her into the country permanently.
> 
> We were looking into enrolling her into an ELICOS school and applying for a student visa and while here bridging onto a partner visa.
> 
> I am looking for advice as to whether there are things that affect the chances of her receiving a No Further Stay on her visa such as length of course, money in an account, etc or it is completely at the discretion of the officer processing the visa. Is it a common occurrence to receive such condition on student visas and we are better off just applying straight for a partner visa while she is out of country?
> 
> She is Ukrainian, we have been together for over 2 years, lived together for 10 months and she has also spent 2 months here last year on a tourist visa living with me.
> 
> Thank you for any advice you can offer.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Adrian


----------



## MarkNortham

Re: Application for Indian PCC, not sure of how they process these currently and whether any inaccuracies on their application form will create issues. Normally with DIBP on Form 80 when you do an address history, people use their best available info and may include a note in the extension page at the back that they estimated dates as best they could.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Anshu said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am preparing for filing applications for Police Checks. I have already submitted for AUstralian verification (AFP). Now I need to submit application for Indian police check.
> I need to mention my past addresses of 10 years. I want to know how important it is ti stick to the accurate start and end date of a residence. I have all the addresses, but I might make a mistake in start dates as I do not know exact dates. Will it make any difficulty in my PCC.
> Please guide.
> 
> Best Regards
> Anshu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi D. Hall -

Thanks - answered on the other thread you posted it on - in short, if the initial ACS was positive and supported all points you are claiming, then you may want to lodge and correct the ACS reference number with Form 1023. If the original ACS was positive but didn't support all work you're claiming for, probably still OK as above, as having ACS support all work that points are claimed for is not a requirement (can be assessed later if DIBP has an issue, etc). However if initial ACS was negative, then things are trickier (see other post for more).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



D.Hall said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This is a question regarding a nerve-wracking issue am having the at moment with an invitation and the revised ACS results.
> 
> Initial ACS results marked a particular ICT job experience as not assessable due to insufficient docs. So I needed sometime to get the additional docs ready.
> IELTS results came in and I applied for EOI with the original ACS results. But I also included the said-job experience and sent for ACS review on the same day expecting to update my EOI. Everyone has mentioned that invitation will take time. So I had the impression I could update EOI with re-assessment results before getting an invitation.
> However, I received an inviation quickly and almost at the same time, same day that I received the ACS resutls. Thus I have lost the window of updating EOI. I also really can't afford to wait for 60 days.
> 
> Although I am able to support points claimed in EOI with concrete evidence, I am not able to figure out if applying for visa is right or not at this point. But I am scared to death to apply for it anyway. How can I get in touch with an DIBP officer? Can someone please direct me to right information and path? What are my options to submit a new EOI immediately? Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Diletta -

No issue with "engaged" online status for defacto couples that I see - it all comes down to the relationship evidence if you're lodging a partner or fiance visa, plus many defacto partners end up getting married when they're ready as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



diletta.laino said:


> Hi Mark!
> Thank You in advance for the help
> 
> Me and my Australian partner have been in a de facto relationship since Jan 2013 (registered in VIC in Feb 2013) but we recently got engaged! This is such a happy news but in the same time its changing our plans regarding which application to submit.
> 
> On our facebook pages we changed the status to 'Engaged' and I know DIBP goes on fb to look at our details so my concern is that if we submit 309 they will then ask us why we did so rather than applying for PMV since we are engaged.
> 
> What do you suggest us to do for the best? We have all the documents on checklist ready to go (it took us a year!)
> 
> Another concern I have is about paper/on line application.
> 
> I just don't feel confident with lodging online since I have read posts saying that its pretty grippy.
> I know the online application is quicker though to get approved, Could you explain me why?
> 
> If I will end up submitting a paper application will this take longer for sure?
> 
> Sending lots of good karma your way.
> 
> Diletta.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emivovo -

Congratulations on your PMV! Regarding short-term travel on PMV, no limits on that - assuming you lodge an onshore partner visa during the currency of the PMV, you'll get a bridging visa A which will activate upon the expiry of your PMV assuming you are in Australia on that date. Once you're on the BV-A, you'll need to get a BV-B to leave the country and return. If you leave the country after the partner visa has been lodged but before the PMV has expired, and you expect to be outside Australia when the PMV expires, then you should apply for a BV-B before you leave Australia to cover that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



emivovo said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> Hope this message finds you well
> 
> My partner is Turkish and we were recently granted a PMV visa for him (YAY!). We will marry in June, and so will apply for the Partner visa from then.
> 
> Could you tell me what the rules are for him leaving the country on the partner visa? There's a chance we might have to return to his country for family events later in the year, plus we have our honeymoon. Not permanently, but possibly for reasonable lengths of time (such as a month or two). I wondered if there were maximum time limits he was allowed to be outside Australia?
> 
> Thank you so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Icehorizon88 -

Yes. Multiple entries are allowed, as long as each entry is before 11 Aug 2015. On each entry, they can stay a max of 3 months, even if that 3 month period stretches beyond 11 Aug 2015.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



icehorizon88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My parents have been granted visitor visa (Class FA)(Subclass 600).
> 
> On the visa grant notice, it says
> Stay For/Until 3 Months
> Entries Multiple
> Last Date to Arrive 11 August 2015
> 
> My question is "can they stay in Australia for 3 months and exit the country and enter again by 11 August 2015 and stay for another 3 months?"
> 
> Thanks and best regards,
> Chan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicole -

I doubt it will be a problem - I would make sure you inform the case officer that you mistakenly submitted the BC and CENOMAR directly, and have already ordered copies to be delivered from the NSO directly to them - they're normally fine with this as it happens a lot.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nacrmartin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm Nicole from the Philippines, I submitted my PMV subclass 300 application here in Manila last October 2014. They requested for a medical by November 2014 then requested to submit an additional document such as NSO Certified birth certificate and certificate of no marriage.
> 
> They have given an instruction how to request, apparently upon reviewing my emails from the immigration I found out I had a mistake in submitting the NSO copies of my birth certificate and certificate of no marriage. I want to know if they will allow me and reconsider for me to submit it. I submitted other documents to prove my identity such as school records.
> 
> I'm really hoping this won't affect my application. I sent an email to my case officer to inform that I misread the instructions.
> 
> Hope to hear from you soon.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sid -

Thanks for the question. For #1, I suggest you do the medicals now, as if they are asking for them, that likely means visa grant is not far off (a few months). For #2, her IELTS would need to be no more than 12 months old at time of application to evidence Functional English. You could have her take a new IELTS test, or check other methods for determining this:
How can I prove I have functional English?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



msadeed said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing good, can you please answer the below two questions:
> 
> 1. I have been asked to submit my Medical along with my family under 189 proccesing. The letter states that the medical exam has to be taken within 28 days The question is can we hold it for some later date keeping in view the total time at our disposal before first landing date from the actual visa grant date. (This is to fact that Medical Exam is usually valid for one year and if the grant is to take more than 10 to 11 month then medical might get expired or the period to enter for the first time from actual grant date might get squeezed to may be 1 or 2 month only.)
> Considering the same, can we push our medicals to some later date or we should have them now.
> 
> 2. The document Request Checklist for My Spouse, says evidence of functional English. Can you please confirm as we have mentioned that she has the competent English in our initial online application form and her IELTS was taken in June 2013 while for functional English it is mentioned that the test must have been conducted not more than 12 months before lodging the relevant application to migrate. Can we provide the same IELTS report falling under the competent English or her report should not be older than 12 months and should she need to register for IELTS and get the new IELTS result report.
> 
> Thanks you for time.
> 
> Regards
> Sid


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JonDoe -

It could be an issue, depending on whether the specific tasks/duties/responsibilities of all positions you worked in (that you are claiming points for) meet the ANZSCO requirement. If it raises an issue, suggest you prepare evidence showing how all the different positions fit the ANZSCO requirements. The fact that ACS approved all of it will help.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JonDoe said:


> Hey Mark
> 
> Need an urgent help. While logging my ACS and Visa application, I have entered the last designations held by me in my organizations as in the position field under employment.
> 
> The period of certification is for the full period of employment in all cases but with last designation mentioned in ACS form.
> 
> The deliema I have is that in the organisations I worked in I got a promotion and the position changed although the nature of work I am certified for remains the same and is as per the ACS certification albeit with the position field as the last designation held. All my reference letters submitted to ACS and VISA application explicitly mention the entire period of work with the roles and responsibilities also mentioning ONLY the last designation as "last designation held"
> 
> The payslips I have submitted as part of my proof of employment have the designation mentioned for the respective periods I was in them.
> 
> What do I do ? Can this impact my grant?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozrob101 -

Thanks for the question - you've certainly been getting a wide variety of information - much of it incorrect, however. Assuming you apply for the 820/801 while she holds a WHV, you will get a Bridging Visa A with full work rights, which will activate upon expiration of the WHV - the unrestricted work rights only start when the BV-A starts, so be sure not to jump the gun on that. Once the BV-A starts, the 6 month limitation will be gone since work rights under partner visas are unrestricted. No need to apply for financial hardship since it's a BV-A that she will be getting.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozrob101 said:


> Hi again Mark,
> 
> My partner and I are applying for our Partner visa (820) in a few weeks. She is currently on a Working Holiday Visa (first year) which expires on April 3rd. We have been told many varying stories about what happens to her work rights once we apply, are you able to clarify? From my understanding once we apply online we can then apply (or are directly put on) a Bridging visa A. From there I was told by migration that work rights are then the same as the previous visa. If this is the case, what happens if she has worked for an employer coming up to 6months? Can she just continue on working for them past 6 months (ie does that restriction get reset with the new visa and does it still apply?)
> I have also been told she needs to apply for financial hardship to continue working, is this correct or false? If that's the case, I have some savings in my account (which will be disclosed for partner visa evidence), will they look at that and reject her application and say I can support her?
> 
> Thanks again for your help Mark
> Rob


----------



## ozrob101

Hi Mark,

Thanks so much for the response. Yes we've heard a lot of differing info so it's nice to hear some truth to the matter. Considering the restrictions will be uplifted, would she be fine to work straight through from her WHV to the BVA with the same employer even though it would see her working with them beyond the 6 months shortly after the BVA kicks in? I'm assuming she'll be fine as it'll be a new visa but was hoping to get clarification.

Thanks again
Rob



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ozrob101 -
> 
> Thanks for the question - you've certainly been getting a wide variety of information - much of it incorrect, however. Assuming you apply for the 820/801 while she holds a WHV, you will get a Bridging Visa A with full work rights, which will activate upon expiration of the WHV - the unrestricted work rights only start when the BV-A starts, so be sure not to jump the gun on that. Once the BV-A starts, the 6 month limitation will be gone since work rights under partner visas are unrestricted. No need to apply for financial hardship since it's a BV-A that she will be getting.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rob -

Yes - if the 6 month deadline occurs after the expiration of her WHV (and therefore, would happen while she's on the BV-A), then no problem. If for any reason they put the 6-month restriction on the BV-A (never seen this done however), there's a WHV extension form you can file to request that DIBP waive the 6-month deadline as an application for a permanent residency visa has been lodged. This is normally lodged if the 6-month deadline occurs while the WHV is still in effect, but you could use this in the unlikely event that the BV-A comes with the 6-month restriction.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozrob101 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks so much for the response. Yes we've heard a lot of differing info so it's nice to hear some truth to the matter. Considering the restrictions will be uplifted, would she be fine to work straight through from her WHV to the BVA with the same employer even though it would see her working with them beyond the 6 months shortly after the BVA kicks in? I'm assuming she'll be fine as it'll be a new visa but was hoping to get clarification.
> 
> Thanks again
> Rob


----------



## ozrob101

Thanks for verifying Mark



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rob -
> 
> Yes - if the 6 month deadline occurs after the expiration of her WHV (and therefore, would happen while she's on the BV-A), then no problem. If for any reason they put the 6-month restriction on the BV-A (never seen this done however), there's a WHV extension form you can file to request that DIBP waive the 6-month deadline as an application for a permanent residency visa has been lodged. This is normally lodged if the 6-month deadline occurs while the WHV is still in effect, but you could use this in the unlikely event that the BV-A comes with the 6-month restriction.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## sglout

*Australian PR applying for newborn passport*

Hi Mark,

I am a PR (subclass 175) and so is my wife and daughter, who were included in my application. Now my wife is pregnant again, and she is due in August 2015. My question is, if my child is born in Melbourne, Australia, will he/she become a citizen and get an Australian Passport right away? I have plans to travel after about a month or two after our child is born, so getting the passport right away is important.

I have read it at government websites, like immi.gov.au that children born to Australian PR's become Australian citizens right away, and thus must be entitled to an Australian Passport. But some people who are Australian PR had difficulty in getting a passport for their newborn. One example is posted in this forum with the title "Australian Passport for newborn problem"

Also, it is mentioned in the immi.gov.au website that in addition to the birth certificate, they would need this document:

"a foreign passport with the *original* permanent residence visa label showing that your parent was a permanent resident at the time of your birth (the Department of Immigration and Border Protection no longer routinely issues visa labels)."

When they mention 'original', what do they mean? When I first entered Australia on a PR visa, I had no stamp on my passport, as it was not required. But later on, I got my passport stamped with a visa anyway. But that visa does not have any issue date, but just information when the PR visa started.

I am really confused. As other documents that prove that I am a PR, are not accepted as proof of permanent residence. Once again, the word 'original' visa label is mentioned.

Please note that we have a visa label in our passport, but that is issued after we landed in Australia on a PR visa and it is placed there before the child is born. But since there is no date of issue, how will they verify it was issued before the child was born?

- a new permanent residence visa label (if you are not able to provide your parent's original visa label)
- Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) or VEVO print-outs
- a visa grant notification letter from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
- Certificate of Evidence of Resident Status (CERS) from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
- Certificate of Status for New Zealand Citizens in Australia (CSNZCA).

Please help.

Best regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sglout -

My best advice would be to talk to the citizenship people now and work out exactly what documents they will accept (or not) in order to get the citizenship certificate and passport for the chil. Visa labels are no longer mandatory or customarily provided by DIBP (although I think you can purchase one for $150 or some outrageous price), so I expect they have alternative documentation requirements available for that. You've got essentially 2 departments to deal with - the citizenship part of DIBP, and the passport people which I believe is part of DFAT. You'll have to do some serious phone calling on this one I expect, and always get the name of whoever you speak to. But one way or another, I expect you'll be able to carve out a set of documentation for each that will satisfy their requirements. I don't normally work with these departments so I don't have the latest requirements at hand, but especially in cases where you are requesting expedited service, you should work out the requirements directly with the various department(s).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sglout said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a PR (subclass 175) and so is my wife and daughter, who were included in my application. Now my wife is pregnant again, and she is due in August 2015. My question is, if my child is born in Melbourne, Australia, will he/she become a citizen and get an Australian Passport right away? I have plans to travel after about a month or two after our child is born, so getting the passport right away is important.
> 
> I have read it at government websites, like immi.gov.au that children born to Australian PR's become Australian citizens right away, and thus must be entitled to an Australian Passport. But some people who are Australian PR had difficulty in getting a passport for their newborn. One example is posted in this forum with the title "Australian Passport for newborn problem"
> 
> Also, it is mentioned in the immi.gov.au website that in addition to the birth certificate, they would need this document:
> 
> "a foreign passport with the *original* permanent residence visa label showing that your parent was a permanent resident at the time of your birth (the Department of Immigration and Border Protection no longer routinely issues visa labels)."
> 
> When they mention 'original', what do they mean? When I first entered Australia on a PR visa, I had no stamp on my passport, as it was not required. But later on, I got my passport stamped with a visa anyway. But that visa does not have any issue date, but just information when the PR visa started.
> 
> I am really confused. As other documents that prove that I am a PR, are not accepted as proof of permanent residence. Once again, the word 'original' visa label is mentioned.
> 
> Please note that we have a visa label in our passport, but that is issued after we landed in Australia on a PR visa and it is placed there before the child is born. But since there is no date of issue, how will they verify it was issued before the child was born?
> 
> - a new permanent residence visa label (if you are not able to provide your parent's original visa label)
> - Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) or VEVO print-outs
> - a visa grant notification letter from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
> - Certificate of Evidence of Resident Status (CERS) from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
> - Certificate of Status for New Zealand Citizens in Australia (CSNZCA).
> 
> Please help.
> 
> Best regards


----------



## sglout

Hi Mark

Thanks for your advice. I already have the visa label on my passport. I was wondering if the label and the child birth certificate would be enough to get the child passport. I will contact the 2 departments you mentioned and see what they have to say about it.

Thanks again!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sglout -
> 
> My best advice would be to talk to the citizenship people now and work out exactly what documents they will accept (or not) in order to get the citizenship certificate and passport for the chil. Visa labels are no longer mandatory or customarily provided by DIBP (although I think you can purchase one for $150 or some outrageous price), so I expect they have alternative documentation requirements available for that. You've got essentially 2 departments to deal with - the citizenship part of DIBP, and the passport people which I believe is part of DFAT. You'll have to do some serious phone calling on this one I expect, and always get the name of whoever you speak to. But one way or another, I expect you'll be able to carve out a set of documentation for each that will satisfy their requirements. I don't normally work with these departments so I don't have the latest requirements at hand, but especially in cases where you are requesting expedited service, you should work out the requirements directly with the various department(s).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## A.Naji

Hi Mark!

Can I ask for some clarification into the checks that go in the visa process?
My question is, what's the difference (and general objective) between Internal and Exterior Checks? 
As I updated my CO with my school CoE, she acknowledged the change and informed me that she is waiting for my "_Internal check results_".

I'm curious to know if these 2 checks are usually conducted simultaneously, or to whether they are separate (which would then stack more time). And yeah...the most important question for me is whether the checks depend on your country of passport or residence -- if it's the former, I'm pretty much ruined 

On a personal note, do you believe that the check is actually a good sign. not that I want to sound too optimistic but it makes me feel like my application was convincing enough for the process to proceed into a verification stage.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi A.Naji -

Wish I could help you, but DIBP doesn't discuss or publish any details about these, especially the External security checks which I believe are conducted with the involvement of various outside agencies. I would imagine the general objective is to identify if an applicant has any sort of history or governmental/agency concerns that would or should be considered (especially re: character) by DIBP in the application process.

Wish I could assist further -

Best,

Mark



A.Naji said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Can I ask for some clarification into the checks that go in the visa process?
> My question is, what's the difference (and general objective) between Internal and Exterior Checks?
> As I updated my CO with my school CoE, she acknowledged the change and informed me that she is waiting for my "_Internal check results_".
> 
> I'm curious to know if these 2 checks are usually conducted simultaneously, or to whether they are separate (which would then stack more time). And yeah...the most important question for me is whether the checks depend on your country of passport or residence -- if it's the former, I'm pretty much ruined
> 
> On a personal note, do you believe that the check is actually a good sign. not that I want to sound too optimistic but it makes me feel like my application was convincing enough for the process to proceed into a verification stage.


----------



## zenbilar

Hi Mark,

I have just a question regarding uploading of document. I have made 2 errors in the uploading as follows:
1.For Evidence of Birth, I have selected "Aircrew Identity Document" instead of Birth Certificate (but my description and filename clearly indicates Birth Certificate)
2.For Language Ability, I have selected "Evidence of Australian Qualifications" instead of IELTS (but my description indicates IELTS). Also, I have not claimed any points for Australian qualifications.

Do you think those would be a problem in the processing of the visa? Will it be alright is I explain to the CO later on that I have made an error in the selection of document type?

Thanks so much and looking forward to your response.

Regards,

Zen


----------



## Gina.T

Hi Mark, 

Firstly thanks for all the invaluable info you have provided! Amazing! 

I just have a question regarding "high risk" countries for PV 309 applications. In your experience are they looking for anything specific in terms of evidence or history? Specific info on form 80? 

Should we be worried about anything? 

It just scares me a little but if it's just a label as such then I can deal with that 

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Pairin

*Relationship register for partner visa*

Hi Mark,

I and my partner have been in a relationship and living together less than a year(7months now).

Is the Relationship Certificate allow us to apply for partner visa (820) ?

We have registered relationship on 20 February 2015 and will receive it within 5 weeks and we planed to lodge the visa by 20 May 2015.

Is it possible to do that or any advise?

Pairin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zen -

I don't think that would cause a problem - could easily be explained if they have any questions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zenbilar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have just a question regarding uploading of document. I have made 2 errors in the uploading as follows:
> 1.For Evidence of Birth, I have selected "Aircrew Identity Document" instead of Birth Certificate (but my description and filename clearly indicates Birth Certificate)
> 2.For Language Ability, I have selected "Evidence of Australian Qualifications" instead of IELTS (but my description indicates IELTS). Also, I have not claimed any points for Australian qualifications.
> 
> Do you think those would be a problem in the processing of the visa? Will it be alright is I explain to the CO later on that I have made an error in the selection of document type?
> 
> Thanks so much and looking forward to your response.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Zen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gina.T -

Thanks for the question. The focus in these situations is on the genuineness of the relationship (a separate assessment of whether a legal basis exists for the relationship - ie, 12 months living together for defacto, or valid marriage for married) and is highly dependent on the evidence as well as answers provided at an interview. I'd take a very close look at all the evidence, and make sure you're both well prepared for an interview to discuss the finer details of each other's lives and relationship history.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gina.T said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly thanks for all the invaluable info you have provided! Amazing!
> 
> I just have a question regarding "high risk" countries for PV 309 applications. In your experience are they looking for anything specific in terms of evidence or history? Specific info on form 80?
> 
> Should we be worried about anything?
> 
> It just scares me a little but if it's just a label as such then I can deal with that
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pairin -

The registered relationship certificate (from a qualifying state) will satisfy the 12-month living together requirement for defacto partners, however you'll still need to submit substantial evidence of the 4 required types (social, financial, nature of commitment, nature of household) to convince DIBP that the defacto partnership is genuine and ongoing - see other threads on the forum here all about relationship evidence for partner visas. If you're unsure whether you have sufficient relationship evidence and witness statements, you may want to consult with a migration agent to have the agent review your evidence and give you an opinion on whether you have enough of the correct types to maximise your chances of success.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pairin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I and my partner have been in a relationship and living together less than a year(7months now).
> 
> Is the Relationship Certificate allow us to apply for partner visa (820) ?
> 
> We have registered relationship on 20 February 2015 and will receive it within 5 weeks and we planed to lodge the visa by 20 May 2015.
> 
> Is it possible to do that or any advise?
> 
> Pairin


----------



## Pairin

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your replied, was very help full

Pairin


----------



## Imanh

*PCC waiver*

Hi Mark,

My fiancé and I applied for a PMV in India but he is from Sudan studying in India.

11 month after the interview and Medicals the CO requested him to provide a PCC from KSA which he can not provide as KSA doesn't issue them to non-citizens. Neither he can provide the CO with last eixt stamp from KSA as he renewed his passport before we applied.

September 2014 the CO said she will apply for a PCC waiver for him and ever since we haven't heard anything back till Feb 2015 she asked him to write in details what efforts he made to get a PCC from KSA and to send her Stat Dec form , which he did on the same day she requested.

My question is, who will waive the requirement for PCC? Are there any other agencies involved ? And how long does a waiver take to be issued?

Thank you


----------



## Rodeobear

hey mark, just a quick question about the pmv, my fiance has a child that's 8, she asked me what exactly we need for her. Do we need all 3 forms of evidence that she has custody? or do we only need to include 1 like form 1229


----------



## Tigerali

*Immi-account*

HI MARK
can u plz suggest regarding my situation..
basically question is .can i change my current passport details meanwhile my appication is under processing.if i do so , wil that affect my case

i have applied for partner visa under class 309 through immiaccount...its been nearly 11 months now..i just came to know that i need to change my passport particulars....i hve reached the maximum no of files i can attch to immiaccount , so therefore cannot upload anymore.,so if i change details, i cannot inform them....neither any CO has appointed....why i am thinking to get details changed before any CO is given to my case is it to save time that wil take when i wil be asked for PCC...my medical wil expire in april ..is there anything i can do besides waiting..


----------



## Azoz

Dear Marek,

I’m Syrian and resident in Kuwait. I am applying for immigration visa sub class 189 with my family. I’m married and have two kids. Please note below my timelines:

IELTS Test: 22 June 2013
IEA Skills Assessment outcome: 26 November 2013
EOI Submitted: 10 December 2013
Invited: 27 January 2014
Visa submitted: 02 February 2014
CO Allocated: 09 March 2014
Medical Examination: 11 March 2014
Kuwaiti Police Clearance: 11 March 2014
Syrian Police Clearance: 12 March 2014
All documents updated: 20 March 2014
CO contacted requesting further details: 25 March 2014
CO contacted requesting further documents: 31 March 2014
All documents submitted: 2 April 2014
Follow up: 20 May 2014
Follow up: 20 Aug 2014
Follow up: 16 Dec 2014
Provided Updated Passport, updated Travel history & Follow up: 8 Feb 2015

So far, my application has been under process for 13 months, I completed all the documents since 11 months.

The DIBP confirmed that no further documents are required at this stage. They said that at present my application is undergoing routine processing (security check). Unfortunately they were unable to provide me with a definitive timeframe for finalisation as some cases may take many months to finalise.

Last week I heard that a Syrian person, whom completed his documents on July 2014 has got his VISA granted. Which means that his security check took only 7 months. I started to worry about my application.

Would you please advise about my case? What could be the reason behind this delay? How long does the security check normally take? 

What can we do at this stage? Shouldn’t my agent call the DIBP to discuss my application? 

I have a very active travel history due to my work nature. My travel history includes Syria, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Malaysia, Ireland, Spain, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone (before the Ebola problems), Gabon, Kenya and Libya (one day transit on 2010). Does this make my case more complicated?

Thanks,
Azoz


----------



## Abhay

*visa subclass 176 Family Sponsored Cat 5*

Hi Mark,

Can you pls shed some light on status of VS 176 FS cat 5. Its been now more than 5 years of waiting and no clue. 
By when shall DIBP process these applications ?

Best regards,
Abhay


----------



## shelleymae

*Accompany on a 461*

Hi again Mark,

"Your New Zealand citizen family member is living in Australia on a Special Category visa (subclass 444) or will be travelling with you to Australia and will be granted a Special Category visa (subclass 444) on arrival.."

Does this mean I must accompany my husband on his first entry to Australia or can I join him a short while later?
Hoping to hear soon as his trip is looming nearer


----------



## shamtah

Hi mark 
thank you very much for the rapid response
The DIBP already sent me the payment receipt and i meant they did not sent me any thing concerning the case officer.

i want to ask you another question please, can i do my health check now or is it better to do it after my case officer is assigned and he asks me for that?

thank you very much


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shamtah -
> 
> Normally from an online application you would receive an email acknowledging receipt of the application (and sometimes a payment receipt). Getting assigned to a case "team" may take weeks or a few months. I'd double check the email address you provided with the application, then call DIBP and ask if they can check if the application was received OK since you received no acknowledgement of it by email.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## azad29

Dear Mr.Mark,

I will be happy if you can help me regarding my Acs letter and filling my Eoi, in my acs letter my all skills assessed as suitable for migration under anzsco code 263113, I have total 13 yrs work experience but all are closely related to 263113 where acs only considered as skilled and appropriately related to my last 6yrs 11 months. So my question in Eoi can I tell my all occupation related to skilled occpation for reward 15 points or i can only reward for 6 yrs 11 months in EOI.




If you also tell me how can I fill EOI for job date because it's in dd/mm/yr but in ACS I got all the format in mm/yr format where one date 07/07 is common for my 2 jobs. So now I am confused how to fill EOI for date for job experience with that common date.







Dates: 12/05 - 07/07 (1yrs 7mths)

Dates: 07/07 - 11/09 (2yrs 4mths)




I will be happy if someone guide me at this stage of my application.

Best Regards, 
Azad


----------



## rachana

Hello Mark,

This question is regarding my brother who has applied for a student visa. He is planning to come here with his partner. He has got a seat in WA at ECU and applied for Visa on the 20th Jan 2015. The college has already started and he has missed good 10 days of classes. He is yet to receive the visa and all that we get to see in the status is "it is in progress"
As far as our knowledge goes student visas take max of 14 to 18 days right? In his case we are really unsure of the reason for the delay. We really don't know whom to contact and what the status is. 

Looking forward for a reply from your end which would help us understand the reason for delay.

Thanks and Regards
Rachana


----------



## Abedin

*Sponsored Family Tourist Visa*

Hi Mark,
Appreciate all your hard work.

My questions are,

1. Can I submit Sponsored Family Tourist Visa for my parents and Sister (under 18) online? (Please Note: My parents hold Bangladeshi passport)

2. I have lodged my Partners 309/100 Visa online, Can I apply for her sponsored family visa? Can I apply it online (My wife holds Bangladeshi passport)?

3. As I have lodged my Partners 309/100 visa, will it effect in any way if I submit my parents sponsored family tourist visa? and My wifes touris visa aswell?

4. Do I need to pay bond to the department? Is it a Must thing or they may or may not ask?

I really appreciate all your help and cooperation.

regards,
Abedin


----------



## mustafasabir

*Some Clarifications Required Before Filing Case with DIBP*

Hi Mark,

Hope this message finds you in the pink of your health.

I require some help (as usual) from you, before filing my case to DIBP.

1) I have seen that DIBP have often asked to send them full passport history. This information has always been requested from the applicants in between the process of their case. Should I provide full passport scanned copies to DIBP upfront while lodging the case OR shall I wait for their return? Ultimately, the intention is to save time.

2) On the forum, it is learnt that we have to enter only that experience for which we have to claim points. ACS has counted my first company's last 2 months towards skilled profession. Hence, while lodging EOI, I have split that experience in 2 lines. Out of 4 years and 2 months of total experience for that company, I entered one line for 4 Years and selected *NO* for *"Is this employment related to the nominated occupation?"*, a checkbox provided in the experience section in EOI. Even though it is not counted towards Skilled experience, I entered these 4 years because these years satisfying my suitability criteria. Then for last 2 months, I entered as a Skilled Employment on separate line and marked the check box meaning that it is counted as skilled employment.

I hope that I have not done something stupid by entering experience that is counted towards suitability criteria. Even though system has calculated my points perfectly but I am bit edgy and require your acknowledgement.

3) Police certificate in UAE is valid for 3 months. If I take it now and upload it while filing my case with DIBP, it might get expire within the case processing time. Is that fine with DIBP or they would ask me to get the valid police certificate once again?

4) I do not have salary slips of previous company for which I have claimed 2 months towards skilled employment. If I request it now, the company might give me salary slips with the current date and address *(the address of the company when I was with them)*. Is that fine *OR* shall I request them to provide me payslips with their old address and date. This looks quite awful to me and I know that it would be the same to that company too. To avoid it, what if I do not provide the payslips at all of this company because I have the valid experience letter from them. 

Thanks a lot.

Regards,
Mustafa.


----------



## crish_mac

Dear Mark,

1. I did my ACS assessment in Oct 2014, where in given name field i typed my first name only, while in my passport's Given names field shows my first name + fathers name. 
will this be a problem while filing for 189 visa ? 

2. Is there a way to ask ACS about changing the name in their record ?

3. I have done Bachelors and masters, but my master was part time so did not mentioned while doing ACS, is this ok? or should i do the ACS again ?

Thanks in Adavance


----------



## neetu9780

Hi Mark,
Can you please clarify if a 489 FS is required to work under the nominated occupation for 1 year?


----------



## omar_hegazy

*A question*

Dear Sir,

Firstly, i would like to thank you for your amazing assistance to all members !

I have a bachelor degree of electronics & communications engineering. Also i have 3 years of experience as Senior Network Engineer.

My concern is would i be assessed as ICT (Major close/Major not close/Minor close or Minor not close)? Just wanted to check how many years will be deducted for suitability criteria by ACS.

Just to clarify, i'm applying for "Computer Network and Systems Enginner" job.

Thanks for helping !


----------



## Thao Le

*186 visa*

Hi Mark,
I've got some concerns here that I hope you could provide some help.

1. Regarding the employment contract, it says in the document checklist "Employment contract for a full-time ongoing position indicating the base salary and the total remuneration terms and conditions of employment". It does not state the duration of the contract. So can I use my current contract (which expires in November this year)?

2. One of the documents required for a paid employee is:
"as applicable: evidence that the position is currently occupied by a temporary resident". Just wondering what this is?

As my company (who is sponsoring me) and I are planning to lodge online for the 186 visa on our own, is there any advice that you could give us so we could ensure we avoid any possible mistakes?

We'd very much appreciate your help.
Regards,
Thao


----------



## kjoz

*Applied for 189 with my defacto partner*

Hi Mark

I have applied for the skilled independent visa subclass 189 with my defacto partner. At the time of applying I was on a student visa and had completed one of my courses. Another one has recently started, however I would like to cancel the enrollment so I can work due to some recent financial hardship.

My question: If I cancel my enrollment with the education provider does my student visa which is still active, get canceled and does it cancel my application for 189?

Thanks for your help! 
KJ


----------



## mtfranklin.89

Hi Mark,

I'm currently applying for a 457 visa as "Other Sports Instructor". I will be an instructor (for more than 3 months) in after school martial arts classes for school-aged children. Generally, classes are made up of 5-20 children and held during after school hours in school halls. How should I answer the question below?

_Do you, or any other person included in this application, intend to be in a classroom situation for more than 3 months (e.g. as either a student, teacher, lecturer, or observer) while in Australia?_

My initial response was to answer yes, but when asked to specify details, I am asked to write the "Name of course" and "Name of institution providing course", which leads me to think that this is referring more to schools and universities. I will not be employed by a school; I will be employed by a martial arts company that uses school venues.

Thank you very much for your kind help.


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

My husband applied for an offshore spouse visa (309) The case officer requested the police report and the 28 days time period is about expire soon. There is a delay in the police report. We are worrying if this will badly effect the visa.
Highly appreciate your advice on this.
Thanks in advance.

Thank you and Regards
Dhanu


----------



## qimtiaz

Dear Mark,

I have bachelors degree Major in ICT plus Masters degree with ICT major as well.

I am planning for ACS assessment with my bachelors only and does not want to show the Masters degree (As the points are same for both), will this be OK for ACS assessment and later while applying for 189/190 visa will this make any problem?

Regards,


----------



## imran_razz

Hi Mark,
I have been living in South Australia on 190 visa for the last 10 months. I intend to relocate to either Sydney or Melbourne. Do I need to notify South Australia government prior to that? Will this have any impact whatsoever on my citizenship in the future? Cheers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Imanh -

Thansk for the note - DIBP internally generally makes the decision to waive a PCC requirement - the steps they asked you to go through are very typical for these situations. Can take weeks (or even in some cases months) to complete the waiver process, typically 2-4 weeks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Imanh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My fiancé and I applied for a PMV in India but he is from Sudan studying in India.
> 
> 11 month after the interview and Medicals the CO requested him to provide a PCC from KSA which he can not provide as KSA doesn't issue them to non-citizens. Neither he can provide the CO with last eixt stamp from KSA as he renewed his passport before we applied.
> 
> September 2014 the CO said she will apply for a PCC waiver for him and ever since we haven't heard anything back till Feb 2015 she asked him to write in details what efforts he made to get a PCC from KSA and to send her Stat Dec form , which he did on the same day she requested.
> 
> My question is, who will waive the requirement for PCC? Are there any other agencies involved ? And how long does a waiver take to be issued?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodeobear -

Normally Form 1229 with copy of the other parent's passport + a legal document (typically court order, etc) is what's necessary. Form 1229 by itself is sometimes accepted, but often DIBP wants something legal in addition.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> hey mark, just a quick question about the pmv, my fiance has a child that's 8, she asked me what exactly we need for her. Do we need all 3 forms of evidence that she has custody? or do we only need to include 1 like form 1229


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tigerali -

Not much you can do but wait. Form 929 is the form for changing your passport, which you could complete and then send to DIBP through some other channel (even post). Once your partner visa was actively being processed, you would need to confirm with the case officer that they received your 929 and have hooked it up with your 309/100 application. Best to include full details of the 309/100 application (ie, TRN number, date of application) with your Form 929 to help DIBP associate the two.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tigerali said:


> HI MARK
> can u plz suggest regarding my situation..
> basically question is .can i change my current passport details meanwhile my appication is under processing.if i do so , wil that affect my case
> 
> i have applied for partner visa under class 309 through immiaccount...its been nearly 11 months now..i just came to know that i need to change my passport particulars....i hve reached the maximum no of files i can attch to immiaccount , so therefore cannot upload anymore.,so if i change details, i cannot inform them....neither any CO has appointed....why i am thinking to get details changed before any CO is given to my case is it to save time that wil take when i wil be asked for PCC...my medical wil expire in april ..is there anything i can do besides waiting..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Azoz -

Sorry to hear of the delay - unfortunately nothing you or you agent can do but wait for DIBP to complete their processes. I expect your extensive travel history to what DIBP considers high risk countries has a good chance of being the cause of the delay, but no way to tell for sure since DIBP doesn't provide that sort of info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Azoz said:


> Dear Marek,
> 
> I'm Syrian and resident in Kuwait. I am applying for immigration visa sub class 189 with my family. I'm married and have two kids. Please note below my timelines:
> 
> IELTS Test: 22 June 2013
> IEA Skills Assessment outcome: 26 November 2013
> EOI Submitted: 10 December 2013
> Invited: 27 January 2014
> Visa submitted: 02 February 2014
> CO Allocated: 09 March 2014
> Medical Examination: 11 March 2014
> Kuwaiti Police Clearance: 11 March 2014
> Syrian Police Clearance: 12 March 2014
> All documents updated: 20 March 2014
> CO contacted requesting further details: 25 March 2014
> CO contacted requesting further documents: 31 March 2014
> All documents submitted: 2 April 2014
> Follow up: 20 May 2014
> Follow up: 20 Aug 2014
> Follow up: 16 Dec 2014
> Provided Updated Passport, updated Travel history & Follow up: 8 Feb 2015
> 
> So far, my application has been under process for 13 months, I completed all the documents since 11 months.
> 
> The DIBP confirmed that no further documents are required at this stage. They said that at present my application is undergoing routine processing (security check). Unfortunately they were unable to provide me with a definitive timeframe for finalisation as some cases may take many months to finalise.
> 
> Last week I heard that a Syrian person, whom completed his documents on July 2014 has got his VISA granted. Which means that his security check took only 7 months. I started to worry about my application.
> 
> Would you please advise about my case? What could be the reason behind this delay? How long does the security check normally take?
> 
> What can we do at this stage? Shouldn't my agent call the DIBP to discuss my application?
> 
> I have a very active travel history due to my work nature. My travel history includes Syria, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Malaysia, Ireland, Spain, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone (before the Ebola problems), Gabon, Kenya and Libya (one day transit on 2010). Does this make my case more complicated?
> 
> Thanks,
> Azoz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abhay -

Sadly there is no time limit that DIBP has to process category 5 applications. In my view DIBP may be waiting out applicants, hoping they will withdraw their applications or just give up. Hope you hang in there! Additionally, you might look at the family sponsored 489 application as an alternative, however those also have a long waiting period and are only a provisional skilled visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abhay said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you pls shed some light on status of VS 176 FS cat 5. Its been now more than 5 years of waiting and no clue.
> By when shall DIBP process these applications ?
> 
> Best regards,
> Abhay


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shelleymae -

No, you can enter as you like on the subclass 461 visa as long as there is no condition on the visa itself (4-digit number beginning with 8) that stipulates that you must enter only after someone else, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shelleymae said:


> Hi again Mark,
> 
> "Your New Zealand citizen family member is living in Australia on a Special Category visa (subclass 444) or will be travelling with you to Australia and will be granted a Special Category visa (subclass 444) on arrival.."
> 
> Does this mean I must accompany my husband on his first entry to Australia or can I join him a short while later?
> Hoping to hear soon as his trip is looming nearer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shamtah -

If you expect the visa to take 12 or more months from now to process, I'd hold off on the health check. If you think it will be processed in 6-9 months, I'd consider taking the health check now.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shamtah said:


> Hi mark
> thank you very much for the rapid response
> The DIBP already sent me the payment receipt and i meant they did not sent me any thing concerning the case officer.
> 
> i want to ask you another question please, can i do my health check now or is it better to do it after my case officer is assigned and he asks me for that?
> 
> thank you very much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Azad29 -

Think I answered this before...? You can only claim work experience for points for a skilled visa application (with ACS) that are considered as skilled and related to your occupation, so typically with ACS this is work AFTER the deeming date (sounds like in your case, 6 yrs 11 months, but I can't tell without seeing your documents). Would use actual dates for job start/stop dates; for the deeming date month (ie, after March), to be safe, I would start the skilled portion of the job beginning 1 April of that year, etc if the deeming date falls in the middle of a job experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



azad29 said:


> Dear Mr.Mark,
> 
> I will be happy if you can help me regarding my Acs letter and filling my Eoi, in my acs letter my all skills assessed as suitable for migration under anzsco code 263113, I have total 13 yrs work experience but all are closely related to 263113 where acs only considered as skilled and appropriately related to my last 6yrs 11 months. So my question in Eoi can I tell my all occupation related to skilled occpation for reward 15 points or i can only reward for 6 yrs 11 months in EOI.
> 
> If you also tell me how can I fill EOI for job date because it's in dd/mm/yr but in ACS I got all the format in mm/yr format where one date 07/07 is common for my 2 jobs. So now I am confused how to fill EOI for date for job experience with that common date.
> 
> Dates: 12/05 - 07/07 (1yrs 7mths)
> 
> Dates: 07/07 - 11/09 (2yrs 4mths)
> 
> I will be happy if someone guide me at this stage of my application.
> 
> Best Regards,
> Azad


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rachana -

I don't trust the "estimated" processing times on DIBP's site, especially when it comes to student visas. And especially if they are offshore applications. Why? Because I get many frantic questions here from people who did trust those times and whose visa application has taken far longer to process (many weeks or even months).

All you can do is contact the DIBP post that is processing his application (see the correspondence received when the application was lodged to try and locate this) and ask them about what is remaining to process. Hint: Lodge all student visas 3 months in advance going forward. Then, hope your visa doesn't end up taking 4 months to process as some have we've heard about here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rachana said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> This question is regarding my brother who has applied for a student visa. He is planning to come here with his partner. He has got a seat in WA at ECU and applied for Visa on the 20th Jan 2015. The college has already started and he has missed good 10 days of classes. He is yet to receive the visa and all that we get to see in the status is "it is in progress"
> As far as our knowledge goes student visas take max of 14 to 18 days right? In his case we are really unsure of the reason for the delay. We really don't know whom to contact and what the status is.
> 
> Looking forward for a reply from your end which would help us understand the reason for delay.
> 
> Thanks and Regards
> Rachana


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abedin -

Thanks for the questions. Only an Australian citizen or permanent resident can sponsor a person for the sponsored family visitor visa stream of the subclass 600 visa, so if you've only lodged your 309/100 and have not yet been granted the 100 (PR) part of the visa package, you would not be able to sponsor a family member in this way. However you could always be the "inviter" for them for a subclass 600 visitor visa (tourism stream).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abedin said:


> Hi Mark,
> Appreciate all your hard work.
> 
> My questions are,
> 
> 1. Can I submit Sponsored Family Tourist Visa for my parents and Sister (under 18) online? (Please Note: My parents hold Bangladeshi passport)
> 
> 2. I have lodged my Partners 309/100 Visa online, Can I apply for her sponsored family visa? Can I apply it online (My wife holds Bangladeshi passport)?
> 
> 3. As I have lodged my Partners 309/100 visa, will it effect in any way if I submit my parents sponsored family tourist visa? and My wifes touris visa aswell?
> 
> 4. Do I need to pay bond to the department? Is it a Must thing or they may or may not ask?
> 
> I really appreciate all your help and cooperation.
> 
> regards,
> Abedin


----------



## thefreeman

Hi Mark, thank you for being so kind to volunteer your knowledge here for free. 

I am wondering if you can have a look at my thread in this part of the forum for me? (Sorry, can't link - prohibited due to low post count)

Thanks so much!


----------



## thefreeman

Hi Mark,

Thanks for volunteering your knowledge for free on here!

I am hoping you can take a look at the thread I started in this part of the forum? Sorry, I can't link due to the low post count.

Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mustafasabir -

Thanks for the questions. See responses below at ***:



mustafasabir said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope this message finds you in the pink of your health.
> 
> I require some help (as usual) from you, before filing my case to DIBP.
> 
> 1) I have seen that DIBP have often asked to send them full passport history. This information has always been requested from the applicants in between the process of their case. Should I provide full passport scanned copies to DIBP upfront while lodging the case OR shall I wait for their return? Ultimately, the intention is to save time.
> *** I would only provide this if asked, however you might have the scans ready to go in case they ask.
> 
> 2) On the forum, it is learnt that we have to enter only that experience for which we have to claim points. ACS has counted my first company's last 2 months towards skilled profession. Hence, while lodging EOI, I have split that experience in 2 lines. Out of 4 years and 2 months of total experience for that company, I entered one line for 4 Years and selected *NO* for *"Is this employment related to the nominated occupation?"*, a checkbox provided in the experience section in EOI. Even though it is not counted towards Skilled experience, I entered these 4 years because these years satisfying my suitability criteria. Then for last 2 months, I entered as a Skilled Employment on separate line and marked the check box meaning that it is counted as skilled employment.
> 
> I hope that I have not done something stupid by entering experience that is counted towards suitability criteria. Even though system has calculated my points perfectly but I am bit edgy and require your acknowledgement.
> *** No problem - as long as all the experience that you do NOT want to count for points is NOT indicated as related to the nomination, you should be fine.
> 
> 3) Police certificate in UAE is valid for 3 months. If I take it now and upload it while filing my case with DIBP, it might get expire within the case processing time. Is that fine with DIBP or they would ask me to get the valid police certificate once again?
> *** Currently DIBP considers police certificates valid for 1 year for immigration purposes. No guarantee they won't ask you to get another one, but that's the current handling.
> 
> 4) I do not have salary slips of previous company for which I have claimed 2 months towards skilled employment. If I request it now, the company might give me salary slips with the current date and address *(the address of the company when I was with them)*. Is that fine *OR* shall I request them to provide me payslips with their old address and date. This looks quite awful to me and I know that it would be the same to that company too. To avoid it, what if I do not provide the payslips at all of this company because I have the valid experience letter from them.
> *** DIBP will generally want proof of payment (payslips, tax record, bank statement or something like that) for all periods of skilled employment claimed for points. Current date on the payslip no problem if the actual date that the pay was paid is also on there.
> 
> Thanks a lot.
> 
> Regards,
> Mustafa.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crish_mac -

Thanks for the questions. Re: 1, I would see if ACS will give you a letter indicating that the person who they issued the assessment for is the same person that holds your passport (you, that is). Not sure if they will do this. Would have to see exactly how the ACS report looks as compared to your passport to give you any further advice on this specific to your case, but expect it would not likely be a problem. If you'd like to discuss further, you could book a consultation (see website link below in my signature).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crish_mac said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> 1. I did my ACS assessment in Oct 2014, where in given name field i typed my first name only, while in my passport's Given names field shows my first name + fathers name.
> will this be a problem while filing for 189 visa ?
> 
> 2. Is there a way to ask ACS about changing the name in their record ?
> 
> 3. I have done Bachelors and masters, but my master was part time so did not mentioned while doing ACS, is this ok? or should i do the ACS again ?
> 
> Thanks in Adavance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neetu9780 -

No. A family sponsored 489 can work at any occupation they wish, unless there is a condition on your specific visa (look for a list of conditions - they're 4-digit codes beginning with an 8) that limits you in this way. Normally for a family sponsored 489, the primary limitation is that you must live in an area that is designated for this type of visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



neetu9780 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Can you please clarify if a 489 FS is required to work under the nominated occupation for 1 year?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Omar_hegazy -

Thanks for the kind words!

No way for me to guess how ACS would assess your degree re: relevance - they do a detailed study of your transcript, the courses that are in the degree, country information, etc etc. All you can do really is to lodge your application with them and see how they assess things. I assume you have looked at the Summary of Criteria (see https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/7324/Summary-of-Criteria-2014.pdf )

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



omar_hegazy said:


> Dear Sir,
> 
> Firstly, i would like to thank you for your amazing assistance to all members !
> 
> I have a bachelor degree of electronics & communications engineering. Also i have 3 years of experience as Senior Network Engineer.
> 
> My concern is would i be assessed as ICT (Major close/Major not close/Minor close or Minor not close)? Just wanted to check how many years will be deducted for suitability criteria by ACS.
> 
> Just to clarify, i'm applying for "Computer Network and Systems Enginner" job.
> 
> Thanks for helping !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thao Le -

Thanks for the questions. For 186 visa, your employer must offer you a contract for at least 2 years of work, so a contract with an end date prior to that may not be accepted by DIBP. Suggest you get a new one with a date at least 2 years out from the grant of the visa - some companies either give an unlimited contract (that goes until the notice provisions are activated by either party) or do a 2 year (or more) contract that has as the start date "Upon grant of subclass 186 visa", etc.

Re: current occupancy of the position, this is part of the Genuine Position assessment which is a major area where things can go wrong with the nomination part of the 186 visa. Way too long to go into here, but in short, the employer must satisfy DIBP that the position is genuine, and necessary and viable for the employer to have.

Re: what can go wrong with a 186? Lots of things - again, way too long to go into here. It's like asking a mechanic which part of a car could break. Where do you begin? If you are going it yourself, I would very carefully research the nomination part of the application online and wherever you can, and hope the employer has no problem giving you their finances, etc for the various employer docs that have to go in for that part. The visa application part is less problematic, but areas to look out for especially are the work experience documentation and details if you are doing the direct entry pathway.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Thao Le said:


> Hi Mark,
> I've got some concerns here that I hope you could provide some help.
> 
> 1. Regarding the employment contract, it says in the document checklist "Employment contract for a full-time ongoing position indicating the base salary and the total remuneration terms and conditions of employment". It does not state the duration of the contract. So can I use my current contract (which expires in November this year)?
> 
> 2. One of the documents required for a paid employee is:
> "as applicable: evidence that the position is currently occupied by a temporary resident". Just wondering what this is?
> 
> As my company (who is sponsoring me) and I are planning to lodge online for the 186 visa on our own, is there any advice that you could give us so we could ensure we avoid any possible mistakes?
> 
> We'd very much appreciate your help.
> Regards,
> Thao


----------



## loveaustraliaforum

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing great. I would like to ask after 189 has been granted but later on the primary applicant divorces the secondary applicant, will the secondary applicant's PR be cancelled/affected or will the secondary applicant continue having her PR like an 'independent' PR?

Also, if the primary applicant does not fulfil the requirement of staying 2 out of 5 years in Australia but the secondary applicant fulfils it, will the secondary applicant be affected by the primary applicant's actions?

On a seperate note, what do you think of the chances of Accounting being removed from the new SOL that I understand will apply from July 2015?

Thanks Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KJ -

Cancellation of your student visa, either as a result of the school reporting you to DIBP for cancelling your enrolment, or by you voluntarily cancelling the visa, would not cancel your 189 application being processed, however you would end up with no visa if you're in Australia as your bridging visa from the 189 would be cancelled at the same time as your student visa is. You'd then have to go to DIBP and apply for a Bridging Visa E (no work rights by default, but you could apply to add them on based on financial hardship) to remain in Australia until the 189 decision is made. There are other potential issues with this as well including no way to get back into Australia if you depart while holding the BV-E, loss of time in Australia prior to the cancellation towards citizenship, and more. Would suggest you consult with a registered migration agent prior to going down the cancellation pathway so you can develop a plan and know exactly how things will work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kjoz said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have applied for the skilled independent visa subclass 189 with my defacto partner. At the time of applying I was on a student visa and had completed one of my courses. Another one has recently started, however I would like to cancel the enrollment so I can work due to some recent financial hardship.
> 
> My question: If I cancel my enrollment with the education provider does my student visa which is still active, get canceled and does it cancel my application for 189?
> 
> Thanks for your help!
> KJ


----------



## Abedin

Hi Mark,
Thanks for the reply.
I actually couldn't clarify my issue.
I am a Permanent Resident and lodged my wifes partner visa 309/100 application.
Now I would Like to apply for my Parents,sister (under18) and wifes Sponsored Family Tourist Visa.
As all of them from Bangladesh, Can I submit application Online?
As my wifes 309/100 is under process, will it effect her visa if i apply tourist visa?
Thank you once again for your patience in replying.
Kind regards,
Abedin



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Abedin -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Only an Australian citizen or permanent resident can sponsor a person for the sponsored family visitor visa stream of the subclass 600 visa, so if you've only lodged your 309/100 and have not yet been granted the 100 (PR) part of the visa package, you would not be able to sponsor a family member in this way. However you could always be the "inviter" for them for a subclass 600 visitor visa (tourism stream).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MtFranklin89 -

I'd answer "yes" as the question refers to your physical presence in schools, etc. (and is used for health assessment purposes mainly). For the name of the school, etc you can put "Various - employer is vendor contracted to schools" or something like that, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mtfranklin.89 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm currently applying for a 457 visa as "Other Sports Instructor". I will be an instructor (for more than 3 months) in after school martial arts classes for school-aged children. Generally, classes are made up of 5-20 children and held during after school hours in school halls. How should I answer the question below?
> 
> _Do you, or any other person included in this application, intend to be in a classroom situation for more than 3 months (e.g. as either a student, teacher, lecturer, or observer) while in Australia?_
> 
> My initial response was to answer yes, but when asked to specify details, I am asked to write the "Name of course" and "Name of institution providing course", which leads me to think that this is referring more to schools and universities. I will not be employed by a school; I will be employed by a martial arts company that uses school venues.
> 
> Thank you very much for your kind help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhanu -

No problem as long as you contact DIBP prior to the 28 day deadline and let them know there is a delay in the police report process and that you'll send the report to them as soon as you get it, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dhanu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My husband applied for an offshore spouse visa (309) The case officer requested the police report and the 28 days time period is about expire soon. There is a delay in the police report. We are worrying if this will badly effect the visa.
> Highly appreciate your advice on this.
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Thank you and Regards
> Dhanu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Qimtiaz -

No problem that I know of, however DIBP will ask for all education for your lifetime, and you may not want to answer that question inaccurately. Even if you include the Masters in the DIBP visa application, form 80, etc, it still would not be a problem that I can see if you did not put it on to be assessed by ACS.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



qimtiaz said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have bachelors degree Major in ICT plus Masters degree with ICT major as well.
> 
> I am planning for ACS assessment with my bachelors only and does not want to show the Masters degree (As the points are same for both), will this be OK for ACS assessment and later while applying for 189/190 visa will this make any problem?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Imran_razz -

If you intend to breach the 2 year agreement you have with the SA govt to live and work in SA, I would suggest getting professional advice prior to doing this to increase your chances of not being hassled by SA. This is a huge gray area in the migration world, since the 2-year commitment is a civil contractual agreement between you and SA, and is not a condition of your visa with DIBP. Have not heard of states actually prosecuting this, but that doesn't mean it isn't happening. Proceed with caution.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



imran_razz said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have been living in South Australia on 190 visa for the last 10 months. I intend to relocate to either Sydney or Melbourne. Do I need to notify South Australia government prior to that? Will this have any impact whatsoever on my citizenship in the future? Cheers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Once PR is granted, each person is essentially independently a PR, and their PR visa is not affected by a breakdown of the relationship, etc. Re: 2/5 years for a resident return visa, etc, this also is assessed independently, so if a relationship broke down, the lack of 2 yrs in Australia by the former partner would not impact the other partner.

Re: accounting being taken off the SOL? My guess: they may cut the quotas for these occupations, but will probably not remove them. Note they are NOT on the flagged occupation list: Flagged Occupations

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



loveaustraliaforum said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing great. I would like to ask after 189 has been granted but later on the primary applicant divorces the secondary applicant, will the secondary applicant's PR be cancelled/affected or will the secondary applicant continue having her PR like an 'independent' PR?
> 
> Also, if the primary applicant does not fulfil the requirement of staying 2 out of 5 years in Australia but the secondary applicant fulfils it, will the secondary applicant be affected by the primary applicant's actions?
> 
> On a seperate note, what do you think of the chances of Accounting being removed from the new SOL that I understand will apply from July 2015?
> 
> Thanks Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abedin -

That makes more sense - thanks for the clarification. Note you can only sponsor 1 person at a time for the sponsored family visitor stream UNLESS all of the people you are sponsoring all part of the same family unit. A family unit is made up of the head of the family, their partner and their dependent children. Other relatives can be included in the family unit if they are dependent on the head of the family.

No issue I see to the 309/100 having any negative impact if the applicant applies for a sponsored family sc600 visa, unless any of the information that is submitted with the sc600 visa conflicts information you've provided with the 309/100 application (ie, dependents, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abedin said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for the reply.
> I actually couldn't clarify my issue.
> I am a Permanent Resident and lodged my wifes partner visa 309/100 application.
> Now I would Like to apply for my Parents,sister (under18) and wifes Sponsored Family Tourist Visa.
> As all of them from Bangladesh, Can I submit application Online?
> As my wifes 309/100 is under process, will it effect her visa if i apply tourist visa?
> Thank you once again for your patience in replying.
> Kind regards,
> Abedin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thefreeman -

Thanks for the kind words - will go look for the thread - if I don't find it and respond, please post another message here on this thread and I'll look back in here tomorrow.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thefreeman said:


> Hi Mark, thank you for being so kind to volunteer your knowledge here for free.
> 
> I am wondering if you can have a look at my thread in this part of the forum for me? (Sorry, can't link - prohibited due to low post count)
> 
> Thanks so much!


----------



## loveaustraliaforum

Thank you very much for the information Mark. You're awesome as always. God bless!


----------



## Tigerali

*Thank you Sir*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tigerali -
> 
> Not much you can do but wait. Form 929 is the form for changing your passport, which you could complete and then send to DIBP through some other channel (even post). Once your partner visa was actively being processed, you would need to confirm with the case officer that they received your 929 and have hooked it up with your 309/100 application. Best to include full details of the 309/100 application (ie, TRN number, date of application) with your Form 929 to help DIBP associate the two.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,
Thank you for the information.Luckily today i got mail from case officer, so finaly wait is over , m in que.you r really doing appreciable work by helping here the helpless ones.God Bless YOU


----------



## Dhanu

Thank you so much for the reply Mark. This information is very helpful.

Regards
Dhanu



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dhanu -
> 
> No problem as long as you contact DIBP prior to the 28 day deadline and let them know there is a delay in the police report process and that you'll send the report to them as soon as you get it, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Thao Le

*186 visa*

Thanks Mark for the detailed response - really appreciate it.

Just a bit further on the Genuine Position assessment for the nomination part. Last year my employer had nominated me for the same occupation for the 457 visa (I have been working for this same employer in the same occupation for 3 years now (but only one year out of the 3 years is under 457 visa), would that be supportive in terms of genuine position assessment?

Could you possibly advise the documents we could/should provide to DIBP as proof that the position is genuine (does submission of an employment contract and full job description satisfy this requirement?)?

Thanks again.
Regards,
Thao



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Thao Le -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. For 186 visa, your employer must offer you a contract for at least 2 years of work, so a contract with an end date prior to that may not be accepted by DIBP. Suggest you get a new one with a date at least 2 years out from the grant of the visa - some companies either give an unlimited contract (that goes until the notice provisions are activated by either party) or do a 2 year (or more) contract that has as the start date "Upon grant of subclass 186 visa", etc.
> 
> Re: current occupancy of the position, this is part of the Genuine Position assessment which is a major area where things can go wrong with the nomination part of the 186 visa. Way too long to go into here, but in short, the employer must satisfy DIBP that the position is genuine, and necessary and viable for the employer to have.
> 
> Re: what can go wrong with a 186? Lots of things - again, way too long to go into here. It's like asking a mechanic which part of a car could break. Where do you begin? If you are going it yourself, I would very carefully research the nomination part of the application online and wherever you can, and hope the employer has no problem giving you their finances, etc for the various employer docs that have to go in for that part. The visa application part is less problematic, but areas to look out for especially are the work experience documentation and details if you are doing the direct entry pathway.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## crish_mac

My Given name as in passport: First Name + Fathers name
My Surname as in Passport: Lastname

While in ACS Report it shows only: FirstName + Lastname

3. I have done Bachelors and masters, but my master was part time so did not mentioned while doing ACS, is this ok? or should i do the ACS again ? DO i have to show masters in EOI ?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Crish_mac -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Re: 1, I would see if ACS will give you a letter indicating that the person who they issued the assessment for is the same person that holds your passport (you, that is). Not sure if they will do this. Would have to see exactly how the ACS report looks as compared to your passport to give you any further advice on this specific to your case, but expect it would not likely be a problem. If you'd like to discuss further, you could book a consultation (see website link below in my signature).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Emma098

*hi mark*

Hi Mark

Unfortunately, me and my family member don't know my parent date of birth since he is deceased for long time ago. No one really remember and we don't have any information for that.
What should I fill in the application?

Thanks
Emma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thao Le -

If you're being asked (via a letter requesting additional information) for Genuine Position information, I'd contact a migration agent and get professional assistance with that, as it usually requires a careful comparison of the applicable policy and legislation for the nomination with the specifics of the business. Normally for a 457 nomination, position description, org chart and employment contract are sufficient, but of course it depends on the information contained in those documents. As to any further documents, that completely depends on the specifics of the company and position and would likely be different for each company. I'm working on a project now for a client where DIBP is questioning the genuine position aspect of the nomination and is specifically requiring documents related to genuine position - it's not quick or easy, but detailed research and good evidence is the best way to get these across the line.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Thao Le said:


> Thanks Mark for the detailed response - really appreciate it.
> 
> Just a bit further on the Genuine Position assessment for the nomination part. Last year my employer had nominated me for the same occupation for the 457 visa (I have been working for this same employer in the same occupation for 3 years now (but only one year out of the 3 years is under 457 visa), would that be supportive in terms of genuine position assessment?
> 
> Could you possibly advise the documents we could/should provide to DIBP as proof that the position is genuine (does submission of an employment contract and full job description satisfy this requirement?)?
> 
> Thanks again.
> Regards,
> Thao


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crish_Mac -

Would need to see more details at a consultation to give you specific advice for your case - too many details to consider, etc to give specific advice based on anonymous forum posts, etc. Would be happy to assist you at a consultation where you could email me your documents first so I can review and we can discuss and determine specific advice at the consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crish_mac said:


> My Given name as in passport: First Name + Fathers name
> My Surname as in Passport: Lastname
> 
> While in ACS Report it shows only: FirstName + Lastname
> 
> 3. I have done Bachelors and masters, but my master was part time so did not mentioned while doing ACS, is this ok? or should i do the ACS again ? DO i have to show masters in EOI ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma -

I'd put "01-Jan-1900" for the date, and add a note to the application that you don't have your parent's date of birth and there is no way to get it at this point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emma098 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Unfortunately, me and my family member don't know my parent date of birth since he is deceased for long time ago. No one really remember and we don't have any information for that.
> What should I fill in the application?
> 
> Thanks
> Emma


----------



## charanjit

*Information sought for 489*

hi Mark,
You are doing a really wonderfull job here , i have joined this thread today and have some queries. 
I have got an invitation in 489 last month. I wanna know that whether i have to upload original scanned or attested scanned copies.

My second query is that what proof should i have to submit as a proof that the sponser is my wife's real brother.

Thanks in advance for your kind support.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charanjit -

Thanks for the kind words, and congratulation on your 489 invitation!

For online applications, colour scans of originals are fine. Re: proof of family relationship, that varies from one person to the next. Often, submitting a series of birth certificates that trace back to the same parents, etc can be helpful in establishing family relationships. Your sponsor and your wife could both provide birth certificates listing the same parents, and you could also include a family tree drawn on a piece of paper to make it clear to the case officer how the birth certificates are related. If birth certificates are not available, then other records like secondary school records (for countries that provide these) and family books are other options where parents' names are often listed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charanjit said:


> hi Mark,
> You are doing a really wonderfull job here , i have joined this thread today and have some queries.
> I have got an invitation in 489 last month. I wanna know that whether i have to upload original scanned or attested scanned copies.
> 
> My second query is that what proof should i have to submit as a proof that the sponser is my wife's real brother.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your kind support.


----------



## charanjit

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Charanjit -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words, and congratulation on your 489 invitation!
> 
> For online applications, colour scans of originals are fine. Re: proof of family relationship, that varies from one person to the next. Often, submitting a series of birth certificates that trace back to the same parents, etc can be helpful in establishing family relationships. Your sponsor and your wife could both provide birth certificates listing the same parents, and you could also include a family tree drawn on a piece of paper to make it clear to the case officer how the birth certificates are related. If birth certificates are not available, then other records like secondary school records (for countries that provide these) and family books are other options where parents' names are often listed.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot for your valuable information.I have one more question that is , whether i have to live in the same post code in which my brother in law is staying?secondly i have lots of things for a proof of my single 10 year job (like exp certificate of 5 year and 10 year promotion letters increment letters) , can i submit all or there is a limit.

Thanks in advance


----------



## SONI

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Thao Le -
> 
> If you're being asked (via a letter requesting additional information) for Genuine Position information, I'd contact a migration agent and get professional assistance with that, as it usually requires a careful comparison of the applicable policy and legislation for the nomination with the specifics of the business. Normally for a 457 nomination, position description, org chart and employment contract are sufficient, but of course it depends on the information contained in those documents. As to any further documents, that completely depends on the specifics of the company and position and would likely be different for each company. I'm working on a project now for a client where DIBP is questioning the genuine position aspect of the nomination and is specifically requiring documents related to genuine position - it's not quick or easy, but detailed research and good evidence is the best way to get these across the line.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


i mark can you please help me
We applied employer nomination application on 29 oct 2014 and immigration asked us to submitt document on 24 nov in 28 days. We submiited all documents on 19 december. But after that havent got any update in my application. Its more then 4 month. 
I am little worried because havnt submiited 457 visa application yet. My agent told me to wait for nomination approval first


----------



## Xuxa

Hi Mark,

I'm an Australian PR and am looking to get my overseas girlfriend to Australia. I'm thinking the best way to go is have her apply for a working holiday visa first so she can come to Oz, then afterwards sponsor her for a partner or prospective visa, depending on whether or not we get married. That way she can be here with me during the entire process. Is this the way to go or do you have another option?

Thanks very much for all your advice!


----------



## thefreeman

Hi Mark, quick one:

It's going to be easier for my (Serbian) fiancee to have her Serbian birth certificate certified in Montenegro - is this going to spell problems when applying at the Serbian embassy ("from" Serbia)?

Thanks once again!


----------



## stu

*Visa 457 Subsequent Entrant - Self Employment Option?*

Hi Mark,

Wondering if you can help?

I've been searching for a while now and struggling to find a reliable answer. I'll be moving to Perth from UK in August, as a subsequent entrant under my partners 457 visa. Everything I've read so far advises there's no working restrictions under this visa. However, can I continue to be self employed or register my own business in Aus? Some have told me yes and some no, so just hoping for your insight.

Thanks
Stuart


----------



## KarenVG

Hi Mark
I have a question about which ANZSCO code to use for an offshore skilled independent visa (from Italy). I don't know if this is too specific to answer... but which code should an IT Internal Auditor apply under? Would it be Internal Auditor (221214) which is assessed by VETASSESS, or ICT Quality Assurance Engineer (263211) which is assessed by ACS?

We think it would be internal auditor, after all that's what he is (with an IT emphasis/specialisation), but another migration officer on the forum said we could not apply under this category so I'm confused!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charanjit -

Re: where you must live under family sponsored 489, you would need to live in an area designated for the 489 visa - see Designated Areas of Australia for the list. Note that your sponsor must also live in a designated area (from the same list). You and your sponsor do not have to live in the same designated area.

Re: work evidence, would need to see the actual documents (or emailed scans) in a consultation to give you advice on those - see website link in my signature below for more on consultations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charanjit said:


> Thanks a lot for your valuable information.I have one more question that is , whether i have to live in the same post code in which my brother in law is staying?secondly i have lots of things for a proof of my single 10 year job (like exp certificate of 5 year and 10 year promotion letters increment letters) , can i submit all or there is a limit.
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Don't know about this. If you are lodging online, you don't have to have things certified at all normally - just upload high quality colour scan of original. Much easier than trying to figure out (or guess) which certification of documents will & won't be accepted by some overseas post.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thefreeman said:


> Hi Mark, quick one:
> 
> It's going to be easier for my (Serbian) fiancee to have her Serbian birth certificate certified in Montenegro - is this going to spell problems when applying at the Serbian embassy ("from" Serbia)?
> 
> Thanks once again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KarenVG -

The choice of occupation code should be made carefully by a detailed comparison of the applicant's tasks/duties/responsibilities in their work, with the ANZSCO definition for that occupation. Also need to factor in the skills assessor's requirements for each occupation, which can vary widely. I can't assess which code is best for the applicant without a lot more information, however if you are looking for a skilled independent PR visa (subclass 189), 263211 is not eligible for that visa, while 221214 is.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KarenVG said:


> Hi Mark
> I have a question about which ANZSCO code to use for an offshore skilled independent visa (from Italy). I don't know if this is too specific to answer... but which code should an IT Internal Auditor apply under? Would it be Internal Auditor (221214) which is assessed by VETASSESS, or ICT Quality Assurance Engineer (263211) which is assessed by ACS?
> 
> We think it would be internal auditor, after all that's what he is (with an IT emphasis/specialisation), but another migration officer on the forum said we could not apply under this category so I'm confused!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stuart -

I can't quote local labor or company registration law, however from an immigration point of view, 457 secondary visa holders (ie, spouse of 457 primary visa holder) have no work restrictions, which means they can work for anyone, including themselves or their own company. You'd have to check out the laws re: registering a business, Australia Tax Office rules, etc re: setting up a business, etc to make sure you're OK with all that, but from an immigration point of view you can work for anyone you wish.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Wondering if you can help?
> 
> I've been searching for a while now and struggling to find a reliable answer. I'll be moving to Perth from UK in August, as a subsequent entrant under my partners 457 visa. Everything I've read so far advises there's no working restrictions under this visa. However, can I continue to be self employed or register my own business in Aus? Some have told me yes and some no, so just hoping for your insight.
> 
> Thanks
> Stuart


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SONI -

Hard for me to comment on your nomination without seeing the file, however a delay of that amount of time could indicate that the nomination has encountered a problem at DIBP. You are of course free to lodge the visa application any time you'd like, which will generate a bridging visa which would activate as soon as your current visa ends, however the risk in doing so before the nomination is approved is that if the nomination is refused, you'll have to withdraw your 457 visa application (with no refund) or face refusal. Suggest you discuss more with your agent to determine the strategy you are most comfortable with.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SONI said:


> i mark can you please help me
> We applied employer nomination application on 29 oct 2014 and immigration asked us to submitt document on 24 nov in 28 days. We submiited all documents on 19 december. But after that havent got any update in my application. Its more then 4 month.
> I am little worried because havnt submiited 457 visa application yet. My agent told me to wait for nomination approval first


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xuxa -

Thanks for the question. It's one way to go, however I can't comment on the partner or PMV visa plans without knowing a lot more about you both and your relationship. Also note that while you can lodge an onshore partner visa while she's here, you cannot lodge a PMV (prospective marriage visa) while she is onshore - she must be offshore at the date of application and the date of grant for this visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xuxa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm an Australian PR and am looking to get my overseas girlfriend to Australia. I'm thinking the best way to go is have her apply for a working holiday visa first so she can come to Oz, then afterwards sponsor her for a partner or prospective visa, depending on whether or not we get married. That way she can be here with me during the entire process. Is this the way to go or do you have another option?
> 
> Thanks very much for all your advice!


----------



## BrazAuss

*how to send email to the immigration*

Hello Mark,
I submitted an application for 309/100 a week ago from Brazil. I am the Australian sponsor and currently living in Brazil with my de-facto wife. We´ve been together for 14 years, have three childs of our relationship (ages 3, 5 and 11) - they´ve been all granted Australian citizenship by descent.
The question is: How to submit the application´s cover letter to the immigration? As a matter of fact we did submit one, by uploading a letter saved of pdf and submitted together with the application. However, we got an auto reply (on their site) saying that DIBP preffers that all communication should be done through e-mail. But they didn´t provide any contact all all - (that gives me the impression that are not organised at all).

I hope you can add some light on this.


----------



## Emma098

*thanks*

Hi Mark,
Thanks. 
I am wondering where should I put the note since i will apply through online. Should I just write in A4 paper to mention that and scan to them or I should put in additional information?
Thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Emma -
> 
> I'd put "01-Jan-1900" for the date, and add a note to the application that you don't have your parent's date of birth and there is no way to get it at this point.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Jaspreetsingh

Hi Mark,

I am new in this forum and joined this thread today. I am very obliged that I found this Australian forum which would help me. 

Actually yesterday I got 489 invitation and they have given 60 days time to file visa and I am looking forward to file visa. I have certain queries, if you could help me. 
1. Apart from my experience letter, appointment letter and job responsibilities what extra documents do I need for visa
2. How much time will it take to get visa after applying
3. Can I file visa of my own or I need to contact any lawyer or MARA agent.

I would be very thankful if you could answer my queries


----------



## shamtah

Hi mark

yes mark your answers to my questions helped me very much because you are the best in regard to the immigration issues.

I wish you the best of good luck.


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shamtah -
> 
> If you expect the visa to take 12 or more months from now to process, I'd hold off on the health check. If you think it will be processed in 6-9 months, I'd consider taking the health check now.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## smallFry

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding the PMV,

my partner and myself had a combined engagement/wedding overseas, so in the eyes of the family & friends,we are married, but it is not official yet as we are appyling for the PMV and are technically only engaged and never signed official registry/ marriage documents (Vietnam). My question is, should I try to explain that the wedding is not official as friends may write stat decs addressing us as husband and wife as this is how they see us. or is it best to keep it simple and submit evidence that we are engaged only. 


I have a second Question,

Is it ok to apply for my partner to apply for a visitor visa first, then the PMV second, wait for the PMV to be recieved and assigned a CO (While offshore), then come to visit Australia under the Tourist visa for a few weeks? ( i know she must be offshore when applying and when a decision is being made) or should I wait until the PMV is opened/assigned Before applying for a tourist Visa ? , I know this can take months and we hate the waiting game...

Any help appreciated,


----------



## Fress313

*Partner visa*

Hi mark
My wife applied for a partner visa ( offshore online in thailand ) sept 10 2014 we have forwarded more information a few weeks ago at immigtations request and now today I recieved an email saying that she has met all health requirements and they would like her to complete a form 815 health undertaking . 
Do you think this is a good sign ? And does this mean we are getting close to a decision do you think

Thank you for your advice 
Very much appreciated

Regards
Matt


----------



## rose2014

Hi Mark, Im awaiting decision for PMV submitted from sri lanka. Just wanted to know, can i apply for visitor visa, while waiting for the decision? is there a possibiity of getting approved, if i do apply? please note, i did apply for visitor visa before applying for PMV, and that got rejected. I will only apply again, only if there's a possibilty of getting the visa and if it gets rejected for some reason, it wont affect the PMV, rite? thank you so much in advance. Rose


----------



## Jane Hudson

*Pcc*

Hi Mark,

I will be applying for the 485 graduate visa next week. I have already applied for Australian PCC, but I haven't received it yet ? Is it possible for me to apply for this visa by uploading the receipt I received for the police clearance application initially, and then upload the pcc once I have recieved it or

Should I wait for the PCC and then apply for the visa?

I want to send in my application ASAP as my student visa expires very soon.


----------



## charanjit

Jaspreetsingh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new in this forum and joined this thread today. I am very obliged that I found this Australian forum which would help me.
> 
> Actually yesterday I got 489 invitation and they have given 60 days time to file visa and I am looking forward to file visa. I have certain queries, if you could help me.
> 1. Apart from my experience letter, appointment letter and job responsibilities what extra documents do I need for visa
> 2. How much time will it take to get visa after applying
> 3. Can I file visa of my own or I need to contact any lawyer or MARA agent.
> 
> I would be very thankful if you could answer my queries


Hi jaspreet,
Congrats for the invitation and welcome to the forum.Be patient mark will answer soon.I got the invitation last month and i am in the same boat with same slice of questions.


----------



## Jaspreetsingh

*enquiry*



charanjit said:


> Hi jaspreet,
> Congrats for the invitation and welcome to the forum.Be patient mark will answer soon.I got the invitation last month and i am in the same boat with same slice of questions.


Hi charanjit

Thanx dear, so what's ur plan when you are planning to file vIsa and have you done with the documents required. I think you are left with 30 more days. May I know which part of India you are from


----------



## saritha198

*Help with 511112*

Hi Mark,

My Sister applied for expression of interest for visa subclass 190 
Occupation Code = 511112 assessed positive by VETASSESS

she received an email from WA Skilled migration saying that they are interested in her application and have given 28 days to apply for State nomination.

But the clause here is her nominated occupation code is in Schedule 2, she must have a 2 year employment contract within WA.

As you know, for overseas applicants its impossible to get a job offer letter.

she's trying all the possible means like applying for jobs advertised on seek, but no luck.

so my question is what are the other options that she can get through ??
can she change her occupation code to the one which is on SOL and start over again ?? if so which code is close to 511112

Hoping a positive reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BrazAuss -

Normally a letter uploaded via ImmiAccount to the same category/subcategory as the evidence the letter refers to is good. An overall cover letter is not generally necessary or useful; if you have additional info you want to tell them about, it should be about a specific piece of type of evidence usually, and then best to upload PDF with the same category/subcategory as it refers to.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BrazAuss said:


> Hello Mark,
> I submitted an application for 309/100 a week ago from Brazil. I am the Australian sponsor and currently living in Brazil with my de-facto wife. We´ve been together for 14 years, have three childs of our relationship (ages 3, 5 and 11) - they´ve been all granted Australian citizenship by descent.
> The question is: How to submit the application´s cover letter to the immigration? As a matter of fact we did submit one, by uploading a letter saved of pdf and submitted together with the application. However, we got an auto reply (on their site) saying that DIBP preffers that all communication should be done through e-mail. But they didn´t provide any contact all all - (that gives me the impression that are not organised at all).
> 
> I hope you can add some light on this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma098 -

I'd upload a PDF of the note to the same category/subcategory of the evidence you are discussing. If it's about the unknown birthday, etc, then perhaps use the "No Documents" category or choose another one that makes sense. More important to make sure the name of the document makes sense, ie "Information re missing birth dates from applicant.pdf" or something like that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emma098 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks.
> I am wondering where should I put the note since i will apply through online. Should I just write in A4 paper to mention that and scan to them or I should put in additional information?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaspreetsingh -

Welcome to the forum! For a document checklist for your visa type, see the DIBP website - you'll find it there under your visa subclass. Re: processing time, highly unpredictable and DIBP provides no real estimates or commitments. I'd assume anywhere from 6-12 months in a best case situation, and prepare for longer than that, especially if it's a family sponsored 489. Re: need of an agent or lawyer, no requirement at all that you use one in Australia for visa applications - the primary benefit of a migration agent is their experience at dealing with applications and dealing with DIBP. If you do the application yourself, best thing to do is to make sure you read the instructions on the DIBP website and various email/correspondence you get from them very carefully and make sure you follow everything exactly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jaspreetsingh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new in this forum and joined this thread today. I am very obliged that I found this Australian forum which would help me.
> 
> Actually yesterday I got 489 invitation and they have given 60 days time to file visa and I am looking forward to file visa. I have certain queries, if you could help me.
> 1. Apart from my experience letter, appointment letter and job responsibilities what extra documents do I need for visa
> 2. How much time will it take to get visa after applying
> 3. Can I file visa of my own or I need to contact any lawyer or MARA agent.
> 
> I would be very thankful if you could answer my queries


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SmallFry -

Thanks for the question. I'd explain in your relationship statement that you had a "ceremonial" wedding in Vietnam for cultural, religious, etc reasons (whatever applies), but that you are not legally married and that you're planning your "formal wedding" in Australia for when the PMV is approved. Re: visitor visa, I'd wait until a few weeks after the PMV is lodged to make sure it's on the books at the offshore embassy where it will be processed, then (or sometime after that) lodge the visitor visa - visitor visas often have a better chance of success in these situations when the relationship has already been declared to DIBP via lodging the PMV.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



smallFry said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding the PMV,
> 
> my partner and myself had a combined engagement/wedding overseas, so in the eyes of the family & friends,we are married, but it is not official yet as we are appyling for the PMV and are technically only engaged and never signed official registry/ marriage documents (Vietnam). My question is, should I try to explain that the wedding is not official as friends may write stat decs addressing us as husband and wife as this is how they see us. or is it best to keep it simple and submit evidence that we are engaged only.
> 
> I have a second Question,
> 
> Is it ok to apply for my partner to apply for a visitor visa first, then the PMV second, wait for the PMV to be recieved and assigned a CO (While offshore), then come to visit Australia under the Tourist visa for a few weeks? ( i know she must be offshore when applying and when a decision is being made) or should I wait until the PMV is opened/assigned Before applying for a tourist Visa ? , I know this can take months and we hate the waiting game...
> 
> Any help appreciated,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Matt -

A good sign. I would estimate a decision on the visa perhaps in 2-8 weeks. No guarantees however! DIBP can be very unpredictable re: processing times.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Fress313 said:


> Hi mark
> My wife applied for a partner visa ( offshore online in thailand ) sept 10 2014 we have forwarded more information a few weeks ago at immigtations request and now today I recieved an email saying that she has met all health requirements and they would like her to complete a form 815 health undertaking .
> Do you think this is a good sign ? And does this mean we are getting close to a decision do you think
> 
> Thank you for your advice
> Very much appreciated
> 
> Regards
> Matt


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rose -

Yes, ok to lodge, in fact your chances might be better once the PMV is on the books at DIBP post that is processing the visa. I'd research the Genuine Temporary Stay criteria to see how you could strengthen your case - we have this on our website, see Northam & Associates - Genuine Visitor Regulations

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rose2014 said:


> Hi Mark, Im awaiting decision for PMV submitted from sri lanka. Just wanted to know, can i apply for visitor visa, while waiting for the decision? is there a possibiity of getting approved, if i do apply? please note, i did apply for visitor visa before applying for PMV, and that got rejected. I will only apply again, only if there's a possibilty of getting the visa and if it gets rejected for some reason, it wont affect the PMV, rite? thank you so much in advance. Rose


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jane -

OK to lodge 485 once you have evidence that you (and each other applicant if there are more than 1) have applied for an AFP check prior to the date of application (but not more than 12 months before the date of application). Upload the receipt as evidence you've applied, then upload the PCC once you receive it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jane Hudson said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I will be applying for the 485 graduate visa next week. I have already applied for Australian PCC, but I haven't received it yet ? Is it possible for me to apply for this visa by uploading the receipt I received for the police clearance application initially, and then upload the pcc once I have recieved it or
> 
> Should I wait for the PCC and then apply for the visa?
> 
> I want to send in my application ASAP as my student visa expires very soon.


----------



## charanjit

Jaspreetsingh said:


> Hi charanjit
> 
> Thanx dear, so what's ur plan when you are planning to file vIsa and have you done with the documents required. I think you are left with 30 more days. May I know which part of India you are from


i got invitation on 28 feb. i have time upto april27. i am from punjab.Where are you from.


----------



## rose2014

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rose - Yes, ok to lodge, in fact your chances might be better once the PMV is on the books at DIBP post that is processing the visa. I'd research the Genuine Temporary Stay criteria to see how you could strengthen your case - we have this on our website, see Northam & Associates - Genuine Visitor Regulations Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

thank you so much for the respond. Do you think its bettet to send an email to CO to ask whether, we have sufficient time to apply for visitor visa, or should we wait for couple of months to see whether we will get an outcome for the PMV.

thank you
Rose


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charanjit and Jaspreet -

If you could take your discussion to a different thread or use Private Messages that would be great - we've reserved this thread for visa questions - thanks!

Best,

Mark Northam



charanjit said:


> i got invitation on 28 feb. i have time upto april27. i am from punjab.Where are you from.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rose -

You could do that but there's a 50% chance at best that DIBP will respond - they typically don't respond to those types of emails, unfortunately. I'd assume at least 6 months for a PMV, more likely 8-11 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rose2014 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> thank you so much for the respond. Do you think its bettet to send an email to CO to ask whether, we have sufficient time to apply for visitor visa, or should we wait for couple of months to see whether we will get an outcome for the PMV.
> 
> thank you
> Rose


----------



## charanjit

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Charanjit and Jaspreet -
> 
> If you could take your discussion to a different thread or use Private Messages that would be great - we've reserved this thread for visa questions - thanks!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Ohh i am extremely sorry sir,it can understand that how useful thread is this for others and this chat can distrub the real motive. I once again apologise


----------



## Jaspreetsingh

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jaspreetsingh -
> 
> Welcome to the forum! For a document checklist for your visa type, see the DIBP website - you'll find it there under your visa subclass. Re: processing time, highly unpredictable and DIBP provides no real estimates or commitments. I'd assume anywhere from 6-12 months in a best case situation, and prepare for longer than that, especially if it's a family sponsored 489. Re: need of an agent or lawyer, no requirement at all that you use one in Australia for visa applications - the primary benefit of a migration agent is their experience at dealing with applications and dealing with DIBP. If you do the application yourself, best thing to do is to make sure you read the instructions on the DIBP website and various email/correspondence you get from them very carefully and make sure you follow everything exactly.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hiii Mark

Thanx for your guidance, I appreciate that. I will definitely approach you for your helpful advice in future


----------



## Jaspreetsingh

charanjit said:


> Ohh i am extremely sorry sir,it can understand that how useful thread is this for others and this chat can distrub the real motive. I once again apologise


Sorry mark, it won't happen again


----------



## MarkNortham

No problem  One of the best things to do can be to talk (or message) to other applicants and share experiences - I strongly encourage it!

Best,

Mark



Jaspreetsingh said:


> Sorry mark, it won't happen again


----------



## Xuxa

Thanks for the quick response. I know there is a 12 month relationship requirement for the partner visa, but does this have to be 12 consecutive months immediately preceding application filing, or can the 12 months be broken up into chunks? I'm asking because a working holiday visa only allows a stay for one year, and if my partner files for a partner visa before the working holiday visa expires, then we would have lived in Australia together for less than 12 months.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Xuxa -
> 
> Thanks for the question. It's one way to go, however I can't comment on the partner or PMV visa plans without knowing a lot more about you both and your relationship. Also note that while you can lodge an onshore partner visa while she's here, you cannot lodge a PMV (prospective marriage visa) while she is onshore - she must be offshore at the date of application and the date of grant for this visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xuxa -

The 12 months preceeding application are the ones that are looked at for the defacto relationship living together requirement. You might look at whether your Australian state allows registering your defacto relationship, as that would satisfy the 12 month living together requirement - consult DIBP website or a migration agent for full details on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xuxa said:


> Thanks for the quick response. I know there is a 12 month relationship requirement for the partner visa, but does this have to be 12 consecutive months immediately preceding application filing, or can the 12 months be broken up into chunks? I'm asking because a working holiday visa only allows a stay for one year, and if my partner files for a partner visa before the working holiday visa expires, then we would have lived in Australia together for less than 12 months.


----------



## charanjit

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Charanjit -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words, and congratulation on your 489 invitation!
> 
> For online applications, colour scans of originals are fine. Re: proof of family relationship, that varies from one person to the next. Often, submitting a series of birth certificates that trace back to the same parents, etc can be helpful in establishing family relationships. Your sponsor and your wife could both provide birth certificates listing the same parents, and you could also include a family tree drawn on a piece of paper to make it clear to the case officer how the birth certificates are related. If birth certificates are not available, then other records like secondary school records (for countries that provide these) and family books are other options where parents' names are often listed.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi mark,
i was just checking the govt website of Australia that they have written that

_*"ll supporting documents must be scanned and uploaded with your application. All documents that you provide must be certified copies of original documents"*_

i am bit confused


----------



## ali.2015

*Need update*

Hi,

I am new to this forum, I read most of threads here which are really helpful and encouraging.

I applied 820/801 combined Partner Visa application in first week of October 2013. Since then I haven't received any news or outcome from DIBP or nor department asked me any other documents. I sent few emails regarding progress of my 820 visa to DIBP in last couple of months but they just reply that my application is delayed due to security clearance, as I come from High Risk country.

As, it now has been almost 17 months waiting time for 820 visa.

I had applied decision ready 820/801visa applications includes all required documents as well as police/character certificates overseas & Australian, Form 80 and medicals.

Cheers

Ali

Applied 820/801 visa applications 8th October 2013
Paper application
Still waiting for 820 visa to be granted ?????


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charanjit -

DIBP's current policy is that they accept colour scans of original documents for online applications, other than some instances where they want to have the actual hardcopy of the police clearance cert sent to them (some European posts have this requirement).

For paper applications, documents must be originals (although it's not a good idea to send too many of these as you may not get them back) or certified copies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charanjit said:


> hi mark,
> i was just checking the govt website of Australia that they have written that
> 
> _*"ll supporting documents must be scanned and uploaded with your application. All documents that you provide must be certified copies of original documents"*_
> 
> i am bit confused


----------



## mamu

Hi Mark. I have some questions and would appreciate if you can suggest.

Q: 189 visa lodged with 6 months remaining of passport expiry. Now 2 months have passed having passport validity 4 months. New passport applied and received having 10 years validity. Passport not updated yet on Saudi Passport department with company since 2 weeks. 

Should I update the passport in immiaccount and upload bio pages? Or should we wait for the CO to be assigned and let him ask for new passport or grant visa on old then update in immiaccount?

Q: Visa is lodged with all docs,PCC and meds front loaded now waiting for CO allocation.

Can we upload more documents now like form 80, bank statements etc. so that CO does not asks for them later. Or uploading them after 2 months will make any doubts for CO.

Thanks


----------



## ali.2015

*Need help*

Hi Mark,

I am new to this forum, I read most of your threads which are really helpful and encouraging.

I applied 820/801 combined Partner Visa application in first week of October 2013. Since then I haven't received any news or outcome from DIBP or nor department asked me any other documents. I sent few emails regarding progress of my 820 visa to DIBP in last couple of months but they just reply that my application is delayed due to security clearance, as I come from High Risk country.

As, it now has been almost 17 months waiting time for 820 visa.

I had applied decision ready 820/801visa applications includes all required documents as well as police/character certificates overseas & Australian, Form 80 and medicals.

Cheers

Ali

Applied 820/801 visa applications 8th October 2013
Paper application
Still waiting for 820 visa to be granted ?????


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ali -

My guess is that the application is awaiting the results of an external security check procedure for your country of citizenship, and may also factor in security checks from countries you've traveled to - all you can do, unfortunately, is to make sure you keep your contact info with DIBP current and wait for them to process your application. Wish there was more that could be done - if you'd like to ask others for their experiences, etc suggest you start a new topic on the forum and I'm sure people will respond.

Best,

Mark Northam



ali.2015 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am new to this forum, I read most of threads here which are really helpful and encouraging.
> 
> I applied 820/801 combined Partner Visa application in first week of October 2013. Since then I haven't received any news or outcome from DIBP or nor department asked me any other documents. I sent few emails regarding progress of my 820 visa to DIBP in last couple of months but they just reply that my application is delayed due to security clearance, as I come from High Risk country.
> 
> As, it now has been almost 17 months waiting time for 820 visa.
> 
> I had applied decision ready 820/801visa applications includes all required documents as well as police/character certificates overseas & Australian, Form 80 and medicals.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Ali
> 
> Applied 820/801 visa applications 8th October 2013
> Paper application
> Still waiting for 820 visa to be granted ?????


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mamu -

If you have a new passport that is valid/current/etc, I'd complete Form 929 and upload with your application. Re: lodging Form 80 or other docs, no harm that I see in doing that early to try and avoid delays.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mamu said:


> Hi Mark. I have some questions and would appreciate if you can suggest.
> 
> Q: 189 visa lodged with 6 months remaining of passport expiry. Now 2 months have passed having passport validity 4 months. New passport applied and received having 10 years validity. Passport not updated yet on Saudi Passport department with company since 2 weeks.
> 
> Should I update the passport in immiaccount and upload bio pages? Or should we wait for the CO to be assigned and let him ask for new passport or grant visa on old then update in immiaccount?
> 
> Q: Visa is lodged with all docs,PCC and meds front loaded now waiting for CO allocation.
> 
> Can we upload more documents now like form 80, bank statements etc. so that CO does not asks for them later. Or uploading them after 2 months will make any doubts for CO.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## mamu

Thank you very much Mark.

Can Passport no. be updated in immiaccount? The reason for passport change would be cancelled because the new passport was applied before the expiry of old. Do I need to upload Bio-pages of new passport?

Also, can i add my Bank Statement, business cards, form 80 at this stage while waiting? Will it cause any doubts to CO?

Thanks.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mamu -
> 
> If you have a new passport that is valid/current/etc, I'd complete Form 929 and upload with your application. Re: lodging Form 80 or other docs, no harm that I see in doing that early to try and avoid delays.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mamu -

Can't change a lodged application, but Form 929 is available online - see link to it on the right side of the page where your uploads, etc are listed. I would upload a colour scan of the biodata page of the new passport. Yes, can add those additional documents at this stage.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mamu said:


> Thank you very much Mark.
> 
> Can Passport no. be updated in immiaccount? The reason for passport change would be cancelled because the new passport was applied before the expiry of old. Do I need to upload Bio-pages of new passport?
> 
> Also, can i add my Bank Statement, business cards, form 80 at this stage while waiting? Will it cause any doubts to CO?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## charanjit

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Charanjit -
> 
> DIBP's current policy is that they accept colour scans of original documents for online applications, other than some instances where they want to have the actual hardcopy of the police clearance cert sent to them (some European posts have this requirement).
> 
> For paper applications, documents must be originals (although it's not a good idea to send too many of these as you may not get them back) or certified copies.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanku so much mark you really helped me to get out of a confusion.One more thing as you have told in earlier post that my sponser has also a boundation to live in designated area .. what if my sponser does not fullfill the condition in future. will such incident can create problem in getting PR.m impact on my Way to PR.my sponser is a citizen.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charanjit -

If by sponsor you mean the primary applicant on the 489 visa (with you being the partner or secondary applicant), if the sponsor's visa is cancelled, yours would also be subject to cancellation assuming the reason it was granted in the first place (you being the partner of a 489 visa holder) no longer existed. You might have some leeway to lodge another visa depending on how the cancellation was done, but no guarantees.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charanjit said:


> Thanku so much mark you really helped me to get out of a confusion.One more thing as you have told in earlier post that my sponser has also a boundation to live in designated area .. what if my sponser does not fullfill the condition in future. will such incident can create problem in getting PR.m impact on my Way to PR.my sponser is a citizen.


----------



## charanjit

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Charanjit -
> 
> If by sponsor you mean the primary applicant on the 489 visa (with you being the partner or secondary applicant), if the sponsor's visa is cancelled, yours would also be subject to cancellation assuming the reason it was granted in the first place (you being the partner of a 489 visa holder) no longer existed. You might have some leeway to lodge another visa depending on how the cancellation was done, but no guarantees.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


I am sorry i have not cleared my question. Sponser here i mean the Family sponser in Australia(My brother in law) . i am the primary applicant for 489. my question was that my brother in law and my family should stay in designated areas in case i got the 489 family provisional visa


----------



## Jane Hudson

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jane -
> 
> OK to lodge 485 once you have evidence that you (and each other applicant if there are more than 1) have applied for an AFP check prior to the date of application (but not more than 12 months before the date of application). Upload the receipt as evidence you've applied, then upload the PCC once you receive it.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you, Mark.


----------



## rose2014

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rose - You could do that but there's a 50% chance at best that DIBP will respond - they typically don't respond to those types of emails, unfortunately. I'd assume at least 6 months for a PMV, more likely 8-11 months. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much again. I will wait abit more and see. Really appreciate all your help.

Thank you
Rose


----------



## Xuxa

Thanks Mark. So I guess married couples are not subject to the 12-month requirement? Also apparently it takes 12+ months to process a partner visa, does that mean if my partner applies while in Australia, she can stay while the application is being processed? (i.e. granted a bridging visa)



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Xuxa -
> 
> The 12 months preceeding application are the ones that are looked at for the defacto relationship living together requirement. You might look at whether your Australian state allows registering your defacto relationship, as that would satisfy the 12 month living together requirement - consult DIBP website or a migration agent for full details on this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## charanjit

Dear mark,
Can you guide me how many salary slips should i upload for 489 family sponsored visa.I am working on the same company after my postgraduation from last 11 years.I think last 3-6 month will be sufficent.


----------



## vnavarro

Hi Mark,

I am doing my partner application this weekend. for the question about me and my partners relationship status, we both tick ' de facto' and the following question asks for the date the relationship started.. does that mean the date my partner and I became a couple as in between our own discussion or does this mean the date that we have officially become a defacto couple registered with the government?


----------



## ld0468

*subclass 600, refused *

Hello Mark,

It is great to find someone like you willing to help people with visa issues, and i hope you can do the same for me regarding my questions.

Brief history;
I was born in Albania and moved to Greece with my family 15 years ago. i have my Albanian passport and my Greek residency document.

I applied for a visitor visa subclass 600 on February 20 with my work cologue, and much to my surprise and disappointment on March 4 we were emailed the exact same refusal letter, for reasons i still cant believe.
we provided everything asked for in the application, birth certificate ( translated), copy of my passport and passport pages ( certified by a lawyer), passport photos ( signed on the back), a letter from our banks certifying the money we have available in our account, a letter from our employer stating how long we have been employed and how many weeks leave we have owed to us and the conformation of continued employment upon our return from holidays, and a list of the cities and things we want to see while in Australia.

Outcome;
now for some reason they refused our visa on the grounds of not complying with 'clause 600.211' ( and from what i have seen on forums, this is a very common reason for refusal, irrespective of the facts ).

issues:
1-They made the comment that my employer did not state if my leave was paid or unpaid, but when an employer makes the statement the they 'owe' me leave, common logic would tell you that this is paid leave, or does the Australian Embassy consider the word 'owed' to mean un-paid leave???

2- Furthermore, providing evidence of having over 11,000 euros available to me ( bank account and pre-paid credit card) they made the comment of not providing salary deposits, while this request is not even mentioned in the application. The sole reason for providing this document is to prove the visitor will not be a burden to Australia and has the financial means to pay for hotel/motel, food etc etc.does the Australian Embassy normally refuse visa's for not providing documents not requested in the application, regardless of the fact they have provided certified evidence of available funds, and the reality of a return ticket?
3- i know people from other countries who have only provided a copy of the available credit in their credit card, and the Australian Embassy accepted this as 'sufficient funds", credit is better than cash? really?

4- And in closing, seeing my travel history in my passport, and visa's from other countries and never once 'over staying or breaking the countries laws', i was further insulted with the comment of being labeled 'not a genuine visitor and that i would not abide by the nations laws', i have my whole family in Greece, my education, my friends, my work, my car etc, or are these things considered irrelevant?

i still would like to visa Australia, and i dont know if i should make another application trying to provide even more evidence than in my first application ( i dont know what more to put in there), but my concern is how will they look at my second application in such a short time frame with virtually no additional documents?.

Is the fact that Albania is listed as one of their 'high risk countries' and they simply refuse every visa on the grounds on testing a genuine visitor with the theory that they would not hesitate to correct, add and re-apply for the visa if they are genuine? or is it all just a waste of time because of the everything is based on the country of my passport, irrespective of what my documents prove.

what do you think about this situation, it this common practice from the embassy to weed out the people who are from high risk countries who do have bad intentions? and what is your advice on proceeding with application number 2, what further evidence should i provide? or is the best option to simply use 'Northam & Associates' to successfully get my visitor visa? 

thank you for your time and and thank you for making your expertise available for people like me.

regards

louis


----------



## royng

Hi Mark,

I am intending to apply for the Temporary Graduate (485) Visa post-study work stream. I fulfill all the requirements for this visa expect one of them. The requirement is my first student visa to Australia must be applied for, and were granted, on or after 5 November 2011. 

My first student was a student visa (571) granted in June 2006 but I have read that a 571 is not eligible to apply for this visa even. My second student visa was granted on 30 November 2011 and it is a student visa (573). Both visa was not a continuation of each other as I went back home between 2009-2011. In such situations when the second student visa actually meets the requirements but not the first is there a way to appeal while submitting the application or after submitting?

I have tried to initiate an application online however while confirming my passport number I receive an "You do not hold a valid prerequisite visa to enable use of this service. " error. I am wondering if this is an IT issue. 

I checked all the visas on the immigration website and this is the only one that I might get a chance. Currently I am still trying to find employment however my skills (Graphic Design) are not on the SOL list but on the CSOL. 

Is there any other visa that allows you to remain in Australia while you look for employment after your student visa ends (15 Mar 2015)?

Thanks Mark.

Cheers,
Roy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charanjit -

You'll have to check the stat dec that they ask 489 family sponsors to sign, but as I recall, they do not require the family sponsor to live only within a designated area.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charanjit said:


> I am sorry i have not cleared my question. Sponser here i mean the Family sponser in Australia(My brother in law) . i am the primary applicant for 489. my question was that my brother in law and my family should stay in designated areas in case i got the 489 family provisional visa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xuxa -

Correct. As long as your partner applies in Australia, lodges a valid application, does not have condition 8503 (or any other condition that prevents further onshore lodgement) on her current visa, and applies while her current visa is still valid, that generally fits the criteria for grant of a Bridging Visa A which would allow her to remain in Australia past the end of her current visa and remain until there is a decision on her partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xuxa said:


> Thanks Mark. So I guess married couples are not subject to the 12-month requirement? Also apparently it takes 12+ months to process a partner visa, does that mean if my partner applies while in Australia, she can stay while the application is being processed? (i.e. granted a bridging visa)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charanjit -

You should provide them for all periods you are claiming points for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charanjit said:


> Dear mark,
> Can you guide me how many salary slips should i upload for 489 family sponsored visa.I am working on the same company after my postgraduation from last 11 years.I think last 3-6 month will be sufficent.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vnavarro -

That question refers to the date that the two of you became defacto partners - for some this will be the date that you moved in together, for others, will be date you registered with the government if you did not live as defacto partners prior to that date, etc. Different for each application depending on circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vnavarro said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am doing my partner application this weekend. for the question about me and my partners relationship status, we both tick ' de facto' and the following question asks for the date the relationship started.. does that mean the date my partner and I became a couple as in between our own discussion or does this mean the date that we have officially become a defacto couple registered with the government?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Louis -

Sorry to hear of your refusal - genuine visitor (with a high-risk passport) is a tough thing to deal with in some cases. My guess, and it's only a guess, is that something about your application caused DIBP some significant concern, and once having decided to refuse, they went about finding holes in your evidence to justify their conclusion.

Yes, I think it could be worth another try, however I'd review the Genuine Visitor policy criteria very carefully (we have a copy on our website (see link below) under the Info tab) and see what additional evidence you could submit that might strengthen your application based on how your circumstances fit the genuine visitor policy criteria.

Re: using myself or another migration agent, there's no guarantee of success - the main benefit is having an agent go through all of your evidence and suggest additional evidence that might be helpful based on experience. The other options that some agents will offer is to write a legal submission to go with the application detailing how your circumstances meet the various elements of the genuine visitor policy, however you could write this too.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ld0468 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> It is great to find someone like you willing to help people with visa issues, and i hope you can do the same for me regarding my questions.
> 
> Brief history;
> I was born in Albania and moved to Greece with my family 15 years ago. i have my Albanian passport and my Greek residency document.
> 
> I applied for a visitor visa subclass 600 on February 20 with my work cologue, and much to my surprise and disappointment on March 4 we were emailed the exact same refusal letter, for reasons i still cant believe.
> we provided everything asked for in the application, birth certificate ( translated), copy of my passport and passport pages ( certified by a lawyer), passport photos ( signed on the back), a letter from our banks certifying the money we have available in our account, a letter from our employer stating how long we have been employed and how many weeks leave we have owed to us and the conformation of continued employment upon our return from holidays, and a list of the cities and things we want to see while in Australia.
> 
> Outcome;
> now for some reason they refused our visa on the grounds of not complying with 'clause 600.211' ( and from what i have seen on forums, this is a very common reason for refusal, irrespective of the facts ).
> 
> issues:
> 1-They made the comment that my employer did not state if my leave was paid or unpaid, but when an employer makes the statement the they 'owe' me leave, common logic would tell you that this is paid leave, or does the Australian Embassy consider the word 'owed' to mean un-paid leave???
> 
> 2- Furthermore, providing evidence of having over 11,000 euros available to me ( bank account and pre-paid credit card) they made the comment of not providing salary deposits, while this request is not even mentioned in the application. The sole reason for providing this document is to prove the visitor will not be a burden to Australia and has the financial means to pay for hotel/motel, food etc etc.does the Australian Embassy normally refuse visa's for not providing documents not requested in the application, regardless of the fact they have provided certified evidence of available funds, and the reality of a return ticket?
> 3- i know people from other countries who have only provided a copy of the available credit in their credit card, and the Australian Embassy accepted this as 'sufficient funds", credit is better than cash? really?
> 
> 4- And in closing, seeing my travel history in my passport, and visa's from other countries and never once 'over staying or breaking the countries laws', i was further insulted with the comment of being labeled 'not a genuine visitor and that i would not abide by the nations laws', i have my whole family in Greece, my education, my friends, my work, my car etc, or are these things considered irrelevant?
> 
> i still would like to visa Australia, and i dont know if i should make another application trying to provide even more evidence than in my first application ( i dont know what more to put in there), but my concern is how will they look at my second application in such a short time frame with virtually no additional documents?.
> 
> Is the fact that Albania is listed as one of their 'high risk countries' and they simply refuse every visa on the grounds on testing a genuine visitor with the theory that they would not hesitate to correct, add and re-apply for the visa if they are genuine? or is it all just a waste of time because of the everything is based on the country of my passport, irrespective of what my documents prove.
> 
> what do you think about this situation, it this common practice from the embassy to weed out the people who are from high risk countries who do have bad intentions? and what is your advice on proceeding with application number 2, what further evidence should i provide? or is the best option to simply use 'Northam & Associates' to successfully get my visitor visa?
> 
> thank you for your time and and thank you for making your expertise available for people like me.
> 
> regards
> 
> louis


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roy -

Thanks for the question. As you applied for your first Australian student visa prior to 5 Nov 2011, you would not be eligible for the Post Study Work stream of the 485 visa, and would be only eligible for the Graduate Work stream (with occupation on SOL list, 485 skills assessment required, etc). I think it's a terribly unfair rule, but it's a black & white requirement.

Re: other visas, without employment yet, you might consider a further student visa to increase your qualifications (can always apply for a 457 if you get a sponsoring employer and stop studying if you are granted the 457, etc). Another option is a visitor visa, but job hunting is not quite a good fit for that one, although some people do it. Also Working Holiday visa if you are eligible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



royng said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am intending to apply for the Temporary Graduate (485) Visa post-study work stream. I fulfill all the requirements for this visa expect one of them. The requirement is my first student visa to Australia must be applied for, and were granted, on or after 5 November 2011.
> 
> My first student was a student visa (571) granted in June 2006 but I have read that a 571 is not eligible to apply for this visa even. My second student visa was granted on 30 November 2011 and it is a student visa (573). Both visa was not a continuation of each other as I went back home between 2009-2011. In such situations when the second student visa actually meets the requirements but not the first is there a way to appeal while submitting the application or after submitting?
> 
> I have tried to initiate an application online however while confirming my passport number I receive an "You do not hold a valid prerequisite visa to enable use of this service. " error. I am wondering if this is an IT issue.
> 
> I checked all the visas on the immigration website and this is the only one that I might get a chance. Currently I am still trying to find employment however my skills (Graphic Design) are not on the SOL list but on the CSOL.
> 
> Is there any other visa that allows you to remain in Australia while you look for employment after your student visa ends (15 Mar 2015)?
> 
> Thanks Mark.
> 
> Cheers,
> Roy


----------



## ld0468

Thank you for your time and help Mark.
i will take a look at your link and see if i can find some answers that will help.

in relation to your suggestion of having a letter written, if you are interested, i could email you everything i sent with my application, for your review, and we can also discuss the costs involved in appointing you and your firm.?

thank you once again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Probably best if you'd like a review of the documents to do it at one of our consultations - see my website link below, then click "Consultation" in the top menu. You could then send along the documents in advance and we could discuss the new application during the consult - if you wanted to proceed and have us write the submission, can get you a price at that time since we'd both be more familiar with the level of work involved in the consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ld0468 said:


> Thank you for your time and help Mark.
> i will take a look at your link and see if i can find some answers that will help.
> 
> in relation to your suggestion of having a letter written, if you are interested, i could email you everything i sent with my application, for your review, and we can also discuss the costs involved in appointing you and your firm.?
> 
> thank you once again.


----------



## ld0468

ok thank you Mark,

sending you the information now.


----------



## mustafasabir

*Clarification Required for the Last Permanent Address and Translated Document*

Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot for the reply in last week. It was pretty helpful.

However, I have few more small clarifications for 189 skilled independent visa.

*Question 1*
I am originally from Pakistan but living in UAE. After marriage, my wife immediately joined me in UAE after completing UAE visa formalities. After sometime, she went to Pakistan for a period of almost 9 to 10 months to deliver a baby. There she was staying at my home which is my permanent address till date. My question is that do I need to mention this period in section *"Previous countries of residence"*?

So far, I have entered 2 permanent addresses for her.

1) *Address before marriage* (her parental address)
*From:* by birth *To:* marriage date
2) *Address after marriage* (my permanent address where she resided for 3 months after marriage i.e. before joining me in UAE)
*From:* Marriage Date *To:* The date she joined me in UAE

Being a primary applicant, do I need to enter my previous countries of residence in this section? Please confirm this point as well.

*Question 2*
There is a small typo error in the attested translated document of her birth certificate. In the address section, BLOCK F is mentioned in the translated document where as in original document it is BLOCK E. Is it fine or do I need to get a new translated document?

I once again thank you for answering our questions with patience and to the point. 

Regards,
Mustafa.


----------



## charanjit

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Charanjit -
> 
> You should provide them for all periods you are claiming points for.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Does that mean i have to submitt 132 salary slips as i am working from last 11 years ..... its not possible becasue i may have only salary slips from last 4-5 years...


----------



## charanjit

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Charanjit -
> 
> You'll have to check the stat dec that they ask 489 family sponsors to sign, but as I recall, they do not require the family sponsor to live only within a designated area.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam[/QUOTe
> 
> Thanks a lot sir


----------



## rocki1983

Hi Mark

My wife are I have been granted 189 Skills Independent Visa recently (me being the primary applicant). We were already in Australia when we were granted with 189 visa (my wife was studying and I was dependent on TU 573 visa). Now in my wife's 189 grant letter it is mentioned that initial entry date to Australia no later than 12th November 2015 where as no such condition have been mention on my grant letter. Do we have leave the Australia and come back again?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mustafa -

Thanks for the question. Not clear from your data exactly what the circumstances are, but for each country an applicant previously lived in, it is only necessary to enter the last permanent address in the country. All applicants (including you) would need to complete this section. Note on Form 80, if you're asked to submit this, you'll need to include a detailed address history of all addresses lived in for the last 10 years, but on the online form, only last permanent address in each previous country lived in is required. Re: error in translation, I'd probably get an updated translation (since it apparently was an error on the part of the translator) and upload that with "-corrected" added to the filename or something like that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mustafasabir said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot for the reply in last week. It was pretty helpful.
> 
> However, I have few more small clarifications for 189 skilled independent visa.
> 
> *Question 1*
> I am originally from Pakistan but living in UAE. After marriage, my wife immediately joined me in UAE after completing UAE visa formalities. After sometime, she went to Pakistan for a period of almost 9 to 10 months to deliver a baby. There she was staying at my home which is my permanent address till date. My question is that do I need to mention this period in section *"Previous countries of residence"*?
> 
> So far, I have entered 2 permanent addresses for her.
> 
> 1) *Address before marriage* (her parental address)
> *From:* by birth *To:* marriage date
> 2) *Address after marriage* (my permanent address where she resided for 3 months after marriage i.e. before joining me in UAE)
> *From:* Marriage Date *To:* The date she joined me in UAE
> 
> Being a primary applicant, do I need to enter my previous countries of residence in this section? Please confirm this point as well.
> 
> *Question 2*
> There is a small typo error in the attested translated document of her birth certificate. In the address section, BLOCK F is mentioned in the translated document where as in original document it is BLOCK E. Is it fine or do I need to get a new translated document?
> 
> I once again thank you for answering our questions with patience and to the point.
> 
> Regards,
> Mustafa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charanjit -

Sorry for the confusion - pay evidence is generally required only for periods you are claiming points for as skilled work experience - that can only go back 10 years anyway. Look on your EOI or visa application for periods that you are claiming are skilled and relevant to your experience - those are the periods you are claiming work experience points for - those will be the first that DIBP will usually ask for pay evidence of.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charanjit said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Does that mean i have to submitt 132 salary slips as i am working from last 11 years ..... its not possible becasue i may have only salary slips from last 4-5 years...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rocki1983 -

Not sure why that would be included on her visa unless DIBP thinks she is offshore at the moment - you can check that on VEVO online if you look her up and see what her current location is listed as. Either way, I'd contact DIBP and confirm what they want her to do - normally there is no need to re-enter Australia if a person is granted a PR visa that can be granted onshore, and the person is onshore. However I've seen more than a few instances where DIBP thought a person was offshore and in fact they were onshore - best to get that corrected.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rocki1983 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My wife are I have been granted 189 Skills Independent Visa recently (me being the primary applicant). We were already in Australia when we were granted with 189 visa (my wife was studying and I was dependent on TU 573 visa). Now in my wife's 189 grant letter it is mentioned that initial entry date to Australia no later than 12th November 2015 where as no such condition have been mention on my grant letter. Do we have leave the Australia and come back again?


----------



## rocki1983

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the information. The VEVO site does not work for her always get the following error: 
"Your query cannot be processed as the system has encountered an error (3). Please call 131 881 and an officer will assist you. If you would like to submit a new enquiry, please select the clear button to refresh the page."

What can be other alternatives to find out?


----------



## charanjit

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Charanjit -
> 
> Sorry for the confusion - pay evidence is generally required only for periods you are claiming points for as skilled work experience - that can only go back 10 years anyway. Look on your EOI or visa application for periods that you are claiming are skilled and relevant to your experience - those are the periods you are claiming work experience points for - those will be the first that DIBP will usually ask for pay evidence of.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


M sorry mark i havent got you.As per my EOI from 2005 to 2015 i am working (in same company).so what do you want to say for which period i have to provide salary slips.Sorry for asking again n again same question.


----------



## Ankit

Hi Mark

First of all, thanks for all the invaluable insight you provide on this forum.

My question is regarding a 820 visa application. We have gathered almost every type of evidence document suggested by the DIAC website and the people here, except for Relationship Registration Certificate. Both me and my partner's work schedule has made it almost impossible for us to take a week day off. 

We were wondering if you have come across any successful applications that haven't incorporated the above mentioned certificate.

Best Regards
Ankit


----------



## rfx

Hi Mark, 

Thank you so much for all the great work you have done in this thread. I would very much appreciate a minute of your valuable time for your input on my PMV-300 application 

I'm an onshore sponsor preparing a PMV-300 application for my fiancée . 

We have both met, have extensive call and chat logs, regular 
communication and pictures of our meeting with each other and partners family. 

We intend to provide a specific time and date of an onshore marriage approximately 7 months from application lodgement ( October 2015) and I have a local Australian marriage celebrant who can provide a letter with confirmed booking date plus we will complete and attach notice of intended marriage form 13 with the PMV application. 

Question1 : Given current PMV timelines, have I allocated enough time for the court marriage date and can I change the date and inform DIBP if a decision has not yet come from them in october?

Question2: While waiting for the PMV if it takes too long , my partner intends to visit me , however due to cultural/religious reasons , we cannot live together before performing a traditional marriage ceremony before my partner visits me on a tourist visa. Can this affect the PMV application in any way? , given that the only marriage evidence we will provide is the marriage certificate of the legal one performed onshore after the PMV is approved? 



Thanks in Advance Mark


----------



## royng

Thanks Mark for your quick reply and advice.

I have previously check out working holiday but my country is not on the list. Therefore I have check out short courses but I have read if the course is shorter then 12 weeks you can't apply a student visa. But I am also planning to do some unpaid internship to increase my chances of finding employment and developing my skills while doing a short course. Would a visitor visa allow you to do internships? Also will you be allowed to transition from a visitor visa (600) to a sponsorship visa (457)?

Last question is there a difference between an ETA and a visitor visa (600)?

Cheers,
Roy


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Roy -
> 
> Thanks for the question. As you applied for your first Australian student visa prior to 5 Nov 2011, you would not be eligible for the Post Study Work stream of the 485 visa, and would be only eligible for the Graduate Work stream (with occupation on SOL list, 485 skills assessment required, etc). I think it's a terribly unfair rule, but it's a black & white requirement.
> 
> Re: other visas, without employment yet, you might consider a further student visa to increase your qualifications (can always apply for a 457 if you get a sponsoring employer and stop studying if you are granted the 457, etc). Another option is a visitor visa, but job hunting is not quite a good fit for that one, although some people do it. Also Working Holiday visa if you are eligible.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rocki1983 -

I would then contact DIBP (make sure the applicant can speak to them too as they may not give you all info) either by phone or in person to have them check their system to see what's going on. Another issue I've seen in these cases is somehow there are 2 records in the DIBP database for the same person, which can lead to a VEVO error. Key issue you need to clear up with them is that the applicant is currently onshore, and was onshore on the date the visa was granted, and to make sure their records reflect this and that they are not awaiting an entry to Australia to activate the visa, as they would if an applicant was offshore at the time of visa grant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rocki1983 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for the information. The VEVO site does not work for her always get the following error:
> "Your query cannot be processed as the system has encountered an error (3). Please call 131 881 and an officer will assist you. If you would like to submit a new enquiry, please select the clear button to refresh the page."
> 
> What can be other alternatives to find out?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charanjit -

I haven't seen your application, so I don't know how many of those years you are claiming for points, or how many may have been taken by your skills assessor, etc. But regardless of which company, or how long you've worked for the company in total, for the years of that time that you are claiming points for on your application, you need to be ready to provide proof of payment documentation for those years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charanjit said:


> M sorry mark i havent got you.As per my EOI from 2005 to 2015 i am working (in same company).so what do you want to say for which period i have to provide salary slips.Sorry for asking again n again same question.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ankit -

Yes, have seen plenty of those - the registered relationship certificate is only used generally if you are lodging as defacto partners and you cannot provide satisfactory evidence of living together for the 12 months prior to the date you applied for the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ankit said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> First of all, thanks for all the invaluable insight you provide on this forum.
> 
> My question is regarding a 820 visa application. We have gathered almost every type of evidence document suggested by the DIAC website and the people here, except for Relationship Registration Certificate. Both me and my partner's work schedule has made it almost impossible for us to take a week day off.
> 
> We were wondering if you have come across any successful applications that haven't incorporated the above mentioned certificate.
> 
> Best Regards
> Ankit


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rfx -

Thanks for the question. Ideally I'd allow 9-11 months from the date of application to plan your wedding; but make sure those plans can easily be changed (without losing a big deposit, etc) since DIBP's processing time for PMV's and other visas is highly unpredictable.

Re: traditional ceremony prior to grant of PMV, no issue I see, and I don't know that you would even have to mention this to DIBP since the traditional ceremony would not be recognised by Australian law as a marriage or wedding I assume. Lots of people have a traditional ceremony first, then have the legal ceremony later, or the other way around. In DBP's view, the legal marriage ceremony/document/etc is the one that is important (although photos of the traditional ceremony are often included with a partner visa application as additional evidence).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rfx said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for all the great work you have done in this thread. I would very much appreciate a minute of your valuable time for your input on my PMV-300 application
> 
> I'm an onshore sponsor preparing a PMV-300 application for my fiancée .
> 
> We have both met, have extensive call and chat logs, regular
> communication and pictures of our meeting with each other and partners family.
> 
> We intend to provide a specific time and date of an onshore marriage approximately 7 months from application lodgement ( October 2015) and I have a local Australian marriage celebrant who can provide a letter with confirmed booking date plus we will complete and attach notice of intended marriage form 13 with the PMV application.
> 
> Question1 : Given current PMV timelines, have I allocated enough time for the court marriage date and can I change the date and inform DIBP if a decision has not yet come from them in october?
> 
> Question2: While waiting for the PMV if it takes too long , my partner intends to visit me , however due to cultural/religious reasons , we cannot live together before performing a traditional marriage ceremony before my partner visits me on a tourist visa. Can this affect the PMV application in any way? , given that the only marriage evidence we will provide is the marriage certificate of the legal one performed onshore after the PMV is approved?
> 
> Thanks in Advance Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Royng -

Unfortunately you would not be able to do an unpaid internship under a visitor visa unless you could prove that what you were doing did not constitute something that Australians would normally be paid to do, and even then it sounds risky to me. For instance, you could say that you were interning at a job as an assistant, and that the company never paid anyone be an assistant, but that wouldn't work since the "work" involved with being an assistant is work that outside of the particular company you're talking about, would normally be paid work if an Australian was employed to do that work. While here on a visitor visa (either subclass 600 or ETA or any other type of visitor visa) it's possible to lodge an onshore subclass 457 application as long as the visitor visa does not have condition 8503 (no further stay) on it.

Re: ETA, that's a special type of visitor visa available to passport holders of certain lower-risk countries. There are 3 primary types of visitor visas - ETA (for certain countries - see DIBP website for list), eVisitor (primarily for EU countries - see the list on DIBP website), and if your country is not eligible for ETA or eVisitor, then the subclass 600 visitor visa is the one for you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



royng said:


> Thanks Mark for your quick reply and advice.
> 
> I have previously check out working holiday but my country is not on the list. Therefore I have check out short courses but I have read if the course is shorter then 12 weeks you can't apply a student visa. But I am also planning to do some unpaid internship to increase my chances of finding employment and developing my skills while doing a short course. Would a visitor visa allow you to do internships? Also will you be allowed to transition from a visitor visa (600) to a sponsorship visa (457)?
> 
> Last question is there a difference between an ETA and a visitor visa (600)?
> 
> Cheers,
> Roy


----------



## Ankit

Thanks heaps Mark.


----------



## ali.2015

*Need assistance*

Hi Mark,

I am new to this forum, I read most of your threads here which are really helpful and encouraging.

I applied 820/801 combined Partner Visa application in first week of October 2013. Since then I haven't received any news or outcome from DIBP or nor department asked me any other documents. I sent few emails regarding progress of my 820 visa to DIBP in last couple of months but they just reply that my application is delayed due to security clearance, as I come from High Risk country.

As, it now has been almost 17 months waiting time for 820 visa.

I had applied decision ready 820/801visa applications includes all required documents as well as police/character certificates overseas & Australian, Form 80 and medicals.

Cheers

Ali

Applied 820/801 visa applications 8th October 2013
Paper application
Still waiting for 820 visa to be granted ?????


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ali.2015 -

Wish I could help, however all you can do is to keep in touch with DIBP, make sure they have your current contact information, and wait. It may be that your application is held up pending external security checks - if that's the case, DIBP has no control and there's nothing they can do except to wait until the checks come back from whatever external agency(s) that are involved (they don't publish details about this). You might ask them periodically if they require any further information or documents from you, but aside from that, it's a waiting game. Interestingly, I had an 820/801 that was just approved that we lodged in November 2013, and the client was from a low risk country, so sometimes for no reason (that we know of), some of these applications take a lot more time than the average.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ali.2015 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new to this forum, I read most of your threads here which are really helpful and encouraging.
> 
> I applied 820/801 combined Partner Visa application in first week of October 2013. Since then I haven't received any news or outcome from DIBP or nor department asked me any other documents. I sent few emails regarding progress of my 820 visa to DIBP in last couple of months but they just reply that my application is delayed due to security clearance, as I come from High Risk country.
> 
> As, it now has been almost 17 months waiting time for 820 visa.
> 
> I had applied decision ready 820/801visa applications includes all required documents as well as police/character certificates overseas & Australian, Form 80 and medicals.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Ali
> 
> Applied 820/801 visa applications 8th October 2013
> Paper application
> Still waiting for 820 visa to be granted ?????


----------



## inahy

Hi Mark,

I have encounter an issue after submitting my documents for skills assessments. The issue is ACS sent me the result of my work experience assessments, and I have just discovered that the experience letter that I have enclosed has the wrong date. Now, I am not sure how can I move forward, shall I ask ACS to make a different assessments based on the updated documents ? is this possible? do I have to pay again for this process?

appreciate your help.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Inahy -

Difficult for me to give you advice without seeing the documents, however if you're saying that the dates on the work experience letter are not accurate, you may want to ask ACS for an updated report based on the accurate dates from a new experience letter. Not sure if what they would charge for this, and I expect they will want to confirm any date changes with the employer to ensure everything is OK, etc. Suggest you contact ACS and see what options you have.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



inahy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have encounter an issue after submitting my documents for skills assessments. The issue is ACS sent me the result of my work experience assessments, and I have just discovered that the experience letter that I have enclosed has the wrong date. Now, I am not sure how can I move forward, shall I ask ACS to make a different assessments based on the updated documents ? is this possible? do I have to pay again for this process?
> 
> appreciate your help.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## inahy

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the fast reply. yes the date in the experience letter is not accurate, there was a typo which really costs me a lot. I have already requested my employer to give me a new experience letter and I am attaching additional documents (my contract, offer letter, previous emails, flight ticket) that I can prove these documents are correct and not manipulated.

I hope that would be enough..
Thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Inahy -
> 
> Difficult for me to give you advice without seeing the documents, however if you're saying that the dates on the work experience letter are not accurate, you may want to ask ACS for an updated report based on the accurate dates from a new experience letter. Not sure if what they would charge for this, and I expect they will want to confirm any date changes with the employer to ensure everything is OK, etc. Suggest you contact ACS and see what options you have.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## twid

Hi Mark, 
First of all, I really appreciate your contribution to forum.
I have a little doubt, as I was reading documentation checklist for subclass 189, It says for proof of work experience awe need to show pay slips of current emplyment, So do we need to show pay slips previous experience as well?
*Note: I dont have pay slips for that. But I have experience letter.
Sorry, As I am newbie in this forum I couldn't post link *


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Twid -

Normally DIBP will request proof of payment for all periods of employment that you are claiming points for on the 189 visa as skilled employment. This can be bank statements, payslips, tax documents, or some other third party document that evidences proof of payment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



twid said:


> Hi Mark,
> First of all, I really appreciate your contribution to forum.
> I have a little doubt, as I was reading documentation checklist for subclass 189, It says for proof of work experience awe need to show pay slips of current emplyment, So do we need to show pay slips previous experience as well?
> *Note: I dont have pay slips for that. But I have experience letter.
> Sorry, As I am newbie in this forum I couldn't post link *


----------



## lulu1988

Hi Mark, I'm new here but looking forward to visit this website often. Last 2011 I've applied for a Subclass 570 Student Visa and was lucky not to have a 'No Further Stay' condition. Before my student visa expired, I applied a onshore 676 Tourist Visa on 07.06.2012 but withdrew it on the 13.06.2012 and the same day the case officer accepted it and gave me 28 days to leave Australia. I quitted my casual work and based on the cert. of employment, I finished worked on 16.06.2012. I departed Australia on 17.06.2012. My concern is, Did I beak any migration rules? thinking I withdrew my application on the 13.06.12 and finished work on 16.06.12? It wasnt stated in the letter about the work stuff. I am so worried now because I'm applying for a spousal visa and afraid if it could affect my current application. My husband called by the way and said that my application is now on queue for final decision. I have'nt been asked for additional docs during the assessment stage and all my submitted docs have been considered. I really need some information regarding this one. i would very much appreciate it if someone can shed light on this.


----------



## twid

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Twid -
> 
> Normally DIBP will request proof of payment for all periods of employment that you are claiming points for on the 189 visa as skilled employment. This can be bank statements, payslips, tax documents, or some other third party document that evidences proof of payment.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your informative replay, I have few points as follows
1. You mentioned Points I am claiming for in subclass 189. In my case I have around 4 years of experience, So I don't want to claim any point, Still do I need provide payslips?
2. You mentioned multiple documents like payslips, bank statements, etc. Do I need provide all of them or any one of them?

Best regards


----------



## charanjit

Hi Mark,

i was filling online visa for 489(provision) family sponsered visa. Stuck at one point that was

*Is this applicant currently, or have they ever been known by any other names?
yes0 No0*

My name is Charanjit Singh and in all educational certificates and job appointment letters it is the same.

but on passport(just made) it is Charanjit Singh Bhangu(my surname). I have added surname in my passport and the same is there on IELTS exam.

My Question is that should i have to place Yes or No in above column.I have just added a surname to my name in passport and ielts.(I have a newspaper cutting in which i have added surname).


----------



## jagger

*police clearance*

hi mark, i am having a problem getting a police clearance in dubai due to a credit card issue, the aus immigration had given us 28 days to submit it. Sadly, i am not sure if i still can get the police clearance because they were asking me to pay a huge amount which is not really acceptable. I submitted a letter explaining the problem and evidence that i am applying for the police clearance in dubai like the reciepts of the payment. The immigration emailed us and said that he recieved the letter and the evidence and will get back to me by early April. What will happen if i really cannot provide the police clearance? thank you


----------



## Gauisa10

Hi Mark,

I just habe an enquiry in regards to partner temporary visas. Is it ok to travel overseas on your temporary resident visa(partner visa)? I read his grant letter and it has down he has multiple travel but im getting told by others he cant travel or else he will have to start the whole 2 year process again when he enters australia again. Is this true? we are planning on leaving end of this week for his grandfathers funeral. Would appreciate your help before we book any flights.

Cheers


----------



## Mimamasalha

Hi mark They require a joint bank account for the permanent residence 100 I do have a bank account but we don't have a joint one is it necessary how can I explain it I didn't get it ?

Thanks


----------



## edit2403

*partner visa enquiry*

Hi Mark,

I'm currently outside Australia living with my wife, a Chinese citizen, of many years. I have recently been offered a job in Australia and also have family circumstances that require me to live there permanently. My wife has a career and cannot relocate immediately, so my preference is to return first and then bring her over within a matter of months. I would prefer to bring her over on a tourist visa and then apply for PR in Australia, but if we applied and a No Further Stay condition was imposed on the visa, it would really put a spanner in the works. So there are a few things I wish to ask about:

- Do you know under what circumstances this condition is usually imposed on a tourist visa? (She's had two previous tourist visas to AU without this condition).
- If I can prove reasonable family circumstances require me to return to AU, is it easy to get this condition waived for my wife's tourist visa?
- More generally speaking, I've heard it said by another migration agent that, if possible, it's better to apply for PR onshore rather than offshore. Is there any advantage to applying onshore rather than offshore?

Many thanks!


----------



## visaoz

*Applying for an 820 visa*

Hi Mark

I am on a working holiday visa 417 and am going to apply for a partner visa 820 soon. I have heard that when I lodge my application I can apply for the employment restriction (working for each employer for 6 months) on my working holiday visa to be waived. Just wanted to check if my information is correct. And if yes, how long does it take for this waiver to come into effect?

Thank you,
Visaoz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lulu1988 -

I don't see a problem in what you did, based on what you've said in the post. And I expect if there was a problem with the partner visa, it would have come up before now. At this point I'd wait to see if DIBP raises anything, but again, I don't see an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lulu1988 said:


> Hi Mark, I'm new here but looking forward to visit this website often. Last 2011 I've applied for a Subclass 570 Student Visa and was lucky not to have a 'No Further Stay' condition. Before my student visa expired, I applied a onshore 676 Tourist Visa on 07.06.2012 but withdrew it on the 13.06.2012 and the same day the case officer accepted it and gave me 28 days to leave Australia. I quitted my casual work and based on the cert. of employment, I finished worked on 16.06.2012. I departed Australia on 17.06.2012. My concern is, Did I beak any migration rules? thinking I withdrew my application on the 13.06.12 and finished work on 16.06.12? It wasnt stated in the letter about the work stuff. I am so worried now because I'm applying for a spousal visa and afraid if it could affect my current application. My husband called by the way and said that my application is now on queue for final decision. I have'nt been asked for additional docs during the assessment stage and all my submitted docs have been considered. I really need some information regarding this one. i would very much appreciate it if someone can shed light on this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Twid -

Generally only one form of evidence of payment is required, however if you are not claiming points for work experience, DIBP will normally not ask you for evidence of payment for that work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



twid said:


> Thanks for your informative replay, I have few points as follows
> 1. You mentioned Points I am claiming for in subclass 189. In my case I have around 4 years of experience, So I don't want to claim any point, Still do I need provide payslips?
> 2. You mentioned multiple documents like payslips, bank statements, etc. Do I need provide all of them or any one of them?
> 
> Best regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charanjit -

Based on what you've said, I would list the other version of your name in the known by other names question.

Best,

Mark



charanjit said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> i was filling online visa for 489(provision) family sponsered visa. Stuck at one point that was
> 
> *Is this applicant currently, or have they ever been known by any other names?
> yes0 No0*
> 
> My name is Charanjit Singh and in all educational certificates and job appointment letters it is the same.
> 
> but on passport(just made) it is Charanjit Singh Bhangu(my surname). I have added surname in my passport and the same is there on IELTS exam.
> 
> My Question is that should i have to place Yes or No in above column.I have just added a surname to my name in passport and ielts.(I have a newspaper cutting in which i have added surname).


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jagger -

You can request a waiver of the police cert from DIBP - I'd wait to see how they respond and then see what options they suggest. No guarantee they will grant the waiver - will depend on your individual circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jagger said:


> hi mark, i am having a problem getting a police clearance in dubai due to a credit card issue, the aus immigration had given us 28 days to submit it. Sadly, i am not sure if i still can get the police clearance because they were asking me to pay a huge amount which is not really acceptable. I submitted a letter explaining the problem and evidence that i am applying for the police clearance in dubai like the reciepts of the payment. The immigration emailed us and said that he recieved the letter and the evidence and will get back to me by early April. What will happen if i really cannot provide the police clearance? thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gauisa10 -

If you are referring to traveling after having been granted a subclass 309 or 820 provisional partner visa, occasional travel is no problem at all, and no impact on the 2 year time period from original application until you can put in the paperwork for the permanent part of the partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gauisa10 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just habe an enquiry in regards to partner temporary visas. Is it ok to travel overseas on your temporary resident visa(partner visa)? I read his grant letter and it has down he has multiple travel but im getting told by others he cant travel or else he will have to start the whole 2 year process again when he enters australia again. Is this true? we are planning on leaving end of this week for his grandfathers funeral. Would appreciate your help before we book any flights.
> 
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mimamasalha -

A joint bank account is not required, but DIBP will want to see some evidence that you and your partner are sharing your finances and money - how this is evidenced is different for each applicant.A joint bank account where both partners deposit their income and from which expenses are paid out is the easiest and most common way to evidence sharing of money, but if you share your money in some other way, that can work too, just need to provide evidence to DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mimamasalha said:


> Hi mark They require a joint bank account for the permanent residence 100 I do have a bank account but we don't have a joint one is it necessary how can I explain it I didn't get it ?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Edit2403 -

Thanks for the note. Imposing 8503 on a visitor visa is a discretion of the case officer and has hard to predict. The fact that she didn't have this on previous visas is a good sign, however too many visitor visas over a period of time could give rise to concern by the case officer. Condition 8503 is difficult to get waived, and requires a major change in the applicant's condition that occurs after the visa is granted and is beyond the control of the applicant. You being required to return to Australia likely would not qualify in my view, given the strict requirements for this waiver.

Re: offshore vs onshore, offshore avoids the 8503 issue and is lower cost. If she doesn't need to be in Australia and work during the partner visa processing period, offshore can be a better option.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



edit2403 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm currently outside Australia living with my wife, a Chinese citizen, of many years. I have recently been offered a job in Australia and also have family circumstances that require me to live there permanently. My wife has a career and cannot relocate immediately, so my preference is to return first and then bring her over within a matter of months. I would prefer to bring her over on a tourist visa and then apply for PR in Australia, but if we applied and a No Further Stay condition was imposed on the visa, it would really put a spanner in the works. So there are a few things I wish to ask about:
> 
> - Do you know under what circumstances this condition is usually imposed on a tourist visa? (She's had two previous tourist visas to AU without this condition).
> - If I can prove reasonable family circumstances require me to return to AU, is it easy to get this condition waived for my wife's tourist visa?
> - More generally speaking, I've heard it said by another migration agent that, if possible, it's better to apply for PR onshore rather than offshore. Is there any advantage to applying onshore rather than offshore?
> 
> Many thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Visaoz -

There is a waiver of the 6-month employer limit available if you have already lodged a partner visa (or other PR visa) that would normally give you a bridging visa with work rights - here's a link to Form 1445 which is the form to request this: http://www.immi.gov.au/forms/Documents/1445.pdf - the form should be submitted to the office that is processing your partner visa application at least 2 weeks prior to the end of the 6 month limit.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



visaoz said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am on a working holiday visa 417 and am going to apply for a partner visa 820 soon. I have heard that when I lodge my application I can apply for the employment restriction (working for each employer for 6 months) on my working holiday visa to be waived. Just wanted to check if my information is correct. And if yes, how long does it take for this waiver to come into effect?
> 
> Thank you,
> Visaoz


----------



## jollyjoe

Hi Mark,
Thanks for your excellent support!

I'm planning to apply for 189.

I've been to Dubai in Jan 2013, for 60 days on a Visitor Visa, do I still need to provide the Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) for it?

I was in UK from Aug 2009 till Jan 2013, I got my UK PCC in Jan 2013 at the time of leaving the UK, will it still be valid?

Thanks again for your help!
Jollyjoe


----------



## charanjit

Hi mark,

While filing 489 family sponsered visa in job detail section. They are asking to add description of job responsibilities during various phases.

My question is that should i have to add only those responsibilities that i covered during my ACS or i can add more.The responsibilities are designation wise(in the same company). Can i cut and copy the same(actually i am doing the same jobs from so many years).


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jollyjoe -

Re: Dubai, you would not need a PCC since you haven't spent 12 months or more in total there during the last 10 years. However you will need to get a new UK PCC if the old one is expired (they have 1 year validity in Australia).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jollyjoe said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your excellent support!
> 
> I'm planning to apply for 189.
> 
> I've been to Dubai in Jan 2013, for 60 days on a Visitor Visa, do I still need to provide the Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) for it?
> 
> I was in UK from Aug 2009 till Jan 2013, I got my UK PCC in Jan 2013 at the time of leaving the UK, will it still be valid?
> 
> Thanks again for your help!
> Jollyjoe


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charanjit -

Would need to work with you in a consultation and see the specific language proposed, etc in order to assist you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charanjit said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> While filing 489 family sponsered visa in job detail section. They are asking to add description of job responsibilities during various phases.
> 
> My question is that should i have to add only those responsibilities that i covered during my ACS or i can add more.The responsibilities are designation wise(in the same company). Can i cut and copy the same(actually i am doing the same jobs from so many years).


----------



## manimehra22

hi mark plz help 

i already applied for 461 visa @AHC new delhi.

my wife renewed her NZ passport got it yesterday, she is my sponsor as a NZ citizen.
im confused how to notify my CO..

do i have to filled any form ??
or
can i just send a scan copy to my CO via email and inform her please update current changes.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manimehra22 -

I would complete Form 1022 indicating the old and new information, and include a colour scan of the new passport biodata page, then lodge both via email to the CO or processing branch of DIBP (see initial acknowledgement letter from them for contact info) that is working on your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



manimehra22 said:


> hi mark plz help
> 
> i already applied for 461 visa @AHC new delhi.
> 
> my wife renewed her NZ passport got it yesterday, she is my sponsor as a NZ citizen.
> im confused how to notify my CO..
> 
> do i have to filled any form ??
> or
> can i just send a scan copy to my CO via email and inform her please update current changes.


----------



## Asela

*ACS Skill Assessment*

Hi Mark,

I read the document check list needed for ACS skill assessment and prepared as follows.

Passport
Degree Certificate
Transcript
Employment Reference letter

However some of my friends saying that they have attached a CV additionally. And in the on line application form, I can see Passport, CV and Birth certificate in the select box. 
I got confused with this and my friend's answers. Please help me.

Do we really need to attach a CV? Am I missing any other document for skill assessment?

Thank you.

Asela


----------



## mustafasabir

*Travel to the country after receiving police certificate*

Hi Mark,

I have applied for 189 skilled independent visa from UAE.

I have one confusion. I have applied for the police certificate for my wife and myself from Pakistan which is expected to be with me within 3 or 4 days time.

My wife is travelling to Pakistan after 2 weeks, for 10 days i.e. after receiving PCC. Will this cause a concern with DIBP? Am I right to think that they could ask to get another PCC covering the date of her last visit? Can't we travel to the country after receiving PCC from there?

Please confirm.

Regards,
Mustafa.


----------



## Emma098

*HI Mark, WHV*

Hi Mark,
I am wondering Working Holiday Visa. Is that only for 6 months for one employer , ABN number ?

But how about can I work with same company ADDRESS and same BUSINESS BUT different employer name and ABN number after 6 months?

Since my colleague doing his own business under his name and ABN number and I can work for him afterward but he still related in my current company.

Is that ok if I work for him after 6 months?
Thanks


----------



## saritha198

Hi Mark,

could you please reply to my above query

Regards,
saritha


----------



## saritha198

Hi Mark,

could you please reply to my below query



saritha198 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My Sister applied for expression of interest for visa subclass 190
> Occupation Code = 511112 assessed positive by VETASSESS
> 
> she received an email from WA Skilled migration saying that they are interested in her application and have given 28 days to apply for State nomination.
> 
> But the clause here is her nominated occupation code is in Schedule 2, she must have a 2 year employment contract within WA.
> 
> As you know, for overseas applicants its impossible to get a job offer letter.
> 
> she's trying all the possible means like applying for jobs advertised on seek, but no luck.
> 
> so my question is what are the other options that she can get through ??
> can she change her occupation code to the one which is on SOL and start over again ?? if so which code is close to 511112
> 
> Hoping a positive reply.


----------



## visaoz

Thanks a lot for your help Mark!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Visaoz -
> 
> There is a waiver of the 6-month employer limit available if you have already lodged a partner visa (or other PR visa) that would normally give you a bridging visa with work rights - here's a link to Form 1445 which is the form to request this: http://www.immi.gov.au/forms/Documents/1445.pdf - the form should be submitted to the office that is processing your partner visa application at least 2 weeks prior to the end of the 6 month limit.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Asela -

Thanks for the question. See this link for exact instructions on which documents to include - better to follow ACS instructions than listen to stories from others: https://acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/17636/Application-Checklist.pdf

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Asela said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I read the document check list needed for ACS skill assessment and prepared as follows.
> 
> Passport
> Degree Certificate
> Transcript
> Employment Reference letter
> 
> However some of my friends saying that they have attached a CV additionally. And in the on line application form, I can see Passport, CV and Birth certificate in the select box.
> I got confused with this and my friend's answers. Please help me.
> 
> Do we really need to attach a CV? Am I missing any other document for skill assessment?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Asela


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mustafasabir -

Should not be a problem - travel after application is lodged doesn't change the PCC requirements or make a difference whether you're traveling to a country you have lodged a PCC for or not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mustafasabir said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied for 189 skilled independent visa from UAE.
> 
> I have one confusion. I have applied for the police certificate for my wife and myself from Pakistan which is expected to be with me within 3 or 4 days time.
> 
> My wife is travelling to Pakistan after 2 weeks, for 10 days i.e. after receiving PCC. Will this cause a concern with DIBP? Am I right to think that they could ask to get another PCC covering the date of her last visit? Can't we travel to the country after receiving PCC from there?
> 
> Please confirm.
> 
> Regards,
> Mustafa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma098 -

Would need to go over the details of what you are proposing in a consultation and ask you some further questions in order to give you an opinion on this - the rules are a bit complex, and depend on a variety of factors re: the two different employers. More on consults in my website link in my signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emma098 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am wondering Working Holiday Visa. Is that only for 6 months for one employer , ABN number ?
> 
> But how about can I work with same company ADDRESS and same BUSINESS BUT different employer name and ABN number after 6 months?
> 
> Since my colleague doing his own business under his name and ABN number and I can work for him afterward but he still related in my current company.
> 
> Is that ok if I work for him after 6 months?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saritha198 -

WA Sched 2 requires an employment contract for work - no good ways around that that I am aware of. Other options would be to try and find another state that is sponsoring that occupation that does not require an employment contract or job offer, or consider getting a skills assessment in a different occupation code if that's possible or practical. Happy to assist your friend in a consultation if he/she wants to explore various alternatives and ask detailed questions about their case - see website in my signature below for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



saritha198 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> could you please reply to my below query


----------



## Emma098

*hi*

Hi 
Thanks for quick reply.
First, I am working my current company since Nov 2014 and have to quit in may 2015 because WHV condition as you know. I try to stay here as I can since it is amazing job. Anyways.
My colleague going to do his own business few months ago, the company name and ABN number, director name absolutely under his name. Nothing connect to my current company.
However, he is doing partnership with my current company. Like he is selling my current company's product to his customer and my current company will pay for him commission.
And he is asking me to work for him. But he doesn't have decent office, he just work at my current company office. 
Therefore, If I work for him later, employer name and ABN number is totally under his name and he will pay me under his account but I probably work in same office as current one.
Is that ok to do that?

Thanks
Emma



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Emma098 -
> 
> Would need to go over the details of what you are proposing in a consultation and ask you some further questions in order to give you an opinion on this - the rules are a bit complex, and depend on a variety of factors re: the two different employers. More on consults in my website link in my signature below.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma098 -

Can't give you advice without a lot more details (see consultation link) - would be putting my own licence at risk if I missed a piece of information and you lost your visa as a result - hope you understand.

Generally speaking, if a person ceases work for an employer, then starts working through a new company who acts as a broker/middleman/labor hire/etc and the person's work continues to have the original employer as the beneficial recipient of the person's work (the company who ultimately benefits), that would not generally work and qualify as a new employer, even if the middleman/broker/etc has a new ABN. Happy to discuss your situation in more detail at a consult and get you specific advice on your case.

Best,

Mark



Emma098 said:


> Hi
> Thanks for quick reply.
> First, I am working my current company since Nov 2014 and have to quit in may 2015 because WHV condition as you know. I try to stay here as I can since it is amazing job. Anyways.
> My colleague going to do his own business few months ago, the company name and ABN number, director name absolutely under his name. Nothing connect to my current company.
> However, he is doing partnership with my current company. Like he is selling my current company's product to his customer and my current company will pay for him commission.
> And he is asking me to work for him. But he doesn't have decent office, he just work at my current company office.
> Therefore, If I work for him later, employer name and ABN number is totally under his name and he will pay me under his account but I probably work in same office as current one.
> Is that ok to do that?
> 
> Thanks
> Emma


----------



## Emma098

*hi*

So you advise i should do this. I should find he compete new job after?
Thanks
Emma


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Emma098 -
> 
> Can't give you advice without a lot more details (see consultation link) - would be putting my own licence at risk if I missed a piece of information and you lost your visa as a result - hope you understand.
> 
> Generally speaking, if a person ceases work for an employer, then starts working through a new company who acts as a broker/middleman/labor hire/etc and the person's work continues to have the original employer as the beneficial recipient of the person's work (the company who ultimately benefits), that would not generally work and qualify as a new employer, even if the middleman/broker/etc has a new ABN. Happy to discuss your situation in more detail at a consult and get you specific advice on your case.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## Emma098

*hi*

Hi Mark,
Does any way I can stay this company after 6 months?
Or no way for that.
Thanks
Emma


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Emma098 -
> 
> Can't give you advice without a lot more details (see consultation link) - would be putting my own licence at risk if I missed a piece of information and you lost your visa as a result - hope you understand.
> 
> Generally speaking, if a person ceases work for an employer, then starts working through a new company who acts as a broker/middleman/labor hire/etc and the person's work continues to have the original employer as the beneficial recipient of the person's work (the company who ultimately benefits), that would not generally work and qualify as a new employer, even if the middleman/broker/etc has a new ABN. Happy to discuss your situation in more detail at a consult and get you specific advice on your case.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## andlerbierhoff

*Question*

Hi Mark,

Are you available for a short consultation

I will offer remuneration

andler


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma098 -

Not enough info to give you advice - see consultation link on our website in signature below - that will give us 30 minutes to gather all the info necessary and give you specific advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emma098 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Does any way I can stay this company after 6 months?
> Or no way for that.
> Thanks
> Emma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andler -

Yes - happy to assist - see website link in my signature below, then click on "Consultation" for complete info, rates and booking.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andlerbierhoff said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Are you available for a short consultation
> 
> I will offer remuneration
> 
> andler


----------



## andlerbierhoff

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Andler -
> 
> Yes - happy to assist - see website link in my signature below, then click on "Consultation" for complete info, rates and booking.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark,

Would you be available to do the consultation now.

I would like to book the 30 minute consultation

A


----------



## Asela

*576 visa*

Hi Mark,

My wife got a scholarship for her Masters at a University in Adelaide under the 576 VISA category in January 2014. I came with her as the dependent. I have over 10 years experience as a software engineer and have enough marks to apply under 189 VISA category. My wife has a condition in her VISA that she has to go back to my country after completing her Masters and can't migrate to Australia for two years.

My question is, can I apply PR under 189, while staying under the 576 VISA, mentioning that my wife as a non migrant member? she will stay away from Australia for two years and then I can get her back if i get the PR.

I would be most grateful to you if you can give me a solid answer.
Thank you.
AJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andler -

Yes, can accommodate an urgent consult tonight - please see my email sent to you.

Best,

Mark



andlerbierhoff said:


> Thanks Mark,
> 
> Would you be available to do the consultation now.
> 
> I would like to book the 30 minute consultation
> 
> A


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Asela -

Thanks for the question. Would need to look at your wife's and your visa in a consultation and get further info on her circumstances to check the applicable regulations to ensure you are not captured by the restriction that applies to her. If you are not captured by the restriction, no issue I see based on what you wrote with proceeding with a 189 with her not migrating, then sponsoring her later for a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Asela said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife got a scholarship for her Masters at a University in Adelaide under the 576 VISA category in January 2014. I came with her as the dependent. I have over 10 years experience as a software engineer and have enough marks to apply under 189 VISA category. My wife has a condition in her VISA that she has to go back to my country after completing her Masters and can't migrate to Australia for two years.
> 
> My question is, can I apply PR under 189, while staying under the 576 VISA, mentioning that my wife as a non migrant member? she will stay away from Australia for two years and then I can get her back if i get the PR.
> 
> I would be most grateful to you if you can give me a solid answer.
> Thank you.
> AJ


----------



## Asela

Tx a lot for the quick reply Mark. It certainly helped (Y).


----------



## Bassim

Dear Mark,
I have gained my student visa at 02-02-2015 to start my Master's degree at USQ in first of march.

After arriving to Australia, something very bad has been happened in my family, so I got refund my payment from university and returned back to my home.

Now the university, of course, cancelled my eCOE.

After all this, maybe after a while everything with family would become good and maybe I can go to Australia.

If that happens, what shall I do exactly? If I got a new eCOE , do I need to apply for a new visa?? or it only enough to send the new eCOE to the department of immigration


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bassim -

I would suggest getting a new eCoE and providing that to DIBP ASAP. Then I would call them once they've had a chance to receive that and let them know what's happened - the cancellation of your old eCoE may have initiated a cancellation process at DIBP, however given that it's so recent you may be able to avoid the cancellation process by alerting them to the new eCoE - depends on how far the process has gone to-date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bassim said:


> Dear Mark,
> I have gained my student visa at 02-02-2015 to start my Master's degree at USQ in first of march.
> 
> After arriving to Australia, something very bad has been happened in my family, so I got refund my payment from university and returned back to my home.
> 
> Now the university, of course, cancelled my eCOE.
> 
> After all this, maybe after a while everything with family would become good and maybe I can go to Australia.
> 
> If that happens, what shall I do exactly? If I got a new eCOE , do I need to apply for a new visa?? or it only enough to send the new eCOE to the department of immigration


----------



## Bassim

Thank you very much


----------



## jimmyc

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding 47sp form question 73, where they want to know which countries my partner has visited in the last 10 years. The thing is my partner is cabin crew and has been for the past 7 years. She has obviously visited many many countries many times. Does she have to include all the details in this form?

Please advise.

Thanks,
James.


----------



## mamu

Dear Mark,

Thank you very much for your advise. I updated the passport online and in return Form 929 was generated and submitted. I uploaded the Bio-Pages of the new passport. I got the grant on the new passport.

Thank you once again as my time was saved because of the timely update. Otherwise CO would've asked to update the passport number and I would have to wait for 28 more days.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mamu -
> 
> Can't change a lodged application, but Form 929 is available online - see link to it on the right side of the page where your uploads, etc are listed. I would upload a colour scan of the biodata page of the new passport. Yes, can add those additional documents at this stage.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## tara.jatt

Hi Mark, 

I will be eligible for 100 subclass soon. I have activated my 309 and visited Australia few times, but still not permanently moved. How will I be contacted for my 2nd stage processing? Should I expect an email?


----------



## saritha198

Thanks Mark for your reply ...I will pass on your details to my sister



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Saritha198 -
> 
> WA Sched 2 requires an employment contract for work - no good ways around that that I am aware of. Other options would be to try and find another state that is sponsoring that occupation that does not require an employment contract or job offer, or consider getting a skills assessment in a different occupation code if that's possible or practical. Happy to assist your friend in a consultation if he/she wants to explore various alternatives and ask detailed questions about their case - see website in my signature below for details.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tara.Jatt -

I wouldn't wait for an email, but would visit Partner (Permanent) Calculator to see next steps and required documents, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tara.jatt said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I will be eligible for 100 subclass soon. I have activated my 309 and visited Australia few times, but still not permanently moved. How will I be contacted for my 2nd stage processing? Should I expect an email?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmyc -

Technically yes, but I'd list the countries for the last 6 months or 1 year, then add a note to the application explaining the facts about her job and that it's not possible to obtain every visit to every country that she visited, etc if that's the case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmyc said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding 47sp form question 73, where they want to know which countries my partner has visited in the last 10 years. The thing is my partner is cabin crew and has been for the past 7 years. She has obviously visited many many countries many times. Does she have to include all the details in this form?
> 
> Please advise.
> 
> Thanks,
> James.


----------



## MarkNortham

Great outcome!

Best,

Mark



mamu said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your advise. I updated the passport online and in return Form 929 was generated and submitted. I uploaded the Bio-Pages of the new passport. I got the grant on the new passport.
> 
> Thank you once again as my time was saved because of the timely update. Otherwise CO would've asked to update the passport number and I would have to wait for 28 more days.


----------



## Helpmeplease

*Partner visa*

Dear mark,

I am an Australian citizen.
My partner and I have been waiting for our 820 visa for around 15 months now. I have been providing for her fully in terms of financials. She basically free loads off me the entire time.

I am in a bit of trouble as I am in a abusive relationship, I wanted to withdrew my sponsorship, but she has threatening to claim family violence etc, so she can get her visa or any other options that can destroy me

I unfortunately also live where I work as I am an onsite resident hotel manager. She also lives with me. I cannot cause scene at my workplace if I try to kick her out of my apartment. Every time we fight I end up getting kicked out.....she would hit me and scream and so on, I can't let my co worker or hotel guests see that.

I need some opinion from a professional like you to help me.

I have considered/done:
1. Spoken to her that she can get the visa even when we break up, she can leave and I won't cancel her visa. But she said no as she needs to free load off me.

2. Quit my job and leave Victoria (friends and family say I shouldn't).

3. She is going overseas in May for a month, I will withdrew as soon as she leaves and hope she can never come back and hurt me (but I am not sure how long the process will take). If she was able to come back then I am screwed because she knows where I work and live.

Please help out thank you so much


----------



## Daniella2485

Hello mark, I just received an email regarding my partner visa (sub 820) application that said " Your application has been transferred to the DIBP Brisbane Office as part of an internal allocation of work and you will be contacted once processing has commenced" does that mean that my application is going to be processed soon? is that a good sign?? or what does that email means?? we applied on june 12/2014 and it was a decision ready application, we attached all the paperwork including police clearance, medical check, certificate of relationship etc 
thank you so much in advance for your help!
best regards,
Daniella.


----------



## BlackKitty

Hi Mark thank you very much for doing this 

I AM IN TROUBLES....
I sent yesterday my Partner Visa 820 by post with a bank cheque.
My visa EXPIRES this Sunday 15-3-15, I am currently working. Other members of the group answer me that I should talk with you.
Should I talk with my work place? do you know how long is going to take till I can work again ?
Do I have to apply to a bridging Visa ? would I be unlawful in the country ??


thank you very much I am very stressful and sad I really need to work.


----------



## AkashG

Hi Mr Mark
I am from India and I got accepted in the University Of Wollongong for the course of Bachelors of Business and the university awarded me 50 percent scholarship on the basis of my high school percentage. I applied in the University in November s last week but unfortunately got the offer pretty late. I lodged the application for streamlined Visa on 12th February 2015 and like everyone said that I have lodged it well on time. My course started on 2nd March 2015 and because of the delay of visa I asked the University for the extension and they gave me an extension till 16th March 2015 and today is 13th march which is the last working day of the week for the visa officers. I tried calling the Australian High Commission several times but the only thing i got was a hold tune and sometimes when I was lucky they just told me that there are heavy number of applications so it will take more time than usual. Sir if there is a world cup going on why every student have to suffer? It is really a wrong thing. If I will not get my Visa today then it will cost me 4 months for the next intake. Do they sometimes delay the visa and this is a SVP? I am sure my all documents are correct along with the Coe and why are they taking this much long. I am really worried.


----------



## Clw

Where should Permanent Residents line up in the immigration counter while coming inside Australia ? In the line of Visitors or in line of AU Citizens?


----------



## nicolo

Hi Mark,

A friend is interested in applying as a piggery senior stockperson under 457 labour agreement. The labour agreement template for this position states one of the requirements is:

"Qualification equivalent to AQF III in Agriculture (Pig Production) and three years’ experience, or at least five years’ experience in the pig industry."

My friend is a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Major in Agronomy graduate. This degree is not related to Pig Production. However, he has been working as a piggery stockperson overseas for 5 years. Does he meet the above stated requirement, eventhough he does not have education/degree related to pig production? He would like to know if he meets this criteria before he starts contacting employers.


----------



## Romh

Hi Mark,

Wonderful thread that’s going on here, giving up your time like this must be appreciated by thousands!

I’d like to ask you about the situation with my partner and I. The background before I ask my main question is this: she has been studying here on a student visa (higher ed.), and returned to her home country of Japan over the Christmas break to see her family. Unfortunately, she became sick while in Japan, and was advised by the hospital not to travel or study for a number of months. She informed her university of the situation and asked to defer her semester with the intention of resuming studies in the next semester, starting in July.

As we understood it, a deferment of semester can be granted on compassionate or compelling grounds. However, we were told this is only the case if the student is currently in Australia. As my partner was in Japan, she was told that a deferment could not be granted on these grounds. The university said they would cancel her CoE in April, and it would be up to DIBP whether they would also cancel her student visa. From informal enquiries I have made, it seems likely that the visa will be cancelled.

This is not too serious, however, as the university is happy to issue a new CoE for the July semester, enabling her to get a new student visa and re-enter Australia around this time.

However, we have been discussing for some time about applying for the de facto visa to enable her to live here permanently. We meet the requirements of this visa, and my partner would like to apply for it now while in Japan as this will be cheaper. So my main question is this: can she apply for the de facto visa offshore, and then use her new CoE to obtain her new student visa and re-enter Australia while waiting for the de facto visa application to process?

I have read some of your replies to people in similar situations, and from what I understand, you have advised against this, as applying for a student visa after a de facto visa application may show the applicant does not have an interest in permanently living in Australia. I’m keen to know if my partner’s situation is a little different, given that she was halfway through her studies already, and the student visa application is essentially about allowing her to finish those studies.

Thanks in advance for your time


----------



## redman8

Hello mark thanks for your time I am not to good with commuter like to ask you a question about medicals. My partner and I lodged our partnership visa in manila in 16 of August 2014, Is there anytime frame until we receive the hap number for her medical. Many thanks Mark.


----------



## Ganesh

*Not clear on ACS skill assessment*

Hi Mark,

thanks for sharing your knowledge with us on this thread!

I have a question about ACS skill assessment. I am planning to apply for 189 visa .

1. I have got ACS skill assessment and total experience is around 9.5 years and in assessment letter its mentioned that "The following employment after September 2007 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately ...." two years deducted in my experience as per ACS & its 7.5years as per ACS. Is it possible to claim 8+ years of experience for getting 15 points while applying EOI and Visa?

2) My wife also got ACS skill assessment -'Recognition of Prior Learning - RPL' experience and there is no education assessment done. I have asked Immigration agent they told me that skill assessment not enough to claim 5 points under spouse skill points, and she have to take education assessment separately. Is this really true? for getting spouse skills point ( 5 points ) she need education assessment also?

It would be great if you reply for this queries.

Thanks!
Ganesh


----------



## Kiedo

Hi Mark, 
My girlfriend and I are about to submit our online application for the defacto partner visa. She spoke to a lady from immigration that informed her that I (the Australian) will need a police check. I can't find anywhere in the immigration booklet that mentions that I need a police check or on any of the forums. Will I need to get a police check?

Kind regards, 
Kiedo


----------



## msgsd

*Visa for child*

Hello Mark I need a help for my daughter how to keep PR.
She is applying her PR, subclass 189 with her father.

I and her father was in defacto and was preparing PR application together, but only I was removed because he said me to buy air ticket of next week in 24hrs!! or he would remove me!
Then I have no more relationship with him and I'm with my daughter in my country.
I asked him not to remove her because I want to give her opportunity and I sent consent form for her already, now waiting for medical.

Question1 is it seems very difficult, almost impossible to keep her PR?
Even if she and her father get PR, I can't live in australia with her together, or I have to get student visa and keep it for long year.
She is still breast feeding baby, and her father doesn't want to help taking care of her, so no support at all physically and financially, so it's impossible to take care of her and go to school, also work...

As my knowledge, she has to validate visa in 1 year and has to live there for 2 of 5 years.
If she validate her PR in July 2015, visit there for few days, then when she has to come back? 
After 3 years from validation?
And need to live there for 2 years to get RRV?
Then after this 5 years period will she also have to live there every 2 of 5 years to keep her PR?

Question2 as her father, applying 189 visa together, does he have financial responsibility to support her life expenses, accommodation etc by immigration law?

Question3 I thought I would ask him for her child visa later after she get older, but it also seems very difficult too.
Can he refuse to apply her child visa when she want to migrate?

If u know please help me.


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

My husband applied for 309 offshore partner visa and he got a mail saying the initial assessment is completed and the case has moved to the next stage. 

He is planing to come to visit me with his visitor visa in about 2 weeks. (after informing the case officer that he is coming to Australia) But I am worrying if it will delay the processing of the visa? 

Is it good to stay till he grant the partner visa? ( but we are not sure about the timeline).

I really appreciate your advice on this.

Thank you and Regards
Dhanu


----------



## adam g

*hey Marky Mark!*

ok - heres the situation. My girl and i have been together since 2012. She's from HK and i live in Australia, we met in Australia, and lived together for a year. She overstayed on her STUDENT VISA, and was deported from Australia, while i was overseas for work. 
She went back to HK. Which made me depressed.
I came to HK last year to be with her, and have been here for almost a full year.
We applied for a 600 VISA, but were rejected.

Q.
1. Does the 3 year ban start from the moment the VISA is canceled? or the moment you are deported?
2. What type of VISA would i apply for now? 
3. Can she apply for ETA again?
4. i have been here for a year in HK, and we've been together for 2 years- is this compelling reason to WAIVER the exclusion period?
5. Where do i go from here?

thanks MARK!


----------



## ali.2015

*Need advice for 820 visa*

Hi Mark,

I read most of your threads here which are really helpful and encouraging.

I applied 820/801 combined Partner Visa application in first week of October 2013. Since then I haven't received any news or outcome from DIBP or nor department asked me any other documents. I sent few emails regarding progress of my 820 visa to DIBP in last couple of months but they just reply that my application is delayed due to security clearance, as I come from High Risk country (Pakistan)

As, it now has been almost 18 months waiting time for 820 visa, ca you please advice me that how long will it take more to finalise my 820 visa. Your advice will be much appreciated.

I sent few emails to DIBP in last couple of months about the progress of my 820 application, but last month they replied me on their letter head IMMI delays my visa processing saying it may be because of security/national checks , but they are seeking to finalise my application asap. I sent another email but got same reply after a month.

I had cancelled my student visa 573, and am on BVE visa now. But I cancelled my student visa six months later when I applied 820/801 visas.

I had applied decision ready 820/801visa applications includes all required documents as well as police/character certificates overseas & Australian, Form 80 and medicals.

I have been living in Australia for seven years, and previously I had applied few other temporary visas, but I never ever had such long waiting problem. My immigration history is clean and I never breached any conditions.

Apologies for a long thread.

Thank you

Ali

Applied 820/801 visa applications 8th October 2013
Paper application

Still waiting for 820 visa to be granted


----------



## Molesades

Hi 

Just a quick question applying for nz family relationship visa is it beneficial to register our relationship were in qld? And also honest opinion do immi look down on relationships started online?? In your experience? Thanks for your awesome work your doing helping people


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Helpmeplease -

Thanks for the note, and sorry to hear of the abusive relationship.

Re: immigration aspects of this, if you withdraw your sponsorship prior to the grant of the 820, she will be notified by letter and given an opportunity to respond - they won't just cancel her visa straight away. She then can do nothing (the 820 visa will eventually be refused), leaving her 28 days remaining on her bridging visa; or she can fight the refusal by claiming that the relationship is still intact (difficult if you have withdrawn your sponsorship) or she can make a family violence claim to proceed with the partner visa application without your support/sponsorship - she would need proper documentary evidence in order to be successful with that sort of a claim.

Re: other aspects, I am concerned for your mental health and well-being and would suggest you try and gain some perspective. Life is not about living in fear of your partner, and that's not a normal situation by any means. I would consider privately (ie, without her knowledge) visiting a psychologist to discuss how you're feeling, and visiting a family lawyer to see what the situation would be if you wanted to separate from her at this point and what your rights are.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Helpmeplease said:


> Dear mark,
> 
> I am an Australian citizen.
> My partner and I have been waiting for our 820 visa for around 15 months now. I have been providing for her fully in terms of financials. She basically free loads off me the entire time.
> 
> I am in a bit of trouble as I am in a abusive relationship, I wanted to withdrew my sponsorship, but she has threatening to claim family violence etc, so she can get her visa or any other options that can destroy me
> 
> I unfortunately also live where I work as I am an onsite resident hotel manager. She also lives with me. I cannot cause scene at my workplace if I try to kick her out of my apartment. Every time we fight I end up getting kicked out.....she would hit me and scream and so on, I can't let my co worker or hotel guests see that.
> 
> I need some opinion from a professional like you to help me.
> 
> I have considered/done:
> 1. Spoken to her that she can get the visa even when we break up, she can leave and I won't cancel her visa. But she said no as she needs to free load off me.
> 
> 2. Quit my job and leave Victoria (friends and family say I shouldn't).
> 
> 3. She is going overseas in May for a month, I will withdrew as soon as she leaves and hope she can never come back and hurt me (but I am not sure how long the process will take). If she was able to come back then I am screwed because she knows where I work and live.
> 
> Please help out thank you so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daniella2485 -

In my experience those letters don't mean much of anything, and aren't a sign that things have progressed to any specific point in the process. Sorry, wish I had better news for you! We're still looking at 12-18 month onshore processing time as DIBP is overwhelmed with partner visa applications these days. However in some cases people are fortunate and their applications are completed in less than 12 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Daniella2485 said:


> Hello mark, I just received an email regarding my partner visa (sub 820) application that said " Your application has been transferred to the DIBP Brisbane Office as part of an internal allocation of work and you will be contacted once processing has commenced" does that mean that my application is going to be processed soon? is that a good sign?? or what does that email means?? we applied on june 12/2014 and it was a decision ready application, we attached all the paperwork including police clearance, medical check, certificate of relationship etc
> thank you so much in advance for your help!
> best regards,
> Daniella.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BlackKitty -

Thanks for the question. I have been off the forum for a couple of days or would have responded sooner. Would have been a much better idea to lodge online, as you would have received a Bridging Visa A immediately with full work rights.

Now it will depend on proving what day the application arrived at DIBP's mailbox. I hope you sent it Express Mail, since that's the best way of showing that proof. The issue is that DIBP doesn't always issue the bridging visa as of the date the application arrives in their mailbox, which can be a problem for you depending on what they do.

At this point your work rights end today (Sunday), so you cannot work until you are issued a bridging visa with work rights. If DIBP received the application on Friday and you can prove it, then you're in better shape - you'll have to check on the online VEVO system to see when they issue a bridging visa, and to see if that visa is a bridging visa A (which would happen if DIBP granted the bridging visa as of Friday when you still had a visa) or a bridging visa C (which would happen if DIBP grants the bridging visa as of Monday or whatever later date they received the application).

If you get a BV-A, then as soon as that visa is granted (check VEVO each day), you can go back to work as your work rights would be restored as of the date that visa is granted.

If you get a BV-C, it will likely come with no work rights, as that will be the case if DIBP receives the application (or says they did) on Monday or afterwards. If you get a BV-C but can prove the application arrived in their mailbox on Friday, I would fight hard for a BV-A from them dated Friday, arguing that it is their policy that a visa application should be recognised as received when it is in their mailbox, not once it reaches their offices (which can be 1+ days later depending on the weekend).

If they receive the application on Monday or later (and you cannot prove it reached them Friday), then you'll be stuck with a Bridging Visa C, as you will have become unlawful in Australia as your visa ceased before the bridging visa from your 820 application was granted. This means you will likely have a Schedule 3 issue related to Item 3004 on Schedule 3 where you will have to prove that you became unlawful because of reasons beyond your control and other things - see http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_reg/mr1994227/sch3.html for more on this and look for Item 3004. A BV-C also means that you've been unlawful in Australia, which means any time you spent here before that time cannot be counted towards the 4 year residency requirement for citizenship. Finally, if you depart Australia holding the BV-C, you will have no visa to re-enter Australia since BV-C holders cannot apply for a BV-B which allows re-entry. In addition to all this, your BV-C will likely come with a "No Work" condition by default - you'll need to then apply for work rights to be added to your BV-C based on financial hardship. In that case, you would not be able to legally work until those work rights have been added back on.

So as you can see, a lot depends on whether you can prove DIBP received the application at their post office box on Friday!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BlackKitty said:


> Hi Mark thank you very much for doing this
> 
> I AM IN TROUBLES....
> I sent yesterday my Partner Visa 820 by post with a bank cheque.
> My visa EXPIRES this Sunday 15-3-15, I am currently working. Other members of the group answer me that I should talk with you.
> Should I talk with my work place? do you know how long is going to take till I can work again ?
> Do I have to apply to a bridging Visa ? would I be unlawful in the country ??
> 
> thank you very much I am very stressful and sad I really need to work.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AkashG -

Think I received this from you via email as well. Unfortunately nothing I can do, and nothing you can do other than keep in touch with them, remind them nicely about your start date, and ask them if they need any additional documents or information in order to complete processing of your visa. Sadly DIBP can take as long as they want to process any visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AkashG said:


> Hi Mr Mark
> I am from India and I got accepted in the University Of Wollongong for the course of Bachelors of Business and the university awarded me 50 percent scholarship on the basis of my high school percentage. I applied in the University in November s last week but unfortunately got the offer pretty late. I lodged the application for streamlined Visa on 12th February 2015 and like everyone said that I have lodged it well on time. My course started on 2nd March 2015 and because of the delay of visa I asked the University for the extension and they gave me an extension till 16th March 2015 and today is 13th march which is the last working day of the week for the visa officers. I tried calling the Australian High Commission several times but the only thing i got was a hold tune and sometimes when I was lucky they just told me that there are heavy number of applications so it will take more time than usual. Sir if there is a world cup going on why every student have to suffer? It is really a wrong thing. If I will not get my Visa today then it will cost me 4 months for the next intake. Do they sometimes delay the visa and this is a SVP? I am sure my all documents are correct along with the Coe and why are they taking this much long. I am really worried.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clw -

Good question! Most permanent residents I know use the Citizens line because it's much quicker, and I don't recall any stories of being told that's the wrong line.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Clw said:


> Where should Permanent Residents line up in the immigration counter while coming inside Australia ? In the line of Visitors or in line of AU Citizens?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicolo -

No way to tell for sure, as it would depend on an assessment by the case officer as to whether the 5 years experience he has, when looking at the specific tasks/duties of the jobs he's worked for those 5 years, is considered by DIBP to be closely related to the ANZSCO tasks/duties of a piggery senior stockperson. If the applicant and DIBP disagree about whether the work is closely related or not, then they may ask that you get VETASSESS or some other authority to issue an opinion on the work experience and its relevance to the occupation being applied for in order to settle the question.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nicolo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> A friend is interested in applying as a piggery senior stockperson under 457 labour agreement. The labour agreement template for this position states one of the requirements is:
> 
> "Qualification equivalent to AQF III in Agriculture (Pig Production) and three years' experience, or at least five years' experience in the pig industry."
> 
> My friend is a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Major in Agronomy graduate. This degree is not related to Pig Production. However, he has been working as a piggery stockperson overseas for 5 years. Does he meet the above stated requirement, eventhough he does not have education/degree related to pig production? He would like to know if he meets this criteria before he starts contacting employers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romh -

Thanks for the question and kind words. I don't have enough information about your situation to give you specific advice, however I would consider trying to get a new student visa issued based on the new CoE prior to the old visa being cancelled - this will avoid a lot of hassle. Under that scenario, it also allows application for the partner visa after application for the student visa, which can work out better in some cases.

In your case, given that she's already established as a genuine student in Australia, if you end up doing the reverse (partner visa first, then student visa application), I don't think it will look bad. The problem comes when people apply for student visas after a partner visa application, thinking it will give them more time to be with their partner instead of applying for a visitor visa, etc. Then DIBP considers whether the person is a genuine student, or is just using the student visa to avoid applying for a visitor visa, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Romh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Wonderful thread that's going on here, giving up your time like this must be appreciated by thousands!
> 
> I'd like to ask you about the situation with my partner and I. The background before I ask my main question is this: she has been studying here on a student visa (higher ed.), and returned to her home country of Japan over the Christmas break to see her family. Unfortunately, she became sick while in Japan, and was advised by the hospital not to travel or study for a number of months. She informed her university of the situation and asked to defer her semester with the intention of resuming studies in the next semester, starting in July.
> 
> As we understood it, a deferment of semester can be granted on compassionate or compelling grounds. However, we were told this is only the case if the student is currently in Australia. As my partner was in Japan, she was told that a deferment could not be granted on these grounds. The university said they would cancel her CoE in April, and it would be up to DIBP whether they would also cancel her student visa. From informal enquiries I have made, it seems likely that the visa will be cancelled.
> 
> This is not too serious, however, as the university is happy to issue a new CoE for the July semester, enabling her to get a new student visa and re-enter Australia around this time.
> 
> However, we have been discussing for some time about applying for the de facto visa to enable her to live here permanently. We meet the requirements of this visa, and my partner would like to apply for it now while in Japan as this will be cheaper. So my main question is this: can she apply for the de facto visa offshore, and then use her new CoE to obtain her new student visa and re-enter Australia while waiting for the de facto visa application to process?
> 
> I have read some of your replies to people in similar situations, and from what I understand, you have advised against this, as applying for a student visa after a de facto visa application may show the applicant does not have an interest in permanently living in Australia. I'm keen to know if my partner's situation is a little different, given that she was halfway through her studies already, and the student visa application is essentially about allowing her to finish those studies.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your time


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Redman8 -

If you lodged a paper application, then I would wait until you get an email or letter from DIBP requesting medicals. Make sure DIBP always has your current contact info so you don't miss any communications from them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



redman8 said:


> Hello mark thanks for your time I am not to good with commuter like to ask you a question about medicals. My partner and I lodged our partnership visa in manila in 16 of August 2014, Is there anytime frame until we receive the hap number for her medical. Many thanks Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ganesh -

Thanks for the question. I would need to look at your documents to give you specific advice for your case, however Re #1, a person can only claim employment *after* the deeming date that ACS says. However if you have continued in the same job you were positively assessed by ACS as after the date of the ACS report, you may be able to claim that extra time (ie, until the date of the EOI) with a letter from your current employer stating that you continued in the same position as was assessed by ACS until the current date, etc.

Re #2, the other agent is mistaken. Your wife needs a full migration skills assessment for whatever occupation she is nominated under, however if the skills assessment is RPL or otherwise, as long as it is a full skills assessment for migration purposes, should be fine. The tricky thing is that some places can give you an RPL for educational purposes only, which would not work for visa purposes; but in the regulations there is no requirement for a degree to be assessed, only "had a suitable skills assessment in their nominated skilled occupation from a relevant assessing authority at the time of invitation and".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ganesh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> thanks for sharing your knowledge with us on this thread!
> 
> I have a question about ACS skill assessment. I am planning to apply for 189 visa .
> 
> 1. I have got ACS skill assessment and total experience is around 9.5 years and in assessment letter its mentioned that "The following employment after September 2007 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately ...." two years deducted in my experience as per ACS & its 7.5years as per ACS. Is it possible to claim 8+ years of experience for getting 15 points while applying EOI and Visa?
> 
> 2) My wife also got ACS skill assessment -'Recognition of Prior Learning - RPL' experience and there is no education assessment done. I have asked Immigration agent they told me that skill assessment not enough to claim 5 points under spouse skill points, and she have to take education assessment separately. Is this really true? for getting spouse skills point ( 5 points ) she need education assessment also?
> 
> It would be great if you reply for this queries.
> 
> Thanks!
> Ganesh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kiedo -

As a sponsor and Australian PR or citizen, you won't need a police check unless there are children under 18 on the application to migrate with your defacto partner (I'd eliminate the word "girlfriend" from your immigration vocabulary ASAP)

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kiedo said:


> Hi Mark,
> My girlfriend and I are about to submit our online application for the defacto partner visa. She spoke to a lady from immigration that informed her that I (the Australian) will need a police check. I can't find anywhere in the immigration booklet that mentions that I need a police check or on any of the forums. Will I need to get a police check?
> 
> Kind regards,
> Kiedo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Msgsd -

Thanks for the questions. Your situation is too complex to work out with back & forth emails, and I would need to get more information from you about you and your child's situation at a consultation in order to give you specific advice, as there are many "moving parts" to this situation. If you're interested, please see the link in my signature below to our website and look for "Consultation" in the top menu area of the webpage.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



msgsd said:


> Hello Mark I need a help for my daughter how to keep PR.
> She is applying her PR, subclass 189 with her father.
> 
> I and her father was in defacto and was preparing PR application together, but only I was removed because he said me to buy air ticket of next week in 24hrs!! or he would remove me!
> Then I have no more relationship with him and I'm with my daughter in my country.
> I asked him not to remove her because I want to give her opportunity and I sent consent form for her already, now waiting for medical.
> 
> Question1 is it seems very difficult, almost impossible to keep her PR?
> Even if she and her father get PR, I can't live in australia with her together, or I have to get student visa and keep it for long year.
> She is still breast feeding baby, and her father doesn't want to help taking care of her, so no support at all physically and financially, so it's impossible to take care of her and go to school, also work...
> 
> As my knowledge, she has to validate visa in 1 year and has to live there for 2 of 5 years.
> If she validate her PR in July 2015, visit there for few days, then when she has to come back?
> After 3 years from validation?
> And need to live there for 2 years to get RRV?
> Then after this 5 years period will she also have to live there every 2 of 5 years to keep her PR?
> 
> Question2 as her father, applying 189 visa together, does he have financial responsibility to support her life expenses, accommodation etc by immigration law?
> 
> Question3 I thought I would ask him for her child visa later after she get older, but it also seems very difficult too.
> Can he refuse to apply her child visa when she want to migrate?
> 
> If u know please help me.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhanu -

Normally a visit to Australia by the applicant would not slow down or delay your 309/100 visa process. If the applicant is in Australia when DIBP is ready to grant the visa, they will usually email the applicant to inform them of this and give them a certain amount of time (some number of weeks) to depart Australia in order to be granted the 309 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dhanu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My husband applied for 309 offshore partner visa and he got a mail saying the initial assessment is completed and the case has moved to the next stage.
> 
> He is planing to come to visit me with his visitor visa in about 2 weeks. (after informing the case officer that he is coming to Australia) But I am worrying if it will delay the processing of the visa?
> 
> Is it good to stay till he grant the partner visa? ( but we are not sure about the timeline).
> 
> I really appreciate your advice on this.
> 
> Thank you and Regards
> Dhanu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adam G -

Thanks for the note. There are 2 different sections of the law (under Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations) that can come into play here. 4013 activated when her visa was cancelled, however 4014 activated when she departed, so from what you said, the 3 year exclusion period for her would likely have started from when she departed Australia.

Hard to estimate what DIBP will consider compassionate/compelling circumstances, however your case would be strengthened if you lodge a PMV or partner visa application (not trying to push you into doing this however!!). The 3-year exclusion period is tough to get a waiver for in many cases - you may want to get professional assistance with this on your next attempt.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



adam g said:


> ok - heres the situation. My girl and i have been together since 2012. She's from HK and i live in Australia, we met in Australia, and lived together for a year. She overstayed on her STUDENT VISA, and was deported from Australia, while i was overseas for work.
> She went back to HK. Which made me depressed.
> I came to HK last year to be with her, and have been here for almost a full year.
> We applied for a 600 VISA, but were rejected.
> 
> Q.
> 1. Does the 3 year ban start from the moment the VISA is canceled? or the moment you are deported?
> 2. What type of VISA would i apply for now?
> 3. Can she apply for ETA again?
> 4. i have been here for a year in HK, and we've been together for 2 years- is this compelling reason to WAIVER the exclusion period?
> 5. Where do i go from here?
> 
> thanks MARK!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ali.2015 -

No way to predict how long DIBP will take - especially when security checks from what DIBP considers to be high-risk countries are involved. All you can do is wait, unfortunately.

Best,

Mark



ali.2015 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I read most of your threads here which are really helpful and encouraging.
> 
> I applied 820/801 combined Partner Visa application in first week of October 2013. Since then I haven't received any news or outcome from DIBP or nor department asked me any other documents. I sent few emails regarding progress of my 820 visa to DIBP in last couple of months but they just reply that my application is delayed due to security clearance, as I come from High Risk country (Pakistan)
> 
> As, it now has been almost 18 months waiting time for 820 visa, ca you please advice me that how long will it take more to finalise my 820 visa. Your advice will be much appreciated.
> 
> I sent few emails to DIBP in last couple of months about the progress of my 820 application, but last month they replied me on their letter head IMMI delays my visa processing saying it may be because of security/national checks , but they are seeking to finalise my application asap. I sent another email but got same reply after a month.
> 
> I had cancelled my student visa 573, and am on BVE visa now. But I cancelled my student visa six months later when I applied 820/801 visas.
> 
> I had applied decision ready 820/801visa applications includes all required documents as well as police/character certificates overseas & Australian, Form 80 and medicals.
> 
> I have been living in Australia for seven years, and previously I had applied few other temporary visas, but I never ever had such long waiting problem. My immigration history is clean and I never breached any conditions.
> 
> Apologies for a long thread.
> 
> Thank you
> 
> Ali
> 
> Applied 820/801 visa applications 8th October 2013
> Paper application
> 
> Still waiting for 820 visa to be granted


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Molesades -

Thanks for the question. For defacto relationships, I always think it's a good idea to register them unless there is some reason not to (tax, etc). DIBP tends to give much more credit to documents and evidence re: living together than they do to online relationship evidence, other than if the online relationship evidence is for periods of time between times you were living together.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Molesades said:


> Hi
> 
> Just a quick question applying for nz family relationship visa is it beneficial to register our relationship were in qld? And also honest opinion do immi look down on relationships started online?? In your experience? Thanks for your awesome work your doing helping people


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for this information. Now my husband can come to visit me with a peaceful mind  Thanks again Mark

Regards
Dhanu



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dhanu -
> 
> Normally a visit to Australia by the applicant would not slow down or delay your 309/100 visa process. If the applicant is in Australia when DIBP is ready to grant the visa, they will usually email the applicant to inform them of this and give them a certain amount of time (some number of weeks) to depart Australia in order to be granted the 309 visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## AIKHAN

Hello Mark i have one question about my parents they are in Pakistan and i got 190 dependent, is it possible that i can invite my parents ?


----------



## ZAINABASEM

Hi Mark,

Can I apply for an EOI? my job is on special conditions? I can only apply under 190 job code which is 223311.


----------



## BlackKitty

Thank you soo much Mark for your answer!!

Miracle happens ! they received my application on Friday and I have a valid visa application and a Bridging visa with full rights for working and study!!
Soooooo Happy !!!!


----------



## Molesades

Thanks for the reply 

In regards to online relationship I just mean we met online soon after we started a relationship and now de facto. I was just wondering if they look down on relationships that met via online dating site or if it's not looked down up on



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Molesades -
> 
> Thanks for the question. For defacto relationships, I always think it's a good idea to register them unless there is some reason not to (tax, etc). DIBP tends to give much more credit to documents and evidence re: living together than they do to online relationship evidence, other than if the online relationship evidence is for periods of time between times you were living together.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Ria

Hi Mark,
I hope you'd be able to shed some light for me in regards to child visa 101.
I hold a PR from a 309/100 defacto visa granted last year in December, in that application I did not include my 2 children, age 13 and 8.
Now I would like them to come to Aus and live with me, it's been tough going back n forth every 6 months. I have been reading the booklets and I do know that I have to prepare 2 applications for each of them. Since I will be the one who is sponsoring both of them, do I have to fill out 2x form 40sp ?
What other documents do I need to include to make it a ready application?
From wht I read on this forum most are about younger, even baby child for the visa and I have not read anyone with slightly older kids.
Would they need to take another medical check, they had to when I did my 
application. I'm in the mids of filling out the forms now and getting all the documents ready.
My children are living with my mum and my ex husband doesn't object to them moving to Australia.
Looking forward to receiving reply from you. Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aikhan -

Sorry, not enough information to answer your questions. You can certainly invite them to Australia if you are a permanent resident (ie, hold 190 visa either as primary or secondary holder). However sponsoring them for parent visas is another subject with more requirements (including you being in Australia for 2 years, etc) - would need to go through this with you in a consultation - if interested, please see website URL in my email signature below for our website, then look for "Consultation" in the top menu for more details or to book online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AIKHAN said:


> Hello Mark i have one question about my parents they are in Pakistan and i got 190 dependent, is it possible that i can invite my parents ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zainabasem -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant for is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



ZAINABASEM said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can I apply for an EOI? my job is on special conditions? I can only apply under 190 job code which is 223311.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BlackKitty -

That's GREAT news - looks Friday the 13th was actually LUCKY Friday for you - glad that worked out that way.

Best,

Mark



BlackKitty said:


> Thank you soo much Mark for your answer!!
> 
> Miracle happens ! they received my application on Friday and I have a valid visa application and a Bridging visa with full rights for working and study!!
> Soooooo Happy !!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Molesades -

I don't think they necessarily look down on relationships where you met online - it's more about what happened afterwards - ie, how much living together time, etc.

Best,

Mark



Molesades said:


> Thanks for the reply
> 
> In regards to online relationship I just mean we met online soon after we started a relationship and now de facto. I was just wondering if they look down on relationships that met via online dating site or if it's not looked down up on


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ria -

Thanks for the question. Yes, 2 separate applications. Each one would have a 40sp, but you can make a copy of the form to use twice.

Re: other documents, if you are doing the visa without a migration agent, best to very carefully read the document checklist on the DIBP site for your visa and make sure you include everything required. Re: biological father, important to include Form 1229 plus some sort of court or legal documents if possible depending on his circumstances, showing that he has some sort of say over where the children live and has clearly said that he is OK with the kids migrating permanently to Australia.

Re: medical check, these are valid for 1 year, so if longer than that, they will likely require them again, but you might wait and see if they ask for them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ria said:


> Hi Mark,
> I hope you'd be able to shed some light for me in regards to child visa 101.
> I hold a PR from a 309/100 defacto visa granted last year in December, in that application I did not include my 2 children, age 13 and 8.
> Now I would like them to come to Aus and live with me, it's been tough going back n forth every 6 months. I have been reading the booklets and I do know that I have to prepare 2 applications for each of them. Since I will be the one who is sponsoring both of them, do I have to fill out 2x form 40sp ?
> What other documents do I need to include to make it a ready application?
> From wht I read on this forum most are about younger, even baby child for the visa and I have not read anyone with slightly older kids.
> Would they need to take another medical check, they had to when I did my
> application. I'm in the mids of filling out the forms now and getting all the documents ready.
> My children are living with my mum and my ex husband doesn't object to them moving to Australia.
> Looking forward to receiving reply from you. Thank you very much.


----------



## bundyroy

Hi Mark
I'm hoping you can answer my question.
I'm Australian and my wife is here on a bva while waiting for her partner 820 visa to be processed.
She is pregnant and is due on Aug 3rd. I am hoping to bring her mother and daughter out from the philippines on a 3 month tourist visa for the birth.
Her daughter is on her 820 application as a dependant child.
Is it possible for me to arrange and pay for her visa[ and which type of visa] while she is here so she then can stay in australia or do I have to wait for my wife's visa to be granted?
Thanks in advance.
Mark M.


----------



## pabloM

Hi Mark

Just wondering if you had any ideas what me and my wife can do. I'm a resident, and soon to be eligible for citizenship.
We applied for our Partner visa in August 2014, were married in September 2015. Currently she is on a student visa, but is not enrolled. We informed her uni immediately and her CoE was cancelled. 
However, no action has been taken by DIBP. We have been overseas also after this with no issue. 
The bridging visa A that was granted at the time of applying for the partner visa will come into effect when her student visa expires in august. However, we fly overseas for our family wedding ceremony 3 days before this date. 
As we will be overseas when the student visa expires, will the bridging visa A be nullified as we are overseas? Can we apply for student visa to become a Bridging Visa B instead of an A? 

Thanks
Pablo


----------



## jowey

*Ens 186*

Hi Mark
I'm 18 months into my ENS direct entry 186 visa, worked for them a year before it was granted too. They have been horrible to work for since the visa began and I have wanted to quit many times, each time the discussion has been had with them they threaten me with causing trouble for me with immigration and me losing my visa. I have done nothing wrong and all of my documentation etc is 100 % legitimate. I have the chance to switch employer but stay in the same profession before my 2 years is up but I'm nervous about the commitment I made to stay 2 years being used against me by immigration. I cannot find any precedent on this to compare my situation with so i can't tell how great the risk of my visa being revoked really is. 
I've worked really hard in my job and in a govt assessment (teaching) we received an exceeding national standards rating for the program I teach. Any advice would be appreciated.
Many Thanks, Jo


----------



## MackandChar

*Relationship registration issues*

Hey,

Apologies if you have answered this question somewhere else in the forum but here goes anyway.

My partner and I are going through the process of applying for a subclass 820 (de facto) partner visa and have been reading about people using the fact their relationship is registered as evidence in the application.

To provide some background my partner (italian and brazilian citizen) and I (aussie) meet and lived in London for two years (de facto for one year). We have moved back to Australia to start our application to live here 2 weeks ago. She is on a 3 month tourist visa.

The queensland Registry of briths, deaths and marriages requires, me the australian citizen, to provide proof I have been living in the state for the last 6 months. This would mean I need to provide 6 bank statements, 2 rates letters basically it can't just be a one off statement in the last few months has to be evidence for the full 6 months. This is a requirement I am unable to meet due to the fact I have been living abroad for two years.

My question is basically this. How important is it that we have a registered relationship in terms of our application?

We could wait till I am able to prove my residency in Queensland but would prefer not to as it would cost us extra money we would prefer not to spend to get my partner out of the country again.

We also explored the possibility of being registered in other states but would like some advice if you can give any on that front?

I believe the rest of our application is made up of good strong and clear evidence to support our claim that we are in a de facto relationship.

Any info on people who have done the application without a registered relationship would be nice as well.

Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark M. -

Thanks for the question. If you're asking whether you can invite them to Australia on a visitor visa, answer is yes, since you are a citizen or PR. You can lodge the applications from here - would be an online subclass 600 visas - here's the link: Visitor e600 visa online applications

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bundyroy said:


> Hi Mark
> I'm hoping you can answer my question.
> I'm Australian and my wife is here on a bva while waiting for her partner 820 visa to be processed.
> She is pregnant and is due on Aug 3rd. I am hoping to bring her mother and daughter out from the philippines on a 3 month tourist visa for the birth.
> Her daughter is on her 820 application as a dependant child.
> Is it possible for me to arrange and pay for her visa[ and which type of visa] while she is here so she then can stay in australia or do I have to wait for my wife's visa to be granted?
> Thanks in advance.
> Mark M.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pablo -

Thanks for the question. You can apply for the unactivated BV-A to be replaced by a BV-B by applying for a BV-B before you depart - make sure the BV-B is granted before you depart. Only risk in all of this is if DIBP cancels the student visa, which would also cancel any/all bridging visas you hold at that time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pabloM said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Just wondering if you had any ideas what me and my wife can do. I'm a resident, and soon to be eligible for citizenship.
> We applied for our Partner visa in August 2014, were married in September 2015. Currently she is on a student visa, but is not enrolled. We informed her uni immediately and her CoE was cancelled.
> However, no action has been taken by DIBP. We have been overseas also after this with no issue.
> The bridging visa A that was granted at the time of applying for the partner visa will come into effect when her student visa expires in august. However, we fly overseas for our family wedding ceremony 3 days before this date.
> As we will be overseas when the student visa expires, will the bridging visa A be nullified as we are overseas? Can we apply for student visa to become a Bridging Visa B instead of an A?
> 
> Thanks
> Pablo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jowey -

Assuming you have already been granted the 186 visa, and assuming that the employer can't prove there was never an intention on your part to honour the contract (ie, that the whole contract was a fraud), then there is no immigration consequences from you choosing not to fulfil the complete term of the 2 year contract. Depending on the language of the contract, you may have certain obligations to the employer, but from an immigration point of view, once the 186 visa is granted, you're a permanent resident and your visa is not dependent upon you completing the contract.

I can't give you specific advice for your case as I haven't seen your visa and documents, however I hope the above general information is helpful -

Best,

Mark Northam



jowey said:


> Hi Mark
> I'm 18 months into my ENS direct entry 186 visa, worked for them a year before it was granted too. They have been horrible to work for since the visa began and I have wanted to quit many times, each time the discussion has been had with them they threaten me with causing trouble for me with immigration and me losing my visa. I have done nothing wrong and all of my documentation etc is 100 % legitimate. I have the chance to switch employer but stay in the same profession before my 2 years is up but I'm nervous about the commitment I made to stay 2 years being used against me by immigration. I cannot find any precedent on this to compare my situation with so i can't tell how great the risk of my visa being revoked really is.
> I've worked really hard in my job and in a govt assessment (teaching) we received an exceeding national standards rating for the program I teach. Any advice would be appreciated.
> Many Thanks, Jo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MackandChar -

Thanks for the question. As long as you have solid documentary evidence of living together in the UK (combined with here) for the period of 12 months prior to application, that should satisfy the 12 month living together requirement - only when evidence is not available does the registered relationship certificate become important.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MackandChar said:


> Hey,
> 
> Apologies if you have answered this question somewhere else in the forum but here goes anyway.
> 
> My partner and I are going through the process of applying for a subclass 820 (de facto) partner visa and have been reading about people using the fact their relationship is registered as evidence in the application.
> 
> To provide some background my partner (italian and brazilian citizen) and I (aussie) meet and lived in London for two years (de facto for one year). We have moved back to Australia to start our application to live here 2 weeks ago. She is on a 3 month tourist visa.
> 
> The queensland Registry of briths, deaths and marriages requires, me the australian citizen, to provide proof I have been living in the state for the last 6 months. This would mean I need to provide 6 bank statements, 2 rates letters basically it can't just be a one off statement in the last few months has to be evidence for the full 6 months. This is a requirement I am unable to meet due to the fact I have been living abroad for two years.
> 
> My question is basically this. How important is it that we have a registered relationship in terms of our application?
> 
> We could wait till I am able to prove my residency in Queensland but would prefer not to as it would cost us extra money we would prefer not to spend to get my partner out of the country again.
> 
> We also explored the possibility of being registered in other states but would like some advice if you can give any on that front?
> 
> I believe the rest of our application is made up of good strong and clear evidence to support our claim that we are in a de facto relationship.
> 
> Any info on people who have done the application without a registered relationship would be nice as well.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## Jasonckelly

Hi Mark, hopefully you can answer this one!

Me (UK) and Partner (NZ) have been in a stable relationship for just over 3 years, and have lived together for 2 years of that. In this last year though she took a job in Wellington and i stayed here in Queenstown, due to it being a great step forward in her career, but it was never permanent hence myself not moving up. Now she has her dream job in Sydney and has moved over there as it was all last minute and I'm still here applying for a 461 visa. Will we still be eligible for this? We have joint accounts, finance on a car, contents insurance and lots of proof of flights 4 times a month to see each other so no worries there, and she still paid electricity here too. Oh and i have permanent residency through her too. 

Any advice would be great!


----------



## zoka79

*visa 309 cessation*

Dear

My relationship with my De Facto partner is ceased and i have temporary partner visa. My visa was issued in August 2014.
We have common kid from this relationship.
There is condition:
Applicants may be eligible for permanent visa if you have suffered family violence, or there is a child from the relationship

But i am afraid that they can cease my visa,if i admit it to immi.
I need advice!

Kind regard


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jasonckelly

No way to assess without seeing your evidence and more details in a consultation - 461s are assessed very similarly to partner visas so you will want to make sure to have substantial evidence especially as your relationship is de facto.

Best,

Mark



Jasonckelly said:


> Hi Mark, hopefully you can answer this one! Me (UK) and Partner (NZ) have been in a stable relationship for just over 3 years, and have lived together for 2 years of that. In this last year though she took a job in Wellington and i stayed here in Queenstown, due to it being a great step forward in her career, but it was never permanent hence myself not moving up. Now she has her dream job in Sydney and has moved over there as it was all last minute and I'm still here applying for a 461 visa. Will we still be eligible for this? We have joint accounts, finance on a car, contents insurance and lots of proof of flights 4 times a month to see each other so no worries there, and she still paid electricity here too. Oh and i have permanent residency through her too. Any advice would be great!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zoka79

Suggest you contact myself or another migration agent ASAP to see what your rights and options are - too many details to go through on the forum, but if you have a child with the sponsor, you may well be eligible for PR even if the relationship has ended. See my website info in signature below.

Thanks,

Mark



zoka79 said:


> Dear My relationship with my De Facto partner is ceased and i have temporary partner visa. My visa was issued in August 2014. We have common kid from this relationship. There is condition: Applicants may be eligible for permanent visa if you have suffered family violence, or there is a child from the relationship But i am afraid that they can cease my visa,if i admit it to immi. I need advice! Kind regard


----------



## Jamesy

Just a quick one, thank you for your help Mark. Our 820 visa was approved today - you're an invaluable source of support and I'm sure I speak for many when I say thank you.


----------



## jowey

Thank you Mark. I have had the 186 for 18 months now and worked for the sponsor throughout that entire time. Its reassuring that my position should be okay if I do choose to move on. Thanks so much for the prompt reply. Jo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamesy -

Thanks for the kind words, and congratulations on your 820 visa!! Great outcome.

Best,

Mark



Jamesy said:


> Just a quick one, thank you for your help Mark. Our 820 visa was approved today - you're an invaluable source of support and I'm sure I speak for many when I say thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jowey -

Glad I could help!

Best,

Mark



jowey said:


> Thank you Mark. I have had the 186 for 18 months now and worked for the sponsor throughout that entire time. Its reassuring that my position should be okay if I do choose to move on. Thanks so much for the prompt reply. Jo


----------



## amarsingh

Hi Mark,

I applied partner visa in India and its more than 14 months and havn't allotted with case officer yet.. can you suggest me what should i do next and what might be the case


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amarsingh -

All you can do is keep in touch with DIBP and wait. Partner visa processing times in some locations are taking 18 months and longer - DIBP puts no time limits on itself, so it can take as long as it wants to process your application.

Best,

Mark



amarsingh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied partner visa in India and its more than 14 months and havn't allotted with case officer yet.. can you suggest me what should i do next and what might be the case


----------



## Clw

Hi Mark, when I got my first visa to Australia I had E-visa and there was no visa sticker on it. Now I have a PR but I want to get visa sticker just to avoid every time printing the paper when I go for travel.

Is it possible to get a free sticker ? I think they should give first sticker free?

Thanks


----------



## andrej_gr

Hi Mark,

I'm filling now my 189 visa application and came across the step number 15:

"Previous countries of residence
Have any of the applicants lived in a country other than the primary applicant's usual country of residence?"

I've been living in Australia for last 2.5 years, so as "Usual country of residence" I've selected Australia. I was born and am a citizen of Lithuania and lived there for whole my life prior to coming to Australia. Never left Lithuania for longer than couple of months holidays. So my question is how should I answer this question? Should I add Lithuania and all the addresses I've lived at there? Or should I also put all the countries I've ever visited?

Kind regards,
Andrej


----------



## ACiotti

Hi Mark,

I am an American and have been living in Australia with my partner for over a year. We met 10 years ago, and satisfy all the requirements for the Partner Visa 820.

He and I are going on vacation in a few weeks to visit my family and I just had a few questions before I head over to The States. I write a lot, so I just bolded my questions.

I have been reading that getting the FBI background check done prior to launching my application isn't the best to do because of how long these partner visas take to process. *Should I get finger prints done in America instead?* *Then turn them into the FBI for the Identity History Summary after my visa application has been submitted? Same with the police certificates?*

Similar situation for a health check. I am completely healthy, but I am not sure if I *should be scheduling a physical or something health related while I am in America?* I think I can get by by just using "My Health Declarations," and if the medical exam only lasts for a year it would expire anyway. Right?

Finally, my application check list says I need proof of health insurance. I was reading a forum post that said this wasn't required anymore. *Is it still required or no?* I was just curious as my American health insurance runs out next month and I was thinking about getting travel insurance to cover the time of expiration to the bridging visa in August.

Thank you so very much for your help! 
I look forward to your response.


----------



## ZAINABASEM

Hello MARK,
just got rejected for 190 visa from Victoria for job code 263111..in 6 week time... all the requirements were full, but agent is saying cause of the age...is 41 big factor for refusal?....


----------



## ellie-em

*Skills assessment question*

Hello Mark

I am hoping that you will be able to clear a query up for me if that is ok. We are going to apply under the independent skilled visa but the age barrier is coming up fast before we lose the 15 points so we are having to go as quick as we can. For a skills assessment for a joinery setter out, hubby is applying under the joinery category using the closely related skills part of it but on one website it says the skills assessor is TRA but on another it is saying it is VETASSESS, would you know which one it definitely is? Also, if you get your EOI in before you go above the age limit (ie turning 45 in a few months) and then don't get an invitation until after the birthday, do you still have the points for your age or is it at the time of invitation that counts rather than the time of your EOI ? Thank you for any help. Ellie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clw -

DIBP has moved away from stickers - I think you can buy one if you really want one, but it's a high cost ($150) - see Visa labels

Best,

Mark



Clw said:


> Hi Mark, when I got my first visa to Australia I had E-visa and there was no visa sticker on it. Now I have a PR but I want to get visa sticker just to avoid every time printing the paper when I go for travel.
> 
> Is it possible to get a free sticker ? I think they should give first sticker free?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrej_gr -

I don't have enough info to give you specific advice, but it sounds like you may want to list Lithuania since you lived there within the last 10 years - note that it only asks for the last permanent address you had there, not all addresses. However if you are asked to complete Form 80, that will require all addresses for the last 10 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andrej_gr said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm filling now my 189 visa application and came across the step number 15:
> 
> "Previous countries of residence
> Have any of the applicants lived in a country other than the primary applicant's usual country of residence?"
> 
> I've been living in Australia for last 2.5 years, so as "Usual country of residence" I've selected Australia. I was born and am a citizen of Lithuania and lived there for whole my life prior to coming to Australia. Never left Lithuania for longer than couple of months holidays. So my question is how should I answer this question? Should I add Lithuania and all the addresses I've lived at there? Or should I also put all the countries I've ever visited?
> 
> Kind regards,
> Andrej


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ACiotti -

Re: police checks, given the long processing time on partner visas these days, often better to get police & health done after you lodge. You can use the "Organise your health examinations" link on the page where you upload docs to your application to generate the referral letter necessary to book your health exams. These can be done in Australia or USA - see DIBP website for list of approved panel doctors in the USA, or in Australia you would use BUPA Visa Medical Services.

Re: Fingerprints, can be done anywhere that FBI approves, then sent to FBI. May be easier to have done in the USA, but consult the FBI docs/instructions for specifics.

Re: health insurance, not required for partner visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ACiotti said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am an American and have been living in Australia with my partner for over a year. We met 10 years ago, and satisfy all the requirements for the Partner Visa 820.
> 
> He and I are going on vacation in a few weeks to visit my family and I just had a few questions before I head over to The States. I write a lot, so I just bolded my questions.
> 
> I have been reading that getting the FBI background check done prior to launching my application isn't the best to do because of how long these partner visas take to process. *Should I get finger prints done in America instead?* *Then turn them into the FBI for the Identity History Summary after my visa application has been submitted? Same with the police certificates?*
> 
> Similar situation for a health check. I am completely healthy, but I am not sure if I *should be scheduling a physical or something health related while I am in America?* I think I can get by by just using "My Health Declarations," and if the medical exam only lasts for a year it would expire anyway. Right?
> 
> Finally, my application check list says I need proof of health insurance. I was reading a forum post that said this wasn't required anymore. *Is it still required or no?* I was just curious as my American health insurance runs out next month and I was thinking about getting travel insurance to cover the time of expiration to the bridging visa in August.
> 
> Thank you so very much for your help!
> I look forward to your response.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zainabasem -

Sorry to hear of this - it's another example of how state skilled authorities have a lot of factors and decision criteria that are not published! No way to predict how age factors in as the states don't publish their criteria or logic the way DIBP does.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ZAINABASEM said:


> Hello MARK,
> just got rejected for 190 visa from Victoria for job code 263111..in 6 week time... all the requirements were full, but agent is saying cause of the age...is 41 big factor for refusal?....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ellie -

Thanks for the question. According to DIBP, the skills assessor for ANZSCO 331213 (Joiner) is TRA. This is a flagged occupation, so note that it is a candidate for deletion from the SOL list in July. Points for age are locked in at the time of invitation from DIBP, not time of lodging EOI.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ellie-em said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I am hoping that you will be able to clear a query up for me if that is ok. We are going to apply under the independent skilled visa but the age barrier is coming up fast before we lose the 15 points so we are having to go as quick as we can. For a skills assessment for a joinery setter out, hubby is applying under the joinery category using the closely related skills part of it but on one website it says the skills assessor is TRA but on another it is saying it is VETASSESS, would you know which one it definitely is? Also, if you get your EOI in before you go above the age limit (ie turning 45 in a few months) and then don't get an invitation until after the birthday, do you still have the points for your age or is it at the time of invitation that counts rather than the time of your EOI ? Thank you for any help. Ellie


----------



## ellie-em

Thank you Mark for your quick reply and help. We didn't know that it may be taken off the SOL list, just adds to the panic  Can you lodge the EOI without having the skills assessment back to gain time and be in more invitation rounds, ie apply for skills assessment then wait a couple of weeks and put the EOI in as you have 60 days from the invitation or do assessments take longer to get back. I know we would have to wait until the IELTS results come back but wasn't sure if it was the same for the skills assessments? Thanks again for your help, Ellie


----------



## Tryme5

Hi Mark.. What's the alternative of form 1229


----------



## Erika89

Hi Mark,
I tried applying online for eVisitor and could not lodge the application. After enquiring with immigration, I received the reply that the system picks up that I am a former Australian Citizen (which is true) and therefore I need to lodge a paper application.
Does this sound right to you? I have looked everywhere and cannot find anything that says that former citizens are ineligible to apply for evisitor visas. Is there anything I can do?
Thank you so much!


----------



## anonymous_8

Hi Mark,
I hv been following your posts since the day I joined this forum and I really appreciate you for time & efforts dat you devote in helping people by solving their queries.Great work.Keep going!! 

I am also a bit tensed like many other people who have lodged file since long and still waiting for the final results from AHC New Delhi.
I hv applied for student visa subclass 573 in jan,2015 and my husband is going to accompany me during my stay in australia.We hv received a call from case officer last month and she only spoke to my husband regarding his visa refusal(student visa) 6years back.Telephonic conversation was very simple, just to know from him whether i,being his wife,is aware of his refusal or nt as we got married in 2014.We were asked for extension letter frm university as my classes were to start in feb,2015 .I got it done then after some days again an extension was required but this time i goy defer letter frm univ.Now i hv my course starting in august this year.
Do you hv any idea about so much delay in SVP?What is the maximum time embassy can take for the decision?Since I am going for august intake now,will embassy give me the decision soon or will they decide it later on as my course start date is very far.Won't they decide based on the day and date my file was lodged?I hope you understood my query.Waiting for your revert.
Thanks!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ellie -

You need to have the skills assessment results and IELTS results in hand to lodge an EOI - this is because the invitation would come with no advance notice, and once an invitation is given, your EOI is locked - you must have a valid skills assessment and IELTS score as of the time of invitation. So yes, same as IELTS, need to wait until you have it in hand.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ellie-em said:


> Thank you Mark for your quick reply and help. We didn't know that it may be taken off the SOL list, just adds to the panic  Can you lodge the EOI without having the skills assessment back to gain time and be in more invitation rounds, ie apply for skills assessment then wait a couple of weeks and put the EOI in as you have 60 days from the invitation or do assessments take longer to get back. I know we would have to wait until the IELTS results come back but wasn't sure if it was the same for the skills assessments? Thanks again for your help, Ellie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tryme5 -

Form 1229 is used to document a non-migrating parent's agreement for migration of a child under 18 years of age. The only alternative to this generally accepted by DIBP are court papers or orders that clearly document that the non-migrating parent has no legal rights over where the child can live, or in some cases a notarised letter from the non-migrating parent giving permission, combined with a copy of that person's passport, all certified copies. Varies on a case by case basis however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tryme5 said:


> Hi Mark.. What's the alternative of form 1229


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Erika89 -

DIBP generally reserves the right to decide what groups of people must lodge paper applications - I expect in the case of former citizens, DIBP may be curious as to the circumstances by which the person ceased to become a citizen, but that's only a guess. At this point, your option likely would be to lodge a paper application (likely subclass 600 unless directed by DIBP otherwise).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Erika89 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I tried applying online for eVisitor and could not lodge the application. After enquiring with immigration, I received the reply that the system picks up that I am a former Australian Citizen (which is true) and therefore I need to lodge a paper application.
> Does this sound right to you? I have looked everywhere and cannot find anything that says that former citizens are ineligible to apply for evisitor visas. Is there anything I can do?
> Thank you so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anonymous_8 -

Sorry to hear of your delays - DIBP has no time limits at all on it as to how long it can take to process a visa application, so there's no predicting that. We're routinely seeing student visa applications taking 2-4 months. All you can really do is keep in touch with them and see if they need any further documents or information. Sorry I can't be more help!

Best,

Mark



anonymous_8 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I hv been following your posts since the day I joined this forum and I really appreciate you for time & efforts dat you devote in helping people by solving their queries.Great work.Keep going!!
> 
> I am also a bit tensed like many other people who have lodged file since long and still waiting for the final results from AHC New Delhi.
> I hv applied for student visa subclass 573 in jan,2015 and my husband is going to accompany me during my stay in australia.We hv received a call from case officer last month and she only spoke to my husband regarding his visa refusal(student visa) 6years back.Telephonic conversation was very simple, just to know from him whether i,being his wife,is aware of his refusal or nt as we got married in 2014.We were asked for extension letter frm university as my classes were to start in feb,2015 .I got it done then after some days again an extension was required but this time i goy defer letter frm univ.Now i hv my course starting in august this year.
> Do you hv any idea about so much delay in SVP?What is the maximum time embassy can take for the decision?Since I am going for august intake now,will embassy give me the decision soon or will they decide it later on as my course start date is very far.Won't they decide based on the day and date my file was lodged?I hope you understood my query.Waiting for your revert.
> Thanks!!


----------



## Tryme5

Thanks for your reply Mark..if the other parent is in africa(other country) and we don't hv his whereabouts...and child is in India (different ) country... Then,1229 cannot be signed.

So alternatively, if we get court order says that.. "The other parent has no right to decide where child can live and can be taken overseas."
Will that be sufficient.?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tryme5 -

Not enough info to answer the question - would need to examine the document(s) involved, including any previous relevant documents (ie, divorce decree, etc) to give you an opinion on whether the document is sufficient. Suggest you consider engaging a family lawyer in your country (assuming you're not in Australia) to draft the documents for the court and to understand local laws, etc re: this area.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tryme5 said:


> Thanks for your reply Mark..if the other parent is in africa(other country) and we don't hv his whereabouts...and child is in India (different ) country... Then,1229 cannot be signed.
> 
> So alternatively, if we get court order says that.. "The other parent has no right to decide where child can live and can be taken overseas."
> Will that be sufficient.?


----------



## laurenrose24

Hi Mark,

My partner (Aus Citizen) and myself (British Citizen) are getting married September time. I am currently on my 2nd WHV which expires 1st Dec 2015. We will be lodging our Partner Visa October time.

We would of been together 1 year when we apply, living together for 11 of those months, joint bank account and lease etc. Does the 1 year mark apply for married couples applying for Partner visa? 

Thank you.


----------



## daveenajohns

Hi Mark,
I am asking this qurstion on behalf of my friend. She is unable to contact u today bcoz of work commitments. I have given ur contact details to her to get professional advice and discuss this issue further.
The problem is my friend was studying Advanced Diploma of Hospitality until July 2014 and she recommenced same course at the same provider from Nov. 2014 onwards to conclude in Sep. 2016. 
Now, when she applied for her student visa extension, case officer asked her to explain and provide evidence why she did not complete the course at the first place and why she have not received credits from previous study.
Her reason to recommenced the same course is she has not completed the new units added to this course. Now, if it is worth to get letter of offer for Bachelor of Business to show her interests and genuinity of student visa or the case officer will make decision on the documents related to Adva. Diploma of hospitality only.
Thanks in advance for your valuable time and efforts.


----------



## andrej_gr

Thanks Mark! That's what I was thinking about.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Andrej_gr -
> 
> I don't have enough info to give you specific advice, but it sounds like you may want to list Lithuania since you lived there within the last 10 years - note that it only asks for the last permanent address you had there, not all addresses. However if you are asked to complete Form 80, that will require all addresses for the last 10 years.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Laurenrose24 -

Thanks for the question. The 12 months living together requirement is for defacto partners lodging a partner visa (and other visa applications) - if you are marred when you lodge, you do not have a specific living together period requirement, but are still required to demonstrate a genuine relationship via the 4 major types of relationship evidence (see other threads on the forum for lots on this).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



laurenrose24 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner (Aus Citizen) and myself (British Citizen) are getting married September time. I am currently on my 2nd WHV which expires 1st Dec 2015. We will be lodging our Partner Visa October time.
> 
> We would of been together 1 year when we apply, living together for 11 of those months, joint bank account and lease etc. Does the 1 year mark apply for married couples applying for Partner visa?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daveenajohns -

Thanks for the question. If it is not a hassle, I'd get the Bachelor offer and include that with your response. Would be important to show evidence that new units were added to the course, and that's the reason for the longer than planned duration of the Adv Dip. It also sounds like she had a gap in her studies from Jul- Nov 2014 - this should also be explained with evidence as to what happened and why, etc. Depending on the circumstances of the study gap, the Bachelor offer might help provide additional assurances that the student is on a good pathway and intends on continuing studies further.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



daveenajohns said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am asking this qurstion on behalf of my friend. She is unable to contact u today bcoz of work commitments. I have given ur contact details to her to get professional advice and discuss this issue further.
> The problem is my friend was studying Advanced Diploma of Hospitality until July 2014 and she recommenced same course at the same provider from Nov. 2014 onwards to conclude in Sep. 2016.
> Now, when she applied for her student visa extension, case officer asked her to explain and provide evidence why she did not complete the course at the first place and why she have not received credits from previous study.
> Her reason to recommenced the same course is she has not completed the new units added to this course. Now, if it is worth to get letter of offer for Bachelor of Business to show her interests and genuinity of student visa or the case officer will make decision on the documents related to Adva. Diploma of hospitality only.
> Thanks in advance for your valuable time and efforts.


----------



## pawandhir

Hi mark
Today govt. say about changes in 457 visa. So what you say when its come in effect? May be from 1 April or 1 July??
Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pawandhir -

The timetable for actual changes has not yet been published - we expect many of the changes to happen sometime this year, however others that require more consultation with industry and other stakeholders may not be implemented until 2016. Hard to predict when each of the changes will happen, but 1 July is a good candidate for many of them I'm guessing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pawandhir said:


> Hi mark
> Today govt. say about changes in 457 visa. So what you say when its come in effect? May be from 1 April or 1 July??
> Regards


----------



## naxia

Hi Mark, I lodged my 189 visa last Mar 13. After lodging and up til now, I do not see an "Organise health examinations" link under my name. However, I do see it under my dependant's name. We did mention in the eVisa form that we completed a chest-x ray last Oct 2014 for our 457 visa application last year. But based on info from Immi site, I have to complete a full health exam anyway (can't reuse health exams competed for temporary visa). Do I have to wait for CO allocation and CO's advice before I complete my health exams? Any way I can do it upfront? Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naxia -

I'd give it a couple of weeks and see if the link appears - these are sometimes delayed. Beyond that, may be good to contact DIBP to see if there is an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naxia said:


> Hi Mark, I lodged my 189 visa last Mar 13. After lodging and up til now, I do not see an "Organise health examinations" link under my name. However, I do see it under my dependant's name. We did mention in the eVisa form that we completed a chest-x ray last Oct 2014 for our 457 visa application last year. But based on info from Immi site, I have to complete a full health exam anyway (can't reuse health exams competed for temporary visa). Do I have to wait for CO allocation and CO's advice before I complete my health exams? Any way I can do it upfront? Thank you!


----------



## ellie-em

Thank you Mark for your help and advice, very much appreciated, best wishes, Ellie


----------



## Erika89

Dear Mark,
thank you for your quick reply... I just thought that as an Italian citizen I had the same rights as any other italian citizen, and to discriminate on the basis that I once held Australian citizenship was against the policies. Is this incorrect? As in can they do as they please or does there have to be an actual subclause or something in the laws that actually states that former citizens cannot be granted evisitor? 
I hope my question makes sense, thank you again for your time!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Erika89 -
> 
> DIBP generally reserves the right to decide what groups of people must lodge paper applications - I expect in the case of former citizens, DIBP may be curious as to the circumstances by which the person ceased to become a citizen, but that's only a guess. At this point, your option likely would be to lodge a paper application (likely subclass 600 unless directed by DIBP otherwise).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Erika89 -

I had a quick look through the regulations and did not see anything in the regulations for the subclass 651 eVisitor visa that would not allow an Italian citizen (with an Italian passport showing that the person is a national of Italy) to apply for a subclass 651 visa. You may wish to contact DIBP and enquire as to the method they wish you to use (ie, paper form vs online) to apply for a subclass 651 visa. If they claim you are not eligible for this visa despite holding a valid passport for this visa, I would kindly ask them to quote the specific policy or regulation so you can understand that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Erika89 said:


> Dear Mark,
> thank you for your quick reply... I just thought that as an Italian citizen I had the same rights as any other italian citizen, and to discriminate on the basis that I once held Australian citizenship was against the policies. Is this incorrect? As in can they do as they please or does there have to be an actual subclause or something in the laws that actually states that former citizens cannot be granted evisitor?
> I hope my question makes sense, thank you again for your time!


----------



## Erika89

Thank you so much Mark!
I will certainly do as you advised!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Erika89 -
> 
> I had a quick look through the regulations and did not see anything in the regulations for the subclass 651 eVisitor visa that would not allow an Italian citizen (with an Italian passport showing that the person is a national of Italy) to apply for a subclass 651 visa. You may wish to contact DIBP and enquire as to the method they wish you to use (ie, paper form vs online) to apply for a subclass 651 visa. If they claim you are not eligible for this visa despite holding a valid passport for this visa, I would kindly ask them to quote the specific policy or regulation so you can understand that.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Jennyxo

Hello mark,

I am going to Australia with my mum. our plan is going to do sightseeing(mainly),and meeting my fiance and his family there. so my question is when I fill in incoming passenger card, which reasons should I tick "visiting friend" or "holiday" for my main reason to come to Australia?Because I only can tick one only. Im not sure yet but I might stay longer there and extend my visa and get married. Thanks!


----------



## neetu9780

Hi Mark,

I have received an invitation for subclass 489 FS on 27th Feb'15 and must apply before 28th April'15.
But now i have managed to score 65 points for subclass 189, will lodging another EOI impact my current invitation?


----------



## mike88

Hello Mark

How are you? Nice you are doing some great help for the members
Would like to ask a few questions and hope you can answer

1) I applied for the onshore Partner visa for my wife end of Nov last year and she has not yet been assigned for CO yet. I know its the standard norm as it usually takes between 12-15 months, the question is I have not yet done the Health Check and the police Check, should I do it now since it will overlapse the 12 month period? Or I should wait for the CO for the request?

2) The form character assessment test, does my wife need to fill that out..yet? I heard somewhere this is really a biggest headache and you need to do it like where she has lived, where she has worked in the past 10 years but I have not heard anything from the CO that says you need to do it? Or need to wait from CO's request?

3) She may need to go travelling back to my hometown for 2 months in mid July.She is aware she needs to apply the bridging visa and have a few sub questions
(i) How long does it usually takes to be granted?
(ii) How long can she depart before expiry date from the day that is granted? 2 months? 3 months? etc
(iii) As she may plan to go for 2 months, should I notify the CO that she will be going overseas so that when they are ready to make a final decision, since she needs to be present in Australia? If so, how do I contact them since I do not have the CO details or email?

Thanks once again

Mike


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jennyxo -

Hard to say, but "holiday" might be OK - you can also be visiting friends, but if what you are doing in Australia is mainly holiday-oriented (ie, sightseeing, going to the beach, enjoying the sites and sounds, etc) then that sounds like a holiday to me! You may want to note that staying here longer and getting married would likely not fall in the usual realm of a visitor visa, so you may want to focus on the holiday things, and if something else happens while you're on holiday, then that's something to deal with at that time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jennyxo said:


> Hello mark,
> 
> I am going to Australia with my mum. our plan is going to do sightseeing(mainly),and meeting my fiance and his family there. so my question is when I fill in incoming passenger card, which reasons should I tick "visiting friend" or "holiday" for my main reason to come to Australia?Because I only can tick one only. Im not sure yet but I might stay longer there and extend my visa and get married. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Neetu9780

No, however it's likely you will not receive an invitation for the 189 while you still have an outstanding invitation for the 489. If you let the 489 invitation lapse without applying, then that should make you eligible for a 189 invitation assuming there is room remaining for your occupation in the occupational ceilings, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



neetu9780 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have received an invitation for subclass 489 FS on 27th Feb'15 and must apply before 28th April'15.
> But now i have managed to score 65 points for subclass 189, will lodging another EOI impact my current invitation?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mike88 -

Happy to help. Re 1&2, I'd wait until a case officer (or team member) contacts you to request police, health and/or Form 80.

Re: 3, you can apply for a Bridging Visa B 3-4 weeks in advance of the trip - these are usually granted in a week or so. You can tell them how long you plan to be gone - these are usually approved if you provide a substantial reason for the trip. DIBP will know you are gone, so as long as you gave them permission to communicate with you via email, they'll generally email you while you are gone if they need you to re-enter Australia because they are ready to grant the visa. You can notify them of the new temporary address via Form 929 which can be uploaded to your partner visa application if you haven't already been contacted by DIBP at that point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mike88 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> How are you? Nice you are doing some great help for the members
> Would like to ask a few questions and hope you can answer
> 
> 1) I applied for the onshore Partner visa for my wife end of Nov last year and she has not yet been assigned for CO yet. I know its the standard norm as it usually takes between 12-15 months, the question is I have not yet done the Health Check and the police Check, should I do it now since it will overlapse the 12 month period? Or I should wait for the CO for the request?
> 
> 2) The form character assessment test, does my wife need to fill that out..yet? I heard somewhere this is really a biggest headache and you need to do it like where she has lived, where she has worked in the past 10 years but I have not heard anything from the CO that says you need to do it? Or need to wait from CO's request?
> 
> 3) She may need to go travelling back to my hometown for 2 months in mid July.She is aware she needs to apply the bridging visa and have a few sub questions
> (i) How long does it usually takes to be granted?
> (ii) How long can she depart before expiry date from the day that is granted? 2 months? 3 months? etc
> (iii) As she may plan to go for 2 months, should I notify the CO that she will be going overseas so that when they are ready to make a final decision, since she needs to be present in Australia? If so, how do I contact them since I do not have the CO details or email?
> 
> Thanks once again
> 
> Mike


----------



## Adubaha

Hi Mark,

I am on 489 currently and staying up in the NT. Right now I am renting a room in a house share with a main tenant and she's got all the lease and bills under her name. How can I proof my residency when applying for 887 after 2 yrs?

Kind regards 
Kai


----------



## Jennyxo

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jennyxo -
> 
> Hard to say, but "holiday" might be OK - you can also be visiting friends, but if what you are doing in Australia is mainly holiday-oriented (ie, sightseeing, going to the beach, enjoying the sites and sounds, etc) then that sounds like a holiday to me! You may want to note that staying here longer and getting married would likely not fall in the usual realm of a visitor visa, so you may want to focus on the holiday things, and if something else happens while you're on holiday, then that's something to deal with at that time.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark! Im worried If I tick "holiday" and apply 820 onshore, it would looks really bad to the DIBP... so but you helped me alot! thanks!

Jennyxo


----------



## FrankTiffino

Hi Mark,
I have a Filipina G/F. She has been living/working in Saudi for many years. She is over halfway through another contract, and is finding it difficult as she was supposed to go home to the Philippines for her biannual holiday last Christmas, but they didn't let her go as they were short staffed. She finally gets to take 45 days leave shortly and she would like to leave Saudi permanently, then immigrate to Australia to be with me. Her contract finishes next year though. If she doesn't go back after her biannual leave will that jeopardise her Partner Visa as have been told, she will need a Saudi Clearance (Police Check), and that is granted on final exit only. If this is true, is there a work around? 
all the best, Frank


----------



## BionicAllah

Hi Mark,

I was advised not to send in more than 10 photos and that facebook PM's between one another during time apart do not count as evidence is this still true? We submitted our application back in Feb 2014 and just had an email to advise it's move up in the Queue. Not sure if it's too late or pointless sending in any more evidence now.


----------



## BionicAllah

BionicAllah said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was advised not to send in more than 10 photos and that facebook PM's between one another during time apart do not count as evidence is this still true? We submitted our application back in Feb 2014 and just had an email to advise it's move up in the Queue. Not sure if it's too late or pointless sending in any more evidence now.


Ignore this problem solved.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kai -

I'd get a written lease agreement with the main tenant (between her and you), and if you've been helping pay the bills there, bank statements or other docs to show that. A statutory declaration from the main tenant and any others evidencing that you have been living there, plus any mail or your own bills with that address on it over the 2 year period would also be helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Adubaha said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am on 489 currently and staying up in the NT. Right now I am renting a room in a house share with a main tenant and she's got all the lease and bills under her name. How can I proof my residency when applying for 887 after 2 yrs?
> 
> Kind regards
> Kai


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Frank -

I'm not aware of the particulars of Saudi law re: police checks. If you are unable to get a police check from a particular country, there is a waiver option available where you can provide the circumstances under which the police clearance is not available - would be up to the case officer to approve that at that point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



FrankTiffino said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a Filipina G/F. She has been living/working in Saudi for many years. She is over halfway through another contract, and is finding it difficult as she was supposed to go home to the Philippines for her biannual holiday last Christmas, but they didn't let her go as they were short staffed. She finally gets to take 45 days leave shortly and she would like to leave Saudi permanently, then immigrate to Australia to be with me. Her contract finishes next year though. If she doesn't go back after her biannual leave will that jeopardise her Partner Visa as have been told, she will need a Saudi Clearance (Police Check), and that is granted on final exit only. If this is true, is there a work around?
> all the best, Frank


----------



## Adubaha

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kai -
> 
> I'd get a written lease agreement with the main tenant (between her and you), and if you've been helping pay the bills there, bank statements or other docs to show that. A statutory declaration from the main tenant and any others evidencing that you have been living there, plus any mail or your own bills with that address on it over the 2 year period would also be helpful.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Gd Day Mark,

Just as I thought! 
Alright and I will be getting all these ready by end of 2 years!
Appreciate your kind answer.

Kind Regards
Kai


----------



## FrankTiffino

Thank you Mark especially for your speedy reply.
So it looks like it's fingers crossed the case officer will approve.
all the best, Frank



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Frank -
> 
> I'm not aware of the particulars of Saudi law re: police checks. If you are unable to get a police check from a particular country, there is a waiver option available where you can provide the circumstances under which the police clearance is not available - would be up to the case officer to approve that at that point.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Brownsnake

G’day Mark.

I am in the process of an online PMV application for my Brazilian fiancé.

1. Does every document in Portuguese have to be translated to English? I know the police check and any other documents do. But what about identification documents such as birth certificate, National ID card, Brazilian tax card (CPF) and passport?

2. Since the application is being done online and we have to send passport photos. How is this done online. Do I just scan the photos and upload them? The police check also asks for the original document. How is this also sent when doing online?

Thanks

Pete.


----------



## ss_nb

Hi Mark,

I have Received 489 sp visa grant on 10 march 2015. But my name is incorrect in the visa grant doc as well as in VEVO.

I have already send mail to CO but till the date no reply received. 

Please suggest what i have to do now.

In PASSPORT
1. GIVEN NAME: Dinesh kumar
2. SURNAME\ FAMILYNAME\ FATHERS NAME: Nothng written

IN VISA

Applicant name: kumar dinesh

IN VEVO

Two options are there,
1. Family NAME: DINESH
2.Given name : kumar

Passport number, address and DOB is same in passport and visa doc..


----------



## canoni

*Parent Subclass 103 Form 80*

Hi Mark

Based on your experience, when Yes is ticked to the question Are you waiting on any legal action, provide a statutory declaration of details, and my dad's case was definitely NOT a criminal conviction --- more like a 26 year old case over a $500 equivalent during his younger days in Manila -- can this be used by the CO against his subclass 103 getting rejected ?

He is trying to clear it by dutifully attending hearings -- but the hearing and the lawyer fees are racking up and it looks like it will cost more than the money in his original case. Plus the one who filed this case hasn't shown up in court. The whole thing is starting to get ridiculous and my dad is 71 yrs old and it is a very stressful experience for him.


----------



## nacrmartin

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your response i felt relief knowing that and actually someone from the embassy called me in my office and asking me about my concern. Although they haven't replied on my email I still ordered my BC and CENOMAR online and delivered it directly to embassy. After informing it to her she was checking it in the system.

One last question, do they consider the date of the wedding? Our wedding is on June 5 2015 and we are really hoping to received my visa soon so I can still properly file my resignation to my work etc etc.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thank you!


----------



## saroj85

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your support so far. I am in process of preparing documents. 

I am back with a question again. Vetassess website now says that they would calculate Date Deemed Skilled. I was considering the impact in my case. 

My internal audit exposure by date of completing Bachelors degree would be- 3 years nine month (This includes 3 years of Chartered Accountancy Training)
Total internal audit experience after completing CA (Bachelors)- 8 years exact.

What could be the total experience that I could claim for point purpose? Will the Date Deemed Skilled be the date of completing CA? So, will I be able to claim for 8 years of experience? Or will it be reduced? 

Thanks and best regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brownsnake -

Thanks for the question. All ID documents should be translated by a NAATI qualified translator (or equivalent in your country) unless there are English subtitles, etc on the document. Relationship evidence such as hotel receipts, bank statements, etc generally does not. Re: photos - yes, scan & upload. Re: police cert, this varies by different DIBP office - some require the original to be sent by post to them, others will accept uploaded colour scan of the original.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Brownsnake said:


> G'day Mark.
> 
> I am in the process of an online PMV application for my Brazilian fiancé.
> 
> 1. Does every document in Portuguese have to be translated to English? I know the police check and any other documents do. But what about identification documents such as birth certificate, National ID card, Brazilian tax card (CPF) and passport?
> 
> 2. Since the application is being done online and we have to send passport photos. How is this done online. Do I just scan the photos and upload them? The police check also asks for the original document. How is this also sent when doing online?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Pete.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ss_nb -

I'd keep on contacting DIBP until you get through to someone. I'd recommend calling them (and be prepared for 1 hour on hold until you get through to someone).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ss_nb said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have Received 489 sp visa grant on 10 march 2015. But my name is incorrect in the visa grant doc as well as in VEVO.
> 
> I have already send mail to CO but till the date no reply received.
> 
> Please suggest what i have to do now.
> 
> In PASSPORT
> 1. GIVEN NAME: Dinesh kumar
> 2. SURNAME\ FAMILYNAME\ FATHERS NAME: Nothng written
> 
> IN VISA
> 
> Applicant name: kumar dinesh
> 
> IN VEVO
> 
> Two options are there,
> 1. Family NAME: DINESH
> 2.Given name : kumar
> 
> Passport number, address and DOB is same in passport and visa doc..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Canoni -

Thanks for the question. Not sure what you mean by "over a $500 equivalent", and I can't give you specific advice for your case without a lot more information about the info and legal situation. Generally speaking, if it's for a minor offence, the risk is far greater in answering incorrectly, than simply answering and explaining why the case is not significant. If you have some documents to send along to evidence your claims, even better.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



canoni said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Based on your experience, when Yes is ticked to the question Are you waiting on any legal action, provide a statutory declaration of details, and my dad's case was definitely NOT a criminal conviction --- more like a 26 year old case over a $500 equivalent during his younger days in Manila -- can this be used by the CO against his subclass 103 getting rejected ?
> 
> He is trying to clear it by dutifully attending hearings -- but the hearing and the lawyer fees are racking up and it looks like it will cost more than the money in his original case. Plus the one who filed this case hasn't shown up in court. The whole thing is starting to get ridiculous and my dad is 71 yrs old and it is a very stressful experience for him.


----------



## MarkNortham

I don't have any direct experience that they consider the date of the wedding - most PMV's from Manila are processed in right around 9 months in my experience (plus or minus a few weeks).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nacrmartin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your response i felt relief knowing that and actually someone from the embassy called me in my office and asking me about my concern. Although they haven't replied on my email I still ordered my BC and CENOMAR online and delivered it directly to embassy. After informing it to her she was checking it in the system.
> 
> One last question, do they consider the date of the wedding? Our wedding is on June 5 2015 and we are really hoping to received my visa soon so I can still properly file my resignation to my work etc etc.
> 
> Hope to hear from you soon.
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saroj85 -

Thanks for the question. Far too many factors to give you advice on this without carefully reviewing the documents involved - the stakes are high, as an incorrect or unjustifiable claim can result in points loss and refusal of the visa (or be faced with a withdrawal), both costing thousands of dollars in visa application fees. Strongly recommend you get professional advice in a consultation with a registered migration agent rather than seeking advice on an anonymous forum when it comes to specific questions like this - it's just not possible to give a simple answer without seeing all the documents involved. Happy to assist you in a consultation (see website link in my signature below for more) or you could seek out other reputable agents - but either way, given what's at stake, I'd recommend you get a professional opinion based on all the facts and after a good look at the documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



saroj85 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your support so far. Am back with a question again.
> 
> My internal audit exposure by date of completing Bachelors degree would be- 3 years nine month (This includes 3 years of CA Training)
> Total internal audit experience after completing CA (Bachelors)- 8 years exact.
> 
> What could be the total experience that I could claim for point purpose? Will I be able to claim for 8 years of experience? Or will it be reduced?
> 
> Thanks and best regards.


----------



## saroj85

Thanks Mark. You are right.

My query was simply on basis of year calculation that Vetassess does.

Will be in touch.

Regards.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Saroj85 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Far too many factors to give you advice on this without carefully reviewing the documents involved - the stakes are high, as an incorrect or unjustifiable claim can result in points loss and refusal of the visa (or be faced with a withdrawal), both costing thousands of dollars in visa application fees. Strongly recommend you get professional advice in a consultation with a registered migration agent rather than seeking advice on an anonymous forum when it comes to specific questions like this - it's just not possible to give a simple answer without seeing all the documents involved. Happy to assist you in a consultation (see website link in my signature below for more) or you could seek out other reputable agents - but either way, given what's at stake, I'd recommend you get a professional opinion based on all the facts and after a good look at the documents.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## ss_nb

MarkNortham said:


> Hi ss_nb -
> 
> I'd keep on contacting DIBP until you get through to someone. I'd recommend calling them (and be prepared for 1 hour on hold until you get through to someone).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark ..

Pls provide the contact detail of DIBP..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

See Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection

Best,

Mark



ss_nb said:


> Thanks Mark ..
> 
> Pls provide the contact detail of DIBP..


----------



## teenOclock

Hi Mark, 

How are you? I would like to ask few questions. Thank you in advance. 
Me and my boyfriend planning to apply for visa 189. My boyfriend will be the main applicant. We also planning to get married soon.

How can we start the application? Do I also need to get an assessment from ACS or he can just do it alone as primary applicant? Do we need to get a marriage license first before the assessment or he can just declare me as dependent while lodging EOI. 

Thanks a lot. 

Kind Regards,
Chris


----------



## canon828

*English result went to DIBP before lodging any visa myself*

Hi Mark, I found this very informative thread. Thank you.
I've a question. I'll be very much appreciated if you could give some advice.

What's happen is that I'll be lodging an EOI very soon (189 skilled) prob, within a couple of weeks time.
I took an English test called PTE Academic the other day, and somehow I got an email saying that the test result's been submitted in DIBP.

My main concern is the English result doesn't even qualify any points at all.
And yet, when I submit an EOI with a better English result which would qualify some points, will there be any glitch with the previously unwanted English result under my name submitted by Pearson ??
I just don't want any delays or anything like that because of the first English result arrived in DIBP.

Please give me some idea whether the English result would be valid when I haven't even lodged with DIBP with any visa at all yet.

Very much appreciated. CHEERS!


----------



## KT1

Hi Mark,

Good day to you. I appreciate your kind assistance.

Presently I am waiting for 309 to be granted (4th month waiting and was filed by paper). My partner (sponsor) is relocating back. As I am holding a one year ETA with permissible multiple trips. Would it be possible for the sponsor to request that I (applicant) be permitted to travel to visit frequently before ETA expires? 

Heard that immigration doesn't take kindly to repeated visits.

Thank you in advance and your inputs.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chris -

Thanks for the questions. You'll want to make sure that he has sufficient points with evidence to back up those points in order to lodge an application. If he is not claiming partner points, then you won't need a skills assessment. If he is claiming you as a dependent, then your marital status as of the time of application will be important - if you are not married yet as of the date of application, you will be considered as applying as defacto partners, which activates a 12 month living together requirement (that you were living together during the 12 months prior to applying), however if you are married as of the date of application, this requirement does not exist. For either way (defacto or married) you'll need to provide substantial evidence to show that your relationship is genuine and ongoing.

There are several other requirements for this visa - too much detail to go into here - if he is doing this by himself without a migration agent, it's important for him to read the DIBP website info for this visa very carefully to make sure he understands all the requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



teenOclock said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> How are you? I would like to ask few questions. Thank you in advance.
> Me and my boyfriend planning to apply for visa 189. My boyfriend will be the main applicant. We also planning to get married soon.
> 
> How can we start the application? Do I also need to get an assessment from ACS or he can just do it alone as primary applicant? Do we need to get a marriage license first before the assessment or he can just declare me as dependent while lodging EOI.
> 
> Thanks a lot.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Chris


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Canon828 (reminds me of one of my favourite detective shows from the 1970's - "Cannon" starring William Conrad!) -

You can take as many English tests as you wish, and it doesn't matter what has been submitted to DIBP previously - the key issue is that the EOI that you lodge contain the results of a test you have taken that justifies the points you are claiming. They will only consider the test results you specify on your EOI. Any English test result is valid even if you have not lodged a visa application yet - in fact, that's the usual sequence of events - the English test is almost always taken before the visa application (or EOI) is lodged.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



canon828 said:


> Hi Mark, I found this very informative thread. Thank you.
> I've a question. I'll be very much appreciated if you could give some advice.
> 
> What's happen is that I'll be lodging an EOI very soon (189 skilled) prob, within a couple of weeks time.
> I took an English test called PTE Academic the other day, and somehow I got an email saying that the test result's been submitted in DIBP.
> 
> My main concern is the English result doesn't even qualify any points at all.
> And yet, when I submit an EOI with a better English result which would qualify some points, will there be any glitch with the previously unwanted English result under my name submitted by Pearson ??
> I just don't want any delays or anything like that because of the first English result arrived in DIBP.
> 
> Please give me some idea whether the English result would be valid when I haven't even lodged with DIBP with any visa at all yet.
> 
> Very much appreciated. CHEERS!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KT1 -

Thanks for the question. Since you already hold an ETA with multiple arrivals, there's nothing really for the sponsor to ask for. I'd keep a copy of my lodged 309/100 application with you each time you enter, and if they ask why you are coming/going, simply state you're awaiting the result of the 309/100. Some posts are picky about this, saying that visitor visas are not to be used as a way to establish "residency", however you're simply remaining with your partner and "visiting" Australia each time. As a safety measure, I'd have a list of travels/sites/etc that you plan to visit or attend for each trip in, to substantiate the "tourism" part of the visa so you can make the argument that you aren't simply coming to Australia to "live with" your partner.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KT1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Good day to you. I appreciate your kind assistance.
> 
> Presently I am waiting for 309 to be granted (4th month waiting and was filed by paper). My partner (sponsor) is relocating back. As I am holding a one year ETA with permissible multiple trips. Would it be possible for the sponsor to request that I (applicant) be permitted to travel to visit frequently before ETA expires?
> 
> Heard that immigration doesn't take kindly to repeated visits.
> 
> Thank you in advance and your inputs.


----------



## mustafasabir

*Joining Date Issue*

Hi Mark,

Thanks God that you are here to answer our confusions and I am really thankful to you for your timely answers.

For your info, I have applied for skilled independent 189 visa and have one small confusion regarding the joining date of my company.

The actual joining date written on the contract is 23/03/2008. However, my first day was 24/03/2008 because 23/03/2008 was an Easter Day and the office was closed.

While lodging application with DIBP, unintentionally, I entered my date from 23/03/2008 instead of 24/03/2008. My payslips are showing joining date as 24/03/2008 and my DIBP application is showing 23/03/2008.

Would that be an issue? Shall I upload my original company contract as well for the proof?

Thanks.

Regards,
Mustafa.


----------



## fifalex

*Applying as a Solicitor after bridging courses*

Hi Mark how are you? Hope you are having a good day.

My story is as follows
I lived in Australia between the ages of 14-22 having graduated from college and University (Bachelors and Masters)
My degrees then were not in the required skills categories back then so I left Australia.

That was back in 2004. I am now 33yrs and have recently graduated from a Bachelors of Law (LLB). This allows me to become
a Solicitor which is currently one of the required skills category.

The issue that arises is that in order to become a solicitor in Australia I will have to do a few (or possibly several) bridging
courses and then register and complete the practical legal training course as well as pass exams.(This will take time and money)

Now I don't mind doing that, however being 33 and not having relevant solicitor work experience I am not sure if I get
the required points to qualify for a visa as a skilled migrant after all that (and I need to know before I embark on this challenge). A lot will depend if I get points for having completed degrees in Australia 
more than a decade ago that are not Solicitor related (Bachelors in Economics, Masters in Business)

BTW my Brother is living and working in Sydney on a PR i don't know if that will help.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 
Cheers
Alex


----------



## canon828

Thank you very much for clarifying, Mark.
Now I can relax a bit, not worrying too much about it.

Appreciate it.
Cheers,

p.s. "canon" doesn't mean anything to me, the thing I wanted to describe was in fact "cannon" in my email back in about 15 years ago. I was bad at spelling back then. It became my long-term ID somehow. ^^ Cheers, Mark.


----------



## for90+

Dear Mark, 

I am an Australian, and my partner is a Romanian national, currently completing her MBA at Stanford in the US. We have a somewhat complex situation.

She is wanting to come to Australia from June - August for an internship placement. For this we are trying to find out some information so that we can use this when speaking to the companies for the internships so they know what to expect on the visa front:

- What short term work-visas would she be eligible for?

- How should the job offer be phrased to make me eligible for that?

- What are the costs from the government side and from a professional fees side?

- What is the administrative burden for each one? (i.e. what does the company need to do)

- How long do they take to be processed?

- Are there any visas which don't require a job offer?

- Can she come into the country if a visa is applied for but the visa gets denied?


We very much appreciate your assistance !


----------



## nacrmartin

Hi Mark,

How would I know if they have assigned a case officer already? The email that I received last time from the immigration has position number? Does that means that's my case officer? I've been reading the thread and some gave initials but the person who emailed me just gave her first name with position number below.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thank you.


----------



## jimmy2014

*Partner Visa*

Dear Mark,

I have couple of quick queries in regarding to Partner visa subclass 309 that I'd like ask you please.



I have sponsored by wife for this visa and we have applied online. Do I need to fill out the form *40SP* and upload this as well ?  
My Wife left her previous job after marriage and we applied for Partner visa and then subsequently Tourist visa. She spent about 3 months in Australia with me and returned to India and has started working again in another company. So do we need to advise Australian High Commission that she has started working and if yes, which form needs to be filled out. 
Does chats/sms act as a good proof of ongoing contact ? I am wondering if CO still expects us to provide this considering it has personal content etc. 
 I'll really appreciate your response for these queries.


----------



## linked

*Leaving Australia for one year and its impact on citizenship*

Hi Mark,

I've lived in Australia for the last 3.5 years. I've got a PhD in IT from an Australian university. But I would be eligible to apply for PR only after one year work experience (due to a requirement by ACS). Now I have a job offer in Canada for one year.

As you know, for citizenship purposes, I have to be lawfully reside in Australia for the last four years immediately before the day of the application including one year with PR. If I leave the country for more than 12 months I won't be able to claim the years that I've spent here towards citizenship.

My questions are the followings:

1) Does living lawfully in Australia means having a valid visa for all the four-year duration? In other words, as my student visa is expiring soon, do I need to have a new valid visa for the 12 months that I am not here? (assuming that I will be able to come back after 12 months using a work visa for example)

2) If yes, what visa options are available that can cover this one-year period (except 485 graduate visa)?

Thanks.


----------



## SoozRicky

Hi Mark,

Some of the other members suggested I run our situation by you so that you might shed some light on what's going on.

Immiaccount states that both the partner and sponsor applications have been finalised as of 25/2/2015 and 4/7/2014 respectively. After two calls to The 131882 number, where it was confirmed that we should have received correspondence no later than 5 working days, I tried to contact the embassy in Belgrade to speak to someone during the English representatives hours of 1pm to 4pm Belgrade time. I have called almost daily since 5/3/2015 and have had no luck to date getting through. Furthermore, I sent an email to our case office, MK, requesting an update and received no reply (I regularly check junk mail). I sent another email to the website with all of this information early Friday morning and am now awaiting a response. I regularly check VEVO and there is nothing showing there. As we have elected to receive correspondence electronically, there is nothing to view in the view correspondence area in immiaccount.

Basically I just wanted to know if you had any idea as to what the hold up may be, and would it just be a matter of processing times etc? Beginning to get quite worried.

many thanks in advance


----------



## mshami88

ll assessment pathway
Hello 
I am a chemical engineer i have finished my bachelor degree from university 
of Jordan.I am working in jordan for three years until now.
I would like to know which pathway should i choose for the skill assessment
Thanks


----------



## Coco

Hi Mark
My current evisitor visa expires in 4 days. Lodged my 820 visa today (paper version) in person at the Sydney office. 
They didn't give me a bridging visa or even a receipt. I finally convinced them to give me a receipt stating that they have received my my application. 
However, they told me that it could take up to two weeks for them to grant me the bridging visa. 
That makes me very nervous, because my visa expires in 4 days. I called immigration from within the office, but they just told me to call back in 3 days to hear how everything is going. 
I don't want to be here illegally and no one seems to be able to tell me what to do to avoid this from happening. 
Will I in fact not be considered an unlawful citizen by the time they grant me the bridging visa, because I lodged my application 4 days before my visa expired?
I have good reasons for not applying online and I have read that other people would get their bridging visa A printet out on the day they hand in their application in person.

I would really appreciate it if you could reply within the next few days, since I am unsure whether I am allowed to stay here in Australia after the 28th of March.
Thank you Mark


----------



## bebecait

Hi Mark!
Is it possible to have 2 different COs requesting me for additional docs? Or are there times that applications are being transferred from 1 CO to another?

TIA!


----------



## Newton

Hello Mark !!! can you help me? My partner was sponsored via 457 visa that expires in December 2015. His company who is sponsoring him will most likely be happy to support with transition to permanent residence as he has been working with them for 2 years this June. In June we were hoping to apply for permanent residency. We are a family of 4 from the UK. We all came to Australia in good health in 2011. Since last year 2014 one of our children became sick with a rare condition and now is classified as disabled. He is recovering and may well return to normal function...but time will tell. At the moment he needs on going physio. My fear is that now we won't be able to apply for permanent residency due to the health requirement. I was wondering if there's an alternate way to stay an extra year in the hope his condition recovers by then so that he is not considered disabled any more. Is it possible to extend the temp visa further to allow this? Thanks in advance for your help!


----------



## Timmo

Hi Mark,

My partner and I have applied for her partner visa (309), and it is now assigned a case officer. They have requested health and police checks within 70 days. Just wanted to know, as the Italian police certificates are only valid for 6 months... what happens if they do not grant before the 6 months? Do they just request a new one or do they allow 12 months from when the certificate was issued, regardless of how long each country says they are valid?

Also, my partner and I want to travel to London for a couple of weeks. Is there any rules about leaving the country of application temporarily? 

Just like to thank you for your helpful advice that has brought us this far. Cheers Mark!

Timmo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mustafa -

I'd upload the orig contract and a note with it explaining the difference in start date re: holiday - as long as that day does not affect your points, should not generally be an issue, but better to alert them to it than to have them ask about it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mustafasabir said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks God that you are here to answer our confusions and I am really thankful to you for your timely answers.
> 
> For your info, I have applied for skilled independent 189 visa and have one small confusion regarding the joining date of my company.
> 
> The actual joining date written on the contract is 23/03/2008. However, my first day was 24/03/2008 because 23/03/2008 was an Easter Day and the office was closed.
> 
> While lodging application with DIBP, unintentionally, I entered my date from 23/03/2008 instead of 24/03/2008. My payslips are showing joining date as 24/03/2008 and my DIBP application is showing 23/03/2008.
> 
> Would that be an issue? Shall I upload my original company contract as well for the proof?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Regards,
> Mustafa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alex -

Congratulations on your LLB! Re: skilled migration as a solicitor, it requires a skills assessment, which in Australia for solicitors essentially means meeting the requirements for a practicing certificate for the state you intend to reside and practice in. Without completing the requirements, you would not generally get the skills assessment from the particular state law admission board, so you may need to consider coming to Australia on a student visa or some other visa to complete the courses, etc, then getting the skills assessment upon completion and lodging an EOI to get the skilled visa process started.

Re: degrees, getting 15 points for a Bachelor degree only requires that the degree be assessed as equivalent to an Australian Bachelor degree - the subject of the degree does not have to be relevant to your nominated occupation. However each skills assessor has their own educational requirements, and for the law societies, it would require completion of a law degree plus whatever bridging or additional courses are determined by the law admissions board, etc in the state you plan to become licenced in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fifalex said:


> Hi Mark how are you? Hope you are having a good day.
> 
> My story is as follows
> I lived in Australia between the ages of 14-22 having graduated from college and University (Bachelors and Masters)
> My degrees then were not in the required skills categories back then so I left Australia.
> 
> That was back in 2004. I am now 33yrs and have recently graduated from a Bachelors of Law (LLB). This allows me to become
> a Solicitor which is currently one of the required skills category.
> 
> The issue that arises is that in order to become a solicitor in Australia I will have to do a few (or possibly several) bridging
> courses and then register and complete the practical legal training course as well as pass exams.(This will take time and money)
> 
> Now I don't mind doing that, however being 33 and not having relevant solicitor work experience I am not sure if I get
> the required points to qualify for a visa as a skilled migrant after all that (and I need to know before I embark on this challenge). A lot will depend if I get points for having completed degrees in Australia
> more than a decade ago that are not Solicitor related (Bachelors in Economics, Masters in Business)
> 
> BTW my Brother is living and working in Sydney on a PR i don't know if that will help.
> 
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
> Cheers
> Alex


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi for90+ -

Thanks for the question. Coming to Australia for an internship is difficult visa-wise, depending on the specifics of the internship. Usually internships are offered to persons already here studying and completing their degrees, and the student will typically get a subclass 485 skilled graduate visa and do the internship (paid or unpaid, doesn't matter for this visa) on the 485.

Options for coming from offshore generally for people who do not qualify for a working holiday visa could include the 416 special program visa, and the 457 temporary skilled work visa, however each of these programs have more than a few requirements - I'd check the DIBP website carefully for each of these visas. Another option might be the 402 occupational training visa, the 400 or 401 short stay work visas, or a student visa for the internship. There are too many details for each of these visas to go over here, but hopefully these would give you a starting point to research. Also, the Australian organisation who is sponsoring her may already have some sort of visa program in place.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



for90+ said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am an Australian, and my partner is a Romanian national, currently completing her MBA at Stanford in the US. We have a somewhat complex situation.
> 
> She is wanting to come to Australia from June - August for an internship placement. For this we are trying to find out some information so that we can use this when speaking to the companies for the internships so they know what to expect on the visa front:
> 
> - What short term work-visas would she be eligible for?
> 
> - How should the job offer be phrased to make me eligible for that?
> 
> - What are the costs from the government side and from a professional fees side?
> 
> - What is the administrative burden for each one? (i.e. what does the company need to do)
> 
> - How long do they take to be processed?
> 
> - Are there any visas which don't require a job offer?
> 
> - Can she come into the country if a visa is applied for but the visa gets denied?
> 
> We very much appreciate your assistance !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nacrmartin -

These days DIBP is quickly moving away from each application having a dedicated case officer and uses "teams" instead. Also, team members are often not signing letters or providing names (especially if bad news is being delivered), instead signing just the name of the team or department, or occasionally their position number and part of a name. There's nothing to be concerned about simply because they put a position number, however the next letter you get may be from someone completely different - that's the nature of "teams" processing work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nacrmartin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> How would I know if they have assigned a case officer already? The email that I received last time from the immigration has position number? Does that means that's my case officer? I've been reading the thread and some gave initials but the person who emailed me just gave her first name with position number below.
> 
> Hope to hear from you soon.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmy2014 -

Thanks for the questions. Re: 40sp, you can login to the ImmiAccount you used to lodge her visa application, click New Application, then choose "Sponsor a Partner for...." and you can fill out the equivalent to 40sp online. Note that all the answers for that form are duplicates of what you were asked for the main online form, so might be good to copy & paste from that to ensure no inconsistencies, etc.

Re: change of employment, I'd use Form 1022 to update any info from the original application form as previously provided (or any other forms provided previously, including Form 80).

Re: chat logs, DIBP considers these primarily when 2 parties have been apart for a temporary period - no specific rules disallowing these however - depends on the content, and depends on the overall relationship situation and other evidence. Some people will lodge a sampling of these over the particular time period, omitting ones that have content that is "too personal", etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmy2014 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have couple of quick queries in regarding to Partner visa subclass 309 that I'd like ask you please.
> 
> 
> 
> I have sponsored by wife for this visa and we have applied online. Do I need to fill out the form *40SP* and upload this as well ?
> My Wife left her previous job after marriage and we applied for Partner visa and then subsequently Tourist visa. She spent about 3 months in Australia with me and returned to India and has started working again in another company. So do we need to advise Australian High Commission that she has started working and if yes, which form needs to be filled out.
> Does chats/sms act as a good proof of ongoing contact ? I am wondering if CO still expects us to provide this considering it has personal content etc.
> I'll really appreciate your response for these queries.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Linked -

Thanks for the question. No visa required for time not physically in Australia - the key is that for all time counted towards citizenship where you are in Australia, you must hold some sort of visa allowing you to be in Australia. Also, it's absolutely critical that you not have been unlawful in Australia (ie, in Australia but without any visa) as if that happens, it essentially cancels out any time before that point for use towards the citizenship residency requirement and the 4-year clock starts again.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



linked said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've lived in Australia for the last 3.5 years. I've got a PhD in IT from an Australian university. But I would be eligible to apply for PR only after one year work experience (due to a requirement by ACS). Now I have a job offer in Canada for one year.
> 
> As you know, for citizenship purposes, I have to be lawfully reside in Australia for the last four years immediately before the day of the application including one year with PR. If I leave the country for more than 12 months I won't be able to claim the years that I've spent here towards citizenship.
> 
> My questions are the followings:
> 
> 1) Does living lawfully in Australia means having a valid visa for all the four-year duration? In other words, as my student visa is expiring soon, do I need to have a new valid visa for the 12 months that I am not here? (assuming that I will be able to come back after 12 months using a work visa for example)
> 
> 2) If yes, what visa options are available that can cover this one-year period (except 485 graduate visa)?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SoozRicky -

Sounds like a major communications problem - I'd stay on top of them and keep calling. Finalised generally means a decision has been made. If VEVO is showing no visa at all, and ImmiAccount is showing "Finalised", that may indicate a problem (ie, refusal) but that's only a guess. You could also have a migration agent run your VEVO which is done without a TRN and only references your name, passport number and country of citizenship and would list any current visa you hold - would be happy to assist with this if you'd like - please contact me directly via email address listed in signature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SoozRicky said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Some of the other members suggested I run our situation by you so that you might shed some light on what's going on.
> 
> Immiaccount states that both the partner and sponsor applications have been finalised as of 25/2/2015 and 4/7/2014 respectively. After two calls to The 131882 number, where it was confirmed that we should have received correspondence no later than 5 working days, I tried to contact the embassy in Belgrade to speak to someone during the English representatives hours of 1pm to 4pm Belgrade time. I have called almost daily since 5/3/2015 and have had no luck to date getting through. Furthermore, I sent an email to our case office, MK, requesting an update and received no reply (I regularly check junk mail). I sent another email to the website with all of this information early Friday morning and am now awaiting a response. I regularly check VEVO and there is nothing showing there. As we have elected to receive correspondence electronically, there is nothing to view in the view correspondence area in immiaccount.
> 
> Basically I just wanted to know if you had any idea as to what the hold up may be, and would it just be a matter of processing times etc? Beginning to get quite worried.
> 
> many thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mshami88 -

You would need to consult the Engineers Australia website and skilled migration handbook available there to see if your university degree falls within any of the recognised qualifications programmes (they're called "accords"). If so, follow the instructions for that accord as listed in the the handbook; if your degree does not fall into one of the accords, then you would need to use the CDR Pathway for unrecognised qualifications - see handbook for all the details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mshami88 said:


> ll assessment pathway
> Hello
> I am a chemical engineer i have finished my bachelor degree from university
> of Jordan.I am working in jordan for three years until now.
> I would like to know which pathway should i choose for the skill assessment
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Coco -

Thanks for the question. Long gone are the days of bridging visas being handed out on the spot for in-person application lodgments from my experience. DIBP essentially now only accepts drop-offs and dumps them into their internal mail system to eventually reach the right department. Not sure what your reasons are for not lodging online, as bridging visas are generated immediately for those as long as the applicant is on a substantive (non-bridging) visa at time of application.

All you can do now is keep in touch with them and determine when they generate the bridging visa. If they generate it after your eVisitor visa expires, I'd use the receipt and try and pressure them to re-grant the bridging visa on a date you held the eVisitor visa, as having any gap will create problems down the road re: citizenship and you'd have to get a waiver due to administrative error at that point in the future in order to have any of the time prior to the gap used towards meeting the citizenship residency requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Coco said:


> Hi Mark
> My current evisitor visa expires in 4 days. Lodged my 820 visa today (paper version) in person at the Sydney office.
> They didn't give me a bridging visa or even a receipt. I finally convinced them to give me a receipt stating that they have received my my application.
> However, they told me that it could take up to two weeks for them to grant me the bridging visa.
> That makes me very nervous, because my visa expires in 4 days. I called immigration from within the office, but they just told me to call back in 3 days to hear how everything is going.
> I don't want to be here illegally and no one seems to be able to tell me what to do to avoid this from happening.
> Will I in fact not be considered an unlawful citizen by the time they grant me the bridging visa, because I lodged my application 4 days before my visa expired?
> I have good reasons for not applying online and I have read that other people would get their bridging visa A printet out on the day they hand in their application in person.
> 
> I would really appreciate it if you could reply within the next few days, since I am unsure whether I am allowed to stay here in Australia after the 28th of March.
> Thank you Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bebecait -

Yes. They work in teams now, so you might get one letter from one team member, and the next letter from another.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bebecait said:


> Hi Mark!
> Is it possible to have 2 different COs requesting me for additional docs? Or are there times that applications are being transferred from 1 CO to another?
> 
> TIA!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Newton -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about your child's situation. Your partner (and his employer) can apply for an additional nomination and 457 visa to start when the current one expires to buy some additional time. If DIBP requires a health exam for the child in connection with this (varies by country and other factors) and the condition becomes an issue that would prevent the visa from being granted, for the 457 visa, part 4006A of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations provides that the employer can, in certain circumstances, sign an agreement that they will pay for all medical costs related to the condition that would have caused the applicant not to meet the health criteria. This is only available on the 457, but is far better than a straight refusal being the only option if the health criteria are not met. Looking forward, if the employer sponsor you for and ENS or RSMS PR visa down the road, if the condition is still an issue and causes the health criteria not to be met, there is the option under the 457 pathways to the ENS and RSMS to lodge a health waiver where you can argue that the overall benefits of approving the visa (from all applicants) outweigh whatever anticipated medical costs there may be related to the condition.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Newton said:


> Hello Mark !!! can you help me? My partner was sponsored via 457 visa that expires in December 2015. His company who is sponsoring him will most likely be happy to support with transition to permanent residence as he has been working with them for 2 years this June. In June we were hoping to apply for permanent residency. We are a family of 4 from the UK. We all came to Australia in good health in 2011. Since last year 2014 one of our children became sick with a rare condition and now is classified as disabled. He is recovering and may well return to normal function...but time will tell. At the moment he needs on going physio. My fear is that now we won't be able to apply for permanent residency due to the health requirement. I was wondering if there's an alternate way to stay an extra year in the hope his condition recovers by then so that he is not considered disabled any more. Is it possible to extend the temp visa further to allow this? Thanks in advance for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Timmo -

Thanks for the questions. DIBP generally considers all police checks to be valid for 1 year from the date of issue, even if there is a shorter expiration date printed on the police check. However if they do want another check, they'll let you know.

Re: time outside your home country, no problem at all, just make sure DIBP can contact you by whatever means you have designated on your application (email is the most common if you have given them permission to contact you electronically). If you are going to be gone for more than 2 weeks, technically you should lodge Form 929 with them to update your address.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Timmo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I have applied for her partner visa (309), and it is now assigned a case officer. They have requested health and police checks within 70 days. Just wanted to know, as the Italian police certificates are only valid for 6 months... what happens if they do not grant before the 6 months? Do they just request a new one or do they allow 12 months from when the certificate was issued, regardless of how long each country says they are valid?
> 
> Also, my partner and I want to travel to London for a couple of weeks. Is there any rules about leaving the country of application temporarily?
> 
> Just like to thank you for your helpful advice that has brought us this far. Cheers Mark!
> 
> Timmo


----------



## mchua

Hello Mark,

Thank you for your attention and guidance on this forum thus far, it is very much appreciated.

I have a quick question - I submitted an EOI for 190 (with a claim of 80 points) and have received an invite from NSW. However, I realised that my 1-year Australia work experience is not valid as it is not closely related to my nominated occupation (but closely related to my Australian degree instead). 

Do you know if this means that the state nomination will fail since I am only able to sustain 75 out of the 80 points claimed? Or will the decision for state nomination still be made at 75 points? 

Thanks Mark! 

Cheers,
M


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mchua -

You would need to update your EOI and then enquire with NSW as to whether you could continue with the invitation to apply to NSW for sponsorship, or would need to decline the invitation and lodge a new application for NSW based on the revised corrected points score.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mchua said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your attention and guidance on this forum thus far, it is very much appreciated.
> 
> I have a quick question - I submitted an EOI for 190 (with a claim of 80 points) and have received an invite from NSW. However, I realised that my 1-year Australia work experience is not valid as it is not closely related to my nominated occupation (but closely related to my Australian degree instead).
> 
> Do you know if this means that the state nomination will fail since I am only able to sustain 75 out of the 80 points claimed? Or will the decision for state nomination still be made at 75 points?
> 
> Thanks Mark!
> 
> Cheers,
> M


----------



## nicolo

Hi Mark

I was filling the online application for 187 visa and there is a question
"Have any of the applicants lived in a country other than the primary applicant's usual country of residence?". Do I have to put only the countries we lived during the past 10 years or all the countries since birth?

In form 80 it specifically states addresses during the last 10 years, but in the online application in immiaccount it does not specify. So should I put all the countries since birth or just during the last 10 years?

Also based on your experience, has an applicant ever been asked for Police clearance from countries beyond the 10 year mark? I live in the USA in 1994 to 1998 which is 17 years ago, do I have to get PCC from USA?


----------



## jk086

*Partner Visa after cancelling Student Visa*

Hi Mark,

Nice to meet you. I was referred by a friend of mine as he said you were very helpful with his enquiry.

My wife is still currently on her Student visa but is ready to start a family now, so she would like to stop her studies (which are also eating away into our savings). However, we have heard that voluntarily cancelling a Student Visa after having applied for a Partner Visa (820/801) will only grant that person with a BVE, as visa has been voluntarily cancelled before the expected expiration date.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Lastly, my wife had also had a consultation with a lawyer that specialises in visas and had told my wife that INSTEAD of cancelling the Student Visa AFTER applying and lodging an application form for a Partner Visa, she should FIRST, CANCEL her Student Visa THEN apply and lodge for the Partner Visa. This way, she will be granted a BVA instead of a BVE.

Would you mind clarifying on the advice we had been given from the lawyer please?

Your help will be much appreciated.

Regards,


----------



## mark1980

hi Mark

I apply for a 801-820 two months ago and today I went to my account and I obtained a referral letter which includes the HAP ID, is there any downfall in applying for a health examinations before a CO ask me for one ?

- I already submitted everything else and I thought about doing it to finish with everything related to the application


----------



## Daniel888

*Urgent(Non-accompanying dependent)*

Dear Mark,

I have just submitted a post study work visa 485 yesterday night and I realized there was one issue in my application.

In the non-accompanying dependent section:
I filled in my dad and mum details because I thought they are my parents and im depending on them such as financial aspect. BUT they are not included and will not come to Australia.

Whereas, in the other family members:
I filled my sister details because I am not depending on her so I thought I put her details in this section would be more accurate.

Lastly, just a double check if im eligible for the 2 years study requirement
1. Bachelor of commerce: Start date on COE: 03/13
Course completed on 02/14
(2 normal semester - March intake and July intake + 1 summer semester Nov intake)

2. Masters of PA: Start date on coe: 07/14
Course completed on 02/15
(1 normal semester (July intake) + 1 summer (Nov intake)

Please advise if there is anything I need to be worry or contact DIBP for further correction !! Im panicking here !


----------



## talesin

Mark, lots of amazing advice on here but I haven't seen this question. If I apply for a Partner Visa outside of Australia I apparently need to prove I can support my husband for 2 years. How much do they consider enough? Also I would be leaving my job here but there is no guarantee I would get a job straight away in Australia. We have a cushion to cover this and getting accomodation when we arrive but I would not then be able to prove continuous support as even if I apply in advance no one is going to wait the best part of a year for me to start my job! How is this worked out?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JK086

The lawyer's advice is incorrect in my view. If she cancels first, she'll be left with no visa (that's the situation at the moment the cancellation goes through), and DIBP has also in some cases declined to accept voluntary cancellations without proof of another visa application lodged. And the lawyer should certainly know that if you lodge a partner visa while being unlawful or holding a Bridging Visa E (these are the 2 scenarios that usually exist after cancellation), that means no BV-A. Suggest you consider a consultation with a migration agent or migration lawyer who better understands how partner visas and cancellations work, etc (!)

Best,

Mark Northam



jk086 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Nice to meet you. I was referred by a friend of mine as he said you were very helpful with his enquiry.
> 
> My wife is still currently on her Student visa but is ready to start a family now, so she would like to stop her studies (which are also eating away into our savings). However, we have heard that voluntarily cancelling a Student Visa after having applied for a Partner Visa (820/801) will only grant that person with a BVE, as visa has been voluntarily cancelled before the expected expiration date.
> 
> Please correct me if I'm wrong.
> 
> Lastly, my wife had also had a consultation with a lawyer that specialises in visas and had told my wife that INSTEAD of cancelling the Student Visa AFTER applying and lodging an application form for a Partner Visa, she should FIRST, CANCEL her Student Visa THEN apply and lodge for the Partner Visa. This way, she will be granted a BVA instead of a BVE.
> 
> Would you mind clarifying on the advice we had been given from the lawyer please?
> 
> Your help will be much appreciated.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daniel888 -

Would need to work through the details of both questions with you in a consultation and see a copy of the lodged 485 application plus copies of your transcripts for both degrees to give you specific advice - see link to consultation at the top of our website page - web link in my signature below.

Thanks,

Mark



Daniel888 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have just submitted a post study work visa 485 yesterday night and I realized there was one issue in my application.
> 
> In the non-accompanying dependent section:
> I filled in my dad and mum details because I thought they are my parents and im depending on them such as financial aspect. BUT they are not included and will not come to Australia.
> 
> Whereas, in the other family members:
> I filled my sister details because I am not depending on her so I thought I put her details in this section would be more accurate.
> 
> Lastly, just a double check if im eligible for the 2 years study requirement
> 1. Bachelor of commerce: Start date on COE: 03/13
> Course completed on 02/14
> (2 normal semester - March intake and July intake + 1 summer semester Nov intake)
> 
> 2. Masters of PA: Start date on coe: 07/14
> Course completed on 02/15
> (1 normal semester (July intake) + 1 summer (Nov intake)
> 
> Please advise if there is anything I need to be worry or contact DIBP for further correction !! Im panicking here !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark1980 -

No problem - only risk is if it expires (1 year validity) before they are done processing your partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mark1980 said:


> hi Mark
> 
> I apply for a 801-820 two months ago and today I went to my account and I obtained a referral letter which includes the HAP ID, is there any downfall in applying for a health examinations before a CO ask me for one ?
> 
> - I already submitted everything else and I thought about doing it to finish with everything related to the application


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Talesin -

Thanks for the question. There are no specific income requirements for partner visa sponsors, however evidence of some financial assets/income is required - this can include savings evidence, evidence of previous employment and current job search, evidence of any other benefits received such as govt benefits, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



talesin said:


> Mark, lots of amazing advice on here but I haven't seen this question. If I apply for a Partner Visa outside of Australia I apparently need to prove I can support my husband for 2 years. How much do they consider enough? Also I would be leaving my job here but there is no guarantee I would get a job straight away in Australia. We have a cushion to cover this and getting accomodation when we arrive but I would not then be able to prove continuous support as even if I apply in advance no one is going to wait the best part of a year for me to start my job! How is this worked out?


----------



## markys

*chances of success*

Hi Mark,

I would love to hear what you think our chances are for a waiver of the 12 month requirement for the 820 partner visa.

The Advice given over the pone from Immi was to get married, we are in love but do not want to get married as yet..

*My partner*

Austrian

31 years old

6 months pregnant

On a three month travel visa in Australia.

*Myself*

Australian born citizen

28 years old [she still looks younger  ]

We started seeing each other when I travelled to Austria 9 months ago to visit her family (family friends)

We have had two trips each to visit each other totalling 4 and a half months spent living together. With constant communication in between.

I have applied to have our relationship registered here In Queensland and the department claims it should be no problem.

We are now living together again and I have just been approved for a home loan for our first small family house.

Now there is a baby on the way and it will be very hard for us to cover costs without Medicare.

I would like to put the application in now....

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Mark


----------



## ifthakhar

*Verification of Employment Reference through telephonic conversation for visa -190*

Dear Mark Northam,

I have lodged my visa application(Subclass-190,NSW State Sponsorship) on 1st January,2015.I have uploaded necessary documents during visa application including PCC.My CO assigned on 13th February,2015 and requested for my medical examinations and submit evidence of functional English for my spouse. I have completed medical examinations along with my family on 18th February,2015 and uploaded requested documents to my immi account and e-mailed to CO on 22nd February,2015.On 18th March,2015 from Australian High Commission office,Dhaka,Bangladesh made a phone call to inquire about myself and firstly talked with the company HR personal then secondly with my line Manger.My occupational classification is ANZSCO 233214(Structural Engineer) assessed from Engineers Australia.I have a total seven years of professional experience.My current position in my company is Deputy Manager( Quality Control) but i mentioned in my employment certificate which was signed by my line manager(Head of the Department) working as a Senior Structural Engineer in the present company.Csz i have to play role as a senior structural engineer also from Quality control department.I'm responsible to structural analysis,design and quality control of construction.In employment certificate i showed my joining date was 1st April,2010 but from HR department told the person who made the phone call my joining date was 24th April,2010.But actually i joined on 1st April,2010 and took a leave for 20 days and finally continue from 24th April,2010 to till now.HR counted the date from 24th April,2010 and rest of the day counted as leave without pay(LWP).The person asked why the mismatch with the joining date to my head of the department and also my current position.My HOD told him joining date might be differ due to documentation problem but from quality control department i'm the sole responsible for structural part.In our organization, internally we grade the position senior executive,Assistant Manager,Deputy Manager like this.Withing the organization it doesn't include as a Engineer before position.But when we give reference letter or employment certificate we recognize him as a Structural Engineer.My job responsibility includes all structural related works.

After this telephonic conversation the person who verified thanked to my HOD and disconnected the phone line. Now i'm afraid off about my visa whether this could be a problem or not to get the visa approval from my case officer as the person who verified put a question mark about my joining date and my position though my Line Manager strongly recommend me as a Structural Engineer and ensured continue my works as a structural engineer with same till now.

Could anybody face this types of problem or suggest me what could i do in this circumstances.

Solicit your prompt response in this regard.

Best Regards,
Ifthakhar


----------



## mjnm12

*820 Police Checks*

Mark,

I am planning to enter australia on an ETA and apply for an onshore partner 820 visa.. I would love to have my application as Decision Ready but understand that it is only valid for 12 months and I could end up having to do it again...

Will it be difficult for me to get a police check from USA while in Australia? What are the details on the police check?

Should I do my health check in the USA before I enter Oz on an ETA since I have private health insurance in the US?

THANK YOU

mjnm12


----------



## Bulba

Hi Mark,

Please, would you suggest on the following?

I have got an invitation for a visa application after submitting an EOI for an Independent Skilled Visa (189). 
My wife and our infant daughter will accompany me. Now when I try to submit an application online there's a field for a passport data even for my baby-daughter. She doesn't have one, but she is indicated in my passport. Do we need to get a passport for her as well or mentioning of her name in my passport would suffice and I can indicate my passport number in the field where her passport data is requested?
Thanks


----------



## Cwor1

Dear Mark,
I am now eligible for partner permanent visa processing (100). My partner and I are falling apart because of many disagreements related to porn, alcoholic and finance. 

My visa 309 grant letter said "Indefinite" for Stay for/Until, does this mean I am allowed to stay in Australia as long as I want ? Do I have to apply for pertner permanent visa 100 to stay? What if I don't apply, will Department of Immigration and Border Protection do something about this? 

I have two primary school aged girls, if my partner and I happen to end our relationship, I plan to stay in Australia until my girls reach University which is another 10 years and plus, should that work for me? What is my option? Please advise


----------



## Palmasol

Hi Mark, I would love a bit of guidance in deciding the right for path for our situation...
My partner is Mexican and I am Australian. We are not married but plan to be when things are more settled, I guess we are in one long engagement. We lived together for over 2 years in Mexico, but always planned to raise our family in Australia. We do have a child together who has been with me since birth. We made a very last minute decision for me to return to Australia alone to have our baby in 2013. (Lived rurally and with the oncoming wet season I was scared of giving birth on my own during a black out with no mobile phone signal, no electric or running water and isolated due to flooding, collapsed bridges etc.) My partner received his passport after I had returned to Australia, which is why we were unable to sort anything out prior. So we have now been apart for almost 19 months (phone contact always maintained and friends would print out photos of baby for him) and the year before I had returned to Australia to visit sick and ageing family for 5 months as I’d been o/s for quite a few years. I am with my partner right now in Mexico for a couple of months, visiting so he can meet his son for the first time and to get an application in for his Australian visa. He has never left his country before, so no previous visa attempts.

The most important thing for us is that our family are not separated again for such a long period. I will have to return to Australia in May, it would be fab if he could return with us but I am aware that this might not be the case. With that in mind, what would be the best course to take to avoid more lengthy separations - is an Offshore Partner Visa (defacto) more suitable than a PMV? And can either of them be submitted with a tourist visa, to allow my partner entrance to Australia while awaiting their outcome? I’m aware that he would have to return to Mexico for the decision on his TR visa - Immi told me that by communicating with the CO we’d get an idea of when that decision was imminent and could ensure he was back in MX.

Re the PMV: Can all the documents we need in evidence of our plan to marry be acquired while we are overseas? 
Re the Offshore Defacto: I live in Qld so I am about to post off the application to register our de facto relationship. Will that help the fact that we were not living together immediately prior to submitting the application?

Thanks!


----------



## phuhle1104

*Working requirement for visa 887*

Hi Mark,

I hope you are going well with everything in life.

I have some questions regarding to the work requirement of visa 887. I will really appreciate for your help. I am holding visa 489 now and currently living in Adelaide. However, I find it tough to get a job in my occupation. I am working in a Chinese restaurant as a waiter. The employer does want to pay tax for me but he will write the employer letter for me. Can I just submit the employer reference letter to DIBP for visa 887? Thank you very much.

Regards,
Liam Le


----------



## ellie-em

Hi Mark

Could I ask how long you have to move to Australia after your visa has been approved (independent skilled 189). Is there a certain time-frame that you have to work to ? Thank you, best wishes Ellie


----------



## aida-may

Hi Mark, 

Ihave a question about the parents visa, if half of the brothers are 2, do they both have to be settled for 2 years or could it be that onl one is settled for 2 years while the other one is there for just a few months? Can we then apply fir parents visa or do we have yo wait till both brothers are settled for 2 years?

one more questions please, if I just settled in australia for a few months as a PR , how long do I have to wait until I can sponsor my sister for a 489 visa?


----------



## XINGSINGH

Hi Mark

I am holding 189 visa of australia. Can I apply for canadian PR visa also. Will my Australian pr be affected if I get canadian pr also and do I need to inform dibp about this


----------



## patati

Hey Mark! My boyfriend and I are living together for 3 months (joint bank account, some of the bills on my name, heaps of events and witnesses of our relationship) and we plan on applying for a 820 visa (de facto) next Jan, when we have 12 months living together under the circumstances I mentioned. However, in May I'm heading back to my home country for 6 weeks to visit my family. How can we make sure these 6 weeks apart won't be a problem when we apply for the visa? What sort of evidence should we gather? Thanks!! =)


----------



## mfa

*DIAC criteria for External secruity checks*

Hi Mark,

Can you help here , what's the criteria set by DIAC for forwarding cases to external security checks ( which take 9-12 months) ?

I lodged my 189 visa on Jan 15, 2015 , and was first contacted by Adelaide team 4 and then by Adelaide team 13.

I have heard from some thread, that , team 13 contact those candidates whose case is forwarded by CO for external security checks .

kindly assist.
Moeen


----------



## teenOclock

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Chris -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. You'll want to make sure that he has sufficient points with evidence to back up those points in order to lodge an application. If he is not claiming partner points, then you won't need a skills assessment. If he is claiming you as a dependent, then your marital status as of the time of application will be important - if you are not married yet as of the date of application, you will be considered as applying as defacto partners, which activates a 12 month living together requirement (that you were living together during the 12 months prior to applying), however if you are married as of the date of application, this requirement does not exist. For either way (defacto or married) you'll need to provide substantial evidence to show that your relationship is genuine and ongoing.
> 
> There are several other requirements for this visa - too much detail to go into here - if he is doing this by himself without a migration agent, it's important for him to read the DIBP website info for this visa very carefully to make sure he understands all the requirements.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your reply. It really helps a lot.

I have one more question, My boyfriend earned a degree in University of Southern Queensland, Toowomba Australia. He earned a degree for 1 year only. Is he eligible for Educational qualifications points? If yes, May I know how many points he can get?

**At least a Bachelor degree, including a Bachelor degree with Honours or Masters, from an Australian educational institution or other degree of a recognised standard Educational qualifications, 15 points

**Australian study qualifications, at time of invitation One or more degrees, diplomas or trade qualifications awarded by an Australian educational institution and meet Australian Study Requirement 5 points

**Study in regional Australia or in a low population growth metropolitan area (excluding distance education) 5 points

Kind Regards,
Chris


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markys -

Thanks for the question. Hard to give you specific advice for your case without knowing a lot more, but assuming the registered relationship goes through, that waives the 12 month living requirement. Plus, the application can be lodged without the registered relationship cert - the cert can be lodged any time before DIBP makes a decision on the visa.

If she's here on a visa that allows an onshore application (ie, does not have condition 8503), if you can put together sufficient relationship evidence, I'd consider an onshore partner visa based on a defacto partner relationship if you believe that accurately describes your relationship. However given the risk factors (ie, not a lot of living together time) that could impact the genuine relationship assessment, you may want to get professional help with the application from a migration agent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



markys said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would love to hear what you think our chances are for a waiver of the 12 month requirement for the 820 partner visa.
> 
> The Advice given over the pone from Immi was to get married, we are in love but do not want to get married as yet..
> 
> *My partner*
> 
> Austrian
> 
> 31 years old
> 
> 6 months pregnant
> 
> On a three month travel visa in Australia.
> 
> *Myself*
> 
> Australian born citizen
> 
> 28 years old [she still looks younger  ]
> 
> We started seeing each other when I travelled to Austria 9 months ago to visit her family (family friends)
> 
> We have had two trips each to visit each other totalling 4 and a half months spent living together. With constant communication in between.
> 
> I have applied to have our relationship registered here In Queensland and the department claims it should be no problem.
> 
> We are now living together again and I have just been approved for a home loan for our first small family house.
> 
> Now there is a baby on the way and it will be very hard for us to cover costs without Medicare.
> 
> I would like to put the application in now....
> 
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ifthakhar -

I'd consider writing a letter explaining the discrepancy and uploading it to your application as soon as possible.You may still get a letter from DIBP requesting an explanation - if so, respond carefully and with a detailed response that fully explains the difference in start dates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ifthakhar said:


> Dear Mark Northam,
> 
> I have lodged my visa application(Subclass-190,NSW State Sponsorship) on 1st January,2015.I have uploaded necessary documents during visa application including PCC.My CO assigned on 13th February,2015 and requested for my medical examinations and submit evidence of functional English for my spouse. I have completed medical examinations along with my family on 18th February,2015 and uploaded requested documents to my immi account and e-mailed to CO on 22nd February,2015.On 18th March,2015 from Australian High Commission office,Dhaka,Bangladesh made a phone call to inquire about myself and firstly talked with the company HR personal then secondly with my line Manger.My occupational classification is ANZSCO 233214(Structural Engineer) assessed from Engineers Australia.I have a total seven years of professional experience.My current position in my company is Deputy Manager( Quality Control) but i mentioned in my employment certificate which was signed by my line manager(Head of the Department) working as a Senior Structural Engineer in the present company.Csz i have to play role as a senior structural engineer also from Quality control department.I'm responsible to structural analysis,design and quality control of construction.In employment certificate i showed my joining date was 1st April,2010 but from HR department told the person who made the phone call my joining date was 24th April,2010.But actually i joined on 1st April,2010 and took a leave for 20 days and finally continue from 24th April,2010 to till now.HR counted the date from 24th April,2010 and rest of the day counted as leave without pay(LWP).The person asked why the mismatch with the joining date to my head of the department and also my current position.My HOD told him joining date might be differ due to documentation problem but from quality control department i'm the sole responsible for structural part.In our organization, internally we grade the position senior executive,Assistant Manager,Deputy Manager like this.Withing the organization it doesn't include as a Engineer before position.But when we give reference letter or employment certificate we recognize him as a Structural Engineer.My job responsibility includes all structural related works.
> 
> After this telephonic conversation the person who verified thanked to my HOD and disconnected the phone line. Now i'm afraid off about my visa whether this could be a problem or not to get the visa approval from my case officer as the person who verified put a question mark about my joining date and my position though my Line Manager strongly recommend me as a Structural Engineer and ensured continue my works as a structural engineer with same till now.
> 
> Could anybody face this types of problem or suggest me what could i do in this circumstances.
> 
> Solicit your prompt response in this regard.
> 
> Best Regards,
> Ifthakhar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mhnm12 -

For partner visas, now that they're taking 12+ months to process, I would consider not getting the police/health done prior to lodging, and instead do them 3-4 months after lodgment. The entire "decision ready" system seems to have been discontinued by DIBP some time ago in any case.

Hardest part of the USA police cert is getting the fingerprints to the FBI - see DIBP site for USA contact offices to see the specific FBI requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mjnm12 said:


> Mark,
> 
> I am planning to enter australia on an ETA and apply for an onshore partner 820 visa.. I would love to have my application as Decision Ready but understand that it is only valid for 12 months and I could end up having to do it again...
> 
> Will it be difficult for me to get a police check from USA while in Australia? What are the details on the police check?
> 
> Should I do my health check in the USA before I enter Oz on an ETA since I have private health insurance in the US?
> 
> THANK YOU
> 
> mjnm12


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bulba -

I'd put your passport number in her passport number field if she is specifically mentioned on your passport. If DIBP requires her to get a separate passport, they'll let you know.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bulba said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Please, would you suggest on the following?
> 
> I have got an invitation for a visa application after submitting an EOI for an Independent Skilled Visa (189).
> My wife and our infant daughter will accompany me. Now when I try to submit an application online there's a field for a passport data even for my baby-daughter. She doesn't have one, but she is indicated in my passport. Do we need to get a passport for her as well or mentioning of her name in my passport would suffice and I can indicate my passport number in the field where her passport data is requested?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cwor1 -

Sorry to hear about your partner issues - porn, alcohol and finance issues don't mix well!

2 year from the original application date (sounds like now from what you've said), DIBP will eventually send you a letter requesting additional documentation from you and your sponsor to evidence that the relationship is still intact to continue and finalise the processing for the sc100 PR partner visa. If you do not lodge these papers, eventually the sc100 will be refused, which automatically cancels your 309 visa leaving you with no visa.

The two pathways for PR without your partner's support are family violence (committed by your partner) or children of the relationship. If neither exist, then you may want to start looking for some other type of visa if you don't believe the relationship is repairable. Employer sponsored and skilled visas are 2 choices. Another option may be the sc580 Student Guardian visa - see DIBP website for complete details on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cwor1 said:


> Dear Mark,
> I am now eligible for partner permanent visa processing (100). My partner and I are falling apart because of many disagreements related to porn, alcoholic and finance.
> 
> My visa 309 grant letter said "Indefinite" for Stay for/Until, does this mean I am allowed to stay in Australia as long as I want ? Do I have to apply for pertner permanent visa 100 to stay? What if I don't apply, will Department of Immigration and Border Protection do something about this?
> 
> I have two primary school aged girls, if my partner and I happen to end our relationship, I plan to stay in Australia until my girls reach University which is another 10 years and plus, should that work for me? What is my option? Please advise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Palmasol -

Thanks for the question. Either PMV or partner visa may be possible, depending on the further details of your situation - too complex to work out on anonymous forum posts, and too much at stake financially (visa application fees) and personally with the two of you plus your child. With the child, I'm probably leaning more towards an onshore or offshore partner visa, but would need to know a lot more in order to give you specific advice - can do this via a consultation - see website below in my email signature for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Palmasol said:


> Hi Mark, I would love a bit of guidance in deciding the right for path for our situation...
> My partner is Mexican and I am Australian. We are not married but plan to be when things are more settled, I guess we are in one long engagement. We lived together for over 2 years in Mexico, but always planned to raise our family in Australia. We do have a child together who has been with me since birth. We made a very last minute decision for me to return to Australia alone to have our baby in 2013. (Lived rurally and with the oncoming wet season I was scared of giving birth on my own during a black out with no mobile phone signal, no electric or running water and isolated due to flooding, collapsed bridges etc.) My partner received his passport after I had returned to Australia, which is why we were unable to sort anything out prior. So we have now been apart for almost 19 months (phone contact always maintained and friends would print out photos of baby for him) and the year before I had returned to Australia to visit sick and ageing family for 5 months as I'd been o/s for quite a few years. I am with my partner right now in Mexico for a couple of months, visiting so he can meet his son for the first time and to get an application in for his Australian visa. He has never left his country before, so no previous visa attempts.
> 
> The most important thing for us is that our family are not separated again for such a long period. I will have to return to Australia in May, it would be fab if he could return with us but I am aware that this might not be the case. With that in mind, what would be the best course to take to avoid more lengthy separations - is an Offshore Partner Visa (defacto) more suitable than a PMV? And can either of them be submitted with a tourist visa, to allow my partner entrance to Australia while awaiting their outcome? I'm aware that he would have to return to Mexico for the decision on his TR visa - Immi told me that by communicating with the CO we'd get an idea of when that decision was imminent and could ensure he was back in MX.
> 
> Re the PMV: Can all the documents we need in evidence of our plan to marry be acquired while we are overseas?
> Re the Offshore Defacto: I live in Qld so I am about to post off the application to register our de facto relationship. Will that help the fact that we were not living together immediately prior to submitting the application?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liam Le -

Thanks for the question. DIBP generally requires proof of payment for all work periods claimed for the 887 visa, so a letter is not enough usually. Note that you do not have to work in your occupation to get credit for that work - work in any occupation is OK.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you are going well with everything in life.
> 
> I have some questions regarding to the work requirement of visa 887. I will really appreciate for your help. I am holding visa 489 now and currently living in Adelaide. However, I find it tough to get a job in my occupation. I am working in a Chinese restaurant as a waiter. The employer does want to pay tax for me but he will write the employer letter for me. Can I just submit the employer reference letter to DIBP for visa 887? Thank you very much.
> 
> Regards,
> Liam Le


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ellie -

Thanks for the question. Yes, there is a must-enter-by date that you must enter Australia by in order to activate your PR visa - the date is typically some number of months after your visa grant date, depending in some cases on the expiration date of your police and/or health checks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ellie-em said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Could I ask how long you have to move to Australia after your visa has been approved (independent skilled 189). Is there a certain time-frame that you have to work to ? Thank you, best wishes Ellie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aida-May -

Thanks for the question. Only the sponsor must be settled; the other child can be a permanent resident ordinarily resident in Australia. Persons on temporary visas do not count as being in Australia for purposes of the balance of the family test for parent visas. Re: family sponsorship for 489 visa, the sponsor must be a permanent resident who is usually resident in Australia, but is not required to be settled (ie, not required to have been in Australia for 2 years).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aida-may said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Ihave a question about the parents visa, if half of the brothers are 2, do they both have to be settled for 2 years or could it be that onl one is settled for 2 years while the other one is there for just a few months? Can we then apply fir parents visa or do we have yo wait till both brothers are settled for 2 years?
> 
> one more questions please, if I just settled in australia for a few months as a PR , how long do I have to wait until I can sponsor my sister for a 489 visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xingsingh -

No problem - Australian permanent residence is not generally affected by gaining PR from another country, no need to inform DIBP. If you wish to continue your Australian PR after the initial 5 year period and you have not become a citizen in that period, you should have a look at the subclass 155 Resident Return Visa on the DIBP website for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



XINGSINGH said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am holding 189 visa of australia. Can I apply for canadian PR visa also. Will my Australian pr be affected if I get canadian pr also and do I need to inform dibp about this


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Patati -

Thanks for the question. I'd keep in very close touch over the 6 week period and keep records of your chats, Skype, etc during the period and submit those as evidence with your partner visa that the time apart was "temporary in nature". You could also consider registering your relationship if your Australian state allows it, which automatically satisfies the 12 month living together requirement for de facto partner visa applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



patati said:


> Hey Mark! My boyfriend and I are living together for 3 months (joint bank account, some of the bills on my name, heaps of events and witnesses of our relationship) and we plan on applying for a 820 visa (de facto) next Jan, when we have 12 months living together under the circumstances I mentioned. However, in May I'm heading back to my home country for 6 weeks to visit my family. How can we make sure these 6 weeks apart won't be a problem when we apply for the visa? What sort of evidence should we gather? Thanks!! =)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moeen -

I don't have that info - DIBP doesn't publish it. Generally all PR visas are subject to security checks of various types, and it's not published as to what criteria exists in that arena for enhanced or additional checks.

Sorry wish I could assist -

Best,

Mark



mfa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you help here , what's the criteria set by DIAC for forwarding cases to external security checks ( which take 9-12 months) ?
> 
> I lodged my 189 visa on Jan 15, 2015 , and was first contacted by Adelaide team 4 and then by Adelaide team 13.
> 
> I have heard from some thread, that , team 13 contact those candidates whose case is forwarded by CO for external security checks .
> 
> kindly assist.
> Moeen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chris -

If the degree is an Australian bachelor degree, then he would likely get 15 points for that even if part of the degree involved study elsewhere. As to the Australian Study Requirement, I'd have to work that out with you in a consultation as there are many factors, but from what you've said I doubt he would get those 5 points (or the regional study points) if he only studied in Australia for 1 year of the degree.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



teenOclock said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your reply. It really helps a lot.
> 
> I have one more question, My boyfriend earned a degree in University of Southern Queensland, Toowomba Australia. He earned a degree for 1 year only. Is he eligible for Educational qualifications points? If yes, May I know how many points he can get?
> 
> **At least a Bachelor degree, including a Bachelor degree with Honours or Masters, from an Australian educational institution or other degree of a recognised standard Educational qualifications, 15 points
> 
> **Australian study qualifications, at time of invitation One or more degrees, diplomas or trade qualifications awarded by an Australian educational institution and meet Australian Study Requirement 5 points
> 
> **Study in regional Australia or in a low population growth metropolitan area (excluding distance education) 5 points
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Chris


----------



## XINGSINGH

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Xingsingh -
> 
> No problem - Australian permanent residence is not generally affected by gaining PR from another country, no need to inform DIBP. If you wish to continue your Australian PR after the initial 5 year period and you have not become a citizen in that period, you should have a look at the subclass 155 Resident Return Visa on the DIBP website for more details.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark

Will Canadian PR be problem if I apply for cutizenship after four years in Australia.


----------



## sumy08

Hi Mark,

I have got grant for my mother for visitor Visa.

She only have Given Name as XXX YYY on passport and surname is blank.

However when I check VEVO, it shows given name as XXX & Surname as YYY

Would this cause any issue's ?

I look forward to hearing from you and appreciate your help in advance


----------



## Tryme5

Hi Mark... 
We have applied for my wife Sc 461 visa from India... I m in Austrlaia... While visa is being processed ... Can I call my wife on any other visa?
Thanks


----------



## Bulba

Mark,

Thank you for the reply. I have a little idea about the way the communication with DIBP works after applying online. I will try your suggestion and will let know about the outcome of this particular matter, should it be relevant to anybody else.

Thank you,
Bulba



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bulba -
> 
> I'd put your passport number in her passport number field if she is specifically mentioned on your passport. If DIBP requires her to get a separate passport, they'll let you know.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## talesin

Thank you very much for the reply, it was extremely helpful and has taken some weight off my shoulders. You are an angel for using your spare time in this way


----------



## calvinsum

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply. It is really helpful to most of us who ask question here!

In terms of ENS direct entry, if I have 3 years' work experience and a positive skill assessment and I also meet other requirements mentioned in DIBP website, I will be eligible to apply for 186 visa if my employer is willing to sponsor me, right? I didn't see any further requirement in terms of the length of contract that the employer would like to provide under this circumstance. Therefore, I assume my employer would be able to sponsor me in this pathway with only one year contract.

The reason why I ask this question is because for the TRTS the employer has to offer a permanent position (or at least 2 year's contract, I heard it from others) to the applicant for the sponsorship.

Cheers,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Calvinsum -
> 
> For ENS direct entry, any full-time, paid employment in your occupation is eligible, as long as you were working legally within the rights of your visa (if working in Australia). The text you quoted re: never/briefly/etc is not part of the legal requirements for the visa and can be ignored. The 3 years' work experience you need to qualify for the direct entry ENS can be in Australia or outside Australia as long as it meets the relevancy requirements and is full time and paid.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## gana

*Plea for advice*

Dear Mark

Scoring an IELTS band => 7 will give me the required 5 extra points to meet the points criteria and apply for an EOI. I have attempted IELTS (General) 4 times. Each time I miss out on ONE section (the section varies). This time I have a score of 9.0; 8.5; 8.0 and 6.0. The 6.0 is in the written section.

In a previous attempt I have scored a 7 in written and this has been accepted by UTS to allow me to do and complete a UTS (Sydney) Masters Degree. I have complted my Masters Degree with Distictions in numerous units. Therefore I am a bit frustrated and confused about different IELTS requirements for higher education and for migration purposes.

Also I have been employed full time in Sydney in my profession (IT) for last 18 months on the strength of a Temporary Graduate Visa Subclass 485 (Graduate Work Stream). THis expires in May 2015. I have contributed in excess of A$120K to the Australian economy in tuition fees, subsistence and income tax; and wish to gain my PR in Australia.

I have initiated a re-marking of my IELTS score today. The re-marking process can take upto 8 weeks. Meanwhile my visa will expire. Mark, What options do I have to extend my stay here (given that 457 Sponsorship is not an option for me). If I apply for my EOI before my 485 visa expires (May), would I be given a bridging visa to continue staying in the country pending the EOI decision?

I will be grateful for any advice.

Thank you.

Gana


----------



## jowey

Hi
I asked recently about leaving my employer on an ENS 186 visa, before the 2 years is up. My employer and I have agreed that our working relationship is not working well and they have agreed to let me go in April as a mutually agreeable, no longer needing my skills arrangement. they have put this in writing to me and want me to reply to it in writing accepting their offer. Will i be likely to be in any trouble with immigration if I do so? I have other job offers in the same role open to me if I can leave my current job.
Thank you, Jo


----------



## zeshan

Hi Mark,

I got 489 Visa in March 2013 and in March 2015, I have fulfilled 2 years requirement and I have worked 1 year full time. I wanted to apply for 887 visa now, I have a question that when I was on 489 visa I visited my family overseas couple of times and I was out side Australia for about 4 months in total, now in this situation do I have to wait further 4 months to fulfill 2 year requirement or I can apply now as its already 2 years passed on 489 visa. Secondly if I apply now and by the time when processing commence on my application it will be already about 2 years. Because processing will commence about after 3 months.

Your early response will be highly appreciated.

Thanks


----------



## lucky21289

*Miss*

Hi Mark,

I just graduated last year from Usyd vet science and I have applied for 485 at the beginning of March. My student visa has expired about 3 weeks ago and I'm on my bridging visa A now.

However, I have not done my police check prior to the application (totally because I have overlooked that part) and was advised by my case officer a few days ago that my 2 options are to withdraw the application or to be refused.

It did give me a shock as I do believe I have fulfilled all the requirements to apply for a 485 (OET, skill assessment and medical check up are all done). I have just started on a new job and I'm really enjoying it. I have been reading on the immi website and it seems like if I withdraw the application and reapply for a 485 once I received my police check, I would be granted a bridging visa C which does not allow me to work.

Fortunately, I have also received my 189 invitation 2 weeks ago. So to my understanding, if I apply for 189 and withdraw my 485 now, I would be granted a bridging visa C as well but for this one I would have to right to work? I just want to double check with you whether this would be my best option and what other options do I have on hand.

Thank you so much and I'm looking forward to hear from you.


----------



## jollyjoe

Hi Mark,

Hope you're fantastic!
I'm planning to apply for 189 and I've total 3 years of experience as a software engineer.

I've have worked from July 2008 to Aug 2009 for company A & from Jan 2013 to Jan 2014 worked for company B & from Feb 2014 till date I'm working for company C.

I've all the documents like payslip, joining/increment letter, bank statement, IT returns etc. for the current company but for the previous two companies I don't have bank statement & IT returns but I've the rest of the documents.

My concern is for my previous experience (company A & B), will ACS or DIBP require bank statement and IT return docs for the period 2008 to 2009 and from 2013 to 2014?

Many thanks,
Jollyjoe


----------



## clgb.21

Hello Mark! I'm a newbie here and I just have a question regarding visa application. I am planning to apply visa through ImmiAccount but I'm not sure what payment method is acceptable. Is wire transfer acceptable and will just scan the receipt or only credit card payments are acceptable? Thank you in advance for your help.


----------



## Tryme5

Hi Mark
What are the chances of getting tourist visa when subclass 461 is being processed..? Please advise
Thanks


----------



## KT1

MarkNortham said:


> Hi KT1 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Since you already hold an ETA with multiple arrivals, there's nothing really for the sponsor to ask for. I'd keep a copy of my lodged 309/100 application with you each time you enter, and if they ask why you are coming/going, simply state you're awaiting the result of the 309/100. Some posts are picky about this, saying that visitor visas are not to be used as a way to establish "residency", however you're simply remaining with your partner and "visiting" Australia each time. As a safety measure, I'd have a list of travels/sites/etc that you plan to visit or attend for each trip in, to substantiate the "tourism" part of the visa so you can make the argument that you aren't simply coming to Australia to "live with" your partner.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Many thanks for the suggestions.

Meantime I took the opportunity to inform my CO providing copies of my flight details with the intention to visit using ETA. And requested to be updated if the application is ready to be granted so that I can be offshore.

My CO acknowledged it and added that my 309 application is at the final assessment stage and progressing well. However the application is not ready for finalisation currently.

Would you be able to "evaluate from experience" how soon would it be granted?

Thanks Mark.


----------



## bubu_australia

*Question about partner visa*

Hi Mark,

I am applying for the partner visa in Australian immigration and I am having difficult in providing proof of the following questions as I don't understand what documents to provide for the following, they are:

*History of your relationship:*

Statements from you and your partner about:

1. how, when and where you first met
2. how your relationship developed
3. when you decided to marry or to start a de facto relationship
4. your domestic arrangements (how you support each other financially, physically and emotionally and when this level of commitment began)
5. any periods of separation (when and why the separation occurred, for how long and how you maintained your relationship during the period of separation)
6. your future plans.

*The nature of the household:*

1. Documents to show that you and your partner share responsibilities in your household, such as:
your living arrangements
2. a statement about the way housework is distributed

*The nature of your commitment to each other:*

Documents to show your commitment to each other:

1. knowledge of each other's personal circumstances (for example, background and family situation, which could be established at interview)
2. intention that your relationship will be long-term (for example, the extent to which you have combined your affairs)
the terms of your wills
3. correspondence and itemised phone accounts to show that contact was maintained during any period of separation.

Thanks in Advance.


----------



## Samanthayang

Hello Mark ! 
I just applied visa 309 yesterday for my partner who is in nepal. an agent helped us out to prepare all the documents ! As I checked I didnt see any photos (they didnt ask us to supply any) or either form 888, and some other evidence..
Is there any chance that the Case officer will make decisions without asking us for more evidence ?
Also, I am currently not working at the moment so will that be possible to sponsor my partner or there are other ways like having an amount of fund in my bank ?
Thank you and God bless you for your kindness !
Happy Easter Mark ! If you let us knoe your postal address, I'm sure that it will be full of thank you cards and gifts !


----------



## john79

hi mark, you are doing great....My question is regarding Functional english proof of my wife. I have gone through the details at immi.gov.au regarding that.Thers are lotst of options there to prove functional english. The best that suits me is
_*
Completed all years of primary education and at least three years of secondary education in an educational institution in or outside Australia and all instructions were in English.*_

my question is that
if i provide the such certificate from school principal than would it be sufficent .


----------



## bals4127

*student visa to PR*

Hello,
I wanted to apply for PR during my second year of PhD, provided that,

1. I am on student visa for PhD with fellowship in Australia.

2. I have three year of research experience as Junior (2yr) and Senior (1yr) research fellow in Plant Biochemistry after completing Master in Botany from India. This monthly fellowship was tax free, so I don't have a salary slip, however, I have an appointment letter mentioning fellowship amount and bank account statement showing monthly deposit of fellowship.

3. I have valid IELTS with more than 7 in each module.

4. In addition, through out my education I have secured first class in exams.

5. Completed 1 year and two months of PhD studies in Australia.

6. My spouse is also doing PhD in Australia for past two year.

7. I have research publications to support my research experience.

So my questions are:

1. Am I eligible to apply for PR based on above education and work experience?

2. Will the appointment letter and bank account statement act as a proof of salary slip/payment slip?

Please guide me.
Thanks.


----------



## faraznaqvi

Hi Mark,

Before i put up my questions, I must appreciate generosity of your time and efforts that you put in to respond to people's question, commendable indeed.

As i understood from the ACS guidelines, that one could submit Statutory Declaration for Job Description in cases where either current employer could not provide it or the applicant anticipate potential employment issues with the company, as a result of knowing employee's intentions. I do have the employment reference letter from the current employer but duties/responsibilities are not mentioned there as is generally the case here in Pakistan.

I'll try to keep my questions short and to the point (ACS is my skill assessor):

1) Does Statutory Declaration for Job Description (duties/responsibilities) reduce the applicant's score?

2) The declaration is "sworn" in by the referee (not by the application) and also needs a witness?

3) The referee can be any colleague who can witness, not necessarily the manager in case if the manager is already left?

4) All educational and work related documents needs to be reproduced (scanned, printed) and verified by notary public? [As in some cases i learnt that documents were processed, by authority other than ACS, without being testified except the declaration]

5) Can people submit other documents like Appointment Letters, Promotion Letters, Payslips to prove the authenticity of the declaration and the application in general?

Thanks and regards,
Naqvi


----------



## prasad

HI Mark,

Trust you are doing good.
Have applied for my PR on 3 feb 2015 (Under 189 category)..I have seen ppl applying after me have got there Visa..


Is it advisable to call them up & check the status of my application or have to wait more.
Little worried as no CO allocation yet . have uploaded all the documents including PCC and medicals last week.

Regards,
Prasad


----------



## jezzam

Hi Mark

I am hoping you can spare a few minutes for an answer to this one - regarding Immigration fraud.

Quite a few people are being affected by a certain individual's complete misuse of the immigration system at the moment and I'm hoping that we can get some clarity.

The applicant applied and was granted the Provisional Resident visa, based on marriage to the visa sponsor. While they were waiting for the 2 years to be up, and for permanent residency to be considered, the applicant was found to be having an affair. In addition it was also found that the original visa application had been made fraudulently as the applicant was also in a long term relationship with another person (not in Australia) for the duration of the relationship and marriage to the visa sponsor. Immigration has been provided evidence of this and other evidence regarding lack of genuine intent towards the visa sponsor.
The visa sponsor withdrew the sponsorship.
The applicant then attempted to secure permanent residency via a claim of domestic violence against the visa sponsor. When immigration wanted to confirm the genuine nature of the relationship and address the above allegations, rather than address these, the applicant convinced the visa sponsor to reconcile (approximately 8 months after withdrawing the visa sponsorship)

My question is this: if the visa sponsor wanted to reinstate the sponsorship of this person's visa, would this be possible considering that there is so much evidence that the visa application was never genuine?

Common sense tells me that this application should be dead in the water, but we are all (all the people who have been taken advantage of in this situation) wondering how the applicant is still here so long after all this happened.

I sincerely thank you all for reading and for any information that can be given.


----------



## mreza

HI Mark,

I need your opinion about ACS assessment procedure, would be thankful for your time in advance.

I have recently graduated from School of Information Technologies at the University of Sydney with a PhD degree in computer science. I want to apply for permanent residency visa, which needs to apply for ​​​Post Australian Study Skills Assessment trough ACS organization first.

There is a phrase in page 3 of Skills-Assessment-Guidelines pdf document which make me somehow confused, i.e.,
"​1 year of relevant work experience completed after​ the completion date of the​ relevant Australian degree as a requirements for a suitable skills assessment"

My confusion raised because of phrase "completed after" above. My work and graduation situations are as follows actually:

my completion date of PhD degree is 9 March 2015 from the Uni. of Sydney.
I have some relevant work experience as follows:
9 months work in a company from March 2014 till Dec 2014
3 months work in another company from Jan 2015 till 20 Mach 2015. 

My question is that based on the completion date of both my work experience (in 2 different companies) & my graduate degree, will my work experience be considered as a suitable skills assessment or not?

Thanks again for your time and care.

Reza


----------



## confusedgirl730

Im annie. Im just confused if its time for us to lodge our partner visa or wait for a little more time. 
I came in australia last january 2014 on student visa. I met my partner (Australian citizen) in may and we lived together in september. 
We had our relationship registered in november 2014 (qld)
We also have our joint bank account (savings)
But we dont have bills on our name together. We are renting a private granny flat and water, electricity and internet are included. 
I was able to save some of our groceries receipt.
And our gifts last christmas and bdays
We have 3 stat decs (his son, my friend, one mutual friend)
We dont have much photos together and dont have joint trips. 
Im just confused if we have a chance for this. My visa is expiring in may. 
I appreciate all your advice

Thanks in advance


----------



## mike88

Hi Mark, hope you are doing well and had a great Easter holiday

Just want to ask a quick question on behalf of my friend

My friends Marco and Jessica (both are non Aussie resident, from overseas) intend to marry & do the marriage registration here in Melbourne as well as for holiday. 
However, after they finish their ceremony and holiday here, they want to go back to their home country and not live here, not at least for a few years.

So my question on their behalf is...are the marriage law valid here? Like can they come back to Australia and apply the visa say 4 years later even BOTH are non resident here or one has to been an Aussie citizen? If so, what visa do they need to apply a few years later?

Thanks

Mike


----------



## samy

Hi Mark 
Firstly you have been a great help for all of us out here...so much thankful to you sir ..
Mark I hope u can help me ..my situation is very much unusual...we have applied for offshore partner's visa 309 about 8 months back ..we have been in a genuine relationship from past 3 years and even got it registered with NSW government ..submitted piles of evidence showing we are truly committed towards each other ....
Now the actual problem start...my parents are not aware of our relationship(and if they find out will possibly create problems) they not going to accept it due to cultural religion differences and age gap ..
however I have met my partners family in australia and they r happy abt our relationship.
MY question :1) can immigration refuse my application as my parents r not aware or not happy about of our relationship ..
2)can immi request for willingness letter from parents
3)does age gap matters ...
(Note : I spend about 5 years in australia as a student)


----------



## Janani Hari

Hi Mark,

Have you heard anything about the delay in processing for subclass 190 visa? I lodged my application on Jan 22nd 2015, case officer asked for Form 80 on Feb 24th, uploaded on March 3rd . When I contacted the officer I received an email stating that places for 190 are almost being filled for this programme year and that there would either be a delay in processing the application or grant wont be given until July 1st 2015. I wanted to know if you are aware of the number of places remaining for this programme year in this category and is there any way for me to find out where in the queue my application stands. Thanks for your time.

Regards,
Janani


----------



## will.i.am

Hi Marc,

My question is about 300 and 309 Partner Visa. According to the information in Partner Visa booklet one of the requirements for 300/309 visa applicant is TO BE SPONSORED. In my case I will be a sponsor. The question is: is it true that I have to live permanently at least 2 years in Australia prior my fiancee (or spouse if we decide to marry) will be eligible to apply for 300 or 309 visa?

Thank you.


----------



## NYtoTAS

*820 Q re: passport-sized photos*

Hi Mark!

This is probably a silly question, but can the two recent passport-sized photographs (45 mm x 35 mm) of each person included in the 820 online application be the same photo? My partner and I got our photos individually taken at the post office and received (6) copies of these photos.

Thanks in advance,
Elizabeth


----------



## giang

*457 - Arrival Secondary Applicant*

Hi Mark,
I am applying for a *457 visa*. My partner has been included. 
I was wondering if the Secondary Visa Applicant is obligated to arrive within certain time. Due to some personal commitments, my partner won't be able to travel with me and will only be able to join me in about six months. Does anybody know if that is acceptable?
Thanks for your help!


----------



## prasad

giang said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am applying for a *457 visa*. My partner has been included.
> I was wondering if the Secondary Visa Applicant is obligated to arrive within certain time. Due to some personal commitments, my partner won't be able to travel with me and will only be able to join me in about six months. Does anybody know if that is acceptable?
> Thanks for your help!


Hi Mate,

Thats absolutely acceptable.....No worries. You can take her any time you want, no obligations..

Regards,
Prasad


----------



## Jennyxo

Hi mark!

Hope you are doing good.

I'm going to Australia on ETA 601 and my ETA will expire the month later I arrive. I'm planing on staying for 3 months.
Is it possible to apply partner visa on shore after my ETA visa expire?
Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I don't have any info on Canadian PR or citizenship.

Thanks,

Mark



XINGSINGH said:


> Thanks Mark
> 
> Will Canadian PR be problem if I apply for cutizenship after four years in Australia.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sumy08 -

Generally not a problem - if you do future visa applications, they may have trouble matching it up to your previous visa in very limited cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sumy08 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have got grant for my mother for visitor Visa.
> 
> She only have Given Name as XXX YYY on passport and surname is blank.
> 
> However when I check VEVO, it shows given name as XXX & Surname as YYY
> 
> Would this cause any issue's ?
> 
> I look forward to hearing from you and appreciate your help in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tryme5 -

Visitor visa may be possible - type depends on citizenship of your wife.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tryme5 said:


> Hi Mark...
> We have applied for my wife Sc 461 visa from India... I m in Austrlaia... While visa is being processed ... Can I call my wife on any other visa?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Calvinsum -

Your employer will need to give you a 2 year employment contract for this visa, plus the employer has various other requirements to meet re: things like training benchmark, genuine position, etc however for the TRT pathway, these are usually easily satisfied as long as no issue with the previous 457 visa, no major changes to the company since the 457 grant, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



calvinsum said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply. It is really helpful to most of us who ask question here!
> 
> In terms of ENS direct entry, if I have 3 years' work experience and a positive skill assessment and I also meet other requirements mentioned in DIBP website, I will be eligible to apply for 186 visa if my employer is willing to sponsor me, right? I didn't see any further requirement in terms of the length of contract that the employer would like to provide under this circumstance. Therefore, I assume my employer would be able to sponsor me in this pathway with only one year contract.
> 
> The reason why I ask this question is because for the TRTS the employer has to offer a permanent position (or at least 2 year's contract, I heard it from others) to the applicant for the sponsorship.
> 
> Cheers,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gana -

Wish I had better news for you - for migration purposes IELTS results must be all from a single sitting of the test. Maybe look at the alternative tests now available (Pearson, etc)? Re: extending visa, to remain working, 457 is the best bet, or potentially a student visa if you can study and work part time. Would need to know much more about your circumstances to give you specific advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gana said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Scoring an IELTS band => 7 will give me the required 5 extra points to meet the points criteria and apply for an EOI. I have attempted IELTS (General) 4 times. Each time I miss out on ONE section (the section varies). This time I have a score of 9.0; 8.5; 8.0 and 6.0. The 6.0 is in the written section.
> 
> In a previous attempt I have scored a 7 in written and this has been accepted by UTS to allow me to do and complete a UTS (Sydney) Masters Degree. I have complted my Masters Degree with Distictions in numerous units. Therefore I am a bit frustrated and confused about different IELTS requirements for higher education and for migration purposes.
> 
> Also I have been employed full time in Sydney in my profession (IT) for last 18 months on the strength of a Temporary Graduate Visa Subclass 485 (Graduate Work Stream). THis expires in May 2015. I have contributed in excess of A$120K to the Australian economy in tuition fees, subsistence and income tax; and wish to gain my PR in Australia.
> 
> I have initiated a re-marking of my IELTS score today. The re-marking process can take upto 8 weeks. Meanwhile my visa will expire. Mark, What options do I have to extend my stay here (given that 457 Sponsorship is not an option for me). If I apply for my EOI before my 485 visa expires (May), would I be given a bridging visa to continue staying in the country pending the EOI decision?
> 
> I will be grateful for any advice.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Gana


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jowey -

For 186 visa, there is no immigration requirement that you must complete the 2-year contract. No issue I see based on what you've said.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jowey said:


> Hi
> I asked recently about leaving my employer on an ENS 186 visa, before the 2 years is up. My employer and I have agreed that our working relationship is not working well and they have agreed to let me go in April as a mutually agreeable, no longer needing my skills arrangement. they have put this in writing to me and want me to reply to it in writing accepting their offer. Will i be likely to be in any trouble with immigration if I do so? I have other job offers in the same role open to me if I can leave my current job.
> Thank you, Jo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zeshan -

Normal allowance outside Australia is 3-4 weeks per year - I'd wait a bit given you're significantly above that time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zeshan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I got 489 Visa in March 2013 and in March 2015, I have fulfilled 2 years requirement and I have worked 1 year full time. I wanted to apply for 887 visa now, I have a question that when I was on 489 visa I visited my family overseas couple of times and I was out side Australia for about 4 months in total, now in this situation do I have to wait further 4 months to fulfill 2 year requirement or I can apply now as its already 2 years passed on 489 visa. Secondly if I apply now and by the time when processing commence on my application it will be already about 2 years. Because processing will commence about after 3 months.
> 
> Your early response will be highly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lucky21289 -

Don't have enough info about your circumstances to give you specific advice, but the scenario you suggested sounds good. Make sure the 189 application is fully lodged before you withdraw the previous application, however make sure you withdraw prior to refusal - if the 485 is refused prior to your 189 application, you'll have a problem. BV-C's are normally issued without work rights by default, but you can apply to add work rights by demonstrating financial hardship (your monthly expenses exceed your assets/income if you don't work).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lucky21289 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just graduated last year from Usyd vet science and I have applied for 485 at the beginning of March. My student visa has expired about 3 weeks ago and I'm on my bridging visa A now.
> 
> However, I have not done my police check prior to the application (totally because I have overlooked that part) and was advised by my case officer a few days ago that my 2 options are to withdraw the application or to be refused.
> 
> It did give me a shock as I do believe I have fulfilled all the requirements to apply for a 485 (OET, skill assessment and medical check up are all done). I have just started on a new job and I'm really enjoying it. I have been reading on the immi website and it seems like if I withdraw the application and reapply for a 485 once I received my police check, I would be granted a bridging visa C which does not allow me to work.
> 
> Fortunately, I have also received my 189 invitation 2 weeks ago. So to my understanding, if I apply for 189 and withdraw my 485 now, I would be granted a bridging visa C as well but for this one I would have to right to work? I just want to double check with you whether this would be my best option and what other options do I have on hand.
> 
> Thank you so much and I'm looking forward to hear from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jollyjoe -

Generally DIBP will require proof of payment of some kind for all periods of work experience claimed for points. This can be either payslips, tax document, bank statement, or some sort of third party evidence to show you were paid by the company for those periods.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jollyjoe said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you're fantastic!
> I'm planning to apply for 189 and I've total 3 years of experience as a software engineer.
> 
> I've have worked from July 2008 to Aug 2009 for company A & from Jan 2013 to Jan 2014 worked for company B & from Feb 2014 till date I'm working for company C.
> 
> I've all the documents like payslip, joining/increment letter, bank statement, IT returns etc. for the current company but for the previous two companies I don't have bank statement & IT returns but I've the rest of the documents.
> 
> My concern is for my previous experience (company A & B), will ACS or DIBP require bank statement and IT return docs for the period 2008 to 2009 and from 2013 to 2014?
> 
> Many thanks,
> Jollyjoe


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi clgb.21 -

Only credit cards are allowed for online applications via ImmiAccount.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



clgb.21 said:


> Hello Mark! I'm a newbie here and I just have a question regarding visa application. I am planning to apply visa through ImmiAccount but I'm not sure what payment method is acceptable. Is wire transfer acceptable and will just scan the receipt or only credit card payments are acceptable? Thank you in advance for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tryme5 -

Completely dependent on your individual circumstances. 461 application on board can help increase the chances a bit, but still mostly dependent on your circumstances, whether children involved, applicant ties to home country, and the rest of the genuine visitor policy criteria.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tryme5 said:


> Hi Mark
> What are the chances of getting tourist visa when subclass 461 is being processed..? Please advise
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KT1 -

Wish I could predict, but it's entirely and completely unpredictable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KT1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Many thanks for the suggestions.
> 
> Meantime I took the opportunity to inform my CO providing copies of my flight details with the intention to visit using ETA. And requested to be updated if the application is ready to be granted so that I can be offshore.
> 
> My CO acknowledged it and added that my 309 application is at the final assessment stage and progressing well. However the application is not ready for finalisation currently.
> 
> Would you be able to "evaluate from experience" how soon would it be granted?
> 
> Thanks Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bubu_australia -

Thanks for the note - I'd check other threads here on the forum that are all about partner visa evidence to see what other people have been successful with. Too detailed for me to address here on the forum, would be happy to assist at a consultation if you'd like - see website in my signature below for more on this.

Best,

Mark



bubu_australia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for the partner visa in Australian immigration and I am having difficult in providing proof of the following questions as I don't understand what documents to provide for the following, they are:
> 
> *History of your relationship:*
> 
> Statements from you and your partner about:
> 
> 1. how, when and where you first met
> 2. how your relationship developed
> 3. when you decided to marry or to start a de facto relationship
> 4. your domestic arrangements (how you support each other financially, physically and emotionally and when this level of commitment began)
> 5. any periods of separation (when and why the separation occurred, for how long and how you maintained your relationship during the period of separation)
> 6. your future plans.
> 
> *The nature of the household:*
> 
> 1. Documents to show that you and your partner share responsibilities in your household, such as:
> your living arrangements
> 2. a statement about the way housework is distributed
> 
> *The nature of your commitment to each other:*
> 
> Documents to show your commitment to each other:
> 
> 1. knowledge of each other's personal circumstances (for example, background and family situation, which could be established at interview)
> 2. intention that your relationship will be long-term (for example, the extent to which you have combined your affairs)
> the terms of your wills
> 3. correspondence and itemised phone accounts to show that contact was maintained during any period of separation.
> 
> Thanks in Advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samanthayang -

Thanks for the notes and kind words. Photos are not absolutely required, but are the most common form of social aspects evidence. You may want to make up a list of what was submitted and get a second opinion from another registered migration agent as to whether the relationship evidence submitted is likely to be satisfactory to DIBP. This will be helped by copies of the evidence if you have them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Samanthayang said:


> Hello Mark !
> I just applied visa 309 yesterday for my partner who is in nepal. an agent helped us out to prepare all the documents ! As I checked I didnt see any photos (they didnt ask us to supply any) or either form 888, and some other evidence..
> Is there any chance that the Case officer will make decisions without asking us for more evidence ?
> Also, I am currently not working at the moment so will that be possible to sponsor my partner or there are other ways like having an amount of fund in my bank ?
> Thank you and God bless you for your kindness !
> Happy Easter Mark ! If you let us knoe your postal address, I'm sure that it will be full of thank you cards and gifts !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John79 -

That may work depending on the school - you might also include descriptive info about the school from a website, brochure, etc to make it very clear that the school delivers courses in English. Contact info for the person writing the letter will also be helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



john79 said:


> hi mark, you are doing great....My question is regarding Functional english proof of my wife. I have gone through the details at immi.gov.au regarding that.Thers are lotst of options there to prove functional english. The best that suits me is
> _*
> Completed all years of primary education and at least three years of secondary education in an educational institution in or outside Australia and all instructions were in English.*_
> 
> my question is that
> if i provide the such certificate from school principal than would it be sufficent .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bals4127 -

Thanks for the note - there are a number of tricky issues with what you said that need to be explored in detail, including whether your work experience/fellowship. It not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



bals4127 said:


> Hello,
> I wanted to apply for PR during my second year of PhD, provided that,
> 
> 1. I am on student visa for PhD with fellowship in Australia.
> 
> 2. I have three year of research experience as Junior (2yr) and Senior (1yr) research fellow in Plant Biochemistry after completing Master in Botany from India. This monthly fellowship was tax free, so I don't have a salary slip, however, I have an appointment letter mentioning fellowship amount and bank account statement showing monthly deposit of fellowship.
> 
> 3. I have valid IELTS with more than 7 in each module.
> 
> 4. In addition, through out my education I have secured first class in exams.
> 
> 5. Completed 1 year and two months of PhD studies in Australia.
> 
> 6. My spouse is also doing PhD in Australia for past two year.
> 
> 7. I have research publications to support my research experience.
> 
> So my questions are:
> 
> 1. Am I eligible to apply for PR based on above education and work experience?
> 
> 2. Will the appointment letter and bank account statement act as a proof of salary slip/payment slip?
> 
> Please guide me.
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naqvi -

Thanks for the questions - as their requirements and policies can change from time to time, I would suggest calling ACS directly to get the clarifications you need. Normally a stat dec provided instead of an employer ref letter does not result in a lesser assessment, however ACS (and DIBP later on in the visa process) would need to be convinced that the stat dec is genuine, etc - there is a large amount of document fraud in this area, and these types of stat decs are often treated with suspicion.

Best,

Mark



faraznaqvi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Before i put up my questions, I must appreciate generosity of your time and efforts that you put in to respond to people's question, commendable indeed.
> 
> As i understood from the ACS guidelines, that one could submit Statutory Declaration for Job Description in cases where either current employer could not provide it or the applicant anticipate potential employment issues with the company, as a result of knowing employee's intentions. I do have the employment reference letter from the current employer but duties/responsibilities are not mentioned there as is generally the case here in Pakistan.
> 
> I'll try to keep my questions short and to the point (ACS is my skill assessor):
> 
> 1) Does Statutory Declaration for Job Description (duties/responsibilities) reduce the applicant's score?
> 
> 2) The declaration is "sworn" in by the referee (not by the application) and also needs a witness?
> 
> 3) The referee can be any colleague who can witness, not necessarily the manager in case if the manager is already left?
> 
> 4) All educational and work related documents needs to be reproduced (scanned, printed) and verified by notary public? [As in some cases i learnt that documents were processed, by authority other than ACS, without being testified except the declaration]
> 
> 5) Can people submit other documents like Appointment Letters, Promotion Letters, Payslips to prove the authenticity of the declaration and the application in general?
> 
> Thanks and regards,
> Naqvi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prasad -

These are typically running 3-4 months in many cases - I'd wait another month or so - these processing times are very unpredictable however, and DIBP puts no time limits on itself for the time it takes to process a visa.

Best,

Mark



prasad said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> Trust you are doing good.
> Have applied for my PR on 3 feb 2015 (Under 189 category)..I have seen ppl applying after me have got there Visa..
> 
> Is it advisable to call them up & check the status of my application or have to wait more.
> Little worried as no CO allocation yet . have uploaded all the documents including PCC and medicals last week.
> 
> Regards,
> Prasad


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jezzam -

This sort of thing is more common than many people think. The appeals process can run on for 1+ years through MRT and Ministerial Intervention, sometimes Federal Court. Wish there was something to be done, but only answer is changing the system - but how do you do that without disrupting the rights for genuine victims of family violence - that's the question!

Best,

Mark Northam



jezzam said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am hoping you can spare a few minutes for an answer to this one - regarding Immigration fraud.
> 
> Quite a few people are being affected by a certain individual's complete misuse of the immigration system at the moment and I'm hoping that we can get some clarity.
> 
> The applicant applied and was granted the Provisional Resident visa, based on marriage to the visa sponsor. While they were waiting for the 2 years to be up, and for permanent residency to be considered, the applicant was found to be having an affair. In addition it was also found that the original visa application had been made fraudulently as the applicant was also in a long term relationship with another person (not in Australia) for the duration of the relationship and marriage to the visa sponsor. Immigration has been provided evidence of this and other evidence regarding lack of genuine intent towards the visa sponsor.
> The visa sponsor withdrew the sponsorship.
> The applicant then attempted to secure permanent residency via a claim of domestic violence against the visa sponsor. When immigration wanted to confirm the genuine nature of the relationship and address the above allegations, rather than address these, the applicant convinced the visa sponsor to reconcile (approximately 8 months after withdrawing the visa sponsorship)
> 
> My question is this: if the visa sponsor wanted to reinstate the sponsorship of this person's visa, would this be possible considering that there is so much evidence that the visa application was never genuine?
> 
> Common sense tells me that this application should be dead in the water, but we are all (all the people who have been taken advantage of in this situation) wondering how the applicant is still here so long after all this happened.
> 
> I sincerely thank you all for reading and for any information that can be given.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mreza -

Based on what you said, the work experience would not be counted since it was before the completion date (Mar 2015) of your degree. Note that this is for a full skills assessment - a 485 visa skills assessment (for 485 visa only, considers only qualification) for an Australian qual generally does not require any work experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mreza said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> I need your opinion about ACS assessment procedure, would be thankful for your time in advance.
> 
> I have recently graduated from School of Information Technologies at the University of Sydney with a PhD degree in computer science. I want to apply for permanent residency visa, which needs to apply for Post Australian Study Skills Assessment trough ACS organization first.
> 
> There is a phrase in page 3 of Skills-Assessment-Guidelines pdf document which make me somehow confused, i.e.,
> " 1 year of relevant work experience completed after the completion date of the relevant Australian degree as a requirements for a suitable skills assessment"
> 
> My confusion raised because of phrase "completed after" above. My work and graduation situations are as follows actually:
> 
> my completion date of PhD degree is 9 March 2015 from the Uni. of Sydney.
> I have some relevant work experience as follows:
> 9 months work in a company from March 2014 till Dec 2014
> 3 months work in another company from Jan 2015 till 20 Mach 2015.
> 
> My question is that based on the completion date of both my work experience (in 2 different companies) & my graduate degree, will my work experience be considered as a suitable skills assessment or not?
> 
> Thanks again for your time and care.
> 
> Reza


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Happy to assist you in a consultation to go into this in more detail, however it may be a bit weak for a partner visa application at this point, based on the evidence you mentioned. However would need to look at the specific evidence in order to give you advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



confusedgirl730 said:


> Im annie. Im just confused if its time for us to lodge our partner visa or wait for a little more time.
> I came in australia last january 2014 on student visa. I met my partner (Australian citizen) in may and we lived together in september.
> We had our relationship registered in november 2014 (qld)
> We also have our joint bank account (savings)
> But we dont have bills on our name together. We are renting a private granny flat and water, electricity and internet are included.
> I was able to save some of our groceries receipt.
> And our gifts last christmas and bdays
> We have 3 stat decs (his son, my friend, one mutual friend)
> We dont have much photos together and dont have joint trips.
> Im just confused if we have a chance for this. My visa is expiring in may.
> I appreciate all your advice
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mike88 -

Best to consult a family lawyer re: valid marriage requirements. Re: future visa, depends on what visa they want to apply for - ie, skilled, employer sponsored, etc. Marriage, if valid when married, would likely be considered in a future visa application, but marriage between 2 people who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents, doesn't have any special entitlements under immigration law. One person would still need to qualify for a visa to return - the partner could likely be included in the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mike88 said:


> Hi Mark, hope you are doing well and had a great Easter holiday
> 
> Just want to ask a quick question on behalf of my friend
> 
> My friends Marco and Jessica (both are non Aussie resident, from overseas) intend to marry & do the marriage registration here in Melbourne as well as for holiday.
> However, after they finish their ceremony and holiday here, they want to go back to their home country and not live here, not at least for a few years.
> 
> So my question on their behalf is...are the marriage law valid here? Like can they come back to Australia and apply the visa say 4 years later even BOTH are non resident here or one has to been an Aussie citizen? If so, what visa do they need to apply a few years later?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Mike


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samy -

No requirement for parental consent or approval for partner relationships - in some cases lack of support from all parents can cause DIBP to be suspicious, but there are many cases where one set of parents is not aware of a relationship because the couple has decided not to disclose it for religious, cultural, etc reasons. Immi would not request approval letter from parents. Age gap can be an issue that causes DIBP to take a closer look at an application if the gap is 10+ years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



samy said:


> Hi Mark
> Firstly you have been a great help for all of us out here...so much thankful to you sir ..
> Mark I hope u can help me ..my situation is very much unusual...we have applied for offshore partner's visa 309 about 8 months back ..we have been in a genuine relationship from past 3 years and even got it registered with NSW government ..submitted piles of evidence showing we are truly committed towards each other ....
> Now the actual problem start...my parents are not aware of our relationship(and if they find out will possibly create problems) they not going to accept it due to cultural religion differences and age gap ..
> however I have met my partners family in australia and they r happy abt our relationship.
> MY question :1) can immigration refuse my application as my parents r not aware or not happy about of our relationship ..
> 2)can immi request for willingness letter from parents
> 3)does age gap matters ...
> (Note : I spend about 5 years in australia as a student)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Janani -

Yes, have heard about them limiting or stopping some skilled categories until the new fiscal year begins (1 July). No way I know of to see where you are at in the process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Janani Hari said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Have you heard anything about the delay in processing for subclass 190 visa? I lodged my application on Jan 22nd 2015, case officer asked for Form 80 on Feb 24th, uploaded on March 3rd . When I contacted the officer I received an email stating that places for 190 are almost being filled for this programme year and that there would either be a delay in processing the application or grant wont be given until July 1st 2015. I wanted to know if you are aware of the number of places remaining for this programme year in this category and is there any way for me to find out where in the queue my application stands. Thanks for your time.
> 
> Regards,
> Janani


----------



## MarkNortham

hi Will.i.am -

No - you only need to be "ordinarily resident" in Australia (and an Australian permanent resident) or Australian citizen to sponsor for a partner visa. The 2-year "settled in Australia" rule does not apply to partner or fiance visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



will.i.am said:


> Hi Marc,
> 
> My question is about 300 and 309 Partner Visa. According to the information in Partner Visa booklet one of the requirements for 300/309 visa applicant is TO BE SPONSORED. In my case I will be a sponsor. The question is: is it true that I have to live permanently at least 2 years in Australia prior my fiancee (or spouse if we decide to marry) will be eligible to apply for 300 or 309 visa?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi NYtoTAS -

Not a silly question at all! For each person (for online partner visa application), you only need to upload 1 copy of a scanned passport photo for each person.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



NYtoTAS said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> This is probably a silly question, but can the two recent passport-sized photographs (45 mm x 35 mm) of each person included in the 820 online application be the same photo? My partner and I got our photos individually taken at the post office and received (6) copies of these photos.
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Elizabeth


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Giang -

Yes, the 457 visa for your partner will likely have a must-enter-by date - he'd need to enter by that date in order to activate the visa. However this is usually several months into the future.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



giang said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am applying for a *457 visa*. My partner has been included.
> I was wondering if the Secondary Visa Applicant is obligated to arrive within certain time. Due to some personal commitments, my partner won't be able to travel with me and will only be able to join me in about six months. Does anybody know if that is acceptable?
> Thanks for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Depending on how the ETA is configured, yes. If you are still in Australia, legally "holding" the visa (ie, within a stay period allowed by the visa, even if the stay period goes beyond the expiation date of the visa - read carefully!), and the visa does not have condition 8503 (no further stay) or any other condition that would prevent an onshore application on it, then you should be able to lodge an onshore partner visa application while in Australia during the stay period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jennyxo said:


> Hi mark!
> 
> Hope you are doing good.
> 
> I'm going to Australia on ETA 601 and my ETA will expire the month later I arrive. I'm planing on staying for 3 months.
> Is it possible to apply partner visa on shore after my ETA visa expire?
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## samy

Hi Mark, I really appreciate and very much thankful for your reply ...Yes you are right DIBP going to have a closer look at our application cause of huge age gap .
Just to be more elaborate, we have a age gap of 20 years with her being older one .
But on the other hand we have lived together from past 3 years, submitted all supporting doc like registration of relationship certificate, joint financial a/c,joint electricity bills, joint home content insurance , joint car insurance, telephone bills on my name, water bills her name,joint roadside assistance, superannuation beneficiary(from both), strata and council her name, my name on testament last will, 3 stat dec from aus citizens, photos,travelling proofs (within australia)etc,,
Mark do you think are these all supporting documents are enough (or )immigration will still give me hard time .
Thanking you ...
Samy


----------



## khizarqadri92

Hi Mark,
I belong to Pakistan and by profession I am a Software Engineer. I have more than 7 years of experience in this field. I want immigration to Australia. I need your help in this regard.


----------



## bubble

*Translation for birth certificate*

Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot in advance for your help.

My question is hopefully simple. I am Spanish but I am lodging my application in the UK, so I need to translate my birth certificate. I have asked the Europe Service by email and they had told me I don't need to provide certified copies of documents, only color copies.

Regarding translations, I know they need to be made by an accredited translator, but does the translation need to be sworn translation or is it enough with a normal translation with the stamp of the company?

Thank you very much.


----------



## ES2013

Hi Mark,
My Partner has applied for an offshore 309 Visa and we applied on the 1st of January 2015. I have attached everything however im in the process of uploading forms 80.
I have not recieved any correspondence from a Case Officer until now. Is it normal? When should they be contacting us?
Also, my partner needs to do the Health Check- do you recommend he do it now or wait for when its asked for? (since its valid for 12 months?) and lastly is the Polio Vaccination apart of the Health Check or does he need to do that separately? Does the Polio Vaccination, also have a 'period until its valid for' or is it a once of thing?

-I do apologize for the questions! 
Thanks


----------



## dani_l_2014

Hi Mark, 
I applied for an offshore 820 visa in December. Since applying, my partner and I have gotten engaged. My partner received a job offer in Australia and returned yesterday, while I continue to work in Canada and await my visa application decision. My question to you is -- I have a potential job opportunity starting in June and was wondering if there is a bridging visa I can apply for that would allow me to work full-time? While in Australia previously I was on the Working Holiday visa and did not complete any rural work therefore I am unable to apply for the 2nd Working Holiday visa. I have tried navigating through the immi.gov.au website but thought it would be beneficial to ask someone with your experience. 

Thank you in advance for your help.


----------



## syd

*820 application : previous relationship dates*

Hello Mark,

Just a quick query:

When answering the question re dates for previous relationship/marriage, am I expected to put the date I became separated from my ex-husband or should I put the date the divorce was granted.

My current relationship began while I was separated from my ex-husband (IMMI is aware of this due to visitor visa applications) and the divorce became final in December 2014.

I got married last week and preparing to apply for 820.

Thanks for your help


----------



## Emma098

*hi mark*

Hi mark
I will apply for defacto visa next month. The situation is my partner and me are living under his parent's house. I think i should need his parent statement to prove I have been lived here for 1 year.

However, They not sure how to write the statement.
Could you please give me some point which can make them easier to write.

Thanks


----------



## pandeyg

*Software Tester or Analyst Programmer*

Hi Marc
I have around 5 years of experience in the field of Software testing. I want to apply for Australian PR in 189 subclass, but the issue is the jobcode 261314:Software Tester lies in the subclass 190 i.e., Consolidated Skilled Occupations List.
There is one Job Code 261311:Analyst Programmer which very closely matches with my profile.
Can I go for it? Can it affect my application?
Please help!

Regards
Gaurav


----------



## deepak01

Hello mark. I am enquiring about 457 visa. Last year i didn't take any four weeks paid annual leave and even I am not going overseas this year. So Can I apply my PR when I finish my 22 month or have to wait till I finish 24 months.
Also one more thing , I was thinking to include my parents in my 457 visa because thy fully depend on me now. If I can do that how much is immigration please. Thanks


----------



## A.Naji

Hey Mark,
6 months now without a student visa as you can tell. Would you recommend I contact my CO at this point? I am curious to know how the deteriorating security condition in my home country (which I never resided in) will affect the integrity of my application. I've applied way long before this misfortune happened, it's not like I had some foresight into the issue. 

I am confused as to whether I should bug my CO with this timing. On my last contact, the CO claimed my application is undergoing "internal checks" with no specific time frame -- on the other hand, I need to know the progress of things so that I can pull out of my institution in time (due to refunding policies). My case is already demoralizing and time ruining for me to stay patient and calm


----------



## John83

Hi Mark,
First, thanks so much for your help.
Just to explain my situation, I am still on a Working holiday visa (first year) which will finish on the 22nd of July, My girlfriend is Australian Citizen and we're waiting a baby due the 8th of July (hopefully), we met each other on my first visit in Australia in February 2014,and living together since I came back on the 22nd of July 2014.
I am working on a casual basis with 5 companies in Melbourne and soon will ring the bells of my WHV 6 months limit (about 1 months for the last ones).
I wanted to apply for a partner visa before the 12 months period has passed. 
Using the fact that we are waiting a baby but after few researchs on the forum, I realised I can't do that until the baby is born (which, after all, sounds logic..)
First question: Is that 100% right?
Second question: supposing I could apply for any other visa before the end of my WHV, is The bridging visa would start from the application day or, after the end of my WHV (Which sounds logic too but I need to make sure).
The goals of my questions are just that I'd like to keep my jobs, leaving the WHV ASAP...
Thanks again for your precious help.


----------



## Samanthayang

Hello Mark, hope you are doing well.
I have a question about the statutory declaration for my husband's 309 visa. So I understand that we need atleast 2 declarations from 2 australian permanent resident. is that possible if we submit more declaretions from non-resident ones like the people from Australia and from my husband's country. Can I just scan the already signed and certified ones to him so he can submit or I need to post the originals ?
Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samy -

They will take a close look nonetheless, but it sounds like you have some good relationship evidence.

Best,

Mark



samy said:


> Hi Mark, I really appreciate and very much thankful for your reply ...Yes you are right DIBP going to have a closer look at our application cause of huge age gap .
> Just to be more elaborate, we have a age gap of 20 years with her being older one .
> But on the other hand we have lived together from past 3 years, submitted all supporting doc like registration of relationship certificate, joint financial a/c,joint electricity bills, joint home content insurance , joint car insurance, telephone bills on my name, water bills her name,joint roadside assistance, superannuation beneficiary(from both), strata and council her name, my name on testament last will, 3 stat dec from aus citizens, photos,travelling proofs (within australia)etc,,
> Mark do you think are these all supporting documents are enough (or )immigration will still give me hard time .
> Thanking you ...
> Samy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Khizarqardi92 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



khizarqadri92 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I belong to Pakistan and by profession I am a Software Engineer. I have more than 7 years of experience in this field. I want immigration to Australia. I need your help in this regard.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bubble -

Doesn't need to be sworn, but does need to have stamp of translator and contact info - we often use Professional Immigration Translation Services - The Migration Translators - cheap, quick, and everything is done via email. Note that the translator should be NAATI qualified, or equivalent in your country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bubble said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot in advance for your help.
> 
> My question is hopefully simple. I am Spanish but I am lodging my application in the UK, so I need to translate my birth certificate. I have asked the Europe Service by email and they had told me I don't need to provide certified copies of documents, only color copies.
> 
> Regarding translations, I know they need to be made by an accredited translator, but does the translation need to be sworn translation or is it enough with a normal translation with the stamp of the company?
> 
> Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ES2013 -

Normally offshore partner visa applications will be sent an "Acknowledgement of Application" letter between 1-3 weeks after they receive it, depending on how quickly they record the application on their systems. After that, they may not contact you until a decision is reached or they need more info. We're advising people to wait for medical exams until asked these days, as partner visa processing time is becoming longer. Re: Polio cert (if applicable - see https://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/health-requirements/threats-public-health.htm for more on this) - it can be provided either at time of application or time of medical exam (ie, provide the polio cert to the medical examiner).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ES2013 said:


> Hi Mark,
> My Partner has applied for an offshore 309 Visa and we applied on the 1st of January 2015. I have attached everything however im in the process of uploading forms 80.
> I have not recieved any correspondence from a Case Officer until now. Is it normal? When should they be contacting us?
> Also, my partner needs to do the Health Check- do you recommend he do it now or wait for when its asked for? (since its valid for 12 months?) and lastly is the Polio Vaccination apart of the Health Check or does he need to do that separately? Does the Polio Vaccination, also have a 'period until its valid for' or is it a once of thing?
> 
> -I do apologize for the questions!
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dani_I_2014 -

An offshore partner visa is actually a subclass 309/100 application (not 820 - 820/801 is if you apply onshore) where there is no bridging visa available from that application. No good way to get a temporary working visa from the 309/100 application - you could see if the company wanted to sponsor you for a subclass 457 temporary skilled work visa. Some people, where money is no issue, have even come to Australia on a visitor visa (without the No Further Stay condition) and relodged a new onshore partner visa just to get the bridging visa (with work rights) that comes with that application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dani_l_2014 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I applied for an offshore 820 visa in December. Since applying, my partner and I have gotten engaged. My partner received a job offer in Australia and returned yesterday, while I continue to work in Canada and await my visa application decision. My question to you is -- I have a potential job opportunity starting in June and was wondering if there is a bridging visa I can apply for that would allow me to work full-time? While in Australia previously I was on the Working Holiday visa and did not complete any rural work therefore I am unable to apply for the 2nd Working Holiday visa. I have tried navigating through the immi.gov.au website but thought it would be beneficial to ask someone with your experience.
> 
> Thank you in advance for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Syd -

Normally people will put the date their divorce was granted, however it's up to your individual circumstances - if there is a signifiant time difference (ie, relationship ended considerably before the divorce date), you could include a letter explaining this and commenting on the circumstances (ie, when you were separated, the relationship was over, no type of relationship existed during that time, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



syd said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Just a quick query:
> 
> When answering the question re dates for previous relationship/marriage, am I expected to put the date I became separated from my ex-husband or should I put the date the divorce was granted.
> 
> My current relationship began while I was separated from my ex-husband (IMMI is aware of this due to visitor visa applications) and the divorce became final in December 2014.
> 
> I got married last week and preparing to apply for 820.
> 
> Thanks for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma098 -

For defacto applicants, proof of living together is very important. If you don't have lease, the letter or statement from the person who you are living with should include both of your names, a statement that both of you have been living at the house since (insert date), and that both of you continue to live there. It can also include something like "The applicant and sponsor occupy a single bedroom where they both sleep." to show that you are living together in the same room. Should be signed, and include name, address, phone and email (if any) for the person writing the letter so DIBP can contact them to confirm if necessary. You might also check out registering your relationship, as that can eliminate the 12-month living together requirement for defacto partner visas - all states except WA and SA offer this - more info here: https://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/35relationship.htm

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emma098 said:


> Hi mark
> I will apply for defacto visa next month. The situation is my partner and me are living under his parent's house. I think i should need his parent statement to prove I have been lived here for 1 year.
> 
> However, They not sure how to write the statement.
> Could you please give me some point which can make them easier to write.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Guarav -

Much depends on whether you can get a positive skills assessment for the occupation you're interested in - suggest you read the following ACS document very carefully to see if your work experience and education would align with the code you're interested in: https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/7641/ANZSCO-Descriptions-2015.pdf

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pandeyg said:


> Hi Marc
> I have around 5 years of experience in the field of Software testing. I want to apply for Australian PR in 189 subclass, but the issue is the jobcode 261314:Software Tester lies in the subclass 190 i.e., Consolidated Skilled Occupations List.
> There is one Job Code 261311:Analyst Programmer which very closely matches with my profile.
> Can I go for it? Can it affect my application?
> Please help!
> 
> Regards
> Gaurav


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deepak01 -

As long as you continued to be employed during the leave periods, you need to be employed for 24 months while holding a 457 visa for the TRT pathway for the ENS or RSMS visas. Very difficult if not impossible to get parents included, as dependents cannot be married, and must be living under the same roof as you. If you want to explore options for parents, suggest you consult with a migration agent to go through the specific requirements for dependency.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



deepak01 said:


> Hello mark. I am enquiring about 457 visa. Last year i didn't take any four weeks paid annual leave and even I am not going overseas this year. So Can I apply my PR when I finish my 22 month or have to wait till I finish 24 months.
> Also one more thing , I was thinking to include my parents in my 457 visa because thy fully depend on me now. If I can do that how much is immigration please. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi A. Naji -

Sorry to hear this - all you can do is to contact DIBP and try to get what information out of them you can. They put no time limits on their processing times, so they can take as long as they want - wish I had better news!

Best,

Mark



A.Naji said:


> Hey Mark,
> 6 months now without a student visa as you can tell. Would you recommend I contact my CO at this point? I am curious to know how the deteriorating security condition in my home country (which I never resided in) will affect the integrity of my application. I've applied way long before this misfortune happened, it's not like I had some foresight into the issue.
> 
> I am confused as to whether I should bug my CO with this timing. On my last contact, the CO claimed my application is undergoing "internal checks" with no specific time frame -- on the other hand, I need to know the progress of things so that I can pull out of my institution in time (due to refunding policies). My case is already demoralizing and time ruining for me to stay patient and calm


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John83 -

Thanks for the question. Can't give you specific advice for your case as I don't have enough information about your particular circumstances, however having a child (born) is generally enough to get the 12 month living together requirement waived for de facto partner visas; also registering your relationship will get it waived. If neither is possible then you'll need to likely find another visa to stay (or get married, which eliminates the 12 month living together requirement). However, do not make the mistake as many have by getting a bridging visa for something, and then lodging the partner visa while you're on a bridging visa - that is likely to activate Schedule 3 which these days is a world of trouble. Again, while the baby would likely be enough to satisfy Schedule 3, there is no guarantee of that as the policy that allowed for an automatic exemption for couples with children for Schedule 3 was deleted in July 2014.

I'd strongly look into registering your relationship - short of that, you might consult with a migration agent to find a visa to apply for for the interim time (maybe a student visa or 457 visa) and deal with any Sched 3 issues that may arise.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



John83 said:


> Hi Mark,
> First, thanks so much for your help.
> Just to explain my situation, I am still on a Working holiday visa (first year) which will finish on the 22nd of July, My girlfriend is Australian Citizen and we're waiting a baby due the 8th of July (hopefully), we met each other on my first visit in Australia in February 2014,and living together since I came back on the 22nd of July 2014.
> I am working on a casual basis with 5 companies in Melbourne and soon will ring the bells of my WHV 6 months limit (about 1 months for the last ones).
> I wanted to apply for a partner visa before the 12 months period has passed.
> Using the fact that we are waiting a baby but after few researchs on the forum, I realised I can't do that until the baby is born (which, after all, sounds logic..)
> First question: Is that 100% right?
> Second question: supposing I could apply for any other visa before the end of my WHV, is The bridging visa would start from the application day or, after the end of my WHV (Which sounds logic too but I need to make sure).
> The goals of my questions are just that I'd like to keep my jobs, leaving the WHV ASAP...
> Thanks again for your precious help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samanthayang -

No problem submitting more than the required 2 - additional ones can be on Form 888, or simply signed statements. If on Form 888, should be properly witnessed per instructions on the form, if not on Form 888, should include a copy of the writer's passport biodata page. Colour scanned copies of all are fine for online 309/100 application, no need to make certified copies, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Samanthayang said:


> Hello Mark, hope you are doing well.
> I have a question about the statutory declaration for my husband's 309 visa. So I understand that we need atleast 2 declarations from 2 australian permanent resident. is that possible if we submit more declaretions from non-resident ones like the people from Australia and from my husband's country. Can I just scan the already signed and certified ones to him so he can submit or I need to post the originals ?
> Thank you.


----------



## Samanthayang

Thanks for your reply !
Another question, as I am the sponsor and I am going to Vietnam for 3 months to visit my family. Will there be any chance that I get interviewed ? 
Also, as we didn't have any joint bills but bank accounts and we didn't have photos taken with other people, it was always us 2. Will that be the matter for the visa decision ?
We got refused one for our Onshore ( for schedule 3) and we are now on the offshore and the previous CO said that he didn't doubt our relationship and it was just because my husband was on bridging visa. Does that mean our relationship is genuine in their record ?
Sorry for tons of questions !


----------



## kulots

Hi, Mark! I intend to apply my mother for a tourist visa. Can I invite her even though I'm unemployed since I got here last 2013?thank you..


----------



## ES2013

Hi mark,
I have applied for visa 309/100 online. However it's been 3 months and I still have not submitted just some documents due to family circumstances. Is it true that we get only 6 weeks to submit everything after we enitially submit our application???


----------



## ES2013

Hi Mark or anyone! 
I have applied through Immi and write up my statement of history of relationship and done a statutory declaration. However does anyone know which section we upload the statement in?


----------



## fifalex

Hi Mark! Thanks for your previous reply. It has been quite informative.

I have an inquiry on the type of IELTS test that one needs to take in relation to the skill one applies under the Skilled migrant route.

There are 2 IELTS tests there is a general practice IELTS test and an academic one. Now usually the academic one is reserved for students who want to enroll in university and the general practice one is fine for people who just want to obtain points for immigration. However this is not always the case and I was wondering in my case whether I need to take the academic one considering I will be applying as a solicitor as opposed to a carpenter or builder. Can you advice on this?

Kind Regards
Alex


----------



## m_d_p29

*USA PCC fingerprints rejected twice*

Hi Mark,

I have applied for 189 visa in Sept 2014. My application is waiting on my wife's USA PCC, but her fingerprints were rejected for the second time. I have already waited for 8 months now. I have made all the efforts I could to get the best fingerprints, but all in vain.

In the meantime, I also gave the state police clearance for the state in which I stayed for the entire duration in USA.

1. Can this be considered as a valid document to waive of FBI PCC requirement given my situation? If not, please suggest what should be done further as I really do not hope of any results if I send the fingerprints again. Can I give a legal character declaration. Can this be considered as a valid document in lieu of a fbi pcc?

2. If they ask me to continue pursuing for FBI PCC, can i withdraw my wife's application and go ahead with mine and my daughter's application and then apply my wife's visa under partner visa category (Visa 309/100)? I understand this will also have character requirement, but this will help me buy some time and also give me some time to settle down in Australia while my wife's application is being processed.

Please advise. I would really appreciate your help on this.

Thanks,


----------



## Emma098

*thanks*

Hi Mark,
Thanks for your help. 
Seems I can't register our relationship because we are in Perth WA.is that correct?

Anyway, so i just told his parent to write a statement for us.

Thanks
Emma



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Emma098 -
> 
> For defacto applicants, proof of living together is very important. If you don't have lease, the letter or statement from the person who you are living with should include both of your names, a statement that both of you have been living at the house since (insert date), and that both of you continue to live there. It can also include something like "The applicant and sponsor occupy a single bedroom where they both sleep." to show that you are living together in the same room. Should be signed, and include name, address, phone and email (if any) for the person writing the letter so DIBP can contact them to confirm if necessary. You might also check out registering your relationship, as that can eliminate the 12-month living together requirement for defacto partner visas - all states except WA and SA offer this - more info here: https://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/35relationship.htm
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## SWG

*SubClass 189 Renewal*

Hello Mark!
I got my Visa subclass 189 last October, and did my first Entry last February, then left for another job in another country. I know that i should at least stay in Australia for the period of 2 years from the 5 years to be able to re-new my visa (apply for RRV for another 5 years), but is there any exceptions to this rule that would made me renew the visa if i stayed for a period less than 2 years? Like having properities in Australia?
I'd appreciate if you share any exceptions.
Thanks for your help and time


----------



## Ria

*Form 40CH*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ria -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Yes, 2 separate applications. Each one would have a 40sp, but you can make a copy of the form to use twice.
> 
> Re: other documents, if you are doing the visa without a migration agent, best to very carefully read the document checklist on the DIBP site for your visa and make sure you include everything required. Re: biological father, important to include Form 1229 plus some sort of court or legal documents if possible depending on his circumstances, showing that he has some sort of say over where the children live and has clearly said that he is OK with the kids migrating permanently to Australia.
> 
> Re: medical check, these are valid for 1 year, so if longer than that, they will likely require them again, but you might wait and see if they ask for them.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, 
There's a question on the form 40CH where it asked "are you in a partner relationship?" And if yes you fill out your partners details etc. and you get your partners signature as an acknowledgment of the application.
My question is, if you answer no on that section for example you are no longer in any relationship, do they still have to sign the form, the form doesn't elaborate on that. What happens when your partner doesn't want to help you with the application? At the moment I am still living with my partner, but when my kids are here we might not, can I still use his address on the application?
Please help, I'm going back to my country in June to submit the applications, my kids are offshore.
Thanks in advance.


----------



## deepak01

*457*

Thanks lot mark, as I am only the son and my elder sister is married and younger going to marry soon. So there will no one with my parents to look after them, they are 59 year old. I have uncles live near by to my parents house but they just look after their family and kids. I am just worried about them. 
And also if I include my parents in 457 visa, how much is immigration fees. I am also bit worried, if I do that, it will effect my visa. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samanthayang -

Yes, certainly a chance of an interview with a partner visa - I'd make sure to keep your contact info current with DIBP. Difficult to assess your relationship evidence without seeing all of it together - it's the entire picture that the evidence paints that is key. Previous assessment of your relationship as genuine will be helpful, but no guarantee.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Samanthayang said:


> Thanks for your reply !
> Another question, as I am the sponsor and I am going to Vietnam for 3 months to visit my family. Will there be any chance that I get interviewed ?
> Also, as we didn't have any joint bills but bank accounts and we didn't have photos taken with other people, it was always us 2. Will that be the matter for the visa decision ?
> We got refused one for our Onshore ( for schedule 3) and we are now on the offshore and the previous CO said that he didn't doubt our relationship and it was just because my husband was on bridging visa. Does that mean our relationship is genuine in their record ?
> Sorry for tons of questions !


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, however if you are not paying for the trip, they will look closely at the applicant's finances typically, especially for subclass 600 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kulots said:


> Hi, Mark! I intend to apply my mother for a tourist visa. Can I invite her even though I'm unemployed since I got here last 2013?thank you..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ES2013 -

There are no set time limits for uploading documents, but DIBP reserves the right to make a decision at any time on any lodged visa application. I'd do what you can to get all remaining docs submitted as soon as possible. However, once you get all the initial info in, it's generally not a problem to periodically upload additional relationship evidence that becomes available over time (ie, further bank statements, travel docs, etc that arise over time).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ES2013 said:


> Hi mark,
> I have applied for visa 309/100 online. However it's been 3 months and I still have not submitted just some documents due to family circumstances. Is it true that we get only 6 weeks to submit everything after we enitially submit our application???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alex -

Thanks for the kind words. From DIBP's point of view, either General or Academic version of IELTS is fine and fully accepted (as well as some other tests just announced - Pearson, etc). However there are 2 other sets of regulations that you'll need to check re: English for skilled visas - you'll need to check with the nominated skills assessor for your occupation (in your case, likely the Legal Practice Admissions Board in the state you intend to practice in), and if you are going for state sponsorship, the state skilled visa sponsorship authority - either or both of these in theory may have regulations that specify or limit what type(s) of English tests are acceptable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fifalex said:


> Hi Mark! Thanks for your previous reply. It has been quite informative.
> 
> I have an inquiry on the type of IELTS test that one needs to take in relation to the skill one applies under the Skilled migrant route.
> 
> There are 2 IELTS tests there is a general practice IELTS test and an academic one. Now usually the academic one is reserved for students who want to enroll in university and the general practice one is fine for people who just want to obtain points for immigration. However this is not always the case and I was wondering in my case whether I need to take the academic one considering I will be applying as a solicitor as opposed to a carpenter or builder. Can you advice on this?
> 
> Kind Regards
> Alex


----------



## deepak01

Thanks for previous reply, as I am only the son and my elder sister is married and younger going to marry soon. So there will no one with my parents to look after them, they are 59 year old. I have uncles live near by to my parents house but they just look after their family and kids. I am just worried about them. 
And also if I include my parents in 457 visa, how much is immigration fees. I am also bit worried, if I do that, it will effect my visa. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi m_d_p29 -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the issues you're having with your wife's fingerprints for the FBI PCC. Unfortunately you'll need this even if your wife is not migrating, so changing her from migrating to non-migrating wouldn't make a difference re: PCC requirements. There is a process by which you can petition DIBP for a waiver of the PCC requirement, however this is typically successful in cases where a country refuses to provide a PCC, or where it is unreasonable for the applicant to return to the country to obtain one in countries where there are no services for offshore residents. I'd probably try another time for the fingerprints - also you might check to see if the FBI is currently accepting electronically obtained fingerprints via one of the various worldwide fingerprint networks - this policy has been changing recently. Short of that, you can request a waiver of the PCC requirement for her.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



m_d_p29 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied for 189 visa in Sept 2014. My application is waiting on my wife's USA PCC, but her fingerprints were rejected for the second time. I have already waited for 8 months now. I have made all the efforts I could to get the best fingerprints, but all in vain.
> 
> In the meantime, I also gave the state police clearance for the state in which I stayed for the entire duration in USA.
> 
> 1. Can this be considered as a valid document to waive of FBI PCC requirement given my situation? If not, please suggest what should be done further as I really do not hope of any results if I send the fingerprints again. Can I give a legal character declaration. Can this be considered as a valid document in lieu of a fbi pcc?
> 
> 2. If they ask me to continue pursuing for FBI PCC, can i withdraw my wife's application and go ahead with mine and my daughter's application and then apply my wife's visa under partner visa category (Visa 309/100)? I understand this will also have character requirement, but this will help me buy some time and also give me some time to settle down in Australia while my wife's application is being processed.
> 
> Please advise. I would really appreciate your help on this.
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma098 -

Correct - WA and SA currently do not provide for registration of de facto relationship in a register that is recognised by DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emma098 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your help.
> Seems I can't register our relationship because we are in Perth WA.is that correct?
> 
> Anyway, so i just told his parent to write a statement for us.
> 
> Thanks
> Emma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SWG -

Yes - check out the substantial ties option for a one-year subclass 155 Resident Return Visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SWG said:


> Hello Mark!
> I got my Visa subclass 189 last October, and did my first Entry last February, then left for another job in another country. I know that i should at least stay in Australia for the period of 2 years from the 5 years to be able to re-new my visa (apply for RRV for another 5 years), but is there any exceptions to this rule that would made me renew the visa if i stayed for a period less than 2 years? Like having properities in Australia?
> I'd appreciate if you share any exceptions.
> Thanks for your help and time


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ria -

If you are in a partner relationship, then the partner must sign if any of the children are under 18 years of age; if you are not in a partner relationship, generally the partner does not need to sign. If you are in between (ie, married but separated, etc) then DIBP may require you to have your partner sign until the legal relationship with your partner has officially ended, however there may be some room to work with DIBP on this if the relationship is functionally over, but not yet legally over (ie, divorce is not yet finalised, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ria said:


> Hi Mark,
> There's a question on the form 40CH where it asked "are you in a partner relationship?" And if yes you fill out your partners details etc. and you get your partners signature as an acknowledgment of the application.
> My question is, if you answer no on that section for example you are no longer in any relationship, do they still have to sign the form, the form doesn't elaborate on that. What happens when your partner doesn't want to help you with the application? At the moment I am still living with my partner, but when my kids are here we might not, can I still use his address on the application?
> Please help, I'm going back to my country in June to submit the applications, my kids are offshore.
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deepak01 -

Very difficult if not impossible to get parents on as dependents, as dependents in most cases cannot be married, and must ordinarily reside with you under the same roof.

Best,

Mark



deepak01 said:


> Thanks lot mark, as I am only the son and my elder sister is married and younger going to marry soon. So there will no one with my parents to look after them, they are 59 year old. I have uncles live near by to my parents house but they just look after their family and kids. I am just worried about them.
> And also if I include my parents in 457 visa, how much is immigration fees. I am also bit worried, if I do that, it will effect my visa. Thanks


----------



## deepak01

*457*

May i know if i include my parents in my 457 visa. is this safe to do that. i dont want to get in trouble. how much is the immigration fee to include them. thanks Mark


----------



## CollegeGirl

deepak01 said:


> May i know if i include my parents in my 457 visa. is this safe to do that. i dont want to get in trouble. how much is the immigration fee to include them. thanks Mark


Mark has answered this for you twice now - under the circumstances you've described - your parents are both married and NOT living under the same roof as you - you in all likelihood can NOT include them in your 457. So the fee is irrelevant.

If you want to be 100% certain, you can book a consult with Mark and he'll walk through the specifics of your case with you - but asking the same question over and over again isn't going to get you different answers.


----------



## pauly

Hi Mark,

My brother and I are both Aus residents and would like to bring mum over to live with us we also have a sister who has been fully depended on mum. My question is if we apply for a parent PR visa how difficult is to prove my sister that she's depended on mum she turns 25 this year. 

I look forward to your answer.

Thank you very much, 
Pauly


----------



## leviathan926

Hi Mark, 
I understand you have a busy schedule so I'll keep this short: I have a specific question regarding the IELTS requirement for the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189). I have 5 years of university schooling in Canada with transcripts, diploma to prove a strong English proficiency. Is there any other way around needing to take the IELTS again?
If there is no way around it, I would like to let you know that I have already taken a IELTS test in 2011 with almost perfect 8-9 scores. Can DiBP make an exception and overlook the 1 year expiry date of this IETLS score?

Thank you for taking the time to read my question.


----------



## Emma098

*buying a house*

Hi Mark,
I am wondering if i can buy a established house in WA with my partner (Australia citizen) and I am holding working holiday visa.

However,we are applying for a defacto visa soon, is that strong evidence to prove our relationship if we can buy it ? do we need to be in a defacto reliationship to buy one together?

Thanks
Emma


----------



## bubu_australia

*Martial Status Update and New Partner Visa Wait Times*

Hi Mark,

Me and wife got Permanent residence of Sub class 189 and we arrived in Sydney last year on August 2014. I stayed in Australia and my wife stayed in Australia for 13 days and went back to Dubai. My ex-wife also promised to come back to Sydney after 6 months, but then she refused, stayed in Dubai. I tried to convince her many times but she refused to come to Australia so I had to divorce her.

We both were married in Pakistan and we have Pakistani passport, my wife currently residing in Dubai. The Divorce was sorted out in Pakistan as well.

I am living here in Sydney for the last few months. My question is I want to change my martial status in immigration from married to single again. What documents do I have provide and what is procedure to change my status?

My second question is how long do I have to wait to get married again and get my new wife a partner visa?

Please advise.


----------



## habhed

Hi Mark

I have a question


----------



## ranazain

*Spouse Visa For 489FS Holder*

Hi Mark,
I just got a 489FS visa and want to sponsor my wife,What is the process to apply in this condition.

Thank you for you support.

regards 
Xain


----------



## drmkhan

*Hi Mark: re health checks*

HI Mark
ive had my health checks done twice since I've applied for my combined 820/801

Applied 11-10-2012
1st medical done oct 2012

2nd medical done sep 2013 to keep them valid

820 granted july 28th 2014

eligibility 11-10-2014

6+ months post eligibility @ present

801 application made 11th sept 2015

since they were valid @ the time of 820 provision, but now as im awaiting 801 , will they ask me to redo medical as they expired a month after 820 was given?

please clarify at your best,

cheers


----------



## shamtah

Hi Mark

I lodged my application for 190 subclass on 7/2/2015, few days ago i recieved the following email from the DIBP

_The Migration Programme planning level for the Skilled Nominated category now has limited number of places left for the 2014-15 program year. This means processing times will be longer and that once the remaining places are used, the Department cannot grant further visas in this category during this programme year._
_As planning levels affect all applications, including those in the final stages of processing, I cannot give you an indication as to the likely timeframe for finalisation of your application._

Does this mean i will not be granted a visa this year (2015),because i have a work opprotunity for six months in Dubai till my visa is granted?

Kind regards


----------



## LilyRoma

*186 Direct Entry - Work Experience - 3 Years or more?*

Hi Mark,

I am new to this Forum.
I need your help with my 186 application - Direct Entry

I am going to apply through the Direct Entry scheme. My employer agreed to lodge a nomination for me.

- I have worked for the same company for 3 years & 6 months so far, as a Marketing Specialist.
- I have lived in Australia for 4 years so far.

My questions are:
- Question 1: I have a total of 10 years work experience, 3 years & 6 months in AU (my current nominating employer) + over 6 years Overseas work experience. Do I need to provide evidence for all the 10 years? I don't have my overseas work experience documentation with me in Australia. I can try to contact my previous employers to have it but it might be a long & difficult process. Is it needed?

- Question 2: I have completed a masters degree + bachelor degree + 2 different additional diplomas before that. It is requested to provide evidence of qualifications. Do I need to provide evidence of all qualifications or only the most relevant (Masters and bachelors degrees). I only have the masters and Bachelor degree certificates. I don't have any documentations with me here in Australia for the 2 other diplomas. Is it a big issue?

Thank you for your help

Lily


----------



## Raj254

Hello Mark,

I am working with 457 visa currently, my company able to sponsor me for permanent residence so I am thinking to sit IELTS. I am hopping I have to get 5 each module but little bit of doubt I have to do Academic or General training please help me.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## fitzroyy

Appointment solved


----------



## afreenkhan

Hi Mark,

My name is Afreen Khan, I am from India.
I am applying for PR for Australia. I have few queries about the process that I need to get addressed. Could you please answer them?
1)	I have a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and my 5years experience is completely as Business Analyst. Now that I am applying for skill assessment through ACS, will they recognize my Qualification? If yes, how many years are they going to deduct form my total of 5 years of experience?
2)	In case if ACS does not recognize my Degree, will immigration department consider it as my qualification in order to grant me 15 points for it?
Please help me know this information, so that I can go ahead with the process.
Thanks and Regards,
Afreen Khan


----------



## LilyRoma

*186 Direct Entry - Evidence of work experience*

Hi,

I would like to know what evidence to use to justify the 3 years required work experience.
I have worked with the same employer for 3 years and they will nominate me for the 186 direct entry.

Is a statement letter from the employer + employment contract sufficient? anything else?

Is it a problem not to provide any payslips/tax summaries?

Thanks


----------



## phuhle1104

*Visa 190*

Hi Mark,

I am currently holding visa 489 from RDA ORANA (NSW) and have just received the invitation to apply for the nomination from NSW for 190. Does NSW deny to nominate me for 190 with the reason that it already nominated me for 489 before? I am really worried right now. My friend told me that NSW will refuse my application because I was nominated by Orana NSW before. There is no such the double nomination in one state. His application for SA 190 nomination was refused since he was holding 489 at the time he applied. Thank you very much for your time.

Regards,
Liam


----------



## gemmawrr

Hi Mark,

I currently hold a 820 Partner visa that I applied for on 21 August 2013 and was granted in June 2014. 
I'm just about to graduate my undergraduate Honours degree and would like to apply for a PhD but was told that funding for the PhD would be conditional upon me having Permanent Residency (ergo my 801) by 30th March 2016.

As far as I can tell, I shouldn't hold my breath for being granted my 801 within 7 months of my 'eligbility date' (21st Aug 2015)? Is there anything I can do to optimise my chances of quick processing?

Gemma


----------



## leomm

Hi! I'm currently hold 1year multiple visitor visa. It's will expire on July. I got married with my partner this month. And planning to apply partner visa offshore. I would like to know when I apply for partner visa on May. My current visa will be cancel or I can stay coming with my visitor visa. Pls kindly help me pls.
I forgot to mention my visitor have 8503 condition. Thanks all


----------



## mina1985

Hello Mr. Mark,

please I have a question and need your help.

For now I hold a permanent resident visa sub 189 valid from Feb 17,2015 until Feb 17, 2020. I will make my 1st entry to Australia April 24, 2015. However, I need to be back to my country at 1st of June 2015 and stay there for almost 1 year, so I would be back to Australia by the second half of 2016. will this affect my visa anyhow?

Also, can this affect my eligibility to apply for citizenship later on?
Another question, how I can renew my 189 visa in case that I didn't get the citizenship?
last question is, how I can apply for RRV in case that I didn't get the citizenship?

many thanks for you

Mina


----------



## CanuckAussie

Dear Mark, 
I was recommended to ask you these questions by others members of the forum. I'd be delighted if you could give some input on this:

I’m an Aussie and my formal defacto partner and her child are coming out to settle with me in Australia. They’ll be entering on the visitor visa, then immediately we’ll submit our application for the 820 partner visa. I understand that she’ll then be allocated a bridging visa A (upon completion of the travel visa duration). My questions are: 1) does this bridging visa allow her working rights? And 2) Does the bridging visa allow her child to attend primary school in Qld exempt from international student fees? 

We have engaged the services of a lawyer who is a RMA, but she didn't adequately address these crucial questions. 

Thanks in advance mate.


----------



## Nabajit2015

*Confusion on relevant work experience..please need your help*

Hi Mark,
I have been going through your forum and it responses over the last one year and every time when i get confused , at first i go into your forum's various threads and started to reading all the answered you have made.To be honest its not only helping me a lots but also for the people who are willing to know about the Engineers Australia's Migration Assessment process. Today, I have one confusion for my fiancee's EA CDR. Actually, we have submitted CDR on 9th April 2015 and also aware that it takes time to finalized the outcome even though it's now in online submission. Anyhow, we did not apply for her 3+ years experience, what we did only CDR as i thought those part (assessing work experience) will be decided by the Australian Department of Immigration as long as by providing relevant payslips, bank statements and all to proof the 3+ years experience. That's why i am a bit worried now whether we did right or wrong. Secondly, If it's mandatory to assess her 'Relevant Work Experience' by paying additional fee then it is possible to do it now or now it's too late? How do Engineers Australia counts overseas work experience? Do they deducted one years experience out of total work experience. Your responses is highly appreciated mate.

Your's faithfully,
Nabajit


----------



## ahmedwk

Hi mark,
I truly respect your work here in the forum and the amount of efforts and profesionalism in helping other members.
my question:
my newborn is australian (born in Australia and I have PR status).
We are back to Dubai where I live and work. I wanted to know if he can sponsor my wife to go back to Australia to live there? 
Thanks


----------



## imrixkhan

Hi Senior members,

Need your advise.

I have completed B com in 2003 after that I started working currently I have total 11.6 years experience in IT industry, while working I have completed few Microsoft certification like MCP/MCSA/MCSE/MCTS/MCDBA, as per ACS Vendor certifications MCTS I completed in 2010 accepted by the ACS as comparable to graduate outcomes of an ICT major at the AQF Diploma level.

Recently I completed MSc (IT) in 2014, but if I send M.Sc for assessment I will lose all the points for experience because ACS will consider Post Master degree experience.

My queries are:

1. I have BCom degree which is not related to my current role and experience, can you please advise ACS will consider or not consider Bcom degree against ANZSCO 263111 - Computer Network and Systems Engineer skill assessment.
If ACS advises to go through RPL route if RPL deduct 6 years from my 11.6 years total experience, I will end up with 5.5 years experience to claim for experience points.

In this scenario can I get 15 Points for Degree and 10 points for remaining 5.5 years experience?

2. If ACS considers my MCTS which I completed in 2010 as per ACS vendor certification accepted by the ACS as comparable to graduate outcomes of an ICT major at the AQF Diploma level, will I by getting 10 points for MCTS as its comparable AQF Diploma level? Can I claim 10 points for experience Post MCTS from 2010 to 2015 I have 5 years experience or it will be deducted ACS/RPL?



Currently I am 32 years 3 months, I want to apply soon so that I don’t lose my age points, also preparing for PTE targeting to score above 79 in each module to get 20 points.


Please advise me best approach to move ahead with Australia PR.



Thanks in Advance.


----------



## tweet

hello. what would be a better and faster partner visa option. we are planning for a civil wedding here in the philippines but we would like to know if what would be better, fiancee or spouse visa? what kind of documents do we need to provide and how long would it take? thank you


----------



## Tassi_girl

*Pregnant on bridging visa A*

Hi Mark,

I *applied* for my *de facto partner visa in November 2014*, since then I am on my *bridging visa A*. All good so far.

I just found out that I am 5 weeks pregnant. Apparently I does not make any difference for my visa application ( so I read on different pages ). In some cases you receive your permanent visa earlier but does not have to.

I also work full time since september ( and would work longer than 12 months full time when the baby would be born) and were working before that casual. I read a lot about parents leave and paid parents leave and also what my employer would have to pay.

My questions are Do I have the right to get parents leave and paid parents leave (which I would as a permanent resident).

I have read that my partner would get it as he would be the father and of course australian citizen , but would he need to stay at home with the baby ( as parents leave says to get paid parents leave you can not work during this time) and my partner also is not full time employed would we still get paid from his or mine employer as I would as a permanent!?

Unfortunately I could not find any Information about being pregnant and not being permanent resident.

A lot of question I know but a lot of decisions to make if I would be able to get any support from the government/ centerlink/ employer ect:?

I would be happy if you could help me out here a little to loose a little bit of weight from my shoulders.

Thanks anyway!


----------



## mustafasabir

*Medical Request*

Dear Mark,

I have few questions to ask and once again knocking the doors of your generosity.

*1) *I have filed a case with DIBP on 22nd March, 2015 and to my knowledge, CO is still not yet assigned. I have noticed yesterday that there is appearing a button *Get Health Details* in my IMMI account. This is something which was not appearing before. On pressing this button, a link appears stating Organise your health requirements. I understand that through this link, we are provided a HAP ID to proceed with medical examination. However, there is also a form of *Record Medical History (E-Medical)*. Do I need to first fill up this form and then go to the clinic for my health examination OR I have to fill up this form on the basis of the Health Examination conducted by the panel doctor?

Is it recommended to go for the medical test now because I don't know whether the CO is assigned or not.

*2) *Receiving this medical request, does it mean that the CO is already assigned and our case is under assessment?

*3) *Few days back, the application status was displaying _In Progress_ where as now it is showing *Assessment in Progress*. Is this only a status update? I would be surprise to know that the case officer has started the assessment because there was no intimation from DIBP that the CO is assigned.

Thanks a lot.

Regards,
Mustafa


----------



## imrixkhan

Hi Mark,


Need your advise.

I have completed Bcom in 2003 after that I started working currently I have total 11.6 years experience in IT industry, while working I have completed few Microsoft certification like MCP/MCSA/MCSE/MCTS/MCDBA, as per ACS Vendor certifications MCTS I completed in 2010 accepted by the ACS as comparable to graduate outcomes of an ICT major at the AQF Diploma level.

Recently I completed MSc (IT) in 2014, but if I send M.Sc for assessment I will lose all the points for experience because ACS will consider Post Master degree experience.

My queries are:

1. I have BCom degree which is not related to my current role and experience, can you please advise ACS will consider or not consider Bcom degree against ANZSCO 263111 - Computer Network and Systems Engineer skill assessment.
If ACS advises to go through RPL route if RPL deduct 6 years from my 11.6 years total experience, I will end up with 5.5 years experience to claim for experience points.

In this scenario can I get 15 Points for Degree and 10 points for remaining 5.5 years experience?

2. If ACS considers my MCTS which I completed in 2010 as per ACS vendor certification accepted by the ACS as comparable to graduate outcomes of an ICT major at the AQF Diploma level, will I by getting 10 points for MCTS as its comparable AQF Diploma level? Can I claim 10 points for experience Post MCTS from 2010 to 2015 I have 5 years experience or it will be deducted ACS/RPL?



Currently I am 32 years 3 months, I want to apply soon so that I don’t lose my age points, also preparing for PTE targeting to score above 79 in each module to get 20 points.


Please advise me best approach to move ahead with Australia PR.



Thanks in Advance.


----------



## fitzroyy

*POSTIVE REVIEW FOR MARK*

This is the 4th time I have consulted with Mark and again so I want to write him the review again. This time was by consultation on the phone rather than in person. In the end, I forgot to ask a couple of questions and emailed him back and he was able to answer promptly without hesitation. If it was other agents, they might have gone like "please book me again to answer your questions", so I really can't fault anything.

It's not a major problem here for me but rather help me decide what to do according from his advice and experiences so again guys, if you need some serious consultation, PLEASE book with him, every penny is worth it unless your case or questions are not that urgent or important, or otherwise, you can post your questions here as he is more than happy to answer the questions without any hesitation. Really, I cannot find any other agents who would have this kind of moral these days.

So book with him if you have problems or any uncertain circumstances and he would be happy to assist you and lead you to the right direction! Thanks once again!


----------



## krucznik

Hi Mark,

I've received state sponsorship.
I'm about to apply for 190 visa and I have two issues. 

1. I've made a mistake in EOI (which is now locked) in my job title. In work experience I entered Computer Network and System Engineer, where in my references letter it say that I was working as Senior Network and System Engineer. 
Therefore, should I change it using appropriate form?

2. My ACS skills assessment state that I'm skilled after August 2009. Which date should be entered in EOI. 1 August 2009 or 1 September 2009?

These are minor issues but I want to have my EOI as accurate as possible.

I'll appreciate you suggestions.

Thank you
Martin


----------



## deepsea

Hi Mark, Can you please advice me on my situation.

I got my permanent residency, sub-class VE175 visa, during January 2010. I have stayed in Australia for a total of 22 months (close to 2 years) and was just 2 months short of getting a 5 year RRV.

Unfortunately, due to family circumstances, I had to leave the country and go back. I left Australia on March 2014 and been staying in my home country from that time.

Presently, I need to continue staying at my home country (for a few more months) caring for a old parent who are very sick. However, I really wish to keep my options open to return to Australia in the future, as I intend to settle down in Australia.

My PR has expired on Mar 2015, while I am out of the country. Before leaving in Mar 2014, I applied for a RRV and got approved for 1 year (starting from March 2014 to March 2015).

Now the RRV has also expired and remains unused. Before applying for RRV, I honestly did not know that the validity of the RRV visa would start from date of approval (instead of the date of my would PR expire), therefore was only approved until March 2015, therefore RRV was effectively issued for one additional month.

My RRV remains unused, as I was unable to travel during this period. I have stayed in Australia totally for about 22 months,

Presently I am not sure if this meets 2/5 year OR 1/5 year requirement for applying for another RRV. I am afraid, if I would even qualify for making an application under compelling circumstances to apply for another RRV extension.

Do I have any other better options to return, while applying for a RRV again (outside Australia) ?

Additionally, how does one provide "compelling circumstances or reasons" as a part of the online application. Should I include a cover letter along with supporting documentation. What kind of supporting documentation would be required ? Sorry, I was unable to find any information.

Please advice on what needs to be done. I greatly appreciate your response.

Warm regards,
Deep


----------



## Magiantola

*Partner Visa*

Hello Mark! First of all, its really nice what you do here, helping all of us!

My query is related to the Partner Visa.

My partner and I met almost 2 years ago, online. We started a formal relationship in May,2013 and he went to Perú on December 2013 to met in person. He stayed with me 3 weeks, we spent holiday time together, he met my family, we celebrated our birthdays (23 and 26 December) and had a wonderful trip for new year's eve (we have lots of pictures of this as flights reservations and hotel bookings, even some money transfer evidence to paid everything for our time together).

After that, I came to Australia in May 2014 for 5 weeks. We celebrated our first anniversary together in Sydney, then flew to Airlie Beach, then to Perth (where I met his son), then to Karratha (where he lives with his parents), we did a car trip to Broome (where he has a house) and back to Karratha. I stayed with him in his parents house for almost 4 weeks. But I needed to return to my country (I'm from Perú) cause my visa was going to expire soon and also I had to go back to work.

Being so far away was the hardest thing in our lives. That's why after talking many times and thinking which could be the best way, we decided to live together in Australia. However, the partner visa offshore process takes too long, so I applied for a visitor visa for 6 months, which has been granted without "no further stay" condition.

I entered to Australia on January 23, 2015. We got together in Melbourne for the Australian Open Tournament, he went with his son, so we can say that we had a wonderful "family time" (lots of pictures and tickets that can proof this). Then, flew to Perth, stayed in my partner's brother house and then come to Karratha. A car trip to Coral Bay and back again in Karratha, where we have been living in my partner parents' house.

A few more details: I am a lawyer and an university teacher, so I can't work in Australia as one (Perú and Australia have different law systems), that's why I am working online with my office in Lima, which has offered me an indeterminate contract to work online with them. I have a house and a car under my name in Lima, so the decision to come to Australia is not related with a different interest than being with my partner. I can also say that coming to Australia has been a big change in my life, I have left almost all my life there, change a life in a big city (where I have lived all my life) to a small but really nice town (Karratha), with the love of my life.

He is earning a good amount of money in his work. We have a joint account, which was opened at the beginning of February, 2015. We are planning to buy a house in Perth. We have a few bills under our names (telephone and internet has been just connected and both are under Mariella Antola / Partners Name).

Also, we have a huge (HUGE) record of phone calls, whatsapp messages, text messages, postcards, skype records, facetime records, friends and family that can testify about our relationship.

With all this, my question is: Do you think we can apply for a partner visa without having the 12 months of living together? We are planning to lodge our application by the end of June, 2015, because my visitor visa expires on July. That means that by that time we have been living together in total for around 7 months.

I really appreciate any suggestion, comment, advice!

Have a great day,

Mariella


----------



## leomama

*Relationship breakdown on a bridging visa*

Hi there, i would like some advice please.
I applied for a partner visa 820/801 two years ago, and am still on a bridging visa. I have two children with my husband. I couldn't undergo health check till the birth of my second child which caused the delay of the visa, havent got a temporary visa yet. i just emailed the immigration that my relationship is ending
My questions are:
1)can i still continue with my application for PR on the ground that i have two australian kids with the husband even though im on a bridging visa? 
2) if the visa is refused, what options do i have to remain in the country?


----------



## ifthakhar

*Withdrawn of Visa subclass 190 after receiving Letter of Natural Justice*

Dear Mark,

One of my friend lodged visa application for subclass-190.During verification period DIBP officer found some mismatch with his employment reference letter.Now co sent him a Letter of Natural Justice PIC 4020 and gave him 28 days time to respond.He thought it might be difficult for him to establish the issue to CO. Now he wants to withdraw the visa application at this stage and wants to lodge fresh application again.Is it possible now.What affect might be happened if Fresh application lodge.

Need your suggestion in this regard.


----------



## emivovo

Hi Mark

Thank you for answering my questions, it's much appreciated 

My partner is currently here in Aus on his PMV visa. We are getting married on June 14. 

1 - do we need to make a new online application for the next visa, or is it attached to our online PMV app?

2 - Once we have married and applied for the 820/801 visa, is there much of a wait, or is it granted immediately? And is he allowed to leave the country on this visa? We need to visit his family for a month in September, and I'm worried he won't be able to. 

We are getting married on June 14 of this year, and will be ready to submit our visa for the 820 very soon after (we will hopefully submit it the week after we're married), and then we need to be in his country for mid August/September. Can you forsee any issues here? 

Thanks so much!

Emily


----------



## RiverBest

*Leaving Australia without Bridging Visa B*

Hey Mark,
I was referred over here as I believe I may be in a bit of a serious situation.
At the end of December I put in my initial application for a partner visa and provided the payment. My bridging visa came into effect at the end of February when the visa I was on, a long term visitor visa ended. At the end of March I flew back to the United States, my home country, without obtaining a Bridging Visa B. 
Before I left I was informed that I would be able to re-enter Australia, first on a different visa, and then with a transition back to my bridging visa when that ended.
I have not submitted any information for my partner visa otherwise.
Am I doomed?


----------



## kknd24

Hi,Mark. I had 457 visa about more than 1years, I can apply to 186 visa in July 2015 , I got IELTS test result of an average band score of 5 based on the four test components of speaking, reading, listening and writing in January 2015. I need to do the test again for getting better result , or my current IELTS test result is enough for apply to 186 visa...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Riverbest -

Nope, you're not doomed, but you need to get back to Australia since your onshore partner visa can only be granted if you are here. Suggest you apply for an ETA visitor visa and see if they're OK with that. Once you come back to Australia on a visitor visa, you can re-apply for your bridging visa A, which will come into effect when the visitor visa expires or the stay period ends, however you will not have work rights until the BV-A re-activates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RiverBest said:


> Hey Mark,
> I was referred over here as I believe I may be in a bit of a serious situation.
> At the end of December I put in my initial application for a partner visa and provided the payment. My bridging visa came into effect at the end of February when the visa I was on, a long term visitor visa ended. At the end of March I flew back to the United States, my home country, without obtaining a Bridging Visa B.
> Before I left I was informed that I would be able to re-enter Australia, first on a different visa, and then with a transition back to my bridging visa when that ended.
> I have not submitted any information for my partner visa otherwise.
> Am I doomed?


----------



## varundev

Hello Mark,

You are doing really wonderful job by helping people

Only simple question - Subclass 190 visa applied offshore (INDIA) and want to know that Physical enquiry comes first or Medial, PCC comes first ? I am bit confused.


----------



## RiverBest

Thank you so much, that is a weight off my back. I know that I need to be in Australia to apply but do you think if I were to stay in the States a bit longer (say a couple months) that that would be looked down upon in terms of my visa being granted? I was never really worried about my visa being granted otherwise and will be able to provide proof of contact throughout my time away.


----------



## amkhan

Hi Mark,
First of all thanks for your continuous support on the forum. I need to ask a query, I received visa grant in Feb 2015. Afterwards I renewed passport of my wife and passport number has been changed on the passport. I have seen in the visa grant letter that any change in the passport I need to inform Australian immigration. I have found that I need to submit form 929 for passport change. Can you please advise that to which authority do I need to submit form 929. Appreciate your never ending support.

Regards,


----------



## nimbuz

Hi Mark!

I'm about to apply for ACS assessment, but it still unclear to me whether I should go the RPL route or not.

My credentials:

*12 years of work experience* as 'Developer' (Jun 03 - Sep 14).
*No tertiary qualifications*.
*Diploma* (MCSD: Web Applications) _awarded in Feb this year_.

My question is, if I submit RPL, will ACS:


Acknowledges the diploma, but according to RPL deduct 8 years to meet the skill level, consider the remaining 4 as "skilled employment", OR;
Consider the Diploma as ICT Major and deduct 5 years to meet the skill level, but no "skilled employment" since the diploma was awarded only recently.

In case of *#1*, I can claim 10 points for Diploma and 5 for employment, which is great. However, with *#2* I can only claim 10 points for Diploma, and no points for employment.

*What do you think is more likely - #1 or #2?*


----------



## Angelaqi

Hi, mark, huge replys made me ask u. A quick question. For applying 189, does 1.5 yrs master degree followed by 0.5 yrs graduate diploma satisfy 2 years academic requirement ? Many thx


----------



## rm45443

*Once visa is granted*

Hey Mark,

I have a few questions about the rules on leaving Australia once your de facto visa has been granted. My partner and I have not started the process yet as he wants to know what exactly this visa lets us do beforehand. He is Australian and I am British. His slight worry woth this visa is that when it is granted, we will have to stay in Australia without travelling for a period of time. I don't have any knowledge of this rule or if such a rule exists. We will be in Australia when we apply and for the duration of the decision process we will be in Australia but when it is granted, are we able to travel overseas? And is there a limit on how long you can travel? Do we need to notify immi and why we're going etc. We have thought we might want to go and live in England for a period of time depending on how long the visa permits. And what would be the situation if one of the other of us wants to travel alone for work or with friends? I have been told that in the eyes of the government, why would we want to travel separately etc. It wouldn't be for long periods we just want to know if it can be done. 
Any help would be really appreciated! Thanks
Rosie


----------



## amitsethiaustralia

Hi Mark,

I have received nomination from NSW for 190 visa & applied on 20 April 2015. I have some queries could you please answer them:
1. What is the current processing time for receiving sponsorship to lodge visa.

2. My wife is unable to prove functional English. But I have added her in my EOI. If get invite from NSW can I remove her name afterwards from EOI at the time of lodging visa ? or If I remove her name now from EOI before NSW approve my application will it impact my selection in any way or not? Please clarify some options as well.

3. I can prove her functional English by getting a certificate from her MBA (Master Of Business Administration) institute saying the complete 2 years education is in English language. But the MBA was not full time could you please tell will it be acceptable or not ?

Thanks In Advance. Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

deepak01 said:


> May i know if i include my parents in my 457 visa. is this safe to do that. i dont want to get in trouble. how much is the immigration fee to include them. thanks Mark


Hi Deepak -

Dependents cannot be married - instant disqualification. Must also live under the same roof as you.

Best,

Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pauly -

Thanks for the question. Adult dependency questions for adults over 24 are complex - essentially you need to prove that she lives under the same roof as your mum and is financially dependent on your mum, however beyond that it gets more complex as to what constitutes dependency in various circumstances. Happy to discuss your case further at a consultation where I can learn more about your mum and sister's circumstances - see website below in my signature for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pauly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My brother and I are both Aus residents and would like to bring mum over to live with us we also have a sister who has been fully depended on mum. My question is if we apply for a parent PR visa how difficult is to prove my sister that she's depended on mum she turns 25 this year.
> 
> I look forward to your answer.
> 
> Thank you very much,
> Pauly


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leviathan926 -

No way around IELTS (or an equivalent test), and DIBP doesn't make exceptions for people of the type you are seeking - IELTS test results are good for 3 years currently.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leviathan926 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I understand you have a busy schedule so I'll keep this short: I have a specific question regarding the IELTS requirement for the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189). I have 5 years of university schooling in Canada with transcripts, diploma to prove a strong English proficiency. Is there any other way around needing to take the IELTS again?
> If there is no way around it, I would like to let you know that I have already taken a IELTS test in 2011 with almost perfect 8-9 scores. Can DiBP make an exception and overlook the 1 year expiry date of this IETLS score?
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read my question.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma098 -

I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of foreign purchase of homes in Australia, however I would think that joint ownership of a home would be a good piece of relationship evidence.

Best,

Mark



Emma098 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am wondering if i can buy a established house in WA with my partner (Australia citizen) and I am holding working holiday visa.
> 
> However,we are applying for a defacto visa soon, is that strong evidence to prove our relationship if we can buy it ? do we need to be in a defacto reliationship to buy one together?
> 
> Thanks
> Emma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bubu_Australia -

With the 189 visa, you do not incur a 5 year waiting time between sponsoring partners, so you are free to sponsor another partner when you wish. There is no maintenance per se of your marital status with DIBP, so nothing to update really - they would consider your new relationship at the time you lodged a partner, etc visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bubu_australia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Me and wife got Permanent residence of Sub class 189 and we arrived in Sydney last year on August 2014. I stayed in Australia and my wife stayed in Australia for 13 days and went back to Dubai. My ex-wife also promised to come back to Sydney after 6 months, but then she refused, stayed in Dubai. I tried to convince her many times but she refused to come to Australia so I had to divorce her.
> 
> We both were married in Pakistan and we have Pakistani passport, my wife currently residing in Dubai. The Divorce was sorted out in Pakistan as well.
> 
> I am living here in Sydney for the last few months. My question is I want to change my martial status in immigration from married to single again. What documents do I have provide and what is procedure to change my status?
> 
> My second question is how long do I have to wait to get married again and get my new wife a partner visa?
> 
> Please advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Habhed -

The 5 year waiting time to sponsor you would not apply to your partner as she was sponsored as a dependent of a primary applicant. Re: PCC, etc you could apply for a waiver of this based on your situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



habhed said:


> Hi Mark
> My wife was sponsered by his father as dependent child (23 years). She got a telefon interview from her CO from Dubai in Jun 2014. She was asked frequentliy if she was in a relationship and she said no. She was granted BC 100 in october 2014.
> 
> We have had some close contacts on internett since 2013, but we had never met in person. I fall in love with her in 2014 and traveled to Pakistan in december 2014. I proposed her, got engaged and married. This was the only time we met each other.
> 
> She moved to Australia in january 2015 for first time. ( interview in Jun, BC 100 in October, marriage in december and move to Australia in January)
> 
> 1. question: would it be a question from DIBP if i apply for a 309 regarding her visa and marriage?
> 
> 2. question. I have PR in Norway and a Travel Document. I don't have any birth certificate and passport since I came her as an asylum seeker. If I apply for a 309 do I need to provide a birth certificate and police certificate from my country which I escaped from?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xain -

As a holder of a 489 visa you hold a provisional skilled visa, so you are not able to sponsor someone for a partner visa (820/801 or 309/100) however your partner could apply as a family member of yours to get her own 489 visa which would be timed to expire at the same time yours does. See DIBP website for more on the requirements, documents, etc for this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ranazain said:


> Hi Mark,
> I just got a 489FS visa and want to sponsor my wife,What is the process to apply in this condition.
> 
> Thank you for you support.
> 
> regards
> Xain


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Drmkhan -

Probably not - normally a new set of health exams are not required for the 801 if you took them for the 820.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



drmkhan said:


> HI Mark
> ive had my health checks done twice since I've applied for my combined 820/801
> 
> Applied 11-10-2012
> 1st medical done oct 2012
> 
> 2nd medical done sep 2013 to keep them valid
> 
> 820 granted july 28th 2014
> 
> eligibility 11-10-2014
> 
> 6+ months post eligibility @ present
> 
> 801 application made 11th sept 2015
> 
> since they were valid @ the time of 820 provision, but now as im awaiting 801 , will they ask me to redo medical as they expired a month after 820 was given?
> 
> please clarify at your best,
> 
> cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shamtah -

It means that it's possible that your visa grant may be pushed until the beginning of the next processing year (begins 1 July), but nothing is certain.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shamtah said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I lodged my application for 190 subclass on 7/2/2015, few days ago i recieved the following email from the DIBP
> 
> _The Migration Programme planning level for the Skilled Nominated category now has limited number of places left for the 2014-15 program year. This means processing times will be longer and that once the remaining places are used, the Department cannot grant further visas in this category during this programme year._
> _As planning levels affect all applications, including those in the final stages of processing, I cannot give you an indication as to the likely timeframe for finalisation of your application._
> 
> Does this mean i will not be granted a visa this year (2015),because i have a work opprotunity for six months in Dubai till my visa is granted?
> 
> Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lily -

Re: 186 Direct Entry scheme, you only need to provide evidence of 3 years work experience in your occupation. Re: qualifications, Bachelor and Master would be sufficient, assuming they are in a field relevant to your occupation. However with all of this, remember that the skills assessor may have additional requirements - the ones I've just discussed reflect DIBP's requirements but for Direct Entry you'll need a full skills assessment first - check the skills assessor's site very carefully for their own regulations, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LilyRoma said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new to this Forum.
> I need your help with my 186 application - Direct Entry
> 
> I am going to apply through the Direct Entry scheme. My employer agreed to lodge a nomination for me.
> 
> - I have worked for the same company for 3 years & 6 months so far, as a Marketing Specialist.
> - I have lived in Australia for 4 years so far.
> 
> My questions are:
> - Question 1: I have a total of 10 years work experience, 3 years & 6 months in AU (my current nominating employer) + over 6 years Overseas work experience. Do I need to provide evidence for all the 10 years? I don't have my overseas work experience documentation with me in Australia. I can try to contact my previous employers to have it but it might be a long & difficult process. Is it needed?
> 
> - Question 2: I have completed a masters degree + bachelor degree + 2 different additional diplomas before that. It is requested to provide evidence of qualifications. Do I need to provide evidence of all qualifications or only the most relevant (Masters and bachelors degrees). I only have the masters and Bachelor degree certificates. I don't have any documentations with me here in Australia for the 2 other diplomas. Is it a big issue?
> 
> Thank you for your help
> 
> Lily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raj254 -

DIBP accepts either General or Academic. Note that if you do not proceed with the PR part and decide to renew your 457, for the new nomination you will need to provide IELTS score according to the new rules - that is, overall 5 or better, with none of the 4 bands lower than 4.5 (as of 18 April 2015).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Raj254 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am working with 457 visa currently, my company able to sponsor me for permanent residence so I am thinking to sit IELTS. I am hopping I have to get 5 each module but little bit of doubt I have to do Academic or General training please help me.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Afreen -

Thanks for the question. Re: 1, impossible to predict how ACS will access a degree. Re: 2, DIBP doesn't care about what subject the degree is in - as long as it is from an accredited school, uni, etc, then it's likely they will allow the points for it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



afreenkhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My name is Afreen Khan, I am from India.
> I am applying for PR for Australia. I have few queries about the process that I need to get addressed. Could you please answer them?
> 1)	I have a bachelor's degree in Microbiology and my 5years experience is completely as Business Analyst. Now that I am applying for skill assessment through ACS, will they recognize my Qualification? If yes, how many years are they going to deduct form my total of 5 years of experience?
> 2)	In case if ACS does not recognize my Degree, will immigration department consider it as my qualification in order to grant me 15 points for it?
> Please help me know this information, so that I can go ahead with the process.
> Thanks and Regards,
> Afreen Khan


----------



## chocolate33

Hi Mark,
My partner applied for his de facto partner visa almost 6 months ago. Yesterday he was requested to complete his medical assessment. With his application we included relevant police checks.
Are we correct in thinking that this is a positive sign? That the office has accepted the evidence of our relationship as sufficient? Or could we possibly be asked to supply more?
Any idea of timeframe for visa approval once you submit medical results....i think this one is probably a long shot!!!
Thanks mark.
Kind regards,
Virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lily -

First check the skills assessor's requirements for this (they are separate from DIBP). From DIBP's point of view, an employer referral letter plus proof of payment (ie, either tax statement, payslips, etc) will generally satisfy them that the work experience was genuine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LilyRoma said:


> Hi,
> 
> I would like to know what evidence to use to justify the 3 years required work experience.
> I have worked with the same employer for 3 years and they will nominate me for the 186 direct entry.
> 
> Is a statement letter from the employer + employment contract sufficient? anything else?
> 
> Is it a problem not to provide any payslips/tax summaries?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liam -

I've heard this is happening, but have not seen it happen myself. I'd call NSW Skilled and ask them directly if holding a 489 sponsored by them makes you ineligible for 190 sponsorship from them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently holding visa 489 from RDA ORANA (NSW) and have just received the invitation to apply for the nomination from NSW for 190. Does NSW deny to nominate me for 190 with the reason that it already nominated me for 489 before? I am really worried right now. My friend told me that NSW will refuse my application because I was nominated by Orana NSW before. There is no such the double nomination in one state. His application for SA 190 nomination was refused since he was holding 489 at the time he applied. Thank you very much for your time.
> 
> Regards,
> Liam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gemmawrr -

I'd load it up with lots of relationship evidence and statements, then follow very carefully the instructions on the DIBP website for second stage partner visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gemmawrr said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I currently hold a 820 Partner visa that I applied for on 21 August 2013 and was granted in June 2014.
> I'm just about to graduate my undergraduate Honours degree and would like to apply for a PhD but was told that funding for the PhD would be conditional upon me having Permanent Residency (ergo my 801) by 30th March 2016.
> 
> As far as I can tell, I shouldn't hold my breath for being granted my 801 within 7 months of my 'eligbility date' (21st Aug 2015)? Is there anything I can do to optimise my chances of quick processing?
> 
> Gemma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leomm -

Your visitor visa will remain as it is - lodging an offshore partner visa will not change the visitor visa in any way.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leomm said:


> Hi! I'm currently hold 1year multiple visitor visa. It's will expire on July. I got married with my partner this month. And planning to apply partner visa offshore. I would like to know when I apply for partner visa on May. My current visa will be cancel or I can stay coming with my visitor visa. Pls kindly help me pls.
> I forgot to mention my visitor have 8503 condition. Thanks all


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mina -

Being gone for that time would not endanger your 189 visa in any way. Re: renewing your PR at the end of the 5 year 189 visa, that's done with a RRV visa - if you are in Australia for 24 months during those 5 years, you can get a 5-year RRV. See DIBP website for complete details on the RRV visa. Re: citizenship, there's a 4 year residency requirement during which you cannot be gone more than 12 months during the 4 years, and more than 3 months during the last of the 4 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mina1985 said:


> Hello Mr. Mark,
> 
> please I have a question and need your help.
> 
> For now I hold a permanent resident visa sub 189 valid from Feb 17,2015 until Feb 17, 2020. I will make my 1st entry to Australia April 24, 2015. However, I need to be back to my country at 1st of June 2015 and stay there for almost 1 year, so I would be back to Australia by the second half of 2016. will this affect my visa anyhow?
> 
> Also, can this affect my eligibility to apply for citizenship later on?
> Another question, how I can renew my 189 visa in case that I didn't get the citizenship?
> last question is, how I can apply for RRV in case that I didn't get the citizenship?
> 
> many thanks for you
> 
> Mina


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CanuckAussie -

I think you emailed me directly about these - I've been away from the forum for a few days. If your agent/lawyer doesn't understand BVA policy on partner visas, I would have to think twice about whether that person is sufficiently experienced with partner visas to handle some of the other legal areas and requirements of that visa, especially where it concerns de facto relationships.

BVA on partner visas is automatically given full work rights - this was the result of a policy change a couple of years ago - before that BVA's would often inherit the rights of the substantive visa the person held previously, but no more for partner visas.

Re: QLD schools, you'd have to take that up directly with them as that's outside my area of expertise.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CanuckAussie said:


> Dear Mark,
> I was recommended to ask you these questions by others members of the forum. I'd be delighted if you could give some input on this:
> 
> I'm an Aussie and my formal defacto partner and her child are coming out to settle with me in Australia. They'll be entering on the visitor visa, then immediately we'll submit our application for the 820 partner visa. I understand that she'll then be allocated a bridging visa A (upon completion of the travel visa duration). My questions are: 1) does this bridging visa allow her working rights? And 2) Does the bridging visa allow her child to attend primary school in Qld exempt from international student fees?
> 
> We have engaged the services of a lawyer who is a RMA, but she didn't adequately address these crucial questions.
> 
> Thanks in advance mate.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nabajit -

Thanks for the question and kind words. Re: EA, they do not normally assess work experience - it's not part of the CDR skills assessment, so it's completely optional. If that experience is clearly relevant to your occupation and is easily verifiable with your current & past employers, you may want to not have EA assess the work experience and let DIBP make a judgment on it. In these cases, if DIBP has an issue with the work experience re: relevance, they will often give you the opportunity during assessment to have EA assess it then, so that might be an option - to assess it only if DIBP questions it. No problem if you want to have it assessed in advance though - completely your choice, but optional. See EA site for their rules/regulations re: work assessment - too many details to go into here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nabajit2015 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have been going through your forum and it responses over the last one year and every time when i get confused , at first i go into your forum's various threads and started to reading all the answered you have made.To be honest its not only helping me a lots but also for the people who are willing to know about the Engineers Australia's Migration Assessment process. Today, I have one confusion for my fiancee's EA CDR. Actually, we have submitted CDR on 9th April 2015 and also aware that it takes time to finalized the outcome even though it's now in online submission. Anyhow, we did not apply for her 3+ years experience, what we did only CDR as i thought those part (assessing work experience) will be decided by the Australian Department of Immigration as long as by providing relevant payslips, bank statements and all to proof the 3+ years experience. That's why i am a bit worried now whether we did right or wrong. Secondly, If it's mandatory to assess her 'Relevant Work Experience' by paying additional fee then it is possible to do it now or now it's too late? How do Engineers Australia counts overseas work experience? Do they deducted one years experience out of total work experience. Your responses is highly appreciated mate.
> 
> Your's faithfully,
> Nabajit


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ahmedwk -

Thanks for the kind words! Re: newborn sponsoring parent, that's not possible but the relative or guardian of the newborn has some ability to sponsor - this gets complex, so would need to learn more about your circumstances at a consultation and work through options and the regulations to determine if there's a way to do what you want - see website in my signature below for info on consultations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ahmedwk said:


> Hi mark,
> I truly respect your work here in the forum and the amount of efforts and profesionalism in helping other members.
> my question:
> my newborn is australian (born in Australia and I have PR status).
> We are back to Dubai where I live and work. I wanted to know if he can sponsor my wife to go back to Australia to live there?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi imrixkhan -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



imrixkhan said:


> Hi Senior members,
> 
> Need your advise.
> 
> I have completed B com in 2003 after that I started working currently I have total 11.6 years experience in IT industry, while working I have completed few Microsoft certification like MCP/MCSA/MCSE/MCTS/MCDBA, as per ACS Vendor certifications MCTS I completed in 2010 accepted by the ACS as comparable to graduate outcomes of an ICT major at the AQF Diploma level.
> 
> Recently I completed MSc (IT) in 2014, but if I send M.Sc for assessment I will lose all the points for experience because ACS will consider Post Master degree experience.
> 
> My queries are:
> 
> 1. I have BCom degree which is not related to my current role and experience, can you please advise ACS will consider or not consider Bcom degree against ANZSCO 263111 - Computer Network and Systems Engineer skill assessment.
> If ACS advises to go through RPL route if RPL deduct 6 years from my 11.6 years total experience, I will end up with 5.5 years experience to claim for experience points.
> 
> In this scenario can I get 15 Points for Degree and 10 points for remaining 5.5 years experience?
> 
> 2. If ACS considers my MCTS which I completed in 2010 as per ACS vendor certification accepted by the ACS as comparable to graduate outcomes of an ICT major at the AQF Diploma level, will I by getting 10 points for MCTS as its comparable AQF Diploma level? Can I claim 10 points for experience Post MCTS from 2010 to 2015 I have 5 years experience or it will be deducted ACS/RPL?
> 
> Currently I am 32 years 3 months, I want to apply soon so that I don't lose my age points, also preparing for PTE targeting to score above 79 in each module to get 20 points.
> 
> Please advise me best approach to move ahead with Australia PR.
> 
> Thanks in Advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tweet -

Thanks for the question. Not possible to lodge a fiance visa if you are already married. Eligibility for spouse visa or fiance visa is based on a number of factors about your relationship - too many details to work through here on the forum - happy to help you in a consultation where I can learn more about your specific circumstances and give you specific advice on which visa(s) may be best for your situation - see website below in my signature if you'd like to book a consult -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tweet said:


> hello. what would be a better and faster partner visa option. we are planning for a civil wedding here in the philippines but we would like to know if what would be better, fiancee or spouse visa? what kind of documents do we need to provide and how long would it take? thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tassi_girl -

I'd love to help, but Centrelink benefits are outside my area of expertise - would suggest you contact Centrelink (be patient!) and determine what social services payments may be available to those who have applied for PR visas (which you have) but have not yet been granted PR.

Best,

Mark



Tassi_girl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I *applied* for my *de facto partner visa in November 2014*, since then I am on my *bridging visa A*. All good so far.
> 
> I just found out that I am 5 weeks pregnant. Apparently I does not make any difference for my visa application ( so I read on different pages ). In some cases you receive your permanent visa earlier but does not have to.
> 
> I also work full time since september ( and would work longer than 12 months full time when the baby would be born) and were working before that casual. I read a lot about parents leave and paid parents leave and also what my employer would have to pay.
> 
> My questions are Do I have the right to get parents leave and paid parents leave (which I would as a permanent resident).
> 
> I have read that my partner would get it as he would be the father and of course australian citizen , but would he need to stay at home with the baby ( as parents leave says to get paid parents leave you can not work during this time) and my partner also is not full time employed would we still get paid from his or mine employer as I would as a permanent!?
> 
> Unfortunately I could not find any Information about being pregnant and not being permanent resident.
> 
> A lot of question I know but a lot of decisions to make if I would be able to get any support from the government/ centerlink/ employer ect:?
> 
> I would be happy if you could help me out here a little to loose a little bit of weight from my shoulders.
> 
> Thanks anyway!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mustafa -

Thanks for the questions. Once the Health Details link is active, it's generally a good idea to get your medicals done. You haven't mentioned what subclass of visa you are applying for, so hard to say much more than that. Remember that DIBP does not notify people of assignment of a case officer (nowadays, it's teams rather than individual officers), so no way to know where your application is in the processing cycle. The change in language you mention was only the result of a user interface change on ImmiAccounts that was updated over the weekend of 18 April.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mustafasabir said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have few questions to ask and once again knocking the doors of your generosity.
> 
> *1) *I have filed a case with DIBP on 22nd March, 2015 and to my knowledge, CO is still not yet assigned. I have noticed yesterday that there is appearing a button *Get Health Details* in my IMMI account. This is something which was not appearing before. On pressing this button, a link appears stating Organise your health requirements. I understand that through this link, we are provided a HAP ID to proceed with medical examination. However, there is also a form of *Record Medical History (E-Medical)*. Do I need to first fill up this form and then go to the clinic for my health examination OR I have to fill up this form on the basis of the Health Examination conducted by the panel doctor?
> 
> Is it recommended to go for the medical test now because I don't know whether the CO is assigned or not.
> 
> *2) *Receiving this medical request, does it mean that the CO is already assigned and our case is under assessment?
> 
> *3) *Few days back, the application status was displaying _In Progress_ where as now it is showing *Assessment in Progress*. Is this only a status update? I would be surprise to know that the case officer has started the assessment because there was no intimation from DIBP that the CO is assigned.
> 
> Thanks a lot.
> 
> Regards,
> Mustafa


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks so much! Glad I was able to help - best of luck with your visa application!

Best,

Mark



fitzroyy said:


> *POSTIVE REVIEW FOR MARK*
> 
> This is the 4th time I have consulted with Mark and again so I want to write him the review again. This time was by consultation on the phone rather than in person. In the end, I forgot to ask a couple of questions and emailed him back and he was able to answer promptly without hesitation. If it was other agents, they might have gone like "please book me again to answer your questions", so I really can't fault anything.
> 
> It's not a major problem here for me but rather help me decide what to do according from his advice and experiences so again guys, if you need some serious consultation, PLEASE book with him, every penny is worth it unless your case or questions are not that urgent or important, or otherwise, you can post your questions here as he is more than happy to answer the questions without any hesitation. Really, I cannot find any other agents who would have this kind of moral these days.
> 
> So book with him if you have problems or any uncertain circumstances and he would be happy to assist you and lead you to the right direction! Thanks once again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martin -

Re: 1, probably not significant enough to cause a problem, but you could always lodge Form 1023 to correct the job title. Re: 2, safe bet is to claim points after the 1st day of the month AFTER the ACS deeming date, so in your case 1 September unless there are other aspects to the work experience that make that inappropriate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



krucznik said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've received state sponsorship.
> I'm about to apply for 190 visa and I have two issues.
> 
> 1. I've made a mistake in EOI (which is now locked) in my job title. In work experience I entered Computer Network and System Engineer, where in my references letter it say that I was working as Senior Network and System Engineer.
> Therefore, should I change it using appropriate form?
> 
> 2. My ACS skills assessment state that I'm skilled after August 2009. Which date should be entered in EOI. 1 August 2009 or 1 September 2009?
> 
> These are minor issues but I want to have my EOI as accurate as possible.
> 
> I'll appreciate you suggestions.
> 
> Thank you
> Martin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deep -

Without 24 months in Australia in the 5 years prior to applying for another RRV, you can only go the 1 year RRV route based on significant ties. Would have to work with you in a consultation to learn more about your circumstances to give you advice on what ties you have that may qualify as significant ties and suggest appropriate documentation based on what those ties may be. Re: compelling circumstances, there is some discussion of this in DIBP policy which you can get if you subscribe to LegendCOM or you can get from a migration agent who does - I'd bundle this in with your questions and seek a consultation with an agent to get professional advice re: your situation. If you're interested in consultation options, happy to assist - see website below for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



deepsea said:


> Hi Mark, Can you please advice me on my situation.
> 
> I got my permanent residency, sub-class VE175 visa, during January 2010. I have stayed in Australia for a total of 22 months (close to 2 years) and was just 2 months short of getting a 5 year RRV.
> 
> Unfortunately, due to family circumstances, I had to leave the country and go back. I left Australia on March 2014 and been staying in my home country from that time.
> 
> Presently, I need to continue staying at my home country (for a few more months) caring for a old parent who are very sick. However, I really wish to keep my options open to return to Australia in the future, as I intend to settle down in Australia.
> 
> My PR has expired on Mar 2015, while I am out of the country. Before leaving in Mar 2014, I applied for a RRV and got approved for 1 year (starting from March 2014 to March 2015).
> 
> Now the RRV has also expired and remains unused. Before applying for RRV, I honestly did not know that the validity of the RRV visa would start from date of approval (instead of the date of my would PR expire), therefore was only approved until March 2015, therefore RRV was effectively issued for one additional month.
> 
> My RRV remains unused, as I was unable to travel during this period. I have stayed in Australia totally for about 22 months,
> 
> Presently I am not sure if this meets 2/5 year OR 1/5 year requirement for applying for another RRV. I am afraid, if I would even qualify for making an application under compelling circumstances to apply for another RRV extension.
> 
> Do I have any other better options to return, while applying for a RRV again (outside Australia) ?
> 
> Additionally, how does one provide "compelling circumstances or reasons" as a part of the online application. Should I include a cover letter along with supporting documentation. What kind of supporting documentation would be required ? Sorry, I was unable to find any information.
> 
> Please advice on what needs to be done. I greatly appreciate your response.
> 
> Warm regards,
> Deep


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mariella -

Thanks for the question. As WA (I understand that's the state you live in) does not support registered relationships, you would need to have lived together for the 12 months prior to applying for the onshore partner visa via de facto relationship. If you tried to do it with 7 months, you'd have to look at the remaining 5 months and see if you could prove to DIBP that that period of time apart was "temporary in nature". Normally that's not easy to do, however, but would depend on your specific circumstances. Remember that living together is DIBP's primary indicator of whether a couple are in a de facto relationship or not. It is technically possible to show a de facto relationship has continued for short periods while couples are apart, but 5 months is probably pushing it re: temporary time apart. Depending on your circumstances, I'd find a way to stay (additional visitor visa?) and get the 12 months in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Magiantola said:


> Hello Mark! First of all, its really nice what you do here, helping all of us!
> 
> My query is related to the Partner Visa.
> 
> My partner and I met almost 2 years ago, online. We started a formal relationship in May,2013 and he went to Perú on December 2013 to met in person. He stayed with me 3 weeks, we spent holiday time together, he met my family, we celebrated our birthdays (23 and 26 December) and had a wonderful trip for new year's eve (we have lots of pictures of this as flights reservations and hotel bookings, even some money transfer evidence to paid everything for our time together).
> 
> After that, I came to Australia in May 2014 for 5 weeks. We celebrated our first anniversary together in Sydney, then flew to Airlie Beach, then to Perth (where I met his son), then to Karratha (where he lives with his parents), we did a car trip to Broome (where he has a house) and back to Karratha. I stayed with him in his parents house for almost 4 weeks. But I needed to return to my country (I'm from Perú) cause my visa was going to expire soon and also I had to go back to work.
> 
> Being so far away was the hardest thing in our lives. That's why after talking many times and thinking which could be the best way, we decided to live together in Australia. However, the partner visa offshore process takes too long, so I applied for a visitor visa for 6 months, which has been granted without "no further stay" condition.
> 
> I entered to Australia on January 23, 2015. We got together in Melbourne for the Australian Open Tournament, he went with his son, so we can say that we had a wonderful "family time" (lots of pictures and tickets that can proof this). Then, flew to Perth, stayed in my partner's brother house and then come to Karratha. A car trip to Coral Bay and back again in Karratha, where we have been living in my partner parents' house.
> 
> A few more details: I am a lawyer and an university teacher, so I can't work in Australia as one (Perú and Australia have different law systems), that's why I am working online with my office in Lima, which has offered me an indeterminate contract to work online with them. I have a house and a car under my name in Lima, so the decision to come to Australia is not related with a different interest than being with my partner. I can also say that coming to Australia has been a big change in my life, I have left almost all my life there, change a life in a big city (where I have lived all my life) to a small but really nice town (Karratha), with the love of my life.
> 
> He is earning a good amount of money in his work. We have a joint account, which was opened at the beginning of February, 2015. We are planning to buy a house in Perth. We have a few bills under our names (telephone and internet has been just connected and both are under Mariella Antola / Partners Name).
> 
> Also, we have a huge (HUGE) record of phone calls, whatsapp messages, text messages, postcards, skype records, facetime records, friends and family that can testify about our relationship.
> 
> With all this, my question is: Do you think we can apply for a partner visa without having the 12 months of living together? We are planning to lodge our application by the end of June, 2015, because my visitor visa expires on July. That means that by that time we have been living together in total for around 7 months.
> 
> I really appreciate any suggestion, comment, advice!
> 
> Have a great day,
> 
> Mariella


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leomama -

Yes, there is a provision if you are onshore, have applied for 820/801, and the relationship has ended but there is (at least) 1 child of the relationship. You can inform DIBP of the children and they can advise you re: the process, or you can engage a migration agent to represent you, but either way, the provision is there and it sounds like from what you've said you would be able to utilise the provision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leomama said:


> Hi there, i would like some advice please.
> I applied for a partner visa 820/801 two years ago, and am still on a bridging visa. I have two children with my husband. I couldn't undergo health check till the birth of my second child which caused the delay of the visa, havent got a temporary visa yet. i just emailed the immigration that my relationship is ending
> My questions are:
> 1)can i still continue with my application for PR on the ground that i have two australian kids with the husband even though im on a bridging visa?
> 2) if the visa is refused, what options do i have to remain in the country?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ifthakhar -

Withdrawal will avoid a PIC4020 refusal, however DIBP may take a very close look at the next application he lodges - it must be bulletproof in every way. They cannot refuse it simply based on the withdrawn previous application, but as I said, they will look very, very closely.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ifthakhar said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> One of my friend lodged visa application for subclass-190.During verification period DIBP officer found some mismatch with his employment reference letter.Now co sent him a Letter of Natural Justice PIC 4020 and gave him 28 days time to respond.He thought it might be difficult for him to establish the issue to CO. Now he wants to withdraw the visa application at this stage and wants to lodge fresh application again.Is it possible now.What affect might be happened if Fresh application lodge.
> 
> Need your suggestion in this regard.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emivovo -

Re: 1, you need to make a fresh 820/801 application - I always recommend doing this online via ImmiAccount. These generally take between 4 and 6 months to be approved for PMV holders. If the PMV has expired by the time he leaves, will need to lodge an application to change the Bridging Visa A he gets from the 820/801 onshore application to a Bridging Visa B which allows a trip out and back. Must be done before he departs Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



emivovo said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for answering my questions, it's much appreciated
> 
> My partner is currently here in Aus on his PMV visa. We are getting married on June 14.
> 
> 1 - do we need to make a new online application for the next visa, or is it attached to our online PMV app?
> 
> 2 - Once we have married and applied for the 820/801 visa, is there much of a wait, or is it granted immediately? And is he allowed to leave the country on this visa? We need to visit his family for a month in September, and I'm worried he won't be able to.
> 
> We are getting married on June 14 of this year, and will be ready to submit our visa for the 820 very soon after (we will hopefully submit it the week after we're married), and then we need to be in his country for mid August/September. Can you forsee any issues here?
> 
> Thanks so much!
> 
> Emily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kknd24 -

Thanks for the question. If you are using the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) pathway for the 186 visa where you first work 2 years on a 457 visa, then the employer sponsors you for PR, you will still need to satisfy the Vocational English requirements, which means an IELTS test of at least 5 on each band, or one of the equivalent tests for Vocational English (ie, PTE, etc - see DIBP website for more on this).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kknd24 said:


> Hi,Mark. I had 457 visa about more than 1years, I can apply to 186 visa in July 2015 , I got IELTS test result of an average band score of 5 based on the four test components of speaking, reading, listening and writing in January 2015. I need to do the test again for getting better result , or my current IELTS test result is enough for apply to 186 visa...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Varundev -

Thanks for the kind words! No particular order for health or PCC's, both have 1 year expiration. Since 190's are typically processed in 4-6 months, no reason usually not to do those right after you lodge.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



varundev said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> You are doing really wonderful job by helping people
> 
> Only simple question - Subclass 190 visa applied offshore (INDIA) and want to know that Physical enquiry comes first or Medial, PCC comes first ? I am bit confused.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RiverBest -

Glad I could help. Not possible to assess the impact of a longer stay in the USA - especially if you are not with your partner there. Likely not an issue, but would definitely change your contact info with DIBP (use Form 929) so they can keep in touch with you re: any requests, etc while you're outside Australia. Would need to know much more about your individual circumstances via a consultation (see website in my sig below for more) to give you specific advice about staying outside longer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RiverBest said:


> Thank you so much, that is a weight off my back. I know that I need to be in Australia to apply but do you think if I were to stay in the States a bit longer (say a couple months) that that would be looked down upon in terms of my visa being granted? I was never really worried about my visa being granted otherwise and will be able to provide proof of contact throughout my time away.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amkhan -

Thanks for the note - normally Form 929 can be sent to the closest DIBP processing office near you - see DIBP website for lists of offices outside Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amkhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> First of all thanks for your continuous support on the forum. I need to ask a query, I received visa grant in Feb 2015. Afterwards I renewed passport of my wife and passport number has been changed on the passport. I have seen in the visa grant letter that any change in the passport I need to inform Australian immigration. I have found that I need to submit form 929 for passport change. Can you please advise that to which authority do I need to submit form 929. Appreciate your never ending support.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nimbuz -

Not enough info to predict - if I had to guess, I'd guess #1, but you really should consult ACS on this for more - likely you'll need to get through the skills assessment process with them to see how they assess things as things like this can be difficult to predict. However if ACS concludes that employment is skilled and you can provide sufficient docs to DIBP about that employment (ie, work ref letter, proof of payment) then it is difficult for DIBP to disallow that for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nimbuz said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I'm about to apply for ACS assessment, but it still unclear to me whether I should go the RPL route or not.
> 
> My credentials:
> 
> *12 years of work experience* as 'Developer' (Jun 03 - Sep 14).
> *No tertiary qualifications*.
> *Diploma* (MCSD: Web Applications) _awarded in Feb this year_.
> 
> My question is, if I submit RPL, will ACS:
> 
> 
> Acknowledges the diploma, but according to RPL deduct 8 years to meet the skill level, consider the remaining 4 as "skilled employment", OR;
> Consider the Diploma as ICT Major and deduct 5 years to meet the skill level, but no "skilled employment" since the diploma was awarded only recently.
> 
> In case of *#1*, I can claim 10 points for Diploma and 5 for employment, which is great. However, with *#2* I can only claim 10 points for Diploma, and no points for employment.
> 
> *What do you think is more likely - #1 or #2?*


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Angelaqi -

No way to tell for sure from the data, but there is a requirement that the multiple courses "lead to" the last qual you were awarded, and there are issues re: credits, etc. Suggest you have a migration agent have a detailed look over the transcripts of both qualifications and get you an opinion on whether they are likely to meet the Australia Study Requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Angelaqi said:


> Hi, mark, huge replys made me ask u. A quick question. For applying 189, does 1.5 yrs master degree followed by 0.5 yrs graduate diploma satisfy 2 years academic requirement ? Many thx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rosie -

Once a partner visa is granted (provisional or PR) there is generally no limit on travel, and you do not need to notify DIBP of travel. If during provisional visa a couple spends a great deal of time apart, that may make it difficult ot get the PR part of the visa approved later. But short trips separately are generally no problem. See DIBP site on subclass 155 Resident Return Visa (RRV) for details on renewing PR after the initial 5 year period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rm45443 said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I have a few questions about the rules on leaving Australia once your de facto visa has been granted. My partner and I have not started the process yet as he wants to know what exactly this visa lets us do beforehand. He is Australian and I am British. His slight worry woth this visa is that when it is granted, we will have to stay in Australia without travelling for a period of time. I don't have any knowledge of this rule or if such a rule exists. We will be in Australia when we apply and for the duration of the decision process we will be in Australia but when it is granted, are we able to travel overseas? And is there a limit on how long you can travel? Do we need to notify immi and why we're going etc. We have thought we might want to go and live in England for a period of time depending on how long the visa permits. And what would be the situation if one of the other of us wants to travel alone for work or with friends? I have been told that in the eyes of the government, why would we want to travel separately etc. It wouldn't be for long periods we just want to know if it can be done.
> Any help would be really appreciated! Thanks
> Rosie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amitsethiaustralia -

Thanks for the question. Normally 4-6 month processing time for 190 visas, but this can be very unpredictable. Re: functional English, see How can I prove I have functional English? for details - note carefully the requirements for full-time study, etc. You can remove her during the visa application process, but then it's much more expensive to sponsor her here on a partner visa and will take significantly longer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amitsethiaustralia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have received nomination from NSW for 190 visa & applied on 20 April 2015. I have some queries could you please answer them:
> 1. What is the current processing time for receiving sponsorship to lodge visa.
> 
> 2. My wife is unable to prove functional English. But I have added her in my EOI. If get invite from NSW can I remove her name afterwards from EOI at the time of lodging visa ? or If I remove her name now from EOI before NSW approve my application will it impact my selection in any way or not? Please clarify some options as well.
> 
> 3. I can prove her functional English by getting a certificate from her MBA (Master Of Business Administration) institute saying the complete 2 years education is in English language. But the MBA was not full time could you please tell will it be acceptable or not ?
> 
> Thanks In Advance. Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginia -

Thanks for the question. Not possible to conclude anything from the request for health/police checks, unfortunately. Overall partner visa processing times are anywhere from 12-18 months currently, but this can be very unpredictable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> Hi Mark,
> My partner applied for his de facto partner visa almost 6 months ago. Yesterday he was requested to complete his medical assessment. With his application we included relevant police checks.
> Are we correct in thinking that this is a positive sign? That the office has accepted the evidence of our relationship as sufficient? Or could we possibly be asked to supply more?
> Any idea of timeframe for visa approval once you submit medical results....i think this one is probably a long shot!!!
> Thanks mark.
> Kind regards,
> Virginia


----------



## ES2013

Hi mark. 
We applied for partner visa 309. I am currently in Afghanistan. I called dubai however they are just brushing away my questions and just Sy look at website. I wanted to know is it true that applicants from Afghanistan do not need a police check? And if they do? How is the process done? Also with the polio certificate. Is the vaccination done during the medical check or do we have to do that separately? How long is the polio vaccination valid for?


----------



## Rebelchick

MarkNortham said:


> Happy to help!


Hi Mark, I have a quickie question. I just got married in Australia and I'm American and will be filing the 309. Now, is it okay to use my new married name even though my maiden name is on my passport?


----------



## deepsea

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Deep -
> 
> Without 24 months in Australia in the 5 years prior to applying for another RRV, you can only go the 1 year RRV route based on significant ties. Would have to work with you in a consultation to learn more about your circumstances to give you advice on what ties you have that may qualify as significant ties and suggest appropriate documentation based on what those ties may be. Re: compelling circumstances, there is some discussion of this in DIBP policy which you can get if you subscribe to LegendCOM or you can get from a migration agent who does - I'd bundle this in with your questions and seek a consultation with an agent to get professional advice re: your situation. If you're interested in consultation options, happy to assist - see website below for more.
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, I don't have any present cultural, employment, business or personal ties with Australia unfortunately as I am out of the country, Although, I was employed before I left Australia, not sure if that can be considered a employment tie. However, I believe the only window I may have is a 3 month RRV available. Would leaving the country due to death of a parent and had to supporting the sick mother morally be considered a compelling reason ?

I would happy to go for a consultation.

Thanks again.


----------



## remo

Hiiii Mark.

I have received the invitation and going to apply for 489 skilled visa. My question is that what documents as an evidence do I need to justify my 3 yrs experience as they considered 3 yrs experience valid amongst 4.5 yrs. I have been working for the same company for last 4.5 yrs and I have my appointment letter, salary slips, tax returns of last three years (I dont have income tax return of first 1.5 yrs because my salary is far below taxable income and I have not filed ITR) also I cant provide bank statement because I am getting salary as a cash in hand. 

Does these documents - appointment letter, salary slips and tax returns of last three years will solve my purpose. 

I have also read in this forum about verification that they can verify by calling employer or by personally visiting in the office. Is it true ?


----------



## qixie89

Hi Mark,

Just a quick question. My partner was recently granted the 189 visa and we're planning to apply for a partner visa for me after we get married and before we move over in 2017 together. Does he still qualify as a sponsor for me given that he is still offshore? Or does he have to move to australia before he is able to sponsor my partner visa?

Thanks so much!


----------



## Nabajit2015

*Thank you*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nabajit -
> 
> Thanks for the question and kind words. Re: EA, they do not normally assess work experience - it's not part of the CDR skills assessment, so it's completely optional. If that experience is clearly relevant to your occupation and is easily verifiable with your current & past employers, you may want to not have EA assess the work experience and let DIBP make a judgment on it. In these cases, if DIBP has an issue with the work experience re: relevance, they will often give you the opportunity during assessment to have EA assess it then, so that might be an option - to assess it only if DIBP questions it. No problem if you want to have it assessed in advance though - completely your choice, but optional. See EA site for their rules/regulations re: work assessment - too many details to go into here.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark...its helping me a lot and now i have got an idea in details. May god bless you mate..


----------



## shamtah

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shamtah -
> 
> It means that it's possible that your visa grant may be pushed until the beginning of the next processing year (begins 1 July), but nothing is certain.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark


----------



## armin71

*Acs*

HI Mark,

I just receive this email from ACS:

*"Your Bachelor Degree from *** completed July 2011 has been assessed as 
comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in computing.

The following employment after May 2012 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261312 (Developer Programmer) of the ANZSCO Code.

Dates: 05/10 - 11/11 (1yrs 6mths) 
Position: Computer Programmer 
Employer: ***
Dates: 11/11 - 10/13 (1yrs 11mths) 
Position: Computer Programmer 
Employer: *** 
,etc"*

Firstly, why they didn't accept my first two years.
Secondly, I was thinking that these years are enough and didn't add one of my old work experiences to be assessed. Is it possible to add it now and ask for reconsideration?
Finally, I want to apply for 186 visa and I already got 30 month work experience after May2012. Can I apply with that or I need 6 more months?

Regards


----------



## Helen Tran

Hi Mark,

I'm on Partner Temporary Visa, applied visa 445 for my adopted child (adopt before I came to AU) and got refusal after 18 months of waiting.

I'm considering to apply for MRT, however thats mean I have to wait much longer for my Partner Permanent Visa. Should I go ahead to apply for my PR and later apply for my child on a child visa 101?

Any disadvantages to my child visa later if i choose to do this?

Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ES2013 -

The last time I checked, there was no officially accepted (by DIBP) police clearance certificate from Afghanistan - typically this means they will ask for a declaration that you have not committed any offences, etc but only the processing office in Dubai can say for sure what the current policy is. Not sure how long Polio vaccination is for (nothing specific listed by DIBP) but according to DIBP the vaccination certificate should be presented before or at medical check - you might check with the medical facility you plan to use to see if they can do the vaccination at the check, or if it needs to be done prior.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ES2013 said:


> Hi mark.
> We applied for partner visa 309. I am currently in Afghanistan. I called dubai however they are just brushing away my questions and just Sy look at website. I wanted to know is it true that applicants from Afghanistan do not need a police check? And if they do? How is the process done? Also with the polio certificate. Is the vaccination done during the medical check or do we have to do that separately? How long is the polio vaccination valid for?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rebelchick -

Thanks for the question. You should only use your new married name on Australian visa applications once your passport is changed to reflect your new name. OK if statements and other relationship evidence reflect the new name, however actual application name (on application forms, etc) should always be in sync with passport listed name.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rebelchick said:


> Hi Mark, I have a quickie question. I just got married in Australia and I'm American and will be filing the 309. Now, is it okay to use my new married name even though my maiden name is on my passport?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deepsea -

That could qualify depending on the details - suggest you consider a consultation so an agent can go through your circumstances in detail, compare to all requirements of the RRV, and give you an opinion re: chances of success.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



deepsea said:


> Hi Mark, I don't have any present cultural, employment, business or personal ties with Australia unfortunately as I am out of the country, Although, I was employed before I left Australia, not sure if that can be considered a employment tie. However, I believe the only window I may have is a 3 month RRV available. Would leaving the country due to death of a parent and had to supporting the sick mother morally be considered a compelling reason ?
> 
> I would happy to go for a consultation.
> 
> Thanks again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Remo -

DIBP generally wants proof of payment for all years you are claiming for skilled visa points. This can be either bank statements, tax returns, etc. Would have to see your documents at a consultation to give you an opinion about them - yes, DIBP can and frequently does contact any employers you are claiming points for, and can do so via phone call or in-person visit.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



remo said:


> Hiiii Mark.
> 
> I have received the invitation and going to apply for 489 skilled visa. My question is that what documents as an evidence do I need to justify my 3 yrs experience as they considered 3 yrs experience valid amongst 4.5 yrs. I have been working for the same company for last 4.5 yrs and I have my appointment letter, salary slips, tax returns of last three years (I dont have income tax return of first 1.5 yrs because my salary is far below taxable income and I have not filed ITR) also I cant provide bank statement because I am getting salary as a cash in hand.
> 
> Does these documents - appointment letter, salary slips and tax returns of last three years will solve my purpose.
> 
> I have also read in this forum about verification that they can verify by calling employer or by personally visiting in the office. Is it true ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Qixie89 -

Thanks for the question. He needs to be "usually resident" in Australia in order to sponsor you for a partner visa. This essentially means he needs to consider Australia his primary residence, so needs to be living here, or show evidence that he has plans in place to move here in the very near future. If you're planning to lodge before he actually comes to Australia, you might want to get a consultation with a migration agent to go over your specific details to get an opinion on whether there are sufficient documents to evidence living here in the near future, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



qixie89 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a quick question. My partner was recently granted the 189 visa and we're planning to apply for a partner visa for me after we get married and before we move over in 2017 together. Does he still qualify as a sponsor for me given that he is still offshore? Or does he have to move to australia before he is able to sponsor my partner visa?
> 
> Thanks so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Armin71 -

Thanks - I answered this via direct email as well - ACS normally deducts 2 years of work experience for non-Australian Bachelor degrees - see Summary of Criteria chart on ACS website for details. ACS has very specific rules about reviews of skills assessments - not sure if you would be able to add new work experience in on a review, or would have to order a new assessment - best to consult ACS website and read their rules very carefully - they're not the easiest to understand!

SC186 Direct Entry (without 2 yrs on 457 first) requires 3 years skilled work experience at time of application, no way to do with less.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



armin71 said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> I just receive this email from ACS:
> 
> *"Your Bachelor Degree from *** completed July 2011 has been assessed as
> comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in computing.
> 
> The following employment after May 2012 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261312 (Developer Programmer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Dates: 05/10 - 11/11 (1yrs 6mths)
> Position: Computer Programmer
> Employer: ***
> Dates: 11/11 - 10/13 (1yrs 11mths)
> Position: Computer Programmer
> Employer: ***
> ,etc"*
> 
> Firstly, why they didn't accept my first two years.
> Secondly, I was thinking that these years are enough and didn't add one of my old work experiences to be assessed. Is it possible to add it now and ask for reconsideration?
> Finally, I want to apply for 186 visa and I already got 30 month work experience after May2012. Can I apply with that or I need 6 more months?
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Helen -

Thanks for the question. I would need to know much more about your circumstances in order to advise you re: Child visa vs MRT - there are simply too many factors to each of those visas (Child visa, 445 visa) that could relate to your circumstances to give you advice one way or another. Happy to assist in a consultation where we could go over the refusal in detail and determine whether review or further application is the better option - see website in email signature below for details.

Best,

Mark



Helen Tran said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm on Partner Temporary Visa, applied visa 445 for my adopted child (adopt before I came to AU) and got refusal after 18 months of waiting.
> 
> I'm considering to apply for MRT, however thats mean I have to wait much longer for my Partner Permanent Visa. Should I go ahead to apply for my PR and later apply for my child on a child visa 101?
> 
> Any disadvantages to my child visa later if i choose to do this?
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## Mea

Hi Mark!

Greetings to you from Dhaka, Bangladesh! First of all thank you for being so responsive and helpful! This forum is a one stop service for a lot of immigrants; I have some questions and have been suffering to get the answers, it would indeed be much a help if you could advise on these:

_1. My Husband is australian citizen. We got married on Jan 24th. It was semi-arranged marriage and we didnt see each other till marriage hence we do not have any certain evidence to prove " the relationship is genuine in continuing" ; We have phone calls history, and our marriage pics, video, honeymoon tickets etc from after marriage. Hence, can you advise how should I justify household living / etc that we need to menetion in the statement?

2. I am expecting and hence I cannot undergo the X ray. As far as I know, if X ray is not done, I cannot submit my full application. What to do?

3. I know VFS in dhaka can lodge the application on my behalf. But I emailed the embassy and got to know that I can also apply online for Subclass 309. Now my question is, are online applications faster processed? Will it be accepted if I dont go through VFS?

4. In Form 40SP, it mentioned " Have you lived separately after you started partnership to the exclusion of all others" ; In our case, we have only seen each other before our engagement [Thts how muslim arranged marriages work] , and we have lived together for a month after our marriage; after a month he had to go back to aus and I am processing the papers now ; Hence what should be the answer to that question?_


----------



## mhry

Hello.
I applied a PMV a month ago. I would like track the status of my application. My immigration agent uploaded online and he sends me File Number, TRN and Application ID same time, and also when i was doing Biometrics at the Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, they gave me VLN, so that, i tried to track my application status, using VLN through VFS Global website asked me VLN and date of birth, i entered and they told me application forwarded to the High Commissioner in KL, but now i want to know if i can use immi account using TRN or File Number or Application ID, please help me to do that? I created my own immi account and I don't see the way to track.
Tell me how to please


----------



## Rebelchick

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rebelchick -
> 
> Thanks for the question. You should only use your new married name on Australian visa applications once your passport is changed to reflect your new name. OK if statements and other relationship evidence reflect the new name, however actual application name (on application forms, etc) should always be in sync with passport listed name.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Yes, Mark thank you. It helps us very much and is very much appreciated.This is a nerve wracking experience to say the least. I am lucky that we've been together 8 years with me going back and forth to Oz every year and plenty of evidence but still I'm nervous I'm going to mess up my app. Thanks again.  Tina


----------



## Rebelchick

*Confusion about sponsor question*

Hi Mark,

I'm rather confused about a question on the 309 spouse application. It asks me if I (the applicant) has any siblings or parents in my country that are not coming with me etc. and to list their name, date of birth and it has a question at the bottom of the window for each one that asks relationship to sponsor. Now this might sound stupid but shouldn't that be relationship to applicant instead or are they trying to find out if myself and my Aussie husband are blood related in any way? Is it a mistake on the app or do they really need me to state that my father is his father-in-law and the like?


----------



## pauly

Hi Mark,

I'll definitely make an appointment with you if we decide to go ahead. At the moment we just trying to understand how this visa works and if we can afford it. I'd be very thankful if you could answer a couple of questions I have.

1-When applying offshore for a 143 visa are they given a bridging visa at all at any time or how does bridging visa works in this case?
2-If it's rejected at what stage does DIPB tell the applicant, please tell me it's not after all payments are made 'cause that would be 45k+ ?

Thanks a ton for your help, much appreciated!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pauly -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Adult dependency questions for adults over 24 are complex - essentially you need to prove that she lives under the same roof as your mum and is financially dependent on your mum, however beyond that it gets more complex as to what constitutes dependency in various circumstances. Happy to discuss your case further at a consultation where I can learn more about your mum and sister's circumstances - see website below in my signature for details.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## qixie89

Thanks Mark! I guess we will be speaking with a migration agent to sort that issue out since our plans are to move over together as opposed to him moving over first.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Qixie89 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. He needs to be "usually resident" in Australia in order to sponsor you for a partner visa. This essentially means he needs to consider Australia his primary residence, so needs to be living here, or show evidence that he has plans in place to move here in the very near future. If you're planning to lodge before he actually comes to Australia, you might want to get a consultation with a migration agent to go over your specific details to get an opinion on whether there are sufficient documents to evidence living here in the near future, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## crish_mac

Hi Mark,

Today i have received Invite for SS. Thanks for assisting in all stages till now.

One quick question:
I have done my ACS with Job title Software Engineer (As in Reference Letter) while title on my contract is Computer programmer, will this affect my case ? or do i need to re-asses my experience from ACS with Computer Programmer, although the job responsibilities are same.


----------



## vinc

Hi Mark, and hi to everybody else . This is my first post here; however, i've been reading the topics and posts for a while. 

Just two quick questions: 

I am holding visa 476 and it expires in July 2015. Now, I am offshore and outside Australia. 

1- Do I receive bridging visa if I lodge my PR application outside Australia and return before my visa expiry date?( probably the answer would be Yes). 

2- I am about to get married which means I am outside of Australia and then lodge a joint application (with my wife) for PR, again lodge an offshore PR aplcation . Would there be any pathway to take my wife with myself while returning to Australia? 

Cheers


----------



## phuhle1104

*Police check for 190*

Hi Mark

I hope you are going well with everything. Right now I have a question regarding to the police check for visa 190. I will lodge my visa 190 application in July but my previous police check will be expired on 04/08/2015. Should I do the new police check right now or I can use the old one?

Another question is that my wife does not want to migrate to Australia in the next 3 years. Should I put her in the category of non-migrating dependent family member while SHE IS NOT FINANCIALLY DEPENDENT ON ME?

Thank you very much for what you have done so far for us.

Regards,
Phu


----------



## Soop

*adding dependent to 189 visa*

Hi Mark,

I have received an invitation for a 189 visa and applied today onshore. My husband held a student visa which got cancelled. Am i able to add him to my 189 application as a secondary applicant ( dependent) ? I heard that once you have a visa cancelled, you are barred from making some onshore applications. In his case, will he be able to be included in my application onshore or will he have to go offshore? We are both from 2 different countries; He is from Bangladesh and I am from Mauritius.

Thanks a lot
Soop


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mea -

Thanks for the note and kind words! Happy to assist.

Re: 1, your evidence can focus on the period after the marriage - many people do not have household or living together evidence prior to marriage, especially if they haven't lived together for religious or other reasons, or if it's an arranged marriage. Key is to explain this effectively in your statements, etc.

Re: 2, you can submit your application and processing for much of it can proceed, but the health criteria can't be determined until you have the x-ray, so likely the final decision of the application will be delayed until you have the x-ray. In some cases they will accept an undertaking (promise) that you'll take the x-ray when able to and grant the visa prior to that, but that is very rare for PR visas and only available for a small number of cases that fit the regulations.

Re: 3, I'm a big fan of online applications for partner and fiance visas - I have not yet heard a good reason why it makes any sense to lodge a paper application for these any more. Not sure if there is a processing time difference - haven't noticed that, however just the fact that the entire issue of certified copies can be avoided (since online application allow colour scans of original documents) and the fact that you have control over the scanning, etc of documents is enough to sell me.

re: 4, Best to explain the time since you committed to each other - the reasons you did not live together before the marriage, and your partner's need to return to Australia while you wait offshore for the visa - the more details, the better for this typically.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mea said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Greetings to you from Dhaka, Bangladesh! First of all thank you for being so responsive and helpful! This forum is a one stop service for a lot of immigrants; I have some questions and have been suffering to get the answers, it would indeed be much a help if you could advise on these:
> 
> _1. My Husband is australian citizen. We got married on Jan 24th. It was semi-arranged marriage and we didnt see each other till marriage hence we do not have any certain evidence to prove " the relationship is genuine in continuing" ; We have phone calls history, and our marriage pics, video, honeymoon tickets etc from after marriage. Hence, can you advise how should I justify household living / etc that we need to menetion in the statement?
> 
> 2. I am expecting and hence I cannot undergo the X ray. As far as I know, if X ray is not done, I cannot submit my full application. What to do?
> 
> 3. I know VFS in dhaka can lodge the application on my behalf. But I emailed the embassy and got to know that I can also apply online for Subclass 309. Now my question is, are online applications faster processed? Will it be accepted if I dont go through VFS?
> 
> 4. In Form 40SP, it mentioned " Have you lived separately after you started partnership to the exclusion of all others" ; In our case, we have only seen each other before our engagement [Thts how muslim arranged marriages work] , and we have lived together for a month after our marriage; after a month he had to go back to aus and I am processing the papers now ; Hence what should be the answer to that question?_


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mhry -

Thanks for the question. Only way to track is to transfer the application from your agent's ImmiAccount to yours, however this denies the agent the ability to look at your application (unless you give him your ImmiAccount username & password). However there is such limited tracking info available that it's not that useful anyway - it says "Application processing" until they make a decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mhry said:


> Hello.
> I applied a PMV a month ago. I would like track the status of my application. My immigration agent uploaded online and he sends me File Number, TRN and Application ID same time, and also when i was doing Biometrics at the Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, they gave me VLN, so that, i tried to track my application status, using VLN through VFS Global website asked me VLN and date of birth, i entered and they told me application forwarded to the High Commissioner in KL, but now i want to know if i can use immi account using TRN or File Number or Application ID, please help me to do that? I created my own immi account and I don't see the way to track.
> Tell me how to please


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rebelchick -

You might double check the application - there are 2 sections that ask for parents & siblings - one for the applicant, and another for the sponsor - each section asks for the corresponding relationship (ie, applicant section asks for relationship of each person to applicant, etc). They normally do not ask for the relationship of persons to the opposite side, other than on the 2 Form 888's (witnesses) where it always asks the relationship of the writer (even if the writer is from the sponsor's family) to the applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rebelchick said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm rather confused about a question on the 309 spouse application. It asks me if I (the applicant) has any siblings or parents in my country that are not coming with me etc. and to list their name, date of birth and it has a question at the bottom of the window for each one that asks relationship to sponsor. Now this might sound stupid but shouldn't that be relationship to applicant instead or are they trying to find out if myself and my Aussie husband are blood related in any way? Is it a mistake on the app or do they really need me to state that my father is his father-in-law and the like?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pauly -

Thanks for the question. No bridging visa is available for a subclass 143 contributory parent visa application done offshore. Re payments, the initial visa application fee is paid at the time of lodgment, however they only ask for the second stage payment (the 40+ thousand dollar one) when they are ready to approve the visa, so that way the large payment is not at risk - if they refuse the visa, that's done before they ever ask for the large payment, so only the initial visa application fee is at risk for refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pauly said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'll definitely make an appointment with you if we decide to go ahead. At the moment we just trying to understand how this visa works and if we can afford it. I'd be very thankful if you could answer a couple of questions I have.
> 
> 1-When applying offshore for a 143 visa are they given a bridging visa at all at any time or how does bridging visa works in this case?
> 2-If it's rejected at what stage does DIPB tell the applicant, please tell me it's not after all payments are made 'cause that would be 45k+ ?
> 
> Thanks a ton for your help, much appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Qixie89 -

Sounds like a good plan - as a registered migration agent, I'd be happy to assist going forward if needed.

Best,

Mark



qixie89 said:


> Thanks Mark! I guess we will be speaking with a migration agent to sort that issue out since our plans are to move over together as opposed to him moving over first.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crish_Mac -

Thanks for the question and congratulations on your invitation. Normally the job title is not all that critical - if ACS has approved your work experience with that job title under the ANZSCO code of Software Engineer, then I'd stick with that ANZSCO code, since you can only use your ACS report for an application made under Software Engineer. You can only apply under the same ANZSCO code that you have a positive skills assessment for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crish_mac said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Today i have received Invite for SS. Thanks for assisting in all stages till now.
> 
> One quick question:
> I have done my ACS with Job title Software Engineer (As in Reference Letter) while title on my contract is Computer programmer, will this affect my case ? or do i need to re-asses my experience from ACS with Computer Programmer, although the job responsibilities are same.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vinc -

Thanks for the question. Normally applications made while the applicant is outside Australia are not eligible for a bridging visa, regardless of whether you hold another visa at the time you apply or not. I can assist you at a consultation re: working out plans for marriage and return to Australia as I would need more details to be able to give you a specific recommendation - see website in my signature below for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vinc said:


> Hi Mark, and hi to everybody else . This is my first post here; however, i've been reading the topics and posts for a while.
> 
> Just two quick questions:
> 
> I am holding visa 476 and it expires in July 2015. Now, I am offshore and outside Australia.
> 
> 1- Do I receive bridging visa if I lodge my PR application outside Australia and return before my visa expiry date?( probably the answer would be Yes).
> 
> 2- I am about to get married which means I am outside of Australia and then lodge a joint application (with my wife) for PR, again lodge an offshore PR aplcation . Would there be any pathway to take my wife with myself while returning to Australia?
> 
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phu -

They will probably ask you for a new police check given the dates involved, however you might lodge it and see if they ask for another - up to you. If it's relatively easy to get, I'd get it and lodge the new one. You can put your wife as a non-migrating dependent, however DIBP will probably question you about that as it's seen as unusual (and may be a sign of a non-genuine relationship in their eyes), and your wife will have to take the medical exams in any case even if not migrating. As she's an immediate family member, you cannot avoid putting her on the application one way or another, whether migrating or not migrating.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I hope you are going well with everything. Right now I have a question regarding to the police check for visa 190. I will lodge my visa 190 application in July but my previous police check will be expired on 04/08/2015. Should I do the new police check right now or I can use the old one?
> 
> Another question is that my wife does not want to migrate to Australia in the next 3 years. Should I put her in the category of non-migrating dependent family member while SHE IS NOT FINANCIALLY DEPENDENT ON ME?
> 
> Thank you very much for what you have done so far for us.
> 
> Regards,
> Phu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Soop -

I would need to get more details in a consultation to give you a specific opinion on your case, but speaking generally, if a person is onshore after having a visa cancelled, he can only apply for certain visas (partner, protection, etc) which the 189 would not be part of. However if he goes offshore at the time of application for the 189, he can be included on it as the 3-year exclusion period he may have imposed on him when he departs Australia applies only to temporary visas and does not apply to the 189. You may want to work out your plan and run that by a migration agent to make sure everything will work re: when he is or isn't in the country, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Soop said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have received an invitation for a 189 visa and applied today onshore. My husband held a student visa which got cancelled. Am i able to add him to my 189 application as a secondary applicant ( dependent) ? I heard that once you have a visa cancelled, you are barred from making some onshore applications. In his case, will he be able to be included in my application onshore or will he have to go offshore? We are both from 2 different countries; He is from Bangladesh and I am from Mauritius.
> 
> Thanks a lot
> Soop


----------



## jrmencha8

*Visa Denial*

Hello,

I was invited to apply a couple of weeks ago for the 189 visa. We are gathering our documents in order to apply, my question is in regards to my wife. I'm a US citizen and she's a Mexican citizen, she was denied a US visa a couple years ago and she is residing in Mexico right now. Would that affect the character requirements for our application?

Thank you


----------



## Turisas

Hi Mark,
Can you please advise what would happen if my wife's application gets rejected (currently waiting on 801 after doing 100/820). Would she get deported? And would the marriage get annulled? She applied in Deecmber and we are getting a bit nervous.
Cheers
Chris


----------



## Magiantola

Thanks a lot! Your answer has been exactly what I was expecting. For sure I am going to contact you for a more specific consultation!!! 

Thanks!!!!!


----------



## Everlongdrummer

Hi Mark

Here's a tricky one for you. This year I wish to apply for an onshore Perth partner visa with my girlfriend, however I have already sponsored a partner visa in the past and thus am required to wait 5 years from the first applications date of submission (not date of visa grant, confirmed by a RSA) which is December 10, 2015.

My partner's study visa expires 2 months before this date that we wanted to apply for the visa (the date of 5 years from prior visa application). Due to money and increased cost of the visa's, we can't afford for her to study for those 2 months.

An RMA suggested via a phone call last year that we could just apply for the Visa 2 months before the actual date we are allowed to - as the waiting time for Case Officers is usually a lot longer than 2 months, and thus the 5 year criteria would be met.

However some forum members (not RMA's) seem to suggest applying 2 months before the 5-year gap requirement is met would not work, as the requirement was not met on the application date rather than when the CO looks at the file, thus losing the application costs.

A quick search from a few years ago, this RMA suggests the 5 year gap is to when the visa is being considered. http://www.australiaforum.com/visas...ship-affected-5-year-sponsorship-limiits.html

Obviously a big gamble but would love to know what your thoughts are.


----------



## naveenoronha

Hi Mark,

Grateful to have someone like you on this forum! I have a question and would appreciate your response. I lodged my EOI on the 12th of Feb 2015, looking for NSW State Sponsorship and got the invitation to apply on the 2nd of April. On the 4th I lodged the application for NSW SS. This is what my profile looks like
DIBP - 55 POINTS
IELTS L-9, R-8.5, W-7.5, S-7.5
Work exp 4.5 years
Ansco code 261112 System Analyst.

How good are my chances of getting the sponsorship?


----------



## Mea

*Exasperated*

Thanks a lot Mark! That was helpful indeed;

One burning question that I have now:

-My Husband is Citizen. I am due with the baby this October. Since the baby isnt born yet hence I am submitting my application without baby's details, But I have mentioned in the application statement with the medical reports that I am expecting; Now the point where I am really confused is:

1. If I get the grant after the baby is born, how will I accomodate the baby's papers? Will I need to resubmit the application with the dependent details?

2. Is there any chance baby will be citizen automatically since her father is a citizen? Even in that case, except for baby's passport, what documents should I need to take her with me?

I know its futuristic question but I am really confused with this. I cant include her in the application while I am expecting, and once she is born I cant resubmit the whole application as it means another waiting period of 9--12 months I assume? Whats the way out ? 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mea -
> 
> Thanks for the note and kind words! Happy to assist.
> 
> Re: 1, your evidence can focus on the period after the marriage - many people do not have household or living together evidence prior to marriage, especially if they haven't lived together for religious or other reasons, or if it's an arranged marriage. Key is to explain this effectively in your statements, etc.
> 
> Re: 2, you can submit your application and processing for much of it can proceed, but the health criteria can't be determined until you have the x-ray, so likely the final decision of the application will be delayed until you have the x-ray. In some cases they will accept an undertaking (promise) that you'll take the x-ray when able to and grant the visa prior to that, but that is very rare for PR visas and only available for a small number of cases that fit the regulations.
> 
> Re: 3, I'm a big fan of online applications for partner and fiance visas - I have not yet heard a good reason why it makes any sense to lodge a paper application for these any more. Not sure if there is a processing time difference - haven't noticed that, however just the fact that the entire issue of certified copies can be avoided (since online application allow colour scans of original documents) and the fact that you have control over the scanning, etc of documents is enough to sell me.
> 
> re: 4, Best to explain the time since you committed to each other - the reasons you did not live together before the marriage, and your partner's need to return to Australia while you wait offshore for the visa - the more details, the better for this typically.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## bhw080809

Hi, I have some question about application for visa 887.
i am holding visa 489. I have to at least one year work experience in a regional area before I am going to apply for visa 887. 
i got a full time job in a regional area right now. But I got my wages by cash not by transfering to my bank account. I am wondering if such job can be included in the one year work experience required. could DIBP admit this work experience? Besides information about tax and super, is there any information that i need to provide for supporting my one year work experience if I got my wages by cash?

Thank you so much for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jrmencha8 -

Thanks for the question. You'll have to disclose it as the new character questions include a question about any visa refusals for any country, however whether it will be an issue will depend on the circumstances of the refusal and why she was refused the visa - DIBP will likely want full details of the refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jrmencha8 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I was invited to apply a couple of weeks ago for the 189 visa. We are gathering our documents in order to apply, my question is in regards to my wife. I'm a US citizen and she's a Mexican citizen, she was denied a US visa a couple years ago and she is residing in Mexico right now. Would that affect the character requirements for our application?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chris -

Thanks for the question. If the 801 visa is refuse and she is in Australia, she will be issued a bridging visa just prior to the refusal, which leaves her lawful in Australia despite the refusal of the 801. When the 801 is refused, the 820 is cancelled, so she's left with the bridging visa at that point and has 28 days to depart Australia unless she lodges a valid review application at the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) within 21 days of the refusal - this is essentially an appeal of the decision, and in many cases makes sense to pursue. If you lodge a MRT review application that is valid, the bridging visa will automatically be extended indefinitely until the MRT decision is made (anywhere from 6-12 months later depending on the type of refusal). If the MRT is unsuccessful, there is a last option called Ministerial Intervention.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Turisas said:


> Hi Mark,
> Can you please advise what would happen if my wife's application gets rejected (currently waiting on 801 after doing 100/820). Would she get deported? And would the marriage get annulled? She applied in Deecmber and we are getting a bit nervous.
> Cheers
> Chris


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Everlongdrummer -

Thanks for the question - it's actually a fairly straightforward question - Reg 1.20J is the regulation that imposes the 5 year wait between sponsorships, and is a time of decision requirement, so the 5 year period begins at the time of application for the previous visa granted, and ends at the decision date of the current visa, so as long as the decision date is 5 years later, you're good. As it's almost unheard of for partner visas to be processed in 2 months, I think the risk is pretty low, and if DIBP for some reason was anxious to decide on the visa, I'd consider a polite email asking them to please put your application aside for a while until the 5 year time limit is met.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Everlongdrummer said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Here's a tricky one for you. This year I wish to apply for an onshore Perth partner visa with my girlfriend, however I have already sponsored a partner visa in the past and thus am required to wait 5 years from the first applications date of submission (not date of visa grant, confirmed by a RSA) which is December 10, 2015.
> 
> My partner's study visa expires 2 months before this date that we wanted to apply for the visa (the date of 5 years from prior visa application). Due to money and increased cost of the visa's, we can't afford for her to study for those 2 months.
> 
> An RMA suggested via a phone call last year that we could just apply for the Visa 2 months before the actual date we are allowed to - as the waiting time for Case Officers is usually a lot longer than 2 months, and thus the 5 year criteria would be met.
> 
> However some forum members (not RMA's) seem to suggest applying 2 months before the 5-year gap requirement is met would not work, as the requirement was not met on the application date rather than when the CO looks at the file, thus losing the application costs.
> 
> A quick search from a few years ago, this RMA suggests the 5 year gap is to when the visa is being considered. http://www.australiaforum.com/visas...ship-affected-5-year-sponsorship-limiits.html
> 
> Obviously a big gamble but would love to know what your thoughts are.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naveenoronha -

Thanks for the question. Answer: no way to tell for sure, since NSW Skilled does not publish the various weightings for the different factors (English, work experience, etc) that it uses in the assessment. Your IELTS scores are fairly high which is encouraging, and 4 years of work experience is also good - also unsure of any internal per-occupation quotas that NSW may have.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naveenoronha said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Grateful to have someone like you on this forum! I have a question and would appreciate your response. I lodged my EOI on the 12th of Feb 2015, looking for NSW State Sponsorship and got the invitation to apply on the 2nd of April. On the 4th I lodged the application for NSW SS. This is what my profile looks like
> DIBP - 55 POINTS
> IELTS L-9, R-8.5, W-7.5, S-7.5
> Work exp 4.5 years
> Ansco code 261112 System Analyst.
> 
> How good are my chances of getting the sponsorship?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mea -

Congratulations on your upcoming birth!

Re: newborn baby - if born in Australia, automatically is eligible for citizenship if at least one parent is an Australian permanent resident or citizen. If born outside Australia, laws of that country will govern any local citizenship available. A baby born overseas where one parent is an Australian citizen is eligible for citizenship by descent (apply for AU citizenship certificate, then AU passport). So any way you look at it, it's unlikely the baby will ever need an Australian visa since with a citizen parent, the baby is eligible for citizenship by descent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mea said:


> Thanks a lot Mark! That was helpful indeed;
> 
> One burning question that I have now:
> 
> -My Husband is Citizen. I am due with the baby this October. Since the baby isnt born yet hence I am submitting my application without baby's details, But I have mentioned in the application statement with the medical reports that I am expecting; Now the point where I am really confused is:
> 
> 1. If I get the grant after the baby is born, how will I accomodate the baby's papers? Will I need to resubmit the application with the dependent details?
> 
> 2. Is there any chance baby will be citizen automatically since her father is a citizen? Even in that case, except for baby's passport, what documents should I need to take her with me?
> 
> I know its futuristic question but I am really confused with this. I cant include her in the application while I am expecting, and once she is born I cant resubmit the whole application as it means another waiting period of 9--12 months I assume? Whats the way out ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bhw080809 -

Thanks for the question. DIBP will want evidence of payment from the job, so you'll need to produce that documentation somehow. A tax statement evidencing payment would be helpful - you might also consider depositing the cash into your bank acct each time you're paid to show that as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhw080809 said:


> Hi, I have some question about application for visa 887.
> i am holding visa 489. I have to at least one year work experience in a regional area before I am going to apply for visa 887.
> i got a full time job in a regional area right now. But I got my wages by cash not by transfering to my bank account. I am wondering if such job can be included in the one year work experience required. could DIBP admit this work experience? Besides information about tax and super, is there any information that i need to provide for supporting my one year work experience if I got my wages by cash?
> 
> Thank you so much for your time.


----------



## shafna

*hello*

Hi Mark,

I hope you are doing well. 
My husband and I received 190 PR visa recently and we both have validated the visa through entering Australia.
I am the primary applicant of this visa and I did not claim any points from my partner.
We had lot of differences in our marriage and things did not confirmed toward a divorce until now. this is my first marriage and I have decided to apply for divorce in my home country. I was wondering will this has any effect on my partners PR Visa. We decided to separate peacefully without any hard feelings for each other.
Also will this has any impact if I want to sponsor partner visa in future?

I really appreciate your expertized advice?


----------



## suarezm

*dear mark*

Dear Mark a simple query of one of my friends, Please, could you help him
He has been granted with a 489 visa state sponsor. Regional, Qsld,4 months ago. He is offshore right now.
But, actually He and his family do not know anybody there, for him there are no friends, relatives or acquaintances over there, as well as he has heard there are few jobs in this moment in regional Qsld, and network is crucial. But, he is afraid if he does not go to Qsld, He would suffer consequences later...
So, all his friends are living in Adelaide.
Adelaide, is also Regional. Instead of qsld, could he goes to live there in SA REGIONAL?. Would He got some problems later in order to apply for the 887 visa?
Much Obliged


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shafna -

Thanks for the question, and sorry to hear of your relationship issues. As you both are already permanent residents of Australia, a separation or divorce would not change your visa status in any way. As you were not sponsored on a 820/801 or 309/100 partner visa, there is no 5-year waiting period re: further sponsorship should either of you wish to sponsor a new partner later on.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shafna said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you are doing well.
> My husband and I received 190 PR visa recently and we both have validated the visa through entering Australia.
> I am the primary applicant of this visa and I did not claim any points from my partner.
> We had lot of differences in our marriage and things did not confirmed toward a divorce until now. this is my first marriage and I have decided to apply for divorce in my home country. I was wondering will this has any effect on my partners PR Visa. We decided to separate peacefully without any hard feelings for each other.
> Also will this has any impact if I want to sponsor partner visa in future?
> 
> I really appreciate your expertized advice?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Suarezm -

Thanks for the question - actually not such a simple question! That's because the restrictions on living/working in particular areas can exist both with the visa itself via a particular condition on the visa (conditions are 4-digit codes that begin with 8 and are legal restrictions on the visa), and can exist in whatever contractual agreement he may have made or agreed to with the sponsoring state government. For him to get an accurate opinion on his options, suggest he books a consultation with a registered migration agent who can examine his visa details and the details of the sponsorship agreement with QLD to give him specific information re: his options.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



suarezm said:


> Dear Mark a simple query of one of my friends, Please, could you help him
> He has been granted with a 489 visa state sponsor. Regional, Qsld,4 months ago. He is offshore right now.
> But, actually He and his family do not know anybody there, for him there are no friends, relatives or acquaintances over there, as well as he has heard there are few jobs in this moment in regional Qsld, and network is crucial. But, he is afraid if he does not go to Qsld, He would suffer consequences later...
> So, all his friends are living in Adelaide.
> Adelaide, is also Regional. Instead of qsld, could he goes to live there in SA REGIONAL?. Would He got some problems later in order to apply for the 887 visa?
> Much Obliged


----------



## SMCH

Hi Mark,
Could you please advise me that if its ok that we lodge our partner visa 
Application before we receive the domestic relationship certificate, we lodge it on 01/04 but the BDM told us it gonna take 3.5 month to receive our certificate. If so then it will be mid of July. I was hoping we could get it after 28days but somehow they told me it's not possible. 
I have consulted an agent about this he said I can lodge the visa application before I receive the relationship certificate. We dont want to lodge it then get rejected for that. 
Please advise, thanks so much for your help .


----------



## drmkhan

*Hi mark:re:801*

IHi mark

I keep asking this qs but hardly get a straight reply or feedback

So my situation is that 
Got married in jan 2011 in Australia to my sponsor( australian ), have a 17 month old daughter together n I'm a full time GP working in Australia since 2008 without any break.

I had applied for marriage prospective visa 801/820 in oct 2012
Got my medicals n police check afp n overseas done at the time of application 
Re-did my medicals in aug 2013 to keep them valid as they had expired n didn't wanted a delay.

Cleared my required medical registration and didn't withdraw application or applied via skilled point system nor requested my employers sponsorship to avoid any further delays since already marriage application was in place

Was Granted 820 on 2nd of July 2014
Medicals were valid at the time 820 was granted I.e were done on 2nd aug 
2013.( 2nd time since the original application )

Only placed traveled was UK for holidays with wife n child after 2nd health check

They returned all the evidence provided with 820 grant letter.

801 applied sep 2015 with requested documents n evidence of ongoing marriage

My eligibility date was 11-10-2014

Now I'm 7 months almost post eligibility,

The only thing they requested was AFP to be redone n I did that .

My qs is: will they ask me to redo the health check for the 3rd time for this application as they've now expired during the wait for 801 grant??


----------



## naveenoronha

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Naveenoronha -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Answer: no way to tell for sure, since NSW Skilled does not publish the various weightings for the different factors (English, work experience, etc) that it uses in the assessment. Your IELTS scores are fairly high which is encouraging, and 4 years of work experience is also good - also unsure of any internal per-occupation quotas that NSW may have.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your answer mike, just one more question. I have apply through an agent in australia. He says he has paid the fee although has not received a tax invoice for the application. I am sure that NSW would have given a tax invoice for the payment right? Is something amiss?

Naveen


----------



## Everlongdrummer

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Everlongdrummer -
> 
> Thanks for the question - it's actually a fairly straightforward question - Reg 1.20J is the regulation that imposes the 5 year wait between sponsorships, and is a time of decision requirement, so the 5 year period begins at the time of application for the previous visa granted, and ends at the decision date of the current visa, so as long as the decision date is 5 years later, you're good. As it's almost unheard of for partner visas to be processed in 2 months, I think the risk is pretty low, and if DIBP for some reason was anxious to decide on the visa, I'd consider a polite email asking them to please put your application aside for a while until the 5 year time limit is met.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you immensely Mark. I really do appreciate your reply on this one.


----------



## uae2oz

*Visa rejection Details of other countries*

Dear Mark,

I have applied for *skilled visa 189 on 22nd March, 2015* and soon expecting to get a CO assigned. I had applied for student visa in 2004 for *Canada* and *UK*, twice for each country and each time my application was rejected for some reasons. When I was filing the case for Australia Immigration, I didn't see any question of providing previous visa rejection details for any country.

My question is;


Is there a kind of question to disclose previous visa rejections in the application?
If yes, I might have missed it and now I would like to know the ways of informing CO about these visa rejections. I hope that student visa rejection (11 years back) would not hamper the chances of my PR visa.

What do you suggest?

Regards.


----------



## sydk39

Hi Mark ,

I have a query regarding skills assessment .

i did my Bachelors(Feb2004-Jun2006) and Masters(Jan2007-2008Dec) in Computing from UniSA , Adelaide , I also have 6+ years of relevant work experience, currently working here in my home country .

I was wondering if could get my skills assessed with ACS under '
Post Australian Study Skills Assessment since i have my Australian degrees though quite a few years back. Since it takes only 1 year as suitability criteria as compared to 2 years for normal skills assessment i am hoping i can get my skills assessed under it.

Would like to hear your opinion on it ..
Cheers
Sidhesh


----------



## vinc

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vinc -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Normally applications made while the applicant is outside Australia are not eligible for a bridging visa, regardless of whether you hold another visa at the time you apply or not. I can assist you at a consultation re: working out plans for marriage and return to Australia as I would need more details to be able to give you a specific recommendation - see website in my signature below for more on this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark
Thanks for your reply.


----------



## bhw080809

Hello Mark,

Thank you for your reply. As for the documentation, I did deposit wages into my bank account, but I did not deposit that every week and the amount that I deposited into my bank account was different from the amount that I got from my employer each week. I was wondering if such records in my bank account counld be seen as the evidence of payment from the job.

are the tax statement and super record enough for the evidence of job payment?

Thank you so much. I look forward to hearing from you.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bhw080809 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. DIBP will want evidence of payment from the job, so you'll need to produce that documentation somehow. A tax statement evidencing payment would be helpful - you might also consider depositing the cash into your bank acct each time you're paid to show that as well.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Beanne_4M

Hi Mark,

Hope u could help us out with our worries. My consultant had lodged our student visa application (married couple) in Australian embassy on 6th March and my school intake will be on the 4th May but we hvent got any news yet until now. The case officer asked for additional info on the form regarding our children and this was furnished abt 3 weeks ago. Other than that, the case officer never asked for additonal documents. My husband and I cant stop worrying now cos we hve friends who got their visa faster. It has already been 8 weeks since the time it was lodged. What can be the possible reason for the delay?


----------



## Soop

*secondary applicant 189*

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your prompt reply. I have also read about the principle "one fail, all fail". Will that apply to my application if my husband goes offshore to apply as my dependent? Given that he had a visa cancellation onshore, can that affect the outcome of the 189 application?

Thank you, Soop



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Soop -
> 
> I would need to get more details in a consultation to give you a specific opinion on your case, but speaking generally, if a person is onshore after having a visa cancelled, he can only apply for certain visas (partner, protection, etc) which the 189 would not be part of. However if he goes offshore at the time of application for the 189, he can be included on it as the 3-year exclusion period he may have imposed on him when he departs Australia applies only to temporary visas and does not apply to the 189. You may want to work out your plan and run that by a migration agent to make sure everything will work re: when he is or isn't in the country, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Pianolover1971

*A partner visa 801 applicant living overseas*

Dear Mark,

My partner is an Australian as well as an English. I got my partner visa 820 in Australia in Jan 2013, 9 months later, we moved to England. I submitted my partner visa 801 application online in Jan this year. Since I was concerned about my situation of living overseas, I phoned and emailed the Australian Immigration Department a few times, but got two different types of answers. Regarding obtaining an Australian PR visa 801,one answer is that we don't need to show our intention of going back to Australia as my partner is an Australian citizen, the other is that we need to show our intention of living in Australia permanently in the future. I am a bit confused and I am still in England at the moment. Can you please give me an answer?

Thank you so much and best wishes

Hope to hear from you soon.

Anna


----------



## Pianolover1971

Dear Mark,

My partner is an Australian as well as an English. I got my partner visa 820 in Australia in Jan 2013, 9 months later, we moved to England. I submitted my partner visa 801 application online in Jan this year. Since I was concerned about my situation of living overseas, I phoned and emailed the Australian Immigration Department a few times, but got two different types of answers. Regarding obtaining an Australian PR visa 801,one answer is that we don't need to show our intention of going back to Australia as my partner is an Australian citizen, the other is that we need to show our intention of living in Australia permanently in the future. I am a bit confused and I am still in England at the moment. Can you please give me an answer?

Thank you so much and hope to hear from you soon.

Best wishes

Anna


----------



## Brownsnake

G’day Mark
My situation is as follows:
I have been in a relationship with a girl from Brazil for 6 months now. We are in the process of acquiring our evidence and the application for a PMV. However she is now pregnant. Now I don’t think this changes anything regarding the application, once we have put the application in we will inform the CO after about 2 months regarding the pregnancy (once we know everything is going to be ok with the pregnancy). I believe we will then add a dependent onto the application. Correct me if I am wrong? I will be spending 3 months in Brazil for the birth.
I know processing times are long in high risk countries. It may be May 2016 before the PMV gets approved. My question is are we better off:
1)	Not applying for the PMV now, wait until after the birth and early next year apply for a tourist visa 600, then near the end of the visa apply for an onshore 820? This would involve either getting married in Brazil prior to coming to Australia or once in Australia on tourist visa.
2)	If we get married in Brazil and she applies for a tourist Visa with the baby, is there a risk of getting a 8503 NFS on the visa. She currently does not have it on her tourist visa now. Will being married to an Australian with my child influence the tourist visa to get a 8503 NFS?
3)	If she applies for the tourist visa prior to giving birth in which the visa will not have a NFS, then applies for a visa for the baby after birth, then the babies visa should not have a NFS as well?
If we risk not applying for the PMV now, and she gets a NFS on her visa for next year then we will have to apply for an offshore partner visa which would put things back a further 12 months and only be able to visit on tourist visas.
Thanks for your time Mark

Cheers
Pete.


----------



## Shashi.kondaba

G'day Mark,

This is Shashikanth and I would really appreciate if you could help me with couple of queries...

1) I'm currently on subclass 489 with RDA (Orana) NSW sponsorship. Wondering if I'm allowed to stay in Southern Inland (Queanbeyan)which is also NSW regional ?

2) Am I allowed to travel for more than 3 months while I'm on this subclass ?

3) should I have valid ielts to apply for Subclass 887.

Please help me with this.

Thanks
Shashi.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMCH -

There is specific DIBP policy that allows for the registered relationship certificate to be lodged after you lodge your partner visa, however the certificate must be lodged with DIBP before they make a decision on granting the visa (that typically takes anywhere from 9 to 18 months these days).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMCH said:


> Hi Mark,
> Could you please advise me that if its ok that we lodge our partner visa
> Application before we receive the domestic relationship certificate, we lodge it on 01/04 but the BDM told us it gonna take 3.5 month to receive our certificate. If so then it will be mid of July. I was hoping we could get it after 28days but somehow they told me it's not possible.
> I have consulted an agent about this he said I can lodge the visa application before I receive the relationship certificate. We dont want to lodge it then get rejected for that.
> Please advise, thanks so much for your help .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dr Khan -

Saw this in your PM as well - normally they will not ask for new medicals for the 801 if you already provided them for the 820 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



drmkhan said:


> IHi mark
> 
> I keep asking this qs but hardly get a straight reply or feedback
> 
> So my situation is that
> Got married in jan 2011 in Australia to my sponsor( australian ), have a 17 month old daughter together n I'm a full time GP working in Australia since 2008 without any break.
> 
> I had applied for marriage prospective visa 801/820 in oct 2012
> Got my medicals n police check afp n overseas done at the time of application
> Re-did my medicals in aug 2013 to keep them valid as they had expired n didn't wanted a delay.
> 
> Cleared my required medical registration and didn't withdraw application or applied via skilled point system nor requested my employers sponsorship to avoid any further delays since already marriage application was in place
> 
> Was Granted 820 on 2nd of July 2014
> Medicals were valid at the time 820 was granted I.e were done on 2nd aug
> 2013.( 2nd time since the original application )
> 
> Only placed traveled was UK for holidays with wife n child after 2nd health check
> 
> They returned all the evidence provided with 820 grant letter.
> 
> 801 applied sep 2015 with requested documents n evidence of ongoing marriage
> 
> My eligibility date was 11-10-2014
> 
> Now I'm 7 months almost post eligibility,
> 
> The only thing they requested was AFP to be redone n I did that .
> 
> My qs is: will they ask me to redo the health check for the 3rd time for this application as they've now expired during the wait for 801 grant??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

It's Mark actually  - for online applications, DIBP generally always provides a tax invoice upon lodgment; for paper applications, it's emailed eventually, but can take weeks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naveenoronha said:


> Thanks for your answer mike, just one more question. I have apply through an agent in australia. He says he has paid the fee although has not received a tax invoice for the application. I am sure that NSW would have given a tax invoice for the payment right? Is something amiss?
> 
> Naveen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uae2oz -

Check the character questions very carefully on the application you completed - DIBP recently implemented a new set of character questions including one that asks if you have ever been refused a visa for any country - you must answer these correctly - incorrectly answering them can cause a refusal and ban from Australia for 3 years per PIC4020 legislation.

If you find you answered the question incorrectly, I would immediately complete and lodge Form 1023 to correct the answer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



uae2oz said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have applied for *skilled visa 189 on 22nd March, 2015* and soon expecting to get a CO assigned. I had applied for student visa in 2004 for *Canada* and *UK*, twice for each country and each time my application was rejected for some reasons. When I was filing the case for Australia Immigration, I didn't see any question of providing previous visa rejection details for any country.
> 
> My question is;
> 
> 
> Is there a kind of question to disclose previous visa rejections in the application?
> If yes, I might have missed it and now I would like to know the ways of informing CO about these visa rejections. I hope that student visa rejection (11 years back) would not hamper the chances of my PR visa.
> 
> What do you suggest?
> 
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sydk39 -

For skilled visas (but not for subclass 485), there is no limit on how old a degree can be in order to get points for it from DIBP. Re: ACS requirements, you'd have to check with them - I have heard of some cases where older degrees are not considered the same as current ones as the older degrees didn't include coverage of newer technology - a good question for ACS.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sydk39 said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> I have a query regarding skills assessment .
> 
> i did my Bachelors(Feb2004-Jun2006) and Masters(Jan2007-2008Dec) in Computing from UniSA , Adelaide , I also have 6+ years of relevant work experience, currently working here in my home country .
> 
> I was wondering if could get my skills assessed with ACS under '
> Post Australian Study Skills Assessment since i have my Australian degrees though quite a few years back. Since it takes only 1 year as suitability criteria as compared to 2 years for normal skills assessment i am hoping i can get my skills assessed under it.
> 
> Would like to hear your opinion on it ..
> Cheers
> Sidhesh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bhw080809 -

Would need to see the documents in a consultation to give you any sort of opinion about them - see website in my signature below for more on consultations -

Best,

Mark



bhw080809 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your reply. As for the documentation, I did deposit wages into my bank account, but I did not deposit that every week and the amount that I deposited into my bank account was different from the amount that I got from my employer each week. I was wondering if such records in my bank account counld be seen as the evidence of payment from the job.
> 
> are the tax statement and super record enough for the evidence of job payment?
> 
> Thank you so much. I look forward to hearing from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beanne_4M -

Could be anything - DIBP is highly unpredictable re: processing times. I'd keep in touch with them and make sure they don't need any further information or documents, plus a gentle reminder about your upcoming start date would be good.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Beanne_4M said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope u could help us out with our worries. My consultant had lodged our student visa application (married couple) in Australian embassy on 6th March and my school intake will be on the 4th May but we hvent got any news yet until now. The case officer asked for additional info on the form regarding our children and this was furnished abt 3 weeks ago. Other than that, the case officer never asked for additonal documents. My husband and I cant stop worrying now cos we hve friends who got their visa faster. It has already been 8 weeks since the time it was lodged. What can be the possible reason for the delay?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Soop -

That principle generally applies to refusals based on health, character, PIC4020, etc. If your husband is section 48 barred from a further onshore visa (via cancellation), then if he departs Australia the s48 bar ceases and he is not barred by that from lodging.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Soop said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your prompt reply. I have also read about the principle "one fail, all fail". Will that apply to my application if my husband goes offshore to apply as my dependent? Given that he had a visa cancellation onshore, can that affect the outcome of the 189 application?
> 
> Thank you, Soop


----------



## naveenoronha

Thanks Mark 

Mine was an online application, the agent did this. So he should have been given a receipt right? Thanks so much for answering, i guess you are doing this pretty late in the night. Have a good weekend.

Naveen


MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> It's Mark actually  - for online applications, DIBP generally always provides a tax invoice upon lodgment; for paper applications, it's emailed eventually, but can take weeks.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## OmOmSplat

*First entry requirement*

Hi Mark,

I got my Subclass 189 visa granted, and I had to make first entry before 19th of May 2015. I entered Australia and stayed for 10 days in February, then returned to my home country. When I go online on VEVO, it still says "Enter before date 19 May 2015". I want to confirm: Since I already entered once, I can stay abroad till past 19 May and move to Australia whenever I want within the coming 5 years (Such as February 2016). Correct?

Thanks


----------



## Hoshi

Hey Mark, 

I currently have temporary partner visa (309), moved to Oz a month ago. It appears that I will need to go back home for a couple of months (a member of my family is seriously ill). Will this trip affect my visa in any way? Do I need to stay in Australia for a definite period of time? Are there any restrictions on traveling outside Australia I should consider while on this visa? 
Thanks a lot for your advice.


----------



## Madu1980

*VIsiting VIsa while waiting for PMV*

Hi Mark, 
Recently I lodged my PMV 300, and now planning for visiting visa for 3 months.

My details as follows 
1. I have on-going permanent full time job in government of sri lanka 
2. Enrolled in master degree and doing the final subject. 
3. Fiancé is Australian permanent resident

Please advise me what is the process for visiting visa for me

Thanks and kind regards, 
Madu


----------



## Ntito

Hi mark 

Hi all just wanted to enquiry about visa subclass BO 116 was applied on 31/12/2013 been conected from emigraiton confirm past criteria and queue day was 15/5/2014 , from then havent heard from immigration


----------



## mel1234

Hi, Mark,

I have some questions about application for visa 887 in the near future.

I am holding visa 489 and living in a small town right now. I have worked in a company for 5 months. recently, my boss said he is going to open a new branch in other town and wants me to work there. I checked and found that that town is included in the region whose government nominated me. 

So could I move to that town and continue to work? If I move to a new town, is my 5 months' work experience in the current town still seen as part of the one year work experience required by visa 887? How long do I need to work in a new town before I am eligible to apply for visa 887?

If I work in another town, is there any document or information that I need to prepare for offering the evidence of one year work experience and two-year living required because of relocation?

Could you give me some advice?Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## uae2oz

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply. I have gone through my application form once again in the character declaration section, there is no such question of visa refusal of any other country but deportation or criminal activity cancellation. Is this correct that visa application do not have this question?

I have found that form80 and 1221 holds these questions.

As an evidence of student visa refusal of UK and CANADA, I do not have refusal papers stating reasons. I don't even remember the actual reasons of it.

Moreover, they have asked refusal dates in form1221 and Canada has not mentined the dates with the refusal stamp on passport.

What should I write in this section? I'm confused.

Regards.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Uae2oz -
> 
> Check the character questions very carefully on the application you completed - DIBP recently implemented a new set of character questions including one that asks if you have ever been refused a visa for any country - you must answer these correctly - incorrectly answering them can cause a refusal and ban from Australia for 3 years per PIC4020 legislation.
> 
> If you find you answered the question incorrectly, I would immediately complete and lodge Form 1023 to correct the answer.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Zainer

Hello Mark,
I hope you are doing fine,
my application is under Security check now, How often do you recommend I should follow up ?
what is the best way, call them or Email, or it is just the same ?

Thanks for your help


----------



## Beanne_4M

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Beanne_4M -
> 
> Could be anything - DIBP is highly unpredictable re: processing times. I'd keep in touch with them and make sure they don't need any further information or documents, plus a gentle reminder about your upcoming start date would be good.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

That really helps. Thanks so much for your response. &#128522;


----------



## susanna

hello mark love your work here and hi everyone i am going to marry my boyfriend in morocco next month do i need citizenship certificate ? and do i need the no impediment to marriage certificate if yes where i make it ! last question proof of residency certificate would my identity card be enough in morocco to marry


----------



## LilyRoma

Thank you Mark, this is very helpful.
I have already received positive skills assessment from vetassess.

In regards to DIBP, I have worked 3 years in the same position with the same employer (Marketing specialist). My salary though has increased significantly during the 3 years (from around $55,000 to over $90,000 + Bonus). Do you think this is an issue for the 3 years to be assessed as relevant work experience to my nominated position (currently 90K+ salary) if the role started at 55,000 and now is a much higher salary?

Thank you



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lily -
> 
> First check the skills assessor's requirements for this (they are separate from DIBP). From DIBP's point of view, an employer referral letter plus proof of payment (ie, either tax statement, payslips, etc) will generally satisfy them that the work experience was genuine.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## twid

Hi Mark,
I hope you are doing well. Thanks for your service to forum people. 
I had little query, what are all documents do we need to collect as a proof of self-employment from vendor(India)?
Also I have some experience in UK as well, If you don't mind can you provide document check-list for specific to UK
Thanks in advance


----------



## LilyRoma

Hi Mark,
Thank you so much for your help. It is very precious help and very appreciated.

I also would like to know, for 186 direct entry:

- If I provide No Payslips + No Tax summaries but only employer reference letter + employment contract both mentioning my salary, is this enough?

- If payslips are definitely needed, should I provide all payslips over 3 years + Tax summaries or only most recent Payslips / tax summaries.

- Should I provide the Form 80 or wait for it to be requested.

Thank you so much Mark
Lily


----------



## marka

Hi Mark,
Recently i was contacted by the department asking for more documents for 801 visa. my eligibility date was on 26th of April 2015. Now my status has changed to assessment in progress. I am confused, what does it mean ( assessment in progress).
We were married (17th Sep 2014) and submitted the original papers.


----------



## crish_mac

Hi Mark,

While filling the online Form i came across the section "Child custody details".

what should i select in questions below.
1. Is this child in the primary applicant's care and legal custody? 
My wife and daughter both will be traveling with me and this our first child.

2. Does any other person have custodial, access or guardianship rights to this child? - should no i guess
3. Are there any legal impediments to this child's travel?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anna -

Thanks for the note - this is a bit of a gray area as it's not a strict legal requirement in the legislation, however generally speaking DIBP always looks for an intention for someone to eventually reside in Australia. This is because if you are not in Australia for at least part of the first 5 years of your permanent residency (PR), it can be difficult to renew your PR. Many clients simply state that they have plans to return and provide some details, and that will generally satisfy DIBP in many cases. If your partner was a permanent resident of Australia, however, he would need to be usually resident in Australia in order to sponsor you for a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pianolover1971 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> My partner is an Australian as well as an English. I got my partner visa 820 in Australia in Jan 2013, 9 months later, we moved to England. I submitted my partner visa 801 application online in Jan this year. Since I was concerned about my situation of living overseas, I phoned and emailed the Australian Immigration Department a few times, but got two different types of answers. Regarding obtaining an Australian PR visa 801,one answer is that we don't need to show our intention of going back to Australia as my partner is an Australian citizen, the other is that we need to show our intention of living in Australia permanently in the future. I am a bit confused and I am still in England at the moment. Can you please give me an answer?
> 
> Thank you so much and best wishes
> 
> Hope to hear from you soon.
> 
> Anna


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pete -

Thanks for the note, and congratulations on the pregnancy! Not sure I can go through all the variations of what could happen here, but it's important to note that many women will not want to have a chest x-ray once they determine they are pregnant - assuming this is true, while you can apply for the PMV offshore, it may not be able to be granted until she is able to complete the health exam including x-ray.

Re: NFS on visitor visas, these are impossible to predict with any certainty for non-ETA visas. Just because her last visa didn't have NFS doesn't mean that the next one won't, with or without a child.

Re: strategies for onshore/offshore partner visa, that may depend on whether you go for the PMV or not, and when you get married. Happy to work through all the different variations with you at a consultation - see my website in the signature below if you'd like to book.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Brownsnake said:


> G'day Mark
> My situation is as follows:
> I have been in a relationship with a girl from Brazil for 6 months now. We are in the process of acquiring our evidence and the application for a PMV. However she is now pregnant. Now I don't think this changes anything regarding the application, once we have put the application in we will inform the CO after about 2 months regarding the pregnancy (once we know everything is going to be ok with the pregnancy). I believe we will then add a dependent onto the application. Correct me if I am wrong? I will be spending 3 months in Brazil for the birth.
> I know processing times are long in high risk countries. It may be May 2016 before the PMV gets approved. My question is are we better off:
> 1)	Not applying for the PMV now, wait until after the birth and early next year apply for a tourist visa 600, then near the end of the visa apply for an onshore 820? This would involve either getting married in Brazil prior to coming to Australia or once in Australia on tourist visa.
> 2)	If we get married in Brazil and she applies for a tourist Visa with the baby, is there a risk of getting a 8503 NFS on the visa. She currently does not have it on her tourist visa now. Will being married to an Australian with my child influence the tourist visa to get a 8503 NFS?
> 3)	If she applies for the tourist visa prior to giving birth in which the visa will not have a NFS, then applies for a visa for the baby after birth, then the babies visa should not have a NFS as well?
> If we risk not applying for the PMV now, and she gets a NFS on her visa for next year then we will have to apply for an offshore partner visa which would put things back a further 12 months and only be able to visit on tourist visas.
> Thanks for your time Mark
> 
> Cheers
> Pete.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shashikanth -

Thanks for the note. Re #1, you should contact NSW Skilled authorities and see what their current policy is on this. Re #2, Yes, no travel limits, however any travel more than 3 weeks per year may mean that the time you are traveling is not counted towards the living/working time for the 887 visa. Re #3, no English requirement to get the visa, however all applicants 18 years of age or older must show evidence of Functional English or pay $4,890 English charge when the visa is granted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Shashi.kondaba said:


> G'day Mark,
> 
> This is Shashikanth and I would really appreciate if you could help me with couple of queries...
> 
> 1) I'm currently on subclass 489 with RDA (Orana) NSW sponsorship. Wondering if I'm allowed to stay in Southern Inland (Queanbeyan)which is also NSW regional ?
> 
> 2) Am I allowed to travel for more than 3 months while I'm on this subclass ?
> 
> 3) should I have valid ielts to apply for Subclass 887.
> 
> Please help me with this.
> 
> Thanks
> Shashi.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naveen -

Yes, correct - as far as I know, all online applications will generate a payment receipt of some kind at the time of lodgment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naveenoronha said:


> Thanks Mark
> 
> Mine was an online application, the agent did this. So he should have been given a receipt right? Thanks so much for answering, i guess you are doing this pretty late in the night. Have a good weekend.
> 
> Naveen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi OmOmSplat -

Correct, assuming your visa was granted prior to February 2015. The entry date to validate the visa must happen after the visa was granted, and not on any previous bridging visa, etc.

Best,

Mark



OmOmSplat said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I got my Subclass 189 visa granted, and I had to make first entry before 19th of May 2015. I entered Australia and stayed for 10 days in February, then returned to my home country. When I go online on VEVO, it still says "Enter before date 19 May 2015". I want to confirm: Since I already entered once, I can stay abroad till past 19 May and move to Australia whenever I want within the coming 5 years (Such as February 2016). Correct?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hoshi -

Sorry to hear about your family member. No travel restrictions on the 309, and no need to tell DIBP if you're coming/going, other than if you are offshore for more than a couple weeks and want to update your address, use Form 929. I don't see how the trip could affect your visa in any way.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hoshi said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I currently have temporary partner visa (309), moved to Oz a month ago. It appears that I will need to go back home for a couple of months (a member of my family is seriously ill). Will this trip affect my visa in any way? Do I need to stay in Australia for a definite period of time? Are there any restrictions on traveling outside Australia I should consider while on this visa?
> Thanks a lot for your advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Madu1980 -

You would apply for a subclass 600 visitor visa, tourist stream, and provide plenty of evidence that you are a genuine visitor to Australia - ie, letter from employer guaranteeing your employment upon your return, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Madu1980 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Recently I lodged my PMV 300, and now planning for visiting visa for 3 months.
> 
> My details as follows
> 1. I have on-going permanent full time job in government of sri lanka
> 2. Enrolled in master degree and doing the final subject.
> 3. Fiancé is Australian permanent resident
> 
> Please advise me what is the process for visiting visa for me
> 
> Thanks and kind regards,
> Madu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ntito -

You may want to contact DIBP to make sure they have your current contact information, and to see if you can provide any further information or documents related to your visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ntito said:


> Hi mark
> 
> Hi all just wanted to enquiry about visa subclass BO 116 was applied on 31/12/2013 been conected from emigraiton confirm past criteria and queue day was 15/5/2014 , from then havent heard from immigration


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mel1234 -

As long as you are living and working within the limits of your visa, you should be fine. Relocation doesn't change the requirements of the visa - essentially you need to document that you've worked in a qualifying area for a total of 1 year (can be multiple jobs) and lived in a qualifying area for 2 years (can be multiple locations). You'll need evidence such as pay slips, tax records, lease or other sort of accommodation evidence, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mel1234 said:


> Hi, Mark,
> 
> I have some questions about application for visa 887 in the near future.
> 
> I am holding visa 489 and living in a small town right now. I have worked in a company for 5 months. recently, my boss said he is going to open a new branch in other town and wants me to work there. I checked and found that that town is included in the region whose government nominated me.
> 
> So could I move to that town and continue to work? If I move to a new town, is my 5 months' work experience in the current town still seen as part of the one year work experience required by visa 887? How long do I need to work in a new town before I am eligible to apply for visa 887?
> 
> If I work in another town, is there any document or information that I need to prepare for offering the evidence of one year work experience and two-year living required because of relocation?
> 
> Could you give me some advice?Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uae2oz -

They are in the process of updating the character questions on all forms, so if you make sure you have the latest versions of all forms you complete, that should solve that issue.

As to what to write, I can't tell you that since it's your life, circumstances, etc. In these sorts of situations I often suggest that a client write down as much as they can remember, and then do some homework on how to request official records from whatever countries are involved in case DIBP asks for further information or documents from the country involved - that way if DIBP asks, you'll already have done your homework and be prepared to make a request, etc of that country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



uae2oz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply. I have gone through my application form once again in the character declaration section, there is no such question of visa refusal of any other country but deportation or criminal activity cancellation. Is this correct that visa application do not have this question?
> 
> I have found that form80 and 1221 holds these questions.
> 
> As an evidence of student visa refusal of UK and CANADA, I do not have refusal papers stating reasons. I don't even remember the actual reasons of it.
> 
> Moreover, they have asked refusal dates in form1221 and Canada has not mentined the dates with the refusal stamp on passport.
> 
> What should I write in this section? I'm confused.
> 
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zainer -

I'd suggest via email, no more often than once per month, maybe once every 6-8 weeks or so depending on what type of an application it is - longer applications (partner visas, etc) maybe once every 2 months. Always be nice and positive, never get frustrated with them - try to make it easy for them to say "yes!".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zainer said:


> Hello Mark,
> I hope you are doing fine,
> my application is under Security check now, How often do you recommend I should follow up ?
> what is the best way, call them or Email, or it is just the same ?
> 
> Thanks for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Susanna -

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage, and thanks for the kind words.

I don't have any information at all on local legal requirements for marriage in Morocco, so can't help you there - suggest you check local government websites on the internet or consult with a local lawyer or legal professional there. Every country is different, and many times even different areas within a single country have different requirements - which can change. No shortcut for doing careful research.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



susanna said:


> hello mark love your work here and hi everyone i am going to marry my boyfriend in morocco next month do i need citizenship certificate ? and do i need the no impediment to marriage certificate if yes where i make it ! last question proof of residency certificate would my identity card be enough in morocco to marry


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lily -

I don't think a large salary increase by itself is cause for big concern - there is some room in DIBP policy for promotions and raises closely related to your position. Key is that your duties/responsibilities have always remained generally within those outlined by ANZSCO for your occupation code.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LilyRoma said:


> Thank you Mark, this is very helpful.
> I have already received positive skills assessment from vetassess.
> 
> In regards to DIBP, I have worked 3 years in the same position with the same employer (Marketing specialist). My salary though has increased significantly during the 3 years (from around $55,000 to over $90,000 + Bonus). Do you think this is an issue for the 3 years to be assessed as relevant work experience to my nominated position (currently 90K+ salary) if the role started at 55,000 and now is a much higher salary?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Twid -

Thanks for the question. The answer depends on the visa you are applying for. DIBP has its requirements, but so does every skills assessor and state sponsorship agency and they're all different and do not always agree. Best thing to do is to consult the DIBP website for the visa you are applying for - they have pretty good document checklists there for whatever visa you are applying for - there's no shortcut for doing careful research in this area, assuming you're not using a migration agent who's doing this for you.

Re: self-employment in India, I can tell you that there have been many questionable/fake employment documents coming from that region for this type of thing, and DIBP is checking things very, very closely now and the penalties for inaccurate documents are being enforced heavily. Make sure every document is verifiable with the business that generated it originally, and make sure those businesses are prepared for a phone call from DIBP (or site visit, unannounced) asking about the details of the document.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



twid said:


> Hi Mark,
> I hope you are doing well. Thanks for your service to forum people.
> I had little query, what are all documents do we need to collect as a proof of self-employment from vendor(India)?
> Also I have some experience in UK as well, If you don't mind can you provide document check-list for specific to UK
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lily -

Thanks for the questions. DIBP very frequently requires evidence of payment (in addition to a reference letter and/or contract) for the entire 3 years - I'd be prepared for this if they ask. Re Form 80, no problem generally to wait to be asked for this, however if that's the only thing they ask for (ie, they have everything else), then waiting for them to ask could delay a decision on your visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LilyRoma said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you so much for your help. It is very precious help and very appreciated.
> 
> I also would like to know, for 186 direct entry:
> 
> - If I provide No Payslips + No Tax summaries but only employer reference letter + employment contract both mentioning my salary, is this enough?
> 
> - If payslips are definitely needed, should I provide all payslips over 3 years + Tax summaries or only most recent Payslips / tax summaries.
> 
> - Should I provide the Form 80 or wait for it to be requested.
> 
> Thank you so much Mark
> Lily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marka -

Assessment in progress is the new term in DIBP's latest update for the ImmiAccount system meaning they are processing the application. Re: 801's, we're treating these like first-stage partner visas now and submitting loads of evidence - DIBP has recently been getting very tough on these and refusing more of these, even when the original 820 was approved - DIBP wants ample proof that the relationship is still genuine/ongoing/etc at the 801 stage these days.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



marka said:


> Hi Mark,
> Recently i was contacted by the department asking for more documents for 801 visa. my eligibility date was on 26th of April 2015. Now my status has changed to assessment in progress. I am confused, what does it mean ( assessment in progress).
> We were married (17th Sep 2014) and submitted the original papers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crish_Mac -

I agree with your answers - 1 would be yes, for 2 you can include yourself, and 3 would be no, based on what you mentioned.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crish_mac said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> While filling the online Form i came across the section "Child custody details".
> 
> what should i select in questions below.
> 1. Is this child in the primary applicant's care and legal custody?
> My wife and daughter both will be traveling with me and this our first child.
> 
> 2. Does any other person have custodial, access or guardianship rights to this child? - should no i guess
> 3. Are there any legal impediments to this child's travel?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## Deep90

Hi mark,

I just had a quick question. My partner and I got married in march 2013, my parents were against our marriage because they didn't like my partner. We have applied for my husbands 801 just last month and waiting for the immigration to get back to us with the verdict. Over these 2 years my parents have accepted out relationship and want us to get married traditionally. They want to hold an engagement party in july for us and we are inviting my partners parents from overseas. They will be submitting the paperwork from their end (subclass 600. Visitor visa stream) and we are just attaching supporting paperwork like invitation letter and so on. Will this affect my husbands file at all?? Could they reject his 801 visa if we mention about our engagement in the invitation letter??

Deep


----------



## uae2oz

Thanks Mark, for your detailed answer.

I have one more query. I have applied under Skilled 189 as a Developer/Programmer, since my designation and role in the current company was a best match. Recently, I am promoted to Module Lead from Sr. Developer position, with some additional responsibilities but my previous responsibilities remains the same.

I got the promotion letter for the same but nothing is written about roles and responsibilities. My questions are;


Shall I provide this letter as an update of my position to DIBP?

Would they ask again about the roles and responsibilities of the current position?

Regards.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Uae2oz -
> 
> They are in the process of updating the character questions on all forms, so if you make sure you have the latest versions of all forms you complete, that should solve that issue.
> 
> As to what to write, I can't tell you that since it's your life, circumstances, etc. In these sorts of situations I often suggest that a client write down as much as they can remember, and then do some homework on how to request official records from whatever countries are involved in case DIBP asks for further information or documents from the country involved - that way if DIBP asks, you'll already have done your homework and be prepared to make a request, etc of that country.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## naveenoronha

Dear Mark,
Thanks for the information, by the way my SS was approved today!

Thanks again,
Naveen


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Naveen -
> 
> Yes, correct - as far as I know, all online applications will generate a payment receipt of some kind at the time of lodgment.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Komalami

*187 visa*

Hi Mark ,
I have applied for 187 visa nomination 28 feb 2015 and visa direct entry on 24 March 2015 and in my immiaccount its say last update is on 8 April and assessment in progress now I cannot understand what's that mean like some one is having look to my file or its just a update and another thing I have done Medicals last year for 457 visa and gave HIP is to immi so still I have to do Medicals or should I wait for immi reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deep -

Seems unlikely to cause an issue - many people separate the legal marriage ceremony from the religious or traditional one for a variety of reasons. As long as your initial marriage was legal, any future cultural or religious ceremonies wouldn't have an impact under the law (since you are already married) so as long as nothing in the visitor visa application contradicts what you've claimed in your 820 and 801 applications, I don't see how that would cause an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Deep90 said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> I just had a quick question. My partner and I got married in march 2013, my parents were against our marriage because they didn't like my partner. We have applied for my husbands 801 just last month and waiting for the immigration to get back to us with the verdict. Over these 2 years my parents have accepted out relationship and want us to get married traditionally. They want to hold an engagement party in july for us and we are inviting my partners parents from overseas. They will be submitting the paperwork from their end (subclass 600. Visitor visa stream) and we are just attaching supporting paperwork like invitation letter and so on. Will this affect my husbands file at all?? Could they reject his 801 visa if we mention about our engagement in the invitation letter??
> 
> Deep


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uae2oz -

As you've already lodged the visa application, as long as the promotion does not cause you to be in breach of your current visa (similar tasks/duties of previous positions is a good sign), no particular need to update DIBP since the work experience would not be eligible for points since it was after the date of application. If they later ask you to fill out Form 80 you may want to include that in the employment section for the sake of completeness and accuracy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



uae2oz said:


> Thanks Mark, for your detailed answer.
> 
> I have one more query. I have applied under Skilled 189 as a Developer/Programmer, since my designation and role in the current company was a best match. Recently, I am promoted to Module Lead from Sr. Developer position, with some additional responsibilities but my previous responsibilities remains the same.
> 
> I got the promotion letter for the same but nothing is written about roles and responsibilities. My questions are;
> 
> 
> Shall I provide this letter as an update of my position to DIBP?
> 
> Would they ask again about the roles and responsibilities of the current position?
> 
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naveen -

Congratulations - well done!

Best,

Mark



naveenoronha said:


> Dear Mark,
> Thanks for the information, by the way my SS was approved today!
> 
> Thanks again,
> Naveen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Komalami -

Assessment in Progress means that your application has been received, and in some cases it means that the application has been assessed as a valid application. Beyond that, no way to tell how far along processing is by that status. I'd probably wait until they ask for medicals, or check the medicals button on the ImmiAccount screen for the application (on the left, below the list of uploaded documents).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Komalami said:


> Hi Mark ,
> I have applied for 187 visa nomination 28 feb 2015 and visa direct entry on 24 March 2015 and in my immiaccount its say last update is on 8 April and assessment in progress now I cannot understand what's that mean like some one is having look to my file or its just a update and another thing I have done Medicals last year for 457 visa and gave HIP is to immi so still I have to do Medicals or should I wait for immi reply


----------



## Shashi.kondaba

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shashikanth -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Re #1, you should contact NSW Skilled authorities and see what their current policy is on this. Re #2, Yes, no travel limits, however any travel more than 3 weeks per year may mean that the time you are traveling is not counted towards the living/working time for the 887 visa. Re #3, no English requirement to get the visa, however all applicants 18 years of age or older must show evidence of Functional English or pay $4,890 English charge when the visa is granted.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your kind response. Your opinion is much valuable to me.

Regards 
Shashi


----------



## Rebelchick

Hey Mark,

Sorry to bother you with another question but in your opinion, is it faster/easier or both to file onshore for the 820 spouse visa (Me an American who is already married to an Aussie) or the 309 offshore? Which would you chose is it was your wife? Trying to decide whether or not to go back and file for the 820 or not.


----------



## Aura

*second time sponsoring for a partner visa*

Hi Mark, and thank you already for any help.

I'm looking into being sponsored for an 820/801 de facto - partner visa (I'm currently in Australia with a WHV), with a small hickup. My partner (AUS citizen) has been a sponsor before (first application lodged Jan 2012), and I am confused with the information available regarding the 5 year-limitation for sponsorship. Where is this counted from and to?

I called immigration today and got the response that if I lodge my application any earlier than 5 years after the first application (so earlier than Jan 2017), I won't even get a bridging visa as the application would not be a "valid application" because my sponsor wouldn't be eligible to sponsor (we don't fulfil any of the compelling circumstances listed). However, the wonderful world of the internet seems to think the 5 years would be from the lodging of the first application to the actual decision of the second. Being aware of the very long processing times, we'd like to know if it is possible to apply sooner than Jan 2017.

Best,
Aura


----------



## naveenoronha

*Application Process Questions*

Dear Mark,

Thank you, I am so grateful to have your knowledge shared here. I just have a few more question -

1. I will be lodging my file tomorrow, 6th of May - is it necessary that I stay employed through the remainder of the application process? I ask because I am quitting my current job to look out for another by the end of June.

2. Once my file moves forward and I am asked to do my medicals, is it necessary for me to do it in the country from where I am applying (India) or can I do it from another country (Qatar). I expect to be in Qatar by the end of July to look out for job opportunities.

Thank you Naveen



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Naveen -
> 
> Congratulations - well done!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## dl79

*189 or 190?*

Dear Mark

I had my education and work experience as accountant assessed by CPA, and had a positive result for my education and 5,5 years work as an accountant. My IELTS R8, L8, S7, W7. I'm confuse, since to apply visa 189 for accountant, it has reached its cap, while to apply the State Nomination 190, I could only apply the NSW, since I wasn't an Australian graduate.

Based on the information I found in the internet, the chance for me to get State Sponsorship for NSW will be low, since so many people have applied the NSW SS for accountant. and My point score is 65 (include 5 point SS).

Should I continue to submit the NSW SS or should I edit back my EOI to visa 189, and wait for July 15?

Thanks


----------



## adela

HI Mark,
I have question and I hope you will be able ot assitem me nad help me.
I am Australian resident and living and working n Australia.
my Fiance want apply for visa prospective marriage visa subclass300.
I need prove documents financial support what kind documents you suggest to be lodge as a proof . 

Accommodation .I live in my brother house I don;' pay rent .Also he is happy for me to stay with my fiancé when he arrived to Australia to stay in his home so we can save money .how I will prove accommodation.
Many thanks , adela


----------



## Raza

Hi Mark,

My wife applied her 309 visa online in November 2014. She is in Pakistan. Few days ago she received an offer letter from University of Western Australia to do an internship for 6 months. On behalf of this offer letter she has applied for visa subclass 402 (Occupational Trainee stream). Regarding her 309 visa she has not been assigned case officer yet. 
My question is:
After visa 402 is granted do, we need to fill some form and send it to immi office? If yes can you please tell me which form do we need to fill.

Thanks,
Raza


----------



## nghiquan2009

*Legal documents for marital status*

Hi Mark,

I am new to this forum. My name is Lily and I am currently living in Australia. I have been separated with my husband for a while. I will come back my country to divorce at the end of this year. However, right now I applied for visa 190 NSW nomination and waiting for the invitation through skillselect. What documents should I need to give to the case officer to show that my relationship status is "separated"? I read on the website of immi that I need to show them "statutory declaration". How can I get that? what can I write down in that form? Should I change my relationship status before I get the statutory declaration or after that?

Thank you very much.
Lily


----------



## mel1234

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your reply. It is so useful for me to apply for visa 887.

Also, I would like to ask you some queries.

After arriving at the small town. I spent three weeks staying in my friend's house. If my friend writes a paper with his address, contact number and name to support the fact that I stayed in his house for 3 weeks and I also provide a copy of train ticket from Sydney to the small town, could these weeks be included in 2-year living evidence?

Could you give me some advice? Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mel1234 -
> 
> As long as you are living and working within the limits of your visa, you should be fine. Relocation doesn't change the requirements of the visa - essentially you need to document that you've worked in a qualifying area for a total of 1 year (can be multiple jobs) and lived in a qualifying area for 2 years (can be multiple locations). You'll need evidence such as pay slips, tax records, lease or other sort of accommodation evidence, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Marco12

Hi Mark,
I live in Australia in a temporary visa at the moment and I have applied for EOI and it is expected to get the invitation by July. The problem is that I need to go back to my country for family issues and I am not sure if I will go back to Australia or not but I want to keep the PR visa as long as possible.
Is it better to wait and get the invitation inside Australia?
If I got the invitation outside Australia, how much time do I have to travel back again to Australia or visa will get cancelled ?
How long time can I keep a PR without living in Australia?

Thanks in advance


----------



## nik8720

Hi Mark 

i have applied my student visa 573 on 27 jan 2015 it been more than 3 months i have not got any communication or demand with AHC i had to defer my course to 3 aug session i am confused , what is going on i have no clue , i have called many times to AHC they told me my case is on decision stage and will inform you , what that means and till what time i will get some news ....i also know the name of my case officer what you recommend shold i mail him/her , plz share ur inputs on it ...

thanks regards ...


----------



## Tryme5

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tryme5 - Visitor visa may be possible - type depends on citizenship of your wife. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Thanks for reply .. She is Indian citizen .. And immigration has refused tourist visa once " saying you husband is in Australia you won't come back".
Then we applied for 461 and waited for 4 months still no sign of case officer.... What type can we apply ... Please suggest...


----------



## sigo267

Hi mark 
I am on my 457 visa and my employer had shortchanged a PR guy working as a chef in my restaurant. The chef plans to complain to fairwork about this. I am worried if this will affect my chances of getting PR after 2 years.


----------



## chai

*Subclass 189 EOI processing time*

Hi Mark,

My current student visa will expire end of August this year. I plan to submit EOI around first of August as I think I will have all the documents required by then. How long does it normally take to get invited to actually apply once you submit your EOI? I am just concerned in case my EOI takes long to get approved and my student visa runs out. What are my options if that happens?

Also as I plan to apply around August under general accountant from the list, will they have a new occupation ceilings by then?

Thank you so much


----------



## Ntito

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ntito -
> 
> You may want to contact DIBP to make sure they have your current contact information, and to see if you can provide any further information or documents related to your visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thxs 4 ur help . Yeah but they have all da information and never asked as to proved any after da las kid was born after da queue date but yeah after dat havent heard anything thy say waiting 4 visa 2 b available


----------



## Madu1980

Hi Mark
I am planning to apply for visiting visa for 3 months and doing online application. If you guys could kindly clarify my queries that would be great

1 Where I can find check list for online application since I am not sure for online I need to submit form1418 since I can provide all the information to the web page 

2 For online can I attaché original certificate or do I need certified copies 

3 How can I attached passport size photos to online , is that just scan two photos

Thanks and kind regards, 
M


----------



## ACJ

*Average length of time a 309 must be activated after approval?*

Hi Mark, 
You seem to be the go to guy for information. Thank you for helping so many. I am an Aussie who has lived abroad for nearly 30 years. Mainly because I married an American 18 years ago! He is US military & will retire in October. We have a 10 year old son who has Aus citizenship. We had always planned to move back to Australia once he was out of the air force. I have 2 questions. We do not expect problems proving our marriage is real. We have put up with each other this long! However my husbands last working day is mid July but his honorable discharge date is not until 1 Oct. We wanted to apply now for 309/100 but not enter until Dec 2015. We understand once approved there is a must enter date. We had hoped to travel through Europe for 5 months. We have been told by our nearest embassy they expect to process the visa quickly due to our established relationship. We prefer not to have to fly to Australia twice. So question 1 what is the usual length of time given to enter by, is it linked to the medical/police check dates? 2nd Will his active duty in the US Military be an issue even though he has paperwork showing a mandatory retirement date? Thanks.


----------



## Peepslewry

Hi Mark

My partner just applied for partner class onshore through the Ottawa office.
We have two children together both Canadian citizens who we did not put on his application mainly due to costs. So we will be applying for citizenship by descent for both of them as its a cheaper option. 
Once they receive citizenship do they need an Australian passport or can we enter on their Canadian passports?
The closet passport office to us is in Vancouver (we are in Calgary) and my problem is all the added costs involved in getting them (flights, hotels etc)
So I was wondering if we could do either of the following or if I'm out of luck and have to get them both passports here in Canada:

A) once my partners visa is granted can the children enter Australia on a visitor visa and once there apply for the citizenship by descent and by doing this not effect his application process.
Or
B) get the citizenship by descent in Canada and then still enter Australia on a Canadian passport but apply for a visitor visa just to cover ourselves should the airline refuse us.

Thanks for your help


----------



## kimstaceycampbell

Hi Mark,

Hope someone is able to shed some light on this. I applied for my temporary partner visa in June 2014 so its been 11 months. I know not to hear anything till around August. Anyway, I need to arrange a BVB exit visa as my partner and I are going to New Zealand for 3 days in June and then Hawaii for 10 days in August. Will I have to apply for two separate visas?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## stephanievan

Hi! 
Quick questions..

1) Do you need to submit evidence of becoming engaged while your DeFacto subclass 820 is still being processed? Are you ineligible for 820 once becoming engaged? Would we need a new visa?

2) What would happen immediately following a subclass 820 denial? How long do you get to stay in the country for after denial?

Thank you!


----------



## stephanievan

kimstaceycampbell said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope someone is able to shed some light on this. I applied for my temporary partner visa in June 2014 so its been 11 months. I know not to hear anything till around August. Anyway, I need to arrange a BVB exit visa as my partner and I are going to New Zealand for 3 days in June and then Hawaii for 10 days in August. Will I have to apply for two separate visas?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


*
Hi there. In my experience (I had a pending subclass 820 de facto, and applied to leave the country due to explanation of compassionate reasons *family wedding and baby birth* as well as paid the fee) the letter I received granted permission for me to leave and allowed me to stay out of the country for about 4 months or so, and stated that i need to be back in Australia by a certain date, or else our pending visa would be in jeopardy. Thats just my experience though, but I hope it helps. So, maybe apply for it explaining the dates and your reasons, and see what date they reply with. If its not enough time to cram both trips onto one visa then maybe you would have to apply again..that I'm not sure about..sorry, goodluck!*


----------



## zaman.me1

Hi Mark,
I just wanted to confirm one thing I have completed my master in Professional Accounting and have my degree assessed with 6 bands in Ielts from CPA ( which is valid for TR only) and on that basis I meet all the requirements for visa 489 but if I go through this way for PR at later stage when other requirements are fulfilled after two years would I be required to have my degree assessed at 7 band for 887 visa application? According to immigration site it is not in the required document check list.
I would really appreciate your guidance.
Thank you


----------



## TrixDivergent

*457 Employer Nomination*

Dear Mark,

Im an Indonesian Citizen, holding Indonesian Passport, having Multiple Entry Visitor Visa (subclass 600, without "No further stay" condition) valid until December 2015. At the moment Im in process to submit online application for 457 under Employer Nomination. My sponsor has just granted their SBS and now in process of applying the Nomination Position (141111 - Cafe Manager). Understood that meantime I can start fill in and submit mine too without waiting the Nomination Position being granted. Please correct me if i'm wrong.

However, I need your help for following questions:
1. Do I need to undergo IELTS and also skill assesment from VETASSESS?
2. We're about to finalized the employment contract which incl the salary package they offer me (accomodation, meal and transport), this contract whould be attached to the Nomination Application, right?? 
3. Their SBS is granted for 5 years, should we apply Nomination Position for 48 months or just put 24 months? 
4. Do I need to provide Health Check, Police Check and Insurance now?
5. If I apply my 457 online while im in Indonesia, can I be inside Australia when it's granted, considering I still hold the Multiple Exit Visitor Visa?

Thanking you in advance.


----------



## nicolo

Hi Mark

I applied for 187 visa. Do I need to provide police clearance from a country I lived in 1994 to 1998 ( 17 years ago). Or do I just need police clearance from countries I have lived since 2005?


----------



## phuhle1104

*Visa 189 invitation and application*

Hi Mark,

Finally I got the invitation for visa 189 today 08/05/2015. I am also currently holding visa 489 expired in 2018. However, I have two problems now.

1/ My relationship status change to "separated" on 01/05/2015 but I had not updated my EOI; therefore, it is still "married" on the invitation. Now what should I put in the application? "married" or "separated"? I have obtained the statutory declaration today as well.

2/ Can I travel back to my country for 2 months when applying visa 189 outside Australia and holding 489? Do I need to apply for any bridging visa?

Regards, Liam


----------



## ravirami

Hello,

I am bit confuse about my skilled assessment. I completed my 4 years Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics discipline from India and have total 9 years of Experience in Electronics & Maintenance Field in India Only.

I want to apply for 189 Visa, in this I have to assess my qualification only or have to assess my Work experience too. As I am bit afraid that if they won't assess my experience above 8 years then I don't get 60 Points to qualify.

So better to assess only Qualification and experience will depend upon Australia Immigration Officer as how he assess my experience based upon my Employment Documents , please guide me in this.

Thanks to all in advance.


----------



## SqOats

Dear Mark,

I have a query regarding PCC for 189 visa. I know that 16+ old has to provide PCC from all the countries where he lived for more than a year in the past 10 years and it is valid for 12 months. 

My question is that...I studied in Turkey from 2004 to 2008 and I got PCC when i left Turkey in June 2008. I didnt go back to Turkey afterwards. Will that PCC be valid for Turkey because I didnt go back to Turkey afterwards or do I have to get a latest PCC?.

Thanking you in advance...


----------



## jaspals

Dear Mark

I have applied for a student visa sub class 574 at Australian High Commission AHC New Delhi.

Its been 2 months and no responce from AHC. No case officer has assinged to my application.

I want to withdraw my application, because of some family problem. I will apply for a deffered CEO that will give me time of 4.5 months to join my univesity and also want to add new employment details in my application

Can i withdraw my visa application and reapply again with a deffered CEO.


Will this withdrawl, affect my cahnces of getting a visa when i apply for a visa again.

Please give your advice.


Thank You


----------



## hasa

*question about student visa*

Hello mark how are you?
I'm from Jordan and I'm 23 years old and I have just finished my bachelor degree in engineering from Jordan.
I'm now in Australia holding a visitor visa subclass 600 and I want to study English courses here in a private college so I've applied for a student visa subclass 572 for vocational and educational training.
Then my case officer sent me an email requesting to provide an exceptional reason why should I be granted the student visa and here is the script of the email: 
Request detail : 
Initial student visa while in Australia: 
As you are in assessment level 3 applicant, you are not able to be granted an initial student visa in Australia unless exceptional reason exist for the grant of the visa.
Exceptional reasons may include but are not limited to : 
the grant of the visa would be of the benefit of Australia 
the applicant is a family member of a departing temporary resident has been studying successfully in Australia for at least 1 year and wishes to complete their current course of study or undertake further studies. 
The applicant is a holder of occupational trainee subclass 442 visa, a visiting academic subclass 419 visa, or a training and research subclass 402 visa in the occupational trainee stream or the research stream and wishes to change to a student visa to undertake further studies in Australia. 
Please provide a statement explaining your exceptional reasons for the grant of the initial student visa in Australia and any supporting evidence. 
Here is the end of the email. 
So can you help me to provide them with the exceptional reason?


----------



## shazz

Hi Mark,

We've just applied for aged parent visa 804 for my parents and submitted the application today by post.
Would you be able to advise when will be hear anything from the Immi Office, for e.g receipt of application received etc or should i ring them in next 2-3 days.

Also when would my parents be eligible to apply for bridging visa A?

Like always, appreciate your advise!!
regards
Shazz


----------



## MaineSkip

Hi Mark,
I just read on a post somewhere that you grew up in Maine! What part? We are in Downeast Maine, not far from Acadia.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rebelchick -

All depends on where the applicant wants to be during the 12-18 month processing period - if mostly in Australia, then the 820 may be a good choice assuming the visitor visa doesn't have condition 8503. If the applicant will mainly be residing offshore, then the 309 may be a good choice, plus visitor visa(s) to visit Australia during processing as necessary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rebelchick said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Sorry to bother you with another question but in your opinion, is it faster/easier or both to file onshore for the 820 spouse visa (Me an American who is already married to an Aussie) or the 309 offshore? Which would you chose is it was your wife? Trying to decide whether or not to go back and file for the 820 or not.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aura -

Thanks for the note. The 5 year sponsorship limitation period begins with the date the first application was lodged, and ends on the decision date of the current visa. The person from DIBP was wrong - it's a time of decision criteria, so as long as by the time DIBP is ready to decide your partner visa the 5 year period has elapsed, it would not prevent your partner visa from being approved.

A great example of the dangers of depending on phone advice from DIBP. They are not even legally allowed to give migration advice via phone.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aura said:


> Hi Mark, and thank you already for any help.
> 
> I'm looking into being sponsored for an 820/801 de facto - partner visa (I'm currently in Australia with a WHV), with a small hickup. My partner (AUS citizen) has been a sponsor before (first application lodged Jan 2012), and I am confused with the information available regarding the 5 year-limitation for sponsorship. Where is this counted from and to?
> 
> I called immigration today and got the response that if I lodge my application any earlier than 5 years after the first application (so earlier than Jan 2017), I won't even get a bridging visa as the application would not be a "valid application" because my sponsor wouldn't be eligible to sponsor (we don't fulfil any of the compelling circumstances listed). However, the wonderful world of the internet seems to think the 5 years would be from the lodging of the first application to the actual decision of the second. Being aware of the very long processing times, we'd like to know if it is possible to apply sooner than Jan 2017.
> 
> Best,
> Aura


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naveen -

Sorry I missed your question - have been tied up with MRT tribunal matters recently and have not been able to check in here for questions as frequently as I usually do. Generally no need to remain employed through the application process since you're not claiming points for that period. You can take medicals anywhere convenient to you at the time, but must be at a DIBP approved medical facility - see DIBP website contacts for your country to see where - does not have to be your country of citizenship - can be anywhere you are at that time at an approved facility or doctor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naveenoronha said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you, I am so grateful to have your knowledge shared here. I just have a few more question -
> 
> 1. I will be lodging my file tomorrow, 6th of May - is it necessary that I stay employed through the remainder of the application process? I ask because I am quitting my current job to look out for another by the end of June.
> 
> 2. Once my file moves forward and I am asked to do my medicals, is it necessary for me to do it in the country from where I am applying (India) or can I do it from another country (Qatar). I expect to be in Qatar by the end of July to look out for job opportunities.
> 
> Thank you Naveen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi dl79 -

Sounds like it could work either way, but I agree re: NSW chances until July.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dl79 said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I had my education and work experience as accountant assessed by CPA, and had a positive result for my education and 5,5 years work as an accountant. My IELTS R8, L8, S7, W7. I'm confuse, since to apply visa 189 for accountant, it has reached its cap, while to apply the State Nomination 190, I could only apply the NSW, since I wasn't an Australian graduate.
> 
> Based on the information I found in the internet, the chance for me to get State Sponsorship for NSW will be low, since so many people have applied the NSW SS for accountant. and My point score is 65 (include 5 point SS).
> 
> Should I continue to submit the NSW SS or should I edit back my EOI to visa 189, and wait for July 15?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adela -

Thanks for the question. Re: evidence of ability to support, usually any sort of employment related document will work - payslip, tax document, letter from employer, etc. Re: accommodation, a letter from your brother with his contact info that describes your living arrangement should be OK.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



adela said:


> HI Mark,
> I have question and I hope you will be able ot assitem me nad help me.
> I am Australian resident and living and working n Australia.
> my Fiance want apply for visa prospective marriage visa subclass300.
> I need prove documents financial support what kind documents you suggest to be lodge as a proof .
> 
> Accommodation .I live in my brother house I don;' pay rent .Also he is happy for me to stay with my fiancé when he arrived to Australia to stay in his home so we can save money .how I will prove accommodation.
> Many thanks , adela


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raza -

Thanks for the question. No need to inform DIBP that she has been granted a 402, however as that will put her in Australia, you'll want to make sure DIBP has your/her current contact information - when they are ready to grant the 309 she will need to go offshore briefly so she can be granted the visa - they will generally notify you by email when they are ready to do this. Also, when she comes to Australia, suggest you lodge Form 929 to record her new address.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Raza said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife applied her 309 visa online in November 2014. She is in Pakistan. Few days ago she received an offer letter from University of Western Australia to do an internship for 6 months. On behalf of this offer letter she has applied for visa subclass 402 (Occupational Trainee stream). Regarding her 309 visa she has not been assigned case officer yet.
> My question is:
> After visa 402 is granted do, we need to fill some form and send it to immi office? If yes can you please tell me which form do we need to fill.
> 
> Thanks,
> Raza


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lily -

Welcome to the Australia Forum! Glad to have you here. Normally to document a separation, if you lodge a Commonwealth Statutory Declaration and include the details of your separation - ie, date you married, date you separated, and your plans for divorcing, that will work. For a template, you can google "Australia Commonwealth Statutory Declaration" and download a template - just complete that, put your text in, and have it witnessed by a JP (available at libraries, shopping centres, politician offices, etc) when you sign it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nghiquan2009 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new to this forum. My name is Lily and I am currently living in Australia. I have been separated with my husband for a while. I will come back my country to divorce at the end of this year. However, right now I applied for visa 190 NSW nomination and waiting for the invitation through skillselect. What documents should I need to give to the case officer to show that my relationship status is "separated"? I read on the website of immi that I need to show them "statutory declaration". How can I get that? what can I write down in that form? Should I change my relationship status before I get the statutory declaration or after that?
> 
> Thank you very much.
> Lily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mel1234 -

Sounds like it could possibly work, but I'd need to see the documents to give you any specific information or opinion for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mel1234 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your reply. It is so useful for me to apply for visa 887.
> 
> Also, I would like to ask you some queries.
> 
> After arriving at the small town. I spent three weeks staying in my friend's house. If my friend writes a paper with his address, contact number and name to support the fact that I stayed in his house for 3 weeks and I also provide a copy of train ticket from Sydney to the small town, could these weeks be included in 2-year living evidence?
> 
> Could you give me some advice? Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marco -

If you get an invitation, you have 60 days to apply for the visa - you can be inside or outside Australia to do that. If you are inside Australia when you apply for the visa, you'll get a bridging visa that allows you to remain in Australia until a decision is made on your PR visa; if you apply outside Australia, you don't get a bridging visa.

Once the visa is granted, you'll have a period of time (usually a few months, but can vary) to make your initial entry into Australia to activate the visa. Once you've made your initial entry, you can come & go from Australia as you like. Once the initial 5 year period of the PR visa is up, you'll have to apply for a Resident Return Visa (RRV) to extend your re-entry rights to Australia. If you have not spent 24 months in total during that 5 year period in Australia, it is more difficult to get a Resident Return Visa and you can only get a 1-year RRV in that case - more details on DIBP website on RRV.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Marco12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I live in Australia in a temporary visa at the moment and I have applied for EOI and it is expected to get the invitation by July. The problem is that I need to go back to my country for family issues and I am not sure if I will go back to Australia or not but I want to keep the PR visa as long as possible.
> Is it better to wait and get the invitation inside Australia?
> If I got the invitation outside Australia, how much time do I have to travel back again to Australia or visa will get cancelled ?
> How long time can I keep a PR without living in Australia?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nik8720 -

Not a lot you can do but keep in touch with them regularly and ask if they need any further documents or information, politely.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nik8720 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> i have applied my student visa 573 on 27 jan 2015 it been more than 3 months i have not got any communication or demand with AHC i had to defer my course to 3 aug session i am confused , what is going on i have no clue , i have called many times to AHC they told me my case is on decision stage and will inform you , what that means and till what time i will get some news ....i also know the name of my case officer what you recommend shold i mail him/her , plz share ur inputs on it ...
> 
> thanks regards ...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tryme5 -

Too complex to solve via back & forth emails - happy to assist you at a consultation where we have the time to go through your case and identify options. 461's can take anywhere from 6-12 months to process currently. Website link is in my signature below - see website for more info on consultations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tryme5 said:


> Thanks for reply .. She is Indian citizen .. And immigration has refused tourist visa once " saying you husband is in Australia you won't come back".
> Then we applied for 461 and waited for 4 months still no sign of case officer.... What type can we apply ... Please suggest...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sigo267 -

No way to comment or guess about this specific instance, however it is a condition of being able to sponsor a person for PR or 457 that an employer must not have any negative information on file with DIBP or Fair Work Australia, or that any negative info that may be there should be overlooked because it is not significant. Bottom line: certainly could affect your PR, depending on what information ends up being recorded at DIBP or FWA, especially if the employer is found to breach any regulations or obligations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sigo267 said:


> Hi mark
> I am on my 457 visa and my employer had shortchanged a PR guy working as a chef in my restaurant. The chef plans to complain to fairwork about this. I am worried if this will affect my chances of getting PR after 2 years.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chai -

Normally new application ceilings begin in July each year - no way to predict how long it will take to get an invitation as it depends on the number of other applicants in your occupation that have lodged EOI's previously to yours or have a higher points score. If no invitation, many applicants choose to wait offshore, or they may apply for a different type of temporary visa in Australia to await an invitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chai said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My current student visa will expire end of August this year. I plan to submit EOI around first of August as I think I will have all the documents required by then. How long does it normally take to get invited to actually apply once you submit your EOI? I am just concerned in case my EOI takes long to get approved and my student visa runs out. What are my options if that happens?
> 
> Also as I plan to apply around August under general accountant from the list, will they have a new occupation ceilings by then?
> 
> Thank you so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Madu -

For online visitor visa application, no need to lodge form 1418, colour scans of original documents are fine for attachments (no need to certify usually), and a scan of a single passport photo is fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Madu1980 said:


> Hi Mark
> I am planning to apply for visiting visa for 3 months and doing online application. If you guys could kindly clarify my queries that would be great
> 
> 1 Where I can find check list for online application since I am not sure for online I need to submit form1418 since I can provide all the information to the web page
> 
> 2 For online can I attaché original certificate or do I need certified copies
> 
> 3 How can I attached passport size photos to online , is that just scan two photos
> 
> Thanks and kind regards,
> M


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ACJ -

Thanks for the question. Normally must-enter-by date for partner visas is related to the expiration of the later of the health or police certificates, however DIBP also has the power to extend the validity of these once lodged, so it's difficult to predict. Typically these are several months from the decision date. I don't see an issue with the military ending date as you described it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ACJ said:


> Hi Mark,
> You seem to be the go to guy for information. Thank you for helping so many. I am an Aussie who has lived abroad for nearly 30 years. Mainly because I married an American 18 years ago! He is US military & will retire in October. We have a 10 year old son who has Aus citizenship. We had always planned to move back to Australia once he was out of the air force. I have 2 questions. We do not expect problems proving our marriage is real. We have put up with each other this long! However my husbands last working day is mid July but his honorable discharge date is not until 1 Oct. We wanted to apply now for 309/100 but not enter until Dec 2015. We understand once approved there is a must enter date. We had hoped to travel through Europe for 5 months. We have been told by our nearest embassy they expect to process the visa quickly due to our established relationship. We prefer not to have to fly to Australia twice. So question 1 what is the usual length of time given to enter by, is it linked to the medical/police check dates? 2nd Will his active duty in the US Military be an issue even though he has paperwork showing a mandatory retirement date? Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

You'd need to talk to the Australian passport office to see what their specific requirements are re: lodging in-person vs via mail, etc - these are done differently in different offices. You can apply for citizenship while they're onshore in Australia or offshore - probably simpler onshore via visitor visa if getting it done offshore is too costly or cumbersome.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Peepslewry said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My partner just applied for partner class onshore through the Ottawa office.
> We have two children together both Canadian citizens who we did not put on his application mainly due to costs. So we will be applying for citizenship by descent for both of them as its a cheaper option.
> Once they receive citizenship do they need an Australian passport or can we enter on their Canadian passports?
> The closet passport office to us is in Vancouver (we are in Calgary) and my problem is all the added costs involved in getting them (flights, hotels etc)
> So I was wondering if we could do either of the following or if I'm out of luck and have to get them both passports here in Canada:
> 
> A) once my partners visa is granted can the children enter Australia on a visitor visa and once there apply for the citizenship by descent and by doing this not effect his application process.
> Or
> B) get the citizenship by descent in Canada and then still enter Australia on a Canadian passport but apply for a visitor visa just to cover ourselves should the airline refuse us.
> 
> Thanks for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kimstaceycampbell -

Depends on DIBP - if you an get a multi-entry Bridging Visa B that lasts as long as you need to, that's great - I'd ask them and see what they say.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kimstaceycampbell said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope someone is able to shed some light on this. I applied for my temporary partner visa in June 2014 so its been 11 months. I know not to hear anything till around August. Anyway, I need to arrange a BVB exit visa as my partner and I are going to New Zealand for 3 days in June and then Hawaii for 10 days in August. Will I have to apply for two separate visas?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stephanievan -

For an applicant who has lodged a 820 partner visa via defacto marriage, evidence of becoming engageed or evidence of becoming married would be considered additional relationship evidence - you should certainly lodge that. No eligibility changes as a result. If 820 is refused while the applicant is onshore in Australia, you have 21 days to lodge an appeal to the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT). If you do not apply to the MRT, your bridging visa related to the 820/801 application will cease 28 days from the day you are deemed to have been notified of the refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stephanievan said:


> Hi!
> Quick questions..
> 
> 1) Do you need to submit evidence of becoming engaged while your DeFacto subclass 820 is still being processed? Are you ineligible for 820 once becoming engaged? Would we need a new visa?
> 
> 2) What would happen immediately following a subclass 820 denial? How long do you get to stay in the country for after denial?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zaman -

Thanks for the question and email about this. I believe you have confused the 489 provisional sponsored skilled visa with the 485 skilled graduate visa - only the 485 allows for an assessment of only the degree from ACS - the 489 requires a full skills assessment from ACS and 7 or higher on each band of the IELTS test. If you get a 489 visa and later apply for the 887, no need to new English tests for the 887 application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zaman.me1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I just wanted to confirm one thing I have completed my master in Professional Accounting and have my degree assessed with 6 bands in Ielts from CPA ( which is valid for TR only) and on that basis I meet all the requirements for visa 489 but if I go through this way for PR at later stage when other requirements are fulfilled after two years would I be required to have my degree assessed at 7 band for 887 visa application? According to immigration site it is not in the required document check list.
> I would really appreciate your guidance.
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TrixDivergent -

Happy to assist - Thanks for the questions - see below for responses at ***:



TrixDivergent said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Im an Indonesian Citizen, holding Indonesian Passport, having Multiple Entry Visitor Visa (subclass 600, without "No further stay" condition) valid until December 2015. At the moment Im in process to submit online application for 457 under Employer Nomination. My sponsor has just granted their SBS and now in process of applying the Nomination Position (141111 - Cafe Manager). Understood that meantime I can start fill in and submit mine too without waiting the Nomination Position being granted. Please correct me if i'm wrong.
> 
> However, I need your help for following questions:
> 1. Do I need to undergo IELTS and also skill assesment from VETASSESS?
> *** No skills assessment for 457 visa for your occupation, however you will need to have IELTS overall 5.0 with no score on any band less than 4.5.
> 
> 2. We're about to finalized the employment contract which incl the salary package they offer me (accomodation, meal and transport), this contract whould be attached to the Nomination Application, right??
> *** Correct - also attach to 457 application.
> 
> 3. Their SBS is granted for 5 years, should we apply Nomination Position for 48 months or just put 24 months?
> *** Depends on your employer, but if you're headed for PR with a 186 or 187 visa sponsored by your employer after 24 months on a 457, but make it for longer than 24 months since you'll need time to make the application after the end of your 24th month.
> 
> 4. Do I need to provide Health Check, Police Check and Insurance now?
> *** For 457, only health check in limited circumstances depending on your job. No police check generally for 457 unless you admit convictions (or DIBP discovers them). 457 does require evidence of health insurance.
> 
> 5. If I apply my 457 online while im in Indonesia, can I be inside Australia when it's granted, considering I still hold the Multiple Exit Visitor Visa?
> *** Yes.
> 
> Thanking you in advance.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicolo -

Unless you have convictions from more than 10 years ago, DIBP will want police checks normally only from any country you have spent 12 months or more in during the last 10 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nicolo said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I applied for 187 visa. Do I need to provide police clearance from a country I lived in 1994 to 1998 ( 17 years ago). Or do I just need police clearance from countries I have lived since 2005?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liam -

If your relationship status changed, I'd change it on the visa application for the 189 - this is usually possible. If not, upload a letter to the 189 after lodgment explaining it. As long as the 489 is valid, you can travel in/out of Australia on that visa while your 189 application is processing. Upon grant, the 189 replaces the 489.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Finally I got the invitation for visa 189 today 08/05/2015. I am also currently holding visa 489 expired in 2018. However, I have two problems now.
> 
> 1/ My relationship status change to "separated" on 01/05/2015 but I had not updated my EOI; therefore, it is still "married" on the invitation. Now what should I put in the application? "married" or "separated"? I have obtained the statutory declaration today as well.
> 
> 2/ Can I travel back to my country for 2 months when applying visa 189 outside Australia and holding 489? Do I need to apply for any bridging visa?
> 
> Regards, Liam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ravirami -

Thanks for the note. Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in quick back & forth emails.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit Northam & Associates - Professional Migration Consulting Session

Thanks again for your enquiry.

Best,

Mark Northam



ravirami said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am bit confuse about my skilled assessment. I completed my 4 years Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics discipline from India and have total 9 years of Experience in Electronics & Maintenance Field in India Only.
> 
> I want to apply for 189 Visa, in this I have to assess my qualification only or have to assess my Work experience too. As I am bit afraid that if they won't assess my experience above 8 years then I don't get 60 Points to qualify.
> 
> So better to assess only Qualification and experience will depend upon Australia Immigration Officer as how he assess my experience based upon my Employment Documents , please guide me in this.
> 
> Thanks to all in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

DIBP has a discretion about this - when they ask you for PCC's, you can show via passport you have not entered Turkey since you left and request that they accept the previous PCC - they may nor may not accept your proposal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SqOats said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a query regarding PCC for 189 visa. I know that 16+ old has to provide PCC from all the countries where he lived for more than a year in the past 10 years and it is valid for 12 months.
> 
> My question is that...I studied in Turkey from 2004 to 2008 and I got PCC when i left Turkey in June 2008. I didnt go back to Turkey afterwards. Will that PCC be valid for Turkey because I didnt go back to Turkey afterwards or do I have to get a latest PCC?.
> 
> Thanking you in advance...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaspals -

Yes, you can withdraw a visa application any time before it is decided. If you do this, I'd include a letter with the next application explaining the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal just to try and lower or eliminate the chances of DIBP asking questions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jaspals said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I have applied for a student visa sub class 574 at Australian High Commission AHC New Delhi.
> 
> Its been 2 months and no responce from AHC. No case officer has assinged to my application.
> 
> I want to withdraw my application, because of some family problem. I will apply for a deffered CEO that will give me time of 4.5 months to join my univesity and also want to add new employment details in my application
> 
> Can i withdraw my visa application and reapply again with a deffered CEO.
> 
> Will this withdrawl, affect my cahnces of getting a visa when i apply for a visa again.
> 
> Please give your advice.
> 
> Thank You


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hasa -

Thanks for the question. Exceptional reasons are reasons that rise above the usual day-to-day activities we all do. Convenience or saving money doesn't count for an exceptional reason. Typical things that may qualify are people who are very sick, elderly people that would be put in danger by your leaving, etc. Normally this type of application involves departing Australia and lodging your student visa outside Australia, then waiting for a grant of the student visa to re-enter. However if you have another visa (visitor visa) there typically is nothing that would prevent you from going offshore, lodging the new student visa, then returning on the visitor visa to wait out the processing time in Australia, but would need to see your case in detail in order to give you any specific advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hasa said:


> Hello mark how are you?
> I'm from Jordan and I'm 23 years old and I have just finished my bachelor degree in engineering from Jordan.
> I'm now in Australia holding a visitor visa subclass 600 and I want to study English courses here in a private college so I've applied for a student visa subclass 572 for vocational and educational training.
> Then my case officer sent me an email requesting to provide an exceptional reason why should I be granted the student visa and here is the script of the email:
> Request detail :
> Initial student visa while in Australia:
> As you are in assessment level 3 applicant, you are not able to be granted an initial student visa in Australia unless exceptional reason exist for the grant of the visa.
> Exceptional reasons may include but are not limited to :
> the grant of the visa would be of the benefit of Australia
> the applicant is a family member of a departing temporary resident has been studying successfully in Australia for at least 1 year and wishes to complete their current course of study or undertake further studies.
> The applicant is a holder of occupational trainee subclass 442 visa, a visiting academic subclass 419 visa, or a training and research subclass 402 visa in the occupational trainee stream or the research stream and wishes to change to a student visa to undertake further studies in Australia.
> Please provide a statement explaining your exceptional reasons for the grant of the initial student visa in Australia and any supporting evidence.
> Here is the end of the email.
> So can you help me to provide them with the exceptional reason?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shazz -

Typically acknowledgement letters come within 7 working days - they would include a grant for a Bridging Visa A if the applicant is onshore and lodges a valid visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shazz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We've just applied for aged parent visa 804 for my parents and submitted the application today by post.
> Would you be able to advise when will be hear anything from the Immi Office, for e.g receipt of application received etc or should i ring them in next 2-3 days.
> 
> Also when would my parents be eligible to apply for bridging visa A?
> 
> Like always, appreciate your advise!!
> regards
> Shazz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MaineSkip -

It's a small world! I grew up in Orono, Maine where my father worked as a professor of mathematics and computer science at the University of Maine there. Acadia National Park is absolutely beautiful, and I enjoy visiting there and Bar Harbor whenever I'm back in Maine, which unfortunately isn't very often these days - it's a long, long set of plane flights from Sydney!

Best,

Mark



MaineSkip said:


> Hi Mark,
> I just read on a post somewhere that you grew up in Maine! What part? We are in Downeast Maine, not far from Acadia.


----------



## TrixDivergent

*457 Visa*

Dear Mark,

Thank you so much for your reply, it certainly enlightens me and my (future) employer and help alot!!!!

If you dont mind me asking few more questions:

1. Is my Visitor Visa (600) considered as "Australian Visa"? I ask this in regards one of the question in 457 primary application ("do you currently hold an Australian visa?" and "Before this application, have you ever applied for an Australian visa?")
Apart from 600, i never apply or hold any other type of visa.
2. In Nomination Application, there's a question "Select the type of employment arrangement", what is the different between Individual Agreement, Collective/enterprise agreement or Award ? If my employer will offer me package of total AUD 55,000 a year incl accomodation, meal and a car, which one should we choose? Do you think this amount meets the minimum requirements? How much should we put as Base rate of pay per annum and guaranteed annual earnings??

Thank you so much again Mark



MarkNortham said:


> Hi TrixDivergent -
> 
> Happy to assist - Thanks for the questions - see below for responses at ***:
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TrixDivergent -

Sure - the visitor visa is definitely an Australian visa. Re: employer sponsorship arrangements and answers on 457 applications, this is more complex than can be answered here - for instance, the salary must be justified either by an equivalent Australian employee, or by a submission of market salary rates - no easy answers, and I would need to review the entire application (nom and visa app) in order to give you any advice - can do that at a consultation if you'd like - see website below for more on consultations. In 457 applications there are many interdependent factors between the sponsorship, nomination and visa application - have to make them all work together.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TrixDivergent said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your reply, it certainly enlightens me and my (future) employer and help alot!!!!
> 
> If you dont mind me asking few more questions:
> 
> 1. Is my Visitor Visa (600) considered as "Australian Visa"? I ask this in regards one of the question in 457 primary application ("do you currently hold an Australian visa?" and "Before this application, have you ever applied for an Australian visa?")
> Apart from 600, i never apply or hold any other type of visa.
> 2. In Nomination Application, there's a question "Select the type of employment arrangement", what is the different between Individual Agreement, Collective/enterprise agreement or Award ? If my employer will offer me package of total AUD 55,000 a year incl accomodation, meal and a car, which one should we choose? Do you think this amount meets the minimum requirements? How much should we put as Base rate of pay per annum and guaranteed annual earnings??
> 
> Thank you so much again Mark


----------



## jrmencha8

*Non-Immigrating relative*

Hello Mark,

I have a question regarding non-immigrating relatives. We were invited to apply for a visa 189, I have a step son who doesn't live with us and we are not financially responsible for, he lives with his father, he will not be migrating with us but we were advised to list him as a non-migrating relative. Would he need to be listed as such since we don't provide for him financially?

Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jrmencha8 -

Thanks for the question. That would depend on the specific nature of you and your partner with the child. If there is no biological linkage (neither of you are the child's biological parents) and no current familial linkage (neither you nor your partner have any legal role or say in the child's life), and you never assumed legal rights over the child via adoption, then it may not be necessary to list him on the application. However if there is any biological linkage or legal linkage, then the child should be listed. Happy to discuss further in a consultation if you'd like to discuss the details and circumstances - see my website below for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jrmencha8 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding non-immigrating relatives. We were invited to apply for a visa 189, I have a step son who doesn't live with us and we are not financially responsible for, he lives with his father, he will not be migrating with us but we were advised to list him as a non-migrating relative. Would he need to be listed as such since we don't provide for him financially?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## charanjit

*information regarding 489 family sponsered required*

Hi mark,

Really doing a wonderful job here.. My question is that my invitation for 489 family sponsered has expired. and as per DPIP i will get second chance. My question is that my brother is in Northen teritory and i have stated in my EOI that i am intented to live in Northen.

But unfortunatedly i have found that in 489 visa my skillcode that is 261112 is not there in thier sol/csol list. Does this thing matters.

In family sponsred visa does they check the SOL list of where my brother lives or where i want to stay ..a little confusion is there.

I mean to say that in anzscosearch.com my code 261112 is inactive in northen teritory.Can i get invitation in 489 family sponsred or not???

Thanks in advance.


----------



## shangi_boi

*309 and tourist visa*

Hi Mark,

My wife is in the process of applying for a 309 partner visa, and she already has a 3 year tourist visa, i would like to know if her, applying for the partner visa 309 would void her current tourist visa? If so can she still apply for a new tourist visa while waiting for the 309 partner visa to be granted? Thank you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charanjit -

Thanks for the question and kind words. For family-sponsored 489 visas, your occupation must be on the SOL list, however as you do not require state sponsorship, your occupation is not required to be on any of the state's nomination lists - only the SOL list.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charanjit said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Really doing a wonderful job here.. My question is that my invitation for 489 family sponsered has expired. and as per DPIP i will get second chance. My question is that my brother is in Northen teritory and i have stated in my EOI that i am intented to live in Northen.
> 
> But unfortunatedly i have found that in 489 visa my skillcode that is 261112 is not there in thier sol/csol list. Does this thing matters.
> 
> In family sponsred visa does they check the SOL list of where my brother lives or where i want to stay ..a little confusion is there.
> 
> I mean to say that in anzscosearch.com my code 261112 is inactive in northen teritory.Can i get invitation in 489 family sponsred or not???
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shangi_Boi -

Thanks for the question. Applying for a 309/100 partner visa would not affect her existing visitor visa - that visa would continue to be ineffect. If/when the 309 visa is granted, that would replace the visitor visa. If the visitor visa expires while she is waiting for the 309/100 decision, she can apply for another visitor visa during that time. However do note that with the 309/100, she will need to be outside Australia at both the date of application for the 309/100, and the date of decision for that visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shangi_boi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife is in the process of applying for a 309 partner visa, and she already has a 3 year tourist visa, i would like to know if her, applying for the partner visa 309 would void her current tourist visa? If so can she still apply for a new tourist visa while waiting for the 309 partner visa to be granted? Thank you for your help.


----------



## TrixDivergent

Dear Mark, many thanks for your advice. Will consult with my sponsor for further action.

BR, Trix



MarkNortham said:


> Hi TrixDivergent -
> 
> Sure - the visitor visa is definitely an Australian visa. Re: employer sponsorship arrangements and answers on 457 applications, this is more complex than can be answered here - for instance, the salary must be justified either by an equivalent Australian employee, or by a submission of market salary rates - no easy answers, and I would need to review the entire application (nom and visa app) in order to give you any advice - can do that at a consultation if you'd like - see website below for more on consultations. In 457 applications there are many interdependent factors between the sponsorship, nomination and visa application - have to make them all work together.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## tunx1210

Hi Mark,
I would like to ask a question about 2 year waiting period for 887 visa. I understand that in order to apply for 887 I need to be a visa holder of some specific visas for at least 2 years, have lived in a specified regional area of Australia for at least two years, and have worked full time in a specified regional area for at least one year. In my situation, I applied for 489 visa in 1 January 2014 and granted bridging visa from then, I got my 489 granted in Jan 2015. I've been living in Melbourne for a long time and also working fulltime for all those period and therefore, I got no issues with the last 2 conditions: have lived in a specified regional area of Australia for at least two years, and have worked full time in a specified regional area for at least one year. My question is when could I apply for 887 visa? On Immigration Department website, it is written that:
*You must have held one of the following visas for at least two years before applying for this visa, but they do not have to be the two years immediately before you apply:
Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489)*
I am wondering whether the 2 year period counts for the time that I was on bridging visa for 489? Could I apply for 887 in Jan 2016 (2 years since I got my bridging visa granted), or I have to wait until Jan 2017 (2 years since I got my 489 granted).

Looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tunx1210 -

Thanks for the question. The good news is that time spent on a bridging visa related to an application for a 489 visa can be counted towards the 2 year living requirement - here's the policy from DIBP:

*To satisfy 887.212 the main applicant must have lived in a specified regional area for a total of at least two calendar years while holding one of the provisional GSM visas, or bridging visas associated with an application for a provisional GSM visa. Any time spent living in a specified regional area while in Australia on another visa cannot be counted.
*

However be careful here - in my view the bridging visa would need to have been activated in order for that period of time to be counted towards the 2 years - assuming you were holding another visa when you applied for the 489, the period of time while that old visa was still active may not count towards the 887 - once that visa expired and the 489 bridging visa activated and was the visa you currently were on, that's when the time would start in y view.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tunx1210 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I would like to ask a question about 2 year waiting period for 887 visa. I understand that in order to apply for 887 I need to be a visa holder of some specific visas for at least 2 years, have lived in a specified regional area of Australia for at least two years, and have worked full time in a specified regional area for at least one year. In my situation, I applied for 489 visa in 1 January 2014 and granted bridging visa from then, I got my 489 granted in Jan 2015. I've been living in Melbourne for a long time and also working fulltime for all those period and therefore, I got no issues with the last 2 conditions: have lived in a specified regional area of Australia for at least two years, and have worked full time in a specified regional area for at least one year. My question is when could I apply for 887 visa? On Immigration Department website, it is written that:
> *You must have held one of the following visas for at least two years before applying for this visa, but they do not have to be the two years immediately before you apply:
> Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489)*
> I am wondering whether the 2 year period counts for the time that I was on bridging visa for 489? Could I apply for 887 in Jan 2016 (2 years since I got my bridging visa granted), or I have to wait until Jan 2017 (2 years since I got my 489 granted).
> 
> Looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you very much.


----------



## vdp

Hi Mark,

Im done with my Medical examination for my 457 visa application. I'm confuse because my MA told me that CO is still asking for some papers from the company.

As far as I know Medical and acquiring health insurance is the last stage and I pressume that Nomination and Sponsorship should be approve before the last stage which is medical.
Please help me with my confusion why is it some documents are still ask on my employers side?
2. After CO requested for Medical and health insurance and complied is it still not a guarantee visa approval?


Your reply is a big help on my confuse mind...

Regards to all!


----------



## bryan00

*Dear Mark*

Hello Mark, some questions to ask you.

1. What are your prospects on the general accountants being removed or remain on the SOL for the upcoming financial year?

Thank you in advance for your time!


----------



## SMF

Dear Mark

Hope you are fine and in the best of health. I just want to inquire of you that does the immigration process for skilled migrants involve undergoing a medical examination specifically an X - ray. Regards


----------



## Pevs

Hi Mark,

I'm almost finished on the first stage of the 820/801 partner visa. Just triple checking that everything is as it should be before paying and submitting!
I'm just wondering about the "Form 80". When does this need to be completed? When would I need to upload this?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vdp -

Thanks for the note. I'd like to help, but don't have enough information - your migration agent is the one who should be providing you this info since he's got access to the communications - I'd ask for copies of all correspondence from DIBP that involve your visa application. Re: papers from the company, normally once a visa application is being assessed, that means the sponsorship and nomination assessment is done. Documents from the company relevant to the visa application can include employment contract (although this is normally assessed at the nomination stage), and letter from company to extend the nomination to your partner and/or children if applicable.

Re: guarantee of any visa, doesn't exist. There can always be problems.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vdp said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Im done with my Medical examination for my 457 visa application. I'm confuse because my MA told me that CO is still asking for some papers from the company.
> 
> As far as I know Medical and acquiring health insurance is the last stage and I pressume that Nomination and Sponsorship should be approve before the last stage which is medical.
> Please help me with my confusion why is it some documents are still ask on my employers side?
> 2. After CO requested for Medical and health insurance and complied is it still not a guarantee visa approval?
> 
> Your reply is a big help on my confuse mind...
> 
> Regards to all!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bryan00 -

My guess, and it's only a guess: they will not remove accountants from the SOL this year.

Re: predicting when invitations will be issued, no good way to do that other than to look at the occupational ceiling and invitation round results that you already have been watching.

Re: lodging EOI with bogus IETLS and/or skills assessment info - risky. If you get an invitation based on that, no way to change after the invitation is issued. In theory if you change the bogus info to correct info prior to the invitation it may be fine, but alternatively, you'd have to decline any invitation based on bogus info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bryan00 said:


> Hello Mark, some questions to ask you.
> 
> 1. What are your prospects on the general accountants being removed or remain on the SOL for the upcoming financial year?
> 
> 1. On the condition that IMMI rules don't change, If I lodge an EOI today for general accountant with 65 points for 189 visa when would I mostly likely get an invitation considering that the ceiling must have exhausted in 8th May invitation rounds.
> 
> 2. If I lodge EOI today with an expired ielts result and skills assessment to make it 65 points to be listed on the queue and then update a new/valid ielts/skills assessment (would still be the same 65 points just update of information) before I get an invite, would this cause any problems in the process of lodging my visa application since the updated ielts/skills assessment date would be post EOI lodgement date? (I know this is playing a trick but as my visa is reaching expiry date I'm in desperate need to get an invitation asap)
> 
> Thank you in advance for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMF -

Yes, for permanent resident visas. For temporary visas such as 457 work visa, it can involve a chest x-ray depending on your country of citizenship, occupation, and what you plan to do in Australia. In some cases involving pregnancy, a visa application can be delayed until the applicant is safe to be x-ray'd - in some cases for people from low-risk countries, the application can be granted with a promise to take an x-ray later.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMF said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Hope you are fine and in the best of health. I just want to inquire of you that does the immigration process for skilled migrants involve undergoing a medical examination specifically an X - ray. Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pevs -

Thanks for the question. Form 80 is requested by DIBP in certain cases during the course of processing your application - you can complete it, then upload along with other evidence. Many people wait until they are asked for Form 80 as it's a long and detailed form to complete.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pevs said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm almost finished on the first stage of the 820/801 partner visa. Just triple checking that everything is as it should be before paying and submitting!
> I'm just wondering about the "Form 80". When does this need to be completed? When would I need to upload this?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## bryan00

bryan00 said:


> Hello Mark, some questions to ask you.
> 
> 1. What are your prospects on the general accountants being removed or remain on the SOL for the upcoming financial year?
> 
> 1. On the condition that IMMI rules don't change, If I lodge an EOI today for general accountant with 65 points for 189 visa when would I mostly likely get an invitation considering that the ceiling must have exhausted in 8th May invitation rounds.
> 
> 2. If I lodge EOI today with an expired ielts result and skills assessment to make it 65 points to be listed on the queue and then update a new/valid ielts/skills assessment (would still be the same 65 points just update of information) before I get an invite, would this cause any problems in the process of lodging my visa application since the updated ielts/skills assessment date would be post EOI lodgement date? (I know this is playing a trick but as my visa is reaching expiry date I'm in desperate need to get an invitation asap)
> 
> Thank you in advance for your time!





MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bryan00 -
> 
> My guess, and it's only a guess: they will not remove accountants from the SOL this year.
> 
> Re: predicting when invitations will be issued, no good way to do that other than to look at the occupational ceiling and invitation round results that you already have been watching.
> 
> Re: lodging EOI with bogus IETLS and/or skills assessment info - risky. If you get an invitation based on that, no way to change after the invitation is issued. In theory if you change the bogus info to correct info prior to the invitation it may be fine, but alternatively, you'd have to decline any invitation based on bogus info.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for the prompt/quality response. Allow me to add one last question from my last query made few hours ago.

In relation to your reply, I was wondering if by any chance the case officer might ask to confirm the information about the bogus ielts/skills assessment or in worst case scenario reject the application, even though I had managed to update these to correct/eligible information prior to getting the invitation?

I may be over thinking but the reason I'm asking is because there are some posts I see saying that if the skills assessment date is post EOI submission date (this would be my case as I would be updating these after submitting EOI), application could be rejected since completed information is required prior to lodging the EOI?

Some suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you so much once again Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bryan00 -

It's my view that legally, an EOI is not an invitation, and is not a visa application, so making mistakes on an EOI would not constitute providing bogus or inaccurate information to DIBP - the entire EOI system essentially falls outside the legal realm of visa applications, and is more of an online resume service with an invitation-generator built in. That being said, since the EOI system falls outside the realm of the visa legislation, it's more prone to DIBP policy than anything else. I have not heard of anyone getting penalised for putting incorrect information in an EOI as long as it's fixed by the time an invitation is issued, however that doesn't mean it is not happening... I would proceed with caution re: putting in inaccurate information into an EOI - personally, I advise our clients against it, simply because whatever gain there might be is more than offset by the risk, plus if your actual data changes your points, the advantage is lost since the date of effect of the EOI is reset each time you make a change that alters your points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bryan00 said:


> Thank you Mark for the prompt/quality response. Allow me to add one last question from my last query made few hours ago.
> 
> In relation to your reply, I was wondering if by any chance the case officer might ask to confirm the information about the bogus ielts/skills assessment or in worst case scenario reject the application, even though I had managed to update these to correct/eligible information prior to getting the invitation?
> 
> I may be over thinking but the reason I'm asking is because there are some posts I see saying that if the skills assessment date is post EOI submission date (this would be my case as I would be updating these after submitting EOI), application could be rejected since completed information is required prior to lodging the EOI?
> 
> Some suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you so much once again Mark!


----------



## SMF

Dear Mark

Many thanks for your prompt response. I earlier applied for canada's immigration and performed medical test including chest X Ray in year 2015.

Can that be used for australia as well. The problem is I am not not sure I should be doing Two X rays in one year and that may very adversely affect me and my wife's internal health (as we know its not advisable to do many X 
rays) ..

PS: Now I am planning to migrate to Australia thats why asking this question

Warm Regards



MarkNortham said:


> Hi SMF -
> 
> Yes, for permanent resident visas. For temporary visas such as 457 work visa, it can involve a chest x-ray depending on your country of citizenship, occupation, and what you plan to do in Australia. In some cases involving pregnancy, a visa application can be delayed until the applicant is safe to be x-ray'd - in some cases for people from low-risk countries, the application can be granted with a promise to take an x-ray later.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMF -

I doubt you could re-use the x-ray unless it was done by the same medical facility that DIBP approves for Australian immigration. Probably best to talk to the DIBP-approved medical facility - they should be familiar with the policy.

Best,

Mark



SMF said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Many thanks for your prompt response. I earlier applied for canada's immigration and performed medical test including chest X Ray in year 2015.
> 
> Can that be used for australia as well. The problem is I am not not sure I should be doing Two X rays in one year and that may very adversely affect me and my wife's internal health (as we know its not advisable to do many X
> rays) ..
> 
> PS: Now I am planning to migrate to Australia thats why asking this question
> 
> Warm Regards


----------



## SMF

Thanks Alot Mark !!!!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi SMF -
> 
> I doubt you could re-use the x-ray unless it was done by the same medical facility that DIBP approves for Australian immigration. Probably best to talk to the DIBP-approved medical facility - they should be familiar with the policy.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## MaineSkip

MarkNortham said:


> Hi MaineSkip -
> 
> It's a small world! I grew up in Orono, Maine where my father worked as a professor of mathematics and computer science at the University of Maine there. Acadia National Park is absolutely beautiful, and I enjoy visiting there and Bar Harbor whenever I'm back in Maine, which unfortunately isn't very often these days - it's a long, long set of plane flights from Sydney!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hey Mark!
Isn't that something?! I grew up in the Forster-Tuncurry area of N.S.W. We are in Blue Hill now. I lobster right out of Blue Hill Bay, around the shores of Mount Desert Island & Acadia!
It's a long way, for sure. We just got back from four months in Oz. I recommend taking a few days in Hawaii or San Francisco or both to break it up. 
Keep me on your radar in case you get back up this way and feel like lobster! I think it will take us a few years to transition back to Australia completely so we'll be around for a while....at least in the summers.
Cheers
Skip

PS. I think it's amazing that you offer people help like this. I am from Australia and I found the immigration paperwork to sometimes be confusing. I am sure a lot of people get overwhelmed with the complexity of it. Good work


----------



## qimtiaz

Hi Mark,
Hope you are doing good. A quick question, I am IT guy and while filling form 80, i have to fill the gaps in educations. Between 1994-1997 i was assisting my father in farming because i am the eldest most son and he needed someone to look after agricultural land. What i should mention in this part as i was not paid because my father was taking care all of us. Does this is a volunteer work? or Family business?
If they need some kind of proof later, what kind of document should be provided in support of this point?

Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks for the kind words, Skip! Your note sure makes me miss Maine, though... there is nothing like Maine lobster anywhere. Hope to meet you in person if our paths cross someday!

Best,

Mark



MaineSkip said:


> Hey Mark!
> Isn't that something?! I grew up in the Forster-Tuncurry area of N.S.W. We are in Blue Hill now. I lobster right out of Blue Hill Bay, around the shores of Mount Desert Island & Acadia!
> It's a long way, for sure. We just got back from four months in Oz. I recommend taking a few days in Hawaii or San Francisco or both to break it up.
> Keep me on your radar in case you get back up this way and feel like lobster! I think it will take us a few years to transition back to Australia completely so we'll be around for a while....at least in the summers.
> Cheers
> Skip
> 
> PS. I think it's amazing that you offer people help like this. I am from Australia and I found the immigration paperwork to sometimes be confusing. I am sure a lot of people get overwhelmed with the complexity of it. Good work


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi qimtiaz -

Sounds like volunteer work to me - unless you are claiming points for work (which isn't possible for volunteer work anyway), DIBP will not ask for evidence of the work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



qimtiaz said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hope you are doing good. A quick question, I am IT guy and while filling form 80, i have to fill the gaps in educations. Between 1994-1997 i was assisting my father in farming because i am the eldest most son and he needed someone to look after agricultural land. What i should mention in this part as i was not paid because my father was taking care all of us. Does this is a volunteer work? or Family business?
> If they need some kind of proof later, what kind of document should be provided in support of this point?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## tunx1210

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tunx1210 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. The good news is that time spent on a bridging visa related to an application for a 489 visa can be counted towards the 2 year living requirement - here's the policy from DIBP:
> 
> *To satisfy 887.212 the main applicant must have lived in a specified regional area for a total of at least two calendar years while holding one of the provisional GSM visas, or bridging visas associated with an application for a provisional GSM visa. Any time spent living in a specified regional area while in Australia on another visa cannot be counted.
> *
> 
> However be careful here - in my view the bridging visa would need to have been activated in order for that period of time to be counted towards the 2 years - assuming you were holding another visa when you applied for the 489, the period of time while that old visa was still active may not count towards the 887 - once that visa expired and the 489 bridging visa activated and was the visa you currently were on, that's when the time would start in y view.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for spending time to answer our questions. I am still a bit confused about the timing that I can apply for 887. While satisfying the 2 year living requirement in January 2016, could I apply for 887 at that time? As I mentioned earlier, I got my bridging visa in Jan 2014, 489 granted in Jan 2015, and on Immigration department website it is written that *I need to hold a provisional visa for at least 2 years*, I don't know whether I could apply for 887 in Jan 2016, by that time I will have 1 year on bridging visa, 1 year on 489 visa; or I have to wait until Jan 2017 when I have 2 years on 489 visa? Looking forward to hearing from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tunx1210 -

It depends - the key is analysing your visa situation to see if during the 1 year prior to being granted you were holding an activated bridging visa granted as a result of the 489 application. Happy to assist you further at a consultation where I can go over your documents and get you a specific opinion on the matter - see my website below for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tunx1210 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for spending time to answer our questions. I am still a bit confused about the timing that I can apply for 887. While satisfying the 2 year living requirement in January 2016, could I apply for 887 at that time? As I mentioned earlier, I got my bridging visa in Jan 2014, 489 granted in Jan 2015, and on Immigration department website it is written that *I need to hold a provisional visa for at least 2 years*, I don't know whether I could apply for 887 in Jan 2016, by that time I will have 1 year on bridging visa, 1 year on 489 visa; or I have to wait until Jan 2017 when I have 2 years on 489 visa? Looking forward to hearing from you.


----------



## phuhle1104

*certified documents*

Hi Mark,

I am applying for visa 189 now and wonder if I have to get all documents certified by the Justice of The Peace???
Thank you very much.

Regards, 
Liam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liam -

No need to - DIBP accepts colour scans of original documents for online applications including the 189.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for visa 189 now and wonder if I have to get all documents certified by the Justice of The Peace???
> Thank you very much.
> 
> Regards,
> Liam


----------



## Gurpreet sandhu

Dear Sir,

 I Gurpreet singh from sydney.I am on 573 visa which expire on june2017.I am applying my wife's visa as a dependent visa so please tell me how much funds i have to show a who can show these funds.Please send me check list who can show these funds.Please sir.


----------



## singh2015

Hi Mark,

I'm about to submit an EOI for Visa Subclass 189 and Visa Subclass 190 and have a question.
I've done Bachelor of Engineering which was a four year program (2005-2009). I finished my final(Eighth) semester in 2009 but had a
supplementary exam in one subject pending from my fourth semester, I wrote this exam in October 2010 and got the result in January 2011.
I've provided the same information and all relevant documents to the Australian Computer Society and they have issued me a letter which
states that I've completed my engineering in September 2009.
I'm not sure whether I should select September 2009 or October 2010 or January 2011 in the "Date to" field for my Engineering program in the 
Education History section of the EOI. I really look forward to get the Visa so I want to make sure that I don't make any mistake while filling the EOI.
Please guide me in this regard.

Thanks for your help!


----------



## chocolate33

*Entry date*

Hi Mark,
I'm hoping you can shed some light! Once a partner visa is approved and you are given a required date of entry, is there any way to extend this date? My partner had contracted work until the end of october, however, we are concerned his partner visa will be approved before then and we will be required to enter australia. We want him to leave his employment on good terms as we will require them as a referee.
(We completed the medical checks last week as requested; and it seems processing at berlin is more efficient than the quoted 10 to 14 months).
Thanks mark.
Kind regards, virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gurpreet -

If you are not engaging a migration agent to do this for you, best to check carefully on the DIBP website at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection - look under 573 visa,, then enter your country, etc, then look under the Family Members area and the info should be there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gurpreet sandhu said:


> Dear Sir,
> 
> I Gurpreet singh from sydney.I am on 573 visa which expire on june2017.I am applying my wife's visa as a dependent visa so please tell me how much funds i have to show a who can show these funds.Please send me check list who can show these funds.Please sir.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Singh2015 -

Thanks for the question. Difficult to tell from the information you've given, but I expect January 2011 is the answer - you may want to check your transcript to see what date they actually awarded the degree - normally that's after all coursework and exams are completed and marked. The big question of course is whether you can claim work before January 2011 - if the transcript says the degree was awarded prior to then, then that date plus the ACS may be another option, but all depends on what the transcript says.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



singh2015 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm about to submit an EOI for Visa Subclass 189 and Visa Subclass 190 and have a question.
> I've done Bachelor of Engineering which was a four year program (2005-2009). I finished my final(Eighth) semester in 2009 but had a
> supplementary exam in one subject pending from my fourth semester, I wrote this exam in October 2010 and got the result in January 2011.
> I've provided the same information and all relevant documents to the Australian Computer Society and they have issued me a letter which
> states that I've completed my engineering in September 2009.
> I'm not sure whether I should select September 2009 or October 2010 or January 2011 in the "Date to" field for my Engineering program in the
> Education History section of the EOI. I really look forward to get the Visa so I want to make sure that I don't make any mistake while filling the EOI.
> Please guide me in this regard.
> 
> Thanks for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chocolate33 -

Efficient visa processing - that's great! However once a visa has been granted, it is not possible to change the must-enter-by date - no mechanism under the law to do so. Beyond the option of taking a quick weekend flight to enter & depart Australia to activate the visa, then come back later on a more permanent basis, the other option is to wait until after the must-enter-by date has passed (which puts your partner in breach of his visa) and then make an application to DIBP for permission to enter on another date, which typically needs to be very soon (a matter of days or weeks) after the original date. If approved, DIBP will issue a special letter that can be presented with the visa at the airport (at origin and destination) which makes the visa valid despite the must-enter-by date having passed.

That being said, activation deadlines on visas are often months away from grant date, so there's a good chance that even if your visa was granted this month or next, October still may be within the period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm hoping you can shed some light! Once a partner visa is approved and you are given a required date of entry, is there any way to extend this date? My partner had contracted work until the end of october, however, we are concerned his partner visa will be approved before then and we will be required to enter australia. We want him to leave his employment on good terms as we will require them as a referee.
> (We completed the medical checks last week as requested; and it seems processing at berlin is more efficient than the quoted 10 to 14 months).
> Thanks mark.
> Kind regards, virginia


----------



## crossy

Hi Mark,I am on a partial DSP in victoria and work part time, I am just about to get married in Thailand and then apply for Partner Visa 309 but worried about losing my pension if I sponsor


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crossy -

Thanks for the question. From an immigration point of view, no problem if you are on partial or total DSP - it would not prevent you from sponosring a partner. Re: pension/DSP policy, I don't have info on that - that's a better question for Centrelink or whoever is paying the pension.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crossy said:


> Hi Mark,I am on a partial DSP in victoria and work part time, I am just about to get married in Thailand and then apply for Partner Visa 309 but worried about losing my pension if I sponsor


----------



## pabloM

HI Mark,
My wife is waiting for her 820 onshore partner visa. Fingers crossed it comes through in next few months as it's been about 8. 
My question is on the second stage processing to PR. If we moved overseas for work, could we apply for a 100 offshore PR visa rather than the 801 onshore one? 
Thanks
Paul


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paul -

Thanks for the question. Because you have already applied for the 801 (the 820/801 is always a combined application) and the application for the 801 has been made and is pending decision at the 2-year mark (2 years from the original application date), you are essentially stuck with the 801 going forward unless you want to relodge a new 309/100 application, which would probably not make much sense at this point and would be costly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pabloM said:


> HI Mark,
> My wife is waiting for her 820 onshore partner visa. Fingers crossed it comes through in next few months as it's been about 8.
> My question is on the second stage processing to PR. If we moved overseas for work, could we apply for a 100 offshore PR visa rather than the 801 onshore one?
> Thanks
> Paul


----------



## smallFry

Hi Mark,

let me start by saying, You are an assett to many people.

I have searched for similar situations but not come up with clear answer,

I have applied for a PMV for my partner, she has been booked to do the medicals next week, but still very early days (Only been 2 months)

I am looking at either a Tourist Visa or Family sponsored visa for her.
she is from Vietnam & can get a letter from her Employer if needed.

Although we arent yet married (Engaged) she has an Aunt in australia, so my question is wether to apply for a Tourist Visa or Sponsored family visa using her Aunt as a sponsor

*We are hoping to get a 6 month visa if possible

Any advice much appreciated


----------



## bryan00

Hi Mark, few questions to ask...

Is it possible to lodge a separate EOI for subclass 189,190 and 489 for single occupation stream at the same time (so three EOI's with different username etc) and then receive an invitation for each subclass? Or would the first invitation for whichever subclass I get first prevent me from receiving invitations for other EOI's lodged?

I am also aware that once I get an invitation, the corresponding EOI is locked for 60 days for it to be ceased. If this happens, instead of waiting, couldn't people just lodge a fresh EOI?

Lastly if I decline the invitation letting the EOI cease or withdraw an EOI before the invitation these would have no negative influence on future lodgement/application of EOI and visa?

Thank you once again Mark for your advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SmallFry -

Thanks for the kind words. I'd probably go for the regular tourist visa as it is processed faster and doesn't involve as much assessment. If for any reason that is refused, then I'd go for the sponsored family visitor stream - one important thing with the sponsored visa - note that you must be "settled in Australia" - ie, have lived here 2 years on some sort of visa(s). There is also a bond involved, etc which is more red tape.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



smallFry said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> let me start by saying, You are an assett to many people.
> 
> I have searched for similar situations but not come up with clear answer,
> 
> I have applied for a PMV for my partner, she has been booked to do the medicals next week, but still very early days (Only been 2 months)
> 
> I am looking at either a Tourist Visa or Family sponsored visa for her.
> she is from Vietnam & can get a letter from her Employer if needed.
> 
> Although we arent yet married (Engaged) she has an Aunt in australia, so my question is wether to apply for a Tourist Visa or Sponsored family visa using her Aunt as a sponsor
> 
> *We are hoping to get a 6 month visa if possible
> 
> Any advice much appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bryan00 -

Yes, possible for a single person to have multiple EOI's on file. DIBP is unclear on whether an invitation to a person will prevent that person from receiving additional invitations from other EOI's - in theory it is supposed to, but it may not exactly "work as advertised" as they say. Declining an EOI or failing to lodge a visa in time would not generally have any negative impact on future visa applications since an EOI is not an application. Also, after 2 declines or non-applications after an invitation, and EOI is deleted automatically.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bryan00 said:


> Hi Mark, few questions to ask...
> 
> Is it possible to lodge a separate EOI for subclass 189,190 and 489 for single occupation stream at the same time (so three EOI's with different username etc) and then receive an invitation for each subclass? Or would the first invitation for whichever subclass I get first prevent me from receiving invitations for other EOI's lodged?
> 
> I am also aware that once I get an invitation, the corresponding EOI is locked for 60 days for it to be ceased. If this happens, instead of waiting, couldn't people just lodge a fresh EOI?
> 
> Lastly if I decline the invitation letting the EOI cease or withdraw an EOI before the invitation these would have no negative influence on future lodgement/application of EOI and visa?
> 
> Thank you once again Mark for your advice.


----------



## remo

*Processing Time*

Hiii Mark..

We are lucky to have you in the forum. I appreciate your work here. Sir, I have filed visa application for 489 State Sponsorship and CO has been assigned on 10/05/2015 and requested additional documents. I have submitted those documents today. I wanted to know how much time will it take from here to visa grant. I have one more concern, I find some cases in 489 2015 thread who mentioned that they received delay mail from DIBP and they have to wait till July 2015. What are the possibilities - I get visa or delay mail??


----------



## singh2015

Thanks for your opinion Mark! My Degree certificate is dated Oct 2010. I emailed ACS about this issue and they've sent me a new letter with degree finishing date changed to Oct,2010. My transcript has only the exam date and result, not the date when result was declared. It doesn't say anything about Jan 2011. I guess now i should be good with To Date- Oct 2010, what do you think?


----------



## itaus

*2nd working holiday visa*

Hi Mark,

i am from italy and my girlfriend lives in australia. i have applied for my 2nd working holiday visa but haven't had a response from the government yet. i have been told it can take up to 2-3 months. Am I allowed to apply for a student or tourist visa in the meantime, or does that completely override my working holiday visa.

Grazie!


----------



## jnsgirls

*Hi*

Hi mark!

My situation is that I am on a bridging visa A because I'm waiting for the MRT to review my case.
I just have 1 question.
Could I get a bridging visa B to go offshore, then apply for prospective marriage visa offshore and then come back to Australia to wait for the MRT to make a decision.

Thanks


----------



## chocolate33

Hi Mark,
Thank you for such a prompt and informative response! You are a wonderful support to so many people on this forum.
I have a couple of other quick questions: 
1. my partner's police check technically expires tomorrow (may 16th). will be he required to have a new one processed and translated or will our case officer extent it (we received an email stating that they would be on leave until the end of May)?
2. based on your knowledge/experience given that the police check will expire tomorrow and the fact that my partner completed his medical check last week, is his visa likely to be approved in the next few weeks?
3. my partner received an email after completing his medical assesment (an e medical information sheet) stating that the visa is BC 100 Spouse (Permanent); does this mean that we are automatically being considered for a permanent visa?
Thanks in advance, Virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Remo -

Impossible to tell - DIBP can take all the time they want to process visa applications - I gave up trying to predict processing times a long time ago... Typically during the last 2 months of the year (May-June) some visa grants are pushed to July if the annual quota for that type of visa is nearing - DIBP put out a letter about this about a month or so ago, so it is possible they are waiting until July, but only DIBP knows this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



remo said:


> Hiii Mark..
> 
> We are lucky to have you in the forum. I appreciate your work here. Sir, I have filed visa application for 489 State Sponsorship and CO has been assigned on 10/05/2015 and requested additional documents. I have submitted those documents today. I wanted to know how much time will it take from here to visa grant. I have one more concern, I find some cases in 489 2015 thread who mentioned that they received delay mail from DIBP and they have to wait till July 2015. What are the possibilities - I get visa or delay mail??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Singh2015 -

I'd like to help but I can't give you a specific opinion based on anonymous emails - details are too important, especially re skilled visas. Need to see your documents at a consultation to give you an opinion.

Best,

Mark



singh2015 said:


> Thanks for your opinion Mark! My Degree certificate is dated Oct 2010. I emailed ACS about this issue and they've sent me a new letter with degree finishing date changed to Oct,2010. My transcript has only the exam date and result, not the date when result was declared. It doesn't say anything about Jan 2011. I guess now i should be good with To Date- Oct 2010, what do you think?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi itaus -

You could, however if you apply for a student visa, it might be seen by DIBP as an intention not to be a "genuine visitor for tourism purposes" and could result in a refusal of your WH visa. They could also ask you to withdraw your WH visa application prior to granting a student visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itaus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> i am from italy and my girlfriend lives in australia. i have applied for my 2nd working holiday visa but haven't had a response from the government yet. i have been told it can take up to 2-3 months. Am I allowed to apply for a student or tourist visa in the meantime, or does that completely override my working holiday visa.
> 
> Grazie!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jnsgirls -

Yes.

Best,

Mark



jnsgirls said:


> Hi mark!
> 
> My situation is that I am on a bridging visa A because I'm waiting for the MRT to review my case.
> I just have 1 question.
> Could I get a bridging visa B to go offshore, then apply for prospective marriage visa offshore and then come back to Australia to wait for the MRT to make a decision.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginia -

Thanks for the kind words! Re: your questions:

#1 - the case officer has the discretion to extend the validity of these, and they often do. I'd wait until asked for another one - good chance you may not be asked.

#2 - no predictable relationship I see between expiration dates of PCC's and visa grants

#3 - no, the medical tests are linked to the PR visa and it's a joint application (309/100), so that is not indicative that they have decided on the long term partner relationship issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for such a prompt and informative response! You are a wonderful support to so many people on this forum.
> I have a couple of other quick questions:
> 1. my partner's police check technically expires tomorrow (may 16th). will be he required to have a new one processed and translated or will our case officer extent it (we received an email stating that they would be on leave until the end of May)?
> 2. based on your knowledge/experience given that the police check will expire tomorrow and the fact that my partner completed his medical check last week, is his visa likely to be approved in the next few weeks?
> 3. my partner received an email after completing his medical assesment (an e medical information sheet) stating that the visa is BC 100 Spouse (Permanent); does this mean that we are automatically being considered for a permanent visa?
> Thanks in advance, Virginia


----------



## crossy

Thanx Mark, Great info, I only earn $35,000 per annum,Is that! going to be a problem for sponsorship?


----------



## uae2oz

Hi Mark,

I applied under 189 skilled category and today I received a medical request for me and my family. 

I am surprised that DIBP has neither asked me for Form1221 nor Form80 where as when my friend received correspondence from DIBP, they have asked many other details from him such as Resume, Form80 for his spouse and Form1221 along with medical request.

Is form1221 and form80 are mandatory for all to provide to DIBP or it depends on case to case?

Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crossy -

Not that I see - there is no particular minimum income level required for sponsorship for a partner or fiance visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crossy said:


> Thanx Mark, Great info, I only earn $35,000 per annum,Is that! going to be a problem for sponsorship?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uae2oz -

Forms 80 and/or 1221 are discretionary in some cases, mandatory in others (based on citizenship).

Best,

Mark



uae2oz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied under 189 skilled category and today I received a medical request for me and my family.
> 
> I am surprised that DIBP has neither asked me for Form1221 nor Form80 where as when my friend received correspondence from DIBP, they have asked many other details from him such as Resume, Form80 for his spouse and Form1221 along with medical request.
> 
> Is form1221 and form80 are mandatory for all to provide to DIBP or it depends on case to case?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## uae2oz

Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot for your quick reply.

Me and my friend both are of same nationality. What is the criteria to ask form 1221 and 80? What I am thinking is that it would be my waste of time if DIBP ask me to fill form1221 and 80 after when I send the medicals.

There is one more thing where I require your help. My wife and daughter had spent more than 28 days in Pakistan after May 2014. In the meantime, she was pregnant and hadn't taken polio vaccination because it was not safe for the upcoming baby.

Do I still require her polio vaccination certificate? If yes, do I need to upload this certificate in my IMMI account or I have show it to my panel doctor who will do my immigration medical.

Regards.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Uae2oz -
> 
> Forms 80 and/or 1221 are discretionary in some cases, mandatory in others (based on citizenship).
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uae2oz -

DIBP does not publish the criteria for asking for forms 1221/80 - you essentially wait to see if you are asked. More likely for people from some middle eastern and south asian countries, but not always.

Re: polio cert, it is currently required - see https://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/health-requirements/threats-public-health.htm - if the applicant is still pregnant by the time the health checks are required for the visa, you may be able to ask DIBP for a delay in providing this until the baby is born, etc. If the applicant is not pregnant at the time the medicals are required, DIBP will usually require the certificate if the applicant meets the threshold requirements for requiring a polio cert.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



uae2oz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot for your quick reply.
> 
> Me and my friend both are of same nationality. What is the criteria to ask form 1221 and 80? What I am thinking is that it would be my waste of time if DIBP ask me to fill form1221 and 80 after when I send the medicals.
> 
> There is one more thing where I require your help. My wife and daughter had spent more than 28 days in Pakistan after May 2014. In the meantime, she was pregnant and hadn't taken polio vaccination because it was not safe for the upcoming baby.
> 
> Do I still require her polio vaccination certificate? If yes, do I need to upload this certificate in my IMMI account or I have show it to my panel doctor who will do my immigration medical.
> 
> Regards.


----------



## mattystace

*Matty did a bad bad thing..*

Hi Mark,
Just looking for some general advice regarding Australian partner visa sponsors with criminal records. More specifically, will 15 months prison time served in the last 5 years render me ineligible to sponsor my Irish partner?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mattystace -

Not unless your partner has a child and the offence was a violent or sexual offence against a child.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mattystace said:


> Hi Mark,
> Just looking for some general advice regarding Australian partner visa sponsors with criminal records. More specifically, will 15 months prison time served in the last 5 years render me ineligible to sponsor my Irish partner?


----------



## mattystace

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mattystace -
> 
> Not unless your partner has a child and the offence was a violent or sexual offence against a child.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thats a weight off my mind! Thanks a million Mark


----------



## AlexBrown

*Adding a de facto to a 574 student visa*

Hi Mark,

I am in great admiration of you dedicating time to provide free advice on this forum.

I was hoping you might be able to provide some clarification as I have had some ambiguous advice from DoI general enquiries on the phone.

I am a PhD student in Australia on a 574 visa; my partner of almost 4 years is also a student in Australia on a 574 visa. However, her visa expires before mine does. We wish to remain in Australia together until mine expires, and so would like to add her to mine as a de facto partner.

I have been advised that it is my partner who needs to apply for this change, by providing form 157A to apply for a 574 visa (but only complete Parts B and C). Plus, provide supporting evidence of our relationship (we have plenty of this), and a letter saying why she wasn't listed on my original application for the 574 (we had only recently met at that stage).

My questions are: 1. Does that sound correct? 2. Would it not just be a simple case of a form 1022 'change of circumstances' plus evidence of the relationship?

Thank you in advance for your time and any advice you may be able to provide.

Best wishes,

Alex


----------



## Tryme5

Hi mark.. For our 461 CO allocated.. She called today and asked for AFP certificate..and I had submitted national police certificate... I live in Perth and I had applied through post shop in Western Australia .. What's the difference?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tryme5 -

No idea, however the AFP Police Certificates that are valid for immigration purposes must be obtained from the AFP (the heading is "Full Disclosure - Name Check Only") - have never heard of one being applied to through a post shop - you may have the wrong version. Suggest you review DIBP requirements for the AFP police certificate to make sure you have the right one (and that it has not expired - they are good for 1 year only). Here's the AFP link to apply: https://afpnationalpolicechecks.converga.com.au/

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tryme5 said:


> Hi mark.. For our 461 CO allocated.. She called today and asked for AFP certificate..and I had submitted national police certificate... I live in Perth and I had applied through post shop in Western Australia .. What's the difference?


----------



## Tryme5

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tryme5 - No idea, however the AFP Police Certificates that are valid for immigration purposes must be obtained from the AFP (the heading is "Full Disclosure - Name Check Only") - have never heard of one being applied to through a post shop - you may have the wrong version. Suggest you review DIBP requirements for the AFP police certificate to make sure you have the right one (and that it has not expired - they are good for 1 year only). Here's the AFP link to apply: https://afpnationalpolicechecks.converga.com.au/ Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Thank you very much for prompt reply. 
How long does it take to get AFP? And as I hv lived in New Zealand too...do u hv any ideA how long will that take... Online it shows it can take 20 working days?
Thanks


----------



## Tryme5

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tryme5 - No idea, however the AFP Police Certificates that are valid for immigration purposes must be obtained from the AFP (the heading is "Full Disclosure - Name Check Only") - have never heard of one being applied to through a post shop - you may have the wrong version. Suggest you review DIBP requirements for the AFP police certificate to make sure you have the right one (and that it has not expired - they are good for 1 year only). Here's the AFP link to apply: https://afpnationalpolicechecks.converga.com.au/ Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Thank you
How long does it take to get AFP? And as I hv lived in New Zealand too...do u hv any ideA how long will that take... Do u hv link for that please..Online it shows it can take 20 working days?
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Typically 2-4 weeks.

Best,

Mark



Tryme5 said:


> Thank you very much for prompt reply.
> How long does it take to get AFP? And as I hv lived in New Zealand too...do u hv any ideA how long will that take... Online it shows it can take 20 working days?
> Thanks


----------



## MaineSkip

Hey Mark, 
Don't you ever take a day off? 
Someone posted a query this morning about applying for a tourist visa while a 309 is being processed. 
I had got on to ask you the same question. 
We submitted our 309 last week. We'd like to go back to Australia over the Christmas period and escape another cold, snowy Maine winter.
If we apply for a tourist visa now will it affect our 309 application in any way?
Thanks again for helping so many people, including me!
Cheers
Skip


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skip -

Not too many days off for Mark!

Now what's wrong with happy, snowy Maine for Christmas, huddled around the fire, snow gently falling outside? (we'll skip the part about the ice storms and sleet) I've been here (Australia) for many years, but still can't get used to Christmas being in the middle of a hot summer and Santa arriving on a surfboard instead of a sleigh. Call me old fashioned...

No problem at all applying for visitor visa while 309/100 is processing - if you're going to be away or more than 2-3 weeks, best to lodge Form 929 with DIBP noting change of address - you'll also want to keep a close eye on your email (and spam folder) to make sure you respond to notifications from DIBP. If they are ready to grant the 309/100 and you are in Australia, you'll need to briefly depart in order for the visa to be granted as it cannot be granted if the applicant is in Australia. A nice weekend trip to NZ or Bali would get the job done! They'll usually give you a few weeks to arrange to depart Australia, then once you depart you notify them by email and they grant the visa straight away - you then return from your trip on the new 309 or 100 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MaineSkip said:


> Hey Mark,
> Don't you ever take a day off?
> Someone posted a query this morning about applying for a tourist visa while a 309 is being processed.
> I had got on to ask you the same question.
> We submitted our 309 last week. We'd like to go back to Australia over the Christmas period and escape another cold, snowy Maine winter.
> If we apply for a tourist visa now will it affect our 309 application in any way?
> Thanks again for helping so many people, including me!
> Cheers
> Skip


----------



## Tryme5

Hi mark , just confirming for New Zealand police check do I use the form which says heading-
Requesting your own criminal conviction history from outside New Zealand "?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tryme5 -

Best to follow the instructions very carefully here: New Zealand

Best,

Mark



Tryme5 said:


> Hi mark , just confirming for New Zealand police check do I use the form which says heading-
> Requesting your own criminal conviction history from outside New Zealand "?


----------



## MaineSkip

Oh Mark, Mark, Mark...
You should know better than that! We always get dumped on in November or early December and then it all melts before Christmas! Last year we had a freak storm in early November, 22 inches of heavy wet snow that brought down trees and powerlines. We lost our power for 5 days right before we left for Australia. I couldn't pack fast enough! The year before it was an ice storm that knocked the power out for over a week at Christmas. Jolly, jolly..haha

Seriously though, thanks so much for the information. You really are a godsend to so many people.
That sounds like a great plan. Gets us there for the winter and maybe a side trip to boot. Yay!

Thanks again, I may have to pack a lobster in my luggage for you on our next trip back!

Cheers
Skip


----------



## crossy

*78 Did you receive assistance in completing this form?*

Hi Mark, re.78 Did you receive assistance in completing this form?
is it ok for me to put my name in this section? ( not being an agent ) I filled out my wife's application for her


----------



## kvdeq

Hi Mark,

I am new to this forum. I am desperate for any help.

I am Oz citizen, I have been sponsored by ex partner and I can eligible to sponsor new partner after 5 years waiting.
My question is am I eligible to apply visitor visa 600 for my new partner while waiting 5 years condition new sponsorship or do have to wait 5 yrs condition to apply any visa for my wife ?

Much appreciate if any could help 

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Now we're talking!

MN



MaineSkip said:


> Thanks again, I may have to pack a lobster in my luggage for you on our next trip back!
> 
> Cheers
> Skip


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crossy -

Yes, close family members are able to provide assistance with forms.

Best,

Mark



crossy said:


> Hi Mark, re.78 Did you receive assistance in completing this form?
> is it ok for me to put my name in this section? ( not being an agent ) I filled out my wife's application for her


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kvdeq -

Thanks for the question. The 5-year waiting period for sponsoring another person for a fiance or partner visa starts on the original application date of the previous partner visa, and ends with the grant date of the new partner visa. However the 5 year limit does not apply to other types of visas (ie, visitor visas) so you can invite someone for a visitor visa whenever you'd like.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kvdeq said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new to this forum. I am desperate for any help.
> 
> I am Oz citizen, I have been sponsored by ex partner and I can eligible to sponsor new partner after 5 years waiting.
> My question is am I eligible to apply visitor visa 600 for my new partner while waiting 5 years condition new sponsorship or do have to wait 5 yrs condition to apply any visa for my wife ?
> 
> Much appreciate if any could help
> 
> Thanks


----------



## kvdeq

Thanks Mark

Firstly i like to say thank you so much for your reply.

I have heard alot good words about you.

I have applied 600 visitor visa and i like your assistance to process my spouse visa happy to process from your office if you do migration services

I have recently divorce and married to new wife,trying to get here in oz but my 5 yrs condition is finishing in august this yr meanwhile i have applied 600 visitor visa.i didnt attched my divorce certificate will it affect on visitor application.

Much appreciate if you could help me out.
Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kvdeq -

Thanks for the note and kind words - would be happy to assist - over half of our work is partner and fiance visas and related matters (Schedule 3 waivers, character/health waivers, MRT, etc). You can contact me via our website (see below).

Best,

Mark



kvdeq said:


> Thanks Mark
> 
> Firstly i like to say thank you so much for your reply.
> 
> I have heard alot good words about you.
> 
> I have applied 600 visitor visa and i like your assistance to process my spouse visa happy to process from your office if you do migration services
> 
> I have recently divorce and married to new wife,trying to get here in oz but my 5 yrs condition is finishing in august this yr meanwhile i have applied 600 visitor visa.i didnt attched my divorce certificate will it affect on visitor application.
> 
> Much appreciate if you could help me out.
> Thanks in advance


----------



## clairechanmyae

Hi Mark,

I'm from Burma. I've been working in Singapore for 5 years as a system analyst. According to immigration site, I found out that my occupation has reached to the max number of applications for this year to apply under subclass 189 and 489.

I wonder If I can apply visa through subclass 190. I also have a cousin in Perth. If I applied visa 190, will i get a point for having a cousin in Australia?

Thanks,
Claire


----------



## crossy

Hi Mark, Firstly I would like to say thank you for your help so it is invaluable,
So I am about to marry my Thai fiance in BKK and then apply for a 309 partner visa before,the price rise July 1 .
Plowing though the paper work and I have just found a " stat dec Visa applicant " which I had not seen, so this gets filled out by my fiance and signed where? she is in bkk


----------



## itaus

*defacto question*

Hi Mark,

When applying for the defacto visa, does my relationship have to be registered with the government. eg. getting a relationship certificate from births, deaths and marriages?


----------



## manpreetdhindsa15

Hi Mark,

I am from India, 30, Having 6 years of IT experience,
My IELTS score is L-9, R-7, W-6.5, S-6.5.

My Spouse is also into same field, 25, Having 3 years of IT experience.
Her IELTS score is L-8.5, R-6.5, W-6, S-6

I want to apply for Australian PR, Could you please guide me through and advise my chances for Australian PR.
I do not know anything related to the process, what are the things that I should get ready with for the time being. 

Best regards
Manpreet Singh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Claire -

Thanks for the question. 190 applications have slowed as many states have reached their quotas as well - however the quotas reset in July so you might want to consider putting in your EOI and waiting to see what comes up in July, whether for 189 or 190. No points for 189 or 190 for having a relative in Australia - only role of a relative is partner points if you have partner that meets the requirements, or if the relative lives in a designated area that is eligible for family sponsored 489.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



clairechanmyae said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm from Burma. I've been working in Singapore for 5 years as a system analyst. According to immigration site, I found out that my occupation has reached to the max number of applications for this year to apply under subclass 189 and 489.
> 
> I wonder If I can apply visa through subclass 190. I also have a cousin in Perth. If I applied visa 190, will i get a point for having a cousin in Australia?
> 
> Thanks,
> Claire


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crossy -

Normally relationship statements by the applicant and sponsor for sc309/100 visa applications do not need to be in the form of statutory declarations unless the particular Embassy, etc has a requirement for this. This is largely because Australian statutory declarations can only be legally witnessed on Australian soil (Australia, or at an overseas embassy, etc). You may want to check the requirements carefully to determine what they are asking for - if it is a special requirement for Bangkok, then you may need to get directions from them on how to have the form properly witnessed (to their satisfaction) if the applicant is not in Australia, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crossy said:


> Hi Mark, Firstly I would like to say thank you for your help so it is invaluable,
> So I am about to marry my Thai fiance in BKK and then apply for a 309 partner visa before,the price rise July 1 .
> Plowing though the paper work and I have just found a " stat dec Visa applicant " which I had not seen, so this gets filled out by my fiance and signed where? she is in bkk


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Itaus -

No, however if the applicants register their de facto relationship with a qualifying state in Australia (all but WA and SA), it legally removes the requirement that the couple have lived together during the 12 months prior to application - this for many couples is a big advantage.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itaus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> When applying for the defacto visa, does my relationship have to be registered with the government. eg. getting a relationship certificate from births, deaths and marriages?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manpreet -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



manpreetdhindsa15 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am from India, 30, Having 6 years of IT experience,
> My IELTS score is L-9, R-7, W-6.5, S-6.5.
> 
> My Spouse is also into same field, 25, Having 3 years of IT experience.
> Her IELTS score is L-8.5, R-6.5, W-6, S-6
> 
> I want to apply for Australian PR, Could you please guide me through and advise my chances for Australian PR.
> I do not know anything related to the process, what are the things that I should get ready with for the time being.
> 
> Best regards
> Manpreet Singh


----------



## geranium

*Medicare*

Hi Mark
I have permanent resident visa and my husband s visa (100) was granted so we are living in north QLD.
When we applied my husband s Medicare card, I was told that my Medicare card was cancelled because I was away from Australia more than 2 years.

To re apply my Medicare, they said I have to write statutory declaration "advising 
What you have done to leave prior country of residence and your intentions to reside permanently in aust".

Ok if I write on statutory declaration saying we are going to stay in Australia permanently, what would happen if we go back to our country in the future for few years and want to come back again.
I just don't want to write something aren't sure about future..

Medicare said to be eligible to participate fully in Medicare program,I have to reside here permanently not to come n go between 2countries.

Please let me know if you can advise me something about this.
Or where I can ask for an advise. I'm new to this forum so I wasn't sure if I'm posting on right place.
Thank you
Regards
Yuki


----------



## jamesdiver

Dear Mark,

I applied for my partner 820 visa onshore in March. Got my BVA then applied for the BVB as I work offshore (at sea). I got the BVB with multiple entry until the 14th July.

I joined a ship last week and was originally contracted until June 9th, far before my BVB expired. But since sailing there has been several issues and they may not finish until early July. I stuffed up basically. There is a slim chance this could go beyond my travel date limitation on the BVB. 

Leaving the ship is not an option in this line of work as it may involve covering the cost of a heli transfer to shore and also the cost to get a replacement out to relieve me. Also to leave a job early as a contractor after committing to it would be professional suicide in this game. I am aware I cannot renew my BVB offshore.

So now I'm worried I will overstay my BVB travel clause. I emailed Immi who said I may be able to return on a "holiday visa" but must abide by the conditions of this visa. Furthermore, should I be able to reapply for a BVA I would need to wait until the holiday visa expires. 

Maybe you or someone has been in a similar situation and can share their experience;

Will my application for an onshore partner visa expire or become void if I can't get back onshore before my BVB expires?

If the BVB expires can I apply for a holiday visa offshore or similar just to get back onshore?

I see holiday visa is 3 or 6 months... is there anything shorter? It would be financially difficult to not be able to work until this expired and I could go back on a BVA (if this is even an option...).

Thanks for reading and look forward to any responses,

J


----------



## chocolate33

*Permanent entry; visa activation*

Hi Mark,
Thank you for your prompt and informatve response, as always! Another question: say (for example) your de facto partner visa is approved in july and your date of entry is september; you enter australia briefly to activate the visa (stay for a period of month); then return to the country you had previously been living to tie up loose ends....how long before you are legally required to be living in australis permanently? 
I hope that makes sense.
Thank you in advance. Kind regards, virginia


----------



## Ria

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ria -
> 
> If you are in a partner relationship, then the partner must sign if any of the children are under 18 years of age; if you are not in a partner relationship, generally the partner does not need to sign. If you are in between (ie, married but separated, etc) then DIBP may require you to have your partner sign until the legal relationship with your partner has officially ended, however there may be some room to work with DIBP on this if the relationship is functionally over, but not yet legally over (ie, divorce is not yet finalised, etc).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Would I, as the sponsor, need to give national police check? And does my partner also need to? Or as per requested
In general, do you think including an enrollment letter to a school will help with the decision with the visa? 
As I will be lodging the app in Jakarta, can I pay the charges in Australia direct to DIBP? And then include the receipt in the app when I lodge.
This little things are not in the info booklet I'm afraid , truly appreciate all your help Mark.
Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ria -

Thanks for the note. Sponsors only need to provide police checks if there is a child under 18 years of age on the application. Applicants need to provide police checks from all countries he/she lived in for a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years.

Re: lodging offshore, I highly recommend lodging online with a free ImmiAccount, as it saves all the hassle of certified copies (since colour scans of originals are accepted), no hassles with outsourced VFS type outfits that charge you more money just to deliver the application to DIBP, etc and you can pay with a credit card online in Australian dollars.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ria said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Would I, as the sponsor, need to give national police check? And does my partner also need to? Or as per requested
> In general, do you think including an enrollment letter to a school will help with the decision with the visa?
> As I will be lodging the app in Jakarta, can I pay the charges in Australia direct to DIBP? And then include the receipt in the app when I lodge.
> This little things are not in the info booklet I'm afraid , truly appreciate all your help Mark.
> Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Geranium -

I'm not a Medicare expert, so I'd suggest contacting them directly and asking your questions vs online forums - for this type of thing, it can be better to get accurate data from the source.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



geranium said:


> Hi Mark
> I have permanent resident visa and my husband s visa (100) was granted so we are living in north QLD.
> When we applied my husband s Medicare card, I was told that my Medicare card was cancelled because I was away from Australia more than 2 years.
> 
> To re apply my Medicare, they said I have to write statutory declaration "advising
> What you have done to leave prior country of residence and your intentions to reside permanently in aust".
> 
> Ok if I write on statutory declaration saying we are going to stay in Australia permanently, what would happen if we go back to our country in the future for few years and want to come back again.
> I just don't want to write something aren't sure about future..
> 
> Medicare said to be eligible to participate fully in Medicare program,I have to reside here permanently not to come n go between 2countries.
> 
> Please let me know if you can advise me something about this.
> Or where I can ask for an advise. I'm new to this forum so I wasn't sure if I'm posting on right place.
> Thank you
> Regards
> Yuki


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James -

Thanks for the question. If you are offshore and your BVB expires, you can apply for a visitor visa to enter Australia, then reactivate your BA when you're onshore, however the BVA's work rights won't activate until the visitor visa stay period ends and you overstay the visitor visa, which would then activate the BVA. You could apply for a subclass 600 visitor visa for a very short duration - I'd write DIBP with the application and let them know what you're trying to do - with any luck they'll be fine with it and give you a very short term SC600 visitor visa. Your partner visa will continue processing through all of these scenarios - the key will be that when they are ready to grant the partner visa, you'll need to be back in Australia at that time so the visa can be granted. Normally if you're offshore they will give you a visitor visa at this time - however important to keep in touch with them during processing, monitor your emails, and make sure they have your current contact info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamesdiver said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I applied for my partner 820 visa onshore in March. Got my BVA then applied for the BVB as I work offshore (at sea). I got the BVB with multiple entry until the 14th July.
> 
> I joined a ship last week and was originally contracted until June 9th, far before my BVB expired. But since sailing there has been several issues and they may not finish until early July. I stuffed up basically. There is a slim chance this could go beyond my travel date limitation on the BVB.
> 
> Leaving the ship is not an option in this line of work as it may involve covering the cost of a heli transfer to shore and also the cost to get a replacement out to relieve me. Also to leave a job early as a contractor after committing to it would be professional suicide in this game. I am aware I cannot renew my BVB offshore.
> 
> So now I'm worried I will overstay my BVB travel clause. I emailed Immi who said I may be able to return on a "holiday visa" but must abide by the conditions of this visa. Furthermore, should I be able to reapply for a BVA I would need to wait until the holiday visa expires.
> 
> Maybe you or someone has been in a similar situation and can share their experience;
> 
> Will my application for an onshore partner visa expire or become void if I can't get back onshore before my BVB expires?
> 
> If the BVB expires can I apply for a holiday visa offshore or similar just to get back onshore?
> 
> I see holiday visa is 3 or 6 months... is there anything shorter? It would be financially difficult to not be able to work until this expired and I could go back on a BVA (if this is even an option...).
> 
> Thanks for reading and look forward to any responses,
> 
> J


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginia -

Thanks for the question. No legal requirement to return after activation at any particular time, but how much time you spend in Australia during the initial 5 years of your permanent residency will determine if/how long you can renew that for after the 5 year period is done - see subclass 155 Resident Return Visa on the DIBP website for more details on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for your prompt and informatve response, as always! Another question: say (for example) your de facto partner visa is approved in july and your date of entry is september; you enter australia briefly to activate the visa (stay for a period of month); then return to the country you had previously been living to tie up loose ends....how long before you are legally required to be living in australis permanently?
> I hope that makes sense.
> Thank you in advance. Kind regards, virginia


----------



## Ria

Hi Mark, 
I didn't think I could submit it online, I did my 100 online..so basically I could do that as well..thanks for the idea.
I am sponsoring my children who are 14 and 9, so I def need a NPC, does my partner need one too, hes my sponsor for the 309?
Would they ask for police check for my children?
I'm all excited about the online idea now, thank you so much !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ria -

Glad I coudl help - if you're lodging a 309/100 (offshore partner visa), online's the way to go in my opinion. If you and your children are applicants (and your partner is the Australian sponsor) for the 309/100, you and your sponsor will need a police check, but children will not as they are both under 16 years of age.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ria said:


> Hi Mark,
> I didn't think I could submit it online, I did my 100 online..so basically I could do that as well..thanks for the idea.
> I am sponsoring my children who are 14 and 9, so I def need a NPC, does my partner need one too, hes my sponsor for the 309?
> Would they ask for police check for my children?
> I'm all excited about the online idea now, thank you so much !


----------



## rishu_chanaria

Hi 
I am looking for some information for online souse visa application


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rishu -

You can get an ImmiAccount for free at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection - if you are doing your partner visa online by yourself, you might want to have a read of the many threads on this forum that talk about experiences of others who lodged it themselves. Also, the DIBP Partner Visa Booklet (downloadable from DIBP site) can be helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rishu_chanaria said:


> Hi
> I am looking for some information for online souse visa application


----------



## rishu_chanaria

HI Mark,
I have applied online on 23rd of dec 2014, my enquiry is about attaching documents
e.g. call records I could attach only one of my phone bill. is that enough,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rishu -

No way to give you an opinion on your relationship evidence without seeing all of it myself at a consultation (via Skype, phone or at our office) - the key is looking at the entirety of the evidence and seeing if together it is sufficient to cover the 4 required areas and show that the relationship is genuine.

Best,

Mark



rishu_chanaria said:


> HI Mark,
> I have applied online on 23rd of dec 2014, my enquiry is about attaching documents
> e.g. call records I could attach only one of my phone bill. is that enough,


----------



## Pending

Hello,

I appreciate some clarifications on my wife's 309/100 partner visa. Recently I have received an email from Australian Consulate General-Dubai requesting additional information (medical, police certificates, filled Form 80). In the body of the email, under Heading:"Processing of you application" the following text was quoted "*I have begun considering your application for this visa and require additional information.....*". Additionally, the name and position number of the staff who sent this mail was included.
Question is: 
1. Can I safely assume that this is my case officer? as no where in the correspondence did it mention "My name is XX and I will be your case officer"?
2. If the answer to (1) is yes, how long am I expected to further wait?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pending -

Yes, probably a safe bet that this person is at least one of the persons assessing your application. Many DIBP offices have moved to teams of persons working on different batches of cases, so there's no guarantee that this is the only person assessing your case. No way to predict how long left in the assessment process - it varies widely from one office to another, and from one case to another.

Best,

Mark



Pending said:


> Hello,
> 
> I appreciate some clarifications on my wife's 309/100 partner visa. Recently I have received an email from Australian Consulate General-Dubai requesting additional information (medical, police certificates, filled Form 80). In the body of the email, under Heading:"Processing of you application" the following text was quoted "*I have begun considering your application for this visa and require additional information.....*". Additionally, the name and position number of the staff who sent this mail was included.
> Question is:
> 1. Can I safely assume that this is my case officer? as no where in the correspondence did it mention "My name is XX and I will be your case officer"?
> 2. If the answer to (1) is yes, how long am I expected to further wait?


----------



## Pending

Mark,

Many thanks on the prompt response. To clarify another point that is confusing me, does the ideal processing time for high-risk countries advertised in DIBP website (which states 8 months) initiate from the time this case officer - or team of persons working on the case- receive a reply from me (May 2015)? or is indicative of a collective period since the application was lodged (i.e. Nov 2014) including the time granted for you to provide additional information (in my condition 70 days)?

I hope I'm not bombarding you with questions, it's just that I have been searching for a clear answer for quiet some time and hope to find it from you.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pending -
> 
> Yes, probably a safe bet that this person is at least one of the persons assessing your application. Many DIBP offices have moved to teams of persons working on different batches of cases, so there's no guarantee that this is the only person assessing your case. No way to predict how long left in the assessment process - it varies widely from one office to another, and from one case to another.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pending -

The processing time estimates are generally from lodgment date to decision date, however they are often highly inaccurate in my experience, and are all but useless in terms of any sort of prediction of actual or expected processing times for any particular visa application.

Best,

Mark



Pending said:


> Mark,
> 
> Many thanks on the prompt response. To clarify another point that is confusing me, does the ideal processing time for high-risk countries advertised in DIBP website (which states 8 months) initiate from the time this case officer - or team of persons working on the case- receive a reply from me (May 2015)? or is indicative of a collective period since the application was lodged (i.e. Nov 2014) including the time granted for you to provide additional information (in my condition 70 days)?
> 
> I hope I'm not bombarding you with questions, it's just that I have been searching for a clear answer for quiet some time and hope to find it from you.


----------



## Pending

Thanks, clear now 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pending -
> 
> The processing time estimates are generally from lodgment date to decision date, however they are often highly inaccurate in my experience, and are all but useless in terms of any sort of prediction of actual or expected processing times for any particular visa application.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## rana3

Hi Mark, 

My 572 visa expired on the 15 of this month and i filed for a further stay visa by providing a COE of cert of marketing a 572 subclass which allowed me to get a bridging visa, but know i want to change my Coe to different course which is a 573 graduate diploma of networking leading towards masters. My question is do i have to withdraw my application and loose my application fee and re apply under a new coe of can it be some how be managed in this same application ? Please provide me with safest possible ways. 

Thankyou 
Regards 
Rana3


----------



## Ria

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ria -
> 
> Glad I coudl help - if you're lodging a 309/100 (offshore partner visa), online's the way to go in my opinion. If you and your children are applicants (and your partner is the Australian sponsor) for the 309/100, you and your sponsor will need a police check, but children will not as they are both under 16 years of age.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks again for all your help.
going into my immi account and lodging that new application I cant seem to find the 101 category, am I doing it wrong or looking at the wrong section? because it only has the spouse options, 309/820 and the second stage.
Perhaps if anyone on this forum can help me with it, would be highly appreciated.
Thank you very much.


----------



## KitKaat

Dear Mark 

I really salute you for your generosity of giving free consultation to the people who need it. 

This is my first enquiry to you. As you can see I am waiting my partner's visa "309/100" since Oct 2013. I am Australian citizen and I have two children from my current relationship, one of them is autistic and I am having a really hard time being the mother and the father at the same time, my partner is Syrian and currently residing in Egypt, he has a very clean history . Our application referred to ASIO in late March 2014. Every time I check with the embassy, they all tells me the same story over and over again, that they are still waiting for the security check to get finalized. I am a bit worried, our security check will hit the 14 months next week and still nothing happened. I did my best in the past few months, I contacted the immigration minister office twice, and the PM twice and lodged Two complaints to IGIS as well. No solution given for my long indefinite waiting! The majority of applicants who undergo the security check phase didn't exceeded the 12 month duration to get it finalized. I am curious, is there any path or solution besides waiting that can end my suffering? Is there any benefit If I rise my case to court ? 

Regards,,


----------



## jamesdiver

Thank you kindly Mark for fielding my question. Much appreciated.


----------



## kaivalya

*190 EOI submitted. Eagerly awaiting Invite*

Good day Mark,

I applied for subclass 190 in my EOI with 55 points on 08th May and awaiting to get Nominated by NSW with 5 additional points. Does anybody here have an idea how long it takes to get invite? Are there any invitation rounds for subclass 190?

You can check my history below. I am left with 5 years of experience after ACS deducted my 2 years. What is "Occupational Ceiling" and how may I get my score ranking? Where to see the EOI status? Kindly let me know as I am getting frustrated day by day.

___________________________________________________ _ _______
Skilled - Subclass 190 | Developer Programmer - 261312

14/02/2015 - ACS App. Submitted
19/02/2015 - ACS +ve Outcome
01/05/2015 - IELTS Results (L-6, R-7, W-6.5, S-6 | Overall - 6.5)
08/05/2015 - EOI Submitted for NSW with 55 pts + 5 pts(State Nomination)

Next Steps
XX/08/2015 - NSW Invite | 
XX/08/2015 - Application for NSW nomination submitted |
XX/10/2015 - SkillSelect Invitation to apply for 190 visa | 
XX/10/2015 - 190 visa application to DIBP | 
XX/12/2015 - PCC | Health | Documents uploaded | 
XX/12/2015 - Case officer assigned
XX/12/2015 - Visa Grant | _


----------



## crish_mac

Dear Mark,

Recently I got invitation to apply for subclass 190 and have applied for the same. 
But while uploading the documents I just uploaded my overseas work experience documents, but erroneously put on the document type - "Work Experience - Australian, Evidence of Work Reference", when it should be "Work Experience - Overseas, Evidence of Work Reference".

What should I do now? Should I wait for the CO to assign and ask for the details ? or should I fill in form 1023 and upload the same documents again with correct document type ?

Regards,
Crish


----------



## Pending

Expedited partner visa processing on grounds of difficult circumstances (war)

Hello Mark, appreciate if I can get your point of view on the following:

On March, 26th Saudi Arabia along few other allied countries in the region suddenly declared war on Yemen. In a step that they believe was required to restore legitimacy to the government after rebel groups took control of the capital. Since the operations began the allied countries declared Yemen a war zone and closed up its airspace to commercial flights. A few evacuation flights coordinated at a specific window of 3/4 hours by some countries (ex. India, russia.. Etc) were the only flights carrying foreign nationals out of the country. These flights only continued for a brief duration ( mostly for a few days until the 10-12 of April) after which they stopped. The situation on the ground was terrible and very unsafe as bombardments continued to hit targets on daily basis. That's when we decided to get help from the Australian mission in Riyadh. Thankfully they were of great help and coordinated for my wife ( Yemeni national) and myself and son ( Australians) to evacuate the country into Djibouti on one of the Indian planes. From there we travelled to Ethiopia which we luckily had visit visas arranged prior. Getting to the point: Is there a possibility that the DIBP would be compassionate about this situation given the fact the applicant is currently in a country that is not her normal country of residence? Additionally she is stranded and can not be sure when she could go back (airspace closed)? I applied for my wife a spouse visa in 11/2014 and have been recently contacted by CO requesting additional information (form 80, medicals, police). I am really worried this war would drag on for a long time, and a decision for visa will take a long time (up to 18 months for high-risk countries, as I keep reading from various threads). In that case, I would have to (1) start making plans to settle in a country other than the country of normal residence. (2) convince authorities in that country to apply for residence status. (3) sacrifice funds from savings which were initially reserved to make the move to Australia. All of which could be solved if I get an expedited response from DIBP.


----------



## AlanFilippa7

*Certified copies*

Hi Mark,

We are trying to apply for a partner visa for my wife and have come to a hurdle. We currently live in Sweden (my wife's home country) and we've been trying for some time to figure out how to get copies of various documents certified.

In the 1127 - Partner Migration booklet it says the Department will accept copies certified in the manner accepted in the country of application. My wife got a bit concerned as the most common and accepted form of certifying copies here is by asking someone (a neighbour or a friend) to sight the original and the copy and write "I hereby attest to the veracity of this copy", sign it, then print their full name and phone number.

Would the Department of Immigrations accept this or do we need to seek out a Public Notary (which would set us back the equivalent of over AUD$500 for our 20 documents)?

We're also wondering if all documents actually NEED to be certified? For example bank statements or insurance statements we've downloaded from each institution's online portal, or travel itinerary received in PDF formats from the travel agent or booking sites used?

Kind Regards


----------



## geranium

Thank you mark.
Regards


----------



## itaus

*defacto*

hi mark,

i just got granted my 2nd working holiday visa  next month i am moving to australia to be with my girlfriend. at the end of the year, my visa will obviously expire but we will be eligible for the defacto visa. (we have looked into the requirements).... my question is, do i need to go back to italy to apply for this or can i apply from inside australia while i await a response? we would be applying this time next year so that we fulfil the 12 month requirement.

thanks! you're so helpful


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rana3 -

Would need to work with you in a consultation to give you specific advice for your case - too many details to sort out in back & forth anonymous forum posts. See website below for details on consultations - thanks.

Best,

Mark



rana3 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My 572 visa expired on the 15 of this month and i filed for a further stay visa by providing a COE of cert of marketing a 572 subclass which allowed me to get a bridging visa, but know i want to change my Coe to different course which is a 573 graduate diploma of networking leading towards masters. My question is do i have to withdraw my application and loose my application fee and re apply under a new coe of can it be some how be managed in this same application ? Please provide me with safest possible ways.
> 
> Thankyou
> Regards
> Rana3


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ria -

Sorry, I'm confused - the 101 visa is a Child visa - that's a paper application. If you're looking for that, see DIBP website immi.gov.au under subclass 101 Child visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ria said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks again for all your help.
> going into my immi account and lodging that new application I cant seem to find the 101 category, am I doing it wrong or looking at the wrong section? because it only has the spouse options, 309/820 and the second stage.
> Perhaps if anyone on this forum can help me with it, would be highly appreciated.
> Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KitKaat -

No method I know of to shorten the processing time when security checks are involved - it's essentially out of the hands of DIBP case officer(s) until the security checks come back.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KitKaat said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I really salute you for your generosity of giving free consultation to the people who need it.
> 
> This is my first enquiry to you. As you can see I am waiting my partner's visa "309/100" since Oct 2013. I am Australian citizen and I have two children from my current relationship, one of them is autistic and I am having a really hard time being the mother and the father at the same time, my partner is Syrian and currently residing in Egypt, he has a very clean history . Our application referred to ASIO in late March 2014. Every time I check with the embassy, they all tells me the same story over and over again, that they are still waiting for the security check to get finalized. I am a bit worried, our security check will hit the 14 months next week and still nothing happened. I did my best in the past few months, I contacted the immigration minister office twice, and the PM twice and lodged Two complaints to IGIS as well. No solution given for my long indefinite waiting! The majority of applicants who undergo the security check phase didn't exceeded the 12 month duration to get it finalized. I am curious, is there any path or solution besides waiting that can end my suffering? Is there any benefit If I rise my case to court ?
> 
> Regards,,


----------



## iviemarie

*Need some help about my visa 402*

Hi Mark!

I need some help about my application since my application is been lodged last Nov.12,2014 and they acknowledged it last Dec.2014 and sent my X-ray but until now there's no feedback about the status of my application. I've been waiting for almost 24 weeks already and it keeps me worried because most of you who post in this forum got an approved visa for 12 weeks only.

Please help. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaivalya -

You can contact NSW Skilled directly to see what remains of their quota and their remaining processing for this programme year - their quotas reset in July. There are no invitation rounds for 190 visas - the invitations are generated by state sponsorship approvals - each state works on its own schedule. Usually no way to predict how soon to get an invite as it depends on the state's own processing rules, how many other people are ahead of you in the queue, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kaivalya said:


> Good day Mark,
> 
> I applied for subclass 190 in my EOI with 55 points on 08th May and awaiting to get Nominated by NSW with 5 additional points. Does anybody here have an idea how long it takes to get invite? Are there any invitation rounds for subclass 190?
> 
> You can check my history below. I am left with 5 years of experience after ACS deducted my 2 years. What is "Occupational Ceiling" and how may I get my score ranking? Where to see the EOI status? Kindly let me know as I am getting frustrated day by day.
> 
> ___________________________________________________ _ _______
> Skilled - Subclass 190 | Developer Programmer - 261312
> 
> 14/02/2015 - ACS App. Submitted
> 19/02/2015 - ACS +ve Outcome
> 01/05/2015 - IELTS Results (L-6, R-7, W-6.5, S-6 | Overall - 6.5)
> 08/05/2015 - EOI Submitted for NSW with 55 pts + 5 pts(State Nomination)
> 
> Next Steps
> XX/08/2015 - NSW Invite |
> XX/08/2015 - Application for NSW nomination submitted |
> XX/10/2015 - SkillSelect Invitation to apply for 190 visa |
> XX/10/2015 - 190 visa application to DIBP |
> XX/12/2015 - PCC | Health | Documents uploaded |
> XX/12/2015 - Case officer assigned
> XX/12/2015 - Visa Grant | _


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crish_Mac -

You can upload Form 1023 and say you put the wrong category on the uploaded document - no need to re-upload.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crish_mac said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Recently I got invitation to apply for subclass 190 and have applied for the same.
> But while uploading the documents I just uploaded my overseas work experience documents, but erroneously put on the document type - "Work Experience - Australian, Evidence of Work Reference", when it should be "Work Experience - Overseas, Evidence of Work Reference".
> 
> What should I do now? Should I wait for the CO to assign and ask for the details ? or should I fill in form 1023 and upload the same documents again with correct document type ?
> 
> Regards,
> Crish


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pending -

I'd definitely give that a try, perhaps emphasising the problems your wife is having in the third country, hardships, etc as a result of her forced exit from Yemen.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pending said:


> Expedited partner visa processing on grounds of difficult circumstances (war)
> 
> Hello Mark, appreciate if I can get your point of view on the following:
> 
> On March, 26th Saudi Arabia along few other allied countries in the region suddenly declared war on Yemen. In a step that they believe was required to restore legitimacy to the government after rebel groups took control of the capital. Since the operations began the allied countries declared Yemen a war zone and closed up its airspace to commercial flights. A few evacuation flights coordinated at a specific window of 3/4 hours by some countries (ex. India, russia.. Etc) were the only flights carrying foreign nationals out of the country. These flights only continued for a brief duration ( mostly for a few days until the 10-12 of April) after which they stopped. The situation on the ground was terrible and very unsafe as bombardments continued to hit targets on daily basis. That's when we decided to get help from the Australian mission in Riyadh. Thankfully they were of great help and coordinated for my wife ( Yemeni national) and myself and son ( Australians) to evacuate the country into Djibouti on one of the Indian planes. From there we travelled to Ethiopia which we luckily had visit visas arranged prior. Getting to the point: Is there a possibility that the DIBP would be compassionate about this situation given the fact the applicant is currently in a country that is not her normal country of residence? Additionally she is stranded and can not be sure when she could go back (airspace closed)? I applied for my wife a spouse visa in 11/2014 and have been recently contacted by CO requesting additional information (form 80, medicals, police). I am really worried this war would drag on for a long time, and a decision for visa will take a long time (up to 18 months for high-risk countries, as I keep reading from various threads). In that case, I would have to (1) start making plans to settle in a country other than the country of normal residence. (2) convince authorities in that country to apply for residence status. (3) sacrifice funds from savings which were initially reserved to make the move to Australia. All of which could be solved if I get an expedited response from DIBP.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AlanFilippa7 -

I'd suggest lodging online (via ImmiAccount), since no document certifications are necessary if you lodge colour scans of originals with the online application - saves a lot of headaches and hassles. Every once in a while with online applications they want the copies of the police clearance certificates certified, but other than that, no need to certify anything if lodging online. Highly recommended.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AlanFilippa7 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We are trying to apply for a partner visa for my wife and have come to a hurdle. We currently live in Sweden (my wife's home country) and we've been trying for some time to figure out how to get copies of various documents certified.
> 
> In the 1127 - Partner Migration booklet it says the Department will accept copies certified in the manner accepted in the country of application. My wife got a bit concerned as the most common and accepted form of certifying copies here is by asking someone (a neighbour or a friend) to sight the original and the copy and write "I hereby attest to the veracity of this copy", sign it, then print their full name and phone number.
> 
> Would the Department of Immigrations accept this or do we need to seek out a Public Notary (which would set us back the equivalent of over AUD$500 for our 20 documents)?
> 
> We're also wondering if all documents actually NEED to be certified? For example bank statements or insurance statements we've downloaded from each institution's online portal, or travel itinerary received in PDF formats from the travel agent or booking sites used?
> 
> Kind Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Itaus -

If you are in Australia on a visa that does not have condition 8503 (no further stay) or any other condition that prevents you from lodging online, you could lodge an onshore de facto partner visa (subclass 820/801) assuming your relationship qualifies, etc. Also, you could look into registering your relationship with the state you live in if that state supports registered relationships - this automatically satisfies the 12-month living together requirement for de facto partner visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itaus said:


> hi mark,
> 
> i just got granted my 2nd working holiday visa  next month i am moving to australia to be with my girlfriend. at the end of the year, my visa will obviously expire but we will be eligible for the defacto visa. (we have looked into the requirements).... my question is, do i need to go back to italy to apply for this or can i apply from inside australia while i await a response? we would be applying this time next year so that we fulfil the 12 month requirement.
> 
> thanks! you're so helpful


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Iviemarie -

DIBP processing times are very difficult to predict, and vary widely. All you can do is keep in touch with them and (politely) see if they need any further documents or information for your application. Also, make sure you keep a close eye on your email and spam folder to make sure you spot any incoming emails from DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



iviemarie said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I need some help about my application since my application is been lodged last Nov.12,2014 and they acknowledged it last Dec.2014 and sent my X-ray but until now there's no feedback about the status of my application. I've been waiting for almost 24 weeks already and it keeps me worried because most of you who post in this forum got an approved visa for 12 weeks only.
> 
> Please help. Thanks!


----------



## iviemarie

Ok thanks for the quick reply Mark! so i guess all i have to do is wait further..


----------



## krucznik

Hi Mark,

At the beginning I would like to thank you for your useful advice.

I have concern regarding my work experience in EOI.
As I have receive state nomination, my EOI i locked and I have noticed that while filling my employment history I entered only employment dates after ACS deduction. I did not mention anything about 2 years of experience before ACS Skill Level Requirement Met Date.

Do you think that it could cause a problem with my 190 visa?
If yes, what I could do in order to mitigate the problem?

Once again thank you for your help.

With regards,
Martin


----------



## itaus

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Itaus -
> 
> If you are in Australia on a visa that does not have condition 8503 (no further stay) or any other condition that prevents you from lodging online, you could lodge an onshore de facto partner visa (subclass 820/801) assuming your relationship qualifies, etc. Also, you could look into registering your relationship with the state you live in if that state supports registered relationships - this automatically satisfies the 12-month living together requirement for de facto partner visas.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thanks so much mark! so when should we look at applying for the defacto visa. should that be done a few months before my 2nd WHV expires in june 2016? would i need a bridging visa to stay in australia while we wait for a response?


----------



## pdub

Hi Mark,

I hope you are well and thank you for any advice you can offer. 

My husband is applying for a partner visa. He is Brazilian, I am Australian.

We have just finished collecting and translating all of his identity documents. While we were translating, we realized that his mother's surname is spelt incorrectly on his identity card. This is also the case for his criminal record document (both state and federal) due to the fact that the identity card is wrong and they have used in years ago to get the police record data. The issuing department in Brazil put an "L" in place of an "I" in her name. All identification data (unique ID, Identity codes etc) are correct and all data in all other documents such as his Passport, Birth Certificate, Drivers License etc are spelt correctly. In addition, any place where his grand parents (parents of his mother) are included in the document, the surname is spelt correctly for them so it is obvious it's a typo. My husband has no criminal record in any country and we have a fairly straight forward application in that we have been in a relationship for over a year before we were married. Not that that means the visa will be granted but to give you some idea of our overall application.

Our translator who works with immigration and does a lot of work with the government suggested that we either ignore it and hope it isn't a problem, or we write a statutory declaration stating that there is an error in the spelling of his mother's maiden name and include it with our application. 

I was wondering if you could give us some advice on your thoughts on the best course of action in this scenario? Is it going to create a big issue for our application? Could he get rejected for that issue?

Thank you so much for any assistance you can provide.


----------



## ElyseeeLoo

*820 onshore, when can I lodge?*

Hi Mark,

Thank you in advance for any help you can supply!

I am currently living in Australia on a WHV and have been here since May, 29th 2014. I have lived with my partner since the day I arrived. I was informed by immigration over the phone that I could apply for the 820 onshore visa online the day my WHV expires. I wanted to do this so my partner and I meet the 12 month minimum living together requirement! Do you think this is a wise move? I don't want to stress myself out doing it the last day but I also want to meet the requirement!

Thank you I really appreciate your insight!


----------



## sweet

*hi Mark!*

I have seen your post and was moved by your genuine interest to help others with the visa process. At this point I already want to thank you for trying to answer all the questions that people ask you. 
I hope you can also help me because I am on a big dilema, I am on a 572 visa. My visa will expire on March 2016. I am studying diploma of web development. I am going to finish it this June.
I wanted to shift career and be a chef, so I have decided to take commercial cookery afterwards, but the problem is, i need to extend my visa for atleast 1.5years. at first i did not thought that extending my visa would mean going through the same process of visa application again. This means that I need to show funds again. I dont know how much funds do I need to show this time. My course if i pursue commercial cookery cost $12,000. 
And btw, i am getting married on December and I want to bring my husband here. so i was thinking if i should do the visa extension after we are married or do it now before the course start. and if it will affect the funds that i need to show as well. 
And also, another option for me is to pursue a masteral degree in IT where in I dont need to show funds. easier way, but cost more money.

I am really having trouble which way to go.


----------



## AlanFilippa7

Thank you Mark! That made things so much easier!


----------



## pabloM

*189 GSM partner*

Hi Mark,

I have a question about for a fiend of mine..
He's been in a relationship since July 2014. Registered relationship in September. He visited his home country (Colombia) and him and his partner (also Colombian) got married.
He has just finished 2 masters here and was on a 485 graduate visa. He applied for the 189 skilled migrant visa with his wife in March and received the invition to apply at the end of march. 
DIBP emailed saying the evidence provided does not prove a relationship of at least 12 months and have requested more information to show it has. 
In the partner information for this visa it says 
"Spouse or de facto partner

If you are married or in a de facto relationship, provide evidence of a genuine and continuing relationship with your partner at the exclusion of all others.
If you are married provide a scanned colour copy of marriage certificate or relationship registration for you and your partner
For de facto relationships this should include evidence that you have been in the relationship for at least 12 months at time of application. Evidence can include,
but is not limited to, joint bank account statements, billing accounts in joint names, other evidence of cohabitation etc)."

The 12 month requirement seems to pnm;y apply to de facto couples.
Should he point this out to DIBP or what would you suggest?

Thanks
Pablo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Krucznik -

As they would have been entered as non-relevant to your occupation anyway (ie, not available for points), likely not an issue, but I would include a letter with your application stating that you inadvertently didn't put those on your EOI as they were not eligible for points, etc and provide details of at least the 2 years of work to qualify to be skilled for ACS.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



krucznik said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> At the beginning I would like to thank you for your useful advice.
> 
> I have concern regarding my work experience in EOI.
> As I have receive state nomination, my EOI i locked and I have noticed that while filling my employment history I entered only employment dates after ACS deduction. I did not mention anything about 2 years of experience before ACS Skill Level Requirement Met Date.
> 
> Do you think that it could cause a problem with my 190 visa?
> If yes, what I could do in order to mitigate the problem?
> 
> Once again thank you for your help.
> 
> With regards,
> Martin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Itaus -

If you lodge an onshore partner visa while holding your WHV, you'll automatically get a bridging visa that activates as soon as your WHV expires, allowing you to remain in Australia through the end of your WHV and onto your bridging visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itaus said:


> thanks so much mark! so when should we look at applying for the defacto visa. should that be done a few months before my 2nd WHV expires in june 2016? would i need a bridging visa to stay in australia while we wait for a response?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pdub -

I'd put together a statutory declaration explaining the misspellings and include it with the application. DIBP gets very picky about the spelling of names on police certificates, so if those don't match his legal name per passport, they may require new police certificates that match the name exactly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pdub said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you are well and thank you for any advice you can offer.
> 
> My husband is applying for a partner visa. He is Brazilian, I am Australian.
> 
> We have just finished collecting and translating all of his identity documents. While we were translating, we realized that his mother's surname is spelt incorrectly on his identity card. This is also the case for his criminal record document (both state and federal) due to the fact that the identity card is wrong and they have used in years ago to get the police record data. The issuing department in Brazil put an "L" in place of an "I" in her name. All identification data (unique ID, Identity codes etc) are correct and all data in all other documents such as his Passport, Birth Certificate, Drivers License etc are spelt correctly. In addition, any place where his grand parents (parents of his mother) are included in the document, the surname is spelt correctly for them so it is obvious it's a typo. My husband has no criminal record in any country and we have a fairly straight forward application in that we have been in a relationship for over a year before we were married. Not that that means the visa will be granted but to give you some idea of our overall application.
> 
> Our translator who works with immigration and does a lot of work with the government suggested that we either ignore it and hope it isn't a problem, or we write a statutory declaration stating that there is an error in the spelling of his mother's maiden name and include it with our application.
> 
> I was wondering if you could give us some advice on your thoughts on the best course of action in this scenario? Is it going to create a big issue for our application? Could he get rejected for that issue?
> 
> Thank you so much for any assistance you can provide.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ElyseeeLoo -

There is a bit of leeway on this but its at the discretion of the case officer - I'd probably lodge the day before your visa expires to allow for any problems with lodgment or delay in getting the bridging visa generated, especially if you can show that for the 12 month period prior to lodging, your de facto relationship existed - living together is the primary evidence of this, but if you have additional evidence that shows the relationship existed prior to your moving in together 12 months ago, that could help too. That being said, a person's valid visa time includes the expiration day, so you could lodge on the expiration day of your visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ElyseeeLoo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you in advance for any help you can supply!
> 
> I am currently living in Australia on a WHV and have been here since May, 29th 2014. I have lived with my partner since the day I arrived. I was informed by immigration over the phone that I could apply for the 820 onshore visa online the day my WHV expires. I wanted to do this so my partner and I meet the 12 month minimum living together requirement! Do you think this is a wise move? I don't want to stress myself out doing it the last day but I also want to meet the requirement!
> 
> Thank you I really appreciate your insight!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sweet -

Thanks for the note. Not sure I can advise you properly in the forum as what you really need to do in my view is sit down with a migration agent or an education agent with a migration agent on staff (who would have lots of details on educational programs) and work through your options. Another issue you will need to deal with potentially is the "genuine student" policy which sometimes causes issues for people who make major changes in their educational pathway - DIBP sometimes thinks people who do that may not be real students, just killing time in Australia jumping from one course to another.

A professional consultation with a migration/education agent would help get you the additional information you need, potentially identify any other options for school, etc you may not have thought of yet, and help you work through the options. If you don't have anyone to see about this, feel free to contact me directly via my website below and I can recommend some good education agents that understand the migration side too.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sweet said:


> I have seen your post and was moved by your genuine interest to help others with the visa process. At this point I already want to thank you for trying to answer all the questions that people ask you.
> I hope you can also help me because I am on a big dilema, I am on a 572 visa. My visa will expire on March 2016. I am studying diploma of web development. I am going to finish it this June.
> I wanted to shift career and be a chef, so I have decided to take commercial cookery afterwards, but the problem is, i need to extend my visa for atleast 1.5years. at first i did not thought that extending my visa would mean going through the same process of visa application again. This means that I need to show funds again. I dont know how much funds do I need to show this time. My course if i pursue commercial cookery cost $12,000.
> And btw, i am getting married on December and I want to bring my husband here. so i was thinking if i should do the visa extension after we are married or do it now before the course start. and if it will affect the funds that i need to show as well.
> And also, another option for me is to pursue a masteral degree in IT where in I dont need to show funds. easier way, but cost more money.
> 
> I am really having trouble which way to go.


----------



## Ria

Ria said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks again for all your help.
> going into my immi account and lodging that new application I cant seem to find the 101 category, am I doing it wrong or looking at the wrong section? because it only has the spouse options, 309/820 and the second stage.
> Perhaps if anyone on this forum can help me with it, would be highly appreciated.
> Thank you very much.


Hi Mark,

Was wondering if you know how to do the 101 child visa online? I could not find the visa number on the drop down menu on the family section.

Thanking you in advance.

Ria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi PabloM -

Thanks for the note - it is correct that the 12-month living together requirement applies only to de facto relationships, however it sounds like from the sound of the letter that whatever relationship evidence was submitted with the application is insufficient and the application is headed for refusal unless the problem is solved. I'd suggest your friend consult a registered migration agent and get some guidance on responding to the request, and perhaps get suggestions on the specific types of evidence that can be most effective in this situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pabloM said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question about for a fiend of mine..
> He's been in a relationship since July 2014. Registered relationship in September. He visited his home country (Colombia) and him and his partner (also Colombian) got married.
> He has just finished 2 masters here and was on a 485 graduate visa. He applied for the 189 skilled migrant visa with his wife in March and received the invition to apply at the end of march.
> DIBP emailed saying the evidence provided does not prove a relationship of at least 12 months and have requested more information to show it has.
> In the partner information for this visa it says
> "Spouse or de facto partner
> 
> If you are married or in a de facto relationship, provide evidence of a genuine and continuing relationship with your partner at the exclusion of all others.
> If you are married provide a scanned colour copy of marriage certificate or relationship registration for you and your partner
> For de facto relationships this should include evidence that you have been in the relationship for at least 12 months at time of application. Evidence can include,
> but is not limited to, joint bank account statements, billing accounts in joint names, other evidence of cohabitation etc)."
> 
> The 12 month requirement seems to pnm;y apply to de facto couples.
> Should he point this out to DIBP or what would you suggest?
> 
> Thanks
> Pablo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ria -

Nope - it's a paper application - see DIBP website under 101 visa for document checklist forms, where to send the application, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ria said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Was wondering if you know how to do the 101 child visa online? I could not find the visa number on the drop down menu on the family section.
> 
> Thanking you in advance.
> 
> Ria


----------



## ElyseeeLoo

MarkNortham said:


> Hi ElyseeeLoo -
> 
> There is a bit of leeway on this but its at the discretion of the case officer - I'd probably lodge the day before your visa expires to allow for any problems with lodgment or delay in getting the bridging visa generated, especially if you can show that for the 12 month period prior to lodging, your de facto relationship existed - living together is the primary evidence of this, but if you have additional evidence that shows the relationship existed prior to your moving in together 12 months ago, that could help too. That being said, a person's valid visa time includes the expiration day, so you could lodge on the expiration day of your visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark!!!


----------



## jot

*300/309 to 100*

Hi Mark,
Appreciate your time to help people!
I just want to know I am on a 309 partner visa but I applied 300 visa in June 2013 but later changed it to 309 in March 2014 and visa was granted on may 15 2014.
Now want to apply for second stage permanent visa 100 but not sure the two year waiting period start from 300 visa application or 309? Hope you will clear my doubt!
Many thanks


----------



## Shazzadul

Hello Mark,

I need to take an important decision now, so need your advice. I received subclass 189 visa grant on May 15, 2015. My first entry date to Australia by Nov 25, 2015 and my PR visa is valid until May 15, 2020. I am planning to enter Australia on mid of July 2015 and stay there one week and then go to Canada. My plan to stay in Canada until December 2019 and then finally return to Australia on January 2020 for permanently settlemant. My question are there any restriction , if I want permanently settle in Australia from January 2020. Will it be any complication to valid my permanent residence in Australia?


----------



## ElyseeeLoo

*Evidence prior to Defacto*

Hi Mark,

I wanted to say thank you for your reply back on my comment, I really appreciate the advice! Also I have one more quick question for you if you don't mind! My partner and I have been living together 8 days shy of exactly 12 months. As I told you in my last post I am intending to apply the day we hit 12 months!

My question is, do you think since we will meet the 12 month requirement we should still submit a lot of evidence regarding the time we spend living apart? Before we moved in together May 29th, 2014 I was living in LA and he was living in Sydney. We spent about a year doing long distance. I was planning on submitting photos of the trips we made back and forth as well as plane ticket proof of purchase but I wasn't going to go more in depth than that. Do you think I should be submitting phone records and everything??? I was planning on focusing more on the last year but I don't want to miss anything!

Thank you so much!


----------



## itaus

*defacto visa*

Hello Mark,

I am from italy. i have been dating my australian girlfriend since january. i had to go back to italy because my first working holiday visa was expired. i am now due back in oz end of july and my girlfriend is coming to live with me for a month before i come back. when we both get back, we are moving in together. we believe we will have the option to apply for a defacto visa next year in july. Because we need a 12 month living together requirement, we will actually have 13 months as she is living with me in italy. how can we prove she lived with me in italy as we are just going to be living with my parents for the month?


----------



## shazz

Hi Mark,

Thanks for answering my previous query on aged parent visa query and just want to let you know that my parents received the bridging visa after 5 business days of lodging as suggested by you and granted Bridging Visa A. Just wanted to know when would my parents be eligible for medicare as I rang the medicare today and they stated that my parents are not eligible under bridging visa A? Does that mean I have to get private health insurance until outcome of the application which may be few years?


----------



## iviemarie

*visa 402*

Hi Mark!

this is again regarding my 24weeks waiting time for my visa 402.. I emailed my sponsor and they replied to me with this: "Of late DIBP have discovered rampant submission of fraud CVs under the 416 and have derail the progress of the other visas. DIBP is now trying to close up any loop holes. We have 8 on visa approval waiting list but DIBP informed that there will be no processing until June. This is the predicament we are in; DIBP is the little Napoleon and our hands are tied. All these delays are attributed to the inconsistency of DIBP" can you please explain to me this, Mark? is this really a possible reason why I've been waiting for my visa 402 for 24weeks now? 

Please help. Thanks!


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Iviemarie -
> 
> DIBP processing times are very difficult to predict, and vary widely. All you can do is keep in touch with them and (politely) see if they need any further documents or information for your application. Also, make sure you keep a close eye on your email and spam folder to make sure you spot any incoming emails from DIBP.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## chocolate33

Me AGAIN Mark!
I am really starting to stress out! Berlin is pumping out the partner visas. My partner's police checks 'expired' on may 16. As i've stated in a previous post, my partner has contracted work until the end of october and we need them as a reference. My concern is that our initial date of entry will be sooner rather than later as the policechecks have expired. I would honestly rather be requested to complete the police checks again. Can you shed any light? Do they generally grant visas more quickly if police checks, medicals expire?


----------



## jnsgirls

*Hi*

Hi Mark!

I need to apply for a bridging visa B to be able to travel.
The only reason I want a bridging visa B is to go offshore to apply for visa.
What travelling reason could I put on the form to apply for a bridging visa B?

Thanks

Regards


----------



## EmmEss0909

*Document for ENS-Direct Entry (subclass 186)*

I wish to apply for ENS Visa Sub class 186, Direct entry.

One of the documents mentioned in the checklist is Birth certificate of any such evidence, as shown below on DIAC website:

_A certified copy of your birth certificate showing both parents' names. If you do not have a birth certificate and are unable to get one, you must provide a certified copy of the identification pages of at least one of the following documents:

family book showing both parents' names

identification document issued by the government

court-issued documents that verify your identity.

If you are unable to provide one of the above documents, you must provide other acceptable evidence that you are who you claim to be._

I do not have birth certificate, but my parents names are mentioned on my PASSPORT. Would that be enough or I do I have to get a document as mentioned in their checklistfor ENS-Direct Entry (Visa subclass 186).
Thanks in advance.


----------



## Tryme5

Hi mark .. I got AFP confirmation in 1 day and certificate at home in 5 days..waiting for NZ ONE


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

Just a small question. I am waiting for my spouse's partner visa. Just wondering since this is the end of the financial year, did they normally stop giving visas till the start of next year? Appreciate your thoughts regarding this.

Thanks in advance.

Regards
Dhanu


----------



## Jamie06

Hey guys so we applied for partner visa in July last year my partner is rom Seattle. Finally this morning we received en email saying they have begun considering the application but they need 3 more things. I need "Character Requirements" then "Character Requirements - AFP National Police Heck" and last "personal particulars for character assessment" which was outlined that it needed to be form 80. I'm just confused because on my immigov account it says that I have already uploaded form 80? Also will I have to get a police check done for her here as it was only 11 months that she had been in Australia when we submitted the application.

Thanks for any advice


----------



## kanstralian

Hello sir!

I have a few questions, if you could help Id be very grateful. A little history for context: My girlfriend and I met while rehearsing for a cruise ship in 2008. We've been together mostly since then, primarily getting hired together on ships (we are entertainers) but of course have had to be apart at times due to our being from different countries. I'm from the USA. We have a great deal of evidence and documentation of our relationship and domestic arrangements, both anecdotal in statements and affidavits and concrete in having been hired together several times. I've spoken a few times to visa helpline folks and they say that each case is different and is judged on its merit, evidence as to being genuine and ongoing for over a year, and so forth. 
I was just in Australia helping her set up what will be our new apartment when I get over there, which I plan to do in September, at which point we'll be putting in for the 820 visa and then I'll stay through the process, able to work via the bridging visa. The helpline told me, based on a number of questions and being told of our situation/circumstances, that if everything I said was "genuine," we should meet the requirements and that it really is a case by case basis. 
I was discussing this on another page and someone has made me concerned, mentioning something I've never heard before: that if we aren't dedicatedly living together for the exact 12 months up to the application date that it won't work. For one thing, we were told otherwise by the helpline, and for another that simply wouldn't be possible for us as we each have to return to our respective countries after three months together, usually, and because we need to work and neither could go without working for that long. We have lived together for most of the time we've been together, but there have been necessary gaps - to go home between contracts, or because of immigration requirements, and so forth. We have been planning for September for so long and have hated having to be apart right now, but we needed to save money to pay for the visa and to get through the time I won't be able to work until my ETA runs out. I'm hoping the helpline is correct and given our situation that rules like this are not hard and fast because I don't know what we'll do. I have been feeling great about this and so excited to move in September. Thoughts?

Also, how much is a consultation with a lawyer? I was told we didn't probably need one, but I just want everything to be okay. We're a legitimate couple, have been for six+ years, I just want us to be able to be together already! Thanks!


----------



## jfenn001

*ETA Work Rights*

Hi Mark,

Sorry if you've already answered this, but I keep getting completely contradictory answers. Some background - I'm American/Australian citizen and my husband is an American/Brazilian citizen. In 6 months we plan to arrive in AU with my husband getting an ETA visa. At that point we want to submit an application for a partner visa and a BVA to keep him legal while we wait.

So my question&#8230;will my husband be able to work with a BVA? From what I've read on the forum and based on friends personal experience applying, he should be able to work as soon as the BVA becomes effective. However I called the AU immigration office in the USA and they told me the BVA only extends the visa rights you had when entering the country, in our case an ETA. Is there something I'm missing or a different form I will need to complete showing 'financial hardship'?

Second question&#8230;if we are successful getting a temporary partner visa and after a year decide to return to the USA, will our application for the permanent visa still continue or do we need to stay in Australia. Is there a minimum amount of time we need to spend in AU to keep the permanent visa active?

THANK YOU!!!


----------



## asohaibk

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Andrej_gr -
> 
> I don't have enough info to give you specific advice, but it sounds like you may want to list Lithuania since you lived there within the last 10 years - note that it only asks for the last permanent address you had there, not all addresses. However if you are asked to complete Form 80, that will require all addresses for the last 10 years.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I have been following you on this thread and you are a great source of information. I have one query regarding the same matter"previous countries of residence" on page 15 of online application.

My wife has lived is KSA for around 14 years on valid residence permit. But after 2008 she came back to her home country(Pakistan) for her University degree. In between 2008 and 2011, she used to travel back to KSA twice an year for holidays and her residence permit renewal as her parents were in KSA during that time.

Now the issue is that, on the last pemanent address in KSA her parents have been living since 2010 but my wife lived there only for around 3 to 4 weeks and that too during different times. My wife's last visit to KSA at that address was only for 8 days in November 2011(10th Nov till 18th Nov) . Now what should I mention as duration on page 15 of "previously visited countries" for my wife. Below are the 2 options that I can choose from, but I am not sure which one DIBP would consider correct. Please suggest

1. From July 2010 till November 2011 (she had valid residence permit of KSA throughout this duration but she visited KSA only for 3-4 weeks during this time)

2. From 10th November 2011 till 18th November 2011(her last visit to KSA on valid residence permit)

Kindly suggest, I am just about to pay the Visa fee and I dont want my application to be refused just because of this small matter

Thanks!


----------



## Joshk525

Hi
I have a few questions about an online defacto claim my partner and I submitted in August 2014, we recently received an email asking to upload all the evidence we have if we haven't already. Once a CO is assigned to our case what happens? will we eventually have to attend an in person interview or is it all just done by the CO looking at our case and either saying yes or no??

My partner is in Canada visiting her family at the moment... It was an onshore application and she plans to do a medical in Canada, we received an email stating that if the CO doesn't accept the medical she will have to zoom back here and get another medical done here..

Thanks


----------



## hdhami

*subclass 143*

hello sir,
you are doing such a great job 

i do have few queries regarding my visa application 
I am pursuing engineering in india as a full time student.
my brother applied for me and my mother in april,2014 under visa subclass 143 (contributory).
we got a email (letter) from immigration office provided with reff. no. to take PCC and medical clearance. It was reccommended by them, that we should take PCC after 10 months and medicals after 12 of visa months from the date of visa application that is april, 2015. Its been 13 months now , my queries are:-

1. should we take PCC and medicals now?
2. how long it take to start the visa processing?
3. any update regarding processing

any other information about the visa category. please
thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jot -

Excellent question. Under circumstances where you have a pending application for a PMV sc300 visa and prior to the grant of the sc300 visa you marry and notify DIBP of the marriage, the application for the sc300 is taken to be an application for a 309/100 (offshore partner visa). The application date for the 309/100 (which is used for purposes of calculating the 2 year time until you can continue the sc100 application) is deemed to be *the date that you notified DIBP of the marriage*.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jot said:


> Hi Mark,
> Appreciate your time to help people!
> I just want to know I am on a 309 partner visa but I applied 300 visa in June 2013 but later changed it to 309 in March 2014 and visa was granted on may 15 2014.
> Now want to apply for second stage permanent visa 100 but not sure the two year waiting period start from 300 visa application or 309? Hope you will clear my doubt!
> Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shazzadul -

Thanks for the question. No complication I see other than under your scenario, you may only be eligible for a one-year Resident Return Visa (RRV) when your initial PR re-entry rights end in May 2020. You may have to get multiple one-year RRV's after May 2020 to extend your re-entry rights to Australia until you have spent a total of 24 months in Australia, then you can apply for a 5-year RRV. See DIBP website under subclass 155 RRV visa for full details about this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Shazzadul said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I need to take an important decision now, so need your advice. I received subclass 189 visa grant on May 15, 2015. My first entry date to Australia by Nov 25, 2015 and my PR visa is valid until May 15, 2020. I am planning to enter Australia on mid of July 2015 and stay there one week and then go to Canada. My plan to stay in Canada until December 2019 and then finally return to Australia on January 2020 for permanently settlemant. My question are there any restriction , if I want permanently settle in Australia from January 2020. Will it be any complication to valid my permanent residence in Australia?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ElyseeeLoo -

I can't give you specific advice about your relationship evidence without seeing it, however my view is that is almost always better to submit more, rather than less evidence. Remember that the 12 months living together requirement and the genuine relationship assessment are 2 different assessments.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ElyseeeLoo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I wanted to say thank you for your reply back on my comment, I really appreciate the advice! Also I have one more quick question for you if you don't mind! My partner and I have been living together 8 days shy of exactly 12 months. As I told you in my last post I am intending to apply the day we hit 12 months!
> 
> My question is, do you think since we will meet the 12 month requirement we should still submit a lot of evidence regarding the time we spend living apart? Before we moved in together May 29th, 2014 I was living in LA and he was living in Sydney. We spent about a year doing long distance. I was planning on submitting photos of the trips we made back and forth as well as plane ticket proof of purchase but I wasn't going to go more in depth than that. Do you think I should be submitting phone records and everything??? I was planning on focusing more on the last year but I don't want to miss anything!
> 
> Thank you so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Itaus -

You could get signed statements from your parents attesting to the fact that both of you lived together there, plus perhaps photos, any items sent to both of your names at the same address there, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itaus said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am from italy. i have been dating my australian girlfriend since january. i had to go back to italy because my first working holiday visa was expired. i am now due back in oz end of july and my girlfriend is coming to live with me for a month before i come back. when we both get back, we are moving in together. we believe we will have the option to apply for a defacto visa next year in july. Because we need a 12 month living together requirement, we will actually have 13 months as she is living with me in italy. how can we prove she lived with me in italy as we are just going to be living with my parents for the month?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shazz -

Yes, as they won't be eligible for Medicare until they are permanent residents. Unfortunately there is an exception at Medicare - while almost all onshore applicants for PR visas are eligible for Medicare as soon as they lodge their application, there is an exception for aged parent visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shazz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for answering my previous query on aged parent visa query and just want to let you know that my parents received the bridging visa after 5 business days of lodging as suggested by you and granted Bridging Visa A. Just wanted to know when would my parents be eligible for medicare as I rang the medicare today and they stated that my parents are not eligible under bridging visa A? Does that mean I have to get private health insurance until outcome of the application which may be few years?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Iviemarie -

It's certainly possible, however I don't have any additional information on that. DIBP can take as long as they want to process any visa application - there are no time limits at all, so there are any number of possible reasons why - only DIBP can say for sure. Remember that DIBP's opinion is that the grant of an Australian visa is a privilege, not a right...

Best,

Mark



iviemarie said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> this is again regarding my 24weeks waiting time for my visa 402.. I emailed my sponsor and they replied to me with this: "Of late DIBP have discovered rampant submission of fraud CVs under the 416 and have derail the progress of the other visas. DIBP is now trying to close up any loop holes. We have 8 on visa approval waiting list but DIBP informed that there will be no processing until June. This is the predicament we are in; DIBP is the little Napoleon and our hands are tied. All these delays are attributed to the inconsistency of DIBP" can you please explain to me this, Mark? is this really a possible reason why I've been waiting for my visa 402 for 24weeks now?
> 
> Please help. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chocolate33 -

Sometimes, however DIBP has the discretionary ability to lengthen the approval of a police or health check, or sometimes they ask for new ones - it's all up to the case officer(s) assessing your case, difficult to predict which way they will deal with it.

Best,

Mark



chocolate33 said:


> Me AGAIN Mark!
> I am really starting to stress out! Berlin is pumping out the partner visas. My partner's police checks 'expired' on may 16. As i've stated in a previous post, my partner has contracted work until the end of october and we need them as a reference. My concern is that our initial date of entry will be sooner rather than later as the policechecks have expired. I would honestly rather be requested to complete the police checks again. Can you shed any light? Do they generally grant visas more quickly if police checks, medicals expire?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jnsgirls -

You'll have to come up with something - many people use family reunion or special family visit to see a relative who has a holiday, special event, etc. Assuming you are s48 barred and that's why you are going offshore, make sure you check the regulations re: whatever visa you are applying for to make sure you understand the issues involved - for instance, for a 457 visa, you can apply offshore on a BV-B to avoid s48 bar, but if you return prior to the visa being granted, you are subject to Schedule 3 even though you lodged offshore, which can cause considerable issues if you are not planning on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jnsgirls said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I need to apply for a bridging visa B to be able to travel.
> The only reason I want a bridging visa B is to go offshore to apply for visa.
> What travelling reason could I put on the form to apply for a bridging visa B?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi EmmEss0909 -

You could try with the passport only - in some parts of India the parents' names are included in secondary school certificates - if that's the case, those certificates are often satisfactory for DIBP purposes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



EmmEss0909 said:


> I wish to apply for ENS Visa Sub class 186, Direct entry.
> 
> One of the documents mentioned in the checklist is Birth certificate of any such evidence, as shown below on DIAC website:
> 
> _A certified copy of your birth certificate showing both parents' names. If you do not have a birth certificate and are unable to get one, you must provide a certified copy of the identification pages of at least one of the following documents:
> 
> family book showing both parents' names
> 
> identification document issued by the government
> 
> court-issued documents that verify your identity.
> 
> If you are unable to provide one of the above documents, you must provide other acceptable evidence that you are who you claim to be._
> 
> I do not have birth certificate, but my parents names are mentioned on my PASSPORT. Would that be enough or I do I have to get a document as mentioned in their checklistfor ENS-Direct Entry (Visa subclass 186).
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhanu -

Yes, sometimes, depending on the country and whatever the quotas are (which are generally unpublished). Since the migration system is on a July-June year, the good news if you're delayed by this is that the new year for visas is just over a month away.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dhanu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a small question. I am waiting for my spouse's partner visa. Just wondering since this is the end of the financial year, did they normally stop giving visas till the start of next year? Appreciate your thoughts regarding this.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Regards
> Dhanu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamie06 -

Re: AFP, yes, if they are asking for it you should do it despite 11 months. Re: Form 80, I would email them back and enquire as to whether the Form 80 that was lodged with the application is sufficient - they may not have noticed it, or they might be asking for an updated one - best you clarify with them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jamie06 said:


> Hey guys so we applied for partner visa in July last year my partner is rom Seattle. Finally this morning we received en email saying they have begun considering the application but they need 3 more things. I need "Character Requirements" then "Character Requirements - AFP National Police Heck" and last "personal particulars for character assessment" which was outlined that it needed to be form 80. I'm just confused because on my immigov account it says that I have already uploaded form 80? Also will I have to get a police check done for her here as it was only 11 months that she had been in Australia when we submitted the application.
> 
> Thanks for any advice


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kanstralian -

Thanks for the note. If you are not married, and you have not registered your relationship with the Australian state you are living in (a very good idea if possible in your state), then DIBP will look at the 12 months prior to application and want living together evidence for that period. Any time spent apart during that period must be shown to be temporary in nature. Traditionally people who travel together have had a more difficult time proving they are living together, as DIBP demands a higher level of relationship than boyfriend/girlfriend for partner visas - essentially you need to act like you are married, just without the marriage certificate.

Given your circumstances, I would suggest you book a consultation with a registered migration agent who can discuss your circumstances, review your evidence and give you specific advice on your case to maximise the chances of a successful visa application. We offer these (see website below in my signature for more details) as do others.

Also, note that the DIBP phone number is not designed as migration advice, and in fact DIBP staffers are prohibited from giving migration advice - even if you follow what they say, if things turn out to be different than what they say, you have no legal basis on which to make an argument as whatever DIBP says over the phone re: advice is not legally binding.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kanstralian said:


> Hello sir!
> 
> I have a few questions, if you could help Id be very grateful. A little history for context: My girlfriend and I met while rehearsing for a cruise ship in 2008. We've been together mostly since then, primarily getting hired together on ships (we are entertainers) but of course have had to be apart at times due to our being from different countries. I'm from the USA. We have a great deal of evidence and documentation of our relationship and domestic arrangements, both anecdotal in statements and affidavits and concrete in having been hired together several times. I've spoken a few times to visa helpline folks and they say that each case is different and is judged on its merit, evidence as to being genuine and ongoing for over a year, and so forth.
> I was just in Australia helping her set up what will be our new apartment when I get over there, which I plan to do in September, at which point we'll be putting in for the 820 visa and then I'll stay through the process, able to work via the bridging visa. The helpline told me, based on a number of questions and being told of our situation/circumstances, that if everything I said was "genuine," we should meet the requirements and that it really is a case by case basis.
> I was discussing this on another page and someone has made me concerned, mentioning something I've never heard before: that if we aren't dedicatedly living together for the exact 12 months up to the application date that it won't work. For one thing, we were told otherwise by the helpline, and for another that simply wouldn't be possible for us as we each have to return to our respective countries after three months together, usually, and because we need to work and neither could go without working for that long. We have lived together for most of the time we've been together, but there have been necessary gaps - to go home between contracts, or because of immigration requirements, and so forth. We have been planning for September for so long and have hated having to be apart right now, but we needed to save money to pay for the visa and to get through the time I won't be able to work until my ETA runs out. I'm hoping the helpline is correct and given our situation that rules like this are not hard and fast because I don't know what we'll do. I have been feeling great about this and so excited to move in September. Thoughts?
> 
> Also, how much is a consultation with a lawyer? I was told we didn't probably need one, but I just want everything to be okay. We're a legitimate couple, have been for six+ years, I just want us to be able to be together already! Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jfenn001 -

Thanks for the question. When you apply onshore for the onshore partner visa (subclass 820/801), he will automatically be granted a Bridging Visa A with no limitations on work or study - this change was made a few years ago, and is a great example of how the "advice" that DIBP dispenses on the phone lines can sometimes not be accurate. However, the BVA he gets will remain inactive until whatever the stay period of the ETA configuration is overstayed - ie, if the ETA has 3 month maximum stay, and he applies for the 820/801 at the end of month 1, despite getting the BVA upon application at the end of month 1, he will still be on the ETA for 2 more months - the BVA will only activate if he overstays the stay period of the ETA in Australia - that will activate the BVA so he'll have full work rights as of the day after the 3 month stay. This can be problematic for some ETAs that are issued with a 12 month maximum stay - ie, work rights won't activate until he stays for 12 months, then overstays that period by at least day.

Re: remaining in Australia during the provisional partner visa time, no particular requirement that you spend a minimum amount of time here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jfenn001 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Sorry if you've already answered this, but I keep getting completely contradictory answers. Some background - I'm American/Australian citizen and my husband is an American/Brazilian citizen. In 6 months we plan to arrive in AU with my husband getting an ETA visa. At that point we want to submit an application for a partner visa and a BVA to keep him legal while we wait.
> 
> So my question&#8230;will my husband be able to work with a BVA? From what I've read on the forum and based on friends personal experience applying, he should be able to work as soon as the BVA becomes effective. However I called the AU immigration office in the USA and they told me the BVA only extends the visa rights you had when entering the country, in our case an ETA. Is there something I'm missing or a different form I will need to complete showing 'financial hardship'?
> 
> Second question&#8230;if we are successful getting a temporary partner visa and after a year decide to return to the USA, will our application for the permanent visa still continue or do we need to stay in Australia. Is there a minimum amount of time we need to spend in AU to keep the permanent visa active?
> 
> THANK YOU!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Asohaibk -

Thanks for the question. I can't give you specific advice for an application without seeing the documents and learning more about your particular circumstances, however generally speaking the "countries visited" section refers to the dates you are actually visiting a country (ie, physically in that country). The dates you held a visa or other permit to enter or reside in a country would generally not be a factor in answering this question, only the dates you were actually in that country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



asohaibk said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been following you on this thread and you are a great source of information. I have one query regarding the same matter"previous countries of residence" on page 15 of online application.
> 
> My wife has lived is KSA for around 14 years on valid residence permit. But after 2008 she came back to her home country(Pakistan) for her University degree. In between 2008 and 2011, she used to travel back to KSA twice an year for holidays and her residence permit renewal as her parents were in KSA during that time.
> 
> Now the issue is that, on the last pemanent address in KSA her parents have been living since 2010 but my wife lived there only for around 3 to 4 weeks and that too during different times. My wife's last visit to KSA at that address was only for 8 days in November 2011(10th Nov till 18th Nov) . Now what should I mention as duration on page 15 of "previously visited countries" for my wife. Below are the 2 options that I can choose from, but I am not sure which one DIBP would consider correct. Please suggest
> 
> 1. From July 2010 till November 2011 (she had valid residence permit of KSA throughout this duration but she visited KSA only for 3-4 weeks during this time)
> 
> 2. From 10th November 2011 till 18th November 2011(her last visit to KSA on valid residence permit)
> 
> Kindly suggest, I am just about to pay the Visa fee and I dont want my application to be refused just because of this small matter
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Joshk525 -

Normally partner visas are assessed by teams of case officers, so there generally isn't a particular single officer that is attached to an application. Interviews are often done by phone, but sometimes in person, and are at the discretion of the case officer (s) once they assess the risk level, etc of the application. Some applications result in interviews, others do not - it's not a requirement.

Re: case officer "accepting" the medical, that's very curious, as DIBP are supposed to accept medicals from any DIBP-approved medical facility.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Joshk525 said:


> Hi
> I have a few questions about an online defacto claim my partner and I submitted in August 2014, we recently received an email asking to upload all the evidence we have if we haven't already. Once a CO is assigned to our case what happens? will we eventually have to attend an in person interview or is it all just done by the CO looking at our case and either saying yes or no??
> 
> My partner is in Canada visiting her family at the moment... It was an onshore application and she plans to do a medical in Canada, we received an email stating that if the CO doesn't accept the medical she will have to zoom back here and get another medical done here..
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hdhami -

I wish I could help, but I have no way to tell how far your visa application is in the processing cycle - you would need to ask these questions to DIBP as only they have access to that information about your application.

Best,

Mark



hdhami said:


> hello sir,
> you are doing such a great job
> 
> i do have few queries regarding my visa application
> I am pursuing engineering in india as a full time student.
> my brother applied for me and my mother in april,2014 under visa subclass 143 (contributory).
> we got a email (letter) from immigration office provided with reff. no. to take PCC and medical clearance. It was reccommended by them, that we should take PCC after 10 months and medicals after 12 of visa months from the date of visa application that is april, 2015. Its been 13 months now , my queries are:-
> 
> 1. should we take PCC and medicals now?
> 2. how long it take to start the visa processing?
> 3. any update regarding processing
> 
> any other information about the visa category. please
> thanks in advance


----------



## tomthai

Hi Mark,

My wife has applied for 801 visa when we were in australia back in 2010, and then in 2013, she has been granted this visa. However, at this time, we have already gone back to Vietnam to reside here for a while. Until now it has been 2 years, but since we have not had any plan to come back to Australia in the near future, there are a few questions I have:
- If the 801 visa has been granted for my wife in 2013, does she need to arrive at Australia to be fully recognized as a permanent residence?
- When can she apply for Australia citizenship? My understanding is that if she is in Australia, she will need a minimum 4 years of staying before she can apply, but as I am also a Australian citizen, the time she spends with me is also considered as she is staying in Australia.

Thanks,
Tom


----------



## Dhanu

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dhanu -
> 
> Yes, sometimes, depending on the country and whatever the quotas are (which are generally unpublished). Since the migration system is on a July-June year, the good news if you're delayed by this is that the new year for visas is just over a month away.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot for the reply Mark

Regards
Dhanu


----------



## itaus

*fiance visa question?*

hey mark,

I just have a general question about the fiance visa. 
if a couple gets married within the 9 month period, does that automatically mean the international partner can remain in australia while the partner visa is being processed? that is, can they remain onshore to apply or do they need to go back to their country again?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tom -

Thanks for the note - once she was granted the 801 visa, she became a permanent resident as soon as that visa activated (there may have been a "must enter by" date on the visa - if so, she would have needed to enter Australia by that date to activate the visa; if no "must enter by" date on the visa, then the visa was activated upon grant). However the re-entry rights of her permanent residency will expire at the end of the initial 5-year PR period on the visa.

Re: citizenship, there is a 4 year residency requirement, however there are certain provisions where you can apply to have time she spent overseas with you counted towards this if you meet certain requirements (too detailed to go into via back & forth posts here) - happy to discuss this in detail with you in a consultation to see if your circumstances may meet the requirements for this exception - see website below in my signature for more details on consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomthai said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife has applied for 801 visa when we were in australia back in 2010, and then in 2013, she has been granted this visa. However, at this time, we have already gone back to Vietnam to reside here for a while. Until now it has been 2 years, but since we have not had any plan to come back to Australia in the near future, there are a few questions I have:
> - If the 801 visa has been granted for my wife in 2013, does she need to arrive at Australia to be fully recognized as a permanent residence?
> - When can she apply for Australia citizenship? My understanding is that if she is in Australia, she will need a minimum 4 years of staying before she can apply, but as I am also a Australian citizen, the time she spends with me is also considered as she is staying in Australia.
> 
> Thanks,
> Tom


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Itaus -

If the applicant marries after application for the PMV visa, but before the PMV visa is granted, then the applicant is taken to have applied for an offshore 309/100 partner visa as of the date the applicant notifies DIBP of the marriage. As it's an offshore partner visa, unfortunately there is no bridging visa available from that application, so any visa to remain in Australia would have to be of another type - ie visitor, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itaus said:


> hey mark,
> 
> I just have a general question about the fiance visa.
> if a couple gets married within the 9 month period, does that automatically mean the international partner can remain in australia while the partner visa is being processed? that is, can they remain onshore to apply or do they need to go back to their country again?


----------



## jnsgirls

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jnsgirls -
> 
> You'll have to come up with something - many people use family reunion or special family visit to see a relative who has a holiday, special event, etc. Assuming you are s48 barred and that's why you are going offshore, make sure you check the regulations re: whatever visa you are applying for to make sure you understand the issues involved - for instance, for a 457 visa, you can apply offshore on a BV-B to avoid s48 bar, but if you return prior to the visa being granted, you are subject to Schedule 3 even though you lodged offshore, which can cause considerable issues if you are not planning on this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for the reply, I had no idea.

I'm planning to apply for a prospective marriage visa and then come back to Australia as I'm waiting for an outcome from the MRT.
Will I get my application returned as invalid?
If I come back to Australia before the prospective Marriage is granted. Would I still be subject to schedule 3?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jnsgirls -

Would need to go through all your details in a timetable at a consultation to give you an opinion re: any issues re: invalid application or Schedule 3 - rules too complex to do via back & forth forum posts - too much info needed in order to give you a specific opinion - happy to assist at a consult - see website below in my signature for more details.

Best,

Mark Northam



jnsgirls said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the reply, I had no idea.
> 
> I'm planning to apply for a prospective marriage visa and then come back to Australia as I'm waiting for an outcome from the MRT.
> Will I get my application returned as invalid?
> If I come back to Australia before the prospective Marriage is granted. Would I still be subject to schedule 3?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## azman

Hi Mark,

I hope you can help me with a query that is killing me inside. 

My wife finished her Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary) from La Trobe University, Melbourne. It was a one year full time program which she finished satisfying all the requirements. We have applied for skill assessment from AITSL to apply for Subclass 190.

Do you have any thoughts regarding the process how AITSL approves for positive skill assessment?

Best 

Azman


----------



## aadilabbasi

MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark

Please help my friend in one question, what is the procedure of Engineering Draftsperson skills assessment from Engineers Australia?

is he required to provide CDR?? he has got 2 year B.tech degree in Electrical from Preston Institute of Management Science and Technology and having 8 years of Experience as Draftsperson..

He have to make his CDR?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Azman -

No particular thoughts - AITLS has detailed requirements documentation for each of the different types of teacher occupations it assesses, and they tend to be very picky - especially if you're doing this yourself, it's very important to go through their requirements for educational and professional certification very carefully to make sure you meet all the requirements, and know what documents to send.

Best,

Mark



azman said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you can help me with a query that is killing me inside.
> 
> My wife finished her Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary) from La Trobe University, Melbourne. It was a one year full time program which she finished satisfying all the requirements. We have applied for skill assessment from AITSL to apply for Subclass 190.
> 
> Do you have any thoughts regarding the process how AITSL approves for positive skill assessment?
> 
> Best
> 
> Azman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aadilabbasi -

Yes, assuming his qualification is not from an Australian school or Dublin Accord school - as I recall, Preston is in Pakistan? If he's doing this himself, he should carefully study the Engineering Associate, non-accredited qualification pathway in the EA documentation - Engineering Draftsperson is classified by EA as an Engineering Associate for purposes of skills assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aadilabbasi said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Please help my friend in one question, what is the procedure of Engineering Draftsperson skills assessment from Engineers Australia?
> 
> is he required to provide CDR?? he has got 2 year B.tech degree in Electrical from Preston Institute of Management Science and Technology and having 8 years of Experience as Draftsperson..
> 
> He have to make his CDR?


----------



## AlanFilippa7

*Subclass 100*

Hi Mark,

My wife read in the Partner Migration booklet 1127 (page 37) that she may be granted a permanent visa (subclass 100) without the usual 2 year waiting period as we have been together for more than 3 years (de factos since 28 April 2012 and married since December 2013).

Does this mean she should put subclass 100 on the form when we submit the application online? (She filled out the paper version in preparation and it asked for the subclass.)

Kind Regards, 
Alan


----------



## Nikkicagu

Hi, Mark! 

Good day! I would like to ask some questions and hopefully you can help me. 

Lodge last may 8 2015, and I heard from my cousin's wife that there is a medical check needed (also read it) but when should I have it?
Usually how long will the case officer notify me to have one? I'm actually hoping to get a visa soon coz I want to surprise my husband on his birthday this September. You think I can make it? Btw, my husband is an australian citizen and I submitted my application in the philippines. And also, got an email that my application has been received at the Australian Embassy on 11/05/2015.

Thank you and hope to hear from you soon!


----------



## clgb.21

Hello Mark!

Good day! I would just like to enquire something with you regarding pmv subclass 300 before i lodge my visa application online. I hope you'll be able to help me and thanks in advance 

Part of the requirement is to provide statement from both of us (sponsor and applicant) stating the history of our relationship. Unfortunately there was no formal engagement happened (no ring, no engagement party). We just talked over the skype and decided to get married but he already talked to my parents the last time he visited. We've been together for 3 yrs and 6 months now and we've met in Australia way back 2012 when I was studying.I met his family already, most of his friends and he did met already my family and also my friends. My fiance visited me for 3x already (atleast 3 weeks per visit) since i went back because of student visa expiration. 

My question is, will it make my visa application questionable if we just did the engagement/decision to marry over the skype? Should we have the usual engagement with ring and all? What advice can you give me regarding this? 

Thank you so much Mark and more powers to you. Hope to hear from you on your most convenient time


----------



## aadilabbasi

Thanks you very much Mark

He is little bit afraid for making his CDR... 
His experience also includes Electrical Engineering Technician (312312) and I think its assessed by TRA and they don't required CDR. . am I right Mark?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Aadilabbasi -
> 
> Yes, assuming his qualification is not from an Australian school or Dublin Accord school - as I recall, Preston is in Pakistan? If he's doing this himself, he should carefully study the Engineering Associate, non-accredited qualification pathway in the EA documentation - Engineering Draftsperson is classified by EA as an Engineering Associate for purposes of skills assessment.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## jspecc

*immi not satisfied*

Hi there Mark,

Many thanks for your endless efforts to help many people on here.

My issue is that we received an email from immi today and they are not satisfied with our initial 12 month defacto status with our 820/801 application.

As my partner was from Mexico and due to visa times not being extended sufficiently and needing to go back to Mexico for the birth of nephew. I was supporting her financially during her time in Mexico as we had already confirmed we would be living together and want to get married. Is this a strict hard and fast rule or is there room for our case manager to self asses the individual circumstances?

What is the outcome if they refuse for our future and process to move forward and get married , live here together etc?

Kind Regards

J and C


----------



## myallstone

clgb.21 said:


> Hello Mark! Good day! I would just like to enquire something with you regarding pmv subclass 300 before i lodge my visa application online. I hope you'll be able to help me and thanks in advance  Part of the requirement is to provide statement from both of us (sponsor and applicant) stating the history of our relationship. Unfortunately there was no formal engagement happened (no ring, no engagement party). We just talked over the skype and decided to get married but he already talked to my parents the last time he visited. We've been together for 3 yrs and 6 months now and we've met in Australia way back 2012 when I was studying.I met his family already, most of his friends and he did met already my family and also my friends. My fiance visited me for 3x already (atleast 3 weeks per visit) since i went back because of student visa expiration. My question is, will it make my visa application questionable if we just did the engagement/decision to marry over the skype? Should we have the usual engagement with ring and all? What advice can you give me regarding this? Thank you so much Mark and more powers to you. Hope to hear from you on your most convenient time


 I'm not mark but we received our PMV and we had no formal engagement either before applying for visa ..we just showed we have a commitment to each other . Photos , emails , Skype messages


----------



## clgb.21

myallstone said:


> I'm not mark but we received our PMV and we had no formal engagement either before applying for visa ..we just showed we have a commitment to each other . Photos , emails , Skype messages


Thank you so much for your response!


----------



## toris7351

*ETA and Bridging issue along with traveling*

Hello Mark!

I have short question about the bridging visa along with ETA and partner visa onshore application.

I haven't lodged it yet because I am not in AUS at the moment but I want to check about this condition first. I contacted local AU embassy here but they confused me more(they seem not to be really up-to-date on visa sections. Every single officers answered me differently about documentation and visa conditions ect. Boo.)

I plan to come to AUS and lodge onshore app this July with ETA(luckly, not having "no further condition") but, the thing is, I have to go overseas due to professional license tests and business trip so I may leave Australia after I lodge application and will come back to AU at first week of Dec(This is when my ETA entry validation ends).

I wish I could just lodge online application at December but I don't want to hesitate the process since all documents are already gathered up and will take massive efforts to get them again due to 'up-to-date' matter. Plus, I have a strong feeling that DIBP will raise the charge later again considering there greedy boost on the fees. Better to lodge soon, I reckon.

To sum up my question with ie., if I lodge onshore de facto visa at July and leave overseas right after that, and come back to first week of December(my ETA entry valid date is 10th, December) before my ETA entry validation date ends, Can I keep having my bridging visa A without any tricky part? Yes, I reckon that my BVA will be activated after 3 months since arrival. I wonder if I leave australia for short term and have still BVA when ETA is re-activated after arriving again.

I know it seems that I am making things complicated but this is what it is..unfortunately..far beyond my control  
I wish, at least, I shouldn't be scared of the fees(and the possibility of increase).

Thank you in advance.


----------



## pdub

Hi Mark,

I asked this question and got a good response on another thread but now I can’t find the thread in order to reply so I was hoping you could help me. 

I just want to understand what happens to my husband’s visa situation once we apply for the partner visa in relation to the 820 being granted, visa A, Visa E etc. I understand Visa E isn’t what we want to use as it doesn’t count towards his years in Australia etc

Essentially, my husband is on a student visa (572) with the following visa conditions:

-	8105 - WORK LIMITATION
-	8202 - MEET COURSE REQUIREMENTS
-	8501 - MAINTAIN HEALTH INSURANCE
-	8516 - MUST MAINTAIN ELIGIBILITY
-	8517 - MAINTAIN EDUCATION FOR DEPENDANTS
-	8532 - < 18 APPROVE WELFARE
-	8533 - INFORM PRVDR OF ADRS

The current situation is that we are applying for his partner visa this week just waiting to get the 888’s back and then we are ready to apply.

Essentially, my husband’s student visa ends in March 2017 and the current educational course he is enrolled with finishes in November 2016. 

If my husband’s 820 is granted:

-	Does he need to continue attending the course he is attending due to his student visa requirements? Or can he quit the current course immediately? 
-	If he does need to finish his current course, does he also need to continue studying until the end of his student visa in march 2017 in order to fulfil the student visa requirements?

Thank you so much for your feedback.
pduby


----------



## BilalGeo

I have received this message from Immigration Department:

I am writing to you regarding your application for an Australian skilled visa (subclass 489).

The visa for which you have applied is part of the Skilled Nominated category. The Migration Programme determines the maximum number of visas that can be granted in each visa category. Applications for this visa are processed in line with Migration Programme planning levels. These planning levels have precedence over indicative client service standard timeframes. 

The Migration Programme planning level for the Skilled Nominated category now has limited number of places left for the 2014-15 program year. This means processing times will be longer and that once the remaining places are used, the Department cannot grant further visas in this category during this programme year.

As planning levels affect all applications, including those in the final stages of processing, I cannot give you an indication as to the likely timeframe for finalisation of your application.

I have some question regarding this:
1. Is it case finalized?
2. Is it also possible that i get visa before July 2015?

Status:

Lodge Application: 29 January 2015,
Medical test: 3 March 2015 

Please discuss with me if anyone have experienced regarding this message.


----------



## JJJJ

*studying on BVA for 820/801*

Hi Mark,

I had a question about studying on a bridging visa, but I found you'd already answered it back in 2012:

australiaforum _dot_ com/73034-post13.html



> Also, to clarify the bridiging visa conditions question, as of 24 November all bridging visas issued for subclass 820/801 onshore partner visas will be issued with no conditions, regardless of what conditions might have been on the person's previous substantive visa.


Now my only question is whether the answer you gave 3 years ago is still true? My partner is planning to apply for a 820/801 visa and we want to make sure she will be able to continue studying when she is on a bridging visa after her student visa expires.

Thanks for being so helpful!

(Hopefully you can make sense of the link above - it won't let me post real links)


----------



## azman

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Azman -
> 
> No particular thoughts - AITLS has detailed requirements documentation for each of the different types of teacher occupations it assesses, and they tend to be very picky - especially if you're doing this yourself, it's very important to go through their requirements for educational and professional certification very carefully to make sure you meet all the requirements, and know what documents to send.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Thanks for the information Mark.

I was also wondering if we plan to apply under Visa subclass 190 as teacher, then would only the assessment result be enough to lodge EoI, or do we also need to provide a Skilled Employment Statement (SES) issued from AITSL?

Thanks

Azman


----------



## mahmoud2015

*Many Questions*

Hi Mark,

I have an skill select invitation to lodge a visa 189 subclass, so I have many questions to ask:

1. Should I travel to Australia, once I have got the visa, or Can I wait for 3 years for example?
2. If I take visa, Can I go to Australia and come back again to my country?
3. When I arrived to Australia, I will get a house?
4. Are there any condition on this visa?


----------



## samy

Hi Mark ..
hope its all going good with you 
I have got a short question this time.
Can 309 /100 offshore partner visa eligible to apply for migration review tribunal, if something goes wrong with the application.
I heard MRT option is only available for onshore applications.
Thanks in advance
Regards


----------



## itaus

*working holiday to defacto*

hi mark,

after my 2nd working holiday visa expires, my girlfriend and i hope to apply for a defacto visa. can we do this from inside australia, can i get an extension to stay here longer while we apply? or...do i need to go back to my home country and do it from there?

thanks very much.


----------



## anil_rnc

*Subclass 190 and 457- Clock start*

Hi Mark,

I have a query on sub class 190 visa and I am wondering if you can help me understand a bit more about the finer details of NSW Nomination.

I have been living in Sydney on 457 Visa for the last 1 year and 3 months. I have got a nomination for NSW Skilled Visa (Subclass 190).

While I understand that the NSW visa requires one to stay in NSW for two years, however someone told me that my current stay of 1 year 3 months on Sub class 457 be included in the two year period.

Can someone advise from when will my two years be counted? Will it include the time spent on 457 or will the time count start from the day I get my Subclass 190 visa?

Also, can I travel to other cities of Australia on work related visits for short period of time or is there a restriction on the same? If my company sends me on project that requires me to work outside NSW for a short period of time (say 2-3 months). Will this be considered a breach of the provisions of NSW Subclass 190 visa?


----------



## uali9695

Hi , 

recently I am outside Australia due to my visa cancellation through embassy.

So, My questions are;

can I further apply for Australian visa . if yes, then which kind of visa can I apply.

If I am banned So this is for whole life or just for limited period .



My case detail are below:

Visa Grant : july 2014
Arrived Sydney : 24,Aug 2014
Attend English Course: Complete 
join Summer Semester ( December to Feb ) and pass only one subject
then again join second semester : pass no subject
change college and went to Melbourne at Aveta College but did not attend college due to financial problem and went back to sydney
join AVLC college ( Diploma of Managment ) but did not complete course due to father illness and came back to Pakistan.
again join AIT college for new diploma but before my visa was cancelled due to previous problems.

SO . please check my details and kindly let me know what can I do now. 

I am also attach my immi cancellation letter.

regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alan -

Thanks for the question. She needs to choose the Stage 1 Partner Visa option on the online ImmiAccount system - it's always a combined 309/100 (if you're applying offshore) - no way to apply for only 1.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AlanFilippa7 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife read in the Partner Migration booklet 1127 (page 37) that she may be granted a permanent visa (subclass 100) without the usual 2 year waiting period as we have been together for more than 3 years (de factos since 28 April 2012 and married since December 2013).
> 
> Does this mean she should put subclass 100 on the form when we submit the application online? (She filled out the paper version in preparation and it asked for the subclass.)
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Alan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nikkicagu -

You didn't mention the specific type of visa you applied for - that would help me answer your questions, thanks -

Best,

Mark



Nikkicagu said:


> Hi, Mark!
> 
> Good day! I would like to ask some questions and hopefully you can help me.
> 
> Lodge last may 8 2015, and I heard from my cousin's wife that there is a medical check needed (also read it) but when should I have it?
> Usually how long will the case officer notify me to have one? I'm actually hoping to get a visa soon coz I want to surprise my husband on his birthday this September. You think I can make it? Btw, my husband is an australian citizen and I submitted my application in the philippines. And also, got an email that my application has been received at the Australian Embassy on 11/05/2015.
> 
> Thank you and hope to hear from you soon!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clgb.21 -

Thanks for the question. No requirement for a specific engagement date, ring, party, etc for the PMV (subclass 300) application, so the date you agreed to get married is fine. More important is the evidence of your planning to get married (ie, celebrant letter, any other evidence of your plans such as checking out venues, etc, maybe even purchasing wedding rings, etc), plus evidence that you are known to each other which shouldn't be too much trouble given the length of your relationship.

So again, no need for a formal engagement if you don't want to do that, however the evidence you provide of the commitment you both have to 1) get married, and 2) form a genuine spousal relationship going forward is the most important.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



clgb.21 said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> Good day! I would just like to enquire something with you regarding pmv subclass 300 before i lodge my visa application online. I hope you'll be able to help me and thanks in advance
> 
> Part of the requirement is to provide statement from both of us (sponsor and applicant) stating the history of our relationship. Unfortunately there was no formal engagement happened (no ring, no engagement party). We just talked over the skype and decided to get married but he already talked to my parents the last time he visited. We've been together for 3 yrs and 6 months now and we've met in Australia way back 2012 when I was studying.I met his family already, most of his friends and he did met already my family and also my friends. My fiance visited me for 3x already (atleast 3 weeks per visit) since i went back because of student visa expiration.
> 
> My question is, will it make my visa application questionable if we just did the engagement/decision to marry over the skype? Should we have the usual engagement with ring and all? What advice can you give me regarding this?
> 
> Thank you so much Mark and more powers to you. Hope to hear from you on your most convenient time


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aadilabbasi -

Correct - they do not require a CDR, but they do require other things -best for he or you to check out the TRA website and the specific requirements in order to make an informed decision.

Best,

Mark



aadilabbasi said:


> Thanks you very much Mark
> 
> He is little bit afraid for making his CDR...
> His experience also includes Electrical Engineering Technician (312312) and I think its assessed by TRA and they don't required CDR. . am I right Mark?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi J and C -

Thanks for the question. The 12 month living together rule is a hard & fast rule for de facto partner applications, however there is some amount of room for them to accept that time apart during the 12 months was "temporary in nature" - which solves the issue. Also, if you qualify to register your relationship in the Australian state you live in, you can still do this prior to a decision on the visa, which automatically satisfies the 12 month living together rule.

If the visa is refused, you would (if onshore) normally have review rights at the Migration Review Tribunal, waiting time up to a year for that to go through. Main issue now is, within the 28 days of the letter assuming that's what they gave you, to assess your evidence and make a decision as to the best way to move forward and what evidence could be lodged that would have the best chance of satisfying them. Happy to assist you further in a consultation if you'd like - see website below for info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jspecc said:


> Hi there Mark,
> 
> Many thanks for your endless efforts to help many people on here.
> 
> My issue is that we received an email from immi today and they are not satisfied with our initial 12 month defacto status with our 820/801 application.
> 
> As my partner was from Mexico and due to visa times not being extended sufficiently and needing to go back to Mexico for the birth of nephew. I was supporting her financially during her time in Mexico as we had already confirmed we would be living together and want to get married. Is this a strict hard and fast rule or is there room for our case manager to self asses the individual circumstances?
> 
> What is the outcome if they refuse for our future and process to move forward and get married , live here together etc?
> 
> Kind Regards
> 
> J and C


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Toris7351 -

Thanks for the question. I don't have the details of your ETA so difficult to give you specific advice for your case. If you lodge in July you'll get a BV-A in July that will remain inactive until your visitor visa expires (or you exceed your maximum stay period) while onshore. As to what will happen in December, I don't have enough data to predict that. While you may re-enter on an ETA, you may alternatively want to have your BV-A converted to a BV-B before you leave (can be done, even if the BV-A has not activated yet), which means are not limited by the ETA as to when you can return - you can return on the BV-B. However you may want to run your plan by a migration agent who can see your ETA visa configuration, etc beforehand to make sure you don't have any surprises.

Also, no fee increase for onshore partner visas on 1 July - see http://www.immi.gov.au/pub-res/Documents/budget/VAC-increases-fact-sheet.pdf

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



toris7351 said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I have short question about the bridging visa along with ETA and partner visa onshore application.
> 
> I haven't lodged it yet because I am not in AUS at the moment but I want to check about this condition first. I contacted local AU embassy here but they confused me more(they seem not to be really up-to-date on visa sections. Every single officers answered me differently about documentation and visa conditions ect. Boo.)
> 
> I plan to come to AUS and lodge onshore app this July with ETA(luckly, not having "no further condition") but, the thing is, I have to go overseas due to professional license tests and business trip so I may leave Australia after I lodge application and will come back to AU at first week of Dec(This is when my ETA entry validation ends).
> 
> I wish I could just lodge online application at December but I don't want to hesitate the process since all documents are already gathered up and will take massive efforts to get them again due to 'up-to-date' matter. Plus, I have a strong feeling that DIBP will raise the charge later again considering there greedy boost on the fees. Better to lodge soon, I reckon.
> 
> To sum up my question with ie., if I lodge onshore de facto visa at July and leave overseas right after that, and come back to first week of December(my ETA entry valid date is 10th, December) before my ETA entry validation date ends, Can I keep having my bridging visa A without any tricky part? Yes, I reckon that my BVA will be activated after 3 months since arrival. I wonder if I leave australia for short term and have still BVA when ETA is re-activated after arriving again.
> 
> I know it seems that I am making things complicated but this is what it is..unfortunately..far beyond my control
> I wish, at least, I shouldn't be scared of the fees(and the possibility of increase).
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pdub -

Thanks for the question. As soon as the 820 visa is granted, it replaces the student visa which automatically ceases at that point. On the 820, there are no study or work conditions, so as of the date of the grant of the 820, your husband does not need to keep studying, be enrolled, etc, there are no study commitments, etc at all under the 820.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pdub said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I asked this question and got a good response on another thread but now I can't find the thread in order to reply so I was hoping you could help me.
> 
> I just want to understand what happens to my husband's visa situation once we apply for the partner visa in relation to the 820 being granted, visa A, Visa E etc. I understand Visa E isn't what we want to use as it doesn't count towards his years in Australia etc
> 
> Essentially, my husband is on a student visa (572) with the following visa conditions:
> 
> -	8105 - WORK LIMITATION
> -	8202 - MEET COURSE REQUIREMENTS
> -	8501 - MAINTAIN HEALTH INSURANCE
> -	8516 - MUST MAINTAIN ELIGIBILITY
> -	8517 - MAINTAIN EDUCATION FOR DEPENDANTS
> -	8532 - < 18 APPROVE WELFARE
> -	8533 - INFORM PRVDR OF ADRS
> 
> The current situation is that we are applying for his partner visa this week just waiting to get the 888's back and then we are ready to apply.
> 
> Essentially, my husband's student visa ends in March 2017 and the current educational course he is enrolled with finishes in November 2016.
> 
> If my husband's 820 is granted:
> 
> -	Does he need to continue attending the course he is attending due to his student visa requirements? Or can he quit the current course immediately?
> -	If he does need to finish his current course, does he also need to continue studying until the end of his student visa in march 2017 in order to fulfil the student visa requirements?
> 
> Thank you so much for your feedback.
> pduby


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BilalGeo -

Thanks for the question. This msg does not indicate that your visa definitely will be granted - it still has to be "finalised" (ie, decision made). As the note says, it's not certain that your visa decision will be pushed to after the start of the new program year (1 July), but it is possible that it will. So, bottom line is that there is no way to determine anything positively from this letter, only that your application decision "may" be delayed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BilalGeo said:


> I have received this message from Immigration Department:
> 
> I am writing to you regarding your application for an Australian skilled visa (subclass 489).
> 
> The visa for which you have applied is part of the Skilled Nominated category. The Migration Programme determines the maximum number of visas that can be granted in each visa category. Applications for this visa are processed in line with Migration Programme planning levels. These planning levels have precedence over indicative client service standard timeframes.
> 
> The Migration Programme planning level for the Skilled Nominated category now has limited number of places left for the 2014-15 program year. This means processing times will be longer and that once the remaining places are used, the Department cannot grant further visas in this category during this programme year.
> 
> As planning levels affect all applications, including those in the final stages of processing, I cannot give you an indication as to the likely timeframe for finalisation of your application.
> 
> I have some question regarding this:
> 1. Is it case finalized?
> 2. Is it also possible that i get visa before July 2015?
> 
> Status:
> 
> Lodge Application: 29 January 2015,
> Medical test: 3 March 2015
> 
> Please discuss with me if anyone have experienced regarding this message.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JJJJ -

Still true! No study limitations on BV-A for onshore 820/801 partner visa applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JJJJ said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I had a question about studying on a bridging visa, but I found you'd already answered it back in 2012:
> 
> australiaforum _dot_ com/73034-post13.html
> 
> Now my only question is whether the answer you gave 3 years ago is still true? My partner is planning to apply for a 820/801 visa and we want to make sure she will be able to continue studying when she is on a bridging visa after her student visa expires.
> 
> Thanks for being so helpful!
> 
> (Hopefully you can make sense of the link above - it won't let me post real links)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Azman -

Suggest you contact AITSL directly to find out their current requirements to issue a skilled migration assessment - skills assessors often change and update their requirements and always best to get up-to-date requirements directly from the source.

Best,

Mark



azman said:


> Thanks for the information Mark.
> 
> I was also wondering if we plan to apply under Visa subclass 190 as teacher, then would only the assessment result be enough to lodge EoI, or do we also need to provide a Skilled Employment Statement (SES) issued from AITSL?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Azman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mahmoud2015 -

Thanks for the note. If you get the 190 visa, you'll have to make an initial entry to Australia within the time limit given on the visa (generally some number of months) in order to activate the visa. After that, it's up to you how much you want to travel to Australia. After the initial 5 year PR period is over, you may be able to extend that depending on how much time you spent in Australia. For details on this, see DIBP website, subclass 155 Resident Return Visa.

Re: conditions on the visa, none.

Re: get a free house, please tell me where they're handing those out and I'll grab one for you while I'm there getting one for myself  No free houses come with the 190 visa, sorry!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mahmoud2015 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have an skill select invitation to lodge a visa 189 subclass, so I have many questions to ask:
> 
> 1. Should I travel to Australia, once I have got the visa, or Can I wait for 3 years for example?
> 2. If I take visa, Can I go to Australia and come back again to my country?
> 3. When I arrived to Australia, I will get a house?
> 4. Are there any condition on this visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samy -

MRT review is available for 309/100 applications that are refused in many cases, but if eligible, the sponsor has the review right and must lodge the review application with the MRT, not the applicant. Happy to discuss further details at a consultation to see if your specific case has MRT rights - see website below for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



samy said:


> Hi Mark ..
> hope its all going good with you
> I have got a short question this time.
> Can 309 /100 offshore partner visa eligible to apply for migration review tribunal, if something goes wrong with the application.
> I heard MRT option is only available for onshore applications.
> Thanks in advance
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Itaus -

Thanks for the question. No extensions available to apply, however if the WHV does not have condition 8503, there is no legal bar to applying for a further visa application while she is onshore holding the WHV. However, being able to apply and meeting all the requirements are 2 different things - you would still need to meet all the requirements (ie, genuine relationship, etc) for the visa. Alternative is to lodge an offshore partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itaus said:


> hi mark,
> 
> after my 2nd working holiday visa expires, my girlfriend and i hope to apply for a defacto visa. can we do this from inside australia, can i get an extension to stay here longer while we apply? or...do i need to go back to my home country and do it from there?
> 
> thanks very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anil_rnc -

Thanks for the question. The 2 year commitment for the 190 visa is while holding that visa, so as far as I understand their requirements, previous time on 457, etc would not count towards the 2 year commitment. However, short trips outside NSW generally while you still lived in NSW would still count towards the 2 year commitment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anil_rnc said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a query on sub class 190 visa and I am wondering if you can help me understand a bit more about the finer details of NSW Nomination.
> 
> I have been living in Sydney on 457 Visa for the last 1 year and 3 months. I have got a nomination for NSW Skilled Visa (Subclass 190).
> 
> While I understand that the NSW visa requires one to stay in NSW for two years, however someone told me that my current stay of 1 year 3 months on Sub class 457 be included in the two year period.
> 
> Can someone advise from when will my two years be counted? Will it include the time spent on 457 or will the time count start from the day I get my Subclass 190 visa?
> 
> Also, can I travel to other cities of Australia on work related visits for short period of time or is there a restriction on the same? If my company sends me on project that requires me to work outside NSW for a short period of time (say 2-3 months). Will this be considered a breach of the provisions of NSW Subclass 190 visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uali9695 -

Thanks for the question. I'm not able to do specific case assessments on the forum as they usually require lots of questions & answers to determine your options - also not a good idea to post personal correspondence to/from DIBP on the forum for privacy reasons. I would need to see the specific visa cancellation letter from DIBP in order to answer your questions in a consultation - see website below for more information. In many cases, student visa cancellations result in a 3-year exclusion period for all temporary visa applications (for example, student, visitor 457, etc), however it depends on the specifics of the cancellation. Lifetime bans are only for very serious character cancellations.

Happy to assist you further in a consultation - see website below for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



uali9695 said:


> Hi ,
> 
> recently I am outside Australia due to my visa cancellation through embassy.
> 
> So, My questions are;
> 
> can I further apply for Australian visa . if yes, then which kind of visa can I apply.
> 
> If I am banned So this is for whole life or just for limited period .
> 
> My case detail are below:
> 
> Visa Grant : july 2014
> Arrived Sydney : 24,Aug 2014
> Attend English Course: Complete
> join Summer Semester ( December to Feb ) and pass only one subject
> then again join second semester : pass no subject
> change college and went to Melbourne at Aveta College but did not attend college due to financial problem and went back to sydney
> join AVLC college ( Diploma of Managment ) but did not complete course due to father illness and came back to Pakistan.
> again join AIT college for new diploma but before my visa was cancelled due to previous problems.
> 
> SO . please check my details and kindly let me know what can I do now.
> 
> I am also attach my immi cancellation letter.
> 
> regards


----------



## umairkpk

*Education Equivalency for Applying Australian Immigration Skilled Worker-Independant*

Hi,

I have completed following degree and post graduation diploma programs in Pakistan after completion of my higher secondary education i.e. (12 Years)

• Two Years Degree Program for Bachelor of Commerce

• One Year Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Sciences

• Two Years Degree Program for Masters in Computer Sciences

Please confirm that above mentioned (Pakistani) qualifications are equivalent to Australian Recognised Bachelor degree or higher.

Thanks & Regards,
Muhammad Umair Khan


----------



## mahmoud2015

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mahmoud2015 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. If you get the 190 visa, you'll have to make an initial entry to Australia within the time limit given on the visa (generally some number of months) in order to activate the visa. After that, it's up to you how much you want to travel to Australia. After the initial 5 year PR period is over, you may be able to extend that depending on how much time you spent in Australia. For details on this, see DIBP website, subclass 155 Resident Return Visa.
> 
> Re: conditions on the visa, none.
> 
> Re: get a free house, please tell me where they're handing those out and I'll grab one for you while I'm there getting one for myself  No free houses come with the 190 visa, sorry!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark

you mean visa subclass 189


----------



## syd

Hello Mark,

I have 2 queries and would appreciate your advice:

I'm unsure whether I should use *form 1022 or form 1023* to notify DIBP that I now use my married name on some forms of ID, so I am now known by another name. I have yet to update my passport with married name and won't do so until 2016/17.

I'm thinking I should use *form 1022 *since when I made the application a few weeks ago, I was not known by any other name. In that regard, the info that I provided was not incorrect at the time.

Thoughts?

Also, since my spouse is the sponsor he is not included in my application, right? One question on both forms asks for details of any other applicant included in my application.

I think I know the answers to the questions but I just want to verify.

Thanks in advance .


----------



## azman

Thanks Mark,

I have sent an email to AITSL. Lets see how that goes. On another note, based on the qualification of my wife mentioned earlier, is there any other visa options that may suit us as a family?

Best

Azman


----------



## azman

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Azman -
> 
> Suggest you contact AITSL directly to find out their current requirements to issue a skilled migration assessment - skills assessors often change and update their requirements and always best to get up-to-date requirements directly from the source.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Thanks Mark,

I have sent an email to AITSL. Lets see how that goes. On another note, based on the qualification of my wife mentioned earlier, is there any other visa options that may suit us as a family?

Best

Azman


----------



## Mark_

Hi Mark 
i have this question and i wish you could help me with
i got my PR (801) in october 2014 in march 2015 my wife left me and left the house and i couldn't contact her anymore i think she starts a new relationship with other guy , then i applied for AUStudy on march 2015 as my relationship is single (separate) so my question is that will effect my visa ? and what should i do ?
btw my partner as i know she doesn't take any benefits from centerlink
thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Umairkpk -

Only the skills assessment organisation for your particular occupation can decide re: equivalence - theirs is the only opinion that matters in this area, and DIBP (immigration dept) will generally follow the opinion of the skills assessor in this area. They use extensive information about your country and schools (include CEP reports) and other info to make their assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



umairkpk said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have completed following degree and post graduation diploma programs in Pakistan after completion of my higher secondary education i.e. (12 Years)
> 
> • Two Years Degree Program for Bachelor of Commerce
> 
> • One Year Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Sciences
> 
> • Two Years Degree Program for Masters in Computer Sciences
> 
> Please confirm that above mentioned (Pakistani) qualifications are equivalent to Australian Recognised Bachelor degree or higher.
> 
> Thanks & Regards,
> Muhammad Umair Khan


----------



## MarkNortham

Sorry, yes - if that's the visa you were asking about - same issues apply.

Mark



mahmoud2015 said:


> Thanks Mark
> 
> you mean visa subclass 189


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Syd -

Sounds like Form 1022 for this, however until you change your name on your passport, DIBP will generally not change your name in their records - they need to match each other (ie, your passport, their records).

Re: spouse - correct, he is not an applicant assuming you are talking about a partner or fiance visa and he is sponsoring you as your partner or fiance.

Best,

Mark



syd said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have 2 queries and would appreciate your advice:
> 
> I'm unsure whether I should use *form 1022 or form 1023* to notify DIBP that I now use my married name on some forms of ID, so I am now known by another name. I have yet to update my passport with married name and won't do so until 2016/17.
> 
> I'm thinking I should use *form 1022 *since when I made the application a few weeks ago, I was not known by any other name. In that regard, the info that I provided was not incorrect at the time.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Also, since my spouse is the sponsor he is not included in my application, right? One question on both forms asks for details of any other applicant included in my application.
> 
> I think I know the answers to the questions but I just want to verify.
> 
> Thanks in advance .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Azman -

Would need to work through all the details of your wife's work experience and education at a consultation to advise you re: skilled or employment visas - happy to do so at a consultation - see website below to book. There are simply too many factors & details that could make a big difference to try and go through them all here on the public forum in back & forth messages.

Best,

Mark



azman said:


> Thanks Mark,
> 
> I have sent an email to AITSL. Lets see how that goes. On another note, based on the qualification of my wife mentioned earlier, is there any other visa options that may suit us as a family?
> 
> Best
> 
> Azman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark_ -

Once you are granted the PR partner visa (subclass 801 or 100), there is no effect on your visa if your relationship breaks down or ends, as long as that happens after the PR visa was granted. I don't know about the eligibility rules for AUStudy, but I see no way that AUStudy issues could possibly impact your visa - you're a permanent resident - that's a visa with no conditions or requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mark_ said:


> Hi Mark
> i have this question and i wish you could help me with
> i got my PR (801) in october 2014 in march 2015 my wife left me and left the house and i couldn't contact her anymore i think she starts a new relationship with other guy , then i applied for AUStudy on march 2015 as my relationship is single (separate) so my question is that will effect my visa ? and what should i do ?
> btw my partner as i know she doesn't take any benefits from centerlink
> thank you


----------



## syd

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Syd -
> 
> Sounds like Form 1022 for this, however until you change your name on your passport, DIBP will generally not change your name in their records - they need to match each other (ie, your passport, their records).
> 
> Re: spouse - correct, he is not an applicant assuming you are talking about a partner or fiance visa and he is sponsoring you as your partner or fiance.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Thanks for your prompt response...Yes, I applied for 820/801 visa based on marriage.

I know they won't change name on application yet, but just want to update the information, so in future when there are discrepancies in name on supporting evidence, it doesn't pose a problem.

Once again, thank you


----------



## Mark_

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mark_ -
> 
> Once you are granted the PR partner visa (subclass 801 or 100), there is no effect on your visa if your relationship breaks down or ends, as long as that happens after the PR visa was granted. I don't know about the eligibility rules for AUStudy, but I see no way that AUStudy issues could possibly impact your visa - you're a permanent resident - that's a visa with no conditions or requirements.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thx Mark but my concern because i read this article today (
Couples are to be targeted in the latest crackdown on immigration fraud in Australia, particularly those who have declared sponsorship for a partner visa.

A new data-matching program, which is a joint initiative between the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and Human Services Department, will target welfare recipients.

h
The spotlight will be on fake couples who are fraudulently claiming social security payments
The spotlight will be on fake couples who are fraudulently claiming social security payments or committing migration fraud, especially those on single payments but have declared sponsorship of a partner for immigration purposes.)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark_ -

No, because there is nothing unlawful about a relationship ending. The article you refer to is checking on over 5,000 partner visa applicants in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 and ensuring that (at the time of application or decision on the partner visa) they didn't claim that they were married or de facto to DIBP, while at the same time claiming to Centrelink that they were single in order to get more benefits. Have to wonder how rough DIBP will be on people who already have received PR visas if they have done this - they're saying that Centrelink will be taking action to claw back the excess benefits paid, but what isn't discussed is whether DIBP will attempt to cancel the PR visas with some claim of fraudulent information or Centrelink fraud, etc being the reason.

However in your case, if the breakup happened after your PR visa was issued, there is no issue as long as you didn't do the improper claiming as described above.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mark_ said:


> thx Mark for help but i read today article about seperation and getting benifits from centerlink (Couples are to be targeted in the latest crackdown on immigration fraud in Australia, particularly those who have declared sponsorship for a partner visa.
> 
> A new data-matching program, which is a joint initiative between the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and Human Services Department, will target welfare recipients.
> 
> h
> The spotlight will be on fake couples who are fraudulently claiming social security payments
> The spotlight will be on fake couples who are fraudulently claiming social security payments or committing migration fraud, especially those on single payments but have declared sponsorship of a partner for immigration purposes.,
> The consequences are serious. People may be forced to repay the benefits they were not entitled to, have their visa application refused, or face criminal charges,' he added.
> 
> Home Services Minister Marise Payne said the program may also identify people who are fraudulently claiming higher-paying welfare payments for singles, when they are a member of a couple.)
> 
> my concern are they going to ask me why our relationship ends?


----------



## Nebs

Hey.

I am in Europe at the moment and my partner is in Australia and is a citizen. Initially we were thinking of him moving to Europe with me, however it has proved to be more complicated than me moving back to Australia to be with him. 
Initially, we were strongly considering the PMV however the wait time is just..

So, our second option is for me to visit on ETA and (presuming that the no further stay condition has not been imposed) get married in Australia, then apply for the onshore partner visa. 
So hereby questions that may be answered in the past, however just looking if things in 2015 are still the same or have there been any changes ;
1) after the 3 month stay, I would go on Bridging A which would mean I am entitled to work? I will be financially supported by my partner, but I do prefer to be as independent as possible and ' pitch in' whenever I can.
2) could the fact that I married whilst on a tourist visa ( spontaneously) be a reason for the application to be rejected in the end?

I have also heard that they're planning on increasing the visa fees from 1st July. My understanding is though, that they're planning on ' harmonizing' the difference between the prices of partner visas applied offshore and onshore?

Thanks in advance 

Carol


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carol -

Thanks for the note. Yes, onshore partner visa results in a BV-A with no limitations on work or study. Applying for partner visa while on visitor visa generally not a reason for any negative repercussions on the partner visa application as it's perfectly legal. On 1 July, DIBP offshore partner visa application fee rises to same level as onshore - $6,865. Same for PMV fee. Yes - 'harmonisation' - a terrible hijacking of a lovely musical term, used by government officials to avoid the use of "fee increase", "price rise", etc. Maybe next time they'll try "remunerative alignment" or "financial coordination" or something just as silly....

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nebs said:


> Hey.
> 
> I am in Europe at the moment and my partner is in Australia and is a citizen. Initially we were thinking of him moving to Europe with me, however it has proved to be more complicated than me moving back to Australia to be with him.
> Initially, we were strongly considering the PMV however the wait time is just..
> 
> So, our second option is for me to visit on ETA and (presuming that the no further stay condition has not been imposed) get married in Australia, then apply for the onshore partner visa.
> So hereby questions that may be answered in the past, however just looking if things in 2015 are still the same or have there been any changes ;
> 1) after the 3 month stay, I would go on Bridging A which would mean I am entitled to work? I will be financially supported by my partner, but I do prefer to be as independent as possible and ' pitch in' whenever I can.
> 2) could the fact that I married whilst on a tourist visa ( spontaneously) be a reason for the application to be rejected in the end?
> 
> I have also heard that they're planning on increasing the visa fees from 1st July. My understanding is though, that they're planning on ' harmonizing' the difference between the prices of partner visas applied offshore and onshore?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Carol


----------



## sana.khan

Hello mark. Please can you tell me what's the duration of grant of spouse visa on subclass 485. Its more than a month now. No reply yet


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sana -

I assuming you're a 485 visa holder and your spouse has applied to join you. Can go for several months easily - DIBP has no time limits on these sorts of things. If I had to guess, perhaps 3 months or so? Depends on their backlog, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sana.khan said:


> Hello mark. Please can you tell me what's the duration of grant of spouse visa on subclass 485. Its more than a month now. No reply yet


----------



## krucznik

MarkNortham said:


> Krucznik said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Mark,
> 
> At the beginning I would like to thank you for your useful advice.
> 
> I have concern regarding my work experience in EOI.
> As I have receive state nomination, my EOI i locked and I have noticed that while filling my employment history I entered only employment dates after ACS deduction. I did not mention anything about 2 years of experience before ACS Skill Level Requirement Met Date.
> 
> Do you think that it could cause a problem with my 190 visa?
> If yes, what I could do in order to mitigate the problem?
> 
> Once again thank you for your help.
> 
> With regards,
> Martin
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Krucznik -
> 
> As they would have been entered as non-relevant to your occupation anyway (ie, not available for points), likely not an issue, but I would include a letter with your application stating that you inadvertently didn't put those on your EOI as they were not eligible for points, etc and provide details of at least the 2 years of work to qualify to be skilled for ACS.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
Click to expand...

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your suggestion.
Should I also provide details of my 2 years work exprience before ACS skilled date in my visa application?

Once again thank you.
Martin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martin -

I can't give you specific advice about your application without seeing the entire application and all supporting documents, however you may want to consider adding the 2 years work experience details, as long as you are absolutely clear that you are not claiming this period of work for points.

Best,

Mark



krucznik said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your suggestion.
> Should I also provide details of my 2 years work exprience before ACS skilled date in my visa application?
> 
> Once again thank you.
> Martin


----------



## sana.khan

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sana -
> 
> I assuming you're a 485 visa holder and your spouse has applied to join you. Can go for several months easily - DIBP has no time limits on these sorts of things. If I had to guess, perhaps 3 months or so? Depends on their backlog, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hey thank you for your kind reply. My husband is on 485 visa and I have applied to join him. But its more than a month now. They haven't even asked for medical while many of my friends who are in Australia on spouse visa were asked for medical within 2 weeks of submission of application that is the thing worrying me. Secondly when I try to import my paper application on my immi account by providing relevant application id and details then they say no application matched. As I have submitted my visa application in paper form. We have posted it to Adelaide. They have deducted my fee but no response yet


----------



## krucznik

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Krucznik -
> 
> As they would have been entered as non-relevant to your occupation anyway (ie, not available for points), likely not an issue, but I would include a letter with your application stating that you inadvertently didn't put those on your EOI as they were not eligible for points, etc and provide details of at least the 2 years of work to qualify to be skilled for ACS.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam





MarkNortham said:


> Hi Martin -
> 
> I can't give you specific advice about your application without seeing the entire application and all supporting documents, however you may want to consider adding the 2 years work experience details, as long as you are absolutely clear that you are not claiming this period of work for points.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


I absolutely do not want to claim points for this 2 years of experience.

In this case, maby it could be a good idea not to include this in my application and mention about it in cover letter stating that it is not included as I was affraid of overclaiming my points. Just in case, not to overclaim my points.

All the best
Martin


----------



## Mark_

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mark_ -
> 
> Once you are granted the PR partner visa (subclass 801 or 100), there is no effect on your visa if your relationship breaks down or ends, as long as that happens after the PR visa was granted. I don't know about the eligibility rules for AUStudy, but I see no way that AUStudy issues could possibly impact your visa - you're a permanent resident - that's a visa with no conditions or requirements.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thx for answering me but i read that on internet and i heard that on news that everyone applying for centerlink benefits and his relationship is separate he will get investigated or he might lose his 801 visa


----------



## ashwhall

Hi Mark,

I just have to say that you're an absolute champion for helping people out like this! 
I'm a long time lurker, first time poster - I've been trawling through the seemingly endless information but I still seem to have endless questions!

I'll try to be concise with my info and questions so as to not take too much of your time.

I'm Australian
My fiancee is Chilean
She's on a working holiday visa in NZ
She still has a valid tourist visa in AU
We don't want to wait for prospective marriage processing (the time apart is horrible!)
_We haven't applied for the prospective marriage visa, that's just our current plan_

This is another solution we've come up with, but need clarification on a few things.

She travels to Australia on her still valid tourist visa which *doesn't have* any "no further stays" conditions.
Get married
Apply for partner visa
Receive a BVA with working rights
Wait for temporary partner visa, then permanent visa etc..

*My questions:*

Would she have working rights once she receives a BVA?
Roughly how long would it take to receive the BVA?
Is there actually a decent chance of having a partner visa rejected at the initial step? (Rejecting the temporary partner visa)

*Thank you in advance for your time, you're a legend!* 
- Ash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sana.khan -

At this point all you can really do is wait - these types of applications can take several months to process. If they have deducted your fee, your application is very likely in the system in a queue somewhere.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sana.khan said:


> Hey thank you for your kind reply. My husband is on 485 visa and I have applied to join him. But its more than a month now. They haven't even asked for medical while many of my friends who are in Australia on spouse visa were asked for medical within 2 weeks of submission of application that is the thing worrying me. Secondly when I try to import my paper application on my immi account by providing relevant application id and details then they say no application matched. As I have submitted my visa application in paper form. We have posted it to Adelaide. They have deducted my fee but no response yet


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark -

It's not clear from the article exactly who will receive what sort of treatment. However, if you separated from your partner after the 801 visa was granted, then the separation would not cause an issue for your visa. If there were other issues before the grant of the visa, especially if there was inaccurate information (at the time) entered on visa application forms, then that's another issue. Happy to discuss further in a consultation - (see website below in my signature)

Best,

Mark Northam



Mark_ said:


> hi Mark sorry for asking again after reading this article (Couples are to be targeted in the latest crackdown on immigration fraud in Australia, particularly those who have declared sponsorship for a partner visa.
> 
> A new data-matching program, which is a joint initiative between the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and Human Services Department, will target welfare recipients.
> 
> h
> The spotlight will be on fake couples who are fraudulently claiming social security payments
> The spotlight will be on fake couples who are fraudulently claiming social security payments or committing migration fraud, especially those on single payments but have declared sponsorship of a partner for immigration purposes.
> 
> Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said the joint operation will enable the department to identify people suspected of being involved in migration fraud through the partner visa program.
> 
> 'Last year we identified an increase in the number of allegations relating to the facilitating of contrived marriages. This data-matching program is part of a whole government approach to fraud detection and prevention. People who deliberately take advantage of Australia's welfare and migration system will be caught,' he explained.
> 
> 'If a member of the community suspects that a person is unlawfully in Australia, committing migration fraud, or working in breach of their visa conditions, then they should contact the immigration department,' he pointed out.
> 
> 'The consequences are serious. People may be forced to repay the benefits they were not entitled to, have their visa application refused, or face criminal charges,' he added.
> 
> Home Services Minister Marise Payne said the program may also identify people who are fraudulently claiming higher-paying welfare payments for singles, when they are a member of a couple)
> 
> so what i understand everyone who applying for ceterlink benifits as single (seperate) he will get his visa canceled ? or he will be investigated? for me i declare that i'm seperate from my partner so i will get my 801 visa canceled ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashwhall -

Thanks for the note and kind words! Re: your questions: As soon as you lodged an onshore partner visa, she would receive a BV-A. The BV-A would remain unactivated until after her visitor visa expired or the current maximum stay period ended and she overstayed the maximum stay period. Either way, whenever the visitor visa ceased, as long as she was onshore on that date, the BV-A would automatically activate. BV-A's for onshore partner visas are granted with no limitations on work or study, so she'd have full work and study rights as soon as the BV-A activated (but not before, since she'd still be governed by the visitor visa until the BV-A activated).

Re: chances of initial partner visa being refused? Absolutely - happens all the time, usually due to misunderstanding the requirements or supplying insufficient relationship evidence (or Schedule 3 issues which she wouldn't have as long as she applied for the partner visa while holding a valid visitor visa).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashwhall said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just have to say that you're an absolute champion for helping people out like this!
> I'm a long time lurker, first time poster - I've been trawling through the seemingly endless information but I still seem to have endless questions!
> 
> I'll try to be concise with my info and questions so as to not take too much of your time.
> 
> I'm Australian
> My fiancee is Chilean
> She's on a working holiday visa in NZ
> She still has a valid tourist visa in AU
> We don't want to wait for prospective marriage processing (the time apart is horrible!)
> _We haven't applied for the prospective marriage visa, that's just our current plan_
> 
> This is another solution we've come up with, but need clarification on a few things.
> 
> She travels to Australia on her still valid tourist visa which *doesn't have* any "no further stays" conditions.
> Get married
> Apply for partner visa
> Receive a BVA with working rights
> Wait for temporary partner visa, then permanent visa etc..
> 
> *My questions:*
> 
> Would she have working rights once she receives a BVA?
> Roughly how long would it take to receive the BVA?
> Is there actually a decent chance of having a partner visa rejected at the initial step? (Rejecting the temporary partner visa)
> 
> *Thank you in advance for your time, you're a legend!*
> - Ash


----------



## clgb.21

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Clgb.21 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. No requirement for a specific engagement date, ring, party, etc for the PMV (subclass 300) application, so the date you agreed to get married is fine. More important is the evidence of your planning to get married (ie, celebrant letter, any other evidence of your plans such as checking out venues, etc, maybe even purchasing wedding rings, etc), plus evidence that you are known to each other which shouldn't be too much trouble given the length of your relationship.
> 
> So again, no need for a formal engagement if you don't want to do that, however the evidence you provide of the commitment you both have to 1) get married, and 2) form a genuine spousal relationship going forward is the most important.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark. You don't know how much help you've been giving all of us here in this thread. I just have one last question if that is okay.

I am just a bit confused about one requirement from the pmv subclass 300. It says in the requirement, atleast 2 statutory declarations from individuals who are Australian citizens/permanent residents and have knowledge of our relationship and support our claim that the relationship is genuine and continuing. My questions are:

1. Should I still submit form 888 Statutory declaration even if i am applying online thru immiaccount? Or can i just attach the statement made by our friends with signature on it?

2. If form 888 is required to be submitted, can I attach separate document of the statements by our friends instead of writing it within form 888?

3. Who are qualified to do the declaration for this form 888?

Again, thank you so much Mark for your endless help. More powers to you and wishing you well and all the best!


----------



## ashwhall

Hi again Mark,

I just have a couple of more questions, I'll leave my information below again to make your life easier.


> I'm Australian
> My fiancee is Chilean
> She's on a working holiday visa in NZ
> She still has a valid tourist visa in AU
> We don't want to wait for prospective marriage processing (the time apart is horrible!)
> _We haven't applied for the prospective marriage visa, that's just our current plan_



If we apply for the prospective marriage visa, then decide that it's taking too long, can she fly into Australia on her current tourist visa, get married, then just change the application to apply for a partner visa instead?
If the above is an option, would we have to pay the full price for the PMV, then full price for the partner visa, or just the full PMV then pay the difference for the partner visa?

Thanks again Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clgb.21 -

Thanks for the note and kind words! Re: 888's, you should complete these, then scan & upload to your application. If the writer wants to answer the questions on a separate sheet of paper, that's fine - just write "See attachment for response" in each of the boxes where appropriate. Stat Decs can legally be witnessed by a number of different occupations - most common is a JP, but if you Google "Commonwealth Statutory Declaration" you'll get a template with a listing of all the qualified occupations on pg 2. The Form 888 should only be signed by the writer in the presence of one of the qualified persons who also signs off on it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



clgb.21 said:


> Thank you so much Mark. You don't know how much help you've been giving all of us here in this thread. I just have one last question if that is okay.
> 
> I am just a bit confused about one requirement from the pmv subclass 300. It says in the requirement, atleast 2 statutory declarations from individuals who are Australian citizens/permanent residents and have knowledge of our relationship and support our claim that the relationship is genuine and continuing. My questions are:
> 
> 1. Should I still submit form 888 Statutory declaration even if i am applying online thru immiaccount? Or can i just attach the statement made by our friends with signature on it?
> 
> 2. If form 888 is required to be submitted, can I attach separate document of the statements by our friends instead of writing it within form 888?
> 
> 3. Who are qualified to do the declaration for this form 888?
> 
> Again, thank you so much Mark for your endless help. More powers to you and wishing you well and all the best!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashwhall -

Re: marrying while awaiting a lodged PMV, that's possible but upon notification of the marriage DIBP will consider the existing PMV application to be an offshore partner visa application (no bridging visa available from that!). No additional fee needs to be paid to DIBP in this case however. No way to convert pending PMV to an onshore partner application however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashwhall said:


> Hi again Mark,
> 
> I just have a couple of more questions, I'll leave my information below again to make your life easier.
> 
> 
> If we apply for the prospective marriage visa, then decide that it's taking too long, can she fly into Australia on her current tourist visa, get married, then just change the application to apply for a partner visa instead?
> If the above is an option, would we have to pay the full price for the PMV, then full price for the partner visa, or just the full PMV then pay the difference for the partner visa?
> 
> Thanks again Mark!


----------



## dl79

*Addin Family Member*

Dear Mark

I just received an email from NSW State Spoonsorship, that my application has been approved by the State. And there was a following email from Skill Select to lodge my application.

However, I have a question regarding to my Skill Select Lodge.

When I initially input the EOI, I only input 2 family members that will join me (my wife and my daughter). However, I'm considering in adding one family member who is classified as other dependent relative. I could provide all of her documentation that:
- a certified copy of their birth certificate and proof of their relationship to me
- documents showing that the relative lives in my household
- documents showing that my relative has been dependent on you for at least the 12 months immediately

So will it be alright for me to lodge skill select with including her in my application, or I could only include the family members that was stated in the initial EOI.

Thanks
DL79


----------



## SharonO

*Police Clearance*

Hi Mark

I have submitted my spouse visa application 820 last month and received an acknowledgement that my application has been submitted. I am on 457 visa and have a letter for my bridging visa A which comes into effect after the expiry of my 457 Visa

Question:
a) I have no email from any case officer as yet, should I go ahead and proceed to prepare for my police clearance (in view that it is only valid for 12 months?) or should I wait?

b) Once my 457 visa expires and the bridging visa kicks in, is the work conditions atttached to the bridging visa the same as the 457 visa? (ie am I allowed to switch employer as my 457 visa is attached to a specific emplyer)?

Thank you very much

Kind regards
Sharon


----------



## ashwhall

Hi Mark,

Last questions for a while, I promise!

Once again, my details to make it quicker for you


> I'm Australian
> My fiancee is Chilean
> She's on a working holiday visa in NZ
> She still has a valid tourist visa in AU
> We don't want to wait for prospective marriage processing (the time apart is horrible!)
> _We haven't applied for the prospective marriage visa, that's just our current plan_


Okay:

Do you know approximately what the prospective marriage visa processing time would be for someone from Chile?
Is there any way to have the BVA granted before her three month stay on the tourist visa expires?


----------



## edithclara

*186 fee*

Hi Mark,
Has there been any indication from DIBP that the186 visa application fee will increase 1/7/15? 
Thanks for your help,
Edith


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DL79 -

Thanks for the post and email - no problem adding family members that were not on the EOI, however you will want to make sure you check all the DIBP regulations re: adult dependency for migration purposes to ensure your proposed adult dependents meet the requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dl79 said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I just received an email from NSW State Spoonsorship, that my application has been approved by the State. And there was a following email from Skill Select to lodge my application.
> 
> However, I have a question regarding to my Skill Select Lodge.
> 
> When I initially input the EOI, I only input 2 family members that will join me (my wife and my daughter). However, I'm considering in adding one family member who is classified as other dependent relative. I could provide all of her documentation that:
> - a certified copy of their birth certificate and proof of their relationship to me
> - documents showing that the relative lives in my household
> - documents showing that my relative has been dependent on you for at least the 12 months immediately
> 
> So will it be alright for me to lodge skill select with including her in my application, or I could only include the family members that was stated in the initial EOI.
> 
> Thanks
> DL79


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SharonO -

Re question a, if the police reports in question don't take long to get, then you could certainly wait until they were requested, however about 6 months from application date, I'd put them in anyway even if not requested.

Re question b, once the 457 expires on its own, you would be on the BV-A and would have unlimited work rights.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SharonO said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have submitted my spouse visa application 820 last month and received an acknowledgement that my application has been submitted. I am on 457 visa and have a letter for my bridging visa A which comes into effect after the expiry of my 457 Visa
> 
> Question:
> a) I have no email from any case officer as yet, should I go ahead and proceed to prepare for my police clearance (in view that it is only valid for 12 months?) or should I wait?
> 
> b) Once my 457 visa expires and the bridging visa kicks in, is the work conditions atttached to the bridging visa the same as the 457 visa? (ie am I allowed to switch employer as my 457 visa is attached to a specific emplyer)?
> 
> Thank you very much
> 
> Kind regards
> Sharon


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashwhall -

Thanks for the question. Re: processing time, maybe 9-12 months, but that a very rough guess - DIBP does not make solid commitments to any sort of processing timeframes for visas, so difficult to predict.

Re: BVA activating before tourist visa expires or she overstays her maximum stay period, no way I know of to make that happen.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashwhall said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Last questions for a while, I promise!
> 
> Once again, my details to make it quicker for you
> 
> Okay:
> 
> Do you know approximately what the prospective marriage visa processing time would be for someone from Chile?
> Is there any way to have the BVA granted before her three month stay on the tourist visa expires?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Edith -

Yes - the visa application fee for the primary applicant is going up $80 - see http://www.immi.gov.au/pub-res/Documents/budget/VAC-increases-fact-sheet.pdf for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



edithclara said:


> Hi Mark,
> Has there been any indication from DIBP that the186 visa application fee will increase 1/7/15?
> Thanks for your help,
> Edith


----------



## edithclara

Thanks Mark


----------



## themuel

hi Mark! how are you?

I am currently waiting for my Partner Visa 309 and in 10months waiting now (12 months process). Today I received an email from my new Case Officer asking me to come and see her. She didnt specify the reason? Do you think this is an interview even my visa is nearly to 12 months? She actually mentioned last week that she is hoping to finalized my visa soon and I need to await her next email. I am just getting paranoid because she didnt specify the reason why i need to come and see her. 
hope you can give me and advice.
regards 
themuel

thanks


----------



## rahman12345

hi mark , i read your all post and i want to thank you ...i gathered lot of information from your post ..
iam on 487 visa and my wife came after word on 489 spouse ..now in july my 2 years will be completed ..and i have gathered all the documents amnd awaiting for june to finiah so i can get my group certificate and tax return and current employer letter as iam working full time since 1 year and a half .my question to you is is that easy to apply 887 by my self or do i have to get migration agent help ..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Themuel -

Suggest you email me directly and send a copy of the email you received - I'd be happy to take a look (no charge) and see if there's anything in there that is unusual - see my email address in my signature below - would suggest you get advice on the email before responding. While it's probably nothing to be concerned about, normally interviews are done by phone in most areas.

Best,

Mark



themuel said:


> hi Mark! how are you?
> 
> I am currently waiting for my Partner Visa 309 and in 10months waiting now (12 months process). Today I received an email from my new Case Officer asking me to come and see her. She didnt specify the reason? Do you think this is an interview even my visa is nearly to 12 months? She actually mentioned last week that she is hoping to finalized my visa soon and I need to await her next email. I am just getting paranoid because she didnt specify the reason why i need to come and see her.
> hope you can give me and advice.
> regards
> themuel
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahman12345 -

Thanks for the note and kind words. There is no requirement to use a migration agent for any Australian visa, and agents cannot get your visa processed any faster. The main benefit of agents is the experience we bring to your case re: avoiding any mistakes, going over all your evidence to make sure it has the best chance of satisfying DIBP, and making sure you meet all of the legal requirements for the visa - not all of these are obvious on the DIBP website! If you feel comfortable doing the research yourself for the visa, then you may want to do that - it all depends on the time you've got to put into the application and your desire to do the reading and research or to get professional assistance in that area.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rahman12345 said:


> hi mark , i read your all post and i want to thank you ...i gathered lot of information from your post ..
> iam on 487 visa and my wife came after word on 489 spouse ..now in july my 2 years will be completed ..and i have gathered all the documents amnd awaiting for june to finiah so i can get my group certificate and tax return and current employer letter as iam working full time since 1 year and a half .my question to you is is that easy to apply 887 by my self or do i have to get migration agent help ..


----------



## themuel

Hi mark! Thanks for the reply and generous help. I already sent to your email address the email of my case officer. Thank you! 

Themuel


----------



## celu7

Hi Mark 

Just a question. I was on my student visa and doing my last semester, I got invitation to apply for subclass 189 while I was in Australia, but due to personal reasons I had to travel overseas to be with my family. I applied for PR from overseas. I would like to know if there were any other forms that i will need to fill. 

thank you


----------



## toris7351

--deleted content--


----------



## Tryme5

Hi, what's the best way to get police clearance notarised? I called notaries they are charging $100 per document average ? 
Can't we get it done through justice of peace??
Or what's the other way?
Thanks


----------



## smallFry

Hi,

Just a very quick question,

for the PMV, I have hotel reciepts from when we stayed together for PMV evidence, but only has my name, not my partners name. Is it worth uploading these to the immi application or not worth the worry?

You are awesome Mark!,

Thanks again!


----------



## galaxyvo

*457 visa*

Hi Mark,

Could you please advise my issue?

I'm under bridging visa A as I'm applying onshore 457 visa. My application and my company's nomination were lodged at the same time. However, my company's nomination has been refused. Can i stay in Australia while waiting for the appeal of my company's nomination? Normally how long does a MRT case take? DIBP gives me 28 days to comment on my application. Can I tell them that i am waiting for the nomination's appeal or do i need to apply to MRT myself?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your time.

Best regards,

Hannah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Celu7 -

Thanks for the question. Assuming you completed the online application for the 189 visa with DIBP, generally the only other form(s) you may have to complete would be Form 80 or Form 1221 if requested to do so. Sometimes unusual health situations require some special health forms as well. Best to make sure that DIBP always has your current contact info, then wait for any communications from them via email or otherwise depending on how you gave them permission to communicate with you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



celu7 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Just a question. I was on my student visa and doing my last semester, I got invitation to apply for subclass 189 while I was in Australia, but due to personal reasons I had to travel overseas to be with my family. I applied for PR from overseas. I would like to know if there were any other forms that i will need to fill.
> 
> thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Toris7351 -

Safest bet is to convert BV-A to BV-B before you depart Australia, then re-enter Australia on the BV-B after the must-not-arrive-after date (expiry date) of the ETA has past. If you enter prior to the ETA expiring, the ETA may re-activate upon entry which defeats the purpose of the BV-B.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



toris7351 said:


> Thanks for your great advice, Mark!
> 
> I am very appreciated for your time and help! It eases my brain pain a lot!
> 
> Sorry if I am bugging your time but may I please throw a bit more questions?
> 
> What I understand, I can switch from BVA to BVB while I am onshore even though my stay is not exceeded 3 months and entry valid date is still activating. So that I can possibly come back to AUS without any problem regardless of my ETA, since I already have a eligible permission, which is BVB.
> 
> Now this part that I felt confused is "When actually BVA(or BVB, if I switched) kicks in, i mean, becoming -active-?"
> 
> Whenever I come back to Australia, Does my stay period get to be exceeded 3 months in my case or inactive status on BVA will just end up at 10th, Dec even though my stay is yet within 3 months? I hope the inactive status not kicking back just because of coming back to Aus while having ETA valid.
> 
> If I understand correctly, I probably apply to switch BVA to BVB before leaving Australia and come back to AUS after my ETA entry valid date passes to avoid any surprise such as inactive status kicking back or rejection to re-enter.
> 
> Once again, Thanks mark for your help! You are my life saver!
> Thank you!
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> The below is my ETA condition, if this helps:
> 
> subclassUD / 601
> Visa applicant Primary
> Visa expiry date10 December 2015
> Visa status In Effect
> Entries allowed Multiple entries to and from Australia during the validity of your visa
> Must not arrive after10 December 2015
> Period of stay03 months on each arrival
> 
> The conditions that I have:
> 8115 - Limited activities
> 
> 8201 - Maximum 3 Months Study
> 
> 8527 - Tuberculosis free
> 
> 8528 - No criminal convictions


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tryme5 -

If all you need is a certified copy of a police clearance report (that's typical for DIBP, but check their instructions to you in any case), then a JP can sign off on a certified copy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tryme5 said:


> Hi, what's the best way to get police clearance notarised? I called notaries they are charging $100 per document average ?
> Can't we get it done through justice of peace??
> Or what's the other way?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SmallFry -

Thanks for the question and kind words! Sometimes these receipts can work if you can provide other evidence that the applicant was in the same city as you were at that hotel (ie, air tickets/itinerary, or any other evidence that shows you both were in that city).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



smallFry said:


> Hi,
> 
> Just a very quick question,
> 
> for the PMV, I have hotel reciepts from when we stayed together for PMV evidence, but only has my name, not my partners name. Is it worth uploading these to the immi application or not worth the worry?
> 
> You are awesome Mark!,
> 
> Thanks again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hannah -

Thanks for the note. Within the past few months there has been a big change in how 457 visa refusals are assessed by the MRT based on a case called "Lee" that was decided by the court in December 2014. Depending on your circumstances, if the 457 nomination was refused, that may eliminate any MRT rights you have for refusal of your 457 visa application. DIBP will not put a 457 visa application on "hold" while a nomination is awaiting review at the MRT, as a 457 application requires an approved nomination exist at the time of decision on the 457 visa application. Suggest you get professional help from a migration agent to work out what options you have and if/how the Lee case precedent may apply to your situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



galaxyvo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Could you please advise my issue?
> 
> I'm under bridging visa A as I'm applying onshore 457 visa. My application and my company's nomination were lodged at the same time. However, my company's nomination has been refused. Can i stay in Australia while waiting for the appeal of my company's nomination? Normally how long does a MRT case take? DIBP gives me 28 days to comment on my application. Can I tell them that i am waiting for the nomination's appeal or do i need to apply to MRT myself?
> 
> Looking forward to hearing from you.
> 
> Thank you for your time.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Hannah


----------



## margot

dear Mark,
my husband and I are in the process of applying for a 309 visa. When it comes to evidence we have a few problems. We've spent a fair bit of time separate due to visa reasons and work commitments. During this time, we spoke almost daily. I spoke with telstra to find out how to go about getting itemised phone records and discovered because I have prepaid, the records are only kept for 3 months. I've been living in Germany with my husband for the past 6 months so we have no record of contact other than text messages for the past few years.*The other problem is the financial side. It didn't make sense to open a joint account when earning money in different currencies and also it wasn't possible for him to join mine unless he was in Australia. I'm joining his German account but generally we both withdraw cash and don't have records of purchases we've both made on bank statements. I have been using a travel money card when in Germany so there is literally no proof of what we have been spending on each other!


----------



## Tryme5

Thanks god reply Mark .. They asked for "colour scanned notorised copy" emailed to them ?
Notarised? How to do it please ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Margot -

Thanks for the question. Difficult to assess relationship evidence via the forum - I'd have a look at the other threads on the forum where many applicants talk about their relationship evidence success (and not). If you'd like me to look at your relationship evidence or you'd like to have a discussion about your circumstances and what relationship evidence may be most effective in your case, happy to do so at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more info on consultations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



margot said:


> dear Mark,
> my husband and I are in the process of applying for a 309 visa. When it comes to evidence we have a few problems. We've spent a fair bit of time separate due to visa reasons and work commitments. During this time, we spoke almost daily. I spoke with telstra to find out how to go about getting itemised phone records and discovered because I have prepaid, the records are only kept for 3 months. I've been living in Germany with my husband for the past 6 months so we have no record of contact other than text messages for the past few years.*The other problem is the financial side. It didn't make sense to open a joint account when earning money in different currencies and also it wasn't possible for him to join mine unless he was in Australia. I'm joining his German account but generally we both withdraw cash and don't have records of purchases we've both made on bank statements. I have been using a travel money card when in Germany so there is literally no proof of what we have been spending on each other!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tryme5 -

I'd suggest contacting DIBP and asking them whether a "colour scanned certified copy" will be sufficient, or whether they actually require a notarised copy, then proceed according to their instructions. This sounds like a special requirement that a particular embassy or processing department has, as normally colour scanned originals are fine for DIBP, no need to make a copy and have it notarised when scanning the original, but again, the particular department that is assessing your application may have their own requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tryme5 said:


> Thanks god reply Mark .. They asked for "colour scanned notorised copy" emailed to them ?
> Notarised? How to do it please ?


----------



## nv190499

Dear Mark, 

I am planning to apply for VETASSESS Skills assessment for the occupation ' Environmental Health Officer'. I have a Bachelor's in Environmental Engineering and a Master's in Environmental Management. However, I have 2 years and seven months of gap between my bachelor's and master's degree during which time I was employed full-time in EH&S related role. Post Master's, I have around 1 year and 5 months of experience in the same field, i.e. EH&S. 

I would like to know if I show my Master's degree to VETASSESS then would they only consider my work experience after the post graduate degree or would they consider both pre- and post- Master's work experience. Which one, as per your opinion, would be the safer option? 

Best, 

Neha


----------



## itaus

*bridging visa question*

I am moving to Italy to be with my boyfriend for 1 month in June. We will be living with his parents and I will contribute to bills etc. After this month is over, he is moving back to Australia with me on his second working holiday visa.

We will move in with my parents until we find a place of our own. And same thing, he will contribute to bills etc.

By next june, we would have lived together for 12 months in total so would be eligible for the Defacto visa. And he will still have 1 month left on his WHV. Does that mean we can apply from inside Australia and he will go on a bridging visa?

Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neha -

Normally they consider all experience after the minimum academic entry point (usually a Bachelor degree), unless the Bachelor degree is not equivalent to an Australian Bachelor degree (in their opinion) and the Master Degree must be added to it to achieve equivalence to an Australian Master Degree. If that happens, then work after the Master Degree may be considered skilled, depending on how they assess things.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nv190499 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am planning to apply for VETASSESS Skills assessment for the occupation ' Environmental Health Officer'. I have a Bachelor's in Environmental Engineering and a Master's in Environmental Management. However, I have 2 years and seven months of gap between my bachelor's and master's degree during which time I was employed full-time in EH&S related role. Post Master's, I have around 1 year and 5 months of experience in the same field, i.e. EH&S.
> 
> I would like to know if I show my Master's degree to VETASSESS then would they only consider my work experience after the post graduate degree or would they consider both pre- and post- Master's work experience. Which one, as per your opinion, would be the safer option?
> 
> Best,
> 
> Neha


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Itaus -

In theory, yes, as long as the WHV doesn't have condition 8503 on it. However you'd want to make sure you have lots of relationship evidence, etc to show a genuine defacto relationship - the 12 month living together requirement is only one part of the complete pkg of assessments that is done for de facto partner visa applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itaus said:


> I am moving to Italy to be with my boyfriend for 1 month in June. We will be living with his parents and I will contribute to bills etc. After this month is over, he is moving back to Australia with me on his second working holiday visa.
> 
> We will move in with my parents until we find a place of our own. And same thing, he will contribute to bills etc.
> 
> By next june, we would have lived together for 12 months in total so would be eligible for the Defacto visa. And he will still have 1 month left on his WHV. Does that mean we can apply from inside Australia and he will go on a bridging visa?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## sandset

hallo mark, 
dependent


----------



## Tryme5

Hi Mark
For New Zealand police clearance - I got it through email...
Is it stating "criminal conviction history by ministry of justice"
Blah blah
So this is the right one? 
When I filled the form I followed the link you sent me and one option " get your own criminal history if you are outside New Zealand"
Am I doing right ?
Waiting for the original to come by mail. 
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tryme5 -

I'd like to help, but cannot review documents via forum postings - happy to see you at a consultation in order to give you an opinion on any documents. The DIBP referral page has very specific instructions about the NZ police clearace cert - important you read them carefully and follow them exactly to get the specific documents DIBP needs. Also note that there is a specific letter you'll need with this - see New Zealand for complete and detailed instructions and examples.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tryme5 said:


> Hi Mark
> For New Zealand police clearance - I got it through email...
> Is it stating "criminal conviction history by ministry of justice"
> Blah blah
> So this is the right one?
> When I filled the form I followed the link you sent me and one option " get your own criminal history if you are outside New Zealand"
> Am I doing right ?
> Waiting for the original to come by mail.
> Thanks


----------



## vdp

Good day Mark,

I would like to ask if my 457 nomination refused currently onshore can I look for possible company who can sponsor me or apply for another type of visa?How long do I need to do it?


Thanks in advance


----------



## martin12345

Hi Mark,

Just need some quick advice. I am currently completing my application for a Partner 820 visa. The form 80 I have been advised should be completed? (Despite being absent from the official checklist). I am struggling to get together all of my exact employment/travel dates for the form. How thorough will the check over this document be and is it purely for a character assessment? To generate a general feel on who I am and my history? Thanks for your help!
Martin.


----------



## Alhitchc

*partner visa*

hey mark, we are lodging a paper application 820 rather than an online one - can you help us with the payment aspects of it please. we are concerned about:
a) how long the large amount of money will need to sit in our account before the payment is taken if we fill in the payment section of the 47sp
b) how soon my bridging visa will be given, since we are lodging a paper applications, and how I will know about it.

also - I started an application on immi.gov.au, but we don't have the facilitates to continue it, hence the paper application rather than online, should i delete this half completed application, or do i need to finish it...what purpose is my immi account playing other than for submitting my medical, which i have.

Thank you in advance,
Kirsty


----------



## sumaiyam

Hi Mark

My partner is currently in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa and is looking to apply for a 457 visa through her current employer.

She is a Canadian citizen and would be applying as a Cook(351411).

She has over 5 years relevant work experience but no formal qualification, is a relevant degree necessary for the 457?

Will a Skills Assessment be required to be submitted in her application?

I can't seem to find a concrete answer on the Immi or TRA websites so any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you.


----------



## mori

Dear Mark
I have been granted 190 visa(Western Australia)
I want to know for validating my visa my first entry must be from Perth or I can go to Melbourne and validate my visa. 
Is is possible for me to apply TFN and Medicare from Melbourn?

Thanks


----------



## rahman12345

Hi mark,how r u ?
My 487 visa 2 years will complete next month and in that 2 year's I live 16 months at my brother's place and for utility evidence I have a phone bill which is on my name and also got my name as ATT. all the other bills on his name .I still have my old expired licence card which show my previous address and also my last year's tax returns letter from ATO which got my previous address .also I have bank transactions of each month, rents I trnsfered to him .


Is that enough evidence or do I have to gather more ..?
Remaining months I lived in house which I rented my own .


----------



## Em&Tom

*apply offshore or onshore for partner visa?*

I am an Aussie and my husband is a UK citizen, we have an 8 month old son and have n been living in the UK for the last year. We have decided to move to Australia as I wish to be closer to my family, but we want to go soon, hopefully before September. 
We understand that if we apply for a partner visa from here that my husband can come to Australia on'short visits' and we are considering this, although his inability to work would be a financial strain. Do you have any advice on how long these short visits can be, if we say it is in the best interest of our son?
Alternately, we have been recommended to come with my husband on a tourist visa and apply onshore then... This feels dodgy and I am a terrible liar! Is there a precedent for this? Is it possible without lying as it would be so much better for us than having to travel back and forth with our little one.
We appreciate any advice, so thanks for your time!


----------



## jkkk

Hello,
I am looking for advice from on this. I would like to apply for a 189 Visa to Australia. I had a minor brain stoke in 2011 due to high blood pressure. I am completely recovered after 2 days and my BP is under control since then. I am taking BP medication and also Ecospirin as advised by my doctor. I have been working and have no issues doing my daily tasks. Am I eligible to apply for the visa or will I be rejected the visa on medical grounds. Please advise.

I even have a medical certificate from my doctor stating I am fit for travelling and working abroad.
Any advise is greatly helpful.

Regards,
Karthi


----------



## nomcycle

Hi Mark!

I graduated from an Australian trade school with a 2 year diploma in 2011 on a student visa. I left Australia for a few years and I would like to return on a 462 visa. My question is: Can I apply for a 189 visa while in Australia on a 462 visa?

Thanks!


----------



## uae2oz

Hi Mark,

I need your help to solve the query of my friend applying for subclass 189 but we have some confusion in points calculation.

He is working as a IT Business Engineer providing users functional and technical solutions, since 13 years.

He is;

Bachelor in Commerce (a 2 year degree completed in 1998) 
1 year Post graduate diploma - 1999
Masters in Information Technology (1.5 Years) - 2005

Questions are;

*1) *Can he claim full 15 points for work experience because he has an ICT major Diploma? If we count his working experience from 2001 onwards in the relevant field.

ACS Guidelines suggests the following;

*Diploma and Vendor Certification*


If your Diploma or Vendor Certification is assessed as having an ICT major which is closely related to your nominated occupation, you will require 5 years relevant work experience completed within the past 10 years or 6 years relevant work experience completed anytime in your past work history (whichever provides the earliest skill date) to meet the suitability criteria.

*2) *If he claims work experience points on the basis of PGD, an ICT major, can he claim points for his masters, also an ICT major?

Please help to reach final conclusion.

Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vdp -

Thanks for the question. Yes, you can certainly keep looking, and a refused nomination does not cause a section 48 problem as an onshore visa application refusal would, however you'll still have to keep on holding a substantive (non-bridging) visa to remain lawfully onshore. If you've lodged a 457 application related to the refused nomination, DIBP will generally give you an option of withdrawing it or letting it get refused - withdrawal is often the better choice, but depends on your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vdp said:


> Good day Mark,
> 
> I would like to ask if my 457 nomination refused currently onshore can I look for possible company who can sponsor me or apply for another type of visa?How long do I need to do it?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## Stereoman

Good day Mark!

My fiance and I plan on applying for a prospective marriage visa. We have most documents already. I just have a question and a concern. My fiance had overstayed her visa in the US. Would this be a problem or a reason for her to get denied? We called the Australian Embassy in Washington on 2 separate occasions and asked. We got 2 different answers, one being it wouldn't be a problem, and one where it would be complicated. I just want to hear what you think or what we can do before we lodge our application within the next few weeks. 

Thanks a lot, you're awesome!


----------



## ozluck

Hi, Mark,
Hope you are well. I m applying 820/801 partner visa, but unfortunately I have to go through health waiver process because my health condition. We already submitted all the health waiver documents and some additional documents as DIBP asked on July of last year, it already has been nearly 12 months by now (total time has been 31 months now since we lodged our application). But we haven't heard anything from DIBP, I would like to ask: is this normal, and how long does the maximum time of health waiver process take? it is way too long and we are so frustrating about it. Thank you very much!


----------



## wooliw

Hi Mark,
I really need your advise.
I am an Australian citizen. My wife is an Indian citizen. She has been granted a three month Visitor Visa with No further stay condition.
I had earlier planned that once she goes back to India after her three month stay.. I would apply for her spouse visa followed by a Visitor visa so she can come back and stay with me.
Just recently after asking a few people who I don't know how correct their information is I have got to know that she can't apply for a Tourist visa immediately after applying for a Spouse Visa. 
I am totally confused right now. And I really need your advise.


----------



## Abbie_190

Dear Mark, 
Really appreciate what you are doing in this forum.
Need your valuable advice. I am going to apply for the position of Cafe/Restaurant Manager (ANZCO 141111) My primary interest is under sub class 190 for Northern Territory as it is in their State Occupation List. However I will be turning 33 next year (Age -30 points) May 2016 and as of today.I am meeting all the required criteria for successful Vet assess (getting at least 65 points as of today) assessment but only falling short of the criteria of having 12 months of relevant skilled occupation in the above mentioned occupation in the last 24 months ( for NT) as out of last 24 months I am only having 7-8 months of relevant work experience (Restaurant Manager). Now given this situation and keeping the time factor in mind what you suggest ?

1) Should I go ahead with the Vet assess Skill Assessment right away without making any further delay as it will also take around 3 months to get the result.?

2) Now if I join a new job after giving my documents for Skill Assessment, can I show that experience of (3-5 months) for meeting that criteria of ( 12 months of relevant work experience out 24 months)? Or will I again have to do a skill assessment for those few months to make it 12 months?? 

Alternately I was reading somewhere that if I join a company now work for 2 months and then include that experience for assessment and submit payslips ,offer letter, running experience letter etc for those two months initially and then give it for Skill assessment. The experience gathered after the skill assessment can be shown by an updated experience letter at the time of lodging visa and all the payslips of the period (provided I continue to work for the same employer) after assessment till the time I actually lodge the visa without going for a second time skill assessment within a span of few months.Can it be done this way for avoiding a second Skill assessment? 

kindly advice on this or the Best route in your opinion as I want to lodge the visa before I turn 33 next year May 2016 without loosing any further points.

Also If my current employer pay me salary through cash (although have payslips) and I fall under tax exempt category (no tax filed/claimed) should I still be asked for Tax returns or bank statements at later stages for those documents by the Case Officer? Kindly advise.

Thanks in advance,
God Bless You


----------



## itaus

*strong enough case?*

Hi Mark,

Just wanted to say thanks again, you're so helpful 

My partner and I would like to apply for the Defacto visa in July 2016. We have all of this year and next to start collecting evidence. In June this year, I am going over to her country to be with her for 1 month. I'll be living with her family. Than in July this year, she will come back with me to Australia on her 2nd WHV. By July next year, we would have had 13 months living together.

My question is, will me being in italy for just a month still be included as "living together". I will be paying bills and we will be gathering evidence that I did indeed live there.

I can understand how the government could see me going over to italy as just a way to fulfil the living together requirement before her visa expires. (as we hope to apply onshore at the end).

your thoughts?

Thanks!


----------



## masood

dear mark
i am masood from pakistan i have sbmitted my application for svp on 29th april they have send a medical on 1st may and my medicals done on 5th may and my course has already started and there is no response from diap please please help me that what should i do now


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martin12345 -

Thanks for the note. Form 80 is required upon request from DIBP for any PR application - up to you if you'd like to complete it in advance. While some elements are difficult or impossible (practically) for DIBP to verify (ie, where you worked when you were a teenager), other elements are checked very carefully - it must be as accurate as you can make it given the info you have available. Any missing data should be explained in the back section (the extension page where you can add additional info).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



martin12345 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just need some quick advice. I am currently completing my application for a Partner 820 visa. The form 80 I have been advised should be completed? (Despite being absent from the official checklist). I am struggling to get together all of my exact employment/travel dates for the form. How thorough will the check over this document be and is it purely for a character assessment? To generate a general feel on who I am and my history? Thanks for your help!
> Martin.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alhitchc -

Thanks for the note. I have to say for the record that online applications are far easier and more predictable to deal with than paper applications. That being said, if you must lodge a paper application, I'd allow 1-2 weeks for the charge to be made for from your credit card and for the bridging visa to arrive - often it's faster (a few days from arrival), but there is no guarantee. Would send via Express Post Platinum. Once a partner visa is lodged via paper, you would typically only use the ImmiAccount for the medicals. Also don't forget that while online apps allow colour scans of original documents, paper applications require certified copies of many documents (all id, etc documents, but not relationship evidence in most cases).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Alhitchc said:


> hey mark, we are lodging a paper application 820 rather than an online one - can you help us with the payment aspects of it please. we are concerned about:
> a) how long the large amount of money will need to sit in our account before the payment is taken if we fill in the payment section of the 47sp
> b) how soon my bridging visa will be given, since we are lodging a paper applications, and how I will know about it.
> 
> also - I started an application on immi.gov.au, but we don't have the facilitates to continue it, hence the paper application rather than online, should i delete this half completed application, or do i need to finish it...what purpose is my immi account playing other than for submitting my medical, which i have.
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Kirsty


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sumaiyam -

Normally 3 years relevant work experience will work for cooks for 457 visa. While a 457 case officer can require a skills assessment from anyone (rare), normally cooks only need a skills assessment if they fit the criteria listed here: Eligibility which she does not (doesn't have a passport from one of the qualifying countries).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sumaiyam said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My partner is currently in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa and is looking to apply for a 457 visa through her current employer.
> 
> She is a Canadian citizen and would be applying as a Cook(351411).
> 
> She has over 5 years relevant work experience but no formal qualification, is a relevant degree necessary for the 457?
> 
> Will a Skills Assessment be required to be submitted in her application?
> 
> I can't seem to find a concrete answer on the Immi or TRA websites so any help would be much appreciated.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mori -

From DIBP's point of view, you can validate your visa by entering Australia in any city. You would need to check WA's requirements of their skilled visa section re: any WA-specific requirements. I'm not an expert on Medicare, but I believe you can apply from anywhere in Australia with proper documentation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mori said:


> Dear Mark
> I have been granted 190 visa(Western Australia)
> I want to know for validating my visa my first entry must be from Perth or I can go to Melbourne and validate my visa.
> Is is possible for me to apply TFN and Medicare from Melbourn?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## jasonpriya

Applying for Offshore Partner in New Delhi
Im new to this forum so please understand I'm still getting used to how to find all the information. 

My wife is Indian I'm an Australian citizen by birth. I have a couple of questions. 

1.) We have her passport made but it doesn't say my name as her husband it's blank, it says single. Can we apply for partner visa in New Delhi with current passport ?

2.) does online or paper submission have any real advantage, other then not having to go to the place ? or does one system tend to work smoother ?

3.) If we have to reissue her passport can we start the application with current passport ? or is it better to wait until we have new passport with my new listed as husband. 

4.) Should we get her PCC before we apply or when they ask for it ?

We have already been married for over a year, I had to return to Australia to keep earning.

We originally planned for me to work in india for at least one year but Modi thought he would revolutionise the PIO card scheme and make me wait another year. 

Any help with which is the best way to make the application would be great Ive been in a relationship with my partner for 3.5 years now and she still hasn't been able to visit Australia yet. But My love has only grown stronger for her through this all.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahman12345 -

Sorry but I can't assess documents via forum - would need to do that at a consultation where you could send me the docs in advance and we could discuss at the consult. See website link below for more on consultations. Also, a lease between your brother and you, subleasing a room to you for the period, may also be helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rahman12345 said:


> Hi mark,how r u ?
> My 487 visa 2 years will complete next month and in that 2 year's I live 16 months at my brother's place and for utility evidence I have a phone bill which is on my name and also got my name as ATT. all the other bills on his name .I still have my old expired licence card which show my previous address and also my last year's tax returns letter from ATO which got my previous address .also I have bank transactions of each month, rents I trnsfered to him .
> 
> Is that enough evidence or do I have to gather more ..?
> Remaining months I lived in house which I rented my own .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Em&Tom -

Thanks for the question. Normally visitor visas for UK citizens are a 1 year visa with 3 month maximum stay period per entry into Australia. As long as the visa is not issued with condition 8503 (no further stay), and as long as you are truthful with Immigration (ie, maybe you haven't decided yet whether to lodge an onshore partner visa or not), no problem generally with coming on a visitor visa and lodging an onshore partner visa. If you do that, the bridging visa you get (with full work rights) when you lodge the partner visa will activate as soon as he overstays the maximum stay period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Em&Tom said:


> I am an Aussie and my husband is a UK citizen, we have an 8 month old son and have n been living in the UK for the last year. We have decided to move to Australia as I wish to be closer to my family, but we want to go soon, hopefully before September.
> We understand that if we apply for a partner visa from here that my husband can come to Australia on'short visits' and we are considering this, although his inability to work would be a financial strain. Do you have any advice on how long these short visits can be, if we say it is in the best interest of our son?
> Alternately, we have been recommended to come with my husband on a tourist visa and apply onshore then... This feels dodgy and I am a terrible liar! Is there a precedent for this? Is it possible without lying as it would be so much better for us than having to travel back and forth with our little one.
> We appreciate any advice, so thanks for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karthi -

Thanks for the note. Impossible to predict how the medical criteria will work for this one - depends on the anticipated cost of medications and medical services during the first 5 years of your PR in Australia. If that's above $35,000, then you would generally fail the health criteria, and there is no health waiver available on the 189 visa. Often people need to apply if they wish to , in order for the health assessment to be done and see how it turns out.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jkkk said:


> Hello,
> I am looking for advice from on this. I would like to apply for a 189 Visa to Australia. I had a minor brain stoke in 2011 due to high blood pressure. I am completely recovered after 2 days and my BP is under control since then. I am taking BP medication and also Ecospirin as advised by my doctor. I have been working and have no issues doing my daily tasks. Am I eligible to apply for the visa or will I be rejected the visa on medical grounds. Please advise.
> 
> I even have a medical certificate from my doctor stating I am fit for travelling and working abroad.
> Any advise is greatly helpful.
> 
> Regards,
> Karthi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nomcycle -

Yes, as long as the 462 WHV does not have condition 8503 (no further stay) - normally WHV's do not have this condition, and you have no other issues such as an onshore refusal on this trip, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nomcycle said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I graduated from an Australian trade school with a 2 year diploma in 2011 on a student visa. I left Australia for a few years and I would like to return on a 462 visa. My question is: Can I apply for a 189 visa while in Australia on a 462 visa?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uae2oz -

Possibly, but depends on how they assess the Bachelor degree re: IT relevance - not able to predict - best to go for the ACS skills assessment and see how they assess the combination of his qualifications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



uae2oz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I need your help to solve the query of my friend applying for subclass 189 but we have some confusion in points calculation.
> 
> He is working as a IT Business Engineer providing users functional and technical solutions, since 13 years.
> 
> He is;
> 
> Bachelor in Commerce (a 2 year degree completed in 1998)
> 1 year Post graduate diploma - 1999
> Masters in Information Technology (1.5 Years) - 2005
> 
> Questions are;
> 
> *1) *Can he claim full 15 points for work experience because he has an ICT major Diploma? If we count his working experience from 2001 onwards in the relevant field.
> 
> ACS Guidelines suggests the following;
> 
> *Diploma and Vendor Certification*
> 
> 
> If your Diploma or Vendor Certification is assessed as having an ICT major which is closely related to your nominated occupation, you will require 5 years relevant work experience completed within the past 10 years or 6 years relevant work experience completed anytime in your past work history (whichever provides the earliest skill date) to meet the suitability criteria.
> 
> *2) *If he claims work experience points on the basis of PGD, an ICT major, can he claim points for his masters, also an ICT major?
> 
> Please help to reach final conclusion.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stereoman -

Because of the new character questions, she'll have to declare this and provide specifics (that can be verified, such as letters from US immigration dept, etc). No way to predict whether it will cause an issue, but in some cases a minor overstay for a short period has not been enough to cause a problem with an application. Longer overstays, work condition breaches, etc are another issue - would be evaluated by DIBP on a case by case basis.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Stereoman said:


> Good day Mark!
> 
> My fiance and I plan on applying for a prospective marriage visa. We have most documents already. I just have a question and a concern. My fiance had overstayed her visa in the US. Would this be a problem or a reason for her to get denied? We called the Australian Embassy in Washington on 2 separate occasions and asked. We got 2 different answers, one being it wouldn't be a problem, and one where it would be complicated. I just want to hear what you think or what we can do before we lodge our application within the next few weeks.
> 
> Thanks a lot, you're awesome!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozluck -

I agree - health waivers take way too long to process! Typically these can go anywhere from 12-18 months, but very hard to predict. I'd make sure you have DIBP updated with your latest contact info - all you can do then is wait.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozluck said:


> Hi, Mark,
> Hope you are well. I m applying 820/801 partner visa, but unfortunately I have to go through health waiver process because my health condition. We already submitted all the health waiver documents and some additional documents as DIBP asked on July of last year, it already has been nearly 12 months by now (total time has been 31 months now since we lodged our application). But we haven't heard anything from DIBP, I would like to ask: is this normal, and how long does the maximum time of health waiver process take? it is way too long and we are so frustrating about it. Thank you very much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wooliw -

No problem lodging a visitor visa immediately after a spouse visa - typically spouse visas once lodged may increase the chance of the visitor visa getting granted. I'd give DIBP a bit of time to get the spouse visa on their systems (especially if you lodge a paper one or a 309/100 where the offshore post has to receive it electronically or otherwise) - perhaps 2 weeks - then lodge your visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wooliw said:


> Hi Mark,
> I really need your advise.
> I am an Australian citizen. My wife is an Indian citizen. She has been granted a three month Visitor Visa with No further stay condition.
> I had earlier planned that once she goes back to India after her three month stay.. I would apply for her spouse visa followed by a Visitor visa so she can come back and stay with me.
> Just recently after asking a few people who I don't know how correct their information is I have got to know that she can't apply for a Tourist visa immediately after applying for a Spouse Visa.
> I am totally confused right now. And I really need your advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abbie_190 -

Thanks for the note and kind words. If you're talking about NT work requirement, normally that can be satisfied with employer reference letters and the work does not all have to be on your skills assessment, especially if the portion of work not on the skills assessment is a continuation of work that had been previously assessed (ie, at that employer). That being said, state skilled authorities can be very picky about some things. I would suggest calling the NT skilled migration office and ask them if their 1 year of work must all be accounted for on the skills assessment result report, or whether it can be a combination of skills assessed work and other work where an employer reference letter is provided along with payslips. Then make your decision re: when to apply to VETASSESS.

Re: payslips, DIBP will generally require evidence of payment for all work you are claiming points for - payslips is generally accepted by DIBP as evidence of pay for these purposes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abbie_190 said:


> Dear Mark,
> Really appreciate what you are doing in this forum.
> Need your valuable advice. I am going to apply for the position of Cafe/Restaurant Manager (ANZCO 141111) My primary interest is under sub class 190 for Northern Territory as it is in their State Occupation List. However I will be turning 33 next year (Age -30 points) May 2016 and as of today.I am meeting all the required criteria for successful Vet assess (getting at least 65 points as of today) assessment but only falling short of the criteria of having 12 months of relevant skilled occupation in the above mentioned occupation in the last 24 months ( for NT) as out of last 24 months I am only having 7-8 months of relevant work experience (Restaurant Manager). Now given this situation and keeping the time factor in mind what you suggest ?
> 
> 1) Should I go ahead with the Vet assess Skill Assessment right away without making any further delay as it will also take around 3 months to get the result.?
> 
> 2) Now if I join a new job after giving my documents for Skill Assessment, can I show that experience of (3-5 months) for meeting that criteria of ( 12 months of relevant work experience out 24 months)? Or will I again have to do a skill assessment for those few months to make it 12 months??
> 
> Alternately I was reading somewhere that if I join a company now work for 2 months and then include that experience for assessment and submit payslips ,offer letter, running experience letter etc for those two months initially and then give it for Skill assessment. The experience gathered after the skill assessment can be shown by an updated experience letter at the time of lodging visa and all the payslips of the period (provided I continue to work for the same employer) after assessment till the time I actually lodge the visa without going for a second time skill assessment within a span of few months.Can it be done this way for avoiding a second Skill assessment?
> 
> kindly advice on this or the Best route in your opinion as I want to lodge the visa before I turn 33 next year May 2016 without loosing any further points.
> 
> Also If my current employer pay me salary through cash (although have payslips) and I fall under tax exempt category (no tax filed/claimed) should I still be asked for Tax returns or bank statements at later stages for those documents by the Case Officer? Kindly advise.
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> God Bless You


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ITaus -

Thanks for the kind words! The 1 month could work if you have ample evidence of living together - both names on a lease or some sort of sublease agreement, etc, mail coming to both names at that address during the period, photos together living at that address, statements from friends or family saying you were living together during that time. Even with all of that, no guarantee DIBP will accept that month, but the more evidence you have, the better chance of acceptance by DIBP that you were living together as a de facto couple during that month.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itaus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just wanted to say thanks again, you're so helpful
> 
> My partner and I would like to apply for the Defacto visa in July 2016. We have all of this year and next to start collecting evidence. In June this year, I am going over to her country to be with her for 1 month. I'll be living with her family. Than in July this year, she will come back with me to Australia on her 2nd WHV. By July next year, we would have had 13 months living together.
> 
> My question is, will me being in italy for just a month still be included as "living together". I will be paying bills and we will be gathering evidence that I did indeed live there.
> 
> I can understand how the government could see me going over to italy as just a way to fulfil the living together requirement before her visa expires. (as we hope to apply onshore at the end).
> 
> your thoughts?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Masood -

Student visas for Pakistan students are routinely taking anywhere from 2 to 4 months now to process, even if SVP, due to security checks. All you can do is to keep in touch with them, but would advise applying for all visas as early as possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



masood said:


> dear mark
> i am masood from pakistan i have sbmitted my application for svp on 29th april they have send a medical on 1st may and my medicals done on 5th may and my course has already started and there is no response from diap please please help me that what should i do now


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jasonpriya -

As far as I know there is no local requirement there that the passport must be updated to reflect the husband's name in order to apply for a partner visa offshore, however I woudl contact New Delhi directly to get an answer to this as offshore posts can add their own rules for partner visa processing.

As partner visas can now take over a year to process, suggest you lodge PCC 3-6 months into the process, or when asked to by the case officer.

I always prefer online applications as it reduces the hassle of certified copies and gives me more control over how documents are scanned, etc. Plus faster acknowledgements, no courier costs, etc etc etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jasonpriya said:


> Applying for Offshore Partner in New Delhi
> Im new to this forum so please understand I'm still getting used to how to find all the information.
> 
> My wife is Indian I'm an Australian citizen by birth. I have a couple of questions.
> 
> 1.) We have her passport made but it doesn't say my name as her husband it's blank, it says single. Can we apply for partner visa in New Delhi with current passport ?
> 
> 2.) does online or paper submission have any real advantage, other then not having to go to the place ? or does one system tend to work smoother ?
> 
> 3.) If we have to reissue her passport can we start the application with current passport ? or is it better to wait until we have new passport with my new listed as husband.
> 
> 4.) Should we get her PCC before we apply or when they ask for it ?
> 
> We have already been married for over a year, I had to return to Australia to keep earning.
> 
> We originally planned for me to work in india for at least one year but Modi thought he would revolutionise the PIO card scheme and make me wait another year.
> 
> Any help with which is the best way to make the application would be great Ive been in a relationship with my partner for 3.5 years now and she still hasn't been able to visit Australia yet. But My love has only grown stronger for her through this all.


----------



## masood

dear mark 
my classes of elicos has been started i will get extension by myself or diap will give me and should i call them or not please give me advice i am very worried please help me


----------



## farhanmazhari

Hi Mark,
Just couple of days back I have lodged my application for EOI (189) with 65 points under 263111, as we are very near to closure of this year ceiling but still I can see there are 400 seats available. Can I expect positive response from EOI and how soon should I expect a response. Are they still entertaining application for EOI and giving invitations for 2015?


Regards,


----------



## uae2oz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Uae2oz -
> 
> Possibly, but depends on how they assess the Bachelor degree re: IT relevance - not able to predict - best to go for the ACS skills assessment and see how they assess the combination of his qualifications.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thnx a lot Mark.

For us, your reply always work as a moonlight in the dark. &#128522;


----------



## sandset

Hello Mark,
I have some doubts to be cleared regarding my 485 subsequent entrant visa. My wife is currently holding the Temporary Graduate (subclass 485). Now we are applying for 485 dependent visa for me. which all are the forms I should fill in to apply for dependent visa. The two forms which I found in IMMI site were 1409 and 47A. Do I need to fill any other forms apart from these two?.
In form 47A, under the signature part, who is supposed to sign as the main applicant. Then two more columns need signatures who should sign them?. How am I supposed to fill up Question No: 26 in form 47A.
Then in form 1409, who should put their signature as the primary applicant?. there are 6 more columns that require signatures, who should sign them?.

Thanks and Regards.


----------



## majoroz

*Immiaccount form*

Hi Mark,
I am filling the immiaccount form I have a query.

Working in 2 companies at the same time. One of which is ACS assessed and other is not assessed. EOI submitted without the unassessed work experience. SS approved without the unassessed work exp. Immiaccount waiting to be submitted without the unassessed work experience. Will it have an impact on my application as I had provided my unassessed companies documents when applying for a visitor visa as a supporting document just to make my case stronger? At that time when I applied for a visitor visa i was working in a different company.

Waiting for your kind reply.


----------



## wan2no

*Qld ss requiring onshore to have job*

Hi mark,
I am trying for qld ss living in Sydney by student visa. In 489 visa ss application it is noted that one need to have evidence of job in qld even in same or related field! I am wondering how it could be possible for one being another state! Any way if I go to my home country in vacation and apply will it be still as onshore as having valid student visa? Or should I cancel my student visa and then apply? What to do?


----------



## vdp

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vdp -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Yes, you can certainly keep looking, and a refused nomination does not cause a section 48 problem as an onshore visa application refusal would, however you'll still have to keep on holding a substantive (non-bridging) visa to remain lawfully onshore. If you've lodged a 457 application related to the refused nomination, DIBP will generally give you an option of withdrawing it or letting it get refused - withdrawal is often the better choice, but depends on your circumstances.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Iam really learning from your thread thanks a lot!!!

If I choose withdrawal of visa after nomination is refused.. then what will be my visa in the remaining 28 days..

You are really a big help

regards


----------



## jasonpriya

Thanks for your advice mark it's greatly appreciated. I really think it's amazing how much advice your giving people. Keep up the great work.


----------



## wooliw

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Wooliw -
> 
> No problem lodging a visitor visa immediately after a spouse visa - typically spouse visas once lodged may increase the chance of the visitor visa getting granted. I'd give DIBP a bit of time to get the spouse visa on their systems (especially if you lodge a paper one or a 309/100 where the offshore post has to receive it electronically or otherwise) - perhaps 2 weeks - then lodge your visitor visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for the best advise Mark.


----------



## tracy88

hello mark...may you please help me with my issue. i am currently in australia and wanting to apply for a subclass 572 visa, however i left home in february and i had gone through a police check which is usually valid for 12 months. in applying for this new visa do i need a new police check from home or can i just produce the certified copy of the one that is 6 months old, am very confused, help please.... thank you


----------



## Pevs

Hi Mark,

I've recently submitted my 820 application and naturally, selected "engaged" as we are engaged! 
We are actually marrying on June 14th.

Reading a post on this forum has made me slightly nervous. It mentioned that applications have been refused for 820's due to the fact "engaged" was selected and not "defacto".

I'm not sure whether to amend our application tomorrow and change "engaged" to "defacto", or just wait until we marry on the 14th and change it to "married" then?

Any advice or experience from anyone that has been through this previously would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks


----------



## sahmedraza

*Rrv*

Dear Mark
I am a former PR holder, my visa was valid b/w 2007 and 2012 and I spent 7 to 8 months. Currently I am residing in Pakistan and want to go back to Australia....... I need your suggestion in this regard

Further I got married after coming back from Australia how could I get visa for my wife and my kids

I really appreciate your response.

Best Regards


----------



## Tryme5

Hi Mark 
Finally, we got the 461 visa... Thanks for all your help and support ..
Thanks


----------



## smallFry

HI Mark,

In need of your wisdom,

Quick questions regarding Lodging of tourist visa after PMV,

My partner is from Vietnam, I started an online application but realised Vietnam is not one of the eligible countries for online applications, so I will have my parter do a paper application from Vietnam. I am having concerns about the success rate of approvals from high risk countries such as Vietnam, so need your advice on what I should include in her application,

We initially wanted to apply for a 6 month tourist visa, but I worry this is not likely to be approved, so will try for a 3 month instead.


This is what we have so far:

*Letter from Employer allowing her to return to her job as Accountant
*Family and siblings reside in Vietnam
*The need to be out of country before PMV decision is given
*Evidence of Previous travel (Germany) for 2 month trip and came back on time.
*Letter of support from myself showing I will provide all accomodation, expenses, health care insurance costs, etc

Is this enough for a 3 month Tourist Visa? Does she need to provide evidence of money in her bank or is my income evidence ok to use?


Thanks for all your help Mark, much appreciated.


----------



## Claire100

Hi mark,

Would a statutory declaration alone suffice together with proof of no visitation? I don't think the ex will write any statements.

Claire 


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Claire100 -
> 
> Yes - there's an exception to the health checks regulation that essentially says if the Minister is convinced that it is unreasonable to require health checks of non-migrating family members, that the checks can be waived. I'd put together as much evidence as you can, including dates/times of attempts to contact the ex, any statement from the ex that she will not permit health checks or contact, etc. plus stat dec from the applicant. I expect they will want to somehow confirm the applicant's claims.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Fairytale

Hi Mark,

I signed up a service with one MARA migration agent two years ago for my spouse PR application. However she ended up never doing it with variety of excuse (I never been able to contact her at all, and she only replied to my email with another excuse busy, sickness, or riding unicorn to alaska). So without informing her, I ended up doing it myself and got it granted later last year. 

Now I haven't been trying to get my money back because I signed a blank declaration form for her (it was very stupid of me), the page 5 of form 956 and I'm afraid she can use this to revoke my PR or something (like sending letter to DIBP saying I would like to cancel my PR on my own will and she is my appointed 'agent'). Is this even possible?

Considering she knows my old name (I had a legal name change and new passport, and DIBP is already informed and updated VEVO with my new passport) and details, could she be angry at me for demanding my money back and decided to do something bad to my visa? What can she do with this signed 956 form?

I have sent letter to my CO with another 956 form ending appointment without her signature (only mine, because I can not contact her anymore), and explained what happened to make sure she has no access, but then again she has this signed form 956! My CO replied to my email saying he received the ending appointment form and actioned it accordingly.

I would actually want to have my money back, I paid for the service and I never received any. But will this risk my PR being canceled? Do I have a chance to get my money back? It's not small amount of money for us. Thanks Mark!

The keypoint :
1. She knows my old name and old passport number,
2. She doesnt know my new name / passport number, my PR visa application TRN and grant date (she probably doesnt even know if I already got my PR, she can only assume)
3. I am still with my sponsor, and I did not obtain the visa fraudulently. We have a 5 months old baby and it will be devastating if she could use the form 956 to Cancel my PR visa and I had to leave my family. 

I doubt she will risk her MARN being revoked for doing this to me, but Its still a lot of trouble if she decided to act of my behalf saying I would like to withdraw my visa.


----------



## kipsch

Hello Mark,

I have 309 visa. I haven't made the permanent move yet due to job. I am eligible to apply for 2nd stage. Can i apply if i am still offshore and haven't moved permanently?


----------



## pdub

MarkNortham said:


> ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
> 
> Originally Posted by pdub View Post
> Hi Mark,
> 
> I asked this question and got a good response on another thread but now I can't find the thread in order to reply so I was hoping you could help me.
> 
> I just want to understand what happens to my husband's visa situation once we apply for the partner visa in relation to the 820 being granted, visa A, Visa E etc. I understand Visa E isn't what we want to use as it doesn't count towards his years in Australia etc
> 
> Essentially, my husband is on a student visa (572) with the following visa conditions:
> 
> -	8105 - WORK LIMITATION
> -	8202 - MEET COURSE REQUIREMENTS
> -	8501 - MAINTAIN HEALTH INSURANCE
> -	8516 - MUST MAINTAIN ELIGIBILITY
> -	8517 - MAINTAIN EDUCATION FOR DEPENDANTS
> -	8532 - < 18 APPROVE WELFARE
> -	8533 - INFORM PRVDR OF ADRS
> 
> The current situation is that we are applying for his partner visa this week just waiting to get the 888's back and then we are ready to apply.
> 
> Essentially, my husband's student visa ends in March 2017 and the current educational course he is enrolled with finishes in November 2016.
> 
> If my husband's 820 is granted:
> 
> -	Does he need to continue attending the course he is attending due to his student visa requirements? Or can he quit the current course immediately?
> -	If he does need to finish his current course, does he also need to continue studying until the end of his student visa in march 2017 in order to fulfil the student visa requirements?
> 
> Thank you so much for your feedback.
> pduby
> 
> MARK RESPONSE:
> 
> Hi Pdub -
> 
> Thanks for the question. As soon as the 820 visa is granted, it replaces the student visa which automatically ceases at that point. On the 820, there are no study or work conditions, so as of the date of the grant of the 820, your husband does not need to keep studying, be enrolled, etc, there are no study commitments, etc at all under the 820.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I hope you are well and thank you so much for taking the time to respond to all of these questions.

My husband and I applied and paid for the 820 Partner Visa last night. Within minutes he received an email stating that he had been granted the following Visa:

Bridging Visa Class = Bridging A (Class WA)
Bridging Visa Subclass = Bridging A (subclass 010)

My husband is currently on a student visa (see above).

Can you advise:

- Does he need to continue studying until the end of his student visa (until March 2017) or can he end his studies now that he is on the Bridging A Visa?

- Can he work more than the 40 hours now that he is on the Bridging Visa A

Or does the Bridging Visa A basically sit behind the Student Visa and not have any effect until his student visa expires?

Best regards,
pdub


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Masood -

No way to tell from your message - if your visa has not yet been decided, you should stay in touch with DIBP, but these days student visas can easily take 3-4 months to process, so best to apply early.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



masood said:


> dear mark
> my classes of elicos has been started i will get extension by myself or diap will give me and should i call them or not please give me advice i am very worried please help me


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Farhanmazhari -

We're hearing that DIBP is informing applicants that the ceiling for 189 visas has been reached and no more will be granted until after 1 July. No way to confirm that however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



farhanmazhari said:


> Hi Mark,
> Just couple of days back I have lodged my application for EOI (189) with 65 points under 263111, as we are very near to closure of this year ceiling but still I can see there are 400 seats available. Can I expect positive response from EOI and how soon should I expect a response. Are they still entertaining application for EOI and giving invitations for 2015?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandset -

Sorry, but I can't answer form-specific and case-specific questions without discussing your case and learning more about it in detail at a consultation - too many details, and the wrong advice could create huge problems for you. Happy to assist at a consultation where I can review your documents - see my website below in my signature for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



sandset said:


> Hello Mark,
> I have some doubts to be cleared regarding my 485 subsequent entrant visa. My wife is currently holding the Temporary Graduate (subclass 485). Now we are applying for 485 dependent visa for me. which all are the forms I should fill in to apply for dependent visa. The two forms which I found in IMMI site were 1409 and 47A. Do I need to fill any other forms apart from these two?.
> In form 47A, under the signature part, who is supposed to sign as the main applicant. Then two more columns need signatures who should sign them?. How am I supposed to fill up Question No: 26 in form 47A.
> Then in form 1409, who should put their signature as the primary applicant?. there are 6 more columns that require signatures, who should sign them?.
> 
> Thanks and Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Majoroz -

I don't see a problem based on what you said, however in the visa application, it will ask you to show all employment - which can be relevant (to your occupation) employment which you are claiming for points, and that employment you mark as non-relevant to your occupation which earns no points. It would be important for you to show all employment properly there (be careful to only mark employment as relevant that you are ready and have documents to claim points for), as well as on Form 80 for employment history, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



majoroz said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am filling the immiaccount form I have a query.
> 
> Working in 2 companies at the same time. One of which is ACS assessed and other is not assessed. EOI submitted without the unassessed work experience. SS approved without the unassessed work exp. Immiaccount waiting to be submitted without the unassessed work experience. Will it have an impact on my application as I had provided my unassessed companies documents when applying for a visitor visa as a supporting document just to make my case stronger? At that time when I applied for a visitor visa i was working in a different company.
> 
> Waiting for your kind reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wan2no -

Not sure how to respond - I expect QLD would expect someone to interview for a job in QLD and then get an offer or a contract, regardless if they might be living in NSW or anywhere else, but that's just my view. Your physical location at lodgement is very important - if you're offshore (even if holding a student visa), you won't get a bridging visa as a result of a visa lodgement. Cancelling a student visa can have negative side effects as it leaves you unlawfully in Australia without a visa - suggest you get professional advice before you do anything like that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wan2no said:


> Hi mark,
> I am trying for qld ss living in Sydney by student visa. In 489 visa ss application it is noted that one need to have evidence of job in qld even in same or related field! I am wondering how it could be possible for one being another state! Any way if I go to my home country in vacation and apply will it be still as onshore as having valid student visa? Or should I cancel my student visa and then apply? What to do?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vdp -

Thanks for the kind words! Assuming you are on some sort of a bridging visa now, if you withdraw a visa application prior to decision on that application, your bridging visa will be set to expire 28 days from the date the withdrawal is processed by DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vdp said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Iam really learning from your thread thanks a lot!!!
> 
> If I choose withdrawal of visa after nomination is refused.. then what will be my visa in the remaining 28 days..
> 
> You are really a big help
> 
> regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks very much!

Best,

Mark



jasonpriya said:


> Thanks for your advice mark it's greatly appreciated. I really think it's amazing how much advice your giving people. Keep up the great work.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tracy88 -

Normally police checks are good for 12 months for Australian visa purposes, so if you have one that's 6 months old, you should still be able to use a certified copy of that one for another visa application. If you submitted the original to DIBP previously, they should have sent that back to you after the visa decision was made.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tracy88 said:


> hello mark...may you please help me with my issue. i am currently in australia and wanting to apply for a subclass 572 visa, however i left home in february and i had gone through a police check which is usually valid for 12 months. in applying for this new visa do i need a new police check from home or can i just produce the certified copy of the one that is 6 months old, am very confused, help please.... thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pevs -

This is a tricky situation, as for the 820 visa, if you are not married as of the date of application, your visa will automatically be assessed under the defacto relationship rules (including requiring living together for the 12 months prior to lodging). Normally an 820/801 is not lodged for a married couple until they are married for this reason. And trying to fix a 12-month issue by registering your relationship is generally not possible as most states prohibit registering a de facto relationship if a person is already married.

If you're fine with being assessed under the de facto relationship rules, then great as that will be the default assessment done under these conditions. You can also put in form 1023 to change your selection of engaged vs defacto if you'd like, but I'd make sure you've addressed everything required for the visa, especially the 12 month living together requirement which is the primary difference between applying as married partners and applying as de facto partners.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pevs said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've recently submitted my 820 application and naturally, selected "engaged" as we are engaged!
> We are actually marrying on June 14th.
> 
> Reading a post on this forum has made me slightly nervous. It mentioned that applications have been refused for 820's due to the fact "engaged" was selected and not "defacto".
> 
> I'm not sure whether to amend our application tomorrow and change "engaged" to "defacto", or just wait until we marry on the 14th and change it to "married" then?
> 
> Any advice or experience from anyone that has been through this previously would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sahmedraza -

If you want to resume your PR in Australia, you'll likely need to qualify for a subclass 155 Resident Return Visa based on substantial business, cultural, employment or personal ties to Australia - I'd check out the DIBP website for this visa and see if your circumstances match. If you apply for the RRV, you can include your immediate family members (partner, children under 18) depending on your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sahmedraza said:


> Dear Mark
> I am a former PR holder, my visa was valid b/w 2007 and 2012 and I spent 7 to 8 months. Currently I am residing in Pakistan and want to go back to Australia....... I need your suggestion in this regard
> 
> Further I got married after coming back from Australia how could I get visa for my wife and my kids
> 
> I really appreciate your response.
> 
> Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tryme5 -

Congratulations!! Great outcome - well done.

Best,

Mark



Tryme5 said:


> Hi Mark
> Finally, we got the 461 visa... Thanks for all your help and support ..
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SmallFry -

Thanks for the question. No way to predict with any certainty the outcome of any visitor visa - too much opinion/judgement by the case officer involved.

The more ties you can show to her home country, the better. Re: job, better if the job guarantees her job upon her return, rather than just "allowing" her to return - stronger language helps if you can get the employer to go along with it. Also, far better choice to do 3 month visa, as most employers don't want their person to be gone for 6 months and DIBP is suspect of that. Re: financial requirements, if you're assuming all costs, then only you would need to show financials, however sometimes it doesn't hurt to also include the applicant's financials and if she has any things like college degrees, professional certificates, etc to help push the idea that she is a skilled person who would be of value in employment situations in her country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



smallFry said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> In need of your wisdom,
> 
> Quick questions regarding Lodging of tourist visa after PMV,
> 
> My partner is from Vietnam, I started an online application but realised Vietnam is not one of the eligible countries for online applications, so I will have my parter do a paper application from Vietnam. I am having concerns about the success rate of approvals from high risk countries such as Vietnam, so need your advice on what I should include in her application,
> 
> We initially wanted to apply for a 6 month tourist visa, but I worry this is not likely to be approved, so will try for a 3 month instead.
> 
> This is what we have so far:
> 
> *Letter from Employer allowing her to return to her job as Accountant
> *Family and siblings reside in Vietnam
> *The need to be out of country before PMV decision is given
> *Evidence of Previous travel (Germany) for 2 month trip and came back on time.
> *Letter of support from myself showing I will provide all accomodation, expenses, health care insurance costs, etc
> 
> Is this enough for a 3 month Tourist Visa? Does she need to provide evidence of money in her bank or is my income evidence ok to use?
> 
> Thanks for all your help Mark, much appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Claire100 -

It might, especially if you show that you tried diligently to contact the ex with no results. The more detail here, the better.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Claire100 said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Would a statutory declaration alone suffice together with proof of no visitation? I don't think the ex will write any statements.
> 
> Claire


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fairytale -

Sorry to hear of this poor experience with a bad migration agent. Makes us all look bad. From what you've said, I see no way that the agent could endanger your PR, especially as you've lodged the end appointment version of the 956 form. I'd contact the agent, let her know you require a refund since she did not perform the service she promised to do, give her a reasonable amount of time to respond (14 days is fine), and if she refuses, contact her once more and tell her that if she does not comply with your request, you will formally report her to OMARA (mara.gov.au) and let them determine whether she has complied with the MARA Code of Conduct.

Additionally, you should carefully read whatever refund clause(s) there may be in the contract assuming you signed one with her. That being said, I'd also look at the Code of Conduct yourself on the OMARA website as you may be interested in how many of the sections of the code that the agent has violated - sounds like several from what you've said.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Fairytale said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I signed up a service with one MARA migration agent two years ago for my spouse PR application. However she ended up never doing it with variety of excuse (I never been able to contact her at all, and she only replied to my email with another excuse busy, sickness, or riding unicorn to alaska). So without informing her, I ended up doing it myself and got it granted later last year.
> 
> Now I haven't been trying to get my money back because I signed a blank declaration form for her (it was very stupid of me), the page 5 of form 956 and I'm afraid she can use this to revoke my PR or something (like sending letter to DIBP saying I would like to cancel my PR on my own will and she is my appointed 'agent'). Is this even possible?
> 
> Considering she knows my old name (I had a legal name change and new passport, and DIBP is already informed and updated VEVO with my new passport) and details, could she be angry at me for demanding my money back and decided to do something bad to my visa? What can she do with this signed 956 form?
> 
> I have sent letter to my CO with another 956 form ending appointment without her signature (only mine, because I can not contact her anymore), and explained what happened to make sure she has no access, but then again she has this signed form 956! My CO replied to my email saying he received the ending appointment form and actioned it accordingly.
> 
> I would actually want to have my money back, I paid for the service and I never received any. But will this risk my PR being canceled? Do I have a chance to get my money back? It's not small amount of money for us. Thanks Mark!
> 
> The keypoint :
> 1. She knows my old name and old passport number,
> 2. She doesnt know my new name / passport number, my PR visa application TRN and grant date (she probably doesnt even know if I already got my PR, she can only assume)
> 3. I am still with my sponsor, and I did not obtain the visa fraudulently. We have a 5 months old baby and it will be devastating if she could use the form 956 to Cancel my PR visa and I had to leave my family.
> 
> I doubt she will risk her MARN being revoked for doing this to me, but Its still a lot of trouble if she decided to act of my behalf saying I would like to withdraw my visa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kipsch -

Yes, however if your sponsor is an Australian permanent resident (not an Australian citizen), he/she must be usually resident in Australia to sponsor you - this can cause an issue at the sc100 stage if it exists.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kipsch said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have 309 visa. I haven't made the permanent move yet due to job. I am eligible to apply for 2nd stage. Can i apply if i am still offshore and haven't moved permanently?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pdub -

The bridging visa sits underneath the student visa and is not activated until the student visa expires on its own, so the applicant is still bound by the conditions of the student visa. If the student visa is cancelled (voluntarily or otherwise), it will automatically cancel the bridging visa you received from the partner visa application, leaving the applicant in Australia with no visa, leaving no choice but to apply for a BV-E at DIBP which has its own set of negative consequences - I'd get professional advice if you're considering that pathway.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pdub said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you are well and thank you so much for taking the time to respond to all of these questions.
> 
> My husband and I applied and paid for the 820 Partner Visa last night. Within minutes he received an email stating that he had been granted the following Visa:
> 
> Bridging Visa Class = Bridging A (Class WA)
> Bridging Visa Subclass = Bridging A (subclass 010)
> 
> My husband is currently on a student visa (see above).
> 
> Can you advise:
> 
> - Does he need to continue studying until the end of his student visa (until March 2017) or can he end his studies now that he is on the Bridging A Visa?
> 
> - Can he work more than the 40 hours now that he is on the Bridging Visa A
> 
> Or does the Bridging Visa A basically sit behind the Student Visa and not have any effect until his student visa expires?
> 
> Best regards,
> pdub


----------



## naumantalat

hey mark I hope you are well and happy & i hope if you can help me or advise me. my name is Nauman Talat. I am from Lahore, Pakistan. I dispatched my Study Visa Application Sub Class 573, along with all other documents through DHL on (21/04/2015). The documents were delivered & received on April 24, 2015. However, I did not receive acknowledgement from them therefore I e. mailed requesting for an acknowledgement along with the DHL proof of delivery attached on April 30th 2015.I received an auto response e. mail with standard information in it. Since I did not get any acknowledgement, I sent another e. mail as a reminder on May 12th 2015 but to my disappointment there was no reply this time. Having left with no choice I e. mailed again explaining my case & requesting for an acknowledgement on May 25th 2015 but with no reply again. i have sent the documents to Adelaide processing center in south Australia... & my classes starts in July.. so i have like a month left.. i have not done any medical or bio metric yet as i have not received any instructions from there side... i am really worried....
please help me


----------



## shaunmw87

*457 sponsorship visa*

Hi Mark Hope you are doing well, thanks for the help you give us lost immigrants!!!

Since we last spoke my situation has changed quite a bit. My wife's student visa was denied due to her history in Australia before, so now we need to look at our other option. Right now we are looking into a 457 Sponsorship visa. I have a few contacts in Sydney that have expressed there interest in sponsoring me, they are also already registered sponsors so shouldn't be a huge problem.

Just a few questions that i have:

1) How does the process work with the 457 visa for my wife? Are there any requirements that she needs, or do I simply link her onto my visa?

2) I have been advised that it would be easier to sponsor me if i am registered on skillselect, this would mean that i would make an expression of interest (EOI). Is this only applicable for a 189 or 190 visa or would it help my 457 visa? If i were to register on skillselect would this in any way affect or hinder my 457 visa application?

3) Would it be a huge problem if i registered on skillselect as a joiner but was sponsored for something a different on my 457 visa?

Thanks so much for all your help Mark

Regards Shaun


----------



## mfa

*ASIO Security check criteria*

Hi Mark,

Do you have idea if ASIO contacts all previously lived countries in last 10 years of a candidate to perform external security checks OR they only contact origin country of Passport of the candidate . If ASIO contacts all previously lived countries in last 10 years , then how much time it will take , because in this case , they will write to investigation agencieis of all these countries.

I am 189 visa applicant from high risk zone country i.e. Pakistan.

Do you have some flow chart or criteria performed by ASIO for clearing DIAC referred visa security clearance. kindly share.

thank you,
Moeen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naumantalat -

I understand your frustration - it is simply unfair when a government department refuses to even acknowledge an application, much less respond to emails. You might want to consider making a complaint to the Global Feedback Unit - that sometimes gets prompt results - see https://www.immi.gov.au/Help/Pages/feedback.aspx for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naumantalat said:


> hey mark I hope you are well and happy & i hope if you can help me or advise me. my name is Nauman Talat. I am from Lahore, Pakistan. I dispatched my Study Visa Application Sub Class 573, along with all other documents through DHL on (21/04/2015). The documents were delivered & received on April 24, 2015. However, I did not receive acknowledgement from them therefore I e. mailed requesting for an acknowledgement along with the DHL proof of delivery attached on April 30th 2015.I received an auto response e. mail with standard information in it. Since I did not get any acknowledgement, I sent another e. mail as a reminder on May 12th 2015 but to my disappointment there was no reply this time. Having left with no choice I e. mailed again explaining my case & requesting for an acknowledgement on May 25th 2015 but with no reply again. i have sent the documents to Adelaide processing center in south Australia... & my classes starts in July.. so i have like a month left.. i have not done any medical or bio metric yet as i have not received any instructions from there side... i am really worried....
> please help me


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Shaunmw87 -

Thanks for the questions - re: 457, generally no interaction with SkillSelect that I've seen - SS is mainly for lodging 189, 190, 489 applications for skilled visas. Re: your wife, she would be a secondary applicant on your 457 visa and would only need to prove that she is a member of your family unit (and partner), and meet health & character requirements. Re: different occupation on SS vs 457, no idea if DIBP would pick that up - if you already had a 457 visa and were looking at progressing onto a skilled visa that could be an issue, but other than that I don't see how.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shaunmw87 said:


> Hi Mark Hope you are doing well, thanks for the help you give us lost immigrants!!!
> 
> Since we last spoke my situation has changed quite a bit. My wife's student visa was denied due to her history in Australia before, so now we need to look at our other option. Right now we are looking into a 457 Sponsorship visa. I have a few contacts in Sydney that have expressed there interest in sponsoring me, they are also already registered sponsors so shouldn't be a huge problem.
> 
> Just a few questions that i have:
> 
> 1) How does the process work with the 457 visa for my wife? Are there any requirements that she needs, or do I simply link her onto my visa?
> 
> 2) I have been advised that it would be easier to sponsor me if i am registered on skillselect, this would mean that i would make an expression of interest (EOI). Is this only applicable for a 189 or 190 visa or would it help my 457 visa? If i were to register on skillselect would this in any way affect or hinder my 457 visa application?
> 
> 3) Would it be a huge problem if i registered on skillselect as a joiner but was sponsored for something a different on my 457 visa?
> 
> Thanks so much for all your help Mark
> 
> Regards Shaun


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mfa -

DIBP and ASIO don't publish the details of the security check procedures,, which countries are contacted, etc so no way to know - that's considered secret information by those organisations from what I understand.

Best,

Mark



mfa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Do you have idea if ASIO contacts all previously lived countries in last 10 years of a candidate to perform external security checks OR they only contact origin country of Passport of the candidate . If ASIO contacts all previously lived countries in last 10 years , then how much time it will take , because in this case , they will write to investigation agencieis of all these countries.
> 
> I am 189 visa applicant from high risk zone country i.e. Pakistan.
> 
> Do you have some flow chart or criteria performed by ASIO for clearing DIAC referred visa security clearance. kindly share.
> 
> thank you,
> Moeen


----------



## vdp

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vdp -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words! Assuming you are on some sort of a bridging visa now, if you withdraw a visa application prior to decision on that application, your bridging visa will be set to expire 28 days from the date the withdrawal is processed by DIBP.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply. 
Within that 28 days given perion can I still apply for another type of visa?or really need to leave the country?

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vdp -

You can certainly apply for another visa during that 28 day period, however some visas have Schedule 3 criteria that limit the ability to be granted a visa if the application is made while the applicant is holding a bridging visa, and you would also want to make sure you were not section 48 barred (via an onshore refusal on that same trip) from applying for visas other than those exempted from section 48.

As an example, a 457 temporary work visa has Schedule 3 criteria, while a subclass 189 or 190 skilled visa does not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vdp said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply.
> Within that 28 days given perion can I still apply for another type of visa?or really need to leave the country?
> 
> Regards


----------



## kaitlynsummer

Hi Mark, 
Please help me

We are awaiting our 820/801 defacto visa approval and are only 6 months into it.
My partner has just left the country on a BVA to go home for family personal reasons which we have evidence for. 

We didn't realise you were not aloud to leave the country on a VBA. 

Can we apply for the BVB whist he is overseas before he comes back. He flew out late Friday arvo and now its the long weekend and I cant contact immigration until Tuesday.

We are both freaking out and would appreciate any help possible.
Kaitlyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaitlynsummer -

Thanks for the note. Not possible to apply for a BV-B while the applicant is out of the country, so typically how this is handled is the applicant needs to apply for a visitor visa while outside the country and then re-enter Australia on the visitor visa. Once back in Australia, he can apply for a replacement BV-A which will be granted and will activate as soon as the stay period for the visitor visa is over.

The only issue with this can be that while back in Australia on the visitor visa, the applicant has no work rights and has to wait in Australia until the minimum stay period (sometimes 3 months) is over. In these circumstances if the applicant needs to work upon his return to Australia, you may be able to get a very short visitor visa (a couple of weeks) from DIBP to facilitate re-entry into Australia but not being saddled with a long visitor visa stay period where the applicant cannot work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kaitlynsummer said:


> Hi Mark,
> Please help me
> 
> We are awaiting our 820/801 defacto visa approval and are only 6 months into it.
> My partner has just left the country on a BVA to go home for family personal reasons which we have evidence for.
> 
> We didn't realise you were not aloud to leave the country on a VBA.
> 
> Can we apply for the BVB whist he is overseas before he comes back. He flew out late Friday arvo and now its the long weekend and I cant contact immigration until Tuesday.
> 
> We are both freaking out and would appreciate any help possible.
> Kaitlyn


----------



## kaitlynsummer

Thanks that been very helpful.
How do we apply for all this? We will need a short evisitor so he can work here too.

Do we have to ring immigration and tell them Mark has left the country and that we have/will apply for the visitor visa and will re apply for a BVA. Can they deny the BVA?

Also how long can he stay in his home country for?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaitlyn -

He can stay in his home country as long as he likes, and the BVA cannot be refused once he returns since he's applied while in Australia for a partner visa that is not yet decided. Key is getting the short visitor visa - suggest he contacts DIBP in the country he's in and let them know what's happened, and ask how he can apply for a short visitor visa. It will require their cooperation generally to get an unusually short visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kaitlynsummer said:


> Thanks that been very helpful.
> How do we apply for all this? We will need a short evisitor so he can work here too.
> 
> Do we have to ring immigration and tell them Mark has left the country and that we have/will apply for the visitor visa and will re apply for a BVA. Can they deny the BVA?
> 
> Also how long can he stay in his home country for?


----------



## kaitlynsummer

ok so we applied for the defacto visa 820/801 on the 30 December 2014 so it may be granted around the same time which means he has to be back in the country on a BVA before our defacto visa is approved?

He needed to stay in the UK for a month or until family issues are resolved, when should he apply for the visitor visa? Can he be on the visitor visa and stay in his country for two months then then last month here

This is so confusing, I cant thank you enough for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaitlyn -

Correct - he needs to be back in Australia when DIBP is ready to grant the 820/801, however if he's out of the country at that time, they'll generally notify him via the contact info/method you authorised on the application that he needs to come back so the visa can be granted. He can be on a visitor visa or BV-A at the time, as long as he's in Australia.

He can apply for a visitor visa at any time, but if it's a 3-month maximum stay period as many are, depending on how the visa is configured, the 3 months won't start until he returns to Australia. Suggest he work with the local DIBP office where he is to let them know his situation, determine when he wants to return, and see what sort of a short term visitor visa can be arranged. Once the 820 or 801 is granted, however, that replaces whatever visa he is on in Australia, and he has full work, etc rights at that time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kaitlynsummer said:


> ok so we applied for the defacto visa 820/801 on the 30 December 2014 so it may be granted around the same time which means he has to be back in the country on a BVA before our defacto visa is approved?
> 
> He needed to stay in the UK for a month or until family issues are resolved, when should he apply for the visitor visa? Can he be on the visitor visa and stay in his country for two months then then last month here
> 
> This is so confusing, I cant thank you enough for your help.


----------



## pollyrowan

*Visa 820*

Hi Mark,

I am applying for the Visa 820 from within Australia, as a UK citizen. I have been living here for 4 months on the working/holiday visa and have managed to get myself a 'permanent' job, as I promised my employer that I will get myself a more permanent visa.

Visa 820 seems to be my best option and I just wanted to check that I can continue working at my job despite the fact my working holiday 6 months working allowance will expire in September. If I submit my application for 820 before then, will I be able to continue working at my current job? And do I need to do anything extra/specific to ensure this?

Also - a quick question about uploading evidence. How do you organise things like photos? My boyfriend is suggesting uploading everything in Word documents with captions, but do they need to be separate files (or PDF files gathered together in one file). Would be so helpful to know as it's not clear online! I don't want to start gathering/organising evidence in the wrong format.

Thanks so much,

Polly


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Polly -

Thanks for the question. As long as you lodge your 820 application before the 6-month employer limitation is up, immediately after lodging the 820 and at least 2 weeks prior to the end of the 6-month limitation period, you should lodge a request for an extension to the 6-month WHV employer limit, which is DIBP Form 1445. See the form for specific instructions.

Re: photos, we recommend assembling them into a multipage Word doc, each photo with a short caption below, then save as a PDF. Total filesize of the PDF cannot be larger than 5MB - you can create multiple photo albums like this if you need to include more pictures.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pollyrowan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for the Visa 820 from within Australia, as a UK citizen. I have been living here for 4 months on the working/holiday visa and have managed to get myself a 'permanent' job, as I promised my employer that I will get myself a more permanent visa.
> 
> Visa 820 seems to be my best option and I just wanted to check that I can continue working at my job despite the fact my working holiday 6 months working allowance will expire in September. If I submit my application for 820 before then, will I be able to continue working at my current job? And do I need to do anything extra/specific to ensure this?
> 
> Also - a quick question about uploading evidence. How do you organise things like photos? My boyfriend is suggesting uploading everything in Word documents with captions, but do they need to be separate files (or PDF files gathered together in one file). Would be so helpful to know as it's not clear online! I don't want to start gathering/organising evidence in the wrong format.
> 
> Thanks so much,
> 
> Polly


----------



## AJ1234

Hi Mark.
If someone was applying for the VET 572 visa (or any student visa, for that matter), how are they expected to prove they have access to the "living costs" of $18610 that DIBP require per year? Is it just a declaration that they will have money or are they expected to attach a bank statement showing the full amount? 
Thanks


----------



## kaitlynsummer

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kaitlyn -
> 
> Correct - he needs to be back in Australia when DIBP is ready to grant the 820/801, however if he's out of the country at that time, they'll generally notify him via the contact info/method you authorised on the application that he needs to come back so the visa can be granted. He can be on a visitor visa or BV-A at the time, as long as he's in Australia.
> 
> He can apply for a visitor visa at any time, but if it's a 3-month maximum stay period as many are, depending on how the visa is configured, the 3 months won't start until he returns to Australia. Suggest he work with the local DIBP office where he is to let them know his situation, determine when he wants to return, and see what sort of a short term visitor visa can be arranged. Once the 820 or 801 is granted, however, that replaces whatever visa he is on in Australia, and he has full work, etc rights at that time.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


So do we apply for the visitor visa asap over there so he has it when he fly's back into Australia?
Do I ring immigration first thing Tuesday and tell them the situation?

You have been so amazing.
Thank you so much for all your help.
I feel a lot less stressed
&#55357;&#56832;
Thanks again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AJ1234 -

It depends on the assessment level of the applicant's country of citizenship and the type of school. The various pages on the DIBP site have you "customise" the page by specifying this information, then they display the proper requirements for your situation. For some lower-risk assessment levels, a declaration that you have funds available is acceptable, however for other assessment levels, it requires evidence of those funds from a bank or other qualified institution in a form that is acceptable to DIBP. There are also rules re: who can provide the funds - ie, family member, etc depending on your assessment level.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AJ1234 said:


> Hi Mark.
> If someone was applying for the VET 572 visa (or any student visa, for that matter), how are they expected to prove they have access to the "living costs" of $18610 that DIBP require per year? Is it just a declaration that they will have money or are they expected to attach a bank statement showing the full amount?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaitlyn -

Thanks for the kind words! As visitor visas are processed offshore in the applicant's home country, probably best to get in touch with the DIBP office there to find out how much lead time they want on a visitor visa application and to explore whether they are open to considering a short-duration visitor visa given the circumstances. Also best if your partner is going to be out of the country for more than 2 weeks to complete and lodge form 929 to update his address, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kaitlynsummer said:


> So do we apply for the visitor visa asap over there so he has it when he fly's back into Australia?
> Do I ring immigration first thing Tuesday and tell them the situation?
> 
> You have been so amazing.
> Thank you so much for all your help.
> I feel a lot less stressed
> ��
> Thanks again!


----------



## Raj11

Hi Mark, i am reading this forum since long time and i am confused with few points of immigration website regarding 887 visa.
I am on family sponsored 489 visa. I am in designated area and working here since i got my bridging visa from Feb,2013. I have completed my both condition by staying in designated area for two years and woking full time for 1 year ( 35 Hours weekly).
My confusion is about immi website which says that you might be able to get this visa if you hold Bridging Visa A OR B after applying for 489 visa. 
Than in another section it says "You must have held 489 visas for at least two years before applying for this visa, but they do not have to be the two years immediately before you apply". It means 2 years stay and 1 year work during bridging visa is consider for 887 application but i got my 489 visa before I finish my last 3 months for two year stay in designated area. So now Whatever time I spent on bridging visa to fulfill conditions of fulltime work and stay is not valid just because They granted me 489 visa and now I have to stay here for two years and work again for 1 year from the date of visa granted to fulfill the requirements of 887 visa. Do I need to recount everything? What if I apply for 887 visa now? Please help me solve this mystery. I need your help and guidance. Thanking you. Raj.


----------



## AJ1234

Thanks for the reply Mark.

One other quick question, what kind of courses are covered under subclass 575 "non award sector"? I've tried to research but I can't find much info.

Cheers



MarkNortham said:


> Hi AJ1234 -
> 
> It depends on the assessment level of the applicant's country of citizenship and the type of school. The various pages on the DIBP site have you "customise" the page by specifying this information, then they display the proper requirements for your situation. For some lower-risk assessment levels, a declaration that you have funds available is acceptable, however for other assessment levels, it requires evidence of those funds from a bank or other qualified institution in a form that is acceptable to DIBP. There are also rules re: who can provide the funds - ie, family member, etc depending on your assessment level.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raj11 -

Thanks for the note. The key issue is when you can begin counting your time living/working in a designated area under the 489 visa, towards the requirements for the 887 visa. The regulations say that you can count the time while you held a 489 or a bridging visa associated with your 489 application. To be safe, however, I would not count time that the 489 bridging visa had been granted, but not yet activated - for instance, if the 489 bridging visa was granted 3 months before the end of some previous visa like a student visa, etc, I would not count those 3 months. When whatever previous visa you held expired, then the bridging visa for the 489 would have activated - that's the time I'd begin counting your live/work period, all the way through to and including them that you were actually on the 489 visa itself.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Raj11 said:


> Hi Mark, i am reading this forum since long time and i am confused with few points of immigration website regarding 887 visa.
> I am on family sponsored 489 visa. I am in designated area and working here since i got my bridging visa from Feb,2013. I have completed my both condition by staying in designated area for two years and woking full time for 1 year ( 35 Hours weekly).
> My confusion is about immi website which says that you might be able to get this visa if you hold Bridging Visa A OR B after applying for 489 visa.
> Than in another section it says "You must have held 489 visas for at least two years before applying for this visa, but they do not have to be the two years immediately before you apply". It means 2 years stay and 1 year work during bridging visa is consider for 887 application but i got my 489 visa before I finish my last 3 months for two year stay in designated area. So now Whatever time I spent on bridging visa to fulfill conditions of fulltime work and stay is not valid just because They granted me 489 visa and now I have to stay here for two years and work again for 1 year from the date of visa granted to fulfill the requirements of 887 visa. Do I need to recount everything? What if I apply for 887 visa now? Please help me solve this mystery. I need your help and guidance. Thanking you. Raj.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AJ1234 -

The most common uses for a 575 visa are for a foundation course that is not packaged with another course, or for individual bits and pieces of courses that are not leading to a degree - for instance, if an accountant had to take a few courses to complete the core educational requirements for a skills assessment, etc but did not earn a degree or qualification here, just took a few courses.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AJ1234 said:


> Thanks for the reply Mark.
> 
> One other quick question, what kind of courses are covered under subclass 575 "non award sector"? I've tried to research but I can't find much info.
> 
> Cheers


----------



## Andrew1981

HI Mark

Just after a push in the right direction, I am an Australian citizen looking to marry my Vietnamese girlfriend we have been going back and forth visiting each other for at least 3years so getting her visas has been no problem. My question is what is the best way to get married so eventually she can live here in Australia. Is it better for me to go to Vietnam and marry there or better for her to come here on a visa (what visa does she need)? she also has a 4 yr old daugheter who has gotten a visa to come with her when she visits any information would be helpful. or if you have a better way I can marry I would like to hear. thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew1981 -
Thanks for the question. All depends on your schedule and where you want her to be during the 12+ months it takes DIBP to process a partner visa application these days. You could marry offshore, then apply for an offshore partner visa and keep using visitor visas for her & daughter to visit while the visa is processing, you could marry onshore while they are here on a visitor visa and then apply for an onshore partner visa in which case they'd get to remain here during the 12+ month period (as long as she didn't have a no further stay condition on her visitor visa), or if you don't have enough relationship evidence at this point to show a genuine married relationship, you might do an offshore fiance visa (PMV), then await her coming here on that visa to marry. Which method is best would depend on how much and what kind of relationship evidence you have so far, when you planned to marry, and your own preferences for where she & daughter would want to be during the visa processing period.

May make sense for you to consult with a migration agent to work through the options in detail and see what makes the best sense given you and your partner's circumstances and goals.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Andrew1981 said:


> HI Mark
> 
> Just after a push in the right direction, I am an Australian citizen looking to marry my Vietnamese girlfriend we have been going back and forth visiting each other for at least 3years so getting her visas has been no problem. My question is what is the best way to get married so eventually she can live here in Australia. Is it better for me to go to Vietnam and marry there or better for her to come here on a visa (what visa does she need)? she also has a 4 yr old daugheter who has gotten a visa to come with her when she visits any information would be helpful. or if you have a better way I can marry I would like to hear. thanks


----------



## Andrew1981

Cheers for the help, I was thinking the visitor visa but some people have said its a no no, because that's not why she is here for a visit not for marriage, giving that can I go to my local marriage office and get married in the office? What would she need to bring with her.? Sorry for the hassles but been trying to figure things out so many different answers going around on the Internet. I was trying to look at getting married on visitor visa in my town then she will go home then I would travel over to Vietnam later in the year for a wedding party for her family to see, then start the process of applying for a spouse visa that way she can tie up loose end at home before coming here.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew - Best for you to sit down with a migration agent who is experienced in partner visas and fiance visas and work through your circumstances to get professional advice - too many factors to give specific case advice on an anonymous forum, plus you're paying thousands of dollars on any of these visa options - too much at risk for quick msgs, etc. Happy to assist you at a consultation if you'd like - see website below in my sig for more info.

Best,

Mark



Andrew1981 said:


> Cheers for the help, I was thinking the visitor visa but some people have said its a no no, because that's not why she is here for a visit not for marriage, giving that can I go to my local marriage office and get married in the office? What would she need to bring with her.? Sorry for the hassles but been trying to figure things out so many different answers going around on the Internet. I was trying to look at getting married on visitor visa in my town then she will go home then I would travel over to Vietnam later in the year for a wedding party for her family to see, then start the process of applying for a spouse visa that way she can tie up loose end at home before coming here.


----------



## injeegirl

*Dodgy Landord - no lease/rent receipts*

Hello, I'd like to know how to get around the lack of evidence of living together. I'm Australian and partner is from the UK and going to apply for the partner visa.
We have some correspondence to my address and our cars are registered at this address but one thing that I feel is holding us back is the fact that the studio I'm living in is an illegal dwelling - therefore the landlord is unwilling to give rent receipts or to even write a stat dec saying we live here and we give her money for rent and electricity. My studio is not separately metered so she works out the total cost by how many houses/people are on the property. There is also no phone line. Nothing that I can get in official accounts in both our names.

I feel we can gather all the other evidence except for what I feel is a major aspect to our evidence building - living together.
Any ideas?
Thanking you in advance!!


----------



## Raj11

*887 visa*

Hi Mark thank you very much for your guidance and support. May be I made some mistake to explain my detail. Actually, i moved to designated area with the activated 489 briging visa. During my bridging visa I rent a property and got full time job in designated area. Before I finish my 1 year work requirement in last 3 months (worked for 7 months) immigration grant me 489 visa.

- Now I am actually on 489 visa Can I count my 7 months work and 2 years stay in designated which was done while active bridging visa.
- do I need to work again for 1 year and stay for 2 year after getting my 489 visa.

As per my understanding about your reply I can count my stay and work during activated bridging visa to make 887 application.

Please guide me through this very tough path to achieve my goal.

Thanking you.
Raj.


----------



## ktpooh7

*Temp Working Visa*

Hi Mark,

I would like to apply for a temporary work visa to Aus. I've been researching it and can't seem to find the right one to apply for! I am a 31yo and intend on getting a waitressing job while I'm there. I do have direct family I will be staying with and could possibly sponsor me if needed.

Please point me in the right direction! Thank you!

-Katie


----------



## manimehra22

Hi mark
I have a confusion. 
My wife is NZ citizen. She is in australia since last 5 years i am on 461 visa. Someone told me if she stayed continually in australia for 10 years after that she can eligible to apply for australian citizenship. She is only a NZ citizen not a Eligible NZ citizen. Is this true? 
Plz reply 
Thanks


----------



## kaitlynsummer

Ok I'll get him to contact DBPS in the UK asap.

The change of address form, should that be our new address in Australia or his one back in the UK?

I'm going to ring immigration today and tell them the situation and what you have told me and fingers crossed it works out.

All because of a silly mistake
Thanks for everything Mark.

Kaitlyn summer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Injeegirl -

Interesting situation! I'd look for more stat decs from people close to you who know where you live and have visited you at your home, plus any & all mail and especially government or financial companies who have your common address on accounts for each of you (or joint accounts).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



injeegirl said:


> Hello, I'd like to know how to get around the lack of evidence of living together. I'm Australian and partner is from the UK and going to apply for the partner visa.
> We have some correspondence to my address and our cars are registered at this address but one thing that I feel is holding us back is the fact that the studio I'm living in is an illegal dwelling - therefore the landlord is unwilling to give rent receipts or to even write a stat dec saying we live here and we give her money for rent and electricity. My studio is not separately metered so she works out the total cost by how many houses/people are on the property. There is also no phone line. Nothing that I can get in official accounts in both our names.
> 
> I feel we can gather all the other evidence except for what I feel is a major aspect to our evidence building - living together.
> Any ideas?
> Thanking you in advance!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaitlyn -

Form 929 would be for his new address in the UK if he's going to be there more than a few weeks. Good luck with DIBP today -

Best,

Mark



kaitlynsummer said:


> Ok I'll get him to contact DBPS in the UK asap.
> 
> The change of address form, should that be our new address in Australia or his one back in the UK?
> 
> I'm going to ring immigration today and tell them the situation and what you have told me and fingers crossed it works out.
> 
> All because of a silly mistake
> Thanks for everything Mark.
> 
> Kaitlyn summer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raj11 -

In theory you can count time that the bridging visa you received with the 489 application was active, however would need to work with you in a consultation to look at your visas and confirm this in order to give you any specific advice for your case - wrong advice could mean thousands of dollars in lost visa fees and worse. But as I said, the regulations state that time spent while holding a BV that was received from the application for a 489 counts, so time living and/or working in a designated area during that BV time is valid towards the 1yr/2yrs rule for the 887.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Raj11 said:


> Hi Mark thank you very much for your guidance and support. May be I made some mistake to explain my detail. Actually, i moved to designated area with the activated 489 briging visa. During my bridging visa I rent a property and got full time job in designated area. Before I finish my 1 year work requirement in last 3 months (worked for 7 months) immigration grant me 489 visa.
> 
> - Now I am actually on 489 visa Can I count my 7 months work and 2 years stay in designated which was done while active bridging visa.
> - do I need to work again for 1 year and stay for 2 year after getting my 489 visa.
> 
> As per my understanding about your reply I can count my stay and work during activated bridging visa to make 887 application.
> 
> Please guide me through this very tough path to achieve my goal.
> 
> Thanking you.
> Raj.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Katie -

The subclass 457 is the primary temporary work visa for Australia, however it requires an employer to sponsor you. The only family sponsored visa for Australia with work rights is the subclass 489 provisional skilled visa, but only works if your family lives in one of the designated areas for that visa - see DIBP website at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ktpooh7 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to apply for a temporary work visa to Aus. I've been researching it and can't seem to find the right one to apply for! I am a 31yo and intend on getting a waitressing job while I'm there. I do have direct family I will be staying with and could possibly sponsor me if needed.
> 
> Please point me in the right direction! Thank you!
> 
> -Katie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manimehra22 -

Not accurate - I think the rule you might be thinking of is the one where if a child is usually resident in Australia from birth for the first 10 years of their life, they can become a citizen. However for NZ citizens that are not "eligible NZ citizens", there is no special path for citizenship or PR and they need to look at the usual PR visas and then citizenship just as someone from another country would.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



manimehra22 said:


> Hi mark
> I have a confusion.
> My wife is NZ citizen. She is in australia since last 5 years i am on 461 visa. Someone told me if she stayed continually in australia for 10 years after that she can eligible to apply for australian citizenship. She is only a NZ citizen not a Eligible NZ citizen. Is this true?
> Plz reply
> Thanks


----------



## jnsgirls

*Form119*

i,

my partner is lodging a form 119 because he's sharing his citizenship certificate with his father and his brother and he wants to get his own one. 
they are asking for identity documents so we are planning to give a copy of his passport and an energy bill but to prove his name and date of birth they ask for a birth certificate but my doesn't have a birth certificate so i'm wondering if a copy of his driving licence would be enough?

the second thing is it says that if you are requesting a new certificate you must surrender the old one unless other people are named on it. this is the case for my partner his father and brother's name are on the certificate so does that mean i don't have to give anything?

thanks


----------



## toris7351

*Does additional evidences will be counted after lodgement?*

Thanks Mark for your advice!


----------



## meyhang

After seeing this post, I, Cambodian, feel so hopeful. I would highly appreciation your answer and response. 
My dad engaged to Australian last year and I was put to be the only dependent child. Recently, his visa was refused and is now applied for the review. Up to what I know, reviewing process (mrt) would take about a year. I dropped my school because I was told that i would move real soon. However, once again, he fell. As a dependent child of prospective marriage (subclass 300), can I now go to study Australia? Any suggestion if I want to study there but my last visa is still in review?


----------



## sandset

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sandset -
> 
> Sorry, but I can't answer form-specific and case-specific questions without discussing your case and learning more about it in detail at a consultation - too many details, and the wrong advice could create huge problems for you. Happy to assist at a consultation where I can review your documents - see my website below in my signature for more info.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thank you for your reply.


----------



## farhanmazhari

*Eoi 189*

Hi Mark,

EOI submitted with 60 points on 29-May under 189 for 2631, remaining seats till date its around 400. Can I expect response soon? or I have to wait for some good amount of time.

Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Toris -

Thanks for the note. I'm getting the idea that you'd like some advice as to whether the relationship evidence you have put together is enough to have a good chance of approval at a 309/100 or 820/801 application - it's not possible for me to assess relationship evidence and give case-specific advice on the forum - happy to do so at a consultation if you'd like, as that will give us the time and ability to speak directly about your case and I can review your relationship evidence and give you advice based on that. If interested, see website link in my signature below for more info on consultations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



toris7351 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Thanks for your time and kindness at the forum. I sincerely appreciate your help to ppl here.
> 
> I am currently having a big hesitation to decide to go whether 309/820(both online) due to the amount of evidences. Comparing to other people, I feel so frustrated. elkitten's post was very helpful but seems that DIBP gets stricter now than the moment when elkitten's grant day(2009).
> 
> I have lived with my bf in his family house while I was on WHV(10 months) and ETA(2 months) and pay the partial rents to his mother individually.
> We do have joint bank account, registered-certification, stat decs from family describing we lived together, shared house cores, ect., joint myerone, joint flybuys, cinebuzz histories, bank transactions from personal account to spend money for each other,a tons of contact log during physical separations, job description letter of my partner, and having my partner on my superannuation beneficiary. That is all :/ I am currently in my home country while my partner stays with his family in oz. the separated duration has been over 4 months since I spent 2 months to live with him again last time. It would be longer if I lodge 309 in June.
> 
> 1) if I lodge application with minimum required evidences initially then keep adding more evidences afterwards, does additional evidences be accepted to the case? I am considering to organize joint phone bill remotely because I feel our joint commitment is not enough. If I lodge onshore, perhaps I will get continuously more letter on same address on joint names over 1 year while I am on BVA. I, however, this option is only worth if additional evidences are allowed to be uploaded while processing(over 1 year is crazy  )
> 
> 2) Does 12 months De-facto period requirement only be applicable to recent 12 months before lodgement? I think my register-relationship cert. will waive this requirement(plus total cohabitation time is slightly over 12 months which my partner's mum will declare as well) but since we have been in distance now and back then(10 months together, then I went back to home country after visa expired, and came back to oz for 1.5 months and been on distance now again). We couldn't continuously live together. Total stacked distance days are longer than 7 months. I am afraid we look alike not cohabiting appropriately. If I lodge 309, the temporary on distance will over 1 year  - I attained NZ WHV to get closer to my partner though.
> 
> 3) Skimming forum, 820 seems to require more evidence(since couples are technically on same country) and 309 looks a lot simpler since it is very limited to gather co-interacting evidences overseas corresponding to the guideline of oz. From your experiences, does simpler document on 309 is a bit safer than 820 if couple still hassle to gather joint commitment evidences(my partner currently binds all assets/bonds/lease contract with his mother to support his family and it will be hard to change/add me up even tough I come back to oz except some limited util bills such as mobile/internet/data plan)
> 
> If keeping adding up evidence be allowed, I definitely go onshore(perhaps I will get some more phone bills on same address, joint activity letters afterwards). Otherwise, it would be better to come to NZ and have my partner keep visiting me..
> 
> Once again, thank you for your patience to help me here at forum. It would be very amazing if you can give me some advise to make a decision.
> 
> Thank you(and sorry for my broken English . It is a bit hard to catch some errors on non-native English speaker's view)!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jnsgirls -

I'm unsure of whether a birth certificate will suffice for those purposes - will be up to the case officer. Re: surrender, generally you do not have to surrender the certificate if other names are on it, so you may not want to provide it unless specifically requested, and after you have informed them that there are other names on it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jnsgirls said:


> i,
> 
> my partner is lodging a form 119 because he's sharing his citizenship certificate with his father and his brother and he wants to get his own one.
> they are asking for identity documents so we are planning to give a copy of his passport and an energy bill but to prove his name and date of birth they ask for a birth certificate but my doesn't have a birth certificate so i'm wondering if a copy of his driving licence would be enough?
> 
> the second thing is it says that if you are requesting a new certificate you must surrender the old one unless other people are named on it. this is the case for my partner his father and brother's name are on the certificate so does that mean i don't have to give anything?
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Meyhang -

Thanks for the note. If the 300 visa was refused and is now at the MRT, that visa does not provide a way for you to come to Australia as it has not yet been granted. If the visa is eventually granted and you are included as a dependent child, then you could come to Australia on that visa and study, but that's in the future and depends on a positive outcome at the MRT. Until then, your best bet to come and study may be a student visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



meyhang said:


> After seeing this post, I, Cambodian, feel so hopeful. I would highly appreciation your answer and response.
> My dad engaged to Australian last year and I was put to be the only dependent child. Recently, his visa was refused and is now applied for the review. Up to what I know, reviewing process (mrt) would take about a year. I dropped my school because I was told that i would move real soon. However, once again, he fell. As a dependent child of prospective marriage (subclass 300), can I now go to study Australia? Any suggestion if I want to study there but my last visa is still in review?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Farhanmazhari -

We're hearing that DIBP has in most cases stopped granting 189 visas and the invitation process has stopped until after 1 July when the new processing year starts, so you may have to wait for some time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



farhanmazhari said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> EOI submitted with 60 points on 29-May under 189 for 2631, remaining seats till date its around 400. Can I expect response soon? or I have to wait for some good amount of time.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## farhanmazhari

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Farhanmazhari -
> 
> We're hearing that DIBP has in most cases stopped granting 189 visas and the invitation process has stopped until after 1 July when the new processing year starts, so you may have to wait for some time.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


So can I expect anything from first round in July? or have to wait further.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Impossible to predict, since we don't know the backlog of people for your occupation, and don't know how many others have higher point scores than you, or equal point scores but earlier EOI effective dates than you.

Best,

Mark



farhanmazhari said:


> So can I expect anything from first round in July? or have to wait further.


----------



## farhanmazhari

Thanks, is there any chance for rejection or they will not send invitation.


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, always.

Best,

Mark



farhanmazhari said:


> Thanks, is there any chance for rejection or they will not send invitation.


----------



## Raj11

Hi Mark,
Thanks a lot for your help. your guidance gave me big relief. I am happy to discuss my case with you. 

Once again thank you very much.

Raj.


----------



## cmwright121

*Points test*

Hi Mark,

Thanks so much for taking time to respond to all of us with questions.

I have submit my EOI for the 189 and 190 in NSW for Social Work, however my score is 50 and 55, do you know if there is a minimum that they accept? I did read somewhere that NSW does not take under 60, but I also noticed that there is a low amount of social workers that have been accepted and it is no where close to the ceiling. Just curious if I need to take the English test or not, don't want to pay added money for something if I could be accepted without it.

Thanks!


----------



## ajl90

Hi Mark,

I was wondering if you have any experience with extending working holiday rights while waiting on 820 visa. My currently 2nd yr WHV does not expire until Jan 5, 1016. My partner and I plan to apply for the 820 in the next couple of weeks and my 6 month work restriction will end on the 28th of July. In your experience would I be able to extend my working rights that long? Thanks for taking the time to read this!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cmwright121 -

There are no published minimums from NSW, but a score of 50 on the points test will only qualify you for a 489 provisional visa if sponsored. Much of NSW's internal calculations re: selection are unpublished, so I wouldn't be surprised if IELTS score is important. I would recommend taking the English test to assist with your points score if possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cmwright121 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks so much for taking time to respond to all of us with questions.
> 
> I have submit my EOI for the 189 and 190 in NSW for Social Work, however my score is 50 and 55, do you know if there is a minimum that they accept? I did read somewhere that NSW does not take under 60, but I also noticed that there is a low amount of social workers that have been accepted and it is no where close to the ceiling. Just curious if I need to take the English test or not, don't want to pay added money for something if I could be accepted without it.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ajl90

It's a very straightforward task - after you lodge your partner visa, lodge form 1445 with DIBP and they will usually grant the extension - do make sure your 1445 form is lodged at least 2 weeks before the end of the 6 month limitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ajl90 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was wondering if you have any experience with extending working holiday rights while waiting on 820 visa. My currently 2nd yr WHV does not expire until Jan 5, 1016. My partner and I plan to apply for the 820 in the next couple of weeks and my 6 month work restriction will end on the 28th of July. In your experience would I be able to extend my working rights that long? Thanks for taking the time to read this!


----------



## pula

Hi Mark,

Me and my family is on visa 489, I have two questions about my visa and applying for PR;
1. I came to Darwin on 2013/06/30 but my family came on November 2013. Can we apply for PR / visa 887 after 2015/07/01?

2. Once when I apply for 887, can I move / relocate to Melbourne before I receive the result of the application?

Note: We have been living in regional areas for past two years (Darwin & Adelaide) and we never went out side of these two regoins. I have completed more than one year of full time job.

Please help me out on these questions.

Thanking you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pula -

Thanks for the question. - Re: 1, yes as long as you meet the requirements - only the primary applicant is required to meet the 2yrs/1yr requirement of the 887. Re: 2, No, you are bound by the conditions of your 489 visa until it expires ( you would be on bridging visa from the 887 application by then, assuming you lodged in time), or is replaced by the 887.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pula said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Me and my family is on visa 489, I have two questions about my visa and applying for PR;
> 1. I came to Darwin on 2013/06/30 but my family came on November 2013. Can we apply for PR / visa 887 after 2015/07/01?
> 
> 2. Once when I apply for 887, can I move / relocate to Melbourne before I receive the result of the application?
> 
> Note: We have been living in regional areas for past two years (Darwin & Adelaide) and we never went out side of these two regoins. I have completed more than one year of full time job.
> 
> Please help me out on these questions.
> 
> Thanking you in advance.


----------



## pula

Thank you for quick reply.

Seems I have to stay here for roughly another 6 months.......


----------



## ajl90

Thank you for your very prompt response Mark! I guess I am just worried about requesting a 5 month extension of my working rights. The 1445 form states it is usually only granted on a short term basis. I just wanted to know if this really mattered when waiting on an 820 visa?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ajl90
> 
> It's a very straightforward task - after you lodge your partner visa, lodge form 1445 with DIBP and they will usually grant the extension - do make sure your 1445 form is lodged at least 2 weeks before the end of the 6 month limitation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ajil90 -

Normally not an issue - after all, it's DIBP that's taking so long to process the visa - something that is out of your control.

Re: does the extension matter, absolutely - if you breach the condition of your WHV, that could cause cancellation of that visa and impact your partner visa.

Best,

Mark



ajl90 said:


> Thank you for your very prompt response Mark! I guess I am just worried about requesting a 5 month extension of my working rights. The 1445 form states it is usually only granted on a short term basis. I just wanted to know if this really mattered when waiting on an 820 visa?


----------



## anandajoti

Hi Mark
Thanks For Your Great Initiative To Help The people like Us! 

I have got married on 2010 and My wife from Bangladesh ( me too) at the time of the wedding i didn't check her birth certificate but actually she was underage to apply for a spouse visa . You may know that in Bangladesh we actually reduce our Age on the Time of registration at Our school for the public Exam because of the long queue for Government jobs and that is not changeable. So at the time of our wedding according to her certificate she was 16 (original 19) and i couldn't apply for the partner/spouse visa.after she turns 18 legally(according to her certificate) I have contacted an agent in the Sydney regarding the option to apply as a de facto visa offshore. after read my whole story ( written on a paper) he said as long as she turns 18 legally and the relationship completed 12 months before she turns 18 its ok to apply. ( he showed me the rules on the immi website) so i have lodged the application with GOOD ENOUGH supporting documents eg: phone records, money sending receipts, property i bought on her name at Bangladesh, travel documents. After around three months case officer replied that actually we have to complete 12 months relationship period after she turns 18 legally and its against the policy how we have applied and the case officer asked for any 'compelling circumstances' she can consider otherwise she will give the decision on the basis of our application.then i have asked my agent about the policy case officer talking about, he said he doesn't know any policy like that and showing some attitude like i have such a complex case, why did i married an underage girl and i was bit annoyed. later he have tried to write down his level best compelling reason with some other law and policy and send it to the case officer. two months after that reply, case officer called my wife to do the medical test and since then its 14 months we are waiting for the decision. my agent also not really co operative to give some hope after that issue, The only email i have received recently via my agent is My application currently being assessed by a senior migration officer and if she needs any additional info she will contact with us. 

My question is 1. is there any law or policy that both parties has to complete 12 months relationship after they turns 18 to consider as a de facto partner to apply? 
2. if there is then agent should knows it and if he doesn't know and encourage us to apply is it strong enough reason to complain to MARA and finally we are waiting more then the normal processing time is there any hope for us that case officer will grant the visa?

sorry for long story MARK please reply


----------



## rabbit/tiger

*offshore?*

Hello Mark,

I have a question that I can not find the answer for, so I am hoping you can help me.

My fiance and I are about to apply for a PMV (300) offshore - Computer access for him is a problem, I realise that it is infact him applying for a visa and that he should be the one to create an immi account - so my question is, is there any problems if I were to create the account? And moving forward if I am doing majority of the work? Will there be some sort of ip address they will check or anything?

thank you for any advice you can give me


----------



## Nikkicagu

Hi, Mark!

Oops, sorry. Forgot. My visa class is Partner (Provisional) (class UF) (subclass 309) / Partner (Migrant) (class BC) (subclass 100), applied in Manila, Philippines. And I already had my medical last june 3.  Thank God. Anyhow, do you have any idea how long is the process? Coz I'm hoping To leave in September coz I really want to be with my husband and I want to make it on his day. Thanks.

Also. is it possible for me to travel overseas like in the US. while my visa is being processed?

P.S. By the way, how will I know if I have a case officer? 

Thank you and hope to hear from you soon, 
Nikkicagu 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nikkicagu -
> 
> You didn't mention the specific type of visa you applied for - that would help me answer your questions, thanks -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## cynicofbabylon

Hi Mark!

Thanks for being so amazing and helpful to us. I had one question relating to application forms for skilled migration visa (189). In fields that require education qualification information such as high school and university, I'm facing a kind of unique situation. I basically studied at a branch campus of a UK university that is located in another country, but the awarding institution of my degree is the UK campus. Ive never visited the uk. In this case which university address and country do I write? For my skills assessment (which i got a positive outcome for) I wrote the UK address as the awarding institution because nowhere on my degree does it mention the branch location.

Would like to know your recommendation on the matter. Thanks so much!


----------



## kdc

Hi Mark i was hoping you could help me and give me some advice in regards to my current visa. I received my temporary 820 visa in february this year, i will be able to apply for the 801 visa next May (2016) as it will then have been 2 years since i applied for the partner visa. However i am from england and i was hoping to return there next January to complete a 2 year degree, my partner however is unsure if he will be able to move over there with me due to his work commitments which would mean we would have to be separate for long periods of time again. My question is, will my visa be jeopardized if i go back to england and we are separated? Will it prevent me from getting the permanent 801 visa because we would be in a long distance relationship again? And would it cause any hold backs by me being out for the Australia for a large amount of time?

Thank you so much in advance for you time and help.


----------



## jinda_pir

Hi Mark,

First of all thank you so much for your terrific effort. I would like to have your valuable advise on the below matter;

My 886 visa has recently been refused. The decision records state that my diploma of accounting is not closely related with my nominated occupation Graphic prepress. FYI, I've done certificate 3 on Graphic prepress and had been successfully assessed as graphic pre press tradesperson along with my diploma of accounting. What has made me so shocked is i was notified about that my case is being processed or allocated to Case officer and the officer also didnt invite us to make any comment about our skill selection. Now i remember back in 2008-2009 thousands of people applied in similar fashion like accounting diploma along with cert 3 in cookery or hairdressing and they have managed to have their visa granted. 

I do have an option to go to MRT but dont know if I have any chance there? Do you think i have strong case to contest at MRT? 

Thanks in advance


----------



## aashu4uiit

Hi Mark , 

Thanks for starting this thread. Really Appreciate experienced people like you devoting time on forum. 

My Scenario : I have applied for my wife's offshore spouse visa 309, i am also offshore since my PR ( 190) grant in october 2013. My wife's CO has recently contacted her and told her that she will decide about her spouse visa by July.All things are done PCC,Medicals .we just discovered that she is pregnant ( less than a month ).

Question :

1. Should we tell this to our CO ? CO did asked when she called us but we were not aware of pregnancy at that time. if we tell her than will this impact spouse visa grant ? 

if we don't disclose this to our CO will that also be OK ? 

2. In case of grant in July and we move to Australia will the baby born in Aus when I am on PR and wife on 309. the baby will be Aus citizen ?


----------



## Al00

Hi Mark,

My wife is off to Vietnam on holidays to see her family for 5 weeks from July. I cannot go as I cannot take my annual leave as someone got in before me.
My wife is on TR and within another 6 months should finally get her PR. I am sponsoring her in the partner visa 801.

Few questions: how do we let the Department of Immigration and Citizenship know that she will be away? Is this done by sending an email or letter to our case officer?

Do we just tell them the dates she will be away or go into the office when she gets back to notify them on return too? 

Also, I have heard it delays the application by the period of time she is away. Is this true? 

Kind Regards,

Al00


----------



## teenOclock

Hi Mark,

Good Day! 

Thank you in advance for helping us. Really appreciate your helpful feedback. 

Would like to clarify something with my husband EOI. He submitted visa 190 under Victoria State with claiming points of 70 for ICT Security Specialist with Competent score in PTE Academic. 

Recently, we received a feedback "Your EOI may have changed in eligibility or points score. This is due to reaching an age milestone, or due to changes the regulation for a subclass you have expressed in. Please logon to Skillselect to ensure that your information is accurate.

We now confuse on how we gonna proceed. Does my husband needs to retake IELS with a higher score? Do we need to apply state sponsorship under Victoria nomination at the same time? 


Thanks once again.

Kind Regards,
Chris


----------



## skittles

Hi Mark,

Just curious… Let’s say a person has been working on a 187 visa for 1 year (out of the 2 year commitment) and at this stage the employer decides to end the contract. Perhaps there’s a change in management or business levels and the nominated employee is made redundant. Since the nominated employee has already completed 1 year, the department probably wouldn’t consider cancelling the PR (though I understand there is no way to predict their actions). But the fact of the matter is, if the employee loses their job through no fault of their own, it is unlikely that their visa would be cancelled… My question is – would the nominating employer get into any trouble for not meeting their commitment and obligation to employ the visa holder for the entire 2 years? Would they be fined or subject to consequences or be breaking any laws or is it just what it is? Thank you!!

PS. Is it safe for a sponsored employee on a 187 to leave their employed position before the 2 years is up if they become a citizen? If so, do they need to inform the department? Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anandajoti -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the issues. Re: defacto application, without a registered relationship certificate from an Australian state you reside in (difficult if you're offshore), you must provide evidence of living together for the 12 months prior to applying or provide compelling reasons why the 12 month relationship should be waived (for example, if you have a child with your defacto partner). Another basic element is that DIBP does not recognise any de facto relationship time when either of the applicants is less than 18 years old. So unless you were successful in the compelling reasons argument to waive the 12-month living together requirement, the visa may be refused. These are very basic regulations for partner visas, and if your agent was not aware of these or did not advise you properly, you could certainly consider a MARA complaint.

Re: waiting time, it's so unpredictable these days that there really isn't any "normal" waiting time. However in your case, the more time that goes by, the better as that may indicate that they agreed with your compelling reasons and are continuing to process your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anandajoti said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanks For Your Great Initiative To Help The people like Us!
> 
> I have got married on 2010 and My wife from Bangladesh ( me too) at the time of the wedding i didn't check her birth certificate but actually she was underage to apply for a spouse visa . You may know that in Bangladesh we actually reduce our Age on the Time of registration at Our school for the public Exam because of the long queue for Government jobs and that is not changeable. So at the time of our wedding according to her certificate she was 16 (original 19) and i couldn't apply for the partner/spouse visa.after she turns 18 legally(according to her certificate) I have contacted an agent in the Sydney regarding the option to apply as a de facto visa offshore. after read my whole story ( written on a paper) he said as long as she turns 18 legally and the relationship completed 12 months before she turns 18 its ok to apply. ( he showed me the rules on the immi website) so i have lodged the application with GOOD ENOUGH supporting documents eg: phone records, money sending receipts, property i bought on her name at Bangladesh, travel documents. After around three months case officer replied that actually we have to complete 12 months relationship period after she turns 18 legally and its against the policy how we have applied and the case officer asked for any 'compelling circumstances' she can consider otherwise she will give the decision on the basis of our application.then i have asked my agent about the policy case officer talking about, he said he doesn't know any policy like that and showing some attitude like i have such a complex case, why did i married an underage girl and i was bit annoyed. later he have tried to write down his level best compelling reason with some other law and policy and send it to the case officer. two months after that reply, case officer called my wife to do the medical test and since then its 14 months we are waiting for the decision. my agent also not really co operative to give some hope after that issue, The only email i have received recently via my agent is My application currently being assessed by a senior migration officer and if she needs any additional info she will contact with us.
> 
> My question is 1. is there any law or policy that both parties has to complete 12 months relationship after they turns 18 to consider as a de facto partner to apply?
> 2. if there is then agent should knows it and if he doesn't know and encourage us to apply is it strong enough reason to complain to MARA and finally we are waiting more then the normal processing time is there any hope for us that case officer will grant the visa?
> 
> sorry for long story MARK please reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rabbit/Tiger -

As far as I know they don't check IP addresses - as you do not yet qualify as a "close family member" for migration advice purposes, the work you do should be limited to filling in forms at your fiance's direction, which is generally OK to do as long as you are not giving him advice. If all you're doing is filling in forms at his direction, and uploading evidence, etc at his direction, you should be fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rabbit/tiger said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a question that I can not find the answer for, so I am hoping you can help me.
> 
> My fiance and I are about to apply for a PMV (300) offshore - Computer access for him is a problem, I realise that it is infact him applying for a visa and that he should be the one to create an immi account - so my question is, is there any problems if I were to create the account? And moving forward if I am doing majority of the work? Will there be some sort of ip address they will check or anything?
> 
> thank you for any advice you can give me


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nikkicagu -

Got it - those usually take anywhere from 12-18 months to process, but processing time can vary and is very unpredictable. No problem traveling while the processing period is happening, however you need to make sure you are able to receive any communications from DIBP requesting documents or information. If you have given them permission to communicate with you by email, great. Otherwise, you may want to lodge Form 929 if you will be living elsewhere (from your usual residential address) for more than a few weeks.

Re: case officer, now visas are assessed by teams of case officers, and there is no notification given when your application has been assigned to a team - they generally notify you only if they want something, or if there is a decision made.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nikkicagu said:


> Hi, Mark!
> 
> Oops, sorry. Forgot. My visa class is Partner (Provisional) (class UF) (subclass 309) / Partner (Migrant) (class BC) (subclass 100), applied in Manila, Philippines. And I already had my medical last june 3.  Thank God. Anyhow, do you have any idea how long is the process? Coz I'm hoping To leave in September coz I really want to be with my husband and I want to make it on his day. Thanks.
> 
> Also. is it possible for me to travel overseas like in the US. while my visa is being processed?
> 
> P.S. By the way, how will I know if I have a case officer?
> 
> Thank you and hope to hear from you soon,
> Nikkicagu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cynicofbabylon -

Normally you would write the institution that awarded you the degree, however it all depends on your circumstances. I've seen problems sometimes when the overseas school is an "affiliate of" the UK school and people claimed the UK school as where they studied, however it's not necessarily a problem - I'd look at the wording of the questions very carefully and answer as accurately as you can.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cynicofbabylon said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Thanks for being so amazing and helpful to us. I had one question relating to application forms for skilled migration visa (189). In fields that require education qualification information such as high school and university, I'm facing a kind of unique situation. I basically studied at a branch campus of a UK university that is located in another country, but the awarding institution of my degree is the UK campus. Ive never visited the uk. In this case which university address and country do I write? For my skills assessment (which i got a positive outcome for) I wrote the UK address as the awarding institution because nowhere on my degree does it mention the branch location.
> 
> Would like to know your recommendation on the matter. Thanks so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kdc -

Thanks for the question. Difficult to predict how this will be assessed, however if you and your partner visit each other every few months or so, that makes things look much better from the DIBP point of view, plus if you keep some of your belongings (clothes, furniture, etc) at you and your partner's residence, that can help establish the fact that you are living there but only temporarily going to school overseas. Beyond that, difficult to predict how DIBP will assess.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kdc said:


> Hi Mark i was hoping you could help me and give me some advice in regards to my current visa. I received my temporary 820 visa in february this year, i will be able to apply for the 801 visa next May (2016) as it will then have been 2 years since i applied for the partner visa. However i am from england and i was hoping to return there next January to complete a 2 year degree, my partner however is unsure if he will be able to move over there with me due to his work commitments which would mean we would have to be separate for long periods of time again. My question is, will my visa be jeopardized if i go back to england and we are separated? Will it prevent me from getting the permanent 801 visa because we would be in a long distance relationship again? And would it cause any hold backs by me being out for the Australia for a large amount of time?
> 
> Thank you so much in advance for you time and help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jinda_Pir -

Thanks for the question. Things have changed significantly since the 2008-2009 days where there were tons of people applying to over-subscribed occupations. I don't know enough about your case to give you any sort of an opinion re: chance of success at the MRT, however given the time and effort you've already put into the application, I'd suggest booking a consultation with a registered migration agent, taking all your documents with you (or emailing if doing a Skype consult), and having an agent look over your application and the refusal decision carefully. If you're interested in a consultation with me, happy to assist - see website link in my signature below, but any experienced agent should be able to give you a good idea of what chances the case has.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jinda_pir said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all thank you so much for your terrific effort. I would like to have your valuable advise on the below matter;
> 
> My 886 visa has recently been refused. The decision records state that my diploma of accounting is not closely related with my nominated occupation Graphic prepress. FYI, I've done certificate 3 on Graphic prepress and had been successfully assessed as graphic pre press tradesperson along with my diploma of accounting. What has made me so shocked is i was notified about that my case is being processed or allocated to Case officer and the officer also didnt invite us to make any comment about our skill selection. Now i remember back in 2008-2009 thousands of people applied in similar fashion like accounting diploma along with cert 3 in cookery or hairdressing and they have managed to have their visa granted.
> 
> I do have an option to go to MRT but dont know if I have any chance there? Do you think i have strong case to contest at MRT?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aashu4uiit -

I would definitely inform the CO that your wife is pregnant since they asked. My concern is the usually resident requirement for offshore PR's - you would need to show that you are either usually resident in Australia, or that you have specific evidence & plans to move back to Australia in the very near future in order to meet this requirement. If I were you, assuming the 2nd part is applicable (intend to return very soon), I'd consider putting together a submission package with a letter describing your plans and evidence and documents to prove your claim that you are intending to move back to Australia very soon.

Re: citizenship, if a child is born and at least 1 parent is an Australian PR at the date of birth of the child, and if the child is born in Australia, then the child is eligible for Australian citizenship by descent. Note that if the child is born offshore, this is not true, so must important that the child is born in Australia to be eligible for citizenship under these circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aashu4uiit said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> Thanks for starting this thread. Really Appreciate experienced people like you devoting time on forum.
> 
> My Scenario : I have applied for my wife's offshore spouse visa 309, i am also offshore since my PR ( 190) grant in october 2013. My wife's CO has recently contacted her and told her that she will decide about her spouse visa by July.All things are done PCC,Medicals .we just discovered that she is pregnant ( less than a month ).
> 
> Question :
> 
> 1. Should we tell this to our CO ? CO did asked when she called us but we were not aware of pregnancy at that time. if we tell her than will this impact spouse visa grant ?
> 
> if we don't disclose this to our CO will that also be OK ?
> 
> 2. In case of grant in July and we move to Australia will the baby born in Aus when I am on PR and wife on 309. the baby will be Aus citizen ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AI00

I'd lodge Form 929 to let DIBP know of her new physical address whiel she's away. No delay to the application that I know of. Question 10 on Form 929 allows you to put effective start and end dates on the new address.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Al00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife is off to Vietnam on holidays to see her family for 5 weeks from July. I cannot go as I cannot take my annual leave as someone got in before me.
> My wife is on TR and within another 6 months should finally get her PR. I am sponsoring her in the partner visa 801.
> 
> Few questions: how do we let the Department of Immigration and Citizenship know that she will be away? Is this done by sending an email or letter to our case officer?
> 
> Do we just tell them the dates she will be away or go into the office when she gets back to notify them on return too?
> 
> Also, I have heard it delays the application by the period of time she is away. Is this true?
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Al00


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TeenOclock -

You'll need to see what caused that message - ie, what change happened in your husband's circumstances - if he just turned 25, 33, 40 or 45 that will trigger changes in the points given for age. You'll need to investigate each claim for points and compare it to when you originally lodged the EOI to see what the difference may be. Re: Victoria, you would need to check with them to see if whatever caused the points difference required any action with them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



teenOclock said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Good Day!
> 
> Thank you in advance for helping us. Really appreciate your helpful feedback.
> 
> Would like to clarify something with my husband EOI. He submitted visa 190 under Victoria State with claiming points of 70 for ICT Security Specialist with Competent score in PTE Academic.
> 
> Recently, we received a feedback "Your EOI may have changed in eligibility or points score. This is due to reaching an age milestone, or due to changes the regulation for a subclass you have expressed in. Please logon to Skillselect to ensure that your information is accurate.
> 
> We now confuse on how we gonna proceed. Does my husband needs to retake IELS with a higher score? Do we need to apply state sponsorship under Victoria nomination at the same time?
> 
> Thanks once again.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Chris


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skittles -

If a person is let go, fired, made redundant, etc prior to the 2 year period, the applicant is still required to live & work in a regional area for the remainder of the 2 year period of the RSMS visa. The issue of whether the employer would be liable is too complicated for a forum discussion - would involve the reasons the contract ended, the intent of the employer, contributing factors such as business downturn, etc. Overall, probably low chance of any immigration-related liability for the employer, however there could be contractual issues and obligations owed to the employee depending on the language of the contract.

Re: citizenship - becoming a citizen ends any visa the person had held, and ends any obligations related to that visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



skittles said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just curious&#8230; Let's say a person has been working on a 187 visa for 1 year (out of the 2 year commitment) and at this stage the employer decides to end the contract. Perhaps there's a change in management or business levels and the nominated employee is made redundant. Since the nominated employee has already completed 1 year, the department probably wouldn't consider cancelling the PR (though I understand there is no way to predict their actions). But the fact of the matter is, if the employee loses their job through no fault of their own, it is unlikely that their visa would be cancelled&#8230; My question is - would the nominating employer get into any trouble for not meeting their commitment and obligation to employ the visa holder for the entire 2 years? Would they be fined or subject to consequences or be breaking any laws or is it just what it is? Thank you!!
> 
> PS. Is it safe for a sponsored employee on a 187 to leave their employed position before the 2 years is up if they become a citizen? If so, do they need to inform the department? Cheers


----------



## Ganesh

*IELTS Validity*

Hello Mark,

I have a question and I have been searching for the answer in different forums but I didn't get the concrete one, so I though this forum is the right place clear my doubts.

I am planning to apply for 189 visa but my IELTS is 2.5 years old. As per IELTS certificate it's already expired, but as per immi.gov.au checklist document statement is that IELTS test that has been undertaken in the three years immediately prior to lodging the visa application. My question is that my IELTS still valid to apply for the 198 visa?

Regards
Ganesh


----------



## Silky

Hi Mark

Thank you for provide this thread and your terrific work on it.

I'm waiting for 309 visa at this moment (the application have submitted on 23 July 2014 in Jakarta, Indonesia and I'm living in Australia with my husband using my Visitor Visa. Still not heard anything yet.

I have a question regarding this matter below:
1. We just open a join account on Dec 2014. 
2. Since my husband get a new job, he prefer to use his office mobile phone number rather than his personal mobile phone. 
3. Next month we are going to move to other unit, but actually it is still in same building where we are now. 

Do you think it's necessary to inform to the CO?
Please advice


----------



## vdp

Hi Mark,

Good day!! Finally 457 nomination comes out and it was refused. Filed MRT. (since I was ONSHORE)

Question :
1. Will my 457 visa application comes out too or wait until MRT decision finalize?
2. Can I apply for another type of visa while on MRT?


Thanks in advance


----------



## LivNaomi

Hi Mark! 

I'm currently adding more and more evidential documents to my application. Any idea on what I should add for 'Evidence of Nature of the Household?!' - I'm really struggling with this one, as it seems to overlap with stuff I have added under other headings, and I don't really want to be uploading things twice - I'm not sure the case officer would appreciate that! Haha.. I'm not really sure what to do! Any help would be amazing! I've only got 1 document under this heading currently, and around 4+ for each of the other headings.

Also, what are the main categories that you MUST have evidence for? Is it:

Length of De Facto Relationship
Nature of Household
Financial Aspects 
Social Aspects

Are there any other headings you would say are a must have/makes your application stronger?

I find a lot of the stuff I've added into one, overlap into the others.. I'm hoping the case officers are clever and can see that!? Haha... I'm just worried as I really want it to be perfect, and not confusing for them to trawl through!

Liv


----------



## usman1018

*Inquiry about parallel processing*

Hi Mark,

I am a software engineer and interested in applying for immigration to Australia. I have gathered all the information about applying for immigration. can you tell me if I opt for subclass 489 can I start by applying in parallel e.g. ACS for skillselect and state nomination or is it a sequential process.

regards,
Raja Usman


----------



## MetalMan

Hey Mark,
Thanks for good work. Wanted to get this bit of information, tried to search but could not get answers i seek...

I am in India and ready with all ground work, as in IELTS and Skill assessment for Skillselect towards class 189.
I wish to know whether applying and getting 189 visa for me and my family (wife and kid) would require all of us to move to Australia immediately or whether We can wait for my getting a job firstly.

I have been told that a visit is essential for getting PR Visa stamped.

Regards and Thanks
Ash


----------



## usman1018

*Can we apply before start of new year quota?*

Can someone here tell that whether we can apply before the start of next year quota before the end of previous year? for example ICT software occupation ceiling has been reached for year 2014/2015 so can I apply right now to be considered in next years quota?

regards,
Raja Usman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ganesh -

DIBP considers IELTS scores to be valid for 3 years for primary visa applicants, however some skills assessors require a test report with at least 6 or 12 months left on it so they don't end up giving you a positive report but leave you unable to apply for the visa since the test report is expired by that time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ganesh said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a question and I have been searching for the answer in different forums but I didn't get the concrete one, so I though this forum is the right place clear my doubts.
> 
> I am planning to apply for 189 visa but my IELTS is 2.5 years old. As per IELTS certificate it's already expired, but as per immi.gov.au checklist document statement is that IELTS test that has been undertaken in the three years immediately prior to lodging the visa application. My question is that my IELTS still valid to apply for the 198 visa?
> 
> Regards
> Ganesh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Silky -

Re #1, no harm in sending along further relationship evidence while they process the 309/100 application. Re #2 and #3, I'd lodge Form 929 to update the contact details for your husband and you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Silky said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for provide this thread and your terrific work on it.
> 
> I'm waiting for 309 visa at this moment (the application have submitted on 23 July 2014 in Jakarta, Indonesia and I'm living in Australia with my husband using my Visitor Visa. Still not heard anything yet.
> 
> I have a question regarding this matter below:
> 1. We just open a join account on Dec 2014.
> 2. Since my husband get a new job, he prefer to use his office mobile phone number rather than his personal mobile phone.
> 3. Next month we are going to move to other unit, but actually it is still in same building where we are now.
> 
> Do you think it's necessary to inform to the CO?
> Please advice


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vdp -

Sorry to hear the nomination was refused. You'll very likely soon get a letter that you can either withdraw your 457 application (due to no approved nomination) or it will be refused. DIBP will not put the 457 on hold due to the nomination refusal.

Because of the recent Lee case precedent, the MRT will claim no jurisdiction to review a 457 visa refusal (if you let it be refused) as there is no approved nomination, so if you want to stay in Australia while you're waiting for the nomination review, you'll need to find another visa to stay on. If the 457 is refused while you're on a bridging visa, you'll be limited by section 48 of the Migration Act to a very small list of visas you could apply for while onshore, including a partner (subject to Schedule 3 however) and protection visa. If you withdraw the 457, you could apply onshore for another visa that is not affected by Schedule 3, however I'd suggest getting professional advice if you're headed in that direction as the Schedule 3 provisions can be confusing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vdp said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Good day!! Finally 457 nomination comes out and it was refused. Filed MRT. (since I was ONSHORE)
> 
> Question :
> 1. Will my 457 visa application comes out too or wait until MRT decision finalize?
> 2. Can I apply for another type of visa while on MRT?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liv -

Thanks for the note. In addition to evidence of the 12-month living together period for a de facto partner application (unless the relationship has been registered with your state), the 4 general categories of relationship evidence for partner visas are financial aspects, social aspects, nature of the household, and nature of the commitment to each other. See many good threads in other parts of this forum where applicants have discussed this at length and provided examples. Re: nature of household, leases are good, as are copies of bills and/or mail that shows mail addressed to each person but at your common address, and don't forget to throw in a few photos of your household, especially the bedroom showing that you both keep things in the bedroom - ie, the bed looks like a bed that 2 people sleep in, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LivNaomi said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I'm currently adding more and more evidential documents to my application. Any idea on what I should add for 'Evidence of Nature of the Household?!' - I'm really struggling with this one, as it seems to overlap with stuff I have added under other headings, and I don't really want to be uploading things twice - I'm not sure the case officer would appreciate that! Haha.. I'm not really sure what to do! Any help would be amazing! I've only got 1 document under this heading currently, and around 4+ for each of the other headings.
> 
> Also, what are the main categories that you MUST have evidence for? Is it:
> 
> Length of De Facto Relationship
> Nature of Household
> Financial Aspects
> Social Aspects
> 
> Are there any other headings you would say are a must have/makes your application stronger?
> 
> I find a lot of the stuff I've added into one, overlap into the others.. I'm hoping the case officers are clever and can see that!? Haha... I'm just worried as I really want it to be perfect, and not confusing for them to trawl through!
> 
> Liv


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usman1018 -

Thanks for the question. You'll need to generally have your IELTS and skills assessment complete, then complete an Expression of Interest in SkillSelect, and then apply for state sponsorship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usman1018 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a software engineer and interested in applying for immigration to Australia. I have gathered all the information about applying for immigration. can you tell me if I opt for subclass 489 can I start by applying in parallel e.g. ACS for skillselect and state nomination or is it a sequential process.
> 
> regards,
> Raja Usman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ash -

Once a 189 visa is granted, you'll have several months (sometimes 6-9) to make an initial trip to Australia to activate your visas - it can be as short as a weekend trip. Once the visas have been activated, you can return at any point you like within the 5 years that the visa is valid - see DIBP site on Resident Return Visas for issues that may arise if you don't spend much time here during those 5 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MetalMan said:


> Hey Mark,
> Thanks for good work. Wanted to get this bit of information, tried to search but could not get answers i seek...
> 
> I am in India and ready with all ground work, as in IELTS and Skill assessment for Skillselect towards class 189.
> I wish to know whether applying and getting 189 visa for me and my family (wife and kid) would require all of us to move to Australia immediately or whether We can wait for my getting a job firstly.
> 
> I have been told that a visit is essential for getting PR Visa stamped.
> 
> Regards and Thanks
> Ash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raja -

Yes, you can lodge an Expression of Interest, and it will be placed in a queue for consideration once invitations for visas are resumed next month.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usman1018 said:


> Can someone here tell that whether we can apply before the start of next year quota before the end of previous year? for example ICT software occupation ceiling has been reached for year 2014/2015 so can I apply right now to be considered in next years quota?
> 
> regards,
> Raja Usman


----------



## PranavK

*ACS Assesment Clarification*

Hi Mark,

I want to proceed with my ACS Assessment done for the category Skills Assessment. Under thsi category, few years of experience are reduced based on the qualifications and the actual Job experience.
I have complete 10 years of IT Software Programmer Experience.
Whereas my education is in Bachelor of Engineering in Environmental Science.

Please advise under which category will it fall:-
1. ICT Major (Closely Related)
2. ICT Major (Not Related)
3. ICT Minor (Closely Related)
4. ICT Minor (Not Related)

Based on the category, my number of points will vary.

Request for your expert advice here.

Thanks
Pranav


----------



## h.sherizadeh

Dear Mark 
I have a problem. I have bachelor degree in civil engineering, and as far as I know my university is on section 2. I have 6 years of related experience. I have IELTS (7 on each band), I'm 30 years, and for the last two years I have worked as a full time and studied my master degree in one of best universities in my country (Section 1). 
I wanted to know, Am I qualified for Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189), Because vetassess has been refused me! 
Thanks in advance


----------



## brown_camel

Dear All

I have been granted 820 visa in 10 months. I am from Pakistan (high risk) and i was on a student visa, before applying for my partner visa. Never came on bridging visa as my student visa was valid until september 2015. I thought its gona take 18 months but seem da department has raised its service level. My time line is as follows.

Got married in June 2014
Applied visa in septemer 2014 along police and medical check
Request for additional documents (form 80) oct 2014
820 visa granted in June 2015

cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pranav -

Thanks for the question. No way to predict the category as ACS does a very detailed review of the degree (via your transcript), the education system(s) in your country, and the college and academic area you studied in. There is also the option that the degree won't fit any of the 4 categories you mentioned and may be assessed as an RPL type application, which would deduct 6 years of work experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



PranavK said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I want to proceed with my ACS Assessment done for the category Skills Assessment. Under thsi category, few years of experience are reduced based on the qualifications and the actual Job experience.
> I have complete 10 years of IT Software Programmer Experience.
> Whereas my education is in Bachelor of Engineering in Environmental Science.
> 
> Please advise under which category will it fall:-
> 1. ICT Major (Closely Related)
> 2. ICT Major (Not Related)
> 3. ICT Minor (Closely Related)
> 4. ICT Minor (Not Related)
> 
> Based on the category, my number of points will vary.
> 
> Request for your expert advice here.
> 
> Thanks
> Pranav


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi h.sherizadeh -

You'll need a positive skills assessment for the 189, 190 or 489 visas - no way around that. If you can't get Vetassess to approve you, you could possibly consider another related occupation if it has a different skills assessor that may have different rules.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



h.sherizadeh said:


> Dear Mark
> I have a problem. I have bachelor degree in civil engineering, and as far as I know my university is on section 2. I have 6 years of related experience. I have IELTS (7 on each band), I'm 30 years, and for the last two years I have worked as a full time and studied my master degree in one of best universities in my country (Section 1).
> I wanted to know, Am I qualified for Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189), Because vetassess has been refused me!
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brown_camel -

Congratulations! Speedier processing would certainly be a benefit to many people.

Best,

Mark Northam



brown_camel said:


> I have been granted 820 visa in 10 months. I am from Pakistan (high risk) and i was on a student visa, before applying for my partner visa. Never came on bridging visa as my student visa was valid until september 2015. I thought its gona take 18 months but seem da department has raised its service level. My time line is as follows.
> 
> Got married in June 2014
> Applied visa in septemer 2014 along police and medical check
> Request for additional documents (form 80) oct 2014
> 820 visa granted in June 2015
> 
> cheers


----------



## bryan00

*Hi Mark*

Just a few questions to ask you today.

1. If I am eligible for skills assessment under both auditor and accountants to use it for 189 visa would auditor be a better option over the accountants in terms of less competition seen on the occupation ceiling? At least for this year there are still rooms left for auditors whereas the accountants have been filled up a while ago and is this normally the case for these two fields every financial year? My primary purpose is to choose a job stream from auditor or accountants which would put me in a better position of getting the invitation earlier.

2. If I do get a skills assessment for auditor or taxation accountant could this be used to lodge an application under the general accountant stream as auditors/taxation accountants do meet all the mandatory subjects for general accountants.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## Mea

Hi Mark!

Greetings! 

I have submitted my full set of application for Visa Sub Class 309 on May 25, 2015
I have also received the Acknowledgement Letter shortly afterwards.My application is front loaded with police checks and health checks. However as I am expecting hence the X ray is postponed till July 27th . Now my questions are :

1. How long till the case officer gets assigned? Tentative as per current practice?
2. Is there any way I can track the progress of my application?
3. After the X ray is done, will I need to inform ? If yes then who should I inform? 
Or should the paneled physician update the medical reports and it would reach the case officer automatically?
4. Is it possible to say how much time it might take to reach a decision for front loaded visa sub cat 309? 


Appreciate your time and guidance. Thanks in advance!

Hope you have a good day


----------



## Baljit

MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


I am looking at the possibilty of family immigration to Australia. What is the procedure that one should follow to do so?


----------



## Tassi_girl

Hi Mark,

My question has to do with my application form for de facto partner visa I lodged in Nov 2014.
I just moved together with my partner in another place and now I wanted to change my details in my application form online ( as the form 929 said I can do it online).

It was pretty easy to do for me ( applicant ) but now I can not do it for my Partner (sponsor, who has also his application in my account for being my sponsor to Migrate a Partner to Australia) as it says:

*Change of address details
Certain clients are not able to submit a change of address details online. Please use the link below to complete the relevant PDF form. Return the completed form via email to the area of the department processing your current application or if your application has been granted, via post, to the nearest office of the department.
Change of address details form (260KB PDF)
CancelGo to my account*

Do you know why I can do it just on my account and he can´t? I also thought that form 929 is only for applicants and not for the sponsor?!

Where would I get the email address of to send to form to?

I am confused about that online system 

I just want to change it as soon as I can that no one thinks we do not live together anymore!?

I am grateful for any information!


----------



## Kas&Sal

Hi Mark

Thanks for your advice to everyone.

My fiance and I have applied for a Prospective Marriage Visa. The lodgement date was November 3rd 2014 through the Belgrade Embassy in Serbia.

We had put on our Notice of Intended Marriage as the date being the 13th June 2015. Perhaps we were a bit optimistic in the time frame. Obviously this date has now passed.

Would it be in our best interest to complete a new Notice of Intended Marriage with our celebrant and upload it to the application? Not wait for the Embassy to ask? I am unsure what date we should now put as I believe 10-14 mths is the average wait time for Belgrade at the moment.

I am thinking to put a date in November as this will be 12 months since lodgement. 

Thoughts?

Thank you,

Sal.


----------



## Mietsie

Hi Mark

Hope you are going well!
It has now almost been 9 months since I lodged my Partner Visa application. Haven't heard anything yet....

I am planning however to accompany my partner to the USA in July for the CrossFit Games and then after being back in Australia for a week, visit South Africa to see my elderly parents and wrap up the last things there.

1. Is it safe to send in the application for a Bridging visa B by post or should I rather travel to Brisbane and see someone?
2. Because I'm travelling twice, should I fill in 2 forms or how should I handle that? Should I include 2 page 4's for every destination?
3. Is it better to add an extra page to explain the reasons for my travels or can I just say it in a few words?
4. On this application (Form 1006), do I put my initial Tourist/Visitor Visa information in Part D even though the descriptions of their numbers (TRN, Visa Application receipt number, etc) don't match up with my Tourist Visa descriptions?

Thank you very much for your help!

Kind regards
Mietsie


----------



## ausbill

Hi Mark,
I have applied the 820 visa online and got the Transaction Reference Number and Bridging Vias Class WA. And I have upload all the documents online. My questions are as follows:
1）Why I cannot I check the processing about my 820 visa details with Visa Entitlement Verification Online? 

2) Now I hold a 600 visa, and I arrived in Melbourne on 9th May 2015. If I don't leave Australia in the three months, my 600 visa will be expire, and I have to inform the immigrate department and then my BVA will be active?

Thank you!


----------



## BobbyCrisp

Hi Mark

My fiance and I recently had her PMV approved, we will be getting married and lodging next visa shortly, 820/801 sometime in 2016. 

However, we want to bring her sister to Australia also. However, she is not "dependent" as she has a job in Philippines and is married. She also has many other siblings. She is low skilled. What visa will get her to Australia to be able to work and live?


----------



## Soop

*Request for additional documents for 189 visa*

Hi Mark,

I have lodged my 189 application on 27th April 2015 after receiving an EOI invitation ( Occupation: Accountant). 
On my EOI I mentioned I had a dependent- my husband but however in my 189 application i did not include him on the online application since he had his student visa cancelled back in December 2013 due to non-enrolment. The online process would not let me add him. So I lodged the application without any additional applicants and paid only for the primary applicant fee.
Today I received an email from the case officer requesting information about my husband- She asked for Form 1221, Medical check and police checks for my husband.
My husband is currently onshore and he applied for a protection visa which has not been decided yet. ( Bridging visa E)

I am just confused why the case officer asked for documentation regarding him even though we have not included him as a dependent and neither did we pay the additional application fee. 
Before today, my immi account had only my details as primary applicant but now it shows my husband as person 2.

Please advise what should I do in this situation? Should I still provide the required documents even though he is onshore and possibly barred under s48?

I appreciate your help.

Thank you
Soop


----------



## Abbie_190

*PCC- When I can Apply?*

Dear Mark,

Thanks once again for your kind advice, following which I called up the NT Migration office and got a clear picture.The information will be very handy indeed. However the next question that pops up in the mind is regarding PCC.

In my last 10 years I have worked 5 years in USA and almost 2 years in Malaysia. So will I have to submit a PCC for both these countries? (I am applying for visa sub class 190).

If yes since I am not going back to those countries in near future is it advisable to apply for PCC right now (as I have heard it takes 3-4 months for the US one and its also time taking to obtain the Malaysian PCC) Right now I have applied for skill assessment. which will take some time (results expected in next 2-3 months).The reason I am in a hurry is mid 2016 I will turn 33(lose points) and after the skill assessment i dont want to wait (waste time for PCC)

or only after i get an invitation to apply /Case officer alloted then only I can apply for PCC.Is there a possibility that my points will be reduced if I cannot give PCC before my 33rd birthday?

Kindly advice. God Bless you.

Thanking you in advance,
Sincerely
Abbie


----------



## martin12345

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Martin12345 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Form 80 is required upon request from DIBP for any PR application - up to you if you'd like to complete it in advance. While some elements are difficult or impossible (practically) for DIBP to verify (ie, where you worked when you were a teenager), other elements are checked very carefully - it must be as accurate as you can make it given the info you have available. Any missing data should be explained in the back section (the extension page where you can add additional info).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you for the above reply, the information you provide throughout this entire forum has been of a great help so far.

I have completed the form 80 just to be on the safe side, should it be requested, it is ready to go. I have added into my application information regarding my travel history, employment and education history to best that I could find evidence for anyway.

You did mention in your previous reply however other areas of the document are checked thoroughly. Which areas of form 80 would these be? Just out of interest to make sure everything is up to scratch!

Kind regards,
Martin


----------



## Arun M B

*MSW Nominations*

Hi Mark,

I have applied for EOI on April, 15th 2015 with Skilled - Nominated (subclass 190) visa for NSW.
I have a total for 55 points( 5 years ACS assessed for Software Engineer, IELTS average 6.5).
Its already been more than 2 months and have not received any invitation yet from NSW to apply for the nomination.
I have read that once the invitation is received to apply for nomination, then the applications has to be submitted by paying the fee and this might again take up to 3 months.

Will you be able to provide some information on the process and timlines of NSW nomination?

And also will there be any validity for EOI application or NSW nomination?

Kindly provide your inputs or suggestions.

Thanks,
Arun


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bryan00 -

Difficult for me to give any job-related advice re: choice of occupation - problem with predicting occupation/invitation times is that it is unknown how many people are in pool for your occupation already, with either higher points scores or same score as you but EOI lodged earlier - that makes all the difference.

Re: skills assessment - must be in the same ANZSCO occupation code as you apply for the visa under.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bryan00 said:


> Just a few questions to ask you today.
> 
> 1. If I am eligible for skills assessment under both auditor and accountants to use it for 189 visa would auditor be a better option over the accountants in terms of less competition seen on the occupation ceiling? At least for this year there are still rooms left for auditors whereas the accountants have been filled up a while ago and is this normally the case for these two fields every financial year? My primary purpose is to choose a job stream from auditor or accountants which would put me in a better position of getting the invitation earlier.
> 
> 2. If I do get a skills assessment for auditor or taxation accountant could this be used to lodge an application under the general accountant stream as auditors/taxation accountants do meet all the mandatory subjects for general accountants.
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mea -

Congratulations on lodging your visa. DIBP processing times are highly unpredictable - they quote 12-18 months for partner visas, but different workloads at local embassies (where 309/100's are processed) could make a big difference in that estimate. Medical results normally sent electronically by the clinic/Dr to DIBP - make sure to use an approved DIBP panel doctor location.

Wish I could be more help re: times, but until DIBP puts some reasonable time limits on themselves, we're all just guessing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mea said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Greetings!
> 
> I have submitted my full set of application for Visa Sub Class 309 on May 25, 2015
> I have also received the Acknowledgement Letter shortly afterwards.My application is front loaded with police checks and health checks. However as I am expecting hence the X ray is postponed till July 27th . Now my questions are :
> 
> 1. How long till the case officer gets assigned? Tentative as per current practice?
> 2. Is there any way I can track the progress of my application?
> 3. After the X ray is done, will I need to inform ? If yes then who should I inform?
> Or should the paneled physician update the medical reports and it would reach the case officer automatically?
> 4. Is it possible to say how much time it might take to reach a decision for front loaded visa sub cat 309?
> 
> Appreciate your time and guidance. Thanks in advance!
> 
> Hope you have a good day


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Baljit -

Thanks for the note. If you are looking at family in Australia sponsoring you for a visa, you might check out the subclass 489 visa on the DIBP website - immi.gov.au - other than that, there are partner visas and other family visas - see DIBP for full details on all.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Baljit said:


> I am looking at the possibilty of family immigration to Australia. What is the procedure that one should follow to do so?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tassi_girl -

I'd send the form by post to your nearest DIBP office. Alternatively you can upload it to your partner visa if you've lodged online via ImmiAccount. There is no way to lodge Form 929 via email that I know of.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tassi_girl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My question has to do with my application form for de facto partner visa I lodged in Nov 2014.
> I just moved together with my partner in another place and now I wanted to change my details in my application form online ( as the form 929 said I can do it online).
> 
> It was pretty easy to do for me ( applicant ) but now I can not do it for my Partner (sponsor, who has also his application in my account for being my sponsor to Migrate a Partner to Australia) as it says:
> 
> *Change of address details
> Certain clients are not able to submit a change of address details online. Please use the link below to complete the relevant PDF form. Return the completed form via email to the area of the department processing your current application or if your application has been granted, via post, to the nearest office of the department.
> Change of address details form (260KB PDF)
> CancelGo to my account*
> 
> Do you know why I can do it just on my account and he can´t? I also thought that form 929 is only for applicants and not for the sponsor?!
> 
> Where would I get the email address of to send to form to?
> 
> I am confused about that online system
> 
> I just want to change it as soon as I can that no one thinks we do not live together anymore!?
> 
> I am grateful for any information!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sal -

Yes, I would definitely get a new celebrant letter and lodge with your application.

Best,

Mark



Kas&Sal said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for your advice to everyone.
> 
> My fiance and I have applied for a Prospective Marriage Visa. The lodgement date was November 3rd 2014 through the Belgrade Embassy in Serbia.
> 
> We had put on our Notice of Intended Marriage as the date being the 13th June 2015. Perhaps we were a bit optimistic in the time frame. Obviously this date has now passed.
> 
> Would it be in our best interest to complete a new Notice of Intended Marriage with our celebrant and upload it to the application? Not wait for the Embassy to ask? I am unsure what date we should now put as I believe 10-14 mths is the average wait time for Belgrade at the moment.
> 
> I am thinking to put a date in November as this will be 12 months since lodgement.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Sal.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mietsie -

I'd describe your travels in detail for a BV-B application. Depending on dates involved you may need to do 2 applications, but often just 1 works. I'd lodge by Express Post Platinum as DIBP has scaled back counter service drastically.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mietsie said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hope you are going well!
> It has now almost been 9 months since I lodged my Partner Visa application. Haven't heard anything yet....
> 
> I am planning however to accompany my partner to the USA in July for the CrossFit Games and then after being back in Australia for a week, visit South Africa to see my elderly parents and wrap up the last things there.
> 
> 1. Is it safe to send in the application for a Bridging visa B by post or should I rather travel to Brisbane and see someone?
> 2. Because I'm travelling twice, should I fill in 2 forms or how should I handle that? Should I include 2 page 4's for every destination?
> 3. Is it better to add an extra page to explain the reasons for my travels or can I just say it in a few words?
> 4. On this application (Form 1006), do I put my initial Tourist/Visitor Visa information in Part D even though the descriptions of their numbers (TRN, Visa Application receipt number, etc) don't match up with my Tourist Visa descriptions?
> 
> Thank you very much for your help!
> 
> Kind regards
> Mietsie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ausbill -

Thanks for the question. Re #1, VEVO will only show the current visa a person is no - no history, and no additional pending applications. That's why it shows only your 600 visa. Re #2, assuming you overstay your 600 visa - stay onshore past the end of the stay period, your BV-A will activate automatically (no need to inform DIBP) as soon as the current stay period on your 600 expires and you remain onshore in Australia, so after that point VEVO should show your BV-A.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ausbill said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have applied the 820 visa online and got the Transaction Reference Number and Bridging Vias Class WA. And I have upload all the documents online. My questions are as follows:
> 1）Why I cannot I check the processing about my 820 visa details with Visa Entitlement Verification Online?
> 
> 2) Now I hold a 600 visa, and I arrived in Melbourne on 9th May 2015. If I don't leave Australia in the three months, my 600 visa will be expire, and I have to inform the immigrate department and then my BVA will be active?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bobby -

Unfortunately none that I know of - Australia has no particular visa that is well suited for siblings. A student visa might work if she wanted to improve her skills in Australia, otherwise she'd need to qualify with her work experience and/or skills for something like a 457 temporary work visa or one of the other employer sponsored or skilled visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BobbyCrisp said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My fiance and I recently had her PMV approved, we will be getting married and lodging next visa shortly, 820/801 sometime in 2016.
> 
> However, we want to bring her sister to Australia also. However, she is not "dependent" as she has a job in Philippines and is married. She also has many other siblings. She is low skilled. What visa will get her to Australia to be able to work and live?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Soop -

I'd give them the documents they request, however you may also want to confirm that he is not included as a migrating family member in this application. As a dependent, DIBP will require health and security checks even if he is not migrating. If it looks like they will grant the visa, you might enquire about adding him to the visa - he'd need to go offshore, then be added to the 189 while offshore, then wait offshore until the grant of the 189. Might be a better/faster way to PR than a protection visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Soop said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have lodged my 189 application on 27th April 2015 after receiving an EOI invitation ( Occupation: Accountant).
> On my EOI I mentioned I had a dependent- my husband but however in my 189 application i did not include him on the online application since he had his student visa cancelled back in December 2013 due to non-enrolment. The online process would not let me add him. So I lodged the application without any additional applicants and paid only for the primary applicant fee.
> Today I received an email from the case officer requesting information about my husband- She asked for Form 1221, Medical check and police checks for my husband.
> My husband is currently onshore and he applied for a protection visa which has not been decided yet. ( Bridging visa E)
> 
> I am just confused why the case officer asked for documentation regarding him even though we have not included him as a dependent and neither did we pay the additional application fee.
> Before today, my immi account had only my details as primary applicant but now it shows my husband as person 2.
> 
> Please advise what should I do in this situation? Should I still provide the required documents even though he is onshore and possibly barred under s48?
> 
> I appreciate your help.
> 
> Thank you
> Soop


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abbie_190 -

I wouldn't worry about the PCC's now - too early since they are only valid for 1 year. Your points are locked in at the date of invitation, so even if your age changes after that date (before you actually apply), your points don't change. I'd look at getting the PCC's right after you are invited, that way they will be ready near the point you lodge. No problem lodging 190 app without PCC's - you can add those in after you lodge when you receive them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abbie_190 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thanks once again for your kind advice, following which I called up the NT Migration office and got a clear picture.The information will be very handy indeed. However the next question that pops up in the mind is regarding PCC.
> 
> In my last 10 years I have worked 5 years in USA and almost 2 years in Malaysia. So will I have to submit a PCC for both these countries? (I am applying for visa sub class 190).
> 
> If yes since I am not going back to those countries in near future is it advisable to apply for PCC right now (as I have heard it takes 3-4 months for the US one and its also time taking to obtain the Malaysian PCC) Right now I have applied for skill assessment. which will take some time (results expected in next 2-3 months).The reason I am in a hurry is mid 2016 I will turn 33(lose points) and after the skill assessment i dont want to wait (waste time for PCC)
> 
> or only after i get an invitation to apply /Case officer alloted then only I can apply for PCC.Is there a possibility that my points will be reduced if I cannot give PCC before my 33rd birthday?
> 
> Kindly advice. God Bless you.
> 
> Thanking you in advance,
> Sincerely
> Abbie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martin12345 -

Hard to predict. However any discrepancies between Form 80 and other forms previously lodged with DIBP are a potential hazard. The checking for Form 80 is done by security agencies who do not disclose their methods & procedures.

Best,

Mark



martin12345 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for the above reply, the information you provide throughout this entire forum has been of a great help so far.
> 
> I have completed the form 80 just to be on the safe side, should it be requested, it is ready to go. I have added into my application information regarding my travel history, employment and education history to best that I could find evidence for anyway.
> 
> You did mention in your previous reply however other areas of the document are checked thoroughly. Which areas of form 80 would these be? Just out of interest to make sure everything is up to scratch!
> 
> Kind regards,
> Martin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arun M B -

All invitations for skilled visas have stopped until after 1 July from what I understand. Beyond that, will depend on how much of a backlog NSW has and how long it takes to decide whether to sponsor you. Note that average IELTS is not relevant for skilled visas, only individual band scores - you need at least 6 on all 4 bands of the IELTS test. Once an invitation is issued by DIBP you have 60 days to lodge your visa application. Once the visa application is lodged, can take anywhere from 3 to 9 months for the visa to be decided, very unpredictable timeframes at DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Arun M B said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied for EOI on April, 15th 2015 with Skilled - Nominated (subclass 190) visa for NSW.
> I have a total for 55 points( 5 years ACS assessed for Software Engineer, IELTS average 6.5).
> Its already been more than 2 months and have not received any invitation yet from NSW to apply for the nomination.
> I have read that once the invitation is received to apply for nomination, then the applications has to be submitted by paying the fee and this might again take up to 3 months.
> 
> Will you be able to provide some information on the process and timlines of NSW nomination?
> 
> And also will there be any validity for EOI application or NSW nomination?
> 
> Kindly provide your inputs or suggestions.
> 
> Thanks,
> Arun


----------



## shangi_boi

Hi Mark,

I was wondering while waiting to be granted the Partner visa (subclass 820), is it possible to leave Australia? If so how do I apply for this? For how long and how many times can I leave the country?

Thank you for your help.

Peter


----------



## Bulba

Hi Mark,
Hope you're fine. I'd like to ask you a question regarding a 189 skilled visa. I know that when the visa is granted the first entry into Australia needs to be done while a police clearance certificate is valid. What about afterwards? How much time do I need to spend in the country in order not to loose the visa? The plan is to make the first entry, leave and have the visa as a backup plan for 2-3 years. Is there also any influence on the subsequent application for a citizenship?

Thanks!


----------



## Komalami

Hi mark 
I have applied for 187 visa nomination on 28 feb and visa on 24 March 
Now I am confused that will my nomination fall under feb allocation or March and if it does in feb how long it will take because on immi email automatic reply they said they are allocating feb file but mine is still no reply 
Thanks


----------



## fiftyeight

Hello Mark!

This is an amazing thread so thank you.
My question is about the 485 temporary graduate visa.

I have a dilemma right now and I hoped you could help me.
Basically I am scheduled to complete my course in June 2016 (Bachelor Degree.) By the time I have my final results and could apply fot a 485 visa I would assume it would be after July (my student visa is valid until September 2016.)
However, I am aware that there will changes to immigration rules in July 2016. So basically, by the time I apply for the visa, I am worried that the rules will change and I will not fulfill the requirements anymore.

My thought was then to complete my course earlier. I could complete my course around Feburary 2016 by doing extra units during summer. My dilemma is whether to do this, because AFAIK if I finish my course early there could be problems as well, e.g my student visa might be cancelled and I am not sure what effects this will have on my 485 application.

I am just hoping you could give me some advice on whether it would be smart to complete my course early or not. If the changes to immigration rules are advertised well in advance (say in the next 4 months) I might be able to delay the decision and see first if the changes affect my eligibility.

Hopefully you could give me your point of view.

Thank you very much!


----------



## RezaKaran

Hi Mark
My Iranian partner and I are applying for PMV we hired a lawyer in March thinking this wold help us as I'm 16 years older than him..They told us meeting up for 14 days wasn't long enough I quit my job again to meet up for another 10 days in May. It was only in May they informed us of having to send money western union..we have evidence we have been speaking together for over a year..But now they telling us they can't put visa in now until we meet up again...I have already had to leave two jobs to meet up as they said it was urgent...is this the case...and they only informed us at the end of May about price increase...We hired lawyer to make it run smoothly but it isn't...Now saying until we meet up again they won't put visa in..is this correct..can we do visa ourselves now....we only pay them as each part is completed..but 1500 dollars for letter of advice and we still aren't getting all the information just bits and pieces.
Regards
Karan


----------



## romero2005

HI,
I have a problem. I am waiting for my NSW invitation. They said that they will send a email once they select me. Did they mention regarding that in the EOI system under corresponding category. I am bit nervous bcoz they send mails to our Junk folder as well.

How thay mail look likes,

Thanks you


----------



## Dan_Dan

Hey Mark,

Hope you are well, and thank you for sharing all your knowledge and information on this forum. 

I have a quick question to ask. I submitted my 189 application on 22 May, and the status on my application is still "application received". Do you know roughly around what time I can get a case officer? and roughly what time I can probably get my PR?

By the way, I didn't provide form 80, do you think it is necessary? 

Thank you for your help. 

Cheers, 
Dan.


----------



## ajh

Hi Mark,

This is all new to me, so thanks a bunch if you can help, and if not maybe you could point me in the right direction?

I am an Australian citizen and pregnant with twins, due Jan 2016. The father is from Chile and here on student visa which expires in October. We had been together 4 months but we're not together atm. He wants to stay here and help me raise the babies, and we're finding it hard to work out which, if any visa will work for our situation.

Can you offer any suggestions please? And if not should we see someone an agent? We can organise the application process, just want to make sure we apply for the most suitable visa.

Thanks for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peter -

Yes, it's possible if you hold a Bridging Visa A (or if you are still holding another substantive visa from before) - if you hold a BV-A, you'll need to apply for and be granted a Bridging Visa B that's good for one trip out and back for a significant reason - family reunions, etc qualify as do other personal and work related reasons. How long and qty of trips is up to DIBP to assess based on the info you give them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shangi_boi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was wondering while waiting to be granted the Partner visa (subclass 820), is it possible to leave Australia? If so how do I apply for this? For how long and how many times can I leave the country?
> 
> Thank you for your help.
> 
> Peter


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bulba -

No particular requirement that you spend any minimum amount of time in Australia after you make the first trip to activate the visa. However your ability to continue your re-entry rights after the initial 5 years of the visa is dependent on how long you spend in Australia during the 5 years and ties you build to Australia in some cases - see RRV Visa info on DIBP website immi.gov.au for details. Citizenship also depends on spending a minimum amount of time in Australia - see citizenship 4 year residency requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bulba said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hope you're fine. I'd like to ask you a question regarding a 189 skilled visa. I know that when the visa is granted the first entry into Australia needs to be done while a police clearance certificate is valid. What about afterwards? How much time do I need to spend in the country in order not to loose the visa? The plan is to make the first entry, leave and have the visa as a backup plan for 2-3 years. Is there also any influence on the subsequent application for a citizenship?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Komalami -

I don't have enough information to help you, and am not privy to DIBP's internal allocation schemes. DIBP is notoriously unpredictable re: processing times, and during June things slow down as visa reach their quotas - things speed up again in July when the processing year restarts.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Komalami said:


> Hi mark
> I have applied for 187 visa nomination on 28 feb and visa on 24 March
> Now I am confused that will my nomination fall under feb allocation or March and if it does in feb how long it will take because on immi email automatic reply they said they are allocating feb file but mine is still no reply
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fiftyeight -

Thanks for the question and kind words.

No way to predict what changes might happen in July 2016, so it's risky to bet on what might or might not happen. If you finish your course substantially early, if you then proceed to apply for a 485 visa, no problems generally. If you finish substantially early and don't apply for any further visa, then DIBP may consider cancellation of the student visa if you stay onshore with no further visa application lodged. Generally substantial changes to visas are advertised several months in advance, but also, these changes may not happen on 1 July - legislation can be passed at any time. No way for me to advise you re: whether to speed up your degree or not - too many other factors that come into play. I'd also keep in mind the minimum time requirement (18 months) of the Australia Study Requirement that's required for the 485 if you're thinking about trying to finish early - not sure if your timeframe would fall into that range.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fiftyeight said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> This is an amazing thread so thank you.
> My question is about the 485 temporary graduate visa.
> 
> I have a dilemma right now and I hoped you could help me.
> Basically I am scheduled to complete my course in June 2016 (Bachelor Degree.) By the time I have my final results and could apply fot a 485 visa I would assume it would be after July (my student visa is valid until September 2016.)
> However, I am aware that there will changes to immigration rules in July 2016. So basically, by the time I apply for the visa, I am worried that the rules will change and I will not fulfill the requirements anymore.
> 
> My thought was then to complete my course earlier. I could complete my course around Feburary 2016 by doing extra units during summer. My dilemma is whether to do this, because AFAIK if I finish my course early there could be problems as well, e.g my student visa might be cancelled and I am not sure what effects this will have on my 485 application.
> 
> I am just hoping you could give me some advice on whether it would be smart to complete my course early or not. If the changes to immigration rules are advertised well in advance (say in the next 4 months) I might be able to delay the decision and see first if the changes affect my eligibility.
> 
> Hopefully you could give me your point of view.
> 
> Thank you very much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karan -

Thanks for the note. Re: time spent together prior to lodging PMV, I would have to review all the circumstances of your relationship and what evidence was planned for submission in order to give you any advice on whether in my view you have spent sufficient time together to give you the best chance of success with a PMV application. There is no minimum time together in the legislation for this visa - the requirements essentially are that you have met, are known to each other, and have a genuine intent to enter into a spousal relationship. Beyond that, only possible to assess the situation by looking at all the circumstances and evidence. Would be happy to do this at a consultation - see website below in my signature for a link.

Re: costs, I'm not sure what you got for your $1,500, but if it was only a letter of advice saying you need to spend more time together, that seems like a pretty costly letter!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RezaKaran said:


> Hi Mark
> My Iranian partner and I are applying for PMV we hired a lawyer in March thinking this wold help us as I'm 16 years older than him..They told us meeting up for 14 days wasn't long enough I quit my job again to meet up for another 10 days in May. It was only in May they informed us of having to send money western union..we have evidence we have been speaking together for over a year..But now they telling us they can't put visa in now until we meet up again...I have already had to leave two jobs to meet up as they said it was urgent...is this the case...and they only informed us at the end of May about price increase...We hired lawyer to make it run smoothly but it isn't...Now saying until we meet up again they won't put visa in..is this correct..can we do visa ourselves now....we only pay them as each part is completed..but 1500 dollars for letter of advice and we still aren't getting all the information just bits and pieces.
> Regards
> Karan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romero2005 -

I don't know what their current emails may be configured as, and they may change, so there is no substitute for checking your junk folder every day, carefully. That's what I do.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



romero2005 said:


> HI,
> I have a problem. I am waiting for my NSW invitation. They said that they will send a email once they select me. Did they mention regarding that in the EOI system under corresponding category. I am bit nervous bcoz they send mails to our Junk folder as well.
> 
> How thay mail look likes,
> 
> Thanks you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dan -

Thanks for the question. DIBP is notoriously unpredictable re: processing times, so I wouldn't hazard a guess. 189's typically can take anywhere from 4 to 9 months, but they've reached quotas for this year so things are on hold for many visas until 1 July 2015. No problem generally with waiting until you are requested to lodge Form 80 - but do note on your ImmiAccount screen to see if a link or button comes up to complete character requirements or personal particulars - that's where it will be often.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dan_Dan said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Hope you are well, and thank you for sharing all your knowledge and information on this forum.
> 
> I have a quick question to ask. I submitted my 189 application on 22 May, and the status on my application is still "application received". Do you know roughly around what time I can get a case officer? and roughly what time I can probably get my PR?
> 
> By the way, I didn't provide form 80, do you think it is necessary?
> 
> Thank you for your help.
> 
> Cheers,
> Dan.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ajh -

That's a tough one. If he qualifies, he may be able to lodge a subclass 485 skilled graduate visa application after he graduates, however that visa has a number of specific requirements - see immi.gov.au for more on that. Re: family sponsored visa from you, for him onshore, a de facto partner visa might work, but you'd have to actually be in a de facto partner relationship with him and prove that to DIBP (immigration dept). If the two of you are not in a partner relationship, then a partner visa won't work. Also for him there could be other visas he could get on his own based on his experience and qualifications - ie, 457 temporary work visa, etc.

An agent could be helpful in assisting you with working through the various requirements for different visas to see what may be a good fit. Happy to assist you in a consultation - see my website link below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ajh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This is all new to me, so thanks a bunch if you can help, and if not maybe you could point me in the right direction?
> 
> I am an Australian citizen and pregnant with twins, due Jan 2016. The father is from Chile and here on student visa which expires in October. We had been together 4 months but we're not together atm. He wants to stay here and help me raise the babies, and we're finding it hard to work out which, if any visa will work for our situation.
> 
> Can you offer any suggestions please? And if not should we see someone an agent? We can organise the application process, just want to make sure we apply for the most suitable visa.
> 
> Thanks for your help


----------



## pinkiestar

Hi Mark,
Need your help.
I just applied for Partner visa 309 on 17/06/2015.
I want to know whats the next process? 
I visited Australia on a 3 month Tourist Visa and came back last month. 
When do you think can I apply for my next Tourist visa? Do I have to wait for any approvals or can I straightaway apply for my next Tourist visa?


----------



## Bay56

Hi Mark,

My partner and I are in the final days (or so we hope) of the processing of my 820 visa. Recently we were contacted by our CO who requested a few more documents and one of them was in relation to the nature of commitment, i.e. they wanted to see if we have declared our relationship to a government body such as the ATO or any other public institutions or organisations. We're in a bit of a pickle here.

We have provided all documents they have requested of us within a day or two of the email being sent, however with the ATO form we tried to attach my partner's tax refund form however she has been unable to locate it online and has contacted the ATO who have informed her that it could take up to a month to get that document sent to her. Currently we have about 24/25 days left of the 28 DIBP usually give applicants to attach all requested documents. My question to you is:

- Should the ATO confirmation (and we are 100% certain that she ticked we are in a de facto relationship on the form) not arrive on time, in your experience, will the CO be likely to extend our waiting period if we kindly ask him via email?

- What other public institutions are there that we can use where we can sign up or apply to where we would need to declare our relationship? We have attached her addition as a beneficiary to my super and she has also added me as one to hers (this one is still getting processed) and also have added emergency contact/next of kin for private healthcare etc. What other public institutions/organisations can we use in this situation?


Thank you so much for your reply! Stressful times ahead I guess.


----------



## romero2005

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Romero2005 -
> 
> I don't know what their current emails may be configured as, and they may change, so there is no substitute for checking your junk folder every day, carefully. That's what I do.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks you Mark


----------



## Scotty P

Hi Just out of curiosity when did you apply for your visa and did you apply onshore? We have been waiting ten months now and haven't heard anything.



Bay56 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I are in the final days (or so we hope) of the processing of my 820 visa. Recently we were contacted by our CO who requested a few more documents and one of them was in relation to the nature of commitment, i.e. they wanted to see if we have declared our relationship to a government body such as the ATO or any other public institutions or organisations. We're in a bit of a pickle here.
> 
> We have provided all documents they have requested of us within a day or two of the email being sent, however with the ATO form we tried to attach my partner's tax refund form however she has been unable to locate it online and has contacted the ATO who have informed her that it could take up to a month to get that document sent to her. Currently we have about 24/25 days left of the 28 DIBP usually give applicants to attach all requested documents. My question to you is:
> 
> - Should the ATO confirmation (and we are 100% certain that she ticked we are in a de facto relationship on the form) not arrive on time, in your experience, will the CO be likely to extend our waiting period if we kindly ask him via email?
> 
> - What other public institutions are there that we can use where we can sign up or apply to where we would need to declare our relationship? We have attached her addition as a beneficiary to my super and she has also added me as one to hers (this one is still getting processed) and also have added emergency contact/next of kin for private healthcare etc. What other public institutions/organisations can we use in this situation?
> 
> Thank you so much for your reply! Stressful times ahead I guess.


----------



## RezaKaran

Just want to say thank you for your help..


----------



## Raj11

*Regulation 1136(7)*



Raj11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks a lot for your help. your guidance gave me big relief. I am happy to discuss my case with you.
> 
> Once again thank you very much.
> 
> Raj.


Hi Mark,
Is it possible to explain the requirement for 887 visa. Specially what is mentioned in 1136(7) schedule 1.
What are the requirements set out in subitem 1136(7) of Schedule 1.
Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pinkiestar -

There is no particular time limit on visitor visas - each application is assessed differently. I'd have a look at the Genuine Temporary Entrant policy criteria - if you google DIBP plus that Genuine Temporary Entrant you'll find it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pinkiestar said:


> Hi Mark,
> Need your help.
> I just applied for Partner visa 309 on 17/06/2015.
> I want to know whats the next process?
> I visited Australia on a 3 month Tourist Visa and came back last month.
> When do you think can I apply for my next Tourist visa? Do I have to wait for any approvals or can I straightaway apply for my next Tourist visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bay56 -

If you're a de facto couple (ie, not married), you may be able to register your relationship in the state you live in - that's one thing. Any superannuation beneficiary documents are good, however to be fair, new declarations of your relationship to govt authorities may not carry a lot of weight and could be seen as only being done to try and get the visa after being requested to, etc. If you don't get the ATO tax document in time (which is a very good document since it's historical), I would advise the case officer of this, document when and how you requested the ATO document and ask for 14 more days, etc or that they hold on deciding anything until another 14 days has passed to give you an opportunity to lodge the ATO document. Generally they're reasonable about these kinds of requests.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bay56 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I are in the final days (or so we hope) of the processing of my 820 visa. Recently we were contacted by our CO who requested a few more documents and one of them was in relation to the nature of commitment, i.e. they wanted to see if we have declared our relationship to a government body such as the ATO or any other public institutions or organisations. We're in a bit of a pickle here.
> 
> We have provided all documents they have requested of us within a day or two of the email being sent, however with the ATO form we tried to attach my partner's tax refund form however she has been unable to locate it online and has contacted the ATO who have informed her that it could take up to a month to get that document sent to her. Currently we have about 24/25 days left of the 28 DIBP usually give applicants to attach all requested documents. My question to you is:
> 
> - Should the ATO confirmation (and we are 100% certain that she ticked we are in a de facto relationship on the form) not arrive on time, in your experience, will the CO be likely to extend our waiting period if we kindly ask him via email?
> 
> - What other public institutions are there that we can use where we can sign up or apply to where we would need to declare our relationship? We have attached her addition as a beneficiary to my super and she has also added me as one to hers (this one is still getting processed) and also have added emergency contact/next of kin for private healthcare etc. What other public institutions/organisations can we use in this situation?
> 
> Thank you so much for your reply! Stressful times ahead I guess.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Scotty -

You might want to pose this question in one of the other threads to get more answers from others, or send a PM to the poster - typically partner visas are taking 12-18 months for onshore applications from what we've seen.

Best,

Mark



Scotty P said:


> Hi Just out of curiosity when did you apply for your visa and did you apply onshore? We have been waiting ten months now and haven't heard anything.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RezaKaran -

You're welcome! Glad I could help - that's exactly why I spend time here.

Best,

Mark



RezaKaran said:


> Just want to say thank you for your help..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romero2005 -

Happy to help -

Best,

Mark



romero2005 said:


> Thanks you Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raj11 -

Great question. Time for a little migration regulations education!

In looking at the law and regulations for specific visas, you would look at the Migration Regulations 1994 Schedules 1 and 2. Schedule 1 has a listing for each class of visa - sometimes a visa class has many subclasses (specific visas) in it such as Class TU which covers the student visas. Other times a class only has one visa in it, such as class VB which only has the 887 visa in it. Each class also has a 4 digit code - the 4 digit code for class VB is 1136. So to check out class 1136 (VB), you would look under Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (available by googling), Schedule 1, part 1136.

The *class* of a visa contains the valid application requirements for the visa - ie, the minimum requirements that you must meet in order to lodge a valid application. If an application is valid, it must be decided and will either be granted or refused. However if an application does not meet the Sched 1 requirements, it is considered invalid and returned; any fee paid is refunded, and it is as if the visa application never was made. Think of bullets bouncing off of Superman.

The *subclass* of a visa is a particular visa - ie, subclass 820 is a provisional partner visa applied for onshore, subclass 600 is a visitor visa for a non-ETA citizen, and so forth. Each class of visa is described in Schedule 2 of the Regulations, and contains Time of Application and Time of Decision requirements, as well as provisions that apply while the visa is in effect. So to find the time of application or time of decision requirements for a particular visa, you'd look in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994 in the section that corresponds to the subclass you're interested in.

Now to your question - 1136(7) contains some valid application requirements for the subclass 887 visa - I've copied it below for your reference - hope this is helpful!

--------
[1136] (7) The following requirements must be met:
(a) the applicant must be the holder of:
(i) a Skilled - Independent Regional (Provisional) (Class UX) visa; or
(ii) a Skilled - Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional) (Class UZ) visa; or
(iii) a Subclass 475 (Skilled - Regional Sponsored) visa; or
(iv) a Subclass 487 (Skilled - Regional Sponsored) visa; or
[(v) substituted by SLI 2012, 82 with effect from 01/07/2012 - LEGEND note]

(v) a Skilled - Regional Sponsored (Provisional) (Class SP) visa; or
[(vi) inserted by SLI 2012, 82 with effect from 01/07/2012 - essentially previous (v) with (C) added - LEGEND note]
(vi) a Bridging A (Class WA) visa or Bridging B (Class WB) visa granted on the basis of a valid application for:
(A) a Skilled - Independent Regional (Provisional) (Class UX) visa; or
[(B) amended by SLI 2013, 33 with effect on and from 23/03/2013 - LEGEND note]
(B) a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa (other than a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa); or
(C) a Skilled - Regional Sponsored (Provisional) (Class SP) visa;
(b) the applicant seeking to satisfy the primary criteria for the grant of the visa must have been, for a total of at least 2 years before the day on which the application was made, the holder of 1 of the following visas:
(i) a Skilled - Independent Regional (Provisional) (Class UX) visa;
(ii) a Skilled - Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional) (Class UZ) visa;
(iii) a Subclass 475 (Skilled - Regional Sponsored) visa;
(iv) a Subclass 487 (Skilled - Regional Sponsored) visa;
[(v) inserted by SLI 2012, 82 with effect from 01/07/2012 - LEGEND note]
(v) a Skilled - Regional Sponsored (Provisional) (Class SP) visa;
that was granted on the basis of satisfying the primary criteria for the grant of that visa, or of being the spouse or de facto partner of the applicant who satisfied the primary criteria for the grant of the visa.



Raj11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Is it possible to explain the requirement for 887 visa. Specially what is mentioned in 1136(7) schedule 1.
> What are the requirements set out in subitem 1136(7) of Schedule 1.
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## har3478

*801 application*

Hi Mark
I have received my 820 visa and an email from the DIAC on applying for 801. I am supposed to supply two statuary declarations each from myself(applicant) and my wife. I am not sure what to write in these as i am also providing a cover letter for our social, financial and other commitments. Can you please advice what are we expected to write in the statuary declarations for 801.

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Har3478 -

Generally these are for you to describe how the relationship has progressed since you last applied for your 820 visa (ie, 2 yrs ago usually) and how the relationship is still intact, growing, you're still in love, etc etc etc - essentially the continued story of your relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



har3478 said:


> Hi Mark
> I have received my 820 visa and an email from the DIAC on applying for 801. I am supposed to supply two statuary declarations each from myself(applicant) and my wife. I am not sure what to write in these as i am also providing a cover letter for our social, financial and other commitments. Can you please advice what are we expected to write in the statuary declarations for 801.
> 
> Regards


----------



## masood

dear mark 
i have heard that dibp has fastered their processing it is true or not 
waiting for a positive response thanks


----------



## kipsch

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the reply. My spouse is Citizen. Is there a deadline for applying for 100 subclass after receiving email from department. Can I wait some time so I move there and then apply(Which may take 8-10 months) ?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kipsch -
> 
> Yes, however if your sponsor is an Australian permanent resident (not an Australian citizen), he/she must be usually resident in Australia to sponsor you - this can cause an issue at the sc100 stage if it exists.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Masood -

No overall speed increases we've seen, however there are many different types of visas, and some processed onshore and others processed offshore, so hard for overall patterns to emerge.

Best,

Mark



masood said:


> dear mark
> i have heard that dibp has fastered their processing it is true or not
> waiting for a positive response thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kipsch -

I would suggest contacting DIBP using the contact info in the letter and enquiring with them about this, as there's no set time limit in the legislation. Normally a couple of months is no issue (unless the letter has a specific deadline in it), but since it's an area of discretion, and given how long you may want to wait, it may be better to contact them to work something out.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kipsch said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for the reply. My spouse is Citizen. Is there a deadline for applying for 100 subclass after receiving email from department. Can I wait some time so I move there and then apply(Which may take 8-10 months) ?


----------



## Peter_Nguyen

Hi Mark,

I am new to this forum and would like your help in regard to my visa 190 application.

Recently I have received NSW SS and SkillSelect invitation for visa 190 under Accountant (General) with 60 points including SS. I have uploaded all documentation and I am waiting for CO allocation. In my EOI and online application, I indicated that I have worked as an Assistant Accountant for a local tax agent for 3 months (I ticked as "relevant" occupation). Obviously, I did not receive any points for work experience because of short duration. Howeve, I worry that they may ask for evidence of my employment there. Unfortunately, this is an unpaid internship and I did not have any proof for that (no official contract or employement agreement) 

What is the probablity that I will be asked for proof of my work experience although I did not get any points for that? Do you think I should upload the form 1023 to change from "relevant" to "not relevant" occupation to prevent any document requirement later?

Thank yoy very much for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peter -

I can't give you specific advice on your application without seeing all the documents involved, but generally what you propose (1023) is a good idea as there clearly was no intent to claim points for that work experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Peter_Nguyen said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new to this forum and would like your help in regard to my visa 190 application.
> 
> Recently I have received NSW SS and SkillSelect invitation for visa 190 under Accountant (General) with 60 points including SS. I have uploaded all documentation and I am waiting for CO allocation. In my EOI and online application, I indicated that I have worked as an Assistant Accountant for a local tax agent for 3 months (I ticked as "relevant" occupation). Obviously, I did not receive any points for work experience because of short duration. Howeve, I worry that they may ask for evidence of my employment there. Unfortunately, this is an unpaid internship and I did not have any proof for that (no official contract or employement agreement)
> 
> What is the probablity that I will be asked for proof of my work experience although I did not get any points for that? Do you think I should upload the form 1023 to change from "relevant" to "not relevant" occupation to prevent any document requirement later?
> 
> Thank yoy very much for your help.


----------



## Jessmyn1986

Hi Mark,

We have lodged our application for the 820, uploading documents etc 
I'm just wondering how long they give you to upload all your documents? And I'm the sponsor, should I get my police check now or wait until they prompt me to? 
Sorry if this has already been asked,
I read a few pages and couldn't see anything!
Thanks so much


----------



## FlatWhite5

MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Good day Mark!

Trying to help out friends who are just about to apply for their Partner Visa in a few months.

My friend (male) who will be sponsoring his partner is a Malaysian (has a Malaysian passport), but he's been living in Australia since he was a child. However, he still has a Malaysian citizenship. He does have an Australian Resident visa. He moved to the Philippines 5 years ago for a job, but has maintained his Resident visa to Aus.

His partner, another friend, is a Chinese citizen (with Chinese passport) who has been living in the Philippines since she was a child. She has a Philippine resident visa.

They're about to marry in a few months after being together for 2 years. However, they've only been living together for 6 months. They are planning to lodge the application after the wedding so that they will meet the 1 year mark.

Questions:
> Is my Malaysian friend qualified to sponsor for a partner visa even if he's been living in the Philippines for the past 5 years? Would his permanent resident Aus visa still be valid?
> Are there other processes they need to consider given the uniqueness of their statuses?

Hoping to get insights on this.

Cheers!


----------



## rmsprs

Hi mark, 

Delete this post if it doesn't belong here.

I started my Masters in Professional Accounting course in February 2015 and just finished my exams for the first semester. I am under an SVP uni currently and I wish to change my Uni to another SVP uni. My course start date in my eCoe is 9th February 2015 and I am aware the I have to be in my current Uni for at least six months before I can move to another University. My question is can I change my Uni now that I have finished my first semester since most course start date at every uni is in july and I complete six months exactly on 8th August with my current Uni. Ive been to few consultants and everyone tells me a different thing and now I am totally confused and feeling hopeless because I cannot get a definite answer about the same. Please advice me on this and help me in whatever way you can. Would you recommend me any student consultants in Sydney that are genuine (and not just concerned about their commission they acquire from my tuition fees)?


----------



## MetalMan

Hi Mark, i've gotten invite for 189 visa and am in process of applying. 

my wife would come with me and she's a medical doctor. Would you know of an agency which helps with job prospects and guidance for registration of doctors in Melbourne CBD.
Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jessmyn1986 -

Thanks for the question. There is no specific time, but DIBP expects all initial documents (ie, ID documents, initial batch of relationship evidence, etc) to be uploaded fairly shortly after you lodge. If you are onshore and section 48 barred, there are additional requirements for the Form 888's to be lodged at the time of application. Some people push it a couple of weeks after lodgment - I wouldn't push it much farther than that, however if you are s48 barred due to a previous onshore refusal, you need to be very careful to upload the critical documents immediately after lodging.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jessmyn1986 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We have lodged our application for the 820, uploading documents etc
> I'm just wondering how long they give you to upload all your documents? And I'm the sponsor, should I get my police check now or wait until they prompt me to?
> Sorry if this has already been asked,
> I read a few pages and couldn't see anything!
> Thanks so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi FlatWhite5 -

Suggest your friend consult a registered migration agent to determine eligibility. For one thing, permanent residents must be "usually resident" in Australia in order to sponsor someone for a partner visa - this can sometimes include evidence that they plan to return very soon, etc, but better to have this reviewed by a professional once they have specific data on your friend's situation and plans. Also note that the 1 year living together requirement does not apply to married partners, and as of the recent court decision in the SZOXP matter, the 12 month living together requirement prior to applying for a de facto partner application has been struck down by the court. However with all the detailed requirements for partner visas, it's only possible to determine eligibility after a thorough review of the applicant and sponsor's circumstances and details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



FlatWhite5 said:


> Good day Mark!
> 
> Trying to help out friends who are just about to apply for their Partner Visa in a few months.
> 
> My friend (male) who will be sponsoring his partner is a Malaysian (has a Malaysian passport), but he's been living in Australia since he was a child. However, he still has a Malaysian citizenship. He does have an Australian Resident visa. He moved to the Philippines 5 years ago for a job, but has maintained his Resident visa to Aus.
> 
> His partner, another friend, is a Chinese citizen (with Chinese passport) who has been living in the Philippines since she was a child. She has a Philippine resident visa.
> 
> They're about to marry in a few months after being together for 2 years. However, they've only been living together for 6 months. They are planning to lodge the application after the wedding so that they will meet the 1 year mark.
> 
> Questions:
> > Is my Malaysian friend qualified to sponsor for a partner visa even if he's been living in the Philippines for the past 5 years? Would his permanent resident Aus visa still be valid?
> > Are there other processes they need to consider given the uniqueness of their statuses?
> 
> Hoping to get insights on this.
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rmsprs -

Please contact me via PM or via my website (see below) and I can assist you further.

Best,

Mark



rmsprs said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Delete this post if it doesn't belong here.
> 
> I started my Masters in Professional Accounting course in February 2015 and just finished my exams for the first semester. I am under an SVP uni currently and I wish to change my Uni to another SVP uni. My course start date in my eCoe is 9th February 2015 and I am aware the I have to be in my current Uni for at least six months before I can move to another University. My question is can I change my Uni now that I have finished my first semester since most course start date at every uni is in july and I complete six months exactly on 8th August with my current Uni. Ive been to few consultants and everyone tells me a different thing and now I am totally confused and feeling hopeless because I cannot get a definite answer about the same. Please advice me on this and help me in whatever way you can. Would you recommend me any student consultants in Sydney that are genuine (and not just concerned about their commission they acquire from my tuition fees)?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MetalMan -

Would like to help but visas and migration law keeps me very busy and I don't currently have a referral network in the area of employment seeking. Many of the Sydney agencies for this are nationwide, so I would suggest not limiting your search to Melbourne - for instance, I've worked with Health Staff Solutions in Sydney in the past and they're excellent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MetalMan said:


> Hi Mark, i've gotten invite for 189 visa and am in process of applying.
> 
> my wife would come with me and she's a medical doctor. Would you know of an agency which helps with job prospects and guidance for registration of doctors in Melbourne CBD.
> Thanks.


----------



## Gurpreet sandhu

hello sir , i want to ask you. The new rules coming in July that if we pay $ 50000 to immigration then we can get permanent resirncy. 
Please let me know?thnx


----------



## ashwinkuhikar

Hi Mark,
I applied for EOI (Subclass 190) for NSW on 21 April'15 with (55 points + 5 SS point) = 60 points. Till now i didn't receive invitation for SS for NSW. 
I have seen the occupation ceiling for 263111 is 1788 and till now 1580 invitations are already sent.
I want to know is the occupation ceiling applicable for Subclass 190 ? And whats the normal time span usually applicant get their invitations for NSW SS for total 60 points ?

Thanks.
Ashwin


----------



## sandhyapatel

hi mark,


We have applied for 190 visa on 8th may 2015 and got a co on 12th june and asked for medical and pcc, and we uploaded it on 16th june...but after that no revert from co,,so how much a co will take to reply or for grant...as july is very near for new list and quota...so please advice about timefrace after co alloted.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gurpreet -

Nothing happening like that yet - it was something the government was "looking at" a couple of months ago, but has not progressed beyond an idea yet.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gurpreet sandhu said:


> hello sir , i want to ask you. The new rules coming in July that if we pay $ 50000 to immigration then we can get permanent resirncy.
> Please let me know?thnx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashwin -

While I've seen a couple of invitations from NSW this month, I believe they have slowed down the process until next month when the quotas reset at the beginning of the 1 July programme year. No occupation limits per se on 190, but each state has their own internal quotas they do not publish. No good way to predict how long waiting for NSW state sponsorship will take, especially this time of year - could be a few weeks, could be a couple of months, difficult to predict and NSW makes no promises about processing time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashwinkuhikar said:


> Hi Mark,
> I applied for EOI (Subclass 190) for NSW on 21 April'15 with (55 points + 5 SS point) = 60 points. Till now i didn't receive invitation for SS for NSW.
> I have seen the occupation ceiling for 263111 is 1788 and till now 1580 invitations are already sent.
> I want to know is the occupation ceiling applicable for Subclass 190 ? And whats the normal time span usually applicant get their invitations for NSW SS for total 60 points ?
> 
> Thanks.
> Ashwin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandhyapatel -

From what we've seen, DIBP may not be issuing any more 190 or 189 visas until after 1 July. After that, impossible to predict processing time since DIBP makes no promises or commitments re: time to process.

Best,

Mark



sandhyapatel said:


> hi mark,
> 
> We have applied for 190 visa on 8th may 2015 and got a co on 12th june and asked for medical and pcc, and we uploaded it on 16th june...but after that no revert from co,,so how much a co will take to reply or for grant...as july is very near for new list and quota...so please advice about timefrace after co alloted.


----------



## Akiv

Hi Mark,
I have a PR that expired in 2010. I do not want to give up my PR status, but also have no intention of moving to australia permanently within the next year. Also my last day in Australia is more than 5 years ago.
Is there any way to preserve or renew my PR status? If no, what do you suggest , what should i do?


Much thank for your assistance.


----------



## Raj11

Hi Mark,
Thank you so much. You explain it very well. I was worried about that regulation, i search everywhere but all websites has same information.
I thought thats some kind of special requirement. Big relief now. Very good explanation. 

Once again thank you very much for your precious time and help.

Raj.


----------



## Gurpreet sandhu

Thank you so much Mark


----------



## Etharion

Hi busy Mark! 

As someone who seems to know his stuff, with me and my gf going for a 309 defacto partner visa how important is the 12 months requirement if we have the circumstances of living 10-15 minutes away for each other the last 4 years of being together and just 5 months now of officially living at the same address? 

I have been told its all up to the case officer handling the case so..What would your advice be, avoid the risk of being denied and wait for the 12 months + pay more after July, or risk it now with trying to give evidence to explain our situation and save some money? (after all, couples do get time spent apart counted if they prove their contact, and here we were for FOUR years living in the same area and being together 80% of the time)


----------



## brc1984

hi mark, i applied 186 TRT on 21st nov 2014, already 7 months gone and still waiting, doesn't heard anything from immigration yet, even regarding nomination application and CO assign not yet.....please help me what should i do now? i tried to many time to contact to immigration but said your application assessed by allocated team so be patient...
thanks please advice me


----------



## Jamesy

Hi Mark,

Long time, hope you're well.

Just a few quick questions regarding the 173/143 Contributory Parent Visa - what are the specific medical requirements? 

Does it generally take 2 years for the application to be processed, or have you seen instances of the visas being approved sooner?

Appreciate your time.

J.


----------



## amitthakur83

Hello Mark,

I have submitted my EOI for financial investment advisor ( 222311 ). I am waiting for the SOL list to open up for states. Any idea when are they going to release the SOL for different states.

How is the new process different from the one which was one year back. People who want to login their applications had to remain awake at the same time across the globe to submit their applications and site used to get hanged and most of the applicants were not able to submit their application.

What are the chances this time. My total points is 65 which is above than minimum points required of 60.

Regards, Amit


----------



## LivNaomi

Hi Mark - thanks for everything you do to help everyone out. It truly is very kind and brilliant of you!


Just a quick question - I'm applying for the onshore Partner Visa, first stage. Do I need to fill out and attach the Form 80 & Form 1221 or are these additional forms that will be requested if needed? It says 'recommended' on the list for documents (applying online). I had a look through them and a lot of the questions on these forms are duplicates of the questions on the original application for the Visa...

Thank you 

Liv x


----------



## bryan00

Hi Mark,

Are taxation/management/general accountants in the 2211 accountants stream given equal priority when giving out invitations for 189 visa?

Also, is it okay to lodge two separate EOIs at once for auditor and accountants for 189 visa so by responding to whichever invitation comes earlier? This would require two separate skills assessment done for these two jobs?

Thank you once again.


----------



## Claire100

*Commonwealth Statutory Declaration*

Hi Mark,

Thanks for all your answers - you've been tremendously helpful!

One question on statutory declarations. 
My fiancé and I just submitted our Pmv application last night and immediately received an automated email notifications requesting biometrics for him and his non migrating dependent (child). 
We aren't able to get the child for a test within this 14 day period and would like to attach a statutory declaration with our reasons.

Who is able to witness the statutory declaration in Singapore/Malaysia? Can it be witnessed by a commissioner of oaths?
I'm confused by the list provided by the AG website.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## guinia

*Nominated occupation to be closely related*

Hi Mark
I am new on this forum but I read it thoroughly and is very useful that is why I decided to join it and ask you something related with the nominated occupation I want to apply for the 485 visa purpose.

I finish my studies of advanced diploma in IT in September having done more than two years of Australian courses so I know I am eligible to apply for the 485 visa now, my question is I want to apply for Telecommunications Engineer or Telecommunications Network Engineer as my nominated occupation which are supported by Engineers Australia which is the Assessing Authority.

As far as I know, Engineer Australia says that I need to get as minimum an advance diploma if I want to apply for its occupations but what I got is advance diploma in IT.

Could I apply for that nominated occupation with no risk explaining on the statement I have to write that the skills I got in advanced diploma in IT are closely related with the my nominated occupation?

Sorry about my lack of english, I am still struggling with that.

Thanks


----------



## TrixDivergent

*Final Stage Visa 457*

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your advice few months ago regarding the Standard Business Sponsor and Nomination. After the SBS were approved, we have sucessfully got the nomination (Cafe Manager) granted in only 1 working day.

I'm now on process to gather the necessary documents for my main 457 application. Recently got my IELTS done with overall 6.5 (L 6, R 7, W 6.5 and S 6.5). I havent done the X-ray yet, will this be slowing down the process?

How long does it normally take until the decision make for the main 457 application? I have my HIF insurance set effective for 01 Sept 2015, do you think the time frame is sufficient if I lodge my application latest by this Friday (26 June)??

Thanks you so much for your valuable response.

Trix


----------



## TarlarAustralia

Hi Mark, how I wished I'd know about this before I applied!
I applied for an 820 visa in January this year and so far all I've had is a request for medicals which I sent and the standard confirmation email. I'm not worried about the lack of response and I know that's normal. I was however hoping if I gave you a list pf our evidence could you tell me if the application seems good enough (obviously you cant guarantee anything which I understand, I'm just after some reassurance!)

We provided:

-Letters from our real estate agent stating both our names are on the lease and how long we had been there (18 months now)

-Letters addressed to us both together and separately at the address including bank statements and bills

-Stat decs from out house mate, two family friends, my partners dad, and another friend. all certified by a JP

-Photos of us together in various different places including some with my family who came over for Christmas this year

-Hotel and plane tickets and car hire reciepts in both our names from various trips together

-Bank statements from both our accounts plus the joint account with the transactions highlighted (blue for me, green for him etc) to show we use the joint account on regular basis

-All the requested documentation eg drivers license and passports and birth certificates etc all certified by a JP

-The stat decs by us detailing the relations ship and when/where we met and future plans etc

-Police check from the UK and Australia for me. 

-My three requested medical checks.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but there might be more, I'm at work now so can't see my huge Visa folder I have haha

Just any advice would be great, any gaping holes you see! (fingers crossed theres not)

Also, due to the lengthy processing time am I able to send more up to date evidence and request it be added to the application, for example, more recent bank statements, more tickets in both our names, etc, is that worth it?

Thanks so much Mark!


----------



## Raj 1982

*Rewrite the CDRs for EA*

Dear Mark,
Hope you are doing Great!
Please help me with my degree assessment Issue. I submitted my CDR reports in november last year and i got the revert from them in Jan 2015 that i need to write the CDR's again as they are not written on professional engineer level . I did not understand what they really want.Has there been similar cases like me and what are the chances for me to get clean out of it.

regards
Raj


----------



## jhaddie

Hi Mark,

It is about the Get Health Details link in my pmv online application, it's missing.
Thank you.

Jane


----------



## T&M

Hi Mike,
My fiance received the below message from our CO today after she requested for an update. can you please explain to what they mean. 

"At this stage, no information will be required for the applicant. We shall keep you posted once assessment has been completed."


Thanks for you support.


----------



## himpar1

*payslips to submit to VETASSESS*



MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

I would like to know regarding payslips that we have to submit for VETASSESS skills assessment. I have had 5 years work experience in the related occupation I am applying for. Regarding payslips, I am bit confused, is it fine to send the payslips for some recent months or do I have to send it for 5 years altogether?

I would be grateful if you could help me in this regard. 
Looking forward to hearing from you.

Warm regards, Himpar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Akiv -

You may be able to renew your PR re-entry rights with a Resident Return Visa (RRV) but you'll need to show substantial ties to Australia as well as compelling reasons why you initially left and why you were away for so long. I'd check out the DIBP website for the subclass 155 visa for more details and information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Akiv said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a PR that expired in 2010. I do not want to give up my PR status, but also have no intention of moving to australia permanently within the next year. Also my last day in Australia is more than 5 years ago.
> Is there any way to preserve or renew my PR status? If no, what do you suggest , what should i do?
> 
> Much thank for your assistance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raj11 -

Glad I could help!

Best,

Mark



Raj11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you so much. You explain it very well. I was worried about that regulation, i search everywhere but all websites has same information.
> I thought thats some kind of special requirement. Big relief now. Very good explanation.
> 
> Once again thank you very much for your precious time and help.
> 
> Raj.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Etharion -

True - it's up to the case officer - even moreso now that the case of this month of SZOXP struck down the 12 month living together requirement for de facto partner visa applicants. It all comes down to the specifics of your case and the specific relationship evidence you provide with the application - you might consider having a migration agent review your case and evidence in a consultation and get an opinion prior to lodging.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Etharion said:


> Hi busy Mark!
> 
> As someone who seems to know his stuff, with me and my gf going for a 309 defacto partner visa how important is the 12 months requirement if we have the circumstances of living 10-15 minutes away for each other the last 4 years of being together and just 5 months now of officially living at the same address?
> 
> I have been told its all up to the case officer handling the case so..What would your advice be, avoid the risk of being denied and wait for the 12 months + pay more after July, or risk it now with trying to give evidence to explain our situation and save some money? (after all, couples do get time spent apart counted if they prove their contact, and here we were for FOUR years living in the same area and being together 80% of the time)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brc1984 -

That's unusual for the nomination to go that long - these typically take 4-5 months. Something must be holding up your nomination (that's done prior to assessing the visa application), but no way to tell exactly what. Suggest you have a migration agent review the nomination carefully and see if he/she can spot anything, then perhaps enquire again with DIBP re: the nomination to see if there are any specific items they need to complete, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



brc1984 said:


> hi mark, i applied 186 TRT on 21st nov 2014, already 7 months gone and still waiting, doesn't heard anything from immigration yet, even regarding nomination application and CO assign not yet.....please help me what should i do now? i tried to many time to contact to immigration but said your application assessed by allocated team so be patient...
> thanks please advice me


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamesy -

Typically 18-24 months these days for 143 visas, similar for 173. They will require a medical exam, chest x-ray and HIV blood test for these visas. Any assessed predicted costs above $35,000 for the first 5 years of permanent residency will cause a health criteria failure, however there is a health waiver available for these visas in limited cases that involves the visa being refused for health reasons the first time, then MRT, then Ministerial Intervention - if the Minister grants intervention, then you apply again and on the second time through the process the health waiver is available. Once of the most silly and convoluted processes in all of immigration...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jamesy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Long time, hope you're well.
> 
> Just a few quick questions regarding the 173/143 Contributory Parent Visa - what are the specific medical requirements?
> 
> Does it generally take 2 years for the application to be processed, or have you seen instances of the visas being approved sooner?
> 
> Appreciate your time.
> 
> J.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amitthakur83 -

The CSOL is the list for states, to clarify - the SOL list is for the 189 independent skilled visa.

Re: state lists, they usually announce in July, during the first 2 weeks in most cases. The horrific process you describe was for NSW, which they finally ended earlier this year, so no feeding frenzy for applications. Honestly, the idiot who dreamed that one up should really find other work. Now it's a much more realistic process - see NSW (and other states) skilled websites for specifics, dates, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amitthakur83 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have submitted my EOI for financial investment advisor ( 222311 ). I am waiting for the SOL list to open up for states. Any idea when are they going to release the SOL for different states.
> 
> How is the new process different from the one which was one year back. People who want to login their applications had to remain awake at the same time across the globe to submit their applications and site used to get hanged and most of the applicants were not able to submit their application.
> 
> What are the chances this time. My total points is 65 which is above than minimum points required of 60.
> 
> Regards, Amit


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LivNaomi -

Those forms are generally only required if requested later on in the process.

Best,

Mark



LivNaomi said:


> Hi Mark - thanks for everything you do to help everyone out. It truly is very kind and brilliant of you!
> 
> Just a quick question - I'm applying for the onshore Partner Visa, first stage. Do I need to fill out and attach the Form 80 & Form 1221 or are these additional forms that will be requested if needed? It says 'recommended' on the list for documents (applying online). I had a look through them and a lot of the questions on these forms are duplicates of the questions on the original application for the Visa...
> 
> Thank you
> 
> Liv x


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bryan00 -

Generally no problem - an EOI can only have one occupation code, so you'd have to have 2 separate skills assessments and 2 separate EOI's to do what you're looking to do. No idea re: preferences within the unit groups - DIBP doesn't publish that info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bryan00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Are taxation/management/general accountants in the 2211 accountants stream given equal priority when giving out invitations for 189 visa?
> 
> Also, is it okay to lodge two separate EOIs at once for auditor and accountants for 189 visa so by responding to whichever invitation comes earlier? This would require two separate skills assessment done for these two jobs?
> 
> Thank you once again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Claire100 -

Wish I could help, but that depends on your local laws and regulations. I'd ask DIBP (whatever branch is processing your PMV application) what they will accept specifically.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Claire100 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for all your answers - you've been tremendously helpful!
> 
> One question on statutory declarations.
> My fiancé and I just submitted our Pmv application last night and immediately received an automated email notifications requesting biometrics for him and his non migrating dependent (child).
> We aren't able to get the child for a test within this 14 day period and would like to attach a statutory declaration with our reasons.
> 
> Who is able to witness the statutory declaration in Singapore/Malaysia? Can it be witnessed by a commissioner of oaths?
> I'm confused by the list provided by the AG website.
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Guinia -

I would suggest speaking with Engineers Australia about whether your qualification meets their minimum requirements - impossible for me to tell based on a forum post, and your entire visa is dependent on the 485 skills assessment being positive.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



guinia said:


> Hi Mark
> I am new on this forum but I read it thoroughly and is very useful that is why I decided to join it and ask you something related with the nominated occupation I want to apply for the 485 visa purpose.
> 
> I finish my studies of advanced diploma in IT in September having done more than two years of Australian courses so I know I am eligible to apply for the 485 visa now, my question is I want to apply for Telecommunications Engineer or Telecommunications Network Engineer as my nominated occupation which are supported by Engineers Australia which is the Assessing Authority.
> 
> As far as I know, Engineer Australia says that I need to get as minimum an advance diploma if I want to apply for its occupations but what I got is advance diploma in IT.
> 
> Could I apply for that nominated occupation with no risk explaining on the statement I have to write that the skills I got in advanced diploma in IT are closely related with the my nominated occupation?
> 
> Sorry about my lack of english, I am still struggling with that.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TrixDivergent -

457 visas are often processed in a matter of days or a couple of weeks. If you haven't completed the medical requirements, that will hold up the process. Health insurance must be dated at least as of grant of visa date, so I'd get it in place as of the date you lodge.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TrixDivergent said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your advice few months ago regarding the Standard Business Sponsor and Nomination. After the SBS were approved, we have sucessfully got the nomination (Cafe Manager) granted in only 1 working day.
> 
> I'm now on process to gather the necessary documents for my main 457 application. Recently got my IELTS done with overall 6.5 (L 6, R 7, W 6.5 and S 6.5). I havent done the X-ray yet, will this be slowing down the process?
> 
> How long does it normally take until the decision make for the main 457 application? I have my HIF insurance set effective for 01 Sept 2015, do you think the time frame is sufficient if I lodge my application latest by this Friday (26 June)??
> 
> Thanks you so much for your valuable response.
> 
> Trix


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TarlarAustralia -

Thanks for the note. The list you sent looks good, but impossible for me to give you an opinion on relationship evidence without seeing the documents. Generally if DIBP wants more evidence, they will send you a letter giving you the opportunity to submit more. However, partner visas are taking 12-18 months to process in many cases, so chances are they have not assessed your application yet. No problem with uploading more information as time goes on - a very good idea. Just make sure you don't exceed the 60 files per person limit - can be good to merge together tickets and itineraries, etc into single PDF files (but not larger than 5MB per file).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TarlarAustralia said:


> Hi Mark, how I wished I'd know about this before I applied!
> I applied for an 820 visa in January this year and so far all I've had is a request for medicals which I sent and the standard confirmation email. I'm not worried about the lack of response and I know that's normal. I was however hoping if I gave you a list pf our evidence could you tell me if the application seems good enough (obviously you cant guarantee anything which I understand, I'm just after some reassurance!)
> 
> We provided:
> 
> -Letters from our real estate agent stating both our names are on the lease and how long we had been there (18 months now)
> 
> -Letters addressed to us both together and separately at the address including bank statements and bills
> 
> -Stat decs from out house mate, two family friends, my partners dad, and another friend. all certified by a JP
> 
> -Photos of us together in various different places including some with my family who came over for Christmas this year
> 
> -Hotel and plane tickets and car hire reciepts in both our names from various trips together
> 
> -Bank statements from both our accounts plus the joint account with the transactions highlighted (blue for me, green for him etc) to show we use the joint account on regular basis
> 
> -All the requested documentation eg drivers license and passports and birth certificates etc all certified by a JP
> 
> -The stat decs by us detailing the relations ship and when/where we met and future plans etc
> 
> -Police check from the UK and Australia for me.
> 
> -My three requested medical checks.
> 
> That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but there might be more, I'm at work now so can't see my huge Visa folder I have haha
> 
> Just any advice would be great, any gaping holes you see! (fingers crossed theres not)
> 
> Also, due to the lengthy processing time am I able to send more up to date evidence and request it be added to the application, for example, more recent bank statements, more tickets in both our names, etc, is that worth it?
> 
> Thanks so much Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raj -

We're hearing that Engineers Australia is getting more and more picky about these. No way to predict your chances of success, but I'd consider finding another engineer who has received a positive assessment and see if he/she will share a copy of their CDR's with you so you can get a feel for what is required, or consider getting professional assistance from a migration agent or someone else who has been through the process and can give you specific suggestions and edits for your CDR's.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Raj 1982 said:


> Dear Mark,
> Hope you are doing Great!
> Please help me with my degree assessment Issue. I submitted my CDR reports in november last year and i got the revert from them in Jan 2015 that i need to write the CDR's again as they are not written on professional engineer level . I did not understand what they really want.Has there been similar cases like me and what are the chances for me to get clean out of it.
> 
> regards
> Raj


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jane -

If you just lodged it, it may take some time for it to appear; otherwise, would contact DIBP directly and find out if there is an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhaddie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> It is about the Get Health Details link in my pmv online application, it's missing.
> Thank you.
> 
> Jane


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi T&M -

It essentially translates to: "thanks for the note, we don't need anything more from you now, please be patient and don't bother us and we'll let you know once we complete the assessment, which will take an unknown amount of time that we're not going to give you even an estimate of"

Waiting is the worst part of the entire migration process, in my view!

Best,

Mark



T&M said:


> Hi Mike,
> My fiance received the below message from our CO today after she requested for an update. can you please explain to what they mean.
> 
> "At this stage, no information will be required for the applicant. We shall keep you posted once assessment has been completed."
> 
> Thanks for you support.


----------



## MarkNortham

hi Himpar1 -

Generally payslips or records of payment are required for the entire period you are claiming as skilled assessment to meet the 1 year (or whatever) requirement with VETASSESS - this is definitely the case with DIBP, so even if VETASSESS may be satisfied with less, DIBP will require it for all periods you are claiming points (not just 1 yr, etc) for so might as well get things ready and submit to VETASSESS.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



himpar1 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I would like to know regarding payslips that we have to submit for VETASSESS skills assessment. I have had 5 years work experience in the related occupation I am applying for. Regarding payslips, I am bit confused, is it fine to send the payslips for some recent months or do I have to send it for 5 years altogether?
> 
> I would be grateful if you could help me in this regard.
> Looking forward to hearing from you.
> 
> Warm regards, Himpar


----------



## Claire100

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Claire100 -
> 
> Wish I could help, but that depends on your local laws and regulations. I'd ask DIBP (whatever branch is processing your PMV application) what they will accept specifically.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for your reply, mark. 
My fiancé is a Malaysian residing in Singapore. We submitted our application online. How will I know which processing center will process our application? Will it be Singapore, Malaysia or Australia?


----------



## Mark_

Dear Mark i hope you help me
i got my 801 visa 9 months ago i have a brother he lives overseas hes applying for PMV his fiance live in sydney , yesterday he had interview and they start asking him about me and my wife and where i live also they asked for my older brother ( he is australian citizenship) finally they took my address and my phone number my question is are the DIBP going to contact me and ask me about my personal information and about my wife ?


----------



## ambition_vik

Dear Mark,

Please help me with below:


My previous company provided only one reference letter with entire employment duration and last designation however I held multiple position during my tenure and also deputed to OZ for project assignment (8 months).

During the ACS online application, for the question which is the country of experience, i submitted only one entry for my whole years of experience and mentioned the country as IND ( where i currently am) because i could not have split my experience since I only had a single letter therefore my ACS assessment letter shows only one country and last designation for entire duration and I replicated the same in EOI.

Now I am filling VISA form, could you please let me know whether I should enter my OZ experience separately or go ahead as per ACS, EOI?

Please note that I am not claiming any points for this experience as ACS deducted due to non-it degree.

Thank you so much for your help.


----------



## usmalik82

*hi*

Dear Mark,

I need to ask a couple of things:

1) ACS deducted my 2 years and they say that my experience will count after January 2010.. Now I want to ask that do i have to add experience in EOI after January 2010..in short I need to add experience in nominated experience after January 2010?

2) secondly ACS has assessed my experience till 27th may 2014.. i am still working in the company...so in EOI do i have to add the experience till 27th may 2014 or till date??

3) finally i need to ask i applied for ACS assessment on 27th may 2014 and got the result on 9th july 2014..which date I have to enter in EOI... the date on which i applied or the result date?

kindly help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Claire100 -

For Singapore applicants, normally the Singapore office processes these. I'd contact them, or also have a look on any correspondence you received from DIBP after you lodged the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Claire100 said:


> Thank you for your reply, mark.
> My fiancé is a Malaysian residing in Singapore. We submitted our application online. How will I know which processing center will process our application? Will it be Singapore, Malaysia or Australia?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark_ -

If they have concerns about your brother, they could certainly call you and ask you about him and his fiance. Asking an applicant about family members is very common however, so I wouldn't be too concerned. Best to answer the questions honestly, and I'd be in touch with your brother as well to be aware of what he told them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mark_ said:


> Dear Mark i hope you help me
> i got my 801 visa 9 months ago i have a brother he lives overseas hes applying for PMV his fiance live in sydney , yesterday he had interview and they start asking him about me and my wife and where i live also they asked for my older brother ( he is australian citizenship) finally they took my address and my phone number my question is are the DIBP going to contact me and ask me about my personal information and about my wife ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ambition_vik -

Would need to examine all your documents to give you specific advice, however assuming you remained employed by the Indian employer for the period, despite working physically in Australia, then I'd keep things just as they are on the EOI.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ambition_vik said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Please help me with below:
> 
> My previous company provided only one reference letter with entire employment duration and last designation however I held multiple position during my tenure and also deputed to OZ for project assignment (8 months).
> 
> During the ACS online application, for the question which is the country of experience, i submitted only one entry for my whole years of experience and mentioned the country as IND ( where i currently am) because i could not have split my experience since I only had a single letter therefore my ACS assessment letter shows only one country and last designation for entire duration and I replicated the same in EOI.
> 
> Now I am filling VISA form, could you please let me know whether I should enter my OZ experience separately or go ahead as per ACS, EOI?
> 
> Please note that I am not claiming any points for this experience as ACS deducted due to non-it degree.
> 
> Thank you so much for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmalik82 -

Re 1 - only experience in your nominated occupation after Jan 2010 should be marked as relevant to your occupation in your EOI. If you have no experience after that, but still have positive ACS, then no problem but you get no points for work experience.

Re 2 - if it's the same job/employer/position that was already assessed by ACS - that is, a continuation of the very same job, then you can claim until the current date as long as you get a letter from your employer stating that you continued in that job until the current date, and you'll also need to provide payslips or other evidence of payment to DIBP during the visa application process to cover the entire time of any work experience you are claiming for points.

Re 3 - Result date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmalik82 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I need to ask a couple of things:
> 
> 1) ACS deducted my 2 years and they say that my experience will count after January 2010.. Now I want to ask that do i have to add experience in EOI after January 2010..in short I need to add experience in nominated experience after January 2010?
> 
> 2) secondly ACS has assessed my experience till 27th may 2014.. i am still working in the company...so in EOI do i have to add the experience till 27th may 2014 or till date??
> 
> 3) finally i need to ask i applied for ACS assessment on 27th may 2014 and got the result on 9th july 2014..which date I have to enter in EOI... the date on which i applied or the result date?
> 
> kindly help.


----------



## Mark_

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mark_ -
> 
> If they have concerns about your brother, they could certainly call you and ask you about him and his fiance. Asking an applicant about family members is very common however, so I wouldn't be too concerned. Best to answer the questions honestly, and I'd be in touch with your brother as well to be aware of what he told them.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thank you so much for your help final question
for example are they going to ask me information about me and my wife like where i live and when i met my wife ( personal question) or they don't have the right because i'm permanent resident


----------



## usmalik82

Hi Mark,
thanks for your reply, you have always been very helpful... just need clarity in few things:

1) any chance for South Australia sponsoring network administrator in july 2015?

2) ACS has assessed my work experience till 27th may 2014...but as i told u i am still working in same company with same designation..but as my points are complete..it would be better for me to claim points till i was assessed on 27th may 2014? right... better to claim points for what i was assessed..right?

3) After EOI .. should i have to apply for south australia state nomination or this state nomination happens directly in EOI OR I have to apply it somewhere?? needs clarity...

4) I have chosen South Australia in EOI as state nomination and they are giving me 65 points... this 65 points includes the state 5 point as well??

5) finally and importantly.. as i told u ACS assessed my work exp after January 2010... this is my work exp

company A sept 2008 to august 2010
company B august 2010 till date

now as i told you ACS assessed my experience after January 2010... so how do i enter my exp in EOI ... it should like entering half and then other half .. like entering in EOI... 

company A jan 2010 to aug 2010... it should be like this or what??

pls help.


----------



## pula

Hi Mark,

I am applying for visa 887. I have been in AU on visa 489 and I have completed all the requirements.

Can I include my mother as a dependant when I apply for visa 887? 
Her name haven't been included in the visa application when I initially apply for 489. But she is the only relative I have and vice versa. I have no siblings and my father passed away long time back. She is in AU at the moment with us for the second time on visitor visa.

Thanking you in advance for all the support and advice you give to us.


----------



## myaepro

*Skilled Employment Assessment : BY EA*

Mark, thank you for the helped provided so far!

One doubt,

I have 4 years and 6 months Skilled Employment Experience (Mechanical Engineering) .
I will wait until January to submit an EOI. (to claim 10 points).

I`ve been writting my CDR for a month and as soon as I finish it, I plan to lodge it.

Would you recommend me to pay the extra fee to get these 4years 6months assessed by the EA now?

Would you recommend me to send the CDR without applying for Skilled Employment Assessment?

Is it completely necessary to get the Skilled Employment assessed by the EA ?

Is there a best day/month to lodge a Visa (189) ?

Thank you once again Mark !!


----------



## edithclara

Hi everyone. Someone told me that from 1/7/15 a Minister of Religion will no longer be able to apply for PR (186 Direct Entry) if they are currently on a 401 (Religious worker stream). I cannot find anything about this on Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Does anyone know if this is correct? Thanks very much.


----------



## 4lashyme

Hello Mark,

i'm new on here. i am planning on applying for visa subclass 189. but i have an issue. My visa application to another country was rejected on grounds of "Misrepresentation". i intend to disclose this - with details when filling the relevant forms on my application. But before i invest funds into the program, i would like to know if this issue will "negetively" affect me case on "character grounds.

thank you,

Cheers.


----------



## hwhattywhat

Hi Mark, 

I am hoping you can offer some quick advice around employer nomination evidence. I am a very small bricklaying firm looking to nominate someone at present. 
I am struggling to understand what I might provide as evidence for:
• evidence that the position is currently occupied by a temporary resident
• evidence of an increase in business activity (e.g. new contracts won) requiring workers in the nominated occupation

Many thanks in advance for any advice you can provide!


----------



## ambition_vik

Thanks Mark.

I would request you to provide your input on below queries:

1. My case was inter-company transfer and I used to receive two salary slips ( 1. Indian Entity 2. OZ Entity) during my deputation period.Is it ok if I mention entire experience in one country?

2. Also, at the time of deputation my designation was different and after I come back I got promoted and designation changed and that reflects in my current reference and experience letter.

In case I need to include my OZ experience in VISA form, should I use my old designation or the one available in ref letter (last designation before leaving)?

Thank you so much for your efforts.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ambition_vik -
> 
> Would need to examine all your documents to give you specific advice, however assuming you remained employed by the Indian employer for the period, despite working physically in Australia, then I'd keep things just as they are on the EOI.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark_

They certainly may ask that, and a lot more. Suggest you look at the thread on this forum re: sample partner visa interview questions, etc - they can get into very minute details of your partner's family, finances, and much more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mark_ said:


> thank you so much for your help final question
> for example are they going to ask me information about me and my wife like where i live and when i met my wife ( personal question) or they don't have the right because i'm permanent resident


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmalik82 -

Would be happy to help re: your ACS questions, but must see your documents in detail at a consultation (can be via phone or Skype if more convenient) to give you specific advice for your case - too many details and circumstances to give advice on the forum via back & forth posts. See my website below in my email signature if interested in booking a consultation. Re: state sponsorship, no way to predict - SA has said they will release their new list on 1 July.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmalik82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> thanks for your reply, you have always been very helpful... just need clarity in few things:
> 
> 1) any chance for South Australia sponsoring network administrator in july 2015?
> 
> 2) ACS has assessed my work experience till 27th may 2014...but as i told u i am still working in same company with same designation..but as my points are complete..it would be better for me to claim points till i was assessed on 27th may 2014? right... better to claim points for what i was assessed..right?
> 
> 3) After EOI .. should i have to apply for south australia state nomination or this state nomination happens directly in EOI OR I have to apply it somewhere?? needs clarity...
> 
> 4) I have chosen South Australia in EOI as state nomination and they are giving me 65 points... this 65 points includes the state 5 point as well??
> 
> 5) finally and importantly.. as i told u ACS assessed my work exp after January 2010... this is my work exp
> 
> company A sept 2008 to august 2010
> company B august 2010 till date
> 
> now as i told you ACS assessed my experience after January 2010... so how do i enter my exp in EOI ... it should like entering half and then other half .. like entering in EOI...
> 
> company A jan 2010 to aug 2010... it should be like this or what??
> 
> pls help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pula -

You may be able to, but DIBP will expect significant evidence to show she is dependent on you, and has been for a substantial period of time as a member of your household. Happy to discuss specifics of your circumstances in a consultation if you'd like to get you an opinion on chances of success for claiming dependency - see website below in my signature for more info on consultations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pula said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for visa 887. I have been in AU on visa 489 and I have completed all the requirements.
> 
> Can I include my mother as a dependant when I apply for visa 887?
> Her name haven't been included in the visa application when I initially apply for 489. But she is the only relative I have and vice versa. I have no siblings and my father passed away long time back. She is in AU at the moment with us for the second time on visitor visa.
> 
> Thanking you in advance for all the support and advice you give to us.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Myaepro -

Thanks for the question. No way for me to give you advice on this without much more details - it is not required to have skilled employment assessed by EA - whether to do this or not usually depends on how confident you are that the case officer will be able to conclude from the reference letter, etc you provide from that employment that it is relevant to your nominated occupation. Happy to assist you further in a consult - see website below in my signature for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



myaepro said:


> Mark, thank you for the helped provided so far!
> 
> One doubt,
> 
> I have 4 years and 6 months Skilled Employment Experience (Mechanical Engineering) .
> I will wait until January to submit an EOI. (to claim 10 points).
> 
> I`ve been writting my CDR for a month and as soon as I finish it, I plan to lodge it.
> 
> Would you recommend me to pay the extra fee to get these 4years 6months assessed by the EA now?
> 
> Would you recommend me to send the CDR without applying for Skilled Employment Assessment?
> 
> Is it completely necessary to get the Skilled Employment assessed by the EA ?
> 
> Is there a best day/month to lodge a Visa (189) ?
> 
> Thank you once again Mark !!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Edithclara -

I haven't heard about that yet, but we're still working through a mountain of announcements for upcoming legislative and policy changes on 1 July. Will let you know if I hear more about this.

Best,

Mark



edithclara said:


> Hi. Someone told me that from 1/7/15 a Minister of Religion will no longer be able to apply for PR (186 Direct Entry) if they are currently on a 401 (Religious worker stream). I cannot find anything about this on Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Does anyone know if this is correct? Thanks very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 4lashyme -

Thanks for the question. It may negatively affect you, depending on the nature of the previous issue, severity, etc. However for that sort of thing, the incident would have to be fairly severe I would think, and it would need to be deliberate (ie, not a typo on an application, etc). No way to tell for sure without moving forward with the process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



4lashyme said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> i'm new on here. i am planning on applying for visa subclass 189. but i have an issue. My visa application to another country was rejected on grounds of "Misrepresentation". i intend to disclose this - with details when filling the relevant forms on my application. But before i invest funds into the program, i would like to know if this issue will "negetively" affect me case on "character grounds.
> 
> thank you,
> 
> Cheers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hwhattywhat -

Thanks for the note and email - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Parramatta. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



hwhattywhat said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am hoping you can offer some quick advice around employer nomination evidence. I am a very small bricklaying firm looking to nominate someone at present.
> I am struggling to understand what I might provide as evidence for:
> • evidence that the position is currently occupied by a temporary resident
> • evidence of an increase in business activity (e.g. new contracts won) requiring workers in the nominated occupation
> 
> Many thanks in advance for any advice you can provide!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Sorry, but same answer - can't give you opinions on documents I have not seen. Too risky for me and you, and too much at stake re: visa application fees for you. Happy to assist at a consultation - see website below for more.

Best,

Mark



ambition_vik said:


> Thanks Mark.
> 
> I would request you to provide your input on below queries:
> 
> 1. My case was inter-company transfer and I used to receive two salary slips ( 1. Indian Entity 2. OZ Entity) during my deputation period.Is it ok if I mention entire experience in one country?
> 
> 2. Also, at the time of deputation my designation was different and after I come back I got promoted and designation changed and that reflects in my current reference and experience letter.
> 
> In case I need to include my OZ experience in VISA form, should I use my old designation or the one available in ref letter (last designation before leaving)?
> 
> Thank you so much for your efforts.


----------



## masood

dear mark'
i have heard that the diap will finalize all student visa cases in 1st week of july its true or not waiting for your positive response thanks


----------



## Nabajit2015

*Query about Form-80 applying 189 visa*

Thank you again for your kindness and you are always been great to me. Today I came across when I was reading about Form-80, actually we just preparing to lodge our 189 visa (offshore) (wife and I). I lived in Australia for 6 years, but due to some personal reason I had to leave the country last December'15. My question is Mark, during that time I was holding a credit card from the Australian Commonwealth Bank and I have a debt of certain amounts. Also, I'm maintaining my minimum monthly instalment/payments since I left Australia as per the monthly bank statement (online) issued against my name. In addition, before leaving the country I don't have any outstanding Australian Government debts such as ATO and Infringement payments against my name apart from the credit card debt. Now, I have a doubt Mark, according to the Form-80(Part-K), It's mentioned that "had any outstanding debts to the Australian Government or any public authority in Australia? No/Yes". So, in this situation, what should I say to the government?
Shall I say Yes or No.? Because as per my knowledge I am still paying their minimum amount so that I don't fall under deb collector's list.

Please I need your help mate.

Thanks heaps,
Nabajit


----------



## pinkiestar

Hi Mark,
Thanks for your reply to my question earlier.
I had applied for Partner Visa and I have been told to do my medicals. 
I am planning to do it Soon.
Does being pregnant stop one from getting their medicals done?
And does being pregnant delay the process of me getting a Tourist visa? As I am planning to apply for one soon after my medicals.


----------



## himpar1

MarkNortham said:


> hi Himpar1 -
> 
> Generally payslips or records of payment are required for the entire period you are claiming as skilled assessment to meet the 1 year (or whatever) requirement with VETASSESS - this is definitely the case with DIBP, so even if VETASSESS may be satisfied with less, DIBP will require it for all periods you are claiming points (not just 1 yr, etc) for so might as well get things ready and submit to VETASSESS.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your kind response. It is really helpful to proceed ahead.

Regards, Himpar


----------



## usmalik82

*hi*

Dear Mark,

My points are complete, I need to ask should I enter work experience as per assessment, although i am still working in same company with same position, but i want to enter work exp in EOI as per assessment because my points are complete and i dont need to claim further points, is it ok?


----------



## Molesades

Hi mark 

Was wondering if you could help with some visa 461 info. Am currently on working holiday visa that expires in July when is the latest can put through this visa application? And also ho long before I can get a bridging visa? As work are asking for it. I think we have a lot of evidence but I'm struggling on the stat decs from both of us regarding our relationship is there anything specific we must include to make it valid? Also we have 5 people who can write a statement to say we are in relationship together but they're all nz citizenw does this matter do they use the 888 form? Also my mum has never met my partner but is more than aware of our relationship together she's from the UK as wih most of my fronds and family would she be able to write a statement ?? Thanks in advance sorry for all the questions


----------



## sana.khan

MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


. 
Hello mark I just wanna ask in how many days usually a spouse of subclass 485 visa gets her visa after medical?


----------



## mhry

Thank you for the replies, helped me.
One exciting question is, if they grant me this PMV, that i applied, and my wedding take place in Melbourne, after that, will i pay the 6k price for the permanent partner visa , that i should within nine monthes? will the new charges affect me, after i get my PMV?


----------



## PrabhSingh

Hey Mark 
Can U Give Me Some Info. About Subclass 573 , Applied From India .
Applied On 29may2015 , Still Waiting 4 Visa ??


----------



## Akiv

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Akiv -
> 
> You may be able to renew your PR re-entry rights with a Resident Return Visa (RRV) but you'll need to show substantial ties to Australia as well as compelling reasons why you initially left and why you were away for so long. I'd check out the DIBP website for the subclass 155 visa for more details and information.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thnx for the reply. I see some hopes now. So should i apply for RRV when i need to visit australia? Will wait for more information. THnx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Masood -

Given that much of DIBP is going on strike for half a day tomorrow (1 July), I have a feeling that they won't be doing that kind of work - haven't heard anything about that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



masood said:


> dear mark'
> i have heard that the diap will finalize all student visa cases in 1st week of july its true or not waiting for your positive response thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nabajit -

The Commonwealth Bank (CBA), despite the name, is a privately held institution, so debt to that bank is not considered a public debt for migration purposes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nabajit2015 said:


> Thank you again for your kindness and you are always been great to me. Today I came across when I was reading about Form-80, actually we just preparing to lodge our 189 visa (offshore) (wife and I). I lived in Australia for 6 years, but due to some personal reason I had to leave the country last December'15. My question is Mark, during that time I was holding a credit card from the Australian Commonwealth Bank and I have a debt of certain amounts. Also, I'm maintaining my minimum monthly instalment/payments since I left Australia as per the monthly bank statement (online) issued against my name. In addition, before leaving the country I don't have any outstanding Australian Government debts such as ATO and Infringement payments against my name apart from the credit card debt. Now, I have a doubt Mark, according to the Form-80(Part-K), It's mentioned that "had any outstanding debts to the Australian Government or any public authority in Australia? No/Yes". So, in this situation, what should I say to the government?
> Shall I say Yes or No.? Because as per my knowledge I am still paying their minimum amount so that I don't fall under deb collector's list.
> 
> Please I need your help mate.
> 
> Thanks heaps,
> Nabajit


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pinkiestar -

Being pregnant is a reason you may not want to have a chest x-ray - if you do not get the x-ray, it may delay your visa approval depending on your circumstances. Normally no x-ray required for a short term visitor visa unless you are going to be in a classroom or hospital situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pinkiestar said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your reply to my question earlier.
> I had applied for Partner Visa and I have been told to do my medicals.
> I am planning to do it Soon.
> Does being pregnant stop one from getting their medicals done?
> And does being pregnant delay the process of me getting a Tourist visa? As I am planning to apply for one soon after my medicals.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmalik82 -

There is no need to claim points in addition to what was assessed if you do not wish to, however on Form 80 you will need to list all employment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmalik82 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> My points are complete, I need to ask should I enter work experience as per assessment, although i am still working in same company with same position, but i want to enter work exp in EOI as per assessment because my points are complete and i dont need to claim further points, is it ok?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Molesades -

I'd lodge so the 461 (a paper application, since no online app for the 461 is available yet) reaches them at least 1 week before your visa expires. Normally it takes them a couple of days once they receive the pkg to send you a bridging visa.

Yes, mum could write a statement. Statements generally should tell the story of your relationship, how you met, how it grew into a partner relationship, your current circumstances, and a bit about plans for the future. If you're having issues, you might want to have a migration agent review all of your evidence so far and give you an opinion on how it looks and any ideas for additional evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Molesades said:


> Hi mark
> 
> Was wondering if you could help with some visa 461 info. Am currently on working holiday visa that expires in July when is the latest can put through this visa application? And also ho long before I can get a bridging visa? As work are asking for it. I think we have a lot of evidence but I'm struggling on the stat decs from both of us regarding our relationship is there anything specific we must include to make it valid? Also we have 5 people who can write a statement to say we are in relationship together but they're all nz citizenw does this matter do they use the 888 form? Also my mum has never met my partner but is more than aware of our relationship together she's from the UK as wih most of my fronds and family would she be able to write a statement ?? Thanks in advance sorry for all the questions


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sana.khan -

Impossible to predict DIBP processing time - could be anywhere from 1-5 months or more. Wish they were more predictable!

Best,

Mark



sana.khan said:


> .
> Hello mark I just wanna ask in how many days usually a spouse of subclass 485 visa gets her visa after medical?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mhry -

It's unclear at this point what DIBP will charge PMV holders who lodge an onshore partner visa application within the 9 month period of the PMV - we should know tomorrow once all the new regulations are posted. Before, it was the difference between the onshore & offshore partner visa prices, however those visas are priced the same from tomorrow.

****UPDATE: According to the new fee table on the DIBP site, as of 1 July, PMV holders must pay a $1,145 fee when they apply for an onshore partner visa while holding the PMV, which keeps in place the same fee for doing this as prior to 1 July. ****

Best,

Mark



mhry said:


> Thank you for the replies, helped me.
> One exciting question is, if they grant me this PMV, that i applied, and my wedding take place in Melbourne, after that, will i pay the 6k price for the permanent partner visa , that i should within nine monthes? will the new charges affect me, after i get my PMV?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi PrabhSingh -

Thanks for the question. Not unusual to see student visas taking anywhere from 3 or more months to process these days, so best to apply at least 3 months in advance of the date you want to be in Australia. No way to predict visa processing times from DIBP, and they place no limits on themselves. All you can do generally is keep in touch with them and make sure they aren't waiting for any additional information or documents from you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



PrabhSingh said:


> Hey Mark
> Can U Give Me Some Info. About Subclass 573 , Applied From India .
> Applied On 29may2015 , Still Waiting 4 Visa ??


----------



## TrixDivergent

*Health insurance effective date (visa 457)*

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your kind reply. I did my x-ray yesterday (29 June) while the health insurance was applied on 22 June, before lodging my visa application.

However considering the processing time of the visa, resign from my current company, arranging the accomodation etc, I set my health insurance to be effective as per 1 September 2015. That date will be assume as the day i commence work in OZ. Do you think that will be acceptable??

Thanks so much for dedicating your time in replying us here in the forum,
Mark - you're a saint 

Rgds,
Trix



MarkNortham said:


> Hi TrixDivergent -
> 
> 457 visas are often processed in a matter of days or a couple of weeks. If you haven't completed the medical requirements, that will hold up the process. Health insurance must be dated at least as of grant of visa date, so I'd get it in place as of the date you lodge.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Trix -

I'd probably set the health insurance to be in effect as soon as you lodge the 457 application - the health insurance must be in effect on the date they grant the visa, so setting it ahead to the day before you need the visa might be cutting things a bit close.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TrixDivergent said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your kind reply. I did my x-ray yesterday (29 June) while the health insurance was applied on 22 June, before lodging my visa application.
> 
> However considering the processing time of the visa, resign from my current company, arranging the accomodation etc, I set my health insurance to be effective as per 1 September 2015. That date will be assume as the day i commence work in OZ. Do you think that will be acceptable??
> 
> Thanks so much for dedicating your time in replying us here in the forum,
> Mark - you're a saint
> 
> Rgds,
> Trix


----------



## Dedicated10

Hi mark ,
I am bit worried as of now I called the tax office to enquire about my wife tax dicrepency as she earned some interest ,she and her mum uses some dodgy tax agent ,he didn't declare some interest ,but today when I asked out of curiosity that whether she declare her spouse .i m the authorised person for her tax return ,they told me that she didn't .i m going to amend the tax return for last year ,she told me that she told that tax agent about me and he did all himself .but now I m worried that I m on 820 will that affect my 801 application .i m going to fix her tax through my agent .can you please help me.
Regards


----------



## Sammy adelaide

I got MRT hearing in 2 weeks I have hired a migration Agent already otherwise I would go to Mark Northern but I didn't know befor . Anway can u please share your experience how did u went through MRT ? What paper work / evidence did u supply & what short of question they ask ? People who won in MRT for spouse visa please share ur journey & what short of tips are helpful to win in MRT 
Please help as people who won MRT then can understand very well how it's feel like. it's very hard time for me ? Thanks a lot .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dedicated10 -

Normally tax returns are not a central part of the DIBP assessment of genuine relationships, largely because people declare different things to deal with the tax law than they may declare otherwise. I'd focus on the 4 major types of relationship evidence and not be too concerned about the tax situation - you'll want to correct any tax discrepancies, but re: migration purposes, that's a different set of laws and requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dedicated10 said:


> Hi mark ,
> I am bit worried as of now I called the tax office to enquire about my wife tax dicrepency as she earned some interest ,she and her mum uses some dodgy tax agent ,he didn't declare some interest ,but today when I asked out of curiosity that whether she declare her spouse .i m the authorised person for her tax return ,they told me that she didn't .i m going to amend the tax return for last year ,she told me that she told that tax agent about me and he did all himself .but now I m worried that I m on 820 will that affect my 801 application .i m going to fix her tax through my agent .can you please help me.
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sammy -

Would be happy to chime in with my thoughts - for getting input from others, would suggest you start a new topic on the forum as this one is primarily for people to ask me questions.

Re: MRT, partner visas are usually refused either for Schedule 3 reasons or for genuine relationship reasons - I work with many of each type of case - if you can tell me what the basis was for the refusal, I'd be happy to offer some tips.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sammy adelaide said:


> I got MRT hearing in 2 weeks I have hired a migration Agent already otherwise I would go to Mark Northern but I didn't know befor . Anway can u please share your experience how did u went through MRT ? What paper work / evidence did u supply & what short of question they ask ? People who won in MRT for spouse visa please share ur journey & what short of tips are helpful to win in MRT
> Please help as people who won MRT then can understand very well how it's feel like. it's very hard time for me ? Thanks a lot .


----------



## Dedicated10

thank you mark .and one more than thing can I book a migration appointment with you ? 
Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dedicated10 -

Absolutely - see my website below and click on the "Consultations" link at the top - we offer 30 and 60 minute consults by phone, Skype and at our office in Sydney.

Best,

Mark



Dedicated10 said:


> thank you mark .and one more than thing can I book a migration appointment with you ?
> Regards


----------



## Dedicated10

Thank you mark .


----------



## pinkiestar

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pinkiestar -
> 
> Being pregnant is a reason you may not want to have a chest x-ray - if you do not get the x-ray, it may delay your visa approval depending on your circumstances. Normally no x-ray required for a short term visitor visa unless you are going to be in a classroom or hospital situation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hey Mark,
Thankyou so much for your reply.
I had applied for a Partner visa this month and I have to do medicals for the Partner visa. I plan to do the medicals as it won't be easy for me staying away from my husband for a year. 
Just one more question. 
Does the immigration not give easy visa to a woman who is pregnant? As I plan to apply for a Tourist visa soon. 
And will I have to do my medicals again for Tourist visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pinkiestar -

Thanks for the note. Normally no medicals needed for a visitor visa. Re: giving an "easy visa", that's not necessarily the case - I haven't notice any patterns re: visa issues and being pregnant - every case is different.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pinkiestar said:


> Hey Mark,
> Thankyou so much for your reply.
> I had applied for a Partner visa this month and I have to do medicals for the Partner visa. I plan to do the medicals as it won't be easy for me staying away from my husband for a year.
> Just one more question.
> Does the immigration not give easy visa to a woman who is pregnant? As I plan to apply for a Tourist visa soon.
> And will I have to do my medicals again for Tourist visa?


----------



## pinkiestar

Thankyou Mark. 
Your advise has always been very helpful.


----------



## Nabajit2015

*Query about Form-80 applying 189 visa*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nabajit -
> 
> The Commonwealth Bank (CBA), despite the name, is a privately held institution, so debt to that bank is not considered a public debt for migration purposes.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark. I will never forget you mate. May God bless you and live long...

Thanks heaps,
Nabajit


----------



## Molesades

thanks so much for your reply!!! As im from the UK but lodging my 461 in aus do I need to get health insurance as a requirement of this visa? As UK has reciprocal health care agreement? Also with the statements from friends and family none are aus citizens or PRs do they just write a statement free hand and get it signed by a JP or someone similar or do they still fill in the form 888 and last question now  with all of our evidence most is printed off as in emails ie bank statements booking info and stuff photo copied such as lease agreements relationship certificates do they all need to be signed by a jp and our statements from us too? Thank again for the help you're doing a wonderful thing helping everybody



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Molesades -
> 
> I'd lodge so the 461 (a paper application, since no online app for the 461 is available yet) reaches them at least 1 week before your visa expires. Normally it takes them a couple of days once they receive the pkg to send you a bridging visa.
> 
> Yes, mum could write a statement. Statements generally should tell the story of your relationship, how you met, how it grew into a partner relationship, your current circumstances, and a bit about plans for the future. If you're having issues, you might want to have a migration agent review all of your evidence so far and give you an opinion on how it looks and any ideas for additional evidence.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## ES2013

Hi mark., 
Hi we applied on 2 jan this year for 309 offshore in Dubai. On April I got an email asking for additional documents. However we have not heard from them, until now. It's frustrating! We have not done any medical or police check. In the email the CO did not mention anything bt medical or police check however on immiaccount we filled in the HAP ID. Does this mean we complete the medical? It should we wait until the CO actually emails and tells us to do it? So confused!


----------



## vnavarro

Hi Mark,

Im currently on a Bridging Visa A, which began in April after submitting my application for the partner visa. I would like to go home (USA) soon for a few weeks and understand that I would need substantial reasons for wanting to leave the country. Is simply stating that I have personal errands that I need to attend to and missing/wanting to see my family good enough reasons?

I would appreciate any kind of help. 

Thanks,
Victoria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Edithclara -

The following was just announced - looks like they are shifting this occuption over to the labour agreements stream:

*Ministers of Religion occupation

From 1 July 2015, the occupation of Minister of Religion (ANZSCO 272211) will be ineligible for both the Direct Entry Stream and the Temporary Residence Transition stream of the Subclass 186 Visa and Subclass 187 Visa, or the Temporary Work (Skilled) Subclass 457 Visa.

Religious organisations must sign up to the available Minister of Religion Industry Labour Agreement before lodging an employer nomination for Subclass 186 Visa under the Agreement Stream. For the Subclass 457 Visa, religious organisations must also sign up to the Minister of Religion Labour Agreement before a nomination for a temporary worker can be lodged.

From 1 July 2015, exemptions will no longer be available for Ministers of Religion for the age, skill and English language requirements under the Direct Entry and the Temporary Residence Transition streams of the Subclass 186 and Subclass 187 Visas. Applicants must meet the requirements as outlined in the Minister of Religion Industry Labour Agreement.

If an employer nomination for a Minister of Religion is lodged before 1 July 2015 and is subsequently approved after this date, the corresponding visa application can be lodged for the relevant stream of the Subclass 186 or Subclass 187 Visa. However, the exemptions to age, skill and English language available to Ministers of Religion will no longer apply.*

I'd have a look at the labour agreement and see how it may apply to your circumstances - hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



edithclara said:


> Hi everyone. Someone told me that from 1/7/15 a Minister of Religion will no longer be able to apply for PR (186 Direct Entry) if they are currently on a 401 (Religious worker stream). I cannot find anything about this on Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Does anyone know if this is correct? Thanks very much.


----------



## PrabhSingh

MarkNortham said:


> Hi PrabhSingh -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Not unusual to see student visas taking anywhere from 3 or more months to process these days, so best to apply at least 3 months in advance of the date you want to be in Australia. No way to predict visa processing times from DIBP, and they place no limits on themselves. All you can do generally is keep in touch with them and make sure they aren't waiting for any additional information or documents from you.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


And one more Ques. To Ask MARK , If they Refuse my visa what will be the possible causes and till when they refuse the visa after lodging the file . Thnxx In advance ??


----------



## romero2005

Dear Mark,

I applies for 190 visa with 55 points(Without s/s)(NSW) and also did not mention my work experience.

I have 2 ACS assessment for my degree.

1. System Analysis
2. Computer Network and Systems Engineer (263111)

I have work experience on system analysis at the moment ( 2 years and one month and still working) and I dont have work experience on computer network and system Engineer

I applied to 190 NSW using (263111) just because of system analysis isnt demand. still i am waiting for my invitation,I applied on 6 March 2015.

is there any advantage on applying using system analysis because of i have 2+ years experience. they do not give any points for 2 years. please advice me.

My points breakdown

age - 30
IELTS (6,6.5,7,7.5) - 0
Education (BIT csu uni Australia - 15
Professional year (ACS IT) - 05
Aus Study requirement - 05 
apply from NSW 190 - 05
total - 60

Plese what will be the best option. i did not apply using system analysis assessment yet. but have experience on that.


----------



## afro

Hi Mark!

I was able to live in Australia for 9 years (2002-2011), where I did years 9-10 and got my degree in Bachelors of Nursing - 8 years on a student visa and 1 year work visa. I was able to work as an RN for a year when I did my New Grad Program in 2010-2011. Then I went back to the Philippines to get married and never entered back Australia. I haven't renewed my nursing registration and haven't worked as a nurse for 4 years. I have just recently finished my Masters in Public Health. So now I am planning to go back to Australia, this time together with my wife. Do I still have to do IELTS? Regarding my registration, I think I may need to do a refresher course, yeah? I don't know where to start, maybe you can help. Thanks heaps for your time.


----------



## kaivalya

Hi Mark,

261312: Developer Programmer removed from CSOL today.
Nearly two months have passed by after filing the EOI for NSW state but there is still no invite. Today I come to know from some resources that 261312eveloper Programmer have been removed from CSOL

https://www.anzscosearch.com/csol/
https://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2015L01059

Should I do my ACS assesment again?

__________________________________________________ _ _______
Skilled - Subclass 190 | Developer Programmer - 261312

14/02/2015 - ACS App. Submitted
19/02/2015 - ACS +ve Outcome
01/05/2015 - IELTS Results (L-6, R-7, W-6.5, S-6 | Overall - 6.5)
08/05/2015 - EOI Submitted for NSW with 55 pts + 5 pts(State Nomination)

Next Steps (Hope)
XX/08/2015 - NSW Invite | 
XX/08/2015 - Application for NSW nomination submitted | 
XX/09/2015 - SkillSelect Invitation to apply for 190 visa | 
XX/09/2015 - 190 visa application to DIBP | 
XX/12/2015 - PCC | Health | Documents uploaded | 
XX/12/2015 - Case officer assigned
XX/12/2015 - Visa Grant |


----------



## LivNaomi

Hi again Mark

I'm currently on a Tourist Visa, and applying for a Partner Visa. My bridging visa A kicks in 2nd August. However, I need to travel back to the UK as my brother and his fiancee are having a baby in the next few weeks, and I want to go and meet him and also do a bit of work and save up some money over there before I come back to Australia again. Do I have to wait until my BVA kicks in before I can apply for a BVB or can I apply for that now? I was also wondering how long the BVB lasts, and do they put any restrictions on them at all? 

Thanks so much 

Livi


----------



## Girl in Tokyo

Hi Mark

I would like to be enlightened regarding my Partner 820 Visa.

I filed my visa online last September 2014. I believe processing time is 12-18 months.

If by September 2016, which is 2 years from the time I filed my visa and I still don't have my 820, will I be given 801 automatically?

Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks for the kind words! Glad I could help.

Best,

Mark



Nabajit2015 said:


> Thanks a lot Mark. I will never forget you mate. May God bless you and live long...
> 
> Thanks heaps,
> Nabajit


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Molesades -

Thanks for the note and kind words. Health insurance is not a requirement of the 461 visa, plus you have reciprocal insurance with the UK anyway - that generally satisfies any DIBP related health insurance requirements. Re: statements, if they are outside Australia and not Australian citizens or PR's, you can have them type up a statement, then sign & date - they should include contact info (phone, email) and a copy of their passport biodata page or other government iD. Since the 461 is a paper application, all non-original documents should be certified copies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Molesades said:


> thanks so much for your reply!!! As im from the UK but lodging my 461 in aus do I need to get health insurance as a requirement of this visa? As UK has reciprocal health care agreement? Also with the statements from friends and family none are aus citizens or PRs do they just write a statement free hand and get it signed by a JP or someone similar or do they still fill in the form 888 and last question now  with all of our evidence most is printed off as in emails ie bank statements booking info and stuff photo copied such as lease agreements relationship certificates do they all need to be signed by a jp and our statements from us too? Thank again for the help you're doing a wonderful thing helping everybody


----------



## MarkNortham

Normally with partner visas lodged offshore, it's good to wait until invited to do the medicals. However if you want to do them now, that's your right to do so and the worst that can happen is that they can expire before the visa decision occurs. To get medicals, you can go to your ImmiAccount page for the lodged application and look below the area where all the uploaded documents are shown for a button on the left side called "Organise your health examinations" - that will allow you to answer some health questions and print out a referral letter with a HAP ID on it - you would use that letter to book your medical checks. Not sure what the HAP ID you mention in your letter is, as it sounds like you have not taken the medicals yet...?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ES2013 said:


> Hi mark.,
> Hi we applied on 2 jan this year for 309 offshore in Dubai. On April I got an email asking for additional documents. However we have not heard from them, until now. It's frustrating! We have not done any medical or police check. In the email the CO did not mention anything bt medical or police check however on immiaccount we filled in the HAP ID. Does this mean we complete the medical? It should we wait until the CO actually emails and tells us to do it? So confused!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victoria -

I'd probably use another word other than "errands" - perhaps personal affairs to complete, wrapping up business there, family reunion, etc. All of those sound a bit more substantial than errands.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vnavarro said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Im currently on a Bridging Visa A, which began in April after submitting my application for the partner visa. I would like to go home (USA) soon for a few weeks and understand that I would need substantial reasons for wanting to leave the country. Is simply stating that I have personal errands that I need to attend to and missing/wanting to see my family good enough reasons?
> 
> I would appreciate any kind of help.
> 
> Thanks,
> Victoria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi PrabhSingh -

No way to predict how long to grant/refuse a visa, and there can be many reasons why a student visa is refused, from genuine student grounds to lack of sufficient evidence of finances, etc - many, many reasons, given the many pages of regulations, legislation and policy for this type of visas.

Best,

Mark



PrabhSingh said:


> And one more Ques. To Ask MARK , If they Refuse my visa what will be the possible causes and till when they refuse the visa after lodging the file . Thnxx In advance ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romero2005 -

Not possible to predict this, as NSW Skilled does not make it clear how much preference or weighting they give to work experience - it is a factor they mention, but they offer no logic or formula as to how that factor is weighted or used in the final decision.

Best,

Mark



romero2005 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I applies for 190 visa with 55 points(Without s/s)(NSW) and also did not mention my work experience.
> 
> I have 2 ACS assessment for my degree.
> 
> 1. System Analysis
> 2. Computer Network and Systems Engineer (263111)
> 
> I have work experience on system analysis at the moment ( 2 years and one month and still working) and I dont have work experience on computer network and system Engineer
> 
> I applied to 190 NSW using (263111) just because of system analysis isnt demand. still i am waiting for my invitation,I applied on 6 March 2015.
> 
> is there any advantage on applying using system analysis because of i have 2+ years experience. they do not give any points for 2 years. please advice me.
> 
> My points breakdown
> 
> age - 30
> IELTS (6,6.5,7,7.5) - 0
> Education (BIT csu uni Australia - 15
> Professional year (ACS IT) - 05
> Aus Study requirement - 05
> apply from NSW 190 - 05
> total - 60
> 
> Plese what will be the best option. i did not apply using system analysis assessment yet. but have experience on that.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Afro -

Thanks for the note. IELTS results are good for 3 years, so it sounds like you would need to do a new IELTS test if you are looking at a new visa. Re: registration, that's a complex subject that's out of my area of expertise. I'm guessing that 457 visa may be the easiest way for you to return, but you'll have to check into the registration requirements, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



afro said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I was able to live in Australia for 9 years (2002-2011), where I did years 9-10 and got my degree in Bachelors of Nursing - 8 years on a student visa and 1 year work visa. I was able to work as an RN for a year when I did my New Grad Program in 2010-2011. Then I went back to the Philippines to get married and never entered back Australia. I haven't renewed my nursing registration and haven't worked as a nurse for 4 years. I have just recently finished my Masters in Public Health. So now I am planning to go back to Australia, this time together with my wife. Do I still have to do IELTS? Regarding my registration, I think I may need to do a refresher course, yeah? I don't know where to start, maybe you can help. Thanks heaps for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaivalya -

I think there may be a misprint at Anzscosearch as this occupation seems to be on the SOL, which means it is also eligible for state sponsorship. You may want to wait to see what NSW's sponsored list looks like before making your next move.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kaivalya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> 261312: Developer Programmer removed from CSOL today.
> Nearly two months have passed by after filing the EOI for NSW state but there is still no invite. Today I come to know from some resources that 261312eveloper Programmer have been removed from CSOL
> 
> https://www.anzscosearch.com/csol/
> https://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2015L01059
> 
> Should I do my ACS assesment again?
> 
> __________________________________________________ _ _______
> Skilled - Subclass 190 | Developer Programmer - 261312
> 
> 14/02/2015 - ACS App. Submitted
> 19/02/2015 - ACS +ve Outcome
> 01/05/2015 - IELTS Results (L-6, R-7, W-6.5, S-6 | Overall - 6.5)
> 08/05/2015 - EOI Submitted for NSW with 55 pts + 5 pts(State Nomination)
> 
> Next Steps (Hope)
> XX/08/2015 - NSW Invite |
> XX/08/2015 - Application for NSW nomination submitted |
> XX/09/2015 - SkillSelect Invitation to apply for 190 visa |
> XX/09/2015 - 190 visa application to DIBP |
> XX/12/2015 - PCC | Health | Documents uploaded |
> XX/12/2015 - Case officer assigned
> XX/12/2015 - Visa Grant |


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Livi -

Thanks for the question. Once you have your BV-A (unactivated), you can apply to change that to a BV-B and then depart Australia on the BV-B. No problem with changing an unactivated BV-A to a BV-B, so you can do that any time after you receive the BV-A. You can ask for as long a BV-B as you like - most are somewhere in the 1-4 month range, although I've seen them for over 6 months in some cases. You just need to give a "substantial reason" which helping with a new baby I would think would qualify for nicely. No restrictions generally, other than you need to re-enter Australia by the "must enter by" date on the BV-B in order to preserve the BV-B which will then be your visa after you return until you get a decision on the partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LivNaomi said:


> Hi again Mark
> 
> I'm currently on a Tourist Visa, and applying for a Partner Visa. My bridging visa A kicks in 2nd August. However, I need to travel back to the UK as my brother and his fiancee are having a baby in the next few weeks, and I want to go and meet him and also do a bit of work and save up some money over there before I come back to Australia again. Do I have to wait until my BVA kicks in before I can apply for a BVB or can I apply for that now? I was also wondering how long the BVB lasts, and do they put any restrictions on them at all?
> 
> Thanks so much
> 
> Livi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

In many cases, yes, but not always. Sometimes they make you turn around and lodge the 801 documents right after you receive the 820.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Girl in Tokyo said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I would like to be enlightened regarding my Partner 820 Visa.
> 
> I filed my visa online last September 2014. I believe processing time is 12-18 months.
> 
> If by September 2016, which is 2 years from the time I filed my visa and I still don't have my 820, will I be given 801 automatically?
> 
> Cheers


----------



## romero2005

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Romero2005 -
> 
> Not possible to predict this, as NSW Skilled does not make it clear how much preference or weighting they give to work experience - it is a factor they mention, but they offer no logic or formula as to how that factor is weighted or used in the final decision.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


THank Mark...for you information


----------



## ES2013

Hi mark, we have filled out the health questions and just need to print it out. However I'm just confused as I am not sure how the system works. Do I wait or go apply for it? Could you tell me how long the 309 offshore takes? It's been 7 months now and they have only sent an email asking for additional documents. I called them today and the lady said that because we have asked for additional information, ur application needs to be reassessed. What made it even more sad, was she was unable to tell me what that meant. Would u know what it means? Is it also true, that if u apply some dependent family members with the visa 309 offshore.. There is a higher waiting time??? 


MarkNortham said:


> Normally with partner visas lodged offshore, it's good to wait until invited to do the medicals. However if you want to do them now, that's your right to do so and the worst that can happen is that they can expire before the visa decision occurs. To get medicals, you can go to your ImmiAccount page for the lodged application and look below the area where all the uploaded documents are shown for a button on the left side called "Organise your health examinations" - that will allow you to answer some health questions and print out a referral letter with a HAP ID on it - you would use that letter to book your medical checks. Not sure what the HAP ID you mention in your letter is, as it sounds like you have not taken the medicals yet...? Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


----------



## LivNaomi

Thank you very much for your extremely helpful reply! Just another quick query... Do I then need to reactivate a BVA? Is there much of a difference between the two or will it not matter whether I am on the BVA or BVB? And is there also a restriction on how many BVB's you can apply for? I am also going on a cruise to NZ with my partner's family in December, and worried whether they will see I've only just been back for around a month, before applying for another and not let me go away over Christmas..!!

Thank you again for your help, it is hugely comforting to know someone qualified and knowledgable is answering my questions!!

Livi



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Livi -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Once you have your BV-A (unactivated), you can apply to change that to a BV-B and then depart Australia on the BV-B. No problem with changing an unactivated BV-A to a BV-B, so you can do that any time after you receive the BV-A. You can ask for as long a BV-B as you like - most are somewhere in the 1-4 month range, although I've seen them for over 6 months in some cases. You just need to give a "substantial reason" which helping with a new baby I would think would qualify for nicely. No restrictions generally, other than you need to re-enter Australia by the "must enter by" date on the BV-B in order to preserve the BV-B which will then be your visa after you return until you get a decision on the partner visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## kaivalya

Thank you Mark!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kaivalya -
> 
> I think there may be a misprint at Anzscosearch as this occupation seems to be on the SOL, which means it is also eligible for state sponsorship. You may want to wait to see what NSW's sponsored list looks like before making your next move.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Silky

Hi Mark,

End of april 2015 I was email my CO due to my 600 visa extention.
Then she replay my email and also remind me about Australian police clearance once I have accumulated 12 months stay in Australia, because she noted that I have been 10 months stay in Australia at that moment (now about 11 months)

Then I said to her that I started to live permanently in Australia on 5th June 2014.
Then went back to Indonesia on 19 july 2014 to submit the paper work for Partner Visa.
And return to Australia on 8th August 2014.

I ask her whether I can apply for my police clearance in June 2015.
Then she replied "it is up to your preference when you will apply for the document"

So does it means I can apply the police clearance now?
Please give me advice. 
Thanks in advance


----------



## clgb.21

Hello Mark!

And hello to everyone in this thread.

I would just like to ask some questions. I hope you could help me with my enquiry. Thank you!

I've already submitted my online application for PMV last June 12 2015 and just waiting now for a CO to be assigned to me. I did a decision ready application wherein I already submitted my medical and police clearance together with my application and other requirements/proofs.

Now, my fiance wants me to visit him in Australia and have a short holiday there. My question is, will it be okay to apply for TV while my PMV is still processing? Will there be any possible problems or delay that might happen to my PMV application if I apply for TV? 

Thank you so much for your help. God Bless us all!


----------



## pula

Hi Mark,

I am planning not to include mother's name in this 887 visa as it might be quite expensive for me. Is it advisable to include mothers name as a dependant family (not coming to AU) or other family?

I am planning to apply for her visa later, will it affect the visa request later.

Thanking you in advance,
Pula



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pula -
> 
> You may be able to, but DIBP will expect significant evidence to show she is dependent on you, and has been for a substantial period of time as a member of your household. Happy to discuss specifics of your circumstances in a consultation if you'd like to get you an opinion on chances of success for claiming dependency - see website below in my signature for more info on consultations.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## TrixDivergent

Dear Mark,

Many thanks for your advice. Arranged the alteration with HIF accordingly, got their letter yesterday and today I filled in form 1022 and uploaded both through my immi account. And the waiting game continues ...

One last question, Mark. I've done my translation here in Jakarta, Indonesia (Sworn & Certified Translator) of my final transcripts, birth certifcate, baptism etc back in October 2013, do you think they are still valid or should I get them re-validate again?

Thanks a bunch
Trix



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Trix -
> 
> I'd probably set the health insurance to be in effect as soon as you lodge the 457 application - the health insurance must be in effect on the date they grant the visa, so setting it ahead to the day before you need the visa might be cutting things a bit close.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Sami Sam

Hi Mark,

firstly, I would like to thank you for helping people like me in their visa processes, what you are doing is really amazing!!

I have few questions for you:

My wife (main applicant) and I submitted our EOI on 19th May 2015 (visa sc 189), for only both of us (no other dependents)

1- while completing the EOI we were asked:
Are there any family members the client would like to include in a future application?
Yes No

immediately after that another question was asked:
Would the client be accompanied by the client's partner in a future application?* 
Yes No 

would the correct answer be yes for both? or only yes for the second one?

2- under the skill assessment section we were asked to provide the Reference number/receipt number* for that assessment, 
the assessment letter from CA has the reference: PASA/ xxxxxx

should we put it as it was mentioned above or only the number xxxxxx? does it really matters?

3- one of the work references we provided (period of 7 months) was found not suitable for the occupation because the responsibilities mentioned was not exactly matching their requirements! 
we ended up with 7 years and 8 months overseas work experience (only 10 points instead of 15),
can we ask her previous employer for another letter with more detailed responsibilities then ask CA for a new skilled employment assessment? 
although our point claim with 7 years and 8 moth is 60 points, but considering the recent cut in number of invitations for accountants I am worried the 60 would not be sufficient enough for an invitation soon!

once again thank you for taking the time to answer to everybody's enquirers, 
God bless you.


----------



## Rayis

*457 de facto to Partner visa*

Hi Mark

It's a bit of a tricky one my partner is currently on her ex partners 457 visa we are together 6 months now an met after she realised her ex was unfaithful, he had agreed not to cancel her visa until she had something else arranged which was ment to be sponsorship through work however that fell through. We have registered our relationship with the state, as we know we want to be together and are living together etc we have been advised to apply for a partner visa for her as iam a permanent resident an we have the application prepared and ready to lodge, however her ex partner has gone back to Ireland on holiday an now intends on staying there therefore cancelling his visa. Once we have lodged the partner visa before this happens will she then automatically be granted a bridging visa or will she need to inform immigration of this ti be granted the bridging visa

Thank you in advance


----------



## Kenny.Layode

*I need your advise to choose the right ANZSCO*

Hi Mark,

I am a new member and about to apply for skill assessment. I have worked as IT Business Analyst, IT Technical Specialist, Senior IT Business Analyst and IT Integration Manager within a period of 9 years (2006 - 2015) after I got my certificate as Computer Engineer in 2005.

I am confused as to the ANZSCO to choose because I have experiences in both 261311 - Analyst Programmer and 261313 - Software Engineer.

I need your advise so I can submit my assessment as soon as possible.

Thank you in advance


----------



## dee279

Hi Mark, 

Firstly, thank you so much for all your posts and assistance to all of us! I hope you always receive good karma and have a healthy and happy life for all you have done to this community. 

Secondly, 
I have seen the processing time for the 820/801 has changed to 6-8 months for priority 1. As a result, should I do my medicals and police check before I apply? Or at the very least, right after I've applied to ensure quick processing?

Thank you. 
Dee


----------



## jasonpriya

To mark

I would like to bring my wife on a tourist visa for six months so she can visit family who are unable to travel to india.

I noticed the tax return papers are needed for tourist visa subclass 600.
As she only earned under the minimum needed to apply for tax return she has not filed tax returns. 

She is currently working at her family ashram. But a lot of her pay is cash basis and not regular timings. 

What's the best option to meet the genuine reason for tourist visa criteria ?

She has land with her name on it. 

I have spent a lot of time in India on tourist visas over last three years. I've had 5 tourist visas. I was thinking maybe look at some type of courses which starts in 6 months time and enrol her in it as proof she intends to come back ?


----------



## Wahaj

*Urgent reply plz*

Hi Mark, 
I have applied for SVP 573 on 19th may 2015, done with medical....but still no response...actuallly I have received scholarship from university which is only valid for this semester only. My classes are starting from 16th july .....what should I do now?


----------



## pinkiestar

Hi Mark,
What are the consequences if one overstays their visa in Australia ?


----------



## 4lashyme

Thank you Mark for you opinion. i intend to move forward with the process.
i want to start my skill assessment with EA as i have an Engineering Degree. i want to know if an engineering degree from a university in Nigeria is recognised as "Acredited or Non-acredited".
thank you,

Cheers.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi 4lashyme -
> 
> Thanks for the question. It may negatively affect you, depending on the nature of the previous issue, severity, etc. However for that sort of thing, the incident would have to be fairly severe I would think, and it would need to be deliberate (ie, not a typo on an application, etc). No way to tell for sure without moving forward with the process.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## neo89

Hi Mark,

I lodged a 190 visa application under 261313(Software Engineer) category on 26-June-2015.
My question is that is it guaranteed that once you lodge a visa application you will be granted visa provided you are able to present all the supporting documents
which you have mentioned in your EOI?

I am anxious about the delay mails being sent to the applicants which clearly means that they have fulfilled this year's quota for visas....
So in the coming year will the old applications continue to be processed on priority basis as compared to new applications?
And also if there is any major immigration law change will it impact the applicant's point's claim?


My timeline :-
__________________
__________________
261313 Software Engineer 
ACS submitted --> 26-Apr-15
Positive ACS Result --> 30-Apr-15 
IELTS GENERAL --> L-8.5 R-7.5 W-7.5 S-7.5 OA-8 
EOI 190 NSW --> 15 May 2015 (55+5 Points)
NSW Invite --> 20 May 15
NSW Approve --> 15-June-15 
PCC --> 03-Jul-2015 
Visa Lodged --> 26-JUN-15 
Medicals --> ???
CO assigned --> ???
VISA Grant --> ???


----------



## himpar1

*Regarding Vetassess*



himpar1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your kind response. It is really helpful to proceed ahead.
> 
> Regards, Himpar


Dear Mark,

I would like to know regarding vetassess submission, do we have to use office stamp while printing organogram at company letterhead in case of managerial occupation or does it require to be signed by authorized person or not OR simply printing the organogram in the letterhead is fine?

Thank you for your support.

Warm regards, Himpar


----------



## himpar1

MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

I would like to know if we can use online mode of VETASSESS assessment if we choose to pay the fees by Bank Draft/ Cheque as in Nepal we do not have online payment system using credit card. I would be grateful to get your advice on this. Thank you very much in advance.

Best regards, Himpar


----------



## sandset

Hello Mark,
May I need to submit any copy of my educations documents and work experience certificate with form 80, I am already applied under 485 subsequent entrant, now they ask me to submit form 80.

Thank you


----------



## Athaliath

Hi Mark,

Me and family are on 475 visa and applying for 887 this month. We stayed with my brother (who sponsored me) during the first year in a Melbourne suburb. Can I submit a letter from him for address proof along with other documents like the TFN registration, daughters school report etc? If so should it be a statutory declaration or a plain letter? Could you please suggest what should be the format?

Thanks in advance.

Antony


----------



## Emma098

*Form 888*

Hi mark,
My friends tried to fill in form 888 for me , but I have a big problem in question 7. It is saying "you signature" it means my friend's signature. However, what is that mean "before me" And " signature of qualified person" .please give me some advise me who should fill in this part? Is that me(applicant).
Thanks 
Emma


----------



## cmwright121

Hi Mark, 

I just got an invite to apply for 189. As I am scanning documents and they want colored copies, can I scan in originals or do I need to make colored copies of all documents and get them all notarized? Also, when I turned in my skilled assessment to my field's assessing board I made certified copies (as I was in Australia at the time-June 2014), I have copies of the certified copies, can I use those or should I get things notarized (as we do not have certified copies in USA)? 

Thank you so much for all your help that you provide us all!!


----------



## SqOats

Dear Mark,

I got invite to apply for 189. In EOI i mentioned family members to be 1 (wife). But, now I've decided to add my mother (widow) as a non migrating member. While filling the visa application on immiaccount, they ask this information again. Can I add my mother there as a non migrating member. Or, it will cause issue as in EOI only 1 member was mentioned.

Also, if i add my mother as a non migrating member, do I have to show her medical?. I am just adding her as I've been informed that if I dont add her and decide to apply for the parent visa afterwards, it will cost me a fortune and waiting time is just absurd. Hence, even though she doesnt want to migrate now, I want to include her in the application just in case she wants to visit us or decides to move with us in future. 

Visit visa is always an option if I exclude her. But, I've heard they reject it sometimes saying that she doesnt have strong ties to return back.

What would you advise in this case.

Thanking you in advance.


----------



## fiftyeight

Hello Mark, thank you for the answer.

I'd like to ask one more thing if possible.
Say I do finish early and apply for 485, then if my student visa is cancelled (due to finishing early), will I get a bridging visa A, or a bridging visa C?
Does it make a difference if the visa is cancelled before/after I apply for 485? (AFAIU it is cancelled and then I have 28 days to lodge a new application or leave the country.)

Thank you!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fiftyeight -
> 
> Thanks for the question and kind words.
> 
> No way to predict what changes might happen in July 2016, so it's risky to bet on what might or might not happen. If you finish your course substantially early, if you then proceed to apply for a 485 visa, no problems generally. If you finish substantially early and don't apply for any further visa, then DIBP may consider cancellation of the student visa if you stay onshore with no further visa application lodged. Generally substantial changes to visas are advertised several months in advance, but also, these changes may not happen on 1 July - legislation can be passed at any time. No way for me to advise you re: whether to speed up your degree or not - too many other factors that come into play. I'd also keep in mind the minimum time requirement (18 months) of the Australia Study Requirement that's required for the 485 if you're thinking about trying to finish early - not sure if your timeframe would fall into that range.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam





fiftyeight said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> This is an amazing thread so thank you.
> My question is about the 485 temporary graduate visa.
> 
> I have a dilemma right now and I hoped you could help me.
> Basically I am scheduled to complete my course in June 2016 (Bachelor Degree.) By the time I have my final results and could apply fot a 485 visa I would assume it would be after July (my student visa is valid until September 2016.)
> However, I am aware that there will changes to immigration rules in July 2016. So basically, by the time I apply for the visa, I am worried that the rules will change and I will not fulfill the requirements anymore.
> 
> My thought was then to complete my course earlier. I could complete my course around Feburary 2016 by doing extra units during summer. My dilemma is whether to do this, because AFAIK if I finish my course early there could be problems as well, e.g my student visa might be cancelled and I am not sure what effects this will have on my 485 application.
> 
> I am just hoping you could give me some advice on whether it would be smart to complete my course early or not. If the changes to immigration rules are advertised well in advance (say in the next 4 months) I might be able to delay the decision and see first if the changes affect my eligibility.
> 
> Hopefully you could give me your point of view.
> 
> Thank you very much!


----------



## Molesades

Thanks again for your help !! With the certified copies all the stuff we have is downladed online or bank statements and booking info etc how can they be certified as they are downloaded originals and not photo copies of original docs last time I went to jp they said they could only certify a document as a copy of they have the original to see at the same time. Are we better off photo copying the the downloaded docs and takin both to be certified ? Would the docs we sent be die regarded if they wernt certified as ive seen a few people say they have sent in docs in certified. The main one ie relationship certificate , birth Cert and passports are all certified


----------



## sriramvemuri

*Has any of the applicants lived in a country other than the primary applicant's .....*

Hi Mark

This is regarding the point in the visa application where I was asked if any of the applicants has ever lived in a country other the primary applicant's usual country of residence?

I had stayed in Europe on a business trip for a period of 3 months 27 days and 2 months in Malaysia again on a business trip. Should I be stating "Yes" for that question or including the travel details in Form 80 (if asked by the CO) would suffice?

Appreciate your help in this regard


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ES2013 -

You can either wait until they ask for the health exams, or proceed with them now - your choice. Once you answer the health questions, you can then submit that and print out the health referral letter - that is required in order to use the info on that letter to book a medical at a DIBP approved facility. No particular additional waiting time for having family members. Not sure what "reassessed" means in the context of what she was saying unless you changed or added new information not originally on the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ES2013 said:


> Hi mark, we have filled out the health questions and just need to print it out. However I'm just confused as I am not sure how the system works. Do I wait or go apply for it? Could you tell me how long the 309 offshore takes? It's been 7 months now and they have only sent an email asking for additional documents. I called them today and the lady said that because we have asked for additional information, ur application needs to be reassessed. What made it even more sad, was she was unable to tell me what that meant. Would u know what it means? Is it also true, that if u apply some dependent family members with the visa 309 offshore.. There is a higher waiting time???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Livi -

No particular problem in remaining on the BV-B when you return. DIBP discourages re-applications for BV-A, but not against the law actually. You can apply for as many BV-B's as you like as long as you provide a significant reason for each trip - family "reunions" tend to work better than purely festive holidays, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LivNaomi said:


> Thank you very much for your extremely helpful reply! Just another quick query... Do I then need to reactivate a BVA? Is there much of a difference between the two or will it not matter whether I am on the BVA or BVB? And is there also a restriction on how many BVB's you can apply for? I am also going on a cruise to NZ with my partner's family in December, and worried whether they will see I've only just been back for around a month, before applying for another and not let me go away over Christmas..!!
> 
> Thank you again for your help, it is hugely comforting to know someone qualified and knowledgable is answering my questions!!
> 
> Livi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Silky -

It's up to you when you want to apply - the document can be provided at lodgement of the partner visa, or afterwards. If you lodged your 309/100 offshore partner visa in July 2014, I'd apply for the AFP PCC now as it's been a year so your application may be coming up for assessment soon.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Silky said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> End of april 2015 I was email my CO due to my 600 visa extention.
> Then she replay my email and also remind me about Australian police clearance once I have accumulated 12 months stay in Australia, because she noted that I have been 10 months stay in Australia at that moment (now about 11 months)
> 
> Then I said to her that I started to live permanently in Australia on 5th June 2014.
> Then went back to Indonesia on 19 july 2014 to submit the paper work for Partner Visa.
> And return to Australia on 8th August 2014.
> 
> I ask her whether I can apply for my police clearance in June 2015.
> Then she replied "it is up to your preference when you will apply for the document"
> 
> So does it means I can apply the police clearance now?
> Please give me advice.
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi clgb.21 -

No problem at all. I'd remind them when you apply for the visitor visa that you have lodged the PMV. Since you have to be offshore when the PMV is granted, if you are in Australia at that time, DIBP will generally email you and give you some time to go offshore to allow grant of the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



clgb.21 said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> And hello to everyone in this thread.
> 
> I would just like to ask some questions. I hope you could help me with my enquiry. Thank you!
> 
> I've already submitted my online application for PMV last June 12 2015 and just waiting now for a CO to be assigned to me. I did a decision ready application wherein I already submitted my medical and police clearance together with my application and other requirements/proofs.
> 
> Now, my fiance wants me to visit him in Australia and have a short holiday there. My question is, will it be okay to apply for TV while my PMV is still processing? Will there be any possible problems or delay that might happen to my PMV application if I apply for TV?
> 
> Thank you so much for your help. God Bless us all!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pula -

Thanks for the question. This gets into a bit of a complicated area where the overall circumstances of your mother and your visa plans going forward for her need to be considered. Too many details to provide a simple answer on the forum, but would be happy to go through the details and regulations with you at a consultation - see my website below for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



pula said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning not to include mother's name in this 887 visa as it might be quite expensive for me. Is it advisable to include mothers name as a dependant family (not coming to AU) or other family?
> 
> I am planning to apply for her visa later, will it affect the visa request later.
> 
> Thanking you in advance,
> Pula


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Trix -

No particular expiration period for translations generally - 2 years is certainly not too old.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TrixDivergent said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Many thanks for your advice. Arranged the alteration with HIF accordingly, got their letter yesterday and today I filled in form 1022 and uploaded both through my immi account. And the waiting game continues ...
> 
> One last question, Mark. I've done my translation here in Jakarta, Indonesia (Sworn & Certified Translator) of my final transcripts, birth certifcate, baptism etc back in October 2013, do you think they are still valid or should I get them re-validate again?
> 
> Thanks a bunch
> Trix


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sami Sam -

Thanks for the question. Re: 1, from what you said, I'd answer Yes.

Re: 2, I'd put the entire reference number in.

Re: 3, Yes, you can ask the assessor for a new assessment or updated assessment. But note that the assessment must be in hand as of the date of invitation if you are claiming points for the additional work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sami Sam said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> firstly, I would like to thank you for helping people like me in their visa processes, what you are doing is really amazing!!
> 
> I have few questions for you:
> 
> My wife (main applicant) and I submitted our EOI on 19th May 2015 (visa sc 189), for only both of us (no other dependents)
> 
> 1- while completing the EOI we were asked:
> Are there any family members the client would like to include in a future application?
> Yes No
> 
> immediately after that another question was asked:
> Would the client be accompanied by the client's partner in a future application?*
> Yes No
> 
> would the correct answer be yes for both? or only yes for the second one?
> 
> 2- under the skill assessment section we were asked to provide the Reference number/receipt number* for that assessment,
> the assessment letter from CA has the reference: PASA/ xxxxxx
> 
> should we put it as it was mentioned above or only the number xxxxxx? does it really matters?
> 
> 3- one of the work references we provided (period of 7 months) was found not suitable for the occupation because the responsibilities mentioned was not exactly matching their requirements!
> we ended up with 7 years and 8 months overseas work experience (only 10 points instead of 15),
> can we ask her previous employer for another letter with more detailed responsibilities then ask CA for a new skilled employment assessment?
> although our point claim with 7 years and 8 moth is 60 points, but considering the recent cut in number of invitations for accountants I am worried the 60 would not be sufficient enough for an invitation soon!
> 
> once again thank you for taking the time to answer to everybody's enquirers,
> God bless you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rayis -

Thanks for the note. That's a tricky situation on 2 fronts: first, even if you lodge the partner visa while the 457 is still in place, you''ll get a bridging visa upon application for the partner visa, but that bridging visa will be cancelled along with the 457 when the ex-partner cancels the 457, leaving your partner in Australia unlawfully and needing to get a Bridging Visa E in order to remain in Australia until the partner visa is decided. Secondly, your partner is in breach of the 457 visa conditions if the relationship has already broken down and the partner and ex-partner have not reported it to DIBP.

When you claim a new de facto relationship while still on the old 457, that's going to set off some alarm bells at DIBP and likely put your application under a fair bit of scrutiny re: whether the new relationship is "genuine" in DIBP's eyes or not. I would suggest lodging with lots and lots of relationship evidence, and be prepared for a DIBP refusal and AAT (used to be MRT) tribunal appeal. There are other side effects of the BV-E scenario, including loss of time in Australia prior to the cancellation towards the residency requirement for citizenship, and no way to re-enter Australia if the partner leaves Australia while holding a BV-E. However the alternative is worse - if the 457 is cancelled before you lodge the partner visa, you then have a Schedule 3 problem for the onshore partner visa application, a much worse problem.

You may want to consider getting professional assistance with your partner visa to try and maximise the chances of success given the circumstances you mention.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rayis said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> It's a bit of a tricky one my partner is currently on her ex partners 457 visa we are together 6 months now an met after she realised her ex was unfaithful, he had agreed not to cancel her visa until she had something else arranged which was ment to be sponsorship through work however that fell through. We have registered our relationship with the state, as we know we want to be together and are living together etc we have been advised to apply for a partner visa for her as iam a permanent resident an we have the application prepared and ready to lodge, however her ex partner has gone back to Ireland on holiday an now intends on staying there therefore cancelling his visa. Once we have lodged the partner visa before this happens will she then automatically be granted a bridging visa or will she need to inform immigration of this ti be granted the bridging visa
> 
> Thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kenny.Layode -

Thanks for the question. Only way to work this out that I know of is to look carefully at the ACS ANZSCO Occupation description detail as published on the ACS website, then carefully compare your work experience and education to those detailed descriptions and see which occupation is the closest fit. You can also look on www.anzscosearch.com to see details on states sponsoring each occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kenny.Layode said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a new member and about to apply for skill assessment. I have worked as IT Business Analyst, IT Technical Specialist, Senior IT Business Analyst and IT Integration Manager within a period of 9 years (2006 - 2015) after I got my certificate as Computer Engineer in 2005.
> 
> I am confused as to the ANZSCO to choose because I have experiences in both 261311 - Analyst Programmer and 261313 - Software Engineer.
> 
> I need your advise so I can submit my assessment as soon as possible.
> 
> Thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dee -

Thanks for the kind words! It's a pleasure to help people navigate through the somewhat complex world of Australian visas.

I would not trust the anticipated processing times that DIBP publishes a bit - there are simply too many reasons a visa application can go 12-18 months for an onshore 820/801. That being said, these days it's probably not a bad idea to do the health and PCC's right after lodgement in hopes that it might move things along.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dee279 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly, thank you so much for all your posts and assistance to all of us! I hope you always receive good karma and have a healthy and happy life for all you have done to this community.
> 
> Secondly,
> I have seen the processing time for the 820/801 has changed to 6-8 months for priority 1. As a result, should I do my medicals and police check before I apply? Or at the very least, right after I've applied to ensure quick processing?
> 
> Thank you.
> Dee


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jasonpriya -

Re: income, I'd get some sort of a statement from someone in authority in India re: her income and business. The course idea is a good one. However she will need to show how she can afford ot be away from India for 6 months if you want to get that long a visa - generally in these situations, 3 month visa applications have a better chance of success. You can google the Genuine Temporary Entrant criteria for the DIBP site to get more info on the various evidence and info they are looking for to show that her ties to India are stronger than they are to those in Australia (such as you!). This can be challenging, however, so be prepared to put in as much evidence as you can.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jasonpriya said:


> To mark
> 
> I would like to bring my wife on a tourist visa for six months so she can visit family who are unable to travel to india.
> 
> I noticed the tax return papers are needed for tourist visa subclass 600.
> As she only earned under the minimum needed to apply for tax return she has not filed tax returns.
> 
> She is currently working at her family ashram. But a lot of her pay is cash basis and not regular timings.
> 
> What's the best option to meet the genuine reason for tourist visa criteria ?
> 
> She has land with her name on it.
> 
> I have spent a lot of time in India on tourist visas over last three years. I've had 5 tourist visas. I was thinking maybe look at some type of courses which starts in 6 months time and enrol her in it as proof she intends to come back ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wahaj -

Unfortunately all you can do is to keep in contact with DIBP to advise them of your deadline and at the same time see what the latest possible date you can arrive in Australia is with your school.

Additionally, you can help spread the word in Pakistan that DIBP is routinely taking 3-4 months to process student visas from Pakistani citizens, to ignore DIBP estimated visa processing times, and that applying less than 3 months in advance of your course start date, SVP or not, is risky until DIBP finds a way to process these visas more promptly.

Best,

Mark



Wahaj said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have applied for SVP 573 on 19th may 2015, done with medical....but still no response...actuallly I have received scholarship from university which is only valid for this semester only. My classes are starting from 16th july .....what should I do now?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pinkiestar -

Pretty severe. With the exception of student visas where in some cases there is a 28-day grace period at the end of one student visa where you can still apply (with some additional requirements) for another one, overstaying can prevent application for many other visas while onshore, and departing after an overstay can create a 3-year exclusion period for Australian temporary visas depending on the circumstances. Worst of all, if DIBP finds a person who has no visa, the person is subject to immigration detention and forcible removal from Australia, etc. All depends on the circumstances, however - if a person is unlawful in Australia, best idea is to consult with a registered migration agent to find out what options are available.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pinkiestar said:


> Hi Mark,
> What are the consequences if one overstays their visa in Australia ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 4lashyme -

You'd need to consult with the college accreditation authority or organisation in your country to determine if your particular degree is accredited or not. You might also see if EA will give you any additional info regarding your particular university and degree, but I'd start in your own country as local accreditation authorities are generally the primary determining organisations in this regard.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



4lashyme said:


> Thank you Mark for you opinion. i intend to move forward with the process.
> i want to start my skill assessment with EA as i have an Engineering Degree. i want to know if an engineering degree from a university in Nigeria is recognised as "Acredited or Non-acredited".
> thank you,
> 
> Cheers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neo89 -

Thanks for the question. Your points are locked in at time of invitation, so changes after that such as age would not affect your points. No guarantee of a visa grant - there are any number of circumstances that could cause an issue - for instance, if DIBP requests payslips or proof of payment for all work experience claimed for points and didn't believe the documents were genuine (or you were unable to provide these or any other requested documents), that could be an issue.

Re: processing, I believe they will be moving forward fairly promptly on these now that we're into the new year. However, the 2613 unit group which you are part of is subject to pro-rata quotas for each month to spread out the available spots, so that may delay things a bit. No good way to tell how soon you may get an invitation based on what information DIBP publishes, since no way to tell how many people there are ahead of you in the pool or how many spots DIBP allocates per month to your occupation code.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



neo89 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I lodged a 190 visa application under 261313(Software Engineer) category on 26-June-2015.
> My question is that is it guaranteed that once you lodge a visa application you will be granted visa provided you are able to present all the supporting documents
> which you have mentioned in your EOI?
> 
> I am anxious about the delay mails being sent to the applicants which clearly means that they have fulfilled this year's quota for visas....
> So in the coming year will the old applications continue to be processed on priority basis as compared to new applications?
> And also if there is any major immigration law change will it impact the applicant's point's claim?
> 
> My timeline :-
> __________________
> __________________
> 261313 Software Engineer
> ACS submitted --> 26-Apr-15
> Positive ACS Result --> 30-Apr-15
> IELTS GENERAL --> L-8.5 R-7.5 W-7.5 S-7.5 OA-8
> EOI 190 NSW --> 15 May 2015 (55+5 Points)
> NSW Invite --> 20 May 15
> NSW Approve --> 15-June-15
> PCC --> 03-Jul-2015
> Visa Lodged --> 26-JUN-15
> Medicals --> ???
> CO assigned --> ???
> VISA Grant --> ???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Himpar1 -

Per Vetassess requirements, for managerial occupations the org chart (aka organogram) must be printed company letterhead. The term organogram is rarely used in Australia - "org chart" or "organisation chart" is much more common. Every time I hear "organogram" I think of some guy showing up at the door singing a birthday message while playing a keyboard organ or accordion 

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



himpar1 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I would like to know regarding vetassess submission, do we have to use office stamp while printing organogram at company letterhead in case of managerial occupation or does it require to be signed by authorized person or not OR simply printing the organogram in the letterhead is fine?
> 
> Thank you for your support.
> 
> Warm regards, Himpar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Himpar1 -

See this link for possible payment methods for Vetassess: Fees and Payment (General Occupations, Skills Assessment for Migration) - VETASSESS

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



himpar1 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I would like to know if we can use online mode of VETASSESS assessment if we choose to pay the fees by Bank Draft/ Cheque as in Nepal we do not have online payment system using credit card. I would be grateful to get your advice on this. Thank you very much in advance.
> 
> Best regards, Himpar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandset -

For a family member subsequent entrant for a 485, no education or employment documents are generally required. Form 80 is required for security checks, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sandset said:


> Hello Mark,
> May I need to submit any copy of my educations documents and work experience certificate with form 80, I am already applied under 485 subsequent entrant, now they ask me to submit form 80.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Athaliath -

I'd suggest Commonwealth Statutory Declaration format - you can google that to get a template you can fill in and get witnessed. I'd use that plus any other evidence showing your name and the address you were staying at - I'd lodge as much evidence as you can in that regard to try and show that you clearly were living there even though you don't have a lease, etc with your name on it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Athaliath said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Me and family are on 475 visa and applying for 887 this month. We stayed with my brother (who sponsored me) during the first year in a Melbourne suburb. Can I submit a letter from him for address proof along with other documents like the TFN registration, daughters school report etc? If so should it be a statutory declaration or a plain letter? Could you please suggest what should be the format?
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Antony


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma098 -

Form 888 is a statutory declaration (like a sworn statement) and the signature of the writer must be witnessed by an authorised person such as a JP, police officer, etc. Your friend should take the form unsigned to an authorised person, then sign in front of that authorised person and provide ID to that person so the person can properly witness the Form 888.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emma098 said:


> Hi mark,
> My friends tried to fill in form 888 for me , but I have a big problem in question 7. It is saying "you signature" it means my friend's signature. However, what is that mean "before me" And " signature of qualified person" .please give me some advise me who should fill in this part? Is that me(applicant).
> Thanks
> Emma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cmwright121 -

Thanks for the question. Colour scans of originals are the best for DIBP. If a document won't fit into your scanner (such as a passport), then you can usually make a colour copy and scan the colour copy - that gets the job done. Re: certified copies, scans of those can also be used with DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cmwright121 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just got an invite to apply for 189. As I am scanning documents and they want colored copies, can I scan in originals or do I need to make colored copies of all documents and get them all notarized? Also, when I turned in my skilled assessment to my field's assessing board I made certified copies (as I was in Australia at the time-June 2014), I have copies of the certified copies, can I use those or should I get things notarized (as we do not have certified copies in USA)?
> 
> Thank you so much for all your help that you provide us all!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

Not generally a problem to include a family member in an application that wasn't mentioned in the EOI. However, you generally will be asked for health checks and police checks on all dependents, migrating or not. If she meets the requirements for dependence, it's usually far easier to include her as a dependent on a skilled visa application vs. parent visa which as you mentioned is expensive with long waiting periods. Adding her to the 189 is only possible until the 189 is decided; after that, no way to add. Re: visitor visas, yes, your observation is correct.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SqOats said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I got invite to apply for 189. In EOI i mentioned family members to be 1 (wife). But, now I've decided to add my mother (widow) as a non migrating member. While filling the visa application on immiaccount, they ask this information again. Can I add my mother there as a non migrating member. Or, it will cause issue as in EOI only 1 member was mentioned.
> 
> Also, if i add my mother as a non migrating member, do I have to show her medical?. I am just adding her as I've been informed that if I dont add her and decide to apply for the parent visa afterwards, it will cost me a fortune and waiting time is just absurd. Hence, even though she doesnt want to migrate now, I want to include her in the application just in case she wants to visit us or decides to move with us in future.
> 
> Visit visa is always an option if I exclude her. But, I've heard they reject it sometimes saying that she doesnt have strong ties to return back.
> 
> What would you advise in this case.
> 
> Thanking you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi fiftyeight -

Thanks for the question. First, if a visa is cancelled, there is no grace period of any kind - very, very important. If you do finish early, once you apply for the 485 you're generally "safe" - DIBP policy is not to cancel a student visa that finishes the approved program early if another visa application has been lodged such as a 485, partner or skilled visa. However if DIBP figures out you've finished early and cancels the student visa, that will generally prevent you from being able to lodge a valid 485 application under most circumstances and create a section 48 problem as well - a mess.

Best way for most people in your circumstances is to lodge the 485 when you are eligible to, prior to DIBP cancelling your student visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fiftyeight said:


> Hello Mark, thank you for the answer.
> 
> I'd like to ask one more thing if possible.
> Say I do finish early and apply for 485, then if my student visa is cancelled (due to finishing early), will I get a bridging visa A, or a bridging visa C?
> Does it make a difference if the visa is cancelled before/after I apply for 485? (AFAIU it is cancelled and then I have 28 days to lodge a new application or leave the country.)
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Molsesades -

Re: bank statements, etc, DIBP seems to be fairly flexible about these re: certification of copies - many times colour scans of printouts are fine. JP rules, if strictly enforced, mean that they cannot certify a copy of a copy of a website or online statement or other online-generated documents. Another solution is to avoid JPs and use another approved certification authority such as a police officer, etc that may not be as strict as some JP's are.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Molesades said:


> Thanks again for your help !! With the certified copies all the stuff we have is downladed online or bank statements and booking info etc how can they be certified as they are downloaded originals and not photo copies of original docs last time I went to jp they said they could only certify a document as a copy of they have the original to see at the same time. Are we better off photo copying the the downloaded docs and takin both to be certified ? Would the docs we sent be die regarded if they wernt certified as ive seen a few people say they have sent in docs in certified. The main one ie relationship certificate , birth Cert and passports are all certified


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sriramvemuri -

Normally there are 2 questions - one about "living" in a country that specifies for a period of 12 months or more, and another question about "visiting" a country which means a stay of less than 12 months. Re: living in another country, business trips generally do not count, especially if you keep your home residence in your home country and do not move your things, forwarding address, etc to the foreign country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sriramvemuri said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> This is regarding the point in the visa application where I was asked if any of the applicants has ever lived in a country other the primary applicant's usual country of residence?
> 
> I had stayed in Europe on a business trip for a period of 3 months 27 days and 2 months in Malaysia again on a business trip. Should I be stating "Yes" for that question or including the travel details in Form 80 (if asked by the CO) would suffice?
> 
> Appreciate your help in this regard


----------



## TrixDivergent

Superb!!! 
Cant thank you enough, Mark.

All the best for you too,

Trix



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Trix -
> 
> No particular expiration period for translations generally - 2 years is certainly not too old.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## masood

dear mark 
i have checked my immi account staus its showing "assessment in progress" what does it means waiting for your positive response thanks


----------



## Xyzaus

Hello Mark,

I will be applying for 801 soon and would like to ask you a question.

Should we upload evidences of our relationship since we applied for 820? Or since we were granted the 820?

Do 801 case officers have access to the evidences we provided to 820?

I kept sending evidences up until we were granted the 820 and not sure if i should double things up for the same period.

Thank you Mark


----------



## emandmillie

*evisitor minor criminal conviction*

Hi! *Sorry* if doing this wrong... im a newb....and a technophobe! 

I am planning a 4 week holiday to Auz next year. I was hoping to use evisitor (im from UK) but I recieved a fine from the court in 2008 for forgetting to renew my car MOT in time. I have read the eligibility rules for evisitor procedure and to my simplistic eyes it looks like I should be ok using that but just wanted some confort from someone who knows a bit more than me!

Sooooo excited to be going to Auz (first and only time i'll ever get to go) so just wanna be sure 

Any advice really really appreciated!


----------



## Elmo

Hi Mark,

I just received invitation to apply for 189 yesterday. I don't have medical check nor police certificate done yet. I went through all 17 pages of eLodgement and there wasn't a place to upload the police checks. Will it be asked right after I hit "send" or what's the drill? Medical check I understand is submitted via eMedicals.

Should I wait until almost the end of the 60 days response time to get my Medical and Police check ready before lodging the application or should I do it right away and deal with the missing checks later?

Thanks in advance,
Elmo


----------



## sunny123

I want to apply for Skilled Regional (489) visa. (Victoria state Only)

As we know their are two options to get 489 visa.

1. State sponsorship.
2. Sponsorship from an eligible relative.

For state sponsorship one has to get sponsorship from Victoria state and then he can file for EOI.

My question is what is the procedure in case eligible relative sponsors you. Do we have to get Victoria state sponsorship in that case also or we directly submit EOI and in EOI application we mention the details of the relative who is sponsoring you.

Please let me know the procedure for filing 489 visa in case of relative sponsorship.


----------



## Arianwen

jhaddie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> It is about the Get Health Details link in my pmv online application, it's missing.
> Thank you.
> 
> Jane


Hi Jane, it's missing in ours too. Did you get onto DIBP and get any explanation? Or Mark, have you heard of other cases where there is no button? 
Thanks


----------



## mhry

hello Mark, Good Morning what is new about Price Changing?
especially PMV to 801/80 , you told us 1145 before1st July, but is it the same as before or changed


----------



## fiftyeight

Hi Mark, thank you for the answers. This is very helpful. Though I am still a bit confused. AFAIU, if I finish early, I have 28 days to get a new CoE or lodge an application for a new visa. This is what I understood from the immigration department itself. What is it that is termed "cancellation", does the cancellation happen at the end of those 28 days? or is it cancelled and then you have 28 days?
I want to make sure that once I complete the course I have time to lodge the application, as I will need to get a completion letter and all the documents ready. I can most likely do all of these within 28 days. 
Is it possible that i complete the course and my visa is immediately cancelled? without even having those 28 days to lodge the application?

Also, about what I asked with BVA/BVC, assuming I did lodge the application on time, and DIAC do cancel the student visa anyway, do you know which bridging visa I would get in this situation?

Thank you for all the help!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi fiftyeight -
> 
> Thanks for the question. First, if a visa is cancelled, there is no grace period of any kind - very, very important. If you do finish early, once you apply for the 485 you're generally "safe" - DIBP policy is not to cancel a student visa that finishes the approved program early if another visa application has been lodged such as a 485, partner or skilled visa. However if DIBP figures out you've finished early and cancels the student visa, that will generally prevent you from being able to lodge a valid 485 application under most circumstances and create a section 48 problem as well - a mess.
> 
> Best way for most people in your circumstances is to lodge the 485 when you are eligible to, prior to DIBP cancelling your student visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam





fiftyeight said:


> Hello Mark, thank you for the answer.
> 
> I'd like to ask one more thing if possible.
> Say I do finish early and apply for 485, then if my student visa is cancelled (due to finishing early), will I get a bridging visa A, or a bridging visa C?
> Does it make a difference if the visa is cancelled before/after I apply for 485? (AFAIU it is cancelled and then I have 28 days to lodge a new application or leave the country.)
> 
> Thank you!





MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fiftyeight -
> 
> Thanks for the question and kind words.
> 
> No way to predict what changes might happen in July 2016, so it's risky to bet on what might or might not happen. If you finish your course substantially early, if you then proceed to apply for a 485 visa, no problems generally. If you finish substantially early and don't apply for any further visa, then DIBP may consider cancellation of the student visa if you stay onshore with no further visa application lodged. Generally substantial changes to visas are advertised several months in advance, but also, these changes may not happen on 1 July - legislation can be passed at any time. No way for me to advise you re: whether to speed up your degree or not - too many other factors that come into play. I'd also keep in mind the minimum time requirement (18 months) of the Australia Study Requirement that's required for the 485 if you're thinking about trying to finish early - not sure if your timeframe would fall into that range.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam





fiftyeight said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> This is an amazing thread so thank you.
> My question is about the 485 temporary graduate visa.
> 
> I have a dilemma right now and I hoped you could help me.
> Basically I am scheduled to complete my course in June 2016 (Bachelor Degree.) By the time I have my final results and could apply fot a 485 visa I would assume it would be after July (my student visa is valid until September 2016.)
> However, I am aware that there will changes to immigration rules in July 2016. So basically, by the time I apply for the visa, I am worried that the rules will change and I will not fulfill the requirements anymore.
> 
> My thought was then to complete my course earlier. I could complete my course around Feburary 2016 by doing extra units during summer. My dilemma is whether to do this, because AFAIK if I finish my course early there could be problems as well, e.g my student visa might be cancelled and I am not sure what effects this will have on my 485 application.
> 
> I am just hoping you could give me some advice on whether it would be smart to complete my course early or not. If the changes to immigration rules are advertised well in advance (say in the next 4 months) I might be able to delay the decision and see first if the changes affect my eligibility.
> 
> Hopefully you could give me your point of view.
> 
> Thank you very much!


----------



## sriramvemuri

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sriramvemuri -
> 
> Normally there are 2 questions - one about "living" in a country that specifies for a period of 12 months or more, and another question about "visiting" a country which means a stay of less than 12 months. Re: living in another country, business trips generally do not count, especially if you keep your home residence in your home country and do not move your things, forwarding address, etc to the foreign country.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much for the help Mark!
I haven't changed my communication/ postal address during my 4 month stay in Europe as it was purely a business trip and hence I believe the answer to the question *(Has any of the applicants stayed in a country other than the primary applicant's usual country of residence?)* in the VISA application should be a "NO". I really hope its not going to be a wrong declaration.

Best Regards
Sriram


----------



## sunny123

Hi Mark,

I want to apply for Skilled Regional (489) visa. (Victoria state Only)

As we know their are two options to get 489 visa.

1. State sponsorship.
2. Sponsorship from an eligible relative.

For state sponsorship one has to get sponsorship from Victoria state and then he can file for EOI.

My question is what is the procedure in case eligible relative sponsors you. Do we have to get Victoria state sponsorship in that case also or we directly submit EOI and in EOI application we mention the details of the relative who is sponsoring you.

Please let me know the procedure for filing 489 visa in case of relative sponsorship.


----------



## Wahaj

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Wahaj -
> 
> Unfortunately all you can do is to keep in contact with DIBP to advise them of your deadline and at the same time see what the latest possible date you can arrive in Australia is with your school.
> 
> Additionally, you can help spread the word in Pakistan that DIBP is routinely taking 3-4 months to process student visas from Pakistani citizens, to ignore DIBP estimated visa processing times, and that applying less than 3 months in advance of your course start date, SVP or not, is risky until DIBP finds a way to process these visas more promptly.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hi Mark,
Thanks alot for your response...
Can you please tell me how to contact DIBP?


----------



## SqOats

MarkNortham said:


> Hi SqOats -
> 
> Not generally a problem to include a family member in an application that wasn't mentioned in the EOI. However, you generally will be asked for health checks and police checks on all dependents, migrating or not. If she meets the requirements for dependence, it's usually far easier to include her as a dependent on a skilled visa application vs. parent visa which as you mentioned is expensive with long waiting periods. Adding her to the 189 is only possible until the 189 is decided; after that, no way to add. Re: visitor visas, yes, your observation is correct.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for the prompt and detailed response. Much appreciated.

few quick questions if I may.

1- What is the benefit of adding in the application as non-migrating dependent over not including in the application at all. Contributing parent visa can be applied both ways. Right?

2- Also, will I have to show the dependency evidence along with medical and PCC even though if she is just a non-migrating dependent.

I have no issues with Medical and PCC. But, the dependency evidence would be difficult to arrange as she was a housewife all her life, we live in the same rented apartment but I dont find any ways to prove that, even the allowance which I give her is in cash and she never had a bank account.

3- Finally, if I add her, and wont be able to provide enough evidence, would I be able to remove her from the application with the consent of CO or the whole application will be rejected. I assume her visa fee is non refundable even if CO lets me remove her. Right?

Your response would be much appreciated.


----------



## Mea

*Child's Visa?*

HI Mark,

Hope you are well. Two quick queries for your guidance:

1. Submitted my front loaded application on May 25 from Bangladesh. Recieved acknowledgement email on same date. However, no case officer assigned yet. Should I be worried or get in touch with them? Or is this timeframe usual? I would know that case officer has been assigned through email right?

2. I am expecting and due on Oct 2015. Baby's father is aus citizen. If my visa is not granted than that means baby would not be born in aus. In that case he wont be entitled to citizenship by birth i udnerstand. But as his father is citizen, will he be a aus citizen automatically or do we need further evaluation and application for baby separately? Note that I have mentioned in my application about my pregnancy. However, since baby is not born yet hence he could not be included in my application as a separate application.Request your guidance in this regard i.e. how to get visa for baby once he is born, will he be entitled to citizenship through his father's citizenship ?

Appreciate your warm and helpful response, as always


----------



## Arsalanbardai

*Immi Account Querry*

Hey Mark,

It's been a month almost that I have done my medicals and biometrics for my student visa subclass 573. Since the day they asked me for medicals & biometrics, the status on my Immi Account is "Information Requested". It's been a month now from the day I did my medicals & biometrics but the status is still the same.

Some people on a FB page says that I have to click that "Request Complete" button for my application to be forwarded but some say just the opposite of that.

What do you say about this?

Thanks.


----------



## freedomall

Hi Mark
I am 43 this year. I have a degree from Finance from USA. While most of my working experiences are in IT (more than 10 years), I am wondering which visa suits me the most if I choose to work in Australia. Should I go thru ACS ? Let me know. Thank you


----------



## Sami Sam

*Thank you!!*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sami Sam -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Re: 1, from what you said, I'd answer Yes.
> 
> Re: 2, I'd put the entire reference number in.
> 
> Re: 3, Yes, you can ask the assessor for a new assessment or updated assessment. But note that the assessment must be in hand as of the date of invitation if you are claiming points for the additional work.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for your kind reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Masood -

It doesn't mean much other than they are assessing your application, which could take weeks or months. Wish they were more informative, but that's what it means - it will stay at that status until they either request further information from you (status will be "Information Requested") or they make a decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



masood said:


> dear mark
> i have checked my immi account staus its showing "assessment in progress" what does it means waiting for your positive response thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xyzaus -

We usually submit evidence since the 820 was granted. I would not assume that the case officers have access to previous evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xyzaus said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I will be applying for 801 soon and would like to ask you a question.
> 
> Should we upload evidences of our relationship since we applied for 820? Or since we were granted the 820?
> 
> Do 801 case officers have access to the evidences we provided to 820?
> 
> I kept sending evidences up until we were granted the 820 and not sure if i should double things up for the same period.
> 
> Thank you Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emandmillie -

Doesn't sound like a problem to me - good luck with the visitor visa!

Best,

Mark



emandmillie said:


> Hi! *Sorry* if doing this wrong... im a newb....and a technophobe!
> 
> I am planning a 4 week holiday to Auz next year. I was hoping to use evisitor (im from UK) but I recieved a fine from the court in 2008 for forgetting to renew my car MOT in time. I have read the eligibility rules for evisitor procedure and to my simplistic eyes it looks like I should be ok using that but just wanted some confort from someone who knows a bit more than me!
> 
> Sooooo excited to be going to Auz (first and only time i'll ever get to go) so just wanna be sure
> 
> Any advice really really appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Elmo -

Thanks for the question. After you lodge and pay, there will be a button to print out your medical exam referral letter, and a place to upload all documents needed for the application such as passport, birth cert, police checks, etc etc. You could either wait until you have the police checks and lodge, or lodge prior to that and upload the police checks when ready - either way works OK.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Elmo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just received invitation to apply for 189 yesterday. I don't have medical check nor police certificate done yet. I went through all 17 pages of eLodgement and there wasn't a place to upload the police checks. Will it be asked right after I hit "send" or what's the drill? Medical check I understand is submitted via eMedicals.
> 
> Should I wait until almost the end of the 60 days response time to get my Medical and Police check ready before lodging the application or should I do it right away and deal with the missing checks later?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Elmo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunny123 -

For family sponsored 489, you do not need to apply to the state for sponsorship - instead you would indicate the family sponsorship on your EOI and wait for an invitation from DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunny123 said:


> I want to apply for Skilled Regional (489) visa. (Victoria state Only)
> 
> As we know their are two options to get 489 visa.
> 
> 1. State sponsorship.
> 2. Sponsorship from an eligible relative.
> 
> For state sponsorship one has to get sponsorship from Victoria state and then he can file for EOI.
> 
> My question is what is the procedure in case eligible relative sponsors you. Do we have to get Victoria state sponsorship in that case also or we directly submit EOI and in EOI application we mention the details of the relative who is sponsoring you.
> 
> Please let me know the procedure for filing 489 visa in case of relative sponsorship.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arianwen -

Sometimes the button appears after a few weeks (after lodgement) - hard to predict.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Arianwen said:


> Hi Jane, it's missing in ours too. Did you get onto DIBP and get any explanation? Or Mark, have you heard of other cases where there is no button?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mhry -

DIBP has kept the $1145 PMV to 820 upgrade price the same as before.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mhry said:


> hello Mark, Good Morning what is new about Price Changing?
> especially PMV to 801/80 , you told us 1145 before1st July, but is it the same as before or changed


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fiftyeight -

If you complete your course early, it generally takes some time (often several months) for DIBP to register this in their systems - once this happens and they see this, they will generally check to see if you've lodged a further application - if so, cancellation procedures are generally not pursued. If they check and it's been several months since you completed and you have not lodged another visa application and are still onshore, at that point they may send you a letter asking for an explanation - that's the beginning of the cancellation procedure, but it doesn't happen all at once. The one exception to this is if you go offshore after finishing early - in some cases DIBP will cancel the student visa while you're offshore. So normally no problem with some number of weeks after you complete waiting for the completion letter/transcript, etc.

If DIBP does in fact cancel your student visa before you lodge another visa, you would have no visa, and would have to get a Bridging Visa E from DIBP and may have severe problems lodging another visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fiftyeight said:


> Hi Mark, thank you for the answers. This is very helpful. Though I am still a bit confused. AFAIU, if I finish early, I have 28 days to get a new CoE or lodge an application for a new visa. This is what I understood from the immigration department itself. What is it that is termed "cancellation", does the cancellation happen at the end of those 28 days? or is it cancelled and then you have 28 days?
> I want to make sure that once I complete the course I have time to lodge the application, as I will need to get a completion letter and all the documents ready. I can most likely do all of these within 28 days.
> Is it possible that i complete the course and my visa is immediately cancelled? without even having those 28 days to lodge the application?
> 
> Also, about what I asked with BVA/BVC, assuming I did lodge the application on time, and DIAC do cancel the student visa anyway, do you know which bridging visa I would get in this situation?
> 
> Thank you for all the help!


----------



## MarkNortham

See border.gov.au for DIBP contact info, or check on any correspondence you've received from them.



Wahaj said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks alot for your response...
> Can you please tell me how to contact DIBP?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SqOats -

Much of this depends on the circumstances of your dependent - too complex for anonymous forum discussions, but happy to discuss at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more.

Best,

Mark



SqOats said:


> Thank you for the prompt and detailed response. Much appreciated.
> 
> few quick questions if I may.
> 
> 1- What is the benefit of adding in the application as non-migrating dependent over not including in the application at all. Contributing parent visa can be applied both ways. Right?
> 
> 2- Also, will I have to show the dependency evidence along with medical and PCC even though if she is just a non-migrating dependent.
> 
> I have no issues with Medical and PCC. But, the dependency evidence would be difficult to arrange as she was a housewife all her life, we live in the same rented apartment but I dont find any ways to prove that, even the allowance which I give her is in cash and she never had a bank account.
> 
> 3- Finally, if I add her, and wont be able to provide enough evidence, would I be able to remove her from the application with the consent of CO or the whole application will be rejected. I assume her visa fee is non refundable even if CO lets me remove her. Right?
> 
> Your response would be much appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mea -

Thanks for the note. DIBP no longer advises when case officers are assigned, so all you can do essentially is wait to hear from them. These days applications are routinely handled by teams of case officers, not individuals.

Re: baby born offshore - if father is an Australian citizen, the baby is entitled to citizenship by descent regardless of where born. Procedures for offshore citizenship applications depend on Australian DIBP/DFAT/Consulate, etc arrangements in your country - best to check with the nearest DIBP office for procedures - see Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection for list of offices worldwide. Normally the citizenship application results in issuance of a citizenship certificate, which is then used to obtain an Australian passport for the baby.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mea said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> Hope you are well. Two quick queries for your guidance:
> 
> 1. Submitted my front loaded application on May 25 from Bangladesh. Recieved acknowledgement email on same date. However, no case officer assigned yet. Should I be worried or get in touch with them? Or is this timeframe usual? I would know that case officer has been assigned through email right?
> 
> 2. I am expecting and due on Oct 2015. Baby's father is aus citizen. If my visa is not granted than that means baby would not be born in aus. In that case he wont be entitled to citizenship by birth i udnerstand. But as his father is citizen, will he be a aus citizen automatically or do we need further evaluation and application for baby separately? Note that I have mentioned in my application about my pregnancy. However, since baby is not born yet hence he could not be included in my application as a separate application.Request your guidance in this regard i.e. how to get visa for baby once he is born, will he be entitled to citizenship through his father's citizenship ?
> 
> Appreciate your warm and helpful response, as always


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I'd check your application carefully - if there is a "Request Complete" button and you have already provided what was requested, I would definitely click the button. If there is no button, no reason for concern - sometimes requests do not end up generating the "button".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Arsalanbardai said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> It's been a month almost that I have done my medicals and biometrics for my student visa subclass 573. Since the day they asked me for medicals & biometrics, the status on my Immi Account is "Information Requested". It's been a month now from the day I did my medicals & biometrics but the status is still the same.
> 
> Some people on a FB page says that I have to click that "Request Complete" button for my application to be forwarded but some say just the opposite of that.
> 
> What do you say about this?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Freedomall -

With over 100 different types of visas for Australia, that's not such a simple question! Plus, your eligibility for skills assessors is a major factor (and all the assessors have different requirements) as is state sponsorship. Suggest booking a consultation with a registered migration agent who can work through the different options to see what you may qualify for. Given your age, a key question will be whether you are still qualified for a skilled visa points-wise based on your work experience, English test score, etc or will need to look for an employer sponsored visa.

If you'd like to learn more about our consultations, see my website in my signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



freedomall said:


> Hi Mark
> I am 43 this year. I have a degree from Finance from USA. While most of my working experiences are in IT (more than 10 years), I am wondering which visa suits me the most if I choose to work in Australia. Should I go thru ACS ? Let me know. Thank you


----------



## hem7736

*Same Sex De Facto*

Hi Mark!

I just joined in the hopes of gaining some insight as to applying for a same sex de facto visa. I am an American citizen and am currently living in Melbourne Australia with my partner. We have been together for nearly 2 years but only living together since October of last year when I came to Australia on a 1 year working holiday visa. My visa will be up in the next few months and I would like to stay. I have been researching a great deal but it is still overwhelming for me. In particular I am worried about the joint financial evidence required. We have been living together with his sister and her fiance in their home rent free and therefore have no bills in our names. We also do not have a joint bank account and I feel that creating one at this stage wouldn't mean much. I can provide evidence of our long distance relationship with Skype calls, whats app etc...I can provide photos and could show statements from my bank account on trips we have taken together and we have friends/family able to write statement on our behalf. I am just afraid that the financial evidentiary support we have is weak. How necessary of an aspect is the financial part of the application? Are there steps we could take now prior lodging the application to strengthen it?

Kind Regards,

hem7736


----------



## Sami Sam

Hi Mark

I have a question about the SC190 NSW Nomination,

if I receive an email from NSW inviting me to apply for the nomination, does that mean my EOI will immediately be blocked and I will not receive an invitation for SC189? or does that happens after i am granted the nomination and actually declare it in my EOI?

can I submit two EOIs, one for SC 189 and one for SC 190? (same name and occupation)? does DIBP allow that?

Thank you in advance for your reply


----------



## masood

dear mark
thanks a lot for your kind reply dear mark it means that my case has been allocated to case officer or not waiting for postive response thanks


----------



## sandset

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sandset -
> 
> For a family member subsequent entrant for a 485, no education or employment documents are generally required. Form 80 is required for security checks, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,
Thank you very much


----------



## jessiele

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your timing, I have a question regards to Partner visa subclass 820/801

I am currently studying my second bachelor degree and preparing to apply for Partner visa sponsored by my NZ partner. I am wondering is it possible if I cancel my student visa and apply to Partner visa or do I have to finish my course in order to apply for Partner visa? 

Cheers, 
Jess


----------



## scorpio15

*489 to 887*

Hi mark, I read most of relavant thread seems could not find answer. so asking here.
I will soon apply for 887 visa. i have granted 489 visa on 17/07/2013
and i started living in regional from 23/08/13. so when would i be eligible to apply for 887 on 18/07/2015 or 24/08/15.
I met full time employment for 2 year.
thanks heaps


----------



## rnglimpse

Hi Mark, I am preparing my documents for AHPRA to be registered as a nurse in australia. I just have some doubts, hope you can help me.
-The work experience in the CV should be in chronological order. Is it from previous experience until present? Or should I write it from present experience to previous one?
- AHPRA website said to attach a copy of the IELTS result form. Does it mean original copy or a certified one will do?


----------



## A.Naji

Hi Mark,

Can I ask you for some general guidelines for students arriving in Australia?
What will I need to know, for example, once I arrive at the airport.
Australian Visa is digital rather than stamped, what is the right way to provide proof of my visa in security checks.
Moreover, will I need things like my High School transcripts? Original ones at that too? How necessary are they? 

Thanks


----------



## Pranavjalpa

Hey Mark
I have lodge my 489 family sponsered application on 17/04/2015. got CO on 18/5/2015. He asked for some documents which i uploaded till 31/5/2015. 
How much time will it take for visa grant?


----------



## domado16

*RRV: Criminal Record Check, Evidence of Intention to Obtain*

Hi Mark,

I've just submitted my application for an RRV online (I am currently in Australia). I have not resided in Australia for 2 years in the last 5 years, so I am applying on the condition of having substantial personal ties.

In the list of Types in the Next Step section, for documents that can be uploaded, there is:

Criminal Record Check, Evidence of Intention to Obtain

Next to it, it says "Recommended" but then again everything in the list is "Recommended".

The document checklist for the RRV subclass 155 says nothing about criminal record checks. I've never heard of anyone submitting an application for an RRV and needing to provide a police check. Is it because I have not been a resident in Australia for a long time?

Do I really need to upload this, or is it just recommended, can I go without and just see what the CO says? (I probably will do this anyway, but just asking if anyone has any information about this).

Also, what does evidence of intention to obtain mean? Does it mean I can just upload a receipt of a request I make for a criminal record check?

Any information anyone has about this would be greatly appreciated, thanks.


----------



## vnavarro

Hi Mark! Thank you for your help!

In regards to the bridging visa B, if that gets granted and once I arrive back into Australia will I need to apply to be back on the BVA or will the BVA automatically come into play once I come back into the country?

Thank you for your time!

Kind Regards,

Victoria



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Victoria -
> 
> I'd probably use another word other than "errands" - perhaps personal affairs to complete, wrapping up business there, family reunion, etc. All of those sound a bit more substantial than errands.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hem7736 -

Thanks for the question. A sharing of incomes and expenses is an important part of the relationship evidence package. You could make a spreadsheet showing joint payments for bills previously, and open a joint bank account ASAP and start putting both of your incomes into it and paying joint and household expenses from it. The examples of showing deductions from your bank account to pay for joint items (trips, etc) is also a good way to demonstrate this. Wouldn't be able to give you any specific advice for your case without seeing all of your relationship evidence and going through your circumstances in more detail at a consultation, however I'd also focus on solid documentation re: your living together time, unless you're able to register your relationship with your state. DIBP puts a lot of emphasis on living together (despite the recent legal setback for them in the case of SZOXP - see a thread on this on the forum) and puts little weight on long distance relationship evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hem7736 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I just joined in the hopes of gaining some insight as to applying for a same sex de facto visa. I am an American citizen and am currently living in Melbourne Australia with my partner. We have been together for nearly 2 years but only living together since October of last year when I came to Australia on a 1 year working holiday visa. My visa will be up in the next few months and I would like to stay. I have been researching a great deal but it is still overwhelming for me. In particular I am worried about the joint financial evidence required. We have been living together with his sister and her fiance in their home rent free and therefore have no bills in our names. We also do not have a joint bank account and I feel that creating one at this stage wouldn't mean much. I can provide evidence of our long distance relationship with Skype calls, whats app etc...I can provide photos and could show statements from my bank account on trips we have taken together and we have friends/family able to write statement on our behalf. I am just afraid that the financial evidentiary support we have is weak. How necessary of an aspect is the financial part of the application? Are there steps we could take now prior lodging the application to strengthen it?
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> hem7736


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sami Sam -

Generally your EOI is blocked only when you receive an invitation from DIBP, not when you receive an invitation from a state. However, some people I know have set up 2 EOI's - one to await a 189 nomination, another to pursue state nomination to ensure they aren't blocked.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sami Sam said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have a question about the SC190 NSW Nomination,
> 
> if I receive an email from NSW inviting me to apply for the nomination, does that mean my EOI will immediately be blocked and I will not receive an invitation for SC189? or does that happens after i am granted the nomination and actually declare it in my EOI?
> 
> can I submit two EOIs, one for SC 189 and one for SC 190? (same name and occupation)? does DIBP allow that?
> 
> Thank you in advance for your reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Masood -

No way to tell. DIBP doesn't inform people now when their cases are allocated.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



masood said:


> dear mark
> thanks a lot for your kind reply dear mark it means that my case has been allocated to case officer or not waiting for postive response thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jess -

Thanks for the question. If you're applying for an onshore partner visa, you must hold another non-bridging visa at the time you apply for the partner visa or you may have Schedule 3 problems to deal with. If you apply for a partner visa while holding a student visa, then cancel the student visa later, your partner visa bridging visa will also be cancelled, leaving you without a visa in Australia. You can apply for a Bridging Visa E to remain in Australia until a decision on your partner visa, but that comes with some nasty side effects - such as not being able to re-enter Australia if you depart while holding the BV-E, loss of time prior to the cancellation towards the citizenship residency requirement and potentially other issues, so I'd get some professional advice before you go down the visa cancellation road.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jessiele said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your timing, I have a question regards to Partner visa subclass 820/801
> 
> I am currently studying my second bachelor degree and preparing to apply for Partner visa sponsored by my NZ partner. I am wondering is it possible if I cancel my student visa and apply to Partner visa or do I have to finish my course in order to apply for Partner visa?
> 
> Cheers,
> Jess


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Scorpio15 -

Thanks for the question. The requirement for the 887 is that you've lived in a designated area for 2 years, and worked for 1 year, so if you moved to the area on 23/8/13, that's the date you would start counting the 2 years from. There are any number of other issues that may come into play here, but that is the general rule.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



scorpio15 said:


> Hi mark, I read most of relavant thread seems could not find answer. so asking here.
> I will soon apply for 887 visa. i have granted 489 visa on 17/07/2013
> and i started living in regional from 23/08/13. so when would i be eligible to apply for 887 on 18/07/2015 or 24/08/15.
> I met full time employment for 2 year.
> thanks heaps


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rnglimpse -

I'd ask AHPRA those questions directly to get the most current info and requirements.

Best,

Mark



rnglimpse said:


> Hi Mark, I am preparing my documents for AHPRA to be registered as a nurse in australia. I just have some doubts, hope you can help me.
> -The work experience in the CV should be in chronological order. Is it from previous experience until present? Or should I write it from present experience to previous one?
> - AHPRA website said to attach a copy of the IELTS result form. Does it mean original copy or a certified one will do?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi A. Naji -

I'd bring a paper copy of your visa grant, however at Australian immigration checkpoints, your passport is all that's generally needed since DIBP links your visa to your passport. Don't know about high school transcripts, but probably a good idea to have colour scans of those - you can always have the originals sent from home if you need them for some sort of school requirement, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



A.Naji said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can I ask you for some general guidelines for students arriving in Australia?
> What will I need to know, for example, once I arrive at the airport.
> Australian Visa is digital rather than stamped, what is the right way to provide proof of my visa in security checks.
> Moreover, will I need things like my High School transcripts? Original ones at that too? How necessary are they?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

No idea - DIBP is very unpredictable, especially on family sponsored skilled visas.

Best,

Mark



Pranavjalpa said:


> Hey Mark
> I have lodge my 489 family sponsered application on 17/04/2015. got CO on 18/5/2015. He asked for some documents which i uploaded till 31/5/2015.
> How much time will it take for visa grant?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Domado16 -

A police clearance certificate is normally not required for an RRV application unless you have convictions and/or the case office requests it. I'd wait to see if they want it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



domado16 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've just submitted my application for an RRV online (I am currently in Australia). I have not resided in Australia for 2 years in the last 5 years, so I am applying on the condition of having substantial personal ties.
> 
> In the list of Types in the Next Step section, for documents that can be uploaded, there is:
> 
> Criminal Record Check, Evidence of Intention to Obtain
> 
> Next to it, it says "Recommended" but then again everything in the list is "Recommended".
> 
> The document checklist for the RRV subclass 155 says nothing about criminal record checks. I've never heard of anyone submitting an application for an RRV and needing to provide a police check. Is it because I have not been a resident in Australia for a long time?
> 
> Do I really need to upload this, or is it just recommended, can I go without and just see what the CO says? (I probably will do this anyway, but just asking if anyone has any information about this).
> 
> Also, what does evidence of intention to obtain mean? Does it mean I can just upload a receipt of a request I make for a criminal record check?
> 
> Any information anyone has about this would be greatly appreciated, thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victoria -

Actually you can remain on the BV-B when you return - it functions like a BV-A and allows you to stay in the country until a decision is made on the visa application it is linked to.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vnavarro said:


> Hi Mark! Thank you for your help!
> 
> In regards to the bridging visa B, if that gets granted and once I arrive back into Australia will I need to apply to be back on the BVA or will the BVA automatically come into play once I come back into the country?
> 
> Thank you for your time!
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Victoria


----------



## ZAINABASEM

can any1 help us on this to understand....

I have submitted my EOI for South Australia under 263111 state nomination on 5th of July, which was on high availability, but just the next day on 6th of July 263111 was changed to special conditions apply.. what are my chances of getting an invite or what should be case for my Eoi which was already submitted on high availability..

Thank you,


----------



## ambition_vik

Dear Mark,

Do I need to answer below question as per ACS outcome in VISA application:

Has the applicant been employed overseas in their nominated occupation or a closely related occupation at a skilled level immediately before lodging this application?

After ACS deduction, I am left with less than 3 years skilled experience therefore not eligible for employment points.

Should I select "Less than 3 years in past 10 years" option from employment duration drop down?


----------



## ambition_vik

Dear Mark,

Need your suggestion on below:

My mother has expired and father is retired and getting pension.
He stays along with me.

Should I include him as non-migrating dependent?

What are pros and cons?

Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zainabasem -

It depends on how SA's policy works re: whether the status on the day of application is locked in for an application, or whether the status on the day of decision is what is used - only they can answer this question, but it's worth asking them to see if you can be handled under the high availability procedures.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ZAINABASEM said:


> can any1 help us on this to understand....
> 
> I have submitted my EOI for South Australia under 263111 state nomination on 5th of July, which was on high availability, but just the next day on 6th of July 263111 was changed to special conditions apply.. what are my chances of getting an invite or what should be case for my Eoi which was already submitted on high availability..
> 
> Thank you,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ambition_vik -

Thanks for the question - you could do that, however you may then be asked for health checks for him and a police report depending on the circumstances. There may be some question as to whether he meets the migration law definition of dependent due to the pension.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ambition_vik said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Need your suggestion on below:
> 
> My mother has expired and father is retired and getting pension.
> He stays along with me.
> 
> Should I include him as non-migrating dependent?
> 
> What are pros and cons?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ambition_Vik -

That sounds correct re: overseas work experience category, but I can't give you specific advice for your application without seeing the rest of the information on your application form and understanding how you will be claiming points, etc. Can do that at a consultation if you'd like - see website in my email signature for details.

Best,

Mark



ambition_vik said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Do I need to answer below question as per ACS outcome in VISA application:
> 
> Has the applicant been employed overseas in their nominated occupation or a closely related occupation at a skilled level immediately before lodging this application?
> 
> After ACS deduction, I am left with less than 3 years skilled experience therefore not eligible for employment points.
> 
> Should I select "Less than 3 years in past 10 years" option from employment duration drop down?


----------



## ambition_vik

Thanks Mark.

Is there any problem if I do not include my father in Visa application?
What if in future I want him to stay with us permanently in OZ?

Thanks in advance.

QUOTE=MarkNortham;948834]Hi Ambition_vik -

Thanks for the question - you could do that, however you may then be asked for health checks for him and a police report depending on the circumstances. There may be some question as to whether he meets the migration law definition of dependent due to the pension.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ambition_vik -

I don't know enough about you or your father's circumstances to give you a good answer to that question - too many potential issues to consider. Suggest you consult with a registered migration agent and go through all the circumstances of you and your father, including health, finance, etc to determine whether it's best to declare him as a dependent now or not, and how this may affect future visas.

Best,

Mark



ambition_vik said:


> Thanks Mark.
> 
> Is there any problem if I do not include my father in Visa application?
> What if in future I want him to stay with us permanently in OZ?
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> QUOTE=MarkNortham;948834]Hi Ambition_vik -
> 
> Thanks for the question - you could do that, however you may then be asked for health checks for him and a police report depending on the circumstances. There may be some question as to whether he meets the migration law definition of dependent due to the pension.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


[/QUOTE]


----------



## jijochacko2005

*475 VISA obligations & how to get PR VISA 887 if we dont fullfill the VISA condition*

Dear Sir,

I would like to get your valuable advice for clearing my doubts related to Australian Permanent Resident Eligibility for Skilled (Provisional) (class VF) subclass 475 (Skilled - Regional Sponsored) Visa with Visa condition (8549).

I came to Australia as Skilled migrant from India through Skilled (Provisional) (class VF) subclass 475 (Skilled - Regional Sponsored) Visa with a below Visa conditions (8549) and I need to comply with below conditions to be eligible for PR Visa(Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887).

1. have worked full time in a specified designated area for at least one year .

2. Have lived in a specified designated area of Australia for at least two years.
I have already fulfilled the first requirement, but due to some personal circumstances ,my total duration of stay in Australia will be 2year and 2 hours only as of 2th Oct 2015 out of 3 year duration under (Skilled (Provisional) (class VF) subclass 475 (Skilled - Regional Sponsored) . And my current visa(Skilled (Provisional) (class VF) subclass 475 (Skilled - Regional Sponsored) ) will be expiring on 2th Oct 2015.

Below are my question and Concerns.

1) Whether I am eligible for applying Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887)?

2). When can I lodge the visa application for Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887)?

2) As per the VIVO tool ,My current visa will be expiring on 02th OCT 2015.Can you please confirm ,whether I will have the access to Visa Online submission page to submit the application on 02th OCT 2015.?

3) I heard that,I am eligible for the 489-extended stay pathway since i ma holding 475 Visa,Is it true? .It would be great ,if you can give an insight about this option. ie, when can lodge the application for 489-extended pathway visa.eligibility criteria for 489-extended pathway option?

Awaiting for your valuable suggestions and advice.

Regards,

Jijo

[/SIZE][/FONT]


----------



## Sonia Abdel

Hi Mark,
I am An Australian citizen and my husband is from Yemen. We have been together for 2 years and half. We have a child together who is one year old. Currently, we are living in France because of my Job. We have applied for the partner visa last week. I have a job offer in Australia that requires me to start during February 2016. Based on what I have heard partner visa takes about one year or more. Can we apply for visitor for my husband, so we can travel together during February 2016 from France to Australia? Will the visitor visa be guaranteed?
Appreciate your advice. 
With many thanks,
Sonia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonia -

Thanks for the question. Yes, you can definitely apply for a visitor visa for your husband. There is no guarantee it will be granted, however I would suggest pointing out in a letter with your application the Best Interests of the Child - that the child would be deprived of the care of both parents if the visa is not granted, etc. That's the best angle for situations like this in many cases, especially given the high-risk status DIBP places on Yemen citizens.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sonia Abdel said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am An Australian citizen and my husband is from Yemen. We have been together for 2 years and half. We have a child together who is one year old. Currently, we are living in France because of my Job. We have applied for the partner visa last week. I have a job offer in Australia that requires me to start during February 2016. Based on what I have heard partner visa takes about one year or more. Can we apply for visitor for my husband, so we can travel together during February 2016 from France to Australia? Will the visitor visa be guaranteed?
> Appreciate your advice.
> With many thanks,
> Sonia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jijochacko2005 -

Thanks for the note - your situation is too complex for me to deal with via the forum - would be happy to help you at a consultation session where we can spend the time to discuss your visa history and circumstances. The short answer, however, is that the 489 may be something to consider. The 887 is an online application, however you would be cutting things extremely close given your circumstances, with no room for error. If the online system refused to allow you to lodge on the day of your visa application, then you would have no time to lodge a paper application on time, etc. The 489 can be lodged after you have spent 2 years on a 475, which may be a better choice as assuming the 489 is granted, you can make an 887 application properly and not have to be worried about any date miscalculations (there are all kinds of laws about how dates and periods are calculated!) or other issues causing you to become unlawful.

Please see my website below if you're interested in a consultation.

Best,

Mark



jijochacko2005 said:


> Dear Sir,
> 
> I would like to get your valuable advice for clearing my doubts related to Australian Permanent Resident Eligibility for Skilled (Provisional) (class VF) subclass 475 (Skilled - Regional Sponsored) Visa with Visa condition (8549).
> 
> I came to Australia as Skilled migrant from India through Skilled (Provisional) (class VF) subclass 475 (Skilled - Regional Sponsored) Visa with a below Visa conditions (8549) and I need to comply with below conditions to be eligible for PR Visa(Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887).
> 
> 1. have worked full time in a specified designated area for at least one year .
> 
> 2. Have lived in a specified designated area of Australia for at least two years.
> I have already fulfilled the first requirement, but due to some personal circumstances ,my total duration of stay in Australia will be 2year and 2 hours only as of 2th Oct 2015 out of 3 year duration under (Skilled (Provisional) (class VF) subclass 475 (Skilled - Regional Sponsored) . And my current visa(Skilled (Provisional) (class VF) subclass 475 (Skilled - Regional Sponsored) ) will be expiring on 2th Oct 2015.
> 
> Below are my question and Concerns.
> 
> 1) Whether I am eligible for applying Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887)?
> 
> 2). When can I lodge the visa application for Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887)?
> 
> 2) As per the VIVO tool ,My current visa will be expiring on 02th OCT 2015.Can you please confirm ,whether I will have the access to Visa Online submission page to submit the application on 02th OCT 2015.?
> 
> 3) I heard that,I am eligible for the 489-extended stay pathway since i ma holding 475 Visa,Is it true? .It would be great ,if you can give an insight about this option. ie, when can lodge the application for 489-extended pathway visa.eligibility criteria for 489-extended pathway option?
> 
> Awaiting for your valuable suggestions and advice.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Jijo
> 
> [/SIZE][/FONT]


----------



## sameer84in

*Need general advice*

Hi Mark,

I am into a strange situation. I need general advice.
I am on 457 visa and I have already lodged 189 visa application on 9th July 2015.

My previous company for which I was working is no longer operating under the same name and at the same address. Letters issued to me are with old name. How do I let DIAC know about it? Also the person who wrote me reference (stat declaration) is leaving the UK and coming back to India hence changing his contact number. Again how do I let DIAC know about it?
Few people suggested to fill 1022. What should I do?

Would appreciate your help here.

Thanks.
Sameer


----------



## dee279

Hi Mark, 

I'm about to apply for the 820/801 application and i am the applicant. 

I'm slightly concerned, because my partner has a (small) criminal history. We don't have any children. It was something that happened in his 20s, and he has served his time on parole and totally rehabilitated himself (I've made damn sure of that!). He is totally a changed person, and I believe I am a huge part of him being a better man. He was convicted of 3 years suspended sentence (no jail time - just parole). 
I'm scared it is going to jeprodise our opportunities for the partner visa. 

I am happy and comfortable to interview him or me about his charge, but will they reject or question the application just because of something that happened years ago???

Thanks,


----------



## jijochacko2005

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jijochacko2005 -
> 
> Thanks for the note - your situation is too complex for me to deal with via the forum - would be happy to help you at a consultation session where we can spend the time to discuss your visa history and circumstances. The short answer, however, is that the 489 may be something to consider. The 887 is an online application, however you would be cutting things extremely close given your circumstances, with no room for error. If the online system refused to allow you to lodge on the day of your visa application, then you would have no time to lodge a paper application on time, etc. The 489 can be lodged after you have spent 2 years on a 475, which may be a better choice as assuming the 489 is granted, you can make an 887 application properly and not have to be worried about any date miscalculations (there are all kinds of laws about how dates and periods are calculated!) or other issues causing you to become unlawful.
> 
> Please see my website below if you're interested in a consultation.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hi Mark,

Thank you for the Advice.

I decided to go ahead with 489-renewal visa ,can you please answer my below question

1) Am I eligible for for submit an application for 489-extended stay pathway visa today?

Regards,
Jijo Chacko


----------



## sandset

Dear Mark,
I have applied for a subsequent entrant visa 485 on June 16th and I have assigned a case office for the purpose. he asked me to submit more documents which have all been duly submitted. Today I got new mail from department in that mail I have got from new case officer -Finalisation team. I have heard that only one case officer can be appointed for each case. Is this true?. If not, why they have assigned for my case? 

Thanks and regards.


----------



## mehul.dalki

Hi Mark,

Need your assistance in my case

I have positive outcome from Vetassess for occupation called Safety Inspector (312611) as suggested by my immigration consultant. But my application to NT for invitation has been rejected.

Can we have change of occupation to OH&S Advisor (251312) from Vetassess using same referral letters for skill assessment???

Kindly suggest


----------



## bumbumn

Dear Mark

Could you help me in these questions?

1/ My older brother is applying for visa 187 in Darwin, Can he sponsor a younger brother who is living with my parents, under 24 years old, as a dependent family member? The brother who is in Darwin came here since 2008 as a oversea student. In 2011, he's married to his wife, and she have been staying here as a dependent spouse. 

2/ If it can't be, is there any chance that we can sponsor my younger brother to living permanently here?My family has 3 brothers. I am waiting my PR, my older brother stays in Darwin, and younger lives with my parents, my parents divorced since 2012. 

Thanks a lot for your time and consideration. God Bless

Kind Regards,


----------



## srrekha

*Mark*

Dear Mark,

Could you please help me with below query

I am an MBA finance with 8.9 years of work experience out of which 4.3 years is as Senior Analyst in to banking operations , job profile includes 
Collecting business requirements of a client and catering to their account set up needs.
Opening New Accounts for clients at global level on maintain the records in Fund master and Client account Tax database.
Extensive interaction with relationship managers, account managers, investment managers on Client and Account related queries.
•Handling all the queries related to Client queries etc and also training and testing of banks applications. Where are another 4.6 years as a Business Consultant for financial services which includes SDLC and STLC and Business requirement gathering .

Now i am planing to apply for skilled immigrant visa for Australia. Can someone please advise me which occupation i come under in SOL list as i am really confused and consultant I contacted confused me further.

I would really appreciate if someone could help me with this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sameer -

Thanks for the question and email - I'd explain it in a letter and lodge with Form 1022.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sameer84in said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am into a strange situation. I need general advice.
> I am on 457 visa and I have already lodged 189 visa application on 9th July 2015.
> 
> My previous company for which I was working is no longer operating under the same name and at the same address. Letters issued to me are with old name. How do I let DIAC know about it? Also the person who wrote me reference (stat declaration) is leaving the UK and coming back to India hence changing his contact number. Again how do I let DIAC know about it?
> Few people suggested to fill 1022. What should I do?
> 
> Would appreciate your help here.
> 
> Thanks.
> Sameer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dee279 -

Thanks for the question. Australia takes a very hard line on character issues, and a prison sentence, regardless of how long ago, for more than 12 months is cause for concern. DIBP (Australian immigration dept) doesn't care if the sentence was fully served, suspended, etc - the fact that he was sentenced is what will be the issue. You'll likely need to prepare a character submission to argue that despite the sentence, his history since then shows that he is not a risk to reoffend, and include lots of evidence to show this including statements from others, etc. I suggest you get professional help with this type of a submission. In the end, depending on the offence and his history and evidence of no re-offending, there's a good chance the visa will get through, but it may be a bumpy road getting there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dee279 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm about to apply for the 820/801 application and i am the applicant.
> 
> I'm slightly concerned, because my partner has a (small) criminal history. We don't have any children. It was something that happened in his 20s, and he has served his time on parole and totally rehabilitated himself (I've made damn sure of that!). He is totally a changed person, and I believe I am a huge part of him being a better man. He was convicted of 3 years suspended sentence (no jail time - just parole).
> I'm scared it is going to jeprodise our opportunities for the partner visa.
> 
> I am happy and comfortable to interview him or me about his charge, but will they reject or question the application just because of something that happened years ago???
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I can't determine that without a thorough review of your case - too many factors/variables. Happy to do so at a consultation - see my website below for more.

Best,

Mark



jijochacko2005 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for the Advice.
> 
> I decided to go ahead with 489-renewal visa ,can you please answer my below question
> 
> 1) Am I eligible for for submit an application for 489-extended stay pathway visa today?
> 
> Regards,
> Jijo Chacko


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandset -

No way to tell why, however these days teams of case officers work on cases, and there is no rule against being transferred from one officer or team to another. Finalisation is a good thing - it means a decision is likely coming soon.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sandset said:


> Dear Mark,
> I have applied for a subsequent entrant visa 485 on June 16th and I have assigned a case office for the purpose. he asked me to submit more documents which have all been duly submitted. Today I got new mail from department in that mail I have got from new case officer -Finalisation team. I have heard that only one case officer can be appointed for each case. Is this true?. If not, why they have assigned for my case?
> 
> Thanks and regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mehul.dalki -

You could, depending on whether the reference letters aligned well with the ANZSCO requirements for the new occupation. But you'd need a new skills assessment in any case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mehul.dalki said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Need your assistance in my case
> 
> I have positive outcome from Vetassess for occupation called Safety Inspector (312611) as suggested by my immigration consultant. But my application to NT for invitation has been rejected.
> 
> Can we have change of occupation to OH&S Advisor (251312) from Vetassess using same referral letters for skill assessment???
> 
> Kindly suggest


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BumBumn -

Thanks for the question. I don't have enough info from your post to give you an answer - the dependency regulations for adult children are somewhat complex - the key is that the dependent would have to, for at least 12 months prior to application, be a member of the household of the sponsor (not the parents), and would have needed to be more dependent on the sponsor (not the parents) than any other party for financial support. Happy to explore your situation in more detail at a consultation where with we can work out how the law applies to your specific circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bumbumn said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Could you help me in these questions?
> 
> 1/ My older brother is applying for visa 187 in Darwin, Can he sponsor a younger brother who is living with my parents, under 24 years old, as a dependent family member? The brother who is in Darwin came here since 2008 as a oversea student. In 2011, he's married to his wife, and she have been staying here as a dependent spouse.
> 
> 2/ If it can't be, is there any chance that we can sponsor my younger brother to living permanently here?My family has 3 brothers. I am waiting my PR, my older brother stays in Darwin, and younger lives with my parents, my parents divorced since 2012.
> 
> Thanks a lot for your time and consideration. God Bless
> 
> Kind Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Srrekha -

Thanks for the question. There's no shortcut for you going through the available ANZSCO occupations and comparing the tasks/duties of each to your work experience to try and come up with the best fit - no one can do this for you, since you know your work experience the best of all. See the site http://www.anzscosearch.com for an easy to navigate way to check out occupation codes. Unfortunately there are few financial services occupations on the SOL and CSOL lists that skilled visas are based on, but have a look and see what fits you the best.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



srrekha said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Could you please help me with below query
> 
> I am an MBA finance with 8.9 years of work experience out of which 4.3 years is as Senior Analyst in to banking operations , job profile includes
> Collecting business requirements of a client and catering to their account set up needs.
> Opening New Accounts for clients at global level on maintain the records in Fund master and Client account Tax database.
> Extensive interaction with relationship managers, account managers, investment managers on Client and Account related queries.
> •Handling all the queries related to Client queries etc and also training and testing of banks applications. Where are another 4.6 years as a Business Consultant for financial services which includes SDLC and STLC and Business requirement gathering .
> 
> Now i am planing to apply for skilled immigrant visa for Australia. Can someone please advise me which occupation i come under in SOL list as i am really confused and consultant I contacted confused me further.
> 
> I would really appreciate if someone could help me with this.


----------



## pollyrowan

*Visa 820 (police checks)*

Hi Mark,

I am from the UK and my partner and I are applying for a de facto visa from within Australia. I know that I need a UK police check (but not an Aus one as I've only been here 5 months). My partner lived in the UK for 3 years and also Australia in the last 10 years. Does he need any police checks as the sponsor?

Thanks so much!

Polly


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pollyrowan -

Thanks for the question. He won't need any police checks unless there is a child under 18 yrs of age on the application to migrate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pollyrowan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am from the UK and my partner and I are applying for a de facto visa from within Australia. I know that I need a UK police check (but not an Aus one as I've only been here 5 months). My partner lived in the UK for 3 years and also Australia in the last 10 years. Does he need any police checks as the sponsor?
> 
> Thanks so much!
> 
> Polly


----------



## Scotty P

Hi Mark,

My wife has been waiting almost ten months for her 820, we have all the required evidence uploaded and are periodically uploading more each month as time goes on. The only thing we have not done to date is the medicals. I know the immi website has a lot of out dated info on it, however it states if you have already submitted an application then it is advised not to do the medicals until you have been asked to do so by your CO. Is this still the case and what do you recommend? We have already submitted the police clearance, we waited about six months to do that. Apart from the medicals we believe we have all the required evidence. I am aware the wait times are over twelve months now. 

Thanks
Scott


----------



## sandset

Dear Mark,
Thank you very much Mark. Fingers crossed. Your words enlighten my hope 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sandset -
> 
> No way to tell why, however these days teams of case officers work on cases, and there is no rule against being transferred from one officer or team to another. Finalisation is a good thing - it means a decision is likely coming soon.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Flizbliz

Hi Mark!

I was just wondering something about the de facto visa. My partner and I are moving in very shortly together, but we will only have lived together for a period of 4 months. Are we still eligible to have a slight chance to get approved if we prove that we have been in a strong relationship before hand?

Kind regards


----------



## ambition_vik

Dear Mark,

Can I update employment end date in VISA form or should I keep it as per EOI and assessment result?
There is difference of 5 days however no points claimed.


----------



## raghushekaran

Hi,

any idea when will the HR advisor role open for state nominations? I have my assessments and ILTES score ready and waiting to apply

Thanks,
Raghu


----------



## socworkersk

Hi Mark. We got an email today, from Berlin's Australian embassy, asking us (my husband and me as he sponsor) to send form 1229 and do the medical exam on February 2016. I have a question. In form 1229 we must attach the child's birth certificate, certified copy of passport. I have sent them already with the application, do I send them again??? The CO does not mention anything else. Thank you


----------



## shermil

Dear Mark,

I intent to apply for the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)

Scenario:
My occupation is listed in general occupations, Construction project manager (ANZSCO 133111), and I intend to apply it with a BSc (completed about 2 yrs back and relevant to the nominating occupation) & MSc (completed recently & highly relevant to my nominating occupation). Further, assessing authority is VETASSESS they need only one year of post qualification experience. So, I hope VETASSESS will pass me to the nominated occupation with 2 yrs post qualified experience.

The question is:,
does the immigration department of Australia only count the post qualified experience as the skilled employment experience ? , because I have more than 8 years of total experience in a highly relevant occupation but have about 2 yrs of post qualified experience . confused 

Please be kind enough to answer, Regards!


----------



## micktorres

Hi Mark! How are you? I just wanted to ask about my daughter's application. I submitted her child visa 101 application to Australian Embassy in Philippines July last year, she had her health check request on March this year. Haven't heard from DIBP since then. Also, previously they emailed me and they said they asked for health check in August but I haven't received any. I've emailed them several times but haven't got any response to ask for any updates since MArch.Do you think it's still on process? Thanks very much.


----------



## fiftyeight

Hello Mark,

sorry if this is going to seem like I am repeating the question.
I am trying to ask something quite specific.
I have seen a thread where you responded:
http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/18618-student-visa-573-graduating-early.html

You have mentioned that once a student finishes early, they have 28 days to lodge a new application. This is the same information I received from DIAC recently. My question is: if I lodge a 485 application during those 28 days, will I get a BVA or BVC?

I understand they may not cancel my student visa at all, but as far as I understand there is still a bridging visa given which stays "at the background."



MarkNortham said:


> Hi fiftyeight -
> 
> Thanks for the question. First, if a visa is cancelled, there is no grace period of any kind - very, very important. If you do finish early, once you apply for the 485 you're generally "safe" - DIBP policy is not to cancel a student visa that finishes the approved program early if another visa application has been lodged such as a 485, partner or skilled visa. However if DIBP figures out you've finished early and cancels the student visa, that will generally prevent you from being able to lodge a valid 485 application under most circumstances and create a section 48 problem as well - a mess.
> 
> Best way for most people in your circumstances is to lodge the 485 when you are eligible to, prior to DIBP cancelling your student visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## anup

Dear Mark,
I have a confusion over the experience in the ACS results.

Prior to my ACS result:

I had attended B.Tech( Electronics and Communication Engineering ) regular classes from 2003 to 2007 in INDIA. However I was only able to pass the it by December 2012. Meanwhile I was working from 3rd September 2007 until now as Computer system and Network Engineer. Concerning the valid experience, I am getting different suggestions on my ACS results from different Migration Agents here. Can you help me?


My ACS results is as follows:

Thank you for your ICT skills assessment which was received by the Australian Computer Society on 28 November 2014.
Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
Your qualification has been assessed as follows:
Your Bachelor of Technology in Electronics & Communication Engineering from University of Calicut completed December 2012 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in computing.
The following employment after December 2012 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
Dates: 09/07 - 10/14 (7yrs 1mths)
Position: Computer System and Network Engineer
Employer: XXX Pvt. Ltd
Country: INDIA
Please note that the Department of Immigration and Border Protection reserves the right to undertake further investigation regarding your skilled employment experience.
While the ACS is authorised to assess ICT skills assessments, the final decision in awarding points remains with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

The confusion is on the Experience
What experience will i have in applying visa 2 years or 7 years of experience ?. I am attaching the ACS results with the mail. 

I would also like to know whether i have to apply in ACS again for the additional experience that i have till now.( I had applied in November 28, 2014).
Thanks in advance.


----------



## pollyrowan

*Visa 820*

Hi Mark,

I have been in Australia (from UK) for 5 months on the Working Holiday Visa and have been working at a job that I really enjoy for 3 months. I wish to stay in Australia with my long term Australian partner for around 18 months at the same job.

Do I have any options other than the 820 visa? I can't get sponsored by my company unfortunately.

Also, once I have applied for the 820 visa, I hear it takes 15 - 18 months to process. Does this mean I have to live in Australia until it is granted?

Thanks for all your help,

Polly


----------



## KitKaat

Dear Mr Mark

I have a question regarding Visa Subclasses. Yesterday I received the grant for my partner after waiting for 21 months. In the grant letter it has been written we got subclass 309 Provisional. I did mention to the CO that we'd like Visa Subclass 100 instead of 309 because we are already fulfill the requirements of Visa 100, we've been in a relationship since 2008 and we have two kids. I dont know what the next step to take to fix that problem. I'd like advise from you. 

Thank you


----------



## rahulofpl

Hi 
My name is rahul 
I have applied for 489 visa for NT AUSTRALIA, I filed all the documents on dtd 8 July 2015 and paid fees on 27 th June 2015. Still I have not been assigned with CO. Please any one could tell me how much time it would take for same .


----------



## romero2005

I applied for 190NSW on 6th March 2015. But when i look in my Points breakdown sheet it says date of effect as 12/6/2015... why is that?


----------



## MTW

*Applying for a 572 with the intention of applying for a partner visa in 12 months*

Hi Mark

Thanks for helping out and I think you provide an amazing service through this Thread.

My situation is my partner (Northern Irish) of about 2+ years were living together in Northern Ireland for about 6-7 months. I had to come home to Australia as I could not find a job. My partner intended to come over and we were advised the best way to do that quickly was to apply for a student visa 572 and if at the end of the course (12 months) we wanted to stay could apply for the partner (defacto) visa. Which is almost a certainty.

As we were preparing to apply for the 572 she got offered sponsorship from an Australian company. Since then she has had a nightmare experience, where she was going through the 457 application process when she lost her current job. No big deal at the time but the 457 application has taken 4 months and now she has been told may not go through or take 6 months +.

We are now back to option 1 - the 572. She has been accepted into a course (12 months) in a field relevant to her work history, and actually pretty excited about doing it.

My concerns are about questions in the application form and how the answers may influence the decision to provide her the visa and ensuring that there is not a "no further stay condition".

Also, in the application it asks about work history, where she has not worked since March.

My questions are:


Does she need to fill in the Relative details with mine. I'm a partner (boyfriend) but not a relative. I find this confusing but want to be upfront as we want to apply for the partner visa at some point
What is the likelihood, in your experience, that an assessment level one applicant will be asked for additional information, in particular, proof of financial support (especially in the context of her work history) - according to the application she only need to declare that she has enough.
Will it strengthen the application if she put myself as a contributing to her financial support?
Will evidence of me influence the case worker to put a "no further stay" condition on the visa (which will mean we cant apply for the partner visa when the 572 ends)

Mate, thanks for your time, its been a stressful few months for us with all the flip flopping and uncertainty and .... fear of it going pear shaped.

Cheers

Matt


----------



## Tony117

*can a pensioner sponsor his wife?*

Hi Mark,

My dad who is a pensioner currently lives with my brother who is on job seekers allowance in a privately rented accommodation in Australia.
Can he sponsor my mom? They have been married for over 30 years but we are only worried about the financial side of the application. She can provoe that they have some rental income (1000 usd) where she lives now. Would that be ok? Just need to know before submitting because my sister and her husband who live in the UK are happy to set up a standing order to provide a monthly income for the parents if tgat's essential. Thanks in advance.


----------



## Bassim

Dear Mark, 
I need your help urgently.

I got a student visa 573( for two years) in January,2015 to study Master's degree in Australia.
I traveled to Australia in February 2015. I stayed there for two weeks only and I returned back to my home country due to family illness.

I refunded my tuition fees from the university and I refunded my OSHC fees.

Now,
I am planning to visit Australia to see my friends there in December 2015. Based on VEVO website, my student visa is still " in effect" .

Can I travel to Australia on my student visa or I have to apply for new visa, keep in mind that my student visa is still " in effect" based on VEVO.

Best Regards,
Bassim


----------



## galaxyvo

Dear Mark,

I would like to ask you about visa 402. Have you got clients applying for this visa? Is it difficult to get this visa and what requirements needed for sponsor and applicants? 

Thank you and best regards,

Hannah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Scott -

Assuming DIBP has your current information and you haven't missed any email from them (ie, junk folder, etc), then at this point I'd probably wait until they ask for the medicals.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Scotty P said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife has been waiting almost ten months for her 820, we have all the required evidence uploaded and are periodically uploading more each month as time goes on. The only thing we have not done to date is the medicals. I know the immi website has a lot of out dated info on it, however it states if you have already submitted an application then it is advised not to do the medicals until you have been asked to do so by your CO. Is this still the case and what do you recommend? We have already submitted the police clearance, we waited about six months to do that. Apart from the medicals we believe we have all the required evidence. I am aware the wait times are over twelve months now.
> 
> Thanks
> Scott


----------



## sam62

Dear Mark,

Currently i am in Queanbeyan ( Southern inland NSW) on 489 visa from last 1 month.
Till the date i am unable to find the job in this area. I already applied number of jobs as well approaches to recruitment agencies but not receive a single call for interview.

Please explain the process to get Release letter from the state so that i can find the work in other regional area.
Is there any time duration in which i have to stay here before applying for the releasing letter.?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## R2008

Dear Mark,
I have completed my 4 year degree in 3.5 year and applied for PR. I was granted bridging A visa, but not yet active as my student visa is not yet expired (expiring on 30 August 2015). I received an email from the uni, few weeks ago, saying that my COE (confirmation of enrollment) was cancelled as I finished my course earlier and asked me to contact DIBP, if I want to remain in Australia, but I didn't contact DIBP as I was finalizing my PR application.
Could you let me know what will happen if the immigration cancels my student visa?.
Please Help !!!

Thanks in Advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Flizbliz -

I'd see about registering your de facto relationship in the Australian state you live in (generally possible in all states except WA and SA) - if this is possible, it automatically satisfies the 12 month living together requirement. Other than that DIBP has been enforcing this other than exceptional circumstances (for instance, if there is a child of the relationship) however a very recent court case called SZOXP has struck down the 12 month living together requirement - if the case stands and is not overturned by the high court, DIBP may have a difficult time enforcing that regulation. So if DIBP abides by SZOXP, you may have a chance. I'd consider having a migration agent go over all of your relationship evidence and circumstances to get an informed, professional opinion on your chances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Flizbliz said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I was just wondering something about the de facto visa. My partner and I are moving in very shortly together, but we will only have lived together for a period of 4 months. Are we still eligible to have a slight chance to get approved if we prove that we have been in a strong relationship before hand?
> 
> Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Can't give you application-specific advice without seeing your documents, but I'd consider using the more accurate date on the visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ambition_vik said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Can I update employment end date in VISA form or should I keep it as per EOI and assessment result?
> There is difference of 5 days however no points claimed.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raghu -

No good way to predict state sponsorship trends - looks like it's open for WA now but is Schedule 2 which generally means you need a job there first. I'd keep an eye on www.anzscosearch.com - very handy!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



raghushekaran said:


> Hi,
> 
> any idea when will the HR advisor role open for state nominations? I have my assessments and ILTES score ready and waiting to apply
> 
> Thanks,
> Raghu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Scoworkersk -

Generally you do not need to provide the birth cert or passport again if you have already provided them, especially if the application is done online and you are uploading the completed form 1229 to the same application area as you have uploaded all of the other evidence. Once in a while for paper applications things are processed by different departments and they can request duplicates, however online, generally not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



socworkersk said:


> Hi Mark. We got an email today, from Berlin's Australian embassy, asking us (my husband and me as he sponsor) to send form 1229 and do the medical exam on February 2016. I have a question. In form 1229 we must attach the child's birth certificate, certified copy of passport. I have sent them already with the application, do I send them again??? The CO does not mention anything else. Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shermil -

Thanks for the question. For points for a skilled visa, DIBP generally only accepts work experience after you have been deemed "skilled" by the skills assessor - this is usually after you complete a qualifying degree. For some assessors that offer a RPL option which recognises prior work, it's after a certain number (6, etc) of years of experience. But in any case, the skills assessor generally deems you as "skilled" as of a certain date after you earn your qualification. If the skills assessor does not issue a deeming date, then the presumption is that you are considered skilled after you meet the minimum educational qualification for the occupation (see www.anzscosearch.com for more on the minimum edu requirements).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shermil said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I intent to apply for the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)
> 
> Scenario:
> My occupation is listed in general occupations, Construction project manager (ANZSCO 133111), and I intend to apply it with a BSc (completed about 2 yrs back and relevant to the nominating occupation) & MSc (completed recently & highly relevant to my nominating occupation). Further, assessing authority is VETASSESS they need only one year of post qualification experience. So, I hope VETASSESS will pass me to the nominated occupation with 2 yrs post qualified experience.
> 
> The question is:,
> does the immigration department of Australia only count the post qualified experience as the skilled employment experience ? , because I have more than 8 years of total experience in a highly relevant occupation but have about 2 yrs of post qualified experience . confused
> 
> Please be kind enough to answer, Regards!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Micktorres -

I expect things are progressing, but difficult to tell how fast or when you could expect an answer.

Best,

Mark



micktorres said:


> Hi Mark! How are you? I just wanted to ask about my daughter's application. I submitted her child visa 101 application to Australian Embassy in Philippines July last year, she had her health check request on March this year. Haven't heard from DIBP since then. Also, previously they emailed me and they said they asked for health check in August but I haven't received any. I've emailed them several times but haven't got any response to ask for any updates since MArch.Do you think it's still on process? Thanks very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fiftyeight -

If you lodge a 485 application while you still hold a student visa, including during the 28 days after you complete your coursework or at any time prior to the student visa being cancelled, etc, then you will get a BV-A.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark



fiftyeight said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> sorry if this is going to seem like I am repeating the question.
> I am trying to ask something quite specific.
> I have seen a thread where you responded:
> http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/18618-student-visa-573-graduating-early.html
> 
> You have mentioned that once a student finishes early, they have 28 days to lodge a new application. This is the same information I received from DIAC recently. My question is: if I lodge a 485 application during those 28 days, will I get a BVA or BVC?
> 
> I understand they may not cancel my student visa at all, but as far as I understand there is still a bridging visa given which stays "at the background."


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anup -

According to what you sent, only work after December 2012 can be counted for points, per the ACS report. That's the date you were deemed by ACS as being "skilled", so any work for points must have occurred after that date.

Re: work until now, if you are still at the same employer, same job, same position as a position that was already assessed by ACS, you can generally get a letter from your employer stating that you have continued in that role until xxx date, and that will satisfy DIBP. No need to have the same job/position/employer re-assessed by DIBP since you have continued in the same position/job/employer that was previously assessed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anup said:


> Dear Mark,
> I have a confusion over the experience in the ACS results.
> 
> Prior to my ACS result:
> 
> I had attended B.Tech( Electronics and Communication Engineering ) regular classes from 2003 to 2007 in INDIA. However I was only able to pass the it by December 2012. Meanwhile I was working from 3rd September 2007 until now as Computer system and Network Engineer. Concerning the valid experience, I am getting different suggestions on my ACS results from different Migration Agents here. Can you help me?
> 
> My ACS results is as follows:
> 
> Thank you for your ICT skills assessment which was received by the Australian Computer Society on 28 November 2014.
> Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> Your qualification has been assessed as follows:
> Your Bachelor of Technology in Electronics & Communication Engineering from University of Calicut completed December 2012 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in computing.
> The following employment after December 2012 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> Dates: 09/07 - 10/14 (7yrs 1mths)
> Position: Computer System and Network Engineer
> Employer: XXX Pvt. Ltd
> Country: INDIA
> Please note that the Department of Immigration and Border Protection reserves the right to undertake further investigation regarding your skilled employment experience.
> While the ACS is authorised to assess ICT skills assessments, the final decision in awarding points remains with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
> 
> The confusion is on the Experience
> What experience will i have in applying visa 2 years or 7 years of experience ?. I am attaching the ACS results with the mail.
> 
> I would also like to know whether i have to apply in ACS again for the additional experience that i have till now.( I had applied in November 28, 2014).
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Polly -

You might look into a student visa if you wanted to study in Australia - otherwise the WHV you're on is generally considered a good option. Other option would be transition into a sponsored employment position on a 457 visa. Re: 820/801 onshore partner visa - once you apply for this while onshore, assuming your current visa does not have condition 8503 (no further stay), you'll get a bridging visa that will activate when your current visa expires. Also, if you lodge an 820, you can apply for an extension to the 6-month limit per employer on your WHV so that you can stay with that employer until your WHV ends and the bridging visa from the onshore partner visa application activates. (Use DIBP Form 1445 for this once you've lodged the partner visa).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pollyrowan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been in Australia (from UK) for 5 months on the Working Holiday Visa and have been working at a job that I really enjoy for 3 months. I wish to stay in Australia with my long term Australian partner for around 18 months at the same job.
> 
> Do I have any options other than the 820 visa? I can't get sponsored by my company unfortunately.
> 
> Also, once I have applied for the 820 visa, I hear it takes 15 - 18 months to process. Does this mean I have to live in Australia until it is granted?
> 
> Thanks for all your help,
> 
> Polly


----------



## MarkNortham

HI KitKaat -

I'd write back to DIBP to make the request again - probably a mistake. Also make sure that if you're de facto, that the actual de facto part of the relationship has been in place for at least 2 years prior to the date of application. Other than that, you need to wait 3 months until 24 months from date of application and put through the additional info and docs to further the application for the sc100.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KitKaat said:


> Dear Mr Mark
> 
> I have a question regarding Visa Subclasses. Yesterday I received the grant for my partner after waiting for 21 months. In the grant letter it has been written we got subclass 309 Provisional. I did mention to the CO that we'd like Visa Subclass 100 instead of 309 because we are already fulfill the requirements of Visa 100, we've been in a relationship since 2008 and we have two kids. I dont know what the next step to take to fix that problem. I'd like advise from you.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahul -

These visas typically take 4-6 months to process - sometimes longer, sometimes shorter - DIBP is very unpredictable in this regard. Wish I had a better prediction for you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rahulofpl said:


> Hi
> My name is rahul
> I have applied for 489 visa for NT AUSTRALIA, I filed all the documents on dtd 8 July 2015 and paid fees on 27 th June 2015. Still I have not been assigned with CO. Please any one could tell me how much time it would take for same .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romero2005 -

That shows the "date of effect" - that's the last time you made a change to your EOI that resulted in a change in points claimed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



romero2005 said:


> I applied for 190NSW on 6th March 2015. But when i look in my Points breakdown sheet it says date of effect as 12/6/2015... why is that?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MTW -

Please see responses below at ***:



MTW said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for helping out and I think you provide an amazing service through this Thread.
> 
> My situation is my partner (Northern Irish) of about 2+ years were living together in Northern Ireland for about 6-7 months. I had to come home to Australia as I could not find a job. My partner intended to come over and we were advised the best way to do that quickly was to apply for a student visa 572 and if at the end of the course (12 months) we wanted to stay could apply for the partner (defacto) visa. Which is almost a certainty.
> 
> As we were preparing to apply for the 572 she got offered sponsorship from an Australian company. Since then she has had a nightmare experience, where she was going through the 457 application process when she lost her current job. No big deal at the time but the 457 application has taken 4 months and now she has been told may not go through or take 6 months +.
> 
> We are now back to option 1 - the 572. She has been accepted into a course (12 months) in a field relevant to her work history, and actually pretty excited about doing it.
> 
> My concerns are about questions in the application form and how the answers may influence the decision to provide her the visa and ensuring that there is not a "no further stay condition".
> 
> Also, in the application it asks about work history, where she has not worked since March.
> 
> My questions are:
> 
> 
> Does she need to fill in the Relative details with mine. I'm a partner (boyfriend) but not a relative. I find this confusing but want to be upfront as we want to apply for the partner visa at some point
> *** No, but if you are going to claim a de facto relationship existed at this time in a future application, you may want to claim de facto partnership on this application. If you do not declare your relationship on this application, it may be difficult to claim later that it existed at this time. Very tricky.
> 
> What is the likelihood, in your experience, that an assessment level one applicant will be asked for additional information, in particular, proof of financial support (especially in the context of her work history) - according to the application she only need to declare that she has enough.
> *** Somewhat unlikely for AL1 applications, but discretionary on the case officer's opinion of the case. 70% chance she won't be asked (very rough guess)
> 
> Will it strengthen the application if she put myself as a contributing to her financial support?
> *** Probably not.
> 
> Will evidence of me influence the case worker to put a "no further stay" condition on the visa (which will mean we cant apply for the partner visa when the 572 ends)
> *** Probably not - adding this condition is usually related to the risk profile of the applicant, duration of course, prior visa history, etc.
> 
> 
> Mate, thanks for your time, its been a stressful few months for us with all the flip flopping and uncertainty and .... fear of it going pear shaped.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Matt


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tony117 -

No problem generally with an Australian citizen pensioner sponsoring re: financial support. I don't know anything about the rest of the circumstances so hard to say if he is eligible otherwise.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tony117 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My dad who is a pensioner currently lives with my brother who is on job seekers allowance in a privately rented accommodation in Australia.
> Can he sponsor my mom? They have been married for over 30 years but we are only worried about the financial side of the application. She can provoe that they have some rental income (1000 usd) where she lives now. Would that be ok? Just need to know before submitting because my sister and her husband who live in the UK are happy to set up a standing order to provide a monthly income for the parents if tgat's essential. Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bassim -

Based on what you've said, you'd be better off at this point getting a visitor visa - once DIBP figures out you cancelled your enrolment, the student visa will be cancelled - could even happen when you attempt to clear immigration on the way back here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bassim said:


> Dear Mark,
> I need your help urgently.
> 
> I got a student visa 573( for two years) in January,2015 to study Master's degree in Australia.
> I traveled to Australia in February 2015. I stayed there for two weeks only and I returned back to my home country due to family illness.
> 
> I refunded my tuition fees from the university and I refunded my OSHC fees.
> 
> Now,
> I am planning to visit Australia to see my friends there in December 2015. Based on VEVO website, my student visa is still " in effect" .
> 
> Can I travel to Australia on my student visa or I have to apply for new visa, keep in mind that my student visa is still " in effect" based on VEVO.
> 
> Best Regards,
> Bassim


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hannah -

This visa is generally considered a bit more difficult than a 457 to get, mainly because it requires a very detailed training plan and on-the-job training. Requirements for sponsor and applicant too lengthy and detailed to go into here - best to see DIBP website for that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



galaxyvo said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I would like to ask you about visa 402. Have you got clients applying for this visa? Is it difficult to get this visa and what requirements needed for sponsor and applicants?
> 
> Thank you and best regards,
> 
> Hannah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sam62 -

It's different with each state, and there is a wide degree of discretion involved - I would put together lots of evidence of your unsuccessful job search and then contact the state skilled authority directly to make your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sam62 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Currently i am in Queanbeyan ( Southern inland NSW) on 489 visa from last 1 month.
> Till the date i am unable to find the job in this area. I already applied number of jobs as well approaches to recruitment agencies but not receive a single call for interview.
> 
> Please explain the process to get Release letter from the state so that i can find the work in other regional area.
> Is there any time duration in which i have to stay here before applying for the releasing letter.?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi R2008 -

Once DIBP figures out you completed your course early, they will generally look to see if you've lodged another visa application yet - if so, per policy they generally will not cancel the student visa. However if no other visa application has been lodged, you may get a letter indicating they are considering cancellation - that's a good time to get another visa lodged ASAP if you have not already done so. But in any case, far better to lodge the further visa application before DIBP makes noises about cancellation. Also, I would avoid leaving Australia during the period until you have your further visa application lodged, as it's much easier for DIBP to cancel a student visa if you are offshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



R2008 said:


> Dear Mark,
> I have completed my 4 year degree in 3.5 year and applied for PR. I was granted bridging A visa, but not yet active as my student visa is not yet expired (expiring on 30 August 2015). I received an email from the uni, few weeks ago, saying that my COE (confirmation of enrollment) was cancelled as I finished my course earlier and asked me to contact DIBP, if I want to remain in Australia, but I didn't contact DIBP as I was finalizing my PR application.
> Could you let me know what will happen if the immigration cancels my student visa?.
> Please Help !!!
> 
> Thanks in Advance


----------



## romero2005

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Romero2005 -
> 
> That shows the "date of effect" - that's the last time you made a change to your EOI that resulted in a change in points claimed.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


But I did not change anything.....after 6th of march


----------



## TrixDivergent

*457 granted*

Dear Mark,

I just wanna share the good news that my 457 visa just being granted 2 days ago. So it's only near 3 weeks since i lodged it. Couldn't be happier, and i certainly wouldn't make it without your precious advices. I'm so grateful for your assistance, Mark.

Success always for you.

Cheers,
Trix



TrixDivergent said:


> Superb!!!
> Cant thank you enough, Mark.
> 
> All the best for you too,
> 
> Trix


----------



## ollybolly

Good Morning, am new on this forum i want to migrate with my spouse, I am an Internal auditor , 6 years experience, i have a bachelor degree in accounting, no australian relative, i did ietls general on 13th july awaiting results, so how do i go about this,which visa will i apply for, thanks , i need a guide. how do i start?


----------



## anth777

Hi Mark,

Looking for some direction and advice. I'm a 33yo Australian(from Melbourne), who married earlier in the year to a Thai national, having been in a relationship together for five years.

My wife has previously lived in Australia on two consecutive student visas, we then lived in her home country for a period of 9 months and presently she is here on a three month tourist visa(conditional) until we decide on the best way forward. A little more info to help you understand the situation - I would be supporting her financially(existing funds are sufficient) our supporting evidence is very solid with accounts from both sides of the family and the course she plans to enroll in is a masters of marketing at RMIT.

We have all the required evidence collated for the partner visa application, but we are in two minds on how we should go about the process. 

Obviously, our first priority is to be apart from eachother as little as can be. So with that in mind, we're thinking of having her apply for a student visa(and hope its unconditional)while in Thailand early August, and then submitting the partner visa on shore to trigger the bridging visa.

I'm hoping to get your thoughts on whether the fact we are married may influence the student visa to come back as conditional, as our plans will then be in disarray. Furthermore, is there anything else that you can suggest I do to increase the probability of an unconditional student visa being provided?

Very grateful for any feedback or direction you can provide, at what is playing out to be a very stressful and confusing time in our lives! - Anthony


----------



## roop_k

Dear mark,

I would request you to advise the best way for below query:

My ACS letter says I worked for XYZ company for 5.1 years (as below) but it doesn't give the split of location. They have just mentioned the company's base location.
But for the same company I have worked in Australia for 1 year. 

I followed the ACS result and did not split experience based on location in EOI.
Should I continue doing the same the in VISA form as well or split the experience based on country.

Please note that I am not claiming points for this experience. I just wanted to make sure that I do the right thing so that VISA process will be smooth.

Dates:	10/07 - 11/12 (5yrs 1mths)
Position:	System Analyst
Employer:	XXX
Country:	INDIA


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romero2005 -

Hard to comment without seeing the document - did your age change which resulted in an automatic points change (ie, you moved into/out of one of the age/points bands)?

Best,

Mark



romero2005 said:


> But I did not change anything.....after 6th of march


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Trix -

Congratulations on your visa - great outcome!! Glad I could help.

Best,

Mark



TrixDivergent said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I just wanna share the good news that my 457 visa just being granted 2 days ago. So it's only near 3 weeks since i lodged it. Couldn't be happier, and i certainly wouldn't make it without your precious advices. I'm so grateful for your assistance, Mark.
> 
> Success always for you.
> 
> Cheers,
> Trix


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ollybolly -

Welcome to the forum! You might post your question on other threads if you're looking for general comments from others - this thread is designed for people to ask me questions. A good starting point would be to consider whether an employer sponsored visa (check out subclasses 457 (temp) and 186, 187 (perm)) is a good fit for you. If not, another type you may consider are skilled visas (subclasses 489 (provisional), 189 and 190 (perm)). I'd start with a look at the requirements for each of these visas on the DIBP site at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection - also for skilled visas, check out your occupation on www.anzscosearch.com for sponsoring states, and check out the VETASSESS site for skills assessment requirements for that occupation - a skills assessment is a requirement for any of the skilled visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ollybolly said:


> Good Morning, am new on this forum i want to migrate with my spouse, I am an Internal auditor , 6 years experience, i have a bachelor degree in accounting, no australian relative, i did ietls general on 13th july awaiting results, so how do i go about this,which visa will i apply for, thanks , i need a guide. how do i start?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anth777 -

Thanks for the note. The best way I've found to reduce the risk of a student visa refusal on genuine student grounds for married people is to include lots of evidence how the student (applicant) qualifies for the course, how it's compatible with their previous studies, how they meet the financial and English requirements, how it will benefit their career, etc. There is always a risk that the case officer will see the marriage and decide that's the "real reason" she's coming, but no way to completely avoid that other than to emphasise the student's eligibility and compatibility with the course. You could Google the "Genuine temporary entrant" requirements to learn more about the specifics of this assessment.

Beyond that, may be best to simply apply for the student visa, see what comes back, then take next steps accordingly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anth777 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Looking for some direction and advice. I'm a 33yo Australian(from Melbourne), who married earlier in the year to a Thai national, having been in a relationship together for five years.
> 
> My wife has previously lived in Australia on two consecutive student visas, we then lived in her home country for a period of 9 months and presently she is here on a three month tourist visa(conditional) until we decide on the best way forward. A little more info to help you understand the situation - I would be supporting her financially(existing funds are sufficient) our supporting evidence is very solid with accounts from both sides of the family and the course she plans to enroll in is a masters of marketing at RMIT.
> 
> We have all the required evidence collated for the partner visa application, but we are in two minds on how we should go about the process.
> 
> Obviously, our first priority is to be apart from eachother as little as can be. So with that in mind, we're thinking of having her apply for a student visa(and hope its unconditional)while in Thailand early August, and then submitting the partner visa on shore to trigger the bridging visa.
> 
> I'm hoping to get your thoughts on whether the fact we are married may influence the student visa to come back as conditional, as our plans will then be in disarray. Furthermore, is there anything else that you can suggest I do to increase the probability of an unconditional student visa being provided?
> 
> Very grateful for any feedback or direction you can provide, at what is playing out to be a very stressful and confusing time in our lives! - Anthony


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roop_k -

It's normal to split work by location, so I'd do that on the EOI and visa application. Since you're not claiming points for any of this, as long as you are accurate with what you put on the EOI and application, that's the main thing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roop_k said:


> Dear mark,
> 
> I would request you to advise the best way for below query:
> 
> My ACS letter says I worked for XYZ company for 5.1 years (as below) but it doesn't give the split of location. They have just mentioned the company's base location.
> But for the same company I have worked in Australia for 1 year.
> 
> I followed the ACS result and did not split experience based on location in EOI.
> Should I continue doing the same the in VISA form as well or split the experience based on country.
> 
> Please note that I am not claiming points for this experience. I just wanted to make sure that I do the right thing so that VISA process will be smooth.
> 
> Dates:	10/07 - 11/12 (5yrs 1mths)
> Position:	System Analyst
> Employer:	XXX
> Country:	INDIA


----------



## romero2005

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Romero2005 -
> 
> Hard to comment without seeing the document - did your age change which resulted in an automatic points change (ie, you moved into/out of one of the age/points bands)?
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


oh yes...It was 12th June. Thats the date the mention. But in the EOI date mention as 6/3/2015.









I also had another problem.I applied EOI just for my self. I dont have enough money at the moment to pay for my wife and daughter. but once i got the visa I hope to apply for them. do I need to mention regarding that in the EOI?


----------



## sam62

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sam62 -
> 
> It's different with each state, and there is a wide degree of discretion involved - I would put together lots of evidence of your unsuccessful job search and then contact the state skilled authority directly to make your case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi,

Thanks Mark for this information.

Which type of documents that i required to proof the unsuccessful job search. 
I have E mails from the employers but what other documents that i required.?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romero2005 -

No idea re: date of effect based on the info you provided, unless you somehow went into the SkillSelect system and changed something on 6 March 2015. The birthday wouldn't have changed anything unless you aged out of a particular age band, but you're in the middle of the 25-32 band, so that wouldn't be it.

Re: wife, child, far more expensive to sponsor wife on a partner visa later than include her in the visa application for your skilled visa - almost twice the price, actually.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



romero2005 said:


> oh yes...It was 12th June. Thats the date the mention. But in the EOI date mention as 6/3/2015.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I also had another problem.I applied EOI just for my self. I dont have enough money at the moment to pay for my wife and daughter. but once i got the visa I hope to apply for them. do I need to mention regarding that in the EOI?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sam62 -

There is no list of required docs for this sort of thing, but I'd keep a log of every communication attempt (successful and unsuccessful) including phone calls, etc with potential employers, every sent email, every received email, etc etc - lots and lots of details are better. Also every time you check a job board or site, put that in a listing somewhere.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sam62 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thanks Mark for this information.
> 
> Which type of documents that i required to proof the unsuccessful job search.
> I have E mails from the employers but what other documents that i required.?


----------



## roop_k

Thanks Mark.

EOI is freezed now therefore cannot update.

Can I split it directly in VISA form?

Even though I am not claiming points and mark this experience as 'Not Relevant', Will CO raise query that experience split not in assessment letter and EOI but in VISA form?

Thank you so much for reply.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Roop_k -
> 
> It's normal to split work by location, so I'd do that on the EOI and visa application. Since you're not claiming points for any of this, as long as you are accurate with what you put on the EOI and application, that's the main thing.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## oldchap

Hello Mark
Following a Skype conversation or two with yourself from the UK just before Christmas I have now spent most of my time in Perth with my Australian partner since March. We plan to apply for a partnership visa after 12 months in March 2016. At over 50 years old I'm on an evisitor 651 visa and left the country briefly after 90 days as per the visa conditions.
My visa expires early August.
I'm thinking of applying for a 600 visa onshore but am unsure as to the best wording for the reason for visa extension, one of the reasons is to remain with my de facto partner although I'm also doing "touristy" things with my partner and her family. 
If I state just that I wish to see more sights and places would I then be thought of by immigration as trying to pull the wool over their eyes when I later apply for a partnership visa and they check back on my records. If I state that I wish to spend more time with a partner and be honest it goes against the guidelines for that visa but it seems to be the only one I can apply for at this stage.
Are any particular reasons more likely to help with my 600 application? 

Another option to gain some time is to leave the country for a day (fly to Bali etc) returning for another 90 days just before my current e651 expires but I'm worried about being questioned about this as I return to Australia and would then having an expired visa affect applying for a 600 visa a few months after my return to Australia. 
Option 3! ; Would there be issues if I applied for another E651 visa while offshore (Bali etc), if the approval of this was delayed or even refused (it would be my second E651) would my current E651 still apply so that I could return to Australia using it since flight would be pre-booked. 
Thank you in advance.
AP


----------



## daler

First of all i would like to say thanks to everyone time for reading this ..
Im daler and i removed from australia last year in june 2014 because of i overstaying my visa.while i was in australia i met my wife and we were start dating after i removed she come to india and visit me in sept 2014 and we went to different different places for good holidays. We always want to marry but was afraid of this immigration things and i send her back we continue talking on phone everyday and texting eachother then we plan abt to marriage and she come back to india again this year in feb with her friend and we got married now we are going to launch partner visa 309 i just wondering how should i have to prepare not get refused im really worried ..anyone help please ..


----------



## Euroasianman

Hi Mark,

I hold 309 partner visa and in 2 months I will be eligible for permanent visa application.

2 months after I arrived in Australia, I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression and I was put on anti depressants which I used for 6 months. 
Other than this, I had to have a tonsillectomy operation which required me to stay in the hospital for 3 days. 

Now I am a little bit concerned about whether that operation and hospital stays would be an issue in the eyes of Immigration department although all my pathology results were clear after the operation and also I am no longer on anti depressants. 

A friend of mine said there is a health cost threshold within the first 5 years which is 21.000. He said if they think that you will cost them more than 21.000, they might reject you. I am not sure whether my hospital stays and GP visits (probably 8 times in total) would have cost that much. Do you think that threshold he is talking about is for only for 309-801 not for the second stage? 


Thank you for your time in advance!


----------



## ashly

Hello Mark, 
I'm Australian citizen. My husband applied for his 309/100 partner visa from Tel Aviv, Israel on 5th of June 2014 and we got the acknowledgement on 16th of June 2014 after that they didn't contacted us. I e-mailed them and the co told me that it'll take 9-10 months . After that time period I again e-mailed them to update me on my husband's visa and then the co told me that his application is still being accessed . And the global time is 12 months in 75% cases. Some cases do take longer. They will contact us as soon as possible regarding this application. 
Now it's been more than 13 months I Did e-mailed them twice but didn't heard back from them just an auto generated e-mail.
Can you please show us some light on how much more time they goanna take ?

Shall be grateful you.


Regards


----------



## R2008

MarkNortham said:


> Hi R2008 -
> 
> Once DIBP figures out you completed your course early, they will generally look to see if you've lodged another visa application yet - if so, per policy they generally will not cancel the student visa. However if no other visa application has been lodged, you may get a letter indicating they are considering cancellation - that's a good time to get another visa lodged ASAP if you have not already done so. But in any case, far better to lodge the further visa application before DIBP makes noises about cancellation. Also, I would avoid leaving Australia during the period until you have your further visa application lodged, as it's much easier for DIBP to cancel a student visa if you are offshore.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark. I really appreciate this..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roop_k -

Should be no problem splitting it in the visa application as you are not claiming points for it.

Best,

Mark



roop_k said:


> Thanks Mark.
> 
> EOI is freezed now therefore cannot update.
> 
> Can I split it directly in VISA form?
> 
> Even though I am not claiming points and mark this experience as 'Not Relevant', Will CO raise query that experience split not in assessment letter and EOI but in VISA form?
> 
> Thank you so much for reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Oldchap -

Thanks for the note and hope you have been enjoying time in Perth! Re: another 651 app, or a 600 app onshore, or re-entering for another 90 days, all of these fall into the area of discretion where a case officer will assess your time in Australia so far and determine if you have a legitimate purpose for remaining in Australia that is compatible with a visitor visa. Staying with your partner does not mean a visa refusal, however the policy and regulations are not clear on this point. On the one hand, they state that all visitor visa applicants must satisfy the genuine temporary entrant policy criteria. On the other, policy makes allowances for partners - I've pasted a large slab of policy on this below - hope it will be of some help:

Best,

Mark N.

_*Intention to make a further application in Australia*

If an applicant applies for a visitor visa but intends to make a further visa application in Australia (whether this intention is stated or not), this does not necessarily indicate that the applicant does not intend a genuine temporary stay and is not a reason in and of itself to refuse the visitor visa. If the Regulations allow an application to be made in Australia by an FA-600 visa holder in Australia, s65 delegates should not be seeking to block this pathway.

In addition, an intention to apply for a further visa in Australia does not necessarily indicate that the person will not leave Australia before the FA-600 visa ceases. The question to consider is not "will this person apply for a visa in Australia" but rather, "if this person does not apply for another visa in Australia, or if they apply and are refused, will they abide by the conditions of the visa and will they leave Australia". The answer to this will help to determine if the applicant intends a genuine temporary stay.

If there is a stated intention to apply in Australia for a visa (such as a Partner visa), s65 delegates should focus on assessing if the applicant intends a genuine temporary stay in relation to the FA-600 visa for which the person have applied - the focus is not on assessing any relationship:

The genuineness of a relationship will be assessed if and when a Partner application is made. Applying for a Partner visa in Australia is a legitimate visa pathway.

It is acceptable for a person to apply for an FA-600 visa in order to be with their partner to maintain an established relationship.

An applicant who discloses an intention to continue a relationship (or, enter into a relationship (as they have not met before)) should not be disadvantaged as a result of that disclosure.

*Taking a fair and reasonable approach*
Officers should take a fair and reasonable approach to the genuine temporary stay requirement, particularly if the applicant is in a continuing partner relationship with an Australian citizen or permanent resident and/or there are children involved - refer to In a partner relationship with an Australian citizen/resident.

The focus should be on the current intentions of the applicant. Consequently, the genuine temporary stay requirement can be satisfied, even if there is a possibility that the applicant might later attempt to make a further application in Australia, seek permanent residence and/or return to Australia.

If the period of stay requested raises concerns about an applicant's ability to meet the genuine temporary stay requirement, case officers should consider whether a shorter period of stay would enable them to be satisfied that the visa criteria are met.

*De facto residence*
In deciding whether a visitor visa applicant intends a genuine temporary stay, s65 delegates should consider whether the applicant is attempting to circumvent proper migration channels and use the visitor visa program to maintain ongoing residence in Australia.

Under 600.2 15, an applicant cannot stay in Australia on consecutive visitor visas or a visitor visa, Working Holiday or Work and Holiday visa for more than 12 months, except in exceptional circumstances - refer to If total stay will exceed 12 months.

The likelihood of an applicant using a visitor visa to, in effect, live in Australia rather than visit is also a relevant consideration in deciding whether to grant a multiple entry visa with a longer travel period. The focus, however, should be on the applicant's current intentions. The genuine temporary stay requirement can be satisfied provided the s65 delegate is satisfied even if there is a possibility that the applicant might later attempt to lodge a further application in Australia, seek permanent residence and/or return to Australia._



oldchap said:


> Hello Mark
> Following a Skype conversation or two with yourself from the UK just before Christmas I have now spent most of my time in Perth with my Australian partner since March. We plan to apply for a partnership visa after 12 months in March 2016. At over 50 years old I'm on an evisitor 651 visa and left the country briefly after 90 days as per the visa conditions.
> My visa expires early August.
> I'm thinking of applying for a 600 visa onshore but am unsure as to the best wording for the reason for visa extension, one of the reasons is to remain with my de facto partner although I'm also doing "touristy" things with my partner and her family.
> If I state just that I wish to see more sights and places would I then be thought of by immigration as trying to pull the wool over their eyes when I later apply for a partnership visa and they check back on my records. If I state that I wish to spend more time with a partner and be honest it goes against the guidelines for that visa but it seems to be the only one I can apply for at this stage.
> Are any particular reasons more likely to help with my 600 application?
> 
> Another option to gain some time is to leave the country for a day (fly to Bali etc) returning for another 90 days just before my current e651 expires but I'm worried about being questioned about this as I return to Australia and would then having an expired visa affect applying for a 600 visa a few months after my return to Australia.
> Option 3! ; Would there be issues if I applied for another E651 visa while offshore (Bali etc), if the approval of this was delayed or even refused (it would be my second E651) would my current E651 still apply so that I could return to Australia using it since flight would be pre-booked.
> Thank you in advance.
> AP


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daler -

Thanks for the question. You may want to post this on another thread to get input from others other than myself - in my view, you've got 2 issues to deal with. First the simple one - if you were removed and did not pay your own costs of removal (airfare, primarily), you would likely have a debt to the Commonwealth of Australia, which has to be paid off or a satisfactory payment plan be in place in order for you to get another Australian visa.

Secondarily, you'll have to deal with explaining your overstay in the best (but truthful) light possible to avoid any character issues on the partner visa - I'd focus on why you overstayed, and if you left voluntarily (and/or paid your own way to leave), emphasise that. Beyond that, it's up to the case officer to determine whether the circumstances of your departure are such that they would cause you to have character assessment issues for a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



daler said:


> First of all i would like to say thanks to everyone time for reading this ..
> Im daler and i removed from australia last year in june 2014 because of i overstaying my visa.while i was in australia i met my wife and we were start dating after i removed she come to india and visit me in sept 2014 and we went to different different places for good holidays. We always want to marry but was afraid of this immigration things and i send her back we continue talking on phone everyday and texting eachother then we plan abt to marriage and she come back to india again this year in feb with her friend and we got married now we are going to launch partner visa 309 i just wondering how should i have to prepare not get refused im really worried ..anyone help please ..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Euroasianman -

Thanks for the question. Difficult to predict health matters, however as they generally to not require a new health exam for the second stage visa application, and you don't seem to have any chronic conditions that would require care going forward, I don't see any issues from what you've said.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Euroasianman said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hold 309 partner visa and in 2 months I will be eligible for permanent visa application.
> 
> 2 months after I arrived in Australia, I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression and I was put on anti depressants which I used for 6 months.
> Other than this, I had to have a tonsillectomy operation which required me to stay in the hospital for 3 days.
> 
> Now I am a little bit concerned about whether that operation and hospital stays would be an issue in the eyes of Immigration department although all my pathology results were clear after the operation and also I am no longer on anti depressants.
> 
> A friend of mine said there is a health cost threshold within the first 5 years which is 21.000. He said if they think that you will cost them more than 21.000, they might reject you. I am not sure whether my hospital stays and GP visits (probably 8 times in total) would have cost that much. Do you think that threshold he is talking about is for only for 309-801 not for the second stage?
> 
> Thank you for your time in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashly -

Thanks for the note. Wish I could predict, but DIBP is very unpredictable - typically partner visas run 12-18 months to process - I find the estimated processing times provided by DIBP to be all but useless. You may want to check in with them every couple of months, but they essentially can take as long as they want to process a visa, and there's very little transparency or predictability possible.

Best,

Mark Northam



ashly said:


> Hello Mark,
> I'm Australian citizen. My husband applied for his 309/100 partner visa from Tel Aviv, Israel on 5th of June 2014 and we got the acknowledgement on 16th of June 2014 after that they didn't contacted us. I e-mailed them and the co told me that it'll take 9-10 months . After that time period I again e-mailed them to update me on my husband's visa and then the co told me that his application is still being accessed . And the global time is 12 months in 75% cases. Some cases do take longer. They will contact us as soon as possible regarding this application.
> Now it's been more than 13 months I Did e-mailed them twice but didn't heard back from them just an auto generated e-mail.
> Can you please show us some light on how much more time they goanna take ?
> 
> Shall be grateful you.
> 
> Regards


----------



## daler

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Daler -
> 
> Thanks for the question. You may want to post this on another thread to get input from others other than myself - in my view, you've got 2 issues to deal with. First the simple one - if you were removed and did not pay your own costs of removal (airfare, primarily), you would likely have a debt to the Commonwealth of Australia, which has to be paid off or a satisfactory payment plan be in place in order for you to get another Australian visa.
> 
> Secondarily, you'll have to deal with explaining your overstay in the best (but truthful) light possible to avoid any character issues on the partner visa - I'd focus on why you overstayed, and if you left voluntarily (and/or paid your own way to leave), emphasise that. Beyond that, it's up to the case officer to determine whether the circumstances of your departure are such that they would cause you to have character assessment issues for a partner visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks so much for your time for reading it yes i paid off all my debt there is no any debt left


----------



## flyingminer

*Tourist and Partner visa*

G'Day Mark
First of all thanks for talking the time to read this and hopefully you may give me an insight into what to do?

We want to get my Chinese partner a tourist visa (3 months) so that whilst she is in Australia we can apply for a Partner visa, which we think we can satisfy the requirements.

My question is... should she declare myself (Australian Citizen) as a partner on her Tourist application? Also what is the likelyhood of the "8503" condition being imposed on her tourist visa?

PS She has held a short term business visa previously whilst working in Australia and satisfied all the conditions. She can also show financial security and property ownership. However she will need to resign from her employment to conduct this trip.


----------



## roop_k

Thank you so much Mark for providing guidance and support towards successful VISA application.

My last designation at the time of leaving company1 was Senior consultant however during onsite (Aus) travelling my designation was junior consultant. My reference and work experience letter, ACS assessment letter also has only one designation as senior consultant.

Should I use same designation ( Senior Consultant) for both while splitting IND and AUS work exp.

Please note that there were no change in my roles and responsibilities.

Thank you much for your input.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Roop_k -
> 
> Should be no problem splitting it in the visa application as you are not claiming points for it.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## ashly

Hi Mark, 
Thank you so much for your quick reply. Really appreciate that. Hope to hear back soon from the immigration though.

Regards


----------



## mehul.dalki

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mehul.dalki -
> 
> You could, depending on whether the reference letters aligned well with the ANZSCO requirements for the new occupation. But you'd need a new skills assessment in any case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark for your cognizant advice


----------



## ashwinkuhikar

Hi Mark,
I applied for EOI (Subclass 190) for NSW on 21 April'15 with (55 points + 5 SS point) = 60 points. Till now i didn't receive invitation for SS from NSW. Its been 3 months (12 weeks) now. Is there any way to get any details about the status of EOI ?

Regards,
Ashwin


----------



## fil

Hi Mark....my wife just got her 309 partner visa last April, is her second stage visa will be 100 or 801?...where will it be assess for second stage visa?...onshore or offshore? Thanks..


----------



## Cloud

Hello,

I have a six months overstay in UK as a Student five years back, now i want to go for 190 for Australia resident visa. No deportation or No criminal trace. Could you please tell me is there any negative outcome if i apply. with best regards


----------



## oldchap

Thank you Mark for your swift reply on the previous page, the information you provided gave me the confidence to apply for the FA600 and it was finalised just a few hours later allowing me to stay if I wish until after I will be applying for a partnership visa next year. I'm very happy! Thanks again.


----------



## injeegirl

Hello Mark,


----------



## varundev

Hi Mark,

You are doing such a divine job. 

I am bit confused with my Application procedure. My application process has taken over 4 months time. I provided some requested documents on 9th june which was my last approach to the Department. Since these last approach I did not get any sign from the department regarding my application. I am waiting for VAC2 payment. I recently came to know that one of my friend who applied in June-2015 got grant.

I wander is there any problem with my application ? 

Should I call or E-mail to the department (My mind says I should not disturb them ) ?

Should I wait for more one months for positive outcome ?

Please help me to take decision. I am totally confused.

Thanks In advance
Varundev


----------



## Sonia Abdel

Dear Mark,

Currently, I am trying to pay my husband's application visa charges but my daily credit limit is below the application visa charges. Therefore, I was thinking to let my brother to pay it with his credit card. Doesn’t matter who pay the cost of application visa charges? Please note that I am sponsoring my husband.
We are living in France and the bank statements are in French. Do I need to translate the bank statements? The bank statements indicates purchases, money withdraws and rent payment,… . Which I think it’s very clear for non-French speakers.

Appreciate your advice on the above.

Sonia


----------



## jfm

Hi Mark, 
Hope this finds you well.
I applied for 189 visa from Pakistan in June 2104. I have been contacted by Team 13 on various occasions for more or less the same sort of information which I have provided them as quickly as possible. I have applied through a consultant who is very slow on contacting the department regarding follow-up of my case. Recently I wrote a letter to IGIS and this is the response I received.
Dear Sir

You recently made a complaint to the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security about a visa application. We are able to review the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s (ASIO’s) actions to provide assurance that they are legal and proper. There is no current case with ASIO in relation to your visa application. This could mean either:

•	no referral has yet been made by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP), OR
•	a referral has been made by DIBP but was not required, OR
•	a referral has been made by DIBP and has been completed.

Please contact DIBP for a status update and further information about this application.

I contacted DIBP and they told me that my case is undergoing routine checks which could take some time. Upon my request the representative from DIBP informed me that my case is near to completion now.

My question is that if my external checks are over which I presume from the response of IGIS, how much more do I have to wait for the final decision. My medicals and PCC are valid till 10th September, 2015.

Thanks,

jfm


----------



## Sece11

*options?*

Hello Mark, 
Having spent a number of months trying to decide if a move is the correct thing for our family, we have now commited to 'going for it'.

I think I have enough information from this site and many other sites, however, I would like some practical advice and confirmation on best visa.

I expect to get 65 points on skilled 189 application. I am approaching 45 age limit for points based, and have 27 years engineering career behind me.

My wife and two boys (19 and 20 and fully dependant on my wage) need to be included on my application.

Appreciate your advice.

Thanks,
Simon.


----------



## usmalik82

Dear mark, i am applying for 190 visa.. i have company experience letter, tax certificate issue by company, salary slips and bank statements in which salary is shown..is that enough??


----------



## Jennyxo

Hello Mark, hope all is well with you.

I lodged my application for 820 on the 20th july and after I submitted the application, I realised my given name and family name were swapped. of course my name is swapped on my BVA too. I have called the DIBP twice that they told me to send them email with all details and upload form1023. my current visa will expire tomorrow which means my BVA will be in effect on the day. I am very concerned about my situation that having my name is incorrect on my BVA. also I need to apply BVB next week to go back to my country for my wedding there...do you reckon my incorrect name on my BVA might be problem when i apply BVB and when I come back here at the airport?

Jenny....

http://www.australiaforum.com/visas...stake-online-application-help.html#post960202


----------



## hopeforoz

Hey Mark,

Good afternoon. I am in dire need of some advice and could not find anyone better than you for that. My query is below

I applied for South Australia state nomination(visa subclass 190) on 6th of July.. My occupation(224712) is on Supplementary list and needed 80 points for that. I had exactly 80 points.. The problem is that I would be turning 33 years on 1st of August and if I dont receive invite before that, then I would become in-eligible as I would loose 5 points for age and my Total points would fall to 75..

What do you think I should do here as I am utterly confused and worried now..Please advise


----------



## SK76

Hello Mark,

My case is rather a frustrating one.

I lodged my application as "Class VE, subclass 175 Skilled - Independent" on April 2009. After few weeks, a new priority system was introduced and my case went to priority 5, then I had to wait for a really long time.

However, in March 2014 I got contacted by the immigration department (Team8 & Team13) requesting for more information (forms 80, 1221, medical checks, police clearance, reference letters, etc.). I provided all the papers/information before end of March 2014, and then I had to wait, again.

I kept communicating with the immigration department in regular basis, the answer was always to wait for the external check to be completed.

In March 2015 the immigration department contacted me informing me that the medical results validity has been extended for 6 more months, and I had to wait.

In June, 2015, I got the request again from the immigration department (Team8) requesting for more information about my and my spouse, the secondary applicant including forms 80 and 1221 (update), and police clearance.. I provided all in two weeks.

At the beginning of July 2015 I got another request from the "Skilled Support" in requesting for some more information about the secondary applicant education and work experience. All was provided in 3 days.

I contacted the department today for checking the status of my application, and the rely was "You Have to Wait".

Really not sure what is going on or how many more months or years do I have to wait?

Any suggestions?

Regards and Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Flyingminer -

Thanks for the question. First, you want to always tell the truth on any visa application - the price for not doing so if it comes out later is simply too high. That being said, are you married? Do you have a legal de facto relationship? If yes to either of those, then she may want to declare you as a partner. Are you planning on claiming that you were de facto partners later, stretching back to the time of application for the visitor visa? If yes, same answer - may want to declare. Other than that, if you are boyfriend/girlfriend, that does not generally constitute being "partners" under immigration law, so you may not want to declare that. Re: 8503, very difficult to predict - much is in the case officer's discretion. Re: refusal on genuine temporary entrant grounds, often depends on whether DIBP concludes that the applicant has stronger ties to their home country (helps) than to Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



flyingminer said:


> G'Day Mark
> First of all thanks for talking the time to read this and hopefully you may give me an insight into what to do?
> 
> We want to get my Chinese partner a tourist visa (3 months) so that whilst she is in Australia we can apply for a Partner visa, which we think we can satisfy the requirements.
> 
> My question is... should she declare myself (Australian Citizen) as a partner on her Tourist application? Also what is the likelyhood of the "8503" condition being imposed on her tourist visa?
> 
> PS She has held a short term business visa previously whilst working in Australia and satisfied all the conditions. She can also show financial security and property ownership. However she will need to resign from her employment to conduct this trip.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roop_k -

Not able to advise without seeing all the documents - too many things to consider. Suggest you be as accurate as you can on the visa application - especially if you're not claiming the work for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roop_k said:


> Thank you so much Mark for providing guidance and support towards successful VISA application.
> 
> My last designation at the time of leaving company1 was Senior consultant however during onsite (Aus) travelling my designation was junior consultant. My reference and work experience letter, ACS assessment letter also has only one designation as senior consultant.
> 
> Should I use same designation ( Senior Consultant) for both while splitting IND and AUS work exp.
> 
> Please note that there were no change in my roles and responsibilities.
> 
> Thank you much for your input.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashwinkuhikar -

You can contact NSW Skilled to see if they can give you any advice re: chances of being sponsored, where you are in the pool, etc, but often they will simply tell you to wait and that your application is being considered in due course, etc. But doesn't hurt to ask (nicely).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashwinkuhikar said:


> Hi Mark,
> I applied for EOI (Subclass 190) for NSW on 21 April'15 with (55 points + 5 SS point) = 60 points. Till now i didn't receive invitation for SS from NSW. Its been 3 months (12 weeks) now. Is there any way to get any details about the status of EOI ?
> 
> Regards,
> Ashwin


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Fil -

The second stage will be the subclass 100 visa - sometimes these are assessed onshore, but not always.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fil said:


> Hi Mark....my wife just got her 309 partner visa last April, is her second stage visa will be 100 or 801?...where will it be assess for second stage visa?...onshore or offshore? Thanks..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cloud -

You'll have to answer "Yes" to the character question on the application re: have you ever overstayed a visa in any country. Would then include a letter with explanation of the circumstances and any relevant documentation from the UK. As the 190 is a PR visa, likely no major issue from the overstay as long as you answer all questions truthfully on the application forms, etc. for Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cloud said:


> Hello,
> 
> I have a six months overstay in UK as a Student five years back, now i want to go for 190 for Australia resident visa. No deportation or No criminal trace. Could you please tell me is there any negative outcome if i apply. with best regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Oldchap -

That's great news - good job! (or as they say here in Australia, GOOD ON YOU!) Glad I could help.

Best,

Mark



oldchap said:


> Thank you Mark for your swift reply on the previous page, the information you provided gave me the confidence to apply for the FA600 and it was finalised just a few hours later allowing me to stay if I wish until after I will be applying for a partnership visa next year. I'm very happy! Thanks again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dee and Jake -

Thanks for the question. A new 3 month visa may seem odd to DIBP but hopefully they would understand. I don't see any better option based on what you've said.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



injeegirl said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Wondering if you could offer your opinion on our situation. We are wanting to get a Partner Visa (I'm Australian and he's English). He is here on a Visitor Visa.
> 
> The visa he holds is an e600 with the Visa Grant Date as 14 May 2015 and the Stay Period as 12 Months form the date of each arrival. Visa Conditions: No Work.
> 
> I refer to the section called - Maintaining a Valid Visa and the following excerpt:
> Your visa allows you multiple entries to Australia until the 15 May 2016. You are allowed to stay for a period of 12 month(s) on each arrival.
> 
> His current work situation is that he goes offshore out of Australia and is away one month at a time or thereabouts.
> 
> So today I relayed this information to a migration agent, and he has said: Effectively each time he arrives back in Australia the visa extends a further 12 months on each arrival. Therefore making the date of expiry 15 May 2017. So, in this circumstance on the e600 tourist visa he won't be able to go onto the bridging visa until it expires.
> 
> We are thinking that if he was to purchase another visitor visa for 3 months would it cancel out the current visa he holds therefore allowing us to get away from him being restricted for 2 years of working whilst the Partner Visa is being processed??
> 
> Or is there anyway around this awkward situation we are in?
> 
> Thanking you in advance..
> 
> Dee and Jake


----------



## Shewa

Hi Mark, 

I work at my father's business for many years, I receive salary as cash-in-hand. So, I can't get any bank statements as visa evidence (190 visa). However, I can get a work experience letter on the company letterhead stating my duties, duration etc. and a salary slip. But, since I get cash-in-hand and I am not registered for superannuation, I can't get a salary slip stating deductions for superannuation etc. But I can mention salary, position etc on the salary slip. Will it be an issue If I submit it for the assessment authority (VETASESS) without the superannuation details stated on the salary slip ?, does the vetassess only needs it to determine my salary or will they look for superannuation details also ? (My country law is every employee should have an superannuation account and every employer and employee should contribute to it, but the law is not very tight here, they only look for those things when they receive any complaints from the employee, IDK if these things will relate to vetassess) Is it sufficient to provide the headed experience letter and the salary slip to provide evidence of work experience etc? will I get rejected by vetassess since it doesn't contain information of superannuation ?. Further, for my nominated occupation it requires that I need 1 yr experience and a degree which I already have. Please advice. 

RGDS
Shewa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Varundev -

I'd be patient - DIBP processing times are highly unpredictable, even for people who lodge the same type of visa application at the same time. As long as they can contact you (make sure you watch your spam/junk mail box very carefully!), probably best to wait and be patient.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



varundev said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> You are doing such a divine job.
> 
> I am bit confused with my Application procedure. My application process has taken over 4 months time. I provided some requested documents on 9th june which was my last approach to the Department. Since these last approach I did not get any sign from the department regarding my application. I am waiting for VAC2 payment. I recently came to know that one of my friend who applied in June-2015 got grant.
> 
> I wander is there any problem with my application ?
> 
> Should I call or E-mail to the department (My mind says I should not disturb them ) ?
> 
> Should I wait for more one months for positive outcome ?
> 
> Please help me to take decision. I am totally confused.
> 
> Thanks In advance
> Varundev


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonia -

Generally no problem having third parties (related or not) pay your DIBP fees - would not be any reason for that to reflect poorly on your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sonia Abdel said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Currently, I am trying to pay my husband's application visa charges but my daily credit limit is below the application visa charges. Therefore, I was thinking to let my brother to pay it with his credit card. Doesn't matter who pay the cost of application visa charges? Please note that I am sponsoring my husband.
> We are living in France and the bank statements are in French. Do I need to translate the bank statements? The bank statements indicates purchases, money withdraws and rent payment,&#8230; . Which I think it's very clear for non-French speakers.
> 
> Appreciate your advice on the above.
> 
> Sonia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jfm -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your delays and the "consultant" who is slow (is he/she registered? if so, you can complain to www.mara.gov.au - if not registered, that remedy is not available).

No good way to predict how much time is left - unfortunately DIBP seems to put no time limits on itself. If I had to guess, I'd say 1-2 months maybe, but that's only a guess.

Best,

Mark



jfm said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hope this finds you well.
> I applied for 189 visa from Pakistan in June 2104. I have been contacted by Team 13 on various occasions for more or less the same sort of information which I have provided them as quickly as possible. I have applied through a consultant who is very slow on contacting the department regarding follow-up of my case. Recently I wrote a letter to IGIS and this is the response I received.
> Dear Sir
> 
> You recently made a complaint to the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security about a visa application. We are able to review the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation's (ASIO's) actions to provide assurance that they are legal and proper. There is no current case with ASIO in relation to your visa application. This could mean either:
> 
> •	no referral has yet been made by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP), OR
> •	a referral has been made by DIBP but was not required, OR
> •	a referral has been made by DIBP and has been completed.
> 
> Please contact DIBP for a status update and further information about this application.
> 
> I contacted DIBP and they told me that my case is undergoing routine checks which could take some time. Upon my request the representative from DIBP informed me that my case is near to completion now.
> 
> My question is that if my external checks are over which I presume from the response of IGIS, how much more do I have to wait for the final decision. My medicals and PCC are valid till 10th September, 2015.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> jfm


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sece11 -

If you're asking re: 189 vs 190, I'd always choose the 189 since there is no mucking around with fickle state sponsorship departments. Beyond that, not possible for me to assess your eligibility for (or determine best) visas - there are simply too many variables to do so via back & forth emails or posts - happy to work through this at a consultation if you'd like - see my website below for details.

Best,

Mark



Sece11 said:


> Hello Mark,
> Having spent a number of months trying to decide if a move is the correct thing for our family, we have now commited to 'going for it'.
> 
> I think I have enough information from this site and many other sites, however, I would like some practical advice and confirmation on best visa.
> 
> I expect to get 65 points on skilled 189 application. I am approaching 45 age limit for points based, and have 27 years engineering career behind me.
> 
> My wife and two boys (19 and 20 and fully dependant on my wage) need to be included on my application.
> 
> Appreciate your advice.
> 
> Thanks,
> Simon.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmaik82 -

Can't tell without seeing the documents myself. That sounds sufficient to prove income, but there are many variables in these things - no simple/quick answers usually.

Best,

Mark



usmalik82 said:


> Dear mark, i am applying for 190 visa.. i have company experience letter, tax certificate issue by company, salary slips and bank statements in which salary is shown..is that enough??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jennyxo -

I would include a letter with your BVB application pointing out the error, perhaps include a copy of Form 1023, and specifically request that the BV-B be issued with the correct name on it. If that happens, I think the chances of any issues when returning are low. Since the visa itself is linked to the passport, normally you simply present your passport at Australian immigration when arriving, they see the visa, and that's it. If they issue the BV-B with the wrong name, I would specifically request that they re-issue it with the correct name assuming there is time to do so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jennyxo said:


> Hello Mark, hope all is well with you.
> 
> I lodged my application for 820 on the 20th july and after I submitted the application, I realised my given name and family name were swapped. of course my name is swapped on my BVA too. I have called the DIBP twice that they told me to send them email with all details and upload form1023. my current visa will expire tomorrow which means my BVA will be in effect on the day. I am very concerned about my situation that having my name is incorrect on my BVA. also I need to apply BVB next week to go back to my country for my wedding there...do you reckon my incorrect name on my BVA might be problem when i apply BVB and when I come back here at the airport?
> 
> Jenny....
> 
> http://www.australiaforum.com/visas...stake-online-application-help.html#post960202


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

I'd contact SA and ask them if they determine your age points as of the day you lodge the EOI, the day you apply for SA, they day they invite you to apply, or some other day - the answer to that question will determine your options. There's likely little you can do - they will have their rule, and you will have to do what you can to work around it. Wish there was more you could do, but that's how things look from here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Good afternoon. I am in dire need of some advice and could not find anyone better than you for that. My query is below
> 
> I applied for South Australia state nomination(visa subclass 190) on 6th of July.. My occupation(224712) is on Supplementary list and needed 80 points for that. I had exactly 80 points.. The problem is that I would be turning 33 years on 1st of August and if I dont receive invite before that, then I would become in-eligible as I would loose 5 points for age and my Total points would fall to 75..
> 
> What do you think I should do here as I am utterly confused and worried now..Please advise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SK76 -

I can see how you would be frustrated! The good news is that they are actively processing your case, which means a result should be months away at the longest. Beyond that, no good way to predict how long it may take. Hang in there - make sure you watch for their emails, and be as patient as you can.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SK76 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My case is rather a frustrating one.
> 
> I lodged my application as "Class VE, subclass 175 Skilled - Independent" on April 2009. After few weeks, a new priority system was introduced and my case went to priority 5, then I had to wait for a really long time.
> 
> However, in March 2014 I got contacted by the immigration department (Team8 & Team13) requesting for more information (forms 80, 1221, medical checks, police clearance, reference letters, etc.). I provided all the papers/information before end of March 2014, and then I had to wait, again.
> 
> I kept communicating with the immigration department in regular basis, the answer was always to wait for the external check to be completed.
> 
> In March 2015 the immigration department contacted me informing me that the medical results validity has been extended for 6 more months, and I had to wait.
> 
> In June, 2015, I got the request again from the immigration department (Team8) requesting for more information about my and my spouse, the secondary applicant including forms 80 and 1221 (update), and police clearance.. I provided all in two weeks.
> 
> At the beginning of July 2015 I got another request from the "Skilled Support" in requesting for some more information about the secondary applicant education and work experience. All was provided in 3 days.
> 
> I contacted the department today for checking the status of my application, and the rely was "You Have to Wait".
> 
> Really not sure what is going on or how many more months or years do I have to wait?
> 
> Any suggestions?
> 
> Regards and Thanks


----------



## hopeforoz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hopeforoz -
> 
> I'd contact SA and ask them if they determine your age points as of the day you lodge the EOI, the day you apply for SA, they day they invite you to apply, or some other day - the answer to that question will determine your options. There's likely little you can do - they will have their rule, and you will have to do what you can to work around it. Wish there was more you could do, but that's how things look from here.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for replying Mark, really appreciate that..Would look forward to your communication with them

Also, can I write to them apprising them of the situation and requesting them to expedite and process the application on or before 31st July ?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shewa -

Thanks for the question. VETASSESS is generally looking for proof of payment of your salary, and I expect they may not be too concerned about super. Same with DIBP when they ask for payment details to confirm paid employment for all work you are claiming points for on a skilled visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Shewa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I work at my father's business for many years, I receive salary as cash-in-hand. So, I can't get any bank statements as visa evidence (190 visa). However, I can get a work experience letter on the company letterhead stating my duties, duration etc. and a salary slip. But, since I get cash-in-hand and I am not registered for superannuation, I can't get a salary slip stating deductions for superannuation etc. But I can mention salary, position etc on the salary slip. Will it be an issue If I submit it for the assessment authority (VETASESS) without the superannuation details stated on the salary slip ?, does the vetassess only needs it to determine my salary or will they look for superannuation details also ? (My country law is every employee should have an superannuation account and every employer and employee should contribute to it, but the law is not very tight here, they only look for those things when they receive any complaints from the employee, IDK if these things will relate to vetassess) Is it sufficient to provide the headed experience letter and the salary slip to provide evidence of work experience etc? will I get rejected by vetassess since it doesn't contain information of superannuation ?. Further, for my nominated occupation it requires that I need 1 yr experience and a degree which I already have. Please advice.
> 
> RGDS
> Shewa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

You certainly can try that - many of these state sponsorship authorities are not inclined to expedite things upon request, but a nicely, politely worded request might just help - doesn't hurt to ask (nicely)!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Thanks for replying Mark, really appreciate that..Would look forward to your communication with them
> 
> Also, can I write to them apprising them of the situation and requesting them to expedite and process the application on or before 31st July ?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## aperson

*Education points on the EOI*

Hi Mark, I was planning to apply for a 189 or 190 visa. My education and skills assessment has just come in from the assessing body. They say that my 3 degrees are the equivalent of 3 australian bachelor degrees. In the points area it states 15 marks for "At least a bachelor degree from an Australian educational institution or other degree of a recognized standard". Is there any chance i can get more than 15 points by having my 3 qualifications count separately???


----------



## jfm

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your reply. No he is not registered as I had no idea while applying initially. Your forum has been very helpful in guiding me previously as well.

I understand that one can only guess about how much time it may take further, but from the response i received from IGIS can I infer that the my external security checks are over, as they are the most time consuming part for HR countries.

If they are over hopefully its not going to take much time as I have seen in the forum in various cases.

Thanks


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jfm -
> 
> Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your delays and the "consultant" who is slow (is he/she registered? if so, you can complain to www.mara.gov.au - if not registered, that remedy is not available).
> 
> No good way to predict how much time is left - unfortunately DIBP seems to put no time limits on itself. If I had to guess, I'd say 1-2 months maybe, but that's only a guess.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## JohnDD

Hola Mark,

I completed my degree in "BSc Quantity Surveying and Construction Management" 1.5 yrs back from a UK university. Further, recently completed a "MSc in Project Management" (UK University) (construction field of course), And I wish to apply for either 190 or 189 visa. So, I guess, I can apply as a "Quantity surveyor" OR "Construction Manager" as my nominated occupation. Suppose, I can provide work experience for both the occupations for 1.5 years each, for the "Construction Manager" position they ask minimum 1 year experience only. (Yes,I won't get any points though). I prefer the "Construction Manager" occupation, but I fear that VETASSESS would reject my skills assessment as a "Construction Manager" as my BSc degree title also contains "Quantity surveying" part. The BSc degree's subject content is 50% Quantity surveying subjects and 50% construction management subjects. Please advice me which one should I nominate to get a successful out come. will they just reject it because of the degree title ? Or will the assessing authority (AIQS for QS) consider more if I nominate "Quantity Surveyor" position ?

And, is there any limits such as "Quantity surveyors" will be granted more PRs than "Construction Managers" etc.. what is the current situation? if that depend on the demand of the occupations of the states, how can we obtain the current information. Please advice

Best
JohnDD


----------



## Nanz

*309 visa*

Hi Mark

Husbands 309 application lodged in Suva Feb 2015

I was just wondering if you have an idea of the current timeframe for Suva visa processing. My case officer and suva office keep saying 12 months minimum, however ive been told also that it is very busy and taking 12-15 months now. Have you heard of cases recently being shorter than this?

We are now at 5 months into the application and being apart for this long already is very emotionally and mentally challenging, having to wait another 7-10 months is heartbreaking. So thought i would post and see if you have any further information for me.

Kind regards
Anna


----------



## hopeforoz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hopeforoz -
> 
> You certainly can try that - many of these state sponsorship authorities are not inclined to expedite things upon request, but a nicely, politely worded request might just help - doesn't hurt to ask (nicely)!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark,

Would write to them. In the meanwhile, would also request you to please get in touch with SA and try and find out how they calculate points and which date do they consider for that..

Thanks for being a help


----------



## AAV

*genuine temporary entrant question*

Hi Mark,
My mother wants to apply for Higher Education Sector Visa subclass 143 and I am concerned about whether we will be able to proof that she is a genuine temporary entrant, for the following reasons: 
1.We is currently waiting for a contributory visa subclass 143 - application submitted June 2014
2.Family links in Australia - Her 2 closest family members are in Australia (my sister 17yo on student visa and I am an Australian citizen)
3.She was on Tourist visa subclass 600 for the last year (3 month stay multi-entry until July 2015). 
She was helping me with my wedding preparation and house renovations so she stayed in Australia for almost a full year, going overseas every 3 month and then returning back. So in the last year she spent more time in Australia than overseas. She complied with visa conditions - no work, no study over 3 month, left before the visa expired. 
Other than the above 3 reasons I think all other requirements are ticked: 
4.She is not employed at the moment; she lost her job due to redundancy. However financially she has enough funds to support herself. 
5.She has a property back in Kazakhstan, other family members live there too (her mother, partner, brothers), political/economic situation is fine etc
We could try and apply for a Student Guardian Visa, as my sister is a minor (17yo on student visa in Australia), however my mother wants to study and receive Master's Degree so subclass 580 doesn't really work for us. 
I just wondering from your experience, do you think there is a risk of visa being refused? 
Thank you in advance
Anna


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

You certainly can - chances of them honouring your request are hard to predict, but if you don't ask, you'll never know!

Best,

Mark



hopeforoz said:


> Thanks for replying Mark, really appreciate that..Would look forward to your communication with them
> 
> Also, can I write to them apprising them of the situation and requesting them to expedite and process the application on or before 31st July ?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi aperson -

Sorry, no. If you have the equivalent of 3 Australian bachelor degrees, you can only claim the 15 points (for a bachelor degree) once, and the degrees together do not "add up" to a higher degree than bachelor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aperson said:


> Hi Mark, I was planning to apply for a 189 or 190 visa. My education and skills assessment has just come in from the assessing body. They say that my 3 degrees are the equivalent of 3 australian bachelor degrees. In the points area it states 15 marks for "At least a bachelor degree from an Australian educational institution or other degree of a recognized standard". Is there any chance i can get more than 15 points by having my 3 qualifications count separately???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jfm -

Once external checks are over, control returns to DIBP for the case and with any luck there are only weeks left to go, but as always, DIBP very difficult to predict re: processing times.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jfm said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your reply. No he is not registered as I had no idea while applying initially. Your forum has been very helpful in guiding me previously as well.
> 
> I understand that one can only guess about how much time it may take further, but from the response i received from IGIS can I infer that the my external security checks are over, as they are the most time consuming part for HR countries.
> 
> If they are over hopefully its not going to take much time as I have seen in the forum in various cases.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JohnDD _

Best to consult the individual occupation info sheet at VETASSESS for each occupation to determine their specific assessment regime for each. Normally they look at the units you studied, vs the name of the degree, so that may have an impact. You can see more on each occuaption at Anzscosearch | Occupation eligibility Australia Skilled Visa - a great place to get links to various details for any occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JohnDD said:


> Hola Mark,
> 
> I completed my degree in "BSc Quantity Surveying and Construction Management" 1.5 yrs back from a UK university. Further, recently completed a "MSc in Project Management" (UK University) (construction field of course), And I wish to apply for either 190 or 189 visa. So, I guess, I can apply as a "Quantity surveyor" OR "Construction Manager" as my nominated occupation. Suppose, I can provide work experience for both the occupations for 1.5 years each, for the "Construction Manager" position they ask minimum 1 year experience only. (Yes,I won't get any points though). I prefer the "Construction Manager" occupation, but I fear that VETASSESS would reject my skills assessment as a "Construction Manager" as my BSc degree title also contains "Quantity surveying" part. The BSc degree's subject content is 50% Quantity surveying subjects and 50% construction management subjects. Please advice me which one should I nominate to get a successful out come. will they just reject it because of the degree title ? Or will the assessing authority (AIQS for QS) consider more if I nominate "Quantity Surveyor" position ?
> 
> And, is there any limits such as "Quantity surveyors" will be granted more PRs than "Construction Managers" etc.. what is the current situation? if that depend on the demand of the occupations of the states, how can we obtain the current information. Please advice
> 
> Best
> JohnDD


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nanz -

Typically 12-18 months for partner visa applications, but can vary widely from one office to the next. Bottom line: it's highly unpredictable - wish I had something more definite.

Best,

Mark



Nanz said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Husbands 309 application lodged in Suva Feb 2015
> 
> I was just wondering if you have an idea of the current timeframe for Suva visa processing. My case officer and suva office keep saying 12 months minimum, however ive been told also that it is very busy and taking 12-15 months now. Have you heard of cases recently being shorter than this?
> 
> We are now at 5 months into the application and being apart for this long already is very emotionally and mentally challenging, having to wait another 7-10 months is heartbreaking. So thought i would post and see if you have any further information for me.
> 
> Kind regards
> Anna


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

Sorry, confused by your email. If you want info about your case, go to the source! Don't be afraid to contact these folks as you are paying them for their professional assessment of your case.

Best,

Mark



hopeforoz said:


> Thanks Mark,
> 
> Would write to them. In the meanwhile, would also request you to please get in touch with SA and try and find out how they calculate points and which date do they consider for that..
> 
> Thanks for being a help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anna -

Thanks for the note. There is a risk of her visa being refused for genuine temporary entrant considerations - largely based on the reasons you identified - the lack of employment ties to her home country is a big one. I'd really look hard to find all the possible ties she has to her home country that would serve as a motivation for her to return there after her study in Australia - that's the key to maximising your chances of a positive visa decision in my view.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AAV said:


> Hi Mark,
> My mother wants to apply for Higher Education Sector Visa subclass 143 and I am concerned about whether we will be able to proof that she is a genuine temporary entrant, for the following reasons:
> 1.We is currently waiting for a contributory visa subclass 143 - application submitted June 2014
> 2.Family links in Australia - Her 2 closest family members are in Australia (my sister 17yo on student visa and I am an Australian citizen)
> 3.She was on Tourist visa subclass 600 for the last year (3 month stay multi-entry until July 2015).
> She was helping me with my wedding preparation and house renovations so she stayed in Australia for almost a full year, going overseas every 3 month and then returning back. So in the last year she spent more time in Australia than overseas. She complied with visa conditions - no work, no study over 3 month, left before the visa expired.
> Other than the above 3 reasons I think all other requirements are ticked:
> 4.She is not employed at the moment; she lost her job due to redundancy. However financially she has enough funds to support herself.
> 5.She has a property back in Kazakhstan, other family members live there too (her mother, partner, brothers), political/economic situation is fine etc
> We could try and apply for a Student Guardian Visa, as my sister is a minor (17yo on student visa in Australia), however my mother wants to study and receive Master's Degree so subclass 580 doesn't really work for us.
> I just wondering from your experience, do you think there is a risk of visa being refused?
> Thank you in advance
> Anna


----------



## hopeforoz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hopeforoz -
> 
> Sorry, confused by your email. If you want info about your case, go to the source! Don't be afraid to contact these folks as you are paying them for their professional assessment of your case.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hi Mark,
I did write to them without mentioning my application ID and wrote it as a general enquiry, and this is what they replied with

_"Your application must meet the 80 point requirement in your EOI at time of submission of your South Australian State nomination application and also at the time of nomination decision. If your application does not meet 80 points at time of nomination decision, your application would not meet the higher points requirement and would be refused. There is no exception or exemption to this requirement"_

I am already thinking of a situation where I would have to go for 489 instead of 190...

Suppose, I take 489 VISA and go to Australia, then would I be able to apply for 190 next year if my occupation opens up for 190..

DO they change visa's like that

Thanks for being a help


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, as far as DIBP goes, holding a 489 you could apply for a 190 if you meet the requirements, however the same state may not be willing to sponsor you twice - that's up to the state.

Best,

Mark



hopeforoz said:


> Hi Mark,
> I did write to them without mentioning my application ID and wrote it as a general enquiry, and this is what they replied with
> 
> _"Your application must meet the 80 point requirement in your EOI at time of submission of your South Australian State nomination application and also at the time of nomination decision. If your application does not meet 80 points at time of nomination decision, your application would not meet the higher points requirement and would be refused. There is no exception or exemption to this requirement"_
> 
> I am already thinking of a situation where I would have to go for 489 instead of 190...
> 
> Suppose, I take 489 VISA and go to Australia, then would I be able to apply for 190 next year if my occupation opens up for 190..
> 
> DO they change visa's like that
> 
> Thanks for being a help


----------



## mechguy

Hi Mark,

I applied my 189 visa on 25 March and got IMMI assessment commencement mail on 20 May.After 90 days I told my agent to enquire about the status of my application by calling but he told me to wait instead so Finally I myself called DIBP on 3 July and they told me that they do not need any further documents and there are some internal checks going on and they will get back to me soon
Then on 14 July I had physical verification as two Officials visited my organization to verify the authencity of my documents and also enquired about my roles and responsibilities.My employer informed me later that those officials seemed satisfied with the documents but I have not heard anything from DIBP since then
What should i do now..whether to wait for the outcome or call or mail DIBP 
Please I really need your advice on this

Thanks
Khehra


----------



## ashly

Hello Mark, 
Can u please help with whom should I contact to update me on my husband's visa application . As I did tried to contact the immigration department back in Brisbane and they told me that they're unable to access my husband's file as it was lodged overseas they told me to contact back where it was lodged. I did tried to contact my co but I got an auto generated e-mail which said not to contact the co unless asked to do so , n gives us 7 working days to answer back our e-mail but got nothing. As well as rang them on the number provided by our co but it goes straight away to the answering machine which asks to leave name, contact details and address and they'll contact back if it's an Emergency case. 
As an applicant can my husband go and visit the immigration department in his country to know about the progress and stuffs or we should wait for them to contact us ?
Your help will be appreciable. 

Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Khehra -

Thanks for the note - essentially nothing you can do but wait. They must have had some concerns about your employment history or they would not have sent representatives to the company, however if those concerns were resolved, then it's just a matter of waiting for the process to complete, however hard to tell how long that will be.

This highlights the challenges where current and former employers are approached by DIBP, often without warning, and whoever answers the phone is asked about a former employee. I can't tell you how many cases I've seen where some new employee answers the phone, has no idea who the person was, and decides to just say that instead of transferring the call to someone else - thousands of dollars and PIC 4020 allegations later, things sometimes get sorted out, and other times do not and end in painful refusals and lost money/time/effort. DIBP will send "natural justice" letters to anyone who is in this situation including the allegations of what they have been told, etc by the former employer, however sometimes when a former employer at first doesn't remember the employee, then later upon remininding them does remember the employee, DIBP is faced with two contradictory statements from the former employer about the applicant, and decides that the former employer is not being truthful with the second one, etc. A mess to say the least.

Good reasons to remain on good terms with former employers if you're thinking about migrating to Australia on a skilled or employer sponsored visa!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mechguy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied my 189 visa on 25 March and got IMMI assessment commencement mail on 20 May.After 90 days I told my agent to enquire about the status of my application by calling but he told me to wait instead so Finally I myself called DIBP on 3 July and they told me that they do not need any further documents and there are some internal checks going on and they will get back to me soon
> Then on 14 July I had physical verification as two Officials visited my organization to verify the authencity of my documents and also enquired about my roles and responsibilities.My employer informed me later that those officials seemed satisfied with the documents but I have not heard anything from DIBP since then
> What should i do now..whether to wait for the outcome or call or mail DIBP
> Please I really need your advice on this
> 
> Thanks
> Khehra


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashly -

As long as DIBP has current contact information for your husband, and you monitor that carefully (if email, check your junk/spam folder every day!), then usually the best thing to do is wait. Unfortunately DIBP provides absolutely no progress reports on visas or expected timeline, either online, by phone, by email or otherwise. This causes situations like yours where you're anxious to get some word on how things are going, and they push you away. Maybe instead of "People our Business", the DIBP motto ought to be "Don't call us, we'll call you (maybe)"!

In any case, usually best to wait for them to contact you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashly said:


> Hello Mark,
> Can u please help with whom should I contact to update me on my husband's visa application . As I did tried to contact the immigration department back in Brisbane and they told me that they're unable to access my husband's file as it was lodged overseas they told me to contact back where it was lodged. I did tried to contact my co but I got an auto generated e-mail which said not to contact the co unless asked to do so , n gives us 7 working days to answer back our e-mail but got nothing. As well as rang them on the number provided by our co but it goes straight away to the answering machine which asks to leave name, contact details and address and they'll contact back if it's an Emergency case.
> As an applicant can my husband go and visit the immigration department in his country to know about the progress and stuffs or we should wait for them to contact us ?
> Your help will be appreciable.
> 
> Regards


----------



## sugarboy

Hi Mark,

I'm currently on 887 visa (permanent residency). I intend to get married with my partner and lodge a 189 with her as a secondary applicant. Some questions:

1. Do you see any problems with taking this approach?
2. Is there anything legally stopping me from doing so? (I have read 1994 migration regulations and found nothing which would stop me from doing this)
3. Have you ever had applicants apply for a PR visa whilst still being on a PR?

The main reason for me taking this approach is that my partner intends to study in Australia and being a domestic student makes one eligible for discounted fee. I would have taken the partner visa approch but generally that takes longer time to process and we will need to wait for around 2 years or more before she can get enrolled as a domestic student.

Your advice will be highly appreciated.

Thanks


----------



## LilyRoma

*Partner visa 820 (onshore) - work rights*

Hi Mark,

Is it possible to be in Australia on a tourist visa ETA and apply onshore for a partner visa 820?

Would this give the applicant a Bridging Visa with full work rights once the tourist visa expires or no work rights at all?

In what situations would the tourist visa ETA come with a No Further Stay?

Thank you for your help.
Lily


----------



## SK76

Thanks a lot for your quick response Mark,

Then, I'll keep waiting, and hoping that things will be over in less than a year from now....



Regards

SK



MarkNortham said:


> Hi SK76 -
> 
> I can see how you would be frustrated! The good news is that they are actively processing your case, which means a result should be months away at the longest. Beyond that, no good way to predict how long it may take. Hang in there - make sure you watch for their emails, and be as patient as you can.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## mechguy

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Khehra -
> 
> Thanks for the note - essentially nothing you can do but wait. They must have had some concerns about your employment history or they would not have sent representatives to the company, however if those concerns were resolved, then it's just a matter of waiting for the process to complete, however hard to tell how long that will be.
> 
> This highlights the challenges where current and former employers are approached by DIBP, often without warning, and whoever answers the phone is asked about a former employee. I can't tell you how many cases I've seen where some new employee answers the phone, has no idea who the person was, and decides to just say that instead of transferring the call to someone else - thousands of dollars and PIC 4020 allegations later, things sometimes get sorted out, and other times do not and end in painful refusals and lost money/time/effort. DIBP will send "natural justice" letters to anyone who is in this situation including the allegations of what they have been told, etc by the former employer, however sometimes when a former employer at first doesn't remember the employee, then later upon remininding them does remember the employee, DIBP is faced with two contradictory statements from the former employer about the applicant, and decides that the former employer is not being truthful with the second one, etc. A mess to say the least.
> 
> Good reasons to remain on good terms with former employers if you're thinking about migrating to Australia on a skilled or employer sponsored visa!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks alot and I really appreciate your prompt response

I will wait for the outcome now..hoping it to be positive

Thanks
Khehra


----------



## JB88

Hi Mark!

The help you've offered to people throughout this thread is amazing - it's heartwarming to see during the exhausting visa process.

I have a question about evidence me and my partner are uploading for a 820 Partner Visa application. 

We have been happily downloading pdf bank statements and phone bills to highlight transfers to one another and calls etc. Then in one of those 'oh s^&#' moments, we realised that the addresses on the bills weren't updated to our joint address exactly in sync with when we moved in together. Some of the bills don't change address until a statement cycle or two after we moved, with one statement still not having been updated at all (now 5+ months - the bank's error). 

These things slip through the cracks when everything is received digitally these days with an essentially meaningless address at the top of a statement.

We have evidence showing that we moved in together on the specific date approx 6 months ago (signed lease, bond coming out of joint bank account a few days before, then fortnightly rental payments after) and we can of course get those 'proof of account' statements showing our current addresses for each account and everything. But now we're wondering if we even take the risk of uploading what may be seen as contradictory pieces of evidence? How do phone logs and bank transfers weigh up against incorrect addresses?!

Any advice appreciated....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sugarboy -

Nothing I know of that would prevent this - interesting situation! I haven't had a client try to do this, but don't see any reason why it would not work. Given the huge partner visa application fee, I'm almost surprised others don't do this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sugarboy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm currently on 887 visa (permanent residency). I intend to get married with my partner and lodge a 189 with her as a secondary applicant. Some questions:
> 
> 1. Do you see any problems with taking this approach?
> 2. Is there anything legally stopping me from doing so? (I have read 1994 migration regulations and found nothing which would stop me from doing this)
> 3. Have you ever had applicants apply for a PR visa whilst still being on a PR?
> 
> The main reason for me taking this approach is that my partner intends to study in Australia and being a domestic student makes one eligible for discounted fee. I would have taken the partner visa approch but generally that takes longer time to process and we will need to wait for around 2 years or more before she can get enrolled as a domestic student.
> 
> Your advice will be highly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lily -

This is a very common thing to do. ETA's are almost always issued without Condition 8503 (no further stay), which helps. Applicant will get a bridging visa upon lodging the online partner visa application; the bridging visa will activate at the end of their max stay period (usually 3 months on an ETA) - once the bridging visa activates, it's conditions apply - these usually include unlimited work and study rights if the bridging visa is from an onshore 820/801 partner visa application.

8503 condition on ETA would be caused by DIBP assessing a substantial risk that the person will overstay their visa, has hidden motivations in applying for the visa, etc. Again, rare on ETA's.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LilyRoma said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Is it possible to be in Australia on a tourist visa ETA and apply onshore for a partner visa 820?
> 
> Would this give the applicant a Bridging Visa with full work rights once the tourist visa expires or no work rights at all?
> 
> In what situations would the tourist visa ETA come with a No Further Stay?
> 
> Thank you for your help.
> Lily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JB88 -

The lease will be the most powerful evidence typically, so I don't see a problem if the bank statements lag behind for a few months - lots of people fail to update their online accounts with new addresses.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JB88 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> The help you've offered to people throughout this thread is amazing - it's heartwarming to see during the exhausting visa process.
> 
> I have a question about evidence me and my partner are uploading for a 820 Partner Visa application.
> 
> We have been happily downloading pdf bank statements and phone bills to highlight transfers to one another and calls etc. Then in one of those 'oh s^&#' moments, we realised that the addresses on the bills weren't updated to our joint address exactly in sync with when we moved in together. Some of the bills don't change address until a statement cycle or two after we moved, with one statement still not having been updated at all (now 5+ months - the bank's error).
> 
> These things slip through the cracks when everything is received digitally these days with an essentially meaningless address at the top of a statement.
> 
> We have evidence showing that we moved in together on the specific date approx 6 months ago (signed lease, bond coming out of joint bank account a few days before, then fortnightly rental payments after) and we can of course get those 'proof of account' statements showing our current addresses for each account and everything. But now we're wondering if we even take the risk of uploading what may be seen as contradictory pieces of evidence? How do phone logs and bank transfers weigh up against incorrect addresses?!
> 
> Any advice appreciated....


----------



## IanEffra

Hi Mark 

I have been granted a 461 as my wife is from NZ with us planning to move in September

I need to be in Oz on business in 2 weeks for 5 days from the UK and wondered that, considering my wife will not be with me, will I be ok to come into the country? 

Thanks


----------



## hveli

Hi Mark, 
Firstly i appreciate the work you are doing in the forum.Here is my case , 

Im currently on a 457 Visa with another 3.5 years of validity. Im planning to get married to my boyfriend who is a PR holder and lodge a onshore partner visa . We have been in a long distance relationship since 2 years with a travel every month (we do alternate travels to meet and enough proofs to support the relationship such as shared finances). After marriage i would like to mover to darwin (his place) and will not be able to work for my current employer anymore .It is very unlikely to find another sponsor in darwin. 

First of all if we get married and are not living together (due to work) am i still eligible to lodge onshore partner visa?
Secondly if i quit my job with the sponsorer and move to darwin, im assuming my company will inform the diac that i quit. Will my bridging visa that comes with the partner visa kickin in this case?


Thanks a ton in advance !


----------



## sukanta

MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
I am new to this community and planning to apply for my partner (subclass 309) who resides in Bangladesh. Could you be kind enough to advice me some of my queries?

*Would it be OK if I submit the application online on my wife's behalf from Sydney?
*My given Australian address in online application can be changed later if I need to change my address in future?
*Do I need any kind of documents to submit as an sponsor? (I am an Australian citizen)?

Appreciate if you could show some light on this. Thanks in advance.

Sukanta


----------



## GA87

Hi Mark,

Thank you for helping so many of us!

Question: 

I just wanted to know how long typically the waiting time is to hear a response from DIBP after submitting the compelling reasons for Schedule 3 Partner visa 820/801 (I was on bridging visa for 5-6 months). We submitted the compelling reasons in Jan 2015, so its been around 7 months. Its now been 2.5 years since we submitted the application overall.


The compelling reasons:

I have numerous compelling reasons but the notable one is that my country is in War, there actually are no planes back even if I tried to leave, all my family members have fled (or about to) already. Ridiculous how DFAT acknowledges my country as being in a state of war and are refusing to give Visa's to people there in fear of them becoming refugees (by legal means) yet DIBP pretends like its all dandy and needs proof that I can't go back even if I ever wanted to go back to increase my chances of death and live in a home made of rubble, I'm not being metaphorical, instead of working as a Scientist in wonderful Australia.

How I got into this situation: 

I was on a bridging visa for 2-4 months while waiting for the 485 Visa outcome. I applied for a PR partner visa and the case officer for the 485 Visa told me to withdraw my application because I was applying for the Partner Visa. He told me you can't have two Visa applications at the same time, what a joke. During all of this I was doing Honours and my father passed away too so I wasn't in the right head space to notice these blunders. Should have been more thorough. Never take an advice from the department of immigration to heart, always seek an Immigration lawyer. 

More examples of incorrect advice from Dept. Immi:

The case officer told me at first that I should have gone on a holiday to any country then applied for offshore PR. No country would give me a tourist visa for 12 months, a person coming from one of the poorest developing countries. More importantly, at the time of my application it was via paper not online so I would have had to go through the Australian embassy. Most embassies, including Australia's, don't accept Visa applications without proof of residence of the country you are applying in. So they would have rejected my application even if I did that!

Anyway, sorry for the long message! Thanks for the advice!


----------



## banffaussie

*De Facto from Canada with Child*

Hello Mark! Thanks in advance for your assistance and clarification 

I am an Australian citizen, currently living in Canada. My partner and I (common law/De facto for over 2 years) recently (a few weeks ago) had a child together. He is a Canadian citizen. We are currently obtaining our Daughter's Canadian passport, and immediately following that, her Australian PR/Citizenship. Our intentions our to move together to Australia with our daughter. My partner is completely free of any criminal record, but is 36 years of age, excluding him from any standard work visas, and his skill sets also exclude him from skilled worker visas.

What might possibly be our best course of action in accomplishing his Australian PR status? From what we have read in this thread, it seems as though the ETA to Bridge Visa via partner sponsorship (820 and 801) appears to be the cleanest course of action. If we can avoid applying from outside of Australia (and having to wait for approval), we are certainly ok with having 3 months (or longer) without him being able to work.

I am currently on a remaining work Visa in Canada, which runs out in a few months (I am 34 and cannot obtain another work visa). I am confident I will be able to remain in Canada on a visitor visa after the work visa expires, but that may only give me an additional 6 months in Canada.

Our main goals are to NOT be separated at any time, and thus, him being legal to reside in australia without the ability to work is ok, though having a status which allows him to work is preferable.

Specific Questions:
-Is there any benefit or specific application due to our daughters existence/Australian Citizenship status?
-Is ETA to PR via Spouse from within Australia the best course of action for us?
-Will the bridging visa allow him to work until a decision is made on his PR application, or is there a limit to how long that is valid?
-When might the 8503 condition be applied to ETA? This obviously concerns us, as, if we take the ETA to PR route, we will be putting all of our eggs in this basket, and that condition would effectively eliminate the viability of this plan.

Again, his ability to work in Australia is secondary to us not having to be separated, so we really are looking for the best path to achieving that.

Any suggestions, ideas or guidance is greatly appreciated, this process has us a bit confused, to say the least!


----------



## tomay

Hello Mark,

May I ask a bit on SkillSelect invitation rounds for Skilled Independent visa 189, how it works?

I saw on immigration website the invitation round for July is 6/7/15. Does this mean the immigration will only consider the application applied before 6th and give out the invitation letter to those only? 

Or they consider the applicants after 6th of July which is the whole month until they announced next invitation rounds on August?

Thank you very much for your time.

Regards


----------



## Samanthayang

Hi Mark
I applied the application to sponsor my husband in April offshore. our relationship has ended and i want to withdraw my sponsorship and one side divorce later. please let me know how.
Much appreciate


----------



## chocolate33

Hi mark,
My partner applied for de facto visa oct 2014. Just received email requesting him to provide police checks as his expired in may. The email states he had 14 days to respond. Is that 14 days to provide new checks as well as translations? Or 14 days to acknowledge the email and to explains how we are acting on it? Problem is we can get the checks ok, however, the translators are closed for all of august (like most of italy!).
Any advice much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Virginia


----------



## omniman

*Enquiry on AQF*

Dear Mark,

I would like to explain my case to you, hoping to acquire your highly professional and competent advice, regarding the circumstances I am in.

Recently I have been granted a positive skill assessment by ACS, through an RPL procedure, based on my more than 8 years experience as a self-employed IT company manager and owner.
Based on that I am found suitable for migration under 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.

Unfortunately my diploma is NON-IT related, therefore, ACS are uncapable of assessment and cannot relate my qualification to the AQF system.

I have a bachelor degree in Oriental studies with Arabic language, which based on my research in internet, corresponds to a degree in "Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies " or may be it is "Islamic Studies".

Could you please be so kind as to advise whether VETASSESS is the relevant organization for the assessment of my degree in order to relate it to the AQF system for the purpose of receiving points for the Points based VISA application process under the "QUALIFICATIONS" category or there is another recognized body that I need to refer to for the purposes of AQF homologation?

Thank you very much for your kind attention.


----------



## LilyRoma

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lily -
> 
> This is a very common thing to do. ETA's are almost always issued without Condition 8503 (no further stay), which helps. Applicant will get a bridging visa upon lodging the online partner visa application; the bridging visa will activate at the end of their max stay period (usually 3 months on an ETA) - once the bridging visa activates, it's conditions apply - these usually include unlimited work and study rights if the bridging visa is from an onshore 820/801 partner visa application.
> 
> 8503 condition on ETA would be caused by DIBP assessing a substantial risk that the person will overstay their visa, has hidden motivations in applying for the visa, etc. Again, rare on ETA's.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your reply and help with this.

Do you know what is the difference betweek eVisitor 651 & ETA 601 (for someone with a passport from Germany who can apply for both)?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IanEffra -

No problem unless the visa has a condition on it that you must not make first entry prior to the sponsor doing so - check for that - if that's not on your visa, then you're fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IanEffra said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have been granted a 461 as my wife is from NZ with us planning to move in September
> 
> I need to be in Oz on business in 2 weeks for 5 days from the UK and wondered that, considering my wife will not be with me, will I be ok to come into the country?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hveli -

Thanks for the note. You'll need to make the partner visa application while you still hold a valid 457 visa in order to avoid Schedule 3 issues. Once you leave your job, your employer will report that to DIBP, and DIBP will give you a chance to confim or deny that you've left your employer. You would then tell them that you've lodged a partner visa onshore. Normally DIBP will not cancel a 457 visa if the applicant has lodged a partner visa onshore, however that leaves you with a 457 visa for another 3.5 years until it's replaced by the partner visa when the partner visa is granted. But until the partner visa is granted, in that scenario, you would only be able to work for your current employer or another employer if that other employer picked up the sponsorship of your 457 visa.

If DIBP does cancel your 457 visa after you leave, that would also cancel your Bridging Visa A, and you'd have to go to DIBP and apply for a Bridging Visa E to remain in Australia until the partner visa decision. A BV-E does not come with work rights by default, but you can add them based on an approved claim of financial hardship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hveli said:


> Hi Mark,
> Firstly i appreciate the work you are doing in the forum.Here is my case ,
> 
> Im currently on a 457 Visa with another 3.5 years of validity. Im planning to get married to my boyfriend who is a PR holder and lodge a onshore partner visa . We have been in a long distance relationship since 2 years with a travel every month (we do alternate travels to meet and enough proofs to support the relationship such as shared finances). After marriage i would like to mover to darwin (his place) and will not be able to work for my current employer anymore .It is very unlikely to find another sponsor in darwin.
> 
> First of all if we get married and are not living together (due to work) am i still eligible to lodge onshore partner visa?
> Secondly if i quit my job with the sponsorer and move to darwin, im assuming my company will inform the diac that i quit. Will my bridging visa that comes with the partner visa kickin in this case?
> 
> Thanks a ton in advance !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukanta -

Thanks for the note. No problem with you lodging online on her behalf from Sydney, and you can always change your address (or hers) later via Form 929 after the visa is issued, or Form 1022 if the address change occurs while the visa application is still being processed.

Re: documents you'll need, best to check the Document Checklist on the DIBP website for the 309/100 partner visa - lots of documents there including relationship evidence, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sukanta said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am new to this community and planning to apply for my partner (subclass 309) who resides in Bangladesh. Could you be kind enough to advice me some of my queries?
> 
> *Would it be OK if I submit the application online on my wife's behalf from Sydney?
> *My given Australian address in online application can be changed later if I need to change my address in future?
> *Do I need any kind of documents to submit as an sponsor? (I am an Australian citizen)?
> 
> Appreciate if you could show some light on this. Thanks in advance.
> 
> Sukanta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi GA87 -

If DIBP is going to refuse after a Schedule 3 submission, usually happens in a few months. The longer it goes on, the better chance DIBP has accepted your waiver request and waived Schedule 3. Also, if you get a request for updated health & police, that is also a good sign that things have progressed past the Schedule 3 point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GA87 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for helping so many of us!
> 
> Question:
> 
> I just wanted to know how long typically the waiting time is to hear a response from DIBP after submitting the compelling reasons for Schedule 3 Partner visa 820/801 (I was on bridging visa for 5-6 months). We submitted the compelling reasons in Jan 2015, so its been around 7 months. Its now been 2.5 years since we submitted the application overall.
> 
> The compelling reasons:
> 
> I have numerous compelling reasons but the notable one is that my country is in War, there actually are no planes back even if I tried to leave, all my family members have fled (or about to) already. Ridiculous how DFAT acknowledges my country as being in a state of war and are refusing to give Visa's to people there in fear of them becoming refugees (by legal means) yet DIBP pretends like its all dandy and needs proof that I can't go back even if I ever wanted to go back to increase my chances of death and live in a home made of rubble, I'm not being metaphorical, instead of working as a Scientist in wonderful Australia.
> 
> How I got into this situation:
> 
> I was on a bridging visa for 2-4 months while waiting for the 485 Visa outcome. I applied for a PR partner visa and the case officer for the 485 Visa told me to withdraw my application because I was applying for the Partner Visa. He told me you can't have two Visa applications at the same time, what a joke. During all of this I was doing Honours and my father passed away too so I wasn't in the right head space to notice these blunders. Should have been more thorough. Never take an advice from the department of immigration to heart, always seek an Immigration lawyer.
> 
> More examples of incorrect advice from Dept. Immi:
> 
> The case officer told me at first that I should have gone on a holiday to any country then applied for offshore PR. No country would give me a tourist visa for 12 months, a person coming from one of the poorest developing countries. More importantly, at the time of my application it was via paper not online so I would have had to go through the Australian embassy. Most embassies, including Australia's, don't accept Visa applications without proof of residence of the country you are applying in. So they would have rejected my application even if I did that!
> 
> Anyway, sorry for the long message! Thanks for the advice!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Banffaussie -

Thanks for the note. As someone who grew up in Maine (USA) near Canada, I'm probably one of the few Aussies who know where Banff is 

The ETA -> onshore 820/801 application is likely the best pathway to accomplish what you want. The good news is that ETA visas rarely get condition 8503, so first step is probably to apply for and get the ETA, confirm no 8503 condition, then make your plans accordingly. The visa is generally issued for 1 year with a maximum 3 month stay period. Assuming this, once you arrive and lodge your partner visa, you'll get a bridging visa A which will activate as soon as he overstays the 3 month stay period. Once the BV-A activates, his work rights begin (but not before). He can stay in Australia on that visa until a decision on the partner visa.

No particular significance to having the child or Canadian citizenship, etc other than as Canada is considered a low-risk country by DIBP, your partner visa may process more quickly, and there's a very low chance of 8503 being applied to the ETA.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



banffaussie said:


> Hello Mark! Thanks in advance for your assistance and clarification
> 
> I am an Australian citizen, currently living in Canada. My partner and I (common law/De facto for over 2 years) recently (a few weeks ago) had a child together. He is a Canadian citizen. We are currently obtaining our Daughter's Canadian passport, and immediately following that, her Australian PR/Citizenship. Our intentions our to move together to Australia with our daughter. My partner is completely free of any criminal record, but is 36 years of age, excluding him from any standard work visas, and his skill sets also exclude him from skilled worker visas.
> 
> What might possibly be our best course of action in accomplishing his Australian PR status? From what we have read in this thread, it seems as though the ETA to Bridge Visa via partner sponsorship (820 and 801) appears to be the cleanest course of action. If we can avoid applying from outside of Australia (and having to wait for approval), we are certainly ok with having 3 months (or longer) without him being able to work.
> 
> I am currently on a remaining work Visa in Canada, which runs out in a few months (I am 34 and cannot obtain another work visa). I am confident I will be able to remain in Canada on a visitor visa after the work visa expires, but that may only give me an additional 6 months in Canada.
> 
> Our main goals are to NOT be separated at any time, and thus, him being legal to reside in australia without the ability to work is ok, though having a status which allows him to work is preferable.
> 
> Specific Questions:
> -Is there any benefit or specific application due to our daughters existence/Australian Citizenship status?
> -Is ETA to PR via Spouse from within Australia the best course of action for us?
> -Will the bridging visa allow him to work until a decision is made on his PR application, or is there a limit to how long that is valid?
> -When might the 8503 condition be applied to ETA? This obviously concerns us, as, if we take the ETA to PR route, we will be putting all of our eggs in this basket, and that condition would effectively eliminate the viability of this plan.
> 
> Again, his ability to work in Australia is secondary to us not having to be separated, so we really are looking for the best path to achieving that.
> 
> Any suggestions, ideas or guidance is greatly appreciated, this process has us a bit confused, to say the least!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tomay -

Thanks for the question. For each SkillSelect invitation round, they choose from eligible EOI's that have been lodged up to the invitation round date. Very early on the invitation round date, they choose and issue invitations. No more invitations are generally issued (for the 189 visas) until the next invitation round date. For 190 state sponsored visas, invitations are issued as soon as the sponsoring state approves the sponsorship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomay said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> May I ask a bit on SkillSelect invitation rounds for Skilled Independent visa 189, how it works?
> 
> I saw on immigration website the invitation round for July is 6/7/15. Does this mean the immigration will only consider the application applied before 6th and give out the invitation letter to those only?
> 
> Or they consider the applicants after 6th of July which is the whole month until they announced next invitation rounds on August?
> 
> Thank you very much for your time.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samanthayang -

Sorry to hear that your relationship has broken down. If the relationship has broken down, you as a sponsor have an obligation to DIBP (immigration dept) to notify DIBP of this. You should contact them by phone on 131 881 if in Australia, or refer to the correspondence you have received from them related to the application in the past to determine which of the partner visa processing units is currently processing your application. If you are offshore, I would suggest contacting the nearest Australian DIBP office - see border.gov.au for contact info for various DIBP offices worldwide.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Samanthayang said:


> Hi Mark
> I applied the application to sponsor my husband in April offshore. our relationship has ended and i want to withdraw my sponsorship and one side divorce later. please let me know how.
> Much appreciate


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginia -

Generally that means 14 days to provide the documents - I would check out Migration Translators at Professional Translation Services in Australia by The Migration Translators as they can provide NAATI translations in a couple of days, very affordable rates, and they can work 100% by email.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> Hi mark,
> My partner applied for de facto visa oct 2014. Just received email requesting him to provide police checks as his expired in may. The email states he had 14 days to respond. Is that 14 days to provide new checks as well as translations? Or 14 days to acknowledge the email and to explains how we are acting on it? Problem is we can get the checks ok, however, the translators are closed for all of august (like most of italy!).
> Any advice much appreciated.
> Kind regards,
> Virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Omniman -

Correct - VETASSESS is the nominated org for assessing your qualification as your skills assessor is unable to. Here's a link with all the info: Points Test Advice (Skills Assessment for Migration) - VETASSESS

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



omniman said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I would like to explain my case to you, hoping to acquire your highly professional and competent advice, regarding the circumstances I am in.
> 
> Recently I have been granted a positive skill assessment by ACS, through an RPL procedure, based on my more than 8 years experience as a self-employed IT company manager and owner.
> Based on that I am found suitable for migration under 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Unfortunately my diploma is NON-IT related, therefore, ACS are uncapable of assessment and cannot relate my qualification to the AQF system.
> 
> I have a bachelor degree in Oriental studies with Arabic language, which based on my research in internet, corresponds to a degree in "Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies " or may be it is "Islamic Studies".
> 
> Could you please be so kind as to advise whether VETASSESS is the relevant organization for the assessment of my degree in order to relate it to the AQF system for the purpose of receiving points for the Points based VISA application process under the "QUALIFICATIONS" category or there is another recognized body that I need to refer to for the purposes of AQF homologation?
> 
> Thank you very much for your kind attention.


----------



## hopeforoz

Hi Mark, hope you are doing great!!

I am a little confused on the number of relevant work experience that I should claim.. When I read my Vetassess report, I am not able to make out what I should consider as there seems to be 2 conflicting versions on the report.. I am copy and pasting the 2 pages of the report.. Can you please, take some time to read this and help me ascertain, how much work experience should I mention as relevant in the EOI

_*Page 1 of the Report*

*Skilled Employment*

The following claims of skilled employment made by the applicant are assessed as employment of at least 40 hours per fortnight which is at an appropriate skill level and closely related to the nominated occupation of organization and Methods Analyst ( ANZSCO Code : 224712 )

1.	From 01/2005 to 09/2008, Lead Project Quality, ABC Company Pvt Ltd
2.	From 09/2008 to 10/2009, Manager Project Quality, XYZ Company Pvt Ltd
3.	From 05/2011 to 05/2012 , Manager, Support , PQR Company Pvt Ltd
4.	From 05/2012 to 10/2013, Management Consultant, EFG Company Pvt Ltd

This opinion is made based on the following items of evidence and does not constitute an opinion as to the veracity of the claims made:

Statement of Service (Work Reference) : Position/s: 1,2,3,4
Contract	:	Position/s: 1,2,3,4
Taxation Records of Assessment	: Position/s: 1,2,3,4
Statutory Declaration	: Position/s: 2, 4

This advice is the opinion of VETASSESS and does not guarantee the awarding of any points under the skilled migration points test. Determination of points under the skilled migration points test remains at the discretion of delegated immigration officers.

*Page 2 of the Report*

Employment Assessed : 
•	From 09/2008 to 10/2009, Manager Project Quality, XYZ Company Pvt Ltd
•	From 05/2011 to 05/2012 , Manager, Support , PQR Company Pvt Ltd
•	From 05/2012 to 10/2013, Management Consultant, EFG Company Pvt Ltd

Duration of Employment: Based on the evidence provided, atleast 3 year/s of employment is assessed as highly relevant to the nominated occupation and completed at an appropriate skill level in the five years before the date of applying for the skills assessment. The employment described above meets the minimum requirement for the occupation.

Skills Assessment Outcome: *Positive*
Based on the evidence provided, the qualification/s and employment described above meet the requirements of your nominated occupation and are assessed as suitable for migration purposes_
........................................................................................................

Question 1 : what all organizations and year of experience can I claim overall without getting into a problem of over claiming points

Question 2 : For the first organization work experience ie, 
_From 01/2005 to 09/2008, Lead Project Quality, ABC Company Pvt Ltd_

I got promoted twice, but only my last designation is mentioned, but the tenure mentioned is overall for that organization. Maybe, my agent mentioned my last designation only in the Vetassess form and in the tenure he mentioned the overall period for that organization..

If I go as per that, then do you think, I may be in trouble later on, as I would have to submit my appointment letter for that company at the visa application stage and it may trigger a confusion in the mind of CO, if there are different designations in the appointment letter and in the Vetassess report(as on Vetassess, only my final designation is mentioned)

OR do you think, that I am thinking too much unnecessarily and it would not be a problem as the CO would consider the work experience exactly as mentioned in the Vetassess report.

Please advise and thanks for being patient for reading such a long post..
My length of post would give you an idea of my confusion

Thanks so much for being a help always!!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LilyRoma -

They are two different visitor visas, but very similar terms. ETA's seem to be granted a bit quicker in my experience. No significant different that I know of between the two - usually a person can only apply for one or the other, other than a few countries that can apply for either.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LilyRoma said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your reply and help with this.
> 
> Do you know what is the difference betweek eVisitor 651 and ETA 601 (for someone with a passport from Germany who can apply for both)?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

Suggest you get a professional opinion on the actual document, vs anonymous cut & paste to forums - the cost in a refused visa application (via claiming work that does not qualify) is simply too high to leave this sort of thing to quickie posts. I would need to see the actual entire document from VETASSESS to review and give you specific advice.

Best,

Mark



hopeforoz said:


> Hi Mark, hope you are doing great!!
> 
> I am a little confused on the number of relevant work experience that I should claim.. When I read my Vetassess report, I am not able to make out what I should consider as there seems to be 2 conflicting versions on the report.. I am copy and pasting the 2 pages of the report.. Can you please, take some time to read this and help me ascertain, how much work experience should I mention as relevant in the EOI
> 
> _*Page 1 of the Report*
> 
> *Skilled Employment*
> 
> The following claims of skilled employment made by the applicant are assessed as employment of at least 40 hours per fortnight which is at an appropriate skill level and closely related to the nominated occupation of organization and Methods Analyst ( ANZSCO Code : 224712 )
> 
> 1.	From 01/2005 to 09/2008, Lead Project Quality, ABC Company Pvt Ltd
> 2.	From 09/2008 to 10/2009, Manager Project Quality, XYZ Company Pvt Ltd
> 3.	From 05/2011 to 05/2012 , Manager, Support , PQR Company Pvt Ltd
> 4.	From 05/2012 to 10/2013, Management Consultant, EFG Company Pvt Ltd
> 
> This opinion is made based on the following items of evidence and does not constitute an opinion as to the veracity of the claims made:
> 
> Statement of Service (Work Reference) : Position/s: 1,2,3,4
> Contract	:	Position/s: 1,2,3,4
> Taxation Records of Assessment	: Position/s: 1,2,3,4
> Statutory Declaration	: Position/s: 2, 4
> 
> This advice is the opinion of VETASSESS and does not guarantee the awarding of any points under the skilled migration points test. Determination of points under the skilled migration points test remains at the discretion of delegated immigration officers.
> 
> *Page 2 of the Report*
> 
> Employment Assessed :
> •	From 09/2008 to 10/2009, Manager Project Quality, XYZ Company Pvt Ltd
> •	From 05/2011 to 05/2012 , Manager, Support , PQR Company Pvt Ltd
> •	From 05/2012 to 10/2013, Management Consultant, EFG Company Pvt Ltd
> 
> Duration of Employment: Based on the evidence provided, atleast 3 year/s of employment is assessed as highly relevant to the nominated occupation and completed at an appropriate skill level in the five years before the date of applying for the skills assessment. The employment described above meets the minimum requirement for the occupation.
> 
> Skills Assessment Outcome: *Positive*
> Based on the evidence provided, the qualification/s and employment described above meet the requirements of your nominated occupation and are assessed as suitable for migration purposes_
> ........................................................................................................
> 
> Question 1 : what all organizations and year of experience can I claim overall without getting into a problem of over claiming points
> 
> Question 2 : For the first organization work experience ie,
> _From 01/2005 to 09/2008, Lead Project Quality, ABC Company Pvt Ltd_
> 
> I got promoted twice, but only my last designation is mentioned, but the tenure mentioned is overall for that organization. Maybe, my agent mentioned my last designation only in the Vetassess form and in the tenure he mentioned the overall period for that organization..
> 
> If I go as per that, then do you think, I may be in trouble later on, as I would have to submit my appointment letter for that company at the visa application stage and it may trigger a confusion in the mind of CO, if there are different designations in the appointment letter and in the Vetassess report(as on Vetassess, only my final designation is mentioned)
> 
> OR do you think, that I am thinking too much unnecessarily and it would not be a problem as the CO would consider the work experience exactly as mentioned in the Vetassess report.
> 
> Please advise and thanks for being patient for reading such a long post..
> My length of post would give you an idea of my confusion
> 
> Thanks so much for being a help always!!!!!


----------



## hopeforoz

Thanks Mark!!


----------



## pduncan001

Hi Mark

Just a quick question, we applied for Partner Visa just over 12 months ago, online, currently living in PNG. I am Australian Citizen and sponsoring my Filipina partner. Is it usual not to hear a single thing? No queries, no case worker assigned, status online hasn't changed etc?? 

Cheers 
Peter


----------



## LilyRoma

MarkNortham said:


> Hi LilyRoma -
> 
> They are two different visitor visas, but very similar terms. ETA's seem to be granted a bit quicker in my experience. No significant different that I know of between the two - usually a person can only apply for one or the other, other than a few countries that can apply for either.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark, makes sense.
To avoid the Condition 8503 "No Further Stay", is the ETA better than the eVisitor? or is it the same?

Thank you


----------



## omniman

Hi Mark,

thank you for the prompt and informative approach.

I will certainly look into your directions and the reference link you have provided.

Once again many thanks for the assistance.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Omniman -
> 
> Correct - VETASSESS is the nominated org for assessing your qualification as your skills assessor is unable to. Here's a link with all the info:
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## pollyrowan

*820 Visa*

Hi Mark,

I am applying for the 820 visa with my partner in Australia. We actually only want to stay in Australia for a year or so. The reason we are applying for this is so that I can work in the job for 18 months. If we leave to go back to the UK before the visa is granted, can it still be granted to us? We plan to stay together forever, so having an Australian visa would be useful for me to have in the long run anyway.

Also if we do have to stay in the country until the visa is granted, can we go back to the UK and still apply for me to have the next stage visa for residency in Australia after I have the 820?

Thanks,

Polly


----------



## sujoy124

Hi Mark,

Me and My partner are preparing to apply for 2nd stage partner visa via online. previously we have applied the 1st stage visa through an agent and this time we have decided not to apply via agent. So do we need to attached any additional documents for this? And I have got my citizenship and Australian passport after my partner's TR is approved. Do we need to update DIAC regarding this?

Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## MissVesper

Hello Mark,
Just a quick question, we were wondering if my husband got a letter from his employer stating that he, in his line of work, is of benefit to Australia, if this would help with my partner visa? The reason we're asking is because I will need a health waiver and thought that maybe a letter backing him would be a bit of a boost for me as well. 
Thank you for the assistance.


----------



## Fera

*475 to 887*

Hi Mark,

I am holding 475 one month ago I applied for extended visa and after that I could fulfil 887 requirements, but question is about one of my work references , I worked for a farming company they paid me daily by cash and end of week I gave them invoice , they gave me letter for about three month working more than 35 hours per week for them, does this letter is enough or I need to provide more docs as have no other doc ?

In any case if my case is refused until my 475 visa is valid can I apply again ?

Regards,


----------



## David Davis

*Working Holiday Visa - 6 month employment restriction - business director*

Hi Mark

Looking for some quick clarification, hopefully you can help...

I am currently in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa, I am also the Director of an online business that trades in Australia. The business doesn't pay me as an individual a wage / salary.

Am I able to be the Director of the company for more than 6 months?

My understanding is that as an individual I can only work for one employer for a maximum of 6 months on a Working Holiday Visa, is this relevant to me as the Director of the company? Or would it only be relevant to me if the business started paying me as an individual a wage / salary?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks, (a slightly confused) David


----------



## Martin1234

Hi Mark,

To begin with, I would like to thank you for your help.

I have some doubts regarding my 190 visa, for which I applied and is under assessment at the moment.

Now, my mother, who is retired, wants to apply for 600 tourist visa for 6 months period to visit her friend in Australia, who have australian citizenship and who wants to support her during her stay in Australia.

Therefore, do you thing that my mother's visa application can affect my 190 visa grant?
There is nothing mentioned in my 190 visa application that somebody from my family is going to travel to Australia.
My mother is going to travel to Australia independently with her friend.

Everyone (me, my mother and her friend) is off-shore at the moment.

Thank you for your useful opinion on this manner.

With regards
Martin


----------



## pmigration

Hi Mark,

I've been a reader on this forum and I think you're a wonderful guy giving great help to people. I wish I had done my work through you and will forward anyone I know to you.

A question I had for my application: I am currently in the process of a 186 visa in the transition stream.

Prior to us lodging the nomination and the visa my employer had told me that he could meet the training benchmark - he has been a sponsor for others since 2011 - and provided a training receipt for the new latest year.

I have gotten notice that this receipt won't be accepted towards the training benchmark (I had doubts myself, it was just an invoice for a kind of seminar) and that he has to provide the evidence he met the benchmark in the other years.

Now I'm worried because based on what he is saying he might not be able to meet it. My question is: is it possible to meet training benchmark A and B now, to pay for the previous years my employer couldn't show he met, or must this have been done before the application? If that is the case, does this mean I can't do anything about it and I will be rejected? 

Your help will be greatly appreciated.


----------



## hveli

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hveli -
> 
> Thanks for the note. You'll need to make the partner visa application while you still hold a valid 457 visa in order to avoid Schedule 3 issues. Once you leave your job, your employer will report that to DIBP, and DIBP will give you a chance to confim or deny that you've left your employer. You would then tell them that you've lodged a partner visa onshore. Normally DIBP will not cancel a 457 visa if the applicant has lodged a partner visa onshore, however that leaves you with a 457 visa for another 3.5 years until it's replaced by the partner visa when the partner visa is granted. But until the partner visa is granted, in that scenario, you would only be able to work for your current employer or another employer if that other employer picked up the sponsorship of your 457 visa.
> 
> If DIBP does cancel your 457 visa after you leave, that would also cancel your Bridging Visa A, and you'd have to go to DIBP and apply for a Bridging Visa E to remain in Australia until the partner visa decision. A BV-E does not come with work rights by default, but you can add them based on an approved claim of financial hardship.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for your valuable advice Mark!


----------



## Kiara

*Immi advise*

Hi Mark
Can you help me with this question 
How do we know whether someone is legally staying in Australia or not
How much does it affect another family member visa applications 
Thank you for your support


----------



## pinkiestar

Hi Mark,

Once I get my visitor visa granted, Do I have to book return tickets????
Like for example if I get a 3 month visa with no condition on it. Do I have to book my return tickets as well?
My second question is if my visa has no condition attached to it can I extend my visa once I am in Australia. 
*Partner visa applied June 2015
Medicals done. Pcc done. All documents submitted.


----------



## Thenick

*Form 1023*

Hi Mark,

I entered my other family members in space of Non-migrating dependents in error and Case officer has requested form 1023. While filling the form, do I need to enter their information on the right side of the form (under applicant details) or directly enter at the bottom box where it asks to enter correct information?

Appreciate the great service you are providing on this forum. Thanks


----------



## chocolate33

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Virginia -
> 
> Generally that means 14 days to provide the documents - I would check out Migration Translators at Professional Translation Services in Australia by The Migration Translators as they can provide NAATI translations in a couple of days, very affordable rates, and they can work 100% by email.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hey mark, 
Neither my partner nor i have a credit card; making online translation impossible. The office where the documents are processed is only open a select few hours, mon to fri. This means my partner has to organise a day off (which cannot happen until next week); then fron recollection is took five business days to process.
As i said, most of florence closes down over august meaning that we will not have it translated until september.
What will that mean for our application if we do not have it done by 14 days? We have sent an email to get confirmation, but only received an automated response not answering our questions.
Any advice is much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Virginia


----------



## toris7351

*Can I apply BVB multiple times?*

Hello Mark, How are you?

Thanks for your intelligent advice always!

I know the BVB will be used once per travel and I wonder how many times I am allowed to apply if I am on BVA. I am still on my C.S degree track and have to come back to my home country to just take finals(luckily I only need to take all online modules except onsite final exams. Finals(onsite) are requirements to pass courses :/ ). I am currently Jr and have to come back to country at least 2 times per a year. Are multiple BVB going to impact on the decision on my onshore partner visa?

Thanks for your reply in advance.

Cheers!


----------



## naseef

Hi Mark,

First of all let me Thank you for all the support you provide. 

I have overstayed my uk student visa for 16 months and was removed from the UK. I paid for my ticket when i returned back to my home country. I want to apply for VISA subclass 189 ( skilled independent - permanent residence) within a year or so. There is a form called "form 80" which is character assessment where I will have to include all the information regarding my removal and overstay. 

Will this situation affect my application? I will disclose all the relevant information.

Please let me know. Thank you.


----------



## MiloB

Hi Mark
Is is possible/likely that my partner from Sweden (Assessment Level 1) could get a No Further Stay clause when she applies for a Student Visa for a course (duration 6 months)?

She has been in Australia for almost 12 months on a Working Holiday Visa.

Thanks!


----------



## hopeforoz

Hello Mark,

by God's grace, I got the invite from SA in time before my points coming down to 75.

Now, I am faced with another dilemma and need advise.. The last date for me to apply for the visa is 27th Sept(as per the invite letter). I have to include my wife and my 5 year old daughter in the application. My wife is expecting and the due date is in Feb'16 and hence cannot appear for medicals. Now, I am not sure how to address this scenario.. The doctor told us not to go for the X ray until the start of 8th month for pregnancy,which would be in December.. So, I am in deep confusion on what to do.
Should I apply now and then wait for the CO to contact us and then I should explain to him the scenario so that he can give us time until December... He may also ask us to wait until the delivery before submitting medicals..
And the foremost question.. would the CO give time?
And even if he gives time, then I may loose out on the Grant if any rules change until December or February during this period.

Would need your expert advise please.

Eagerly waiting for your reply
Thanks
Manu


----------



## ice_glow

*Inquiries*

Hi all.

I am glad to bump into this forum. I had plans on working in Australia. Im looking for sponsorship or agencies that could help me work in Australia. It's always been a dream for me to work in Australia. I'm currently working in Singapore as an IT helpdesk. I hope you could give me tips or suggestions so I can start working on it. II'm praying you can help me out on chasing my dreams. Thank you . I'm looking forward for your responses.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peter -

Not unusual if you've already provided all of the usual documents provided - they're routinely taking 12-18 months for partner visas now. I'd keep a close eye on your email inbox & junk mail folder to make sure you don't miss anything from DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pduncan001 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Just a quick question, we applied for Partner Visa just over 12 months ago, online, currently living in PNG. I am Australian Citizen and sponsoring my Filipina partner. Is it usual not to hear a single thing? No queries, no case worker assigned, status online hasn't changed etc??
> 
> Cheers
> Peter


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lilyroma -

Both the same in my view re: 8503.

Best,

Mark



LilyRoma said:


> Thank you Mark, makes sense.
> To avoid the Condition 8503 "No Further Stay", is the ETA better than the eVisitor? or is it the same?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pollyrowan -

Assuming your partner is an Australian citizen (and not a PR), you would need to be in Australia in order to be granted the 820 (they will usually inform you by email if you're not in Australia and they are ready to grant), however the 801 second stage partner visa (the PR part) can be granted whether you're in Australia or outside.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pollyrowan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for the 820 visa with my partner in Australia. We actually only want to stay in Australia for a year or so. The reason we are applying for this is so that I can work in the job for 18 months. If we leave to go back to the UK before the visa is granted, can it still be granted to us? We plan to stay together forever, so having an Australian visa would be useful for me to have in the long run anyway.
> 
> Also if we do have to stay in the country until the visa is granted, can we go back to the UK and still apply for me to have the next stage visa for residency in Australia after I have the 820?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Polly


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sujoy124 -

Yes - there are specific documentation requirements for the second stage partner visa - DIBP has a checklist and other information here: Partner (Permanent) Calculator

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sujoy124 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Me and My partner are preparing to apply for 2nd stage partner visa via online. previously we have applied the 1st stage visa through an agent and this time we have decided not to apply via agent. So do we need to attached any additional documents for this? And I have got my citizenship and Australian passport after my partner's TR is approved. Do we need to update DIAC regarding this?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MissVesper -

Thanks for the question. For a health waiver on a partner visa application, DIBP must consider the combined benefit of both persons' benefit to Australia including all types of benefits - social benefits, employment, financial, skills & talent, etc etc. So yes, a letter from your husband's employer would be helpful. Re: health waiver, given how challenging these can be, I recommend you either have a migration agent experienced with these sorts of submissions review what you prepare and give you advice, or engage an agent to prepare the entire waiver application package for you - given what's at stake, you deserve all the help & experience you can get with these. In my view applicants need to throw everything they can at these re: evidence and arguments as these waivers can be difficult to obtain.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MissVesper said:


> Hello Mark,
> Just a quick question, we were wondering if my husband got a letter from his employer stating that he, in his line of work, is of benefit to Australia, if this would help with my partner visa? The reason we're asking is because I will need a health waiver and thought that maybe a letter backing him would be a bit of a boost for me as well.
> Thank you for the assistance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fera -

Thanks for the question. I assume when you say you applied for an extended visa, you mean you're applying for a subclass 489 to extend your temporary reisdency here prior to lodging the 887?

Re: cash jobs, the letter is a start, but I would also include your invoices (if you kept copies), and any sort of bank records you might have that show the receipt of cash. If you have no bank records, then if you have a ledger book where you recorded your income, that would be helpful too, as would tax documents reflecting the income. With nothing but the letter (assuming you didn't bank the cash, etc), it may be difficult to get DIBP to approve the time at that employer.

If you are refused while onshore and holding your 475 (or 489), then no problem - you can try again later as long as the refusal did not allege PIC 4020 - that you provided false or bogus documents or information. If you lodge and receive a PIC 4020 allegation, I would seek professional advice from a migration agent to determine best options, including possibly withdrawing the application to avoid a PIC 4020 based refusal which creates a 3 year ban on future visa applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Fera said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am holding 475 one month ago I applied for extended visa and after that I could fulfil 887 requirements, but question is about one of my work references , I worked for a farming company they paid me daily by cash and end of week I gave them invoice , they gave me letter for about three month working more than 35 hours per week for them, does this letter is enough or I need to provide more docs as have no other doc ?
> 
> In any case if my case is refused until my 475 visa is valid can I apply again ?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi David -

You're definitely in the gray area on this one! This comes down to the definition of employment as doing something that an Australian would usually be paid (or remunerated) for. Simply being a director of a company and doing nothing else (no pay, no work, just being listed as a director) would not normally constitute employment. However if you did work with/for that company that an Australian doing the same work for a company would normally be paid for, that can be considered employment - whether or not you are paid for it (very important).

So you need to look at what you're actually doing in association with that or any other company - if you're doing work that an Australian normally be paid for, then you may be deemed to be employed by that company even if you take no salary for that work. If you're not doing day-to-day things with the company that you would normally do for the company and instead are, for instance, checking email while "on vacation", etc to make sure there are no major issues, but are not doing typical day-to-day work, then you may not be deemed to be doing work that would constitute employment.

Also consider future claims - if 12 months from now you want to claim that you worked for your company in order to gain points for a skilled visa, use the experience to qualify for some other visa such as a 457, etc, then you'll want to consider that in your decision now as to what you will or won't be claiming re: current employment for this company.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



David Davis said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Looking for some quick clarification, hopefully you can help...
> 
> I am currently in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa, I am also the Director of an online business that trades in Australia. The business doesn't pay me as an individual a wage / salary.
> 
> Am I able to be the Director of the company for more than 6 months?
> 
> My understanding is that as an individual I can only work for one employer for a maximum of 6 months on a Working Holiday Visa, is this relevant to me as the Director of the company? Or would it only be relevant to me if the business started paying me as an individual a wage / salary?
> 
> Any help greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks, (a slightly confused) David


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martin -

Thanks for the question. Based on the info in your post, I don't see how your mother's application and whatever it's result would be (granted/refused) would have any effect, positive or negative, on your 190 visa. The only way I could see that it might interact with your visa is if you claimed facts or information in your 190 visa that were contradicted by anything in your mom's application - if picked up by DIBP, they might ask about that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Martin1234 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> To begin with, I would like to thank you for your help.
> 
> I have some doubts regarding my 190 visa, for which I applied and is under assessment at the moment.
> 
> Now, my mother, who is retired, wants to apply for 600 tourist visa for 6 months period to visit her friend in Australia, who have australian citizenship and who wants to support her during her stay in Australia.
> 
> Therefore, do you thing that my mother's visa application can affect my 190 visa grant?
> There is nothing mentioned in my 190 visa application that somebody from my family is going to travel to Australia.
> My mother is going to travel to Australia independently with her friend.
> 
> Everyone (me, my mother and her friend) is off-shore at the moment.
> 
> Thank you for your useful opinion on this manner.
> 
> With regards
> Martin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pmigration -

Thanks for the note and kind words! The issue of employer's playing "catch-up" with training benchmark expenditures is one where the case officer has a fair amount of leeway. The answer to your question is: it would depend on the circumstances and the employer, plus the case officer. If it appears that the employer made an honest mistake re: how he/she would satisfy the benchmark and is ready and willing to fix the problem with an alternate way to satisfy it (usually an industry training fund contribution) to catch up, then in many cases the case officer will accept this.

It also depends on where in the 457 sponsorship annual cycle the employer is - if an employer is 6 months into their 3rd year, and they've satisfied it for years 1 and 2, but not for year 3, then that's a situation where it's usually possible to catch up. However if they have not met any of the benchmark expenditures and the case officer believes no honest attempt was made to do so, they can, under a strict interpretation of the rules, refuse the nomination and even attack the SBS sponsorship of the employer (ie, consider cancellation, suspend, etc) for non-compliance with the training benchmark expenditure requirements of the SBS sponsor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pmigration said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've been a reader on this forum and I think you're a wonderful guy giving great help to people. I wish I had done my work through you and will forward anyone I know to you.
> 
> A question I had for my application: I am currently in the process of a 186 visa in the transition stream.
> 
> Prior to us lodging the nomination and the visa my employer had told me that he could meet the training benchmark - he has been a sponsor for others since 2011 - and provided a training receipt for the new latest year.
> 
> I have gotten notice that this receipt won't be accepted towards the training benchmark (I had doubts myself, it was just an invoice for a kind of seminar) and that he has to provide the evidence he met the benchmark in the other years.
> 
> Now I'm worried because based on what he is saying he might not be able to meet it. My question is: is it possible to meet training benchmark A and B now, to pay for the previous years my employer couldn't show he met, or must this have been done before the application? If that is the case, does this mean I can't do anything about it and I will be rejected?
> 
> Your help will be greatly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kiara -

Thanks for the note. The online VEVO service is a good way to tell if a person currently has a valid visa for Australia or not. For certain visa applications, especially visitor, student and refugee visas (and any other visa where the genuine intent of the person to *temporarily* reside in Australia is a condition), non-compliance by another family member can be a negative factor in a person's visa decision - no way to predict how much of a negative factor, as it depends on the circumstances and the case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kiara said:


> Hi Mark
> Can you help me with this question
> How do we know whether someone is legally staying in Australia or not
> How much does it affect another family member visa applications
> Thank you for your support


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pinkiestar -

Thanks for the note. If you have lodged an offshore partner visa (I'm assuming based on your post) and get a visitor visa for Australia, when you arrive in Australia they may want to see (at the airport) a return ticket if they have suspicions about you temporarily visiting Australia. If you can't purchase this, then you can always say that you are not sure when you will be leaving (within the 3 months or whatever your visitor visa allows) and will be booking the return ticket when you have a firm date. If you indicate that you do not intend to depart within the stay period of the visa, or provide evidence at the airport of that, that could be a reason to refuse you entry to Australia.

If your visitor visa does not have condition 8503 on it, you could apply for a further subclass 600 visitor visa after you arrive on the first visitor visa. Chances of success would be related to showing that you continued to have a valid reason to temporarily reside in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pinkiestar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Once I get my visitor visa granted, Do I have to book return tickets????
> Like for example if I get a 3 month visa with no condition on it. Do I have to book my return tickets as well?
> My second question is if my visa has no condition attached to it can I extend my visa once I am in Australia.
> *Partner visa applied June 2015
> Medicals done. Pcc done. All documents submitted.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thenick -

Thanks for the question. What you did is a very common mistake - don't feel bad. On Form 1023, you would indicate for Question 11 only the actual additional applicants that should remain - that are actual non migrating dependents. Then on the next page indicate what info was correct and incorrect with all details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Thenick said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I entered my other family members in space of Non-migrating dependents in error and Case officer has requested form 1023. While filling the form, do I need to enter their information on the right side of the form (under applicant details) or directly enter at the bottom box where it asks to enter correct information?
> 
> Appreciate the great service you are providing on this forum. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginia -

Thanks for the note. No way for me to predict this one, but I would certainly inform them that due to factors beyond your control (translators not available in your country, lack of internationally accepted credit card to engage foreign translators) and your partner's work schedule, you are doing the best you possibly can and state when you expect to have the translations ready, and kindly ask for an extension of time to be able to provide the documents and translation requested. Another option could be overseas wire transfer, etc but the fees for those are very high typically.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chocolate33 said:


> Hey mark,
> Neither my partner nor i have a credit card; making online translation impossible. The office where the documents are processed is only open a select few hours, mon to fri. This means my partner has to organise a day off (which cannot happen until next week); then fron recollection is took five business days to process.
> As i said, most of florence closes down over august meaning that we will not have it translated until september.
> What will that mean for our application if we do not have it done by 14 days? We have sent an email to get confirmation, but only received an automated response not answering our questions.
> Any advice is much appreciated.
> Kind regards,
> Virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Toris7351 -

Multiple BVB's are OK if you have substantial reasons for each trip - college exams, I would think, are good reasons for BVB's, especially if it's only 2 times per year.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



toris7351 said:


> Hello Mark, How are you?
> 
> Thanks for your intelligent advice always!
> 
> I know the BVB will be used once per travel and I wonder how many times I am allowed to apply if I am on BVA. I am still on my C.S degree track and have to come back to my home country to just take finals(luckily I only need to take all online modules except onsite final exams. Finals(onsite) are requirements to pass courses :/ ). I am currently Jr and have to come back to country at least 2 times per a year. Are multiple BVB going to impact on the decision on my onshore partner visa?
> 
> Thanks for your reply in advance.
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naseef -

Yes, the info could affect your application if DIBP decides that it constitutes general conduct that would cause you not to pass the character test. Suggest you explain all the circumstances, provide whatever supporting documents you can, and consider getting professional assistance in putting together the document that explains all of this and the accompanying evidence - either in the form of a review by a migration agent, or engaging a migration agent to prepare the submission for you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naseef said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all let me Thank you for all the support you provide.
> 
> I have overstayed my uk student visa for 16 months and was removed from the UK. I paid for my ticket when i returned back to my home country. I want to apply for VISA subclass 189 ( skilled independent - permanent residence) within a year or so. There is a form called "form 80" which is character assessment where I will have to include all the information regarding my removal and overstay.
> 
> Will this situation affect my application? I will disclose all the relevant information.
> 
> Please let me know. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MiloB -

Yes it's possible, would need to know more about the applicant's circumstances to tell how likely it would be. If it is imposed, it would be under one of the student visa-specific conditions (8534 or 8535), but it's always possible to get these conditions for short courses under 10 months in duration.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MiloB said:


> Hi Mark
> Is is possible/likely that my partner from Sweden (Assessment Level 1) could get a No Further Stay clause when she applies for a Student Visa for a course (duration 6 months)?
> 
> She has been in Australia for almost 12 months on a Working Holiday Visa.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## aquinoanne

Hi mark I have a question. I have the same situation. I'm on a multiple tourist visa. No condition of 8503. And planning to extend it so that no need of going home and can save money. I with extending my tourist visa, do I have to submit my birth certificate? What documents do I have to submit?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pinkiestar -
> 
> Thanks for the note. If you have lodged an offshore partner visa (I'm assuming based on your post) and get a visitor visa for Australia, when you arrive in Australia they may want to see (at the airport) a return ticket if they have suspicions about you temporarily visiting Australia. If you can't purchase this, then you can always say that you are not sure when you will be leaving (within the 3 months or whatever your visitor visa allows) and will be booking the return ticket when you have a firm date. If you indicate that you do not intend to depart within the stay period of the visa, or provide evidence at the airport of that, that could be a reason to refuse you entry to Australia.
> 
> If your visitor visa does not have condition 8503 on it, you could apply for a further subclass 600 visitor visa after you arrive on the first visitor visa. Chances of success would be related to showing that you continued to have a valid reason to temporarily reside in Australia.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

That's good news, and congratulations on your wife's pregnancy! Your situation is too complex (too many interdependent variables and factors) to be able to give you any advice on this forum - I would suggest you book a consultation with a qualified migration agent to work through all of the factors of your situation and get some professional advice after seeing your documents, points score, etc. I'm also assuming that the "invite from SA" means an invitation from DIBP to apply for the visa, as sponsored by SA?

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> by God's grace, I got the invite from SA in time before my points coming down to 75.
> 
> Now, I am faced with another dilemma and need advise.. The last date for me to apply for the visa is 27th Sept(as per the invite letter). I have to include my wife and my 5 year old daughter in the application. My wife is expecting and the due date is in Feb'16 and hence cannot appear for medicals. Now, I am not sure how to address this scenario.. The doctor told us not to go for the X ray until the start of 8th month for pregnancy,which would be in December.. So, I am in deep confusion on what to do.
> Should I apply now and then wait for the CO to contact us and then I should explain to him the scenario so that he can give us time until December... He may also ask us to wait until the delivery before submitting medicals..
> And the foremost question.. would the CO give time?
> And even if he gives time, then I may loose out on the Grant if any rules change until December or February during this period.
> 
> Would need your expert advise please.
> 
> Eagerly waiting for your reply
> Thanks
> Manu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ice_glow -

Thanks for the note. On this thread I answer questions about Australia visa laws and regulations, and how people can get visas - if you're looking for job search info or employment info, you might try another thread on this forum where that sort of thing is discussed. Best of luck with your plans for Australia!

Best,

Mark Northam



ice_glow said:


> Hi all.
> 
> I am glad to bump into this forum. I had plans on working in Australia. Im looking for sponsorship or agencies that could help me work in Australia. It's always been a dream for me to work in Australia. I'm currently working in Singapore as an IT helpdesk. I hope you could give me tips or suggestions so I can start working on it. II'm praying you can help me out on chasing my dreams. Thank you . I'm looking forward for your responses.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aquinoanne -

It would be an onshore subclass 600 visa - see DIBP website at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection for all requirements - generally birth cert is not required for visitor visas, but you'll need to submit a passport, passport photo, and documents related to why you wish to extend your tourist visa at a minimum.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aquinoanne said:


> Hi mark I have a question. I have the same situation. I'm on a multiple tourist visa. No condition of 8503. And planning to extend it so that no need of going home and can save money. I with extending my tourist visa, do I have to submit my birth certificate? What documents do I have to submit?


----------



## aquinoanne

Thanks Mark! However I'm quite confused with the documents on which I need to submit. I opened the link but I'm not really good on navigating it. Will it be possible if you can tell me what exactly do I need? And should I do that a month or 2 weeks before I need to exit australia?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Aquinoanne -
> 
> It would be an onshore subclass 600 visa - see DIBP website at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection for all requirements - generally birth cert is not required for visitor visas, but you'll need to submit a passport, passport photo, and documents related to why you wish to extend your tourist visa at a minimum.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aquinoanne -

Here's a link for the subclass 600 visitor visa - Visitor visa (subclass 600) - just enter your country of citizenship, etc in the area on the bottom part of the page and the page should customise for you.

I can't give you specific migration advice on what you'll need without seeing your documents - if you'd rather not deal with the DIBP website, you could always engage a migration agent to prepare the application for you and help you with the required documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aquinoanne said:


> Thanks Mark! However I'm quite confused with the documents on which I need to submit. I opened the link but I'm not really good on navigating it. Will it be possible if you can tell me what exactly do I need? And should I do that a month or 2 weeks before I need to exit australia?


----------



## banffaussie

Thanks Mark!

We really appreciate the information and advice - reassuring that it is the best way for my partner to migrate with us.

Just one other question, if you dont mind.

In your experience, does it take long for a child visa (101) to be processed? I am hoping to have this approved before we plan to move in January.

If not, perhaps we should also apply for my child's visa/citizenship once we are in Australia?

Again, thank you in advance for your help!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Banffaussie -
> 
> Thanks for the note. As someone who grew up in Maine (USA) near Canada, I'm probably one of the few Aussies who know where Banff is
> 
> The ETA -> onshore 820/801 application is likely the best pathway to accomplish what you want. The good news is that ETA visas rarely get condition 8503, so first step is probably to apply for and get the ETA, confirm no 8503 condition, then make your plans accordingly. The visa is generally issued for 1 year with a maximum 3 month stay period. Assuming this, once you arrive and lodge your partner visa, you'll get a bridging visa A which will activate as soon as he overstays the 3 month stay period. Once the BV-A activates, his work rights begin (but not before). He can stay in Australia on that visa until a decision on the partner visa.
> 
> No particular significance to having the child or Canadian citizenship, etc other than as Canada is considered a low-risk country by DIBP, your partner visa may process more quickly, and there's a very low chance of 8503 being applied to the ETA.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## vinil

*Medical Querry*

Hi Mark

I have applied for Partner Provisional Visa subclass 309 and i got a medical request from my Case Officer. When i printed my referral letter for medicals i noticed under Client Visa details its mentioned BC 100 Spouse (Permanent), so does this mean that my application is assessed for permanent visa sub class 100 instead of provisional visa sub class 309.

Thanking you in advance.

Regards,

Vinil


----------



## billfish

*417 visa certified birth certificate*

Hello Mark!
I am a Canadian citizen currently living in Myanmar and applying for the working holiday visa (417). A certified copy of your birth certificate showing both parents' names is required. Since I only have a short form birth certificate, my birth certificate doesn't have both parents' names. Is that acceptable, or do I need to apply for a long form certificate?
One more thing - do the certified copies of bank statement, passport, and birth certificate get attached online to the application, or are they shown in person on arrival? I.e. would 5000 AUD cash be sufficient if asked at the border (I am paid in cash and cannot open a bank account here as a foreigner).
Thanks for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Banffaussie -

Processing times on child visas can vary widely. If lodged outside Australia, I'd guess somewhere in the 3-6 months range given Canada is a low-risk country, but that's just a guess - DIBP can be unpredictable re: processing times.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



banffaussie said:


> Thanks Mark!
> 
> We really appreciate the information and advice - reassuring that it is the best way for my partner to migrate with us.
> 
> Just one other question, if you dont mind.
> 
> In your experience, does it take long for a child visa (101) to be processed? I am hoping to have this approved before we plan to move in January.
> 
> If not, perhaps we should also apply for my child's visa/citizenship once we are in Australia?
> 
> Again, thank you in advance for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vinil -

Not necessarily - with partner visas the health test reference normally shows the permanent resident visa part as the health tests are done using the PR visa standard - so no particular indication that you would be in line to get the sc100 visa straight away (vs 309, then 100).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vinil said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have applied for Partner Provisional Visa subclass 309 and i got a medical request from my Case Officer. When i printed my referral letter for medicals i noticed under Client Visa details its mentioned BC 100 Spouse (Permanent), so does this mean that my application is assessed for permanent visa sub class 100 instead of provisional visa sub class 309.
> 
> Thanking you in advance.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Vinil


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Billfish -

Re: copies, I would apply for the long form certificate to be safe - there is a chance they might accept the short form one and it's certainly worth a try - I'd guess 50% chance they will ask for the long form one unless you have other documentation showing parents' names. I've seen them accept short form certificates from USA citizens, etc so you may fall into the same risk level.

Normally passport and birth cert are lodged with the application; they may ask you for evidence of funds prior to coming, however if they do not you may be asked to provide evidence of funds upon entry to Australia at the airport. $5k may be fine depending on how long you expect to be here and live on that - that's the key.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



billfish said:


> Hello Mark!
> I am a Canadian citizen currently living in Myanmar and applying for the working holiday visa (417). A certified copy of your birth certificate showing both parents' names is required. Since I only have a short form birth certificate, my birth certificate doesn't have both parents' names. Is that acceptable, or do I need to apply for a long form certificate?
> One more thing - do the certified copies of bank statement, passport, and birth certificate get attached online to the application, or are they shown in person on arrival? I.e. would 5000 AUD cash be sufficient if asked at the border (I am paid in cash and cannot open a bank account here as a foreigner).
> Thanks for your time!


----------



## vinil

*309*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vinil -
> 
> Not necessarily - with partner visas the health test reference normally shows the permanent resident visa part as the health tests are done using the PR visa standard - so no particular indication that you would be in line to get the sc100 visa straight away (vs 309, then 100).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark

Thanks a lot

Best Regards,

Vinil


----------



## Zainer

Hello Mark,
Thanks once again for your assistance ! 
My friend got 189 Visa. However, he must do his first entry in two months (I think this is related to PCC & medical check expiration).
Is it possible to send asking for changing this date ?


----------



## manimehra22

HI Mark,

please advise me. 
i was living in sydney but in Oct 2012 i went to gold coast for holiday. i parked my car on the beach and parking ticket was expire. So ranger gave a ticket $50.
but after return back to sydney i forgot to pay that fine. i left australia in feb 2014. 
BUT in april 2015 the gold coast council send a letter to my previous address that my current overdue is $1000. 
as i left australia so i never aware about this. now in future if i filling tha visa application form, Do i have to tick YES or NO "outstanding debt to commonwealth and public authority".
will be my visa application decline under PIC4004. or case office send the letter to pay the outstanding first.. please help..
thanks
manny


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zainer -

Unfortunately no - the best he can do is if he does not make the first entry on time, to ask DIBP not to cancel the visa due to the breach. Given how tough they are these days, unless there are very significant humanitarian reasons he cannot make first entry (ie, pregnant can't fly, etc), then I would strongly advise spending the money to make a trip - DIBP is getting pretty tough these days, and with all the people who want to be permanent residents, doesn't have a lot of sympathy for people who say they want to be permanent residents, but can't manage to make it here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zainer said:


> Hello Mark,
> Thanks once again for your assistance !
> My friend got 189 Visa. However, he must do his first entry in two months (I think this is related to PCC & medical check expiration).
> Is it possible to send asking for changing this date ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manimehra22 -

A debt to a council could be considered a debt to a public authority - I'd pay the fine, then choose "no" since the debt was paid at the time you answered the question. The case officer will not remind you to pay the debt. Also, technically speaking PIC 4004 refers to debts to the "Commonwealth" which a parking fine would not be, since the money is owed to a council.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



manimehra22 said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> please advise me.
> i was living in sydney but in Oct 2012 i went to gold coast for holiday. i parked my car on the beach and parking ticket was expire. So ranger gave a ticket $50.
> but after return back to sydney i forgot to pay that fine. i left australia in feb 2014.
> BUT in april 2015 the gold coast council send a letter to my previous address that my current overdue is $1000.
> as i left australia so i never aware about this. now in future if i filling tha visa application form, Do i have to tick YES or NO "outstanding debt to commonwealth and public authority".
> will be my visa application decline under PIC4004. or case office send the letter to pay the outstanding first.. please help..
> thanks
> manny


----------



## pduncan001

Thanks Mark


----------



## Thenick

*Address proof with no written agreement?*

Thanks a lot Mark. I also want to take time to thank you for the amazing service you are providing on this group here. thanks for that.


----------



## Kafeel

*after 2 VAC payment time*

Dear Mark and readers 
i am worried about my case as i have applied for 189 visa including my wife and kids i have uploaded all documents and on 20 july they ask for 2 VAC payment which i have made on same day ...now its showing as assessment in progress in IMMI account and i am still waiting for reply can you guys please suggest anything that should i contact them or wait but how long it will be thanks any suggestions will be highly appreciated thanks


----------



## Samnet

Which one is more likely to get visa 190 from?
Sydney or Melbourne?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thenick -

Thanks for the note. You will need to show evidence of 24 months living - 22 won't do it. I'd get as much evidence as you can of those extra 2 months - did friends visit you at your home? Statements from them could help, plus your own statement and any mail, receipts, etc - anything with that address on it from those 2 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northamy



Thenick said:


> Thanks a lot Mark for your quick reply. I got an email from Case officer asking for lease agreement for my 887 (from 475) application. I got lease agreement for 22 of 24 months. but for initial 2 months when I moved here, I stayed at 2 places with no formal written agreement. Rent paid in cash and dont have receipts either. However I do have a letter I received at those 2 addresses. I am unable to establish contact with both the owners where I lived initially for 2 months. I have agreements, bills for remaining 22 months but nothing besides a letter each for first 2 months. Will submitting 22 months suffice or anything else i can include for the initial 2 months when i moved here to prove my 2 years regional stay? Should a self declaration help?
> 
> I also want to take time to thank you for the amazing service you are providing on this group here. thanks for that.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kafeel -

Should be any time - they don't ask for the 2 VAC payment unless they are ready to grant the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kafeel said:


> Dear Mark and readers
> i am worried about my case as i have applied for 189 visa including my wife and kids i have uploaded all documents and on 20 july they ask for 2 VAC payment which i have made on same day ...now its showing as assessment in progress in IMMI account and i am still waiting for reply can you guys please suggest anything that should i contact them or wait but how long it will be thanks any suggestions will be highly appreciated thanks


----------



## David Davis

Hi Mark

Thanks for this! It is so complicated and so grey!

Can I ask a further question please?

If I were to instead trade as a sole trader would I be restricted to the 6 months maximum? It would seem to me this is likely to be more clear cut, but I just wanted to get some clarity...

Thanks, David



MarkNortham said:


> Hi David -
> 
> You're definitely in the gray area on this one! This comes down to the definition of employment as doing something that an Australian would usually be paid (or remunerated) for. Simply being a director of a company and doing nothing else (no pay, no work, just being listed as a director) would not normally constitute employment. However if you did work with/for that company that an Australian doing the same work for a company would normally be paid for, that can be considered employment - whether or not you are paid for it (very important).
> 
> So you need to look at what you're actually doing in association with that or any other company - if you're doing work that an Australian normally be paid for, then you may be deemed to be employed by that company even if you take no salary for that work. If you're not doing day-to-day things with the company that you would normally do for the company and instead are, for instance, checking email while "on vacation", etc to make sure there are no major issues, but are not doing typical day-to-day work, then you may not be deemed to be doing work that would constitute employment.
> 
> Also consider future claims - if 12 months from now you want to claim that you worked for your company in order to gain points for a skilled visa, use the experience to qualify for some other visa such as a 457, etc, then you'll want to consider that in your decision now as to what you will or won't be claiming re: current employment for this company.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## hopeforoz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hopeforoz -
> 
> That's good news, and congratulations on your wife's pregnancy! Your situation is too complex (too many interdependent variables and factors) to be able to give you any advice on this forum - I would suggest you book a consultation with a qualified migration agent to work through all of the factors of your situation and get some professional advice after seeing your documents, points score, etc. I'm also assuming that the "invite from SA" means an invitation from DIBP to apply for the visa, as sponsored by SA?
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark!!

I am not sure why my problem sounded complex.. Maybe I wrote that in a confusing way(probably my confusion translated into words also)..Let me try and simplify that and request your guidance

My query is that would the CO give us time of 3-4 months so that my wife can deliver and then we can submit her medicals

and yes, I have got the invite through Skill select, nominated by SA

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samnet -

No way to generalise or predict - too many factors.

Best,

Mark



Samnet said:


> Which one is more likely to get visa 190 from?
> Sydney or Melbourne?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi David -

Happy to help. Whether you work for yourself (as a sole trader, or for your own privately owned Pty Ltd company) or another employer either in Australia or overseas, the same issue exists - it's not about who you work for, it's about the actual work you're doing, and whether that would normally be work that is paid work in Australia. So to answer your question, the same tasks being done as a sole trader, or for an overseas employer or Australian employer, would generally be treated the same.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



David Davis said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for this! It is so complicated and so grey!
> 
> Can I ask a further question please?
> 
> If I were to instead trade as a sole trader would I be restricted to the 6 months maximum? It would seem to me this is likely to be more clear cut, but I just wanted to get some clarity...
> 
> Thanks, David


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

Thanks - much simpler! I can't guarantee what any CO would do, but if a visa application is already lodged and you meet the other criteria, my experience is that a CO would often delay things if the medical exams cannot take place due to a pregnancy. The entire process would be delayed - ie, no visa grant, etc in most cases, until the medicals are done.

This would not, however, extend the 60 days you have to lodge a visa application after invitation - the key would be to request the delay after the visa is lodged, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Thanks Mark!!
> 
> I am not sure why my problem sounded complex.. Maybe I wrote that in a confusing way(probably my confusion translated into words also)..Let me try and simplify that and request your guidance
> 
> My query is that would the CO give us time of 3-4 months so that my wife can deliver and then we can submit her medicals
> 
> and yes, I have got the invite through Skill select, nominated by SA
> 
> Thanks


----------



## Thenick

Thanks Mark for your quick reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

I think that will definitely help - whether it will satisfy the case officer is difficult to predict, but I'd load it up with as much evidence as you can get.

Best,

Mark



Thenick said:


> Thanks Mark for your quick reply. I will get a commonwealth stat self declaration stating I lived in shared accommodation with no formal agreement and attach letters I got at those addresses. I am hoping that should help. Let me know your thoughts?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## windycity

Hi Mark,

Just a quick question, I am a Singaporean looking to apply for PMV or partner visa. 

However, we have not been living together as we are having long distance for the past 3 years together. Can I hold an ETA and fulfill the 1 year staying together requirement with my BF?
Will immigration take into consideration of my application? Will my application been refused as I am not seen as a genuine visitor?

We do not have enough money for a student visa. 

Appreciate your help.

Ms Confused


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ms Confused -

Let's see if we can eliminate that confusion! First, you should know about a court case in Australia called SZOXP which, in June, struck down the 12 month living together requirement for partner visas - applicants still have to show that the de facto relationship existed for the 12 months before application, but the requirement that they live together during this time was struck down. Note that there is no 12-month requirement for the PMV. Not knowing more about your circumstances, it sounds like a PMV may be the best bet for you as no living together or 12 month de facto relationship is required. Re: visitor visa after applying for PMV, some posts routinely grant these (for example, Philippines). Other posts routinely refuse these (for example, Cairo). The rest are somewhere in between - key is to still satisfy the genuine temporary entrant criteria (ie, ties to home country, etc) even while engaged to an Aussie.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



windycity said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a quick question, I am a Singaporean looking to apply for PMV or partner visa.
> 
> However, we have not been living together as we are having long distance for the past 3 years together. Can I hold an ETA and fulfill the 1 year staying together requirement with my BF?
> Will immigration take into consideration of my application? Will my application been refused as I am not seen as a genuine visitor?
> 
> We do not have enough money for a student visa.
> 
> Appreciate your help.
> 
> Ms Confused


----------



## hopeforoz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hopeforoz -
> 
> Thanks - much simpler! I can't guarantee what any CO would do, but if a visa application is already lodged and you meet the other criteria, my experience is that a CO would often delay things if the medical exams cannot take place due to a pregnancy. The entire process would be delayed - ie, no visa grant, etc in most cases, until the medicals are done.
> 
> This would not, however, extend the 60 days you have to lodge a visa application after invitation - the key would be to request the delay after the visa is lodged, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark!!! appreciate your reply on this.. I would surely launch the Visa before the invite expiry date and once the CO contacts, would tell him about the pregnancy of my wife and request some time so that the medicals can be submitted..Hope, I am thinking in the right direction

Thanks


----------



## farhanmazhari

Hi Mark,
A question, I have lodged my 189 visa application last week. Can I change my job now and that job has different roles and description then the category I applied for visa. Do i need to inform DIBP, will it impact my case?


Regards,


----------



## MagicXiao

*Fill out the form right?*

Hi Mark, I am married to a Chinese woman and want that she come on a tourist visa to Australia and than we apply here for a spouse visa here. Is there anything where we have to look for when we fill out the tourist visa in Beijing? Because when it will be granded that not stay in the visa "no further stay" . They told me in the immigration office not write the reason to visit the husband and immigrate to Australia, than it will stay there. What we can write into the form and what we better not?


----------



## Kafeel

*VISA 885 still waiting for decision*

Dear Mark and Readers 
I have applied in 2010 for 885 visa on point based 120 then every time they assign a new a case officer and they ask me for new medical but the last time they contact me was last month and ask me again to provide them with new police clearenc certificate i was just wondering this time how long its going to take any suggestions will be appreciated highly 
thanks


----------



## sonikatalwar

*reg 457 training benchmark*

hii Mark.
how are you?
i am on 457 visa and my boss wants to pay 457 training benchmark A for second year, its 2% of Payroll (Wages&Salaries + Superannuation) only or must be add Labour Hire cost too? because sometime they hire labour (from Contractor & Sub Contractor)
warm regards
Sonika


----------



## Theresa

*visa 489*

Hey Mark
My partner and I started with a working holiday visa in Australia and than applied for a 489 for him and me as partner. Than I got my bridging visa as my W&H visa expired. Than we planned to visit our families in Europe. So that I applied for a bridging visa B for two month, coming back in September. This visa was granted without any problems. At the time I personally went and submitted my bridgingvisa B application, I explained my situation and asked also if we need to change our adress or pay attention to anything else. And everyone always told me everything is correct.
My partner didn't have to worry about that because his W&H visa was still valid until September.
Now that we are in Europe, we got our grand letter yesterday in which is sais that we need to enter Australia until the 14th of August. That are just 10 days and of course we booked our flys for September and can't change them that easily. We also tried to call some immigration people in Australia but they say that there is nothing to do.
Is there really nothing to do? Can't we change the date somehow for a few weeks later? How can they grant my bridgingvisa for two month and now this? I just saw my family one week now. That's one time in one year that I can see them and now I have to spend double the money again to leave them after two weeks? Thats so unfair. Noone told us anything about something like this could happen...I am really desperate. I hope you can help me or even have a phone number that I can call. That would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Kind Regards
Theresa


----------



## majoroz

Hi Mark,

I have lodged my visa and I am a bit concerned about one of my work experience. I did not mention that work experience in my EOI but I did mention it in my visa application. Will that create a problem when the Case officer is assessing my visa application? I have not claimed points for that work experience.


----------



## Sarah Miles

*Six month tourist visa without 8503*

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your continuous fantastic work!

I'm currently working long hours to save for an extended visit to see my Aussie boyfriend at the start of next year. I'm wondering if I can apply for an eVisitor subclass 651 for the first three months and then apply onshore for a Visitor e600 for another three months? Basically, I want to spend six months with him but don't want to be slapped with a 8503 condition for any of those visas. I know I can apply for a six-month e600 Visitor visa, but it's uncertain of it gets granted and without a 8503. I hold a Swedish passport if it makes a difference in the decision process.

Best,

Sarah


----------



## paul7777777

Hi Mark,

I submitted EOI for Civil Engineering Technician - 312212 for 
189 (60 points on 27 July 2015) and 
190 (60+5 points on 3 August 2015).

I am currently in Sydney, working holiday.

My 417 visa runs out on the 18 August. Is there any chance I will get an invite by then, and can hopefully get a bridging visa while the application is processed?

I was also thinking I could get a visitors visa for a few weeks if it came to that, but can't afford not to work for too long.

Is there any estimations on the time it takes for invites?
Or is there any other options to continue working while I wait?

Also I'm currently finding about about 457 sponsorship, but it's contract work I do, so unlikely.

Any help or guidance is much appreciated.

Keep up the amazing work.

Thanks,

Paul


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Farhanmazhari -

In short, yes, since the employment you're claiming locks in as of the date of invitation. DIBP would not consider any employment past that date for points, so no need to remain in the job as long as if checked by DIBP (likely) your employer will give the correct information to DIBP re: when you worked at that position, duties/tasks, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



farhanmazhari said:


> Hi Mark,
> A question, I have lodged my 189 visa application last week. Can I change my job now and that job has different roles and description then the category I applied for visa. Do i need to inform DIBP, will it impact my case?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MagicXiao -

No good way to predict whether the No Further Stay condition will be added, especially from Chinese applications - recently we've seen this happening more and more. Best you can do is to show her strong ties to China per genuine temporary entrant policy, including assets in China, employment in China she can go to when she returns from Australia, etc. It's silly to have to go through all of this, since lodging a partner visa while on a visitor visa is perfectly legal and done all the time, but those are the regulations currently.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MagicXiao said:


> Hi Mark, I am married to a Chinese woman and want that she come on a tourist visa to Australia and than we apply here for a spouse visa here. Is there anything where we have to look for when we fill out the tourist visa in Beijing? Because when it will be granded that not stay in the visa "no further stay" . They told me in the immigration office not write the reason to visit the husband and immigrate to Australia, than it will stay there. What we can write into the form and what we better not?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kafeel -

No way to predict those Priority 5 cases - the fact that they now are asking for something different (police) might be a sign they are finally moving forward with a decision for you, but hard to tell - only a guess.

Best,

Mark



Kafeel said:


> Dear Mark and Readers
> I have applied in 2010 for 885 visa on point based 120 then every time they assign a new a case officer and they ask me for new medical but the last time they contact me was last month and ask me again to provide them with new police clearenc certificate i was just wondering this time how long its going to take any suggestions will be appreciated highly
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonikatalwar -

Thanks for the note. Payments to contractors is a gray area - here's the policy:

"Payments made to contractors or sub-contractors should be included as payroll expenditure if the contractor provides some labour services in fulfilling the requirements of the contract. If payments to contractors are included as payroll expenditure, any eligible training expenditure in respect of the contractors may also be counted towards meeting the benchmarks."

Essentially what this means is if the contractor does "labour services" - that is, does labour that benefits the company directly and is related to labour that employees of the company do, that would tend to indicate that the contractor payments should be included in the payroll calculation for the training benchmarks. Here's 2 examples:

Example A - Company makes widgets and has a team of 10 people making the widgets. Company needs extra help and uses labour hire to add on 2 more workers via labour hire company to help make more widgets to solve labour shortage. In this case, the contracted labour *would* be seen as providing "labour services" to the company and the contractor costs would need to be included in the payroll number for the training benchmark.

Example B - Company makes widgets and has a team of 10 people making the widgets. One day a machine unexpectedly breaks and a person who works as a plumber is contracted to fix the machine. The plumber contractor finishes the job (and note that they are not being directed by the company as to how to do the job), and bills the company. In this case the contractor *would not* be included in payroll for benchmark purposes since the contractor is doing different work than the company's employees normally perform, the plumber directs his own work as to technique, etc, and only delivers a final product.

Of course there are many situations that are in between A and B - probably best to have a migration agent examine all the details and give you an opinion re: where the contractor expenses fall.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sonikatalwar said:


> hii Mark.
> how are you?
> i am on 457 visa and my boss wants to pay 457 training benchmark A for second year, its 2% of Payroll (Wages&Salaries + Superannuation) only or must be add Labour Hire cost too? because sometime they hire labour (from Contractor & Sub Contractor)
> warm regards
> Sonika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Theresa -

Thanks for the note. First, make sure you are reading the grant letter properly and that the "must enter by" date is what you are referring to - it's very rare to issue a grant letter with a 10 day period to enter Australia from the date of the grant, especially with no warning. If in fact the letter does have only a 10 day period and the visa has been granted, legally nothing can be done other than let the must enter by date go by, then immediately appeal to DIBP not to cancel the visa for a breach of condition. Given the 10 day notice, I think you have a very good case for this and you can tell them when you'll be returning (per BV-B) - I believe there's a good chance they will understand, especially given the extremely short notice period given.

Re: phone number, only 131 881 in Australia - outside you're generally better off dealing with the local embassy with an immigration function (ie, DIBP office, as they will also likely be the ones who would assess your request for non-cancellation).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Theresa said:


> Hey Mark
> My partner and I started with a working holiday visa in Australia and than applied for a 489 for him and me as partner. Than I got my bridging visa as my W&H visa expired. Than we planned to visit our families in Europe. So that I applied for a bridging visa B for two month, coming back in September. This visa was granted without any problems. At the time I personally went and submitted my bridgingvisa B application, I explained my situation and asked also if we need to change our adress or pay attention to anything else. And everyone always told me everything is correct.
> My partner didn't have to worry about that because his W&H visa was still valid until September.
> Now that we are in Europe, we got our grand letter yesterday in which is sais that we need to enter Australia until the 14th of August. That are just 10 days and of course we booked our flys for September and can't change them that easily. We also tried to call some immigration people in Australia but they say that there is nothing to do.
> Is there really nothing to do? Can't we change the date somehow for a few weeks later? How can they grant my bridgingvisa for two month and now this? I just saw my family one week now. That's one time in one year that I can see them and now I have to spend double the money again to leave them after two weeks? Thats so unfair. Noone told us anything about something like this could happen...I am really desperate. I hope you can help me or even have a phone number that I can call. That would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
> Kind Regards
> Theresa


----------



## sonikatalwar

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sonikatalwar -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Payments to contractors is a gray area - here's the policy:
> 
> "Payments made to contractors or sub-contractors should be included as payroll expenditure if the contractor provides some labour services in fulfilling the requirements of the contract. If payments to contractors are included as payroll expenditure, any eligible training expenditure in respect of the contractors may also be counted towards meeting the benchmarks."
> 
> Essentially what this means is if the contractor does "labour services" - that is, does labour that benefits the company directly and is related to labour that employees of the company do, that would tend to indicate that the contractor payments should be included in the payroll calculation for the training benchmarks. Here's 2 examples:
> 
> Example A - Company makes widgets and has a team of 10 people making the widgets. Company needs extra help and uses labour hire to add on 2 more workers via labour hire company to help make more widgets to solve labour shortage. In this case, the contracted labour *would* be seen as providing "labour services" to the company and the contractor costs would need to be included in the payroll number for the training benchmark.
> 
> Example B - Company makes widgets and has a team of 10 people making the widgets. One day a machine unexpectedly breaks and a person who works as a plumber is contracted to fix the machine. The plumber contractor finishes the job (and note that they are not being directed by the company as to how to do the job), and bills the company. In this case the contractor *would not* be included in payroll for benchmark purposes since the contractor is doing different work than the company's employees normally perform, the plumber directs his own work as to technique, etc, and only delivers a final product.
> 
> Of course there are many situations that are in between A and B - probably best to have a migration agent examine all the details and give you an opinion re: where the contractor expenses fall.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanx a lot mark
This year he can pay but what about last year? Is they can Pay diffrence now or visa office can say for pay more? 
Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Majoroz -

If you are not claiming points for the missing work experience, low chance that it would cause an issue generally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



majoroz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have lodged my visa and I am a bit concerned about one of my work experience. I did not mention that work experience in my EOI but I did mention it in my visa application. Will that create a problem when the Case officer is assessing my visa application? I have not claimed points for that work experience.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarah -

Hard to predict chances of 8503. You're from a low risk country, so that would reduce the chances of 8503. I'd say probably equal chances of 8503 with either scenario. Suggest you put in strong evidence of ties to your home country (assets, employment, family/social, etc) with the option you choose to reduce chances of 8503 further.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sarah Miles said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your continuous fantastic work!
> 
> I'm currently working long hours to save for an extended visit to see my Aussie boyfriend at the start of next year. I'm wondering if I can apply for an eVisitor subclass 651 for the first three months and then apply onshore for a Visitor e600 for another three months? Basically, I want to spend six months with him but don't want to be slapped with a 8503 condition for any of those visas. I know I can apply for a six-month e600 Visitor visa, but it's uncertain of it gets granted and without a 8503. I hold a Swedish passport if it makes a difference in the decision process.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Sarah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paul -

Unfortunately DIBP cut back invitation rounds to once monthly starting in July (was twice monthly last year), yet another cut in service to applicants sadly. Furthermore, they don't announce the date much in advance, as the website says the "next" invitation round will be 6 July! I would guess there will be an invitation round sometime between 1 Aug and 10 Aug, but hard to predict.

Re: invitation, you can lodge immediately upon getting the invitation, so that would solve your problem depending on when an invitation is received. No way to predict if/when you would receive an invitation since DIBP does not publish the numbers of people waiting for each occupation and their scores, etc.

Visitor visa - chance of approval after being here 12 months on WHV is very low.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



paul7777777 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I submitted EOI for Civil Engineering Technician - 312212 for
> 189 (60 points on 27 July 2015) and
> 190 (60+5 points on 3 August 2015).
> 
> I am currently in Sydney, working holiday.
> 
> My 417 visa runs out on the 18 August. Is there any chance I will get an invite by then, and can hopefully get a bridging visa while the application is processed?
> 
> I was also thinking I could get a visitors visa for a few weeks if it came to that, but can't afford not to work for too long.
> 
> Is there any estimations on the time it takes for invites?
> Or is there any other options to continue working while I wait?
> 
> Also I'm currently finding about about 457 sponsorship, but it's contract work I do, so unlikely.
> 
> Any help or guidance is much appreciated.
> 
> Keep up the amazing work.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Paul


----------



## MarkNortham

Depends on the business and how the case officer assess the business. Generally we advise to do a make-up payment, then later on if DIBP detects the issue, it's possible to show that a good faith effort was made to fix the problem (ie, pay the difference) upon you discovering the error, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sonikatalwar said:


> Thanx a lot mark
> This year he can pay but what about last year? Is they can Pay diffrence now or visa office can say for pay more?
> Regards


----------



## qyun

*is it possible for.me to apply tourist visa?*

hi mark

8 years ago i have overstayed in USA and applied USA asylum seeker. and did volunteer departure to my country 3 years ago.

now i married with Australia citizen and our visa 309 on process and waiting for my USA police record which is take about 12-14 weeks to be completed. .my USA PCC just running about 2weeks.

Before i married with my husband, i applied a tourist visa at the embassy of Australia in my country and got rejected.

under my condition i wonder if i can apply visitor visa or i have to wait until the immigration granted my spouse visa? i have been live separate with my husband for almost 6 Months and this long wait really killing me.

i was worried if i apply tourist Visa and got rejected again, it will affect to my spouse visa.


----------



## sonikatalwar

MarkNortham said:


> Depends on the business and how the case officer assess the business. Generally we advise to do a make-up payment, then later on if DIBP detects the issue, it's possible to show that a good faith effort was made to fix the problem (ie, pay the difference) upon you discovering the error, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi mark
Thanx a lot. Hope i will see u for my ENS186 file.
Its possible sign if we pay diffrence now? Its around $600. Its not a issue for ENS visa? 
Regards


----------



## tomay

Hello Mark,

I would like to get your insight another yet again on some questions of mine.

I just got an invitation letter to apply for the skilled independent visa (sub 189) and I believe as soon as I lodged my application I would get a bridging visa A (BVA) which I think will only effective after my current temporary graduate visa end which is 11th October.

The problem is I had planned to go back to my country for a while believing I wouldn't get my invitation letter so soon. So I bought plane tickets from 7th October till 14th November. So now I planned to apply for bridging visa B (BVB) which will allow me to go outside Australia and come back.

However, I'm not too sure if I could apply BVB once I get my BVA. I would like your insight on it is do you think I can apply BVB as soon as I got BVA? And it seems BVA will only effective after 11th Oct, will it be the same for BVB and do you think there will be any problem coming back in Australia since I leave 3 days early and come back on November whereas BVB or BVA came into effective after 11th Oct? 

Thank you always for your answer and insight on the matter.

Warmest Regards,
Tin


----------



## naseef

Hi Mark,

I have overstayed in uk for more than 1 year. Now I wish to apply for visa subclass 189. Please let me know if this will affect my application? I don't want to waste all the money on application fee if it gets rejected because of my overstay. Please let me know. Thanks


----------



## alvarez

Dear Mark,

To begin with, I want to thank you for sharing your valuable insights on this forum. Many have benefitted from your posts and half a million views are no mean feat.

I would be extremely pleased if you could share your thoughts on this -

I believe it is possible that the CO disagrees with the skills assessment (not necessarily employment assessment) even though it had a positive outcome. In such a scenario, what action would the CO take if he were not satisfied that the client has satisfied the requirements for a positive assessment yet he was granted one.

I'm thinking on the lines that he would not immediately dismiss the visa application because the client has fulfilled his responsibility by presenting a positive skills assessment at the time of invitation.

Based on your experience and the PAM, could you tell me the CO's course of action in this scenario. Maybe he would get the qualifications re-assessed?


----------



## pinkiestar

Hi Mark,
Thanks a ton for your valuable time and reply.


----------



## toris7351

--deleted content--


----------



## Indu9

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing good! 

Here goes my question! 
Me and my partner have moved to a new apartment hence, I want to update the new residential address on my 820 onshore visa that I applied online in September 2014. Can you please confirm if: 
1) Can I change the details through my immi login under change of address tab? 
2) If i select only my name. How do i change the details for my partner. We have a joint rental lease.
3) Under which tab should i be uploading the supporting documents like the new rental agreement and lodgement form?

Also, I have completed a year in Australia. Do I need to get the police clearance from Australian Federal Police and Indian PCC.

Appreciate your response.

Thank you!
Indu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Qyun -

Re: visitor visa after 309/100 lodged, best to show that the applicant still has strong ties to their home country - ie, assets owned, employment that will exist upon return from visit to Australia, etc. You can google "genuine temporary entrant DIBP" and have a look at the policy.

Even with a refused visitor visa, as long as they did not accuse you of providing false or misleading information, etc, a refused visitor visa would not normally cause problems with a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



qyun said:


> hi mark
> 
> 8 years ago i have overstayed in USA and applied USA asylum seeker. and did volunteer departure to my country 3 years ago.
> 
> now i married with Australia citizen and our visa 309 on process and waiting for my USA police record which is take about 12-14 weeks to be completed. .my USA PCC just running about 2weeks.
> 
> Before i married with my husband, i applied a tourist visa at the embassy of Australia in my country and got rejected.
> 
> under my condition i wonder if i can apply visitor visa or i have to wait until the immigration granted my spouse visa? i have been live separate with my husband for almost 6 Months and this long wait really killing me.
> 
> i was worried if i apply tourist Visa and got rejected again, it will affect to my spouse visa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonikatalwar -

It's up to the case officer's discretion if he/she discovers the payment difference. However it's my view that if the payment difference is made up now *before* DIBP finds out about it, the chances of it being a problem are much less.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sonikatalwar said:


> Hi mark
> Thanx a lot. Hope i will see u for my ENS186 file.
> Its possible sign if we pay diffrence now? Its around $600. Its not a issue for ENS visa?
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tin -

Actually you can apply to change your BV-A to a BV-B as soon as the BV-A is granted - even if the BV-A is not yet activated. So once you lodge the 189 application, you would immediately receive a BV-A grant but the BV-A would be unactivated (since you hold another visa). You can then apply for a BV-B and explain to DIBP that you need to change the unactivated BV-A to a BV-B prior to departing for a trip offshore. It's very important you apply for and be granted your BV-B prior to departing Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomay said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I would like to get your insight another yet again on some questions of mine.
> 
> I just got an invitation letter to apply for the skilled independent visa (sub 189) and I believe as soon as I lodged my application I would get a bridging visa A (BVA) which I think will only effective after my current temporary graduate visa end which is 11th October.
> 
> The problem is I had planned to go back to my country for a while believing I wouldn't get my invitation letter so soon. So I bought plane tickets from 7th October till 14th November. So now I planned to apply for bridging visa B (BVB) which will allow me to go outside Australia and come back.
> 
> However, I'm not too sure if I could apply BVB once I get my BVA. I would like your insight on it is do you think I can apply BVB as soon as I got BVA? And it seems BVA will only effective after 11th Oct, will it be the same for BVB and do you think there will be any problem coming back in Australia since I leave 3 days early and come back on November whereas BVB or BVA came into effective after 11th Oct?
> 
> Thank you always for your answer and insight on the matter.
> 
> Warmest Regards,
> Tin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naseef -

It may affect it, depending on the circumstances of the overstay - no way to tell for sure or predict. Suggest you give DIBP all the details and any supporting documents you have about the overstay - if they start making noise that they are considering refusing on character grounds due to the overstay and send you a notice in this regard, I would engage professional assistance immediately to lodge a defence. Normally this sort of situation can be defended fairly successfully unless there are aggravating circumstances regarding the overstay.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naseef said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have overstayed in uk for more than 1 year. Now I wish to apply for visa subclass 189. Please let me know if this will affect my application? I don't want to waste all the money on application fee if it gets rejected because of my overstay. Please let me know. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alvarez -

Thanks for the kind words! I actually hadn't looked at the view count (too busy!) but that's cool!

Re: CO overruling a skills assessment, I've seen it happen - usually it happens in the case where the CO checks out the employment circumstances and concludes that the documents or employment details were bogus or inaccurate. The CO then accuses the applicant of providing false/bogus info to DIBP and the skills assessor and of obtaining a skills assessment using fraudulent info and/or docs. This comes in the form of a natural justice letter from DIBP requesting comment on "negative information" obtained by DIBP.

In reality, this often is the result of DIBP contacting a previous employer, either in person or via phone, and the employer not having accurate data about the past employee. Many times it's perfectly innocent, yet it can take a lot of time & hassle to convince DIBP that the young trainee who answered the phone wasn't giving bogus info, but just was inexperienced and was afraid to ask his boss about the questions about the applicant.

If something like this happens, it's imperative that you immediately obtain as much strong evidence from the employer as possible to refute the allegations of DIBP - if not, it may result in a PIC4020 refusal which comes with a 3-year ban on all Australian visas. And if you're offshore, then often there is no ability to appeal the decision to the AAT (formerly MRT).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alvarez said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> To begin with, I want to thank you for sharing your valuable insights on this forum. Many have benefitted from your posts and half a million views are no mean feat.
> 
> I would be extremely pleased if you could share your thoughts on this -
> 
> I believe it is possible that the CO disagrees with the skills assessment (not necessarily employment assessment) even though it had a positive outcome. In such a scenario, what action would the CO take if he were not satisfied that the client has satisfied the requirements for a positive assessment yet he was granted one.
> 
> I'm thinking on the lines that he would not immediately dismiss the visa application because the client has fulfilled his responsibility by presenting a positive skills assessment at the time of invitation.
> 
> Based on your experience and the PAM, could you tell me the CO's course of action in this scenario. Maybe he would get the qualifications re-assessed?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Toris7351 -

Thanks for the question. Normally a BV-A comes with no work limitation, however in certain cases such a BV-A issued while the applicant held a student visa, sometimes they put a work condition on it - however that's usually related to a course being in session, and if the person stops studying while on the BV-A, they essentially have no course to be in session, etc. Other times certain humanitarian/refugee visa applications can come with work limitations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



toris7351 said:


> Hello Mark! How is it going? I hope you doing well. Thanks for your kindness and intelligence.
> 
> I saw a couple of posts in forum from who do not attain work permit on BVA or fail to attain BVA. I am curious what case makes them in such hard situations?
> 
> In my understanding, I will get acknowledge letter including BVA with work permit automatically after completion of apply unless I had a history of refusal before or not having substantive visa.
> 
> Is there any case not to receive work permit even though applicant's ETA is in effect and had no criminal history/refusal/dept in Aus?
> 
> Thanks Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Indu -

Thanks for the question. Re: changing details, the change of address tab will only bring up a Form 929 - best to use this to update your info, then post to DIBP. You can upgrade it to your partner visa, but sometimes those aren't processed in a timely fashion - better to actually post it to DIBP. You can lodge a separate Form 929 for you and your partner. Re: uploading new lease, etc, this normally is under the Nature of the Household category, and I believe there is a subcategory for leases, etc.

If you now have been in Australia for 12 months or more, but weren't at the time of application, I would suggest obtaining and uploading an AFP police certificate to be on the safe side - it will probably eventually be requested anyway. Re: Indian PCC, you'd need this if you spent a total of 12 months or more in India during the last 10 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Indu9 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing good!
> 
> Here goes my question!
> Me and my partner have moved to a new apartment hence, I want to update the new residential address on my 820 onshore visa that I applied online in September 2014. Can you please confirm if:
> 1) Can I change the details through my immi login under change of address tab?
> 2) If i select only my name. How do i change the details for my partner. We have a joint rental lease.
> 3) Under which tab should i be uploading the supporting documents like the new rental agreement and lodgement form?
> 
> Also, I have completed a year in Australia. Do I need to get the police clearance from Australian Federal Police and Indian PCC.
> 
> Appreciate your response.
> 
> Thank you!
> Indu


----------



## ricks1990

Hi Mark,

Whether the holder of NSW nominated Visa 190 can work in any other field if fails to get a suitable job in a field for which he is nominated...?

With regards,
Ricks1990


----------



## kellym

*457 to PR*

Dear Mark

I am sure yo have been asked this question may times before, i am in Perth on a 457 visa (until Nov 2018) and want to apply for PR, is there a route via employer nomination i can go through without having to be on the 457 for 2 years first? I have been on my current visa for 10 months. Just looking for more security as would like to get on the property ladder, Thank you


----------



## Bangare

*Visa grant time*

First of all thank you Mr. Mark for doing such a wonderful job of helping people who are curious to know about their visa..

I am also one of them. My occupation is welder-fist class. I have maid payment for subclass visa 190 on 25th of July 2015. My query is:
One of friends has got visa in 35 days after making visa payment. His occupation is Fitter.
Does occupation also matter in visa processing time.?? Is it really possible to get visa in such a short time for high risk countries (ex: i am from India?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ricks1990 -

No limitation at all on the field or occupation that a 190 visa holder works in unless your agreement with the state sponsoring authority says otherwise - the primary limitation, which is an issue with the state (and not DIBP) is that you live & work in the sponsoring state for the first 2 years of your time in Australia on the 190.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ricks1990 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Whether the holder of NSW nominated Visa 190 can work in any other field if fails to get a suitable job in a field for which he is nominated...?
> 
> With regards,
> Ricks1990


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kellym -

Thanks for the question. Yes - it's called the Direct Entry Pathway for the 186 or 187 visa - see DIBP website for complete requirements, however for RSMS 187 visa (possible since you are in Perth), would require opinion from RCB and employer sponsorship; for ENS 186 visa would require 3 years experience in the occupation plus a skills assessment. Under the D/E pathway, no requirement for 457 or minimum time on 457 - employer can sponsor the employee straight away if employer & employee qualify.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kellym said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I am sure yo have been asked this question may times before, i am in Perth on a 457 visa (until Nov 2018) and want to apply for PR, is there a route via employer nomination i can go through without having to be on the 457 for 2 years first? I have been on my current visa for 10 months. Just looking for more security as would like to get on the property ladder, Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bangare -

Thanks for the question and kind words. Occupation usually makes very little (or no) difference in processing time for the 189 or 190 visa in my experience - it's more about the individual person's risk level, and how much work they choose to do to check out any employment that is claimed for points - these days in India they are more and more sending DIBP officers to places of employment (who show up without an appointment) to interview your previous boss, etc - very important that all employers you are claiming points for are fully aware of the details of your employment and can confirm them with any DIBP people who show up or call. Also important to make sure that the call from DIBP is not taken by an uninformed person at the company who then says the wrong thing to DIBP that can lead to a visa refusal, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bangare said:


> First of all thank you Mr. Mark for doing such a wonderful job of helping people who are curious to know about their visa..
> 
> I am also one of them. My occupation is welder-fist class. I have maid payment for subclass visa 190 on 25th of July 2015. My query is:
> One of friends has got visa in 35 days after making visa payment. His occupation is Fitter.
> Does occupation also matter in visa processing time.?? Is it really possible to get visa in such a short time for high risk countries (ex: i am from India?


----------



## Bangare

Thank you Mark.


----------



## tomay

Thank you very much for your answer, Mark.

Best Regards,
Tin



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tin -
> 
> Actually you can apply to change your BV-A to a BV-B as soon as the BV-A is granted - even if the BV-A is not yet activated. So once you lodge the 189 application, you would immediately receive a BV-A grant but the BV-A would be unactivated (since you hold another visa). You can then apply for a BV-B and explain to DIBP that you need to change the unactivated BV-A to a BV-B prior to departing for a trip offshore. It's very important you apply for and be granted your BV-B prior to departing Australia.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Marco12

*Change EOI occupation*

Hi Mark, 
My date of effect is 2nd of April for EOI. Now I got assessed for a different occupation. My question is: Can I change the occupation and keep the old date of effect. I know I can create new EOI but I want to keep old date of effect but for different occupation.
Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marco12 -

I believe that a change in occupation (which would also mean a change in skills assessment info & date) will likely cause the date of effect to change. DIBP doesn't publish the exact criteria for what will trigger a change, but anything having to do with points would be likely to do so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Marco12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> My date of effect is 2nd of April for EOI. Now I got assessed for a different occupation. My question is: Can I change the occupation and keep the old date of effect. I know I can create new EOI but I want to keep old date of effect but for different occupation.
> Thanks in advance


----------



## rajaraheel

Hi,
I got my experience letter from my company and submitted in Nov-2014, but from dec, we had clashes and finally in Feb I had to quit / change my job. Now immi dept contacted my ex-firm to inquire about me. but due to clashes, they dis-owned their reference letter (properly stamped by the company on their letter head), claiming that it's a fake letter. I have some other sources to prove that I was their employee (bank statement, official email communication etc). But now immi need explanation about that letter, which i can not prove is real unless the company says itself, which in current situation is not possible. What should i do to prove myself?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajaraheel -

That's a tough one. I'd probably put together a detailed letter with as much evidence as you can of the clashes, etc, to show their motivation to lie, then put together all of the other evidence of the employment, and potentially contact a lawyer in your home country and threaten legal action (if appropriate) if they persist in providing false information to DIBP, sending copies of all to DIBP to show that you're serious about things. Would need to know much more about the evidence and circumstances to give you specific advice however.

Best,

Mark Northam



rajaraheel said:


> Hi,
> I got my experience letter from my company and submitted in Nov-2014, but from dec, we had clashes and finally in Feb I had to quit / change my job. Now immi dept contacted my ex-firm to inquire about me. but due to clashes, they dis-owned their reference letter (properly stamped by the company on their letter head), claiming that it's a fake letter. I have some other sources to prove that I was their employee (bank statement, official email communication etc). But now immi need explanation about that letter, which i can not prove is real unless the company says itself, which in current situation is not possible. What should i do to prove myself?


----------



## Marco12

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Marco12 -
> 
> I believe that a change in occupation (which would also mean a change in skills assessment info & date) will likely cause the date of effect to change. DIBP doesn't publish the exact criteria for what will trigger a change, but anything having to do with points would be likely to do so.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much for your reply


----------



## samy

Hi Mark, hope its all going good with you.I am very much thankful to you for being such a great help for all of us out here.
Mark does age differences with respect to partner visa 309 really matters.My sponsor, she is twenty years older than me and its been more then 12 months since I have applied, still didn't heard back from immigration(New delhi).
#Is there any law or regulations(australia) which states about the age gaps between couples.
#Can immigration refuse the application on the ground of huge age gap...
Pls help so worried.
Regards ,
Samy


----------



## Thenick

*Can I reapply if 887 is refused due to insufficient evidence for 2 year stay?*

Thanks Mark


----------



## Thenick

Thanks mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samy -

Thanks for the question. An age gap of 10 years or more will usually raise the risk assessment for a partner or fiance visa to a higher level. There is no specific age limit in the legislation, but gaps of 10+ years fall into the area of policy where DIBP has some room to determine whether they believe that the relationship is "genuine". At this point there's nothing you can do until you receive word from them, so best not to worry about it. Also, if you have any additional relationship evidence from after you lodged that you want to upload, that can help too.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



samy said:


> Hi Mark, hope its all going good with you.I am very much thankful to you for being such a great help for all of us out here.
> Mark does age differences with respect to partner visa 309 really matters.My sponsor, she is twenty years older than me and its been more then 12 months since I have applied, still didn't heard back from immigration(New delhi).
> #Is there any law or regulations(australia) which states about the age gaps between couples.
> #Can immigration refuse the application on the ground of huge age gap...
> Pls help so worried.
> Regards ,
> Samy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thenick -

Thanks for the question. As long as you are holding a valid 475 or 489 visa at the time of refusal for the 887, and assuming the 887 was not refused on fraudulent document/info grounds (PIC 4020), then you could apply again later without any specific penalty. In many case with PR visas, if the case officer is considering refusal based on negative information or insufficient information, they will give you a "natural justice letter" which allows you to respond to and comment on the alleged negative information or insufficient info - at this point you can also choose to withdraw the application vs. responding to the letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Thenick said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for that. Just thinking worst case scenario, incase 887 is refused due to insufficient evidence to prove 2 year stay (20 months of 24) and my existing 475/489 is valid until next year. If refused, then can I re-apply a fresh 887 application? Will the above refusal have an impact if I make a new application for 887 with additional evidence? Also will case officer give me an option to withdraw than refuse my application due to insufficient evidence?
> 
> As always, thanks for your help and have a wonderful day ahead.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thenick -

No specified format for a lease in Australia, although many states have standard lease forms - but there is no requirement that a lease be in any particular format to be considered valid. Important though it contains the usual basic info - address being leased, parties to the lease, rent payable, term of the lease, address for landlord and lessee, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Thenick said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Does the lease agreement have to be in government specified format or can be in any format as far it is agreed between Landlord and Tennant?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## Thenick

*Lease agreements*

Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thenick -

No particular waiting time for lodging another one, but they will look very carefully at the next one you lodge so make sure everything is perfect. Re: lease and other documents, can't give you an opinion without actually seeing the documents together with other supporting evidence - has to be looked at together to give you a meaningful opinion. Happy to do so at a consultation - see website link below in signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Thenick said:


> Thanks Mark for the reply, last question.
> 
> If I withdraw application, then can I resubmit another one rightaway for 887 or is there a waiting period? My landlord has given me backdated lease with date stamped from time we moved. Since we both agreed, Is that acceptable? I have other evidences of living there, so wanted to check.
> 
> Thanks a have a good weekend.


----------



## rajaraheel

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rajaraheel -
> 
> That's a tough one. I'd probably put together a detailed letter with as much evidence as you can of the clashes, etc, to show their motivation to lie, then put together all of the other evidence of the employment, and potentially contact a lawyer in your home country and threaten legal action (if appropriate) if they persist in providing false information to DIBP, sending copies of all to DIBP to show that you're serious about things. Would need to know much more about the evidence and circumstances to give you specific advice however.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark for your response. I was working in Mid-East, there was high irregularity in monthly salary transfer (delay of 1-2 months was regular practice of the company), but finally they didn't pay me for continuous 3 months. On frequent demand / request for the pending salaries, instead of salary, they sent me return ticket to my home country, with just 2 days notice, later on sent me 2 months salary instead of 3 months pending (plus there had to be one month more salary as the notice period was not one month as per contract). 
I have my bank statement (salaries transferred by the company's name) and official communication on my official email account with clients and my company's owner. Can I provide those emails as evidence? Plus I can get reference from the clients for which I was working as outsourced engineer during this job. would that help?


----------



## amitmelbourne09

*!89 visa from India External checks*

Hi Mark
First of all i want to thankyou for the free advise you offer to everyone
Now the question is regarding my brother
he lodged his 189 application from India in second week of march and still his status is application received
recently his previous employer got a verification call from someone stating as an agency working for DIBP i think it might be a external check 
so my question is how long does it takes for external checks from India
i know from Pakistan it takes more than a year
Please advise
regards


----------



## Vergara

*Nz 461*

Hi Mark,

Could you please help me with the below queries about my NZ family category 461 visa. I'm divorced & by now after reading the posts related i do know my visa would not get revoked until the respective expiry date. However in case of a renewal of the same visa could you help me clarify the below.

Q1 According to the eligibility requirements I must maintain a minimum stay of 2 years withing the 5 year period. So far I have covered a period of 9 months in my first stay, 6 months in my second stay, 21 months to go
.
So altogether it is a stay of 36 months BUT not a consecutive continuation. Would this affect my eligibility for the renewal?

Q2. Do I have to maintain the insurance requirement as long as I stay in Aussie ?

And just realised there are 841 pages for this forum great work & thank you very much Mark !

Vergara


----------



## ashaito

Dear Mark, 
hope you are doing well. My name is abbas shaito, im applying for visa subclass 189 , i lodged my application on 27th October , 2014 . i have been assigned a CO, and completed all requirements.
my inquiry is that my wife and 1 are expecting a baby soon. when should i notify about change in circumstances ? should i wait until my baby is born ?
then , what are the document needed and whats the course of action should i take ?
thanks for your kind help
best regards, 
abbas


----------



## wishnaver

Good day Mark. Am worried as I think my agent forged a document and uploaded on my visa 189 application. I fear this will held against me. If I ask him to withdraw application proactively and apply a new one then will the previously uploaded false document impact my new application? This is really stress full. please guide. thank you Kindly, Naver.


----------



## ibrahimsyed27

*Immi help*

Dear Marc,

I"ve appeared for IELTS and scored L-7.5,R-7.5,S-7.5 & W-6.5 an overall of 7.5 bands.Also,my points are 65 as per the score calculator.My question is "Is it possible to apply for Sydney Immigration or no for sub-class 189"??

Awaiting your reply Marc.


----------



## starxcn

Hi Mark,

I have just posted a new thread and saw this one of yours...

I'm quite confused about what happens if you apply for a visa 4 years after the exclusion period ENDs?

Many people asked how to waive the exclusion. Well my exclusion started on Jan 2008 and supposed to be finished by 2011. I don't know how long have I overstayed because my visa was canceled before the expiry date and at the time they don't notify people with emails so I didn't know at all. I was a student and I told my uni that I need to pause my study and go home for a while. Then I guess they informed DIAC now DIBP.

Now a large well-known company is inviting me over to Sydney to have a meeting. So I'm looking to apply for a 600 Business visitor as you know. So how badly can the old record affect this one?

Thanks! I think your answers will solve similar mysteries for many other people too.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajaraheel -

Yes, these would help - any documents you have that can show that you continued to be employed by the company during this time where there was a payroll dispute would help. The key is to show evidence that you were working during the contested period, and show evidence of the dispute and what the final result was.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rajaraheel said:


> Thanks Mark for your response. I was working in Mid-East, there was high irregularity in monthly salary transfer (delay of 1-2 months was regular practice of the company), but finally they didn't pay me for continuous 3 months. On frequent demand / request for the pending salaries, instead of salary, they sent me return ticket to my home country, with just 2 days notice, later on sent me 2 months salary instead of 3 months pending (plus there had to be one month more salary as the notice period was not one month as per contract).
> I have my bank statement (salaries transferred by the company's name) and official communication on my official email account with clients and my company's owner. Can I provide those emails as evidence? Plus I can get reference from the clients for which I was working as outsourced engineer during this job. would that help?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amitmelbourne09 -

Wish I could predict, but it's too unpredictable. Also, an employer check is probably not an external security check, but a routine check by DIBP. They are being very strict on employment these days, especially in India, sending people out unannounced to interview employers, etc etc. Very important that your brother alerts all employers (past/previous) that DIBP may be asking questions by phone, in person, etc and make sure the person at the employer is fully informed about your brother's employment there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amitmelbourne09 said:


> Hi Mark
> First of all i want to thankyou for the free advise you offer to everyone
> Now the question is regarding my brother
> he lodged his 189 application from India in second week of march and still his status is application received
> recently his previous employer got a verification call from someone stating as an agency working for DIBP i think it might be a external check
> so my question is how long does it takes for external checks from India
> i know from Pakistan it takes more than a year
> Please advise
> regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vergara -

Thanks for the question. Re: 2 yrs out of 5 (for applications made outside Australia), it's a total of 2 years, which can be made up of several smaller periods of time - does not have to be 2 years continuously. Re: health insurance, yes, you must maintain health insurance while in Australia as a requirement of the visa if you have condition 8501 on your 461 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vergara said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Could you please help me with the below queries about my NZ family category 461 visa. I'm divorced & by now after reading the posts related i do know my visa would not get revoked until the respective expiry date. However in case of a renewal of the same visa could you help me clarify the below.
> 
> Q1 According to the eligibility requirements I must maintain a minimum stay of 2 years withing the 5 year period. So far I have covered a period of 9 months in my first stay, 6 months in my second stay, 21 months to go
> .
> So altogether it is a stay of 36 months BUT not a consecutive continuation. Would this affect my eligibility for the renewal?
> 
> Q2. Do I have to maintain the insurance requirement as long as I stay in Aussie ?
> 
> And just realised there are 841 pages for this forum great work & thank you very much Mark !
> 
> Vergara


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abbas -

Thanks for the note. No obligation to inform DIBP until the baby is born - once the baby is born, you should notify DIBP on Form 1022 and confirm with them that you wish to add the baby to your application - the baby is generally automatically added to the application anyway once they are informed, but I would confirm with them that this has been done after you lodge Form 1022.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashaito said:


> Dear Mark,
> hope you are doing well. My name is abbas shaito, im applying for visa subclass 189 , i lodged my application on 27th October , 2014 . i have been assigned a CO, and completed all requirements.
> my inquiry is that my wife and 1 are expecting a baby soon. when should i notify about change in circumstances ? should i wait until my baby is born ?
> then , what are the document needed and whats the course of action should i take ?
> thanks for your kind help
> best regards,
> abbas


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wishnaver -

Generally will not be held against you if you withdraw prior to a refusal, but in any case, they'll look at the next application very closely if they make an allegation about PIC4020 and you then withdraw after the allegation has been made.

If you suspect your agent has engaged in this sort of act, I would suggest immediately discontinuing your agent's representation of you before DIBP using Form 956 and the "End Appointment" option, while withdrawing the application yourself - a person who is willing to forge a document and put a client's (as well as their own) reputation at risk cannot be depended on to do anything after that, especially withdraw an application linked to his/her own forgery.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wishnaver said:


> Good day Mark. Am worried as I think my agent forged a document and uploaded on my visa 189 application. I fear this will held against me. If I ask him to withdraw application proactively and apply a new one then will the previously uploaded false document impact my new application? This is really stress full. please guide. thank you Kindly, Naver.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ibrahimsyed27 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



ibrahimsyed27 said:


> Dear Marc,
> 
> I"ve appeared for IELTS and scored L-7.5,R-7.5,S-7.5 & W-6.5 an overall of 7.5 bands.Also,my points are 65 as per the score calculator.My question is "Is it possible to apply for Sydney Immigration or no for sub-class 189"??
> 
> Awaiting your reply Marc.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Starxcn -

Thanks for the question. Once an exclusion period is over, it's over and there is no need for any further action such as a waiver, etc. The restriction is lifted. That being said, an exclusion period (and whatever caused it) is considered a negative immigration history, which may cause future applications to be looked at very carefully, especially on student and visitor visas where there is a substantial amount of opinion (of the case officer) involved in assessing whether an applicant's proposed trip is "genuine", etc. Key in these circumstances is to make sure that your next visa application is bulletproof - everything you're claiming is backed up with lots of evidence, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



starxcn said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have just posted a new thread and saw this one of yours...
> 
> I'm quite confused about what happens if you apply for a visa 4 years after the exclusion period ENDs?
> 
> Many people asked how to waive the exclusion. Well my exclusion started on Jan 2008 and supposed to be finished by 2011. I don't know how long have I overstayed because my visa was canceled before the expiry date and at the time they don't notify people with emails so I didn't know at all. I was a student and I told my uni that I need to pause my study and go home for a while. Then I guess they informed DIAC now DIBP.
> 
> Now a large well-known company is inviting me over to Sydney to have a meeting. So I'm looking to apply for a 600 Business visitor as you know. So how badly can the old record affect this one?
> 
> Thanks! I think your answers will solve similar mysteries for many other people too.


----------



## ES2013

Hi mark. Do applicants from Afghanistan ned to complete a biometrics and police check? Thanks


----------



## Vergara

*Nz 461*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vergara -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Re: 2 yrs out of 5 (for applications made outside Australia), it's a total of 2 years, which can be made up of several smaller periods of time - does not have to be 2 years continuously. Re: health insurance, yes, you must maintain health insurance while in Australia as a requirement of the visa if you have condition 8501 on your 461 visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

You made my life so much easier... Thank you very much now I have a clear picture. I will contact you for an extended consultation once I reach Aussie. Thank you very much!

Vergara


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ES2013 -

Latest info I have is that they do not, as acceptable police checks are not available from the current Afghanistan government, and there is no DIBP visa function at the Australian embassy in Kabul. This is subject to change, so best to check directly with DIBP re: the type of visa you are considering lodging and their specific requirements for that visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ES2013 said:


> Hi mark. Do applicants from Afghanistan ned to complete a biometrics and police check? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vergara -

You're welcome! Glad I could help -

Best,

Mark



Vergara said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> You made my life so much easier... Thank you very much now I have a clear picture. I will contact you for an extended consultation once I reach Aussie. Thank you very much!
> 
> Vergara


----------



## wishnaver

Thank you Mark for your guidance. I'll remove my agent. Regarding PIC4020, will they give me a chance to comment incase of PIC4020 or refuse directly if they find about the wrong document sent by my Agent? Can I ask them to delete the document uploaded by my agent?
Thank you kindly Mark.

Naver.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Wishnaver -
> 
> Generally will not be held against you if you withdraw prior to a refusal, but in any case, they'll look at the next application very closely if they make an allegation about PIC4020 and you then withdraw after the allegation has been made.
> 
> If you suspect your agent has engaged in this sort of act, I would suggest immediately discontinuing your agent's representation of you before DIBP using Form 956 and the "End Appointment" option, while withdrawing the application yourself - a person who is willing to forge a document and put a client's (as well as their own) reputation at risk cannot be depended on to do anything after that, especially withdraw an application linked to his/her own forgery.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Thenick

Thanks Mark


----------



## Kafeel

*Thanks MARK For your support on questions*

Dear Mark 
i am very happy today cause i got my 189 visa but by mistake they mention spelling name of my son wrong what should i do about that because i have send 3 email to case officers before as well but still they issue me wrong name of my son .....what do you recommend now should i visit the department in person thanks ...\


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naver -

Normally when PIC4020 allegations are made, you are given a natural justice letter and given the opportunity to comment. You can certainly request to withdraw the document lodged by your client, however no guarantee that DIBP will do that - if you claim it was created and uploaded without your knowledge or consent, that might do the trick re: getting them to withdraw it. If the agent is willing to agree to that in writing (that he created and uploaded it without your knowledge or consent) that would make the claim stronger.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wishnaver said:


> Thank you Mark for your guidance. I'll remove my agent. Regarding PIC4020, will they give me a chance to comment incase of PIC4020 or refuse directly if they find about the wrong document sent by my Agent? Can I ask them to delete the document uploaded by my agent?
> Thank you kindly Mark.
> 
> Naver.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thenick -

Thanks for the question. Generally not considered a debt until the government has billed you for the money and you have not paid it completely (ie, have not paid as agreed after they billed you for it).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Thenick said:


> Morning Mark,
> 
> While submitting 887 application it had a question - Do you owe any debt to Aus government for which I ticked "No" as my answer. I later realized I had received an ATO letter prior to 887 application that I failed to declare my interest income in previous year and to be careful next time. I already have a CO but they havent queried anything on this yet. I dont know if this is a debt to government or no and what to do?
> 
> Question - Since I ticked no above and If there is a debt then will CO refuse application directly or give me an opportunity to explain things prior to rejecting? Also for PIC 4020, is the applicant always given opportunity to explain prior to any refusal under PIC 4020?
> 
> Thank you and wish you a great day ahead Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kafeel -

Yes, suggest you visit DIBP if they are not responding to multiple emails. You could also try calling them - in Australia 131 881; if offshore then your local DIBP office.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kafeel said:


> Dear Mark
> i am very happy today cause i got my 189 visa but by mistake they mention spelling name of my son wrong what should i do about that because i have send 3 email to case officers before as well but still they issue me wrong name of my son .....what do you recommend now should i visit the department in person thanks ...\


----------



## Thenick

Thank you Mark for your quick reply. I have troubled you enough with petty questions and really appreciate your time and the dedication you give on this forum to assist others. Its truly a great service and would definitely recommend this page to anyone with questions around immigration and visa. Have a wonderful day


----------



## jp83

Hi Mark,

quick question: My wife and I are here on a 457 visa, she's the primary applicant, I was added to the visa later in the process.

We want to apply for a PR but her employer won't nominate her. That means we cannot go for the 186 visa with the 457 transition stream.

The way I see it we got 2 options now, 189 and 190.


Which visa would you recommend?
Can I be the primary applicant for a PR while I'm only the secondary applicant with our current visa?

I should mention that both our occupations (Business Development Manager / Housekeeping Manager) are not listed in the skilled occupations list.
My job (BDM) is on the Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List, but I don't have an ICT background.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Chocola

*485 visa*

Hi Mark,

I would like to ask you about 485 visa.

I have completed Bachelor of Accounting and am planning to apply 485 visa.
However, my problem is IELTS which I could not get each band 6 for ICAA or CPA assessment as an accountant.

Today, someone told me that I would be able to apply as an internal auditor under vetassess as I have overall 6 for IELTS. 
I have gone through vetassess website and they mentioned about work experience which I do not have.

I am not sure if assessment of 485 visa also requires work experience so it would be great help if you could give me some advice.

Thank you very much in advance.

Chocola


----------



## vnavarro

Hi Mark,

Im currently on a BVA and will be applying for a BVB soon to visit home. Recently someone had informed me that I need to be assigned a caseworker in order to be able to leave Australia and re-enter or I risk not being able to get back into the country when I return from overseas. I have not been assigned a caseworker yet for my application and I do not want to do anything that will jeopardize my application or entry into Australia. Any help will be much appreciated. Thank you so much for all that you do!

-Victoria


----------



## Bethmaya

Hello Mark.

I met my partner online. He first visited me in september last year, met my family and friends. And I returned the visit in December the same year to meet his family and friends. Also the recent visit last June this year. I am working full time, and so is he. And of course we are in contact everyday. I know its not been a year yet, and have not fulfilled the 12 Months living together requirement. Me and my partner has discussed and thinking about applying the DFV later. 

My question is, is there any chance for getting the DFV? Clearly we cant live together as we both have to work. Provided I have been granted the visa, then i will have to resigned and move in with my partner. I cant go for tourist visa and live with him for a year can i? but i want to do it properly. I have read so many people who got their spouses a tourist visa and then apply the DFV. We are scared if these may jeopardize our applications in the future.


Appreciate your comments on my situation. I am very sure there are other couples who met online and in a situation like me. 

Thank you so much in advance


----------



## ashaito

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Abbas -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No obligation to inform DIBP until the baby is born - once the baby is born, you should notify DIBP on Form 1022 and confirm with them that you wish to add the baby to your application - the baby is generally automatically added to the application anyway once they are informed, but I would confirm with them that this has been done after you lodge Form 1022.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark for your quick reply , 1 more question , does this affect the processing of my visa in terms of time i mean ??


----------



## ashaito

Dear Mark , 

Hope you are doing well , im writing to ask you about the following case: 
i have a relative living in Sydney, Australian citizen , he has his own company and he is welling to sponsor me financially and work wise. my question is , Am i eligible to apply for visa subclass 115 ( remaining relative )
Please note that , i do have other relatives not living in Australia , does this affect the eligibility to subclass 115 ?? 

Best Regards, 
Abbas


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thenick -

Thanks for the kind words! I enjoy your questions - and they aren't petty at all! In fact, the area of what legally constitutes a "debt to the Commonwealth" for migration purposes is a frequent area of confusion for applicants.

Best,

Mark



Thenick said:


> Thank you Mark for your quick reply. I have troubled you enough with petty questions and really appreciate your time and the dedication you give on this forum to assist others. Its truly a great service and would definitely recommend this page to anyone with questions around immigration and visa. Have a wonderful day


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi jp83 -

Thanks for the question. Either work for another employer that will nominate for PR, or the skilled visas you mentioned (also don't forget about the 489 provisions skilled visa if your points score isn't high enough for 190) may be good choices.

No problem with 457 secondary applicant becoming primary applicant for a skilled visa. Re: which is best, generally has to do with whether your occupation is on the SOL list (189 possible) or not. A great website that has more details about occupations and requirements, as well as what state(s) are sponsoring occupations, is www.anzscosearch.com - highly recommended.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jp83 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> quick question: My wife and I are here on a 457 visa, she's the primary applicant, I was added to the visa later in the process.
> 
> We want to apply for a PR but her employer won't nominate her. That means we cannot go for the 186 visa with the 457 transition stream.
> 
> The way I see it we got 2 options now, 189 and 190.
> 
> 
> Which visa would you recommend?
> Can I be the primary applicant for a PR while I'm only the secondary applicant with our current visa?
> 
> I should mention that both our occupations (Business Development Manager / Housekeeping Manager) are not listed in the skilled occupations list.
> My job (BDM) is on the Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List, but I don't have an ICT background.
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chocola -

Thanks for the note, and congratulations on earning your Bachelor of Accounting degree. The 485 skills assessment generally does not require any skills experience, and only focuses on the educational qualification. That being said, do be sure to check out all the various requirements for the 485 visa as the requirements are strict - for instance, the IELTS requirements for the 485 visa are a minimum of 6 in each of the 4 bands of the IELTS test unless the assessor has a higher requirement - overall score does not count for this visa, and the IETLS score must be achieved prior to lodging the visa application. Also note the 6 month limit after you complete your qualification within which to lodge the application and other requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chocola said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to ask you about 485 visa.
> 
> I have completed Bachelor of Accounting and am planning to apply 485 visa.
> However, my problem is IELTS which I could not get each band 6 for ICAA or CPA assessment as an accountant.
> 
> Today, someone told me that I would be able to apply as an internal auditor under vetassess as I have overall 6 for IELTS.
> I have gone through vetassess website and they mentioned about work experience which I do not have.
> 
> I am not sure if assessment of 485 visa also requires work experience so it would be great help if you could give me some advice.
> 
> Thank you very much in advance.
> 
> Chocola


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victoria -

Not true from my experience - as long as the application that generated the BVA is still being assessed (ie, has not yet been decided), then the BVB should be granted (if a substantial reason is given for offshore travel) and would not be in danger of being cancelled. The only time this gets a bit weird is if the applicant is offshore on the BVB on the date that a visa is refused - this can muck with the applicant's AAT review rights, etc in some cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vnavarro said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Im currently on a BVA and will be applying for a BVB soon to visit home. Recently someone had informed me that I need to be assigned a caseworker in order to be able to leave Australia and re-enter or I risk not being able to get back into the country when I return from overseas. I have not been assigned a caseworker yet for my application and I do not want to do anything that will jeopardize my application or entry into Australia. Any help will be much appreciated. Thank you so much for all that you do!
> 
> -Victoria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bethmaya -

Thanks for the question. Currently a new legal precedent was created in June where the 12 month requirement is not that you must have lived together for 12 months, but that the de facto relationship existed at a de facto level (and not as friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, rommate, or any other lower level of relationship) for the 12 months prior to the application. If you have only had a few months of being physically together (ie living together) in the last 12 months, a partner visa may be risky. I'd have to know much more about your details in a consultation in order to give you any specific advice as to whether a partner visa is the best choice for you at the moment, but you also might consider if appropriate a Prospective Marriage Visa (subclass 300) where the relationship evidence requirements are far less and living together is not required, only an intention to marry and do so in the future along with the other requirements for the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bethmaya said:


> Hello Mark.
> 
> I met my partner online. He first visited me in september last year, met my family and friends. And I returned the visit in December the same year to meet his family and friends. Also the recent visit last June this year. I am working full time, and so is he. And of course we are in contact everyday. I know its not been a year yet, and have not fulfilled the 12 Months living together requirement. Me and my partner has discussed and thinking about applying the DFV later.
> 
> My question is, is there any chance for getting the DFV? Clearly we cant live together as we both have to work. Provided I have been granted the visa, then i will have to resigned and move in with my partner. I cant go for tourist visa and live with him for a year can i? but i want to do it properly. I have read so many people who got their spouses a tourist visa and then apply the DFV. We are scared if these may jeopardize our applications in the future.
> 
> Appreciate your comments on my situation. I am very sure there are other couples who met online and in a situation like me.
> 
> Thank you so much in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashaito -

Thanks for the question. For the Remaining Relative Visa, you must have no close relatives (parents, children, brothers, sisters) living outside Australia. If you would be employed by your relative's company, then the 458 temporary work visa might be a possibility, later the 186 or 187 employer sponsored PR visas, or possibly the 489 provisional skilled visa (family sponsored option) - you can learn more about these visas on the DIBP website at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashaito said:


> Dear Mark ,
> 
> Hope you are doing well , im writing to ask you about the following case:
> i have a relative living in Sydney, Australian citizen , he has his own company and he is welling to sponsor me financially and work wise. my question is , Am i eligible to apply for visa subclass 115 ( remaining relative )
> Please note that , i do have other relatives not living in Australia , does this affect the eligibility to subclass 115 ??
> 
> Best Regards,
> Abbas


----------



## MarkNortham

Nope, not in my experience, unless the child has a severe enough health condition that the visa health criteria becomes an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashaito said:


> Thanks Mark for your quick reply , 1 more question , does this affect the processing of my visa in terms of time i mean ??


----------



## Bangare

Hello Mark.. I know you are doing great.. thanks for last reply for my question 

Here another one to solve-
1. what should be minimum age of a partner?
2. Which visa can I get soon for partner if I get married while staying in australia holding pr?


----------



## princessa

Hi Mark!

My Aussie partner and I are just about to lodge our application for Onshore Partner Visa 820/De Facto this September. We have been in a relationship for over 2 years now and has been living together since June 2014. My partner is a Fly In Fly Out worker which basically requires him to be away for work for 4 weeks straight, and back home with me for 4 weeks as well. I used to fly with him whenever he goes back to work but we have then decided it is more practical if I just stayed in Perth whenever he has to go to work.

Do you think this will somehow be an issue regarding the "living in" requirement? I stay home with our dog and look after the house. We talk on the phone everyday whenever he's away. We are lodging our application on September and I am just getting more anxious and stressed about it I'd really appreciate any advice from you. Thank you!

Cheers!


----------



## ranjithm1985

*Filed visa application and now worried!*

Hi Mark,

I got ITA on 10th of July 15 for Visa 190, My Agent and I have lodged visa application on 14 of July and later we found that my ACS Skills letter was expired when we lodge the application but valid when we got the ITA

I emailed to ACS and they confirmed that 10th of July 2015 Indeed was the last day of validity for that ACS Letter.(Issued on 10 of July 2013 with 24 months validity)

Will it cause any problem for my visa process? (I hope not since ACS Letter was valid when I got the ITA and hope CO would consider this point) (Once we realized the mistake we have acquired and uploaded a new ACS skills assessment and uploaded the doc to DIBP)

Thank you in Advance.


----------



## SparkLor

Hi Mark
Thanks for your post and appreciate you offering your knowledge and time to help with our visa queries.
I am a NZ passport holder and my partner (de-facto) is a UK passport holder. I returned to NZ couple of years ago with my partner who is currently on NZ residency visa (through partnership category). 
We are both professionals (financial and engineering backgrounds) and seeking to migrate to Australia once I finish my CPA Australia certification. Although we spent a lot of time and energy on moving to NZ, I am feeling extreme reverse culture shock and not adjusting well to Auckland after living in London. 
I understand that I can get a 444 visa based on my NZ passport and my partner can get a 461 visa through me. However, we want to go a step further and obtain residency and eventually citizenship, so that we don't miss out on doing Aussie things, buying a house and having a family etc.
I am confused about which visa to choose. Whether I should go for the cheaper option 461 visa for my partner now and then apply for residency after moving there or go for residency visa before leaving NZ, although this will be more expensive? 
I am just scared of being caught out over there without financial safety net, in case either one of us is not able to find work quickly enough. Do you think 461 and 444 visa is sufficient for us to get started there? Is there a discount transferring from 461 to 189 visa if we choose first option? 
Unfortunately, we don't have much in savings as we starting from scratch in NZ and my partner was not able to find work quickly enough, despite being qualified in the UK in his own field. 
What would your suggestion be for our situation?
Many thanks,
SparkLor


----------



## varundev

Hello Mark,

I would like to inform you that I got invoice on 20th July and it was paid it on 23rd July. I Informed the CO through e-mail on the same day by providing receipt of payment. Till date I don't get any reply from the DIBP. I am worried that they got my payment or not. I did not get any confirmation mail from the department regarding my payment. On your thread I read about one case which is very similar to mine that a person got VAC2 invoice on the same day (20th July) and he paid on the same day and he recently got grant. DIBP took around three weeks to take decision for him. Mine three weeks are going to be over on Friday. 
I am confused. what should I do ? should I wait for more few days or contact them ? 
Your answer really gives me perfect direction and I strongly follow it.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## bhalo_fish

Hello Mark,

Please inform me how to remove thread in Australiaforum. 

Thanks for help.

Regards
Bharat


----------



## rohitAus

*Acs vs eoi*

Hi Mark

I was assessed from July 07/2005 to 07/2015 and ACS says that employment after August 2007 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261312 (Developer Programmer) of the ANZSCO Code.

Now my question is how can i claim points for work experience post ACS assessment, provided i am in the same job and role?

Let us say I submit my EOI on 1st Sept 2015 then

1) Will the work experience would be from 1st Sep 2007 till 31st Aug 2015 i,e 8 years to get 15 points

2) or it will be from 1st Sep 2007 till 31st July 2015 as mentioned in ACS result i.e. 7 years and 11 months to get 10 points

Additionally in case I join a new job with same role then do i have to get the ACS assessment done again?

Would really appreciate if you can help me in this.

Thanks 
rohitAus


----------



## kittudawra

hi mark sir my self kittu i have applied partner visa in feb 2014 . i got refusel in march 2014 i think . i have applied fo mrt that time . i am still waiting for the case to be open . do you know how long it can take . they have given ne no work right . how to apply work right


----------



## arun84

*CSOL South Ausralia*

Hi Mark,

Im looking to apply for a PR to Australia with my wife. My country of origin is India but settled in UAE now. After speaking to a consultant and some research on my part i have found my profile to be matching with ICT Sales Representative(225213), ICT BDM (225212) or ICT Account Manager(225211). But since these professions are under the CSOL list I have to wait for them to be listed in any of the Australian states.

I have found out that as of now ICT Sales Rep is open under the South Australia Supplementary List. But the access to this list seems very limited and confusing. I was looking to apply to the supplementary list through the higher points category - 80+ points. I can manage the points but still unsure if I have the access to the South Australia supplementary list as the skilled nomination requirement list is very confusing.

Kindly let me know 
1. If I can apply for state nomination on the Supplementary list for South Australia?
2. As ICT Sales Representative what are my best options to apply for PR?

Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Arun


----------



## ozluck

Hello, Mark,
Hope you are very well. I m an applicant for partner visa. Due to my health condition, I have to go through health waiver procedures so that I have been waiting for the outcome nearly three years now. Thank god, two months ago, I was finally contacted by case officer for requiring updated information and I supplied all the information that required in two weeks after the case officer call. Apparently my waiver had been written up. However, it has been another five weeks now since I supplied all the updated documents, I haven't heard anything from them yet. May I ask how long should I expect to get outcome from case officer after updated information supplied? Thank you very much!


----------



## MexicoAustralia

Hi Mark,

We applied for an offshore partner visa in May (online, applicant is from Mexico), and are currently long-distance so I am now looking for a way to bring my partner over around February next year (knowing that we probably will still not have a result on the partner visa at that time). He has had two Australian tourist visas previously and has a 10 year USA tourist visa. I was wondering about the likelihood of being granted a student visa for ELICOS given that he wouldn't really be looking to stay temporarily (except when leaving the country to hopefully be granted the partner visa). He doesn't know any English so our intention would be for him to study English in Australia. Provided we can meet the other conditions of enrollment and finances, do you think the student visa would likely be refused?


----------



## pinkiestar

Hi Mark,
I have recently applied for a Tourist Visa and the immigration has asked me for notarised passport copies all pages.
I am a little worried as to why even after sending the 1st and last page they asked for all pages notarised copies. Plus I was granted a 3 month Tourist visa earlier, that time I wasn't asked for the same.
Should I keep my fingers crossed and hope for a positive response?? 
Thanks in advance.


----------



## Rui

Dear Mark.

2 questions regarding 886 visa launched in June 2010. Just got my case officer.

1. It is a requirement that I get a Malaysian police clearance if I have stayed in Malaysia for 12 months cumulated in the last 10 years. I have lived in Australia for 10 years and did go back alot during my uni days during semester breaks. I did however obtain a Malaysian police clearance in 2009 and since 2009 I did go back to malaysia but only a couple of times (About 4-5 months max cumulative). So is it still essential to get a new Malaysian police check in this strange situation? 

2. Apparently I have to launch my application within 6 months of completion of my uni course. Firstly, I wasn't even aware of this and could've sworn I didn't see this ruling back in 2010? Is this new?!! I graduated from bachelor degree (international business) in Dec 2008 and went on to earn a Graduate Certificate in August 2009. Anyway, while launching my visa application in june 2010, I was on student visa and still studying at the time as I decided to further my studies. I obtained 2 Master degrees by December 2010 in the same field. So far I've only sent evidence of my bachelor degree, I am goint to send them evidence of my Graduare Certificate and Master degrees as well. But is it for naught?

Is there any hope or am I doomed? Please let me know.

Thanks so much!!!


----------



## klmnops

Hi Mark, 

Regarding proving a de-facto relationship (whether for prospective marriage or 'compelling' reason for 3-year ban waiver) - if my sponsor is incarcerated (and will have been for about 13 months at time of potential application), is there a chance of waiving the 12-month living-together rule? Provided that the only forms of evidence for a 'continuing' relationship in very recent times is limited to postal letters and phone call records from the prison? 

We have been registered as a de-facto couple on Victoria's registry for about a year now. 

Prior research has only come up with one similar case which was approved by the MRT, found in the ALII database.

Much thanks - your dedication to responses on this forum are absolutely amazing, I must note.


----------



## ABP

HI Mark,

I have been doing some research regarding this topic, and would like to know what happens to people who provide bogus document regarding their work experience under 189 visa. 

One of my friends is in this situation and is worried what happens next. 

1. If the visa gets refused based on false document grounds, do they take any legal action against the applicant? 

2. Apart from the visa itself being refused, do they get a 3 year ban to not obtain any Australian visa? 

3. After 3 years, is applying again, a waste of time or do such people actually have a chance after 3 years, if all is correct that time? I understand they have extra scrutiny, but is it a lost cause? 

Please help, if anyone else also has knowledge about this, so that I can pass on the info.


----------



## Euroasianman

Hi Mark 

I am eligible to apply for the second stage of my partner visa (309 - 100) in 3 weeks. I called the immigration call centre and asked whether I could apply for my visa a few weeks earlier and the operator said, I could, however when I go on my immiaccount it asks this question:

Has it been a total of 24 months since the date the applicant lodged their temporary partner visa application?

I would like to start uploading all the documents now but I am not sure so I would like to submit the application 3 weeks earlier than the eligibility date. Is it OK if I submit it now or do you think I should wait till the actual date?

Thank you once again for your help.


----------



## Emma098

*820 visa*

Hi Mark
Should I need to fill in STATUTORY DECLARATION form and FORM 80 when I lodge 820 visa application ?

If I submit application through , nothing to be certify right ? I just scan as colour version, is that correct.

Thanks


----------



## sweet

*who can Sponsor?*

Hi Mark,

My brother in- law wants to study here in Australia, the problem is that they say my mother can not sponsor them in terms of financial resources? Is it true that only his relatives can sponsor them? given that my sister is also included on the application as a dependent?

What if my mother makes a loan and give it to my sister? Will that be ok? what documents should they present?.. 
Hope you can reply. 
thanks Mark

&#128522;&#128522;&#128522;


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bangare -

Thanks for the question. Minimum marriageable age in Australia is 18 unless special conditions exist - here's a link to the Marriage Act 1961 with more on special age conditions: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma196185/s12.html

Re: visa for partner, would depend on what visa you are on, your immigration status, and other factors - would be happy to see you at a consultation to discuss options and learn more about your circumstances - see website below for link, thanks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bangare said:


> Hello Mark.. I know you are doing great.. thanks for last reply for my question
> 
> Here another one to solve-
> 1. what should be minimum age of a partner?
> 2. Which visa can I get soon for partner if I get married while staying in australia holding pr?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Princessa -

Thanks for the question. DIBP usually takes FIFO circumstances into account and does not penalise a person because they spend several night away from their home each week. However just to be sure, I'd make sure you have as much other relationship evidence as possible. Also, note that due to a Federal Court case in June, you have to show the de facto relationship has been in existence for the 12 months prior to lodging, but you no longer have to evidence that by showing 12 months of living together if you can show it other ways.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



princessa said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> My Aussie partner and I are just about to lodge our application for Onshore Partner Visa 820/De Facto this September. We have been in a relationship for over 2 years now and has been living together since June 2014. My partner is a Fly In Fly Out worker which basically requires him to be away for work for 4 weeks straight, and back home with me for 4 weeks as well. I used to fly with him whenever he goes back to work but we have then decided it is more practical if I just stayed in Perth whenever he has to go to work.
> 
> Do you think this will somehow be an issue regarding the "living in" requirement? I stay home with our dog and look after the house. We talk on the phone everyday whenever he's away. We are lodging our application on September and I am just getting more anxious and stressed about it I'd really appreciate any advice from you. Thank you!
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ranjithm -

I assume by ITA you mean Invitation to Apply for the visa? If so, you should be fine as ACS is attesting that the the skills assessment was valid on 10 July 2015. Only issue I can see would be if DIBP claimed that the 2 year period ended on 9 July 2015 - which could happen. Easier to think about if you assume that the skills assessment was issued on 1 January 2013 and was valid for a 2 year period beginning from that date - in that case, the 2 year period would end 31 December 2015, but 1 January 2016 would be outside the initial 2 year period. If DIBP complains, suggest you get something in writing from ACS to state that the skills assessment was valid until 11:59pm on 10 July 2015.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ranjithm1985 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I got ITA on 10th of July 15 for Visa 190, My Agent and I have lodged visa application on 14 of July and later we found that my ACS Skills letter was expired when we lodge the application but valid when we got the ITA
> 
> I emailed to ACS and they confirmed that 10th of July 2015 Indeed was the last day of validity for that ACS Letter.(Issued on 10 of July 2013 with 24 months validity)
> 
> Will it cause any problem for my visa process? (I hope not since ACS Letter was valid when I got the ITA and hope CO would consider this point) (Once we realized the mistake we have acquired and uploaded a new ACS skills assessment and uploaded the doc to DIBP)
> 
> Thank you in Advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SparkLor -

Thanks for the question. Main issue I would think is finding a job in Australia - far easier to do in person than from NZ. Assuming you don't have an offer for an employer sponsored PR visa, then you can probably count on 12 months at least for the process of a skilled visa, assuming you have the points on the skilled visa points test. Probably easier, and certainly faster, to do 444/461 and then either start the skilled visa process while you're here, or find an employer to sponsor you for a PR visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SparkLor said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanks for your post and appreciate you offering your knowledge and time to help with our visa queries.
> I am a NZ passport holder and my partner (de-facto) is a UK passport holder. I returned to NZ couple of years ago with my partner who is currently on NZ residency visa (through partnership category).
> We are both professionals (financial and engineering backgrounds) and seeking to migrate to Australia once I finish my CPA Australia certification. Although we spent a lot of time and energy on moving to NZ, I am feeling extreme reverse culture shock and not adjusting well to Auckland after living in London.
> I understand that I can get a 444 visa based on my NZ passport and my partner can get a 461 visa through me. However, we want to go a step further and obtain residency and eventually citizenship, so that we don't miss out on doing Aussie things, buying a house and having a family etc.
> I am confused about which visa to choose. Whether I should go for the cheaper option 461 visa for my partner now and then apply for residency after moving there or go for residency visa before leaving NZ, although this will be more expensive?
> I am just scared of being caught out over there without financial safety net, in case either one of us is not able to find work quickly enough. Do you think 461 and 444 visa is sufficient for us to get started there? Is there a discount transferring from 461 to 189 visa if we choose first option?
> Unfortunately, we don't have much in savings as we starting from scratch in NZ and my partner was not able to find work quickly enough, despite being qualified in the UK in his own field.
> What would your suggestion be for our situation?
> Many thanks,
> SparkLor


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Varundev -

I'd probably wait another 1-2 weeks, then check in with them nicely to see if they need any further information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



varundev said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I would like to inform you that I got invoice on 20th July and it was paid it on 23rd July. I Informed the CO through e-mail on the same day by providing receipt of payment. Till date I don't get any reply from the DIBP. I am worried that they got my payment or not. I did not get any confirmation mail from the department regarding my payment. On your thread I read about one case which is very similar to mine that a person got VAC2 invoice on the same day (20th July) and he paid on the same day and he recently got grant. DIBP took around three weeks to take decision for him. Mine three weeks are going to be over on Friday.
> I am confused. what should I do ? should I wait for more few days or contact them ?
> Your answer really gives me perfect direction and I strongly follow it.
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bharat -

Sorry, but I'm probably not the best person to ask re: this - other moderators are far more familiar with the forum's policy, etc on this matter - would kindly suggest you check with the other moderators, thanks.

Best,

Mark



bhalo_fish said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Please inform me how to remove thread in Australiaforum.
> 
> Thanks for help.
> 
> Regards
> Bharat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RohitAus -

Work as a continuation of the same position/employer you worked at where the position/employer has already been assessed by ACS usually does not require a new skills assessment - an update letter from you employer stating you've continued to be employed in that position until a particular date combined with payslips or other pay evidence to confirm this is usually fine for DIBP. If it is a new position at the same employer, or are at a new employer, then safer to get ACS to assess that separately.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rohitAus said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I was assessed from July 07/2005 to 07/2015 and ACS says that employment after August 2007 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261312 (Developer Programmer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Now my question is how can i claim points for work experience post ACS assessment, provided i am in the same job and role?
> 
> Let us say I submit my EOI on 1st Sept 2015 then
> 
> 1) Will the work experience would be from 1st Sep 2007 till 31st Aug 2015 i,e 8 years to get 15 points
> 
> 2) or it will be from 1st Sep 2007 till 31st July 2015 as mentioned in ACS result i.e. 7 years and 11 months to get 10 points
> 
> Additionally in case I join a new job with same role then do i have to get the ACS assessment done again?
> 
> Would really appreciate if you can help me in this.
> 
> Thanks
> rohitAus


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kittudawra -

Thanks for the question. Re: MRT waiting time, it's usually 12-18 months for partner visa cases re: genuine relationship, sometimes shorter time if it's a Schedule 3 refusal. Re: work rights, you can apply for these using Form 1005 (download from DIBP website) based on providing evidence of financial hardship to DIBP (that your combined expenses are substantially more than your partner's income, and that you don't have any significant savings, etc you could use to pay). If you do lodge a financial hardship claim, make sure not include things that DIBP terms luxuries in your monthly expenses, such as cable TV, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kittudawra said:


> hi mark sir my self kittu i have applied partner visa in feb 2014 . i got refusel in march 2014 i think . i have applied fo mrt that time . i am still waiting for the case to be open . do you know how long it can take . they have given ne no work right . how to apply work right


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arun84 -

Thanks for the note. I'm not able to work out eligibility for skilled visas on the forum because it's simply too complicated an issue with many factors. SA Skilled Migration is also the most complicated of all the Australian states - best way for me to assist you is at a consultation where we have the time and resources to go through your case in detail and work out if/how you meet the various requirements - also don't forget you'll need a skills assessment in the occupation you choose - that's yet another set of rules to satisfy. Please see link in my signature below to our website if you'd like to book a consult - we offer these via phone, Skype and at our offices in Sydney.

Best,

Mark Northam



arun84 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Im looking to apply for a PR to Australia with my wife. My country of origin is India but settled in UAE now. After speaking to a consultant and some research on my part i have found my profile to be matching with ICT Sales Representative(225213), ICT BDM (225212) or ICT Account Manager(225211). But since these professions are under the CSOL list I have to wait for them to be listed in any of the Australian states.
> 
> I have found out that as of now ICT Sales Rep is open under the South Australia Supplementary List. But the access to this list seems very limited and confusing. I was looking to apply to the supplementary list through the higher points category - 80+ points. I can manage the points but still unsure if I have the access to the South Australia supplementary list as the skilled nomination requirement list is very confusing.
> 
> Kindly let me know
> 1. If I can apply for state nomination on the Supplementary list for South Australia?
> 2. As ICT Sales Representative what are my best options to apply for PR?
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> Regards,
> Arun


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozluck -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict with DIBP on these types of matters (and most others, sadly) - health referrals are taking a very long time these days.

Best,

Mark



ozluck said:


> Hello, Mark,
> Hope you are very well. I m an applicant for partner visa. Due to my health condition, I have to go through health waiver procedures so that I have been waiting for the outcome nearly three years now. Thank god, two months ago, I was finally contacted by case officer for requiring updated information and I supplied all the information that required in two weeks after the case officer call. Apparently my waiver had been written up. However, it has been another five weeks now since I supplied all the updated documents, I haven't heard anything from them yet. May I ask how long should I expect to get outcome from case officer after updated information supplied? Thank you very much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MexicoAustralia -

Thanks for the question. Hard to predict refusal chances, but my guess (and it's only a guess) would be that refusal chance would be well over 50% as he has already declared an interest to reside in Australia permanently via lodging the partner visa. I'd probably try for another visitor visa, noting that it is DIBP policy that a legitimate reason to come to visit Australia is to continue an existing established partner relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MexicoAustralia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We applied for an offshore partner visa in May (online, applicant is from Mexico), and are currently long-distance so I am now looking for a way to bring my partner over around February next year (knowing that we probably will still not have a result on the partner visa at that time). He has had two Australian tourist visas previously and has a 10 year USA tourist visa. I was wondering about the likelihood of being granted a student visa for ELICOS given that he wouldn't really be looking to stay temporarily (except when leaving the country to hopefully be granted the partner visa). He doesn't know any English so our intention would be for him to study English in Australia. Provided we can meet the other conditions of enrollment and finances, do you think the student visa would likely be refused?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pinkiestar -

Yes, definitely keep fingers crossed and hope! Chances are they are looking more closely into your travels and want to see where you've been, etc. It's somewhat unusual to be asked for all pages of a passport, so my guess is that they are concerned about something having to do with you, your circumstances or your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pinkiestar said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have recently applied for a Tourist Visa and the immigration has asked me for notarised passport copies all pages.
> I am a little worried as to why even after sending the 1st and last page they asked for all pages notarised copies. Plus I was granted a 3 month Tourist visa earlier, that time I wasn't asked for the same.
> Should I keep my fingers crossed and hope for a positive response??
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rui -

Re: Question 1, this is within the case officer's discretion. Usually best to just get the new PCC if they ask for it, however you can provide evidence (ie, all of your passport pages) to show that you have not been back there since 2009 and see if they will waive the new PCC.

Re: Question 2, complicated question, need to know many more details about your circumstances and the timing of everything - happy to work through this with you at a consultation, see website below in my signature to book online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rui said:


> Dear Mark.
> 
> 2 questions regarding 886 visa launched in June 2010. Just got my case officer.
> 
> 1. It is a requirement that I get a Malaysian police clearance if I have stayed in Malaysia for 12 months cumulated in the last 10 years. I have lived in Australia for 10 years and did go back alot during my uni days during semester breaks. I did however obtain a Malaysian police clearance in 2009 and since 2009 I did go back to malaysia but only a couple of times (About 4-5 months max cumulative). So is it still essential to get a new Malaysian police check in this strange situation?
> 
> 2. Apparently I have to launch my application within 6 months of completion of my uni course. Firstly, I wasn't even aware of this and could've sworn I didn't see this ruling back in 2010? Is this new?!! I graduated from bachelor degree (international business) in Dec 2008 and went on to earn a Graduate Certificate in August 2009. Anyway, while launching my visa application in june 2010, I was on student visa and still studying at the time as I decided to further my studies. I obtained 2 Master degrees by December 2010 in the same field. So far I've only sent evidence of my bachelor degree, I am goint to send them evidence of my Graduare Certificate and Master degrees as well. But is it for naught?
> 
> Is there any hope or am I doomed? Please let me know.
> 
> Thanks so much!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Klmnops -

Thanks for the note and kind words! If you have registered your de facto relationship with Victoria, then the requirement that you evidence 12 months of de facto relationship prior to lodging is automatically satisfied. The next challenge is proving a genuine relationship, which takes into account all of the different types of relationship evidence (financial, social, nature of the household, nature of the commitment to each other). This can be challenging to do, but not impossible - all depends on the evidence you have and circumstances - for instance, naming him as your superannuation beneficiary (and him doing the same for you) is an example of something that can be done while he's in prison that creates commitment relationship evidence, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



klmnops said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Regarding proving a de-facto relationship (whether for prospective marriage or 'compelling' reason for 3-year ban waiver) - if my sponsor is incarcerated (and will have been for about 13 months at time of potential application), is there a chance of waiving the 12-month living-together rule? Provided that the only forms of evidence for a 'continuing' relationship in very recent times is limited to postal letters and phone call records from the prison?
> 
> We have been registered as a de-facto couple on Victoria's registry for about a year now.
> 
> Prior research has only come up with one similar case which was approved by the MRT, found in the ALII database.
> 
> Much thanks - your dedication to responses on this forum are absolutely amazing, I must note.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ABP -

If a person gets a refusal based on PIC4020, then a 3 year ban on virtually all Australian visas is imposed. If he's facing PIC4020 allegations that he can't fully defend, usually better to withdraw the application rather than let it get to a refusal. Going forward, whether he withdraws or lodges again after a 3 year wait, further applications will likely get a lot of scrutiny, however not impossible to get a visa once the ban period is over. Also there are compelling reasons provisions to apply for a waiver of a 4020 ban - again, hard to satisfy, but not impossible in some cases depending on the circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ABP said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> I have been doing some research regarding this topic, and would like to know what happens to people who provide bogus document regarding their work experience under 189 visa.
> 
> One of my friends is in this situation and is worried what happens next.
> 
> 1. If the visa gets refused based on false document grounds, do they take any legal action against the applicant?
> 
> 2. Apart from the visa itself being refused, do they get a 3 year ban to not obtain any Australian visa?
> 
> 3. After 3 years, is applying again, a waste of time or do such people actually have a chance after 3 years, if all is correct that time? I understand they have extra scrutiny, but is it a lost cause?
> 
> Please help, if anyone else also has knowledge about this, so that I can pass on the info.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Euroasianman -

Thanks for the question. The 2 year time is assessed at the time DIBP makes a decision on the sc100 second stage visa, not at the time the 100 is applied for. As they're taking several months now to process these, you're probably safe (but no guarantees!) lodging 3 weeks early.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Euroasianman said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am eligible to apply for the second stage of my partner visa (309 - 100) in 3 weeks. I called the immigration call centre and asked whether I could apply for my visa a few weeks earlier and the operator said, I could, however when I go on my immiaccount it asks this question:
> 
> Has it been a total of 24 months since the date the applicant lodged their temporary partner visa application?
> 
> I would like to start uploading all the documents now but I am not sure so I would like to submit the application 3 weeks earlier than the eligibility date. Is it OK if I submit it now or do you think I should wait till the actual date?
> 
> Thank you once again for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma098 -

For online 820/801 partner visa applications, DIBP accepts colour scans of original documents, so generally no certifying needs to be done (ie, making certifying copies). However, the Form 888's you lodge will still need to be witnessed by a JP or other authorised person - you would then colour scan these forms and lodge with your partner visa application online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emma098 said:


> Hi Mark
> Should I need to fill in STATUTORY DECLARATION form and FORM 80 when I lodge 820 visa application ?
> 
> If I submit application through , nothing to be certify right ? I just scan as colour version, is that correct.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## monu958

Hi everyone,

I am from New Zealand and have been working here as a restaurant manager for 2 years. And also completed a graduate diploma in business management of one year full time. I am planning to migrate to Australia. Could you please advise on what basis i can apply and what are the chances to receive a +ve assessment result from VETASEESS.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Student visas for Australia are unnecessarily complicated, involving a complex matrix where you factor in the country of citizenship and the type of school and program being studied. Once you have the matrix figured out, that will specify the exact requirements, including how much financial assets must be shown, and who is eligible to show the assets in addition to the applicant. Suggest you consult with a student visa specialist who works in this area to confirm the exact requirements in your circumstances - wish I could help with this, but it really needs a direct conversation and a lot of information about the student and program to determine the correct requirements.

Best,

Mark



sweet said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My brother in- law wants to study here in Australia, the problem is that they say my mother can not sponsor them in terms of financial resources? Is it true that only his relatives can sponsor them? given that my sister is also included on the application as a dependent?
> 
> What if my mother makes a loan and give it to my sister? Will that be ok? what documents should they present?..
> Hope you can reply.
> thanks Mark
> 
> &#128522;&#128522;&#128522;


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Monu958 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



monu958 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I am from New Zealand and have been working here as a restaurant manager for 2 years. And also completed a graduate diploma in business management of one year full time. I am planning to migrate to Australia. Could you please advise on what basis i can apply and what are the chances to receive a +ve assessment result from VETASEESS.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## GauravR

Hi Mark,

I joined the forum today and read a lot of your useful replies. I have some questions as well. To start with, I have cleared IELTS with a score of band 7 each. I am a B.Tech in Electronics and Communications Engineering, with 5 years of experience in Software Testing. I am aiming to apply for Visa type 190, with skill as 'Software Tester - 261314'. I have not yet started the process, and I would really appreciate your response on the below questions that are baffling me:

1. As mentioned above that I am a B.Tech in Electronics & Communications and not in Computer Science, will this reduce my relevant work experience? Some one told me that ACS considers this as non-relevant experience and subtracts 4 years, which leaves me with only 1 year of relevant experience and i will get 0 points for experience. Can you please confirm if this is true?

2. State nominations can be applied any time of the year or is there a window? Do I have to wait until July, 2016 or i can get a nomination now if i apply?

3.At present, I am in South Africa but I might go back to India. Will it be a problem in future if I apply now from South Africa and at the time of Visa stamping I am in India?

Thanks in advance.

-Gaurav


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gaurav -

Thanks for the note. Re: ACS treatment of an application, not possible for me to predict this as ACS has a very complex assessment system and each school/uni/etc is assessed differently. See the Summary of Criteria document on the ACS site for a chart of how many years of experience ACS deducts based on the various types of qualification assessments. Re: State applications, you can only apply once you have your skills assessment completed - most states accept applications year-round, but some have dates they issue invitations on, etc - each state is different, check the skilled website for the state you are interested in for details.

Re: applying in one country and then living in another country at the time the visa is granted, no problem with that generally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GauravR said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I joined the forum today and read a lot of your useful replies. I have some questions as well. To start with, I have cleared IELTS with a score of band 7 each. I am a B.Tech in Electronics and Communications Engineering, with 5 years of experience in Software Testing. I am aiming to apply for Visa type 190, with skill as 'Software Tester - 261314'. I have not yet started the process, and I would really appreciate your response on the below questions that are baffling me:
> 
> 1. As mentioned above that I am a B.Tech in Electronics & Communications and not in Computer Science, will this reduce my relevant work experience? Some one told me that ACS considers this as non-relevant experience and subtracts 4 years, which leaves me with only 1 year of relevant experience and i will get 0 points for experience. Can you please confirm if this is true?
> 
> 2. State nominations can be applied any time of the year or is there a window? Do I have to wait until July, 2016 or i can get a nomination now if i apply?
> 
> 3.At present, I am in South Africa but I might go back to India. Will it be a problem in future if I apply now from South Africa and at the time of Visa stamping I am in India?
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> -Gaurav


----------



## ricks1990

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing good...!!!

My question is whether I will be eligible to apply for Australian Citizenship after one year on NSW nominated 190 when my stay in NSW will be 4 years 5 months 18 days...!!!

Timeline of my stays in NSW Australia
03 Feb 2009 to 06 July 2009 - 0 years 05 months 03 days (on TU 573, Visa got cancelled - family problem)
29 July 2012 to 15 Mar 2015 - 2 years 07 months 17 days (on TU 573, for Master of Accounting Extended)
16 Mar 2015 to 13 Aug 2015 - 0 years 04 months 28 days (on GV sc485, after Post Graduation completion)
14 Aug 2015 onward on 190 (my total stays in NSW AU prior to 190 is 3 years 05 months 18 days)

Appreciate your response...!!!

With regards,
Ricks1990


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ricks1990 -

Thanks for the note. Would need to go through this with you in detail at a consultation to assess eligibility as there are overlapping rules re: allowable time outside Australia over the 4 years and the 1 year PR period (see website below if you'd like to book a consultation). However if your student visa was cancelled while you were onshore, that would mean that any time in Australia prior to the cancellation would not be eligible to be counted. If you were offshore when the cancellation occurred, then the time is not affected.

Best,

Mark



ricks1990 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing good...!!!
> 
> My question is whether I will be eligible to apply for Australian Citizenship after one year on NSW nominated 190 when my stay in NSW will be 4 years 5 months 18 days...!!!
> 
> Timeline of my stays in NSW Australia
> 03 Feb 2009 to 06 July 2009 - 0 years 05 months 03 days (on TU 573, Visa got cancelled - family problem)
> 29 July 2012 to 15 Mar 2015 - 2 years 07 months 17 days (on TU 573, for Master of Accounting Extended)
> 16 Mar 2015 to 13 Aug 2015 - 0 years 04 months 28 days (on GV sc485, after Post Graduation completion)
> 14 Aug 2015 onward on 190 (my total stays in NSW AU prior to 190 is 3 years 05 months 18 days)
> 
> Appreciate your response...!!!
> 
> With regards,
> Ricks1990


----------



## GauravR

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for a swift reply.

One last question, Should EOI be submitted before applying for State Nomination or after?

Thanks!
-Gaurav



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gaurav -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Re: ACS treatment of an application, not possible for me to predict this as ACS has a very complex assessment system and each school/uni/etc is assessed differently. See the Summary of Criteria document on the ACS site for a chart of how many years of experience ACS deducts based on the various types of qualification assessments. Re: State applications, you can only apply once you have your skills assessment completed - most states accept applications year-round, but some have dates they issue invitations on, etc - each state is different, check the skilled website for the state you are interested in for details.
> 
> Re: applying in one country and then living in another country at the time the visa is granted, no problem with that generally.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## ricks1990

ricks1990 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing good...!!!
> 
> My question is whether I will be eligible to apply for Australian Citizenship after one year on NSW nominated 190 when my stay in NSW will be 4 years 5 months 18 days...!!!
> 
> Timeline of my stays in NSW Australia
> 03 Feb 2009 to 06 July 2009 - 0 years 05 months 03 days (on TU 573, Visa got cancelled - family problem)
> 29 July 2012 to 15 Mar 2015 - 2 years 07 months 17 days (on TU 573, for Master of Accounting Extended)
> 16 Mar 2015 to 13 Aug 2015 - 0 years 04 months 28 days (on GV sc485, after Post Graduation completion)
> 14 Aug 2015 onward on 190 (my total stays in NSW AU prior to 190 is 3 years 05 months 18 days)
> 
> Appreciate your response...!!!
> 
> With regards,
> Ricks1990





MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ricks1990 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Would need to go through this with you in detail at a consultation to assess eligibility as there are overlapping rules re: allowable time outside Australia over the 4 years and the 1 year PR period (see website below if you'd like to book a consultation). However if your student visa was cancelled while you were onshore, that would mean that any time in Australia prior to the cancellation would not be eligible to be counted. If you were offshore when the cancellation occurred, then the time is not affected.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your prompt reply...!!!

My student visa cancellation Notification says:
*Evidence of grounds for cancellation*: Email dated 22 Sep 2009, from yourself advising that you no longer required the Visa.

I was offshore at the time of my *request for visa cancellation* and *notification for visa cancellation*...!!!

My BASIC QUESTION was: Is it POSSIBLE TO APPLY for CITIZENSHIP after ONE YEAR on 190 if your STAY in the SPONSORING STATE is MORE THAN 4 YEARS at that time...!!!

Anyhow, once again thank you very much Mark...!!!

With regards,
Ricks1990


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi GauravR

Generally the EOI is lodged before the state nomination application. Some states actually check the newly lodged EOI's for interest in their state, and that's how you start the state application process - see each state's instructions (they're different) for specific instructions.

Best,

Mark



GauravR said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for a swift reply.
> 
> One last question, Should EOI be submitted before applying for State Nomination or after?
> 
> Thanks!
> -Gaurav


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ricks1990 -

That's good news if the cancellation occurred while you were offshore - no issues then. Re: Citizenship residency requirement, the basic requirement is that you were physically in Australia for the 4 years prior to applying for citizenship, and that the last 12 months of that period (ie, the 12 months prior to application) you held a PR visa. For the other 3 years, doesn't matter what visa you held or where you were in Australia, as long as you were here with some sort of visa. There are allowable absence limits within the 4 years (365 days) and the 1 year PR period (3 months).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ricks1990 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your prompt reply...!!!
> 
> My student visa cancellation Notification says:
> *Evidence of grounds for cancellation*: Email dated 22 Sep 2009, from yourself advising that you no longer required the Visa.
> 
> I was offshore at the time of my *request for visa cancellation* and *notification for visa cancellation*...!!!
> 
> My BASIC QUESTION was: Is it POSSIBLE TO APPLY for CITIZENSHIP after ONE YEAR on 190 if your STAY in the SPONSORING STATE is MORE THAN 4 YEARS at that time...!!!
> 
> Anyhow, once again thank you very much Mark...!!!
> 
> With regards,
> Ricks1990


----------



## maha

I would like to find out the following information;

Father DOB is 20 Dec 1945 and mother DOB is 07 Sep 1962.

What are the visa options for permanent migration to Australia ? 

what are the process /step for those eligible visa application? 

How much will cost (Total) for both ( my mum & dad) application ?
How long will be take to process the visa? 


At the moment they hold VISITOR (Class FA) VISITOR (Subclass 600)
visa which is expire on the 7th of November 2016. When they apply
for other application will affect the visit visa (Subclass 600)?


----------



## Keep me in oz

*Mrt*

Hi Mark,

If the MRT overturns my declined onshore partner visa, does that mean that the two years temporary visa still starts from the date I applied?.

I applied in May 2014, Decline din March 2015, awaiting hearing, but if it gets overturned would that mean that in May 2016 im elidgible for the 801??

Thanks


----------



## ranjithm1985

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ranjithm -
> 
> I assume by ITA you mean Invitation to Apply for the visa? If so, you should be fine as ACS is attesting that the the skills assessment was valid on 10 July 2015. Only issue I can see would be if DIBP claimed that the 2 year period ended on 9 July 2015 - which could happen. Easier to think about if you assume that the skills assessment was issued on 1 January 2013 and was valid for a 2 year period beginning from that date - in that case, the 2 year period would end 31 December 2015, but 1 January 2016 would be outside the initial 2 year period. If DIBP complains, suggest you get something in writing from ACS to state that the skills assessment was valid until 11:59pm on 10 July 2015.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

First of all, Thanks for the information and All your valuable answers on this forum..

Yes I meant Invitation to apply for the visa, I already have the email from ACS that says my ACS was valid on 10 July 2015.( I will go ahead and request them to provide the one says it was valid until 11:59pm on 10 July 2015). 

What if the DIBP does not accept the ACS attestation ? Can I request them for refund and re-apply (I mean starting over the entire process of EOI -ITA- Etc again), I know they generally do not accept the requests for Visa fee refund...


----------



## LadyRogueRayne

*ETA Business Visa to a 190 Visa*

Hi Mark,

I've spent hours going through the threads and apologize if you've answered this before. However, I want to ensure I'm taking the correct path to my 190 Visa.I am a secondary teacher doing my skills assessment now. I have an ETA Business Visa and will be leaving for Australia in a few weeks. I have been in touch with the WA Dept of Ed and they want me to come in for an appointment. I was advised to come in September as that is when they start hiring for school teachers and while I can't work yet, it was advised to make the contacts for once my visa is completed. My question is this:

Will I be able to apply onshore for my 190 Visa once my skills assessment is completed? I have been in touch with the Teaching Certification authorities as well as the Dept of Ed, and qualify for the 190 once my assessment is completed. My ETA Business Visa does not have the "No further Stay" clause, from what I can see. Am I following the correct path for this?

Thank you in advance for your assistance!


----------



## linlanae

*PMV questions*

Hello Mark,

I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me. I've combed through this forum for weeks but haven't found quite what I was looking for so I'm sorry if this is redundant. 
My situation is this. I'm an American, my fiance is an Australian citizen and we are just beginning to compile information for a prospective marriage visa. I have a few questions however, because I keep reading conflicting information so I was hoping to get some definitive answers here.

Here are my questions:

1. Must my fiancee have a passport or are there other valid forms of ID such as birth certificate, etc, which will suffice?

2. Do I need to prove health coverage for aus in the pmv application or is that something I can get later?

3. My fiancée has been convicted of a felony within the past five years. Neither of us have children, so it is my understanding that this shouldn't be an impediment to his sponsoring me. Is that correct?

Thanks in advance! I appreciate any help you can give.


----------



## sriramvemuri

*Employment in nominated occupation*

Hi Mark

Hope you are doing good! I apologize if the same question that I am going to ask below has been answered by you before.

I have applied for subclass 190 visa in the month of June. I have been going through my visa application page where I came across a question as mentioned below
*"Has the applicant been employed overseas in their nominated occupation or a closely related occupation at a skilled level immediately before lodging this application?"*

I would like to know what overseas employment actually means? Does it refer to the employment outside Australia or outside my home country(India)

Appreciate your help on this matter!!! Thank you in advance, Mark!


----------



## lauralou

*Form 80 Part J*

Hi Mark,

Hoping you could help re: form 80 - Part J - Question 35 "Are you currently in Australia?" (I found something called "Form 80 Guidance Notes" but it seems a bit out of date..? The questions appear to have changed..)
I've been in Australia since 2013 when I came here on a working holiday visa, and last year me & my partner lodged our 820/801 onshore application. I'm currently on Bridging Visa A. I'm now trying to fill out form 80, and I'm struggling with this one simple question!
Am I supposed to put details of my bridging visa in this section, i.e:
Type of Visa you hold: Bridging Visa
Reason for journey: Awaiting processing of partner visa
Place of issue: Australia
Arrival date: Date my bridging visa was granted?

Looking forward to your response and your help.

Thanks !


----------



## koalaburra

Hi Mark,

My partner and I are planning on filling out the partner visa (subclass 820). He is planning to sponsor me, but does he need to be employed to do so? He's currently in school and I'm here on a work visa. Plus we're living with his family, so money isn't actually an issue. But I'm concerned it may be a requirement for him to be my sponsor.

Thanks


----------



## martin12345

Hey Mark!

I have pretty much put together all of my evidence together now after months of trying, for my partner visa 820 onshore application. I am from the UK and meet all of the relationship criteria for the visa with my partner.

I am unsure however whether to submit the form80 and do the medical before applying for the visa? (I will apply in the next 6-7 weeks or so).

If processing does take the estimated 12-15 months, I would have to re-do the medical and my circumstances included in the form80 will probably be changing (We will be moving house in January and I will be changing jobs soon). Should i therefore wait to include these 2 elements until requested/will they even ask for form80? I have read mixed messages about whether this is actually a requirement.

Feedback would be much appreciated!
Martin


----------



## Emma098

*HI Mark*

Hi Mark,
Thanks for reply.
Should I need to fill in STATUTORY DECLARATION form and FORM 80 when I lodge 820 visa application ? 
Thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Emma098 -
> 
> For online 820/801 partner visa applications, DIBP accepts colour scans of original documents, so generally no certifying needs to be done (ie, making certifying copies). However, the Form 888's you lodge will still need to be witnessed by a JP or other authorised person - you would then colour scan these forms and lodge with your partner visa application online.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maha -

Thanks for the question. Would need to discuss the details of your parents' case in a consultation in order to provide specific advice - too many factors details to sort through in online forum posts - happy to assist at a consult if you'd like specific advice - see website below in my signature, then look for a link to consultations at the top of the page.

Best,

Mark



maha said:


> I would like to find out the following information;
> 
> Father DOB is 20 Dec 1945 and mother DOB is 07 Sep 1962.
> 
> What are the visa options for permanent migration to Australia ?
> 
> what are the process /step for those eligible visa application?
> 
> How much will cost (Total) for both ( my mum & dad) application ?
> How long will be take to process the visa?
> 
> At the moment they hold VISITOR (Class FA) VISITOR (Subclass 600)
> visa which is expire on the 7th of November 2016. When they apply
> for other application will affect the visit visa (Subclass 600)?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Keep me on oz -

Yes - if you are successful at the MRT, the application goes back to DIBP for further processing, and the original application date is retained. If the decision comes more than 2 years after the initial application date, then they should grant the 801 straight away.

Re: MRT, make sure you are fully prepared and understand all of the laws, regulations and DIBP policy, especially if it's a Schedule 3 refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Keep me in oz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> If the MRT overturns my declined onshore partner visa, does that mean that the two years temporary visa still starts from the date I applied?.
> 
> I applied in May 2014, Decline din March 2015, awaiting hearing, but if it gets overturned would that mean that in May 2016 im elidgible for the 801??
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ranjithm -

If DIBP claims the skills assessment was not valid on 10 July, I'd start getting into the law, especially the Acts Interpretation Act, which governs the legal measurement of lengths of time and the language used for those and build a strong written submission that the period of time in question would include 10 July. However the ACS letter should do the trick with any luck.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ranjithm1985 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all, Thanks for the information and All your valuable answers on this forum..
> 
> Yes I meant Invitation to apply for the visa, I already have the email from ACS that says my ACS was valid on 10 July 2015.( I will go ahead and request them to provide the one says it was valid until 11:59pm on 10 July 2015).
> 
> What if the DIBP does not accept the ACS attestation ? Can I request them for refund and re-apply (I mean starting over the entire process of EOI -ITA- Etc again), I know they generally do not accept the requests for Visa fee refund...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LRR:

Yes, however remember that a 190 visa requires state sponsorship - you can apply for state sponsorship, but unless/until the state decides to sponsor you, no way to apply for a 190 visa. You may want to investigate how long this will take in terms of planning your time onshore, etc. Without condition 8503, you're in good shape, as long as you are onshore when the state sponsorship approval occurs, which will generate an invitation from DIBP to apply for the 190 visa. Once you apply onshore for the 190, that will provide a bridging visa that will allow you to stay past the end of your visitor visa stay period to remain in Australia until a decision is made on the 190 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LadyRogueRayne said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've spent hours going through the threads and apologize if you've answered this before. However, I want to ensure I'm taking the correct path to my 190 Visa.I am a secondary teacher doing my skills assessment now. I have an ETA Business Visa and will be leaving for Australia in a few weeks. I have been in touch with the WA Dept of Ed and they want me to come in for an appointment. I was advised to come in September as that is when they start hiring for school teachers and while I can't work yet, it was advised to make the contacts for once my visa is completed. My question is this:
> 
> Will I be able to apply onshore for my 190 Visa once my skills assessment is completed? I have been in touch with the Teaching Certification authorities as well as the Dept of Ed, and qualify for the 190 once my assessment is completed. My ETA Business Visa does not have the "No further Stay" clause, from what I can see. Am I following the correct path for this?
> 
> Thank you in advance for your assistance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Linlanae -

Thanks for the question. For PMV (fiance) visas, the sponsor doesn't have to have a passport, but is required to show permanent residency or citizenship. Re: health insurance coverage, not required for PMV. Re: criminal record of sponsor, not an issue (and no police reports required from sponsor) unless children on the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



linlanae said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me. I've combed through this forum for weeks but haven't found quite what I was looking for so I'm sorry if this is redundant.
> My situation is this. I'm an American, my fiance is an Australian citizen and we are just beginning to compile information for a prospective marriage visa. I have a few questions however, because I keep reading conflicting information so I was hoping to get some definitive answers here.
> 
> Here are my questions:
> 
> 1. Must my fiancee have a passport or are there other valid forms of ID such as birth certificate, etc, which will suffice?
> 
> 2. Do I need to prove health coverage for aus in the pmv application or is that something I can get later?
> 
> 3. My fiancée has been convicted of a felony within the past five years. Neither of us have children, so it is my understanding that this shouldn't be an impediment to his sponsoring me. Is that correct?
> 
> Thanks in advance! I appreciate any help you can give.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sriramvemuri -

Thanks for the question. That means skilled employment anywhere outside of Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sriramvemuri said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hope you are doing good! I apologize if the same question that I am going to ask below has been answered by you before.
> 
> I have applied for subclass 190 visa in the month of June. I have been going through my visa application page where I came across a question as mentioned below
> *"Has the applicant been employed overseas in their nominated occupation or a closely related occupation at a skilled level immediately before lodging this application?"*
> 
> I would like to know what overseas employment actually means? Does it refer to the employment outside Australia or outside my home country(India)
> 
> Appreciate your help on this matter!!! Thank you in advance, Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lauralou -

Yes - your bridging visa details would be correct.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lauralou said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hoping you could help re: form 80 - Part J - Question 35 "Are you currently in Australia?" (I found something called "Form 80 Guidance Notes" but it seems a bit out of date..? The questions appear to have changed..)
> I've been in Australia since 2013 when I came here on a working holiday visa, and last year me & my partner lodged our 820/801 onshore application. I'm currently on Bridging Visa A. I'm now trying to fill out form 80, and I'm struggling with this one simple question!
> Am I supposed to put details of my bridging visa in this section, i.e:
> Type of Visa you hold: Bridging Visa
> Reason for journey: Awaiting processing of partner visa
> Place of issue: Australia
> Arrival date: Date my bridging visa was granted?
> 
> Looking forward to your response and your help.
> 
> Thanks !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Koalaburra -

Thanks for the question. No employment or minimum level of financial income/assets necessary, but he should demonstrate financial resources somehow - a good way to do that in your circumstances may be to include a letter from his family stating that they will be providing a place for you to live, etc until he completes school. Also you should show how/where you're getting what income or money you do have for daily needs/spending - can be from family, savings, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



koalaburra said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I are planning on filling out the partner visa (subclass 820). He is planning to sponsor me, but does he need to be employed to do so? He's currently in school and I'm here on a work visa. Plus we're living with his family, so money isn't actually an issue. But I'm concerned it may be a requirement for him to be my sponsor.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martin12345 -

Congratulations on getting your docs and evidence together! Not an easy task.

Re: health exams for partner visa, suggest you wait until these are requested so as to avoid expiration. Re: Form 80, I'd wait until this is requested too - these are optional depending on whether the case officer requests it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



martin12345 said:


> Hey Mark!
> 
> I have pretty much put together all of my evidence together now after months of trying, for my partner visa 820 onshore application. I am from the UK and meet all of the relationship criteria for the visa with my partner.
> 
> I am unsure however whether to submit the form80 and do the medical before applying for the visa? (I will apply in the next 6-7 weeks or so).
> 
> If processing does take the estimated 12-15 months, I would have to re-do the medical and my circumstances included in the form80 will probably be changing (We will be moving house in January and I will be changing jobs soon). Should i therefore wait to include these 2 elements until requested/will they even ask for form80? I have read mixed messages about whether this is actually a requirement.
> 
> Feedback would be much appreciated!
> Martin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma098 -

Re: Form 80, you can wait until DIBP requests this if you'd like, as this form is sometimes requested, other times not. Re: statutory declaration, not sure exactly what you're referring to - if you mean the Form 888's, you should lodge those with the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emma098 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for reply.
> Should I need to fill in STATUTORY DECLARATION form and FORM 80 when I lodge 820 visa application ?
> Thanks


----------



## martin12345

Hi Mark,

I will sit tight and wait to be requested for the form80 and medical assessment then, thank you for clearing that one up!

My current visa expires mid-October so I am now looking to apply ASAP really, just waiting on a few final documents etc.

If things did take longer to finalise than planned, even if I apply for the partner visa with only around 1 week - 10days left (worst case scenario) on my current visa, would the bridging visa A kick in okay/quick enough before my current substantive visa expires?

Thanks again Mark!
Martin



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Martin12345 -
> 
> Congratulations on getting your docs and evidence together! Not an easy task.
> 
> Re: health exams for partner visa, suggest you wait until these are requested so as to avoid expiration. Re: Form 80, I'd wait until this is requested too - these are optional depending on whether the case officer requests it.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## T&M

Hi Mark,

I received the below updates from the immi today, Is this a good sign and what do they really mean by this? thank you for your supports.

This application has already reached the final stage of processing. There are no other requirements on your application as all checks have been completed. The decision on this application is forthcoming, therefore we ask that you wait for the case officer’s decision which will be given in due course.


----------



## pinkiestar

Hi Mark,

Firstly Thankyou so much for all the advise which has always been so correct.
Partner Visa applied - June 2015
Medicals done
Pcc done
All documents submitted.

The immigration has granted me a 6 month visa. It has no conditions attached to it. Which is a relief.
1)Does that mean I can extend my visa once I am in Australia?
Around when can I apply for extension of visa and what are the chances of it being granted?
2)What if I get pregnant during this stay?
Will that affect my visa extension process?
Will it affect my Partner visa?
And do I have to go through medicals again, for visa extension?? (The medicals I did for Partner visa will expire next year July 2016)

Please reply.


----------



## jumani

Hi Mark,

After reading all the posts with your answers, i also decided to get a help.

I have applied for 189 visa onshore in july 2015, still awaiting for a case officer to assign.

Anyways, i have applied my wife (offshore) as a secondary applicant and uploaded the marriage certificate, passport bio page, police checks, health examination and ielts as per immigration recommendation. And also, i did declared my marital status as married when i applied for extension of my student visa 1.5 years ago.

Just a bit curious to know if i need to upload any more documentation for my wife or to prove our relationship.?

Your help will be much appreciated.

Jumani


----------



## bhalo_fish

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bharat - Sorry, but I'm probably not the best person to ask re: this - other moderators are far more familiar with the forum's policy, etc on this matter - would kindly suggest you check with the other moderators, thanks. Best, Mark


Thank you so much for reply.

Regards
Bharat


----------



## Hoshi

*Change of passport*

Hey Mark,

It is needless to say what a wonderful job you are doing in helping us all. 
I got my provisional partner visa back in Jan, but I had to fly back to and stay in Bulgaria for some time due to family emergency. In the meantime my passport expired and I just got a new one. I did fill out and upload a change form in my immi account. However, I am not sure what is the procedure from now on. Will I receive a corrected grant letter (airport companies require it)? How can I be sure that the visa is attached to the new passprt number and its all good?
Do I need to do something else, like contact immi via phone or e-mail my previous CO?

I am sure someone already asked you of that and I am sorry to repeat the question...

Thans a lot in advance, 
Krassi


----------



## LadyRogueRayne

Thank you, Mark! Yes, I am aware the 190 requires state sponsorship. I had planned to lodge a 189 Visa, but then after talking with the WA Dept of Education, they are the ones who told me about the 190. I plan to do remote teaching, which is a critical need area. Therefore, I was told I would be able to get the 190. Either way, I am prepared to apply for either the 189 or the 190. I have all of my documentation together and will be ready to apply as soon as I receive an invitation. I do have an additional question:

I understand that when I apply for the 190 visa, that I will automatically get a bridging visa to cover the period of time between my ETA visa and the 190 visa decision. Will the bridging visa allow me to work? Or will I have to wait until I receive the permanent visa? Also, would it be beneficial to do my medical exam and my police report now, before I leave? Or should I wait until I lodge the 190 visa? Thank you again for taking the time to answer all of our questions. It really helps to de-mystify the whole visa process.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi LRR:
> 
> Yes, however remember that a 190 visa requires state sponsorship - you can apply for state sponsorship, but unless/until the state decides to sponsor you, no way to apply for a 190 visa. You may want to investigate how long this will take in terms of planning your time onshore, etc. Without condition 8503, you're in good shape, as long as you are onshore when the state sponsorship approval occurs, which will generate an invitation from DIBP to apply for the 190 visa. Once you apply onshore for the 190, that will provide a bridging visa that will allow you to stay past the end of your visitor visa stay period to remain in Australia until a decision is made on the 190 visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## sonikatalwar

hii Mark
i am on 457 visa & have Private Health Insurance if i apply ENS 186 TRT i am eligible for Medicare so in that condition can i stop my Private Insurance and continue with medicare. (my 457 visa is Valid for 1 year more)


----------



## Keshab

Hello Mark,

Thanks for initiating this wonderful forum and giving your valuable time to reply us.

I have few queries:

a. I lodged my application for skill assessment as internal auditor on 27 May and uploaded all documents on 11 June. No communication received so far. When can I expect completion of skill assessment from Vetassess, assuming my documents are complete? I heard that they even take up to four months. 
b. It appears that occupation ceiling for "2212 Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers" is quickly being filled, with 610 results to date out of 1000. Is 610 number of application selected through skillselect? Do you think I can make it for this year? (My total point will be 65). I think that 1000 quota would be fulfilled within two application round. Is my understanding correct?
c. I have a widow mum dependent on me, age 71. Iam her only child. Can I include her within dependent relatives? And is there any cap on visa quota for this category? What is the current waiting time?

Too many concerns at this stage......Thank you for your time in reading and sharing your insights.

Regards,
Keshab


----------



## jason1

Hi Mark..

I am currently completing my documents for my 820 onshore visa application. I have one previous criminal offence from when i was visiting QLD (a stupid drunken night out)

The result was a "proved with no conviction" just a small fine. Do I therefore have to include this a criminal conviction when I am filling out the official documents such as 47p in the character section - "have you ever been convicted of an offence in any country (including any conviction which is now removed from official records)??

I intend to also include a stat dec explaining what happened and how the experience changed me, also outlining that i have had no further trouble with the law since. I just need clarification on what answer to provide on the documents though..

Thanks Mark, a response would be amazing!
Jason.


----------



## Markblackmore

*De Facto Relationship*

Hi Mark

Im new to this site and looking at the huge amount of info it has to offer and has brought me to earth with a bump with what needs to be done

Briefly my history is this - i met Lynda (lives in Queensland) about 2 years ago and a year ago our friendship developed into a relationship

I have visited 3 times since October 2014 and will be out with her again in October 2015 and february 2016 Lynda has also visited the U.K. with her son this year

My intention is to be with her permanently and was hoping to do this by November 2016

I am 55 yo living in the U.K. and am going thru a divorce (still waiting for the decree absolute)

we would be looking at the partner visa in the first instance

Any advice on how to get this ball rolling would be greatly appreciated, i.e. would it be advisable to register our relationship with your immigration dept.


----------



## ranjithm1985

Hi Mark,

I hope DIBP accepts it without me having to justify my position !! Once again Thank you for the detailed reply, 

-Ranjith M



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ranjithm -
> 
> If DIBP claims the skills assessment was not valid on 10 July, I'd start getting into the law, especially the Acts Interpretation Act, which governs the legal measurement of lengths of time and the language used for those and build a strong written submission that the period of time in question would include 10 July. However the ACS letter should do the trick with any luck.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Suyog03

Hello Mark,

Thanks for wonderful compilation of doubts and solutions, also for your efforts in replying individuals queries.

I have one doubt as I have heard about ACS Skill assessment from many people, especially about not considering initial experience if your graduations in from non-computer science back ground (for my case).

Actually after 18 months of experience in Melbourne I am looking forward to apply for PR. As I am on edge of completing my 9 years (including 1.5 years in Australia) of IT experience I though of waiting till Nov 2009 .


 I have been working in IT industry since day one of my career.
I got placed through campus placement round of my Post Graduation Diploma In Advanced Computing (DAC).
I have studies Computer Science subjects (like Operating Systems, software engineering, C++ and Data structures, Java & J2EE, Database Technologies, Microsoft Technologies) in my PG Diploma course.
I have completed graduation in Instrumentation and Control Engineering.
I have been doing Software Engineer tasks (like Design, develop, modify, document, unit test, implement and support software applications) throughout my career.
 Can you please give me rough idea what can be maximum experience considered for my case if I am applying with Software Engineer as my skill set.

I do understand this can be rough guess as per your knowledge and need not be considered as final confirm comment I just want to have idea about point calculations.

Thanks 
Suyog Doshi


----------



## Travelling_Bird

Hi Mark,

I am new to this forum. But after viewing some of your fascinating replies, I decided to join the forum in order to ask my questions.

I lodged an application for visa subclass 189 on 14/Aug/2015. Then, I realized it won't go through because I over-claimed points (due to the now-famous ACS two years issue).
Now, I need to submit form 1446 (Withdrawal of a visa application) and form 1424 (Refund Request) but I cannot find where to attach them in the online application. Simply, there is no corresponding "evidence type" and "document type" in the attachment window.

Could you please help me with that? Or who else could help me?

Thanks and best regards


----------



## Shafee_20

*Travelling while on Bridging Visa*

Hi Mark,

I am a recent graduate from UNSW and my student visa expires on the 30th September 2015. I have just applied recently for a Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) and have been granted a Bridging Visa A. The grant letter says the bridging visa is not yet in effect leading me to understand that it will come into effect after my current student visa expires on 30/09/15.

I need to travel to my home country in the meantime to attend to my grandmother's illness as well as attend my sister's wedding. The scheduling is such that I need to leave Sydney around the 15th September and return around the 1st November. My understanding is that I need to apply for a Bridging Visa B in order to travel. I have all the relevant forms filled out and ready for submission to the DIBP office in Sydney.

Now I know my current student visa will let me travel out of Australia on the intended date so that should not be a problem. Since my bridging visa A will come into effect after the student visa expires, I believe I need bridging visa B to be able to return to Australia on the above mentioned return date. Would you suggest I have bridging visa B ready as soon as possible and in the form mention my return date such that it can be covered by the BVB? Can I have it done now or do I have to wait for some more time?

Thanks in advance,
Shafee


----------



## katarinajayne

*Bvb*

hi, my partner just applied and was granted a bridging visa B so that we can travel to the U.S to see his family in a week. The travel period runs out in November. We are also getting married and going on a honeymoon in March next year. Will he be able to apply for another bridging visa B?


----------



## Bassim

Dear Mark,
Does DIBP accept IELTS Academic version to claim points for english language requirement?

Regards


----------



## bellarose

Hi Mark,

I am new to this forum,I am still a bit confused on what to do...

I just recently applied for a PMV,I lodged the application 29th of June and received the acknowledgement letter and medical request on 16th of July...I've had TB before back in 2011 but I didn't declare it when I went to do my medical,now they are requesting me to do a sputum and culture test for 3 consecutive days...Do u think it's best to tell them about my history this time?I have 2 xray films with me here,one is from 2011 and the other one is from 28th of July this year with my private doctor just before I went to do my medical and they haven't seen any abnormalities with my latest xray and so I thought I don't need to declare it anymore,I have my doctor's report with me here saying that i'm free from any lung problems based on the findings...That's the reason why I thought I don't need to declare it anymore because it says in the impression that I have normal results and that there is no scars

I have been to Australia 3 times under TV,I only stayed for 6 weeks,9 weeks and 12 weeks...I've never declared my history in any of my applications.

My question is,will that cause an issue that I haven't declared it before with my TV applications even though I'm aware of it?The reason why I haven't declared it before with my TV applications is that I'm only staying for a maximum of 12 weeks.

I've already posted yesterday and 3 of the members here already replied which I am really thankful of but I am still a bit confused.

Thank u so much in advance.


----------



## Michael81

*Partner Visa*

Hi Mark,

Need advise

- My current position I have a Wife who is 8 months pregnant.

- We applied for a waiver on the 8503 condition and was refused.

- A week after her visitor visa expired we went to immigration who have now put her on a Bridging visa E which will give her time to have Birth in Australia but will have to depart soon after.

- Ive been told we can have another go at a waiver but will be risky and schedule 3 worries me

- I feel her best option is to return to Russia and apply offshore for a Partner Visa

- Whats her chances of getting a Visitor Visa family sponsor?

- could we try for 6 months or 12 months visa?

- this is my first child so I want to be with them as much as I can until the Partner Visa is approved

Thanks in advance

Regards
Michael


----------



## varundev

Hello Mark,

I would like to share my happy moment with you that I got Grant. I followed your advise. Really You are awesome and doing such a Great Job. Thanks you "SIR".

Regards
Varun


----------



## Confusedsoul

Hi Mark,

I had a telephone interview with my partner's case officer recently and has been left very upset. I felt they didn't check a lot of facts, and asked questions about me (sponsor) that were not necessary. I have no doubt we had both stated facts but they still insisted our versions do not match. Do you know whether these interviews are recorded? Would it be advisable to send them an email to document and clarify points? I don't have their email but I figure I can find out from their operator? 

Thank you for your help.


----------



## jit82

Hi Mark, 
I appreciate all your efforts in helping so many people in this forum. Here is my case:
I have lodged my Visa on 14/4/2015 and nomination on 2/5/2015 got RCB approval on 22/5/2015. CO requested additional documents on 21/8/2015 and asked for proof of need for employment asking if this position can be filled by Australian citizens / pr holders and if the employer has advertised for the same.
My employer did not advertise for this role. I have been working with this employer through a recommendation since 10 months prior to lodging the application.

From what i suspect my MA missed this step of advertising for the role (or telling us to do the same) beofre he filed for the RCB approval.
If the employer did not advertise, is there any other way to convince the immigration ? How big a problem is this? CO asked for salary slips from beginnin of this year and also PAYG which im ready to ssubmit. Im worried as to what happens in my case.
Your advice is most valuable. 

Thnaks in advance.


----------



## DeepakT

*accidental incorrect information in statutory declaration*

Hi Mark...I am new to this forum.One of my friends referred me to this excellent forum.I have a question regarding my statutory declaration.In my statutory declaration the employment end date is written as like "was employed on a full time basis from 23/07/2007 until 04/09/2011".But I worked till 04/10/2007..i.e till oct 4, 2011.it happened by mistake and neither me or my manager looked into it earlier and I submitted the same to ACS and got it assessed.I have seen this mistake after I uploaded this document as part of visa application under "overseas work experience".I have uploaded all the supporting documents like company service letter,relieving letter which states my end date as Oct 4,2011.Shall I upload form 1023 explaining it's an accidental mistake or leave it as it is.Please let me know as I am a bit tensed.


----------



## DeepakT

*accidental incorrect information in statutory declaration*

Please let me know what I can do in this scenario and to the other members in this forum,please advice if you can.


----------



## Mish

DeepakT said:


> Please let me know what I can do in this scenario and to the other members in this forum,please advice if you can.


Hi Deepak,

Mark kindly volunteers his time to offer free migration advice. He replies when his time permits. If you need help sooner than you should consult a migration agent for paid advice.

Please be aware that in Australia it is currently the weekend and Mark deserves a weekend.

If you would like advice from other forum members please create a post on the main immigration part of this forum.


----------



## DeepakT

Mish said:


> Hi Deepak,
> 
> Mark kindly volunteers his time to offer free migration advice. He replies when his time permits. If you need help sooner than you should consult a migration agent for paid advice.
> 
> Please be aware that in Australia it is currently the weekend and Mark deserves a weekend.
> 
> If you would like advice from other forum members please create a post on the main immigration part of this forum.


Sure Mish...I will create a post.


----------



## sridhar12

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing Fine!

I have applied for 190 visa for NSW, submitted my EOI on 12th Aug under ANZSC code ( 261311 (Analyst Programmer).What is the the usual time taken to get an invitation from NSW under the new scheme, can I also apply for an another state under 190??

Age	30
Education	15
IELTS – Language	10
State Sponsorship / Regional State Sponsorship	5

Thanks in Advance

Regards,
Sridhar


----------



## CamAllen

Hi Mark - I am looking on the document check list for PMV 300 and I can't see anywhere on there that a "single status certificate" is required from either myself or my partner. She is from Vietnam and I am Australian born. It's becoming very difficult for her to get one without me being over there with her. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks Mark.


----------



## Suyog03

Somebody please help!!


----------



## Emma098

Hi mark, 
I have 5 x form 888 and one letter from parents said we are living in thier house. I am wondering if 5 form 888 is too much. Also, when I making a statement , do I need to certified as well?
Thanks
Emma



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Emma098 -
> 
> Re: Form 80, you can wait until DIBP requests this if you'd like, as this form is sometimes requested, other times not. Re: statutory declaration, not sure exactly what you're referring to - if you mean the Form 888's, you should lodge those with the application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Euroasianman

Hi Mark, 

in the subclass 801/100 partner visa stat dec (Sponsor), it ask when the relationship started and how long we have lived together. 

Our relationship started in 2010 which means we have been in the relationship for the last 5 years but we didn't physically live together as I had to go back to Turkey at times. We lived together 2.5 years on and off. 

In this case do I have to say we lived 2,5 years or 5 years? and If I say 2.5 years do I need to explain why not 5 years?


----------



## Bangare

Hi mark..
Your answer solves almost everyone's doubt.. thank you. 

My question is..
Can I come and work in (with PR which I have already got) Australia without resignation to my present job here in India ..


----------



## Moonika

Hi Mark

I'm on a 461 visa at the moment and would like to apply for a 186 visa. I'm meeting all the requirements needed for the visa, but my boss thinks it is easier for them to apply for a 457 visa rather than 186 visa, because they have done it couple of times before.

So my question really is, is 186 visa more difficult to apply for than 457 visa? Is there more paperwork for the company etc?

Thanks,

Moonika


----------



## john1182

*457 to 820 - no straight answer*

Hi Mark

Thanks in advance for your help here.

I am currently on a 457 visa which is not set to expire until late 2017. I applied for a partner visa (820) in February of this year. My company which sponsored my visa in 2013 is ending my employment at the end of September.

I have no interest in getting a new job anytime soon (thankfully financially I don't need to), and would prefer to either start my own investment firm or take a several month break from employment. It seems immigration is not equipped to deal with this scenario as if I don't find a sponsor in 90 days I am in breach of the 457 despite having a partner visa in the queue.

I certainly don't want to be in breach of a visa, and don't want to go on any emergency visas as I need the ability to leave/return to Australia. As I am from an English speaking ETA eligible country (low risk), is it possible to switch from a 457 to a ETA or tourist visa (I'm ok leaving and doing this offshore if needed), which will allow me to stay in Australia and wait out the partner visa processing.

I am less concerned about work rights but need to the right to come and go to/from Australia (I have investments in my home country, aging parents, weddings etc).

I'm in this weird limbo state and no one seems to have a solution except find a new sponsor but I don't want a new job.

What's the best course of action here? Do nothing and be in breach of the 457? Leave Australia and re-enter under a different visa type? Ask to switch from a 457 to a tourist visa while in Australia (which would then get me to a bridging visa faster than 2017)? Self-sponsor my-self on a 457 for the interim?

Much thanks!


----------



## AnnaPhung

Hi Mark, 

I have applied The Partner Visa (Subclass 801/820) on 8th of July, 2015 then the next day I have been granted the bridging visa and the letter to take health examination. I also applied to Medicare and I received the temporary medicare which valid for 1 year. 
I got married with my husband (Australian Citizen) in May and I am having our coming baby in October, 2015. 

My question is: I am holding student visa which will be expired in July, 2017. I wonder should i cancel my student visa now? 
How can I get help from centre link when I am having baby? 
I am very confused and do not know what step should I take now just to see how my visa going rather than waiting? 
Any one in the same situation so can you please give me some advices? 

I would appreciate any recommends from you. 

Thank you.


----------



## sriramvemuri

Hi Mark

Hope you are doing good!

I have applied for NSW subclass 190 VISA on 30th June for which I have received a mail from CO asking for Birth Certificate which I dont have with me

So could you please let me know if I can upload coloured scanned copies of my secondary school certificate and Unique Identity document provided by the government. Please let me know if there are any other documents that I could provide apart from the ones mentioned above.

Best Regards
Sriram


----------



## ImmiUser

*Bridging B*

Hi Mark,

Our 820 visa application is about to hit the 12 month period.. My wife returned to the Philippines for a holiday but has overstayed the 3 weeks suggested by immigration for a bridging B by 2 weeks. Is there any serious consequence associated with this? What measures should be taken?

Thank you in advance.
John


----------



## Gayathriaus

Hi Mark,

Kindly clarify...

I came to know that thru my friends your advice had helped them a lot in getting their PR done.

Thank you for all your efforts to provide clarifications.

Below is my stay in Melbourne, Australia on visa type Subclass 457 Business Long Stay (Temporary) worked 40 hrs per week.
07-Nov-2012 to 31-Oct-2013 (7 days less for one year) visa cancelled on 21-Feb-2014 upon my organization request.

Below is my ACS assessment for this project

Dates: 09/12 - 02/14 (1yrs 5mths)
Position: Functional Test Consultant (Assistant Consultant)
Employer: XXXX CCCCC Services Ltd
Country: AUSTRALIA
Question: Am I eligible to claim 5 points for my 1year experience, even though there is a short of 7 days (hoping case office would accept)


----------



## g_aus

*Wife - Health Issue*

Hi Mark

At the onset, I'll like thank you for the wonderful work you are doing to help the community. I have extensively used this forum, and using the help gained I was able to file my EOI (263111 / 65 Points - reappearing for IELTS with a hope to bump up the points to 75) couple of days back.

I was hoping if you can help me with one question related to my Wife's health.

My wife was diagnosed with Heart Disorder (Arrhythmia) about 4 years back and has an ICD implant (sort of pace maker). She took a break of about 6 months but has been in continuous employment for about 3 years now and leading a normal life (no restrictions). As per the cardiologist, her heart is perfect now and she is off all medication since the last 1.5 years. Also she has not had any episode of heart issue after the initial treatment 4 years back.

Additional information: The ICD needs replacement every 8 years (which means 4 years from now) and the rough cost is $40000.

My concern is that if I do get an invite, and I were to lodge my visa application, can this health issue become a reason for rejection?

Best Regards,
Rahul


----------



## howka

Hi Mark,

My visa application got refused because I did not meet the requirement of 
" satisfied the Australian Study requirement in the period of six
months immediately before the day the application was made."

I have lodged the application on 10 JUN 2015 because I thought my completion date was on 10 DEC 2014 which is within six months time.

However, they said the date on my certificate is not a valid completion date so I asked my college to give me a completion letter.

When I received my completed letter and I found out the completion date on the letter was 5 DEC 2014 which is 6 months and 5 days before the application date and thus all this happen.

Also, I have a transcript that I ordered before graduation date which stated the status of my course is still "Approved" on 10 DEC. According to our school website, "If you require proof of completion prior to graduating, you can order an academic transcript which will show your 'approved' status, demonstrating you have completed the requirements of the award."

How the hell my complete date on the letter will suddenly become 5 DEC. If the status of my course is still only approved on10 DEC how can I be completed on 5 DEC. Can I use this as a valid reason for why I lodge the application late.










I am so depressed now, because I was stupid to try to buy as much time as I can to stay in Australia. At that time I was thinking of going back my country if I still could not find a job before 10 DEC. But I got my job offer on 10 DEC and I applied the visa immediately.

My question to you all is it there any chance I can appeal this decisions successfully. What are you guys advises. I really don't want to go back and I dont want to lose what I have now.....Please help and thanks

Best Regards,


----------



## Mea

*Can I apply for Travel Visa while my 309 VISA has been applied for?*

Hi Mark,
Trust you are doing great. Quick question here:

I have applied for VIsa Subclass 309 on May 25th. I believe its in processing stage as my CO has been assigned and we are exchanging emails. However, I want to know, if I wish to travel to AUS before my 309 Decision comes along, am I permitted?

Can I apply for travel visa for Aus while 309 is in process?

Thanks in advance for your guidance


----------



## Nytshade77

Mea said:


> Hi Mark,
> Trust you are doing great. Quick question here:
> 
> I have applied for VIsa Subclass 309 on May 25th. I believe its in processing stage as my CO has been assigned and we are exchanging emails. However, I want to know, if I wish to travel to AUS before my 309 Decision comes along, am I permitted?
> 
> Can I apply for travel visa for Aus while 309 is in process?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your guidance


This has been answered by Mark in 2012 comment. Check out visitor visa subclass 676.


----------



## ashwhall

Hi Mark,

My partner was recently granted BVA while the partner visa is processed and she's interested in potentially studying. Will she be considered an international student for the purposes of studying i.e. will she have to pay the full international student amount for studies?

I'm a student myself and I pay ~$1000/subject/semester and international students pay ~$3000/subject/semester. Do you know which category she'd fall under for this?

I don't expect you'd know anything regarding actual tertiary school fees, but perhaps you'd know who is regarded an "international student".

Thanks a million!

- Ash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martin -

Sorry for the delay - have been out of the country. If you lodge your partner visa online while onshore, normally you'll get the bridging visa within 24 hours.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



martin12345 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I will sit tight and wait to be requested for the form80 and medical assessment then, thank you for clearing that one up!
> 
> My current visa expires mid-October so I am now looking to apply ASAP really, just waiting on a few final documents etc.
> 
> If things did take longer to finalise than planned, even if I apply for the partner visa with only around 1 week - 10days left (worst case scenario) on my current visa, would the bridging visa A kick in okay/quick enough before my current substantive visa expires?
> 
> Thanks again Mark!
> Martin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi T&M -

Hard to predict anything from that other than a decision will be coming soon, and that they don't want you to ask anymore about if they need any further documents, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



T&M said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I received the below updates from the immi today, Is this a good sign and what do they really mean by this? thank you for your supports.
> 
> This application has already reached the final stage of processing. There are no other requirements on your application as all checks have been completed. The decision on this application is forthcoming, therefore we ask that you wait for the case officer's decision which will be given in due course.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pinkiestar -

Assuming you're talking about a 6 month visitor visa, it would normally have a no-work condition on it. If it does NOT have condition 8503 on it, you could apply for a further visitor visa while onshore. If medicals expire before a decision, you may have to take them again, although DIBP can extend the validity of your existing medicals on a case by case basis. Re: pregnant, might be a reason for them to grant a further visitor visa while onshore, but hard to predict at this point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pinkiestar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly Thankyou so much for all the advise which has always been so correct.
> Partner Visa applied - June 2015
> Medicals done
> Pcc done
> All documents submitted.
> 
> The immigration has granted me a 6 month visa. It has no conditions attached to it. Which is a relief.
> 1)Does that mean I can extend my visa once I am in Australia?
> Around when can I apply for extension of visa and what are the chances of it being granted?
> 2)What if I get pregnant during this stay?
> Will that affect my visa extension process?
> Will it affect my Partner visa?
> And do I have to go through medicals again, for visa extension?? (The medicals I did for Partner visa will expire next year July 2016)
> 
> Please reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jumani -

Hard to say without seeing your documents - will depend on case officer's assessment of the genuineness of your relationship - you may want to have a look at the DIBP Partner Visa booklet (can be downloaded from DIBP) to see the 4 major types of relationship evidence (social, financial, commitment, household) and start putting together some additional documents to be ready if requested.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jumani said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> After reading all the posts with your answers, i also decided to get a help.
> 
> I have applied for 189 visa onshore in july 2015, still awaiting for a case officer to assign.
> 
> Anyways, i have applied my wife (offshore) as a secondary applicant and uploaded the marriage certificate, passport bio page, police checks, health examination and ielts as per immigration recommendation. And also, i did declared my marital status as married when i applied for extension of my student visa 1.5 years ago.
> 
> Just a bit curious to know if i need to upload any more documentation for my wife or to prove our relationship.?
> 
> Your help will be much appreciated.
> 
> Jumani


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hoshi -

You've done exactly the right things - your visa will be linked to your new passport, and all should be fine. DIBP normally does not re-issue grant letters when passport info is updated or changed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hoshi said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> It is needless to say what a wonderful job you are doing in helping us all.
> I got my provisional partner visa back in Jan, but I had to fly back to and stay in Bulgaria for some time due to family emergency. In the meantime my passport expired and I just got a new one. I did fill out and upload a change form in my immi account. However, I am not sure what is the procedure from now on. Will I receive a corrected grant letter (airport companies require it)? How can I be sure that the visa is attached to the new passprt number and its all good?
> Do I need to do something else, like contact immi via phone or e-mail my previous CO?
> 
> I am sure someone already asked you of that and I am sorry to repeat the question...
> 
> Thans a lot in advance,
> Krassi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LRR -

Once you apply for the 190 visa, you'll get a Bridging Visa A (assuming you apply onshore while holding a non-bridging visa) which will activate as soon as the current stay period of your ETA expires and you overstay that period - ie, if 3 months is the stay period on your ETA, then if you're onshore at the end of that period, on the 1st day after that period ends, your BV-A will activate. At that point your work rights begin. Re: medicals, probably better to do those closer to the visa application date to avoid expiration.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LadyRogueRayne said:


> Thank you, Mark! Yes, I am aware the 190 requires state sponsorship. I had planned to lodge a 189 Visa, but then after talking with the WA Dept of Education, they are the ones who told me about the 190. I plan to do remote teaching, which is a critical need area. Therefore, I was told I would be able to get the 190. Either way, I am prepared to apply for either the 189 or the 190. I have all of my documentation together and will be ready to apply as soon as I receive an invitation. I do have an additional question:
> 
> I understand that when I apply for the 190 visa, that I will automatically get a bridging visa to cover the period of time between my ETA visa and the 190 visa decision. Will the bridging visa allow me to work? Or will I have to wait until I receive the permanent visa? Also, would it be beneficial to do my medical exam and my police report now, before I leave? Or should I wait until I lodge the 190 visa? Thank you again for taking the time to answer all of our questions. It really helps to de-mystify the whole visa process.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonikatalwar -

Once you have Medicare in place, that will satisfy the 457 visa health insurance requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sonikatalwar said:


> hii Mark
> i am on 457 visa & have Private Health Insurance if i apply ENS 186 TRT i am eligible for Medicare so in that condition can i stop my Private Insurance and continue with medicare. (my 457 visa is Valid for 1 year more)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Keshab -

Thanks for the note. Vetassess can take 12-16 weeks, difficult to predict times on that. The 610 number is the number of invitations issued for that unit group since 1 July 2015.Re: dependent mum, would need to work with you in a consultation to get more details about the financial and other support to give you an opinion about dependency - it's a complicated issue and needs to be worked through carefully.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Keshab said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thanks for initiating this wonderful forum and giving your valuable time to reply us.
> 
> I have few queries:
> 
> a. I lodged my application for skill assessment as internal auditor on 27 May and uploaded all documents on 11 June. No communication received so far. When can I expect completion of skill assessment from Vetassess, assuming my documents are complete? I heard that they even take up to four months.
> b. It appears that occupation ceiling for "2212 Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers" is quickly being filled, with 610 results to date out of 1000. Is 610 number of application selected through skillselect? Do you think I can make it for this year? (My total point will be 65). I think that 1000 quota would be fulfilled within two application round. Is my understanding correct?
> c. I have a widow mum dependent on me, age 71. Iam her only child. Can I include her within dependent relatives? And is there any cap on visa quota for this category? What is the current waiting time?
> 
> Too many concerns at this stage......Thank you for your time in reading and sharing your insights.
> 
> Regards,
> Keshab


----------



## Nytshade77

Hi Mark

I have been trying to get a hold of you since my student visa was denied. I hope you could look into my case

*I am from the philippines engaged to an australian on 15th of Aug. 
*I came to Au on tourist visa on 26 May 2014, applied for student visa on 1st of Jul 2014. Student visa denied on 1st of Sept 2014.
* Met my fiance on 3rd of Aug and became bf/gf on 1st of Sept 2014
*16 Sept lodged MRT to buy us time. 22nd of May 2015 decision was in favor of DIAC refusal of student visa. 
*Bridging visa expired 30th of June 2015 and I flew back in ph
*6th of Jul Applied for tourist visa due to 28th Jul hearing for my divorce. 14th of Aug tourist visa was denied. My divorce hearing was adjourned on 25th of Aug
* got myself a lawyer to represent on court hearing cuz i have kids below 18 yrs old. Divorce granted 25th of Aug.

Question?

*Should I go for de facto or prospective marriage now that my divorce has been granted?
* Would the two refused visa will impact my partner visa application?
* part of the requirement her is to submit a cenomar which shows I am married. Does the divorce granted in AU would be enough ground that I have no impediment to marry?
Addt'l info
*We are celebrating our anniv as bf/gf on 1st of Sept 2015
* Engaged on 15th of Aug, he proposed via facetime online cuz i cnt get back
* lived together for 10months
* married in the philipines divorced in Australia
* kids 17 yrs old & 14 yrs old. 

Hope to hear from you or anyone else who can better give me advise. I am really lost on what to do and would appreciate any piece of information. Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jason -

Sorry for the delay, have been out of the country and am now catching up with the backlog here. It's unclear as to whether there may have been a technical conviction with no conviction recorded or something else - safe bet would be to declare it and give all details. I'd include all court records, evidence the fine was paid, and a statement explaining the circumstances and expressing remorse.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jason1 said:


> Hi Mark..
> 
> I am currently completing my documents for my 820 onshore visa application. I have one previous criminal offence from when i was visiting QLD (a stupid drunken night out)
> 
> The result was a "proved with no conviction" just a small fine. Do I therefore have to include this a criminal conviction when I am filling out the official documents such as 47p in the character section - "have you ever been convicted of an offence in any country (including any conviction which is now removed from official records)??
> 
> I intend to also include a stat dec explaining what happened and how the experience changed me, also outlining that i have had no further trouble with the law since. I just need clarification on what answer to provide on the documents though..
> 
> Thanks Mark, a response would be amazing!
> Jason.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markblackmore -

I think the question in your case would be whether a partner visa or a prospective marriage visa (PMV, aka fiance visa) would be the best choice - I'd look at both carefully. Lack of living together time could be an issue if going for a partner visa - that's why I'm suggesting a look at the PMV. Happy to work with you further at a consultation to discuss your circumstances in more detail and get you a specific opinion - see website in my signature below for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Markblackmore said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Im new to this site and looking at the huge amount of info it has to offer and has brought me to earth with a bump with what needs to be done
> 
> Briefly my history is this - i met Lynda (lives in Queensland) about 2 years ago and a year ago our friendship developed into a relationship
> 
> I have visited 3 times since October 2014 and will be out with her again in October 2015 and february 2016 Lynda has also visited the U.K. with her son this year
> 
> My intention is to be with her permanently and was hoping to do this by November 2016
> 
> I am 55 yo living in the U.K. and am going thru a divorce (still waiting for the decree absolute)
> 
> we would be looking at the partner visa in the first instance
> 
> Any advice on how to get this ball rolling would be greatly appreciated, i.e. would it be advisable to register our relationship with your immigration dept.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Suyog03 -

Thanks for the note. Too complex to even guess at what ACS would do, I'd look carefully at their Summary of Criteria chart (see ACS site for this) and match up your circumstances with the options there to get a better idea of how they will treat your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Suyog03 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thanks for wonderful compilation of doubts and solutions, also for your efforts in replying individuals queries.
> 
> I have one doubt as I have heard about ACS Skill assessment from many people, especially about not considering initial experience if your graduations in from non-computer science back ground (for my case).
> 
> Actually after 18 months of experience in Melbourne I am looking forward to apply for PR. As I am on edge of completing my 9 years (including 1.5 years in Australia) of IT experience I though of waiting till Nov 2009 .
> 
> 
> I have been working in IT industry since day one of my career.
> I got placed through campus placement round of my Post Graduation Diploma In Advanced Computing (DAC).
> I have studies Computer Science subjects (like Operating Systems, software engineering, C++ and Data structures, Java & J2EE, Database Technologies, Microsoft Technologies) in my PG Diploma course.
> I have completed graduation in Instrumentation and Control Engineering.
> I have been doing Software Engineer tasks (like Design, develop, modify, document, unit test, implement and support software applications) throughout my career.
> Can you please give me rough idea what can be maximum experience considered for my case if I am applying with Software Engineer as my skill set.
> 
> I do understand this can be rough guess as per your knowledge and need not be considered as final confirm comment I just want to have idea about point calculations.
> 
> Thanks
> Suyog Doshi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Travelling_Bird -

I would suggest emailing the withdrawal request directly to the office handling your application - see any info on the initial correspondence received when you lodged the visa. Also, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but refunds are not available in these circumstances (ie, withdrawal due to a mistake on the application).

Best,

Mark Northam



Travelling_Bird said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new to this forum. But after viewing some of your fascinating replies, I decided to join the forum in order to ask my questions.
> 
> I lodged an application for visa subclass 189 on 14/Aug/2015. Then, I realized it won't go through because I over-claimed points (due to the now-famous ACS two years issue).
> Now, I need to submit form 1446 (Withdrawal of a visa application) and form 1424 (Refund Request) but I cannot find where to attach them in the online application. Simply, there is no corresponding "evidence type" and "document type" in the attachment window.
> 
> Could you please help me with that? Or who else could help me?
> 
> Thanks and best regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shafee_20 -

Suggest you immediately lodge the BV-B application. Then it can be approved prior to your departure, so that if you're outside Australia on 30 Sep when your student visa expires, the BV-B will automatically activate and allow you return to Australia on the BV-B.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Shafee_20 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a recent graduate from UNSW and my student visa expires on the 30th September 2015. I have just applied recently for a Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) and have been granted a Bridging Visa A. The grant letter says the bridging visa is not yet in effect leading me to understand that it will come into effect after my current student visa expires on 30/09/15.
> 
> I need to travel to my home country in the meantime to attend to my grandmother's illness as well as attend my sister's wedding. The scheduling is such that I need to leave Sydney around the 15th September and return around the 1st November. My understanding is that I need to apply for a Bridging Visa B in order to travel. I have all the relevant forms filled out and ready for submission to the DIBP office in Sydney.
> 
> Now I know my current student visa will let me travel out of Australia on the intended date so that should not be a problem. Since my bridging visa A will come into effect after the student visa expires, I believe I need bridging visa B to be able to return to Australia on the above mentioned return date. Would you suggest I have bridging visa B ready as soon as possible and in the form mention my return date such that it can be covered by the BVB? Can I have it done now or do I have to wait for some more time?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Shafee


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Katarinajayne -

Yes - just have him provide info with the second BV-B application about the trip (ie, evidence of marriage, honeymoon, etc).

Best,

Mark



katarinajayne said:


> hi, my partner just applied and was granted a bridging visa B so that we can travel to the U.S to see his family in a week. The travel period runs out in November. We are also getting married and going on a honeymoon in March next year. Will he be able to apply for another bridging visa B?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bassim -

Yes.

Best,

Mark Northam



Bassim said:


> Dear Mark,
> Does DIBP accept IELTS Academic version to claim points for english language requirement?
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bellarose -

Thanks for the note. I can't advise you on this without seeing the specific responses on the previous applications re: health questions - it gets very specific in this area. The sputum tests, etc are commonly asked for when DIBP sees something on an x-ray that is suspicious (in their opinion). Previous x-rays and previous doctor reports probably would have no effect on their current requirements to continue with the additional tests.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bellarose said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new to this forum,I am still a bit confused on what to do...
> 
> I just recently applied for a PMV,I lodged the application 29th of June and received the acknowledgement letter and medical request on 16th of July...I've had TB before back in 2011 but I didn't declare it when I went to do my medical,now they are requesting me to do a sputum and culture test for 3 consecutive days...Do u think it's best to tell them about my history this time?I have 2 xray films with me here,one is from 2011 and the other one is from 28th of July this year with my private doctor just before I went to do my medical and they haven't seen any abnormalities with my latest xray and so I thought I don't need to declare it anymore,I have my doctor's report with me here saying that i'm free from any lung problems based on the findings...That's the reason why I thought I don't need to declare it anymore because it says in the impression that I have normal results and that there is no scars
> 
> I have been to Australia 3 times under TV,I only stayed for 6 weeks,9 weeks and 12 weeks...I've never declared my history in any of my applications.
> 
> My question is,will that cause an issue that I haven't declared it before with my TV applications even though I'm aware of it?The reason why I haven't declared it before with my TV applications is that I'm only staying for a maximum of 12 weeks.
> 
> I've already posted yesterday and 3 of the members here already replied which I am really thankful of but I am still a bit confused.
> 
> Thank u so much in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael81 -

Re: visitor visa, I'd emphasise compelling and compassionate circumstances of allowing you to be with your new baby and help your wife take care of the baby. Also, re: Schedule 3 (if applying again onshore), once the baby is born, good chance of getting a Schedule 3 waiver. Re: 8503 waiver, that may be more difficult unless your circumstances change in a way that could be considered beyond your/her control.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Michael81 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Need advise
> 
> - My current position I have a Wife who is 8 months pregnant.
> 
> - We applied for a waiver on the 8503 condition and was refused.
> 
> - A week after her visitor visa expired we went to immigration who have now put her on a Bridging visa E which will give her time to have Birth in Australia but will have to depart soon after.
> 
> - Ive been told we can have another go at a waiver but will be risky and schedule 3 worries me
> 
> - I feel her best option is to return to Russia and apply offshore for a Partner Visa
> 
> - Whats her chances of getting a Visitor Visa family sponsor?
> 
> - could we try for 6 months or 12 months visa?
> 
> - this is my first child so I want to be with them as much as I can until the Partner Visa is approved
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Regards
> Michael


----------



## MarkNortham

Congratulations, Varun!! Great outcome, well done.

Best,

Mark



varundev said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I would like to share my happy moment with you that I got Grant. I followed your advise. Really You are awesome and doing such a Great Job. Thanks you "SIR".
> 
> Regards
> Varun


----------



## Gurpreet1987

MarkNortham said:


> Congratulations, Varun!! Great outcome, well done.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hi mark,
I have query about 489 subsequent entrant visa 489. I applied on 14 august 2015 and got acknowledge ment on 20 august. Online status showing application received. And in acknowledge ment letter MR skill and support officer in regards showing. Does that means I got case officer or not.please help me.I has not requested any other documents.


----------



## sash208

*Visa 309 study options*

Hi Mark
I'm looking forward to study certificate 2 in plumbing. But I need to find out whether I'm eligible to study a course in trades with my 309 visa. I know that I have to pay full fee. I need to find out whether I can start certificate 2 in plumbing with 309. Any information from someone much appreciated


----------



## Shafee_20

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shafee_20 -
> 
> Suggest you immediately lodge the BV-B application. Then it can be approved prior to your departure, so that if you're outside Australia on 30 Sep when your student visa expires, the BV-B will automatically activate and allow you return to Australia on the BV-B.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark for getting back to me. I sent my application for BVB through via Express Post to the SA Temporary Graduate Visa Processing Centre (suggested by Sydney DIBP Office) and it has been received on Tuesday (checked it via the tracking number given to me by Australia Post). However, I am yet to be contacted by them.  

How long do you reckon they would take before they get back to me?


----------



## Keshab

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your reply.

Two more things:

If VETASSESS really takes upto 16 weeks, I would miss two more rounds and with 610 gone out of 1000 in just two invitation round, it could be difficult for me. In that case, can I apply for 190 visa for state that sponsor internal audit? Will the cap of 1000 apply for that?

In case of dependent mum, is there any cap on the visa and what is the waiting time? I do understand your point on complications, but if there is no cap and long waiting time, I want to come in touch with you for further consultation.

Kind regards,
Keshab



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Keshab -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Vetassess can take 12-16 weeks, difficult to predict times on that. The 610 number is the number of invitations issued for that unit group since 1 July 2015.Re: dependent mum, would need to work with you in a consultation to get more details about the financial and other support to give you an opinion about dependency - it's a complicated issue and needs to be worked through carefully.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Gurpreet1987

*489 subsequent entrant*

Please reply somebody.its urgent


----------



## jason1

Hey Mark.

Great, thank you, I will follow that advice.

Should I include this all in a statutory declaration would you recommend? and simply upload this in a particular section within my application??

Regards,
Jason.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jason -
> 
> Sorry for the delay, have been out of the country and am now catching up with the backlog here. It's unclear as to whether there may have been a technical conviction with no conviction recorded or something else - safe bet would be to declare it and give all details. I'd include all court records, evidence the fine was paid, and a statement explaining the circumstances and expressing remorse.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## CassieLita

Hey Mark,

I have a question that i can't find the answer anywhere. Do you know what is the minimum of study duration for the ELICOS visa ?

Thank you for your help in advance


----------



## Xyzaus

Hi Mark,

I am just on my eligibility date for pr coming from a partner visa but due family issues i am overseas at the moment. is there any problems with that? We would like to wait till i come back to apply but it might take another couple of weeks. is that ok?

regards!!!!


----------



## Kaffee

*PMV or Partner*

My first post but I've been reading a lot of posts and answers
I guess this is a question to clarify what I already think I know.
(I will also be starting this as a new thread if I can to get other opinions)

My boyfriend and I have know each other for 28 years since before he moved to Australia but have only recently got together as a couple.He is an Australian citizen and I have just been to visit with him for a 5 week holiday. Until this trip we had only spent a few days together in the last 20 years but we have now decided that we would like to make our relationship permanent.

The only evidence we have of our relationship is social (photos, social media chat logs) going back years. I think that the only realistic visa option is the Prospective partner or fiance visa.

Your advice and opinion is appreciated.


----------



## Nebs

Hi!

I am about to lodge a visa application for 820 in the next couple of weeks. My tourist visa will run out in the end of September, so I will give them a couple of weeks, just in case.
I went through the partner visa checklist on the immi website and it mentions that I should provide them the information on my health insurance along with the visa application. Going through the forum it seems that it's an old requirement but no longer necessary - is that true?


----------



## sukanta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sukanta -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No problem with you lodging online on her behalf from Sydney, and you can always change your address (or hers) later via Form 929 after the visa is issued, or Form 1022 if the address change occurs while the visa application is still being processed.
> 
> Re: documents you'll need, best to check the Document Checklist on the DIBP website for the 309/100 partner visa - lots of documents there including relationship evidence, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so muck Mark for your input. On one more thing I would like to get a clear idea, hope you won't mind. I understand that myself & my wife both need to provide statements. Apart from these two, is there any other statements require from any body else to support my wife's 309 visa application? I got little confused here hence seeking your help on this. Much appreciated your great help on this Mark.

Thank you
Sukanta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Confusedsoul -

Unfortunately many of those interviews are not recorded, which puts applicants and sponsors at a disadvantage since only notes are kept by the case officer. I would suggest emailing them and asking what clarification they require or if they have any additional questions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Confusedsoul said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I had a telephone interview with my partner's case officer recently and has been left very upset. I felt they didn't check a lot of facts, and asked questions about me (sponsor) that were not necessary. I have no doubt we had both stated facts but they still insisted our versions do not match. Do you know whether these interviews are recorded? Would it be advisable to send them an email to document and clarify points? I don't have their email but I figure I can find out from their operator?
> 
> Thank you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jit82 -

Something is not quite right in this case, but I don't have enough info to tell what it is. Normally a positive RCB letter is evidence that there is a genuine need for the position in the community. Would need to go through all your documents at a consultation to determine more. I'd ask your MA for a copy of the positive RCB letter and see what it says exactly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jit82 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I appreciate all your efforts in helping so many people in this forum. Here is my case:
> I have lodged my Visa on 14/4/2015 and nomination on 2/5/2015 got RCB approval on 22/5/2015. CO requested additional documents on 21/8/2015 and asked for proof of need for employment asking if this position can be filled by Australian citizens / pr holders and if the employer has advertised for the same.
> My employer did not advertise for this role. I have been working with this employer through a recommendation since 10 months prior to lodging the application.
> 
> From what i suspect my MA missed this step of advertising for the role (or telling us to do the same) beofre he filed for the RCB approval.
> If the employer did not advertise, is there any other way to convince the immigration ? How big a problem is this? CO asked for salary slips from beginnin of this year and also PAYG which im ready to ssubmit. Im worried as to what happens in my case.
> Your advice is most valuable.
> 
> Thnaks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DeepakT -

Can't give you specific advice for an application without seeing your documents, but if the employment dates don't match your stat dec, you need to solve that somehow by indicating where the mistake was and what the correct info is. Cannot comment as to how correcting this could affect your application as I would need to see the application in whole. Form 1023 is the correct way to fix errors, but again, I can't advise you about this specifically because of all the factors there are in one of these applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DeepakT said:


> Hi Mark...I am new to this forum.One of my friends referred me to this excellent forum.I have a question regarding my statutory declaration.In my statutory declaration the employment end date is written as like "was employed on a full time basis from 23/07/2007 until 04/09/2011".But I worked till 04/10/2007..i.e till oct 4, 2011.it happened by mistake and neither me or my manager looked into it earlier and I submitted the same to ACS and got it assessed.I have seen this mistake after I uploaded this document as part of visa application under "overseas work experience".I have uploaded all the supporting documents like company service letter,relieving letter which states my end date as Oct 4,2011.Shall I upload form 1023 explaining it's an accidental mistake or leave it as it is.Please let me know as I am a bit tensed.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sridhar12 -

No way to predict NSW skilled invitation time - depends on their caseload, how many others ahead of you, etc. Yes, you can apply for another state.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sridhar12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing Fine!
> 
> I have applied for 190 visa for NSW, submitted my EOI on 12th Aug under ANZSC code ( 261311 (Analyst Programmer).What is the the usual time taken to get an invitation from NSW under the new scheme, can I also apply for an another state under 190??
> 
> Age	30
> Education	15
> IELTS - Language	10
> State Sponsorship / Regional State Sponsorship	5
> 
> Thanks in Advance
> 
> Regards,
> Sridhar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CamAllen -

These are sometimes requested by certain embassies and DIBP offices overseas per local business practice. Each office has the ability to add additional documents/requirements to the standard list you see on the DIBP website under the visa you are looking at. If they have specifically asked for this, there's little you can do but provide it.

Best,

Mark



CamAllen said:


> Hi Mark - I am looking on the document check list for PMV 300 and I can't see anywhere on there that a "single status certificate" is required from either myself or my partner. She is from Vietnam and I am Australian born. It's becoming very difficult for her to get one without me being over there with her. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Suyog03 -

Was out of the country but am catching up tonight - please repost your question if it has not been answered. If you need urgent help, don't turn to an anonymous forum, consider hiring a migration agent to advise you.

Best,

Mark



Suyog03 said:


> Somebody please help!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma098 -

My view is the more the better when it comes to Form 888's and relationship witness statements. With statements, you don't need to certify them, but you should include a copy of the writer's passport biodata page or government ID (in English).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emma098 said:


> Hi mark,
> I have 5 x form 888 and one letter from parents said we are living in thier house. I am wondering if 5 form 888 is too much. Also, when I making a statement , do I need to certified as well?
> Thanks
> Emma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Euroasianman -

If you're talking about the 2nd stage partner visa stat dec, you need to be very careful as these are now being looked at very carefully. I can't advise re: your relationship time without knowing a lot more, however the first thing I would do is to go back and look at how you answered those same questions on the initial Stage 1 partner visa application - different answers now (other than accounting for the passage of time between then and now) could be a problem.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Euroasianman said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> in the subclass 801/100 partner visa stat dec (Sponsor), it ask when the relationship started and how long we have lived together.
> 
> Our relationship started in 2010 which means we have been in the relationship for the last 5 years but we didn't physically live together as I had to go back to Turkey at times. We lived together 2.5 years on and off.
> 
> In this case do I have to say we lived 2,5 years or 5 years? and If I say 2.5 years do I need to explain why not 5 years?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bangare -

No problems from the Australian immigration point of view - not sure if any issues in India re: employment contracts or any other legal issues.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bangare said:


> Hi mark..
> Your answer solves almost everyone's doubt.. thank you.
> 
> My question is..
> Can I come and work in (with PR which I have already got) Australia without resignation to my present job here in India ..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moonika -

Thanks for the note. Big difference between 457 visa (temporary visa) and 186 visa (permanent visa) in terms of benefit to you. If they are already a 457 sponsor, then adding another 457 employee is probably less paperwork than doing a 186. However 457 ties you to that company for the duration of your visa; 186 does not. In many cases, employers prefer the 457 for this reason.

Other than that, depends on the specifics of the company re: qualifying for 186 vs 457.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Moonika said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I'm on a 461 visa at the moment and would like to apply for a 186 visa. I'm meeting all the requirements needed for the visa, but my boss thinks it is easier for them to apply for a 457 visa rather than 186 visa, because they have done it couple of times before.
> 
> So my question really is, is 186 visa more difficult to apply for than 457 visa? Is there more paperwork for the company etc?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Moonika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John1182 -

Normally DIBP will not cancel a 457 if you have a partner visa lodged, however this means you can only work for a 457 sponsoring employer. However given this, as the 457 remains valid, you can come and go from Australia on the 457 even after the 90 days if they don't cancel it. You could in theory get an ETA which would replace the 457 upon grant, however the ETA application may not be successful if DIBP determines you have an interest in working in Australia (via 457 visa you already held) or want to reside in Australia permanently (via partner visa you've applied for). Most people in your situation usually tough it out on the 457 until the partner visa is granted, however you need to look at doing what's best for you. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - see website below for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



john1182 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help here.
> 
> I am currently on a 457 visa which is not set to expire until late 2017. I applied for a partner visa (820) in February of this year. My company which sponsored my visa in 2013 is ending my employment at the end of September.
> 
> I have no interest in getting a new job anytime soon (thankfully financially I don't need to), and would prefer to either start my own investment firm or take a several month break from employment. It seems immigration is not equipped to deal with this scenario as if I don't find a sponsor in 90 days I am in breach of the 457 despite having a partner visa in the queue.
> 
> I certainly don't want to be in breach of a visa, and don't want to go on any emergency visas as I need the ability to leave/return to Australia. As I am from an English speaking ETA eligible country (low risk), is it possible to switch from a 457 to a ETA or tourist visa (I'm ok leaving and doing this offshore if needed), which will allow me to stay in Australia and wait out the partner visa processing.
> 
> I am less concerned about work rights but need to the right to come and go to/from Australia (I have investments in my home country, aging parents, weddings etc).
> 
> I'm in this weird limbo state and no one seems to have a solution except find a new sponsor but I don't want a new job.
> 
> What's the best course of action here? Do nothing and be in breach of the 457? Leave Australia and re-enter under a different visa type? Ask to switch from a 457 to a tourist visa while in Australia (which would then get me to a bridging visa faster than 2017)? Self-sponsor my-self on a 457 for the interim?
> 
> Much thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AnnaPhung -

I don't know about Centrelink, but re: the student visa, assuming you no longer want to study, it's then a choice of waiting for DIBP to cancel the visa due to lack of enrolment, or voluntarily cancelling it yourself. Either way, cancellation will wipe out the bridging visa you now hold from the prtner application, plus cancellation means a loss of time prior to that date for use towards citizenship, applying for a Bridging Visa E at DIBP after your visa is cancelled, and waiting on a BV-E until the partner visa is decided. During that time you cannot leave Australia without the BV-E disappearing, leaving you no visa to re-enter on.

Happy to discuss further at a consultation - see website below for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AnnaPhung said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied The Partner Visa (Subclass 801/820) on 8th of July, 2015 then the next day I have been granted the bridging visa and the letter to take health examination. I also applied to Medicare and I received the temporary medicare which valid for 1 year.
> I got married with my husband (Australian Citizen) in May and I am having our coming baby in October, 2015.
> 
> My question is: I am holding student visa which will be expired in July, 2017. I wonder should i cancel my student visa now?
> How can I get help from centre link when I am having baby?
> I am very confused and do not know what step should I take now just to see how my visa going rather than waiting?
> Any one in the same situation so can you please give me some advices?
> 
> I would appreciate any recommends from you.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sriram -

Depends if the case officer will accept those - if your secondary school cert has both your parents names on it, often DIBP will accept that in lieu of a birth certificate. You'll have to check with the case officer to see if they are willing to do that in this case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sriramvemuri said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hope you are doing good!
> 
> I have applied for NSW subclass 190 VISA on 30th June for which I have received a mail from CO asking for Birth Certificate which I dont have with me
> 
> So could you please let me know if I can upload coloured scanned copies of my secondary school certificate and Unique Identity document provided by the government. Please let me know if there are any other documents that I could provide apart from the ones mentioned above.
> 
> Best Regards
> Sriram


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John -

Thanks for the note. If she has not returned by the "must not return after" date on the BV-B, suggest she contacts DIBP immediately and see what can be done to preserve the BV-B. However not sure from your question exactly what the date is you are referring to when you said "suggested by immigration"...? Key issue is whether she has breached her BV-B by not returning to Australia by the time limit indicated on the BV-B visa itself. Beyond this, if in doubt, talk to the case officer that is handling your case and find out if there is an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ImmiUser said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Our 820 visa application is about to hit the 12 month period.. My wife returned to the Philippines for a holiday but has overstayed the 3 weeks suggested by immigration for a bridging B by 2 weeks. Is there any serious consequence associated with this? What measures should be taken?
> 
> Thank you in advance.
> John


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gayathriaus -

From what I can tell, your skills assessment has an invalid end date for that employment in it - ie, ACS said you stopped working in Feb 2014, but you actually stopped working in Oct 2013...? If you were not working for that company between Oct 2013 and Feb 2014, you need to get the ACS skills assessment corrected. Re: your actual working dates, there is no provision for the case officer to accept less than year (12 full months) of employment and still give you the points. However if you have other Australian employment, that can be combined with the almost-1-year job.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gayathriaus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Kindly clarify...
> 
> I came to know that thru my friends your advice had helped them a lot in getting their PR done.
> 
> Thank you for all your efforts to provide clarifications.
> 
> Below is my stay in Melbourne, Australia on visa type Subclass 457 Business Long Stay (Temporary) worked 40 hrs per week.
> 07-Nov-2012 to 31-Oct-2013 (7 days less for one year) visa cancelled on 21-Feb-2014 upon my organization request.
> 
> Below is my ACS assessment for this project
> 
> Dates: 09/12 - 02/14 (1yrs 5mths)
> Position: Functional Test Consultant (Assistant Consultant)
> Employer: XXXX CCCCC Services Ltd
> Country: AUSTRALIA
> Question: Am I eligible to claim 5 points for my 1year experience, even though there is a short of 7 days (hoping case office would accept)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahul -

Yes, as it's a cost of her medical treatment. Given the numbers involved, you may want to look at an employer sponsored PR visa (such as 186, 187) after spending 2 years on a 457 visa for the employer, as those visas have a health waiver option where you can argue overall benefit of you & family in Australia outweighs the medical costs of her treatment. For skilled visas (189, 190, 489), there is no health waiver available, so if you fail the health criteria (ie, costs too high), there's no good way to appeal that and the visa will be refused. Sorry I don't have better news for you -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



g_aus said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> At the onset, I'll like thank you for the wonderful work you are doing to help the community. I have extensively used this forum, and using the help gained I was able to file my EOI (263111 / 65 Points - reappearing for IELTS with a hope to bump up the points to 75) couple of days back.
> 
> I was hoping if you can help me with one question related to my Wife's health.
> 
> My wife was diagnosed with Heart Disorder (Arrhythmia) about 4 years back and has an ICD implant (sort of pace maker). She took a break of about 6 months but has been in continuous employment for about 3 years now and leading a normal life (no restrictions). As per the cardiologist, her heart is perfect now and she is off all medication since the last 1.5 years. Also she has not had any episode of heart issue after the initial treatment 4 years back.
> 
> Additional information: The ICD needs replacement every 8 years (which means 4 years from now) and the rough cost is $40000.
> 
> My concern is that if I do get an invite, and I were to lodge my visa application, can this health issue become a reason for rejection?
> 
> Best Regards,
> Rahul


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Howka -

Wish I had better news, but the completion date is the key date, and if that's what the completion letter says, there is not a lot you can do about that. As you've seen, that's the danger of lodging visa application at the last minute, especially the 485 visa which is incredibly strict about many things.

The only way to save this I can see would be to somehow get the school to write a letter saying that it was not until 10 Dec (or whatever the date is you need) that you had completed ALL requirements for the course or degree you were studying. An AAT appeal, I would think, would hinge on exactly when you completed ALL requirements for the course at the school, and will come down to the school's policy of how the date is determined that you completed all requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



howka said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My visa application got refused because I did not meet the requirement of
> " satisfied the Australian Study requirement in the period of six
> months immediately before the day the application was made."
> 
> I have lodged the application on 10 JUN 2015 because I thought my completion date was on 10 DEC 2014 which is within six months time.
> 
> However, they said the date on my certificate is not a valid completion date so I asked my college to give me a completion letter.
> 
> When I received my completed letter and I found out the completion date on the letter was 5 DEC 2014 which is 6 months and 5 days before the application date and thus all this happen.
> 
> Also, I have a transcript that I ordered before graduation date which stated the status of my course is still "Approved" on 10 DEC. According to our school website, "If you require proof of completion prior to graduating, you can order an academic transcript which will show your 'approved' status, demonstrating you have completed the requirements of the award."
> 
> How the hell my complete date on the letter will suddenly become 5 DEC. If the status of my course is still only approved on10 DEC how can I be completed on 5 DEC. Can I use this as a valid reason for why I lodge the application late.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I am so depressed now, because I was stupid to try to buy as much time as I can to stay in Australia. At that time I was thinking of going back my country if I still could not find a job before 10 DEC. But I got my job offer on 10 DEC and I applied the visa immediately.
> 
> My question to you all is it there any chance I can appeal this decisions successfully. What are you guys advises. I really don't want to go back and I dont want to lose what I have now.....Please help and thanks
> 
> Best Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mea -

Yes, you can apply for a visitor visa, etc while your 309/100 is being processed. If they are ready to grant the 309/100 and you are onshore in Australia, they will normally give you a period of time in which to make a trip offshore so they can grant the 309.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mea said:


> Hi Mark,
> Trust you are doing great. Quick question here:
> 
> I have applied for VIsa Subclass 309 on May 25th. I believe its in processing stage as my CO has been assigned and we are exchanging emails. However, I want to know, if I wish to travel to AUS before my 309 Decision comes along, am I permitted?
> 
> Can I apply for travel visa for Aus while 309 is in process?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your guidance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ash -

Thanks for the note. It varies from school to school, and is entirely based on the policies of each school as to whether an applicant for a permanent resident visa (ie, partner visa) gets any sort of a discount or reduction from the international student rates. Note that she is not restricted to studying at full time CRICOS-registered programs (as student visa holders are) once she's holding the BVA (and the BVA is activated - note that the BV-A is not activated until whatever visa she was holding at the time of partner visa application expires on its own) so that might open up some options too.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashwhall said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner was recently granted BVA while the partner visa is processed and she's interested in potentially studying. Will she be considered an international student for the purposes of studying i.e. will she have to pay the full international student amount for studies?
> 
> I'm a student myself and I pay ~$1000/subject/semester and international students pay ~$3000/subject/semester. Do you know which category she'd fall under for this?
> 
> I don't expect you'd know anything regarding actual tertiary school fees, but perhaps you'd know who is regarded an "international student".
> 
> Thanks a million!
> 
> - Ash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nytshade77 -

Thanks for the note. Your situation is far too complex to provide specific answers to here - suggest you engage a registered migration agent to get all the details of your case and discuss your questions. I offer consultations (see website below in signature) as do other agents.

Best,

Mark



Nytshade77 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have been trying to get a hold of you since my student visa was denied. I hope you could look into my case
> 
> *I am from the philippines engaged to an australian on 15th of Aug.
> *I came to Au on tourist visa on 26 May 2014, applied for student visa on 1st of Jul 2014. Student visa denied on 1st of Sept 2014.
> * Met my fiance on 3rd of Aug and became bf/gf on 1st of Sept 2014
> *16 Sept lodged MRT to buy us time. 22nd of May 2015 decision was in favor of DIAC refusal of student visa.
> *Bridging visa expired 30th of June 2015 and I flew back in ph
> *6th of Jul Applied for tourist visa due to 28th Jul hearing for my divorce. 14th of Aug tourist visa was denied. My divorce hearing was adjourned on 25th of Aug
> * got myself a lawyer to represent on court hearing cuz i have kids below 18 yrs old. Divorce granted 25th of Aug.
> 
> Question?
> 
> *Should I go for de facto or prospective marriage now that my divorce has been granted?
> * Would the two refused visa will impact my partner visa application?
> * part of the requirement her is to submit a cenomar which shows I am married. Does the divorce granted in AU would be enough ground that I have no impediment to marry?
> Addt'l info
> *We are celebrating our anniv as bf/gf on 1st of Sept 2015
> * Engaged on 15th of Aug, he proposed via facetime online cuz i cnt get back
> * lived together for 10months
> * married in the philipines divorced in Australia
> * kids 17 yrs old & 14 yrs old.
> 
> Hope to hear from you or anyone else who can better give me advise. I am really lost on what to do and would appreciate any piece of information. Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gurpreet1987 -

Thanks for the question. "Application Received" usually means it is sitting in a queue and has not been assessed yet, but that's not always the case. These are usually taking between 2 and 4 months to process these days, so you may need to be patient. If you see in the ImmiAccount status that the application is under assessment, that may mean that your application is out of a queue and is currently being assessed. However even given all of that, DIBP processing times are very unpredictable and difficult to estimate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gurpreet1987 said:


> Hi mark,
> I have query about 489 subsequent entrant visa 489. I applied on 14 august 2015 and got acknowledge ment on 20 august. Online status showing application received. And in acknowledge ment letter MR skill and support officer in regards showing. Does that means I got case officer or not.please help me.I has not requested any other documents.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sash208 -

If you have a 309 visa granted, normally that visa has no conditions on it. Assuming that is the case, you may study anything you'd like in Australia - immigration dept has no study restrictions on your visa. Beyond that, you need to check if the school you want to study at will accept you as a subclass 309 provisional partner visa holder, etc but that's a school issue, not a DIBP issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sash208 said:


> Hi Mark
> I'm looking forward to study certificate 2 in plumbing. But I need to find out whether I'm eligible to study a course in trades with my 309 visa. I know that I have to pay full fee. I need to find out whether I can start certificate 2 in plumbing with 309. Any information from someone much appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shafee_20 -

Normally BV-B's are processed within a few days to a week, but as always, DIBP is hard to predict.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Shafee_20 said:


> Thank you so much Mark for getting back to me. I sent my application for BVB through via Express Post to the SA Temporary Graduate Visa Processing Centre (suggested by Sydney DIBP Office) and it has been received on Tuesday (checked it via the tracking number given to me by Australia Post). However, I am yet to be contacted by them.
> 
> How long do you reckon they would take before they get back to me?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Keshab -

In theory there are no caps on state sponsored visas by DIBP, but states have their own internal caps per occupation in many cases, so it's just a cap of another flavour. Re: dependent parents, can't give you advice on that without knowing much more about the situation - the rules for those applicants are complex. However the occupation caps you see on the DIBP page do not include dependents (children or adult dependents).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Keshab said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your reply.
> 
> Two more things:
> 
> If VETASSESS really takes upto 16 weeks, I would miss two more rounds and with 610 gone out of 1000 in just two invitation round, it could be difficult for me. In that case, can I apply for 190 visa for state that sponsor internal audit? Will the cap of 1000 apply for that?
> 
> In case of dependent mum, is there any cap on the visa and what is the waiting time? I do understand your point on complications, but if there is no cap and long waiting time, I want to come in touch with you for further consultation.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Keshab


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gurpreet -

See reply made earlier this evening. If you need urgent help, instead of turning to free help on an anonymous forum, suggest you engage a registered migration agent for assistance.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gurpreet1987 said:


> Please reply somebody.its urgent


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jason1 -

Yes, stat dec is good, you can upload to Character category, then pick a subcategory or "Other" that fits best.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jason1 said:


> Hey Mark.
> 
> Great, thank you, I will follow that advice.
> 
> Should I include this all in a statutory declaration would you recommend? and simply upload this in a particular section within my application??
> 
> Regards,
> Jason.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CassieLita -

I had a quick look through the regulations and there appears to be no minimum time period there, however I have heard that there is a 1-month minimum time period on these. Problem with very short courses is that DIBP may wonder why you are studying such a short course, and ELICOS courses of under 10 months duration often have additional visa conditions added such as not being able to apply for another visa while onshore with that visa, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CassieLita said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I have a question that i can't find the answer anywhere. Do you know what is the minimum of study duration for the ELICOS visa ?
> 
> Thank you for your help in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xyzaus -

Generally no problem, as DIBP normally assumes it will take some time for people to get their documents, etc together.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xyzaus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am just on my eligibility date for pr coming from a partner visa but due family issues i am overseas at the moment. is there any problems with that? We would like to wait till i come back to apply but it might take another couple of weeks. is that ok?
> 
> regards!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaffee -

Thanks for the note. Providing you become engaged and make specific plans to marry in Australia with a celebrant, then I would agree that a PMV (prospective marriage visa subclass 300) may be the best choice given the amount of time together recently.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kaffee said:


> My first post but I've been reading a lot of posts and answers
> I guess this is a question to clarify what I already think I know.
> (I will also be starting this as a new thread if I can to get other opinions)
> 
> My boyfriend and I have know each other for 28 years since before he moved to Australia but have only recently got together as a couple.He is an Australian citizen and I have just been to visit with him for a 5 week holiday. Until this trip we had only spent a few days together in the last 20 years but we have now decided that we would like to make our relationship permanent.
> 
> The only evidence we have of our relationship is social (photos, social media chat logs) going back years. I think that the only realistic visa option is the Prospective partner or fiance visa.
> 
> Your advice and opinion is appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nebs -

The requirement for health insurance on the partner visa section of the DIBP website is an error that appeared on their new website format a couple of months ago that they should have corrected by now. There is no requirement that applicants for partner visas maintain health insurance, especially since once you lodge the visa application onshore, you automatically qualify for Medicare as long as your bridging visa has work rights, which yours would if you applied prior to your visitor visa expiring.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nebs said:


> Hi!
> 
> I am about to lodge a visa application for 820 in the next couple of weeks. My tourist visa will run out in the end of September, so I will give them a couple of weeks, just in case.
> I went through the partner visa checklist on the immi website and it mentions that I should provide them the information on my health insurance along with the visa application. Going through the forum it seems that it's an old requirement but no longer necessary - is that true?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukanta -

Yes, you should include at least 2 statements from other people (can be family, friends, or others who know you) declaring that you are in a genuine married relationship. If they are in Australia, then you can use Form 888 for these, otherwise would suggest you download the form and have a look to see the types of info that can be provided on a statement. A statemnet for these purposes doesn't need to be certified (although you can if you want to) but should include a copy of the writer's passport biodata page or government-issued ID in English.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sukanta said:


> Thank you so muck Mark for your input. On one more thing I would like to get a clear idea, hope you won't mind. I understand that myself & my wife both need to provide statements. Apart from these two, is there any other statements require from any body else to support my wife's 309 visa application? I got little confused here hence seeking your help on this. Much appreciated your great help on this Mark.
> 
> Thank you
> Sukanta


----------



## Kaffee

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kaffee -
> Thanks for the note. Providing you become engaged and make specific plans to marry in Australia with a celebrant, then I would agree that a PMV (prospective marriage visa subclass 300) may be the best choice given the amount of time together recently.
> Hope this helps -
> Best,
> Mark Northam


Thanks, it does. Have actually messaged you via your website regarding a consultation on this. Want to get all the details right first time. Will wait for your email reply.


----------



## g_aus

Thank you Mark for your reply. Is there any process wherein I can get health assessment done before loding the visa.

Regards,
Rahul



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rahul -
> 
> Yes, as it's a cost of her medical treatment. Given the numbers involved, you may want to look at an employer sponsored PR visa (such as 186, 187) after spending 2 years on a 457 visa for the employer, as those visas have a health waiver option where you can argue overall benefit of you & family in Australia outweighs the medical costs of her treatment. For skilled visas (189, 190, 489), there is no health waiver available, so if you fail the health criteria (ie, costs too high), there's no good way to appeal that and the visa will be refused. Sorry I don't have better news for you -
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Buzzars36

Hi Mark, i am the process of applying for PMV for Thai fiance and have come up with problem of getting her birth certificate as both parents deceased. 
Her mum passed away when she was three years and father had many wives over years with no original family documents kept. 
She has her Thai national ID card and Thai passport which both have birth date and this wasn't a problem when she got her tourist visa to visit me in Austrailia earlier this year.
So my question is will this be a major issue for us with our PMV application with DIBP

Any advice would be much appriciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahul -

Yes, through the "My Health Declarations" eHealth section on the DIBP website, however it won't be assessed by the MOC until you actually lodge a visa application, since the standards are different for different types of visas.

Best,

Mark



g_aus said:


> Thank you Mark for your reply. Is there any process wherein I can get health assessment done before loding the visa.
> 
> Regards,
> Rahul


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Buzzars36 -

It may be an issue, but based on the circumstances you describe, I expect you have a good chance of getting the requirement waived as you have the other documents. Suggest you put together a nice letter with as many details as you can of the father and mother's circumstances and see how they respond.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Buzzars36 said:


> Hi Mark, i am the process of applying for PMV for Thai fiance and have come up with problem of getting her birth certificate as both parents deceased.
> Her mum passed away when she was three years and father had many wives over years with no original family documents kept.
> She has her Thai national ID card and Thai passport which both have birth date and this wasn't a problem when she got her tourist visa to visit me in Austrailia earlier this year.
> So my question is will this be a major issue for us with our PMV application with DIBP
> 
> Any advice would be much appriciated


----------



## bryan00

Hi Mark,

I am just about to lodge my EOI for 189 visa and hopefully expecting an invitation in the next few upcoming rounds. 

One concern is that my passport expires in 4 months on 12/31/2015.

I do expect that the whole visa application process will all get cleared before the passport expiry date but still, would there be even a small chance that this could pose any problems? Perhaps that they might delay giving me the grant until I provide them with a new extended passport?

I could get my passport extended but this will take time which will delay my visa process so my first option is to use this passport if it's not going to pose any issues.

Please give me some advice thank you!


----------



## klmnops

Hi Mark, 

I left Australia on a BVE earlier this year, as my BVC was due to expire a week before my university examinations were complete. 

I am now affected by PIC 4014, with a 3-year exclusion period. 

I have one semester left to complete my degree, after five years of time and money invested into an Australian institute. I have evidence that I have tried to find other avenues to complete my degree with the same university, and failed (courses are not of equivalent standard in my country). 

Do you think there is a chance of them waiving the exclusion period on humanitarian grounds? Because I had to sit those exams, I'm now unable to complete my degree? My university will not hold my place for three years.

I have an Australian partner currently incarcerated in Victoria, if that makes any difference. Although I'd be willing to buy a return ticket to show them my intention is just to complete university.

I do plan to book in a consultation through your website, but thought I should inquire into this first so I can consider my options. 

Thank you very much Mark!


----------



## Kaffee

*EOI for 457*

I continue to research ways that I can begin to build a life with my Australian partner.

I notice that the employer sponsored visa 457 does not seem to be subject to the same skills assessments as the independent work visas. *Is this correct?*

I know from reading information on the AITSL website that I would not pass the skills test for an independent visa as I entered the teaching profession in the UK by way of the Graduate Teacher Programme. This is an alternative method of training (no longer offered) which qualifies me to teach only in England and Wales. It appears, however, that the employer sponsored visa 457 is not subject to the same regulations.

I am in the process of submitting an EOI which registers my interest in being sponsored and I wanted to check before finalising this that it would not have any adverse effect on my application for a PMV (as mentioned in another question above)?

Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bryan -

I wouldn't worry about the passport expiration issue - proceed with the EOI, and at whatever point you get a new passport, update either the EOI or your lodged visa application with that passport info. That being said, a visa grant must be linked to a live passport, so you will want to make sure you have a live passport (ie, not expired) at whatever point your visa is granted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bryan00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am just about to lodge my EOI for 189 visa and hopefully expecting an invitation in the next few upcoming rounds.
> 
> One concern is that my passport expires in 4 months on 12/31/2015.
> 
> I do expect that the whole visa application process will all get cleared before the passport expiry date but still, would there be even a small chance that this could pose any problems? Perhaps that they might delay giving me the grant until I provide them with a new extended passport?
> 
> I could get my passport extended but this will take time which will delay my visa process so my first option is to use this passport if it's not going to pose any issues.
> 
> Please give me some advice thank you!


----------



## CassieLita

MarkNortham said:


> Hi CassieLita -
> 
> I had a quick look through the regulations and there appears to be no minimum time period there, however I have heard that there is a 1-month minimum time period on these. Problem with very short courses is that DIBP may wonder why you are studying such a short course, and ELICOS courses of under 10 months duration often have additional visa conditions added such as not being able to apply for another visa while onshore with that visa, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark. It helps me a lot, so i am gonna go for 10 weeks courses as i wish to apply for the NZ cityzen family relationship visa after the english courses. I didn't wanted to compromised the next visa.

I wish to ask you something else, as i am going through theses visas process, and always has been interested in laws and rights. I would love to become a migration agent, I read that it wasn't possible to become one for non permanent residents. Do you know any other way to become one ? Any tips ?

Thank you so much Mark for your advices.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Klmnops -

For the 4014 exclusion waiver, you would need to demonstrate a substantial benefit to an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible NZ citizen. The benefit to you (in completing the course) is not regarded as a reason to waive the exclusion period.

Your Australian partner may be a benefit, but if he/she is incarcerated, it may be hard to show a benefit, other than emotional support, etc - a psychologist report might be helpful in demonstrating this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



klmnops said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I left Australia on a BVE earlier this year, as my BVC was due to expire a week before my university examinations were complete.
> 
> I am now affected by PIC 4014, with a 3-year exclusion period.
> 
> I have one semester left to complete my degree, after five years of time and money invested into an Australian institute. I have evidence that I have tried to find other avenues to complete my degree with the same university, and failed (courses are not of equivalent standard in my country).
> 
> Do you think there is a chance of them waiving the exclusion period on humanitarian grounds? Because I had to sit those exams, I'm now unable to complete my degree? My university will not hold my place for three years.
> 
> I have an Australian partner currently incarcerated in Victoria, if that makes any difference. Although I'd be willing to buy a return ticket to show them my intention is just to complete university.
> 
> I do plan to book in a consultation through your website, but thought I should inquire into this first so I can consider my options.
> 
> Thank you very much Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaffee -

Re: skills assessments, only a few occupations under the 457 programme require a skills assessment including some trades and program and project administrator. No issue generally in a PMV applicant also pursuing a skilled or other visa type.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kaffee said:


> I continue to research ways that I can begin to build a life with my Australian partner.
> 
> I notice that the employer sponsored visa 457 does not seem to be subject to the same skills assessments as the independent work visas. *Is this correct?*
> 
> I know from reading information on the AITSL website that I would not pass the skills test for an independent visa as I entered the teaching profession in the UK by way of the Graduate Teacher Programme. This is an alternative method of training (no longer offered) which qualifies me to teach only in England and Wales. It appears, however, that the employer sponsored visa 457 is not subject to the same regulations.
> 
> I am in the process of submitting an EOI which registers my interest in being sponsored and I wanted to check before finalising this that it would not have any adverse effect on my application for a PMV (as mentioned in another question above)?
> 
> Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CassieLita -

Thanks for the note. You mentioned 10 week course, however you would need to have a course over 10 months in order to avoid Condition 8503 being applied to your visa, which prevents an onshore application of another visa such as the 461 visa you mentioned (NZ Family Rel). Even with a longer course, there is no guarantee that they will not add condition 8503 (no further stay), so make sure you factor that into your planning.

Re: becoming a migration agent, I can highly recommend it as a very rewarding career, especially if you like to help people and are good with highly detailed subjects. Migration law is a complex and constantly changing field which is both highly challenging and highly rewarding. Here's some more about becoming licenced as a migration agent:

https://www.mara.gov.au/becoming-an-agent/

Also note that the process is changing substantially over the next 12-24 months, with the 6 month grad cert course being replaced by a 1 year graduate diploma course, the addition of a one year supervised practice requirement after graduating from the grad dip course, and a standard exam to be taken after the one year of supervised practice.

Re: citizenship, etc - currently to be licensed as a registered migration agent in Australia a person must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or NZ citizen holding a SC444 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CassieLita said:


> Thank you very much Mark. It helps me a lot, so i am gonna go for 10 weeks courses as i wish to apply for the NZ cityzen family relationship visa after the english courses. I didn't wanted to compromised the next visa.
> 
> I wish to ask you something else, as i am going through theses visas process, and always has been interested in laws and rights. I would love to become a migration agent, I read that it wasn't possible to become one for non permanent residents. Do you know any other way to become one ? Any tips ?
> 
> Thank you so much Mark for your advices.


----------



## bryan00

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bryan -
> 
> I wouldn't worry about the passport expiration issue - proceed with the EOI, and at whatever point you get a new passport, update either the EOI or your lodged visa application with that passport info. That being said, a visa grant must be linked to a live passport, so you will want to make sure you have a live passport (ie, not expired) at whatever point your visa is granted.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your valuable time Mark,

Does this mean that at the time of visa grant date, even if the applicant's passport expires like the next month or so, as long as it is a valid passport at the time of grant, they don't really go deep into the expiry date?

It's just that I've seen some people say that you would need to have a minimum of 6 months remaining until passport expires to apply and be granted a visa. Perhaps this doesn't apply for people applying for a visa inside Australia as per my case?

Thanks once again and have a wonderful evening.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bryan00 -

There is some guidance re: 6 months, however there is also discretion with the case officer. My suggestion would be to get the passport extended or replaced before the visa is granted, to avoid a situation where you have an expiring passport in the middle of the visa application process.

Best,

Mark



bryan00 said:


> Thanks for your valuable time Mark,
> 
> Does this mean that at the time of visa grant date, even if the applicant's passport expires like the next month or so, as long as it is a valid passport at the time of grant, they don't really go deep into the expiry date?
> 
> It's just that I've seen some people say that you would need to have a minimum of 6 months remaining until passport expires to apply and be granted a visa. Perhaps this doesn't apply for people applying for a visa inside Australia as per my case?
> 
> Thanks once again and have a wonderful evening.


----------



## KarenVG

*Entering Australia with intention to apply for 820 (Onshore Partner Visa)*

Hi Mark, hoping you can help me with this one please.

My partner will be entering Australia on 30th September (we lived together for about 15 months in Italy until a couple of weeks ago). We plan to have everything ready so that we can lodge an Onshore Partner Visa within a week of him arriving in Australia.

My question is: what is the best thing to tell immigration officers at the airport. Should he be open about his intentions, saying that he is planning to apply for partner visa ASAP? Or should he say he is just here visiting his girlfriend for a couple of months, and that he intends to return to Italy?

Is it best for him to have evidence that he still has an apartment and job in Italy?

Thank you!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KarenVG -

Thanks for the question. I'd probably not make it obvious that he's planning an onshore partner visa, however if asked directly, he should tell the truth. I'd suggest focusing on the various activities you have planned together - ie, sightseeing, travel in Australia, etc as well as spending time with his girlfriend, since those things are more in line with the purpose of a visitor visa vs. lodging a PR application. That being said, there is nothing at all wrong with lodging a partner visa onshore while here on a visitor visa.

Also, he may want to be careful what he brings with him in his suitcases, so that it looks reasonable for a 3-month stay or whatever the visa is granted for and you plan on - ie, don't bring framed pictures and keepsakes, and don't have your partner visa application papers obviously prepared. If asked directly about a partner visa, he could certainly say you two are considering it, etc but want to spend time together in Australia first, etc. If he still has an apartment and job in Italy at the time, always good to have that evidence ready to go.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KarenVG said:


> Hi Mark, hoping you can help me with this one please.
> 
> My partner will be entering Australia on 30th September (we lived together for about 15 months in Italy until a couple of weeks ago). We plan to have everything ready so that we can lodge an Onshore Partner Visa within a week of him arriving in Australia.
> 
> My question is: what is the best thing to tell immigration officers at the airport. Should he be open about his intentions, saying that he is planning to apply for partner visa ASAP? Or should he say he is just here visiting his girlfriend for a couple of months, and that he intends to return to Italy?
> 
> Is it best for him to have evidence that he still has an apartment and job in Italy?
> 
> Thank you!!


----------



## micial

Hi Mark

I got New Zealand resident visa and I've applied subclass 461 in order to live with my partner and baby in Australia, that visa usually takes 3months or more to process, while I'm waiting, can i apply a 600 visitor visa to go to Australia? in the conditions of 600 visa it says cannot apply for a further stay in Australia (8503), is this going to affect the decision on my 461 visa?

If I have enough saving, can I apply for a normal visitor visa rather than a sponsored family visitor visa coz there are much less forms need to be filled out in a normal visitor visa. 

Thank you for your time.


----------



## sukanta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sukanta -
> 
> Yes, you should include at least 2 statements from other people (can be family, friends, or others who know you) declaring that you are in a genuine married relationship. If they are in Australia, then you can use Form 888 for these, otherwise would suggest you download the form and have a look to see the types of info that can be provided on a statement. A statemnet for these purposes doesn't need to be certified (although you can if you want to) but should include a copy of the writer's passport biodata page or government-issued ID in English.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


You have been a great help Mark.. Greatly appreciated. 
When I went to fill out on line application, stuck where there were 5 questions in regard to Financial aspect, nature of household, social aspect of relationship, nature of commitment, development of relationship. Not sure what to explain as we are providing our own statements to support my wife's application. Do we need to attach separate file explaining all 5 individual queries or we just refer our own single statement? What would be the best approach in this matter Mark? Appreciate if you could advice on this. Thanks a lot Mark for your great help.

Regards
sukanta


----------



## Kokiloz

Hi Mark, 
please I need your help, I'm a dentist and I got invitation to apply for Western Australia skilled state sponsored visa subclass 190, I applied and they requested evidence of funds (bank statement) of $45,000 (for me & my family) and they gave me only 28 days to send the evidence to them.
I didn't have this amount of money in my account previously and I just added them last week.

What to do?! Would this be a problem if I send the bank statement showing the money just added recently?! 
And shall I do the bank statement for one, three or six months?!

Thanks & Regards


----------



## Maga

*Re apply*

Hi Mark,

I've got a slightly difficult situation. I have been in a relationship for years and we are now right before getting my permanent residency granted but my partner is making my life hell, constantly calling me names, yelling and arguing, threatening me to take all my stuff and kick me out, he is crazy jealous and sometimes I really do get scared.

What are my options now? I have nothing back overseas as I have started new life with him here and I have really nowhere to go back.

Is there a way how to be able to stay?

Also would I be able to apply again for the same visa with another partner if there obviously wasn't 12 months of previous living together?

Thank you so much...


----------



## ewilka

Dear Mark, 
hope everything is good with you. I absolutely adore you for the support you offer on this forum. I hope you will be able to help in my case as well.
We had been collecting our documents for 189 over two years ago but my partner got pregnant in the meantime so we temporarily stopped the process. 
Recently we've got invited to apply and we are just starting to upload the documents now. My questions are:
- is there a time frame for uploading documents? we are scanning everything etc so it may take a good few days before we have it all ready
- some documents have been certified over 2 years ago - will we have to certify them again? could they ask for more recent docs? eg policy check? 
thank you,
Ian


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Micial -

Yes, you can apply for a 600 visitor visa to visit while your 461 is processing. As long as the 461 is already lodged by the time your 600 is granted, it's generally not a problem if the 600 is given condition 8503.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



micial said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I got New Zealand resident visa and I've applied subclass 461 in order to live with my partner and baby in Australia, that visa usually takes 3months or more to process, while I'm waiting, can i apply a 600 visitor visa to go to Australia? in the conditions of 600 visa it says cannot apply for a further stay in Australia (8503), is this going to affect the decision on my 461 visa?
> 
> If I have enough saving, can I apply for a normal visitor visa rather than a sponsored family visitor visa coz there are much less forms need to be filled out in a normal visitor visa.
> 
> Thank you for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kokiloz -

You should review the WA skilled site to see exactly what their current requirements are re: evidence of funds (the rules change frequently!). Normally state skilled authorities are interested in current availability of funds, rather than evidence you've held those funds for a long time, however check the WA site for specific regulations. If the detail is not there, then I'd call them via phone and ask them specifically.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kokiloz said:


> Hi Mark,
> please I need your help, I'm a dentist and I got invitation to apply for Western Australia skilled state sponsored visa subclass 190, I applied and they requested evidence of funds (bank statement) of $45,000 (for me & my family) and they gave me only 28 days to send the evidence to them.
> I didn't have this amount of money in my account previously and I just added them last week.
> 
> What to do?! Would this be a problem if I send the bank statement showing the money just added recently?!
> And shall I do the bank statement for one, three or six months?!
> 
> Thanks & Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maga -

Sorry to hear of your relationship issues. I suggest you consult with a registered migration agent to determine your options - they will depend on the type of visa you now hold and what stage that visa is at, plus your other circumstances. Same for the question re: another relationship - too many factors to sort out here on the forum. For instance, if you currently hold a provisional partner visa (subclass 820) and have had documentable instances of family violence, you may be able to continue to the permanent visa (subclass 801) even if the relationship breaks down. But the key is to work through all the requirements for these different situations to determine what's best for you.

I'd be happy to work with you in a consultation to try and sort everything out - see website below in my signature for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



Maga said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've got a slightly difficult situation. I have been in a relationship for years and we are now right before getting my permanent residency granted but my partner is making my life hell, constantly calling me names, yelling and arguing, threatening me to take all my stuff and kick me out, he is crazy jealous and sometimes I really do get scared.
> 
> What are my options now? I have nothing back overseas as I have started new life with him here and I have really nowhere to go back.
> 
> Is there a way how to be able to stay?
> 
> Also would I be able to apply again for the same visa with another partner if there obviously wasn't 12 months of previous living together?
> 
> Thank you so much...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukanta -

We normally put "Please see attached relationship statements and evidence of applicant and sponsor for details" in the 5 question boxes on the form, then include (single) relationship statements from the applicant and sponsor that cover the areas - ie, one relationship statement from each (applicant and sponsor) and in each of those statements the 4 areas of evidence are covered.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sukanta said:


> You have been a great help Mark.. Greatly appreciated.
> When I went to fill out on line application, stuck where there were 5 questions in regard to Financial aspect, nature of household, social aspect of relationship, nature of commitment, development of relationship. Not sure what to explain as we are providing our own statements to support my wife's application. Do we need to attach separate file explaining all 5 individual queries or we just refer our own single statement? What would be the best approach in this matter Mark? Appreciate if you could advice on this. Thanks a lot Mark for your great help.
> 
> Regards
> sukanta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ewilka -

Thanks for the kind words, and congratulations on the pregnancy! Re: uploads, this can happen over 1-2 weeks after you apply. Normally no time limit or expiration on document certifications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ewilka said:


> Dear Mark,
> hope everything is good with you. I absolutely adore you for the support you offer on this forum. I hope you will be able to help in my case as well.
> We had been collecting our documents for 189 over two years ago but my partner got pregnant in the meantime so we temporarily stopped the process.
> Recently we've got invited to apply and we are just starting to upload the documents now. My questions are:
> - is there a time frame for uploading documents? we are scanning everything etc so it may take a good few days before we have it all ready
> - some documents have been certified over 2 years ago - will we have to certify them again? could they ask for more recent docs? eg policy check?
> thank you,
> Ian


----------



## howka

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your reply, I have already obtained an official letter form ANU which states I completed my course requirements on 10 DEC 2014 (see below image). Do you think I have enough evidence now to prove I did satisfy 485.213 & 1.15F at the time of visa application.










485.21 Criteria to be satisfied at time of application

485.213 The following requirements are met:
(a) the applicant satisfied the Australian study requirement in the period of 6 months ending immediately before the day on which the application was made;

[1.15F] (2) In this regulation:
completed, in relation to a degree, diploma or trade qualification, means having met the academic requirements for its award

Thank you so much for your help

Regards,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Howka -
> 
> Wish I had better news, but the completion date is the key date, and if that's what the completion letter says, there is not a lot you can do about that. As you've seen, that's the danger of lodging visa application at the last minute, especially the 485 visa which is incredibly strict about many things.
> 
> The only way to save this I can see would be to somehow get the school to write a letter saying that it was not until 10 Dec (or whatever the date is you need) that you had completed ALL requirements for the course or degree you were studying. An AAT appeal, I would think, would hinge on exactly when you completed ALL requirements for the course at the school, and will come down to the school's policy of how the date is determined that you completed all requirements.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Kokiloz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kokiloz -
> 
> You should review the WA skilled site to see exactly what their current requirements are re: evidence of funds (the rules change frequently!). Normally state skilled authorities are interested in current availability of funds, rather than evidence you've held those funds for a long time, however check the WA site for specific regulations. If the detail is not there, then I'd call them via phone and ask them specifically.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark for your reply, in the WA website there's no details about that except they said bring sufficient funds (for at least three months) into the State to cover settlement costs.

But in the e-mail they sent they mentioned: 
'Please also provide evidence of funds you have nominated for settlement in Western Australia (ie.Bank Statements or asset evaluations).

Applicants are expected to have sufficient funds to enable them to maintain a lifestyle for themselves and any family members for a period of at least three months or until you secure employment. The minimum amount of funds required for settlement is:

· Single - $20,000

· Couple - $30,000

· $5,000 for every additional dependents'

Thanks Mark, Waiting for your reply.


----------



## AUSBambi

*Questions for 801*

Hi Mark,

I have been following this tread for a year and have deep impression for your professionalism. Thank you for your generous contribution.

My eligibility date for 801 was on 23 Aug 2015. Finished uploading online last night, on 30 Aug. I still have a little confusion need to be clarified. Hope get your help with them.

1. Is validity period of AFP police clearance still 12 months? I had one issued in Dec 2014 and have uploaded it last night.

2. I submitted Form 80 for 820 stage. When completing online form for 801 stage, I got a list with Form 80. I am from China. Do I need to submit Form 80 again this time? What would you recommend for it?

3. Is that a problem if uploading documents to unmatched category? For example, uploaded 'joint bank account transactions' to 'Relationship-Spouse, De facto Partner'; then 'Bank Statement-Personal'.

4. The online form was finished on 26 Aug and uploading documents was finished on 30 Aug. Which day is the day of 'application received'?

Thank you in advance. Have a nice day


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kokiloz -

Based on what you've posted, there appears to be no requirement for historical showing of funds, only current evidence of current balance.

Best,

Mark



Kokiloz said:


> Thanks a lot Mark for your reply, in the WA website there's no details about that except they said bring sufficient funds (for at least three months) into the State to cover settlement costs.
> 
> But in the e-mail they sent they mentioned:
> 'Please also provide evidence of funds you have nominated for settlement in Western Australia (ie.Bank Statements or asset evaluations).
> 
> Applicants are expected to have sufficient funds to enable them to maintain a lifestyle for themselves and any family members for a period of at least three months or until you secure employment. The minimum amount of funds required for settlement is:
> 
> · Single - $20,000
> 
> · Couple - $30,000
> 
> · $5,000 for every additional dependents'
> 
> Thanks Mark, Waiting for your reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Howka -

Thanks for the note. I can't assess documents via cut & paste on the forum - would be happy to assess actual documents (or scanned copies) at a consultation - see link in my signature below. I'm assuming that you previously provided a letter from the school that said 5 Dec? If so, then immigration may start looking at the difference between completed course requirements, and being approved to graduate. Will take a careful study of the exact wording of the documents to make a case in these circumstances from what I've seen. Happy to assist further in a consultation.

Best,

Mark



howka said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your reply, I have already obtained an official letter form ANU which states I completed my course requirements on 10 DEC 2014 (see below image). Do you think I have enough evidence now to prove I did satisfy 485.213 & 1.15F at the time of visa application.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 485.21 Criteria to be satisfied at time of application
> 
> 485.213 The following requirements are met:
> (a) the applicant satisfied the Australian study requirement in the period of 6 months ending immediately before the day on which the application was made;
> 
> [1.15F] (2) In this regulation:
> completed, in relation to a degree, diploma or trade qualification, means having met the academic requirements for its award
> 
> Thank you so much for your help
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AUSBambi -

Thanks for the note and kind words! Re: your questions, see below at ***



AUSBambi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been following this tread for a year and have deep impression for your professionalism. Thank you for your generous contribution.
> 
> My eligibility date for 801 was on 23 Aug 2015. Finished uploading online last night, on 30 Aug. I still have a little confusion need to be clarified. Hope get your help with them.
> 
> 1. Is validity period of AFP police clearance still 12 months? I had one issued in Dec 2014 and have uploaded it last night.
> *** Yes.
> 
> 2. I submitted Form 80 for 820 stage. When completing online form for 801 stage, I got a list with Form 80. I am from China. Do I need to submit Form 80 again this time? What would you recommend for it?
> *** Yes, I would do that. They will very likely ask for it anyway if you do not.
> 
> 3. Is that a problem if uploading documents to unmatched category? For example, uploaded 'joint bank account transactions' to 'Relationship-Spouse, De facto Partner'; then 'Bank Statement-Personal'.
> *** No problem.
> 
> 4. The online form was finished on 26 Aug and uploading documents was finished on 30 Aug. Which day is the day of 'application received'?
> *** If you submitted the online form on 26 Aug, then the application received date would be 26 Aug.
> 
> Thank you in advance. Have a nice day


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## AUSBambi

Hi Mark

It is a big surprise to get so quick reply for my first post. Now everything is clear. I will follow your advice to attach Form80 ASAP. Appreciate your help.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi AUSBambi -
> 
> Thanks for the note and kind words! Re: your questions, see below at ***
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Sasha1988

Hello Mark, I would like to find out if it's possible , if I can transfer my 457 to 187 Visa . At the moment couple months ago I have been sponsored as a restaurant manager in Morwell, Victoria , this is regional area I believe. I am from Estonia and already did my IELTS test like 1 year ago when applied to 457. Is it possible now to transfer to 187 visa as there are much more benefits being on permanent visa and what are costs and procedures. Thank you very much !


----------



## Abedin

*Tourist Visa - Parents and Partner*

Hi Mark,

Appreciate your work.
I have few queries regarding tourist visa for parents and my partner.

1. Me and my sister are permanent residents and I have a younger brother living with me who is under student visa in australia. My parents and my younder sister (age 13) living in Bangladesh would like to visit us in Australia under tourist scheme. Can I apply their application online using my immi account? Are they eligible for multiple travel visa of 12 months?

2. I understand the my father will be the head of the family and all the member need to apply separate application form. He is retired and we have few assets, Bonds back in Bangladesh. Will that documents be enough for the application?

3. I have applied my wife's 309/100 visa application in April and still awaiting decision. I would like my wife to join me under the tourist scheme.
Can I apply her tourist visa application using my immi account?

I do not want to apply for Sponsored tourist visa as it will or may cost me a lot as part of the bond request. But I will be supporting each and every family member whilst their stay in Australia.

Any kind of help is highly appreciated.

Kind regards,
Mohammed Abedin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sasha1988 -

You may be able to apply for a sc187 RSMS PR visa is your employer will sponsor you for this visa, you meet the English requirements (6 or better on all bands of the IELTS test unless you work for the employer for 2 years on a 457 visa before applying for the sc187), the local Regional Certifying Body (RBC) approves the nomination re: availability of workers locally, and you meet the other requirements for this visa. Happy to discuss all at a consultation where we can determine your eligibility and options - see link below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sasha1988 said:


> Hello Mark, I would like to find out if it's possible , if I can transfer my 457 to 187 Visa . At the moment couple months ago I have been sponsored as a restaurant manager in Morwell, Victoria , this is regional area I believe. I am from Estonia and already did my IELTS test like 1 year ago when applied to 457. Is it possible now to transfer to 187 visa as there are much more benefits being on permanent visa and what are costs and procedures. Thank you very much !


----------



## ewilka

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ewilka -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words, and congratulations on the pregnancy! Re: uploads, this can happen over 1-2 weeks after you apply. Normally no time limit or expiration on document certifications.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Fantastic! Thank you very much Mark and have a nice day


----------



## musti

hi mark
pls i need your advice
i will apply for citizenship next month and according to immi website A permanent resident must successfully complete the citizenship test before citizenship can be
granted unless they:
have a permanent or enduring physical or mental incapacity that means they are not capable
of:
- understanding the nature of the application; or
- demonstrating a basic knowledge of the English language at that time; or
- demonstrating an adequate knowledge of Australia and of the responsibilities and
privileges of Australian citizenship at that time; or
• have a permanent loss or substantial impairment of hearing, speech or sight.
well in my situation i have knee and shoulder injury which require a surgery and i have report from specialist so does that mean i have enduring physical ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohammed -

Thanks for the question. Re: can you apply online, if the persons (parents, wife, etc) are citizens of Bangladesh, yes, they can apply online for a subclass 600 visitor visa. Re: whether documents, etc are sufficient, that's impossible to predict with any accuracy - much is up to the opinion of the case officer as to whether a sufficient case is made that the applicants have strong ties to their home country - you might look at the Genuine Temporary Entrant policy on the DIBP website to learn more about this assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abedin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Appreciate your work.
> I have few queries regarding tourist visa for parents and my partner.
> 
> 1. Me and my sister are permanent residents and I have a younger brother living with me who is under student visa in australia. My parents and my younder sister (age 13) living in Bangladesh would like to visit us in Australia under tourist scheme. Can I apply their application online using my immi account? Are they eligible for multiple travel visa of 12 months?
> 
> 2. I understand the my father will be the head of the family and all the member need to apply separate application form. He is retired and we have few assets, Bonds back in Bangladesh. Will that documents be enough for the application?
> 
> 3. I have applied my wife's 309/100 visa application in April and still awaiting decision. I would like my wife to join me under the tourist scheme.
> Can I apply her tourist visa application using my immi account?
> 
> I do not want to apply for Sponsored tourist visa as it will or may cost me a lot as part of the bond request. But I will be supporting each and every family member whilst their stay in Australia.
> 
> Any kind of help is highly appreciated.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Mohammed Abedin


----------



## chow123

*General Accountant seeks for VIC SS*

Dear Mark
I'm a newbie here. I had my IELTS done (8/7/7/7), working as a general accountant over 10 years and currently I stand at 55 points which needs an extra 5 points from state sponsorship.

I hope to get SS from Victoria as I have some friends whom migrating there for some time.

May I know whether Victoria is opened for general accountant category as I noticed in their website general accountant is not in occupation list of VIC website (updated April 2015).

Please kindly advise whether I stand any chance to get VIC state sponsorship as a general accountant base on your experience and recent trend? Should I engage an agent to whom very familiar with VIC SS to take on my case?

Thank you


----------



## remi12

*partner visa and job overseas*

Hi Mark,
I would like to ask if you know if I can go to work overseas (Singapore) for next 1 to 3 years (I will try to make it shorter) if I have partner visa (permanent). I am still waiting for my temporary partner visa - it is the same, if there is any chance they would allow me to go if I still have temporary partner visa (I think it is in processing stage now, so I hope I could get is soon). My partner cannot go but we will see each other often (that's why Singapore). This job is very important for my career. We plan to buy house together next year and will most probably marry soon.

Also, is there any chance that the immigration could take final decision about temporary permanent residency a little faster if I tell them that it is urgent.
Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Musti -

My thought would be that your injuries would not render you incapable of the noted items, so you'd need to take the test. The good news is that you can download a booklet from the citizenship website that essentially has the answers to the test in it - just need to study the book.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



musti said:


> hi mark
> pls i need your advice
> i will apply for citizenship next month and according to immi website A permanent resident must successfully complete the citizenship test before citizenship can be
> granted unless they:
> have a permanent or enduring physical or mental incapacity that means they are not capable
> of:
> - understanding the nature of the application; or
> - demonstrating a basic knowledge of the English language at that time; or
> - demonstrating an adequate knowledge of Australia and of the responsibilities and
> privileges of Australian citizenship at that time; or
> • have a permanent loss or substantial impairment of hearing, speech or sight.
> well in my situation i have knee and shoulder injury which require a surgery and i have report from specialist so does that mean i have enduring physical ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chow123 -

According to AnzscoSearch - see https://www.anzscosearch.com/search/ - VIC is not sponsoring for Accountant (General) now. This website is very handy as they tend to stay on top of state sponsorship changes and update their website very quickly after changes are made. Agents generally do not specialise in a particular state, but if you're considering engaging a migration agent, I'd certainly get one that is familiar with the subclass 190 visa and the state sponsorship process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chow123 said:


> Dear Mark
> I'm a newbie here. I had my IELTS done (8/7/7/7), working as a general accountant over 10 years and currently I stand at 55 points which needs an extra 5 points from state sponsorship.
> 
> I hope to get SS from Victoria as I have some friends whom migrating there for some time.
> 
> May I know whether Victoria is opened for general accountant category as I noticed in their website general accountant is not in occupation list of VIC website (updated April 2015).
> 
> Please kindly advise whether I stand any chance to get VIC state sponsorship as a general accountant base on your experience and recent trend? Should I engage an agent to whom very familiar with VIC SS to take on my case?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Remi12 -

Thanks for the note. No problem traveling overseas once you are granted the provisional (820 or 309) or permanent (100 or 801) partner visas. If you are overseas for an extended time without your partner prior to the permanent partner visa being granted, you may want to look at how that could be interpreted by DIBP re: the relationship still being intact. Lots of relationship evidence re: communications records, trips, etc while overseas can help in those situations.

Re: asking for urgency, usually this happens only if there is a dire situation (ie, life & death, major illness, children involved, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



remi12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I would like to ask if you know if I can go to work overseas (Singapore) for next 1 to 3 years (I will try to make it shorter) if I have partner visa (permanent). I am still waiting for my temporary partner visa - it is the same, if there is any chance they would allow me to go if I still have temporary partner visa (I think it is in processing stage now, so I hope I could get is soon). My partner cannot go but we will see each other often (that's why Singapore). This job is very important for my career. We plan to buy house together next year and will most probably marry soon.
> 
> Also, is there any chance that the immigration could take final decision about temporary permanent residency a little faster if I tell them that it is urgent.
> Thanks.


----------



## remi12

*thanks*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Remi12 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No problem traveling overseas once you are granted the provisional (820 or 309) or permanent (100 or 801) partner visas. If you are overseas for an extended time without your partner prior to the permanent partner visa being granted, you may want to look at how that could be interpreted by DIBP re: the relationship still being intact. Lots of relationship evidence re: communications records, trips, etc while overseas can help in those situations.
> 
> Re: asking for urgency, usually this happens only if there is a dire situation (ie, life & death, major illness, children involved, etc).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Glad I could help!

Best,

Mark



remi12 said:


> Thank you very much Mark!


----------



## Nebs

Hi Mark!
Thank you so much for your help so far!

Me and my husband are both writing our statutory statements about our relationship at the moment and we're unsure how to approach the ' when did you decide to get married part etc ' . We married when I was on a Tourist Visa about a month and a half after me coming back to Australia, particularly considering the fact that tourist visa is for tourism purposes ( which still is what I did, have travelled quite a lot here in the meantime). 
I know lodging a Partner Visa onshore whilst on eVisitor is legal, but I feel I still need to be careful when it comes to wording the entire situation.
All the Best!


----------



## chow123

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Chow123 -
> 
> According to AnzscoSearch - VIC is not sponsoring for Accountant (General) now. This website is very handy as they tend to stay on top of state sponsorship changes and update their website very quickly after changes are made. Agents generally do not specialise in a particular state, but if you're considering engaging a migration agent, I'd certainly get one that is familiar with the subclass 190 visa and the state sponsorship process.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,
Thank you very much for your super prompt reply.
I have just checked with the website you provided and general accountant seems not in the list of VIC at this moment.
May I know whether there are possibilities that VIC will open up general accountant again in near future? This is very crucial for me as I really do not want to have other state sponsorship if possible. 
If I were to engage you as my agent, do you have the confidence to get VIC SS for me in near future? Can you PM me the fee and how to go about it?

Thanks a lot.


----------



## Roscar

*820/801 Visa. Sponsor is still a student, is this an issue?*

Hello Mark,

Although I have just signed up to the forum, I have read numerous threads over the past few months and just want to say thanks so much for all the helpful advice you have given.

I am from the UK, have been in Australia for nearly two years and currently on my 2nd year WHV. My partner is 25 year old Australian female.

We are close to submitting our 820/801 Partner visa. We meet all the relationship requirements, however we are slightly worried as my partner, the sponsor, is currently still a student.

Should this be an issue?

We are concerned that her current part time wage will not be seen as sufficient to meet her obligations as a sponsor.

She will graduate November, has been working part time in her chosen field and will have a full time job after graduation.

We are wondering if we should supply a letter from her employer saying that she will have full time work after she graduates?

Also I have been working full time for over a year now so should we also attach some of my own payslips/group certificates to show that I am financially secure on my own?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Ross


----------



## Nytshade77

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nytshade77 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Your situation is far too complex to provide specific answers to here - suggest you engage a registered migration agent to get all the details of your case and discuss your questions. I offer consultations (see website below in signature) as do other agents.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hi Mark, thanks for getting back to me. I did visit your website and left a msg hoping someone to get back to me. I hope someone pick up my case soon. Many thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nebs -

No problem re: marrying on a tourist visa - not a violation of the visa terms, no need to be shy about mentioning that unless you were questioned at the airport when you entered on that trip and told the officer that you were not going to get married (and he recorded that note) - unlikely.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nebs said:


> Hi Mark!
> Thank you so much for your help so far!
> 
> Me and my husband are both writing our statutory statements about our relationship at the moment and we're unsure how to approach the ' when did you decide to get married part etc ' . We married when I was on a Tourist Visa about a month and a half after me coming back to Australia, particularly considering the fact that tourist visa is for tourism purposes ( which still is what I did, have travelled quite a lot here in the meantime).
> I know lodging a Partner Visa onshore whilst on eVisitor is legal, but I feel I still need to be careful when it comes to wording the entire situation.
> All the Best!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chow123 -

Thanks for the note. There is absolutely no way to predict if/when VIC will open up general accountant this year - they do not announce those decisions until they are actually made. If you are only willing to consider VIC sponsorship, I'd probably wait until you see VIC open up that occupation, then decide how to proceed. But again, no way to predict if they will open it up this year, or when.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chow123 said:


> Dear Mark,
> Thank you very much for your super prompt reply.
> I have just checked with the website you provided and general accountant seems not in the list of VIC at this moment.
> May I know whether there are possibilities that VIC will open up general accountant again in near future? This is very crucial for me as I really do not want to have other state sponsorship if possible.
> If I were to engage you as my agent, do you have the confidence to get VIC SS for me in near future? Can you PM me the fee and how to go about it?
> 
> Thanks a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ross -

Thanks for the note and kind words. Her being a student is no problem re: partner visa, but I would include the future employer letter and some of your payslips. You could write a short letter to describe the financial capacity of each of you - ie, note her upcoming graduation and get a letter from the future employer, and note your current wages.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Roscar said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Although I have just signed up to the forum, I have read numerous threads over the past few months and just want to say thanks so much for all the helpful advice you have given.
> 
> I am from the UK, have been in Australia for nearly two years and currently on my 2nd year WHV. My partner is 25 year old Australian female.
> 
> We are close to submitting our 820/801 Partner visa. We meet all the relationship requirements, however we are slightly worried as my partner, the sponsor, is currently still a student.
> 
> Should this be an issue?
> 
> We are concerned that her current part time wage will not be seen as sufficient to meet her obligations as a sponsor.
> 
> She will graduate November, has been working part time in her chosen field and will have a full time job after graduation.
> 
> We are wondering if we should supply a letter from her employer saying that she will have full time work after she graduates?
> 
> Also I have been working full time for over a year now so should we also attach some of my own payslips/group certificates to show that I am financially secure on my own?
> 
> Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Ross


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nytshade77 -

Thanks for the note - I'm a bit behind since return to Australia a few days ago, will check my backlog of emails tonight.

Best,

Mark



Nytshade77 said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for getting back to me. I did visit your website and left a msg hoping someone to get back to me. I hope someone pick up my case soon. Many thanks!


----------



## Roscar

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ross -
> 
> Thanks for the note and kind words. Her being a student is no problem re: partner visa, but I would include the future employer letter and some of your payslips. You could write a short letter to describe the financial capacity of each of you - ie, note her upcoming graduation and get a letter from the future employer, and note your current wages.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot, Mark.

We will take this on board.

As the Aussies say, you are a 'champion' 

Cheers,

Ross


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks!

Mark



Roscar said:


> Thanks a lot, Mark.
> 
> We will take this on board.
> 
> As the Aussies say, you are a 'champion'
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Ross


----------



## chow123

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Chow123 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. There is absolutely no way to predict if/when VIC will open up general accountant this year - they do not announce those decisions until they are actually made. If you are only willing to consider VIC sponsorship, I'd probably wait until you see VIC open up that occupation, then decide how to proceed. But again, no way to predict if they will open it up this year, or when.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark
Thank you very much for your reply. I really appreciate your professionalism in answering the questions. You are truly honest and professional. Yes, I will monitor the status of VIC occupation list and will come back to you again,

Thank you very much again.


----------



## charanjit

*urgent help required mark*

Dear Mark,

you are really doing awsome job... thanks in advance.... i have applied for state sponsership on 6th july. The timelimit is 6-8 weeks but still havenot heard anything from them.....what i have to do? should i wait for or i have to write them.

My question actually is i have one more EOI in system that is for 489 family sponserd for northen teritory. Does this extra EOI can impact my case of state sponsership.do u think i have to suspend this EOI for time being.


----------



## ngweisheng0428

*De Facto partner application*

Hi Mark,

My partner and I are currently both on Temporary Residency Visas and he is now going to apply for a Skilled migration visa. We have been together for over two years now and have documents proof of us living together for at least two years as well as joint bank accounts that we have been using. Our plan is for me to apply with him as a de facto partner.

The issue we face however, is that in my Temporary Residency Visa application which was issued in May this year, I listed my relationship status as 'single' rather than 'de facto'. The same applies for his TR application (issued May 2014).

We have been together all along but at that point of my TR application we have not decided that we would apply for a PR as de facto partners and we were just wondering how that would affect our application and how would we able to explain this situation to the assessors.

Any advise would be appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charanjit -

I'd be patient as these things seem to be running a bit behind, and the time estimates are not limits, but rough estimates. Normally multiple EOIs won't be an issue for state sponsorship, as the states only look at the one(s) where you have indicated you are interested in that state's sponsorship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charanjit said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> you are really doing awsome job... thanks in advance.... i have applied for state sponsership on 6th july. The timelimit is 6-8 weeks but still havenot heard anything from them.....what i have to do? should i wait for or i have to write them.
> 
> My question actually is i have one more EOI in system that is for 489 family sponserd for northen teritory. Does this extra EOI can impact my case of state sponsership.do u think i have to suspend this EOI for time being.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ngweisheng0428 -

Probably simpler if you do not claim that the relationship progressed to the level of de facto partners until after the previous visa applications were lodged (or perhaps granted). There are many levels of a relationship (girlfriend/boyfriend, living together, etc) that do not rise to the level of a de facto relationship, so that can be a good way to explain things if asked. The problem in these situations comes up when you claim that your de facto relationship (at the level of de facto partners) dates back to before the previous visa applications - that can cause issues. Also, don't forget about looking into registering your relationship if the state you live in in Australia supports this (all do except WA and SA) - this automatically satisfies the 12-month relationship requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ngweisheng0428 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I are currently both on Temporary Residency Visas and he is now going to apply for a Skilled migration visa. We have been together for over two years now and have documents proof of us living together for at least two years as well as joint bank accounts that we have been using. Our plan is for me to apply with him as a de facto partner.
> 
> The issue we face however, is that in my Temporary Residency Visa application which was issued in May this year, I listed my relationship status as 'single' rather than 'de facto'. The same applies for his TR application (issued May 2014).
> 
> We have been together all along but at that point of my TR application we have not decided that we would apply for a PR as de facto partners and we were just wondering how that would affect our application and how would we able to explain this situation to the assessors.
> 
> Any advise would be appreciated.


----------



## ngweisheng0428

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the swift reply. Your input and help is much appreciated.

Would registering the relationship help if neither of us are permanent residents or citizens yet?
Also, if we say that we have been living together for two years but our relationship has only progressed into a de facto relationship since May, would we satisfy the requirements to apply as partners?


----------



## mahesh.marri

*PTE Score Clarification for EOI*

Hello Mark,

I have PTE Score in all four (Listening,Reading ,Speaking ,Writing ) modules with 65 above ,Do we also need to have overall score as 65 and above . if individuals had 65 and overall had 64 would this be considered for EOI.

Please help me to understand ,So that i will be in comfortable position.

I have all modules with 65 and above.But overall shows 64 .

Thanks
Mahesh


----------



## sharma47

Hello mark,
I have posted this elsewhere today as a reply to Jeremy. Please excuse me for posting this again, as I am required to get some docs today and tomorrow, so I was looking for information. If I cant get them by tomorrow, then I will have to wait until next week.
My Undergrad is from India and MS is from Germany. So I doubt if I am covered under signatory status. 

The PhD degree from south Korea will be awarded on 12th Feb 2016. Until then I guess I cannot count in the PhD.
So As I have calculated:
Age: 34 ( This December) Points: 
IELTS: Listen 6.5, Reading 8 Writing 7.5 Speaking 8.
Overall 7.5.
Quals: B.E. Electrical Engineering (4 years), India
MS: 2 years Germany
Work Exp: 3 years at the lab(noting that this is not counted)
Subcalss 190: State Nomination 

I think my base point is right now 55. And am falling 5 short, correct me if am wrong. I will be taking up pearson english test sometime at Seoul to increase my points score.

In the meanwhile I think I am qualified to apply for skill assessment with EA. However, I think I will have to go for CDR for obvious reasons.

But my question is for the CDR, what are the work related documents do I have to produce?
1. Reference Letter from my supervisor ?
2. Salary slips? or tax returns? I missed an year of applying for tax returns.
3. Three career episodes?
4. Research Publications?
5. Proof of patent applications?

Kindly advice.


----------



## simer86

Hi Mark -

I just received my ACS results and really surprised to know that they have deducted close to 4 years from my relevant experience, even my education was considered to be *Major in computing *. Now I am left with only 14 months from which I am not eligible for even a single point. I have few action plans in my mind. *Seniors please help to make a decision* -

1) I write an email to ACS asking for justification?
a) Write an email to DIEC with all experience letters and proofs that ACS has wrongly deducted my number of years
b) Ask ACS to reassess my application.
c) File a new application with ACS.
2) Apply with 55 points which I am eligible for right now, plus take state sponsorship from NSW
a) Can someone please tell me - if that's a possibility? I have seen on NSW website that even if the applicant is making 55 points, with state sponsorship they will get additional 5 points and will become eligible for application. Is that right? If yes, what are the chances and the timeframe for getting an invite for SYSTEM ANALYST with 60 points.
b) Are there any funds, which I need to show for state sponsorship in NSW? I didn't find anything on NSW website.

Thanks in Anticipation.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Registering the relationship can help with any partner or skilled visa application where the applicants are claiming to be de facto partners. Re: satisfying partner requirements, I would need to see all of your relationship evidence and discuss your circumstances at a consultation in order to give you an opinion on that as there are many factors that are considered in that particular assessment of eligibility.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ngweisheng0428 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the swift reply. Your input and help is much appreciated.
> 
> Would registering the relationship help if neither of us are permanent residents or citizens yet?
> Also, if we say that we have been living together for two years but our relationship has only progressed into a de facto relationship since May, would we satisfy the requirements to apply as partners?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mahesh -

I'd need to see the document - normally if all of the band scores are 65 or higher, the overall score is not lower than 65, so something doesn't sound right there. Happy to assist you in a consult - see website below for link.

Best,

Mark



mahesh.marri said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have PTE Score in all four (Listening,Reading ,Speaking ,Writing ) modules with 65 above ,Do we also need to have overall score as 65 and above . if individuals had 65 and overall had 64 would this be considered for EOI.
> 
> Please help me to understand ,So that i will be in comfortable position.
> 
> I have all modules with 65 and above.But overall shows 64 .
> 
> Thanks
> Mahesh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sharma47 -

Please see the EA website and the Skilled Migration Manual in the EA skills assessment section on the website for very detailed answers to your questions re: requirements for documents - it's all there.

Re: points, happy to assist you at a consultation - points issues can be complex and are not easily answered by quick forum questions.

Best,

Mark



sharma47 said:


> Hello mark,
> I have posted this elsewhere today as a reply to Jeremy. Please excuse me for posting this again, as I am required to get some docs today and tomorrow, so I was looking for information. If I cant get them by tomorrow, then I will have to wait until next week.
> My Undergrad is from India and MS is from Germany. So I doubt if I am covered under signatory status.
> 
> The PhD degree from south Korea will be awarded on 12th Feb 2016. Until then I guess I cannot count in the PhD.
> So As I have calculated:
> Age: 34 ( This December) Points:
> IELTS: Listen 6.5, Reading 8 Writing 7.5 Speaking 8.
> Overall 7.5.
> Quals: B.E. Electrical Engineering (4 years), India
> MS: 2 years Germany
> Work Exp: 3 years at the lab(noting that this is not counted)
> Subcalss 190: State Nomination
> 
> I think my base point is right now 55. And am falling 5 short, correct me if am wrong. I will be taking up pearson english test sometime at Seoul to increase my points score.
> 
> In the meanwhile I think I am qualified to apply for skill assessment with EA. However, I think I will have to go for CDR for obvious reasons.
> 
> But my question is for the CDR, what are the work related documents do I have to produce?
> 1. Reference Letter from my supervisor ?
> 2. Salary slips? or tax returns? I missed an year of applying for tax returns.
> 3. Three career episodes?
> 4. Research Publications?
> 5. Proof of patent applications?
> 
> Kindly advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Simer86 -

See the Summary of Criteria page on the ACS website to see the number of years deducted and why - it relates to their assessment of your degree and major. No point in appealing to DIBP. If you think you have been improperly assessed, you can appeal or ask for a review at ACS.

If you have 55 points and your occupation is currently being sponsored, you can apply to NSW for sponsorship, however you cannot apply without a positive skills assessment. Chances and timeframe are impossible to predict as NSW doesn't publish enough info to predict these. Depends on how many other applications they get that they assess as superior to yours, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



simer86 said:


> Hi Mark -
> 
> I just received my ACS results and really surprised to know that they have deducted close to 4 years from my relevant experience, even my education was considered to be *Major in computing *. Now I am left with only 14 months from which I am not eligible for even a single point. I have few action plans in my mind. *Seniors please help to make a decision* -
> 
> 1) I write an email to ACS asking for justification?
> a) Write an email to DIEC with all experience letters and proofs that ACS has wrongly deducted my number of years
> b) Ask ACS to reassess my application.
> c) File a new application with ACS.
> 2) Apply with 55 points which I am eligible for right now, plus take state sponsorship from NSW
> a) Can someone please tell me - if that's a possibility? I have seen on NSW website that even if the applicant is making 55 points, with state sponsorship they will get additional 5 points and will become eligible for application. Is that right? If yes, what are the chances and the timeframe for getting an invite for SYSTEM ANALYST with 60 points.
> b) Are there any funds, which I need to show for state sponsorship in NSW? I didn't find anything on NSW website.
> 
> Thanks in Anticipation.


----------



## simer86

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Simer86 -
> 
> See the Summary of Criteria page on the ACS website to see the number of years deducted and why - it relates to their assessment of your degree and major. No point in appealing to DIBP. If you think you have been improperly assessed, you can appeal or ask for a review at ACS.
> 
> If you have 55 points and your occupation is currently being sponsored, you can apply to NSW for sponsorship, however you cannot apply without a positive skills assessment. Chances and timeframe are impossible to predict as NSW doesn't publish enough info to predict these. Depends on how many other applications they get that they assess as superior to yours, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your quick reply Mark - i have gone through the summary of criteria and there is no way, ACS can deduct my 5 years of "RELEVANT" work experience as I am working as system analyst from day one of my career also my degree is Major in Computing . Anyways, I have marked them a mail - asking justification of deducting years.

I have a positive assessment though, so If I apply for NSW under 190 - Do i need to show any funds as well? Also, for state nomination - apart from living in that state for atleast 2 years, is there any other pre-requisite as well? Please help.

Thanks in Anticipation


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Simer86 -

Suggest you have a careful look through the NSW website for complete requirements. That's what we do for clients for each new applicant as the requirements change from time to time and there's no shortcut to going to the website and having a good read. Also, NSW and DIBP both have detailed requirements for the sponsorship/visa - if you're going to do the application yourself, best to look carefully through the websites for both.

Best,

Mark



simer86 said:


> Thanks for your quick reply Mark - i have gone through the summary of criteria and there is no way, ACS can deduct my 5 years of "RELEVANT" work experience as I am working as system analyst from day one of my career also my degree is Major in Computing . Anyways, I have marked them a mail - asking justification of deducting years.
> 
> I have a positive assessment though, so If I apply for NSW under 190 - Do i need to show any funds as well? Also, for state nomination - apart from living in that state for atleast 2 years, is there any other pre-requisite as well? Please help.
> 
> Thanks in Anticipation


----------



## mahesh.marri

Hello Mark ,

I have sent you the PTE Score Card.Can you please assist and help me if i can go ahead for EOI submission.

Thanks
Mahesh


----------



## charanjit

*thanks a lot*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Charanjit -
> 
> I'd be patient as these things seem to be running a bit behind, and the time estimates are not limits, but rough estimates. Normally multiple EOIs won't be an issue for state sponsorship, as the states only look at the one(s) where you have indicated you are interested in that state's sponsorship.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot .... mark... really thankful to you


----------



## Michael81

Hi Mark thank you for your reply,

Could you please advise me if its best to apply for a Family sponsored Visa or a Tourit stream visa? 

Kind Regards
Michael81


----------



## Michael81

Hi Mark,

Is it best I apply for the Family sponsored visitor Visa?

Regards
Michael81



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Michael81 -
> 
> Re: visitor visa, I'd emphasise compelling and compassionate circumstances of allowing you to be with your new baby and help your wife take care of the baby. Also, re: Schedule 3 (if applying again onshore), once the baby is born, good chance of getting a Schedule 3 waiver. Re: 8503 waiver, that may be more difficult unless your circumstances change in a way that could be considered beyond your/her control.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## adim

*Partner visa military question*

Hi Mark,

I have a couple of questions and would love your help:

im the sponsor and my husband is the applicant. He served the Israel Defense force as is compulsory for all Israeli's. He undertook military training as part of his service and also was involved in the Lebanon 2 war in 2006. In the online application its asking if the applicant was associated with an organisation that is involved in violence or acts of violence ( such as war etc etc)... does this mean he needs to answer YES to this?

Also - i wanted to ensure its ok to use colour scan of our I.D and whether this colour scan needs to be certified? or is it enough that it is in colour?

Lastly... i understand that there is alot of documents needed to be filled out and provided.. which forms need to be completed with the online applciation " application for migrating with partner" also the form 80? and the form 47sp? and the form 40sp? im confused!

thanks in advance
A


----------



## sai1705

Hi Mark, 

I am a Sales and Marketing manager with over 7 years of work experience with four different companies, on a management role with a direct reporting to the owner of the business. 

Now my query is- All the 4 companies that i have worked with, are small scale companies with a work force of not more than 40-50 employees, even though headquarters are based out of countries like US & Australia

I would like to understand if I go for my skills assessment with AIM, having work experience with smaller companies would be a problem?

Is there a quideline by AIM that the organisations has to be bigger in size or preferably MNCs. (heard it from some of the Migration agents here in India)

Also They adviced not to apply under this occupation as the chances of success are very less.

Please guide me through, as based on your inputs I may take a final call of whether to proceed or not. 

Thank you 
Sai


----------



## chouse

Hi Mark,

I wonder if you can help me? I've been advised by immi (call centre) to apply for onshore partner visa, problem being I am a teacher in the UK and can only resign at certain points in the year and have to finish at the end of a term. 

If I go for the onshore option (which is preferable) would I be able to apply for a BVB to cover the 7 weeks(ish) from application to complete my notice period for employment?

What would I put on the BVB application? Would this be frowned upon? Or should I resign early and risk losing the income in the mean time?

Thanks in advance


----------



## sinan

Hi Mark,

I was wondering, if you could suggest when the NSW government can send me an invitation for Sub 190 visa?

I am a mechanical engineer
EOI was submitted on 27/05/2015
Skill select point: 60
Experience: 3 years
Ielts score: Speaking 7.5 Listening 7.5 Writing 6 Reading 7.5

Thanks Mark,
Sinan


----------



## sydney2015

Hi Mark,
I am really impressed with your unselfish help you are providing to many people on this forum. I’ve read more than 200 pages and I’ve learned a lot already.
I’m currently collecting documents to apply for a 820/801 visa and I’m hoping you can help me with some issues:
1.	I met my Australian partner in November 2013 and we started living together in February 2014. We have separate bank accounts, he pays rent and I pay bills and weekly grocery shopping (we can show that in bank statements). Both our names are on rental agreement and bills. He contributes more than me as I am on student visa and can’t work more than 20 hours per week plus I pay my college fee. We travel a lot and he always pays for tickets, hotels etc. with his credit card and I give him some money back later (cash). Is this a problem? Is there a point to open joint bank account now? I can apply for partner visa in February or March 2016 so there would be 5-6 months history of that account.

2.	My partner had a Polish girlfriend before and sponsored her on 820/810 visa. She was granted 820. But just before she was entitled to start 801 process, they broke up and she permanently left Australia (in September 2012). Neither she nor my partner told immigration about it when it happened. He told them a few months later when they called him because they had sent her invitation for an interview and she didn’t turn up. 
They lodged their application for 820/801 in December 2010 and as far as I know my partner can sponsor another person after 5 years. He is an Australian citizen. My current student visa will expire in April 2016. Do you think we should apply for partner visa right after it is possible, in January 2016, or is it better to wait a couple of months? Do they look suspicious at these applications? Is there increased scrutiny about genuinity of relationship?


----------



## atgreg

Hi Mark,

just wanted to say a big thanks, my german fiance Anette and I had a consult with you last december to go over our PMV app before we submitted. Our PMV was just granted  , a shade under 9 months.

Your assesment that our app was a good one made the wait more bearable, and was worth far far more than the cost in peace of mind !!!!!.

thanks again

Greg and Anette


----------



## ybhyu2

Hi Mark,
This is a general question about applying for 189 PR visa.

I have a record of accidentally overstaying my student visa for more than 28 days therefore had to leave Australia with holding a BVE following a 3 year exclusion period. This was about 3 years ago.

As of now, my exclusion period ends in 2 months and during the last 3 years I was able to stay in Australia on a student visa then on 485 visa, regardless of the ban as it was waived on fair grounds. 

This was a short background of my previous visa status, I am now just about to lodge my EOI and subsequently a visa application for 189 permanent resident visa. Considering the facts above, my understanding is that I am not in anyway restricted nor disadvantaged in applying for my PR is this correct?

Also, while I fill out my visa application I am aware that there are answers need to be filled for questions for 1.have you been deported from Australia 2. asked to leave Australia 3. had any visas cancelled before. I vaguely remember these from filling out my previous student/485 visas and both the times I had checked only yes to the question 2. asked to leave Australia and others with a no. Is this the right procedure I took? and should I do the same for the upcoming 189 visa application?

I am in desperate need for some advice relating to my situation. Many thanks in advance for your advice.


----------



## martin12345

Hey Mark/anybody else who can assist!

I am soon to apply for the onshore partner 820 visa. My current police check is valid until 06/2016 (the applicant) with my partners valid until 01/2016. Is it okay to apply for the visa, with those police checks, then uploading new ones as the date of expiry for each police check approaches? 

Thanks,
Martin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael81 -

Thanks for the question. Would need more details from you about your circumstances to give you specific advice - please see website below in my signature if you'd like to book a consultation to get advice on this, thanks.

Best,

Mark



Michael81 said:


> Hi Mark thank you for your reply,
> 
> Could you please advise me if its best to apply for a Family sponsored Visa or a Tourit stream visa?
> 
> Kind Regards
> Michael81


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adim -

I'd say he does need to answer Yes to the organisation re: violence question, as the way the question is worded it technically could include service in the armed forces. In the explanation for that question and the next one (re: military), I'd put the same answer - that he served in the IDF and give the details.

Re: colour scans - normally that's fine to use colour scans of original documents without the need to certify.

Re: forms - if you're doing the partner visa online, then forms 47sp and 40sp don't need to be completed as you are doing the online equivalents of these forms (Sponsor a person for partner..., Migrate as a partner....). DIBP may later ask you for Form 80 and/or Form 1221 - those would need to be completed, signed, scanned and uploaded to your lodged application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



adim said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a couple of questions and would love your help:
> 
> im the sponsor and my husband is the applicant. He served the Israel Defense force as is compulsory for all Israeli's. He undertook military training as part of his service and also was involved in the Lebanon 2 war in 2006. In the online application its asking if the applicant was associated with an organisation that is involved in violence or acts of violence ( such as war etc etc)... does this mean he needs to answer YES to this?
> 
> Also - i wanted to ensure its ok to use colour scan of our I.D and whether this colour scan needs to be certified? or is it enough that it is in colour?
> 
> Lastly... i understand that there is alot of documents needed to be filled out and provided.. which forms need to be completed with the online applciation " application for migrating with partner" also the form 80? and the form 47sp? and the form 40sp? im confused!
> 
> thanks in advance
> A


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sai -

S&M Mgr can be a difficult occupation to get a positive skills assessment for unless you've worked for larger companies - this is because of the requirements re: people reporting to you, and people reporting to each of those people reporting to you - for more on this see:
Criteria for a Manager for the Purpose of Migration | Australian Institute of Management

I'd read the criteria carefully and see if the org structures of the companies you worked for would fit the requirements or not - that should be the best guide re: proceeding or not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sai1705 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a Sales and Marketing manager with over 7 years of work experience with four different companies, on a management role with a direct reporting to the owner of the business.
> 
> Now my query is- All the 4 companies that i have worked with, are small scale companies with a work force of not more than 40-50 employees, even though headquarters are based out of countries like US & Australia
> 
> I would like to understand if I go for my skills assessment with AIM, having work experience with smaller companies would be a problem?
> 
> Is there a quideline by AIM that the organisations has to be bigger in size or preferably MNCs. (heard it from some of the Migration agents here in India)
> 
> Also They adviced not to apply under this occupation as the chances of success are very less.
> 
> Please guide me through, as based on your inputs I may take a final call of whether to proceed or not.
> 
> Thank you
> Sai


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi chouse -

Thanks for the note. If you make an onshore application for a partner visa while you are onshore, normally it would not be an issue to get a BV-B to return home for work commitments of a short-term nature (ie, a number of weeks, not 6+ months, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chouse said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I wonder if you can help me? I've been advised by immi (call centre) to apply for onshore partner visa, problem being I am a teacher in the UK and can only resign at certain points in the year and have to finish at the end of a term.
> 
> If I go for the onshore option (which is preferable) would I be able to apply for a BVB to cover the 7 weeks(ish) from application to complete my notice period for employment?
> 
> What would I put on the BVB application? Would this be frowned upon? Or should I resign early and risk losing the income in the mean time?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sinan -

No way to predict timing on NSW invitations, wish I could, but they simply don't publish enough info to make anywhere close to accurate predictions.

Best,

Mark



sinan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was wondering, if you could suggest when the NSW government can send me an invitation for Sub 190 visa?
> 
> I am a mechanical engineer
> EOI was submitted on 27/05/2015
> Skill select point: 60
> Experience: 3 years
> Ielts score: Speaking 7.5 Listening 7.5 Writing 6 Reading 7.5
> 
> Thanks Mark,
> Sinan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sydney2015 -

Thanks for the kind words! Re: bank accounts, sounds like a good idea to have a joint account when you can. Prior to that, you might consider submitting the separate bank accounts with joint transactions highlighted, ie if you contributed something to a joint expense then highlight it on your statement, and your partner would do the same.

Re: 5 year limitation, generally no issue lodging right after the limitation period is over, as long as you are certain of the original date of partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sydney2015 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am really impressed with your unselfish help you are providing to many people on this forum. I've read more than 200 pages and I've learned a lot already.
> I'm currently collecting documents to apply for a 820/801 visa and I'm hoping you can help me with some issues:
> 1.	I met my Australian partner in November 2013 and we started living together in February 2014. We have separate bank accounts, he pays rent and I pay bills and weekly grocery shopping (we can show that in bank statements). Both our names are on rental agreement and bills. He contributes more than me as I am on student visa and can't work more than 20 hours per week plus I pay my college fee. We travel a lot and he always pays for tickets, hotels etc. with his credit card and I give him some money back later (cash). Is this a problem? Is there a point to open joint bank account now? I can apply for partner visa in February or March 2016 so there would be 5-6 months history of that account.
> 
> 2.	My partner had a Polish girlfriend before and sponsored her on 820/810 visa. She was granted 820. But just before she was entitled to start 801 process, they broke up and she permanently left Australia (in September 2012). Neither she nor my partner told immigration about it when it happened. He told them a few months later when they called him because they had sent her invitation for an interview and she didn't turn up.
> They lodged their application for 820/801 in December 2010 and as far as I know my partner can sponsor another person after 5 years. He is an Australian citizen. My current student visa will expire in April 2016. Do you think we should apply for partner visa right after it is possible, in January 2016, or is it better to wait a couple of months? Do they look suspicious at these applications? Is there increased scrutiny about genuinity of relationship?


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks, Greg and Anette, and congratulations on your visa and upcoming marriage! Glad I could assist.

Best,

Mark



atgreg said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> just wanted to say a big thanks, my german fiance Anette and I had a consult with you last december to go over our PMV app before we submitted. Our PMV was just granted  , a shade under 9 months.
> 
> Your assesment that our app was a good one made the wait more bearable, and was worth far far more than the cost in peace of mind !!!!!.
> 
> thanks again
> 
> Greg and Anette


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ybhyu2 -

Thanks for the note. The 3-year exclusion period you had would not affect your 189 visa in any way I can see. Re: answering question, would need to discuss your circumstances in more detail to give you a specific opinion, however from what you've said, you were not deported, and you were not removed. You did overstay a visa, and you were excluded from Australia for a temporary period as a result.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ybhyu2 said:


> Hi Mark,
> This is a general question about applying for 189 PR visa.
> 
> I have a record of accidentally overstaying my student visa for more than 28 days therefore had to leave Australia with holding a BVE following a 3 year exclusion period. This was about 3 years ago.
> 
> As of now, my exclusion period ends in 2 months and during the last 3 years I was able to stay in Australia on a student visa then on 485 visa, regardless of the ban as it was waived on fair grounds.
> 
> This was a short background of my previous visa status, I am now just about to lodge my EOI and subsequently a visa application for 189 permanent resident visa. Considering the facts above, my understanding is that I am not in anyway restricted nor disadvantaged in applying for my PR is this correct?
> 
> Also, while I fill out my visa application I am aware that there are answers need to be filled for questions for 1.have you been deported from Australia 2. asked to leave Australia 3. had any visas cancelled before. I vaguely remember these from filling out my previous student/485 visas and both the times I had checked only yes to the question 2. asked to leave Australia and others with a no. Is this the right procedure I took? and should I do the same for the upcoming 189 visa application?
> 
> I am in desperate need for some advice relating to my situation. Many thanks in advance for your advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martin -

That's fine to do as you proposed.

Best,

Mark



martin12345 said:


> Hey Mark/anybody else who can assist!
> 
> I am soon to apply for the onshore partner 820 visa. My current police check is valid until 06/2016 (the applicant) with my partners valid until 01/2016. Is it okay to apply for the visa, with those police checks, then uploading new ones as the date of expiry for each police check approaches?
> 
> Thanks,
> Martin


----------



## sydk39

*Regional Study Points*

Hi Mark

I had few queries about Australian Regional study points.
I did my Masters in Computing from UniSA , Adelaide (Mar 2007-Dec 2008)
Am I still eligible for the regional study points?
What would be the ideal documents i would need to provide ?
I have got few mobile bills/bank statements/rent receipts with me from that period
but its just one or two months document from 2007 and 2008 /09 .

Would that be enough as proof because i surely don't have either of above documents
for every month.

Thanks for your time
Cheers
Sidhesh


----------



## sydney2015

Thank you so much. I have a few more questions:

We live in NSW. Is there a point to register our relationship if we will be together for 2 years (defacto) at the time of lodging the application? Is it redundant and a waste of money?

How old could be statements from my friends and certified copies of documents? I'm thinking about starting asking people to write statements now and prepare everything in advance but not sure if it's not too early (if I lodge my application in March they will be probably 4-5 months old).

When I apply for a partner visa, will they check if I didn't break conditions of my previous visa (student)?

Maybe I'm stressing out too much but I think it's better be ready and ask about everything, it's too expensive to take it lightly 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sydney2015 -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words! Re: bank accounts, sounds like a good idea to have a joint account when you can. Prior to that, you might consider submitting the separate bank accounts with joint transactions highlighted, ie if you contributed something to a joint expense then highlight it on your statement, and your partner would do the same.
> 
> Re: 5 year limitation, generally no issue lodging right after the limitation period is over, as long as you are certain of the original date of partner visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## AisCus

Hi Mark
I was just wondering if I were to apply for the skilled residency visa (189), does my degree (actuarial studies) qualify as it's on the sol or do I need to have post graduation work experience? Also I am under 25 so I would need to do the IELTS to meet the required 60 points (if the degree counted by itself). Would that stand against me as I'm from an English speaking country yet can't meet the requirements without it?


----------



## bryan00

Hi Mark,

My passport expires in a couple of months on 2015.12.31 so will have to get this replaced with a new passport. But for some complicated reason I can only extend this for 1 year so the new passport's expiry date would be to 2016.12.31. I know this sounds somewhat abnormal, but please note that it's got nothing to do with my own individual status, it's just how the system works at my country. 

Consequently, I am lodging my EOI for 189 visa with the current passport and will have to update the renewed passport details during the visa application process. My concern is since this new passport is only valid for 1 year from the date of issue (gap between issue date and expiry date would be roughly 1 year and 2 months) by any chance could the case officer raise any questions about my passport's feature of having a relatively short expiration date?

Am I just over-worrying? 

Hope I could relax my mind from getting your advice. Can't fully express myself how much I appreciate your advice.


----------



## Helene

Hi Mark,

I have applied for a 820 over a year ago and still waiting.

However I am currently thinking of using the dob in form to bring immigration's attention to two of my former managers - one that I know have provided fake documents for his 189; and another one who hasn't done his 2 years of sponsored work on his 187.
I wouldn't mind as much if they were bringing value to Australia but they have paired up, created 3 companies that were paying them while trading insolvent and putting dozens of workers in complicated financial situation (all 3 companies now going to liquidation) - that's the side story.


Will immigration look more suspiciously at my case if I declaire it or is it entirely independent? I am not sure how long investigations are, and what if they can't find anything - would I be in trouble?

Thanks


----------



## ecurb21

*PROCESS CHECKLIST: eVisitor (651) - Defacto (820) - BVA/B*

Hi Mark,

So after much reading I think I understand the process of applying for a 820 onshore defacto visa.

I'm Australian and my partner is from the Netherlands and have been a defacto couple since August 2013.

We are currently living in the Netherlands but I am returning to Australia for work then our plan was for her to follow a few months later on a tourist visa (eVisitor 651).

Once she arrives we would apply directly for a Partner visa (820) with a briding visa A or hopefully B as we want to travel back to the Netherlands together in the middle of next year.

So given that all our documents are in order and can prove that we have a genuine defacto relationship am I correct in saying these are the steps to attain the 820 visa.

Partner gets...

- eVisitor (651)
- Arrives in Australia
- Apply for Defacto Partner Visa (820) promptly (paperwork all ready)
- Automatic Bridging visa A (BVA)
- Request BVB as we want to travel outside Australia whilst awaiting 820 
- Once 3 month eVisitor expires BVA/BVB activates and...
- Are legally allowed to stay in Australia until 820 decision is made with 
the possibility of being able to work if needed.

My partner has previously had a Holiday Working Visa which was extended to a second 12 month holiday working visa. Not sure if this affects things? Just thought I'd add that.

Thanks for your time and let me know if you need more information.

I have more question about the requirements for the Defacto visa application but wanted to start with this. We could apply via the offshore method but want to be together in Australia as soon as possible and think this will be the best way to achieve that? Thanks again and looking forward to your response.

Cheers,

Bruce


----------



## innana

Hi Mark,

I live in Croatia but for a while I have a desire to live and work in Australia. I have looked and researched visas for some time now and narrowed it down to two; Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) and Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189). I wonder what better visa for me to apply for is. I have MA in History studies and I am a Museum Curator as well. My occupation is on CSOL list. If you have any other advice for me they are more than welcomed. 

Thank You for your time.


----------



## amernajjar

*NSW visa subclass 190*

I have submitted my EOI in August 21st, 2015 as a mechanical engineer ANZSCO 233512 ...
total points 55+5 
and got proficient in english ..

any news about the NSW invitations ? 
what are the chances of getting an invitations ?
i'm hearing a lot of rumors and most of them aren't good


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sidesh -

Thanks for the note. The specific requirements for the Aust Study Requirement (ASR) are very strict - I can't give you an opinion on whether your degree meets those requirements without a lot more info. However assuming your degree does meet the ASR, then if you studied that degree in Adelaide, it would also be eligible for the regional study points since SA would be included in that area geographically. Re: documents, once you prove the ASR, the fact that the classes were taken in SA per your school documents is normally sufficient and leases or other proof of residency documents are generally not required for the regional points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sydk39 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I had few queries about Australian Regional study points.
> I did my Masters in Computing from UniSA , Adelaide (Mar 2007-Dec 2008)
> Am I still eligible for the regional study points?
> What would be the ideal documents i would need to provide ?
> I have got few mobile bills/bank statements/rent receipts with me from that period
> but its just one or two months document from 2007 and 2008 /09 .
> 
> Would that be enough as proof because i surely don't have either of above documents
> for every month.
> 
> Thanks for your time
> Cheers
> Sidhesh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sydney2015 -

Re: registered relationship, from an immigration point of view it's always a good idea regardless of the length of the relationship - it skips significant assessment steps and speeds things up in many cases.

Re: age of statements, 6 months old is fine, generally not an issue unless the applicant has had an onshore refusal and is applying for a partner visa under the exceptions in s48 of the Migration Act where a 6 week time limit applies.

Re: checking student visa conditions, rare to see this sort of thing happen but not impossible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sydney2015 said:


> Thank you so much. I have a few more questions:
> 
> We live in NSW. Is there a point to register our relationship if we will be together for 2 years (defacto) at the time of lodging the application? Is it redundant and a waste of money?
> 
> How old could be statements from my friends and certified copies of documents? I'm thinking about starting asking people to write statements now and prepare everything in advance but not sure if it's not too early (if I lodge my application in March they will be probably 4-5 months old).
> 
> When I apply for a partner visa, will they check if I didn't break conditions of my previous visa (student)?
> 
> Maybe I'm stressing out too much but I think it's better be ready and ask about everything, it's too expensive to take it lightly


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AisCus -

For the 189 visa, no post-grad work experience required by DIBP for the visa if you can get the points elsewhere, however you should check with the nominated skills assessor for your occupation as many have their own work experience requirements that can vary widely from one occupation to the next.

Assuming you're Irish, you would not need to do IELTS if you could get the points elsewhere as Irish citizens get an automatic waiver of the IELTS requirements for skilled visa - however if you need the points, you can always take the IELTS test and if your scores qualify for extra points, you can validly claim them - would not be held against you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AisCus said:


> Hi Mark
> I was just wondering if I were to apply for the skilled residency visa (189), does my degree (actuarial studies) qualify as it's on the sol or do I need to have post graduation work experience? Also I am under 25 so I would need to do the IELTS to meet the required 60 points (if the degree counted by itself). Would that stand against me as I'm from an English speaking country yet can't meet the requirements without it?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bryan00

Doesn't sound like a problem to me. When you lodge Form 929 to update your passport, I'd include a note that in your country, your passport was only able to be extended for one year.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bryan00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My passport expires in a couple of months on 2015.12.31 so will have to get this replaced with a new passport. But for some complicated reason I can only extend this for 1 year so the new passport's expiry date would be to 2016.12.31. I know this sounds somewhat abnormal, but please note that it's got nothing to do with my own individual status, it's just how the system works at my country.
> 
> Consequently, I am lodging my EOI for 189 visa with the current passport and will have to update the renewed passport details during the visa application process. My concern is since this new passport is only valid for 1 year from the date of issue (gap between issue date and expiry date would be roughly 1 year and 2 months) by any chance could the case officer raise any questions about my passport's feature of having a relatively short expiration date?
> 
> Am I just over-worrying?
> 
> Hope I could relax my mind from getting your advice. Can't fully express myself how much I appreciate your advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Helene -

You dobbing in people who are abusing or breaking the migration laws would not impact your visa in any way. I applaud your efforts!

Best,

Mark



Helene said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied for a 820 over a year ago and still waiting.
> 
> However I am currently thinking of using the dob in form to bring immigration's attention to two of my former managers - one that I know have provided fake documents for his 189; and another one who hasn't done his 2 years of sponsored work on his 187.
> I wouldn't mind as much if they were bringing value to Australia but they have paired up, created 3 companies that were paying them while trading insolvent and putting dozens of workers in complicated financial situation (all 3 companies now going to liquidation) - that's the side story.
> 
> Will immigration look more suspiciously at my case if I declaire it or is it entirely independent? I am not sure how long investigations are, and what if they can't find anything - would I be in trouble?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bruce -

Your plan looks great - no questions or issues I can see. The only thing you'll want to consider is the application for the visitor visa - depending on how close that is to the end of a 2-year stay on WHV's , you may run into an issue there with whether the applicant is planning on a genuine stay as a tourist for tourist purposes, etc - in some cases DIBP is reluctant to grant visitor visas after a person has spent so much time as a visitor hear already.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ecurb21 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> So after much reading I think I understand the process of applying for a 820 onshore defacto visa.
> 
> I'm Australian and my partner is from the Netherlands and have been a defacto couple since August 2013.
> 
> We are currently living in the Netherlands but I am returning to Australia for work then our plan was for her to follow a few months later on a tourist visa (eVisitor 651).
> 
> Once she arrives we would apply directly for a Partner visa (820) with a briding visa A or hopefully B as we want to travel back to the Netherlands together in the middle of next year.
> 
> So given that all our documents are in order and can prove that we have a genuine defacto relationship am I correct in saying these are the steps to attain the 820 visa.
> 
> Partner gets...
> 
> - eVisitor (651)
> - Arrives in Australia
> - Apply for Defacto Partner Visa (820) promptly (paperwork all ready)
> - Automatic Bridging visa A (BVA)
> - Request BVB as we want to travel outside Australia whilst awaiting 820
> - Once 3 month eVisitor expires BVA/BVB activates and...
> - Are legally allowed to stay in Australia until 820 decision is made with
> the possibility of being able to work if needed.
> 
> My partner has previously had a Holiday Working Visa which was extended to a second 12 month holiday working visa. Not sure if this affects things? Just thought I'd add that.
> 
> Thanks for your time and let me know if you need more information.
> 
> I have more question about the requirements for the Defacto visa application but wanted to start with this. We could apply via the offshore method but want to be together in Australia as soon as possible and think this will be the best way to achieve that? Thanks again and looking forward to your response.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Bruce


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Innana -

Thanks for the note. That's a very complex subject, as there are potentially three different sets of regulations to consider - the regs of the skills assessor, the regs of the state sponsorship authority you are considering (and whether the state even sponsors your occupation re: 190), and the regulations of the immigration dept. Suggest you research all three sets of regulations very carefully - that will help you start narrowing down the choices and determine if/how you can qualify. If the regs get too daunting, you might consider engaging a registered migration agent to go through your circumstances in detail and provide some professional advice (not a sales pitch!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



innana said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I live in Croatia but for a while I have a desire to live and work in Australia. I have looked and researched visas for some time now and narrowed it down to two; Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) and Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189). I wonder what better visa for me to apply for is. I have MA in History studies and I am a Museum Curator as well. My occupation is on CSOL list. If you have any other advice for me they are more than welcomed.
> 
> Thank You for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amernajjar -

Hard to predict NSW skilled's timeframe or responses - too much information not disclosed by them.

Re: asking for advice other than myself, please repost on a thread other than the "Ask Mark" thread - thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



amernajjar said:


> I have submitted my EOI in August 21st, 2015 as a mechanical engineer ANZSCO 233512 ...
> total points 55+5
> and got proficient in english ..
> 
> any news about the NSW invitations ?
> what are the chances of getting an invitations ?
> i'm hearing a lot of rumors and most of them aren't good


----------



## adim

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Adim -
> 
> I'd say he does need to answer Yes to the organisation re: violence question, as the way the question is worded it technically could include service in the armed forces. In the explanation for that question and the next one (re: military), I'd put the same answer - that he served in the IDF and give the details.
> 
> Re: colour scans - normally that's fine to use colour scans of original documents without the need to certify.
> 
> Re: forms - if you're doing the partner visa online, then forms 47sp and 40sp don't need to be completed as you are doing the online equivalents of these forms (Sponsor a person for partner..., Migrate as a partner....). DIBP may later ask you for Form 80 and/or Form 1221 - those would need to be completed, signed, scanned and uploaded to your lodged application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for the response. i will do as you say. we are hoping to submit the application this week :-S hoping it all goes smoothly


----------



## AUSBambi

Hi Mark

My mum previously visited in Australia twice and keeps good records. She applied for visa 143 last June and now is in Sydney with 3-year multiple entry visitor visa (with 8503). The first maximum stay of 12 months will end in 3 weeks. She planned to leave on time. Unfortunately she (77 years old) has been in low back pain for a month. The pain obviously has effect on her move, such as sitting, standing up, walking etc. I am afraid that she couldn’t handle the 10-hour International flight plus another 3-hour domestic flight. 

Is there any possibly for extending her stay for a couple of months? If yes, can you please suggest me what I should do next? 

Thank you very much for your valuable advice. You work so hard. Take care


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AUSBambi -

Thanks for the note and kind words. I would suggest considering applying for a waiver of the 8503 condition if you can get some strong medical evidence that she is unfit to fly or that flying would cause her undue pain and suffering. 8503 waivers can be difficult to get as they require a major change in the applicant's circumstances that occurred after the present visa was granted and was beyond the control of the applicant - this would seem to fit those requirements if you can establish with evidence that the condition is serious enough to warrant a delay in departing.

The procedure essentially is to apply for the 8503 waiver as soon as possible - these typically take 2-4 weeks to be decided, then if the 8503 waiver is granted, apply for an additional visitor visa for the time needed for her to remain. Given you have only 3 weeks left and that the 8503 waiver app is not a visa application and therefore doesn't generate a bridging visa, you would need to move very quickly to lodge the 8503 waiver request, and you'd need to mark it "urgent" and explain that the medical circumstances have just recently set in.

See DIBP Form 1447 to lodge the 8503 waiver request, and I would include a detailed submission (letter) with the request explain in detail how she meets the 3 primary requirements for the waiver:

1) What the major change was that occurred
2) That it occurred after the current visitor visa was granted, and
3) How the change (the onset of her pain, decline of her back condition, etc) was beyond her control

Plus medical evidence re: the condition and a Doctor report of some kind recommending that she not fly currently due to the condition.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AUSBambi said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My mum previously visited in Australia twice and keeps good records. She applied for visa 143 last June and now is in Sydney with 3-year multiple entry visitor visa (with 8503). The first maximum stay of 12 months will end in 3 weeks. She planned to leave on time. Unfortunately she (77 years old) has been in low back pain for a month. The pain obviously has effect on her move, such as sitting, standing up, walking etc. I am afraid that she couldn't handle the 10-hour International flight plus another 3-hour domestic flight.
> 
> Is there any possibly for extending her stay for a couple of months? If yes, can you please suggest me what I should do next?
> 
> Thank you very much for your valuable advice. You work so hard. Take care


----------



## ecurb21

*PROCESS CHECKLIST: eVisitor (651) - Defacto (820) - BVA/B*

Hi Mark,

Ok that's great. My partner left Australia July 2014 (After 2 year WHV) and she is planning on returning to Australia January/February 2016 on the tourist visa. Is 18 months 'too close' to try & re-enter Australia?

Thanks again. This is a great resource to have really appreciate it.

Cheers, Bruce



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bruce -
> 
> Your plan looks great - no questions or issues I can see. The only thing you'll want to consider is the application for the visitor visa - depending on how close that is to the end of a 2-year stay on WHV's , you may run into an issue there with whether the applicant is planning on a genuine stay as a tourist for tourist purposes, etc - in some cases DIBP is reluctant to grant visitor visas after a person has spent so much time as a visitor hear already.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## luddite

*qualifications and travel*

Hi Mark,
Thank you so much for being here to answer people's questions. It is really nice of you. I got my invitation yesterday, but haven't applied yet.
Hope you can give me some advice about two things:

1) I have a Bachelors and a Masters in engineering and my spouse has a Bachelors and Masters in engineering and is currently doing her PhD. I am claiming points from my spouse too. We both had our Bachelors degrees successfully assessed by Engineers Australia. The problem is, when I read about the points system, I saw that you don't get points for a Masters degree. So, my spouse and I didn't get send our Masters degrees for the Engineers Australia assessment - I considered it mostly irrelevant because I can't claim points from it.
I also didn't include our Masters degrees in the EOI when they asked about educational background. Last night, when I was filling out the visa application, I noticed that they asked about all educational qualifications - not just the recognized ones. I don't know what to do now. Should I include the Masters degrees? If I do that, my application would be different from my EOI - I don't want that to be a problem.

Also, the form needs the exact date of starting each qualification. Unfortunately, I don't have my Masters offer letter any longer, so I don't know the exact day I started (thankfully had my Bachelors one!). Do I have to contact my university to dig up old files and see IF they have kept a copy of my enrollment? Or can I just take a guess at the day (academic calendar is online, and I remember the month)?

2) In the visa application form, page 15/17, the form ask "Has any of the applicants lived in a country other than the primary applicant's usual country of residence?"

Just wondering, how is "lived" defined here? Do they mean short trips also? My wife has traveled quite a bit, but for short duration (<3 months at a time usually). Do we need to give each and every trip with an address? In some cases it has just been a day or two. Should we provide, for example, hotel addresses, air-transit details, etc? Is all travel history required at this stage?
As for myself, I was born in my country of citizenship, but then moved abroad when I was a baby (around 4 months old). Should I include the duration from birth to date of moving abroad?

Really hope you can provide some guidance. Thanks!


----------



## AUSBambi

*Thanks*

Thank you so much Mark. You deserve all the compliments you got. All the best!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi AUSBambi -
> 
> Thanks for the note and kind words. I would suggest considering applying for a waiver of the 8503 condition if you can get some strong medical evidence that she is unfit to fly or that flying would cause her undue pain and suffering. 8503 waivers can be difficult to get as they require a major change in the applicant's circumstances that occurred after the present visa was granted and was beyond the control of the applicant - this would seem to fit those requirements if you can establish with evidence that the condition is serious enough to warrant a delay in departing.
> 
> The procedure essentially is to apply for the 8503 waiver as soon as possible - these typically take 2-4 weeks to be decided, then if the 8503 waiver is granted, apply for an additional visitor visa for the time needed for her to remain. Given you have only 3 weeks left and that the 8503 waiver app is not a visa application and therefore doesn't generate a bridging visa, you would need to move very quickly to lodge the 8503 waiver request, and you'd need to mark it "urgent" and explain that the medical circumstances have just recently set in.
> 
> See DIBP Form 1447 to lodge the 8503 waiver request, and I would include a detailed submission (letter) with the request explain in detail how she meets the 3 primary requirements for the waiver:
> 
> 1) What the major change was that occurred
> 2) That it occurred after the current visitor visa was granted, and
> 3) How the change (the onset of her pain, decline of her back condition, etc) was beyond her control
> 
> Plus medical evidence re: the condition and a Doctor report of some kind recommending that she not fly currently due to the condition.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## LendrumL

Hi Mark,

You seem to be the MAN with all the answers. My daughter was very lucky to obtain Perm Res status through her Dad, whom I did not marry and has been studying and now working in Australia for the past 5 years. My son (different father) would like to apply for a working holiday visa but I have been told that on a Zimbabwe passport he won't even be looked at? Is there anyway I can get my son a working visa for a year in Australia? Thank you for your time.


----------



## billfish

*Overstay visa in passport*

Hi Mark!
Thanks for all your help so far. I have another question for you.
I am a Canadian citizen currently living in Myanmar. I am applying for the 417 working holiday visa. I am on a business visa in Myanmar, and my employer is responsible for renewing it before it expires. However, last time he didn't renew it on time and there is a stamp saying I overstayed 17 days. In Myanmar, overstaying a visa is not a problem as long as the fee is paid (it was). 
I am wondering if this will cause a problem on my application. Any advice?
Thanks!


----------



## Starmoon

Hi Mark,

My husband is applying state sponsorship for victoria state in this month as an individual applicant. My question is if he will get positive reply from there then me and my both kids process will going to start. We (me and my husband) both are from different religious. He is muslim and I am Hindu. And in My passport my mother maiden name is appered . it shows marital status that is married and in the place of spouce name my husband name is there. so is there any problem when we will apply for the dependent visa for the same?
Or I have to reissue the passport in which after my name my husband name is appeared?

Egarly waiting for your reply...


----------



## Eddie123

*Qualification Assessment*

Hi Mark,

I am planning to apply for Australian immigration under class 189 and for that I need to get my Qualification assessment.

I am an ACCA affiliate from 2006 and have been working since then. I do not have the Oxford Brooks bachelors degree.

I need your opinion for the following points.

1. Will my qualification be assessed as Australian Bachelors?
2. Will I get 15 or 10 points for my education?
3. If I become a member now so will my experience from 2006 count to get me the maximum points under *experience* tab or it will be considered after my member status?

Regards,
Eddie


----------



## Tom2015

Hi Mark

I apply 6 months ago to partner 820-801 visa, when I apply I didn't have a job, but for the last 4 months I been working

*Should I use a Form 1022 ''Notification of changes in circumstances'' to notify immi that I been working for the last 4 moths in a company or It's not important ?
*

In my bridging visa A says that I should notify of changes to my circumstances that may affect any answer to a question in my application form including name, passport, contact details, address or family members.

I'm asking because at the moment of my application I wrote that I was unemployed and my my circumstances change and I've been employed for the last 4 months

Regards, Tom


----------



## Sue-

*8201 & 8535*

Dear Mark

The scenario is as follows:

Mrs Y was granted 573 visa and included husband (Mr X) as secondary applicant.

Mr X has condition 8201 (Max 3 months study) & 8535 (Further stay limited). Mr X enrolled in a 2 year Masters degree by coursework and commenced studying in Feb 2015 (he has breached condition 8201 by studying for more than 3 months). Mr X has already paid his fees to study until the end of the year and would like to obtain a 573 to continue his studies.

What are Mr X's options?

Can he apply for a 573 onshore if the 8535 is waived or should he apply offshore?

If he applies for 573 offshore, and his COE shows that he has been enrolled and studying for the past 1 year, will that be problematic?

Is there any other options available to Mr X?

To waive 8535, what is considered as compelling and compassionate circumstances?

Your guidance would be most appreciated.

Many thanks.

Regards
Sue-


----------



## SK76

Hello Mark,

I was doing my monthly followup with the immigration department to check the status of my application.

Surprisingly, this time they told me that my application is ONHOLD, and it will not be processed until further instruction from the ministry.

I'm totally lost, not sure what should I do, I'm waiting since 2009. Do you have any advice for me?

Oh My God.

SK



MarkNortham said:


> Hi SK76 -
> 
> I can see how you would be frustrated! The good news is that they are actively processing your case, which means a result should be months away at the longest. Beyond that, no good way to predict how long it may take. Hang in there - make sure you watch for their emails, and be as patient as you can.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam





SK76 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My case is rather a frustrating one.
> 
> I lodged my application as "Class VE, subclass 175 Skilled - Independent" on April 2009. After few weeks, a new priority system was introduced and my case went to priority 5, then I had to wait for a really long time.
> 
> However, in March 2014 I got contacted by the immigration department (Team8 & Team13) requesting for more information (forms 80, 1221, medical checks, police clearance, reference letters, etc.). I provided all the papers/information before end of March 2014, and then I had to wait, again.
> 
> I kept communicating with the immigration department in regular basis, the answer was always to wait for the external check to be completed.
> 
> In March 2015 the immigration department contacted me informing me that the medical results validity has been extended for 6 more months, and I had to wait.
> 
> In June, 2015, I got the request again from the immigration department (Team8) requesting for more information about my and my spouse, the secondary applicant including forms 80 and 1221 (update), and police clearance.. I provided all in two weeks.
> 
> At the beginning of July 2015 I got another request from the "Skilled Support" in requesting for some more information about the secondary applicant education and work experience. All was provided in 3 days.
> 
> I contacted the department today for checking the status of my application, and the rely was "You Have to Wait".
> 
> Really not sure what is going on or how many more months or years do I have to wait?
> 
> Any suggestions?
> 
> Regards and Thanks
> 
> SK


----------



## ausandport

Hello Mark,

Can you please advice me with my problem regarding my online 100 permanent visa application. I cannot start my application as somehow the details cannot be confirmed. I have double checked everything and my application ID is correct. I am wondering why this is happening? My eligible date is on the 1.11.2015.
Thank you.


----------



## pingpongpohm

*Returning to Australia*

Hi Mark,

Wonder if you could offer me some advice, please? My husband and I are British citizens currently deciding whether to return to Australia.

My husband's been continuously employed by the same company that sponsored him for an Australian role in 2011. In 2014 he was transferred back to the UK. And he has now been offered a permanent ("skilled worker") role back in Australia.

Visa options haven't yet been discussed with the company, but we would like to know:
--- Is there a particular visa that would enable us to count the 2.5 years we previously spent in Australia towards a Permanent Residency application, and eventually citizenship? 
--- Or is our only option to return on the standard 457 visa, effectively start over, and wait another 2/4 years before we can apply for PR/Citizenship?

I have outlined our full circumstances with timeline below. Other general points to note (not sure if they're relevant) - We are both 35, in good health, have no children and my husband has retained an Australian bank account with funds in it.

--- December 2011, My husband is sponsored for a role by "Company A" and provided with a Temp Business Entry (Class UC) Business (Long stay) (Subclass 457) visa. As his spouse, I was provided with a Business Long Stay (UC 457) visa.

--- January 2013, "Company A" is acquired by a "Company B" and our visas are transferred
Note: I don't know if this is important, but I believe the original visas were retained and transferred to Company B, so that he could demonstrate continuous service.

--- May 2014, we returned to the UK to spend time with family that were in poor health. "Company B" transferred him to a role in London. 
Note: Again, I don't know if this is important - but we cancelled our visa shortly after so we could reclaim our Super.

--- Sept 2015, he is still employed by "Company B" in the same role, but has been offered a permanent (skilled worker) role in Australia

Thanks in advance


----------



## Bulba

*Online process*

Hi Mark,
Please, could you describe the process of the online application for a 189 subclass visa? I have searched for it in this thread but stopped on a page 50 
I have already applied online, paid the fee. There's a list of documents which are required to be attached (color scanned copies). Please, suggest on the following:
1. Within what time frame all the documents need to be submitted? Is there any restriction?
2. As far as I know someone will be assigned to my application for evaluation. At what stage? Is it related to the progress of uploading of all the copies or depends purely on availability of the specialist?
3. When is the best time to submit police clearance and medical certificate? The first or the last thing?
4. If the visa is granted (hopefully) and a police clearance expires before activation of the visa, does it mean that I'll need to apply for another visa, or just to get a renewed certificate will be enough and the visa will be granted again?
Thank you 
Regards, Bulba.


----------



## ybhyu2

Hi Mark,

Could I lodge the EOI now for 189 visa without having completed skills assessment (so filling EOI with bogus assessment date claiming it is complete) and later when I receive the positive assessment, update this EOI with the correct assessment date on the basis that I manage to update this prior to getting the invitation? 

This eventually leads to the skills assessment date being dated after the EOI submission date.

I know this is against the standard procedure but I ask for your understanding in raising such idea as I am in desperate need of getting the invitation asap due to time pressure. 

Would I be bearing even a small risk if I take this step?

Hope you could give me some advice.

Thanks!
Kim.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luddite -

Thanks for the note. Re: #1, no problem including your masters degrees in your application and Form 80. Best to estimate your start date of the masters if you don't have exact data. Since it doesn't change your points, generally not an issue if you didn't include it in your EOI.

Re: #2, lived means more than a short trip - generally means you've moved your principal place of residence to that other address. Even going somewhere on vacation for a month isn't really "living" somewhere if you maintain your primary residence at home. So trips under 3 months wouldn't usually count as living at that destination, however I would include the first 4 months of your life assuming you weren't born on vacation (!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luddite said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you so much for being here to answer people's questions. It is really nice of you. I got my invitation yesterday, but haven't applied yet.
> Hope you can give me some advice about two things:
> 
> 1) I have a Bachelors and a Masters in engineering and my spouse has a Bachelors and Masters in engineering and is currently doing her PhD. I am claiming points from my spouse too. We both had our Bachelors degrees successfully assessed by Engineers Australia. The problem is, when I read about the points system, I saw that you don't get points for a Masters degree. So, my spouse and I didn't get send our Masters degrees for the Engineers Australia assessment - I considered it mostly irrelevant because I can't claim points from it.
> I also didn't include our Masters degrees in the EOI when they asked about educational background. Last night, when I was filling out the visa application, I noticed that they asked about all educational qualifications - not just the recognized ones. I don't know what to do now. Should I include the Masters degrees? If I do that, my application would be different from my EOI - I don't want that to be a problem.
> 
> Also, the form needs the exact date of starting each qualification. Unfortunately, I don't have my Masters offer letter any longer, so I don't know the exact day I started (thankfully had my Bachelors one!). Do I have to contact my university to dig up old files and see IF they have kept a copy of my enrollment? Or can I just take a guess at the day (academic calendar is online, and I remember the month)?
> 
> 2) In the visa application form, page 15/17, the form ask "Has any of the applicants lived in a country other than the primary applicant's usual country of residence?"
> 
> Just wondering, how is "lived" defined here? Do they mean short trips also? My wife has traveled quite a bit, but for short duration (<3 months at a time usually). Do we need to give each and every trip with an address? In some cases it has just been a day or two. Should we provide, for example, hotel addresses, air-transit details, etc? Is all travel history required at this stage?
> As for myself, I was born in my country of citizenship, but then moved abroad when I was a baby (around 4 months old). Should I include the duration from birth to date of moving abroad?
> 
> Really hope you can provide some guidance. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LendrumL -

Thanks for the note. The 2 different working holiday visa subclasses (417 and 462) each have a list of valid countries whose citizens can apply for the particular visa - unfortunately your country is not on either list so an application would not be possible for those. For a working visa, that leaves a subclass 457 temporary employer sponsored work visa as the most likely choice, or perhaps an occupational training visa (subclass 402) if there was a combination of on the job training, etc involved - see DIBP site at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection for more on these.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LendrumL said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> You seem to be the MAN with all the answers. My daughter was very lucky to obtain Perm Res status through her Dad, whom I did not marry and has been studying and now working in Australia for the past 5 years. My son (different father) would like to apply for a working holiday visa but I have been told that on a Zimbabwe passport he won't even be looked at? Is there anyway I can get my son a working visa for a year in Australia? Thank you for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Billfish -

Check the application for the 417 visa - if it asks in the character section if you have ever overstayed a visa, then you should consider answering Yes and provide the details, especially the part re: fee being paid (include a reciept of proof of payment if possible).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



billfish said:


> Hi Mark!
> Thanks for all your help so far. I have another question for you.
> I am a Canadian citizen currently living in Myanmar. I am applying for the 417 working holiday visa. I am on a business visa in Myanmar, and my employer is responsible for renewing it before it expires. However, last time he didn't renew it on time and there is a stamp saying I overstayed 17 days. In Myanmar, overstaying a visa is not a problem as long as the fee is paid (it was).
> I am wondering if this will cause a problem on my application. Any advice?
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Starmoon -

Sorry, am a bit confused by your question. I would need to view any documents you have questions about at a consultation in order to give you specific advice on them - see website below in my signature for more info.

Thanks,

Mark



Starmoon said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My husband is applying state sponsorship for victoria state in this month as an individual applicant. My question is if he will get positive reply from there then me and my both kids process will going to start. We (me and my husband) both are from different religious. He is muslim and I am Hindu. And in My passport my mother maiden name is appered . it shows marital status that is married and in the place of spouce name my husband name is there. so is there any problem when we will apply for the dependent visa for the same?
> Or I have to reissue the passport in which after my name my husband name is appeared?
> 
> Egarly waiting for your reply...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eddie123 -

Thanks for the note. Can't predict skills assessment results - you'll have to go through that process or see if you can get some info from the assessment organisation as to how they would treat your qualification. The issue of 10 or 15 pts will depend on how the assessor treats your affiliation re: being equivalent to an Australian bachelor degree or something else. Re: member status, same issue. I would request guidance from the assessor or a formal assessment of whether your work experience is considered to be "skilled" by the assessor - that's an important clue re: claiming points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Eddie123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to apply for Australian immigration under class 189 and for that I need to get my Qualification assessment.
> 
> I am an ACCA affiliate from 2006 and have been working since then. I do not have the Oxford Brooks bachelors degree.
> 
> I need your opinion for the following points.
> 
> 1. Will my qualification be assessed as Australian Bachelors?
> 2. Will I get 15 or 10 points for my education?
> 3. If I become a member now so will my experience from 2006 count to get me the maximum points under *experience* tab or it will be considered after my member status?
> 
> Regards,
> Eddie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tom -

Yes - I would suggest updating them with the form, and perhaps include a payslip or pay stub as evidence.

Best,

Mark



Tom2015 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I apply 6 months ago to partner 820-801 visa, when I apply I didn't have a job, but for the last 4 months I been working
> 
> *Should I use a Form 1022 ''Notification of changes in circumstances'' to notify immi that I been working for the last 4 moths in a company or It's not important ?
> *
> 
> In my bridging visa A says that I should notify of changes to my circumstances that may affect any answer to a question in my application form including name, passport, contact details, address or family members.
> 
> I'm asking because at the moment of my application I wrote that I was unemployed and my my circumstances change and I've been employed for the last 4 months
> 
> Regards, Tom


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sue -

I'd like to help, but far too many factors to consider for a simple answer here on the forum. I'm happy to take questions from applicants, but hypothetical questions like this require some significant research, especially the "any other options" part of the question. Also, to be candid, the way the question is worded seems very much like the style of questions that are asked at the ANU (or other) grad cert programs...

I'd start your research by checking the PAM3 policy on 8535 waivers. Then look into the student visa part of it re: application. Note that the only point in applying for an 8535 waiver would be to enable an onshore application, as 8535 wouldn't affect the applicant re: offshore application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sue- said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> The scenario is as follows:
> 
> Mrs Y was granted 573 visa and included husband (Mr X) as secondary applicant.
> 
> Mr X has condition 8201 (Max 3 months study) & 8535 (Further stay limited). Mr X enrolled in a 2 year Masters degree by coursework and commenced studying in Feb 2015 (he has breached condition 8201 by studying for more than 3 months). Mr X has already paid his fees to study until the end of the year and would like to obtain a 573 to continue his studies.
> 
> What are Mr X's options?
> 
> Can he apply for a 573 onshore if the 8535 is waived or should he apply offshore?
> 
> If he applies for 573 offshore, and his COE shows that he has been enrolled and studying for the past 1 year, will that be problematic?
> 
> Is there any other options available to Mr X?
> 
> To waive 8535, what is considered as compelling and compassionate circumstances?
> 
> Your guidance would be most appreciated.
> 
> Many thanks.
> 
> Regards
> Sue-


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SK76 -

Hard to suggest what to do here - not enough info. You might email them and enquire as to the reason that the application has been put on hold - that would compel them to respond in writing and you might get more details. Beyond that, they have no time limits on processing applications like this, so they can essentially do what they want.

Best,

Mark



SK76 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I was doing my monthly followup with the immigration department to check the status of my application.
> 
> Surprisingly, this time they told me that my application is ONHOLD, and it will not be processed until further instruction from the ministry.
> 
> I'm totally lost, not sure what should I do, I'm waiting since 2009. Do you have any advice for me?
> 
> Oh My God.
> 
> SK


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Not sure, but you may not be able to commence the application until your eligible date has past. There is no requirement that you lodge on or before your eligible date - many people wait some number of days/weeks past that date in order to get everything ready.

Best,

Mark



ausandport said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Can you please advice me with my problem regarding my online 100 permanent visa application. I cannot start my application as somehow the details cannot be confirmed. I have double checked everything and my application ID is correct. I am wondering why this is happening? My eligible date is on the 1.11.2015.
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pingpongpohm -

Thanks for the note. The subclass 186 ad 187 TRT pathway for those visas makes them available if the person has spent a total of 2 years during the 3 years prior to applying for the visa on a 457 visa working for the sponsoring company - you'd have to look at the dates involved to see how much of your time on the 457 for Company B would fall into the 3 year window. If the company is willing to consider the 186 or 187 employer sponsor PR visas, I'd suggest checking with a migration agent at a consultation to see how much more time would be necessary on a 457 before they could sponsor you for the 186 or 187 - the requirements are very specific, so make sure you go through them very carefully.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pingpongpohm said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Wonder if you could offer me some advice, please? My husband and I are British citizens currently deciding whether to return to Australia.
> 
> My husband's been continuously employed by the same company that sponsored him for an Australian role in 2011. In 2014 he was transferred back to the UK. And he has now been offered a permanent ("skilled worker") role back in Australia.
> 
> Visa options haven't yet been discussed with the company, but we would like to know:
> --- Is there a particular visa that would enable us to count the 2.5 years we previously spent in Australia towards a Permanent Residency application, and eventually citizenship?
> --- Or is our only option to return on the standard 457 visa, effectively start over, and wait another 2/4 years before we can apply for PR/Citizenship?
> 
> I have outlined our full circumstances with timeline below. Other general points to note (not sure if they're relevant) - We are both 35, in good health, have no children and my husband has retained an Australian bank account with funds in it.
> 
> --- December 2011, My husband is sponsored for a role by "Company A" and provided with a Temp Business Entry (Class UC) Business (Long stay) (Subclass 457) visa. As his spouse, I was provided with a Business Long Stay (UC 457) visa.
> 
> --- January 2013, "Company A" is acquired by a "Company B" and our visas are transferred
> Note: I don't know if this is important, but I believe the original visas were retained and transferred to Company B, so that he could demonstrate continuous service.
> 
> --- May 2014, we returned to the UK to spend time with family that were in poor health. "Company B" transferred him to a role in London.
> Note: Again, I don't know if this is important - but we cancelled our visa shortly after so we could reclaim our Super.
> 
> --- Sept 2015, he is still employed by "Company B" in the same role, but has been offered a permanent (skilled worker) role in Australia
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bulba -

I'd get the documents uploaded within a couple of weeks - the application may be assessed at any time. For 189, I'd submit police and health right after you lodge, as the processing time for those is generally less than 6 months. They will time the must-enter-by date based on the expiration of the police/health so you generally won't be in a position where the police or health will expire prior to you entering - they can also extend the validity of the police/health on a case-by-case basis depending on your circumstances and the timing of the processing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bulba said:


> Hi Mark,
> Please, could you describe the process of the online application for a 189 subclass visa? I have searched for it in this thread but stopped on a page 50
> I have already applied online, paid the fee. There's a list of documents which are required to be attached (color scanned copies). Please, suggest on the following:
> 1. Within what time frame all the documents need to be submitted? Is there any restriction?
> 2. As far as I know someone will be assigned to my application for evaluation. At what stage? Is it related to the progress of uploading of all the copies or depends purely on availability of the specialist?
> 3. When is the best time to submit police clearance and medical certificate? The first or the last thing?
> 4. If the visa is granted (hopefully) and a police clearance expires before activation of the visa, does it mean that I'll need to apply for another visa, or just to get a renewed certificate will be enough and the visa will be granted again?
> Thank you
> Regards, Bulba.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ybhyu2 -

You can, but it's risky since the invitation comes with no notice, and once the invitation occurs you cannot change the skills assessment date, and without a valid date and info showing you had a positive assessment as of the date of invitation, the visa will be refused.

Never a good idea to provide bogus info to DIBP in my view...

Best,

Mark



ybhyu2 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Could I lodge the EOI now for 189 visa without having completed skills assessment (so filling EOI with bogus assessment date claiming it is complete) and later when I receive the positive assessment, update this EOI with the correct assessment date on the basis that I manage to update this prior to getting the invitation?
> 
> This eventually leads to the skills assessment date being dated after the EOI submission date.
> 
> I know this is against the standard procedure but I ask for your understanding in raising such idea as I am in desperate need of getting the invitation asap due to time pressure.
> 
> Would I be bearing even a small risk if I take this step?
> 
> Hope you could give me some advice.
> 
> Thanks!
> Kim.


----------



## menal

Hello Mark,

I'm new to this forum and was wondering if you can help with the following query:
I've just submitted all my documents to Vetassess for occupation 232214 and have 3 years and 11 months of highly related work experience (in addition to 2 relevant bachelor degrees and currently being employed in this occupation).
The question is - is it sufficient to get just positive assessment if I want to claim 5 points for employment in my 189 or 190 visa EOI (I plan to do both).
Or do I need a positive assessment which will include 3 years of experience in order to claim this. 
I heard that Vetassess deducts 1 year of experience - in this case this leaves me with 2 years 11 months - meaning I get 0 points for employment on my EOI.

What would be best solution if I like to claim these 5 points?

Thanks


----------



## cheekysloth

Hi Mark, 

could you please help me with the following situation:
I am a citizen of Russia, but normally live in Canada. I have submitted an EIO to SkillSelect for visa 189 while still in Canada and indicated it as my usual country of residence. Since then I have received and invitation to apply for a visa, and travelled to Australia due to personal circumstances. I am currently in Australia on a Visitor Visa and would like to apply for 189 onshore.
The question is: would it be a big deal if I change my usual country of residence from Canada (as indicated in EIO) to Australia in my online visa application?

I would appreciate any advice on this matter.
Thank you!


----------



## Eddie123

Thanks Mark..



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Eddie123 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Can't predict skills assessment results - you'll have to go through that process or see if you can get some info from the assessment organisation as to how they would treat your qualification. The issue of 10 or 15 pts will depend on how the assessor treats your affiliation re: being equivalent to an Australian bachelor degree or something else. Re: member status, same issue. I would request guidance from the assessor or a formal assessment of whether your work experience is considered to be "skilled" by the assessor - that's an important clue re: claiming points.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Anh nguyen

*Bridging visa b*

Hi all,
I am living at Rockhampton, Queensland, I applied partner visa subclass 820 on Aug 28.15 online, and then granted Bridging visa A, now I would like to apply for Bridging visa B, could any one help me to answer how I apply online ? Or could I send the application by post to the immigration dept's in Queensland in Brisbance ?
I PREFER not to travel there, which is 6_7 hours driving from my home.
Tks a lots for your help
Anh nguyen


----------



## LakshmiNarasimhan_S

*Decision on subclass 189 or 190?*

Hi Mark,

I have submitted my EOI on 2-Sep-2015 with 60 points for subclass 189 visa (Occupation:Systems Analyst - 261112). I have been monitoring the invitation rounds (July and Aug 2015) and understand that invitations issued on a pro rata basis for 3 of the occupations including 261112. Difficult to receive an invitation without 65 points as the last couple of rounds most of the 65ers have got invitation and still backlog for 60 pointers are in queue.

Given this situation, instead of waiting for 4 or more months (approx), can I go ahead and apply for subclass 190 (NSW) so I would get more 5 points (totally 65 points) moreover my preferred destination would be sydney though if I go via 189 visa too. One more issue would be the age as I will be completing 40 on June 2016.

To avoid last moment rush either on 189 or 190, I wanted to take a decision now to proceed. Please provide your valuable advise.

Thanks and Regards,
Lakshmi Narasimhan

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACS - +ve, Experience calculation till date - 7 years, 6 months = 10 points
PTE - 10 points
Age - 25 points
Educational qualification - 15 points
Total = 60 points

EOI submitted for subclass 189 on 2-Sep-2015
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## kittudawra

i have applied the visa b for travel . find the form . and put genuine reason in it and drop it to the immigration office . i got b in next 2 days . . allowance for 3 mnth travel


----------



## Anh nguyen

*Bridging visa b*



kittudawra said:


> i have applied the visa b for travel . find the form . and put genuine reason in it and drop it to the immigration office . i got b in next 2 days . . allowance for 3 mnth travel


.
Hi Kittudawra,
Could I apply by Online service or by mail ?
Cause my house to immigration office is 7 hours driving
Anh nguyen


----------



## Starmoon

Thank you Mark for the reply


----------



## SK76

Hello Mark,

The guy over the phone said, because it is a priority 5 application. It was on-hold since 2009, and they assigned it to a processing officer on Mar 2014. Although it is still priority 5, can they put it again on-hold.

Regards

SK



MarkNortham said:


> Hi SK76 -
> 
> Hard to suggest what to do here - not enough info. You might email them and enquire as to the reason that the application has been put on hold - that would compel them to respond in writing and you might get more details. Beyond that, they have no time limits on processing applications like this, so they can essentially do what they want.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## hongco1990

*Switch from parent visa 103 to 143 - waiting time?*

Hi Mark,

I already lodged a non contributory visa application subclass 103 for my parents and application date was in October 2013.

However, currently my parents wish to switch to subclass 143 contributory parent visa.

My agent advised that I would have to do a fresh new application and waiting time will start from the beginning (2-2.5 years from now if I do a new application now). This means the waiting time since October 2013 till now will not be taken into consideration if we change from 103 to 143 visa

However, my friend's father was exactly in same situation and my friend told me his father was in shorter waiting period when switching from 103 to 143 visa application (applied for 103 in 2013, changed to 143 in June 2015 and just did medical check)

1. Could you please advise if it is possible to switch to subclass 143 (withdraw 103 application) and the time while applying for 103 visa still counts towards the new 143 visa waiting time?

2. If I decide to switch to 143 visa, do I have to submit personal info/passports/forms all over again or just need to fill in Form 47PA?

Thank you and I look forward to your reply


----------



## lee1

Hi Mark,

I am currently holding 485 visa and will lodge my 189 visa application soon. I have just noticed that I have unintentionally missed my insurance payments for the recent couple of months so practically have been breaching 8501 condition to maintain health insurance under my current 485 visa. Could this affect my 189 visa application in any way, perhaps that CO might request evidence of my insurance cover during my stay while on 485 visa? If this may be that case, could you give me some advice of what I should do before lodging the application to avoid such risk?

Thank you in advance for your valuable time.


----------



## Valentine1981

Hi Mark,
In one month I will have reached my eligibility for the 801 permanent partner visa application so am trying to get ahead with gathering supporting documentation since my 820 grant...I was just wondering if I am going to need to submit form 47sp/40sp again for this application?


----------



## lanijoymarvin29

*applying for visa 309*

Hi Mark! I saw your advice and really worth reading. Thank You for having a kind heart to answer questions from applicants.
I am a Filipino resident and I am applying for subclass 309 visa type,my question is it possible to have the health examination before the lodging of my paper application?
One more question,is it necessary that my husband/sponsor will be providing documents to be subjected to a certified true copy manner? an example to this would be his passport's photocopy and certificate of employment from his company?...
Thank you in advance...


----------



## ellie-em

*State sponsered visas*

Hi Mark,

Is it possible to let me know what timescale you have after gaining a state sponsered visa, to actually moving to Australia. For example, if you gain the visa and then it takes a while to find work, is there a clock ticking away on how long it takes you to go to Australia. If it takes a year or two to find work would you have to re-apply or does the visa stand for 5yrs and you have to be permanently there by then with visits in between for interviews etc or do you have to move over within a shorter timescale and hope to find work? Thank you for your help as the skills assessment didn't come back in time before we lost the age points for independant visa, so now we are going under state sponser visa hopefully.Thank you. Best wishes, Ellie.


----------



## ecurb21

*PROCESS CHECKLIST: eVisitor (651) - Defacto (820) - BVA/B*

Hi Mark,

It will have been 18 months since leaving Australia after her 2nd WHV. Is this cutting it fine or a reasonable amount of elapsed time?

Thanks again, Bruce



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bruce -
> 
> Your plan looks great - no questions or issues I can see. The only thing you'll want to consider is the application for the visitor visa - depending on how close that is to the end of a 2-year stay on WHV's , you may run into an issue there with whether the applicant is planning on a genuine stay as a tourist for tourist purposes, etc - in some cases DIBP is reluctant to grant visitor visas after a person has spent so much time as a visitor hear already.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Menal -

One way or another you will need a positive skills assessment for the 189 or 190 visa, however there is no particular requirement that you have all employment you intend to claim assessed by the skills assessor. If DIBP has an issue with any of the employment, they can at that time request that it be assessed, but most employment is not assessed if it is clear from the documentation you have from the employment that it is relevant employment, paid, etc.

Happy to work through different scenarios with you in a consultation - there are too many factors and ifs/ands/buts to work through skilled visa eligibility, skills assessment eligibility, etc here on the forum.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



menal said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I'm new to this forum and was wondering if you can help with the following query:
> I've just submitted all my documents to Vetassess for occupation 232214 and have 3 years and 11 months of highly related work experience (in addition to 2 relevant bachelor degrees and currently being employed in this occupation).
> The question is - is it sufficient to get just positive assessment if I want to claim 5 points for employment in my 189 or 190 visa EOI (I plan to do both).
> Or do I need a positive assessment which will include 3 years of experience in order to claim this.
> I heard that Vetassess deducts 1 year of experience - in this case this leaves me with 2 years 11 months - meaning I get 0 points for employment on my EOI.
> 
> What would be best solution if I like to claim these 5 points?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cheekysloth -

Not a problem generally however it might raise some questions if you've only been here for a very short while, and there is generally no particular benefit to having Australia as your country of usual residence for that visa since it doesn't change where the assessment is done, and wouldn't change the requirement for police checks from Russia and Canada depending on how long you lived in those countries.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cheekysloth said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> could you please help me with the following situation:
> I am a citizen of Russia, but normally live in Canada. I have submitted an EIO to SkillSelect for visa 189 while still in Canada and indicated it as my usual country of residence. Since then I have received and invitation to apply for a visa, and travelled to Australia due to personal circumstances. I am currently in Australia on a Visitor Visa and would like to apply for 189 onshore.
> The question is: would it be a big deal if I change my usual country of residence from Canada (as indicated in EIO) to Australia in my online visa application?
> 
> I would appreciate any advice on this matter.
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anh -

No need to drive - complete the BV-B application form and lodge via post (I'd suggest Express Post, with tracking and signature) to your nearest DIBP Office. Unfortunately no way to apply for BV-B online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Anh nguyen said:


> Hi all,
> I am living at Rockhampton, Queensland, I applied partner visa subclass 820 on Aug 28.15 online, and then granted Bridging visa A, now I would like to apply for Bridging visa B, could any one help me to answer how I apply online ? Or could I send the application by post to the immigration dept's in Queensland in Brisbance ?
> I PREFER not to travel there, which is 6_7 hours driving from my home.
> Tks a lots for your help
> Anh nguyen


----------



## ecurb21

*820 Partner Visa: Financial evidence/ Medical test enquiry*

Hi Mark,

My question is regarding the financial proof that we can provide for our 820 defacto partner visa.

We have a fair bit of evidence to show we share our finances.

However we have a large body of bills and online orders regarding a health concern of my partner which revolves around a chronic fatigue issue.

We are confident she will pass the medical exam if required but were wondering what your thoughts are on including financial evidence that is based around a health issue?

Would this be shooting ourselves in the foot? The bills are in the thousands of dollars trying to get the chronic fatigue issue fixed.

There a doctors bills, supplements, health products, medical equipment etc.

Would all this 'financial evidence' help our 820 claim or perhaps make immigration start asking questions about my partners health & actually make the claim process more difficult for us???

I realise it's a tricky one but any advice would be much welcomed as were not too sure whether to include/exclude this body of evidence.

Many thanks,

ecurb21


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LakshmiNarasimhan_S -

No problem with leaving your 189 EOI in place and altering it to also express interest in 190 for a state. Then if you get lucky and a 189 invitation comes your way, no problem unless you've already had an invitation from a state. Some people create a separate EOI so as to leave the existing 189 EOI active for as long as possible before accepting the 190 invitation, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LakshmiNarasimhan_S said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have submitted my EOI on 2-Sep-2015 with 60 points for subclass 189 visa (Occupation:Systems Analyst - 261112). I have been monitoring the invitation rounds (July and Aug 2015) and understand that invitations issued on a pro rata basis for 3 of the occupations including 261112. Difficult to receive an invitation without 65 points as the last couple of rounds most of the 65ers have got invitation and still backlog for 60 pointers are in queue.
> 
> Given this situation, instead of waiting for 4 or more months (approx), can I go ahead and apply for subclass 190 (NSW) so I would get more 5 points (totally 65 points) moreover my preferred destination would be sydney though if I go via 189 visa too. One more issue would be the age as I will be completing 40 on June 2016.
> 
> To avoid last moment rush either on 189 or 190, I wanted to take a decision now to proceed. Please provide your valuable advise.
> 
> Thanks and Regards,
> Lakshmi Narasimhan
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ACS - +ve, Experience calculation till date - 7 years, 6 months = 10 points
> PTE - 10 points
> Age - 25 points
> Educational qualification - 15 points
> Total = 60 points
> 
> EOI submitted for subclass 189 on 2-Sep-2015
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SK76 -

Yup, the can do whatever they want re: processing priorities with P5s, sorry to say.

Best,

Mark



SK76 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> The guy over the phone said, because it is a priority 5 application. It was on-hold since 2009, and they assigned it to a processing officer on Mar 2014. Although it is still priority 5, can they put it again on-hold.
> 
> Regards
> 
> SK


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hongco1990 -

Thanks for the note. It used to be that switching from 103 to 143 meant that you did not have to wait the entire period again, but DIBP has been unclear about this for the last 6 months or so - no definite info one way or the other. Would suggest your agent contact DIBP directly to see if there is a way for you to avoid starting over re: forms and queue waiting time - this is one of those areas where sometimes a direct enquiry (and a friendly person on the other end of the line) can help.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hongco1990 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I already lodged a non contributory visa application subclass 103 for my parents and application date was in October 2013.
> 
> However, currently my parents wish to switch to subclass 143 contributory parent visa.
> 
> My agent advised that I would have to do a fresh new application and waiting time will start from the beginning (2-2.5 years from now if I do a new application now). This means the waiting time since October 2013 till now will not be taken into consideration if we change from 103 to 143 visa
> 
> However, my friend's father was exactly in same situation and my friend told me his father was in shorter waiting period when switching from 103 to 143 visa application (applied for 103 in 2013, changed to 143 in June 2015 and just did medical check)
> 
> 1. Could you please advise if it is possible to switch to subclass 143 (withdraw 103 application) and the time while applying for 103 visa still counts towards the new 143 visa waiting time?
> 
> 2. If I decide to switch to 143 visa, do I have to submit personal info/passports/forms all over again or just need to fill in Form 47PA?
> 
> Thank you and I look forward to your reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lee1 -

Low chance of case officer requiring proof of insurance for the duration of your 485 visa - haven't seen that done before. Not impossible I suppose, but unlikely. I'd get the insurance back in force ASAP in any case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lee1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently holding 485 visa and will lodge my 189 visa application soon. I have just noticed that I have unintentionally missed my insurance payments for the recent couple of months so practically have been breaching 8501 condition to maintain health insurance under my current 485 visa. Could this affect my 189 visa application in any way, perhaps that CO might request evidence of my insurance cover during my stay while on 485 visa? If this may be that case, could you give me some advice of what I should do before lodging the application to avoid such risk?
> 
> Thank you in advance for your valuable time.


----------



## naddyd4315

Hi Mark, 

I have a question regarding ETA travel Visa, does it allow you to stay for 3 months on each entry no matter if you leave after the visa has finished?

For example, my visa/last entry finishes on 16th Jan, If I arrive on the 12th December, can I stay 3 months? Or do I need to leave before 16th?

Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Valentine1981 -

Nope. See: Partner (Permanent) Calculator for requirements for documents, etc. If you answer the questions as if you have already reached the 2 year mark, it will show you details of what to do, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Valentine1981 said:


> Hi Mark,
> In one month I will have reached my eligibility for the 801 permanent partner visa application so am trying to get ahead with gathering supporting documentation since my 820 grant...I was just wondering if I am going to need to submit form 47sp/40sp again for this application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lanijoymarvin29 -

Thanks for the kind words. Re: health exam, good idea not to do this prior to lodging, as these expire in 12 months and many partner visas take more than 12 months to process. I'd wait until a few months after lodging at least, unless they inform you that you should do it sooner.

Re: paper application, I recommend lodging online instead - it removes all the need for certified copies of everything. However as you are in the Philippines, check carefully for the requirements that your CENOMAR certificate and Birth Cert be sent directly from the NSO to DIBP - there are special rules and procedures on the DIBP Manila website for this. But other than those documents and perhaps the police check, I'd lodge online - faster, easier, and no hassle with certified copies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lanijoymarvin29 said:


> Hi Mark! I saw your advice and really worth reading. Thank You for having a kind heart to answer questions from applicants.
> I am a Filipino resident and I am applying for subclass 309 visa type,my question is it possible to have the health examination before the lodging of my paper application?
> One more question,is it necessary that my husband/sponsor will be providing documents to be subjected to a certified true copy manner? an example to this would be his passport's photocopy and certificate of employment from his company?...
> Thank you in advance...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ellie -

Thanks for the note. When you're granted the visa you'll be given an initial must-enter-by date which you must enter Australia by in order to activate the visa - this is usually some months after the grant date. Once you've made initial entry, which can be only for a day or 2 if you want, you can then come and go all you like during the initial 5 year permanent resident visa period. That being said, the amount of time you spend in Australia during that 5 year period and the ties you make to Australia during that period will determine whether you can extend your PR visa for another 1 or 5 years via a Resident Return Visa at the end of your initial 5 year period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ellie-em said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Is it possible to let me know what timescale you have after gaining a state sponsered visa, to actually moving to Australia. For example, if you gain the visa and then it takes a while to find work, is there a clock ticking away on how long it takes you to go to Australia. If it takes a year or two to find work would you have to re-apply or does the visa stand for 5yrs and you have to be permanently there by then with visits in between for interviews etc or do you have to move over within a shorter timescale and hope to find work? Thank you for your help as the skills assessment didn't come back in time before we lost the age points for independant visa, so now we are going under state sponser visa hopefully.Thank you. Best wishes, Ellie.


----------



## naddyd4315

naddyd4315 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding ETA travel Visa, does it allow you to stay for 3 months on each entry no matter if you leave after the visa has finished?
> 
> For example, my visa/last entry finishes on 16th Jan, If I arrive on the 12th December, can I stay 3 months? Or do I need to leave before 16th?
> 
> Thanks!


Also with an 820 going direct to an 801 Visa, we have been together 2.5 years, 1 years 4 months living together. We are also engaged. With the length of time to get a 820 Visa, could we ask to go straight to 801?

Thanks again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Seems reasonable to me, but the real judge is DIBP...

Best,

Mark



ecurb21 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> It will have been 18 months since leaving Australia after her 2nd WHV. Is this cutting it fine or a reasonable amount of elapsed time?
> 
> Thanks again, Bruce


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ecurb21 -

Generally the medical assessment is completely separate from the genuine relationship assessment, so I don't see a problem with shared financial bills relating to a medical condition being used as relationship evidence. The medical people do a completely separate assessment without regard to genuine relationship, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ecurb21 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My question is regarding the financial proof that we can provide for our 820 defacto partner visa.
> 
> We have a fair bit of evidence to show we share our finances.
> 
> However we have a large body of bills and online orders regarding a health concern of my partner which revolves around a chronic fatigue issue.
> 
> We are confident she will pass the medical exam if required but were wondering what your thoughts are on including financial evidence that is based around a health issue?
> 
> Would this be shooting ourselves in the foot? The bills are in the thousands of dollars trying to get the chronic fatigue issue fixed.
> 
> There a doctors bills, supplements, health products, medical equipment etc.
> 
> Would all this 'financial evidence' help our 820 claim or perhaps make immigration start asking questions about my partners health & actually make the claim process more difficult for us???
> 
> I realise it's a tricky one but any advice would be much welcomed as were not too sure whether to include/exclude this body of evidence.
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> ecurb21


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naddyd4315 -

Yes, generally, unless the stay period option is set with a hardcoded date. If the stay period is "3 months from each arrival", then you can stay the full 3 months even if the last day to arrive passes or visa expires during those 3 months. Key is to arrive prior to the "last date to arrive" on these types of visas. Can't give you specific advice on your visa without seeing the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naddyd4315 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding ETA travel Visa, does it allow you to stay for 3 months on each entry no matter if you leave after the visa has finished?
> 
> For example, my visa/last entry finishes on 16th Jan, If I arrive on the 12th December, can I stay 3 months? Or do I need to leave before 16th?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## naddyd4315

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Naddyd4315 -
> 
> Yes, generally, unless the stay period option is set with a hardcoded date. If the stay period is "3 months from each arrival", then you can stay the full 3 months even if the last day to arrive passes or visa expires during those 3 months. Key is to arrive prior to the "last date to arrive" on these types of visas. Can't give you specific advice on your visa without seeing the visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark, it is 3 months from each arrival. So 3 months it is, thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naddyd4315 -

I don't think you'd qualify as they require 3 years as partners to consider it a long-term partner relationship (or 2 years if you have a child together). They'd consider the start date to be the date you've said that your relationship reached the de facto partner stage, and any time before that (dating, etc) would not count.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naddyd4315 said:


> Also with an 820 going direct to an 801 Visa, we have been together 2.5 years, 1 years 4 months living together. We are also engaged. With the length of time to get a 820 Visa, could we ask to go straight to 801?
> 
> Thanks again!


----------



## AUSBambi

*Further questions for 8503 Waiver*

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. It is really helpful

I would like to confirm RE: "if the 8503 waiver is granted, apply for an additional visitor visa for the time needed for her to remain."

My mother currently holds 3-year multiple entry visitor visa with 8503, which will expire in 2017. She is visiting in Sydney and this is her first entry with this multiple entry visa. If the 8503 waiver is approved, will her visitor visa be still valid? Does an additional visitor visa mean a new visa which specially covers the extending period above 12 months?

If the application for this additional visitor visa is lodged prior to the expiry of 12-month stay, does it mean she will LEGALLY remain in Australia till decision making? Will she need to prepare the same forms, documents and physical examination to apply for additional visitor visa as applying for normal visitor visa?

Thanks for your time. Have a great weekend 

My original question is attached as follows:

"My mum previously visited in Australia twice and keeps good records. She applied for visa 143 last June and now is in Sydney with 3-year multiple entry visitor visa (with 8503). The first maximum stay of 12 months will end in 3 weeks. She planned to leave on time. Unfortunately she (77 years old) has been in low back pain for a month. The pain obviously has effect on her move, such as sitting, standing up, walking etc. I am afraid that she couldn't handle the 10-hour International flight plus another 3-hour domestic flight.

Is there any possibly for extending her stay for a couple of months? If yes, can you please suggest me what I should do next? "



MarkNortham said:


> Hi AUSBambi -
> 
> Thanks for the note and kind words. I would suggest considering applying for a waiver of the 8503 condition if you can get some strong medical evidence that she is unfit to fly or that flying would cause her undue pain and suffering. 8503 waivers can be difficult to get as they require a major change in the applicant's circumstances that occurred after the present visa was granted and was beyond the control of the applicant - this would seem to fit those requirements if you can establish with evidence that the condition is serious enough to warrant a delay in departing.
> 
> The procedure essentially is to apply for the 8503 waiver as soon as possible - these typically take 2-4 weeks to be decided, then if the 8503 waiver is granted, apply for an additional visitor visa for the time needed for her to remain. Given you have only 3 weeks left and that the 8503 waiver app is not a visa application and therefore doesn't generate a bridging visa, you would need to move very quickly to lodge the 8503 waiver request, and you'd need to mark it "urgent" and explain that the medical circumstances have just recently set in.
> 
> See DIBP Form 1447 to lodge the 8503 waiver request, and I would include a detailed submission (letter) with the request explain in detail how she meets the 3 primary requirements for the waiver:
> 
> 1) What the major change was that occurred
> 2) That it occurred after the current visitor visa was granted, and
> 3) How the change (the onset of her pain, decline of her back condition, etc) was beyond her control
> 
> Plus medical evidence re: the condition and a Doctor report of some kind recommending that she not fly currently due to the condition.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## naddyd4315

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Naddyd4315 -
> 
> I don't think you'd qualify as they require 3 years as partners to consider it a long-term partner relationship (or 2 years if you have a child together). They'd consider the start date to be the date you've said that your relationship reached the de facto partner stage, and any time before that (dating, etc) would not count.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark, last question. What happens if we are married in the time it takes to process the 820 as that is the current plan. Does it make any difference?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AUSBambi -

It's confusing, sorry! The issues stem from the fact that once a visa is issued, the terms and conditions of the visa cannot be altered. If she wanted to stay beyond the period allowed by the current visitor visa, she'd have to replace that with a new visitor visa. Since she has condition 8503, she'd need to get that waived before she could apply for a new visitor visa, so sequence of events could be:

1. Apply for 8503 waiver
2. If 8503 waiver approved (hopefully before the existing visitor visa ceases), apply for another visitor visa onshore.
3. Once you apply for the new visitor visa onshore (step 2 above), a bridging visa will be granted which will allow her from the expiration date of the current visa until a decision is made on the new visa application (and for 28 days thereafter if the new visa application is refused). Normally no need for a new medical exam, but you'll need to lodge new visitor visa forms and evidence.

Where things get tricky is if they do not process the 8503 waiver before the current visitor visa expires - depending on how it all works out, her eligibility for another visitor visa could be affected if that happens.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AUSBambi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your detailed reply. It is really helpful
> 
> I would like to confirm RE: "if the 8503 waiver is granted, apply for an additional visitor visa for the time needed for her to remain."
> 
> My mother currently holds 3-year multiple entry visitor visa with 8503, which will expire in 2017. She is visiting in Sydney and this is her first entry with this multiple entry visa. If the 8503 waiver is approved, will her visitor visa be still valid? Does an additional visitor visa mean a new visa which specially covers the extending period above 12 months?
> 
> If the application for this additional visitor visa is lodged prior to the expiry of 12-month stay, does it mean she will LEGALLY remain in Australia till decision making? Will she need to prepare the same forms, documents and physical examination to apply for additional visitor visa as applying for normal visitor visa?
> 
> Thanks for your time. Have a great weekend
> 
> My original question is attached as follows:
> 
> "My mum previously visited in Australia twice and keeps good records. She applied for visa 143 last June and now is in Sydney with 3-year multiple entry visitor visa (with 8503). The first maximum stay of 12 months will end in 3 weeks. She planned to leave on time. Unfortunately she (77 years old) has been in low back pain for a month. The pain obviously has effect on her move, such as sitting, standing up, walking etc. I am afraid that she couldn't handle the 10-hour International flight plus another 3-hour domestic flight.
> 
> Is there any possibly for extending her stay for a couple of months? If yes, can you please suggest me what I should do next? "


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naddyd4315 -

As you were de facto partners as of the date of lodgement, you'll be assessed as de facto for the application. The marriage essentially becomes another piece of genuine relationship evidence, but does not relieve you of the de facto requirements at the time of application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naddyd4315 said:


> Thanks Mark, last question. What happens if we are married in the time it takes to process the 820 as that is the current plan. Does it make any difference?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## naddyd4315

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Naddyd4315 -
> 
> As you were de facto partners as of the date of lodgement, you'll be assessed as de facto for the application. The marriage essentially becomes another piece of genuine relationship evidence, but does not relieve you of the de facto requirements at the time of application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark, appreciated!


----------



## AUSBambi

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your patience and valuable reply.

We have sent email for 8503 waiver already. Anyway we will have a try. Hopefully everything is going well. 

All the best 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi AUSBambi -
> 
> It's confusing, sorry! The issues stem from the fact that once a visa is issued, the terms and conditions of the visa cannot be altered. If she wanted to stay beyond the period allowed by the current visitor visa, she'd have to replace that with a new visitor visa. Since she has condition 8503, she'd need to get that waived before she could apply for a new visitor visa, so sequence of events could be:
> 
> 1. Apply for 8503 waiver
> 2. If 8503 waiver approved (hopefully before the existing visitor visa ceases), apply for another visitor visa onshore.
> 3. Once you apply for the new visitor visa onshore (step 2 above), a bridging visa will be granted which will allow her from the expiration date of the current visa until a decision is made on the new visa application (and for 28 days thereafter if the new visa application is refused). Normally no need for a new medical exam, but you'll need to lodge new visitor visa forms and evidence.
> 
> Where things get tricky is if they do not process the 8503 waiver before the current visitor visa expires - depending on how it all works out, her eligibility for another visitor visa could be affected if that happens.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Guddy

Hi Mark, my wife submitted all the required documents for vetassess assessment but was contacted later to provide her company website or provide more information about the company including the companies registration certificate, the company does not have website. Now she approached the company but they refused to provide further evidence including the certificate which am sure they will never release it. Please, what can we do as they gave us short period to provide this. My surprise now is that they are starting to feel disturbed in the entire process and tend to be reluctant when asking to provide some documents.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Guddy -

Hard to tell for sure, but VETASSESS asking for the company's registration certificate may be a clue that VETASSESS has concerns that the company legally exists and operates. If the company won't provide the certificate, I'd look for any other evidence that shows that the company exists and legally operates - things like references to the company in the news, photos, articles, listings in business directories, references by other companies to this company, etc. You may have to get creative re: coming up with other pieces of evidence to show that the company exists and is legally operating.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Guddy said:


> Hi Mark, my wife submitted all the required documents for vetassess assessment but was contacted later to provide her company website or provide more information about the company including the companies registration certificate, the company does not have website. Now she approached the company but they refused to provide further evidence including the certificate which am sure they will never release it. Please, what can we do as they gave us short period to provide this. My surprise now is that they are starting to feel disturbed in the entire process and tend to be reluctant when asking to provide some documents.


----------



## swisskit

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your great advice.

I have a pretty basic question compared with others. I am currently on a Tourist 600 visa and would like to stay here in Australia and look for work, I am eligible for a 417 WHV, but I cannot seem to find anywhere that tells me the info I need. 

Do I have to leave Australia to apply for this visa or can I apply for it whilst I am here?

Thank you in advance.
Kit.


----------



## nimbuz

Hi Mark,

I'm about to submit my application for assessment, and needed some clarification (with authoritative reference if possible) on how work experience is calculated in *RPL* application and for *Diploma*:


My brief profile is:
I have *12 years* of work experience (June 2003 to present).
I completed *MCSD* (ACS recognized vendor certification) just this month.
I lack tertiary qualification so I'll be submitting an RPL.

Assuming all my 12 years are considered as 'relevant work experience', or say just 10yrs. 5yrs of that would be deducted to meet the 'skilled' requirement since I have a recognized diploma. Are the remaining years (5 or 7 depending on ACS consideration) counted towards skilled employment or not?


----------



## alison213

Hi Mark

Thanks for all your assistance. 

My partner and I have been fortunate enough to be granted a 309 visa. However due to an unexpected change we cannot move to Australia straight away. Can you confirm that, as long as we enter Australia by the required date (for a short stay) we can leave again and make the big move at a later date? Will the fact that we didn't take up residency straight away affect our application for a 100 visa in 2 years?

From my research I believe this is the case, but appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

Thanks so much,
Alison


----------



## Guddy

Nice hints Mark, appreciation!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kit -

Thanks for the note - see https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/417- for details on the subclass 417 visa. For this visa, if you are applying for your first 417 visa (and not the second), you must be offshore when you lodge your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swisskit said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your great advice.
> 
> I have a pretty basic question compared with others. I am currently on a Tourist 600 visa and would like to stay here in Australia and look for work, I am eligible for a 417 WHV, but I cannot seem to find anywhere that tells me the info I need.
> 
> Do I have to leave Australia to apply for this visa or can I apply for it whilst I am here?
> 
> Thank you in advance.
> Kit.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nimbuz -

Yours sounds like a classic RPL application - see ACS Summary of Criteria page for details on the number of years deducted - for RPL they would normally take 6 or 8 years of experience from anytime in your working career to satisfy the requirement, after which they would consider you as "skilled" so any work after the date you are deemed as skilled by ACS could be considered for points by DIBP if relevant. Beyond that, difficult to predict how ACS will assess your application - too many variables and possibilities in their decision-making process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nimbuz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm about to submit my application for assessment, and needed some clarification (with authoritative reference if possible) on how work experience is calculated in *RPL* application and for *Diploma*:
> 
> 
> My brief profile is:
> I have *12 years* of work experience (June 2003 to present).
> I completed *MCSD* (ACS recognized vendor certification) just this month.
> I lack tertiary qualification so I'll be submitting an RPL.
> 
> Assuming all my 12 years are considered as 'relevant work experience', or say just 10yrs. 5yrs of that would be deducted to meet the 'skilled' requirement since I have a recognized diploma. Are the remaining years (5 or 7 depending on ACS consideration) counted towards skilled employment or not?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alison213 -

Yes, that's correct. Period of absence won't generally be held against you for the permanent part of the partner visa unless sponsor is a PR (and not a citizen) and DIBP alleges that the sponsor is not "usually resident" in Australia due to the long absence, or if the two of you are apart for long periods during the initial period of the provisional partner visa. If the sponsor is a citizen, the usually resident requirement does not apply.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alison213 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for all your assistance.
> 
> My partner and I have been fortunate enough to be granted a 309 visa. However due to an unexpected change we cannot move to Australia straight away. Can you confirm that, as long as we enter Australia by the required date (for a short stay) we can leave again and make the big move at a later date? Will the fact that we didn't take up residency straight away affect our application for a 100 visa in 2 years?
> 
> From my research I believe this is the case, but appreciate your thoughts on the matter.
> 
> Thanks so much,
> Alison


----------



## rcchahal

Hi I want some information about student visa. I applied for Australia study visa in 2009 under 572 but rejected bcoz of suponser ship from india can I try again


----------



## rcchahal

I applied for Australia study visa in 2009 but


----------



## rcchahal

I applied for Australia study visa in 2009 under 572 but rejected bcoz of suponser ship from india can I try again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rcchahal -

I see no bar on you re-applying based on what you said.

Best,

Mark Northam



rcchahal said:


> I applied for Australia study visa in 2009 under 572 but rejected bcoz of suponser ship from india can I try again


----------



## Nytshade77

Hi Mark,

About de facto partner visa, I would just like to ask if the joint utility bill would be the last 12 mos as well or the latest bill that has both our names will do?

Please advise or any one on here who knows, I would appreciate any thoughts. 


Cheers,
Nytshade77


----------



## alison213

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Alison213 -
> 
> Yes, that's correct. Period of absence won't generally be held against you for the permanent part of the partner visa unless sponsor is a PR (and not a citizen) and DIBP alleges that the sponsor is not "usually resident" in Australia due to the long absence, or if the two of you are apart for long periods during the initial period of the provisional partner visa. If the sponsor is a citizen, the usually resident requirement does not apply.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks very much Mark.

I am a citizen and we will definitely be staying together, just outside of Australia for a little while longer.


----------



## ES2013

Hi mArk. We applied for partner visa 309/100 on December 2014 through dubai and everytime I call the office the ladies don't want to give me any information. They r rude and keep saying call bk after 2 weeks n when I do they say same thing. The last time I called the lady hanged up on me. Mind you I'm not in dubai n it costs a lot to keep calling everyday n wait on hold for over 20mints. We hv not done our medicals n I just want know if they suggest us to do it now? But even that question is hard for them to respond to. It's frustrating. I sent many emails too and asked for a application update and have not got response. I'm frustrated and one of the ladies said wait until we tell u to do the medicals. Do u advise us to complete it or wait for them. My partner is from a high risk country but I'm keen in doing anything to fasten the process.


----------



## Aliee

*189/190 from scratch*

Hi Mark,

Your replies on this forum are very helpful and thought I would share my current scenario of the application to get some good advice from you.

I hold a 4 years Bachelors Degree in Computer Engineering from Pakistan. I have a total of 7 years of ICT Experience. Out of this 7 years, I have worked full time for 1 year during my last two semesters of the engineering program and then 6 years of full time employment will be completed this year October.

Based on this I have below questions.

1. From ACS Assessment point of view, Are they going to deduct any number of years of my experience?

2. My score based on my qualifications and education and IELTS score of 7+ I can score 60 points. Do you think I should go for Subclass 189 or 190?

3. Based on your experience, what are the chances that I will be invited to apply on Subclass 189 in on ICT Business Analyst Occupation with my set of qualifications and points of 60?

4. Whats the maximum time in which you can get an invite after applying the EOI with 60 points on Business Analyst Occupation?

Appreciate your response. Thanks.

Ali


----------



## Tomman

Hi Mark!

I want to ask about the residency requirement for a PR sponsoring a partner visa 309/100. I am a permanent resident but only stayed in Australia for six months in the last 4 years. I am currently staying in Asia and want to return to Australia next year(before my visa expires). I am being outside Australia for the sake of not being separated with my partner. Now we plan to marry and go and stay in Australia, Can I sponsor my partner for her visa 309 while we are both overseas? If I do not meet the residency requirement for being a sponsor, how long after I have stayed in Australia can I become a sponsor? Also, would visa 300 be a better option or it has the same residency requirement for sponsor?

Cheers.


----------



## aliraza_110

_*Hi Mark,
My name is Ali and I'm from Pakistan. I am new to the forum but I found it very helpful for the people seeking experts' advice on immigration and other related matters.
I also require your kind advise for my case, as described below:
I am a Mechanical Engineer of 32 years of age. I have recently filed my CDR and then EOI with the help of an immigration consultant/agent who is in Australia. My agent has filed my case in 3 visa classes / sub classes i.e. 189, 190 & 489. It is to be noted that I have a sister who already lives in Australia, in Canberra. Last week, I got the invitation to apply visa in the sub class 489, for which I am least interested. My points score for visa classes 189, 190 & 489 (currently) are 60, 65 & 70 respectively. Next month, I am also going to turn 33, due to which my 5 points would be subtracted of age. As you would be already aware that my visa invitation for 489 sub class would be expired in 60 days (though my agent says I should decide in 30 days time), and my agent says that we can wait for few more days for another (either 189 or 190) invitation, otherwise we would have to proceed with 489. It is also to be noted that yesterday I have retaken the IELTS exam since currently I have zero marks of language proficiency (scored 6, 6, 6, 6) and the result will take 2 weeks time to come.
In view of this, I would like to know from you the answers of following: 
1. What is the risk if I let the 489 invitation go and wait till I get another (either 189 or 190) invitation?
2. Is there a possibility that I do not get any further invitation if I let 489 go?
3. If I am able to get 7, 7, 7, 7 in IELTS or better, is my case going to be reconsidered (with upgraded language proficiency points)? Is it going to affect my visa invitation process (for 189 & 190 classes in particular) in any way, positive or negative?
I would be really grateful if you kindly advise me with my case.

Regards,
-Ali*_


----------



## Nrt

*Citizenship resumption*

Dear Mark,

I have recently applied for Australian citizenship resumption. I have not heard back from Citizenship office for 3 weeks.

Is there a risk of not being able to resume AUS citizenship?

Have you ever helped any clients on resumption matters?


----------



## hopeforoz

Hello Mark,

I have a quick query and would need your advise on this..

When I am filling up the visa application at the immigration website, there is a question that I am not sure how to answer.
The question is : Does the applicant have any dependent family members not travelling to Australia who are not Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents? Options are Yes/No

My query is that my mother is dependent on me but would not be included in this Visa Application. So If I select "Yes" as an answer to this question and then enter the details of my mother, would I have to submit the PCC and medicals for my mother??
I heard someone saying on a forum that if you declare a dependent then you would have to submit the PCC for that person even if that person is not included in the visa application..

Need your expert advise on this please

Thanks


----------



## ambition_vik

Dear Mark,

I have received positive result but ACS result does not mention my education qualification. Is it necessary to get my education qualification assessed by Vetassess to claim education points?

Can I submit an EoI without Vetassess point test advisory?

Thank you in advance.


----------



## rahulofpl

Hi mark 
Need your assistance 

In June 2015 I've been nominated for Northern Territory. And I have got 489 visa subclass in August 2015. My confusion is , should I live and work in NT as it has given me invitation or I can work any regional area of Australia. In my visa grant letter they have mentioned all states with regional area code.


----------



## sydney2015

*partner visa 820/801*

Hi Mark,

we are currently in a stage of collecting the evidence. Could you help me with some issues:

1. My sponsor is an Australian citizen but was born in another country. Does he need to scan his birth certificate and if yes, is his passport enough to prove the citizenship or do we need to attach citizenship certificate as well? Also, does he have to provide copy of his Medicare card?

2. If we make wills, do we have to name each other as a beneficiary exclusively? Do we need a solicitor to confirm it or could we just write it like statements and have it certified?

3. Do I need Australian Federal Police check with or without fingerprints?

4. I understand that we can use joint membership of the same organisations as evidence of social aspect of our relationship. But what about Woolworths and IKEA member cards? Not sure if they are of any use but I don't want to miss anything if it could help. What do u think Mark?

Thank you!


----------



## ellie-em

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ellie -
> 
> Thanks for the note. When you're granted the visa you'll be given an initial must-enter-by date which you must enter Australia by in order to activate the visa - this is usually some months after the grant date. Once you've made initial entry, which can be only for a day or 2 if you want, you can then come and go all you like during the initial 5 year permanent resident visa period. That being said, the amount of time you spend in Australia during that 5 year period and the ties you make to Australia during that period will determine whether you can extend your PR visa for another 1 or 5 years via a Resident Return Visa at the end of your initial 5 year period.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for your help, it is good to know you have a bit of time to find work after the visa is granted. Best wishes.
Ellie


----------



## crocken

Hi Mark ,
I have to remove sponsorship for my wife as she has run away with another man..
do you know the email address I have to write too ?
ken


----------



## sai1705

Hi Mark, 

I completed my Bachelors of Technology in Computer Science way back (in the year 1998).

I have total 15 years of work experience in different verticals like Technical lecturer, Technical support Officer (BPO sector), Business Analyst, and Sales and Marketing Manager.

As per my profile I may not qualify in Sales and Marketing or other occupations.
But still trying to explore a pathway to Au and hence thinking to get ACS assessment done based on my 4 years of Work Experience as a Business Analyst. from year 2008 to 2012..

I understand ACS would not consider any of my experience above except of Business analyst and hence I may fall short of points under work experience but still I see myself qualifying with 60 points including points from States sponsership, provided I get through ACS before November and preferably get an invite to apply before Jan 4 next year as I will turn 40 coming January. (losing 5 points thn)

Please can you assess my profile and guide if I have fair chances of success.

Thank you!

Regards, Sai


----------



## pesaretala

*Regarding invitation with 65 score for 189*

Dear Mark, Hi,
First I would like to thank you for putting the time to answer questions in this forum. It is really appreciated.
Now to my question, I have received an invitation to apply for a Skilled - Independent (Subclass 189) (Permanent) visa after submitting my EOI. In the invitation my indicative points test score is 65. In the employment section of my EOI, I have entered the date from 21/3/2005 to 20/3/2015 in line with my employment reference. This has resulted in a total score of 65 in my EOI. On the other hand, in my ACS result letter, my skilled employment has been accepted from August 2007 onwards which will result in a score of 10 for the employment requirement and a total score of 60. 
In my invitation letter it is stated:
"Correct claims in your EOI
When you lodge a visa application from this invitation you will be required to *provide evidence supporting the claims you
made in your EOI*. If the information provided in your EOI is *not correct*, and you proceed to lodge a visa application, *this
may result in your application being refused*, and your visa application fee will not be refunded. If the claims in your EOI
are *incorrect or overstated*, and you cannot support these claims in your visa application, *there may be adverse consequences
for future visa applications*. We strongly recommend you ensure your information is correct before lodging a visa
application. You can view your claims in SkillSelect, and at the end of this message.
" Please pay attention to the bold sentences. Do they include my situation? I have entered my dates as seen on my employment reference.
So please can you clarify if I will have a problem with my dates for employment. I have entered dates as seen on my reference. Is this correct? Should I wait for this invitation to expire and correct the date in my EOI? What should I put as dates in the employment start and end dates?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Best Regards
Pesar


----------



## luddite

*Strange document checklist?*

Hi Mark,
Thanks for your reply to my previous questions - hope you can help me again.
I submitted my application and paid a few days ago, and logged into immiaccount now to continue with the next step. But now in the "recommended documents" there are some listed for which I haven't claimed points. For example, it asks for "evidence of work experience", "evidence of Australian work experience", "evidence of study in Australia" when I am claiming points for none in my EOI. And also it doesn't ask for spouse skills assessment, while I AM claiming points for that.
Is this normal (i.e. am I supposed to leave them blank?) or has there been a system error or something? What should I do?


----------



## bryan00

Hi Mark,

If I get granted a 190 visa for NSW sponsorship, am I required to I move to Sydney and live there for 2 years as soon as the visa is granted?

Also, I lodged four separate EOIs - 189 visa for accountant and auditor and 190 visa for accountant and auditor which are distinct occupation field for different visa subclass. This does mean that these 4 EOIs will be treated separately hence will be considered for getting distinct invitations for the corresponding EOIs, could you please confirm this?

Thank you!


----------



## AnuBakshi

*Documents Related*

Dear Mark,

I have recently joined this forum. I am applying for Skilled Migration subclass 190 PFB my details:-
1. +ve Vetassess 
2. IETS 7 each
3. SA ss Positive
4. Invitation to Apply in Skill Select

My husband is an engg graduate and has 10+ years of experience. Though, we are not claiming his points in my EOI, shall we upload all his work and educational documents?

the problem is we dont have his degree certificate. We have detailed marks card for all 4 years of engg degree and a provisional degree certificate from college.

We have now initiated the process to get his degree certificate from university which may take 90 days. And my invitation will expire by then,

my agent is asking me not to show his degree for the purpose of visa.

my husband has not undertaken IELTS or any other exam to show his english language abilities.

what shall we do? shall we submit the visa application with (my complete set is ready), his educational qualifications and work experience doc except for degree along with a letter from college proving that the medium of instruction for the entire duration of 4 yr graduate degree program is english?

or shall we show his qualification as senior secondary only.

I am really confused and stressed.

please help.

anu


----------



## rahulofpl

Hi mark 
Need your assistance 

In June 2015 I've been nominated for Northern Territory. And I have got 489 visa subclass in August 2015. My confusion is , should I live and work in NT as it has given me invitation or I can work any regional area of Australia. In my visa grant letter they have mentioned all states with regional area code.


----------



## bryan00

Hi Mark,

Just a little more questions raised about NSW 190 visa for accountants/auditors.

1. My understanding is that NSW does not require work experience as being mandatory am I correct on this?

Thanks once again for your time and effort :]


----------



## martin12345

Hey Mark,

Do the statutory declarations made my supporting wittnesses of my relationship (partner visa onshore 820) using the 888 form, have to get their ID document copy witnessed and certified? as well as the 888 form? Or can I just upload colour scans of their original passport/birth certificate etc?? (like I can for me and my partner who is the sponsor)

Kind regards,
Martin


----------



## Moonika

Hi Mark,

I'm on 461 visa and i would like to renew it. Unfortunately I am no longer with my partner any more. I know I can renew it even if we are no longer together if i meet all the requirements listed. I do meet them but my question is. If i apply for this visa again, do i need to send all his information as well? Copy of his, passport photos, do i need his signature etc? The reason i ask is, he no longer lives in Australia so it might be a bit tricky to get that information from him.

Thanks,

Moonika


----------



## TarlarAustralia

Hi Mark,

I have one quick question about Form 80. I lodged my 820 visa at the start of January and have had no contact since which isn't worrying me, but I didn't send a Form 80. Do I need to or can I wait until its requested, if it is indeed requested. 

My understanding is that not everyone needs to fill one out and it's best to wait, thought I'd check!

Thanks heaps.


----------



## surya11

*Need Help for NT nomination*

Hi Mark,

I'm new to this forum, I like to apply for NT state nomination visa under an occupation which is currently getting sponsored by NT, also applied for Vetassess assessment recently. Do I really need have to wait until getting assessment results or in parallel can approach for NT migration sponsor? Please advise my worries, by the time gets the assessment if my occupation nomination quota ends, no other state sponsoring at this time.
Looking to hear your kind advise.


----------



## ranjithm1985

Hi Mark,

I got a good news that CO has accepted my application!!  

But got a second problem now, I would like you to shed some light on this.

I applied for Visa 190 with 6.5 years relevant experience and now CO is asking me for the Bank statement for all the companies from 2008 till now, I have no Bank statement for the first company (1 yr 6 months) as the bank is unable to provide me account statement as it was closed long back(Tried Customer care and multiple bank branches - got the same answer everywhere).

I can get the Salary statement from the Company, will that be sufficient. ? I provided the form 16 ( tax document from the company but not Tax returns filing document as I was not under the tax limit) already while lodging the application, I also submitted last 3 salary slips (but not for both years - I can get 1 payslip for each quarter from the company though) What do you think I can do now?

Thank you.

-Ranjith



ranjithm1985 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope DIBP accepts it without me having to justify my position !! Once again Thank you for the detailed reply,
> 
> -Ranjith M


----------



## enelyx

*457 defacto possiblities*

Hello Mark,

Lurking here for a few awhile. My partner and I are in the process of applying for a 457 defacto visa. (we are informally living together for 10 months, currently long distance)

Our application will include
- stat decs from australian / nz friends
- statement from each of us
- statement from his housemates
- letter from friends
- letter of support from his company
- joint travels
- bank statements reflecting shared groceries. gifts and matching atm withdrawals 
- future travel plans / itineraries
- photos evidencing that we live together, social aspect of the relationship
- health insurance supported by him

I understand that the 457 defacto isnt as stringent as the partner visas - but in the case that the first 457 defacto application got rejected, can we wait for sometime and reapply again when we meet the requirements? (6+ month old joint bank account and beneficiaries, we couldnt get joint lease now because he is in Australia already) Or the only way for us to be together after the rejection is to get married in the future?

Second, if I were to apply for a tourist visa after the negative outcome (600) will it get affected? No intention of overstaying, I have a full time job and would just frequently see him (atleast once a month for 3-5 days) in Australia. This isnt the most sustainable way financial-wise for the both of us but we are really so committed to one another. 

Thank you for all the advice Mark.You are saving people's sanities!


----------



## chouse

Hi Mark

If you apply for an 820 but already meet the criteria for 801 do you have to request the 801 or will it automatically be granted?

Thank you!


----------



## Erikaa

Hi Mark,

My partner is a qualified Electronic Equipment Trades Worker (ANZSCO 342313) - we are currently in Australia on student visas and we want to apply for permanent residency. He has an employer who is willing to sponsor him (on a 187 visa) but we would rather apply for an independent skilled visa (subclass 190).

Do you think applying for a 190 visa would be riskier for us? Are we more likely to be granted a 187 since it is employer sponsored?

Many thanks!

Erika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nytshade77 -

Joint utility bill by itself can work for evidence of nature of the household; joint utility bill for the 12 months prior to application can help establish living together evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nytshade77 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> About de facto partner visa, I would just like to ask if the joint utility bill would be the last 12 mos as well or the latest bill that has both our names will do?
> 
> Please advise or any one on here who knows, I would appreciate any thoughts.
> 
> Cheers,
> Nytshade77


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ES2013 -

Sorry to hear that you're getting such poor service from DIBP. I'd consider contacting the DIBP Global Feedback Unit, especially if the representatives have been rude. Re: medicals, I'd follow their instructions on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ES2013 said:


> Hi mArk. We applied for partner visa 309/100 on December 2014 through dubai and everytime I call the office the ladies don't want to give me any information. They r rude and keep saying call bk after 2 weeks n when I do they say same thing. The last time I called the lady hanged up on me. Mind you I'm not in dubai n it costs a lot to keep calling everyday n wait on hold for over 20mints. We hv not done our medicals n I just want know if they suggest us to do it now? But even that question is hard for them to respond to. It's frustrating. I sent many emails too and asked for a application update and have not got response. I'm frustrated and one of the ladies said wait until we tell u to do the medicals. Do u advise us to complete it or wait for them. My partner is from a high risk country but I'm keen in doing anything to fasten the process.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aliee -

Thanks for the note. ACS always deducts years of experience if the applicant's degree is not Australia - it's a matter of how many years they will deduct. See ACS Summary of Qualifications page for more details on this.

Hard to advise re: 189 vs 190, would need to know much more about your circumstances - can do this at a consultation, see website below in my signature for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aliee said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Your replies on this forum are very helpful and thought I would share my current scenario of the application to get some good advice from you.
> 
> I hold a 4 years Bachelors Degree in Computer Engineering from Pakistan. I have a total of 7 years of ICT Experience. Out of this 7 years, I have worked full time for 1 year during my last two semesters of the engineering program and then 6 years of full time employment will be completed this year October.
> 
> Based on this I have below questions.
> 
> 1. From ACS Assessment point of view, Are they going to deduct any number of years of my experience?
> 
> 2. My score based on my qualifications and education and IELTS score of 7+ I can score 60 points. Do you think I should go for Subclass 189 or 190?
> 
> 3. Based on your experience, what are the chances that I will be invited to apply on Subclass 189 in on ICT Business Analyst Occupation with my set of qualifications and points of 60?
> 
> 4. Whats the maximum time in which you can get an invite after applying the EOI with 60 points on Business Analyst Occupation?
> 
> Appreciate your response. Thanks.
> 
> Ali


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tomman -

To sponsor for a partner for a partner or PMV visa if the sponsor is a permanent resident (and not a citizen of Australia), the requirement is that you are "usually resident" in Australia (as a sponsor). This means that you either live in Australia or are planning (and can show evidence) that you plan to return to Australia to live very soon. Once you can show either of these via evidence, then you'd generally satisfy the usually resident criteria.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tomman said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I want to ask about the residency requirement for a PR sponsoring a partner visa 309/100. I am a permanent resident but only stayed in Australia for six months in the last 4 years. I am currently staying in Asia and want to return to Australia next year(before my visa expires). I am being outside Australia for the sake of not being separated with my partner. Now we plan to marry and go and stay in Australia, Can I sponsor my partner for her visa 309 while we are both overseas? If I do not meet the residency requirement for being a sponsor, how long after I have stayed in Australia can I become a sponsor? Also, would visa 300 be a better option or it has the same residency requirement for sponsor?
> 
> Cheers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ali -

Thanks for the question. Due to the complexity of skilled visas and the number of factors and options, not possible to do assessments here on the forum - happy to help at a consultation - see website in my signature below for more on this.

Best,

Mark Northam



aliraza_110 said:


> _*Hi Mark,
> My name is Ali and I'm from Pakistan. I am new to the forum but I found it very helpful for the people seeking experts' advice on immigration and other related matters.
> I also require your kind advise for my case, as described below:
> I am a Mechanical Engineer of 32 years of age. I have recently filed my CDR and then EOI with the help of an immigration consultant/agent who is in Australia. My agent has filed my case in 3 visa classes / sub classes i.e. 189, 190 & 489. It is to be noted that I have a sister who already lives in Australia, in Canberra. Last week, I got the invitation to apply visa in the sub class 489, for which I am least interested. My points score for visa classes 189, 190 & 489 (currently) are 60, 65 & 70 respectively. Next month, I am also going to turn 33, due to which my 5 points would be subtracted of age. As you would be already aware that my visa invitation for 489 sub class would be expired in 60 days (though my agent says I should decide in 30 days time), and my agent says that we can wait for few more days for another (either 189 or 190) invitation, otherwise we would have to proceed with 489. It is also to be noted that yesterday I have retaken the IELTS exam since currently I have zero marks of language proficiency (scored 6, 6, 6, 6) and the result will take 2 weeks time to come.
> In view of this, I would like to know from you the answers of following:
> 1. What is the risk if I let the 489 invitation go and wait till I get another (either 189 or 190) invitation?
> 2. Is there a possibility that I do not get any further invitation if I let 489 go?
> 3. If I am able to get 7, 7, 7, 7 in IELTS or better, is my case going to be reconsidered (with upgraded language proficiency points)? Is it going to affect my visa invitation process (for 189 & 190 classes in particular) in any way, positive or negative?
> I would be really grateful if you kindly advise me with my case.
> 
> Regards,
> -Ali*_


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nrt -

Yes - these can take several months to assess, so not hearing back in 3 weeks is not unusual.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nrt said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have recently applied for Australian citizenship resumption. I have not heard back from Citizenship office for 3 weeks.
> 
> Is there a risk of not being able to resume AUS citizenship?
> 
> Have you ever helped any clients on resumption matters?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

For PR visa applications, generally all dependents will have to submit health and police certificates, even if they are not migrating (ie, applying for a visa) unless a waiver of this requirement is provided by DIBP. This most often happens in the case of a split marriage and the former partner will not allow the children to undergo health exams, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a quick query and would need your advise on this..
> 
> When I am filling up the visa application at the immigration website, there is a question that I am not sure how to answer.
> The question is : Does the applicant have any dependent family members not travelling to Australia who are not Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents? Options are Yes/No
> 
> My query is that my mother is dependent on me but would not be included in this Visa Application. So If I select "Yes" as an answer to this question and then enter the details of my mother, would I have to submit the PCC and medicals for my mother??
> I heard someone saying on a forum that if you declare a dependent then you would have to submit the PCC for that person even if that person is not included in the visa application..
> 
> Need your expert advise on this please
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ambition_vik -

Yes, the points test letter from VETASSESS is optional - you may need to get this if the case officer questions whether your degree is equivalent to the Australian degree (Bachelor, etc) you are claiming for points, assuming you are claiming points for your qualification.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ambition_vik said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have received positive result but ACS result does not mention my education qualification. Is it necessary to get my education qualification assessed by Vetassess to claim education points?
> 
> Can I submit an EoI without Vetassess point test advisory?
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahulofpl -

Thanks for the note. Your obligation as a visa holder to DIBP Is to live and work in any of the regional area they define. However you may have contractual obligations to NT due to whatever agreement you signed or agreed to - you should check those out carefully.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rahulofpl said:


> Hi mark
> Need your assistance
> 
> In June 2015 I've been nominated for Northern Territory. And I have got 489 visa subclass in August 2015. My confusion is , should I live and work in NT as it has given me invitation or I can work any regional area of Australia. In my visa grant letter they have mentioned all states with regional area code.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sydney2015 -

Happy to help:

Re: 1, passport and birth certificate are generally required for both parties (I assume you're planning to lodge a partner or PMV visa?)

Re: 2, this has to do with the laws in your country re: wills.

Re: 3 - choose the migration (or immigration) option on the AFP online PCC order form - the type is Full Disclosure, name check only (ie, no fingerprints).

Re: 4, you could include shopping loyalty cards, but they usually aren't considered as strong evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sydney2015 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> we are currently in a stage of collecting the evidence. Could you help me with some issues:
> 
> 1. My sponsor is an Australian citizen but was born in another country. Does he need to scan his birth certificate and if yes, is his passport enough to prove the citizenship or do we need to attach citizenship certificate as well? Also, does he have to provide copy of his Medicare card?
> 
> 2. If we make wills, do we have to name each other as a beneficiary exclusively? Do we need a solicitor to confirm it or could we just write it like statements and have it certified?
> 
> 3. Do I need Australian Federal Police check with or without fingerprints?
> 
> 4. I understand that we can use joint membership of the same organisations as evidence of social aspect of our relationship. But what about Woolworths and IKEA member cards? Not sure if they are of any use but I don't want to miss anything if it could help. What do u think Mark?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crocken -

Sorry to hear this. I would call DIBP on 131 881 and ask to be connected to the correct partner visa section for your situation. They have various offices in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney that deal with partner visas - DIBP can direct you to the correct one.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crocken said:


> Hi Mark ,
> I have to remove sponsorship for my wife as she has run away with another man..
> do you know the email address I have to write too ?
> ken


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sai1705 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



sai1705 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I completed my Bachelors of Technology in Computer Science way back (in the year 1998).
> 
> I have total 15 years of work experience in different verticals like Technical lecturer, Technical support Officer (BPO sector), Business Analyst, and Sales and Marketing Manager.
> 
> As per my profile I may not qualify in Sales and Marketing or other occupations.
> But still trying to explore a pathway to Au and hence thinking to get ACS assessment done based on my 4 years of Work Experience as a Business Analyst. from year 2008 to 2012..
> 
> I understand ACS would not consider any of my experience above except of Business analyst and hence I may fall short of points under work experience but still I see myself qualifying with 60 points including points from States sponsership, provided I get through ACS before November and preferably get an invite to apply before Jan 4 next year as I will turn 40 coming January. (losing 5 points thn)
> 
> Please can you assess my profile and guide if I have fair chances of success.
> 
> Thank you!
> 
> Regards, Sai


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pesar -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately you'll probably have to not accept the invitation and wait for another one (after adjusting your employment claims to match the ACS results) if you cannot verify with evidence all the employment claims made in the EOI. It sounds like you claimed more years of skilled employment than ACS allowed, which artificially increased your points value - since the invitation was based on the increased points value which you cannot now justify with evidence, there's no point in accepting the invitation and applying for the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pesaretala said:


> Dear Mark, Hi,
> First I would like to thank you for putting the time to answer questions in this forum. It is really appreciated.
> Now to my question, I have received an invitation to apply for a Skilled - Independent (Subclass 189) (Permanent) visa after submitting my EOI. In the invitation my indicative points test score is 65. In the employment section of my EOI, I have entered the date from 21/3/2005 to 20/3/2015 in line with my employment reference. This has resulted in a total score of 65 in my EOI. On the other hand, in my ACS result letter, my skilled employment has been accepted from August 2007 onwards which will result in a score of 10 for the employment requirement and a total score of 60.
> In my invitation letter it is stated:
> "Correct claims in your EOI
> When you lodge a visa application from this invitation you will be required to *provide evidence supporting the claims you
> made in your EOI*. If the information provided in your EOI is *not correct*, and you proceed to lodge a visa application, *this
> may result in your application being refused*, and your visa application fee will not be refunded. If the claims in your EOI
> are *incorrect or overstated*, and you cannot support these claims in your visa application, *there may be adverse consequences
> for future visa applications*. We strongly recommend you ensure your information is correct before lodging a visa
> application. You can view your claims in SkillSelect, and at the end of this message.
> " Please pay attention to the bold sentences. Do they include my situation? I have entered my dates as seen on my employment reference.
> So please can you clarify if I will have a problem with my dates for employment. I have entered dates as seen on my reference. Is this correct? Should I wait for this invitation to expire and correct the date in my EOI? What should I put as dates in the employment start and end dates?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.
> 
> Best Regards
> Pesar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luddite -

No problem - you can ignore the "recommended documents" which are not appropriate for your situation.

Best,

Mark Northam



luddite said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your reply to my previous questions - hope you can help me again.
> I submitted my application and paid a few days ago, and logged into immiaccount now to continue with the next step. But now in the "recommended documents" there are some listed for which I haven't claimed points. For example, it asks for "evidence of work experience", "evidence of Australian work experience", "evidence of study in Australia" when I am claiming points for none in my EOI. And also it doesn't ask for spouse skills assessment, while I AM claiming points for that.
> Is this normal (i.e. am I supposed to leave them blank?) or has there been a system error or something? What should I do?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AnuBakshi -

Thanks for the note. Generally no need for academic or work experience requirements for secondary applicants on skilled PR visas, unless that evidence is being used to satisfy the English requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AnuBakshi said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have recently joined this forum. I am applying for Skilled Migration subclass 190 PFB my details:-
> 1. +ve Vetassess
> 2. IETS 7 each
> 3. SA ss Positive
> 4. Invitation to Apply in Skill Select
> 
> My husband is an engg graduate and has 10+ years of experience. Though, we are not claiming his points in my EOI, shall we upload all his work and educational documents?
> 
> the problem is we dont have his degree certificate. We have detailed marks card for all 4 years of engg degree and a provisional degree certificate from college.
> 
> We have now initiated the process to get his degree certificate from university which may take 90 days. And my invitation will expire by then,
> 
> my agent is asking me not to show his degree for the purpose of visa.
> 
> my husband has not undertaken IELTS or any other exam to show his english language abilities.
> 
> what shall we do? shall we submit the visa application with (my complete set is ready), his educational qualifications and work experience doc except for degree along with a letter from college proving that the medium of instruction for the entire duration of 4 yr graduate degree program is english?
> 
> or shall we show his qualification as senior secondary only.
> 
> I am really confused and stressed.
> 
> please help.
> 
> anu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bryan00 -

Re: NSW work, English, etc requirements, these can vary by occupation - see NSW skilled website for specifics for your occupation. Unfortunately NSW does not provide detailed numbers on occupation ceilings, etc as DIBP does.

Best,

Mark



bryan00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a little more questions raised about NSW 190 visa for accountants/auditors.
> 
> 1. My understanding is that NSW does not require work experience as being mandatory am I correct on this?
> 
> 2. I don't have any work experience but my DIBP points score and IELTS score are quite high, are these two factors given more weight then work experience? Ultimately I'm just wanting to know if I have a good chance of getting the invitation.
> 
> 3. Like the occupation ceiling released on skillselect, does NSW provide any information like the occupation ceiling but in relation to 190 sponsorship?
> 
> Thanks once again for your time and effort :]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martin12345 -

Having the ID for Form 888's certified is not a strict requirement, so OK if this is not done. However if it's not a hassle, it doesn't hurt to have the ID copies certified by the same person who witnesses the signing of the Form 888.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



martin12345 said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Do the statutory declarations made my supporting wittnesses of my relationship (partner visa onshore 820) using the 888 form, have to get their ID document copy witnessed and certified? as well as the 888 form? Or can I just upload colour scans of their original passport/birth certificate etc?? (like I can for me and my partner who is the sponsor)
> 
> Kind regards,
> Martin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moonika -

You may want to check with DIBP on their current policy on this - in the past it has been possible to lodge a 461 application without sponsor ID and documents under these circumstances, but I've heard this may be changing. However you will need to show some sort of info/evidence about how/why the relationship with the previous sponsor ended, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Moonika said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm on 461 visa and i would like to renew it. Unfortunately I am no longer with my partner any more. I know I can renew it even if we are no longer together if i meet all the requirements listed. I do meet them but my question is. If i apply for this visa again, do i need to send all his information as well? Copy of his, passport photos, do i need his signature etc? The reason i ask is, he no longer lives in Australia so it might be a bit tricky to get that information from him.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Moonika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TarlarAustralia -

Generally no problem waiting for Form 80 to be requested.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TarlarAustralia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have one quick question about Form 80. I lodged my 820 visa at the start of January and have had no contact since which isn't worrying me, but I didn't send a Form 80. Do I need to or can I wait until its requested, if it is indeed requested.
> 
> My understanding is that not everyone needs to fill one out and it's best to wait, thought I'd check!
> 
> Thanks heaps.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Surya -

Generally best to wait until your skills assessment is complete and you can include that info in your EOI. Otherwise, you would have an incomplete EOI or one based on incorrect information. Normally the states will not spend time assessing a candidate who does not yet have a skills assessment complete, but you could check with NT and see if they could do any of the assessment prior to the skills assessment being completed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



surya11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm new to this forum, I like to apply for NT state nomination visa under an occupation which is currently getting sponsored by NT, also applied for Vetassess assessment recently. Do I really need have to wait until getting assessment results or in parallel can approach for NT migration sponsor? Please advise my worries, by the time gets the assessment if my occupation nomination quota ends, no other state sponsoring at this time.
> Looking to hear your kind advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ranjithm1985 -

I'd provide evidence the bank was closed, plus all possible evidence you have - payslips, salary slips, tax documents, etc for the entire time period you're claiming points for from that employment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ranjithm1985 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I got a good news that CO has accepted my application!!
> 
> But got a second problem now, I would like you to shed some light on this.
> 
> I applied for Visa 190 with 6.5 years relevant experience and now CO is asking me for the Bank statement for all the companies from 2008 till now, I have no Bank statement for the first company (1 yr 6 months) as the bank is unable to provide me account statement as it was closed long back(Tried Customer care and multiple bank branches - got the same answer everywhere).
> 
> I can get the Salary statement from the Company, will that be sufficient. ? I provided the form 16 ( tax document from the company but not Tax returns filing document as I was not under the tax limit) already while lodging the application, I also submitted last 3 salary slips (but not for both years - I can get 1 payslip for each quarter from the company though) What do you think I can do now?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> -Ranjith


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chouse -

Normally they will automatically consider you for the 801 if your relationship meets the requirements of the long term partnership criteria at the time of decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chouse said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> If you apply for an 820 but already meet the criteria for 801 do you have to request the 801 or will it automatically be granted?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Erikaa -

There are so many factors and details to skills assessments, state sponsorship, employee sponsorship, etc that there's no quick and easy answer to your question - would need to fully assess your partner in a consultation in order to give you an opinion on which visa may be the best choice. More on my website below in my signature - thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



Erikaa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner is a qualified Electronic Equipment Trades Worker (ANZSCO 342313) - we are currently in Australia on student visas and we want to apply for permanent residency. He has an employer who is willing to sponsor him (on a 187 visa) but we would rather apply for an independent skilled visa (subclass 190).
> 
> Do you think applying for a 190 visa would be riskier for us? Are we more likely to be granted a 187 since it is employer sponsored?
> 
> Many thanks!
> 
> Erika


----------



## ambition_vik

Thanks a lot Mark.

I did claim points for my bachelor and master degree ( 15 points) while submitting EOI but that time I did not have Vetassess letter but later on received when I got invitation for NSW nomination.

I even submitted that Vetassess letter along with ACS letter to NSW and then NSW approves state nomination.

Do you think that CO can still refuse my application?

I would sincerely request you to advise.

Many thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ambition_vik -
> 
> Yes, the points test letter from VETASSESS is optional - you may need to get this if the case officer questions whether your degree is equivalent to the Australian degree (Bachelor, etc) you are claiming for points, assuming you are claiming points for your qualification.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enelyx -

It's true that 457 partner assessments are not as stringent as partner visa assessments, if for no other reason than the 457 is a temporary visa, not a permanent one. Re: refusals, etc, would need to work through the details of this with you to determine if there would be any obstacles to re-applying.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enelyx said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Lurking here for a few awhile. My partner and I are in the process of applying for a 457 defacto visa. (we are informally living together for 10 months, currently long distance)
> 
> Our application will include
> - stat decs from australian / nz friends
> - statement from each of us
> - statement from his housemates
> - letter from friends
> - letter of support from his company
> - joint travels
> - bank statements reflecting shared groceries. gifts and matching atm withdrawals
> - future travel plans / itineraries
> - photos evidencing that we live together, social aspect of the relationship
> - health insurance supported by him
> 
> I understand that the 457 defacto isnt as stringent as the partner visas - but in the case that the first 457 defacto application got rejected, can we wait for sometime and reapply again when we meet the requirements? (6+ month old joint bank account and beneficiaries, we couldnt get joint lease now because he is in Australia already) Or the only way for us to be together after the rejection is to get married in the future?
> 
> Second, if I were to apply for a tourist visa after the negative outcome (600) will it get affected? No intention of overstaying, I have a full time job and would just frequently see him (atleast once a month for 3-5 days) in Australia. This isnt the most sustainable way financial-wise for the both of us but we are really so committed to one another.
> 
> Thank you for all the advice Mark.You are saving people's sanities!


----------



## sukanta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sukanta -
> 
> We normally put "Please see attached relationship statements and evidence of applicant and sponsor for details" in the 5 question boxes on the form, then include (single) relationship statements from the applicant and sponsor that cover the areas - ie, one relationship statement from each (applicant and sponsor) and in each of those statements the 4 areas of evidence are covered.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I can't thank you enough for your great advice and helping us. Very kind of you. I have one little query for my wife's on line application 309. I know there are 4 passport size photos are required but I think that is for paper based application.

So, my query is, do I need to upload any passport size photograph (signed at the back of the photo) of me as an sponsor and and my wife as an applicant for on line application?

greatly appreciated your advice on this Mark.

Thank you
Sukanta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukanta -

Thanks for the note and kind words - for online applications, only a digital scan of the front of the passport photo is fine - no need to sign back or provide multiple copies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sukanta said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I can't thank you enough for your great advice and helping us. Very kind of you. I have one little query for my wife's on line application 309. I know there are 4 passport size photos are required but I think that is for paper based application.
> 
> So, my query is, do I need to upload any passport size photograph (signed at the back of the photo) of me as an sponsor and and my wife as an applicant for on line application?
> 
> greatly appreciated your advice on this Mark.
> 
> Thank you
> Sukanta


----------



## sukanta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sukanta -
> 
> Thanks for the note and kind words - for online applications, only a digital scan of the front of the passport photo is fine - no need to sign back or provide multiple copies.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark for your prompt response. Much appreciated.

Regards
Sukanta


----------



## ambition_vik

Dear Mark,

For 190 visa type, does CO verifies points claimed from the time skill select invitation received or EOI submission?

Thank you for replaying


----------



## mark1980

Hi Mark

I'm going to use a Form 1022 ''Notification of changes in circumstances'' to notify DIBP that I been working for the last 4 moths (Because when I apply for my visa 820 I was unemployed)

*My question is do I send the form to the "visa and citizenship office" in Perth or to the "visa and citizenship office in Adelaide by post?

I live in Adelaide and I lodge my application online.

*Another question related to the partner visa if I get granted the 820, around 3 months before the 2 years of my application DIPT will contact me asking for evidence that the relationship is still going (I send it then they process that info) and if everything is ok they grant me the 801 or do I have to APPLY for the 801 ?

Thanks for all your information


----------



## bryan00

Hi Mark
In filing EOI for 190 visa, the question asks "Would the client be prepared to live outside an Australian capital city?" If I answer yes, could this actually mean that I may have a condition on my visa to live in rural area? Vice versa, If I answered no, could this lower my chance of getting the sponsorship at all? I believe I'm not the only one to face dilemmas here whether to answer yes or no as most people would prefer to live in the city... Hope you could give some suggestion on this one.
Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ambition_vik -

For 190 visas, all points and the EOI are locked at the moment of invitation by DIBP to apply for the visa and no points-related items can be changed after that. However also note that with the 190, the state will examine the EOI so all info must be correct at that time, as the invitation will be issued with no advance notice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ambition_vik said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> For 190 visa type, does CO verifies points claimed from the time skill select invitation received or EOI submission?
> 
> Thank you for replaying


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark1980 -

If you lodged your partner visa online, you can upload your Form 1022 directly to the partner visa - use the same screen where you uploaded your other documents.

Re: 801, they will normally only issue the 801 if you meet the long-term partner criteria at the time of decision. If you do not meet that at the time of decision, they'll grant the 820 and you'll have to lodge the paperwork for the 801 once you pass the 2 year time from date of application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mark1980 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I'm going to use a Form 1022 ''Notification of changes in circumstances'' to notify DIBP that I been working for the last 4 moths (Because when I apply for my visa 820 I was unemployed)
> 
> *My question is do I send the form to the "visa and citizenship office" in Perth or to the "visa and citizenship office in Adelaide by post?
> 
> I live in Adelaide and I lodge my application online.
> 
> *Another question related to the partner visa if I get granted the 820, around 3 months before the 2 years of my application DIPT will contact me asking for evidence that the relationship is still going (I send it then they process that info) and if everything is ok they grant me the 801 or do I have to APPLY for the 801 ?
> 
> Thanks for all your information


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bryan00 -

In my view that question should only be displayed if the person indicates interest for a subclass 489 visa which is limited to designated (largely rural) areas. I don't know whether states use this question in their decisions as they don't publish that info, but there is no circumstance where the 190 could be issued with a geographical limitation on it - only the 489 has that particular condition possible in the skilled visa family.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bryan00 said:


> Hi Mark
> In filing EOI for 190 visa, the question asks "Would the client be prepared to live outside an Australian capital city?" If I answer yes, could this actually mean that I may have a condition on my visa to live in rural area? Vice versa, If I answered no, could this lower my chance of getting the sponsorship at all? I believe I'm not the only one to face dilemmas here whether to answer yes or no as most people would prefer to live in the city... Hope you could give some suggestion on this one.
> Thank you.


----------



## bumbumn

Hi Mark. Could you help me in this question. I am waiting for 801 visa, as I submitted all paper work 8months 27 days ago. I called them 2 week ago and they said my application in "Finalized", but until now it's looks like nothing happen, so

1/ Should I call them again or make any requirement? If my wife(sponsor) call them, Will it make any different? 

2/ I know they are backlog right now, but do they have any avarage time due for visa? Or they can keep application as long as they want?

Thank you so much Mark. God bless


----------



## jfm

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing well. We finally received our grant letter yesterday. We applied for 189 visas in June 2014 from Pakistan. Our medicals and Police clearances expired on 10 th September 2015. We were asked to upload fresh police clearance certificates only. As soon as we did that our grant letters were issued. 

Now the problem is that we have to make first entry before 3rd October 2015, which hardly leaves our family with 15 days for packing and moving to Australia. They have mentioned on our visas that first entry date can't be changed. Eid holidays are coming up next week and we are finding it very challenging to manage all the reservations and other stuff on such a short notice. Is there any way to ask for some extension? Please advise us. Do you think asking for an extension will add any complications to the entry?

Regards

JFM


----------



## virginiap

Hi Mark,

Question on Working Holiday Visa. My friend is on her first WHV and she worked a total of 7-8 days for a farm under the WOOFING system before the they brought a new law. Her question is: is her Woofing accepted because she started working before the new law, or will it go under the new law and she will have to find another way?

Thank you.

Virginia


----------



## surya11

Thanks Mark,

I will stick onto your advise.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Surya -
> 
> Generally best to wait until your skills assessment is complete and you can include that info in your EOI. Otherwise, you would have an incomplete EOI or one based on incorrect information. Normally the states will not spend time assessing a candidate who does not yet have a skills assessment complete, but you could check with NT and see if they could do any of the assessment prior to the skills assessment being completed.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Arabella

Hi Mark,

Just a couple of questions on applying for an 820 visa.

1. I lived in Spain for the following periods of time:
September 2007-February 2008
April 2010 – May 2010
September 2010 – June 2011
September 2011-June 2012
September 2012 – June 2013
I left the country for periods of nearly 3 months every summer. How should I list this on my application? As separate entries or all in one? Do I need to give my residency number for Spain or anything?

2. My last police check from Spain was about March/April 2013 but I left in June 2013 and haven't been back since. Am I likely to need another one? Will I need one at all?

3. Some of the evidence we have seems to fall under more than one category, for example there is crossover between financial and household aspects. Does this matter? Should we try and give evidence for both?

Thanks in advance


----------



## Arabella

virginiap said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Question on Working Holiday Visa. My friend is on her first WHV and she worked a total of 7-8 days for a farm under the WOOFING system before the they brought a new law. Her question is: is her Woofing accepted because she started working before the new law, or will it go under the new law and she will have to find another way?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Virginia


You might find this useful:

WWOOF - Visa Info


----------



## sukanta

sukanta said:


> Thank you so much Mark for your prompt response. Much appreciated.
> 
> Regards
> Sukanta


Hi Mark,

My sincere apology for asking you so many questions. I have just got couple of doubts in regard to my wife's partner visa 309 on line application, could you please shed some light on this. Many thanks in advance.

1. She is from Bangladesh so with her 309 application does she needs form 80 to be filled out? It is not in the check list though. 
2. How many (roughly) wedding photos are reasonable to upload?
3. As an sponsor do I need my Australian passport photocopy certified or I just can scan in colour and upload in her application.

Thanks
Sukanta


----------



## ambition_vik

Thanks a lot Mark for answering my query.

While submitting an EOI i claimed 15 points for education ( MBA, B.com)
and after submission I just thought to go Vetassess so that CO can award me education points without any question being asked.

I submitted Vetassess PTA along with ACS skill assessment to DIBP however Vetassess PTA date is later than EOI submission date.

Do you feel that I made mistake by submitting Vetassess PTA to DIBP?
My intention was only to help CO/DIBP to provide me direct grant.

Kindly share your view....



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ambition_vik -
> 
> For 190 visas, all points and the EOI are locked at the moment of invitation by DIBP to apply for the visa and no points-related items can be changed after that. However also note that with the 190, the state will examine the EOI so all info must be correct at that time, as the invitation will be issued with no advance notice.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## c00kiemonster

*Eoi 189*

Hi Mark,

I'm new to the forum - researching about skilled visa 189 brought me here and I was so glad to see you helping out on so many queries. I hope you can help me out, too.

I was planning to submit an EOI for visa 189 (I'm currently working on my IELTS) but I just found out that the ceiling for my occupation (external auditor) has already been reached.

1. I understand that the ceilings will be reset on 1st July of next year. Should I wait for the new ceilings to be announced before submitting an EOI? Or can I submit before 1st July in order to get a better chance of getting an invitation? (I have 70 points based on my personal assessment provided I pass IELTS).

2. With the recent significant reduction in the ceiling for external auditors, is there a way to tell if the occupation will be completely taken off the list?

3. Can I apply for a visa 189 even if I am married to an Australian citizen?

Thanks,
Cookie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bumbumn -

Thanks for the note. Finalised used to mean a decision has been made, but recently I've been seeing that on applications where some final info or docs has been requested but a decision has not yet been made. As long as you haven't missed any communications from them, you might give them a couple more weeks and then check in. DIBP has no time limits on processing time, so they can take as long as they want.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bumbumn said:


> Hi Mark. Could you help me in this question. I am waiting for 801 visa, as I submitted all paper work 8months 27 days ago. I called them 2 week ago and they said my application in "Finalized", but until now it's looks like nothing happen, so
> 
> 1/ Should I call them again or make any requirement? If my wife(sponsor) call them, Will it make any different?
> 
> 2/ I know they are backlog right now, but do they have any avarage time due for visa? Or they can keep application as long as they want?
> 
> Thank you so much Mark. God bless


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jfm -

Unfortunately there is no mechanism for altering a visa's characteristics once it has been granted, so no way to change the must-enter-by date. I find it highly unfair that DIBP keep people waiting months or years, then all of a sudden with no warning a visa shows up with a few weeks only to make initial entry. Best you could do is miss the date, then ask them (after you miss the date) to allow you to enter shortly thereafter and not cancel the visa based on the entry date breach. If you do that, you must get a letter from DIBP approving the request not to cancel to show at the airport to present with the visa, or the visa may be deemed inoperative at the airport for breach of the must-enter-by date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jfm said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well. We finally received our grant letter yesterday. We applied for 189 visas in June 2014 from Pakistan. Our medicals and Police clearances expired on 10 th September 2015. We were asked to upload fresh police clearance certificates only. As soon as we did that our grant letters were issued.
> 
> Now the problem is that we have to make first entry before 3rd October 2015, which hardly leaves our family with 15 days for packing and moving to Australia. They have mentioned on our visas that first entry date can't be changed. Eid holidays are coming up next week and we are finding it very challenging to manage all the reservations and other stuff on such a short notice. Is there any way to ask for some extension? Please advise us. Do you think asking for an extension will add any complications to the entry?
> 
> Regards
> 
> JFM


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virginiap -

Thanks for the note. The current policy from DIBP is unclear on this, but I don't see an exception for previous Woofing work, so I'd suggest doing 7-8 days of paid work to avoid having to make a claim for the Woofing work.

Best,

Mark



virginiap said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Question on Working Holiday Visa. My friend is on her first WHV and she worked a total of 7-8 days for a farm under the WOOFING system before the they brought a new law. Her question is: is her Woofing accepted because she started working before the new law, or will it go under the new law and she will have to find another way?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Virginia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arabella -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, this requires more info to make a judgement about whether you were "visiting" Spain during those period, or "lived" in Spain during those periods. If you maintained a primary residence elsewhere, then these might be visits, but I don't have enough info to give you an opinion on this. The final determination of visit vs live will determine which section of the application you list this under.

Best,

Mark



Arabella said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a couple of questions on applying for an 820 visa.
> 
> 1. I lived in Spain for the following periods of time:
> September 2007-February 2008
> April 2010 - May 2010
> September 2010 - June 2011
> September 2011-June 2012
> September 2012 - June 2013
> I left the country for periods of nearly 3 months every summer. How should I list this on my application? As separate entries or all in one? Do I need to give my residency number for Spain or anything?
> 
> 2. My last police check from Spain was about March/April 2013 but I left in June 2013 and haven't been back since. Am I likely to need another one? Will I need one at all?
> 
> 3. Some of the evidence we have seems to fall under more than one category, for example there is crossover between financial and household aspects. Does this matter? Should we try and give evidence for both?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukanta -

Thanks for the questions. Re Form 80, you can wait until they request this if you'd like - they only need it if they request it. Re: photos, can't advise you as I haven't seen them - many partner visas have between 10 and 30 photos (best to assemble them into a multi-page PDF rather than uploading individuals). Colour scan of passport is fine for online applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sukanta said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My sincere apology for asking you so many questions. I have just got couple of doubts in regard to my wife's partner visa 309 on line application, could you please shed some light on this. Many thanks in advance.
> 
> 1. She is from Bangladesh so with her 309 application does she needs form 80 to be filled out? It is not in the check list though.
> 2. How many (roughly) wedding photos are reasonable to upload?
> 3. As an sponsor do I need my Australian passport photocopy certified or I just can scan in colour and upload in her application.
> 
> Thanks
> Sukanta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vik -

Already answered this - points test advice obtained after invitation is OK, as long as your skills assessment was valid and complete as of the date of invitation.

Going forward, it is not necessary to bombard me with the same question via direct email, forum post and forum PM - I'm happy to answer questions, but slamming me with duplicates of the same question via multiple channels only causes wasted time and effort.

Thanks,

Mark



ambition_vik said:


> Thanks a lot Mark for answering my query.
> 
> While submitting an EOI i claimed 15 points for education ( MBA, B.com)
> and after submission I just thought to go Vetassess so that CO can award me education points without any question being asked.
> 
> I submitted Vetassess PTA along with ACS skill assessment to DIBP however Vetassess PTA date is later than EOI submission date.
> 
> Do you feel that I made mistake by submitting Vetassess PTA to DIBP?
> My intention was only to help CO/DIBP to provide me direct grant.
> 
> Kindly share your view....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi C00kiemonster -

Thanks for the note. You might check out 190 visa for that occupation if any state is sponsoring (see http://www.anzscosearch.com for a handy reference tool for this) as the occupational ceilings do not apply to 190 applications. No way to predict what the lists will look like going forward.

Yes, you can apply for a 189 or 190 if you are married to an Australian citizen, but you might consider a partner visa if you hit a dead-end on the occupational ceiling issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



c00kiemonster said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm new to the forum - researching about skilled visa 189 brought me here and I was so glad to see you helping out on so many queries. I hope you can help me out, too.
> 
> I was planning to submit an EOI for visa 189 (I'm currently working on my IELTS) but I just found out that the ceiling for my occupation (external auditor) has already been reached.
> 
> 1. I understand that the ceilings will be reset on 1st July of next year. Should I wait for the new ceilings to be announced before submitting an EOI? Or can I submit before 1st July in order to get a better chance of getting an invitation? (I have 70 points based on my personal assessment provided I pass IELTS).
> 
> 2. With the recent significant reduction in the ceiling for external auditors, is there a way to tell if the occupation will be completely taken off the list?
> 
> 3. Can I apply for a visa 189 even if I am married to an Australian citizen?
> 
> Thanks,
> Cookie


----------



## ambition_vik

Thanks a lot Mark.

Apologies for asking same question via multiple channels.

You are great help.
God bless you.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vik -
> 
> Already answered this - points test advice obtained after invitation is OK, as long as your skills assessment was valid and complete as of the date of invitation.
> 
> Going forward, it is not necessary to bombard me with the same question via direct email, forum post and forum PM - I'm happy to answer questions, but slamming me with duplicates of the same question via multiple channels only causes wasted time and effort.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mark


----------



## sukanta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sukanta -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Re Form 80, you can wait until they request this if you'd like - they only need it if they request it. Re: photos, can't advise you as I haven't seen them - many partner visas have between 10 and 30 photos (best to assemble them into a multi-page PDF rather than uploading individuals). Colour scan of passport is fine for online applications.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


You have been a life saver Mark... Thank you so much for your great help...

Regards
Sukanta


----------



## tankit

Hi Mark. 
I have applied under 489 visa family sponsored. My occupation code is 261313. My sister is living in victoria.. she is permanent residence of australia. I lodged my case on 05-05-2015 with 60 points. 
My ilets score is 6 in each. on 24th july CO requested for medicals & he ask for sponsered proof. I have submitted the same. 
Me & My employer received Telephonic employer verification call on 14-08-2015 from delhi high commission. Application status is Applicant in progress. 
It has been more than 1 month i have not recieved grant yet. How much time it take to issue grant after employment verification. 
Kindly advice.


----------



## c00kiemonster

thanks a lot for the quick response mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tankit -

Unfortunately no way to predict this - may depend on employer verification call results - Delhi has been extremely tough with employer verifications over the last few months.My guess is 1-2 months to a decision, but that's only a very rough guess.

Good luck -

Best,

Mark



tankit said:


> Hi Mark.
> I have applied under 489 visa family sponsored. My occupation code is 261313. My sister is living in victoria.. she is permanent residence of australia. I lodged my case on 05-05-2015 with 60 points.
> My ilets score is 6 in each. on 24th july CO requested for medicals & he ask for sponsered proof. I have submitted the same.
> Me & My employer received Telephonic employer verification call on 14-08-2015 from delhi high commission. Application status is Applicant in progress.
> It has been more than 1 month i have not recieved grant yet. How much time it take to issue grant after employment verification.
> Kindly advice.


----------



## Arabella

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Arabella - Thanks for the note. Re 1, this requires more info to make a judgement about whether you were "visiting" Spain during those period, or "lived" in Spain during those periods. If you maintained a primary residence elsewhere, then these might be visits, but I don't have enough info to give you an opinion on this. The final determination of visit vs live will determine which section of the application you list this under. Best, Mark


I was living there but my question was more whether they should be one entry (ie April 2010-June 2013) or separate ones? I worked in Spain but let for nearly three months every summer.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arabella -

If you determine you were living there, generally on the partner visa forms they want to know the last permanent address in the country, but not every period of time you lived there (check out the form for more on this). If you were visiting, then they want to have them listed separately in the visits section.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Arabella said:


> I was living there but my question was more whether they should be one entry (ie April 2010-June 2013) or separate ones? I worked in Spain but let for nearly three months every summer.


----------



## Arabella

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Arabella - If you determine you were living there, generally on the partner visa forms they want to know the last permanent address in the country, but not every period of time you lived there (check out the form for more on this). If you were visiting, then they want to have them listed separately in the visits section. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


So does the online form look a bit different then? I've only seen the paper form so far as we're not applying just yet.


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes - the online forms are somewhat different, although not in a major way. You can get a free ImmiAccount and open up a new application to have a look around and see what is needed for the online application.

Best,

Mark



Arabella said:


> So does the online form look a bit different then? I've only seen the paper form so far as we're not applying just yet.


----------



## Nebs

Hi Mark!
Thanks for all the help, you're a star!

I have one more annoying question though, in regards to the 888 forms. On the forms there's space for one witness, however on the partner visa check list it says every stat dec should be witnessed by two people. I have currently ended up wit two stat deca that have been witnessed, however, only by one person. Can I use them or should I ask my Australian friends to go and see a pharmacist etc and get that second stamp and signature?

Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nebs -

Thanks for the kind words! Re: 888 forms, these are only required to be witnessed by one qualified person (ie, JP, etc). There is no requirement that Form 888's (which are stat decs) or other stat decs must be witnessed by 2 people. You are required to lodge 2 Form 888's (at least) with your partner visa application, but only one person must witness the writer signing it. Maybe that's the source of confusion - every stat dec has 2 signatures: the writer's, and the witness's.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nebs said:


> Hi Mark!
> Thanks for all the help, you're a star!
> 
> I have one more annoying question though, in regards to the 888 forms. On the forms there's space for one witness, however on the partner visa check list it says every stat dec should be witnessed by two people. I have currently ended up wit two stat deca that have been witnessed, however, only by one person. Can I use them or should I ask my Australian friends to go and see a pharmacist etc and get that second stamp and signature?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## Alyonka

Dear Mark. Please be kind to answer one question regarding 309 Partner Visa. The situation is the next. My visa granted (and already activated) spouse currently is outside Australia. After activating his visa he returned home, got married to me, and now we're both in our home-country. May I apply for 309 Partner Visa while my spouse is still outside Australia (he is going to move to Australia in December or January)?

Thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alyonka -

Thanks for the question. When you say "my visa granted", I assume that's some other visa and not a partner visa. Re: 309/100 offshore partner visa, the requirement is that the applicant is offshore at the time of application. The location of the sponsor is not a factor in whether an applicant can lodge a valid application, *however* if the sponsor is a permanent resident (and not a citizen), the sponsor must be "usually resident" in Australia. The discussion of what constitutes "usually resident" is usually dependent on the sponsor's specific circumstances - not enough time/room to go into a discussion about that on the forum, but would be happy to work with you on this at a consultation if you'd like to get an opinion on whether your sponsor may meet this criteria. See my website below in my signature for more details on a consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Alyonka said:


> Dear Mark. Please be kind to answer one question regarding 309 Partner Visa. The situation is the next. My visa granted (and already activated) spouse currently is outside Australia. After activating his visa he returned home, got married to me, and now we're both in our home-country. May I apply for 309 Partner Visa while my spouse is still outside Australia (he is going to move to Australia in December or January)?
> 
> Thank you in advance!


----------



## valer

Hi Mark

My partner and myself applied for our PMV at the end of June 2015.
I was looking at the immi account and noticed that we can print out the referral letter for my partners health check. She resides in Delhi, India.

Is there any issue with her going ahead and getting the health check done asap?

Thanks for all your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Valer -

Only risk you run is that the health checks will expire (they're valid for 12 months) before the visa is granted, however since DIBP doesn't provide any solid timetable for processing other than a rough 12-18 month estimate, it can be hard to predict this. In some cases they will extend the validity of the health and police checks if grant will occur shortly after they expire.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



valer said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My partner and myself applied for our PMV at the end of June 2015.
> I was looking at the immi account and noticed that we can print out the referral letter for my partners health check. She resides in Delhi, India.
> 
> Is there any issue with her going ahead and getting the health check done asap?
> 
> Thanks for all your help


----------



## windycity

Hi Mark, 

I have a question for you. 

I am currently holding an ETA that is going to be expired in 8 Nov 2015. 
I came into Aust in 3 Aug, max stay for 3 months, hence, I need to leave by 3 Oct 2015. However, I would like to stay in Australia for another 3 months, but my ETA is expired on 8 Nov. I understand that ETA must be applied outside Australia. 

Can I apply for ETA when I am in e.g. New Zealand on 3 Oct, however, my current ETA only expire on 8 Nov. Will this be alright? Will I be issued another ETA? My current ETA will be cancelled? What are the implication? I am not sure what to do. 
Hope to hear from you soon.


----------



## spiedze

Hi Mark,

I have a question about registering relationship.

Me and my partner have been together for over two years, however, most of it was over long distance, so slightly concerned whether we have enough evidence. 
We plan to get married end of this year and then apply for an offshore partner visa for me. 

My question is - would registering our relationship help with with our partner visa application, or is it not worth doing it, if we plan to get married very soon? 


Thanks.


----------



## rahulofpl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rahulofpl - Thanks for the note. Your obligation as a visa holder to DIBP Is to live and work in any of the regional area they define. However you may have contractual obligations to NT due to whatever agreement you signed or agreed to - you should check those out carefully. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Thanks mark 
I have checked all the details that I have forwarded to NT and found that I have signed a copy where statement being commenced - o have to live and work there as a part of obligation


----------



## T&M

Hi Mark

Just to let you know my visa was approved today 09.21.2015
i am so happy... thank you for all your supports and advice.. can't wait for the next stage.. thank you mark.


----------



## Tashka

*A wee problem*

Hi Mark,

So, I got my 189 visa through today, which is the best news.  However, it came with some not so great news. 

I have to activate it by October the 10th 2015 which is going to be near impossible to achieve. I don't really have the money or time (I have to go to work offshore on the 7th of Oct and have a wedding on the 1st, and my partner is offshore himself till next week!) for a last minute flight out for my partner and myself.

I'm trying to get in contact with my case officer,but I'm worried that could take a couple weeks. If I did get in contact with them is this something that can even be extended? I was under the impression you usually got three months of the grant date to enter the country not less than three weeks.

I'm trying to think of other solutions. Would visiting the Aussy embassy in the UK count as entering Australian soil?

Thanks for you help,

Tashka


----------



## jetstar1

Hi Mark,
Following by the trend, does NSW generally give out more sponsorship/higher quotas to accountants compared to auditors? 

I have already submitted NSW 190 EOI for accountant at 70 points but considering to get another assessment done for external auditor to lodge an extra EOI with same points. 

Would opening my chances to auditor on top of accountant possibly lead to higher prospect of getting the sponsorship? I'm just not sure whether taking this option is worthwhile as I would be spending extra money to get the assessment done or if just sticking with the accountant option alone with 70 points would be enough...

I am aware that it all comes down to a decision I need to make, but I would appreciate to hear what your suggestions are.

Thanks alot.


----------



## tankit

Thanx Mark..

Mark My agent is saying me now they will physically visit at my work place to verify my work experience. As per him if they have any doubt they should send me invitation to comment but till time i have not received any communication from dibp. 
But it is more than 1 month now on one visited at my work place.

I have applied under 489 family sponsored sub class. I think they give less priority to 489 family sponsored applicants is it right..

I want your opinion what should i do now. wait is killing me.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tankit -
> 
> Unfortunately no way to predict this - may depend on employer verification call results - Delhi has been extremely tough with employer verifications over the last few months.My guess is 1-2 months to a decision, but that's only a very rough guess.
> 
> Good luck -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## summi

Hi Mark,

Good Day

I have heard from many people about your advises and suggestions you provide.

I would like to take few minutes from your hectic schedule.

Below are my details for query,

Date Applied : 11th March 2015 (189 SI) as Software Engineer 261313
Documents uploaded: Frontloaded including medicals and PCC (me & my wife's) (except form 80)
Employment verification: 27th July 
Called DIBP: 4th Sept to check application status
Application Status in Immi account : "Application Received" since application lodged date
Till date i received only a generic mail (same day of calling).

Can you please tell me what should i do? Should i call/mail them again to know application status or i should wait? When can i expect the outcome of my application? Any other suggestion for me?

Sorry..If i used any wrong or inappropriate word.

Thanks in advance.

Best Regards,
Sumit


----------



## hopeforoz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hopeforoz -
> 
> For PR visa applications, generally all dependents will have to submit health and police certificates, even if they are not migrating (ie, applying for a visa) unless a waiver of this requirement is provided by DIBP. This most often happens in the case of a split marriage and the former partner will not allow the children to undergo health exams, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks so much for answering this Mark!!!!!


----------



## hopeforoz

Hi Mark!!

A quick query again and request your reply please

I live in India and have applied for Visa subclass 190

I started travelling to United States since last year for official reasons and have stayed there for about 6 months in the last 2 years in a total of 3 visits.. Will I need a PCC(Police Clearance Certificate) from USA.. I tried searching on the immigration website but I am not too clear about this
Request clarity on this from your side

Thanks
hopeforoz


----------



## enelyx

Hello Mark.

Took awhile for me to get back - thank you for your quick assessment!

Just two more question:
- at surface glance of our evidences, in your opinion, would it be worth giving it more time? (when our joint bank accounts, insurances are 6+months old, continuous travels) My partner's company has already started the process. 
- i realized that my tourist visa is still valid. will this be cancelled if my 457 defacto application is refused?

Should there be any difficulty that require a more indepth assessment, I will be in touch with you via the channels available.

Thank you so much Mark! All the best to you.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Enelyx -
> 
> It's true that 457 partner assessments are not as stringent as partner visa assessments, if for no other reason than the 457 is a temporary visa, not a permanent one. Re: refusals, etc, would need to work through the details of this with you to determine if there would be any obstacles to re-applying.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Windycity -

Yes, ETA must be applied for outside Australia. If granted, the new ETA will immediately replace the old ETA, no matter if the old ETA has some time left on it or not.

Re: applying, chances of success, etc, may depend on how much time you've spent in Australia during the first ETA and reasons given for the additional time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



windycity said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question for you.
> 
> I am currently holding an ETA that is going to be expired in 8 Nov 2015.
> I came into Aust in 3 Aug, max stay for 3 months, hence, I need to leave by 3 Oct 2015. However, I would like to stay in Australia for another 3 months, but my ETA is expired on 8 Nov. I understand that ETA must be applied outside Australia.
> 
> Can I apply for ETA when I am in e.g. New Zealand on 3 Oct, however, my current ETA only expire on 8 Nov. Will this be alright? Will I be issued another ETA? My current ETA will be cancelled? What are the implication? I am not sure what to do.
> Hope to hear from you soon.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Spiedze -

DIBP puts a lot of weight on time spent physically together, and little weight on time having a long-distance relationship. Beyond that, would need to get a lot more info about your circumstances in a consultation to give you specific advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



spiedze said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question about registering relationship.
> 
> Me and my partner have been together for over two years, however, most of it was over long distance, so slightly concerned whether we have enough evidence.
> We plan to get married end of this year and then apply for an offshore partner visa for me.
> 
> My question is - would registering our relationship help with with our partner visa application, or is it not worth doing it, if we plan to get married very soon?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Congratulations!! That's great news - well done.

Best,

Mark



T&M said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Just to let you know my visa was approved today 09.21.2015
> i am so happy... thank you for all your supports and advice.. can't wait for the next stage.. thank you mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tashka -

Thanks for the note. There is no way to change the characteristics of a visa once it is granted, however if you are unable to travel to Australia by the must-enter-by date, you could appeal to the office that granted your visa to nominate a new date you could enter by, and ask them to grant you a waiver and not cancel the visa due to not meeting the must-enter-by date. 
If you do get permission, make sure you get it in writing as that waiver letter will need to be presented at the airport when you travel to avoid the visa being deemed invalid due to breach.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tashka said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> So, I got my 189 visa through today, which is the best news.  However, it came with some not so great news.
> 
> I have to activate it by October the 10th 2015 which is going to be near impossible to achieve. I don't really have the money or time (I have to go to work offshore on the 7th of Oct and have a wedding on the 1st, and my partner is offshore himself till next week!) for a last minute flight out for my partner and myself.
> 
> I'm trying to get in contact with my case officer,but I'm worried that could take a couple weeks. If I did get in contact with them is this something that can even be extended? I was under the impression you usually got three months of the grant date to enter the country not less than three weeks.
> 
> I'm trying to think of other solutions. Would visiting the Aussy embassy in the UK count as entering Australian soil?
> 
> Thanks for you help,
> 
> Tashka


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi jetstar1 -

Wish I could help, but I don't have any info on trends or patterns re: accountants vs auditors.

Best,

Mark



jetstar1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Following by the trend, does NSW generally give out more sponsorship/higher quotas to accountants compared to auditors?
> 
> I have already submitted NSW 190 EOI for accountant at 70 points but considering to get another assessment done for external auditor to lodge an extra EOI with same points.
> 
> Would opening my chances to auditor on top of accountant possibly lead to higher prospect of getting the sponsorship? I'm just not sure whether taking this option is worthwhile as I would be spending extra money to get the assessment done or if just sticking with the accountant option alone with 70 points would be enough...
> 
> I am aware that it all comes down to a decision I need to make, but I would appreciate to hear what your suggestions are.
> 
> Thanks alot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tankit -

Thanks for the note. Would need to get much more info about you at a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case. At this point you may want to wait and let DIBP make the next move - if they have negative information on you re: employment, they generally have to send you a natural justice letter and give you an opportunity to comment and provide additional evidence related to their concerns. Happy to assist further at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tankit said:


> Thanx Mark..
> 
> Mark My agent is saying me now they will physically visit at my work place to verify my work experience. As per him if they have any doubt they should send me invitation to comment but till time i have not received any communication from dibp.
> But it is more than 1 month now on one visited at my work place.
> 
> I have applied under 489 family sponsored sub class. I think they give less priority to 489 family sponsored applicants is it right..
> 
> I want your opinion what should i do now. wait is killing me.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Summi -

I'd be patient - 189/190 visas are routinely taking 6-9 months to process, and can be delayed by overseas security checks, etc.

Best,

Mark



summi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Good Day
> 
> I have heard from many people about your advises and suggestions you provide.
> 
> I would like to take few minutes from your hectic schedule.
> 
> Below are my details for query,
> 
> Date Applied : 11th March 2015 (189 SI) as Software Engineer 261313
> Documents uploaded: Frontloaded including medicals and PCC (me & my wife's) (except form 80)
> Employment verification: 27th July
> Called DIBP: 4th Sept to check application status
> Application Status in Immi account : "Application Received" since application lodged date
> Till date i received only a generic mail (same day of calling).
> 
> Can you please tell me what should i do? Should i call/mail them again to know application status or i should wait? When can i expect the outcome of my application? Any other suggestion for me?
> 
> Sorry..If i used any wrong or inappropriate word.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Best Regards,
> Sumit


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

Happy to help - unless you have convictions in a country, you only need to provide a PCC if you have been in that country for a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years (travel time before you turned 16 years old does not count).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Hi Mark!!
> 
> A quick query again and request your reply please
> 
> I live in India and have applied for Visa subclass 190
> 
> I started travelling to United States since last year for official reasons and have stayed there for about 6 months in the last 2 years in a total of 3 visits.. Will I need a PCC(Police Clearance Certificate) from USA.. I tried searching on the immigration website but I am not too clear about this
> Request clarity on this from your side
> 
> Thanks
> hopeforoz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enelyx -

Thanks for the question. No good way for me to assess your evidence without seeing it - just too many things in there that could push things one way or another. If your 457 is refused, that would not cause your visitor visa to be cancelled.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enelyx said:


> Hello Mark.
> 
> Took awhile for me to get back - thank you for your quick assessment!
> 
> Just two more question:
> - at surface glance of our evidences, in your opinion, would it be worth giving it more time? (when our joint bank accounts, insurances are 6+months old, continuous travels) My partner's company has already started the process.
> - i realized that my tourist visa is still valid. will this be cancelled if my 457 defacto application is refused?
> 
> Should there be any difficulty that require a more indepth assessment, I will be in touch with you via the channels available.
> 
> Thank you so much Mark! All the best to you.


----------



## toris7351

--deleted content--


----------



## DoctorSA

*Police clearance*

Hi Mark

We were invited to apply for 189 visa and have submitted application. We are waiting for it to be assigned to a case officer. When should we go and do our police clearances?

Thank you!


----------



## tankit

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tankit -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Would need to get much more info about you at a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case. At this point you may want to wait and let DIBP make the next move - if they have negative information on you re: employment, they generally have to send you a natural justice letter and give you an opportunity to comment and provide additional evidence related to their concerns. Happy to assist further at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark 
Thanx for your quick response. I am sorry to ask you so many question.

one more question is DiBP give less priority to 489 family sponsered applicants.

My question is how much time DIBP take time to give grant after employment verification & i also submit all docs which CO request me to submit.

Thanx


----------



## guru_nan

Hi Mark,

I got a PR visa as the de facto partner of a 189 applicant. I have been here for 4 years now i.e. meet the duration criteria to apply for the citizenship. But my partner and I are no longer together having split up very recently. Will this have an impact on my citizenship application? Do we need to apply together like we did during our PR application or is this process completely independent now as we have individually got the PR and can apply independently of the relation and each other? Is there in an issue to proceed, maybe as I still am technically on this PR visa as her dependent?

Thanks,

Guru


----------



## frankiefrankies

Hi Mark,

My 19 year old sister wants to come to Australia for 12 months on a WHV 462 from the USA. We are all good with all the aspects of the application, but what is worrying me is that she won't quite have the $5,000 required. 

Will she actually have to meet the full amount if she won't have to worry about food or accommodation as she will be staying with my partner and I? She will be looking for work while here, but she won't be under any major pressure as we will cover her.

Do you think this might hold her back from being able to apply even if she won't have to worry about expenses?

Appreciate any advice,

thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Toris7351 -

I don't expect that DIBP will change partner visa application fees until January at the earliest, but that's only a guess. Normally fees only change in July or sometimes in January.

Re: the 12 months, DIBP considers the 12 months immediately prior to your application date, however this requirement is waived if you register your de facto relationship in the Australian state you live in. However you still have to provide evidence of a genuine relationship.

Re: evidence, would have to see it at a consultation in order to give you any opinion or suggestions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



toris7351 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your intelligence to help people.
> 
> The document preparation for 820 is taking so longer than I thought. I am aiming to submit the required list during middle of Oct(Or at least early Oct/End of September)
> 
> Is there any news that gov will increase charge in a month?
> 
> Also for 12 months requirement for de facto, is immi only looking at the relationship history 12 months prior to lodgement?
> 
> Due to my previous temporary visas only allowed me to stay in oz during certain time amount, I had accumulated "8 month-temporary" long-distance relationship in the most recent 12 months.
> 
> I attained the cert. of registered relationship and I do reckon that the 12-months requirement will be waived. I can prove that was temporary by contact/witness form/trip stamps(+we lived together 1 year during 2013/2014) but still I do concern if my 8 months long distance relationship period will affect negatively.
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DoctorSA -

As the 189 visa is typically processed in 6-9 months and police certificates are good for 12 months, generally any time after lodging (or immediately before) is fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DoctorSA said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> We were invited to apply for 189 visa and have submitted application. We are waiting for it to be assigned to a case officer. When should we go and do our police clearances?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tankit -

No good way to predict - could be a matter of weeks, could be a matter of months. DIBP puts no time limits on itself. Family sponsored 489's have a very low quota of invitations available each month, however once you have an invitation and lodge the application, it should be processed within 6-12 months - at least that's the typical time for one of these.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tankit said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanx for your quick response. I am sorry to ask you so many question.
> 
> one more question is DiBP give less priority to 489 family sponsered applicants.
> 
> My question is how much time DIBP take time to give grant after employment verification & i also submit all docs which CO request me to submit.
> 
> Thanx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Guru-Nan -

No problem or limitation on you due to the relationship breakup - once you become a permanent resident, your visa is no longer dependent on the relationship remaining in place. The breakup should have no impact on your citizenship application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



guru_nan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I got a PR visa as the de facto partner of a 189 applicant. I have been here for 4 years now i.e. meet the duration criteria to apply for the citizenship. But my partner and I are no longer together having split up very recently. Will this have an impact on my citizenship application? Do we need to apply together like we did during our PR application or is this process completely independent now as we have individually got the PR and can apply independently of the relation and each other? Is there in an issue to proceed, maybe as I still am technically on this PR visa as her dependent?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Guru


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Frankiefrankies -

Thanks for the note. Since evidence of $5000 is part of the visa application, it may be possible for you to provide a support letter pledging your funds to be available to her, even in the form of available credit on your credit card, etc. It would be up to DIBP as to whether to accept this pledge of funds, but it's one way to address the issue in addition to whatever direct funds she has that she can show evidence of.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



frankiefrankies said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My 19 year old sister wants to come to Australia for 12 months on a WHV 462 from the USA. We are all good with all the aspects of the application, but what is worrying me is that she won't quite have the $5,000 required.
> 
> Will she actually have to meet the full amount if she won't have to worry about food or accommodation as she will be staying with my partner and I? She will be looking for work while here, but she won't be under any major pressure as we will cover her.
> 
> Do you think this might hold her back from being able to apply even if she won't have to worry about expenses?
> 
> Appreciate any advice,
> 
> thanks.


----------



## seekingpr

Hi Mark,
Greetings! I got my PR (Sub Class 189)on 23rd May 2014.I entered australia on 457 on 27th April 2013.I am still in Australia.However, i wish to go overseas to be with my family.I could remain overseas for longer duration (more than 12 months).I am aware that there is requirement to live in Australia after getting PR for 2 years to be eligible for RRV.Also, i need to spend 4 years in Australia to get my citizenship.

My queries:
- If i go overseas for more than 12 months after completing 2 years in Australia ( say on Aug 2015).What rule will apply regarding my eligibility for citizenship in Australia.Basically, i wish to know how i can be with my family overseas for 12-15 months and still be egligible for my citizenship and i will need to do?

Thanks


----------



## hopeforoz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hopeforoz -
> 
> Happy to help - unless you have convictions in a country, you only need to provide a PCC if you have been in that country for a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years (travel time before you turned 16 years old does not count).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks so much Mark!!!!!!. Your reply helps a great deal

Really appreciate that
Thanks


----------



## hopeforoz

hopeforoz said:


> Thanks so much Mark!!!!!!. Your reply helps a great deal
> 
> Really appreciate that
> Thanks


I was looking at this link where I am supposed to attach all documents and that is what which is confusing

evidence

This also says that PCC is required if spent 90 days or more in a country and that was making me damn confused

Thanks


----------



## Sean123

Hi Mark,

My partner and I have applied for the 189 visa together with her as the primary and me as the dependent (secondary applicant). We wanted to know about the grant process and whether we would get one grant letter with both our names with specific mention of her as primary and me as secondary or would we get individual grant letters that can be used independently of each other? i.e. will my PR visa as a secondary applicant always be dependent on my partner?
Also I know that getting the visa label stamped is not necessary but can I as the secondary applicant get it done on my passport too once we get the PR visa?


----------



## richagrovergandhi

Hi Mark,

How are you?

Wanted to request your thoughts on my current situation -

- We (me and my husband) had applied for South Australia 489 visa and got a positive response.
- Simultaneously, we have also applied for NSW 190, but are awaiting their response.
- We are more keen on 190 visa, since it is a permanent residency visa. But wanted to know should we consider 489 or not? As I understand, there are very limited benefits in 489 (e.g. no medicare, etc) which you get as part of 190, and you end up spending a lot of money if you go on the 489 visa.

My occupation is HR Adviser and is available on the CSOL. By when do you think NSW would respond to us (applied on 7th Aug 2015, through stream 2 - occupation on CSOL)? And should we wait for their response? We have to respond to SA on the 489 visa latest by 1st week of Oct. My points are 75 in total (70+5).

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best Regards,
Richa


----------



## nimbuz

Hi Mark,

For ACS assessment, one of the companies I worked for some 8 years back does not exist anymore. I can get statutory declaration from colleagues but I don't have much besides that - no payslips, no employer reference (since it doesn't exist now), bank account I'm not sure I can dig so old. 

Will ACS accept statutory declaration only? 
Is there any other supporting document I can provide with it?

Thanks


----------



## seekingpr

Hi Mark,
Greetings! I got my PR (Sub Class 189)on 23rd May 2014.I entered australia on 457 on 27th April 2013.I am still in Australia.However, i wish to go overseas to be with my family.I could remain overseas for longer duration (more than 12 months).I am aware that there is requirement to live in Australia after getting PR for 2 years to be eligible for RRV.Also, i need to spend 4 years in Australia to get my citizenship.

My queries:
- If i go overseas for more than 12 months after completing 2 years in Australia ( say on Aug 2015).What rule will apply regarding my eligibility for citizenship in Australia.Basically, i wish to know how i can be with my family overseas for 12-15 months and still be eligible for my citizenship and i will need to do?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seekingpr -

Thanks for the note. Once your initial PR 5 year period is over, you can apply for a Resident Return Visa if you have not yet become a citizen. To get a 5-year RRV you need to have spent a total of 24 months in Australia during the 5 year period before applying for the RRV.

Re: citizenship, you can check the specific residency requirements on the DIBP website - essentially you need to have spent 4 years in Australia, the last of the 4 as a permanent resident. You must not have been outside Australia more than 365 days during the 4 years, and not outside Australia more than 90 days in the 12 months (last of the 4 years) prior to application. The 4 year period is calculated looking back 4 years from the date you apply for citizenship. So a long trip outside Australia is fine as long as you spend enough time in Australia to meet the RRV or citizenship requirements depending on the route you take.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> Hi Mark,
> Greetings! I got my PR (Sub Class 189)on 23rd May 2014.I entered australia on 457 on 27th April 2013.I am still in Australia.However, i wish to go overseas to be with my family.I could remain overseas for longer duration (more than 12 months).I am aware that there is requirement to live in Australia after getting PR for 2 years to be eligible for RRV.Also, i need to spend 4 years in Australia to get my citizenship.
> 
> My queries:
> - If i go overseas for more than 12 months after completing 2 years in Australia ( say on Aug 2015).What rule will apply regarding my eligibility for citizenship in Australia.Basically, i wish to know how i can be with my family overseas for 12-15 months and still be egligible for my citizenship and i will need to do?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sean123 -

Thanks for the note. Once granted, you will get separate grant letters - there are no longer stamps or labels available for passports - its all electronic. Also, after your visa is granted, the relationship plays no factor in your visa - if the relationship ends after the visa is granted, it makes absolutely no difference to your visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sean123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I have applied for the 189 visa together with her as the primary and me as the dependent (secondary applicant). We wanted to know about the grant process and whether we would get one grant letter with both our names with specific mention of her as primary and me as secondary or would we get individual grant letters that can be used independently of each other? i.e. will my PR visa as a secondary applicant always be dependent on my partner?
> Also I know that getting the visa label stamped is not necessary but can I as the secondary applicant get it done on my passport too once we get the PR visa?


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

May be this can be a stupid questions. But we (people who applied partner visa 309 from Sri Lanka) started to worry. After the financial year starts this year, seems like there are no visa grants from the SL Australian high commission. Before the financial year people got their visa within about 9 months. But for the last 3 months we didn't hear any visa grants from the SL.. 

Can there be a reason for that? 
Thanks in advance.

Regards
Dhanu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RIcha -

No good way to predict NSW response times - I think you have the facts well understood - the 190 is a far preferable visa in many people's views. Not possible for me to advise on how long you should wait for the 190 vs 489 - a personal choice - you may want to investigate if you decline the 489 invitation whether it will be possible to get another one later if necessary - in some cases, states will not consider a person twice for invitation for a state sponsored visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



richagrovergandhi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> How are you?
> 
> Wanted to request your thoughts on my current situation -
> 
> - We (me and my husband) had applied for South Australia 489 visa and got a positive response.
> - Simultaneously, we have also applied for NSW 190, but are awaiting their response.
> - We are more keen on 190 visa, since it is a permanent residency visa. But wanted to know should we consider 489 or not? As I understand, there are very limited benefits in 489 (e.g. no medicare, etc) which you get as part of 190, and you end up spending a lot of money if you go on the 489 visa.
> 
> My occupation is HR Adviser and is available on the CSOL. By when do you think NSW would respond to us (applied on 7th Aug 2015, through stream 2 - occupation on CSOL)? And should we wait for their response? We have to respond to SA on the 489 visa latest by 1st week of Oct. My points are 75 in total (70+5).
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help!
> 
> Best Regards,
> Richa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nimbuz -

They may - this sort of thing is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. However, if you were going to claim that work for points, DIBP may not accept without some evidence of payment. ACS rules and DIBP rules are completely independent of each other, so must consider both.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nimbuz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> For ACS assessment, one of the companies I worked for some 8 years back does not exist anymore. I can get statutory declaration from colleagues but I don't have much besides that - no payslips, no employer reference (since it doesn't exist now), bank account I'm not sure I can dig so old.
> 
> Will ACS accept statutory declaration only?
> Is there any other supporting document I can provide with it?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhanu -

Thanks for the note. No good way to predict what's going on, but they must process visa applications eventually. They have no time limits on themselves, so unfortunately not a lot of choice but to wait.

Best,

Mark



Dhanu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> May be this can be a stupid questions. But we (people who applied partner visa 309 from Sri Lanka) started to worry. After the financial year starts this year, seems like there are no visa grants from the SL Australian high commission. Before the financial year people got their visa within about 9 months. But for the last 3 months we didn't hear any visa grants from the SL..
> 
> Can there be a reason for that?
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Regards
> Dhanu


----------



## Dhanu

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dhanu -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No good way to predict what's going on, but they must process visa applications eventually. They have no time limits on themselves, so unfortunately not a lot of choice but to wait.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Thanks for the reply Mark

Regards
Dhanu


----------



## Claire100

*820 evidence*

Hello Mark

Quick questions with regards to a visa 820 application:

We have just been granted our PMV 300 visa recently and are doing some long-term planning to prepare for our coming 820 application.

1. Will an active foreign joint account carry weight in terms of financial evidence, or will we need to maintain an active Australian joint account? He won't be moving to Australia until early next year.

2. As far as I am aware, the 820 visa is an onshore visa. 
We are exploring the possibilities of a Bridging visa B for him if we were to live offshore for a few months. Will living offshore be a negative impact on us during the application of the permanent visa 801 after 2 years?
Or is it possible to apply for the 820 visa from offshore so that we will be offshore when it is granted?

Appreciate your help!

Claire100


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Claire100 -

Re: joint bank acct, as long as it has both names on it and dates, would be helpful to your case whether offshore or Australian bank acct.

Re: lodging, 820 must be lodged when you are onshore. After that, no problem with a trip of a few months - the applicant would need a BV-B for that as you pointed out.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Claire100 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Quick questions with regards to a visa 820 application:
> 
> We have just been granted our PMV 300 visa recently and are doing some long-term planning to prepare for our coming 820 application.
> 
> 1. Will an active foreign joint account carry weight in terms of financial evidence, or will we need to maintain an active Australian joint account? He won't be moving to Australia until early next year.
> 
> 2. As far as I am aware, the 820 visa is an onshore visa.
> We are exploring the possibilities of a Bridging visa B for him if we were to live offshore for a few months. Will living offshore be a negative impact on us during the application of the permanent visa 801 after 2 years?
> Or is it possible to apply for the 820 visa from offshore so that we will be offshore when it is granted?
> 
> Appreciate your help!
> 
> Claire100


----------



## Dedicated10

Hi mark , 
My 801 eligibility date is 15 October 2015 , just wanted to ask that I am still waiting for my AFP and compiling few documents so if I get bit late to apply 801 like a month ,would that be ok ? Or is it too late ? Is there is a deadline to apply 801 ?
I applied 820 on 15 October 2013


----------



## SMCH

Hi Mark, i am on bridging visa A at the moment my student visa expired 1st of July 2015. Due to my job I would like to defer my course to next year ? 
School told me today I will need to withdraw my course and they will cancel my COE. Just wondering if it will affect my bridging visa ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dedicated10 -

Normally not an issue if you apply several weeks after you are eligible - there is no strict deadline enforced by DIBP, but once you get a letter from DIBP it may have a deadline in it - normally that doesn't happen until some time after the eligibility date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dedicated10 said:


> Hi mark ,
> My 801 eligibility date is 15 October 2015 , just wanted to ask that I am still waiting for my AFP and compiling few documents so if I get bit late to apply 801 like a month ,would that be ok ? Or is it too late ? Is there is a deadline to apply 801 ?
> I applied 820 on 15 October 2013


----------



## seekingpr

Hi Mark,
Thank you for response. _"You must not have been outside Australia more than 365 days during the 4 years, and not outside Australia more than 90 days in the 12 months (last of the 4 years) prior to application. The 4 year period is calculated looking back 4 years from the date you apply for citizenship. "_

I am keen to know more about :
- What if i spend more than 365 days within 4 years before my application for citizenship?Will i need to spend again 4 years from the date when i again enter Australia after spending more than 365 days overseas?
- And What if i happen to spend more than 90 days overseas in the last year before i apply for citizenship?

I hope my query is clear and i have not created confusion for you 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Seekingpr -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Once your initial PR 5 year period is over, you can apply for a Resident Return Visa if you have not yet become a citizen. To get a 5-year RRV you need to have spent a total of 24 months in Australia during the 5 year period before applying for the RRV.
> 
> Re: citizenship, you can check the specific residency requirements on the DIBP website - essentially you need to have spent 4 years in Australia, the last of the 4 as a permanent resident. You must not have been outside Australia more than 365 days during the 4 years, and not outside Australia more than 90 days in the 12 months (last of the 4 years) prior to application. The 4 year period is calculated looking back 4 years from the date you apply for citizenship. So a long trip outside Australia is fine as long as you spend enough time in Australia to meet the RRV or citizenship requirements depending on the route you take.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMCH -

Assuming you are on a bridging visa A that was granted as the result of a *non-student* visa application (ie, a partner visa, skilled visa, etc), and assuming your BV-A has no study limitation, then what happens with the COE or course would generally not have any impact on your BV-A.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMCH said:


> Hi Mark, i am on bridging visa A at the moment my student visa expired 1st of July 2015. Due to my job I would like to defer my course to next year ?
> School told me today I will need to withdraw my course and they will cancel my COE. Just wondering if it will affect my bridging visa ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seekingpr -

Thanks - your query is very clear (actually, it was purple on my screen!). No, you don't have to wait another 4 years, but you may have to wait a while until the 4-year lookback window works for you date-wise. It's a sliding window always looking back 4 years from whatever date you apply for citizenship, so you just have to do the math from whatever date you intend to apply and see how the number of days in/out of Australia works out. Same with 1-year 90 day limit - from any prospective date you wish to apply for citizenship, look back 1 year and check that you've been gone no more than 90 days, and look back 4 years and check that you've been gone no more than 365 days. That being said, make sure to read the DIBP citizenship website and requirements very carefully as this is only one part of the citizenship requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for response. _"You must not have been outside Australia more than 365 days during the 4 years, and not outside Australia more than 90 days in the 12 months (last of the 4 years) prior to application. The 4 year period is calculated looking back 4 years from the date you apply for citizenship. "_
> 
> I am keen to know more about :
> - What if i spend more than 365 days within 4 years before my application for citizenship?Will i need to spend again 4 years from the date when i again enter Australia after spending more than 365 days overseas?
> - And What if i happen to spend more than 90 days overseas in the last year before i apply for citizenship?
> 
> I hope my query is clear and i have not created confusion for you


----------



## blubro

Hi Mark,

I got my PR visa, but there is an issue in my name mentioned in visa grant and also VEVO.

My name as per passport is :
Surname : XXX YYY ZZZ (Three words)
Given name: AAA

But, Visa grant name is as given below:

Given name: AAA
Family Name: XXX

So other two words in the visa grant letter YYY and ZZZ is missing. 
Can you please tell me if this is an issue. If yes how do I get my full name updated in Visa? 
Should I use Form 424c ?

Please advice. Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Blubro -

I would get it fixed - you'll need to contact DIBP directly to do this - I'd start with the office that granted your PR visa and work from there. However whenever the passport name doesn't match the visa grant letter name, it's always best to get the visa fixed to reflect the actual name per the passport.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



blubro said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I got my PR visa, but there is an issue in my name mentioned in visa grant and also VEVO.
> 
> My name as per passport is :
> Surname : XXX YYY ZZZ (Three words)
> Given name: AAA
> 
> But, Visa grant name is as given below:
> 
> Given name: AAA
> Family Name: XXX
> 
> So other two words in the visa grant letter YYY and ZZZ is missing.
> Can you please tell me if this is an issue. If yes how do I get my full name updated in Visa?
> Should I use Form 424c ?
> 
> Please advice. Thanks in advance.


----------



## Arabella

Do years on a WHV count towards citizenship out of interest? I know it says about temporary visas but I don't know if these are included or just things like temporary spouse visas.


----------



## Dedicated10

Thank you mark 
Regards


----------



## ranjithm1985

Hi Mark,

Please guide me. My Payslips for 1 company I worked have bank account number mentioned on it but I have always opted to receive my salary in cash , Now the Case officer has asked for Bank statement (Specifically mentioned), What can I do now?

Can I get a Salary certificate from the company saying I was paid in cash and my salary details and submit to CO with more Payslips? Should I get the corrected payslips ?

Note : I have already provided the tax statement though not tax deducted for me(form 16) and last 3 months payslip

Thank you.
-Ranjith


----------



## ayushan

hi mark,
please guide me.while completing eoi for 489 visa i came across one question that whether you would include any family members and will your partner accompain you in future application ; YES OR NO? what option i shall choose if my family members and spouse will be as non migrating dependents in my future visa application ?
please suggest
thanks 
ayushan.


----------



## SMCH

MarkNortham said:


> Hi SMCH - Assuming you are on a bridging visa A that was granted as the result of a non-student visa application (ie, a partner visa, skilled visa, etc), and assuming your BV-A has no study limitation, then what happens with the COE or course would generally not have any impact on your BV-A. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark,
Yes I applied my partner visa in June. My student visa has expired on 1 of July. So my bridging visa has kicked in already. 
Just wanna to make sure it won't affect my visa application at all.

Regards,


----------



## Manuvish

*ACS Skills Assessment - Work Experience*

Dear Mark,

I am applying for PR from within Australia. I have received the work recommendations from my employers in India as per the required format. As the original is in a soft copy format, when I go to a JP how will they be able to verify that the printout is an original copy? Do I need to login to my email in front of them or is there another way?

Thank you,
Best Regards


----------



## Kilmeny

*Evidence of Planned Activities for Visitor Visa Subclass 600*

I am currently in Australia on a visitor visa, subclass 600 for six months, and have now applied for an extension for six more months. Immigration has asked me for "evidence of planned activities", and a detailed response as to why I wish to remain in the country for the time.

What do I need to give them as "evidence"? I'm staying with friends who are supporting me completely, and we don't have any exact plans set in stone yet since I don't know if my visa will be extended. As well, travel plans we have are simple- road trips, seeing sights, etc...

What should I do?

Thanks


----------



## deepalivg

*Which type of application*

Hi,
I have started exploring the immigration options to Australia. While reading options, I got confused as to which option should we select if my husband is a banking professional with 13 years of experience?


----------



## diletta.laino

*309 Lodged - June 2015*



Dear Mark,

Hi, I am Diletta, Italian 28 y/o.
Me and my Aussie partner have lodged a complete ("Decision Ready") 309 Partner Visa from Auckland on 25 June 2015. Going through the website I read about processing times and priority processing system and noticed that in my case (Partner - Low risk - Outside AUS) the timeframe is of 5 months.

I know this could all vary depending on how they are processing the applications but it seems already a good news to me 

My New Zealander work visa expires on 22nd November 2015 so I will most likely need to extend it while/if I have to wait for AUS immigration approval of my partner visa.

What would the best way to contact DIBP? 
Would you suggest me to call and speak to them?

Regards.


----------



## AnnieTran

*Visa 820*

Hi Mark,
Do you have any recommendations on how to make a good Statutory declarations for Partner Visa 820?

Also, would it be better if I can get as many declarations as I can from family, friends etc.?

Thanks heaps,
Annie


----------



## sennithya

Hi Mark, 

My wife is the primary applicant and she carries 55 points without english points, is it mandatory to score some minimum points in IELTS or PTE? 

if yes what will be the minimum points, is these minimum points vary with the state for sponsorship. 

she is 30 years and having 8 years of software engineer experience. 

Thanks for your help.


----------



## Erikaa

Hi Mark,

I have another quick cheeky question for you

If applying for a 187 employer sponsored visa (direct stream) can an RPL substitute a skill assessment?

The anzsco occupation is Electronic equipment trades worker and the RPL is is certificate 4 in electronics and communications. 

Thank you so much!


----------



## Anna-lisa

*820/801 Visa*

Hi Mark!
My name is Anna and I have a few questions, I hope that you can help me!

I'm a French women, my husband is both Australian & Swedish and we live in Sweden. I arrived to Australia by myself a few weeks ago to visit my sister, with a 3-month Tourist Visa, and now my husband and I have decided we want to move here.

I decided to stay in Australia at my sister's place and start an application for the 820/801 visa, while my husband, still in Sweden, is taking care of canceling our apartment and closing our company. He should arrive around the end of the 3-month period of my Tourist visa.

1- My first question is, can I still apply to the partner visa 820/801 with my husband not yet here in Australia with me, or do I have to wait for him to come and join me here first? And can it create any complications if I apply before his arrival?

2- With consideration to the fact that my husband and I are physically away from each others at the moment but still are very much in love and in a relationship; my next question is, are these 3 months, that I am spending here in Australia until my husband arrives, considered as my husband and I "living separately and apart" and need to be declared as it in the form 47sp, section 59?

3- My sister has offered us a room in her apartment for as long as it takes for us to find our own place. It is the address that I am declaring as my current residency, however I do not know what address to declare for my husband, knowing that he already has cancelled our flat in Sweden, and that he will be joining me here soon!

4- And 1 last question, does my husband has to undergo a health examination as well?

Thank you very much in advance
Kind regards
Anna


----------



## artisaji

Hi Mark
I have applied for 489 family sponsored visa on 13th aug and uploaded all the docs including pcc, form 80 and meds were finalised on 2nd Sept. Can you please tell when can I receive a grant or get co assigned. 
Regards
Artisaji


----------



## JamesSultan

*ACS Skill Assessment - Current Employment End Date*

Good Day,
I have a small question regarding ACS Skill Assessment. While adding my current Employment Reference, ACS online application form is asking me to enter an End date of my current job (which is mandatory). My question is that i am currently working on this job and there is no end data. What should i put there? Ideally it should ask an End date of your current Job.
Note: My Employment reference letter doesn't states an end date, instead is states "Up To Present" to show that i am still working with them. Furthermore, there are dates of joining and the date of issue on the letter.
Thanks in advance for your help


----------



## fahad.d

*Overseas relevant work experience assessment query by E.A*

Hi Mark,

My question is in relation to assessment of skilled overseas employment.

-Can i get my overseas relevant skilled employment assessed by Engineers Australia if it is less than 3 years ?

-Suppose during my EOI period my experience passes the 3 year mark making me eligible for extra points, do i have to get my work experience assessed all over again by Engineers Australia?

The reason i am asking is because i need some amount of experience for S.S and secondly i want to save the time and effort when i have enough experience to claim points.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arabella -

Yes - any time in Australia on any visa counts, including time on bridging visas. However if you for any reason are in Australia without a visa (for example, if you overstay), then the 4-year clock for citizenship starts again and any time in Australia before the unlawful date cannot be used for the citizenship residency requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Arabella said:


> Do years on a WHV count towards citizenship out of interest? I know it says about temporary visas but I don't know if these are included or just things like temporary spouse visas.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ranjith -

Not possible for me to advise on documents I haven't seen, however generally speaking having alterations done to historical documents can lead to problems. You may want to consider including a letter explaining that for a particular period you were paid in cash, and include as much supporting documentation of every kind you can as evidence of that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ranjithm1985 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Please guide me. My Payslips for 1 company I worked have bank account number mentioned on it but I have always opted to receive my salary in cash , Now the Case officer has asked for Bank statement (Specifically mentioned), What can I do now?
> 
> Can I get a Salary certificate from the company saying I was paid in cash and my salary details and submit to CO with more Payslips? Should I get the corrected payslips ?
> 
> Note : I have already provided the tax statement though not tax deducted for me(form 16) and last 3 months payslip
> 
> Thank you.
> -Ranjith


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ayushan -

I'd say Yes to be safe, however the question does not restrict what you can do on a later visa application, and you are not required to abide by whatever answer you put on this question on the EOI.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ayushan said:


> hi mark,
> please guide me.while completing eoi for 489 visa i came across one question that whether you would include any family members and will your partner accompain you in future application ; YES OR NO? what option i shall choose if my family members and spouse will be as non migrating dependents in my future visa application ?
> please suggest
> thanks
> ayushan.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manuvish -

How "picky" a JP is can vary widely from one JP to the next. You may want to print out 2 copies, then see if the JP will accept one as the original. If not, you can try other JPs or other authorised persons to certify copies - I expect if you shop around enough, you'll find one who will certify the copy. Alternatively you could bring your laptop and try to show the original online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Manuvish said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am applying for PR from within Australia. I have received the work recommendations from my employers in India as per the required format. As the original is in a soft copy format, when I go to a JP how will they be able to verify that the printout is an original copy? Do I need to login to my email in front of them or is there another way?
> 
> Thank you,
> Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kilmeny -

I'd put together as detailed an itinerary as you can with specific places linked to specific months, etc - exact dates are not that important, but they need to get the idea that you have specific plans in mind rather than just wanting to hang out here longer. Re: evidence, travel reservations for tours, trips, hotels, etc is good for these sorts of things. Re: friends, evidence of support is good and should be included even if statements of those who are providing financial support, etc. However I expect the main focus of the case officer is on specific reasons why you want to remain in Australia - they're looking for details and specific plans.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kilmeny said:


> I am currently in Australia on a visitor visa, subclass 600 for six months, and have now applied for an extension for six more months. Immigration has asked me for "evidence of planned activities", and a detailed response as to why I wish to remain in the country for the time.
> 
> What do I need to give them as "evidence"? I'm staying with friends who are supporting me completely, and we don't have any exact plans set in stone yet since I don't know if my visa will be extended. As well, travel plans we have are simple- road trips, seeing sights, etc...
> 
> What should I do?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deepalivg -

I'd look into skilled visas (subclass 189, 489, 190) and employer sponsored visas (subclass 456, 186, 187). You may want to consider booking a consultation with a registered migration agent who can determine best visa options for him based on experience, qualifications, etc - can be a time saver and get to the heart of what options there may be for him.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



deepalivg said:


> Hi,
> I have started exploring the immigration options to Australia. While reading options, I got confused as to which option should we select if my husband is a banking professional with 13 years of experience?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Diletta -

Re: partner visa processing times, I would expect on 6-12 months at least - many are taking 12-18 months, but hopefully you are on the low end of those ranges.

Not sure about details of your work visa - best to contact DIBP directly if you have a specific question about your current visa, expiration, etc. I'd call them on 131 881 (and be ready for 1 hour on hold).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



diletta.laino said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hi, I am Diletta, Italian 28 y/o.
> Me and my Aussie partner have lodged a complete ("Decision Ready") 309 Partner Visa from Auckland on 25 June 2015. Going through the website I read about processing times and priority processing system and noticed that in my case (Partner - Low risk - Outside AUS) the timeframe is of 5 months.
> 
> I know this could all vary depending on how they are processing the applications but it seems already a good news to me
> 
> My New Zealander work visa expires on 22nd November 2015 so I will most likely need to extend it while/if I have to wait for AUS immigration approval of my partner visa.
> 
> What would the best way to contact DIBP?
> Would you suggest me to call and speak to them?
> 
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Annie -

Re: sponsor and applicant relationship statements, I would not put these on stat dec forms, and instead write statements that tell the story of your relationship including the high points, important dates, etc. Re: witness statements from others, the more the better. We often recommend between 6 and 10 for a partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AnnieTran said:


> Hi Mark,
> Do you have any recommendations on how to make a good Statutory declarations for Partner Visa 820?
> 
> Also, would it be better if I can get as many declarations as I can from family, friends etc.?
> 
> Thanks heaps,
> Annie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sennithya -

Thanks for the note. 55 points is minimum for a state sponsored skilled visa (subclass 190) - the state adds the 5 points upon successful sponsorship to get you to the pass mark of 60 points. For a skilled visa, IELTS (or equivalent) of minimum 6 on each band is required for DIBP. Sometimes state sponsorship authorities or skills assessor increase that requirement based on your state and nominated occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sennithya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife is the primary applicant and she carries 55 points without english points, is it mandatory to score some minimum points in IELTS or PTE?
> 
> if yes what will be the minimum points, is these minimum points vary with the state for sponsorship.
> 
> she is 30 years and having 8 years of software engineer experience.
> 
> Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Erikaa -

First is important to see if your occupation requires a skills assessment for 187 direct entry. If so, you would need to refer to the specific requirements of the skills assessor re: qualifications and any other minimum requirements of that assessor. There is no blanket rule that allows any particular qualification to be substituted for a skills assessment if a skills assessment is required for a particular visa/occupation. Check the assessor - all are different.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Erikaa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have another quick cheeky question for you
> 
> If applying for a 187 employer sponsored visa (direct stream) can an RPL substitute a skill assessment?
> 
> The anzsco occupation is Electronic equipment trades worker and the RPL is is certificate 4 in electronics and communications.
> 
> Thank you so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anna -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on your upcoming move to Australia!

Yes, you can apply for the visa without your husband being in Australia at the time of application. A few months apart while he takes care of things in Sweden should not be a problem - you could mention that in the "time apart" question, but I'd certainly say he was there only to wrap up your affairs and move your household, etc.

Re: husband's address, wherever you plan to live together in Australia is what I'd put - if you will be staying with your relative together for a while after he gets back until you find a place of your own, no problem putting your relative's address - you can always update it later with Form 929 if your address changes after you lodge the visa.

No health exam needed for Australian citizen or permanent resident sponsors for partner visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Anna-lisa said:


> Hi Mark!
> My name is Anna and I have a few questions, I hope that you can help me!
> 
> I'm a French women, my husband is both Australian & Swedish and we live in Sweden. I arrived to Australia by myself a few weeks ago to visit my sister, with a 3-month Tourist Visa, and now my husband and I have decided we want to move here.
> 
> I decided to stay in Australia at my sister's place and start an application for the 820/801 visa, while my husband, still in Sweden, is taking care of canceling our apartment and closing our company. He should arrive around the end of the 3-month period of my Tourist visa.
> 
> 1- My first question is, can I still apply to the partner visa 820/801 with my husband not yet here in Australia with me, or do I have to wait for him to come and join me here first? And can it create any complications if I apply before his arrival?
> 
> 2- With consideration to the fact that my husband and I are physically away from each others at the moment but still are very much in love and in a relationship; my next question is, are these 3 months, that I am spending here in Australia until my husband arrives, considered as my husband and I "living separately and apart" and need to be declared as it in the form 47sp, section 59?
> 
> 3- My sister has offered us a room in her apartment for as long as it takes for us to find our own place. It is the address that I am declaring as my current residency, however I do not know what address to declare for my husband, knowing that he already has cancelled our flat in Sweden, and that he will be joining me here soon!
> 
> 4- And 1 last question, does my husband has to undergo a health examination as well?
> 
> Thank you very much in advance
> Kind regards
> Anna


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Artisajii -

No way to predict - DIBP is unpredictable when it comes to processing times. With luck, skilled visas are processed in 6-9 months from application date, but there are all kinds of things that can result in longer (or sometimes shorter) processing times.

Best,

Mark



artisaji said:


> Hi Mark
> I have applied for 489 family sponsored visa on 13th aug and uploaded all the docs including pcc, form 80 and meds were finalised on 2nd Sept. Can you please tell when can I receive a grant or get co assigned.
> Regards
> Artisaji


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James -

They ask for this as the report you'll get in a few months will need to show some sort of a through date. I'd put the day you are applying for the skills assessment - if it won't take that date, try 1 day before.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JamesSultan said:


> Good Day,
> I have a small question regarding ACS Skill Assessment. While adding my current Employment Reference, ACS online application form is asking me to enter an End date of my current job (which is mandatory). My question is that i am currently working on this job and there is no end data. What should i put there? Ideally it should ask an End date of your current Job.
> Note: My Employment reference letter doesn't states an end date, instead is states "Up To Present" to show that i am still working with them. Furthermore, there are dates of joining and the date of issue on the letter.
> Thanks in advance for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fahad.d -

Thanks for the note. Yes youc an get overseas relevant experience assessed by EA. If you continue in your job past your assessed date by EA, and do not change to another position at that employer, then usually a letter from the employer at the time you apply for the visa, etc showing that you remained in the same job at the same employer that had already been assessed is satisfactory. Also you'll need to provide payslips or other evidence of payment for all job periods claimed for points, so that's another way they verify this. Also note that if you get more than 3 yrs, you may need to go into your EOI and update your work experience to show the additional time, in order to get your additional points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fahad.d said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My question is in relation to assessment of skilled overseas employment.
> 
> -Can i get my overseas relevant skilled employment assessed by Engineers Australia if it is less than 3 years ?
> 
> -Suppose during my EOI period my experience passes the 3 year mark making me eligible for extra points, do i have to get my work experience assessed all over again by Engineers Australia?
> 
> The reason i am asking is because i need some amount of experience for S.S and secondly i want to save the time and effort when i have enough experience to claim points.


----------



## ddjunior87

*got deported but no stamp.*

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Mark I got deported from Australia about 18 months ago. I'm am now applying for a defacto with my Australian gf. 
When I got deported I got no stamp on my passport and I got no documents. I'm just wondering where I stand by being deported
Many thanks 
Colum


----------



## fahad.d

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fahad.d -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Yes youc an get overseas relevant experience assessed by EA. If you continue in your job past your assessed date by EA, and do not change to another position at that employer, then usually a letter from the employer at the time you apply for the visa, etc showing that you remained in the same job at the same employer that had already been assessed is satisfactory. Also you'll need to provide payslips or other evidence of payment for all job periods claimed for points, so that's another way they verify this. Also note that if you get more than 3 yrs, you may need to go into your EOI and update your work experience to show the additional time, in order to get your additional points.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark that was really helpful


----------



## Mary_tm

Hello, Mark!

I'm writing in the hope that you can help me with some information/clarification.

Me and my boyfriend are very interested in moving to Australia. We are both 30 years old, with good English knowledge. I'm currently a freelance translator, and he works in the telecommunication industry. After reading the official information on the immigration site, we've decided that he would be the more suitable of us to be the main applicant. 
My only concern is that his background education does not entirely match the job he's doing now. More exactly, he holds a Bachelor's Degree in History and German Studies, but his working experience covers problem management and KPI & SLA management at a global telecommunications company, in German language projects (only the German the language aspect would be the common denominator). I don't exactly know whether the skill assessment would give us a positive feedback in respect to the studies recognition for the nominated job. I'm concerned that, because he is doing for a living something different than what he studied, our case would be disqualified.

I hope I gave you a clear picture of our situation, if not, I'll gladly offer you other specifics.

Many thanks in advance for your help and time!


----------



## Greenday

Hi Mark
Quick qn on ens 187
Nomination lodged - 28.04.2015
Visa lodged - 28.04.2015
Acknowledgement on visa - 29.04.2015
BVA given on 29.04.2015 (but not in effect as still on 457)
Medical reuested to be done on 24.06.2015
Medical submitted by esubmission 10.07.2015
Character clearance requested on 28.08.2015
Character clearance submitted online on 22.09.2015
Now still pending for grant
My concern is there is no CO allocated and the nomination has got no reply on approval. Is there likely to be hiccups in between or is it normal and that once the CO allocated will decide on both the nomination and the visa appl?
And now my company contract on site was cut and so i was made redundant. Apparently the company is willing to hold reporting to immi at the moment hoping not too long till visa is granted. 
Should i still wait or should i proceed to find new 457 sponsor and start all over?


----------



## sennithya

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sennithya -
> 
> Thanks for the note. 55 points is minimum for a state sponsored skilled visa (subclass 190) - the state adds the 5 points upon successful sponsorship to get you to the pass mark of 60 points. For a skilled visa, IELTS (or equivalent) of minimum 6 on each band is required for DIBP. Sometimes state sponsorship authorities or skills assessor increase that requirement based on your state and nominated occupation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark for your kind guidance


----------



## surrogate

hello Mark...new to this site ...just new to the thread... thinking to apply in the permanent migration thru CSOL ......and my occupation is HR adviser 223111...ve 8 years of experience.
while going thru the ANZSCO list, i found out i am eligible to apply for the visa sub class 190 and 489 in western Australia as the occupation is in WSMOL list as well....though the availability is limited ....i do ve points 70, what are the chances will i be through? 
And while filling form of the Vetacess and EOI, do I state the sub class visa is 190 and 489 both? 
or i need to state other sub classes? as there are too many sub classes and it confuses a lot
As i dont ve the Australian degree, neither ve a close relative or the job offer, do I ve the chances without additional points with 70 points to be thru in such limited availability?
Your answers to all my queries will b a boon to start the process...Thanking you!


----------



## Lovedimension

Hello! 

Thank you for everyone in this forum. It has been a great help.

My question is: Assurance of support has been removed from Partner Visas. What effect does it have on sponsors with low income. Can the family members still provide AoS even though it is not required anymore?


----------



## shayek412

Hi Mark,

I've been working in a software company as ICT/software sales executive. Now, I would like to apply for skill migration Sub489 (state sponsorship). You know, Sub 489 is a temporary visa and valid for 4 yrs. So, now my question, is it possible to get PR through Sub489? and what is the possibility to get such types of skill visa?

my details:
Job experience more then 3 yrs.
Age 32
IELTS: 7.0
Hon's & Master's in English
Married

Please also let me know, whether I am eligible to apply for skill migration.

Thanks


----------



## Sashamisha

Hi Mark, 
I am a United States citizen currently in Australia with visa sub 600 (12 month visitor visa), preparing to apply for visa 820 (onshore partner visa)

I have a question regarding "certified copies"...specifically certified copies of United States birth certificate. 
The copy I have already has a certification from a U.S. official on the top, saying "This is to certify that this is a true and correct copy of the certificate filed with the Vital Records Service, Georgia Department of Human Resources. This certified copy is issued under the authority of Chapter 31-10, Vital Records Code of Georgia." It is signed by a "State Vital Records Registrar and Custodian" and a County Custodian. 

According to the partner migration booklet, "certified copies are copies authorized, or stamped as being true copies of originals, by a person or agency recognized by the law of the country in which you currently reside". Do they mean where I am currently in the literal sense? Or my country of nationality?

Would this certified copy be valid for submission for visa Sub 820? Or does it need to be certified by an AUSTRALIAN authority? Thanks in advance!


----------



## guru_nan

Hi Mark,

My partner and I both are on a student visa and have applied for the 189 PR visa with her as the primary and me as the dependent. Our student visas end today and our bridging visas start tomorrow. Do we have to continue our OSHC and purchase it to extend for the duration of the bridging visa until a decision on our 189, or is it not needed now that we are no longer going to be on the student visa? Do we need some other insurance?
Also as applicants for the 189, we are eligible for an interim Medicare card but does getting a Medicare card, excuse us from extending our OSHC or other insurance if we need to do it?


----------



## pomwantingtomove

Hi Mark,

Hopefully a nice straight forward question - I've just received a positive skills assessment as a Social Worker, now I need to do my IELTS prior to the EOI. I can't seem to find out if I can do the General or need to do the Academic one? I won't be studying but will be working as a Social Worker (hopefully!)

Thank you, Michele.


----------



## kumar71279

*887 visa*

Hi Mark,
I wish to apply for 887 visa in Mid Nov this year. I am currently on 489 visa. 
My wife was the principal applicant in 489. My question is
1. Is there any additional document for this case when the principal applicant is switching?
2. can i apply for 887 immediately after I finish my two years period?

thanks in advance


----------



## john_brannan

*Skill and Bridging Visa*

Dear Mark,

I am currently an international student completing a Grad Dip in Education and I'm coming to the end of my course. My current student visa ends in March next year. However, I would like to remain in Australia and I intend to apply for a skilled visa upon graduating. My concern is the length of time it will take to go through, and whether I will be eligible to work as a teacher on a bridging visa. Do I have full work rights with this type of visa, or is there any other way to approach this?
Kind regards,
John


----------



## dieselclatter

Hi Mark- How are you? I have nothing but, extreme high regards for you for taking time and responding to all the questions posted by other members. 

Likewise, I have a question to ask you as well. I want to find if DIBP will undertake employment verification if we have NOT claimed points. 
We have filed for a visa by July mid. CO contacted us for form 1221 and CV. We have furnished the same and are waiting. In the meantime, I am checking with you if they would conduct employment verification?. This would help me to inform my HR so that they are better prepared to handle my case. 

Cheers,
Jay


----------



## Anna-lisa

Hi Mark!

Thank you for your quick response! it is of great help!
I have a couple of new questions as well!

1. On my passport next to my family name is written my maiden name followed by the mention "ép." that stands for spouse, then my husband's family name; it looks like as follows:`

Family name: "maiden name" ép. "spouse name"

I kept my maiden name after my marriage (Did not choose to take my husband name) and only my passport shows both names separated by "ép."
In the form 47SP it is asked from me to write my name as showed on my passport; I'm not sure if I should write only mine or both my family name followed by my husband's; and if I should mention the "ép." or not.

2. In both the forms 40SP and 47SP it is asked if my partner has sponsored someone before; is it meant to Australia, or to any other country? As my husband has one time indeed sponsored his previous australian partner to Sweden.

Thank you so much Mark!
Kind regards
Anna



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Anna -
> 
> Thanks for the note and congratulations on your upcoming move to Australia!
> 
> Yes, you can apply for the visa without your husband being in Australia at the time of application. A few months apart while he takes care of things in Sweden should not be a problem - you could mention that in the "time apart" question, but I'd certainly say he was there only to wrap up your affairs and move your household, etc.
> 
> Re: husband's address, wherever you plan to live together in Australia is what I'd put - if you will be staying with your relative together for a while after he gets back until you find a place of your own, no problem putting your relative's address - you can always update it later with Form 929 if your address changes after you lodge the visa.
> 
> No health exam needed for Australian citizen or permanent resident sponsors for partner visas.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## shermil

Hi Mark,

Suppose I have following things.

Qualifications
BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying & Construction Management from a UK university. 
City & Guilds Advanced Diploma in construction (UK)
City & Guilds Diploma in construction (UK)

Experience
8 years as a "Civil Engineering Technician"

Nominated occupation
ANZSCO 312212: Civil Engineering Technician

My first question is, In sub class 189 visa, the DIBP official website indicates that, to get points for experience, it should be "in your nominated skilled occupation or a closely related skilled occupation", So, apparently I can get points for that. But under educational qualifications, they have not mentioned that my qualifications should be closely related to my nominated occupation or not. So, can I get 15 points for my BSc degree in QS & CM (which is not a closely related field for the nominated occupation) ?

second question is .. is skilled level 1 occupations get invitations with priority than skilled level 2 occupations from DIBP ?
For instance: will Quantity Surveyors with BSc degrees (ANZSCO 233213) get the invitation quickly (say 3 months), than a Civil Engineering Technician (ANZSCO 312212) (say 9 months) ?

Many Thanks


----------



## danone

*streamline visa*

Hi Mark,

My brother from Level3 countries and he would like to study bachelor degree in a university, his English level is beginner he would like to apply for Streamline Visa. I could not find answers to my questions I am an Australian citizen I would like to be a sponsor for him. My salary is $10K/Month due to setting up my second company I am using all my money I have to this company however I stopped doing this now. He is going to study bachelor degree which is $24000 annual Tuition fee. $14000 first year English course I think 1 year English course, 1 year foundation and 3 years for bachelor degree which becomes 5 years visa he needs to get, my questions are

1) How much money roughly i have to put into account i can transfer loan from my bank if it's big amount of money.

2) Do you recommend that i wait lets say 6 months and my individual account sum will be $50k. due to my salary and then wait 6 month for applying svp visa.

3) Do you recommend for me to put all my money at once. e.g $50k this month and apply next month, if they ask for evidence e.g statements will shows i put money last month.

4) If immigration wants me to send them bank statement how many months back do i need to send them ?

3) My brother starts "A" university can he change to "B" university or any Streamline visa provider from the streamline provider list but different field if he doesn't like current course

Thank you.
Theodore


----------



## pauelle

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing well. I'm Paula from the Philippines but currently here in Australia on BVA and I'm applying for Partner 820 visa which I lodged online last May. I am not sure if I should wait for a case officer to contact me and tell me when I should have my medical/health examination. In the Immiaccount online, I saw that my type of visa needs a health examination and I fill up the form and they gave me this Hap ID already. I also called the immigration office to ask but they told me to wait for the case officer to tell me what next to do, though it's been like 5 months and haven't heard anything from them. 

Also I have just started working here in Australia and I'm not sure if I should call them about this change of circumstance or if there's a form that I should fill up and submit. Also, my mum and sister just got their visa to migrate to America and what I put it last May in my application form is that they are in the Philippines. Should I also report this to the immigration office???

I would also want to apply for BVB so I can travel and visit my mum and hopefully see my mum's wedding in the USA. I am not sure if you need to have an emergency to apply for BVB like what they said in other articles online. I just want to be able to travel while waiting for my 820 visa. Like maybe on November...Though I would also want to travel like next year too to visit my mum or go back in the Philippines or go with my partner in one of his business trips. Will they automatically give a multiple entry BVB??? I am quite worried they won't grant me a BVB if it's not an emergency and that I only want to visit my family or friends. I am also worried because I didn't have my health examination too. 

Thanks so much in advance. 

Best regards,

Paula


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ddjunior87 -

That's unusual - normally they have to serve you personally with certain documents re: cancelling your visa and removal. Would need to work with you in a consult to determine if there were any remaining effects from the deportation (actually it was more likely a "removal") - it will all come down to the reason(s) you were removed and the particular legislation that was used.

Happy to work with you in a consult - see website below in my signature for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ddjunior87 said:


> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Hello Mark I got deported from Australia about 18 months ago. I'm am now applying for a defacto with my Australian gf.
> When I got deported I got no stamp on my passport and I got no documents. I'm just wondering where I stand by being deported
> Many thanks
> Colum


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mary_tm -

Thanks for the note. Re DIBP (immigration dept), the points given for a Bachelor degree, etc do not require the degree to be relevant to the applicant's occupation, so that's likely not an issue assuming the degree is from a reputable school. The skills assessment is where the tough part of this one may be - would suggest you determine the skills assessor for your chosen occupation and then study their requirements very closely to see how they assess relevance in a degree (to the occupation). If you can get the skills assessment through, that may be the more difficult part of the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mary_tm said:


> Hello, Mark!
> 
> I'm writing in the hope that you can help me with some information/clarification.
> 
> Me and my boyfriend are very interested in moving to Australia. We are both 30 years old, with good English knowledge. I'm currently a freelance translator, and he works in the telecommunication industry. After reading the official information on the immigration site, we've decided that he would be the more suitable of us to be the main applicant.
> My only concern is that his background education does not entirely match the job he's doing now. More exactly, he holds a Bachelor's Degree in History and German Studies, but his working experience covers problem management and KPI & SLA management at a global telecommunications company, in German language projects (only the German the language aspect would be the common denominator). I don't exactly know whether the skill assessment would give us a positive feedback in respect to the studies recognition for the nominated job. I'm concerned that, because he is doing for a living something different than what he studied, our case would be disqualified.
> 
> I hope I gave you a clear picture of our situation, if not, I'll gladly offer you other specifics.
> 
> Many thanks in advance for your help and time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Greenday -

Thanks for the note. I'd be looking for another 457 sponsor, unfortunately. Problem with the issue if the 187 was granted would be if DIBP ever found out in the future that you were made redundant prior to visa grant, they could cancel the visa and any resulting status (such as citizenship). it's not a problem if they make you redundant the day after the 187 is granted, but prior to grant it's a deal-killer for the visa.

Sorry if this isn't the news you hoped for -

Best,

Mark



Greenday said:


> Hi Mark
> Quick qn on ens 187
> Nomination lodged - 28.04.2015
> Visa lodged - 28.04.2015
> Acknowledgement on visa - 29.04.2015
> BVA given on 29.04.2015 (but not in effect as still on 457)
> Medical reuested to be done on 24.06.2015
> Medical submitted by esubmission 10.07.2015
> Character clearance requested on 28.08.2015
> Character clearance submitted online on 22.09.2015
> Now still pending for grant
> My concern is there is no CO allocated and the nomination has got no reply on approval. Is there likely to be hiccups in between or is it normal and that once the CO allocated will decide on both the nomination and the visa appl?
> And now my company contract on site was cut and so i was made redundant. Apparently the company is willing to hold reporting to immi at the moment hoping not too long till visa is granted.
> Should i still wait or should i proceed to find new 457 sponsor and start all over?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Surrogate -

Thanks for the note. For Human Resources Advisor - WA sponsorship, it's on WA Schedule 2 which means you must have a signed contract of employment for at least 12 months going forward in order to apply for WA sponsorship for the 190 or 489 visa. Without that contract, I dont' see any way to get WA sponsorship for that occupation - I looked at the other states and don't see any sponsorship opportunity for you at the moment, but you may want to keep checking back and have a look at the websites for states you are considering migrating to. Another option would be the 457 work visa if you can get sponsored - this can lead to the 186 or 187 employer sponsored PR visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



surrogate said:


> hello Mark...new to this site ...just new to the thread... thinking to apply in the permanent migration thru CSOL ......and my occupation is HR adviser 223111...ve 8 years of experience.
> while going thru the ANZSCO list, i found out i am eligible to apply for the visa sub class 190 and 489 in western Australia as the occupation is in WSMOL list as well....though the availability is limited ....i do ve points 70, what are the chances will i be through?
> And while filling form of the Vetacess and EOI, do I state the sub class visa is 190 and 489 both?
> or i need to state other sub classes? as there are too many sub classes and it confuses a lot
> As i dont ve the Australian degree, neither ve a close relative or the job offer, do I ve the chances without additional points with 70 points to be thru in such limited availability?
> Your answers to all my queries will b a boon to start the process...Thanking you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lovedimension -

Yes, the AOS was removed from partner visas long ago. These are not asked for or used on partner visas any more - sponsors with low income are generally approved as there is no minimum employment income level, etc, and financial support from others (ie, if the couple is living in parents' house, etc) is also considered.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lovedimension said:


> Hello!
> 
> Thank you for everyone in this forum. It has been a great help.
> 
> My question is: Assurance of support has been removed from Partner Visas. What effect does it have on sponsors with low income, or no income Can the family members still provide AoS even though it is not required anymore?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shayek412 -

Thanks for the note. I can't assess skilled migration on the forum as it's far too complicated to assess the requirements of the skills assessor, state sponsorship authority, and DIBP - each one has their own set of rules, etc. and they don't all line up or agree with each other. Happy to assist you at a consult - see website below in my signature for more. Re: 489 visa, the PR pathway for this visa is usually the subclass 887 visa - see DIBP website for more on details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shayek412 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've been working in a software company as ICT/software sales executive. Now, I would like to apply for skill migration Sub489 (state sponsorship). You know, Sub 489 is a temporary visa and valid for 4 yrs. So, now my question, is it possible to get PR through Sub489? and what is the possibility to get such types of skill visa?
> 
> my details:
> Job experience more then 3 yrs.
> Age 32
> IELTS: 7.0
> Hon's & Master's in English
> Married
> 
> Please also let me know, whether I am eligible to apply for skill migration.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sashamisha -

Suggest you lodge your partner visa online, then submit a colour scan of the document you mention - these are usually accepted by DIBP, and it avoids the entire issue of creating a certified copy in Australia where many JPs will not certify a copy of a document that itself appears to be a certified copy, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sashamisha said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am a United States citizen currently in Australia with visa sub 600 (12 month visitor visa), preparing to apply for visa 820 (onshore partner visa)
> 
> I have a question regarding "certified copies"...specifically certified copies of United States birth certificate.
> The copy I have already has a certification from a U.S. official on the top, saying "This is to certify that this is a true and correct copy of the certificate filed with the Vital Records Service, Georgia Department of Human Resources. This certified copy is issued under the authority of Chapter 31-10, Vital Records Code of Georgia." It is signed by a "State Vital Records Registrar and Custodian" and a County Custodian.
> 
> According to the partner migration booklet, "certified copies are copies authorized, or stamped as being true copies of originals, by a person or agency recognized by the law of the country in which you currently reside". Do they mean where I am currently in the literal sense? Or my country of nationality?
> 
> Would this certified copy be valid for submission for visa Sub 820? Or does it need to be certified by an AUSTRALIAN authority? Thanks in advance!


----------



## aubzpope

Hi Mark!
I think I have simple questions haha.
1st question: My partner and I have been together for 2 years. But only physically together and fully De Facto for 11 months and a few days by the time we submit our Partner Visa application. Will this pose any kind of problem with our application?

*Basically, how strict are they on the 12 month requirement.* As based on how long this visa take to process. I'd imagine by the time they actually get to us, we'd have been together for longer than the 12 months.

2nd question: *Are police and health checks required to be provided immediately with the application?* As I'm only applying now for the sake of these documents only being valid for 12 months and the processing of the application can take quite long

3rd: *What are the Case Officers like?* ie: like when I call immigration with inquiries, some are rude and nasty, others are kind and extremely helpful. Does this apply to Case Officers? Or do they all try and take an unbiased and kind approach to processing our applications? Are they out to get us deported or are they out to help us stay with our partners? Just how nit picky are they?

Thank you so much for your time and consideration, and how much you've helped everyone here. You are definitely a life saver. Thank you so so much.


----------



## Jufre

Hi Mark,

First of all, thank you a lot for providing this kind of help when finding precise answers on internet becomes difficult with a particular situation!

Here is my situation:

My partner and I are both Belgian. We arrived in Tasmania almost a year ago. I have a Working Holiday visa (417) and my partner has a student visa for her Ph.D. (574 with assessment level : 1). Because my visa is coming to an end in three weeks, I plan to become a dependant on her visa as a partner de facto (we have a lot of evidences).

But it becomes complex because I am onshore and it is impossible to find a precise answer for the procedure on internet.

The classical one would be to fill forms :

* 1022 "Notification of changes in circumstances" : so she can declare that she is now in a de facto relationship
* 919 "Nomination of dependant"
* 157A "Student visa application"

+ evidences of relationship, monetary funds and health insurance.

But, technically, does it mean that my partner has to apply for a brand new Student visa (574) (but this time with a dependant on it) or does her current visa get updated after giving all the paperwork?

Also, if she has to apply for a new visa, will she have to pay charges again? (with a visa 574, no charges for the dependant or for a subsequent temporary application either, according to DIBP's website).

Finally, is this kind of procedure feasible online or would I have to drop the file directly in an office?

Thank you a lot in advance for your help, 

Best greetings,

Julien


----------



## sennithya

Hi Mark, 

Thanks for your reply. 

My wife has got her PTE results, except reading she has got above 50 in all modules, even in reading she has got 1 mark less than 50. she is already having 55 points , can she apply for NSW or any other state nomination? 

Thanks


----------



## sukanta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sukanta -
> 
> Thanks for the questions. Re Form 80, you can wait until they request this if you'd like - they only need it if they request it. Re: photos, can't advise you as I haven't seen them - many partner visas have between 10 and 30 photos (best to assemble them into a multi-page PDF rather than uploading individuals). Colour scan of passport is fine for online applications.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Hope you are well. Please accept my heartiest thanks for your great help on providing guidance and answering queries.

I have one concern in regard to my partner's 309 application, I have submitted the application just few days back.Next to my partner's application, it is showing that "Assessment in progress" and next to my application it shows, "Submitted". Please note that I have uploaded all possible supporting documents (after uploading all docs and clicked "request completed" button and it is greyed out now) , medical also is in progress and Biometric also completed.

Does it mean that now I have to just wait for the CO to be assigned and go from there or is there anything or still I need to click on "Submit applications" button? Please see the attached screen shot and appreciate if you could shed some light on it. Again, can't thank you enough for all your help.

Best Regards
Sukanta


----------



## TrongPhatle

*Partner Visa*

hello mark

i'm an Australian and wanted to sponsor my wife-to-be, she currently live in Vietnam and i live in Australia but this coming January i will go back to Vietnam to marry her, and with that opportunity i may want to stop by the Australia immigration in HCM city to hand in the form as well. I've been researched about what evidences i should provides but wasn't able to success to my case. these are the parts i wasn't successful to find what i need for my case.

- Financial evidence of your relationship: this is the parts i wasn't sure because im an Australian and she is a Vietnamese we both live in different country which we cant provide joint banks, statesmen with our names we cant have names on the bills either because we are living in 2 different country. is there other things i can provide to meet this category


----------



## Niraken

*Niraken*

Hi Mark!
Thank you so much for your time! I've spent the last hour and half going through posts in this thread and it has helped me a lot.

However, I can't find the answer to my question: 
My mother in law is one of our supporting witnesses, she has a passport but it has expired years ago - Can she still use it to prove she's an Australian citizen?

Best Regards
Karin


----------



## sameer_mobin

Hi Mark,

I am planning to apply under subclass 189.

I have 2 years of very relevant experience. I have checked the forums and I expect that I will educational assessment to Bachelor's degree. By degree major was in Applied Accounting.

My only concern is the experience. I have only 2 years of experience. I cannot claim least 5 points for experience.I am working as a "Senior Accountant".I am expecting CPA would assess it as very relevant experience to my degree as I am planning to apply for Accountant (General) Code: 221111

Can I still lodge EOI considering that I can gain 65 on the basis of age, IELTS and education? 

What can you advise me on this?

Thanks.


----------



## CompanyVisa

Hi Mark - thanks for being a resource here. This is cross-posted with the immigration timeline thread - do you how long Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) Visas (400) are taking to process? The link from the application website was broken and the only other information I could find said 5 working days to 1 month. I'm absolutely furious with myself for letting this slide and my colleague is supposed to leave a month from tomorrow so I'm trying not to panic.

I submitted all the documentation I could think of although the invitation letter is a bit casual since it wasn't intended to be used for that purpose (I'm trying to get a more formal one) - I submitted a bank statement dated 4 days ago, the company's certificate of incorporation, his passport, passport photo, his CV, the website of the conference he's attending in addition to the work visit, and his flight itinerary. He's in the UK.

Thanks in advance for any information.


----------



## louiseb

hi Mark hope your well, good to see you again. so i have being informed that my PMV is up for renewal after 2 years, have to send them information of us both still happily married ect, my questions are is
1. do they charge us for the permanent partner visa?
2, do we have any extra rights/benefits after approval
3. if no to Q2 then do we have to apply for it?
4. what is the next we can apply for?

thanks mark just seems a little confusing considering one web site says one thing and vice versa.
louise


----------



## tankit

hiii mark 
do u arrange sponsership for 457 visa...


----------



## Tinochka

*Character check for visa 189*

Hi Mark, 
My partner and I are applying for visa 189. My partner is a main applicant and I am as a dependant. We already checked all requirements and have enough points to apply. 
However, recently we've been charged with an offence and now waiting for the court date. These offence is not under the criminal code (obstruct police officer) and not one from the character check list. We are going to plead guilty. We had never had any records before so hopefully we will get fine only and no conviction recorded. 
My question is - can it affect our visa application? Do we have any chance to get our visa?

Thank you in advance 
Anastasia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Guru_nan -

Thanks for the note. Sorry for the delay in answering, was out sick for a few days. If your student visas have expired, then the conditions on those visas (ie, OSHC cover required) have also ended. You need to look at your bridging visas and see what conditions are on them - if health insurance is required (always a good idea in my book!) then you will need to make arrangements for that. Assuming you are eligible for Medicare due to an onshore lodged 189 application, getting a Medicare card would satisfy the heath insurance requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



guru_nan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I both are on a student visa and have applied for the 189 PR visa with her as the primary and me as the dependent. Our student visas end today and our bridging visas start tomorrow. Do we have to continue our OSHC and purchase it to extend for the duration of the bridging visa until a decision on our 189, or is it not needed now that we are no longer going to be on the student visa? Do we need some other insurance?
> Also as applicants for the 189, we are eligible for an interim Medicare card but does getting a Medicare card, excuse us from extending our OSHC or other insurance if we need to do it?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michele -

Hopefully a nice straight forward answer! DIBP accepts either version of the IETLS test. The hiccup comes with certain skills assessors that only accept the Academic version, but as you already have a positive skills assessment that's not an issue here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pomwantingtomove said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hopefully a nice straight forward question - I've just received a positive skills assessment as a Social Worker, now I need to do my IELTS prior to the EOI. I can't seem to find out if I can do the General or need to do the Academic one? I won't be studying but will be working as a Social Worker (hopefully!)
> 
> Thank you, Michele.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kumar71279 -

Thanks for the note. No particular additional documents needed when switching, however whoever the primary applicant will be has to satisfy all of the primary applicant requirements, etc. I'd check the DIBP site carefully for this, and make sure you have plenty of evidence to justify your living and working periods for the 887.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kumar71279 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I wish to apply for 887 visa in Mid Nov this year. I am currently on 489 visa.
> My wife was the principal applicant in 489. My question is
> 1. Is there any additional document for this case when the principal applicant is switching?
> 2. can i apply for 887 immediately after I finish my two years period?
> 
> thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John -

Normally full work rights come with a bridging visa granted as the result of an onshore skilled visa (subclass 489, 189, 190) application, so work during that period after you've applied for the visa (after receiving an invitation to apply, etc) wouldn't be an issue. I'd take a close look at the skills assessment process and expected timetable for that to see if there is sufficient time to get that done, then lodge an EOI, then get an invitation (hopefully!) to apply for the visa in time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



john_brannan said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am currently an international student completing a Grad Dip in Education and I'm coming to the end of my course. My current student visa ends in March next year. However, I would like to remain in Australia and I intend to apply for a skilled visa upon graduating. My concern is the length of time it will take to go through, and whether I will be eligible to work as a teacher on a bridging visa. Do I have full work rights with this type of visa, or is there any other way to approach this?
> Kind regards,
> John


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dieselclatter -

Thanks for the kind words. Normally DIBP does not verify employment if it is not claimed for points. If the employment has been used to satisfy a skills assessor's minimum work experience requirement, then it's questionable whether DIBP could look into that employment. Nevertheless, everything on an application is fair game for PIC4020 allegations if the information is judged to be false/inaccurate and material to the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dieselclatter said:


> Hi Mark- How are you? I have nothing but, extreme high regards for you for taking time and responding to all the questions posted by other members.
> 
> Likewise, I have a question to ask you as well. I want to find if DIBP will undertake employment verification if we have NOT claimed points.
> We have filed for a visa by July mid. CO contacted us for form 1221 and CV. We have furnished the same and are waiting. In the meantime, I am checking with you if they would conduct employment verification?. This would help me to inform my HR so that they are better prepared to handle my case.
> 
> Cheers,
> Jay


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anna-lisa -

Thanks for the note. I'd write your name exactly as it appears on the passport in answer to that question with the "ep" part included. If they have questions, they can clarify with you.

Re: previous sponsorship, that only refers to sponsorship for an Australian visa (although they do not specify that on the form, that's the generally accepted meaning of the question in practice).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Anna-lisa said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Thank you for your quick response! it is of great help!
> I have a couple of new questions as well!
> 
> 1. On my passport next to my family name is written my maiden name followed by the mention "ép." that stands for spouse, then my husband's family name; it looks like as follows:`
> 
> Family name: "maiden name" ép. "spouse name"
> 
> I kept my maiden name after my marriage (Did not choose to take my husband name) and only my passport shows both names separated by "ép."
> In the form 47SP it is asked from me to write my name as showed on my passport; I'm not sure if I should write only mine or both my family name followed by my husband's; and if I should mention the "ép." or not.
> 
> 2. In both the forms 40SP and 47SP it is asked if my partner has sponsored someone before; is it meant to Australia, or to any other country? As my husband has one time indeed sponsored his previous australian partner to Sweden.
> 
> Thank you so much Mark!
> Kind regards
> Anna


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shermil -

Thanks for the note. For points purposes only, there is no requirement that a degree you are claiming points for be related to your nominated occupation. However if this is going to cause a problem, it's usually at the skills assessment phase where a skills assessor can require a relevant degree.

Re: skill levels vs priority, haven't seen skill level be related to any sort of priority for the 189 visa. The factors for that visa re: inviting applicants who have lodged EOI's are your points test score and the score's effective date (ie, date you last made a change that changed your points).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shermil said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Suppose I have following things.
> 
> Qualifications
> BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying & Construction Management from a UK university.
> City & Guilds Advanced Diploma in construction (UK)
> City & Guilds Diploma in construction (UK)
> 
> Experience
> 8 years as a "Civil Engineering Technician"
> 
> Nominated occupation
> ANZSCO 312212: Civil Engineering Technician
> 
> My first question is, In sub class 189 visa, the DIBP official website indicates that, to get points for experience, it should be "in your nominated skilled occupation or a closely related skilled occupation", So, apparently I can get points for that. But under educational qualifications, they have not mentioned that my qualifications should be closely related to my nominated occupation or not. So, can I get 15 points for my BSc degree in QS & CM (which is not a closely related field for the nominated occupation) ?
> 
> second question is .. is skilled level 1 occupations get invitations with priority than skilled level 2 occupations from DIBP ?
> For instance: will Quantity Surveyors with BSc degrees (ANZSCO 233213) get the invitation quickly (say 3 months), than a Civil Engineering Technician (ANZSCO 312212) (say 9 months) ?
> 
> Many Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Danone -

Thanks for the note. I'd like to help, but student visas are chock full of lots of specific regulations and policy about who can provide financials, how much, in what format, and on and on with much tied to the assessment level of the country. I would seek out a specialist in student visas and book a consult to go through your circumstances in detail and give you specific advice - it's an area I've worked in in the past, but do not work in currently as my focus is on employment/skilled/family visas.

Best,

Mark



danone said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My brother from Level3 countries and he would like to study bachelor degree in a university, his English level is beginner he would like to apply for Streamline Visa. I could not find answers to my questions I am an Australian citizen I would like to be a sponsor for him. My salary is $10K/Month due to setting up my second company I am using all my money I have to this company however I stopped doing this now. He is going to study bachelor degree which is $24000 annual Tuition fee. $14000 first year English course I think 1 year English course, 1 year foundation and 3 years for bachelor degree which becomes 5 years visa he needs to get, my questions are
> 
> 1) How much money roughly i have to put into account i can transfer loan from my bank if it's big amount of money.
> 
> 2) Do you recommend that i wait lets say 6 months and my individual account sum will be $50k. due to my salary and then wait 6 month for applying svp visa.
> 
> 3) Do you recommend for me to put all my money at once. e.g $50k this month and apply next month, if they ask for evidence e.g statements will shows i put money last month.
> 
> 4) If immigration wants me to send them bank statement how many months back do i need to send them ?
> 
> 3) My brother starts "A" university can he change to "B" university or any Streamline visa provider from the streamline provider list but different field if he doesn't like current course
> 
> Thank you.
> Theodore


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paula -

Thanks for the questions. Re: health check, you can take it any time, but the risk is that it expires in 12 months so if the visa takes longer to process, you could have an issue. No problem generally waiting until they ask for it.

Re: BVB, does not have to be an emergency, can be any substantial reason including family reunion, holidays with family, etc. You can report changes in your circumstances on Form 1022 and upload to your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pauelle said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well. I'm Paula from the Philippines but currently here in Australia on BVA and I'm applying for Partner 820 visa which I lodged online last May. I am not sure if I should wait for a case officer to contact me and tell me when I should have my medical/health examination. In the Immiaccount online, I saw that my type of visa needs a health examination and I fill up the form and they gave me this Hap ID already. I also called the immigration office to ask but they told me to wait for the case officer to tell me what next to do, though it's been like 5 months and haven't heard anything from them.
> 
> Also I have just started working here in Australia and I'm not sure if I should call them about this change of circumstance or if there's a form that I should fill up and submit. Also, my mum and sister just got their visa to migrate to America and what I put it last May in my application form is that they are in the Philippines. Should I also report this to the immigration office???
> 
> I would also want to apply for BVB so I can travel and visit my mum and hopefully see my mum's wedding in the USA. I am not sure if you need to have an emergency to apply for BVB like what they said in other articles online. I just want to be able to travel while waiting for my 820 visa. Like maybe on November...Though I would also want to travel like next year too to visit my mum or go back in the Philippines or go with my partner in one of his business trips. Will they automatically give a multiple entry BVB??? I am quite worried they won't grant me a BVB if it's not an emergency and that I only want to visit my family or friends. I am also worried because I didn't have my health examination too.
> 
> Thanks so much in advance.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Paula


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aubzpope -

Thanks for the note. Re: de facto, they can be very strict re: 12 months. Note that this does not have to mean 12 months living together any more after an important case in June, but you need to show that the de facto relationship existed for the 12 months prior to application and that any time apart was temporary in nature.

Re: health and police, you can wait until they ask for these.

Re: case officers, I'd say the range of people you've encountered so far is quite representative of case officers. Best approach is to be respectful and try to give them everything they want, when they want it. It's their show...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aubzpope said:


> Hi Mark!
> I think I have simple questions haha.
> 1st question: My partner and I have been together for 2 years. But only physically together and fully De Facto for 11 months and a few days by the time we submit our Partner Visa application. Will this pose any kind of problem with our application?
> 
> *Basically, how strict are they on the 12 month requirement.* As based on how long this visa take to process. I'd imagine by the time they actually get to us, we'd have been together for longer than the 12 months.
> 
> 2nd question: *Are police and health checks required to be provided immediately with the application?* As I'm only applying now for the sake of these documents only being valid for 12 months and the processing of the application can take quite long
> 
> 3rd: *What are the Case Officers like?* ie: like when I call immigration with inquiries, some are rude and nasty, others are kind and extremely helpful. Does this apply to Case Officers? Or do they all try and take an unbiased and kind approach to processing our applications? Are they out to get us deported or are they out to help us stay with our partners? Just how nit picky are they?
> 
> Thank you so much for your time and consideration, and how much you've helped everyone here. You are definitely a life saver. Thank you so so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Julien -

Thanks for the note. DIBP has tightened up the rules in this area, and you'll need to tread carefully. Relationship evidence is very important, and there's a new requirement that if you are claiming to have been in a de facto relationship at the time your partner's last student visa was lodged, and she didn't declare you on that student visa, it can cause substantial issues with getting a subsequent student visa for you to be added on as a de facto partner.

See this page for details: How To Apply For Dependant Family Members To Join You

These are paper applications and cannot generally be done online. Normally the student visa holder's visa is not changed and the partner's new student visa (dependent) is granted to expire at the same date as the current student visa holder's visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jufre said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all, thank you a lot for providing this kind of help when finding precise answers on internet becomes difficult with a particular situation!
> 
> Here is my situation:
> 
> My partner and I are both Belgian. We arrived in Tasmania almost a year ago. I have a Working Holiday visa (417) and my partner has a student visa for her Ph.D. (574 with assessment level : 1). Because my visa is coming to an end in three weeks, I plan to become a dependant on her visa as a partner de facto (we have a lot of evidences).
> 
> But it becomes complex because I am onshore and it is impossible to find a precise answer for the procedure on internet.
> 
> The classical one would be to fill forms :
> 
> * 1022 "Notification of changes in circumstances" : so she can declare that she is now in a de facto relationship
> * 919 "Nomination of dependant"
> * 157A "Student visa application"
> 
> + evidences of relationship, monetary funds and health insurance.
> 
> But, technically, does it mean that my partner has to apply for a brand new Student visa (574) (but this time with a dependant on it) or does her current visa get updated after giving all the paperwork?
> 
> Also, if she has to apply for a new visa, will she have to pay charges again? (with a visa 574, no charges for the dependant or for a subsequent temporary application either, according to DIBP's website).
> 
> Finally, is this kind of procedure feasible online or would I have to drop the file directly in an office?
> 
> Thank you a lot in advance for your help,
> 
> Best greetings,
> 
> Julien


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sennithya -

Assuming she has no other English test results that would qualify her, she needs at least 50 in all four bands of the PTE test in order to be assessed as having Competent English (equivalent to IELTS 6 or better in all four bands) to meet DIBP English requirements for a skilled visa, so if she does not meet that, no point in applying for state sponsorship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sennithya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> My wife has got her PTE results, except reading she has got above 50 in all modules, even in reading she has got 1 mark less than 50. she is already having 55 points , can she apply for NSW or any other state nomination?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukanta -

Nope, you're all set - that's how each of those application forms look online after you have completed and submitted them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sukanta said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are well. Please accept my heartiest thanks for your great help on providing guidance and answering queries.
> 
> I have one concern in regard to my partner's 309 application, I have submitted the application just few days back.Next to my partner's application, it is showing that "Assessment in progress" and next to my application it shows, "Submitted". Please note that I have uploaded all possible supporting documents (after uploading all docs and clicked "request completed" button and it is greyed out now) , medical also is in progress and Biometric also completed.
> 
> Does it mean that now I have to just wait for the CO to be assigned and go from there or is there anything or still I need to click on "Submit applications" button? Please see the attached screen shot and appreciate if you could shed some light on it. Again, can't thank you enough for all your help.
> 
> Best Regards
> Sukanta


----------



## hungnguyen89

Dear Mark
I am Hung from Vietnam. I have a question about Visa and Immigration in Australia. 
I have graduated from the university in Vietnam and I have a plan to study further in Australia (post graduate). Unfortunately, I only got an IELTS 3.5 and didn't receive the offer letter from the university. 
I want to study in Australia by my all cost. I quited my job and prepare in advance everything for the new trip in my life. 
I really need your help and please reply me soon. Hope to see you
Thanks and Best Regards
Hung


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TrongPhatle -

Thanks for the note. DIBP would be looking for evidence you have mixed or commingled your finances and money. If you have no living time together, then marry, then immediately lodge a partner visa, it may have significant issues as you would not have had the time to put together sufficient evidence related to living together that would be necessary. Suggest you consider living together for a period of time after marriage (or before), but before you lodge the partner visa application. It takes far more than a marriage certificate to qualify for a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TrongPhatle said:


> hello mark
> 
> i'm an Australian and wanted to sponsor my wife-to-be, she currently live in Vietnam and i live in Australia but this coming January i will go back to Vietnam to marry her, and with that opportunity i may want to stop by the Australia immigration in HCM city to hand in the form as well. I've been researched about what evidences i should provides but wasn't able to success to my case. these are the parts i wasn't successful to find what i need for my case.
> 
> - Financial evidence of your relationship: this is the parts i wasn't sure because im an Australian and she is a Vietnamese we both live in different country which we cant provide joint banks, statesmen with our names we cant have names on the bills either because we are living in 2 different country. is there other things i can provide to meet this category


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karin -

Thanks for the note. Technically an expired passport cannot be used to prove citizenship, however interestingly JP's can use a passport that has expired no more than 2 years as proof of identification for witnessing a document. That being said, I'd probably include a copy of the passport and a copy of any other ID (such as Medicare card, etc) and see if they request additional documents related to her citizenship. Her name on the voter role could also be submitted to help establish this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Niraken said:


> Hi Mark!
> Thank you so much for your time! I've spent the last hour and half going through posts in this thread and it has helped me a lot.
> 
> However, I can't find the answer to my question:
> My mother in law is one of our supporting witnesses, she has a passport but it has expired years ago - Can she still use it to prove she's an Australian citizen?
> 
> Best Regards
> Karin


----------



## jrmencha8

*Visa 189, Evidence of your relationship with your spouse*

Hello Mark,

My wife and I have been asked to provide additional information regarding out relationship since we haven't lived together since 2012. The reason for that is that she left the US to obtain her US green card, which was denied, we fought that denial for the last three years and we are still fighting it. However, in order for us to be together we decided to move abroad.

We talk on the phone everyday, and text all the time, I support her financially, and send her gifts from time to time. The only reason I haven't visited her is that we have been in "limbo" trying to resolve our situation.

We lived together for a year and have a copy of that lease, we had bank accounts together as well, other than that we don't have any other shared assets.

What evidence can I provide to support that our marriage is valid and ongoing.

Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CompanyVisa -

I'd guess in the 2 to 5 week range, but depends on a wide range of factors that can be hard to predict.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CompanyVisa said:


> Hi Mark - thanks for being a resource here. This is cross-posted with the immigration timeline thread - do you how long Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) Visas (400) are taking to process? The link from the application website was broken and the only other information I could find said 5 working days to 1 month. I'm absolutely furious with myself for letting this slide and my colleague is supposed to leave a month from tomorrow so I'm trying not to panic.
> 
> I submitted all the documentation I could think of although the invitation letter is a bit casual since it wasn't intended to be used for that purpose (I'm trying to get a more formal one) - I submitted a bank statement dated 4 days ago, the company's certificate of incorporation, his passport, passport photo, his CV, the website of the conference he's attending in addition to the work visit, and his flight itinerary. He's in the UK.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any information.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Louiseb -

Great to hear from you! I hope you are referring to your stage 1 partner visa (either subclass 309 or 820) and moving to stage 2 partner visa, and not the PMV, as a PMV only lasts 9 months and cannot be renewed.

Assuming you have a 309 or 820 visa, there's a handy link on the DIBP site that explains much - see Partner (Permanent) Calculator

To your questions: 1) no charge for this; 2) most importantly, after the second stage partner visa is approved the applicant is then a permanent resident of Australia which has various benefits; 3) Yes you must apply for it as DIBP will eventually refuse the PR part of the partner visa (partner visas are a combined application - ie, 820/801, the 801 PR part is suspended while you hold the 820). 4) once the 820 or 100 is approved, no need for a further visa other than a RRV (subclass 155 or 157) if you hold the PR visa for 5 years and do not become a citizen within that time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



louiseb said:


> hi Mark hope your well, good to see you again. so i have being informed that my PMV is up for renewal after 2 years, have to send them information of us both still happily married ect, my questions are is
> 1. do they charge us for the permanent partner visa?
> 2, do we have any extra rights/benefits after approval
> 3. if no to Q2 then do we have to apply for it?
> 4. what is the next we can apply for?
> 
> thanks mark just seems a little confusing considering one web site says one thing and vice versa.
> louise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tankit -

Thanks for the note. If you mean finding a sponsor, we don't do that. If you do engage a firm to do that, be very careful as there are a lot of rip-off schemes out there in this area.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tankit said:


> hiii mark
> do u arrange sponsership for 457 visa...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tinochka -

Thanks for the note. Most importantly, make sure you declare this on the application character question re: charged with an offence that is awaiting legal action, etc. and provide full details. Based on the nature of the charge, I doubt it would affect your application, but DIBP makes the final determination on that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tinochka said:


> Hi Mark,
> My partner and I are applying for visa 189. My partner is a main applicant and I am as a dependant. We already checked all requirements and have enough points to apply.
> However, recently we've been charged with an offence and now waiting for the court date. These offence is not under the criminal code (obstruct police officer) and not one from the character check list. We are going to plead guilty. We had never had any records before so hopefully we will get fine only and no conviction recorded.
> My question is - can it affect our visa application? Do we have any chance to get our visa?
> 
> Thank you in advance
> Anastasia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hung -

Thanks for the note - you need to consult with an agent who specialises in student visas in order to see what options there are - some agents work with education agents who have a good idea of what schools may be possible to work with for your circumstances. I'd also look at an IELTS prep course and retaking the test to try and get a higher mark.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hungnguyen89 said:


> Dear Mark
> I am Hung from Vietnam. I have a question about Visa and Immigration in Australia.
> I have graduated from the university in Vietnam and I have a plan to study further in Australia (post graduate). Unfortunately, I only got an IELTS 3.5 and didn't receive the offer letter from the university.
> I want to study in Australia by my all cost. I quited my job and prepare in advance everything for the new trip in my life.
> I really need your help and please reply me soon. Hope to see you
> Thanks and Best Regards
> Hung


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jrmencha8 -

Thanks for the note. Not sure right off the bat, but would be happy to work with you in a consultation (see web link in my signature below) to discuss your circumstances in detail and do some brainstorming on what evidence might be best for you - it is entirely dependent on your circumstances over these years, but I would also look at any commitments you have going forward that can be evidenced as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jrmencha8 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My wife and I have been asked to provide additional information regarding out relationship since we haven't lived together since 2012. The reason for that is that she left the US to obtain her US green card, which was denied, we fought that denial for the last three years and we are still fighting it. However, in order for us to be together we decided to move abroad.
> 
> We talk on the phone everyday, and text all the time, I support her financially, and send her gifts from time to time. The only reason I haven't visited her is that we have been in "limbo" trying to resolve our situation.
> 
> We lived together for a year and have a copy of that lease, we had bank accounts together as well, other than that we don't have any other shared assets.
> 
> What evidence can I provide to support that our marriage is valid and ongoing.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## sameer_mobin

Hi Mark,

I am planning to apply under subclass 189.

I have 2 years of very relevant experience. I have checked the forums and I expect that I will educational assessment to Bachelor's degree. By degree major was in Applied Accounting.

My only concern is the experience. I have only 2 years of experience. I cannot claim least 5 points for experience.I am working as a "Senior Accountant".I am expecting CPA would assess it as very relevant experience to my degree as I am planning to apply for Accountant (General) Code: 221111

Can I still lodge EOI considering that I can gain 65 on the basis of age, IELTS and education? 

What can you advise me on this?

Thanks.


----------



## shermil

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shermil -
> 
> Thanks for the note. For points purposes only, there is no requirement that a degree you are claiming points for be related to your nominated occupation. However if this is going to cause a problem, it's usually at the skills assessment phase where a skills assessor can require a relevant degree.
> 
> Re: skill levels vs priority, haven't seen skill level be related to any sort of priority for the 189 visa. The factors for that visa re: inviting applicants who have lodged EOI's are your points test score and the score's effective date (ie, date you last made a change that changed your points).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> shermil said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Mark,
> 
> Suppose I have following things.
> 
> Qualifications
> BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying & Construction Management from a UK university.
> City & Guilds Advanced Diploma in construction (UK)
> City & Guilds Diploma in construction (UK)
> 
> Experience
> 8 years as a "Civil Engineering Technician"
> 
> Nominated occupation
> ANZSCO 312212: Civil Engineering Technician
> 
> My first question is, In sub class 189 visa, the DIBP official website indicates that, to get points for experience, it should be "in your nominated skilled occupation or a closely related skilled occupation", So, apparently I can get points for that. But under educational qualifications, they have not mentioned that my qualifications should be closely related to my nominated occupation or not. So, can I get 15 points for my BSc degree in QS & CM (which is not a closely related field for the nominated occupation) ?
> 
> second question is .. is skilled level 1 occupations get invitations with priority than skilled level 2 occupations from DIBP ?
> For instance: will Quantity Surveyors with BSc degrees (ANZSCO 233213) get the invitation quickly (say 3 months), than a Civil Engineering Technician (ANZSCO 312212) (say 9 months) ?
> 
> Many Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi, Mark,
Thank you for the reply.

So you're stating that DIBP accepts & offer 15 points for any non-reverent degree regardless of it's relevancy to the nominated occupation (Provided that it also assessed by a assessing authority) & additionally they will offer me marks for my Advanced diploma (relevant to the nominated occupation) + relevant work experience (relevant to the nominated occupation) (Provided that it also assessed by a assessing authority) (10 marks + 10 marks respectively) ?

So, basically, If I get a +ve assessment from the assessment authority for my degree (non-relevant) + (Advanced Diploma (relevant) + work experience (relevant) ) .. and if I submit all those two documents, they will offer me 25 marks (for "non-relevant degree" (15 marks) & "skilled work experience assessed through relevant experience (10 marks) + advanced dip") ?

For instance, 
1) I'll get the assessment done for "advanced diploma (relevant) + work experience (relevant)" --> and I'll submit this to DIBP to claim the points only for work experience (10 marks)

2) I'll get the assessment done for "non relevant BSc degree" --> and submit this to DIBP to claim points under educational qualifications (15 marks)

Total = 25 marks.

Will that method be ok with the DIBP ?


----------



## ramonaAstone

Hello Mark! You're a legend for doing this! 

My question is about attaching evidence for my partner visa, I'm a bit confused with statements. My husband's and mine are covering more aspects and I have a statement my father made that's also covering financial aspect, nature of household and social aspect of the relationship. Should I attach all of the statements on every category that's related to? That means they would be attached 3-4 times?

Thanks!


----------



## Abedin

*Spouse Tourist Visa*

Hi Mark,

Appreciate your work.

My wife's tourist visa (for upto 3 months) has been refused. 
The reason mentioned is, the application did not provided enough documents of her ownership of any assets and significant ties back in the country. As a result the case officer was not satisfied enough for a genuine visit.

My wife is an undergrad student in Bangladesh and currently unemployed. I am supporting her and eager to bear her cost in Australia. We also have a spouse application ongoing (applied in April 2015).

At this stage, what would be worthwhile to do as per your experience? 
a. Should I review the tourist visa application at MRT? ( I guess it will be waste of time)

b. Should I apply another tourist visa? (what documents will make to show she have enough responsibilities to be back in Bangladesh)

c. Shoudl I apply for sponsored tourist visa? (I am afraid of the Huge Bond amount)

Any kind of suggestion is appreciated.

Regards,
Mohammed Abedin


----------



## Samanthayang

Hi Mark, 
I would like to ask about my divorce. My husband left Australia in April for our Offshore Partner application. 
Unfortunately, our marriage has broken down and I also withdrew the application. I would like to get divorced to him as well ( We got married on 4/6/2014). 
They said we must be separated for atleast a tear to be able to get divorced. So does it mean we have been separated since the day he left ? Please let me know what to do about this divorce.


----------



## chicken999

Hi mark

Friends of mine had an appointment with a migration agent thus week and were told partner visa is going up to 15k by 1st July 2016 - have you heard anything about this or is the agent just scaring them into lodging quickly.

Thanks!

Sent from my iPad using Australia


----------



## DoctorSA

Hi Mark. We have applied for 189 visa and just done medical but still waiting to get our police clearance back from our police department. We did not realise it would take so long. Will they wait for us to post it or will visa be denied?


----------



## feline1979

Hello Mark.

My husband is a current 457 holder. We are trying to apply for a Subsequent entrant visa for myself and my kids under my husband's immi account. Question is, would it be ok if the immi account is accessed by me here in the Philippines when we submit the application? My husband is not as computer savvy as I am, modesty aside  His friends advised him against it because the CO might trace that the application is lodged/accessed in the Philippines and the CO might think it fraudulent. 

Another question. For form 1229, do both of us need to sign the form? Or would my signature suffice?

Thank you.

EDIT: Feline - I've moved your post into the existing Ask Mark! thread as he'll see it more easily here. *Mod*


----------



## FKB

Hello Mark, 
My friend is working as technical consultant / presale in HK, is it possible for him to apply for 189 skilled visa? 
Thanks a lot!


----------



## chouse

Hi Mark 

I was going to apply for the partner visa but been pointed in the skilled migrant pathway instead. From looking at the points calculator I am at 65 points but the work experience aspect is throwing me. 

I have worked 13 months in the last 2 years and the employment will continue until I get an appropriate visa to go to Australia. I am able to get a positive skills assessment for teaching as all my qualifications meet the criteria given. 

Do I need both the positive skills assessment and the skilled employment statement in order to be considered for 189/190? reexperience


----------



## sydney2015

*820/801*

Hi Mark,

I am going to apply for a 820/801 visa in March next year. I'm flying to my country in January for 10 days to get all documents that I don't have here (birth certificate, my previous marriage docs, police check - it's not possible to get it online so I have to apply in person etc.).

The problem is, my Australian partner is not coming with me as he doesn't like cold weather and besides that I will be busy all the time getting my documents and running errands. Of course we will stay in touch during this short separation period and we will keep records of that. But now he is thinking that he can do his own little holiday in the meantime - go to Hong Kong or somewhere else for a week or so, just by himself.

I am concerned how would immigration see this separate holidays. We are partners and we are supposed to do everything together... Do you think it could be a problem and they can say we are not a genuine couple? We both love travelling and did a lot of holidays together, this would be the first time when we split up. My partner just wants to use the time when I'm not with him and go somewhere, do something so he doesn't feel so lonely.


----------



## ashaito

*Points Test*

Dear Mark , 
Hope you are doing well. I have a question , im applying for Visa Subclass 189 , i was able to get the assessment for Australia Engineers. Im 30 years old , married and i have a bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering.
im facing a problem getting 7 score band in IELTS after many attempts. Accordingly, i have failed the Points Test.
what options i have ? should i go to PTE test ?
Is there any other visa class i can apply to ? given that i can get a job offer from Australian employer.

Best Regards 
Abbas


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sameer -

Thanks for the note. Difficult to predict CPA Australia's assessments - note that not only do you have to have an equivalent degree (Bachelor) but the degree needs to cover certain academic areas (core areas, etc) - this is where many degrees from your country do not work out as expected. The good news is that DIBP has no minimum years of experience for a 189/489/190 visa as long as you can achieve the points otherwise. However I'd take a very close look at CPA Australia's requirements and get through the skills assessment process before making any further plans.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sameer_mobin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to apply under subclass 189.
> 
> I have 2 years of very relevant experience. I have checked the forums and I expect that I will educational assessment to Bachelor's degree. By degree major was in Applied Accounting.
> 
> My only concern is the experience. I have only 2 years of experience. I cannot claim least 5 points for experience.I am working as a "Senior Accountant".I am expecting CPA would assess it as very relevant experience to my degree as I am planning to apply for Accountant (General) Code: 221111
> 
> Can I still lodge EOI considering that I can gain 65 on the basis of age, IELTS and education?
> 
> What can you advise me on this?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shermil -

Sorry for the confusion - you only get points for one degree, so if your Bachelor is assessed as equivalent to an Australian Bachelor degree, you'll get 15 points for that, regardless of relevance to your occupation. You would not get any additional points for other degrees, etc regardless of equivalence or relevance.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shermil said:


> Hi, Mark,
> Thank you for the reply.
> 
> So you're stating that DIBP accepts & offer 15 points for any non-reverent degree regardless of it's relevancy to the nominated occupation (Provided that it also assessed by a assessing authority) & additionally they will offer me marks for my Advanced diploma (relevant to the nominated occupation) + relevant work experience (relevant to the nominated occupation) (Provided that it also assessed by a assessing authority) (10 marks + 10 marks respectively) ?
> 
> So, basically, If I get a +ve assessment from the assessment authority for my degree (non-relevant) + (Advanced Diploma (relevant) + work experience (relevant) ) .. and if I submit all those two documents, they will offer me 25 marks (for "non-relevant degree" (15 marks) & "skilled work experience assessed through relevant experience (10 marks) + advanced dip") ?
> 
> For instance,
> 1) I'll get the assessment done for "advanced diploma (relevant) + work experience (relevant)" --> and I'll submit this to DIBP to claim the points only for work experience (10 marks)
> 
> 2) I'll get the assessment done for "non relevant BSc degree" --> and submit this to DIBP to claim points under educational qualifications (15 marks)
> 
> Total = 25 marks.
> 
> Will that method be ok with the DIBP ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RamonaAstone -

Thanks for the note. No, only attached each statement or other piece of evidence once. For witness statements, there's not a clear category for that (amazingly) but I usually choose Social Aspects / Other. For your statement and your partner's, I usually choose Nature of Commitment / Statement concerning future plans. It's fine that the statements cover the various categories.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ramonaAstone said:


> Hello Mark! You're a legend for doing this!
> 
> My question is about attaching evidence for my partner visa, I'm a bit confused with statements. My husband's and mine are covering more aspects and I have a statement my father made that's also covering financial aspect, nature of household and social aspect of the relationship. Should I attach all of the statements on every category that's related to? That means they would be attached 3-4 times?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abedin -

I'd probably try another application with further evidence, although it may be challenging to get a visa. There is specific department policy about visitor visas for partner visa appplicants, and unfortunately that policy conflicts somewhat with the genuine temporary resident (aka genuine visitor) policy. You might put this into your next application in a cover letter:

_I note that the PAM3 Procedure Advice Manual has specific provisions regarding visitor visa applications for partner visa applicants including the following:

* It is acceptable for a person to apply for an FA-600 visa in order to be with their partner to maintain an established relationship.

* An applicant who discloses an intention to continue a relationship (or, enter into a relationship (as they have not met before)) should not be disadvantaged as a result of that disclosure.

* Officers should take a fair and reasonable approach to the genuine temporary stay requirement, particularly if the applicant is in a continuing partner relationship with an Australian citizen or permanent resident _

This alone likely won't be able to get you over the line with a second application, but hopefully it will help. I'd also get evidence on what would happen to her education/career/etc if she didn't return to school to show a powerful motivation to return to school. And also look into any/all family or other responsibilities, duties and commitments she may have there and get documentation of all.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abedin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Appreciate your work.
> 
> My wife's tourist visa (for upto 3 months) has been refused.
> The reason mentioned is, the application did not provided enough documents of her ownership of any assets and significant ties back in the country. As a result the case officer was not satisfied enough for a genuine visit.
> 
> My wife is an undergrad student in Bangladesh and currently unemployed. I am supporting her and eager to bear her cost in Australia. We also have a spouse application ongoing (applied in April 2015).
> 
> At this stage, what would be worthwhile to do as per your experience?
> a. Should I review the tourist visa application at MRT? ( I guess it will be waste of time)
> 
> b. Should I apply another tourist visa? (what documents will make to show she have enough responsibilities to be back in Bangladesh)
> 
> c. Shoudl I apply for sponsored tourist visa? (I am afraid of the Huge Bond amount)
> 
> Any kind of suggestion is appreciated.
> 
> Regards,
> Mohammed Abedin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samanthayang -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the issues with your marriage. I'd love to help, but you need legal advice from a family lawyer to get the best answer to this question - I'm not able to provide legal advice on family law matters. I'd check with a family lawyer, especially noting that he left less than a year from the date you were married.

Best,

Mark Northam



Samanthayang said:


> Hi Mark,
> I would like to ask about my divorce. My husband left Australia in April for our Offshore Partner application.
> Unfortunately, our marriage has broken down and I also withdrew the application. I would like to get divorced to him as well ( We got married on 4/6/2014).
> They said we must be separated for atleast a tear to be able to get divorced. So does it mean we have been separated since the day he left ? Please let me know what to do about this divorce.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chicken999 -

Haven't heard anything about this. That sort of a price rise would be way beyond anything DIBP has ever done before for partner visas. However, who knows... I'd have your friend ask the agent to provide evidence of this or a source. There have been some unusual ideas around in the news over the last 5-6 months about raising many visa prices to $50k or something very high, but at this point I don't see that idea gaining any traction.

Best,

Mark Northam



chicken999 said:


> Hi mark
> 
> Friends of mine had an appointment with a migration agent thus week and were told partner visa is going up to 15k by 1st July 2016 - have you heard anything about this or is the agent just scaring them into lodging quickly.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Australia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DoctorSA -

They'll usually wait. If you've received a 28-day letter asking for police certificates and haven't been able to provide all, I'd respond and let them know you're still waiting and will lodge as soon as you have it. If you haven't received a 28-day letter yet, you eventually will, then keep in touch with them re: progress on obtaining these.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DoctorSA said:


> Hi Mark. We have applied for 189 visa and just done medical but still waiting to get our police clearance back from our police department. We did not realise it would take so long. Will they wait for us to post it or will visa be denied?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Feline1979 -

Thanks for the question. No problem using ImmiAccount on behalf of your husband as long as you have his full permission. Re: From 1229, both should sign.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



feline1979 said:


> Hello Mark.
> 
> My husband is a current 457 holder. We are trying to apply for a Subsequent entrant visa for myself and my kids under my husband's immi account. Question is, would it be ok if the immi account is accessed by me here in the Philippines when we submit the application? My husband is not as computer savvy as I am, modesty aside  His friends advised him against it because the CO might trace that the application is lodged/accessed in the Philippines and the CO might think it fraudulent.
> 
> Another question. For form 1229, do both of us need to sign the form? Or would my signature suffice?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> EDIT: Feline - I've moved your post into the existing Ask Mark! thread as he'll see it more easily here. *Mod*


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi FKB -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



FKB said:


> Hello Mark,
> My friend is working as technical consultant / presale in HK, is it possible for him to apply for 189 skilled visa?
> Thanks a lot!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chouse -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you have a positive skills assessment and can achieve points you need without points for skilled employment, DIBP does not require any minimum amount of work experience for the 189 or 190 visas. However if you're looking at the 190, you should make sure that the state that you want to get sponsorship from does not require work experience for your occupation. Also make sure you don't need to have any employment (ie, as required by a licencing authority) if your occupation requires a licence of some sort.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chouse said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I was going to apply for the partner visa but been pointed in the skilled migrant pathway instead. From looking at the points calculator I am at 65 points but the work experience aspect is throwing me.
> 
> I have worked 13 months in the last 2 years and the employment will continue until I get an appropriate visa to go to Australia. I am able to get a positive skills assessment for teaching as all my qualifications meet the criteria given.
> 
> Do I need both the positive skills assessment and the skilled employment statement in order to be considered for 189/190? reexperience


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sydney2015 -

Thanks for the note. I don't think DIBP would view that as a problem as long as there was substantial relationship evidence to show that the relationship was genuine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sydney2015 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am going to apply for a 820/801 visa in March next year. I'm flying to my country in January for 10 days to get all documents that I don't have here (birth certificate, my previous marriage docs, police check - it's not possible to get it online so I have to apply in person etc.).
> 
> The problem is, my Australian partner is not coming with me as he doesn't like cold weather and besides that I will be busy all the time getting my documents and running errands. Of course we will stay in touch during this short separation period and we will keep records of that. But now he is thinking that he can do his own little holiday in the meantime - go to Hong Kong or somewhere else for a week or so, just by himself.
> 
> I am concerned how would immigration see this separate holidays. We are partners and we are supposed to do everything together... Do you think it could be a problem and they can say we are not a genuine couple? We both love travelling and did a lot of holidays together, this would be the first time when we split up. My partner just wants to use the time when I'm not with him and go somewhere, do something so he doesn't feel so lonely.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abbas -

Thanks for the note. You could certainly try one of the other English tests to see how you do, or pursue the employer sponsored route. If you already have a skills assessment, assuming you have 3 years of experience an employer may be able to sponsor you for a subclass 186 ENS visa (requires IELTS 6 on all 4 bands), or RSMS 187 visa. I'd check each visa very carefully to make sure you understand all of the requirements and obligations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashaito said:


> Dear Mark ,
> Hope you are doing well. I have a question , im applying for Visa Subclass 189 , i was able to get the assessment for Australia Engineers. Im 30 years old , married and i have a bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering.
> im facing a problem getting 7 score band in IELTS after many attempts. Accordingly, i have failed the Points Test.
> what options i have ? should i go to PTE test ?
> Is there any other visa class i can apply to ? given that i can get a job offer from Australian employer.
> 
> Best Regards
> Abbas


----------



## ramonaAstone

Hi Mark!

Thanks so much for the reply! I have 2 more questions if it's not a problem,
how is your experience with Australian VISA debit cards? I've read many divided opinions, some say it's acceptable for online visa payments and some say it's not.

The second question is about immi account, I'm gonna apply online from Serbia for my partner visa, can I also submit my sponsor's form from my immi account as well or does he have to submit his from Australia himself?

Thanks again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RamonaAstone -

Have had no problems with Australian VISA debit cards, and no problem lodging both applicant and sponsor partner visa forms from same online ImmiAccount.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ramonaAstone said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Thanks so much for the reply! I have 2 more questions if it's not a problem,
> how is your experience with Australian VISA debit cards? I've read many divided opinions, some say it's acceptable for online visa payments and some say it's not.
> 
> The second question is about immi account, I'm gonna apply online from Serbia for my partner visa, can I also submit my sponsor's form from my immi account as well or does he have to submit his from Australia himself?
> 
> Thanks again!


----------



## ashaito

*Child VIsa*

Dear Mark, 
You are really awesome , God bless 
i was granted the visa subclass 189 on 9th of October,2015. My given deadline for first entry is on 2nd of February.
My wife is expected to deliver within the come week, i know that i should apply for the Form 1022 , change in circumstances.
here is my question : 
1- im planning to traveling to Australia within the first weeks of January, for landing. Can i NOT take my daughter with me , because she will be around 2 months old and im traveling from middle east , its around a 22 hrs flight.
2- if i was able to travel without her, what should i do next in order to to add her to my file .
Thanks a lot for your kind support.
Best Regards


----------



## twid

Hi Mark,
First of all I really appreciate your generous service to forum, 
I have a query regarding bank statement. I have work experience in two countries UK and India. In UK I had account with some bank, But while returning from UK I closed my account does that can create problem, Do you have any knowledge about as you deal with many people around the world?
I have got Offer letter, and some pay slips and some payslips are missing
Please I will appreciate your help

Thanking you


----------



## aoamber

Hi, Mark. I hope you can guide me. I applied for student visa 573 via agent. They submitted my application for me. The problem is I cannot contact my agent for a few days and i am not in my country right now, so cant walk to their office. The agent gives me no information about the visa process. How can get an access to my application files if I wasn't the one who submitted them and they are stored, most probably, on agent's account? Whom should I contact for a help?


----------



## kashif.alizai

Hi Mark,
I am BSc(Hons) Agriculture. I am doing farming along with my father from last 06 years. Could you please let me know about my eligibility for immigration. And what kind of documents are required by VETASSESS/DIBP for Farmers Category?

Hoping to hearing from you.

Kashif


----------



## J_Harrison

Hi there Mark

You've probably had this question a billion times, but my eyes have gone fuzzy trying to find an answer to my question.

I applied last year for my resident return visa which I was granted a 1 year resident return visa due to being out of Australia for over 5 years. Soon after I received my visa we started my partner visa with our 2 children added. I would just like to know how long does it take for a case worker to be assigned to my partners visa application? 

Second question I have is because I only have till the end of July to get to Australia do you think with having 2 small children awaiting their visa they would consider extending my visa till my partner and children get their visas granted so we van travel to Australia as a family?

Your reply would be greatly appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashaito -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on the upcoming birth of your child.

re: 1, no problem leaving the child behind. Since the child is being born outside Australia, the child will not acquire a visa or citizenship upon birth.

re: 2, you should look into a Child visa for your child. This can be done offshore (subclass 101), or if you get your child a visitor visa without condition 8503 and then come to Australia, you can lodge an onshore subclass 802 child visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashaito said:


> Dear Mark,
> You are really awesome , God bless
> i was granted the visa subclass 189 on 9th of October,2015. My given deadline for first entry is on 2nd of February.
> My wife is expected to deliver within the come week, i know that i should apply for the Form 1022 , change in circumstances.
> here is my question :
> 1- im planning to traveling to Australia within the first weeks of January, for landing. Can i NOT take my daughter with me , because she will be around 2 months old and im traveling from middle east , its around a 22 hrs flight.
> 2- if i was able to travel without her, what should i do next in order to to add her to my file .
> Thanks a lot for your kind support.
> Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Twid -

Thanks for the kind words. For work you are claiming for points for a skilled visa, you will generally be required by DIBP to show evidence of payment for the entire period you are claiming for points. If you don't have payslips from the entire period, perhaps you can address the gaps with bank statements? Tax records are another way to evidence payment if you don't have bank statements or payslips for a particular period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



twid said:


> Hi Mark,
> First of all I really appreciate your generous service to forum,
> I have a query regarding bank statement. I have work experience in two countries UK and India. In UK I had account with some bank, But while returning from UK I closed my account does that can create problem, Do you have any knowledge about as you deal with many people around the world?
> I have got Offer letter, and some pay slips and some payslips are missing
> Please I will appreciate your help
> 
> Thanking you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aoamber -

Sorry to hear of your issues. If you used Form 956A or Form 956 to appoint your agent with DIBP, you could lodge another copy of that directly with DIBP to de-appoint them, then request that the agent transfer the pending application from their ImmiAccount to yours. However that may take some time to do - probably better to track down the agent and see if you can get them to transfer the pending application. If the agent is registered (you're far safer with a registered agent) with MARA, you can initiate a complaint via MARA which normally will get an agent's attention fairly quickly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aoamber said:


> Hi, Mark. I hope you can guide me. I applied for student visa 573 via agent. They submitted my application for me. The problem is I cannot contact my agent for a few days and i am not in my country right now, so cant walk to their office. The agent gives me no information about the visa process. How can get an access to my application files if I wasn't the one who submitted them and they are stored, most probably, on agent's account? Whom should I contact for a help?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kashif -

Re: VETASSESS, there are document checklists on their site which are a good reference for this.

Re: overall eligibility, it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



kashif.alizai said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am BSc(Hons) Agriculture. I am doing farming along with my father from last 06 years. Could you please let me know about my eligibility for immigration. And what kind of documents are required by VETASSESS/DIBP for Farmers Category?
> 
> Hoping to hearing from you.
> 
> Kashif


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi J_Harrison -

Thanks for the note. There is no set period or particular notification that DIBP does when a case gets assigned to a case officer, or more likely, a team of officers, so no good way to predict. Partner visas generally take 12-18 months to process, but beyond that there's no predicting much else in the timeline, and some are done quicker than that, and others take longer.

Re: extending your RRV, unfortunately there's no way I know of to do that under the law - once a visa is issued, it's pretty much cast in stone unless it's cancelled or breached. You may have to look at another RRV if you aren't able to return to Australia prior to it expiring. Wish I had better news, but that's the system, as they say...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



J_Harrison said:


> Hi there Mark
> 
> You've probably had this question a billion times, but my eyes have gone fuzzy trying to find an answer to my question.
> 
> I applied last year for my resident return visa which I was granted a 1 year resident return visa due to being out of Australia for over 5 years. Soon after I received my visa we started my partner visa with our 2 children added. I would just like to know how long does it take for a case worker to be assigned to my partners visa application?
> 
> Second question I have is because I only have till the end of July to get to Australia do you think with having 2 small children awaiting their visa they would consider extending my visa till my partner and children get their visas granted so we van travel to Australia as a family?
> 
> Your reply would be greatly appreciated


----------



## sues

Hi Mark
my partner is now on his student visa 573, expire 31/12/16, he just complete his study last month, we confirmed his school has cancelled his COE, we just start apply the partner visa 820 via online, not completed yet. First I want to know once we applied, will he receive his BVA start now or start after 31/12/16, if start after 31/12/16 and he is still on his student visa can he work full time? is it possible that he receive a visa not allow he to study or work? it is almost 28 days since his COE been cancelled but he didn't receive anything from immi department. if his student visa will not be cancelled does that means he still have to study full time？
Second thing is we get married in china on 9/3/15 but we start de facto relationship on Sept 2013, so it is two years and now i'm pregnant for 5 month, the baby is all good so far. I want to know if we apply now do we still have to wait for 2 year to get the pr (stage 2) or it is possible to get pr straight away.
Thanks very much
Sue


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sue -

Thanks for the note. I'm guessing that your partner didn't complete the entire program he had originally enrolled in, hence the extra 15 months left on the student visa? The BVA will not activate until the student visa expires. However if DIBP cancels the student visa (which may happen given a cancelled COE that was not completed, plus all the time left on the visa), that will also cancel your BVA (assuming you've applied for the partner visa by the time the cancellation happens - you must do this to apply onshore) leaving you with no visa at all. In this case you will have to go to DIBP and apply for a Bridging Visa E to keep you onshore until the partner visa is processed.

This type of cancellation, or a voluntary cancellation if you do it yourself, has a number of side effects that can impact your citizenship eligibility, and would restrict your ability to re-enter Australia if you depart while holding a BV-E. Happy to go into this in much more detail at a consultation (see website below for link) so I can explain the process, and explain what happens in the case of visa cancellation after you've applied for another visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sues said:


> Hi Mark
> my partner is now on his student visa 573, expire 31/12/16, he just complete his study last month, we confirmed his school has cancelled his COE, we just start apply the partner visa 820 via online, not completed yet. First I want to know once we applied, will he receive his BVA start now or start after 31/12/16, if start after 31/12/16 and he is still on his student visa can he work full time? is it possible that he receive a visa not allow he to study or work? it is almost 28 days since his COE been cancelled but he didn't receive anything from immi department. if his student visa will not be cancelled does that means he still have to study full time？
> Second thing is we get married in china on 9/3/15 but we start de facto relationship on Sept 2013, so it is two years and now i'm pregnant for 5 month, the baby is all good so far. I want to know if we apply now do we still have to wait for 2 year to get the pr (stage 2) or it is possible to get pr straight away.
> Thanks very much
> Sue


----------



## sues

Hello Mark
he complete his entire program and get his bachelor degree. the visa has so many time left because it is an three year bachelor but he get one year of credit, however he get credit after enrollment. Plus he study three semester per year.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sue -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I'm guessing that your partner didn't complete the entire program he had originally enrolled in, hence the extra 15 months left on the student visa? The BVA will not activate until the student visa expires. However if DIBP cancels the student visa (which may happen given a cancelled COE that was not completed, plus all the time left on the visa), that will also cancel your BVA (assuming you've applied for the partner visa by the time the cancellation happens - you must do this to apply onshore) leaving you with no visa at all. In this case you will have to go to DIBP and apply for a Bridging Visa E to keep you onshore until the partner visa is processed.
> 
> This type of cancellation, or a voluntary cancellation if you do it yourself, has a number of side effects that can impact your citizenship eligibility, and would restrict your ability to re-enter Australia if you depart while holding a BV-E. Happy to go into this in much more detail at a consultation (see website below for link) so I can explain the process, and explain what happens in the case of visa cancellation after you've applied for another visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## twid

Hi Mark,
You always welcome Mark, By looking at number of pages for this thread, that you have helped lot off people in need. So I want to thank you.

I dont want to claim any point as my experience is 2 years and few months. I have some of the my payslips missing from beginning, Also, I close my account from that when I left so I dont have bank statements as well. But my company was MNC. So If I go for ACS assessment with some of my bank statement, few slips and with offer letter and experience letter does that can create trouble for me?

Thanking You
Twid



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Twid -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words. For work you are claiming for points for a skilled visa, you will generally be required by DIBP to show evidence of payment for the entire period you are claiming for points. If you don't have payslips from the entire period, perhaps you can address the gaps with bank statements? Tax records are another way to evidence payment if you don't have bank statements or payslips for a particular period.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sue -

With so much time left on the visa, it's not clear whether DIBP will proceed to cancel it or not. But until the visa expires on its own, there is no way for the BVA to activate. In some cases DIBP will let the student visa remain in place while the partner visa is processed, but they may or may not be willing to do this for 15 months - you may want to contact DIBP after you lodge the partner visa to see if you can get a reading on what they may do. Strictly speaking if a person finishes early, they have 60 days to lodge another visa application. If this happens, DIBP policy is generally not to cancel the previous visa, but there is no guarantee of this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sues said:


> Hello Mark
> he complete his entire program and get his bachelor degree. the visa has so many time left because it is an three year bachelor but he get one year of credit, however he get credit after enrollment. Plus he study three semester per year.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Twid -

Will come down to whether ACS will accept the pay evidence or not - difficult to predict. But if you're not claiming the experience for points, generally DIBP will not require any documentation on the work experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



twid said:


> Hi Mark,
> You always welcome Mark, By looking at number of pages for this thread, that you have helped lot off people in need. So I want to thank you.
> 
> I dont want to claim any point as my experience is 2 years and few months. I have some of the my payslips missing from beginning, Also, I close my account from that when I left so I dont have bank statements as well. But my company was MNC. So If I go for ACS assessment with some of my bank statement, few slips and with offer letter and experience letter does that can create trouble for me?
> 
> Thanking You
> Twid


----------



## sues

Thanks very much for the reply Mark
also for the second half of my question, given our de facto relationship has last for two year and I'm pregnant for 5 months now, will the DIBP consider give PR straight away or we still have to wait for two year to stage 2 of partner visa as the baby is not born yet.
thanks
Sue


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sue -
> 
> With so much time left on the visa, it's not clear whether DIBP will proceed to cancel it or not. But until the visa expires on its own, there is no way for the BVA to activate. In some cases DIBP will let the student visa remain in place while the partner visa is processed, but they may or may not be willing to do this for 15 months - you may want to contact DIBP after you lodge the partner visa to see if you can get a reading on what they may do. Strictly speaking if a person finishes early, they have 60 days to lodge another visa application. If this happens, DIBP policy is generally not to cancel the previous visa, but there is no guarantee of this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## twid

Hi Mark,
Thank you, But I want apply under 189 or 190, So I need to prove that i worked for at least 2 years.

Thanking You
Twid 


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Twid -
> 
> Will come down to whether ACS will accept the pay evidence or not - difficult to predict. But if you're not claiming the experience for points, generally DIBP will not require any documentation on the work experience.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sue -

They may consider the PR straight away if you can provide very convincing evidence that your relationship had existed at a de facto level (not boyfriend/girlfriend, etc) for the 2 years. This may be difficult to do, but it will come down to the case officer's discretion I suspect.

Best,

Mark



sues said:


> Thanks very much for the reply Mark
> also for the second half of my question, given our de facto relationship has last for two year and I'm pregnant for 5 months now, will the DIBP consider give PR straight away or we still have to wait for two year to stage 2 of partner visa as the baby is not born yet.
> thanks
> Sue


----------



## sues

Thanks Mark
it helps a lot



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sue -
> 
> They may consider the PR straight away if you can provide very convincing evidence that your relationship had existed at a de facto level (not boyfriend/girlfriend, etc) for the 2 years. This may be difficult to do, but it will come down to the case officer's discretion I suspect.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## sues

Mark, do you know if in case student visa is not cancelled can he work full time or he still have to study full time until visa expire. In case his student visa get cancelled will it affect the partner visa application?
thanks
Sue


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sue -
> 
> They may consider the PR straight away if you can provide very convincing evidence that your relationship had existed at a de facto level (not boyfriend/girlfriend, etc) for the 2 years. This may be difficult to do, but it will come down to the case officer's discretion I suspect.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## aoamber

Thank you for the reply Mark


----------



## ashaito

Dear Mark ,
my concern is that when i submit form 1022, that DIBP may add my child automatically to my application . and then ill be obliged to take her with me for landing.
As i stated earlier . my last day for entry is Feb 2. 2016. by that date she will be only 8 weeks old.
so my question is : 
can i leave her behind when i go for landing ??? even if she was added automatically after submitting form 1022 ??
or is it obligatory to submit form 1022 before landing ? can i submit this form after landing ??

Thanks alot , and sorry for any inconvenience

Best Regards.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ashaito -
> 
> Thanks for the note and congratulations on the upcoming birth of your child.
> 
> re: 1, no problem leaving the child behind. Since the child is being born outside Australia, the child will not acquire a visa or citizenship upon birth.
> 
> re: 2, you should look into a Child visa for your child. This can be done offshore (subclass 101), or if you get your child a visitor visa without condition 8503 and then come to Australia, you can lodge an onshore subclass 802 child visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Thao Le

*Citizenship*

Hello Mark, just a quick one on the residence requirement if I could.

I have been studying and working in Australia for the past 7 years 3 years on student visa, 1.5 years on 485 visa, 1.5 years on 457 visa, roughly a year on bridging visa while waiting for the 485 and 457 visas , and have just been granted a PR visa subclass 186 .

My question is am I eligible to apply for citizenship after having lived in Australia for 1 more year after the PR visa grant? Thank you very much.

Thao Le


----------



## pesaretala

*Different Score in EOI and Actual score from ACS*

Thanks for the prompt reply Mark.
So is it the case that in the EOI where it asks me for the employment from and to dates, I should enter the August 2007 as skilled employment and accepted by ACS and NOT the from date on my employment reference? 
And can you confirm that although with 5-8 years of experience from ACS result I get 60 points which is valid, but it will be rejected because it's different from the EOI??
Regards
Pesar



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pesar -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Unfortunately you'll probably have to not accept the invitation and wait for another one (after adjusting your employment claims to match the ACS results) if you cannot verify with evidence all the employment claims made in the EOI. It sounds like you claimed more years of skilled employment than ACS allowed, which artificially increased your points value - since the invitation was based on the increased points value which you cannot now justify with evidence, there's no point in accepting the invitation and applying for the visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## itaus

*Form 47SP question*

Hi Mark,

We are just a little confused about the section where it asks 
"when did you and your partner commit to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others" is this asking when did you get into a relationship or when did you become de-facto i.e. living together?

Thanks!


----------



## Anna-lisa

Thank you Mark! This helps a lot.

Is there a specific type of health insurance that I need to hold to be able to apply for the Partner Visa 820/801?
I only have a Travel Insurance from Sweden. Do you think will be sufficient or do I have to take an Australian based specific health Insurance?

Thank you
Anna



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Anna-lisa -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I'd write your name exactly as it appears on the passport in answer to that question with the "ep" part included. If they have questions, they can clarify with you.
> 
> Re: previous sponsorship, that only refers to sponsorship for an Australian visa (although they do not specify that on the form, that's the generally accepted meaning of the question in practice).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## mark1980

*How to upload form 1022?*

Hi Mark I want to notify DIBP that I've been working for the last 6 months (because when I apply for my 820 visa I was unemployed) and I would like to know where can I upload the
change of circumstances form 1022?!

I should upload the form like another document just like I uploaded all the evidence when I apply online for the visa 820-801??

I apply online for my visa 7 months ago and I was thinking to send this from online intead of sending it by post.

Thanks


----------



## Son1

Hi Mark,

Just three short questions I need help on.

Once receiving an invite for NSW 190, do i need to submit the cv/resume for the nomination application even if I won't be claiming any points for skilled employment obviously as I have no skilled work experience?

Is it possible that the state reject the approval based on the resume that shows no skilled employment even for those people that initially claimed to have no work experience?

After all if resumes are mandatory are casual work at retail/sales considered at least relevant?

Thank you have a nice day Mark.


----------



## busymama

*461*

HI Mark,
I'm currently living in Australia on a 461. I recently reapplied, received notice of a case worker and submitted more information. Having turned everything in, based on the timeline of processing that I read somewhere, I thought I had plenty of time. My current 461 visa comes to an end on the 1st of November, a few weeks from now. My question is, what if I'm not approved by then. Can you please advise what are my options? Or whom I need to contact?


----------



## mafioso

Dear Mark,

I am applying for state sponsorship under Marketing specialist, although until now i am not sure which state is going to sponsor me. 
Till now its 9th week but i havent received any communication from VITASSESS regarding skills assessment. 

your guidance on my above queries should help me get clearer picture of further process and timeline. 

looking forward to have an expert advice on both the issues.


----------



## Oz dreamer

Hi Mike,

I received my ACS assessment under 261111. Due to my current company policy i could not provide reference document with letter head , but rather produced statutory declaration through my colleague mentioning my job description in detail.
Below is current employment result.

The following employment has been assessed as not suitable.

Dates: 02/14 - 09/15 (0yrs 0mths)
Position: Business Development Manager -Information Security/Business Analyst - Not Assessable due to Insufficient Documentation.

What does this mean. 
1. Do I need to produce additional documents like salary slip / offer letter.
2. Since results already out. Does case officer will modify and make necessary changes accordingly once i produce the same.
3. What other additional documents do i need to produce to consider above employment.

Kindly advice . Would really appreciate your inputs.


----------



## Kaffee

Hi Mark
I am finally getting to grips with the online application form for my PMV but I have to say that some of the questions do seem ridiculous and I wonder whether the form itself is designed to put off all but the most determined.

To the point: 
1) I am asked if I have lived in any country for more than 12 months in the last 10 years. My answer is of course I have. I live in the UK and have done for all of my life! When I try to answer the question it asks me for an end date. I don't have one because I have not yet left the UK. Do I assume they mean to ask if have lived in a country OTHER than my country of birth?
2) On the same page I am asked to list all visits of less than 12 months to other countries in the last 10 years and to be honest I cannot remember the exact dates/durations of all my quick shopping trips to France and /or Belgium in the last two years let alone 10! How critical is this?
3) Relationship details - Can I assume that the statements regarding Financial aspects and Nature of Household are not expected to be detailed as we are engaged and have not yet lived together for more than a 5 week holiday?
Thanks Mark


----------



## KarenVG

Hi Mark. I just wanted to ask you about the Bridging Visa B. My partner is currently in Australia on a tourist visa the expires 31/12/15 and we will be applying for an onshore partner visa in the next week, which I believe means he should be granted a bridging visa A straight away but it won't kick in until 1st Jan 2016 when the tourist visa expires.

He needs to go to Italy around 6th January for a couple of weeks. Is it possible to apply for a Bridging visa B in November/December (whilst he's still on the tourist visa)? Or do we have to wait until the Bridging A visa kicks in on 1st Jan, which would only leave 5 days before his flight?

Thank you!


----------



## DoctorSA

*contact for visa*

Hi Mark. We have completed our health assessments for 189 visa and are just waiting to receive our police clearances (this has taken longer than expected). Although it says medical assessments have gone through no one has contacted us and we do not have any contact details. How do you suggest we get hold of a case officer to let them know that we are just waiting for this last document? There is a phone number but only works from inside Australia. Thank you.


----------



## kittudawra

hi mark . i really apriciate for your free advise you gave to every one you are doing a great job . . i habe questions for u is . i am near 17/18 mnth on mrt partner visa . i am expecting them soon to contacnt me for further document . . i have changed my adress 2 time i have informed them as well do i need to change my adress on marriage certificate also,?


----------



## devashish

Hi Mark , 

I really appreciate how your helping every one !
I need your wise advice too regarding visa 189 , I have lost my passport after submitting EOI and then I have got the Visa application invite on that EOI . 

I have now submitted the Visa Application online with new passport number , have I done it the right way ? is there any form that I have to fill for change in passport as my EOI passport number does not matches with my Visa Application Passport number.

Thanks in Advance Mark

Regards
Devashish


----------



## LadyRogueRayne

MarkNortham said:


> Hi LRR -
> 
> Once you apply for the 190 visa, you'll get a Bridging Visa A (assuming you apply onshore while holding a non-bridging visa) which will activate as soon as the current stay period of your ETA expires and you overstay that period - ie, if 3 months is the stay period on your ETA, then if you're onshore at the end of that period, on the 1st day after that period ends, your BV-A will activate. At that point your work rights begin. Re: medicals, probably better to do those closer to the visa application date to avoid expiration.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Yes, that does help. Thank you for clearing the confusion for me. I am currently in Australia on an ETA Business Visa. I followed the Dept of Ed of WA's advice and came over. I actually have been offered teaching jobs; however, I have to get my pr visa in order to accept one. Unfortunately, I had a hold up submitting my skills assessment, so that is taking longer than planned. However, I knew this was a possibility going in and am prepared to either apply for an e600 tourist visa to give me the extra time needed, or go off shore and apply for another ETA visa. I'd prefer to stay onshore, obviously. I've been researching and wanted to ask 2 additional questions.

1) If I apply for the e600 tourist visa onshore, will it hold the 8503 stipulation? I've been reading threads and most don't seem to. Or will I need to go offshore and apply for another ETA visa?

2) And would it be beneficial to submit an EOI for a 186 or 187 sponsored visa in the hopes that I can get sponsorship? Or should I wait until after I apply for the e600 and just apply for the 189?

I was told that there are private schools that may sponsor. However, public schools are not able to do so. Therefore, I'm trying to see what my best course of action is. I did take the TOEFL ibt test before leaving the US to gain points for the pr 189 visa. However, there were technical difficulties with the computers when I took the reading and listening portions (the computer skipped articles and then there was no sound for 2 of the lectures I had to answer questions on). This resulted in scores of 27 reading, 28 listening, 30 speaking and 30 writing. I needed 28 or higher in all areas, from what I understand to get the full 20 pts for the skilled visa. I'm an English teacher, so I was floored when I saw the 2 areas were lower, especially since I got perfect scores on the other 2 areas. I was told when I reported the error that they would adjust for it. However, it's apparent they did not. Therefore, I will only gain 10 points from the English test, which puts me at 55 pts instead of the 65pts I expected in order to pursue the 189 skilled visa. I could go for the 190 skilled visa; however, I saw that WA has a financial requirement of $20,000 in order to gain 190 sponsorship. That's not feasible for me at this point. So, I will either have to resit the test (which I can do but need the additional time) or try to get a employer sponsored visa (186 or 187).

Thank you sincerely for taking the time to answer these questions. I truly appreciate it.

~Tammi


----------



## sukanta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sukanta -
> 
> Nope, you're all set - that's how each of those application forms look online after you have completed and submitted them.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark. You have been a great help and sincerely apologies for the delay to say "Thank you."

Regards
Sukanta


----------



## geenasuphke

*Exclusion Period*

Hi Mark,

I have a query about applying for a Partner Visa offshore.
My partner was on a 457 sponsorship visa but tried to change his employer. Whilst his employer was "applying" to take over the sponsorship he began working for the new employer due to urgent staff requirements. He was paid in cash but has declared all earnings to the ATO. The nomination was not completed within 90 days since leaving his initial sponsor and he left Australia to avoid overstaying his visa. He then attempted to return 1 week later (as we were intending to apply for the defacto visa once he returned) where immigration stopped him and discovered that he had been working for an employer who was not sponsoring him. He was therefore breaking condition 8107 and was removed from Australia and is now subject to a 3-year exclusion period.
Our lives were in AUS and I have since moved overseas to be with him. 
We would like to return to AUS as soon as possible. 
Is it possible for us to apply for the defacto visa with this exclusion period in place?
Cheers,
Geena


----------



## liz0911

Hi Mark!

Thank you so much for helping everyone out! 

I'm close to submitting an onshore partner visa. I'm currently on a student visa about to wrap about my diploma in a couple of months. My student visa does not expire until December 2016 as when I applied I thought I may continue on to advanced diploma but have since changed my mind. My question is that since my student visa does not expire until December 2016 but I no longer wish to continue on to the next course level what will happen with the bridging visa? I just do not want to continue paying for school another year while the visa is being processed when I no longer have the desire to continue with this course. 

Any knowledge you have would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks again Mark

Elisabeth


----------



## spearmintsorbet

Hi Mark

I have a 1 year WHV and live in Victoria, originally from the UK.

My visa will expire after I have been de facto 11 months, and in Victoria wecan only register our relationship after 12 months (so on day of visa expiry).

Cannot marry as we are same-sex, yes we have strong evidence of de facto status for 11 months.

*Could it be possible, please, to apply for the relationship registration a day or 2 early of the 12 months and use the receipt to get bridging onshore partner visa? *

We would then have time to update the relationship registration with 12 months in Victoria, and with a registered relationship we could waive the 12 month living together requirement and continue our partner visa app.

*Does DIBP accept relationship registration receipts (rather than certs) in the short term? In your experience, could this plan work or is there a better option?*

Thank you so much for your kind help.


----------



## hopeforoz

Hi Mark,

Need your expert advise please. I applied for the 190 Visa a month ago and still waiting for the CO to pick up my file. My wife is pregnant and her expected date of delivery is in the month of February, next year. I found out that it is not advisable to undergo X-Rays while pregnant. So, If I ask the CO for an extension until after the delivery, that is until February, then would it affect my chances to get the grant in any way. What if the Quota for my occupation gets filled by the time the baby is born. I am utterly confused. Can you suggest something. Some doctors that I consulted even said that you can undergo an X-Ray with the help of a abdomen shield and it is safe, but I am still confused
Please suggest

Thanks


----------



## kashif.alizai

Hi Mark,
I am asking this question on behalf of my friend, who is doing job in Government department as Early childhood Teacher. He has done (BS.c (Hons) Agriculture-04 year+Bachelor of Education-01 year+Master of Education-01 year) He wants to apply for assessment from AITSL. 

Could you please let me know the acceptance of above mentioned qualifications by AITSL.

Regards

Kashif


----------



## pidubrar

Hi Mark,
I hail from India
I came to Australia in 2008. I did 2 years diploma in hospitality management in cookery from Melbourne. After that i got a very less chance to work in my particular field. I worked as a volunteer for sum months as a kitchen hand.After that i applied again for student visa but that got cancelled and my consultant did not informed me on time. So i had to apply for MRT. Then i hired another consultant and she asked me sign on forms that my each and every detail regarding visa and immigration will go to her directly. I did everything she asked for Unfortunately, after some time MRT also got cancelled but she did not tell me anything at all regarding that. instead she told me to apply for 457 visa and charged me all the fee and made me sign all the documents. She told me that she had a sponsored for me in Darwin whilst i was residing in Melbourne at that time. After that she sent me a nomination letter and charged me again. after some months, some of the immigration officers came to my home at night and asked me for my visa status. I told them that i have applied for 457 visa in Darwin and even i have a nomination letter also. But they just told me that i was not having any visa at that time. I got astonished. I explained them the whole story but they did not listen to me and took me to the detention center and kept me for 1 week there. After that they sent me back to India. At that time they gave me a notice of removal stating condition number S198(1). I got deported on March 2013. And my ban will be over in March 2016. While working in Australia i had a clean record and i also paid all the taxes on time. So, i just want to know that would i be eligible to apply for state sponsorship in Australia again after March or not as i am now working in a restaurant as a chef for over 2 years in India. I would be grateful if you could respond me.
Hoping for your favorable response.


----------



## fshah

Hi Mark,

I have recently received my ACS assessment and they have deducted 5.6 years experience out of 10 years with following statement.

*The following Employment after October 2010 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level relevant to 261313.*

They have assessed my Master in computer Science (2 years) as AQF associate degree major in computing and Bsc(2 years) as AQF associate degree major in computing.
I only had shown post MCS experience which was around 10 years. i was actually anticipating that they would assessed my MCS as AQF bachelor degree and i would be able to get 15 points from my qualification and 5 years from my experience, however, now i am short of 5 points as my degree is below bachelor degree and will only get 10 points for my qualification.

I also had 5 years of experience after my Bsc computer science which i didn't provide to ACS.

my question is as my Bsc is also assessed as AQF associate degree major in computing and if i provide additional 5 years of experience(post bsc). will ACS change skilled met date, in case i go for review?

you advice will be highly appreciated.


----------



## abshaito

*SOL category*

Dear Mark,
I am applying for skilled migration visa subclass 189. I can not find my work category on the skilled occupation list (SOL). Please help me find the proper category.
I have BSc in Biology, MSc in Biology, PhD in Genetics and Developmental Biology. I have a huge experience in scientific biological research. Right now I am a university researcher and a university assistant professor where I teach several introductory and advanced university courses.
Please help me find the proper category to apply for subclass 189 and get proper assessment.
Appreciate the help.


----------



## SRIRAM ANANDARAM

Dear Mark,

My name is Sriram and I am new to this Forum. I would like to know the Immigration steps (for PR) and how is the points calculated. It will great if you can explain or send me some link where I can refer to.

Regards,

Sriram.a


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sues -

He's still bound by the student visa until it expires or is cancelled. If the course he is registered in is in session, that can limit his work rights accordingly. If he stops attending the course, doesn't change the work rights situation while the student visa is still in force.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sues said:


> Mark, do you know if in case student visa is not cancelled can he work full time or he still have to study full time until visa expire. In case his student visa get cancelled will it affect the partner visa application?
> thanks
> Sue


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashaito -

DIBP won't add a person to an application unless you request that they do, and unless you pay the additional application fee - hope that simplifies things.

Best,

Mark



ashaito said:


> Dear Mark ,
> my concern is that when i submit form 1022, that DIBP may add my child automatically to my application . and then ill be obliged to take her with me for landing.
> As i stated earlier . my last day for entry is Feb 2. 2016. by that date she will be only 8 weeks old.
> so my question is :
> can i leave her behind when i go for landing ??? even if she was added automatically after submitting form 1022 ??
> or is it obligatory to submit form 1022 before landing ? can i submit this form after landing ??
> 
> Thanks alot , and sorry for any inconvenience
> 
> Best Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thao Le -

Yes, you may be - once you've been a PR for 12 months, you would then need to look back 4 years and see how much time you were present in Australia (on any visa) vs not present - see citizenship website for the rules re: absence time within the last 4 years (12 months max) and within the last 12 months (3 months max).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Thao Le said:


> Hello Mark, just a quick one on the residence requirement if I could.
> 
> I have been studying and working in Australia for the past 7 years 3 years on student visa, 1.5 years on 485 visa, 1.5 years on 457 visa, roughly a year on bridging visa while waiting for the 485 and 457 visas , and have just been granted a PR visa subclass 186 .
> 
> My question is am I eligible to apply for citizenship after having lived in Australia for 1 more year after the PR visa grant? Thank you very much.
> 
> Thao Le


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pesar -

Thanks for the note but cannot give you specific application advice like that without seeing all the documents myself in a consultation - there are simply too many details that might make a difference in my advice. The simple answer is: you can only claim work for skilled points that was undertaken while you were skilled, per the dates ACS says you became skilled. If this date occurs in the middle of an employment, then you could split that into 2 on your EOI so the first part prior to the "skilled" date is marked as not relevant to your occupation, and the second part that occurred after the skilled date is. Happy to assist you further at a consultation - see website below for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pesaretala said:


> Thanks for the prompt reply Mark.
> So is it the case that in the EOI where it asks me for the employment from and to dates, I should enter the August 2007 as skilled employment and accepted by ACS and NOT the from date on my employment reference?
> And can you confirm that although with 5-8 years of experience from ACS result I get 60 points which is valid, but it will be rejected because it's different from the EOI??
> Regards
> Pesar


----------



## MarkNortham

Generally this question is interpreted as when you became de facto in the case of de facto couples. In the case of married couples, it is often the date they became engaged.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itaus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We are just a little confused about the section where it asks
> "when did you and your partner commit to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others" is this asking when did you get into a relationship or when did you become de-facto i.e. living together?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anna-lisa -

There is no requirement for the 820/801 visa that you hold any type of health insurance. Once you've applied onshore for this visa, you can immediately get Medicare coverage from Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Anna-lisa said:


> Thank you Mark! This helps a lot.
> 
> Is there a specific type of health insurance that I need to hold to be able to apply for the Partner Visa 820/801?
> I only have a Travel Insurance from Sweden. Do you think will be sufficient or do I have to take an Australian based specific health Insurance?
> 
> Thank you
> Anna


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark1980 -

Yes, you can upload it like any other relationship, etc document to your online 820 application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mark1980 said:


> Hi Mark I want to notify DIBP that I've been working for the last 6 months (because when I apply for my 820 visa I was unemployed) and I would like to know where can I upload the
> change of circumstances form 1022?!
> 
> I should upload the form like another document just like I uploaded all the evidence when I apply online for the visa 820-801??
> 
> I apply online for my visa 7 months ago and I was thinking to send this from online intead of sending it by post.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Son1 -

You can not lodge the CV and wait to see if the case officer requests it. I would have to see your documents and EOI at a consultation in order to answer the other questions as it requires a review of your occupation and work experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Son1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just three short questions I need help on.
> 
> Once receiving an invite for NSW 190, do i need to submit the cv/resume for the nomination application even if I won't be claiming any points for skilled employment obviously as I have no skilled work experience?
> 
> Is it possible that the state reject the approval based on the resume that shows no skilled employment even for those people that initially claimed to have no work experience?
> 
> After all if resumes are mandatory are casual work at retail/sales considered at least relevant?
> 
> Thank you have a nice day Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Busymama -

I'd check your documents from DIBP for a bridging visa grant notice - this is normally provided after you lodge the visa application, and is a special type of visa that automatically activates upon expiration of your current visa and covers you until a decision is made on your new application. If you applied onshore for the 461 visa and did not receive a bridging visa, I would contact DIBP right away.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



busymama said:


> HI Mark,
> I'm currently living in Australia on a 461. I recently reapplied, received notice of a case worker and submitted more information. Having turned everything in, based on the timeline of processing that I read somewhere, I thought I had plenty of time. My current 461 visa comes to an end on the 1st of November, a few weeks from now. My question is, what if I'm not approved by then. Can you please advise what are my options? Or whom I need to contact?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mafioso -

No good way to predict VETASSESS's timelines - I'd review their website for detailed info and contact them directly if you have questions. I believe their normal turnaround is around 12 weeks but that may have changed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mafioso said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am applying for state sponsorship under Marketing specialist, although until now i am not sure which state is going to sponsor me.
> Till now its 9th week but i havent received any communication from VITASSESS regarding skills assessment.
> 
> your guidance on my above queries should help me get clearer picture of further process and timeline.
> 
> looking forward to have an expert advice on both the issues.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Oz Dreamer -

You would need to follow up with ACS to see what their rules are for this sort of thing and what additional documents they may consider. Sometimes a reassessment is possible (for a fee usually), but the current assessment is consider completed from what it looks like. There have been large numbers of fraudulent work references provided recently from friends, colleagues, etc and from what we're seeing the skills assessors and DIBP are taking a very hard stand on these - either company letterhead (and they are now often calling the company to speak directly to the person who wrote the assessment, or even making unannounced site visits to the employer in some cases) or it is ineligible in some cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Oz dreamer said:


> Hi Mike,
> 
> I received my ACS assessment under 261111. Due to my current company policy i could not provide reference document with letter head , but rather produced statutory declaration through my colleague mentioning my job description in detail.
> Below is current employment result.
> 
> The following employment has been assessed as not suitable.
> 
> Dates: 02/14 - 09/15 (0yrs 0mths)
> Position: Business Development Manager -Information Security/Business Analyst - Not Assessable due to Insufficient Documentation.
> 
> What does this mean.
> 1. Do I need to produce additional documents like salary slip / offer letter.
> 2. Since results already out. Does case officer will modify and make necessary changes accordingly once i produce the same.
> 3. What other additional documents do i need to produce to consider above employment.
> 
> Kindly advice . Would really appreciate your inputs.


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Kaffee -

Thanks for the note. Ridiculous? Yup. But you can thank all the shonky applicants with bogus documents and false references for making life difficult for everybody. All questions are required, period. Re: end date on current country, you can put the current date or if it won't accept that, yesterday. Re: 3, yes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kaffee said:


> Hi Mark
> I am finally getting to grips with the online application form for my PMV but I have to say that some of the questions do seem ridiculous and I wonder whether the form itself is designed to put off all but the most determined.
> 
> To the point:
> 1) I am asked if I have lived in any country for more than 12 months in the last 10 years. My answer is of course I have. I live in the UK and have done for all of my life! When I try to answer the question it asks me for an end date. I don't have one because I have not yet left the UK. Do I assume they mean to ask if have lived in a country OTHER than my country of birth?
> 2) On the same page I am asked to list all visits of less than 12 months to other countries in the last 10 years and to be honest I cannot remember the exact dates/durations of all my quick shopping trips to France and /or Belgium in the last two years let alone 10! How critical is this?
> 3) Relationship details - Can I assume that the statements regarding Financial aspects and Nature of Household are not expected to be detailed as we are engaged and have not yet lived together for more than a 5 week holiday?
> Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KarenVG -

Thanks for the note. No problem applying to change the BV-A to a BV-B prior to when the BV-A activates. I'd apply in late November or so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KarenVG said:


> Hi Mark. I just wanted to ask you about the Bridging Visa B. My partner is currently in Australia on a tourist visa the expires 31/12/15 and we will be applying for an onshore partner visa in the next week, which I believe means he should be granted a bridging visa A straight away but it won't kick in until 1st Jan 2016 when the tourist visa expires.
> 
> He needs to go to Italy around 6th January for a couple of weeks. Is it possible to apply for a Bridging visa B in November/December (whilst he's still on the tourist visa)? Or do we have to wait until the Bridging A visa kicks in on 1st Jan, which would only leave 5 days before his flight?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DoctorSA -

You could upload a letter to your online application if you don't have any other way to contact them.

Best,

Mark



DoctorSA said:


> Hi Mark. We have completed our health assessments for 189 visa and are just waiting to receive our police clearances (this has taken longer than expected). Although it says medical assessments have gone through no one has contacted us and we do not have any contact details. How do you suggest we get hold of a case officer to let them know that we are just waiting for this last document? There is a phone number but only works from inside Australia. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kittudawra -

As long as you have kept DIBP up to date with your info via Form 929 to change your address or contact info, no need to change your address on your marriage certificate for immigration purposes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kittudawra said:


> hi mark . i really apriciate for your free advise you gave to every one you are doing a great job . . i habe questions for u is . i am near 17/18 mnth on mrt partner visa . i am expecting them soon to contacnt me for further document . . i have changed my adress 2 time i have informed them as well do i need to change my adress on marriage certificate also,?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Devashish -

That's normally not a problem, however you could upload a letter to your online application providing the old and new passport numbers and explaining the circumstances re: the change.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



devashish said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> I really appreciate how your helping every one !
> I need your wise advice too regarding visa 189 , I have lost my passport after submitting EOI and then I have got the Visa application invite on that EOI .
> 
> I have now submitted the Visa Application online with new passport number , have I done it the right way ? is there any form that I have to fill for change in passport as my EOI passport number does not matches with my Visa Application Passport number.
> 
> Thanks in Advance Mark
> 
> Regards
> Devashish


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LRR -

Re: 1, no way to predict whether 8503 will be added, however a key issue may be whether DIBP will grant the visa for purposes of pursuing employment - that's a touchy area. Re: 2, I have yet to see a 186 or 187 application that is the result of lodging an EOI and hoping someone nominates you - these are all generally done after an employee has convinced an employer to sponsor them for the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LadyRogueRayne said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Yes, that does help. Thank you for clearing the confusion for me. I am currently in Australia on an ETA Business Visa. I followed the Dept of Ed of WA's advice and came over. I actually have been offered teaching jobs; however, I have to get my pr visa in order to accept one. Unfortunately, I had a hold up submitting my skills assessment, so that is taking longer than planned. However, I knew this was a possibility going in and am prepared to either apply for an e600 tourist visa to give me the extra time needed, or go off shore and apply for another ETA visa. I'd prefer to stay onshore, obviously. I've been researching and wanted to ask 2 additional questions.
> 
> 1) If I apply for the e600 tourist visa onshore, will it hold the 8503 stipulation? I've been reading threads and most don't seem to. Or will I need to go offshore and apply for another ETA visa?
> 
> 2) And would it be beneficial to submit an EOI for a 186 or 187 sponsored visa in the hopes that I can get sponsorship? Or should I wait until after I apply for the e600 and just apply for the 189?
> 
> I was told that there are private schools that may sponsor. However, public schools are not able to do so. Therefore, I'm trying to see what my best course of action is. I did take the TOEFL ibt test before leaving the US to gain points for the pr 189 visa. However, there were technical difficulties with the computers when I took the reading and listening portions (the computer skipped articles and then there was no sound for 2 of the lectures I had to answer questions on). This resulted in scores of 27 reading, 28 listening, 30 speaking and 30 writing. I needed 28 or higher in all areas, from what I understand to get the full 20 pts for the skilled visa. I'm an English teacher, so I was floored when I saw the 2 areas were lower, especially since I got perfect scores on the other 2 areas. I was told when I reported the error that they would adjust for it. However, it's apparent they did not. Therefore, I will only gain 10 points from the English test, which puts me at 55 pts instead of the 65pts I expected in order to pursue the 189 skilled visa. I could go for the 190 skilled visa; however, I saw that WA has a financial requirement of $20,000 in order to gain 190 sponsorship. That's not feasible for me at this point. So, I will either have to resit the test (which I can do but need the additional time) or try to get a employer sponsored visa (186 or 187).
> 
> Thank you sincerely for taking the time to answer these questions. I truly appreciate it.
> 
> ~Tammi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Geenasuphke -

Yes, the 3 year exclusion period applies only to temporary visas and not to permanent visas such as partner visas. However you may need to look carefully at the specific means by which he was removed from Australia to determine whether there is a 1 year exclusion period that may affect the partner visa. Can assist you further with this at a consultation - would need to review the cancellation/removal documents. See website below in my signature if you'd like to know more about our consultations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



geenasuphke said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a query about applying for a Partner Visa offshore.
> My partner was on a 457 sponsorship visa but tried to change his employer. Whilst his employer was "applying" to take over the sponsorship he began working for the new employer due to urgent staff requirements. He was paid in cash but has declared all earnings to the ATO. The nomination was not completed within 90 days since leaving his initial sponsor and he left Australia to avoid overstaying his visa. He then attempted to return 1 week later (as we were intending to apply for the defacto visa once he returned) where immigration stopped him and discovered that he had been working for an employer who was not sponsoring him. He was therefore breaking condition 8107 and was removed from Australia and is now subject to a 3-year exclusion period.
> Our lives were in AUS and I have since moved overseas to be with him.
> We would like to return to AUS as soon as possible.
> Is it possible for us to apply for the defacto visa with this exclusion period in place?
> Cheers,
> Geena


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liz0911 -

Thanks for the note. If you do not wish to study any more, you can either wait for DIBP to cancel your student visa for non-attendance, or request voluntary cancellation. If you leave the visa in effect, you're still bound by its conditions and the visa is subject to cancellation at any time. If you cancel it, you will no visa, your bridging visa you received for the partner application onshore lodgement will be cancelled, and you'll have to apply for a Bridging Visa E , then work rights, to remain in Australia until a decision is made on the partner visa. Suggest you consult with a migration agent to get all the details on voluntary cancellation and the repercussions on your work rights and future citizenship residency requirements if you are considering voluntary cancellation - happy to assist further at a consultation - see website below for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



liz0911 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Thank you so much for helping everyone out!
> 
> I'm close to submitting an onshore partner visa. I'm currently on a student visa about to wrap about my diploma in a couple of months. My student visa does not expire until December 2016 as when I applied I thought I may continue on to advanced diploma but have since changed my mind. My question is that since my student visa does not expire until December 2016 but I no longer wish to continue on to the next course level what will happen with the bridging visa? I just do not want to continue paying for school another year while the visa is being processed when I no longer have the desire to continue with this course.
> 
> Any knowledge you have would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks again Mark
> 
> Elisabeth


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Spearmintsorbet -

The good news in your situation is that DIBP will accept the relationship certificate any time up until a decision is made, so it does not have to be provided at the time of application. The receipt for applying for the certificate is not of value to DIBP, but the certificate, as long as it is provided prior to the decision date of the visa (thanks to a loophole in the legislation) is generally accepted by DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



spearmintsorbet said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have a 1 year WHV and live in Victoria, originally from the UK.
> 
> My visa will expire after I have been de facto 11 months, and in Victoria wecan only register our relationship after 12 months (so on day of visa expiry).
> 
> Cannot marry as we are same-sex, yes we have strong evidence of de facto status for 11 months.
> 
> *Could it be possible, please, to apply for the relationship registration a day or 2 early of the 12 months and use the receipt to get bridging onshore partner visa? *
> 
> We would then have time to update the relationship registration with 12 months in Victoria, and with a registered relationship we could waive the 12 month living together requirement and continue our partner visa app.
> 
> *Does DIBP accept relationship registration receipts (rather than certs) in the short term? In your experience, could this plan work or is there a better option?*
> 
> Thank you so much for your kind help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

In most cases the grant of the visa will be delayed until the medical tests are completed, however you generally do not need to worry about occupational quotas if you have already received an invitation, as the quotas are for invitations, not visas granted. Re: medical test and whether to do them or wait, I can't help with that, but would suggest you get a few opinions from doctors related to your specific circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Need your expert advise please. I applied for the 190 Visa a month ago and still waiting for the CO to pick up my file. My wife is pregnant and her expected date of delivery is in the month of February, next year. I found out that it is not advisable to undergo X-Rays while pregnant. So, If I ask the CO for an extension until after the delivery, that is until February, then would it affect my chances to get the grant in any way. What if the Quota for my occupation gets filled by the time the baby is born. I am utterly confused. Can you suggest something. Some doctors that I consulted even said that you can undergo an X-Ray with the help of a abdomen shield and it is safe, but I am still confused
> Please suggest
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kashif -

Best to check directly with AITSL - every skills assessor has their own requirements, and they're always changing. That's what we do for clients - for each case we have to check the particular assessor's requirements and determine any recent changes and determine if the client qualifies, etc.

Best,

Mark



kashif.alizai said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am asking this question on behalf of my friend, who is doing job in Government department as Early childhood Teacher. He has done (BS.c (Hons) Agriculture-04 year+Bachelor of Education-01 year+Master of Education-01 year) He wants to apply for assessment from AITSL.
> 
> Could you please let me know the acceptance of above mentioned qualifications by AITSL.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Kashif


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pidubrar -

No reason that the previous problems would prevent you from pursuing a new 457 visa, however I'd be very careful of who you trust to handle your migration business. There may be some residual concern about your genuineness from the previous episodes, so I would make sure your application is absolutely correct in every detail, and would assume that DIBP will contact all previous employers and verify every aspect of your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pidubrar said:


> Hi Mark,
> I hail from India
> I came to Australia in 2008. I did 2 years diploma in hospitality management in cookery from Melbourne. After that i got a very less chance to work in my particular field. I worked as a volunteer for sum months as a kitchen hand.After that i applied again for student visa but that got cancelled and my consultant did not informed me on time. So i had to apply for MRT. Then i hired another consultant and she asked me sign on forms that my each and every detail regarding visa and immigration will go to her directly. I did everything she asked for Unfortunately, after some time MRT also got cancelled but she did not tell me anything at all regarding that. instead she told me to apply for 457 visa and charged me all the fee and made me sign all the documents. She told me that she had a sponsored for me in Darwin whilst i was residing in Melbourne at that time. After that she sent me a nomination letter and charged me again. after some months, some of the immigration officers came to my home at night and asked me for my visa status. I told them that i have applied for 457 visa in Darwin and even i have a nomination letter also. But they just told me that i was not having any visa at that time. I got astonished. I explained them the whole story but they did not listen to me and took me to the detention center and kept me for 1 week there. After that they sent me back to India. At that time they gave me a notice of removal stating condition number S198(1). I got deported on March 2013. And my ban will be over in March 2016. While working in Australia i had a clean record and i also paid all the taxes on time. So, i just want to know that would i be eligible to apply for state sponsorship in Australia again after March or not as i am now working in a restaurant as a chef for over 2 years in India. I would be grateful if you could respond me.
> Hoping for your favorable response.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fshah -

I can't give you an opinion without seeing all of your documents, but from what you've said in your post it seems like they may consider the additional 5 years, as long as it occurred in the last 10 years (counting back from the date of application). I'd talk to ACS about this and see if you can get some prediction from them on how they would handle this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fshah said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have recently received my ACS assessment and they have deducted 5.6 years experience out of 10 years with following statement.
> 
> *The following Employment after October 2010 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level relevant to 261313.*
> 
> They have assessed my Master in computer Science (2 years) as AQF associate degree major in computing and Bsc(2 years) as AQF associate degree major in computing.
> I only had shown post MCS experience which was around 10 years. i was actually anticipating that they would assessed my MCS as AQF bachelor degree and i would be able to get 15 points from my qualification and 5 years from my experience, however, now i am short of 5 points as my degree is below bachelor degree and will only get 10 points for my qualification.
> 
> I also had 5 years of experience after my Bsc computer science which i didn't provide to ACS.
> 
> my question is as my Bsc is also assessed as AQF associate degree major in computing and if i provide additional 5 years of experience(post bsc). will ACS change skilled met date, in case i go for review?
> 
> you advice will be highly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abshaito -

Would need to work with you in a consultation to assist - see website below in my signature for details. Problem is, if you're claiming work experience, teaching about something is not considered the same as actually working for a company, etc in that occupation. And the teaching occupations (ie, University Lecturer, etc) are not on the SOL list. If you are not claiming any work experience for points, and can get a skills assessment as a biologist or whatever scientific field you are qualified for, that might work. Suggest you book a consult so we have the time to work through the various possibilities and requirements from various skills assessors, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abshaito said:


> Dear Mark,
> I am applying for skilled migration visa subclass 189. I can not find my work category on the skilled occupation list (SOL). Please help me find the proper category.
> I have BSc in Biology, MSc in Biology, PhD in Genetics and Developmental Biology. I have a huge experience in scientific biological research. Right now I am a university researcher and a university assistant professor where I teach several introductory and advanced university courses.
> Please help me find the proper category to apply for subclass 189 and get proper assessment.
> Appreciate the help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sriram.a -

Thanks for the note and welcome to the forum. The DIBP (immigration dept) website has some good info - you can get on there (Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection) and search for the subclass 189 visa or subclass 190 visa to get more about skilled PR visas and the points test. You can also navigate their interface to look for "Work in Australia" visas, then choose skilled visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SRIRAM ANANDARAM said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> My name is Sriram and I am new to this Forum. I would like to know the Immigration steps (for PR) and how is the points calculated. It will great if you can explain or send me some link where I can refer to.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Sriram.a


----------



## abshaito

I will book a consult. I looked at the website and I need to book a consult. Can I specify that you be my consultant or there are other people who can help me.
But for now can you answer this please. So, you mean that if I get my points as a biologist, then I can apply under subclass 189 even if biologist is not listed on the SOL. I have worked in research as a biologist, does this count as a work experience?
Thanks Mark



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Abshaito -
> 
> Would need to work with you in a consultation to assist - see website below in my signature for details. Problem is, if you're claiming work experience, teaching about something is not considered the same as actually working for a company, etc in that occupation. And the teaching occupations (ie, University Lecturer, etc) are not on the SOL list. If you are not claiming any work experience for points, and can get a skills assessment as a biologist or whatever scientific field you are qualified for, that might work. Suggest you book a consult so we have the time to work through the various possibilities and requirements from various skills assessors, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abshaito -

Re: consultation, I do all of these personally, so the consult would be with me.

Re: occupation, I was only tossing out biologist as an example of a non-teaching occupation - you can only lodge an Expression of Interest for a subclass 189 visa for an occupation that is on the SOL list. See http://anzscosearch.com for more on occupations and lists - see LISTS tab at the top to see the current SOL list.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abshaito said:


> I will book a consult. I looked at the website and I need to book a consult. Can I specify that you be my consultant or there are other people who can help me.
> But for now can you answer this please. So, you mean that if I get my points as a biologist, then I can apply under subclass 189 even if biologist is not listed on the SOL. I have worked in research as a biologist, does this count as a work experience?
> Thanks Mark


----------



## Gauisa10

Hi Mark, 

I just have an enquiry about visitor visa for married couples. Is it possible for a partner to travel multiples time on visitor visa to Australia to visit your wife but not apply for a Partner Visa? I know of a person who married and aus citizen 2014 but came here via visitor visa for 6 months, left the country in July and is now back in the country for another 6 months to be with his wife even though they refuse to apply for partner visa? Just a bit frustrated because I tried to apply on a multiple times for my husband to visit me during that we didn't apply for the Partner Visa but was advised by the office to apply for Partner Visa??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gauisa10 -

It depends on how often the person is visiting, and the case officer. Too many visits will often trigger a statement/warning/etc from DIBP that if the person wants to keep on spending time staying in Australia with their partner, they should apply for a partner visa. It comes down to each case officer's interpretation of the genuine visitor criteria, especially the policy that visitor visas (tourism stream) are only for temporary short-term tourism, etc purposes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gauisa10 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just have an enquiry about visitor visa for married couples. Is it possible for a partner to travel multiples time on visitor visa to Australia to visit your wife but not apply for a Partner Visa? I know of a person who married and aus citizen 2014 but came here via visitor visa for 6 months, left the country in July and is now back in the country for another 6 months to be with his wife even though they refuse to apply for partner visa? Just a bit frustrated because I tried to apply on a multiple times for my husband to visit me during that we didn't apply for the Partner Visa but was advised by the office to apply for Partner Visa??


----------



## Gauisa10

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gauisa10 -
> 
> It depends on how often the person is visiting, and the case officer. Too many visits will often trigger a statement/warning/etc from DIBP that if the person wants to keep on spending time staying in Australia with their partner, they should apply for a partner visa. It comes down to each case officer's interpretation of the genuine visitor criteria, especially the policy that visitor visas (tourism stream) are only for temporary short-term tourism, etc purposes.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark for the quick response. I know he is here as a single and not married. Also he doesn't work so not sure how he manage to provide support for himself either does his wife, so I know something fishy is going on. Just a bit frustrated because you have those doing it the right way and are patiently waiting and then you have those who are lying on their visas and manage to get approved. Anyways, thanks again Mark, appreciate it.

Have a blessed week


----------



## Maya88

Hi Mark,

My partner and I have applied for the Partner Visa 820/801 in November 2014 and have been patiently awaiting a decision. I just have two things to run by you – 

We visited her family in Europe in June so she was granted a Bridging Visa B to travel. She has not re-applied for a Bridging Visa A since returning in August, and is currently still under the Bridging Visa B. Does she need to re-apply for the Bridging Visa A? If she remains on the Bridging Visa B can she apply for travel again or does she need to apply for A and then repeat the process again?

Would you recommend at this point we follow up with DIBP – we don’t want to be pushy as we haven’t quite reached the average processing time of 1 year yet but in your experience does it help to chase them up?

Thanks so much in advance, appreciate your help.

Maya


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maya -

Thanks for the note. No need to re-apply for the BV-A upon return, however you'll need a new BV-B for each trip you wish to make going forward. No real benefit to chasing up the application (you'll just get a form letter back saying "don't call us, we'll call you" sort of thing) - partner visa applications are typically taking 12-18 months to process these days.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maya88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I have applied for the Partner Visa 820/801 in November 2014 and have been patiently awaiting a decision. I just have two things to run by you -
> 
> We visited her family in Europe in June so she was granted a Bridging Visa B to travel. She has not re-applied for a Bridging Visa A since returning in August, and is currently still under the Bridging Visa B. Does she need to re-apply for the Bridging Visa A? If she remains on the Bridging Visa B can she apply for travel again or does she need to apply for A and then repeat the process again?
> 
> Would you recommend at this point we follow up with DIBP - we don't want to be pushy as we haven't quite reached the average processing time of 1 year yet but in your experience does it help to chase them up?
> 
> Thanks so much in advance, appreciate your help.
> 
> Maya


----------



## Maya88

Very fast reply! Thanks so much Mark - really appreciate your time.

Maya



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Maya -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No need to re-apply for the BV-A upon return, however you'll need a new BV-B for each trip you wish to make going forward. No real benefit to chasing up the application (you'll just get a form letter back saying "don't call us, we'll call you" sort of thing) - partner visa applications are typically taking 12-18 months to process these days.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Lahore

Hi Mark, hope you are doing good. I am on student visa at the moment. My major is accounting and i am planning to apply for 189 soon. I am sorry if somebody has asked this question already. Is it true that for accountants you need at least 65 points to submit EOI? I couldn't find anything on the website so i thought i should confirm it from you. Thanks


----------



## spearmintsorbet

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Spearmintsorbet -
> 
> The good news in your situation is that DIBP will accept the relationship certificate any time up until a decision is made, so it does not have to be provided at the time of application. The receipt for applying for the certificate is not of value to DIBP, but the certificate, as long as it is provided prior to the decision date of the visa (thanks to a loophole in the legislation) is generally accepted by DIBP.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I'm immensely grateful to you for your kind help.

My partner is PR, and my WHV visa expires on 11th Jan 2015.
I plan to return home for a family Xmas, re-enter on 6th Jan, submit partner visa on 8th Jan 2015 and register our relationship on the earliest day possible (11th Jan), so that the certificate can be sent to the DIBP.

Does this seem the safest and best option please? Or do you recommend applying earlier or later? Am I likely to have immigration problems on re-entry? I have no history of visa problems in Oz, have only applied for and received this 1 WHV- it's just that re-entering close to my expiry date makes me nervous that they will suspect I plan to apply for an onshore new visa.

Thank you so much for your very kind help.


----------



## hopeforoz

*Hi*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hopeforoz -
> 
> In most cases the grant of the visa will be delayed until the medical tests are completed, however you generally do not need to worry about occupational quotas if you have already received an invitation, as the quotas are for invitations, not visas granted. Re: medical test and whether to do them or wait, I can't help with that, but would suggest you get a few opinions from doctors related to your specific circumstances.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark,

Truly appreciate your advice

Thanks


----------



## itaus

*Form 47Sp help! Pls*

Hi Mark (or anyone else who knows the answer) I'm applying for my partner visa and currently filling out form 47sp. 
There is a question that says have you ever even granted permission to work in Australia - yes or no. I answered yes because I am on a working holiday visa however, it also asks for the date permission was granted. Do I write the date immigration emailed me my visa approval or the date I landed in Australia. Thanks!


----------



## abshaito

Hi again Mike,
I am happy you are the one to do the consultation. The problem is that there is nothing that fits my occupation on the SOL list. I am biology/ science university researcher and lecturer. However, I can find a fit on the CSOL list. Category 234999: NATURAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS NEC . So, can I still apply under 189 or I should apply under 190 through a state or territory?
Always appreciate the time and help you give Mike.



abshaito said:


> I will book a consult. I looked at the website and I need to book a consult. Can I specify that you be my consultant or there are other people who can help me.
> But for now can you answer this please. So, you mean that if I get my points as a biologist, then I can apply under subclass 189 even if biologist is not listed on the SOL. I have worked in research as a biologist, does this count as a work experience?
> Thanks Mark


----------



## thefreeman

Just wanted to say a big "thank you" to Mark - had a Skype chat with him back in April to begin our visa process and he was very helpful and knowledgeable.

He's followed that up with a few tips by email when we've had 'questionable' requests from the dept.

I definitely recommend booking a consultation with Mark if you want the air cleared!

Thanks mate


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lahore -

Thanks for the note. The points requirement from DIBP is the same for all occupations. However the skills assessment requirements for accountants can be higher than other occupations - best to look at the skills assessment organisations for accounting carefully and check out their requirements. Also, with lots of competition for accounting invitations, having 65 points may increase the chances substantially that you would get an invitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lahore said:


> Hi Mark, hope you are doing good. I am on student visa at the moment. My major is accounting and i am planning to apply for 189 soon. I am sorry if somebody has asked this question already. Is it true that for accountants you need at least 65 points to submit EOI? I couldn't find anything on the website so i thought i should confirm it from you. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Spearmintsorbet (sounds yummy!) -

Potentially you could have an issue on re-entry that close to the end of your WHV, however entering on that visa to finish up your trip is perfectly acceptable. I'd be careful when you re-enter that you don't have things in your luggage, etc that tend to indicate you are planning to stay for a while here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



spearmintsorbet said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm immensely grateful to you for your kind help.
> 
> My partner is PR, and my WHV visa expires on 11th Jan 2015.
> I plan to return home for a family Xmas, re-enter on 6th Jan, submit partner visa on 8th Jan 2015 and register our relationship on the earliest day possible (11th Jan), so that the certificate can be sent to the DIBP.
> 
> Does this seem the safest and best option please? Or do you recommend applying earlier or later? Am I likely to have immigration problems on re-entry? I have no history of visa problems in Oz, have only applied for and received this 1 WHV- it's just that re-entering close to my expiry date makes me nervous that they will suspect I plan to apply for an onshore new visa.
> 
> Thank you so much for your very kind help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Itaus -

I'd suggest using the grant/expiry date of the visa.

Best,

Mark



itaus said:


> Hi Mark (or anyone else who knows the answer) I'm applying for my partner visa and currently filling out form 47sp.
> There is a question that says have you ever even granted permission to work in Australia - yes or no. I answered yes because I am on a working holiday visa however, it also asks for the date permission was granted. Do I write the date immigration emailed me my visa approval or the date I landed in Australia. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abshaito -

The NEC categories are difficult to get approved for, as DIBP will generally say you more closely fit into another category such as University Lecturer. Ability to lodge an EOI for 189 depends on whether your occupation is on the SOL list. Ability to lodge an EOI for 190 and get sponsorship requires that your occupation be listed on the SOL or CSOL list, AND that you get sponsorship approval from a state that is currently sponsoring that occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam (not Mike 



abshaito said:


> Hi again Mike,
> I am happy you are the one to do the consultation. The problem is that there is nothing that fits my occupation on the SOL list. I am biology/ science university researcher and lecturer. However, I can find a fit on the CSOL list. Category 234999: NATURAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS NEC . So, can I still apply under 189 or I should apply under 190 through a state or territory?
> Always appreciate the time and help you give Mike.


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks so much for the kind words!

Best,

Mark



thefreeman said:


> Just wanted to say a big "thank you" to Mark - had a Skype chat with him back in April to begin our visa process and he was very helpful and knowledgeable.
> 
> He's followed that up with a few tips by email when we've had 'questionable' requests from the dept.
> 
> I definitely recommend booking a consultation with Mark if you want the air cleared!
> 
> Thanks mate


----------



## Arfur_2014

Hello Mr. Mark,
I have question about bridging visa, is it really required to apply for Partner Subclass 820/801 visa? I lodged my application dated Oct.7, 2015,in person, but until now I have not receive any acknowledgement letter from immigration if my application is valid or I don't know, as I have heard it only takes a week to have the acknowledgement from immigration.My PMV still effective til 17th of March 2016. Please need advice. Thank you.

Gerlie
Brisbane


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gerlie -

Thanks for the note. It can sometimes take more than a week for you to receive an acknowledgement letter and bridging visa when you lodge paper applications - depends on the workload of the office, plus the time for the application to be sent from wherever you dropped it off to whatever office they decide to process it at - it's a big reason why we usually recommend online applications to avoid all that waiting for physical papers to be sent around, etc. I'd give it another 1-2 weeks - if you have not received your acknowledgement/bridging visa by then, I'd contact DIBP to see if you can locate where the application may be. You can also keep an eye on your credit card to see if/when they deduct the funds - that's another sign that it's been received and processed. Also, if you used your credit card and they have not taken the funds in another week, you may need to check with your bank to see if the transaction was somehow declined - if so, your application may be returned to you as invalid.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Arfur_2014 said:


> Hello Mr. Mark,
> I have question about bridging visa, is it really required to apply for Partner Subclass 820/801 visa? I lodged my application dated Oct.7, 2015,in person, but until now I have not receive any acknowledgement letter from immigration if my application is valid or I don't know, as I have heard it only takes a week to have the acknowledgement from immigration.My PMV still effective til 17th of March 2016. Please need advice. Thank you.
> 
> Gerlie
> Brisbane


----------



## pidubrar

I hail from India
I came to Australia in 2008. I did 2 years diploma in hospitality management in cookery from Melbourne. After that i got a very less chance to work in my particular field. I worked as a volunteer for sum months as a kitchen hand.After that i applied again for student visa but that got cancelled and my consultant did not informed me on time. So i had to apply for MRT. Then i hired another consultant and she asked me sign on forms that my each and every detail regarding visa and immigration will go to her directly. I did everything she asked for Unfortunately, after some time MRT also got cancelled but she did not tell me anything at all regarding that. instead she told me to apply for 457 visa and charged me all the fee and made me sign all the documents. She told me that she had a sponsored for me in Darwin whilst i was residing in Melbourne at that time. After that she sent me a nomination letter and charged me again. after some months, some of the immigration officers came to my home at night and asked me for my visa status. I told them that i have applied for 457 visa in Darwin and even i have a nomination letter also. But they just told me that i was not having any visa at that time. I got astonished. I explained them the whole story but they did not listen to me and took me to the detention center and kept me for 1 week there. After that they sent me back to India. At that time they gave me a notice of removal stating condition number S198(1). I got deported on March 2013. And my ban will be over in March 2016. While working in Australia i had a clean record and i also paid all the taxes on time. So, i just want to know that would i be eligible to apply for state sponsorship in Australia again after March or not as i am now working in a restaurant as a chef for over 2 years in India. I recently passed IELTS with 6 each and 6.5 overall. I would be grateful if you could respond me.
Hoping for your favorable response.


----------



## oixsid

*What to do!!'nnn*

I have a student visa here in sydney while i have a gf(partner) for over 2 years. She is has an expired tourist visa here. Is it possible for us to have the de facto or any visa that would enable here to work freely with tax and all.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pidubrar -

Thanks for the question - I answered it already on page 914 of this thread, thanks.

Mark



pidubrar said:


> I hail from India
> I came to Australia in 2008. I did 2 years diploma in hospitality management in cookery from Melbourne. After that i got a very less chance to work in my particular field. I worked as a volunteer for sum months as a kitchen hand.After that i applied again for student visa but that got cancelled and my consultant did not informed me on time. So i had to apply for MRT. Then i hired another consultant and she asked me sign on forms that my each and every detail regarding visa and immigration will go to her directly. I did everything she asked for Unfortunately, after some time MRT also got cancelled but she did not tell me anything at all regarding that. instead she told me to apply for 457 visa and charged me all the fee and made me sign all the documents. She told me that she had a sponsored for me in Darwin whilst i was residing in Melbourne at that time. After that she sent me a nomination letter and charged me again. after some months, some of the immigration officers came to my home at night and asked me for my visa status. I told them that i have applied for 457 visa in Darwin and even i have a nomination letter also. But they just told me that i was not having any visa at that time. I got astonished. I explained them the whole story but they did not listen to me and took me to the detention center and kept me for 1 week there. After that they sent me back to India. At that time they gave me a notice of removal stating condition number S198(1). I got deported on March 2013. And my ban will be over in March 2016. While working in Australia i had a clean record and i also paid all the taxes on time. So, i just want to know that would i be eligible to apply for state sponsorship in Australia again after March or not as i am now working in a restaurant as a chef for over 2 years in India. I recently passed IELTS with 6 each and 6.5 overall. I would be grateful if you could respond me.
> Hoping for your favorable response.


----------



## Indu9

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing great!

Can you please advise when should i apply for my BVB and is the below-mentioned reason valid enough for the Visa to be granted.

I had applied for onshore 820 in September 2014. It has been 13 months already and in August 2015 i received an email stating my Application has been moved to brisbane office due to work load at Sydney office. I have plans to travel to my home country from 22 November 2015 to 10 Jan, 2016. Reason being: 1) to celebrate my Mom's 60th Birthday and 2) Celebrate Christmas with family which we missed last year. 
Please assist if i can get my BVB granted with these reasons and when should i apply. I am planning to submit my application this friday 23 oct,2015.

Appreciate you response.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Indu -

Sounds like a very acceptable reason for a BV-B - a few weeks in advance is a good time to lodge - all looks good.

Best,

Mark



Indu9 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing great!
> 
> Can you please advise when should i apply for my BVB and is the below-mentioned reason valid enough for the Visa to be granted.
> 
> I had applied for onshore 820 in September 2014. It has been 13 months already and in August 2015 i received an email stating my Application has been moved to brisbane office due to work load at Sydney office. I have plans to travel to my home country from 22 November 2015 to 10 Jan, 2016. Reason being: 1) to celebrate my Mom's 60th Birthday and 2) Celebrate Christmas with family which we missed last year.
> Please assist if i can get my BVB granted with these reasons and when should i apply. I am planning to submit my application this friday 23 oct,2015.
> 
> Appreciate you response.


----------



## jordysmum

*son's girlfriend*

hi Mark
My son is only 16 as is his girlfriend. 
She has been granted a BS/801 permanent resident on 16th October 2014 as a secondary to her mother's application.
During the last year her life at home has become a nightmare. She is being emotionally abused by her mother and step father to the point that she has thought of hurting herself.
She is desperate to get some help from the school but when she went to see them, her mother found out and threatened to send her back to the Philippines and to have her removed from the visa. she has been told that when they do this that Immigration will come and send her back. Her biological father is in the Philippines but is not of good character.
They have begun to deny her food, money and have shut her lights off of a night so she can not study. She is being used as a housemaid. She did have a job at McDonalds but they forced her to give it up in the last few months.
My questions are: Can they have her removed from the visa? If she has permanent residency, is there a government service that could help her if she is made homeless or will she be sent back?
I find this whole situation appalling. I would have her here with me, but as it is, I live in a lounge room of my ex husband, so have no room unless she shares with my son but they are a both too young for that.
Any advice would be gratefully recieved


----------



## fshah

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fshah -
> 
> I can't give you an opinion without seeing all of your documents, but from what you've said in your post it seems like they may consider the additional 5 years, as long as it occurred in the last 10 years (counting back from the date of application). I'd talk to ACS about this and see if you can get some prediction from them on how they would handle this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark for your time and valuable suggestions. Actually i had completed my Bsc(Maths-A, Maths-B and Computer Science)2- years in June 2001. I started my Career in July 2001 as Software Engineer as full time employee. In 2002 i took admission in MCS(Master in Computer science) in evening shift. i continued my job with same employer in the morning shift. so after completing my MCS in 2005, i had almost 5 year of experience from the first employer along with MCS degree. afterwards i joined a new company in 2005. 
I was wondering that ACS would consider my employed only after MCS and thus i didn't provided them my pre-2005 experience. To Summarize My employment history

1. Software Engineer July 2001 - June 2005(First employer and completed my MCS at the same time in evening shif)
2. June 2005 - till to date(4 different employer) same job code

I hope it make the scenario clear.

Regards,
Faiq shah


----------



## abshaito

Thanks Mark. See you soon.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Abshaito -
> 
> The NEC categories are difficult to get approved for, as DIBP will generally say you more closely fit into another category such as University Lecturer. Ability to lodge an EOI for 189 depends on whether your occupation is on the SOL list. Ability to lodge an EOI for 190 and get sponsorship requires that your occupation be listed on the SOL or CSOL list, AND that you get sponsorship approval from a state that is currently sponsoring that occupation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam (not Mike


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jordysmum -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about your son's girlfriend's issues. From an immigration point of view, she is now a permanent resident of Australia if she has been granted a subclass 801 visa. She now has that visa independently of her mother, and she is not dependent upon her mother to retain the visa. The conditions you describe are terrible and I believe may border on neglect - my feeling is that this is a matter for the police and for child protective services, especially if she's being denied food. You may want to speak to a family lawyer, or a police community outreach officer, or someone at child protective services (DOCS/FACS/etc) to see what options are available for intervention. However as she is a permanent resident, even if she were separated from her family for protective or other reasons, her visa would not be at risk.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jordysmum said:


> hi Mark
> My son is only 16 as is his girlfriend.
> She has been granted a BS/801 permanent resident on 16th October 2014 as a secondary to her mother's application.
> During the last year her life at home has become a nightmare. She is being emotionally abused by her mother and step father to the point that she has thought of hurting herself.
> She is desperate to get some help from the school but when she went to see them, her mother found out and threatened to send her back to the Philippines and to have her removed from the visa. she has been told that when they do this that Immigration will come and send her back. Her biological father is in the Philippines but is not of good character.
> They have begun to deny her food, money and have shut her lights off of a night so she can not study. She is being used as a housemaid. She did have a job at McDonalds but they forced her to give it up in the last few months.
> My questions are: Can they have her removed from the visa? If she has permanent residency, is there a government service that could help her if she is made homeless or will she be sent back?
> I find this whole situation appalling. I would have her here with me, but as it is, I live in a lounge room of my ex husband, so have no room unless she shares with my son but they are a both too young for that.
> Any advice would be gratefully recieved


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fshah -

You'll need to have a look at: https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/7324/Summary-of-Criteria-2014.pdf and see how your work fits in - you'll need to see which of the education options (left column) fits with your degree as assessed by ACS (ie, what they assessed it as being equivalent to in Australia), then look over on the right column and you'll see what time period they pull the experience from. If the Bachelor and Masters are both assessed as the same, then I don't see why ACS wouldn't start using experience after the Bachelor degree as long as it fits within the date parameters on the chart and is relevant to the nominated occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fshah said:


> Thank you very much Mark for your time and valuable suggestions. Actually i had completed my Bsc(Maths-A, Maths-B and Computer Science)2- years in June 2001. I started my Career in July 2001 as Software Engineer as full time employee. In 2002 i took admission in MCS(Master in Computer science) in evening shift. i continued my job with same employer in the morning shift. so after completing my MCS in 2005, i had almost 5 year of experience from the first employer along with MCS degree. afterwards i joined a new company in 2005.
> I was wondering that ACS would consider my employed only after MCS and thus i didn't provided them my pre-2005 experience. To Summarize My employment history
> 
> 1. Software Engineer July 2001 - June 2005(First employer and completed my MCS at the same time in evening shif)
> 2. June 2005 - till to date(4 different employer) same job code
> 
> I hope it make the scenario clear.
> 
> Regards,
> Faiq shah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Oixsid -

Thanks for the post and emails - as we discussed, for someone here on a temporary visa who has overstayed, there are usually very few onshore options, and an offshore application is usually the best option assuming partner/fiance visa is not available because the partner is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

Best,

Mark



oixsid said:


> I have a student visa here in sydney while i have a gf(partner) for over 2 years. She is has an expired tourist visa here. Is it possible for us to have the de facto or any visa that would enable here to work freely with tax and all.


----------



## veri08

Hi Mark, 

I am currently on a student visa 572 until March 2016. My initial course for which I was issued my Coe, finishes on the 11th December 2015.
I started the course but after six month I had to change the school as I didn't learn anything and not worth my money. So I enrolled in another course and finished that one 3 weeks ago.
I applied for a 820 last year on 3 November 2014, but except that my application has progressed in the queue in August, I haven't heard back from them.
My question is now: Do I have to enrol in a course again until my initial chosen course finishes in December 2015 (if I don't get my visa granted earlier) or is there anything else I can do? It would be only 4 weeks studying, but I don't know what I should enrol in as I have already completed 2 Masters and 2 Diplomas. And it is a matter of money too. 
Also is it correct that I can have a 8 weeks break between starting a new course and a previous one?

Many thanks!!!!!


----------



## mhry

Hello Mark and other guys, How Are You.
Hope You Better.

Although i have been waiting any answer/question for 7 months, today, my ImmiAgent phoned me and said that i am asked from the immigration, what he called the final staff, and told me he was little bit busy and will let me know. He made me exited in advance, and i don't know what that staff will be. So my wife now is in Hospital with my 2 days old baby, what do you guys will that staff be?, i submitted Police Checks, Health with my application, and my visa is PMV.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Maria2

Hello Mark

hope you are well,I really need help. I'm very confused now. I don't know what to do and where to stand. I had experienced domestic violence twice now. But the 2nd time I went to the police and report it because my husband verbally abused me on the text messages and forcefully snatched my phone which creates small marks and bruise in my arm and smashed the phone in front of me. I can only cry. Police gave my husband court order to be good to me but he still angry at me and saying bad things that I report him to the police. I'm on my bridging visa now 10months we didn't heard from immigration yet. I got married last year on a tourist visa and we applied partner visa as we want to be together and not to be separated. I want to asked something if is it possible for me to get a PR to continue to live here. Thank you so much.

Maria


----------



## Cris Bassil

Hello, I don't know if its right here to post my question, 
I'm 16 years old, and we live in Lebanon, since Lebanon Is really bad, my family has been living in Lebanon more than 40 years, so my father and we decided to travel to Australia and live in there for ever!, can you please help and tell me every single detail we all must know, like how much we need as a minimum cash to get in there to live and everything and how much it costs to travel In there here, so please thanks for your support, we're 4 that we want to travel and our ages are the following
Me:16years
My Brother: 9 years
Mother: 43
Dad: 51


----------



## sennithya

Dear Mark, 

Thanks for your last reply. 

what about the chances of getting an invite for NSW state nomination for software engineer? with 55 + 5 points. Please suggest any timeline

Thanks 
Sennithya


----------



## jamielannister

Hi Mark
I applied for partner visa in august last year and it got refused earlier this year due not not having compelling reasons to waive schedule 3 and I had discussed it with you in emails we exchanged. I could not hire you cuz of financial constraints. Anyway I appealed to MRT after my refusal and they overturned the DIBP's decision and granted me waiver on the basis of long term relationship even though we did not live together for religious reasons which we explained to the member and she seemed to understand our position. Now MRT has remitted the case to DIBP to consider the case for remaining criteria. How long do you think Immi will take to get back to me? Can they refuse my case on other grounds? Actually we were unable to provide shared bank account as evidence cuz I am on bridging Visa E with no work rights. So we dont share expenses. My spouse study full time and work part time with he father who has a family business. I already explained to MRT that I cannot work. Would that be a problem later? And also i was represented by an agent when I applied for my visa initially but we represented ourself before MRT. Do you think DIBP will contact us directly or agent I had when applied at the start? 
Your assistance will be appreciated.
Thanks


----------



## Son1

Hi Mark,
Does birth certificate document have an expiry date in terms of using it for visa applications?
I got this issued a year ago and wondering if I could use this for my upcoming visa applications or should I get it newly issued?
Thank you.


----------



## dachura

Hi Mark,

I would like to apply for the Student dependent Visa, however most of the information that i can find is regarding overseas application.
I am currently in Australia holding a working holiday visa and it will be expired in early December 2015. My boyfriend is holding a 573 visa and will finish his master degree in dec 2016. i would like to stay for another year to accompany him via applying the student dependent visa.
we have been in relationship for 6 years, however, my boyfriend didn't include me in his initial student visa application as we didn't realize we can apply for dependent visa. we have been living together since i arrived Australia, but we do not have any share assets, we do have a joint lease agreement for 3 months and we only open a joint account few days ago. so i would like to ask if i am eligible in applying for dependent student visa. If yes, what form should i use, is it that i only need to fill in 157a? Thanks a lot!


----------



## AnnieTran

*Health examinations*

Dear Mark,
I attended medical examinations for my student visa in March 2015 (including 502 X-ray, 501 medical examination and 707 HIV test) and now applying for partnership visa. I'm just wondering if I need to attach the results from the previous health examinations (which I don't have) and how. Or do I just need to provide the HAP number? And do I need to take any other examinations for the partnership visa?
I tried to ring the clinic to get the results but apparently I need to contact the Immigration Department since they do not keep them. 
Any help would be much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Annie


----------



## anonymous789

Hi Mark!
I'm a dependent 457 visa holder. My father is the main 457 visa holder. I'm 21 years old. How many hours can I work per week to still be dependent to my father? Also, can I apply for a 457 visa from dependent 457 visa?
Your reply is much appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Veri08 -

It's hard to give you specific advice for your case without knowing much more about it, however I can tell you that generally speaking there is a 60 day period after one finishes a course early where they need to either enrol in another course, or depart Australia. However, in cases where a person has lodged a PR visa such as a partner visa, and if there are 6-7 or so months left on a student visa, DIBP will normally not enforce the 60 day provision and will simply let the student visa run until it expires on its own, after which the bridging visa issued with the partner visa will automatically activate assuming you are on shore at that point, and will cover you until a decision is made on the partner visa.

The tricky part involves work rights - if the course that you applied for the visa under would still be in session, then in some cases you may be bound by the in-session work rights limit (40 hours per fortnight). But if you've simply finished the same course you signed up for when you got the visa early, then generally the work rights limit would not apply as you have completed your course. No simple/easy answer however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



veri08 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently on a student visa 572 until March 2016. My initial course for which I was issued my Coe, finishes on the 11th December 2015.
> I started the course but after six month I had to change the school as I didn't learn anything and not worth my money. So I enrolled in another course and finished that one 3 weeks ago.
> I applied for a 820 last year on 3 November 2014, but except that my application has progressed in the queue in August, I haven't heard back from them.
> My question is now: Do I have to enrol in a course again until my initial chosen course finishes in December 2015 (if I don't get my visa granted earlier) or is there anything else I can do? It would be only 4 weeks studying, but I don't know what I should enrol in as I have already completed 2 Masters and 2 Diplomas. And it is a matter of money too.
> Also is it correct that I can have a 8 weeks break between starting a new course and a previous one?
> 
> Many thanks!!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mhry -

Thanks for the note. Hard to say what the agent may be asking for, but if I were you, I would ask him to put all requests in writing via email to avoid any misunderstanding. I would also ask him to forward to you all copies of all communications received from DIBP. Note that DIBP almost always makes requests in writing (via email), not by phone. Hope this helps, and congratulations on the birth of your child! Also, note sure if you or your wife is the applicant. If your wife is the applicant, re: PMV, have you asked the agent to add the baby to the application? Since the application has not yet been decided, this would probably be a very good idea so that the baby will receive the PMV visa along with your wife. But again, not sure of who is who here but just wanted to bring that up.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mhry said:


> Hello Mark and other guys, How Are You.
> Hope You Better.
> 
> Although i have been waiting any answer/question for 7 months, today, my ImmiAgent phoned me and said that i am asked from the immigration, what he called the final staff, and told me he was little bit busy and will let me know. He made me exited in advance, and i don't know what that staff will be. So my wife now is in Hospital with my 2 days old baby, what do you guys will that staff be?, i submitted Police Checks, Health with my application, and my visa is PMV.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## epiboy99

Hi Mark,
A friend of mine is under bridging visa A while his case is under the tribunal (for graduate entry visa). He wants to go to this home country for a while. Based on the conditions of the bridging visa A, he cannot leave Australia. Can he apply for Bridging visa B? Thanks.


----------



## Hunza

Dear Mark,

I am quite worried on the status of my lodged application I think its taking longer than usual please let me know if you think something may be wrong

Applied for my Subclass 189 in November 2014. I cleared both my stages before the expected timeframes. However, I lodged the final application on 2nd July 2015 and was asked to submit more documents on 25th August 2015 and have been waiting ever since I provided them with supporting documents. It says "Assessment in progress". I have already provided them with police clearances medical and further documents. How long should it usually take at this stage.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maria2 -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your issues. Yes, there is a pathway to continue with your onshore partner visa application if you can provide sufficient documentation regarding the domestic violence. Here's some info about it: Fact sheet - Family violence provisions

If you wanted assistance with this, I'd be happy to help at a consultation to explain your options and the requirements for making a claim - see website below for more info.

However beyond all the visa things, it is vital that you take care of yourself and stay safe. Visas are just government paperwork which can come and go, but your safety and your health is precious and irreplaceable. Please stay safe and if in doubt, get help from the police, the courts, women's services, etc.

Best,

Mark



Maria2 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> hope you are well,I really need help. I'm very confused now. I don't know what to do and where to stand. I had experienced domestic violence twice now. But the 2nd time I went to the police and report it because my husband verbally abused me on the text messages and forcefully snatched my phone which creates small marks and bruise in my arm and smashed the phone in front of me. I can only cry. Police gave my husband court order to be good to me but he still angry at me and saying bad things that I report him to the police. I'm on my bridging visa now 10months we didn't heard from immigration yet. I got married last year on a tourist visa and we applied partner visa as we want to be together and not to be separated. I want to asked something if is it possible for me to get a PR to continue to live here. Thank you so much.
> 
> Maria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cris -

Thanks for the note. There are some age limits on certain visas for Australia which may limit the choices for your parents a bit - I'd look into employer sponsored visas, especially the subclass 457 visa as a starting point - this would require your mom or dad to find an employer in Australia who would sponsor them for a visa. There is a lot of information on the DIBP (Immigration Dept) website at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection - another option could be a skilled visa for your Mom (your dad is above the age limit for these) - see DIBP website as a good starting place. There are many different types of visas for Australia - I hope you can find something that works well for you and your family.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cris Bassil said:


> Hello, I don't know if its right here to post my question,
> I'm 16 years old, and we live in Lebanon, since Lebanon Is really bad, my family has been living in Lebanon more than 40 years, so my father and we decided to travel to Australia and live in there for ever!, can you please help and tell me every single detail we all must know, like how much we need as a minimum cash to get in there to live and everything and how much it costs to travel In there here, so please thanks for your support, we're 4 that we want to travel and our ages are the following
> Me:16years
> My Brother: 9 years
> Mother: 43
> Dad: 51


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sennithya -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict NSW nomination times - wish I could, but there are too many factors they do not publish or provide info on, such as how many people are waiting in the queue per occupation, points scores of those selected, etc. Sorry I could not assist -

Best,

Mark



sennithya said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your last reply.
> 
> what about the chances of getting an invite for NSW state nomination for software engineer? with 55 + 5 points. Please suggest any timeline
> 
> Thanks
> Sennithya


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamielannister -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on your MRT victory! Well done! Schedule 3 appeals at the MRT (now AAT) are not easy, so you should feel good about what you've accomplished.

Typically several weeks to several months before you'll hear from DIBP, however if you were represented by an agent when the case was lodged with DIBP, chances are all communications will still go to that agent. The way to fix this is to download Form 956 from the DIBP site and complete the "Ending Appointment" parts (see instructions on the form). Then ask the agent to sign his part, you sign, and submit to DIBP. This will cancel the appointment of the agent and all further communications will go to you. I'd also suggest asking DIBP if there are any outstanding requests for information that may be pending that were sent to the agent, etc.

Re: financial evidence, hard to comment without seeing documents. As you won at MRT on Sched 3, DIBP cannot refuse on those grounds and assessment will continue of whether your relationship is genuine, etc - they could still refuse on those grounds, but you'd have the opportunity to go to MRT (now AAT) to appeal if they did. Best thing to do is to keep a close watch for any requests from DIBP for info and then send them anything/everything you can to address their requests.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamielannister said:


> Hi Mark
> I applied for partner visa in august last year and it got refused earlier this year due not not having compelling reasons to waive schedule 3 and I had discussed it with you in emails we exchanged. I could not hire you cuz of financial constraints. Anyway I appealed to MRT after my refusal and they overturned the DIBP's decision and granted me waiver on the basis of long term relationship even though we did not live together for religious reasons which we explained to the member and she seemed to understand our position. Now MRT has remitted the case to DIBP to consider the case for remaining criteria. How long do you think Immi will take to get back to me? Can they refuse my case on other grounds? Actually we were unable to provide shared bank account as evidence cuz I am on bridging Visa E with no work rights. So we dont share expenses. My spouse study full time and work part time with he father who has a family business. I already explained to MRT that I cannot work. Would that be a problem later? And also i was represented by an agent when I applied for my visa initially but we represented ourself before MRT. Do you think DIBP will contact us directly or agent I had when applied at the start?
> Your assistance will be appreciated.
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Son1 -

No expiration date I know of for those, other than perhaps in the Philippines where they sometimes want that document provided directly by the NSO, etc office.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Son1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Does birth certificate document have an expiry date in terms of using it for visa applications?
> I got this issued a year ago and wondering if I could use this for my upcoming visa applications or should I get it newly issued?
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dachura -

Thanks for the note. There are provisions for onshore applicants for dependents of students, but the regulations are complex and there's no quick & easy answer - there is a list of visas where in most cases you must be holding one of those - if you are holding a 417 visa it may work, however the 462 visa would not. Suggest you consult with a registered migration agent who specialises in student visas - these agents are often affiliated or work for an education agency - they can help you through the regulations and explain the requirements to see if you qualify. The fact that your partner did not declare you on his last student visa application may mean that you can only claim that your relationship became that of partners after that application was lodged, but an agent who specialises in student visas can tell you more about those provisions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dachura said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to apply for the Student dependent Visa, however most of the information that i can find is regarding overseas application.
> I am currently in Australia holding a working holiday visa and it will be expired in early December 2015. My boyfriend is holding a 573 visa and will finish his master degree in dec 2016. i would like to stay for another year to accompany him via applying the student dependent visa.
> we have been in relationship for 6 years, however, my boyfriend didn't include me in his initial student visa application as we didn't realize we can apply for dependent visa. we have been living together since i arrived Australia, but we do not have any share assets, we do have a joint lease agreement for 3 months and we only open a joint account few days ago. so i would like to ask if i am eligible in applying for dependent student visa. If yes, what form should i use, is it that i only need to fill in 157a? Thanks a lot!


----------



## nomad1c

Hi Mark,

Firstly I very much appreciate you taking the time to help people on this forum!

I'm not sure if my question is a bit too specific, but I'll give it a go...

I've been working in accounting departments (accounts receivable, payable etc) for the last 8 years, usually in a managerial/supervisor role. Over the years I've been learning programming on the job, whenever I got the time. In my two main jobs I created a lot of software for both customers and internal use.

I'm desperate to get PR in Australia, but the only job on the skills list that I remotely fit into is "ICT Business Analyst" (261111). For the RPL I think I can give two very compelling case studies on projects that fit into this job description. However, I cannot say that my work has been 100% ICT related, given that most of the day-to-day was accounting related. I did spend a lot of time programming, but not 100%. My job title in one case wouldn't mention anything to do with IT.

Is it possible for me to still qualify for an RPL in these circumstances? Or is it only for dedicated IT employees? My degree is totally unrelated to IT.

Thanks & regards,

Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AnnieTran -

It's likely you'll have to take a new set of medicals as the medical exams for temporary visa applications are done and assessed differently than those for permanent visa applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AnnieTran said:


> Dear Mark,
> I attended medical examinations for my student visa in March 2015 (including 502 X-ray, 501 medical examination and 707 HIV test) and now applying for partnership visa. I'm just wondering if I need to attach the results from the previous health examinations (which I don't have) and how. Or do I just need to provide the HAP number? And do I need to take any other examinations for the partnership visa?
> I tried to ring the clinic to get the results but apparently I need to contact the Immigration Department since they do not keep them.
> Any help would be much appreciated.
> Kind regards,
> Annie


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Anonymous789 -

Thanks for the note. There is no preset limit or formula that would determine dependency or not - generally speaking dependence means being a member of the main applicant's household, and being more dependent on the main applicant than on any other source for financial support. Beyond that, the laws get a bit more complex and can be different for different visa types. Suggest you consult with a migration agent to get a specific opinion on your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anonymous789 said:


> Hi Mark!
> I'm a dependent 457 visa holder. My father is the main 457 visa holder. I'm 21 years old. How many hours can I work per week to still be dependent to my father? Also, can I apply for a 457 visa from dependent 457 visa?
> Your reply is much appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Epiboy99 -

Yes - a BV-A holder can apply for a BV-B good for one trip out and back. Then he can remain on the BV-B until a decision from the tribunal (or until he applies for another BV-B for a future trip).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



epiboy99 said:


> Hi Mark,
> A friend of mine is under bridging visa A while his case is under the tribunal (for graduate entry visa). He wants to go to this home country for a while. Based on the conditions of the bridging visa A, he cannot leave Australia. Can he apply for Bridging visa B? Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hunza -

That's a bit long, however I'd guess the application may be waiting for external security checks, in which case all you can do is wait. I'd be patient and see what they ask for next.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hunza said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am quite worried on the status of my lodged application I think its taking longer than usual please let me know if you think something may be wrong
> 
> Applied for my Subclass 189 in November 2014. I cleared both my stages before the expected timeframes. However, I lodged the final application on 2nd July 2015 and was asked to submit more documents on 25th August 2015 and have been waiting ever since I provided them with supporting documents. It says "Assessment in progress". I have already provided them with police clearances medical and further documents. How long should it usually take at this stage.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark -

Thanks for the note. Split jobs are a tough situation to deal with and don't fit well into most skills assessor's systems. I'd give the ACS RPL a go and see what you can do - it is possible that if you spent 50% of your time as a business analyst at a particular position, ACS will give you 50% of that time as credited towards their requirements - I've seen that before. Clearly you'll want to characterise as much of your job as possible as Business Analyst (or whatever occupation you apply under), but they will look at your employer reference letter to see what fits.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nomad1c said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly I very much appreciate you taking the time to help people on this forum!
> 
> I'm not sure if my question is a bit too specific, but I'll give it a go...
> 
> I've been working in accounting departments (accounts receivable, payable etc) for the last 8 years, usually in a managerial/supervisor role. Over the years I've been learning programming on the job, whenever I got the time. In my two main jobs I created a lot of software for both customers and internal use.
> 
> I'm desperate to get PR in Australia, but the only job on the skills list that I remotely fit into is "ICT Business Analyst" (261111). For the RPL I think I can give two very compelling case studies on projects that fit into this job description. However, I cannot say that my work has been 100% ICT related, given that most of the day-to-day was accounting related. I did spend a lot of time programming, but not 100%. My job title in one case wouldn't mention anything to do with IT.
> 
> Is it possible for me to still qualify for an RPL in these circumstances? Or is it only for dedicated IT employees? My degree is totally unrelated to IT.
> 
> Thanks & regards,
> 
> Mark


----------



## mafioso

Hello Mark, 

I want to apply for state sponsorship under Marketing specialist having 4 years of work experience, education from UK and with 60 points already in my bag, 
i am waiting for my assessment from VITASSESS since 6th August till today. 
i would love to have your opinion on which state will sponsor me (SA has special conditions) and what are the chances of me getting the state sponsorship? 

your guidance will be helpful. 

thank you.


----------



## LadyRogueRayne

As of right now, I am still a "tourist." I haven't officially been offered a position, nor have I submitted any paperwork showing intent to work or stay. From what I understand, if needed, I could take a short trip to Bali on my ETA business visa (say 3-4 days?) then fly back to Australia, and my 3 month window would start again, correct? I just checked my visa and it says:
Expiry Date:26 Jun 2016 
Period of Stay:3 Months 
Number of Entries:Multiple 
Visa Condition:NO WORK - BUSINESS VISITOR ACTIVITY ONLY

So, that means that if I left the country for a few days, then return, that I would start a new 3 month window? Do I have to apply for a new ETA or does my current one stay valid? Or, would it be better to lodge an e600 visa to extend my current stay? This is where I'm a little confused as to the best course of action. Ultimately, it would be cheaper to stay and get the e600, but I'm worried about the 8503 condition being added. I do have a partner here in Australia, though we aren't lodging a pmv or anything like that. I want to get a visa on my own.

Thanks again for your insight. I want to ensure I do things the right way.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi LRR -
> 
> Re: 1, no way to predict whether 8503 will be added, however a key issue may be whether DIBP will grant the visa for purposes of pursuing employment - that's a touchy area. Re: 2, I have yet to see a 186 or 187 application that is the result of lodging an EOI and hoping someone nominates you - these are all generally done after an employee has convinced an employer to sponsor them for the visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## AnnieTran

Hi Mark,
Thank you for your response. So even though I'm on the early stage of applying for Visa 820 which is a temporary visa, I will still need to get the medical exams done? Or would you suggest to lodge the application in then once I have the temporary visa, I should arrange medical exams then?
Regards,
Anh



MarkNortham said:


> Hi AnnieTran -
> 
> It's likely you'll have to take a new set of medicals as the medical exams for temporary visa applications are done and assessed differently than those for permanent visa applications.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## JohnKimbell

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding Residency requirements for an Australian Citizenship. I obtained my PR in 2003 and have successfully retained and renewed my PR each time (fulfilling the requirements). 
However, have been absent for more than 1 Year within the last 4 years. About 14 Months to be exact ( At the time I am planning on applying) due to Holidays I have been taking ( I am currently doing full time study at University). My understanding is that I can apply for a Ministerial discretion under s22.9 which states "de facto partner or surviving spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen at the time the person made the application, the Minister may treat a period as one in which the person was present in Australia as a permanent resident"

How often do ministerial discretion get approved? And do you think it will work for my circumstance?

Regards
John


----------



## twid

Hi Mark,
I have doubt about document I need to get from my current employer as my offer letter only mention my job title and not my responsibilities. 
Please guide me what to do about it.
Thanking you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mafioso -

Thanks for the note. Marketing Specialist is a difficult occupation to find state sponsorship for as most states don't sponsor it - currently only SA does, but under highly restrictive conditions. I'd keep an eye on the different states - a very handy free tool is ANZSCOSearch - see https://www.anzscosearch.com/search/ - you can look up your occupation, instantly see what states are sponsoring, and click on the state to get more info on any special requirements.

If you aren't having any luck finding state sponsorship, suggest you might look into employer sponsorship via the 457, 186 or 187 visa subclasses.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mafioso said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I want to apply for state sponsorship under Marketing specialist having 4 years of work experience, education from UK and with 60 points already in my bag,
> i am waiting for my assessment from VITASSESS since 6th August till today.
> i would love to have your opinion on which state will sponsor me (SA has special conditions) and what are the chances of me getting the state sponsorship?
> 
> your guidance will be helpful.
> 
> thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LRR -

Based on what you've said, you could exit Australia and re-enter which would restart the 3-month stay clock. Only thing you'll want to keep an eye out for is doing too many re-entries, which can lead to DIBP getting curious about why you're spending so much time in Australia. Generally 2 entries is safe, perhaps 3. Beyond that and the risk goes up that you will be questioned upon entry and if DIBP decides you're not doing tourist-oriented things, they can eventually refuse entry and cancel the visa. Re-entry is generally safer than a new visa where 8503 becomes a possibility.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LadyRogueRayne said:


> As of right now, I am still a "tourist." I haven't officially been offered a position, nor have I submitted any paperwork showing intent to work or stay. From what I understand, if needed, I could take a short trip to Bali on my ETA business visa (say 3-4 days?) then fly back to Australia, and my 3 month window would start again, correct? I just checked my visa and it says:
> Expiry Date:26 Jun 2016
> Period of Stay:3 Months
> Number of Entries:Multiple
> Visa Condition:NO WORK - BUSINESS VISITOR ACTIVITY ONLY
> 
> So, that means that if I left the country for a few days, then return, that I would start a new 3 month window? Do I have to apply for a new ETA or does my current one stay valid? Or, would it be better to lodge an e600 visa to extend my current stay? This is where I'm a little confused as to the best course of action. Ultimately, it would be cheaper to stay and get the e600, but I'm worried about the 8503 condition being added. I do have a partner here in Australia, though we aren't lodging a pmv or anything like that. I want to get a visa on my own.
> 
> Thanks again for your insight. I want to ensure I do things the right way.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AnnieTran -

I'd do the medical exams after you lodge the 820 application - you could wait for DIBP to request them, or take them yourself by generating the health exam reference letter from your ImmiAccount after you lodge the 820.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AnnieTran said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for your response. So even though I'm on the early stage of applying for Visa 820 which is a temporary visa, I will still need to get the medical exams done? Or would you suggest to lodge the application in then once I have the temporary visa, I should arrange medical exams then?
> Regards,
> Anh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JohnKimbell -

That discretion requires that you evidence a close and continuing relationship with Australia during the period of absence you are requesting be considered time in Australia per the discretion. If you can prove that with evidence, then there's a reasonable chance the discretion will be approved. Suggest you study the Australian Citizenship Instructions relevant to the discretion (available on AUSTLII) as this is the policy DIBP uses to determine whether you had a close and continuing relationship with Australia during the period(s) of absence you're requesting the discretion for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JohnKimbell said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding Residency requirements for an Australian Citizenship. I obtained my PR in 2003 and have successfully retained and renewed my PR each time (fulfilling the requirements).
> However, have been absent for more than 1 Year within the last 4 years. About 14 Months to be exact ( At the time I am planning on applying) due to Holidays I have been taking ( I am currently doing full time study at University). My understanding is that I can apply for a Ministerial discretion under s22.9 which states "de facto partner or surviving spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen at the time the person made the application, the Minister may treat a period as one in which the person was present in Australia as a permanent resident"
> 
> How often do ministerial discretion get approved? And do you think it will work for my circumstance?
> 
> Regards
> John


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Twid -

Generally OK to get a different document from your employer, such as a position description or job description, to describe your tasks/duties/responsibilities. That document is used in combination with your reference letter. Also note that an offer letter may not be sufficient as it does not confirm the date(s) you worked for your employer. Note that DIBP and skills assessors have different rules and standards for these letters, so it's important to research carefully.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



twid said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have doubt about document I need to get from my current employer as my offer letter only mention my job title and not my responsibilities.
> Please guide me what to do about it.
> Thanking you


----------



## jamielannister

Thanks a lot Mark. It stunned me when I got an email from MRT that my application was remitted. I had almost finished my packing and was getting ready to depart Australia for a year or so. It was shocking. Thanks for your reply. 
I sent an email to DIBP notifying them that my lawyer doesn't represent me anymore and all the communication to be directed to my email and also asked them if there is any outstanding request for information. My agent refused to sign form 956 for some reason.
Anyway do you think MRT remitted cases get any priority at all? MRT already acknowledged that fact that our relationship is long standing and genuine. So if immigration did refuse on grounds that it is not genuine then I think I have very good chances of winning MRT. I can send you their decision record if you like?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamielannister -

Sounds good - I think you're definitely on the right track. However your agent has no right to not sign a 956 ending appointment, and without a 956 in the system at DIBP your correspondence may end up at that same agent who is being a jerk. Suggest you send something like this:

Dear Agent:

As you no longer act for me with relation to my visa application, I kindly again ask you to sign the attached 956 Ending Appointment form, as this form is required by DIBP in order to redirect official correspondence to my own email address. Should you continue in your refusal to accommodate this reasonable request, I will consider taking steps with the Office of the MARA. I have no wish to do this, however I simply cannot afford any possibility that critical requests from DIBP may not reach me due to your unreasonable refusal to sign a form which only acknowledges the actual state of affairs - that you no longer act for me with regard to this application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamielannister said:


> Thanks a lot Mark. It stunned me when I got an email from MRT that my application was remitted. I had almost finished my packing and was getting ready to depart Australia for a year or so. It was shocking. Thanks for your reply.
> I sent an email to DIBP notifying them that my lawyer doesn't represent me anymore and all the communication to be directed to my email and also asked them if there is any outstanding request for information. My agent refused to sign form 956 for some reason.
> Anyway do you think MRT remitted cases get any priority at all? MRT already acknowledged that fact that our relationship is long standing and genuine. So if immigration did refuse on grounds that it is not genuine then I think I have very good chances of winning MRT. I can send you their decision record if you like?


----------



## YYC2BNE

Mark, you are a deadset champion. I've browsed through this thread and the amount of advice you offer, especially being an agent, is commendable. I don't know if I'd have the patience to do it. I'm sure you've eased a lot of worries on peoples minds who've asked these 900+ pages of questions. 

Kudos to you.


----------



## newbies714

Hi Mark,
I've 10 years work exp. as a cook. 
Education -Bachelors Degree in Eco
3yr Diploma in Hotel Management
My Partner & i would like to migrate to Australia....
Please help......
Thank you
Loulou


----------



## Suggar

*Hello!*

Hello Mark,

I have a quick question that I'm hoping you can help me with.

My fiance and I are planning to apply for the PMV subclass 300 in about 6 weeks time. We have already gathered most everything we will need to apply.

The reason I'm posting today is that my fiance is currently on the Newstart program. He was for several years the primary carer for his father who is terminally ill. His father has now progressed to the stage that he needs more help than my fiance can provide so he is receiving Newstart for the past couple of months while job searching. He plans to start a computer shop from home soon but as of the time we apply for the PMV, he will still be on Newstart. I am not worried about finances as I will be arriving with plenty of money from savings and by then he will have a job I'm positive.

My question is...will this likely affect the decision for our visa? And what can we provide to counteract that if so?

Thank you for your advise.


----------



## veri08

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your reply!!! Surprisingly I was granted my partner visa 820 yesterday!! So happy that I don't have to deal with the stress of enrolling in a course again or not. Many thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Veri08 -
> 
> It's hard to give you specific advice for your case without knowing much more about it, however I can tell you that generally speaking there is a 60 day period after one finishes a course early where they need to either enrol in another course, or depart Australia. However, in cases where a person has lodged a PR visa such as a partner visa, and if there are 6-7 or so months left on a student visa, DIBP will normally not enforce the 60 day provision and will simply let the student visa run until it expires on its own, after which the bridging visa issued with the partner visa will automatically activate assuming you are on shore at that point, and will cover you until a decision is made on the partner visa.
> 
> The tricky part involves work rights - if the course that you applied for the visa under would still be in session, then in some cases you may be bound by the in-session work rights limit (40 hours per fortnight). But if you've simply finished the same course you signed up for when you got the visa early, then generally the work rights limit would not apply as you have completed your course. No simple/easy answer however.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## danone

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for helping me regards this issue I hope in the future I will contact with you regarding these type of visas you know about it. Mark can you please if you can advice me somebody who has immense knowledge about student visas especially 573 SVP. My brother will apply through Private Educational Service the best in country However I would like to get second opinion face to face. I am located nsw Parramatta i would like to book an appointment.

Thank you.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Danone -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I'd like to help, but student visas are chock full of lots of specific regulations and policy about who can provide financials, how much, in what format, and on and on with much tied to the assessment level of the country. I would seek out a specialist in student visas and book a consult to go through your circumstances in detail and give you specific advice - it's an area I've worked in in the past, but do not work in currently as my focus is on employment/skilled/family visas.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## rahulofpl

Hi mark 

Hi my name is rahul and I am on 489 sp visa . Right now m in Darwin. NT has sponsored invitation for NT for my profession I e quality assurance manager in FMCG. But now I won't be able to find any job. So anyone can tell me can I be eligible to work in any regional area of Australia as mentioned in visa grant letter. Or should I be here as NT has nominated me. If I'll move to any other regional part of Australia, can it be effect to my PR (887 )visa ?


----------



## ramonaAstone

Hi Mark! Hope you're well. 
Thank you so much for your last reply!
I've submitted my partner visa online from Belgrade with all the evidence and health check done (I just gave my HAP ID and the date I did medical examination on health question on my online form?). I have a question about police certificate, I have one from March, is it even worth attaching that one since it's valid for 12 months or should I do a new one now and attach it, or wait until they ask me for it? I was guided by logic that if I had everything ready it might speed up the process a bit. 

Thanks once again for your help!


----------



## devashish

Hi Mark , 

Is Form 80 and Form 1221 mandatory for all ?

I have submitted my visa 189 application on 8 Oct 2015 , CO not yet assigned .

It is no where mentioned to fill these two forms , I have uploaded all other documents and waiting for CO to be assigned for my application.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yyc2bne -

Thanks very much for the kind words! Helping people is what life's all about...

Best,

Mark



YYC2BNE said:


> Mark, you are a deadset champion. I've browsed through this thread and the amount of advice you offer, especially being an agent, is commendable. I don't know if I'd have the patience to do it. I'm sure you've eased a lot of worries on peoples minds who've asked these 900+ pages of questions.
> 
> Kudos to you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Newbies714 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



newbies714 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I've 10 years work exp. as a cook.
> Education -Bachelors Degree in Eco
> 3yr Diploma in Hotel Management
> My Partner & i would like to migrate to Australia....
> Please help......
> Thank you
> Loulou


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Suggar -

Thanks for the note. Sponsor on Newstart would generally not be an issue with a partner or PMV visa. Given your circumstances, I'd lodge a letter with DIBP as part of your relationship evidence stating where financial support is coming from as a family unit - ie, he is receiving X/month from Newstart, and you have savings of $Y, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Suggar said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a quick question that I'm hoping you can help me with.
> 
> My fiance and I are planning to apply for the PMV subclass 300 in about 6 weeks time. We have already gathered most everything we will need to apply.
> 
> The reason I'm posting today is that my fiance is currently on the Newstart program. He was for several years the primary carer for his father who is terminally ill. His father has now progressed to the stage that he needs more help than my fiance can provide so he is receiving Newstart for the past couple of months while job searching. He plans to start a computer shop from home soon but as of the time we apply for the PMV, he will still be on Newstart. I am not worried about finances as I will be arriving with plenty of money from savings and by then he will have a job I'm positive.
> 
> My question is...will this likely affect the decision for our visa? And what can we provide to counteract that if so?
> 
> Thank you for your advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Danone -

I'd be happy to assist - our office was in Parramatta but we moved to Bella Vista a few months ago - see website below in my signature and look for Consultation link at the top to book a consult at your convenience.

Thanks,

Mark Northam



danone said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for helping me regards this issue I hope in the future I will contact with you regarding these type of visas you know about it. Mark can you please if you can advice me somebody who has immense knowledge about student visas especially 573 SVP. My brother will apply through Private Educational Service the best in country However I would like to get second opinion face to face. I am located nsw Parramatta i would like to book an appointment.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rahulofpl -

Thanks for the note. You would need to check the specific conditions of your visa (4 digit codes beginning with an 8) to see what conditions DIBP has in place for you re: the visa. Assuming there is no DIBP condition which limits you to NT regional (vs other regional), you would need to next check your agreement with NT Skilled Migration to see what limitations may be in place there. Generally state sponsored 489's are more restrictive than family sponsored ones.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rahulofpl said:


> Hi mark
> 
> Hi my name is rahul and I am on 489 sp visa . Right now m in Darwin. NT has sponsored invitation for NT for my profession I e quality assurance manager in FMCG. But now I won't be able to find any job. So anyone can tell me can I be eligible to work in any regional area of Australia as mentioned in visa grant letter. Or should I be here as NT has nominated me. If I'll move to any other regional part of Australia, can it be effect to my PR (887 )visa ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Veri08 -

Congratulations on your visa grant! Well done.

Best,

Mark Northam



veri08 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your reply!!! Surprisingly I was granted my partner visa 820 yesterday!! So happy that I don't have to deal with the stress of enrolling in a course again or not. Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RamonaAstone -

I'd attach the existing PCC and wait for them to ask you to send another one if necessary.

Best,

Mark



ramonaAstone said:


> Hi Mark! Hope you're well.
> Thank you so much for your last reply!
> I've submitted my partner visa online from Belgrade with all the evidence and health check done (I just gave my HAP ID and the date I did medical examination on health question on my online form?). I have a question about police certificate, I have one from March, is it even worth attaching that one since it's valid for 12 months or should I do a new one now and attach it, or wait until they ask me for it? I was guided by logic that if I had everything ready it might speed up the process a bit.
> 
> Thanks once again for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Devashish -

No, both are optional upon request by DIBP. They will generally send you an email requesting these if/when they are needed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



devashish said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> Is Form 80 and Form 1221 mandatory for all ?
> 
> I have submitted my visa 189 application on 8 Oct 2015 , CO not yet assigned .
> 
> It is no where mentioned to fill these two forms , I have uploaded all other documents and waiting for CO to be assigned for my application.


----------



## Nidhi

Dear Mark,


I apologise for the complexity of my circumstances. But if you are able to advise me if you are able to help me, I would be very glad to engage you professionally.


I am an Indian citizen in my 30's who is the parent of a six-year old child who has been granted Australian citizenship.

Her father, an Australian citizen, has abandoned our marriage and has rejected me as his spouse and does not accept his daughter as his child. Nevertheless, a court-ordered DNA test has established his paternity, and the DIBP has issued a letter confirming her citizenship.


I wish to be able to bring my daughter to Australia, so that she may be raised and educated as an Australian, and enjoy the benefits of her citizenship. Unfortunately, I believe that her father would oppose her immigration as he has been hostile to me, and refuses to even acknowledge our daughter, and has taken unsuccessful action to prevent her from achieving citizenship and to avoid child support payments.


I am an educated, skilled worker in traditional Indian medicine (Ayurvedic medicine) and believe that I could become educated as an Aged Care worker and work in the industry to support myself and my child.


Can you see a way that I can achieve these objectives for my daughter?


Nidhi


----------



## Traveler66

*work and holiday 462 visa visit home*

Hi Mark,

My girlfriend (who is from the USA and is on a work and holiday visa 462) and I wish to visit the USA in May next year for a few weeks to see her family and then return right at the start of June. Her work and holiday visa is due to expire in July though and just before that expires we plan to apply for a onshore partner visa.

Do you see any issues with immigration if we return at the start of June and her current work and holiday visa expires in July? Would they be asking question as to why she is coming back into the country when she only has a month left? Is there any chance they may put a 'No Further Stay Condition' on her visa? (which would then prevent us from applying for the partner one). Is it a better idea to wait till later in the year and go back and visit her family after we have applied for the partner visa? She really wants to go back in May for various family reasons but if there is any risk in this we will postpone the trip till later

Your advice would be much appreciated


----------



## sanaz_nasr

*withdrawal*

Hi , 
I have a question to ask,

One of my friends who has been on a partner visa in Asutralia, has had a relationship break down and wants to return to his country, he has withdrwan his spous application by signing the form but hasn't recieved anything back. just wondering what's the processing time for cancellation of the visa/ application? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nidhi -

Thanks for the note. As your daughter is an Australian citizen, she has a free right to enter Australia and does not require a visa. You would want to make sure she gets an Australian passport to facilitate this. As a citizen, her entry would not be able to be blocked by her father, nor would your visa application be able to be blocked by him.

So in your case, the question then becomes, what type of visa would you qualify for? I'm not able to assess eligibility for skilled and other types of visas on the forum as there are simply too many details to be gathered and questions to be asked depending on occupation and other factors - I would invite you to book a consultation (see website below in my signature) where we could go through your education and work experience to determine what type(s) of visa may be the best fit for you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nidhi said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I apologise for the complexity of my circumstances. But if you are able to advise me if you are able to help me, I would be very glad to engage you professionally.
> 
> I am an Indian citizen in my 30's who is the parent of a six-year old child who has been granted Australian citizenship.
> 
> Her father, an Australian citizen, has abandoned our marriage and has rejected me as his spouse and does not accept his daughter as his child. Nevertheless, a court-ordered DNA test has established his paternity, and the DIBP has issued a letter confirming her citizenship.
> 
> I wish to be able to bring my daughter to Australia, so that she may be raised and educated as an Australian, and enjoy the benefits of her citizenship. Unfortunately, I believe that her father would oppose her immigration as he has been hostile to me, and refuses to even acknowledge our daughter, and has taken unsuccessful action to prevent her from achieving citizenship and to avoid child support payments.
> 
> I am an educated, skilled worker in traditional Indian medicine (Ayurvedic medicine) and believe that I could become educated as an Aged Care worker and work in the industry to support myself and my child.
> 
> Can you see a way that I can achieve these objectives for my daughter?
> 
> Nidhi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Traveler66 -

Normally no risk for multiple entries on a 462 visa as long as her visa allows for this, unless she has had an abnormally high number if entries on the visa already (ie, more than 3). Based on this, returning in early June would not normally be an issue, and there is no provision for DIBP to "add" a condition to a visa once granted. Essentially the only risk I can see (and it's a very low risk) would be that they would not let her re-enter Australia if they were convinced that she was intending to do activities that were outside the context of the 462 visa - I'd have holiday plans/itinerary for those last weeks ready to show to the officer at the airport upon re-entry.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Traveler66 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My girlfriend (who is from the USA and is on a work and holiday visa 462) and I wish to visit the USA in May next year for a few weeks to see her family and then return right at the start of June. Her work and holiday visa is due to expire in July though and just before that expires we plan to apply for a onshore partner visa.
> 
> Do you see any issues with immigration if we return at the start of June and her current work and holiday visa expires in July? Would they be asking question as to why she is coming back into the country when she only has a month left? Is there any chance they may put a 'No Further Stay Condition' on her visa? (which would then prevent us from applying for the partner one). Is it a better idea to wait till later in the year and go back and visit her family after we have applied for the partner visa? She really wants to go back in May for various family reasons but if there is any risk in this we will postpone the trip till later
> 
> Your advice would be much appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sanaz -

Thanks for the note. Normally in these cases the visa is refused, not cancelled, and he would be notified by mail or email depending on how he has authorised DIBP to communicate with him. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months depending on DIBP's caseload, etc. Once the partner visa has been officially refused, his bridging visa (if he has one) would cease 28 days after that date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sanaz_nasr said:


> Hi ,
> I have a question to ask,
> 
> One of my friends who has been on a partner visa in Asutralia, has had a relationship break down and wants to return to his country, he has withdrwan his spous application by signing the form but hasn't recieved anything back. just wondering what's the processing time for cancellation of the visa/ application? Thanks


----------



## Kieranp27

Hi Mark

we're getting everything together for our personal statements to apply in March hopefully and i'm just a little unsure when to put as the start of the defacto relationship...

we moved in together in Feb to my house and shared expenses (i paid rent and bills as i earned more and my partner paid food and other expenses) our individual bank statements show this

nothing was official on paper at this point although to us we were committed to a shared life together and were living together.

we got a pet in both our names at the beginning of march and a joint bank account in April

we then moved in with family in May and will have a stat dec from the family member to prove this

I'd like to put on the stat dec March as that would be 12 months in my opinion but will immigration agree?

we can't register the relationship as we live in WA and have thought of getting married just to be safe but would really rather give my partner a more special day than signing documents in a registry office.

Thanks for any help you can offer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kieranp27 -

Hard to say without seeing your proposed evidence, but if you think you can show that you were sharing expenses starting in March even if you had individual bank accts, and if you could get someone to say they observed you two living together in March (maybe a friend who came to visit?), I would think that would help show that you began living together in March. That's the key - evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kieranp27 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> we're getting everything together for our personal statements to apply in March hopefully and i'm just a little unsure when to put as the start of the defacto relationship...
> 
> we moved in together in Feb to my house and shared expenses (i paid rent and bills as i earned more and my partner paid food and other expenses) our individual bank statements show this
> 
> nothing was official on paper at this point although to us we were committed to a shared life together and were living together.
> 
> we got a pet in both our names at the beginning of march and a joint bank account in April
> 
> we then moved in with family in May and will have a stat dec from the family member to prove this
> 
> I'd like to put on the stat dec March as that would be 12 months in my opinion but will immigration agree?
> 
> we can't register the relationship as we live in WA and have thought of getting married just to be safe but would really rather give my partner a more special day than signing documents in a registry office.
> 
> Thanks for any help you can offer


----------



## jimmyc

Hi Mark,

I need a bit of advice on which partner visa to apply for. A little background on my relationship with my fiancé. My girlfriend is a cabin crew and lives in Abu Dhabi. I live in Sydney and am Australian citizen. We've been dating for over 2 and a half years and I have recently proposed to my girlfriend. We've met each other's families, etc. She has spent time with me in Australia during her annual leave, but we have never lived with each other in a de facto relationship.

Our plan is to get married at the registry office sometime next year and have our wedding ceremony in Thailand together with friends and family. She will obviously need to be in Australia if we were to get married at the registry office. I've been told earlier on this forum that subclass 300 is the safest visa to go for. However, I've just read the partner migration booklet 1127 and it states one of the eligibilities is "intend to legally marry before a decision is made on your visa.

My questions:
1. Since my fiancé will only be flying here to get married at the registry office and go back to Abu Dhabi. Would this look dodgy?
2. If subclass 309 was an option for us, how would the application process work? Do we go ahead and apply for 309, get married at the registry office, then provide additional paperwork to the department when available?
3. Is there pros/cons between subclass 300 and 309 in terms of finding work? I believe you're allowed to work, but would employers be in favour of people who are on subclass 309 than the ones are on 300?

Would really appreciate your advice and thoughts on this.

Many thanks,
James.


----------



## chouse

Hi Mark

Thank you for all your help, you're an absolute star!

Just wondered: I have to put my daughter and husband on my 189 visa application as non migrating family members. They're both Australian citizens, are we still required to complete police checks and medicals for them?
I'd like to front load my application.

Thanks 

Leah


----------



## fshah

Hi Mark, 

Unfortunately, i was unable to get experience letter from one my first employer(i worked there back in 2001) and therefore couldn't submit it to the ACS. However, recently i was able to get the said document and would like to present it to the assessing body for assessment. 
i would really appropriate if you could guide me that whether i can provide the aforementioned reference letter to the ACS and in case i can , do i need to apply for appeal or review in that case?
I would really appreciate your assistance in this regard

Regards


----------



## jordysmum

Hi Mark
Thank you for your reply to my earlier post. Things got a bit hectic and I currently have my son's girlfriend living with me as the mother and stepfather were trying to force her back to the Philippines and when she wouldn't co operate they through her out of the house at 10.30 at night.
It has taken a few days to get some of the story but apparently the step father has been forcing the girl to give him massages for his "sore groin" for the last two years. Recently he accused her of touching his genitals and told her that if she didn't tell her mother she did it he would send the whole family back. So she lied to her mum and said she did it. Then he started telling her that she wanted to have sex with him and that now her mother wouldn't believe anything she said to her. Then they told her that when she finished school next year, they would get her trained as a masseuse so they could employ her in their "business". She refused and that's when they tried to send her back. She has not told the school counsellor the whole truth as she is afraid they will believe the step dad. The school is trying to set her with a Youth reconnect program to get her reunited with them but if it comes to that, I will tell the school what she has told me. The police are aware she is not at home anymore as is DHS but as she is moving into her friends home this Saturday they are no longer involved.
The funny thing is they reported her missing the day after the threw her out and rang everywhere so upset that she'd gone.
Sorry for the rant but giving me that advice gave her the courage to say no and eventually got her away from there.
A million thank you' swill never be enough


----------



## sanaz_nasr

Thanks for answering my question, just wondering if the couple get back together, and the visa application has been refused, what should they do ?


----------



## Mik

Good day, Mark.

Have you dealt with any recent Australian IT graduates who were unfortunate to fall under changes in general migration skills assessment (1 year work experience or Professional Year). I'm approaching 1 year of work experience and feel a bit nervous about it. Are there any success stories of someone being positively assessed by ACS for 263111 occupation? From my understanding a great chunk of international IT graduates opted for Professional Year program which is basically a straight line to 189 for a mere $13k.


----------



## vkaushik1

*PIC-4020 & Employement Verification*

Hi Mark,

Greetings of the day!

I have been in the process of immigration to Australia for the last 1 and half year and from assessment to medical everything was going great and i was eagerly waiting for my visa.

But all of the sudden, I got an email from DIBP last week stating about adverse information received in relation to PIC-4020.

I have five employers .

My previous employer in India have denied my duties and responsibilities. He had previously denied to issue my reference letter which I get from my supervisor at that time.

Another organization was closed some year back and the DIBP was not able to locate them.

another two employers have failed to satisfy them because when they asked them about my job and it was not matching with ANZESCO guidelines.

Only first employer was genuine as per their email.

I submitted genuine and authenticated documents to DIBP and whatever I did during job is what I had shown to them. Is it because of a persons feedback do I have to suffer?

How should I move further?

Regards
Virender K


----------



## Starmoon

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Starmoon -
> 
> Thanks for the question. ACS does not concern itself with points, only whether work is skilled. I'd check to see if there is any reason to request a review or appeal of the ACS decision (see Summary of Criteria page on their site which lists how many years they deduct in various circumstances). If no chance there, then consider studying for IELTS and increasing that, or look at employer sponsored visas.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

I have one another question as my visa is lodged in this month and PCC and medical will be uploaded in November month first or second week so can i know how much time they will take for all the process? and how many days visa immigration office will be closed during Christmas? are they work in December? and when the office again will be reopen?

Thanks.


----------



## josiemyt

Hi Mark,

Thank you in advance for any advice you can provide.

I will be applying for the partner visa 820/801 onshore as I am on a WHV 417 until next August 2016. My partner and I have been in a relationship for about a year and a half and will have lived together in Canada from November 2014-August 2015 staying with my mother, and then August 2015-present in Australia in a house he co-owns with his brother. By the time I submit my application we will have been living together for at least 12 months however I do not have any mail addressed to us both from the start of when we were living together in Canada. We have proof of his address in Canada from pay slips, his visa, and other mail, but nothing with both of our names. Is there any other evidence that they accept to prove co-habitation? We did not have shared banking or own any assets together at the time either. The only "shared" proof I have from back then is flight itineraries for trips. 

I have read about registering a relationship and notice it cannot be done in South Australia. In January we will be moving to Victoria where my partner has a new job for at least 2 years. Is it wise to wait until closer to the end of my 417 when we will have more evidence such as a co-owned car and lease agreement?

Thank you very much!


----------



## momohonda

Hi Mark,

I have tried searching for a definitive answer but to no avail. I am applying for 801 after 2 years and my question is:

_Are there specific wording requirements for Form 888? For example, do our family/friends need to specify that we are in a 'de facto relationship'?_

Thank you for your time.


----------



## fshah

Hi Mark, 
Thanks in advance for your time and advice. i would be grateful if you could comment on the following scenario of mine.

As per my acs assessment I have:

1. AQF Associate degree major in computing(Completed 1999-2001)
2. AQF Associate degree major in computing (Completed 2003-2005).

My professional experience started from 2001 as software engineer., however, due to lack of knowledge, i provided my professional experience to ACS only after my 2nd Associate degree completed in 2005.
So i only provided my experience to ACS from 2005 till 2015(10 years). As per skill met date rule for Associate Degree they deducted 5 yeas from total experience.
Now what I want to go for review and request acs to consider the experience from 2001-2005 as well. 

I would like you to please suggest , whether acs will accept that previous experience of mine and whether they would change the Skilled met date(october 2010) listed on my ACS report.

I would be grateful for you advice.

regards


----------



## Bonanza

*offshore 309/100 proof of financial ties*

Hi Mark

I have been struggling to find someone who can help with this one and would be grateful for your help....

I am British, my partner has Australian citizenship. We met in 2011 .He moved from Australia 2 years ago to live with me in the UK as a couple in 2013 and we can satisfy all of the 309/100 criteria with ease - except that we do not have any joint finances other than he is an additional card holder on my credit cards. I earn significantly more than he does, and have significant UK based assets, whereas he has none. His wages go to supporting his son in education back in Australia and I support both of us. We have not opened joint accounts - as he has recently arrived in the UK his credit record is still unproven and if we did this it would hit our overall creditworthiness in the eyes of mortgage lenders and other institutions. 
Is this a showstopper?
Many thanks for you help


----------



## kangarucraze

Dear Mark,

I have received 2 state nominations 190 from 2 states but still waiting for the national 189 invitations with my 65 score in IT System Analyst occupation.

Is it possibly sane & practical to expect national 189 invitation after having received 2 state nominations 190 ?

Regards
MM


----------



## ROSEABELLON

*Hi*

Good day!

Hope you can help to answer my querry.I submit my EOI last august 21,2015 .my question is how many months or days i will received a confirmation to procced my application of skilled visa .my course is management accounting and i have 5yrs experience.

Hoping for a positive response.

Thank you and best regards,

Rose


----------



## studentperth10101

Hi Mark,

I have been a longtime reader for your immigration advice on this site and hope you can help me.

I am currently on a student visa and have just lodged for 457. I have to sign up again for this semester but I wanted to know if this is necessary as I have got a BVA now? Does the uni cancel my visa and will that effect my BVA? I was told I will be ok before but now I have read some things and I am not sure and worried. I appreciate your help.


----------



## hopeforoz

Hi Mark,

Needed your expert advice on my situation. I had lodged my Visa about 45 days ago and still waiting for the CO to contact me. I had included my wife and my daughter in my application. Now, I also wish to add my mother in the application. I understand that I would have to prove that she is my dependent and I do have the documents that I can use to prove that. My query is that whether including my mother in the application would affect my application in any way? Would the CO judge my case as a whole and deny/grant Visa to all the applicants in the application OR the CO can also grant Visa to me and other family members and just exclude my mother if her documents are not strong enough to prove that she is my dependent. I needed your advice please

Thanks


----------



## spiedze

*Will I be seen as a genuine tourist?*

Hi Mark,

I am planning to get married next year. I am British, my fiance - Australian PR. We have not quite decided whether we would like to live in Australia or UK, but after the wedding I would like to move to Australia for 2-3 months to see whether I like it there, and then decide - either move back to UK or apply for an onshore partner visa. I would leave most of my things in storage in UK, but bring all important documents with me.

Is that a feasable option and would immigration see me as a genuine visitor?

I would not want to start married life by being refused entry into Australia, but I also wouldn't want to spend $6k+ on a partner visa until we are sure that we want to stay in Australia.

Many thanks.


----------



## nplanter2

*Help Please*

Hello,

I currently lodge my application for a 186 visa (Temporary Residence Transitions Stream) in October 2015.
I was on the 457 visa from December 2013 but it expired November 2015 so I had no choice but to lodge my application and now I'm currently on a bridging visa with my application processing.

I've been working for my company since Feb 2013 on a work holiday visa until i went on my 457 with the same job. Even had my work limitation lifted.

Do I meet that 2 year requirement? Even if they look at my application in December?

Should I re-apply for the Direct entry stream?

Am I going to be Denied?

I need to figure this out.... Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmyc -

Thanks for the note. A partner visa application without substantial relationship evidence is highly risky - the subclass 300 visa is a better choice in these types of cases usually, but would need to work with you at a consultation to get more details about your case and plans to provide specific advice. More info on my website - link below in my signature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmyc said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I need a bit of advice on which partner visa to apply for. A little background on my relationship with my fiancé. My girlfriend is a cabin crew and lives in Abu Dhabi. I live in Sydney and am Australian citizen. We've been dating for over 2 and a half years and I have recently proposed to my girlfriend. We've met each other's families, etc. She has spent time with me in Australia during her annual leave, but we have never lived with each other in a de facto relationship.
> 
> Our plan is to get married at the registry office sometime next year and have our wedding ceremony in Thailand together with friends and family. She will obviously need to be in Australia if we were to get married at the registry office. I've been told earlier on this forum that subclass 300 is the safest visa to go for. However, I've just read the partner migration booklet 1127 and it states one of the eligibilities is "intend to legally marry before a decision is made on your visa.
> 
> My questions:
> 1. Since my fiancé will only be flying here to get married at the registry office and go back to Abu Dhabi. Would this look dodgy?
> 2. If subclass 309 was an option for us, how would the application process work? Do we go ahead and apply for 309, get married at the registry office, then provide additional paperwork to the department when available?
> 3. Is there pros/cons between subclass 300 and 309 in terms of finding work? I believe you're allowed to work, but would employers be in favour of people who are on subclass 309 than the ones are on 300?
> 
> Would really appreciate your advice and thoughts on this.
> 
> Many thanks,
> James.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chouse -

I'd check carefully on the application form to see if it excludes Australian citizens from the non-migrating family members question - normally as I recall it asks if you have any non-migrating dependent family members who are not Australian citizens, etc. However in any case, generally no health or police checks needed for Australian citizens as they already have a right to enter Australia due to their citizenship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chouse said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for all your help, you're an absolute star!
> 
> Just wondered: I have to put my daughter and husband on my 189 visa application as non migrating family members. They're both Australian citizens, are we still required to complete police checks and medicals for them?
> I'd like to front load my application.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Leah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fshah -

I'd check the ACS current rules (they change frequently) for appeal or review and see if they will allow this. If not, you may need to lodge a new assessment but you can link to your existing assessment documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fshah said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Unfortunately, i was unable to get experience letter from one my first employer(i worked there back in 2001) and therefore couldn't submit it to the ACS. However, recently i was able to get the said document and would like to present it to the assessing body for assessment.
> i would really appropriate if you could guide me that whether i can provide the aforementioned reference letter to the ACS and in case i can , do i need to apply for appeal or review in that case?
> I would really appreciate your assistance in this regard
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jordysmum -

Thanks for the update - I'm glad I could be of help with this - can only hope that she can get out of that awful situation and restore some normality in her life.

Best,

Mark



jordysmum said:


> Hi Mark
> Thank you for your reply to my earlier post. Things got a bit hectic and I currently have my son's girlfriend living with me as the mother and stepfather were trying to force her back to the Philippines and when she wouldn't co operate they through her out of the house at 10.30 at night.
> It has taken a few days to get some of the story but apparently the step father has been forcing the girl to give him massages for his "sore groin" for the last two years. Recently he accused her of touching his genitals and told her that if she didn't tell her mother she did it he would send the whole family back. So she lied to her mum and said she did it. Then he started telling her that she wanted to have sex with him and that now her mother wouldn't believe anything she said to her. Then they told her that when she finished school next year, they would get her trained as a masseuse so they could employ her in their "business". She refused and that's when they tried to send her back. She has not told the school counsellor the whole truth as she is afraid they will believe the step dad. The school is trying to set her with a Youth reconnect program to get her reunited with them but if it comes to that, I will tell the school what she has told me. The police are aware she is not at home anymore as is DHS but as she is moving into her friends home this Saturday they are no longer involved.
> The funny thing is they reported her missing the day after the threw her out and rang everywhere so upset that she'd gone.
> Sorry for the rant but giving me that advice gave her the courage to say no and eventually got her away from there.
> A million thank you' swill never be enough


----------



## MarkNortham

They can lodge a new application, as the 5 year waiting period doesn't count if it's the same person being sponsored. That being said, if they are onshore when refused, they'll likely have to lodge an offshore partner visa as they would be affected by Schedule 3 if they lodged onshore while the applicant held a bridging visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sanaz_nasr said:


> Thanks for answering my question, just wondering if the couple get back together, and the visa application has been refused, what should they do ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mik -

As long as the work experience is relevant to your nominated occupation, is paid, and is full-time and you can get a qualifying employment letter, it generally works without an issue. Can't give you specific advice without knowing much more about your case however - happy to do so at a consultation - see website link below for more.

Thanks,

Mark



Mik said:


> Good day, Mark.
> 
> Have you dealt with any recent Australian IT graduates who were unfortunate to fall under changes in general migration skills assessment (1 year work experience or Professional Year). I'm approaching 1 year of work experience and feel a bit nervous about it. Are there any success stories of someone being positively assessed by ACS for 263111 occupation? From my understanding a great chunk of international IT graduates opted for Professional Year program which is basically a straight line to 189 for a mere $13k.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virender -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the 4020 allegations. I strongly suggest you get professional assistance at this point from a registered migration agent who can look at all the documents and help you formulate a plan re: continuing and fighting the 4020 allegations, or withdrawing your application and potentially re-lodging to avoid a 4020 refusal and the resulting 3 year ban from Australia.

Best,

Mark



vkaushik1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Greetings of the day!
> 
> I have been in the process of immigration to Australia for the last 1 and half year and from assessment to medical everything was going great and i was eagerly waiting for my visa.
> 
> But all of the sudden, I got an email from DIBP last week stating about adverse information received in relation to PIC-4020.
> 
> I have five employers .
> 
> My previous employer in India have denied my duties and responsibilities. He had previously denied to issue my reference letter which I get from my supervisor at that time.
> 
> Another organization was closed some year back and the DIBP was not able to locate them.
> 
> another two employers have failed to satisfy them because when they asked them about my job and it was not matching with ANZESCO guidelines.
> 
> Only first employer was genuine as per their email.
> 
> I submitted genuine and authenticated documents to DIBP and whatever I did during job is what I had shown to them. Is it because of a persons feedback do I have to suffer?
> 
> How should I move further?
> 
> Regards
> Virender K


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Starmoon -

No way to predict DIBP processing times, and they have no time limits on themselves. They do shut down for a short period over Christmas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Starmoon said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have one another question as my visa is lodged in this month and PCC and medical will be uploaded in November month first or second week so can i know how much time they will take for all the process? and how many days visa immigration office will be closed during Christmas? are they work in December? and when the office again will be reopen?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Josiemyt -

You might consider statutory declarations from others who have witnessed you living together for the period in question. VIC allows registered relationships, however they also have a residency requirement themselves - check the VIC website (Births, Deaths, Marriages dept) for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



josiemyt said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you in advance for any advice you can provide.
> 
> I will be applying for the partner visa 820/801 onshore as I am on a WHV 417 until next August 2016. My partner and I have been in a relationship for about a year and a half and will have lived together in Canada from November 2014-August 2015 staying with my mother, and then August 2015-present in Australia in a house he co-owns with his brother. By the time I submit my application we will have been living together for at least 12 months however I do not have any mail addressed to us both from the start of when we were living together in Canada. We have proof of his address in Canada from pay slips, his visa, and other mail, but nothing with both of our names. Is there any other evidence that they accept to prove co-habitation? We did not have shared banking or own any assets together at the time either. The only "shared" proof I have from back then is flight itineraries for trips.
> 
> I have read about registering a relationship and notice it cannot be done in South Australia. In January we will be moving to Victoria where my partner has a new job for at least 2 years. Is it wise to wait until closer to the end of my 417 when we will have more evidence such as a co-owned car and lease agreement?
> 
> Thank you very much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Momohonda -

Suggest that they say "I believe that X an Y are in a genuine defacto relationship" or "I believe that X and Y are in a genuine married relationship" and then follow that by a couple of reasons or observations why they believe that - this usually fits best in question 4 on Form 888.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



momohonda said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have tried searching for a definitive answer but to no avail. I am applying for 801 after 2 years and my question is:
> 
> _Are there specific wording requirements for Form 888? For example, do our family/friends need to specify that we are in a 'de facto relationship'?_
> 
> Thank you for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fshah -

Good chance they will, but I gave up predicting skills assessment results long ago - too unpredictable, too many factors.

Best,

Mark



fshah said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks in advance for your time and advice. i would be grateful if you could comment on the following scenario of mine.
> 
> As per my acs assessment I have:
> 
> 1. AQF Associate degree major in computing(Completed 1999-2001)
> 2. AQF Associate degree major in computing (Completed 2003-2005).
> 
> My professional experience started from 2001 as software engineer., however, due to lack of knowledge, i provided my professional experience to ACS only after my 2nd Associate degree completed in 2005.
> So i only provided my experience to ACS from 2005 till 2015(10 years). As per skill met date rule for Associate Degree they deducted 5 yeas from total experience.
> Now what I want to go for review and request acs to consider the experience from 2001-2005 as well.
> 
> I would like you to please suggest , whether acs will accept that previous experience of mine and whether they would change the Skilled met date(october 2010) listed on my ACS report.
> 
> I would be grateful for you advice.
> 
> regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Howdy Bonanza!

As you are supporting his living expenses this can be helpful - I'd consider providing DIBP with your bank and/or credit card statements and highlight the expenses or transactions from those accounts that are for joint (or his) living expenses. This can often work instead of a joint account if you can show that money from one (or both) is being used for joint expenses.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bonanza said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have been struggling to find someone who can help with this one and would be grateful for your help....
> 
> I am British, my partner has Australian citizenship. We met in 2011 .He moved from Australia 2 years ago to live with me in the UK as a couple in 2013 and we can satisfy all of the 309/100 criteria with ease - except that we do not have any joint finances other than he is an additional card holder on my credit cards. I earn significantly more than he does, and have significant UK based assets, whereas he has none. His wages go to supporting his son in education back in Australia and I support both of us. We have not opened joint accounts - as he has recently arrived in the UK his credit record is still unproven and if we did this it would hit our overall creditworthiness in the eyes of mortgage lenders and other institutions.
> Is this a showstopper?
> Many thanks for you help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MM -

If you have a separate EOI for the 189, it could happen (difficult to predict chances of success however), however if the 189 interest is indicated on the same EOI that has already generated a state nomination-generated invitation from DIBP, DIBP will generally not issue another invitation for the same EOI while an invitation is already outstanding and pending.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kangarucraze said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have received 2 state nominations 190 from 2 states but still waiting for the national 189 invitations with my 65 score in IT System Analyst occupation.
> 
> Is it possibly sane & practical to expect national 189 invitation after having received 2 state nominations 190 ?
> 
> Regards
> MM


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rose -

Wish I could help, but there is no way to predict when you will receive an invitation. There simply isn't enough data published by DIBP (for 189 visas) or the states (for 190/489 visas) to be able to predict this.

Best,

Mark



ROSEABELLON said:


> Good day!
> 
> Hope you can help to answer my querry.I submit my EOI last august 21,2015 .my question is how many months or days i will received a confirmation to procced my application of skilled visa .my course is management accounting and i have 5yrs experience.
> 
> Hoping for a positive response.
> 
> Thank you and best regards,
> 
> Rose


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Studentperth10101 -

Thanks for the note. The BVA will not activate until your student visa expires on its own. If DIBP cancels the student visa due to non-study, it will also automatically cancel your BVA. If DIBP considers cancelling your student visa, they'll check how long it has yet to run, and will check if you've applied for another visa (such as a 457 or partner visa). Normally they will not cancel a student visa if you have another visa application pending, however that's not a guarantee - if they try to cancel the student visa, I'd advise them that you have a 457 visa application pending and to please not cancel it, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



studentperth10101 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been a longtime reader for your immigration advice on this site and hope you can help me.
> 
> I am currently on a student visa and have just lodged for 457. I have to sign up again for this semester but I wanted to know if this is necessary as I have got a BVA now? Does the uni cancel my visa and will that effect my BVA? I was told I will be ok before but now I have read some things and I am not sure and worried. I appreciate your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

Normally if an adult claimed as a dependent does not meet the dependency requirements per DIBP (they are complex), DIBP will give the applicant the opportunity to remove the adult from the application. However if she is approved as a dependent, the other thing you have to deal with is whether she passes the health criteria - if not, she may have to be removed from the application for that reason.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Needed your expert advice on my situation. I had lodged my Visa about 45 days ago and still waiting for the CO to contact me. I had included my wife and my daughter in my application. Now, I also wish to add my mother in the application. I understand that I would have to prove that she is my dependent and I do have the documents that I can use to prove that. My query is that whether including my mother in the application would affect my application in any way? Would the CO judge my case as a whole and deny/grant Visa to all the applicants in the application OR the CO can also grant Visa to me and other family members and just exclude my mother if her documents are not strong enough to prove that she is my dependent. I needed your advice please
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Spiedze -

I expect as long as you weren't bringing household goods, etc to Australia that might indicate a permanent stay, that a visitor visa would work fine for your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



spiedze said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to get married next year. I am British, my fiance - Australian PR. We have not quite decided whether we would like to live in Australia or UK, but after the wedding I would like to move to Australia for 2-3 months to see whether I like it there, and then decide - either move back to UK or apply for an onshore partner visa. I would leave most of my things in storage in UK, but bring all important documents with me.
> 
> Is that a feasable option and would immigration see me as a genuine visitor?
> 
> I would not want to start married life by being refused entry into Australia, but I also wouldn't want to spend $6k+ on a partner visa until we are sure that we want to stay in Australia.
> 
> Many thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nplanter2 -

From what you've said, you would not meet the 2-year requirement as you will not have spent 2 years on a 457 visa at the time the 186 nomination and visa was lodged. Suggest you consult with a registered migration agent who can go through all of your circumstances and details to work out the best way to solve this. I expect you will need to withdraw the 186 nomination and application to avoid refusals and then extend the 457 visa to keep you here past the 2 year anniversary and relodge the 186 after the 2 year anniversary, but can't give you specific advice without knowing much more about your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nplanter2 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I currently lodge my application for a 186 visa (Temporary Residence Transitions Stream) in October 2015.
> I was on the 457 visa from December 2013 but it expired November 2015 so I had no choice but to lodge my application and now I'm currently on a bridging visa with my application processing.
> 
> I've been working for my company since Feb 2013 on a work holiday visa until i went on my 457 with the same job. Even had my work limitation lifted.
> 
> Do I meet that 2 year requirement? Even if they look at my application in December?
> 
> Should I re-apply for the Direct entry stream?
> 
> Am I going to be Denied?
> 
> I need to figure this out.... Thanks


----------



## sigillum_diaboli666

*Can a Sponsor (De Facto Visa) Leave Australia Temporarily Once Temporary PR is Given?*

Hi Mark - I'm waiting on hold with Immigration as I write this (over 2 hours now)...  I have sponsored my boyfriend for a Partner 801/820 visa, and was wondering if I'm able to work overseas temporarily (approx. 12 months) once his Temporary PR has been granted?


----------



## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

We have a great news. We got my husband's offshore partner visa (309) yesterday and thank you so much for all the valuable advices you gave through the thread (thanks a lot for answering all the question I asked from you ) Really appreciate your work Mark 

Regards
Dhanu


----------



## Maria from India

Hai Mark,
I am a new member here. applied online for my partner visa 309/100 on 14 feb 2015 from India.My husband is aus pr.For the last 6 months,the status is " assessment in progress" only..medicals and pcc already submitted.currently,am in australia on my visitor visa..i am very tensed.mine is a simple case.no complications.Can u plz give me suggestions,if i can do anything to increase the processing speed of my application.?


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Sigillum_diaboli666 -

Thanks for the note - yes, waiting on hold for DIBP can be VERY frustrating - almost as frustrating as finding out once somebody does pick up the phone there, that the person may have less than complete knowledge of what you are asking about.

No prohibition against you working overseas, etc during the temporary visa time, however when you apply for the permanent visa, DIBP will be looking for evidence that your relationship has continued during that time, so I would maintain as much evidence as you can of contacts, visits, etc - a 12 month absence could prove problematical depending on the case officer (ie, if they think the relationship is no longer intact during that period), so the best way to counter that is with lots of evidence that the relationship continued during that period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sigillum_diaboli666 said:


> Hi Mark - I'm waiting on hold with Immigration as I write this (over 2 hours now)...  I have sponsored my boyfriend for a Partner 801/820 visa, and was wondering if I'm able to work overseas temporarily (approx. 12 months) once his Temporary PR has been granted?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhanu -

Congratulations and well done on your visa grant! Glad I could assist.

Best,

Mark Northam



Dhanu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We have a great news. We got my husband's offshore partner visa (309) yesterday and thank you so much for all the valuable advices you gave through the thread (thanks a lot for answering all the question I asked from you ) Really appreciate your work Mark
> 
> Regards
> Dhanu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maria -

Thanks for the note. Wish I could help, but there's nothing that can be done - you just have to wait. Partner visas, regardless of complexity, typically take between 12 and 18 months now to process, and short of life-threatening illness, etc, there's no way to speed things up. Would suggest you keep a careful eye out for emails from DIBP (check your junk/spam folder carefully), and if you move your residence, etc, make sure you update them with Form 929. Other than that, it's a waiting game.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maria from India said:


> Hai Mark,
> I am a new member here. applied online for my partner visa 309/100 on 14 feb 2015 from India.My husband is aus pr.For the last 6 months,the status is " assessment in progress" only..medicals and pcc already submitted.currently,am in australia on my visitor visa..i am very tensed.mine is a simple case.no complications.Can u plz give me suggestions,if i can do anything to increase the processing speed of my application.?


----------



## Juckie

Hi Mark.

I have had a 457 appeal pending with the MRT since August last year. My position has been made redundant with my existing employer within the last 10 days.

I have managed to find another employer who is willing to sponsor me. They are already an approved sponsor. Do they effectively take over the appeal that is already lodged or do we have to lodge a fresh application? 

Would really appreciate any advice you may have.


----------



## Maria from India

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Maria -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Wish I could help, but there's nothing that can be done - you just have to wait. Partner visas, regardless of complexity, typically take between 12 and 18 months now to process, and short of life-threatening illness, etc, there's no way to speed things up. Would suggest you keep a careful eye out for emails from DIBP (check your junk/spam folder carefully), and if you move your residence, etc, make sure you update them with Form 929. Other than that, it's a waiting game.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark for your valuable reply.I changed my contact details after applying.But i used form 1022,change of circumstances form to notify that.Is that creates any problem??


----------



## hoangdekiem

Hi Mark,

I have a couple of questions about 489 and 887 visa. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've got a 489 state sponsored visa (Orana region in NSW). After some job research, I find it very difficult to find a job there as there are so few job openings at the moment, so I consider moving to another regional area. While according to 8539 condition attached to my 489 visa in the grant letter I am allow to live and work in any areas as long as they are regional, the Orana region makes me feel like it is obliged to live and work in Orana (signed statement of commitment, agreement to their terms). This is really confusing for me right now. Below is my questions:

1) Can I live and work in another regional area without physically going to Orana first nor notifying them? If yes, Will Orana take any action to cancel my visa or lead to cancellation of my visa and would this affect my 887 visa application? If no, I think I need a release letter right?
2) After living and working for 2 years in regional areas other than Orana region, which sponsors me, can I apply for 887 visa without any problem?

Thank you in advance


----------



## ROSEABELLON

Hi sir mark ..how many days or months can i received a reply since last august 21,2015 i submit my EOI until now i dont have respond yet.ty sir


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Juckie -

As it's a new sponsor, the new sponsor would need to lodge a nomination for the position and nominate you as the employee, and you'd need to lodge a fresh 457 visa application since it's linked to a new nomination for a new employer. Assuming you had an onshore 457 visa application refusal last year, you will be barred from applying for a 457 visa onshore, so once the nomination is approved from the new employer, you'd have to go offshore to lodge a 457 visa application. If you are on a BV-A (bridging visa A) you could get a bridging visa B to go offshore and lodge, however if you return prior to the 457 visa grant decision (which could take weeks or a couple of months typically), you would be subject to Schedule 3 provisions which may be a problem.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist further.

Best,

Mark Northam



Juckie said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> I have had a 457 appeal pending with the MRT since August last year. My position has been made redundant with my existing employer within the last 10 days.
> 
> I have managed to find another employer who is willing to sponsor me. They are already an approved sponsor. Do they effectively take over the appeal that is already lodged or do we have to lodge a fresh application?
> 
> Would really appreciate any advice you may have.


----------



## MarkNortham

Should be no problem.

Best,

Mark



Maria from India said:


> Thank you so much Mark for your valuable reply.I changed my contact details after applying.But i used form 1022,change of circumstances form to notify that.Is that creates any problem??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hoangdekiem -

Thanks for the note. This highlights a somewhat vague area of the migration law and civil law regarding the commitment a visa applicant makes to a state sponsoring authority for a 489 or 190 visa. From the immigration dept point of view, you are not necessarily required to work only in the Orana region - any of the qualifying regions can work. However you have a civil (contractual) commitment in all likelihood to NSW to live/work in the Orana region. The consequences of breaking that commitment have never been tested in court that I know of, but it would be essentially a contract dispute between you and NSW Skilled and would likely not involve DIBP. Rather than dealing with the unknown, I'd undertake a very thorough job search in the Orana region, and document every enquiry, every step, every communication. Then if you fail to find a job, I would approach NSW Skilled to see if you can get a release letter from them re: Orana, and perhaps be ready to move to another NSW regional area if you have located work there. While there is no predicting what NSW Skilled would do, I think it would be difficult for them to complain if you show them plenty of evidence of a serious job search that resulted in no jobs.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hoangdekiem said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a couple of questions about 489 and 887 visa. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've got a 489 state sponsored visa (Orana region in NSW). After some job research, I find it very difficult to find a job there as there are so few job openings at the moment, so I consider moving to another regional area. While according to 8539 condition attached to my 489 visa in the grant letter I am allow to live and work in any areas as long as they are regional, the Orana region makes me feel like it is obliged to live and work in Orana (signed statement of commitment, agreement to their terms). This is really confusing for me right now. Below is my questions:
> 
> 1) Can I live and work in another regional area without physically going to Orana first nor notifying them? If yes, Will Orana take any action to cancel my visa or lead to cancellation of my visa and would this affect my 887 visa application? If no, I think I need a release letter right?
> 2) After living and working for 2 years in regional areas other than Orana region, which sponsors me, can I apply for 887 visa without any problem?
> 
> Thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rose -

No way to predict when you may receive an invitation - it depends on how many people are ahead of you in the queue - that is people with higher points scores than you, or people with the same points score as you but with EOI lodgement dates before you.

Best,

Mark



ROSEABELLON said:


> Hi sir mark ..how many days or months can i received a reply since last august 21,2015 i submit my EOI until now i dont have respond yet.ty sir


----------



## Esteer

*Vetassess Policy*

Mark,

I have applied for my Skills Assessment through Vetassess and got a positive result, however its only for 2.5 years, see below. 
However my issue is that i need 3 years to get my 190 visa. I do not understand how they can accept only a proportion of my work experience and then take a year off. The evidence I supplied was the same from 09/2008-06/2013. I did complete my degree 12/2011, however i was working full time throughout carrying out the job i provided in evidence.

What can i do? Could i go further with this, potentially get an immigration lawyer?

Thanks,

_The following claims of skilled employment made by the applicant are assessed as employment of at least 20 hours per week which is at an appropriate skill level and closely related to the nominated occupation of Building Associate (ANZSCO Code: 312112):

1. From 09/2012 to 06/2013, Assistant Site Manager, Kier Southern Construction Limited, United Kingdom 
2. From 07/2013 to 03/2015, Building Manager, Wilmott Dixon Construction, United Kingdom

Date deemed skilled for Points Test Advice:9/2012 Number of years assessed positively: 2.5

The following claims of skilled employment made by the applicant have been assessed as not at an appropriate skill level and not closely related to the nominated occupation of Building Associate (ANZSCO Code: 312112):

1. From 09/2008 to 09/2012, Assistant Site Manager, Kier Southern Construction Limited, United Kingdom as:

the employment was used to calculate the qualifying period required to meet the skill level of the nominated or closely related ANZSCO occupation (Employment 1)_


----------



## hopeforoz

*Hi*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hopeforoz -
> 
> Normally if an adult claimed as a dependent does not meet the dependency requirements per DIBP (they are complex), DIBP will give the applicant the opportunity to remove the adult from the application. However if she is approved as a dependent, the other thing you have to deal with is whether she passes the health criteria - if not, she may have to be removed from the application for that reason.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark for answering my query

If she is approved as a dependent but is not able to pass on the health criterias, then would DIBP give me an opportunity to remove her from the application before making a decision on my application

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Esteer -

Thanks for the note. I don't have enough information from the bits you posted from your skills assessment report to answer your question or give you specific advice - would be happy to assist at a consultation where we would have time to review your documents completely. Note that Building Associate at VETASSESS is a Group C occupation and there are 3 ways to qualify re: education and work experience - see http://www.vetassess.com.au/portals...vetassess-general-occupation-list.pdf?vid=100 for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Esteer said:


> Mark,
> 
> I have applied for my Skills Assessment through Vetassess and got a positive result, however its only for 2.5 years, see below.
> However my issue is that i need 3 years to get my 190 visa. I do not understand how they can accept only a proportion of my work experience and then take a year off. The evidence I supplied was the same from 09/2008-06/2013. I did complete my degree 12/2011, however i was working full time throughout carrying out the job i provided in evidence.
> 
> What can i do? Could i go further with this, potentially get an immigration lawyer?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> _The following claims of skilled employment made by the applicant are assessed as employment of at least 20 hours per week which is at an appropriate skill level and closely related to the nominated occupation of Building Associate (ANZSCO Code: 312112):
> 
> 1. From 09/2012 to 06/2013, Assistant Site Manager, Kier Southern Construction Limited, United Kingdom
> 2. From 07/2013 to 03/2015, Building Manager, Wilmott Dixon Construction, United Kingdom
> 
> Date deemed skilled for Points Test Advice:9/2012 Number of years assessed positively: 2.5
> 
> The following claims of skilled employment made by the applicant have been assessed as not at an appropriate skill level and not closely related to the nominated occupation of Building Associate (ANZSCO Code: 312112):
> 
> 1. From 09/2008 to 09/2012, Assistant Site Manager, Kier Southern Construction Limited, United Kingdom as:
> 
> the employment was used to calculate the qualifying period required to meet the skill level of the nominated or closely related ANZSCO occupation (Employment 1)_


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

They may, if you can show how she would no longer be dependent on you - depending on the circumstances, this can be challenging, as for the application you may have just finished proving how she in fact IS dependent on you. I've had success with this for clients by showing that alternative arrangements can be made for adult dependents if they cannot be approved for a visa - ie, another person can care for them, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Thanks Mark for answering my query
> 
> If she is approved as a dependent but is not able to pass on the health criterias, then would DIBP give me an opportunity to remove her from the application before making a decision on my application
> 
> Thanks


----------



## rubberduckie342

Hi mark,

I'm currently on a bridging visa c with no work rights. My agent applied for it to be changed 2 weeks ago and haven't heard anything back. My partner is a Australian and a full time manager. But he relies on my wage because of the amount of debt he is in because of my previous agent
Messed up my last application for the 187.
We are running out of money and have no more savings. How can I hurry the process up so I can get back to work?
Thanks


----------



## Esteer

Help and advice on a newly instituted Vetassess policy. 

I have applied for my Skills Assessment through Vetassess and received a positive result. However, I was only awarded 2.5 years work experience out of almost 7 years I had been working within my profession and I require at least 3 years to get enough points for my 190 visa.

I have outlined several points below for my argument:

• Vetassess changed their policy this year to not count 1st year of work experience post qualification. This policy discriminates against the people who worked and studied at the same time, as I did for example. By the time I received my University Diploma, I had four years experience and my job roles and responsibilities did not alter throughout this period, nor did they increase post graduation. In my opinion, for Vetassess to implement a blanket policy to not count the 1st year post qualification, is an unjust practice, which I believe needs to be challenged and individual applications need to be assessed on their merits.

• Vetassess chose to only to award a proportion of the work experience from both my previous employers. Which, I believe, means Vetassess agrees that both roles I carried out at my previous employers are relevant.

• To gain the extra 6 months required by Department of Immigration, I would either have work for a year in Australia in my profession, or go back overseas for six months.	

Would it be possible to challenge Vetassess’s policies in order for them to carry out and individually review for the case as mentioned above? 

My overall aim is to not only get Vetassess to review their policy but also get my Skills Assessment up to at least 3 years work experience.


----------



## hoangdekiem

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hoangdekiem -
> 
> Thanks for the note. This highlights a somewhat vague area of the migration law and civil law regarding the commitment a visa applicant makes to a state sponsoring authority for a 489 or 190 visa. From the immigration dept point of view, you are not necessarily required to work only in the Orana region - any of the qualifying regions can work. However you have a civil (contractual) commitment in all likelihood to NSW to live/work in the Orana region. The consequences of breaking that commitment have never been tested in court that I know of, but it would be essentially a contract dispute between you and NSW Skilled and would likely not involve DIBP. Rather than dealing with the unknown, I'd undertake a very thorough job search in the Orana region, and document every enquiry, every step, every communication. Then if you fail to find a job, I would approach NSW Skilled to see if you can get a release letter from them re: Orana, and perhaps be ready to move to another NSW regional area if you have located work there. While there is no predicting what NSW Skilled would do, I think it would be difficult for them to complain if you show them plenty of evidence of a serious job search that resulted in no jobs.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Mark,

Thank you so much for your helpful advice. It really clears up my doubts, but after that there are several things about a release letter that I am unsure of. There is not much info about release letter that i can find on Orana website. Hope that you can help too:
1) Do I have to physically move to Orana before applying for release letter? Will Nsw skilled accept my request if I only make genuine attempts to find jobs online? Because I want to get a job before relocating
2) How soon can I start applying for a release letter? Because there is no specific time frame for this request
3) After receiving the release letter, am I allowed to live and work in NSW regional areas only or I can move to other regional areas outside of NSW.
4) Do I need a job offer in another regional area before applying to Orana for a release letter
5) After living and working for 2 years in another regional area with the release letter, am I eligible to apply for 887 visa in the future? I think yes to this question but I just want to confirm.

I know I have a lot of questions to ask but I hope that you can help.

Best,

Thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rubberduckie342 -

These are running slowly these days - you could certainly write and request that they expedite the process and give reasons why.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rubberduckie342 said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> I'm currently on a bridging visa c with no work rights. My agent applied for it to be changed 2 weeks ago and haven't heard anything back. My partner is a Australian and a full time manager. But he relies on my wage because of the amount of debt he is in because of my previous agent
> Messed up my last application for the 187.
> We are running out of money and have no more savings. How can I hurry the process up so I can get back to work?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Esteer -

Recommend you consult with a registered migration agent to carefully review the entire skills assessment and give you professional advice going forward - these things are too detailed with too many ifs/ands/buts to work out on an anonymous forum like this. Problem is, skills assessors can make up their own rules, and have a virtual monopoly over their work. Unless you're ready to hire a team of lawyers and sue in the federal court (with good cause), chances are you will have to work within their system of assessment/review/appeal. Arguments of unfairness are typically not successful against skills assessors - arguments of relevance are often better - sometimes an argument of relevance, in order to be successful, has to dissect the tasks/duties of a particular work experience and analyse those and compare those in relation to the ANZSCO duties, etc. But first you need to put together a game plan based on the available options from the skills assessor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Esteer said:


> Help and advice on a newly instituted Vetassess policy.
> 
> I have applied for my Skills Assessment through Vetassess and received a positive result. However, I was only awarded 2.5 years work experience out of almost 7 years I had been working within my profession and I require at least 3 years to get enough points for my 190 visa.
> 
> I have outlined several points below for my argument:
> 
> • Vetassess changed their policy this year to not count 1st year of work experience post qualification. This policy discriminates against the people who worked and studied at the same time, as I did for example. By the time I received my University Diploma, I had four years experience and my job roles and responsibilities did not alter throughout this period, nor did they increase post graduation. In my opinion, for Vetassess to implement a blanket policy to not count the 1st year post qualification, is an unjust practice, which I believe needs to be challenged and individual applications need to be assessed on their merits.
> 
> • Vetassess chose to only to award a proportion of the work experience from both my previous employers. Which, I believe, means Vetassess agrees that both roles I carried out at my previous employers are relevant.
> 
> • To gain the extra 6 months required by Department of Immigration, I would either have work for a year in Australia in my profession, or go back overseas for six months.
> 
> Would it be possible to challenge Vetassess's policies in order for them to carry out and individually review for the case as mentioned above?
> 
> My overall aim is to not only get Vetassess to review their policy but also get my Skills Assessment up to at least 3 years work experience.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hoangdekiem -

Would like to help, but question 1-4 are dependent on your negotiations with NSW Skilled - there is no published policy in this area that I know of. Re: 5, from what you've said, the answer is yes, but would have to know much more about your circumstances to give you specific advice.

Best,

Mark



hoangdekiem said:


> Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your helpful advice. It really clears up my doubts, but after that there are several things about a release letter that I am unsure of. There is not much info about release letter that i can find on Orana website. Hope that you can help too:
> 1) Do I have to physically move to Orana before applying for release letter? Will Nsw skilled accept my request if I only make genuine attempts to find jobs online? Because I want to get a job before relocating
> 2) How soon can I start applying for a release letter? Because there is no specific time frame for this request
> 3) After receiving the release letter, am I allowed to live and work in NSW regional areas only or I can move to other regional areas outside of NSW.
> 4) Do I need a job offer in another regional area before applying to Orana for a release letter
> 5) After living and working for 2 years in another regional area with the release letter, am I eligible to apply for 887 visa in the future? I think yes to this question but I just want to confirm.
> 
> I know I have a lot of questions to ask but I hope that you can help.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Thank you in advance


----------



## sukanta

Hi Mark,
Hope you are well. can I please ask your advise on one of my query regarding my partner's application?

Couple of weeks ago my family member (my elder brother) passed away. Being sponsor for 309 visa application, do I need to inform Immigration that my brother is deceased? If yes, what would be the procedure, is there any specific form that I need to fill out and/or what documents I need to provide to update the information?

I really appreciate your valuable advise in this regard. 

Thank you
Sukanta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukanta -

I'm sorry to hear of the death of your brother. Assuming you are the sponsor and you have a 309 or 100 (or both) application pending, you could use Form 1022 (download from DIBP site) to update your circumstances, changing the status of your brother.

Please advise if I can assist any further -

Best,

Mark Northam



sukanta said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hope you are well. can I please ask your advise on one of my query regarding my partner's application?
> 
> Couple of weeks ago my family member (my elder brother) passed away. Being sponsor for 309 visa application, do I need to inform Immigration that my brother is deceased? If yes, what would be the procedure, is there any specific form that I need to fill out and/or what documents I need to provide to update the information?
> 
> I really appreciate your valuable advise in this regard.
> 
> Thank you
> Sukanta


----------



## macpaul

Hi Mark

Firstly, can I add my thanks for your generosity in giving of your time and knowledge in this thread. In this cynical world full of jaded people it is truly refreshing to find. 
My question may well have been covered in previous posts in the 900 odd pages of this thread but, with the risk of repetition can I ask you whether bringing my partner to Aus on an e-visa, marrying her here and applying for onshore partner visa is a better route than applying for a pmv, and bringing her out on a 600 visa as a tourist, with the probable need to leave the country every three months? She is a uk citizen.
We are keen to be together as soon as possible, naturally, and the ability for her to work on a bridging visa would be valuable. Really appreciate any advice you can give. Thanks again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Macpaul -

Thanks for the kind words! The choice between a PMV and partner visa usually comes down to 2 things: first and most importantly, has the relationship progressed and grown to the point that there is sufficient evidence of the relationship that is acceptable by DIBP (immigration dept) to show a relationship at the partner level - this is especially important if you are not married, and therefore would be applying for a partner visa based on a de facto relationship.

Second issue is where the applicant wants to be during the visa processing period - if that is Australia, and assuming the relationship is well documented to the level that a partner visa would work, then a visitor visa followed by an onshore subclass 820/801 partner visa may be a good choice - again, depending on the relationship evidence. If the applicant will be spending most of the visa processing time (which can range from 9 months to 18 months or more) offshore, then either an offshore PMV (if less evidence is available) or an offshore partner (subclass 309/100) if more relationship evidence is available may be a good choice.

Hope this helps a bit - would be happy to assist you at a consultation (see website below) where we could go through all the details of your relationship and what evidence you may have available and I could give you an opinion on the best visa fit for your situation.

Best,

Mark Northam



macpaul said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Firstly, can I add my thanks for your generosity in giving of your time and knowledge in this thread. In this cynical world full of jaded people it is truly refreshing to find.
> My question may well have been covered in previous posts in the 900 odd pages of this thread but, with the risk of repetition can I ask you whether bringing my partner to Aus on an e-visa, marrying her here and applying for onshore partner visa is a better route than applying for a pmv, and bringing her out on a 600 visa as a tourist, with the probable need to leave the country every three months? She is a uk citizen.
> We are keen to be together as soon as possible, naturally, and the ability for her to work on a bridging visa would be valuable. Really appreciate any advice you can give. Thanks again.


----------



## macpaul

Thanks for such a rapid reply! Especially on a Sunday after a rugby world cup final in the middle of the night. We are engaged and have plenty of evidence, spanning more than two years, of our relationship including her visit here and three monthly returns to the uk by me with shared travel in europe, We have family, including children, and friends all able to attest to our relationship and we would be getting married shortly after her arrival. We have not lived together but she will be moving to Aus for the duration of the visa processing period. We have know each other for 28 years! 
Will definitely considering a consultation!
Thanks again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Macpaul -

Glad I could help. With lack of living together time, I would suggest lodging the partner visa application after you marry, so you are not held to the de facto requirements which can be difficult to meet if you have not lived together. Best of luck with all!

Best,

Mark Northam



macpaul said:


> Thanks for such a rapid reply! Especially on a Sunday after a rugby world cup final in the middle of the night. We are engaged and have plenty of evidence, spanning more than two years, of our relationship including her visit here and three monthly returns to the uk by me with shared travel in europe, We have family, including children, and friends all able to attest to our relationship and we would be getting married shortly after her arrival. We have not lived together but she will be moving to Aus for the duration of the visa processing period. We have know each other for 28 years! Thanks again.


----------



## samehmorkos

G'day Mark,
Just applied online for a 309 Partner visa and I wanted to ask some questions.
I knew my wife for a while cause we come from the same family. We started our relationship July 2014 online. I bought a ring and traveled overseas and proposed to her Christmas that year and we got engaged in Jan 2015. I came to Australia and then we got married end of August 2015 and spend honeymoon together for a bout a month. I'm the main financial supporter of the relationship. I had proofs of every step we took and all the chats and message since July 2014. The Medical check is booked for 4th of Nov 2015.
My wife is Egyptian but lives in Lebanon and I think visa will be processed in Lebanon.
We also have applied for 600 visitor family spencer stream.
So now we are living a part and it is difficult for me to go due to work and I'm not sure whether they will give her the visitors visa. Would that make our partner visa situation weak? and If i can't go what should I do in that period while they are assessing the situation......

Thanks


----------



## fiftyeight

delete this post


----------



## michael1234

Hello Mark,

I have asked here before about the issue of completing my studies early. Originally I was meant to complete my studies in July but now plan to finish in March (2016), so 4 months earlier. I will then be eligible to apply for 485 and I will apply for 485 immediately after I complete my course.
Now, as far as I understood, it should be fine and I will get a BV-A once I apply for 485.
So to summarise the plan is to finish in March 2016 and apply for 485 immediately, and probably receive a BV-A.

I would like to ask two questions about my situation if possible:
1. My current student visa will expire in Sep 2016. If I finish early as mentioned and apply for 485 immediately, will the expiry date of my student visa change or will it stay Sep 2016?
2. You wrote in a previous answer here that DIBP may cancel a student visa if the student goes offshore after finishing early. Can that also happen after I have applied for 485? I plan to travel for around a week in May or June 2016. So around 3 months after I filed my 485 application. Assuming my student visa will still be in effect, can it happen that I go overseas and suddenly in that week have my visa cancelled (and as a result my BV-A cancelled as well) and then cannot return to Australia?
It is clear to me that once I get the 485 I can travel freely, but I may wish to go overseas before I get the 485.

Cheers,
Michael


----------



## Takin

Hello Mark

I have received an invitation for the subclass 189 visa as an electronics engineer but I have a couple questions before logging my application.

- I made a mistake in the EOI and selected that I have an Honours degree instead of a bachelor degree. Will this cause a refusal for my application? Or can I submit the application with the correct information?

- Do they ask for employment references if I'm not claiming any points for work experience? I only have about 8 month of relevant work experience as I chose to change fields and go into software development afterwards.


----------



## hcelgoog1977

Hi Mark
Appreciate your valuable help. I wonder If DIBP asked for VAC2, is it necessarily means the decision is ready?
Is there any chance for refusal after this?


----------



## bebecait

Hi Mark!

I have lodged my Partner Visa 820 from PMV and received via email the Bridging Visa Grant though it will not be in effect until my PMV expires. Today (a week after lodgement), immi has returned my docs via post mail with a small note "with compliments NSW Partner Processing Centre"

Can you please shed a light on what could this mean? Many thanks!


----------



## htclemente

*Sponsored visitor visa*

Hi Mark,

In 2013, I have applied for a family sponsored tourist visa for 3 months for my brother. This was refused and I applied for a review with MRT. I was successful and my brother stayed with us for 3 months

In June this year, applied for the same visa but this time for 6 months. It was refused again although I have indicated in my application that he was refused previously and that we went thru a review. Anyway, I filed for a review again and was successful. However the immigration has sent me an email today to say that they will only grant a 3 month visa.

Are they allowed to do this? What options do I have? I have replied to that email asking for a reconsideration but just wanted to get an opinion/feedback as to what else I can do.

Thank you so much for your help


----------



## JapArora

*Regarding increasing the points from 60 to 70*

Hi Mark
First of all, I really appreciate you answering questions on this forum to help people like me.

I had 1 question. I have filed an EOI on 16th October, 2015 with 60 points under the Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineer skill category. As on today, there are 544 slots already filled out of 1788. The date of effect of my 60 points is 15th October, 2015. I scored 10 points for my english skills. I am wondering whether I should take the test again to try to make it 20. Basically, I scored lower only in 1 section (R-9,L-8.5,S-8,W-7). I am worried that I might not receive an invite unless I improve my number of points.

Please share your suggestions.

Thanks and regards
Jap


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Samehmorkos -

Thanks for the note. Usually if a visitor visa is a high-risk application, lodging the same application after the couple has lodged a partner visa reduces the risk factor since you have already declared what your intentions are. Beyond that, it's a judgment by the overseas DIBP post assessing the visitor visa, which likely will be the same one assessing the partner visa application. In DIBP policy there is a bit of conflict - while coming on a visitor visa to continue an established partner relationship is an acceptable reason for a visitor visa, the genuine temporary entrant criteria also applies which states that a visitor must be coming primarily for temporary, visitor-like purposes. At this point all you can do is to wait and see if DIBP asks questions or requests more information, and how they assess the case. If for any reason the visa is refused, don't give up and consider getting some professional assistance to see if there may be additional evidence you can put in for a further visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



samehmorkos said:


> G'day Mark,
> Just applied online for a 309 Partner visa and I wanted to ask some questions.
> I knew my wife for a while cause we come from the same family. We started our relationship July 2014 online. I bought a ring and traveled overseas and proposed to her Christmas that year and we got engaged in Jan 2015. I came to Australia and then we got married end of August 2015 and spend honeymoon together for a bout a month. I'm the main financial supporter of the relationship. I had proofs of every step we took and all the chats and message since July 2014. The Medical check is booked for 4th of Nov 2015.
> My wife is Egyptian but lives in Lebanon and I think visa will be processed in Lebanon.
> We also have applied for 600 visitor family spencer stream.
> So now we are living a part and it is difficult for me to go due to work and I'm not sure whether they will give her the visitors visa. Would that make our partner visa situation weak? and If i can't go what should I do in that period while they are assessing the situation......
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael1234 -

Normally DIBP policy is not to cancel the student visa of a person who has finished early and lodged a 485 visa, so while the student visa would remain in force until it expires on the normal date it is set to expire (after which the BV-A would automatically activate assuming you were onshore on that date), it would be very unusual for DIBP to take any action against the student visa, especially with only 4 months to go on it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



michael1234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have asked here before about the issue of completing my studies early. Originally I was meant to complete my studies in July but now plan to finish in March (2016), so 4 months earlier. I will then be eligible to apply for 485 and I will apply for 485 immediately after I complete my course.
> Now, as far as I understood, it should be fine and I will get a BV-A once I apply for 485.
> So to summarise the plan is to finish in March 2016 and apply for 485 immediately, and probably receive a BV-A.
> 
> I would like to ask two questions about my situation if possible:
> 1. My current student visa will expire in Sep 2016. If I finish early as mentioned and apply for 485 immediately, will the expiry date of my student visa change or will it stay Sep 2016?
> 2. You wrote in a previous answer here that DIBP may cancel a student visa if the student goes offshore after finishing early. Can that also happen after I have applied for 485? I plan to travel for around a week in May or June 2016. So around 3 months after I filed my 485 application. Assuming my student visa will still be in effect, can it happen that I go overseas and suddenly in that week have my visa cancelled (and as a result my BV-A cancelled as well) and then cannot return to Australia?
> It is clear to me that once I get the 485 I can travel freely, but I may wish to go overseas before I get the 485.
> 
> Cheers,
> Michael


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Takin -

Thanks for the note. As honours does not give you any additional points, changing it back to non-honours in the visa application should not be a problem. Normally no evidence of work experience is required if you are not claiming that working experience for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Takin said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I have received an invitation for the subclass 189 visa as an electronics engineer but I have a couple questions before logging my application.
> 
> - I made a mistake in the EOI and selected that I have an Honours degree instead of a bachelor degree. Will this cause a refusal for my application? Or can I submit the application with the correct information?
> 
> - Do they ask for employment references if I'm not claiming any points for work experience? I only have about 8 month of relevant work experience as I chose to change fields and go into software development afterwards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hcelgoog1977 -

No chance that I know of - normally they do not ask for VAC2 unless all other requirements are met. Do make sure however that you have responded to all open information requests (if any) as sometimes I've seen the VAC2 request come in prior to the applicant providing all responses to all outstanding information requests.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hcelgoog1977 said:


> Hi Mark
> Appreciate your valuable help. I wonder If DIBP asked for VAC2, is it necessarily means the decision is ready?
> Is there any chance for refusal after this?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bebecait -

That generally means they are done with them and are returning them to you - they will usually do this with originals (but not with copies or certified copies). There's no indication as to a decision however, just that they no longer need them for the assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bebecait said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I have lodged my Partner Visa 820 from PMV and received via email the Bridging Visa Grant though it will not be in effect until my PMV expires. Today (a week after lodgement), immi has returned my docs via post mail with a small note "with compliments NSW Partner Processing Centre"
> 
> Can you please shed a light on what could this mean? Many thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Htclemente -

Yes, they can do that, unfortunately. While the MRT opinion is binding re: they cannot refuse it for the same reason they refused it before, the MRT opinion is not binding as to the length of the visa unless the MRT in its opinion and order specifically said so (which is rare).

Best,

Mark



htclemente said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> In 2013, I have applied for a family sponsored tourist visa for 3 months for my brother. This was refused and I applied for a review with MRT. I was successful and my brother stayed with us for 3 months
> 
> In June this year, applied for the same visa but this time for 6 months. It was refused again although I have indicated in my application that he was refused previously and that we went thru a review. Anyway, I filed for a review again and was successful. However the immigration has sent me an email today to say that they will only grant a 3 month visa.
> 
> Are they allowed to do this? What options do I have? I have replied to that email asking for a reconsideration but just wanted to get an opinion/feedback as to what else I can do.
> 
> Thank you so much for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JapArora -

It's worth trying to increase your score - unfortunately there is no way to predict if/when you will get an invitation as DIBP doesn't publish stats on the number in the queue ahead of you (with higher points scores or same points scores but earlier EOI lodgement dates than you).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JapArora said:


> Hi Mark
> First of all, I really appreciate you answering questions on this forum to help people like me.
> 
> I had 1 question. I have filed an EOI on 16th October, 2015 with 60 points under the Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineer skill category. As on today, there are 544 slots already filled out of 1788. The date of effect of my 60 points is 15th October, 2015. I scored 10 points for my english skills. I am wondering whether I should take the test again to try to make it 20. Basically, I scored lower only in 1 section (R-9,L-8.5,S-8,W-7). I am worried that I might not receive an invite unless I improve my number of points.
> 
> Please share your suggestions.
> 
> Thanks and regards
> Jap


----------



## shrav07

Hello Mark.How are you doing?My name is Shravan and i am from India.I have acquired a Certificate of enrollment from Polytechnic West located at Jandakot,Perth,WA for FEB intake 2016.I have taken up Diploma with an Associate degree(3 years in total) in operations management(Aviation).The doubt i have is,should i apply my student visa under subclass 572(VET) or 573(higher education.I have already been to Perth on a student visa earlier 2008-2010 on 575 for commercial pilot training.Please guide.Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shrav07 -

The general rule is that if you are applying for two or more packaged courses, the visa type should be the type of the highest qualification - in your case that qual would be the Associate Degree, so it would be a 573 visa as that is the visa for Associate Degree applicants.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shrav07 said:


> Hello Mark.How are you doing?My name is Shravan and i am from India.I have acquired a Certificate of enrollment from Polytechnic West located at Jandakot,Perth,WA for FEB intake 2016.I have taken up Diploma with an Associate degree(3 years in total) in operations management(Aviation).The doubt i have is,should i apply my student visa under subclass 572(VET) or 573(higher education.I have already been to Perth on a student visa earlier 2008-2010 on 575 for commercial pilot training.Please guide.Thanks in advance.


----------



## JapArora

Thanks Mark for the super quick response. That was helpful.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi JapArora -
> 
> It's worth trying to increase your score - unfortunately there is no way to predict if/when you will get an invitation as DIBP doesn't publish stats on the number in the queue ahead of you (with higher points scores or same points scores but earlier EOI lodgement dates than you).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## ToyTowner

Hello Mark,

I would appreciate if you can help me understand a certain process regarding SC 189 PR.

Around mid-August, I was requested a certain document (not PCC, neither Medicals) and as it turns out, it will take quite some time for me to get this piece of paper. When the 28 days limit was about to reach, I replied to the email asking for more time and attached evidence of me working towards getting the said document. I never received a confirmation that they have agreed to more time. After about 60 days (i.e. mid-October), another CO requested me the same and I replied in a similar manner, again attaching the evidence showing my efforts to get the said document. This current 28 days timeline will expire sometime mid-November, while I will be getting the document only around 18-December. I so wish that they give me a final request before taking this decision, and if this request is made around 20-November, then I will be able to fulfill it on 18-December.

My concern and question-1 is: will they allow me the requested time, or just take decision on my case without this document and without any further request/ notice?

From the evidence attached, it is clear that I won't be getting it anytime soon, and IMO, the document is important to prove my dependent's eligibility for immigration. So, the next question-2 is: in case if they decide to process my application without the document, will they refuse the entire application and refuse PR visas to all 3 of us, or just for that one (minor) dependent?

My question-3: I have a feeling that they might not have linked my emails to my application. But every time I sent them an email, I did get the auto-acknowledgement. Do you suggest that I should upload my email contents or a writeup/ declaration to this effect in my immiAccount so as to be sure that they get to read my concerns and my request to allow me time until at least 18-December?

Thanks for your time.


----------



## Maria from India

MarkNortham said:


> Should be no problem.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Thank you Mark.


----------



## htclemente

Thanks Mark

The MRT's decision didn't specify the visa length. It just said that they are satisfied that my brother will comply with the conditions of his visa. Am I able to contact MRT and ask if they can let immigration know that a 6 month visa is ok? I know it's a long shot and not even sure if possible.

It is just upsetting that after going through the review and spending money, my application for 6 months will be reduced to 3 months. If the Immigration said that on the first instance rather than denying our application, then that would have saved me paying the costs of the review, the time and the effort.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Htclemente -
> 
> Yes, they can do that, unfortunately. While the MRT opinion is binding re: they cannot refuse it for the same reason they refused it before, the MRT opinion is not binding as to the length of the visa unless the MRT in its opinion and order specifically said so (which is rare).
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## shrav07

Thanks a lot mark.


----------



## Juckie

Thanks Mark.

Just a few follow on questions..

1. How long do i have to leave the country under these circumstances (made redundant while waiting on MRT)? Does the 90 day rule apply?

2. Is it just the primary applicant that needs to be offshore for the new application or does the same apply for de facto partner?

3. I am allowed to submit an application for the same occupation with a different employer that i was rejected for 18 months ago? I was rejected around experience which i can now satisfy.

Really appreciate your help. 
Thanks.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Juckie -
> 
> As it's a new sponsor, the new sponsor would need to lodge a nomination for the position and nominate you as the employee, and you'd need to lodge a fresh 457 visa application since it's linked to a new nomination for a new employer. Assuming you had an onshore 457 visa application refusal last year, you will be barred from applying for a 457 visa onshore, so once the nomination is approved from the new employer, you'd have to go offshore to lodge a 457 visa application. If you are on a BV-A (bridging visa A) you could get a bridging visa B to go offshore and lodge, however if you return prior to the 457 visa grant decision (which could take weeks or a couple of months typically), you would be subject to Schedule 3 provisions which may be a problem.
> 
> Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist further.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## VASRAN

Hi Mark,

I applied for EOI and state sponsorship on 25th October 2015. I have 55 points and applied as Engineering Technologist. All my experience is in Oil and Gas field and currently I am working in SA for the last 1 year. 
Oil and Gas sector is going through a downturn and there are many Lay-offs.
My question is if I lose my job before getting SA sponsorship will I be refused sponsorship.

Regards


----------



## michael1234

Hello Mark, thank you very much for the answer!

As a last confirmation, if I may, I would just like to make sure that what you wrote in the past about DIBP giving trouble if the student finishes early and goes overseas, was referring to a situation where the student goes overseas *before* applying for 485.
Generally, after I apply for 485, I should be safe going overseas afterwards while still on the student visa?
Also, one last question, if I may, is: if I apply for BVB prior to travelling, would that make it less likely that they cancel my visa while I am overseas? (as it would be clear to them that it is for a short while).

Thank you so much for the help!
Michael



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Michael1234 -
> 
> Normally DIBP policy is not to cancel the student visa of a person who has finished early and lodged a 485 visa, so while the student visa would remain in force until it expires on the normal date it is set to expire (after which the BV-A would automatically activate assuming you were onshore on that date), it would be very unusual for DIBP to take any action against the student visa, especially with only 4 months to go on it.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> michael1234 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have asked here before about the issue of completing my studies early. Originally I was meant to complete my studies in July but now plan to finish in March (2016), so 4 months earlier. I will then be eligible to apply for 485 and I will apply for 485 immediately after I complete my course.
> Now, as far as I understood, it should be fine and I will get a BV-A once I apply for 485.
> So to summarise the plan is to finish in March 2016 and apply for 485 immediately, and probably receive a BV-A.
> 
> I would like to ask two questions about my situation if possible:
> 1. My current student visa will expire in Sep 2016. If I finish early as mentioned and apply for 485 immediately, will the expiry date of my student visa change or will it stay Sep 2016?
> 2. You wrote in a previous answer here that DIBP may cancel a student visa if the student goes offshore after finishing early. Can that also happen after I have applied for 485? I plan to travel for around a week in May or June 2016. So around 3 months after I filed my 485 application. Assuming my student visa will still be in effect, can it happen that I go overseas and suddenly in that week have my visa cancelled (and as a result my BV-A cancelled as well) and then cannot return to Australia?
> It is clear to me that once I get the 485 I can travel freely, but I may wish to go overseas before I get the 485.
> 
> Cheers,
> Michael
Click to expand...


----------



## Starmoon

MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi mark,

I have one questions, as i have lodge my visa 190 in previous month and uploaded all the documents, my question is from which date they people (visa office) have Christmas vacation? Is there any hope to get grant in November month or December month?

Thanks,


----------



## sukanta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sukanta -
> 
> I'm sorry to hear of the death of your brother. Assuming you are the sponsor and you have a 309 or 100 (or both) application pending, you could use Form 1022 (download from DIBP site) to update your circumstances, changing the status of your brother.
> 
> Please advise if I can assist any further -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks so much Mark.. Really appreciate your prompt help and advice in this regard. I will upload the form 1022 then asap with the changed circumstances.

Thank you
Sukanta


----------



## tauseef

*Assistance Required over points reduction*

Hi Mark,

I was being referred by someone to seek help from you regarding my immigration case as your analysis is very good and your valuable advise has always helped people to meet their objectives.

I got an invitation to apply for 190 visa (NSW) on 11th May and the indicative point score was 70 points (Age:30, Qualification:15, Language:10, Experience:10 and NSW:5). I applied for the VISA on 1st of June 2015 and uploaded all the documents in advance.

Since 5 months there was no communication from DIBP and I didn't knew if any CO was assigned to my case. Yesterday I got an email from CO with subject "Permission to correct points score" where he said that I had 65 points at the time of invitation and the mentioned in the letter that "Claimed 5 points for overseas employment experience however this has not been verified therefore no points can be awarded" therefore they are reducing my points score from 65 to 60 points and they need my consent before doing this.

My queries are:

a.) DIBP said I had 65 points whereas my indicative score was 70 points, is DIBP mentioning points score without including 5 points for NSW state sponsorship?

b.) they haven't mentioned which one my employment episode they were unable to verify, I only mentioned experience that was endorsed by ACS (Feb 2015) after skill level met date (March 2009).

c.) I did a mistake while submitting the VISA form after getting the invitation from DIBP where I wrongly selected "less than 3 years of overseas experience in the last 10 years" under employment section. I was under the impression that I have to provide input about my foreign country experience (I worked in Malaysia for two years). Later I realized my mistake and have uploaded form 1023 to correct it.

Does this means that DIBP might get confused and selecting 3 years option gives me 5 points whereas in EOI I have selected from than 5 years and less than 8 years option, which gave me 10 points?

d.) Since they are not counting my experience ( I don't know whole experience or only some part), do I still qualify for VISA because as per ACS we need atleast 2 years of working experience which ACS actually deducts as a qualifying criteria.

How should I approach to DIBP and do they reply over such queries, can I call them?

Looking for your valuable response as I am bit upset now. Letme know if you need further details

Regards,

Raza


----------



## kapesi

Hi Mark
Thank you for taking the time to respond to the enquiries on this forum,I am sure we all appreciate yet your efforts.
I lodged my 189 application on 23-06-2015,and up to now I have heard no word from the dept,all I know is they did an employment check in Sept. but other than that nothing,not even a CO allocated,does this have any bearing on the outcome...is there anyone out there with a similar experience?


----------



## sigillum_diaboli666

*Should he report his dodgy 457-sponsor? What about our Defacto Visa application?*

Hi Mark,

I'm writing this on behalf of my partner who's in a sticky (albeit not uncommon) situation with his 457-sponsor. I'll stick to the facts in order to make his situation easier to understand:

- He was sponsored a year ago on under the RSMS 457 scheme, and promised market-wages + superannuation

- Since commencing work there in January 2015, he has only been paid a couple of times, and not the proper amount owed to him either... Also no superannuation has been paid at all.

- The project he was contracted for was indefinitely delayed since February 2015, and due to this sent him to Melbourne on unpaid indefinite leave (he has been living with me since then)

- He has been asked to return to his place of work this month, but heard nothing since about official start dates & tasks etc. Hence it seems like it was just "all talk"

- We applied for 820 Defacto Visa in June 2015 and currently awaiting a decision. He has been granted Bridging Visa A.

- He says he is not the first person sponsored by this company to get "screwed over" and that if an employee tries to speak out to Immigration or Fair Work Australia, are met with threats to have their 457-visa cancelled by the company.

So he'd now like to know what his options are, especially since we've now also applied for a Defacto Visa. 

a) If he speaks out and initiates a formal investigation into the company, will it jeopardize the decision on the Defacto Visa?

b) If an investigation is done, and the company is found to be fraudulent, will his 457-visa be cancelled by DIBP? Will that mean he'll need to find a new 457-sponsor inside 30-days, or can he wait out the Defacto Visa decision using the BVA?

Thanks for your advice


----------



## Starmoon

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Starmoon -
> 
> No way to predict DIBP processing times, and they have no time limits on themselves. They do shut down for a short period over Christmas.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hey Mark,

Thanks for your reply


----------



## laska

Hi Mark,

if I voluntary cancelled my student visa (lets say 01/06/2013) and received BVE the next day (02/06/2013), will this impact my citizenship application? And if it will, when I should start counting 4 years? on the date when I got BVE or 820?

thanks


----------



## JapArora

Hi Mark, 
I have 2 questions.
1. I have already submitted an EOI with IELTS. Can I update the EOI with a different English test if it gives me more points?
2. Is there any way to find out the visa date of effect for a particular category under SkillSelect in the latest invitation round?

Thanks for showing the way to people like us.

Japveer


----------



## tauseef

*Help needed*

Hi Mark,

My apologies for bothering you again. I was being referred by someone to seek help from you regarding my immigration case as your analysis is very good and your valuable advise has always helped people to meet their objectives.

I got an invitation to apply for 190 visa (NSW) on 11th May and the indicative point score was 70 points (Age:30, Qualification:15, Language:10, Experience:10 and NSW:5). I applied for the VISA on 1st of June 2015 and uploaded all the documents in advance.

Since 5 months there was no communication from DIBP and I didn't knew if any CO was assigned to my case. Yesterday I got an email from CO with subject "Permission to correct points score" where he said that I had 65 points at the time of invitation and the mentioned in the letter that "Claimed 5 points for overseas employment experience however this has not been verified therefore no points can be awarded" therefore they are reducing my points score from 65 to 60 points and they need my consent before doing this.

My queries are:

a.) DIBP said I had 65 points whereas my indicative score was 70 points, is DIBP mentioning points score without including 5 points for NSW state sponsorship?

b.) they haven't mentioned which one my employment episode they were unable to verify, I only mentioned experience that was endorsed by ACS (Feb 2015) after skill level met date (March 2009).

c.) I did a mistake while submitting the VISA form after getting the invitation from DIBP where I wrongly selected "less than 3 years of overseas experience in the last 10 years" under employment section. I was under the impression that I have to provide input about my foreign country experience (I worked in Malaysia for two years). Later I realized my mistake and have uploaded form 1023 to correct it.

Does this means that DIBP might get confused and selecting 3 years option gives me 5 points whereas in EOI I have selected from than 5 years and less than 8 years option, which gave me 10 points?

d.) Since they are not counting my experience ( I don't know whole experience or only some part), do I still qualify for VISA because as per ACS we need atleast 2 years of working experience which ACS actually deducts as a qualifying criteria.

How should I approach to DIBP and do they reply over such queries, can I call them?

Looking for your valuable response as I am bit upset now. Letme know if you need further details

Regards,

Raza


----------



## bebecait

HI! Thanks for the reply!

Any idea how long does a PMV to 820 takes for the Sydney office on an average?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bebecait -
> 
> That generally means they are done with them and are returning them to you - they will usually do this with originals (but not with copies or certified copies). There's no indication as to a decision however, just that they no longer need them for the assessment.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Sean123

Hi Mark,

I am an Australian citizen and I want to bring my parents over from India using the Aged Parents subclass 804 to avoid the heavy charges on the contributory visas. I was thinking of bringing them over on a Visitor Visa 600 (and hope for no 8503 condition) and then apply for the 804 while they are here and get into the queue for it. Is there a way to make sure to avoid the 8503 condition, maybe with a smaller duration visa, and will the Tourist Stream for the Visitor visa be better than the Family Sponsor stream? They are both in their late 60s and have travelled abroad just once which was to Australia to see me.
Even if you feel there is better way to go about it then kindly let me know.
Kindly advise.


----------



## Miniroo

Hi Mark,

I have a quick question , I just received my approval of nomination for a rsms 187 visa, when I tried to complete the application corresponding to this though I ran into a problem. I did my diploma of management online, however when trying to enter this it asked for location of the campus, which is obviously not applicable as it was done via online correspondence and it would not let me leave the site without completing that field. 
Does this mean my Diploma is invalid for visa purposes?
Thanks for your time, 
Kind Regards,
Miniroo


----------



## 1984ravigupta

*ACS unsuitable 261312*

Hi Mark,

Today I got the letter from ACS which was really shocking to me .

Below is the detail

*********************
"""Your ICT skills application has been assessed as unsuitable for migration under 261312 (Developer Programmer) of the ANZSCO Code.

The detail supplied in the ACS Project Report for the RPL application is insufficient to demonstrate the depth and breadth of knowledge consistent with formal tertiary studies in ICT. """
**********************

First of all I do not clearly understand what they are trying to say here. Does it mean that they are not convinced with the project details that I have mentioned in the RPL form?? If this is my right understanding then what should I do next?? 
By profession I am working in IT for last 8 years and did my Chemical engineering (B.E).

I have researched a lot and this is surprising for me. Do I have to loose all my hope. I am completely broken seeing this response. I do not know what to do. I have invested hell lot of time and money. Please help.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ToyTowner -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict how much more time they will provide, but I'd suggest regularly communicating with them to show progress re: the document. I would upload to your ImmiAccount and email advice that you have done so, unless you are specifically requested to email the actual document(s) to them. Attaching to your ImmiAccount solves the issue of whether the documents are attached to your application.

Re: refusal, normally if dependency cannot be proven for an adult dependent, they allow the dependent to be removed from the application, but this gets a bit dicey if the applicant is under 18 years of age.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ToyTowner said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I would appreciate if you can help me understand a certain process regarding SC 189 PR.
> 
> Around mid-August, I was requested a certain document (not PCC, neither Medicals) and as it turns out, it will take quite some time for me to get this piece of paper. When the 28 days limit was about to reach, I replied to the email asking for more time and attached evidence of me working towards getting the said document. I never received a confirmation that they have agreed to more time. After about 60 days (i.e. mid-October), another CO requested me the same and I replied in a similar manner, again attaching the evidence showing my efforts to get the said document. This current 28 days timeline will expire sometime mid-November, while I will be getting the document only around 18-December. I so wish that they give me a final request before taking this decision, and if this request is made around 20-November, then I will be able to fulfill it on 18-December.
> 
> My concern and question-1 is: will they allow me the requested time, or just take decision on my case without this document and without any further request/ notice?
> 
> From the evidence attached, it is clear that I won't be getting it anytime soon, and IMO, the document is important to prove my dependent's eligibility for immigration. So, the next question-2 is: in case if they decide to process my application without the document, will they refuse the entire application and refuse PR visas to all 3 of us, or just for that one (minor) dependent?
> 
> My question-3: I have a feeling that they might not have linked my emails to my application. But every time I sent them an email, I did get the auto-acknowledgement. Do you suggest that I should upload my email contents or a writeup/ declaration to this effect in my immiAccount so as to be sure that they get to read my concerns and my request to allow me time until at least 18-December?
> 
> Thanks for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

You could try contacting the MRT, but what you are asking them to do is something that is a bit unusual, and may be seen as going beyond their legal ability - ie, they have the ability to reverse a refusal, but once that's done, the policy application is still done by DIBP and there are separation of powers issues at play - ie, the tribunal cannot grant you a visa, only DIBP can.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



htclemente said:


> Thanks Mark
> 
> The MRT's decision didn't specify the visa length. It just said that they are satisfied that my brother will comply with the conditions of his visa. Am I able to contact MRT and ask if they can let immigration know that a 6 month visa is ok? I know it's a long shot and not even sure if possible.
> 
> It is just upsetting that after going through the review and spending money, my application for 6 months will be reduced to 3 months. If the Immigration said that on the first instance rather than denying our application, then that would have saved me paying the costs of the review, the time and the effort.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Juckie -

Re 1, would need to get full details of your case to answer this one - best done at a consultation (see my website below in my signature for more).

Re 2, all applicants on the original refused visa are subject to the s48 bar and would need to be offshore at time of application for the next 457.

Re 3, No issue I see, but you still need to qualify at this point based on current experience, etc

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Juckie said:


> Thanks Mark.
> 
> Just a few follow on questions..
> 
> 1. How long do i have to leave the country under these circumstances (made redundant while waiting on MRT)? Does the 90 day rule apply?
> 
> 2. Is it just the primary applicant that needs to be offshore for the new application or does the same apply for de facto partner?
> 
> 3. I am allowed to submit an application for the same occupation with a different employer that i was rejected for 18 months ago? I was rejected around experience which i can now satisfy.
> 
> Really appreciate your help.
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vasran -

It depends on whether SA requires you to have a current employment contract or job offer as a condition of sponsorship - this varies from occupation to occupation, and SA's rules are the most complicated of all the states in this regard. If they do require an employment contract or job offer, then you'd have to have a current one of those in place at the time you are considered for sponsorship by them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



VASRAN said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for EOI and state sponsorship on 25th October 2015. I have 55 points and applied as Engineering Technologist. All my experience is in Oil and Gas field and currently I am working in SA for the last 1 year.
> Oil and Gas sector is going through a downturn and there are many Lay-offs.
> My question is if I lose my job before getting SA sponsorship will I be refused sponsorship.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael1234 -

Yes to both. Recommend you applying for the BVB and getting it granted prior to departure, even if the 485 BVA has not yet activated (it's allowed).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



michael1234 said:


> Hello Mark, thank you very much for the answer!
> 
> As a last confirmation, if I may, I would just like to make sure that what you wrote in the past about DIBP giving trouble if the student finishes early and goes overseas, was referring to a situation where the student goes overseas *before* applying for 485.
> Generally, after I apply for 485, I should be safe going overseas afterwards while still on the student visa?
> Also, one last question, if I may, is: if I apply for BVB prior to travelling, would that make it less likely that they cancel my visa while I am overseas? (as it would be clear to them that it is for a short while).
> 
> Thank you so much for the help!
> Michael


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Starmoon -

Thanks for the note. DIBP normally only shuts down entirely for a few days around Christmas - many parts of DIBP keep operating through the holidays, however with less manpower I would imagine things slow down a bit. So yes, there is hope for Nov and Dec grants.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Starmoon said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> I have one questions, as i have lodge my visa 190 in previous month and uploaded all the documents, my question is from which date they people (visa office) have Christmas vacation? Is there any hope to get grant in November month or December month?
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raza -

Thanks for the note. Would need to see all your documents and work with you in a consultation to give you specific advice to sort this out - regulations and policy are simply too complicated to deal with this in back & forth emails or forum posts. Please see website in my signature below for more -

Best,

Mark Northam



tauseef said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was being referred by someone to seek help from you regarding my immigration case as your analysis is very good and your valuable advise has always helped people to meet their objectives.
> 
> I got an invitation to apply for 190 visa (NSW) on 11th May and the indicative point score was 70 points (Age:30, Qualification:15, Language:10, Experience:10 and NSW:5). I applied for the VISA on 1st of June 2015 and uploaded all the documents in advance.
> 
> Since 5 months there was no communication from DIBP and I didn't knew if any CO was assigned to my case. Yesterday I got an email from CO with subject "Permission to correct points score" where he said that I had 65 points at the time of invitation and the mentioned in the letter that "Claimed 5 points for overseas employment experience however this has not been verified therefore no points can be awarded" therefore they are reducing my points score from 65 to 60 points and they need my consent before doing this.
> 
> My queries are:
> 
> a.) DIBP said I had 65 points whereas my indicative score was 70 points, is DIBP mentioning points score without including 5 points for NSW state sponsorship?
> 
> b.) they haven't mentioned which one my employment episode they were unable to verify, I only mentioned experience that was endorsed by ACS (Feb 2015) after skill level met date (March 2009).
> 
> c.) I did a mistake while submitting the VISA form after getting the invitation from DIBP where I wrongly selected "less than 3 years of overseas experience in the last 10 years" under employment section. I was under the impression that I have to provide input about my foreign country experience (I worked in Malaysia for two years). Later I realized my mistake and have uploaded form 1023 to correct it.
> 
> Does this means that DIBP might get confused and selecting 3 years option gives me 5 points whereas in EOI I have selected from than 5 years and less than 8 years option, which gave me 10 points?
> 
> d.) Since they are not counting my experience ( I don't know whole experience or only some part), do I still qualify for VISA because as per ACS we need atleast 2 years of working experience which ACS actually deducts as a qualifying criteria.
> 
> How should I approach to DIBP and do they reply over such queries, can I call them?
> 
> Looking for your valuable response as I am bit upset now. Letme know if you need further details
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Raza


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kapesi -

This is not uncommon, especially if the external security checks for your home country are slow to process. I'd be patient and see what happens in the next 1-2 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kapesi said:


> Hi Mark
> Thank you for taking the time to respond to the enquiries on this forum,I am sure we all appreciate yet your efforts.
> I lodged my 189 application on 23-06-2015,and up to now I have heard no word from the dept,all I know is they did an employment check in Sept. but other than that nothing,not even a CO allocated,does this have any bearing on the outcome...is there anyone out there with a similar experience?


----------



## ToyTowner

Thanks, Mark.

Regarding attaching to immiAccount- my question was should I attach the email matter (i.e. the reason for the delay in providing the requested document) and not the actual document itself. Do you recommend that I do this? All I want is to request them to allow me more time for this document. As it is, this document is delayed by 70 days as of today and I need about 45 more days for it. My only concern is that they get to see my request to put the case on hold and not make a decision about it without giving me the requested timeframe to provide it. If you say, I can write all the matter as a statutory declaration (regarding the reason for delays) if that would help them convince to wait another 45 days.

Thanks for your suggestion about being in communication with them. If you recommend me uploading a stat dec to immiAccount (not the actual document that they need, but a statement about why I need more time), then I will do so and follow up with them on call and take it from there.

Thanks,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi ToyTowner -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No way to predict how much more time they will provide, but I'd suggest regularly communicating with them to show progress re: the document. I would upload to your ImmiAccount and email advice that you have done so, unless you are specifically requested to email the actual document(s) to them. Attaching to your ImmiAccount solves the issue of whether the documents are attached to your application.
> 
> Re: refusal, normally if dependency cannot be proven for an adult dependent, they allow the dependent to be removed from the application, but this gets a bit dicey if the applicant is under 18 years of age.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the note. Would need to discuss this in detail in a consultation to give you specific advice, however even if the 457 is cancelled, he can remain in Australia (although on a Bridging Visa E as a cancellation of the 457 will also automatically cancel his BV-A from the partner visa application) to wait out the partner visa application.

Re: speaking out, I don't see any way it would jeopardise his 457. However if he does not speak out and DIBP believes he's complicit in any sort of fraudulent employment claims, that could cause a problem. If he does not want to speak out, then he may want to at least consider resigning and notifying DIBP that he has resigned due to non-payment and leave it at that. He will then have 90 days to find a new sponsor, or the 457 may be cancelled (or they may let the 457 run its course depending on how many months are left on it).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sigillum_diaboli666 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm writing this on behalf of my partner who's in a sticky (albeit not uncommon) situation with his 457-sponsor. I'll stick to the facts in order to make his situation easier to understand:
> 
> - He was sponsored a year ago on under the RSMS 457 scheme, and promised market-wages + superannuation
> 
> - Since commencing work there in January 2015, he has only been paid a couple of times, and not the proper amount owed to him either... Also no superannuation has been paid at all.
> 
> - The project he was contracted for was indefinitely delayed since February 2015, and due to this sent him to Melbourne on unpaid indefinite leave (he has been living with me since then)
> 
> - He has been asked to return to his place of work this month, but heard nothing since about official start dates & tasks etc. Hence it seems like it was just "all talk"
> 
> - We applied for 820 Defacto Visa in June 2015 and currently awaiting a decision. He has been granted Bridging Visa A.
> 
> - He says he is not the first person sponsored by this company to get "screwed over" and that if an employee tries to speak out to Immigration or Fair Work Australia, are met with threats to have their 457-visa cancelled by the company.
> 
> So he'd now like to know what his options are, especially since we've now also applied for a Defacto Visa.
> 
> a) If he speaks out and initiates a formal investigation into the company, will it jeopardize the decision on the Defacto Visa?
> 
> b) If an investigation is done, and the company is found to be fraudulent, will his 457-visa be cancelled by DIBP? Will that mean he'll need to find a new 457-sponsor inside 30-days, or can he wait out the Defacto Visa decision using the BVA?
> 
> Thanks for your advice


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Laska -

Thanks for the note. Any time in Australia up until the date the BVE was granted in your scenario would not be able to be used towards the citizenship residency requirement - ie, the 4-year clock would restart the day you received your BVE.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



laska said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> if I voluntary cancelled my student visa (lets say 01/06/2013) and received BVE the next day (02/06/2013), will this impact my citizenship application? And if it will, when I should start counting 4 years? on the date when I got BVE or 820?
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JapArora -

1 - Yes; 2 - No.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JapArora said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have 2 questions.
> 1. I have already submitted an EOI with IELTS. Can I update the EOI with a different English test if it gives me more points?
> 2. Is there any way to find out the visa date of effect for a particular category under SkillSelect in the latest invitation round?
> 
> Thanks for showing the way to people like us.
> 
> Japveer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bebecait -

We're seeing these go through anywhere from 4 to 8 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bebecait said:


> HI! Thanks for the reply!
> 
> Any idea how long does a PMV to 820 takes for the Sydney office on an average?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sean123 -

Would need to know more about their circumstances to give you specific advice re: visa type, but generally a shorter visitor visa has less chance of condition 8503. Also you should know that if they apply onshore for this visa, there is no Medicare available to them while they're here on a bridging visa awaiting a decision, and the waiting time for this visa is many years (see DIBP site for latest estimate).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sean123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am an Australian citizen and I want to bring my parents over from India using the Aged Parents subclass 804 to avoid the heavy charges on the contributory visas. I was thinking of bringing them over on a Visitor Visa 600 (and hope for no 8503 condition) and then apply for the 804 while they are here and get into the queue for it. Is there a way to make sure to avoid the 8503 condition, maybe with a smaller duration visa, and will the Tourist Stream for the Visitor visa be better than the Family Sponsor stream? They are both in their late 60s and have travelled abroad just once which was to Australia to see me.
> Even if you feel there is better way to go about it then kindly let me know.
> Kindly advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Miniroo -

Not necessarily - you could put "Online" and put the mailing address of the school, then upload a note after you lodge explaining that you took the course online. Only other issue I can think of would be if you studied online while in Australia on a visa that did not allow that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Miniroo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a quick question , I just received my approval of nomination for a rsms 187 visa, when I tried to complete the application corresponding to this though I ran into a problem. I did my diploma of management online, however when trying to enter this it asked for location of the campus, which is obviously not applicable as it was done via online correspondence and it would not let me leave the site without completing that field.
> Does this mean my Diploma is invalid for visa purposes?
> Thanks for your time,
> Kind Regards,
> Miniroo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ravigupta -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the ACS negative report. I'd investigate with ACS to see what your review or appeal options may be, and see if you can get some more detail from them as to specifically what they thought the problems were, and if the problems were with both project reports or only one. If there was more detail needed and you have that and just didn't include it in the original reports, that may be something that could be cured at a review. You need more info from them as to specifically what issue they had with your project reports.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Today I got the letter from ACS which was really shocking to me .
> 
> Below is the detail
> 
> *********************
> """Your ICT skills application has been assessed as unsuitable for migration under 261312 (Developer Programmer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> The detail supplied in the ACS Project Report for the RPL application is insufficient to demonstrate the depth and breadth of knowledge consistent with formal tertiary studies in ICT. """
> **********************
> 
> First of all I do not clearly understand what they are trying to say here. Does it mean that they are not convinced with the project details that I have mentioned in the RPL form?? If this is my right understanding then what should I do next??
> By profession I am working in IT for last 8 years and did my Chemical engineering (B.E).
> 
> I have researched a lot and this is surprising for me. Do I have to loose all my hope. I am completely broken seeing this response. I do not know what to do. I have invested hell lot of time and money. Please help.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ToyTowner -

I'd upload the email matter as well as emailing it to them, especially if they are not acknowledging receipt of emails. No way to predict how much more time they will provide, but if you keep regularly communciating and showing how much more time will be needed (due to factors beyond your control I assume), that increases the chances that they will not make a decision prematurely.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ToyTowner said:


> Thanks, Mark.
> 
> Regarding attaching to immiAccount- my question was should I attach the email matter (i.e. the reason for the delay in providing the requested document) and not the actual document itself. Do you recommend that I do this? All I want is to request them to allow me more time for this document. As it is, this document is delayed by 70 days as of today and I need about 45 more days for it. My only concern is that they get to see my request to put the case on hold and not make a decision about it without giving me the requested timeframe to provide it. If you say, I can write all the matter as a statutory declaration (regarding the reason for delays) if that would help them convince to wait another 45 days.
> 
> Thanks for your suggestion about being in communication with them. If you recommend me uploading a stat dec to immiAccount (not the actual document that they need, but a statement about why I need more time), then I will do so and follow up with them on call and take it from there.
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## Miniroo

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Miniroo -
> 
> Not necessarily - you could put "Online" and put the mailing address of the school, then upload a note after you lodge explaining that you took the course online. Only other issue I can think of would be if you studied online while in Australia on a visa that did not allow that.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much for your quick reply Mark, I was so happy to have finally received the Nomination so that came as quite a shock.
Kind Regards,
Jasmin


----------



## ToyTowner

Wonderful! Thanks again for your reply.

Yes, these are factors beyond my control and I do have written evidence from the government (so to say) about a specific timeframe when I should get the said document. I will upload all this communication into immiAccount including snapshots of the government statements and will follow up with them on a call.

Once again, thank you very much. I really appreciate your help.

Best Regards,



MarkNortham said:


> Hi ToyTowner -
> 
> I'd upload the email matter as well as emailing it to them, especially if they are not acknowledging receipt of emails. No way to predict how much more time they will provide, but if you keep regularly communciating and showing how much more time will be needed (due to factors beyond your control I assume), that increases the chances that they will not make a decision prematurely.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## nimbuz

Hi Mark,

Coincidentally, my daughter was born just an hour after my visa was lodged. What now? How do I include her in my visa application? Do I pay for her visa fees separately now?

Thanks!


----------



## Kaffee

Thanks for your patience and help Mark. I seem to still have questions.

Should my fiancee create his own ImmiAccount for his 40SP form or can he use mine?

Do my parents need to get their supporting statement witnessed by a legal professional or can they get their accountant to witness it? In the UK when applying for a passport, for example, any professional person can witness your application but I notice that the Form 888 I have from friends and family in Australia are witnessed by a JP.


----------



## Nick01

*190 visa - SS first or EOI?*

Hi Mark,
Firstly I would like to say thank you for all the valuable information you and others provide on this forum.
My question is that I would like to apply for SS for Victoria. I am unclear on what to do first SS application or EOI then SS application online?
I have positive skills assessment and am sitting my ielts soon.
Your help and advise is appreciated.


----------



## VASRAN

Thanks Mark for the reply.

I checked my occupation. It is in supplementary skill list which requires one year of work experience in SA for eligibility and also one should be currently working in skilled occupation. Currently I meet all requirements and hope that positive outcome comes before any change in conditions.

Regards


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Hello Mark,

Thanks for your reply. I have below questions for you :

1) Do you think I should email the ACS assessment team and get the clarification. Do they give detailed reply of the issue or just high level.

2) Based on your experience what do you think the problem can be ?? What exactly ACS team looks for in the two project report for the developer programmer. 

3) I know it is difficult to answer without studying the case properly but do you think I need a professional help at this stage to take me out of the problem ?


----------



## Tommy123

Hi Mark,

I'm a UK citizen looking to visit my fiancés brother in Melbourne who moved out there four years ago on a de facto visa with his Australian girlfriend.
I had to submit an application for subclass 600 visitor visa as I failed the character requirement as I have a criminal conviction - one conviction for assault in 2007 which I was sentenced to over 12 months in prison but only served six months.
I've been waiting for four months and have been advised there is a backlog with VACCU who are considering my application. 
I've now heard that MP Peter Dutton is personally rejecting all applications which fail the character requirements (sentence of 12 months plus)
This was my only offence and I have provided evidence as to the mitigating circumstances and also my otherwise good character. But seems this will still be a lost cause. Does MP Dutton ever take into consideration mitigating factors or will this be a straight forward case of - sentenced to more than 12 months - rejected?
Many thanks, Tommy


----------



## bella_nguyen

Hi Mark, 
I already create a thread but no reply yet so I want to have some advice on my situation.I have finished my bachelor course in middle of August and I'm waiting to apply for visa 485. The problem is the college refuses to give me official completion letter and academic transcript because they said that the decision to finalise results and graduate is being ratified and they can't provide it until the Academic Broad meeting which will commence on middle of December. However, the date on completion letter will state the time the course start and end which is August while the pending status wouldn't be counted upon.
I'm still on my student visa as I was waited to get all my document and submit in one go but now I don't know if I should lodge my document now for my visa status to change to bridging visa. I heard you only have 28 days to lodge all the required documents but I'm afraid it still not ready by then. Another option is for me to study some short english course to maintain my student visa status and wait for the college to give me the remaining documents cause the gap is too big.
Any advise on this problem here, I'm start to freaking out cause I'm not sure what should I do. Thank in advance for your help, I'm very appreciated
Belle


----------



## MarcellusF

Hey Mark,

I've done a quick search in the forum, but the answer to my situation isn't readily obvious. I'm Australian born and raised, and had the (mis)fortune of falling in love and marrying an Italian in January. Our first baby was born just over a month ago, and now I'm starting the long bureaucratic nightmare that is immigration. So here are my questions:

My child will become an Aussie citizen thanks to the descendent rule, right? From what I can tell that will be fairly straightforward and pretty cheap.

My wife, who is an Italian citizen, will then have to apply for a partner visa and fork out the 6k+ application fee? Even though she's the mother of an Australian citizen and married to an Australian citizen?

Is there another option for us?

We are currently living in Italy.

Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nimbuz -

Yes, you would need to add her to your application - suggest you contact DIBP for specific instructions for your specific type of visa and method of lodgement, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nimbuz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Coincidentally, my daughter was born just an hour after my visa was lodged. What now? How do I include her in my visa application? Do I pay for her visa fees separately now?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaffee -

Happy to help. No problem lodging the 40SP online (New Application, Family, Sponsor a Partner...) on the same ImmiAccount as the main application form. Note that you can complete this online as a New Application; no need to complete and scan the PDF, etc.

No particular requirements for witnessing supporting statements that are not on Form 888 - so anything that makes sense in their country would be fine, and as witnessing is not required for these, simply including a copy of their passport biodata page would also be OK with the signed statement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kaffee said:


> Thanks for your patience and help Mark. I seem to still have questions.
> 
> Should my fiancee create his own ImmiAccount for his 40SP form or can he use mine?
> 
> Do my parents need to get their supporting statement witnessed by a legal professional or can they get their accountant to witness it? In the UK when applying for a passport, for example, any professional person can witness your application but I notice that the Form 888 I have from friends and family in Australia are witnessed by a JP.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nick01 -

Thanks for the kind words - for VIC, you can do the EOI before or after they invite you - see section 4 here for more:
Skilled Nominated (190) Visa - Live in Victoria

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nick01 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Firstly I would like to say thank you for all the valuable information you and others provide on this forum.
> My question is that I would like to apply for SS for Victoria. I am unclear on what to do first SS application or EOI then SS application online?
> I have positive skills assessment and am sitting my ielts soon.
> Your help and advise is appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984ravigupta -

I'd email ACS and ask for more details and specifics on the issues they had with your project report(s). If you don't hear back, call them and ask via phone - be persistent but polite. Once you have more details about this, you would be in a better position to decide whether getting professional help would be likely to be useful and beneficial for your particular circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply. I have below questions for you :
> 
> 1) Do you think I should email the ACS assessment team and get the clarification. Do they give detailed reply of the issue or just high level.
> 
> 2) Based on your experience what do you think the problem can be ?? What exactly ACS team looks for in the two project report for the developer programmer.
> 
> 3) I know it is difficult to answer without studying the case properly but do you think I need a professional help at this stage to take me out of the problem ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tommy123 -

Thanks for the note. The VACCU considers character cases and where appropriate will recommend that, even with a substantial criminal record, the applicant should still receive a visa. However if it gets referred to the VACCU, it will likely take a substantial submission with lots of evidence to argue the case successfully - we recently completed a successful case for someone with a longer sentence than yours, but it was challenging. If you end up at the VACCU, I'd consider getting professional assistance from a registered migration agent who is experienced with character matters.

Essentially if DIBP is considering refusing a visa based on section 501 character grounds, there is a very specific process and framework they have to abide by, which includes giving you a chance to argue your case and present additional evidence (such as character references, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tommy123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm a UK citizen looking to visit my fiancés brother in Melbourne who moved out there four years ago on a de facto visa with his Australian girlfriend.
> I had to submit an application for subclass 600 visitor visa as I failed the character requirement as I have a criminal conviction - one conviction for assault in 2007 which I was sentenced to over 12 months in prison but only served six months.
> I've been waiting for four months and have been advised there is a backlog with VACCU who are considering my application.
> I've now heard that MP Peter Dutton is personally rejecting all applications which fail the character requirements (sentence of 12 months plus)
> This was my only offence and I have provided evidence as to the mitigating circumstances and also my otherwise good character. But seems this will still be a lost cause. Does MP Dutton ever take into consideration mitigating factors or will this be a straight forward case of - sentenced to more than 12 months - rejected?
> Many thanks, Tommy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bella_nguyen -

Normally you have 60 days if you complete a course substantially early, however in your case you've got a good argument - if the school won't give you the completion document until December, not much ability to move forward with the 485. The problem with lodging the 485 application now is that if the dates on the final transcript re: the date the course was completed end up being in December, your visa will be refused.

I would suggest consulting with a migration agent (see our website below in my signature for more) who can look at all of your details and documents and give you specific advice for your circumstances. The 485 visa has all kinds of twists and turns, and is quite strict about time of application requirements - the key will be working out a way to ensure you meet all of them at the time you apply.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bella_nguyen said:


> Hi Mark,
> I already create a thread but no reply yet so I want to have some advice on my situation.I have finished my bachelor course in middle of August and I'm waiting to apply for visa 485. The problem is the college refuses to give me official completion letter and academic transcript because they said that the decision to finalise results and graduate is being ratified and they can't provide it until the Academic Broad meeting which will commence on middle of December. However, the date on completion letter will state the time the course start and end which is August while the pending status wouldn't be counted upon.
> I'm still on my student visa as I was waited to get all my document and submit in one go but now I don't know if I should lodge my document now for my visa status to change to bridging visa. I heard you only have 28 days to lodge all the required documents but I'm afraid it still not ready by then. Another option is for me to study some short english course to maintain my student visa status and wait for the college to give me the remaining documents cause the gap is too big.
> Any advise on this problem here, I'm start to freaking out cause I'm not sure what should I do. Thank in advance for your help, I'm very appreciated
> Belle


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MarcellusF -

Thanks for the note. I think you've got the basics - as one of the parents (you) is an Australian citizen, the baby will automatically qualify for citizenship by descent. First step is to apply for an Australian citizenship certificate, then use that to get the baby an Australian passport.

Re: wife, only choice really is a partner visa if you want her to come here and live with you. DIBP application fee currently is $6,865. You can lodge offshore (subclass 309/100) or onshore (subclass 820/801) - advantage to onshore is that a bridging visa is granted upon application which allows the person to stay in Australia past the end of their visitor visa (or whatever other visa was used to come onshore to Australia) until the partner visa is done processing, typically 12-18 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MarcellusF said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I've done a quick search in the forum, but the answer to my situation isn't readily obvious. I'm Australian born and raised, and had the (mis)fortune of falling in love and marrying an Italian in January. Our first baby was born just over a month ago, and now I'm starting the long bureaucratic nightmare that is immigration. So here are my questions:
> 
> My child will become an Aussie citizen thanks to the descendent rule, right? From what I can tell that will be fairly straightforward and pretty cheap.
> 
> My wife, who is an Italian citizen, will then have to apply for a partner visa and fork out the 6k+ application fee? Even though she's the mother of an Australian citizen and married to an Australian citizen?
> 
> Is there another option for us?
> 
> We are currently living in Italy.
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## nimbuz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nimbuz -
> 
> Yes, you would need to add her to your application - suggest you contact DIBP for specific instructions for your specific type of visa and method of lodgement, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Sorry I forgot to add more detail. Its 190 visa (Victoria SS) and me and my wife are the applicants currently.

Should I contact DIBP right now or wait for CO to be assigned?

Thanks!


----------



## Bshdo

Hi Mark,

Hope you are well.

I would like to ask you some questions.
Currently, I am on student visa up until March next year. I have had my 457 application for my end refused this week because I haven't gotten my degree yet, so the application was rejected due to uncompleted qualification. However, this is my last semester, I have done my last exam last Tuesday and will get the letter of completion and full transcript next month on December.

1. Am I allowed to re-apply for 457 onshore in Australia next month once I've got my letter of completion from university?

2. Does the approved employer sponsorship nomination (which was approved last August) still valid if I want to start the new 457 application next month?

3. Am I allowed to work full-time with student visa and bridging visa if I have completed my study? (Because the job will start at 1st week of January, so if I apply for 457 by mid-December I am not sure it would have been granted at the time I start my job). The course end date in my CoE is December 31, 2015.

4. Do I need to provide information to the immigration if I want to work full-time with a student visa and bridging visa once I've completed my study?

Looking forward to your advice. Thankyou


----------



## Tommy123

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tommy123 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. The VACCU considers character cases and where appropriate will recommend that, even with a substantial criminal record, the applicant should still receive a visa. However if it gets referred to the VACCU, it will likely take a substantial submission with lots of evidence to argue the case successfully - we recently completed a successful case for someone with a longer sentence than yours, but it was challenging. If you end up at the VACCU, I'd consider getting professional assistance from a registered migration agent who is experienced with character matters.
> 
> Essentially if DIBP is considering refusing a visa based on section 501 character grounds, there is a very specific process and framework they have to abide by, which includes giving you a chance to argue your case and present additional evidence (such as character references, etc).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for getting back to me Mark.

I did actually reach out to a registered agent ( George Lombard?) last year when we were considering submitting the application. He was confident we could manage this ourselves as I only have one (albeit substantial) conviction but I have submitted a few character references and also other documents relating to my business (I run a small but successful business here in UK and my fiancé is a solicitor).

We submitted this year about four months ago and recently received an update status to say our application was with VACCU who have a large backlog.

We again contacted George for casual advice as to timeframes etc and this was when he dropped the bombshell that there is basically a lockdown on processing applications where the person does not meet the character requirements and that MP Dutton is personally rejecting all such applications.

As such, the advice we have received is to withdraw the application prior to any formal decision being made so that there is no official refusal on record which may prejudice a future application.

Would you agree this to be the best course of action? Of course this is hard for the family but I would rather withdraw and wait for a better time than face this wait and be rejected anyway if the current guidelines are so strict and do not consider other mitigating circumstances. I also do not wish to jeopardise any future applications for Australia or any other country should the question be posed if I have ever been refused a visa.

Thanks,
Tommy


----------



## usherer

RE: Adding dependent to current student visa

Hi Mark,

Thanks in advance for fielding these questions.

I'm a first-year Masters student from Singapore studying in Adelaide. My boyfriend (from Thailand) and I intend to marry.

This means we're trying to compile evidence from three countries and I'm about to leave Australia. So I hope you can give clarity as soon as you can.

Qn 1.
Based on what I have heard, the process is something like this:
1. Get married
2. Fill in form 1022 to update status with DIAC, to change from single to married.
3. Fill in form 157A (Student Visa - my husband to fill parts B and C only. Part A to be left blank) 
4. Fill in form 919 (Nomination of student dependents - filled by myself)
*
(a)	Could you please examine this and let me know what might be missing?
(b)	Can you confirm if it's correct that my husband is the one who submits all documents in Bangkok?
*

Qn 2. 
The Form 919 checklist asks for:
•	Original copies of financial statements
•	Original letters from banks certifying status of account.

I intend to give six months of such statements. Working backwards from June, it means I have to supply statements from July 2015 to Jan 2016.

I have four bank accounts: two in Australia, one in Singapore, and one in the UK, and have started approaching them.

Australia:
Account 1 - I have three months of original financial statements, till October.

I will be in Singapore between Nov and Jan, but NAB bank told me that they do not send statements overseas, which means I won't have the original statements for Nov '15, Dec '15 and Jan 2016.

*(a)	Can I provide certified copies (NOT original) of financial statements for the 3 months (Nov, Dec, Jan)?*

Account 2 - Same situation. But I have four months of original financial statements.

*(b)	Can I provide certified (NOT original) copies of financial statements for 2 months (Dec, Jan)?*

(c)	NAB has refused to provide a letter certifying status of account. It says that the statements constitute Australian-government-recognised documents.

*Can I NOT provide an original letter from NAB certifying status of account?*

Qn 3. 
There is an overlap in evidence (e.g. original marriage certificate) needed by both 919 and 157A, namely: original marriage certificate, certified copies of passport pages and OSHC.

*Do we provide only one set of evidence?*

Qn 6.
919 checklist asks for "an original letter from education provider stating: the course you are studying; duration of course and anticipated completion date; and whether you are satisfying course completions". 157A also asks for a CoE.

My university maintains that they do not provide such letters. They provide only:
-	Unofficial transcript
-	CoE
They say these meet the above requirements and their international students use these only.

So, for both 919 and 157A, I plan to submit only:
-	Unofficial transcript (with university stamp)
-	CoE (with university stamp)

*Can you confirm these suffice, and I will not need to submit the letter?*

Thanks!


----------



## Yaweeh

Hi Mark, I would like to ask you some questions.

I just graduated my master of early childhood teacher course at Deakin Uni. I applied for the Temporary Graduate visa 485 but was refused because did not complete my course in at least 16 months.

Here is the explanation from IMMI:
I started my Masters of Early Childhood Teacher course on 26 February 2014 and completed all course requirements on 9 July 2015. During the period of my Masters studies, I was outside of Australia from 30 May 2014 to 9 July 2014 and from 27 January 2015 to 28 March 2015. As such, I was not physically present in Australia for a period of less than 16 calendar months during my Masters course.

Therefore, I did not satisfy the requirements of Regulation 485.231 (3) so my application for visa 485 was refused.

My question is as this visa refusal decision can be reviewed, what should I do now?

Beside, in case that I can't apply for visa 485 anymore, can I apply my skill assessment for migrant and then apply for PR when I'm outside of Australia (offshore).

Thanks Mark


----------



## itaus

*partner visa application*

Hi Mark! Thanks for your helpful and quick responses to all our questions. My next question is, am i able to hand in my partner visa application in person at the melbourne office or does it have to be by courier only?
I'm just worried if it was to get lost in the mail!! It's not exactly a christmas card! Thanks!!


----------



## Indu9

*birth certificate & name variation*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing good!

I have been requested by DIBP to provide my Birth Certificate and a statutory declaration for name variation.

My issue: I have lost my birth certificate and unable to provide this in 28 days. I don't have my birth certificate. Moreover, My mom has told me my the name in my birth certificate is Indira and not Indu. I was not aware of this and hence didn't mention DIBP that i have had a name change in my original 820 application form. All the documents right from school certificate to my graduation certs i have it as Indu.
Can you please advise what options i have here??

Appreciate your response.


----------



## ramonaAstone

Hi Mark! 
I've been posting here before and you were always very helpful and quick with your replies and thanks once more for that!
I have a question regarding Visitor visa, I logged my partner 309 visa a month ago and now I'd like to go to visit my husband for 2 months from February to end of March next year, I already have statements from my company (I'm a lab technician and they're giving me 2 months of paid holiday for visa purpose) stating I'm employed and have job after I come back and my salary details (not much for Australian standards). I have a document about having a house on my name but don't have any savings on my bank account. My husband is employed in Australia with decent salary, at the moment he has around 6-7 thousand on his bank account . We are afraid he's gonna be asked for a security bond if we go on Family Sponsored stream and he's not gonna be able to provide one. Should I try just a tourist visitor visa with his invitation letter stating he's gonna cover all my expenses during my stay there? I would appreciate any advice from you, thanks!


----------



## shazam

Long time reader of the forums and of your advice Mark, was wondering if you could help me.

I'm a Permanent resident and thinking of bringing someone here. My parents have arranged for me to meet a girl and I have talked to her online and wish to marry her eventually. I was wondering if there would be a problem if we applied for a visitor visa 600, married here and then applied for an onshore partner visa? Provided she doesn't get a no further stay of course?

Or is it better for me to go there, marry her and apply offshore for a Partner visa? I wouldn't be able to stay there long as I'd have to come back here to work. I think then we would have to apply for a visitor visa afterwards but I guess she would have to leave every 3 months once she gets here and we wait for the partner visa to be granted.

Could I do the first route or do you think the 2nd option is best? Cheers. Thanks for any help.


----------



## pings

*ACS exp letter doubts*

Hi Mark and all,

I have been working in IT for about 11 years.One of my previous company's HR dept has agreed to give me the experience letter in the required format. Is this enough or this letter requires a signature from my then manager ? I am unable to contact him !

Thanks in advance.


----------



## hcelgoog1977

Dear Mark
Greetings...
Firstly I would like to thank you for your precious effort.
I need to use your service, contacting DIBP on my behave (just to follow my case as I already waiting for the decision). 
What is the a appropriate package suited me? how much it would cost me?


----------



## anup

Hi Mark
Thanks for the patient work in the forum.
I have a question. I have got an invitation for 189 visa, but I may not be eligible to claim all the points now.

In EOI i had given 30 points for age
15 points for degree ( B.tech - Engineering)
15 points for experience (from 2007)
0points ielts W 6.5 S7.0 L7.5 R8.0
Total 60 points

But after receiving the invitation, i noticed that its mentioned in the ACS that i am only eligible to claim the experience from Dec 2012.
The statement in ACS result is 
The following employment after December 2012 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately 
skilled level and relevant to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code. 

Dates: 09/07 - 10/14 (7yrs 1mths) 
Country: INDIA 

Is it possible for ne to apply for the visa in January if i got 10 more points from ielts. 
Then points will be
30 points for age
15 points for degree ( B.tech - Engineering)
5 points for experience (from 1jan 2013 to 1 jan 2016)
10 points ielts.
Total 60 points

Thanks and regards in advance


----------



## Nikkicagu

Hi, Mark..

How will I know if I have a case officer already? 

Thanks and regards in advance


----------



## zoehuynh

Hi Mark!! Please help!

I applied for parents subclass 143. It includes my sis who is 23 years old. They have asked me to prove that my sis is dependent on my parents. Beside bank account records and paying for accommodation. is there anything else I should add to this? 

Do you know how likely it is that my sis can get approval? I'm really worried that she can get rejected because she is over 18 years old .Please give me some advice so that I can maximise her chances of success with regards to the dependency. 

Thank you very much


----------



## jamielannister

Hi mark how are you doing mate. As a discussed with you regarding my application was remitted by MRT for partner visa. Today I received email from immigration and they asked for police checks, medical examination, form 80 and form 1221. These form look similar to each other and so long. They asked for my 10 years history. And my employment and study etc etc. As I haven't had work rights for nearly 2 years so I haven't been able to work. Do they verify by calling the employers I worked for. One of them is out of business now. And I don't remember their contact details cuz it's been a while. As they haven't asked for any other evidence for our relationship, do you think they are satisfied and about to finish finalise application in few months? 
Do you think the details I fill in those forms have to be exact? 
Appreciate your help


----------



## jamielannister

Hi mark how are you doing mate. As a discussed with you regarding my application was remitted by MRT for partner visa. Today I received email from immigration and they asked for police checks, medical examination, form 80 and form 1221. These form look similar to each other and so long. They asked for my 10 years history. And my employment and study etc etc. As I haven't had work rights for nearly 2 years so I haven't been able to work. Do they verify by calling the employers I worked for. One of them is out of business now. And I don't remember their contact details cuz it's been a while. As they haven't asked for any other evidence for our relationship, do you think they are satisfied and about to finish finalise application in few months? 
Do you think the details I fill in those forms have to be exact? 
Appreciate your help


----------



## jamielannister

Hi Mark
I also want to mention that I just completed eMedical for and printed out referral letter, which states client visa details as BS801 Spouse(permanent) and it doesnt mention 820 temporary. Do you think I may be granted permanent visa straight. Are they acknowledging my relationship to be 2 years old and granting me permanent visa rather than temporary or they just usually dont mention temporary visa on referral letter?
Regards


----------



## WaitingVisa

Hi Mark,

My wife hold the Prospective Marriage Visa(Subclass 300) and we just got married and now she going to apply for the Partner visa (subclass 820)

I have few questions about the Form 47.

Question 56.) Are you related to your fiancé(e) or partner by blood, marriage or adoption?
Should she answer (Yes) as we married now?


Question 75.) Have you ever been granted permission to work in Australia?
Prospective Marriage Visa(Subclass 300) gives the right to work, so should she answer (yes) ?

Question 76.) Have you ever been paid any benefits or received any social services from a government agency in Australia?
(eg. unemployment benefits, public housing benefits, Medicare, or free or subsidised education)
She never received any benefits however she has a son and her son study at Public school for free. I don't have any idea if I should answer (Yes) or (No)


In the Document checklist in the Health and character documents said

Evidence that everyone included in your application has adequate health insurance in Australia. Provide any one of the following:

- a signed letter from a health insurance provider (140 kB doc)
- a Medicare card or receipt of enrolment with Medicare - SHE IS NOT HAVE A RIGHT FOR MEDICARE
- evidence of adequate health insurance (including travel insurance)
- if you are from a country with a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia and will be eligible for Medicare when you arrive here, evidence of adequate health insurance (including travel insurance) to cover you until you enrol in Medicare - HER COUNTRY IS NOT IN THE LIST OF A RECIPROCAL HEALTH CARE AGREEMENT WITH AUSTRALIA 


So, that's mean that I have to apply for a private health insurance to her and her son before she apply for the partner visa?

Thank you so much in advanced for the help.


----------



## mamiji

*visa 820 confusion*

Hi Mark,

first off, thanks for your efforts for helping people here.
I'm going to apply for the visa 820 in a couple of weeks and I'm a bit confused. My partner is a dual citizen (French-Aussie). For the application I will need his birth certificate. It could take ages to get it posted from France. Can I launch the application and attach the missing birth certificate once we received it? 
Second of all, I have read on this forum that I won't need to certifiy my documents if I apply online? It doesn't really make any sense to me but I would like to see clearly. 
Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## linlanae

Hi there Mark! 
You've been very helpful to me before and so I wanted to thank you for that and for taking the time to help all of us poor clueless souls! 

I was hoping you could answer one quick question for me....is it alright to provide an expired passport as citizenship proof with form 888? My fiances father is submitting a stat dec for our PMV but has just realized his passport is expired. He does have his birth certificate, however, he was born in Scotland. He is now a legitimate Australian citizen though. Possibly if i include his valid drivers license? I'm still planning to include it, I'm just wondering if I need to locate someone else to be sure I'm covering 2 form 888's for sure. We plan to apply very very soon so this makes me very nervous lol.

Thanks so much!


----------



## AnnieTran

*Online application visa 820*

Hi Mark, 
I was going to apply for visa 820 in hard copies but apparently, through my research, the ID prefers online applications since they are easier to manage so I've changed to apply it online. 
I've gone through all of the steps and about to submit, and just wondering if I need to scan in form 80- Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment, as I don't think it is included in the online application that I have just completed.
Looking forward to hear from you.
Regards,
Anh


----------



## chouse

Hi Mark

Do you offer a checking service for visa applications? I've not been invited yet but I'm getting evidence together for 189/190, when/ if I get invited I'd just like the security of it being checked prior to submission.

Is that an option?

Thanks 

Leah


----------



## Gurpreet sandhu

hi mark
i am on student visa and I applied my wife's visa 5 months ago bt still I couldn't get reply anything from immigration.So please can you tell me how long is processing time.
Thanks


----------



## HWarraich

Dear Mr Mark,

I need your valuable advice on 489 Family Sponsor visa.

I got invite for 489 FS by claiming 10 points for my real brother. He is presently living in Victoria.

My query, is there any requirement that your sponsor should live minimum of 1 year in regional area (as per 489 FS post codes/states) i.e. victoria in my case from where he is sponsoring you ?

Because he lived in Victoria on student visa from 2006 to 2009. Then he moved to Brisbane, got his PR visa and came back to Victoria since April 2015 i.e. since last 8 months.

Please guide me can I lodge visa or not ?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Maria from India

Hai Mark...

I am waiting for my partner visa(subclass 309/100) which i applied on feb 14,2015 offshore from india..through online mode.submitted pcc n medical too...i just checked the emedical client page.in that,it shows like 

Client visa details , BC 100: spouse visa(permanent)..can u plz tell what it means??till now i didnt get my temporary visa,309.no contacts from immigration till now..i dont knw whether a co is assigned for my application or not..


----------



## Kab1

*189 visa application on bridging visa.*

Hi Mark,
I am on a bridging visa C and my student visa application is under processing. in the mean time i got invitation for 189 visa and I applied for it. they havent provided me a bridging visa yet. i want to withdraw the student visa application. when is the appropriate time to withdraw it? is it after i get the bridging visa for 189 or is it ok before i get the bridging visa?
thank you


----------



## potpot

Hi Mark,

How are you? I have submitted my Application in ORANA region for 489 Visa. I have applied last September 8,2015 and got a positive asssessment last Nov. 10 2015 with 65 pts including 10 pts State Sponsprship. I am just wondering how many days to wait for invitaion? Thank you very much.


----------



## fitzroyy

_*REVIEW UPDATE FOR MARK*_

I have seen Mark a few times in person for consultation for more than a year as well as through phone consultation before and here is the new update for the new review about him (and yes, its still positive)

I must say that till this day, he is still very helpful as I have got a few issues and he would still reply and help us out without hesitation. So for those who have in doubt about your visa, please do not hesitate to book him through consultation, it will be surely worth your money, time and hassle free. I think there is little or no migrant agents who would be as helpful as he would be in terms of giving out value and great advice for free as in general. So if you want more solution or may be complicated, trust me, book him through the phone/Skype or see him in person if you live in Sydney, its all worth it! Anything else, do not hesitate to PM me and I would be happy to answer any queries about his service. Cheers


----------



## cdwcdw

Hi Mark

I'm sure that this has been dealt with ample times on the forum, but I can't seem to find anything when I run searches on the relevant terms.

I'm an Australian citizen about to start university in Melbourne as a mature-age student. My Canadian fiancee's partner visa application is still being processed. Since we have a daughter together -- an Australian citizen -- I imagine that our case will be reasonably strong.

However, I'm now a little concerned about possible asset or revenue requirements. I'm acting as a sponsor but don't have much at the moment in the way of either. In fact, it's why I'm back at uni. Any idea of the sorts of sums the immigration folks would consider appropriate for someone acting as a sponsor? Should I start selling the family silver?

Thanks!

Chris


----------



## SheldonO

*573 Visa*

Hello Mark,

Thank you


----------



## katievv

Hi Mark
Wondering if you know the answer to this one....
So I'm currently in the process of applying for 461 visa, im from UK - my parnter is kiwi - but has dual citizenship - he has an Aussie passport aswell as a Kiwi one
Is this going to be a problem .... When he enters Australia on his kiwi passport he's on the 444 visa right? Or not? 
We have all other documents we need - just not sure if we will get knocked back on this...
Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nimbuz -

I'd contact DIBP now and work out how they want you to add your child to the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nimbuz said:


> Sorry I forgot to add more detail. Its 190 visa (Victoria SS) and me and my wife are the applicants currently.
> 
> Should I contact DIBP right now or wait for CO to be assigned?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bshdo -

Thanks for the note - see responses below at **:



Bshdo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are well.
> 
> I would like to ask you some questions.
> Currently, I am on student visa up until March next year. I have had my 457 application for my end refused this week because I haven't gotten my degree yet, so the application was rejected due to uncompleted qualification. However, this is my last semester, I have done my last exam last Tuesday and will get the letter of completion and full transcript next month on December.
> 
> 1. Am I allowed to re-apply for 457 onshore in Australia next month once I've got my letter of completion from university?
> ** Yes. As you were on a student visa when the 457 was refused, s48 of the Migration Act does not apply and you are not barred from a further onshore application.
> 
> 2. Does the approved employer sponsorship nomination (which was approved last August) still valid if I want to start the new 457 application next month?
> ** Probably - I would have your employer notify DIBP (the office that approved the nomination) that you are completing your degree and intend on re-applying, and confirm.
> 
> 3. Am I allowed to work full-time with student visa and bridging visa if I have completed my study? (Because the job will start at 1st week of January, so if I apply for 457 by mid-December I am not sure it would have been granted at the time I start my job). The course end date in my CoE is December 31, 2015.
> ** Yes, you can work full time in Jan as your course is out of session.
> 
> 4. Do I need to provide information to the immigration if I want to work full-time with a student visa and bridging visa once I've completed my study?
> ** Not normally under these circumstances.
> 
> Looking forward to your advice. Thankyou


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tommy123 -

Sounds like good advice. I'm not sure about a total 100% refusal rate for all those who fail the character test (the last character submission I made to the VACCU was in late May we were successful in getting a person with a substantial criminal record approved), but given the current climate in Australia, not to mention the increasing crime concerns worldwide (Paris, etc), I don't see character issues being treated any better in the short term future. George is a very good agent - I'd put a lot of faith in what he says.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tommy123 said:


> Thanks for getting back to me Mark.
> 
> I did actually reach out to a registered agent ( George Lombard?) last year when we were considering submitting the application. He was confident we could manage this ourselves as I only have one (albeit substantial) conviction but I have submitted a few character references and also other documents relating to my business (I run a small but successful business here in UK and my fiancé is a solicitor).
> 
> We submitted this year about four months ago and recently received an update status to say our application was with VACCU who have a large backlog.
> 
> We again contacted George for casual advice as to timeframes etc and this was when he dropped the bombshell that there is basically a lockdown on processing applications where the person does not meet the character requirements and that MP Dutton is personally rejecting all such applications.
> 
> As such, the advice we have received is to withdraw the application prior to any formal decision being made so that there is no official refusal on record which may prejudice a future application.
> 
> Would you agree this to be the best course of action? Of course this is hard for the family but I would rather withdraw and wait for a better time than face this wait and be rejected anyway if the current guidelines are so strict and do not consider other mitigating circumstances. I also do not wish to jeopardise any future applications for Australia or any other country should the question be posed if I have ever been refused a visa.
> 
> Thanks,
> Tommy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usherer -

Thanks for the note. I'd like to help, but given the number of questions and the very specific nature of them, would need to see your documents at a consultation in order to have the time to talk through your questions and get more information from you in order to provide you with a specific opinion on your case and answer your questions in detail - see website below in my signature for info on consultations - would be happy to help.

Best,

Mark Northam



usherer said:


> RE: Adding dependent to current student visa
> 
> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks in advance for fielding these questions.
> 
> I'm a first-year Masters student from Singapore studying in Adelaide. My boyfriend (from Thailand) and I intend to marry.
> 
> This means we're trying to compile evidence from three countries and I'm about to leave Australia. So I hope you can give clarity as soon as you can.
> 
> Qn 1.
> Based on what I have heard, the process is something like this:
> 1. Get married
> 2. Fill in form 1022 to update status with DIAC, to change from single to married.
> 3. Fill in form 157A (Student Visa - my husband to fill parts B and C only. Part A to be left blank)
> 4. Fill in form 919 (Nomination of student dependents - filled by myself)
> *
> (a)	Could you please examine this and let me know what might be missing?
> (b)	Can you confirm if it's correct that my husband is the one who submits all documents in Bangkok?
> *
> 
> Qn 2.
> The Form 919 checklist asks for:
> •	Original copies of financial statements
> •	Original letters from banks certifying status of account.
> 
> I intend to give six months of such statements. Working backwards from June, it means I have to supply statements from July 2015 to Jan 2016.
> 
> I have four bank accounts: two in Australia, one in Singapore, and one in the UK, and have started approaching them.
> 
> Australia:
> Account 1 - I have three months of original financial statements, till October.
> 
> I will be in Singapore between Nov and Jan, but NAB bank told me that they do not send statements overseas, which means I won't have the original statements for Nov '15, Dec '15 and Jan 2016.
> 
> *(a)	Can I provide certified copies (NOT original) of financial statements for the 3 months (Nov, Dec, Jan)?*
> 
> Account 2 - Same situation. But I have four months of original financial statements.
> 
> *(b)	Can I provide certified (NOT original) copies of financial statements for 2 months (Dec, Jan)?*
> 
> (c)	NAB has refused to provide a letter certifying status of account. It says that the statements constitute Australian-government-recognised documents.
> 
> *Can I NOT provide an original letter from NAB certifying status of account?*
> 
> Qn 3.
> There is an overlap in evidence (e.g. original marriage certificate) needed by both 919 and 157A, namely: original marriage certificate, certified copies of passport pages and OSHC.
> 
> *Do we provide only one set of evidence?*
> 
> Qn 6.
> 919 checklist asks for "an original letter from education provider stating: the course you are studying; duration of course and anticipated completion date; and whether you are satisfying course completions". 157A also asks for a CoE.
> 
> My university maintains that they do not provide such letters. They provide only:
> -	Unofficial transcript
> -	CoE
> They say these meet the above requirements and their international students use these only.
> 
> So, for both 919 and 157A, I plan to submit only:
> -	Unofficial transcript (with university stamp)
> -	CoE (with university stamp)
> 
> *Can you confirm these suffice, and I will not need to submit the letter?*
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yaweeh -

Thanks for the note. The 485 requires that the study be at least 16 months in duration, and that at least 16 months of your study be while you were in Australia. As it looks like you had 14 months from what I can see, you wouldn't meet the Australia Study Requirement, and a review at the AAT would very likely yield the same result since they use the same law and policy that DIBP does, and there is no room for compromise or flexibility in this particular part of the migration law.

Yes, you can still do a skills assessment (note it would need to be a full skills assessment, not a 485 skills assessment) and await an invitation to apply for a skilled visa offshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Yaweeh said:


> Hi Mark, I would like to ask you some questions.
> 
> I just graduated my master of early childhood teacher course at Deakin Uni. I applied for the Temporary Graduate visa 485 but was refused because did not complete my course in at least 16 months.
> 
> Here is the explanation from IMMI:
> I started my Masters of Early Childhood Teacher course on 26 February 2014 and completed all course requirements on 9 July 2015. During the period of my Masters studies, I was outside of Australia from 30 May 2014 to 9 July 2014 and from 27 January 2015 to 28 March 2015. As such, I was not physically present in Australia for a period of less than 16 calendar months during my Masters course.
> 
> Therefore, I did not satisfy the requirements of Regulation 485.231 (3) so my application for visa 485 was refused.
> 
> My question is as this visa refusal decision can be reviewed, what should I do now?
> 
> Beside, in case that I can't apply for visa 485 anymore, can I apply my skill assessment for migrant and then apply for PR when I'm outside of Australia (offshore).
> 
> Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Itaus -

If you do a paper application (online is FAR better in my view, as it is lodged instantly, no certification of copies needed, etc), I would use Express Mail with Tracking and Signature Required to send it, as dropping it off only means it gets dumped into DIBP's internal mail system which is no guarantee of same-day delivery, etc, plus they may not even give you a receipt for dropping it off.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itaus said:


> Hi Mark! Thanks for your helpful and quick responses to all our questions. My next question is, am i able to hand in my partner visa application in person at the melbourne office or does it have to be by courier only?
> I'm just worried if it was to get lost in the mail!! It's not exactly a christmas card! Thanks!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Indu9 -

I suppose the key is - did you have a legal name change somewhere earlier in your life? If so and you did not know about it until now, you can submit a stat dec from you and one from your mom to help DIBP understand how you have just learned of this. I expect DIBP will still expect you and/your mom to get a replacement copy of your birth certificate from the hospital or local public authority where you were born, however if they (the hospital, etc) refuse or say it is not available, a document from them stating this may be enough to satisfy DIBP. Lack of a birth certificate is often a big concern for DIBP, as it is a key factor in enabling identity fraud, kidnapping, and all kinds of nasty things - If you cannot provide one (regardless of the name on it), I'd try and get as much 3rd party evidence as possible from the hospital, local authorities, etc to show that the certificate is impossible to obtain at this time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Indu9 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing good!
> 
> I have been requested by DIBP to provide my Birth Certificate and a statutory declaration for name variation.
> 
> My issue: I have lost my birth certificate and unable to provide this in 28 days. I don't have my birth certificate. Moreover, My mom has told me my the name in my birth certificate is Indira and not Indu. I was not aware of this and hence didn't mention DIBP that i have had a name change in my original 820 application form. All the documents right from school certificate to my graduation certs i have it as Indu.
> Can you please advise what options i have here??
> 
> Appreciate your response.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RamonaAstone -

Yes - based on what you've said, I'd go for the visitor visa (tourism stream) and provide as much evidence as you can of the things you mentioned. The employer job guarantee will be especially important - you may want to make sure your employer is ready if DIBP calls them by phone to confirm details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ramonaAstone said:


> Hi Mark!
> I've been posting here before and you were always very helpful and quick with your replies and thanks once more for that!
> I have a question regarding Visitor visa, I logged my partner 309 visa a month ago and now I'd like to go to visit my husband for 2 months from February to end of March next year, I already have statements from my company (I'm a lab technician and they're giving me 2 months of paid holiday for visa purpose) stating I'm employed and have job after I come back and my salary details (not much for Australian standards). I have a document about having a house on my name but don't have any savings on my bank account. My husband is employed in Australia with decent salary, at the moment he has around 6-7 thousand on his bank account . We are afraid he's gonna be asked for a security bond if we go on Family Sponsored stream and he's not gonna be able to provide one. Should I try just a tourist visitor visa with his invitation letter stating he's gonna cover all my expenses during my stay there? I would appreciate any advice from you, thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shazam -

Thanks for the note. Lots of people marry in Australia while holding a visitor visa and then (if no condition 8503 - no further stay) lodge a partner visa onshore. That being said, with such a short relationship, you are going to need to be careful about accumulating as much relationship evidence as possible, especially once she's here, to show that your relationship is genuine and ongoing.

I don't know enough about your circumstances to give you specific advice re: onshore or offshore partner visa, but I would be thinking first about spending some time with this person to make sure you and she are entirely comfortable with getting married (don't rush!!), then work out strategically where you and she both want to be during the 12-18 months that the partner visa may take to process.

Another consideration - if you choose offshore partner visa, I'd be prepared to go to her country and live with her for several months after you marry prior to lodging the application, and try to spend as much of the 12 months or so after you are married living together with her in her country (or in Australia) as possible. With a very short pre-marriage period, lack of substantial living together time after marrying and after applying for the visa may cause concern with DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shazam said:


> Long time reader of the forums and of your advice Mark, was wondering if you could help me.
> 
> I'm a Permanent resident and thinking of bringing someone here. My parents have arranged for me to meet a girl and I have talked to her online and wish to marry her eventually. I was wondering if there would be a problem if we applied for a visitor visa 600, married here and then applied for an onshore partner visa? Provided she doesn't get a no further stay of course?
> 
> Or is it better for me to go there, marry her and apply offshore for a Partner visa? I wouldn't be able to stay there long as I'd have to come back here to work. I think then we would have to apply for a visitor visa afterwards but I guess she would have to leave every 3 months once she gets here and we wait for the partner visa to be granted.
> 
> Could I do the first route or do you think the 2nd option is best? Cheers. Thanks for any help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pings -

Normally a letter from the HR department will work, however I've noticed in India that DIBP is being ruthless about checking employment, including calling the company (sometimes not telling the company they are DIBP) and checking with as many people as they can find there to confirm every detail of your employment. They may also show up at the company unannounced and start asking question. As long as the company is prepared to answer any questions about you and your employment (including details of your work, etc), then an HR letter will likely be OK.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pings said:


> Hi Mark and all,
> 
> I have been working in IT for about 11 years.One of my previous company's HR dept has agreed to give me the experience letter in the required format. Is this enough or this letter requires a signature from my then manager ? I am unable to contact him !
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hcelgoog1977 -

Thanks for the note. Re: contacting me, please see details below in my signature. Not to talk myself out of any business here, but if you have applied for a visa, met all the requirements for documents, etc and are just waiting for DIBP to contact you, there may not be a lot I (or any other agent) can do. It's a queue and everybody ends up waiting (and waiting, and waiting). Happy to assist as I can.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hcelgoog1977 said:


> Dear Mark
> Greetings...
> Firstly I would like to thank you for your precious effort.
> I need to use your service, contacting DIBP on my behave (just to follow my case as I already waiting for the decision).
> What is the a appropriate package suited me? how much it would cost me?


----------



## jamielannister

Hi mark 
I am requested to fill out form 80 and it asks about if I was refused a visa to any country. Actually I had a refused visa from new Zealand before coming to Australia and it was refused cuz there was discrepancies in my and my employer,s statement regarding work experience I claimed to be doing. Do you think they investigate everything in form 80? Do you think it'll impact adversely my partner visa? Should I mention it?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anup -

Thanks for the note. If you are able to successfully claim and provide evidence of the same points score as on your invitation (or higher), then you should be OK. Also note that you only have 60 days to accept the invitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anup said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanks for the patient work in the forum.
> I have a question. I have got an invitation for 189 visa, but I may not be eligible to claim all the points now.
> 
> In EOI i had given 30 points for age
> 15 points for degree ( B.tech - Engineering)
> 15 points for experience (from 2007)
> 0points ielts W 6.5 S7.0 L7.5 R8.0
> Total 60 points
> 
> But after receiving the invitation, i noticed that its mentioned in the ACS that i am only eligible to claim the experience from Dec 2012.
> The statement in ACS result is
> The following employment after December 2012 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately
> skilled level and relevant to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Dates: 09/07 - 10/14 (7yrs 1mths)
> Country: INDIA
> 
> Is it possible for ne to apply for the visa in January if i got 10 more points from ielts.
> Then points will be
> 30 points for age
> 15 points for degree ( B.tech - Engineering)
> 5 points for experience (from 1jan 2013 to 1 jan 2016)
> 10 points ielts.
> Total 60 points
> 
> Thanks and regards in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nikkicagu -

You may not know - DIBP doesn't routinely inform people these days, plus the old system of an application being assigned a single case officer has been replaced in many instances by an application being assessed by a team of case officers and underlings. Normally they will only notify you if they need something from you, or if you have a decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nikkicagu said:


> Hi, Mark..
> 
> How will I know if I have a case officer already?
> 
> Thanks and regards in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zoehuynh -

Thanks for the note. The rules for adult dependents can be very challenging to meet depending on your circumstances. The simplified version is that the dependent must have been member of the other person's household for at least the 12 months prior to application, and for that period must have been more dependent on the other person (parent, etc) than any other source for financial support re food, clothing and shelter. Beyond that things get complicated re: different types of evidence that can be used to prove this - what works is different in every case, and other factors (such as if your sister undertook work, has a partner, etc) can complicate things. Happy to work with you in a consultation to discuss your case and try and get you more specific information based on your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zoehuynh said:


> Hi Mark!! Please help!
> 
> I applied for parents subclass 143. It includes my sis who is 23 years old. They have asked me to prove that my sis is dependent on my parents. Beside bank account records and paying for accommodation. is there anything else I should add to this?
> 
> Do you know how likely it is that my sis can get approval? I'm really worried that she can get rejected because she is over 18 years old .Please give me some advice so that I can maximise her chances of success with regards to the dependency.
> 
> Thank you very much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamielannister -

Thanks for the note. Yes, you need to be very detailed with those forms. Yes they are long. Yes they are hard. PR doesn't come easy in Australia!

I have not heard of them calling employer references for Form 80/1221 lodged for a partner visa (although for a skilled visa it may happen). I'd do your very best with the forms, and include a note with each form listing any questions that you were not able to provide exact information for despite best efforts. Also, make sure that nothing on those forms conflicts with anything you've already told DIBP in any interview or included on your original partner visa forms/evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamielannister said:


> Hi mark how are you doing mate. As a discussed with you regarding my application was remitted by MRT for partner visa. Today I received email from immigration and they asked for police checks, medical examination, form 80 and form 1221. These form look similar to each other and so long. They asked for my 10 years history. And my employment and study etc etc. As I haven't had work rights for nearly 2 years so I haven't been able to work. Do they verify by calling the employers I worked for. One of them is out of business now. And I don't remember their contact details cuz it's been a while. As they haven't asked for any other evidence for our relationship, do you think they are satisfied and about to finish finalise application in few months?
> Do you think the details I fill in those forms have to be exact?
> Appreciate your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamielannister -

The health form always says 801 for partner visas, so that's not an indication they are or are not considering the PR visa straight away.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamielannister said:


> Hi Mark
> I also want to mention that I just completed eMedical for and printed out referral letter, which states client visa details as BS801 Spouse(permanent) and it doesnt mention 820 temporary. Do you think I may be granted permanent visa straight. Are they acknowledging my relationship to be 2 years old and granting me permanent visa rather than temporary or they just usually dont mention temporary visa on referral letter?
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi WaitingVisa -

Please see responses below at **:

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



WaitingVisa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife hold the Prospective Marriage Visa(Subclass 300) and we just got married and now she going to apply for the Partner visa (subclass 820)
> 
> I have few questions about the Form 47.
> 
> Question 56.) Are you related to your fiancé(e) or partner by blood, marriage or adoption?
> Should she answer (Yes) as we married now?
> ** No, this refers to before you were married.
> 
> Question 75.) Have you ever been granted permission to work in Australia?
> Prospective Marriage Visa(Subclass 300) gives the right to work, so should she answer (yes) ?
> ** Yes.
> 
> Question 76.) Have you ever been paid any benefits or received any social services from a government agency in Australia?
> (eg. unemployment benefits, public housing benefits, Medicare, or free or subsidised education)
> She never received any benefits however she has a son and her son study at Public school for free. I don't have any idea if I should answer (Yes) or (No)
> ** I'd answer Yes and list the free school if the son is a secondary applicant for the partner visa (ie, dependent). If the son is not a secondary applicant for the partner visa, then No.
> 
> In the Document checklist in the Health and character documents said
> 
> Evidence that everyone included in your application has adequate health insurance in Australia. Provide any one of the following:
> 
> - a signed letter from a health insurance provider (140 kB doc)
> - a Medicare card or receipt of enrolment with Medicare - SHE IS NOT HAVE A RIGHT FOR MEDICARE
> - evidence of adequate health insurance (including travel insurance)
> - if you are from a country with a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia and will be eligible for Medicare when you arrive here, evidence of adequate health insurance (including travel insurance) to cover you until you enrol in Medicare - HER COUNTRY IS NOT IN THE LIST OF A RECIPROCAL HEALTH CARE AGREEMENT WITH AUSTRALIA
> 
> So, that's mean that I have to apply for a private health insurance to her and her son before she apply for the partner visa?
> 
> **No. It's a huge misprint on the DIBP site that has remain unfixed since July, incredibly. No health insurance requirement for a partner visa applicant - this is because as soon as you lodge the 820 onshore, she is immediately eligible for Medicare.
> 
> Thank you so much in advanced for the help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mamiji -

Yes, you can lodge the birth certificate later, and yes, online applications mean you do not need to make certified copies - high quality colour scans of original documents are accepted by DIBP for online applications. Once in a long while they will ask for the original of police clearance certifications to be sent by post in addition to scans uploaded. Also note that your Form 888's will still need to be witnessed by a JP or other authority when signed by the writer - for online applications, simply scan the Form 888 (without the instruction pages) and include a copy of the person's passport or PR visa, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mamiji said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> first off, thanks for your efforts for helping people here.
> I'm going to apply for the visa 820 in a couple of weeks and I'm a bit confused. My partner is a dual citizen (French-Aussie). For the application I will need his birth certificate. It could take ages to get it posted from France. Can I launch the application and attach the missing birth certificate once we received it?
> Second of all, I have read on this forum that I won't need to certifiy my documents if I apply online? It doesn't really make any sense to me but I would like to see clearly.
> Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Linlanae -

Thanks for the kind words! I've seen this work before, and not work before. I'd look for other evidence to lodge with the expired passport, such as a printout of the local voter registration roll (there are usually public information that you can look up online with his address). Assuming you have not had an onshore refusal of another visa on this trip, they will not assess the Form 888's at the time of application, so that gives you some time to upload additional identity evidence for him as it becomes available.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



linlanae said:


> Hi there Mark!
> You've been very helpful to me before and so I wanted to thank you for that and for taking the time to help all of us poor clueless souls!
> 
> I was hoping you could answer one quick question for me....is it alright to provide an expired passport as citizenship proof with form 888? My fiances father is submitting a stat dec for our PMV but has just realized his passport is expired. He does have his birth certificate, however, he was born in Scotland. He is now a legitimate Australian citizen though. Possibly if i include his valid drivers license? I'm still planning to include it, I'm just wondering if I need to locate someone else to be sure I'm covering 2 form 888's for sure. We plan to apply very very soon so this makes me very nervous lol.
> 
> Thanks so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AnnieTran -

Thanks for the note. You can scan and upload it to your application, or wait for them to ask for it and then scan & upload it. Likely they will ask for it based on your citizenship. I highly recommend online applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AnnieTran said:


> Hi Mark,
> I was going to apply for visa 820 in hard copies but apparently, through my research, the ID prefers online applications since they are easier to manage so I've changed to apply it online.
> I've gone through all of the steps and about to submit, and just wondering if I need to scan in form 80- Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment, as I don't think it is included in the online application that I have just completed.
> Looking forward to hear from you.
> Regards,
> Anh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chouse -

Yes - see our website below in my signature and look for our Visa Application Review Service (VARS) on the Australian Visas pull-down menu at the top area of the page.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chouse said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Do you offer a checking service for visa applications? I've not been invited yet but I'm getting evidence together for 189/190, when/ if I get invited I'd just like the security of it being checked prior to submission.
> 
> Is that an option?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Leah


----------



## anup

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Anup -
> 
> Thanks for the note. If you are able to successfully claim and provide evidence of the same points score as on your invitation (or higher), then you should be OK. Also note that you only have 60 days to accept the invitation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear mark,
Sorry to ask you again.
That means,
if I am able to compensate the points that i claimed for work experience in EOI with the points from ielts,
then I would be eligible to apply for the visa.Right


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gurpreet -

Wish I could tell you, but essentially DIBP can take as long as they want with any application - they have no time limits and are highly unpredictable.

Wish there was more I could say, but that's the reality at DIBP these days...

Best,

Mark Northam



Gurpreet sandhu said:


> hi mark
> i am on student visa and I applied my wife's visa 5 months ago bt still I couldn't get reply anything from immigration.So please can you tell me how long is processing time.
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HWarraich -

DIBP regulations do not put a particular time limit on how long a person has to be living in Australia to be "usually resident" (which is different than "settled" which usually requires 2 years presence in Australia). If he does not have an alternate place he lives that is not in the approved area, and his primary residence is in the approved area and he's lived there for the last 8 months plus additional time before that, I believe you have a very good argument that he's usually resident where he lives now.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HWarraich said:


> Dear Mr Mark,
> 
> I need your valuable advice on 489 Family Sponsor visa.
> 
> I got invite for 489 FS by claiming 10 points for my real brother. He is presently living in Victoria.
> 
> My query, is there any requirement that your sponsor should live minimum of 1 year in regional area (as per 489 FS post codes/states) i.e. victoria in my case from where he is sponsoring you ?
> 
> Because he lived in Victoria on student visa from 2006 to 2009. Then he moved to Brisbane, got his PR visa and came back to Victoria since April 2015 i.e. since last 8 months.
> 
> Please guide me can I lodge visa or not ?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maria -

That is probably talking about the type of health exam required for your visa - for 309/100 applications, it always says 100 even if you have not yet been granted your 309. It doesn't mean anything other than the type of health exam, so it does not indicate how far along your application is, or if you will be granted the 100 straight away rather than the 309 first.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maria from India said:


> Hai Mark...
> 
> I am waiting for my partner visa(subclass 309/100) which i applied on feb 14,2015 offshore from india..through online mode.submitted pcc n medical too...i just checked the emedical client page.in that,it shows like
> 
> Client visa details , BC 100: spouse visa(permanent)..can u plz tell what it means??till now i didnt get my temporary visa,309.no contacts from immigration till now..i dont knw whether a co is assigned for my application or not..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kab1 -

I would contact DIBP and find out what's going on with your bridging visa - also check the "Correspondence" tab on your online ImmiAccount to see if the bridging visa was granted but the email didn't reach you. I would suggest not withdrawing the student visa until you are sure that you have a bridging visa from the 189 application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kab1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am on a bridging visa C and my student visa application is under processing. in the mean time i got invitation for 189 visa and I applied for it. they havent provided me a bridging visa yet. i want to withdraw the student visa application. when is the appropriate time to withdraw it? is it after i get the bridging visa for 189 or is it ok before i get the bridging visa?
> thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Potpot -

If NSW has approved you for sponsorship, you would normally receive an invitation from DIBP within days. I'd give it another week, then contact NSW Skilled and see what's up.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



potpot said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> How are you? I have submitted my Application in ORANA region for 489 Visa. I have applied last September 8,2015 and got a positive asssessment last Nov. 10 2015 with 65 pts including 10 pts State Sponsprship. I am just wondering how many days to wait for invitaion? Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks for the kind words! Glad I could help -

Best,

Mark



fitzroyy said:


> _*REVIEW UPDATE FOR MARK*_
> 
> I have seen Mark a few times in person for consultation for more than a year as well as through phone consultation before and here is the new update for the new review about him (and yes, its still positive)
> 
> I must say that till this day, he is still very helpful as I have got a few issues and he would still reply and help us out without hesitation. So for those who have in doubt about your visa, please do not hesitate to book him through consultation, it will be surely worth your money, time and hassle free. I think there is little or no migrant agents who would be as helpful as he would be in terms of giving out value and great advice for free as in general. So if you want more solution or may be complicated, trust me, book him through the phone/Skype or see him in person if you live in Sydney, its all worth it! Anything else, do not hesitate to PM me and I would be happy to answer any queries about his service. Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chris -

Thanks for the note, and congratulations on beginning your study as a mature-age student (I did this as well). The good news is that the minimum financial requirements for partner visa sponsors were eliminated some years ago. I'd put together a letter showing the joint financial resources of you and your partner, and any support you're receiving from third parties (relatives, Centrelink, etc) plus your CV to show that you have worked in the past (and hers to if you wanted to)) and I expect it will be fine.

Hope this helps - good luck with your studies.

Best,

Mark Northam



cdwcdw said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I'm sure that this has been dealt with ample times on the forum, but I can't seem to find anything when I run searches on the relevant terms.
> 
> I'm an Australian citizen about to start university in Melbourne as a mature-age student. My Canadian fiancee's partner visa application is still being processed. Since we have a daughter together -- an Australian citizen -- I imagine that our case will be reasonably strong.
> 
> However, I'm now a little concerned about possible asset or revenue requirements. I'm acting as a sponsor but don't have much at the moment in the way of either. In fact, it's why I'm back at uni. Any idea of the sorts of sums the immigration folks would consider appropriate for someone acting as a sponsor? Should I start selling the family silver?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Chris


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sheldon -

Thanks for the note. The exact requirement is that you provide evidence that the relationship was at a de facto level for the 12 month period prior to applying for the visa - the factor that it must be "living together" was eliminated by an important court case in June of this year. Nonetheless, if you were not living together for the 12 months, you would need to provide other relationship evidence to show that the relationship was at the level of being de facto partners even if you didn't live together for that period. Unfortuantely DIBP is a bit behind the times and doesn't put a lot of faith in Facebook, social media, etc evidence and looks more to third party evidence for this sort of thing. The key thing in your case is showing evidence that your relationship was at a de facto level from Oct 20 2014 to 1 Jan 2015.

Hard for me to suggest specific evidence to accomplish this as everybody's circumstances are different - you could consult the Partner Visa Booklet (from DIBP) re: the types of relationship evidence, or check any of the very good threads on this forum re: partner visa relationship evidence. Happy to assist further at a consultation where we would have the time to discuss your case and I could then determine specific suggestions based on your circumstances - see my website below if you'd like to book a consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SheldonO said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My name is Sheldon Ostopowich, and I am attending Bond University for January 2016 in there Criminology/Law Program.
> 
> I had applied for a subclass 573 Higher Educator Visa, and received an email from the government stating that I needed to provide proof that my fiancé and I are in a de facto relationship. I added her as a dependent so that she could work full time while I undergo my Law Degree at Bond. At the Immigration Department's request, I provided photos of us getting engaged that were posted onto my Facebook profile with times, dates, etc. I also posted when we officially became a couple which was September 13th, 2013. Another photo was a picture of us having our one year anniversary with a date on our Facebook page. All of the evidence provided of our relationship was Facebook material with pictures, times, and important dates. The Australian government states that a de facto relationship must be a couple living together for a minimum of 12 months, however, the government states to provide, and I will quote that,
> "you have compelling and compassionate circumstances why the visa should be granted even though you have not been in a de facto relationship with your partner for at least 12 months or registered the relationship."
> 
> My fiancé and I have been living together under the same roof since Jan 1, 2015 when we lodged the application on October 20, 2015. We were not required to do a health examination by the government. On our application it states that the application has been submitted, and is being processed.
> 
> What should we do in the mean time? Would it be necessary to add more documents to the application? Are we going to get a response sometime soon? If we add more documents(such as a lease, or form of living together) to the application, is it going to slow down the processing times? Our flight leaves on January 5th from Calgary, Canada to Brisbane, and we are a bit concerned...
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Katievv -

As long as he enters Australia on his NZ passport, he should be granted a 444 - having another passport does not normally disqualify someone who is also a NZ citizen from the 444 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



katievv said:


> Hi Mark
> Wondering if you know the answer to this one....
> So I'm currently in the process of applying for 461 visa, im from UK - my parnter is kiwi - but has dual citizenship - he has an Aussie passport aswell as a Kiwi one
> Is this going to be a problem .... When he enters Australia on his kiwi passport he's on the 444 visa right? Or not?
> We have all other documents we need - just not sure if we will get knocked back on this...
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamielannister -

Normally a refusal like that would not cause problems for a partner visa, however it's very important you are truthful on all application forms and documents - if you are not and they catch you, the problem of providing false information can be substantial and result in a refusal and 3-year ban.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamielannister said:


> Hi mark
> I am requested to fill out form 80 and it asks about if I was refused a visa to any country. Actually I had a refused visa from new Zealand before coming to Australia and it was refused cuz there was discrepancies in my and my employer,s statement regarding work experience I claimed to be doing. Do you think they investigate everything in form 80? Do you think it'll impact adversely my partner visa? Should I mention it?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anup -

Correct. Just make sure when you apply for the visa, that ALL the information is correct on the application form itself.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anup said:


> Dear mark,
> Sorry to ask you again.
> That means,
> if I am able to compensate the points that i claimed for work experience in EOI with the points from ielts,
> then i would be eligible to apply for the visa.Right


----------



## chai

Hi Mark,

I submitted my EOI for Subclass 189 back in September with 60 points under Accountants. I've heard that to get invited under Accountants you now need at least 70 points. Do you know if this is true as I may need to take IELTS again to obtain higher score. Do people with 60 points get invited eventually?

Thanks so much.


----------



## dhey1234

*Immigrant on SS but did not stay or land in SS state*

Hi Mark,

I just want to ask, i am the primary sponsor for our visa for SS but my ex partner did not land in our sponsoring state....she is now staying and working in another state which is not our sponsoring state.

Question: Is that allowed? what will happen if she stayed outside the sponsoring state and did not fulfill the 2 years moral obligation to live in the sponsoring state?

also, being the primary sponsor, can i cancel her visa? (feeling bitter but i really feel that i am used and abused)

thanks and hoping that you can answer my queries

regards


----------



## bebecait

Thanks for the reply mark! really appreciate it. How come 820 from PMV lodged through Victoria offices are granted earlier, others even less than a week while its taking too long in the Sydney office?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bebecait -
> 
> We're seeing these go through anywhere from 4 to 8 months.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## bee14

Dear Mark,

I'd really appreciate if you could answer these questions for me:

I'm on a Prospective Marriage Visa in Australia right now and my partner and I got married three weeks ago. My PMV expires at the beginning of March 2016.
Yesterday I applied for the partner visa and I was instantly issued a Bridging Visa A. My husband and I are going on our honeymoon in two weeks and we are staying in South East Asia until mid January 2016.

Now I am a bit confused why this Bridging Visa A was issued already and I find the wording somehow confusing. I have a grant number and everything. It also states:
"This bridging visa is not in effect because your Prospective Marriage (Temporary) visa is currently in effect."

Furthermore it says:
"Travel overseas
This bridging visa only allows you to remain in Australia. When you leave Australia, your bridging visa will cease.
As you are a holder of valid Prospective Marriage (Temporary) visa that allows you to leave and return to Australia, the department recommends that you either:
apply for and be granted a Bridging visa B (which you can only do if you already hold a Bridging visa A or a Bridging visa B) before you travel or
contact your case officer as soon as you return to Australia"

- Is it correct that I can travel from the end of November 2015 to mid January 2016 since my PMV is still in effect so I should not have any problems?
- My Bridging Visa A comes into effect once my PMV expires at the beginning of March 2016 and if the partner visa has not been granted at this point of time. Right?
- Will my Bridging Visa A be cancelled when I leave Australia from the end of November 2015 to mid January 2016? I don't understand why they recommend to apply for a Bridging Visa B or contact my case officer after our travels. We are not planning to leave Australia after March 2016 for a while.

Please help me Mark. Thank you so much.


----------



## spearmintsorbet

Hi Mark
Thanks for your kind help- who doesn't love spearmint flavour?!
My partner (who has PR in Oz) and I (WHV holder from the UK) are close to submitting our partner visa onshore app- will probably submit early December and should receive an instant bridging visa A ( as I understand) at the same time. My WHV is not due to expire until 11th Jan 2015.

Could I get another bridging visa (bridging visa B) with travel rights to allow me to go home for Xmas and return after the expiry of my WHV? How do I do that and does it take long to grant please?

One other thing is that it looks like I may have to return home permanently in a year and a half (due to family illness), IF that happens, our partner visa may well still not be granted. Would it be OK to simply cancel the application and leave or would that be breaking the law please?

Thank you so much for your kind help.


----------



## abbzy

*Help*

Hi

I'm new to the forum, it's really helped so far but I have a couple of questions I hope somebody could help with.

We have had the skills assessment done for teaching which came back fine. There are a couple of things that have come up that make me think the visa will be rejected, can somebody help clarify what they mean?

Partner Information - 'a suitable skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority for your partner's nominated occupation (which must be on the same skilled occupations list as your nominated occupation).' My partners skill isn't on the list, is this needed if we have the right amount of points without my partner being needed?

and last but not least...
Skilled employment: evidence of working full-time in skilled employment in the 10 years before you were invited to apply, - I've always worked part time since qualifying.


----------



## Magiantola

*De Facto Relationship + Visitor Visa*

Hello Mark:

I want to know your opinion:

My partner and I decided to start a defacto relationship on June 2014 (when I came to Australia under a Visitor Visa), but as my visa was going to expire and had some personal issues (my grandfather was really sick, i needed to quit my job formally), I returned to my country at the end of June 2014.

However, we wanted to be together as soon as possible to continue our relationship, so we thought that the quickest way was under another visitor visa. In that sense, in July 2014 I applied for that visa sponsored by my partner and it was granted in september 2014. However, I couldnt come to Australia inmediatly because my grandfather passed away a few days before that, was a sad family time and also I got a notice from my university for taking my degree Thesis exam on december 2015. During all that time, we were every day in contact, through messages, skype, phone calls.

Finally I returned to Australia at 23rd January, stayed continuosly with him until May 2015 that I went 7 days to Thailand and returned on the 5 June. Since them we have been together (my parents came for a 2 weeks holidays, sponsored by my partner, we stayed in our house and my partner parents house).

Now, we are going to apply for a Partner Visa (De Facto) submitting the application at the end of November (because my current visitor visa expires on December 5th). We are pretty convinced that we fulfill with all the requirements, as long as we count our de facto relationship since june 2014.

But in Western Australia - where we live - is not possible to register de facto relations.

What do you think about our options for getting a partner visa granted?

Thanks a lot!!!!!!!!

Mariella


----------



## HWarraich

MarkNortham said:


> Hi HWarraich -
> 
> DIBP regulations do not put a particular time limit on how long a person has to be living in Australia to be "usually resident" (which is different than "settled" which usually requires 2 years presence in Australia). If he does not have an alternate place he lives that is not in the approved area, and his primary residence is in the approved area and he's lived there for the last 8 months plus additional time before that, I believe you have a very good argument that he's usually resident where he lives now.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks alot Mr Mark for replying on my query. I appreciate your selfless sevice in this forum. Keep it up!


----------



## cdwcdw

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Chris -
> 
> Thanks for the note, and congratulations on beginning your study as a mature-age student (I did this as well). The good news is that the minimum financial requirements for partner visa sponsors were eliminated some years ago. I'd put together a letter showing the joint financial resources of you and your partner, and any support you're receiving from third parties (relatives, Centrelink, etc) plus your CV to show that you have worked in the past (and hers to if you wanted to)) and I expect it will be fine.
> 
> Hope this helps - good luck with your studies.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Mark, excuse me for cluttering up this fantastically useful thread with appreciation -- but thank you so much for taking the time to help me and others left befuddled by the minutiae of Australia's immigration rules. You're a life-saver.


----------



## megzchong

*advice*

hi mark,
i applied 820/801 last dec 2014 and at the moment i am on bva. i havent heard from them since then even about getting medical done. now we are planning to have wedding next yr sept 2016.is there any way i could contact them about this? i know it takes 13 to 15 months or even more for processing times.because i would like to book airfares etc for our wedding (i know id have to apply for bvb as well before i can travel) please enlighten me mark.

Thanks


----------



## Yaweeh

Thanks for your help.

For my understanding, with the result that I could not meet the Australia Study Requirement, I can still:

- Success in applying for a skill assessment at Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) for my master of Early Childhood Teacher qualification (I've already got IELTS 7.5 with both Reading and Writing 8.0).

- skilled visa (but I will not have 5 points in Australian Educational Qualification).

Is that correct?

Beside, I also asked for consulting from another lawyer and they said they can help me to ask for a review at the AAT with the succeeded of 90%. Can you tell this is a scam or not?

Thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Yaweeh -
> 
> Thanks for the note. The 485 requires that the study be at least 16 months in duration, and that at least 16 months of your study be while you were in Australia. As it looks like you had 14 months from what I can see, you wouldn't meet the Australia Study Requirement, and a review at the AAT would very likely yield the same result since they use the same law and policy that DIBP does, and there is no room for compromise or flexibility in this particular part of the migration law.
> 
> Yes, you can still do a skills assessment (note it would need to be a full skills assessment, not a 485 skills assessment) and await an invitation to apply for a skilled visa offshore.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> Yaweeh said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Mark, I would like to ask you some questions.
> 
> I just graduated my master of early childhood teacher course at Deakin Uni. I applied for the Temporary Graduate visa 485 but was refused because did not complete my course in at least 16 months.
> 
> Here is the explanation from IMMI:
> I started my Masters of Early Childhood Teacher course on 26 February 2014 and completed all course requirements on 9 July 2015. During the period of my Masters studies, I was outside of Australia from 30 May 2014 to 9 July 2014 and from 27 January 2015 to 28 March 2015. As such, I was not physically present in Australia for a period of less than 16 calendar months during my Masters course.
> 
> Therefore, I did not satisfy the requirements of Regulation 485.231 (3) so my application for visa 485 was refused.
> 
> My question is as this visa refusal decision can be reviewed, what should I do now?
> 
> Beside, in case that I can't apply for visa 485 anymore, can I apply my skill assessment for migrant and then apply for PR when I'm outside of Australia (offshore).
> 
> Thanks Mark
Click to expand...


----------



## Ganesh

*Multiple EOI*

Hi Mark,

I have question regarding EOI, I have submitted 189 EOI month back and I would like to apply for 190 now. I have doubt on this, shall I need to apply new EOI or shall I update 189 EOI with new subclass 190 ?
And if I update 189 EOI with new subclass it will change my submitted date to new date ( modification with 190 subclass will affect 189 EOI) If its changing I will be out of current queue.

Please help me on this I am really not sure what to do.

This thread helped me lot to gain knowledge, I really appreciate your kind help.

Regards,
Ganesh


----------



## jetstar1

Hi Mark,

In lodging an 189 visa application within the given 60 day period is it mandatory to submit all the documents listed on the checklist at the time of visa lodgement? 

Or could I apply with whatever documents I have in hand and upload pending documents later on, like the police check for example which takes time to get it processed. 

Thanks Mark.


----------



## ghenzmitz

Hi, Mark!

My fiance's 457 visa application was denied and along with it, my application as her common-law spouse was also denied. The issue was her employer submitted the nomination requirements late and so the nomination review was delayed until the 28th day decision came and her 457 visa application was refused.

Now, according to the notification letter, she only has 28 days left to stay in Australia.

My question is, what are the means for her to be able to extend her stay in Australia? There are limits to what visas she can apply and I'm not sure if she can apply for a student visa instead so she could extend her stay and reapply for 457 visa again. Or is a student visa not acceptable since her 457 visa has been refused and that she should go back here in the Philippines to re-apply for 457 offshore?

Thank you for your help. I hope and pray we could still make it to Australia. 

Sincerely,


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Hello Mark,

Once again thanks much for your response.
I checked with ACS and as per them they have detected evidence of plagiarism in my RPL form. They have asked me to reapply a new application with the updated RPL form. I will have to pay again 550$. I am not sure to what extent this is suitable. 550$ is a big amount. Please suggest.

Thanks.


----------



## Kaffee

***YOU CAN IGNORE THIS ONE - PAYMENT CLEARED AND THE ISSUE WAS RESOLVED****

Hi Mark - Thanks in arrears and advance. Your help is very much appreciated.

I have submitted my PMV application and the payment is in progress (sent the money to my Aussie fiance and he bpayed so I could avoid the card fee). 
He is now trying to complete his online sponsorship form but it is not allowing him to proceed beyond page 4. 
The error message is "The applicant is unable to continue this application as the related application details cannot be confirmed. The applicant may wish to review the information entered in this application prior to continuing."
We have both reviewed the information he has completed and made sure there are no discrepancies with my application form.
Is the error because the payment has not cleared or something else?


----------



## rhodered

*send in 801 late?*

Hi Mark,
I asked this on the regular forum then realized it may be better to ask you. My 801 is due on the 23rd of December. I want to compile a little more evidence and want to maybe wait 2 weeks after, maybe the 1st week of January. what are your thoughts and feelings on that?

Thanks in advance,
Brian


----------



## Arabella

Hi Mark,

A problem regarding CentreLink has recently come to light:

My partner signed up to Centrelink in November 2012, well before we were living together. He has been claiming AuStudy, rent assistance and maybe it includes energy subsidies but he's not really sure. It's all tied into the fact he's a student claiming AuStudy

He had to ring up to reactivate his Centrelink in February/March when he started his final year of uni. He wasn't asked whether he was in a relationship at this time and it didn't occur to him to mention it. He was probably still looking for our flat at this time. He didn't move in until 12th March and I got here on the 26th (or thereabouts). I didn't have any sort of consistent work til May but have been working for the last six months. He has worked part time during this period and Centrelink know that he has been working.

Do you think we'll owe Centrelink money? It didn't occur to us until very recently that this might be an issue. Will this affect our visa application? I can get him to call them tomorrow and inform them but it never occurred to him that they'd want to know about me.

EDIT

We are leaving for England in less than a week. We will be away for six weeks and we are going for our wedding. He wants to leave telling Centrelink until we get back because he thinks it'll open up a can of worms that we won't be able to deal with from England. I think this is a bad idea.


----------



## linlanae

*PMV online application*

Hello again, Mark.
I'm sorry to bother you again but I've searched and searched for the answer to my question and found no help.

My issue is that I'm in the process of filling out my online application for the Prospective Marriage Visa and I've hit a bit if a snag regarding past travel. Before 2009 it wasn't required for Americans traveling to either Mexico or Canada directly across the border checkpoint to have or use a passport. All that was required was I.D. Even after passports were required, no stamp was given. I know I've traveled to Both British Columbia, Canada and across the border to Mexico for day trips but I have no reference for the exact dates. I filled in the trips that I knew for sure about based on the time stamp from the pictures taken but I know there were at least 3 trips to each that I haven't included.

My question is, would it be acceptable to leave the other trips off without knowing the dates and just submit a statement explaining this? Or should I include 3 trips to each with a generic date (ie 01/01/1900) as well as including a statement? Also would I need to have that statement certified?

Thanks so much again! You're always incredibly helpful.
Linsey


----------



## Sze100

Hi Mark,

I am new here but I already have noticed that you do a really great job helping us.

I have one question connected to my matter. I want to apply for an assessment as a medical representative (AZNSCO code 225412) becuse I have worked for over 6 years in that occupation. Before that I worked as a FMCG sales representative and was responsible for promoting tobacco products. My question is: would VETASSES, in your opinion, say that my previous work is close enough so that I could apply for 8 years experience in my visa? All in all both these proffessions are connected with being a sales representative of some sort but with different products to promote. 

Please tell my what do you think


----------



## Sarah8

Hi, 
I just came across this and it looks like the best to ask my question. 
I have the following 

Financial-bank statement showing my support financially to my partner for his expenses overseas
Household- we don't have anything as we don't love together and every time I visit we stay in a hotel ..worth putting receipts of hotel stayed at?
SoCal-photos with friends,wedding invite and photos at the wedding of my friend.,pictures of dinner and social handouts with my family while on holiday.
Commitment-statements of relationship,statutory declaration(witness) from mother,brother(2).. 
Travel,flights tickets to see my partner..

We also have our wedding photos with family & friends and marriage certificate. We got married just recently but have been together for 2 years. 
Obviously we will include all passport,birth certificate,citizenship and completed forms required. 
Can you recommend anything in terms of evidence we can add to our application and if there is a chance of success?

Thank you in advance


----------



## arpit

*need quick guidance*

Hello mark,

How are you? I am in a big problem now. I received an invitation for 190 visa. in my EOI I claimed 65 points with 5 years work experience but I don't have evidence to prove my first job only have work experience letter. and my second job which include 3 years and 9 months of work experience for that I have all the evidence payslip, tax returns. so what should I do? I can not modified my Eoi because it's locked.

please help me out of this


----------



## kavita74

Hello Mark

Hope u r doing good.

This is to Thank you for all the help and guidance we have received from you and this forum. People at this forum, specially you, have helped make this whole journey a lot easier with your expert advise and moral support. 

Wish to share the good news with you. We got our Visa Grant today!! 

Must admit, these last few weeks have been loaded with anxiety. But our prayers have finally been answered. 

A biggggg Thanks to you and your team.


----------



## Emtiaz_A

hello mark

i am planning to apply for SA migration 190/489 category.
my experience matches with requirement.. but only problem is that my designation is Specialist NOT the manager but indirectly manage people.. will it affect assessment from vetasses?

another point is that my IELTS score is overall proficient Plus: 7.5

L:8
R:7
W:6.5
S:7

am i going to get any points for this score? though i have seen they accept over all proficient Plus for this occupation.


----------



## Emtiaz_A

hello mark

i am planning to apply for SA migration 190/489 category.
my experience matches with requirement.. but only problem is that my designation is Specialist NOT the manager but indirectly manage people.. will it affect assessment from vetasses?

another point is that my IELTS score is overall proficient Plus: 7.5

L:8
R:7
W:6.5
S:7

am i going to get any points for this score? though i have seen they accept over all proficient Plus for this occupation.


----------



## Mish

Hi Mark!

I hope you are well 

I have a question for you for a friend of mine. Her husband applied for his PR 100 in September and is going overseas for a month soon. What would happen if it was to be rejected while he is overseas? Would he still be able to return to Australia and lodge with AAT or would he have to stay outside Australia?

Also we will be lodging our 801 in 6 months. I have seen on the forum here low risk is around 6 months and high risk people are still waiting 10, 11, 12 months what is your experience on waiting times for high risk for 801?

Thank you
Mish


----------



## marineb

Hi Mark,

I have a question for you .
My partner and I applied for a partner visa early August this year.

Quick summary of our history:
-I was on whv from Jan 2013 til Jan 2015, I met my partner in April 2013, but due to travelling we only started a de-facto relationship in June 2014.
-In Jan 2015 my Visa expired and we both left Australia to travel in SE Asia
-In March 2015 we both moved in France (where I am from) where we lived and worked.
-14 Nov 2015, we both came back to Australia (I am on a tourist visa), due to my partner's father getting a big surgical operation.




We got a CO contacting us early November, she kindly asked us more evidence of our relationship... :
"Although I am certain that you maintain a genuine relationship you must be aware that this visa requires that you need to provide evidence of a de facto (that’s marital like) relationship for 12 months prior lodging the application".

We have a lot of evidences of travelling and living together in France, but we have trouble proving that we were living together in Sydney. We only had couple of mails at our address as my partner's parents live nearby and he never bothered changing is mailing address. We explained all that to the CO. 

We looked harder after the CO mail and we found some more mails to our address in Sydney, and skydiving insurances in which we designed each other as beneficiaries in case of deceased (one of them dated from july 2014) but I am not sure it would be sufficient.

We are now registering our relationship in NSW, and my question is:

Would it be considered as a waiver for the 12-months living together requirement? Would it be considered at all as an evidence of our relationship knowing we already lodged the application?

Thank you in advance for your answer,
Marine


----------



## shrav07

Hello Mark.How are you doing?My name is Shravan and i am from India.I have acquired a Certificate of enrollment from Polytechnic West located at Jandakot,Perth,WA for FEB intake 2016.I have taken up Diploma with an Associate degree(3 years in total) in operations management(Aviation).I am applying the above on a 573 as suggested by you.The only question i have is,does this come under SVP?I have already been to Perth on a student visa earlier 2008-2010 on 575 for commercial pilot training.Please advice..Thanks in advance.


----------



## Tan82

Hi Mark
I have Australian PR and would like to invite my parents and sisters to visit me here to see my newborn. Can I invite them all together? They are all financially independent and be here just for a month to see their grandchild/nephew.Please advice.
Thanks


----------



## FreckledGalaxy

Hi Mark, 
I've seen this asked in the boards, but I'm hoping to get a reply from you as I'd rather take your professional words over hearsay.
Is it possible to be a 820 sponsor while on Centrelink?


----------



## mila 07

*only son*



MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark just wanna ask if I can sponsor my 27 year old son in the Philippines..he is still dependent with me because its hard to find jobs in the Philippines..whats the best visa for my child ?..Thanks heaps Mila 07


----------



## legalmasters

Hey Mark, 

My employer's nomination is refused due to lack of information. Can I do another nomination or I must go to MRT? My visa is not refused yet but I assume that it will be since my nomination is refused.


----------



## michael1234

Hello Mark,

I am hoping you could provide me with some advice about a caveat I have noticed recently on the DIBP website.

I am an international student in Australia and currently on a student visa (subclass 573). I plan to apply for a Graduate visa soon, when I finish my studies in March.
As I was reading about the 485 recently at the DIBP website I have noticed a caveat about the visa:



> The following are ineligible student visas:
> 
> - student visas in subclasses 570, 571, 575 or 576
> 
> - visas in subclasses 572, 573 or 574, which you applied for on the basis that you were intending to undertake:
> 
> 
> a course funded by the Australian government, an Australian state or territory government, a foreign government or a multilateral agency.
> 
> 
> a course or training under a scholarship scheme or training program approved by the Foreign Minister or the Defence Minister.


I had high marks in high-school and when I applied to the university here I received an international student scholarship which pays part of my tuition fee (due to the high marks in my high school diploma). Other than this I have read the conditions for 485 quite carefully and I fulfill all the requirements.

I am a bit concerned about this scholarship caveat. Have you run into this clause before? Do you know if it could prevent me from receiving a graduate visa?

Thank you very much,
Michael


----------



## mark1980

Hi Mark

- I apply for a Partner 820/801 10 months ago, and now I decided that I want to go on holidays for a few weeks with friends to Asia on December, is this reason good enough to get a BVB or not?

- How long it takes to get a decision once I went to leave the form 1006 to a DIBT office?

- On the form 1006 says ''Notification of change of address during period of travel'' is asking for an address if I'm planning to reside at an address for 14 days or more.. I will be moving around different places during my holidays so should I leave it blank?

- If I get it once I come back to OZ do I have to apply for a bridging visa A or I automatically go back o the BVA that I had before leaving the country?

I apply 10 months ago for my 820 so It's not likely that I will have any decision on my visa for another 3 or 4 months

Any info will help, Thanks


----------



## mark1980

Hi Mark

I logged into my immi account, I haven't done it in a while and a message appears saying:

Important information (with a red exclamation symbol)

This application will be eligible for consideration for permanent residence 2 years from lodgement (commencement date).

This application is currently being assessed. The department may contact the applicant if further information is required. 

1 It means that a CO is looking at my application or no?

2 I'm about to apply for a BVB should I wait or it won't make any difference?


----------



## Steven.d

*Finance*

Hi i just wanted to know some information about sponsoring my fiance for a partner visa (820 visa).
would like to know what is the minimum financial situation (earn enough money) I need to be in to sponsor my then to be wife.. in March


----------



## pesaretala

Hi Mark. I would like to thank you for answering my previous questions.
One more for you.
In a 189 Visa, after receiving an invitation, in the online application it asks for countries you have lived in for more than 12 months. 
If this is countries you lived in like 17 years ago, is it necessary to provide information, I mean it is asking for address and such info, but living as a child in a country 17-20 years ago, I do not have any info. I read some where it is only required for the past 10 years. Is this the case?
Regards
Pesar


----------



## sumo

Hi Mark,

In your Opinion what's the chances of getting PR if a child in the family has mild to moderate Autism.

Br
Sumo


----------



## Son1

Hi Mark,

As you know, accountants are currently requiring at least 70 points to get an invitation under 189 visa with the current trend of giving out extremely small number of invitations.

Is it possible that this trend of only inviting limited number of 70 above pointers remain fixed throughout the rest of the financial year and eventually at the end of July 2016, not filling up the whole occupation ceiling of 2500 with 70 points remaining to be the the cut off? Aren't they supposed to fill the whole spots available?

After all do you have any suggestions about this 70 points going down by the end of financial year? I know it's not something that can be predicted, but it would be a great help to at least hear what your thoughts are about the issue as accountants on the same boat are trying to understand what the intentions are behind the current trend. Thank you so much.


----------



## jordysmum

Hi Mark.
Thank you for your previous help. I was wondering how we can obtain documents to prove my sons girlfriends identity. DHS are involved but the case worker quit and it has been handed to someone else. Sons girlfriend has nothing to prove who she is as her mother refuses to hand over her passport, or visa or even her school student card and the school will not issue a new one until next year. I have been financially supporting her since she came here and Centrelink will not proceeds her application for youth allowance without ID documents. They told me today that they will not work with DHS as they are state and Centrelink is Federal. Every where we look she needs ID to get documents to prove her ID. is there any way for immigration to go through their records and provide her with something?
Many thanks from a frustrated helper


----------



## eireog007

Hi Mark

I have question regarding the medical assessment for a 189 visa.
I have been invited to apply for the 189 skilled independent visa with my partner and intend to finish the application today.

However I am slightly confused as to the best way to sort out the medical check. As i see it you can get your HAP ID and apply for the medicals before you apply for the visa or apply for the visa and wait until your CO requests the medical info.

My question is can i apply for my HAP ID and then apply for the visa both today before I actually have my medical appointment as by the time the CO is assigned to the visa my medical results will already be in. This would seem to be the optimal way to do it but I'm just not sure if it is allowed or if you have to wait until after you have your medical results to then apply for the visa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chai & everyone -

First, sorry for my delay in responding - I've been tied up on a bunch of very urgent cases for the last week or so and haven't had time to check in. Will get to everyone's questions tonight, promise!

Re: 189 invitations for accountants, as of the recent round on 6 Nov, the last person to get an invitation had a score of 70 and had lodged their EOI (or updated it last points-wise) at the end of August. Given this, assuming that people with 70+ points keep lodging EOIs, and 65 points as well, DIBP would only invite a person with 60 points when all the higher scorers had already been invited, and all of the people with 60 points with EOI's lodged before you had been invited. So if the trend of plenty of 70-point people in the queue continues, invitations may never dip down to the 65 or 60 point level. It all depends on how many people are ahead of you in the queue, and DIBP does not publish those numbers.

Re: being invited eventually, if your position in the queue (as above) is reached within 2 years of lodging the EOI, then you will get an invitation, otherwise your EOI will be removed 2 years after lodgement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chai said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I submitted my EOI for Subclass 189 back in September with 60 points under Accountants. I've heard that to get invited under Accountants you now need at least 70 points. Do you know if this is true as I may need to take IELTS again to obtain higher score. Do people with 60 points get invited eventually?
> 
> Thanks so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dhey1234 -

Thanks for the question. So far the states have not taken action that I know of against people who do not honour their commitment to live/work in the state for 2 years, however that is no guarantee that they will not in the future. The exact legal status of that commitment and the enforceability of that commitment are important legal questions that may not be resolved as of this point. Re: your ex-partner, you can't cancel her visa, however you could report her to the state sponsorship authorities if you felt compelled to do so. Whether they would take action is anybody's guess.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dhey1234 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just want to ask, i am the primary sponsor for our visa for SS but my ex partner did not land in our sponsoring state....she is now staying and working in another state which is not our sponsoring state.
> 
> Question: Is that allowed? what will happen if she stayed outside the sponsoring state and did not fulfill the 2 years moral obligation to live in the sponsoring state?
> 
> also, being the primary sponsor, can i cancel her visa? (feeling bitter but i really feel that i am used and abused)
> 
> thanks and hoping that you can answer my queries
> 
> regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bebecait -

No good way to tell - DIBP is highly unpredictable in processing times, especially these days.

Best,

Mark Northam



bebecait said:


> Thanks for the reply mark! really appreciate it. How come 820 from PMV lodged through Victoria offices are granted earlier, others even less than a week while its taking too long in the Sydney office?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bee14 -

Great question. In the past, unactivated Bridging visa As (BV-A's) were in some cases ceased automatically when the holder left Australia while holding their regular visa, such as a PMV, student visa, etc. This is not supposed (!) to be the case any more. You are absolutely fine leaving Australia and returning on your PMV, with no need to apply for a BV-B. Once you're back, if you'd like to, you can check with DIBP (131 881, expect a 1 hour wait on hold first) to ensure that your BV-A is still intact once you return. Then once you reach the end of your PMV and you are still in Australia, the BV-A will automatically activate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bee14 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I'd really appreciate if you could answer these questions for me:
> 
> I'm on a Prospective Marriage Visa in Australia right now and my partner and I got married three weeks ago. My PMV expires at the beginning of March 2016.
> Yesterday I applied for the partner visa and I was instantly issued a Bridging Visa A. My husband and I are going on our honeymoon in two weeks and we are staying in South East Asia until mid January 2016.
> 
> Now I am a bit confused why this Bridging Visa A was issued already and I find the wording somehow confusing. I have a grant number and everything. It also states:
> "This bridging visa is not in effect because your Prospective Marriage (Temporary) visa is currently in effect."
> 
> Furthermore it says:
> "Travel overseas
> This bridging visa only allows you to remain in Australia. When you leave Australia, your bridging visa will cease.
> As you are a holder of valid Prospective Marriage (Temporary) visa that allows you to leave and return to Australia, the department recommends that you either:
> apply for and be granted a Bridging visa B (which you can only do if you already hold a Bridging visa A or a Bridging visa B) before you travel or
> contact your case officer as soon as you return to Australia"
> 
> - Is it correct that I can travel from the end of November 2015 to mid January 2016 since my PMV is still in effect so I should not have any problems?
> - My Bridging Visa A comes into effect once my PMV expires at the beginning of March 2016 and if the partner visa has not been granted at this point of time. Right?
> - Will my Bridging Visa A be cancelled when I leave Australia from the end of November 2015 to mid January 2016? I don't understand why they recommend to apply for a Bridging Visa B or contact my case officer after our travels. We are not planning to leave Australia after March 2016 for a while.
> 
> Please help me Mark. Thank you so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Spearmintsorbet -

You can apply (at least 2 weeks in advance of your departure) to turn your BV-A into a BV-B (use Form 1006), which will turn your unactivated BV-A into an unactivated BV-B prior to departure. This must be done prior to departure however. Once you're outside Australia, if the WHV expires while you are outside, the BV-B will automatically activate allowing you to return to Australia on the BV-B.

Re: cancelling the application, no problem with doing that, however depending on the circumstances it might be worth letting it process to see how soon it gets granted. Once granted, there is no requirement that you be in Australia, and the time in Australia is normally not considered again until 5 years later if you want to renew the re-entry provisions of the PR visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



spearmintsorbet said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanks for your kind help- who doesn't love spearmint flavour?!
> My partner (who has PR in Oz) and I (WHV holder from the UK) are close to submitting our partner visa onshore app- will probably submit early December and should receive an instant bridging visa A ( as I understand) at the same time. My WHV is not due to expire until 11th Jan 2015.
> 
> Could I get another bridging visa (bridging visa B) with travel rights to allow me to go home for Xmas and return after the expiry of my WHV? How do I do that and does it take long to grant please?
> 
> One other thing is that it looks like I may have to return home permanently in a year and a half (due to family illness), IF that happens, our partner visa may well still not be granted. Would it be OK to simply cancel the application and leave or would that be breaking the law please?
> 
> Thank you so much for your kind help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abbzy -

Thanks for the question. No need for a partner skills assessment of any kind unless you are claiming 5 points for partner skills.

Re: part time/full time, this has to do with any work experience you are claiming for points. The regs are too complex to go into here, but essentially the work must be full-time (or a combination of part-time jobs adding up to full time) in order to qualify for work experience points. DIBP defines full time as 20 hours per week.

Happy to help you further and in more detail at a consultation if you'd like to explore things in more detail - see website below for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abbzy said:


> Hi
> 
> I'm new to the forum, it's really helped so far but I have a couple of questions I hope somebody could help with.
> 
> We have had the skills assessment done for teaching which came back fine. There are a couple of things that have come up that make me think the visa will be rejected, can somebody help clarify what they mean?
> 
> Partner Information - 'a suitable skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority for your partner's nominated occupation (which must be on the same skilled occupations list as your nominated occupation).' My partners skill isn't on the list, is this needed if we have the right amount of points without my partner being needed?
> 
> and last but not least...
> Skilled employment: evidence of working full-time in skilled employment in the 10 years before you were invited to apply, - I've always worked part time since qualifying.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mariella -

Thanks for the note. The key requirement is that you provide evidence that your relationship was at a de facto level for the 12 months prior to the date of application for the partner visa. Thanks to the case of SZOXP in January 2015, the requirement is NOT that you have lived together for 12 months prior to application, but only that you demonstrate that the relationship was at a de facto level. That means if you can establish this some other way (than living together for the entire period), it can work.

I suggest putting together a detailed timeline with evidence showing the progression of the relationship, and showing as much detail and evidence as possible that the relationship was at a de facto level for not just the 12 month period, but for some months before that (depending on the evidence and circumstances). That way you can show that the time you were apart in Dec 2014 / Jan 2015 was a temporary time apart that occurred AFTER the de facto relationship had already been established. The week apart mid-year when you traveled is no issue from my view, however the time between the end of Nov 2014 and when you returned in Jan 2015 could be an issue. Best solution is to show this as a temporary time apart by establishing that the de facto relationship actually was established before you returned in Jan 2015.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Magiantola said:


> Hello Mark:
> 
> I want to know your opinion:
> 
> My partner and I decided to start a defacto relationship on June 2014 (when I came to Australia under a Visitor Visa), but as my visa was going to expire and had some personal issues (my grandfather was really sick, i needed to quit my job formally), I returned to my country at the end of June 2014.
> 
> However, we wanted to be together as soon as possible to continue our relationship, so we thought that the quickest way was under another visitor visa. In that sense, in July 2014 I applied for that visa sponsored by my partner and it was granted in september 2014. However, I couldnt come to Australia inmediatly because my grandfather passed away a few days before that, was a sad family time and also I got a notice from my university for taking my degree Thesis exam on december 2015. During all that time, we were every day in contact, through messages, skype, phone calls.
> 
> Finally I returned to Australia at 23rd January, stayed continuosly with him until May 2015 that I went 7 days to Thailand and returned on the 5 June. Since them we have been together (my parents came for a 2 weeks holidays, sponsored by my partner, we stayed in our house and my partner parents house).
> 
> Now, we are going to apply for a Partner Visa (De Facto) submitting the application at the end of November (because my current visitor visa expires on December 5th). We are pretty convinced that we fulfill with all the requirements, as long as we count our de facto relationship since june 2014.
> 
> But in Western Australia - where we live - is not possible to register de facto relations.
> 
> What do you think about our options for getting a partner visa granted?
> 
> Thanks a lot!!!!!!!!
> 
> Mariella


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cdwcdw and HWarraich -

Thanks for the kind words!

Best,

Mark



cdwcdw said:


> Mark, excuse me for cluttering up this fantastically useful thread with appreciation -- but thank you so much for taking the time to help me and others left befuddled by the minutiae of Australia's immigration rules. You're a life-saver.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megzchong -

No way I know of to speed up partner visa processing or determine how much time is left - DIBP has no time limits (how convenient for them!) and no mechanism to track progress of an application. If you happen to be out of the country when they are ready to grant the visa, they will generally contact you (usually by email if you have given them permission to communicate with you by email) and give you some time to re-enter to enable grant of the 820 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



megzchong said:


> hi mark,
> i applied 820/801 last dec 2014 and at the moment i am on bva. i havent heard from them since then even about getting medical done. now we are planning to have wedding next yr sept 2016.is there any way i could contact them about this? i know it takes 13 to 15 months or even more for processing times.because i would like to book airfares etc for our wedding (i know id have to apply for bvb as well before i can travel) please enlighten me mark.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yaweeh -

Thanks for the note. Your suggestions sound good, however I don't know enough about all your circumstances to give you specific advice regarding them. However based on what you've said in your posts, I don't see an issue. Each skills assessor has their own requirements, so pay careful attention to those.

Re: AAT - success rates only are meaningful and relevant if they refer to the same type of refusal/case as you have. Frankly, I don't see a huge chance of success as the policy is black & white - it says you need to be inside Australia. However if the lawyer can get the AAT to ignore policy re: being physically inside Australia (which the AAT has the power to do, and sometimes does), then you might have a chance. The AAT is free to consider or not consider DIBP policy when it makes its decisions, so it's a gamble. The AAT application will likely take several months to come to a hearing (or longer), which buys you a bridging visa for that period of time, if that's helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Yaweeh said:


> Thanks for your help.
> 
> For my understanding, with the result that I could not meet the Australia Study Requirement, I can still:
> 
> - Success in applying for a skill assessment at Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) for my master of Early Childhood Teacher qualification (I've already got IELTS 7.5 with both Reading and Writing 8.0).
> 
> - skilled visa (but I will not have 5 points in Australian Educational Qualification).
> 
> Is that correct?
> 
> Beside, I also asked for consulting from another lawyer and they said they can help me to ask for a review at the AAT with the succeeded of 90%. Can you tell this is a scam or not?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ganesh -

For the 190 visa, you normally would tick the 190 box (which should not affect your 189 visa date of effect since it doesn't change your points) and await an invitation from the state you tick, unless that state requires that you make an application directly to the state first. If you are concerned about adding 190 to your 189 EOI, you can always create a new separate EOI for the 190.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ganesh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have question regarding EOI, I have submitted 189 EOI month back and I would like to apply for 190 now. I have doubt on this, shall I need to apply new EOI or shall I update 189 EOI with new subclass 190 ?
> And if I update 189 EOI with new subclass it will change my submitted date to new date ( modification with 190 subclass will affect 189 EOI) If its changing I will be out of current queue.
> 
> Please help me on this I am really not sure what to do.
> 
> This thread helped me lot to gain knowledge, I really appreciate your kind help.
> 
> Regards,
> Ganesh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jetstar1 -

No problem submitting the police clearance certificate(s) later. The rest of the documents should be lodged with the application, or as soon as possible after you apply.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jetstar1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> In lodging an 189 visa application within the given 60 day period is it mandatory to submit all the documents listed on the checklist at the time of visa lodgement?
> 
> Or could I apply with whatever documents I have in hand and upload pending documents later on, like the police check for example which takes time to get it processed.
> 
> Thanks Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ghenzmitz -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the refusals. The issue where 457 applications and nominations are refused has become rather complex due to some problematic cases in the Federal Court. As she has a refusal, her options would be to lodge an AAT review for the 457 (if that's possible given the circumstances - would need to work with you in a consultation to get all the details of the nom and app refusal - see my website below in my signature for details) or depart and lodge an offshore application of some kind. Depending on her bridging visa, there may be some additional issues including potentially a 3 year exclusion period on all temporary visas unless the bridging visa she holds when she departs was granted within 28 days of her holding her last substantive (non-bridging) visa, or if that bridging visa was lodged when she held another bridging visa that was granted within 28 days of her hold her last substantive (non-bridging visa).

Happy to assist further in a consult to help you determine options and best ways forward - see website below for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ghenzmitz said:


> Hi, Mark!
> 
> My fiance's 457 visa application was denied and along with it, my application as her common-law spouse was also denied. The issue was her employer submitted the nomination requirements late and so the nomination review was delayed until the 28th day decision came and her 457 visa application was refused.
> 
> Now, according to the notification letter, she only has 28 days left to stay in Australia.
> 
> My question is, what are the means for her to be able to extend her stay in Australia? There are limits to what visas she can apply and I'm not sure if she can apply for a student visa instead so she could extend her stay and reapply for 457 visa again. Or is a student visa not acceptable since her 457 visa has been refused and that she should go back here in the Philippines to re-apply for 457 offshore?
> 
> Thank you for your help. I hope and pray we could still make it to Australia.
> 
> Sincerely,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rhodered -

Thanks for the note. If you are saying that the 2 year anniversary from the date you originally lodged the 820/801 application is 23 Dec, then no problem I see in waiting a few weeks if you need to for additional evidence, or lodge after the anniversary date and upload the additional evidence after that when it becomes available.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rhodered said:


> Hi Mark,
> I asked this on the regular forum then realized it may be better to ask you. My 801 is due on the 23rd of December. I want to compile a little more evidence and want to maybe wait 2 weeks after, maybe the 1st week of January. what are your thoughts and feelings on that?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Brian


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984ravigupta -

Assuming you did plagiarise, be glad if $550 is all this costs you. Had you done this on a visa application, it could have resulted in cancellation and a 3-year ban on all visas.

If you did not plagiarise, then demand proof of the allegations and fight them, hard.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Once again thanks much for your response.
> I checked with ACS and as per them they have detected evidence of plagiarism in my RPL form. They have asked me to reapply a new application with the updated RPL form. I will have to pay again 550$. I am not sure to what extent this is suitable. 550$ is a big amount. Please suggest.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arabella -

Wish I could help, but Centrelink is outside my area of expertise. If he does end up owing a debt to Centrelink and there is no payment plan in place, that could potentially interfere with the grant of most Australian visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Arabella said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> A problem regarding CentreLink has recently come to light:
> 
> My partner signed up to Centrelink in November 2012, well before we were living together. He has been claiming AuStudy, rent assistance and maybe it includes energy subsidies but he's not really sure. It's all tied into the fact he's a student claiming AuStudy
> 
> He had to ring up to reactivate his Centrelink in February/March when he started his final year of uni. He wasn't asked whether he was in a relationship at this time and it didn't occur to him to mention it. He was probably still looking for our flat at this time. He didn't move in until 12th March and I got here on the 26th (or thereabouts). I didn't have any sort of consistent work til May but have been working for the last six months. He has worked part time during this period and Centrelink know that he has been working.
> 
> Do you think we'll owe Centrelink money? It didn't occur to us until very recently that this might be an issue. Will this affect our visa application? I can get him to call them tomorrow and inform them but it never occurred to him that they'd want to know about me.
> 
> EDIT
> 
> We are leaving for England in less than a week. We will be away for six weeks and we are going for our wedding. He wants to leave telling Centrelink until we get back because he thinks it'll open up a can of worms that we won't be able to deal with from England. I think this is a bad idea.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I'd suggest the first option - leave the unknown trips off, then include a statement explaining what you do remember and that you don't have all the details of the additional trips despite best efforts to obtain the data. No need to certify the statement, just sign & date it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



linlanae said:


> Hello again, Mark.
> I'm sorry to bother you again but I've searched and searched for the answer to my question and found no help.
> 
> My issue is that I'm in the process of filling out my online application for the Prospective Marriage Visa and I've hit a bit if a snag regarding past travel. Before 2009 it wasn't required for Americans traveling to either Mexico or Canada directly across the border checkpoint to have or use a passport. All that was required was I.D. Even after passports were required, no stamp was given. I know I've traveled to Both British Columbia, Canada and across the border to Mexico for day trips but I have no reference for the exact dates. I filled in the trips that I knew for sure about based on the time stamp from the pictures taken but I know there were at least 3 trips to each that I haven't included.
> 
> My question is, would it be acceptable to leave the other trips off without knowing the dates and just submit a statement explaining this? Or should I include 3 trips to each with a generic date (ie 01/01/1900) as well as including a statement? Also would I need to have that statement certified?
> 
> Thanks so much again! You're always incredibly helpful.
> Linsey


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sze100 -

No good way to predict what Vetassess will say. However, I would think that promoting tobacco products is a long way from promoting medical products, so I would see a significant chance that they will not consider the tobacco work as relevant, but it's probably worth trying with Vetassess to see what you can get from them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sze100 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new here but I already have noticed that you do a really great job helping us.
> 
> I have one question connected to my matter. I want to apply for an assessment as a medical representative (AZNSCO code 225412) becuse I have worked for over 6 years in that occupation. Before that I worked as a FMCG sales representative and was responsible for promoting tobacco products. My question is: would VETASSES, in your opinion, say that my previous work is close enough so that I could apply for 8 years experience in my visa? All in all both these proffessions are connected with being a sales representative of some sort but with different products to promote.
> 
> Please tell my what do you think


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarah8 -

Thanks for the note. Not possible for me to assess relationship evidence based on a list - would need to see the evidence and discuss with you in detail to get you an opinion. However if you do not live together (still), that could be a big red flag for DIBP - I would suggest having a migration agent go through your evidence and circumstances in detail to advise you on ways you can improve your chances of success. Happy to assist at a consultation if you'd like - see website below for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sarah8 said:


> Hi,
> I just came across this and it looks like the best to ask my question.
> I have the following
> 
> Financial-bank statement showing my support financially to my partner for his expenses overseas
> Household- we don't have anything as we don't love together and every time I visit we stay in a hotel ..worth putting receipts of hotel stayed at?
> SoCal-photos with friends,wedding invite and photos at the wedding of my friend.,pictures of dinner and social handouts with my family while on holiday.
> Commitment-statements of relationship,statutory declaration(witness) from mother,brother(2)..
> Travel,flights tickets to see my partner..
> 
> We also have our wedding photos with family & friends and marriage certificate. We got married just recently but have been together for 2 years.
> Obviously we will include all passport,birth certificate,citizenship and completed forms required.
> Can you recommend anything in terms of evidence we can add to our application and if there is a chance of success?
> 
> Thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arpit -

With no evidence at all of payment for work experience you've claimed for points, it's a big risk to lodge the visa application as DIBP normally requires this for all employment you claim for points unless you can show a very, very good reason why the evidence is impossible to get. Your other option is to not lodge the application, let the invitation expire in 60 days, adjust your EOI to eliminate the work experience claim for the first job, and wait for another invitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arpit said:


> Hello mark,
> 
> How are you? I am in a big problem now. I received an invitation for 190 visa. in my EOI I claimed 65 points with 5 years work experience but I don't have evidence to prove my first job only have work experience letter. and my second job which include 3 years and 9 months of work experience for that I have all the evidence payslip, tax returns. so what should I do? I can not modified my Eoi because it's locked.
> 
> please help me out of this


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kavita74 -

Congratulations and well done!!! Glad I could help.

Best,

Mark Northam



kavita74 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Hope u r doing good.
> 
> This is to Thank you for all the help and guidance we have received from you and this forum. People at this forum, specially you, have helped make this whole journey a lot easier with your expert advise and moral support.
> 
> Wish to share the good news with you. We got our Visa Grant today!!
> 
> Must admit, these last few weeks have been loaded with anxiety. But our prayers have finally been answered.
> 
> A biggggg Thanks to you and your team.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emtiaz_A -

Re: Vetassess, no way to predict their judgement on this - "indirectly managing" people sounds unusual - you may want to include a statement with your Vetassess application explaining this in detail with evidence.

Re: English, for IELTS, you must get 7 in all bands to get 10 points; 8 in all bands to get 20 points. In your case you meet the DIBP Minimum of at least 6 in all bands, but because you didn't get 7 in all bands, you won't get any extra points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emtiaz_A said:


> hello mark
> 
> i am planning to apply for SA migration 190/489 category.
> my experience matches with requirement.. but only problem is that my designation is Specialist NOT the manager but indirectly manage people.. will it affect assessment from vetasses?
> 
> another point is that my IELTS score is overall proficient Plus: 7.5
> 
> L:8
> R:7
> W:6.5
> S:7
> 
> am i going to get any points for this score? though i have seen they accept over all proficient Plus for this occupation.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mish -

Thanks for the note. Sections 338 and 347 of the Migration Act 1958 have to be read and all the circumstances of the application and applicant must be considered to determine what review rights exist and where an applicant must be at the time of decision, etc. It's a bit of a complicated matrix, but if you read those 2 sections carefully and apply the logic to your circumstances the answer is there. Happy to assist at a consult if you'd like some help through the logic. Wish there was a quick & easy answer to the question, but as always, the migration law is unnecessarily complicated. However also, if he's on a bridging visa while outside Australia, the BV-B would normally not cease until 28 days after the refusal decision, so at a minimum I would think he could get back in on that bridging visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mish said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I hope you are well
> 
> I have a question for you for a friend of mine. Her husband applied for his PR 100 in September and is going overseas for a month soon. What would happen if it was to be rejected while he is overseas? Would he still be able to return to Australia and lodge with AAT or would he have to stay outside Australia?
> 
> Also we will be lodging our 801 in 6 months. I have seen on the forum here low risk is around 6 months and high risk people are still waiting 10, 11, 12 months what is your experience on waiting times for high risk for 801?
> 
> Thank you
> Mish


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marineb -

Thanks for the note. If you can get the registration certificate to DIBP prior to them making a decision, it must be considered by DIBP and would automatically satisfy the requirement that you provide evidence of a de facto relationship existing for the 12 months prior to application. They would still assess your genuine relationship as of the time of application and going forward, but the 12 month requirement is waived. There is specific policy that allows the registration certificate of the relationship to be lodged at any time prior to a decision (ie, it is not a time of application requirement).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



marineb said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question for you .
> My partner and I applied for a partner visa early August this year.
> 
> Quick summary of our history:
> -I was on whv from Jan 2013 til Jan 2015, I met my partner in April 2013, but due to travelling we only started a de-facto relationship in June 2014.
> -In Jan 2015 my Visa expired and we both left Australia to travel in SE Asia
> -In March 2015 we both moved in France (where I am from) where we lived and worked.
> -14 Nov 2015, we both came back to Australia (I am on a tourist visa), due to my partner's father getting a big surgical operation.
> 
> We got a CO contacting us early November, she kindly asked us more evidence of our relationship... :
> "Although I am certain that you maintain a genuine relationship you must be aware that this visa requires that you need to provide evidence of a de facto (that's marital like) relationship for 12 months prior lodging the application".
> 
> We have a lot of evidences of travelling and living together in France, but we have trouble proving that we were living together in Sydney. We only had couple of mails at our address as my partner's parents live nearby and he never bothered changing is mailing address. We explained all that to the CO.
> 
> We looked harder after the CO mail and we found some more mails to our address in Sydney, and skydiving insurances in which we designed each other as beneficiaries in case of deceased (one of them dated from july 2014) but I am not sure it would be sufficient.
> 
> We are now registering our relationship in NSW, and my question is:
> 
> Would it be considered as a waiver for the 12-months living together requirement? Would it be considered at all as an evidence of our relationship knowing we already lodged the application?
> 
> Thank you in advance for your answer,
> Marine


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shrav07 -

Best thing to do would be to check with the school you are applying to study at to see if they are part of the SVP programme.

Best,

Mark



shrav07 said:


> Hello Mark.How are you doing?My name is Shravan and i am from India.I have acquired a Certificate of enrollment from Polytechnic West located at Jandakot,Perth,WA for FEB intake 2016.I have taken up Diploma with an Associate degree(3 years in total) in operations management(Aviation).I am applying the above on a 573 as suggested by you.The only question i have is,does this come under SVP?I have already been to Perth on a student visa earlier 2008-2010 on 575 for commercial pilot training.Please advice..Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tan82 -

Yes, under the normal subclass 600 visitor visa (tourism stream). If you were considering the sponsored family visitor stream, I believe there is a limitation of 1 person at a time who you can sponsor under that visa pathway.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tan82 said:


> Hi Mark
> I have Australian PR and would like to invite my parents and sisters to visit me here to see my newborn. Can I invite them all together? They are all financially independent and be here just for a month to see their grandchild/nephew.Please advice.
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi FreckledGalaxy:

Yes.

Best,

Mark



FreckledGalaxy said:


> Hi Mark,
> I've seen this asked in the boards, but I'm hoping to get a reply from you as I'd rather take your professional words over hearsay.
> Is it possible to be a 820 sponsor while on Centrelink?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mila -

Under what visa? Dependency requires not only financial dependence, but that the applicant be a regular member of your household. If you have lived apart for any substantial amount of time, that could be a big problem.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mila 07 said:


> Hi Mark just wanna ask if I can sponsor my 27 year old son in the Philippines..he is still dependent with me because its hard to find jobs in the Philippines..whats the best visa for my child ?..Thanks heaps Mila 07


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Legalmasters -

Suggest you consult an experienced migration agent with details of the situation - there are some important court cases over the last 12 months that have changed the circumstances and options for review, assuming this is a 457 visa. The precedents may also apply to 186/187. An agent can sort through the details of the refusal and related circumstances and work out a plan. But the bottom line is, if you have a refused nomination, you cannot simply put that in for review at the AAT, then wait for the visa to be refused and put that in for review when that gets refused - that used to be possible, but no more. Depends on the circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



legalmasters said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> My employer's nomination is refused due to lack of information. Can I do another nomination or I must go to MRT? My visa is not refused yet but I assume that it will be since my nomination is refused.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael1234 -

Suggest you consult with a migration agent and get all the circumstances of your visa application and scholarship to the agent so a precise analysis can be made. The regulation that I expect will apply will be that the visa you hold must NOT be for a course of study that meets either B or C below:

_(B) a course of study:
(I) paid for wholly or in part by the Commonwealth, the government of a State or Territory, the government of a foreign country or a multilateral agency; and
(II) for which a condition of payment by that body for the course is that the student will leave Australia on the completion of the course; or

(C) a full-time course of study or training under a scholarship scheme or training program:
(I) approved by the AusAID Minister, the Foreign Minister or the Defence Minister; and
(II) for which it is a condition of that scheme or program that the student will leave Australia on the completion of the course; or_

Will take a detailed comparison of your circumstances and details with the regulations in order to get a solid answer to your question however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



michael1234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am hoping you could provide me with some advice about a caveat I have noticed recently on the DIBP website.
> 
> I am an international student in Australia and currently on a student visa (subclass 573). I plan to apply for a Graduate visa soon, when I finish my studies in March.
> As I was reading about the 485 recently at the DIBP website I have noticed a caveat about the visa:
> 
> I had high marks in high-school and when I applied to the university here I received an international student scholarship which pays part of my tuition fee (due to the high marks in my high school diploma). Other than this I have read the conditions for 485 quite carefully and I fulfill all the requirements.
> 
> I am a bit concerned about this scholarship caveat. Have you run into this clause before? Do you know if it could prevent me from receiving a graduate visa?
> 
> Thank you very much,
> Michael


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark1980 -

Sounds like a good reason to me. You should lodge the 1006 form at least 2 weeks in advance of your departure - normally about a week for a decision on these, but they run behind near the holidays sometimes.

If not in a particular single place for 14+ days, you can leave that part blank; when you return you can remain on your BV-B until a decision on the partner visa - however you'll need to apply for another BV-B if you want to depart after you return (for another trip).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mark1980 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> - I apply for a Partner 820/801 10 months ago, and now I decided that I want to go on holidays for a few weeks with friends to Asia on December, is this reason good enough to get a BVB or not?
> 
> - How long it takes to get a decision once I went to leave the form 1006 to a DIBT office?
> 
> - On the form 1006 says ''Notification of change of address during period of travel'' is asking for an address if I'm planning to reside at an address for 14 days or more.. I will be moving around different places during my holidays so should I leave it blank?
> 
> - If I get it once I come back to OZ do I have to apply for a bridging visa A or I automatically go back o the BVA that I had before leaving the country?
> 
> I apply 10 months ago for my 820 so It's not likely that I will have any decision on my visa for another 3 or 4 months
> 
> Any info will help, Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark1980 -

No particular significance for those messages - it is not indicative that your application is at any particular stage of the assessment process necessarily.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mark1980 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I logged into my immi account, I haven't done it in a while and a message appears saying:
> 
> Important information (with a red exclamation symbol)
> 
> This application will be eligible for consideration for permanent residence 2 years from lodgement (commencement date).
> 
> This application is currently being assessed. The department may contact the applicant if further information is required.
> 
> 1 It means that a CO is looking at my application or no?
> 
> 2 I'm about to apply for a BVB should I wait or it won't make any difference?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Steven.d -

Thanks for the question. There is no particular minimum financial requirement or salary, however DIBP needs to see that you either have a history of employment generally (or a history of receiving benefits, etc) and may continue to do so. They can also consider other means of financial support such as family support, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Steven.d said:


> Hi i just wanted to know some information about sponsoring my fiance for a partner visa (820 visa).
> would like to know what is the minimum financial situation (earn enough money) I need to be in to sponsor my then to be wife.. in March


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pesar -

I would read the question very carefully and see what they are asking. Normally they only ask for countries you have lived in for a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years, but read the question carefully. For instance, for Form 80, they want your address history for all places you've lived regardless of how long you have lived there (unless you were just visiting), etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pesaretala said:


> Hi Mark. I would like to thank you for answering my previous questions.
> One more for you.
> In a 189 Visa, after receiving an invitation, in the online application it asks for countries you have lived in for more than 12 months.
> If this is countries you lived in like 17 years ago, is it necessary to provide information, I mean it is asking for address and such info, but living as a child in a country 17-20 years ago, I do not have any info. I read some where it is only required for the past 10 years. Is this the case?
> Regards
> Pesar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sumo -

If it's for a visa with a health waiver, then hard to say - would depend on whether the overall contributions of the visa applicants outweigh the anticipated costs of the condition. Likely difficult to get through unless there are substantial benefits provided by the applicants to Australia (social, talent and knowledge, financial, etc). For a visa without a health waiver, very low chance of getting through with mild or moderate Autism, unfortunately.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sumo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> In your Opinion what's the chances of getting PR if a child in the family has mild to moderate Autism.
> 
> Br
> Sumo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Son1 -

Completely unpredictable, sorry. My guess is that more people will apply as accountants if they get a feeling that "the end is near" and accountants may be removed from the SOL list as has been rumoured from time to time.

Best,

Mark



Son1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> As you know, accountants are currently requiring at least 70 points to get an invitation under 189 visa with the current trend of giving out extremely small number of invitations.
> 
> Is it possible that this trend of only inviting limited number of 70 above pointers remain fixed throughout the rest of the financial year and eventually at the end of July 2016, not filling up the whole occupation ceiling of 2500 with 70 points remaining to be the the cut off? Aren't they supposed to fill the whole spots available?
> 
> After all do you have any suggestions about this 70 points going down by the end of financial year? I know it's not something that can be predicted, but it would be a great help to at least hear what your thoughts are about the issue as accountants on the same boat are trying to understand what the intentions are behind the current trend. Thank you so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jordysmum -

Wish I could help, but this is a bit outside of my area of expertise. If the girl is under 18 years old, that limits her options considerably. Suggest you visit a family lawyer or maybe a legal help center where a family lawyer can help determine the girl's rights and abilities under the law to deal with government agencies to get copies of records.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jordysmum said:


> Hi Mark.
> Thank you for your previous help. I was wondering how we can obtain documents to prove my sons girlfriends identity. DHS are involved but the case worker quit and it has been handed to someone else. Sons girlfriend has nothing to prove who she is as her mother refuses to hand over her passport, or visa or even her school student card and the school will not issue a new one until next year. I have been financially supporting her since she came here and Centrelink will not proceeds her application for youth allowance without ID documents. They told me today that they will not work with DHS as they are state and Centrelink is Federal. Every where we look she needs ID to get documents to prove her ID. is there any way for immigration to go through their records and provide her with something?
> Many thanks from a frustrated helper


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eireog007 -

Sorry I didn't see your msg earlier today. No need to wait to apply for the visa until you have your medical check. You can apply, then after application on the upload document screen there will be a link where you can generate a medical referral letter with HAP ID and take your medicals after you apply.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



eireog007 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have question regarding the medical assessment for a 189 visa.
> I have been invited to apply for the 189 skilled independent visa with my partner and intend to finish the application today.
> 
> However I am slightly confused as to the best way to sort out the medical check. As i see it you can get your HAP ID and apply for the medicals before you apply for the visa or apply for the visa and wait until your CO requests the medical info.
> 
> My question is can i apply for my HAP ID and then apply for the visa both today before I actually have my medical appointment as by the time the CO is assigned to the visa my medical results will already be in. This would seem to be the optimal way to do it but I'm just not sure if it is allowed or if you have to wait until after you have your medical results to then apply for the visa.


----------



## eireog007

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Eireog007 -
> 
> Sorry I didn't see your msg earlier today. No need to wait to apply for the visa until you have your medical check. You can apply, then after application on the upload document screen there will be a link where you can generate a medical referral letter with HAP ID and take your medicals after you apply.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


No need to worry about that Mark I appreciate you getting back to me so quickly, i saw you replying to the other messages and held off until you reached mine anyway.

Thanks for the feedback that's exactly what i wanted to hear.


----------



## cromangon

*Health Requirements 485 Visa*

Hi Mark

I am losing my mind I applied for the 485 visa on 19/10/15 at that time I had OSHC cover valid till 21/11/15. I forgot to take out 485 health cover on 21/11/15 and took it out on 24/11/15 so there is a gap of two days between cover will this result in visa refusal? The application is still being processed..

Your help will be greatly appreciated

Thanks


----------



## potpot

Hi Mark,

How are you? I am on a 457 visa however I have resigned due to personal reasons and my 90 days has finished i think. I have already applied and lodged a 489 visa within those 90 days. My 457 visa in still in effect as per VEVO. I just want to ask if I can go back home to my home country this holiday season since I am not doing anything because I can only work for my employer (but I resigned). Is it better for me to stay in Australia? If I go home will that affect my 489 visa application because I apply onshore? Thank you very much Mark. Hoping for your reply.


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Hello Mark,

Thanks for your reply.

If my understanding is correct I think it is impossible to have 100% unique 
content. Since I am in IT industry just like any other computer engineer so there must be possibility of duplicate's. Now my question are below :

1) Do you know to what percentage or extent duplicates are allowed in the ACS application.

2) Do you think ACS creates a plagiarism report and will share with me if I request them ? What if I change the content in my RPL and again get rejected because of plagiarism.

3) There are few plagiarism checker software that are available on the internet. Do you any good one and suggest me to use before I submit my application again ?

Appreciate you help and time in this regard.

Thanks much.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi 1984ravigupta -
> 
> Assuming you did plagiarise, be glad if $550 is all this costs you. Had you done this on a visa application, it could have resulted in cancellation and a 3-year ban on all visas.
> 
> If you did not plagiarise, then demand proof of the allegations and fight them, hard.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## aishalange

*Documents for Vetassess*

Hello Mark. I have a question regarding Evidence Guide.

"5. Organising your skilled employment, education and training assessment evidence "

To make it easy for your assessor to find your evidence, make sure you: 
a. include a skilled employment, education and training assessment evidence cover sheet 
Q: On the cover sheet template provided, on the EVIDENCE part, it says Resume, Qualifications, etc. and then in parenthesis it says (ITEM_) - what should I indicate on that so-called ITEM part?

b. number each sample and document clearly
Q: Does this mean page numbers? What about for photo and digital evidence? How are those numbered?

c. include item notes: for each item, include a note that gives its title, what unit (or units) of competency it relates to, and a brief description of what it is. 
Q: More clarification on this please on how I should go about this. If you could send me a sample, it would really be appreciated.

Lastly, what if my previous employer already shuts down business? What contact info should I provide Vetassess?


----------



## LakshmiNarasimhan_S

*ACS - Change of Occupation*

Hi Mark,

I have done my first ACS application on January 2015 and got nominated for the occupation code as "Systems Analyst". With regards to my experience, out of 5 companies, only latter 3 were assessed and the first 2 companies were not because of the Employer Reference letter not produced.

My total score comes to 60 points as on date.
Age - 25 points
Qualification - 15 points
Experience - 10 points (7 years, 8 months till date)
English - 10 points

DIBP sets the cut off as 65 for systems analyst this year. If I wait till 1-Apr-2016, I would gain another 5 points as my experience comes to 8 years and I will be in the 65 pointers EOI queue. Another hurdle, I will be losing my age at 6-June-2016 and my points would come down to 55. I doubt I may get the invite within 2 months between 1-Apr-2016 and 1-June-2016. Hence I planned to re-assess my first 2 companies to get additional 5 points so I could come in the EOI queue as soon as possible.

Experience Details:
Company-1 - Network Operations Center Engineer
Company-2 - IT Specialist/System Administrator
Company-3 - Senior Systems Engineer
Company-4 - Technical Consultant
Company-5 - Architect (Currently working)

This month Nov-2015, I have opened up another application with ACS to review the first 2 companies but ACS had come back saying that both were not meeting the roles/responsibilities at least 65%. But I was really expecting the second company would come positive. When emailed back to ACS, they written back saying to logde a review/appeal to re-action. I felt ACS was giving this negative result because of my title as "IT Specialist/Systems Administrator" in my company-2.

Option1 - I need to get the updated letter from my company-2 which include additional duties would help to get a positive result from ACS for the "systems analyst" occupation code.

Option2 - Now going back remembering my actual roles and responsibilities which is closely related to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer), am thinking to apply for a "change of Occupation" from 261112 (Systems Analyst) to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) and also by getting the updated Employer Reference Letter from all the 5 companies.

All my employers are ready to provide an updated letter which might include the previously provided ERL job duties plus the additional network related duties, so that might help I believe.

I have another 50 days of time to apply for review with this current application.

I am feeling of going for option2. Advise me with your good opinion.

Thanks,


----------



## gentelman

Hi I was deported from US on a white collar felony I was at the camp for 13 month how long do I have to wait to apply for a visa to Australia?


----------



## AnnieTran

*Person to fill in form 888*

Hi Mark,
I just thought that having my employer to fill in form 888 would be good, she is happy to do it but she hasn't actually met my partner because my workplace is far away. Is it risky to get her say that she has known me for as long as she knows me because I talked about him heaps at work? 
Regards,
Annie


----------



## Magiantola

You are simply THE BEST!!! Thanks Mark!.

A last question, my partner has a son and as we are in a de facto relationship, should I declare him as my step-son?

We don't live with him because we are currently in Karratha and he lives in Perth with his mom, but we try to spend most of the time with him, having holidays together as a family. We have an extraordinary relationship.

What do you suggest?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mariella -
> 
> Thanks for the note. The key requirement is that you provide evidence that your relationship was at a de facto level for the 12 months prior to the date of application for the partner visa. Thanks to the case of SZOXP in January 2015, the requirement is NOT that you have lived together for 12 months prior to application, but only that you demonstrate that the relationship was at a de facto level. That means if you can establish this some other way (than living together for the entire period), it can work.
> 
> I suggest putting together a detailed timeline with evidence showing the progression of the relationship, and showing as much detail and evidence as possible that the relationship was at a de facto level for not just the 12 month period, but for some months before that (depending on the evidence and circumstances). That way you can show that the time you were apart in Dec 2014 / Jan 2015 was a temporary time apart that occurred AFTER the de facto relationship had already been established. The week apart mid-year when you traveled is no issue from my view, however the time between the end of Nov 2014 and when you returned in Jan 2015 could be an issue. Best solution is to show this as a temporary time apart by establishing that the de facto relationship actually was established before you returned in Jan 2015.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## ramonaAstone

Hi Mark!

Do you know how old statements about employment, earning and holiday can be? I have those statements from my company for my Visitor 600 visa, but I lost time getting some other stuff done for the application and I just noticed it's been a month since I got them. Can they be a month old or do I have to get new ones?

Thanks once again for your enormous help!


----------



## john1182

*457 restrictions*

Hi Mark

Appreciate your help and candor on these forums. If you are on a 457 visa are you allowed to also serve on company boards as a non-executive director (NED)? You're not an employee nor executive of a company but they are paid.

Thanks!


----------



## Danvisa

*Forcing onshore application*

Hi Mark,
Hoping you can advise me well,
My thai fiance has had two visitor visas, one month and 12 month multi.
My question is how could I ask for, or ensure the next visitor visa does not have a 8503 no further stay condition?
The reason is we intend to apply for a partner or fiance visa, but I want to do it onshore as our experience having visas processed off shore dealing with Thai staff in the embassy is a fickle process and they seem to be allowed to interpret rules and requirements as they please. I have some examples but probably don't need to go into it here, at the current cost of a partner visa, I just don't have confidence that my application will be handled in the best manner.
We are back and forth from Thailand a lot and remaining in Australia isn't the reason for no 8503, only the ability to apply onshore.
Edit-
-been together since 2011
-engaged for 1 year
-I financially support her (she doesn't work)
-the 12 month multi visa wasnt used much as I had an accident and recovered in Thailand for 7 months. Expired in October.
- I work away from home, live in a mining camp and spend all my time off in Thailand, the Thai embassy staff can't seem to understand this lifestyle and think I am not being truthful


----------



## NEDDY

Hi Mark,

Have you any experience with late registered birth certificate in the Philippines? I have an application in for Partner visa but need to submit elementary school records. These apparently have been destroyed by fire back in 1989 but the school will issue a sealed certificate of graduation and attendence. Do you think this will be ok for the case officer?


----------



## shamtah

Hello Mark

I have been issued a visa subclass 190 about 5 months ago.My visa states that my first entry to Australia must be before January 2016.Due to some issues regarding work in my original country i need to stay for another 3 months before traveling to and staying permenantly in Australia.

1-If i travel to Australia in December 2015 and stay for 3 days and then return to my original country to stay for about 3 months, does this will activate my visa and make it valid for 5 years or do i need to stay permenantly once i travelled to Australia?

2-My visa states that i must stay for two years in the state which nominated me.Is it possible during these 2 years to travel outside Australia for a short period(few days
) or do i need to stay the hole 2 years inside my state?

Thank you very much for your help Mark

Kind regards


Kind regards


----------



## Dagmar

Hi Mark, I greatly appreciate the work you do here!

I have a ticket to fly to Australia on the 22nd of December (to spend Christmas with my girlfriend) but have not applied for my 2nd WHV as of yet (was waiting to hear back from a job at home..). As that leaves me almost 21 days (which is the average processing time according to immi) till I'm flying I am hesitant to apply for the WHV2 as I risk it not getting processed in time. To then apply for a tourist visa last-minute and the WHV2 getting granted while I am in aus would mean losing it, as far as I understand??

Therefore I thought:
- apply for the 651 tourist visa
- then apply for the WHV2 while in Aus.

As far as I understand the 651 do not have a 'no further stay' condition on them, and you can apply for the WHV2 while in aus..

Seems like the safest option but I wonder if I'm missing something?

Appreciate any advice!


----------



## Bassim

Dear Mark,
If I graduate from QUT with a master of engineering ( 1-year), am I eligible to apply for 476 visa?? or my engineering must be gained from overseas not in Australia?

Regards,


----------



## Gaurang123

Hi..Mark..

I lodge my wife subsequent visa (485) application last week through post. My courier has been received my immigration Adelaide on the next day as per AusPost tracking. But, after that i havn't heard from Immigration about any acknowledgement that my application has been received or not, and even they haven't proceed my payment . 

So would you please tell me how many days it takes to clear this all.

Wish you a happy new year and Christma in advance. 

Thanks,


----------



## WaitingVisa

MarkNortham said:


> Hi WaitingVisa -
> 
> Please see responses below at **:
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much for your kindness!


----------



## gurunan69

Hi Mark.

My partner and I applied for the 189 through an agent and received the CO contact asking for Form 80s and medicals for both. Even though we completed the medicals in a couple of days and attached the Form 80s within the 28 days provided, our agent did not press the 'Information Provided' button until the 31st day of CO contact, after we pestered her. Will this be an issue considering that the documents were provided within the time provided but the button to notify the DIBP wasn't pressed until a few days after??

Also how long will the delay now be for the CO to come back to our case?


----------



## sonne22

*8535 condition on 575 student visa*

Hi Mark!

If the application of a second student visa (first undergrad 575 non award, second 575 for postgraduate study) would include a "8535 no further stay" condition, can that be considered standard procedure or would there be a specific reason for imposing it?

Would this be the last visa to get for good, or would applying for a defacto visa be possible after?

Plus how flexible is the department with conditions on a bridging visa from evisitor to defacto -> studying!! (if one had to change visa in middle of semester) + work allowance? Is that subject to discussion - how does one deposit such a wish - attach to application / talk in person?

Thanks a lot!!

Best sonne


----------



## andlerbierhoff

Hi Mark, 

I would like advice on calculating my points for a skiled visa.

Points

I have a degree in IT from the university of Berlin - that would give me 15 points.

I have also a skills assessment from the Australian Computer Society which states that my skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration as a software engineer. It also states my qualification has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in IT - does that give me another 10 points?

Any help would be appreciated - apologises for my English.

Best wishes, 
Andler


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cromangon -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you held a student visa on the date you applied for the 485, then the time of application requirement re: insurance is met (assuming you have evidence). After the date of application, DIBP requires 2 things: 1) That as soon as your student visa ceases, you immediately have 485-compatible insurance cover (this usually occurs while you are awaiting a decision on the 485, and 2) That you have had "adequate health insurance cover" from the date of application to the date of decision on the 485 visa. If you have had any period during that time when you held no insurance cover (ie, OSHC had ceased and you 485 cover had not come into force yet), then you would not meet this requirement and your visa could be refused if the case officer realised there was a gap in coverage.

Sorry if this was not the news you were hoping for - the 485 visa has an incredibly strict list of conditions that should be better publicised on the DIBP website.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cromangon said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am losing my mind I applied for the 485 visa on 19/10/15 at that time I had OSHC cover valid till 21/11/15. I forgot to take out 485 health cover on 21/11/15 and took it out on 24/11/15 so there is a gap of two days between cover will this result in visa refusal? The application is still being processed..
> 
> Your help will be greatly appreciated
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Potpot -

DIBP's normal policy in these types of situations is to allow the 457 visa to remain in place since you've already applied for a further visa. There is no guarantee they will do this, however normally they need to send you a notice of intent to cancel prior to actually cancelling your 457 if you are onshore at the time they consider cancellation.

However, there's a very tricky side to this - if they want to cancel your visa under s116 of the Migration Act (the usual means by which a 457 is cancelled), if you are in Australia they must give you notice. However s128 of the Migration Act says that if DIBP wants to cancel under 116 and you are outside Australia, they can cancel your visa with no notice. What's worse, if they cancel your 457, that cancellation would also cancel any bridging visa you hold, leaving you stuck outside Australia unless you can get a visitor visa, etc to re-enter while you await a decision on the 489. And when you've re-entered on a visitor visa, you'll have no work rights, unless you are able to re-apply for a Bridging Visa A associated with the previous onshore 489 application and then wait for the visitor visa to expire (or the 3-month stay period to run out if the visa is configured in that way) for the BV-A to activate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



potpot said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> How are you? I am on a 457 visa however I have resigned due to personal reasons and my 90 days has finished i think. I have already applied and lodged a 489 visa within those 90 days. My 457 visa in still in effect as per VEVO. I just want to ask if I can go back home to my home country this holiday season since I am not doing anything because I can only work for my employer (but I resigned). Is it better for me to stay in Australia? If I go home will that affect my 489 visa application because I apply onshore? Thank you very much Mark. Hoping for your reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984ravigupta -

I expect they use Turnitin or one of the other commercially available plagiarism checkers, but that's just a guess. They don't publish any details that I know of re: the details of their plagiarism checking (probably for security reasons), however they have made a very serious charge against you that I would look into immediately. At a minimum, given the seriousness of the charge, I would ask them to provide specifics of what they believe is copied and from where, and you can use the phrase "natural justice" if you choose to - that's the Australian legal concept that in administrative law, if negative information is used against you, that you have an opportunity to know the nature of it and have an ability to respond. While an ACS skills assessment is not an administrative law decision, I am of the view that this fundamental concept should apply, at least to some extent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> If my understanding is correct I think it is impossible to have 100% unique
> content. Since I am in IT industry just like any other computer engineer so there must be possibility of duplicate's. Now my question are below :
> 
> 1) Do you know to what percentage or extent duplicates are allowed in the ACS application.
> 
> 2) Do you think ACS creates a plagiarism report and will share with me if I request them ? What if I change the content in my RPL and again get rejected because of plagiarism.
> 
> 3) There are few plagiarism checker software that are available on the internet. Do you any good one and suggest me to use before I submit my application again ?
> 
> Appreciate you help and time in this regard.
> 
> Thanks much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aishalange -

Probably best if you ask these questions directly to VETASSESS to get their specific and current requirements. However with an online application, I do not believe that the cover sheet, etc is still required - each piece of evidence is uploaded and when you upload it you assign a category to the file (ie, qualification, work experience letter, ID, etc) to make it clear what the file is to be used to demonstrate.

Re: employer shutting down, those are generally assessed on a case-by-case basis. The simple answer is: include everything you can get your hands on to demonstrate your employment there, payment for that employment, and statements from others per VETASSESS rules that describe what you did there in detail.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aishalange said:


> Hello Mark. I have a question regarding Evidence Guide.
> 
> "5. Organising your skilled employment, education and training assessment evidence "
> 
> To make it easy for your assessor to find your evidence, make sure you:
> a. include a skilled employment, education and training assessment evidence cover sheet
> Q: On the cover sheet template provided, on the EVIDENCE part, it says Resume, Qualifications, etc. and then in parenthesis it says (ITEM_) - what should I indicate on that so-called ITEM part?
> 
> b. number each sample and document clearly
> Q: Does this mean page numbers? What about for photo and digital evidence? How are those numbered?
> 
> c. include item notes: for each item, include a note that gives its title, what unit (or units) of competency it relates to, and a brief description of what it is.
> Q: More clarification on this please on how I should go about this. If you could send me a sample, it would really be appreciated.
> 
> Lastly, what if my previous employer already shuts down business? What contact info should I provide Vetassess?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LakshmiNarasimhan_S -

Thanks for the note. Not possible for me to advise on Option 1 vs Option 2 without doing a very detailed study of how much of a change the existing employer letters would have to have to meet the duties/tasks of the new occupation. The risk of course is that should ACS believe that the previous letters were not genuine (due to the big change in tasks/duties regarding work experience that has already been performed in the past), the entire thing could blow up. I can't advise on options, but I would say, generally, that option 1 may be the option with the least amount of risk, however that is entirely dependent on how much of a change would need to be made to the letters that ACS has already seen and assessed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LakshmiNarasimhan_S said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have done my first ACS application on January 2015 and got nominated for the occupation code as "Systems Analyst". With regards to my experience, out of 5 companies, only latter 3 were assessed and the first 2 companies were not because of the Employer Reference letter not produced.
> 
> My total score comes to 60 points as on date.
> Age - 25 points
> Qualification - 15 points
> Experience - 10 points (7 years, 8 months till date)
> English - 10 points
> 
> DIBP sets the cut off as 65 for systems analyst this year. If I wait till 1-Apr-2016, I would gain another 5 points as my experience comes to 8 years and I will be in the 65 pointers EOI queue. Another hurdle, I will be losing my age at 6-June-2016 and my points would come down to 55. I doubt I may get the invite within 2 months between 1-Apr-2016 and 1-June-2016. Hence I planned to re-assess my first 2 companies to get additional 5 points so I could come in the EOI queue as soon as possible.
> 
> Experience Details:
> Company-1 - Network Operations Center Engineer
> Company-2 - IT Specialist/System Administrator
> Company-3 - Senior Systems Engineer
> Company-4 - Technical Consultant
> Company-5 - Architect (Currently working)
> 
> This month Nov-2015, I have opened up another application with ACS to review the first 2 companies but ACS had come back saying that both were not meeting the roles/responsibilities at least 65%. But I was really expecting the second company would come positive. When emailed back to ACS, they written back saying to logde a review/appeal to re-action. I felt ACS was giving this negative result because of my title as "IT Specialist/Systems Administrator" in my company-2.
> 
> Option1 - I need to get the updated letter from my company-2 which include additional duties would help to get a positive result from ACS for the "systems analyst" occupation code.
> 
> Option2 - Now going back remembering my actual roles and responsibilities which is closely related to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer), am thinking to apply for a "change of Occupation" from 261112 (Systems Analyst) to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) and also by getting the updated Employer Reference Letter from all the 5 companies.
> 
> All my employers are ready to provide an updated letter which might include the previously provided ERL job duties plus the additional network related duties, so that might help I believe.
> 
> I have another 50 days of time to apply for review with this current application.
> 
> I am feeling of going for option2. Advise me with your good opinion.
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gentelman -

Thanks for the note. There is no particular amount of time, however it's not clear from the information how serious the charge was and whether the "at a camp" was the result of a court-imposed sentence or something else. If it was a sentence and is considered imprisonment, then with a sentence of 12 months or more you may be deemed to have a "substantial criminal record" by DIBP (Australian immigration dept) and would therefore fail the "character test" and be refused a visa on those grounds unless you are able to convince DIBP that the positive aspects of your character and life outweigh the conviction and, under Direction 65, they should not refuse the visa. If this is the case, sometimes more time passing after the conviction is better as you can show that you have reformed yourself, moved on to a positive job or other endeavour in life, not reoffended, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gentelman said:


> Hi I was deported from US on a white collar felony I was at the camp for 13 month how long do I have to wait to apply for a visa to Australia?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AnnieTran -

It's OK for a person to say that they know of your partner through communications with you. You haven't said whether you or your partner are the applicant for the visa (vs the sponsor). It is far more important that the 888 person know the applicant - there is a specific question about how long the writer has know the sponsor and the applicant, and this information must be accurate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AnnieTran said:


> Hi Mark,
> I just thought that having my employer to fill in form 888 would be good, she is happy to do it but she hasn't actually met my partner because my workplace is far away. Is it risky to get her say that she has known me for as long as she knows me because I talked about him heaps at work?
> Regards,
> Annie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Magiantola -

Thanks for the kind words! Makes my day.

According to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), a 'stepparent' is _a person who is;

a) Not the parent of the child;

b) is, or was previously, married or in a de facto relationship with a parent of a child; and

c) treats, or at any time while married or the de facto partner of the parent, the child as a member of the family formed with the parent. _

So if your relationship with your partner and his child meet these 3 requirements, you would properly call the son your step-son and it's fine to declare him as such on your visa application form(s).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Magiantola said:


> You are simply THE BEST!!! Thanks Mark!.
> 
> A last question, my partner has a son and as we are in a de facto relationship, should I declare him as my step-son?
> 
> We don't live with him because we are currently in Karratha and he lives in Perth with his mom, but we try to spend most of the time with him, having holidays together as a family. We have an extraordinary relationship.
> 
> What do you suggest?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RamonaAstone -

I don't know of any particular regulations that put a time limit on these, and one-month old does not seem to be too old in my view. Ultimately it would be the discretion of the case officer whether to accept them or not, but I would think there is a good chance they would accept statements that are 1 month old.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ramonaAstone said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Do you know how old statements about employment, earning and holiday can be? I have those statements from my company for my Visitor 600 visa, but I lost time getting some other stuff done for the application and I just noticed it's been a month since I got them. Can they be a month old or do I have to get new ones?
> 
> Thanks once again for your enormous help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John1182 -

Thanks for the note. Condition 8107 re: the 457 visa (assuming the sponsor is a Standard Business Sponsor) says that you "must work only in a position in the business of the sponsor or an associated entity of the sponsor" - the general requirements of 8107 regarding secondary work are that the work must be undertaken for the 457 sponsor, must be in your nominated occupation, must be consistent with the position you were approved to fill, and must be incidental to your principal employment.

The only exception that is noted in policy I've seen is for volunteer charity work (unpaid).

Unless the company whose board you serve on is also your SBS sponsor, and unless your work on that board is reasonably compatible with the tasks and duties of the occupation your 457 visa was granted under, I would think there's a high likelihood that the paid director work you describe would put you in breach of condition 8107. Also note that the requirement refers to "work", not "employment", so it would generally not matter whether you are paid as an employee, sole trader, etc in any additional work that you do.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



john1182 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Appreciate your help and candor on these forums. If you are on a 457 visa are you allowed to also serve on company boards as a non-executive director (NED)? You're not an employee nor executive of a company but they are paid.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## richagrovergandhi

*Request your advice - SA 489 Visa Application*

Hi Mark,

How are you doing? Thanks for your response earlier. Post a lot of consideration and deliberation, we were advised to remove our NSW 190 application and file our application for South Australia 489 visa, which we did on 7th October. We have completed our medicals and submitted the police check certificates as well.

We were under the impression that we will get a notification when a case officer is assigned, but have not received any communication at all till now. We are quite anxious now, since its been almost 2 months since we filed our SA visa application.

By when do you think we can expect a response from them on our application? Do they always inform when a case officer is assigned or directly send the final status?

Hoping to hear from you 

Take care!
Thanks & Regards,
Richa



MarkNortham said:


> Hi RIcha -
> 
> No good way to predict NSW response times - I think you have the facts well understood - the 190 is a far preferable visa in many people's views. Not possible for me to advise on how long you should wait for the 190 vs 489 - a personal choice - you may want to investigate if you decline the 489 invitation whether it will be possible to get another one later if necessary - in some cases, states will not consider a person twice for invitation for a state sponsored visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Danvisa -

Thanks for the note. No good way to ensure that a visitor visa will not have condition 8503. The more times a person gets a visitor visa, and the more days they spend in Australia, the higher chance that a future visa will have either condition 8503 or will be refused for non-genuine visitor reasons. You might let some time go by after the most recent visa (12 month?) has expired, then reapply, showing all evidence she has of ties to Thailand, and emphasising her positive immigration record for Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Danvisa said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hoping you can advise me well,
> My thai fiance has had two visitor visas, one month and 12 month multi.
> My question is how could I ask for, or ensure the next visitor visa does not have a 8503 no further stay condition?
> The reason is we intend to apply for a partner or fiance visa, but I want to do it onshore as our experience having visas processed off shore dealing with Thai staff in the embassy is a fickle process and they seem to be allowed to interpret rules and requirements as they please. I have some examples but probably don't need to go into it here, at the current cost of a partner visa, I just don't have confidence that my application will be handled in the best manner.
> We are back and forth from Thailand a lot and remaining in Australia isn't the reason for no 8503, only the ability to apply onshore.
> Edit-
> -been together since 2011
> -engaged for 1 year
> -I financially support her (she doesn't work)
> -the 12 month multi visa wasnt used much as I had an accident and recovered in Thailand for 7 months. Expired in October.
> - I work away from home, live in a mining camp and spend all my time off in Thailand, the Thai embassy staff can't seem to understand this lifestyle and think I am not being truthful


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neddy -

Thanks for the question here and the email. Yes, you'll likely be OK as long as there is good evidence of the fire. That being said, the good folks in Manila can be pretty picky when it comes to birth certificates and CENOMAR certificates - I'd try to give them everything you possibly can re: evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



NEDDY said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Have you any experience with late registered birth certificate in the Philippines? I have an application in for Partner visa but need to submit elementary school records. These apparently have been destroyed by fire back in 1989 but the school will issue a sealed certificate of graduation and attendence. Do you think this will be ok for the case officer?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shamtah -

Yes to both! Very important you activate the visa with an entry to Australia (doesn't really matter how long you stay) prior to the must-enter-by date. Re: time outside Australia during the 2 yr sponsorship period, no issues at all with this within the normal expectations of holiday leave, etc - if you go over 8 weeks per year outside Australia and you're not outside at the requirement of your employer, that might be reason to notify the state - this might be in the case of a sick relative you need to care for outside Australia, etc. But the state cannot stop you from leaving Australia, and states are generally very flexible in their interpretation of this requirement. The main thing they don't want you to do (but can't stop you from doing) is moving to another state during the 2 year period to live outside the state.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shamtah said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I have been issued a visa subclass 190 about 5 months ago.My visa states that my first entry to Australia must be before January 2016.Due to some issues regarding work in my original country i need to stay for another 3 months before traveling to and staying permenantly in Australia.
> 
> 1-If i travel to Australia in December 2015 and stay for 3 days and then return to my original country to stay for about 3 months, does this will activate my visa and make it valid for 5 years or do i need to stay permenantly once i travelled to Australia?
> 
> 2-My visa states that i must stay for two years in the state which nominated me.Is it possible during these 2 years to travel outside Australia for a short period(few days
> ) or do i need to stay the hole 2 years inside my state?
> 
> Thank you very much for your help Mark
> 
> Kind regards
> 
> Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dagmar -

You may not want to apply for the visitor visa on the back of a WHV due to a new regulation that says that a Subclass 600 Visitor visa may only be granted, if the combined stay with one or more visitor visa, working holiday visa, work and holiday visa or bridging visa does not exceed a total of 12 months combined stay in Australia. Exceptional circumstances must exist to be granted a period exceeding 12 months. It is not known at this point how DIBP will interpret this re: other visitor visas (such as subclass 651 visitor visas).

You may want to consult a migration agent to work out the best sequence of events for your particular circumstances, however if you are in Australia now on a WHV and you want to apply for a second WHV and you qualify for that, you may be able to lodge the second WHV application while in Australia and get a bridging visa from that application, which can then be changed to a BV-B to allow an offshore trip while you're awaiting a decision on the second WHV, but I'd consult with an agent to make sure they have all of your circumstances and details to give you the best advice for your situation as eligibility issues may exist, as well as any number of other issues depending on your existing WHV and whether you're onshore or offshore.

Happy to assist at a consultation if you're interested - see my website below for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dagmar said:


> Hi Mark, I greatly appreciate the work you do here!
> 
> I have a ticket to fly to Australia on the 22nd of December (to spend Christmas with my girlfriend) but have not applied for my 2nd WHV as of yet (was waiting to hear back from a job at home..). As that leaves me almost 21 days (which is the average processing time according to immi) till I'm flying I am hesitant to apply for the WHV2 as I risk it not getting processed in time. To then apply for a tourist visa last-minute and the WHV2 getting granted while I am in aus would mean losing it, as far as I understand??
> 
> Therefore I thought:
> - apply for the 651 tourist visa
> - then apply for the WHV2 while in Aus.
> 
> As far as I understand the 651 do not have a 'no further stay' condition on them, and you can apply for the WHV2 while in aus..
> 
> Seems like the safest option but I wonder if I'm missing something?
> 
> Appreciate any advice!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bassim -

Great question. The partial requirements for the 476 include that you must have completed a bachelor degree or higher at an institution:

_(a) whose name is published on the website of an accrediting body that is a signatory to the Washington Accord; AND 
(b) that conducts a course that is accredited by that accrediting body under the Washington Accord; _

(or the institution is on a special list of selected overseas institutions outside the Washington Accord)

As Australia is a signatory to the Washington Accord, I would check into the program of study you are asking about to see it's accreditation status as above.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bassim said:


> Dear Mark,
> If I graduate from QUT with a master of engineering ( 1-year), am I eligible to apply for 476 visa?? or my engineering must be gained from overseas not in Australia?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gaurang123 -

Thanks for the kind words and Christmas wishes - same to you!

No way to predict how long DIBP will take to "open the mail" and process your application. I've seen anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Essentially all you can do is wait. If it becomes more than 30 days, I would contact them and enquire if there is some sort of an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gaurang123 said:


> Hi..Mark..
> 
> I lodge my wife subsequent visa (485) application last week through post. My courier has been received my immigration Adelaide on the next day as per AusPost tracking. But, after that i havn't heard from Immigration about any acknowledgement that my application has been received or not, and even they haven't proceed my payment .
> 
> So would you please tell me how many days it takes to clear this all.
> 
> Wish you a happy new year and Christma in advance.
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gurunan69 -

Should not be an issue in my view, as the date the documents were provided is the key date. However I'm at a loss to understand why your agent would not "press the button" as soon as the documents were uploaded - doesn't make sense.

No way to predict how much more time will be taken re: processing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gurunan69 said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> My partner and I applied for the 189 through an agent and received the CO contact asking for Form 80s and medicals for both. Even though we completed the medicals in a couple of days and attached the Form 80s within the 28 days provided, our agent did not press the 'Information Provided' button until the 31st day of CO contact, after we pestered her. Will this be an issue considering that the documents were provided within the time provided but the button to notify the DIBP wasn't pressed until a few days after??
> 
> Also how long will the delay now be for the CO to come back to our case?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonne22 -

Thanks for the question. Condition 8535 is mandatory in some circumstances (usually involving a short course) and optional in others at the discretion of the case officer based on the overall profile and risk profile of the application.

I'm a bit confused by the second part of your question - re: 8535, DIBP is strict on this (like everything else!) unless you qualify for a waiver of 8535 (typically requires a substantial change in the applicant's conditions that occurs after the visa is granted and is beyond the control of the applicant). So if you are in Australia on a visa with condition 8535, would not be possible to be granted a partner visa (de facto or marriage) while on that visa unless a waiver is granted.

If you are on a visitor visa and you apply for a partner visa onshore while holding the visitor visa, the conditions of the Bridging Visa A from the partner visa application (ie, no work limitation, etc) will apply once the visitor visa expires or the stay period ends and you remain in Australia - that would normally cause the BV-A to activate and you'd then be governed by the conditions of the BV-A vs the conditions of the visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sonne22 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> If the application of a second student visa (first undergrad 575 non award, second 575 for postgraduate study) would include a "8535 no further stay" condition, can that be considered standard procedure or would there be a specific reason for imposing it?
> 
> Would this be the last visa to get for good, or would applying for a defacto visa be possible after?
> 
> Plus how flexible is the department with conditions on a bridging visa from evisitor to defacto -> studying!! (if one had to change visa in middle of semester) + work allowance? Is that subject to discussion - how does one deposit such a wish - attach to application / talk in person?
> 
> Thanks a lot!!
> 
> Best sonne


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andler -

Thanks for the question. You can only receive points from one educational qualification, so assuming your degree in IT from the Univ of Berlin is a Bachelor Degree, you would receive 15 points from that degree, but you would then not be able to claim any additional points from other degrees or other qualifications. The skills assessment itself does not give you additional points, but additional points can come from the other categories such as work experience (if relevant and meets all other requirements), age, and the other categories of points for the skilled visa points test.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andlerbierhoff said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like advice on calculating my points for a skiled visa.
> 
> Points
> 
> I have a degree in IT from the university of Berlin - that would give me 15 points.
> 
> I have also a skills assessment from the Australian Computer Society which states that my skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration as a software engineer. It also states my qualification has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in IT - does that give me another 10 points?
> 
> Any help would be appreciated - apologises for my English.
> 
> Best wishes,
> Andler


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Richa -

DIBP now does not notify applicants when a case officer is assigned, so it's no reason to worry that there has been notification of this. Normally DIBP will only contact an applicant if their need further info or documents, or have made a decision. So best thing to do may be to wait and enjoy the holiday season! In the case of DIBP, no news is not bad news.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



richagrovergandhi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> How are you doing? Thanks for your response earlier. Post a lot of consideration and deliberation, we were advised to remove our NSW 190 application and file our application for South Australia 489 visa, which we did on 7th October. We have completed our medicals and submitted the police check certificates as well.
> 
> We were under the impression that we will get a notification when a case officer is assigned, but have not received any communication at all till now. We are quite anxious now, since its been almost 2 months since we filed our SA visa application.
> 
> By when do you think we can expect a response from them on our application? Do they always inform when a case officer is assigned or directly send the final status?
> 
> Hoping to hear from you
> 
> Take care!
> Thanks & Regards,
> Richa


----------



## Gringo Peregrino

Hi Mark, 

I applied for a PMV two months ago. No word so far. I had heard it could be as little as two months to get it. Wondering about work here and other options. 

Can I marry in Australia on a visa waiver and convert it to a PV request? How long would that take to process? If it's going to mean twiddling my thumbs in Sydney for 12 months till I can work, I'll just keep working here. But I need to pursue that soon because my current job runs out in a month and a half. 

Thanks!


----------



## ramonaAstone

Hi Mark!
I have no questions, just wanted to say how good man you are for helping all of us.
A big thank you for all your responses earlier!


----------



## shamtah

Thank you very much Mark for the valuable detailed answer and for the great help you gave to me during my journey to get my visa.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shamtah -
> 
> Yes to both! Very important you activate the visa with an entry to Australia (doesn't really matter how long you stay) prior to the must-enter-by date. Re: time outside Australia during the 2 yr sponsorship period, no issues at all with this within the normal expectations of holiday leave, etc - if you go over 8 weeks per year outside Australia and you're not outside at the requirement of your employer, that might be reason to notify the state - this might be in the case of a sick relative you need to care for outside Australia, etc. But the state cannot stop you from leaving Australia, and states are generally very flexible in their interpretation of this requirement. The main thing they don't want you to do (but can't stop you from doing) is moving to another state during the 2 year period to live outside the state.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## dejainc

****** Peregrino said:


> I applied for a PMV two months ago. No word so far. I had heard it could be as little as two months to get it.


https://www.border.gov.au/about/access-accountability/service-standards/family-visa-processing-times

PMV 5 months for low risk or 12 months for high risk.

"Individual processing times will vary depending on a range of factors. Service standards are aspirational and are not a guarantee that your applications will be processed within the time listed"


----------



## gurunan69

Hi Mark,

Thanks for all your help. My partner and I got our PR grants today. I wanted to ask you if there was any difference between being the primary and dependant/secondary applicant once the visa is granted, in terms of getting a job or just the rights as a permanent resident? What about applying for citizenship in the future? As this distinction of primary and secondary is mentioned clearly on the grant letter and on the VEVO. Is there a difference in how the secondary applicant would be treated by companies and such i.e. any downside to being the dependant?


----------



## Emma098

*a house*

Hi Mark,
I purchased a property and got engaged with my partner in November. 
We applied for 820 visa in August 2015. Nothing asked by immi so far.
Should I need to notice to immi about this matter? If so, what document should i need to upload.
Thanks
Emma


----------



## Sze100

Hi Mark, 

Hi all,

I couldn't find a straight answer to my question so I decided to ask an expert  

My partner's occupation is a SURVEYOR (ANZSCO) 232212 and my occupation is a 225412: SALES REPRESENTATIVE (MEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS). It seems that a surveyor is both on the SOL and the CSOL whereas my job is only on the CSOL. If we apply for 190 visa, with me as the main applicant, would I be able to get additional 5 points for partner's skills and vice versa?


----------



## mshaz

Hi Mark!

So we recently got our PMV 300 visa and whilst going through the grant letter we saw that Filipino nationals have exit requirements, more specifically:

"The CFO conducts a mandatory Guidance and Counselling Program for departing Filippino spouses, fiance and other partners of foreign nationals.

My fiancé and I are currently living in the US but as a Philippine national do I have to take the program? The only classes are in Manilla as well so... Any ideas?

Thank you!!

Side question! Do we need to inform Immi when we leave the US of our change of address etc? Or reply to the visa grant?

P.S. Thank you for all your help! We used your consultation services twice and we couldn't have done it without your help, so thank you so much from both my fiancé and I!


----------



## anant1983brams

*Need your valuable assistance*

My name is Anant Brahmbhatt and I am from India.

Occupation: Chemist

My question to you is;

Visa 190 applied in Victoria: 
I have lodged my on-line application-4th of May 2015 with 70 points and within 40 days received a negative response from Victoria .*

Point details:

Skilled nominated subclass 190: 5 points 
Age 32 30 points 
English: proficient English 10 points 
Education: Master Degree 15 points 
(Which is mandatory for VicSS)
Experience 10 points

So all together 70 points.

Why did I receive rejection? 
What could be the reason? 
What are there exceptions?

Visa 489 applied in Southern Inland:

I have lodged my on-line application-20th of October 2015 with 75 points and 44 days are passeda and still waiting for full application.*

Point details:

Skilled regional subclass 489 10 points 
Age 32 30 points 
English: proficient English 10 points 
Education: Master Degree 15 points 
Experience 10 points

So all together 75 points.

What are the chances to get the positive outcome?

After I finish my restriction, I am going to apply again in Victoria on 19th Dec. Will you pls. let me know your valuable suggestion for the same?

Suggestions???

Anant


----------



## g.ali

Hi Mark,
I have a quick question, if you could help me on this matter.

As the External Auditor has reached its quota for the year subclass 189,and no more invitation will be sent in this year, my question in this regard is as I have positive skilled qualification assessment from CPA. Can i still lodge EOI for external auditor and will i be given priority in next year 1st round provided all the other invitees have same points as mine. or the EOI will be rejected and I can lodge EOI for this profession only in next year while there will be new quota.
Thanks


----------



## rohail85

Hi Mark,
I submitted my assessment Application on 30 March and got positive outcome on 7 july, while submitting my EOI i entered 30 march as assessment date now my EOI is locked as i have received the invitation for 489 visa. what shall i do with this issue?

Thanks


----------



## zan88

Hi Mark
I am going to apply for the visa next month and we are collecting statement. There is a question I like to ask. We do the statutory declaration but we didn't follow the form 888. Actually, we included everything the form asks. However, it is just some paragraph from my boyfriend dad and friends (Oz citizen) showing how they know me and him, how our relationship growing and how genuine our relationship. It is also included birth certificate and address but without phone numbers. they all went to the police station to declare for the form. After that we found out the form 888. I wonder if we have to do exactly what the form 888 asked, print the form out and do it?


----------



## Ka5h

Hi Dear Mark

I’m getting 65 points under subclass 189
Age: 30
English: 20
Bachelors Hons in applied accounting UK : 15

I have outside Australia work experience of one year only is it necessary to claim 5 point for work exp to get an Invitation ?

Also my Bsc hons was awarded as part of partnership program between ACCA and Oxford Brookes University would it be recognised and get me a qualification and skilled employment assessment what documents do i need to provide for Skill assessment also does it require work experience proof ? 

Also my salary is below taxable threshold hence i have no tax returns is it compulsory to provide tax documents ? I can provide all other reference letter etc except tax returns is it fine ? 

Thankyou 

SOL 221111 Accountant (General)


----------



## savfw

*PCC from foreign country*

Hello Mark

I would like first to thank you for your great support to all. 
It is my first question here, I am looking forward for your reply.

I have been requested to submit a PCC from a foreign country where I spent more than 12 months in 2008/2009. I checked with the embassy of that country, but they informed me that the process to get a PCC may take up to one year and in some cases no reply is received at all. I asked them to give me an official letter with that statement but the embassy refused.

What should I do ? Is there any probability that I get visa rejection ? 
By the way, I succeeded to get the PCC from my home country. Can I submit only the PCC from my home country?


----------



## los

Hello Mark

Me and my wife are on PR visas and have been in Australia for almost 4 years. We will submit our citizenship request in a few months time.

Sadly, around 5 month ago we had an ugly fight which turned physical. She went to the hospital the next day just to check herself out and they brought the police. She is saying that she told the police she fell but they didnt believe her and insisted that she talks but then on her refusal to talk they put the case as against unknown. She insisted that she doesnt want to make a formal complaint. Now lets say she actually did mention my details, would that affect my citizenship application? will it show with DIAP? and could that lead to refusal?

I was never contacted by the police so there were no charges laid against me (as far as I know) and for sure co convictions. We were separated for a month (separation also registered with centrelink, etc..) but have since then came back together and resolved everything out. 

My mind is just playing games on me..will the event or incident show when they do the check? And if it does, will that affect the decisions?

I got a national police check through the AFP and it said "no disclosable court outcomes"

Am I in the clear or could this come back to bite me?


----------



## Maria from India

Hello Mark,

How are you? I want to know about tourist visa extension.I have applied for my partner visa(309/100) on February 14,2015.no updates yet.currently,am in Australia on tourist visa,6 months,which is valid till february 6,2016. Now,i am planning to apply for a 3 month extension,as their is not updates regarding my partner visa.

When i applied for my tourist visa,i mentioned like,i financially support by myself(showed my bank account details).also my pcc is going to expire on january 12.So,which all documents i have to submit for my visa extension?
Do i need to submit my new pcc and bank statement again?
Can i apply online for visa extension through my immiaccount?
Please help me Mark.

Thanks in advance,
Maria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ****** -

PMV's usually take about 9 months to process, some a bit faster, some longer. If you are in Australia and on a visitor visa, once you notify DIBP they would change the PMV to an offshore partner visa, and you would then need to supply additional relationship evidence (ie,nature of the household, etc). However as it would then be an offshore partner visa application, there would be no bridging visa generated from that, so you'd still be left to using visitor visas or other visas to remain in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



****** Peregrino said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for a PMV two months ago. No word so far. I had heard it could be as little as two months to get it. Wondering about work here and other options.
> 
> Can I marry in Australia on a visa waiver and convert it to a PV request? How long would that take to process? If it's going to mean twiddling my thumbs in Sydney for 12 months till I can work, I'll just keep working here. But I need to pursue that soon because my current job runs out in a month and a half.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ramona -

Thanks for the kind words! Glad I could help.

Best,

Mark



ramonaAstone said:


> Hi Mark!
> I have no questions, just wanted to say how good man you are for helping all of us.
> A big thank you for all your responses earlier!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shamtah -

Thanks very much - glad I could help - have a safe journey to Australia and a great holiday season.

Best,

Mark



shamtah said:


> Thank you very much Mark for the valuable detailed answer and for the great help you gave to me during my journey to get my visa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gurunan69 -

Congratulations on your PR visas - no difference at all in how you're treated as a PR - all PR's are essentially equal in the eyes of employers, etc. Each of your PR is not dependent on the other at this point, so there's no liability being the primary or secondary applicant at this point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gurunan69 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for all your help. My partner and I got our PR grants today. I wanted to ask you if there was any difference between being the primary and dependant/secondary applicant once the visa is granted, in terms of getting a job or just the rights as a permanent resident? What about applying for citizenship in the future? As this distinction of primary and secondary is mentioned clearly on the grant letter and on the VEVO. Is there a difference in how the secondary applicant would be treated by companies and such i.e. any downside to being the dependant?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emma098 -

I'm assuming you have received an acknowledgement of the application as that usually is issued fairly quickly after lodging. As partner visas can take 12-18 months to lodge at this point, it's not surprising that you have not heard anything back at this point beyond the initial acknowledgement. No point in notifying them unless you have updated data such as a change of passport or address (use Form 929) etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emma098 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I purchased a property and got engaged with my partner in November.
> We applied for 820 visa in August 2015. Nothing asked by immi so far.
> Should I need to notice to immi about this matter? If so, what document should i need to upload.
> Thanks
> Emma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sze100 -

Assuming she meets the rest of the requirements for partner skilled points, yes. For the 190 visa, all occupations on the SOL and CSOL are considered "skilled" for purposes of both applicants. The problem happens when the primary applicant's occupation is on the SOL list - that then requires that the partner's occupation also be on the SOL list in order for the partner to qualify to contribute partner skills points tot he main applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sze100 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I couldn't find a straight answer to my question so I decided to ask an expert
> 
> My partner's occupation is a SURVEYOR (ANZSCO) 232212 and my occupation is a 225412: SALES REPRESENTATIVE (MEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS). It seems that a surveyor is both on the SOL and the CSOL whereas my job is only on the CSOL. If we apply for 190 visa, with me as the main applicant, would I be able to get additional 5 points for partner's skills and vice versa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mshaz -

Congratulations on your visa and thanks for the kind words!

As far as I know, the CFO programme is not required for people entering Australia on a PMV from outside the Philippines, however it would probably be worth the effort to contact the CFO folks and confirm this. The CFO people do not have the right to validate or control your visa, however the exit procedures in the Philippines are where their "influence" comes into play. It's also probably worth asking them if you enter Australia from the USA on the PMV but later return to the Philippines for a trip, whether they are going to "catch" you on the exit there and require the course then.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mshaz said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> So we recently got our PMV 300 visa and whilst going through the grant letter we saw that Filipino nationals have exit requirements, more specifically:
> 
> "The CFO conducts a mandatory Guidance and Counselling Program for departing Filippino spouses, fiance and other partners of foreign nationals.
> 
> My fiancé and I are currently living in the US but as a Philippine national do I have to take the program? The only classes are in Manilla as well so... Any ideas?
> 
> Thank you!!
> 
> Side question! Do we need to inform Immi when we leave the US of our change of address etc? Or reply to the visa grant?
> 
> P.S. Thank you for all your help! We used your consultation services twice and we couldn't have done it without your help, so thank you so much from both my fiancé and I!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anant -

Thanks for the note. Unless the reasons for the refusal are detailed in the refusal letter, there's no way to tell. The state sponsorship process is full of non-published criteria from what I can tell, so even if you meet all the published criteria, that's no guarantee at all that they will select you. I expect there are also internal quotas or limitations by country and/or occupation that also come into play here. All I can advise is to check their requirements carefully and apply including all documents. Beyond that, it's under their control.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anant1983brams said:


> My name is Anant Brahmbhatt and I am from India.
> 
> Occupation: Chemist
> 
> My question to you is;
> 
> Visa 190 applied in Victoria:
> I have lodged my on-line application-4th of May 2015 with 70 points and within 40 days received a negative response from Victoria .*
> 
> Point details:
> 
> Skilled nominated subclass 190: 5 points
> Age 32 30 points
> English: proficient English 10 points
> Education: Master Degree 15 points
> (Which is mandatory for VicSS)
> Experience 10 points
> 
> So all together 70 points.
> 
> Why did I receive rejection?
> What could be the reason?
> What are there exceptions?
> 
> Visa 489 applied in Southern Inland:
> 
> I have lodged my on-line application-20th of October 2015 with 75 points and 44 days are passeda and still waiting for full application.*
> 
> Point details:
> 
> Skilled regional subclass 489 10 points
> Age 32 30 points
> English: proficient English 10 points
> Education: Master Degree 15 points
> Experience 10 points
> 
> So all together 75 points.
> 
> What are the chances to get the positive outcome?
> 
> After I finish my restriction, I am going to apply again in Victoria on 19th Dec. Will you pls. let me know your valuable suggestion for the same?
> 
> Suggestions???
> 
> Anant


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi G.ali -

No problem lodging an EOI now as the 1 July date does not affect your EOI - your EOI will remain in the pool for 2 years from when you lodge it, so will remain eligible during that entire time. Those "ahead" of you would include all EOI's with higher scores regardless of when lodged, and those with the same score as you lodged prior to yours.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



g.ali said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a quick question, if you could help me on this matter.
> 
> As the External Auditor has reached its quota for the year subclass 189,and no more invitation will be sent in this year, my question in this regard is as I have positive skilled qualification assessment from CPA. Can i still lodge EOI for external auditor and will i be given priority in next year 1st round provided all the other invitees have same points as mine. or the EOI will be rejected and I can lodge EOI for this profession only in next year while there will be new quota.
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rohali85 -

You should be able to change the assessment date once you accept the invitation and start completing the actual visa application (online) forms. The key issue is that the assessment date was prior to the invitation date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rohail85 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I submitted my assessment Application on 30 March and got positive outcome on 7 july, while submitting my EOI i entered 30 march as assessment date now my EOI is locked as i have received the invitation for 489 visa. what shall i do with this issue?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zan88 -

You need to lodge at least 2 Form 888's from Australian citizens or permanent residents with your partner visa application - the additional statements can be in any format you'd like. If you want to preserve what you have, then you can complete Form 888 for each of them, write "please see attached statement" in response to each of the questions about how they know you, etc, then get the Form 888 witnessed - the JP who witnesses the Form 888 will also probably initial the attached statement to indicate a complete document.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zan88 said:


> Hi Mark
> I am going to apply for the visa next month and we are collecting statement. There is a question I like to ask. We do the statutory declaration but we didn't follow the form 888. Actually, we included everything the form asks. However, it is just some paragraph from my boyfriend dad and friends (Oz citizen) showing how they know me and him, how our relationship growing and how genuine our relationship. It is also included birth certificate and address but without phone numbers. they all went to the police station to declare for the form. After that we found out the form 888. I wonder if we have to do exactly what the form 888 asked, print the form out and do it?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ka5h -

No need to claim any points for work experience unless you want to. Re: your degree, I expect is not a substitute for a skills assessment, but may help you get your skills assessment - you should contact any of the nominated skills assessors in Australia for accountants to determine this.

Re: financial docs, no need to show unless you are claiming work experience for points for 189.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ka5h said:


> Hi Dear Mark
> 
> I'm getting 65 points under subclass 189
> Age: 30
> English: 20
> Bachelors Hons in applied accounting UK : 15
> 
> I have outside Australia work experience of one year only is it necessary to claim 5 point for work exp to get an Invitation ?
> 
> Also my Bsc hons was awarded as part of partnership program between ACCA and Oxford Brookes University would it be recognised and get me a qualification and skilled employment assessment what documents do i need to provide for Skill assessment also does it require work experience proof ?
> 
> Also my salary is below taxable threshold hence i have no tax returns is it compulsory to provide tax documents ? I can provide all other reference letter etc except tax returns is it fine ?
> 
> Thankyou
> 
> SOL 221111 Accountant (General)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Savfw -

Thanks for the note and welcome to the forum!

For PR visas for Australia, you are required to submit a PCC from all countries you have spent a total of 12 months or more in during the last 10 years. If you are unable to obtain a PCC from a country, the best thing to do generally is to get all the information you can about that country's response, then write to the case officer or dept at DIBP that requested your PCC and give them all the details of this. DIBP is likely very familiar with the problem from previous applicants. You'll have to work with DIBP to see if you can get a waiver of the PCC requirement for that country - if they do grant you a waiver, they will then ask you to sign a statutory declaration that you have no recorded offences, etc in that country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



savfw said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I would like first to thank you for your great support to all.
> It is my first question here, I am looking forward for your reply.
> 
> I have been requested to submit a PCC from a foreign country where I spent more than 12 months in 2008/2009. I checked with the embassy of that country, but they informed me that the process to get a PCC may take up to one year and in some cases no reply is received at all. I asked them to give me an official letter with that statement but the embassy refused.
> 
> What should I do ? Is there any probability that I get visa rejection ?
> By the way, I succeeded to get the PCC from my home country. Can I submit only the PCC from my home country?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Los -

Should be OK as long as you answer all questions on the citizenship application truthfully. Suspicion of something without any charges being laid or conviction made would not generally be counted against you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



los said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Me and my wife are on PR visas and have been in Australia for almost 4 years. We will submit our citizenship request in a few months time.
> 
> Sadly, around 5 month ago we had an ugly fight which turned physical. She went to the hospital the next day just to check herself out and they brought the police. She is saying that she told the police she fell but they didnt believe her and insisted that she talks but then on her refusal to talk they put the case as against unknown. She insisted that she doesnt want to make a formal complaint. Now lets say she actually did mention my details, would that affect my citizenship application? will it show with DIAP? and could that lead to refusal?
> 
> I was never contacted by the police so there were no charges laid against me (as far as I know) and for sure co convictions. We were separated for a month (separation also registered with centrelink, etc..) but have since then came back together and resolved everything out.
> 
> My mind is just playing games on me..will the event or incident show when they do the check? And if it does, will that affect the decisions?
> 
> I got a national police check through the AFP and it said "no disclosable court outcomes"
> 
> Am I in the clear or could this come back to bite me?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maria -

Assuming you do not have condition 8503 (no further stay) on your current visitor visa, you could apply online for another subclass 600 visa while you are here. Re: chances of success, hard to predict - I would apply for 3 months more, not 6, and include both evidence of financial capability from you or whoever is paying your expenses while in Australia, and an invitation letter from your fiance and itinerary of activities you wish to do during the 3 month additional time period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maria from India said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> How are you? I want to know about tourist visa extension.I have applied for my partner visa(309/100) on February 14,2015.no updates yet.currently,am in Australia on tourist visa,6 months,which is valid till february 6,2016. Now,i am planning to apply for a 3 month extension,as their is not updates regarding my partner visa.
> 
> When i applied for my tourist visa,i mentioned like,i financially support by myself(showed my bank account details).also my pcc is going to expire on january 12.So,which all documents i have to submit for my visa extension?
> Do i need to submit my new pcc and bank statement again?
> Can i apply online for visa extension through my immiaccount?
> Please help me Mark.
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Maria


----------



## Maria from India

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Maria -
> 
> Assuming you do not have condition 8503 (no further stay) on your current visitor visa, you could apply online for another subclass 600 visa while you are here. Re: chances of success, hard to predict - I would apply for 3 months more, not 6, and include both evidence of financial capability from you or whoever is paying your expenses while in Australia, and an invitation letter from your fiance and itinerary of activities you wish to do during the 3 month additional time period.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark.yes,i dont have nfs on my tourist visa.you mean,i have to apply for another visa or extending the current visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maria -

Once a visa is granted the terms of the visa cannot be changed, so the process would involve applying for another subclass 600 visa to extend your stay in Australia with a new visa with a new expiry date.

Best,

Mark



Maria from India said:


> Thank you so much Mark.yes,i dont have nfs on my tourist visa.you mean,i have to apply for another visa or extending the current visa?


----------



## Maria from India

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Maria -
> 
> Once a visa is granted the terms of the visa cannot be changed, so the process would involve applying for another subclass 600 visa to extend your stay in Australia with a new visa with a new expiry date.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much.I have one more doubt.I have applied for my partner visa by online.Can i use that same immiaccount to extend my visitor visa?


----------



## Lloydelloyd

*457 Application*

Hi Mark,

All applications have been submitted for my 457 Visa(Sponsorship, Nomination and Visa app with Defacto) on 11th Nov 2015 and I have a couple of questions that I hope you could help me with.

1) How long do you think the whole process will take?

2) Can me and my girlfriend enter Australia on a holiday Visa whilst we wait for approval?

I understand that I can't work during this time however I was hoping we could spend sometime relaxing before I start work.

Thanks

Lloyd


----------



## rhodered

thanks so much Mark, your thoughts are much appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lloydelloyd -

Thanks for the email and post - I'd plan on 3-4 months for the entire process based on what we're seeing currently, and there is no bar to applying for a visitor visa in the interim to make a holiday trip to Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lloydelloyd said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> All applications have been submitted for my 457 Visa(Sponsorship, Nomination and Visa app with Defacto) on 11th Nov 2015 and I have a couple of questions that I hope you could help me with.
> 
> 1) How long do you think the whole process will take?
> 
> 2) Can me and my girlfriend enter Australia on a holiday Visa whilst we wait for approval?
> 
> I understand that I can't work during this time however I was hoping we could spend sometime relaxing before I start work.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Lloyd


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maria -

Yes.

Best,

Mark



Maria from India said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much.I have one more doubt.I have applied for my partner visa by online.Can i use that same immiaccount to extend my visitor visa?


----------



## sukanta

sukanta said:


> Thanks so much Mark.. Really appreciate your prompt help and advice in this regard. I will upload the form 1022 then asap with the changed circumstances.
> 
> Thank you
> Sukanta


Hi Mark,
Hope you are well. I need your valuable advice on one of the question about my wife's visa application (subclass 309). I have already submitted the online application a month back but noticed the mistake recently.
I came to Australia as a Student in July, 2003 and in Nov, 2005 I went back. I lodged my Offshore PR application after that and once it was granted I came back in May, 2006 as a resident. My questions are:

1.	Under sponsor's section- Date of arrival in Australia- which date should I mention, will it be July, 2003 or May, 2006? (Currently I used May, 2006).

2.	If I need to correct the date, which form I have to use?

3.	This question appears in my wife's application (47SP) as well as in sponsor's application (40SP). Does it mean that to correct the date, I do need two forms to upload (one for me and one for my wife)?

4.	Can I fill out and sign and upload the form to correct this information if required or my wife's signature is required?

Thank you for your generosity advising people like us to your level best. Much appreciated Mark.

Thank you
Sukanta


----------



## thsskdms00

Hi Mark,
I previously had an invitation and was further nominated by NSW to apply for 190 visa but was not able to apply for the visa within the given 60 day period so unfortunately had to forfeit the opportunity. Would this record of being nominated once and not having applied for the visa have any negative impact in receiving another invitation and subsequent nomination by NSW in the future? Could it be that the case officer might ask for a reason behind not applying for the visa at the time, during the nomination approval process? Any advice on this matter would be very helpful. Thank you so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukanta -

Thanks for the note and kind words. This question is unclear on the application, and we normally suggest that people list the first date they actually arrived in Australia, since the question does not specify that the date should be the first time they arrived as a PR or citizen. To correct this, you would need 2 separate Form 1023's - one from the applicant and one for the sponsor - the applicant's should be uploaded to the main application, and the sponsor's should be uploaded to the sponsor lodged form. Each person should sign their own Form 1023, then scan & upload them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sukanta said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hope you are well. I need your valuable advice on one of the question about my wife's visa application (subclass 309). I have already submitted the online application a month back but noticed the mistake recently.
> I came to Australia as a Student in July, 2003 and in Nov, 2005 I went back. I lodged my Offshore PR application after that and once it was granted I came back in May, 2006 as a resident. My questions are:
> 
> 1.	Under sponsor's section- Date of arrival in Australia- which date should I mention, will it be July, 2003 or May, 2006? (Currently I used May, 2006).
> 
> 2.	If I need to correct the date, which form I have to use?
> 
> 3.	This question appears in my wife's application (47SP) as well as in sponsor's application (40SP). Does it mean that to correct the date, I do need two forms to upload (one for me and one for my wife)?
> 
> 4.	Can I fill out and sign and upload the form to correct this information if required or my wife's signature is required?
> 
> Thank you for your generosity advising people like us to your level best. Much appreciated Mark.
> 
> Thank you
> Sukanta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thsskdms00 -

Thanks for the note. Normally an unaccepted invitation would not have any negative impact by DIBP on a future visa application. However, some states have a policy of not inviting a person a second time if they do not accept the first invitation - these kinds of regulations and policy change frequently - suggest you check with NSW via their website or contact them directly to determine their current policy on these sorts of situations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thsskdms00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I previously had an invitation and was further nominated by NSW to apply for 190 visa but was not able to apply for the visa within the given 60 day period so unfortunately had to forfeit the opportunity. Would this record of being nominated once and not having applied for the visa have any negative impact in receiving another invitation and subsequent nomination by NSW in the future? Could it be that the case officer might ask for a reason behind not applying for the visa at the time, during the nomination approval process? Any advice on this matter would be very helpful. Thank you so much.


----------



## bu5t3r2

Hi Mark,

How are you ?

I have a question about RRV,

Lets say I just got my RRV renewed for 5 years on 10 July 2015.
Then I left Australia on 11 July 2015.
Then say I come back on 9 July 2020 and stay for 2 years until 15 July 2022.
Then I leave Australia again on 16 July 2022

Assuming the current rules, etc stay the same,
Will I be able to renew my RRV for 5 years again on 12 July 2025 ?

Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## sukanta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sukanta -
> 
> Thanks for the note and kind words. This question is unclear on the application, and we normally suggest that people list the first date they actually arrived in Australia, since the question does not specify that the date should be the first time they arrived as a PR or citizen. To correct this, you would need 2 separate Form 1023's - one from the applicant and one for the sponsor - the applicant's should be uploaded to the main application, and the sponsor's should be uploaded to the sponsor lodged form. Each person should sign their own Form 1023, then scan & upload them.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your immediate response and valuable advice. I am so sorry to bug you as I have couple of more queries:

In *form-1023* which has to be filled out by my wife, there is a question under section "*details of other applicant*" :
**Do you have a partner (spouse or de facto partner) and/or any dependants who are/were included in your application?** - Do I need to select *"yes" *and provide my details? I am assuming that it should be *"No"* as my wife is an applicant and I am the sponsor for her. Could you please shade some light on it.

Secondly, I have misspelled my (sponsor) mother's middle name, more precisely I mistook with one alphabet where it supposed to be "A" rather "O". Do I need to correct this and if yes, can it be done with the same form 1023? Otherwise is there any other form can be used to rectify the mistake?

My sincere apology for bothering you and can't thank you enough for your extended help and support Mark. Very much appreciated.

Thank you
Sukanta


----------



## Yolandawilson

*nearly there*

Hey mark,

i have most of my information and supporting documents ready to go and all organised just waiting on a few statements to come back and my police clearance to come back.

i came here 3 years ago spend 1 full year on a working holiday visa i meet my now partner back then. i sadly had to go home for 6 months due to a medical case and i have all the information that we were in contact i then came back out and moved in with him on my 2nd year working holiday visa we have been together for over 2 years now and rent a house together we don't have many other bills together as his work subsidises most of the power and water. Any advice on what else to include that will help as we are short of excess paper work and proof.

Also I'm really confused about the payment and where to send it to? can i make the payment online with a credit card? but the card is In my fathers name? also once i have made the payment i just have to attach the receipt and send it with my other information is that correct?? 
Im so stressed out as I'm doing this all myself with no agent and its now crunch time and want to send it off before christmas so i can relax! 
Any feedback appreciated thanks heaps for doing this in your spare time! Visa angel


----------



## Wiresitaly2015

*Engineers Australia Skills Assesment Processing Times*

Dear Mark,
I am from India.
I have applied for Skills Assessment in Engineers Australia (EA) on 27/08/2015
By profession I am an electrical engineer, my ANZSCO Code - 233311 -Electrical Engineer.
As per EA guidelines, they take 12 weeks of processing time (which as per date I mentioned ends on 27/11/2015). Further, I also got a querry raised on my submitted skills assement on 01/12/2015 by EA, whose, reply I have given on 02/12/2015. 
However, as on date I havent got further progress update on my case. The system still shows "Assessment in progress" 
What should I do now ???:confused 
Please Guide


----------



## meelosh

Hello Mark and everybody reading this thread from freezing SE Europe !

My wifey and I have lodged the EOI for subclass 189 visa in early October (got 60 points).Early December we got the invitation from the federal government. On the website for applying (online.immi.gov.au/ola/app - Online Account) it says "application received - This application has been received by the department and will be assessed.

Please ensure you have attached all required supporting documentation ... etc etc.

My question is this: even though I have uploaded all the needed documentation (passports,birth certificates,skill assessments,IELTS test,work experience,wedding certificate,proof of character etc etc) I still don't have a CO assigned (on the other side it has been only a week since we got the invite,maybe too soon to expect a CO contact? ). This is important to me because my wife and I haven't had our medical done,because she is 5 months pregnant and we don't want to expose the baby to x rays if it is not 100% necessary. I am waiting for a CO to appear to ask him/her is it possible to postpone the chest x-ray and do it upon arrival or to be exact after giving birth down under ? If this is acceptable I would schedule the medical exam for the both of us right away !

Thanx in advance !!!


----------



## slejnej

Hello,

I am new to this forum. Have one, guess simple question for you:

I'm preparing all necessary for visa subclass 457. In ANZSCO for UNIT GROUP 2612 it says I need at least five years of relevant experience. Working in this industry for over 10 years, but not on paper. Does internship which was not paid and lasted for 12 months count in this time?
Thank you in advance for your answer.


----------



## AnnieTran

*Certified copies*

Hi Mark,
I'm sending our partnership application online and just want to double check again that since I have been scanning all of the original papers in colour, we do not need to certify them? 
Regards,
Annie Tran


----------



## jamielannister

Hi mark 
I just wanted to let you know that my partner visa has been granted today after a gruelling wait of over 15 months. I can't believe it how it was refused outright once then magically remitted by MRT and I finally got it. I Wanna thank you so much for free of cost assistance you provided through this forum. 
And yes I declared my refusal from New Zealand and disclosed the reason why it was refused as you suggested. Although I couldn't remember the date cuz I lost refusal letter but looks like they were happy with it. 
Thanks heaps mark
Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi bu5t3r2 -

From what you've said, and assuming the rules do not change, I see no reason why you would not be able to do that. The primary requirement is being in Australia for a total of 24 months in the 5 years prior to applying for the RRV in order to qualify for the 5 year RRV.

Best,

Mark Northam



bu5t3r2 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> How are you ?
> 
> I have a question about RRV,
> 
> Lets say I just got my RRV renewed for 5 years on 10 July 2015.
> Then I left Australia on 11 July 2015.
> Then say I come back on 9 July 2020 and stay for 2 years until 15 July 2022.
> Then I leave Australia again on 16 July 2022
> 
> Assuming the current rules, etc stay the same,
> Will I be able to renew my RRV for 5 years again on 12 July 2025 ?
> 
> Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukanta -

Thanks for the note, happy to help. As you are a sponsor and therefore are not included as an applicant for a visa, then you would not need to include your information in the "other applicant" section. Re: misspelled name, yes, best to correct, can use the same form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sukanta said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your immediate response and valuable advice. I am so sorry to bug you as I have couple of more queries:
> 
> In *form-1023* which has to be filled out by my wife, there is a question under section "*details of other applicant*" :
> **Do you have a partner (spouse or de facto partner) and/or any dependants who are/were included in your application?** - Do I need to select *"yes" *and provide my details? I am assuming that it should be *"No"* as my wife is an applicant and I am the sponsor for her. Could you please shade some light on it.
> 
> Secondly, I have misspelled my (sponsor) mother's middle name, more precisely I mistook with one alphabet where it supposed to be "A" rather "O". Do I need to correct this and if yes, can it be done with the same form 1023? Otherwise is there any other form can be used to rectify the mistake?
> 
> My sincere apology for bothering you and can't thank you enough for your extended help and support Mark. Very much appreciated.
> 
> Thank you
> Sukanta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yolandawilson -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you're referring to a partner or fiance visa. Re: evidence, would need to see all the evidence you plan to lodge at a consultation in order to give you an opinion as to chances of it being sufficient or not - don't forget to consider the 4 required categories of relationship evidence - social aspects, financial aspects, nature of the household, and nature of the commitment to each other. DIBP partner visa booklet can help with this, and there are very good threads here on the forum about this. Happy to assist further at a consultation - see website in my signature below for more details on this.

Re: payment, suggest you lodge online as it avoids the need to certify documents and is receipted much more quickly than paper applications, especially during the holiday season. For online application, payment is required by credit card or debit card (if visa/MC) when you lodge online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Yolandawilson said:


> Hey mark,
> 
> i have most of my information and supporting documents ready to go and all organised just waiting on a few statements to come back and my police clearance to come back.
> 
> i came here 3 years ago spend 1 full year on a working holiday visa i meet my now partner back then. i sadly had to go home for 6 months due to a medical case and i have all the information that we were in contact i then came back out and moved in with him on my 2nd year working holiday visa we have been together for over 2 years now and rent a house together we don't have many other bills together as his work subsidises most of the power and water. Any advice on what else to include that will help as we are short of excess paper work and proof.
> 
> Also I'm really confused about the payment and where to send it to? can i make the payment online with a credit card? but the card is In my fathers name? also once i have made the payment i just have to attach the receipt and send it with my other information is that correct??
> Im so stressed out as I'm doing this all myself with no agent and its now crunch time and want to send it off before christmas so i can relax!
> Any feedback appreciated thanks heaps for doing this in your spare time! Visa angel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wiresitaly2015 -

You'll have to talk to EA. The 12-week processing time is not guaranteed, and enquiries can definitely delay the process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wiresitaly2015 said:


> Dear Mark,
> I am from India.
> I have applied for Skills Assessment in Engineers Australia (EA) on 27/08/2015
> By profession I am an electrical engineer, my ANZSCO Code - 233311 -Electrical Engineer.
> As per EA guidelines, they take 12 weeks of processing time (which as per date I mentioned ends on 27/11/2015). Further, I also got a querry raised on my submitted skills assement on 01/12/2015 by EA, whose, reply I have given on 02/12/2015.
> However, as on date I havent got further progress update on my case. The system still shows "Assessment in progress"
> What should I do now ???:confused
> Please Guide


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Meelosh -

Thanks for the note. DIBP only contacts you when they need something, and long gone are the days of a single case officer being assigned to a case. Suggest you wait until they contact you to request medicals, then tell them the situation and see if they can allow you to take the medical for your wife after you arrive. These applications are typically taking 2-4 months to process now, so likely you will hear from them in January.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



meelosh said:


> Hello Mark and everybody reading this thread from freezing SE Europe !
> 
> My wifey and I have lodged the EOI for subclass 189 visa in early October (got 60 points).Early December we got the invitation from the federal government. On the website for applying (online.immi.gov.au/ola/app - Online Account) it says "application received - This application has been received by the department and will be assessed.
> 
> Please ensure you have attached all required supporting documentation ... etc etc.
> 
> My question is this: even though I have uploaded all the needed documentation (passports,birth certificates,skill assessments,IELTS test,work experience,wedding certificate,proof of character etc etc) I still don't have a CO assigned (on the other side it has been only a week since we got the invite,maybe too soon to expect a CO contact? ). This is important to me because my wife and I haven't had our medical done,because she is 5 months pregnant and we don't want to expose the baby to x rays if it is not 100% necessary. I am waiting for a CO to appear to ask him/her is it possible to postpone the chest x-ray and do it upon arrival or to be exact after giving birth down under ? If this is acceptable I would schedule the medical exam for the both of us right away !
> 
> Thanx in advance !!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Slejnej -

Thanks for the note. Internships that are unpaid generally do not count as relevant employment.

Best,

Mark Northam



slejnej said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am new to this forum. Have one, guess simple question for you:
> 
> I'm preparing all necessary for visa subclass 457. In ANZSCO for UNIT GROUP 2612 it says I need at least five years of relevant experience. Working in this industry for over 10 years, but not on paper. Does internship which was not paid and lasted for 12 months count in this time?
> Thank you in advance for your answer.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AnnieTran -

For online partner visa applications, no need to certify documents unless DIBP specifically requests it (once in a long while they will request this for a police cert or birth cert). Colour scans of originals are generally accepted for online applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AnnieTran said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm sending our partnership application online and just want to double check again that since I have been scanning all of the original papers in colour, we do not need to certify them?
> Regards,
> Annie Tran


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamielannister -

Congratulations on your visa grant - well done! Glad I could help.

Best,

Mark Northam



jamielannister said:


> Hi mark
> I just wanted to let you know that my partner visa has been granted today after a gruelling wait of over 15 months. I can't believe it how it was refused outright once then magically remitted by MRT and I finally got it. I Wanna thank you so much for free of cost assistance you provided through this forum.
> And yes I declared my refusal from New Zealand and disclosed the reason why it was refused as you suggested. Although I couldn't remember the date cuz I lost refusal letter but looks like they were happy with it.
> Thanks heaps mark
> Regards


----------



## TrongPhatle

Hi mark
Im about do it the visa 309/100 i have a few questions. Is it true that forms such as 40s/47s and specially form 888 statutory declare be typed on computer and print out and signed? Will migration agent accept forms typed?


----------



## Maria from India

Hi Mark,
I am living in Australia on visitor visa from August onwards.For extending it,do i need to submit my police clearance certificate from india? My current pcc is valid till january 12,2016. i am going to apply for extension on january 1,2016.So can i have to attach the same or have to take new one or i need to apply for AFP clearance?

Thanks in advance
Maria


----------



## norm

Hi mark good to see you are doing a great help here on the forum, i have a quick question please if you can reply, i applied 189 visa and fullfilled all the requirements , with me as a main applicant and my partner as an aditional , i have been asked to provide proof of functional language for my partner , which i did with one of the adult migration language service provider here in victoria , but my case officer saying its not suitable , although the provider is on immi website and the result is positive , case officer saying he can not give more time although i sent him the documents with in 28 days time frame, I am also happy to pay Vac fee if needed but i got no reply from him, just bit confused can he refuse the case by saying language proof is not suitable for my partner , plz if you can reply we will be really thank full to you


----------



## TREEFORALL

*Need some guidance*

trying to go on student spouse visa but some i have some doubt before put application reply if any one know.

was in NZ 3yrs ago deportated because of illigal ground. second, one conviction for assault and sentence for under 12months release in 3months.

is there any issue for go to on student spouse visa??

Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TrongPhatle -

Thanks for the note. Form 888 can be handwritten or typed via computer, but must be witnessed properly by a qualified person. For 47sp and 40sp, far better to simply lodge an online application than deal with those paper forms. However if you must deal with the paper forms, they can be handwritten or typed on computer. Computer is always better as it removes any issues of reading someone's handwriting. Re: what your migration agent will accept or not, that's up to him/her.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TrongPhatle said:


> Hi mark
> Im about do it the visa 309/100 i have a few questions. Is it true that forms such as 40s/47s and specially form 888 statutory declare be typed on computer and print out and signed? Will migration agent accept forms typed?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maria -

Normally a PCC is not needed for visitor visas unless you have convictions. If you have a conviction(s), then the PCC would need to be valid as of the time of application and the time of decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maria from India said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am living in Australia on visitor visa from August onwards.For extending it,do i need to submit my police clearance certificate from india? My current pcc is valid till january 12,2016. i am going to apply for extension on january 1,2016.So can i have to attach the same or have to take new one or i need to apply for AFP clearance?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> Maria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Norm -

Thanks for the note. Here are the current ways to satisfy the Functional English requirement for a secondary applicant for a skilled visa to avoid paying the English Fee:

_• Completion of a degree, higher degree, diploma or trade certificate that required at least 2 years of study taught in English
• Completion of all years of primary education and at least 3 years of secondary education taught in English
• Completion of at least 5 years of secondary education taught in English
• Scoring at least 4.5 averaged over the four components of the IELTS test within the 12 months before application, or during processing
• Completion in Australia of at least 1 year of full-time study or equivalent part-time study towards a degree, higher degree, diploma, or associate diploma taught in English_

If she has not met any of these, you'll have to pay the English Fee. I would immediately contact the case officer and tell them that if the existing documentation is insufficient, that you are happy to pay the English Fee.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



norm said:


> Hi mark good to see you are doing a great help here on the forum, i have a quick question please if you can reply, i applied 189 visa and fullfilled all the requirements , with me as a main applicant and my partner as an aditional , i have been asked to provide proof of functional language for my partner , which i did with one of the adult migration language service provider here in victoria , but my case officer saying its not suitable , although the provider is on immi website and the result is positive , case officer saying he can not give more time although i sent him the documents with in 28 days time frame, I am also happy to pay Vac fee if needed but i got no reply from him, just bit confused can he refuse the case by saying language proof is not suitable for my partner , plz if you can reply we will be really thank full to you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Treeforall -

This thread is for questions for me, but do feel free to post this in other threads if you want to get more input.

You'll need to declare both the deportation and the conviction, and provide court records and immigration details and documents to show full details of each. Unknown if this will cause an issue, but I'd guess greater than 50% chance that it will. Whether it will stop you getting a visa, no way to predict as it will depend on the details of each incident, the evidence you have about the incidents, and the evidence you have that you have reformed since the conviction and are not at a risk of reoffending.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TREEFORALL said:


> hi all,
> 
> trying to go on student spouse visa but some i have some doubt before put application reply if any one know.
> 
> was in NZ 3yrs ago deportated because of illigal ground. second, one conviction for assault and sentence for under 12months release in 3months.
> 
> is there any issue for go to on student spouse visa??
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## xoxo

Hi Mark

My husband hasn't applied yet to 461 visa cos im a nz citizen. Im planning to apply for tourist visa 600 for him to come for short holiday then we are going back together back to his home country. But we put our plan on hold as he is still waiting for his uncles letter of invitation to sponsor him under family stream visitor visa ( worry about rejecting visa because of lack evidence with me). I can't kept waiting because it is really really late. Need an advise I haven't done visa before to someone else and it is gonna be the first time for my husband to travel outside of his country. I read some post here that letter of invitation can submit without notarize it or should need to sign by JP first.
Does he need to certify his biographical passport page by an immigration officer?if uncle sponsor him should I give in my copy of passport, tenancy agreement bank statement and payslips as well.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xoxo -

Not sure of procedures in your husband's home country, but normally for an online visitor visa application, you need certified copies of documents, however a JP or other qualified person (Google "commonwealth statutory declaration" for a list) can sign off on certified copies.

Normally no need for an immigration officer to witness or certify any documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



xoxo said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My husband hasn't applied yet to 461 visa cos im a nz citizen. Im planning to apply for tourist visa 600 for him to come for short holiday then we are going back together back to his home country. But we put our plan on hold as he is still waiting for his uncles letter of invitation to sponsor him under family stream visitor visa ( worry about rejecting visa because of lack evidence with me). I can't kept waiting because it is really really late. Need an advise I haven't done visa before to someone else and it is gonna be the first time for my husband to travel outside of his country. I read some post here that letter of invitation can submit without notarize it or should need to sign by JP first.
> Does he need to certify his biographical passport page by an immigration officer?if uncle sponsor him should I give in my copy of passport, tenancy agreement bank statement and payslips as well.


----------



## sydney2015

*Work rights*

Hi Mark,

I would like to ask something on behalf of my friend. She is here on student visa (studying at college) and her de facto partner is with her on the same visa (not studying). As far as I know, when her course is not in session (school holiday), she can work unlimited hours but her partner only 40 hours per fortnight. She went to immigration office today and they told her that her partner can work unlimited hours as well. Is it true? Have the rules change recently? I know this was possible only for people studying towards master degree or higher.


----------



## Maria from India

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Maria -
> 
> Normally a PCC is not needed for visitor visas unless you have convictions. If you have a conviction(s), then the PCC would need to be valid as of the time of application and the time of decision.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thank you for your reply.I dont have any convictions.I have submitted pcc,which is valid till january 12,2016,when i applied for the current visitor visa.

Regards,

Maria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sydney2015 -

Thanks for the note. Secondary adult visa holders for student visas have for some time been able to work unlimited hours - not sure how long ago they changed it, but it would have been quite a while ago. The unlimited hours for Masters by Research and above applies to the primary applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sydney2015 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to ask something on behalf of my friend. She is here on student visa (studying at college) and her de facto partner is with her on the same visa (not studying). As far as I know, when her course is not in session (school holiday), she can work unlimited hours but her partner only 40 hours per fortnight. She went to immigration office today and they told her that her partner can work unlimited hours as well. Is it true? Have the rules change recently? I know this was possible only for people studying towards master degree or higher.


----------



## KaterinaT

Hi Mark, I have a question. I applied for a 309/100 Partner Visa in April 2014 . Got the temporary 309 visa on 27th of January 2015. I came in Australia in July.. I can't wait to start studying but it's very expensive for me until I have the permanent subclass 100 visa. Which leads me to my question: Can I apply for a permanent 100 visa 2 years after I applied for a visa(that would be April 2016) or 2 years after my visa has been granted?? Also I have been trying to contact my CO for this but she won't reply. I read on the internet that you can apply for a permanent visa immediately if you have a child with your partner( but we don't) and if you have been in a relationship for 3 years BEFORE applying( we haven't).. Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KaterinaT -

Thanks for the note. You can further your application for the subclass 100 visa 2 years after you originally applied for the 309/100 visa (by your notes, April 2016). Once the 309 is granted, that locks in the timetable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KaterinaT said:


> Hi Mark, I have a question. I applied for a 309/100 Partner Visa in April 2014 . Got the temporary 309 visa on 27th of January 2015. I came in Australia in July.. I can't wait to start studying but it's very expensive for me until I have the permanent subclass 100 visa. Which leads me to my question: Can I apply for a permanent 100 visa 2 years after I applied for a visa(that would be April 2016) or 2 years after my visa has been granted?? Also I have been trying to contact my CO for this but she won't reply. I read on the internet that you can apply for a permanent visa immediately if you have a child with your partner( but we don't) and if you have been in a relationship for 3 years BEFORE applying( we haven't).. Thank you


----------



## jamielannister

Hi Mark
Thanks for your kind words. I have a question regarding citizenship. I arrived in australia in 2009 and my student visa was cancelled in 2013 and then I applied for MRT and I did not know that I had to visit immigration to get a bridging visa so I was living un-lawfully in australia for one year before I found out that I had no visa and got myself bridging visa E. I was in relationship with my wife that whole time. So my question is will that count as my stay in australia towards citizenship or it will start from the time i got bridging visa after realising i had no visa? Although I had valid reason to stay in Australia waiting for my MRT hearing
Thanks
You been a big help with my partner visa


----------



## zakary

Dear MARK,
may i know what visa type does Complementary Health Therapist nec can apply ? (ANZSCO) 2522-99
it states that hypnotherapist is included in this group, and if i got the certificate for this, can i apply any visa like a temporary work visa and finally get the pr?


----------



## xoxo

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Xoxo - Not sure of procedures in your husband's home country, but normally for an online visitor visa application, you need certified copies of documents, however a JP or other qualified person (Google "commonwealth statutory declaration" for a list) can sign off on certified copies. Normally no need for an immigration officer to witness or certify any documents. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thank you for the advise.even my letter of invitation should certify too?my husband resides in samoa and I have no idea of who can certify document over there hopefully can a doctor certify too or high commissioner at police office other than JP&#128556;


----------



## Dinkum

*801 Waiting List*

Hi Mark

You'll see from the 'partner permanent visa (801 visa) waiting group!!!' that there is a lot of frustration about the current back-log and some confusion about what it all means. Mish has kindly created a spreadsheet (access from the first post to that thread) which is giving us an idea of what might be going on with waiting and grants.

The automatically generated response from DIBP's Partner (Permanent) Visa Processing Centre in Melbourne currently says due to a significant backlog in the section, the processing time is more in the 12-15 month range.

Do you have any further insights into this situation for us? What time frames are you seeing in your professional practice?

One of us has recently been told by the DIBP call centre that if they submit further documents after they originally, the clock starts again. Do you think this could be correct? Mish and I doubt it, but would like to be sure.

Anything you can offer on the overall situation would be very much appreciated by many of us on that thread.

Thanks... as always... and a happy festive season too...


----------



## jetstar1

Hi Mark,

In lodging a 189 visa application are applicants expected to lodge form 1221 and 80 along with the application or is this something that's prepared upon case officer's request? I see some people been requested for it and some not, is it requested on a random basis or would they have some form of criteria? 

Thank you.


----------



## tankit

Hi Mark
My name is Tanvi.. I lodged my visa application under 489 family sponser on 05-May-2015.. On 16 July CO request for information.. Submitted all documents along with medicals n PCC on 12 Aug- 2015.. On 14-Aug-2015.. I got employment check call from Australian high commission.. Till time m waiting for grant.. It has been almost 7 months. why CO taking so much time do u have any idea.. Or they give less priority to 489 Family sponsered visa..


----------



## Erikaa

*Student dependent to RSMS*

Hi Mark, I'm in a tricky situation, here's a brief summary.

Currently on a dependent student visa where my partner is the main applicant. our visas run out next march. My employer is going to sponsor me on a 187 RSMS visa and the plan was to list my partner as an additional applicant. We have just flown home for Christmas and we are both in italy now. I am due to fly back to Australia on 27th Dec. My parnter has had some health issues (depression following the death of his mother months ago) and he wants to stay in Italy a little longer to be seen by some specialists.

My questions

- Will I be le let in the country without him?
- If he decides to never come back to Australia (which is not the plan, but he is not very reliable at the moment), will I still be able to be sponsored by my employer from within Australia? I guess it would look a bit strange applying for a permanent visa just for myself when i'm in australia on a dependent visa?

Hope this makes sense, thank you!


----------



## Pride

Hello,
I have a few questions if you can help?
1- I am planning to apply for skilled immigration over Accountant. In order for me to get five more points I must have one year job experience in Australia related with my occupation. Right now I am a student in Australia. My question is do I have to work at a company of Accountancy or could it be a normal Business?

Thanks


----------



## Onionknights

*RRV after 28 years?*

Hi Mark,

My father is a Malaysian citizen who studied an worked in Australia back in the 80's. He obtained permanent residency then, but left in 1987 because he found a better job in Malaysia and he wanted to marry my mum.

Since then he has no significant ties (except a brother and sister that lives in Australia) until 2008 when I came over to study Medicine.

Since then he has visited me regularly and I have become a permanent resident myself, with the plan of completing a contributory parental visa for him and my mum to come live in Australia.

However I have found that there might be a way to get a resident return visa which would save significant amounts of money for myself.
Is this still possible considering there has been such a long gap since his original travel facility expired?

Thank you and regards,
Onionknights.


----------



## Valentine1981

Hi Mark,
just a quick question about 801 application. Do we need to provide photos again as per the 820 application?


----------



## nilcorrea

Hi Mark!

Do you know if a health insurance is necessary for offshore partner visa or only when the visa is granted?
Also, what do you think about to do the health check before or after the application?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## sabeenq

Hi Mark,

I have applied as a subsequent applicant on the basis of my husband's 485 visa to join him there on dec 3rd(paper application) from Pakistan....how can i check the status or progress of my application and how long does it usually take to grant visa? I heard it is usually 4-8 weeks.....? 

Thanks


----------



## fmikael

Hi Mark.
I would like to ask your assistance in the following matter, as my case is a bit complicated.

I am a PR holder in Australia ( i came here in july 2013 on a spose visa - my partner is Australian) 7 month Later my partner working for DFAT got transfered overseas and I accompanied him as a spouse for 8 month. Nov 2014 we moved back to Oz and been living here since.

My partner have been offered a Job with the UN overseas again, and we obviously want to stay together, however we are worried that if I go with him this time, I might loose my eligibility to apply for the citizinship in July 2017.

Will getting ministral discrestion in this case is advisable,and I will be able to obtain my Citizenshipeven if I live overseas with my partner? 
and what is generally the success rate of these discretion.

We had a long distance relationship when we applied for the spouse visa, and we dont want to repeat this experience if I decide to stay here, and I dont want him to refuse his dream job.

Thank you for your assistance.


----------



## Niceandnice

Hi Mark,
I am a PR and that expecting a baby in January. I will apply for my baby's Australian Passport following the birth. However, the document that the passport office requires is the physical visa label on my foreign passport which I do not have at the moment and that the DIBP are no longer providing the labels since September 2015. As far as I know, submitting form 119 can also sufficie as an alternative to visa label, however form 119 still asks for parents physical visa label on foreign passport. I am really stucked in that situation. 
Can you please suggest a way to sort this issue out.
Thanks in advance.
Niceandnice.


----------



## skharoon

Dear Mark,

I would like to know the NSW 190 invitation waiting time for ANZSCO 263111. I have below points. I have submitted my EOI on 13 Nov 2015.


Age (42) 15
Education (BE Computer in 1998) 15
Experience ( 14 Years from 2002 in ACS) 15
PTE (65+) 10
Sate Nomination for NSW 5


Regards,


----------



## trazille

Hi Mark,

1. I have a postgraduate student visa (expiring Sep 2016) but I finished early. My degree was conferred last month. I have not received any information from DIBP if my student visa is getting canceled.

2. I have applied for a partner visa in Oct. Since my student visa is still active now, the Bridging A visa that comes with it is still inactive.

3. I am travelling out of Sydney this week and coming back mid-January. To be safe, I applied for a Bridging B visa 2 weeks ago (Nov 27). DIBP stamped and received my documents, but did not give me any paper proof of receipt. I was told I would get the Bridging B in 2 weeks.

4. I still don't have any email from DIBP/my credit card has not been charged. I'm concerned. I assume I don't have any result because my student visa remains active now, and Bridging B visa will take effect once it expires.

Will I have any problems traveling back?


----------



## Jamd

Hi Mark, 

I am from Pakistan, have moved to Australia after securing Permanent residency. 

I am about to get married back home in upcoming month and was initially planning to apply for spouse visa for my wife after marriage is done. But to my surprise, I came to know, that even though your marriage is legal as per your home country, Australia doesn't entertain and accept marriage in case either of the applicant is underage 18 years. 

I have following queries regarding this:

1. Are there any chances of my case getting approved or more probable is to have my fees wasted? I am not really sure if there is a way out to still provide backing documents to support my case. Any help?

2. Since Australia doesn't deem marriage at the age of 16 to be legal, regardless of the constitution of country where the marriage actually took place, how would I have to justify the case even if I tend to wait for my wife to get 18 years old? Would it still have any implication on my case, considering the marriage was done when she was 16? 

3. If spouse visa is not really an option available till she gets 18, can I opt for sponsoring visit visa to her? 

4. Since sponsor can only sponsor one person (or unit) at a time, I was also initially planning to keep my mother with me on visit visa on regular basis. Would it be possible to sponsor both my wife and mother a visit visa at the same time? 

I am sorry for coming up with so many queries but I really need your expert advice here. Any suggestion and advice on this will be much appreciated.


----------



## Bassim

Dear Mark,
One year ago I have been accepted to study Master's degree at Australian university and gained the student visa (2-years long). 
After arriving Australia I returned back to my home country due to family accident. At that time, I have withdrawn my enrollment and refunded all of my tuition fees and got back to home country.

Today, I am planning to return back to Australia to study Master's degree again but with different university.

During upcoming days I will get my eCoE and I will apply to visa.

My fabulous question is that my old visa is still IN EFFECT at VEVO and I do not know what to do right now!!!?

Do I need to apply for new visa while my old visa is still IN EFFECT or I just want to send them my new eCoE? keep in mind that I am not in Australia right now and my new Master's degree is one year not two.

Please Mark, give me a clear answer what to do exactly because my brain would explode with this situation.


----------



## Getto

*registration relationship - 12 month defacto*

Hello Mark and everyone else,

"He never sleeps", I've heard about you. 

I hope this post is still working, cuz I couldn't find a button how to post on your own page/profile.

So awesome, that you just go around answering all these questions!

My second working holiday visa expires soon and my partner and I will have been together for nine month (living together for five months)then. I thought I could go on a visitor visa for the last couple of months until I read about condition 8503 being attached to the visitor subclass 600 visa. Which means I could not apply from it for a partner visa (please correct me if I'm wrong).

So now we are wondering if by registering a defacto relationship actually for sure and fact helps to apply before the 12 month are over. That's what it says on the governments page. I'm just wondering:there must be some rules and limitations and so on too cuz otherwise people can just be together for a month, register and apply for the partner visa.

Do you know anything about this? 
Thank you, it would be nice to hear from you!

Anna


----------



## Dagmar

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dagmar -
> 
> You may not want to apply for the visitor visa on the back of a WHV due to


Hi Mark, just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to respond! Thing is, I am not applying on a tourist visa on the back of my WHV. My WHV ran out 1,5 years ago and I havent been in Aus since.
Called immi and they said in theory my plan is possible, though I "must enter Australia on the most appropiate visa". In fairness, 651 is the most appropiate as I am yet unsure of my plans in Australia, and then I can apply for my WHV 2 while there. Lady on the phone said that was possible 

Anyways, thanks again, though I think my question as a bit unclear. 
I did more digging on the forum as well and found a few other situations where people entered Aus on an ETA and then applied for WHV2.


----------



## Canada2Australia

Looks like an interesting thread. I'll keep it in mind should I have anymore questions.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamielannister -

Thanks for the note and kind words. There is a provision where time normally not available towards citizenship due to "administrative error" can be counted, however I suspect that your circumstances would not have a high chance of qualifying given the amount of time and the fact that DIBP didn't commit an "error". However may be worth a look. Otherwise, the 4 year period would start when you received your bridging visa after the period with no visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamielannister said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanks for your kind words. I have a question regarding citizenship. I arrived in australia in 2009 and my student visa was cancelled in 2013 and then I applied for MRT and I did not know that I had to visit immigration to get a bridging visa so I was living un-lawfully in australia for one year before I found out that I had no visa and got myself bridging visa E. I was in relationship with my wife that whole time. So my question is will that count as my stay in australia towards citizenship or it will start from the time i got bridging visa after realising i had no visa? Although I had valid reason to stay in Australia waiting for my MRT hearing
> Thanks
> You been a big help with my partner visa


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Zakary -

That occupation is currently on the CSOL list, so that means it could qualify for the 457, 186 or 187 employer sponsored visas, or 190 skilled PR visa if a state is sponsoring that occupation. You would need to check the relevant skills assessment authority for more on what licences or qualifications may be necessary (and any work experience) for this occupation re: skilled PR visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zakary said:


> Dear MARK,
> may i know what visa type does Complementary Health Therapist nec can apply ? (ANZSCO) 2522-99
> it states that hypnotherapist is included in this group, and if i got the certificate for this, can i apply any visa like a temporary work visa and finally get the pr?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xoxo -

No need for a letter of invitation to be certified. Signed & dated by the author and copy of author's passport included should be fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



xoxo said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for the advise.even my letter of invitation should certify too?my husband resides in samoa and I have no idea of who can certify document over there hopefully can a doctor certify too or high commissioner at police office other than JP&#128556;


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dinkum -

Thanks for the note. We're seeing the majority of partner visas (820/801 applications - first stage) approved in around 12-14 months. No evidence that lodging additional documents resets the time period or delays things.

From what I can see, many partner visas are simply sitting in a queue, untouched, for at least 6 months, then typically an auto-generated email comes out requesting health & police (even if submitted), then at some point after that the case is allocated to a team (not a single case officer). Have noticed that they are focusing more on sponsors now, very tough on Schedule 3 but there is hope at the AAT (formerly MRT) for many Sched 3 refusals if properly argued with evidence.

It's also worth pointing out that DIBP is being much tougher on second stage partner visas now (when you lodge paperwork for 801 visa 2 years after application) - we're seeing a sharp increase in the number of genuine relationship based refusals for these - don't skimp on the evidence on this - I'd treat it as essentially a new application and load it up with as much relevant relationship evidence from the time of the 820 grant (or earlier if you want) that wasn't included on the original 820 application.

Another note for applicants in India especially - DIBP is making more and more unannounced home visits to parents of partner visa applicants and/or sponsors who live in India. Can be very helpful to make sure parents are fully up to speed on all aspects of the relationship - recently saw a refusal primarily based on Indian parents who were not aware of some aspects of the Australian relationship (including an early pregnancy).

Finally, for those who may be seeking protection under the family violence provisions of partner visas, be very careful what is disclosed here, as we're seeing increasing use of PIC 4020 fraud provisions to disallow family violence claims based on the assumption by DIBP that if any violence was occurring near the time of application, the relationship was not genuine and that the applicant had an obligation to disclose the violence to DIBP (even though it's not asked about on any visa application form).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dinkum said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> You'll see from the 'partner permanent visa (801 visa) waiting group!!!' that there is a lot of frustration about the current back-log and some confusion about what it all means. Mish has kindly created a spreadsheet (access from the first post to that thread) which is giving us an idea of what might be going on with waiting and grants.
> 
> The automatically generated response from DIBP's Partner (Permanent) Visa Processing Centre in Melbourne currently says due to a significant backlog in the section, the processing time is more in the 12-15 month range.
> 
> Do you have any further insights into this situation for us? What time frames are you seeing in your professional practice?
> 
> One of us has recently been told by the DIBP call centre that if they submit further documents after they originally, the clock starts again. Do you think this could be correct? Mish and I doubt it, but would like to be sure.
> 
> Anything you can offer on the overall situation would be very much appreciated by many of us on that thread.
> 
> Thanks... as always... and a happy festive season too...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jetstar1 -

Forms 1221 and/or 80 only needed if requested by DIBP. No logic as to who these are requested from or not, but requests for Form 80 seem to be increasing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jetstar1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> In lodging a 189 visa application are applicants expected to lodge form 1221 and 80 along with the application or is this something that's prepared upon case officer's request? I see some people been requested for it and some not, is it requested on a random basis or would they have some form of criteria?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tanvi -

Family sponsored 489's are generally low-priority visas, but that usually means a longer wait until the application is actively being assessed - as yours is being assessed, I expect you may get a result in a few months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tankit said:


> Hi Mark
> My name is Tanvi.. I lodged my visa application under 489 family sponser on 05-May-2015.. On 16 July CO request for information.. Submitted all documents along with medicals n PCC on 12 Aug- 2015.. On 14-Aug-2015.. I got employment check call from Australian high commission.. Till time m waiting for grant.. It has been almost 7 months. why CO taking so much time do u have any idea.. Or they give less priority to 489 Family sponsered visa..


----------



## Dinkum

*801 backlog*

Hi Mark

Thanks for your reply.

Our question was primarily about current waiting times and backlog for the 801s.

Have you any thoughts or experience on what is happening at the Melbourne Permanent Partner Visa Processing Centre at the moment?

We're all sweating on it.

Cheers...Dinkum



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dinkum -
> 
> Thanks for the note. We're seeing the majority of partner visas (820/801 applications - first stage) approved in around 12-14 months. No evidence that lodging additional documents resets the time period or delays things.
> 
> From what I can see, many partner visas are simply sitting in a queue, untouched, for at least 6 months, then typically an auto-generated email comes out requesting health & police (even if submitted), then at some point after that the case is allocated to a team (not a single case officer). Have noticed that they are focusing more on sponsors now, very tough on Schedule 3 but there is hope at the AAT (formerly MRT) for many Sched 3 refusals if properly argued with evidence.
> 
> It's also worth pointing out that DIBP is being much tougher on second stage partner visas now (when you lodge paperwork for 801 visa 2 years after application) - we're seeing a sharp increase in the number of genuine relationship based refusals for these - don't skimp on the evidence on this - I'd treat it as essentially a new application and load it up with as much relevant relationship evidence from the time of the 820 grant (or earlier if you want) that wasn't included on the original 820 application.
> 
> Another note for applicants in India especially - DIBP is making more and more unannounced home visits to parents of partner visa applicants and/or sponsors who live in India. Can be very helpful to make sure parents are fully up to speed on all aspects of the relationship - recently saw a refusal primarily based on Indian parents who were not aware of some aspects of the Australian relationship (including an early pregnancy).
> 
> Finally, for those who may be seeking protection under the family violence provisions of partner visas, be very careful what is disclosed here, as we're seeing increasing use of PIC 4020 fraud provisions to disallow family violence claims based on the assumption by DIBP that if any violence was occurring near the time of application, the relationship was not genuine and that the applicant had an obligation to disclose the violence to DIBP (even though it's not asked about on any visa application form).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Erikaa -

Thanks for the note. Yes to both questions - only risk would be if he has stopped studying prematurely or for some other reason his student visa is cancelled when he's outside Australia which can be done with no prior notice.

Re: RSMS, OK to have non-migrating partner, but he will still have to submit health checks and police clearance certificates even if not migrating.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Erikaa said:


> Hi Mark, I'm in a tricky situation, here's a brief summary.
> 
> Currently on a dependent student visa where my partner is the main applicant. our visas run out next march. My employer is going to sponsor me on a 187 RSMS visa and the plan was to list my partner as an additional applicant. We have just flown home for Christmas and we are both in italy now. I am due to fly back to Australia on 27th Dec. My parnter has had some health issues (depression following the death of his mother months ago) and he wants to stay in Italy a little longer to be seen by some specialists.
> 
> My questions
> 
> - Will I be le let in the country without him?
> - If he decides to never come back to Australia (which is not the plan, but he is not very reliable at the moment), will I still be able to be sponsored by my employer from within Australia? I guess it would look a bit strange applying for a permanent visa just for myself when i'm in australia on a dependent visa?
> 
> Hope this makes sense, thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pride -

Can be any type of business as long as the tasks & duties of your position align well with the ANZSCO requirements for the Accountant occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pride said:


> Hello,
> I have a few questions if you can help?
> 1- I am planning to apply for skilled immigration over Accountant. In order for me to get five more points I must have one year job experience in Australia related with my occupation. Right now I am a student in Australia. My question is do I have to work at a company of Accountancy or could it be a normal Business?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## Canada2Australia

Hi Mark:

This is probably a common question, but I'm wondering if you have an idea of what seems to be an average time for processing 457 Visa applications. Mine was lodged by my employer on November 26th along with the nomination application. Sponsorship was granted long ago. 

Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Onionknights -

None that I know of, given the length of time.

Thanks,

Mark



Onionknights said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My father is a Malaysian citizen who studied an worked in Australia back in the 80's. He obtained permanent residency then, but left in 1987 because he found a better job in Malaysia and he wanted to marry my mum.
> 
> Since then he has no significant ties (except a brother and sister that lives in Australia) until 2008 when I came over to study Medicine.
> 
> Since then he has visited me regularly and I have become a permanent resident myself, with the plan of completing a contributory parental visa for him and my mum to come live in Australia.
> 
> However I have found that there might be a way to get a resident return visa which would save significant amounts of money for myself.
> Is this still possible considering there has been such a long gap since his original travel facility expired?
> 
> Thank you and regards,
> Onionknights.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Valentine1981 -

Yes - I recommend loading it up with evidence from all 4 relationship evidence categories and treat it like an original partner visa application - consider all new evidence from the grant of the first stage partner visa, perhaps since lodging the original application depending on the amount overall you have. DIBP is getting much tougher on these now.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Valentine1981 said:


> Hi Mark,
> just a quick question about 801 application. Do we need to provide photos again as per the 820 application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nilcorrea -

Re: health insurance, none required for partner visa applicants - that's a misprint on the DIBP website that hasn't been fixed for 6 months now.

Re: health check, given how long DIBP is taking now, suggest waiting a few months or until DIBP asks for health exams.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nilcorrea said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Do you know if a health insurance is necessary for offshore partner visa or only when the visa is granted?
> Also, what do you think about to do the health check before or after the application?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## los

Thanks a lot for your reply Mark. You are doing a wonderful job on these forums and I know it takes a lot of time to answer questions !

Just to clarify on your reply. You said to be truthful on the application. The application asks about offences that have went to court. Since I didnt have any charges or court orders against me, do I need to declare this? Also, as I said my wife didnt even give them a name so any thing they might have against me is assumptions or suspicions.

I am deeply troubled and worried by this. You said suspicions of guilt will not count against me generally. Are there any times they would count?

Thanks again !



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Los -
> 
> Should be OK as long as you answer all questions on the citizenship application truthfully. Suspicion of something without any charges being laid or conviction made would not generally be counted against you.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sabeenq -

Thanks for the note. No progress info is available from DIBP unfortunately so all you can do is wait. We're seeing these come through in anywhere from 2 to 6 months, hope yours is on the shorter end of that scale!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sabeenq said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied as a subsequent applicant on THE BASIS OF my husband's 485 visa to join him there on dec 3rd(paper application) from Pakistan....how can i check the status or progress of my application and how long does it usually take to grant visa? I heard it is usually 4-8 weeks.....?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fmikael -

Thanks for the note. The success rate of ministerial discretions re: time spent outside Australia due to being with spouse, etc are typically dependent on 2 areas: the amount of time you've spent in vs outside Australia during the 5 years prior to applying for citizenship, and the quality of your ties to Australia and Australians during the periods you were outside Australia - in short, just being married to an Australian is not enough to satisfy the requirements.

Happy to work with you in a consultation to get more specifics on your case and get you a specific opinion if you'd like - see my website below in the signature for more info,.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fmikael said:


> Hi Mark.
> I would like to ask your assistance in the following matter, as my case is a bit complicated.
> 
> I am a PR holder in Australia ( i came here in july 2013 on a spose visa - my partner is Australian) 7 month Later my partner working for DFAT got transfered overseas and I accompanied him as a spouse for 8 month. Nov 2014 we moved back to Oz and been living here since.
> 
> My partner have been offered a Job with the UN overseas again, and we obviously want to stay together, however we are worried that if I go with him this time, I might loose my eligibility to apply for the citizinship in July 2017.
> 
> Will getting ministral discrestion in this case is advisable,and I will be able to obtain my Citizenshipeven if I live overseas with my partner?
> and what is generally the success rate of these discretion.
> 
> We had a long distance relationship when we applied for the spouse visa, and we dont want to repeat this experience if I decide to stay here, and I dont want him to refuse his dream job.
> 
> Thank you for your assistance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Niceandnice -

I'd contact DFAT or the Passport Office and ask about their current requirements - in some cases the visa grant letter may work, but best to get current specific advice from them given DIBP's change in policy re: labels.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Niceandnice said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am a PR and that expecting a baby in January. I will apply for my baby's Australian Passport following the birth. However, the document that the passport office requires is the physical visa label on my foreign passport which I do not have at the moment and that the DIBP are no longer providing the labels since September 2015. As far as I know, submitting form 119 can also sufficie as an alternative to visa label, however form 119 still asks for parents physical visa label on foreign passport. I am really stucked in that situation.
> Can you please suggest a way to sort this issue out.
> Thanks in advance.
> Niceandnice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skharoon -

No way to predict NSW waiting times - wish I could help, but there is no predictability at all with these situations.

Best,

Mark



skharoon said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I would like to know the NSW 190 invitation waiting time for ANZSCO 263111. I have below points. I have submitted my EOI on 13 Nov 2015.
> 
> Age (42) 15
> Education (BE Computer in 1998) 15
> Experience ( 14 Years from 2002 in ACS) 15
> PTE (65+) 10
> Sate Nomination for NSW 5
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Trazille -

Normally DIBP will not cancel a student visa if the applicant has lodged a partner visa - while that's no guarantee, it's how they currently handle things per their internal policy. Re: BV-B, may not be relevant since if the student visa is cancelled, any bridging visa you have at the time is also automatically cancelled. So if they cancelled your student visa, the BV-B would be cancelled automatically at the same time. Plus, the BV-B would not activate until the student visa expires (just as the BV-A would have).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



trazille said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> 1. I have a postgraduate student visa (expiring Sep 2016) but I finished early. My degree was conferred last month. I have not received any information from DIBP if my student visa is getting canceled.
> 
> 2. I have applied for a partner visa in Oct. Since my student visa is still active now, the Bridging A visa that comes with it is still inactive.
> 
> 3. I am travelling out of Sydney this week and coming back mid-January. To be safe, I applied for a Bridging B visa 2 weeks ago (Nov 27). DIBP stamped and received my documents, but did not give me any paper proof of receipt. I was told I would get the Bridging B in 2 weeks.
> 
> 4. I still don't have any email from DIBP/my credit card has not been charged. I'm concerned. I assume I don't have any result because my student visa remains active now, and Bridging B visa will take effect once it expires.
> 
> Will I have any problems traveling back?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamd -

Thanks for the note. This issue is too complex to determine best advice and answers to on the forum - the short answer is that if you were domiciled in Australia at the time of marriage and went home to get married, and your wife is less than 18 years old at the time of marriage, the marriage will not be considered a legal marriage by Australia for purposes of a partner visa. This will remain the case even after she turns 18. Beyond that, you may want to consider the de facto provisions of the partner visa, but that requires the relationship existing for 12 months at a de facto level, and a person cannot be in a de facto relationship until they turn 18. Happy to assist you in detail with your case at a consultation where we can discuss all of your circumstances in detail - see website below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jamd said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am from Pakistan, have moved to Australia after securing Permanent residency.
> 
> I am about to get married back home in upcoming month and was initially planning to apply for spouse visa for my wife after marriage is done. But to my surprise, I came to know, that even though your marriage is legal as per your home country, Australia doesn't entertain and accept marriage in case either of the applicant is underage 18 years.
> 
> I have following queries regarding this:
> 
> 1. Are there any chances of my case getting approved or more probable is to have my fees wasted? I am not really sure if there is a way out to still provide backing documents to support my case. Any help?
> 
> 2. Since Australia doesn't deem marriage at the age of 16 to be legal, regardless of the constitution of country where the marriage actually took place, how would I have to justify the case even if I tend to wait for my wife to get 18 years old? Would it still have any implication on my case, considering the marriage was done when she was 16?
> 
> 3. If spouse visa is not really an option available till she gets 18, can I opt for sponsoring visit visa to her?
> 
> 4. Since sponsor can only sponsor one person (or unit) at a time, I was also initially planning to keep my mother with me on visit visa on regular basis. Would it be possible to sponsor both my wife and mother a visit visa at the same time?
> 
> I am sorry for coming up with so many queries but I really need your expert advice here. Any suggestion and advice on this will be much appreciated.


----------



## kaga

*Breakup while on 309, I am working and what are my option*

I am on 309 and we (as a couple) are failing to keep the relationship healthy and it seems I am not going to get enough time. My Partner/sponsor will withdraw his sponsorship straight away.
At the moment I am working for software company and need to know if I can apply for any visa within 30 days ?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaga -

As long as you hold the 309 (I assume you are onshore), assuming you meet the requirements for another visa you can apply for that prior to the 309 or 100 being refused. Suggest you check any further visa requirements carefully - please advise if I can assist further.

Best,

Mark Northam



kaga said:


> I am on 309 and we (as a couple) are failing to keep the relationship healthy and it seems I am not going to get enough time. My Partner/sponsor will withdraw his sponsorship straight away.
> At the moment I am working for software company and need to know if I can apply for any visa within 30 days ?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bassim -

Thanks for the note. Not safe to return on the old student visa as it is subject to cancellation at any time as you've withdrawn from the previous course that it was based on. It's not clear to me whether DIBP will require you to apply for a new student visa or allow you to continue on your current one assuming the expiration date of the current student visa would allow you to complete your studies on the new Master program. Suggest you contact DIBP and get guidance from them as to whether they will require a new application - my guess is that they will, but may be worth checking out directly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bassim said:


> Dear Mark,
> One year ago I have been accepted to study Master's degree at Australian university and gained the student visa (2-years long).
> After arriving Australia I returned back to my home country due to family accident. At that time, I have withdrawn my enrollment and refunded all of my tuition fees and got back to home country.
> 
> Today, I am planning to return back to Australia to study Master's degree again but with different university.
> 
> During upcoming days I will get my eCoE and I will apply to visa.
> 
> My fabulous question is that my old visa is still IN EFFECT at VEVO and I do not know what to do right now!!!?
> 
> Do I need to apply for new visa while my old visa is still IN EFFECT or I just want to send them my new eCoE? keep in mind that I am not in Australia right now and my new Master's degree is one year not two.
> 
> Please Mark, give me a clear answer what to do exactly because my brain would explode with this situation.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Getto -

Thanks for the note and kind words. Registering your de facto relationship would automatically satisfy the 12-month requirement, however you would still need to satisfy DIBP that the relationship is genuine at the time of application and going forward - this gets to the 4 major types of partner visa relationship evidence - social, financial, nature of the household, commitment. So if you have a good amount of that evidence, the registration might be a good choice. Additionally, it is becoming very difficult if not impossible to get a visitor visa directly after being in Australia on a working holiday visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Getto said:


> Hello Mark and everyone else,
> 
> "He never sleeps", I've heard about you.
> 
> I hope this post is still working, cuz I couldn't find a button how to post on your own page/profile.
> 
> So awesome, that you just go around answering all these questions!
> 
> My second working holiday visa expires soon and my partner and I will have been together for nine month (living together for five months)then. I thought I could go on a visitor visa for the last couple of months until I read about condition 8503 being attached to the visitor subclass 600 visa. Which means I could not apply from it for a partner visa (please correct me if I'm wrong).
> 
> So now we are wondering if by registering a defacto relationship actually for sure and fact helps to apply before the 12 month are over. That's what it says on the governments page. I'm just wondering:there must be some rules and limitations and so on too cuz otherwise people can just be together for a month, register and apply for the partner visa.
> 
> Do you know anything about this?
> Thank you, it would be nice to hear from you!
> 
> Anna


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dinkum -

For 801's we're seeing anywhere from 1-2 months on the short side (but very, very rarely) to 4-8 months on the long side, but highly unpredictable. There are a number of policy initiatives underway to tighten up second stage partner visa processing, which I expect has stretched things out - this is just getting started, so it may get worse before it gets better. Seeing a lot more second stage genuine relationship-based refusals - suggest applicants treat these like first-stage partner visa applications and load up with lots of evidence.

Until DIBP has a mandate to process visas within a particular amount of time, they can take as much time as they want, and without progress updates, that can be very frustrating for applicants.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dinkum said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> Our question was primarily about current waiting times and backlog for the 801s.
> 
> Have you any thoughts or experience on what is happening at the Melbourne Permanent Partner Visa Processing Centre at the moment?
> 
> We're all sweating on it.
> 
> Cheers...Dinkum


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Canada2Australia -

Hard to predict, but they've gotten a lot tougher on these, especially for smaller companies. The 457 nomination has become the step that seems to be taking much longer these days. Overall we're seeing processing time for 457's ranging around 3-4 months for nomination/application stage.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Canada2Australia said:


> Hi Mark:
> 
> This is probably a common question, but I'm wondering if you have an idea of what seems to be an average time for processing 457 Visa applications. Mine was lodged by my employer on November 26th along with the nomination application. Sponsorship was granted long ago.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Los -

The only time I've ever heard of suspicions or pure allegations (with no charges laid or convictions) counting against someone was in the area of national security where a person is deemed a security threat by ASIO based on ASIO's opinion of what they might do, etc. In other cases suspicion about a previous document submitted being fraudulent or bogus has caused problems, or wrong information on previous visa, etc applications, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



los said:


> Thanks a lot for your reply Mark. You are doing a wonderful job on these forums and I know it takes a lot of time to answer questions !
> 
> Just to clarify on your reply. You said to be truthful on the application. The application asks about offences that have went to court. Since I didnt have any charges or court orders against me, do I need to declare this? Also, as I said my wife didnt even give them a name so any thing they might have against me is assumptions or suspicions.
> 
> I am deeply troubled and worried by this. You said suspicions of guilt will not count against me generally. Are there any times they would count?
> 
> Thanks again !


----------



## Dinkum

Thanks Mark... a great help... you put some sense to it all... their current template emails are saying the 801 backlog is now in the order of 12-15 months.


----------



## kaga

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kaga -
> 
> As long as you hold the 309 (I assume you are onshore), assuming you meet the requirements for another visa you can apply for that prior to the 309 or 100 being refused. Suggest you check any further visa requirements carefully - please advise if I can assist further.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for the prompt reply.
I am under the impression that i will get 28 days to leave the country just in case if my sponsor ask the immigration to withdraw.

Regarding the 457 how much time does it take to get the nomination done by employer before applying for 457? (Average these days)

Second thing I wanted to ask is, can we file a review for 309 cancellation if the relationship breaks ?

Thanks


----------



## Canada2Australia

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Canada2Australia -
> 
> Hard to predict, but they've gotten a lot tougher on these, especially for smaller companies. The 457 nomination has become the step that seems to be taking much longer these days. Overall we're seeing processing time for 457's ranging around 3-4 months for nomination/application stage.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, thank you for the response.

I do have another question for you. My employer has lodged the application. I've been told that if I create an account on ImmiAccount, the person who lodged my application can have my account linked to be able to view the status of my application. However the person doesn't know how to do this. Is this something you are familiar with, and if so, can you explain to me or send me instructions on how she can do this?

Thanks!


----------



## Getto

*Thank you heaps*

Thank you so much for your fast reply. You seem to be a rockstar. I haven't quiet figured how this page works but i can tell you it's a pain in certain areas using it on the phone. So if you send me a private message (if that's possible here), I would like to offer you that if you come to Mackay for whatever reason you would have a guestroom on a beautiful rainforest property and dinner. You give so much. You should receive much.
Your answer really helped, because I now don't loose money I don't have (no job), on a trip to Bali just to apply for a visitor visa i prolly wouldn't even get.

Thank you so much - you are a champion!

Anna


----------



## meelosh

Last question, what about my partner (she has not taken the IELTS,as she is a dependent on the visa application),will she have to submit a proof of functional English or is that optional ? Will DIBP allow her to migrate if she ops out for English lessons in AUS instead ?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Meelosh -
> 
> Thanks for the note. DIBP only contacts you when they need something, and long gone are the days of a single case officer being assigned to a case. Suggest you wait until they contact you to request medicals, then tell them the situation and see if they can allow you to take the medical for your wife after you arrive. These applications are typically taking 2-4 months to process now, so likely you will hear from them in January.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Dinkum

Thanks very much Mark.... A great help for those waiting in the 801 queue.


----------



## subhasisc1

*Request for help*

Hi Mark,

I am Subhasis from India. I had applied for class 190 PR in June 2015. PCC and medicals were also completed that point itself. But status says " assessment under process" . It is 6 months over. Any idea how much more time it might take. My application includes me and my wife.

Regards,

Subhasis.


----------



## markvar

Hi Mark,

I've posted a separate long thread, which is waiting to be approved. Short version:

My partner is on student visa until 2017 but wants to cancel her school in March 2016 (after Cert III, before going to Diploma course). What happens if we lodge the partner visa application before that and then cancel the school? 

Thanks a lot,
Markvar


----------



## Ciaran

Hey Mark,
Just want to say Thank you for making yourself available to all of us on here!
I was just curious to know if you could help me

I have an application in for my 2WHV and I was on a bridging visa for nearly 3 months when I had to leave straight away when my dad fell ill at home in Ireland. I returned within two weeks and I have had my work rights taken from me as I had no time to apply for a BVB I tried to put in the form 1005 but was told I cannot have it as I returned on a tourist visa which I didn't apply for the airline did something so that I could board the plane. 

Is there anything I can do to regain my work rights under the circumstances?


----------



## dmuk

Hi Mark,

It was suggested I post a question here for clarity on our entry requirements for a 8 week holiday to Australia.

The details are here:
http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/153010-first-entry-309-child-uk-passport.html

Basically:
+ My partner has been granted a 309. EU passport holder. She will enter on her EU passport with 309 visa (first entry).
+ Our child holds a UK passport (with a 651 electronic tourist visa). The child does hold a Australian Citizenship of Descent document but no Australia passport. They will enter on the 651.
+ I am a dual citizen with a Australian and non-Australian passport. I will enter on my Australia passport.

Do you forsee any problems with the above?


----------



## brodj

Hi Mark!

I've been following your thread lately and I get the sense that you really are a great resource person when it comes to visa inquiries.

Regarding my case, my sponsor lodged the 402 Nomination at the same time with my 402 (Occupational Trainee Stream) Application last November 10th. 

How long does it usually take for the visa to get approved? Until now, there hasn't been any response from the Office. I'm a bit anxious about my this. I've written in the application that training will begin on February 2nd. Will I be able to get it on time? 

Thank you very much in advance!


----------



## remi12

Hi Mark, I have a question about partner visa. I applied in January 2014 and still waiting.. do you think the processing time is 12-15 months. I hear some say it can be up to 18 months, it is too long. I have problem finding job which is within my qualification because I sill have the bridging visa and it is not looked favorable. It is so difficult, I do not understand why immigration is doing it, nobody can survive for 18 months on a bridging visa. I also wanted to ask if you think that the process would be faster if relationship is registered (and this evidence added at a later stage). Thank you very much in advance!


----------



## shoyeb

Hi Mark,

I need an urgent help for 309/100.

I am Australia permanent resident. 

I got arranged marriage on 10th August 2015 and lived for 40 days with my wife.
I applied her tourist visa to join me for new year and Christmas but got rejected
Now i am applying her 309/100 visa. I am applying online.

Can anyone suggest me what evidence should i attach? 

Can i apply tourist visa for my wife again after submitting 309/100 application?

How many days after applying 309/100, i can apply for tourist visa for my wife?


----------



## rizplayer

Hi Mark,

Good to see your work in helping clearing the doubts.
I am done with my EOI and all the docs are ready and waiting for the invitation. I have all the related reference docs of my employment. Reference letters, payslips, Business card, offer letter. My olny concern is that if DIBP call my employer, would they call some one specific. We do not have an HR department. Its a small company of 25 employees. Would be grateful if you could throw some light on it.

Thanks


----------



## Wenjie

Dear Mark,

I am applying for Subclass 573 (Higher Education), my Assessment Level is 2 with no Streamline Processing. My tuition fee is AUD40000 and half of it has been prepaid. Could anyone please advise me how much financial proof would I need? I have a total of about AUD85000 in my bank accounts and deposits for about 1 year, and my base salary has been about AUD2000 for the past 2 years, these are the evidence I can get. The main thing I am worried about is that, would my employment salary be enough evidence for source of finance?

My parents can also support me should I require finance. Can I declare that I am financing myself, or should I get help from family members? Your thoughts and experiences are appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance!


----------



## dkdldb

Hi Mark,

I once overstayed my visa by mistake and had to leave Australia holding a BVE which lead to a 3 year re-entry ban. BVE was for a set duration so that I could arrange my flight for departure etc. Despite this, I was granted visas during this 3 year period by having the ban waived and on top of that, the 3 year ban period is finished.

Considering my situation, could you please suggest whether it's a yes or no to the questions "left any country to avoid being removed or deported?" and "been excluded from or asked to leave any country?" 

Thank you so much for your assistance.


----------



## rohail85

Dear Mark,
I have submitted my visa, now regarding attaching documents online in the visa application do these documents needs to true certified copies or we just have to scan them and attach them? Thanks in advance


Regards,


----------



## Bamborabi

G'Day Mark !!

I currently hold a Subclass 309 visa and I have been in Australia since Feb 2014. Me and my Australian wife have been married for close to 3 years now. I applied for my Subclass 100 visa in July 2015 (after being eligible to do so) online through the Immi Account. Its been over 5 months now but as per what I see in my Immi account my case has not yet been allocated to a case officer. However, in some of the other forums I have seen folks who have applied after me (post July) having got their grants. What I wanted to know is what is the process DIBP follow when it comes to granting 100 Visa grants ? Do they randomly pick cases or do they go in any specific order ? If a Case officer has not yet been assigned to my case does it mean they have not yet taken a look at my case at all ?

Also recently I have been offered a new permanent full time job which I have accepted. So do I need to update that in my 100 visa application ? If so how do I update it.

Regards
Bamborabi

Regards,
Bamborabi


----------



## john79

hi Mark,

You are really doing a wonderful Job.Thanks in advance for your kind assistance.

I have applied for PR under 190 subclass. Along with me my Wife and two kids are also in my application. Due to some Family problem i will not be able to shift Australia for couple of years(although i am ready to fulfill the condition of IED) , If I send my son to Australia to my relatives will he be able to get independent Citizenship in future or as a Principle applicant i have to go there with dependents.


----------



## Tashpotato

Hi Mark,

I just have a really quick question...
I'm currently on my bridging visa a whilst waiting for the outcome of 820 (I'm from the UK and meet all requirements) but I do worry a lot, even though I uploaded lots of evidence what does happen if they decline or offer to withdraw?

If I withdraw, can we just reapply for the same partner visa again, but with more evidence?

If they just decline, do I HAVE to leave the country within 28 days? We are planning to get married, and I'm wondering if this will impact on my visa application, like they will want me to withdraw to apply for a different visa.

Thanks so much for your time!


----------



## AnnieTran

*Submit online visa 820*

Hi Mark,
I submitted the application for visa 820 and have been attaching the required documents including form 80. I have a few questions.

1. One of the sub folders include attaching form 40SP, 47SP and 1221. I thought by filling all the information in the first stage (as in before we can submit it and pay), we didn't need to scan in hand copies of these forms?

2. I'm not sure about form 1221 because it isn't mentioned in the Partnership booklet.

3. We are living in my partner's parents house. We have got his mother done a stat dec and she did mention briefly that we are living in her house. Do we need to ask her to write another stat dec specifically for this matter since she is the landlady?

Thanks for your help.
Annie


----------



## AnnieTran

OMG your question makes me so worried. I just submitted my application few days ago and was assumed that TR will come to me in a few months.


----------



## AnnieTran

OMG your question makes me so worried. I just submitted my application few days ago and was assumed that TR will come to me in a few months.



remi12 said:


> Hi Mark, I have a question about partner visa. I applied in January 2014 and still waiting.. do you think the processing time is 12-15 months. I hear some say it can be up to 18 months, it is too long. I have problem finding job which is within my qualification because I sill have the bridging visa and it is not looked favorable. It is so difficult, I do not understand why immigration is doing it, nobody can survive for 18 months on a bridging visa. I also wanted to ask if you think that the process would be faster if relationship is registered (and this evidence added at a later stage). Thank you very much in advance!


----------



## makapolu6630

*Partner visa, onshore or offshore?*

Hello Mark. My name is Brandi. I am currently married to a man from Australia, while I live in the US. We are in the process of trying to move myself and my older son( from a previous marriage) and our daughter from our marriage to Australia to live there. He is living in Australia now while my son and our daughter live in the US with me. My ex husband has agreed to let our son move there to live with my husband and I. We have been married over 2 and half years and are really wanting to be together. We want to do this as fast as we can ( of course, doesn't everyone?). We are debating on filing an offshore visa for myself and my son, and filing for citizenship for our daughter as she was born to an Australian citizen. Or trying to obtain a visitor visa for all of us and then applying for a bridging visa for us remain in Australia then filing an onshore partner visa. I am curious as to which the best way to do this is. We want to do this the right way,but also are very tired of being apart from each other. I dont want to be stuck here for another 6 to 12 months waiting on a visa to be approved while he misses out on the second year of our daughters life. Any advice for us in this matter?


----------



## atwin8

MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark
hope you can help!!
I have applied for 189 EOI received 23 Oct. Visa Lodged 31 Oct.
I have mistakenly claimed 5 points for Professional year in Aus thinking because I have ben working in aug for last 2 years.However the EOI asked me for Aus Study qualifications for that (which I don't have) . I have uploaded my EA Skills assessment for that on Immiaccount.
My total points were 65 when I applied for EOI , hence I got invited immediately in following round of invites.
i have uploaded all documents . Should I contact my CO and advise of my error? or should I wait for CO to bring it to my notice?
My 457 expires soon and ma very anxious.
Anzsco 233111-Chemical Engineer

Thanks in advance


----------



## eireog007

Hi Mark

I have a question that I would like answered pretty urgently if possible, My partner and I have applied for a 189 visa, all the documentation is currently in and we are waiting on the CO to come back to us with the final decision, we are currently on my 457 visa which expires in February and also have a bridging visa which will come into effect at that point. 

However we are flying home to Ireland for Christmas with my partner flying home tonight and myself flying home next Thursday. My query is if the 189 approval is granted while we are overseas will that have any effect as we stated on the application that we are currently onshore.Our current 457 visa has unrestricted travel rights and the bridging visa wouldn't come into effect until after we return.


----------



## Cassie

*Same sex international marriage*

Hello Mark,

Me and my partner are going to get married in NZ and as a same sex international marriage, I read that It was reconized in Victoria since a few days. We wish to get the NZ family relationship visa, and was wondering if our wedding will have an impact on our visa like reducing the 12 month requierement or no ?

Thanks for your time.
Cassie


----------



## sukanta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sukanta -
> 
> Thanks for the note, happy to help. As you are a sponsor and therefore are not included as an applicant for a visa, then you would not need to include your information in the "other applicant" section. Re: misspelled name, yes, best to correct, can use the same form.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks so much Mark for your kind help and suggestion.

Best Regards
Sukanta


----------



## romero2005

Dear Mark,

Currently, I applied for EOI using 263111 (Computer networks) without experience. (190 NSW - 55+5) applied on 6th march.

but I am working as a system analyst and next year(2016) I am completing my 3 years of work. So i hope to apply for ACS again adding my work exp letters as system analyst. Will they deduct any experience. I want to get the advantage of that 5 points.

my points are 
Study - 15
Au study - 5
Professional yeat - 5
age - 30
IELTS - 0


----------



## nnaorin19

Hey Mark, Merry Christmas and Happy new year.. is the immigration visa process will be down in next 2 weeks due to the holiday..thanks


----------



## nnaorin19

also can you please tell me how long it might take to grant the visa after medical and additional document submission? thanks just the tentative one


----------



## fiontong

Hi Mark, seek u help.
I wanna to know if I can check up the application status if I applied the 820/801 thur agent? I got a valid BVA on hand and I can check it up thur VEVO is "in effect" but I cant check the progress of the 820/801.

Thanks for help and wish u and your family Merry Christmas..


----------



## AussieToB

*Engineers Australia Assessment Outcome*

Hi Mark,

I received my MSA result from Engineers Australia yesterday and got positive outcome for my Bachelors Degree as below.

Professional Engineer - skill Level 1 - ANZSCO code 263311.

and got below additional remarks.

*Highest Relevant Qualification* 
Your qualification obtained from the below institution has been assessed as comparable to the listed Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) level for the purposes of awarding points under the General
Skilled Migration points test:

*AQF Level - Masters Degree*

I am confused (and excited) on the *Highest Relevant Qualification* part where it says about awarding points under General Skilled Migration Points Test for this qualification.

Are there any points awarded for Approved Assessed Masters Degree?


----------



## irina_pandey

Hello Mark, Thank you for your help again and again. 
Husband took IELTS 4 times but every time one module shows 6.5. Its not enough for accountants/finance people. Recently we came to know from one agent in India about following:
1. New South Wales - A new stream 2 has been introduced. If you don’t qualify under the old program, you can check if your occupation does fall under Stream 2.
2. South Australia- Many aspirants who did not qualify , can now check their eligibility under Special Conditions .
3. Engineers Australia- Will accept combined results of IELTS or TOEFL IBT provided the required score is reached for each module at least once. Is something like this available for accountants also (I mean combined results)?

Can we proceed for CPA Skills Assessment with IELTS score where one module is 6.5?

Thank you.


----------



## diletta.laino

Hi Mark, 
I am Diddi, Italian. 
It's been 1year since I left Australia, on the condition of my 2nd WHV expiring. 
I am engaged to an Aussie and we currently live in NZ together (since I couldn't be in Australia). 
In June 2015 we lodged a 309/100 (decision ready - I know it doesn't matter anymore- but we really included everything the day we submitted) 
Now my partner is going through a time he must be in Australia but we cannot stand to live apart 
My question is: can I apply for tourist visa since no case officer has yet been allocated and it's likely to take a few months still before they will look at my 309 case?? 
There's something I need to mention on that: I had a 600 tourist visa refused in January 2014.. Will they refuse me a tourist visa again even though it's been 2 years? 

Any help will be appreciated. 

Best Regards and a merry Xmas to you and your dears.


----------



## laurenrose25

Hello Mark, 

I am certain this has been asked before, but I have spent the last hour looking for answer with to no avail I have applied for a Partner Visa Online, and am in the process of uploading documents. Basically, I need some issues I am facing clarified and would be very grateful for some help:

1) Certain sections, I.e. Nature of the couple's mutual commitment to each other, Evidence of require a Statutory Declaration and a further statement regarding future plans. We have no issues doing both, however, do the stat decs need to be individual ones just detailing that specific section, or can we write one, outlining all the criteria and just upload this several times where required? I have been told by someone that she uploaded 12 Stat Decs, 6 for her, and 6 from her partner. 

Any help and clarification on Stat Decs and these further Statements would be extremely grateful.

Merry Christmas


----------



## LakshmiNarasimhan_S

MarkNortham said:


> Hi LakshmiNarasimhan_S -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Not possible for me to advise on Option 1 vs Option 2 without doing a very detailed study of how much of a change the existing employer letters would have to have to meet the duties/tasks of the new occupation. The risk of course is that should ACS believe that the previous letters were not genuine (due to the big change in tasks/duties regarding work experience that has already been performed in the past), the entire thing could blow up. I can't advise on options, but I would say, generally, that option 1 may be the option with the least amount of risk, however that is entirely dependent on how much of a change would need to be made to the letters that ACS has already seen and assessed.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for your advice. I went with option 1 to get ACS reviewed my last to previous company for the same occupation code (Systems Analyst - 261112) and came positive. Now total points come to 65, happily waiting for the invitation.

You are the best mark! Merry Christmas to you and your near & dears!!

Regards,


----------



## Xelnaga

Hi Mark,

First let me thank you for helping the community in this thread, it's an incredible relief to have someone like you help in these stressful matters 

I have some questions on the oft-maligned Form 80:
1) I'm applying for an ENS 186 TRT stream visa, is Form 80 mandatory at the time of application? I know some people who have applied last year to the same visa but didn't have to fill it out, and got the visa, however it's in the document checklist now on the Immi website, and so I'm a bit confused.
2) Question 17 (Address history): Is this question asking about all places I've slept (including hotels/serviced apartments) in the last 10 years, or just places which I considered to be my residences (I define this by places where I spent over a month, had a residency contract, received mail, etc)? There was a similar question on the PCC and they were only asking for the latter, I have this list still to use. For example, when I arrived in Australia I spent a week or two in serviced accommodation provided by my company while looking for an apartment, but of course I still had full use of my existing apartment in my previous country of residence, where I was still receiving mail (I never received mail at hotels/serviced apartments, however I DID put this address down on my landing card...), and so I would not put this address down. I also visited some hotels when visiting different cities in Australia, I also don't think these entries belong here. If you believe I should put some of these places down, what would be the criteria that you'd use to evaluate whether to include them or not?
3) Question 33 (Do you have any other addresses in Australia that have not been declared at Question 17?): How do you generally interpret this question? As the question is in present tense, I understand it as a question relating to the use of more than 1 addresses concurrently, for example if I owned two houses and lived in one of them. Alternatively, it could refer to non-residential addresses ("have" instead of "reside")? If so, what types of addresses would you recommend to list here? For example, would the serviced apartment from 2) qualify, the hotels I stayed at, or my company's mailing address as I have been receiving mail there from time to time?

Thank you once again for your help, it's much appreciated


----------



## wahabanjum

AussieToB said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I received my MSA result from Engineers Australia yesterday and got positive outcome for my Bachelors Degree as below.
> 
> Professional Engineer - skill Level 1 - ANZSCO code 263311.
> 
> and got below additional remarks.
> 
> *Highest Relevant Qualification*
> Your qualification obtained from the below institution has been assessed as comparable to the listed Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) level for the purposes of awarding points under the General
> Skilled Migration points test:
> 
> *AQF Level - Masters Degree*
> 
> I am confused (and excited) on the *Highest Relevant Qualification* part where it says about awarding points under General Skilled Migration Points Test for this qualification.
> 
> Are there any points awarded for Approved Assessed Masters Degree?


AoA

Its looks like you luck is with you 
Please can you guide me how to prepare an application ?

Regards:
Wahab Anjum


----------



## hdhami

Hi mark.
I have a query... Actually i am a dependant and my mother is the main applicant for cpv143 applied on april 2014 (20 months). I am 22 years old and still dependant on my parents.. I like a girl and wanna marry her though she is not a aussie...i would want to marry her as soon as possible but after my 143 granted ...I want to know can i marry her as soon as after i get my visa 143 granted..or do i have to wait for sometime to get married and to sponsor her for partner visa??? 
as a example if i get my visa granted in this year april. Can i marry to her As soon . And thn sponser her for partner visa as i reach australia?
Thanks in advance


----------



## twid

Hi Mark,
I appreciate your service to all in need. 
I want to apply for visa 189, I have 2 years of experience. So I am eligible for that. But I have some confusion regarding proof of work.

I have all the required documents from current employer, Offer letter, payslips, bank statement. and for my previous employer from UK, I have Offer letter, relieving letter. However, I have got only few payslips for about last 6-7 month and printed bank statement for same about last 6-7 months.
After research I found out that ACS may not ask for other than experience letter. But I have no idea about whether will it require when I apply for visa?

So far I asked my previous employer for payslips but they don't maintain payslips. So unfortunately they cant provide me duplicate copies of them. 
Also, I am trying hard to get bank statement from bank, unfortunately so far I haven't succeeded as I left UK and closed that account. I think they don't cooperate with former customer.
Is it compulsory to show proof of payment at visa application.

I appreciate your help.

Note: I am not going to claim points for my work experience


----------



## rreigns

Diploma in IT Networking and Cert iii in light vehicle mechanical technology would be consider consistent with nominating motor mechanic as we can use networking skills in automotive industry in order to service, repair security systems and components, vehicle control systems, gps sensor, back and front sensor etc. So can anyone tell me this qualifications closely related to each other? Please let me know. Thanks


----------



## Ht1

*Spousal visa- Stat dec stress*

hi Mark

My fiancé and I submitted his spousal visa application online 2 weeks ago and I have been having a stress in regards to one of the Statutory declarations we submitted along with the application so I was hoping you would be able to give some high level guidance.

As part of the application we submitted 2 stat decs (signed and witnessed) along with all other required information. When our friend completed the stat dec, for the 2 main sections (how do you know them/ do you think relationship is genuine and continuing), she wrote 'see attached' and inserted a typed sheet of paper with her responses to these two questions. She and her witness didn't sign this extra sheet of paper and so I am worried the department won't accept it as they will be concerned about its authenticity(as in theory I could've inserted this sheet of paper).

What can I do in this instance? I can get another one prepared by someone else however it will be dated 4 weeks from the date of application (and the guidance is quite clear it needs to be submitted at the time of application). I am absolutely kicking myself in relation to this as I should know better.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. if they didn't accept the stat declaration submitted, would they reject the visa on the spot?

Thanks

Heidi


----------



## 4lashyme

Hi Mark, 
Please just one question. I submitted my EOI early this month choosing Queensland as my destination for 489 subclass visa. I am yet to get an invite from them. I would like to know how long it takes for them to send invitation to apply for the state nomination?


----------



## mgkarthick

Hi Mark,

Thanks in advance for your response which is going to change my fate...

1) I have applied ACS 6 months ago and assesed as ICT BA... Now I want to change to Analyst programmer. I want to add few lines in my previous employer letter which I have got recently. Can I add few additional points in my previously submitted documents and reasses?.

2) In last assessment, I have been assessed as ICT Major (Electrical and Electronics engineering) "Your Bachelor of Engineering from Anna University completed April 2005 has been assessed as
comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in computing."

However, they have deducted 4 years when assessing ICT BA. If assess as Analyst programmer now, will they deduct 4 years or 2 years? Please advise.

Kindly advise.

Regards, Karthick


----------



## mhasankamal

*State Nominated PR Validity*

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your continuous support at this platform.

Recently i got my NSW Permanent Residency (190 Visa). I will give my first entry very soon. I got to know that to apply for a resident return visa i have to complete my last 2 years of PR in australia. Otherwise my PR will expire and i will not get the resident return visa.

I just need to know that are there any holidays allowed in those two years? or i cannot exit australia for whole 2 years to apply for a resident return visa? or can i exit australia for holidays and come back after some days in those 2 years? 
In these cases will i be eligible for a resident return visa if i exit australia for holidays and come back after some days in the last two years?

My second question is that what will be the validity for a resident return visa? Is it the same 5 years as for PR?

Thank you,
Hasan


----------



## redmuncher

done done done done


----------



## AUSBambi

Hi Mark

Just want to say: Thank you so much for your contribution. 

Wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2016


----------



## Toldo68

What exactly is Net assets ? I was required to do it by NT authority !


----------



## Lightbulb

Hi Mark,
I am applying for ministerial intervention as my 820 partner application was not successful at the AAT. I'm on a BVC 030. When applying for a new bridging visa which one do I apply for? Is it a new BVC or now a BVE 050?

Wish you a very merry Christmas.


----------



## michael1234

*Certified copy of document in foreign language*

Hello,

I want to ask whether a certified migration agent in Australia can certify copies of documents in a foreign language. Otherwise, who can do that?
I know certified translations can be obtained from NAATI translators, but they cannot provide certified copies.

Cheers,
Michael


----------



## Muroora

hi Mark
could i please ask. we are 3 siblings and wanting to invite our parents for 3 months on a visitors visa and each one wants to spend 1 month with them. Do we all have to write invitation letters as separate individuals.


----------



## zulfiqar4891

*Skills Assessment for PR application*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are fine and in the best of your health. I live in India at present and planning to move to middle east in the next couple of months for work. I am very keen on migrating to Australia under the Skilled Independent Category. I have almost 10 years of experience in my field of work and have worked in 2 companies since. Now moving on to the third employer supposedly in middle east.

I have a couple of issues which I hope you can clarify.

- From which country do I have to lodge an application for PR? Can I still employ an agent in my native country to lodge a PR application?

- Also, do I have to submit police and medical clearance certificates from both the countries or the ones from my native country are enough?

- For skills assessment by ACS, my third employer will be a company in the middle eastern country. They might not give me an employment reference certificate. I can get a work colleague to certify me But since I am only a couple of months into the job when I apply for assessment, Will this pose a problem towards my application?

Awaiting your reply with clarifications.

Thank You very much.

Regards,
Zulfiqar


----------



## Jessharper

Hi mark what are the options with being in a defacto visa if we break up we have a child together will he have to leave the country ?


----------



## Milz

Hi Mark 

it states on the website under the payment section for subclass 300, 301 and other subclass related for a partner visa, that if the sponsor is the one to pay .... then its best to submit the form by mail or personally
my question is .. can the sponsor fill in their details online and the applicant fill in the form??


----------



## mohabelhaddad

Hi Mark.

Could you please advise which visa type is matching my qualifications and if I am eligible to apply for;

•	Age : 30 Years
•	IELTS : 6 each band
•	Work experience : 8 Years
•	Profession : Mechanical engineer
•	Qualification overseas is assessed by Australian engineering 

Please advise which type of visa should I apply for.

Some visas are repealed such as 176 & 886, please advise


----------



## calviny3k

Hi Mark,

Hope you are enjoying the festive season. I have an enquiry regarding my EOI for Visa 189.

I have officially submitted my EOI with 60 points on 16th December. However, judging from the previous rounds of invitation, it doesn't seem like I will get an invitation anytime before 15th of March, which is the date when my student visa expires.

Therefore, I am looking to apply for Visa 485 (Temporary Graduate Visa) in February. However, the processing may take up to 12 months. If I receive an offer from my EOI submission while I'm on a bridging visa for the processing of Visa 485, can I still apply for Visa 189 and withdraw my Visa 485 application without affecting my residency status in Australia? 

Thanks once again for your insights. I look forward to hearing from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaga & All -

Sorry for the delay in responding - have been tied up with holiday schedule craziness. Looking forward to responding today (29 Dec) to all unanswered posts (pg 969 to 974 I believe).

Assuming you're talking about a partner visa, if your sponsor claims that the relationship is over and/or is withdrawing sponsorship (usually one and the same thing), you will normally get a letter from DIBP with 28 days to respond to these allegations (ie, that the relationship is over). After the 28 days, DIBP will normally refuse the permanent partner visa which also ends the provisional partner visa unless the allegations are successfully refuted or the applicant makes a claim of family violence or that the permanent visa should be granted due to the couple having a child together.

If you are onshore and DIBP refuses your subclass 801 permanent visa, they will normally issue you a Bridging Visa A just before doing the refusal, since the refusal of the 801 will automatically cease the 820 you hold - this is done so you will not be left with no visa onshore in the case of 801 refusals. The BV-A will be set to expire in 28 days, so within that time after refusal of the 801 you would have the opportunity (if done within 21 days from refusal) to appeal the refusal to the AAT Tribunal - note strict rules for doing this re: timetable and documents.

If you are on 309 and 100 is refused while you are onshore, there is a tricky set of rules re: whether you can appeal to the AAT and who can file the appeal (ie, sponsor or applicant). Suggest you contact myself or another registered migration agent directly to discuss your circumstances in this regard.

Re: 457 timing, hard to predict these days as DIBP is being much tougher on 457s than they have in the past. Typically 1-3 months for sponsorship and nomination to be approved, visa application can be longer after that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kaga said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the prompt reply.
> I am under the impression that i will get 28 days to leave the country just in case if my sponsor ask the immigration to withdraw.
> 
> Regarding the 457 how much time does it take to get the nomination done by employer before applying for 457? (Average these days)
> 
> Second thing I wanted to ask is, can we file a review for 309 cancellation if the relationship breaks ?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Canada2Australia -

Thanks for the note. I've heard this is possible, but I have not done it myself. The existing "Import Application" function, at least the way it used to work prior to Nov 2015, actually transferred an application from one ImmiAccount to another, but that meant it was no longer visible from the first one. I had a client a few weeks back tell me he was able to view an application that we had lodged for him on our firm ImmiAccount - I'll see if I can find out how he did this and get back and post here if I can get that info.

Thanks,

Mark Northam



Canada2Australia said:


> Hi Mark, thank you for the response.
> 
> I do have another question for you. My employer has lodged the application. I've been told that if I create an account on ImmiAccount, the person who lodged my application can have my account linked to be able to view the status of my application. However the person doesn't know how to do this. Is this something you are familiar with, and if so, can you explain to me or send me instructions on how she can do this?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anna -

Thanks so much for the kind and generous offer! I've never been to Mackay, but it sounds like a beautiful place - I will definitely get in touch if I'm planning a trip to that area of Australia.

I'm glad to help people here - it's why I'm in this business - I know it probably sounds corny, but in regards to my work, nothing gives me a greater thrill than calling a client to say we've won a tribunal matter or that a visa has been granted! Likewise, I am thrilled when I hear on the forum here that someone has succeeded in getting the visa they wanted for Australia. In the end, visas are essentially government paperwork, and in my view no government paperwork should stand in the way of happiness and success for people. In my experience there's usually a way around many obstacles that are created by the government, and sometimes it's a matter of getting creative and finding pathways through the unnecessarily complex regulations and policy that exist in this area.

Glad I could help, and thanks again for the kind words!

Best,

Mark Northam



Getto said:


> Thank you so much for your fast reply. You seem to be a rockstar. I haven't quiet figured how this page works but i can tell you it's a pain in certain areas using it on the phone. So if you send me a private message (if that's possible here), I would like to offer you that if you come to Mackay for whatever reason you would have a guestroom on a beautiful rainforest property and dinner. You give so much. You should receive much.
> Your answer really helped, because I now don't loose money I don't have (no job), on a trip to Bali just to apply for a visitor visa i prolly wouldn't even get.
> 
> Thank you so much - you are a champion!
> 
> Anna


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Meelosh -

Thanks for the note. It depends on the visa - with skilled visas, there is a provision to pay an English charge for secondary applicants 18 yrs and older who cannot demonstrate Functional English (see DIBP website for ways to demonstrate this). If you pay the English charge, then no need to prove any English ability for the secondary applicant and it would not prevent her from migrating.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



meelosh said:


> Last question, what about my partner (she has not taken the IELTS,as she is a dependent on the visa application),will she have to submit a proof of functional English or is that optional ? Will DIBP allow her to migrate if she ops out for English lessons in AUS instead ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Subhasis -

Thanks for the note. Very difficult to impossible to predict DIBP processing times as they put no time limits on themselves. We're typically seeing 189 and 190 applications being approved in 6 to 9 months, but some have gone longer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



subhasisc1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am Subhasis from India. I had applied for class 190 PR in June 2015. PCC and medicals were also completed that point itself. But status says " assessment under process" . It is 6 months over. Any idea how much more time it might take. My application includes me and my wife.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Subhasis.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markvar -

Thanks for the note. As long as you lodge the partner visa while the applicant still holds the student visa, then the partner visa is generally not impacted by a student visa cancellation. If after lodging a valid onshore partner visa a person voluntarily cancels a student visa, or the student visa is cancelled by DIBP for non-enrolment, etc and the person is in Australia when the cancellation happens, then the person normally can apply for a Bridging Visa E to remain in Australia to await the partner visa decision. The BVE has no work rights by default, but an applicant in these circumstances can apply for work rights if he or she (together with their partner) can show financial hardship - specifically, that their joint expenses significantly exceed the partner's income if the applicant was not allowed to work.

As a result of the student visa cancellation (by either the applicant or DIBP), this renders any time in Australia prior to the cancellation to be ineligible for use towards the 4 year residency requirement for Australian citizenship. If an applicant departs Australia while holding a BVE, the BVE will automatically cease upon departure from Australia, leaving the applicant with no visa to re-enter Australia (where they must be in order to be granted the subclass 820 provisional partner visa). A visitor visa is the answer in most cases, but these can be problematic as well - in some cases depending on the specifics, if the applicant departs Australia while holding the BVE, there will be an exclusion period imposed on further temporary visas. There is a waiver available for this, but it's yet another hassle in the process.

Also re: student visas, be aware that if an applicant has stopped attending classes or otherwise is not meeting the requirements of their student visa and the applicant goes offshore while holding the student visa, DIBP can cancel the student visa without any previous notice while a student visa holder is offshore - if they are onshore, there is a notice period required and a right to comment on the notice of intent to cancel, however offshore these provisions do not apply. Very hazardous these days to travel on a student visa from Australia to elsewhere if the student has stopped meeting the requirements of the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



markvar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've posted a separate long thread, which is waiting to be approved. Short version:
> 
> My partner is on student visa until 2017 but wants to cancel her school in March 2016 (after Cert III, before going to Diploma course). What happens if we lodge the partner visa application before that and then cancel the school?
> 
> Thanks a lot,
> Markvar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ciaran -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about your dad. Nothing can be done to add work rights to the tourist visa, however if the 2WHV is granted, that will immediately replace the visitor visa upon grant and the work rights you have with the WHV would commence. Alternatively, you could apply for a replacement BV-A for the one you were granted when you applied for your 2WHV onshore in Australia, however this BVA would only activate (and therefore the work right would only begin) once you overstayed the minimum stay period of your visitor visa. If you have a 3-month maximum stay period on your visitor visa and applied for and were granted the BVA during those 3 months, then the day after the 3 month period if you were onshore holding the BVA, the BVA would activate and the work rights would resume. However with any luck you would get a decision on your 2WHV prior to 3 months! Other than this, all you can do is wait for the 2WHV to be decided.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ciaran said:


> Hey Mark,
> Just want to say Thank you for making yourself available to all of us on here!
> I was just curious to know if you could help me
> 
> I have an application in for my 2WHV and I was on a bridging visa for nearly 3 months when I had to leave straight away when my dad fell ill at home in Ireland. I returned within two weeks and I have had my work rights taken from me as I had no time to apply for a BVB I tried to put in the form 1005 but was told I cannot have it as I returned on a tourist visa which I didn't apply for the airline did something so that I could board the plane.
> 
> Is there anything I can do to regain my work rights under the circumstances?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dmuk -

I don't see any problems based on what you've said here - I assume the concern was for the child, however the 651 visa assuming it is valid should not be an issue. You could proceed to get the child an Australian passport once in Australia to make things less complex for the next entry.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dmuk said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> It was suggested I post a question here for clarity on our entry requirements for a 8 week holiday to Australia.
> 
> The details are here:
> http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/153010-first-entry-309-child-uk-passport.html
> 
> Basically:
> + My partner has been granted a 309. EU passport holder. She will enter on her EU passport with 309 visa (first entry).
> + Our child holds a UK passport (with a 651 electronic tourist visa). The child does hold a Australian Citizenship of Descent document but no Australia passport. They will enter on the 651.
> + I am a dual citizen with a Australian and non-Australian passport. I will enter on my Australia passport.
> 
> Do you forsee any problems with the above?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brodj -

Thanks for the note. Very difficult to predict DIBP processing times these days when they put no time limits on themselves. I've seen these approved in the 2-3 month range, but depending on the specifics it can take longer. Best strategy may be to keep in touch with DIBP and make sure they have any/all documents they need from you and are aware of the timetable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



brodj said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I've been following your thread lately and I get the sense that you really are a great resource person when it comes to visa inquiries.
> 
> Regarding my case, my sponsor lodged the 402 Nomination at the same time with my 402 (Occupational Trainee Stream) Application last November 10th.
> 
> How long does it usually take for the visa to get approved? Until now, there hasn't been any response from the Office. I'm a bit anxious about my this. I've written in the application that training will begin on February 2nd. Will I be able to get it on time?
> 
> Thank you very much in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Remi12 -

Thanks for the note. I agree it is too long, however until the government has some mandate placed on it for faster processing, or time limits imposed on DIBP for this sort of thing, we're stuck with their no-time-limits approach. If you have lodged as a de facto couple, then registering the relationship may speed up the process a bit as DIBP would no longer be bound to enforce the policy that evidence must be provided that the relationship existed at a de facto level for the 12 months prior to application. And fortunately due to a loophole in the policy, it is possible to submit a relationship registration certificate at any time prior to a decision being made on the visa. If it's an option, I would certainly consider it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



remi12 said:


> Hi Mark, I have a question about partner visa. I applied in January 2014 and still waiting.. do you think the processing time is 12-15 months. I hear some say it can be up to 18 months, it is too long. I have problem finding job which is within my qualification because I sill have the bridging visa and it is not looked favorable. It is so difficult, I do not understand why immigration is doing it, nobody can survive for 18 months on a bridging visa. I also wanted to ask if you think that the process would be faster if relationship is registered (and this evidence added at a later stage). Thank you very much in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shoyeb -

Thanks for the note - I've been away on holiday things so my apologies for the late response.

Re: evidence to include, the more evidence you can obtain showing that the relationship is genuine, the better. Check out some great relationship evidence threads here on the forum for more on this. You can certainly apply for another visitor visa for your wife at any time - key with these usually is showing that her ties to her home country are greater/stronger than her ties to people in Australia including you, however that can be difficult. In many cases, chances of success for a visitor visa increase after the partner visa is lodged, but every case is different.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shoyeb said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I need an urgent help for 309/100.
> 
> I am Australia permanent resident.
> 
> I got arranged marriage on 10th August 2015 and lived for 40 days with my wife.
> I applied her tourist visa to join me for new year and Christmas but got rejected
> Now i am applying her 309/100 visa. I am applying online.
> 
> Can anyone suggest me what evidence should i attach?
> 
> Can i apply tourist visa for my wife again after submitting 309/100 application?
> 
> How many days after applying 309/100, i can apply for tourist visa for my wife?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rizplayer -

Thanks for the note. This is a tricky area, as DIBP will sometimes call an employer and speak to whoever answers the phone and start asking about an applicant. This can cause problems if the person answering the phone is not familiar with the applicant - and happens frequently when an applicant is no longer employed by the company and the person answering the phone is new.

In many cases DIBP will ask for the manager or whoever handles HR - best thing to do is to have the company alerted that DIBP may be calling and to forward the call to whoever the designated person is that would be in a position to discuss your employment specifics. You can request that DIBP contacts a particular person (they often will first start with the person who wrote the referral letter you submit), but they do not always honour this request.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rizplayer said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Good to see your work in helping clearing the doubts.
> I am done with my EOI and all the docs are ready and waiting for the invitation. I have all the related reference docs of my employment. Reference letters, payslips, Business card, offer letter. My olny concern is that if DIBP call my employer, would they call some one specific. We do not have an HR department. Its a small company of 25 employees. Would be grateful if you could throw some light on it.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wenjie -

Thanks for the note. I don't practice much in the area of student visa primary applications, so I don't have all the answers you're looking for - you might consult a migration agent who has a specialty in student visas for more on this, or carefully work through the details on the DIBP website - their improved website has much better coverage of this area including calculating the amount, eligible source of funds and more.

Best,

Mark Northam



Wenjie said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am applying for Subclass 573 (Higher Education), my Assessment Level is 2 with no Streamline Processing. My tuition fee is AUD40000 and half of it has been prepaid. Could anyone please advise me how much financial proof would I need? I have a total of about AUD85000 in my bank accounts and deposits for about 1 year, and my base salary has been about AUD2000 for the past 2 years, these are the evidence I can get. The main thing I am worried about is that, would my employment salary be enough evidence for source of finance?
> 
> My parents can also support me should I require finance. Can I declare that I am financing myself, or should I get help from family members? Your thoughts and experiences are appreciated.
> 
> Thank you very much in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi dkdldb -

Thanks for the note. Re: question of being excluded, I would say you would need to answer Yes to this as there was an exclusion period imposed on you. Re: left to avoid being removed or deported, there's not enough information in your post to answer this - if removal or deportation proceedings had been started by DIBP, then it would have to be a Yes answer, however if you simply overstayed and then left voluntarily with no threat of deportation or removal, you may want to answer No.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dkdldb said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I once overstayed my visa by mistake and had to leave Australia holding a BVE which lead to a 3 year re-entry ban. BVE was for a set duration so that I could arrange my flight for departure etc. Despite this, I was granted visas during this 3 year period by having the ban waived and on top of that, the 3 year ban period is finished.
> 
> Considering my situation, could you please suggest whether it's a yes or no to the questions "left any country to avoid being removed or deported?" and "been excluded from or asked to leave any country?"
> 
> Thank you so much for your assistance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rohail85 -

Thanks for the note. For online applications, DIBP generally accepts colour scans of original documents so no certified copies needed. Once in a while they will ask for a certified copy (vs colour scan of original) of a passport or police clearance certificate, but this is usually with offshore posts and is somewhat rare.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rohail85 said:


> Dear Mark,
> I have submitted my visa, now regarding attaching documents online in the visa application do these documents needs to true certified copies or we just have to scan them and attach them? Thanks in advance
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

G'day Bamborabi!

Some subclass 100 apps get approved very quickly, others take 12+ months, no clear way to predict how long any specific application will take. If your employment situation has changed and you have lodged a Form 80 or otherwise listed your employment previously to DIBP, I would consider completing and signing Form 1022 (Change in Circumstances) and upload that to your 100 application on the ImmiAccount.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bamborabi said:


> G'Day Mark !!
> 
> I currently hold a Subclass 309 visa and I have been in Australia since Feb 2014. Me and my Australian wife have been married for close to 3 years now. I applied for my Subclass 100 visa in July 2015 (after being eligible to do so) online through the Immi Account. Its been over 5 months now but as per what I see in my Immi account my case has not yet been allocated to a case officer. However, in some of the other forums I have seen folks who have applied after me (post July) having got their grants. What I wanted to know is what is the process DIBP follow when it comes to granting 100 Visa grants ? Do they randomly pick cases or do they go in any specific order ? If a Case officer has not yet been assigned to my case does it mean they have not yet taken a look at my case at all ?
> 
> Also recently I have been offered a new permanent full time job which I have accepted. So do I need to update that in my 100 visa application ? If so how do I update it.
> 
> Regards
> Bamborabi
> 
> Regards,
> Bamborabi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John79 -

Thanks for the note. Once the 190 is granted to all of you, and once everybody makes their initial entry to Australia within the requirements of the visa even if it's only for a quick trip to activate the visa, after that each person's pathway to citizenship is independent. There is no particular requirement that a parent or primary visa applicant also become a citizen, however you should check all of the citizenship requirements carefully to make sure your son would be meeting these in the future (and of course, the requirement could change).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



john79 said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> You are really doing a wonderful Job.Thanks in advance for your kind assistance.
> 
> I have applied for PR under 190 subclass. Along with me my Wife and two kids are also in my application. Due to some Family problem i will not be able to shift Australia for couple of years(although i am ready to fulfill the condition of IED) , If I send my son to Australia to my relatives will he be able to get independent Citizenship in future or as a Principle applicant i have to go there with dependents.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tashpotato -

Thanks for the note. If your 820 is refused while you are onshore in Australia, you have the opportunity to request that the decision be reviewed by the AAT Tribunal which I usually recommend - we've won a lot of cases for refused 820's based on genuine relationship or Schedule 3 at the tribunal where DIBP had previously refused. While the Tribunal takes more time, I find it to be a very fair process, plus you're able to appear in person at a hearing and show that you're in a genuine relationship, whereas at DIBP you're generally only looked at as names on an application and never have the opportunity to meet the case officer, etc. If for any reason you do end up appealing to the AAT, you can add more evidence, etc and it's a lot cheaper than lodging a new application, plus you get to stay in Australia until the AAT hearing (typically 9-12 months after you apply for review). Just make sure you follow the AAT application rules exactly, including the time limit for application (21 days, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tashpotato said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just have a really quick question...
> I'm currently on my bridging visa a whilst waiting for the outcome of 820 (I'm from the UK and meet all requirements) but I do worry a lot, even though I uploaded lots of evidence what does happen if they decline or offer to withdraw?
> 
> If I withdraw, can we just reapply for the same partner visa again, but with more evidence?
> 
> If they just decline, do I HAVE to leave the country within 28 days? We are planning to get married, and I'm wondering if this will impact on my visa application, like they will want me to withdraw to apply for a different visa.
> 
> Thanks so much for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AnnieTran -

Thanks for the note. Re: 47sp, if you applied online you do not need to do this form as the online primary application form is equivalent to the 47sp form. If you also did the online form for the sponsor (done after you lodge the main form), you do not need to do 40sp. Re: 1221, you only need to do this if DIBP asks for it - if they do, you'll have to complete the PDF form, print out, sign, then scan & upload to your application.

If you're living with parents, I recommend having them (or one of them) write a letter stating how long you have been living there, that both of you have been living there for that period, and that you share a room together (ie, sleep in the same room). Pictures of your bedroom and living space showing your possessions and your partner's possessions there also can help.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AnnieTran said:


> Hi Mark,
> I submitted the application for visa 820 and have been attaching the required documents including form 80. I have a few questions.
> 
> 1. One of the sub folders include attaching form 40SP, 47SP and 1221. I thought by filling all the information in the first stage (as in before we can submit it and pay), we didn't need to scan in hand copies of these forms?
> 
> 2. I'm not sure about form 1221 because it isn't mentioned in the Partnership booklet.
> 
> 3. We are living in my partner's parents house. We have got his mother done a stat dec and she did mention briefly that we are living in her house. Do we need to ask her to write another stat dec specifically for this matter since she is the landlady?
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> Annie


----------



## neetu9780

Hi Mark,

I will be completing my Bachelor of Information Technology (Majors in Computer Science and Software Development) in July 2016 and it is professionally accredited with the Australian Computer Society (ACS). 

I have read from the ACS website under the suitability criteria that for Post Australian Study Skills Assessment, I would need :

Australian Bachelor degree or higher with a major in ICT which is closely
related to the nominated occupation (ANZSCO) plus one of the following requirements for a suitable skills assessment:
 1 year of relevant work experience completed after the completion date of the
relevant Australian degree, or
 Completion of an ACS Professional Year Program.

So, I want to ask is that is there any other way that I can apply for subclass 189?

Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AnnieTran -

While once in a while a partner visa is granted in a few months, the typical waiting time is 12-18 months.

Best,

Mark



AnnieTran said:


> OMG your question makes me so worried. I just submitted my application few days ago and was assumed that TR will come to me in a few months.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brandi -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you're a US citizen, I'd consider applying for ETA visitor visas to visit Australia to see if you want to lodge onshore. If you are granted the visitor visas, and assuming they do not have condition 8503 (no further stay) imposed on them, then you could all come to Australia and you could lodge an onshore partner visa for yourself and your child, and lodge citizenship proceedings for the other child. As long as you lodge the partner visa application while you still hold the visitor visa (very important!) you'll get a Bridging Visa A automatically once you lodge the partner visa which will allow you to remain in Australia for the 12+ months it typically takes for a partner visa to be processed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



makapolu6630 said:


> Hello Mark. My name is Brandi. I am currently married to a man from Australia, while I live in the US. We are in the process of trying to move myself and my older son( from a previous marriage) and our daughter from our marriage to Australia to live there. He is living in Australia now while my son and our daughter live in the US with me. My ex husband has agreed to let our son move there to live with my husband and I. We have been married over 2 and half years and are really wanting to be together. We want to do this as fast as we can ( of course, doesn't everyone?). We are debating on filing an offshore visa for myself and my son, and filing for citizenship for our daughter as she was born to an Australian citizen. Or trying to obtain a visitor visa for all of us and then applying for a bridging visa for us remain in Australia then filing an onshore partner visa. I am curious as to which the best way to do this is. We want to do this the right way,but also are very tired of being apart from each other. I dont want to be stuck here for another 6 to 12 months waiting on a visa to be approved while he misses out on the second year of our daughters life. Any advice for us in this matter?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Atwin8 -

Thanks for the note. Bottom line is that if there is some other way you could claim 65 points, then you're OK (for instance, if you qualified for the Australia Study Req but didn't claim it for points on your EOI, etc). Otherwise if there is no way to make up the 5 points you'll eventually have to withdraw the application or it will be refused - no refund from DIBP in either case. Re: 457, you may want to withdraw the 189 application and relodge a new EOI with the correct points ASAP to hopefully get another invitation prior to the 457 ending - or consider renewing the 457 if possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



atwin8 said:


> Hi Mark
> hope you can help!!
> I have applied for 189 EOI received 23 Oct. Visa Lodged 31 Oct.
> I have mistakenly claimed 5 points for Professional year in Aus thinking because I have ben working in aug for last 2 years.However the EOI asked me for Aus Study qualifications for that (which I don't have) . I have uploaded my EA Skills assessment for that on Immiaccount.
> My total points were 65 when I applied for EOI , hence I got invited immediately in following round of invites.
> i have uploaded all documents . Should I contact my CO and advise of my error? or should I wait for CO to bring it to my notice?
> My 457 expires soon and ma very anxious.
> Anzsco 233111-Chemical Engineer
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eireog007 -

Sorry I've been away and wasn't able to respond earlier. No problem if they are ready to grant 189 when you are offshore - normally that visa can be granted whether you are onshore or offshore. If granted while you are offshore, it will simply replace your 457 visa (same if onshore).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



eireog007 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have a question that I would like answered pretty urgently if possible, My partner and I have applied for a 189 visa, all the documentation is currently in and we are waiting on the CO to come back to us with the final decision, we are currently on my 457 visa which expires in February and also have a bridging visa which will come into effect at that point.
> 
> However we are flying home to Ireland for Christmas with my partner flying home tonight and myself flying home next Thursday. My query is if the 189 approval is granted while we are overseas will that have any effect as we stated on the application that we are currently onshore.Our current 457 visa has unrestricted travel rights and the bridging visa wouldn't come into effect until after we return.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassie -

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage! Unfortunately same sex marriages have no legal standing in Australia for immigration purposes, so you would be applying as de facto partners and the same rules would generally apply as they do for married partners for the 461 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cassie said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Me and my partner are going to get married in NZ and as a same sex international marriage, I read that It was reconized in Victoria since a few days. We wish to get the NZ family relationship visa, and was wondering if our wedding will have an impact on our visa like reducing the 12 month requierement or no ?
> 
> Thanks for your time.
> Cassie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romero2005 -

Unlike most skills assessors, ACS almost always deducts years of experience for skilled visa skills assessments - you'd have to look at the ACS Summary of Criteria chart on their website to see how many years they would deduct in your case depending on your specific circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



romero2005 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Currently, I applied for EOI using 263111 (Computer networks) without experience. (190 NSW - 55+5) applied on 6th march.
> 
> but I am working as a system analyst and next year(2016) I am completing my 3 years of work. So i hope to apply for ACS again adding my work exp letters as system analyst. Will they deduct any experience. I want to get the advantage of that 5 points.
> 
> my points are
> Study - 15
> Au study - 5
> Professional yeat - 5
> age - 30
> IELTS - 0


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nnaorin19 -

DIBP is continuing work through the holidays with only the public holidays off - they are not shutting down for 2 weeks or anything like that, but I would guess that things might slow down a bit if many staff members are on holiday.

No way to predict DIBP processing times - I stopped doing that a long time ago... could be a few weeks to a few months, but no way to say with any accuracy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nnaorin19 said:


> also can you please tell me how long it might take to grant the visa after medical and additional document submission? thanks just the tentative one


----------



## tauseef

Hi Mark,

I have got my 190 VISA and my IED is in June 2016. Is this possible to validate the VISA by performing the journey and later we can move permanently in year 2017? The two year commitment on 190 VISA starts from validation trip or when we decide to move permanently after performing the validation?

Regards,

Tauseef


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fiontong -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately no way to check progress of an application whether you're an agent or not. Assuming your BVA still has no fixed expiration date, that means the application is still processing. Beyond that, there are only 3 status codes listed in the ImmiAccount for an application underway - Application Received, Application being Assessed, and Finalised. Which means, essentially, no way to tell how much longer it will take or how far through the process DIBP is at any particular point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fiontong said:


> Hi Mark, seek u help.
> I wanna to know if I can check up the application status if I applied the 820/801 thur agent? I got a valid BVA on hand and I can check it up thur VEVO is "in effect" but I cant check the progress of the 820/801.
> 
> Thanks for help and wish u and your family Merry Christmas..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AussieToB -

Nope, only 15 points for a Bachelor Degree or higher, sorry!

Best,

Mark



AussieToB said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I received my MSA result from Engineers Australia yesterday and got positive outcome for my Bachelors Degree as below.
> 
> Professional Engineer - skill Level 1 - ANZSCO code 263311.
> 
> and got below additional remarks.
> 
> *Highest Relevant Qualification*
> Your qualification obtained from the below institution has been assessed as comparable to the listed Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) level for the purposes of awarding points under the General
> Skilled Migration points test:
> 
> *AQF Level - Masters Degree*
> 
> I am confused (and excited) on the *Highest Relevant Qualification* part where it says about awarding points under General Skilled Migration Points Test for this qualification.
> 
> Are there any points awarded for Approved Assessed Masters Degree?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Irina_Pandey -

Thanks for the note. While the notes you quoted are interesting, none of them is about CPA Australia - and you've got to get a positive skills assessment from them in order to get started with a skilled visa. Notes 1 and 2 have to do with people with very high points values being able to access certain occupations, etc not generally available to other applicants, and Note 3 is about a different skills assessor, Engineers Australia (which generally requires only 6 on each band of IELTS). The skills assessor for your nominated occupation sets their own requirements which, in some cases such as with accountants, are higher than DIBP's minimum standards.

I'd ask CPA Australia directly if there are any alternatives available if you're not able to get 7 on each band of IELTS and work from there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



irina_pandey said:


> Hello Mark, Thank you for your help again and again.
> Husband took IELTS 4 times but every time one module shows 6.5. Its not enough for accountants/finance people. Recently we came to know from one agent in India about following:
> 1. New South Wales - A new stream 2 has been introduced. If you don't qualify under the old program, you can check if your occupation does fall under Stream 2.
> 2. South Australia- Many aspirants who did not qualify , can now check their eligibility under Special Conditions .
> 3. Engineers Australia- Will accept combined results of IELTS or TOEFL IBT provided the required score is reached for each module at least once. Is something like this available for accountants also (I mean combined results)?
> 
> Can we proceed for CPA Skills Assessment with IELTS score where one module is 6.5?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Diddi -

Thanks for the note and happy holidays! Yes, you can apply for a visitor visa at any time you'd like. Key is to show that your ties to your home country are stronger than your ties to your fiance, or otherwise minimise the risk that you will overstay in Australia. Since you've already lodged a 309/100, I'd write them a letter to include with the application emphasizing this and state that you would never put your 309/100 at risk by overstaying, etc. Also include the part about how your partner is required to come to Australia and this is beyond your control, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



diletta.laino said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am Diddi, Italian.
> It's been 1year since I left Australia, on the condition of my 2nd WHV expiring.
> I am engaged to an Aussie and we currently live in NZ together (since I couldn't be in Australia).
> In June 2015 we lodged a 309/100 (decision ready - I know it doesn't matter anymore- but we really included everything the day we submitted)
> Now my partner is going through a time he must be in Australia but we cannot stand to live apart
> My question is: can I apply for tourist visa since no case officer has yet been allocated and it's likely to take a few months still before they will look at my 309 case??
> There's something I need to mention on that: I had a 600 tourist visa refused in January 2014.. Will they refuse me a tourist visa again even though it's been 2 years?
> 
> Any help will be appreciated.
> 
> Best Regards and a merry Xmas to you and your dears.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Laurenrose25 -

Thanks for the note. Typically an applicant and sponsor each write a statement about the development of their relationship including how you live your lives together currently, which includes covering the 4 major types of relationship evidence required for a visa (financial, social, nature of the household, and commitment to each other). No need to address these in separate statements. In addition to the statements written by the applicant and sponsor about the relationship, it's also important to include witness statements on Form 888 (DIBP partner visa stat dec form if Australian PR or citizen) or simply printed and signed on plan paper with a copy of the writer's ID, to support the relationship - these are statements where friends, family, etc declare that the relationship is genuine and include some observations or additional info as to why they believe this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



laurenrose25 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am certain this has been asked before, but I have spent the last hour looking for answer with to no avail I have applied for a Partner Visa Online, and am in the process of uploading documents. Basically, I need some issues I am facing clarified and would be very grateful for some help:
> 
> 1) Certain sections, I.e. Nature of the couple's mutual commitment to each other, Evidence of require a Statutory Declaration and a further statement regarding future plans. We have no issues doing both, however, do the stat decs need to be individual ones just detailing that specific section, or can we write one, outlining all the criteria and just upload this several times where required? I have been told by someone that she uploaded 12 Stat Decs, 6 for her, and 6 from her partner.
> 
> Any help and clarification on Stat Decs and these further Statements would be extremely grateful.
> 
> Merry Christmas


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lakshmi -

Thanks, and happy holidays to you and yours!

Best,

Mark



LakshmiNarasimhan_S said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your advice. I went with option 1 to get ACS reviewed my last to previous company for the same occupation code (Systems Analyst - 261112) and came positive. Now total points come to 65, happily waiting for the invitation.
> 
> You are the best mark! Merry Christmas to you and your near & dears!!
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hdhami -

Thanks for the note. Once you become a permanent resident of Australia via grant of 143 visa (and entering Australia to activate that visa), you can then sponsor a partner for a partner visa assuming you meet all the other requirements. However if you are in a de facto relationship or marry her prior to the 143 grant, you may no longer qualify for the 143 as being married or in a de facto relationship would disqualify you from being a dependent on your mother's application. You need to be very careful what you claim, especially if you lodge the partner visa soon after your 143 was granted. Suggest you consult with a registered migration agent about this to make sure you understand all the fine details of the law and regulations in this area before you proceed with marriage, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hdhami said:


> Hi mark.
> I have a query... Actually i am a dependant and my mother is the main applicant for cpv143 applied on april 2014 (20 months). I am 22 years old and still dependant on my parents.. I like a girl and wanna marry her though she is not a aussie...i would want to marry her as soon as possible but after my 143 granted ...I want to know can i marry her as soon as after i get my visa 143 granted..or do i have to wait for sometime to get married and to sponsor her for partner visa???
> as a example if i get my visa granted in this year april. Can i marry to her As soon . And thn sponser her for partner visa as i reach australia?
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xelnaga -

Thanks for the note. Form 80 only required for 186 visa if specifically requested by DIBP/case officer. Q17 is about addresses you "lived at" which would not normally include places you stayed for a short stay assuming you maintained your primary address elsewhere. I don't know enough about your circumstances to provide specific advice, but from your post I think your interpretation of the question is good. Q33 is a poorly worded question, but essentially asks for any other "addresses" you have in Australia, so I'd include anything/everything you can here that you have records of that was not listed in Q17 including hotels, etc. Especially if it was on a landing card, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xelnaga said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First let me thank you for helping the community in this thread, it's an incredible relief to have someone like you help in these stressful matters
> 
> I have some questions on the oft-maligned Form 80:
> 1) I'm applying for an ENS 186 TRT stream visa, is Form 80 mandatory at the time of application? I know some people who have applied last year to the same visa but didn't have to fill it out, and got the visa, however it's in the document checklist now on the Immi website, and so I'm a bit confused.
> 2) Question 17 (Address history): Is this question asking about all places I've slept (including hotels/serviced apartments) in the last 10 years, or just places which I considered to be my residences (I define this by places where I spent over a month, had a residency contract, received mail, etc)? There was a similar question on the PCC and they were only asking for the latter, I have this list still to use. For example, when I arrived in Australia I spent a week or two in serviced accommodation provided by my company while looking for an apartment, but of course I still had full use of my existing apartment in my previous country of residence, where I was still receiving mail (I never received mail at hotels/serviced apartments, however I DID put this address down on my landing card...), and so I would not put this address down. I also visited some hotels when visiting different cities in Australia, I also don't think these entries belong here. If you believe I should put some of these places down, what would be the criteria that you'd use to evaluate whether to include them or not?
> 3) Question 33 (Do you have any other addresses in Australia that have not been declared at Question 17?): How do you generally interpret this question? As the question is in present tense, I understand it as a question relating to the use of more than 1 addresses concurrently, for example if I owned two houses and lived in one of them. Alternatively, it could refer to non-residential addresses ("have" instead of "reside")? If so, what types of addresses would you recommend to list here? For example, would the serviced apartment from 2) qualify, the hotels I stayed at, or my company's mailing address as I have been receiving mail there from time to time?
> 
> Thank you once again for your help, it's much appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Twid -

Thanks for the note. The good news is that as long as ACS is happy and grants the skills assessment, as you are not claiming any work experience for points with DIBP, DIBP will not generally require payslips or any other proof of employment for those jobs - generally this is only required if you are claiming points for these.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



twid said:


> Hi Mark,
> I appreciate your service to all in need.
> I want to apply for visa 189, I have 2 years of experience. So I am eligible for that. But I have some confusion regarding proof of work.
> 
> I have all the required documents from current employer, Offer letter, payslips, bank statement. and for my previous employer from UK, I have Offer letter, relieving letter. However, I have got only few payslips for about last 6-7 month and printed bank statement for same about last 6-7 months.
> After research I found out that ACS may not ask for other than experience letter. But I have no idea about whether will it require when I apply for visa?
> 
> So far I asked my previous employer for payslips but they don't maintain payslips. So unfortunately they cant provide me duplicate copies of them.
> Also, I am trying hard to get bank statement from bank, unfortunately so far I haven't succeeded as I left UK and closed that account. I think they don't cooperate with former customer.
> Is it compulsory to show proof of payment at visa application.
> 
> I appreciate your help.
> 
> Note: I am not going to claim points for my work experience


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rreigns -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa. Your question is a highly technical one that would require researching each of the qualifications and checking policy and possibly the skills assessor's requirements in order to answer.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



rreigns said:


> Diploma in IT Networking and Cert iii in light vehicle mechanical technology would be consider consistent with nominating motor mechanic as we can use networking skills in automotive industry in order to service, repair security systems and components, vehicle control systems, gps sensor, back and front sensor etc. So can anyone tell me this qualifications closely related to each other? Please let me know. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ht1 -

Thanks for the note. Normally DIBP is not too picky about this sort of thing - since you have the stat decs in at time of application, no problem generally if you wanted to include updated copies with the correct witnessing, etc on them re: initialing the additional page(s). Also normally the person who witnesses the stat dec (such as a JP, etc) would also initial each additional page.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ht1 said:


> hi Mark
> 
> My fiancé and I submitted his spousal visa application online 2 weeks ago and I have been having a stress in regards to one of the Statutory declarations we submitted along with the application so I was hoping you would be able to give some high level guidance.
> 
> As part of the application we submitted 2 stat decs (signed and witnessed) along with all other required information. When our friend completed the stat dec, for the 2 main sections (how do you know them/ do you think relationship is genuine and continuing), she wrote 'see attached' and inserted a typed sheet of paper with her responses to these two questions. She and her witness didn't sign this extra sheet of paper and so I am worried the department won't accept it as they will be concerned about its authenticity(as in theory I could've inserted this sheet of paper).
> 
> What can I do in this instance? I can get another one prepared by someone else however it will be dated 4 weeks from the date of application (and the guidance is quite clear it needs to be submitted at the time of application). I am absolutely kicking myself in relation to this as I should know better.
> 
> Any suggestions would be appreciated. if they didn't accept the stat declaration submitted, would they reject the visa on the spot?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Heidi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 4lashyme -

Thanks for the note. No good way to predict - I've seen these happen in a few weeks to a few months - given many take holidays this month, I would not be too concerned at the moment - you might give them a call in late January and politely enquire as to how long it's currently taking for invites to be issued and see what you can learn.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



4lashyme said:


> Hi Mark,
> Please just one question. I submitted my EOI early this month choosing Queensland as my destination for 489 subclass visa. I am yet to get an invite from them. I would like to know how long it takes for them to send invitation to apply for the state nomination?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karthick -

Thanks for the note. Re: previous employer letter, you will need to have your previous employer make any changes, however you'll need to be careful that the new letter does not conflict with anything said in the previous letter or you could have a problem re: integrity. Business Analyst to analyst programmer is a fairly big leap, so you may have some reluctance from ACS to accept that the same previous work experience could be for both occupations, but that depends on your individual circumstances. I expect they will take 4 years as before as that decision is primarily based on your previous degree, vs your current occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mgkarthick said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks in advance for your response which is going to change my fate...
> 
> 1) I have applied ACS 6 months ago and assesed as ICT BA... Now I want to change to Analyst programmer. I want to add few lines in my previous employer letter which I have got recently. Can I add few additional points in my previously submitted documents and reasses?.
> 
> 2) In last assessment, I have been assessed as ICT Major (Electrical and Electronics engineering) "Your Bachelor of Engineering from Anna University completed April 2005 has been assessed as
> comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in computing."
> 
> However, they have deducted 4 years when assessing ICT BA. If assess as Analyst programmer now, will they deduct 4 years or 2 years? Please advise.
> 
> Kindly advise.
> 
> Regards, Karthick


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hasan -

Thanks for the note. For the 5-year Resident Return Visa, applied for at the end of your initial 5 year PR period, you have to show that during the 5 years prior to applying for the RRV you have spent a TOTAL of 24 months in Australia - they can be at any time during the 5 years, and they do not have to be a continuous period of 24 months - can be 3 months here, 15 months there, 5 months at another time, - as long as the total adds up to 24 months, you're good. Time outside Australia on holiday is in a bit of a grey area, so I would plan ahead and assume that time will not be counted.

If you spend less than 24 months in total during the 5 years, you can stay in Australia at the end of the initial 5 yr period and remain in Australia as long as you like - note that only your right to re-enter Australia is extended with the RRV visa. Also if you spend less than 24 months and want to apply for an RRV, there is a 1-year RRV available if you can show substantial business, cultural, employment or personal ties to Australia and there's a 3-month RRV available in other circumstances - see DIBP website for full details on all.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mhasankamal said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your continuous support at this platform.
> 
> Recently i got my NSW Permanent Residency (190 Visa). I will give my first entry very soon. I got to know that to apply for a resident return visa i have to complete my last 2 years of PR in australia. Otherwise my PR will expire and i will not get the resident return visa.
> 
> I just need to know that are there any holidays allowed in those two years? or i cannot exit australia for whole 2 years to apply for a resident return visa? or can i exit australia for holidays and come back after some days in those 2 years?
> In these cases will i be eligible for a resident return visa if i exit australia for holidays and come back after some days in the last two years?
> 
> My second question is that what will be the validity for a resident return visa? Is it the same 5 years as for PR?
> 
> Thank you,
> Hasan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Redmuncher -

Thanks for the note. You might look at the employer sponsored pathway through a 457 visa leading to an employer sponsored 186 or 187 PR visa, however you would still need to satisfy the minimum ANZSCO requirements for your occupation - this usually is a minimum of a particular educational qualification or a minimum number of years of experience. For trades, a trade qualification can often qualify, but you'd need to look at the specific occupation you are interested in.

Re: dependency under 457 for those over 17, this gets into a fairly complex area that you and your mother may want to consult with a migration agent about directly - in some cases changes after a visa is granted can change a person's eligibility to continue to hold that visa, but in other cases aspects are only assessed at the time of application. Also carefully check the conditions on your visa and look on the DIBP website to see what they mean and all requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



redmuncher said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently a dependent of my mother's 457 visa.I was studying at uni but I am now going to stop due to poor performance. Since the initial plan, that was to graduate from uni and get a skilled visa, is no longer an option. I am wondering what pathway I should take from the 457 dependent in order to get a PR visa, if possible.
> 
> When I tried looking up ways to get a PR visa, its usually through the "skilled" option, as I am not a uni graduate this isnt an option. Are there any possible way to get a PR visa being unskilled?
> 
> I am also considering taking up Certificate courses at TAFE if getting a certificate would classify as "skilled".
> 
> *edit*
> I am 25 and my mother told me there could possibly be issues regarding the new 457 visa that was awarded to her and me and as her dependent child. Basically, when she applied for the 457 again early this year, there were issues about my age being over 18 or 21. But it worked out somehow because I was wholly/fully dependent as I was only studying at uni full time and have no job. Since I would stop being both a student and fully dependent if I find a job, even part time or casual. We are concerned about this issue because these changes might affect the already granted 457 visa through the nomination of my mother's employer.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AUSBambi -

Thanks very much, and the same to you!

Best,

Mark



AUSBambi said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Just want to say: Thank you so much for your contribution.
> 
> Wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2016


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Toldo68 -

That's a very specific definition that can vary from one assessing authority to another - I would ask them exactly what they mean by the term. I would make sure to ask them if it means that, for example, if you have a home valued at $900,000 and there is a $300,000 mortgage outstanding on the home, is the net asset value per NT 900k or 300k or something else?

Best,

Mark



Toldo68 said:


> What exactly is Net assets ? I was required to do it by NT authority !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lightbulb -

You would have to apply for ministerial intervention (MI) prior to your BVC expiring, then the day after the BVC expires, go to DIBP personally to apply for a BV-E. Also note that the Minister has issued guidelines recently that if you applied for your partner visa onshore after being refused another visa previously on that same trip (ie, applied for 485, 485 refused, then applied for partner visa while on bridging visa, etc), the Minister will not consider those cases for MI going forward. This has the potential to affect many persons with Schedule 3 based DIBP and AAT refusals.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lightbulb said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am applying for ministerial intervention as my 820 partner application was not successful at the AAT. I'm on a BVC 030. When applying for a new bridging visa which one do I apply for? Is it a new BVC or now a BVE 050?
> 
> Wish you a very merry Christmas.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael -

It depends who will be assessing the certified copies - if it is DIBP, then an Australian registered migration agent can certify copies for use in a DIBP application - however do note that some skills assesors, etc will not accept copies certified by migration agents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



michael1234 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I want to ask whether a certified migration agent in Australia can certify copies of documents in a foreign language. Otherwise, who can do that?
> I know certified translations can be obtained from NAATI translators, but they cannot provide certified copies.
> 
> Cheers,
> Michael


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Muroora -

You could each write your own invitation letter, or prepare a joint letter signed by all 3 - either is OK.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Muroora said:


> hi Mark
> could i please ask. we are 3 siblings and wanting to invite our parents for 3 months on a visitors visa and each one wants to spend 1 month with them. Do we all have to write invitation letters as separate individuals.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zulfiqar489-

Thanks for the note. Re: which country, doesn't matter as skilled visa applications are online applications and are assessed in Australia regardless of where you lodge. Re: police, you'll need certificates from all countries you've lived in for a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years. Only 1 health exam needed - you can take this wherever is convenient at a DIBP-approved facility or panel doctor - see DIBP website for more on this. Re: ACS and work colleague, that gets tricky - best to discuss directly with ACS. If you can prove 8+ years of experience after your qualification, might not need to claim points from the third company, depends on your circumstances. Work colleague letters are generally given low consideration by skills assessors since it is assumed that a colleague will generally write anything you ask them to, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zulfiqar4891 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are fine and in the best of your health. I live in India at present and planning to move to middle east in the next couple of months for work. I am very keen on migrating to Australia under the Skilled Independent Category. I have almost 10 years of experience in my field of work and have worked in 2 companies since. Now moving on to the third employer supposedly in middle east.
> 
> I have a couple of issues which I hope you can clarify.
> 
> - From which country do I have to lodge an application for PR? Can I still employ an agent in my native country to lodge a PR application?
> 
> - Also, do I have to submit police and medical clearance certificates from both the countries or the ones from my native country are enough?
> 
> - For skills assessment by ACS, my third employer will be a company in the middle eastern country. They might not give me an employment reference certificate. I can get a work colleague to certify me But since I am only a couple of months into the job when I apply for assessment, Will this pose a problem towards my application?
> 
> Awaiting your reply with clarifications.
> 
> Thank You very much.
> 
> Regards,
> Zulfiqar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jessharper -

Thanks for the note. If the applicant holds a 820 visa and the applicant and sponsor have a child together, then the applicant can apply to continue the migration process and get the 801 permanent partner visa even if the relationship breaks down. Would suggest you consult directly with a registered migration agent to get full details on this provision of the partner visa legislation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jessharper said:


> Hi mark what are the options with being in a defacto visa if we break up we have a child together will he have to leave the country ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Milz -

DIBP generally accepts any valid credit card for payment of online applications, regardless whether the name on the card is the same as the name of the applicant or sponsor. DIBP no longer allows in-person payment for visa applications as far as I know, and pre-payment by mail is a complicated process and generally only used for offshore paper applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Milz said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> it states on the website under the payment section for subclass 300, 301 and other subclass related for a partner visa, that if the sponsor is the one to pay .... then its best to submit the form by mail or personally
> my question is .. can the sponsor fill in their details online and the applicant fill in the form??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohabelhaddad -

Too many details and regulations to give you any sort of an assessment online, however I'd have a look at the subclass 189 and 190 visas to see if you are eligible assuming you have a valid skills assessment or can get one. Other than that, the subclass 457 temporary work visa and subclass 186 and 187 employer sponsored PR visas are another option if the skilled visa does not work out.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mohabelhaddad said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> Could you please advise which visa type is matching my qualifications and if I am eligible to apply for;
> 
> •	Age : 30 Years
> •	IELTS : 6 each band
> •	Work experience : 8 Years
> •	Profession : Mechanical engineer
> •	Qualification overseas is assessed by Australian engineering
> 
> Please advise which type of visa should I apply for.
> 
> Some visas are repealed such as 176 & 886, please advise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Calviny3k -

Thanks for the note. Answer is yes, however you would be holding a Bridging Visa A for the 485 application, and assuming you applied for the 189 sometime after you received the BVA, then you'd get a BVC from the 189 application that would sit unactivated under the BVA. The BVA is a much better bridging visa than the BVC as it allows offshore travel (ie, BVA holder can apply for BVB for a trip out and back; BVC holder cannot so depending on your timetable you may want to hold out for the 485 application which means your BVA from that application would remain in place. Once you withdraw the 485 prior to decision, your BVA will cease 28 days after the withdrawal and your BVC will activate, ending your work rights potentially and ending your ability to travel outside Australia and return until the 189 is granted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



calviny3k said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are enjoying the festive season. I have an enquiry regarding my EOI for Visa 189.
> 
> I have officially submitted my EOI with 60 points on 16th December. However, judging from the previous rounds of invitation, it doesn't seem like I will get an invitation anytime before 15th of March, which is the date when my student visa expires.
> 
> Therefore, I am looking to apply for Visa 485 (Temporary Graduate Visa) in February. However, the processing may take up to 12 months. If I receive an offer from my EOI submission while I'm on a bridging visa for the processing of Visa 485, can I still apply for Visa 189 and withdraw my Visa 485 application without affecting my residency status in Australia?
> 
> Thanks once again for your insights. I look forward to hearing from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neetu9780 -

You'll definitely need a positive skills assessment to apply for a 189 visa. If you don't want to pursue the prof yr program from ACS, you may need to find a different occupation that your degree would still be relevant for but is not assessed by ACS since different assessors have different requirements and some do not require work experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



neetu9780 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I will be completing my Bachelor of Information Technology (Majors in Computer Science and Software Development) in July 2016 and it is professionally accredited with the Australian Computer Society (ACS).
> 
> I have read from the ACS website under the suitability criteria that for Post Australian Study Skills Assessment, I would need :
> 
> Australian Bachelor degree or higher with a major in ICT which is closely
> related to the nominated occupation (ANZSCO) plus one of the following requirements for a suitable skills assessment:
>  1 year of relevant work experience completed after the completion date of the
> relevant Australian degree, or
>  Completion of an ACS Professional Year Program.
> 
> So, I want to ask is that is there any other way that I can apply for subclass 189?
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tauseef -

This is an issue that is governed by the state sponsorship authority that sponsored you and is not a DIBP issue - suggest you contact the state authority for any guidance on this - they all have different rules, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tauseef said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have got my 190 VISA and my IED is in June 2016. Is this possible to validate the VISA by performing the journey and later we can move permanently in year 2017? The two year commitment on 190 VISA starts from validation trip or when we decide to move permanently after performing the validation?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Tauseef


----------



## Asa100

*visitor visa 600*

I also submitted an online visitor visa application for 3 months on 24th of november after lodging the partner visa.I submitted all the documents along with it.employment ...credit card ..bank statements and all the necessary things.its more than one month now.still the application status says assessment on process even after this long.does anyone have a idea on this why it get delays this long.I thought bcoz of my partner visa they will take my visitor visa application in a positive way and grant a visa soon.Also i submitted my wife's pregnancy report and commitments and assets i have back in sri lanka for my return.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Asa100 -

DIBP processing times are very hard to predict, and while you've submitted what sounds like good evidence, DIBP routinely refuses visa applicants from partners if there are insufficient ties shown to provide sufficient motivation for the applicant to return to their home country after the visit. It sounds like you're on the right track, now it's a matter of waiting - we're seeing processing times anywhere from 2 weeks to several months for visitor visas - there's a large variety in the times because most of these are processed by offshore DIBP offices that do not have specific rules re: any time limits for processing, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



Asa100 said:


> I also submitted an online visitor visa application for 3 months on 24th of november after lodging the partner visa.I submitted all the documents along with it.employment ...credit card ..bank statements and all the necessary things.its more than one month now.still the application status says assessment on process even after this long.does anyone have a idea on this why it get delays this long.I thought bcoz of my partner visa they will take my visitor visa application in a positive way and grant a visa soon.Also i submitted my wife's pregnancy report and commitments and assets i have back in sri lanka for my return.


----------



## fiontong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fiontong -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Unfortunately no way to check progress of an application whether you're an agent or not. Assuming your BVA still has no fixed expiration date, that means the application is still processing. Beyond that, there are only 3 status codes listed in the ImmiAccount for an application underway - Application Received, Application being Assessed, and Finalised. Which means, essentially, no way to tell how much longer it will take or how far through the process DIBP is at any particular point.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thanks for your prompt reply and wish you superb and prosperous new year. I set up the ImmiAccount but no record found under my applctaion. That means, I cannt check the status except my agent?

Thanks again, fion


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fion -

I believe there may be a way (heard this from a client) but I don't have specifics yet - it may have just started with the Nov changes - will post back here if I can locate the specific way to do this.

Best,

Mark



fiontong said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for your prompt reply and wish you superb and prosperous new year. I set up the ImmiAccount but no record found under my applctaion. That means, I cannt check the status except my agent?
> 
> Thanks again, fion


----------



## Asa100

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Asa100 -
> 
> DIBP processing times are very hard to predict, and while you've submitted what sounds like good evidence, DIBP routinely refuses visa applicants from partners if there are insufficient ties shown to provide sufficient motivation for the applicant to return to their home country after the visit. It sounds like you're on the right track, now it's a matter of waiting - we're seeing processing times anywhere from 2 weeks to several months for visitor visas - there's a large variety in the times because most of these are processed by offshore DIBP offices that do not have specific rules re: any time limits for processing, etc.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thankx alot Mark


----------



## michael1234

Hello Mark,

Could I just confirm that your answer applies to documents in a *foreign language*? i.e. that a migration agent can certify copies of documents which are written in a *foreign language*? I'll mention that I already have a translation by a NAATI translator.

Thank you,
Michael



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Michael -
> 
> It depends who will be assessing the certified copies - if it is DIBP, then an Australian registered migration agent can certify copies for use in a DIBP application - however do note that some skills assesors, etc will not accept copies certified by migration agents.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> michael1234 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I want to ask whether a certified migration agent in Australia can certify copies of documents in a foreign language. Otherwise, who can do that?
> I know certified translations can be obtained from NAATI translators, but they cannot provide certified copies.
> 
> Cheers,
> Michael
Click to expand...


----------



## calviny3k

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the swift reply.

So according to your answer, it'd be better if I go ahead and apply for visa 189 but not withdraw my supposed pending visa 485. My work rights will be the most important factor. Is it possible to upgrade from BVC to BVA after withdrawing my application or it is better to have both applications active? Will DIBP grant my visa 485 first then visa 189 after due to my timeline of application? I would hate to be in a situation where DIBP will override my visa 189 with visa 485 as visa 189 is ultimately what I am after for.

Thanks once again!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Calviny3k -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Answer is yes, however you would be holding a Bridging Visa A for the 485 application, and assuming you applied for the 189 sometime after you received the BVA, then you'd get a BVC from the 189 application that would sit unactivated under the BVA. The BVA is a much better bridging visa than the BVC as it allows offshore travel (ie, BVA holder can apply for BVB for a trip out and back; BVC holder cannot so depending on your timetable you may want to hold out for the 485 application which means your BVA from that application would remain in place. Once you withdraw the 485 prior to decision, your BVA will cease 28 days after the withdrawal and your BVC will activate, ending your work rights potentially and ending your ability to travel outside Australia and return until the 189 is granted.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## fiontong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fion -
> 
> I believe there may be a way (heard this from a client) but I don't have specifics yet - it may have just started with the Nov changes - will post back here if I can locate the specific way to do this.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hi Mark

Thanks for the swift swift reply, unbelievable u still work till late.

Please let me know if u got the findings or else.

Thanks again and again, fion


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael -

As far as I know, no issue with that. I've done it myself many times, and DIBP's guidance for this does not limit the copies to those in English: https://www.border.gov.au/Busi/Migr/Agen/Resources/2

This also aligns with guidance given to JP's re: certifying copies - ie, that the JP is not responsible for understanding the content of a document, only certifying that based on an admittedly superficial examination, the copy and the original appear to be duplicates. Also note that for online applications, certified copies are not necessary - DIBP accepts colour scans of originals - when a translation is done, a colour scan of the foreign language original and a colour scan of the translation stamped with the NAATI, etc stamp is generally fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



michael1234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Could I just confirm that your answer applies to documents in a *foreign language*? i.e. that a migration agent can certify copies of documents which are written in a *foreign language*? I'll mention that I already have a translation by a NAATI translator.
> 
> Thank you,
> Michael


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Calviny3k -

Not possible to upgrade BVC to BVA. Normally DIBP would contact you prior to granting the 189 if you still had some other (non-PR) visa application pending and ask you to withdraw that application prior to granting the 189 visa to avoid any potential overlap issues. No problem if 485 is granted first - 189 would simply replace the 485 upon grant of the 189.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



calviny3k said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the swift reply.
> 
> So according to your answer, it'd be better if I go ahead and apply for visa 189 but not withdraw my supposed pending visa 485. My work rights will be the most important factor. Is it possible to upgrade from BVC to BVA after withdrawing my application or it is better to have both applications active? Will DIBP grant my visa 485 first then visa 189 after due to my timeline of application? I would hate to be in a situation where DIBP will override my visa 189 with visa 485 as visa 189 is ultimately what I am after for.
> 
> Thanks once again!


----------



## JamesSultan

Hi Mark,

Received the positive skill assessment result, as follows:

*The following employment after June 2009 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 263655 (Systems Analyst) of the ANZSCO Code.
Dates: 06/07 - 09/15 (8yrs 3mths)
Position: Systems Analyst
Employer: ITF Solutions
Country: France*

Now i am filling EOI (Expression of interest) and have a question:
What should be the start date of my employment? 06/07 or 07/09?
_Shall i add my experience with actual dates which are 06/07 to 09/15
Or 
Shall i put it as 07/09 to 09/15_


----------



## linlanae

Hello Mark

My fiance and I have just applied for our PMV on 15 Dec, 2015 (finally!), and we are now discussing the possibility of me coming to Aus in a couple months to stay with him until the visa is granted. We're hoping to have me there by the end of Feb. or the beginning of March which would be about 2.5 months since applying.

Before we get too far into plans for this I'm hoping you may have some advise for us. I have a few questions that I'll list but we're just this past week researching this possibility so if I've left anything out please let me know!

1. Is it better to travel on an ETA from USA and make a short trip to NZ around the 90 day mark to reset the ETA? Or should I apply for a 6 month tourist visa? 

2. I've also read it's possible to travel to AUS on an ETA and then apply for the tourist visa onshore? I'd like to avoid causing any issues with Customs by continually resetting the ETA but I've read that sometimes it's an issue and sometimes not?

3. Can we just buy a one way ticket for me or would I need to prove further travel plans?

4. If I'm able to travel on a one way ticket would it be sufficient to provide a bank statement proving I have funds for an onward ticket?

I've searched and searched this forum and found some valuable info but most of it is dated from several years ago.

I'd appreciate any advise you can offer.

Thanks for your help already!


----------



## Alikiwi

Coming from the USA is usually easy, my wife, before we met did that, with a one way ticket. No questions were asked, and after arriving, extended her tourist visa from 3 months to 12 months. We haven't been apart since. That said, it would be wise to have proof that you can buy a return ticket, you just don't know who you'll get at customs on arrival.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James -

Thanks for the note. To avoid any claim for employment prior to the skilled deeming date from ACS (in your case, after June 2009), I would split this employment up into 2 parts - the first from June 2007 through June 2009, and the second part from July 2009 to Sep 2015. You can mark the first part as not relevant to your nominated occupation so no points will be calculated for that, and the second part as relevant to your nominated occupation since that would be used for work experience points assuming you are claiming for those.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JamesSultan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Received the positive skill assessment result, as follows:
> 
> *The following employment after June 2009 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 263655 (Systems Analyst) of the ANZSCO Code.
> Dates: 06/07 - 09/15 (8yrs 3mths)
> Position: Systems Analyst
> Employer: ITF Solutions
> Country: France*
> 
> Now i am filling EOI (Expression of interest) and have a question:
> What should be the start date of my employment? 06/07 or 07/09?
> _Shall i add my experience with actual dates which are 06/07 to 09/15
> Or
> Shall i put it as 07/09 to 09/15_


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Linlanae -

Thanks for the note. I'd probably go for the ETA, and based on what we're seeing it's likely you are OK for 2 entries on that (so 2 three-month entries). The issue may come up at some point when you enter that you may not be entering Australia for short-term visitor/tourism purposes - if they determine that is the case, you may be denied entry. Based on that I'd go for 2 entries on the ETA and then wait offshore for the PMV to be granted after that (typically 9 months after grant or so).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



linlanae said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> My fiance and I have just applied for our PMV on 15 Dec, 2015 (finally!), and we are now discussing the possibility of me coming to Aus in a couple months to stay with him until the visa is granted. We're hoping to have me there by the end of Feb. or the beginning of March which would be about 2.5 months since applying.
> 
> Before we get too far into plans for this I'm hoping you may have some advise for us. I have a few questions that I'll list but we're just this past week researching this possibility so if I've left anything out please let me know!
> 
> 1. Is it better to travel on an ETA from USA and make a short trip to NZ around the 90 day mark to reset the ETA? Or should I apply for a 6 month tourist visa?
> 
> 2. I've also read it's possible to travel to AUS on an ETA and then apply for the tourist visa onshore? I'd like to avoid causing any issues with Customs by continually resetting the ETA but I've read that sometimes it's an issue and sometimes not?
> 
> 3. Can we just buy a one way ticket for me or would I need to prove further travel plans?
> 
> 4. If I'm able to travel on a one way ticket would it be sufficient to provide a bank statement proving I have funds for an onward ticket?
> 
> I've searched and searched this forum and found some valuable info but most of it is dated from several years ago.
> 
> I'd appreciate any advise you can offer.
> 
> Thanks for your help already!


----------



## Maggie-May24

Alikiwi said:


> Coming from the USA is usually easy, my wife, before we met did that, with a one way ticket. No questions were asked, and after arriving, extended her tourist visa from 3 months to 12 months. We haven't been apart since. That said, it would be wise to have proof that you can buy a return ticket, you just don't know who you'll get at customs on arrival.


While it's always nice that you're trying to help other members, please don't reply to other people's posts in the Ask Mark thread. Thanks.


----------



## jsingh99

Hi Mark

I wish you Merry Christmas & Happy New Year in advance.I want to ask you one thing. I have submitted my EOI for ICT BA with 60 point in 190 NSW (SS) In November 3rd When i can expect the invitation.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jsingh99 -

Thanks - wish I had a nice solid prediction for you in return, but no good way to predict NSW SS authorities, especially during the holiday season. As with DIBP, NSW gives no firm commitments re: processing time, so everybody essentially gets to wait until they have made a decision. What's worse, state skilled authorities often take into account a wide variety of factors - some publicised, some perhaps not publicised, so it can be a bit of an unpredictable process. I've seen it take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, but that's still nothing to count on.

Best,

Mark Northam



jsingh99 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I wish you Merry Christmas & Happy New Year in advance.I want to ask you one thing. I have submitted my EOI for ICT BA with 60 point in 190 NSW (SS) In November 3rd When i can expect the invitation.


----------



## manly4eva

Hi Mark just a question regarding supporting docs for 820 visa.

We have been together for almost 4 yrs now but only able to live together for a full 12 months this past year in Australia whilst she is on a tourist visa..All other living arangements have been myself 5 months in her country and then 7 months back home in Oz due to my work.During her stay I had her name put on my car,boat and trailer registration,we also have joint a lease on a property for the last 4 months and have had a joint bank account for 6 months.We also applied and withdrew a 309 visa back in early 2013 due her not being able to get annuled.If I mentioned the withdrawn 309 visa from 2013 could it be used as a supporting document? ( Would they still have this on record?) Does it look like we have enough supporting evidence along with stat decs from friends and relatives? My main concern was if we have enough evidence IE; joint documents.Her 9 yr old son will be included in the application.

Thanks Ron


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ron -

Thanks for the note. Not sure that the previous withdrawn 309 would be of any real benefit with a current visa. Re: relationship evidence, would need to see your evidence and documents in a consult in order to give you an opinion on relevance and effectiveness - it sounds like you're on the right track, but not possible to say more than that without having a look. Given DIBP's focus on living together, I'd look for any & all evidence you can of living together, including statements from landlords or whoever you rented from or stayed with, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



manly4eva said:


> Hi Mark just a question regarding supporting docs for 820 visa.
> 
> We have been together for almost 4 yrs now but only able to live together for a full 12 months this past year in Australia whilst she is on a tourist visa..All other living arangements have been myself 5 months in her country and then 7 months back home in Oz due to my work.During her stay I had her name put on my car,boat and trailer registration,we also have joint a lease on a property for the last 4 months and have had a joint bank account for 6 months.We also applied and withdrew a 309 visa back in early 2013 due her not being able to get annuled.If I mentioned the withdrawn 309 visa from 2013 could it be used as a supporting document? ( Would they still have this on record?) Does it look like we have enough supporting evidence along with stat decs from friends and relatives? My main concern was if we have enough evidence IE; joint documents.Her 9 yr old son will be included in the application.
> 
> Thanks Ron


----------



## Tahir1980

Hi Mark,
I have applied for 189 visa. I am primary applicant and have 4 dependents including 1 newborn baby of 3 months. I went for medical at Bupa Visa Medical Services but they didn't do medical of newborn because he is less than 6 months of age. They asked me to go to GP, get report and submit to case officer. Now I am not sure what type of report I should ask GP to provide? Please guide me if you have any idea about it. 

Regards


----------



## royalsam

*CPA assessment*

Hi Mark, happy new year!

I have a question. I applied to CPA (221111) for assessment with one year work experience in Australia. They assessed my Australia bachelor degree and SMIPA positively but said that your work duties are not considered to the level of depth as general accountant. My employer is friendly and I can get a new letter listing my detailed duties.

Can I get new letter and apply for review?

OR

Can I apply for assessment from different body like IPA or ICAA?

Much appreciated, Cheers


----------



## LCN

Hello Mark
Happy New Year to you and your family. Wishing you a year full of success, health and happiness. 
It would be very much appreciated if you could give us an answer on a small question: we got PR about two months ago. My sponsor is threatening me to cancel my PR due to our daily disagreements. Is he eligible to do it? Thanks a lot.


----------



## Momoka

Greetings Mark,

I want to explain my very personal situation out of desperation for relief--

I have been with my boyfriend for 8 years, nearly 9 now. I am 24 years old and live in the US. He is an Australian citizen. I have never worked, do not own a bank account, no credit cards.. I am supported solely by my family. 
My boyfriend on the other hand, has a job, has always worked and been working incredibly hard to bring us together. He has visited me in the US 3 years ago on a tourist visa then had to return to Australia. Since then, we've never been reunited.. 

We were never able to afford the costs of a partner visa along with the cost of traveling to and sustaining life for all those years, especially since I am not able to pull my own weight. Now, he has made enough money to do those things after trying so hard. The issue is, our hearts ache everyday.. Longing to be with each other after spending years reaching our hands across the oceans.

So we decided to research and read that it was possible to get a visitor visa then apply for partner visa while onshore. This way, we wouldn't have to wait another year to be together.. We were so excited and believed we would finally get to have a normal life as a couple together.

We were wrong. So wrong..

We applied for the visitor visa (subclass 600). After a week, I was requested for more information. The kind that doesn't exist for me. Bank statements or credit card statements. After doing more intense research and asking google many questions, I learn many terrible things..

First, if you can't prove that you can support yourself without anyone's help, you will be declined.
if you aren't a genuine tourist, you will be declined
if you show any signs of trying to stay (like applying for a partner visa using the visitor visa), you will be declined

Not only that, but even if the visitor visa does get approved, it will most likely be stamped "No further stay". Then that means applying for a partner visa onshore won't be allowed. I'll have to leave him.. I can't bear that.. 


I know I'm breaking down to a stranger, but please, is there any way I can get through all these problems? I'm struggling to get through each day. I can't take it anymore..


Thank you for taking time to read


----------



## JamesSultan

Dear All,

While filling up my education details in EOI, i am running out of space in some text boxes. For Example, my university name is quite long and the text box doesn't allows me to enter it fully. What should i do in this case?


----------



## ashka

Hi Mark, 
you seem like you are the go to man. Hope you can help us in anyway. 

I sponsored my Australian wife 4 years ago and we been happily married living in America ever since and she's about to get her dual citizenship. She misses family and I would like to travel to Australia and do the same process she went through so we can both have dual citizenship and be able to travel back and forth to visit family, work etc. with no restrictions. We were excited to get this on way, until I read a brief statement by someone online saying that your partner cannot sponsor you if they had been sponsored themselves within 5 years. Does this apply if the person they were sponsored by was their husband? If this is true is it possible for one of her parents to co-sponsor me in her place. Or is our only option to wait it out another year in america. We're both about to be 30, my wife is newly pregnant with our first child and my only family lives in Canada. I would love for our child to have grandparents to grow up with. 

Thank you!


----------



## Jamd

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jamd -
> 
> Thanks for the note. This issue is too complex to determine best advice and answers to on the forum - the short answer is that if you were domiciled in Australia at the time of marriage and went home to get married, and your wife is less than 18 years old at the time of marriage, the marriage will not be considered a legal marriage by Australia for purposes of a partner visa. This will remain the case even after she turns 18. Beyond that, you may want to consider the de facto provisions of the partner visa, but that requires the relationship existing for 12 months at a de facto level, and a person cannot be in a de facto relationship until they turn 18. Happy to assist you in detail with your case at a consultation where we can discuss all of your circumstances in detail - see website below in my signature for more.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot mark for detailed response. What does it mean that "you're domiciled in Australia?"
Does my moving to Australia on PR means I am domiciled in Australia now?

Please confirm.


----------



## JamesSultan

Dear Mark,

Happy New Year. I have 2 questions and will appreciate your comments on it.

1. While filling up my education details in EOI, i am running out of space in some text boxes. For Example, my university name is quite long and the text box doesn't allows me to enter its complete name. What should i do in this case?

2. How easy it is to change the partner information after receiving an ITA _(Before submitting a visa application)_? For Example: In my EOI, if i mention that i do not want to include my spouse in my application and then later after receiving ITA, i decide to include her in my application. Is it just a matter to mentioning her in my visa application or is there another way?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Royalsam -

Essentially you can do either, however if you produce a new employer letter, you'll want to make sure that nothing in that letter conflicts with what was said in the previous letter, especially if you apply for a review or appeal at CPA Australia. See CPA Australia for their latest rules on contesting the results of a skills assessment, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



royalsam said:


> Hi Mark, happy new year!
> 
> I have a question. I applied to CPA (221111) for assessment with one year work experience in Australia. They assessed my Australia bachelor degree and SMIPA positively but said that your work duties are not considered to the level of depth as general accountant. My employer is friendly and I can get a new letter listing my detailed duties.
> 
> Can I get new letter and apply for review?
> 
> OR
> 
> Can I apply for assessment from different body like IPA or ICAA?
> 
> Much appreciated, Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tahir1980 -

Thanks for the note. There are no specific requirements for the letter from the GP other than that the letter state that the GP has examined the child, and that the letter include details of the child's health and any health issues that are noticed in the exam.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tahir1980 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have applied for 189 visa. I am primary applicant and have 4 dependents including 1 newborn baby of 3 months. I went for medical at Bupa Visa Medical Services but they didn't do medical of newborn because he is less than 6 months of age. They asked me to go to GP, get report and submit to case officer. Now I am not sure what type of report I should ask GP to provide? Please guide me if you have any idea about it.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LCN -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the issues with your partner. Once you become a permanent resident of Australia, your visa status (as a permanent resident) is not dependent upon the relationship you gained that status from continuing. In other words, if the relationship ends after you are granted PR, that would not generally affect your PR. Where these cases get a bit complicated sometimes is if the sponsor claims that the relationship actually ended prior to the grant of the PR visa - if that were the case and the breakdown of the relationship were not reported to DIBP, then the PR visa could be at risk.

Assuming you now have your PR and if the relationship is in jeopardy for any reason, I would suggest taking steps to document that the relationship has still continued to this point - ie, evidence you are still living together (and have prior to the visa grant and afterwards), etc and if the relationship ends, try to document that as best you can in case any allegations come up later on that the relationship allegedly ended at a date prior to the grant of the PR visa.

Hope this helps, and best wishes for a happy new year and successfully dealing with your challenges - please advise if I can assist going forward.

Best,

Mark Northam



LCN said:


> Hello Mark
> Happy New Year to you and your family. Wishing you a year full of success, health and happiness.
> It would be very much appreciated if you could give us an answer on a small question: we got PR about two months ago. My sponsor is threatening me to cancel my PR due to our daily disagreements. Is he eligible to do it? Thanks a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Momoka -

Thanks for the note and I understand your frustration - I hope I can help.

What you've observed is true - if you tell DIBP beforehand that you have decided to apply for a partner visa onshore, that may put at risk your visitor visa. However, perhaps you have not decided yet and simply want to spend some time in Australia together - I sense that may be the case as you've spent so little time together physically living under the same roof. If that's the case, you might consider withdrawing your application for a subclass 600 visa, and instead as a US citizen (assuming there are not reasons that would prevent this) applying online for an ETA visa - this is a type of visitor visa where the visa is normally granted for one year, with a 3-month maximum length for each stay in Australia. Best of all, normally ETA's do not come with the "no further stay" condition (Condition 8503).

Re: financial assets, a letter from your boyfriend inviting you to visit and including a schedule of what tourist-y things you plan on doing would be a good start. Plus if he's paying for the stay and/or providing financial support, you can include proof of his financial assets (ie, bank statement or credit card statement, etc) with your application.

Bottom line: coming to Australia to visit your boyfriend, spend time together, and enjoy the sights & sounds of Australia is a perfectly valid reason for a visitor visa.

Please advise if I can assist further - you can contact me via my website or email listed below in my signature. But don't give up hope, and don't be intimidated by the overly-complex (unnecessarily complex!) migration system in Australia - I guarantee you your relationship with your boyfriend is far more important in the overall scheme of life than a bunch of government red tape that is otherwise known as the immigration system.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Momoka said:


> Greetings Mark,
> 
> I want to explain my very personal situation out of desperation for relief--
> 
> I have been with my boyfriend for 8 years, nearly 9 now. I am 24 years old and live in the US. He is an Australian citizen. I have never worked, do not own a bank account, no credit cards.. I am supported solely by my family.
> My boyfriend on the other hand, has a job, has always worked and been working incredibly hard to bring us together. He has visited me in the US 3 years ago on a tourist visa then had to return to Australia. Since then, we've never been reunited..
> 
> We were never able to afford the costs of a partner visa along with the cost of traveling to and sustaining life for all those years, especially since I am not able to pull my own weight. Now, he has made enough money to do those things after trying so hard. The issue is, our hearts ache everyday.. Longing to be with each other after spending years reaching our hands across the oceans.
> 
> So we decided to research and read that it was possible to get a visitor visa then apply for partner visa while onshore. This way, we wouldn't have to wait another year to be together.. We were so excited and believed we would finally get to have a normal life as a couple together.
> 
> We were wrong. So wrong..
> 
> We applied for the visitor visa (subclass 600). After a week, I was requested for more information. The kind that doesn't exist for me. Bank statements or credit card statements. After doing more intense research and asking google many questions, I learn many terrible things..
> 
> First, if you can't prove that you can support yourself without anyone's help, you will be declined.
> if you aren't a genuine tourist, you will be declined
> if you show any signs of trying to stay (like applying for a partner visa using the visitor visa), you will be declined
> 
> Not only that, but even if the visitor visa does get approved, it will most likely be stamped "No further stay". Then that means applying for a partner visa onshore won't be allowed. I'll have to leave him.. I can't bear that..
> 
> I know I'm breaking down to a stranger, but please, is there any way I can get through all these problems? I'm struggling to get through each day. I can't take it anymore..
> 
> Thank you for taking time to read


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James -

I'd abbreviate where you need to - that's essentially the only thing you can do on the EOI since it's an online form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JamesSultan said:


> Dear All,
> 
> While filling up my education details in EOI, i am running out of space in some text boxes. For Example, my university name is quite long and the text box doesn't allows me to enter it fully. What should i do in this case?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashka -

Thanks for the note. I am assuming here that you are a USA citizen and you had previously sponsored her for a Green Card and later for USA citizenship. Assuming that's the case, the 5 year limitation does not apply to you - that only applies if, for instance, you were Australian and had sponsored someone else 4 years ago for an Australian partner visa, and now wanted to sponsor someone else for another Australian partner visa. Any sponsorship that was for another country, and was not for an Australian partner or fiance visa, would not count for the 5-year rule.

Please advise if this does not clear things up or if I've misunderstood your situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashka said:


> Hi Mark,
> you seem like you are the go to man. Hope you can help us in anyway.
> 
> I sponsored my Australian wife 4 years ago and we been happily married living in America ever since and she's about to get her dual citizenship. She misses family and I would like to travel to Australia and do the same process she went through so we can both have dual citizenship and be able to travel back and forth to visit family, work etc. with no restrictions. We were excited to get this on way, until I read a brief statement by someone online saying that your partner cannot sponsor you if they had been sponsored themselves within 5 years. Does this apply if the person they were sponsored by was their husband? If this is true is it possible for one of her parents to co-sponsor me in her place. Or is our only option to wait it out another year in america. We're both about to be 30, my wife is newly pregnant with our first child and my only family lives in Canada. I would love for our child to have grandparents to grow up with.
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamd -

Thanks for the note. I'd have to work through your circumstances in much greater detail to give you a specific opinion on your situation. You might consult this link re: "Domicile Test" for more: 1.6.1 Australian Residence - Parent or Non-parent Carer | Child Support Guide

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jamd said:


> Thanks a lot mark for detailed response. What does it mean that "you're domiciled in Australia?"
> Does my moving to Australia on PR means I am domiciled in Australia now?
> 
> Please confirm.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James -

Thanks for the note. See answer to #1 in my response to your previous post just made. Re: 2, no problem changing your mind and including your family in your visa application - you are not bound to the response you make on the EOI in this regard. Main issues you are bound to in an EOI are things that affect your points, as these items are locked if/when you receive an invitation from DIBP as a result of the EOI.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JamesSultan said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Happy New Year. I have 2 questions and will appreciate your comments on it.
> 
> 1. While filling up my education details in EOI, i am running out of space in some text boxes. For Example, my university name is quite long and the text box doesn't allows me to enter its complete name. What should i do in this case?
> 
> 2. How easy it is to change the partner information after receiving an ITA _(Before submitting a visa application)_? For Example: In my EOI, if i mention that i do not want to include my spouse in my application and then later after receiving ITA, i decide to include her in my application. Is it just a matter to mentioning her in my visa application or is there another way?


----------



## tankit

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tanvi -
> 
> Family sponsored 489's are generally low-priority visas, but that usually means a longer wait until the application is actively being assessed - as yours is being assessed, I expect you may get a result in a few months.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi mark 
Thanx for u r reply.. I called in DIBP they said wait till January 2016... I think co will look my case in new year..


----------



## boczek666

Hi Mark,

I have a question. Last time in Australia I did some stupid things and have one unpaid train ticket fine and also I have been to an emergency room and the RPA Hospital in Sydney but didnt't have any money nor insurance, they said it's fine, they would send me a bill, but before that happened my visa run out so I had to go back home and now am stuck not knowing if they will chase me for this or not as I want to apply for a new visa to Australia soon. Could you please explain what consists of the debt to the Australian Government is?

Thank you very much.

Kasia


----------



## shamtah

Hello Mark,

I have been granted a skilled migration visa subclass 190 a few months ago.According to my visa, i must make my first entry before 10/1/2016.I already traveled to Australia to activate my visa(I am in the country now) and I will stay in the country for few days.After that I will travel to my original country to stay for 3 months and return back to Australia to live permanently.

I want to ask:
1-do I need to inform my migration agent that I am in Australia now or just do that when i come back to stay permanently?

2-How can i know that my visa is activated,because i checked my VEVO account and i could not found anything to indicate activation of my visa

Thanks and Happy new year.


----------



## LivNaomi

Hi there Mark. 

I have just changed addresses and need to notify them.. Is there a specific form I need to send in or can i do this from my online account? I have also changed my phone number but can't seem to find anywhere I can change that, too..

Lastly, I have just been away on holiday and therefore a bridging visa B. Do I need to deactivate my A? 

Thanks for your help. It's much appreciated. 

Olivia.


----------



## LCN

MarkNortham said:


> Hi LCN -
> 
> Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the issues with your partner. Once you become a permanent resident of Australia, your visa status (as a permanent resident) is not dependent upon the relationship you gained that status from continuing. In other words, if the relationship ends after you are granted PR, that would not generally affect your PR. Where these cases get a bit complicated sometimes is if the sponsor claims that the relationship actually ended prior to the grant of the PR visa - if that were the case and the breakdown of the relationship were not reported to DIBP, then the PR visa could be at risk.
> 
> Assuming you now have your PR and if the relationship is in jeopardy for any reason, I would suggest taking steps to document that the relationship has still continued to this point - ie, evidence you are still living together (and have prior to the visa grant and afterwards), etc and if the relationship ends, try to document that as best you can in case any allegations come up later on that the relationship allegedly ended at a date prior to the grant of the PR visa.
> 
> Hope this helps, and best wishes for a happy new year and successfully dealing with your challenges - please advise if I can assist going forward.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark
Thank you so much for your advice, that is great I fell stronger and more confident. We are still living together, and we do not think about split up. Only sometimes my partner uses the sponsorship as a weapon to get more than what I should compromise. 
You are a great, heartfelt mentor, we appreciate very much your advices.
Sincerely


----------



## Sharni1

*De facto visa*

Hi Mark

Please advise on the following;
I am currently back in the U.K. After spending last year on a working visa in Oz, I met my partner way back at the beginning of the year at started living at his house, I want to get back to Australia ASAP and apply for the de facto visa together so we can stay together, is it pOssible to go back on a visitor/holiday visa and apply for this? 
Also, in the middle of last year I had to fly back to the uk as one of my family members passed away, I then flew back to Oz a month later back to his place. 
Wanting to get back as soon as possible but just need the right advice.

Many thanks!


----------



## amkhan

*@rs*

Hi Mark,

I hope you are doing well. I have a question about applying for permanent residency for parents and I will appreciate your advise.

Is there any condition that if 50% or more children are settled in Australia, it helps in getting PR for parents? We are five brothers and settled in different countries. I have got PR and I am living in NSW for past few months. My elder brother has got Australian Citizen ship and he is living in WA. My 2 brothers are settled in home country (Pakistan) and one brother is in UAE.

Appreciate your advise about applying for PR for parents.

Regards,


----------



## Lightbulb

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lightbulb -
> 
> You would have to apply for ministerial intervention (MI) prior to your BVC expiring, then the day after the BVC expires, go to DIBP personally to apply for a BV-E. Also note that the Minister has issued guidelines recently that if you applied for your partner visa onshore after being refused another visa previously on that same trip (ie, applied for 485, 485 refused, then applied for partner visa while on bridging visa, etc), the Minister will not consider those cases for MI going forward. This has the potential to affect many persons with Schedule 3 based DIBP and AAT refusals.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for your response. I didn't apply for my partner visa after a visa was refused; unfortunately stupidly overstayed 

With a BVE, I notice that it might not come with work rights. My current BVC has work rights. Do I need to apply for work rights again for the BVE? Should I be using form 1005 or 1008?

I'm the sole income earner and my partner has no job and unable to work due to illness. I'll be submitting that evidence of financial hardship when I put forward my application for the BVE.


----------



## basvdk

Hi Mark, 

Thanks for all the info here, it's been great to have found this forum.

Me and my Australian partner will move back to Australia soon, after having lived together in Europe for 10 months, including a shared lease etc. For the first while in Australia we will stay with her mum. If we get evidence to prove those months of living with her mum, do you think we will be able to satisfy the 12 months of living together?

Thanks so much in advance!


----------



## toonutom6807

Hi Mark 

Wonderful to view this thread.by the way I am tonu , civil engineer currently under process with 189. Recently, my skill assessment as well as ielts has been completed and applied for EOI. However my wife is currently pregnant for 2 months.

From general sources, I received the information that let the EOI proceed in its way.and when the situation reaches to the CO you can explain to him , as the medicals cannot be completed without chest x ray.so CO will suggest to complete the delivery and get all relevant details which will happen only on the upcoming september.us there any other alternative way to avoid the time delay.........

Thanks 
Tonu


----------



## 1984ravigupta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi 1984ravigupta -
> 
> I expect they use Turnitin or one of the other commercially available plagiarism checkers, but that's just a guess. They don't publish any details that I know of re: the details of their plagiarism checking (probably for security reasons), however they have made a very serious charge against you that I would look into immediately. At a minimum, given the seriousness of the charge, I would ask them to provide specifics of what they believe is copied and from where, and you can use the phrase "natural justice" if you choose to - that's the Australian legal concept that in administrative law, if negative information is used against you, that you have an opportunity to know the nature of it and have an ability to respond. While an ACS skills assessment is not an administrative law decision, I am of the view that this fundamental concept should apply, at least to some extent.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

First of all I wish you happy new year.

Thanks for your reply on my query. I have updated my RPL and it is ready to submit. As suggested by you I checked with turnitin team but it looks like they provide plagiarism check only for students. Anyways, I did plagiarism check on my RPL report by few of the free available tools online. As per these tools it looks good. Before submitting my RPL to ACS again can I request you to provide me any tips or guidance that can be useful for me.


----------



## alison007

Hi Mark,
Thanks for a great forum,please could you give me some advise re partner visa.Im currently in Aus with my partner who is Australian on an eta visa,i have to go back to the uk on the 11th Jan but plan to return in around a month(my eta expires 1st july) and its my first visit on it.We are getting married when i come back and are going to apply onshore for a partner visa,do i need to get my uk police check done while im at home this time and do you envisage any problems getting back on my eta visa this time i am going to put holiday as reason for entry.Also could you give me some idea of how long processing takes we are going to get a migratition lawyer to help us.Thanks a million im finding it all very confusing and stressful!!


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Dear Mark,

Just one more quick question. Am i still eligible candidate who can apply for skill assessment and further to DIBP for the migration ?? I am asking this because of the following guideline which is mentioned in "Skill Assessment Guideline for Applicant" :
If at any stage in the assessment process plagiarism is detected, the information may be provided to other Australian Government agencies. The assessment will be terminated and the outcome recorded as unsuitable. A refund of the application fee cannot be provided for cases assessed as containing false information or plagiarism.

If ACS is asking me to reapply linking with the previous application do you think this is relevant to ask. Or do you think this plagiarism will impact my application at any stage ??


----------



## JamesSultan

Hi Mark,

According to ACS assessment result, I have a Bachelor's Degree with Major in Computing. In my ACS application, I also submitted my high school certificates (10th and 12th Standard) along with my Bachelor Degree to support my application.
Now i am about to submit my EOI and have a question:
In Education history section of EOI, do i have to add Secondary School and Higher Secondary School information as well? Or just the Bachelor Degree information is enough?
Furthermore, if i must add Secondary and Higher Secondary details, then what will be the Qualification Type? "Other Qualification or Award recornised by assessing authority", or "Other - Non AQF accrediation" or "Diploma" or "Advance Diploma" or "AQF CertificateIV or III"?


----------



## Harjot Singh

Hey Mark 
I have a question! 
I got my Provisional Partner Visa last August (2015) sub class 309. I'm waiting for PR Visa sub class 100. The only condition mentioned in the email from Embassy is that I need visit Australia once before September, 2017.
The problem is that my husband's Permanent Residency Visa expired last December (2015) and his Resident Return Visa got denied today. Now will I still get PR?
* We are both currently in India. He is working as a Captain with a reputed Aviation company and has a 5year Bond with them


----------



## rohail85

Hey Mark,
I really appreciate the great work you are doing in helping people like this.... 
My Question is regarding Form 80 previous passport details, do we have to provide details of all the previous passports issue by the authority or the last passport expired?
Thanks in advance.


----------



## Littlelob

*189 visa*

Hi Mark, I wonder if you could help!

I'm looking to apply for a 189 visa for Aus as a Swim Instructor /coach. It is on the list but unclear of the necessary requirements. Some websites are stating that my qualification in UK is accepted but others say it needs to have life saving qualifications attached to make it equivalent at assessment. Obviously Vetassess do an advice but it's quite expensive and costs are already adding up!

I also have been teaching swimming for 8 years almost. Does this hold me in better stead if I don't have the life saving qualification? As in, do you think I would be approved on my skills and experience without it? (I also have additional attended seminar certificates for specific areas of swimming- competitive, parent and baby etc) I read somewhere provided you have enough experience in the role qualification isn't so relevant.

(I also have a Bachelor degree in Law and 6 months experience as a paralegal/ legal secretary! - will this make me more attractive to the gov?)
Thanks in advance, would love it if you could give me some help!


----------



## jsingh99

Hi Mark

A new start with happy new year.I want to ask due to work experience increase in my job profile its completed now 8 year in (ICT B.A). I saw now my points are increased in my EOI automaticaly and claiming 65(60+5)points now in 190(Subclass). I have also updated for 189(Subclass) EOI with 60poins. Any possibilties of invitation now? Which EOI consider on priror basis? Suggest me which docs i have to ready instead of point claiming which case officer demamd like any financial report any personal certificates


----------



## Karro

Hi Mark,

I would appreciate your advice on my situation:

I have recently received state nominated PR visa for Australia, also my family (wife and son) have also received PR visa with me as the primary applicant.
The whole process of my permanent residency application was a lengthy one and took about nearly one and half years since the time of application. During this I was gradually separated from my wife (with whom I was married for about 12 years and have a 10 year old son). Since last 10 months I started in a new relationship but since last 4-5 months since she got pregnant we have been living together full time i.e. just a couple of weeks before I got my PR grant.

I am working abroad and she is now also registered as my ‘official partner’ by employer. And at the moment she is pregnant (5th month) and expected to deliver baby sometime in May 2016.

I am currently in Australia making my initial entry as a Permanent Resident, and to explore housing, job avenues etc with the plan to permanently relocate with a couple of months, provided all goes well. 

I would like to know:

1.	Does this situation affect my PR? I understand that one is supposed to notify Immigration and Border Protection if a relationship break while an application is under process. But it was such a prolonged process and it was turbulent personal phase and immigration wasn't even on my mind at that time. and as mentioned we decided to get into a permanent relationship only 4-5 months ago after she got pregnant (although we started our relationship nearly a year ago). and immigration grant happened just after 2 weeks approximately I actually got separated.

2.	My ex-wife and my son, does their PR get affected? I don't want their PR to be jeopardised either as we are still on good terms and had an amicable split.

3.	What are the possibilities for my current partner to be with me in Australia, if possible have child born there, as we plan to marry or atleast continue legally live together.

Many thanks in advance for giving your precious time and advice.


----------



## chickensgirl76

I am an Australian citizen by birth born 1976, and I moved to the USA in 2003, I got married to a USA citizen in 2003 and have been here in the USA since then. My husband and I have been married 13yrs and have a 10 yr old son together. We are now wanting to move back to Australia here soon due to a sick family member. My question to you is I no I can return to Australia no issues but my husband will need a Visa of some sort. Will the Partner Visa 801 work for him or do I need to go a different route??? I would also like to do this while I am in Australia as I fear my Dad who is ill may not make his surgery with us waiting in the USA. Any help you could give me would be helpful as I need to travel here real soon.


----------



## Kaffee

Hi Mark and Happy New Year.
I have submitted my PMV application mid November, have nearly finished attaching documents and I am not expecting anyone to look at it before March.
My question is about my e-visitor visa. I had this approved in June 2015, before I got engaged to my partner, for a holiday staying with him and travelling a bit. It does not seem to have been cancelled by my new application and I want to use it to visit him at Easter. I need to book flights but am concerned that it will be revoked once someone looks at my new application.
Should I be applying for a different visitor visa?
Thank you


----------



## Moonika

Hi Mark,

Happy New Year!

I Am renewing my 461 visa, but I have separated from my partner. I need to write a statutory declaration about our separation. My question is: Do i need to bring out reasons why we separated or do I just declare that we have separated and what date?
Also do I need to send a certified copy of his passport as well? We are not together and he doesn't even live in Australia any more. Might be a bit hard to obtain

Thanks for you help,

Moonika


----------



## andytoaussie

Hi Mark!
Happy New Year!
I have a quick question. My husband has received an invite under sub class 189 to apply for a Visa. He already has a score of 8 on his IELTS. Going through the advice to prove I, as a spouse, have functional English, came across this, ''Completed a degree, a higher degree, a diploma or a trade certificate that required at least two years of full-time study or training in an institution in or outside Australia and all instructions were in English.''
I have a Bachelors degree in English Literature(3 years) and an MBA(2 yrs) which was also in English medium from an Indian Uni. I went on some other forums and was told I need proof that the medium of instruction was English.
Now my question is:
Do i need evidence to prove that the medium was English? 
because I don't see English Literature being taught through any other medium.

I would really appreciate any advice on this.
Thank You.


----------



## JapArora

Hi Mark 
I just got my invite yesterday. I wanted to thank you again for your advice on a query I had 3 months back. 
Here is another one for you
I undertook a health examination for a student visa (subclass 573) in November 2015. I mentioned the details along with the HAP id in the PR application. But I understand that some additional tests need to be done for PR. Will I get these details after I submit my application?


----------



## dkdldb

Hi Mark, I recently had my passport renewed and my current visa was issued a while ago on my previous passport.

Now I have made a visa application using the current passport.

In this case, do I need to separately inform the immigration of my passport renewal? What would be the appropriate procedure to take? 

Thank you.


----------



## philipg

Hi Mark

Thank you for all your immigration advice.

I'm an Aus citizen.
My South African wife of nearly 3 years, is still on her 820 visa.
We applied for her 801 in July 2015, now awaiting a response.
My wife's two children (my step-children) are living with us in Aus.

Her 31 year old son is currently on a student subclass 573 visa,
having completed a Master's degree this month.
While studying, he's worked part-time as an adult educator.
Her 24 year old daughter is here on a subclass 445, dependent child visa, an extension of my wife's 820.

Her son's student visa will expire in March 2016.
He wishes to stay in Australia and find employment in line with his qualification.
He's been offered sponsorship on a 457 with his current employer,
but he wants to gain employment in his field of study (not education).

I'd like to know what his best option would be, so that he can stay in Australia.
He's considering applying for a subclass 485, temporary graduate visa or
subclass 835, remaining family visa.
Considering the wait periods from time of application, he's in a time jam.

His only family is his mother (my wife) and sister.
As mentioned, we're all living together in my home.
All my children are Aus citizens, living in Au.

Your advice on this issue, will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Philip


----------



## wolforius

*PMV or 309?*

Hi Mark,  thanks so much for being generous with your time.

My boyfriend is currently in USA and is coming to visit Aus on an ETA.

i want to propose to him soon after he arrives. I think he will say yes.

I would like us to get married 4 months or so after proposing as we are saving ourselves for marriage and I don't want to have to wait a whole year before being able to be together.

I earn a decent wage so supporting him isn't a problem.

I would be so thankful if you could answer a couple of questions please:

1) If we get married 4 months from now and then apply for a 309 VISA, will we be able to get some other kind of travel VISA in the meantime while waiting for the 309 to be approved? Like an ETA for instance? Does this tend to be problematic? I want him to be living with me while we wait for the VISA to be processed. I can sponsor him

2) Would it be wiser to just propose soon after he gets here and go for an Onshore Partner Visa? Do you think 2 1/2 months is enough time to get all the documents and evidence together?

(3) Can he do online work obtained through the USA whilst travelling on an ETA?

4) Is it better to just get a PMV after I propose and wait the big 10 month gap? Please keep in mind this is my least favorite option for the reason that we will not be able to live together due to our beliefs for the entire 10 months. Then we would have to arrange the marriage after that. Sounds like we would be looking at at least a year of just dating and not living together.

Please offer any helpful advice you have.

Thanks so much!


----------



## belaboo2

Hi mark,
Your very kind
If my husband who lives in india has already applied for a partner visa to migrate to Australia 6 months ago , can he still be eligible to apply for a tourist visa ? At the same time?
Or is he not allowed because he has already applied for another visa?


----------



## Cassie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cassie -
> 
> Congratulations on your upcoming marriage! Unfortunately same sex marriages have no legal standing in Australia for immigration purposes, so you would be applying as de facto partners and the same rules would generally apply as they do for married partners for the 461 visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark. Too bad Australia is so slow on same sex marriage.

I have an other question though. My mum who is French wishes to come here for about 6 month on an ELICOS visa, she will be more than 51 years old. Is it possible for her to come here ?

Thank you so much Mark for what you are doing.
Have a good day.


----------



## apurv30

*Advice for Visa Nomination and changes in Skill select*

Hello,

I had applied for Victorian Government nomination under the 190 - Skilled Nominated visa scheme - nominated occupation (Software Tester)
But was not selected, as for visa nomination by the Victorian Government was rejected.

Earlier 3 companies have given me experience as Software Tester.

Now after 2 years, my profile is updated, and have learnt and worked on new skills.

But the catch here is that my last company XXX gave me experience letter designated as - IT specialist. (I quit and moved to another company)

Current company ZZZ has given me experience letter as Technical Lead.

Question is-

1) Found out to reapply - skill select does not allow to change skill set from software tester to other designations. Do i have any other options

2) If i choose to reapply as Software tester, will the experience letters given as "IT Specialist" & "Technical Lead" affect my chances..?

3) Can i create a totally fresh profile and apply again...?

-- Apoorv


----------



## karansheth

*Work Experience Requirement*

Hey Mark ! 
First and foremost, *I sincerely Thank You* for the service you are providing and helping out thousands of people that too for free !
I hope you will find time to reply me too 

*I am a
*
Recent graduate (May 2015) of Production/Plant Engineer(4 Year Full time Course) ANZSCO 233513. (Not accredited by EA , Hence CDR)
Have very limited practical experience in my field.
Aged 23
IELTS Overall 7.5 *L *8.5 *R *7.5 *W *7.0 *S *7.0
From India 

I have been searching and found out that no minimum work experience is required currently for applying subclass 189 & 190 either by DIBP or EA & also State - NSW.(Other state require either 1 or 2 years of experience.) - Correct me if I am wrong please !

I currently obtain score 50 (25age+10IELTS+15Bachelors)
but planning to reappear for IELTS to gain 8 in all bands and increase my score to 60. Also planning on getting a NAATI accreditation as a paraprofessional interpreter in language HINDI. That will give me extra 5 Points.

So my questions are

Should I go for 189 or 190 (NSW)
Will i get Positive assessment from EA?
What Career Episodes should I demonstrate in CDR?
Can I get NAATI Accredited for HINDI interpreter or Translator overseas (I'm not currently in AUS)
 Why do agents in India keep saying that minimum work experience is required for PR? some say 1 year some say 2. I am confused about this.

Any help would be appreciated. *Thank You* in Advance.


----------



## Rebelchick

*Mark, please help if you can...*

I am married to an Australian man and I came here on a 3 month visitor visa and then got a 3 month extension which expires on 28th January. We've been married since last year but have a long 8 year history/relationship. We've decided to apply for the 820 onshore spouse Visa. Being as my visa expires very soon, I'm assuming that if I file online, they'll bridge me while I'm waiting for my police check to come back and everything. My other concern is that my husband is in the process of obtaining a loan to start a business and is currently not working. Do they allow an explanation for these circumstances or will it count against us no matter what? Also, am I right in assuming once the fee for the Visa is paid and submitted and I submit what paperwork I have ( I don't have police check or health check as I've heard we're supposed to wait til they ask for it) that they'll grant a bridging visa since we've started the process and is it faster doing it all online? All help is appreciated.


----------



## arunkhandelwal

Hi,

I have 8 years of work expirience and my ielts score is 

R 7.5
L 7.0
S 6.0
W 6.0

But my overall score for EOI is reaching 65 with out additional 10 points for IELTS (as I dont have 7 in each band).

Canyou let me know if I am eligible to apply for PR. or I need 7 each band in IELTS 


One more thing I want to know ...what is the probability of getting an IT job or a full time job in Australia, I have a good job and good career here , So will it be good decision to move to Australia,


----------



## Son1

Hi Mark,
I made a minor mistake on my 189 visa application so I'll need to upload form 1023. Are there any negative side in providing this form to my application, considering that the mistakes are minor and reasonable? Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kasia -

Thanks for the note. A debt to the Commonwealth is a debt to the Australian government, but would not include a debt to any private company. Re: the specific examples you gave, difficult to say for sure, but none sound too close to a government debt. I don't have current information for DIBP to check if you have a debt, but here's some old contact info you might try:

Debt Management Section, DIAC
email [email protected]
phone 61 2 6264 2675.

(maybe try [email protected] as well)

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



boczek666 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question. Last time in Australia I did some stupid things and have one unpaid train ticket fine and also I have been to an emergency room and the RPA Hospital in Sydney but didnt't have any money nor insurance, they said it's fine, they would send me a bill, but before that happened my visa run out so I had to go back home and now am stuck not knowing if they will chase me for this or not as I want to apply for a new visa to Australia soon. Could you please explain what consists of the debt to the Australian Government is?
> 
> Thank you very much.
> 
> Kasia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shamtah -

Thanks for the note. Re: notifying your migration agent, that would be up to his/her policies. However as a 190 visa holder sponsored by a state, I expect there are state requirements that you must meet (such as notifying them upon your arrival) per your agreement with the state for sponsorship.

Unfortunately VEVO does not reflect the activation status of a visa, but as long as you entered on that visa after the grant date and prior to the must-enter-by date, you should be fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shamtah said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have been granted a skilled migration visa subclass 190 a few months ago.According to my visa, i must make my first entry before 10/1/2016.I already traveled to Australia to activate my visa(I am in the country now) and I will stay in the country for few days.After that I will travel to my original country to stay for 3 months and return back to Australia to live permanently.
> 
> I want to ask:
> 1-do I need to inform my migration agent that I am in Australia now or just do that when i come back to stay permanently?
> 
> 2-How can i know that my visa is activated,because i checked my VEVO account and i could not found anything to indicate activation of my visa
> 
> Thanks and Happy new year.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LivNaomi -

Thanks for the note. You can use Form 929 to update your address and phone details; no need to change your BV-B to a BV-A upon your return to Australia as the BV-B will remain in effect until the visa decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LivNaomi said:


> Hi there Mark.
> 
> I have just changed addresses and need to notify them.. Is there a specific form I need to send in or can i do this from my online account? I have also changed my phone number but can't seem to find anywhere I can change that, too..
> 
> Lastly, I have just been away on holiday and therefore a bridging visa B. Do I need to deactivate my A?
> 
> Thanks for your help. It's much appreciated.
> 
> Olivia.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sharni1 -

Thanks for the note. I expect a visitor visa is the answer to your situation, but would need to know more details about your circumstances and plans in order to give you specific advice for your case - happy to assist you at a consultation - see my website below in my signature for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sharni1 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Please advise on the following;
> I am currently back in the U.K. After spending last year on a working visa in Oz, I met my partner way back at the beginning of the year at started living at his house, I want to get back to Australia ASAP and apply for the de facto visa together so we can stay together, is it pOssible to go back on a visitor/holiday visa and apply for this?
> Also, in the middle of last year I had to fly back to the uk as one of my family members passed away, I then flew back to Oz a month later back to his place.
> Wanting to get back as soon as possible but just need the right advice.
> 
> Many thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amkhan -

Thanks for the note. It's called the "Balance of Family Test" and is required for parent visas - you can Google this to get all the details, but unfortunately in your circumstances based on what you've posted in your situation the test would not be met. See DIBP page on this for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amkhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you are doing well. I have a question about applying for permanent residency for parents and I will appreciate your advise.
> 
> Is there any condition that if 50% or more children are settled in Australia, it helps in getting PR for parents? We are five brothers and settled in different countries. I have got PR and I am living in NSW for past few months. My elder brother has got Australian Citizen ship and he is living in WA. My 2 brothers are settled in home country (Pakistan) and one brother is in UAE.
> 
> Appreciate your advise about applying for PR for parents.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lightbulb -

Thanks for the note. I don't have enough detail about your case to give you specific advice, but assuming you hold a BVC and are applying for MI, then if you lodged your MI request within 28 days after a negative opinion from the AAT, then applied for the BVE (form 1008) right after your BVC expired, then I expect your work rights would continue, however there are some tricky rules about this that in some cases limit work rights - would need to see how these apply to your specific case in order to give you advice - see my website below for consultation link if I can assist further.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lightbulb said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your response. I didn't apply for my partner visa after a visa was refused; unfortunately stupidly overstayed
> 
> With a BVE, I notice that it might not come with work rights. My current BVC has work rights. Do I need to apply for work rights again for the BVE? Should I be using form 1005 or 1008?
> 
> I'm the sole income earner and my partner has no job and unable to work due to illness. I'll be submitting that evidence of financial hardship when I put forward my application for the BVE.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Basvdk -

Can't say without seeing the evidence, however I think there's a good chance of that if you have good evidence of both the time together with mum and the previous time in Europe.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



basvdk said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for all the info here, it's been great to have found this forum.
> 
> Me and my Australian partner will move back to Australia soon, after having lived together in Europe for 10 months, including a shared lease etc. For the first while in Australia we will stay with her mum. If we get evidence to prove those months of living with her mum, do you think we will be able to satisfy the 12 months of living together?
> 
> Thanks so much in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tonu -

Thanks for the note. No way other than if the case officer will defer the medicals for your wife until after the child is born, and continue processing the visa anyway without waiting for your wife's medicals. Happens sometimes, and there's some case officer discretion involved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



toonutom6807 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Wonderful to view this thread.by the way I am tonu , civil engineer currently under process with 189. Recently, my skill assessment as well as ielts has been completed and applied for EOI. However my wife is currently pregnant for 2 months.
> 
> From general sources, I received the information that let the EOI proceed in its way.and when the situation reaches to the CO you can explain to him , as the medicals cannot be completed without chest x ray.so CO will suggest to complete the delivery and get all relevant details which will happen only on the upcoming september.us there any other alternative way to avoid the time delay.........
> 
> Thanks
> Tonu


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ravigupta -

I expect ACS and/or DIBP use professional paid-for tools, so free tools may not be a guide, and I expect ACS checks against all previously submitted ones so no way to test that anyway without access to all of their previous assessments.

But to be frank, YOU are the person who would know if you copied text from another source or not... if you did not copy text, then you should have nothing to worry about. If you did copy text, then delete that text and rewrite in your own words.

Best,

Mark N.



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> First of all I wish you happy new year.
> 
> Thanks for your reply on my query. I have updated my RPL and it is ready to submit. As suggested by you I checked with turnitin team but it looks like they provide plagiarism check only for students. Anyways, I did plagiarism check on my RPL report by few of the free available tools online. As per these tools it looks good. Before submitting my RPL to ACS again can I request you to provide me any tips or guidance that can be useful for me.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alison007 -

Thanks for the note. Generally 2 entries on an ETA is not an issue, but 3 can be. On your next entry, you may not want to volunteer that you've decided to lodge an onshore partner visa as that may not be considered a valid tourist activity depending on the immi officer you get at the airport. You can always decide after you enter.

May be too early to get a UK PCC as these expire in 1 yr and partner visas generally take 12-18 months to process. As a registered migration agent, would be happy to assist you with your application and prepare/lodge/represent you with DIBP - over 80% of our work is partner-related work at DIBP and tribunals - see website below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alison007 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for a great forum,please could you give me some advise re partner visa.Im currently in Aus with my partner who is Australian on an eta visa,i have to go back to the uk on the 11th Jan but plan to return in around a month(my eta expires 1st july) and its my first visit on it.We are getting married when i come back and are going to apply onshore for a partner visa,do i need to get my uk police check done while im at home this time and do you envisage any problems getting back on my eta visa this time i am going to put holiday as reason for entry.Also could you give me some idea of how long processing takes we are going to get a migratition lawyer to help us.Thanks a million im finding it all very confusing and stressful!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

No way to tell. If you did not plagiarise in the first application, it may be in your best interests to get that settled in your favour rather than letting the charges remain unanswered. If you did plagiarise in your first application, nothing you can do now but put a new one in and see how ACS deals with the situation.

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Just one more quick question. Am i still eligible candidate who can apply for skill assessment and further to DIBP for the migration ?? I am asking this because of the following guideline which is mentioned in "Skill Assessment Guideline for Applicant" :
> If at any stage in the assessment process plagiarism is detected, the information may be provided to other Australian Government agencies. The assessment will be terminated and the outcome recorded as unsuitable. A refund of the application fee cannot be provided for cases assessed as containing false information or plagiarism.
> 
> If ACS is asking me to reapply linking with the previous application do you think this is relevant to ask. Or do you think this plagiarism will impact my application at any stage ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JamesSultan -

Generally EOI only wants information after secondary school, so college & higher.

Best,

Mark Northam



JamesSultan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> According to ACS assessment result, I have a Bachelor's Degree with Major in Computing. In my ACS application, I also submitted my high school certificates (10th and 12th Standard) along with my Bachelor Degree to support my application.
> Now i am about to submit my EOI and have a question:
> In Education history section of EOI, do i have to add Secondary School and Higher Secondary School information as well? Or just the Bachelor Degree information is enough?
> Furthermore, if i must add Secondary and Higher Secondary details, then what will be the Qualification Type? "Other Qualification or Award recornised by assessing authority", or "Other - Non AQF accrediation" or "Diploma" or "Advance Diploma" or "AQF CertificateIV or III"?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harjot -

A person's PR does not end because he is refused a RRV visa, but it will make things much smoother sailing if by the time you lodge the paperwork for the SC100 visa your husband has an RRV. This is because in order to be a sponsor for your partner visa, your husband must be "usually resident" in Australia. With no RRV, that's all but impossible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Harjot Singh said:


> Hey Mark
> I have a question!
> I got my Provisional Partner Visa last August (2015) sub class 309. I'm waiting for PR Visa sub class 100. The only condition mentioned in the email from Embassy is that I need visit Australia once before September, 2017.
> The problem is that my husband's Permanent Residency Visa expired last December (2015) and his Resident Return Visa got denied today. Now will I still get PR?
> * We are both currently in India. He is working as a Captain with a reputed Aviation company and has a 5year Bond with them


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rohail85 -

As many as you have info for.

Best,

Mark N.



rohail85 said:


> Hey Mark,
> I really appreciate the great work you are doing in helping people like this....
> My Question is regarding Form 80 previous passport details, do we have to provide details of all the previous passports issue by the authority or the last passport expired?
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## slimguy_234

Hello Mark,

i applied for visa 189 and i am still waiting for my case to be assigned. problem is, my supervisor who signed my recommendation letter has quit the organization a such, he will not be able to be reached by emails. is this a problem when immigration is trying to confirm my employment although his phone contact has not changed. i am assuming they communicate only via emails.

many thanks in anticipation.

Michael


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Littlelob -

Thanks for the note. You'll need to be skills assessed in the occupation you apply for - the only real answers to your questions are at VETASSESS - I'd give them a call and enquire to see if they can clarify the life saving qual question - they won't tell you in advance whether you will qualify, but they may answer that question as it relates to your occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Littlelob said:


> Hi Mark, I wonder if you could help!
> 
> I'm looking to apply for a 189 visa for Aus as a Swim Instructor /coach. It is on the list but unclear of the necessary requirements. Some websites are stating that my qualification in UK is accepted but others say it needs to have life saving qualifications attached to make it equivalent at assessment. Obviously Vetassess do an advice but it's quite expensive and costs are already adding up!
> 
> I also have been teaching swimming for 8 years almost. Does this hold me in better stead if I don't have the life saving qualification? As in, do you think I would be approved on my skills and experience without it? (I also have additional attended seminar certificates for specific areas of swimming- competitive, parent and baby etc) I read somewhere provided you have enough experience in the role qualification isn't so relevant.
> 
> (I also have a Bachelor degree in Law and 6 months experience as a paralegal/ legal secretary! - will this make me more attractive to the gov?)
> Thanks in advance, would love it if you could give me some help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jsingh99 -

Too complex for the forum and would need to know many more details about your case to give you specific advice, happy to assist you at a consultation where we can go through your specific case info and documents and I can get you specific advice. Difficult to predict invitation times from DIBP and/or state skills authorities. See website in my signature below for more.

Best,

Mark Northam



jsingh99 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> A new start with happy new year.I want to ask due to work experience increase in my job profile its completed now 8 year in (ICT B.A). I saw now my points are increased in my EOI automaticaly and claiming 65(60+5)points now in 190(Subclass). I have also updated for 189(Subclass) EOI with 60poins. Any possibilties of invitation now? Which EOI consider on priror basis? Suggest me which docs i have to ready instead of point claiming which case officer demamd like any financial report any personal certificates


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karro -

Thanks for the note. I could help you in more detail at a consultation, but some general info applies here.

Re: children's visa, would not be affected by the wife situation.

Re: wife's visa, as you were separated at the time of visa grant, this visa is open to cancellation by DIBP on the grounds that the relationship it was based on did not exist as of the date of grant.

Re: new partner, may be possible to sponsor her via a partner visa based on a de facto relationship, especially once child is born. Can go through more of these details as they relate to your personal circumstances at a consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Karro said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would appreciate your advice on my situation:
> 
> I have recently received state nominated PR visa for Australia, also my family (wife and son) have also received PR visa with me as the primary applicant.
> The whole process of my permanent residency application was a lengthy one and took about nearly one and half years since the time of application. During this I was gradually separated from my wife (with whom I was married for about 12 years and have a 10 year old son). Since last 10 months I started in a new relationship but since last 4-5 months since she got pregnant we have been living together full time i.e. just a couple of weeks before I got my PR grant.
> 
> I am working abroad and she is now also registered as my 'official partner' by employer. And at the moment she is pregnant (5th month) and expected to deliver baby sometime in May 2016.
> 
> I am currently in Australia making my initial entry as a Permanent Resident, and to explore housing, job avenues etc with the plan to permanently relocate with a couple of months, provided all goes well.
> 
> I would like to know:
> 
> 1.	Does this situation affect my PR? I understand that one is supposed to notify Immigration and Border Protection if a relationship break while an application is under process. But it was such a prolonged process and it was turbulent personal phase and immigration wasn't even on my mind at that time. and as mentioned we decided to get into a permanent relationship only 4-5 months ago after she got pregnant (although we started our relationship nearly a year ago). and immigration grant happened just after 2 weeks approximately I actually got separated.
> 
> 2.	My ex-wife and my son, does their PR get affected? I don't want their PR to be jeopardised either as we are still on good terms and had an amicable split.
> 
> 3.	What are the possibilities for my current partner to be with me in Australia, if possible have child born there, as we plan to marry or atleast continue legally live together.
> 
> Many thanks in advance for giving your precious time and advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chickensgirl76 -

Thanks for the note. Suggest your husband apply for an ETA visitor visa for Australia - these are usually granted within 24 hours if there are no issues. Then you both can travel to Australia. Once here, assuming the ETA does not have Condition 8503 on it (no further stay), he can apply for a subclass 820/801 onshore partner visa and will be given a bridging visa in order to remain here until the partner visa is processed (12-18 months typically).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chickensgirl76 said:


> I am an Australian citizen by birth born 1976, and I moved to the USA in 2003, I got married to a USA citizen in 2003 and have been here in the USA since then. My husband and I have been married 13yrs and have a 10 yr old son together. We are now wanting to move back to Australia here soon due to a sick family member. My question to you is I no I can return to Australia no issues but my husband will need a Visa of some sort. Will the Partner Visa 801 work for him or do I need to go a different route??? I would also like to do this while I am in Australia as I fear my Dad who is ill may not make his surgery with us waiting in the USA. Any help you could give me would be helpful as I need to travel here real soon.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaffee -

I don't expect there would be an issue as PMV applicants often hold visitor visas in order to visit their fiance, etc in Australia while the PMV is being processed. A PMV application would not normally affect an existing visitor visa, so I would suggest proceeding as normal with the visitor visa as long as it's still valid (ie, has not expired).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kaffee said:


> Hi Mark and Happy New Year.
> I have submitted my PMV application mid November, have nearly finished attaching documents and I am not expecting anyone to look at it before March.
> My question is about my e-visitor visa. I had this approved in June 2015, before I got engaged to my partner, for a holiday staying with him and travelling a bit. It does not seem to have been cancelled by my new application and I want to use it to visit him at Easter. I need to book flights but am concerned that it will be revoked once someone looks at my new application.
> Should I be applying for a different visitor visa?
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moonika (I like that name!)

I would provide basic info on why you separated. I'd check with DIBP if they require the passport under these circumstances. Also keep in mind that your ability to renew the 461 is stopped if you have entered into a relationship with another person after you have separated from the 461 sponsor. However that is only examined at the renewal time for the 461 - once you have the 461, you can enter into another relationship if you wish, keeping in mind that the next time the 461 expires and you need to renew, you would not be able to do so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Moonika said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Happy New Year!
> 
> I Am renewing my 461 visa, but I have separated from my partner. I need to write a statutory declaration about our separation. My question is: Do i need to bring out reasons why we separated or do I just declare that we have separated and what date?
> Also do I need to send a certified copy of his passport as well? We are not together and he doesn't even live in Australia any more. Might be a bit hard to obtain
> 
> Thanks for you help,
> 
> Moonika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andytoaussie -

Yes, you would need proof that the teaching medium was in English - the subject alone would not be sufficient - ie, many people take foreign language courses in their own language, with only some of the content in the actual foreign language. The key is the language that is used to teach, not the content of what is taught.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andytoaussie said:


> Hi Mark!
> Happy New Year!
> I have a quick question. My husband has received an invite under sub class 189 to apply for a Visa. He already has a score of 8 on his IELTS. Going through the advice to prove I, as a spouse, have functional English, came across this, ''Completed a degree, a higher degree, a diploma or a trade certificate that required at least two years of full-time study or training in an institution in or outside Australia and all instructions were in English.''
> I have a Bachelors degree in English Literature(3 years) and an MBA(2 yrs) which was also in English medium from an Indian Uni. I went on some other forums and was told I need proof that the medium of instruction was English.
> Now my question is:
> Do i need evidence to prove that the medium was English?
> because I don't see English Literature being taught through any other medium.
> 
> I would really appreciate any advice on this.
> Thank You.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JapArora -

Congratulations on your invitation! Yes, you'll get a request to take the PR medical checks after you apply - the exam is different than that for temporary visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JapArora said:


> Hi Mark
> I just got my invite yesterday. I wanted to thank you again for your advice on a query I had 3 months back.
> Here is another one for you
> I undertook a health examination for a student visa (subclass 573) in November 2015. I mentioned the details along with the HAP id in the PR application. But I understand that some additional tests need to be done for PR. Will I get these details after I submit my application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dkdldb -

Just to be sure, I'd update the passport linked to your current visa by using Form 929 to inform DIBP about the new passport.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dkdldb said:


> Hi Mark, I recently had my passport renewed and my current visa was issued a while ago on my previous passport.
> 
> Now I have made a visa application using the current passport.
> 
> In this case, do I need to separately inform the immigration of my passport renewal? What would be the appropriate procedure to take?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Philip -

Thanks for the note. Would need to work with you in a consultation as too many details and questions to work out here on the forum - the 485 is a great visa for graduates if they qualify, but there may be other options. Please see my website link below in my signature if I can assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam



philipg said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you for all your immigration advice.
> 
> I'm an Aus citizen.
> My South African wife of nearly 3 years, is still on her 820 visa.
> We applied for her 801 in July 2015, now awaiting a response.
> My wife's two children (my step-children) are living with us in Aus.
> 
> Her 31 year old son is currently on a student subclass 573 visa,
> having completed a Master's degree this month.
> While studying, he's worked part-time as an adult educator.
> Her 24 year old daughter is here on a subclass 445, dependent child visa, an extension of my wife's 820.
> 
> Her son's student visa will expire in March 2016.
> He wishes to stay in Australia and find employment in line with his qualification.
> He's been offered sponsorship on a 457 with his current employer,
> but he wants to gain employment in his field of study (not education).
> 
> I'd like to know what his best option would be, so that he can stay in Australia.
> He's considering applying for a subclass 485, temporary graduate visa or
> subclass 835, remaining family visa.
> Considering the wait periods from time of application, he's in a time jam.
> 
> His only family is his mother (my wife) and sister.
> As mentioned, we're all living together in my home.
> All my children are Aus citizens, living in Au.
> 
> Your advice on this issue, will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thank you, Philip


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wolforius -

If you want to be with him while the partner visa is being processed (12 - 18 months typically), then an onshore partner visa may be the best choice, lodged after you marry and put in as much living together time as you can on the ETA. Alternative is 309/100 offshore partner visa, but lack of living together time could be an issue with that depending on your circumstances. PMV is probably the easiest of the 3 to get, but as you said, it sets your back 9+ months while you wait for the visa to be granted, however that visa wouldn't require any living together evidence. Still possible to come on ETA while awaiting offshore 309 or PMV application, checking email and communicating with work OK on ETA, but not normal employment activities.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wolforius said:


> Hi Mark,  thanks so much for being generous with your time.
> 
> My boyfriend is currently in USA and is coming to visit Aus on an ETA.
> 
> i want to propose to him soon after he arrives. I think he will say yes.
> 
> I would like us to get married 4 months or so after proposing as we are saving ourselves for marriage and I don't want to have to wait a whole year before being able to be together.
> 
> I earn a decent wage so supporting him isn't a problem.
> 
> I would be so thankful if you could answer a couple of questions please:
> 
> 1) If we get married 4 months from now and then apply for a 309 VISA, will we be able to get some other kind of travel VISA in the meantime while waiting for the 309 to be approved? Like an ETA for instance? Does this tend to be problematic? I want him to be living with me while we wait for the VISA to be processed. I can sponsor him
> 
> 2) Would it be wiser to just propose soon after he gets here and go for an Onshore Partner Visa? Do you think 2 1/2 months is enough time to get all the documents and evidence together?
> 
> (3) Can he do online work obtained through the USA whilst travelling on an ETA?
> 
> 4) Is it better to just get a PMV after I propose and wait the big 10 month gap? Please keep in mind this is my least favorite option for the reason that we will not be able to live together due to our beliefs for the entire 10 months. Then we would have to arrange the marriage after that. Sounds like we would be looking at at least a year of just dating and not living together.
> 
> Please offer any helpful advice you have.
> 
> Thanks so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Belaboo2 -

No problem with applying for visitor visa while awaiting decision on offshore partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



belaboo2 said:


> Hi mark,
> Your very kind
> If my husband who lives in india has already applied for a partner visa to migrate to Australia 6 months ago , can he still be eligible to apply for a tourist visa ? At the same time?
> Or is he not allowed because he has already applied for another visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassie -

Thanks for the note. May be possible for your mum, but DIBP can be very tough on student visas for persons of that age. Not fair, I know. Best to show how she has ties to her home country, etc per genuine student policy (available online via Googling). Other issue is that you need to show why she cannot take English courses in her home country, etc. Would be a difficult visa to get granted, I expect.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cassie said:


> Thank you so much Mark. Too bad Australia is so slow on same sex marriage.
> 
> I have an other question though. My mum who is French wishes to come here for about 6 month on an ELICOS visa, she will be more than 51 years old. Is it possible for her to come here ?
> 
> Thank you so much Mark for what you are doing.
> Have a good day.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Apoorv -

See response I emailed you tonight - need to be careful of changing occupations - new EOI possible, but the risk lies at the skills assessor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



apurv30 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I had applied for Victorian Government nomination under the 190 - Skilled Nominated visa scheme - nominated occupation (Software Tester)
> But was not selected, as for visa nomination by the Victorian Government was rejected.
> 
> Earlier 3 companies have given me experience as Software Tester.
> 
> Now after 2 years, my profile is updated, and have learnt and worked on new skills.
> 
> But the catch here is that my last company XXX gave me experience letter designated as - IT specialist. (I quit and moved to another company)
> 
> Current company ZZZ has given me experience letter as Technical Lead.
> 
> Question is-
> 
> 1) Found out to reapply - skill select does not allow to change skill set from software tester to other designations. Do i have any other options
> 
> 2) If i choose to reapply as Software tester, will the experience letters given as "IT Specialist" & "Technical Lead" affect my chances..?
> 
> 3) Can i create a totally fresh profile and apply again...?
> 
> -- Apoorv


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karansheth -

Thanks for the note. Would need to work with you in a consultation as too many questions and details needed to answer your questions here on the forum. Sounds like you're on the right track so far, however.

Re: agents in India, no idea. I see so much bad advice these days given by agents both inside and outside Australia that very little surprises me any more. My advice: go with a MARA agent, and make sure they have good experience with the type of visa you are applying for. Unless the skills assessor or state sponsorship authority requires it, there is NO minimum work experience requirement for 189 or 190 visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



karansheth said:


> Hey Mark !
> First and foremost, *I sincerely Thank You* for the service you are providing and helping out thousands of people that too for free !
> I hope you will find time to reply me too
> 
> *I am a
> *
> Recent graduate (May 2015) of Production/Plant Engineer(4 Year Full time Course) ANZSCO 233513. (Not accredited by EA , Hence CDR)
> Have very limited practical experience in my field.
> Aged 23
> IELTS Overall 7.5 *L *8.5 *R *7.5 *W *7.0 *S *7.0
> From India
> 
> I have been searching and found out that no minimum work experience is required currently for applying subclass 189 & 190 either by DIBP or EA & also State - NSW.(Other state require either 1 or 2 years of experience.) - Correct me if I am wrong please !
> 
> I currently obtain score 50 (25age+10IELTS+15Bachelors)
> but planning to reappear for IELTS to gain 8 in all bands and increase my score to 60. Also planning on getting a NAATI accreditation as a paraprofessional interpreter in language HINDI. That will give me extra 5 Points.
> 
> So my questions are
> 
> Should I go for 189 or 190 (NSW)
> Will i get Positive assessment from EA?
> What Career Episodes should I demonstrate in CDR?
> Can I get NAATI Accredited for HINDI interpreter or Translator overseas (I'm not currently in AUS)
> Why do agents in India keep saying that minimum work experience is required for PR? some say 1 year some say 2. I am confused about this.
> 
> Any help would be appreciated. *Thank You* in Advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rebelchick -

Yes - online application is much faster, and bridging visa granted within 24 hours usually, often immediately. Make sure your 3 month extension does not have condition 8503 on it. You can wait on health & police until asked by DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rebelchick said:


> I am married to an Australian man and I came here on a 3 month visitor visa and then got a 3 month extension which expires on 28th January. We've been married since last year but have a long 8 year history/relationship. We've decided to apply for the 820 onshore spouse Visa. Being as my visa expires very soon, I'm assuming that if I file online, they'll bridge me while I'm waiting for my police check to come back and everything. My other concern is that my husband is in the process of obtaining a loan to start a business and is currently not working. Do they allow an explanation for these circumstances or will it count against us no matter what? Also, am I right in assuming once the fee for the Visa is paid and submitted and I submit what paperwork I have ( I don't have police check or health check as I've heard we're supposed to wait til they ask for it) that they'll grant a bridging visa since we've started the process and is it faster doing it all online? All help is appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I'd check carefully what you're putting into the EOI as 65 sounds high - ie, even with 30 for age, 15 for bachelor, and 15 for offshore work exp, that's only 60. Would need to work with you in a consult to go through your documents and case info to assess eligibility for a skilled visa - see website in my signature below for more info.

Re: jobs, I don't work in that arena so don't have info - I'd check seek.com.au and other job boards to see what demand may be for your experience and talents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arunkhandelwal said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have 8 years of work expirience and my ielts score is
> 
> R 7.5
> L 7.0
> S 6.0
> W 6.0
> 
> But my overall score for EOI is reaching 65 with out additional 10 points for IELTS (as I dont have 7 in each band).
> 
> Canyou let me know if I am eligible to apply for PR. or I need 7 each band in IELTS
> 
> One more thing I want to know ...what is the probability of getting an IT job or a full time job in Australia, I have a good job and good career here , So will it be good decision to move to Australia,


----------



## MarkNortham

None that I know of.

Best,

Mark



Son1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I made a minor mistake on my 189 visa application so I'll need to upload form 1023. Are there any negative side in providing this form to my application, considering that the mistakes are minor and reasonable? Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael -

Actually they communicate by phone quite frequently when checking employment experience that you have claimed points for. I'd make sure he is ready for a phone call, and make sure that existing people still at the organisation are also ready to confirm your work experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



slimguy_234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> i applied for visa 189 and i am still waiting for my case to be assigned. problem is, my supervisor who signed my recommendation letter has quit the organization a such, he will not be able to be reached by emails. is this a problem when immigration is trying to confirm my employment although his phone contact has not changed. i am assuming they communicate only via emails.
> 
> many thanks in anticipation.
> 
> Michael


----------



## slimguy_234

Thanks a lot Mark.


----------



## Littlelob

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Littlelob -
> 
> Thanks for the note. You'll need to be skills assessed in the occupation you apply for - the only real answers to your questions are at VETASSESS - I'd give them a call and enquire to see if they can clarify the life saving qual question - they won't tell you in advance whether you will qualify, but they may answer that question as it relates to your occupation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark I've emailed them. Hopefully they will get back to me! No one seems to know the answer! Has put me at a standstill!! Thanks again.


----------



## Cassie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cassie -
> 
> Thanks for the note. May be possible for your mum, but DIBP can be very tough on student visas for persons of that age. Not fair, I know. Best to show how she has ties to her home country, etc per genuine student policy (available online via Googling). Other issue is that you need to show why she cannot take English courses in her home country, etc. Would be a difficult visa to get granted, I expect.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you for your answer,

Do you think she may have more chances to get it if I ask for your services than applying for the visa alone ?

Have a good day Mark,
Cassie


----------



## nnaorin19

Hi Mark

Happy new year. Hope you are fine.

Is the processing time a bit delayed post the holiday season? Thanks


----------



## Lahore

Hi Mark. Hope you are doing good. I am planning to get my EOI in soon. However, i am a bit concerned whether i have got enough points.

So far, i have positive assessment from CPA for Accountant (General). That will give me 15 points for education. My English score is above 8 in all segments, so i have got those 20 points covered as well. I am getting 30 points for age. This brings my total to 65 points. I was wondering if the recent trends for accountants will make it harder for me to get an invite. I can go for 190 and get 5 points for that. What do you reckon what sort of time am i looking for if i apply for 190 with 70 points in total? My student visa will expire by September and i want to go for PR straight away, instead of going for 485. With 7-8 months of time on my hands, do you think i have got enough of time?

Thank you for your help as always.


----------



## Abedin

*Contributory parent visa*

Hi Mark,

Happy New Year.

My parents are currently on a tourist visa (18 months-validity) and have 8503- no further stay condition imposed.

They will be returning back to Bangladesh and would like to apply for Contributory parent visa.

a.Is it possible to apply for contributory parent visa with 8503 condition?
They are planning to leave australia and apply from Bangladesh. or,

b. Do they have to wait till the 18month period ends and apply after that?

Any kind of cooperation is highly appreciated.

Cheers,


----------



## shashiamar

*Mechanical Engineer assessed as Airconditioning Engineer*

Dear Mark,

I applied for Skill assessment with Engineers Australia for Mechanical Engineer ( ANZSCO Code : 233512 ).

I was assessed +ve by EA and they assessed my occupation as Airconditioning Engineer instead of Mechanical Engineer but under same occupation code 233512.

I read through their websites and found that people specialized in Airconditioning / Heating Ventilation comes under Mechanical Engineer and Mechanical trained engineers working with other specialization is categorised under different code altogether.

I am bit confused and worried on the CO assumption over my skill assessment. Will she/he consider me still as a Mechanical Engineer as the code is same 233512 or the other way.

Thank you in advance for your time and response..


----------



## Rebelchick

*Thank you so much*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rebelchick -
> 
> Yes - online application is much faster, and bridging visa granted within 24 hours usually, often immediately. Make sure your 3 month extension does not have condition 8503 on it. You can wait on health & police until asked by DIBP.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you, Mark it indeed does help. I am concerned about my husbands bank account. He's in the process of starting up a business so it's taking some cash. On this bridging visa I get, will it allow me to work and will they take that into consideration so they don't turn us down for financial instability?


----------



## chickensgirl76

*?????*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Chickensgirl76 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Suggest your husband apply for an ETA visitor visa for Australia - these are usually granted within 24 hours if there are no issues. Then you both can travel to Australia. Once here, assuming the ETA does not have Condition 8503 on it (no further stay), he can apply for a subclass 820/801 onshore partner visa and will be given a bridging visa in order to remain here until the partner visa is processed (12-18 months typically).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark and thank you for your reply.I do however have a question in regards to that reply. You say my husband can travel on an ETA visitor visa, what is the difference between a ETA visa and just travelling on a regular passport to visit Australia???? It states a ETA visitor visa is for 3 mnths and then you must depart, the only problem being is he wont be departing. I will then apply for the 820 ONSHORE. Would the ETA visitor visa also be needed for my 10yr old son???
And last but not least..lol
I have a passport question for you please..
Ok so I am Australian and my passport has expired. I am in the process of getting my citizenship here in the USA, which will make me a dual citizen and will get a US passport once I am done. So I sent an email to the Department of Immigration and Border control to asking about my passport, to see if I can travel on a US passport back to Australia and this is the reply I got:

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your email.

As an Australian citizen, to return to Australia you require an Australia passport, this is all you require to enter Australia as a citizen and we will be unable to grant any visas to your US passport to allow entry into Australia.

Yours sincerely,

eVisa RRV Helpdesk

Department of Immigration and Border Protection

So does this mean I cannot go back on a US passport even tho I have dual citizenship or do I have to have a valid Australian passport too???? Any advise would be great.


----------



## kaiko

Hi Mark, 

I got a question regarding the nationality part in form 80. I come from Hong Kong, however I am holding a BNO passport. So what should I answer on the nationality field? HONG KONG OR BNO?? Becasue I am a Hong Kong citizen not UK that why I got confused.

I already filled in HONG KONG as my nationality in my previous online application. Do I have to change back to BNO?? What should I do? What other form do I need to fill in for the correction?

Thanks alot


----------



## richagrovergandhi

Hi Mark,

A very happy new year! How are you doing?

We filed for our SA visa invitation-489 visa, 3 months back (7th October) and are still waiting to hear from DIBP. We had applied through HR Adviser job post and had 80 points (70+10). Request your kind inputs on the following questions:

1. Just wanted to check if you would be aware on their timelines, Their website states they take usually 3 months to respond. Would you be able to suggest when can we expect a response/ grant letter.
2. We have been wondering if we should contact DIBP to request an update on our status, but we feel skeptical as we do not want our case to take a wrong turn. Do you suggest we could contact them, without jeopardizing our case.
3. Another question that keeps bothering me is - if we got an invitation to apply for visa, does that mean they will issue the grant letter to us for sure? All our documents are in place and have been submitted (after thorough checks from our side).

We are very hopeful to hear from DIBP soon, as you mentioned earlier, in the case of DIBP no news is not bad news 

Hoping to hear from you soon! Thanks!

Best Regards,
Richa



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Richa -
> 
> DIBP now does not notify applicants when a case officer is assigned, so it's no reason to worry that there has been notification of this. Normally DIBP will only contact an applicant if their need further info or documents, or have made a decision. So best thing to do may be to wait and enjoy the holiday season! In the case of DIBP, no news is not bad news.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## PJandsandrinagethitched

*PMV expired, arrived on ETA, submitted Partner Visa...HELP! thanks.*

So, things got a little bit messy. Here's the quick run down.

Applicant (me): US Citizen
Sponser (wife): Australian Citizen

i) PMV granted in Feb 2015.
ii) We got married in Philippines in May 2015..
iii) PMV expired in mid Nov 2015, but we figured we can still submit:
Partner visa by "former Prospective marriage visa holder" application $1450

iv) We arrived as a married couple in Australia on December 2015 on an ETA.
v) We got all our documents together and submitted the Partner Visa by "former Prospective marriage visa holder" application
&
paid $1450.

v) My application was accepted, and I was granted a BVA which activates when my ETA expires in March

vi) Two days later someone from DIAC called to tell me that the fee that I paid was incorrect and that I'll have to pay the full $6865 instead.

Now, we are told they won't move forward unless we pay that whole amount. Now, I feel like we spent all that money for the PMV which won't actually do anything for us since we submitted the application after it was expired. But, still don't understand why we wouldn't qualify to lodge the Partner Visa by "former Prospective marriage visa holder" application.

Your help is appreciated. Calling the DIAC isn't clarifying anything. Thank you.


----------



## 4lashyme

Hi Mark,
happy new year!
I submitted my EOI shoosing Queensland. Recently, i got a mail from Business and Skilled Migration Queensland requesting among other things;
1. Evidence of experience with managing shutdowns for resource projects."
How do i provide the evidence requested? Can a letter of introduction from my employer stating my work on shutdown management serve as the evidence?
Hoping to hear from you soon. thank you.


----------



## pritamawal9849

Hello sir,
I am pritam awal studying in australia with my 572 visa. I am in trouble about my marital status. Actually what the problem is I was married before my lodgement of visa. Till my offer and coe i was single. But during lodgement of visa what my agent said is you have to put your marital status single so that you wont get problem in visa. So i did as he say. So i need to change my marital status now and i have submitted 1022 form to Immigration. 
Visa lodged date:12 august 2015
marriage date: 2015/7/17
Marriage registration date:2015/7/29


----------



## simon.ghosh

Hello Mark,

I'm applying for subclass 189 along with my spouse. Just wanted to ask, once I get the PR visa stamped do I need to travel along with my wife? Or I can go alone and then my wife can come later?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassie -

Not really - having an agent doesn't speed up an application or improve chances of success - main advantage of an agent is our experience and knowledge about the system, the laws and policy, etc. I would seek out a student visa specialist who is a registered migration agent - many educational consultancies have these types of agents on staff - if you're looking for assistance, that's the best way I'd suggest.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cassie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your answer,
> 
> Do you think she may have more chances to get it if I ask for your services than applying for the visa alone ?
> 
> Have a good day Mark,
> Cassie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nnaorin19 -

Yes, a bit, but things seem to be picking up again...

Best,

Mark



nnaorin19 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Happy new year. Hope you are fine.
> 
> Is the processing time a bit delayed post the holiday season? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lahore -

Thanks for the note. Very difficult to predict state sponsorship processing time or 189 invitation time, especially for Accountants. 65 seems to be the lowest score that any Accountants are being invited to a 189 for (see SkillSelect Occupational Ceilings and Recent Invitation Round pages on DIBP site for more details). Wish I had something to offer here, but there just isn't enough data to make good predictions on.

Best,

Mark Northam



Lahore said:


> Hi Mark. Hope you are doing good. I am planning to get my EOI in soon. However, i am a bit concerned whether i have got enough points.
> 
> So far, i have positive assessment from CPA for Accountant (General). That will give me 15 points for education. My English score is above 8 in all segments, so i have got those 20 points covered as well. I am getting 30 points for age. This brings my total to 65 points. I was wondering if the recent trends for accountants will make it harder for me to get an invite. I can go for 190 and get 5 points for that. What do you reckon what sort of time am i looking for if i apply for 190 with 70 points in total? My student visa will expire by September and i want to go for PR straight away, instead of going for 485. With 7-8 months of time on my hands, do you think i have got enough of time?
> 
> Thank you for your help as always.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abedin -

Thanks for the note. The 8503 condition (no further stay) only applies if they are in Australia at the time they want to apply for another visa. If they apply offshore for another visa, the 8503 condition does not apply, so they would not have to wait for the visitor visa to expire, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abedin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Happy New Year.
> 
> My parents are currently on a tourist visa (18 months-validity) and have 8503- no further stay condition imposed.
> 
> They will be returning back to Bangladesh and would like to apply for Contributory parent visa.
> 
> a.Is it possible to apply for contributory parent visa with 8503 condition?
> They are planning to leave australia and apply from Bangladesh. or,
> 
> b. Do they have to wait till the 18month period ends and apply after that?
> 
> Any kind of cooperation is highly appreciated.
> 
> Cheers,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shashiamar

I would at a minimum get a letter from EA that the skills assessment is for Mechanical Engineer to avoid any potential issues with DIBP later on. I don't know of an ANZSCO occupation called "Air Conditioning Engineer". DIBP has a slavish attachment to ANZSCO details, and any confusion re: occupation can be a big problem.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shashiamar said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I applied for Skill assessment with Engineers Australia for Mechanical Engineer ( ANZSCO Code : 233512 ).
> 
> I was assessed +ve by EA and they assessed my occupation as Airconditioning Engineer instead of Mechanical Engineer but under same occupation code 233512.
> 
> I read through their websites and found that people specialized in Airconditioning / Heating Ventilation comes under Mechanical Engineer and Mechanical trained engineers working with other specialization is categorised under different code altogether.
> 
> I am bit confused and worried on the CO assumption over my skill assessment. Will she/he consider me still as a Mechanical Engineer as the code is same 233512 or the other way.
> 
> Thank you in advance for your time and response..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rebelchick -

Yes - you can submit information on all sources of financial support for your family unit. Can also lodge his and/or your CV to show a history of employment income.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rebelchick said:


> Thank you, Mark it indeed does help. I am concerned about my husbands bank account. He's in the process of starting up a business so it's taking some cash. On this bridging visa I get, will it allow me to work and will they take that into consideration so they don't turn us down for financial instability?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chickensgirl76 -

Thanks for the note. All people entering Australia who are not Australian citizens require a visa, so your husband would need some kind of visa to enter. While in some cases ETA visas can be granted on the spot, it's risky to leave it to that. Better to apply online in advance and take care of all the details in advance. If your son is not an Australian citizen, he would need a visa too.

As an Australian citizen, you cannot enter Australia on your USA passport. There is a special type of visa that is very rare that may work in situations like this called a Border visa, but rather than go through all that hassle, better to expedite getting your Australian passport renewed and use the new passport to enter. If it is a medical emergency, I'd contact DFAT or however you apply for a replacement passport and ask them if they can expedite the processing, and send them the medical evidence to show what's happening.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chickensgirl76 said:


> Hi Mark and thank you for your reply.I do however have a question in regards to that reply. You say my husband can travel on an ETA visitor visa, what is the difference between a ETA visa and just travelling on a regular passport to visit Australia???? It states a ETA visitor visa is for 3 mnths and then you must depart, the only problem being is he wont be departing. I will then apply for the 820 ONSHORE. Would the ETA visitor visa also be needed for my 10yr old son???
> And last but not least..lol
> I have a passport question for you please..
> Ok so I am Australian and my passport has expired. I am in the process of getting my citizenship here in the USA, which will make me a dual citizen and will get a US passport once I am done. So I sent an email to the Department of Immigration and Border control to asking about my passport, to see if I can travel on a US passport back to Australia and this is the reply I got:
> 
> Dear Sir/Madam
> 
> Thank you for your email.
> 
> As an Australian citizen, to return to Australia you require an Australia passport, this is all you require to enter Australia as a citizen and we will be unable to grant any visas to your US passport to allow entry into Australia.
> 
> Yours sincerely,
> 
> eVisa RRV Helpdesk
> 
> Department of Immigration and Border Protection
> 
> So does this mean I cannot go back on a US passport even tho I have dual citizenship or do I have to have a valid Australian passport too???? Any advise would be great.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaiko -

Not sure based on what you've said, but citizenship follows the passport, so if you have a BNO passport, that's what you may want to list.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kaiko said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I got a question regarding the nationality part in form 80. I come from Hong Kong, however I am holding a BNO passport. So what should I answer on the nationality field? HONG KONG OR BNO?? Becasue I am a Hong Kong citizen not UK that why I got confused.
> 
> I already filled in HONG KONG as my nationality in my previous online application. Do I have to change back to BNO?? What should I do? What other form do I need to fill in for the correction?
> 
> Thanks alot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Richa -

Thanks for the note. DIBP timelines very hard to predict, however for 489 and other skilled visas, seems to be getting close to 6 months now. However no guarantees as DIBP does not put any time limits on itself at all. If you've lodged and received an acknowledgement, then I'd be patient a few more months. DIBP doesn't respond to status requests, unfortunately.

There is no guarantee of a visa grant - there are many things that can go wrong with a skilled visa application, including points miscalculation, issues with documents, health or character issues, and more. The invitation was an invitation to apply for the visa, nothing more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



richagrovergandhi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> A very happy new year! How are you doing?
> 
> We filed for our SA visa invitation-489 visa, 3 months back (7th October) and are still waiting to hear from DIBP. We had applied through HR Adviser job post and had 80 points (70+10). Request your kind inputs on the following questions:
> 
> 1. Just wanted to check if you would be aware on their timelines, Their website states they take usually 3 months to respond. Would you be able to suggest when can we expect a response/ grant letter.
> 2. We have been wondering if we should contact DIBP to request an update on our status, but we feel skeptical as we do not want our case to take a wrong turn. Do you suggest we could contact them, without jeopardizing our case.
> 3. Another question that keeps bothering me is - if we got an invitation to apply for visa, does that mean they will issue the grant letter to us for sure? All our documents are in place and have been submitted (after thorough checks from our side).
> 
> We are very hopeful to hear from DIBP soon, as you mentioned earlier, in the case of DIBP no news is not bad news
> 
> Hoping to hear from you soon! Thanks!
> 
> Best Regards,
> Richa


----------



## shamtah

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shamtah -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Re: notifying your migration agent, that would be up to his/her policies. However as a 190 visa holder sponsored by a state, I expect there are state requirements that you must meet (such as notifying them upon your arrival) per your agreement with the state for sponsorship.
> 
> Unfortunately VEVO does not reflect the activation status of a visa, but as long as you entered on that visa after the grant date and prior to the must-enter-by date, you should be fine.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark for the very valuable information

Happy new year.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi PJand sandrinagethitched -

Sorry to hear of the fee issue. This is a good example of why the DIBP website needs more detail. The 1,450 fee for 820/801 applications applies to persons who had previously entered Australia on a PMV, the PMV has expired, and they remain in Australia and *do not hold a substantive visa*. These people, while fortunate to get a discount on the 820/801 application fee, would in all likelihood have substantial Schedule 3 problems arising from not holding a substantive visa at the time of application for the 820/801.

Unfortunately as you hold a substantive visa (your visitor visa), you are not eligible for the 1450 fee option and would have to pay the entire fee. No way around this that I see, as even if you let the ETA expire and remain in Australia (creating a big Schedule 3 problem), you still wouldn't meet the requirement of having entered Australia on the PMV based on what you've said in your post.

Wish I had better news for you -

Best,

Mark Northam



PJandsandrinagethitched said:


> So, things got a little bit messy. Here's the quick run down.
> 
> Applicant (me): US Citizen
> Sponser (wife): Australian Citizen
> 
> i) PMV granted in Feb 2015.
> ii) We got married in Philippines in May 2015..
> iii) PMV expired in mid Nov 2015, but we figured we can still submit:
> Partner visa by "former Prospective marriage visa holder" application $1450
> 
> iv) We arrived as a married couple in Australia on December 2015 on an ETA.
> v) We got all our documents together and submitted the Partner Visa by "former Prospective marriage visa holder" application
> &
> paid $1450.
> 
> v) My application was accepted, and I was granted a BVA which activates when my ETA expires in March
> 
> vi) Two days later someone from DIAC called to tell me that the fee that I paid was incorrect and that I'll have to pay the full $6865 instead.
> 
> Now, we are told they won't move forward unless we pay that whole amount. Now, I feel like we spent all that money for the PMV which won't actually do anything for us since we submitted the application after it was expired. But, still don't understand why we wouldn't qualify to lodge the Partner Visa by "former Prospective marriage visa holder" application.
> 
> Your help is appreciated. Calling the DIAC isn't clarifying anything. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 4lashyme -

That sounds like a good start - any additional documents from your work in this area would be good too, such as contracts, reports, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



4lashyme said:


> Hi Mark,
> happy new year!
> I submitted my EOI shoosing Queensland. Recently, i got a mail from Business and Skilled Migration Queensland requesting among other things;
> 1. Evidence of experience with managing shutdowns for resource projects."
> How do i provide the evidence requested? Can a letter of introduction from my employer stating my work on shutdown management serve as the evidence?
> Hoping to hear from you soon. thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pritamawal9849 -

Thanks for the note. If you were married at the time of application and your agent told you to lie on the application and say you were single, you should consider turning your agent in to OMARA for misconduct. This kind of unethical, unprofessional advice makes all agents look bad, has the potential to create big problems for you including a 3-year ban on Australian visas if DIBP concludes you put misleading information on your visa application.

However in the end, DIBP will hold you responsible regardless of what your agent has said or recommended. Hopefully the 1022 correction form will solve the issue and DIBP will take no further action - all you can do is to see how they handle the issue at this point, plus lodging your proof of marriage, etc as relationship evidence. They may want police & health checks from your wife as a result of being married at the time of application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pritamawal9849 said:


> Hello sir,
> I am pritam awal studying in australia with my 572 visa. I am in trouble about my marital status. Actually what the problem is I was married before my lodgement of visa. Till my offer and coe i was single. But during lodgement of visa what my agent said is you have to put your marital status single so that you wont get problem in visa. So i did as he say. So i need to change my marital status now and i have submitted 1022 form to Immigration.
> Visa lodged date:12 august 2015
> marriage date: 2015/7/17
> Marriage registration date:2015/7/29


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Simon -

Normally she can come later unless there is a Condition listed on her visa that says otherwise. However getting your visa activated would not activate her visa - both of you need to visit Australia by the must-enter-by date in order to activate your visas. In some cases there is a condition that she must not enter before you do.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



simon.ghosh said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I'm applying for subclass 189 along with my spouse. Just wanted to ask, once I get the PR visa stamped do I need to travel along with my wife? Or I can go alone and then my wife can come later?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shamtah -

You're welcome! Glad I could help, and happy new year!

Best,

Mark



shamtah said:


> Thank you very much Mark for the very valuable information
> 
> Happy new year.


----------



## toonutom6807

HI. ...any updates on latest invitation for january 2016


----------



## tomanami

Hi Mark, 

Thanks for all the hard work.

I'm wondering, is there a minimum amount of time a married couple in Australia has to have been living together for, before applying for the partner visa (820)?

Regards


----------



## mr00110

Hi Mark

We are Australian Citizen Living in overseas country since Year 2011.

In February 2014 we legally adopted a new born child here going through all local legal formalities and regulations.

We have applied Adoption visa (subclass 102) in July-2015, and they have asked some additional Police Clearance, and we submitted them by Mid November-2015.

1. Would you be able to suggest when we can expect a VISA for my Daughter ? How long normally it takes ?
2. Meantime which type of temporary/Visit VISA we can get for our little daughter (She is only 2 Years Old) to Travel to Australia with us ?

Best Regards


----------



## pritamawal9849

*About proof of marriage*

There is plenty of proof that we are couple. First of all we do have marriage certificate.Secondly, my wife's passport contains my name as a husband. The only problem is that if they changes my marital status or not because of my agent fault.


----------



## deepakbhardwajme

*IMMI Refusal Notification*

Dear Mark

Firstly wish you a very happy new year.

Further, I need your help in my & my wife 189 visa refusal case. ( sorry for long text)

The reason shared by CO is as stated below:-
_Your date of invitation is 07 September 2015.You supplied with your application a skills assessment from the Australian Computer Society(ACS) with reference number 973103, dated 13 September 2015.Whilst the application included evidence that the relevant assessing authority had assessed theapplicant's skills in relation to the nominated skilled occupation, this assessment was issuedafter the date that the applicant was invited to apply for this visa and therefore the applicantdoes not satisfy this criterion._

The actual reason for this is as stated below:-
We first applied for work experience validation to Australian computer society on June 26th 2015, with all the relevant documents regarding the employment and educational documents. We received the result of assessment letter from ACS on July 1ST in which they did not consider my experience with Tata consultancy services because I did not provide them with the affidavit of employment in required format.

Then I applied again in Australian computer society with the correct affidavit format of my employment with TCS and Australia computer society issued the new amended letter on 13th July in which they have counted my work experience with Tata consultancy services. On the basis of the amended ACS letter we have filed for expression of Interest claiming my experience from 1ST of September 2010 till 30th June 2015 . But it was only in September, we realized that the Australian computer society has made a mistake in counting my experience with Tata consultancy services which they considered in my ACS letter dated 16TH July as they have considered my work experience in TCS from September 2010 till July 2015 which should have been June 2015 instead as my last working day was 30th June 2015. I wrote to ACS requesting them for correcting my experience letter from September 2010 till June 2015 instead of July 2015 which they replied to us with amended letter on 13th September 2015.

Our only reason to write to ACS again for correction was to ensure that no wrong information should go to Department of Immigration and Border protection and that was the reason we got it amended from ACS and uploaded amended ACS evaluation ( which was dated 15th of Sept'15) on IMMI portal while adding the documentation. It was not a mistake from our end as we claimed the right experience with all my employers in my expression of interest. Our intention was clear to provide accurate information to DIBP.

Now I am getting no reply from CO and neither I am sure how to get the fee back.. Could you please advise the way out.

Warm Regards
Deep


----------



## Salama

*Fast Question *

Hi Mark,

I am applying for visa 489, what is the difference between ( Funds to be transferred ) and (Total funds for settlement ) in application form ?

Thanks


----------



## r.hultqvist

Hi Mark,

I've been reading the Q&A's for a couple of days now and I have to say that this is such a big help not just to me but to everyone here on the forum.

My question is regarding the partner visas 820/801 and/or 309/100.

Me and my partner have been in a relationship since December 2009 and have lived together in Australia, China and Canada during this time and now I am currently in Sweden since March 2015 and he in Australia. I have been listed as his defacto with the QLD government on and off throughout our relationship (off when living abroad, but in total around 3-4 years). He has recently listed me again with the QLD government as we have decided we want to apply for the partner visa.
I have been back home in Sweden trying to collect the money required for the cost of the visa as we didn't have enough money to apply last year before my student visa expired. We were going to see each other in Japan now in January but he tore his ACL so he had to have surgery for it and we cancelled the trip.

We are thinking that I will come to Australia on a tourist visa (eVisitor, that is already granted) in May, and 'decide' then and there to apply for the visa. Otherwise we were thinking of applying for an offshore 309/100 visa but we don't really want to stay apart for that much longer as we've already been apart for almost a year already and will have been apart for 15 months when I come to visit. He is starting University again in February so we won't be able to travel and see each other until I come to Australia in May.

1. Is the eVisitor a substantial visa from which I could apply for an onshore 820/801 visa?
2. Do you normally get to go on a BV-A with working rights?
3. Would it work to apply for onshore partnership seeing we will have been separated for over a year (though not really by choice but by limited funds)?
4. I read somewhere that if you have been in a defacto relationship for more than 3 years (or something like it) you can bypass the temporary residency and be granted PR directly after applying. Is this correct?

I have held a few different visas throughout the years:
2009-2010 WH Visa
2011-2013 Student Visa
2014 eVisitor (to come in to Australia and apply for new Student visa which I checked with immigration before)
2014-2015 Student Visa
2016 eVisitor (granted a few days ago and I cannot see the 'no further stay' clause that would be under "Visa Conditions", correct?)

I know it's hard for you to give concrete answers as you do not have all the facts but if I could get your recommendation that would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Rebecca


----------



## James_Melb

*complex transition from 457 to 820/801*

Hi Mark!

Thanks so much for your advice on the forum! The immigration laws are SO complicated; I couldn't quite find the right answer for my problem in previous posts!
Here is my situation:
- I have been married to an Australian citizen for more than 10 years
- I am on a 4 years 457 visa since early 2014 (was faster at the time than a partner visa and I was time constrained)
- I have submitted a 820/801 Partner visa in November 2014 through an immigration lawyer. We know waiting time is rather long now (12-15 months). We have a Case officer since mid-November and the acknowledgement/Bridging visa A/010 grant notice. DIBP recently asked as a final document for a Police Check which as added to my application last Monday. 
-* I Would like to change jobs as soon as possible! *

My current work situation is being really difficult and I could lose my job anytime now due to budget constraints. The good news is I have found a new potential sponsor, but the position won't be open forever. I do not know what to do next! This is the information I was given but couldn't verify it:
-	My potential new sponsor (and they have a valid sponsorship) warned me that going through my nomination on their side would cancel my current 820/801 partner visa application ( and I would continue being on the 457 visa)
-	If I gave my resignation for the current company I would automatically cancel my 457 VISA ( and the bridging visa with it)
-	My current company might be willing to make me redundant earlier , and the information I have from my lawyer is "In any event, should you later loose your current job and consequently your substantive subclass 457 - Temporary Work (Skilled) visa is cancelled prior to your partner visa decision is made, then you will automatically be granted with a Bridging visa until you receive the decision." I do have some doubts about it!

I have to say that I am really lost with all that! What would be your advice? Wait for the partner visa to come -eventually-? Ask to be made redundant? What happens if I loose my job?

Best regards


----------



## shashiamar

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shashiamar
> 
> I would at a minimum get a letter from EA that the skills assessment is for Mechanical Engineer to avoid any potential issues with DIBP later on. I don't know of an ANZSCO occupation called "Air Conditioning Engineer". DIBP has a slavish attachment to ANZSCO details, and any confusion re: occupation can be a big problem.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

Many thanks for your prompt response.

I wrote on the same to EA and got the below said response,

" Dear Sir,

We gave the outcome on basis of your qualification and career episodes, including CPD and other supporting documents.

Air conditioning engineer is under the same code as Mechanical engineer.

However we can't make any comments or advice on DIBP's decision ".

Does it make it sense ? Will DIBP accept this as an explanation.

Kindly advise.I am really worried now as I have paid all my visa fees.

Regards,


----------



## Harleygirl

Dear Mark, I am engaged to Australian man but we've only been together for 2 months and haven't met in person yet. I plan on coming to Australia on a Visitor Visa and we may get married while I'm there. If so, I want to file then for 820 Partner/Spouse Visa but I'm worried that they might turn us down because of our short history together. Do you think we'd be approved with our short history together if we're married while I'm there?


----------



## Lahore

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lahore -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Very difficult to predict state sponsorship processing time or 189 invitation time, especially for Accountants. 65 seems to be the lowest score that any Accountants are being invited to a 189 for (see SkillSelect Occupational Ceilings and Recent Invitation Round pages on DIBP site for more details). Wish I had something to offer here, but there just isn't enough data to make good predictions on.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you.


----------



## slimguy_234

Hello Mark,

i have submitted my application for Visa 189 since 15, December 2015 and my application status on immiAccount is Application received. up till now i have not had a case officer assigned to my application, is there something else i need to do please?

also, i included a dependent brother that has hepatitis B surface antigen which is a passive form of hepatitis and we are told cannot be transferred to anyone, also he is well over 18, i hope this will not work against us.

thanks in anticipation.

SlimGuy


----------



## atgreg

Hi Mark,

happy new year . Im after a bit of guidance for the PMV to 820 app. My fiance arrived 4 weeks ago, getting married in march so starting to think about the 820 app.

I feel we have a pretty good handle on the app generally after the PMV, thanks again to you for answering some questions here and checking our PMV app at your office !!.

What Im not sure about is how much of the original PMV evidence to include or to just include evidence since the PMV grant. People around the forums seem to have done it both ways and been successfull.

What are your thoughts ??, include all the PMV evidence, a bit or none ??.

thanks
Greg & Anette


----------



## MarkNortham

Nope, but good idea to keep a close eye on the SkillSelect invitation round reports for details -

Best,

Mark Northam



toonutom6807 said:


> HI. ...any updates on latest invitation for january 2016


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -Tomanami -

There is no minimum time specified in the legislation, however enough living together time to show that it's a committed (vs fake) marriage and generate some relationship evidence from that time together can make a big difference depending on your overall relationship evidence picture.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tomanami said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for all the hard work.
> 
> I'm wondering, is there a minimum amount of time a married couple in Australia has to have been living together for, before applying for the partner visa (820)?
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mr00110 -

Thanks for the note. Overseas adoption visas without local government (in Australia) support can be difficult - make sure your documents are 100% correct and accurate, and make sure you have ample evidence that the purpose of your trip to that country was not to adopt.

Re: processing time, impossible to predict - DIBP is very unpredictable in this area. If you have established legal parentage of the child, you may be able to get a visitor visa for the child for travel to Australia - depends on the progress of the adoption, local passport in the child's home country, etc. Type of visitor visa would depend on the country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mr00110 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> We are Australian Citizen Living in overseas country since Year 2011.
> 
> In February 2014 we legally adopted a new born child here going through all local legal formalities and regulations.
> 
> We have applied Adoption visa (subclass 102) in July-2015, and they have asked some additional Police Clearance, and we submitted them by Mid November-2015.
> 
> 1. Would you be able to suggest when we can expect a VISA for my Daughter ? How long normally it takes ?
> 2. Meantime which type of temporary/Visit VISA we can get for our little daughter (She is only 2 Years Old) to Travel to Australia with us ?
> 
> Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pritamawal9849 -

Not sure of your question, but keep in mind that proving you are legally married is only part of the requirement for being granted a partner visa by DIBP - the other part which is much harder to prove is that the relationship underlying the marriage is genuine - this is where the various types of relationship evidence come in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pritamawal9849 said:


> There is plenty of proof that we are couple. First of all we do have marriage certificate.Secondly, my wife's passport contains my name as a husband. The only problem is that if they changes my marital status or not because of my agent fault.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deep -

Thanks for the note. If the visa has been refused, that can be very difficult to get reversed unless DIBP made a legal mistake. If they had the previous assessment (dated prior to invitation) and did not utilise it, then you might have an argument to have the refusal vacated. Otherwise, you'll have to take your chances at the AAT if you have a review available (not sure if you're onshore vs offshore). If you are offshore and do not have AAT review available, and if DIBP has a copy of the pre-invitation assessment, then you need to strongly request that they consider that and reverse the decision. Problem will be if they do not have that and only first see it after the visa is refused. You may want to consider getting assistance to lodge a formal request to have the decision vacated depending on the circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



deepakbhardwajme said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Firstly wish you a very happy new year.
> 
> Further, I need your help in my & my wife 189 visa refusal case. ( sorry for long text)
> 
> The reason shared by CO is as stated below:-
> _Your date of invitation is 07 September 2015.You supplied with your application a skills assessment from the Australian Computer Society(ACS) with reference number 973103, dated 13 September 2015.Whilst the application included evidence that the relevant assessing authority had assessed theapplicant's skills in relation to the nominated skilled occupation, this assessment was issuedafter the date that the applicant was invited to apply for this visa and therefore the applicantdoes not satisfy this criterion._
> 
> The actual reason for this is as stated below:-
> We first applied for work experience validation to Australian computer society on June 26th 2015, with all the relevant documents regarding the employment and educational documents. We received the result of assessment letter from ACS on July 1ST in which they did not consider my experience with Tata consultancy services because I did not provide them with the affidavit of employment in required format.
> 
> Then I applied again in Australian computer society with the correct affidavit format of my employment with TCS and Australia computer society issued the new amended letter on 13th July in which they have counted my work experience with Tata consultancy services. On the basis of the amended ACS letter we have filed for expression of Interest claiming my experience from 1ST of September 2010 till 30th June 2015 . But it was only in September, we realized that the Australian computer society has made a mistake in counting my experience with Tata consultancy services which they considered in my ACS letter dated 16TH July as they have considered my work experience in TCS from September 2010 till July 2015 which should have been June 2015 instead as my last working day was 30th June 2015. I wrote to ACS requesting them for correcting my experience letter from September 2010 till June 2015 instead of July 2015 which they replied to us with amended letter on 13th September 2015.
> 
> Our only reason to write to ACS again for correction was to ensure that no wrong information should go to Department of Immigration and Border protection and that was the reason we got it amended from ACS and uploaded amended ACS evaluation ( which was dated 15th of Sept'15) on IMMI portal while adding the documentation. It was not a mistake from our end as we claimed the right experience with all my employers in my expression of interest. Our intention was clear to provide accurate information to DIBP.
> 
> Now I am getting no reply from CO and neither I am sure how to get the fee back.. Could you please advise the way out.
> 
> Warm Regards
> Deep


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Salama -

Thanks for the note. That sounds like a question on one of the state sponsorship forms - you'd need to clarify the difference with the state as they are not all the same.

Best,

Mark Northam



Salama said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for visa 489, what is the difference between ( Funds to be transferred ) and (Total funds for settlement ) in application form ?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rebecca -

Thanks for the note - re: #1 and #2, answer is Yes. Re: applying after time apart, assuming you are applying as de facto and have a registered relationship with an Australian state, the key then is to convince DIBP that the long time apart didn't mean the relationship was stopped or had ceased during that period, but continued as a de facto relationship despite the time apart. Best way to do that usually is to show how the relationship existed in a very strong way both before and after the time apart. Re #4, if DIBP believes you were in a de facto relationship for the 3 years prior to applying for the visa, then they have the option of granting you the PR visa (subclass 801 for onshore applications) straight away - you should request this if you are lodging sufficient evidence to show 3 yrs de facto relationship prior to lodging.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



r.hultqvist said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've been reading the Q&A's for a couple of days now and I have to say that this is such a big help not just to me but to everyone here on the forum.
> 
> My question is regarding the partner visas 820/801 and/or 309/100.
> 
> Me and my partner have been in a relationship since December 2009 and have lived together in Australia, China and Canada during this time and now I am currently in Sweden since March 2015 and he in Australia. I have been listed as his defacto with the QLD government on and off throughout our relationship (off when living abroad, but in total around 3-4 years). He has recently listed me again with the QLD government as we have decided we want to apply for the partner visa.
> I have been back home in Sweden trying to collect the money required for the cost of the visa as we didn't have enough money to apply last year before my student visa expired. We were going to see each other in Japan now in January but he tore his ACL so he had to have surgery for it and we cancelled the trip.
> 
> We are thinking that I will come to Australia on a tourist visa (eVisitor, that is already granted) in May, and 'decide' then and there to apply for the visa. Otherwise we were thinking of applying for an offshore 309/100 visa but we don't really want to stay apart for that much longer as we've already been apart for almost a year already and will have been apart for 15 months when I come to visit. He is starting University again in February so we won't be able to travel and see each other until I come to Australia in May.
> 
> 1. Is the eVisitor a substantial visa from which I could apply for an onshore 820/801 visa?
> 2. Do you normally get to go on a BV-A with working rights?
> 3. Would it work to apply for onshore partnership seeing we will have been separated for over a year (though not really by choice but by limited funds)?
> 4. I read somewhere that if you have been in a defacto relationship for more than 3 years (or something like it) you can bypass the temporary residency and be granted PR directly after applying. Is this correct?
> 
> I have held a few different visas throughout the years:
> 2009-2010 WH Visa
> 2011-2013 Student Visa
> 2014 eVisitor (to come in to Australia and apply for new Student visa which I checked with immigration before)
> 2014-2015 Student Visa
> 2016 eVisitor (granted a few days ago and I cannot see the 'no further stay' clause that would be under "Visa Conditions", correct?)
> 
> I know it's hard for you to give concrete answers as you do not have all the facts but if I could get your recommendation that would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Rebecca


----------



## K&k

Dear mark
Hi applied for offshore spouse visa threw berlin in october 2015 so we're nearly closing 15 months . Just before christmas co sent email that she is close to finalizing our application. Would you know on an average how much longer by any chance???? 
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James_Melb -

Thanks for the note - happy to clear up some of the info that isn't quite right.

First, the 457 visa (and related nomination) applications are completely independent of your partner visa. Lodging a new nomination with a new company to take over the balance of your 457 visa would not interfere in your partner visa, so the bit about the nomination cancelling your 820 application is wrong.

If you resign from your current company (or are fired), DIBP will give you 90 days to find a new sponsor, then consider your 457 for cancellation. Partner visa remains unchanged and unaffected by this as above. Normally DIBP will not cancel a 457 even after 90 days if they see a partner visa has been lodged. However in the event they do cancel it after 90 days, you can apply for and will be granted a Bridging Visa E (without work rights, probably) to allow you to remain in Australia until the partner visa is decided. The BVE will not allow travel out and back to Australia, and you'll likely have to request work rights by showing financial hardship for you and your partner unless you are allowed to work. There are other issues in that scenario such as losing time prior to the 457 cancellation in Australia towards the 4 year residency requirement for citizenship.

Hope this helps clear things up a bit - please advise any additional questions.

Best,

Mark Northam



James_Melb said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Thanks so much for your advice on the forum! The immigration laws are SO complicated; I couldn't quite find the right answer for my problem in previous posts!
> Here is my situation:
> - I have been married to an Australian citizen for more than 10 years
> - I am on a 4 years 457 visa since early 2014 (was faster at the time than a partner visa and I was time constrained)
> - I have submitted a 820/801 Partner visa in November 2014 through an immigration lawyer. We know waiting time is rather long now (12-15 months). We have a Case officer since mid-November and the acknowledgement/Bridging visa A/010 grant notice. DIBP recently asked as a final document for a Police Check which as added to my application last Monday.
> -* I Would like to change jobs as soon as possible! *
> 
> My current work situation is being really difficult and I could lose my job anytime now due to budget constraints. The good news is I have found a new potential sponsor, but the position won't be open forever. I do not know what to do next! This is the information I was given but couldn't verify it:
> -	My potential new sponsor (and they have a valid sponsorship) warned me that going through my nomination on their side would cancel my current 820/801 partner visa application ( and I would continue being on the 457 visa)
> -	If I gave my resignation for the current company I would automatically cancel my 457 VISA ( and the bridging visa with it)
> -	My current company might be willing to make me redundant earlier , and the information I have from my lawyer is "In any event, should you later loose your current job and consequently your substantive subclass 457 - Temporary Work (Skilled) visa is cancelled prior to your partner visa decision is made, then you will automatically be granted with a Bridging visa until you receive the decision." I do have some doubts about it!
> 
> I have to say that I am really lost with all that! What would be your advice? Wait for the partner visa to come -eventually-? Ask to be made redundant? What happens if I loose my job?
> 
> Best regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shashiamar -

I'd use the letter with DIBP if they ask any questions - should be helpful in resolving any issues with DIBP, but you'll have to wait to see if the case officer has an issue with the name difference in occupations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shashiamar said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Many thanks for your prompt response.
> 
> I wrote on the same to EA and got the below said response,
> 
> " Dear Sir,
> 
> We gave the outcome on basis of your qualification and career episodes, including CPD and other supporting documents.
> 
> Air conditioning engineer is under the same code as Mechanical engineer.
> 
> However we can't make any comments or advice on DIBP's decision ".
> 
> Does it make it sense ? Will DIBP accept this as an explanation.
> 
> Kindly advise.I am really worried now as I have paid all my visa fees.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harleygirl -

Might work depending on amount of relationship evidence you can put together once you're here - not impossible, but will require some serious relationship evidence gathering - see some good threads on this forum about relationship evidence for partner visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Harleygirl said:


> Dear Mark, I am engaged to Australian man but we've only been together for 2 months and haven't met in person yet. I plan on coming to Australia on a Visitor Visa and we may get married while I'm there. If so, I want to file then for 820 Partner/Spouse Visa but I'm worried that they might turn us down because of our short history together. Do you think we'd be approved with our short history together if we're married while I'm there?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Slimguy_234 -

Thanks for the note. Nothing to do now but wait, as these visas typically take 3-6 months to process. No way to predict brother's effect on application - depends on finding of Medical Officer of the Commonwealth based on health exam results.

Best,

Mark Northam



slimguy_234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> i have submitted my application for Visa 189 since 15, December 2015 and my application status on immiAccount is Application received. up till now i have not had a case officer assigned to my application, is there something else i need to do please?
> 
> also, i included a dependent brother that has hepatitis B surface antigen which is a passive form of hepatitis and we are told cannot be transferred to anyone, also he is well over 18, i hope this will not work against us.
> 
> thanks in anticipation.
> 
> SlimGuy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Atgreg -

Thanks for the note and kind words! We generally advise our clients to include evidence after the PMV (ie, don't duplicate evidence from the PMV) unless that evidence is directly relevant to showing an established relationship, such as mail at same address or leases with both names on it, etc. Other than that, better to focus on evidence since the PMV, especially evidence showing you living together and building a life together. Form 888's, witness statements and your relationship statements should all be new.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



atgreg said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> happy new year . Im after a bit of guidance for the PMV to 820 app. My fiance arrived 4 weeks ago, getting married in march so starting to think about the 820 app.
> 
> I feel we have a pretty good handle on the app generally after the PMV, thanks again to you for answering some questions here and checking our PMV app at your office !!.
> 
> What Im not sure about is how much of the original PMV evidence to include or to just include evidence since the PMV grant. People around the forums seem to have done it both ways and been successfull.
> 
> What are your thoughts ??, include all the PMV evidence, a bit or none ??.
> 
> thanks
> Greg & Anette


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi K&K -

No way to tell for sure, but I'd expect weeks vs months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



K&k said:


> Dear mark
> Hi applied for offshore spouse visa threw berlin in october 2015 so we're nearly closing 15 months . Just before christmas co sent email that she is close to finalizing our application. Would you know on an average how much longer by any chance????
> Thanks


----------



## K&k

MarkNortham said:


> Hi K&K -
> 
> No way to tell for sure, but I'd expect weeks vs months.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Sorry, I was suppose to write octber 2014, thanks anyway


----------



## deepakbhardwajme

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Deep -
> 
> Thanks for the note. If the visa has been refused, that can be very difficult to get reversed unless DIBP made a legal mistake. If they had the previous assessment (dated prior to invitation) and did not utilise it, then you might have an argument to have the refusal vacated. Otherwise, you'll have to take your chances at the AAT if you have a review available (not sure if you're onshore vs offshore). If you are offshore and do not have AAT review available, and if DIBP has a copy of the pre-invitation assessment, then you need to strongly request that they consider that and reverse the decision. Problem will be if they do not have that and only first see it after the visa is refused. You may want to consider getting assistance to lodge a formal request to have the decision vacated depending on the circumstances.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Firstly many thanks for reply.

I am an offshore applicant so I dont think I have the option of AAT. 
In terms of previous assessment submission with DIBP , unfortunately I didn't submit that during the IMMI application submission and thus from above understanding, I even don't have much chance to claim on it.

I request for your guidance on below point's :-

1. As CO is not responding to my put forward details of complete scenario from last 2 months despite multiple follow up over email to him and calls, is there a way to connect / get CO response from authority. Reason I am looking for a reply is so that I am clear on the action next as stated below.

2. I applied EOI again last month in Dec'15 and now have received invitation again. So in the situation, if I go ahead with the documents and fee submission in IMMI, what is the chances that my earlier refusal will not effect the case or what precautions should I take to ensure that this time my application gets through.

Please advise.

Warm Regards
Deep


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deep -

Thanks for the note. Re #1, no way to force a response, and as you didn't present the earlier skills assessment during the processing, likely no way to resurrect the previous application. Re #2, there was never a question as to the genuineness of the documents or your application from what you've said, so I don't see any way that the earlier refusal would affect the new application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



deepakbhardwajme said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Firstly many thanks for reply.
> 
> I am an offshore applicant so I dont think I have the option of AAT.
> In terms of previous assessment submission with DIBP , unfortunately I didn't submit that during the IMMI application submission and thus from above understanding, I even don't have much chance to claim on it.
> 
> I request for your guidance on below point's :-
> 
> 1. As CO is not responding to my put forward details of complete scenario from last 2 months despite multiple follow up over email to him and calls, is there a way to connect / get CO response from authority. Reason I am looking for a reply is so that I am clear on the action next as stated below.
> 
> 2. I applied EOI again last month in Dec'15 and now have received invitation again. So in the situation, if I go ahead with the documents and fee submission in IMMI, what is the chances that my earlier refusal will not effect the case or what precautions should I take to ensure that this time my application gets through.
> 
> Please advise.
> 
> Warm Regards
> Deep


----------



## shashiamar

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shashiamar -
> 
> I'd use the letter with DIBP if they ask any questions - should be helpful in resolving any issues with DIBP, but you'll have to wait to see if the case officer has an issue with the name difference in occupations.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

Many thanks for your response. It was really helpful and was a stress reliever.

All my best wishes and appreciation for your continued support to similar Az PR aspirants.

Regards


----------



## Jessica1888

Hi Mark,

I have applied for 309 and its seven months now. i had submitted all evidence and i had performed my medicals & police check requested by CO, 3 weeks later when i submitted my application. 

I have NOT been called for interview. May I know why they are taking long and would not update status on the progress of my visa??

Thanks


----------



## James_Melb

MarkNortham said:


> Hi James_Melb -
> 
> Thanks for the note - happy to clear up some of the info that isn't quite right.
> 
> First, the 457 visa (and related nomination) applications are completely independent of your partner visa. Lodging a new nomination with a new company to take over the balance of your 457 visa would not interfere in your partner visa, so the bit about the nomination cancelling your 820 application is wrong.
> 
> If you resign from your current company (or are fired), DIBP will give you 90 days to find a new sponsor, then consider your 457 for cancellation. Partner visa remains unchanged and unaffected by this as above. Normally DIBP will not cancel a 457 even after 90 days if they see a partner visa has been lodged. However in the event they do cancel it after 90 days, you can apply for and will be granted a Bridging Visa E (without work rights, probably) to allow you to remain in Australia until the partner visa is decided. The BVE will not allow travel out and back to Australia, and you'll likely have to request work rights by showing financial hardship for you and your partner unless you are allowed to work. There are other issues in that scenario such as losing time prior to the 457 cancellation in Australia towards the 4 year residency requirement for citizenship.
> 
> Hope this helps clear things up a bit - please advise any additional questions.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark! It is really clear for me now.


----------



## Jessica1888

*incorrect answer*

hi Mark,

I have submitted my application and i remember that i changed a incorrect answer before submitting but forgot to photocopy before submitting and i have the old copy.

Right now i am not sure if i submitted the correct one because i have the old copy which i should have photocopied and replaced when i changed the answer,

if i want to notify by form 1023. what reason should i write of incorrect answer because im unsure??

But i know what is the correct answer.

we provided the document to support that has the answer.. will they understand or call me up and ask??

submitted application in july 2015

Please help


----------



## DeepSea18

Hello Mark,

I'm a doctor aged 27 with one year experience of housejob in my homecountry and I've cleared my AMC part 1 and OET (B Each). I got three brothers in Australia, one is a citizen, other is in the process for being a permanent resident & the last one is studying there. I'm interested in moving to Australia permanently to work, my brother is ready to sponsor me. 

On my conditions and circumstances mentioned above, I wanted to ask if I'm eligible for getting a permanent residency under the Skilled visa.

Thank you.
DeepSea18


----------



## Romh

Hi Mark,

I've had the benefit of your advice before, had a very informative consultation over the phone with you, it was a great help. Would like to seek your advice again!

I'm on the verge of submitting an online partner visa application. I'll be the sponsor for my partner. I've read a few posts on these forums about people who have had partner visa applications rejected on the basis that on a previous application for a student visa, under relationship status, they selected 'never married'. As the student visa application was done after the time stated for the start of their relationship, the partner visa application was pulled up.

My partner and I started our de facto relationship - the time we moved in together - in January 2014, but in a student visa application she did in June 2014, she thinks it very possible she checked 'not married' as she was unaware what 'de facto' meant at that time. Do you think this may cause us an issue? Is there anything we can do about this?


----------



## deepakbhardwajme

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Deep -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Re #1, no way to force a response, and as you didn't present the earlier skills assessment during the processing, likely no way to resurrect the previous application. Re #2, there was never a question as to the genuineness of the documents or your application from what you've said, so I don't see any way that the earlier refusal would affect the new application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark

Many thanks for your valuable guidance. I hope this time my application doesnt get into any issues.

Warm Regards
Deepak Bhardwaj


----------



## slimguy_234

Hello Mark,

kindly advice, i am applying for visa 189. The only evidence of relationship i have for my half brother who is over 18 is our birth certificates which carries the name of our common parent which is our mother and a police report that shows his residential address same as mine. also, he has been out of work for only 8 months as at the time of application. can the visa be refused on these grounds? and if the visa is to be refused, will it be for us all?
secondly, what is the possibility of reapplying in the event of an initial unfavorable outcome and its cost implications.

many thanks in anticipation.

Michael.


----------



## munishghai74

Hi Mark and Others Reading !

I am submitting my documents to ACS for skill assessment. My question is regarding my job related documents - offer letters, experience letter and pay stubs. Working in IT, we have all these documents emailed to us as pdf. Thus all we have is soft copies only as Originals.

Do we need these documents to get certified before submission to ACS ?
The situation becomes tricky, as there is no Original Hard Copy for notary to do a comparison check and validate the authenticity.

Any advice on this please. Thanks in advance.

-Munish


----------



## GauravAgrawal84

Hi Guys I am planning to apply for general skilled visa and have 3 questions:

1) I believe we need to provide the reference letters for the skills assessment now for one of the company I have worked for in the past I have the experience certificate which contains all the information acs requests in the reference letter except the roles and responsibilities. Now I have requested my past company to send me a reference letter in the format acs requests containing the roles and responsibilities. Now will the reference letter be enough or do i need to also provide the experience certificate.

2) My previous manager has left the company so will it be fine if the ref letter is issued by the hr department.

3) I have done my bachelors in electronics engineering from Pune India and masters in advance computer science from university of Manchester uk. Along with that I have 5.5 years of professional work experience. Since my degree is not in computers will I need to take the rpl route. And is 5.5 years experience good enough. 

Regards,
Gaurav


----------



## r.hultqvist

Hello again and thank you kindly for your reply,

I have some follow-up questions in regards to other posts & answers on the thread from my keeping up with reading through the pages of this thread (I'm now on page 720)..

1. I came upon the fact that WA does not acknowledge partnership registrations even though they are a federal document? My partner is currently residing in QLD but will be moving to Perth to commence his DVM this fall. Could we keep the registration through Centrelink in QLD even though he will be residing in WA for the 6 months prior to us being able to lodge the application?

2. I read that you would have had to provide evidence of living together 12 months prior to 820/801 application. We have been "dating" since December 2009, with being listed de facto with Centrelink in QLD on and off for about 4 years total. Do you believe we would still be able to bypass that clause seeing we can prove that we have a genuine and continuing relationship even though we will have been living on two different continents for 13-14 months by the time I come to Australia? The only reason we are living apart is due to financial issues and I am currently working in Sweden to be able to fund the partner visa.

3. Do you have any idea generally how long an offshore 309/100 visa would take?

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Rebecca



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rebecca -
> 
> Thanks for the note - re: #1 and #2, answer is Yes. Re: applying after time apart, assuming you are applying as de facto and have a registered relationship with an Australian state, the key then is to convince DIBP that the long time apart didn't mean the relationship was stopped or had ceased during that period, but continued as a de facto relationship despite the time apart. Best way to do that usually is to show how the relationship existed in a very strong way both before and after the time apart. Re #4, if DIBP believes you were in a de facto relationship for the 3 years prior to applying for the visa, then they have the option of granting you the PR visa (subclass 801 for onshore applications) straight away - you should request this if you are lodging sufficient evidence to show 3 yrs de facto relationship prior to lodging.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jessica1888 -

Unfortuantely DIBP have decided they do not owe applicants any sort of progress reports or the ability to check on the status of an application, and essentially leave applicants to wait, and wait, and wait... with little idea of if or when a decision will be made. It's lousy customer service that would never survive in the "real world", but as DIBP is the only game in town re: immigration to Australia, they get to make the rules.

Currently we're seeing partner visas taking anywhere from 12 to 18 months, sometimes shorter or longer, so it may be bit early to be concerned about the processing time.

Wish I had better news, but that's the system we're left to deal with.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jessica1888 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied for 309 and its seven months now. i had submitted all evidence and i had performed my medicals & police check requested by CO, 3 weeks later when i submitted my application.
> 
> I have NOT been called for interview. May I know why they are taking long and would not update status on the progress of my visa??
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jessica1888 -

If you're not sure, then I'd use Form 1023 just to be sure. For reason, you can say something like error in completing form or something general like that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jessica1888 said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> I have submitted my application and i remember that i changed a incorrect answer before submitting but forgot to photocopy before submitting and i have the old copy.
> 
> Right now i am not sure if i submitted the correct one because i have the old copy which i should have photocopied and replaced when i changed the answer,
> 
> if i want to notify by form 1023. what reason should i write of incorrect answer because im unsure??
> 
> But i know what is the correct answer.
> 
> we provided the document to support that has the answer.. will they understand or call me up and ask??
> 
> submitted application in july 2015
> 
> Please help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DeepSea18 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



DeepSea18 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I'm a doctor aged 27 with one year experience of housejob in my homecountry and I've cleared my AMC part 1 and OET (B Each). I got three brothers in Australia, one is a citizen, other is in the process for being a permanent resident & the last one is studying there. I'm interested in moving to Australia permanently to work, my brother is ready to sponsor me.
> 
> On my conditions and circumstances mentioned above, I wanted to ask if I'm eligible for getting a permanent residency under the Skilled visa.
> 
> Thank you.
> DeepSea18


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romh -

Thanks for the note and kind words. If you're claiming time in a de facto relationship and during that time the applicant put in a past visa application that did not reflect the de facto partner status being in place, that can cause problems. Safest bet is to claim the de facto relationship started after the previous visa application date, however if that's not possible or practical, best you can do may be to claim she misunderstood what a de facto relationship is. Also you may want to look at registering your relationship if the state you live in allows this (all do except SA and WA) to avoid the requirement that the de facto relationship must have existed for the 12 months prior to application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Romh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've had the benefit of your advice before, had a very informative consultation over the phone with you, it was a great help. Would like to seek your advice again!
> 
> I'm on the verge of submitting an online partner visa application. I'll be the sponsor for my partner. I've read a few posts on these forums about people who have had partner visa applications rejected on the basis that on a previous application for a student visa, under relationship status, they selected 'never married'. As the student visa application was done after the time stated for the start of their relationship, the partner visa application was pulled up.
> 
> My partner and I started our de facto relationship - the time we moved in together - in January 2014, but in a student visa application she did in June 2014, she thinks it very possible she checked 'not married' as she was unaware what 'de facto' meant at that time. Do you think this may cause us an issue? Is there anything we can do about this?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael -

I'm assuming you are claiming your half brother as a dependent on your 189 application - if so, then if DIBP determines that he does not qualify as a dependent, you can remove him from the application and the application can proceed with the remaining applicant(s). In other cases, DIBP will refuse the application for the dependent (if DIBP decides they do not qualify as a dependent) and approve the application for the primary applicant - all depends on the circumstances and case officer.

Re: re-applying, would depend on reasons for refusal. Re: cost, DIBP does not provide refunds in the case of refusals or withdrawals, and a re-application, if possible, would require payment of a new application fee.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



slimguy_234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> kindly advice, i am applying for visa 189. The only evidence of relationship i have for my half brother who is over 18 is our birth certificates which carries the name of our common parent which is our mother and a police report that shows his residential address same as mine. also, he has been out of work for only 8 months as at the time of application. can the visa be refused on these grounds? and if the visa is to be refused, will it be for us all?
> secondly, what is the possibility of reapplying in the event of an initial unfavorable outcome and its cost implications.
> 
> many thanks in anticipation.
> 
> Michael.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Munishghai74 -

Thanks for the note. ACS does require certified copies for most documents - best option may be to print out 2 copies of a document, then find a JP can work with you and indicate that one is an original and one is a copy, and to please certify the copy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



munishghai74 said:


> Hi Mark and Others Reading !
> 
> I am submitting my documents to ACS for skill assessment. My question is regarding my job related documents - offer letters, experience letter and pay stubs. Working in IT, we have all these documents emailed to us as pdf. Thus all we have is soft copies only as Originals.
> 
> Do we need these documents to get certified before submission to ACS ?
> The situation becomes tricky, as there is no Original Hard Copy for notary to do a comparison check and validate the authenticity.
> 
> Any advice on this please. Thanks in advance.
> 
> -Munish


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi GauruvAgrawal84 -

Thanks for the note. Would need to work with you in a consultation to determine whether specific documents may work - RPL option at ACS if that's the path you have to take requires 6 years of work experience if you have a non-ICT Bachelor degree. Please see website below in my signature for more on consultations if I can assist you further.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GauravAgrawal84 said:


> Hi Guys I am planning to apply for general skilled visa and have 3 questions:
> 
> 1) I believe we need to provide the reference letters for the skills assessment now for one of the company I have worked for in the past I have the experience certificate which contains all the information acs requests in the reference letter except the roles and responsibilities. Now I have requested my past company to send me a reference letter in the format acs requests containing the roles and responsibilities. Now will the reference letter be enough or do i need to also provide the experience certificate.
> 
> 2) My previous manager has left the company so will it be fine if the ref letter is issued by the hr department.
> 
> 3) I have done my bachelors in electronics engineering from Pune India and masters in advance computer science from university of Manchester uk. Along with that I have 5.5 years of professional work experience. Since my degree is not in computers will I need to take the rpl route. And is 5.5 years experience good enough.
> 
> Regards,
> Gaurav


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rebecca -

Thanks for the note. The only approved relationship registrations for de facto couples (for visa purposes) are those from the various state govts, usually the births/deaths/marriages division. Centrelink registration would not be accepted as evidence of de facto relationship for purposes of satisfying the 12 month rule. Re: proving relationship existed while apart, that can be challenging but entirely depends on your circumstances and details - happy to assist you in a consultation (see website below) for that if you'd like to get into the specifics.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



r.hultqvist said:


> Hello again and thank you kindly for your reply,
> 
> I have some follow-up questions in regards to other posts & answers on the thread from my keeping up with reading through the pages of this thread (I'm now on page 720)..
> 
> 1. I came upon the fact that WA does not acknowledge partnership registrations even though they are a federal document? My partner is currently residing in QLD but will be moving to Perth to commence his DVM this fall. Could we keep the registration through Centrelink in QLD even though he will be residing in WA for the 6 months prior to us being able to lodge the application?
> 
> 2. I read that you would have had to provide evidence of living together 12 months prior to 820/801 application. We have been "dating" since December 2009, with being listed de facto with Centrelink in QLD on and off for about 4 years total. Do you believe we would still be able to bypass that clause seeing we can prove that we have a genuine and continuing relationship even though we will have been living on two different continents for 13-14 months by the time I come to Australia? The only reason we are living apart is due to financial issues and I am currently working in Sweden to be able to fund the partner visa.
> 
> 3. Do you have any idea generally how long an offshore 309/100 visa would take?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Sincerely,
> Rebecca


----------



## jamielannister

Hi Mark
I hope you had great new year and christmas. You spare lot of time helping others for free. You are such a generous person.
I just wanted to ask you that my 801 is due in August this year. Do I need same amount of evidence as 820? Will I need to submit all other docs I submitted during process of 820? I am starting to collect all the documents possible since I been granted 820. I think I would send my MRT decision record to them or do they have access to all the docs previously submitted? I heard processing time for 801 has gone longer too. I hope it wont be over 16 months as my 820 which also includes MRT hearing and remittance to department.
You are such a great help.


----------



## slimguy_234

Hello Mark, 

i honestly want to specially appreciate your help in providing guidance to all in this forum.

i just got a feedback from DIPB on my visa 189 application and they are requesting for documented evidence that my brother is dependent on me. problem is, the society i am from is a cash based society with no records of family cash transactions. everything happens by hand. can you please advice on how best to approach this?

Michael.


----------



## Jessica1888

Thanks Mark

Just was wondering what to write in correct answer column in the form since im unsure what was sent and i dont have a copy.

Can I say i dont have a copy of application so just for reassurance im filling out the correct answer just to be sure because i could not understand the question at first???

Plus can i attach the copy of evidence because they have the original one??

I hope it wont complicate things..


----------



## Aussiegurl

*......*

..........


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamielannister -

Thanks for the note. Given that DIBP has gotten tougher on 801 applications, I'd include a full load of evidence of all the major types required for the 820, but don't duplicate - ie, get new witness statements, and include evidence that has been generated after you lodged for the original partner visa. Yes, we're seeing longer processing times for the 801, likely due to increased checking and scrutiny they're giving these.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamielannister said:


> Hi Mark
> I hope you had great new year and christmas. You spare lot of time helping others for free. You are such a generous person.
> I just wanted to ask you that my 801 is due in August this year. Do I need same amount of evidence as 820? Will I need to submit all other docs I submitted during process of 820? I am starting to collect all the documents possible since I been granted 820. I think I would send my MRT decision record to them or do they have access to all the docs previously submitted? I heard processing time for 801 has gone longer too. I hope it wont be over 16 months as my 820 which also includes MRT hearing and remittance to department.
> You are such a great help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Slimguy_234 -

The key requirements for adult dependency are that the dependent is more dependent on you than any other source for food, clothing and shelter - I'd show how this is true, even if cash payments are made - look at the flows of money that provide the support the dependent receives and how those flows relate back to the primary applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



slimguy_234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> i honestly want to specially appreciate your help in providing guidance to all in this forum.
> 
> i just got a feedback from DIPB on my visa 189 application and they are requesting for documented evidence that my brother is dependent on me. problem is, the society i am from is a cash based society with no records of family cash transactions. everything happens by hand. can you please advice on how best to approach this?
> 
> Michael.


----------



## MarkNortham

Sounds like a good plan.

Best,

Mark



Jessica1888 said:


> Thanks Mark
> 
> Just was wondering what to write in correct answer column in the form since im unsure what was sent and i dont have a copy.
> 
> Can I say i dont have a copy of application so just for reassurance im filling out the correct answer just to be sure because i could not understand the question at first???
> 
> Plus can i attach the copy of evidence because they have the original one??
> 
> I hope it wont complicate things..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussiegurl -

I'm sure either would do fine with a character case - they're both excellent. In my practice we've been handling a number of complex character cases recently, and with the current "no tolerance" approach of DIBP, it can make character cases much more difficult to win. A key issue we've used is to focus on the safety of the Australian people, as that is the focus of Ministerial Direction 65 which is the policy infrastructure that's used to assess complex character cases. I'd be happy to discuss the case further with you via email if you'd like - please see my email in my signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aussiegurl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm looking to sponsor a partner visa for my partner who's got a prior conviction (sentenced to 12 months in the US) from 15 years ago. I've seen recommendations on this forum for Peter Bollard and George Lombard for complicated medical cases, but was wondering who you would recommend for complicated character cases, in light of the current Dutton immigration situation.
> 
> Many thanks.


----------



## kshehryar

Hello Mark, 

First of all, thank you for being of assistance. There are about 999+ pages and about 10k posts on this thread, and I can't help but appreciate the fact that you take the time to help all these people. You are a true hero.

My question is, I am planning to complete my Masters in Professional Accounting from ANU. The course is 1.5 years long, and I know that doesn't qualify for the minimum 2 yrs education required to apply for PR. I have received a conditional offer to first complete a Graduate Certificate of Studies (0.5 years) and then go on towards Masters in Professional Accounting (1.5 years). That's a total of 2 years. My question is, will that 0.5 years from the Graduate Certificate in Studies go towards the 2 years of study required for PR in the SOL list?
The other options are 
1. Do I take a 2 year accounting course( which would mean applying again, or to a different city).
2. Or I start with this course and transfer to another course a year later.

This has been of my concern for a while. Would really appreciate if you can help me out. 
I have posted this question as a separate thread but I don't know when I should expect a response, therefore I look to you.

Sincerely,
Sheryar


----------



## Jessica1888

Thanks Mark!!...just one last help.the same question is also in 40Sp which i filled but my husband signed off. It is possible that i refer to each of the form 47sp & 40sp for that particular question in 1023 form?? or my husband has to also fill from 1023 for 40sp or i can just fill 1023 and sign off???


----------



## kris1

*820 online application*

Hi Mark!

Must say you are really doing an amazing job helping everyone out here on this forum.

My question has probably been posted and answered here before, but i just could not find with the search option... 

On the immi website (Partner Visa (Subclasses 820 And 801) Document Checklist) it states that form 888 must be witnessed by TWO people, but on the actual form there is only room for one witness to sign. Do you know which is right?

Also, when it comes to online applications, i have been told and read that documents does not to be certified - that a colour scan of the original document is good enough. Again, on the immi website, it states that proof of identity (e.g. sponsors birth certificate and form 888 writer's ID) must be a certified copy. So i am not really sure what to do here... i would love to not have to go through the trouble of certifying everything, but most of all i just want to get my application done right.

And last question: with my translated documents (certified from Norwegian), do i attach both the original document AND the translated one? For now those translated documents are my birth certificate and some electricity bills with both mine and partners name on them.


----------



## simranbrar

*citizenship*

hi Mark
i am going to apply for citizenship.but the department said that you were unlawful for 1 day which was not my fault i think.
i applied one of my student visa on 22 july 2013 and got acknowledgement on 23 july 2013. and unfortunately my visa was also expiring on 22 july 2013.the acknowledgement letter also shows that the visa application date is 22 july 2013.but i was lawful residence since 2009 except this 1day. i applied for my new visa before the old one expires. so its not my fault that the immigration comment on it on next day.

my question is that can i apply for citizenship under administrative error???


----------



## Dinkum

Hi Kris1 - I think you are not reading the checklist correctly.

The exact words are - "Form 888 - Statutory declaration by a supporting witness in relation to a Partner or a Prospective Marriage visa applicant (to be completed by two Australian citizens or permanent residents who have personal knowledge of your partner relationship)."

Each Form 888 is a Statutory Declaration by a (one) supporting witness in relation to your Partner or Prospective Marriage Visa. Two separate Form 888s are required, from two separate Australian Citizens who each have personal knowledge of your partner relationship.

Each of these two Form 888s is then to be 'witnessed' by a JP or another approved person.

I think the confusion occurs as the word 'witness' is used to mean two quite different things.

1. The people who are completing the Form 888 for you are called witnesses. Each one does a separate Form 888.

2. The witness to each Form 888 statutory declaration - a JP or other approved person declaration.

Hope this helps a bit.


----------



## JTT

Hi I was just wanting to know what I need to take to the airport with me when I travel to Australia.
I have a subclass 300 prospective marriage visa.

I also would like to know if I need a return ticket even though I don't know when I will be returning to the Philippines?


----------



## Maggie-May24

Dinkum said:


> Hi Kris1 - I think you are not reading the checklist correctly.
> 
> The exact words are - "Form 888 - Statutory declaration by a supporting witness in relation to a Partner or a Prospective Marriage visa applicant (to be completed by two Australian citizens or permanent residents who have personal knowledge of your partner relationship)."
> 
> Each Form 888 is a Statutory Declaration by a (one) supporting witness in relation to your Partner or Prospective Marriage Visa. Two separate Form 888s are required, from two separate Australian Citizens who each have personal knowledge of your partner relationship.
> 
> Each of these two Form 888s is then to be 'witnessed' by a JP or another approved person.
> 
> I think the confusion occurs as the word 'witness' is used to mean two quite different things.
> 
> 1. The people who are completing the Form 888 for you are called witnesses. Each one does a separate Form 888.
> 
> 2. The witness to each Form 888 statutory declaration - a JP or other approved person declaration.
> 
> Hope this helps a bit.


While it's kind of you to offer assistance, please do not respond to other people's posts in the Ask Mark! thread. Thank you.


----------



## ssz

Hi Mark I applied in Oct 2014 Just Had a Interview few days back at Pakistan Embassy All went well Except few things.

Little bit history: I Lived in Australia From 2007 to 2011 With Current Fiance I was about to leave Australia in August 2011 for some Family Reasons and Family Business. Just before I was about to leave I got a call from Immigration telling me My Visa was refused due to Fake Experience. Well my Experience was genuine I worked for a Guy but after 900 hours when I asked him for money he refused to talk to me even shouted at me not to call suddenly this call happened, I went to Immigration they said I can either apply for MRT or Leave Australia as my Priority Was not to stay in Australia I decide to leave. I have more than enough proof that my relationship is 100% geniune but not sure that previous one can make any issues because i was told by immi that If I leave in certain days I can apply can the only thing I have to do is not to over stay my visa.

Interview:
After 1 hour of Interview about myself and my sponsor they asked me to wait out side and called me back after 15 minutes they told me I lied about why I left Australia I told them My Family Arrangement and that was the reason well they told me I committed a Fraud there which I refused I never did. Along the interview It did not come from me about this issue and they said I have hide the fact that it happened. But My girlfriend statement clearly mentioned that I had Visa Issues also I told them that I was asked to apply for MRT but I decided to leave. Any ways Can anyone help me that is that issue can be a problem for my Current VISA (Prospective Marriage Visa Sub Class 300) I have 1000's of proof about the relationship


----------



## windycity

Hi Mark, 

Can I apply for an onshore partner visa (marriage) while holding an ETA?

Also, how much is the initial consultation fee for your service? We are interested to book a session. 

Thanks for your help


----------



## AHMA

Hi Mark
First of all let me thank you great work you are doing your posts are very helpful.

I applied a spouse Visa for my wife on 30 December 2014 It was online application. I have spoken to AHC Islamabad they said they are awaiting some of the departmental clearances to finalise my application. I applied for visa after 3 months so I would have enough evidence for application. I did not know department of Immigration started taking online applications from Pakistan and I can upload documents as needed.
My wife had 2 interviews calls from AHC islamabad one in September & other one in November. They did not spoke to me. Staff at AHC Islamabad refuse to give any details about processing stage or even name of the case office handling the application. 

I want t know following:

1- I want to know what are those clearances they are waiting.

2- It has been 1.5 years to my wedding I have not seen my wife. I have made plan twice and booked tickets as well but stopped AHC might give visa in a week or so. I am under extreme stress and depression because of this whole process taking so long. will it negatively effect my my application that I did not visited my wife for 1.5 years.


----------



## meelosh

Hello Mark !

Skilled migration 189 - My wife and I underwent the medical on 13th of January,immi account status was updated the next day to Health requirement – examinations ready for assessment.

Today we both got the status:

Health clearance provided – no action required
All health examinations required for the specified visa subclass have been finalised. Processing of this person's visa application can now continue. This will not occur until a case officer investigates the case in line with published processing times for the visa that has been applied for. Do not contact the department about health examinations in the meantime.

Form 80s were uploaded on 10th of january , what could be the next step for us ?


----------



## slimguy_234

hello Mark,

Many thanks for sparing time to help thousands of people in this forum.
i do have a few questions.

1. in my visa 189 application, my intended destination is Victoria, what if i deside to visit western Australia and then return to my country as i am not in an immediate hurry to immigrate? will i be able to do all the necessary paper processing at western Australia?

2. My passport expires in August and DIBP has asked that i should have my medical examination for my Visa 189 before the end of this month, does this mean my grace period for entering Australia which i understand its usually one year will be reduced as a result of my passport expiry date?

3. A family member desires to apply for visa 189, problem is her has a bachelors degree in biochemistry and her experience (6 years) is in the financial / Banking sector. is this workable?

many thanks Mark.

Michael.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shehryar -

Thanks for the note. I don't have enough info to give you guidance on your question, but suggest you contact CPA Australia assuming you're referring to their requirements. If you're referring to the Australian Study Requirement re: skilled visas, this gets tricky because there are a number of rules that govern the types of qualifications that can be used for this - for instance, Cert 3, Cert 4 and Grad Cert degrees cannot be used, however credits from those degrees that are used in further courses such as a Bachelor degree, etc are able to be counted towards those degrees.

Assuming you will be seeking a skills assessment for Accountant, I'd discuss your proposals with CPA Australia and see what guidance you can get from them - if they're unhelpful, then try the other 2 skills assessors. If it's migration advice you're seeking, suggest you consult with a migration agent where you can provide documents about the proposed courses and the agent can work through the varied requirements of the ASR and see if your combination of courses may work. Happy to assist at a consult - see website below in my signature for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kshehryar said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> First of all, thank you for being of assistance. There are about 999+ pages and about 10k posts on this thread, and I can't help but appreciate the fact that you take the time to help all these people. You are a true hero.
> 
> My question is, I am planning to complete my Masters in Professional Accounting from ANU. The course is 1.5 years long, and I know that doesn't qualify for the minimum 2 yrs education required to apply for PR. I have received a conditional offer to first complete a Graduate Certificate of Studies (0.5 years) and then go on towards Masters in Professional Accounting (1.5 years). That's a total of 2 years. My question is, will that 0.5 years from the Graduate Certificate in Studies go towards the 2 years of study required for PR in the SOL list?
> The other options are
> 1. Do I take a 2 year accounting course( which would mean applying again, or to a different city).
> 2. Or I start with this course and transfer to another course a year later.
> 
> This has been of my concern for a while. Would really appreciate if you can help me out.
> I have posted this question as a separate thread but I don't know when I should expect a response, therefore I look to you.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Sheryar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jessica1888 -

You can refer back to both forms from a single 1023 form - just be sepcific about which forms and which questions you're referring to.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jessica1888 said:


> Thanks Mark!!...just one last help.the same question is also in 40Sp which i filled but my husband signed off. It is possible that i refer to each of the form 47sp & 40sp for that particular question in 1023 form?? or my husband has to also fill from 1023 for 40sp or i can just fill 1023 and sign off???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kris1 -

Thanks for the kind words. The document checklist for the online partner visa has some glaring mistakes that have yet to be fixed....

Colour scans of original documents are fine for online applications, so no certified copies needed generally. Once in a while DIBP will ask for a certified copy of a police cert or a passport, but that's somewhat rare.

Form 888's only need to be witnessed by one (qualified) person. However you should also include with the form a copy of proof of the writer's Australian citizenship or PR status - that proof can be a colour scan of an original document, or since you're already having a JP, etc witness the 888, you can have the same person certify a copy of the citizenship/PR proof.

For translated documents, include both original foreign language copy and translated copy. I put them in the same PDF file so the relationship is clear, especially if the foreign copy is not clearly identified.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kris1 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Must say you are really doing an amazing job helping everyone out here on this forum.
> 
> My question has probably been posted and answered here before, but i just could not find with the search option...
> 
> On the immi website (Partner Visa (Subclasses 820 And 801) Document Checklist) it states that form 888 must be witnessed by TWO people, but on the actual form there is only room for one witness to sign. Do you know which is right?
> 
> Also, when it comes to online applications, i have been told and read that documents does not to be certified - that a colour scan of the original document is good enough. Again, on the immi website, it states that proof of identity (e.g. sponsors birth certificate and form 888 writer's ID) must be a certified copy. So i am not really sure what to do here... i would love to not have to go through the trouble of certifying everything, but most of all i just want to get my application done right.
> 
> And last question: with my translated documents (certified from Norwegian), do i attach both the original document AND the translated one? For now those translated documents are my birth certificate and some electricity bills with both mine and partners name on them.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi All -

Well, we're at Post #10,000 and I'm thrilled to see people using this thread as a reference to help with applications - that's exactly what it's designed for. Thanks to everyone who is asking questions, and it's my pleasure to help. On to the next question now!

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Simranbrar -

Yes, I'd make an appeal under the citizenship provisions for administrative error. According to the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) s 36, a period of time ending on a day or going until a day still includes that day in the period. So if your visa is set to expire on 22 July 2013, your visa would still be valid until 11:59pm on 22 July 2013 Australian time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



simranbrar said:


> hi Mark
> i am going to apply for citizenship.but the department said that you were unlawful for 1 day which was not my fault i think.
> i applied one of my student visa on 22 july 2013 and got acknowledgement on 23 july 2013. and unfortunately my visa was also expiring on 22 july 2013.the acknowledgement letter also shows that the visa application date is 22 july 2013.but i was lawful residence since 2009 except this 1day. i applied for my new visa before the old one expires. so its not my fault that the immigration comment on it on next day.
> 
> my question is that can i apply for citizenship under administrative error???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JTT -

No return ticket needed, however you need to check out the CFO requirements there if you are departing Manila on a sc300 visa - they have a class or seminar you have to attend, etc - I'd plan ahead and get the CFO taken care of well before you depart. As always, I'd take a printout of my visa grant letter in case computers aren't functioning properly, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JTT said:


> Hi I was just wanting to know what I need to take to the airport with me when I travel to Australia.
> I have a subclass 300 prospective marriage visa.
> 
> I also would like to know if I need a return ticket even though I don't know when I will be returning to the Philippines?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ssz -

Thanks for the note and email - as suggested, an email to clarify that you've already declared the visa problems and had no intent to hide them would likely be a good idea. Ultimately you'll have to wait to see if they make a move re: allegations of misleading information, but a clarification lodged ASAP could help avert that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ssz said:


> Hi Mark I applied in Oct 2014 Just Had a Interview few days back at Pakistan Embassy All went well Except few things.
> 
> Little bit history: I Lived in Australia From 2007 to 2011 With Current Fiance I was about to leave Australia in August 2011 for some Family Reasons and Family Business. Just before I was about to leave I got a call from Immigration telling me My Visa was refused due to Fake Experience. Well my Experience was genuine I worked for a Guy but after 900 hours when I asked him for money he refused to talk to me even shouted at me not to call suddenly this call happened, I went to Immigration they said I can either apply for MRT or Leave Australia as my Priority Was not to stay in Australia I decide to leave. I have more than enough proof that my relationship is 100% geniune but not sure that previous one can make any issues because i was told by immi that If I leave in certain days I can apply can the only thing I have to do is not to over stay my visa.
> 
> Interview:
> After 1 hour of Interview about myself and my sponsor they asked me to wait out side and called me back after 15 minutes they told me I lied about why I left Australia I told them My Family Arrangement and that was the reason well they told me I committed a Fraud there which I refused I never did. Along the interview It did not come from me about this issue and they said I have hide the fact that it happened. But My girlfriend statement clearly mentioned that I had Visa Issues also I told them that I was asked to apply for MRT but I decided to leave. Any ways Can anyone help me that is that issue can be a problem for my Current VISA (Prospective Marriage Visa Sub Class 300) I have 1000's of proof about the relationship


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Windycity -

You from Chicago? I really miss Chicago pizza.....

Yes, absolutely you can lodge an onshore partner visa while holding an ETA as long as the ETA does not have Condition 8503 on it (that is very rare).

I don't promote my services, etc here, but you can see all info on my website (see website in my signature below). Happy to assist.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



windycity said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can I apply for an onshore partner visa (marriage) while holding an ETA?
> 
> Also, how much is the initial consultation fee for your service? We are interested to book a session.
> 
> Thanks for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AHMA -

Thanks for the note. I can't help you re: clearances as DIBP doesn't tell you (or us) what those are. I expect they are probably security-related if we're talking about Pakistan, and those have been taking some time lately.

At this point you're 14 months into the partner visa processing time, with partner visas typically taking 12-18 months, so hopefully good news will be coming soon. I wish there was something I could do to help speed things up, but there is not - I would advise you to be patient and see what they say in the next few months. If you are feeling bad, then absolutely get help - there are lots of options available in Australia including Lifeline and Beyond Blue - both are very helpful and I've seen them make a big difference for our clients who, like you, have spent a long time away from their partners. Psychologists can also be very helpful.

Re: time apart from your wife, I hate to say this, but DIBP essentially takes the position that you are free to visit your wife at any time, and it is therefore a choice you make whether to do so or not. I have seen examples where a sponsor not visiting their partner in another country for over 12 months is held against the applicant re: non-genuine relationship, so given the amount of time you've been apart, I'd consider planning a trip. If the visa is granted without prior notice, your wife would still be offshore so no issue re: where she is at date of grant, and you could perhaps return to Australia together thereafter.

Bottom line is that DIBP places no time limits on itself re: processing time for visas, so we're all left to wait. The fact that they do not provide updates or estimates as to remaining time to process only makes things worse, but we just need to cope and stay strong.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AHMA said:


> Hi Mark
> First of all let me thank you great work you are doing your posts are very helpful.
> 
> I applied a spouse Visa for my wife on 30 December 2014 It was online application. I have spoken to AHC Islamabad they said they are awaiting some of the departmental clearances to finalise my application. I applied for visa after 3 months so I would have enough evidence for application. I did not know department of Immigration started taking online applications from Pakistan and I can upload documents as needed.
> My wife had 2 interviews calls from AHC islamabad one in September & other one in November. They did not spoke to me. Staff at AHC Islamabad refuse to give any details about processing stage or even name of the case office handling the application.
> 
> I want t know following:
> 
> 1- I want to know what are those clearances they are waiting.
> 
> 2- It has been 1.5 years to my wedding I have not seen my wife. I have made plan twice and booked tickets as well but stopped AHC might give visa in a week or so. I am under extreme stress and depression because of this whole process taking so long. will it negatively effect my my application that I did not visited my wife for 1.5 years.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Meelosh -

If you've done everything DIBP has asked and provided all documents requested, essentially all you can do is wait. Wish I had something more definite, but that's the situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



meelosh said:


> Hello Mark !
> 
> Skilled migration 189 - My wife and I underwent the medical on 13th of January,immi account status was updated the next day to Health requirement - examinations ready for assessment.
> 
> Today we both got the status:
> 
> Health clearance provided - no action required
> All health examinations required for the specified visa subclass have been finalised. Processing of this person's visa application can now continue. This will not occur until a case officer investigates the case in line with published processing times for the visa that has been applied for. Do not contact the department about health examinations in the meantime.
> 
> Form 80s were uploaded on 10th of january , what could be the next step for us ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael -

Thanks for the kind words, glad to help! Re 189, as you are not sponsored by a state, no paperwork is done at the state level. Once the visa is granted, you're free to come to Australia and visit/live where you like. You'll need to make initial entry by the must-enter-by date on the visa, but after that you can come and go as you please. You can check out subclass 155 resident return visas on the DIBP site to see options after your initial 5 year PR period.

Re: must enter by period, normally not affected by passport date but can be affected by medical report date, however case officer can extend the medical report validity if necessary to allow reasonable time to enter - often this happens, but sometimes not.

Re: friend, not able to assess skilled visas on the forum as there are far too many rules and regulations between the skills assessor, DIBP, and potentially different state sponsorship authorities. Happy to assess at a consultation (see website in my signature below for details). Re: degree mismatch with work experience, this often becomes an issue at the skills assessor level - I'd check out the skills assessor for the nominated occupation carefully and see what their requirements are re: relevant qualification, etc. DIBP does not require a relevant qualification for points for a skilled visa (although if multiple quals are combined for the Australia Study Requirement points, they must both be relevant and related, the first "leading to" the second, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



slimguy_234 said:


> hello Mark,
> 
> Many thanks for sparing time to help thousands of people in this forum.
> i do have a few questions.
> 
> 1. in my visa 189 application, my intended destination is Victoria, what if i deside to visit western Australia and then return to my country as i am not in an immediate hurry to immigrate? will i be able to do all the necessary paper processing at western Australia?
> 
> 2. My passport expires in August and DIBP has asked that i should have my medical examination for my Visa 189 before the end of this month, does this mean my grace period for entering Australia which i understand its usually one year will be reduced as a result of my passport expiry date?
> 
> 3. A family member desires to apply for visa 189, problem is her has a bachelors degree in biochemistry and her experience (6 years) is in the financial / Banking sector. is this workable?
> 
> many thanks Mark.
> 
> Michael.


----------



## GoingBackDownUnder

Hi, 
Am wondering if you can shed some light on what FINALIZED means as far as immiaccount application status. My childrens citizenship by decent applications all say FINALIZED as of 3 days ago but there is no visa letter or anything else attached to the account links. It just says THIS APPLICATION FOR CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT HAS BEEN FINALIZED. SOMEONE FROM THE OFFICE MAY CONTACT YOU IN REGARDS TO NEXT STEPS IN THIS CITIZENSHIP APPLICATION. ... What design that even mean???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi GBDU -

Finalised is immi-dept-speak for "a decision has been made" - might be a grant, might be a refusal, but finalised almost always means a decision has been made. I once saw this on an application where DIBP was still waiting for one document, but that's somewhat rare. You might check with them directly on the current status.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GoingBackDownUnder said:


> Hi,
> Am wondering if you can shed some light on what FINALIZED means as far as immiaccount application status. My childrens citizenship by decent applications all say FINALIZED as of 3 days ago but there is no visa letter or anything else attached to the account links. It just says THIS APPLICATION FOR CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT HAS BEEN FINALIZED. SOMEONE FROM THE OFFICE MAY CONTACT YOU IN REGARDS TO NEXT STEPS IN THIS CITIZENSHIP APPLICATION. ... What design that even mean???


----------



## GoingBackDownUnder

Thanks Mark! Gotta say ita just so nerve racking not knowing


----------



## GoingBackDownUnder

Thanks again Mark. Called and spoke to someone their citizenship is approved  just haven't printed their letters yet


----------



## simranbrar

MarkNortham said:


> HI Simranbrar -
> 
> Yes, I'd make an appeal under the citizenship provisions for administrative error. According to the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) s 36, a period of time ending on a day or going until a day still includes that day in the period. So if your visa is set to expire on 22 July 2013, your visa would still be valid until 11:59pm on 22 July 2013 Australian time.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


i appreciate your answer sir,but department issued me the bridging visa on the next day i.e. 23 july 2013 and my visa expired on 22 july 2013 at 11.59pm
and the visa applicate date was 22july 2013 written on the acknowledgement letter issued by the department.so they are saying you were unlawful from 23 july 2013 (12am) to 9.30am 23 july 2013.
thank you for your advice.


----------



## Metalliger

MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I was going to book a half hour slot for some advice through mnvisa.com but it looks like you guys are closed till next week, so this is the next best thing.

I'll try and make this brief. I'm applying for a partner visa. My partner is the sponsor. We've been together since Dec 31st 2013. We moved in together in Feb 2014. My working holiday visa expired on Dec 5th 2014 and I sent our application off on Dec 4th 2015.

I got an email yesterday advising we hadn't met criteria for paragraph 3 of regulation 2.03A. The letter also states that paragraph 3 of regulation 2.03A does not apply if the relationship is registered (we're in Melbourne) and I've been invited to provide further information to establish that I meet the additional criteria under regulation 2.03. I'm in the process of registering the relationship. I have 28 days to reply to the email, in that time I am going to send the receipt of the relationship registration and will follow that by sending the certificate.

I'm looking for any advice you can give. Effectively we'd been living together for roughly 10 months before I sent the application off. I'm also wondering what the best way to address this in a cover letter to my case officer would be.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks


----------



## ankush babuta

*hi*

Hi Mark,
I just have a quick question about ,my brother in law has applied for his student visa from india to pursue his higher education in Australia.its been 3 months he has applied for visa but no visa status showing when he checks online with his reference number.But from last night the status its showing is Error in the application. Please contact administrator.??
so if you can help us with this query please .what does this means>
Your response will be much appreciated.Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Simranbrar -

The key requirement is that you lodged your application for the next visa while your previous visa was still in effect - the actual grant date of the bridging visa is not the issue. Here's the example policy from DIBP:

_"Where a person makes a valid application for a bridging visa, including an application for a visa which is also an application for a bridging visa such as a student visa or a skilled migration visa, and the associated bridging visa was not granted prior to the person becoming unlawful, in certain circumstances this may be considered an administrative error. For example a visa application was lodged in Australia within the validity period of the formerly held visa but the lodgment was not recorded (and a bridging visa not granted) until the former visa ceased, leading to a period of unlawfulness."
_
Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



simranbrar said:


> i appreciate your answer sir,but department issued me the bridging visa on the next day i.e. 23 july 2013 and my visa expired on 22 july 2013 at 11.59pm
> and the visa applicate date was 22july 2013 written on the acknowledgement letter issued by the department.so they are saying you were unlawful from 23 july 2013 (12am) to 9.30am 23 july 2013.
> thank you for your advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Metallilger -

Thanks for the note - please ignore the previous response as I had assumed you had a Schedule 3 problem due to date of application - if DIBP has not indicated that they want information pursuant to Schedule 3, then all is good. The registered relationship requirement is a time of decision criteria - you will need to get the relationship certificate in your hands prior to a visa decision - suggest you do anything you can to expedite service with VIC.

I will be traveling from tomorrow, but could fit you in later today if you'd like - please email me directly at the email address in my signature below if you'd like to try and schedule for today, or I'll be back Sunday.

Best,

Mark Northam



Metalliger said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was going to book a half hour slot for some advice through mnvisa.com but it looks like you guys are closed till next week, so this is the next best thing.
> 
> I'll try and make this brief. I'm applying for a partner visa. My partner is the sponsor. We've been together since Dec 31st 2013. We moved in together in Feb 2014. My working holiday visa expired on Dec 5th 2014 and I sent our application off on Dec 4th 2015.
> 
> I got an email yesterday advising we hadn't met criteria for paragraph 3 of regulation 2.03A. The letter also states that paragraph 3 of regulation 2.03A does not apply if the relationship is registered (we're in Melbourne) and I've been invited to provide further information to establish that I meet the additional criteria under regulation 2.03. I'm in the process of registering the relationship. I have 28 days to reply to the email, in that time I am going to send the receipt of the relationship registration and will follow that by sending the certificate.
> 
> I'm looking for any advice you can give. Effectively we'd been living together for roughly 10 months before I sent the application off. I'm also wondering what the best way to address this in a cover letter to my case officer would be.
> 
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ankush -

DIBP systems were down for a while yesterday - that's likely related to that. I'd give it 1-2 days and see if the error message disappears and it's back to "Application Received", etc. If not, I'd contact DIBP directly to see what the status is.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ankush babuta said:


> Hi Mark,
> I just have a quick question about ,my brother in law has applied for his student visa from india to pursue his higher education in Australia.its been 3 months he has applied for visa but no visa status showing when he checks online with his reference number.But from last night the status its showing is Error in the application. Please contact administrator.??
> so if you can help us with this query please .what does this means>
> Your response will be much appreciated.Thanks


----------



## ankush babuta

*Many Thanks*

Hi Mark,
Thank u so much for prompt reply..and much appreciated for ur advise you have given to us, and hopefully when the site gets back on track we get some good news about the visa status.once again your advise is much appreciated,Thanks


----------



## cpau77

*Marital Status: Married or Separated?*

Dear Mark,

I am currently applying for visa 189. I am married but separated with my husband for 2 years and I haven't filed the separation. My question is what am I going to put on my marital status in EOI married or separated? If I am going to put separated does a Statutory Declaration suffice to prove the separation to DIBP?

Hope you can help me on this. Thanks in advance.

Best Regards,
Cpau77


----------



## Emm

Dear Mark,

Thank you for this amazing Forum. 

I am currently on Student Visa Subclass 573. I completed my first semester and deferred my second semester. As I am aiming to apply for 190 visa, I do not intend to enrol for the coming semester , starting in late February. 
However, I will not be able to prepare my documentation and lodge the application until mid March. Is it a good option to wait for the university to cancel my visa and then apply for a bridging visa? If not, I would be grateful if you could give me advice on this matter. 

Kind Regards,

Emmy


----------



## jagz007

Hi Mark, 

Hope you are doing well. 

I applied for spouse visa which I showing as finalized and Visa granted. Now the problem is that i haven't received any visa grant letter from my CO it's like 20 days that my visa is granted showing on immigration account. I called them one week ago and lady told me that visa grant number was not generated due to some system error. She escalated the issue to her supervisor. I got call from her supervisor on same day. He explained me that some kind of technical issue is going on and he has opened high priority ticket for IT team to fix the issue. Now it more than one week since he has opene the ticket. I don't see any improvement in my case. I just to be on safer side communicated through email. They replied that will let me know once issue is resolved. I am sure that there might be some date that I need to enter australia before it expires. Anyway do any of your clients has reported same issue if yes how did it got fixed and how long it took. Any information will be appreciated.


----------



## kenny_18

*820 visa*

Hey Mark, 
I've been reading all kinds of tips online, and have seen your replies many times (they've been amazingly helpful!) 
I am applying for the 820 partner visa and we will be doing it online. I have heard that we don't need to get our documents certified if we scan them for online submission... Is this true? 
Thank you for your help and time! 
Kendra


----------



## wellwisher

Hi Mark,

A very simple question when applying for a visitor visa for partner from India how long it takes to get the answer?

Also as partner visa application takes more than 12 months so how many time a partner can apply for tourist visa?

Thanks,

Wellwisher


----------



## AHMA

MarkNortham said:


> Hi AHMA -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I can't help you re: clearances as DIBP doesn't tell you (or us) what those are. I expect they are probably security-related if we're talking about Pakistan, and those have been taking some time lately.
> 
> At this point you're 14 months into the partner visa processing time, with partner visas typically taking 12-18 months, so hopefully good news will be coming soon. I wish there was something I could do to help speed things up, but there is not - I would advise you to be patient and see what they say in the next few months. If you are feeling bad, then absolutely get help - there are lots of options available in Australia including Lifeline and Beyond Blue - both are very helpful and I've seen them make a big difference for our clients who, like you, have spent a long time away from their partners. Psychologists can also be very helpful.
> 
> Re: time apart from your wife, I hate to say this, but DIBP essentially takes the position that you are free to visit your wife at any time, and it is therefore a choice you make whether to do so or not. I have seen examples where a sponsor not visiting their partner in another country for over 12 months is held against the applicant re: non-genuine relationship, so given the amount of time you've been apart, I'd consider planning a trip. If the visa is granted without prior notice, your wife would still be offshore so no issue re: where she is at date of grant, and you could perhaps return to Australia together thereafter.
> 
> Bottom line is that DIBP places no time limits on itself re: processing time for visas, so we're all left to wait. The fact that they do not provide updates or estimates as to remaining time to process only makes things worse, but we just need to cope and stay strong.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark for your advise.

I will finalise travel arrangements by end of the week. so I can spend some quality time with my wife.I will also email AHC Islamabad about my visit so they can take this into account while considering Visa grant.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cpau77 -

Great question. DIBP is usually concerned about separation only in cases where there are children, or if the separated non-applying partner refuses to take a health exam as are required by partners unless divorced or separation is evidenced. Depending on your circumstances, they may ask for further details of the separation, but of course those can be hard to get (and they understand this to a point) if the separation is not amicable. I'd lodge the stat dec and then see if they ask for more evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cpau77 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am currently applying for visa 189. I am married but separated with my husband for 2 years and I haven't filed the separation. My question is what am I going to put on my marital status in EOI married or separated? If I am going to put separated does a Statutory Declaration suffice to prove the separation to DIBP?
> 
> Hope you can help me on this. Thanks in advance.
> 
> Best Regards,
> Cpau77


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Emm -

Thanks for the note. Would definitely advise *against *waiting for them to cancel your student visa - once this happens, you would likely not be able to lodge an onshore visa of any other type (other than partner visa or protection visa). I don't know enough about your circumstances to give you specific advice, however I would definitely consider keeping the student visa in place until you lodge the 190 onshore. Once you've lodged the 190, even if they cancel the student visa the 190 is not affected and you can get a bridging visa to remain in Australia until the 190 is decided. But this depends on you lodging the 190 while holding the student visa (or some other substantive non-bridging visa at the time of lodgement for the 190). Happy to assist in more detail at a consultation - see website below in my signature for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emm said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for this amazing Forum.
> 
> I am currently on Student Visa Subclass 573. I completed my first semester and deferred my second semester. As I am aiming to apply for 190 visa, I do not intend to enrol for the coming semester , starting in late February.
> However, I will not be able to prepare my documentation and lodge the application until mid March. Is it a good option to wait for the university to cancel my visa and then apply for a bridging visa? If not, I would be grateful if you could give me advice on this matter.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Emmy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jagz007 -

Thanks for the note. I haven't heard of this type of error before, but DIBP systems have had some issued in recent weeks. I'd be patient and keep communicating via email. You could certainly let them know you're a bit concerned that the must-enter-by-date could be coming up soon, and ask them if they could confirm what that is even if the visa has not yet been generated. If for any reason the date is too close once they generate the visa, you can always use your paper trail of emails to request flexibility. They cannot change the date once the visa is issued, but they can choose essentially to let you ignore the date for a limited time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jagz007 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well.
> 
> I applied for spouse visa which I showing as finalized and Visa granted. Now the problem is that i haven't received any visa grant letter from my CO it's like 20 days that my visa is granted showing on immigration account. I called them one week ago and lady told me that visa grant number was not generated due to some system error. She escalated the issue to her supervisor. I got call from her supervisor on same day. He explained me that some kind of technical issue is going on and he has opened high priority ticket for IT team to fix the issue. Now it more than one week since he has opene the ticket. I don't see any improvement in my case. I just to be on safer side communicated through email. They replied that will let me know once issue is resolved. I am sure that there might be some date that I need to enter australia before it expires. Anyway do any of your clients has reported same issue if yes how did it got fixed and how long it took. Any information will be appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kendra -

You're correct - colour scans of originals are accepted by DIBP for online applications. Once in a long while they might later request a certified copy of a passport or police cert, but this is rare. Note that this only applies to online applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kenny_18 said:


> Hey Mark,
> I've been reading all kinds of tips online, and have seen your replies many times (they've been amazingly helpful!)
> I am applying for the 820 partner visa and we will be doing it online. I have heard that we don't need to get our documents certified if we scan them for online submission... Is this true?
> Thank you for your help and time!
> Kendra


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wellwisher -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately DIBP puts no time limits on itself, so processing times can vary by a huge amount from case to case and processing office to processing office. I've seen visitor visas from India take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Partner visas are now typically taking 12-18 months to process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wellwisher said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> A very simple question when applying for a visitor visa for partner from India how long it takes to get the answer?
> 
> Also as partner visa application takes more than 12 months so how many time a partner can apply for tourist visa?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Wellwisher


----------



## Alyonka

Hi Mark,

In my application for 309 partner visa I specified the address in my home country as my sponsor's residential address. This is actually the address where we lived at the moment I submitted my visa application. My husband arrived to Australia a couple weeks ago. Should I inform DIBP that my husband's (he is my sponsor) residential address has been changed. If YES then which form should I use for this purpose?

Thank you.


----------



## jaatheibich

*Engineers australia*

Hey, im new to this forum, 
well i am really really intrested in Applying for australian Immigration, and i beleive i do have the qualities they need, but my main issue is that i am an engineer and i have to go through Engineering Australia which is alone a problem for me as i do work shifts (12 hours a day) and always go home tired to write my CDR, i just wish there was an easier way


----------



## mpdm20

Hello Mark,

Good day to you. I would like to inquire something. My ACS skills assessment will expire this coming July 21 and I am still waiting for the invitation of NSW and 189. Assuming that (base from the cut-off and I updated my EOI last Dec 28) I got an invite June, can I still use my assessment letter? What if during the visa processing it expires, should I give my CO a new assessment? I am currently unemployed and If do re assessment, ACS will only credit 6 years (July 31, 2014 is my last day and this will be my third assessment if ever and they always count my educational background Bachelor Degree).. Is it a big with the CO? Hope you can help with my problem.

Regards,
Mpdm20


----------



## GauravAgrawal84

Hi Mark two general questions:

1. When u apply for skills assessment along with rpl form do u need to pay any extra money apart from the 900AUS skills assessment fee. Also lets suppose u do not apply for skills assessment along with rpl but later on acs asks u to submit an rpl how much would I be asked to pay then?

2. Lets suppose when u applied for your skills assessment you were 31 years old but by the time u got to the stage of visa application u r now over 32 yrs old. Will that matter because in your skills assessment you were given 30 points for your age but now u r already over 32 which decreases the points.

Regards,
Gaurav


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alyonka -

Thanks for the note. If he's going to be at that address for more than 4 weeks, then I would suggest completing Form 1022 to do this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Alyonka said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> In my application for 309 partner visa I specified the address in my home country as my sponsor's residential address. This is actually the address where we lived at the moment I submitted my visa application. My husband arrived to Australia a couple weeks ago. Should I inform DIBP that my husband's (he is my sponsor) residential address has been changed. If YES then which form should I use for this purpose?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaatheibich -

Thanks for the note. If you were able to get a job offer from a sponsoring employer in Australia who would sponsor you for a subclass 457 temporary work visa, then you would not need a skills assessment. Other than that, I'm picturing you on the beach on your next vacation, laptop in hand, writing your CDR and sipping a nice cold drink!

Best,

Mark Northam



jaatheibich said:


> Hey, im new to this forum,
> well i am really really intrested in Applying for australian Immigration, and i beleive i do have the qualities they need, but my main issue is that i am an engineer and i have to go through Engineering Australia which is alone a problem for me as i do work shifts (12 hours a day) and always go home tired to write my CDR, i just wish there was an easier way


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the note. I can't comment on the years of experience as I don't have enough info, however your skills assessment must be current as of the date you are invited by DIBP (ie, after you apply with NSW and NSW approves you) for 190 or 189, or the visa must be refused. You'll likely have to calculate how much time it will take ACS to re-issue your assessment and work backwards from 21 July to make sure you have a new one in hand prior to 21 July.

Remember that all details - yrs of work experience, skills assessment, age, IELTS, etc are locked as of the date of invitation by DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mpdm20 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Good day to you. I would like to inquire something. My ACS skills assessment will expire this coming July 21 and I am still waiting for the invitation of NSW and 189. Assuming that (base from the cut-off and I updated my EOI last Dec 28) I got an invite June, can I still use my assessment letter? What if during the visa processing it expires, should I give my CO a new assessment? I am currently unemployed and If do re assessment, ACS will only credit 6 years (July 31, 2014 is my last day and this will be my third assessment if ever and they always count my educational background Bachelor Degree).. Is it a big with the CO? Hope you can help with my problem.
> 
> Regards,
> Mpdm20


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gaurav -

Thanks for the note. RE: ACS fees, suggest you ask them directly for best and most current info. Re: age, this is locked in as of the date DIBP invites you to apply for a visa. Date at time of skills assessment doesn't matter - once you lodge your EOI, DIBP will recalculate your points when your birthday occurs and your points increase or decrease due to age.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GauravAgrawal84 said:


> Hi Mark two general questions:
> 
> 1. When u apply for skills assessment along with rpl form do u need to pay any extra money apart from the 900AUS skills assessment fee. Also lets suppose u do not apply for skills assessment along with rpl but later on acs asks u to submit an rpl how much would I be asked to pay then?
> 
> 2. Lets suppose when u applied for your skills assessment you were 31 years old but by the time u got to the stage of visa application u r now over 32 yrs old. Will that matter because in your skills assessment you were given 30 points for your age but now u r already over 32 which decreases the points.
> 
> Regards,
> Gaurav


----------



## MarkNortham

***** QUICK NOTE TO ASK MARK READERS *****

Hi All -

After a very hectic December/January with no break, I'l be taking a few days off from Wed to Sunday this week, back Monday 25 Jan. Please feel free to continue to post questions and I'll be catching up on Monday when I return.

Best,

Mark


----------



## filippo

Dear Mark

First of all, thank you for your precious time

I'm Filippo, an Italian guy who's enrolled as a PhD student in a Melbourne university. I'm currently with the 574 visa expiring on 2019. I've come to Australia with my girlfriend, who's actually here with a working holiday visa, expiring at the end of March.

This is my problem: when I applied for my visa, one year ago, I didn't have any documentation supporting that my girlfriend was a de facto partner, so I didn't declare her in my visa application. Now, since her visa is expiring, I would like to add her to my visa, so my questions are basically the following:

1) The first document proving that we were living together is a bank letter of the 20th March 2015, but her visa is expiring on the 15th March, so we've chosen to extend her visa for 3 months with a short student visa in order to have a full 12 months certificate of shared living and then apply to add her as my dependent. Do you think it's the only thing I can do or you know any other way to get around this problem?

2)Given that she'd applied for the short student visa and now we've a proof of 12 months shared living, I haven't understood what is the right procedure to undertake: she has to fill the 157A form part B only, requiring a student visa for herself, or I have to apply for a new 574 student visa (so I have to fill all the 157A form parts) in my name putting her as a dependent? Moreover I have to fill also the 919 form? In case I have to apply for a new visa, do I have to ask for any documents from my university or I can use the old ones?

Thanks in advance

Best Regards

Filippo


----------



## Rebelchick

*I'm in a PANIC! Please help!*

Hi Mark again and thank you so much for your help thus far. I am already on an extended visa (came her for 3 months, extended another 3 months for holidays) and was going to return to the US but something has come up and I wont have a place to stay in the US if I return now. My question is that will they likely grant me another extension and should I tell them what my problem is? OH at this point there is NOT a no further stay on my extended Visa.


----------



## MirandaW

Hi Mark! 

I have questions regarding Defacto visa. 
Are you able to apply for Defacto when already in Australia on a tourist visa? And then are you able to stay in Australia on a bridging visa until defacto is accepted. Also, can you work while on the bridging visa. 

Do you have to live together for a year or be together for a year? I know you can register your relationship and then apply OR be together for a year and then apply. What exactly are the specification for these two routes? 

Also, can you get medical requirements done in a different country other than Australia ? And do you need a police check from the country you're from. In my case I am Canadian. 

Thank you so so much for your help, it is greatly appreciated


----------



## Princess1999

Hello Mark, I am from Sri Lanka, I came to Australia two years ago on student visa which will expire by march this year, I came with my husband, last year I had a baby that was stillborn on his due date and I also developed extreme hypertension and depression, I thank God for the nurses high risk doctors, they are really taking care of me, I just got pregnant again and am high risk, being seen by psychiatrist and high doctors among others, since I completed my masters degree I W's thinking of applying for post study but a friend of mine advices that I should seek onshore protection visa, that I might be granted since I can't return to my country due to high maternity death rate among others, that being in Australia I can be protected due to the well equipped health care, that if I can have stillbirth at 9 months in a developed country like Australia then I can be protected, do you think I should lodge it in or what do u think, thanks for the prompt reply, she said the visa is complementary protection visa thanks


----------



## nnaorin19

hi.. is my stay for 11 months work and holiday visa is going to count towards 4 years stay for citizenship requirement? i've got PR today..thanks


----------



## tankit

Hi mark 

Today i received adverse information comment from DIBP. Its related with employment verification. 

I need your assistance.


----------



## proudzebra

*Including spouse into visa subclass 189*

Hey Mark! Thanks so much for taking your personal time to do this!

I have a few questions regarding the inclusion of spouse in a 189 visa application.

My husband and I are in the midst of compiling documents before we submit an EOI. He will be applying for visa subclass 189 and I will be included in his application. I have a few questions regarding this: 
1.	If they were to grant the visa, what would my visa be? My job is not listed in the SOL, so would the granted visa be a partner visa subclass 820/801? 
2.	If it indeed will be granted under 820/801 visa, do I need to compile the documents listed under the Partner visa? Or do I just need to provide the documents as listed in the visa subclass 189 - including partner into your application? 
3.	Would adding me into the application hurt my husband's chances of getting selected, since he is sort of bringing along a "dependent"? Meaning, will they pick applications that do not have dependents over those that do? 
4.	If it will affect their selection, what would the best way of applying be? Would it be better to wait for my husband to get his PR granted THEN apply for partner visa for me?

Really hoping to hear your advice on this!


----------



## Rebelchick

Hi Mark, you can disregard my question. I've worked things out in the states and will come back to file for my 820. Thanks so very much for all your help. You're a gem!


----------



## Mystery

Hey Mark,

I would like to know what are the prospects of professional accountants (ACCA qualification) willing to take Australian immigration?

Thanks!


----------



## swadhwa

Hi,

I'm planning to apply for Australian immigration and as one of the preliminary steps, I had got the skill assessment done wherein I had submitted self-attested copy of my roles and responsibilities as my company doesn't have a policy to issue the same on letter head. The assessing officer has rejected the skill assessment on the grounds of missing information, stating that this letter is a mandatory requirement to proceed further.
My immediate manager has approved the list of duties on an email in anticipation of getting these on letterhead which was later rejected by the HR department, so unfortunately I cannot use that as a valid artifact anymore.
Request guidance from assessing officers who might be on the panel/members who can advise us on an alternative to this document.

Thanks in anticipation

Regards
Shveta


----------



## sandinga

Hi Mark,

I am an Australian citizen that has paid for a 820 spousal visa for my partner who is now returning home. How is it possible to get a refund for that visa? The little amount of information on the Immigration website was no help, do you know if it's possible?

Thanks for your time.


----------



## James-James

Hi Mark,

I appreciate that I have a chance to ask for professional advice from you on this forum. A huge thank you to you for all the useful information you have already shared here.

If possible and you have some time please could you have a look at my questions below?

I have been invited to apply for a 189 visa. I have been using the official document checklist from the government`s webpage ("Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) document checklist") to prepare supporting evidence before the application.

However, there are a few things here and in this forum that are not clear to me about this.

1)	This requirement is from the above webpage:
"_All supporting documents must be scanned and uploaded with your application. All documents that you provide must be certified copies of original documents. Do not include original documents unless specifically requested to do so by the department._"
According to this quote, I must upload scanned, certified copies of original documents, so not simply colour scans of original documents.
However, I have found many posts on this forum which state that colour scans of original documents are accepted.
So, although it seems that in practice the colour scans of original documents without certification are usually accepted, nothing guarantees that my application will not be refused, and my application fee will not get lost if I do not provide scans of certified copies.
Is this correct? Or is there some official statement from the government somewhere that allows using uncertified colour scans as evidence?

2)	This is from the same webpage:
"_Documents not in English must be accompanied by accredited English translations._"
-	Do I need to get the original document, or the certified copy translated?
-	A translation company I contacted said they could use scanned, digital documents as originals for the translation, and then they would send me the scanned, digital translations (NAATI approved) by e-mail, which I can upload for the visa application. Is this true, or must the translator see the original hard copies?

3)	Finally, these are from the same webpage:
"_You must provide documents to support your application for this visa. We can make a decision using the information you provide when you lodge your application. It is in your interest to provide as much information as possible with your application._"
"_Use this checklist to make sure your application is complete._"
"_Character requirements
Police checks for you and everyone included in your application,&#8230;_"
So, according to this I must upload a police clearance certificate at the time of application. However, there are many posts in this forum suggesting that I can wait until my case officer requires one. Is there any risk that my application will be refused if I do not provide a police certificate at the time of application? I would like to have as much time as possible before validating my visa with the first entry.

I would appreciate you answer very-very much.

Kind regards,
James


----------



## sunshiner

*application time explanation*

Hi Mark,
thanks so much for all the useful info you've posted. I have 2 questions for you:
1. Standard processing times listed on the website for 457 visas from UK says 2 months - when does the clock start - is this from the date the employer applies or from the date of the workers application after the employers nomination has been approved?

2. If applying to transfer from a temporary(457) to permanent sponsorship visa is there a minimum time period that you need to have been working on the 457 before you can apply?

Hope they make sense! Many thanks


----------



## windycity

Hi Mark,

Thank you for starting this thread. This thread is so informative due to your contribution.

Current situation:

I am on ETA from Singapore. I have been in Aust for the past 6 months in and out. 
However, the 3rd time I came into Aust, I am marked and flagged due to in/out of aust too frequently without having to leave outside of aust (for min 3 months). They allowed me to come in this time to settle our visa issue.

This is the only chance I have now. And we decided to apply via married route as we are already living together for the past 6 months (all the evidence in).

The issue: 
Our marriage celebrant told us that the actual legal wedding certificate will take 2 months to arrive.

Turnaround times - Births, Deaths & Marriages Victoria

However, when I applied in March (2 weeks before my ETA is up). The certificate will not be here yet. Our celebrant said she could write us an letter while waiting for the certificate, we will lodge our application. Is that ok?

Will immigration reject my application and my bridging visa?

Of course, we will upload our formal wedding certificate as soon as we got it.

Thanks, 
Joan


----------



## Pigilene

*Best way in*

Dear Mark,
I agree with many others of here - what a great service you're offering here!

If my case need more in a depth answer I can contact you through your website. I know you cannot offer any job information.

I wonder if I'm a little late to the Aussie party, I'm a UK national and l'll be 44 in March. I'd love to join my brother, who emigrated to the Sunshine Coast, QLD, 8 years ago.

_1. Is the age limit 50 to apply? _So I'm trying to find the best path to get a PR visa.

I am working on taking an IELTS test as currently I have 50 points.

I've been working as an English as a foreign language teacher for the past 12 years.

I know my current profession would require sponsorship, _[I2. ]any idea if this would be by the state or the employer?_[/I]

_3 Can a sponsored visa ever turn into a PR? Are there certain territories which this is easier? What is there a time frame? eg 2 years in a job and then apply for PR_

I've been looking at jobs in my profession an there aren't many, and whether the company would sponsor me. I've been registering on job websites though.

I believe I'd still need a teaching qualification, in order to work in a school or university as an English as an Additional or Dialect teacher.

_4. At this point, I'm wondering if would it be easier to just retrain as a secondary teacher? As there are more job opportunities and it's on the skilled occupations list._

There are 2 options:

I could do a UK PGCE (1 year full-time, or 2 years part time) as I already have a BA Hons in Fine Art, then transfer this on arrival in Australia.

Alternatively I could study the required qualification through an Australian university, (I'm awaiting a reply to a query re course length and credits). I could do this either as a distance student or in country.

_5. Do you know if it is possible of people of my age on a student visas to get a permanent visa?_

Thanking you in advance for any suggestions,

Kind regards,

Michelle


----------



## Dave1

*Skilled Employment*

Dear Mark,

I am currently in the preliminary stages of applying to migrate to Australia as an accountant. I am facing a dilemma with what exactly is referred to skilled employment.

I completed all my Chartered Institute of Management Accounts (CIMA) exams in May 2012 and has been employed in the capacity of an accountant for 4 years. As of now my Post Qualified experience is over 3 and a half years which meets the 3-5 years skilled employment which awards me 5 points. On the other hand, I applied of CIMA membership and became a full member in October 2013. Therefore, Post Membership experience is 2 and a half years which does not meet the 3-5 years skilled employment and awards me no points.

The migration agents I met up with were unsure on what was the correct method when calculating the number of years of skilled employment I have.

Currently I wish to migrate under the Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489), which awards 10 points for family sponsorship and my total points excluding skilled employment is 60 points which is the basic requirement. But the additional 5 points I feel, will further help my cause.

Thanks in Advance

King Regards,
Dave.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Filippo -

Thanks for the note. 12 months living together evidence is the safest bet for evidencing a de facto relationship. Normally you would not need to apply for a new visa yourself to have dependents join you in Australia - see https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Stud/Brin/How-to-apply-for-dependant-family-members-to-join-you and note the bottom part of the page for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



filippo said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> First of all, thank you for your precious time
> 
> I'm Filippo, an Italian guy who's enrolled as a PhD student in a Melbourne university. I'm currently with the 574 visa expiring on 2019. I've come to Australia with my girlfriend, who's actually here with a working holiday visa, expiring at the end of March.
> 
> This is my problem: when I applied for my visa, one year ago, I didn't have any documentation supporting that my girlfriend was a de facto partner, so I didn't declare her in my visa application. Now, since her visa is expiring, I would like to add her to my visa, so my questions are basically the following:
> 
> 1) The first document proving that we were living together is a bank letter of the 20th March 2015, but her visa is expiring on the 15th March, so we've chosen to extend her visa for 3 months with a short student visa in order to have a full 12 months certificate of shared living and then apply to add her as my dependent. Do you think it's the only thing I can do or you know any other way to get around this problem?
> 
> 2)Given that she'd applied for the short student visa and now we've a proof of 12 months shared living, I haven't understood what is the right procedure to undertake: she has to fill the 157A form part B only, requiring a student visa for herself, or I have to apply for a new 574 student visa (so I have to fill all the 157A form parts) in my name putting her as a dependent? Moreover I have to fill also the 919 form? In case I have to apply for a new visa, do I have to ask for any documents from my university or I can use the old ones?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Best Regards
> 
> Filippo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rebelchick -

Thanks for the note. Hard to predict re: visitor visa extensions - their main focus will be on your planned activities in Australia - the issues back in the USA would be important, but would definitely be secondary in priority to whatever plans you have here. Whatever you claim, best to back it up with documentary evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rebelchick said:


> Hi Mark again and thank you so much for your help thus far. I am already on an extended visa (came her for 3 months, extended another 3 months for holidays) and was going to return to the US but something has come up and I wont have a place to stay in the US if I return now. My question is that will they likely grant me another extension and should I tell them what my problem is? OH at this point there is NOT a no further stay on my extended Visa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MirandaW -

Thanks for the note. For de facto partner visa, must prove genuine relationship at time of application AND that de facto relationship has existed for the 12 months prior to application. Registered relationship cert satisfies the second part (the 12 months) but still have to evidence genuine de facto relationship at time of application and going forward.

Generally no problem lodging partner visa while onshore on visitor visa as long as the visitor visa does not have condition 8503 on it. If you lodge partner visa app while on visitor visa, you'll get a bridging visa that will activate when you overstay the current stay period of your visa - if that's a 3 month max stay period, then when you overstay that having previously lodged a partner visa, the bridging visa you received will activate as soon as you overstay the 3-month max stay period.

Re: health checks, can be done at any DIBP approved facility.

Re: police certs, you'll need one per DIBP regulations for each country you've been in for a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MirandaW said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I have questions regarding Defacto visa.
> Are you able to apply for Defacto when already in Australia on a tourist visa? And then are you able to stay in Australia on a bridging visa until defacto is accepted. Also, can you work while on the bridging visa.
> 
> Do you have to live together for a year or be together for a year? I know you can register your relationship and then apply OR be together for a year and then apply. What exactly are the specification for these two routes?
> 
> Also, can you get medical requirements done in a different country other than Australia ? And do you need a police check from the country you're from. In my case I am Canadian.
> 
> Thank you so so much for your help, it is greatly appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Princess1999 -

Thanks for the note. I see low chance of protection visa approval based on what you've said, as the life of the child would not be considered until the child is born. DIBP would also, I believe, be concerned that if they granted a protection visa based on your circumstances, that would motivate every Sri Lankan woman to come to Australia and get pregnant, etc. Would suggest alternate visa options be considered.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Princess1999 said:


> Hello Mark, I am from Sri Lanka, I came to Australia two years ago on student visa which will expire by march this year, I came with my husband, last year I had a baby that was stillborn on his due date and I also developed extreme hypertension and depression, I thank God for the nurses high risk doctors, they are really taking care of me, I just got pregnant again and am high risk, being seen by psychiatrist and high doctors among others, since I completed my masters degree I W's thinking of applying for post study but a friend of mine advices that I should seek onshore protection visa, that I might be granted since I can't return to my country due to high maternity death rate among others, that being in Australia I can be protected due to the well equipped health care, that if I can have stillbirth at 9 months in a developed country like Australia then I can be protected, do you think I should lodge it in or what do u think, thanks for the prompt reply, she said the visa is complementary protection visa thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nnaorin19 -

Yes - all time in Australia legally on any visa counts towards citizenship. Just need to make sure you were never in Australia unlawfully (ie, without valid visa) as that restarts the 4-year clock.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nnaorin19 said:


> hi.. is my stay for 11 months work and holiday visa is going to count towards 4 years stay for citizenship requirement? i've got PR today..thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tankit -

Happy to assist - we regularly work with this type of negative enquiry from DIBP. See my email address in my signature below to contact me directly.

Best,

Mark Northam



tankit said:


> Hi mark
> 
> Today i received adverse information comment from DIBP. Its related with employment verification.
> 
> I need your assistance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Proudzebra (like that name!)

If your hubby applies for a 189 and you are his dependent spouse on the application and indicated as a migrating applicant, then you both would receive 189 visas upon grant. Your only requirements are to prove that you are validly and genuinely married or have a genuine de facto relationship. You on the application would not hurt or change his chances of being selected or the visa being granted. Doing it this way is FAR cheaper and easier than him sponsoring you for an 820/801 partner visa after his PR is granted. See 189 document checklist for relationship and other documentary evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



proudzebra said:


> Hey Mark! Thanks so much for taking your personal time to do this!
> 
> I have a few questions regarding the inclusion of spouse in a 189 visa application.
> 
> My husband and I are in the midst of compiling documents before we submit an EOI. He will be applying for visa subclass 189 and I will be included in his application. I have a few questions regarding this:
> 1.	If they were to grant the visa, what would my visa be? My job is not listed in the SOL, so would the granted visa be a partner visa subclass 820/801?
> 2.	If it indeed will be granted under 820/801 visa, do I need to compile the documents listed under the Partner visa? Or do I just need to provide the documents as listed in the visa subclass 189 - including partner into your application?
> 3.	Would adding me into the application hurt my husband's chances of getting selected, since he is sort of bringing along a "dependent"? Meaning, will they pick applications that do not have dependents over those that do?
> 4.	If it will affect their selection, what would the best way of applying be? Would it be better to wait for my husband to get his PR granted THEN apply for partner visa for me?
> 
> Really hoping to hear your advice on this!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mystery -

Thanks for the note. Sorry, but I'm confused - not sure what you are asking. For most of the accounting occupations for Australian immigration there are 3 skills assessors to choose from - you must get a positive skills assessment from one of them in order to lodge an EOI and pursue an invitation for skilled migration. That being said, there is very high competition currently for accountants for skilled visas, and the higher the point score, the better. You would likely need a point score of at least 65 to get an invitation for a sc189 visa currently under Accountant (General).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mystery said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I would like to know what are the prospects of professional accountants (ACCA qualification) willing to take Australian immigration?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shveta -

This is an issue you'll need to work out with the skills assessor directly. Evidence that the HR department will not issue compatible letters might be helpful, but it really depends on the policies of the skills assessor and what alternatives are available that are acceptable to them. I'd contact them directly by phone and explain the situation and ask for alternatives.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swadhwa said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm planning to apply for Australian immigration and as one of the preliminary steps, I had got the skill assessment done wherein I had submitted self-attested copy of my roles and responsibilities as my company doesn't have a policy to issue the same on letter head. The assessing officer has rejected the skill assessment on the grounds of missing information, stating that this letter is a mandatory requirement to proceed further.
> My immediate manager has approved the list of duties on an email in anticipation of getting these on letterhead which was later rejected by the HR department, so unfortunately I cannot use that as a valid artifact anymore.
> Request guidance from assessing officers who might be on the panel/members who can advise us on an alternative to this document.
> 
> Thanks in anticipation
> 
> Regards
> Shveta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandinga -

Assuming the applicant has decided not to continue their application for the visa, the application can be withdrawn, but DIBP does not provide refunds in these circumstances unfortunately.

Best,

Mark Northam



sandinga said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am an Australian citizen that has paid for a 820 spousal visa for my partner who is now returning home. How is it possible to get a refund for that visa? The little amount of information on the Immigration website was no help, do you know if it's possible?
> 
> Thanks for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James -

Happy to assist, and congratulations on your 189 invitation.

Re: 1, for online applications colour scans of original documents are accepted by DIBP other than once in a while they'll ask for the original to be sent for a police certificate. No need to provide certified copies or scans of certified copies for online applications.

Re: 2, no need for translator to see hardcopy unless they require it themselves. Once you get translation, assemble the orig doc (colour scan) and translation into a single PDF file and upload with your application. No hardcopies needed for any of this.

Re: 3, For 189 visa (typically 4-6 months processing time) no problem getting police cert prior to or just after lodgement. This is different than partner visas where processing often exceeds 12 months in duration - police certs expire in 12 months. If they are ready to move forward with your visa and you have not provided health and/or police checks, DIBP will send you a letter requesting these - have never seen an application refused without a letter sent like this requesting it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



James-James said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I appreciate that I have a chance to ask for professional advice from you on this forum. A huge thank you to you for all the useful information you have already shared here.
> 
> If possible and you have some time please could you have a look at my questions below?
> 
> I have been invited to apply for a 189 visa. I have been using the official document checklist from the government`s webpage ("Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) document checklist") to prepare supporting evidence before the application.
> 
> However, there are a few things here and in this forum that are not clear to me about this.
> 
> 1)	This requirement is from the above webpage:
> "_All supporting documents must be scanned and uploaded with your application. All documents that you provide must be certified copies of original documents. Do not include original documents unless specifically requested to do so by the department._"
> According to this quote, I must upload scanned, certified copies of original documents, so not simply colour scans of original documents.
> However, I have found many posts on this forum which state that colour scans of original documents are accepted.
> So, although it seems that in practice the colour scans of original documents without certification are usually accepted, nothing guarantees that my application will not be refused, and my application fee will not get lost if I do not provide scans of certified copies.
> Is this correct? Or is there some official statement from the government somewhere that allows using uncertified colour scans as evidence?
> 
> 2)	This is from the same webpage:
> "_Documents not in English must be accompanied by accredited English translations._"
> -	Do I need to get the original document, or the certified copy translated?
> -	A translation company I contacted said they could use scanned, digital documents as originals for the translation, and then they would send me the scanned, digital translations (NAATI approved) by e-mail, which I can upload for the visa application. Is this true, or must the translator see the original hard copies?
> 
> 3)	Finally, these are from the same webpage:
> "_You must provide documents to support your application for this visa. We can make a decision using the information you provide when you lodge your application. It is in your interest to provide as much information as possible with your application._"
> "_Use this checklist to make sure your application is complete._"
> "_Character requirements
> Police checks for you and everyone included in your application,&#8230;_"
> So, according to this I must upload a police clearance certificate at the time of application. However, there are many posts in this forum suggesting that I can wait until my case officer requires one. Is there any risk that my application will be refused if I do not provide a police certificate at the time of application? I would like to have as much time as possible before validating my visa with the first entry.
> 
> I would appreciate you answer very-very much.
> 
> Kind regards,
> James


----------



## swadhwa

I've applied for vetassess advisory with the HR rejection proofs and am awaiting response. Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunshiner -

Re: 1, this refers to when DIBP starts processing the 457 visa app, which usually happens after the nomination is approved if they are both lodged together.

Re: 2, for the Temporary Resident Transitional (TRT) pathway for the 186 or 187, requires total of 2 years on 457 for nominating employer before they can sponsor you for 186 or 187. You can also check DIBP website for Direct Entry pathway which, if you qualify, would allow the employer to sponsor you for a 186 or 187 at any point without waiting the 2 yrs on 457 or even having a 457 at all.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunshiner said:


> Hi Mark,
> thanks so much for all the useful info you've posted. I have 2 questions for you:
> 1. Standard processing times listed on the website for 457 visas from UK says 2 months - when does the clock start - is this from the date the employer applies or from the date of the workers application after the employers nomination has been approved?
> 
> 2. If applying to transfer from a temporary(457) to permanent sponsorship visa is there a minimum time period that you need to have been working on the 457 before you can apply?
> 
> Hope they make sense! Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Windycity -

Normally partner visas lodged onshore take 12-18 months to process, so if you don't have some evidence (such as marriage cert) at time of application, you can upload it some weeks later as long as DIBP has not requested it and the deadline for providing it has passed. Based on current trends, I see very little chance that DIBP would have time to even look at your application much less request missing docs for several months after you apply. Key is that you provide marriage cert prior to a decision on the visa, and that the date of marriage on the cert is before the date of visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



windycity said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for starting this thread. This thread is so informative due to your contribution.
> 
> Current situation:
> 
> I am on ETA from Singapore. I have been in Aust for the past 6 months in and out.
> However, the 3rd time I came into Aust, I am marked and flagged due to in/out of aust too frequently without having to leave outside of aust (for min 3 months). They allowed me to come in this time to settle our visa issue.
> 
> This is the only chance I have now. And we decided to apply via married route as we are already living together for the past 6 months (all the evidence in).
> 
> The issue:
> Our marriage celebrant told us that the actual legal wedding certificate will take 2 months to arrive.
> 
> Turnaround times - Births, Deaths & Marriages Victoria
> 
> However, when I applied in March (2 weeks before my ETA is up). The certificate will not be here yet. Our celebrant said she could write us an letter while waiting for the certificate, we will lodge our application. Is that ok?
> 
> Will immigration reject my application and my bridging visa?
> 
> Of course, we will upload our formal wedding certificate as soon as we got it.
> 
> Thanks,
> Joan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michelle -

Thanks for the note. I'd really need to know much more about your circumstances to give you specific advice - happy to do that at a consult - see website in my signature below for more on this. Re: age, the 457 visa offers a good pathway to an employer sponsored 186 or 187 PR visa if your employer is willing to sponsor for this. Skilled visas can be difficult to get sufficient points for when your age is over 40, but not impossible depending on your specifics. Student visa possible but you'll have to work extra hard to show DIBP why you need to study in Australia vs study in your home country given your age - unfair? Absolutely. But DIBP routinely factors age into all kinds of visa decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pigilene said:


> Dear Mark,
> I agree with many others of here - what a great service you're offering here!
> 
> If my case need more in a depth answer I can contact you through your website. I know you cannot offer any job information.
> 
> I wonder if I'm a little late to the Aussie party, I'm a UK national and l'll be 44 in March. I'd love to join my brother, who emigrated to the Sunshine Coast, QLD, 8 years ago.
> 
> _1. Is the age limit 50 to apply? _So I'm trying to find the best path to get a PR visa.
> 
> I am working on taking an IELTS test as currently I have 50 points.
> 
> I've been working as an English as a foreign language teacher for the past 12 years.
> 
> I know my current profession would require sponsorship, _[I2. ]any idea if this would be by the state or the employer?_[/I]
> 
> _3 Can a sponsored visa ever turn into a PR? Are there certain territories which this is easier? What is there a time frame? eg 2 years in a job and then apply for PR_
> 
> I've been looking at jobs in my profession an there aren't many, and whether the company would sponsor me. I've been registering on job websites though.
> 
> I believe I'd still need a teaching qualification, in order to work in a school or university as an English as an Additional or Dialect teacher.
> 
> _4. At this point, I'm wondering if would it be easier to just retrain as a secondary teacher? As there are more job opportunities and it's on the skilled occupations list._
> 
> There are 2 options:
> 
> I could do a UK PGCE (1 year full-time, or 2 years part time) as I already have a BA Hons in Fine Art, then transfer this on arrival in Australia.
> 
> Alternatively I could study the required qualification through an Australian university, (I'm awaiting a reply to a query re course length and credits). I could do this either as a distance student or in country.
> 
> _5. Do you know if it is possible of people of my age on a student visas to get a permanent visa?_
> 
> Thanking you in advance for any suggestions,
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Michelle


----------



## proudzebra

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Proudzebra (like that name!)
> 
> If your hubby applies for a 189 and you are his dependent spouse on the application and indicated as a migrating applicant, then you both would receive 189 visas upon grant. Your only requirements are to prove that you are validly and genuinely married or have a genuine de facto relationship. You on the application would not hurt or change his chances of being selected or the visa being granted. Doing it this way is FAR cheaper and easier than him sponsoring you for an 820/801 partner visa after his PR is granted. See 189 document checklist for relationship and other documentary evidence.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dave1 -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you contact the relevant skills assessor directly and ask as of what date they would consider you as being "skilled" - this is a critical date, as any relevant work experience after this date can be counted for points, while work experience prior to this date generally cannot. You may need to go through the skills assessment process in order to determine this date, but it's a critical date that is determined on a per-applicant basis.

Family sponsored 489's are heavily quota-restricted and you may find yourself waiting a long time for this visa, FYI.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dave1 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am currently in the preliminary stages of applying to migrate to Australia as an accountant. I am facing a dilemma with what exactly is referred to skilled employment.
> 
> I completed all my Chartered Institute of Management Accounts (CIMA) exams in May 2012 and has been employed in the capacity of an accountant for 4 years. As of now my Post Qualified experience is over 3 and a half years which meets the 3-5 years skilled employment which awards me 5 points. On the other hand, I applied of CIMA membership and became a full member in October 2013. Therefore, Post Membership experience is 2 and a half years which does not meet the 3-5 years skilled employment and awards me no points.
> 
> The migration agents I met up with were unsure on what was the correct method when calculating the number of years of skilled employment I have.
> 
> Currently I wish to migrate under the Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489), which awards 10 points for family sponsorship and my total points excluding skilled employment is 60 points which is the basic requirement. But the additional 5 points I feel, will further help my cause.
> 
> Thanks in Advance
> 
> King Regards,
> Dave.


----------



## yashasviprasad

*A few queries regarding Australian PR*

Hi Mark,

I have a couple of queries regarding Australian PR:

1) Would there be any issues in my PR assessment in case my current residential address is different from my permanent address as mentioned in my passport?
2) How would my wife's pregnancy impact the outcome of my PR application?

Yash


----------



## Yance1991

Hey Mark.Happy Australia Day!
I had a phone interview with my CO last Wednsday for my 801 visa i applied on MAY 2014,After the phone call I was expecting a grant email next day but its been about a week nothing happened yet.Now i'm worried .Do you think its normal?or am i getting a refusal visa(i have seen other ppl getting their PR grant straightway if their CO contacted them for phone interview.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yash -

Thanks for the note. No issue I see if passport address does not match current residential address, as I expect DIBP would understand that you don't get a new passport every time you change addresses - have not seen this issue come up before.

Re: pregnancy, depending on the case officer, they may delay the visa decision until she can take her medicals (ie, after the baby is born) - in some cases they will defer the medicals and grant the visa, with a promise from the pregnant applicant to take medicals after the baby is born, however the normal practice is to delay the visa grant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



yashasviprasad said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a couple of queries regarding Australian PR:
> 
> 1) Would there be any issues in my PR assessment in case my current residential address is different from my permanent address as mentioned in my passport?
> 2) How would my wife's pregnancy impact the outcome of my PR application?
> 
> Yash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yance1991 -

Thanks for the note and holiday greetings!

The delay does not necessarily mean there are issues - I've seen the time period between interview and decision range anywhere from a few days to 2+ months - I would not read a lot into the fact that it's been a week at this point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Yance1991 said:


> Hey Mark.Happy Australia Day!
> I had a phone interview with my CO last Wednsday for my 801 visa i applied on MAY 2014,After the phone call I was expecting a grant email next day but its been about a week nothing happened yet.Now i'm worried .Do you think its normal?or am i getting a refusal visa(i have seen other ppl getting their PR grant straightway if their CO contacted them for phone interview.


----------



## yashasviprasad

Thanks a lot for a quick revert Mark. If the baby is born before visa is granted, do we need to go through the entire process again or can the baby be added later on?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Yash -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No issue I see if passport address does not match current residential address, as I expect DIBP would understand that you don't get a new passport every time you change addresses - have not seen this issue come up before.
> 
> Re: pregnancy, depending on the case officer, they may delay the visa decision until she can take her medicals (ie, after the baby is born) - in some cases they will defer the medicals and grant the visa, with a promise from the pregnant applicant to take medicals after the baby is born, however the normal practice is to delay the visa grant.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yash -

Baby can be added to the application prior to decision - just notify DIBP to add to the application and they will advise re: appropriate documents to complete.

Best,

Mark



yashasviprasad said:


> Thanks a lot for a quick revert Mark. If the baby is born before visa is granted, do we need to go through the entire process again or can the baby be added later on?
> 
> QUOTE=MarkNortham;1162578]Hi Yash -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No issue I see if passport address does not match current residential address, as I expect DIBP would understand that you don't get a new passport every time you change addresses - have not seen this issue come up before.
> 
> Re: pregnancy, depending on the case officer, they may delay the visa decision until she can take her medicals (ie, after the baby is born) - in some cases they will defer the medicals and grant the visa, with a promise from the pregnant applicant to take medicals after the baby is born, however the normal practice is to delay the visa grant.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


[/QUOTE]


----------



## yashasviprasad

Thank you Mark. Your help is much appreciated.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Yash -
> 
> Baby can be added to the application prior to decision - just notify DIBP to add to the application and they will advise re: appropriate documents to complete.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


[/QUOTE]


----------



## sunshiner

*Thanks*

Thank you so much for your help and clarification.

​


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sunshiner -
> 
> Re: 1, this refers to when DIBP starts processing the 457 visa app, which usually happens after the nomination is approved if they are both lodged together.
> 
> Re: 2, for the Temporary Resident Transitional (TRT) pathway for the 186 or 187, requires total of 2 years on 457 for nominating employer before they can sponsor you for 186 or 187. You can also check DIBP website for Direct Entry pathway which, if you qualify, would allow the employer to sponsor you for a 186 or 187 at any point without waiting the 2 yrs on 457 or even having a 457 at all.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Australia1976

*Seperation after PR visa granted*

HI Mark

I would greatly appreciate your input into this issue.My partner(main applicant) and I(secondary applicant) were granted PR visa's 6 months ago through the 189 stream.

We have NOT activated our visa's yet.We sadly have now probably decided to end our Defacto relationship.How will this affect our visa status?

I have received mixed advise as some say due to the fact the PR has already been granted, we both hold PR individually and our break up will not have any affect on the PR visa eventhough it is before activation.We simply need to inform DIAC of breakup as it is before activation and then we both continue to hold PR visa's.

Others say that as a result we have still not ACTIVATED the visa's. I as the secondary applicant may have my visa cancelled, is this possible?

My understanding that the application we made for the visa takes into account our circumstances at TIME of application until point visa was granted.We were in a loving happy relationship for 6 years and that was the case until AFTER the visa grant.

Your advise would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Nabajit2015

*Query regarding subclass 574 visa*



Nabajit2015 said:


> Thanks a lot Mark. I will never forget you mate. May God bless you and live long...
> 
> Thanks heaps,
> Nabajit


Dear Mark,

I and my wife collectively submitted EOI with 60 points under 190 and have been still waiting for the invitation since last July. In parallel, my wife is applying to enhance her career by doing PhD in Australia. If she get selected for this program, then she would be entitled to subclass 574 visa. But I am barred under PIC-4014 for three years before marriage and hence I am eligible only for permanent visa and no temporary visa. If my wife is through with 574 visa process, will I still fall under this barred condition or can I apply spouse visa under 574 subclass? If not allowed, will my situation come under compelling and compassionate condition? Or, even after positive response from the respective university, will her visa process get affected by my barred situation?

Kindly help me with your valuable inputs in this regard

Best Regards

Nabajit


----------



## lucyisaturtle

Hi Mark, 

I am a Kiwi, helping my partner apply for a Subclass 461 visa. We are a bit confused by the Form 80, question 8. 

In regards to "Do you currently have permanent residency rights in any country other than those declared in Questions 6 or 7?". 

As he is Polish, residing in UK for over 20 years, and holds a EU passport, would he answer yes to this question, and then list all the countries in the EU? or do you need to actually hold some kind of permanent residency for another country? Any advice would be much appreciated. 

Thank you!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Australia1976 -

It's my view that in a case where a relationship breaks down after the grant of a visa, there is no obligation to inform DIBP of this fact as the visas have already been granted. If a visa is not activated, that's a separate issue unrelated to grant, and could result in a cancellation of the visa if the must-enter-by date requirement (activation) is not met. I don't know of any requirement that a relationship remain intact after PR is granted, or that a relationship breaking down after PR is granted is a reason for cancellation.

That being said, if initial entry is not made by the must-enter-by date and a visa holder is in the position of having to ask for the visa not to be cancelled as a result, if DIBP then determines or is told that the relationship has broken down, it would be open to DIBP to allege that the relationship actually broke down prior to grant and potentially ask the applicant to provide evidence that that is not the case, depending on the attitude and conclusions of the case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Australia1976 said:


> HI Mark
> 
> I would greatly appreciate your input into this issue.My partner(main applicant) and I(secondary applicant) were granted PR visa's 6 months ago through the 189 stream.
> 
> We have NOT activated our visa's yet.We sadly have now probably decided to end our Defacto relationship.How will this affect our visa status?
> 
> I have received mixed advise as some say due to the fact the PR has already been granted, we both hold PR individually and our break up will not have any affect on the PR visa eventhough it is before activation.We simply need to inform DIAC of breakup as it is before activation and then we both continue to hold PR visa's.
> 
> Others say that as a result we have still not ACTIVATED the visa's. I as the secondary applicant may have my visa cancelled, is this possible?
> 
> My understanding that the application we made for the visa takes into account our circumstances at TIME of application until point visa was granted.We were in a loving happy relationship for 6 years and that was the case until AFTER the visa grant.
> 
> Your advise would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nabajit -

Thanks for the note. You'll still have the 4014 issue whether you are a primary or secondary applicant for a visa, and would need to lodge a waiver request. Problem is, the waiver rules focus on the benefit to an Australian citizen or permanent resident, not the benefit to a non-citizen (your wife), however if you can show a genuine relationship with your wife and show substantial hardship would be created if you were not able to be with her, the waiver request may have a chance. No way to predict chances for success.

If you were unsuccessful with the waiver, it is possible they would still approve her visa and not yours, as long as they still believed that she met the genuine student criteria if you were no longer on the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nabajit2015 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I and my wife collectively submitted EOI with 60 points under 190 and have been still waiting for the invitation since last July. In parallel, my wife is applying to enhance her career by doing PhD in Australia. If she get selected for this program, then she would be entitled to subclass 574 visa. But I am barred under PIC-4014 for three years before marriage and hence I am eligible only for permanent visa and no temporary visa. If my wife is through with 574 visa process, will I still fall under this barred condition or can I apply spouse visa under 574 subclass? If not allowed, will my situation come under compelling and compassionate condition? Or, even after positive response from the respective university, will her visa process get affected by my barred situation?
> 
> Kindly help me with your valuable inputs in this regard
> 
> Best Regards
> 
> Nabajit


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Good question. I'm not familiar with the particular permanent residency laws of various EU countries, but he might answer Yes to the question and then put "EU Passport Holder" in one of the blanks where it asks for the name of the country, etc and leave it at that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lucyisaturtle said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a Kiwi, helping my partner apply for a Subclass 461 visa. We are a bit confused by the Form 80, question 8.
> 
> In regards to "Do you currently have permanent residency rights in any country other than those declared in Questions 6 or 7?".
> 
> As he is Polish, residing in UK for over 20 years, and holds a EU passport, would he answer yes to this question, and then list all the countries in the EU? or do you need to actually hold some kind of permanent residency for another country? Any advice would be much appreciated.
> 
> Thank you!!


----------



## boxa

Dear Mark, 

In September 2015 I attended the MRT and won the appeal for my sister case, which was for the last remaining relative. After the MRT win, on the 3rd of September 2015 my sister’s case was remitted back for further processing to the immigration department in Islamabad office in Pakistan. It has been over 4 months since the case has been remitted, since that time there has not been any contact from the Immigration department. I have sent them a number of emails and in reply I just receive an automated email. I heard that successful MRT applications are prioritized and proceed quicker. Could you please provide insight into how long it may take for the visa to be granted? 

Thanks.


----------



## Nabajit2015

*Query regarding subclass 574 visa*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nabajit -
> 
> Thanks for the note. You'll still have the 4014 issue whether you are a primary or secondary applicant for a visa, and would need to lodge a waiver request. Problem is, the waiver rules focus on the benefit to an Australian citizen or permanent resident, not the benefit to a non-citizen (your wife), however if you can show a genuine relationship with your wife and show substantial hardship would be created if you were not able to be with her, the waiver request may have a chance. No way to predict chances for success.
> 
> If you were unsuccessful with the waiver, it is possible they would still approve her visa and not yours, as long as they still believed that she met the genuine student criteria if you were no longer on the application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark.

With regards,
Nabajit


----------



## surya11

Hi Mark,

Finally after a longer processing time by the assessment body VETASSESS, i received the assessment outcome as negative. They accepted my qualification but for the experience they stated the*tasks*undertaken*are*not*highly*relevant*to*the*ANZSCO*tasks
for*the*nominated*occupation. I strongly believe my tasks are associated to the nominated occupation but rejected due to some grey areas that are not given in ANZSCO.
Now i'm really confused how to proceed with.
Please advise if I may approach NT directly with this negative outcome or convince the assessment body for re-assessment.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Surya -
> 
> Generally best to wait until your skills assessment is complete and you can include that info in your EOI. Otherwise, you would have an incomplete EOI or one based on incorrect information. Normally the states will not spend time assessing a candidate who does not yet have a skills assessment complete, but you could check with NT and see if they could do any of the assessment prior to the skills assessment being completed.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Australia1976

*Seperation following visa grant*

Thanks for the reply and yes i thouight the same.However regrading informing DIAC, as per form 1022, it states that you need to inform the department of any changes until you have been immigration cleared 
• after you have been immigration cleared (if you applied for
your visa outside Australia).

I presume that occurs POST activiation?if so i will simply notify them of breakdown of relationship but it will have no impact on my visa.Alternatively i plan to travel to australia next month to activate my visa ALONE , my understanding once activated, i then do not need to notify.My partner is not travelling

You mentioned there is no need to notify DIAC, can you clarify why that is based what is written on the 1022 form


----------



## pinkiestar

Hi Mark,
I have applied for a Partner visa
Medicals done
PCC done
I am currently in Australia on a 6 month Tourist visa. No 8503 condition.
I am pregnant and plan to apply for a visa extension.
What are the chances of application being approved.


----------



## Iranathai007

*Partner*

Hello, my name is Meli w, I am an American citizen. I need legal advice regarding the options for extending my visitor visa here in Australia. My husband is an Iranian citizen, who came to Australia as a refugee by boat to seek asylum. He has been here for the past 2 1/2 years on a temporary protection community visa, Bridging visa E - BVE. Since he has been living in Australia, we have been in a long distance relationship together for almost 2 years. We met online in February 2014 and have had constant communication with each other through: phone calls, Skype, messaging, and texting-maintaining records of our ongoing relationship with thousands of photos and videos. Our relationship grew from friendship into a long distance relationship, and now into marriage, and we want to make sure that we take all the proper steps so that we can stay together.

I came to Australia August 25, 2015-November 19, 2015 and came back again Dec 1, 2015 on my ETA visa, that allows me to stay in Australia for 3 months at a time. We have been living here together since August, got married January 10th, 2016, and we want to relocate to the U.S.A. so we can start our lives together. The U.S.A. is where my family resides. I have been living with my father, assisting him with his health needs. My father also knows our situation, he has offered for us to live with him in his home (that he owns) and is also happy to assist as a household member to sponsor my husband.

We are in need of some legal advice and guidance, through a free . I would like to know what my options are for extending my visa, with out leaveing az so that I am able to stay here with my husband, while we are waiting for his U.S. marriage visa to process-so he is able to come back to the U.S. with me. It is very expensive and exhausting to go back and forth to the U.S. every 3 months and we don't want to be apart anymore than we already have been. We have been told the U.S. marriage visa could take approximately 6-8 months, and that time could vary, depending on each case.

Thank you for your time and in reading my concern consideration, we look forward to hearing from you guyz. We just want to be able to stay together, while awaiting the process of being able to go back to the U.S. and finally settle down.


----------



## Achieco

Hi Mark,

I just received a request from my CO for additional requirements. Police Clearance from Canada by RCMP and United Arab Emirates. I was able to submit RCMP couple of days ago. While my PCC from UAE, I already explained in my letter that I wasn't able to get one, it took me 3 months to finish the whole process, submitted the request to UAE, based on tracking it was received, then nothing came back to me here in Canada. I gave her all the proof that I did sent the request including the official receipt from UAE Embassy here in Canada.Also, I submitted 3 character references from UAE (my boss, my colleague, my church mate) to support my application and as proof that I am a good person. 

My question is, will my failure to submit PCC from UAE may cause refusal of my 309/100 application? Although I already submitted PCC from Canada and Philippines?

Need your view on this situation.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## Tillsen

*Citizenship*

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding citizenship. I can apply for citizenship on August the 3rd of this year. I would be living in Australia for 4 years then and will be on PR for 1.5 years.

My problem. I have a job offer and might leave Australia in late June. This means I have been in Australia for a bit more than 9 months in the year before I apply for apply for the citizenship. So I would mean the requirements. However, as I won't be in Australia on the 3rd of August I can't apply or sit the test in Australia. Can I apply and sit the test outside of Australia, in an Australian Embassy? I read somewhere I need to be in Australia at the time of the decision. Is that correct?

Many thanks Mark


----------



## spiedze

*Statements for 820 visa*

Hi Mark,

I am currently collecting evidence for 820 visa application.

We have the two required statutory declarations from Aussie citizens/permanent residents. But also, my family/friends in UK are writing us statements.

My question is - can these statements just be dated and signed and a passport copy attached, or would their signatures have to be witnessed and passport copies certified?

I have been reading this forum a lot, and have seen some contradicting information, so not sure what is the best thing to do.

Certifying documents and witnessing signatures is expensive and time consuming in UK, and I am not sure whether my family/friends will be able to do it...

If anyone else knows or has experience with this, please let me know.

Thanks


----------



## dsbhough

Hi

I'm a 31 year old British male and I'm wondering about the chances of having a successful visa application.

I currently work as a Management Information Executive (Business Intelligence / Data Analysis), and I have been working in this field for the past two years. I believe - but I'm not certain - that I require three years experience for this to be counted by ACS. If I do not meet this requirement, am I still able to apply for visa to work in Australia? I have a Bachelors degree, but in a totally unrelated field (Politics) - would I still be eligible to receive the 15 points for this?

If I understand correctly:

31 years old - 30 points
Bachelors degree - 15 points
English - 10 or 20 points

..and I'm unaware if I would receive points for the skills assessment.

Many thanks for any help!


----------



## Ninuzza

Hi Mark, thanks for your help!

My husband has Certificate IV as Civil Engineering Technician, in few months he'll obtain Diploma for Project Management through RPL, IELTS 5.5 overall, over 9 years experience as Construction Project Management.

I've just obtained my Bachelor in Marketing, and have been working in Marketing (Marketing specialist the last 2 years) in ICT companies for over 7 years. IELTS 7.5 overall.

My husband has an aunt (father's sister) who is willing to sponsor us if necessary + their son-in-law company wants to hire him because they need employee with his qualifications + they know what all he's capable of and they want him.

Now, *what is our best visa option?*

Just to mention that the company will do whatever's necessary to first, be approved as a sponsor, and second, nominate the position. They are a company that has been operating for over 25 years now....

All the best!


----------



## suresh.selvaraj

Good Morning Mark.

My name is Shruthi (Primary applicant) and currently I am residing in Adelaide under (Skilled - Regional Sponsored (subclass 489).

Under Pathways to permanent residence, to apply for a 887 Visa I am required to stay in SA for 2 years and have 1 year of full time employment but I have been un-employed however my husband (Dependant Applicant - under Visa 489) he is been working full time all this while.

I would like to enquire, since he is under Visa 489 and if we complete 2 years in SA with 1 year full time employment is he eligible to apply for Visa 887 as a primary applicant and i being his dependant? please advice.

If he is not eligible, is there any other way to apply for a PR under our current circumstance. Please advice.

Thanks
Shruthi.


----------



## sandec

*Information about Skilled Support team*

Dear Mr. Mark

I lodged my 190 Skilled Visa on 10 October 2015. CO was assigned on 26 November 2015 and asked for PCC, Health Examination and Form 1221. All the requested documents were submitted on 16 December 2015.

Then, on 18 January 2016, I got E-mail from Skilled support team regarding additional information on my case. (Reason for Refusal as i earlier got refusal for Student Visa for Canada and Tourist Visa for USA), (Gaps: Time Occupied by me and Financial support in this period).

Can any body have any information about Skilled Support team?

Further i did one mistake in form filling regarding education dates. Later on i corrected all dates when i sent email to skilled support team. Will it put any impact on my Visa application?

Waiting for reply.....

Thanks & Regards,
Sandeep


----------



## bilalali

Hi Mark.

This is Bilal here. I have got full fee waiver at Australian National University for my PhD in Business and Economics. But no funding. 

Now I am going to apply for my visa. I got to know that I have to show my financial capacity of covering living expenses since my fee is already covered so I just need to show that I do have sufficient money to cover my first year living expenses in Australia. 

My uncle has transferred 23 lakhs in my bank account two days ago and I am going to apply for visa in 4 days. But I cannot show ''source of income'' because this is the money which my uncle has given me.

So can anyone please tell me if ''source of income'' is mandatory to be shown?


----------



## fiontong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fion -
> 
> I believe there may be a way (heard this from a client) but I don't have specifics yet - it may have just started with the Nov changes - will post back here if I can locate the specific way to do this.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hi Mark

Just a light re-cap: I submitted my 820/801 onshore partner visa application on line thur a Registered Migration Agent. I can set up my IMMI account but I cant retrieve my own record under my application, is a blank page nothing on these immiAccount page.

May I know any update on these?

Thank you
fion


----------



## aussie81

Hi, 
Did you receive any response to your query? Please share you experience.

I am in a similar situation and would like to know if my wife can use my immi account to lodge 887 application. I was the primary applicant in 489 application. Now she is going to be primary applicant for 887.



nep12 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> again need some advice
> here is a my situation.
> 
> some problem is being occurred for online application 887 , as I am a secondary applicant of 489 and fulfilled 2 year stay and 1 year work requirement ,I am going to be a main applicant for visa 887 ,which I think is acceptable to DIBP ,my visa was active from 4/02/2013 , but while filling up the online application ,it is giving error saying "you do not hold a valid prerequisite visa to enable use this service" , initially I thought that it is a technical problem ,when I called IMMI ,they said that it is a technical problem and they will send email to technical team, as per immi it will take 1 week to get reply from technical team , its sad that I cant apply 887 visa for whole week .
> 
> In other hand,
> when I try from my wife immi account, and filled a details of her as a main applicant on online application ,the system is not showing any error message ,that shown for my immi account when I filled application as a main applicant with my details. my wife was a main applicant for visa subclass 489 but she couldn't fulfil fulltime employment for visa 887 that's why I need to apply for visa 887 as a main applicant . as far as I know DIBP regulation is allowing secondary applicant of 489 to apply 887 as a main applicant.
> 
> BIG confusion and stressed


----------



## abshaito

*CSOL subclass 189*

Dear Mark.
How to get sponsorship approval from a state that is currently sponsoring that occupation in CSOL not SOL. Is there a special form? How to get the approval?


----------



## abshaito

Dear Mark.
Sorry Mark in the title I meant CSOL and subclass 190, not 189.
How to get sponsorship approval from a state that is currently sponsoring that occupation in CSOL not SOL for application under subclass 190. Is there a special form? How to get the approval?


----------



## swadhwa

Hi Mark

I was recently communicated by the advisory that they cannot provide advise and counsel if there has been a negative skill assessment result. I think as per the website they do offer service post facto as well
Please advise

Regards


----------



## Physalis

*309 Partner Visa Health Assesment*

Hi Mark,

just got a quick question regarding health assessment. I am from a low risk Country (Germany) but have spent some time in TB risk countries.
I have submitted my 309 offshore application today and started uploading evidence. I just saw that the following came up:

"This person is required to complete health examinations for this visa application. Click on the link below to organise these health examinations."

In the referral letter it also states that I am applying for 100 permanent visa.

I am confused. Do I actually already do my medicals or do I wait until a CO asks me for them, so they do not expire. If I have to get them organised soon, I will have Troubles because we have got Holidays booked in 10 days for a few weeks.

Thanks a lot for bringing some light into this!!!

Physalis


----------



## Sri0410

Hi Mark,

I had applied for the migration visa to Australia under Subclass 190. As a part of the character evidence, I have submitted the following documents.
1) The Police clearance from Singapore Police where I worked as a professional since March 2009 to March 2014
2) Police clearance from Maldives police where I worked as a professional from April 2008 to January 2009

Apart from the above clearances, I was asked to submit a clearance from my native country (Sri Lanka) also to be submitted. However, it was very difficult for me to obtain the clearance from Sri Lankan police though I had applied for it couple of times on 18th March, 2013 in the first time. As I didn't get any reply for my application until end of October I have made a written enquiry to the police department and I have received a reply from police department saying that I haven't state in my application that where I was living during the period between 2007-2010 and was asked to apply again if I need a new certificate. Hence I have applied again 8th of November, 2013 as a second time. Several reminder emails and phone calls made to the processing agency also turned out to be unattended for Long time.Furthermore,I have notified them that if they have any misleading information I am willing to come down to police department for any enquiry . All these efforts turned out to be in no action.hence,I wrote a statutory declaration explaining my situation to the department as per my case officer'srequest on 19th February 2014.
Followings are corespondent details 
I lodged my visa 17th September 2013
Statutory declaration submitted 19th February 2014
Submit Form 80 as second time 21 June 2014 as per case officers request
Submit Form 1399 on 28 January 2015 as per case officers request
In 21st April 2015,I was asked to do the medical and police check up as second time because of my previous clearances are expired .
I was very happy that they have completed their assement and grant the visa if I submit the requested documents. So,I have submitted those requested documents by 21st May 2015. (I was traveled to Singapore to get that certificate.cost me a lot of money.travelling charge and stay in hotel for 3 days)But ,so far no reply from the department. My police clearances going to expired in another three months.
The department will asked me to do those check up again as third time?
How Long they will take to process my application??
Apart from born as a Tamil in Sri Lanka ,I didn't do anything wrong as far as I know about myself.in that case ,why such a big punishment for me.
I have request them to refund the money that I paid for immigration Australia if they can not proceed my application. They don't want to proceed or don't want to tell a valued reason??
Thanks & regards
Sti0419


----------



## skl

JandE said:


> Some people do them immediately, others waitlpp until asked.
> 
> You could book yours for after you get back fromppxp holidays ?


Hi Mark. Please need your advise. I have applied 12th of April,2015 820/801 visa. Around 75% evidences i upload are dated after our submission datr. We applied as a de facto after 10 months relationship but now we get married around 6 months ago and we have one baby. Me and my husband met at uni. My husband does not like to take a photo ( he doesnt have fb and wants to keep his privicy especially on social networks) so we dont have much photo and other evidences in the begining of our relationship ( just watsup chats and joint travel) We got assignments done together. Can it be an evidence? ( actually its how we met and started to know each other) At the time we applied we had been living around 3 months together. Now, we re living with his parents and doing savings for buying a house. My partner works FIFO 2 weeks on site and 1 week at home . As for myself, I work at IT company for about 1 year ( now on maternaty leave about 4 months) and have graduated recently uni as an International student. What do you think is it enough evidence? Shall I keep submitting new evidences? I'm worried that CO might find not enough evidence before we submit application and refuse on that base. Please let me know what you think. Thanks


----------



## Clementt

Hi Mark,

I have lodged my visa yesterday. I found out my family name and given name was the other way around. Also, HAP ID has been generated but not yet been booked. 

In addition, I notice the mistake for my Bachelor study in Australia which should be 2008 instead of what I written in visa 20/07/2007. As for completion for bachelor study, there is nothing written on the Completion letter only award will be conferred on 3rd Dec so I put that date as completion. I am worried all this is wrong and might effect my visa. 

As for the question if I have travel to Australia in the past 12 months or live in other country more than 12 months, I put 23/3/2015 and leave 26/11/2015 but I have been living in australia since 2008 and did leave australia on Jan/2015 and returned on 23/3/2015. I left australia on 26/11/2015 and been applying from my country.

Please advice on what I should do and I have uploaded everything recommended except National Police Check (Australia and My country), and Health Assessment. 


Kind regards


----------



## sigillum_diaboli666

Dear Mark,

Would appreciate some quick advice on this matter: My partner & I have lodged our Partner Visa application in June 2015 and are awaiting outcome of TR. Since December 2015 we have been living in my mother's house (my mother, partner & me). The arrangement is, we pay for *utilities only, no rent* all the bills are in her name. How can we prove joint tenancy?? My mother has already completed/signed a Stat Dec 888 form outlining this situation - is that enough, or is more proof required?


----------



## skl

sigillum_diaboli666 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Would appreciate some quick advice on this matter: My partner & I have lodged our Partner Visa application in June 2015 and are awaiting outcome of TR. Since December 2015 we have been living in my mother's house (my mother, partner & me). The arrangement is, we pay for utilities only, no rent all the bills are in her name. How can we prove joint tenancy?? My mother has already completed/signed a Stat Dec 888 form outlining this situation - is that enough, or is more proof required?


Hi there. we had the same situation. We just get my mother-in-law do stationary declaration where she says that she does not mind we re living for free on her house. Still waiting 820.


----------



## GA87

Hi Mark,

Is it possible to obtain 801 directly after a 3 year wait due to Schedule 3 breach which has been successfully overcome? If yes, is this something we must ask for or automatic?

They have asked for health check, AFP check, police check (Last 10 years) and form 1221, we have been together for nearly 5 years now..I want to know if there are any avenues to ask for 801 directly alongside these documents. Thank you for the all the help you provide to us!!

Kind regards


----------



## sunshiner

Hi Mark, thanks for your help before, please can you tell me if I would be entitled to join medicare on a 457 visa as my country (uk) has a reciprocal agreement?
Thanks


----------



## arpanpatel78692

Hi,
Mark,

I am new register in this group,
I have some doubts,

How EOI automatically count experience ,
Is it like if 2920 days in 8 years so if once 2920 days will complete then automatically it will be reached 8 years ,or else we need to update it manually,

How many chances to get invite in NSW on basis of 60+5 points with ICT code 263111,

Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Boxa -

These are hard to predict - typically it's anywhere from 2 to 6 months after the case is sent back to DIBP, but as always, DIBP has no time limits on how long they can take. Yes they are prioritised (ie, should not take as long as the initial application) but beyond that it's up to DIBP.

Best,

Mark Northam



boxa said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> In September 2015 I attended the MRT and won the appeal for my sister case, which was for the last remaining relative. After the MRT win, on the 3rd of September 2015 my sister's case was remitted back for further processing to the immigration department in Islamabad office in Pakistan. It has been over 4 months since the case has been remitted, since that time there has not been any contact from the Immigration department. I have sent them a number of emails and in reply I just receive an automated email. I heard that successful MRT applications are prioritized and proceed quicker. Could you please provide insight into how long it may take for the visa to be granted?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Surya11 -

Thanks for the note. No way to proceed with skilled visa application or state sponsorship application for skilled visa without a positive skills assessment - you'll have to lodge a review at VETASSESS and see what arguments you can make - I'd take a careful look at the ANZSCO tasks for your occupation and see you how can make a matrix or chart that shows how each job's tasks/responsibilities maps well to the ANZSCO tasks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



surya11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Finally after a longer processing time by the assessment body VETASSESS, i received the assessment outcome as negative. They accepted my qualification but for the experience they stated the*tasks*undertaken*are*not*highly*relevant*to*the*ANZSCO*tasks
> for*the*nominated*occupation. I strongly believe my tasks are associated to the nominated occupation but rejected due to some grey areas that are not given in ANZSCO.
> Now i'm really confused how to proceed with.
> Please advise if I may approach NT directly with this negative outcome or convince the assessment body for re-assessment.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Australia1976 -

You bring up a very good point - the "immigration cleared" means on your first entry to Australia on the new visa (ie, to activate it). If you take a very specific reading of s104 of the Migration Act, then you would have an obligation to inform DIBP of the change in circumstances (relationship breakdown) if that occurred prior to first entry. As to exactly when the relationship broke down, that would have to be determined by you using your best judgment.

Should you report the breakdown to DIBP prior to entering Australia, would suggest you have as much evidence of exactly when the relationship broke down as possible, to prove to DIBP that the breakdown occurred after the visa was granted.

In reality many people wait until their visa is activated and then inform DIBP of the breakdown, however I would not find fault in your approach if you chose to inform them prior to entering - it's a judgment call that only you can make.

Best,

Mark Northam



Australia1976 said:


> Thanks for the reply and yes i thouight the same.However regrading informing DIAC, as per form 1022, it states that you need to inform the department of any changes until you have been immigration cleared
> • after you have been immigration cleared (if you applied for
> your visa outside Australia).
> 
> I presume that occurs POST activiation?if so i will simply notify them of breakdown of relationship but it will have no impact on my visa.Alternatively i plan to travel to australia next month to activate my visa ALONE , my understanding once activated, i then do not need to notify.My partner is not travelling
> 
> You mentioned there is no need to notify DIAC, can you clarify why that is based what is written on the 1022 form


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pinkiestar -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict chances of success - if you are too far along with the pregnancy to travel, that's probably the best argument that can be made. If you are not in that situation, it may come down to showing that you have more necessary activities to do with your partner to prepare for the child and/or wedding, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pinkiestar said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have applied for a Partner visa
> Medicals done
> PCC done
> I am currently in Australia on a 6 month Tourist visa. No 8503 condition.
> I am pregnant and plan to apply for a visa extension.
> What are the chances of application being approved.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Meli -

Thanks for the note. In reality, a visitor visa is likely the best bet for remaining here - you could apply while onshore for a subclass 600 visa to extend your stay - if granted, you would not need to depart every 3 months. That being said, there is a significant risk of refusal in that the visitor visa is designed for short-term tourist visits to Australia, and depending on the amount of time you've already spent in Australia, a visitor visa application could be refused based on DIBP concluding you were here for more than "tourist" reasons.

That being said, you could look at applying for another visa onshore, however would need to know a lot more about your circumstances to give you advise as to which visa(s) would be the best fit for your circumstances - I can do this at a consultation which gives us the time to discuss your case in detail and formulate options - see website below in my signature for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Iranathai007 said:


> Hello, my name is Meli w, I am an American citizen. I need legal advice regarding the options for extending my visitor visa here in Australia. My husband is an Iranian citizen, who came to Australia as a refugee by boat to seek asylum. He has been here for the past 2 1/2 years on a temporary protection community visa, Bridging visa E - BVE. Since he has been living in Australia, we have been in a long distance relationship together for almost 2 years. We met online in February 2014 and have had constant communication with each other through: phone calls, Skype, messaging, and texting-maintaining records of our ongoing relationship with thousands of photos and videos. Our relationship grew from friendship into a long distance relationship, and now into marriage, and we want to make sure that we take all the proper steps so that we can stay together.
> 
> I came to Australia August 25, 2015-November 19, 2015 and came back again Dec 1, 2015 on my ETA visa, that allows me to stay in Australia for 3 months at a time. We have been living here together since August, got married January 10th, 2016, and we want to relocate to the U.S.A. so we can start our lives together. The U.S.A. is where my family resides. I have been living with my father, assisting him with his health needs. My father also knows our situation, he has offered for us to live with him in his home (that he owns) and is also happy to assist as a household member to sponsor my husband.
> 
> We are in need of some legal advice and guidance, through a free . I would like to know what my options are for extending my visa, with out leaveing az so that I am able to stay here with my husband, while we are waiting for his U.S. marriage visa to process-so he is able to come back to the U.S. with me. It is very expensive and exhausting to go back and forth to the U.S. every 3 months and we don't want to be apart anymore than we already have been. We have been told the U.S. marriage visa could take approximately 6-8 months, and that time could vary, depending on each case.
> 
> Thank you for your time and in reading my concern consideration, we look forward to hearing from you guyz. We just want to be able to stay together, while awaiting the process of being able to go back to the U.S. and finally settle down.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Achieco -

Thanks for the note. Yes, the visa could be refused if you do not submit all PCC's required or get a waiver from DIBP for any you cannot obtain. I expect DIBP will want solid proof that UAE refuses to provide the PCC rather than just a pkg was delivered and nothing happened after that (ie, no proof of what was in the pkg, etc). I would suggest taking further steps to document UAE's position on your application, and if you can get evidence they will not provide the PCC, then go to DIBP with that evidence and formally request a waiver of the PCC (they will ask you to sign a declaration in that case).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Achieco said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just received a request from my CO for additional requirements. Police Clearance from Canada by RCMP and United Arab Emirates. I was able to submit RCMP couple of days ago. While my PCC from UAE, I already explained in my letter that I wasn't able to get one, it took me 3 months to finish the whole process, submitted the request to UAE, based on tracking it was received, then nothing came back to me here in Canada. I gave her all the proof that I did sent the request including the official receipt from UAE Embassy here in Canada.Also, I submitted 3 character references from UAE (my boss, my colleague, my church mate) to support my application and as proof that I am a good person.
> 
> My question is, will my failure to submit PCC from UAE may cause refusal of my 309/100 application? Although I already submitted PCC from Canada and Philippines?
> 
> Need your view on this situation.
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tillsen -

Thanks for the note. I believe there are very limited provisions for persons outside Australia to take the citizenship test and oath outside Australia, but utilising those provisions is not easy (from what I've heard) and requires very compelling reasons. I would suggest following up directly with Australian citizenship (check the citizenship website) and see if you can get any commitment from them on whether your job circumstances would be seen as sufficiently compelling to be able to access any provisions for the test/oath being done offshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tillsen said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding citizenship. I can apply for citizenship on August the 3rd of this year. I would be living in Australia for 4 years then and will be on PR for 1.5 years.
> 
> My problem. I have a job offer and might leave Australia in late June. This means I have been in Australia for a bit more than 9 months in the year before I apply for apply for the citizenship. So I would mean the requirements. However, as I won't be in Australia on the 3rd of August I can't apply or sit the test in Australia. Can I apply and sit the test outside of Australia, in an Australian Embassy? I read somewhere I need to be in Australia at the time of the decision. Is that correct?
> 
> Many thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Spiedze -

Thanks for the note. Re: online applications, for statements from overseas persons who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents, generally OK to have statement signed & dated by person and a copy of their passport biodata page included. Also helps to put their phone number on the statement. No need generally to have these witnessed or otherwise confirmed by a third party.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



spiedze said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently collecting evidence for 820 visa application.
> 
> We have the two required statutory declarations from Aussie citizens/permanent residents. But also, my family/friends in UK are writing us statements.
> 
> My question is - can these statements just be dated and signed and a passport copy attached, or would their signatures have to be witnessed and passport copies certified?
> 
> I have been reading this forum a lot, and have seen some contradicting information, so not sure what is the best thing to do.
> 
> Certifying documents and witnessing signatures is expensive and time consuming in UK, and I am not sure whether my family/friends will be able to do it...
> 
> If anyone else knows or has experience with this, please let me know.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dsbhough -

Thanks for the note. I would check the ACS site carefully, including the summary of criteria. With a non-IT Bachelor degree, I believe you may have to look at the RPL pathway at ACS which requires 6 years of experience, but don't know enough about your circumstances to give you specific advice for your application.

Skills assessment required for skilled visa applications, however no points awarded for getting the skills assessment - it's a requirement though.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dsbhough said:


> Hi
> 
> I'm a 31 year old British male and I'm wondering about the chances of having a successful visa application.
> 
> I currently work as a Management Information Executive (Business Intelligence / Data Analysis), and I have been working in this field for the past two years. I believe - but I'm not certain - that I require three years experience for this to be counted by ACS. If I do not meet this requirement, am I still able to apply for visa to work in Australia? I have a Bachelors degree, but in a totally unrelated field (Politics) - would I still be eligible to receive the 15 points for this?
> 
> If I understand correctly:
> 
> 31 years old - 30 points
> Bachelors degree - 15 points
> English - 10 or 20 points
> 
> ..and I'm unaware if I would receive points for the skills assessment.
> 
> Many thanks for any help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ninuzza -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ninuzza said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for your help!
> 
> My husband has Certificate IV as Civil Engineering Technician, in few months he'll obtain Diploma for Project Management through RPL, IELTS 5.5 overall, over 9 years experience as Construction Project Management.
> 
> I've just obtained my Bachelor in Marketing, and have been working in Marketing (Marketing specialist the last 2 years) in ICT companies for over 7 years. IELTS 7.5 overall.
> 
> My husband has an aunt (father's sister) who is willing to sponsor us if necessary + their son-in-law company wants to hire him because they need employee with his qualifications + they know what all he's capable of and they want him.
> 
> Now, *what is our best visa option?*
> 
> Just to mention that the company will do whatever's necessary to first, be approved as a sponsor, and second, nominate the position. They are a company that has been operating for over 25 years now....
> 
> All the best!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shruthi -

I don't know enough about your personal circumstances to give you specific advice for your application (can do this via consultation though - see website link in signature below), however generally speaking, a secondary 489 visa holder can become the primary applicant for an 887 visa if they meet all the primary applicant requirements - essentially the primary and secondary 489 holders can switch places on the 887.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



suresh.selvaraj said:


> Good Morning Mark.
> 
> My name is Shruthi (Primary applicant) and currently I am residing in Adelaide under (Skilled - Regional Sponsored (subclass 489).
> 
> Under Pathways to permanent residence, to apply for a 887 Visa I am required to stay in SA for 2 years and have 1 year of full time employment but I have been un-employed however my husband (Dependant Applicant - under Visa 489) he is been working full time all this while.
> 
> I would like to enquire, since he is under Visa 489 and if we complete 2 years in SA with 1 year full time employment is he eligible to apply for Visa 887 as a primary applicant and i being his dependant? please advice.
> 
> If he is not eligible, is there any other way to apply for a PR under our current circumstance. Please advice.
> 
> Thanks
> Shruthi.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandeep -

I would suggest that you be very careful of the information you provide and ensure that while it must be accurate, that it does not conflict with anything you previously provided to them on any other visa application or the current application. Mistakes on visa applications should be corrected by using Form 1023.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sandec said:


> Dear Mr. Mark
> 
> I lodged my 190 Skilled Visa on 10 October 2015. CO was assigned on 26 November 2015 and asked for PCC, Health Examination and Form 1221. All the requested documents were submitted on 16 December 2015.
> 
> Then, on 18 January 2016, I got E-mail from Skilled support team regarding additional information on my case. (Reason for Refusal as i earlier got refusal for Student Visa for Canada and Tourist Visa for USA), (Gaps: Time Occupied by me and Financial support in this period).
> 
> Can any body have any information about Skilled Support team?
> 
> Further i did one mistake in form filling regarding education dates. Later on i corrected all dates when i sent email to skilled support team. Will it put any impact on my Visa application?
> 
> Waiting for reply.....
> 
> Thanks & Regards,
> Sandeep


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bilalali -

Thanks for the note. The rules for student visa funding sources vary based on the assessment level of the application, "acceptable financial institution" rules and other factors - too complex to work out here on the forum - happy to assist you at a consultation - see website below in my signature fore more.

Best,

Mark Northam



bilalali said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> This is Bilal here. I have got full fee waiver at Australian National University for my PhD in Business and Economics. But no funding.
> 
> Now I am going to apply for my visa. I got to know that I have to show my financial capacity of covering living expenses since my fee is already covered so I just need to show that I do have sufficient money to cover my first year living expenses in Australia.
> 
> My uncle has transferred 23 lakhs in my bank account two days ago and I am going to apply for visa in 4 days. But I cannot show ''source of income'' because this is the money which my uncle has given me.
> 
> So can anyone please tell me if ''source of income'' is mandatory to be shown?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fion -

I know of no way for multiple ImmiAccounts to have visibility to the same application currently. Will let you know if this changes.

Best,

Mark Northam



fiontong said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Just a light re-cap: I submitted my 820/801 onshore partner visa application on line thur a Registered Migration Agent. I can set up my IMMI account but I cant retrieve my own record under my application, is a blank page nothing on these immiAccount page.
> 
> May I know any update on these?
> 
> Thank you
> fion


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussie81 -

Pls see my response a few posts ago to the OP. Yes, it's generally possible to switch places for 887 applications, but you must be careful that the primary applicant meets all requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussie81 said:


> Hi,
> Did you receive any response to your query? Please share you experience.
> 
> I am in a similar situation and would like to know if my wife can use my immi account to lodge 887 application. I was the primary applicant in 489 application. Now she is going to be primary applicant for 887.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abshaito -

Thanks for the note. All states have different procedures and policies - best to visit the skilled migration site for the state you are interested in and read the rules and procedures very carefully.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abshaito said:


> Dear Mark.
> How to get sponsorship approval from a state that is currently sponsoring that occupation in CSOL not SOL. Is there a special form? How to get the approval?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swadhwa -

Thanks for the note, but not enough info to respond. See individual skills assessor's site for their policies on reviews/reassessments - they are all different.

Best,

Mark Northam



swadhwa said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I was recently communicated by the advisory that they cannot provide advise and counsel if there has been a negative skill assessment result. I think as per the website they do offer service post facto as well
> Please advise
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Physalis -

Thanks for the note. The "100 visa" shows up by default for all offshore partner visas. You can take the medicals at any time you wish leading up to a request from DIBP to take them - many people now wait several months after application before taking the medicals as partner visas now routinely take 12-18 months to process, and people are concerned about their medical results expiring in 12 months prior to the grant of a visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Physalis said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> just got a quick question regarding health assessment. I am from a low risk Country (Germany) but have spent some time in TB risk countries.
> I have submitted my 309 offshore application today and started uploading evidence. I just saw that the following came up:
> 
> "This person is required to complete health examinations for this visa application. Click on the link below to organise these health examinations."
> 
> In the referral letter it also states that I am applying for 100 permanent visa.
> 
> I am confused. Do I actually already do my medicals or do I wait until a CO asks me for them, so they do not expire. If I have to get them organised soon, I will have Troubles because we have got Holidays booked in 10 days for a few weeks.
> 
> Thanks a lot for bringing some light into this!!!
> 
> Physalis


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sri0410 -

Thanks for the note. Wish I had more info for you, but DIBP can take as long as they want with any visa application, with no refunds available if you choose to withdraw the application. Unfair? Yes. But that's the system.

Re: delays, no way to tell for sure, but I'm guessing based on your information that the application may be held up due to external security checking. If that's the case, DIBP can't proceed until the report comes back from whatever security organisation, etc it may have been requested from.

DIBP has the ability to manually extend the validity period of police certificates and does this from time to time - it's a judgment call by the case officer as whether to do this or not. Wish there was more I could suggest, but waiting is probably the best thing at the moment to see what DIBP says next.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sri0410 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I had applied for the migration visa to Australia under Subclass 190. As a part of the character evidence, I have submitted the following documents.
> 1) The Police clearance from Singapore Police where I worked as a professional since March 2009 to March 2014
> 2) Police clearance from Maldives police where I worked as a professional from April 2008 to January 2009
> 
> Apart from the above clearances, I was asked to submit a clearance from my native country (Sri Lanka) also to be submitted. However, it was very difficult for me to obtain the clearance from Sri Lankan police though I had applied for it couple of times on 18th March, 2013 in the first time. As I didn't get any reply for my application until end of October I have made a written enquiry to the police department and I have received a reply from police department saying that I haven't state in my application that where I was living during the period between 2007-2010 and was asked to apply again if I need a new certificate. Hence I have applied again 8th of November, 2013 as a second time. Several reminder emails and phone calls made to the processing agency also turned out to be unattended for Long time.Furthermore,I have notified them that if they have any misleading information I am willing to come down to police department for any enquiry . All these efforts turned out to be in no action.hence,I wrote a statutory declaration explaining my situation to the department as per my case officer'srequest on 19th February 2014.
> Followings are corespondent details
> I lodged my visa 17th September 2013
> Statutory declaration submitted 19th February 2014
> Submit Form 80 as second time 21 June 2014 as per case officers request
> Submit Form 1399 on 28 January 2015 as per case officers request
> In 21st April 2015,I was asked to do the medical and police check up as second time because of my previous clearances are expired .
> I was very happy that they have completed their assement and grant the visa if I submit the requested documents. So,I have submitted those requested documents by 21st May 2015. (I was traveled to Singapore to get that certificate.cost me a lot of money.travelling charge and stay in hotel for 3 days)But ,so far no reply from the department. My police clearances going to expired in another three months.
> The department will asked me to do those check up again as third time?
> How Long they will take to process my application??
> Apart from born as a Tamil in Sri Lanka ,I didn't do anything wrong as far as I know about myself.in that case ,why such a big punishment for me.
> I have request them to refund the money that I paid for immigration Australia if they can not proceed my application. They don't want to proceed or don't want to tell a valued reason??
> Thanks & regards
> Sti0419


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skl -

Thanks for the note. De facto partner application made after only 3 months living together and 10 month relationship is very risky unless you have a registered relationship certificate. Suggest you consult with a registered migration agent to have your application assessed re: the evidence to-date and get suggestions on possible ways to strengthen the application. The baby will be a big help re: the short relationship, but may not solve everything. No way for me to comment further without seeing the evidence you've already lodged, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



skl said:


> Hi Mark. Please need your advise. I have applied 12th of April,2015 820/801 visa. Around 75% evidences i upload are dated after our submission datr. We applied as a de facto after 10 months relationship but now we get married around 6 months ago and we have one baby. Me and my husband met at uni. My husband does not like to take a photo ( he doesnt have fb and wants to keep his privicy especially on social networks) so we dont have much photo and other evidences in the begining of our relationship ( just watsup chats and joint travel) We got assignments done together. Can it be an evidence? ( actually its how we met and started to know each other) At the time we applied we had been living around 3 months together. Now, we re living with his parents and doing savings for buying a house. My partner works FIFO 2 weeks on site and 1 week at home . As for myself, I work at IT company for about 1 year ( now on maternaty leave about 4 months) and have graduated recently uni as an International student. What do you think is it enough evidence? Shall I keep submitting new evidences? I'm worried that CO might find not enough evidence before we submit application and refuse on that base. Please let me know what you think. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clementt -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you use Form 1023 to correct all mistakes at your earliest convenience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Clementt said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have lodged my visa yesterday. I found out my family name and given name was the other way around. Also, HAP ID has been generated but not yet been booked.
> 
> In addition, I notice the mistake for my Bachelor study in Australia which should be 2008 instead of what I written in visa 20/07/2007. As for completion for bachelor study, there is nothing written on the Completion letter only award will be conferred on 3rd Dec so I put that date as completion. I am worried all this is wrong and might effect my visa.
> 
> As for the question if I have travel to Australia in the past 12 months or live in other country more than 12 months, I put 23/3/2015 and leave 26/11/2015 but I have been living in australia since 2008 and did leave australia on Jan/2015 and returned on 23/3/2015. I left australia on 26/11/2015 and been applying from my country.
> 
> Please advice on what I should do and I have uploaded everything recommended except National Police Check (Australia and My country), and Health Assessment.
> 
> Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Often a statement from the parent works re: living at their house, plus perhaps statements from others who have visited you there or know of your situation. Also mail, accounts, etc from each of you with the common address listed can be very helpful. No way to tell if the evidence may be "enough" without seeing the entire body of evidence to see how the living together situation is documented.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sigillum_diaboli666 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Would appreciate some quick advice on this matter: My partner & I have lodged our Partner Visa application in June 2015 and are awaiting outcome of TR. Since December 2015 we have been living in my mother's house (my mother, partner & me). The arrangement is, we pay for *utilities only, no rent* all the bills are in her name. How can we prove joint tenancy?? My mother has already completed/signed a Stat Dec 888 form outlining this situation - is that enough, or is more proof required?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi GA87 -

Normally this is automatic - ie, if visa is granted more than 2 years after the original application date, the PR visa is granted. You can certainly lodge a letter requesting this (politely) if you'd like.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GA87 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Is it possible to obtain 801 directly after a 3 year wait due to Schedule 3 breach which has been successfully overcome? If yes, is this something we must ask for or automatic?
> 
> They have asked for health check, AFP check, police check (Last 10 years) and form 1221, we have been together for nearly 5 years now..I want to know if there are any avenues to ask for 801 directly alongside these documents. Thank you for the all the help you provide to us!!
> 
> Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunshiner -

Once you have reciprocal Medicare in place via you being a UK citizen, this is sufficient for health insurance cover for a 457 visa, however you need to have that in place at the time of the application for the 457 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunshiner said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for your help before, please can you tell me if I would be entitled to join medicare on a 457 visa as my country (uk) has a reciprocal agreement?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arpanpatel78692 -

Thanks for the note. Re: work experience, you will need to update this manually in your EOI to reflect current figures. DIBP doesn't work on date numbers as large as you indicated - instead it works based on day-1 to determine a year of work - ie, January 5, 2015 through January 4 2016 would be one year of work exactly.

No way to predict state sponsorship likelihood of success - too many factors and subjective opinions by states.

Best,

Mark Northam



arpanpatel78692 said:


> Hi,
> Mark,
> 
> I am new register in this group,
> I have some doubts,
> 
> How EOI automatically count experience ,
> Is it like if 2920 days in 8 years so if once 2920 days will complete then automatically it will be reached 8 years ,or else we need to update it manually,
> 
> How many chances to get invite in NSW on basis of 60+5 points with ICT code 263111,
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## michael1234

Hello Mark,

My question is about the following situation:

I work at a certain company and during the processing of a 189 visa I may leave the place of work willingly (i.e. not fired or anything like that). I work in Australia (currently on Graduate visa), so it isn't that I am leaving due to moving to Australia, but simply because I don't wish to work there anymore.
I plan to look for another place of work but only within a few months. Can this hurt my chances of being granted the 189 visa? I satisfy all the conditions still. 

Mostly I am worried that this can be interpreted by DIBP in one of the following ways, leading to rejection:
1. I am now unemployed, so more likely to live off welfare (or something of that sort viewing me as a burdain to society)
2. I am not genuinely interested in working in my nominated occupation

Any thoughts about this?
Any feedback would be of help.

Cheers.


----------



## Beshoy Adel

*Skilled migration from Egypt*

Hello, I asked this in a separate thread but obviously I can't wait to gather all the info. sufficient to go to Australia  Thanks a lot for your effort to help people out. I have 3 questions:

1- About the points system: does the work experience or the two years accredited certificate have to be from Australia, how so? Will the two years certificate be sufficient without work experience if I could have a degree from an online Australian college while I'm here in Egypt?

2- Do I have to apply for the same major I did in Egypt, for example I'm a senior student in an architecture school, but I'd like to work as a translator/interpreter (If I took an online accredited course from Australia for example) so can this happen, if so how?

3- Will skilled migration eventually qualify me for applying to citizenship. And will it enable me to sponsor my sisters after they graduate (both studying in college right now) and my parents to live in Australia too (They're both above 50 years old) I heard it's after becoming a permanent resident but how long does it take.

I'm sorry for the length of this post but I have little to no info. about Australia so  Thanks a lot.


----------



## Lionbio

*visitor visa*

Hi Mark,

It is nice to see your quick and helpful replies. I am writing here on behalf of mu husband. He is now in India and wants to apply for Australian visitor visa. We have our closed friends there and he wants to meet them as he finished his studies in Germany and now he wants to travel a bit. But as you know applications from India are always at high risk of rejection i am asking for some suggestions. As he has just finished his studies he does not have job in India now. As he only intends to travel a bit and come back to Germany (i am working in Germany) to live with me. What are the good / genuine reasons he could give or submit documents to show this. As we are/ he was living in Germany we have our savings here not in India. But he has his parent savings in India of course. Does that help to prove financial background in home country. Anyway i am supporting his whole trip and also we have invitation letter from our friends in Australia.

What else or exactly what could help in this kind of situation? As i read posts about rejection due to unemployment i am wondering how could we prove his intention are fairly genuine ???

Any help would be great.


----------



## skl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Skl -
> 
> Thanks for the note. De facto partner application made after only 3 months living together and 10 month relationship is very risky unless you have a registered relationship certificate. Suggest you consult with a registered migration agent to have your application assessed re: the evidence to-date and get suggestions on possible ways to strengthen the application. The baby will be a big help re: the short relationship, but may not solve everything. No way for me to comment further without seeing the evidence you've already lodged, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark. Yeah we have registered our relationship in qld before we applied. Dont it waves 12 months living together requirement? Also, I was pregnant when we applied. if it helps we have savings for house and separate savings under our baby name, so she can use it when she get 18 years old.


----------



## Physalis

Hi Mark, 

thanks for your quick reply. Was getting nervous as it sounds so threatening.
Thought I might Need to do it before because I had lived in TB high risk countries.

But thank you so much for your quick reply. I will wait and get it done after my Holidays


----------



## mohammed omer

*inviting my family on visitors visa*

Hi mark,
I am on a 457 sponsored visa and want to bring over my wife and my son to Australia on a visitor's visa (subclass 600) i dont want to go with dependent 457 visa at the moment.
Will they be granted visitors visa for a period of 12months or i have to find some other option???
Plz suggest.

Kind regards
Omer


----------



## pinkiestar

Hi Mark,
Thankyou for your valuable time and reply.


----------



## surya11

Great Mark, Thanks for your kind advice and your valuable time. I will follow your directions.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Surya11 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No way to proceed with skilled visa application or state sponsorship application for skilled visa without a positive skills assessment - you'll have to lodge a review at VETASSESS and see what arguments you can make - I'd take a careful look at the ANZSCO tasks for your occupation and see you how can make a matrix or chart that shows how each job's tasks/responsibilities maps well to the ANZSCO tasks.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## fiontong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fion -
> 
> I know of no way for multiple ImmiAccounts to have visibility to the same application currently. Will let you know if this changes.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thank you again. Noted, there say ImmiAccounts cant be concurrent in between agent and me...

Best, Fion


----------



## sandec

*Query Related to 1023 Form*

Thanks for your suggestion Mr. Mark

I have one more query as i have already sent email with all corrections to Skilled support officer. Would it be wise to fill 1023 form now and send it to assigned case officer.

Waiting for your reply...

Thanks & Regards,
Sandeep



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sandeep -
> 
> I would suggest that you be very careful of the information you provide and ensure that while it must be accurate, that it does not conflict with anything you previously provided to them on any other visa application or the current application. Mistakes on visa applications should be corrected by using Form 1023.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## pritamawal9849

Hello, i want to know that after submitting the change of circumstances of marital status, when will i get reply and how? How can i know about the circumstances reply?


----------



## sunilraj

Hi Mark,

I have applied for Australian PR under visa 190 skilled migration. I'm in a dilemma if I could change the occupation code for the EOI submitted. I'm ready to do skill assessment again. Basically i'm a supply chain and procurement professional. Currently working as Supply Chain Analyst for the past 4 yrs and prior to this company , I was working with Hewlett-Packard(HP) as Senior Procurement Associate for 3 yrs. During my initial days of process, i couldn't see the anzsco code related to this and later could find the code 224999 which included as procurement specialist. So, I have selected this code. But, sad thing is no state has opened for this code in 2015 and my EOI has submitted on Apr 1 2015 initially for ACT(since ACT was only state opened per previous histroy). This occupation code was not called by ACT this time and later in Aug 2015, EOI was changed to NSW based on CSOL priority 2 list. Since then, I'm eagerly awaiting for invitation. 


So, please let me know if I could go ahead with other ANZSCO code matching to my profile. 


Sunil


----------



## MarcellusF

*Form 118 for 4 month old.*

Hi Mark, here's hoping you can help.

I am an Australian citizen by birth and I'm applying for Aussie citizenship for my baby girl who was born in Italy. The sticking point for us has been the identity declaration. Effectively, at such a tender age, she hasn't met any Australians (or Italians for that matter) with approved occupations/authority (eg. Justice of the Peace etc.) to confirm her identity and that she's the child of who she's supposed to be. I'm in Oz at the moment with all the relevant docs and pics while my wife and baby are on a hilltop village quite far from any Aussie embassy or the like...

I did call the Dep. of Border Control, and they said that since she's so young, we could fill out a statutory declaration and get that witnessed etc. since it's quite reasonable that a child so young and on the other side of the planet to not have access to the relevant people.

So, my belated question is: What to include in the Stat Dec? What are they looking for? I guess they're not looking for my life story, but I don't want to under shoot it in any way. We have a family friend who's known me all my life who is also a JP, so that side of things is covered.

Regards.


----------



## nimbuz

Hi Mark, please help!

On my 90th day from visa submission, 2rd CO asked for USA and FBI clearance although I've never visited USA. All the companies that I have worked for as based in USA and I worked remotely. 

What should I do now? Sure, I can explain them that I was a remote employee, but does it make me subject to employment checks? I'm worried because my friends have left the company so I'm not sure if they'll respond favorably. Just so you know, I'm not claiming points for work experience though.

Thanks!


----------



## Achieco

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Achieco -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Yes, the visa could be refused if you do not submit all PCC's required or get a waiver from DIBP for any you cannot obtain. I expect DIBP will want solid proof that UAE refuses to provide the PCC rather than just a pkg was delivered and nothing happened after that (ie, no proof of what was in the pkg, etc). I would suggest taking further steps to document UAE's position on your application, and if you can get evidence they will not provide the PCC, then go to DIBP with that evidence and formally request a waiver of the PCC (they will ask you to sign a declaration in that case).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark, CO advised me to request a copy of my UAE PCC from Canada Immigration which I submitted 4 yrs ago when I was applying to migrate here in Canada. Hope to receive the document next week.
I'm hoping it's a positive sign from my CO.

Best Regards,


----------



## simon.ghosh

Hi Mark,

I have lodged my application recently, while getting the medical examination done came to know that my wife (who is dependant applicant) has diabetes. How much impact will it have on my visa application?


----------



## jamielannister

Hi Mark
welcome to 2016
I have a question irrelevant to my case. My friend had his 457 refused cuz he did not get his occupation skills assessed by Vetasses. He applied for 457 based on his job as operation manager of a security firm. According to him Vetassess does not assess his occupation therefore he had it assessed by a private assessor which DIBP objected to and let to his refusal. Now his case is lined up at AAT for hearing. Do you think a some one can assess the skills other than Vetassess ?
Have a great day


----------



## rajat_delhi

HiMark 
Need help. 

I am a diabetic and I am on Insulin. Back in 2013, I was diagnosed with Diabetic retinopathy and had undergone surgery in both the eyes. I can see from the left eye but cannot read. Since then I am doing well and I am not on any treatment or medication.

Do I stand a chance to get the Australia PR?


----------



## slimguy_234

Hello Mark,

In updating an active application for Visa 189, specifically for a new born, can you please advice if form1022 is adequate? i actually reviewed the for and found no specific information pertaining to new births. 

please advice.

many thanks in anticipation.

SlimGuy.


----------



## ranju

*skillselect login issue*

Hello Everyone,

I got a invite to apply for visa, but i am unable to login to skill select (forgot password)
Now i am unable to reset the password with my passport details as well...

what do i do ....have mailed the tech support waiting for reply..

The help from skillselect website says delete and create a new one .........*.My question is if i create new EOI will still have the invite there ???????*


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Michael1234 -

Thanks for the note. As the 189 application focuses on your previous work experience (if you claim it for points) and previous education, etc, your current work experience is not likely to play a role in the decision. The factors you mentioned are not part of the assessment process, so I don't see how the issues you raise would negatively impact your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



michael1234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My question is about the following situation:
> 
> I work at a certain company and during the processing of a 189 visa I may leave the place of work willingly (i.e. not fired or anything like that). I work in Australia (currently on Graduate visa), so it isn't that I am leaving due to moving to Australia, but simply because I don't wish to work there anymore.
> I plan to look for another place of work but only within a few months. Can this hurt my chances of being granted the 189 visa? I satisfy all the conditions still.
> 
> Mostly I am worried that this can be interpreted by DIBP in one of the following ways, leading to rejection:
> 1. I am now unemployed, so more likely to live off welfare (or something of that sort viewing me as a burdain to society)
> 2. I am not genuinely interested in working in my nominated occupation
> 
> Any thoughts about this?
> Any feedback would be of help.
> 
> Cheers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beshoy Adel -

Thanks for the question. Re: 1, not sure what you are referring to re "accredited certificate" - can't answer the question without knowing that. Re: 2, same issue, not sure what visa you are asking about. Re: 3, no visas in the family visa category to sponsor brothers or sisters, however parents can be sponsored but unless you can pay approx $47,000 per parent, there is a 30 year wait in the queue for parent visas.

Will try to help re: 1 & 2 if you can be more specific about the visa you are interested in and the specific question you have about it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Beshoy Adel said:


> Hello, I asked this in a separate thread but obviously I can't wait to gather all the info. sufficient to go to Australia  Thanks a lot for your effort to help people out. I have 3 questions:
> 
> 1- About the points system: does the work experience or the two years accredited certificate have to be from Australia, how so? Will the two years certificate be sufficient without work experience if I could have a degree from an online Australian college while I'm here in Egypt?
> 
> 2- Do I have to apply for the same major I did in Egypt, for example I'm a senior student in an architecture school, but I'd like to work as a translator/interpreter (If I took an online accredited course from Australia for example) so can this happen, if so how?
> 
> 3- Will skilled migration eventually qualify me for applying to citizenship. And will it enable me to sponsor my sisters after they graduate (both studying in college right now) and my parents to live in Australia too (They're both above 50 years old) I heard it's after becoming a permanent resident but how long does it take.
> 
> I'm sorry for the length of this post but I have little to no info. about Australia so  Thanks a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lionbio -

Thanks for the question. I'd look for any evidence of ties of any kind to India that he (or you) have. These can be any kind of obligations including family obligations, caring for others, financial obligations, educational obligations, etc. Also, go for a short visa (1-3 months max) and include a specific itinerary of all the places you want to visit included with the invitation letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lionbio said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> It is nice to see your quick and helpful replies. I am writing here on behalf of mu husband. He is now in India and wants to apply for Australian visitor visa. We have our closed friends there and he wants to meet them as he finished his studies in Germany and now he wants to travel a bit. But as you know applications from India are always at high risk of rejection i am asking for some suggestions. As he has just finished his studies he does not have job in India now. As he only intends to travel a bit and come back to Germany (i am working in Germany) to live with me. What are the good / genuine reasons he could give or submit documents to show this. As we are/ he was living in Germany we have our savings here not in India. But he has his parent savings in India of course. Does that help to prove financial background in home country. Anyway i am supporting his whole trip and also we have invitation letter from our friends in Australia.
> 
> What else or exactly what could help in this kind of situation? As i read posts about rejection due to unemployment i am wondering how could we prove his intention are fairly genuine ???
> 
> Any help would be great.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skl -

Registered relationship certificate will satisfy the 12 month de facto relationship requirement (for 12 months prior to applying), but given the short relationship you'll need to make the most out of any relationship evidence you have, and provide good evidence of the pregnancy including proof that you were pregnant at the time of application. Beyond the 12 month assessment, DIBP will assess the relationship evidence to determine whether they believe you had a genuine relationship at the time of application and going forward.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



skl said:


> Thanks a lot Mark. Yeah we have registered our relationship in qld before we applied. Dont it waves 12 months living together requirement? Also, I was pregnant when we applied. if it helps we have savings for house and separate savings under our baby name, so she can use it when she get 18 years old.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Omer -

Thanks for the question. No good way to predict chances of success with visitor visas these days - very unpredictable. I'd probably think about a shorter visa to start (3 months or 6 months) as DIBP may believe that a stay of 12 months is not compatible with "tourism" purposes which is the purpose of the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mohammed omer said:


> Hi mark,
> I am on a 457 sponsored visa and want to bring over my wife and my son to Australia on a visitor's visa (subclass 600) i dont want to go with dependent 457 visa at the moment.
> Will they be granted visitors visa for a period of 12months or i have to find some other option???
> Plz suggest.
> 
> Kind regards
> Omer


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Sandeep -

I can't answer that unless I have all the details on the proposed correction and how it relates to the visa application - happy to assist you at a consultation - see website below for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



sandec said:


> Thanks for your suggestion Mr. Mark
> 
> I have one more query as i have already sent email with all corrections to Skilled support officer. Would it be wise to fill 1023 form now and send it to assigned case officer.
> 
> Waiting for your reply...
> 
> Thanks & Regards,
> Sandeep


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pritamawal9849 -

Often DIBP does not acknowledge receipt of these forms or processing of them, so you'd have to contact them directly to determine whether they have processed the form yet or not. See DIBP contact info at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection

Best,

Mark Northam



pritamawal9849 said:


> Hello, i want to know that after submitting the change of circumstances of marital status, when will i get reply and how? How can i know about the circumstances reply?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunilraj -

Thanks for the question. I'd first see if you can get a positive skills assessment for the new occupation, then either change the occupation on your existing EOI (if the system allows you to do that) and put in your new skills assessment info, etc or put in a new EOI with the new info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunilraj said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied for Australian PR under visa 190 skilled migration. I'm in a dilemma if I could change the occupation code for the EOI submitted. I'm ready to do skill assessment again. Basically i'm a supply chain and procurement professional. Currently working as Supply Chain Analyst for the past 4 yrs and prior to this company , I was working with Hewlett-Packard(HP) as Senior Procurement Associate for 3 yrs. During my initial days of process, i couldn't see the anzsco code related to this and later could find the code 224999 which included as procurement specialist. So, I have selected this code. But, sad thing is no state has opened for this code in 2015 and my EOI has submitted on Apr 1 2015 initially for ACT(since ACT was only state opened per previous histroy). This occupation code was not called by ACT this time and later in Aug 2015, EOI was changed to NSW based on CSOL priority 2 list. Since then, I'm eagerly awaiting for invitation.
> 
> So, please let me know if I could go ahead with other ANZSCO code matching to my profile.
> 
> Sunil


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MarcellusF -

Thanks for the question. I would get contact info from the Australian Citizenship website and contact them by phone to get the specific requirements (which can change!) that are currently in place. DFAT may also be helpful here. They used to have a form for this if I recall, but haven't done one of these recently. If they do not have a form, they should be able to provide you with some sort of checklist or reference document so you won't be on your own re: content of the statutory declaration.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MarcellusF said:


> Hi Mark, here's hoping you can help.
> 
> I am an Australian citizen by birth and I'm applying for Aussie citizenship for my baby girl who was born in Italy. The sticking point for us has been the identity declaration. Effectively, at such a tender age, she hasn't met any Australians (or Italians for that matter) with approved occupations/authority (eg. Justice of the Peace etc.) to confirm her identity and that she's the child of who she's supposed to be. I'm in Oz at the moment with all the relevant docs and pics while my wife and baby are on a hilltop village quite far from any Aussie embassy or the like...
> 
> I did call the Dep. of Border Control, and they said that since she's so young, we could fill out a statutory declaration and get that witnessed etc. since it's quite reasonable that a child so young and on the other side of the planet to not have access to the relevant people.
> 
> So, my belated question is: What to include in the Stat Dec? What are they looking for? I guess they're not looking for my life story, but I don't want to under shoot it in any way. We have a family friend who's known me all my life who is also a JP, so that side of things is covered.
> 
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nimbuz -

Thanks for the question. If you are not claiming the work for points, I don't see the issue - I'd explain the situation to the CO and see if you can provide some evidence that you were not in the USA when you worked there. A scan of your entire passport might be helpful as it would show all the entry/exit stamps for the period and would show nothing from USA, as would evidence of your living circumstances (ie, lease, etc) where you were at the time(s). You can also ask DIBP what evidence they would need to satisfy themselves that you did not visit the USA.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nimbuz said:


> Hi Mark, please help!
> 
> On my 90th day from visa submission, 2rd CO asked for USA and FBI clearance although I've never visited USA. All the companies that I have worked for as based in USA and I worked remotely.
> 
> What should I do now? Sure, I can explain them that I was a remote employee, but does it make me subject to employment checks? I'm worried because my friends have left the company so I'm not sure if they'll respond favorably. Just so you know, I'm not claiming points for work experience though.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Simon -

Thanks for the question. In many cases people with diabetes will not encounter issues with the visa medical criteria, however it depends on a variety of factors including the trajectory of the condition (ie, worsening, constant, etc) and potentially any related risk factors such as obseity, etc. Not a lot you can do at this point but wait to see if DIBP believes she does not meet the health criteria. Depending on the visa, you may be able to then lodge a waiver application to argue that the overall benefits of her and you to Australia outweighs the anticipated medical costs of her condition. However again, in the absence of additional factors, diabetes by itself is often not a reason for a health criteria failure.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



simon.ghosh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have lodged my application recently, while getting the medical examination done came to know that my wife (who is dependant applicant) has diabetes. How much impact will it have on my visa application?


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Jamielannister -

Thanks for the question. Each nomination on the CSOL list for the 457 visa has a nominated assessor. If the CSOL list (at the time of application) indicated Vetassess as the nominated assessor and Vetassess refused to assess him for that occupation for the sole reason that they claim not to be the nominated assessor for the application, that's a very unusual situation indeed. If your friend is going to the AAT, I'd suggest he/she get professional assistance as some legal research into the situation might be very helpful. There are a number of things that could be happening here - I've seen where DIBP will require a skills assessment from a particular assessor except the assessor they mention is not the correct assessor for the occupation, etc - need to sort out the details here to be able to predict chances of success at the AAT.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamielannister said:


> Hi Mark
> welcome to 2016
> I have a question irrelevant to my case. My friend had his 457 refused cuz he did not get his occupation skills assessed by Vetasses. He applied for 457 based on his job as operation manager of a security firm. According to him Vetassess does not assess his occupation therefore he had it assessed by a private assessor which DIBP objected to and let to his refusal. Now his case is lined up at AAT for hearing. Do you think a some one can assess the skills other than Vetassess ?
> Have a great day


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajat_delhi -

Yes, you have a chance, however difficult to predict chances of success without a medical costing done by DIBP (via Medical Officer of the Commonwealth). Normally diabetes by itself in many cases is fine for the health criteria. A potential issue would be if the MOC believes that there is a high likelihood of further eye or other treatment related to the diabetes. No good way to tell without going through the process and seeing what costs in addition to the diabetes may be anticipated by the MOC.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rajat_delhi said:


> HiMark
> Need help.
> 
> I am a diabetic and I am on Insulin. Back in 2013, I was diagnosed with Diabetic retinopathy and had undergone surgery in both the eyes. I can see from the left eye but cannot read. Since then I am doing well and I am not on any treatment or medication.
> 
> Do I stand a chance to get the Australia PR?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Slimguy_234 -

Yes that is adequate, however you also need to request that the baby be added to the application as a migrating dependent and pay the additional application fee for the baby - this is a critical step that you should follow up with the case officer on after you lodge Form 1022.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



slimguy_234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> In updating an active application for Visa 189, specifically for a new born, can you please advice if form1022 is adequate? i actually reviewed the for and found no specific information pertaining to new births.
> 
> please advice.
> 
> many thanks in anticipation.
> 
> SlimGuy.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ranju -

I would be surprised if the invitation "migrated" over from the existing EOI to a new one - I would keep on the tech support people and find a way to get your password reset for the existing EOI.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ranju said:


> Hello Everyone,
> 
> I got a invite to apply for visa, but i am unable to login to skill select (forgot password)
> Now i am unable to reset the password with my passport details as well...
> 
> what do i do ....have mailed the tech support waiting for reply..
> 
> The help from skillselect website says delete and create a new one .........*.My question is if i create new EOI will still have the invite there ???????*


----------



## dsbhough

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the reply.

So am I correct in thinking that if I get 20 points for the IELTS test I still have a chance of getting a visa, regardless of the skills assessment?

Thanks,
Dan



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dsbhough -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I would check the ACS site carefully, including the summary of criteria. With a non-IT Bachelor degree, I believe you may have to look at the RPL pathway at ACS which requires 6 years of experience, but don't know enough about your circumstances to give you specific advice for your application.
> 
> Skills assessment required for skilled visa applications, however no points awarded for getting the skills assessment - it's a requirement though.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## georginnes

Hey Mark! Great to hear you're back! 
So this is my situation:
I am Uruguayan girl married to an Australian guy. We got married  by a civil marriage (got marriage certificate and all that) in Uruguay last year.
We've been together living in Uruguay for more than a year. After getting married (last november 2015) we applied to a visitor visa for me to come to Australia so I could meet his family face-to-face and also as a mini honeymoon.
My visitor visa was rejected. Still don't know why...well..they might have thought I wanted to stay illegal in Australia which seems crazy to me. I am not that stupid.
The thing is that we had the tickets from Uruguay to Australia already (it did not cross our minds that such a stupid visa ,as a visitor is, would be refused)
Our tickets had a stop over in New Zealand so rather than losing our tickets, we came to New Zealand on a honeymoon. (I dont need a visa for new zealand if coming as visitor up for 3 months) Once we spent like a month here, my husband got offered a really good job and took it. We quit our jobs in Uruguay and decided to give it a chance.
I am now applying for a residence Partner visa in New Zealand (Australians in NZ are allowed to sponsor) and looks like it'll be granted. 
At the moment we have NO intention on moving to Australia for the next, let's say...10 years. However, me might consider moving to OZ once we have kids. My question is: 
Once I have permanent residence in NZ can I visit or move to Australia with my aussie husband without having to apply for a further spouse visa? or I still gotta go through all the hassle?

Thanks a lot!


----------



## Jessica1888

*form 1023*

Hi Mark,

its 7 months for my visa and im still in doubt if i should present the form 1023 since i cant remember well if i placed the corrected page in both 40sp & 47sp & also i forgot to copy those pages.. Im scared if it will further complicate my visa..some people say that my CO will contact if theres an error or call for interview...im soo confused.so far no interveiw..please can you help me as it has been bothering me alot..


----------



## ashaito

*Permanent Visa*

Dear Mark,

Hope youre doing well , I was granted a visa under subclass 189 , i did my first landing on 22 January. my question is how much time im allowed to stay outside the country without losing my visa knowing that its valid till October 2020.
My other question is , how much time should i stay within the country to be granted citizenship.

Thanks , 
Best regards


----------



## basvdk

Hi Mark,

Thanks again for this thread, it's a real goldmine for those of us going through the whole process.

Me and my partner are about to apply for the 820 visa, and i was wondering with regards to the future 801 application, does it matter if you live together in a shared house? I have read before that it seems to be okay for the 820, just wondering if they are more strict when assessing at the 801 stage. This would obviously affect the kind of accommodation we'll look for.

I was also wondering what documents need translation, is it necessary to get everything we have translated?

Thank you very much.

Bas


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dan -

A positive skills assessment is required for all skilled visas, so no way to proceed with a skilled visa without a positive skills assessment, regardless of points.

Best,

Mark Northam



dsbhough said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the reply.
> 
> So am I correct in thinking that if I get 20 points for the IELTS test I still have a chance of getting a visa, regardless of the skills assessment?
> 
> Thanks,
> Dan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Georginnes -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on your move to NZ. As a NZ permanent resident, you would face the same situation you do now re: visiting Australia, so no major change there, however the more time you spend together in your married relationship, the more the risk factor for an Australian visitor visa may decrease.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



georginnes said:


> Hey Mark! Great to hear you're back!
> So this is my situation:
> I am Uruguayan girl married to an Australian guy. We got married by a civil marriage (got marriage certificate and all that) in Uruguay last year.
> We've been together living in Uruguay for more than a year. After getting married (last november 2015) we applied to a visitor visa for me to come to Australia so I could meet his family face-to-face and also as a mini honeymoon.
> My visitor visa was rejected. Still don't know why...well..they might have thought I wanted to stay illegal in Australia which seems crazy to me. I am not that stupid.
> The thing is that we had the tickets from Uruguay to Australia already (it did not cross our minds that such a stupid visa ,as a visitor is, would be refused)
> Our tickets had a stop over in New Zealand so rather than losing our tickets, we came to New Zealand on a honeymoon. (I dont need a visa for new zealand if coming as visitor up for 3 months) Once we spent like a month here, my husband got offered a really good job and took it. We quit our jobs in Uruguay and decided to give it a chance.
> I am now applying for a residence Partner visa in New Zealand (Australians in NZ are allowed to sponsor) and looks like it'll be granted.
> At the moment we have NO intention on moving to Australia for the next, let's say...10 years. However, me might consider moving to OZ once we have kids. My question is:
> Once I have permanent residence in NZ can I visit or move to Australia with my aussie husband without having to apply for a further spouse visa? or I still gotta go through all the hassle?
> 
> Thanks a lot!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jessica1888 -

Wish I could help but no way to predict these things. If you're concerned about what you lodged, you could complete DIBP Form 424A to get a copy of your application under the Freedom of Information provisions - there's no charge, and you could then look at everything you lodged and make corrections via form 1023 as necessary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jessica1888 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> its 7 months for my visa and im still in doubt if i should present the form 1023 since i cant remember well if i placed the corrected page in both 40sp & 47sp & also i forgot to copy those pages.. Im scared if it will further complicate my visa..some people say that my CO will contact if theres an error or call for interview...im soo confused.so far no interveiw..please can you help me as it has been bothering me alot..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashaito -

Thanks for the questions. Re: PR, you should investigate the subclass 155 Resident Return Visa to learn more about options for renewing your PR re-entry rights. If you are in Australia for a total of 24 months during the 5 years of your initial PR, you generally can get an RRV visa for another 5 years of re-entry rights as a PR.

Re: citizenship, there is a 4-year residency requirement for citizenship - all details on the Australian Citizenship website including permissable time away from Australia during the 4 years and the 12 months prior to lodging a citizenship application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashaito said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hope youre doing well , I was granted a visa under subclass 189 , i did my first landing on 22 January. my question is how much time im allowed to stay outside the country without losing my visa knowing that its valid till October 2020.
> My other question is , how much time should i stay within the country to be granted citizenship.
> 
> Thanks ,
> Best regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bas -

Thanks for the questions. Re: living together, what matters is strong evidence that you are living together as a married (or de facto) couple. If you can get these from people who are in a position to know this for a fact, it doesn't really matter whether you're in a share house, apartment, or some other circumstances like living with parents. Not necessarily stricter at 801 than 820, however previously 801 was much easier to get through - now it seems they're giving a similar level of scrutiny to 801 as they do 820.

Re: translation, docs that need this are ID documents, statements, police certifications and other official documents unless there are English subtitles, etc. Relationship evidence like store and hotel receipts, travel reciepts and itineraries, etc generally do not need to be translated.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



basvdk said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks again for this thread, it's a real goldmine for those of us going through the whole process.
> 
> Me and my partner are about to apply for the 820 visa, and i was wondering with regards to the future 801 application, does it matter if you live together in a shared house? I have read before that it seems to be okay for the 820, just wondering if they are more strict when assessing at the 801 stage. This would obviously affect the kind of accommodation we'll look for.
> 
> I was also wondering what documents need translation, is it necessary to get everything we have translated?
> 
> Thank you very much.
> 
> Bas


----------



## Beshoy Adel

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Beshoy Adel -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Re: 1, not sure what you are referring to re "accredited certificate" - can't answer the question without knowing that. Re: 2, same issue, not sure what visa you are asking about.
> Mark Northam


First off Thanks a lot. What I'm asking about is independent skilled migration visa, subclass 189. I am graduating in about 5-6 months. So I don't have work experience whatsoever. I wanted to know if I can study online for example to get an Australian certificate that will replace the work experience because I want to leave just after graduation and not wait till I gain work experience. Some members here told me that there are some occupations that don't need work experience, I wanted to know more about that. Thanks a lot and sorry if anything is not clear.


----------



## subhashbohra

Hi Mark

Thanks for your help and guidance in advance, you are doing great help to me and other by providing your guidance.

I am planning to apply for Australia PR under independent skilled migration visa, subclass 189. I am Software Engineer (Software testing, software test automation) with 10+ years of work experience in INDIA. 

I recently took IELTS and got score L-7,R-7.5, W-6.5, S-6 (I took IELTS second time and this time I fluncked speaking). Overall it is 7 in IELTS.

I checked my score in different online score calculators and have doubt that few said you need overall 7 then you get 10 point and few said you need minimum of 7 in each sections. 

Can you please tell me what is the correct and am I eligible for Applying the PR or not. I got overall score of 65 in various calculators, if I consider 10 points in IELTS.

P.S.: My wife also took the IELTS and her score is also same overall 7 .

Please let me know do I need to take IELTS again (the third time) ?? or am I eligible for applying Australia PR.

Thank You
-Subhash


----------



## Antonio_syd

Hi Mark.

I have a question. I have already lodged a 457 visa application. However I was asked to provide a health waiver signed by my employer because of my medical condition. However, they backed out when I asked them about it. 

Now I'm back to square one. I want to know, can I use statutory declarations of my relatives to cover the estimated cost in the event I get hospitalised? This is in lieu of the health waiver. Or are there other ways to bypass having the employer sign the waiver?

Your response will be very much appreciated.

Thank you,
Antonio


----------



## Civilian

Hi Mark....

i am a civil engineer applied 189 subclass visa on 31st august 2015, got Co on 6th October and requested (PCC and health docs) i provided all the requested docs on 6th November 2015, since then i have heard nothing from them,only thing i know is they contacted my existing employer for verification i don't know how it went. i assume if it would not have gone well they would have contacted me to clarify as its 2 months gone since then. i am afraid my HR might have provided any wrong info as i am in KSA and employers don't like employees to leave. what can be the reason of delay ?? as 3 months are also over from request completed .... i am worried about this verification call ....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beshoy Adel -

Thanks for the clarification. From the DIBP (immigration dept) point of view, there is no work experience necessary for the subclass 189 visa if you can get the necessary skilled visa points via other means (ie, English, etc). However depending on your occupation and circumstances, you may need to have some minimum amount of work experience in order to pass a skills assessment from the nominated skills assessor for your occupation - this is a prerequisite to applying for a skilled visa. Suggest you check out the skills assessor for your occupation very carefully and determine their exact requirements, and if they include work experience.

Other than the professional year programs offered in IT and Engineering by approved organisations, I don't know of any study programs that would replace work experience requirements by skills assessors, but again you should check this carefully with your skills assessor as they all have different rules.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Beshoy Adel said:


> First off Thanks a lot. What I'm asking about is independent skilled migration visa, subclass 189. I am graduating in about 5-6 months. So I don't have work experience whatsoever. I wanted to know if I can study online for example to get an Australian certificate that will replace the work experience because I want to leave just after graduation and not wait till I gain work experience. Some members here told me that there are some occupations that don't need work experience, I wanted to know more about that. Thanks a lot and sorry if anything is not clear.


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Subhash -

Thanks for the note. I would not trust any online "score calculators" as they can be confusing, inaccurate, etc. What's worse, a miscalculated points claim discovered after lodging can cost you thousands of dollars if you have to withdraw your application due to mistakenly claiming too many points. Take the time, work out the points manually by looking at the rules for each category of points, and sleep better at night 

For DIBP purposes, overall IELTS score means nothing - with two exceptions (proving functional English for secondary applicants, or proving vocational English for a 457 visa). Other than those two exceptions, all that matters is the 4 band scores of the IELTS test. If you score 7 or above on all, you get 10 points towards a skilled visa. If any of the scores are below 7, you don't get those 10 points. For DIBP purposes, either General or Academic version of IELTS is accepted - no difference to DIBP, however some skills assessors require Academic.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



subhashbohra said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for your help and guidance in advance, you are doing great help to me and other by providing your guidance.
> 
> I am planning to apply for Australia PR under independent skilled migration visa, subclass 189. I am Software Engineer (Software testing, software test automation) with 10+ years of work experience in INDIA.
> 
> I recently took IELTS and got score L-7,R-7.5, W-6.5, S-6 (I took IELTS second time and this time I fluncked speaking). Overall it is 7 in IELTS.
> 
> I checked my score in different online score calculators and have doubt that few said you need overall 7 then you get 10 point and few said you need minimum of 7 in each sections.
> 
> Can you please tell me what is the correct and am I eligible for Applying the PR or not. I got overall score of 65 in various calculators, if I consider 10 points in IELTS.
> 
> P.S.: My wife also took the IELTS and her score is also same overall 7 .
> 
> Please let me know do I need to take IELTS again (the third time) ?? or am I eligible for applying Australia PR.
> 
> Thank You
> -Subhash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Antonio -

Unfortunately for the 457 health criteria under Reg 4006A, only an approved sponsor who has nominated the primary applicant (or has nominated the secondary applicant) can sign the health undertaking to satisfy this regulation. So no way to bypass the employer, however depending on your circumstances you might suggest to the employer that a deposit or bond could be made by you to the employer and held by the employer during the period of employment, which would be used by the employer only if a health costs claim is made. You could also have a contract in place with the employer that indemnifies (holds them not responsible) for any health costs claims and places all financial liability on you or a third party. While the employer would still have to sign the health undertaking, this additional side deal could at least provide the employer some sort of funding or recourse to you or the third party if a health claim occurred. While this may be too much of a hassle for some employers, depending on how badly they want you to work for them, this might do the trick - totally up to the employer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Antonio_syd said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> I have a question. I have already lodged a 457 visa application. However I was asked to provide a health waiver signed by my employer because of my medical condition. However, they backed out when I asked them about it.
> 
> Now I'm back to square one. I want to know, can I use statutory declarations of my relatives to cover the estimated cost in the event I get hospitalised? This is in lieu of the health waiver. Or are there other ways to bypass having the employer sign the waiver?
> 
> Your response will be very much appreciated.
> 
> Thank you,
> Antonio


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Civillian -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict delays, however we're seeing substantial delays for Pakistani applicants due to external security checks - these delays can go 6 months or longer. No way to predict whether the employment check went OK or not, but if they have been given negative information about your employment, they must provide this to you and give you an opportunity under the principal of natural justice to respond and present facts and information to refute the allegations or negative information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Civilian said:


> Hi Mark....
> 
> i am a civil engineer applied 189 subclass visa on 31st august 2015, got Co on 6th October and requested (PCC and health docs) i provided all the requested docs on 6th November 2015, since then i have heard nothing from them,only thing i know is they contacted my existing employer for verification i don't know how it went. i assume if it would not have gone well they would have contacted me to clarify as its 2 months gone since then. i am afraid my HR might have provided any wrong info as i am in KSA and employers don't like employees to leave. what can be the reason of delay ?? as 3 months are also over from request completed .... i am worried about this verification call ....


----------



## Rimmel

Hello Mark,

Is it possible for 820s to be granted before current student visa expires? Or do they wait till its expired to grant a case officer?


----------



## loading

Hi Mark,
Since 2013, I am in a long distance de facto relationship with my girlfriend. I lodged my visa and answered the following: 

Relationship status: De Facto
Are there any migrating family members included in this application? No
Does the applicant have any dependent family members not travelling to Australia who are not Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents? No

I will not include my girlfriend in my visa because i read that one of the requirements is living together. I'm just wondering if 
1. Is it correct I put in de facto even if we do not live together? Or should I put in never married instead?
> If i need to change to never married, i should submit form 1023 right? Will it cause any issue in my application in that case?
2. Do I need to provide proof of our de facto relationship even if she is not included in my visa application?
3. I do not see any portion in the visa lodge to put my girlfriend's name. Is this correct?

Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rimmel -

Yes, is definitely possible. If the student visa is still in effect when the partner visa is decided, if the partner visa is granted it will immediately replace the student visa. The partner visa would not be delayed just because the applicant has another current visa such as student, 457, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rimmel said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Is it possible for 820s to be granted before current student visa expires? Or do they wait till its expired to grant a case officer?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi loading -

Thanks for the note. If you have primarily a long distance relationship, it is unlikely that DIBP will consider that to be a de facto relationship so I would consider changing (via Form 1023) your status to "Never Married" if that is more accurate. If you do claim de facto, DIBP may ask you to provide evidence of the relationship even if the partner is not migrating, plus they will require the partner to submit health and police checks if you are claiming her as your de facto partner. I don't see any way that changing your status to never married would negatively impact your application - you can always say you didn't realise what the exact definition of de facto is.

Key issue also is whether you intend to claim the current time as time in a de facto relationship later on - assuming you do not, then no issue changing to never married - you can say that the relationship advanced to the level of a de facto relationship sometime after you put in the current visa application (ie, when you started living together in the future, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



loading said:


> Hi Mark,
> Since 2013, I am in a long distance de facto relationship with my girlfriend. I lodged my visa and answered the following:
> 
> Relationship status: De Facto
> Are there any migrating family members included in this application? No
> Does the applicant have any dependent family members not travelling to Australia who are not Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents? No
> 
> I will not include my girlfriend in my visa because i read that one of the requirements is living together. I'm just wondering if
> 1. Is it correct I put in de facto even if we do not live together? Or should I put in never married instead?
> > If i need to change to never married, i should submit form 1023 right? Will it cause any issue in my application in that case?
> 2. Do I need to provide proof of our de facto relationship even if she is not included in my visa application?
> 3. I do not see any portion in the visa lodge to put my girlfriend's name. Is this correct?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## Rimmel

Thank you so much Mark!  Great news from you!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rimmel -
> 
> Yes, is definitely possible. If the student visa is still in effect when the partner visa is decided, if the partner visa is granted it will immediately replace the student visa. The partner visa would not be delayed just because the applicant has another current visa such as student, 457, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Burnley213

Hello, 

I wondered if anyone knows about 186 timelines. I know it's roughly six months and that you don't necessarily get contacted from a CO.
My query is, I lodged it 26th august, 2015 and wasn't able to do the medical until 14th November, 2015. The immi login says it's been record and is being processed. 
Am I to presume the six months is from the august date or the November date? 
Im one if those people that just wants the process finalised, feels like it's been forever! 
Any help is greatly appreciated.


----------



## dsbhough

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dan -
> 
> A positive skills assessment is required for all skilled visas, so no way to proceed with a skilled visa without a positive skills assessment, regardless of points.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


That's quite disheartening (albeit, logical). Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Burnley213 -

Thanks for the note. Normally the time is from the date of lodgement, however we're seeing 186 applications taking a bit longer than normal currently - with any luck you'll hear something in the next 60 days I'm guessing, but that's only a guess. DIBP has no time limits on itself, so it can essentially take as long as it wants to decide a visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Burnley213 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I wondered if anyone knows about 186 timelines. I know it's roughly six months and that you don't necessarily get contacted from a CO.
> My query is, I lodged it 26th august, 2015 and wasn't able to do the medical until 14th November, 2015. The immi login says it's been record and is being processed.
> Am I to presume the six months is from the august date or the November date?
> Im one if those people that just wants the process finalised, feels like it's been forever!
> Any help is greatly appreciated.


----------



## ShermD

Hi Mark,

A question about vetassess.

The company I work for is a reputed company in my country, but we don't have a website. It's just the nature of the business, it's not necessary to have a website to do the business so we don't usually use official email addressees. So, my question is, Vetassess asks to include referees in my CV. The company owner agreed to put his contact details as a referee (company name, designation, telephone number), but he don't have a company email address, only a email account of gmail. How is this will be affected to my CV ? Will they think that I work for a non-reputed company and my work experience is not worth enough to give me a positive assessment if I put a gmail address as my business owners email? 

I know you don't exactly know how they will act. But, it would be a relief if I know what you think they would think, because you're an agent of the same field.

Many thanks.


----------



## amernajjar

Hello mark !!
i am about to submit my papers for the skilled employment assessment as a mechanical engineer ..
please advise me if i am submitting the right papers, knowing that i have finished my assessment from EA in September 

i have already obtained the following papers :
1- a letter from the HR department of my company stating the date i joined the company, my position, salary and the fact that i am still working with them.
2- a letter from my department head describing my position and my job description .. along with all the required contact info ..
3- a translation of my work permit done by an approved translation office (because my work permit is only available in Arabic) 


please help me and tell me if i am missing anything ....

THANKS IN ADVANCE


----------



## labale25

*Visit Visa Proof Intent to return*

Hi Mark,

I am Australian Permanent Resident, and I applied for a family sponsored visit visa for my Wife who is in Pakistan. The application was refused based on the grounds that we did not provide proof of intent to return.
Since then I have submitted a partner visa application for my wife, but due to the long processing time I would like my wife to come to Australia on a visit visa for a while. What potential proof can I provide for intent to return for my wife, as she is currently unemployed and doesn't have any assets in her name.
Will a letter from local government body as assurance be sufficient ? or a house lease agreement?

Thanks,

Labale


----------



## loading

Hi Mark, thanks for the reply. Really appreciate your advice. I have another question, though. A year ago, we bought a property under both our names. So if i change my relationship as never married now, then claim de facto on a later date, does it mean that i cannot use it as evidence if we get a partner visa later on? Thanks again.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi loading -
> 
> Thanks for the note. If you have primarily a long distance relationship, it is unlikely that DIBP will consider that to be a de facto relationship so I would consider changing (via Form 1023) your status to "Never Married" if that is more accurate. If you do claim de facto, DIBP may ask you to provide evidence of the relationship even if the partner is not migrating, plus they will require the partner to submit health and police checks if you are claiming her as your de facto partner. I don't see any way that changing your status to never married would negatively impact your application - you can always say you didn't realise what the exact definition of de facto is.
> 
> Key issue also is whether you intend to claim the current time as time in a de facto relationship later on - assuming you do not, then no issue changing to never married - you can say that the relationship advanced to the level of a de facto relationship sometime after you put in the current visa application (ie, when you started living together in the future, etc).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## hoangdekiem

Hi Mark,

I have a question about proof of residency for 887 visa. I only have lease agreement and electricity bills , no any other bills such as water or gas because they are paid by the landlord. Do you think it is enough for proof of residency?

Best regards,

Henry


----------



## Tashpotato

Hi Mark!!

Just a quick question here, If my 820 is declined, and I appeal the decision, can I stay in Australia while the appeal is pending and continue to work as I am now on my BVA?

Thanks


----------



## Star Gaizer

Hi Mark,

IF my 820 got refused and will apply partner visa offshore straightaway together with tourist visa application, Do you think my tourist visa will be approved? Please advise as I don't want to be away with my partner for a long time.


----------



## aythddl

Hi Mark,

I have two specific questions about form 80 seeking for your feedback.

One section asks to fill in my parent’s information including step parents. My dad got remarried in Australia when I was already an adult and technically perhaps, it would seem somewhat correct to refer my dad’s wife as my step mother but I believe that a step mother presumes some kind of motherly relationship, more like something appropriate to someone who had a parental role when I was a child which certainly is not the case for me. Honestly I’m not in favour of putting her down as my step mother upon what I believe is more suitable to my personal case. Regardless of what I believe, and considering that my dad and his wife are residing in Australia, do you think that I would need to put her down as my step mother or not really required?

Another section asks whether if I have any personal contacts of friends or family residing in Australia, and then it further asks again if I have another second contact. I’ve been living in Australia long enough to have a variety of personal contacts but by looking at the scale of information required, I prefer just putting one contact unless it is really necessary to put down two. I assume that nothing forces me to fill out a second contact, would just filling out one contact and saying no that I do not have any other second contact be okay? Thanks in advance!


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Dear Mark,

I finally received the positive ACS letter. Thanks so much for all your help in the past few months. You are fantastic.

I have few more queries :

1) As expected because of the RPL application ACS has deducted 6 years from my total experience which is more than 8 years as of now. I will be completing a total of 9 years of work experience in this October 2016. My total points as of today is 55 (30 for age + 15 for education + 10 for PTE). Now my question is as per your strong experience what do you suggest me to wait for the completion of my 9 years and get additional 5 points and then apply for 189 OR should I apply now for 190 by looking for state sponsorship.

2) If your answer is 189 could you please let me know when, where and how I will show that I have completed my 9 years of work experience. Because I submitted my ACS report when I had a total of 8 years.I am unsure after ACS where I will to show my overall work experience. 

3) My last question is regarding the age. As per DIBP 30 points can be given for 25-32 age. Does it mean a person whose age is less than 33 can get 30 points.I will be turning 32 this October 2016.

Thanks for your time and help !!!


----------



## Burnley213

Thanks Mark, 
I think I probably knew it would be another couple of months. Thanks for your thoughts. Fingers crossed in the next four to six weeks.


----------



## Civilian

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Civillian -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No way to predict delays, however we're seeing substantial delays for Pakistani applicants due to external security checks - these delays can go 6 months or longer. No way to predict whether the employment check went OK or not, but if they have been given negative information about your employment, they must provide this to you and give you an opportunity under the principal of natural justice to respond and present facts and information to refute the allegations or negative information.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for your response it really helped me ......

now i assume my employment verification went ok because since it took place 2 months back and nothing heard from immigration department.......

hope security checks take place as early possible ......

Regards,
Civilian


----------



## meoweth

Hi Mark,
i got a working holiday visa on may 1, 2015, for 1 year (till may 1, 2016). I entered australia on May 1, 2015 and stayed just 3 months. I am planning to go back to australia on April 1, 2016, but want to enter on just the visa-free entry waiver (for 3 months) instead of the working holiday visa which only has 1 month left. Is this a problem? I am US passport.


----------



## slimguy_234

hello Mark,

how do i include a new born in a visa 189 application already in progress on DIPB website? i only see form 1022 and adding a new applicant form on their help menu. although i have updated with a note, i honestly do not believe that in itself is adequate.
this is giving me concern as i do not know how to especially go about payment.

kindly assist.

Slimguy.


----------



## scaryplaces

*ETA vs Bridging Visa (WA)*

Hi Mark! How wonderful to see you've opened this thread again. Love your work!

My hubby arrived here on an ETA which expires in April. He's a US citizen. He has just lodged his Partner Visa application and ta-da! was automatically granted a Bridging Visa A (class WA, subclass 010), which gives him full working rights.

Whew, we say. But THEN  I read carefully and note that "this bridging visa is not in effect because your ETA is currently in effect." When can he actually work? If it's not until April, can we do anything to bring the Bridging Visa into effect earlier?

Thanks in advance

Scaryplaces (Eve)


----------



## mshaz

Hi Mark!

I am in Australia now on a PMV (thanks for all the help!) and have married my fiancé, now husband. My question is, if I'd like to take my husband's last name,will that affect my application? If I changed my name in all gov't bodies or accounts, but my passport still says my maiden name, would it be a problem? We went to Medicare and wanted to apply using my husband's last name but they said since it was my maiden name in my immi application, they'd have to use my maiden name. We're not sure how to proceed and when I apply for my driver's license on what name to use. Thank you very much for all the help you give to everyone!


----------



## meoweth

hi mark, i got a working holiday visa on may 1, 2015, for 1 year (till may 1, 2016). I entered australia on May 1, 2015 and stayed just 3 months. I am planning to go back to australia on April 1, 2016, but want to enter on just the visa-free entry waiver (for 3 months) instead of the working holiday visa which only has 1 month left. Is this a problem? I am US passport.


----------



## Aggy

*factors beyond your control*

HI
i am Latvian citizen
applied for partners vias.
we have been together for two years, i ve made a mistake with my visa dates, overstayed for 5 days
we actually got married in the church on a day when visa ends (didnt know that at the beginning lol). i found out that ive overstayed when went to apply.
that was just my stupied mistake for not cheking it properly.
i went to the office and applied personally pluss filled some additional documents
now i have to meet the schedule 3 criteria.
i dont know what to do, we dont have a lawyer, doing everything ourself.
what should i write?
i dont work, mys husband has a casual job, his parents are helping us a little, but they are on pension. 
for me to leave a country would be awfull, we already in dets because of visa costs.
i was pregnant last year, we are trying to make a family but we had a miscarriage. 
i have health problems, i have cysts that have to be removed, so travelling would give a pressure on it.
can someone give me advice how to deal with it and how to write a letter?
thank you


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Dear Mark,

Could you please clarify the following queries :

1) What is form 1393 ? What information I have to provide in it ? I am not able to find any sample of it in google. Would appreciate if you could share the same or share some link.

2) I was going through the document checklist that needs to be uploaded after getting invitation at the DIBP website. I could not find any information related to medical checkup in the checklist. I am referring this link : Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) document checklist

Thanks for your help and support.


----------



## Antonio_syd

Hi, Mark.

Thank you! This is very helpful.

A previous employer backed out already and I am waiting for the new nomination.

Should I lodge a new 457 visa application? Or I just need to email DIBP of the new nomination so that my previous application will just be linked to it?

Also, should I need to employ a migration lawyer's services for this situation?

Thank you in advance!

Antonio



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Antonio -
> 
> Unfortunately for the 457 health criteria under Reg 4006A, only an approved sponsor who has nominated the primary applicant (or has nominated the secondary applicant) can sign the health undertaking to satisfy this regulation. So no way to bypass the employer, however depending on your circumstances you might suggest to the employer that a deposit or bond could be made by you to the employer and held by the employer during the period of employment, which would be used by the employer only if a health costs claim is made. You could also have a contract in place with the employer that indemnifies (holds them not responsible) for any health costs claims and places all financial liability on you or a third party. While the employer would still have to sign the health undertaking, this additional side deal could at least provide the employer some sort of funding or recourse to you or the third party if a health claim occurred. While this may be too much of a hassle for some employers, depending on how badly they want you to work for them, this might do the trick - totally up to the employer.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## kosciels

Hello Mark,

I am currently in Australia on the Work and Holiday visa, and it expires Feb 24th, 2016. I am applying for a defacto Partner visa in order to continue living with my partner. We had dated for quite a while before I moved here, but officially have not started our defacto living together requirements until I moved into the country on Feb 24th, 2015. Problem is, if I wait for the 12 month requirement to hit, I will have to leave the country. Therefore I've been holding off until the very end to apply. I'm aiming to have it submitted on Feb 17th (after my paycheck). This would mean at submission, my partner and I will have only lived together 11 months and 3 weeks. Is this seriously something that immigration would deny our visa for (I have heaps of proof and not concerned about evidence... just that one week...). Or should I wait until the 23rd, when I technically need to leave the country? Any guidance on how much the government would see that it's a small technicality of 7 days, or if this is something they are very serious about.

Thank you so much for your help!


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Dear Mark,

I am looking for 189 visa. I have a query regarding the dependent visa. Me and my wife are living separately for the past few months. I will be alone who will be looking for the PR as of now without any dependent in my application. I have read somewhere or may have heard that during medical checkup spouse checkup is also done irrespective of whether he/she is travelling. Is it true ??


----------



## sukanta

Hi Mark,

I cannot thank you enough for your great help and suggestions throughout this thread. I wanted to share my joy by sharing the news with you that my wife's 309 visa has been approved and it took just over 4 months. Thank you so so much for your kind help and support. very much appreciated Mark. you are the best.

thank you
Sukanta


----------



## Xine

Hi Mark Can I ask Im currently on student Visa and holding a Bridging Visa A. I need to go back to school by April 24 my Student visa is expiring on June 8 do I still need to come back to study during those days April 24 to June 08. I am currently on deferral till April of 8. I have a baby now.


----------



## aminsagar123

Hi Mark,

Can one apply for 489 visa (Skilled Regional Provisional visa) from offshore if 3 years ban is in place.

given that all the requirements of the visa are met.

I know you cant apply for temporary visa 3 years after departure but 489 is temporary visa that leads to permanent after 2 years so i a confused,

thanks for your help.


----------



## Star Gaizer

Hi Mark,
I have a problem with the evidence that I uploaded for my partner's partner visa application. I am the sponsor and our de facto start date is nov-13. I uploaded my tax return and it states in the tax return that for the full year jul13-jun14 my partner is my de facto. It was my 1st time to file and I am so stupid not to put the correct start date of de facto. I am so scared that it might cause visa refusal. Please advise on what to do. Thank you.


----------



## Soumah

Hello Mark
What a kind and generous person you are. Thanks for this thread. 
Could I Please direct you to my original post as using this phone to type or do anything is a bit of a nightmare! I worked out how to reference it I think so here goes! By the way what is MRT?
http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/161306-processing-times.html
Thanks and best wishes. Molly


----------



## manimehra22

Hi, 
Please help me regarding visitor visa to australia. Presently im living in india. My wife's real sister and her husband living in australia. They are Australian citizens. They want to sponsor me for visitor visa.. My wife's sister isn't working but her husband has well settle business in australia and they have their own house. 

*Can she sponsor for me as sibling's spouse?( marrige certificate can demonstrate our relationship)
*About the financial conditions can she show her husband business and their joint bank statement. ?
Or 
*her husband can sponsor me. ?

Only I want to travel not my wife. I don't work in India but im looking my brother's business with him. 

Thanks


----------



## mamo86

*Subclass 300 Information*

Hello Mark. Thank you for helping people.
Man I am from Somalia and currently living in Saudi Arabia. My GF is Australian (Somali-background citizen). We are preparing to apply for Subclass 300 . We decided to meet but didn't decide which country yet. Would you please advise me the current best countries that can be easier to apply Fiancé Visa according to waiting duration.
(Malaysia, Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia).

Thanks Mark.


----------



## Nelda

*refused partner visa*

Hi!

I'm new to this forum, but looks like it is my only hope right now. 
I live in Australia since 2012, I was on my mom's partner visa as her dependent child. The immigration - well, let's say it - started bullying me, because of my age, they kept asking to prove stuff we couldn't, so I withdrawn my application and started my new - as my lawyer advised it.
I'm in a relationship with my husband since the start of 2013, and we got married in May in 2015 and I sent my partner 820/801 visa application, paid for the fees and did my medical.
I was not on a substantial visa, but I could explain my situation, which I did.
Technically I was reasoning against sending me away by putting the visa offshore - and my main reason was, that we've been together for nearly 3 years and now married. I have connections, job, friends etc, and sending me away wouldn't benefit Australia anyway.

8 months passed and got the letter saying it is refused, because there is no hardship if they send me away, then once they say I'm with my husband for the visa, then they say my relationship is genuine. 
They started telling me about criterion 3, and because i'm not on a substantive visa the officer does not consider our marriage, and my reasons were not enough...

What can I do? We spent all our money on this visa and apparently you have to pay to appeal..?! Is there any chance that they will let me stay with my husband?


----------



## skl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Skl -
> 
> Registered relationship certificate will satisfy the 12 month de facto relationship requirement (for 12 months prior to applying), but given the short relationship you'll need to make the most out of any relationship evidence you have, and provide good evidence of the pregnancy including proof that you were pregnant at the time of application. Beyond the 12 month assessment, DIBP will assess the relationship evidence to determine whether they believe you had a genuine relationship at the time of application and going forward.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark.I am planning to add mine and my husbands whatsapp chats, call.logs and skype logs. However, they are over 200 pages. Shall i get certified them at JP before submitting ? How can I submit? thanks


----------



## skl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Skl -
> 
> Registered relationship certificate will satisfy the 12 month de facto relationship requirement (for 12 months prior to applying), but given the short relationship you'll need to make the most out of any relationship evidence you have, and provide good evidence of the pregnancy including proof that you were pregnant at the time of application. Beyond the 12 month assessment, DIBP will assess the relationship evidence to determine whether they believe you had a genuine relationship at the time of application and going forward.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark! I have another question. I am running out of allowed 60 documents attachment requirement. I am.afraid i might not have enough space to attach evidences for 801 in case i get 820. What immi office do usually in such case? thanks


----------



## Realrachelcharles

*IELTs if I have an English degree?*

Hi Mark

First of all, thanks for all your advice on this thread - it has proved invaluable.

Secondly, I can see that the gov website states you need a score of 8 or above in all IELTS tests in order to gain 20 points for the 189 visa. However, I hold a BA (hons) in English Language from a UK University and actually teach English at Secondary school level. Does this mean I will be deemed, 'superior,' without the IELTS?

As I have studied full time for 4 years, the assessing body for my qualifications didn't require me to complete the IELTS so will the reference number they give me inform immigration that IELTS isn't necessary? With the superior English, I have 65 points so if I declare that I don't have IELTS on my EOI, will I be rejected?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions - we are at the stage where we a trying to get everything perfect so we can submit the application as soon as we are allowed!

Final thing... I see that Doctorate degrees give 20 points as opposed to the 15 for BAs and MAs. To me, a doctorate is someone with a PhD but reading the descriptor on the gov website, it implies that 4 years of rigorous study, which culminates in a thesis, is equivalent to an Aus doctorate. I have completed a 3 year BA degree, a 1 year full time PGCE and have just completed a part time MA (over one year) in Education, for which I wrote a 12,000 word thesis, achieving a merit. Do you know if this is doctorate equivalent in Aus or is it only for those with UK PhDs?

Phew! I appreciate any advice you can give me and bid you thanks in advance.

Rachel


----------



## Soumah

Hello Mark and many thanks for your generosity in all you post in this thread. 
My partner and I have lodged a partner visa application and a visitor visa application using an agent. We are living together in Gambia, he's a Guinean and I'm Australian. I have been married before to a Guinean man but we've been divorced for over two years. He's now an Australian citizen.
The agent asked me to fill in the online applications and pay the lodgement fees on the 21st January which I did immediately. After a few days of no documents being attached to the family sponsored 600 application I started panicking because I saw you are meant to have docs attached at time of lodgement and application can be assessed based on how application was at time of lodgement. Agent was annoyed and asked me to stop they said it didn't matter as no case officer had been assigned. Then after a couple of weeks she attached the rest. My first worry is that's really late and will affect the outcome of they assess as it was at time of lodgement. My partner was refused a normal visitor visa early last year. That time we weren't married and did not have PV application in place. Do you think this is an issue? 
We did health examination immediately we were asked to, on the 25th January but just found out that the xray and papers are still at the doctors, since 25th of Jan, waiting to be signed by the only radiologist in the country who is away. The doctor had told us he'd be back on 28th but he's still not back. I'm asking for a letter from doctor to say so and scan of receipt as I don't have copy where I am, so I can ask agent to at least attach them to say medicals are coming. Otherwise it just looks like we haven't bothered to go. However the doctor does not have access to the Internet so it's taking ages. Hopefully today! There's also only one panel doctor here. 
Another question - do we have to do another medical for the PV? I know my husband's two children do, but does he? At close to $400 each it gets expensive! The health referral has a different HAP number so I'm assuming so but also do we wait until at least assigned a case officer for the PV or do it as the IMMI account is telling us to? Sorry for all the questions, I lost confidence with the visitor visa problem and now very worried. 
Do you think I need extra "proof" of anything because I already brought someone to Australia? I looked after him for many years as he became very sick, and he's still quite dependant on me. He lives in my house. My husband knows him and we've decided we are still willing to give him support and encouragement and if he makes the effort to help himself he can stay, if not he will have to go. He's very disadvantages and basically there is no where for him to go, but when we bring the kids if the PV is successful we want a healthy environment for them. It's hard. 
So if you think I should somehow show more about his illness or homelessness without my place or anything like that could you please suggest what I should do? 
Thank you very much Mark.


----------



## TeaAddict

Hi Mark,

Firstly, thank you very much for all the kind help you have given everyone on this forum. I appreciate the time you take to reply to everyone's specific queries, and have also read through a few threads to try to find the answers for my questions.

To share my situation: I am in my late twenties and currently on a Higher Education (Bachelor) student visa. Due to distressing family issues and financial hardship, I am now unable to finish my last year of university (I have studied for 4 years) and would like to apply for a Partner visa to remain in Australia. My partner and I have been together for 4 years. We live together, and have shared bank accounts and finances.

Currently I understand my options are the following:
1. Cancel student enrolment and student visa, which means that I will be an unlawful citizen and will be put on Bridging E until partner visa is approved -> Undesirable, as I need to work to share the financial load
2. Switch from my current Bachelor course to a shorter Cert 3 course to fulfil study requirement -> However, will this work, as I will have to switch from a Higher Education visa to one for TAFE as they are different (if I am not wrong?). If this is a possible option, am I able to switch visas onshore?
3. Cancel student visa and leave the country, then re-enter on a tourist e-visa, then apply for a partner visa on-shore within the 3 months stay to be granted a Bridging A -> Is this how it would work, or would I have a re-entry ban due to the cancellation of student visa?

Thank you very much once again for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ShermD -

Thanks for the note. I don't think the lack of a website and email address would be a big issue for Vetassess - lots of companies overseas have only phone numbers, and that's the primary method of contact in those cases from what I understand. From a DIBP point of view, they frequently prefer phone to email when checking on employment references.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ShermD said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> A question about vetassess.
> 
> The company I work for is a reputed company in my country, but we don't have a website. It's just the nature of the business, it's not necessary to have a website to do the business so we don't usually use official email addressees. So, my question is, Vetassess asks to include referees in my CV. The company owner agreed to put his contact details as a referee (company name, designation, telephone number), but he don't have a company email address, only a email account of gmail. How is this will be affected to my CV ? Will they think that I work for a non-reputed company and my work experience is not worth enough to give me a positive assessment if I put a gmail address as my business owners email?
> 
> I know you don't exactly know how they will act. But, it would be a relief if I know what you think they would think, because you're an agent of the same field.
> 
> Many thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amernajjar -

Thanks for the note. Every assessor is different and they frequently change their requirements, so neither I nor any other agent will always have the very latest info from every source - we have to check with the assessor each time we have a new client to see what has changed and get the latest requirements. There is no substitute to going through the instructions from the assessor very carefully and checking that you meet all the documentation, form, etc requirements.

Best,

Mark



amernajjar said:


> Hello mark !!
> i am about to submit my papers for the skilled employment assessment as a mechanical engineer ..
> please advise me if i am submitting the right papers, knowing that i have finished my assessment from EA in September
> 
> i have already obtained the following papers :
> 1- a letter from the HR department of my company stating the date i joined the company, my position, salary and the fact that i am still working with them.
> 2- a letter from my department head describing my position and my job description .. along with all the required contact info ..
> 3- a translation of my work permit done by an approved translation office (because my work permit is only available in Arabic)
> 
> please help me and tell me if i am missing anything ....
> 
> THANKS IN ADVANCE


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Labale25 -

Thanks for the note. You can Google the "Genuine Temporary Entrant" criteria to see the different circumstances that DIBP looks at for this type of situation. In reality, however, from a high risk country it can be very hard to get a visitor visa without employment or other types of personal, financial, etc ties to give her a strong motivation to return. The house lease agreement would be a start, but may not be enough. Wish things were different, but that's the reality at the moment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



labale25 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am Australian Permanent Resident, and I applied for a family sponsored visit visa for my Wife who is in Pakistan. The application was refused based on the grounds that we did not provide proof of intent to return.
> Since then I have submitted a partner visa application for my wife, but due to the long processing time I would like my wife to come to Australia on a visit visa for a while. What potential proof can I provide for intent to return for my wife, as she is currently unemployed and doesn't have any assets in her name.
> Will a letter from local government body as assurance be sufficient ? or a house lease agreement?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Labale


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Loading -

The problem would be if you changed your relationship to never married, then later claim that at this time (the time you claimed as never married) you were in fact de facto.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



loading said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for the reply. Really appreciate your advice. I have another question, though. A year ago, we bought a property under both our names. So if i change my relationship as never married now, then claim de facto on a later date, does it mean that i cannot use it as evidence if we get a partner visa later on? Thanks again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Henry -

Might be. How about other bills (mobile phone, bank statements, etc) or any other mail sent to you at the address over the time in question...?

Best,

Mark



hoangdekiem said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question about proof of residency for 887 visa. I only have lease agreement and electricity bills , no any other bills such as water or gas because they are paid by the landlord. Do you think it is enough for proof of residency?
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Henry


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Star Gaizer -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict this one - depends on your country of citizenship, how much time you had previously spent in Australia, and whether you can show that your trip would be for tourism-related purposes. Having a partner visa application lodged may help a bit, but it doesn't eliminate the need to demonstrate that you have strong ties to your home country to the extent that it minimises the risk that you would overstay.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Star Gaizer said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> IF my 820 got refused and will apply partner visa offshore straightaway together with tourist visa application, Do you think my tourist visa will be approved? Please advise as I don't want to be away with my partner for a long time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tashpotato -

Yes. If your 820 is declined and you lodge a valid appeal application to the AAT tribunal (within 21 days of the 820 decision, etc) then your BVA will automatically be extended for however long it takes the AAT to hear your case (can be up to 1 yr, some times more). All work rights, etc with your BVA continue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tashpotato said:


> Hi Mark!!
> 
> Just a quick question here, If my 820 is declined, and I appeal the decision, can I stay in Australia while the appeal is pending and continue to work as I am now on my BVA?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aythddl -

Thanks for the note. Re: stepmother, safest bet is to list her, however I think you have an arguable case why you would not since she had no role in bringing you up (ie, raising you) prior to age 18.

Re: contacts, if you have only one that you feel comfortable listing, that's generally fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aythddl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have two specific questions about form 80 seeking for your feedback.
> 
> One section asks to fill in my parent's information including step parents. My dad got remarried in Australia when I was already an adult and technically perhaps, it would seem somewhat correct to refer my dad's wife as my step mother but I believe that a step mother presumes some kind of motherly relationship, more like something appropriate to someone who had a parental role when I was a child which certainly is not the case for me. Honestly I'm not in favour of putting her down as my step mother upon what I believe is more suitable to my personal case. Regardless of what I believe, and considering that my dad and his wife are residing in Australia, do you think that I would need to put her down as my step mother or not really required?
> 
> Another section asks whether if I have any personal contacts of friends or family residing in Australia, and then it further asks again if I have another second contact. I've been living in Australia long enough to have a variety of personal contacts but by looking at the scale of information required, I prefer just putting one contact unless it is really necessary to put down two. I assume that nothing forces me to fill out a second contact, would just filling out one contact and saying no that I do not have any other second contact be okay? Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

See responses at *** below:



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I finally received the positive ACS letter. Thanks so much for all your help in the past few months. You are fantastic.
> 
> I have few more queries :
> 
> 1) As expected because of the RPL application ACS has deducted 6 years from my total experience which is more than 8 years as of now. I will be completing a total of 9 years of work experience in this October 2016. My total points as of today is 55 (30 for age + 15 for education + 10 for PTE). Now my question is as per your strong experience what do you suggest me to wait for the completion of my 9 years and get additional 5 points and then apply for 189 OR should I apply now for 190 by looking for state sponsorship.
> *** I would need to be much more familiar with all the details of your case and circumstances to advise you specifically on this - happy to do so at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more.
> 
> 2) If your answer is 189 could you please let me know when, where and how I will show that I have completed my 9 years of work experience. Because I submitted my ACS report when I had a total of 8 years.I am unsure after ACS where I will to show my overall work experience.
> *** If at same employer and position as assessed by ACS, a letter from your employer confirming you have continued to be employed there in that position past the date you applied for ACS is generally OK. You'll need payslips also for all work claimed for points for DIBP.
> 
> 3) My last question is regarding the age. As per DIBP 30 points can be given for 25-32 age. Does it mean a person whose age is less than 33 can get 30 points.I will be turning 32 this October 2016.
> *** Yes. You will lose points on your 33rd birthday.
> 
> Thanks for your time and help !!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Meoweth -

Thanks for the note. I would apply for an ETA visa prior to the trip to ensure there are no issues - will depend on whether DIBP is convinced that the reasons for your upcoming trip are tourism related.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



meoweth said:


> Hi Mark,
> i got a working holiday visa on may 1, 2015, for 1 year (till may 1, 2016). I entered australia on May 1, 2015 and stayed just 3 months. I am planning to go back to australia on April 1, 2016, but want to enter on just the visa-free entry waiver (for 3 months) instead of the working holiday visa which only has 1 month left. Is this a problem? I am US passport.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Slimguy -

Thanks for the note. This is a confusing area for many, and can be a real problem if the person is added to the application, but not as a migrating dependent. I would lodge Form 1022, then make contact using any email addresses on correspondence you have received after lodging the 189 to the appropriate skilled visa assessment team (probably in Adelaide) to indicate you wish to add the newborn child to the visa and to please advise fees and how you can pay the additional application fee. If you do not get a response within 30 days, I would contact them by phone.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



slimguy_234 said:


> hello Mark,
> 
> how do i include a new born in a visa 189 application already in progress on DIPB website? i only see form 1022 and adding a new applicant form on their help menu. although i have updated with a note, i honestly do not believe that in itself is adequate.
> this is giving me concern as i do not know how to especially go about payment.
> 
> kindly assist.
> 
> Slimguy.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eve -

Thanks for the note. No way to accelerate the activation of the bridging visa - he's bound by the conditions of the ETA until his stay period ends - assuming it's a multiple entry, 3 month maximum stay visa, then the period ends 3 months and 1 day after he last entered Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



scaryplaces said:


> Hi Mark! How wonderful to see you've opened this thread again. Love your work!
> 
> My hubby arrived here on an ETA which expires in April. He's a US citizen. He has just lodged his Partner Visa application and ta-da! was automatically granted a Bridging Visa A (class WA, subclass 010), which gives him full working rights.
> 
> Whew, we say. But THEN  I read carefully and note that "this bridging visa is not in effect because your ETA is currently in effect." When can he actually work? If it's not until April, can we do anything to bring the Bridging Visa into effect earlier?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Scaryplaces (Eve)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mshaz -

Congratulations on your marriage! You'll have to use your maiden name with DIBP until you change your passport - the two are linked together. You can put your married name under the "other names known by" area(s) on the forms, etc for the partner visa which will assist if any evidence you are submitting is in your married name.

If you change your name on your passport after the partner visa is lodged, you can update this with Form 929 and Form 1022.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mshaz said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I am in Australia now on a PMV (thanks for all the help!) and have married my fiancé, now husband. My question is, if I'd like to take my husband's last name,will that affect my application? If I changed my name in all gov't bodies or accounts, but my passport still says my maiden name, would it be a problem? We went to Medicare and wanted to apply using my husband's last name but they said since it was my maiden name in my immi application, they'd have to use my maiden name. We're not sure how to proceed and when I apply for my driver's license on what name to use. Thank you very much for all the help you give to everyone!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aggy -

Thanks for the note. If you lodged your onshore partner visa 5 days after your visa expired, you'll be subject to Schedule 3 - specifically clause 3001 (have a look in the letter they sent you for this). If you cannot meet 3001, then you will need to establish compelling reasons why the Schedule 3 conditions should be waived for your application.

These days a large part of my caseload is Schedule 3 cases, making arguments to DIBP and the AAT tribunal why clients have compelling circumstances in their lives at the time of application - it's often not an easy thing to do because you have to establish the compelling reasons at the time of application, so things that came up later after the application was lodged often cannot be used.

If you're doing this yourself, I would think about every possible circumstance that existed at the time of application that was beyond your control - emotional issues, medical/health issues, circumstances with relatives and loved ones, etc and start there. You'll need evidence for the claims you make, so consider statements from anyone and everyone who can confirm the circumstances you are claiming.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aggy said:


> HI
> i am Latvian citizen
> applied for partners vias.
> we have been together for two years, i ve made a mistake with my visa dates, overstayed for 5 days
> we actually got married in the church on a day when visa ends (didnt know that at the beginning lol). i found out that ive overstayed when went to apply.
> that was just my stupied mistake for not cheking it properly.
> i went to the office and applied personally pluss filled some additional documents
> now i have to meet the schedule 3 criteria.
> i dont know what to do, we dont have a lawyer, doing everything ourself.
> what should i write?
> i dont work, mys husband has a casual job, his parents are helping us a little, but they are on pension.
> for me to leave a country would be awfull, we already in dets because of visa costs.
> i was pregnant last year, we are trying to make a family but we had a miscarriage.
> i have health problems, i have cysts that have to be removed, so travelling would give a pressure on it.
> can someone give me advice how to deal with it and how to write a letter?
> thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984ravigupta -

Thanks for the note. Have never heard of DIBP Form 1393, and it's not listed on their master list of forms we use, so must be a typo or misprint, or a form from some other agency, etc.

Re: medical, once you lodge your visa, you can use a link on the post-lodgement page to answer some health questions and generate your HAP ID and referral letter that you can then use to book the medical exams. If you must book the exam prior to application for the visa, then you can use the My Health Declarations part of the ImmiAccount to lodge a new health declarations request, get the HAP ID and letter, then include that HAP ID when you lodge your visa application so the medical tests will be linked to your visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Could you please clarify the following queries :
> 
> 1) What is form 1393 ? What information I have to provide in it ? I am not able to find any sample of it in google. Would appreciate if you could share the same or share some link.
> 
> 2) I was going through the document checklist that needs to be uploaded after getting invitation at the DIBP website. I could not find any information related to medical checkup in the checklist. I am referring this link : Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) document checklist
> 
> Thanks for your help and support.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Antonio_syd -

Thanks for the note and emails - you'll have to work with DIBP to see if they can attach the application to a new nomination or not - this can be problematic and sometimes the case officer can have a lot to do with whether this can be done or not. No need to engage a migration agent or lawyer if you are comfortable communicating with DIBP yourself.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Antonio_syd said:


> Hi, Mark.
> 
> Thank you! This is very helpful.
> 
> A previous employer backed out already and I am waiting for the new nomination.
> 
> Should I lodge a new 457 visa application? Or I just need to email DIBP of the new nomination so that my previous application will just be linked to it?
> 
> Also, should I need to employ a migration lawyer's services for this situation?
> 
> Thank you in advance!
> 
> Antonio


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi kosciels -

Thanks for the note. It depends on the case officer - there is some room for them to accept less than 12 months, especially if you can convince him that the relationship existed at a de facto level prior to 24 Feb 2015 - living together is not required if you can evidence the relationship otherwise.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kosciels said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am currently in Australia on the Work and Holiday visa, and it expires Feb 24th, 2016. I am applying for a defacto Partner visa in order to continue living with my partner. We had dated for quite a while before I moved here, but officially have not started our defacto living together requirements until I moved into the country on Feb 24th, 2015. Problem is, if I wait for the 12 month requirement to hit, I will have to leave the country. Therefore I've been holding off until the very end to apply. I'm aiming to have it submitted on Feb 17th (after my paycheck). This would mean at submission, my partner and I will have only lived together 11 months and 3 weeks. Is this seriously something that immigration would deny our visa for (I have heaps of proof and not concerned about evidence... just that one week...). Or should I wait until the 23rd, when I technically need to leave the country? Any guidance on how much the government would see that it's a small technicality of 7 days, or if this is something they are very serious about.
> 
> Thank you so much for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, that's correct.

Best,

Mark



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am looking for 189 visa. I have a query regarding the dependent visa. Me and my wife are living separately for the past few months. I will be alone who will be looking for the PR as of now without any dependent in my application. I have read somewhere or may have heard that during medical checkup spouse checkup is also done irrespective of whether he/she is travelling. Is it true ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukanta -

Congratulations!! Well done - with that quick an approval, you must have done a very careful and accurate job on the application. Great work.

Best,

Mark



sukanta said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I cannot thank you enough for your great help and suggestions throughout this thread. I wanted to share my joy by sharing the news with you that my wife's 309 visa has been approved and it took just over 4 months. Thank you so so much for your kind help and support. very much appreciated Mark. you are the best.
> 
> thank you
> Sukanta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xine -

Thanks for the note. Your situation is too complex for me to give you a quick answer here - would need to work with you at a consultation in order to give you specific advice after learning more about your circumstances and visa application(s). You can visit my website in my signature below for more on consultations - would be happy to assist.

Best,

Mark Northam



Xine said:


> Hi Mark Can I ask Im currently on student Visa and holding a Bridging Visa A. I need to go back to school by April 24 my Student visa is expiring on June 8 do I still need to come back to study during those days April 24 to June 08. I am currently on deferral till April of 8. I have a baby now.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aminsagar123 -

Thanks for the note, and good question! Fortunately, the 489 is considered a "provisional visa" which is a bit more than a temporary visa but not a permanent visa. Other visas in this category are the provisional partner visas (subclass 309, 820) and the prospective marriage visa (subclass 300). The good news is that the 489 visa is not affected by the 3-year exclusion period on temporary visas in clauses 4013 and 4014 of Schedule 4, so you can apply for a 489 (assuming first 489 visa, not second) as long as you otherwise qualify.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aminsagar123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can one apply for 489 visa (Skilled Regional Provisional visa) from offshore if 3 years ban is in place.
> 
> given that all the requirements of the visa are met.
> 
> I know you cant apply for temporary visa 3 years after departure but 489 is temporary visa that leads to permanent after 2 years so i a confused,
> 
> thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Star Gaizer -

I see low chance of any issues related to the tax document - also, what qualifies as "de facto" for tax purposes may be different than what qualifies for immigration purposes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Star Gaizer said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a problem with the evidence that I uploaded for my partner's partner visa application. I am the sponsor and our de facto start date is nov-13. I uploaded my tax return and it states in the tax return that for the full year jul13-jun14 my partner is my de facto. It was my 1st time to file and I am so stupid not to put the correct start date of de facto. I am so scared that it might cause visa refusal. Please advise on what to do. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Molly -

Thanks for the kind words! Generally the time estimate is counted from the date of lodgement, however the time "estimates" on the DIBP website are notoriously inaccurate and very unpredictable. I would not base anything on those estimates as the actual processing times vary widely - sometimes they are shorter, but often longer.

The MRT is now the AAT, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal which is where, depending on the type of visa and application, you may be able to appeal a refusal by DIBP and have a new decision made on your visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Soumah said:


> Hello Mark
> What a kind and generous person you are. Thanks for this thread.
> Could I Please direct you to my original post as using this phone to type or do anything is a bit of a nightmare! I worked out how to reference it I think so here goes! By the way what is MRT?
> http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/161306-processing-times.html
> Thanks and best wishes. Molly


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manimehra22 -

Thanks for the note. There is no "sponsorship" with a normal visitor visa, but a person can invite you - your wife's sister's husband could invite you to visit Australia - should include a letter of invitation and proposed itinerary while here. There is a also a family sponsored family visitor visa that is more involved - see DIBP website for all the details, includes a bond, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



manimehra22 said:


> Hi,
> Please help me regarding visitor visa to australia. Presently im living in india. My wife's real sister and her husband living in australia. They are Australian citizens. They want to sponsor me for visitor visa.. My wife's sister isn't working but her husband has well settle business in australia and they have their own house.
> 
> *Can she sponsor for me as sibling's spouse?( marrige certificate can demonstrate our relationship)
> *About the financial conditions can she show her husband business and their joint bank statement. ?
> Or
> *her husband can sponsor me. ?
> 
> Only I want to travel not my wife. I don't work in India but im looking my brother's business with him.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mamo86 -

Thanks for the note. As you're a usual resident of Saudi Arabia, your PMV visa application will likely be processed in Dubai regardless of where you lodge. DIBP generally determines the processing office based on the citizenship or usual residence of the applicant, not the office where a paper application is lodged.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mamo86 said:


> Hello Mark. Thank you for helping people.
> Man I am from Somalia and currently living in Saudi Arabia. My GF is Australian (Somali-background citizen). We are preparing to apply for Subclass 300 . We decided to meet but didn't decide which country yet. Would you please advise me the current best countries that can be easier to apply Fiancé Visa according to waiting duration.
> (Malaysia, Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia).
> 
> Thanks Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nelda -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your visa refusal. I feel bad because your lawyer should have advised you about the Schedule 3 circumstances before you lodged the onshore partner visa while not holding a substantive visa.

At this point, you essentially have 2 choices: appeal your refusal to the AAT tribunal (application fee $1673 but can get that reduced by 50% if you can show financial hardship) within the deadline - usually 21 days if you are onshore - check carefully, or depart Australia and lodge an offshore partner visa. Given the difficulty of your situation, you may want to consider engaging a migration agent or lawyer who is very familiar with the Schedule 3 provisions if you choose to appeal the refusal to the AAT. If you can't afford that, then consider spending time on AUSTLII (you can google that to get the address) and look up MRT and AAT cases having to do with Schedule 3 and see how people argued their cases and see whether they won (application remitted back to DIBP) or lost (application and decision affirmed).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nelda said:


> Hi!
> 
> I'm new to this forum, but looks like it is my only hope right now.
> I live in Australia since 2012, I was on my mom's partner visa as her dependent child. The immigration - well, let's say it - started bullying me, because of my age, they kept asking to prove stuff we couldn't, so I withdrawn my application and started my new - as my lawyer advised it.
> I'm in a relationship with my husband since the start of 2013, and we got married in May in 2015 and I sent my partner 820/801 visa application, paid for the fees and did my medical.
> I was not on a substantial visa, but I could explain my situation, which I did.
> Technically I was reasoning against sending me away by putting the visa offshore - and my main reason was, that we've been together for nearly 3 years and now married. I have connections, job, friends etc, and sending me away wouldn't benefit Australia anyway.
> 
> 8 months passed and got the letter saying it is refused, because there is no hardship if they send me away, then once they say I'm with my husband for the visa, then they say my relationship is genuine.
> They started telling me about criterion 3, and because i'm not on a substantive visa the officer does not consider our marriage, and my reasons were not enough...
> 
> What can I do? We spent all our money on this visa and apparently you have to pay to appeal..?! Is there any chance that they will let me stay with my husband?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skl -

Not to worry - the 801 is a separate (new) online application later on and you get 60 more documents for your partner and for you.

Best,

Mark



skl said:


> Thanks Mark! I have another question. I am running out of allowed 60 documents attachment requirement. I am.afraid i might not have enough space to attach evidences for 801 in case i get 820. What immi office do usually in such case? thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rachel -

Thanks for the note. Regardless of your academic history, if you want the 20 points for a skilled visa, you must take the IELTS or alternative English test and get scores within the required ranges and enter those on the EOI prior to getting an invitation to apply for a visa.

Re: Doctoral degree, from what you said I don't believe you would be qualified for those points as they look for a formal Doctoral degree (PhD) in most cases - the skills assessor for your nominated occupation would be a source of information on this that might be helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Realrachelcharles said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> First of all, thanks for all your advice on this thread - it has proved invaluable.
> 
> Secondly, I can see that the gov website states you need a score of 8 or above in all IELTS tests in order to gain 20 points for the 189 visa. However, I hold a BA (hons) in English Language from a UK University and actually teach English at Secondary school level. Does this mean I will be deemed, 'superior,' without the IELTS?
> 
> As I have studied full time for 4 years, the assessing body for my qualifications didn't require me to complete the IELTS so will the reference number they give me inform immigration that IELTS isn't necessary? With the superior English, I have 65 points so if I declare that I don't have IELTS on my EOI, will I be rejected?
> 
> Sorry for the bombardment of questions - we are at the stage where we a trying to get everything perfect so we can submit the application as soon as we are allowed!
> 
> Final thing... I see that Doctorate degrees give 20 points as opposed to the 15 for BAs and MAs. To me, a doctorate is someone with a PhD but reading the descriptor on the gov website, it implies that 4 years of rigorous study, which culminates in a thesis, is equivalent to an Aus doctorate. I have completed a 3 year BA degree, a 1 year full time PGCE and have just completed a part time MA (over one year) in Education, for which I wrote a 12,000 word thesis, achieving a merit. Do you know if this is doctorate equivalent in Aus or is it only for those with UK PhDs?
> 
> Phew! I appreciate any advice you can give me and bid you thanks in advance.
> 
> Rachel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Soumah -

Thanks for the note. Re: delay in uploading documents, normally not an issue given the circumstances you described.

Re: medical tests, a partner visa will require different assessment than a temporary visa, so it's likely they will ask you to take some if not all of the medical tests again, but you can wait and see what they request.

Re: medical test delay, I would suggest you ask your agent to upload a letter describing the date, place, etc that you took the exams and include any payment receipt or other evidence that you attended, and include the details of how the doctor is out of town, etc - this is a good safeguard.

Re: bringing someone to Australia previously, I was not sure who you were referring to with this part of your question; difficult to comment on this as I would need to get a lot more information about these circumstances to give you specific advice - happy to do so at a consultation - see website in my signature below for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Soumah said:


> Hello Mark and many thanks for your generosity in all you post in this thread.
> My partner and I have lodged a partner visa application and a visitor visa application using an agent. We are living together in Gambia, he's a Guinean and I'm Australian. I have been married before to a Guinean man but we've been divorced for over two years. He's now an Australian citizen.
> The agent asked me to fill in the online applications and pay the lodgement fees on the 21st January which I did immediately. After a few days of no documents being attached to the family sponsored 600 application I started panicking because I saw you are meant to have docs attached at time of lodgement and application can be assessed based on how application was at time of lodgement. Agent was annoyed and asked me to stop they said it didn't matter as no case officer had been assigned. Then after a couple of weeks she attached the rest. My first worry is that's really late and will affect the outcome of they assess as it was at time of lodgement. My partner was refused a normal visitor visa early last year. That time we weren't married and did not have PV application in place. Do you think this is an issue?
> We did health examination immediately we were asked to, on the 25th January but just found out that the xray and papers are still at the doctors, since 25th of Jan, waiting to be signed by the only radiologist in the country who is away. The doctor had told us he'd be back on 28th but he's still not back. I'm asking for a letter from doctor to say so and scan of receipt as I don't have copy where I am, so I can ask agent to at least attach them to say medicals are coming. Otherwise it just looks like we haven't bothered to go. However the doctor does not have access to the Internet so it's taking ages. Hopefully today! There's also only one panel doctor here.
> Another question - do we have to do another medical for the PV? I know my husband's two children do, but does he? At close to $400 each it gets expensive! The health referral has a different HAP number so I'm assuming so but also do we wait until at least assigned a case officer for the PV or do it as the IMMI account is telling us to? Sorry for all the questions, I lost confidence with the visitor visa problem and now very worried.
> Do you think I need extra "proof" of anything because I already brought someone to Australia? I looked after him for many years as he became very sick, and he's still quite dependant on me. He lives in my house. My husband knows him and we've decided we are still willing to give him support and encouragement and if he makes the effort to help himself he can stay, if not he will have to go. He's very disadvantages and basically there is no where for him to go, but when we bring the kids if the PV is successful we want a healthy environment for them. It's hard.
> So if you think I should somehow show more about his illness or homelessness without my place or anything like that could you please suggest what I should do?
> Thank you very much Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TeaAddict -

I believe I might have already answered this one today - please see pages 1024-1026.

Best,

Mark



TeaAddict said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly, thank you very much for all the kind help you have given everyone on this forum. I appreciate the time you take to reply to everyone's specific queries, and have also read through a few threads to try to find the answers for my questions.
> 
> To share my situation: I am in my late twenties and currently on a Higher Education (Bachelor) student visa. Due to distressing family issues and financial hardship, I am now unable to finish my last year of university (I have studied for 4 years) and would like to apply for a Partner visa to remain in Australia. My partner and I have been together for 4 years. We live together, and have shared bank accounts and finances.
> 
> Currently I understand my options are the following:
> 1. Cancel student enrolment and student visa, which means that I will be an unlawful citizen and will be put on Bridging E until partner visa is approved -> Undesirable, as I need to work to share the financial load
> 2. Switch from my current Bachelor course to a shorter Cert 3 course to fulfil study requirement -> However, will this work, as I will have to switch from a Higher Education visa to one for TAFE as they are different (if I am not wrong?). If this is a possible option, am I able to switch visas onshore?
> 3. Cancel student visa and leave the country, then re-enter on a tourist e-visa, then apply for a partner visa on-shore within the 3 months stay to be granted a Bridging A -> Is this how it would work, or would I have a re-entry ban due to the cancellation of student visa?
> 
> Thank you very much once again for your time!


----------



## TeaAddict

MarkNortham said:


> Hi TeaAddict -
> 
> I believe I might have already answered this one today - please see pages 1024-1026.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


Hi Mark, thank you very much for your replies both via email and on this forum. Having stressed over my situation for a very long time, I feel so relieved to see so many people in the same situation and grateful for all the kind people like yourself offering your time and professional knowledge!

In terms of applying for a partner visa, is there any major differences between applying for it onshore and offshore? I have heard mixed answers regarding offshore application - some have said I won't be able to enter the country until my visa is granted (which can take a long time), but some saying I can be granted a visitor visa upon an offshore partner application. I feel that if I were to cancel my student visa and not be allowed to re-enter, applying off shore is my only option.

My main concern is whether cancelling my student visa and leaving will have an impact on 1. my ability to re-enter whether straight away or in a few months, and 2. the outcome of my partner visa having failed to fulfil my requirements for the student visa.

Thank you very much again for your advice!


----------



## shabdullah

Hi Mark,

Thanks for you support towards all the forum members, your replies are really helpful I have following two queries:

My government issued birth certificate has minor issue which is that it doesn't mention full name of mine and my father's.
For example, if my name is MyName_1 MyName_2 son of FName_1 FName_2, my birth certificate mentions MyName_2 son of FName_2. Everything else is in place, my all identity and other documents have my correct full name and that of my father.
What is suggested, should I submit the same Birth Certificate or should have it revised or submit alternative documents instead of the Birth Certificate. My worry is that changing anything in Birth Certificate is such a long process that it will take alt least months but I need to get ready to lodge my application in about a week's time. Please suggest.

Secondly, one of the companies I worked for about 4 years and claiming points for experience in that company, is no-more operational. I have HR certificate mentioning titles/dates, statutory declaration from a senior colleague mentioning Roles/Responsibilities, tax records of 3 years out of 4, bank statement for the entire period to show income and some other documents like performance certificates, increment letters, business cards etc. Please advice about whether above documentation should be enough and how I should present in my application that company is closed and DIBP won't be able to do the phone or email verification. I believe this is not uncommon.

Thanking you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TeaAddict -

Thanks for the kind words! In my view canceling the student visa may have a negative effect on your ability to get a visitor visa within 6 months of the cancellation or so, however the cancellation would not have any negative effect on a partner visa whether that is an onshore or offshore partner visa. Key if you are considering an onshore partner visa is to make sure your partner visa application is lodged before your student visa is cancelled (regardless of whether the student visa is cancelled by you voluntarily, or DIBP). This is critical to avoid a Schedule 3 issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TeaAddict said:


> Hi Mark, thank you very much for your replies both via email and on this forum. Having stressed over my situation for a very long time, I feel so relieved to see so many people in the same situation and grateful for all the kind people like yourself offering your time and professional knowledge!
> 
> In terms of applying for a partner visa, is there any major differences between applying for it onshore and offshore? I have heard mixed answers regarding offshore application - some have said I won't be able to enter the country until my visa is granted (which can take a long time), but some saying I can be granted a visitor visa upon an offshore partner application. I feel that if I were to cancel my student visa and not be allowed to re-enter, applying off shore is my only option.
> 
> My main concern is whether cancelling my student visa and leaving will have an impact on 1. my ability to re-enter whether straight away or in a few months, and 2. the outcome of my partner visa having failed to fulfil my requirements for the student visa.
> 
> Thank you very much again for your advice!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shabdullah -

Thanks for the note. Re: birth certificate, my suggestion would be to lodge what you have and wait for DIBP to request a corrected copy - they may or may not depending on the other supporting documentation you lodge with it (I suggest you lodge as much supporting ID documentation as you can). Re: the now-closed former employer, you've covered the main areas, especially the bank statements to prove income. You might indicate that they have ceased operations in a note included with the documents, by beyond that I would think that the case officer should be satisfied with what you have described as long as there is no suspicion about genuine documents or inaccurate claims on the application, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shabdullah said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for you support towards all the forum members, your replies are really helpful I have following two queries:
> 
> My government issued birth certificate has minor issue which is that it doesn't mention full name of mine and my father's.
> For example, if my name is MyName_1 MyName_2 son of FName_1 FName_2, my birth certificate mentions MyName_2 son of FName_2. Everything else is in place, my all identity and other documents have my correct full name and that of my father.
> What is suggested, should I submit the same Birth Certificate or should have it revised or submit alternative documents instead of the Birth Certificate. My worry is that changing anything in Birth Certificate is such a long process that it will take alt least months but I need to get ready to lodge my application in about a week's time. Please suggest.
> 
> Secondly, one of the companies I worked for about 4 years and claiming points for experience in that company, is no-more operational. I have HR certificate mentioning titles/dates, statutory declaration from a senior colleague mentioning Roles/Responsibilities, tax records of 3 years out of 4, bank statement for the entire period to show income and some other documents like performance certificates, increment letters, business cards etc. Please advice about whether above documentation should be enough and how I should present in my application that company is closed and DIBP won't be able to do the phone or email verification. I believe this is not uncommon.
> 
> Thanking you in advance.


----------



## TeaAddict

MarkNortham said:


> Hi TeaAddict -
> 
> Thanks for the kind words! In my view canceling the student visa may have a negative effect on your ability to get a visitor visa within 6 months of the cancellation or so, however the cancellation would not have any negative effect on a partner visa whether that is an onshore or offshore partner visa. Key if you are considering an onshore partner visa is to make sure your partner visa application is lodged before your student visa is cancelled (regardless of whether the student visa is cancelled by you voluntarily, or DIBP). This is critical to avoid a Schedule 3 issue.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, thank you yet again for your advice!

With regards to applying for my partner visa before cancelling my student visa, wouldn't that actually cancels out my partner visa application/ Bridging A too as it is tied to the student visa? And I would then have to apply for Bridging E to stay on?

I read on a different thread that if I were to leave the country first, then cancel my student visa, there will not be a travel ban and I can then re-enter to apply for my partner visa onshore. If that is the case, does the travel ban only apply for cancellation of study visas onshore? What are your thoughts on this option?


----------



## TeaAddict

Hi Mark, following my previous post above, if I have lodged a partner visa and subsequently cancelled my study visa before it expires, I understand that my partner visa application will also be cancelled, but does that mean I will have to pay and re-apply again? If so, does it make more sense to wait till I am offshore and have re-entered, before applying for a partner visa, as any that I lodge while still holding a (soon to be cancelled) student visa will be cancelled off?

Or is my definition of a "cancelled" application off?

Thank you very much once again!


----------



## OscarTango

Hi Mark,

hope you could give me an answer on this one. 
"Should I receive the PR based on being married ( 4 years ) to an Australian woman ( I'm Belgian ), would I be required to actually live/work in Australia ? " I'd like to get the PR in order to be able to buy an apartment ( together with my wife )as in investment until we finally move to Australia in 10-maybe even 15 years.

We live in Europe, but are in Australia at least once, most often twice per year. She as a citizen-returning, I as an e-visitor... 

Thank you for taking the time to read this.


----------



## crow

Hi Mark,
Hoping you can assist.... My Boyfriend is on his 2nd yr WHV which expires June 2016.
We are in process of applying for our 820 partner visa onshore.
As he is on WHV the 6month with one employer ruling.
He worked for a company for 21 weeks and left his job (no leave no pay as casual not on books etc )
We than travelled to uk for 8 weeks. Now back in oz has now started work with the same company again and is now on full time conditions e.g. sick pay/annual leave.
Does the 6 month rule start again for him ? or can he basically only work another 5 weeks with this company?

Also if this is the case and can only work 5 weeks we may try our luck and submit 1445 form to ask to get 6 month rule extended / overturned until his bridging visa comes into effect in June.explaining we have submitted 820 trying to build a future to buy a house have a baby etc basically what is going to be stated in 820 application ??

thank you for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TeaAddict -

To clarify - if you lodge a valid onshore partner visa application while holding a student visa and later cancel your student visa, while the BVA from your partner visa application is cancelled, your partner visa application itself continues unchanged. Very important.

Alternatives can include applying for a short-term subclass 600 visitor visa to replace the student visa, then wait out the 600 visitor visa until it expires, however high chance of refusal for the 600 visitor visa if you are already in Australia and have lodged a partner visa.

You can cancel your student visa while offshore, and in most cases that cancellation would have no negative effect, however it then leaves you with no way to return to Australia, and you have to hope to be approved for a visitor visa (see above).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TeaAddict said:


> Hi Mark, following my previous post above, if I have lodged a partner visa and subsequently cancelled my study visa before it expires, I understand that my partner visa application will also be cancelled, but does that mean I will have to pay and re-apply again? If so, does it make more sense to wait till I am offshore and have re-entered, before applying for a partner visa, as any that I lodge while still holding a (soon to be cancelled) student visa will be cancelled off?
> 
> Or is my definition of a "cancelled" application off?
> 
> Thank you very much once again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi OscarTango -

Assuming your partner is an Australian citizen (not a permanent resident), then the issue would come after the first 5-year PR visa was granted. At that point, if you wanted to re-enter Australia, you'd have to get a resident return visa (subclass 155 or 157) based on having substantial ties to Australia - if you only visit 1x/year and only have an investment property here, it may be difficult to qualify for the RRV, which leaves you with no good way to extend your PR re-entry rights to Australia after the initial 5 years.

You might explore the RRV regulations about substantial ties and see what options might exist for creating these - that would give you a basis to get a 1-year RRV each time you want to renew it after the 5 yr initial period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



OscarTango said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> hope you could give me an answer on this one.
> "Should I receive the PR based on being married ( 4 years ) to an Australian woman ( I'm Belgian ), would I be required to actually live/work in Australia ? " I'd like to get the PR in order to be able to buy an apartment ( together with my wife )as in investment until we finally move to Australia in 10-maybe even 15 years.
> 
> We live in Europe, but are in Australia at least once, most often twice per year. She as a citizen-returning, I as an e-visitor...
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crow -

The 6 month limit on a single employer applies regardless of whether there is a break in employment. However, once you lodge your 820 application, you can then lodge the 6-month extension request form which is usually approved in these instances. Chances of getting the 6 month extension approved without having first lodged the 820 are not great, as you are asking DIBP to "trust" that you will lodge the 820 in the future, but still may be worth a try based on compelling & compassionate conditions with evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crow said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hoping you can assist.... My Boyfriend is on his 2nd yr WHV which expires June 2016.
> We are in process of applying for our 820 partner visa onshore.
> As he is on WHV the 6month with one employer ruling.
> He worked for a company for 21 weeks and left his job (no leave no pay as casual not on books etc )
> We than travelled to uk for 8 weeks. Now back in oz has now started work with the same company again and is now on full time conditions e.g. sick pay/annual leave.
> Does the 6 month rule start again for him ? or can he basically only work another 5 weeks with this company?
> 
> Also if this is the case and can only work 5 weeks we may try our luck and submit 1445 form to ask to get 6 month rule extended / overturned until his bridging visa comes into effect in June.explaining we have submitted 820 trying to build a future to buy a house have a baby etc basically what is going to be stated in 820 application ??
> 
> thank you for your help


----------



## crow

Thanks Mark for your fast reply !

So just confirming that the 8 weeks he didn't work wasn't employed by them does NOT go towards the 6months. So we basically have to submit 820 asap online, once we see that it has been received we than submit the 1445 as aware this has to be 2 weeks prior to the 6months is up.

I'm also aware that they count the 6month as calender months eg 16/02 to 16/08.
So how would you suggest that we calculate this for eg he started on the 27/08 finished working on the 01/12.
Than he got hired again starting on the 01/02 this year.

Thank you very much honestly been googling for hours on how to make sure he can keep his job as means alot to our future 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Crow -
> 
> The 6 month limit on a single employer applies regardless of whether there is a break in employment. However, once you lodge your 820 application, you can then lodge the 6-month extension request form which is usually approved in these instances. Chances of getting the 6 month extension approved without having first lodged the 820 are not great, as you are asking DIBP to "trust" that you will lodge the 820 in the future, but still may be worth a try based on compelling & compassionate conditions with evidence.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## windycity

Hi Mark,

We are applying for partner visa.
But we still have problem with the joint club, membership or joint organisation.

Can you give us any example on how we can obtain these? 
Currently, we have flybuys. But we would like to get another one.


----------



## ShermD

Hi Mark,

If I'm the applicant of 189 visa and not other people are going to Australia (my siblings etc), is it compulsory to provide my deceased parent's death certificate to the DIBP to support the EOI or any other occasion during the visa process or after I land to the Australia ? Because I only have the temporary death certificate issued by the government officials, I didn't register and get the original certificate. 

Regards!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crow -

As long as he was not showing on their books as being employed by them, then the break doesn't count. Yes, correct re: submitting 1445.

Re: counting months, you could approximate to 180 days and then count the days of employment and total them up. Technically a month's time starting on, for instance 5 January 2016 would 5 January 2016 to 4 February 2016 - this is how immigration counts time to avoid any hassles related to longer vs shorter months, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crow said:


> Thanks Mark for your fast reply !
> 
> So just confirming that the 8 weeks he didn't work wasn't employed by them does NOT go towards the 6months. So we basically have to submit 820 asap online, once we see that it has been received we than submit the 1445 as aware this has to be 2 weeks prior to the 6months is up.
> 
> I'm also aware that they count the 6month as calender months eg 16/02 to 16/08.
> So how would you suggest that we calculate this for eg he started on the 27/08 finished working on the 01/12.
> Than he got hired again starting on the 01/02 this year.
> 
> Thank you very much honestly been googling for hours on how to make sure he can keep his job as means alot to our future


----------



## Jessica1888

Hi Mark,

My husband wants to sponsor my tourist visa but i donot have finance but im working with not enough pay. can my spouse show his bank statement for support?? im am also currently waiting for spouse visa also....


----------



## shamtah

Hi Mark

I have been granted a 190 visa 8 months ago.I have no brothers or sisters.I want to take my father and my mother to live with me in Australia.They are retired and do not work now.

Is there any type of visa that can allow them to come and live with me in Australia?I am not in Australia now, can I apply for this type of visa while I am outside Australia?How much time this visa needs till it is granted?

sorry for asking a lot of questions

Kind regards


----------



## kittudawra

Hi sir 
my self Kittu

Applied partner visa onshore 15 feb 2014

Got refused in 3 weeks . 

Applied mrt 7 March 2014 I guess

9 dec 2015 gone for hearing . Interview 

12 Jan 2016 got a reply my case hasbeen remit back to immigration
Still haven't got any notification from immigration sir how long does it takes ? 


Thanks in advance sir hope u have a great day thanks

I have provide less document initially when I have applied . . Cudnt prove my relation genuine . It was not schedule 3 . They refuse . Then have to applied mrt nearly waited like 18 months the go for hearing attend interview . After a month they replied me your file has been remotes back to immigration


----------



## Gary_jatt

Could you please share us the reasons of IMMI for refusal??


----------



## SamR1

Hi Mark,

I'll appreciate if you answer my question.

Currently, I am a Ph.D. student in Australia and planning to apply for permanent residency visa (189-190). 

My concern is that after I lodge my application for this visa, does my visa type change from student visa to bridging visa? If yes, can I still study under bridging visa and can I leave the country and come back?

Many thanks Mark,


----------



## mrspotato

*student visa*

Hi Mark,

I have a situation here now, I need to renew my student visa subclass 572. im studying commercial cookery, and ill be finish by august of 2017. my visa will expire on March 2016. I know i need to renew so i prepared around $34,000aud for evidence on funds. But the problem is i want to bring my husband here. how much do i need to show so i can bring him? can i apply him here in Australia, like if i can apply online or he needs to apply from our country.?

Also, another big problem is that he overstayed in the US for 7years. And he just got back to our country 2months ago. Should we or shouldnt we declare on his application that he overstayed? Will Australia find out about his overstaying in another country and will not let him in? I am very confused and will very much appreciate any help that you can give.

Thank you so much.

Mrspotato


----------



## surya11

Hi Mark,

Please kindly advise on the requirements of 60 points scoring. I'm still in the process of approaching assessment body for review of negative outcome. Considering the facts of getting positive assessment review outcome (and state sponsorship approval), obtaining total of 60 points is really mandatory or any possible waiver of few points if in case my scoring comes closer to 55. Thanks for your kind advise.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Surya11 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No way to proceed with skilled visa application or state sponsorship application for skilled visa without a positive skills assessment - you'll have to lodge a review at VETASSESS and see what arguments you can make - I'd take a careful look at the ANZSCO tasks for your occupation and see you how can make a matrix or chart that shows how each job's tasks/responsibilities maps well to the ANZSCO tasks.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## shabdullah

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your continuous support. 

In my work experience history, I have this consecutive 7-8 months period in which I wasn't working with any employer, I was rather Self-Employed on Freelance basis but wasn't unemployed. I have not claimed any points for this period and neither included this period in my ACS assessment. Now, as I would definitely include this working period in Form80 and CV, my query is that would I need to provide documents/evidence of being Self-Employed and relevant earning?
The only thing I have is the personal bank statement showing cash flow but it would be difficult to link those transaction as being paid by my clients because it was undocumented freelance work.

Please advise.

Regards


----------



## victoria_jacks

*Tourist visa before studying in QLD*

Hi Mark,

I am a UK citizen who has applied to study a graduate diploma in Queensland. I have been given a conditional offer to start this course in Feb 2017 providing I pass two online modules which start in Feb 2016. Because my offer is not unconditional I cannot apply for my study visa until I have passed these modules in January.

However I would like to come over to Australia in late August and spend several months travelling before starting my studies. My question is, as I wont be able to apply for a study visa until January, what is the best tourist visa to come over on for around 6 months travel?

Is it better to apply for an ETA and leave the country briefly after the first 3 months for a week or so and then return and use this again for the next three months. The danger here being that if I only leave for a week I may be refused entry when trying to return as i could be seen as not a true tourist as I wont have any way of proving when I will leave Australia such as an ongoing flight etc.

Or do I try to apply for an e600 6 month visa? The only problem with this again is proving that I genuinely want it to travel as I've often read you need to have some way of proving you will leave australia or return to your own country after the 6 months. Neither of which I can do as I will be staying on for an additonal year to complete my studies on a HE study visa.

Both options seem to have problems and I'm not sure which would be the best way to go about this? Any help you could give would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks,
Victoria


----------



## channie14

*Medical Waiver Question*

Hi Mark,
My question is in relation to applying for a waiver of medical examinations for my US citizen husband's two non-migrating children. 
We have tried to communicate with my husband's ex wife regarding the medical examinations with no luck. We have a court order in place stating that she is required to assist in the medicals and whatever is necessary for my husband to obtain his Australian visa, but we have still had difficulties with her cooperating and have not been able to move forward with anything. Continuing to spend money in court is just not feasible on top of the costs of the visa itself.
Our plan is to relocate to Australia with my husband initially on an ETA and then apply for his partner visa onshore. We were trying to organize for his non-migrating dependent children to have their medical examination beforehand so we could just include those results in his application (mainly because we knew his ex-wife would give us trouble with this so we wanted to get them done prior to applying so there wouldn't be a hold up with the application - it just isn't working out for us to do it that way)  
How do we go about requesting a waiver? Is it something an agent would need to do for us or do we apply for the visa as per normal and address the medical issue in relation to his children once it arises and apply for the waiver later?
I appreciate any info/insight you can provide us.
Chantelle.


----------



## bestfriend_peter

Hi Mark,
Or to anyone who went through similar situations,

I despertately need your help in a dilemma I'm facing at the moment.

I'm currently on 573 Visa which will expire in 2018. I have a permanent part-time job where I work 20h/week whilst course is in session. I have been living with my partner for more than 12 months now and he's covering all other expenses as I don't get much from my job.

My partner is an Australian citizen. He works full time but he received a letter from his employer that they're closing down and he will be redundant by July 2016. When this happens, we don't know how long it would take for him to find a new job that can cover our expenses, especially my uni fees. I might need to stop studying and work full-time whilst he's looking for another job to survive but it would breach my visa conditions.

We are contemplating to apply for partner visa 820 but we're wondering if there are other options as it takes 12-15 months to get a result. 

We need your help in making the right decisions as we are also considering the cost involved in visa applications as we can't afford to waste money at this stage.

Thank you in advance!


----------



## christtianpinto

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding the Partner Visa 820/801:

Once I'm granted PR (visa 801), it says I can "travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is granted – after that time you will need another visa to enter Australia."

I don't quite understand what the Immi wants to say  Does that mean after five years, even if I keep living in Au for this whole time with my partner and only travelling overseas once a year for tourism , will I still have to apply for another visa?

Thank you so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jessica -

Thanks for the note. Yes, your husband can show his bank statement for evidence of funds to pay for the visit. However you may want to google "temporary entrant criteria" to see if there are some ties to your home country you can show as part of the visa application. If you are employed (regardless of income level), a letter from your employer stating that you would have your job back upon your return from Australia could help.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jessica1888 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My husband wants to sponsor my tourist visa but i donot have finance but im working with not enough pay. can my spouse show his bank statement for support?? im am also currently waiting for spouse visa also....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shamtah -

In order for you to sponsor your parents for a parent visa (contributory or non-contributory) you'll need to be a "settled permanent resident" which means you live in Australia and have lived here for 2 years - doesn't have to be 2 years as a permanent resident (previous living here as a temporary resident can work).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shamtah said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have been granted a 190 visa 8 months ago.I have no brothers or sisters.I want to take my father and my mother to live with me in Australia.They are retired and do not work now.
> 
> Is there any type of visa that can allow them to come and live with me in Australia?I am not in Australia now, can I apply for this type of visa while I am outside Australia?How much time this visa needs till it is granted?
> 
> sorry for asking a lot of questions
> 
> Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kittudawra -

Congratulations on your MRT success! DIBP time to continue processing a partner visa upon remit from MRT (now AAT) can be anywhere from a few weeks to 2+ months - all you can do is wait, and make very sure that your contact information with them is current (use form 929 to update address, etc) - if you have given them permission to communicate by email with you, make sure you check your junk/spam folder every day.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kittudawra said:


> Hi sir
> my self Kittu
> 
> Applied partner visa onshore 15 feb 2014
> 
> Got refused in 3 weeks .
> 
> Applied mrt 7 March 2014 I guess
> 
> 9 dec 2015 gone for hearing . Interview
> 
> 12 Jan 2016 got a reply my case hasbeen remit back to immigration
> Still haven't got any notification from immigration sir how long does it takes ?
> 
> Thanks in advance sir hope u have a great day thanks
> 
> I have provide less document initially when I have applied . . Cudnt prove my relation genuine . It was not schedule 3 . They refuse . Then have to applied mrt nearly waited like 18 months the go for hearing attend interview . After a month they replied me your file has been remotes back to immigration


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gary_jatt -

I'd like to help, but that's too general a question - there are over 100 types of visas for Australia and each one has many requirements - the number of possible reasons any visa could be huge - health, character, not evidencing relationship properly, any number of schedule 3 or other issues, etc etc but all depends on the specific visa you are applying for - each visa has different requirements, and failing any of those requirements is reason for refusal.

Best,

Mark Northam



Gary_jatt said:


> Could you please share us the reasons of IMMI for refusal??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SamR1 -

Thanks for the note. You will be granted a bridging visa if you lodge your 189/190 app onshore, but the bridging visa will only activate after your current (student) visa expires on its own. Until that point, you are still governed by the student visa and its conditions. If you've lodged a 189/190 app while your student visa is valid, then the student visa expires and the bridging visa activates as a result, then you will be able to continue to study on the bridging visa as normally bridging visa A's issued in these conditions have no study limitations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SamR1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'll appreciate if you answer my question.
> 
> Currently, I am a Ph.D. student in Australia and planning to apply for permanent residency visa (189-190).
> 
> My concern is that after I lodge my application for this visa, does my visa type change from student visa to bridging visa? If yes, can I still study under bridging visa and can I leave the country and come back?
> 
> Many thanks Mark,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mrspotato -

Thanks for the note. You'll need to study the student visa requirements very carefully on the DIBP website to see what financial requirements apply - too complex to deal with on the forum and there are too many factors that come into play that can determine both the amount and what evidence is required/who can show evidence.

You should answer all questions on the application truthfully, and one of the character questions asks if the person has ever overstayed a visa for any country - if yes, details are required to be provided and DIBP will usually want documents from the country involved to verify the details. No way for me to predict results, but a recent 7 year overstay without a very good explanation could be a substantial problem for an Australian visa. Problem is that it shows that the person may have no regard for migration laws, so DIBP may conclude that the person may have no regard for Australian migration laws.

To maximise the chances of success, you may want to consider getting professional assistance in putting together documents, evidence and arguments about why the 7 year overstay should be excused.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mrspotato said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a situation here now, I need to renew my student visa subclass 572. im studying commercial cookery, and ill be finish by august of 2017. my visa will expire on March 2016. I know i need to renew so i prepared around $34,000aud for evidence on funds. But the problem is i want to bring my husband here. how much do i need to show so i can bring him? can i apply him here in Australia, like if i can apply online or he needs to apply from our country.?
> 
> Also, another big problem is that he overstayed in the US for 7years. And he just got back to our country 2months ago. Should we or shouldnt we declare on his application that he overstayed? Will Australia find out about his overstaying in another country and will not let him in? I am very confused and will very much appreciate any help that you can give.
> 
> Thank you so much.
> 
> Mrspotato


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Surya11 -

60 points is the law, no flexibility. If applying for 190 visa, you only need 55 points and the successful sponsorship will add 5 points; for 489 visa you need 50 points and sponsorship will add 10. Beyond that, would need to discuss your circumstances and details in a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case - see website below for more info if interested -

Best,

Mark Northam



surya11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Please kindly advise on the requirements of 60 points scoring. I'm still in the process of approaching assessment body for review of negative outcome. Considering the facts of getting positive assessment review outcome (and state sponsorship approval), obtaining total of 60 points is really mandatory or any possible waiver of few points if in case my scoring comes closer to 55. Thanks for your kind advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shabdullah -

Thanks for the note. No need to show documents for work experience where you are not claiming points for it. Must list it on Form 80, but no docs required from that employer or about that work experience if no points claimed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shabdullah said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your continuous support.
> 
> In my work experience history, I have this consecutive 7-8 months period in which I wasn't working with any employer, I was rather Self-Employed on Freelance basis but wasn't unemployed. I have not claimed any points for this period and neither included this period in my ACS assessment. Now, as I would definitely include this working period in Form80 and CV, my query is that would I need to provide documents/evidence of being Self-Employed and relevant earning?
> The only thing I have is the personal bank statement showing cash flow but it would be difficult to link those transaction as being paid by my clients because it was undocumented freelance work.
> 
> Please advise.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victoria_jacks -

I'd probably go for the regular visitor visa (subclass 651) and have specific tourist itineraries worked out for both stays, and leave at least a week between stays. Having someone who invites you is helpful too, plus evidence of financial support for the trip of course.

Also, do you qualify for a working holiday visa? If so, that might be even easier as multiple entry not an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



victoria_jacks said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a UK citizen who has applied to study a graduate diploma in Queensland. I have been given a conditional offer to start this course in Feb 2017 providing I pass two online modules which start in Feb 2016. Because my offer is not unconditional I cannot apply for my study visa until I have passed these modules in January.
> 
> However I would like to come over to Australia in late August and spend several months travelling before starting my studies. My question is, as I wont be able to apply for a study visa until January, what is the best tourist visa to come over on for around 6 months travel?
> 
> Is it better to apply for an ETA and leave the country briefly after the first 3 months for a week or so and then return and use this again for the next three months. The danger here being that if I only leave for a week I may be refused entry when trying to return as i could be seen as not a true tourist as I wont have any way of proving when I will leave Australia such as an ongoing flight etc.
> 
> Or do I try to apply for an e600 6 month visa? The only problem with this again is proving that I genuinely want it to travel as I've often read you need to have some way of proving you will leave australia or return to your own country after the 6 months. Neither of which I can do as I will be staying on for an additonal year to complete my studies on a HE study visa.
> 
> Both options seem to have problems and I'm not sure which would be the best way to go about this? Any help you could give would be very much appreciated.
> 
> Many thanks,
> Victoria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chantelle -

I'd get the application lodged first, since medicals expire in 12 months and partner visa applications often take longer than that to process. Re: issues with medicals for non-migrating kids, I would put together as much documentation as you can to show you've attempted to compel the ex partner to comply with the court order including every email, list of phone call dates/times, etc and then write a cover letter explaining everything you've done to try and complete the medicals with no results. No need to hire an agent to do that if you're comfortable writing a basic letter that tells the story and points to the evidence you're including as proof of your efforts to get the medicals done.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



channie14 said:


> Hi Mark,
> My question is in relation to applying for a waiver of medical examinations for my US citizen husband's two non-migrating children.
> We have tried to communicate with my husband's ex wife regarding the medical examinations with no luck. We have a court order in place stating that she is required to assist in the medicals and whatever is necessary for my husband to obtain his Australian visa, but we have still had difficulties with her cooperating and have not been able to move forward with anything. Continuing to spend money in court is just not feasible on top of the costs of the visa itself.
> Our plan is to relocate to Australia with my husband initially on an ETA and then apply for his partner visa onshore. We were trying to organize for his non-migrating dependent children to have their medical examination beforehand so we could just include those results in his application (mainly because we knew his ex-wife would give us trouble with this so we wanted to get them done prior to applying so there wouldn't be a hold up with the application - it just isn't working out for us to do it that way)
> How do we go about requesting a waiver? Is it something an agent would need to do for us or do we apply for the visa as per normal and address the medical issue in relation to his children once it arises and apply for the waiver later?
> I appreciate any info/insight you can provide us.
> Chantelle.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bestfriend_peter -

Thanks for the note. Partner visa may be the best route, and if after you've lodged the onshore partner visa you are in financial hardship as a couple and want to stop studying to work full time, then you could potentially cancel the student visa, claim financial hardship (some risk) and then if approved you would have a Bridging Visa E with work rights until the partner visa was decided. This is a last-ditch strategy, however, as there is the risk that the work rights will not be approved. Canceling the student also means no travel out/back to Australia since you cannot re-enter on a BV-E and loss of time in Australia prior to the cancellation towards the 4 year residency requirement for citizenship.

Hope this helps some -

Best,

Mark Northam



bestfriend_peter said:


> Hi Mark,
> Or to anyone who went through similar situations,
> 
> I despertately need your help in a dilemma I'm facing at the moment.
> 
> I'm currently on 573 Visa which will expire in 2018. I have a permanent part-time job where I work 20h/week whilst course is in session. I have been living with my partner for more than 12 months now and he's covering all other expenses as I don't get much from my job.
> 
> My partner is an Australian citizen. He works full time but he received a letter from his employer that they're closing down and he will be redundant by July 2016. When this happens, we don't know how long it would take for him to find a new job that can cover our expenses, especially my uni fees. I might need to stop studying and work full-time whilst he's looking for another job to survive but it would breach my visa conditions.
> 
> We are contemplating to apply for partner visa 820 but we're wondering if there are other options as it takes 12-15 months to get a result.
> 
> We need your help in making the right decisions as we are also considering the cost involved in visa applications as we can't afford to waste money at this stage.
> 
> Thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Christtianpinto -

Great question - that is confusing for many people. What it means is that on the 801, you can remain in Australia indefinitely. However your right to re-enter Australia (after departing on a trip, etc) expires in 5 years. To renew your re-entry rights after the initial 5yr period, you'll need a Resident Return Visa (subclass 155 or 157). Easiest way to get one of these is if you are in Australia for a total of 24 months during the 5 year initial period - you would then automatically qualify for a 5 year RRV to extend your re-entry rights for 5 years after the initial 5 year PR period - you have to apply for this visa, but it's fairly straightforward if you meet the 24 month requirement. If you spend less than a total of 24 months during the 5 year period, you'll have to get a 1-year RRV based on substantial ties and some other factors - see DIBP website for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



christtianpinto said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding the Partner Visa 820/801:
> 
> Once I'm granted PR (visa 801), it says I can "travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is granted - after that time you will need another visa to enter Australia."
> 
> I don't quite understand what the Immi wants to say  Does that mean after five years, even if I keep living in Au for this whole time with my partner and only travelling overseas once a year for tourism , will I still have to apply for another visa?
> 
> Thank you so much!


----------



## shamtah

Thank you very much for the valuable information Mark

Kind regards



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shamtah -
> 
> In order for you to sponsor your parents for a parent visa (contributory or non-contributory) you'll need to be a "settled permanent resident" which means you live in Australia and have lived here for 2 years - doesn't have to be 2 years as a permanent resident (previous living here as a temporary resident can work).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## desync1205

Hello Mark,

I'd like to ask a question regarding my family's [Temporary Work (Long Stay Activity) (Class GB)] visas, which were denied by the relevant department.

We lodged a review application to MRT via our immigration agent (not lawyer) about 6 months ago, and have only heard that it is still in the reviewing process.

If MRT denies our visa application again, would it be possible to lodge another review application to the court via a registered immigration lawyer?

Also, considering that the possible reason why the department denied our application in the first place was because my father extended his Visitor visa about 2 times before lodging this Temporary Work visa, would you say it is positively likely to receive the new visa?

Thank you so much for answering questions from people in need, Mark.

Regards


----------



## channie14

I appreciate your help, thank you!


----------



## ysherza

*Questions on PMV work status*

Hello,

My fiance is an australian citizen. We are looking at the PMV visa as an option for me. I have read on some forums that employment can be a problem when you're on the PMV visa. Is this true ?

I work in the IT industry and would like to stick with this career. If we get married and apply for a PR status (subclass 100, i believe ?) Are employers still reluctant with that status as well ? And how long does the processing for the bridging visa take ?

I need timelines to figure out the best move for me.Will I be granted full long term work rights as soon as i apply for the PR after marriage ?

I will be very grateful for any guidance.

Thanks


----------



## luddite

*Change of circumstance after grant*

Hi Mark,
I'm a bit worried about my change of circumstances that happened a while ago. Didn't think much of it at the time, but its been constantly at the back of my head, and am panicking a bit about it now...

I applied for my 189 visa while I was unemployed but had a job offer. I was already residing in the country of the job offer on a family visa (with my parents), but am not a national here, so I did need a work visa for it (I even wrote this in one of the application forms). The offer was in another city. My join date was supposed to be 1st Jan, but because the work visa was approved quickly, the company asked me to join on 28th Dec, so I joined and moved to the other city. I was granted my 189 visa on 30th Dec 2015 and was very happy.

What I am worried about is that did I need to update the immigration department about my job and moving (change in circumstances), even though it was just 2 days before my grant?? I had thought about sending in the 1022 form regarding change of address, but I didn't actually have a new mailing address (only found an apartment in end of Jan, and had my old apartment till beginning of Feb).

Do I need to send in form 1022 now to inform about change of address? How about employment? Would there be any issue about me not informing them before (i.e. before grant)??
I plan on making first landing in May.


----------



## haries

Good Day, 

Mr Mark Northman

It will be a great help for me if you can able to answer my questions or give an advice to me regarding what to do in our situation. 

I am Haries from the Philippines who are currently here in Kyneton, Victoria for a 3 month visit and I am now in my 2nd month . I am with my australian partner ( de facto same sex). 

We already talked to someone but it didnt gave us much information or hopes. Anyway we also made some research about on shore application for partner/de favto visa. we are in a long distance relationship since I came back when the first time I visited him in Dec 2012. 

It says that we should be living or lived together for a period of 12 months or more. But how it will be possible if we are in a long distance relationship at that time?

Is there any way to prove it? 

Thank you so much. I have a lot of questions but this is the first one I wanted to know. 

I am hoping for your reply and I will appreciate it so much.


----------



## kris1

Hi Mark,

When applying for a partner visa (820) is it a requirement for the sponsor to provide a birth certificate? I was under the impression that other forms of ID was accepted too. Specifically we were going to submit his passport and driver's license.

Thanks


----------



## christtianpinto

Thank you so much Mark, that clarifies a lot! And just to make sure, that wouldn't apply if I apply for (and later be granted) citizenship within the first 5 years of PR, right?!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Christtianpinto -
> 
> Great question - that is confusing for many people. What it means is that on the 801, you can remain in Australia indefinitely. However your right to re-enter Australia (after departing on a trip, etc) expires in 5 years. To renew your re-entry rights after the initial 5yr period, you'll need a Resident Return Visa (subclass 155 or 157). Easiest way to get one of these is if you are in Australia for a total of 24 months during the 5 year initial period - you would then automatically qualify for a 5 year RRV to extend your re-entry rights for 5 years after the initial 5 year PR period - you have to apply for this visa, but it's fairly straightforward if you meet the 24 month requirement. If you spend less than a total of 24 months during the 5 year period, you'll have to get a 1-year RRV based on substantial ties and some other factors - see DIBP website for more on this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## enelyx

Hello Mark,

First of all, thank you so much for dedicating time to help answer so many of our questions.

My partner is on a 457 visa (He already moved there months ago) and last month we have lodged our online application for me as his defacto under the Temporary Work - Subsequent Entrant s457.

Case officer has been assigned and has requested for additional info.
One of the items that I am confused about is:

*- Letter from your sponsor in relation to all applications .*

We have submitted a letter from his company agreeing to extend their sponsorship and my partner's relationship statement.

By any chance would you know what exactly is this letter? I am thinking it is one of the official IMMI forms that we need to fill out, but I would like to know your thoughts.

Thank you so much in advance!!


----------



## ShermD

Dear Mark,

I think you missed my post on http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/49513-ask-mark-1028.html#post1184225 and you didn't gave an answer 

Regards!


----------



## memdour

Hi
I have a big trouble with my husband who is a sponsor of my 820 visa application. I don't want to live with him anymore. I just wonder if I withdraw my 820/801 visa application myself. Does this influence my application for 485 TR? Does this influence my 189 (skill independent visa) later on?

thanks! 
warm regards


----------



## bhw080809

Hello Mark,
I have some questions about the application of VISA 887. 
I am going to apply for VISA 887, do I need to scan and upload relevant documents with JP signature? Is it OK if I scan and upload colour copies of original documents to support my application without JP signature?

One more thing, do I have to require my company to print all payslips on the official letterhead of the company? And do I need to ask my boss to sign on payslips?

I hope you can give me some advice. Thank you so much for your time.


----------



## skharoon

bhw080809 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I have some questions about the application of VISA 887.
> I am going to apply for VISA 887, do I need to scan and upload relevant documents with JP signature? Is it OK if I scan and upload colour copies of original documents to support my application without JP signature?
> 
> One more thing, do I have to require my company to print all payslips on the official letterhead of the company? And do I need to ask my boss to sign on payslips?
> 
> I hope you can give me some advice. Thank you so much for your time.


Dear Mark,

Can you confirm the new proposed point test.

New points Test Draft from November 2015

The Federal Government are currently undertaking a review of the Australian migration system. A Draft report was published in November 2015 and provided the following comments in relation to the Skilled (points Test) categories.

They are important in that they give some guidance into how DIBP will structure their new points test which is expected later in 2016 &#8230;

Comments from the Report

------------

There is a case for adjusting the selection of skilled immigrants

Across the skill stream as a whole, immigrants' skill levels are broadly similar to those of the Australian born population. However, within the skill stream there is significant variation. The relatively poor labour market outcomes of onshore independent skilled immigrants suggest that there is scope to improve the labour market outcomes of the skilled immigration stream overall by adjusting the eligibility criteria for this visa subclass.

One option would be to radically change the approach to selection of all skilled immigrants, such as by imposing a points test on all applicants, similar to the Canadian system. However, this would not address the most problematic subclass the onshore independent subclass which is already subject to a points test. It would add extra administration to employer

nominated skilled immigration (which performs well).

On balance it is unlikely that imposing extra bureaucracy to the entire skilled immigration program to address deficiencies in one visa subclass would improve skilled immigrants' labour market outcomes significantly. An alternative would be to make targeted adjustments to the eligibility criteria, including:

• increasing the points granted for superior English language skills (currently superior English attracts 20 points)

• granting more points to graduates who have studied in fields which are under supplied (or penalising graduates in over-supplied fields)

• granting more points to applicants who have achieved better academic results (currently points are granted based on the award of a degree from a recognised institution; academic success is not taken into account) for example those with a distinction or high distinction average, honours and higher degrees

• reducing the occupational ceilings for over-supplied fields

• capping the onshore independent visa subclass (which would implicitly increase the points test pass mark for the subclass each year).

Of these options, the Commission favours the first three. Increasing the points granted to applicants who have desirable human capital characteristics (English language skills and

high marks in fields that are not over supplied) would be consistent with the objective of identifying immigrants who are likely to meet Australia's longer term labour market needs.

Reducing the occupational ceilings for over supplied fields would be a less targeted* approach, particularly if applications are processed in the order they are lodged.


----------



## YL1

Hi Mark,
I have just applied for a 485 visa but I am also thinking of lodging my EOI for the 189 visa soon. If I am invited to apply for 189, is it possible to lodge a 189 application whilst my 485 visa is still being processed and I am on a BVA for 485?


----------



## romero2005

*Work Experienc*

Dear Mark,
I am a System analyst. also I have professional year. If I show my work exp to ACS they will deduct 2 years. But without showing work exp I also can apply ACS assessment by using my professional year.

They I can mention in the EOI that i have 3 years work exp. It it possible. pls help me.

Thanks


----------



## Vikchi

Hi Mark,
I need urgent help . Me and my wife both are PR I am planning to bring my son to Australia on visitor visa before applying for his PR child visa. For visitor visa for one year - how much funds should I show, frankly speaking I dont have much savings but I have permanent full time job which pays me 70k plus super with which I can easily look after the expenses of son. To show that I can support my son financially if I show only pay slips and my offer letter will that be enough. And what are the chances of getting visitor visa approved without applying for child visa


----------



## pomwantingtomove

Hi Mark,

Any idea when the next invitation round is for 189? The website still says 3rd and 17th Feb - is this because it won't publish them until March? Also, I don't know if you are able to answer this question, I have 70 points and submitted my EOI yesterday, do I stand a good chance of being selected at the next round? Or is it a 'how long is a piece of string? ' question?

Michele.


----------



## THIND AMRIT

HELLO SIR
I am AMRITPAL SINGH THIND from amritsar, punjab,India. Sir i had applied for the stream lined visa on 13th jan.. On 31st jan i got an mail from visa officer saying that my +2 mark certificate is fake.. but its 100% genuine. Than i submitted a bundle of proofs and till now no answer from visa officer. My orientation is on 22 feb and regular classes will be started on 29 feb so only one week left for my uni to be started...
Sir kindly tell me what should i do now... my file is 100% genuine and its the perfect file with with having 95% in +2.. 
Kindly send me reply fast sir...
Thanks..


----------



## ranju

*Non-migrating dependent family members*

Hi Mark ,

I have got invitation and am little confused here....

i am adding my wife to join me on the application do i have to mention about her again here....

In the earlier page on the document i have mentioned that she is included.


----------



## surya11

Thanks Mark


----------



## itszainkhan

Hi Mark, 

I have a question regarding the visa subclass 489, that I have been searching the answer to in the entire forum, but to no avail. Thought I'd ask the best. 

At present, I have submitted a 489 visa application for Orana. Should go there around April 2016. I keep reading more and more about the struggles of job hunt in regional areas. So if that were to happen, the only answer seems to be to get a release letter and move to Adelaide.

Now the actual question: Under what circumstances am I entitled a release letter? 

Is there a certain duration in which if I can not find work in that area then I am automatically entitled a release letter? I tried to ask the relevant office about it but they keep stressing that "The reason you got a nomination from NSW is because there is a shortage of Management Accountants in this region, so you should able to find work". Truth be told, I do not intend to escape my responsibility to try my best to find relevant work in the region. But I just want to be prepared for all outcomes. 

Furthermore, I am very adamant on not working in any occupation other than the one I am selected for, as I don't want to jeopardise my career. So could that be an issue, as in could RDA Orana ask me to look for all kinds of work instead of just finance related roles, and not issue me a release letter if I don't do that or don't want to work in non-finance roles? I am just curious as to what my rights are. 

I will look forward to your help. Thank you in advance for you time.


----------



## GadoGadoGal

Hi Mark,

I hope this finds you well!

I believe you may have addressed a similar question before, but I have spent a couple of hours scouring this thread and the forum and cannot find it. If you know the post/thread, I wouldn't mind your response being a link to the previous answer you provided if it saves you time!

Last March I applied for an 820/801 with my (Australian) husband of 3.5 years at time of application (together 7.5 years at time of application and provided evidence for this). He'd come back to Australia from South America for short-term medical diagnosis and treatment, but while I was visiting he was told by his doctors that he needed to stay for at least a year. We decided to resettle here, I got a job at the university where I previously studied, and unable to work my husband went through long-term treatment, but never got a diagnosis and experienced minor improvement. In December we both went to the U.S. for the holidays and we decided he should go back to his original doctor and undergo treatment that is not yet available in Australia. This will take 3-6 months, and is temporary - he is coming back to Australia. He has reported his travel to Smarttraveller.gov.au. Should I update DIBP with this information by uploading a letter or change of circumstances form to my application? If so, is there any particular information you suggest I give them? I could also update them on my job since I got it after applying for the visa, along with additional Super Beneficiary and emergency contact information, etc. 

Your advice will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you and warm regards,
Misha


----------



## Xine

Hi Mark I applied for Onshore Partner Visa Last Nov. We dont have the registration of our relationship here in Australia We are not married too only de facto we lived 6 months together in the Philippines and like 9 months here in Australia before applying will that consider the 1 year defacto relationship ? We are here in Australia for a year now is it still useful to register our relationship after lodging my application? We have a baby too I gave birth last January 2016. I only have 2 witnesses aswell is that enough? Do i still need to make a stat declaration of the nature of household and Nature of the couple's mutual commitment to each other? DO i also need to fill up the form 1221? So much questions hope you dont mind. I applied Online. We are already in a relationship since Aug 2013 but just started to live together last 2014.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi desync1205 -

Thanks for the note. MRT (now AAT) waiting times can range from a few months up to one year or more, and are very difficult to predict with any accuracy.

Re: court after AAT, this would generally only be possible if there was a legal error (called a jurisdictional error) identified in the decision making process by DIBP or the AAT. An immigration lawyer could assist with this, or some people lodge court cases themselves. Remember that with a court review, the decision is no longer about whether the applicant meets the criteria for the visa, etc, and is only focused on any legal error(s) that might have occurred.

Re: chances of success, would need to review the DIBP refusal and arguments you intend to make to the AAT in order to give you any sort of an indication - happy to do so at a consultation, please see website below in my signature for more information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



desync1205 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I'd like to ask a question regarding my family's [Temporary Work (Long Stay Activity) (Class GB)] visas, which were denied by the relevant department.
> 
> We lodged a review application to MRT via our immigration agent (not lawyer) about 6 months ago, and have only heard that it is still in the reviewing process.
> 
> If MRT denies our visa application again, would it be possible to lodge another review application to the court via a registered immigration lawyer?
> 
> Also, considering that the possible reason why the department denied our application in the first place was because my father extended his Visitor visa about 2 times before lodging this Temporary Work visa, would you say it is positively likely to receive the new visa?
> 
> Thank you so much for answering questions from people in need, Mark.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ysherza -

Thanks for the note. Hard to predict how employers will view different types of visas, however with the PMV, as soon as you arrive on the PMV after granted, you have full work rights. Assuming you lodge an onshore partner visa application while in Australia on the PMV after marrying (subclass 820/801), you will get a bridging visa A with full work rights that will activate upon expiration of your PMV, which will effectively continue the full work rights until such time as a decision is made on the partner visa - in most cases you'll get the provisional partner visa (subclass 820) first. Onshore partner visas typically take 12-18 months to process, and 2 years after you make the initial onshore partner visa application you can lodge further paperwork to continue the PR part of the partner visa application (subclass 801). You are entitled to Medicare while onshore from the point you lodge the 820/801 application.

So essentially you'll have full work rights from the moment you arrive on the PMV until the provisional partner visa is issued and afterwards on the provisional partner visa, so continuous full work rights from the time you arrive on the PMV.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ysherza said:


> Hello,
> 
> My fiance is an australian citizen. We are looking at the PMV visa as an option for me. I have read on some forums that employment can be a problem when you're on the PMV visa. Is this true ?
> 
> I work in the IT industry and would like to stick with this career. If we get married and apply for a PR status (subclass 100, i believe ?) Are employers still reluctant with that status as well ? And how long does the processing for the bridging visa take ?
> 
> I need timelines to figure out the best move for me.Will I be granted full long term work rights as soon as i apply for the PR after marriage ?
> 
> I will be very grateful for any guidance.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luddite -

No issue I see in the sequence of events you described. Normally change of circumstances is appropriate if you change your permanent address, contact info, passport, etc and is done using either Form 1022 or Form 929 as appropriate. However changing occupation during visa processing is not something that DIBP normally expects, and with just 2 days before the grant, is not something that I believe DIBP could have realistically expected you to do given the timeline involved. The primary information DIBP is interested in is the information declared on the application and information that exists at the time of application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



luddite said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm a bit worried about my change of circumstances that happened a while ago. Didn't think much of it at the time, but its been constantly at the back of my head, and am panicking a bit about it now...
> 
> I applied for my 189 visa while I was unemployed but had a job offer. I was already residing in the country of the job offer on a family visa (with my parents), but am not a national here, so I did need a work visa for it (I even wrote this in one of the application forms). The offer was in another city. My join date was supposed to be 1st Jan, but because the work visa was approved quickly, the company asked me to join on 28th Dec, so I joined and moved to the other city. I was granted my 189 visa on 30th Dec 2015 and was very happy.
> 
> What I am worried about is that did I need to update the immigration department about my job and moving (change in circumstances), even though it was just 2 days before my grant?? I had thought about sending in the 1022 form regarding change of address, but I didn't actually have a new mailing address (only found an apartment in end of Jan, and had my old apartment till beginning of Feb).
> 
> Do I need to send in form 1022 now to inform about change of address? How about employment? Would there be any issue about me not informing them before (i.e. before grant)??
> I plan on making first landing in May.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Haries -

Thanks for the note. An onshore partner visa based on a de facto relationship will require that you prove the de facto relationship existed for the 12 months prior to applying for the visa.The only way to avoid this is to register your de facto relationship with the state you live in, however VIC's requirements (last time I checked) required 12 months residency. NSW's only require 1 partner be resident, so that's a big difference.

Unfortunately DIBP (immigration dept) doesn't give much weight to online relationships and long distance relationships unless the time apart was between times together where the relationship was clearly established as a living-together, partner relationship.

I'd be happy to discuss the requirements and issues further with you in a consultation - see my website below in my signature for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



haries said:


> Good Day,
> 
> Mr Mark Northman
> 
> It will be a great help for me if you can able to answer my questions or give an advice to me regarding what to do in our situation.
> 
> I am Haries from the Philippines who are currently here in Kyneton, Victoria for a 3 month visit and I am now in my 2nd month . I am with my australian partner ( de facto same sex).
> 
> We already talked to someone but it didnt gave us much information or hopes. Anyway we also made some research about on shore application for partner/de favto visa. we are in a long distance relationship since I came back when the first time I visited him in Dec 2012.
> 
> It says that we should be living or lived together for a period of 12 months or more. But how it will be possible if we are in a long distance relationship at that time?
> 
> Is there any way to prove it?
> 
> Thank you so much. I have a lot of questions but this is the first one I wanted to know.
> 
> I am hoping for your reply and I will appreciate it so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kris1 -

DIBP usually asks for this, especially if the applicant is a permanent resident and not an Australian citizen. Can be avoided in some cases if you can clearly establish identity and citizenship through other means and provide a good reason that DIBP accepts as to why a birth cert is not available. One example that occurs fairly regularly is with Indian citizens where compulsory registration of birth was not required until 1989 - typically secondary school certificates with both parents' names listed are accepted in many cases instead of birth certificates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kris1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> When applying for a partner visa (820) is it a requirement for the sponsor to provide a birth certificate? I was under the impression that other forms of ID was accepted too. Specifically we were going to submit his passport and driver's license.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Christtianpinto -

Correct - once you become an Australian citizen, no need for visas or travel documents (other than your passport) of any kind.

Best,

Mark NOrtham



christtianpinto said:


> Thank you so much Mark, that clarifies a lot! And just to make sure, that wouldn't apply if I apply for (and later be granted) citizenship within the first 5 years of PR, right?!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enelyx -

What you've described is exactly the letter that is usually done in these cases - the letter needs to be from the company, preferably on company letterhead, and needs to specifically name the primary 457 visa holder and say that the company extends benefits of sponsorship and nomination to the additional dependents, and then list each dependent. No particular DIBP form to complete for this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enelyx said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> First of all, thank you so much for dedicating time to help answer so many of our questions.
> 
> My partner is on a 457 visa (He already moved there months ago) and last month we have lodged our online application for me as his defacto under the Temporary Work - Subsequent Entrant s457.
> 
> Case officer has been assigned and has requested for additional info.
> One of the items that I am confused about is:
> 
> *- Letter from your sponsor in relation to all applications .*
> 
> We have submitted a letter from his company agreeing to extend their sponsorship and my partner's relationship statement.
> 
> By any chance would you know what exactly is this letter? I am thinking it is one of the official IMMI forms that we need to fill out, but I would like to know your thoughts.
> 
> Thank you so much in advance!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ShermD -

Sorry about that! I try to catch all of these, but appreciate you reminding me.

No need to provide documentation of parents' death as part of the 189 visa process, EOI, etc. You'll list your parents' information on the visa application and on Form 80, but simply choose the option for Deceased and you'll be all set - no further confirmation or documentation required.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ShermD said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> If I'm the applicant of 189 visa and not other people are going to Australia (my siblings etc), is it compulsory to provide my deceased parent's death certificate to the DIBP to support the EOI or any other occasion during the visa process or after I land to the Australia ? Because I only have the temporary death certificate issued by the government officials, I didn't register and get the original certificate.
> 
> Regards!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Memdour -

Sorry to hear of your issues with your husband. Assuming you currently have pending applications for both 485 and 820/801, no direct effect I see on the pending 485 application. As long as the 820/801 is withdrawn (and not refused), no effect I see on 189 visa later.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



memdour said:


> Hi
> I have a big trouble with my husband who is a sponsor of my 820 visa application. I don't want to live with him anymore. I just wonder if I withdraw my 820/801 visa application myself. Does this influence my application for 485 TR? Does this influence my 189 (skill independent visa) later on?
> 
> thanks!
> warm regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi bhw080809 -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you are lodging the 887 application online, colour scans of originals are generally accepted by DIBP and there is no need to provide certified copies. Sometimes DIBP requests certified copies of passports or police clearance certificates, but you can wait to see if they ask for these certified copies - normally colour scans of originals are fine.

Re: payslips, many companies do not provide payslips on letterhead as they are printed by the company's accounting system, etc. So no requirement that they actually be on letterhead or be signed, but they must be authentic, as DIBP may check them out directly with the company.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhw080809 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I have some questions about the application of VISA 887.
> I am going to apply for VISA 887, do I need to scan and upload relevant documents with JP signature? Is it OK if I scan and upload colour copies of original documents to support my application without JP signature?
> 
> One more thing, do I have to require my company to print all payslips on the official letterhead of the company? And do I need to ask my boss to sign on payslips?
> 
> I hope you can give me some advice. Thank you so much for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skharoon -

At this point it hasn't gone beyond the "ideas" stage so nothing to confirm. No way to predict whether this will actually become a real change or will not get beyond the talking phase. There's another report out this week that (former Labor PM) Bob Carr wants to cut the overall immigration numbers in half for Australia - again, just talk at this point.

Best,

Mark Northam



skharoon said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Can you confirm the new proposed point test.
> 
> New points Test Draft from November 2015
> 
> The Federal Government are currently undertaking a review of the Australian migration system. A Draft report was published in November 2015 and provided the following comments in relation to the Skilled (points Test) categories.
> 
> They are important in that they give some guidance into how DIBP will structure their new points test which is expected later in 2016 &#8230;
> 
> Comments from the Report
> 
> ------------
> 
> There is a case for adjusting the selection of skilled immigrants
> 
> Across the skill stream as a whole, immigrants' skill levels are broadly similar to those of the Australian born population. However, within the skill stream there is significant variation. The relatively poor labour market outcomes of onshore independent skilled immigrants suggest that there is scope to improve the labour market outcomes of the skilled immigration stream overall by adjusting the eligibility criteria for this visa subclass.
> 
> One option would be to radically change the approach to selection of all skilled immigrants, such as by imposing a points test on all applicants, similar to the Canadian system. However, this would not address the most problematic subclass the onshore independent subclass which is already subject to a points test. It would add extra administration to employer
> 
> nominated skilled immigration (which performs well).
> 
> On balance it is unlikely that imposing extra bureaucracy to the entire skilled immigration program to address deficiencies in one visa subclass would improve skilled immigrants' labour market outcomes significantly. An alternative would be to make targeted adjustments to the eligibility criteria, including:
> 
> • increasing the points granted for superior English language skills (currently superior English attracts 20 points)
> 
> • granting more points to graduates who have studied in fields which are under supplied (or penalising graduates in over-supplied fields)
> 
> • granting more points to applicants who have achieved better academic results (currently points are granted based on the award of a degree from a recognised institution; academic success is not taken into account) for example those with a distinction or high distinction average, honours and higher degrees
> 
> • reducing the occupational ceilings for over-supplied fields
> 
> • capping the onshore independent visa subclass (which would implicitly increase the points test pass mark for the subclass each year).
> 
> Of these options, the Commission favours the first three. Increasing the points granted to applicants who have desirable human capital characteristics (English language skills and
> 
> high marks in fields that are not over supplied) would be consistent with the objective of identifying immigrants who are likely to meet Australia's longer term labour market needs.
> 
> Reducing the occupational ceilings for over supplied fields would be a less targeted* approach, particularly if applications are processed in the order they are lodged.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi YL1 -

Yes.

Best,

Mark Northam



YL1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have just applied for a 485 visa but I am also thinking of lodging my EOI for the 189 visa soon. If I am invited to apply for 189, is it possible to lodge a 189 application whilst my 485 visa is still being processed and I am on a BVA for 485?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romero2005 -

Thanks for the note. Not possible to answer skilled visa eligibility issues on the forum as there are way too many questions and factors that could affect things. There is no requirement that any work experience you want to claim points for must be assessed by a skills assessor. However, DIBP has the right to require this is they are not satisfied with the work experience. I'd check with ACS to see if you can get the assessment with the professional year + qual, and have them also assess the work experience but not deduct from it because you have the prof yr. Happy to assist further at a consultation where we would have the time to go through your circumstances in more detail - see website in my signature below for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



romero2005 said:


> Dear Mark,
> I am a System analyst. also I have professional year. If I show my work exp to ACS they will deduct 2 years. But without showing work exp I also can apply ACS assessment by using my professional year.
> 
> They I can mention in the EOI that i have 3 years work exp. It it possible. pls help me.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vikchi -

I would expect that your job would be suitable evidence of financial capacity, however with a child involved you'll want to make sure you clearly show who has custodial and parental rights - ie, I assume the child is currently being taken care of by someone other than your wife if you and your wife are both in Australia?

Also, assuming you lodge the child visa while onshore, no need to get a 1 yr visitor visa since you'll get a bridging visa from the onshore child visa application as soon as it's lodged. You might request a 3 or 6 month visa to reduce the assessment a bit.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vikchi said:


> Hi Mark,
> I need urgent help . Me and my wife both are PR I am planning to bring my son to Australia on visitor visa before applying for his PR child visa. For visitor visa for one year - how much funds should I show, frankly speaking I dont have much savings but I have permanent full time job which pays me 70k plus super with which I can easily look after the expenses of son. To show that I can support my son financially if I show only pay slips and my offer letter will that be enough. And what are the chances of getting visitor visa approved without applying for child visa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michele -

As far as I know they are still doing 2 rounds per month. No way to predict time to invitation as it depends on 3 numbers that DIBP does not publish:

* Number of people in your occupation with higher points scores than you
* Number of people in your occuaption with same points score but earlier EOI lodgement than you
* Number of people DIBP chooses from your occupation for each round

The good news is that many people with 70pts are getting invitations as they jump to the head of the queue given the majority of people who lodge EOIs have 60 or 65 points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pomwantingtomove said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Any idea when the next invitation round is for 189? The website still says 3rd and 17th Feb - is this because it won't publish them until March? Also, I don't know if you are able to answer this question, I have 70 points and submitted my EOI yesterday, do I stand a good chance of being selected at the next round? Or is it a 'how long is a piece of string? ' question?
> 
> Michele.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amritpal -

Thanks for the note. It was frankly a bit risky to lodge a student visa only 6 weeks before your classes started - DIBP routinely takes 2-3 months for these (and longer in some cases) and they don't care if your classes start - that often will not influence the processing time.

All you can do at this point is to keep in contact with them and gently remind them of your upcoming course start and request that the expedite the application as possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



THIND AMRIT said:


> HELLO SIR
> I am AMRITPAL SINGH THIND from amritsar, punjab,India. Sir i had applied for the stream lined visa on 13th jan.. On 31st jan i got an mail from visa officer saying that my +2 mark certificate is fake.. but its 100% genuine. Than i submitted a bundle of proofs and till now no answer from visa officer. My orientation is on 22 feb and regular classes will be started on 29 feb so only one week left for my uni to be started...
> Sir kindly tell me what should i do now... my file is 100% genuine and its the perfect file with with having 95% in +2..
> Kindly send me reply fast sir...
> Thanks..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ranju -

Yes - you must include all info about her as a migrating applicant in the visa application - do not assume that info in the EOI is copied over.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ranju said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> I have got invitation and am little confused here....
> 
> i am adding my wife to join me on the application do i have to mention about her again here....
> 
> In the earlier page on the document i have mentioned that she is included.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Itszainkhan -

Thanks for the note. There are no strict or set rules that I know of for these circumstances - my best advice would be to undertake a thorough job search for jobs that are in your field, and document everything - every email, every phone call, every resume sent out, every search, to show that you've conducted a good faith job search. If your search is unsuccessful, I believe when confronted with a mountain of evidence proving the search was legitimate and conducted with good effort, it would be very difficult for them to refuse to issue a release letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itszainkhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding the visa subclass 489, that I have been searching the answer to in the entire forum, but to no avail. Thought I'd ask the best.
> 
> At present, I have submitted a 489 visa application for Orana. Should go there around April 2016. I keep reading more and more about the struggles of job hunt in regional areas. So if that were to happen, the only answer seems to be to get a release letter and move to Adelaide.
> 
> Now the actual question: Under what circumstances am I entitled a release letter?
> 
> Is there a certain duration in which if I can not find work in that area then I am automatically entitled a release letter? I tried to ask the relevant office about it but they keep stressing that "The reason you got a nomination from NSW is because there is a shortage of Management Accountants in this region, so you should able to find work". Truth be told, I do not intend to escape my responsibility to try my best to find relevant work in the region. But I just want to be prepared for all outcomes.
> 
> Furthermore, I am very adamant on not working in any occupation other than the one I am selected for, as I don't want to jeopardise my career. So could that be an issue, as in could RDA Orana ask me to look for all kinds of work instead of just finance related roles, and not issue me a release letter if I don't do that or don't want to work in non-finance roles? I am just curious as to what my rights are.
> 
> I will look forward to your help. Thank you in advance for you time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Misha -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you use form 929 (for passport & address info) and Form 1022 (for other circumstances) to update DIBP on your (and your partner's) address and contact details. You can also update employment info on Form 1022. The contact info is more important to update than the job info (which many people don't do), but updating all is fine if you wish.

Assuming your 820/801 is not yet decided, I would keep evidence of all your contact (chat, phone, Skype, etc) while apart in case DIBP asks about any substantial time apart and how the relationship continued. etc. You can upload this to your undecided application if you lodged online as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GadoGadoGal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope this finds you well!
> 
> I believe you may have addressed a similar question before, but I have spent a couple of hours scouring this thread and the forum and cannot find it. If you know the post/thread, I wouldn't mind your response being a link to the previous answer you provided if it saves you time!
> 
> Last March I applied for an 820/801 with my (Australian) husband of 3.5 years at time of application (together 7.5 years at time of application and provided evidence for this). He'd come back to Australia from South America for short-term medical diagnosis and treatment, but while I was visiting he was told by his doctors that he needed to stay for at least a year. We decided to resettle here, I got a job at the university where I previously studied, and unable to work my husband went through long-term treatment, but never got a diagnosis and experienced minor improvement. In December we both went to the U.S. for the holidays and we decided he should go back to his original doctor and undergo treatment that is not yet available in Australia. This will take 3-6 months, and is temporary - he is coming back to Australia. He has reported his travel to Smarttraveller.gov.au. Should I update DIBP with this information by uploading a letter or change of circumstances form to my application? If so, is there any particular information you suggest I give them? I could also update them on my job since I got it after applying for the visa, along with additional Super Beneficiary and emergency contact information, etc.
> 
> Your advice will be greatly appreciated!
> 
> Thank you and warm regards,
> Misha


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xine -

Thanks for the note. Not possible for me to give you specific advice about your case without knowing much more about your circumstances - we can do this in a consultation if you like (see website below in my signature for more). For defacto without registered relationship, you'll need to show evidence of being de facto for the 12 months prior to application - living together evidence is usually the most effective for this. However if you register your relationship you can put in the registration cert and avoid the 12 month requirement as long as the certificate is lodged prior to a decision on your partner visa, so could be a good idea.

Yes, you need to provide evidence of all 4 types of relationship evidence (financial, social, commitment, household) for your application. While 2 Form 888's are generally required, we generally recommend to clients that they provide between 5 and 10 witness statements to attest to the genuine nature of the relationship, which can be Form 888's for Australian citizens and permanent residents, or signed/dated statements with ID for others.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xine said:


> Hi Mark I applied for Onshore Partner Visa Last Nov. We dont have the registration of our relationship here in Australia We are not married too only de facto we lived 6 months together in the Philippines and like 9 months here in Australia before applying will that consider the 1 year defacto relationship ? We are here in Australia for a year now is it still useful to register our relationship after lodging my application? We have a baby too I gave birth last January 2016. I only have 2 witnesses aswell is that enough? Do i still need to make a stat declaration of the nature of household and Nature of the couple's mutual commitment to each other? DO i also need to fill up the form 1221? So much questions hope you dont mind. I applied Online. We are already in a relationship since Aug 2013 but just started to live together last 2014.


----------



## YL1

MarkNortham said:


> Hi YL1 -
> 
> Yes.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your prompt reply Mark. 
I would just like to clarify one more thing. If I were to lodge an application for 189 whilst holding a BVA for 485, would I them move onto a BVC? Would this effect my work rights? Additionally, if I were granted the 189 visa before the 485 visa, is the best way to ask my case officer to withdraw my 485 application? I don't want the 485 to supercede the 189 if it is granted later.

Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi YL1 -

You would get a BVC for the 189 application, but it would remain unactivated as long as the BVA was still in effect. Normally DIBP will, just before granting the 189, request that you withdraw the 485 application if that's the order things happen in. If worst case the 485 was refused while you had a 189 application pending, the BVC for the 189 would activate 28 days after the 485 refusal and you'd have to then request to add work rights to the BVC.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



YL1 said:


> Thanks for your prompt reply Mark.
> I would just like to clarify one more thing. If I were to lodge an application for 189 whilst holding a BVA for 485, would I them move onto a BVC? Would this effect my work rights? Additionally, if I were granted the 189 visa before the 485 visa, is the best way to ask my case officer to withdraw my 485 application? I don't want the 485 to supercede the 189 if it is granted later.
> 
> Many thanks


----------



## YL1

MarkNortham said:


> Hi YL1 -
> 
> You would get a BVC for the 189 application, but it would remain unactivated as long as the BVA was still in effect. Normally DIBP will, just before granting the 189, request that you withdraw the 485 application if that's the order things happen in. If worst case the 485 was refused while you had a 189 application pending, the BVC for the 189 would activate 28 days after the 485 refusal and you'd have to then request to add work rights to the BVC.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
That clears up a lot of things. Thank you very much for your time and help.


----------



## romero2005

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Romero2005 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Not possible to answer skilled visa eligibility issues on the forum as there are way too many questions and factors that could affect things. There is no requirement that any work experience you want to claim points for must be assessed by a skills assessor. However, DIBP has the right to require this is they are not satisfied with the work experience. I'd check with ACS to see if you can get the assessment with the professional year + qual, and have them also assess the work experience but not deduct from it because you have the prof yr. Happy to assist further at a consultation where we would have the time to go through your circumstances in more detail - see website in my signature below for more.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your reply.


----------



## itszainkhan

Thank you Mark, that's precious advice. Much Appreciated.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Itszainkhan -
> 
> Thanks for the note. There are no strict or set rules that I know of for these circumstances - my best advice would be to undertake a thorough job search for jobs that are in your field, and document everything - every email, every phone call, every resume sent out, every search, to show that you've conducted a good faith job search. If your search is unsuccessful, I believe when confronted with a mountain of evidence proving the search was legitimate and conducted with good effort, it would be very difficult for them to refuse to issue a release letter.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Treme

*Passport photos*

Hi Mark!

Just a quick question in regards to providing 4 passport sized photos for 309/100 application. On the back do you just write "this is a true photo of Treme Smith"? Or does someone have to sign it confirming that its a true photo? If it does have to be signed can it be signed by the applicant or does it have to be a witness? Can you also put all 4 on one A4 paper?

Hope that made sense. Cheers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Treme -

If you're lodging an online application (highly recommended), then a digital scan of a passport photo is fine. If you are lodging a paper application, then you could include the 4 photos (no need for them to be witnessed or signed unless DIBP specifically says so) - they should be separated (not on the same sheet) and attach them to the application in an envelope or small plastic bag, etc. as long as its secure.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Treme said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Just a quick question in regards to providing 4 passport sized photos for 309/100 application. On the back do you just write "this is a true photo of Treme Smith"? Or does someone have to sign it confirming that its a true photo? If it does have to be signed can it be signed by the applicant or does it have to be a witness? Can you also put all 4 on one A4 paper?
> 
> Hope that made sense. Cheers.


----------



## kris1

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kris1 -
> 
> DIBP usually asks for this, especially if the applicant is a permanent resident and not an Australian citizen. Can be avoided in some cases if you can clearly establish identity and citizenship through other means and provide a good reason that DIBP accepts as to why a birth cert is not available. One example that occurs fairly regularly is with Indian citizens where compulsory registration of birth was not required until 1989 - typically secondary school certificates with both parents' names listed are accepted in many cases instead of birth certificates.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark.

My partner is an Australian citizen by birth. He has two passports (Australia and Malta) and both states Aus as place of birth. He had to submit his original birth certificate to get his Maltese passport a couple of years ago, and just never got around to order a new one. We do have a black and white copy of the birth cert however, should we upload this with a note that we have ordered a new birth cert and will upload this when it comes?

All up for his id we have:
Australian passport
Maltese passport
Driver's license
Black and white copy of birth cert


----------



## GadoGadoGal

Thank you Mark! As our passports and Australian address haven't changed, and the 929 address form only requests address change information for the applicant (me), then I will fill out and upload form 1022 with his medical travel details, our correspondence during this time (since I expect to go straight to 801 and shouldn't need this evidence later), and my job info and super beneficiary information. Thanks so much!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Misha -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Suggest you use form 929 (for passport & address info) and Form 1022 (for other circumstances) to update DIBP on your (and your partner's) address and contact details. You can also update employment info on Form 1022. The contact info is more important to update than the job info (which many people don't do), but updating all is fine if you wish.
> 
> Assuming your 820/801 is not yet decided, I would keep evidence of all your contact (chat, phone, Skype, etc) while apart in case DIBP asks about any substantial time apart and how the relationship continued. etc. You can upload this to your undecided application if you lodged online as well.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kris1 -

If possible, I'd get a certified copy of the one that you have and lodge that, with the note that you will send a colour scan of an original copy when available.

Best,

Mark Northam



kris1 said:


> Thanks a lot Mark.
> 
> My partner is an Australian citizen by birth. He has two passports (Australia and Malta) and both states Aus as place of birth. He had to submit his original birth certificate to get his Maltese passport a couple of years ago, and just never got around to order a new one. We do have a black and white copy of the birth cert however, should we upload this with a note that we have ordered a new birth cert and will upload this when it comes?
> 
> All up for his id we have:
> Australian passport
> Maltese passport
> Driver's license
> Black and white copy of birth cert


----------



## Treme

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Treme -
> 
> If you're lodging an online application (highly recommended), then a digital scan of a passport photo is fine. If you are lodging a paper application, then you could include the 4 photos (no need for them to be witnessed or signed unless DIBP specifically says so) - they should be separated (not on the same sheet) and attach them to the application in an envelope or small plastic bag, etc. as long as its secure.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Ok, thank you!


----------



## ToddBH

Hi Mark,

I’m thrilled to have found this fantastic forum you have generously created for visa novices like me! I have been on the immigration department website but I’m confused as to where I even start. I’m hoping you can kindly give me some advice regarding de facto visas.

My Brazilian girlfriend and I have been together for a total of 16 months and she is currently on a temporary student visa (subclass 572) that is due to expire in March 2017. We currently do not live together.

She is keen to stay in Australia with me after she has finished studying next year and hopes to gain full-time employment here as an engineer.

My questions are:

- What steps do we need to take to ensure she can remain in Australia after her student visa has expired?
- To qualify for a de facto visa is it essential that we live together?
- When would you recommend we apply for a de facto visa?
- And would a “bridging” visa be more appropriate for her situation?

I really appreciate your time and guidance.

Regards,

Todd


----------



## prakash886

*485 post study work visa online application*

Hi mark,
I am going to apply for 485 post study work visa myself using immi account. I have two questions regarding filling the application

1. I am not married and no one in my family are migrating with me. I am just applying for myself . My question is, in the family member section, do I need to give my dad, mom and sister details? if yes, which section should I give the details, Non Accompanying dependents or Other family members?

2. In one section it asks for country of residence and mentioned as below, 
_Provide details of all countries in which you, your spouse/de facto partner or dependents (accompanying or not) have lived for 12 months or more (since turning 16 years of age) during the last 10 years. The 12 month period of residence may be made up of a number of shorter periods. You must account for every year. _.
I born and brought up in india. I haven't been to any other country other than india and Australia. I have been in Australia for 2 years in student visa from feb 2014. my question is do I need give both address in india and Australia or just Australia or just india?

Thank you 
Prakash

I really appreciate your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ToddBH -

Thanks for the note - please see responses below at ***:



ToddBH said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm thrilled to have found this fantastic forum you have generously created for visa novices like me! I have been on the immigration department website but I'm confused as to where I even start. I'm hoping you can kindly give me some advice regarding de facto visas.
> 
> My Brazilian girlfriend and I have been together for a total of 16 months and she is currently on a temporary student visa (subclass 572) that is due to expire in March 2017. We currently do not live together.
> 
> She is keen to stay in Australia with me after she has finished studying next year and hopes to gain full-time employment here as an engineer.
> 
> My questions are:
> 
> - What steps do we need to take to ensure she can remain in Australia after her student visa has expired?
> *** May be helpful to plan ahead to see what type of visa would best fit her/your circumstances. Might be a partner visa if you are in a committed partnership, might be a subclass 485 skilled graduate visa, or perhaps a skilled visa if she has sufficient age/work/English points on the skilled points test - you might check out subclass 189/190/489 for this option.
> 
> - To qualify for a de facto visa is it essential that we live together?
> *** Very difficult to get approved as a de facto couple for a partner visa if you are not living together.
> 
> - When would you recommend we apply for a de facto visa?
> *** I would need to know much more about your details and circumstances to give you specific advice about this - happy to do so at a consultation - see website link below in my signature for more.
> 
> - And would a "bridging" visa be more appropriate for her situation?
> *** Bridging visas are normally granted as a result of applying for some other type of visa, and the bridging visa essentially lets the applicant stay in Australia until that visa is decided. So you're back to looking at types of visas to consider lodging an application for.
> 
> I really appreciate your time and guidance.
> *** Wish I could be more specific in terms of recommendations, but really would need to know much more about your and her circumstances in order to make any recommendations.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Todd


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prakash -

Thanks for the note. Re: unless your parents and sister are financially dependent on you and usually resident in your household, you would list them under other family members as they would not be dependents of yours.

Re: All countries you have lived in for 12m or more, you would list both Australia and India based on the info you included in your post.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



prakash886 said:


> Hi mark,
> I am going to apply for 485 post study work visa myself using immi account. I have two questions regarding filling the application
> 
> 1. I am not married and no one in my family are migrating with me. I am just applying for myself . My question is, in the family member section, do I need to give my dad, mom and sister details? if yes, which section should I give the details, Non Accompanying dependents or Other family members?
> 
> 2. In one section it asks for country of residence and mentioned as below,
> _Provide details of all countries in which you, your spouse/de facto partner or dependents (accompanying or not) have lived for 12 months or more (since turning 16 years of age) during the last 10 years. The 12 month period of residence may be made up of a number of shorter periods. You must account for every year. _.
> I born and brought up in india. I haven't been to any other country other than india and Australia. I have been in Australia for 2 years in student visa from feb 2014. my question is do I need give both address in india and Australia or just Australia or just india?
> 
> Thank you
> Prakash
> 
> I really appreciate your help


----------



## prakash886

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Prakash -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Re: unless your parents and sister are financially dependent on you and usually resident in your household, you would list them under other family members as they would not be dependents of yours.
> 
> Re: All countries you have lived in for 12m or more, you would list both Australia and India based on the info you included in your post.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for your quick reply mark. That really clears my doubts. 
I understand that I have to list both india and Australia. but when I enter details for Australia it asks for from date and To date and the end date can only upto a day before the current date. but I still live in Australia. should I enter just yesterday date or have to be different?

Thank you
prakash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prakash -

Yesterday date is fine.

Best,

Mark Northam



prakash886 said:


> Thank you for your quick reply mark. That really clears my doubts.
> I understand that I have to list both india and Australia. but when I enter details for Australia it asks for from date and To date and the end date can only upto a day before the current date. but I still live in Australia. should I enter just yesterday date or have to be different?
> 
> Thank you
> prakash


----------



## Chris1980

*online application - which office for processing?*

Hi Mark, I am Australian my wife is Brazilian we are married for 14months and together in relationship for 4 years.

We are currently residing and working in The Netherlands.

If we apply for 301 partner visa using the 'online' application method as oppose to the paper method from here in The Netherlands, will the application be processed in Berlin, Germany still or will it be processed in Australia..?

Thanks for taking any time to respond


----------



## Lisa07

Hi Mark, could you please help to answer some questions:
1. If I had a suitable skill assessment from ACS in June 2013 in Philippines, then from 2014 I went to Australia to study with a student visa but I have worked remotely with the same position, same company in Philippines for 20 hours per week. Now could I apply a new application for ACS skill assessment to update overseas work experience from 2014 to date (from remote working - 20 hours per week)? 
If the answer is yes, do I need to include the qualifications which were assessed to be major in 2013, or only a new employer reference and the last assessment result letter?
2. In case my husband has stopped working for 2 years, could he still apply for skill assessment for his last 10 years of work experience before quitting his job? Or an individual must work at the time of applying skill assessment?
Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lisa07 -

Best choice would be to enquire directly with ACS as to whether you can have the additional work experience assessed separately. If not, then you may need to do a new skills assessment. If the extra work had been on-site (and not remote) you might be able to add just an employer letter saying you have continued in the same role that was assessed by ACS. However given the change to remote, I'd suggest you have the additional work assessed if you plan on claiming it for points.

Re: husband, no requirement that a person be working at the time of skills assessment, or for DIBP to be applicant for a visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lisa07 said:


> Hi Mark, could you please help to answer some questions:
> 1. If I had a suitable skill assessment from ACS in June 2013 in Philippines, then from 2014 I went to Australia to study with a student visa but I have worked remotely with the same position, same company in Philippines for 20 hours per week. Now could I apply a new application for ACS skill assessment to update overseas work experience from 2014 to date (from remote working - 20 hours per week)?
> If the answer is yes, do I need to include the qualifications which were assessed to be major in 2013, or only a new employer reference and the last assessment result letter?
> 2. In case my husband has stopped working for 2 years, could he still apply for skill assessment for his last 10 years of work experience before quitting his job? Or an individual must work at the time of applying skill assessment?
> Thank you very much.


----------



## saacor

Hi Mark,

I was reading regarding pic 4020 and it says provided bogus documents for visa held in the last 12 months...
Does it include the visas issued by other countries? 

Thank you for your help.


----------



## mahender

hi mark 
i have applied skilled independent 189 visa from india and i currently hold 485 visa and its going to expire on 28 feb 2016 i havent got the bridging visa notification even when i came to australia on 27 december 2015 on my current visa . can you please suggest me what can be done. 
thanks


----------



## Star Gaizer

Hi Mark,
I have a question regarding undeclared child on the partner visa application. My partner has children with other woman and his name is on their birth certificates as their father. We have no contacts anymore to the children and mother and we are not sure of their date of births so we didn’t put them on the visa application. What is the implication if Immigration would find out that he has undeclared children? They are not dependents of my partner. Please advise of what should we do to rectify the problem.
Thank you.


----------



## skl

Star Gaizer said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a question regarding undeclared child on the partner visa application. My partner has children with other woman and his name is on their birth certificates as their father. We have no contacts anymore to the children and mother and we are not sure of their date of births so we didn&#146;t put them on the visa application. What is the implication if Immigration would find out that he has undeclared children? They are not dependents of my partner. Please advise of what should we do to rectify the problem.
> Thank you.


Hi Mark. If we registered our relationship before applying 820/801 we still have to proof that we have genuing relationship 12 months prior to applying? or we shd stress that we have continuous relationship after we have applied?


----------



## alison007

*overstay question*

Hi Mark,i am currently in Australia on an eta visa(my 2nd stay on it),my Australian fiance and i are getting married next month and applying for a partner visa,however im really worried as i overstayed for 18 months in 1993 when on a working holiday visa,it was a stupid thing to do but i loved my job with the horses at the time and didnt know what to do,i received a year ban since then ive returned to Australia 3 times including a year after my overstay.im just concerned that this will count against me even though it was 23 years ago,thanks Alison


----------



## Kaffee

Hi Mark and thanks in advance for your help once again.
I have applied for PMV and had stated on my application a wedding date of 29 December and attached a confirmation of a wedding booking in Scotland. Since then my fiancee and I changed our mind and decided to get married in Melbourne. We didn't bother to change the application or our original booking as we have no idea when my visa may be granted. However we have now received a letter from a case officer and one of the things she requests is a NOIM. We have this in hand but it is for a different date.
My question is - Do I need to notify immigration of the change of date of the wedding as well as uploading the NOIM document and if so which form is appropriate for this?


----------



## Qublacan

*RRV for subclass 126*

Dear Mark,
It seems your the person to ask about visas and immigration in this Forum..
I have received my Interdependent Skill visa subclass 126 way back in 2003. I have in the same year went to Perth for 2 weeks with my wife and child and went back. Within that period, I have not visited nor stayed in Australia. I am now thinking to relaunch RRV. What is the best way. Just to note that I did not return back to Australia for health issues of parents.
Let me know if it is possible and chances of getting the Visa.
Thanks,

Qublacan


----------



## MarcellusF

I too am keen to know the answer to this.

*bump*



Chris1980 said:


> Hi Mark, I am Australian my wife is Brazilian we are married for 14months and together in relationship for 4 years.
> 
> We are currently residing and working in The Netherlands.
> 
> If we apply for 301 partner visa using the 'online' application method as oppose to the paper method from here in The Netherlands, will the application be processed in Berlin, Germany still or will it be processed in Australia..?
> 
> Thanks for taking any time to respond


----------



## MoonRising

*WA state nomination*

Hi Mark,

Im about to apply for a 489 visa WA state nomination. They are asking for 1 year experience in my field. So I'm wondering how do I prove 1 year work expereince? What information do they require in the paperwork? I assume, the employers details, when the job started and ended, the responsibilties of the job??? Anything else?

What other paperwork do they ask for in order to prove 1 year work expereince?

Thanks so much for you time!


----------



## jaspals

*State sponsorship Visa 190 and Post study work visa 485*

Dear Mark

I appreciate that you give valuable advice to us for our migration related queries.

I am an international PhD student in Queensland on an Australian govt scholarship (The scholarship and visa does not have any no further stay condition attached to it). I will be finishing my work in the end of the year 2018. By that time I will be over 33 years old and will loose 5 points for age. My occupation is not in SOL but it is in CSOL.

My questions are.

1. Am i eligible for QLD state sponsorship for Postgraduate alumni for Visa 190, even if I am sponsored by Australian govt for my studies. 
2. I have seen a condition attached to Visa 485 on official website that if someone is sponsored by Aus. Govt. for his studies, he can not apply for it. Could you please give your advice on that.
3. I read on internet that Aus. Govt is going to launch a new visa scheme for STEM research graduates. How it will make permanent residency pathway easier for us.
4. I have 3 years work experience but it is not directly related to my previous studies and my PhD. I think I can not claim points for it. 
5. I have my Australian citizen first cousin living in a designated area, who can sponsor me for 489 Visa. but still my direct occupation is not in SOL, I am thinking of applying assessment for Engineering technologist. because, I was working as an engineer although my work was not directly related to my studies.

I feel like my life is in limbo as I will be spending 4 years of my life for a PhD and then struggling to get residency. That is why I am considering quitting now and get back to a job again .

Thank You 
Cheers


----------



## rayner

*ACS Reduced 6 Years*

HI Mark,

ACS reduced 6 years of my Exp.Below is the relevant points from ACS assessment.

3 Years Diploma completed 1997 equated to AQF Diploma with a major in computing.

MBA IT completed in Jan 2009 equated to AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in computing.

Experience from 12/2002 To Till Date. But the assessment has considered the exp from Dec 2008 . All experience in DUBAI,UAE

(The following employment after December 2008 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately
skilled level and relevant to 263111)

Kindly advice if a *review *will help to bring down the reduction to 5 Years as the diploma is equated to AQF Diploma with a major in computing.


----------



## LQriggs

*2nd 457*

Hi Mark,

Just a question I had regarding my current situation.

Recently after spending a year back in the UK (after being in Aus for 3 years on a 457) I accepted a new role back in Aus which will mean applying for a 457 again.

When I left Sydney last time I sent an email to Immi informing them I had left the country and didn't intend to return within 90 days and that they could cancel my visa. I then received a reply stating

"This visa was cancelled under section 128 of the Migration Act 1958 (the Act) because, after

careful consideration of all information before me, I was satisfied there was a ground for

cancelling your visa, that the grounds for cancelling your visa outweighed the reasons for not

cancelling and it was appropriate to cancel the visa without notice."

It didn't mention anywhere on the attached letter that I had requested the cancellation even though this was the case.

What if any impact will this have on my new application? - and how should I cover this in the application (I still have the email I sent informing immi that I had left)...

In my view I did the right thing last time and hope there wouldn't be any issues this time - but I am slightly worried about the wording in their confirmation letter.

Thanks in advance for any advice
LQ


----------



## Soumah

Hello Mark, 
For some reason I got no reply to my lady request for information. I hope I didn't say anything wrong there. I'm hoping this time with this new question I might get a response because my plans and ticketing are reliant on my understanding of how this works : when you have applied offshore for a partner visa you must be offshore to be granted. This can come at any time and is impossible to anticipate. Also I will be asked to attend an interview. Is the interview always conducted in our closest to the country you have applied from? Because I have also applied for a visitor visa in the meantime and so if I am in Australia and need to go for an interview can I be interviewed in Australia so I don't have to cut my time sorry there to travel all the way back to west Africa? The inevitable m interviews in West Africa are only conducted in Conakry, Abuja and Dakar, every 6-8 months I think, and these places are very far to travel to anyway. Thank you for any information you can give me.


----------



## pomwantingtomove

Hi Mark, 

After submitting a EOI, will anyone get invited outside of the dates issued? i.e. the next invitation round is 9th March and then 23rd March, but can you receive an invitation outside of these dates? I didn't think so but after reading some posts on this forum it appears that some people are being invited on random dates.

Thank you, Michele.


----------



## zackj1120

*Onshore Partner Visa Question*

Dear Mark,

I'm currently in Aus on a WHV that expires in June...I live with my same-sex partner of almost 2 years now and we are planning on applying for 820/801 visas within the next couple of months.

We understand the process pretty well...the only question I have is do I need to provide the health check/federal police checks when I initially apply or should I wait until I hear from my assigned CO?

Thanks!!


----------



## ramonaAstone

Hi Mark! Hope you're well.

I'm in the process of an offshore partner visa. My husband changed his job, do I need to report that to my case officer? Should I use change of circumstances form for that?

As always, thank you for your help!


----------



## s.a.

hi mark,
i got positive ACS assessment but in one of employment, ACS have accumulated all my experience to my last position 'Business Analyst'. i have submitted reference letter to ACS clearly stating 3 positions and job descriptions of each. 

I have held 3 positions in the same company total 3 yrs
1.Software engineer, 2.Project Coordinator/Analyst 3.Business Analyst
job descriptions were slightly different.

ACS, assessed my experience as follows
Dates: xx - xx (3yrs)
Position: Business Analyst
Employer: XX
Country: SRI LANKA

Will that be a problem when applying for visa? Do i need to get another ACS assessment stating job titles separately? really appreciate your opinion in this. thanks in advance


----------



## slimguy_234

hello Mark,

many thanks for your help.

i got a feedback from DIBP today as regards my visa 189 application asking one of my dependents who is over 18 to fill out an undertaking (form 815) agreeing to the following 
1. report to the health clinic to which he is referred;
2. to place himself under the health clinic’s professional supervision
and to undergo any required course of treatment, chest x-ray
examination or investigation; 

this is because he has non contagious Hepatitis B. 
are we going to bear the cost of all the treatment, investigations and monitoring of his condition please?

Slimguy.


----------



## bhw080809

Hello Mark,

Thank you for your reply.

I have one more query. I need to provide a police certificate from China to support my application of visa 887. I got a police certificate from China in 2010 when I applied for a Temporary visa. After that, I always stayed in Australia between 2010 to 2016 and I only spent about 5 months visiting China during such period. So could I provide the police certificate from China I got before to support the application of visa 887 or do I need to re-apply a new police certificate from China?

Please give me some advice. Thank you so much for your time. I am looking forward to hearing from you.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi bhw080809 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Assuming you are lodging the 887 application online, colour scans of originals are generally accepted by DIBP and there is no need to provide certified copies. Sometimes DIBP requests certified copies of passports or police clearance certificates, but you can wait to see if they ask for these certified copies - normally colour scans of originals are fine.
> 
> Re: payslips, many companies do not provide payslips on letterhead as they are printed by the company's accounting system, etc. So no requirement that they actually be on letterhead or be signed, but they must be authentic, as DIBP may check them out directly with the company.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Blue lady

Hi Mark!
Plz help me why my application is taking too much time.
I applied on may 2015 sc 189. Have submitted medicals and pcc of me and husband in august. But since october 2015 no response from CO. Two months ago when mailed about the status, they replied that my application is in routine checks. 
I m worried why they are taking too much, my emp verification is also done one month before.
Plz help me what can be its outcome and what should I do.?
Thanx in advance.


----------



## kaga

Hi Mark,

I am going to apply for Relative sponsored 489 (SA).
Can you confirm that onshore applicants must be living in the same state at the time of application ?

Thanks and Have a good one.


----------



## Annilo

Hi Mark!

I am hoping to get some advice on my situation:

My partner and I (both Germans) have recently submitted his de-facto application to be added to my 574 student visa (I started my PhD studies in August 2015 and already named him as unaccompanying family member on my initial Visa application).

We have been in a committed relationship since October 2014. Of course we tried to provide as much proof as possible but due to our jobs in two different cities 200km apart, we did not live together as such. On weekends, home office days, or holidays we were either at his place or at mine, so usually we would stay with each other about 3-4 days a week. 
Due to our working situation he did not add me on his rental agreement or utility bills. At that time I was living in a flat at my parents place and he was also staying with me there frequently. My parents did not charge us for rent or any bills...

We have provided proof such as order confirmation and receipts of packages to each others places in both our names and were hoping immigration would understand our situation. However, this morning we received an email, that the following information is missing:

Further evidence to support your claims for cohabitation and an ongoing de facto spouse relationship:

- evidence of co-habitation. (e. g. a joint rental agreement, joint local authority registration under the same address, utility bills appearing in joint names, etc.)

Our plan is now to provide a statement from my parents that they were renting the flat to us free of charge and without an official rental agreement. Will that be accepted?? Do you have any other suggestions?

We provided a lot of additional evidence (proof of holidays together, joint bank account, statements of parents and friends, etc.) and we were also explaining in detail our working situation that did not allow us to officially 'live together'. My first thought when I read the email from Immigration was that they were just going through a checklist and haven't actually read everything that we provided. Is that possible? Are they checking off a list first before reading all our evidence in detail and making a decision (in this case we might still be fine...).

Our plan B would be to register our relationship in QLD when he comes to visit in March. Would that help at all? We are also thinking about getting married but didn't want to rush it 'just' because of the visa...

I am really desperate at this stage as I am in Australia waiting for him to finally be able to move here 

I hope I described the situation in an understandable way  Any advice is much appreciated!!! Thanks so much for your time!!


----------



## Anilr

Hi Mark thinking of applying for NSW EOI with 60 points.
Any one who recently got an invitation under 261112 Systems Analyst.

I only got about a month left on my 6 each IELTS Score.
Thinking of doing this quick.

Time Line / Opinions please / any other suggestions


----------



## Anilr

s.a. said:


> hi mark,
> i got positive ACS assessment but in one of employment, ACS have accumulated all my experience to my last position 'Business Analyst'. i have submitted reference letter to ACS clearly stating 3 positions and job descriptions of each.
> 
> I have held 3 positions in the same company total 3 yrs
> 1.Software engineer, 2.Project Coordinator/Analyst 3.Business Analyst
> job descriptions were slightly different.
> 
> ACS, assessed my experience as follows
> Dates: xx - xx (3yrs)
> Position: Business Analyst
> Employer: XX
> Country: SRI LANKA
> 
> Will that be a problem when applying for visa? Do i need to get another ACS assessment stating job titles separately? really appreciate your opinion in this. thanks in advance


Hi Mate,

Just wondering how long ACS took to assess you documents

Thanks

*Moderator comment: *This thread is for forum members to post questions to Mark. If you have questions/comments for other members, please post them on the general forum. Thank you.
<Maggie-May24>


----------



## AussieRN

*Permanent residence pathway for Australian RN*

Hello Mark!

I recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in nursing from a university in Australia. I got my registrattion from AHPRA and just got my 485 visa granted this week. My question is, am I elligible to apply for either 189/190 visa? I have zero experience as an RN as I am a new grad. If the application is point based I have 60 points for 189 and 65 points if I'll push for 190. I have sent my skills assesment to ANMAC ysterday. I chose registered nurse nec for my ANZSCO code. Below is my points allocation:
Age- 30 (26 y.o)
English- 10 (all B OET)
Qualification- 15 (Bachelor's degree)
Australian study- 5

Please shed some light on my case and I am considering to have you as my agent for my PR application. Currently, i am waiting for my Anmac assessment result which is expected to be released in May. I also want to know how much do you charge for my case. Thank you so much.


----------



## thsskdms00

Hi Mark, 

While filling out my application for 189 visa, by mistake I wrote wrong start date for my secondary education off by just a couple of months. But I uploaded form 80 with correct dates for it. Since it is amended/updated with correct details on form 80, and considering that secondary education details are not even fundamental as opposed to highest tertiary qualification details, do you think it's necessary for me to upload a separate form 1023 to highlight this or could I just leave it as it is to avoid complication?


----------



## Ridwone Hossain

Hi Naylorus, sorry if I interrupt. I was seeing your message here and it just matched partially with the information that I needed so and so far. I wonder if I ask what's your present status regarding migration to Australia? Do you have anything to mention for a beginner who wishes to assess his engineering qualification with less than 3 years oversea experiences and to proceed further?
I intend to apply for visa-489.

Thanks in advance.



Naylorus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> silent reader and silent admirer for your kind efforts here to help members out.
> 
> Quick question - for migration purposes, is the skills assessment same as qualification assessments? I had my engineering qualifications assessed by EA. Do I still need to get my professional experience assessed by EA or some other regulatory body in Australia - in order to claim points for certain number of years professional experience?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## s.a.

hi anil
ACS took 5 days to assess

took


Anilr said:


> Hi Mate,
> 
> Just wondering how long ACS took to assess you documents
> 
> Thanks
> 
> *Moderator comment: *This thread is for forum members to post questions to Mark. If you have questions/comments for other members, please post them on the general forum. Thank you.
> <Maggie-May24>


----------



## Ridwone Hossain

Hello Mark,
I've completed 4 year bachelor degree in engineering (electrical and electronics). But I've no Masters degree.My bachelor degree is not accredited in australia and I, however, understand I've to follow Competency Demonstration Report (CDR) method in order to assess my bachelor degree. I am from Bangladesh.
But I've heard that some of the bachelor degrees other than some listed university in Bangladesh, require a masters degree in the related field in order to be equivalent to australian four year bachelor degree when assessed by Engineers Australia. Is that right? Because I need this information badly so that I can take the right decission.
My University is Ahsanullah University of Science & Technology (Ahsanullah University of Science & Technology- Online).
So far my work is concerned, I'm carrying experiences of 2 years and continuing.
I intend to apply for visa-489.
Please enlighten me.
Thanks in advance.


----------



## nik8720

Hello Mark,

I am doing my master in IT in Australia currently ( under subclass 573) and i have completed my 6 months in my principle course and now i wanted to change the university under same course , plz advice , and if there will be any problem in the coming future .


----------



## kris1

Hi Mark!

This might be a silly question but I hope you are able to help me 

When I was filling out form 47SP for 820 visa online, I mentioned in the nature of commitment section that my partner and i don't have any major assets that are joint, other than cars we have purchased. I did say that we weren't able to get both names on the contracts (which is true for our first car), however we recently bought a new one. We didn't think I would be allowed on the contract or rego because of my foreign license. Literally the same day that I submitted the application i found out that we HAD managed to get both names on the rego at least for our most recent car. I of course uploaded this as part of our evidence (rego cert, payment receipt and contract).

Should i send a separate form or statement notifying departement on this? The purchase contract (only with sponsor's name) for the car is dated to Jan 30 2016, the registration certificate (with both names) does not have a date on it. I submitted the application on Feb 23 2016.

Thanks!


----------



## 239722

Hello sir i have applied for my student visa at AHC but it is now 4 weeks and no visa yet. Already missed orientation. I called AHC and they told that the process time is of 14 week . I am worried as under svp the process time is 2 weeks but now its double time. I have a good student profile. AHC has told me that they have assigned of a case officer. Then why it is taking too much time .


----------



## pdub

Dear Mark,

I hope you are well. I've been reading through the last few pages of this thread and it seems you have been as busy as ever and always providing so much helpful feedback. Thank you again for all of your support.

My husband has just received his first correspondence from immi last week which advised him that it was time to do his medical. He completed his medical this week and his account has now updated that the medical has been processed and that we are in queue, waiting for a CO to be assigned. Everything in the application has been provided although the police clearance from Brazil may have / or will expire soon so we may need to provide that again at some point if they require an updated version.

For family reasons, we need to see his parents in Brazil so we have just booked flights for mid-March for 3 weeks. Although I assume we won't get the 820 confirmed this soon (as we have only been waiting 8 months so far) I am concerned that it might get processed while we are away. 

I was wondering if there is a form that we need to fill in, in order to advise immigration that we are traveling? Or should he just call them to advise?

In your experience, what would happen, if by chance, his 820 was approved while we were outside of the country? I'm assuming we should take printouts of all of his visa documentation just in case?

Although we have a complete application and everything is going well, nervous is a constant understatement! Thank you again for all of your assistance and any feedback / advice that you may be able to provide. 

Take care,
pdub


----------



## 239722

Hello sir or Madam i have applied for my student visa at AHC but it is now 4 weeks and no visa yet. Already missed orientation. I called AHC and they told that the process time is of 14 week . I am worried as under svp the process time is 2 weeks but now its double time. I have a good student profile. AHC has told me that they have assigned of a case officer. Then why it is taking too much time .


----------



## Alex123

*Can my PR revoked by my wife ?*

Hi Mark. I am so happy to find you. Hopefully you can help me. 
My wife and I have been married for 10 years and we were in Australia for the past four years. We just got our permanent residency in Jan. Now We want different things in life. And I want to leave her. My question is: Can she revoke my PR? And if the divorce will affect my citizenship application next year? I also used a fake offshore driver license before I got my license in Australia. Would this affect my situation if she report it? Thank you for your help.

Alex


----------



## kennysaurus

MarkNortham said:


> ****HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE RE-OPENED THE THREAD - QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME, HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FANTASTIC 2015 -- MARK NORTHAM ****
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> This is a bit of a trial here, but let's see how it goes. I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Sir Mark! *waves hand*

Hope you'll notice me.

Just a question, would an embassy officer would call the person whose applying for immigrant? I mean, my relative passed her visa requirements and additional last october then last week an officer called her. Was it a part of process?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saacor -

Thanks for the note. That refers to an Australian visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



saacor said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was reading regarding pic 4020 and it says provided bogus documents for visa held in the last 12 months...
> Does it include the visas issued by other countries?
> 
> Thank you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mahender -

My apologies for the delay - you will not get a bridging visa if you apply for a visa offshore, so no bridging visa would be granted from the 189 application. Best bet may be a visitor visa if you wish to remain in Australia until the 189 decision is made, but unfortunately no work rights possible with that visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mahender said:


> hi mark
> i have applied skilled independent 189 visa from india and i currently hold 485 visa and its going to expire on 28 feb 2016 i havent got the bridging visa notification even when i came to australia on 27 december 2015 on my current visa . can you please suggest me what can be done.
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Star Gaizer -

Thanks for the note. Difficult to predict with any accuracy what could happen in the future if this omission is discovered by DIBP. Suggest your partner prepares a statement describing the situation and lodges along with Form 1023. If he did not know they needed to be included as he has no contact with them any more, that may help explain things, but far better to declare them now then wait & worry about DIBP discovering them later.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Star Gaizer said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a question regarding undeclared child on the partner visa application. My partner has children with other woman and his name is on their birth certificates as their father. We have no contacts anymore to the children and mother and we are not sure of their date of births so we didn't put them on the visa application. What is the implication if Immigration would find out that he has undeclared children? They are not dependents of my partner. Please advise of what should we do to rectify the problem.
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skl -

Registering your relationship with an approved state authority will automatically satisfy the requirement that you provide evidence that the de facto relationship existed for the 12 months prior to application. However you still need to prove that the de facto relationship is genuine and ongoing, which typically means showing some history of the relationship (ie, living together time, etc). Given how tough DIBP is being on partner visas these days, I'd put in as much evidence as you can of the relationship at a de facto level both prior to the application date and afterwards, as you can continue to submit additional evidence after application until a decision is made.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



skl said:


> Hi Mark. If we registered our relationship before applying 820/801 we still have to proof that we have genuing relationship 12 months prior to applying? or we shd stress that we have continuous relationship after we have applied?


----------



## KevinLocust

*Bridging Visa A*

Hi 
Due to my ignorance I havent applied for visa 485P and my student visa is expired on 15 of March. My question is how long does the system take to approve my application meet the requirement in order to get BVA. Is my application meet the requirement if I havent taken health examination (I mean I will do it asap but I fear the clinic will need 1 2 weeks for the result and by that time is too late T.T). Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alison007 -

Especially as you've returned since then, I don't think it would have any affect on your partner visa as long as you answer the "have you ever overstayed..." question accurately and provide details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alison007 said:


> Hi Mark,i am currently in Australia on an eta visa(my 2nd stay on it),my Australian fiance and i are getting married next month and applying for a partner visa,however im really worried as i overstayed for 18 months in 1993 when on a working holiday visa,it was a stupid thing to do but i loved my job with the horses at the time and didnt know what to do,i received a year ban since then ive returned to Australia 3 times including a year after my overstay.im just concerned that this will count against me even though it was 23 years ago,thanks Alison


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaffee -

Thanks for the note. Yes, you should notify them of both changes (location, date). I would get a letter from a celebrant in Australia to evidence the planned Melbourne wedding, and the celebrant can complete the NOIM which you can lodge with the celebrant letter. Form 1022 can be used to update the change with DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kaffee said:


> Hi Mark and thanks in advance for your help once again.
> I have applied for PMV and had stated on my application a wedding date of 29 December and attached a confirmation of a wedding booking in Scotland. Since then my fiancee and I changed our mind and decided to get married in Melbourne. We didn't bother to change the application or our original booking as we have no idea when my visa may be granted. However we have now received a letter from a case officer and one of the things she requests is a NOIM. We have this in hand but it is for a different date.
> My question is - Do I need to notify immigration of the change of date of the wedding as well as uploading the NOIM document and if so which form is appropriate for this?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Qublacan -

Thanks for the note. I'd check the requirements on the DIBP website for the subclass 155 visa very carefully, including the requirements about providing compelling reasons for being away from Australia for so long, and establishing substantial ties with Australia - based on what you've said, it may be challenging to get the RRV depending on the extent of your substantial business, cultural, employment or personal ties to Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Qublacan said:


> Dear Mark,
> It seems your the person to ask about visas and immigration in this Forum..
> I have received my Interdependent Skill visa subclass 126 way back in 2003. I have in the same year went to Perth for 2 weeks with my wife and child and went back. Within that period, I have not visited nor stayed in Australia. I am now thinking to relaunch RRV. What is the best way. Just to note that I did not return back to Australia for health issues of parents.
> Let me know if it is possible and chances of getting the Visa.
> Thanks,
> 
> Qublacan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Happy to clarify - for visas that are processed offshore such as subclass 300 PMV visas, offshore partner visas, some student visas, visitor visas (tourist stream), etc DIBP generally processes the application either at the location nearest the usual residence of the applicant, or the application nearest the country of citizenship of the applicant. This occurs regardless of whether the application is online or paper.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MarcellusF said:


> I too am keen to know the answer to this.
> 
> *bump*


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MoonRising -

You may want to check with the particular state office (WA) to see what they want in terms of specific documentation, however generally a letter of reference from the employer stating the job, dates worked, and basic responsibilities of the job is sufficient, plus in some cases evidence of payment will be requested - ie, payslips, bank statements, tax document, etc to evidence payment for the job. If the tasks/responsibilities are not in the reference letter, often companies will provide a job description document as a separate document - this is generally fine too.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MoonRising said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Im about to apply for a 489 visa WA state nomination. They are asking for 1 year experience in my field. So I'm wondering how do I prove 1 year work expereince? What information do they require in the paperwork? I assume, the employers details, when the job started and ended, the responsibilties of the job??? Anything else?
> 
> What other paperwork do they ask for in order to prove 1 year work expereince?
> 
> Thanks so much for you time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaspals -

Thanks for the note. Your questions would require more information from you in order to give you specific answers for, and I would need to see your current visa. Happy to assist at a consultation where we would have the time to go through your case in detail and I can then get you specific advice for your case - see website below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jaspals said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I appreciate that you give valuable advice to us for our migration related queries.
> 
> I am an international PhD student in Queensland on an Australian govt scholarship (The scholarship and visa does not have any no further stay condition attached to it). I will be finishing my work in the end of the year 2018. By that time I will be over 33 years old and will loose 5 points for age. My occupation is not in SOL but it is in CSOL.
> 
> My questions are.
> 
> 1. Am i eligible for QLD state sponsorship for Postgraduate alumni for Visa 190, even if I am sponsored by Australian govt for my studies.
> 2. I have seen a condition attached to Visa 485 on official website that if someone is sponsored by Aus. Govt. for his studies, he can not apply for it. Could you please give your advice on that.
> 3. I read on internet that Aus. Govt is going to launch a new visa scheme for STEM research graduates. How it will make permanent residency pathway easier for us.
> 4. I have 3 years work experience but it is not directly related to my previous studies and my PhD. I think I can not claim points for it.
> 5. I have my Australian citizen first cousin living in a designated area, who can sponsor me for 489 Visa. but still my direct occupation is not in SOL, I am thinking of applying assessment for Engineering technologist. because, I was working as an engineer although my work was not directly related to my studies.
> 
> I feel like my life is in limbo as I will be spending 4 years of my life for a PhD and then struggling to get residency. That is why I am considering quitting now and get back to a job again .
> 
> Thank You
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rayner -

I'd like to help, but no way to predict the possible results of an ACS review. In my experience, can be difficult to get ACS to reclassify educational qualifications without a great deal of evidence.

Best,

Mark Northam



rayner said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> ACS reduced 6 years of my Exp.Below is the relevant points from ACS assessment.
> 
> 3 Years Diploma completed 1997 equated to AQF Diploma with a major in computing.
> 
> MBA IT completed in Jan 2009 equated to AQF Bachelor Degree with a major in computing.
> 
> Experience from 12/2002 To Till Date. But the assessment has considered the exp from Dec 2008 . All experience in DUBAI,UAE
> 
> (The following employment after December 2008 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately
> skilled level and relevant to 263111)
> 
> Kindly advice if a *review *will help to bring down the reduction to 5 Years as the diploma is equated to AQF Diploma with a major in computing.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LQriggs -

Thanks for the note. For better or for worse, under Australian immigration law, whether the visa was cancelled at your request or not is usually not a big factor. I would need to see the specific cancellation notice in order to determine whether you are subject to a 3-year exclusion period on temporary visas per clause 4013 of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1994 - some s128 cancellations are subject to this, others are not, it's a technical question. Happy to assist further in a consultation - see my website below for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LQriggs said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a question I had regarding my current situation.
> 
> Recently after spending a year back in the UK (after being in Aus for 3 years on a 457) I accepted a new role back in Aus which will mean applying for a 457 again.
> 
> When I left Sydney last time I sent an email to Immi informing them I had left the country and didn't intend to return within 90 days and that they could cancel my visa. I then received a reply stating
> 
> "This visa was cancelled under section 128 of the Migration Act 1958 (the Act) because, after
> 
> careful consideration of all information before me, I was satisfied there was a ground for
> 
> cancelling your visa, that the grounds for cancelling your visa outweighed the reasons for not
> 
> cancelling and it was appropriate to cancel the visa without notice."
> 
> It didn't mention anywhere on the attached letter that I had requested the cancellation even though this was the case.
> 
> What if any impact will this have on my new application? - and how should I cover this in the application (I still have the email I sent informing immi that I had left)...
> 
> In my view I did the right thing last time and hope there wouldn't be any issues this time - but I am slightly worried about the wording in their confirmation letter.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any advice
> LQ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Soumah -

Thanks for the note, and sorry if I missed an earlier question - I do my best to keep up here.

Normally if DIBP wants to interview you and you are not in the country they want to do the interview in at the time, they will give you the opportunity to do the interview by phone.

Re: processing and grant, if they are ready to grant the visa and you are in Australia, they would normally email you to let you know that they are ready to grant the visa, and you would need to make a brief trip offshore (usually 5-7 business days requested) in order for them to grant the visa - you only need to be offshore, so NZ or Bali, etc OK if you have a visa for those countries - no need to return to your home country if that's not convenient.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Soumah said:


> Hello Mark,
> For some reason I got no reply to my lady request for information. I hope I didn't say anything wrong there. I'm hoping this time with this new question I might get a response because my plans and ticketing are reliant on my understanding of how this works : when you have applied offshore for a partner visa you must be offshore to be granted. This can come at any time and is impossible to anticipate. Also I will be asked to attend an interview. Is the interview always conducted in our closest to the country you have applied from? Because I have also applied for a visitor visa in the meantime and so if I am in Australia and need to go for an interview can I be interviewed in Australia so I don't have to cut my time sorry there to travel all the way back to west Africa? The inevitable m interviews in West Africa are only conducted in Conakry, Abuja and Dakar, every 6-8 months I think, and these places are very far to travel to anyway. Thank you for any information you can give me.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michele -

I've heard of this too, but it doesn't seem to be happening with any great regularity. Also, the invitation round dates only apply to SC189 and SC489 applications, SC190 invitations are generated by the state sponsorship approval.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pomwantingtomove said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> After submitting a EOI, will anyone get invited outside of the dates issued? i.e. the next invitation round is 9th March and then 23rd March, but can you receive an invitation outside of these dates? I didn't think so but after reading some posts on this forum it appears that some people are being invited on random dates.
> 
> Thank you, Michele.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zackj1120 -

For partner visa applications, we normally recommend to clients that they wait until DIBP requests the health and police documents as these expire in 12 months and processing can often go longer than that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zackj1120 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I'm currently in Aus on a WHV that expires in June...I live with my same-sex partner of almost 2 years now and we are planning on applying for 820/801 visas within the next couple of months.
> 
> We understand the process pretty well...the only question I have is do I need to provide the health check/federal police checks when I initially apply or should I wait until I hear from my assigned CO?
> 
> Thanks!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RamonaAstone -

While many people do not update this info, I recommend updating this info just so DIBP will have 100% current info. Form 1022 is the way.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ramonaAstone said:


> Hi Mark! Hope you're well.
> 
> I'm in the process of an offshore partner visa. My husband changed his job, do I need to report that to my case officer? Should I use change of circumstances form for that?
> 
> As always, thank you for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi S.A. -

That's an interesting issue, as the skills/duties for those 3 positions are substantially different, especially between #1 and #2 (I assume). I think you're taking a bit of a risk claiming all that time for Business Analyst - specifically the time for #1. That being said, it is DIBP's policy is to by default abide by the skills assessor's advice is re: relevance of work experience. If I were you, I would seek assurance in writing from ACS that all three periods of employment are assessed as Business Analyst - once you've got that, it should be sufficient defence against any claims or doubts by DIBP to the contrary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



s.a. said:


> hi mark,
> i got positive ACS assessment but in one of employment, ACS have accumulated all my experience to my last position 'Business Analyst'. i have submitted reference letter to ACS clearly stating 3 positions and job descriptions of each.
> 
> I have held 3 positions in the same company total 3 yrs
> 1.Software engineer, 2.Project Coordinator/Analyst 3.Business Analyst
> job descriptions were slightly different.
> 
> ACS, assessed my experience as follows
> Dates: xx - xx (3yrs)
> Position: Business Analyst
> Employer: XX
> Country: SRI LANKA
> 
> Will that be a problem when applying for visa? Do i need to get another ACS assessment stating job titles separately? really appreciate your opinion in this. thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Slimguy_234 -

Once a person has permanent residency via 189 visa and is in Australia, they are eligible for Medicare, so any post-grant testing, treatment, etc I would assume is covered by Medicare according to their standard policy on these things (some testing incurs an additional cost, etc - best to consult Medicare on specifics on this).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



slimguy_234 said:


> hello Mark,
> 
> many thanks for your help.
> 
> i got a feedback from DIBP today as regards my visa 189 application asking one of my dependents who is over 18 to fill out an undertaking (form 815) agreeing to the following
> 1. report to the health clinic to which he is referred;
> 2. to place himself under the health clinic's professional supervision
> and to undergo any required course of treatment, chest x-ray
> examination or investigation;
> 
> this is because he has non contagious Hepatitis B.
> are we going to bear the cost of all the treatment, investigations and monitoring of his condition please?
> 
> Slimguy.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi bhs080809 -

You could provide your passport (all pages) and old cert from China to see if the case officer will allow that to be used; otherwise best to get a new Chinese certificate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhw080809 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your reply.
> 
> I have one more query. I need to provide a police certificate from China to support my application of visa 887. I got a police certificate from China in 2010 when I applied for a Temporary visa. After that, I always stayed in Australia between 2010 to 2016 and I only spent about 5 months visiting China during such period. So could I provide the police certificate from China I got before to support the application of visa 887 or do I need to re-apply a new police certificate from China?
> 
> Please give me some advice. Thank you so much for your time. I am looking forward to hearing from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Blue lady -

Wish I could help, but no way to tell for sure what the delay is. Often with people from Pakistan the external security checks delay the visa process for many months, so that may be the issue, but again no way to tell for sure or to get that info from DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Blue lady said:


> Hi Mark!
> Plz help me why my application is taking too much time.
> I applied on may 2015 sc 189. Have submitted medicals and pcc of me and husband in august. But since october 2015 no response from CO. Two months ago when mailed about the status, they replied that my application is in routine checks.
> I m worried why they are taking too much, my emp verification is also done one month before.
> Plz help me what can be its outcome and what should I do.?
> Thanx in advance.


----------



## sandset

Dear Mark,
I have a question about my Medical for PR, right now am in Victoria on 485 dependent visas and we are planning to apply for PR. I am having psoriatic arthritis from past few years, My condition is active, I wanted to know whether my health condition is going to be an issue for my Permanent resident visa. 

Thank and regards


----------



## rayner

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rayner -
> 
> I'd like to help, but no way to predict the possible results of an ACS review. In my experience, can be difficult to get ACS to reclassify educational qualifications without a great deal of evidence.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for the reply. My point is that since my Diploma is equated to AQF Diploma major in computing, normal deduction should be 5 years and not 6 years. Am I correct,?

I also had MCSE before starting my career.

Awaiting your kind advise,


----------



## Juju

*Prospective Marriage Visa requirements*

Hi Mark,

Just needing some clarity over some of the PMV requirements.

Regarding the "*What documents do you need*?" section of the 40SP form (Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia), its states:
"_You will also need to demonstrate that you will be able to meet your sponsorship obligations as undertaken by you when you complete and sign this form.... The information requested on this form, including documents relating to your employment and income, will assist the decision-maker in deciding whether you are able to meet these obligations_".

I want to know, do I actually need to be working to prove sponsorship for a PMV to be approved??... what if I am not working because I am studying and under a centrelink student payment.
-- Is it OK, but more favourable to DIBP if I'm working?
AND
From the sponsor partner, Is it an absolute requirement to provide a bank statement (same as a sponsor would under a visitor visa) with a certain amount of money for this PMV application to be approved??

I appreciate your help!


----------



## Alex123

*Can my wife revoke my PR?*

Hi Mark. I am so happy to find you. Hopefully you can help me. 
My wife and I have been married for 10 years and we were in Australia for the past four years. We just got our permanent residency in Jan. Now We want different things in life. And I want to leave her. My question is: Can she revoke my PR? And if the divorce will affect my citizenship application next year? I also used a fake offshore driver license before I got my license in Australia. Would this affect my situation if she report it? Thank you for your help.

Alex


----------



## zshanqiti

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding the time required to issue the visa after uploading the police clearance and medical.

Application date is 30 Nov. 2015. 
The officer requested the police clearance and medical and we uploaded them on 30 Dec. 2015, after that in a week the HR received a call from the Embassy in Dubai confirming the working information.

Whats the period it usually take to issue the visa?

Appreciate your help


----------



## margot

Dear Mark,
I have a question in regards to the health check for my husband's partner visa. He has a child from a previous relationship who is not included in the application and only has supervised access visits twice a month. With the relationship with the mother, it's not possible for his daughter to undergo the medical examinations. Do you have any idea what we will have to do in this situation?
Thanks,
Margot


----------



## Rodeobear

Hello Mark, it's been about 9 months for our visa (Ukrainian). We just received a notice to sign a form 815 for my fiancee's daughter. Could this be because of a complication with the health check? Is this any sign the visa application is going well?


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Hello Mark,

Hope you are doing good. I want to apply for 189 visa. I have a query regarding the the dependent visa. My wife as of now is unsure to move to Australia with me. I have two options. First I can include her as a dependent and go ahead with my visa process. Once the visa is granted she will have complete one year to decide and move to Australia. Second, I continue with the process without her as a dependent and get my visa granted ASAP and in future whenever she decides we can initiate her process as well. What would you suggest would be a good approach to proceed with keeping in mind the visa fees. Will there be a much difference in visa fees for the above two situations, I mean in one application with dependent and in other application only dependent ? Also it would be good if you share any other experience regarding the same, maybe the different level of complexity in the two cases.

Thanks for your help and time.


----------



## essamali9

Hello Mark,
I just submitted my EOI with 60 point (55 + 5 NSW) as developer programmer: 261312. 
My question is:
Is my chance can be doubled if I redo ACS as software engineer: 261313 and submit another EOI ?
I couldn't find any difference in quota or ceiling for both codes.


----------



## ddjunior87

Hi mark. 
I am applying for marriage visa with my Australian wife but I was deported 2 years ago. We have applied for an F.O.I 5 months ago and still have heard nothing. I was just wondering have we any other options. 
Thanks colum


----------



## Arabella

Hi Mark,

Do I need to submit my Spanish Numero de Identificacion Extranjero (Foreigner's ID Number) and a translation? I've listed it under my ID documents on my application but I'm not sure if they need to see a certificate.

Same for mine and my partner's driving licences. We've listed them on our application but we're not sure if there's any reason for us to submit them? If we do submit them, do we need to scan the back and front?


----------



## thsskdms00

Hi Mark,

My immiaccount currently shows my application status as "assessment in progress" converted from "additional information requested" not long ago. If I decide to upload form 1023 soon to fix a minor mistake, does this "assessment in progress" status have any affect or it is it okay to upload this form until final decision is made? I was wondering whether it might be too late to upload the form or is it never too late to fix a mistake? Thank you once again, have a wonderful day!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaga -

Please PM me or email me (address below in my signature) - need to know more about your circumstances to answer this question.

Best,

Mark Northam



kaga said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am going to apply for Relative sponsored 489 (SA).
> Can you confirm that onshore applicants must be living in the same state at the time of application ?
> 
> Thanks and Have a good one.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Annilo -

Thanks for the note. Statements from parents or anyone else who can attest to the fact that you both were living together for those periods would likely be helpful - the more, the better. If you register your relationship with the state (registered de facto relationship) and that certificate is available prior to a decision on your visa, it will satisfy the requirement that you be in a de facto relationship for the 12 months prior to lodging the application. Trick is getting the certificate fast enough before a decision is made on the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Annilo said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I am hoping to get some advice on my situation:
> 
> My partner and I (both Germans) have recently submitted his de-facto application to be added to my 574 student visa (I started my PhD studies in August 2015 and already named him as unaccompanying family member on my initial Visa application).
> 
> We have been in a committed relationship since October 2014. Of course we tried to provide as much proof as possible but due to our jobs in two different cities 200km apart, we did not live together as such. On weekends, home office days, or holidays we were either at his place or at mine, so usually we would stay with each other about 3-4 days a week.
> Due to our working situation he did not add me on his rental agreement or utility bills. At that time I was living in a flat at my parents place and he was also staying with me there frequently. My parents did not charge us for rent or any bills...
> 
> We have provided proof such as order confirmation and receipts of packages to each others places in both our names and were hoping immigration would understand our situation. However, this morning we received an email, that the following information is missing:
> 
> Further evidence to support your claims for cohabitation and an ongoing de facto spouse relationship:
> 
> - evidence of co-habitation. (e. g. a joint rental agreement, joint local authority registration under the same address, utility bills appearing in joint names, etc.)
> 
> Our plan is now to provide a statement from my parents that they were renting the flat to us free of charge and without an official rental agreement. Will that be accepted?? Do you have any other suggestions?
> 
> We provided a lot of additional evidence (proof of holidays together, joint bank account, statements of parents and friends, etc.) and we were also explaining in detail our working situation that did not allow us to officially 'live together'. My first thought when I read the email from Immigration was that they were just going through a checklist and haven't actually read everything that we provided. Is that possible? Are they checking off a list first before reading all our evidence in detail and making a decision (in this case we might still be fine...).
> 
> Our plan B would be to register our relationship in QLD when he comes to visit in March. Would that help at all? We are also thinking about getting married but didn't want to rush it 'just' because of the visa...
> 
> I am really desperate at this stage as I am in Australia waiting for him to finally be able to move here
> 
> I hope I described the situation in an understandable way  Any advice is much appreciated!!! Thanks so much for your time!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AussieRN -

Thanks for the note. Normally once you get your ANMAC registration that will serve as a skills assessment for migration purposes. Happy to discuss skilled visa eligibility at a consultation, as we need to get into your circumstances in more detail in order to determine visa options and answer your questions - please see website link below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AussieRN said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in nursing from a university in Australia. I got my registrattion from AHPRA and just got my 485 visa granted this week. My question is, am I elligible to apply for either 189/190 visa? I have zero experience as an RN as I am a new grad. If the application is point based I have 60 points for 189 and 65 points if I'll push for 190. I have sent my skills assesment to ANMAC ysterday. I chose registered nurse nec for my ANZSCO code. Below is my points allocation:
> Age- 30 (26 y.o)
> English- 10 (all B OET)
> Qualification- 15 (Bachelor's degree)
> Australian study- 5
> 
> Please shed some light on my case and I am considering to have you as my agent for my PR application. Currently, i am waiting for my Anmac assessment result which is expected to be released in May. I also want to know how much do you charge for my case. Thank you so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thsskdms00 -

Thanks for the note. I'd lodge Form 1023 just to be on the safe side.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thsskdms00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> While filling out my application for 189 visa, by mistake I wrote wrong start date for my secondary education off by just a couple of months. But I uploaded form 80 with correct dates for it. Since it is amended/updated with correct details on form 80, and considering that secondary education details are not even fundamental as opposed to highest tertiary qualification details, do you think it's necessary for me to upload a separate form 1023 to highlight this or could I just leave it as it is to avoid complication?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ridwone -

Thanks for the note. Yes, some overseas Bachelor degrees are assessed as not equivalent to an Australian Bachelor degree -you'd have to check with Engineers Australia about their specific guidelines and rules for this. Also, you should be careful about the term "accredited" as this would be done by the academic authorities in your own country - if a degree is not accredited, it is generally not able to get the 15 points from DIBP, so that's a separate issue from being equivalent to Australian bachelor degree.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ridwone Hossain said:


> Hello Mark,
> I've completed 4 year bachelor degree in engineering (electrical and electronics). But I've no Masters degree.My bachelor degree is not accredited in australia and I, however, understand I've to follow Competency Demonstration Report (CDR) method in order to assess my bachelor degree. I am from Bangladesh.
> But I've heard that some of the bachelor degrees other than some listed university in Bangladesh, require a masters degree in the related field in order to be equivalent to australian four year bachelor degree when assessed by Engineers Australia. Is that right? Because I need this information badly so that I can take the right decission.
> My University is Ahsanullah University of Science & Technology (Ahsanullah University of Science & Technology- Online).
> So far my work is concerned, I'm carrying experiences of 2 years and continuing.
> I intend to apply for visa-489.
> Please enlighten me.
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## saacor

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Saacor -
> 
> Thanks for the note. That refers to an Australian visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark for answering my query.


----------



## DoctorSA

Hi Mark

I had to sign a health waiver and uploaded on 16th Feb. Do you have any idea as to timelines that I can expect visa? I have a job starting on the 20th April in Australia.

Thanks!


----------



## Everlongdrummer

Hi Mark

Here's a question I think may not have ever been answered before. As we all know under Regulation 1.20J and the “Five Year Rule”, you may only sponsor 2 applicants for visa's in your lifetime. 

Does the application for the visa count as one of the 2 in this case, or only if the visa is actually granted? I.e. An sponsor applies for a visa to their applicant for the second time, and during the waiting period for the visa to granted, the relationship breaks down and they withdraw the application. Is this sponsor able to ever (if needed) sponsor a new applicant in their lifetime?


----------



## michael1234

Hello Mark,

I would like to ask a question about the 485 visa which I will apply for soon.
I will complete my course in about two weeks and would then apply to this visa.
When I look at the DIBP website it seems that there is no need for me to do medical checks prior to the application. The DIBP website says "You can find out whether you need to undergo health examinations, and arrange them where required, by using our My Health Declarations service." and links to https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa...nt/health-examinations/my-health-declarations which says you should not use MyHealthDecalarations if "the visa that you are intending to apply for can take more than six months to process".
The 485 visa can take over 6 months according to https://www.border.gov.au/about/acc...ards/temporary-graduate-visa-processing-times.

However, I have seen a thread here about someone who has gotten their 485 refused due to not doing medical checks where you wrote that providing evidence that you have booked medical checks is a "time of application requirement" for the 485. See http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/18006-subclass-485-refusal.html.
I would just like to verify that this rule was changed, i.e. that providing this evidence is not required currently, even though it was required when you wrote that message on the thread I've mentioned.
And I would like to confirm, if possible, that my application should not be refused due to not providing such evidence at the time of application.

Cheers,
Michael


----------



## theambassador

Ciao Mark,

I would like to apply 189 and my degree completed in Spain is (wrongly) called 'Technical Architecture' although the subjects are more similar to Construction Management or Building Engineering. I have 2 doubts in this case:
A) Can you apply for skill assessment with VETASSES as CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT without any work experience with my bachelor degree?
B) It is known that to apply through ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA you don't need work experience. Could you still go through the skills assessment as CIVIL ENGINEER DRAFTPERSON with my bachelor degree?

Much appreciated, thanks for your time.


----------



## fiftyeight

Hello Mark,

I wanted to ask about the 485 graduate visa. I want to ask about the question "Did you receive assistance in filling this forum".
I had some consultations with migration agents, but none of them helped me really directly with the 485 form itself, more so with general information about visas.
I am not sure if I should write the name of one of those agents here.
Do you know what DIBP do with this information? is there any disadvantage to writing the name of one of the agents here?
And if I write "No", is it possible that the migration agents report to DIBP of which clients they serve, and then DIBP will see I did not report this and it will seem like a discrepancy?

Thank you!


----------



## Vikram Jeet

Hi Mark,

Hope all is good

I am facing few errors while creating online application for 887 Visa which i will submit on Monday 7th this month.
1. My wife don't have surname/family name as per her passport. 
The following errors have been encountered:
1.	Field 'Family name' must have a value "

Hint is saying” Format rules - general
•	Where there is only one name, enter that name into the Family Name field.
If you are unsure as to the Family name, enter all given names into the Family Name field and leave the Given Names field blank.

Is someone has this type of error?

2. At the time of submit for spouse details
The following errors have been encountered:
The information you have entered has not enabled us to identify family unit member “Spouse Name”. Please check and re-enter details. If we cannot identify your family unit member please record their details as a non accompanying dependant. For further information or assistance, please contact an office of this department. SeeVisa Enquiries and Technical Help

Just to add, she just got new passport last month 
Thanks in advance 

VJ


----------



## Olib

Hi Mark,


Do you know if a no further stay clause often put on a first year 417 visa? For that matter is it often put on in the second year?


Thanks.


----------



## James-James

Hi Mark,

I lodged a 189 application a few days ago and I uploaded all the recommended (recommended in immi account) documents except for 3 categories: I haven`t uploaded any evidence of Australian qualifications or Australian work experience as I do not have these and I did not claim points for them (so it`s strange why the system recommends these as it should know that I do not have them). I haven`t uploaded anything as evidence of health either (this is the third recommended category for which I haven`t uploaded anything). What shall I/could I upload as evidence of health?

The other thing I would need some help with is the recording of my medical history. When do I have to do this? 
The department`s webpage says my case officer will contact me when they want me to undergo the health examinations. 
However in my immi account, when I click on the “View health assessment” link, the following page tells me that 
“Examinations required. This person is required to complete health examinations for this visa application. Click on the link below to organise these health examinations.“
When I click on this link, an eMedical page pops up, which requires me to answer medical history questions.
Shall I answer these questions now or shall I wait for a case officer to request for this?

I would appreciate your answer very much.

Thank you in advance and kind regards,
James


----------



## Alexism

Hi Mark, 

I have an issue with employment history in form 80. It was not complicated, however, I made a silly mistake while filling EOI. 

I do not claim any exp point. 

My issue is that there was an irrelevant part-time job (less than 20 hours a week) I worked in 2015 which I mistakenly added up nearly a year of work in EOI (in starting date, I put 1/14 instead of 1/15). 

Still that job, I filed the first EOI in 6/15, I quit the job, got PTE then updated EOI in 12/2015 but did not update that I quit the job and the last date of the job is still left blank.

I have not lodged visa application yet. Should I only need to give correct information in visa application and form 80 or do I need to inform DIBP about that?
Is there any form that I can inform them about the mistake? I had a look at form 1023 but there's no option to correct EOI information in there. 

Thank you very much.


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Hello Mark,

Hope you are doing good. I want to apply for 189 visa. I have a query regarding the the dependent visa. My wife as of now is unsure to move to Australia with me. I have two options. First I can include her as a dependent and go ahead with my visa process. Once the visa is granted she will have complete one year to decide and move to Australia. Second, I continue with the process without her as a dependent and get my visa granted ASAP and in future whenever she decides we can initiate her process as well. What would you suggest would be a good approach to proceed with keeping in mind the visa fees. Will there be a much difference in visa fees for the above two situations, I mean in one application with dependent and in other application only dependent ? Also it would be good if you share any other experience regarding the same, maybe the different level of complexity in the two cases.

Thanks for your help and time.


----------



## Abbie_190

Dear Mark,
Thanks a bunch for taking out time for guiding people like us. I have successfully lodged my visa (Sub Class190) for WA on 30th Jan 2016. However doing some post visa lodge research some few question popped up in my mind. Therefore thought to share my questions with you for better understanding.

I was following some forums, where people like me who have applied in January end have shared their time line, and a few of them have been already contacted by the CO asking for additional documents, while few have also got direct grant as they have pre loaded all the documents (PCC, Medicals) even before the CO (case Officer) is being assigned. Now since its already a month now since I have lodged for my visa my question to you is do necessarily pre loading of documents (before CO assigned) helps and speeds up the process getting a direct grant rather than waiting for the CO to be assigned and then asking for the same? Kindly share your thought on this.


2. I was reading that a form called Form 80 and Form 1221 needs to be filled. Does this forms need to be uploaded once the CO asks for it or it can be pre loaded just like the other documents.( PCC and Medicals). ?


3. I was going though a blog from DIBP where it states that there is a quota for an year for State/Territory & Regional Nominated Visa for 2015-2016.This years number for the same is 28,850.

Now my question to you is do you have any idea about such numbers as I was also reading that after March ( when usually the threshold of such number is quite full) people are being given a delay mail by DIBP/CO and no grant is made till July unless the new immigration year starts.) Is this correct?

More over can you also share your thought if staying Onshore as compared to staying Offshore has something to do with the allotment of CO as the trend I was looking at the forum is the people who are onshore in Australia are getting CO assigned faster than the people living Offshore (like me).

At this point I want to do everything possible which saves some time. Therefore kindly advice me, what probably can save me time.

Thanks you in advance.


----------



## khart

Hi Mark, 

I'm hoping you can help me. I came to Australia on a visitor visa in December to visit my partner's family for Christmas. I did not get approved for leave with my company, but they said they would allow me to work remotely whilst I was in Australia. I didn't think anything of it since I know travel bloggers who work all over the world while traveling. My partner and I decided to stay in Aus and lodge our 820 visa and I'm a little nervous I have broken a law without realising it. I have working rights in NZ and get paid to my NZ account by my NZ company... Is this going to be an issue for my 820 visa? If it is, what would you recommend I do? 

Looking forward to hearing from you.


----------



## n1n1

Hi Mark!
I want to ask about the skilled employment point for 189 visa. I read on the immigration website that we need to provide the employment reference to claim the work experience point.
Is the employment reference same as the positive outcome statement assessed by assessing authority (in my case AITSL as I am a teacher)? Do we really need the reference from our employer? What should we do if we can't obtain one? I don't have the reference statement anymore as I have given it to AITSL for assessment as they want the original copy only. I can't ask another one because I already quit my job.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## JamesSultan

Dear Mark,

While filling up the online visa application, i came across the following questions which are confusing, need your help in answering them.
1. Have any of the applicants lived in a country other than the primary applicant's usual country of residence?
**In my last country of residence, i spent around 25 years and during that time i have change several addresses. This question also asks me to add dates of stay, In my case, I have lived for only 3 months at the last address in that country (out of total 25 years). If i follow the instructions and add only the last address, it will just represent 3 months, not 25 years**
What is the correct way to mention it? Shall i only mention the last address with the dates representing just a 3 months of stay at that address?

2. Education history,
**Is it fine if i only mention my bachelors degree and not the secondary school? As per skill assessment, my highest qualification is the Bachelors Degree**
**How to add currently enrolled degree? As we cannot add it without entering an end date**

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Kaiya

Hello Mark,

Hope you are well.

About two and half years ago, you advised my case regarding consent of biological father. I had presented documents from my lawyer which was confirmed my sole custody right under Vietnam law, as well as placed ads both in in the Los Angeles Times, a national distributed newspaper in America as well as a nationally distributed newspaper in Vietnam to prove that I did try my best to look for my ex. 

My visa was granted in early 2014. I have recently received an email from DIBP stated that my application for subclass 100 is not satisfied the PIC 1015

"The Minister is satified of 1 of the following:
(a)the law of the additional applicant's home country permits the removal of the additional applicant;
(b) each person who can lawfully determine where the additional applicant is to live consents to the grant of the visa;
(c) the grant of the visa would be consistant with any Australian child order in force in relation to the additional applicant."

They informed me that my children's father did contact them after we arrived to Australia, to claim he does not consent for the children to immigrating to Australia; and information was given would be the reason/part of reason of refusing to grant a visa.

Please be advise what I should do. Thank you!


----------



## Reddym

*Non Immigrating Depedents in EOI & Application*

Hi Mark,

-- Please help---
Request your inputs on below situation.

I have submitted EOI for 189 visa. During the EOI submission i have answered Yes to below questions.

Are there any family members the client would like to include in a future application? - Yes

How many family members? - 2
Would the client be accompanied by the client's partner in a future application? - Yes

Now i got the invitation and planning to submit application. I would like to add my spouse and kid as non immigrant dependents in the application. Will it create any trouble because in EOI i have mentioned Yes and in the application i am adding them as non-immigrating dependents?

Thanks,
Prathap


----------



## mukki2000

Hi Mark ,

I am sure this is one unique problem , which will force u to wear thunking hat .

1. ACS accepted my work ex as relevant after 1st October 2011 till December 2015 . So its 4 Year and 1 month.

Out of this 4 years 1 month , i was working Wipro Technology , based in India / Australia and China .

As per my Australia+ Overseas experience this I should get 10 points but EOI is showing me only 5 points. Just to clarify my point , I was based in Australia from Feb 2013 to 07 / 2015 and recorded same in application.

what i ant now 
----
My experience of 4 years 3 months should be counted as 1 years Australia +3 years 3 months as overseas This gives me 10 points for work ex. [ Although i was in Australia for 2 years 5 months but if i account my experience in this way then i get 5 additional points . which makes me eligible for 189 visa ] 
------------------

On the other side , - if I keep it as 2 year 5 month for Australia + 1 year 10 month for India . I get only 5 points.nad forced to look for state sponsorship :-( 
--------------------------------------

I have studied the migration law or combining points but it also does NT say anything for such cases- Following Piece of legislation from the government Migration act and its amendment 1994 , also does not Bar anyone from calculating his / her work experience to his advantage to maximize his work experience points . [ subject to limit of maximum of 20 points ] . At least my 1 year Australia work ex can be or should considered equal to one year overseas experience . The intent of the law seems to be clear in aggregating the points.

Part 6D.5 -- Aggregating points for employment experience qualifications

6D51 (1) If an applicant has a qualification mentioned in Part 6D.3 and a qualification mentioned in Part 6D.4, and the combined number of points that would be awarded under those Parts for the qualifications is more than 20 points:
(a) the Minister must give the applicant 20 points under this Part for the qualifications; and
(b) no points are given under Part 6D.3 or 6D.4.
(2) The prescribed number of points for the combination of qualifications is 20.

Part 6D.3 -- Overseas employment experience qualifications Item

At the time of invitation to apply for the visa, the applicant ...
Number of points
6D31
had been employed outside Australia in:
(a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
(b) a closely related skilled occupation;
for a period totalling at least 36 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
5
6D32
had been employed outside Australia in:
(a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
(b) a closely related skilled occupation;
for a period totalling at least 60 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
10
6D33
had been employed outside Australia in:
(a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
(b) a closely related skilled occupation;
for a period totalling at least 96 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
15
Part 6D.4 -- Australian employment experience qualifications

Item
At the time of invitation to apply for the visa, the applicant ...
Number of points
6D41
had been employed in Australia in:
(a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
(b) a closely related skilled occupation;
for a period totalling at least 12 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
5
6D42
had been employed in Australia in:
(a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
(b) a closely related skilled occupation;
for a period totalling at least 36 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
10
6D43
had been employed in Australia in:
(a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
(b) a closely related skilled occupation;
for a period totalling at least 60 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
15
6D44
had been employed in Australia in:
(a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
(b) a closely related skilled occupation;
for a period totalling at least 96 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
20
Part 6D.5 -- Aggregating points for employment experience qualifications
6D51 (1) If an applicant has a qualification mentioned in Part 6D.3 and a qualification mentioned in Part 6D.4, and the combined number of points that would be awarded under those Parts for the qualifications is more than 20 points:
(a) the Minister must give the applicant 20 points under this Part for the qualifications; and
(b) no points are given under Part 6D.3 or 6D.4.
(2) The prescribed number of points for the combination of qualifications is 20.


----------



## manenough00

Hi Mark,

My wife and I have been living in Australia as permanent residents for the last two years. My wife wants to sponsor her brother on Remaining Relative Visa 115 who lives in Bangladesh. He has two more siblings living in Bangladesh as well. Will he be eligible for 115 or one needs to be the only sibling to be eligible for this visa. Thanks


----------



## MoonRising

*190 ACT state sponsorship*

Dear Mark,

Thank you so much for all your help with my previous questions. I'm on a student visa which expires 15th March 2016, I'm planning to apply for either a 489 WA state sponsorship or a 190 ACT state nomination. As I only have a week left, I will apply for a new student visa so i can stay legal in the county while I work towards either WA or ACT state visa. The issue is my new student visa may get refused and I may end up appealing through MRT (I tried to change my current student visa from 573 into 572 and was refused, but my 573 visa was not cancelled).

My question is, if I'm waiting for an MRT decision ( I assume I will be on a bridging visa?) can I apply for the 489 WA visa whilst still in Australia?

I also want to understand the 190 ACT state nomination. From what I understand Canberra residents who studied there for at least 6 months and worked within a skilled occupation for that time can apply for the 190 visa. I would be nominating my occupation as a 'welfare worker' and Im thinking of moving to Canberra (rather than applying for WA nomination) and studying in Canberra for 6 months in a cricos registered course and work in any job ( as it seems the job does not have to be related to my nominatedoccupation). Would I satisfy the criteria for a 190 visa after I've lived and worked there for 6 months (on an MRT bridging visa?) Sorry, my case is complicated. I want to add I'm from asessment level 1 country.

Thank you for looking into this! Much appreciated.

MR


----------



## gto21

Hi Mark, i live in Victoria. I submitted my EOI in October 2015 for general account. I have 60 points for 189 visa and 65 points for 190 NSW state sponsorship. My current visa expires in September 2016. I'm a bit worried i won't get invited by then.


Any suggestion apart from doing retaking an english proficiency test. What else i can i do to increase my chances to get invited?


Apply to another state?
Apply for taxation accounting?
And any idea who much longer i might have to wait until i get invited?


----------



## light

*partner visa*

HI Mark
I have got married 6 months before but living together from 1 year. Now its a time to apply for partner visa but my husband said he want divorce suddenly and don't wanna sign sponsor papers. what do you think that i can do or is it still possible for me to apply papers because i'm going through domestic violence?


----------



## R-985-Pratt

*max points to be expected for diploma / AQF or ANZSCO?*

Hello,

I am just about to submit my qualification to be assessed by VETASSESS, but as time is running out for me (40th birthday approaching) I need to decide if I should do the NAATI test to get 5 additional points before I get the results from VETASSESS, so could you please answer me the following questions:

I have a diploma and 10 years work experience in my profession.

- According to AQF, successful completion of a diploma course in my profession "will require competency in units that relate to work defined as aligned at AQF Level 5"
- According to ANZSCO, my occupation (skill level 1) has "a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification"

Is there any chance that I can get 15 points in educational qualifications for the level of skill being commensurate with a bachelor degree, or is that only possible for someone actually having a bachelor degree?

I also have an additional diploma in a very closely related occupation; if I only get 10 points for the first diploma, is it possible to get additional points for the other one, or is 10 generally the highest number of points achievable for diploma level qualifications?

Thank you very much for an answer!


----------



## virusrohan

Hi MArc, I am totally confused i need help and after a lot of searcher and chats of forums I have reached here. I am a ICT business analyst with 60 points,EOI applied date 18th Oct 2015.my wife is a CA (2003 passout from ICAI (India)) + proficient english but has no work experience as Accountant. My question is 
1) Can i claim 5 points if I get positive assessment as accountant from ICAA or CPA
2) She has a 1 year experience as internal auditor which occupation will have better chance for positive skill assessment.. Accountant /Internal Auditor.


----------



## Brane

Hi Mark,
I am working as an IT professional in an Indian MNC and have more than 6 years of work ex. I am in the process of applying Australian PR soon under ANZSCO code 261312. So while going through the Skill assessment guidelines I came across certain queries which are as follows :-

1. Can I use exactly the same content used in the Duties performed section of the sample EMPLOYMENT REFERENCE letter provided on the acs site or is it mandatory to mention my Technological skills as well like RDBMS,Java etc in the letter ?
2. Do we need to upload the original Statutory Declaration or do we need to get it photocopied,and then upload the true copy of the same?

@All Forum Members :- Can anyone please mail me the employment reference letter and statutory declaration which they had submitted to acs for skill assessment and got a positive response for the same ? I just want to have a look at what exactly is expected in the StatDec/Employment Reference letter.

Regards,
Brane


----------



## nyadav

Hi Mark,

Hope your are doing great !!

I have a dilemma around applying for the visa. Basically i got the invitation on 22nd January when my ACS was expired (9th January) to which i applied for renewal with updated experience. The ACS result came on 29th Jan with same outcome of previous one.

I would like to know whether i can go ahead with visa filing process or not as at the time of invitation the ACS was not valid. If i go ahead towards filing the visa would there be any issue in terms of ACS mistmatch i.e., the one mentioned in EOI and the updated one mentioned in Visa form.

Request you to please provide your valuable inputs. Thanks a lot for your help.

Regards,
Narender


----------



## James-James

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for giving advice to people like me on this forum.

Please let me ask you one more thing about health examinations for visa 189. I lodged my visa application last week and I have not answered the medical history questions yet. I have a health condition that I will have to mention in my medical history. 

Is there any way of decreasing the chances of a denial because of a medical reason? I suppose, these might be a few good examples:
-	Getting evidence from specialist doctor(s) voluntarily to prove that this is not a serious health issue, treatment is not required, etc.
-	Uploading this medical evidence/other related evidence to my immi account voluntarily.
-	Providing my panel physician with this evidence when I attend my health examinations.
-	Explaining in my medical history why I think this will not be a burden / significant cost to the Australian Government.

Or, is there no point in putting much effort into this because I cannot influence the outcome in any way? Should I just wait and do only what my case officer and panel physician request me to do?

Thank you so much again for your support!

All the best,
James


----------



## dassahappy

Hi Mark,
just like to know what happens now mrt remited back to the DIBP how long would it be before i am ask to do a medical and police check i had done my application onshore would i need to do finger prints or just the police check , also am i able to go for my medical and police check before i hear from DIBP ,i am currently applying a carer visa 836 i wait your speedy rreply thanks.


----------



## CassieLita

Hello Mark,

I would like to know which are the possibilities for a NZ to become a permanent resident. I just read that a new pathway is going to arrived next year for NZ leaving in OZ for at least 5 years, holding a special category visa which I meet but I read that the annual income must be $52,000 but I'll probably reach $48,000. What are my chances ? Is there any other ways to become a permanent resident ? 

Thank you so much Mark,
Have a good day.

Luisa


----------



## Reddym

Reddym said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> -- Please help---
> Request your inputs on below situation.
> 
> I have submitted EOI for 189 visa. During the EOI submission i have answered Yes to below questions.
> 
> Are there any family members the client would like to include in a future application? - Yes
> 
> How many family members? - 2
> Would the client be accompanied by the client's partner in a future application? - Yes
> 
> Now i got the invitation and planning to submit application. I would like to add my spouse and kid as non immigrant dependents in the application. Will it create any trouble because in EOI i have mentioned Yes and in the application i am adding them as non-immigrating dependents?
> 
> Thanks,
> Prathap


Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing good..!

Could you please provide your valuable inputs to my query.

Thanks,
Prathap


----------



## Eilidhw

*EOI as solicitor*

Hi Mark,

I am in the process of submitting an EOI as a solicitor. My question is in reference to the section of the EOI dealing with the skills assessment. 
It is my understanding that a positive skills assessment for a solicitor is 'evidence of admission' as the state legal practice boards do not issue actual 'skills assessments'

I have my admission certificate from the supreme court of WA confirming my admission as a lawyer. Is this sufficient? If so, how are the date and reference number fields of the EOI to be filled in?


----------



## Carlaalvest

*Bridginb b forgot*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi mark, i applied for a partner 820 and left the country without a bvb. What should i do?


----------



## raman2007sandhu

*DIBP Job verification*

Hi Mark,

Trust you well!!

I shall appreciate your valuable support in this regards.

My two old company's offices are closed now, So i have taken Statutory Declaration from my reporting managers. Now, My question is this

If DIBP or EA calls to mt reporting manager and asks about EXACT dates of employment(Start/End date), EXACT duties written in the Declaration.

Issue is this, My reporting managers might not be able to remember EXACT dates at the time of verification because they don't remember. I worked under them in 2009 to 2012.

yes, they know i worked in those companies. But i have doubt on the EXACT DATES and EXACT DUTIES to be remembered.

Plz guide me how to deal with this situation.


----------



## michael1234

Hello Mark,

I would like to ask about the question in form 80 which asks "Have you been known by any other name(s)?"

I am not sure what one should include here.
I would assume for example that they do not want usernames that you use for websites/e-mail, but I am not sure where the line crosses.

I am currently doing some academic work and I am considering adding an "imaginary" initial. So for example if my name (using initials) is M. Jones, I would submit an academic paper online as M. W. Jones, which is something that is done sometimes to disambiguate one's name. I am not sure if I should mention this. It may appear online in some places, but no one actually knows me personally by that name.

Arguments for not including this:
- No one actually knows me personally or calls me by that name; I also never used it on official forms. 
- I just used it once when submitting something online, so it can be viewed as something like an online username
- I am a bit worried that if I do include it, it'll seem strange to them that I use an imaginary initial, like I am attempting some sort of fraud.

However, if I do not include it and they somehow notice it, then I am also worried it can seem like I am trying to hide something.

What do you think?


----------



## AUSA129

Hi Mark,

Can you provide some insight on the defacto relationship? How exactly can we prove living together for 12 months if we live in two different countries? We've been in an exclusive relationship for 15 months. We've each spent an extended amount of time at the other's home essentially "living together" during those times. 

Our plan is for me to move from the US to Australia, but it seems like the visa process makes it almost impossible! Help!?!?


----------



## RayInOz

Hello Mark,

I'm in the process of uploading my documents to my IMMI account after submitting for my Partner Visa application while here in Melbourne. I have two questions.

1. I'm here on ETA visa. I arrived on February 3rd, 2016. I received my email about my bridging visa. Does the bridging visa start on May 3rd or after the full year is up?

2. As far as document uploads... my scanner stinks, is it possible to scan items and documents via my phone? I'm using a scanning app called Office Lens. I'm wondering if this is OK or do I have to use a traditional scanner?

Thanks so much for any guidance.


----------



## janetjaramillo

Dear Mark,

I am a US citizen with an Australian partner. I visited Australia last year and stayed for 3 months, I entered with an ETA visa. This year I entered Australia on December 1st and I stayed 3 months, then I went to Thailand for 2 weeks and came back, I will stay 2 more months. This year I also entered Australia with an ETA visa. I have a job that is seasonal and enables me to be free to travel for 3 to 5 months every year and how my partner is Australian I decided to come to Australia this time.

The last time I entered Australia I had to talk to a migration officer who told me that if I enter the country with an ETA visa next time, I may have troubles because that is not the kind of visa I need. 

I would like to come and visit Australia every year for the summer, 3 months... what kind of visa do I need? 

I want to get a partner visa at some point, but if I only wanton visit Australia for 3 months... do I need a partner visa?

Thanks so much


----------



## prestyler

Dear Sir:

I am about to file the EOI for Australian immigration and currently need the following information.

I had a positive outcome from vetasses on my occupation in December 2014 with 3 years of experience. however, now i have completed 5 years on the same job and i am currently employed.

My question is, do i need to re-assess from vetassess or just mention it in EOI as currently employed at the same position and claim 5 years.

Please advise.


----------



## claire456

Hi Mark!!

Me and my partner submitted our partner visa application last week (he is the sponsor).

Now uploading our evidence, how does my partner complete the 40SP form? I've been reading forums for so long and it's just making me confused! We have the option to just upload it on the documents page so he can fill it out on paper and scan it in, but I'm reading also that he can enter it on a new application online?

Does he also have to complete form 80 and statuary declaration? 

Any help would be awesome!


----------



## 239722

Hi mark and everyone

I have applied for student visa in australian at AHC about 1.5 months ago . Recently i have got mail from case officer telling that my senior secondary certificates are fake. So i sent all the supporting docs that can prove that my certificates are geniune. So i want to know that now in how many days my application will be assessed. Plz tell anyone


----------



## anjroid

*online partner visa application question*

Hello Mark... I am so close to submitting partner visa application form but keep getting stumped by the questions. I think I can finish in the next 10 minutes if I can just work out how to answer the questions on page 22.

Have any of the applicants lived in a country for more than 12 months cumulatively in the past 10 years?

I've lived in USA (my home country), New Zealand and Australia. When the menu comes up it asks for your last permanent address in that country, then date from and date to. So, is this meant to be a chronological address history for the past 10 years? Or is it simply asking you to list the last permanent address held for each country, and leave it at that? In New Zealand I was never in one place for more than a couple of months, so I'm just providing my friend's old address where I spent a chunk of my time. It's the address that's on my New Zealand tax return for the year I was there. Assuming that's sufficient.

What's really got me confused though is how I'm supposed to answer for my current address. I am residing in Australia over 12 months...so my last permanent address here is my current address. But I am required to enter a 'from' and 'TO' date. No opportunity to say 'current'...So should I put today's date as the TO date? Probably overly cautious but I feel nervous about this one due to the fact that living arrangements are directly related to partner visa. If someone could answer this for me asap that would be great! Thought i was about to click 'submit'!

If a person misinterprets or cannot give a precise answer to a question on the application (such as, marriage date of a family member you're not in contact with), can things like that just be explained in a word document at the end of the application? (assuming it would need to be uploaded after submitting and paying.)

One more thing: is it expected that all required evidence be uploaded immediately after submitting application?

Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## ozsurf

*PIC 4020 comment*

Hi Mark, how do you make comment regarding PIC 4020? Does it have to be in statutory declaration/ statement format or simply writing in email will do when replying to department?

I have been invited to comment regarding a document that department thinks is bogus.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## YL1

Hi Mark,

I have a question about employment history. I'm applying for the 189 visa as an accountant. I have 2.5 years work experience as an accountant up until 2013 and then after that I completed a masters in Australia. In my EOI, I marked this 2.5 years work experience as not related as I can't claim points for it. Is it right to do the same in my 189 application and say that it is not related to the nominated position (even though it is related)?

Thank you


----------



## szeminlim

Hi Mark!

I have a question on my partner visa application. I'm on ETA and entered the country on 27 February 2016.

I submitted my 820 application and was informed I'm granted BVA. But as far as I know, it wont come into effect until my ETA expires (90 days?).

Is there any way I can cancel ETA and move to BVA as I need to work urgently?

Thank you!


----------



## Lahore

Hi Mark, hope you are doing well. I got invitation recently to apply for a visa. However, i noticed a mistake in my EOI. One of my qualification's end date was off by 3 months. Do you think it is something which could create a problem later in process if i accept the invite?

Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Hello Mark.

Hope you are doing good.

Below is the information which I checked at DIBP website regarding invitations. I am not sure what they are trying to explain.
==============================================
Invitation process and cut offs

The highest ranked clients by points score are invited to apply for the relevant visa. For clients who have equal points scores, the time at which they reached their points score for that subclass (referred to as the visa date of effect) determines their order of invitation. Expressions of Interest with earlier dates of effect are invited before later dates.

Visa Subclass Points score	Visa date of effect
Skilled - Independent (subclass 189) 60 10 February 2016 4.37 pm
Skilled - Regional Provisional (subclass 489)	70 16 February 2016 2.42 pm
=======================================

I understand here that if the person is having more points he will be invited first. But regarding the equal scores the explanation they have provided is a bit tricky. Could you please elaborate and quote some example also if possible. 

Thanks for your help and time.


----------



## pomwantingtomove

Hi Mark,

We've received an invitation to apply for visa 189 and have started the application form, however we seem to have stubbled upon a potential issue (despite my years of research to avoid this!)

I am the main application and everything is fine. My husband is also included, we are not claiming any parter points for him. My understanding was that he didn't need to complete the IELTS to prove his functional language ability. In the FAQ's, under 'how to prove functinal english' it lists 'a passport issued in the UK' as evidence of this, however that choice is not available within the application form. It does list an IELTS with scores of 4.5 or evidence of primary/secondary education completed in english. Well he doesn't have any evidence from school as he never kept his certificates so my question is, does he urgently need to sit the IELTS?

Also, what do Australia consider 'secondary' education? In the UK it is aged 11-16 but in Oz it seems to mean something different? 

Thank you for your help.


----------



## twebusatoaus

*Can I travel to Australia while waiting for Case#?*

Hi Mark! Thanks for your thread. I have what seems like a simple question, but can't find an answer anywhere:

Can I travel to Australia while waiting for Case# and Case Officer?

I'm in the US now looking at Partner (309) visa app online. Thinking I should do the offshore app because I want to get process started. But I currently have plan to travel to Australia on tourist visa May 5 -- that's 8 weeks from now. And plan to stay the 3 months in Australia.

Can I start the app offshore in USA, then continue with case#/case officer process when in Australia? Have any of you done this?

Or, is there part of the initial app questions where you tell them you plan to travel in the initial weeks while waiting for case# / officer?

I see tons of answers about travel and informing case officer while having an open case. I see no answers about traveling during the time period of after initial app is started and before a case# and case officer is given to someone.

Thanks so much.


----------



## CowleyStreet

Hi Mark,

I have been granted my visa last week. Prior to that, I was required to sign a health undertaking form 815, requiring me to contact the HUS upon arrival to set an appointment for health check. 

My first entry date is only valid till Aug 2016 and hence I have plan to travel to Australia for a 5-day short validation trip in April and then return to my home country. 

I am unsure whether I will be able to get the health check done in within the 5 day short trip. The form 815 says that one has to report to the health department within 4 weeks of arrival.

My question is would it be possible for me to undertake these tests when I do a longer trip to Australia sometime next year? and not on my very first short validation trip.

Looking forward to hear your advice.

Thank you!


----------



## skl

Hi Mark. Thanks a lot for your help. 

Can pregnancy be a compelling reason to wave 12 months relationship requirement to apply partner visa? Although we have registered our relationship.


----------



## komertj

Hi Mark, 
we are applying for a partner visa at the moment. Can you tell me, in the section for previous relationships, do you only list the past relationship if you lived with or were married to that person? Or what are you meant to include?


----------



## Mea

Hi Mark,
Thank you for all the helpful answers. I am currently on TR, and hopefuly will get the PR in n year from now. I want to bring both my parents here to live with me. They are both under 65 yrs age. Now my query is , 

1. What are the visa options that would permit my parents to live in aus under my direct sponsorship?
2. What is the age limit of being classified as "Senior Resident".
3. I have a child who is an au citizen and since I am working I need my parents here to look after my child. Is there any visa specific to such needs? I thought I heard something like grandparent visa for working parent?

WOuld be a lot of help if you could help me with the information. Also, you can give me a link that covers the details of such visas.

Thanks in advance. hope you have a great day!!


----------



## Kittykitkat18

Hi Mark,

My husband applied for visa 189 which includes me and my mother as dependent parent. Both of us got our visas granted. However, my mother was refused because the CO was not satisfied that she is part of my husband's household unit. Attached with the refusal letter is form 1026i. I'm confused since there are certain type of visas that she can still apply as stated in form 1026i. 

The question is, can she apply for tourist visa instead? We will moving to Au this july and was hoping to apply her tourist visa so she can spent the holiday with us and also to celebrate her 60th birthday with us. Thanks!

-Kathy-


----------



## adityaagnihotri

Hello sir,
Need your advice urgently,
I am an Architect (From a recognized university of Indian in 2009) and have done PGP course in construction project management (02 years full time, from an unrecognized university of India in 2011) Since than I have been working and in April 2016 I will complete My 05 years of work experience in India, and willing to apply under the Anzsco code 133111 Construction Project Manager.

My major query is related to the employee reference letters as I need them for the Vetassess assessment and for final PR too.
I have worked 02 years 01 month with my first company, HR of this company has refused to provide the employee reference letter so what should I do, As my boss is willing to provide the same on the companies letter head (without seal) or should I get the affidavit signed by him for this tenure ? considering the vetassess assessment and final submission also.

For my second & third company I have worked for 10 months & 2 years respectively, and from these companies my respective heads (not the HR department) have provided me the employee reference letter. The letter from my second company has proper seal and everything whereas the third companies letter doesn’t have the companies seal. As they never put companies seal on any of the letters issued on the letter head.
considering the vetassess assessment and final submission also.

One more small thing, as my designation was never exactly the construction project manager or project manager or construction manager but all of my duties/ role & responsibilities in all of my previous and current company are the same as mentioned for Anzsco code 133111 will there be any issue because of this in my Vetassess assessment ? will they consider my experince equal to 05 years of relevant experience or because of the designation they will not ?
Your reply will be highly appreciated.


----------



## dassahappy

hi mark, need help,
i just recived a letter from immagration for a number of requirments to complete my visa 836 i am from the philippines but currently live in australia they are asking me to provide police clearence from my country and where i worked in hongkong as a domestic worker or will it be ok if i download the stact dec form afp i am confused or if anyone can help please


----------



## leonardoposada

*Child visa help*

[11:42:22 AM] leonardo posada: Hi Mark my name is Leonardo , I really appreciate if u can help me or give me a hand with some doubts that I have regarding an application for child visa , I have two sons over 18 who are living in Colombia , I am an Australian Citizen and always financially support them , they are full time students in university , but I want to bring them to Australia or at leat make the application, I know that I have to make the application separately , the question 27 in the 47ch form I do not understand the note : Siblings who wish to migrate together must make separate applications and HAVE SEPARATE SPONSORSHIPS ... it means?? I can not sponsor my two sons at the same time ??? or what does it means?? please if u can help me, I'm sorry to disturb ur time , 
The other thing is that they have gaps between finished high school and start university studies ,, so in the border website it says that I have to explain the gaps between and why or what is the reason for these gaps , so I have to write a letter to them explained , do i need a good reason or just simple explanation whats happened ??? , have a lovely day , regards
[11:42:29 AM] leonardo posada: Leonardo


----------



## ecurb21

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bruce -
> 
> Your plan looks great - no questions or issues I can see. The only thing you'll want to consider is the application for the visitor visa - depending on how close that is to the end of a 2-year stay on WHV's , you may run into an issue there with whether the applicant is planning on a genuine stay as a tourist for tourist purposes, etc - in some cases DIBP is reluctant to grant visitor visas after a person has spent so much time as a visitor hear already.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

So another question on top of the before mentioned ones. Does the status of one's registration as a citizen come into play in terms of entering Australia on a visitor e651 or applying for partner 820?

My partner is about to enter Australia and before she signs out as being a registered citizen in the Netherlands she wants to make sure this won't effect the visa applications?

Many thanks,

ecurb21


----------



## JasonF1

Hi Mark,

I have applied for a student visa 572 and am currently on a BVA from this application. I would like to know if I could be included as a de facto partner on my partner's 485 visa, which she plans to apply for in the next few days. We have been living together for more than 12 months but the concern is the BVA.


----------



## gankanpre

hi mark,

i have applied for 190 visa - transport company manager state sponsorship from SA. and i launched my final visa on 09.009.2015. Still now there is no update from the immigration office. since the service charter says that only 3 months. do i need to contact the immigration office. if so please advice me how to contact them.


----------



## vaibhav140140

*190 Visa*

Hi Mark,

I am awaiting the invitation to apply for visa from skillselect. Need some advise on further applying to DIBP. I was over stayed in England for 4 years. Then I apply for FLR visa , which was refused, so I was asked to leave country and I left voluntarily. It was about 3 years back. Now I am eligible for skilled independent visa and want to mention my history in 180 form. My England PCC is clean and clear. Will all this put negative impact on my 189 visa. Also I lost the communication with British immigration authorities related to FLR visa. How should I work out. Please advise.

Many Thanks
Vaibhav Sharma


----------



## aidanmcdonnell

hi mark, i have a question about which visa i would require to move to australia. 

i am a UK citizen and a skilled worker, my wife is a filipino citizen currently in the UK on a uk spouse visa. we have 3 kids between us, one british citizen and 2 filipino citizens. 

what would be my best route to take in order to move to australia ? 

thanks


----------



## marcusbruno888

Hi Mark,

I was wondering if you can help me out. Do I need a NOIM (Notice of Intention to Marry) on lodgement or can it be attached later?

I am currently helping my fiance with a 300 Prospective Marriage visa, she is offshore. 

I also have a friend who wants to apply for a employer sponsored visa. Her husband may have a re-entry ban and it was suggested to her to apply for 186 visa because that does not apply to the ban. Is this true? Is it also possible for her to apply for the 186s visa without him migrating with him, but can you do a subsequent application to apply for him later? I heard you can do that for 457.

Any help is appreciated!


----------



## bhw080809

Hello Mark,

I am holding visa489 right now and I am going to apply visa887 next month. I have prepared all relevant documents and evidence of two-year living and one-year working for application of visa 887.
But I did not have private health insurance during the period when I am holding visa 489, I am wondering if no private health insurance would affect the grant of visa887.
I hope you could give me some advice. Thank you so much for you help.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.


----------



## dumivisa

*489 visa*

Hi Mr. Mark,
I applied for 489 visa (TR) from srilanka. I submitted the all the documents by 20th Jan 2016. after one month they request me to fill form 1229 and I submitted it by 29th Feb. There are no feed back or respond from visa processing officer upto now. So, Agent sent a inquiry on 14th March and told me to call the visa process officer directly.

1.) Is it good to call visa process officer...?

2.) I would like to know, normally how many days they need after submitting all the documents....?


----------



## Moa05

Hi mark. 
I'm have about 4 months to go on my onshore partner 820 visa till I can apply for the permanent residence 801. 

My little sister has now gotten really sick and I need to go home. Is there any chance when applying for the permanent residence to change to the offshore visa 100? 

Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandset and all -

Sorry for the delay in responding for the last week or so - have had several emergency cases that have kept me very busy. Catching up with all tonight (Sunday 20 Mar).

Re: Sandset: no good way to predict this - depends on the anticipated costs (per DIBP) of the condition, however the subclass 485 skilled graduate visa does not have a health waiver available, so if you fail the health criteria, there would be no good pathway to get the visa other than appealing a DIBP refusal to the AAT which would refuse on the same grounds, then apply for Ministerial Intervention under s351 of the Migration Act.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sandset said:


> Dear Mark,
> I have a question about my Medical for PR, right now am in Victoria on 485 dependent visas and we are planning to apply for PR. I am having psoriatic arthritis from past few years, My condition is active, I wanted to know whether my health condition is going to be an issue for my Permanent resident visa.
> 
> Thank and regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rayner -

Yes, assuming ACS decides the diploma is relevant to your nominated occupation and the 5 yrs was available within the last 10 years - see details here: https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/7324/Summary-of-Criteria-2014.pdf

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rayner said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for the reply. My point is that since my Diploma is equated to AQF Diploma major in computing, normal deduction should be 5 years and not 6 years. Am I correct,?
> 
> I also had MCSE before starting my career.
> 
> Awaiting your kind advise,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Juju -

Thanks for the note. Re: subclass 300 PMV visa, the financial requirement is a bit vague the way the regulations are currently interpreted - essentially you need to show that the sponsor has (or is likely to have) income or financial support such that the sponsor could potentially support the applicant for the first 2 years of the applicant's stay in Australia. All types of financial support count for this, including financial support from parents, family members, Centrelink, etc. If a person is between jobs, a resume can be helpful to show a history of income, etc. No financial requirements for the applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Juju said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just needing some clarity over some of the PMV requirements.
> 
> Regarding the "*What documents do you need*?" section of the 40SP form (Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia), its states:
> "_You will also need to demonstrate that you will be able to meet your sponsorship obligations as undertaken by you when you complete and sign this form.... The information requested on this form, including documents relating to your employment and income, will assist the decision-maker in deciding whether you are able to meet these obligations_".
> 
> I want to know, do I actually need to be working to prove sponsorship for a PMV to be approved??... what if I am not working because I am studying and under a centrelink student payment.
> -- Is it OK, but more favourable to DIBP if I'm working?
> AND
> From the sponsor partner, Is it an absolute requirement to provide a bank statement (same as a sponsor would under a visitor visa) with a certain amount of money for this PMV application to be approved??
> 
> I appreciate your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alex123 -

Thanks for the note. Once you became a permanent resident, the visa was no longer dependent on the relationship, so there would be no risk to the visa if the relationship broke down at this point. She cannot revoke your PR. Re: fake licence, if you were convicted of an offence related to this it could be a factor re: character in getting your citizenship, and if you were imprisoned for 12 months or more, it could be a factor in the Minister considering cancellation of your PR, but not sure that type of offence would be likely to result in that sort of a sentence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Alex123 said:


> Hi Mark. I am so happy to find you. Hopefully you can help me.
> My wife and I have been married for 10 years and we were in Australia for the past four years. We just got our permanent residency in Jan. Now We want different things in life. And I want to leave her. My question is: Can she revoke my PR? And if the divorce will affect my citizenship application next year? I also used a fake offshore driver license before I got my license in Australia. Would this affect my situation if she report it? Thank you for your help.
> 
> Alex


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Zshanqiti -

Wish I could predict, but no good way to tell - sometimes weeks, sometimes a few months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zshanqiti said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding the time required to issue the visa after uploading the police clearance and medical.
> 
> Application date is 30 Nov. 2015.
> The officer requested the police clearance and medical and we uploaded them on 30 Dec. 2015, after that in a week the HR received a call from the Embassy in Dubai confirming the working information.
> 
> Whats the period it usually take to issue the visa?
> 
> Appreciate your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Margot -

There is a provision in the regulations that allows DIBP to waive a medical for a child if the Minister is convinced that it is unreasonable or impossible to get the medical done. Suggest he get as much documentation as possible of attempts to get the mother to allow the child to undergo a medical. Best would be an email or letter from the biological mother stating that she will not allow the child to be given the medical exam.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



margot said:


> Dear Mark,
> I have a question in regards to the health check for my husband's partner visa. He has a child from a previous relationship who is not included in the application and only has supervised access visits twice a month. With the relationship with the mother, it's not possible for his daughter to undergo the medical examinations. Do you have any idea what we will have to do in this situation?
> Thanks,
> Margot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodeobear -

This usually means there is something they want the applicant to get further testing for after arriving in Australia. The 815 request is often a sign that they are close to a decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> Hello Mark, it's been about 9 months for our visa (Ukrainian). We just received a notice to sign a form 815 for my fiancee's daughter. Could this be because of a complication with the health check? Is this any sign the visa application is going well?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984ravigupta -

Thanks for the note. Big difference in fees - additional adult applicant for 189 is $1,800; to sponsor her later after you become a PR for a partner visa is $6,865. She would have to take and pass medicals under either scenario as part of your 189 application even if she is not on the 189 application as a migrating dependent. I'd probably look at the 189, but there may be other circumstances you have that would indicate partner visa, not sure as not enough info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing good. I want to apply for 189 visa. I have a query regarding the the dependent visa. My wife as of now is unsure to move to Australia with me. I have two options. First I can include her as a dependent and go ahead with my visa process. Once the visa is granted she will have complete one year to decide and move to Australia. Second, I continue with the process without her as a dependent and get my visa granted ASAP and in future whenever she decides we can initiate her process as well. What would you suggest would be a good approach to proceed with keeping in mind the visa fees. Will there be a much difference in visa fees for the above two situations, I mean in one application with dependent and in other application only dependent ? Also it would be good if you share any other experience regarding the same, maybe the different level of complexity in the two cases.
> 
> Thanks for your help and time.


----------



## Rodeobear

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rodeobear -
> 
> This usually means there is something they want the applicant to get further testing for after arriving in Australia. The 815 request is often a sign that they are close to a decision.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark, should we of had interviews by now? its now into the 4th week since we sent in the form 815. Almost into the 10th month since we applied and havent had interviews or heard anything apart from the request for the 815. Thanks Carl


----------



## prestyler

I have received an invitation to apply for 190 state nomination of NSW. The experiance i had assessed from Vetasses was in december 2014, however i am on the same job and it increased my points this february, before the i lodged the EOi. I asked many people if i need to re-assess my documents from vetasses and all suggested there is no need, however, when u provide your supporting documents to the state, make sure they are updated. Now, I received invitation to apply for NSW 190.

The following documents are mandatory for every application on NSW website:
• Bio data page of the passport - please do not scan entire passport 
• Current skills assessment from relevant assessing authority for your nominated occupation
• English language ability results - IELTS/OET
• Educational qualifications - certificates and academic transcripts
• Full curriculum vitae/resume
• Evidence to support all points-related claims that you make in your application

Question 1: I want to know what other documents you advise me to include ?, shall i include all the same updated documents which i sent to Vet-assess including (Bank statement, experience certificates, high school certificates etc)

I was reading on the NSW webiste, on NSW website it says "All mandatory evidence should be clear colour or certified black and white copies of the original."

Whereas, i was reading on https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-...ment-checklist

It says "All supporting documents must be scanned and uploaded with your application. All documents that you provide must be certified copies of original documents. Do not include original documents unless specifically requested to do so by the department."

Question 2: Shall i upload scanned color original documents to NSW ? or Shall i upload Notarized COLOR copies of the original documents ? or Shall i upload Notarized black n white copies of the original documents ? What is the best option ? As i want to make my case very strong and avoid delays, so, kindly advise on this.

Question 3: Any advise or tips or information regarding applying for 190 NSW would be highly appreciated.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Essamail9 -

Not sure how it would help as I believe the quotas for both are joined, plus the new EOI would have a much later date of effect. I suppose it could not hurt if ACS was willing to approve.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



essamali9 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I just submitted my EOI with 60 point (55 + 5 NSW) as developer programmer: 261312.
> My question is:
> Is my chance can be doubled if I redo ACS as software engineer: 261313 and submit another EOI ?
> I couldn't find any difference in quota or ceiling for both codes.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ddjunior87 -

5 months is a long time on a FOI request - I'd keep at them and get the FOI in hand to determine your specific circumstances. Note that you cannot have a debt to the commonwealth (unless you have satisfactory payment plans in place with the commonwealth) to be granted a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ddjunior87 said:


> Hi mark.
> I am applying for marriage visa with my Australian wife but I was deported 2 years ago. We have applied for an F.O.I 5 months ago and still have heard nothing. I was just wondering have we any other options.
> Thanks colum


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arabella -

Generally no need for driver licences to be submitted as long as passports are. Unless you have it translated, I'd probably wait and see if they ask for the ID card w/translation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Arabella said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Do I need to submit my Spanish Numero de Identificacion Extranjero (Foreigner's ID Number) and a translation? I've listed it under my ID documents on my application but I'm not sure if they need to see a certificate.
> 
> Same for mine and my partner's driving licences. We've listed them on our application but we're not sure if there's any reason for us to submit them? If we do submit them, do we need to scan the back and front?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thsskdms00 -

Thanks for the note. Generally no problem with uploading a 1023 form at any point, however you might also email them once you've done this to alert them to this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thsskdms00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My immiaccount currently shows my application status as "assessment in progress" converted from "additional information requested" not long ago. If I decide to upload form 1023 soon to fix a minor mistake, does this "assessment in progress" status have any affect or it is it okay to upload this form until final decision is made? I was wondering whether it might be too late to upload the form or is it never too late to fix a mistake? Thank you once again, have a wonderful day!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DoctorSA -

Are you referring to a health undertaking (Form 815) or a health waiver (arguments as to why the overall benefit of the applicant should outweigh the anticipated medical costs as assessed by the MOC)?

RE: health waivers (see above), these can take weeks or months - I had one that took over a year, which is really unfair to all concerned - so very unpredictable if it's a health waiver. If it's a health undertaking via Form 815, those are generally requested very close to the time a decision is made on a visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DoctorSA said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I had to sign a health waiver and uploaded on 16th Feb. Do you have any idea as to timelines that I can expect visa? I have a job starting on the 20th April in Australia.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Evverlong -

An event that qualifies for one of the 2 sponsorships occurs only if a visa is granted, so an application that did not result in the grant of a visa does not count towards 1.20J. Additionally, there is a time limit re: when the 1.20J rule originally came into effect.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Everlongdrummer said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Here's a question I think may not have ever been answered before. As we all know under Regulation 1.20J and the "Five Year Rule", you may only sponsor 2 applicants for visa's in your lifetime.
> 
> Does the application for the visa count as one of the 2 in this case, or only if the visa is actually granted? I.e. An sponsor applies for a visa to their applicant for the second time, and during the waiting period for the visa to granted, the relationship breaks down and they withdraw the application. Is this sponsor able to ever (if needed) sponsor a new applicant in their lifetime?


----------



## prestyler

prestyler said:


> I have received an invitation to apply for 190 state nomination of NSW. The experiance i had assessed from Vetasses was in december 2014, however i am on the same job and it increased my points this february, before the i lodged the EOi. I asked many people if i need to re-assess my documents from vetasses and all suggested there is no need, however, when u provide your supporting documents to the state, make sure they are updated. Now, I received invitation to apply for NSW 190.
> 
> The following documents are mandatory for every application on NSW website:
> • Bio data page of the passport - please do not scan entire passport
> • Current skills assessment from relevant assessing authority for your nominated occupation
> • English language ability results - IELTS/OET
> • Educational qualifications - certificates and academic transcripts
> • Full curriculum vitae/resume
> • Evidence to support all points-related claims that you make in your application
> 
> Question 1: I want to know what other documents you advise me to include ?, shall i include all the same updated documents which i sent to Vet-assess including (Bank statement, experience certificates, high school certificates etc)
> 
> I was reading on the NSW webiste, on NSW website it says "All mandatory evidence should be clear colour or certified black and white copies of the original."
> 
> Whereas, i was reading on https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-...ment-checklist
> 
> It says "All supporting documents must be scanned and uploaded with your application. All documents that you provide must be certified copies of original documents. Do not include original documents unless specifically requested to do so by the department."
> 
> Question 2: Shall i upload scanned color original documents to NSW ? or Shall i upload Notarized COLOR copies of the original documents ? or Shall i upload Notarized black n white copies of the original documents ? What is the best option ? As i want to make my case very strong and avoid delays, so, kindly advise on this.
> 
> Question 3: Any advise or tips or information regarding applying for 190 NSW would be highly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks


Also, i want to know, if all your supporting documents are accurate, can still NSW decline/reject your application ?

Your experienced opinion would be highly appreciated Mark..!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael1234 -

The time-of-application requirement that an applicant for a subclass 485 visa must provide evidence of at least a booking for a medical exam was repealed in late 2015, so that does not exist any more - there are still the other somewhat unusual time of application requirements for the 485 that exist, such as providing evidence that an AFP police check has been applied for, and providing evidence that health insurance is in place, etc.

This illustrates a danger of depending on forums for current regulatory information - migration law and policy changes very frequently - there's no substitute for obtaining current advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



michael1234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I would like to ask a question about the 485 visa which I will apply for soon.
> I will complete my course in about two weeks and would then apply to this visa.
> When I look at the DIBP website it seems that there is no need for me to do medical checks prior to the application. The DIBP website says "You can find out whether you need to undergo health examinations, and arrange them where required, by using our My Health Declarations service." and links to https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa...nt/health-examinations/my-health-declarations which says you should not use MyHealthDecalarations if "the visa that you are intending to apply for can take more than six months to process".
> The 485 visa can take over 6 months according to https://www.border.gov.au/about/acc...ards/temporary-graduate-visa-processing-times.
> 
> However, I have seen a thread here about someone who has gotten their 485 refused due to not doing medical checks where you wrote that providing evidence that you have booked medical checks is a "time of application requirement" for the 485. See http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/18006-subclass-485-refusal.html.
> I would just like to verify that this rule was changed, i.e. that providing this evidence is not required currently, even though it was required when you wrote that message on the thread I've mentioned.
> And I would like to confirm, if possible, that my application should not be refused due to not providing such evidence at the time of application.
> 
> Cheers,
> Michael


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Theambassador -

Generallly VETASSESS professional occupations require a minimum of 1 year of work experience, sometimes more - you'd need to consult the VETASSESS site and check the specific requirements for your occupation. Re: your EA question, that would depend on whether EA decides that your degree is relevant to that occupation - difficult to predict in advance.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



theambassador said:


> Ciao Mark,
> 
> I would like to apply 189 and my degree completed in Spain is (wrongly) called 'Technical Architecture' although the subjects are more similar to Construction Management or Building Engineering. I have 2 doubts in this case:
> A) Can you apply for skill assessment with VETASSES as CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT without any work experience with my bachelor degree?
> B) It is known that to apply through ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA you don't need work experience. Could you still go through the skills assessment as CIVIL ENGINEER DRAFTPERSON with my bachelor degree?
> 
> Much appreciated, thanks for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fiftyeight -

Generally no need to list a migration agent on a form unless you have engaged the agent specifically to prepare the form or to directly help you with the form. From what you've said, I don't see a need to list the migration agent(s) you've received consultations from. Agents are not required to, and generally do not report client lists or consultations to DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fiftyeight said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I wanted to ask about the 485 graduate visa. I want to ask about the question "Did you receive assistance in filling this forum".
> I had some consultations with migration agents, but none of them helped me really directly with the 485 form itself, more so with general information about visas.
> I am not sure if I should write the name of one of those agents here.
> Do you know what DIBP do with this information? is there any disadvantage to writing the name of one of the agents here?
> And if I write "No", is it possible that the migration agents report to DIBP of which clients they serve, and then DIBP will see I did not report this and it will seem like a discrepancy?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## prestyler

Hello Mark:

I received invitation for 190 from NSW. I want to know if all the documents are provided and support the points. Can NSW reject/refuse the application ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VJ -

I expect you've worked out these issues by now - for people with only one name or only 2 given names, both must be entered into the family name field on DIBP online applications - it's just how their systems work.

Might be an issue if she was onshore in Australia when she was granted the new passport and she did not lodge Form 929 to alert DIBP to update their records re: the new passport - best to work that out directly with DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vikram Jeet said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope all is good
> 
> I am facing few errors while creating online application for 887 Visa which i will submit on Monday 7th this month.
> 1. My wife don't have surname/family name as per her passport.
> The following errors have been encountered:
> 1.	Field 'Family name' must have a value "
> 
> Hint is saying" Format rules - general
> •	Where there is only one name, enter that name into the Family Name field.
> If you are unsure as to the Family name, enter all given names into the Family Name field and leave the Given Names field blank.
> 
> Is someone has this type of error?
> 
> 2. At the time of submit for spouse details
> The following errors have been encountered:
> The information you have entered has not enabled us to identify family unit member "Spouse Name". Please check and re-enter details. If we cannot identify your family unit member please record their details as a non accompanying dependant. For further information or assistance, please contact an office of this department. SeeVisa Enquiries and Technical Help
> 
> Just to add, she just got new passport last month
> Thanks in advance
> 
> VJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Olib -

Very rare, if it happens at all. Have never seen that.

Best,

Mark



Olib said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Do you know if a no further stay clause often put on a first year 417 visa? For that matter is it often put on in the second year?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James -

You can ignore the requested info that is not applicable - DIBP's logic behind those listings is hard to understand. As 189 is expected to be processed in less than 12 months, I'd go ahead with your medical exams if you wish - just click the link, answer the medical questions and then download your referral letter with HAP ID, then book your medicals with that ID at an approved DIBP location.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



James-James said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I lodged a 189 application a few days ago and I uploaded all the recommended (recommended in immi account) documents except for 3 categories: I haven`t uploaded any evidence of Australian qualifications or Australian work experience as I do not have these and I did not claim points for them (so it`s strange why the system recommends these as it should know that I do not have them). I haven`t uploaded anything as evidence of health either (this is the third recommended category for which I haven`t uploaded anything). What shall I/could I upload as evidence of health?
> 
> The other thing I would need some help with is the recording of my medical history. When do I have to do this?
> The department`s webpage says my case officer will contact me when they want me to undergo the health examinations.
> However in my immi account, when I click on the "View health assessment" link, the following page tells me that
> "Examinations required. This person is required to complete health examinations for this visa application. Click on the link below to organise these health examinations."
> When I click on this link, an eMedical page pops up, which requires me to answer medical history questions.
> Shall I answer these questions now or shall I wait for a case officer to request for this?
> 
> I would appreciate your answer very much.
> 
> Thank you in advance and kind regards,
> James


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alexism -

Key issue is that the EOI website did NOT add points as a result of the error - if no points were added, generally no issue - just don't claim the work for points on the visa application and things would normally be fine. However if the mistake added points to the EOI, that's a big problem and you would potentially have to decline the invitation, fix the EOI to put the correct points and wait for another invitation. As I have not seen your details, I cannot give you specific advice on your application however - happy to do so at a consultation - see website below for info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Alexism said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have an issue with employment history in form 80. It was not complicated, however, I made a silly mistake while filling EOI.
> 
> I do not claim any exp point.
> 
> My issue is that there was an irrelevant part-time job (less than 20 hours a week) I worked in 2015 which I mistakenly added up nearly a year of work in EOI (in starting date, I put 1/14 instead of 1/15).
> 
> Still that job, I filed the first EOI in 6/15, I quit the job, got PTE then updated EOI in 12/2015 but did not update that I quit the job and the last date of the job is still left blank.
> 
> I have not lodged visa application yet. Should I only need to give correct information in visa application and form 80 or do I need to inform DIBP about that?
> Is there any form that I can inform them about the mistake? I had a look at form 1023 but there's no option to correct EOI information in there.
> 
> Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks - just answered this on this or the previous page.

Mark



1984ravigupta said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing good. I want to apply for 189 visa. I have a query regarding the the dependent visa. My wife as of now is unsure to move to Australia with me. I have two options. First I can include her as a dependent and go ahead with my visa process. Once the visa is granted she will have complete one year to decide and move to Australia. Second, I continue with the process without her as a dependent and get my visa granted ASAP and in future whenever she decides we can initiate her process as well. What would you suggest would be a good approach to proceed with keeping in mind the visa fees. Will there be a much difference in visa fees for the above two situations, I mean in one application with dependent and in other application only dependent ? Also it would be good if you share any other experience regarding the same, maybe the different level of complexity in the two cases.
> 
> Thanks for your help and time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abbie_190 -

DIBP processing times and priorities are very difficult to predict. Forms 80 & 1221 are required only if requested, but it wouldn't hurt to complete them and upload (done to same screen as you upload other evidence - just complete the forms, print out, sign & date, then scan into PDF and upload).

Preloading medicals and PCC's is a good idea for the 190 visa as processing generally takes less than 12 months.

Re: faster service for onshore vs offshore, have not noticed any major trends in that area but as DIBP doesn't publish this sort of thing, that could be a factor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abbie_190 said:


> Dear Mark,
> Thanks a bunch for taking out time for guiding people like us. I have successfully lodged my visa (Sub Class190) for WA on 30th Jan 2016. However doing some post visa lodge research some few question popped up in my mind. Therefore thought to share my questions with you for better understanding.
> 
> I was following some forums, where people like me who have applied in January end have shared their time line, and a few of them have been already contacted by the CO asking for additional documents, while few have also got direct grant as they have pre loaded all the documents (PCC, Medicals) even before the CO (case Officer) is being assigned. Now since its already a month now since I have lodged for my visa my question to you is do necessarily pre loading of documents (before CO assigned) helps and speeds up the process getting a direct grant rather than waiting for the CO to be assigned and then asking for the same? Kindly share your thought on this.
> 
> 2. I was reading that a form called Form 80 and Form 1221 needs to be filled. Does this forms need to be uploaded once the CO asks for it or it can be pre loaded just like the other documents.( PCC and Medicals). ?
> 
> 3. I was going though a blog from DIBP where it states that there is a quota for an year for State/Territory & Regional Nominated Visa for 2015-2016.This years number for the same is 28,850.
> 
> Now my question to you is do you have any idea about such numbers as I was also reading that after March ( when usually the threshold of such number is quite full) people are being given a delay mail by DIBP/CO and no grant is made till July unless the new immigration year starts.) Is this correct?
> 
> More over can you also share your thought if staying Onshore as compared to staying Offshore has something to do with the allotment of CO as the trend I was looking at the forum is the people who are onshore in Australia are getting CO assigned faster than the people living Offshore (like me).
> 
> At this point I want to do everything possible which saves some time. Therefore kindly advice me, what probably can save me time.
> 
> Thanks you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Khart -

It's in the grey area. Working for an Australian employer while here on a visitor visa is a breach of that visa. Doing work for an offshore employer gets interesting - normally things like checking email, corresponding via email and phone, etc would not be considered work, however working the same daily routine for that employer while in Australia, depending on the circumstances, could be an issue depending on how DIBP viewed it.

Couldn't give you an opinion on whether your work might be a breach without more details - happy to advise at a consultation - see my website below in my signature for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



khart said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm hoping you can help me. I came to Australia on a visitor visa in December to visit my partner's family for Christmas. I did not get approved for leave with my company, but they said they would allow me to work remotely whilst I was in Australia. I didn't think anything of it since I know travel bloggers who work all over the world while traveling. My partner and I decided to stay in Aus and lodge our 820 visa and I'm a little nervous I have broken a law without realising it. I have working rights in NZ and get paid to my NZ account by my NZ company... Is this going to be an issue for my 820 visa? If it is, what would you recommend I do?
> 
> Looking forward to hearing from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi N1n1 -

Yes, DIBP will want to see a reference letter for all employment claimed for points, along with proof of payment (ie, payslips, tax docs, etc). The assessment of the skills assessor generally is for relevance only (ie, that the work was relevant to your occupation). I would contact AITSL and get a copy of the letter - a good idea never to lodge originals without making a colour scan or copy yourself prior to submitting.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



n1n1 said:


> Hi Mark!
> I want to ask about the skilled employment point for 189 visa. I read on the immigration website that we need to provide the employment reference to claim the work experience point.
> Is the employment reference same as the positive outcome statement assessed by assessing authority (in my case AITSL as I am a teacher)? Do we really need the reference from our employer? What should we do if we can't obtain one? I don't have the reference statement anymore as I have given it to AITSL for assessment as they want the original copy only. I can't ask another one because I already quit my job.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JamesSultan -

Re: 1, the question is poorly worded - some people put time at last address, others put time in that country - either works.

Re: 2, for online applications (but not for Form 80!) they generally ask only for post-secondary school, and only for completed qualifications unless there is a way to enter incomplete ones listed. Form 80 wants much more info in most cases. Same also for some skills assessor who want primary and secondary school, incredibly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JamesSultan said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> While filling up the online visa application, i came across the following questions which are confusing, need your help in answering them.
> 1. Have any of the applicants lived in a country other than the primary applicant's usual country of residence?
> **In my last country of residence, i spent around 25 years and during that time i have change several addresses. This question also asks me to add dates of stay, In my case, I have lived for only 3 months at the last address in that country (out of total 25 years). If i follow the instructions and add only the last address, it will just represent 3 months, not 25 years**
> What is the correct way to mention it? Shall i only mention the last address with the dates representing just a 3 months of stay at that address?
> 
> 2. Education history,
> **Is it fine if i only mention my bachelors degree and not the secondary school? As per skill assessment, my highest qualification is the Bachelors Degree**
> **How to add currently enrolled degree? As we cannot add it without entering an end date**
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaiya -

I would engage professional assistance at this point as you're deep into a complicated area of the regulations and policy that is not simple/quick to deal with.

Best,

Mark Northam



Kaiya said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hope you are well.
> 
> About two and half years ago, you advised my case regarding consent of biological father. I had presented documents from my lawyer which was confirmed my sole custody right under Vietnam law, as well as placed ads both in in the Los Angeles Times, a national distributed newspaper in America as well as a nationally distributed newspaper in Vietnam to prove that I did try my best to look for my ex.
> 
> My visa was granted in early 2014. I have recently received an email from DIBP stated that my application for subclass 100 is not satisfied the PIC 1015
> 
> "The Minister is satified of 1 of the following:
> (a)the law of the additional applicant's home country permits the removal of the additional applicant;
> (b) each person who can lawfully determine where the additional applicant is to live consents to the grant of the visa;
> (c) the grant of the visa would be consistant with any Australian child order in force in relation to the additional applicant."
> 
> They informed me that my children's father did contact them after we arrived to Australia, to claim he does not consent for the children to immigrating to Australia; and information was given would be the reason/part of reason of refusing to grant a visa.
> 
> Please be advise what I should do. Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Reddym -

No problem that the answers on the EOI were different than you are now planning to do, but all dependents (migrating or not) will be subject to health and police checks as if they were migrating. Also, far more expensive to add them later via sponsored partner and child visas, if that makes a difference.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Reddym said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> -- Please help---
> Request your inputs on below situation.
> 
> I have submitted EOI for 189 visa. During the EOI submission i have answered Yes to below questions.
> 
> Are there any family members the client would like to include in a future application? - Yes
> 
> How many family members? - 2
> Would the client be accompanied by the client's partner in a future application? - Yes
> 
> Now i got the invitation and planning to submit application. I would like to add my spouse and kid as non immigrant dependents in the application. Will it create any trouble because in EOI i have mentioned Yes and in the application i am adding them as non-immigrating dependents?
> 
> Thanks,
> Prathap


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mukki2000 -

Happy to work through the regs with you at a consult (see website below) - too detailed/complex to go back & forth on the forum. However simply speaking, work experience when you were in Australia is counted separately and has a different points threshold - ie, 1 yr of Australian work experience gets you 5 points, whereas you need 3 yrs of non-Australian work experience to get you 5 points for that. There is no flexibility possible re: combining overseas and Australian work experience - they are separate for points purposes.

Best,

Mark Northam



mukki2000 said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> I am sure this is one unique problem , which will force u to wear thunking hat .
> 
> 1. ACS accepted my work ex as relevant after 1st October 2011 till December 2015 . So its 4 Year and 1 month.
> 
> Out of this 4 years 1 month , i was working Wipro Technology , based in India / Australia and China .
> 
> As per my Australia+ Overseas experience this I should get 10 points but EOI is showing me only 5 points. Just to clarify my point , I was based in Australia from Feb 2013 to 07 / 2015 and recorded same in application.
> 
> what i ant now
> ----
> My experience of 4 years 3 months should be counted as 1 years Australia +3 years 3 months as overseas This gives me 10 points for work ex. [ Although i was in Australia for 2 years 5 months but if i account my experience in this way then i get 5 additional points . which makes me eligible for 189 visa ]
> ------------------
> 
> On the other side , - if I keep it as 2 year 5 month for Australia + 1 year 10 month for India . I get only 5 points.nad forced to look for state sponsorship :-(
> --------------------------------------
> 
> I have studied the migration law or combining points but it also does NT say anything for such cases- Following Piece of legislation from the government Migration act and its amendment 1994 , also does not Bar anyone from calculating his / her work experience to his advantage to maximize his work experience points . [ subject to limit of maximum of 20 points ] . At least my 1 year Australia work ex can be or should considered equal to one year overseas experience . The intent of the law seems to be clear in aggregating the points.
> 
> Part 6D.5 -- Aggregating points for employment experience qualifications
> 
> 6D51 (1) If an applicant has a qualification mentioned in Part 6D.3 and a qualification mentioned in Part 6D.4, and the combined number of points that would be awarded under those Parts for the qualifications is more than 20 points:
> (a) the Minister must give the applicant 20 points under this Part for the qualifications; and
> (b) no points are given under Part 6D.3 or 6D.4.
> (2) The prescribed number of points for the combination of qualifications is 20.
> 
> Part 6D.3 -- Overseas employment experience qualifications Item
> 
> At the time of invitation to apply for the visa, the applicant ...
> Number of points
> 6D31
> had been employed outside Australia in:
> (a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
> (b) a closely related skilled occupation;
> for a period totalling at least 36 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
> 5
> 6D32
> had been employed outside Australia in:
> (a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
> (b) a closely related skilled occupation;
> for a period totalling at least 60 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
> 10
> 6D33
> had been employed outside Australia in:
> (a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
> (b) a closely related skilled occupation;
> for a period totalling at least 96 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
> 15
> Part 6D.4 -- Australian employment experience qualifications
> 
> Item
> At the time of invitation to apply for the visa, the applicant ...
> Number of points
> 6D41
> had been employed in Australia in:
> (a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
> (b) a closely related skilled occupation;
> for a period totalling at least 12 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
> 5
> 6D42
> had been employed in Australia in:
> (a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
> (b) a closely related skilled occupation;
> for a period totalling at least 36 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
> 10
> 6D43
> had been employed in Australia in:
> (a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
> (b) a closely related skilled occupation;
> for a period totalling at least 60 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
> 15
> 6D44
> had been employed in Australia in:
> (a) the applicant's nominated skilled occupation; or
> (b) a closely related skilled occupation;
> for a period totalling at least 96 months in the 10 years immediately before that time
> 20
> Part 6D.5 -- Aggregating points for employment experience qualifications
> 6D51 (1) If an applicant has a qualification mentioned in Part 6D.3 and a qualification mentioned in Part 6D.4, and the combined number of points that would be awarded under those Parts for the qualifications is more than 20 points:
> (a) the Minister must give the applicant 20 points under this Part for the qualifications; and
> (b) no points are given under Part 6D.3 or 6D.4.
> (2) The prescribed number of points for the combination of qualifications is 20.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manenough00 -

The remaining relative visa requires that the applicant have no near relatives (which would include siblings) who are not either permanent residents (and usually resident) or Australian citizens or eligible NZ citizens, so from what you've said, the applicant's Bangladesh siblings would mean the applicant is not eligible for the remaining relative visa. Suggest you check details on DIBP website for more info on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



manenough00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife and I have been living in Australia as permanent residents for the last two years. My wife wants to sponsor her brother on Remaining Relative Visa 115 who lives in Bangladesh. He has two more siblings living in Bangladesh as well. Will he be eligible for 115 or one needs to be the only sibling to be eligible for this visa. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MoonRising -

Sorry for the delay in responding - I expect you've already got this worked out. Re: applying for 489, if you had a previous refusal while holding ONLY a bridging visa, then you would likely not be able to lodge a 489 onshore. However if you were still holding a valid student visa when the further student visa was refused, this bar would likely not exist (don't have all your other circumstances so can't give you specific advice).

Re: ACT, best to check directly with their website and check their regulations very carefully (as they change!).

Best,

Mark Northam



MoonRising said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for all your help with my previous questions. I'm on a student visa which expires 15th March 2016, I'm planning to apply for either a 489 WA state sponsorship or a 190 ACT state nomination. As I only have a week left, I will apply for a new student visa so i can stay legal in the county while I work towards either WA or ACT state visa. The issue is my new student visa may get refused and I may end up appealing through MRT (I tried to change my current student visa from 573 into 572 and was refused, but my 573 visa was not cancelled).
> 
> My question is, if I'm waiting for an MRT decision ( I assume I will be on a bridging visa?) can I apply for the 489 WA visa whilst still in Australia?
> 
> I also want to understand the 190 ACT state nomination. From what I understand Canberra residents who studied there for at least 6 months and worked within a skilled occupation for that time can apply for the 190 visa. I would be nominating my occupation as a 'welfare worker' and Im thinking of moving to Canberra (rather than applying for WA nomination) and studying in Canberra for 6 months in a cricos registered course and work in any job ( as it seems the job does not have to be related to my nominatedoccupation). Would I satisfy the criteria for a 190 visa after I've lived and worked there for 6 months (on an MRT bridging visa?) Sorry, my case is complicated. I want to add I'm from asessment level 1 country.
> 
> Thank you for looking into this! Much appreciated.
> 
> MR


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi g2021 -

English is generally the best way. If you apply to another state, I'd create a separate EOI to do it as some states aren't impressed if "they" aren't the "only state" you're considering. No way to predict invitation wait times - lots of people waiting for Accountant at 65 points and no invitation in sight yet.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gto21 said:


> Hi Mark, i live in Victoria. I submitted my EOI in October 2015 for general account. I have 60 points for 189 visa and 65 points for 190 NSW state sponsorship. My current visa expires in September 2016. I'm a bit worried i won't get invited by then.
> 
> Any suggestion apart from doing retaking an english proficiency test. What else i can i do to increase my chances to get invited?
> 
> Apply to another state?
> Apply for taxation accounting?
> And any idea who much longer i might have to wait until i get invited?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Light -

I would engage professional assistance at this point to determine your options - domestic violence claims for partner visas are only available if you meet a specific set of circumstances, and will also depend on what your current visa is and what you are applying for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



light said:


> HI Mark
> I have got married 6 months before but living together from 1 year. Now its a time to apply for partner visa but my husband said he want divorce suddenly and don't wanna sign sponsor papers. what do you think that i can do or is it still possible for me to apply papers because i'm going through domestic violence?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi R-985-Pratt -

Thanks for the note. DIBP points for a Bachelor Degree (15 pts) generally only possible if your skills assessor, or VETASSESS, or DIBP determines that your qualification is equivalent to an Australian Bachelor Degree. Work experience is not factored into this assessment - only whether the qualification is considered equivalent. Not possible to get more points for 2 diplomas than 1 diploma. Will depend on the skills assessor's assessment of your qualification I expect. Also note that for qualification points for DIBP, the qualification (Bachelor degree) does not need to be relevant to your occupation - it will need to be for Vetassess's reasons, but not for DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



R-985-Pratt said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am just about to submit my qualification to be assessed by VETASSESS, but as time is running out for me (40th birthday approaching) I need to decide if I should do the NAATI test to get 5 additional points before I get the results from VETASSESS, so could you please answer me the following questions:
> 
> I have a diploma and 10 years work experience in my profession.
> 
> - According to AQF, successful completion of a diploma course in my profession "will require competency in units that relate to work defined as aligned at AQF Level 5"
> - According to ANZSCO, my occupation (skill level 1) has "a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification"
> 
> Is there any chance that I can get 15 points in educational qualifications for the level of skill being commensurate with a bachelor degree, or is that only possible for someone actually having a bachelor degree?
> 
> I also have an additional diploma in a very closely related occupation; if I only get 10 points for the first diploma, is it possible to get additional points for the other one, or is 10 generally the highest number of points achievable for diploma level qualifications?
> 
> Thank you very much for an answer!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Virusrohan -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa. That being said, it can be difficult if not impossible to predict the chances of success for skills assessments, especially when questions of relevance are involved.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



virusrohan said:


> Hi MArc, I am totally confused i need help and after a lot of searcher and chats of forums I have reached here. I am a ICT business analyst with 60 points,EOI applied date 18th Oct 2015.my wife is a CA (2003 passout from ICAI (India)) + proficient english but has no work experience as Accountant. My question is
> 1) Can i claim 5 points if I get positive assessment as accountant from ICAA or CPA
> 2) She has a 1 year experience as internal auditor which occupation will have better chance for positive skill assessment.. Accountant /Internal Auditor.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brane -

Re: employment reference letter, it should have the specifics of your actual position at the employer. Re: uploading orig vs cert copy, best to check ACS's current rules as I believe they may have changed recently.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Brane said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am working as an IT professional in an Indian MNC and have more than 6 years of work ex. I am in the process of applying Australian PR soon under ANZSCO code 261312. So while going through the Skill assessment guidelines I came across certain queries which are as follows :-
> 
> 1. Can I use exactly the same content used in the Duties performed section of the sample EMPLOYMENT REFERENCE letter provided on the acs site or is it mandatory to mention my Technological skills as well like RDBMS,Java etc in the letter ?
> 2. Do we need to upload the original Statutory Declaration or do we need to get it photocopied,and then upload the true copy of the same?
> 
> @All Forum Members :- Can anyone please mail me the employment reference letter and statutory declaration which they had submitted to acs for skill assessment and got a positive response for the same ? I just want to have a look at what exactly is expected in the StatDec/Employment Reference letter.
> 
> Regards,
> Brane


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nyadav -

DIBP requires that as of the date of invitation, you must have held a non-expired skills assessment. As you did not, you would not meet the requirements of the 189 or 190 visa, assuming the effective date of the 2nd skills assessment was 29th January. You may need to decline this invitation, update your EOI to reflect your new skills assessment info, then wait for another invitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nyadav said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope your are doing great !!
> 
> I have a dilemma around applying for the visa. Basically i got the invitation on 22nd January when my ACS was expired (9th January) to which i applied for renewal with updated experience. The ACS result came on 29th Jan with same outcome of previous one.
> 
> I would like to know whether i can go ahead with visa filing process or not as at the time of invitation the ACS was not valid. If i go ahead towards filing the visa would there be any issue in terms of ACS mistmatch i.e., the one mentioned in EOI and the updated one mentioned in Visa form.
> 
> Request you to please provide your valuable inputs. Thanks a lot for your help.
> 
> Regards,
> Narender


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James -

Best thing to do is to take whatever info you can from your specialist or otherwise to the medical exam when you go. Beyond that, you'd wait to see what DIBP says re: any issue with meeting the health criteria and respond accordingly. Can be difficult to make medical arguments the way the system is currently, but all depends on the circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



James-James said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for giving advice to people like me on this forum.
> 
> Please let me ask you one more thing about health examinations for visa 189. I lodged my visa application last week and I have not answered the medical history questions yet. I have a health condition that I will have to mention in my medical history.
> 
> Is there any way of decreasing the chances of a denial because of a medical reason? I suppose, these might be a few good examples:
> -	Getting evidence from specialist doctor(s) voluntarily to prove that this is not a serious health issue, treatment is not required, etc.
> -	Uploading this medical evidence/other related evidence to my immi account voluntarily.
> -	Providing my panel physician with this evidence when I attend my health examinations.
> -	Explaining in my medical history why I think this will not be a burden / significant cost to the Australian Government.
> 
> Or, is there no point in putting much effort into this because I cannot influence the outcome in any way? Should I just wait and do only what my case officer and panel physician request me to do?
> 
> Thank you so much again for your support!
> 
> All the best,
> James


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dassahappy -

Thanks for the note. Can be weeks or months depending on DIBP caseload - hard to predict. I'd wait to hear from them before putting in further evidence, or if you want, contact them first and see what you can get from them re: when they expect to process your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dassahappy said:


> Hi Mark,
> just like to know what happens now mrt remited back to the DIBP how long would it be before i am ask to do a medical and police check i had done my application onshore would i need to do finger prints or just the police check , also am i able to go for my medical and police check before i hear from DIBP ,i am currently applying a carer visa 836 i wait your speedy rreply thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luisa -

Too early to tell re: the new 5yr pathway for NZ citizens, and it isn't scheduled to be enabled until July 2017 (with specifics announced some time before then). They are talking about annual income of $54k, but not clear whether it must have been during the entire 5 year period or not - I'd keep an eye on the news and once the specific requirements of the program are announced, then assess your chances.

Re: other opportunities for PR, the usual ones apply such as employer sponsored PR via 186/187 visas, skilled visas via 489/189/190 visas, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CassieLita said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I would like to know which are the possibilities for a NZ to become a permanent resident. I just read that a new pathway is going to arrived next year for NZ leaving in OZ for at least 5 years, holding a special category visa which I meet but I read that the annual income must be $52,000 but I'll probably reach $48,000. What are my chances ? Is there any other ways to become a permanent resident ?
> 
> Thank you so much Mark,
> Have a good day.
> 
> Luisa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eilidhw -

Thanks for the note. Generally your admission certificate would serve as evidence of admission and would satisfy the skills assessment requirement. Date of admission would be the date of the "skills assessment" - as far as reference number, I'd suggest any unique identifying number from your admission certificate or letter would be best. I don't see an issue with the not practicing in WA after admission as admission itself is generally the requirement, but as that is not directly referenced in the legislation or policy, a call to the WA admissions board, etc would be a good idea to see if there is any further light they can shed on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Eilidhw said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am in the process of submitting an EOI as a solicitor. My question is in reference to the section of the EOI dealing with the skills assessment.
> It is my understanding that a positive skills assessment for a solicitor is 'evidence of admission' as the state legal practice boards do not issue actual 'skills assessments'
> 
> I have my admission certificate from the supreme court of WA confirming my admission as a lawyer. Is this sufficient? If so, how are the date and reference number fields of the EOI to be filled in?
> 
> Alternatively would a the letter from the LPBWA confirming that I have been admitted be more appropriate. If so would the date of skills assessment be the date of my admission as a lawyer or the date of the letter confirming that I have been admitted?
> 
> Further my confirmation letter from the LPBWA confirming my admission and roll number makes reference to the fact I will not be practising as a lawyer in WA following admission (this is due to the fact I now live and will be working in NSW) is this at all detrimental to my skills assessment?
> 
> Many Thanks in advance for any clarification you can provide.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carlaalvest -

Assuming you had a BVA before you departed, you'll probably need to apply for a visitor visa to re-enter Australia, then apply for a new BVA once you're back here based on having lodged the 820 onshore previously. Note that once you re-enter on a visitor visa, you're bound by the conditions of that visa (including no work!) until that visa or the stay period you have on that period expires and you have the replacement BVA in place (which you should apply for before the visitor visa or stay period expires).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Carlaalvest said:


> Hi mark, i applied for a partner 820 and left the country without a bvb. What should i do?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raman2007sandhu -

Thanks for the note. DIBP in India have been getting very active in checking employment claims via unannounced site visits to employers, phone calls, and more. Best I can suggest is to have anyone that they might contact fully versed on ALL details you're claiming for your employment. It is important that no discrepancies occur between what you've claimed and what they might say on a surprise phone call from DIBP (who sometimes say they're calling from "a bank" or other such things).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



raman2007sandhu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Trust you well!!
> 
> I shall appreciate your valuable support in this regards.
> 
> My two old company's offices are closed now, So i have taken Statutory Declaration from my reporting managers. Now, My question is this
> 
> If DIBP or EA calls to mt reporting manager and asks about EXACT dates of employment(Start/End date), EXACT duties written in the Declaration.
> 
> Issue is this, My reporting managers might not be able to remember EXACT dates at the time of verification because they don't remember. I worked under them in 2009 to 2012.
> 
> yes, they know i worked in those companies. But i have doubt on the EXACT DATES and EXACT DUTIES to be remembered.
> 
> Plz guide me how to deal with this situation.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael1234 -

I'd only include additional names if you have been legally recognised as using these. Pen names are in the gray area - no harm in including them however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



michael1234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I would like to ask about the question in form 80 which asks "Have you been known by any other name(s)?"
> 
> I am not sure what one should include here.
> I would assume for example that they do not want usernames that you use for websites/e-mail, but I am not sure where the line crosses.
> 
> I am currently doing some academic work and I am considering adding an "imaginary" initial. So for example if my name (using initials) is M. Jones, I would submit an academic paper online as M. W. Jones, which is something that is done sometimes to disambiguate one's name. I am not sure if I should mention this. It may appear online in some places, but no one actually knows me personally by that name.
> 
> Arguments for not including this:
> - No one actually knows me personally or calls me by that name; I also never used it on official forms.
> - I just used it once when submitting something online, so it can be viewed as something like an online username
> - I am a bit worried that if I do include it, it'll seem strange to them that I use an imaginary initial, like I am attempting some sort of fraud.
> 
> However, if I do not include it and they somehow notice it, then I am also worried it can seem like I am trying to hide something.
> 
> What do you think?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AUSA129 -

Thanks for the note. The current requirement is that for de facto partner visa applications (309/100 or 820/801), you provide evidence that the relationship has been at a de facto level for the 12 months prior to application, unless you have registered your de facto partner relationship with the state you (or your partner) live in in Australia. You'd have to provide evidence of all living together times, and then show communications and other evidence between living together times and convince DIBP that the relationship was at a de facto level for the entire 12-month period. Not easy, frankly, if you have not been living together, but if you can convince them that all time apart was temporary in nature, that's a good start. I'd also check out the registered relationship option if possible as that automatically satisfies the 12-month requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AUSA129 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you provide some insight on the defacto relationship? How exactly can we prove living together for 12 months if we live in two different countries? We've been in an exclusive relationship for 15 months. We've each spent an extended amount of time at the other's home essentially "living together" during those times.
> 
> Our plan is for me to move from the US to Australia, but it seems like the visa process makes it almost impossible! Help!?!?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RayInOz -

Thanks for the note. Assuming your ETA visa has a 3-month maximum stay period, your bridging visa (and its work rights, etc) would start on the day you overstay the 3-month stay period after lodging your partner visa, so 3 May. However if the visa has a 12-month stay period, then you'd have to wait until that was up.

Re: scans, depends on the quality and size of the output - multipage PDFs are by far the best format to lodge (or single page for single page documents) - and the scans must be colour. Beyond that, would have to see the scans to give you any sort of opinion.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RayInOz said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I'm in the process of uploading my documents to my IMMI account after submitting for my Partner Visa application while here in Melbourne. I have two questions.
> 
> 1. I'm here on ETA visa. I arrived on February 3rd, 2016. I received my email about my bridging visa. Does the bridging visa start on May 3rd or after the full year is up?
> 
> 2. As far as document uploads... my scanner stinks, is it possible to scan items and documents via my phone? I'm using a scanning app called Office Lens. I'm wondering if this is OK or do I have to use a traditional scanner?
> 
> Thanks so much for any guidance.


----------



## khart

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Khart -
> 
> It's in the grey area. Working for an Australian employer while here on a visitor visa is a breach of that visa. Doing work for an offshore employer gets interesting - normally things like checking email, corresponding via email and phone, etc would not be considered work, however working the same daily routine for that employer while in Australia, depending on the circumstances, could be an issue depending on how DIBP viewed it.
> 
> Couldn't give you an opinion on whether your work might be a breach without more details - happy to advise at a consultation - see my website below in my signature for more details.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for your help, Mark. Booked in to chat with you tomorrow!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Janetjaramillo -

Thanks for the note. Once you get past 2 entries into Australia on an ETA within a 12 month period, it can raise concerns at DIBP, especially if those entries are close together (ie, 2 week separation between entries). If you are talking about 3 month stays once per year, with 9 months between them, that is less of an issue typically to DIBP, but it's within the discretion of the case officer or airport officer. I expect the 2 week separation is what triggered the concern you mentioned by DIBP.

If you're wanting to live 3 months/year in Australia, a partner visa is a better choice because it removes any discretionary issues re: entry, and removes the requirement that you prove that you're only here for visitor/tourism reasons.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



janetjaramillo said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am a US citizen with an Australian partner. I visited Australia last year and stayed for 3 months, I entered with an ETA visa. This year I entered Australia on December 1st and I stayed 3 months, then I went to Thailand for 2 weeks and came back, I will stay 2 more months. This year I also entered Australia with an ETA visa. I have a job that is seasonal and enables me to be free to travel for 3 to 5 months every year and how my partner is Australian I decided to come to Australia this time.
> 
> The last time I entered Australia I had to talk to a migration officer who told me that if I enter the country with an ETA visa next time, I may have troubles because that is not the kind of visa I need.
> 
> I would like to come and visit Australia every year for the summer, 3 months... what kind of visa do I need?
> 
> I want to get a partner visa at some point, but if I only wanton visit Australia for 3 months... do I need a partner visa?
> 
> Thanks so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prestyler -

Thanks for the note. A letter from your employer confirming the additional employment in the same position that was previously assessed combined with pay slips for all periods of work claimed for points will generally satisfy DIBP, so no need for a further VETASSESS assessment of only the additional portion of the continued employment, and generally fine to claim the entire period on the EOI including the additional part after the VETASSESS assessed period as long as it's the same job/position/employer that was previously assessed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



prestyler said:


> Dear Sir:
> 
> I am about to file the EOI for Australian immigration and currently need the following information.
> 
> I had a positive outcome from vetasses on my occupation in December 2014 with 3 years of experience. however, now i have completed 5 years on the same job and i am currently employed.
> 
> My question is, do i need to re-assess from vetassess or just mention it in EOI as currently employed at the same position and claim 5 years.
> 
> Please advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Claire456 -

You can go into your ImmiAccount and click "New Application", then "Family" and "Sponsor a partner..." and you'll have the online version of 40sp. Just complete (make sure all info is the same as you put on the 47sp) and submit and you'll be fine - no need to do the PDF version of the 40sp.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



claire456 said:


> Hi Mark!!
> 
> Me and my partner submitted our partner visa application last week (he is the sponsor).
> 
> Now uploading our evidence, how does my partner complete the 40SP form? I've been reading forums for so long and it's just making me confused! We have the option to just upload it on the documents page so he can fill it out on paper and scan it in, but I'm reading also that he can enter it on a new application online?
> 
> Does he also have to complete form 80 and statuary declaration?
> 
> Any help would be awesome!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lovepreet1997-

No way to predict, unfortunately. In response to serious PIC 4020 allegations such as these, you need to provide a very substantial level of verifiable proof, as DIBP can be very reluctant to admit that they're wrong...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lovepreet1997 said:


> Hi mark and everyone
> 
> I have applied for student visa in australian at AHC about 1.5 months ago . Recently i have got mail from case officer telling that my senior secondary certificates are fake. So i sent all the supporting docs that can prove that my certificates are geniune. So i want to know that now in how many days my application will be assessed. Plz tell anyone


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anjroid -

Sorry for the delay in responding - I expect you've already got this worked out.

The "last permanent address in that country" question is poorly worded and people answer it both ways - generally OK either way. Yes, to-date as current date is generally fine for the question you mentioned. You can always upload a note explaining any confusion re: the question and offer any additional details if you think they would clarify things. Also, note on Form 80 that you'll need to provide complete address history.

Re: uploading after lodging - best if you do this - for some types of visa applciations you've got some time (days or weeks) but it's not explicitly allowed for and DIBP can assess an application at any time after it is lodged.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anjroid said:


> Hello Mark... I am so close to submitting partner visa application form but keep getting stumped by the questions. I think I can finish in the next 10 minutes if I can just work out how to answer the questions on page 22.
> 
> Have any of the applicants lived in a country for more than 12 months cumulatively in the past 10 years?
> 
> I've lived in USA (my home country), New Zealand and Australia. When the menu comes up it asks for your last permanent address in that country, then date from and date to. So, is this meant to be a chronological address history for the past 10 years? Or is it simply asking you to list the last permanent address held for each country, and leave it at that? In New Zealand I was never in one place for more than a couple of months, so I'm just providing my friend's old address where I spent a chunk of my time. It's the address that's on my New Zealand tax return for the year I was there. Assuming that's sufficient.
> 
> What's really got me confused though is how I'm supposed to answer for my current address. I am residing in Australia over 12 months...so my last permanent address here is my current address. But I am required to enter a 'from' and 'TO' date. No opportunity to say 'current'...So should I put today's date as the TO date? Probably overly cautious but I feel nervous about this one due to the fact that living arrangements are directly related to partner visa. If someone could answer this for me asap that would be great! Thought i was about to click 'submit'!
> 
> If a person misinterprets or cannot give a precise answer to a question on the application (such as, marriage date of a family member you're not in contact with), can things like that just be explained in a word document at the end of the application? (assuming it would need to be uploaded after submitting and paying.)
> 
> One more thing: is it expected that all required evidence be uploaded immediately after submitting application?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozsurf -

Any form of response from you is generally accepted - I would provide maximum proof and details in response to these types of serious allegations. Stat dec probably best as you are making a legal promise that what you are stating is the truth. Also note that for bogus document allegations under PIC 4020, it doesn't matter whether the information in the document is true or not, and doesn't matter whether the document and/or information is relevant or material to your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozsurf said:


> Hi Mark, how do you make comment regarding PIC 4020? Does it have to be in statutory declaration/ statement format or simply writing in email will do when replying to department?
> 
> I have been invited to comment regarding a document that department thinks is bogus.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi YL1 -

I can't give you specific advice for your application without seeing the documents and discussing the details with you, however generally speaking an applicant should mark employment they are NOT claiming points for as not relevant on the visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



YL1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question about employment history. I'm applying for the 189 visa as an accountant. I have 2.5 years work experience as an accountant up until 2013 and then after that I completed a masters in Australia. In my EOI, I marked this 2.5 years work experience as not related as I can't claim points for it. Is it right to do the same in my 189 application and say that it is not related to the nominated position (even though it is related)?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Szeminlim -

No good way to do that - your BVA would activate the day after the last day of your 3-month stay (assuming your ETA is configured with 3 month maximum stay period(s)). Cancelling your ETA would also cancel your BVA, leaving you with no visa. You could get a BVE in that case, but it would not come with work rights and would introduce a host of other restrictive conditions. Might be possible to add work rights to the BVE, but you need to get informed about all the negative aspects of a BVE and cancellation before you consider that (last-resort) option.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



szeminlim said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I have a question on my partner visa application. I'm on ETA and entered the country on 27 February 2016.
> 
> I submitted my 820 application and was informed I'm granted BVA. But as far as I know, it wont come into effect until my ETA expires (90 days?).
> 
> Is there any way I can cancel ETA and move to BVA as I need to work urgently?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lahore -

Probably not, unless it changed the results of your skills assessment or changed your points in some way - ie, work being relevant only after completion of your qualification.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lahore said:


> Hi Mark, hope you are doing well. I got invitation recently to apply for a visa. However, i noticed a mistake in my EOI. One of my qualification's end date was off by 3 months. Do you think it is something which could create a problem later in process if i accept the invite?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984ravigupta -

Simple answer is that people with the same points as you, but who have lodged their EOI's earlier than you, are ahead of you in the queue. The date that determines this is the "visa date of effect" which essentially is the later of the lodgement date of the EOI or the date (if after lodgment of the EOI) where you made a change that changed the points claimed (up or down).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Hello Mark.
> 
> Hope you are doing good.
> 
> Below is the information which I checked at DIBP website regarding invitations. I am not sure what they are trying to explain.
> ==============================================
> Invitation process and cut offs
> 
> The highest ranked clients by points score are invited to apply for the relevant visa. For clients who have equal points scores, the time at which they reached their points score for that subclass (referred to as the visa date of effect) determines their order of invitation. Expressions of Interest with earlier dates of effect are invited before later dates.
> 
> Visa Subclass Points score	Visa date of effect
> Skilled - Independent (subclass 189) 60 10 February 2016 4.37 pm
> Skilled - Regional Provisional (subclass 489)	70 16 February 2016 2.42 pm
> =======================================
> 
> I understand here that if the person is having more points he will be invited first. But regarding the equal scores the explanation they have provided is a bit tricky. Could you please elaborate and quote some example also if possible.
> 
> Thanks for your help and time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pomwantingtomove -

A UK passport holder (ie, citizen of UK holding a UK passport) is automatically assumed to have Functional English re: secondary applicant for a 189 visa. See more here:
https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/faqs/how-can-i-prove-i-have-functional-english

I believe Australia considers year 7 and up to be secondary school, however would need to research that for a specific opinion.

I'd check into how you are recording the UK passport if the website is not giving you an option to declare UK citizenship/UK passport holder as a way to satisfy the requirement, or you may simply answer No to the functional English evidence questions and proceed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pomwantingtomove said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We've received an invitation to apply for visa 189 and have started the application form, however we seem to have stubbled upon a potential issue (despite my years of research to avoid this!)
> 
> I am the main application and everything is fine. My husband is also included, we are not claiming any parter points for him. My understanding was that he didn't need to complete the IELTS to prove his functional language ability. In the FAQ's, under 'how to prove functinal english' it lists 'a passport issued in the UK' as evidence of this, however that choice is not available within the application form. It does list an IELTS with scores of 4.5 or evidence of primary/secondary education completed in english. Well he doesn't have any evidence from school as he never kept his certificates so my question is, does he urgently need to sit the IELTS?
> 
> Also, what do Australia consider 'secondary' education? In the UK it is aged 11-16 but in Oz it seems to mean something different?
> 
> Thank you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Twebusatoaus -

Thanks for the note. No problem traveling after lodging a 309/100 offshore, assuming you are granted a visitor visa or other visa to travel. DIBP does not specify when case officers (or now, teams) are allocated so that event doesn't really have a bearing on travel, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



twebusatoaus said:


> Hi Mark! Thanks for your thread. I have what seems like a simple question, but can't find an answer anywhere:
> 
> Can I travel to Australia while waiting for Case# and Case Officer?
> 
> I'm in the US now looking at Partner (309) visa app online. Thinking I should do the offshore app because I want to get process started. But I currently have plan to travel to Australia on tourist visa May 5 -- that's 8 weeks from now. And plan to stay the 3 months in Australia.
> 
> Can I start the app offshore in USA, then continue with case#/case officer process when in Australia? Have any of you done this?
> 
> Or, is there part of the initial app questions where you tell them you plan to travel in the initial weeks while waiting for case# / officer?
> 
> I see tons of answers about travel and informing case officer while having an open case. I see no answers about traveling during the time period of after initial app is started and before a case# and case officer is given to someone.
> 
> Thanks so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CowleyStreet -

I would suggest contacting DIBP as soon as you arrive, advise them of the short duration of the trip, and seek guidance - make sure to get info from who you talk to at DIBP for future reference if any issues.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CowleyStreet said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been granted my visa last week. Prior to that, I was required to sign a health undertaking form 815, requiring me to contact the HUS upon arrival to set an appointment for health check.
> 
> My first entry date is only valid till Aug 2016 and hence I have plan to travel to Australia for a 5-day short validation trip in April and then return to my home country.
> 
> I am unsure whether I will be able to get the health check done in within the 5 day short trip. The form 815 says that one has to report to the health department within 4 weeks of arrival.
> 
> My question is would it be possible for me to undertake these tests when I do a longer trip to Australia sometime next year? and not on my very first short validation trip.
> 
> Looking forward to hear your advice.
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skl -

Generally it's not considered that, but registering the relationship automatically satisfies the 12 month requirement for de facto partner visa applications to show that the relationship has existed for the 12 months prior to application at a de facto level. However, once the child is born, that would generally be considered compelling reasons to waive the 12 month period assuming the child is born prior to the date of application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



skl said:


> Hi Mark. Thanks a lot for your help.
> 
> Can pregnancy be a compelling reason to wave 12 months relationship requirement to apply partner visa? Although we have registered our relationship.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Komertj -

Thanks for the note. Any relationship that was a marriage, or was at a de facto level (essentially living together for 12 months or more) would be a relationship that could be included there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



komertj said:


> Hi Mark,
> we are applying for a partner visa at the moment. Can you tell me, in the section for previous relationships, do you only list the past relationship if you lived with or were married to that person? Or what are you meant to include?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mea -

Thanks for the note. Too complex to discuss all options/details here, but I'd look at the subclass 143/173 contributory parent visas first. If onshore, there are the contributory aged parent visa options, but there are age limits (over 65 for men, between 64 and 65 for women depending on year of birth, see DIBP website for more details). No specific visas for taking care of a child - the Carer visa would generally not be appropriate for those situations assuming the child was healthy. You may want to schedule a consultation with a registered migration agent which would give you the time & opportunity to discuss your circumstances in detail.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mea said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for all the helpful answers. I am currently on TR, and hopefuly will get the PR in n year from now. I want to bring both my parents here to live with me. They are both under 65 yrs age. Now my query is ,
> 
> 1. What are the visa options that would permit my parents to live in aus under my direct sponsorship?
> 2. What is the age limit of being classified as "Senior Resident".
> 3. I have a child who is an au citizen and since I am working I need my parents here to look after my child. Is there any visa specific to such needs? I thought I heard something like grandparent visa for working parent?
> 
> WOuld be a lot of help if you could help me with the information. Also, you can give me a link that covers the details of such visas.
> 
> Thanks in advance. hope you have a great day!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kittykitkat18 -

Thanks for the note. I assume your mother was outside Australia when the 189 visa was refused - assuming yes, she could apply for a visitor visa going forward.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kittykitkat18 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My husband applied for visa 189 which includes me and my mother as dependent parent. Both of us got our visas granted. However, my mother was refused because the CO was not satisfied that she is part of my husband's household unit. Attached with the refusal letter is form 1026i. I'm confused since there are certain type of visas that she can still apply as stated in form 1026i.
> 
> The question is, can she apply for tourist visa instead? We will moving to Au this july and was hoping to apply her tourist visa so she can spent the holiday with us and also to celebrate her 60th birthday with us. Thanks!
> 
> -Kathy-


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adityaagnihotri -

Thanks for the note. Generally letters on letterhead, signed by a relevant manger (of yours) or HR will suffice (make sure you read the skills assessor's rules very carefully!), however DIBP India is being incredibly strict on these lately and is doing many, many unannounced site visits and calls to people at companies, including people other than who signed the letter(s). You need to do everything possible to make sure that anyone who answers the phone at whatever companies you are claiming work experience for will verify your claims exactly as you have claimed them.

No way to predict how skills assessors will treat your claims and evidence without a complete review of all documents, and even then there is such a large amount of discretion by skills assessors that a prediction in advance is usually not very accurate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



adityaagnihotri said:


> Hello sir,
> Need your advice urgently,
> I am an Architect (From a recognized university of Indian in 2009) and have done PGP course in construction project management (02 years full time, from an unrecognized university of India in 2011) Since than I have been working and in April 2016 I will complete My 05 years of work experience in India, and willing to apply under the Anzsco code 133111 Construction Project Manager.
> 
> My major query is related to the employee reference letters as I need them for the Vetassess assessment and for final PR too.
> I have worked 02 years 01 month with my first company, HR of this company has refused to provide the employee reference letter so what should I do, As my boss is willing to provide the same on the companies letter head (without seal) or should I get the affidavit signed by him for this tenure ? considering the vetassess assessment and final submission also.
> 
> For my second & third company I have worked for 10 months & 2 years respectively, and from these companies my respective heads (not the HR department) have provided me the employee reference letter. The letter from my second company has proper seal and everything whereas the third companies letter doesn't have the companies seal. As they never put companies seal on any of the letters issued on the letter head.
> considering the vetassess assessment and final submission also.
> 
> One more small thing, as my designation was never exactly the construction project manager or project manager or construction manager but all of my duties/ role & responsibilities in all of my previous and current company are the same as mentioned for Anzsco code 133111 will there be any issue because of this in my Vetassess assessment ? will they consider my experince equal to 05 years of relevant experience or because of the designation they will not ?
> Your reply will be highly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dassahappy -

You generally need police clearance certificates from all countries you've spent a total of 12 months or more in during the last 10 years which may include Australia depending on how long you've been in Australia - see DIBP country listing here to look up the exact police clearance certificate you need from each country: Our offices

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dassahappy said:


> hi mark, need help,
> i just recived a letter from immagration for a number of requirments to complete my visa 836 i am from the philippines but currently live in australia they are asking me to provide police clearence from my country and where i worked in hongkong as a domestic worker or will it be ok if i download the stact dec form afp i am confused or if anyone can help please


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leonardo -

Each person generally needs to have a separate visa application form and sponsorship application form lodged. No issue generally with sponsoring more than 1 child at once. The dependency eligibility issues are too complex to go into on the forum, but you may want to consult with a registered migration agent to go over all of the dependency eligibility criteria to see how best to meet it, especially for applicants aged 18+ yrs old.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leonardoposada said:


> [11:42:22 AM] leonardo posada: Hi Mark my name is Leonardo , I really appreciate if u can help me or give me a hand with some doubts that I have regarding an application for child visa , I have two sons over 18 who are living in Colombia , I am an Australian Citizen and always financially support them , they are full time students in university , but I want to bring them to Australia or at leat make the application, I know that I have to make the application separately , the question 27 in the 47ch form I do not understand the note : Siblings who wish to migrate together must make separate applications and HAVE SEPARATE SPONSORSHIPS ... it means?? I can not sponsor my two sons at the same time ??? or what does it means?? please if u can help me, I'm sorry to disturb ur time ,
> The other thing is that they have gaps between finished high school and start university studies ,, so in the border website it says that I have to explain the gaps between and why or what is the reason for these gaps , so I have to write a letter to them explained , do i need a good reason or just simple explanation whats happened ??? , have a lovely day , regards
> [11:42:29 AM] leonardo posada: Leonardo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ecurb21 -

Thanks for the note, however I'm not sure what you are asking when you say "signs out as a citizen..."...?

Best,

Mark Northam



ecurb21 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> So another question on top of the before mentioned ones. Does the status of one's registration as a citizen come into play in terms of entering Australia on a visitor e651 or applying for partner 820?
> 
> My partner is about to enter Australia and before she signs out as being a registered citizen in the Netherlands she wants to make sure this won't effect the visa applications?
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> ecurb21


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JasonF1 -

Thanks for the note. Can't give you specific advice for your application as there are many other factors that could come into play, however generally a family member of a 485 primary applicant who is on a BVA would not be barred from applying of the 485, as there are no schedule 3 considerations for secondary applicants for the 485 visa. An issue that might come into play in your situation may be if you did not declare the de facto relationship & partner when you applied for the 572.

Assuming you meet all the criteria, you'd be given a BV-C when you apply for the 485, that would sit under the BV-A and you would be covered by BV-A until 28 days after a decision was made on the visa that generate the BV-A.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JasonF1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied for a student visa 572 and am currently on a BVA from this application. I would like to know if I could be included as a de facto partner on my partner's 485 visa, which she plans to apply for in the next few days. We have been living together for more than 12 months but the concern is the BVA.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gankanpre -

The service charters are meaningless, unfortunately. 190's can take from 4 to 9+ months these days, and DIBP has no meaningful time limits on themselves for any of this.

See Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection for contact info or check on any acknowledgement documents you received when you lodged - sometimes there is a specific section or office listed there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gankanpre said:


> hi mark,
> 
> i have applied for 190 visa - transport company manager state sponsorship from SA. and i launched my final visa on 09.009.2015. Still now there is no update from the immigration office. since the service charter says that only 3 months. do i need to contact the immigration office. if so please advice me how to contact them.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vaibhav -

You'l need to declare the overstay when asked in the character questions on your DIBP application and include details. DIBP may request documentary evidence from UK authorities - I'd probably start the process of trying to obtain that as sometimes DIBP will require this as they are not inclined to take the applicant's "word" for details in the absence of official documents.

A 4-year overstay will likely be considered to be a substantial issue with DIBP, so all the more reason you need to have your evidence ready to argue why it should not be an issue for your Australian visa. DIBP often considers substantial overstays like that to essentially demonstrate that an applicant has no regard for migration laws. I would assume DIBP will require evidence from the UK and do whatever it takes to get that evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vaibhav140140 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am awaiting the invitation to apply for visa from skillselect. Need some advise on further applying to DIBP. I was over stayed in England for 4 years. Then I apply for FLR visa , which was refused, so I was asked to leave country and I left voluntarily. It was about 3 years back. Now I am eligible for skilled independent visa and want to mention my history in 180 form. My England PCC is clean and clear. Will all this put negative impact on my 189 visa. Also I lost the communication with British immigration authorities related to FLR visa. How should I work out. Please advise.
> 
> Many Thanks
> Vaibhav Sharma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aidanmcdonnell -

Thanks for the note. Too many different requirements for too many visas to give you any sort of a concise answer. Suggest you look into employer sponsored visas (subclass 457, 186, 187) and skilled visas (subclass 489, 189, 190) and consider a consultation with a registered migration agent to help narrow down the choices and determine eligibility.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aidanmcdonnell said:


> hi mark, i have a question about which visa i would require to move to australia.
> 
> i am a UK citizen and a skilled worker, my wife is a filipino citizen currently in the UK on a uk spouse visa. we have 3 kids between us, one british citizen and 2 filipino citizens.
> 
> what would be my best route to take in order to move to australia ?
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marcusbruno888 -

Re: PMV visa, evidencing the intention to marry (via letter from celebrant usually) is a time of application requirement.

Re: friend, not enough info to answer - there are different re-entry bans related to PIC 4020, character issues, previous overstay, etc.. Suggest your friend consult a registered migration agent to get info and eligibility specific to his/her circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



marcusbruno888 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was wondering if you can help me out. Do I need a NOIM (Notice of Intention to Marry) on lodgement or can it be attached later?
> 
> I am currently helping my fiance with a 300 Prospective Marriage visa, she is offshore.
> 
> I also have a friend who wants to apply for a employer sponsored visa. Her husband may have a re-entry ban and it was suggested to her to apply for 186 visa because that does not apply to the ban. Is this true? Is it also possible for her to apply for the 186s visa without him migrating with him, but can you do a subsequent application to apply for him later? I heard you can do that for 457.
> 
> Any help is appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi bhw080809 -

Thanks for the note. The 887 visa requires that the applicant must have substantially complied with all conditions of the previous 489 visa(s). If your 489 visa required health insurance be maintained and you did not do so, that could jeopardise your ability to be granted the 887.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bhw080809 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am holding visa489 right now and I am going to apply visa887 next month. I have prepared all relevant documents and evidence of two-year living and one-year working for application of visa 887.
> But I did not have private health insurance during the period when I am holding visa 489, I am wondering if no private health insurance would affect the grant of visa887.
> I hope you could give me some advice. Thank you so much for you help.
> I am looking forward to hearing from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dumivisa -

Thanks for the note. Very unusual for a registered migration agent to suggest the client contact DIBP directly - is your agent registered with OMARA?

There are no time limits on DIBP processing time, etc so very difficult to predict.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dumivisa said:


> Hi Mr. Mark,
> I applied for 489 visa (TR) from srilanka. I submitted the all the documents by 20th Jan 2016. after one month they request me to fill form 1229 and I submitted it by 29th Feb. There are no feed back or respond from visa processing officer upto now. So, Agent sent a inquiry on 14th March and told me to call the visa process officer directly.
> 
> 1.) Is it good to call visa process officer...?
> 
> 2.) I would like to know, normally how many days they need after submitting all the documents....?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moa05 -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about your sister.

No way to change 801 to 100, however you can be granted the 801 whether you're inside or outside Australia - there is no geographical requirement that you be in Australia at the time of grant.

Depending on how long you will be outside Australia and what the impact of that is on your relationship with your sponsor, you may want to get further advice re: best way to proceed, especially if you will be apart from your sponsor for a long time and/or your sponsor is a permanent resident (but not citizen) of Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Moa05 said:


> Hi mark.
> I'm have about 4 months to go on my onshore partner 820 visa till I can apply for the permanent residence 801.
> 
> My little sister has now gotten really sick and I need to go home. Is there any chance when applying for the permanent residence to change to the offshore visa 100?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carl -

Interviews are not always done, so no interviews may not indicate an issue or further delay. Wish DIBP was more predictable or had real time limits...

Best,

Mark Northam



Rodeobear said:


> Thanks Mark, should we of had interviews by now? its now into the 4th week since we sent in the form 815. Almost into the 10th month since we applied and havent had interviews or heard anything apart from the request for the 815. Thanks Carl


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prestyler -

Your questions are too detailed and lengthy to respond to here on the forum - suggest you schedule a consultation with a registered migration agent where you'll have the time to go into your documents and circumstances in detail and the agent will be able to get up to speed on your specifics and provide specific advice. Happy to assist you further at a consultation - please see website in my signature below for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



prestyler said:


> I have received an invitation to apply for 190 state nomination of NSW. The experiance i had assessed from Vetasses was in december 2014, however i am on the same job and it increased my points this february, before the i lodged the EOi. I asked many people if i need to re-assess my documents from vetasses and all suggested there is no need, however, when u provide your supporting documents to the state, make sure they are updated. Now, I received invitation to apply for NSW 190.
> 
> The following documents are mandatory for every application on NSW website:
> • Bio data page of the passport - please do not scan entire passport
> • Current skills assessment from relevant assessing authority for your nominated occupation
> • English language ability results - IELTS/OET
> • Educational qualifications - certificates and academic transcripts
> • Full curriculum vitae/resume
> • Evidence to support all points-related claims that you make in your application
> 
> Question 1: I want to know what other documents you advise me to include ?, shall i include all the same updated documents which i sent to Vet-assess including (Bank statement, experience certificates, high school certificates etc)
> 
> I was reading on the NSW webiste, on NSW website it says "All mandatory evidence should be clear colour or certified black and white copies of the original."
> 
> Whereas, i was reading on https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-...ment-checklist
> 
> It says "All supporting documents must be scanned and uploaded with your application. All documents that you provide must be certified copies of original documents. Do not include original documents unless specifically requested to do so by the department."
> 
> Question 2: Shall i upload scanned color original documents to NSW ? or Shall i upload Notarized COLOR copies of the original documents ? or Shall i upload Notarized black n white copies of the original documents ? What is the best option ? As i want to make my case very strong and avoid delays, so, kindly advise on this.
> 
> Question 3: Any advise or tips or information regarding applying for 190 NSW would be highly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prestyler -

Please see previous response re: questions. If you have received an invitation from NSW to apply for NSW state sponsorship, then yes, there are many reasons why they can refuse to sponsor you including internal (and unpublished!) quotas and any number of things.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



prestyler said:


> Hello Mark:
> 
> I received invitation for 190 from NSW. I want to know if all the documents are provided and support the points. Can NSW reject/refuse the application ?


----------



## dumivisa

Thanks Mark,
I will discuss with them about that. I told them to inquire the processing officer after 1 and half month for visa. It,s o.k I will wait further.
Thanks
Dumivisa



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Dumivisa -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Very unusual for a registered migration agent to suggest the client contact DIBP directly - is your agent registered with OMARA?
> 
> There are no time limits on DIBP processing time, etc so very difficult to predict.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## thsskdms00

Hi Mark,

My immiaccount currently shows my application status as "assessment in progress" converted from "additional information requested" not long ago. If I decide to upload form 1023 soon to fix a minor mistake, does this "assessment in progress" status have any affect or it is it okay to upload this form until final decision is made? I was wondering whether it might be too late to upload the form or is it never too late to fix a mistake? Thank you once again, have a wonderful day!


----------



## dkdldb

Hi Mark,

Could the case officer directly call applicant's mobile number to talk to the applicant (189 visa) for any purpose to check on any issues? They normally email instead of calling right? Cheers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thsskdms00 -

No problem uploading 1023 now, but I'd also email the case officer/team to let them know you've done this just to alert them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thsskdms00 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My immiaccount currently shows my application status as "assessment in progress" converted from "additional information requested" not long ago. If I decide to upload form 1023 soon to fix a minor mistake, does this "assessment in progress" status have any affect or it is it okay to upload this form until final decision is made? I was wondering whether it might be too late to upload the form or is it never too late to fix a mistake? Thank you once again, have a wonderful day!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dkdldb -

Yes, they can call applicants directly (even those represented by migration agents) - this is usually done in cases where DIBP is concerned about the integrity of the application, potentially wrong or misleading information, to verify employment claim specifics, to interview applicants about their partner relationship, etc.

A note - if you (or anyone) is called by DIBP and they want to ask questions, you have the right to say it isn't a good time and to schedule a callback from them for a good reason, for instance, if you are at work and can't talk, etc. Also, if you prefer to use an interpreter, you have the right to one for any DIBP communications via phone.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dkdldb said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Could the case officer directly call applicant's mobile number to talk to the applicant (189 visa) for any purpose to check on any issues? They normally email instead of calling right? Cheers.


----------



## ecurb21

*registered resident*

Hi Mark,

Sorry I realise I wasn't being very clear. So in the Netherlands you register your residency when you are living in a provence of that country. Literally translated it means 'signing in'. So when you are immigrating you essentially 'sign out'. Would this have any bearing on the visa application processes in Australia if entering on a tourist visa?

Cheers,

ecurb21



MarkNortham said:


> Hi ecurb21 -
> 
> Thanks for the note, however I'm not sure what you are asking when you say "signs out as a citizen..."...?
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## shanx95

*Visa 189 Application Help*

Hi Mark,

My fiancé and I are getting married in *June 2017* and hoping to emigrate to Queensland shortly after but have a few queries about the application process/career changes we would like help with. I am a *Registered Nurse *and my fiancé is a *Production Planner.

* 1. When is best to lodge our expression of interest?
2. If we are granted a visa before we are married, or the process goes on after we are married, do we have to tell authorities/amend our visa application?
3. Do we apply for our Criminal Background check before or during applying for our visa?
4. Should I apply for AHPRA registration (nursing board) before or after our Visa is granted?

Thanks, Shannon


----------



## Ella1979

Can I ask you a question mark?


----------



## khart

Hi Mark, 
Thank you for your time on the phone yesterday. I forgot to ask you one question.. for my partner and my statutory declaration, we just wrote them on a word document and printed them out (since they were pretty lengthy at about 4 pages). When I went to a JP he said he will witness it for us but we should have written it on the commonwealth stat dec papers. I remember these being so tiny though and not having much room for us to write in. Do you recommend we re-write them on that paper? or should we be ok with what we have? (Applying for 820 visa)

Thanks in advance!


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Dear Mark,

Hope you are doing well.

As of now I have +ve ACS and PTE. Currently my total points are 55. If I wait till December 2016 I will be getting additional 5 points as my experience will be increased and I can go for 189. Through some forums I came to know that 190 visa does not carry any restrictions in terms of where in Australia you can live (in fact, it doesn't carry any restrictions at all).It is up to you to decide if you are willing to shirk the moral obligation you have with the state that sponsored you. Also people have this opinion that it will not affect later for citizenship or a RRV because of not meeting two year residency requirement with a sponsoring state.

To what extent do you agree with this ??


----------



## skl

1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well.
> 
> As of now I have +ve ACS and PTE. Currently my total points are 55. If I wait till December 2016 I will be getting additional 5 points as my experience will be increased and I can go for 189. Through some forums I came to know that 190 visa does not carry any restrictions in terms of where in Australia you can live (in fact, it doesn't carry any restrictions at all).It is up to you to decide if you are willing to shirk the moral obligation you have with the state that sponsored you. Also people have this opinion that it will not affect later for citizenship or a RRV because of not meeting two year residency requirement with a sponsoring state.
> 
> To what extent do you agree with this ??


Dear Mark.

Thank you for your help. I applied 820/801 visa online in april 2015. I recently asked DIBP to give me the copy of the documents I have submitted. They sent me via email but only those I have submitted when I applied. But I have been submitting new evidences all the time. does it means that DIBP will only consider the documents submitted on the date of application?max alloweble 60 documents i have submitted so far 59 documents.


----------



## prestyler

Hello Mark:

I got invitation to apply for NSW 190 for my EOI, however, my category investment manager is not in the list. What should i do ?


----------



## TanyaGL

Dear Mark, hello! Let me ask you a question as well. 
I need to write a Statutory Declaration as being self-employed. Should I use Australian Form which dates to 1959? I found this template. The application will be done from Turkey. And can a local solicitor sign it?
Commonwealth of Australia
STATUTORY DECLARATION
Statutory Declarations Act 1959

Thank you so much!!!


----------



## santhrupth.urs

*Queris regarding PR application*

Hello Mark,

My name is Santhrupth and I am applying for PR from India(subclass 189)-ICT Business Analyst. My wife is currently on a 457 in Sydney, hence I am trying to move to Australia as soon as possible.

I have collected all the required documents for my skill assessment and will be filling in the on-line application form in the coming days followed by the EOI.

Below are a few queries i want some clarity on

1. How much time will the Skill assessment take ? 
2. After I receive the letter from ACS, and submit my EOI, what is the turn around time to receive the Invitation to applying for the visa.
3. Can I travel on a tourist visa while my PR is in process and once approved switch over to the PR Visa?
3. Can i work from home in Australia(Sydney) for the company i am currently working for in India ? - Once my PR is approved, i will come back and quit my current job and move permanently to Australia.

I would appreciate if you could clarify my queries stated above, it would prove to be really helpful to join my wife in Australia as soon as possible.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Paolo89

Hello Mark,

My boss offer me sponsor VISA 457, but I know this VISA have lot of limitation and tight rules.

For me is not problem, but for hobby, I do with my banking account some investment in australian share , I bought only 8.000$ .

Investment like that is problem for sponsor VISA?

Kind regards,

Paolo.


----------



## LivNaomi

*Certified Documents*

Hi Mark -

I'm a bit worried as it's coming up to the time where I should be receiving a CO soon - I got an email the other day to tell me that I should have my visa granted by June 31st as long as everything is sent through. I'm just worried about the documents I've sent, as I don't think I got everything certified. I got the Stat Decs done, but haven't done things like passport/photos/birth certificates/police checks etc because I didn't realise I had to! Is this something I am going to have to provide and re-upload? I feel like my application is a bit of a mess and I'm getting a little over-whelmed!! I've been reading other people's posts and it seems like people had almost everything certified by a JP or some sort, which I haven't done!

Any advice would be hugely welcome!

Thanks,
Liv


----------



## Tinkerbell1

*Help Please*

Hi Mark, could you please help me out with an ambiguity i am having while filing out my 190 visa application for,. i submitted EOI as Accountant for NSW nomination, got ITA from NSW, applied there and got my application approved by NSW, then i got the email from skill select to lodge visa, when i am filling the visa form now it got me confused at step 13 where it asks "does the applicant had employment in past 10 years please share something like that.. now my query/problem/dilemma is that in my EOI i showed ZERO employment history because i was not claiming any points for it,, if i show employment history now in my visa application would DIBP object on it that how come i am showing around 3.5years employment history now whilst i did not show anything in my EOI.. please guide me i have been asking around on different forums but haven't got a clear answer on this, my visa application is stuck due to this.


----------



## QuangVinh

Hi Mark ,
Is there any way to lodge visa 887 earlier after we have a full-time year working experience but not having enough 2 year living in regional area ? 

Thanks


----------



## riz-haq

*Help required regarding Character / Deportation question*

Dear Mark,

I need to seek clarification regarding one of the questions in the Character section of the immigration application form:

"Have you ever been removed, deported or excluded from any country?"

In-fact this question is repeated in the Deportations section and adds the word "asked to leave" also apart from "removed, deported or excluded".

My question is whether *"Voluntary Departure"* lies in the category of "being deported, excluded, removed or asked to leave" or not?

I ask this as back in 2003, I took voluntary departure from USA (my employer was charged of unlawfully issuing some work visas, however there were no charges on me and my police report (FBI report) also came out clear when I requested for it couple of years later.
Do I answer a YES or a NO to this question of deportation when, in-fact, this departure was a voluntary one?

Would highly appreciate your support on this.Thanks.
RIZ


----------



## romero2005

Dear Mark,

First here are my work exp.....

job 1. Junior system admin - 11 February 2013 - End on may 2013

job 2. Process Improvement executive (Related to system admin) - 10th June - Present.

My ACS is 263111. Now I hope to add my 3 years work exp to EOI and get 5 points. I have all the documents relating to my second job. But I dont have paysheets for my second job as I was there as contract basis and received cash to hand. Is that going to be a problem? Still the company can give all the necessary information if DIAC called.


----------



## prestyler

Hello Mark:
I received invitation for NSW 190, however, my category is in the stream 2. 

I am about to submit my application. I have all the supporting documents regarding the points.

Since, my occupation is in the stream 2. I am thinking to include my other experiance and certifications in the resume which compliment my occupation.

Also, i am also thinking to upload those certificates as supporting documents to NSW and include an INDEX file explaining the documents.

Please advise.


----------



## ShermD

Hi Mark,

For 189 skilled migration visa, the following link provides information of a form (Form 1193 Communicating by e-mail with the department) to allow the DIBP to communicate with me via email. Suppose I need to be contacted via email by DIBP (When they require more documents etc). So, as the 189 visa will be submitted online by me, do I also has to fill this form and sign it and send it via the ordinary post to DIBP? Or I don't need to submit this form?

Link: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Info

Regards!


----------



## raman2007sandhu

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mark_ -
> 
> If they have concerns about your brother, they could certainly call you and ask you about him and his fiance. Asking an applicant about family members is very common however, so I wouldn't be too concerned. Best to answer the questions honestly, and I'd be in touch with your brother as well to be aware of what he told them.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi, I had worked in 5 countries(June 2012 to Aug 2014) for the same employer for 2.2 years. I have + EA assessment with relevant all period of employment. Now, I am confuse, how to mention work experience in EOI. Should i split in 5 for each country.?? If i must mention in single then which country should i mention...........Now(In 2016) i am working in India


----------



## swadhwa

Hi Mark

I wanted some clarity on the qualification requirements (AQF). If I want to apply for 611211- Insurance Agent (Skill Level 3) where either of the three requirements should meet- NZ Register Level 4 qualification; - AQF Certificate IV or
; - AQF Certificate III including at least two years of on-the-job training.
However I have a Bachelors in Commerce degree from a Univ (Delhi- India) would it suffice from educational qualification purposes. Or would you suggest I apply when my 3 years of work experience in Insurance field is complete.
Regards


----------



## adityaagnihotri

*Help needed for employee reference letter*

Dear Mark,

I have a question regarding the employee reference letter as it is mentioned on the DIBP web site that the companies letter head should contain the the full address of the company and any telephone, fax numbers, e-mail and website addresses.

I have worked in a small company from 2009 to 2013 and they are ready to provide the reference letter too, but the company doesn't have a web site & fax number as on date, 
so what should I do should I get the reference letter with out the web address & fax no of the company on the letter head or will it be a issue for DIBP at a latter date ?


----------



## skl

adityaagnihotri said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding the employee reference letter as it is mentioned on the DIBP web site that the companies letter head should contain the the full address of the company and any telephone, fax numbers, e-mail and website addresses.
> 
> I have worked in a small company from 2009 to 2013 and they are ready to provide the reference letter too, but the company doesn't have a web site & fax number as on date,
> so what should I do should I get the reference letter with out the web address & fax no of the company on the letter head or will it be a issue for DIBP at a latter date ?


Dear Mark,

How long should we wait after registering relationship in order to apply for partner visa? We registred in february 2015 and applied april 2015


----------



## CG304

*Partner visa case*

Hi Mark,

My parents did not reach a common ground in regards to joining me in Australia. They divorced in 2011 and my mum migrated to Australia under Contributory Parent Visa in 2012 (sponsored by me) and granted PR in 2014.

My dad originally strongly opposed the idea to migrate to Australia few years ago hence the divorce with my mum back then. However he came to my wedding in Melbourne and another subsequent visit and began to like Australia and is very acceptable in living here. My parents also got along quite well after my dad's gone through these changes and they re-married each other in 2015.

My questions are:
- Can my dad apply for the Partner visa with my mum being the sponsor? I understand the visa MAY have restriction on sponsorship if the sponsor was granted via the Contributory Parent Visa route. However my parents had divorced before she applied for the visa.

- Can my dad apply for the partner 100 type PR straight away if he's to apply in 2016? If he can demonstrate a strong / tangible relationship since 2014?

Many thanks
CG


----------



## EmsK

Dear Mark, 

I admire your kindness on having the heart to help others in this kind of way!
I'm an Aussie married to a Japanese, currently living in Japan. My partner and I are wanting to explore the possibility of living in Australia, and I wondered whether he can apply for WHV to see how life in Australia goes for him...
My questions are;
1 Can he apply for WHV whilst married to an Australian citizen (he is under 30 and we don't have children)
2 If he can apply for WHV, would applying for partner visa in the future be a problem? 

Thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge!

Ems


----------



## teven

Hi there i am an australia citizen my whole life, and I've been with my girlfriend from the UK for over two years now, and living together for just over a year. We also had our defacto relationship registered with the government in Sydney about a year ago.

Originally we were going to do defacto visa but then she got sponsored 457. Now we are thinking we will quit our jobs here in Australia, ie she will lose her 457, and are going to travel for 6 months to a year overseas perhaps.

My question is, when we finally come back, is she able to come here on a tourist visa, and we can still use our evidence of living together from 2015-2016, relationship certificate, utility bills etc for applying for a defacto visa when we come back? or would be have to apply for defacto while overseas?


----------



## Abbie_190

Dear Mark,

1) I have lodged my (190 visa) on 1st Feb 2016 and Case officer contacted me on 9th March asking for 3 additional documents – 
1)	Personal particulars for character assessment (form 80)
2)	Police clearance certificates.
3)	Immigration Health Examinations.
and requested to submit this within next 28 days.

As requested I did my medicals (current IMMI account status- “Health clearance provided – no action required” and uploaded all the requested documents on 23rd March 2016. 
Now the deadline the Case Officer gave me to provide (the Form 80, All PCC and Medical examination) is 28 days starting from 09/03/2016. Therefore 28 days ends on 05/04/2016. However now that everything has been uploaded (as requested) from my end, will the Case Officer again look to my case only after the end of 28 days i.e 05/04/2016? 
or 
Now since everything uploaded before 28 days, the Case Officer is free to proceed to make a decision on my application without waiting until the end of 28 days (as was mentioned to me). Kindly comment.

2) The Case Officer in his letter to me stated- “I have begun considering your application for this visa and require additional information” as stated above. Can the Case officer request for any further documents after the submission of the requested documents? Or usually they ask for everything at one go after scrutinizing the case initially? 

3) I have also heard that applicants from countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka goes through rigorous external security checks. Since I am an Indian, do external security checks also applies in my case. If yes how much time extra does it takes for such process. Can you also throw some light on what this external security check actually comprises of?

4) Also since I have uploaded all the requested documents on the 15th day of the deadline, will it actually delay my outcome as compared if I have uploaded the documents immediately within 1-2 days the request been made? Kindly suggest.
I know the current time line for the process of 190 visa is 90 days, but there are a lot of cases where the time line has exceeded considerably (as per forum) Kindly suggest how much time usually it takes for a Case Officer to make a decision after all requested documents are sent and received ?

Thankfully yours,
Abbie_190


----------



## TrixDivergent

*457 to ENS (Subclass 186?)*

Dear Mark,

You helped me alot last year prior processing my 457. I am now happily live and work in Western Australia since October 2015. I got 4 years working contract on hand and my boss is offering me to start ENS process. I understand that he needs to apply a nominatation first before i can start my own. However, I have few questions if you kindly clear them for me.

1. for CAFE/RESTAURANT MANAGER position, do i need to get my work assessment done to complete my 186 visa application? 
2. what is the IELTS minimum band score for this?

Thanking you in advance.

Rgds,
Trix


----------



## AussieRN

Hi Mark! Good day! Im just wondering if I can submit 2 english results for my PR application to get extra points. Let say on my first result i only got 6.5 in writing while the listening, reading and speaking are 7 and in my 2nd results, i got 7 in writing but the rest are below 7. Can i submit two IELTS results to obtain extra points? Thank you so much for your time! &#55357;&#56842;


----------



## ShermD

Hi Mark, 

The dibp asks to submit police report for 189 skilled independent visa, so, my question is, to whom should I address the police report? should the police report address to a specific designation? I mean, should the police report contain the designation of "Australian Visa Officer" etc and the address of the visa officer? If so, what is the address of the visa officer?

and how long is it valid for DIBP ?, I mean if I got the police report from my country today and if I submit it after say 3 months, will the DIBP say that it's too old and get a new one? how long is the validity period? I mean, the PTE or IELTS exams are valid for 3 yrs (undertaken in the three years immediately prior to lodging the visa application) .. so, how long the police report is valid for?

Regards.
Sherm


----------



## Abubakr

Hi Mark,

I would like to know if i have a 489 regional temporary regional visa and i shall stay and work 2 years in the same region to apply for the permanent visa , do i need to work in the same profession i have on my visa ??
Or any kind of job will be sufficient ??


----------



## shaunviljoen

Hi Mark

Please advise...

When applying for the 887 visa, I need proof of working for a year and living for two years in a regional area which I have completed now.

Most of the documents required for the 887 visa have been submitted in our first application for our skilled regional sponsored visa 489. 
As 489 Visa holders are not the only ones able to apply for the 887 PR Visa, would it be unreasonable to assume that the document checklist is a general list to cover all other applications? 

Do I really have to resubmit all the same documentation again or do I only submit the difference of proving my work and living as per my visa conditions? 

I realise you are a busy man, so if you have time to spare some advice it would be much appreciated! 


Kind regards 
Shaun

Ps. We currently still living regionally in WA.


----------



## Bamborabi

Hi Mark,

I have had a strange experience with the Brisbane Subclass 100 processing centre ([email protected]). I had emailed them last weekasking them the status of my 100 Visa application. My offshore lodgement date was June 12th 2013. I submitted my application online throughImmi account on July 12th 2015. I uploaded another set of documents (mostly photos & bank documents ) in Nov and some further photos in first week of Jan. However, Brisbane Subclass 100 processing centre ([email protected]au) say that its been only 4 months since I submitted my documents in Nov and insist the same. When Actually its been close to 9 months since I submitted. I even told them that my eligibility date/offshore lodgement date was in June 2013 but they said eligibility date is not a criteria. Quite concerned whether with what they are saying, can they be trusted ? 
I am worried if they have all my documents which I submitted now !! Anybody had similar experience after emailing [email protected] ? 
What do you suggest I do ? bit confused, every time I contact them I hear something different. Also, I am concerned why they keep saying that I have submitted my application in Nov when actually I submitted them online in July. I can see that all the documents I have submitted have been received by immigration as per immi account. Is this an issue ? Please advise.

Regards
Bamborabi

Regards


----------



## eeleneri

I have a question on Partner Migration Visa (PMV) - What is the main difference between an offshore and onshore PMV application? 

My scenario is this:

I'm intending to start life with my partner when my contract finishes the end of June this year in HK. We have evidence (social, financial, will etc.) to prove our ongoing relationship is genuine and all the collating and organising of evidence is well underway. However, I'm now not too sure which I should be applying for: the Provisional 309 visa or the temporary 820. 

I've been travelling to Australia using the ETA subclass601 visa and originally intended to apply for the temporary 820 whilst onshore in Australia using the ETA as a substantive visa. 

Any tips and advice is appreciated!


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Dear Mark,

My details are as below :

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER-261312
ACS +VE FEEDBACK ---05/Feb/2016 (ACS deducted 6 years as I am from non computers background)
PTE SCORE-01/Aug/2015 (L:71 R:74 S:76 W:70)

As of now my overall score is 55 (Age:30 Education:15 PTE:10). I will be completing 9 years in December 2016 which will give me additional 5 points to reach 60 points suitable for SC189. I am confused what should I do now. Should I wait till December 2016 or should I look for state sponsorship SC190. Mostly I want to go to Sydney as most of the IT jobs are there so I can opt for state sponsorship of NSW. I have no problem in waiting till December either and apply for SC189 but looking at the timelines in this forum where few people are waiting from the last 5-6 months I suspect I may miss my PTE validity (valid till 1 Aug 2017). 

Please suggest what should I do.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## simon.ghosh

Dear Mark, 

I have lodged my SC 189 application on 2nd of Feb'16 and uploaded all documents including PCC & medical by 21st Feb. On 2nd of Mar'16 I received an email from Adelaide GSM team stating IMMI Assessment has commenced but no other info requested, post that I have not received any update so far and the application status is also showing "Application Received". How long does it take for the CO to finalize a case?


----------



## indeara21

*Information Needed !*

I need a help to apply for a Student Visa for Australia. Actually, i am doing graduation in some reputed University in India & want to go Australia to complete my research on my topic but am not sure about the place to visit & reside as few parts are very expensive & out of my reach. I searched on internet & found microburbs site (microburbs(dot)com(dot)au) which have very unique & useful data but still need more information about it to plan better. Best preferable chances to apply for the same would be around May-June.... Hoping positive guidance on my issue.... Regards !


----------



## pete1111

*Partner / Bridging Visa Help*

Hi Mark, 
My partner is from Brazil and currently on student visa 572 which expires in Nov 2016. She just had 6 months maternity leave (we have a 5 month old son) and we intend to apply for a partner visa in the next month or so.

After we apply for the partner visa will she be granted a bridging visa that allows her stop study and leave and re-enter Australia?

She can no longer attend classes as she has to look after our son during the day as I work full time. We also have travel plans in August so want to ensure there will not be any issues re-entering Australia.

Thanks
Pete


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Dear Mark,

I have the below queries while updating the EOI.
Urgent reply will be highly appreciated.

1) _Does the client have other current passports?_

If in the citizenship column I have stated that I am not citizen of any other country than 
what is the relevance of this question.

2) _Are there any family members the client would like to include in a future application?_

I will be migrating with my wife only. But in the next question they ask for

"_Would the client be accompanied by the client's partner in a future application?_"
So should I mark the family member query as YES ?? And number of family member should be "1" ??
Please correct me if I am wrong.

3) _Has the client undertaken an English language test within the last 36 months?_

English test say last 36 months but PTE result certificate has validity of two years only. How logical is this ??

4) "_Has the client completed, or is currently enrolled in any studies at secondary level and above?_"

This question is confusuing. Even the help page is not expalining properly.
Only the name of highest degree should be mentioned here and with selection "YES" correct ?

5) _Has the client obtained credentialled community language qualifications?_
What is this ??

6) _Provide details of the client's employment history for the last 10 years._ ????

Do I need to enter only the relevant employment here that is after what ACS has deducted from my overall experience ?? If yes than should my employment start date should be the one from which my relevant experience starts, correct ??


----------



## adityaagnihotri

Dear Mark,

I have a doubt regarding the employee reference letter,
I have worked from 08 Feb 2014 to 29 feb 2016 in a Group called Indiabulls (in its Real Estate vertical) and I appointment letter states Indiabulls Real Estate Limited.
But due to one reason or other in the real estate vertical they have many small small private limited companies and I have been transferred from one to other due to internal restructuring only (have mails as transfer letters to prove that) therefore my total tenure was divided as follows,
Lucina Land Development Limited - Feb 08th, 2014 to March 31st,2014
Indiabulls Properties Private Limited - April 01st, 2014 to June 30th, 2014
Athena Infrastructure Limited - July 01st, 2014 to February 29th, 2016
and my payslips states Indiabulls group and the respective company name as mentioned above.

Now when I have approached the HR they said they will be able to provide only one reference letter and I have made the following format will that be fine or I should try to get three different reference letters. 

To, 
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Australia

This is to certify that Mr. Aditya Agnihotri was an employee of the Indiabulls Group in the Real Estate Vertical. He was employed in the following sister companies of Indiabulls Real Estate vertical,

Lucina Land Development Limited February 08th, 2014 to March 31st,2014
Indiabulls Properties Private Limited April 01st, 2014 to June 30th, 2014
Athena Infrastructure Limited July 01st, 2014 to February 29th, 2016
NOTE – Transferred from one to another company due to internal restructuring only.

Mr Aditya Agnihotri was a full time basis (XXX hours/week) and at the time of leaving the company he was designated as XXXX at XXXX Grade in the department of Planning and Design and was working from the office at Gurgaon, Haryana, India. 
At the time of leaving the company his salary per year was Rs XXXXX.00 and which included the allowances like, House Rent Allowance, Medical Benefits, Leave Travel Assistance and Transport Allowance in accordance with company rules. 

The primary duties performed by him during his tenure are listed below,-----------

Kindly provide your views on the same.


----------



## milligator

Dear mark
I have been assessed in ACS for the network engineer as follows
They accepted 5 years of my work experience from 2010 to 2015 which was full time.
But rejected 6 years from 2002 to 2008 which was part time. It was assessed as not suitable.
My bachelor which was granted 2007 (started from 2003) was assessed as associate degree which means 10 point
My master which was granted in 2013 (started 2010) was assessed as graduate diploma 
I am 32 years old and my ielts is 6 in each skill.
I am counting 55 points on paper and with 190 visa i can apply for migration.

Now the question is do they decrease my work experience in the next step?
If so, how much do they decreas and why?

Thanks for your patience


----------



## michael1234

Hello Mark,

I would like to ask whether when I apply for a visa (485 visa in my case), the case officer would look at my Facebook account. 

The main issue is that Facebook changed their privacy settings so users cannot have their profiles completely hidden anymore. I don't like this from a privacy perspective (although I have nothing to hide from the government, I just don't like everyone finding me on the search and sending my friend requests and what not). There is also another issue; I have a pretty unique full name. If someone tags me in some picture on Facebook and posts it publicly, it then appears on Google search, which is annoying because I want professional things to appear when someone Googles my name.

To solve both these issue, I no longer want to use my real name on Facebook. Say my real name is "Michael Williams" and it is currently on Facebook, so I am considering changing it to something like "Ḿıčhǎềĺ". So just first name, but with some "ornaments" to keep it unique.

My worry, which may be completely unfounded, is that if they do check my Facebook (which they can find, because they have my e-mail) then it will look suspicious to them that I am not using my real, and full, name there.

I might just be paranoid, but do case officers make use of Facebook to get information about candidates? might they make judgments based on what I wrote?

Alternatively, I am also considering just deactivating my Facebook, because it mostly just wastes my time anyway.

Cheers,
Michael


----------



## mshar11

*Delay after interview call*

Hello all
My name is Mehran khan I am from Pakistan, I applied for my Australian student visa sub class 573 on 12th of Feb and received an interview call from Australian high commission Islamabad on 8th of March. It has been 26 days after the call but I have not heard anything from them yet, is it normal do they take this long after interview call? I replied to every question that was asked during interview and felt that I did good with interview.
By the way I have done Bachelors of Engineering in Mining with first division in November 2014, after that I did job in the relative field for almost a year, got 7 bands in IELTS and then applied for masters of environmental engineering and pollution control in Griffith university. What are my chances of getting visa now???? Please reply I am really tensed. plz help mark


----------



## john0615

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your great work.

I'm preparing documents for Temporary Partner visa (subclass 820).
My de facto partner will be the applicant.

I wonder if some of those documents can be provided in the later stage of the application.

Can you please indicate when should the following documents need to be uploaded:

-Proof of identity - before submit the application.
-Health check - when request by CO?
-Health insurance - ?
-Character check (AFP) - ?
-Relationship cert - before submit the application.
-FOrm 888 - before submit the application?

Million thanks.


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Dear Mark,

Please help me with the below queries while updating my EOI.

1) Would the client be prepared to live outside an Australian capital city?

I am looking for NSW SS. I understand that this will not affect the eligibility (as explained in the form) but will it increase the chances of the invitation or will it restrict me to a particular remote area ?? There must be some logical reason for asking this question to the client. Let's say if I put YES and get selected can my 190 visa will have the details of the locations I can work in ?
PS: I have already searched this query in this forum. Though i found few answers but they were not convincing enough.

2) Out of curiosity I again want to re confirm that in employment history I have to add all the employers and have to mark "YES" for related employment only as mentioned by ACS. I am asking this as ACS has deducted 6 years from my overall IT experience (because of my education is from non computers). Post November 2013 of IT experience is considered relevant by ACS. So post November employment is marked "YES" as related to nominated occupation and before that it will be "NO". Please correct me if my understanding is different.


----------



## Cassie

Hello Mark,

I am applying for the New Zealand citizen family relationship, my application is almost ready to be send. However, as I need to prove my de facto relationship, I need 2 statutory declarations from Australian citizen but it seems like we are not going to have them on time. My current visa expire next week. 

Could we send them after sending my application ? Is it actually necessary to include 2 statutory declarations ?

Thank you so much Mark.

Cassie


----------



## Tasharnebhwest

Hi Mark,

I hope you can find the time to reply to this.

Details:
I am sponsoring my UK partner for partnership 820
Lodgement: 30 Oct 2015
Type: Onshore and online
Police Checks: 30 Oct 2015
Medical: 15 March 2016

My partner and I became 'offical' in July 2014 then he moved over to Australia in Nov 2014. He had a rough relationship with his father so he moved in with him (instead of me) for the first 3 months to try and build the relationship. Therefore by time we applied for our partnership visa on 30 Oct 2015 we had only been living together for 8 months. We shared all financal aspects from November. 

My question is what is the actual requirement of 12 months defacto? Does this mean that you have to literally living with eachother for 12 months before lodgement? or does it include finacial aspects aswel? We considered ourselves defacto as we were financailly supporting eachother but due to circumstances couldn't live together.


----------



## AtreyuFTW

Dear Mark,

I'm a new member and would be very happy if you could share your expertise about the skills assessment process in AACA

I completed my Bachelor of Arts Architecture degree (3.5years full-time) in Germany and also did a Study abroad Semester at Newcastle University (Australia)

Can you estimate my chances to pass stage 1 of the AACA assessment?

Also what could i do to improve my chances?

I am happy for any help or advice

Thank you in advance

Matt


----------



## Hoshi

Hi Mark, 


My partner is Australian and I am Bulgarian.
I am on a temporary partner visa in Australia right now, currently my permanent visa being processed (eligible and started compiling and uploading the documents as of 9/03/16). 
It appears that we need to relocate back to Bulgaria for 1 to 4 years. 
From what I found on the website travelling to extended periods of time shouldn't be a problem even though my permanent visa is being processed, however, I was wondering if you can foresee any implications in the long them. Is there a maximum period of time I can be absent from AU? And in general, would I have any issues coming back to Australia at a later stage, provided all is well with my permanent visa, of course? 

Needless to say, I am very grateful for all your support


----------



## kittudawra

Hi mark just had a enquiry I am in Brisbane applied partner visa in feb 2014 I have been requested for police clearence and medical for 801 visa on 8 March 2016 . I have done medical next day 9 March 2016 . And I have send police clearence on the same day of medical . Cz I already have done . Medical department told me they will update my medical in week to immigration site . Just wondering how much time they take to process . Thanks for taking time to read this you reply will be really apriciated you have a good day . Mark . Good man helping every one


----------



## pamody

Dear Mark,

I hope you are doing well. I am currently living in Sri Lanka and is planning on applying for Skilled Migration(Skilled Independent Subclass 189) as a ICT Business Analyst or System Analyst as my work has been similar to both. I have more than 5 years experience after graduation and 3 years before the graduation.

For my Work Reference, do I need to get it from my supervisor who is the Assistant Manager of my Department or from the Head of My Department?

HR of my current company is reluctant in giving a service letter while working as that promotes me of leaving. Thus is one reference from my supervisor or head of department is enough for my the length of my work or do I need to obtain from others as well?

From My Previous Employer, I have a Service letter signed by the managing director stating the period of my work and the work I have done, will that be sufficient?

As my degree is Electronic Engineering degree, though the diploma and advanced diploma I have done before completing the degree is computer and engineering based, will there be an issue?

Regards,


----------



## Jay23mehta

mr00110, 

My wife and I are about to get into a situation similar to yours. If you dont mind sharing, what is the status of your adoption visa application?

Would you mind if we spoke more about the entire process,

Best regards, 
Jay


----------



## Ladyjane

Hi Mark, just wondering if you can help me out. I received an email for request of info for processing of my 2nd stage partner visa however it says I am not eligible till 23/5. I am starting to gather documents and required info requested now. My question is Am I allowed to upload everything on-line as soon as I complete requested information or do I have to wait till my eligibility date till I can do it?
Also the form 888 and Stat dec from my sponsor that is being asked, do they need to be certified? I remember in processing first stage there was no need to certify documents when processing on-line.

Please enlighten an anxious person.

Thanks heaps.


----------



## VenusifiedBT

*Need advice on 190 visa ANZSCO code 221112*

Hi Mark

I am new to this forum. I have lodged an EOI for visa 190 for state sponsorship open for all states. My nominated ANZSCO code is 221112 - Management Accountant. Other profile details are as below:

IELTS: 8 bands in each module (20 points for Proficient English)
Qualification: At least a Bachelors - skills assessment done by CPA (15 points)
Age: 26 years (30 points)
Skilled work experience: 1.25 years (0 points)
State nomination: 5 points

Total 70 points including state sponsorship

What worries me are these two things:

- What are the odds of Management Accountants getting nominated by Australian states? I have been active on another forum but haven't really seen ANYONE applying for this code lately. Is it because they don't invite us guys? Or it's just a coincidence?

- I have heard only NSW is open for Management Accountant sponsorship. Is it really getting that bad for accountants? Is there any chance I could get an invite for skilled independent visa?

Also, when can I expect an acknowledgment from Australian states regarding my EOI?

Looking forward to hearing from you.


----------



## zafraz

Hi Mark,

Sorry to bother you with some questions.

I already have an skilled independent visa subclass 175 back in 2012 and I have completed my initial entry with my wife, but we are still outside Australia and the 5 year visa is due to expire in Nov 2017. 

Now that I have a child and I wish to migrate a little later, can I apply for the new skilled Independent visa subclass 189 under skill select?

I know I am late for the May 2016 deadline, but wish to apply soon after that. I have gone through the requirements and checked my points test too and I am all fine with all of that.

The next question is, in my previous visa application, I failed to include my dependent parents. By now, my dad is almost 77 years and my mom is almost 65 years. So can I include them in my new visa application?

Because, in the website, I noticed the following when including dependents,

"Your family member will be considered dependent if all of the following apply:
•	they do not have a spouse or de facto partner"

In my case, I want to include both my parents, will this be a problem?

Also, since they are aged, will they both be requested to do the English language test?

Thank you in advance
Zafraz


----------



## ausimmig

*PR Documents*

Hi Mark,

I intend to apply for PR in Australia. Can you please advise me with the complete process:

a) What documents are required?
b) Which website to apply on?
c) What are the timelines?

I am currently residing outside Australia.

Thanks


----------



## ausimmig

*Parent Sponsorship*

Hi Mark,

I am a PR applicant and wish to sponsor my mother. Can you advise the maximum duration, parents can stay while on a visit visa? How easy/difficult is it to extend 3 month stay to 1 year?

Is it possible to permanently sponsor a parent (on PR) by a PR?

Thanks in advance


----------



## Yoli

Dear Mark, I don't know if you could offer any advice on this problem. I'm sponsoring my husband and they have asked for medicals for his kids who live in another country and are not applying for the visa. The problem is that his ex-wife refuses to take the children to have their medicals. Is there anything we can do given that they live in another country?


----------



## Wendy2016

My 189 visa has been rejected. Although the refusal letter didn't mention PIC4020, my natural justice letter said I may fail to satisfy PIC4020. Does that mean I will be banned from reapplying for 3 years?


----------



## Zin

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
I lodged my EOI for PR sc 190 on 1st Feb (State sponsor from any states in Australia). My question is regarding to "In which State or Territory would the client be interested in seeking nomination from", should I put "Any" or should I put down a particular state and place 3 different EOI for 3 states? Which is a better way to do? 
I have scanned all the forum and there is noone have the same question like mine.
I would appreciate if you could advise me what I should do is best.
Thank you for your time.
Zin


----------



## JamesSultan

Dear Mark,

I am a 189 Visa Candidate. While filling up the form 1221 for myself and my wife, i came across the following questions and i am not sure what to select here for her and for myself (Note: I am the primary applicant and my wife is a dependent)

Part L – Migration visas
39. Do you intend to do a course of study while in Australia?
40. Do you intend to work in Australia?

Shall I select Yes for both of us for both the questions or shall i go with a different option?
My wife have plans to study and work there, and I don't want her to get into a situation where she could study or work because of the these questions we answer here on form 1221.
We just want to keep our options open to do whatever we want.

Regards,


----------



## PurpleMonkeyDishwasher

Hi Mark

Just a question re penal clearances for a citizenship application.

I am NZ citizen on SCV 444 , but here before 2001.

I need to provide an NZ police clearance as i have left Australia since I turned 18.

However, I have also spent more than 90 days in the Philippines, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea - but the application says Police clearances are only required if I visited those countries and held a *permanent *Australian visa at that time.

I don't have a permanent visa (SCV) so would i be correct in thinking I only need to provide the NZ Police Clearance?


----------



## josemathew77

Hello Mark,

I would really appreciate if you can look in to the blow issue and respond.

I’ve got positive skill assessment (Internal Audit – 221214) from VETASSESS couple of days ago and waiting for my IELTS results to submit EOI.

Upon research on EOI, I noticed that the occupational ceiling on my occupation has been reached already.

Details from DIBP website is given below

Occupation ceilings for the 2015-16 programme year
Occupation ID: 2212
Description: Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers
Ceiling Value: 1000
Results to date: 1000

Does this mean that I won’t be picked in this year, since it has already reached the limit?

Really appreciate your time in advance.

Regards,
Jo


----------



## Kaffee

Thanks for your past and future help Mark (edit - and you can now ignore this as my super fast and efficient CO has answered that I can apply for a new ETA and that she will email me if I need to get out of Australia for a decision)

My PMV application is sitting in the queue and I have just returned from visiting my partner in Melbourne. I would like to come over again in July but my ETA runs out at the beginning of June. Can I simply submit another online ETA application now or should I be applying for a different kind of visitor visa? I have emailed my CO but am not sure how long it will take her to reply and I really want to get flights booked.


----------



## rayner

*Step-Chil Query*

Dear Mark,

Please help me with the below query.

I am filling up the application for 189. My wife has a son from here previous marriage. But we do not intend to take him with us for the time being as neither of us has the legal custodian ship of the child.

What needs to be done in the application , now so that he can join us after he turns major. I would prefer not to pay for his visa charges now.

Can i include him in the non migrating family member?

Please advice

Kind Regards


----------



## kumar71279

*887 visa*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
I applied for 887 visa four months ago.I still haven"t assigned any case officer. Some of my friends got there approval in just four weeks. do you have any idea about this variation in processing times?
thanks in advance
Kumar


----------



## mazumder

Hi Mark

I am going to apply for citizenship on 1st week of may-2016.currently im on 186-ens since 7/5/2015 I am still confused about few things. let me describe my situation in short.

I am working in same employer from last 5 years from where ive got my sponsorship.my pr granted on 07/05/2015. my with got pr at the same time ( she was offshore applicant, ive applied for both of us at the same time ).

im living Australia from 04/2008. Ive been visited overseas for 290 days in total in last 8 years period including 43 days since I have got my pr (last year)

------------------------
My queries are 
1. Should I need to get police clearance certificate from both Australia and Bangladesh? I still have the one ive collected for pr application on 03/2014 from both countries .would that work?

2. If I apply online from my immiaccount ,I still need to printed scanned copy of form 1195 -identity declaration ? if yes what is the easiest way to get singed on photo and on the form, as I don't know personally any of the mentioned professionals .

3. When my wife will be eligible to apply for citizenship ( she first arrived here on 14/5/2015 after granting her pr)

4. I have my current passport, old passport , birth certificate , driving licence , gas bill, national id ready, anything else I need to apply for citizenship?

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone from the same situation requesting to reply
----------------------------------------------------------------


Thanks a lot
mohammed


----------



## pinkpony

Hi Mark,

Would really appreciate some help with the infamous Form 80!

For Question 35 (Have you been to Australia before?), am I supposed to list down every single visa I've ever had (i.e. more than 5 visitor visas and about 3 student visas) or every trip that I've made to Australia?
And is this just for the past 10 years or for my whole life?

Also, I've noticed that the question does not specify to list all previous visas/trips (unlike the previous version of the form).
Would it be ok if I list my visas as the final trip I've made on each visitor visa and the final trip on each student visa? Or even, the final trip on my last visitor visa and the final trip on my last student visa?
**Just being hopeful here, haha!

Thank you for your help in advance! xx


----------



## jimmyc

Hi Mark,

I have a few questions I need your help with on 47sp form.

For question 58 - my partner and I have never really lived together in the past 3 years of our relationship. She's a cabin crew and flies to Sydney on average once a month. However, she has taken several annual leave to come to Sydney and stayed with me during her leave. What should I put on here?

For question 74 - my partner is from Thailand but has been living in UAE for the past 9 years. She's listing Thailand and UAE as the 2 countries. However, UAE is her current country of residence at the moment. What date should she put in under "to" as she's still living there?

Many thanks,

James.


----------



## uqraza2

Need advise from Seniors and all other members,

Currently, I am doing my PhD from one of good Australian university ( currently on 574 visa with my wife).

i believe that, we have two pathways to apply for 189 visa.

First Pathway if i am main applicant
------------------
Education
BS in electronics engineering (SOL)
Master in Electrical and Electronics Engineering 
PhD in Electrical Engineering (Currently enrolled).
Experience

1.9 years Lab Engineer at a university
1 year Lecturer at University 

Problem is that, EA doesn't consider university teaching and paid Phd duration as engineering work experience!
So points will be like this if i am the main applicant age 30, education 15, IELTS 10, (i am not how i can get 5 point as my wife have qualification as given below?)

Second Pathway if my wife is main applicant
------------------

My wife did her PhD in chemistry.

Education:

BS hons in Chemistry (Comes under cSOL)
MS lead to PhD in Chemistry

Work Experience.
(Jan. 2011 to Feb 2016) Research assistant on part time basis (20 hours per week)

So points will be like this if am the main applicant 
age 30
education 20,
IELTS 10 (if she work hard and it woks then)

But chemistry does't come under SOL.

I am looking for advise to seek the right pathway to choose the Australian PR on 189 or 190.


----------



## jimmyc

Hi Mark,

I have a few questions on form 80.

For part H question 23 - my partner currently has no plans to travel to Australia this year. However, due to the nature of work she may get to come to Australia as she's a cabin crew. Every last week of each month she gets to find out the destinations she'll be flying to for the month coming. What should go in question 23 as she doesn't really know the dates or if she'll get to come to Australia?

For part J question 36 - my partner has been in Australia many times with work, as well as leisure. Does she need to list the times she's been in Australia with work or just list the personal visits?

Many thanks,

James.


----------



## jimmyc

Hi Mark,

Me again, this time with a very difficult question. To give you a brief history, about 9 years ago I applied for a skilled - Australian sponsored NZ citizen visa subclass 862 (now subclass 176). With my application, I also applied for a partner visa (de facto relationship) for my partner at the time. We used a migration agent and my partner was dealing taking care of the whole thing.

Skip forward to today and I'm now married and am looking to lodge a partner visa subclass 309/100. Looking at form 40SP I've put down my ex-partner's name as I've previously sponsored her.

Today, I've just found out that the visa that she was granted with was the same subclass as mine which was subclass 862. My question is why was she not granted with a different subclass for partner visa? Does this mean that she got the skilled migration visa on her own, and that I didn't really sponsor her?

Please advise.

Thanks,
James.


----------



## Alisha282

*Hi Mark!!*

Hi mark!!

Its great to get info !

We received our PR (189) and we are looking at relocating this year to Melbourne.
My husband is an Exe Sous Chef and has 12 yrs exp (we are currently in the UAE). Unfortunately he has not been very lucky with securing a job being here in UAE. That being said he is planning to move to Melbourne in July. My son and myself will follow later.

I just need to opinions if this is the right thing to do? what is the demand for Chefs? and ofcourse how soon will he be able to get a job.

Looking forward to your response!!!


----------



## Peepslewry

Hi Mark
Would really appreciate your feedback and experience in regards a possible appeal process.

Just a little background info.
Applied off shore for my de facto partner visa May 5th 2015. Received an email requesting medical/police clearance November 28th 2015 28 days to respond.
Applied for medical and RCMP check December 4th.
Emailed CO December 18th regarding our application stating everything had been applied for. Called 21st December by CO discussed the application and she told me once the police clearance was received she would be making her decision. I emailed again January 26th stating we were still waiting for the police clearance with no response.
Received email April 8th stating the following:
"Please provide an updated on the outstanding Canada RCMP check based on fingerprints.
This document was due on 25 January 2016 and to date we have not receive it.
Please note that this email does not give you an extension of time to submit the outstanding documentation, and that a decision may be made on your visa application at any time after 15 April 2016."
I emailed and spoke to CO April 8th and she stated no extension will be given.
As of today April 14th we still have not received the police check and have been in contact with them numerous times and all we get is its in process. I'm pretty sure we will now be refused due to this.
My questions are:
Should they have notified us of the due date (as they never did)
Should the appeal be straight forward as we will only be denied due to the police clearance?
How long does the appeal process usually take?
Would we possibly be approved for a visitor visa while we waited for appeal?
Thank you in advance


----------



## Cnqanh

Hi Mark

I submitted visa 189 but have not uploaded any document yet.
When submitting this visa, my status is married, but due to some unhappy events happened, I am filing my divorce with my husband. I am the main applicant and want remove him as 2nd applicant from the visa. 

Can you please help to advise me on following situations:

1. If I use the form 1022 to inform the change in my status, what documents do I need to provide to attach with the form? Does 2nd applicant have to sign the form or the main applicant's signature is enough? After submitting this form, are health examination and police check for 2nd applicant still required?
2. If we remain married, wait till the visa is granted, and file the divorce 1 or 2 years after granted visa, will my visa be affected?


----------



## Moa05

*Hi Mark*

Mark, I've got a few questions for you regarding my application for partner visa second stage.

My lodgement date was the 14/5 2014. That means I can apply for the permanent residence in a month time.

So my first question is, can I get all the documents ready and signed before this date and send them in on the day or do the documents have to be signed after this date?

We have moved from our old address but still get all our mail sent to the old address. Should I let immigration know? I'm thinking of getting a statutory declaration from the lady we rent of saying we live together and pay rent together.

I'm also wondering about the police check. Is it the name only or the ASIO secutity Assessment?

Thank you Mark for helping us all out in this stressful time!!


----------



## Melbourne2211

Hey Mark...
NEED SOME URGENT HELP..... PLZ

My partner is a Thai citizen im Australian citizen we have been together since early 2012 and been living together ever since we have a 2.5 year old daughter born in Thailand and she has citizenship by decent aussie passport etc... my partner (defacto) has been to Oz 7/8 times on tourists visas, and we decided in august last year to move back here going back and forth for her visas.

We applied for her partner visa in Feb 2016 and she was 4.5 months pregnant i have the acknowledgement of valid application for the offshore 309/100 and also asked that the 2 year period be waved as we can more than prove our relationship (FAMILY Together) we also applied for a tourist visa for the time being while we are waiting for the granting of the 309/100... she got a subclass 600 - 6 months 1 entry.

We are now in Australia and she is 34 weeks pregnant and Medicare have been driving me insane, 1st off told over the phone all we need to do is take the 309/100 acknowledgement into an office along with her passport, my ID and our daughters passport etc and we would be granted Medicare....

So we arrive at Medicare with all information and were told no cant get Medicare until the 309 has been approved, so i got back home and called the call centre with this Medicare agent saying the same thing... i have called my local MP and tried to get in contact with the health minister with no luck and no call back from our MP either...

We are looking at $13,500 that has to be paid in 2 weeks if we don't get approved for a Medicare card...

im trying to keep my partner in the dark a bit as i don't want to stress her out and have to worry about this... 

If there is anyone out there that can give me some next moves it would be much appreciated...


----------



## skl

Melbourne2211 said:


> Hey Mark...
> NEED SOME URGENT HELP..... PLZ
> 
> My partner is a Thai citizen im Australian citizen we have been together since early 2012 and been living together ever since we have a 2.5 year old daughter born in Thailand and she has citizenship by decent aussie passport etc... my partner (defacto) has been to Oz 7/8 times on tourists visas, and we decided in august last year to move back here going back and forth for her visas.
> 
> We applied for her partner visa in Feb 2016 and she was 4.5 months pregnant i have the acknowledgement of valid application for the offshore 309/100 and also asked that the 2 year period be waved as we can more than prove our relationship (FAMILY Together) we also applied for a tourist visa for the time being while we are waiting for the granting of the 309/100... she got a subclass 600 - 6 months 1 entry.
> 
> We are now in Australia and she is 34 weeks pregnant and Medicare have been driving me insane, 1st off told over the phone all we need to do is take the 309/100 acknowledgement into an office along with her passport, my ID and our daughters passport etc and we would be granted Medicare....
> 
> So we arrive at Medicare with all information and were told no cant get Medicare until the 309 has been approved, so i got back home and called the call centre with this Medicare agent saying the same thing... i have called my local MP and tried to get in contact with the health minister with no luck and no call back from our MP either...
> 
> We are looking at $13,500 that has to be paid in 2 weeks if we don't get approved for a Medicare card...
> 
> im trying to keep my partner in the dark a bit as i don't want to stress her out and have to worry about this...
> 
> If there is anyone out there that can give me some next moves it would be much appreciated...


Hi Melbourne. I am so sorry to hear your story. Hope everything will sort it out. All the best. I just wanted to say that Mark has not been in this thread a while. Your case seems urgent. Maybe you should try to contact him in person. You can find his contact information here http://marknortham.com/

** Edit - Mark's back after a couple of weeks of heavy workload - thanks for the assistance, Skl! **


----------



## Piyushp22

*Need Suggestions*

Dear Mark, and Friends,

I am aspirant of Australian PR under 189/190 category. I am telecom professional with BE in Electronics and Electrical Communication. Did Telecom element testing, E2E testing, Integration, Live Roll outs and vendor selection with many other activities around these areas. After extensive research I have now decided to go ahead with Engineers Australia under 2633 SOL. I have got total experience of 12 years. ACS is also fit for me but some how I feel EA is better! *Any help and suggestions on this would be very helpful *

Secondly, I am targeting for 189 but seems both 189 and 190 are good options depending upon the situation. CAP for 2633 is not filling up quickly and it's also expert field. I am looking for local agents who can help me with complete e2e PR process but not sure if agents are really required for this. Is it possible/easy for and indivudual to do all the process on it's own, e.g. collecting lot of papers from work history.. getting them verified.. collecting all salary slips and bank docu. I have not found any one place where the complete process is written in detail with docs required at every stage and fee. *Can someone help me with that?*

Thirdly, Could any suggest that if this is the right time to start PR process as CAP for 2015 would be close anytime now.* When will the new year batch open again?*

Looking forward to expert views.
Thank you so much
Regards


----------



## Butterfly2014

Hi all I please need your help. I received an enquiry from immigration today to supply a police certificate from my home country which should list my old family name from a former marriage on it. I changed my name back to my maiden name long before I even came to Australia. I called the authorities back in my home country and they confirmed, that this is not possible and that a police check can only be issued under my current name and would always show the record of me including former names. It is not possible to state these former names on the police check though. Name changes are automatically forwarded to the federal central criminal register so any offences would still be listed on my current police check - no matter what my name is today. 

Anybody with similar issues? 

My application would be ready for decision, immigration just wants this policy check with my former name on it which I am unable to provide. 

Thanks for any help and advise!!!!


----------



## mdshahbaz

Hi Mark,

My employer has given me soft copy of employee reference letter which is digitally signed and valid. Does ACS accept soft copy which is digitally signed.
Thanks in advance for advice.


----------



## explorer_2016

Hi Mark,

My question is regarding "Usual country of residence":

I am a citizen of India with passport from India. I am currently staying in South Africa on a work VISA from last 7 months. 

Q1: What is my usual country of Residence, for the purpose of EOI?

Q2: If I select South Africa, as a "Usual Country of Residence", then would I be asked for a PCC from South Africa? Because even though I have not been here for more than 1 year, but it is my current usual country of residence? Asking this question, so that I can start preparing the documents, to save time in future.

Q3: How long does it takes to get a 189 VISA, once application is submitted?


----------



## amernajjar

*Visa 189*

Hi Mark,

I just got invited to submit my 189 VISA and i have few questions before i shoot it    .. 
1- as mentioned at the borders webiste , All supporting documents must be scanned and uploaded with your application. All documents that you provide must be certified copies of original documents .. 
**my question is .. do i have to certify every copy of every document i wanna submit from the australian embassy in my country ??

2- there is a question about a health examination ... what kind of examination is that ?? and do i have to do it before i submit my visa application ? and should there be an approved clinic in my country ?

3- Have any of the applicants lived in a country other than the primary applicant's usual country of residence?
** my questions are :
3a) do i have to list every country that i lived in for more than a certain period or what ?
3b) do i have to list my home country ? because my current country of residence is not my home country .. for example .. i am jordanian and im currently living in Kuwait since 2013 .. and i have listed my usual country of residence "Kuwait" , do i have to list jordan in this question ???
3c) what is the reason of this question ? do i have to bring them a criminal record from every country i lived in or something ?


Thanks so much in advance    .. i would highly appreciate everyone also to share their experience .. and good luck all


----------



## rocky84

*Mrt remit file still waiting for visa*

Hi, Mark

I am wondering if you can advise me please

My partner visa refused in April 2015, as my substantive visa was ceased few hours before i submitted the my application (as the DIBP website was under maintance).Applied for MRT Review provide compelling reason, Schedule 3 Criteria waived off, MRT Remit my file to DIBP.

Within 3-4 weeks I received email from DIBP to provide additional information, Medical,Police clearance from both countries, which i already provided, everything is submitted to DIBP, After 2 weeks we called Case officer told us they are processing my case & don't send any more document only if you change the address or our relationship is finished inform us.

My partner & i very stressed and she had already depression & anxiety condition we don't know what to do, i am still unable to work (Bridging visa E) & can't work , Is there also chances that DIBP can Refuse my visa Application again ?Can i appeal again in AAT?

What are the my options please as DIBP make my & my partner life hell we can't sleep thinking all the time what would happened as they even didn't give me temporary visa while i was eligible for permanent visa after i applied (3 years relationship) We will be very greatful to you if you can advise us please. many thanks

Rocky


----------



## Vivien

Hi Mark,
I have a few questions about my best visa options. I will explain first my background.
I'm french, I have worked as an architect back in France for 3 years. (Master degree of architecture). Last may, I arrived in Australia with a working holiday visa. Since then I mostly traveled and worked in unskilled jobs (farm hand and labourer in construction). My plan was to keep on travelling in other countries, but it somehow changed since I met an australian girl a bit more than one month ago. I will leave the country in may, just before the end of my working holiday visa. Still, I want to come back soon and settle down here, finding a job fitting more to my skills (in architecture).
Here are my first ideas:
1/ Apply for a second year visa and then looking for a sponsorship in an architect agency. The main problem is that even if I worked more than 88 days in farms, I can't prove it as some jobs were cash in hand. If immigration refuses my visa, I'm scared that it compromise my chances to get another kind of visa
2/ Apply for a skilled visa directly, but if I understood well, it can take time, and I really want to come back soon. In that case, can I come back with, for example, one tourist visa while waiting?
3/ Apply for a student visa and getting a dilpoma equivalence in architecture in Asutralia. Then, I would be able to apply for a partner visa. This last option would be more expensive so I would pick it only if there is no other viable solutions.


----------



## EtchedCards

Hi Mark,
I recently completed my 3.5 years studies in Australia and i received a bachelor in business. I also applied my first visa after 2011 November 5 making me eligible for 485 post study work stream visa.

But now i encountered big problem
I completed my advanced diploma in business management on 572 visa in first 2 years.
Then i continued my studies in higher education for bachelor degree on 573 visa. The advanced diploma in business gave me exemptions for 1.5 years out of required 3 years. Hence i only completed 1.5 years in higher education altough the whole degree from start to finish was in AU.

One agent to who i talked on the phone told me that i am still eligible for that visa but after I went today to a different agent i was informed that i had to complete whole degree in higher education sector and exemptions doesnt count if they are from VET studies.

Is it true? Am i not eligible for the 485 visa?

I also found this line in immigration website:
Credits and exemptions
Credits for prior learning may reduce the amount of study undertaken. Credit granted on the basis of study undertaken in Australia in a course registered with CRICOS may contribute towards meeting the Australian study requirement, but only once.

All this makes me very confused. 
Thank you


----------



## darklord09

*Nsw 190*

Hello Mark,
I have been assessed as Engineering Technologist 233914 by EA.
I submitted separate EOI for 189 and 190 on 23rd March. I received an invitation from NSW on 7th April where I had to pay 300 AUD.
When should I expect an visa application invitation though it says it will take maximum 12 weeks for processing?
I have IELTS score of 7 in all the bands. I have also carried out Relevant Skilled Employment Assessment by EA and rewarded 5 years of work experience.My total point is 60 without the state nomination.

Regards,


----------



## pallavidhar

Hi Mark,

I am from India and currently applying for PR under the skilled visa (189) sub class. I am stuck at the the ACS stage. Would be really grateful if you could help me with the following doubts :- 

1) I cannot get reference letters from my previous companies. So I am getting statutory declarations for my past and present jobs. I am putting it in a good format, but how do I get it signed by all my previous managers .Two of them are not even in India right now. 

2) My code is 'system admin' and I have mentioned the roles as per my experience. Is it a sample of what duties fall under that code ? How can I ensure a positive ACS under that code?

3) Can I repeat the duties for two of my last jobs as the job profile was the same. Or do I need to put separate roles and responsibilities for all my employment letters?

Thanks in advance,
Pallavi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi eCurb21 -

I'm back on the forum, my apologies to all for the delay - sometimes my work gets to the point that I'm unable to spend time on the forum, but now catching up.

Re: your question, any factor that could indicate a stronger (or weaker) tie to your home country of citizenship could be factored into the genuine visitor policy criteria for an Australian visitor visa, and normally the question is asked about where you are now (what country) and what your immigration status is in that country (ie, citizen, perm resident, temp resident, etc), so the answer is Yes, however your status in your country would only be one of many factors DIBP would consider in their overall assessment of whether you had sufficient ties to your home country that would compel you to return there after your time in Australia was done and that you would not represent an overstay risk re: Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ecurb21 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Sorry I realise I wasn't being very clear. So in the Netherlands you register your residency when you are living in a provence of that country. Literally translated it means 'signing in'. So when you are immigrating you essentially 'sign out'. Would this have any bearing on the visa application processes in Australia if entering on a tourist visa?
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> ecurb21


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shannon -

There are a great many rules for skilled visas, including rules for the skills assessor, state sponsorship authorities (if applicable for the type of skilled visa you're applying for) and DIBP (immigration dept). Happy to help you at a consultation to sort out all of these as they may apply to your profession - see website link below in my signature for more.

Generally speaking you must have a positive skills assessment and your language test complete and results in hand prior to lodging an EOI. You can add a partner on after the visa is lodged (or before), but not after the visa is granted - if you got married after the visa was granted, you could sponsor your partner for a partner visa (much higher visa application fee however). Medicals generally applied for just after you lodge. Police certificates can be lodged with you submit the application or afterwards.

Happy to assist in further detail at a consult -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shanx95 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My fiancé and I are getting married in *June 2017* and hoping to emigrate to Queensland shortly after but have a few queries about the application process/career changes we would like help with. I am a *Registered Nurse *and my fiancé is a *Production Planner.
> 
> * 1. When is best to lodge our expression of interest?
> 2. If we are granted a visa before we are married, or the process goes on after we are married, do we have to tell authorities/amend our visa application?
> 3. Do we apply for our Criminal Background check before or during applying for our visa?
> 4. Should I apply for AHPRA registration (nursing board) before or after our Visa is granted?
> 
> Thanks, Shannon


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ella -

Sure! I was away from the forum for the last couple of weeks due to work commitments but back now.

Best,

Mark Northam



Ella1979 said:


> Can I ask you a question mark?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Sorry for the delay in responding. For relationship statements for the applicant and sponsor for a 1st stage partner (or fiance) visa, these should not be on stat dec forms but can simply be typed into a Word doc (or other program), printed out, signed & dated.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



khart said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for your time on the phone yesterday. I forgot to ask you one question.. for my partner and my statutory declaration, we just wrote them on a word document and printed them out (since they were pretty lengthy at about 4 pages). When I went to a JP he said he will witness it for us but we should have written it on the commonwealth stat dec papers. I remember these being so tiny though and not having much room for us to write in. Do you recommend we re-write them on that paper? or should we be ok with what we have? (Applying for 820 visa)
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984ravigupta -

Thanks for the note. The obligation to the state with a 190 visa may be more than a moral obligation, especially if you form a contract or agreement with the state. Have I ever seen these prosecuted? Nope, but that doesn't mean it won't or can't happen. My position: why take the risk?

Best,

Mark N.



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well.
> 
> As of now I have +ve ACS and PTE. Currently my total points are 55. If I wait till December 2016 I will be getting additional 5 points as my experience will be increased and I can go for 189. Through some forums I came to know that 190 visa does not carry any restrictions in terms of where in Australia you can live (in fact, it doesn't carry any restrictions at all).It is up to you to decide if you are willing to shirk the moral obligation you have with the state that sponsored you. Also people have this opinion that it will not affect later for citizenship or a RRV because of not meeting two year residency requirement with a sponsoring state.
> 
> To what extent do you agree with this ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skl -

DIBP are required to consider all documents submitted until either a deadline they've previously given you has expired and/or they make a decision on the visa. If you run out of document capability for upload, you can always email them to DIBP at the email address on the correspondence you receive from them - that indicates the team and office that is processing your visa.

You might try Form 424A and lodge the request as a Freedom of Information request if you want to get copies of everything you have submitted so far.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



skl said:


> Dear Mark.
> 
> Thank you for your help. I applied 820/801 visa online in april 2015. I recently asked DIBP to give me the copy of the documents I have submitted. They sent me via email but only those I have submitted when I applied. But I have been submitting new evidences all the time. does it means that DIBP will only consider the documents submitted on the date of application?max alloweble 60 documents i have submitted so far 59 documents.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prestyler -

Not sure how to help you here, would need to look at your documents in a consultation to determine more, however I'd ask NSW.

Best,

Mark Northam



prestyler said:


> Hello Mark:
> 
> I got invitation to apply for NSW 190 for my EOI, however, my category investment manager is not in the list. What should i do ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TanyaGL -

Normally Australian statutory declarations can only be witnessed by an authorised person, and that authorised person (such as an Australian JP, etc) only has the power to do so while on Australian soil, perhaps at an Embassy if overseas. I'd confirm with whoever is requesting this whether they require a stat dec (use Commonwealth statutory declaration form) and where they suggest you have it witnessed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TanyaGL said:


> Dear Mark, hello! Let me ask you a question as well.
> I need to write a Statutory Declaration as being self-employed. Should I use Australian Form which dates to 1959? I found this template. The application will be done from Turkey. And can a local solicitor sign it?
> Commonwealth of Australia
> STATUTORY DECLARATION
> Statutory Declarations Act 1959
> 
> Thank you so much!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Santhrupth -

Re: skills assessment, check the skills assessor's site for time estimates - they are all different. That being said, we just got 2 ACS reports back within 2 weeks.

Time to receive invitation very unpredictable, as depends on how many ahead of you in the queue, your score, etc. No way to predict accurately.

Visitor visa application possible after you apply, but genuine visitor policy criteria still applies - you can google that term for more info.

Re: working while on visitor visa, checking email, etc is generally considered OK, but doing your normal day-to-day work is not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



santhrupth.urs said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My name is Santhrupth and I am applying for PR from India(subclass 189)-ICT Business Analyst. My wife is currently on a 457 in Sydney, hence I am trying to move to Australia as soon as possible.
> 
> I have collected all the required documents for my skill assessment and will be filling in the on-line application form in the coming days followed by the EOI.
> 
> Below are a few queries i want some clarity on
> 
> 1. How much time will the Skill assessment take ?
> 2. After I receive the letter from ACS, and submit my EOI, what is the turn around time to receive the Invitation to applying for the visa.
> 3. Can I travel on a tourist visa while my PR is in process and once approved switch over to the PR Visa?
> 3. Can i work from home in Australia(Sydney) for the company i am currently working for in India ? - Once my PR is approved, i will come back and quit my current job and move permanently to Australia.
> 
> I would appreciate if you could clarify my queries stated above, it would prove to be really helpful to join my wife in Australia as soon as possible.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paolo -

Personal investing, as long as you are not doing what would be considered employment type work for yourself or another firm, is generally fine while holding 457.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Paolo89 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My boss offer me sponsor VISA 457, but I know this VISA have lot of limitation and tight rules.
> 
> For me is not problem, but for hobby, I do with my banking account some investment in australian share , I bought only 8.000$ .
> 
> Investment like that is problem for sponsor VISA?
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Paolo.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liv -

For online applications, colour scans of originals OR scans of certified copies is fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LivNaomi said:


> Hi Mark -
> 
> I'm a bit worried as it's coming up to the time where I should be receiving a CO soon - I got an email the other day to tell me that I should have my visa granted by June 31st as long as everything is sent through. I'm just worried about the documents I've sent, as I don't think I got everything certified. I got the Stat Decs done, but haven't done things like passport/photos/birth certificates/police checks etc because I didn't realise I had to! Is this something I am going to have to provide and re-upload? I feel like my application is a bit of a mess and I'm getting a little over-whelmed!! I've been reading other people's posts and it seems like people had almost everything certified by a JP or some sort, which I haven't done!
> 
> Any advice would be hugely welcome!
> 
> Thanks,
> Liv


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tinkerbell1 -

Generally not a problem - lots of people only declare work on EOI if they are claiming it for points. Main thing is to be very accurate and complete on the visa application, and if you are not claiming work for points, include it but mark it where indicated as NOT relevant for your nominated occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tinkerbell1 said:


> Hi Mark, could you please help me out with an ambiguity i am having while filing out my 190 visa application for,. i submitted EOI as Accountant for NSW nomination, got ITA from NSW, applied there and got my application approved by NSW, then i got the email from skill select to lodge visa, when i am filling the visa form now it got me confused at step 13 where it asks "does the applicant had employment in past 10 years please share something like that.. now my query/problem/dilemma is that in my EOI i showed ZERO employment history because i was not claiming any points for it,, if i show employment history now in my visa application would DIBP object on it that how come i am showing around 3.5years employment history now whilst i did not show anything in my EOI.. please guide me i have been asking around on different forums but haven't got a clear answer on this, my visa application is stuck due to this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi QuangVinh -

The 2 yrs living and 1 yr working are time of application requirements, so you must meet these as of the date you apply for the 887, however do note that if you were living in a qualifying area while you held a bridging visa A or B waiting for your 489 to be approved, that time may count also - you'll need to check the regulations to see how rules on this fit your circumstances or happy to assist at a consult.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



QuangVinh said:


> Hi Mark ,
> Is there any way to lodge visa 887 earlier after we have a full-time year working experience but not having enough 2 year living in regional area ?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Riz -

Thanks for the note. Would need to review your circumstances in detail in order to give you specific advice on this, as it's a very technical issue re: definitions of each of the terms in the question, and the results can be a huge problem if DIBP decides you withheld info on the application. Happy to work with you in a consultation (see website below) to determine specific advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



riz-haq said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I need to seek clarification regarding one of the questions in the Character section of the immigration application form:
> 
> "Have you ever been removed, deported or excluded from any country?"
> 
> In-fact this question is repeated in the Deportations section and adds the word "asked to leave" also apart from "removed, deported or excluded".
> 
> My question is whether *"Voluntary Departure"* lies in the category of "being deported, excluded, removed or asked to leave" or not?
> 
> I ask this as back in 2003, I took voluntary departure from USA (my employer was charged of unlawfully issuing some work visas, however there were no charges on me and my police report (FBI report) also came out clear when I requested for it couple of years later.
> Do I answer a YES or a NO to this question of deportation when, in-fact, this departure was a voluntary one?
> 
> Would highly appreciate your support on this.Thanks.
> RIZ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Romero2005 -

No way to predict whether case officer will accept the company's word for this, however generally DIBP requires evidence of payment (not just a voice on the phone) such as payslips, tax docs, bank statement, or some other official document evidencing payment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



romero2005 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> First here are my work exp.....
> 
> job 1. Junior system admin - 11 February 2013 - End on may 2013
> 
> job 2. Process Improvement executive (Related to system admin) - 10th June - Present.
> 
> My ACS is 263111. Now I hope to add my 3 years work exp to EOI and get 5 points. I have all the documents relating to my second job. But I dont have paysheets for my second job as I was there as contract basis and received cash to hand. Is that going to be a problem? Still the company can give all the necessary information if DIAC called.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prestyler -

Would have to see you at a consult, too many details and specifics to give advice here plus would need to see all your documents.

Best,

Mark Northam



prestyler said:


> Hello Mark:
> I received invitation for NSW 190, however, my category is in the stream 2.
> 
> I am about to submit my application. I have all the supporting documents regarding the points.
> 
> Since, my occupation is in the stream 2. I am thinking to include my other experiance and certifications in the resume which compliment my occupation.
> 
> Also, i am also thinking to upload those certificates as supporting documents to NSW and include an INDEX file explaining the documents.
> 
> Please advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ShermD -

Normally that form is not required as long as you include your email address in the 189 online application where it asks whether you will allow DIBP to communicate with you via email about the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ShermD said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> For 189 skilled migration visa, the following link provides information of a form (Form 1193 Communicating by e-mail with the department) to allow the DIBP to communicate with me via email. Suppose I need to be contacted via email by DIBP (When they require more documents etc). So, as the 189 visa will be submitted online by me, do I also has to fill this form and sign it and send it via the ordinary post to DIBP? Or I don't need to submit this form?
> 
> Link: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Info
> 
> Regards!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Difficult to advise without more details, however normally would break it up into 5 different work experience listings, by country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



raman2007sandhu said:


> Hi, I had worked in 5 countries(June 2012 to Aug 2014) for the same employer for 2.2 years. I have + EA assessment with relevant all period of employment. Now, I am confuse, how to mention work experience in EOI. Should i split in 5 for each country.?? If i must mention in single then which country should i mention...........Now(In 2016) i am working in India


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swadhwa -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



swadhwa said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I wanted some clarity on the qualification requirements (AQF). If I want to apply for 611211- Insurance Agent (Skill Level 3) where either of the three requirements should meet- NZ Register Level 4 qualification; - AQF Certificate IV or
> ; - AQF Certificate III including at least two years of on-the-job training.
> However I have a Bachelors in Commerce degree from a Univ (Delhi- India) would it suffice from educational qualification purposes. Or would you suggest I apply when my 3 years of work experience in Insurance field is complete.
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adityaagnihotri -

Normally not a problem as long as the letterhead is the actual official letterhead of the company and the letter/letterhead contains sufficient contact info so that DIBP can contact the company and/or writer of the letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



adityaagnihotri said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding the employee reference letter as it is mentioned on the DIBP web site that the companies letter head should contain the the full address of the company and any telephone, fax numbers, e-mail and website addresses.
> 
> I have worked in a small company from 2009 to 2013 and they are ready to provide the reference letter too, but the company doesn't have a web site & fax number as on date,
> so what should I do should I get the reference letter with out the web address & fax no of the company on the letter head or will it be a issue for DIBP at a latter date ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skl -

Thanks for the note. There is no required period to wait after registering your relationship, in fact the registered relationship cert can be provided after lodgment (but before decision). When to apply generally is based on when you have accumulated sufficient relationship evidence as well as other factors.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



skl said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> How long should we wait after registering relationship in order to apply for partner visa? We registred in february 2015 and applied april 2015


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CG -

Great question. Per Reg 1.20KA, if your mum was granted a subclass 143 or 864 contributory parent visa in 2014, she must wait 5 years from the date of grant of that visa in order to sponsor a person (your dad) who was your mum's partner on or before the date she was granted the 143 or 864, so even though they were divorced prior to this date, the fact that they had been married previously will trigger the 5 year waiting period. I assume this was done to remove the option of a couple divorcing to avoid paying the contrib parent visa fees for both parties.

There is a compelling & compassionate based waiver for this however, but would need to work with you in a consult and learn more about the circumstances involved in order to give you any specific advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CG304 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My parents did not reach a common ground in regards to joining me in Australia. They divorced in 2011 and my mum migrated to Australia under Contributory Parent Visa in 2012 (sponsored by me) and granted PR in 2014.
> 
> My dad originally strongly opposed the idea to migrate to Australia few years ago hence the divorce with my mum back then. However he came to my wedding in Melbourne and another subsequent visit and began to like Australia and is very acceptable in living here. My parents also got along quite well after my dad's gone through these changes and they re-married each other in 2015.
> 
> My questions are:
> - Can my dad apply for the Partner visa with my mum being the sponsor? I understand the visa MAY have restriction on sponsorship if the sponsor was granted via the Contributory Parent Visa route. However my parents had divorced before she applied for the visa.
> 
> - Can my dad apply for the partner 100 type PR straight away if he's to apply in 2016? If he can demonstrate a strong / tangible relationship since 2014?
> 
> Many thanks
> CG


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi EmsK -

Thanks for the note. There is no particular bar to a married person applying for a working holiday visa, however part of the assessment criteria must be that DIBP believes the PRIMARY purpose of the trip is a holiday and perhaps to do some work incidental to the holiday. If the primary purpose seen by DIBP is to build up residency time with an Australian partner, that could be a reason for refusing a WHV visa. May be worth a try, but there's a considerable risk of refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



EmsK said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I admire your kindness on having the heart to help others in this kind of way!
> I'm an Aussie married to a Japanese, currently living in Japan. My partner and I are wanting to explore the possibility of living in Australia, and I wondered whether he can apply for WHV to see how life in Australia goes for him...
> My questions are;
> 1 Can he apply for WHV whilst married to an Australian citizen (he is under 30 and we don't have children)
> 2 If he can apply for WHV, would applying for partner visa in the future be a problem?
> 
> Thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge!
> 
> Ems


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Teven -

Thanks for the note. Depends on how the case officer assesses the visitor visa application. With established history of 457 work here plus an Australian de facto partner, it may be difficult to get past the genuine visitor policy criteria. You could always try it, then if the visitor visa is refused, lodge an offshore partner visa assuming you meet all the criteria for that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



teven said:


> Hi there i am an australia citizen my whole life, and I've been with my girlfriend from the UK for over two years now, and living together for just over a year. We also had our defacto relationship registered with the government in Sydney about a year ago.
> 
> Originally we were going to do defacto visa but then she got sponsored 457. Now we are thinking we will quit our jobs here in Australia, ie she will lose her 457, and are going to travel for 6 months to a year overseas perhaps.
> 
> My question is, when we finally come back, is she able to come here on a tourist visa, and we can still use our evidence of living together from 2015-2016, relationship certificate, utility bills etc for applying for a defacto visa when we come back? or would be have to apply for defacto while overseas?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abbie_190 -

All of your questions ask me to predict how fast DIBP and/or the case officer will process your visa, and there's no way to predict that. DIBP has absolutely no time limits on what they do, and they are highly unpredictable. Yes, they have security checks for all PR applicants, so you're not exempt from that. Beyond that, no way to predict timeframes or expected times for the various phases, sorry.

Best,

Mark Northam



Abbie_190 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> 1) I have lodged my (190 visa) on 1st Feb 2016 and Case officer contacted me on 9th March asking for 3 additional documents -
> 1)	Personal particulars for character assessment (form 80)
> 2)	Police clearance certificates.
> 3)	Immigration Health Examinations.
> and requested to submit this within next 28 days.
> 
> As requested I did my medicals (current IMMI account status- "Health clearance provided - no action required" and uploaded all the requested documents on 23rd March 2016.
> Now the deadline the Case Officer gave me to provide (the Form 80, All PCC and Medical examination) is 28 days starting from 09/03/2016. Therefore 28 days ends on 05/04/2016. However now that everything has been uploaded (as requested) from my end, will the Case Officer again look to my case only after the end of 28 days i.e 05/04/2016?
> or
> Now since everything uploaded before 28 days, the Case Officer is free to proceed to make a decision on my application without waiting until the end of 28 days (as was mentioned to me). Kindly comment.
> 
> 2) The Case Officer in his letter to me stated- "I have begun considering your application for this visa and require additional information" as stated above. Can the Case officer request for any further documents after the submission of the requested documents? Or usually they ask for everything at one go after scrutinizing the case initially?
> 
> 3) I have also heard that applicants from countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka goes through rigorous external security checks. Since I am an Indian, do external security checks also applies in my case. If yes how much time extra does it takes for such process. Can you also throw some light on what this external security check actually comprises of?
> 
> 4) Also since I have uploaded all the requested documents on the 15th day of the deadline, will it actually delay my outcome as compared if I have uploaded the documents immediately within 1-2 days the request been made? Kindly suggest.
> I know the current time line for the process of 190 visa is 90 days, but there are a lot of cases where the time line has exceeded considerably (as per forum) Kindly suggest how much time usually it takes for a Case Officer to make a decision after all requested documents are sent and received ?
> 
> Thankfully yours,
> Abbie_190


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TrixDivergent -

Thanks for the note. If you have less than 2 years working for the sponsor in your occupation on a 457 visa, you'll have to use the Direct Entry pathway for ENS which requires skills assessment to be completed prior to lodging ENS application, IETLS 6 or better on all 4 bands (or equivalent in another approved test), and 3 years work experience in your occupation - can combine Australian & overseas experience. See DIBP website for complete requirements for the subclass 186 ENS visa Direct Entry pathway.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TrixDivergent said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> You helped me alot last year prior processing my 457. I am now happily live and work in Western Australia since October 2015. I got 4 years working contract on hand and my boss is offering me to start ENS process. I understand that he needs to apply a nominatation first before i can start my own. However, I have few questions if you kindly clear them for me.
> 
> 1. for CAFE/RESTAURANT MANAGER position, do i need to get my work assessment done to complete my 186 visa application?
> 2. what is the IELTS minimum band score for this?
> 
> Thanking you in advance.
> 
> Rgds,
> Trix


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AussieRN -

Thanks for the note. For IELTS tests, all results must be from the same sitting of the test, cannot mix & match/combined results from multiple sittings of the test.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AussieRN said:


> Hi Mark! Good day! Im just wondering if I can submit 2 english results for my PR application to get extra points. Let say on my first result i only got 6.5 in writing while the listening, reading and speaking are 7 and in my 2nd results, i got 7 in writing but the rest are below 7. Can i submit two IELTS results to obtain extra points? Thank you so much for your time! ��


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sherm -

Normally no requirement to address the police report to any particular person - the report is about you, sent to you, and you then upload to DIBP unless this involves a partner visa being processed in Manila (special rules). Police certificates are valid for 12 months from the date of issue per DIBP rules.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ShermD said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> The dibp asks to submit police report for 189 skilled independent visa, so, my question is, to whom should I address the police report? should the police report address to a specific designation? I mean, should the police report contain the designation of "Australian Visa Officer" etc and the address of the visa officer? If so, what is the address of the visa officer?
> 
> and how long is it valid for DIBP ?, I mean if I got the police report from my country today and if I submit it after say 3 months, will the DIBP say that it's too old and get a new one? how long is the validity period? I mean, the PTE or IELTS exams are valid for 3 yrs (undertaken in the three years immediately prior to lodging the visa application) .. so, how long the police report is valid for?
> 
> Regards.
> Sherm


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abubakr -

Thanks for the note. There is no requirement for the 887 visa that the work you did while holding the 489 visa must have been in your nominated occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abubakr said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to know if i have a 489 regional temporary regional visa and i shall stay and work 2 years in the same region to apply for the permanent visa , do i need to work in the same profession i have on my visa ??
> Or any kind of job will be sufficient ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shaun -

Thanks for the note. You must lodge all documents specified in the document checklist for the 887 visa even if you lodged them previously for the 489 or any other visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shaunviljoen said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Please advise...
> 
> When applying for the 887 visa, I need proof of working for a year and living for two years in a regional area which I have completed now.
> 
> Most of the documents required for the 887 visa have been submitted in our first application for our skilled regional sponsored visa 489.
> As 489 Visa holders are not the only ones able to apply for the 887 PR Visa, would it be unreasonable to assume that the document checklist is a general list to cover all other applications?
> 
> Do I really have to resubmit all the same documentation again or do I only submit the difference of proving my work and living as per my visa conditions?
> 
> I realise you are a busy man, so if you have time to spare some advice it would be much appreciated!
> 
> Kind regards
> Shaun
> 
> Ps. We currently still living regionally in WA.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bamborabi -

That's certainly a strange situation. Bottom line: Immi Account shows date submitted if you print off a copy of your application - if DIBP is claiming you lodged on a different date, may be worth clarifying with them (politely) via showing a copy of whatever from the ImmiAccount shows the actual date of lodgment. That being said, processing time for stage 2 partner visa applications has blown out from 4-6 months to now 12-16 months, and DIBP has no time limits on anything they do.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bamborabi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have had a strange experience with the Brisbane Subclass 100 processing centre ([email protected]). I had emailed them last weekasking them the status of my 100 Visa application. My offshore lodgement date was June 12th 2013. I submitted my application online throughImmi account on July 12th 2015. I uploaded another set of documents (mostly photos & bank documents ) in Nov and some further photos in first week of Jan. However, Brisbane Subclass 100 processing centre ([email protected]) say that its been only 4 months since I submitted my documents in Nov and insist the same. When Actually its been close to 9 months since I submitted. I even told them that my eligibility date/offshore lodgement date was in June 2013 but they said eligibility date is not a criteria. Quite concerned whether with what they are saying, can they be trusted ?
> I am worried if they have all my documents which I submitted now !! Anybody had similar experience after emailing [email protected] ?
> What do you suggest I do ? bit confused, every time I contact them I hear something different. Also, I am concerned why they keep saying that I have submitted my application in Nov when actually I submitted them online in July. I can see that all the documents I have submitted have been received by immigration as per immi account. Is this an issue ? Please advise.
> 
> Regards
> Bamborabi
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eeleneri -

Main difference is that onshore application provides for a bridging visa so you can spend all of your time in Australia between lodgment and decision for the partner visa (typically 12-18 months), with full work rights once the bridging visa you get with an onshore application activates. With offshore, you have to get visitor visas to come to Australia while the partner visa is processing, and no way to work on a visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



eeleneri said:


> I have a question on Partner Migration Visa (PMV) - What is the main difference between an offshore and onshore PMV application?
> 
> My scenario is this:
> 
> I'm intending to start life with my partner when my contract finishes the end of June this year in HK. We have evidence (social, financial, will etc.) to prove our ongoing relationship is genuine and all the collating and organising of evidence is well underway. However, I'm now not too sure which I should be applying for: the Provisional 309 visa or the temporary 820.
> 
> I've been travelling to Australia using the ETA subclass601 visa and originally intended to apply for the temporary 820 whilst onshore in Australia using the ETA as a substantive visa.
> 
> Any tips and advice is appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984ravigupta -

Thanks for the note. Would need to discuss your circumstances in detail at a consultation to determine more details about your circumstances and history to determine best visa option(s) going forward. The migration regulations in this area can be very complex, and I'd need to get more information in order to see exactly what your eligibility may be. Happy to assist at a consulting session - see website below for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> My details are as below :
> 
> SOFTWARE DEVELOPER-261312
> ACS +VE FEEDBACK ---05/Feb/2016 (ACS deducted 6 years as I am from non computers background)
> PTE SCORE-01/Aug/2015 (L:71 R:74 S:76 W:70)
> 
> As of now my overall score is 55 (Age:30 Education:15 PTE:10). I will be completing 9 years in December 2016 which will give me additional 5 points to reach 60 points suitable for SC189. I am confused what should I do now. Should I wait till December 2016 or should I look for state sponsorship SC190. Mostly I want to go to Sydney as most of the IT jobs are there so I can opt for state sponsorship of NSW. I have no problem in waiting till December either and apply for SC189 but looking at the timelines in this forum where few people are waiting from the last 5-6 months I suspect I may miss my PTE validity (valid till 1 Aug 2017).
> 
> Please suggest what should I do.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Simon.ghosh -

No way to predict, and DIBP puts no time limits on itself. Typically 189's take 4-6 months, but I've seen them come back in 2 months, and seen others take much longer if held up due to external security checks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



simon.ghosh said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have lodged my SC 189 application on 2nd of Feb'16 and uploaded all documents including PCC & medical by 21st Feb. On 2nd of Mar'16 I received an email from Adelaide GSM team stating IMMI Assessment has commenced but no other info requested, post that I have not received any update so far and the application status is also showing "Application Received". How long does it take for the CO to finalize a case?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Indeara21 -

As this subforum is for migration visa application advice, probably better to repost this in another area of the Australia Forum dealing with relocation and living arrangements in Australia.

Best,

Mark Northam



indeara21 said:


> I need a help to apply for a Student Visa for Australia. Actually, i am doing graduation in some reputed University in India & want to go Australia to complete my research on my topic but am not sure about the place to visit & reside as few parts are very expensive & out of my reach. I searched on internet & found microburbs site (microburbs(dot)com(dot)au) which have very unique & useful data but still need more information about it to plan better. Best preferable chances to apply for the same would be around May-June.... Hoping positive guidance on my issue.... Regards !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pete -

She'll be granted a bridging visa with an onshore 820/801 application, but the bridging visa will not activate until the student visa expires. She's still bound by the conditions on the student visa until it expires or is cancelled. If she stops attending school prior to the end of the course she was granted the visa for, her student visa may be subject to cancellation at the discretion of DIBP. You can also consider voluntary cancellation of the student visa after you lodge the partner visa, however this comes with a number of negative side effects you should review with a migration agent before you choose to undertake cancellation if you're considering that. Happy to assist in more detail at a consultation where we'd have the time to go through your circumstances in detail and I could then explain all the options available - see website in my signature below for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pete1111 said:


> Hi Mark,
> My partner is from Brazil and currently on student visa 572 which expires in Nov 2016. She just had 6 months maternity leave (we have a 5 month old son) and we intend to apply for a partner visa in the next month or so.
> 
> After we apply for the partner visa will she be granted a bridging visa that allows her stop study and leave and re-enter Australia?
> 
> She can no longer attend classes as she has to look after our son during the day as I work full time. We also have travel plans in August so want to ensure there will not be any issues re-entering Australia.
> 
> Thanks
> Pete


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Too many details/circumstances to assist here on the forum - happy to assist at a consultation where we can go through your circumstances in detail and I can then get you specific advice - see website in my signature below for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have the below queries while updating the EOI.
> Urgent reply will be highly appreciated.
> 
> 1) _Does the client have other current passports?_
> 
> If in the citizenship column I have stated that I am not citizen of any other country than
> what is the relevance of this question.
> 
> 2) _Are there any family members the client would like to include in a future application?_
> 
> I will be migrating with my wife only. But in the next question they ask for
> 
> "_Would the client be accompanied by the client's partner in a future application?_"
> So should I mark the family member query as YES ?? And number of family member should be "1" ??
> Please correct me if I am wrong.
> 
> 3) _Has the client undertaken an English language test within the last 36 months?_
> 
> English test say last 36 months but PTE result certificate has validity of two years only. How logical is this ??
> 
> 4) "_Has the client completed, or is currently enrolled in any studies at secondary level and above?_"
> 
> This question is confusuing. Even the help page is not expalining properly.
> Only the name of highest degree should be mentioned here and with selection "YES" correct ?
> 
> 5) _Has the client obtained credentialled community language qualifications?_
> What is this ??
> 
> 6) _Provide details of the client's employment history for the last 10 years._ ????
> 
> Do I need to enter only the relevant employment here that is after what ACS has deducted from my overall experience ?? If yes than should my employment start date should be the one from which my relevant experience starts, correct ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Would need to review your documents and details at a consult and work through the circumstances of your work experience in detail in order to give you specific advice for your application - see details on our website - link in my signature below.

Best,

Mark Northam



adityaagnihotri said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a doubt regarding the employee reference letter,
> I have worked from 08 Feb 2014 to 29 feb 2016 in a Group called Indiabulls (in its Real Estate vertical) and I appointment letter states Indiabulls Real Estate Limited.
> But due to one reason or other in the real estate vertical they have many small small private limited companies and I have been transferred from one to other due to internal restructuring only (have mails as transfer letters to prove that) therefore my total tenure was divided as follows,
> Lucina Land Development Limited - Feb 08th, 2014 to March 31st,2014
> Indiabulls Properties Private Limited - April 01st, 2014 to June 30th, 2014
> Athena Infrastructure Limited - July 01st, 2014 to February 29th, 2016
> and my payslips states Indiabulls group and the respective company name as mentioned above.
> 
> Now when I have approached the HR they said they will be able to provide only one reference letter and I have made the following format will that be fine or I should try to get three different reference letters.
> 
> To,
> Department of Immigration and Border Protection
> Australia
> 
> This is to certify that Mr. Aditya Agnihotri was an employee of the Indiabulls Group in the Real Estate Vertical. He was employed in the following sister companies of Indiabulls Real Estate vertical,
> 
> Lucina Land Development Limited February 08th, 2014 to March 31st,2014
> Indiabulls Properties Private Limited April 01st, 2014 to June 30th, 2014
> Athena Infrastructure Limited July 01st, 2014 to February 29th, 2016
> NOTE - Transferred from one to another company due to internal restructuring only.
> 
> Mr Aditya Agnihotri was a full time basis (XXX hours/week) and at the time of leaving the company he was designated as XXXX at XXXX Grade in the department of Planning and Design and was working from the office at Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
> At the time of leaving the company his salary per year was Rs XXXXX.00 and which included the allowances like, House Rent Allowance, Medical Benefits, Leave Travel Assistance and Transport Allowance in accordance with company rules.
> 
> The primary duties performed by him during his tenure are listed below,-----------
> 
> Kindly provide your views on the same.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Milligator -

Thanks for the note. Skilled visa applications involve too many details to do a quick assessment here, but happy to do so at a consult (see website link in my signature below) where we have the time to work through all your details. Generally for an ACS occupation, you cannot claim work experience for points unless it's approved by ACS as skilled or is an extension of the same job you worked at that was approved by ACS as skilled (ie, work at same job approved by ACS from the date you applied for ACS through to current date, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



milligator said:


> Dear mark
> I have been assessed in ACS for the network engineer as follows
> They accepted 5 years of my work experience from 2010 to 2015 which was full time.
> But rejected 6 years from 2002 to 2008 which was part time. It was assessed as not suitable.
> My bachelor which was granted 2007 (started from 2003) was assessed as associate degree which means 10 point
> My master which was granted in 2013 (started 2010) was assessed as graduate diploma
> I am 32 years old and my ielts is 6 in each skill.
> I am counting 55 points on paper and with 190 visa i can apply for migration.
> 
> Now the question is do they decrease my work experience in the next step?
> If so, how much do they decreas and why?
> 
> Thanks for your patience


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael1234 -

Thanks for the note. Yes, DIBP can look on Facebook if they want to, however I very much doubt they would have an issue if you used an alias on Facebook - not really relevant to the application.

On a more general note, people in the "Facebook" generation in many cases seem to have an unlimited need to post all of their private/personal details and photos on Facebook for others to see. While I don't understand the need to do this, my point is not to criticise this but to point out that DIBP and many others will mine this data for their own purposes. Bottom line: don't put anything on Facebook available publicly unless you want every government agency to see it, not to mention the swarms of hackers and identity theft, etc criminals that troll the net looking for their next victims.

Best,

Mark Northam



michael1234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I would like to ask whether when I apply for a visa (485 visa in my case), the case officer would look at my Facebook account.
> 
> The main issue is that Facebook changed their privacy settings so users cannot have their profiles completely hidden anymore. I don't like this from a privacy perspective (although I have nothing to hide from the government, I just don't like everyone finding me on the search and sending my friend requests and what not). There is also another issue; I have a pretty unique full name. If someone tags me in some picture on Facebook and posts it publicly, it then appears on Google search, which is annoying because I want professional things to appear when someone Googles my name.
> 
> To solve both these issue, I no longer want to use my real name on Facebook. Say my real name is "Michael Williams" and it is currently on Facebook, so I am considering changing it to something like "Ḿıčhǎềĺ". So just first name, but with some "ornaments" to keep it unique.
> 
> My worry, which may be completely unfounded, is that if they do check my Facebook (which they can find, because they have my e-mail) then it will look suspicious to them that I am not using my real, and full, name there.
> 
> I might just be paranoid, but do case officers make use of Facebook to get information about candidates? might they make judgments based on what I wrote?
> 
> Alternatively, I am also considering just deactivating my Facebook, because it mostly just wastes my time anyway.
> 
> Cheers,
> Michael


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mshar11 -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict chances of success, and DIBP puts no time limits on visa processing - we're routinely seeing student visa applications from high risk countries taking 3 to 4 months. Wish I could assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam



mshar11 said:


> Hello all
> My name is Mehran khan I am from Pakistan, I applied for my Australian student visa sub class 573 on 12th of Feb and received an interview call from Australian high commission Islamabad on 8th of March. It has been 26 days after the call but I have not heard anything from them yet, is it normal do they take this long after interview call? I replied to every question that was asked during interview and felt that I did good with interview.
> By the way I have done Bachelors of Engineering in Mining with first division in November 2014, after that I did job in the relative field for almost a year, got 7 bands in IELTS and then applied for masters of environmental engineering and pollution control in Griffith university. What are my chances of getting visa now???? Please reply I am really tensed. plz help mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John0615 -

Thanks for the note. All docs except for health & police should be provided at time of application. There is a specific policy provision that allows the registered relationship cert to be provided after lodgment but before a decision is made on the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



john0615 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your great work.
> 
> I'm preparing documents for Temporary Partner visa (subclass 820).
> My de facto partner will be the applicant.
> 
> I wonder if some of those documents can be provided in the later stage of the application.
> 
> Can you please indicate when should the following documents need to be uploaded:
> 
> -Proof of identity - before submit the application.
> -Health check - when request by CO?
> -Health insurance - ?
> -Character check (AFP) - ?
> -Relationship cert - before submit the application.
> -FOrm 888 - before submit the application?
> 
> Million thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984Ravigupta -

Suggest you book a consult so you can get answers to all of your questions. Some of your questions involve points based issues that you should get professional assistance on if you are having issues understanding what is asked/required. Shopping around anonymously on a forum for advice is no substitute for obtaining competent professional advice, especially given the huge cost of thousands of dollars if you have to withdraw a visa application due to incorrect answers on EOI.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Please help me with the below queries while updating my EOI.
> 
> 1) Would the client be prepared to live outside an Australian capital city?
> 
> I am looking for NSW SS. I understand that this will not affect the eligibility (as explained in the form) but will it increase the chances of the invitation or will it restrict me to a particular remote area ?? There must be some logical reason for asking this question to the client. Let's say if I put YES and get selected can my 190 visa will have the details of the locations I can work in ?
> PS: I have already searched this query in this forum. Though i found few answers but they were not convincing enough.
> 
> 2) Out of curiosity I again want to re confirm that in employment history I have to add all the employers and have to mark "YES" for related employment only as mentioned by ACS. I am asking this as ACS has deducted 6 years from my overall IT experience (because of my education is from non computers). Post November 2013 of IT experience is considered relevant by ACS. So post November employment is marked "YES" as related to nominated occupation and before that it will be "NO". Please correct me if my understanding is different.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassie -

Lodging without the stat decs will not result in an invalid application, but the stat decs when lodged will at least need to evidence that the relationship was genuine as of the time of application and going forward.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cassie said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am applying for the New Zealand citizen family relationship, my application is almost ready to be send. However, as I need to prove my de facto relationship, I need 2 statutory declarations from Australian citizen but it seems like we are not going to have them on time. My current visa expire next week.
> 
> Could we send them after sending my application ? Is it actually necessary to include 2 statutory declarations ?
> 
> Thank you so much Mark.
> 
> Cassie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tasharnebhwest -

Thanks for the note. For partner visa applications, the applicant will need to evidence that the relationship was at a de facto level for the 12 months prior to lodging (ie, in your case the 12 months prior to 30 Oct 2015). Used to be that living together was required for this period, but an important court case last year changed this to having to prove that the relationship was at a de facto level for this period. Can't really estimate whether your circumstances will qualify without knowing much more and knowing what sort of documentation and evidence you could submit. Generally financial support by itself is not sufficient to prove a de facto relationship was in place, but it certainly could be a contributing factor towards evidencing a de facto relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tasharnebhwest said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you can find the time to reply to this.
> 
> Details:
> I am sponsoring my UK partner for partnership 820
> Lodgement: 30 Oct 2015
> Type: Onshore and online
> Police Checks: 30 Oct 2015
> Medical: 15 March 2016
> 
> My partner and I became 'offical' in July 2014 then he moved over to Australia in Nov 2014. He had a rough relationship with his father so he moved in with him (instead of me) for the first 3 months to try and build the relationship. Therefore by time we applied for our partnership visa on 30 Oct 2015 we had only been living together for 8 months. We shared all financal aspects from November.
> 
> My question is what is the actual requirement of 12 months defacto? Does this mean that you have to literally living with eachother for 12 months before lodgement? or does it include finacial aspects aswel? We considered ourselves defacto as we were financailly supporting eachother but due to circumstances couldn't live together.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Matt -

Thanks for the note. AACA is very particular about applicants meeting their requirements - would need to work through your circumstances in more detail at a consult (see website below for link) in order to give you any specific advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AtreyuFTW said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I'm a new member and would be very happy if you could share your expertise about the skills assessment process in AACA
> 
> I completed my Bachelor of Arts Architecture degree (3.5years full-time) in Germany and also did a Study abroad Semester at Newcastle University (Australia)
> 
> Can you estimate my chances to pass stage 1 of the AACA assessment?
> 
> Also what could i do to improve my chances?
> 
> I am happy for any help or advice
> 
> Thank you in advance
> 
> Matt


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hoshi -

Assuming your partner is an Australian citizen (and not permanent resident), generally no issue with extended time spent outside Australia while your partner visa is processing, assuming you are staying together with your partner. However long times outside Australia after the permanent partner visa is granted may cause issues with being able to renew your PR re-entry rights after the first 5 year PR period - see RRV visa (subclass 155) on DIBP website for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hoshi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner is Australian and I am Bulgarian.
> I am on a temporary partner visa in Australia right now, currently my permanent visa being processed (eligible and started compiling and uploading the documents as of 9/03/16).
> It appears that we need to relocate back to Bulgaria for 1 to 4 years.
> From what I found on the website travelling to extended periods of time shouldn't be a problem even though my permanent visa is being processed, however, I was wondering if you can foresee any implications in the long them. Is there a maximum period of time I can be absent from AU? And in general, would I have any issues coming back to Australia at a later stage, provided all is well with my permanent visa, of course?
> 
> Needless to say, I am very grateful for all your support


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kittudawra -

Thanks for the note. DIBP impossible to predict processing times for, however they recently said that second stage partner visas (PR part) are taking a total of 12-16 months to process now.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kittudawra said:


> Hi mark just had a enquiry I am in Brisbane applied partner visa in feb 2014 I have been requested for police clearence and medical for 801 visa on 8 March 2016 . I have done medical next day 9 March 2016 . And I have send police clearence on the same day of medical . Cz I already have done . Medical department told me they will update my medical in week to immigration site . Just wondering how much time they take to process . Thanks for taking time to read this you reply will be really apriciated you have a good day . Mark . Good man helping every one


----------



## Twigsta90

Hello my name is clayton, I am an Australian citizen and my girl friend is from America we have been dating for a bit over 2 years we first met online then she came over just for two weeks on a holiday visa just for two weeks to meet me soon after she came back and lived at my house for a whole year on a working visa and then left and came back on another holiday visa to stay longer and travel together we have traveling photos and her bills addressed to my house.

Soon after I went to America to visit her

My question is we are now ready to move for in to my house in Sydney for much longer and want to get the defecto patner visa and prove we have been going out for more then one year as we kept in touch while not together.

Is she able to come on a three month visitor visa and apply for a patner visa and if so would she get a return visa or a One way to Australia as I belive on a visitor visa on a one way would not look right

Please get back to me thank you


----------



## tbone

Hi Mark,

I'll shortly be undergoing a skills assessment with VETASSESS, under the Industrial Designer code (232312). From Nov 2012 - Sept 15 I was a Design Engineer, then I was promoted to a Technical Manager. My duties as a Design Engineer fit the requirements, and much (almost all) of what I do as a Technical Manager is actually the same as before, besides managing people in addition to my previous duties. I was wondering if I should put forward my experience as a Technical Manager? I don't wish to be assessed as a manager as I've only been in that position for 7 months, but if I don't, I miss out on 5 points as I just miss the 3 year threshold. 

Thanks for any help,

T


----------



## simranbrar

hi Mark 
i applied for Australian citizenship on 28 feb 2016 through ministerial discretion. i haven't heard anything yet. its 7 weeks now. what should i do? should i call them or wait? thanks


----------



## Cassie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cassie -
> 
> Lodging without the stat decs will not result in an invalid application, but the stat decs when lodged will at least need to evidence that the relationship was genuine as of the time of application and going forward.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you so much, my application has been considered as valid as you said. However, as Australia is a land of diversity, we don't have genuine commun friends or any family, only New zealanders and Europeans. So we decided not to be dishonest and sent our application with only one statement from a commun australian citizen friend, and an other from a non-australien. I am sending now a statement explaining the situation as we didn't want to fake anything. What do you think about it Mark ? Are they going to decline my visa for this reason ?

Have a good day Mark,
And thank you again.

Cassie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pamody -

Thanks for the note. Would need to work with you in a consultation and see your documents to give you specific advice for your case re: skilled visa work reference and qualifications issues. Generally speaking you need to show the skills assessor and DIBP via work reference letters/documents that you worked between specific dates (ie, start date and finish date) in a particular job, that it was full time (unless you're claiming part time, etc), that it was paid, and need to provide some basic information about the duties/responsibilities of the job. Sometimes if an HR Dept or Mgr is unwilling to provide all of this, you can combine letters from several sources within the company, or letters plus a company position description document, etc to accomplish this. There are no particular requirements that the writer(s) of the letters must be of a certain position, normally they only need to be in a position above you (ie, not a buddy or peer) and be in a position to be knowledgeable about your work and be authorised by the company to write such a letter (usually management and/or HR).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pamody said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I hope you are doing well. I am currently living in Sri Lanka and is planning on applying for Skilled Migration(Skilled Independent Subclass 189) as a ICT Business Analyst or System Analyst as my work has been similar to both. I have more than 5 years experience after graduation and 3 years before the graduation.
> 
> For my Work Reference, do I need to get it from my supervisor who is the Assistant Manager of my Department or from the Head of My Department?
> 
> HR of my current company is reluctant in giving a service letter while working as that promotes me of leaving. Thus is one reference from my supervisor or head of department is enough for my the length of my work or do I need to obtain from others as well?
> 
> From My Previous Employer, I have a Service letter signed by the managing director stating the period of my work and the work I have done, will that be sufficient?
> 
> As my degree is Electronic Engineering degree, though the diploma and advanced diploma I have done before completing the degree is computer and engineering based, will there be an issue?
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ladyjane -

Thanks for the note. You can complete the second stage partner visa application online and save as a draft, but do not lodge/submit until after your eligibility date. Once you lodge/submit, you can then upload the documents. Form 888's must be appropriately witnessed - see form for details. For uploaded documents, DIBP accepts colour scans of original documents or scans of certified copies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ladyjane said:


> Hi Mark, just wondering if you can help me out. I received an email for request of info for processing of my 2nd stage partner visa however it says I am not eligible till 23/5. I am starting to gather documents and required info requested now. My question is Am I allowed to upload everything on-line as soon as I complete requested information or do I have to wait till my eligibility date till I can do it?
> Also the form 888 and Stat dec from my sponsor that is being asked, do they need to be certified? I remember in processing first stage there was no need to certify documents when processing on-line.
> 
> Please enlighten an anxious person.
> 
> Thanks heaps.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VenusifiedBT -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict each state's response times, and they rarely publish estimates about them but whatever info is available will be available on each state's skilled visa site/pages. You can get up to date info about which state is sponsoring which occupation here: Anzscosearch | Occupation eligibility Australia Skilled Visa

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



VenusifiedBT said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am new to this forum. I have lodged an EOI for visa 190 for state sponsorship open for all states. My nominated ANZSCO code is 221112 - Management Accountant. Other profile details are as below:
> 
> IELTS: 8 bands in each module (20 points for Proficient English)
> Qualification: At least a Bachelors - skills assessment done by CPA (15 points)
> Age: 26 years (30 points)
> Skilled work experience: 1.25 years (0 points)
> State nomination: 5 points
> 
> Total 70 points including state sponsorship
> 
> What worries me are these two things:
> 
> - What are the odds of Management Accountants getting nominated by Australian states? I have been active on another forum but haven't really seen ANYONE applying for this code lately. Is it because they don't invite us guys? Or it's just a coincidence?
> 
> - I have heard only NSW is open for Management Accountant sponsorship. Is it really getting that bad for accountants? Is there any chance I could get an invite for skilled independent visa?
> 
> Also, when can I expect an acknowledgment from Australian states regarding my EOI?
> 
> Looking forward to hearing from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zafraz -

Thanks for the note. Not possible to declare adult dependents that are married in this type of situation. In short, adult dependents must be more financially dependent on you than any other source for food/clothing/shelter, must not be married or in a de facto relationship, and must be usually resident in your household and have been so for a period of time (typically the last 12 months).

Suggest you look into a subclass 155 Resident Return Visa as well, depending on your circumstances. Would need to work with you in a consultation in order to get further details and provide specific information for your case - see website below in my signature for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zafraz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Sorry to bother you with some questions.
> 
> I already have an skilled independent visa subclass 175 back in 2012 and I have completed my initial entry with my wife, but we are still outside Australia and the 5 year visa is due to expire in Nov 2017.
> 
> Now that I have a child and I wish to migrate a little later, can I apply for the new skilled Independent visa subclass 189 under skill select?
> 
> I know I am late for the May 2016 deadline, but wish to apply soon after that. I have gone through the requirements and checked my points test too and I am all fine with all of that.
> 
> The next question is, in my previous visa application, I failed to include my dependent parents. By now, my dad is almost 77 years and my mom is almost 65 years. So can I include them in my new visa application?
> 
> Because, in the website, I noticed the following when including dependents,
> 
> "Your family member will be considered dependent if all of the following apply:
> •	they do not have a spouse or de facto partner"
> 
> In my case, I want to include both my parents, will this be a problem?
> 
> Also, since they are aged, will they both be requested to do the English language test?
> 
> Thank you in advance
> Zafraz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ausimmig -

Thanks for the note. Depends entirely on the type of visa you are applying for - there are over 100 different visas for Australia. I'd start at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection which is the website for the Australian department of immigration and work from there - they have a "Visa Finder" that may be helpful, although it's no substitute for checking out all of the various requirements and documents needed for whatever visa you intend on applying for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ausimmig said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I intend to apply for PR in Australia. Can you please advise me with the complete process:
> 
> a) What documents are required?
> b) Which website to apply on?
> c) What are the timelines?
> 
> I am currently residing outside Australia.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ausimmig -

This depends on a number of factors including how long the person has been an Australian permanent resident, genuine visitor factors, and what type of visa the parent may have applied for. Happy to assist further at a consultation, and you can also check out various Parent Visa pages on the DIBP website.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ausimmig said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a PR applicant and wish to sponsor my mother. Can you advise the maximum duration, parents can stay while on a visit visa? How easy/difficult is it to extend 3 month stay to 1 year?
> 
> Is it possible to permanently sponsor a parent (on PR) by a PR?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yoli -

Yes there is - key is to document or provide evidence that you have attempted to get medicals for the children and the ex-wife refuses to allow the children to have medicals - there is a provision in the law that allows DIBP to waive medicals for children if DIBP is satisfied that it would unreasonable to require the medical exams. Sometimes requesting a letter from the ex-wife to put the matter to rest is a good solution.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Yoli said:


> Dear Mark, I don't know if you could offer any advice on this problem. I'm sponsoring my husband and they have asked for medicals for his kids who live in another country and are not applying for the visa. The problem is that his ex-wife refuses to take the children to have their medicals. Is there anything we can do given that they live in another country?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wendy2016 -

Sorry to hear this. You have to read the Decision Record very carefully, especially the last parts, to note which specific parts of the legislation your refusal was based on. If it was based on something other than PIC 4020 and PIC 4020 was not mentioned as a reason for the refusal, then generally the 3 year ban caused by PIC 4020 refusals would not apply.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wendy2016 said:


> My 189 visa has been rejected. Although the refusal letter didn't mention PIC4020, my natural justice letter said I may fail to satisfy PIC4020. Does that mean I will be banned from reapplying for 3 years?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zin -

Thanks for the note. There are no rules about this, but I have heard anecdotal evidence that some states give preference to applicants who list only that state on their EOI. Some people create a new EOI for each state they are interested in seeking sponsorship from in an effort to address this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zin said:


> Hi Mark,
> I lodged my EOI for PR sc 190 on 1st Feb (State sponsor from any states in Australia). My question is regarding to "In which State or Territory would the client be interested in seeking nomination from", should I put "Any" or should I put down a particular state and place 3 different EOI for 3 states? Which is a better way to do?
> I have scanned all the forum and there is noone have the same question like mine.
> I would appreciate if you could advise me what I should do is best.
> Thank you for your time.
> Zin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JamesSultan -

As a PR holder you and your wife would have unlimited work and study rights, so no issue I see with answering Yes to both of these if that is accurate. Form 1221 is used for a number of different types of visas, so that may explain the generalised questions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JamesSultan said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am a 189 Visa Candidate. While filling up the form 1221 for myself and my wife, i came across the following questions and i am not sure what to select here for her and for myself (Note: I am the primary applicant and my wife is a dependent)
> 
> Part L - Migration visas
> 39. Do you intend to do a course of study while in Australia?
> 40. Do you intend to work in Australia?
> 
> Shall I select Yes for both of us for both the questions or shall i go with a different option?
> My wife have plans to study and work there, and I don't want her to get into a situation where she could study or work because of the these questions we answer here on form 1221.
> We just want to keep our options open to do whatever we want.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi PMD -

It may be that you only have to provide a NZ cert, however the question will be whether they categorise you in the other category that requires PCC for all countries you have spent a total of 12 months or more in during the last 10 years, regardless of what Australian visa you held at the time. Will have to see how DIBP handles this as pre-2001 NZ related cases are handled on a case-by-case basis by DIBP and the citizenship processing departments. It's probably worth a call to the citizenship office to see if they have any specific guidance.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



PurpleMonkeyDishwasher said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Just a question re penal clearances for a citizenship application.
> 
> I am NZ citizen on SCV 444 , but here before 2001.
> 
> I need to provide an NZ police clearance as i have left Australia since I turned 18.
> 
> However, I have also spent more than 90 days in the Philippines, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea - but the application says Police clearances are only required if I visited those countries and held a *permanent *Australian visa at that time.
> 
> I don't have a permanent visa (SCV) so would i be correct in thinking I only need to provide the NZ Police Clearance?


----------



## prestyler

EVIDENCE OF POLIO VACCINATION
Visa applicants, applying from outside Australia, who have spent 28 days or longer in Afghanistan, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia or Syria, or in any combination of these countries, on or after 5 May 2014 should provide a vaccination certificate as evidence that they have been vaccinated against polio. Failure to provide the certificate may result in delays processing your application. 
This measure is in response to the World Health Organization's declaration of wild poliovirus transmission as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.



I have been to Pakistan during this time period, but not spent 28 days straight, i have had 4 trips around each around 10 days.. so does this apply to me also ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Josematthew77 -

Probably, however by getting your EOI in now, when the ceiling resets on 1 July, you'll be ahead of the game.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



josemathew77 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I would really appreciate if you can look in to the blow issue and respond.
> 
> I've got positive skill assessment (Internal Audit - 221214) from VETASSESS couple of days ago and waiting for my IELTS results to submit EOI.
> 
> Upon research on EOI, I noticed that the occupational ceiling on my occupation has been reached already.
> 
> Details from DIBP website is given below
> 
> Occupation ceilings for the 2015-16 programme year
> Occupation ID: 2212
> Description: Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers
> Ceiling Value: 1000
> Results to date: 1000
> 
> Does this mean that I won't be picked in this year, since it has already reached the limit?
> 
> Really appreciate your time in advance.
> 
> Regards,
> Jo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rayner -

I expect you would declare the child as a non-migrating dependent or as a close family member (but not non-migrating dependent) if there was no dependency, but would depend entirely on the circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rayner said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Please help me with the below query.
> 
> I am filling up the application for 189. My wife has a son from here previous marriage. But we do not intend to take him with us for the time being as neither of us has the legal custodian ship of the child.
> 
> What needs to be done in the application , now so that he can join us after he turns major. I would prefer not to pay for his visa charges now.
> 
> Can i include him in the non migrating family member?
> 
> Please advice
> 
> Kind Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kumar -

I'm not surprised - there is a huge amount of variability in DIBP processing times - the idea that first-in, first-out is done by DIBP doesn't seem to be supported by the evidence I've seen. Wish I could help further.

Best,

Mark Northam



kumar71279 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I applied for 887 visa four months ago.I still haven"t assigned any case officer. Some of my friends got there approval in just four weeks. do you have any idea about this variation in processing times?
> thanks in advance
> Kumar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohammed -

Thanks for the note. Would need to work with you in a consultation to get more information about the dates of your absences from Australia and other details in order to give you specific info for your application - the regulations are too complex for quickie yes/no answers via anonymous online forum. Please see website below for link to my website if I can assist further at a consult where we can properly assess your eligibility for citizenship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mazumder said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am going to apply for citizenship on 1st week of may-2016.currently im on 186-ens since 7/5/2015 I am still confused about few things. let me describe my situation in short.
> 
> I am working in same employer from last 5 years from where ive got my sponsorship.my pr granted on 07/05/2015. my with got pr at the same time ( she was offshore applicant, ive applied for both of us at the same time ).
> 
> im living Australia from 04/2008. Ive been visited overseas for 290 days in total in last 8 years period including 43 days since I have got my pr (last year)
> 
> ------------------------
> My queries are
> 1. Should I need to get police clearance certificate from both Australia and Bangladesh? I still have the one ive collected for pr application on 03/2014 from both countries .would that work?
> 
> 2. If I apply online from my immiaccount ,I still need to printed scanned copy of form 1195 -identity declaration ? if yes what is the easiest way to get singed on photo and on the form, as I don't know personally any of the mentioned professionals .
> 
> 3. When my wife will be eligible to apply for citizenship ( she first arrived here on 14/5/2015 after granting her pr)
> 
> 4. I have my current passport, old passport , birth certificate , driving licence , gas bill, national id ready, anything else I need to apply for citizenship?
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Anyone from the same situation requesting to reply
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Thanks a lot
> mohammed


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pinkpony -

Thanks for the note. You should list all trips you've ever made to Australia. If more than one visit on a single visa, then each trip would get an entry for this question. Additional trips can be listed on the extension page near the end of the form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pinkpony said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Would really appreciate some help with the infamous Form 80!
> 
> For Question 35 (Have you been to Australia before?), am I supposed to list down every single visa I've ever had (i.e. more than 5 visitor visas and about 3 student visas) or every trip that I've made to Australia?
> And is this just for the past 10 years or for my whole life?
> 
> Also, I've noticed that the question does not specify to list all previous visas/trips (unlike the previous version of the form).
> Would it be ok if I list my visas as the final trip I've made on each visitor visa and the final trip on each student visa? Or even, the final trip on my last visitor visa and the final trip on my last student visa?
> **Just being hopeful here, haha!
> 
> Thank you for your help in advance! xx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmyc -

re: Q74, you can either put in the current date or leave the TO column blank if she is still there.

re: Q58, lodging a partner visa with zero living together time may be a very risky proposition depending on your and her circumstances - I would consider getting professional advice on this before you lodge given this info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmyc said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a few questions I need your help with on 47sp form.
> 
> For question 58 - my partner and I have never really lived together in the past 3 years of our relationship. She's a cabin crew and flies to Sydney on average once a month. However, she has taken several annual leave to come to Sydney and stayed with me during her leave. What should I put on here?
> 
> For question 74 - my partner is from Thailand but has been living in UAE for the past 9 years. She's listing Thailand and UAE as the 2 countries. However, UAE is her current country of residence at the moment. What date should she put in under "to" as she's still living there?
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> James.


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Uqraza2 -

Thanks for the note. If you wish to get help from folks other than me, best to post this as a separate thread and not on the "Ask Mark" topic.

Would need to discuss your circumstances in detail at a consultation to determine more details about your circumstances and history to determine best visa option(s) going forward. The migration regulations in this area can be very complex, and I'd need to get more information in order to see exactly what your eligibility may be. Happy to assist at a consulting session - see website below in my signature for more.

Best,

Mark Northam



uqraza2 said:


> Need advise from Seniors and all other members,
> 
> Currently, I am doing my PhD from one of good Australian university ( currently on 574 visa with my wife).
> 
> i believe that, we have two pathways to apply for 189 visa.
> 
> First Pathway if i am main applicant
> ------------------
> Education
> BS in electronics engineering (SOL)
> Master in Electrical and Electronics Engineering
> PhD in Electrical Engineering (Currently enrolled).
> Experience
> 
> 1.9 years Lab Engineer at a university
> 1 year Lecturer at University
> 
> Problem is that, EA doesn't consider university teaching and paid Phd duration as engineering work experience!
> So points will be like this if i am the main applicant age 30, education 15, IELTS 10, (i am not how i can get 5 point as my wife have qualification as given below?)
> 
> Second Pathway if my wife is main applicant
> ------------------
> 
> My wife did her PhD in chemistry.
> 
> Education:
> 
> BS hons in Chemistry (Comes under cSOL)
> MS lead to PhD in Chemistry
> 
> Work Experience.
> (Jan. 2011 to Feb 2016) Research assistant on part time basis (20 hours per week)
> 
> So points will be like this if am the main applicant
> age 30
> education 20,
> IELTS 10 (if she work hard and it woks then)
> 
> But chemistry does't come under SOL.
> 
> I am looking for advise to seek the right pathway to choose the Australian PR on 189 or 190.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmyc -

Would need to work with you in a consult to get more details about your circumstances in order to give you specific advice for your application - see website below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmyc said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a few questions on form 80.
> 
> For part H question 23 - my partner currently has no plans to travel to Australia this year. However, due to the nature of work she may get to come to Australia as she's a cabin crew. Every last week of each month she gets to find out the destinations she'll be flying to for the month coming. What should go in question 23 as she doesn't really know the dates or if she'll get to come to Australia?
> 
> For part J question 36 - my partner has been in Australia many times with work, as well as leisure. Does she need to list the times she's been in Australia with work or just list the personal visits?
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> James.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alisha282 -

Wish I could help but I work in the area of migration law and getting people visas, and am not knowledgeable about various occupation job opportunities in different cities. I'd consider a very thorough look through job ads on places like seek.com to see if you can get a feel for the potential employment opportunities in any particular place.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Alisha282 said:


> Hi mark!!
> 
> Its great to get info !
> 
> We received our PR (189) and we are looking at relocating this year to Melbourne.
> My husband is an Exe Sous Chef and has 12 yrs exp (we are currently in the UAE). Unfortunately he has not been very lucky with securing a job being here in UAE. That being said he is planning to move to Melbourne in July. My son and myself will follow later.
> 
> I just need to opinions if this is the right thing to do? what is the demand for Chefs? and ofcourse how soon will he be able to get a job.
> 
> Looking forward to your response!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi - Peepslewry -

I'd try to keep DIBP from refusing and provide evidence from RCMP if they will provide any as to why the delay. There is a somewhat complex set of rules re: whether AAT tribunal appeal will or will not be available to you if the visa is refused, having to do with the physical location of you and your sponsor on the date of refusal and the date of AAT application - suggest you get professional assistance to work through your circumstances and determine the regulations that apply to your case if you are considering that refusal may happen and you're planning on an AAT review. Normally DIBP will wait if it is proven that the delay in providing a PCC is due to the police agency and not the applicant, but you've got to work with them and provide evidence of this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Peepslewry said:


> Hi Mark
> Would really appreciate your feedback and experience in regards a possible appeal process.
> 
> Just a little background info.
> Applied off shore for my de facto partner visa May 5th 2015. Received an email requesting medical/police clearance November 28th 2015 28 days to respond.
> Applied for medical and RCMP check December 4th.
> Emailed CO December 18th regarding our application stating everything had been applied for. Called 21st December by CO discussed the application and she told me once the police clearance was received she would be making her decision. I emailed again January 26th stating we were still waiting for the police clearance with no response.
> Received email April 8th stating the following:
> "Please provide an updated on the outstanding Canada RCMP check based on fingerprints.
> This document was due on 25 January 2016 and to date we have not receive it.
> Please note that this email does not give you an extension of time to submit the outstanding documentation, and that a decision may be made on your visa application at any time after 15 April 2016."
> I emailed and spoke to CO April 8th and she stated no extension will be given.
> As of today April 14th we still have not received the police check and have been in contact with them numerous times and all we get is its in process. I'm pretty sure we will now be refused due to this.
> My questions are:
> Should they have notified us of the due date (as they never did)
> Should the appeal be straight forward as we will only be denied due to the police clearance?
> How long does the appeal process usually take?
> Would we possibly be approved for a visitor visa while we waited for appeal?
> Thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cnqanh -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about the relationship issues. As you are the main applicant, you can have your husband removed from the application at any time prior to grant of the visa, for any reason. Form 1022 signed by you will accomplish this, but make sure DIBP receives it and acts on it as sometimes this does not happen in a timely way. If the relationship breaks down, you have an obligation to inform DIBP if that happens prior to the visa grant. If you do not, that can cause problems for you later on. If the relationship breaks down after visa grant, you're both permanent residents anyway so no need to notify DIBP and no threat to your visa (or his) in that scenario - you both get to remain permanent residents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cnqanh said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I submitted visa 189 but have not uploaded any document yet.
> When submitting this visa, my status is married, but due to some unhappy events happened, I am filing my divorce with my husband. I am the main applicant and want remove him as 2nd applicant from the visa.
> 
> Can you please help to advise me on following situations:
> 
> 1. If I use the form 1022 to inform the change in my status, what documents do I need to provide to attach with the form? Does 2nd applicant have to sign the form or the main applicant's signature is enough? After submitting this form, are health examination and police check for 2nd applicant still required?
> 2. If we remain married, wait till the visa is granted, and file the divorce 1 or 2 years after granted visa, will my visa be affected?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moa05 -

Yes you can get docs ready & signed prior to the lodgement date. DIBP will need to know your current residential address, however if you want mail sent to another (old, etc) address, you can specify this in the application as a mailing address. Stat dec from landlord re: living together a good idea as part of your relationship evidence package. AFP Police Check should be the one indicated for immigration purposes - it's called "Complete (or Full) Disclosure, Name Check Only"

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Moa05 said:


> Mark, I've got a few questions for you regarding my application for partner visa second stage.
> 
> My lodgement date was the 14/5 2014. That means I can apply for the permanent residence in a month time.
> 
> So my first question is, can I get all the documents ready and signed before this date and send them in on the day or do the documents have to be signed after this date?
> 
> We have moved from our old address but still get all our mail sent to the old address. Should I let immigration know? I'm thinking of getting a statutory declaration from the lady we rent of saying we live together and pay rent together.
> 
> I'm also wondering about the police check. Is it the name only or the ASIO secutity Assessment?
> 
> Thank you Mark for helping us all out in this stressful time!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Melbourne2211 -

If you take 309/100 letter to Medicare and say that you both are resident in Australia, that normally satisfies the requirements for Medicare as it is available to people with a pending PR application (that would be the 100 part of the 309/100 application) who declare that they are now resident in Australia. You may have to be diligent and keep working your way up the ladder of clerks and managers at Medicare, but this is how it's done normally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Melbourne2211 said:


> Hey Mark...
> NEED SOME URGENT HELP..... PLZ
> 
> My partner is a Thai citizen im Australian citizen we have been together since early 2012 and been living together ever since we have a 2.5 year old daughter born in Thailand and she has citizenship by decent aussie passport etc... my partner (defacto) has been to Oz 7/8 times on tourists visas, and we decided in august last year to move back here going back and forth for her visas.
> 
> We applied for her partner visa in Feb 2016 and she was 4.5 months pregnant i have the acknowledgement of valid application for the offshore 309/100 and also asked that the 2 year period be waved as we can more than prove our relationship (FAMILY Together) we also applied for a tourist visa for the time being while we are waiting for the granting of the 309/100... she got a subclass 600 - 6 months 1 entry.
> 
> We are now in Australia and she is 34 weeks pregnant and Medicare have been driving me insane, 1st off told over the phone all we need to do is take the 309/100 acknowledgement into an office along with her passport, my ID and our daughters passport etc and we would be granted Medicare....
> 
> So we arrive at Medicare with all information and were told no cant get Medicare until the 309 has been approved, so i got back home and called the call centre with this Medicare agent saying the same thing... i have called my local MP and tried to get in contact with the health minister with no luck and no call back from our MP either...
> 
> We are looking at $13,500 that has to be paid in 2 weeks if we don't get approved for a Medicare card...
> 
> im trying to keep my partner in the dark a bit as i don't want to stress her out and have to worry about this...
> 
> If there is anyone out there that can give me some next moves it would be much appreciated...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Piyushp22 -

Thanks for the note. You need to take a very close look at the ANZSCO occupation definitions for the various occupations you are considering (see Anzscosearch | Occupation eligibility Australia Skilled Visa for more on this) and compare these details to the details of your qualifications and work experience to come to a conclusion as to the occupation code that is the best fit for your particular experience and educational qualifications - no shortcut for this, and i wouldn't decide based on anonymous forum advice - a careful study is what's needed. Also, if you are considering any ACS occupations, there's a downloadable document on the ACS site that gives much more detailed ANZSCO definitions for occupations they assess to help you sort out which of those might be a good fit for you as well.

Re: occupational ceilings for 189 visa, these reset on 1 July each year. Not sure what you mean by "e2e".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Piyushp22 said:


> Dear Mark, and Friends,
> 
> I am aspirant of Australian PR under 189/190 category. I am telecom professional with BE in Electronics and Electrical Communication. Did Telecom element testing, E2E testing, Integration, Live Roll outs and vendor selection with many other activities around these areas. After extensive research I have now decided to go ahead with Engineers Australia under 2633 SOL. I have got total experience of 12 years. ACS is also fit for me but some how I feel EA is better! *Any help and suggestions on this would be very helpful *
> 
> Secondly, I am targeting for 189 but seems both 189 and 190 are good options depending upon the situation. CAP for 2633 is not filling up quickly and it's also expert field. I am looking for local agents who can help me with complete e2e PR process but not sure if agents are really required for this. Is it possible/easy for and indivudual to do all the process on it's own, e.g. collecting lot of papers from work history.. getting them verified.. collecting all salary slips and bank docu. I have not found any one place where the complete process is written in detail with docs required at every stage and fee. *Can someone help me with that?*
> 
> Thirdly, Could any suggest that if this is the right time to start PR process as CAP for 2015 would be close anytime now.* When will the new year batch open again?*
> 
> Looking forward to expert views.
> Thank you so much
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Butterfly2014 -

I would get this info in writing or email from your home country and forward to DIBP to see if they will adjust their requirements based on what is possible from your home country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Butterfly2014 said:


> Hi all I please need your help. I received an enquiry from immigration today to supply a police certificate from my home country which should list my old family name from a former marriage on it. I changed my name back to my maiden name long before I even came to Australia. I called the authorities back in my home country and they confirmed, that this is not possible and that a police check can only be issued under my current name and would always show the record of me including former names. It is not possible to state these former names on the police check though. Name changes are automatically forwarded to the federal central criminal register so any offences would still be listed on my current police check - no matter what my name is today.
> 
> Anybody with similar issues?
> 
> My application would be ready for decision, immigration just wants this policy check with my former name on it which I am unable to provide.
> 
> Thanks for any help and advise!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mdshahbaz -

Normally ACS requires certified copies of all documents. I would attempt to get that - if not possible, then make sure contact information for the writer of the letter is included so ACS can contact them if there are any issues about the authenticity or content of the letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mdshahbaz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My employer has given me soft copy of employee reference letter which is digitally signed and valid. Does ACS accept soft copy which is digitally signed.
> Thanks in advance for advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Explorer_2016 -

Re: 1, probably SA unless you maintain a home etc in India and are only visiting temporarily while working in SA.

Re: 2, PCC requirements are determined by what countries you have spent more than a total of 12 months in during the last 10 years.

Re: 3, No way to predict - once you lodge your visa application with DIBP, these sometimes take 4-6 months, but times can vary widely.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



explorer_2016 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My question is regarding "Usual country of residence":
> 
> I am a citizen of India with passport from India. I am currently staying in South Africa on a work VISA from last 7 months.
> 
> Q1: What is my usual country of Residence, for the purpose of EOI?
> 
> Q2: If I select South Africa, as a "Usual Country of Residence", then would I be asked for a PCC from South Africa? Because even though I have not been here for more than 1 year, but it is my current usual country of residence? Asking this question, so that I can start preparing the documents, to save time in future.
> 
> Q3: How long does it takes to get a 189 VISA, once application is submitted?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amernajjar -

Thanks for the note. Re: 1, colour scans of originals, or scans of certified copies are normally acceptable for DIBP for online applications, so need to certify a document if you are uploading a colour scan of the original.

Re: 2, for PR visas, the medical exam will require a medical exam, HIV blood test and chest x-ray. Once you lodge your application, click on the "Organise your health examinations" link on the post-lodgment upload screen and following instructions to generate a referral letter with your HAP ID. For 189 visas, you can take the health checks after you lodge the visa. See links there for DIBP-approved facilities/doctors/etc in your country.

Re: 3, Normally this question reads "lived for 12 months or more in total" however I've heard some reports that this question may have been recently changed. This question is usually used to determine which countries you need police certificates from.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amernajjar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just got invited to submit my 189 VISA and i have few questions before i shoot it    ..
> 1- as mentioned at the borders webiste , All supporting documents must be scanned and uploaded with your application. All documents that you provide must be certified copies of original documents ..
> **my question is .. do i have to certify every copy of every document i wanna submit from the australian embassy in my country ??
> 
> 2- there is a question about a health examination ... what kind of examination is that ?? and do i have to do it before i submit my visa application ? and should there be an approved clinic in my country ?
> 
> 3- Have any of the applicants lived in a country other than the primary applicant's usual country of residence?
> ** my questions are :
> 3a) do i have to list every country that i lived in for more than a certain period or what ?
> 3b) do i have to list my home country ? because my current country of residence is not my home country .. for example .. i am jordanian and im currently living in Kuwait since 2013 .. and i have listed my usual country of residence "Kuwait" , do i have to list jordan in this question ???
> 3c) what is the reason of this question ? do i have to bring them a criminal record from every country i lived in or something ?
> 
> 
> Thanks so much in advance    .. i would highly appreciate everyone also to share their experience .. and good luck all


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rocky84 -

Thanks for the note. In theory yes, DIBP can refuse again, but they cannot refuse based on Schedule 3 since the MRT had already made a finding on that. They could refuse based on lack of genuine relationship, but any refusal they do can be appealed to the AAT (used to be the MRT), so you do not have to worry about having to leave Australia soon, etc. I expect when the visa is granted you'll get the PR visa straight away based on the number of years involved, based on what you've said.

Have you tried to add work rights to your BVE via claim of financial hardship? Might be an option while waiting. Please advise if I can assist further.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rocky84 said:


> Hi, Mark
> 
> I am wondering if you can advise me please
> 
> My partner visa refused in April 2015, as my substantive visa was ceased few hours before i submitted the my application (as the DIBP website was under maintance).Applied for MRT Review provide compelling reason, Schedule 3 Criteria waived off, MRT Remit my file to DIBP.
> 
> Within 3-4 weeks I received email from DIBP to provide additional information, Medical,Police clearance from both countries, which i already provided, everything is submitted to DIBP, After 2 weeks we called Case officer told us they are processing my case & don't send any more document only if you change the address or our relationship is finished inform us.
> 
> My partner & i very stressed and she had already depression & anxiety condition we don't know what to do, i am still unable to work (Bridging visa E) & can't work , Is there also chances that DIBP can Refuse my visa Application again ?Can i appeal again in AAT?
> 
> What are the my options please as DIBP make my & my partner life hell we can't sleep thinking all the time what would happened as they even didn't give me temporary visa while i was eligible for permanent visa after i applied (3 years relationship) We will be very greatful to you if you can advise us please. many thanks
> 
> Rocky


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivien -

Thanks for the note. Sounds like you have 3 options identified - do note that there are new rules re: providing tax/documents for work done by people holding working holiday visas - you may have some leverage to get proper documents from your WHV employers (re 88 days) in this regard.

Would need to know much more about your circumstances, goals and plans in order to give you any specific advice - happy to do so at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vivien said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a few questions about my best visa options. I will explain first my background.
> I'm french, I have worked as an architect back in France for 3 years. (Master degree of architecture). Last may, I arrived in Australia with a working holiday visa. Since then I mostly traveled and worked in unskilled jobs (farm hand and labourer in construction). My plan was to keep on travelling in other countries, but it somehow changed since I met an australian girl a bit more than one month ago. I will leave the country in may, just before the end of my working holiday visa. Still, I want to come back soon and settle down here, finding a job fitting more to my skills (in architecture).
> Here are my first ideas:
> 1/ Apply for a second year visa and then looking for a sponsorship in an architect agency. The main problem is that even if I worked more than 88 days in farms, I can't prove it as some jobs were cash in hand. If immigration refuses my visa, I'm scared that it compromise my chances to get another kind of visa
> 2/ Apply for a skilled visa directly, but if I understood well, it can take time, and I really want to come back soon. In that case, can I come back with, for example, one tourist visa while waiting?
> 3/ Apply for a student visa and getting a dilpoma equivalence in architecture in Asutralia. Then, I would be able to apply for a partner visa. This last option would be more expensive so I would pick it only if there is no other viable solutions.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi EtchedCards -

Thanks for the note. The regulations in this area re: 485 visa, multiple qualifications and qualifications where credit has been given so entire qual was not taken are complex - would need to work with you in a consultation in order to carefully work through the details of each qual and see whether the combination of degrees and the exemption rules are met or not - not a simple question. See website link in my signature below for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



EtchedCards said:


> Hi Mark,
> I recently completed my 3.5 years studies in Australia and i received a bachelor in business. I also applied my first visa after 2011 November 5 making me eligible for 485 post study work stream visa.
> 
> But now i encountered big problem
> I completed my advanced diploma in business management on 572 visa in first 2 years.
> Then i continued my studies in higher education for bachelor degree on 573 visa. The advanced diploma in business gave me exemptions for 1.5 years out of required 3 years. Hence i only completed 1.5 years in higher education altough the whole degree from start to finish was in AU.
> 
> One agent to who i talked on the phone told me that i am still eligible for that visa but after I went today to a different agent i was informed that i had to complete whole degree in higher education sector and exemptions doesnt count if they are from VET studies.
> 
> Is it true? Am i not eligible for the 485 visa?
> 
> I also found this line in immigration website:
> Credits and exemptions
> Credits for prior learning may reduce the amount of study undertaken. Credit granted on the basis of study undertaken in Australia in a course registered with CRICOS may contribute towards meeting the Australian study requirement, but only once.
> 
> All this makes me very confused.
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Darklord09 -

No way to predict how long NSW will take, unfortunately. And no guarantee that even if you are invited to apply for NSW sponsorship, that NSW will approve the sponsorship and then cause a 190 invitation from DIBP. Wish there was more certain info available.

Best,

Mark Northam



darklord09 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I have been assessed as Engineering Technologist 233914 by EA.
> I submitted separate EOI for 189 and 190 on 23rd March. I received an invitation from NSW on 7th April where I had to pay 300 AUD.
> When should I expect an visa application invitation though it says it will take maximum 12 weeks for processing?
> I have IELTS score of 7 in all the bands. I have also carried out Relevant Skilled Employment Assessment by EA and rewarded 5 years of work experience.My total point is 60 without the state nomination.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pallavidhar -

Thanks for the note. See ACS website for detailed descriptions of each ANZSCO occuaption they assess - this should be helpful in identifying the best occupation code based on your individual work experience and educational quals.

Re: letters, each person must write their own letter! Do not write them for them - a huge mistake. DIBP India is very aggressively checking employment claims, sending people to businesses unannounced to talk to the first person they find to see if they remember you, etc. If it is determined that the person did not write the letter they signed their name to, that's a huge red flag for your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pallavidhar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am from India and currently applying for PR under the skilled visa (189) sub class. I am stuck at the the ACS stage. Would be really grateful if you could help me with the following doubts :-
> 
> 1) I cannot get reference letters from my previous companies. So I am getting statutory declarations for my past and present jobs. I am putting it in a good format, but how do I get it signed by all my previous managers .Two of them are not even in India right now.
> 
> 2) My code is 'system admin' and I have mentioned the roles as per my experience. Is it a sample of what duties fall under that code ? How can I ensure a positive ACS under that code?
> 
> 3) Can I repeat the duties for two of my last jobs as the job profile was the same. Or do I need to put separate roles and responsibilities for all my employment letters?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Pallavi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clayton -

Would depend on whether she could get another visitor visa to come to Australia (probably an ETA since she's American) and if that visa did not have condition 8503 (no further stay). If she gets a visitor visa and it does not have condition 8503 on it, she should be able to lodge an onshore partner visa while in Australia on that visa. However coming to Australia to lodge a partner visa is not a valid reason to have a visitor visa, so better if you do not come to that decision until after she is in Australia - better off to apply based on spending more time together with you AND having an itinerary of visitor visa-type things to see such as tourist attractions, traveling within Australia, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Twigsta90 said:


> Hello my name is clayton, I am an Australian citizen and my girl friend is from America we have been dating for a bit over 2 years we first met online then she came over just for two weeks on a holiday visa just for two weeks to meet me soon after she came back and lived at my house for a whole year on a working visa and then left and came back on another holiday visa to stay longer and travel together we have traveling photos and her bills addressed to my house.
> 
> Soon after I went to America to visit her
> 
> My question is we are now ready to move for in to my house in Sydney for much longer and want to get the defecto patner visa and prove we have been going out for more then one year as we kept in touch while not together.
> 
> Is she able to come on a three month visitor visa and apply for a patner visa and if so would she get a return visa or a One way to Australia as I belive on a visitor visa on a one way would not look right
> 
> Please get back to me thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tbone -

Thanks for the note. Generally speaking, if you want to have the experience count for points and you believe it is closely related to your nominated occupation, then you may want to have it assessed. There is no requirement that all work experience claimed for points be assessed by a skills assessor, but if you have some assessed and some not, that may cause a problem with DIBP later on - DIBP always has the right to require work experience to be assessed if they come to the conclusion that it may not be relevant to your occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tbone said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'll shortly be undergoing a skills assessment with VETASSESS, under the Industrial Designer code (232312). From Nov 2012 - Sept 15 I was a Design Engineer, then I was promoted to a Technical Manager. My duties as a Design Engineer fit the requirements, and much (almost all) of what I do as a Technical Manager is actually the same as before, besides managing people in addition to my previous duties. I was wondering if I should put forward my experience as a Technical Manager? I don't wish to be assessed as a manager as I've only been in that position for 7 months, but if I don't, I miss out on 5 points as I just miss the 3 year threshold.
> 
> Thanks for any help,
> 
> T


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Simranbrar -

I'd wait another 1-2 months, then check in with them (politely).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



simranbrar said:


> hi Mark
> i applied for Australian citizenship on 28 feb 2016 through ministerial discretion. i haven't heard anything yet. its 7 weeks now. what should i do? should i call them or wait? thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassie -

Thanks for the note. Will depend on what the overall assessment of all the relationship evidence looks like - I don't know enough about your application to know whether it falls within the narrow group of applications that requires 2 Form 888's. In your circumstances, you may want to provide as many statements as possible but not on Form 888 unless from Australian citizens or PR - people can write their statements on the computer in a document, print out, sign & date, and include a copy of their passport or ID.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cassie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much, my application has been considered as valid as you said. However, as Australia is a land of diversity, we don't have genuine commun friends or any family, only New zealanders and Europeans. So we decided not to be dishonest and sent our application with only one statement from a commun australian citizen friend, and an other from a non-australien. I am sending now a statement explaining the situation as we didn't want to fake anything. What do you think about it Mark ? Are they going to decline my visa for this reason ?
> 
> Have a good day Mark,
> And thank you again.
> 
> Cassie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prestyler -

Normally it's a single trip of 28 days or more, but DIBP is not clear on this in the language of the policy so they may ask you for this - no way to predict accurately.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



prestyler said:


> EVIDENCE OF POLIO VACCINATION
> Visa applicants, applying from outside Australia, who have spent 28 days or longer in Afghanistan, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia or Syria, or in any combination of these countries, on or after 5 May 2014 should provide a vaccination certificate as evidence that they have been vaccinated against polio. Failure to provide the certificate may result in delays processing your application.
> This measure is in response to the World Health Organization's declaration of wild poliovirus transmission as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
> 
> I have been to Pakistan during this time period, but not spent 28 days straight, i have had 4 trips around each around 10 days.. so does this apply to me also ?


----------



## aussie11

Hi,

I am NSW visa 190 PR holder with my family (wife/son). We are planning initial entry/landing to Australia in Sep 2016 for one week.

1) Can we land in to Melbourne, Victoria instead of Sydney, NSW for initial entry?

2) Secondly, we are planning our second child delivery in 1st quarter of 2017. As I have few close friends in Melbourne, the preference would be to have baby delivered in Melbourne and then go back to overseas to wrap up and then finally move to Sydney permanently to live and work by 3rd / 4th quarter of 2017. 
Please let me know if there would be any future consequences as per above plan in terms of new-born registration/child benefits (as initially it would be with Victoria instead of NSW), family citizenship, etc.

I understand the moral commitment of visa 190 and I will stand behind the same and ensure that we all as a family unit will live and work in NSW once we move permanently to Australia in 2017.

Look forward for your kind response.

Regards,


----------



## Cori21

*Need advice please!*

Hi Mark,

so to my current situation: I´ve stayed in Australia for 2 Years on WHVs. During my 2nd year I met my current boyfriend and we´re together since 9 months now. Unfortunately my visa deceased and I had to leave so I am back in Germany now. So I was wondering if I could just get a 3 months eVisitor (651) to return to Australia, complete the ´12 months´ requirement and apply for an onshore partnership visa then (820). Is this possible?

Thanks in advance and hope you can help me,

Cori


----------



## pallavidhar

Thanks a lot for your time Mark. Need a bit more help with the following :-

1) I realized that system admin fall under '190' CSOL and not 189 SOL. My daily tasks also match with another ANZSCO code on SOL list. Can I apply for ACS under one code, and if recommended for another, pay the 200 dollars additional fee and accept the one they consider more suitable ? Am a bit confused with both the codes and am more keen to get 189, as 190 will restrict me to one state. 

2) In case I do get 190, how much time do I have to wait to find a suitable job before I can appeal for an NOC and a change of state ?

3) Can I send e mails to my ex managers outside India, get them to print and sign the letters and send me a scanned copy back? I can then get it attested. That should work, right ?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussie11 -

No problem landing in Melbourne, but you will need to review whatever terms you may have agreed to with NSW Skilled re: your contractual or other obligations to them. No way to predict consequences if you breach your agreement with them - have never heard of anyone being prosecuted, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. I'd talk to NSW Skilled about your situation and see if you can get further details on how they might handle it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussie11 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am NSW visa 190 PR holder with my family (wife/son). We are planning initial entry/landing to Australia in Sep 2016 for one week.
> 
> 1) Can we land in to Melbourne, Victoria instead of Sydney, NSW for initial entry?
> 
> 2) Secondly, we are planning our second child delivery in 1st quarter of 2017. As I have few close friends in Melbourne, the preference would be to have baby delivered in Melbourne and then go back to overseas to wrap up and then finally move to Sydney permanently to live and work by 3rd / 4th quarter of 2017.
> Please let me know if there would be any future consequences as per above plan in terms of new-born registration/child benefits (as initially it would be with Victoria instead of NSW), family citizenship, etc.
> 
> I understand the moral commitment of visa 190 and I will stand behind the same and ensure that we all as a family unit will live and work in NSW once we move permanently to Australia in 2017.
> 
> Look forward for your kind response.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cori21 -

You might be able to get this, however with 24 months spent in Australia recently, there is a chance of refusal unless you can provide good reasons why you could not undertake the visitor activities planned for the 651 while you were previously here on the WHV's. Whether you left prior to your visa expiring (deceased means "dead" or "died") or not (ie,, overstayed) also may make a difference in the assessment for the 651.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cori21 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> so to my current situation: I´ve stayed in Australia for 2 Years on WHVs. During my 2nd year I met my current boyfriend and we´re together since 9 months now. Unfortunately my visa deceased and I had to leave so I am back in Germany now. So I was wondering if I could just get a 3 months eVisitor (651) to return to Australia, complete the ´12 months´ requirement and apply for an onshore partnership visa then (820). Is this possible?
> 
> Thanks in advance and hope you can help me,
> 
> Cori


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pallavidhar -

Re: 1 - Yes. Re: 2, no formal procedure for changing states under 190 - this would be up to you working this out with your sponsoring state. Re: 3 - should work as long as attestor will accept scanned copy of document and it meets the requirements of the skills assessor (they are all different) and DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pallavidhar said:


> Thanks a lot for your time Mark. Need a bit more help with the following :-
> 
> 1) I realized that system admin fall under '190' CSOL and not 189 SOL. My daily tasks also match with another ANZSCO code on SOL list. Can I apply for ACS under one code, and if recommended for another, pay the 200 dollars additional fee and accept the one they consider more suitable ? Am a bit confused with both the codes and am more keen to get 189, as 190 will restrict me to one state.
> 
> 2) In case I do get 190, how much time do I have to wait to find a suitable job before I can appeal for an NOC and a change of state ?
> 
> 3) Can I send e mails to my ex managers outside India, get them to print and sign the letters and send me a scanned copy back? I can then get it attested. That should work, right ?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## Alisha282

*Visa 189- sponsor Brother*

Hi Mark,

We have received our Visa 189. Wanted to check if i can sponsor my brother and his wife and if yes on what visa ? Can he also work ?

Thanks
Alisha


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alisah -

Unfortunately no good way to do this in the family visa area - the only family sponsored visas (other than visitor visas) currently is the subclass 489 provisional skilled visa if you and he meet the requirements for this - see Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection site for more on the family sponsored option for 489 (note you need to find a state sponsoring his occupation, and his occupation must be on the SOL list, plus other requirements).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Alisha282 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We have received our Visa 189. Wanted to check if i can sponsor my brother and his wife and if yes on what visa ? Can he also work ?
> 
> Thanks
> Alisha


----------



## aussie11

Appreciate your feedback Mark.

This is NSW visa 190 so 2 years work/live condition is there which I will abide once I permanently move to Australia.

Look forward to know more based on your correspondence with NSW Skilled.

Thanks Mark.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Aussie11 -
> 
> No problem landing in Melbourne, but you will need to review whatever terms you may have agreed to with NSW Skilled re: your contractual or other obligations to them. No way to predict consequences if you breach your agreement with them - have never heard of anyone being prosecuted, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. I'd talk to NSW Skilled about your situation and see if you can get further details on how they might handle it.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussie11 -

Thanks for the note - sorry for any confusion - I was suggesting that you have a talk with NSW skilled as the best way to determine what options may exist. Typically these things tend to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis as there appears to be no formal procedure for being released from the state obligations. Substantial evidence of a good faith but unsuccessful job search has proven helpful for applicants in the past.

Best,

Mark



aussie11 said:


> Appreciate your feedback Mark.
> 
> This is NSW visa 190 so 2 years work/live condition is there which I will abide once I permanently move to Australia.
> 
> Look forward to know more based on your correspondence with NSW Skilled.
> 
> Thanks Mark.


----------



## aussie11

Sorry Mark for the confusion.

As said in my original post, my intention is to be in *Victoria only for a few months* (or whatever it takes) for our newborn's arrival. This is so because we have friends and family support in Victoria. After the baby's arrival, I will definitely move to NSW and fulfill my commitment to live and work in NSW for at least 2 years.

The reason I posted this thread is to beware of complications, if any (either now or later on during citizenship application) due to not having moved to NSW during this initial time.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Aussie11 -
> 
> Thanks for the note - sorry for any confusion - I was suggesting that you have a talk with NSW skilled as the best way to determine what options may exist. Typically these things tend to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis as there appears to be no formal procedure for being released from the state obligations. Substantial evidence of a good faith but unsuccessful job search has proven helpful for applicants in the past.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussie11 -

Ah, that clears things up. I have never heard of a state skilled authority causing problems in a situation like that with either the initial 2 year period or later on. Given the newborn's arrival, I would think that would very likely satisfy any concern NSW Skilled would have. No way to predict impact on citizenship, however have never heard of even an unexplained breach of the 2 yr commitment causing problems later on at citizenship (although this is a common question asked by applicants).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussie11 said:


> Sorry Mark for the confusion.
> 
> As said in my original post, my intention is to be in *Victoria only for a few months* (or whatever it takes) for our newborn's arrival. This is so because we have friends and family support in Victoria. After the baby's arrival, I will definitely move to NSW and fulfill my commitment to live and work in NSW for at least 2 years.
> 
> The reason I posted this thread is to beware of complications, if any (either now or later on during citizenship application) due to not having moved to NSW during this initial time.


----------



## aussie11

Appreciate your valuable input Mark.

Now I can proceed with my plans.

Cheers



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Aussie11 -
> 
> Ah, that clears things up. I have never heard of a state skilled authority causing problems in a situation like that with either the initial 2 year period or later on. Given the newborn's arrival, I would think that would very likely satisfy any concern NSW Skilled would have. No way to predict impact on citizenship, however have never heard of even an unexplained breach of the 2 yr commitment causing problems later on at citizenship (although this is a common question asked by applicants).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## sunshiner

*186 information please*

Hi Mark,
For a 186 direct entry application it says you must have worked only for a short time in Australia. Are you able to clarifty what a short time means please? I have currently worked for 2months on a 457 but I previously worked in Australia for 1 year on a working holiday visa (1992) and 2years as a permanent resident in 1994-96, would this be considered more than a short time and exclude me from 186 direct entry? 
Thanks in anticipation of your reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunshiner -

Thanks for the note. That language on the DIBP website is somewhat misleading to a lot of people - for 186 direct entry pathway, there is no limit (max or min) on the amount of time you may have worked in Australia prior to applying, however as part of the requirements for that pathway you need to show at least 3 years of full time paid employment in your occupation after you become skilled at the occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunshiner said:


> Hi Mark,
> For a 186 direct entry application it says you must have worked only for a short time in Australia. Are you able to clarifty what a short time means please? I have currently worked for 2months on a 457 but I previously worked in Australia for 1 year on a working holiday visa (1992) and 2years as a permanent resident in 1994-96, would this be considered more than a short time and exclude me from 186 direct entry?
> Thanks in anticipation of your reply.


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Dear Mark,

I am from India looking to apply for 190 visa. My wife's passport has the address of one of the rented place which she used to live at. Do you suggest me to get it changed in her passport to the present dwelling place (which is my permanent address). Not sure if it is necessary as I have our marriage certificate which has the correct address details as of today. Do you think it may create a problem at the time of verification or PCC ?? Please note that she is the dependent and I am NOT claiming any spouse points. Also I have ample time as of now to apply for visa as I have recently applied my EOI for NSW. So if required to change address in passport I do not have any issues. Your comments please.


----------



## Vinaych

Hi Mark

I have an Australian 189 (Permanent Resident) Visa. When i got this Visa i am not married. Now i am married and i want to add my wife to the PR. Can you please advise how do i do it and what is the procedure. Currently i am residing outside of Australia.

Regards, Vinay


----------



## rohankapoor

Hi Mark, Can you respond to my query?


----------



## viv101

Hello Mark and All

i was invited for 190 NSW with 65+5 points. Not claiming any points for spouse.
i filled up the online application form lastw week.
i was casually reviewing the pdf of the application submitted , to my horror the form said Dependants as NONE.!
i have three dependants as per EOI

I've forgotten if dependent information was even asked during filing of 190 application online for NSW or was it i just missed it!!

can you please help me as to what should i do now?

thank you.


----------



## sunshiner

Thanks Mark, does that 3years have to be within the last 10?
Lorraine



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sunshiner -
> 
> Thanks for the note. That language on the DIBP website is somewhat misleading to a lot of people - for 186 direct entry pathway, there is no limit (max or min) on the amount of time you may have worked in Australia prior to applying, however as part of the requirements for that pathway you need to show at least 3 years of full time paid employment in your occupation after you become skilled at the occupation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Undercover elephant

Dear Mark,

Hope you could help with a simple question. It's a trivial matter compared to some people's problems but the waiting is starting to grate. on our nerves. My partner has applied for sponsored 309 permanent partner visa (paper form) through the Guangzhou office. Recently I called the office as it was approaching 6 months since application, to ask whether a CO has been assigned. They did not have this information. However, a few days later, my partner received an email requesting a medical and notarized police clearance. This email came 6 months to the day since application. The police certificate was submitted to the office three days later and my partner also sat the medical on this day, the medical centre said it would take at most three days to submit the medical results to Australia. That was 8 days ago.

While previously we had mentally prepared for a 8-10 month wait minimum, up to 12-15 months, we are now increasingly anxious and at the same time hopeful that this means the visa could be granted soon, possibly without an interview. Most cases I have seen call for medicals and police certificate after the interview or grant visa after this, especially if the medical was done a few months after application at request of the CO. I assume we now have a CO who has requested these documents. However some cases still drag for months after.

In your experience, does approval normally follow medical request and how soon after from China? Do you think we would still have a telephone interview? My partner checked online in Chinese and some people said a telephone interview is still a possibility. We are prepared for one just in case but I would think they would not want us to waste our money on police clearance or medicals if they were not somewhat confident about our case. I hope you could shed a little light as there does not seem to be any fixed procedure and we are increasingly hopeful. It would really be difficult to now have to wait another 6 months or so after we have gotten our hopes up of a speedy approval. Thanks in advance for your input.


----------



## John_K

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your help on this forum!

Question about 457 visa:

I (International student) was employed as an intern through the university 6 month program (University Technology Sydney). I was paid a full time intern. After 6 month of internship and graduation I was offered a full time position and sponsorship on 457 visa.

*The question is: can the salary of the 6 month internship be counted towards 1% training expense of the payroll of the business for obtaining SBS? *

Thank you!!!!


----------



## raj126

*reference letter*

Hello Mark.

My name is Rajiv. Please answer below 2 questions :

Do reference is checked for those companies too for which no points are claimed.?

Is it mandatory to submit the same document(Statutory Declaration) that I sent for ACS? Can I get the new statutory declaration made and signed off by someone else (New Boss May be) for the same company as my previous has left and upload that while uploading documents for Visa?


----------



## sai1705

Hi Mark, 

Here is my Profile:
Occupation : HR Advisor, Skills Assessment - Vetasses, IELTS - 7 overall.

I am looking forward to apply for NT sponsership under subclass 489

As per their website, there's a condition on recent work experience as follows:
"Evidence of recent previous employment in the occupation for which you have provided an assessment (Note: All applicants outside Australia are required to provide verifiable evidence of full time employment in their nominated occupation for no less than 12 months out of the last twenty-four (24) months or alternatively have Australian qualifications)."

In the last 24 months, I have changed by company and I am working with my current employer since last 11 months now...its a small construction company and am getting paid in cash (under non- taxable bracket) hence no bank statement or Tax statement is available ....

My question is, can I still apply as I may not be able to produce any varifiable evidence later on if asked by the CO example.
Regards, Sai


----------



## Vinaych

Hi Mark

Can you please reply to my query

Regards, Vinay



Vinaych said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have an Australian 189 (Permanent Resident) Visa. When i got this Visa i am not married. Now i am married and i want to add my wife to the PR. Can you please advise how do i do it and what is the procedure. Currently i am residing outside of Australia.
> 
> Regards, Vinay


----------



## chicken999

Hi mark, I'm wondering if you can help please. We are about to apply for stage 2 after pmv then 820 granted 2 years ago.

All my id is in married name except my passport which is nearly full and has 11/2 year left to expiry. I don't want to get a new one yet. So I'm filling in my details with married name as that's my name but when I fill in passport details it doesn't have option to put different name..

Will this matter? And if so what do I do? 


Many thanks in advance .

Sent from my iPad using Australia


----------



## MoonRising

*student visa refusal but can I apply for 190 visa after that?*

Dear Mark,

thanks for your help with my previous questions! Much appreciated!

Now I have a new dilemma, I currently am on a Bridging visa awaiting a student visa. However, my goal is to apply for a 190 WA state nomination visa, once I find a job in WA which is requirement for the 190 visa.

Meanwhile, my student visa is at risk of being refused. I applied for it because my previous visa was expiring and I needed to stay in Australia to look for jobs etc. DIBP just wrote to me asking for more information in regards to why I want to do the course etc.. they have given me 28 days to reply. The issue is, no matter what I say, they are going to refuse me the student visa... as the course is below what I studied before and my previous attempt to change student visas was unsuccessful, I was already found as not being a genuine student.

Another issue is, the student visa was applied through a dodgy agent who actually didn't put their names in as my agent (I just found out), so it looks like I applied for it myself (which I didn't) and they didn't fill out all the information in 157A form. Immigration is asking me to resend that form and give evidence that I am genuine student, if I don't resend the form and do not reply, will they just dismiss my student visa or will it be refused? Will they give me another 28 days to leave the country if my student visa is refused?

I'm frantically looking for jobs and I have some contacts now that are helping as well, but I need time to apply for WA state sponsorship and get approval etc before I apply for the 190 visa. So my question is when the student visa is refused whilst I'm still here, can I apply for the 190 visa within those 28 days? Or do I have to leave the country if the refusal comes through?

So basically I would like to know how much time I have to work on my 190 visa and whether I can still apply for a new visa after my refusal comes through. I got the email for more information on Monday 18th April, so 28 days from that, plus another 4-6 weeks I assume?

Thanks so much!

Very sorry for the long post...


----------



## itaus

*sponsor payslips and bank statements*

hello,

i am sponsoring my partner as we are applying for a defacto visa and i was wondering if i need to include pay slips or a bank statement showing my financial status. is this compulsory or will the government request this at a later stage if they need it.

thank you in advance


----------



## andrewcool

Hi Mark,

My wife have been requested to get a Hong Kong Police Certificate from the email a few days ago by CO and this is quite stressing and confusing for us. Here are the details as below:

"Character requirements - Hong Kong Police Certificate

In order to be granted a visa for entry to Australia you must meet the character requirement. You must provide a police certificate from HK from each country where you have lived for a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years (these 12 months are calculated cumulatively and need not have been consecutive). Country-specific instructions on how to obtain a police clearance are at Character and police certificate requirements."

I am confused for this for what details and documents to send to Hong Kong?

From our understanding, we send the documents/details of:

1) Passport (photocopy + certified by JPP)
2) Hong Kong ID (photocopy + certified by JPP)
3) Referral letter from CO. This one, I am not sure if the email we received i.e. "REQUEST CHECKLIST AND DETAILS" of the 4 pages that is enough which states to get the Hong Kong Police Certificate or do they need the official letter from CO? If so, we do not have it and how do we obtain it?
4) Application form (where is the application form or link that we need to fill in and send it to?)

Hope you can answer the 4 questions above would be appreciated!

Cheers


----------



## Jimmy66

*Assessment help*

Hi guys I'm trying to emigrate from UK to Australia I'm trying to gather references in my occupation as a bricklayer which I have NVQ in and many years experience but for the past 5 years ive been working for the local council on the ground maintenance team and I only do repairess to walls and various different building jobs slabbing etc for 50% of the year and the other 50% in summer time cut grass and hedges dig graves etc so its hard to get references stating bricklayer for a whole year in the past 5 unless its pro rarta any help would be great also many of the companies ive worked for in the past have gone into liquidation during the recession so struggling with references


----------



## whyhelp

*Student Visa to Partner Visa*

Hi Mark,

Quick general question. My partner is from China. We have almost lived together for a year now. She is on a student visa at the moment and is set to expire by the end of 2018. We are planning to lodge our Partner Visa 820 next month or so.

My question is what implications there are for lodging the Partner Visa.

- Will this automatically cancel her Student Visa?
- Will she get a bridging visa? If so, what bridging visa will it be?
- Is it possible for her to continue being on a student visa until a decision is made in regards to our partner visa application?
- I may be confused about obtaining 2 visas concurrently, and obtaining 1 whilst applying for another.

Please help.

Kind regards,

Allan


----------



## vdp

hi Mark ,my bridging visa B expired last feb 12,2016 and currently I'm offshore...I was advised to renew my bridging is it possible? sorry but i'm confuse.

regards


----------



## Rahil

Hi My name is Rachel and I am a permanent resident , a housewife. My husband is an Australian citizen He is an RN. We are planning to sponsor my niece to live here so she can have a better life. What visa do we need to apply for her? She is 21 and recently graduated from Uni .She has bachelor degree in Biology and no work experience yet, she can speak english fluently. Hope you can help me , thank you


----------



## kittie

Hi Mark,

My partner was on a second year WHV, he comes from France. We compiled all documents for Partner Visa 820 ourselves and had everything organised and ready to submit online however when I went to do the final submit I ran into all sorts of technical problems - I kept getting 'system error' messages and by the time it was sorted out, it was 1 hour past the cutoff (meaning he was unlawfully in the country for an hour). 
A few weeks later we received a schedule 3 email. How can I say that this was a 'factor beyond my control' I just feel so hopeless, are they going to laugh in our faces and deny? I don't think we have many compelling reasons as there are no children involved, we are only 26 years old, not married. Is this the end.....


----------



## simranbrar

whyhelp said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Quick general question. My partner is from China. We have almost lived together for a year now. She is on a student visa at the moment and is set to expire by the end of 2018. We are planning to lodge our Partner Visa 820 next month or so.
> 
> My question is what implications there are for lodging the Partner Visa.
> 
> - Will this automatically cancel her Student Visa?
> - Will she get a bridging visa? If so, what bridging visa will it be?
> - Is it possible for her to continue being on a student visa until a decision is made in regards to our partner visa application?
> - I may be confused about obtaining 2 visas concurrently, and obtaining 1 whilst applying for another.
> 
> Please help.
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Allan


HI THERE

Once she will apply for partner visa ,she will get bridging visa but it will comes into effect once her current visa (student visa) will expire.
She must have to comply with her current visa. If her student visa cancelled during the process of her partner visa then her partner visa will be cancelled as well.


----------



## n=ro

*Skills Assessment*

Dear Mark,

First of all, thank you for the tremendous help you are offering on this forum. It's truly a great service for everyone who tries to grapple with the complexities of australian immigration law.

In my case, I just came back from Oz, 1 year WHV. It was a fabulous experience, and now I'm attempting to work my way back longterm through Skilled Migration.

My field of interest is carpentry/ cabinetmaking which is currently still on the SOL. Which leads me to my first question:

_-Is there any place to look up the History of Skill Shortages/ the SOL in order to determine some longterm patterns of what might be needed in a few years time? Or would say, that attempts to predict future shortages are a waste of time?_

Second, the skills assessment:
_- For carpentry/cabinetmaking, is the TRA the only organisation authorized to assess your qualification?
- The TRA states, that assessment is only possible after three years of work experience. Can you tell me whether this includes paid labour during your training?_
_- Is there any way to shorten that 3 year period? (E.g through working in Australia)_

Thank you for four time & expertise

best regards,
Kilian


----------



## Percie1903

*Confussed&#128533;*

Hi Mark, first off just like to thank you because i find you blog/forum very helpful as its has alot of information that is easily accessed, and in the world of confusion that is immigration and visas any help is much appreciated especially from someone with your experience and knowledge in the area.
I have a question regarding the e-visitor 651 visa. If I come into the country on a 651 visa and apply for another visa, do I have to wait till this visa expires to get a bridging visa or can I cancle the 651 so it doesn't last the full 12 months. Ie. after a 3 month stay once a new visa application is in place. Any clarity on this and i would be very greatfull. Regards Percie.


----------



## Kaffee

*PMV - Once activated can I return to England to carry on packing up my life here?*

I am exited to say that I have received my visa grant today only 5 months after applying. I wasn't expecting it so soon and I have just booked and paid for return flights for July/August on a tourist visa.

My question is - If I fly in to Australia in July and so activate my PMV can I return to England as planned in August before moving properly and finally in the Spring?


----------



## saaz.stha

Hi Mark,

Seeking your expert advice on my case. I have been invited for 189 Independent Skilled Migration and I am waiting for a case officer to be assigned. My case is a little different, My wife is 21 weeks pregnant now and she hasn't done the medicals under HAP id yet. I am through with everything. Its generally not recommended that pregnant women do Xrays and we too arent willing to do it. But around 4 months back my wife was having hayfever which caused her intense coughing. Our GP recommended doing Chest Xray and something was seen in her chest and our GP sent us to the TB Centre. The TB Centre took all the tests and did one more Chest Xray and gave us a letter saying no TB nothing at all.

Now my concern is since she has done enough Xrays and we have all the reports and with a supporting letter from the TB Centre, Department of Health, can by any chance the CXRay in the medicals requirement of my Wife be waived and only other tests could be done...

Please share any similar cases you had..

Thanks

Sagar


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Dear Mark,

Hope you are doing good.

Could you please let me know whether 189/190 allows the person to join any profession/occupation in Australia ? I yes, then what is the use of all this skill assessment and other relevant job references. ? I have seen many of my friends holding 189 visa and have started small businesses in Australia. Please comment.


----------



## Gaucho

Hi Mark 
I'm a sponsor filling out my 40sp form and I have a question regarding the police checks.

I have lived in Australia and Canada in the last 10 years and understand I need to provide police checks for those two as it has been over 12 months in each. 

My question is relating to the UK. The total time I lived there was around 18 months, but only the last few months were in the last 10 years. It seems like a grey area. Does anyone know absolutely one way or the other whether I need a police check? Getting one will be a bit difficult as I'm not sure I can remember enough details to get one done

Thanks in advance!


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Hello Mark,

Can you please tell me if I give PTE multiple times which score is valid out of all the attempts ?? Will that be the highest one or the latest one or anyone ???

Thanks in advance.


----------



## blkprl

*888 receny*

Hi Mark

Hopefully this is a quick and easy question! We have had some 888 forms completed by family and friends, however they are about 4-5 months old now. How long are they considered valid?

Our submission (for permanent partner visa, my partner already has temporary spouse) has been delayed for various reasons (mainly my procrastination but we have also been looking for a property to buy)!!

Don't really want to annoy my friends again to re-write it but I will if we have to...

Thanks in advance!!


----------



## blkprl

*Solved I think...*



blkprl said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hopefully this is a quick and easy question! We have had some 888 forms completed by family and friends, however they are about 4-5 months old now. How long are they considered valid?
> 
> Our submission (for permanent partner visa, my partner already has temporary spouse) has been delayed for various reasons (mainly my procrastination but we have also been looking for a property to buy)!!
> 
> Don't really want to annoy my friends again to re-write it but I will if we have to...
> 
> Thanks in advance!!


I hope this is still valid, but after posting this question, I found this...(need to improve my search skills):

Originally Posted by MarkNortham View Post
Hi IndyMama - Note that the Form 888 time limit of no more than 6 weeks old applies only if you are applying onshore, have been previously refused a visa (and are section 48 barred), and are lodging a partner visa after being refused for another visa. Other than that, the 6 week time limit does not apply. Hope this helps - Best, Mark Northam


----------



## omar_ap

Hi Mark,

I really need a help to guide my decision.

I'm currently doing my PhD in Canberra, and have been invited to submit189 and 190 visa.

I have 60 points for 189 and 65 points for 190.

I actually prefer to apply for 189 visa, but I am not sure if the point that I am currently having will not be changed when I have lodged the visa application.

I have two questions which I hope can bolden my final decision. 

1. What's the chance that DIAC will reduce point from working experience if VETASSESS have decided that certain years of my working experiences can be categorised as relevant?

2. The IELTS that I submitted in EOI for both 189 and 190 had no point as one band has 6.5 score. Despite this, I still have enough points and is invited to apply. Do you think I should sit on another IELTS test to try to get points out of it or just proceed with visa application (considering that point 1 is likely to happen).

Please help me!!


----------



## fshamim2012

HI mark, 
I am Business analyst , I have got my ACS assessment positive yesterday and employment after April 2008 is considered, I have 6.5 IELTS band over all with (L-6, R-6.5, W-6.5, S-6.5 | Overall - 6.5), i have 55+5(state nomination)=60 points. Please let me know if i am eligible to apply for EIO and which state - Also let me know ceiling for Business analyst in NSW

Thanks in advance

Waiaing for tour kind reply


----------



## greg89

*Registering Relationship*

Hi Mark, I am a new member to the forum but have been following it for some time.

I would like to ask a question regarding registering a relationship to waiver the 12 month requirement. Apologies if this has been answered before but i cannot find anything specific to my situation.

I am a UK resident and my partner lives in Melbourne. I am moving to Australia on my 2nd WHV next month, with plans to apply for a 801/820 visa at the end of the WHV in 05/2017 - I like to plan ahead!
Although we are in a genuine relationship we are going to struggle to prove the 12 month living together requirement as prior to this we have been travelling with no real evidence of living together available, I had hoped that I could register the relationship to waiver this requirement, I believe we will have sufficient evidence to otherwise prove that the relationship is genuine and on-going.

I see two possible options;
Apply for the 820 visa just before the WHV ends and shortly after register the relationship with Victoria as we should then have evidence of living together for 12 months in melbourne. (would holidays out of Victoria and Australia during the 12 months effect this?)

Or, for both of us to move to NSW and register the relationship there and return to Victoria at a later date. (Not sure if this would look suspicious)

Please any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks,
Greg


----------



## tbone

Hi Mark,

I am starting the skills assessment process with Vetassess on Industrial Designer (ANZSCO Code 232312). It asks me what visa type I want to apply for general (GSM) or regional state sponsorship RSMS. I am unsure what one I should select. I am planning on applying for a Skilled Nominated 190 visas (state sponsorship**) please advise if this is the correct visa application and Vetassess option.

Thanks,
T


----------



## rohankapoor

*Awaiting legal action*

Dowry charges are apply on me and my family ,and in complaint(FIR) there is not such any serious allegation on me,and charges are going to drop within 3 months ,Can it lead to some problem for my student visa ?


----------



## Gary_jatt

Hi mark or if anyone could answer this please , just a question regarding my situation,, i have applied for partner visa and i got my medicare card,, but i am holding temporary visa 461,, now my question is do i still to keep my overseas health insurance????


----------



## harry5654

*Visitor Visa 600 Refused*

Dear Sir,

Today I got refusal for my Visitor Visa with below reason.

Under policy, in establishing whether 600.211 (c) is satisfied, it is relevant to consider an applicant's personal circumstances. An applicant's economic and employment circumstances in their home country need to constitute strong incentives for the applicant to return to their home country at the end of the proposed visit, in order to satisfy the genuine temporary stay requirement.

From the information provided in your application and supporting documentation I note that you are currently employed with Fluent Academy and intend to visit your friend for a period of up to three months. In support of your application you have provided bank statement, fixed deposit receipts, income tax returns, invitation letter and other documents. Although you have adequate funds available to you however total funds provided do not commensurate with the income shown in your application. Therefore I am unable to ascertain, if the available funds in your account represents your true financial capacity.
Considering that your income do not commensurate with the savings, I place little weight upon the funds provided.
I am therefore not satisfied that a genuine visit is intended.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Funds on my name : 7 Lac INR Fixed deposit, 4.5 Lac INRSaving 
& 10 lac INR joint FDR with parents.

Income : In year 2014-15 = 2 lac INR(of 5 months only as I was not in INDIA before)
In year 2016-17= 7.5 Lac INR

Note: I worked part time in Uk from 2013-14 but I did not submitted any doc of that.

Can please someone advice any solution if I reapply .

Thank You


----------



## hopeforoz

Hi Mark,
I had a query.
I am in some kind of soup and couldn't find a better person to provide some advise. 
I recently got the PR for Australia(190),sponsored by South Australia.I included my wife and two kids in the PR application and they also got the PR along with me. During this process, I thought that would be easily able to sponsor my dependent mother after I get the PR. But, I was completely wrong and my inexperienced agent also did not bring this point earlier. Now, it seems I dont have an option by which I can take my mother along permanently unless I spend two years in Australia and apply for contributory Visa and that is a very costly affair. I have been thinking about various options in the past two weeks but dont seem to find an answer. Please suggest me a way out as I cannot leave my mother alone here in India as she is solely dependent on me. 
Can I apply for another PR in some other state(where my occupation is open) and then include my mother in that application. OR Can my wife file for another PR(as she is also skilled and would be able to get a positive skill assessment) and just include my mother in her application as a dependent. But what are the risks in both these scenarios. Would I lose my existing PR without getting another one if I go via any of these routes. Request you to advise on this and any other option that you think would be better

Thanks


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Hello Mark,

Hope you are doing good. I have a simple question for you.

To prove that my spouse has a functional English, proof of primary and secondary education in English will be sufficient. My concern is what exactly is that document that the case officer is looking for ?? In our case my wife has done primary education from different schools.If CO ask for a statement from the school stating that the entire program was in English then it will be difficult for us to arrange that from different schools. We have the 10th and 12th marks sheet with us which states that the medium was English. Will that be enough ?? Similar is the case with the secondary education i.e graduation. We have the mark sheet with us where medium as English written over it. But we don't have the degree as of now as she have recently completed her graduation and may take 1-2 years to get it. Moreover I am sure that nowhere on the degree it will be mentioned that the medium was English. So will the graduation mark sheets will be sufficient here. If required we can approach the college to provide us a letter for English medium.


----------



## Gary_jatt

1984ravigupta said:


> Hello Mark, Hope you are doing good. I have a simple question for you. To prove that my spouse has a functional English, proof of primary and secondary education in English will be sufficient. My concern is what exactly is that document that the case officer is looking for ?? In our case my wife has done primary education from different schools.If CO ask for a statement from the school stating that the entire program was in English then it will be difficult for us to arrange that from different schools. We have the 10th and 12th marks sheet with us which states that the medium was English. Will that be enough ?? Similar is the case with the secondary education i.e graduation. We have the mark sheet with us where medium as English written over it. But we don't have the degree as of now as she have recently completed her graduation and may take 1-2 years to get it. Moreover I am sure that nowhere on the degree it will be mentioned that the medium was English. So will the graduation mark sheets will be sufficient here. If required we can approach the college to provide us a letter for English medium.


What visa have you applied for or are you looking to apply??


----------



## SweetCple

*Hello Mark*

Hi Mark

I understand you may only be able to speak for yourself & because your in the migration business you may know other agents & what they do in regards to uploading evidence/ proof of continuous relationship via ImmiAccount for a Prospective Marriage Visa.......

Question....Would you wait for the embassy to ask for more evidence....or would you upload more & more as time passes by (eg 13months) & alot more info becomes available to send ?....for example they know i've spent 4 months together in my fiance's country..but now its 13months waiting for visa & they don't know i've spend another four & half months again togeher since, we have ALOT of evidence to prove now & a total of 8 & half+ months together in her country in a total of 17months knowing each other...do agents normally upload as it come available OR it's better to wait until the Embassy (Moscow) ask for more...what is the best to do??

We understand each case is different & we understand the Moscow waiting time is between 10 - 14months,,,but can you give us some recent history of cases on how long they are taking to process PMV's ...eg, what time frames have you seen recently at the most?

btw, you notice in our timeline signature block it shows "PC" being February 10th 2016 this is a 2nd "Pc" as the first one expired...we don't know if at this stage the embassy has it or not!

Kind Regards


----------



## ShermD

hi mark,

Scenario
I intend to apply for the 189 Skilled migration visa.

since I work in my father's business for years, the VETASSESS asked me to submit a "Letters of testimony from the company accountant confirming your role in the (family) business" . And this is in addition to the "pay slips" and "service letters" I sent to them.

Details
We have our own accountant in our office for the business. And we are hiring a external separate accountant firm for years who do our audits, paying tax returns on our behalf etc. Both of them knows the details of our employees (salary, work durations etc) ....

Questions

1) So what does the "company accountant" mean by VETASSESS? is that the accountant working inside our office or the external accountant?

2) What is a testimony letter in simple terms? and what kind of data should/must be included in that testimony? is the name, Identity Card numbers issued by government, current salary and work duration is enough data as a testimony? or any special phrases to be included in that?

3) Should this letters include the technical job role? because the external accountant firm knows very little about my job role in the company because it's not their duty to keep a track of technical roles of employees. But our accountant who works inside our office knows all the technical roles of the employees, but I guess a letter from a such a person is not useful to the VETASSESS because that person is working in our office, so they can't verify my details from another source.

I know you can't exactly say what the VETASSESS people mean by those and what they exactly need, but, in your viewpoint, what do you think they meant by those phrases, I'm asking this because you're an experienced agent and I think you've faced similar scenarios. 

Many thanks for your time and the effort put into this.
Sherm


----------



## dorcus

Hello Mark

We have lodged subclass 189 visa application.

I am the primary applicant and my husband is dependent applicant.

My husband worked for 7 months in the UAE 3 years back and we have mentioned this in his employment history. But we failed to mention that he has stayed in the UAE for the below question:

'Have any of the applicants lived in a country other than the primary applicant's usual country of residence".

Please could you help us out and suggest what needs to be done in this case.

Thanks


----------



## andykyng

*Delay in 189*

Hello Mark, by just reading your posts I've had 90% of my questions answered.
I submitted my application on the 25th of January 2016. My EOI Score was 70 and my nominated profession was management accountant (ANZSCO code 221112).
GSM Adelaide has contacted me 3 times as follows;

8th February 2016: request for all information
10th March 2016:Form 80 and confirmation of dependents
8th April 2016: Confirmation of my UK address as further proof of my UK studies.
Apart from the first request which took about three weeks to complete, all others were submitted within 24 hours.

Aside of this I have updated my Immiaccount with two form 1023 (Correction of incorrect information)
1. Information on a spent traffic conviction which was originally omitted from the application.
2. Providing information on employment dates to confirm with employer references.

Could any of the above account for the delays in the visa being issued.

Thanks


----------



## Michael81

Hi Mark,

I have a question on how the best way to notify immi though our online account that my wife has been granted a visitor visa and will be coming for 6 months while the partner visa application is still in progress.

There's 2 options 

1. Change of address 

Or 

2. Change of circumstances 


Look forward to hearing from you

Cheers
Mike


----------



## inka99

Hi Mark. I'm from the UK and I've been in Australia since October 2006. (Working holiday visa, 457, Student, Graduate, Defacto...) 

My partner and I have been together since January 2012 and we lodged our 801 visa on 14/10/13 via mail, which was granted on 21/11/13. Woohoo!!

On 18/08/15 I received an email from Immigration requesting further information for my permanent partner visa application. I found the whole online process quite daunting as once you add a document, you can't delete it or change it, and you have a limit of 60 documents. I mistakenly added a couple of ID documents which hadn't been certified, so I had to add the certified ones as well with a different heading. Stressful but got there in the end.

I submitted the final document on 24/10/15 but, as I said, the online process threw me. It allows you to continually add to your application with new documents etc therefore there is no "ta da" moment of when you hit the "submit and send" button and off it goes. It felt like a massive anti climax....so I rang immigration to clarify a couple of things, and the lady I spoke to confirmed they had my file there on their system, and could see all my documents I'd added...and that the processing time could take up to 15 months. 

It's now been 6 months since my final submission, and it just says "This application has been received by the department but has not been assigned for assessment. The department may contact the applicant once assessment of your application begins if further information is required" on my immigration account. 

I was just interested to know where I would stand in the system...as someone who has been in my defacto relationship for over 4 years, and have ticked all the boxes in regards to documentation, etc. Are you able to shed any light on how long I may still be looking at. 
I'd so love to get my PR before I hit my 10 year anniversary in October.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Master21

Hi Mark,

I was granted student visa 573 subclass in April 2016. I am currently in India and my course is scheduled to commence in July 2016. I am married and due to some reasons I did not apply dependent visa for my wife. Now things are changed and I want to take my wife with me.

My query is can I apply for student dependent visa before enrollment from here or I need to enroll first to nominate her for dependent visa?


----------



## sponsortom

Hi Mark (or anyone else), I have a quick question about the online submission protocol for the 820 visa. As I understand it, we need to submit and pay for the visa before we can upload any supporting evidence. Once we have submitted and paid, do we need to upload that evidence straight away? (e.g. I am still waiting for a stat dec, if it arrives a few days later, can I still upload it at that point?)

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Arabella

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Arabella -
> 
> Generally no need for driver licences to be submitted as long as passports are. Unless you have it translated, I'd probably wait and see if they ask for the ID card w/translation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark! I'm gonna need my Spanish police check translated anyway (once I get it) so they maybe they'll ask for the ID when they ask for the police check?


----------



## Nelda

*Partner visa*

Hi Mark.
My partner visa got refused in February, we appealed and now waiting.
I haven't been home for nearly 4 years now and homesickness is killing me. Just wondering if there is a chance that I can go home just for a visit for a couple of weeks, or i have to wait for years, until they decide if i can get my temporary residency.
I heard it's only possible if there is a death in my family recently, and i have to come back with my family member's death certificate.. i hope it's not the only option.

Thank you for your answer.


----------



## sponsortom

Nelda said:


> Hi Mark.
> My partner visa got refused in February, we appealed and now waiting.
> I haven't been home for nearly 4 years now and homesickness is killing me. Just wondering if there is a chance that I can go home just for a visit for a couple of weeks, or i have to wait for years, until they decide if i can get my temporary residency.
> I heard it's only possible if there is a death in my family recently, and i have to come back with my family member's death certificate.. i hope it's not the only option.
> 
> Thank you for your answer.


Hi Nelda,

Just wondering about this - did you get any reason why you were rejected? Do they give you the chance to submit additional evidence for a specific reason? How does the process work?

Best of luck, fingers crossed!


----------



## Nelda

sponsortom said:


> Hi Nelda,
> 
> Just wondering about this - did you get any reason why you were rejected? Do they give you the chance to submit additional evidence for a specific reason? How does the process work?
> 
> Best of luck, fingers crossed!


Got rejected, because i was on bridging visa when we lodged the new application, and they didn't really care about the reasons (i bet they would've accepted it if we had a kid when we lodged the application, because they didn't accept our reasons at all). They said it is a genuine relationship but i wasn't on a specific visa, so they refused it. Now we appealed and waiting. (i can't do anything with my immiaccount, it says finalised, can't edit or anything - they've got nothing to do with me now, my case is a different department's problem now)
Technically from the day they refuse your partner visa you have 28 days to appeal. You need to pay $1600 - if you have financial hardship you can fill some documents out (you find it on their website) and ask them to halve the costs. 
Then you wait 1-2 years and pray that they won't separate you from your love.


----------



## SweetCple

*Assessment In Progress*

Hi Mark

When it shows "Assessment In Progress" on our file in the ImmiAccount for PMV does this mean a CO is assigned to the case?..we noticed on 2nd Feb 2016 it showed Assessment In Progress but its now 3 months later & we heard nothing more from Moscow, we called the ESC to ask a question & an indian lady advised us there was a CO assigned (we said we was unaware a CO is assigned) but this seems strange as she said she cannot give name of CO over phone due to privacy policy even though she identified us as we started talking by our file number & name...if there is a CO this person has not asked for ongoing relationship or anything including our original plans were to marry on 8thApril 2016 and now this has passed we are currently preparing another NOIM ( "Notice of Intention to Marry" thru celebrant), we are assuming the indian lady in ESC may have mislead us by saying a CO is assigned, our agent has faxed a question to embassy about "where are they at with application & if needing evidence of ongoing relationship" but this has not been replied to yet....do you have any suggestions to how we can ask this question & get a reply?...we find it strange nearly 14 months waiting & not confirmed if we have a CO or not!!

Cheerz & thanx in advance, we are awaiting on a past post to you also


----------



## amernajjar

*Medical Examination for Visa 189*

Hi Mark,

Is it ok to do the medical examination any country or i must do it in my usual country of residence ??

My case : i am living in kuwait and i a intending to do the medical examination in Dubai because it is so much cheaper than kuwait ..


----------



## ashka

*Police check fingerprints*

Thanks if anyone can help me. I'm from the u.s and I'm in the fingerprint stage of my 820 visa for my fbi police check. I got prints from a local qld police station and they only had the thin carbon paper fingerprint forms available and didn't offer me the digital scans. They gave me the original prints. Will this be accepted by the fbi or will I need to take them on a thicker card or digitally?


----------



## shazz

*Tourist visa USA*

Hello Mark,
Just wanted to know if you would be able to assist my brother in law with his query, regarding applying for tourist visa for USA.
He is currently waiting for permanent spouse visa 
And currently on 309 provisional visa. Him and my sis both work full time and going to apply for US VISA to attend my cousin marriage in August this year.

Just want to know what are some of the things they should attach with my brother in laws visa application. Would there be any concerns at all? 
Thanks again
Shazz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984ravigupta -

Sorry for the delay in responding - swamped with cases currently and trying to catching up here.

Probably best to get it changed if practical, however unless there are local regulations there that come into play, as a dependent her passport would be used primarily for ID purposes, not to determine current address.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am from India looking to apply for 190 visa. My wife's passport has the address of one of the rented place which she used to live at. Do you suggest me to get it changed in her passport to the present dwelling place (which is my permanent address). Not sure if it is necessary as I have our marriage certificate which has the correct address details as of today. Do you think it may create a problem at the time of verification or PCC ?? Please note that she is the dependent and I am NOT claiming any spouse points. Also I have ample time as of now to apply for visa as I have recently applied my EOI for NSW. So if required to change address in passport I do not have any issues. Your comments please.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vinaych -

Thanks for the note. If you were married after the 190 visa was granted and she was not on the application as a migrating family member, you can sponsor her for a partner visa. Note that as an Australian permanent resident you must be "usually resident" in Australia in order to sponsor someone for a partner visa, so you may want to consider that requirement in terms of your plans to return to Australia and sponsor her for a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vinaych said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have an Australian 189 (Permanent Resident) Visa. When i got this Visa i am not married. Now i am married and i want to add my wife to the PR. Can you please advise how do i do it and what is the procedure. Currently i am residing outside of Australia.
> 
> Regards, Vinay


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rohankapoor -

Sorry for the delay - have been off the forum for a week dealing with too many cases. Thought I had caught up on all - please repost if I have not responded and I'm happy to assist.

Best,

Mark Northam



rohankapoor said:


> Hi Mark, Can you respond to my query?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Viv101 -

Thanks for the note. You'll need to add them to the application as migrating dependents, assuming you want them to all get visas and they qualify. You can use Form 1023 to correct the entries where you did not list dependents, then I'd suggest emailing DIBP at the address on any correspondence you've received and advise them of the update, then upload Form 1023 to your application. When they process the form, they should ask you for additional visa application fees for the additional applicants - I'd stay in touch with them to make sure the additional applicants are added properly, as they will then want health checks, etc for the applicants, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



viv101 said:


> Hello Mark and All
> 
> i was invited for 190 NSW with 65+5 points. Not claiming any points for spouse.
> i filled up the online application form lastw week.
> i was casually reviewing the pdf of the application submitted , to my horror the form said Dependants as NONE.!
> i have three dependants as per EOI
> 
> I've forgotten if dependent information was even asked during filing of 190 application online for NSW or was it i just missed it!!
> 
> can you please help me as to what should i do now?
> 
> thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunshiner -

No, can be at any time after you are deemed to have become skilled by the skills assessment authority.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunshiner said:


> Thanks Mark, does that 3years have to be within the last 10?
> Lorraine


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi UE -

Thanks for the note. Request for health & police can indicate that the application is being actively assessed (but sometimes not), but no good way to predict time to grant going forward unfortunately. I'd bank on 12-15 months (from application) and be happy if it turns out to be less.

P.S. Also note that DIBP has a new trial program rolled out very recently where the overflow of onshore partner visa applications (820/801) are being shipped off to other countries around the world to be processed there, which may affect processing times in other countries.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Undercover elephant said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hope you could help with a simple question. It's a trivial matter compared to some people's problems but the waiting is starting to grate. on our nerves. My partner has applied for sponsored 309 permanent partner visa (paper form) through the Guangzhou office. Recently I called the office as it was approaching 6 months since application, to ask whether a CO has been assigned. They did not have this information. However, a few days later, my partner received an email requesting a medical and notarized police clearance. This email came 6 months to the day since application. The police certificate was submitted to the office three days later and my partner also sat the medical on this day, the medical centre said it would take at most three days to submit the medical results to Australia. That was 8 days ago.
> 
> While previously we had mentally prepared for a 8-10 month wait minimum, up to 12-15 months, we are now increasingly anxious and at the same time hopeful that this means the visa could be granted soon, possibly without an interview. Most cases I have seen call for medicals and police certificate after the interview or grant visa after this, especially if the medical was done a few months after application at request of the CO. I assume we now have a CO who has requested these documents. However some cases still drag for months after.
> 
> In your experience, does approval normally follow medical request and how soon after from China? Do you think we would still have a telephone interview? My partner checked online in Chinese and some people said a telephone interview is still a possibility. We are prepared for one just in case but I would think they would not want us to waste our money on police clearance or medicals if they were not somewhat confident about our case. I hope you could shed a little light as there does not seem to be any fixed procedure and we are increasingly hopeful. It would really be difficult to now have to wait another 6 months or so after we have gotten our hopes up of a speedy approval. Thanks in advance for your input.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John_K -

Very likely, however you or the employer should provide a registered migration agent with full details & documents re: the program in order to get a specific answer based on the specifics of that program.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



John_K said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your help on this forum!
> 
> Question about 457 visa:
> 
> I (International student) was employed as an intern through the university 6 month program (University Technology Sydney). I was paid a full time intern. After 6 month of internship and graduation I was offered a full time position and sponsorship on 457 visa.
> 
> *The question is: can the salary of the 6 month internship be counted towards 1% training expense of the payroll of the business for obtaining SBS? *
> 
> Thank you!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajiv -

Thanks for the note. Refs generally not checked for employment not claimed for points, but doesn't mean it cannot happen. No requirement that the docs submitted to DIBP be the same docs submitted to a skills assessor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



raj126 said:


> Hello Mark.
> 
> My name is Rajiv. Please answer below 2 questions :
> 
> Do reference is checked for those companies too for which no points are claimed.?
> 
> Is it mandatory to submit the same document(Statutory Declaration) that I sent for ACS? Can I get the new statutory declaration made and signed off by someone else (New Boss May be) for the same company as my previous has left and upload that while uploading documents for Visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sai -

There are two potential issues here: First, do you have sufficient employment documentation to satisfy NT (suggest you call them to get more details on what they would want). Second, assuming you are also claiming that employment for points, do you have sufficient employment documentation to satisfy DIBP? DIBP will generally want evidence of payment - either tax docs, payslips, bank docs, or something from the company stating the amount(s) paid over whatever period of time.

You may want to research both of these areas further to determine if you are able to get sufficient documents to satisfy both organisations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sai1705 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Here is my Profile:
> Occupation : HR Advisor, Skills Assessment - Vetasses, IELTS - 7 overall.
> 
> I am looking forward to apply for NT sponsership under subclass 489
> 
> As per their website, there's a condition on recent work experience as follows:
> "Evidence of recent previous employment in the occupation for which you have provided an assessment (Note: All applicants outside Australia are required to provide verifiable evidence of full time employment in their nominated occupation for no less than 12 months out of the last twenty-four (24) months or alternatively have Australian qualifications)."
> 
> In the last 24 months, I have changed by company and I am working with my current employer since last 11 months now...its a small construction company and am getting paid in cash (under non- taxable bracket) hence no bank statement or Tax statement is available ....
> 
> My question is, can I still apply as I may not be able to produce any varifiable evidence later on if asked by the CO example.
> Regards, Sai


----------



## MarkNortham

Responded - sorry for delay -

Mark



Vinaych said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Can you please reply to my query
> 
> Regards, Vinay


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chicken999 -

Thanks for the note, nice to hear from you - it's been a while! For immigration purposes, they will want to use the name on your current passport for your name for the application, so best to use that as your passport name for the application unless you will have a new passport by the time you want to lodge the 801 papers. You can put your married name as an "other name" where indicated on the application form. If prior to the 801 being granted you change the name in your passport, you can then lodge form 929 with a new passport, and request that they update your name on the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chicken999 said:


> Hi mark, I'm wondering if you can help please. We are about to apply for stage 2 after pmv then 820 granted 2 years ago.
> 
> All my id is in married name except my passport which is nearly full and has 11/2 year left to expiry. I don't want to get a new one yet. So I'm filling in my details with married name as that's my name but when I fill in passport details it doesn't have option to put different name..
> 
> Will this matter? And if so what do I do?
> 
> Many thanks in advance .
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Australia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MoonRising -

Thanks for the note. Would need to work through the scheduling of everything in a consultation (see website below in my signature for more), however two things that might help at this point - first, you can withdraw the student visa at any time prior to a decision. No refunds from DIBP, of course. Second, once a visa is refused on shore when you're holding only a bridging visa, from that moment on you cannot apply onshore on that trip for another visa, unless it's a protection or partner visa or a couple of other rare visas, so there is no 28 day grace period after a refusal where you can apply for something else onshore.

Happy to help you in more detail at a consult where we would have time to work through your circumstances in more detail so I can give you specific advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MoonRising said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> thanks for your help with my previous questions! Much appreciated!
> 
> Now I have a new dilemma, I currently am on a Bridging visa awaiting a student visa. However, my goal is to apply for a 190 WA state nomination visa, once I find a job in WA which is requirement for the 190 visa.
> 
> Meanwhile, my student visa is at risk of being refused. I applied for it because my previous visa was expiring and I needed to stay in Australia to look for jobs etc. DIBP just wrote to me asking for more information in regards to why I want to do the course etc.. they have given me 28 days to reply. The issue is, no matter what I say, they are going to refuse me the student visa... as the course is below what I studied before and my previous attempt to change student visas was unsuccessful, I was already found as not being a genuine student.
> 
> Another issue is, the student visa was applied through a dodgy agent who actually didn't put their names in as my agent (I just found out), so it looks like I applied for it myself (which I didn't) and they didn't fill out all the information in 157A form. Immigration is asking me to resend that form and give evidence that I am genuine student, if I don't resend the form and do not reply, will they just dismiss my student visa or will it be refused? Will they give me another 28 days to leave the country if my student visa is refused?
> 
> I'm frantically looking for jobs and I have some contacts now that are helping as well, but I need time to apply for WA state sponsorship and get approval etc before I apply for the 190 visa. So my question is when the student visa is refused whilst I'm still here, can I apply for the 190 visa within those 28 days? Or do I have to leave the country if the refusal comes through?
> 
> So basically I would like to know how much time I have to work on my 190 visa and whether I can still apply for a new visa after my refusal comes through. I got the email for more information on Monday 18th April, so 28 days from that, plus another 4-6 weeks I assume?
> 
> Thanks so much!
> 
> Very sorry for the long post...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Itaus -

You should include some evidence that you are employed (or have been), however there is no minimum income requirement currently (there used to be some years ago). A recent payslip or tax document is generally enough.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itaus said:


> hello,
> 
> i am sponsoring my partner as we are applying for a defacto visa and i was wondering if i need to include pay slips or a bank statement showing my financial status. is this compulsory or will the government request this at a later stage if they need it.
> 
> thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

Complete details for HK police clearance should be on DIBP website - look for Contact Us / Offices Outside Australia, find Hong Kong on the country list, click on it, then click on Police Certificate and there is generally specific directions about which certificate they want and how to apply for it. The link in the email you quoted may also lead to this. Once you obtain the certificate from HK police, you can then colour scan it and upload to your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andrewcool said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife have been requested to get a Hong Kong Police Certificate from the email a few days ago by CO and this is quite stressing and confusing for us. Here are the details as below:
> 
> "Character requirements - Hong Kong Police Certificate
> 
> In order to be granted a visa for entry to Australia you must meet the character requirement. You must provide a police certificate from HK from each country where you have lived for a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years (these 12 months are calculated cumulatively and need not have been consecutive). Country-specific instructions on how to obtain a police clearance are at Character and police certificate requirements."
> 
> I am confused for this for what details and documents to send to Hong Kong?
> 
> From our understanding, we send the documents/details of:
> 
> 1) Passport (photocopy + certified by JPP)
> 2) Hong Kong ID (photocopy + certified by JPP)
> 3) Referral letter from CO. This one, I am not sure if the email we received i.e. "REQUEST CHECKLIST AND DETAILS" of the 4 pages that is enough which states to get the Hong Kong Police Certificate or do they need the official letter from CO? If so, we do not have it and how do we obtain it?
> 4) Application form (where is the application form or link that we need to fill in and send it to?)
> 
> Hope you can answer the 4 questions above would be appreciated!
> 
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmy66 -

Pro-rated work can count (ie, 2 years of 50% part time work equals 1 year of full time work in most circumstances), however for any work claimed for skills assessment purposes you'll need evidence of pay and a letter from the employer. If this is not possible, might be worth coming to Australia on a student visa, take an advanced trade course or something to sharpen up your skills and learn about Australian techniques, and get plugged into the Australian working scene so you can get some recent fulltime bricklaying experience (from what I've heard it's in demand, but consult job listings, etc to be certain) and better position yourself for a skilled visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jimmy66 said:


> Hi guys I'm trying to emigrate from UK to Australia I'm trying to gather references in my occupation as a bricklayer which I have NVQ in and many years experience but for the past 5 years ive been working for the local council on the ground maintenance team and I only do repairess to walls and various different building jobs slabbing etc for 50% of the year and the other 50% in summer time cut grass and hedges dig graves etc so its hard to get references stating bricklayer for a whole year in the past 5 unless its pro rarta any help would be great also many of the companies ive worked for in the past have gone into liquidation during the recession so struggling with references


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Allan -

Thanks for the note. An onshore 820/801 application will not change her student visa at all, and while a bridging visa will be automatically generated from the 820/801 application, it will remain unactivated and dormant until the student visa expires in 2018.She will still be bound by the conditions of the student visa until it expires or until the partner visa is granted before that, at which point the partner visa will replace the student visa. So after the partner visa application she can and should continue studying as normal as her student visa is not affected by the partner visa lodgment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



whyhelp said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Quick general question. My partner is from China. We have almost lived together for a year now. She is on a student visa at the moment and is set to expire by the end of 2018. We are planning to lodge our Partner Visa 820 next month or so.
> 
> My question is what implications there are for lodging the Partner Visa.
> 
> - Will this automatically cancel her Student Visa?
> - Will she get a bridging visa? If so, what bridging visa will it be?
> - Is it possible for her to continue being on a student visa until a decision is made in regards to our partner visa application?
> - I may be confused about obtaining 2 visas concurrently, and obtaining 1 whilst applying for another.
> 
> Please help.
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Allan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vdp -

As your BVB has expired, you would not be able to apply for another one while offshore. Would need to work with you in a consultation to give you specific advice for your case, however some people in your situation depending on whatever visa you applied for onshore choose to get a visitor visa to return to Australia, then re-apply for the BVA you qualify for since you applied for a visa onshore (I assume). Can assist further at a consultation - see website below for more. Please note that I cannot give you specific advice at this time as I do not have all the facts and circumstances necessary to give you advice - in migration sometimes the smallest detail may make a big difference.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vdp said:


> hi Mark ,my bridging visa B expired last feb 12,2016 and currently I'm offshore...I was advised to renew my bridging is it possible? sorry but i'm confuse.
> 
> regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rachel -

Thanks for the note. None of the family visas fit your situation based on what you've told me - the only one that I can think of that might work is a family sponsored subclass 489 provisional skilled visa. Another alternative is a working holiday visa (subclass 417 or 462) if she's from a qualifying country - that's a relatively easy visa to get, and comes with full work rights.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rahil said:


> Hi My name is Rachel and I am a permanent resident , a housewife. My husband is an Australian citizen He is an RN. We are planning to sponsor my niece to live here so she can have a better life. What visa do we need to apply for her? She is 21 and recently graduated from Uni .She has bachelor degree in Biology and no work experience yet, she can speak english fluently. Hope you can help me , thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kittie -

Thanks for the note. I hope you kept screenshots or printouts of the error messages - that may be useful evidence to address the "beyond the applicant's control" aspects of criteria 3004 from Schedule 3 which you must now must satisfy.

However that's only one part of 3004 - you also have the issue of providing "compelling reasons to grant the visa" or asking for a waiver of the entire Schedule 3 criteria based on "compelling reasons to waive Schedule 3" - none of these options are easy to satisfy - these days about 60-70% of my work is in Schedule 3 and other partner visa defence work at DIBP and at the AAT tribunal, and the tribunal has gotten stricter about Schedule 3. That being said, there have been some recent legal changes in court cases that may make Schedule 3 a bit less daunting for some applicants depending on their circumstances.

Happy to assist at a consultation if you'd like to discuss further - see website below for details. Key issue is looking at each of the criteria for Schedule 3 criteria 3004 and coming up with circumstances with evidence to address each one.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kittie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner was on a second year WHV, he comes from France. We compiled all documents for Partner Visa 820 ourselves and had everything organised and ready to submit online however when I went to do the final submit I ran into all sorts of technical problems - I kept getting 'system error' messages and by the time it was sorted out, it was 1 hour past the cutoff (meaning he was unlawfully in the country for an hour).
> A few weeks later we received a schedule 3 email. How can I say that this was a 'factor beyond my control' I just feel so hopeless, are they going to laugh in our faces and deny? I don't think we have many compelling reasons as there are no children involved, we are only 26 years old, not married. Is this the end.....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Killian -

Thanks for the note. No historical tracking I know of for SOL, and I think it would be somewhat useless as current trends and demand tend to shape the SOL changes each July. Re: TRA, their requirements are complex and change frequently - suggest you check carefully on their site and give them a call via phone to investigate whether your particular circumstances, education and experience might lead to a way to shorten or reduce the time. This is what we do when presented with a situation like this, as the specific details of each person's case can make a big difference in eligibility for a skills assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



n=ro said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> First of all, thank you for the tremendous help you are offering on this forum. It's truly a great service for everyone who tries to grapple with the complexities of australian immigration law.
> 
> In my case, I just came back from Oz, 1 year WHV. It was a fabulous experience, and now I'm attempting to work my way back longterm through Skilled Migration.
> 
> My field of interest is carpentry/ cabinetmaking which is currently still on the SOL. Which leads me to my first question:
> 
> _-Is there any place to look up the History of Skill Shortages/ the SOL in order to determine some longterm patterns of what might be needed in a few years time? Or would say, that attempts to predict future shortages are a waste of time?_
> 
> Second, the skills assessment:
> _- For carpentry/cabinetmaking, is the TRA the only organisation authorized to assess your qualification?
> - The TRA states, that assessment is only possible after three years of work experience. Can you tell me whether this includes paid labour during your training?_
> _- Is there any way to shorten that 3 year period? (E.g through working in Australia)_
> 
> Thank you for four time & expertise
> 
> best regards,
> Kilian


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Percie -

Thanks for the note and kind words. If here on a 651, assuming there is no condition such as 8503 on that visa that would prevent a further onshore application while holding that 651, you have to look at the maximum stay period on the visa. Assuming you arrive on the 651 and then lodge a partner or other visa while here on the 651, the bridging visa you get with the 651 will not activate until you overstay the stay period on the visa. For some visas that's a 3 month stay period, so on 3 months + 1 day from your arrival, assuming you have lodged another visa within that period, the bridging visa you got from that application will activate and you're then covered by that bridging visa and its conditions.

However for other visas, 651's in some cases, there is a 12 month stay period which can be a real hassle, as the bridging visa would remain dormant for 12 months from the date of arrival, activating on 12 months + 1 day from your most recent arrival. Only then would you get the work rights, etc on the bridging visa if it had them.

Happy to discuss in further detail with you in a consultation - see website below in my signature for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Percie1903 said:


> Hi Mark, first off just like to thank you because i find you blog/forum very helpful as its has alot of information that is easily accessed, and in the world of confusion that is immigration and visas any help is much appreciated especially from someone with your experience and knowledge in the area.
> I have a question regarding the e-visitor 651 visa. If I come into the country on a 651 visa and apply for another visa, do I have to wait till this visa expires to get a bridging visa or can I cancle the 651 so it doesn't last the full 12 months. Ie. after a 3 month stay once a new visa application is in place. Any clarity on this and i would be very greatfull. Regards Percie.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaffee -

Yes, however keep in mind that the PMV has a fixed duration of 9 months from the date of grant (not from the date of first entry). Once you enter Australia by the date required, you can come & go to/from Australia on that visa within its 9 month duration (counting 9 months from the grant date).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kaffee said:


> I am exited to say that I have received my visa grant today only 5 months after applying. I wasn't expecting it so soon and I have just booked and paid for return flights for July/August on a tourist visa.
> 
> My question is - If I fly in to Australia in July and so activate my PMV can I return to England as planned in August before moving properly and finally in the Spring?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sagar -

Generally DIBP is not willing to accept any medical evidence or results from non-DIBP approved facilities. You could give it a try and see if your Dr will submit the chest x-rays to the DIBP approved facility where you have the rest of the health exam done - no way to predict outcome. Otherwise they may hold off on granting the visa until your wife is able to do the health checks after giving birth.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



saaz.stha said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Seeking your expert advice on my case. I have been invited for 189 Independent Skilled Migration and I am waiting for a case officer to be assigned. My case is a little different, My wife is 21 weeks pregnant now and she hasn't done the medicals under HAP id yet. I am through with everything. Its generally not recommended that pregnant women do Xrays and we too arent willing to do it. But around 4 months back my wife was having hayfever which caused her intense coughing. Our GP recommended doing Chest Xray and something was seen in her chest and our GP sent us to the TB Centre. The TB Centre took all the tests and did one more Chest Xray and gave us a letter saying no TB nothing at all.
> 
> Now my concern is since she has done enough Xrays and we have all the reports and with a supporting letter from the TB Centre, Department of Health, can by any chance the CXRay in the medicals requirement of my Wife be waived and only other tests could be done...
> 
> Please share any similar cases you had..
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Sagar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984 -

As a holder of a 189 or 190 visa, you are a permanent resident of Australia and are free to start a business or do whatever you'd like in Australia (as long as it's legal of course!). The visa does not put any restrictions on you re: type of work, owning a business, etc - however with the 190 visa there is a contractual commitment to the state that sponsored you to live/work there for your first 2 years in Australia generally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing good.
> 
> Could you please let me know whether 189/190 allows the person to join any profession/occupation in Australia ? I yes, then what is the use of all this skill assessment and other relevant job references. ? I have seen many of my friends holding 189 visa and have started small businesses in Australia. Please comment.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gaucho -

Unless you declare convictions in the UK, if you've been there less than 12 months in total during the last 10 years, you would normally not have to provide a PCC from there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gaucho said:


> Hi Mark
> I'm a sponsor filling out my 40sp form and I have a question regarding the police checks.
> 
> I have lived in Australia and Canada in the last 10 years and understand I need to provide police checks for those two as it has been over 12 months in each.
> 
> My question is relating to the UK. The total time I lived there was around 18 months, but only the last few months were in the last 10 years. It seems like a grey area. Does anyone know absolutely one way or the other whether I need a police check? Getting one will be a bit difficult as I'm not sure I can remember enough details to get one done
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984 -

Whichever one you want - the highest one, I assume! Note however you cannot mix and match scores from different bands of the test among sittings - you need to use the entire results from a sitting of the test, but you can use any sitting you want.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Can you please tell me if I give PTE multiple times which score is valid out of all the attempts ?? Will that be the highest one or the latest one or anyone ???
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Blkprl -

Shouldn't be an issue assuming you have not been refused a visa while onshore in Australia and are now lodging a partner visa on that same trip, and assuming that the statements are still accurate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



blkprl said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hopefully this is a quick and easy question! We have had some 888 forms completed by family and friends, however they are about 4-5 months old now. How long are they considered valid?
> 
> Our submission (for permanent partner visa, my partner already has temporary spouse) has been delayed for various reasons (mainly my procrastination but we have also been looking for a property to buy)!!
> 
> Don't really want to annoy my friends again to re-write it but I will if we have to...
> 
> Thanks in advance!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Omar_ap -

Not a good idea to lodge an application and claim points for work experience that a skills assessor has determined is not relevant for your occupation - that's a recipe for refusal, as DIBP generally observes a skills assessor's opinion re: relevance of work experience. Better idea to get higher English score if you need to make up the points. You may want to ignore the invitation and let it expire, then adjust your EOI accordingly to eliminate points incorrectly claimed for work experience not considered relevant, then hopefully have a higher English test score.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



omar_ap said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I really need a help to guide my decision.
> 
> I'm currently doing my PhD in Canberra, and have been invited to submit189 and 190 visa.
> 
> I have 60 points for 189 and 65 points for 190.
> 
> I actually prefer to apply for 189 visa, but I am not sure if the point that I am currently having will not be changed when I have lodged the visa application.
> 
> I have two questions which I hope can bolden my final decision.
> 
> 1. What's the chance that DIAC will reduce point from working experience if VETASSESS have decided that certain years of my working experiences can be categorised as relevant?
> 
> 2. The IELTS that I submitted in EOI for both 189 and 190 had no point as one band has 6.5 score. Despite this, I still have enough points and is invited to apply. Do you think I should sit on another IELTS test to try to get points out of it or just proceed with visa application (considering that point 1 is likely to happen).
> 
> Please help me!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fshamim2012 -

Suggest you check Anzscosearch | Occupation eligibility Australia Skilled Visa for a quick guide to who is sponsoring what occupations, and there's a link on there to the DIBP occupational ceilings page with more on Business Analyst.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fshamim2012 said:


> HI mark,
> I am Business analyst , I have got my ACS assessment positive yesterday and employment after April 2008 is considered, I have 6.5 IELTS band over all with (L-6, R-6.5, W-6.5, S-6.5 | Overall - 6.5), i have 55+5(state nomination)=60 points. Please let me know if i am eligible to apply for EIO and which state - Also let me know ceiling for Business analyst in NSW
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Waiaing for tour kind reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Greg -

Thanks for the note. Either option could work, however the move to NSW on a temporary basis may look fishy. Suggest the other option - normally holidays and trips outside the state do not count against you re: VIC registration of relationship - consult VIC website for details on this. Alternative might be for a longer term move to NSW (a year?) and get the certificate there where only 30 days residence by one party is sufficient to register a de facto relationship. Also need to keep thinking about accumulating other relationship evidence while living together prior to and after lodging the partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



greg89 said:


> Hi Mark, I am a new member to the forum but have been following it for some time.
> 
> I would like to ask a question regarding registering a relationship to waiver the 12 month requirement. Apologies if this has been answered before but i cannot find anything specific to my situation.
> 
> I am a UK resident and my partner lives in Melbourne. I am moving to Australia on my 2nd WHV next month, with plans to apply for a 801/820 visa at the end of the WHV in 05/2017 - I like to plan ahead!
> Although we are in a genuine relationship we are going to struggle to prove the 12 month living together requirement as prior to this we have been travelling with no real evidence of living together available, I had hoped that I could register the relationship to waiver this requirement, I believe we will have sufficient evidence to otherwise prove that the relationship is genuine and on-going.
> 
> I see two possible options;
> Apply for the 820 visa just before the WHV ends and shortly after register the relationship with Victoria as we should then have evidence of living together for 12 months in melbourne. (would holidays out of Victoria and Australia during the 12 months effect this?)
> 
> Or, for both of us to move to NSW and register the relationship there and return to Victoria at a later date. (Not sure if this would look suspicious)
> 
> Please any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Many Thanks,
> Greg


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tbone -

GSM is the somewhat outdated term still used by DIBP to cover skilled visas in general, which includes subclass 489, 189 and 190 visas. Re: Vetassess, you'd have to check their website to determine option there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tbone said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am starting the skills assessment process with Vetassess on Industrial Designer (ANZSCO Code 232312). It asks me what visa type I want to apply for general (GSM) or regional state sponsorship RSMS. I am unsure what one I should select. I am planning on applying for a Skilled Nominated 190 visas (state sponsorship**) please advise if this is the correct visa application and Vetassess option.
> 
> Thanks,
> T


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rohankapoor -

Depends on exactly what legal action has been taken against you (ie, charges filed, etc) and how you answer questions on any visa application form after those charges are filed, etc. While you are holding a student visa, I find it difficult to believe that charges filed offshore, especially of the type you mention, could cause you to fail the character test and therefore be liable for visa cancellation. To get more certainty on this, suggest you consult with a migration agent and provide complete details of the charges and legal measures taken against you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rohankapoor said:


> Dowry charges are apply on me and my family ,and in complaint(FIR) there is not such any serious allegation on me,and charges are going to drop within 3 months ,Can it lead to some problem for my student visa ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gary_jatt -

Normally Medicare (Australian) would satisfy the health insurance requirements for a 461 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gary_jatt said:


> Hi mark or if anyone could answer this please , just a question regarding my situation,, i have applied for partner visa and i got my medicare card,, but i am holding temporary visa 461,, now my question is do i still to keep my overseas health insurance????


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harry -

DIBP apparently thinks that your income is insufficient to account for the amount of money in your account - ie, that maybe you borrowed some money from someone to make it look like you had a lot of "your own" money but in reality it wasn't all yours, or maybe was from some unknown or problematic course. Best way around this likely is to show with evidence the income you have been receiving and how you have accumulated that money - if via income, or by gift or inheritance, or by whatever means - they want more detail on how you accumulated the funds.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



harry5654 said:


> Dear Sir,
> 
> Today I got refusal for my Visitor Visa with below reason.
> 
> Under policy, in establishing whether 600.211 (c) is satisfied, it is relevant to consider an applicant's personal circumstances. An applicant's economic and employment circumstances in their home country need to constitute strong incentives for the applicant to return to their home country at the end of the proposed visit, in order to satisfy the genuine temporary stay requirement.
> 
> From the information provided in your application and supporting documentation I note that you are currently employed with Fluent Academy and intend to visit your friend for a period of up to three months. In support of your application you have provided bank statement, fixed deposit receipts, income tax returns, invitation letter and other documents. Although you have adequate funds available to you however total funds provided do not commensurate with the income shown in your application. Therefore I am unable to ascertain, if the available funds in your account represents your true financial capacity.
> Considering that your income do not commensurate with the savings, I place little weight upon the funds provided.
> I am therefore not satisfied that a genuine visit is intended.
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Funds on my name : 7 Lac INR Fixed deposit, 4.5 Lac INRSaving
> & 10 lac INR joint FDR with parents.
> 
> Income : In year 2014-15 = 2 lac INR(of 5 months only as I was not in INDIA before)
> In year 2016-17= 7.5 Lac INR
> 
> Note: I worked part time in Uk from 2013-14 but I did not submitted any doc of that.
> 
> Can please someone advice any solution if I reapply .
> 
> Thank You


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

Think you might have emailed me about this. Too late to add your mother onto your 190, and you know about the contributory parent option. You potentially could apply for another PR visa if you could find sponsorship (190) but you need to make sure your mother qualifies for dependency - ie, financially dependent on you AND has been a usual member of your household generally for the last 12 months. Happy to assist further at a consultation - see website below for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Hi Mark,
> I had a query.
> I am in some kind of soup and couldn't find a better person to provide some advise.
> I recently got the PR for Australia(190),sponsored by South Australia.I included my wife and two kids in the PR application and they also got the PR along with me. During this process, I thought that would be easily able to sponsor my dependent mother after I get the PR. But, I was completely wrong and my inexperienced agent also did not bring this point earlier. Now, it seems I dont have an option by which I can take my mother along permanently unless I spend two years in Australia and apply for contributory Visa and that is a very costly affair. I have been thinking about various options in the past two weeks but dont seem to find an answer. Please suggest me a way out as I cannot leave my mother alone here in India as she is solely dependent on me.
> Can I apply for another PR in some other state(where my occupation is open) and then include my mother in that application. OR Can my wife file for another PR(as she is also skilled and would be able to get a positive skill assessment) and just include my mother in her application as a dependent. But what are the risks in both these scenarios. Would I lose my existing PR without getting another one if I go via any of these routes. Request you to advise on this and any other option that you think would be better
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984 -

Would have to see your documents you propose to submit to DIBP to evidence Functional English in a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case. If the certificates or mark sheets are not specific about the medium of instruction (language), then I'd get further statements or info from each school to evidence what language they instruct in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing good. I have a simple question for you.
> 
> To prove that my spouse has a functional English, proof of primary and secondary education in English will be sufficient. My concern is what exactly is that document that the case officer is looking for ?? In our case my wife has done primary education from different schools.If CO ask for a statement from the school stating that the entire program was in English then it will be difficult for us to arrange that from different schools. We have the 10th and 12th marks sheet with us which states that the medium was English. Will that be enough ?? Similar is the case with the secondary education i.e graduation. We have the mark sheet with us where medium as English written over it. But we don't have the degree as of now as she have recently completed her graduation and may take 1-2 years to get it. Moreover I am sure that nowhere on the degree it will be mentioned that the medium was English. So will the graduation mark sheets will be sufficient here. If required we can approach the college to provide us a letter for English medium.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SweetCple -

Thanks for the note. I'd upload further evidence every couple of months or however often makes sense depending on how much & how fast you accumulate it. Keep in mind the 60 file per applicant limit on uploads, so you may want to condense some evidence of the same type into a smaller number of files to upload. Re: processing time, very difficult to predict, but 18 months is not unusual these days.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SweetCple said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I understand you may only be able to speak for yourself & because your in the migration business you may know other agents & what they do in regards to uploading evidence/ proof of continuous relationship via ImmiAccount for a Prospective Marriage Visa.......
> 
> Question....Would you wait for the embassy to ask for more evidence....or would you upload more & more as time passes by (eg 13months) & alot more info becomes available to send ?....for example they know i've spent 4 months together in my fiance's country..but now its 13months waiting for visa & they don't know i've spend another four & half months again togeher since, we have ALOT of evidence to prove now & a total of 8 & half+ months together in her country in a total of 17months knowing each other...do agents normally upload as it come available OR it's better to wait until the Embassy (Moscow) ask for more...what is the best to do??
> 
> We understand each case is different & we understand the Moscow waiting time is between 10 - 14months,,,but can you give us some recent history of cases on how long they are taking to process PMV's ...eg, what time frames have you seen recently at the most?
> 
> btw, you notice in our timeline signature block it shows "PC" being February 10th 2016 this is a 2nd "Pc" as the first one expired...we don't know if at this stage the embassy has it or not!
> 
> Kind Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ShermD -

Typically those letters would either be from an internal or external accountant, preferably a chartered or certified accountant vs a bookkeeper, etc. They should indicate your job title and dates you were employed there, and any basic info about your work - typically accountants are not expected to be able to describe the technical role and duties of a person's work, however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ShermD said:


> hi mark,
> 
> Scenario
> I intend to apply for the 189 Skilled migration visa.
> 
> since I work in my father's business for years, the VETASSESS asked me to submit a "Letters of testimony from the company accountant confirming your role in the (family) business" . And this is in addition to the "pay slips" and "service letters" I sent to them.
> 
> Details
> We have our own accountant in our office for the business. And we are hiring a external separate accountant firm for years who do our audits, paying tax returns on our behalf etc. Both of them knows the details of our employees (salary, work durations etc) ....
> 
> Questions
> 
> 1) So what does the "company accountant" mean by VETASSESS? is that the accountant working inside our office or the external accountant?
> 
> 2) What is a testimony letter in simple terms? and what kind of data should/must be included in that testimony? is the name, Identity Card numbers issued by government, current salary and work duration is enough data as a testimony? or any special phrases to be included in that?
> 
> 3) Should this letters include the technical job role? because the external accountant firm knows very little about my job role in the company because it's not their duty to keep a track of technical roles of employees. But our accountant who works inside our office knows all the technical roles of the employees, but I guess a letter from a such a person is not useful to the VETASSESS because that person is working in our office, so they can't verify my details from another source.
> 
> I know you can't exactly say what the VETASSESS people mean by those and what they exactly need, but, in your viewpoint, what do you think they meant by those phrases, I'm asking this because you're an experienced agent and I think you've faced similar scenarios.
> 
> Many thanks for your time and the effort put into this.
> Sherm


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dorcus -

Sure - you should complete Form 1023 to correct the info, then upload to your application. Suggest you do this ASAP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dorcus said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> We have lodged subclass 189 visa application.
> 
> I am the primary applicant and my husband is dependent applicant.
> 
> My husband worked for 7 months in the UAE 3 years back and we have mentioned this in his employment history. But we failed to mention that he has stayed in the UAE for the below question:
> 
> 'Have any of the applicants lived in a country other than the primary applicant's usual country of residence".
> 
> Please could you help us out and suggest what needs to be done in this case.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andy -

Generally not, unless they take the omission of the spent conviction as something more serious and start digging for more details. That being said, no good way to predict how long they may take to process the visa - highly unpredictable these days.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andykyng said:


> Hello Mark, by just reading your posts I've had 90% of my questions answered.
> I submitted my application on the 25th of January 2016. My EOI Score was 70 and my nominated profession was management accountant (ANZSCO code 221112).
> GSM Adelaide has contacted me 3 times as follows;
> 
> 8th February 2016: request for all information
> 10th March 2016:Form 80 and confirmation of dependents
> 8th April 2016: Confirmation of my UK address as further proof of my UK studies.
> Apart from the first request which took about three weeks to complete, all others were submitted within 24 hours.
> 
> Aside of this I have updated my Immiaccount with two form 1023 (Correction of incorrect information)
> 1. Information on a spent traffic conviction which was originally omitted from the application.
> 2. Providing information on employment dates to confirm with employer references.
> 
> Could any of the above account for the delays in the visa being issued.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael81 -

Change of Address (Form 929) is best for these circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Michael81 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question on how the best way to notify immi though our online account that my wife has been granted a visitor visa and will be coming for 6 months while the partner visa application is still in progress.
> 
> There's 2 options
> 
> 1. Change of address
> 
> Or
> 
> 2. Change of circumstances
> 
> Look forward to hearing from you
> 
> Cheers
> Mike


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Inka99 -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately 2nd stage partner visas have blown out re: processing time to 12-15 months, regardless of how long your relationship has been in place, so no good way to predict beyond that. Some are taking that long, others are coming in shorter, just no good way to tell - especially since DIBP has now started sending some partner visa applications offshore to be processed by DIBP offices in other countries, hooray!

Best,

Mark Northam



inka99 said:


> Hi Mark. I'm from the UK and I've been in Australia since October 2006. (Working holiday visa, 457, Student, Graduate, Defacto...)
> 
> My partner and I have been together since January 2012 and we lodged our 801 visa on 14/10/13 via mail, which was granted on 21/11/13. Woohoo!!
> 
> On 18/08/15 I received an email from Immigration requesting further information for my permanent partner visa application. I found the whole online process quite daunting as once you add a document, you can't delete it or change it, and you have a limit of 60 documents. I mistakenly added a couple of ID documents which hadn't been certified, so I had to add the certified ones as well with a different heading. Stressful but got there in the end.
> 
> I submitted the final document on 24/10/15 but, as I said, the online process threw me. It allows you to continually add to your application with new documents etc therefore there is no "ta da" moment of when you hit the "submit and send" button and off it goes. It felt like a massive anti climax....so I rang immigration to clarify a couple of things, and the lady I spoke to confirmed they had my file there on their system, and could see all my documents I'd added...and that the processing time could take up to 15 months.
> 
> It's now been 6 months since my final submission, and it just says "This application has been received by the department but has not been assigned for assessment. The department may contact the applicant once assessment of your application begins if further information is required" on my immigration account.
> 
> I was just interested to know where I would stand in the system...as someone who has been in my defacto relationship for over 4 years, and have ticked all the boxes in regards to documentation, etc. Are you able to shed any light on how long I may still be looking at.
> I'd so love to get my PR before I hit my 10 year anniversary in October.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Master21 -

You may be able to apply for a subsequent entry (family member) student visa for your dependent, however there are a number of specific rules about this that come into play, including some based on how long your course will run, your assessment level, and whether you declared them on your original application as non-migrating dependents. Here's a page with more info:
https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Stud/Brin/How-to-apply-for-dependant-family-members-to-join-you

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Master21 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was granted student visa 573 subclass in April 2016. I am currently in India and my course is scheduled to commence in July 2016. I am married and due to some reasons I did not apply dependent visa for my wife. Now things are changed and I want to take my wife with me.
> 
> My query is can I apply for student dependent visa before enrollment from here or I need to enroll first to nominate her for dependent visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sponsortom -

You can generally upload evidence for some time after you lodge - assuming you are not applying onshore after having been refused previously, it's generally safe to add additional documents in the weeks after you apply, however DIBP has no specific policy of how long it will take before it assess the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sponsortom said:


> Hi Mark (or anyone else), I have a quick question about the online submission protocol for the 820 visa. As I understand it, we need to submit and pay for the visa before we can upload any supporting evidence. Once we have submitted and paid, do we need to upload that evidence straight away? (e.g. I am still waiting for a stat dec, if it arrives a few days later, can I still upload it at that point?)
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Maybe - depends on case officer.

Best,

Mark



Arabella said:


> Thanks Mark! I'm gonna need my Spanish police check translated anyway (once I get it) so they maybe they'll ask for the ID when they ask for the police check?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nelda -

Depends on what type of bridging visa you hold - travel with BVA no problem as long as you get a Bridging Visa B prior to departing on the trip, with other bridging visas no way to get a bridging visa B to travel and your bridging visa C or E will cease when you depart Australia. If you depart Australia while holding a BVC or BVE, the BV will cease when you depart and you'll have to apply for and be granted another visa, such as a visitor visa, to return to Australia. Happy to discuss in further detail at a consult where we can discuss your specific circumstances and I can give you specific advice for your case - see website below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nelda said:


> Hi Mark.
> My partner visa got refused in February, we appealed and now waiting.
> I haven't been home for nearly 4 years now and homesickness is killing me. Just wondering if there is a chance that I can go home just for a visit for a couple of weeks, or i have to wait for years, until they decide if i can get my temporary residency.
> I heard it's only possible if there is a death in my family recently, and i have to come back with my family member's death certificate.. i hope it's not the only option.
> 
> Thank you for your answer.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SweetCple -

DIBP usually assigns cases to a team, rather than a single case officer, so no good way to tell whether a case has been assigned to a team, or where the team may be in terms of the assessment process. Wish there was more predictability to the process, but there isn't. Assessment in Progress usually (but not always) means that the application has been assigned to a team for some sort of assessment, but this could be something early in the process or later in the process - no way to tell for sure.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SweetCple said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> When it shows "Assessment In Progress" on our file in the ImmiAccount for PMV does this mean a CO is assigned to the case?..we noticed on 2nd Feb 2016 it showed Assessment In Progress but its now 3 months later & we heard nothing more from Moscow, we called the ESC to ask a question & an indian lady advised us there was a CO assigned (we said we was unaware a CO is assigned) but this seems strange as she said she cannot give name of CO over phone due to privacy policy even though she identified us as we started talking by our file number & name...if there is a CO this person has not asked for ongoing relationship or anything including our original plans were to marry on 8thApril 2016 and now this has passed we are currently preparing another NOIM ( "Notice of Intention to Marry" thru celebrant), we are assuming the indian lady in ESC may have mislead us by saying a CO is assigned, our agent has faxed a question to embassy about "where are they at with application & if needing evidence of ongoing relationship" but this has not been replied to yet....do you have any suggestions to how we can ask this question & get a reply?...we find it strange nearly 14 months waiting & not confirmed if we have a CO or not!!
> 
> Cheerz & thanx in advance, we are awaiting on a past post to you also


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amernajjar -

Can be done at any DIBP approved medical check facility worldwide - see DIBP website for approved facilities/doctors/etc in each country in Contact Us / Offices Outside Australia area.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amernajjar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Is it ok to do the medical examination any country or i must do it in my usual country of residence ??
> 
> My case : i am living in kuwait and i a intending to do the medical examination in Dubai because it is so much cheaper than kuwait ..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashka -

FBI normally wants prints on their card form, however they recently have been rolling out additional options - I'd check with them directly on this to determine current requirements & options.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashka said:


> Thanks if anyone can help me. I'm from the u.s and I'm in the fingerprint stage of my 820 visa for my fbi police check. I got prints from a local qld police station and they only had the thin carbon paper fingerprint forms available and didn't offer me the digital scans. They gave me the original prints. Will this be accepted by the fbi or will I need to take them on a thicker card or digitally?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shazz -

Despite originally living in the USA, I don't work with migration to the USA, only Australia (which keeps me on my toes keeping up with over 100 types of visas!) so wouldn't be able to assist re: USA visa requirements.

Best,

Mark Northam



shazz said:


> Hello Mark,
> Just wanted to know if you would be able to assist my brother in law with his query, regarding applying for tourist visa for USA.
> He is currently waiting for permanent spouse visa
> And currently on 309 provisional visa. Him and my sis both work full time and going to apply for US VISA to attend my cousin marriage in August this year.
> 
> Just want to know what are some of the things they should attach with my brother in laws visa application. Would there be any concerns at all?
> Thanks again
> Shazz


----------



## tatsiheart

Hi Mark!

First time going about the forum, and would love to hear from you!

I'm about to complete my 457 visa (subsequent entrant - spouse) application and am currently uploading all evidence to the ImmiAccount online lodgment system. I have a letter from my husband's employer stating that they are extending sponsorship to me - my question is, where do I upload this in the online lodgment system? I couldn't find an "evidence type" that best suited the letter.

Would greatly appreciate hearing from you!

Regards,
Tatsi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tatsi -

Great question. Last time I checked there was not a category for this, so I'd suggest major category "Employment Conditions" and subcategory "Other" and in the description box then say "Nomination Support Letter".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tatsiheart said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> First time going about the forum, and would love to hear from you!
> 
> I'm about to complete my 457 visa (subsequent entrant - spouse) application and am currently uploading all evidence to the ImmiAccount online lodgment system. I have a letter from my husband's employer stating that they are extending sponsorship to me - my question is, where do I upload this in the online lodgment system? I couldn't find an "evidence type" that best suited the letter.
> 
> Would greatly appreciate hearing from you!
> 
> Regards,
> Tatsi


----------



## tatsiheart

Thanks, Mark!

Have completed uploading all docs, and just need to undergo health check. 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tatsi -
> 
> Great question. Last time I checked there was not a category for this, so I'd suggest major category "Employment Conditions" and subcategory "Other" and in the description box then say "Nomination Support Letter".
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Nelda

sponsortom said:


> Hi Mark (or anyone else), I have a quick question about the online submission protocol for the 820 visa. As I understand it, we need to submit and pay for the visa before we can upload any supporting evidence. Once we have submitted and paid, do we need to upload that evidence straight away? (e.g. I am still waiting for a stat dec, if it arrives a few days later, can I still upload it at that point?)
> 
> Thanks in advance.


You can upload evidences any time. I had one witness missing from my application but it didn't matter. They refused it anyway lol 
But yeah, just make sure you don't wait 6-7 months, because (depends where you are from) they start looking at your application after 8 months


----------



## mina 11

Hi Mark,
Iam living in Australia visa 489 and my sister also here with citizenship and recently our father pass way in egypt and our mothers and our stepbrother live there so can we apply for them visa subclass 115 (remaining relative visa) note my brother is single and he live with my mother in the same house.Thanks


----------



## Gaucho

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gaucho -
> 
> Unless you declare convictions in the UK, if you've been there less than 12 months in total during the last 10 years, you would normally not have to provide a PCC from there.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thanks for clearing that up.

A follow-up question on police checks. For the afp check, is the "name only" check ok. It doesn't specify in the form.

Also, unrelated to the police checks but still on the same visa, what ways are the fee payable? We're still a couple of weeks from lodging, but I want to make sure I have funds in the right account depending on the way payment needs to be made. Preferably I would use my Australian Credit card. Would that generally be ok? The card wouldn't need to be in the name of the actual applicant or anything would it?


----------



## Clark

*BVA to BVC*

Hi Mark! I hope this message finds you well. Thank God I have seen this forum. I've been having sleepless nights for the past few days because of our situation. I hope you could enlighten me. So our situation is that we applied for a student visa onshore and are currently on bridging visa A. Then few weeks ago, we received an invitation to apply for a 189 visa. Excited as we are, we immediately lodged an application last night for the 189 visa.We were hoping we could get the Bridging Visa C with full work rights however we didn't. We only got the Acknowledgment and the receipt. What can you suggest us? Should we withdraw the student visa right away? Or wait for the Bridging Visa C before we withdraw the student Visa?

Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mina -

You'd have to check the requirements carefully, however normally that visa is for a person where all of his near relatives are living in Australia - sounds like that may not be the case from what you've said. Near relatives include parents, brothers/sisters and children.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mina 11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Iam living in Australia visa 489 and my sister also here with citizenship and recently our father pass way in egypt and our mothers and our stepbrother live there so can we apply for them visa subclass 115 (remaining relative visa) note my brother is single and he live with my mother in the same house.Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gaucho -

Name Check Only, Complete Disclosure is the format you'll need - I believe it's box 33 on the form or is indicated for immigration purposes. Credit card payment is generally required for visa payments - Bpay is available on some but will cause a lodgment delay. Can't split payment among various cards when lodging online, all has to go on one card.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gaucho said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for clearing that up.
> 
> A follow-up question on police checks. For the afp check, is the "name only" check ok. It doesn't specify in the form.
> 
> Also, unrelated to the police checks but still on the same visa, what ways are the fee payable? We're still a couple of weeks from lodging, but I want to make sure I have funds in the right account depending on the way payment needs to be made. Preferably I would use my Australian Credit card. Would that generally be ok? The card wouldn't need to be in the name of the actual applicant or anything would it?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clark -

Sometimes BVC's take an additional 1-2 days to issue. I would chekc the Correspondence tab in the online 189 application to see if it might be there and never made it to your email (have seen that before). Don't know your entire circumstances but often better to wait until BV is received before withdrawing the other application, however when you withdraw, the BVA for the student visa will continue for 28 days after the withdrawal date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Clark said:


> Hi Mark! I hope this message finds you well. Thank God I have seen this forum. I've been having sleepless nights for the past few days because of our situation. I hope you could enlighten me. So our situation is that we applied for a student visa onshore and are currently on bridging visa A. Then few weeks ago, we received an invitation to apply for a 189 visa. Excited as we are, we immediately lodged an application last night for the 189 visa.We were hoping we could get the Bridging Visa C with full work rights however we didn't. We only got the Acknowledgment and the receipt. What can you suggest us? Should we withdraw the student visa right away? Or wait for the Bridging Visa C before we withdraw the student Visa?
> 
> Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## Clark

Hi Mark, I'm so happy you replied. Do you reckon its better to wait for the BVC before we withdraw? If we will not withdraw and wait for the BVC, will it automatically override the BVA?

Is my understanding right that if we withdraw now, the BVC (if it comes) will not take in effect right away but rather wait for 28 days for the BVA visa to expire? This is what I'm worried about that we'll have to wait for that long for the BVC to take effect... I'm so confused with these bridging visas...

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Clark -
> 
> Sometimes BVC's take an additional 1-2 days to issue. I would chekc the Correspondence tab in the online 189 application to see if it might be there and never made it to your email (have seen that before). Don't know your entire circumstances but often better to wait until BV is received before withdrawing the other application, however when you withdraw, the BVA for the student visa will continue for 28 days after the withdrawal date.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## fshamim2012

Hi Mark, I applied EOI on 25th Apr 2016 for NSW with 60 pints i,e 55+5 ,. I have IELTS competent score. and got my positive assessment from ACS under Business Analyst, Can you please asnwer to my following queries 
1: Please let me know what is the possibility I could get Invitation. 
2: How long will it take for Invitation ?
3: For invited applicants, is it confirmed that state will give nomination for sure?

Waiting for your kind reply

Regards, 
Faisal


----------



## lcklan

Hi Mark,

Two weeks ago I applied for the streamlined student 573 online from Malaysia. The DIAC website states that it takes 14 days to process however I still haven't had a response at all.

I would like to know the current processing time for processing streamline student Visas?

Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clark -

Glad to help - your understanding of bridging visas is absolutely correct - the BVC you get from the lodgment of the second application will only activate once the BVA runs out, as the BVA is considered higher on the preference list of bridging visas (which is, BACDREF). The only point in waiting for the BVC before withdrawing the other one is to ensure there was no problem with the lodgment of the second application. I would check the communications link on the online application screen for your second application and see if the bridging visa grant email is in there. They also put the bridging visa grants at the end of the acknowledgement letter PDFs sometimes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Clark said:


> Hi Mark, I'm so happy you replied. Do you reckon its better to wait for the BVC before we withdraw? If we will not withdraw and wait for the BVC, will it automatically override the BVA?
> 
> Is my understanding right that if we withdraw now, the BVC (if it comes) will not take in effect right away but rather wait for 28 days for the BVA visa to expire? This is what I'm worried about that we'll have to wait for that long for the BVC to take effect... I'm so confused with these bridging visas...
> 
> Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Faisal -

Wish I had better news - no way to predict how soon NSW might invite you or not. Your occupation is very popular, and it may be that people with higher points scores have an advantage, not sure. Also, an invitation by NSW to apply for state sponsorship does not guarantee that they will sponsor you. However if NSW does agree to sponsor you, that will guarantee an invitation from DIBP to apply for the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fshamim2012 said:


> Hi Mark, I applied EOI on 25th Apr 2016 for NSW with 60 pints i,e 55+5 ,. I have IELTS competent score. and got my positive assessment from ACS under Business Analyst, Can you please asnwer to my following queries
> 1: Please let me know what is the possibility I could get Invitation.
> 2: How long will it take for Invitation ?
> 3: For invited applicants, is it confirmed that state will give nomination for sure?
> 
> Waiting for your kind reply
> 
> Regards,
> Faisal


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Icklan -

Thanks for the note. The "estimated" processing times on the DIBP website are highly undependable - I've seen SVP applications take over 3 months for some people. Unfortunately it is not a good idea to depend on the DIBP website's estimated processing times, as they are not binding upon DIBP in any way, plus they only estimate for 75% of the applications - what if you're in the other 25%? Best to make sure they have all the documents & information needed, but beyond that it's a matter of being patient and waiting.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lcklan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Two weeks ago I applied for the streamlined student 573 online from Malaysia. The DIAC website states that it takes 14 days to process however I still haven't had a response at all.
> 
> I would like to know the current processing time for processing streamline student Visas?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## Gaucho

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gaucho -
> 
> Name Check Only, Complete Disclosure is the format you'll need - I believe it's box 33 on the form or is indicated for immigration purposes. Credit card payment is generally required for visa payments - Bpay is available on some but will cause a lodgment delay. Can't split payment among various cards when lodging online, all has to go on one card.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark!


----------



## Clark

Your thread is undeniably a big help to us seeking greener pastures. Thank you for being a blessing to us all. All the best. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Clark -
> 
> Glad to help - your understanding of bridging visas is absolutely correct - the BVC you get from the lodgment of the second application will only activate once the BVA runs out, as the BVA is considered higher on the preference list of bridging visas (which is, BACDREF). The only point in waiting for the BVC before withdrawing the other one is to ensure there was no problem with the lodgment of the second application. I would check the communications link on the online application screen for your second application and see if the bridging visa grant email is in there. They also put the bridging visa grants at the end of the acknowledgement letter PDFs sometimes.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## vignesh_ss

*Facing the same issue*

Hi Mark,

My wife facing same issue. We both applied to her and I was the primary applicant. Both of your application has been granted, but I only got the letter and able to verify the same in Vevo. When I checked for my wife it says that the letter cannot be viewed at this time. Could you please suggest how I should approach this? Please be informed that I dropped an email to [email protected] immediately, but is there any other way to reach out to them to expedite the grant letter generation?

Thanks in advance.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jagz007 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I haven't heard of this type of error before, but DIBP systems have had some issued in recent weeks. I'd be patient and keep communicating via email. You could certainly let them know you're a bit concerned that the must-enter-by-date could be coming up soon, and ask them if they could confirm what that is even if the visa has not yet been generated. If for any reason the date is too close once they generate the visa, you can always use your paper trail of emails to request flexibility. They cannot change the date once the visa is issued, but they can choose essentially to let you ignore the date for a limited time.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Undercover elephant

MarkNortham said:


> Hi UE -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Request for health & police can indicate that the application is being actively assessed (but sometimes not), but no good way to predict time to grant going forward unfortunately. I'd bank on 12-15 months (from application) and be happy if it turns out to be less.
> 
> P.S. Also note that DIBP has a new trial program rolled out very recently where the overflow of onshore partner visa applications (820/801) are being shipped off to other countries around the world to be processed there, which may affect processing times in other countries.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your reply Mark. Since my question we have in addition to police certificate from China been asked for another police certificate from another country where my partner worked for more than one year. We requested and were granted an extension of the 28 days given as due to the posting and processing time we did not expect to meet the deadline. It appears from the email we received that this is the last hurdle and visa would be granted after providing this.


----------



## Atul33

Hi Mark,
I have been working on RPL Report for last 2 weeks and today, I noticed that ACS has amended the RPL template and website says that applicant only need to talk about 1 Essential core ICT area of knowledge and 1 General ICT Area of knowledge and not all the knowledge areas.

This is different from the previous template, where it was required to explain all the topics, where one has knowledge and it was easier to demonstrate the knowledge.
As per website, the new ACS Recognition of Prior Learning form (RPL) reflects the changes to the CBoK and is now available and we encourage all RPL applicants to complete the new form as part of their RPL application.From July 1 2016 the new RPL form will become mandatory for all RPL applications regardless if a previous suitable result for RPL has been issued.

I would like to understand, if i submit my ACS evaluation application with RPL project report in old format now, will that get evaluated? If i secure my positive evaluation before end of June 2016, do i need to again get new evaluation done using new RPL format, if I submit EOI in July ?

Regards,
Atul


----------



## shazz

*Thanks*

Oops my bad and thanks for the response and as always great info on your forum page!! 
Regards
Shazz


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shazz -
> 
> Despite originally living in the USA, I don't work with migration to the USA, only Australia (which keeps me on my toes keeping up with over 100 types of visas!) so wouldn't be able to assist re: USA visa requirements.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clark -

Thanks so much for your kind words! Glad I could help.

Best,

Mark Northam



Clark said:


> Your thread is undeniably a big help to us seeking greener pastures. Thank you for being a blessing to us all. All the best. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Key issue is whether there is any sort of an issue with the application that could cause an issue. That was a good idea to email the GSM folks - I'd give them about a week to respond, then email again. If that fails, then time to call (and be ready for 1 to 2 hour wait on hold)

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vignesh_ss said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife facing same issue. We both applied to her and I was the primary applicant. Both of your application has been granted, but I only got the letter and able to verify the same in Vevo. When I checked for my wife it says that the letter cannot be viewed at this time. Could you please suggest how I should approach this? Please be informed that I dropped an email to [email protected] immediately, but is there any other way to reach out to them to expedite the grant letter generation?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi UE -

Sounds very promising!

Best,

Mark



Undercover elephant said:


> Thanks for your reply Mark. Since my question we have in addition to police certificate from China been asked for another police certificate from another country where my partner worked for more than one year. We requested and were granted an extension of the 28 days given as due to the posting and processing time we did not expect to meet the deadline. It appears from the email we received that this is the last hurdle and visa would be granted after providing this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Atul -

OK to use the old RPL form for ACS RPL skills assessment applications lodged up to 30 June 2016. All applications after this date must use the new form. If you lodge a review of your application after this date, even if the orig application used the old form, you'll need to use the new form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Atul33 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have been working on RPL Report for last 2 weeks and today, I noticed that ACS has amended the RPL template and website says that applicant only need to talk about 1 Essential core ICT area of knowledge and 1 General ICT Area of knowledge and not all the knowledge areas.
> 
> This is different from the previous template, where it was required to explain all the topics, where one has knowledge and it was easier to demonstrate the knowledge.
> As per website, the new ACS Recognition of Prior Learning form (RPL) reflects the changes to the CBoK and is now available and we encourage all RPL applicants to complete the new form as part of their RPL application.From July 1 2016 the new RPL form will become mandatory for all RPL applications regardless if a previous suitable result for RPL has been issued.
> 
> I would like to understand, if i submit my ACS evaluation application with RPL project report in old format now, will that get evaluated? If i secure my positive evaluation before end of June 2016, do i need to again get new evaluation done using new RPL format, if I submit EOI in July ?
> 
> Regards,
> Atul


----------



## leesa45

Hi Mark, 
Hopefully you will see this, I am on a current 6 month tourist visa in Australia. 
My partner and I are going to NZ in a few months. We were thinking of applying for the PMV while we are there. If we do so will applying for that visa cancel out my current tourist visa? From what I have been reading it appears that it will not. We have gathered a great deal of information all ready for our visa as we have been together in a long distance relationship for awhile and I have been to Australia 2 times at this point. 
Any advice would be much appreciated. 
Cheers 
Lisa


----------



## pallavidhar

Hi Mark,

My ACS is in stage 4a since April 28 th. I mailed them asking for an ETA and they have responded saying it could range from 4-6 weeks. Reading the above experiences, I am hoping it would not take that long. Now here is my situation. 

Am hoping to lodge an EOI under the Computer system and network engineer code. On the immigration website I see that the occupational ceiling is 1986 and the invitations sent out are 1923 already. Here are my questions :-

1) I ll have around 75 points and am hoping to be considered for the May 11 or May 25 round. That is if I get my ACS latest by May 9 th. What are the chances? I ve submitted all relevant documents. 

2) Is the occupational list on the site updated after every round?
3) How do we know how many invites will be sent for my code on may 11 or 25 ? 
4) A lot of invites may not result in visa grants. What happens to them ? Do they consider other EOIs then ?
5) In case the occupational limit is reached before I could apply EOI for this year, what is the way forward for me ? When does the next financial year with the new invites start ? July ?

Thanks in advance


----------



## Atul33

Excellent. Many Thanks Mark. Your response is a great relief.

One more question i have regarding my ACS Application. For my current employer, I could not secure a employment reference letter and i have got it signed from a colleague of mine who is peer to me ( same designation) and also, he has joined after 4 months of my joining.

I have got an statutory declaration signed from him, in which i have not mentioned his joining date. Do you believe I shall go ahead with this document, or will that be a problem and shall i seek something else before proceeding. Shall i mention in the declaration about the org chart that my manager sits in USA and hence got it through peer.....

I may not be able to secure it through my manager though!

Regards,
Atul



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Atul -
> 
> OK to use the old RPL form for ACS RPL skills assessment applications lodged up to 30 June 2016. All applications after this date must use the new form. If you lodge a review of your application after this date, even if the orig application used the old form, you'll need to use the new form.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lisa -

Thanks for the note. Applying for the PMV while offshore and still holding a visitor visa will not affect your visitor visa in any way. That being said, if you have already done 2 entries on your visitor visa, you may get some issues from DIBP at the airport on a 3rd entry on the visitor visa. I'd have an agenda/itinerary ready to show for what you want to do on the 3rd entry, including perhaps preparing for your wedding, etc. Usually they give a warning on the last entry they want to allow, so that you will be forewarned if you attempt a further entry after that, so if you don't have a warning yet, all the better. A solid itinerary of relevant things for the stay period is the best way to reduce any risks in this area. Also when you return from NZ, I'd have a hardcopy of the lodged PMV application with you to show DIBP as that can sometimes help.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



leesa45 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hopefully you will see this, I am on a current 6 month tourist visa in Australia.
> My partner and I are going to NZ in a few months. We were thinking of applying for the PMV while we are there. If we do so will applying for that visa cancel out my current tourist visa? From what I have been reading it appears that it will not. We have gathered a great deal of information all ready for our visa as we have been together in a long distance relationship for awhile and I have been to Australia 2 times at this point.
> Any advice would be much appreciated.
> Cheers
> Lisa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pallavidhar -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict number of invites to be sent, chances of getting an invite, etc, however the higher the points score, the better the chance generally. If the occup ceiling is reached, that number is reset on 1 July, so leave your EOI in and with 75 points, you would likely be in a very good spot to get an invite after 1 July assuming no other issues, and assuming the occupation is not taken off the SOL list. Do make sure you take note of the skilled deeming date on your ACS and do not claim points for any employment not deemed by ACS as being skilled.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pallavidhar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My ACS is in stage 4a since April 28 th. I mailed them asking for an ETA and they have responded saying it could range from 4-6 weeks. Reading the above experiences, I am hoping it would not take that long. Now here is my situation.
> 
> Am hoping to lodge an EOI under the Computer system and network engineer code. On the immigration website I see that the occupational ceiling is 1986 and the invitations sent out are 1923 already. Here are my questions :-
> 
> 1) I ll have around 75 points and am hoping to be considered for the May 11 or May 25 round. That is if I get my ACS latest by May 9 th. What are the chances? I ve submitted all relevant documents.
> 
> 2) Is the occupational list on the site updated after every round?
> 3) How do we know how many invites will be sent for my code on may 11 or 25 ?
> 4) A lot of invites may not result in visa grants. What happens to them ? Do they consider other EOIs then ?
> 5) In case the occupational limit is reached before I could apply EOI for this year, what is the way forward for me ? When does the next financial year with the new invites start ? July ?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Atul33 -

For a company that has not gone out of business or closed, lack of an employer reference letter can be a big risk. Even if you can get something from HR that says the dates you worked there, it's far better than nothing. Letters from peers are a very last resort, as ACS (and DIBP) usually assume your peer will say whatever you ask them to say. Also in those cases, load up the payment evidence (tax, payslips, etc), however even with all of that, it's still a big risk if the company is still operating.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Atul33 said:


> Excellent. Many Thanks Mark. Your response is a great relief.
> 
> One more question i have regarding my ACS Application. For my current employer, I could not secure a employment reference letter and i have got it signed from a colleague of mine who is peer to me ( same designation) and also, he has joined after 4 months of my joining.
> 
> I have got an statutory declaration signed from him, in which i have not mentioned his joining date. Do you believe I shall go ahead with this document, or will that be a problem and shall i seek something else before proceeding. Shall i mention in the declaration about the org chart that my manager sits in USA and hence got it through peer.....
> 
> I may not be able to secure it through my manager though!
> 
> Regards,
> Atul


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shazz -

No problem at all - if you want to PM me, I can send you some contact info for good migration lawyers in USA.

Best,

Mark Northam



shazz said:


> Oops my bad and thanks for the response and as always great info on your forum page!!
> Regards
> Shazz


----------



## Clark

Hi Mark, I hope its not much of a bother if i ask you once more. My wife and I are here in Australia and we did an onshore lodging for our 189 visa.
Our daughter is in the Philippines and I would just like to ask if we can arrange her medicals already through the immi account or is it better to wait for the CO before doing so? Thank you so much.


----------



## bilalab89

Hi Mark. I need some information regarding visa 476.Has anyone applied this visa on the bases of BSc or MSc Computer science degree?. As far as i know that engineering council UK has given license to BCS (British Computer Society) and if the course is accredited for chartered engineer status, then i falls under Washington accord. I can find my degree of MSc Computer Science on the Engineering council accredited courses database. I know few guys who have done software engineering and got this visa through same route of Washington Accord. So does this makes me eligible for this visa?

Kind Regards


----------



## brendanc

Hi Mark, I'm filling up Form 40CH for Child Visa subclass 802 and I'm unable to answer the following question "Nature of the legal right" under Q18 with regards to Parental responsibility and guardianship. I hope you could shed some lights on it.

Thanks.


----------



## kamal28

*Good morning mark*

Hi mark please answer 
I will finish the requirements for 487 in july 31 2016 which was to stay in designated area and 1 year full-time work but in between i went overseas for 2 months which was continuous stay and now it will be fine ?for me to apply for permanent after finishing exact 2 years requirements on 30 july or i should wait more 2 month's which he spend overseas and also how much time it take to to get permanent residence in this visa these days as my cousin got his permanent in 2014 in just 2 months.( was same visa )


----------



## Jacoby 27

Hi Mark,

Thank you for taking your time to read the posts and replying to all of them.

I have a question regarding the PCC.

I lodged my 189 visa application last October, and at that time, I had been living in a certain country and the total duration was less than 12 months. Now 6 months have passed (currently waiting for the case officer decision after several requests for additional information) and the duration of living in this country has exceeded 12 months.

Must I obtain and submit the PCC for this country, or is it okay since the duration of living here at the time of visa lodge was less than 12 months? I had actually asked this question to the GSM email but received no response and I'm wondering if this will become a problem later on even if the visa is granted.


----------



## chookie

Hi Mark, 

My fiancé and I applied for a PMV on 19 March this year through a migration agent. He has completed all medicals and submitted police check as required. 

He had a student visa refused in November 2015 as immi believed he had no incentive to return to his country. He is from a high risk country in Latin America. 

A few days ago we applied for a 6 month Tourist visa through the same migration agent. My fiancé has no job and not studying. I submitted my invitation letter and documents to say I will be supporting him financially and everything that goes with it. (I sent a bank statement showing $8k in my account) 

Have you had cases like these where the Tourist visa has been refused while a PMV has been in place? is it common? In my stat dec I wrote that I wanted him to come to visit the wonders of Australia and I wanted to take my fiancé to visit Cairns for his birthday and I also wanted to take hi mm to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. At the end of my stat dec I wrote that we have applied for the PMV and would not at all jeopardize the Visa 300 whilst on the Tourist Visa. The application is being processed in Ottawa. 

I realllllly want him to be here but im really worried his visa will be refused! I have nightmares every single night about this! 

Please Mark shed me some light in your past experiences!

Thank you so much!!!!


----------



## jamielannister

Hi Mark
Hope you are doing well. Just a quick question, What if they refuse your 801 visa while you are offshore? What happens then? Do they let you get back in and lodge a review application?
I and my wife including few members of her family are going overseas for a month and half in Jan 17 and my 801 is due in August 16 couple of months from now. As they can decide your application whether I am in or out of Australia
In my case I am the sole breadwinner and provide for almost everything and my wife is a full time student so she cannot contribute much towards our daily expenses. So I pretty much pay for everything. I am worried if department would have problem with that . My wife's family including her mother and sisters are going to India to visit my family and participate in a family function. 
But we dont share finances much as I am the only one who works full time. if they refuse on that grounds, I am sure I can win MRT as I already did with my 820 which was pretty hard to win. But I am bit worried if they decide to refuse my application while I am overseas what would happen then?
Thanks in advance. You are such a great help.


----------



## vignesh_ss

Thanks Mark for your response. Will wait for them to respond for a week else as you have mentioned, will call them.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> Key issue is whether there is any sort of an issue with the application that could cause an issue. That was a good idea to email the GSM folks - I'd give them about a week to respond, then email again. If that fails, then time to call (and be ready for 1 to 2 hour wait on hold)
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## sai1

*HI Mark*

Thanks to your posts they were really helpful. 
I have a quick query.
I have applied my 887 visa on 16 Dec 2015
CO allocated on 4 May 2016
After submitting Lease documents, Tax declaration and payslips, CO again asked for Lease documents, Utility Bills, Employment Letter and 
*
Form 1023 - Other family members

Please clarify the role of the following listed family members as they have been included in your application as non-migrating dependents:*

I dont know where i made mistake in the application. I just gave details of my parents, siblings and nephew details as they asked us to give details of family members.

Could you please suggest me what i'm supposed to do now.

Many Thanks

Best Regards
Sai1


----------



## Granty

*21 days?*

Hi Mark,

Im hoping you can clarify something for me.

I have recieved my CO today after applying for the 309/100. She needs a couple of extra bits of info i.e. son's birth certificate, form 80 filled in and the medical/police checks. She has stated this at the bottom of her email "*Please upload the requested documentation to your immi Account within 21 days*"

My question is do you think she means I need to get my medical done and police checks in that time too. Because I have a son from a previous relationship that needs to have a medical, and I wont be able to do it within 21 days?

Any advice on this would be most appreciated.


----------



## Gaucho

Hi Mark, you've been a great resource so far. Thank you so much for your help. 

Now of course I have more questions, relating to certification of documents. 

I'm a sponsor for a partner visa, therefore I have to supply proof of my citizenship for my wife's visa application. As I'm currently in Brazil there are a few unique issues. Note I'm submitting electronically. 

1. The document certification will be in Portuguese, will I need to have the document paid to be translated just for the stamp of certification? 
2. With something like a birth certificate it seems counter intuitive to take a copy rather than scan an original in full colour, especially when the certification only adds to the confusion with the language issue. Do all documents require certification? 
3. Because Brazil likes to make things difficult, the first office we took our documents to for certification attached the stamp only to the back and refused to attach it to the front (ie, the part with the actual documents as opposed to a blank opposite side). While this would be ok for submitting in paper form, I'm assuming to submit electronically it would not be acceptable as even we scan both sides can not be verified to be from the same document at the other end. Would I be right? 

Thanks again for your help. I've gotten myself all confused


----------



## Leonarda

Dear Mark,

I am a PhD student in Australia on a 574 postgraduate research visa, which expires on 30 September 2017. I started my Phd in March 2013, and the PhD programs at my uni have a minimum duration of 3 years and a maximum duration of 4 years, so I assume the expiration date of my visa was set to allow for 4 years of PhD and half a year extra to wait for examination and graduation.

As my PhD scholarship only covered three years of tuition fee waiver, I was a diligent student, and submitted my PhD thesis two months ago, exactly 3 years after I started, so I would not have to pay any tuition fees. My thesis is still under examination, so I am currently still enrolled as a student.

I have been married to an Australian for a little over a year now and was planning to apply for a 801/820 partner visa in the next few weeks. However, when I spoke to the immigration department on the phone this morning, they informed me that my student visa will be cancelled as soon as my thesis is approved (i.e., as soon as I'm no longer a student) and therefore any bridging visa associated with my student visa that I would get based on my partner visa application will also be cancelled. 

I realise that as soon as I'm no longer a student, I would be in breach of my student visa conditions. However, I did not drop out of my degree, I merely managed to complete it in the minimum amount of allotted time. Some of my fellow students from higher-risk countries have been given 574 visas that expire well before mine, but in this case I feel like the fact that I am from a low-risk country is actually held against me. If my 574 had been for the minimum of 3 years, I would have been able to let it expire naturally and could have gone on a BVA to wait for a decision on the partner visa. But now it seems like I don't have that option. 

Is my understanding of the situation correct? Will my timely completion of my PhD actually mean a cancellation of my 574 and therefore make it pointless to apply for a partner visa now? (I'm not willing to go on a BVE, which appears to be the only alternative.) Or will the immigration department be willing to let me remain on my 574 considering my (then) pending partner visa application?

Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## yogibabu1

Hi Mark

Thanks for your incessant help to everyone and is really appreciated.

I have a specific query here, I had received an invite from NSW for 190 visa by 9th Mar 2016 and unfortunately both my skills assessment and language test results had expired by then.

I had enquired with NSW Department and they guided me to quickly apply and provide the valid documents for both once I get them.

Case officer from NSW has been assigned since I am turning 33 by June 15th and he has requested both the valid documents ACS Skills Assessment and language test result to finalize the case

My doubts here are
Is the invite from NSW good enough to lock in my age to 32?
Also I had scored 10 points in my previous language test and is it mandatory again to score the same points or a valid result would do?

Please advise


----------



## andrewcool

Hi Mark, hope everything is doing well for you
I have applied Visa 820 onshore for my wife for more than a year and I am not sure if it is close to being approved because we have uploaded everything and then in the last month as well as the Form 80 character assessment. 

Then the CO requested for AFP clearance certificate as well as the HK criminal check and I have just uploaded the AFP certificate since it has been received in my post. The HK immigration department has acknowledged the documents has been received and will be processed/posting to the DIBP soon, so you reckon after DIBP receives it, it will likely be approved according to your experience? Thanks. Andrew


----------



## T&M

Hi Mark,

I applied for my second stage of partner visa 820/801 and the 820 was granted in 5 days. My question is, can i still add my daugther in my 801 application? she wasn't on my PMV(but did the medicals) thank you in advance.


----------



## meelosh

Hello again Mark,

for the millionth time thanks on behalf of all of us posting on this forum to whom you have been such a big help.

I have one final question. I have been granted a skilled migration visa 189 today with my wife as an applicant also. 

She is due to give birth in 2 weeks time and I need to add the newborn to begin the procedure for his visa. Sadly our visa was granted before the little one is born so I guess we will need an entirely new application just for him for child visa 101 or something else ? Any insight ?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## lmc94

Hi there. I just need some clarification regarding the application for the Defacto Visa (I'm doing it online). 

1. How are the supporting witness statements submitted online? I know there's a specific form for them to fill out. Do I get them to write the physical form, have it witnessed, and then scan them onto a computer to add to the application? 

2. What needs to be witnessed? Just the statements? Or everything? Help!!


----------



## Clark

Hi Mark, We just received our BVC and you are right it is not in effect since we have the BVA. Is it safe to withdraw the student visa application now and if we withdraw it would we be on bridging Visa E or the bridging visa C will take in effect?

Thank you so much.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Clark -
> 
> Glad to help - your understanding of bridging visas is absolutely correct - the BVC you get from the lodgment of the second application will only activate once the BVA runs out, as the BVA is considered higher on the preference list of bridging visas (which is, BACDREF). The only point in waiting for the BVC before withdrawing the other one is to ensure there was no problem with the lodgment of the second application. I would check the communications link on the online application screen for your second application and see if the bridging visa grant email is in there. They also put the bridging visa grants at the end of the acknowledgement letter PDFs sometimes.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clark -

No problem - happy to help. If you've already lodged your 189 visa, then I'd go ahead with the medicals since there's little danger of them expiring if you do them now, as 189's typically aren't taking 12 months (usually 4-8 months). You can click on the "Organise Health Examinations" link on your daughter's section of the application status page, answer the health questions, and generate the health exam referral letter which can be used to book the exams at any DIBP-approved health check facility in the Philippines or elsewhere.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Clark said:


> Hi Mark, I hope its not much of a bother if i ask you once more. My wife and I are here in Australia and we did an onshore lodging for our 189 visa.
> Our daughter is in the Philippines and I would just like to ask if we can arrange her medicals already through the immi account or is it better to wait for the CO before doing so? Thank you so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bilalab89 -

Thanks for the note. Would need to discuss your circumstances in detail at a consultation to determine more details about your circumstances to give you specific advice re: eligibility - happy to do so at a consult - see website below in my signature for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



bilalab89 said:


> Hi Mark. I need some information regarding visa 476.Has anyone applied this visa on the bases of BSc or MSc Computer science degree?. As far as i know that engineering council UK has given license to BCS (British Computer Society) and if the course is accredited for chartered engineer status, then i falls under Washington accord. I can find my degree of MSc Computer Science on the Engineering council accredited courses database. I know few guys who have done software engineering and got this visa through same route of Washington Accord. So does this makes me eligible for this visa?
> 
> Kind Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brendanc -

Happy to help. This question refers to the nature of your legal right over the child (ie, right to determine where the child migrates to, what the child does, etc) in instances where that right does not rest with you solely - ie, is shared with someone such as a partner, ex-partner, biological parent, or someone else. The answer should indicate your general status in this regard, ie "shared custody with partner Mary Smith", "shared custody with ex-partner", "shared custody with guardian" or something along those lines depending on your particular circumstances. You can always provide additional information in a letter or statement if necessary to fully explain the nature of you and the other person's rights over the child.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



brendanc said:


> Hi Mark, I'm filling up Form 40CH for Child Visa subclass 802 and I'm unable to answer the following question "Nature of the legal right" under Q18 with regards to Parental responsibility and guardianship. I hope you could shed some lights on it.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kamal28 -

Thanks for the note. I don't know enough about your circumstances to advise you on whether to lodge now or later - too many other potential factors. However just looking at the 2 month trip factor, it's probably safer to wait 2 months so that if DIBP for any reason disallows that 2-month time previously (the trip), you won't have an issue. Generally DIBP allows 4 weeks per year of paid vacation, etc which is common with many jobs, and doesn't count that against the 2 year living/1 year working time period, however as the 2 months was continuous and it's not clear whether you continued to be employed during that time (ie, paid leave), might want to take the safer route as long as there are no other issues (ie visa expiration, etc) that would alter your choice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kamal28 said:


> Hi mark please answer
> I will finish the requirements for 487 in july 31 2016 which was to stay in designated area and 1 year full-time work but in between i went overseas for 2 months which was continuous stay and now it will be fine ?for me to apply for permanent after finishing exact 2 years requirements on 30 july or i should wait more 2 month's which he spend overseas and also how much time it take to to get permanent residence in this visa these days as my cousin got his permanent in 2014 in just 2 months.( was same visa )


----------



## Clark

Thank you so much for your time. Have a nice weekend. 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Clark -
> 
> No problem - happy to help. If you've already lodged your 189 visa, then I'd go ahead with the medicals since there's little danger of them expiring if you do them now, as 189's typically aren't taking 12 months (usually 4-8 months). You can click on the "Organise Health Examinations" link on your daughter's section of the application status page, answer the health questions, and generate the health exam referral letter which can be used to book the exams at any DIBP-approved health check facility in the Philippines or elsewhere.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jacoby27 -

It's a judgment call by the case officer - generally character assessment is a time-of-decision assessment, which means that DIBP has the right to require police clearance certificates (PCCs) from all qualifying countries as of the time of decision or at some time before that in order to make a decision. Probably safer to just get the PCC and submit to DIBP when you receive it, unless getting it is impossible and you don't want to open the door to that unless DIBP does.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jacoby 27 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for taking your time to read the posts and replying to all of them.
> 
> I have a question regarding the PCC.
> 
> I lodged my 189 visa application last October, and at that time, I had been living in a certain country and the total duration was less than 12 months. Now 6 months have passed (currently waiting for the case officer decision after several requests for additional information) and the duration of living in this country has exceeded 12 months.
> 
> Must I obtain and submit the PCC for this country, or is it okay since the duration of living here at the time of visa lodge was less than 12 months? I had actually asked this question to the GSM email but received no response and I'm wondering if this will become a problem later on even if the visa is granted.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chookie -

Thanks for the note. I've seen these types of visitor visa applications go both ways, so no particular overall rule or trend that I see. Often any refusals for people who have already lodged a PMV are due to either lack of employment/substantial ties to their home country (with employment being a substantial tie as well as other family and other ties), or due to DIBP's decision that the economic, etc circumstances in the applicant's home country are so low compared to Australia that they would represent a big incentive to the applicant to stay here and not return home at the end of the visitor visa.

Bottom line: no way to predict chances of success/refusal with these - best thing to do is to provide as much evidence as possible of substantial ties the applicant has to his/her home country, businesses there, people there, things he/she owns there, employment or other responsibilities there, etc and see how it is assessed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chookie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My fiancé and I applied for a PMV on 19 March this year through a migration agent. He has completed all medicals and submitted police check as required.
> 
> He had a student visa refused in November 2015 as immi believed he had no incentive to return to his country. He is from a high risk country in Latin America.
> 
> A few days ago we applied for a 6 month Tourist visa through the same migration agent. My fiancé has no job and not studying. I submitted my invitation letter and documents to say I will be supporting him financially and everything that goes with it. (I sent a bank statement showing $8k in my account)
> 
> Have you had cases like these where the Tourist visa has been refused while a PMV has been in place? is it common? In my stat dec I wrote that I wanted him to come to visit the wonders of Australia and I wanted to take my fiancé to visit Cairns for his birthday and I also wanted to take hi mm to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. At the end of my stat dec I wrote that we have applied for the PMV and would not at all jeopardize the Visa 300 whilst on the Tourist Visa. The application is being processed in Ottawa.
> 
> I realllllly want him to be here but im really worried his visa will be refused! I have nightmares every single night about this!
> 
> Please Mark shed me some light in your past experiences!
> 
> Thank you so much!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamielannister -

Thanks for the note. For a subclass 801 refusal, as the visa can be granted when you are in or outside Australia, if the refusal happened when you were outside Australia you would still have review rights as long as you were not in immigration clearance at the time of the refusal, and as long as you made the AAT application for review when you were in Australia.

The tricky part here is that if you are outside Australia when the 801 is refused, you would need to get back to Australia within 21 days of the refusal date (AAT deadline) to lodge the AAT application from within Australia, and would likely need to get a visitor visa to do so - if DIBP took longer than 21 days to grant the visitor visa, your review rights at the AAT tribunal would expire.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamielannister said:


> Hi Mark
> Hope you are doing well. Just a quick question, What if they refuse your 801 visa while you are offshore? What happens then? Do they let you get back in and lodge a review application?
> I and my wife including few members of her family are going overseas for a month and half in Jan 17 and my 801 is due in August 16 couple of months from now. As they can decide your application whether I am in or out of Australia
> In my case I am the sole breadwinner and provide for almost everything and my wife is a full time student so she cannot contribute much towards our daily expenses. So I pretty much pay for everything. I am worried if department would have problem with that . My wife's family including her mother and sisters are going to India to visit my family and participate in a family function.
> But we dont share finances much as I am the only one who works full time. if they refuse on that grounds, I am sure I can win MRT as I already did with my 820 which was pretty hard to win. But I am bit worried if they decide to refuse my application while I am overseas what would happen then?
> Thanks in advance. You are such a great help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sai1 -

Not sure what to say as would need to see your documents to comment further, however I'd make a list of all of your family members that they have asked about, providing the usual identifying info (date of birth, citizenship, current country of residence, marital status) and specify each person's relationship to you (ie, daughter, son, father, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sai1 said:


> Thanks to your posts they were really helpful.
> I have a quick query.
> I have applied my 887 visa on 16 Dec 2015
> CO allocated on 4 May 2016
> After submitting Lease documents, Tax declaration and payslips, CO again asked for Lease documents, Utility Bills, Employment Letter and
> *
> Form 1023 - Other family members
> 
> Please clarify the role of the following listed family members as they have been included in your application as non-migrating dependents:*
> 
> I dont know where i made mistake in the application. I just gave details of my parents, siblings and nephew details as they asked us to give details of family members.
> 
> Could you please suggest me what i'm supposed to do now.
> 
> Many Thanks
> 
> Best Regards
> Sai1


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Granty -

Thanks for the note. 21 days is unusual - typically it's 28 days. I would order everything they want and upload receipts or evidence you've ordered it. Re: son from previous marriage, I would make efforts to book an appointment within the 21 days and provide evidence of this, plus would upload a statement explaining why it's taking longer than 21 days for his circumstances. DIBP is usually somewhat flexible on this, especially when circumstances beyond your control hinder your ability to provide the documents within the time provided for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Granty said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Im hoping you can clarify something for me.
> 
> I have recieved my CO today after applying for the 309/100. She needs a couple of extra bits of info i.e. son's birth certificate, form 80 filled in and the medical/police checks. She has stated this at the bottom of her email "*Please upload the requested documentation to your immi Account within 21 days*"
> 
> My question is do you think she means I need to get my medical done and police checks in that time too. Because I have a son from a previous relationship that needs to have a medical, and I wont be able to do it within 21 days?
> 
> Any advice on this would be most appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gaucho -

Thanks for the note. If you've lodged online, DIBP generally accepts colour scans of originals unless they specifically ask for a certified copy of something. I wouldn't bother with certification unless specifically asked for by DIBP - in which case you can provide whatever certification you manage to get.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gaucho said:


> Hi Mark, you've been a great resource so far. Thank you so much for your help.
> 
> Now of course I have more questions, relating to certification of documents.
> 
> I'm a sponsor for a partner visa, therefore I have to supply proof of my citizenship for my wife's visa application. As I'm currently in Brazil there are a few unique issues. Note I'm submitting electronically.
> 
> 1. The document certification will be in Portuguese, will I need to have the document paid to be translated just for the stamp of certification?
> 2. With something like a birth certificate it seems counter intuitive to take a copy rather than scan an original in full colour, especially when the certification only adds to the confusion with the language issue. Do all documents require certification?
> 3. Because Brazil likes to make things difficult, the first office we took our documents to for certification attached the stamp only to the back and refused to attach it to the front (ie, the part with the actual documents as opposed to a blank opposite side). While this would be ok for submitting in paper form, I'm assuming to submit electronically it would not be acceptable as even we scan both sides can not be verified to be from the same document at the other end. Would I be right?
> 
> Thanks again for your help. I've gotten myself all confused


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leonarda -

Great question. This is an area where the case officer can use his/her judgment as to whether to pursue cancellation proceedings against your student visa once you complete your thesis. There is specific DIBP policy that instructs case officers to look at whether a student visa holder has lodged a PR visa and, if they deem it appropriate, not pursue cancellation in these cases. Bottom line is that there is no way to predict for sure how this will unfold as it's judgment call. If you do end up getting a notice of intent to cancel your student visa, I'd respond with a letter requesting that they do not cancel it, and either contact me or another registered migration agent and we can get you the specific PAM3 policy that covers this which you can quote in your response.

In the end there's no way to guarantee it won't be cancelled, but often there are good ways to object to the intended cancellation on the basis of a lodged PR visa. If cancellation does happen, a BVE is not the worst thing in the world to have assuming you want to stay in Australia during the time after cancellation and before the partner visa is decided.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Leonarda said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am a PhD student in Australia on a 574 postgraduate research visa, which expires on 30 September 2017. I started my Phd in March 2013, and the PhD programs at my uni have a minimum duration of 3 years and a maximum duration of 4 years, so I assume the expiration date of my visa was set to allow for 4 years of PhD and half a year extra to wait for examination and graduation.
> 
> As my PhD scholarship only covered three years of tuition fee waiver, I was a diligent student, and submitted my PhD thesis two months ago, exactly 3 years after I started, so I would not have to pay any tuition fees. My thesis is still under examination, so I am currently still enrolled as a student.
> 
> I have been married to an Australian for a little over a year now and was planning to apply for a 801/820 partner visa in the next few weeks. However, when I spoke to the immigration department on the phone this morning, they informed me that my student visa will be cancelled as soon as my thesis is approved (i.e., as soon as I'm no longer a student) and therefore any bridging visa associated with my student visa that I would get based on my partner visa application will also be cancelled.
> 
> I realise that as soon as I'm no longer a student, I would be in breach of my student visa conditions. However, I did not drop out of my degree, I merely managed to complete it in the minimum amount of allotted time. Some of my fellow students from higher-risk countries have been given 574 visas that expire well before mine, but in this case I feel like the fact that I am from a low-risk country is actually held against me. If my 574 had been for the minimum of 3 years, I would have been able to let it expire naturally and could have gone on a BVA to wait for a decision on the partner visa. But now it seems like I don't have that option.
> 
> Is my understanding of the situation correct? Will my timely completion of my PhD actually mean a cancellation of my 574 and therefore make it pointless to apply for a partner visa now? (I'm not willing to go on a BVE, which appears to be the only alternative.) Or will the immigration department be willing to let me remain on my 574 considering my (then) pending partner visa application?
> 
> Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yogibabu1 -

Thanks for the note. The only "invitation" that locks in age and skills assessment is an invitation from DIBP, so that's what you need to focus on. Any changes made prior to DIBP invitation are fine as long as the state is happy with those. The only IELTS, age, or any other factor information that counts to DIBP are those contained in your EOI on the *date that DIBP invites you *(which happens directly upon state sponsorship approval). IELTS and skills assessment must be valid on that date or you should not accept the invitation. So regarding your age, if NSW approves you prior to your birthday and a DIBP invitation is generated prior to your birthday, then a change in age on your birthday would not affect your points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



yogibabu1 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for your incessant help to everyone and is really appreciated.
> 
> I have a specific query here, I had received an invite from NSW for 190 visa by 9th Mar 2016 and unfortunately both my skills assessment and language test results had expired by then.
> 
> I had enquired with NSW Department and they guided me to quickly apply and provide the valid documents for both once I get them.
> 
> Case officer from NSW has been assigned since I am turning 33 by June 15th and he has requested both the valid documents ACS Skills Assessment and language test result to finalize the case
> 
> My doubts here are
> Is the invite from NSW good enough to lock in my age to 32?
> Also I had scored 10 points in my previous language test and is it mandatory again to score the same points or a valid result would do?
> 
> Please advise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

Impossible to tell, but maybe. Sometimes requests for updated health/police are a sign that they are very close to a decision, but other times they are not. Also depending on your nationality the security assessment that is done using Form 80 can slow things down or not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andrewcool said:


> Hi Mark, hope everything is doing well for you
> I have applied Visa 820 onshore for my wife for more than a year and I am not sure if it is close to being approved because we have uploaded everything and then in the last month as well as the Form 80 character assessment.
> 
> Then the CO requested for AFP clearance certificate as well as the HK criminal check and I have just uploaded the AFP certificate since it has been received in my post. The HK immigration department has acknowledged the documents has been received and will be processed/posting to the DIBP soon, so you reckon after DIBP receives it, it will likely be approved according to your experience? Thanks. Andrew


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi T&M -

Would need to know more about your circumstances, but expect that you will need to apply for a subclass 445 dependent child visa for your child - that will add the child to the 820 visa, enabling the child to then be considered for the 801 visa. I'd check out the 445 visa on the DIBP site - Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



T&M said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for my second stage of partner visa 820/801 and the 820 was granted in 5 days. My question is, can i still add my daugther in my 801 application? she wasn't on my PMV(but did the medicals) thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Meelosh -

Thanks for the note and kind words! If you are onshore when the child is born, the child will qualify for Australian citizenship as it's an onshore birth with at least one parent being a PR at the time of birth (since you have your 189 visa) so no visa is needed. If the child is offshore when born, then you'll likely need to get a Child visa for the child - can be either subclass 101 if an offshore application or 802 if an onshore application (ie, child comes with you to Australia on a visitor visa or something, then you want to remain in Australia with the child so the child lodges the 802 visa while onshore).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



meelosh said:


> Hello again Mark,
> 
> for the millionth time thanks on behalf of all of us posting on this forum to whom you have been such a big help.
> 
> I have one final question. I have been granted a skilled migration visa 189 today with my wife as an applicant also.
> 
> She is due to give birth in 2 weeks time and I need to add the newborn to begin the procedure for his visa. Sadly our visa was granted before the little one is born so I guess we will need an entirely new application just for him for child visa 101 or something else ? Any insight ?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Imc94 -

Happy to help. At least 2 of the witnesses generally need to complete Form 888 which should be completed, with signatures witnessed by an authorised person (usually a JP - see form for more) - since Form 888 is to be completed by an Australian citizen or PR, you should also attach a copy of that person's passport biodata page or PR visa to the form, and submit the form after lodgment as a single PDF with Form 888 and the ID included. You'll also need to list 2 people as referees in the application itself, so you can do this by selecting 2 of your Form 888 persons and filling in the appropriate info in the application.

For a partner visa, generally only the Form 888's need to be witnessed. Other supporting statements from those who are not citizens or PR can simply be typed statements with the person's contact info and ID attached, uploaded after lodgment into the "Nature of the Commitment", "Other" category/subcategory.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lmc94 said:


> Hi there. I just need some clarification regarding the application for the Defacto Visa (I'm doing it online).
> 
> 1. How are the supporting witness statements submitted online? I know there's a specific form for them to fill out. Do I get them to write the physical form, have it witnessed, and then scan them onto a computer to add to the application?
> 
> 2. What needs to be witnessed? Just the statements? Or everything? Help!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clark -

I don't know enough about all of your circumstances to give you specific advice for your case - migration law is just a bit too complex for simplified answers for specific cases without knowing a lot more.

However given that, generally speaking if a person holds a BVA from application A and a BVC from application B, and application B was made at a later date than application A, as long as there are no other factors to consider (such as a cancellation or refusal, etc), if they withdraw Application A, the BVA from application A will cease 28 days after withdrawal and the BVC will automatically activate at the same time. It is also possible, if the BVC has no work rights and the applicant wants to add them, to make an application to add work rights to the BVC even before it is activated.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Clark said:


> Hi Mark, We just received our BVC and you are right it is not in effect since we have the BVA. Is it safe to withdraw the student visa application now and if we withdraw it would we be on bridging Visa E or the bridging visa C will take in effect?
> 
> Thank you so much.


----------



## TeaAddict

Hi Mark,

Thanks for all the great work on this forum! I would like to ask a question regarding the onshore partner visa for interstate/ distance couples. I've read that it requires partners to be married/ in a de facto relationship.

My partner and I have been in a serious relationship for 4 years, we are both on the same lease agreement for my apartment etc. However, due to work he spends a lot of time interstate and we take turns visiting each other every weekends/ every other weekend. When we do, we are staying at each other's place and I have had my mail sent to his place, vice versa. I also have extensive proof of all flight/ bus bookings of visits, and phone records of speaking with each other for a few hours each night. We also have proof of some sharing of finances, and payment of rent for my place is out of our joint bank account. 

In this instance, would we satisfy the de-facto criteria (since we are still living at each other's place interstate), or does it require a couple to live together in the same place everyday? If not, would applying as a married partner require that we are living together in the same place too?

If so, I'm wondering how a long distance (interstate) couple apply for a partner, or would we have to wait till we are both able to move into the same state/ place to do so, and then wait an extra year - which is not possible for us at the moment due to work and finances.

Thank you very much in advance for your advice or any input anyone can offer!


----------



## Mish

Hi Mark

My mum is completing her 888 for my husband's visa. Obviously her birth certificate will be in her maiden name, will this be an issue? She doesn't have a passport as they don't travel overseas. Is there anything else she would need to attach if it will be an issue?

Also with travel dates we departed Australia on 9 April but arrived in the other country on 10 April so do you put 10 April even though you left Australia on 9 April?

Thank you.


----------



## Clark

Hi Mark, Thank you once again for your time. Would withdrawing our student visa application render us a bridging Visa E? That's my biggest concern at the moment... Since we applied for 189, our bridging visa C has full work rights which is really good but unfortunately its not in effect because of the BVA that is currently in effect.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Clark -
> 
> I don't know enough about all of your circumstances to give you specific advice for your case - migration law is just a bit too complex for simplified answers for specific cases without knowing a lot more.
> 
> However given that, generally speaking if a person holds a BVA from application A and a BVC from application B, and application B was made at a later date than application A, as long as there are no other factors to consider (such as a cancellation or refusal, etc), if they withdraw Application A, the BVA from application A will cease 28 days after withdrawal and the BVC will automatically activate at the same time. It is also possible, if the BVC has no work rights and the applicant wants to add them, to make an application to add work rights to the BVC even before it is activated.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Leonarda

Thank you, Mark, for taking the time to answer my question!
For me, the problem with going on a BVE would be the fact that it generally doesn't come with work rights. I just accepted an academic job and, of course, not having work rights would seriously jeopardise both that job and my future career. 
I think I might have to ask my new employer about sponsoring me for a 457, just to be safe.

Thanks again for your great clarification!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Leonarda -
> 
> Great question. This is an area where the case officer can use his/her judgment as to whether to pursue cancellation proceedings against your student visa once you complete your thesis. There is specific DIBP policy that instructs case officers to look at whether a student visa holder has lodged a PR visa and, if they deem it appropriate, not pursue cancellation in these cases. Bottom line is that there is no way to predict for sure how this will unfold as it's judgment call. If you do end up getting a notice of intent to cancel your student visa, I'd respond with a letter requesting that they do not cancel it, and either contact me or another registered migration agent and we can get you the specific PAM3 policy that covers this which you can quote in your response.
> 
> In the end there's no way to guarantee it won't be cancelled, but often there are good ways to object to the intended cancellation on the basis of a lodged PR visa. If cancellation does happen, a BVE is not the worst thing in the world to have assuming you want to stay in Australia during the time after cancellation and before the partner visa is decided.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Beachbum123

Hi Mark and forum,

I am currently uploading supporting evidence to my 820 online application. I exceeded the 2000 character count for 'history of your relationship' part of the application so I have made a Stat dec of the complete statement to upload to the application. Does anyone know the correct type of evidence to label this as? There are the obvious categories for most evidence (eg- nature of household, financial aspects of relationship etc) however i'm not sure where the 'history of your relationship' should go. 

Any tips would be appreciated. Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TeaAddict -

Thanks for the note - great questions. Long distance relationships are often problematic for DIBP partner visas (either via marriage or via de facto - it's the same visa with slightly different requirements). DIBP takes a fairly old school attitude towards relationships, with "living together" being a key indicator of a "genuine" partner relationship. Where you live together is not really the issue - can be anywhere, including at parents' house, etc, but living together ie sharing the same bedroom, sharing household duties, etc is key. If a couple spends only weekends together, sometimes that can work especially in the case of FIFO workers, etc, but it's a matter of evaluating all the relationship evidence on a case by case basis to determine how well it supports the relationship.

Both married and de facto couples are expected to live together by DIBP - for de facto couples, unless a state registration of the de facto relationship in a qualifying state is done, DIBP will require evidence that the relationship has existed at the de facto level for the 12 months prior to applying for the partner visa - the easiest (and best) way to evidence this is evidence of living together.

Hope this helps - happy to work with you in a consultation (see website below for more) if you'd like to discuss the details of your case and your circumstances to get specific advice for your case.

Best,

Mark Northam



TeaAddict said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for all the great work on this forum! I would like to ask a question regarding the onshore partner visa for interstate/ distance couples. I've read that it requires partners to be married/ in a de facto relationship.
> 
> My partner and I have been in a serious relationship for 4 years, we are both on the same lease agreement for my apartment etc. However, due to work he spends a lot of time interstate and we take turns visiting each other every weekends/ every other weekend. When we do, we are staying at each other's place and I have had my mail sent to his place, vice versa. I also have extensive proof of all flight/ bus bookings of visits, and phone records of speaking with each other for a few hours each night. We also have proof of some sharing of finances, and payment of rent for my place is out of our joint bank account.
> 
> In this instance, would we satisfy the de-facto criteria (since we are still living at each other's place interstate), or does it require a couple to live together in the same place everyday? If not, would applying as a married partner require that we are living together in the same place too?
> 
> If so, I'm wondering how a long distance (interstate) couple apply for a partner, or would we have to wait till we are both able to move into the same state/ place to do so, and then wait an extra year - which is not possible for us at the moment due to work and finances.
> 
> Thank you very much in advance for your advice or any input anyone can offer!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mish -

Great to hear from you - hope all is well. Re: 888, you could also include the birth certificate and marriage certificate to show the progression of her maiden name to her married name - that plus the birth certificate and perhaps a driver licence to confirm her current name as well.

With travel dates for people departing and returning to Australia, generally best to put both dates in Australian time zone.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mish said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My mum is completing her 888 for my husband's visa. Obviously her birth certificate will be in her maiden name, will this be an issue? She doesn't have a passport as they don't travel overseas. Is there anything else she would need to attach if it will be an issue?
> 
> Also with travel dates we departed Australia on 9 April but arrived in the other country on 10 April so do you put 10 April even though you left Australia on 9 April?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clark -

Based on what you've said, withdrawing your student visa would start the clock for the BVA related to the student visa application to cease, which would happen 28 days after you withdrew the student visa. At that point, assuming no other factors have intervened (refusals, cancellations, going offshore, etc), the BVC would automatically activate upon the cessation of the BVA. No BVE generally unless a visa you hold is cancelled - that cancels out all bridging visas along with the visa that is cancelled.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Clark said:


> Hi Mark, Thank you once again for your time. Would withdrawing our student visa application render us a bridging Visa E? That's my biggest concern at the moment... Since we applied for 189, our bridging visa C has full work rights which is really good but unfortunately its not in effect because of the BVA that is currently in effect.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leonarda -

You might also check into the subclass 486 skilled graduate visa if you qualify, or a working holiday visa (requires offshore application though) if you qualify - both could possibly work depending on your circumstances. 457 also if you & employer qualify.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Leonarda said:


> Thank you, Mark, for taking the time to answer my question!
> For me, the problem with going on a BVE would be the fact that it generally doesn't come with work rights. I just accepted an academic job and, of course, not having work rights would seriously jeopardise both that job and my future career.
> I think I might have to ask my new employer about sponsoring me for a 457, just to be safe.
> 
> Thanks again for your great clarification!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beachbum123 -

It's curious that DIBP has no category/subcategory for these. We always use Nature of the Commitment / Statement about future plans for relationship statements, and for non-Form 888 witness statements use Social Aspects of the relationship / Other.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Beachbum123 said:


> Hi Mark and forum,
> 
> I am currently uploading supporting evidence to my 820 online application. I exceeded the 2000 character count for 'history of your relationship' part of the application so I have made a Stat dec of the complete statement to upload to the application. Does anyone know the correct type of evidence to label this as? There are the obvious categories for most evidence (eg- nature of household, financial aspects of relationship etc) however i'm not sure where the 'history of your relationship' should go.
> 
> Any tips would be appreciated. Cheers


----------



## poppy23

*Passport DOB Issues*

Dear Mark,

I am besides myself at the moment. Difficult situation. My Indonesian GF of 4 years planning to immigrate to Australia with me after having lived together overseas. I am an Australian Citizen.

She has a passport DOB conflict with her Birth Certificate and we planned on righting the wrong that was made 10 years earlier by fixing her passport in Indonesia before submitting the relevant paperwork for immigration to Australia.

We are aware that this would prevent her from ever visiting the countries that she previously worked in, but it is something that we are prepared to accept in order to make things right.

A friend is going through immigration at the moment and mentioned getting a police report and alarm bells went off for us. If her passport DOB is changed and a police report is requested from these countries, then she will instantly have a criminal offence because they will see the difference of the passport DOB record.

What can we do? Other than living in Indonesia myself for the next 10 years, and applying to Australia after that, I'm running short on solutions.

If we honestly tell AU immigration the situation about her DOB issue, will a police report be necessary? Is there a way to get around this issue? Thank you for any guidance you can provide.

Feeling helpless,

Poppy.


----------



## GauravAgrawal84

Hi Mark, 

I have a quick question I have done my Bachelors in electronics engineering from India then took 1.75 years of work experience in India after which I came to UK to do my masters from the university of Manchester (one year course). While I was doing my masters out of 1 year for 6 months I worked part time 20 hours a week (for an Indian company remotely) which after my masters completed I started working full time 40 hours a week. I worked for that company full time for 1 year. So for my skilled visa class 189 visa application would all of 1.5 years would be counted or just 1 year? My masters was in advance computer science and the entire 1.5 years I was working as a software developer and The nominated occupation under which I wish to apply is Developer programmer.

Regards,
Gaurav


----------



## GauravAgrawal84

*Payslip and Bank Statement*

Hi Mark,

Just one more question for ACS assessment do we need to provide payslips and corresponding bank statements showing that salary money did come into the account. ? If yes then how important it is ? I don't have the payslip from one company for whom I worked for 2 years and can't obtain one because the company itself is now closed as it was a small company.

Regards,
Gaurav


----------



## Mish

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mish -
> 
> Great to hear from you - hope all is well. Re: 888, you could also include the birth certificate and marriage certificate to show the progression of her maiden name to her married name - that plus the birth certificate and perhaps a driver licence to confirm her current name as well.
> 
> With travel dates for people departing and returning to Australia, generally best to put both dates in Australian time zone.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much for your help Mark!!

Everything is good just back from holidays and don't want to go back to work tomorrow lol.


----------



## kamal28

Thanks Mark


----------



## Clark

Hi Mark,

Let me send you our heartfelt gratitude for helping us sort out our situation. We highly appreciate your unconditional help. Just an update regarding our situation, we already withdrew our student visa and just like what you've said BVA has this cool down period of 28 days. Thank you for explaining what BVE is all about (which is what im most afraid of). Thankfully, we don't have any visa cancellation so definitely there's no BVE in sight,hehe. More power to you and i hope that all the help that you give out will come us a blessing to you and your family. You're knowledge with visas is uncontestedly incredible. I'll absolutely recommend you to others who are looking for a migration agent.

Thank you once again and God bless.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Clark -
> 
> Based on what you've said, withdrawing your student visa would start the clock for the BVA related to the student visa application to cease, which would happen 28 days after you withdrew the student visa. At that point, assuming no other factors have intervened (refusals, cancellations, going offshore, etc), the BVC would automatically activate upon the cessation of the BVA. No BVE generally unless a visa you hold is cancelled - that cancels out all bridging visas along with the visa that is cancelled.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## skl

Clark said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Let me send you our heartfelt gratitude for helping us sort out our situation. We highly appreciate your unconditional help. Just an update regarding our situation, we already withdrew our student visa and just like what you've said BVA has this cool down period of 28 days. Thank you for explaining what BVE is all about (which is what im most afraid of). Thankfully, we don't have any visa cancellation so definitely there's no BVE in sight,hehe. More power to you and i hope that all the help that you give out will come us a blessing to you and your family. You're knowledge with visas is uncontestedly incredible. I'll absolutely recommend you to others who are looking for a migration agent.
> 
> Thank you once again and God bless.


hi Mark. Could you please clarify is asst manager and case officer the same? I get an email from asst manager


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Poppy23 -

Thanks for the note. Need more info to address your questions - assuming the passport is wrong due to admin mistake, etc and the rest of the documents are correct re: date of birth (ie, birth certificate, police report, etc), then based on the info you've provided, it may make sense to have the passport corrected, then lodge the application with the correct passport and the rest of the correct documents so the DOB will line up on all documents. If a question is raised about the previous passport, you can advise that it was an administrative mistake that she never got fixed as she didn't have time/wasn't sure how/etc... She'll need a police report in any case for all countries she's spent a total of 12 months or more in during the last 10 years.

Please advise if I can assist further - happy to discuss in detail at a consultation if you'd like - see website below for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



poppy23 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am besides myself at the moment. Difficult situation. My Indonesian GF of 4 years planning to immigrate to Australia with me after having lived together overseas. I am an Australian Citizen.
> 
> She has a passport DOB conflict with her Birth Certificate and we planned on righting the wrong that was made 10 years earlier by fixing her passport in Indonesia before submitting the relevant paperwork for immigration to Australia.
> 
> We are aware that this would prevent her from ever visiting the countries that she previously worked in, but it is something that we are prepared to accept in order to make things right.
> 
> A friend is going through immigration at the moment and mentioned getting a police report and alarm bells went off for us. If her passport DOB is changed and a police report is requested from these countries, then she will instantly have a criminal offence because they will see the difference of the passport DOB record.
> 
> What can we do? Other than living in Indonesia myself for the next 10 years, and applying to Australia after that, I'm running short on solutions.
> 
> If we honestly tell AU immigration the situation about her DOB issue, will a police report be necessary? Is there a way to get around this issue? Thank you for any guidance you can provide.
> 
> Feeling helpless,
> 
> Poppy.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gaurav -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict how ACS will credit the various bits of employment - you'll need to apply for the skills assessment and let them do their assessment work on the employment and qualifications, then they will determine what part of your employment is skilled or not.

Re: payslips - ACS generally requires these only if a third-party stat dec is used, however DIBP requires payslips or other independent proof of payment for all work experience claimed for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GauravAgrawal84 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just one more question for ACS assessment do we need to provide payslips and corresponding bank statements showing that salary money did come into the account. ? If yes then how important it is ? I don't have the payslip from one company for whom I worked for 2 years and can't obtain one because the company itself is now closed as it was a small company.
> 
> Regards,
> Gaurav


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clark -

Thanks so much for the kind words! Really made my day... (or night, as the case may be at this point!).

Sounds like the BVA/BVC situation is right on track. Most importantly, once they acknowledge the withdrawal request, they cannot refuse the application that has been withdrawn, so that ensures you won't end up with a BVE related to that.

Please advise if I can assist further, and again, thanks for the wonderful note.

Best,

Mark Northam



Clark said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Let me send you our heartfelt gratitude for helping us sort out our situation. We highly appreciate your unconditional help. Just an update regarding our situation, we already withdrew our student visa and just like what you've said BVA has this cool down period of 28 days. Thank you for explaining what BVE is all about (which is what im most afraid of). Thankfully, we don't have any visa cancellation so definitely there's no BVE in sight,hehe. More power to you and i hope that all the help that you give out will come us a blessing to you and your family. You're knowledge with visas is uncontestedly incredible. I'll absolutely recommend you to others who are looking for a migration agent.
> 
> Thank you once again and God bless.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skl -

Different DIBP posts use different titles, but in many cases a manager or assistance manager is a post higher than a case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



skl said:


> hi Mark. Could you please clarify is asst manager and case officer the same? I get an email from asst manager


----------



## regisprado

*Engineers Australia - Materials Engineer*

Hello Mark,

First, thank you for adding me up on LinkedIn, looking forward to connect. As mentioned, I will be placing my EOI if all goes well on this second semester. I have posted the questions below on a separate thread but did no receive many replies so far. If you can be kind enough to review this subject...



> I am a Materials Engineer graduated from a Federal University in Brazil. My institution is recognized as "Section 1" by the Australian Governement, I am unsure the meaning of this statement right now. I trust (preliminarily) that my Bachelor Degree is equivalent to a Bachelor Degree in Australia. On top of that Degree I also hold a Master in Science on Materials Engineering from the same institution and have published a couple of Technical Papers in International Journals. I have continued my education in Corporate Finances, Engineering, Project Management and Operational Excellence in the course of the last 10 years. I am 34 years old, turning 35 this June 2016. I come from Brazil, a country which is not signatory to any of the accepted Engineering Accords in Australia. My degree will have to be validated through a CDR (Competency Demonstration Report) and I plan to apply to my original degree: Materials Engineering, ANZSCO's Code # 233112.
> 
> Upon Graduation I have joined a Oil & Gas multinational (Provider of Subsea Equipment, US Company based in Brazil) as a Trainee Engineer and ended-up being allocated to the Procurement Division for 3 years where I have performed Technical Procurement and Supplier Project Management (my worker's record book have it as 'Supply Chain Analyst'); afterwards I was allocated on the Project Management Office, serving the first 3 years as a Project Leader (I recognize this could transtale as 'Project Engineer') and another 3 years as a Project Manager w/ Managerial responsibilities over people (my worker's record book have it as 'Project Leader' and 'Product and Project Manager' respectively); this totals 6 years in Technical Project Management. I do not know if it is relevant, but, at this company, all those positions had a mandatory requirement for an Engineering Graduate.
> 
> Well, after this long exposition, I am unsure if I can correlate that type of experience to the "nominated occupation or closely related skilled occupation" DIBP requirement. I am most positive *not* as a nominated occupation (Remember, I am considering here ANZSCO's 233112 Materials Engineer), but I have received mixed feedbacks on the "closely related skilled occupation" as I have put my technical knowledge, leadership, management, decision-making and etc. skills to the test on a daily basis. To this last point,, considering EA's Guidelines on how to write the 'Career Events', I can find substantial events through my career displaying what I understand to meet EA's requirement (based on the MSA Booklet General Guidelines) for 'Professional Engineer'.
> 
> The Questions I think of right now are:
> 
> 1) Given what was explained above, can anyone provide a personal opinion if EA would find it difficult to validate my degree, as Materials Engineer? Agents if you can share your experience? I will take your answers as opinions and not as official counseling.
> 
> 2) Given what was explained above, if EA does not grant me a Materials Engineering accreditation, can I pursue accreditationg in a different Engineering field, even considering what is written on my Degree? Agents if you can share your experience? I will take your answers as opinions and not as official counseling.
> 
> 3) Provided I am able to meet EA's standard to a Materials Engineering, can anyone provide a personal opinion if my work experience would be eligible to claim points as a "closely related skilled occupation" to DIBP Australia? Agents if you can share your experience? I will take your answers as opinions and not as official counseling.


Thank you in anticipation for the excellent support you provide to the community through your "Ask Mark!" initiative.

Warm Regards from Rio,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Regisprado -

Thanks for the note and kind words. I'm not able to do skilled visa related assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many variables, details, and circumstances that can come into play given the myriad of regulations between DIBP, skills assessors, state sponsorship authorities and others. There is no good way to predict with any confidence what EA would do in this case - they are going to go through the fine points of your degree(s) and work experience and come to a conclusion based on their experience, internal policies and more - all of which is not availability publicly.

The safest bet given you have some concerns re: relevance of the qualification and relevance of the work experience would be to do the EA skills assessment process and also obtain an employment (points test) reference from EA for the work you propose to nominate - DIBP will as a matter of policy defer to a skills assessor's determination regarding relevance of employment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



regisprado said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> First, thank you for adding me up on LinkedIn, looking forward to connect. As mentioned, I will be placing my EOI if all goes well on this second semester. I have posted the questions below on a separate thread but did no receive many replies so far. If you can be kind enough to review this subject...
> 
> Thank you in anticipation for the excellent support you provide to the community through your "Ask Mark!" initiative.
> 
> Warm Regards from Rio,


----------



## SweetCple

*Hi Mark*

Hi Mark

Firstly, thank you very much for your time answering our prior message, very much appreciative amongs't the many, many people who ask you question....we need more like you in this country who are willing to help others!!

...we have been waiting to hear from Moscow for just under 14months & not a word until 2 days ago when my Fiance' received a direct email asking "Invitation for Interview" requesting she brings along ORIGINAL Penal clearances,Passport for Identify who she is & any other documents relative to the application, this interview is in 10days from now & we assume its Moscow staff flying out to Kyrgyzstan to interview her.....Now, just another question or two.

1/ Have you seen any history of how long its taken from a persons interview to when they have received the Visa grant?

My fiance' was asked this question in email......."Please also advise whether or not you are comfortable with the interview being conducted in Russian and English, or if an interpreter will be required. If so, please advise what language you speak."....

2/ Is there any requirements to demonstrate she can speak English for a PMV?..i guess they may want to know how we've communicated being her language is Russian & she didn't speak English until i met her & i don't speak Russian...but now after we've known each other for 18months & i have visited her 4 times in Kyrgyzstan and spent 8 & half months total together & 2797 hours on Skype since we met of course she can now speak English to me with limitations..but possibly can struggle talking to other people if they don't speak like we do together....so in the reply we asked for interpreter to be available should they/we need to interpret some or all!

3/ You may wish to bring any other documentary paper evidence related to your application.....Does this mean she can take along proof/evidence of our continuous relationship???..we have loads!

Anything you can add from your thoughts to what stage you think our Pmv might be at would be appreciated...we understand its your opinion & respect your thoughts!

Kind Regards


----------



## Achieco

Hi Mark,

I just received a family sponsored tourist visa 600 , but I booked only one way ticket because I have a pending partner visa and awaiting result sometime soon so I don't know when I'm going to exit Australia. Will that be a problem?

Thank you


----------



## regisprado

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Regisprado -
> 
> Thanks for the note and kind words. I'm not able to do skilled visa related assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many variables, details, and circumstances that can come into play given the myriad of regulations between DIBP, skills assessors, state sponsorship authorities and others. There is no good way to predict with any confidence what EA would do in this case - they are going to go through the fine points of your degree(s) and work experience and come to a conclusion based on their experience, internal policies and more - all of which is not availability publicly.
> 
> The safest bet given you have some concerns re: relevance of the qualification and relevance of the work experience would be to do the EA skills assessment process and also obtain an employment (points test) reference from EA for the work you propose to nominate - DIBP will as a matter of policy defer to a skills assessor's determination regarding relevance of employment.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Mark,

Your answer indeed helps me. I know you cannot review each and every case, at least now I now there is a "employment (points test) reference from EA ", I must have somehow missed that when researching EA. I will get my bearings straight on this.

Thanks a lot sir!
Regis Prado


----------



## Atul33

Hi Mark,

I am currently at ACS skill evaluation stage. However, in case i get positive assessment and file EOI and get invited, would like to know that at what stage will i be requiring my wife to clear IELTS exam for proof of functional english. When will that be needed?

Thanks & Regards,
Atul


----------



## poppy23

*Dishonest Agency Woes*

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your reply.

Unfortunately it is a bit more complicated. The rest of the documents are correct, but the passport was the result of an agency who claimed that she was able to work overseas, processed the paperwork to create her passport, while changing the DOB without her knowledge after she filled in the forms, and then on presentation of her passport at the airport before going through immigration was told that she had to lie about her age or else she would go to prison.

After that she approached Indonesian consulate to get it fixed overseas and she was advised to keep it as is [because they knew that if she changed it that she would go to prison (there have since been many reported cases in the news involving such circumstances)].

There was recently another case where a worker in a similar situation had indeed changed her passport to the correct DOB in Indonesia, and then traveled for holiday only to be sent to court and imprisoned for 8 months after being let into the country (where she used to work on the old passport).

I hope that this further information is sufficient.

Poppy.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Poppy23 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Need more info to address your questions - assuming the passport is wrong due to admin mistake, etc and the rest of the documents are correct re: date of birth (ie, birth certificate, police report, etc), then based on the info you've provided, it may make sense to have the passport corrected, then lodge the application with the correct passport and the rest of the correct documents so the DOB will line up on all documents. If a question is raised about the previous passport, you can advise that it was an administrative mistake that she never got fixed as she didn't have time/wasn't sure how/etc... She'll need a police report in any case for all countries she's spent a total of 12 months or more in during the last 10 years.
> 
> Please advise if I can assist further - happy to discuss in detail at a consultation if you'd like - see website below for more.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## harkirat

*nominated occupation*

HELLO SIR,
my nominated ocupation is biomedical engineer. which has three specializations(bioengineer,clinical engineer,medical engineer). each specialization has particular tasks associated with it. can i choose any one of the specialization for skill assessment ??
will my skill assessment be on the basis of one of the specialization of biomedical engineering i choose or will it be on the basis of biomedical engineering as a whole.


----------



## kuba

Hello Mark;

I will soon apply for PR, however there is a problem.

Long story short, I have been involved in a fight 2 years ago, where I have been found guilty and put on a "good behavior bond". I got section 10 b, which is a "found of guilt" without any criminal conviction. 

During and after my bond, I havent been involved anything, and fulfilled the requirements of bond as court set and never breached it.

However, still today when I do a police check, it appears on my records (although it is not a conviction) as National Background check lists every found of guilt.

My question is, will it have an impact on my PR and future citizenship applications?

In the good character act it says it wont matter as there was no jail term involved, however I will have to disclose it anyways, as it will appear on my police check at the time of the application right?

Will it be an obstacle on my application which would result in denial?

Please advise.

Regards;


----------



## skl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Skl -
> 
> Different DIBP posts use different titles, but in many cases a manager or assistance manager is a post higher than a case officer.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your respond Mark. Then is it good or bad for my application that manager is dealing with my case? I applied online 820 visa


----------



## sunny87

*To know if I am eligible for Australian citizenship*

Hello,

My name is Sunny. I am a permanent resident in Australia. I want to know if I am eligible for citizenship. These are my details -

I entered Australia as an international student on March 9, 2009 and stayed till May 22, 2011. I left for India on May 23, 2011. I applied for skilled temporary 476 visa and entered Australia on Feb 8, 2013. I got my PR on Apr 24, 2015 and I am continuing to live in Australia. In short,

Lawful residence date: Mar 9, 2009 (as a student)
PR date: Apr 24, 2015
Dates traveled outside Australia: May 23, 2011 to Feb 7, 2013

I know the residence requirement says I should not have been outside Australia for more than 12 months, but I was in India for more than a year. But on entering these dates on residence calculator, it says I am eligible. So I am very confused.

I would be thankful to anyone who can help me with this confusion.

Thanks 
Sunny


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Dear Mark,

I am looking to start my own business along with my friend in Australia. We both are at offshore. Although I have applied already for 190 do you suggest me if there is any visa for people who are looking to start a business.

Thanks.


----------



## SMJ

Hello Mark,

I applied for my Skilled - Independent (Subclass 189) (Permanent) visa application on March 7 2016 along with my spouse and son

I got a reply from the department for additional form 80/1221, PCC and medicals on 21 march 2016 

we have submitted the form, PCC and medicals was done on 15 April 2016

Then on April 20 2016 i got a mail from BMVS DIBP Offshore Services stating the below for my son(1.1yr) 

"The applicant’s health assessment has been deferred as I do not have sufficient information to determine whether or not they meet the health requirement.
The applicant must complete the following additional assessments and/or provide the additional information specified below:
124 :-A report from a specialist Paediatrician is required regarding applicant's developmental status regarding height and weight below 3rd percentile. 
Please forward a report addressing history, diagnosis, management needs and any social services required.

my son doesnot have any issue or medical history and is healthy and the same has been mentioned by his Paediatrician and we have submited 
the required letter on 4 may 2016. I would like to know what is the average timeframe MOc takes to make decison on such cases.
and what is the impact of this on my application

Thanks in advance..

Thanks 
SMJ


----------



## Atul33

Many Thanks Mark for your response. One more question that I had and wanted to clarify was:

In my case, I will keep trying to obtain the Job responsibilities letter from my organization for DIBP, if I get Invited and apply for the VISA. However, do we need to use the same employment reference document for VISA application, which we have used for ACS assessment? i.e. If I go ahead with Statutory Declaration at this stage, does it makes sense to keep trying to procure the Organization issued letter ( if I get one) and use at VISA application stage?

Also, wanted to know, latest, at what stage I will require proof for functional English for my wife, for whom I will file dependent VISA once invited.

Kind Regards,
Atul



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Atul33 -
> 
> For a company that has not gone out of business or closed, lack of an employer reference letter can be a big risk. Even if you can get something from HR that says the dates you worked there, it's far better than nothing. Letters from peers are a very last resort, as ACS (and DIBP) usually assume your peer will say whatever you ask them to say. Also in those cases, load up the payment evidence (tax, payslips, etc), however even with all of that, it's still a big risk if the company is still operating.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MrG1248

Hello Mark!

I'm sure if you had a dollar for all the thanks you get on here, you wouldn't need your job anymore! But here's one more: THANK YOU!
My question is regarding my fiancés eligibility to sponsor me, I am in the US, she has been in Oz for 2 years, 1 one of which I spent with her, she is currently a full time student in med school with no job and living in student housing, she was also born in America but has dual citizenship from her mother, she is a citizen of Australia though. My question is will any of this affect our PMV? She will be moving into an apartment off campus in December for us to live in but I would like to get the visa in before then and wasn't sure if her not having a job or an apartment for the both of us would be an issue. She gets government assistance for school and rent and wouldn't have a problem providing for me until I found work.

Hope to hear from you and again THANKS!


----------



## CaptainAmerica

Hi Mark, 
Thanks for all your great advice on this site.

Question: Have filed paper application in Sydney 820/801 application on 23 April 14, received 820 Dec 2014, invitation to apply for 801 25 March 2016 applied online within a few days. I am American, my Defacto (NSW) partner is AU. We have been living together since April 2014. We recently had to move and are now living apart although we see each other almost everyday.

I have filed a 929 change of address. Does she (sponsor) need to?
Do we need to file 1022 because we are not living together temporarily.?
Is this likely to set my application back?

Thanks so much.


----------



## trulope

*2nd stage partner visa*

I hope someone can shed a bit of light on this. I have a friend who has just had her husbands partner visa refusal overturned by the Tribunal in Melbourne. What I'm concerned about is she paid this Immigration Agent $12,000 to represent her and the win is great. but now the Immigration Agent is asking for another $3,650 for him to represent them in the 2nd stage of the partner visa. They paid $3,100 for the 2 stage visa in July 2014. It doesn't seem right to me. I thought you may have to send more documents at the end of the 2 years just to prove you are still together and continuing to be a true couple. Her Agent told her he will have to lodge an application and gather more documentation to send with the application. Can someone shed light on this please. My friends aren't made of money.


----------



## ashaito

Dear mark , 
hope ure doing well , im applying for subclass 190 , and my wife got pregnant before any approval from the immigration department, thus before any medical exam .
my question what should i do ?? 
does it affect the process of my application ?? do the department hold my application until my wife delivers ? 

thanks in advance
Best Regards


----------



## mth17

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding the Tasmania State sponsorship.

I am currently on graduate visa and have a bachelor degree and skill assessment in Accounting. I only score 60 to apply for PR. As you know, with 60 points for accountants, it would be really hard to get invited.

So, recently, I talked to one of my friend and she suggested me to try Tasmania State Sponsorship. She said that I can apply for 1 -year diploma course in business management in Hobart.The school is not government based but they offer CRICOS registered course with low tuition fee. As far as she knows, if I study at least 1 year in tasmania, I can apply for a tasmania state nomination under visa 190 without job offers or experiences and my occupation must be on the CSOL, which accountant does. Moreover, I don't have to wait for long time to get nomination, the process normally takes about 1 month. 

This is the first time I heard about this state sponsorship,I personally think it is very easy to get the PR , while most accountants are struggling to get invitiation ( except that I have to stay in Tas for 2 years after granted, but I don't mind that).

I would like to ask if you have ever heard about this case and do you think that is a good idea to apply for Tasmania state sponsorship by studying there 1 year ? Do I have high chance of getting Tas nomination for accounting and with 60 points ? 

Thank you for your time and your help will be really appreciated.


----------



## Valli

*Two EILTS combined*

Hello, Mark! I thought if you could advise on the IELTS test requirements for the 189 visa application. It is said that I am eligible to apply if I have minimum 6.0 for each module of EILTS test. I took two tests and got the following results: 
(1) Listening - 6.0, Reading - 6.5, Writing - 5.5, Speaking - 6.0; 
(2) Listening - 5.5, Reading - 8.5, Writing - 6.5, Speaking - 6.0.
As you can see, I got minimum of 6.0 if only two of my certificates are considered combined. Would you confirm if this approach (providing you two certificates combined) is acceptable for being eligible for visa 189?
Thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SweetCple -

Thanks for the note. This is fairly standard for Moscow. There is no English requirement at all for partner visas, so make sure you are 100% comfortable with the langauge you will speak at the interview - if you aren't comfortable with Russian, you have the right to request a translator in your own language. Don't be shy about that - the last thing you need is langauge problems getting in the way of the interview.

Re: time to grant visa after interview, varies widely - a couple of months or longer is typical, but sometimes shorter.

Re: additional documents, I'd certainly bring along anything you'd like to add to the application that is relevant, especially things to show the relationship is continuing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SweetCple said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Firstly, thank you very much for your time answering our prior message, very much appreciative amongs't the many, many people who ask you question....we need more like you in this country who are willing to help others!!
> 
> ...we have been waiting to hear from Moscow for just under 14months & not a word until 2 days ago when my Fiance' received a direct email asking "Invitation for Interview" requesting she brings along ORIGINAL Penal clearances,Passport for Identify who she is & any other documents relative to the application, this interview is in 10days from now & we assume its Moscow staff flying out to Kyrgyzstan to interview her.....Now, just another question or two.
> 
> 1/ Have you seen any history of how long its taken from a persons interview to when they have received the Visa grant?
> 
> My fiance' was asked this question in email......."Please also advise whether or not you are comfortable with the interview being conducted in Russian and English, or if an interpreter will be required. If so, please advise what language you speak."....
> 
> 2/ Is there any requirements to demonstrate she can speak English for a PMV?..i guess they may want to know how we've communicated being her language is Russian & she didn't speak English until i met her & i don't speak Russian...but now after we've known each other for 18months & i have visited her 4 times in Kyrgyzstan and spent 8 & half months total together & 2797 hours on Skype since we met of course she can now speak English to me with limitations..but possibly can struggle talking to other people if they don't speak like we do together....so in the reply we asked for interpreter to be available should they/we need to interpret some or all!
> 
> 3/ You may wish to bring any other documentary paper evidence related to your application.....Does this mean she can take along proof/evidence of our continuous relationship???..we have loads!
> 
> Anything you can add from your thoughts to what stage you think our Pmv might be at would be appreciated...we understand its your opinion & respect your thoughts!
> 
> Kind Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Achieco -

Thanks for the question. Probably not an issue given your circumstances, especially if the sc600 visa has a duration of more than 3 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Achieco said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just received a family sponsored tourist visa 600 , but I booked only one way ticket because I have a pending partner visa and awaiting result sometime soon so I don't know when I'm going to exit Australia. Will that be a problem?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Atul -

Thanks for the question. Functional English for secondary applicants for skilled visas needs to be demonstrated prior to the grant of the visa, so it's not something that is locked in at the time of application. Do note that IELTS test for this purpose (only) are good for only 1 year, whereas IELTS tests for the primary applicant for points, etc are good for 3 years. An odd weirdness in the migration law.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Atul33 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently at ACS skill evaluation stage. However, in case i get positive assessment and file EOI and get invited, would like to know that at what stage will i be requiring my wife to clear IELTS exam for proof of functional english. When will that be needed?
> 
> Thanks & Regards,
> Atul


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Poppy23 -

Thanks for the details. As I'm not aware of the various offences that could be involved in Indonesia re: passport issues, I'm not able to give advice regarding that area of things. If the issue comes up with DIBP and you're not able to get the passport fixed, you'll likely need to provide as much detailed info and evidence to DIBP to explain the discrepancy as possible. If DIBP gets serious about the issue and alleges PIC 4020 fraud has occurred, suggest you get professional help in dealing with them in that case.

Best,

Mark Northam



poppy23 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your reply.
> 
> Unfortunately it is a bit more complicated. The rest of the documents are correct, but the passport was the result of an agency who claimed that she was able to work overseas, processed the paperwork to create her passport, while changing the DOB without her knowledge after she filled in the forms, and then on presentation of her passport at the airport before going through immigration was told that she had to lie about her age or else she would go to prison.
> 
> After that she approached Indonesian consulate to get it fixed overseas and she was advised to keep it as is [because they knew that if she changed it that she would go to prison (there have since been many reported cases in the news involving such circumstances)].
> 
> There was recently another case where a worker in a similar situation had indeed changed her passport to the correct DOB in Indonesia, and then traveled for holiday only to be sent to court and imprisoned for 8 months after being let into the country (where she used to work on the old passport).
> 
> I hope that this further information is sufficient.
> 
> Poppy.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harkirat -

Thanks for the question. This area varies a great deal from one occupation to the other, and also varies from one skills assessor to another. I'd first start with the skills assessor and find out if a skills assessment is available for the primary code and/or is available for the specialisations. If the specialisation has a separate ANZSCO code, then you can check that on www.anzscosearch.com for more info re: eligibility.

Best,

Mark Northam



harkirat said:


> HELLO SIR,
> my nominated ocupation is biomedical engineer. which has three specializations(bioengineer,clinical engineer,medical engineer). each specialization has particular tasks associated with it. can i choose any one of the specialization for skill assessment ??
> will my skill assessment be on the basis of one of the specialization of biomedical engineering i choose or will it be on the basis of biomedical engineering as a whole.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kuba -

Thanks for the question. Many times that sort of incident does not prevent grant of a visa since no jail time was given, however I would err on the safe side and treat it essentially as a conviction and declare it whenever asked on ANY visa form or incoming passenger card "Have you ever been convicted..." You'll need to explain the details and circumstances of the finding of guilt on your visa application, but again, it sounds minor enough that it would not get in the way of a PR visa. A visitor visa might be impacted by that depending on how recent the incident was.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kuba said:


> Hello Mark;
> 
> I will soon apply for PR, however there is a problem.
> 
> Long story short, I have been involved in a fight 2 years ago, where I have been found guilty and put on a "good behavior bond". I got section 10 b, which is a "found of guilt" without any criminal conviction.
> 
> During and after my bond, I havent been involved anything, and fulfilled the requirements of bond as court set and never breached it.
> 
> However, still today when I do a police check, it appears on my records (although it is not a conviction) as National Background check lists every found of guilt.
> 
> My question is, will it have an impact on my PR and future citizenship applications?
> 
> In the good character act it says it wont matter as there was no jail term involved, however I will have to disclose it anyways, as it will appear on my police check at the time of the application right?
> 
> Will it be an obstacle on my application which would result in denial?
> 
> Please advise.
> 
> Regards;


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skl -

Probably a good thing - the more experienced a case officer/manager/etc is, generally (my opinion) the better/smoother things tend to go.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



skl said:


> Thanks for your respond Mark. Then is it good or bad for my application that manager is dealing with my case? I applied online 820 visa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunny87 -

Thanks for the question. I never trust online "calculators" as I've seen them spit out the wrong answer time after time. Unfortunately in this case it's happened. A key requirement is that you must have been in Australia on the day exactly 4 years prior to applying for citizenship. Given that, you may be eligible for citizenship 4 years from 7 Feb 2013 (so 7 Feb 2017) assuming you are not outside Australia for more than 12 months between 7 Feb 2013 and 7 Feb 2017, and are not outside Australia for more than 3 months between 7 Feb 2016 and 7 Feb 2017. See Australian Citizenship website for more info on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunny87 said:


> Hello,
> 
> My name is Sunny. I am a permanent resident in Australia. I want to know if I am eligible for citizenship. These are my details -
> 
> I entered Australia as an international student on March 9, 2009 and stayed till May 22, 2011. I left for India on May 23, 2011. I applied for skilled temporary 476 visa and entered Australia on Feb 8, 2013. I got my PR on Apr 24, 2015 and I am continuing to live in Australia. In short,
> 
> Lawful residence date: Mar 9, 2009 (as a student)
> PR date: Apr 24, 2015
> Dates traveled outside Australia: May 23, 2011 to Feb 7, 2013
> 
> I know the residence requirement says I should not have been outside Australia for more than 12 months, but I was in India for more than a year. But on entering these dates on residence calculator, it says I am eligible. So I am very confused.
> 
> I would be thankful to anyone who can help me with this confusion.
> 
> Thanks
> Sunny


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984ravigupta -

There used to be, but now very difficult unless you are ready to invest several hundred thousand dollars into the business startup. There are some circumstances where a person invests in a business in Australia with the caveat that the business sponsor the investor, but those are getting harder to get as well. 190 a far easier way to get PR than investor visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am looking to start my own business along with my friend in Australia. We both are at offshore. Although I have applied already for 190 do you suggest me if there is any visa for people who are looking to start a business.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMJ -

Thanks for the question. No good way to predict MOC assessment times - I've seen them go from a few months to 18+ months. I would put in as much evidence as you can, as with the 189 visa there is no health waiver available - if your son fails the health criteria (in the view of the MOC), it's a "one fails, all fail" situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMJ said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I applied for my Skilled - Independent (Subclass 189) (Permanent) visa application on March 7 2016 along with my spouse and son
> 
> I got a reply from the department for additional form 80/1221, PCC and medicals on 21 march 2016
> 
> we have submitted the form, PCC and medicals was done on 15 April 2016
> 
> Then on April 20 2016 i got a mail from BMVS DIBP Offshore Services stating the below for my son(1.1yr)
> 
> "The applicant's health assessment has been deferred as I do not have sufficient information to determine whether or not they meet the health requirement.
> The applicant must complete the following additional assessments and/or provide the additional information specified below:
> 124 :-A report from a specialist Paediatrician is required regarding applicant's developmental status regarding height and weight below 3rd percentile.
> Please forward a report addressing history, diagnosis, management needs and any social services required.
> 
> my son doesnot have any issue or medical history and is healthy and the same has been mentioned by his Paediatrician and we have submited
> the required letter on 4 may 2016. I would like to know what is the average timeframe MOc takes to make decison on such cases.
> and what is the impact of this on my application
> 
> Thanks in advance..
> 
> Thanks
> SMJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Atul33 -

No specific requirement that you use the same documents for DIBP as you did for ACS. Functional English for adult secondary applicants for skilled visas must be evidenced prior to the grant of the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Atul33 said:


> Many Thanks Mark for your response. One more question that I had and wanted to clarify was:
> 
> In my case, I will keep trying to obtain the Job responsibilities letter from my organization for DIBP, if I get Invited and apply for the VISA. However, do we need to use the same employment reference document for VISA application, which we have used for ACS assessment? i.e. If I go ahead with Statutory Declaration at this stage, does it makes sense to keep trying to procure the Organization issued letter ( if I get one) and use at VISA application stage?
> 
> Also, wanted to know, latest, at what stage I will require proof for functional English for my wife, for whom I will file dependent VISA once invited.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Atul


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MrG -

Thanks for the question and kind words! But I love my job!! Actually I tend to do forum answers late at night before I go to bed, and it always lets me end the day on a positive note.

Re: eligibility for sc300 PMV visa, no requirement of living together so that should not be an issue. Re: financial eligibility, no problem that she is on govt assistance, so I don't see any issues there. Key requirement for this visa is that you demonstrate that you genuinely intend to enter into a spousal relationship - that's where you can focus the evidence provided, especially plans for marriage, living together in the future (ie, where you'll live, what city/suburb, plans for family, etc). The other two requirements are evidencing that you've met and are known to each other - this is fairly easy for most couples to show.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MrG1248 said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I'm sure if you had a dollar for all the thanks you get on here, you wouldn't need your job anymore! But here's one more: THANK YOU!
> My question is regarding my fiancés eligibility to sponsor me, I am in the US, she has been in Oz for 2 years, 1 one of which I spent with her, she is currently a full time student in med school with no job and living in student housing, she was also born in America but has dual citizenship from her mother, she is a citizen of Australia though. My question is will any of this affect our PMV? She will be moving into an apartment off campus in December for us to live in but I would like to get the visa in before then and wasn't sure if her not having a job or an apartment for the both of us would be an issue. She gets government assistance for school and rent and wouldn't have a problem providing for me until I found work.
> 
> Hope to hear from you and again THANKS!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Captain -

Thanks for the question. These days DIBP is taking a much closer look at second stage partner applications (for 801, 100) so I would treat this as a first stage application and lodge as much evidence as you can. Sponsor and applicant each should lodge 929 for change of address. If you are temporarily apart, you really need to keep a lot of evidence to show that the relationship is continuing, given DIBP's attitude towards this currently. You'll need to be ready to show why you are not living together, how it's a temporary situation, and how/when you plan to move back in together, as DIBP tends to look at living together as a (if not the) prime indicator of a genuine partner relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CaptainAmerica said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for all your great advice on this site.
> 
> Question: Have filed paper application in Sydney 820/801 application on 23 April 14, received 820 Dec 2014, invitation to apply for 801 25 March 2016 applied online within a few days. I am American, my Defacto (NSW) partner is AU. We have been living together since April 2014. We recently had to move and are now living apart although we see each other almost everyday.
> 
> I have filed a 929 change of address. Does she (sponsor) need to?
> Do we need to file 1022 because we are not living together temporarily.?
> Is this likely to set my application back?
> 
> Thanks so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Trulope -

Thanks for the email and posting on this. $12k just for MRT representation seems a bit high to me, unless it included the $6,865 DIBP partner visa application fee. These days (see last post from me above) DIBP is putting 2nd stage partner visas through a very rigorous assessment process, so in many ways it's like doing a first stage partner visa all over again. The days of just lodging a stat dec and a couple of pieces of evidence for 2nd stage partner visas are well and truly over. Re: the partner visa fees, what you quoted may well be reasonable depending on the complexity of the case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



trulope said:


> I hope someone can shed a bit of light on this. I have a friend who has just had her husbands partner visa refusal overturned by the Tribunal in Melbourne. What I'm concerned about is she paid this Immigration Agent $12,000 to represent her and the win is great. but now the Immigration Agent is asking for another $3,650 for him to represent them in the 2nd stage of the partner visa. They paid $3,100 for the 2 stage visa in July 2014. It doesn't seem right to me. I thought you may have to send more documents at the end of the 2 years just to prove you are still together and continuing to be a true couple. Her Agent told her he will have to lodge an application and gather more documentation to send with the application. Can someone shed light on this please. My friends aren't made of money.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashaito -

In most cases DIBP will hold off on finalising the visa decision until all applicants have had their health exams. Once in a while they will allow a pregnant applicant to defer their exam until after visa grant, but that's somewhat rare.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashaito said:


> Dear mark ,
> hope ure doing well , im applying for subclass 190 , and my wife got pregnant before any approval from the immigration department, thus before any medical exam .
> my question what should i do ??
> does it affect the process of my application ?? do the department hold my application until my wife delivers ?
> 
> thanks in advance
> Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mth17 -

I was just speaking a couple of weeks ago with the head of TAS Skilled Migration about this program - from what I can see it's a fantastic program as they are very generous about what you study for the 1 year, as long as you study under a visa that allows that study. I don't have enough data on TAS processing times to give you feedback on that, but the program sounds very promising and I'd encourage you to look into it further.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mth17 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding the Tasmania State sponsorship.
> 
> I am currently on graduate visa and have a bachelor degree and skill assessment in Accounting. I only score 60 to apply for PR. As you know, with 60 points for accountants, it would be really hard to get invited.
> 
> So, recently, I talked to one of my friend and she suggested me to try Tasmania State Sponsorship. She said that I can apply for 1 -year diploma course in business management in Hobart.The school is not government based but they offer CRICOS registered course with low tuition fee. As far as she knows, if I study at least 1 year in tasmania, I can apply for a tasmania state nomination under visa 190 without job offers or experiences and my occupation must be on the CSOL, which accountant does. Moreover, I don't have to wait for long time to get nomination, the process normally takes about 1 month.
> 
> This is the first time I heard about this state sponsorship,I personally think it is very easy to get the PR , while most accountants are struggling to get invitiation ( except that I have to stay in Tas for 2 years after granted, but I don't mind that).
> 
> I would like to ask if you have ever heard about this case and do you think that is a good idea to apply for Tasmania state sponsorship by studying there 1 year ? Do I have high chance of getting Tas nomination for accounting and with 60 points ?
> 
> Thank you for your time and your help will be really appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Valli -

Sorry, but no way to combine scores from multiple sittings of the IELTS test for any Australian visa. For IELTS, all scores used must be from the same sitting of the test.

Best,

Mark Northam



Valli said:


> Hello, Mark! I thought if you could advise on the IELTS test requirements for the 189 visa application. It is said that I am eligible to apply if I have minimum 6.0 for each module of EILTS test. I took two tests and got the following results:
> (1) Listening - 6.0, Reading - 6.5, Writing - 5.5, Speaking - 6.0;
> (2) Listening - 5.5, Reading - 8.5, Writing - 6.5, Speaking - 6.0.
> As you can see, I got minimum of 6.0 if only two of my certificates are considered combined. Would you confirm if this approach (providing you two certificates combined) is acceptable for being eligible for visa 189?
> Thank you in advance!


----------



## Valli

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Valli -
> 
> Sorry, but no way to combine scores from multiple sittings of the IELTS test for any Australian visa. For IELTS, all scores used must be from the same sitting of the test.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much for clarification, Mark! I had to check if there is a chance


----------



## Wiresitaly2015

Hi Mark. I have received Invitation to apply for Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass-189) on 10th May'2016. As per the Invitation Letter, I have to apply for Visa on or before 10July'2016. I request clarifications regarding the documents to be submitted for this Visa based on your expertise in this matter:-
1) I have not claimed any points for my spouse in the 60points criteria. My own points have sufficed and meet the 60points requirement for 189 Visas. Now, the document checklist of this visa is asking for spouse English language ability and qualification related documents. Are these required since I am not claiming points?. FYI, my spouse and 2year child will be accompany me for the visa.My Wife has already appeared for IELTS with Overall Band Score of 4 and her medium of instructions during studies were English.
2) I have obtained 5points against Australian study requirement for skilled migration visas. I understand that this points are referred based on my skill assessment outcome from Engineers Australia, where it is stated clearly that my institution is assessed as comparable to the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) for the purpose of awarding points under the General Skilled migration Points Test. Is this interpretation Correct from my side?
3) The Visa Application Charge - mode of payment is not clear from the 189 Vis Class Website, Can you help me on this and tell me what are the alternatives for mode of payments?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wiresitaly2015 -

Thanks for the questions - Re: 1, to avoid a hefty "English fee", all adult dependents will need to evidence Functional English at time of decision for the visa application - see DIBP website for a detailed definition of the various ways this can be evidenced.

Re: 2, I believe your interpretation may be incorrect. The Australian Study Requirement (ASR) requires your degree (usually Bachelor or Master degree) to have been taken in Australia, included at least 92 weeks (per CRICOS) of study, and been studied for for no less than 16 months. See this for complete details: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work...l-Skilled-Migration-applications/2-year-study

If you have not interpreted this correctly and made a claim for ASR points you cannot justify, you *should not accept the invitation *as the visa would be rejected unless you can claim 5 additional points somewhere else.

Re: 3 - DIBP accepts credit and debit card payment (Visa/Mastercard logo) plus other cards - see for details: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Fees/how-to-pay-for-an-application

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wiresitaly2015 said:


> Hi Mark. I have received Invitation to apply for Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass-189) on 10th May'2016. As per the Invitation Letter, I have to apply for Visa on or before 10July'2016. I request clarifications regarding the documents to be submitted for this Visa based on your expertise in this matter:-
> 1) I have not claimed any points for my spouse in the 60points criteria. My own points have sufficed and meet the 60points requirement for 189 Visas. Now, the document checklist of this visa is asking for spouse English language ability and qualification related documents. Are these required since I am not claiming points?. FYI, my spouse and 2year child will be accompany me for the visa.My Wife has already appeared for IELTS with Overall Band Score of 4 and her medium of instructions during studies were English.
> 2) I have obtained 5points against Australian study requirement for skilled migration visas. I understand that this points are referred based on my skill assessment outcome from Engineers Australia, where it is stated clearly that my institution is assessed as comparable to the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) for the purpose of awarding points under the General Skilled migration Points Test. Is this interpretation Correct from my side?
> 3) The Visa Application Charge - mode of payment is not clear from the 189 Vis Class Website, Can you help me on this and tell me what are the alternatives for mode of payments?


----------



## ShahzadKhan

*EOI vs ACS*

Hi Mark

Hoping you will be very well.

I am from Pakistan and have applied for 190 NSW state sponsorship with 65 points. I got my ACS assessment in August 2015 deemed me skilled 261112 after my Bachelors degree in 2005 and MIS degree 2010.

During me assessment one experience certificate somehow was not uploaded but I have claimed it in EOI.. ACS has given me a total of 2 years and 5 months relevant work experience after 2010 till July 2015. I switched Job and now working as an IT lecturer in an university and have also mentioned this job as relevant in EOI.

The case officer is now considering the experience only mentioned in ACS assessment letter being issued in July 2015 (2 years 5 months). She is not taking into account a similar work experience (whom documents got missing during assessment) and the work experience after July 2015 till to date May 10, 2016.

I need your good expert opinion. I have all the documentary proof of my later work experience after the ACS assessment( From August 2015 till now May 14, 2016). Is a detail letter will be enough with evidence or do I have to reassess everything again by ACS..

Waiting for a quick response...

Kind regards,
Shahzad Khan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ShahzadKhan -

Would need to see your documents at a consultation to give you specific advice - see website in my signature below for more. If a person is continuing in the same position & employer that ACS has already assessed, then a letter stating the continued service info is often enough, however if the position/employer has not been assessed by ACS, DIBP may require that. Can discuss in more detail at a consult.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ShahzadKhan said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hoping you will be very well.
> 
> I am from Pakistan and have applied for 190 NSW state sponsorship with 65 points. I got my ACS assessment in August 2015 deemed me skilled 261112 after my Bachelors degree in 2005 and MIS degree 2010.
> 
> During me assessment one experience certificate somehow was not uploaded but I have claimed it in EOI.. ACS has given me a total of 2 years and 5 months relevant work experience after 2010 till July 2015. I switched Job and now working as an IT lecturer in an university and have also mentioned this job as relevant in EOI.
> 
> The case officer is now considering the experience only mentioned in ACS assessment letter being issued in July 2015 (2 years 5 months). She is not taking into account a similar work experience (whom documents got missing during assessment) and the work experience after July 2015 till to date May 10, 2016.
> 
> I need your good expert opinion. I have all the documentary proof of my later work experience after the ACS assessment( From August 2015 till now May 14, 2016). Is a detail letter will be enough with evidence or do I have to reassess everything again by ACS..
> 
> Waiting for a quick response...
> 
> Kind regards,
> Shahzad Khan


----------



## cuncon94

Hi Mark, I would like to ask you a question, if you don't mind please answer it.

I just got refusal for acquiring visa subclass 485 therefore I will come back my hometown and apply for Master course from there. Once i arrive Australia I will apply for visa 187, the question is do I have to keep studying once I lodge application for that visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cuncon94 -

Thanks for the question. If you stop studying while holding a student visa, the student visa becomes liable for cancellation - whether the would cancel it or not may depend on how much time is left before the visa expires when the non-study occurs. Sometimes they let the student visa expire on its own when they detect that you've already applied for a PR visa onshore - it's a judgment call by the case officer. If they do end up cancelling the student visa, your existing 187 application (assuming it's made before they cancel the student visa) should continue as usual. You would be able to get a bridging visa E to remain in the country until the 187 visa is decided; no work rights on that by default in most cases but you could apply to add work rights to it if you can show financial hardship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cuncon94 said:


> Hi Mark, I would like to ask you a question, if you don't mind please answer it.
> 
> I just got refusal for acquiring visa subclass 485 therefore I will come back my hometown and apply for Master course from there. Once i arrive Australia I will apply for visa 187, the question is do I have to keep studying once I lodge application for that visa?


----------



## cuncon94

Thank you for your reply.


----------



## cuncon94

According to your advice I still need to study until bridging visa E is granted, right? Does it take long time to get the bridging visa?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cuncon94 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. If you stop studying while holding a student visa, the student visa becomes liable for cancellation - whether the would cancel it or not may depend on how much time is left before the visa expires when the non-study occurs. Sometimes they let the student visa expire on its own when they detect that you've already applied for a PR visa onshore - it's a judgment call by the case officer. If they do end up cancelling the student visa, your existing 187 application (assuming it's made before they cancel the student visa) should continue as usual. You would be able to get a bridging visa E to remain in the country until the 187 visa is decided; no work rights on that by default in most cases but you could apply to add work rights to it if you can show financial hardship.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Atul33

Thanks Mark.

Assuming that providing letter from employer as compared to Statutory Declaration may reduce chances of Employer Verification by DIBP, based on my understanding from below comment, I can progress with SD as of now for ACS and can then submit Employment letter at the time of VISA, which may ( if i am lucky) perhaps avoid verification.

I just do not want to engage my employer about my plans at this stage, but will try to procure the letter, if i get VISA invite.

Hence wanted to ensure if i shall progress with SD at this stage then this SD will no longer be in picture for DIBP ( unless i submit it in place of employer letter for DIBP?)? Am i correct in understanding this?

Regards,
Atul


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Atul33 -
> 
> No specific requirement that you use the same documents for DIBP as you did for ACS. Functional English for adult secondary applicants for skilled visas must be evidenced prior to the grant of the visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## JamesSultan

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding 189 Visa and Citizenship.
Suppose If after visa validation, I do not immediately move to Australia. Instead, i move to Australia after 4.5 years and then I complete 4 years in a single shot _(6 Months inside the 5 Year Visa and 3.5 Years outside the visa period)_. Does it fulfills the citizenship requirement of 4 years of stay in Aus, with at least 1 year on PR? will i still be eligible to apply for the citizenship as a normal PR holder?
In a same way, does it also fulfills the RRV requirement after completing 2 years?

Regards,
JS


----------



## toris7351

Hi Mark, 

I plan to apply BVB from BVA for just 1 day trip to NZ. I am currently working and don't want to lose my working right. I read through this forum and called to DIBP regarding this. They told me that BVB is generally have same condition with BVA except the travelling condition and the BVB will last till my visa decision is finalised by DIBP. They also said that there is no way to revert from BVB to BVA. I feel so confused.

In this forum, many of people said that the BVB will be re-initiated when applicant reports DIBP that applicant comes back to Australia. I thought I can re-apply BVA by using 1005 form but the call centre lady says that 1005 is not for re-applying BVA. 

...Now I feel very confused with chaotic mood..Would you define this with your awesome intelligence? Please..Help. 

Thank you.


----------



## Samy longue

Hi Mark,

I would first all thank you for taking a great portion of your time to help people out of stressful situations.Please i have some few questions here which i will be grateful if some clarifications are given.

1.I will like to know if my fiance is eligible to be a sponsor for a 300 PMV given that she was first sponsored as a partner and she lodged her PMV 300 application around July 2010 and was granted around march 2011.I will like to know if she is qualify to sponsor from July 2016 given that she is divorced? I am a bit confused about the 5 years limitation rules.

2.Also there is no information about visa fee from the months of July 2016 so i don't know if you have any idea.The current rate is about 7000 so don't know if it is more in July or less.

3.Please i will also like to know if the visa fee is acceptable in installment or one must pay all at once? 

4.Is it possible to banned someone who overstayed their visitor's visa as well as the person who invited them at same time? 

5.Is there any limitation from sponsoring a partner even if you invited someone for a short stay visitors visa and they overstayed their visa and received a 3 years?.

Sorry if my questions are too many Mark but your answers will do lots to my family.
Have a wonderful day.
Thanks


----------



## whovanessa

*Help needed *



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:


Hello I was told to write down here, maybe you can help this is my personal situation,IO hope you can help or lead me to a general idea of my best choices.

Me and my boyfriend are in the talks of our future, he is from Brazil and I am a citizen in Australia. We want to get married.

We want to get some advice on what is the best decision forward, prospective visa or partner visa? I don't think we have enough evidence to show we are financially committed - we are definitely a real couple thousands of messages, pictures we travelled to and fro the country etc.

My friend suggested getting married here while he is on a tourist visa and then applying for a partner visa, but is that really our only option?

I want him to be here as soon as possible, I want to plan our wedding, and the future together!

Confused and don't know what to do! Advice from someone would be amazing. Thank you!

A little more info
- Both work full time
- He owns assets 
- Was here before on a Student Visa (With no problems)
- Lack of evidence financially (some money transfers at most)
- Evidence of being with family in Australia and Brazil

I hope to see more advice on my current situation! Thank you again!


----------



## trisher80

Hi Mark,

You are too kind answering questions here. I have a question myself.

Our family are in the process of applying for Permanent Residency. 
Our 457Visa is going to expire this September. I am a nurse working in a public hospital for more than 3 years. My Employer has agreed to sponsor me and my family for the Employer Nominated Visa (Subclass 186). 

There are 3 Streams under that Subclass: 1. Temporary Residence 2. Direct Entry 3. Agreement Stream. 
NSW Health nominations fall under 3. Agreement Stream.

The issue is, my husband has chronic Hepatitis B. We would like to go through a subclass that provides a "medical waiver". Only the Temporary Residence Stream has a medical waiver provision. "The Temporary Residence Transition stream is for subclass 457 visa holders who have worked for two years, while holding a subclass 457 visa, in the same occupation with their nominating employer (who has lodged a valid nomination with us under the Temporary Residence Transition stream), who wants to offer them a permanent position in that occupation." 
I have worked in the company for more than 2 years so technically, I am eligible for this Stream.

Is it possible for my employer to sponsor me via the Temporary Residence Transitions Stream rather than the Agreement Stream even if they have a labour agreement?


----------



## notthisfriday

*Missing Document*

Hi Mark.

My parents are applying for the 173 Contributory Parent (Temp) visa and my dad is missing his Army Certificate. We are trying to obtain a new one, however it may take up to 6 months until it is ready. I know that this visa needs to be lodged via post in a paper version. Is it possible to supply additional documentation after the lodgement or is it possible to write an explanation in a letter format about his service.

Thank you in advance


----------



## itszainkhan

Hi Mark,

I am currently in Australia on a 489 visa. I plan to get married by the end of the year. So quick question, what would be the processing time for my spouse's visa application (if I were to add her to my visa as a dependant)?

Thank you.


----------



## Sarah88

*Accredited Translators*

Hi Mark!
My name is Sarah. My fiancé is currently on a bridging visa while we await our partnership visa. We applied online and I have a question regarding the accredited translation of documents. As my fiancé is from Ecuador he has documents in Spanish. What I am wanting to know is exactly which documents need translating and where is the best place to do so. Thank you for your help.


----------



## Ticv

hi,

I have question regarding PR. I have a degree in communications but little to no experience, and with IELTS 8 which all in all assessed has me with 60 points. I also got a degree from australia in a similar field of study. Would there be a pathway to PR from here? There is 148, 189, and 190 visas that I'm trying to see if they allow someone who doesn't have the work experience. If its possible and that i find relevant occupations on the lists, how do i have more than one occupation assessed as my degree is broad? Otherwise, I will have no choice but to find a sponsor I believe. Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cuncon -

If you stopped studying and your student visa was cancelled by DIBP, you would then need to go to DIBP and apply for a BVE based on having previously lodged your partner visa application. DIBP would give you a DIBP on the spot which would allow you to stay in Australia until there is a decision on the partner visa. Suggest you consult with a migration agent about all the issues involved with onshore visa cancellation before you proceed with this if you are considering doing so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cuncon94 said:


> According to your advice I still need to study until bridging visa E is granted, right? Does it take long time to get the bridging visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Atul33 -

Normally DIBP would not have visibility to the documents you submitted for your skills assessment unless DIBP specifically requested those documents from the skills assessor. However DIBP, especially for Indian skilled visa applications, has been very thorough in checking employer references lately, including in many cases visiting the employer in person, unannounced, to determine whether the employer's reference is authentic, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Atul33 said:


> Thanks Mark.
> 
> Assuming that providing letter from employer as compared to Statutory Declaration may reduce chances of Employer Verification by DIBP, based on my understanding from below comment, I can progress with SD as of now for ACS and can then submit Employment letter at the time of VISA, which may ( if i am lucky) perhaps avoid verification.
> 
> I just do not want to engage my employer about my plans at this stage, but will try to procure the letter, if i get VISA invite.
> 
> Hence wanted to ensure if i shall progress with SD at this stage then this SD will no longer be in picture for DIBP ( unless i submit it in place of employer letter for DIBP?)? Am i correct in understanding this?
> 
> Regards,
> Atul


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James -

For the 1 year of PR, it requires that the person hold a PR visa - a normal PR visa has 5 years of re-entry rights, but allows the person to remain in Australia indefinitely, and that period would count towards citizenship. For periods you are in Australia as a PR, you do not have to hold a RRV visa to enable that time to count as PR towards citizenship, however if you are beyond your initial 5 years of PR re-entry rights, you'll need a RRV to re-enter Australia should you leave.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JamesSultan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding 189 Visa and Citizenship.
> Suppose If after visa validation, I do not immediately move to Australia. Instead, i move to Australia after 4.5 years and then I complete 4 years in a single shot _(6 Months inside the 5 Year Visa and 3.5 Years outside the visa period)_. Does it fulfills the citizenship requirement of 4 years of stay in Aus, with at least 1 year on PR? will i still be eligible to apply for the citizenship as a normal PR holder?
> In a same way, does it also fulfills the RRV requirement after completing 2 years?
> 
> Regards,
> JS


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Toris7351 -

Your understanding is correct - the BVB is good for one trip out and back, and you will then remain on that BVB when back in Australia (with the same rights as you had under the BVA including work if you had that) until a decision is made on the visa. No need to try and convert the BVB to a BVA after you return. If you need to make another trip out and back after the first trip, you can get another BVB to replace the one you previously held.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



toris7351 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I plan to apply BVB from BVA for just 1 day trip to NZ. I am currently working and don't want to lose my working right. I read through this forum and called to DIBP regarding this. They told me that BVB is generally have same condition with BVA except the travelling condition and the BVB will last till my visa decision is finalised by DIBP. They also said that there is no way to revert from BVB to BVA. I feel so confused.
> 
> In this forum, many of people said that the BVB will be re-initiated when applicant reports DIBP that applicant comes back to Australia. I thought I can re-apply BVA by using 1005 form but the call centre lady says that 1005 is not for re-applying BVA.
> 
> ...Now I feel very confused with chaotic mood..Would you define this with your awesome intelligence? Please..Help.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## amhutch

*BVB- Hard to get?*

Hi Mark,
I am a US citizen currently on a BVA awaiting my spousal visa and residing currently with my husband (Australian citizen) of 9 years and our 4 children (dual US/Australian citizens.) My kids and I have plans to visit my family in America for 4 weeks this coming June/July. I am wondering what constitutes a 'substantial reason' for travel? We have moved from HK to Australia and do not see my family in the US often. Basically, my question is will this BVB be difficult for me to get? Is there anything you can recommend to help things go smoothly? I stupidly already purchased the tickets.....

Any insight you have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!


----------



## stromcy

Hi Mark,

On Visa 189, how many years you must work in your skilled occupation in Australia? Is there a limit? What about Visa 190?

Thanks very much!

Emre


----------



## slimguy_234

Hello Mark,

i received a mail stating that my application has been accessed as a valid application (acknowledgement of valid application) from DIBP in March 2016, after which i was requested to provide a new passport as the one i originally submitted had almost expired, this i have provided since 2nd of May 2016. up till now, i have not heard anything from them. my concern is, my supervisor who signed my reference letter has left my organization, although he is only reachable by phone. can you advice on what line of action i should be thinking of now?

i am applying from Nigeria.

Slimguy.


----------



## yousri88

Hi Mark,

I have a review hearing at the AAT next month 
I have an agent to represent me but I have heard and read here that I need an immi lawyer at this stage.
It is a partner visa 820 onshore application 
Is there any difference between an agent and a lawyer?
Thanks


----------



## slimguy_234

hello Mark,

i received a mail stating that my application (VISA 189) has been accessed as a valid application (acknowledgement of valid application) from DIBP in March 2016, after which i was requested to provide a new passport as the one i originally submitted had almost expired, this i have provided since 2nd of May 2016. up till now, i have not heard anything from them. my concern is, my supervisor who signed my reference letter has left my organization, although he is only reachable by phone. can you advice on what line of action i should be thinking of now?

i am applying from Nigeria.

Slimguy.


----------



## abhipunjabi

Hi Mark,

Myself and my spouse have lodged visa under subclass 190 for SS of NSW through an agent from India. Our visa lodgment date is 10th April 2016. We have uploaded practically all the necessary documents including PCC, medicals by 9th May 2016. We have not received any communication from CO till date. 




Meanwhile, we tried to import the application through the ImmiAccount and see that the status is "Application Received". It is close to 6 weeks since we lodged the visa and completed the payment.




Any suggestions on when can we get a grant. Also, I would like to know if there is any cap on the number of SS visas DIBP grants specially during Q4.


----------



## WendelCosta

*189 - Payslips and Bank Statement*

Hi Mark,

I hope you are having a wonderful week.

I'm applying for my Skill Assessment next week but I have some queries about the process with ACS and DIAC.

From my understanding here are the facts:

1- I've studied Computer Engineering from Jan 2000 to Nov 2008 (had a 3 years brake in between for personal problems) and graduated on Feb 2009 and came to Australia to do a Masters on March 2009.

2- I've worked as a Software Engineer on a full time basis(40hrs/week) for a company from Jan 2004 to Mar 2009 when I came to Australia -> From my understanding I'll have a MET DATE on Feb 2009 as a Software Engineer right?

3- I took an agreement with the company, where I kept working part time(20hrs/week) for them on a new contract, here from Sydney(remotely). I've worked for them from Mar 2009 to Mar 2012 -> Can I claim this as 3 years overseas experience or it would be consider as local experience here in Australia? I called ACS today and they said that I have to estate Australia as a Country if I want to claim those work experience as Australia is the country from where I did work.

4- I've worked as a Software Engineer on a contract basis (ABN) for about 1280 hours (some of those on 2012 and the majority on 2014. I've left my part time job from Brazil to take this one here in Australia in 2012 to gain some local experience and my position ended up being redundant after 3 months - my loss). I have all my invoices for that, would it be enough?

5- With that being said: Would I claim point for 3 years work experience overseas and 1 year here in Australia?

6- Now regarding DIAC: I have a Reference Letter from my employer in Brazil for those 3 years that I'll try to claim and the contract for that, but will I have to provide Payslips for the whole years of 2009/10/11/12 ? I can try to get those with them, but Do you think that should be enough to DIAC as I've closed my bank account on the end of 2012 when I went to Brazil and brought the money that I had left to pay my Masters here, so I don't have access to bank statements and as I was making less then the "threshold" in Brazil on that period I was considered as exempt from paying taxes, so I have no tax returns from that period either.

Now I don't know what to Do. Should I claim those points?

Sorry about the length of the message and thank you so much for any help from you and the forum.

Wendel Costa


----------



## Jordank

Hi mark,

I am a uk citizen on a working holiday visa, my girlfriend is japanese and is just coming to the end of her working holiday visa.

I have been offered sponsorship with my company and i am wondering if my girlfriend would be eligible to be de facto on my visa once i change from WHV?
Our relationship is registered so we can prove we have been together over a year.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers 

Jordan


----------



## JordieDAFC

Mark,

So I met my girlfriend when I was on holiday in Australia last year, it's developed pretty quickly and we want to be together. 

I was planning on coming over on a working holiday visa in July and getting the extension to take us over 1 year of living together and getting stuff together for applying for a de facto visa. 

I really just want to know if this is a viable plan or if there's another way of us doing it that's more likely to succeed? 

The only things that worry me is how we haven't travelled to see each other since we met simply because of the costs, going from Scotland to Aus ain't cheap. And that our relationship took off pretty quick 


Cheers!


----------



## Daisy2016

Dear Mark,

I have a few questions I don't seem to get answers for re: Partner (subclass 309/100) 

I will be making the online application in the coming weeks.

1, How do I go about the passport sized photos with names written at the back of them? I will need 4 photos of myself and 2 photos of my partner. I was wondering if images took by a camera uploaded on the computer, cropped and re-sized into 45mm x 35mm would be sufficient enough?

2, Police check needs to be original I thought, but how do I go about that when applying online?

3, What happens to the signatures and name written in the original language on form 47Sp and 40SP if completed online? Would I be better off uploading each hand written form as well as the online complete forms?

4, Do absolutely everything need to be certified copied? We have copies of a number of lease documents but we don't have originals. Those were PDF copies the real estate sent through to us.

5, I am not sure which dates we should be declaring as the start of our de facto relationship. Civil Partnership was registered on 7/11/13 and the shared lease started on 25/02/14.

Thank you so much for your help!


----------



## kamal28

*Hi mark need your suggestions*

Hi Mark ,
Need help and suggestions of you guys on this confusion and tricky situation. NOW the problem is That we are 3 siblings but till the age of 21 i was not aware that i had my real sister because i lost my parents and me and my younger brother was living with my Maternal grandparents (mother side) And my elder sister she was living with my uncle and aunt (father side ) the problem is while coming overseas or filling my application for Permanent residence i never disclose that i had my elder sister i always write my brother name and now same thing happened with my sister she Got Canadian Permanent residence and i ask her not to write my name in her any Immigration application because i was scared if they double check with Australian immigration i will be in trouble. Now my Main query is that my Our younger brother is common in both relation as myself and my sister we both had written his name in immigration applications but we are confused that if in future he wants to go to Canada should he write my name as his brother while filling Tourist or any other visa application as they always ask about siblings
(i think so ) or what i decided that he should give up my name permanently for immigration purpose and he should only write my sister name otherwise i will be in trouble and my sister too .Please give some suggestions on this topic and also i never talk to my sister and even i don't know her birth date as i am completely ok with it but i am onlu worried about my brother because in this situation he can only visit one person in his entire life.


----------



## Mish

Hi Mark

Hope you are well.

A quick question. Statements for 801 visa, for a temporary resident of Australia. Do they use the attorney general's commomwealth stat dec or do they use a blank piece of paper? If blank paper do they get their signature witnessed?

Also do they need to attach their ID since they are not Australian?

Thank you.


----------



## flovey121

*Skilled assessment(external auditor)??*

Hi Mr. Mark,

Can i ask you a question regarding the skilled employment assessment for an external auditor.

1. I am now considering to take a job offer as a SMSF graduate auditor, but I read on a ABS that for an external auditor, it is required to have a registration or licensing.

Is the registration needed to gain 5 work experience migrant point on the top of 1 year work experience?

2. I also read a thread here saying that I can only claim the work experience point for the amount after graduation and after the skilled date mentioned on my skilled employment assessment letter. Does it affect the fact that my current Migration Skills Assessment is based on Accountant (general)? Do I need to change it to external audit now if I want to include work experience from the date I start working?

Many thanks!!!


----------



## LadyRogueRayne

*Dependent question*

Hi Mark,

Quick questions: Do I have to include both of my children on my 189 visa app? The reason I ask is that I have custody of both children, but my ex has submitted a custody modification concerning my youngest. His father is giving me a really hard time doing all the documentation for my youngest son to come here (though there's no issue with our oldest coming here and he's done all the paperwork for him). Thus, I'm fairly certain that if I include my youngest on my visa application, that his father will refuse to take him for a medical exam. What do I do? Do I have to include my youngest, or can I get a child visa for him later on once the custody is finalized?

Right now, it's in the air on whether my youngest is coming here next month for a visit or not. He's suppose to be coming, but now my ex is waffling on it again. If he comes, I'll take him for his medical. But if he doesn't, I can't rely on his father to do the medical.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samy Longue -

Happy to assist - see responses below at ***:



Samy longue said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would first all thank you for taking a great portion of your time to help people out of stressful situations.Please i have some few questions here which i will be grateful if some clarifications are given.
> 
> 1.I will like to know if my fiance is eligible to be a sponsor for a 300 PMV given that she was first sponsored as a partner and she lodged her PMV 300 application around July 2010 and was granted around march 2011.I will like to know if she is qualify to sponsor from July 2016 given that she is divorced? I am a bit confused about the 5 years limitation rules.
> *** The 5 year waiting period begins at the date of application for the previous partner/fiance/etc visa, so as long as she is a PR now, from what you've said she is past the 5 year wait already.
> 
> 2.Also there is no information about visa fee from the months of July 2016 so i don't know if you have any idea.The current rate is about 7000 so don't know if it is more in July or less.
> *** Haven't heard anything on that yet - at most a 10% increase might be seen, but hard to say - stay tuned.
> 
> 3.Please i will also like to know if the visa fee is acceptable in installment or one must pay all at once?
> *** For online application, must be paid all at once via credit card. See DIBP payment info page for accepted cards and surcharges. For paper application, sometimes advance payment is possible but depends on whether onshore/offshore and if offshore the particular embassy's payment practices.
> 
> 4.Is it possible to banned someone who overstayed their visitor's visa as well as the person who invited them at same time?
> *** No penalties generally for inviters of visitor visas as they have no legal responsibility for the actions of the visa holder.
> 
> 5.Is there any limitation from sponsoring a partner even if you invited someone for a short stay visitors visa and they overstayed their visa and received a 3 years?.
> *** Partner visa application and fiance visa applications are not subject to the 3-year "overstay" ban on temporary visas, so even if the applicant has one of these exclusion periods in place, no problem generally for partner or fiance visas.
> 
> Sorry if my questions are too many Mark but your answers will do lots to my family.
> Have a wonderful day.
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Whovanessa -

Thanks for the note. If you are looking at getting married sooner rather than later (ie, this year), then an onshore partner visa after you are married might be a good choice - often comes down to where the visa applicant wants to be during the 12-18 months the partner visa takes to process - if in Australia, then the onshore partner visa is often a good fit. If offshore, then perhaps the offshore partner visa. The fiance (subclass 300) visa can be good for people who are lacking in relationship evidence and apply for the visa prior to marriage.

Happy to discuss in more detail at a consultation where we would be able to go into your personal circumstances and I could give you advice more specific to your situation. See website below in signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



whovanessa said:


> Hello I was told to write down here, maybe you can help this is my personal situation,IO hope you can help or lead me to a general idea of my best choices.
> 
> Me and my boyfriend are in the talks of our future, he is from Brazil and I am a citizen in Australia. We want to get married.
> 
> We want to get some advice on what is the best decision forward, prospective visa or partner visa? I don't think we have enough evidence to show we are financially committed - we are definitely a real couple thousands of messages, pictures we travelled to and fro the country etc.
> 
> My friend suggested getting married here while he is on a tourist visa and then applying for a partner visa, but is that really our only option?
> 
> I want him to be here as soon as possible, I want to plan our wedding, and the future together!
> 
> Confused and don't know what to do! Advice from someone would be amazing. Thank you!
> 
> A little more info
> - Both work full time
> - He owns assets
> - Was here before on a Student Visa (With no problems)
> - Lack of evidence financially (some money transfers at most)
> - Evidence of being with family in Australia and Brazil
> 
> I hope to see more advice on my current situation! Thank you again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Trisher80 -

Great question. This is a highly technical area as in order to determine whether you could do what you want to do (TRT pathway for 186) it requires a close look at the grant of the 457 visa you now hold. If that was granted under Reg 457.223(2) which is the regulation for approved labour agreement nominations, then the TRT pathway would not be available with this 457 visa, however if it was granted under Reg 457.223(4) with a Standard Business Sponsor, then the TRT pathway may be viable.

Happy to discuss further at a consultation - see website below for more information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



trisher80 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> You are too kind answering questions here. I have a question myself.
> 
> Our family are in the process of applying for Permanent Residency.
> Our 457Visa is going to expire this September. I am a nurse working in a public hospital for more than 3 years. My Employer has agreed to sponsor me and my family for the Employer Nominated Visa (Subclass 186).
> 
> There are 3 Streams under that Subclass: 1. Temporary Residence 2. Direct Entry 3. Agreement Stream.
> NSW Health nominations fall under 3. Agreement Stream.
> 
> The issue is, my husband has chronic Hepatitis B. We would like to go through a subclass that provides a "medical waiver". Only the Temporary Residence Stream has a medical waiver provision. "The Temporary Residence Transition stream is for subclass 457 visa holders who have worked for two years, while holding a subclass 457 visa, in the same occupation with their nominating employer (who has lodged a valid nomination with us under the Temporary Residence Transition stream), who wants to offer them a permanent position in that occupation."
> I have worked in the company for more than 2 years so technically, I am eligible for this Stream.
> 
> Is it possible for my employer to sponsor me via the Temporary Residence Transitions Stream rather than the Agreement Stream even if they have a labour agreement?


----------



## MarkNortham

Ho Notthisfriday -

Yes, both possible. If the military records are unavailable from any source, sometimes DIBP will accept that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



notthisfriday said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> My parents are applying for the 173 Contributory Parent (Temp) visa and my dad is missing his Army Certificate. We are trying to obtain a new one, however it may take up to 6 months until it is ready. I know that this visa needs to be lodged via post in a paper version. Is it possible to supply additional documentation after the lodgement or is it possible to write an explanation in a letter format about his service.
> 
> Thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Itszainkhan -

No good way to predict - I'd estimate maybe 2-4 months, but could be longer. DIBP has no time limits on itself, so processing times can vary widely.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itszainkhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently in Australia on a 489 visa. I plan to get married by the end of the year. So quick question, what would be the processing time for my spouse's visa application (if I were to add her to my visa as a dependant)?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarah -

Generally everything needs translated that is ID-oriented (passport, ID cards, birth certificate, etc). Typically relationship evidence from third-party sources (ie, hotel receipts, etc) do not need to be translated unless DIBP asks for this to be done. Translation should be done by NAATI qualified para-professional level translator or equivalent in you country. We frequently use and recommend Migration Translators - see Professional Translation Services in Australia by The Migration Translators - they're fast and cost-effective.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sarah88 said:


> Hi Mark!
> My name is Sarah. My fiancé is currently on a bridging visa while we await our partnership visa. We applied online and I have a question regarding the accredited translation of documents. As my fiancé is from Ecuador he has documents in Spanish. What I am wanting to know is exactly which documents need translating and where is the best place to do so. Thank you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ticv -

Unless your skills assessor or state sponsor requires work experience, DIBP has no level of minimum work experience for the 189, 190, 489 visa as long as you meet the minimum qualification per ANZSCO for your occupation - see www.anzscosearch.com for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ticv said:


> hi,
> 
> I have question regarding PR. I have a degree in communications but little to no experience, and with IELTS 8 which all in all assessed has me with 60 points. I also got a degree from australia in a similar field of study. Would there be a pathway to PR from here? There is 148, 189, and 190 visas that I'm trying to see if they allow someone who doesn't have the work experience. If its possible and that i find relevant occupations on the lists, how do i have more than one occupation assessed as my degree is broad? Otherwise, I will have no choice but to find a sponsor I believe. Thanks.


----------



## skl

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ticv -
> 
> Unless your skills assessor or state sponsor requires work experience, DIBP has no level of minimum work experience for the 189, 190, 489 visa as long as you meet the minimum qualification per ANZSCO for your occupation - see www.anzscosearch.com for more on this.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

I get my visa granted yesterday. I am very thankful for you help. Thanks to your advises I can now stay with my husband and my daughter. God bless you and return your kindness to you hundreds time.


----------



## slimguy_234

hello Mark,

i received a mail stating that my application (VISA 189) has been accessed as a valid application (acknowledgement of valid application) from DIBP in March 2016, after which i was requested to provide a new passport as the one i originally submitted had almost expired, this i have provided since 2nd of May 2016. up till now, i have not heard anything from them. my concern is, my supervisor who signed my reference letter has left my organization, although he is only reachable by phone and has not been contacted. can you advice on what line of action i should be thinking of now?

i am applying from Nigeria.

Slimguy.


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Dear Mark,


Can you please let me know how many years of experience will ACS deduct for a person BTech in IT from India and is looking for 261312 developer programmer role. Will it be 2 years or 4 years, I'm confused.

Thanks.


----------



## trisher80

Hi Mark,

Thank you for answering my question. If we ever have a hurdle to get through, will definitely do a consult with you guys.

You are awesome!


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Trisher80 -
> 
> Great question. This is a highly technical area as in order to determine whether you could do what you want to do (TRT pathway for 186) it requires a close look at the grant of the 457 visa you now hold. If that was granted under Reg 457.223(2) which is the regulation for approved labour agreement nominations, then the TRT pathway would not be available with this 457 visa, however if it was granted under Reg 457.223(4) with a Standard Business Sponsor, then the TRT pathway may be viable.
> 
> Happy to discuss further at a consultation - see website below for more information.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amhutch -

Generally not a problem in those types of circumstances - you might call it a special family reunion and emphasize that you have not seen your family for some time. Make sure to show them the tickets you've already purchased, etc. - likely chance of success I predict.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amhutch said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am a US citizen currently on a BVA awaiting my spousal visa and residing currently with my husband (Australian citizen) of 9 years and our 4 children (dual US/Australian citizens.) My kids and I have plans to visit my family in America for 4 weeks this coming June/July. I am wondering what constitutes a 'substantial reason' for travel? We have moved from HK to Australia and do not see my family in the US often. Basically, my question is will this BVB be difficult for me to get? Is there anything you can recommend to help things go smoothly? I stupidly already purchased the tickets.....
> 
> Any insight you have would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stromcy -

Thanks for the question. No requirements for either visa that you must work in your nominated occupation after grant of the visa. For 190, you will be required to "agree" to live/work in the sponsoring state for 2 years after migrating to Australia, however this is a civil commitment to the state, not a condition on your visa. There is much speculation as to what the consequences could be for breaching this, but nothing definite.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stromcy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> On Visa 189, how many years you must work in your skilled occupation in Australia? Is there a limit? What about Visa 190?
> 
> Thanks very much!
> 
> Emre


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Slimguy_234 -

Thanks for the question. I'd consider uploading a letter to DIBP indicating who at the company they can speak to now to verify your employment there (assuming you applied for a skilled or employer sponsored visa and you are claiming this as relevant employment to your occupation), and you might also contact the new person at the company and advise them that DIBP may be contacting them by phone or in person to enquire to make sure they are not taken by surprise, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



slimguy_234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> i received a mail stating that my application has been accessed as a valid application (acknowledgement of valid application) from DIBP in March 2016, after which i was requested to provide a new passport as the one i originally submitted had almost expired, this i have provided since 2nd of May 2016. up till now, i have not heard anything from them. my concern is, my supervisor who signed my reference letter has left my organization, although he is only reachable by phone. can you advice on what line of action i should be thinking of now?
> 
> i am applying from Nigeria.
> 
> Slimguy.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yousri88 -

Thanks for the note - good question! Both registered migration agents and lawyers who are agents can represent you at the AAT - there is no general rule that you're better off with a lawyer than an agent or vice versa - what matters, in my view, is that whoever you have represent you who writes your written submissions is VERY experienced with the type of case you have - partner cases at the AAT are usually either based on Schedule 3 or Genuine Relationship problems - make sure your representative, whether they are an agent or a lawyer, knows these types of cases very well.

Also note that at the hearing, there is very little your representative can say/do - it's not like court where the rep can make arguments for you, object to questions, etc etc - the rep says very little at the hearing, except for sometimes some remarks at the end - the written submissions with legal arguments and evidence are the main product of the representative in AAT partner visa cases.

There are those who believe that lawyers are better than agents for this sort of thing, however I've seen good and bad agents, and good and bad lawyers in these types of matters - what's important in my view is the experience level and the ability of the representative to commit himself/herself to your case and work very hard to prepare the strongest, most effective submissions on your behalf as possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



yousri88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a review hearing at the AAT next month
> I have an agent to represent me but I have heard and read here that I need an immi lawyer at this stage.
> It is a partner visa 820 onshore application
> Is there any difference between an agent and a lawyer?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abhipunjabi -

Thanks for the note. 189 and 190 visas are currently typically taking from 3 to 9 months to process, so you're still in the early stages of things. There is an overall cap re: visa grants for the financial year ending 30 June, but given your lodgment date I expect your grant date will be after that date - DIBP is very unpredictable in these things, however, and they have no time limits on themselves.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abhipunjabi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Myself and my spouse have lodged visa under subclass 190 for SS of NSW through an agent from India. Our visa lodgment date is 10th April 2016. We have uploaded practically all the necessary documents including PCC, medicals by 9th May 2016. We have not received any communication from CO till date.
> 
> Meanwhile, we tried to import the application through the ImmiAccount and see that the status is "Application Received". It is close to 6 weeks since we lodged the visa and completed the payment.
> 
> Any suggestions on when can we get a grant. Also, I would like to know if there is any cap on the number of SS visas DIBP grants specially during Q4.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wendel -

Thanks for the question. Not able to assess skilled visa eligibility/documentation/etc questions here as there are far too many rules and regulations, both at ACS and DIBP, in this area to give quick answers without seeing any documents - happy to assist at a consultation where we can go through your documents in detail and address each of your questions - see website below in my signature for more on consultations.

Best,

Mark Northam



WendelCosta said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you are having a wonderful week.
> 
> I'm applying for my Skill Assessment next week but I have some queries about the process with ACS and DIAC.
> 
> From my understanding here are the facts:
> 
> 1- I've studied Computer Engineering from Jan 2000 to Nov 2008 (had a 3 years brake in between for personal problems) and graduated on Feb 2009 and came to Australia to do a Masters on March 2009.
> 
> 2- I've worked as a Software Engineer on a full time basis(40hrs/week) for a company from Jan 2004 to Mar 2009 when I came to Australia -> From my understanding I'll have a MET DATE on Feb 2009 as a Software Engineer right?
> 
> 3- I took an agreement with the company, where I kept working part time(20hrs/week) for them on a new contract, here from Sydney(remotely). I've worked for them from Mar 2009 to Mar 2012 -> Can I claim this as 3 years overseas experience or it would be consider as local experience here in Australia? I called ACS today and they said that I have to estate Australia as a Country if I want to claim those work experience as Australia is the country from where I did work.
> 
> 4- I've worked as a Software Engineer on a contract basis (ABN) for about 1280 hours (some of those on 2012 and the majority on 2014. I've left my part time job from Brazil to take this one here in Australia in 2012 to gain some local experience and my position ended up being redundant after 3 months - my loss). I have all my invoices for that, would it be enough?
> 
> 5- With that being said: Would I claim point for 3 years work experience overseas and 1 year here in Australia?
> 
> 6- Now regarding DIAC: I have a Reference Letter from my employer in Brazil for those 3 years that I'll try to claim and the contract for that, but will I have to provide Payslips for the whole years of 2009/10/11/12 ? I can try to get those with them, but Do you think that should be enough to DIAC as I've closed my bank account on the end of 2012 when I went to Brazil and brought the money that I had left to pay my Masters here, so I don't have access to bank statements and as I was making less then the "threshold" in Brazil on that period I was considered as exempt from paying taxes, so I have no tax returns from that period either.
> 
> Now I don't know what to Do. Should I claim those points?
> 
> Sorry about the length of the message and thank you so much for any help from you and the forum.
> 
> Wendel Costa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jordan -

Might be possible, however would depend on what all of the relevant relationship evidence looks like re: likelihood that DIBP will assess the relationship as a valid de facto relationship. Essentially DIBP looks for a relationship that is very similar to what a married relationship would look like in terms of the four required evidence types (financial aspects, social aspects, nature of commitment, nature of household), just without the marriage certificate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jordank said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> I am a uk citizen on a working holiday visa, my girlfriend is japanese and is just coming to the end of her working holiday visa.
> 
> I have been offered sponsorship with my company and i am wondering if my girlfriend would be eligible to be de facto on my visa once i change from WHV?
> Our relationship is registered so we can prove we have been together over a year.
> 
> Any information would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Jordan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JordieDAFC -

Thanks for the question. That could work, however as I mentioned in the previous post, you'd have to look at the entirety of the relationship evidence to predict how DIBP might assess the relationship as to being a genuine de facto relationship or not. Time spent living together is critical in their eyes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JordieDAFC said:


> Mark,
> 
> So I met my girlfriend when I was on holiday in Australia last year, it's developed pretty quickly and we want to be together.
> 
> I was planning on coming over on a working holiday visa in July and getting the extension to take us over 1 year of living together and getting stuff together for applying for a de facto visa.
> 
> I really just want to know if this is a viable plan or if there's another way of us doing it that's more likely to succeed?
> 
> The only things that worry me is how we haven't travelled to see each other since we met simply because of the costs, going from Scotland to Aus ain't cheap. And that our relationship took off pretty quick
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daisy2016 -

Thanks for the questions - see my responses at *** below. I am assuming you are lodging an online 309/100 application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Daisy2016 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a few questions I don't seem to get answers for re: Partner (subclass 309/100)
> 
> I will be making the online application in the coming weeks.
> 
> 1, How do I go about the passport sized photos with names written at the back of them? I will need 4 photos of myself and 2 photos of my partner. I was wondering if images took by a camera uploaded on the computer, cropped and re-sized into 45mm x 35mm would be sufficient enough?
> *** Scanned passport photos are best, no need to write names on the back for online application. As long as they meet passport specs re: neutral background and expression, etc, should be fine.
> 
> 2, Police check needs to be original I thought, but how do I go about that when applying online?
> *** Colour scan of original documents is generally fine for online applications. Once in a while, midway through processing, some offshore posts want the original of the police cert sent to them via post, but that's somewhat unusual.
> 
> 3, What happens to the signatures and name written in the original language on form 47Sp and 40SP if completed online? Would I be better off uploading each hand written form as well as the online complete forms?
> *** No signatures needed for online application. The online forms replace 47sp and 40sp, so no need to fill out the PDF forms, just complete all the online pages of the application. Don't forget after lodging the main application online to fill out the other online form (equivalent of 40sp) called "Sponsor a Partner for Australia" - it's in the same menu as the main partner visa application - you just submit this online after filling out the last page online, no fee, etc.
> 
> 4, Do absolutely everything need to be certified copied? We have copies of a number of lease documents but we don't have originals. Those were PDF copies the real estate sent through to us.
> *** Not at all, Colour scans of originals or scans of certified copies are fine. Generally for lease documents DIBP accepts any reasonable scan of what you have.
> 
> 5, I am not sure which dates we should be declaring as the start of our de facto relationship. Civil Partnership was registered on 7/11/13 and the shared lease started on 25/02/14.
> *** Can't answer this without knowing much more about the details of your relationship, evidence, when you started living together and what evidence there is, etc. However DIBP will look for evidence to be provided from the date you enter in this question.
> 
> Thank you so much for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kamal28 -

Thanks for the question - a tricky situation indeed. I would need to work with you in a consultation to discuss this further in private. Overall, it is hazardous (to say the least) to provide inaccurate information about your family composition on an Australian visa application, and I always recommend against it for obvious reasons - it leaves your visa open to refusal (or cancellation later). Happy to discuss further in a consultation -

Best,

Mark Northam



kamal28 said:


> Hi Mark ,
> Need help and suggestions of you guys on this confusion and tricky situation. NOW the problem is That we are 3 siblings but till the age of 21 i was not aware that i had my real sister because i lost my parents and me and my younger brother was living with my Maternal grandparents (mother side) And my elder sister she was living with my uncle and aunt (father side ) the problem is while coming overseas or filling my application for Permanent residence i never disclose that i had my elder sister i always write my brother name and now same thing happened with my sister she Got Canadian Permanent residence and i ask her not to write my name in her any Immigration application because i was scared if they double check with Australian immigration i will be in trouble. Now my Main query is that my Our younger brother is common in both relation as myself and my sister we both had written his name in immigration applications but we are confused that if in future he wants to go to Canada should he write my name as his brother while filling Tourist or any other visa application as they always ask about siblings
> (i think so ) or what i decided that he should give up my name permanently for immigration purpose and he should only write my sister name otherwise i will be in trouble and my sister too .Please give some suggestions on this topic and also i never talk to my sister and even i don't know her birth date as i am completely ok with it but i am onlu worried about my brother because in this situation he can only visit one person in his entire life.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mish -

Thanks for the note - hope you are well - busy here as ever!

Answer depends on what statements you're talking about - if from sponsor or applicant, they should use the special downloadable stat dec forms provided by DIBP for the second stage partner visa. If witnesses and Australian citizens or PR, they can use Form 888 or Commonwealth Statutory Declaration form - either is fine - both must have signatures witnessed by an authorised person. If not Australian citizen or PR, then Commonwealth Stat Dec form OK if they are in Australia, or simply signed statement with a copy of their ID OK if outside Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mish said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hope you are well.
> 
> A quick question. Statements for 801 visa, for a temporary resident of Australia. Do they use the attorney general's commomwealth stat dec or do they use a blank piece of paper? If blank paper do they get their signature witnessed?
> 
> Also do they need to attach their ID since they are not Australian?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Flovey121 -

Thanks for the note. External Auditor is a separate and different occupation than Accountant (General), so it all depends on what you are planning to apply for re: visa. If you are going for Ext Auditor, then I suggest you approach the skills assessor where you have already been assessed and determine what their policy is on both getting a separate skills assessment (ie, what documents, etc are neded) and what their policy is on assessing employment for ext auditor vs accountant - the skills assessment you get may well determine what work you can claim for points, so best to start there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



flovey121 said:


> Hi Mr. Mark,
> 
> Can i ask you a question regarding the skilled employment assessment for an external auditor.
> 
> 1. I am now considering to take a job offer as a SMSF graduate auditor, but I read on a ABS that for an external auditor, it is required to have a registration or licensing.
> 
> Is the registration needed to gain 5 work experience migrant point on the top of 1 year work experience?
> 
> 2. I also read a thread here saying that I can only claim the work experience point for the amount after graduation and after the skilled date mentioned on my skilled employment assessment letter. Does it affect the fact that my current Migration Skills Assessment is based on Accountant (general)? Do I need to change it to external audit now if I want to include work experience from the date I start working?
> 
> Many thanks!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LRR -

Thanks for the question. Important that you declare all biological (or legally adopted) children regardless of custody situations. If you declare a child as non-migrating and the ex-partner will not permit a medical exam, I'd get evidence of this (ie, email from the ex-partner refusing it, etc) and submit to DIBP - there is a provision for health exams where the Minister can waive the requirements on a case-by-case basis when evidence is provided that it would be unreasonable to require the medical exam - the #1 situation for this is where ex-partners with full custody (or enough custody or role to prevent the exam) refuse to allow health exams for children for migration purposes, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LadyRogueRayne said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Quick questions: Do I have to include both of my children on my 189 visa app? The reason I ask is that I have custody of both children, but my ex has submitted a custody modification concerning my youngest. His father is giving me a really hard time doing all the documentation for my youngest son to come here (though there's no issue with our oldest coming here and he's done all the paperwork for him). Thus, I'm fairly certain that if I include my youngest on my visa application, that his father will refuse to take him for a medical exam. What do I do? Do I have to include my youngest, or can I get a child visa for him later on once the custody is finalized?
> 
> Right now, it's in the air on whether my youngest is coming here next month for a visit or not. He's suppose to be coming, but now my ex is waffling on it again. If he comes, I'll take him for his medical. But if he doesn't, I can't rely on his father to do the medical.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skl -

Congratulations!!! That's fantastic news - well done, and thanks for the kind words - really made my day!

Best,

Mark Northam



skl said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I get my visa granted yesterday. I am very thankful for you help. Thanks to your advises I can now stay with my husband and my daughter. God bless you and return your kindness to you hundreds time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984ravigupta -

No way to predict with any accuracy - entirely depends on ACS's assessment of your qualification and the relevance to your occuaption.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Can you please let me know how many years of experience will ACS deduct for a person BTech in IT from India and is looking for 261312 developer programmer role. Will it be 2 years or 4 years, I'm confused.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## LadyRogueRayne

Thank you very much, Mark! If my ex allows my youngest son to come for a visit, I can take him for the medical. However, he's really trying to find a way out of it and has made the whole process really difficult. I wish to include my son anyway, obviously. Just wasn't sure how to go about it if my ex is in the position to make this all difficult.

Additional question: My oldest son is in my custody and is moving here to Australia next month with me. I will be paying tuition at first, but once I can submit my skilled visa app and the bridging visa kicks in for him; will I still have to pay tuition until the visa is granted? Or will he be granted the same rights as myself and have school rights? He's 17 and in year 11.

Thanks again, when you get the time to answer!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi LRR -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Important that you declare all biological (or legally adopted) children regardless of custody situations. If you declare a child as non-migrating and the ex-partner will not permit a medical exam, I'd get evidence of this (ie, email from the ex-partner refusing it, etc) and submit to DIBP - there is a provision for health exams where the Minister can waive the requirements on a case-by-case basis when evidence is provided that it would be unreasonable to require the medical exam - the #1 situation for this is where ex-partners with full custody (or enough custody or role to prevent the exam) refuse to allow health exams for children for migration purposes, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LRR -

Sounds good. RE: oldest son, ultimately it will be the individual policy of the school - however, most schools don't grant tuition breaks until a person becomes a permanent resident - ie, the PR visa is granted. But best to check with the school to see if there are any special provisions for those onshore who have applied for a PR visa - Medicare is available in those cases, so maybe school benefits may be too - depends on the school.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LadyRogueRayne said:


> Thank you very much, Mark! If my ex allows my youngest son to come for a visit, I can take him for the medical. However, he's really trying to find a way out of it and has made the whole process really difficult. I wish to include my son anyway, obviously. Just wasn't sure how to go about it if my ex is in the position to make this all difficult.
> 
> Additional question: My oldest son is in my custody and is moving here to Australia next month with me. I will be paying tuition at first, but once I can submit my skilled visa app and the bridging visa kicks in for him; will I still have to pay tuition until the visa is granted? Or will he be granted the same rights as myself and have school rights? He's 17 and in year 11.
> 
> Thanks again, when you get the time to answer!


----------



## LadyRogueRayne

Again, Mark; you're wonderful! Thank you! Yes, that is what I am hoping that since we would both have work rights and medicare rights, that he would have education rights, as well. You Rock!


----------



## Pizarro84

Hi Mark,

Is it possible for me to apply a PR visa 189 or 190 onsore with my fiance as my dependent offshore or does she need to go here in AU? We have been living together for more than 3 years before I went here June last year and have multiple documents as proof. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LRR -

Thanks! Key is separating the "right" to education (ie, ability to study full time under the Bridging Visa, which normally is fine) with whatever sort of discount rules, etc may be in place at the particular school - sounds like some time for researching!

Best of luck with the schools - maybe you can pit one school against another and see who will give you the best deal!

Best,

Mark



LadyRogueRayne said:


> Again, Mark; you're wonderful! Thank you! Yes, that is what I am hoping that since we would both have work rights and medicare rights, that he would have education rights, as well. You Rock!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pizarro84 -

Thanks for the question. If you are unmarried at the time of application for the 189 or 190 visa, you would be assessed as a de facto couple. With no living together for the 12 months prior to application, it may be tough to qualify - once you're here you can register your relationship if the state you are living in allows it, which solves the 12 month requirement, however DIBP would also need to be convinced that it is a genuine de facto relationship - your previous living together time will certainly help in that regard, however the 12 months apart will create a challenge.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pizarro84 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Is it possible for me to apply a PR visa 189 or 190 onsore with my fiance as my dependent offshore or does she need to go here in AU? We have been living together for more than 3 years before I went here June last year and have multiple documents as proof. Thanks!


----------



## sramsh

Hi Mark,

Thanks in advance for your help.

I am currently undergoing treatment for Lymph Node TB for the last 4 months and 99% cured as my doctor say.

However, I have been asked to travel to Australia for a short term. So, I will applying for Subclass 400 Visa which allows me to travel to AU and stay less than 3months.

As I see there is no need for medical examination for short stay. However, If I mention about my current state, I would like to know how it will impact my visa changes as I have to travel in 2 weeks.

Also, There is a good chance that I might apply for long term permanent visa in 3-4 months time frame.

Please advise.


----------



## Pizarro84

Thank you very much for your advise Mark!

Accordingly if she would go here in AU as tourist and register our relationship would that help with the PR application? And will she get a bridging visa if we apply while she is here in AU as tourist?

Best regards, 
Raf



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pizarro84 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. If you are unmarried at the time of application for the 189 or 190 visa, you would be assessed as a de facto couple. With no living together for the 12 months prior to application, it may be tough to qualify - once you're here you can register your relationship if the state you are living in allows it, which solves the 12 month requirement, however DIBP would also need to be convinced that it is a genuine de facto relationship - your previous living together time will certainly help in that regard, however the 12 months apart will create a challenge.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Daisy2016

Hello Mark,

Thank you so much for the information below!!! Yes that is correct I am applying for 309/100.

1, How do I go about the passport sized photos with names written at the back of them? I will need 4 photos of myself and 2 photos of my partner. I was wondering if images took by a camera uploaded on the computer, cropped and re-sized into 45mm x 35mm would be sufficient enough?
*** Scanned passport photos are best, no need to write names on the back for online application. As long as they meet passport specs re: neutral background and expression, etc, should be fine.

- I have created the photos which have met the size and other requirements for both of us as PDF file. They are not the scanned image of the actual passport size photos. Would this still be ok?

5, I am not sure which dates we should be declaring as the start of our de facto relationship. Civil Partnership was registered on 7/11/13 and the shared lease started on 25/02/14.
*** Can't answer this without knowing much more about the details of your relationship, evidence, when you started living together and what evidence there is, etc. However DIBP will look for evidence to be provided from the date you enter in this question.

- Started dating in August/September 2013 and opened the joint account in October 2013 and then registered relationship in November 2013. Our lease started in Feb 2014.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Daisy2016 -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - see my responses at *** below. I am assuming you are lodging an online 309/100 application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much for your help!!!!


----------



## Jismonrajuk

Hi Mark,
I just want to know one thing and my story is ..... myself and my wife and son came from India after getting PR on Jun 22 2012. After 15 days stay here myself and son came back to India. On May 17 2015 myself and son came back here for permanently. All these years myself and son visited here and stay with my wife for 20days. My question is that do i eligible for applying cizitenship with my wife and son since my wife will complete 4 years on coming June 22 2016. She was the principle applicant for the PR visa and now we are living in Adelaide.
Thanks,
Jismon


----------



## peanut0701

Hello Mark!

I saw that you were very helpful in assisting and i'm glad about this forum.

Me and my wife has already prepared our EOI for Visa 190 however we are aware that the opening for state nomination (SA) will be on July. My question is, can we submit our EOI in advance and then followed by our state nomination application in July?

Are there any consequences if we do this? Also our EOI is already reflecting the additional 5 points for state nomination since we are just waiting for the July opening.

Please advise and thank you so much.


----------



## sunnny

Hi Mark
i joined the forum today and noticed that you are the one with all the answers of every question
i have a quick question too
me and my husband got 489 visa last year in February and we separated in march
he is primary applicant on this visa
1. if he applied for divorce,will i be able to stay on 489 visa or i have to apply new visa?
2. if yes,can my partner carry 489 visa too as he is on student visa.
Thanks


----------



## SMJ

Hi Mark,
Thanks for the response,
I got an update that the health clearance is provided - no action required.
Is this good enough.

Further, I have received request for additional documents from a new case officer on 29th Apr 2016. I have uploaded all of the supporting documents online on 11 May 2016. Do I require to email the case officer or will she respond normally, as there is no feedback after that request. 
The status shows Assessment in progress.

Thanks
SMJ



MarkNortham said:


> Hi SMJ -
> 
> Thanks for the question. No good way to predict MOC assessment times - I've seen them go from a few months to 18+ months. I would put in as much evidence as you can, as with the 189 visa there is no health waiver available - if your son fails the health criteria (in the view of the MOC), it's a "one fails, all fail" situation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Samy longue

Wow!!! thank you very much Mark.We are so happy for these clear answers from you.I am very grateful for this clarification.Stay bless Mark


----------



## Clark

*BVA to BVC*

Hi Mark,

I hope this message finds you well. I would just like to clarify something, our bridging visa A will expire on June 6 but we have a pending bridging visa C to take in effect. Will the bridging Visa C automatically be in place or do we need to contact DIBP for it to take effect?

Thank you so much. God bless.


----------



## Forat

*Do I qualify*

Dear Mark,

I am Forat Hatem, age 26, nationality: Iraqi

Currently working as Instrumentation and Control Engineer (Electronic Engineer) in Dubai 
(20 month Oct 2014 - till present May 2016), no previous work experience related to my field.

Qualification: Masters of Engineering on Electronic Engineering from The University of Portsmouth, UK (graduated August 2013)
An MEng or Masters of Engineering is a 4 year course where the Masters and the Bachelors are combined together.

I want to apply for an Independant Skilled Immigration Visa (Subclass Visa 189)

I was wondering if I got my skills assessed, and done my IELTS exam, do I qualify for a Visa.

Kindly help me on this matter.

Regards,

Forat


----------



## Esh2010

*Self employment evidence for visa 887*

Hi Mark

Thanks in advance for your time. Currently I have visa 489 and living in regional area. 
I want to start my business as sole trader here in regional area. I wonder to know to apply for visa 887 for employment evidence what sort of documents I must supply to show I was self employment.

Best Regards


----------



## waqar_ali

*I Lost My Bachelors Degree, Issued Duplicate*

I lost my Bachelors degree somewhere, so I issued a duplicate from my University. Duplicate degree is properly verified from HEC Pakistan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan and UAE consulate.

I am working in a government company in UAE from last 3 years, for working in UAE it is must to verify certificates from UAE consulate.

I also have a verified copy of my Original degree.

My Question is, will my duplicate degree make any issue in ACS or immigration process?


----------



## mliw90

Hello Mark,

I have two questions if you don't mind. I'm about to submit a 300 prospective marriage visa soon (me living in the US and my fiance in Australia)

Its stated on border.gov.au

- If your name has changed or the name of anyone included in your application has changed: a certified copy of evidence of the name change. 

My fiance was in a previous marriage and had her name changed, but has since changed it back to her maiden name. Therefore, this isn't relevant right? I presume this would be if your name was different now than it is on some of your documentation like birth certificate. Also, we are providing the divorce documentation for this to prove she is no longer married.


it also states

Evidence that everyone included in your application has adequate health insurance in Australia. Provide any one of the following:
a signed letter from a health insurance provider (140 kB doc)
-a Medicare card or receipt of enrolment with Medicare
-evidence of adequate health insurance (including travel insurance)
-if you are from a country with a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia and will be eligible for Medicare when you arrive here, evidence of adequate health insurance (including travel insurance) to cover you until you enrol in Medicare
-evidence that you hold a passport from the Republic of Ireland.


However, this wasn't mentioned I don't believe in the partner migration booklet. Also I haven't seen many others mention it while submitting their applications and have seen a few people who specifically said they didn't worry about health insurance till AFTER their visa was granted. Do I need to have proof of this for the visa application or is it not necessary? If so, what kind of proof do I need considering I wouldn't want to start coverage till I moved there which would be at an undisclosed date depending on the visa grant.


----------



## Mk83

Hi Mark.
I have a question for u if u don't mind to feed me urgently if anything wrong.

I was on student visa ,4 months before my student visa expire i applied for onshore partner visa in Australia on November 2013 ,BVA granted after couple of days ,no TR granted at all.
On October 2015 I,heard from immi requesting evidences and police check and health check,I done it and upload all my documents ,and since I,haven't heard anything ,keep asking for update ,the answer is under processing time ,last time I request and update 10 days ago ,the answer was :
Thank you for your email. The application is undergoing final assessments. We will contact you accordingly.
till now I'm on Bridging visa A ,and I'm from high risk country.
My question is :is that normal ,and what do,I have to do ,and what does final assessments answer from immi means.
Does it take more longer ,any advices ,will I,go straight to PR and is that request from immi asking evidences and police check and medical check means Im on the second stage without grating TR,hope someone helps me ,thank you in advance.
Any opinions or advices appreciated


----------



## JordieDAFC

MarkNortham said:


> Hi JordieDAFC -
> 
> Thanks for the question. That could work, however as I mentioned in the previous post, you'd have to look at the entirety of the relationship evidence to predict how DIBP might assess the relationship as to being a genuine de facto relationship or not. Time spent living together is critical in their eyes.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for the reply!

So I'm guessing when we do go for it we should leave it as late as possible if the time spent living together is the most important part? I reckon we'll have lived together at least a year and a half all going well.

I think we should be alright on whether it's genuine....I hope anyway

Cheers


----------



## Daisy2016

*47SP - Part B Q5 and 7*

Good afternoon Mark,

I am in middle of pre-filling the form 47SP for my 309/100 application. I am stuck at Part B Question 5 and 7, which is about the previous visa refusal and Bridging visa E history.

I have to tick YES to both of them, as I requested MI upon the visa refusal which placed me on BVE.

Q5 refers me to put additional information in Part O. I wonder what exactly I need to be addressing.

I was made unlawful for 12 hours in order for the MI unit to grant me a BVE in order for me to request MI.

Thank you


----------



## menal

Hello,

Could you advise if it is necessary to have a positive skill assessment when applying for 189/190/489. For example I have 60 points without claiming any point for work experience.

Thanks Mark


----------



## mnmeah

Hi Mark,

As I am planning to apply for contributory parent visa subclass 173, I need to know the following:

1. Amount of fees I have to pay (by bank cheque/DD) with the visa application for myself (main applicant) and 2 other adult dependents.
2. To whom I shall make the cheque/DD payable. Is it payable to Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Australia?
3. Where shall I submit the visa application?

Would appreciate your help very much.

M.N.Meah
Doha, Qatar.


----------



## zee shan

Hi mark my profession (411213 Dental Technician) is removed from new SOL list but available in state lists can i send my skill assesment right now or should i wait for updated list of Sates as well. When state update their lists ?

Will be thankful for you kind help

Zeee


----------



## IsildursHeir

Hi Mark,

I wanted to reach out and get your opinion on something. I am seeking a clarification on the PCC for USA. I am checking the requirements at the link below for DIBP visa. Looks like the state police certificate is only required if I have stayed in USA in the last year. Other than than, FBI PCC should suffice. Since I have left the US three years back, I don't think I need anything other than FBI PCC. 

I wanted to understand if I should go ahead and launch the state PCC process anyway. Waiting for FBI PCC is a bit like waiting for Godot, and I don't want another State PCC wait at the *** end of it . Then again, State PCC will not be required if the CO sticks to the letter of the instruction at the URL above. So I wanted some advice based on your experience.

URL in question: DIBP URL + about/contact/offices-locations/usa (cannot post the exact link)

Many thanks for your kind help to everyone's questions. You, Sir, are awesome!


----------



## AmiDh

*Would experience+degree be counted ?*

Hi Mark,

G'Day ! Hope you're doing great. First of all , can I just say that you're absolutely awesome for helping struggling folks like us and giving a sense of clarity? I really wish you well and may God amplify your success in a grand manner.

I have a general query for skilled migration.
If a person doesn't have a relevant Bachelors degree in ICT but has Bachelors degree in another field, Would be not be counted ?

In the same scenario, if he has experience in IT industry for more than 5 years. Should he consider for an ACS assessment? 
I heard that if a person doesn't have relevant education, his experience will not be counted, hence no points for that.

The person has 5+ years EXP in IT, 1+ Exp in Australia, TOEFL score of 112 (10 points), Age bracket (26-32)

Thanks for taking time for my query.
Have a great day.

Warm Regards
AmiDh


----------



## Neo_Says

Hello Mark,

We received PR under subclass 190 in March and will be traveling to SA (Adelaide) in June. 

I have few questions, assistance on these will be greatly appreciated.

I and wife will be traveling first, is it mandatory take daughter along with us, since this will be our first entry into Australia?

if not, can my father in law accompany our daughter while she makes her first entry into Australia or as a primary applicant and she being a dependent, i need to accompany her while she makes her first entry into Australia?

My brother and sister in law are staying in Melbourne for few years, since i and my wife need to look for jobs in Adelaide, Can we do the job search by staying in Melbourne (after making the port of entry through Adelaide) and come down for interviews when those are scheduled? 

How can one send inquiries to DIBP?

Thanks again for all your help!


----------



## zee shan

Hi mark I will be thankful if you can help me to find following qustion 

Can Pakistani dentist apply/send his skill assessment as dental technician - 411213 to relevant authority.

Regards,
Zeshan 
Pakistan


----------



## andykyng

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Andy -
> 
> Generally not, unless they take the omission of the spent conviction as something more serious and start digging for more details. That being said, no good way to predict how long they may take to process the visa - highly unpredictable these days.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark!
Have received my PR for 189.
In my application listed my wife and two children as dependents. I also completed all the immi account section for all of them. We complied with medicals, Police clearance requirements, birth, marriage and educational certificates. I was the only one who paid for the visa, guess that is why their visas have not been granted yet.

How do I get their visas activated?

Would a child borne to me by my wife outside Australia qualify as an Australian citizen automatically whiles I am in Australia.

Thanks


----------



## himpar1

*IELTS needed for Skillselect?*

Hi Mark,

I would like to know do we need to have IELTS score for submission of Skillselect? I would be grateful if you could guide me on this.

Thank you in advance!

Best, 
Himpar


----------



## basvdk

Hi Mark,

Me and my partner applied for a 820 visa a few months back, and now we just moved into a new home. I want to update this info with the DIBP, but the info on how to go about this confuses me.

Most threads on the forum mention mailing or scanning Form 929. When I download this form it, as well as on the immi website, it says I can also update my address through ImmiAccount. I believe I have just done this, is this enough, or is a Form 929 necessary as well?

Next to this, are we required to upload evidence of this new house (lease etc.) or should we save this for the 801 application? I'm wondering if it is necessary to keep uploading files during the +- 15 months we'll be waiting.

Thanks so much for your help now and before, it has made this whole process a lot easier.

Bas


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sramsh -

Sorry for the delay in responding - am catching up on all outstanding forum questions tonight as my workload has been heavier than normal.

In the DIBP medical literature, non-lung TB, such as TB of the bones or lymph node, is not considered in the same class as lung TB which is their main concern. That being said, the question on the incoming passenger card and visa applications is not precise about it being lung TB they are asking about. There is no clear answer to your question, other than for you to make a judgment about it. The safest answer, of course, would be to say yes you've had it, but it was lymph node TB, and no lung TB involved, however that may trigger some concern at DIBP that has the potential to disrupt your travel, especially if a lesser experienced case officer who is not familiar with the finer points to the regulations in regard to TB ends up with your case.

Wish I could be more precise -

Best,

Mark Northam



sramsh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.
> 
> I am currently undergoing treatment for Lymph Node TB for the last 4 months and 99% cured as my doctor say.
> 
> However, I have been asked to travel to Australia for a short term. So, I will applying for Subclass 400 Visa which allows me to travel to AU and stay less than 3months.
> 
> As I see there is no need for medical examination for short stay. However, If I mention about my current state, I would like to know how it will impact my visa changes as I have to travel in 2 weeks.
> 
> Also, There is a good chance that I might apply for long term permanent visa in 3-4 months time frame.
> 
> Please advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raff -

If you register your relationship that could help serve as further evidence for a skilled visa, and would generally satisfy the 12 month de facto relationship rule for a skilled visa. If she applies for a 189/190 visa while onshore, she will get a bridging visa allowing her to stay until a decision is made on the application. However - check for condition 8503 on the visitor visa, as that would prevent an onshore application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pizarro84 said:


> Thank you very much for your advise Mark!
> 
> Accordingly if she would go here in AU as tourist and register our relationship would that help with the PR application? And will she get a bridging visa if we apply while she is here in AU as tourist?
> 
> Best regards,
> Raf


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daisy2016 -

Re: photos, sounds like what you're doing should be OK if same size and requirements as passport photos.

Re: relationship start date, would need to go through your evidence with you to advise on that - need to consider having evidence to justify the relationship ongoing since start date you declare.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Daisy2016 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for the information below!!! Yes that is correct I am applying for 309/100.
> 
> 1, How do I go about the passport sized photos with names written at the back of them? I will need 4 photos of myself and 2 photos of my partner. I was wondering if images took by a camera uploaded on the computer, cropped and re-sized into 45mm x 35mm would be sufficient enough?
> *** Scanned passport photos are best, no need to write names on the back for online application. As long as they meet passport specs re: neutral background and expression, etc, should be fine.
> 
> - I have created the photos which have met the size and other requirements for both of us as PDF file. They are not the scanned image of the actual passport size photos. Would this still be ok?
> 
> 5, I am not sure which dates we should be declaring as the start of our de facto relationship. Civil Partnership was registered on 7/11/13 and the shared lease started on 25/02/14.
> *** Can't answer this without knowing much more about the details of your relationship, evidence, when you started living together and what evidence there is, etc. However DIBP will look for evidence to be provided from the date you enter in this question.
> 
> - Started dating in August/September 2013 and opened the joint account in October 2013 and then registered relationship in November 2013. Our lease started in Feb 2014.
> 
> Thank you so much for your help!!!!


----------



## Manirul Islam

*487 visa to 887 secondary applicant*

Hi Mr Mark
Me & my wife holding skilled Regional sponsor subclass visa 487, Visa class skilled sponsor, granted on 21/12/2015(Applied for 487 visa on 16/12/2009). Now we are on the pathway to PR and we intend to apply for PR through Visa 887. Here it is mentionable that my wife was the primary applicant in 487 visa ( she studied 2 years Diploma in hospitality Management in Sydney and as she had no experience in relevant field, her cousin sponsor's him who lived in Canberra). Now our 487 visa conditions are -
We must live in Designated Area at least 2 years & 1(one) year full time job experience and then we can apply for PR.

As a primary Applicant in 487 visa she is not in a situation to meet the 1 year full time job requirements as we have two little babies. So I would be very pleased if you provide me following information--

1. I'm 487 visa holder(Secondary/dependant),has been doing full time job since 2011in Queanbeyan & Canberra ( 2 part time jobs, total 38 hours/week) , would I be able to apply 887 visa as a primary applicant?
2. If Yes, would we be able to apply now as we have been living in Queanbeyan since 2011 after applying for 487, provided 487 visa granted on 21/12/2015.
If everything ok, then we will proceed for next steps.

Kind Regards
Manirul


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jismon -

Thanks for the note. Note that each person applying for citizenship must meet the residency requirements - each application (other than for a child) is an individual application. You'll need to go through all of your travel dates and work out whether you meet the 4 year and 1 year guidelines for max time gone from Australia - too many ifs/ands/buts to do that via forum messages - note no more than 12 months gone in 4 yrs prior to citizenship application, and no more than 3 months gone in 12 months prior to citizenship application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jismonrajuk said:


> Hi Mark,
> I just want to know one thing and my story is ..... myself and my wife and son came from India after getting PR on Jun 22 2012. After 15 days stay here myself and son came back to India. On May 17 2015 myself and son came back here for permanently. All these years myself and son visited here and stay with my wife for 20days. My question is that do i eligible for applying cizitenship with my wife and son since my wife will complete 4 years on coming June 22 2016. She was the principle applicant for the PR visa and now we are living in Adelaide.
> Thanks,
> Jismon


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peanut0701 -

No problem in lodging EOI prior to July and then waiting to see what happens in July - if you're interested in a particular state, you might also make contact with that state's skilled visa office and see if they advise any issues or whether it's better for them to lodge before July or after. Note that the new occupation lists don't usually come out on 1 July, but come out some time later in July depending on the state.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



peanut0701 said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I saw that you were very helpful in assisting and i'm glad about this forum.
> 
> Me and my wife has already prepared our EOI for Visa 190 however we are aware that the opening for state nomination (SA) will be on July. My question is, can we submit our EOI in advance and then followed by our state nomination application in July?
> 
> Are there any consequences if we do this? Also our EOI is already reflecting the additional 5 points for state nomination since we are just waiting for the July opening.
> 
> Please advise and thank you so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunny -

Thanks for the note. If the relationship has broken down, then your ability to continue to hold the 489 visa as a family member of the primary applicant has ended and your visa is subject to cancellation once DIBP learns of the relationship breakdown - suggest you get professional assistance ASAP from a registered migration agent to help understand what other visa options may be available to you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunnny said:


> Hi Mark
> i joined the forum today and noticed that you are the one with all the answers of every question
> i have a quick question too
> me and my husband got 489 visa last year in February and we separated in march
> he is primary applicant on this visa
> 1. if he applied for divorce,will i be able to stay on 489 visa or i have to apply new visa?
> 2. if yes,can my partner carry 489 visa too as he is on student visa.
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMJ -

Sounds like you're doing all the right things - you can click the "Information Provided" button on the upload screen after you have uploaded all info asked for in the request - no need to email the case officer as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SMJ said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for the response,
> I got an update that the health clearance is provided - no action required.
> Is this good enough.
> 
> Further, I have received request for additional documents from a new case officer on 29th Apr 2016. I have uploaded all of the supporting documents online on 11 May 2016. Do I require to email the case officer or will she respond normally, as there is no feedback after that request.
> The status shows Assessment in progress.
> 
> Thanks
> SMJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clark -

Thanks for the note. If you've been granted both and have not left the country since both have been granted, the C will generally come into effect automatically upon expiration of the A.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Clark said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope this message finds you well. I would just like to clarify something, our bridging visa A will expire on June 6 but we have a pending bridging visa C to take in effect. Will the bridging Visa C automatically be in place or do we need to contact DIBP for it to take effect?
> 
> Thank you so much. God bless.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Forat -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



Forat said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am Forat Hatem, age 26, nationality: Iraqi
> 
> Currently working as Instrumentation and Control Engineer (Electronic Engineer) in Dubai
> (20 month Oct 2014 - till present May 2016), no previous work experience related to my field.
> 
> Qualification: Masters of Engineering on Electronic Engineering from The University of Portsmouth, UK (graduated August 2013)
> An MEng or Masters of Engineering is a 4 year course where the Masters and the Bachelors are combined together.
> 
> I want to apply for an Independant Skilled Immigration Visa (Subclass Visa 189)
> 
> I was wondering if I got my skills assessed, and done my IELTS exam, do I qualify for a Visa.
> 
> Kindly help me on this matter.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Forat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Esh2010 -

Thanks for the note. There are no particular specific requirements, but you are going to need to show not only that you were doing the work, but that you were accumulating enough hours (generally 35+ per week) doing the work as well. Contracts from clients are a good start, but if they don't show specific dates and hours, you're going to have to find other evidence. In some cases, people in your situation start a company and employ themselves so they get a regular paycheck from a company at a fixed location, etc. Bottom line - DIBP will look at the entirety of the evidence and decide if it's sufficient to document the dates, location, and specific hours being claimed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Esh2010 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks in advance for your time. Currently I have visa 489 and living in regional area.
> I want to start my business as sole trader here in regional area. I wonder to know to apply for visa 887 for employment evidence what sort of documents I must supply to show I was self employment.
> 
> Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Waqar_Ali -

No way to predict, but I'd draft a letter and include it with the degree pointing out that it is a duplicate as you lost the original, and provide phone and email contacts at the University who can validate and confirm your details and that it is a genuine duplicate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



waqar_ali said:


> I lost my Bachelors degree somewhere, so I issued a duplicate from my University. Duplicate degree is properly verified from HEC Pakistan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan and UAE consulate.
> 
> I am working in a government company in UAE from last 3 years, for working in UAE it is must to verify certificates from UAE consulate.
> 
> I also have a verified copy of my Original degree.
> 
> My Question is, will my duplicate degree make any issue in ACS or immigration process?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mliw90 -

I'd probably mention the other previous married name if she ever used the name legally. Re: health insurance, not necessary for sc300 visa - a long-running misprint on the DIBP website!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mliw90 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have two questions if you don't mind. I'm about to submit a 300 prospective marriage visa soon (me living in the US and my fiance in Australia)
> 
> Its stated on border.gov.au
> 
> - If your name has changed or the name of anyone included in your application has changed: a certified copy of evidence of the name change.
> 
> My fiance was in a previous marriage and had her name changed, but has since changed it back to her maiden name. Therefore, this isn't relevant right? I presume this would be if your name was different now than it is on some of your documentation like birth certificate. Also, we are providing the divorce documentation for this to prove she is no longer married.
> 
> it also states
> 
> Evidence that everyone included in your application has adequate health insurance in Australia. Provide any one of the following:
> a signed letter from a health insurance provider (140 kB doc)
> -a Medicare card or receipt of enrolment with Medicare
> -evidence of adequate health insurance (including travel insurance)
> -if you are from a country with a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia and will be eligible for Medicare when you arrive here, evidence of adequate health insurance (including travel insurance) to cover you until you enrol in Medicare
> -evidence that you hold a passport from the Republic of Ireland.
> 
> However, this wasn't mentioned I don't believe in the partner migration booklet. Also I haven't seen many others mention it while submitting their applications and have seen a few people who specifically said they didn't worry about health insurance till AFTER their visa was granted. Do I need to have proof of this for the visa application or is it not necessary? If so, what kind of proof do I need considering I wouldn't want to start coverage till I moved there which would be at an undisclosed date depending on the visa grant.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mk83 -

Thanks for the note. Given the application date, if they grant the visa, you should get the PR visa straight away. No way to predict or explain the delays, however, but many others are experiencing these delays as well. Time to be patient a while longer - also you may see something after 1 July if they reached their local quota for the July-June financial year.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mk83 said:


> Hi Mark.
> I have a question for u if u don't mind to feed me urgently if anything wrong.
> 
> I was on student visa ,4 months before my student visa expire i applied for onshore partner visa in Australia on November 2013 ,BVA granted after couple of days ,no TR granted at all.
> On October 2015 I,heard from immi requesting evidences and police check and health check,I done it and upload all my documents ,and since I,haven't heard anything ,keep asking for update ,the answer is under processing time ,last time I request and update 10 days ago ,the answer was :
> Thank you for your email. The application is undergoing final assessments. We will contact you accordingly.
> till now I'm on Bridging visa A ,and I'm from high risk country.
> My question is :is that normal ,and what do,I have to do ,and what does final assessments answer from immi means.
> Does it take more longer ,any advices ,will I,go straight to PR and is that request from immi asking evidences and police check and medical check means Im on the second stage without grating TR,hope someone helps me ,thank you in advance.
> Any opinions or advices appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JodrieDAFC -

Sounds like a good plan, however make sure you lodge your online partner visa application at least a week before your current visa expires as sometimes there can be delays with DIBP system problems, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JordieDAFC said:


> Thanks for the reply!
> 
> So I'm guessing when we do go for it we should leave it as late as possible if the time spent living together is the most important part? I reckon we'll have lived together at least a year and a half all going well.
> 
> I think we should be alright on whether it's genuine....I hope anyway
> 
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daisy2016 -

I'd explain it to them just like you did in your post - brief but accurate and effective.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Daisy2016 said:


> Good afternoon Mark,
> 
> I am in middle of pre-filling the form 47SP for my 309/100 application. I am stuck at Part B Question 5 and 7, which is about the previous visa refusal and Bridging visa E history.
> 
> I have to tick YES to both of them, as I requested MI upon the visa refusal which placed me on BVE.
> 
> Q5 refers me to put additional information in Part O. I wonder what exactly I need to be addressing.
> 
> I was made unlawful for 12 hours in order for the MI unit to grant me a BVE in order for me to request MI.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Menal -

Absolutely. No way to get any of those visas without a skills assessment, regardless of points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



menal said:


> Hello,
> 
> Could you advise if it is necessary to have a positive skill assessment when applying for 189/190/489. For example I have 60 points without claiming any point for work experience.
> 
> Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mnmeah -

It's all on the DIBP website for that visa under the Visa Applicants tab.

Best,

Mark Northam



mnmeah said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> As I am planning to apply for contributory parent visa subclass 173, I need to know the following:
> 
> 1. Amount of fees I have to pay (by bank cheque/DD) with the visa application for myself (main applicant) and 2 other adult dependents.
> 2. To whom I shall make the cheque/DD payable. Is it payable to Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Australia?
> 3. Where shall I submit the visa application?
> 
> Would appreciate your help very much.
> 
> M.N.Meah
> Doha, Qatar.


----------



## MarkNortham

Can work either way depending on what you want to do. States can change their occupations any time they want, however most major changes are done in July each year. If it's still available, I'd probably move forward once you have your IELTS and skills assessment completed and have any other documentation you need for the state application and visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zee shan said:


> Hi mark my profession (411213 Dental Technician) is removed from new SOL list but available in state lists can i send my skill assesment right now or should i wait for updated list of Sates as well. When state update their lists ?
> 
> Will be thankful for you kind help
> 
> Zeee


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi IsildursHeir -

From what you've said, I don't think DIBP will want the state PCC unless you have disclosed convictions, etc. However FBI takes 3-4 months, so need to allow for that processing time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IsildursHeir said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I wanted to reach out and get your opinion on something. I am seeking a clarification on the PCC for USA. I am checking the requirements at the link below for DIBP visa. Looks like the state police certificate is only required if I have stayed in USA in the last year. Other than than, FBI PCC should suffice. Since I have left the US three years back, I don't think I need anything other than FBI PCC.
> 
> I wanted to understand if I should go ahead and launch the state PCC process anyway. Waiting for FBI PCC is a bit like waiting for Godot, and I don't want another State PCC wait at the *** end of it . Then again, State PCC will not be required if the CO sticks to the letter of the instruction at the URL above. So I wanted some advice based on your experience.
> 
> URL in question: DIBP URL + about/contact/offices-locations/usa (cannot post the exact link)
> 
> Many thanks for your kind help to everyone's questions. You, Sir, are awesome!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AmiDh -

Thanks for the note and kind words. DIBP will give points for a Bachelor degree if it's from an accredited school, regardless of the subject(s) studies. However each skills assessor treats this different. At ACS, depending on the relevance of the degree, DIBP may "take" a number of years of work experience from you and deem you skilled at a date after those number of years of work experience - see ACS Summary of Criteria chart on their website for a complete explanation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AmiDh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> G'Day ! Hope you're doing great. First of all , can I just say that you're absolutely awesome for helping struggling folks like us and giving a sense of clarity? I really wish you well and may God amplify your success in a grand manner.
> 
> I have a general query for skilled migration.
> If a person doesn't have a relevant Bachelors degree in ICT but has Bachelors degree in another field, Would be not be counted ?
> 
> In the same scenario, if he has experience in IT industry for more than 5 years. Should he consider for an ACS assessment?
> I heard that if a person doesn't have relevant education, his experience will not be counted, hence no points for that.
> 
> The person has 5+ years EXP in IT, 1+ Exp in Australia, TOEFL score of 112 (10 points), Age bracket (26-32)
> 
> Thanks for taking time for my query.
> Have a great day.
> 
> Warm Regards
> AmiDh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neo_Says -

Thanks for the questions. All applicants must make initial entry by the date specified on the visa in order for the visas to be activated. Sometimes the primary applicant must enter first or simultaneously - see conditions on your visa to see if this applies to you. Once initial entry has been made, a visa holder can come and go as he/she pleases.

Re: child, you'll have to check with airline rules, etc re: unaccompanied minors if this is what you're proposing. If another relative is to come with her to make that entry, the relative would have to have their own visa,e tc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Neo_Says said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> We received PR under subclass 190 in March and will be traveling to SA (Adelaide) in June.
> 
> I have few questions, assistance on these will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> I and wife will be traveling first, is it mandatory take daughter along with us, since this will be our first entry into Australia?
> 
> if not, can my father in law accompany our daughter while she makes her first entry into Australia or as a primary applicant and she being a dependent, i need to accompany her while she makes her first entry into Australia?
> 
> My brother and sister in law are staying in Melbourne for few years, since i and my wife need to look for jobs in Adelaide, Can we do the job search by staying in Melbourne (after making the port of entry through Adelaide) and come down for interviews when those are scheduled?
> 
> How can one send inquiries to DIBP?
> 
> Thanks again for all your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zeshan -

You'll have to check with the nominated skills assessor for dental technician to determine their policy on "overqualified" applicants applying - they're all different.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zee shan said:


> Hi mark I will be thankful if you can help me to find following qustion
> 
> Can Pakistani dentist apply/send his skill assessment as dental technician - 411213 to relevant authority.
> 
> Regards,
> Zeshan
> Pakistan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andykyng -

You may have a problem - I expect you listed them as non-migrating dependents, which means they were not included in the application and were not granted a visa. No way to add them now to your visa if that's the case - you'd have to sponsor them on a partner visa and child visa(s). From what you've said, it would appear that your child born outside Australia would be eligible for citizenship, but you'd need to apply for that (and a passport) and get that granted before the child could come to Australia. Others could be eligible for visitor visa(s) depending on circumstances while you wait for the other visas you are sponsoring them. Suggest you look at professional advice in this regard.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andykyng said:


> Thanks Mark!
> Have received my PR for 189.
> In my application listed my wife and two children as dependents. I also completed all the immi account section for all of them. We complied with medicals, Police clearance requirements, birth, marriage and educational certificates. I was the only one who paid for the visa, guess that is why their visas have not been granted yet.
> 
> How do I get their visas activated?
> 
> Would a child borne to me by my wife outside Australia qualify as an Australian citizen automatically whiles I am in Australia.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Himpar1 -

Yes, or a minimum score (equivalent to IELTS 6's on all 4 bands) on an alternate test accepted by DIBP. I suppose you could put in placekeepers in the required fields for this on the EOI, but the problem is once the invitation is issued to apply, the EOI is locked - if you do not have a valid test result prior to getting the invitation, no way to fix that.

Best,

Mark Northam



himpar1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to know do we need to have IELTS score for submission of Skillselect? I would be grateful if you could guide me on this.
> 
> Thank you in advance!
> 
> Best,
> Himpar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Basvdk -

Thankfully DIBP now allows online updates to your information for visas not yet granted - see ImmiAccount page and look for a link for you to update DIBP on information. No need to lodge Form 929 generally as long as the online form they provide allows for entry of the info you need to provide them with.

I'd keep on updating evidence every couple of months, etc. Lease is an important document to show living together, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



basvdk said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Me and my partner applied for a 820 visa a few months back, and now we just moved into a new home. I want to update this info with the DIBP, but the info on how to go about this confuses me.
> 
> Most threads on the forum mention mailing or scanning Form 929. When I download this form it, as well as on the immi website, it says I can also update my address through ImmiAccount. I believe I have just done this, is this enough, or is a Form 929 necessary as well?
> 
> Next to this, are we required to upload evidence of this new house (lease etc.) or should we save this for the 801 application? I'm wondering if it is necessary to keep uploading files during the +- 15 months we'll be waiting.
> 
> Thanks so much for your help now and before, it has made this whole process a lot easier.
> 
> Bas


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manirul Islam -

Thanks for the note. Can't give you specific advice for your case as there is too much additional info I don't know, however it is generally possible for the primary and secondary applicants on a 487/489 visa to swap places when applying for the 887. Also, time spent while holding a bridging visa related to a 487 or 489 visa and living in an approved designated area for the 487/489 visa counts towards the 2 years living/working requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Manirul Islam said:


> Hi Mr Mark
> Me & my wife holding skilled Regional sponsor subclass visa 487, Visa class skilled sponsor, granted on 21/12/2015(Applied for 487 visa on 16/12/2009). Now we are on the pathway to PR and we intend to apply for PR through Visa 887. Here it is mentionable that my wife was the primary applicant in 487 visa ( she studied 2 years Diploma in hospitality Management in Sydney and as she had no experience in relevant field, her cousin sponsor's him who lived in Canberra). Now our 487 visa conditions are -
> We must live in Designated Area at least 2 years & 1(one) year full time job experience and then we can apply for PR.
> 
> As a primary Applicant in 487 visa she is not in a situation to meet the 1 year full time job requirements as we have two little babies. So I would be very pleased if you provide me following information--
> 
> 1. I'm 487 visa holder(Secondary/dependant),has been doing full time job since 2011in Queanbeyan & Canberra ( 2 part time jobs, total 38 hours/week) , would I be able to apply 887 visa as a primary applicant?
> 2. If Yes, would we be able to apply now as we have been living in Queanbeyan since 2011 after applying for 487, provided 487 visa granted on 21/12/2015.
> If everything ok, then we will proceed for next steps.
> 
> Kind Regards
> Manirul


----------



## sleepyhead

Hi Mark, 
I got my 457 visa in Graphic prepress in 2013july. my salary was 52,000. He never increased my pay since 457 approval. so when my employer applied for nomination for ENS in september 2015 My salary is still the same which is 52,000. I am a bit worried at this stage because at the moment the minimum market salary is 53900. But my employer said immigraiton will accept my 52000 salary as it was approved for 457. 

it will be 9 months next week i havent heard anything from immigration yet. no document requested yet. thanks in advance for your valuable time. please advice me whats correct. and what can i do at the moment?


----------



## a.sh

Hi Mark,

Its really awesome work that you are doing here in helping by answering to the queries all the people have around the globe 
I too have a query and I am very certain that you can help me in that.
I am ICT minor and have 6 years and 5 months of experience as software developer/software engineer. I am very confused in choosing the right ANZCO option for me. As per the specifications in acs's website my roles and responsibilities matches to those of Web Developer, Software Engineer, and Developer programmer. Can you please help me in this 

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Mk83

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mk83 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Given the application date, if they grant the visa, you should get the PR visa straight away. No way to predict or explain the delays, however, but many others are experiencing these delays as well. Time to be patient a while longer - also you may see something after 1 July if they reached their local quota for the July-June financial year.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark.
I,hope to hear something very soon but I'm worried a bit because I didn't get temporary till now.
Many thanks


----------



## Gaucho

Hi Mark (and others) you've all been so helpful so far and now I just have a couple more questions. 

Mostly in relation to part H of form 40sp, about your home. 

I'm currently living with my wife (who I am sponsoring) in Brazil. Once she is granted the visa we will be moving to Australia, but of course right now we don't have a residence in Australia right now. What should we put in this section? Should I put the details of my father who I will probably stay with until we have jobs and a place of our own? or should it be left blank with an explanation added on at the end stating we'll be getting an apartment of our own but don't know the details? Will the online application even allow us to leave that blank? 

The only other question I have at this stage is question 22. Seems an odd one. In question 21 it asks current relationship status (which we'll mark as married), and then 22 asks if you're related by blood adoption or marriage. Does this mean PRIOR to the marriage I've just disclosed? 

Also with regards to the "proof of relationship", I understand we have to write a declaration regarding the history of our relationship. Does this have to be written by hand? Or can be typed then signed? 
Also, being in Brazil the closest thing I can do as far as having a statutory declaration is getting an agency here to attach a stamp confirming it is my signature. Is that enough? And do I have to get this stamp translated since it will be in Portuguese? 

Finally, for the other proof (financial, social, etc) would this be a separate document outlining the photos and bills and I things included? Some thinngs may need explanation rather than documents so does this need to be signed too? 


Thanks in advance. There are so many things to consider I feel sometimes I'm getting myself confused


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sleepyhead -

Thanks for the note. The current TSMIT (as of today, 2 June 2016) is $53,900 but applies to new nominations for 457 visas only. The ENS has no such limit, but does require that the salary and position be "genuine". The next time your 457 nomination has to be processed (assuming you don't get the ENS visa first), the salary would need to be increased to be at least the TSMIT at the time.

While ENS/RSMS visas in the past have received priority processing, 9 months and more is not unusual now - more delays and backlogs at DIBP I'm afraid, especially since they have no time limits on their own work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sleepyhead said:


> Hi Mark,
> I got my 457 visa in Graphic prepress in 2013july. my salary was 52,000. He never increased my pay since 457 approval. so when my employer applied for nomination for ENS in september 2015 My salary is still the same which is 52,000. I am a bit worried at this stage because at the moment the minimum market salary is 53900. But my employer said immigraiton will accept my 52000 salary as it was approved for 457.
> 
> it will be 9 months next week i havent heard anything from immigration yet. no document requested yet. thanks in advance for your valuable time. please advice me whats correct. and what can i do at the moment?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gaucho -

Thanks for the note. Please see my responses to your questions below at ***:



Gaucho said:


> Hi Mark (and others) you've all been so helpful so far and now I just have a couple more questions.
> 
> Mostly in relation to part H of form 40sp, about your home.
> 
> I'm currently living with my wife (who I am sponsoring) in Brazil. Once she is granted the visa we will be moving to Australia, but of course right now we don't have a residence in Australia right now. What should we put in this section? Should I put the details of my father who I will probably stay with until we have jobs and a place of our own? or should it be left blank with an explanation added on at the end stating we'll be getting an apartment of our own but don't know the details? Will the online application even allow us to leave that blank?
> 
> *** I'd put the place you initially plan to stay when you arrive, which is fine if parents' house.
> 
> The only other question I have at this stage is question 22. Seems an odd one. In question 21 it asks current relationship status (which we'll mark as married), and then 22 asks if you're related by blood adoption or marriage. Does this mean PRIOR to the marriage I've just disclosed?
> 
> *** Yes - a confusing question for many. Always check No for 22 as it relates to your status prior to marriage/engagement/etc
> 
> Also with regards to the "proof of relationship", I understand we have to write a declaration regarding the history of our relationship. Does this have to be written by hand? Or can be typed then signed?
> Also, being in Brazil the closest thing I can do as far as having a statutory declaration is getting an agency here to attach a stamp confirming it is my signature. Is that enough? And do I have to get this stamp translated since it will be in Portuguese?
> *** For your own relationship statements, typed and signed is fine - no need for certification, etc.
> 
> Finally, for the other proof (financial, social, etc) would this be a separate document outlining the photos and bills and I things included? Some thinngs may need explanation rather than documents so does this need to be signed too?
> *** You could add a separate document if you felt that the evidence needed explanations, however as each piece of evidence you upload to your ImmiAccount after lodgment has to be assigned a category and sub-category (from pick-lists on the online system), it's usually clear from those choices how you intend the evidence to be used (ie, nature of household, etc).
> 
> Thanks in advance. There are so many things to consider I feel sometimes I'm getting myself confused


----------



## peanut0701

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Peanut0701 -
> 
> No problem in lodging EOI prior to July and then waiting to see what happens in July - if you're interested in a particular state, you might also make contact with that state's skilled visa office and see if they advise any issues or whether it's better for them to lodge before July or after. Note that the new occupation lists don't usually come out on 1 July, but come out some time later in July depending on the state.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark!

Thank you very much for the reply. SA Immigration also confirmed that EIO and State nomination are separate entities and can be applied independently.

I have already submitted my EOI for SA.


----------



## Gaucho

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gaucho -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Please see my responses to your questions below at ***:


Thanks so much once again Mark!


----------



## simranbrar

HI Mark
i want to thank you for your valuable advise to all members who are struggling to immigrate to Aus through a valid visas.
I applied for Australian citizenship in feb 2016 and heard nothing until now. when i call them ,they are saying your application is under process. i call them twice. firstly 2months ago and another one is now.what are they checking for so long. your response will be valuable. thank you


----------



## sunilkchopra

Dear Mark,

I need your advice for 887 pathway for PR and below are my details.

I got Family sponsored 489 visa in month of July 2015.
Me and my family arrived in Melbourne in last week of November.
My Visa condition is 8549 where I can live and work anywhere in Victoria
I am currently living in one of the suburb near Melbourne
I am working full time (37.5 hours) in Melbourne city.

My question is regarding work. Will I be eligible for pathway 887 when I complete 2 years and ready to apply. I am asking this because I am working in city but when I check 887 pathway on Immigration website it says below.
Though my visa condition is that I can live / work anywhere in Victoria but below line regarding is confusing me.
Can you please clarify this point so that I can work upon this.
I will really appreciate your effort.

Live and work in specified regional areas

The requirements include having:
lived in a regional Australia/low population growth metropolitan area for at least two years if you were nominated by a state or territory government
lived in a designated area of Australia for at least two years if you were sponsored by an eligible relative
worked full time (usually at least 35 hours a week) in a specified regional area for at least a year while you held your eligible visa
complied with the conditions attached to your eligible visa or your Bridging visa.
You can meet the work requirement if you worked at least 35 hours a week in one full-time job or in two or more part-time jobs. You can include any paid employment or self-employment, and you will need to be able to provide evidence of your employment claims.


----------



## CoffeeBeans

Hello Mark,

My question is around the relevant experience for Visa subclass 189 skilled employment- Is my part time Graduate Assistant-ship during my two year masters going to be considered relevant? It was paid hourly (10-12 hours a week) and was directly related to the skilled area that I'm going to apply for.

Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## sramsh

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your response directed at my question.

I applied for the visa and mentioned about my current condition and also attached the doctor certificate stating my case as Non-Infectious. After 2 days, I have been asked by the business visa team to undergo the medical examination (501) and x-ray (502). I underwent medical and have submitted the medical details back to DIPB.

Also, I have mentioned that I have been working in Office during my treatment to emphasize that my case is really a non-infectious case. Also, I was not able to find any DIPB medical literature online to add it to my application. However, I quoted DIPB 12.* to mention that extra-pulmonary tb is more significant to individual than society. Having said that, I would leave it to DIPB to take a fair decision.

Regards
Sramsh



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sramsh -
> 
> Sorry for the delay in responding - am catching up on all outstanding forum questions tonight as my workload has been heavier than normal.
> 
> In the DIBP medical literature, non-lung TB, such as TB of the bones or lymph node, is not considered in the same class as lung TB which is their main concern. That being said, the question on the incoming passenger card and visa applications is not precise about it being lung TB they are asking about. There is no clear answer to your question, other than for you to make a judgment about it. The safest answer, of course, would be to say yes you've had it, but it was lymph node TB, and no lung TB involved, however that may trigger some concern at DIBP that has the potential to disrupt your travel, especially if a lesser experienced case officer who is not familiar with the finer points to the regulations in regard to TB ends up with your case.
> 
> Wish I could be more precise -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## freebird

*1221 from ex husband*

Divorced from Non-Migrating Spouse
________________________________________
I have applied for Points Based Skilled Migration Visa electronically in Dec 2015.

I have not included my husband (separated since 2008 & divorced in 2011). 
I have included my minor child as a dependent; Court has awarded Joint Legal & Primary Physical Custody to me (with primary say as mine, in case of disagreements)

I had put a letter explaining my background and also included Decree, Parenting arrangement including Custodial orders. My ex has not been in touch since 2012 and is not reachable on his phone / last known address too. I have no idea of his whereabouts. However, he may be still reachable on his email.

The CO has requested for Form 1221 with consent from my Ex.

My ex was an abusive man and is always looking for means to mint money even now; a simple signature also means exchange of benefits to him. He easily asks for property in returns of such official activities. Basically, he would never support anything which leads to a better life for me.

What can I do?

We have a child together and since day 1, I have taking care of all the expenses related to the kid from Hospital expenses, formula milk, diapers to Hospital, Education, Entertainment, Visa, travel etc. The Child doesn't 'know' father or the meaning of 'father'. I am responsible for the holistic development of the child and in alignment to the same - I am putting an effort to get a better life for myself & the child by migrating to Australia.

If you'd like, I can even share detailed sections of the Custody papers with you.
I need your expert advice in convincing the CO that my ex is no-where there in our lives. In my opinion, with the Custody papers and enough supporting documents - CO should be able to understand my point of view.

Pls advise.


----------



## abulsha

*queries regarding 489 visa conditions*

hello 
just new to this forum and saw ur thread . just need some info regarding the 489 visa. I got 489 granted in march 2014 for regional nsw. so I moved to a regional place Queanbeyan in may 2014. unfortunately I dint get a job for couple of months. since the place I live is in the border of ACT I got a job over there as a kitchen hand and I was working there for 7 months to support my family and pay the bills.until I found a job in my regional area. now I got 1 yr full time experience and lived for 2 years.but my visa conditions say am not suppose to work in ACT, will there be any issues when I apply my 887 visa because I worked for 7 months in ACT.
waiting for your reply and thanks in advance
regards
hasan


----------



## nguyen19

*multi entry tourist visa (5 years validity)*

Hi Mark,
I am really happy when I saw your thread "Ask Mark". Thanks for what you've done to help people.
My questions are about 5 years visa for parents. I am planning to apply a long term visa for my parents with 5 years validity (parents visa already in queue, they've been in Australia for several times, never overstay or being refused, my Dad is 61, my Mom is 58). Currently I am stuck at some points:
1. The form used 1418. Q1 in this form "when do you wish to visit Australia?", can I fill in for 5 years period?
2. The documents I am preparing: form 1418, other docs required in Part M. Do I need to write a letter of invitation to visit?
3. Health insurance: should my parents buy the insurance BEFORE applying for their visa or AFTER they've been approved? Which insurance company is the best choice?
4. Medical examination: will it be required after applying the visa and before it will be granted?
5. As far as I know, the parents also have to write a Statutory Declaration to ensure that they wont overstay for each time they visit? Is it right?
Thanks in advance,
Nguyen


----------



## prestyler

Dear Mark:

Good day..!

I filed my visa application and submitted my documents last month. a couple of days back, i received an email from gsm asking me 2 things.

1. submit my english test result direct to DIAC. 
2. Submit my police clearance certificates. 

For No. 1, i followed the procedure and submitted the english test result.

For No. 2, however, i have confusion. When i uploaded my documents last month in the immi account. I uploaded my clean color scan of police clearance certificates, which were issued last month (as i read in many places that they need not to be attested). Now i am thinking of the best course of action, either i have the existing clearance certificates CERTIFIED and upload and sent to the GSM again, or apply for NEW certificates, or just respond to the GSM that i uploaded it into the immi account EARLIER already.

Please advise.


----------



## alvin_abi

Dear Mark,

I have a small query but it would go a long way in helping me understand who should be the primary applicant on my migration application.

Both me and my wife has completed our skill assesment and we are wairing for the states to open nominations. Although I have 80 points and my wife has only 60 points, we are unsure of who should be the main applicant.

This is because I have misplaced my high school certificates which was provided to vetassess along with the graduation and post graduation certificate and transcripts. I still have all my graduation and masters degree certificates and transcripts. Do you think this should be sufficient for uploading onto immi account and for seeking state nomination ? If not ,then I would have to make my wife the main applicant despite of higher points.


----------



## Ericu

Dear Sir Mark 
I have applied 887 visa.
My CO allocated two weeks ago and asked My wife's IELTS( Functional English Evidence),so I talked to my wife and she don't want to sit in exam so we are going to pay second instalment Vac2.
Two weeks ago I already sent E mail to CO like " I am willing to pay vac2 so can you let me know how can I pay this or can you send me invoice to pay second installment vsc2 please "

Mark Now what should be next procedure ? 
Did I do right thing ?

Your ASAP reply would be much appreciated sir 
Regards 
Eric


----------



## vinni

Dear Mark Sir, 

Following is my current situation summarized: I obtained PR in Feb 2010 and it expired in Feb 2015 and lived and worked in Australia for about 18 month in the last 5 years. But had to depart from Australia due to compelling family reasons (death of family member).

Applied for a RRV (155 subclass) in Mar 2014 before leaving Australia, got a RRV for only year until Mar 2015 (remains unused and is expired again).

I understand I may not be eligible for a 5 year RRV, as I have only stayed for 18 months in Australia out of the 5 period AND remained outside the country for the last two years.

Now I really wish to return to Australia permanently and pursue a career opportunity on hand. However, after returning I would need to travel outside the country few times within the next a year. Therefore would I be eligible for 1 years RRV one year international travel facility ? Will I be eligible for 1 years RRV if I applied for the second time, need international travel facility.

Could anyone please suggest what are the processing times for RRV for a persons whose PR is expired more than an year ago and whose RRV has also expired around the same time ? 

As a returning resident, is it sufficient to show employment as substantial ties to obtain an RRV ? OR do we also need to show other ties (such as purchase of property and relationship or having children in Australia). I am concerned, as I can provide employment ties with a job offer in hand and none of the other ties (personal, cultural etc).

Thank you for your time, I greatly appreciate your response! If my 5 year RRV can be obtained under my circumstances, I would be happy to get your consultation and assistance with the application processing by paying your consultation fee. Kindly advise ASAP.

Regards, 
Vinni


----------



## nolimit5005

Hi mark,

I have lodged the expression of interest today, but apparently the ceiling for my occupation,263111, has been reached. I have no idea what to do now. I've applied for 189 visa, and I am at 60 points.

Also, my ACS letter will expire next month, should I renew my skills assessment or what?
If yes, should I cancel my current EOI application and wait for the new assessment and then lodge a new EOI with the new assessment?


----------



## Coconut1

*2nd time sponsored*

Hello Mark, im wondering if its possible to apply for defacto or spouse visa for 2nd time. Someone sponsored me two year ago ,got my visa granted. But our relationship failed and had to cancell my spouse visa.
Thank you for your kind reply.


----------



## jamielannister

Hi Mark
Hope you are doing well.
I was filling out the application for 801 which had a section asking for family members residing in Australia. I looked up what it means by immediate family members on DIAC's website which states your spouse, children, step children, parents if you are under 18. I have a sister living here who is not part of my application and my partner's family.
Do I have to leave it blank as according to definition of DIAC I am not under 18 and it doesn't mention sister as immediate family and I or my partner dont have any child.
Your help will be appreciated as always.


----------



## mdsharif

Hi Mark,

I am a new member in this Forum. I applied 489 SS(NSW) visa In 11th July 2015. Additional Documents submitted 28th September 2015 (medical and form 80) for me and my wife. After additional documents submission the immiaccount status shows ASSESSMENT IN PROGRESS. i send DIBP a email at the end of December regarding Status, but no reply. In January 2nd week i Call DIBP and got response (routine processing), then April last week i again send a email and got answer in 13th May (Application is under routine processing and no further documents is required at this stage, If documents required they will inform via email). Now almost 11 months and still now no Job verification as i Know. Can you please tell me whats going on my application? How much more time they will take to make a decision? As in the Website it is written 3 months to make a decision. Any idea ?


----------



## Najam276

Hello Mark, I have a query regarding the work experience. Appreciate if you could clarify that.

I have a total of 2 years of experience as Graduate Trainee Engineer 'Mechanical' in one of the Upstream Oil and Gas industry. This trainee period is a paid job with an engagement of more than 20 hrs/week. However the experience letter that I will get will be stating my position as a 'Trainee Engineer' with the jobs roles I have worked in. 

Will DIBP and Engineers Australia will consider this experience as a full time job role or not.?


----------



## MackandChar

Hello Mark 

I'll try to make this as brief as possible. 

I'm an Australian citizen sponsoring my partner Brazilian/ Italian on a defacto partner visa subclass 820. She is currently on Bridging Visa A as we submitted the application in May 2015.

As part of the Character check section of the application we submitted police checks for every country she had lived in for more than 12 months with relevant translation documents (UK, Australia and Brazil were the countries).

Last week we got an email from immigration saying we need to provide a police check from each state she has lived in for more than 12 months in Brazil. We currently have 1 from her home state RGDS but we need to get one from State of Sao Paulo as well.

Because it is not her home state she cannot get the doc online. She needs to go in person with her real ID or send a authorised person with her real ID to collect for her.

Trouble is we don't know anyone reliable enough to pick it up and flying over there and getting the document within the next 28 days is not an option. Is there anyway around this.

It's not like we haven't submitted any other evidence for this category. It's now going to be the fourth document which confirms she's has no criminal charges anywhere she's been.

My question is this; Can we submit the above story as evidence as to why we couldn't put forward the required police check?

And 

Assuming the rest of the application is sound, will this alone be enough for the application to not be accepted?

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you so much for your help. You're an absolute legend mate  


Mack and Char


----------



## Serina

Hi! Mark,
I'm new to the group and happy to see registered consultants like you on this forum. I'm an IT consultant and have 10 years full time experience. Since the last 4 years I'm working as a freelance consultant. I'm interested in applying for Australia PR. I would like to know:
1. Is freelance experience acceptable as per the procedure and policies?
2. What supporting documents do I need for my freelancing experience.
Thanks


----------



## mandy3293

Hi Mark

My partner has just been refused a partner visa after overstaying his visa by 10 years. The refusal wasnt based solely on schedule 3 criteria but that the department doesnt believe we are in a genuine relationship. Some of the things in the decision letter are slanderous. We have been quoted $1670 for the AAT plus $9k in lawyers fees to process this. Or we leave the country on July 6th after bother being here 10 years plus.
Do you think we should appeal the decision?
Thanks
Amanda


----------



## lobster

Hello Mark

Im trying to get your advise here but no response yet. My travel dates is getting closer and I would like to be advised first before I leave the country. Im waiting on a decision 820/801 and just got a BVB for 30 days. Im concerning leave Australia and Immigration cancel my visa. Is this legal? please reply to my email that I sent so we can discuss my case and I will need your services perhaps? thank you


----------



## Nelda

*Hearing*

Hi Mark and anyone that can answer me! 
My partner visa (801/820) was refused in February, because I wasn't in a substantial visa when I lodged my application.We appealed in March. 
Today I received an email, inviting us for an interview/hearing, because my reasons weren't enough to make a decision (???)
I told them many times that we're in financial hardship, we're married, we've been together since 2013. But looks like it's not enough reason to stay together  
Can anyone tell me what to expect from this hearing? Is it a god or a bad thing that they invited us? Is it better if we go to Sydney and do it in person with that minister? (that's one of the options, since we're from Cairns so it'll be a video conversation)

Thanks


----------



## margot

*bogus documents- please help*

My husband and I are in the process of applying for a partner visa. He has a non-migrating son from a previous relationship. We had to apply for a birth certificate to upload with the application as my husband doesn't have the original. Shortly after we uploaded it, we noticed they had made an error on the birth certificate. We notified the DIBP and applied for another birth certificate with the correct information. Immigration then checked both certificates with the births and deaths registrar and have commented that the 2nd certificate was untraceable and is said to be bogus. We applied for it the correct way through the births and deaths registrar and none of the information had been falsified. We can appeal within 28 days but I don't even know what to say, we have no idea why the document is said to be untraceable.*Is there anything we can do to appeal?


----------



## Valli

*Hard decision*

Hello, Mark!
My husband would like to apply for 189 visa. To have enough score, he needs to prove his profession (10 points - done!), pass IELTS for min 6.0 for each module (5 points) and be younger than 33 (5 points).
The situation is that his best results for IELTS currently is L - 5.5, R - 8.5, W - 6.5, S - 6.0 and there is no possibility to try again before he turns 33 years old (end of June). So, even he gets better English test results later, he will not have 5 points for his age.
So, we think what we can do:
1) when exactly do we have to pay the fee? We heard that sometimes people receive positive decision (invitation) even if the IELTS score is not 6.0 min for each module. We would like to try to submit EOI with our result hoping for the invitation before my husband turns 33 but only if we do not have to pay the whole amount for it (otherwise we risk to loose a lot of money)
2) What if we submit the EOI, then try to pass IELTS again in parallel, hoping to get the higher score. Is it possible?
What would you recommend for us to do before we run the age of 33?
Thanks a lot


----------



## Wafflel

Hi Mark,

The Berlin Embassy lists this form as a requirement for PMV

http://germany.embassy.gov.au/files/beln/Partner Migration - Relationship Details.pdf

What category should we upload it under?

Thanks


----------



## Sarahrw

Hi Mark, 

Can I just say how comforting it was to see that there was an expert willing to fill in so many of the blanks for us!! 

My partner and I live in Mexico and are applying for a Visitor Visa subclass 600 so he can accompany me when I go home to visit for Christmas for two months.
We will be staying with my mother and she has written a letter stating she will cover our accommodation and lodging, providing a copy of the title to her home.

My question is should I be writing the letter of invitation for him to accompany me and my mother's letter would be a letter of support? Or should she technically invite him because she is currently in Australia? And I could write a letter of support stating I can financially support him for expenses additional to accommodation?

We will both be returning to Mexico after the two month period. 

Much appreciated!!! 
Sarah


----------



## Gaucho

Hi Mark,

You've been an amazing so far. We're almost at the finish line now (or the start line of the waiting!) but just have a few more questions.

(offshore online partner visa application)

My wife (the applicant) and I have submitted out applications (47 and 40sp) online and are now adding the documents. I notice on each of our "applications" there are recommended documents and a maximum of 60 docs that can be added. My wife has added many of the important documents as part of her attachments so far and is running out of room in her 60.

I have a few questions

1) is it 60 attachments each? 
2) Am I (the sponsor) required to add the same important documents that my wife has (marriage cert, evidence of joint lives, messaging conversation etc) or can I use that space to add ADDITIONAL attachments such as additional photos or more conversations (obviously along with my ID documents
3) As part of my sponsor form I confirm some details about my wife (her name change etc). Evidence of name change is listed as one of the recommended attachments, even though she has already provided this in her attachments, should I also add it? 
4) In my wife's eagerness to add her documents, she didn't add the translations of her Brazilian National ID or her police checks and now she's reached he max of 60. I've added them to my list of attachments, but will that be ok? 
5) In my list of "recommended documents is the "40sp" form. Is that not the same as I filled out online? Do I also need to print off the form, fill it in and then scan and upload? 

Additionally, I was not asked during my sponsor application to provide information about countries I have lived in (which appears on the paper forms). I have obtained police checks from the countries I have lived in for the past 10 years.
6) Do I attach these now or will that be requested at another time? 
7) If so, when? I would have thought it was part of the application.

Thanks a lot!


----------



## chrissy909

*URGENT: Secondary Applicant can sponsor after breakup?*

Hi, I am currently on a 189 PR. I was the secondary applicant with my ex defacto partner who was the main applicant. She put me as an additional applicant in her 189 visa and we got it granted back in 2015.

However, we have been separated now since 6 months.[ We had a long 4 year relationship ]

We live in separate cities as I don't want her memories to disturb me. I am wondering if I get married to someone from my country (India) can I sponsor her ? Me being as a secondary holder of a 189 visa am I allowed to sponsor some one ?

I am very lonely now and will be doing the traditional arrange marriage as they do in India.

I am not ready to take citizenship yet , I know things might get less complicated if I opt for citizenship.


----------



## showib49

Hi Mark
I need your assistance in following issue.
My wife applied for 309/100 with my step daughter. My wife provided court orders where its clearly written that my step daughter can move with my wife to Australia. These are the consent from her x husband. Later on CO required form 1229. Its really hard to get signed from x husband as legally we can't talk directly. Only court can talk and its really hard again. Should i mention CO that we already have provided consent from x husband and that is leagal court document.
Thanks


----------



## mustafasabir

Hi Mark,

My friend has filed an EOI under the category of Business Analyst. His total points are 55+5 (state sponsorship).

It is quite possible that by the time he would recieve an invitation, his age would cross 40.

My question is, are the points finalized at the time of submitting an EOI or at the time of filing an application? Will he be still eligible to apply as he has filed an EOI before 40 years?

Plz suggest.

Thanks.


----------



## ozengineer

Dear Mark,

I need your assistance with getting a tourist visa for my girlfriend, who comes from a country under rather strict scrutiny.

I am from Europe, but now hold a 190 grant. She is from Vietnam. We are both currently students in China. In 6 months, I intend to go to Australia for a one week trip to activate my 190 visa. In this proccess, I'd like her to accompany me.

The trouble is that getting a tourist visa can be quite a difficult thing for Vietnamese citizens, for you need to prove that you posess sufficient funds and have a steady income. However, as mentioned, my girlfriend is just a scholarship student. So, I was wondering, do you have any knowledge concerning tourist visa (subclass 600) application in such case? Does it make difference whether to apply in China or Vietnam? Also, can I somehow make her application stronger with a support letter, by being an accompanying future-PR (just need activisation) and having some personal savings of my own?


Cheers!


----------



## Breminchi

*Overstayed visa*

Hi Mark,
Been reading over the thread and really appreciate all the info that you have already shared!
My question is, my wife ( girlfriend at the time) overstayed her student in visa in Australia due to her agent not properly communicating or lodging her extension Ect... Way back in 2008. It was a big shock to have immigration come to us and give her 1 week to pack and leave!
She wasn't allowed to enter the country for 3 years after that, but since then we have returned for our wedding and some holidaying with her family.
Will this effect our application for the 820 visa? Is there some extra steps that need to be taken because of this?
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi A.sh -

If you wanted to book a consultation we would have some time to go through this in a discussion (see website below in my signature for more) however most people do a detailed comparison of their work history to the detailed occupation listings on the ACS website and choose the one that is the best fit - ie, fits the largest amount of work experience they have.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



a.sh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Its really awesome work that you are doing here in helping by answering to the queries all the people have around the globe
> I too have a query and I am very certain that you can help me in that.
> I am ICT minor and have 6 years and 5 months of experience as software developer/software engineer. I am very confused in choosing the right ANZCO option for me. As per the specifications in acs's website my roles and responsibilities matches to those of Web Developer, Software Engineer, and Developer programmer. Can you please help me in this
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Simranbar -

Thanks for the kind words. No good way to predict why - typically the interview phase happens 2-3 months after you lodge the application, however if the character check process is involved it can delay things, as well as their caseload, etc.

I'd try and be patient and see what you can learn going forward from them if they're willing to provide any sort of an update or explanation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



simranbrar said:


> HI Mark
> i want to thank you for your valuable advise to all members who are struggling to immigrate to Aus through a valid visas.
> I applied for Australian citizenship in feb 2016 and heard nothing until now. when i call them ,they are saying your application is under process. i call them twice. firstly 2months ago and another one is now.what are they checking for so long. your response will be valuable. thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunilkchopra -

Thanks for the note. The family-sponsored 489 has a slightly different live/work limitation condition than the state sponsored 489, however all of Victoria is specified as a "designated area" for the family sponsored 489 so you're fine with your 489 as long as you work and live in a designated area - see designated areas listed at:
https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work...illed-Migration-applications/designated-areas

You have to live in a designated area for a total of 2 years and work in a designated area for a total of 1 year in order to meet the live/work requirements of the 887 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunilkchopra said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I need your advice for 887 pathway for PR and below are my details.
> 
> I got Family sponsored 489 visa in month of July 2015.
> Me and my family arrived in Melbourne in last week of November.
> My Visa condition is 8549 where I can live and work anywhere in Victoria
> I am currently living in one of the suburb near Melbourne
> I am working full time (37.5 hours) in Melbourne city.
> 
> My question is regarding work. Will I be eligible for pathway 887 when I complete 2 years and ready to apply. I am asking this because I am working in city but when I check 887 pathway on Immigration website it says below.
> Though my visa condition is that I can live / work anywhere in Victoria but below line regarding is confusing me.
> Can you please clarify this point so that I can work upon this.
> I will really appreciate your effort.
> 
> Live and work in specified regional areas
> 
> The requirements include having:
> lived in a regional Australia/low population growth metropolitan area for at least two years if you were nominated by a state or territory government
> lived in a designated area of Australia for at least two years if you were sponsored by an eligible relative
> worked full time (usually at least 35 hours a week) in a specified regional area for at least a year while you held your eligible visa
> complied with the conditions attached to your eligible visa or your Bridging visa.
> You can meet the work requirement if you worked at least 35 hours a week in one full-time job or in two or more part-time jobs. You can include any paid employment or self-employment, and you will need to be able to provide evidence of your employment claims.


----------



## showib49

*Ignore it please*

Hi Mark
Ignore it as I already posted before and didn't know how to delete this post,
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CoffeeBeans -

Thanks for the note. It might, but might not - depends on the specifics. I'd consult with your skills assessor to get guidelines on skilled work experience - that will have a big effect re: DIBP acceptance of the relevance of the work. DIBP can allow multiple part-time jobs to be combined to show full time employment, however you need to have complete documentation about the job including proof of payment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CoffeeBeans said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My question is around the relevant experience for Visa subclass 189 skilled employment- Is my part time Graduate Assistant-ship during my two year masters going to be considered relevant? It was paid hourly (10-12 hours a week) and was directly related to the skilled area that I'm going to apply for.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the note and email - as we discussed, DIBP will generally require permission (via Form 1229) for every party that has any legal custody of a child for that child to migrate to Australia - best way to deal with this may be to work out an arrangement with the ex-partner for him to give up his share of legal custody, or seek a remedy in your local court system to make this happen.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



freebird said:


> Divorced from Non-Migrating Spouse
> ________________________________________
> I have applied for Points Based Skilled Migration Visa electronically in Dec 2015.
> 
> I have not included my husband (separated since 2008 & divorced in 2011).
> I have included my minor child as a dependent; Court has awarded Joint Legal & Primary Physical Custody to me (with primary say as mine, in case of disagreements)
> 
> I had put a letter explaining my background and also included Decree, Parenting arrangement including Custodial orders. My ex has not been in touch since 2012 and is not reachable on his phone / last known address too. I have no idea of his whereabouts. However, he may be still reachable on his email.
> 
> The CO has requested for Form 1221 with consent from my Ex.
> 
> My ex was an abusive man and is always looking for means to mint money even now; a simple signature also means exchange of benefits to him. He easily asks for property in returns of such official activities. Basically, he would never support anything which leads to a better life for me.
> 
> What can I do?
> 
> We have a child together and since day 1, I have taking care of all the expenses related to the kid from Hospital expenses, formula milk, diapers to Hospital, Education, Entertainment, Visa, travel etc. The Child doesn't 'know' father or the meaning of 'father'. I am responsible for the holistic development of the child and in alignment to the same - I am putting an effort to get a better life for myself & the child by migrating to Australia.
> 
> If you'd like, I can even share detailed sections of the Custody papers with you.
> I need your expert advice in convincing the CO that my ex is no-where there in our lives. In my opinion, with the Custody papers and enough supporting documents - CO should be able to understand my point of view.
> 
> Pls advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hasan -

Suggest you consult with a registered migration agent and get the specific details of your visa and work history analysed - see website in my signature below if I can assist further. You may have a problem as condition 8539 for your visa limits where you can live and work to a particular list of areas that may not include ACT. It is a requirement that you substantially complied with all of the conditions of your 489 visa while you held that visa. May be a discretionary issue with the case officer, suggest you get professional assistance in assessing what can be done and best way to present this going forward with the 887 application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abulsha said:


> hello
> just new to this forum and saw ur thread . just need some info regarding the 489 visa. I got 489 granted in march 2014 for regional nsw. so I moved to a regional place Queanbeyan in may 2014. unfortunately I dint get a job for couple of months. since the place I live is in the border of ACT I got a job over there as a kitchen hand and I was working there for 7 months to support my family and pay the bills.until I found a job in my regional area. now I got 1 yr full time experience and lived for 2 years.but my visa conditions say am not suppose to work in ACT, will there be any issues when I apply my 887 visa because I worked for 7 months in ACT.
> waiting for your reply and thanks in advance
> regards
> hasan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nguyen -

Thanks for the note and kind words - please see responses below with your questions at ***:

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nguyen19 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am really happy when I saw your thread "Ask Mark". Thanks for what you've done to help people.
> My questions are about 5 years visa for parents. I am planning to apply a long term visa for my parents with 5 years validity (parents visa already in queue, they've been in Australia for several times, never overstay or being refused, my Dad is 61, my Mom is 58). Currently I am stuck at some points:
> 1. The form used 1418. Q1 in this form "when do you wish to visit Australia?", can I fill in for 5 years period?
> *** No. The visa is good for 5 years but there is a condition that allows a maximum stay of 12 months in any 18 month period, so you might want to select a 12 month period for the initial stay and list this.
> 
> 2. The documents I am preparing: form 1418, other docs required in Part M. Do I need to write a letter of invitation to visit?
> *** Yes, good idea.
> 
> 3. Health insurance: should my parents buy the insurance BEFORE applying for their visa or AFTER they've been approved? Which insurance company is the best choice?
> *** Before, and provide evidence of insurance with the application.
> 
> 4. Medical examination: will it be required after applying the visa and before it will be granted?
> *** Yes - best to await health insurance links to show up on the ImmiAccount for your application - says "Organise health examination"
> 
> 5. As far as I know, the parents also have to write a Statutory Declaration to ensure that they wont overstay for each time they visit? Is it right?
> *** DIBP can request this, however suggest they submit one anyway.
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Nguyen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prestyler -

Normally uploads of colour scans of originals are acceptable to DIBP, however once in a while with police certificates they either request the original be sent by post/courier or have a copy certified and scanned - I would check with the case officer as to exactly what format they want the documents in and provide that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



prestyler said:


> Dear Mark:
> 
> Good day..!
> 
> I filed my visa application and submitted my documents last month. a couple of days back, i received an email from gsm asking me 2 things.
> 
> 1. submit my english test result direct to DIAC.
> 2. Submit my police clearance certificates.
> 
> For No. 1, i followed the procedure and submitted the english test result.
> 
> For No. 2, however, i have confusion. When i uploaded my documents last month in the immi account. I uploaded my clean color scan of police clearance certificates, which were issued last month (as i read in many places that they need not to be attested). Now i am thinking of the best course of action, either i have the existing clearance certificates CERTIFIED and upload and sent to the GSM again, or apply for NEW certificates, or just respond to the GSM that i uploaded it into the immi account EARLIER already.
> 
> Please advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alvin_abi -

Thanks for the note. Normally high school graduation certificates are not requested by the states or DIBP unless there is some concern about document integrity. However bachelor degree documents will be required by DIBP if you are claiming points for that - generally they require certificate and transcript. If those documents are not able to be provided, you may want to consider getting replacements or switching places with your wife re: primary applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alvin_abi said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a small query but it would go a long way in helping me understand who should be the primary applicant on my migration application.
> 
> Both me and my wife has completed our skill assesment and we are wairing for the states to open nominations. Although I have 80 points and my wife has only 60 points, we are unsure of who should be the main applicant.
> 
> This is because I have misplaced my high school certificates which was provided to vetassess along with the graduation and post graduation certificate and transcripts. I still have all my graduation and masters degree certificates and transcripts. Do you think this should be sufficient for uploading onto immi account and for seeking state nomination ? If not ,then I would have to make my wife the main applicant despite of higher points.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eric -

You did exactly the right thing from what I can see! DIBP will generally send you an invoice for the functional english fee just prior to granting the visa - upon receipt of the fee, they will then shortly thereafter grant the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ericu said:


> Dear Sir Mark
> I have applied 887 visa.
> My CO allocated two weeks ago and asked My wife's IELTS( Functional English Evidence),so I talked to my wife and she don't want to sit in exam so we are going to pay second instalment Vac2.
> Two weeks ago I already sent E mail to CO like " I am willing to pay vac2 so can you let me know how can I pay this or can you send me invoice to pay second installment vsc2 please "
> 
> Mark Now what should be next procedure ?
> Did I do right thing ?
> 
> Your ASAP reply would be much appreciated sir
> Regards
> Eric


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vinni -

Thanks for the note. Usually a signed employment agreement that can be fully verified with the Australian employer is suitable to establish substantial employment ties to Australia to enable grant of a 1-year RRV visa which allows travel in/out of Australia for that year. Continued employment can be used for another 1-year RRV until you have enough time in Australia (24 months in 5 yrs prior to applying for RRV) to get a 5-year RRV.

However, you mentioned you were granted an RRV but never used it - this can sometimes cause issues if you made claims before, especially employment claims, and DIBP concludes your previous claims were bogus or nongenuine. You may want to explain to DIBP why you never used the previous RRV to help address any concerns they may have this time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vinni said:


> Dear Mark Sir,
> 
> Following is my current situation summarized: I obtained PR in Feb 2010 and it expired in Feb 2015 and lived and worked in Australia for about 18 month in the last 5 years. But had to depart from Australia due to compelling family reasons (death of family member).
> 
> Applied for a RRV (155 subclass) in Mar 2014 before leaving Australia, got a RRV for only year until Mar 2015 (remains unused and is expired again).
> 
> I understand I may not be eligible for a 5 year RRV, as I have only stayed for 18 months in Australia out of the 5 period AND remained outside the country for the last two years.
> 
> Now I really wish to return to Australia permanently and pursue a career opportunity on hand. However, after returning I would need to travel outside the country few times within the next a year. Therefore would I be eligible for 1 years RRV one year international travel facility ? Will I be eligible for 1 years RRV if I applied for the second time, need international travel facility.
> 
> Could anyone please suggest what are the processing times for RRV for a persons whose PR is expired more than an year ago and whose RRV has also expired around the same time ?
> 
> As a returning resident, is it sufficient to show employment as substantial ties to obtain an RRV ? OR do we also need to show other ties (such as purchase of property and relationship or having children in Australia). I am concerned, as I can provide employment ties with a job offer in hand and none of the other ties (personal, cultural etc).
> 
> Thank you for your time, I greatly appreciate your response! If my 5 year RRV can be obtained under my circumstances, I would be happy to get your consultation and assistance with the application processing by paying your consultation fee. Kindly advise ASAP.
> 
> Regards,
> Vinni


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nolimit5005 -

I'd immediately renew your skills assessment (or get a fresh one depending on your skills assessor's policies). If you are unable to get a new skills assessment by the time the old one expires, you may need to withdraw your EOI and put it in again once you have a new valid skills assessment, as if you received an invitation from DIBP during the period between the expiry of the old skills assessment and the grant of the new one, you would not be able to apply for that visa since you did not have a valid skills assessment on the date of invitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nolimit5005 said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> I have lodged the expression of interest today, but apparently the ceiling for my occupation,263111, has been reached. I have no idea what to do now. I've applied for 189 visa, and I am at 60 points.
> 
> Also, my ACS letter will expire next month, should I renew my skills assessment or what?
> If yes, should I cancel my current EOI application and wait for the new assessment and then lodge a new EOI with the new assessment?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Coconut1 -

Thanks for the note. Not enough info to answer your question I'm afraid. There are certain circumstances where a sponsor will have to wait 5 years between sponsorships, however as an applicant, being a previous applicant for a spouse visa generally does not prevent you from being an applicant under a different sponsor. However, I would take a very close look at the application and make sure your relationship evidence is very strong, and make sure you show that the old relationship ended and that the new relationship is genuine and ongoing.

Also I am assuming you have departed Australia since the previous spouse visa was granted - if you have not, this would be a problem - suggest you get professional assistance if this is the case to help you work through the requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Coconut1 said:


> Hello Mark, im wondering if its possible to apply for defacto or spouse visa for 2nd time. Someone sponsored me two year ago ,got my visa granted. But our relationship failed and had to cancell my spouse visa.
> Thank you for your kind reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamielannister -

Thanks for the note. Make sure the question on the application says "NEAR family member" as that is a different definition than "family members". If not, I'd consider including the sister. However there may be other factors at work here that I don't know about so I can't give you specific advice without knowing much more about your case and circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamielannister said:


> Hi Mark
> Hope you are doing well.
> I was filling out the application for 801 which had a section asking for family members residing in Australia. I looked up what it means by immediate family members on DIAC's website which states your spouse, children, step children, parents if you are under 18. I have a sister living here who is not part of my application and my partner's family.
> Do I have to leave it blank as according to definition of DIAC I am not under 18 and it doesn't mention sister as immediate family and I or my partner dont have any child.
> Your help will be appreciated as always.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mdsharif -

That's quite a long time - unfortunately DIBP has no time limits on itself so it can take as long as it wants to decide a visa. My guess is that there might be a backlog of character checking for your country, or perhaps DIBP is overwhelmed with applications, or perhaps they have met their quota for this financial year for that visa and are delaying grants until after 1 July 2016 - no good way to tell, but best to be patient.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mdsharif said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a new member in this Forum. I applied 489 SS(NSW) visa In 11th July 2015. Additional Documents submitted 28th September 2015 (medical and form 80) for me and my wife. After additional documents submission the immiaccount status shows ASSESSMENT IN PROGRESS. i send DIBP a email at the end of December regarding Status, but no reply. In January 2nd week i Call DIBP and got response (routine processing), then April last week i again send a email and got answer in 13th May (Application is under routine processing and no further documents is required at this stage, If documents required they will inform via email). Now almost 11 months and still now no Job verification as i Know. Can you please tell me whats going on my application? How much more time they will take to make a decision? As in the Website it is written 3 months to make a decision. Any idea ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Najam276 -

Maybe, depending on the tasks and duties of the job. EA will be the best source to check this with - likely they will need to analyse the job experience tasks/responsibilities and issue an opinion - suggest you have the optional employment assessment service from EA and have them issue an opinion on the relevance of the job to your occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Najam276 said:


> Hello Mark, I have a query regarding the work experience. Appreciate if you could clarify that.
> 
> I have a total of 2 years of experience as Graduate Trainee Engineer 'Mechanical' in one of the Upstream Oil and Gas industry. This trainee period is a paid job with an engagement of more than 20 hrs/week. However the experience letter that I will get will be stating my position as a 'Trainee Engineer' with the jobs roles I have worked in.
> 
> Will DIBP and Engineers Australia will consider this experience as a full time job role or not.?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mack and Char -

Thanks for the note and kind words. You can provide evidence that it is impossible for you to get the police cert from that state and ask if they will issue an waiver (they have her sign a statutory declaration that she has no record in that state, etc). I would do this ASAP and ask them to please extend the 28 day deadline as necessary until they can provide an answer to the waiver request. However bottom line is that if they do not provide the waiver, the visa can be refused if you do not provide all requested police certificates - so judgment of the case officer here in granting the waiver will be very important.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MackandChar said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I'll try to make this as brief as possible.
> 
> I'm an Australian citizen sponsoring my partner Brazilian/ Italian on a defacto partner visa subclass 820. She is currently on Bridging Visa A as we submitted the application in May 2015.
> 
> As part of the Character check section of the application we submitted police checks for every country she had lived in for more than 12 months with relevant translation documents (UK, Australia and Brazil were the countries).
> 
> Last week we got an email from immigration saying we need to provide a police check from each state she has lived in for more than 12 months in Brazil. We currently have 1 from her home state RGDS but we need to get one from State of Sao Paulo as well.
> 
> Because it is not her home state she cannot get the doc online. She needs to go in person with her real ID or send a authorised person with her real ID to collect for her.
> 
> Trouble is we don't know anyone reliable enough to pick it up and flying over there and getting the document within the next 28 days is not an option. Is there anyway around this.
> 
> It's not like we haven't submitted any other evidence for this category. It's now going to be the fourth document which confirms she's has no criminal charges anywhere she's been.
> 
> My question is this; Can we submit the above story as evidence as to why we couldn't put forward the required police check?
> 
> And
> 
> Assuming the rest of the application is sound, will this alone be enough for the application to not be accepted?
> 
> Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thank you so much for your help. You're an absolute legend mate
> 
> Mack and Char


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Serina -

Thanks for the note. Yes, it's possible to use self-employment work for skilled work experience for a skilled visa, however generally the documentation requirements for these circumstances are greater. For work you're claiming for points, you should first check with your skills assessor (ACS perhaps, depending on your occupation) and see what their policies are for what docs are needed for self-employment work they will assess. For DIBP for the visa application, assuming you are successful at getting the work approved as skilled by your skills assessor, you'll need to provide reference documents from your customers and evidence of payment generally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Serina said:


> Hi! Mark,
> I'm new to the group and happy to see registered consultants like you on this forum. I'm an IT consultant and have 10 years full time experience. Since the last 4 years I'm working as a freelance consultant. I'm interested in applying for Australia PR. I would like to know:
> 1. Is freelance experience acceptable as per the procedure and policies?
> 2. What supporting documents do I need for my freelancing experience.
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mandy3293 -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the refusal. A 10-year overstay will be a challenge to get through Schedule 3 on - the genuine relationship part is generally not as difficult but all depends on the evidence.

The answer to your question will depend on what relationship evidence you have available to demonstrate the genuineness of the relationship, plus the reasons why the applicant couldn't regularise his immigration status for 10 years. If you've got good evidence of both, then may be worth an AAT tribunal (although the lawyer fees you've been quoted are pretty high! Typical fees for this tend to be substantially lower than that, unless you're using one of the top 5 or 6 lawyers in Australia).

Often applicants will go overseas to lodge another partner visa offshore, however in your case if they have refused based on genuine relationship (which is unusual for Schedule 3 refusals - I see S3 refusals documents every week from new clients who come to me for AAT appeals for their refusals) there may be some point to appealing to the AAT to try and overcome the genuine relationship problem - if you lodge another partner visa offshore you'll avoid the Schedule 3 issues since there are no Schedule 3 requirements for offshore applications, however if DIBP has already branded your relationship as nongenuine, that can make a future application offshore for the same partner relationship difficult.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mandy3293 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My partner has just been refused a partner visa after overstaying his visa by 10 years. The refusal wasnt based solely on schedule 3 criteria but that the department doesnt believe we are in a genuine relationship. Some of the things in the decision letter are slanderous. We have been quoted $1670 for the AAT plus $9k in lawyers fees to process this. Or we leave the country on July 6th after bother being here 10 years plus.
> Do you think we should appeal the decision?
> Thanks
> Amanda


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lobster -

Please email me directly at the email in my signature - if you need help urgently, best to book a consultation - see website below in my signature - available dates/times are all listed there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lobster said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Im trying to get your advise here but no response yet. My travel dates is getting closer and I would like to be advised first before I leave the country. Im waiting on a decision 820/801 and just got a BVB for 30 days. Im concerning leave Australia and Immigration cancel my visa. Is this legal? please reply to my email that I sent so we can discuss my case and I will need your services perhaps? thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nelda -

Thanks for the note. Your case would be a Schedule 3 refusal from what you've said. The hearing will be with an AAT Tribunal Member who will make a fresh decision based on the specifics of your case, taking into account any evidence provided with the original application plus additional evidence and arguments you wish to provide.

Always better to do AAT hearings in person so the Member can meet you and see you and your sponsor as human beings.

Re: making a case for Schedule 3, financial issues are generally not considered - the threshold for "compelling reasons" can be difficult to meet - you need to think of dire, urgent, critical issues as to why you cannot go offshore to make a partner visa. I do these hearings very regularly and can tell you that the results can vary substantially depending on the evidence presented, the particular AAT member you get, and the quality of the oral evidence you give at the hearing.

Normally detailed written submissions are sent to the AAT prior to the hearing so arguments and evidence in those submissions can be considered by the Tribunal. Then at the hearing they ask you questions about your arguments and evidence, and try to determine if they believe that the reasons you provide are "compelling" - a term for which there is no legal definition.

Hope this helps - please advise if I can assist further.

Best,

Mark Northam



Nelda said:


> Hi Mark and anyone that can answer me!
> My partner visa (801/820) was refused in February, because I wasn't in a substantial visa when I lodged my application.We appealed in March.
> Today I received an email, inviting us for an interview/hearing, because my reasons weren't enough to make a decision (???)
> I told them many times that we're in financial hardship, we're married, we've been together since 2013. But looks like it's not enough reason to stay together
> Can anyone tell me what to expect from this hearing? Is it a god or a bad thing that they invited us? Is it better if we go to Sydney and do it in person with that minister? (that's one of the options, since we're from Cairns so it'll be a video conversation)
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Margot -

I would suggest getting professional help with this ASAP, as the penalties if they refuse the partner visa based on PIC 4020 are substantial - either a 3-year or 10-year ban from Australia depending on the particular part of PIC 4020 they use. You (or your representative) need to do everything humanly possible to provide evidence that the second document is not bogus, or consider withdrawing the application depending on the circumstances.

Please advise if I can assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam



margot said:


> My husband and I are in the process of applying for a partner visa. He has a non-migrating son from a previous relationship. We had to apply for a birth certificate to upload with the application as my husband doesn't have the original. Shortly after we uploaded it, we noticed they had made an error on the birth certificate. We notified the DIBP and applied for another birth certificate with the correct information. Immigration then checked both certificates with the births and deaths registrar and have commented that the 2nd certificate was untraceable and is said to be bogus. We applied for it the correct way through the births and deaths registrar and none of the information had been falsified. We can appeal within 28 days but I don't even know what to say, we have no idea why the document is said to be untraceable.*Is there anything we can do to appeal?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Valli -

Thanks for the note. Your points numbers are confusing, as there are no points for IELTS 6.0 or better on all 4 bands (only for 7+ or 8+ on all four bands). If he does not have at least IELTS 6+ on each band as of the date of invitation, the visa application cannot be made - 100% refusal and no refund. Only way to qualify for an invitation is to put phony IELTS numbers in, which has a bad idea for lots of reasons. DIBP application fee must be paid at time of lodgment of the visa application, however IELTS scores, age, and other points-affected items are locked in as of the time the invitation from DIBP Is issued so after that too late to change the IELTS scores.

Maybe check out PTE test which is online, much faster results, some say is easier than IELTS.

Would suggest you review points test scores or check in with a migration agent to do the assessment - for instance, age 25-32 provides 30 points, not 5, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Valli said:


> Hello, Mark!
> My husband would like to apply for 189 visa. To have enough score, he needs to prove his profession (10 points - done!), pass IELTS for min 6.0 for each module (5 points) and be younger than 33 (5 points).
> The situation is that his best results for IELTS currently is L - 5.5, R - 8.5, W - 6.5, S - 6.0 and there is no possibility to try again before he turns 33 years old (end of June). So, even he gets better English test results later, he will not have 5 points for his age.
> So, we think what we can do:
> 1) when exactly do we have to pay the fee? We heard that sometimes people receive positive decision (invitation) even if the IELTS score is not 6.0 min for each module. We would like to try to submit EOI with our result hoping for the invitation before my husband turns 33 but only if we do not have to pay the whole amount for it (otherwise we risk to loose a lot of money)
> 2) What if we submit the EOI, then try to pass IELTS again in parallel, hoping to get the higher score. Is it possible?
> What would you recommend for us to do before we run the age of 33?
> Thanks a lot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wafflel -

Yup - that's a unique form they have produced. There is no specific category, but you might consider "Marriage or de facto relationship, evidence of" or something like that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wafflel said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> The Berlin Embassy lists this form as a requirement for PMV
> 
> http://germany.embassy.gov.au/files/beln/Partner Migration - Relationship Details.pdf
> 
> What category should we upload it under?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarahrw -

Thanks for the note. I'd suggest you invite him via letter and the mother also provide a letter welcoming him and specifying the support she will provide and providing evidence of her ability to provide support. An itinerary (schedule) of activities for the visit is also helpful in these types of cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sarahrw said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can I just say how comforting it was to see that there was an expert willing to fill in so many of the blanks for us!!
> 
> My partner and I live in Mexico and are applying for a Visitor Visa subclass 600 so he can accompany me when I go home to visit for Christmas for two months.
> We will be staying with my mother and she has written a letter stating she will cover our accommodation and lodging, providing a copy of the title to her home.
> 
> My question is should I be writing the letter of invitation for him to accompany me and my mother's letter would be a letter of support? Or should she technically invite him because she is currently in Australia? And I could write a letter of support stating I can financially support him for expenses additional to accommodation?
> 
> We will both be returning to Mexico after the two month period.
> 
> Much appreciated!!!
> Sarah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gaucho -

Sounds like you're just about there! Please see responses below to your questions at ***:

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gaucho said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> You've been an amazing so far. We're almost at the finish line now (or the start line of the waiting!) but just have a few more questions.
> 
> (offshore online partner visa application)
> 
> My wife (the applicant) and I have submitted out applications (47 and 40sp) online and are now adding the documents. I notice on each of our "applications" there are recommended documents and a maximum of 60 docs that can be added. My wife has added many of the important documents as part of her attachments so far and is running out of room in her 60.
> 
> I have a few questions
> 
> 1) is it 60 attachments each?
> *** Yes, so 120 for applicant + sponsor together.
> 
> 2) Am I (the sponsor) required to add the same important documents that my wife has (marriage cert, evidence of joint lives, messaging conversation etc) or can I use that space to add ADDITIONAL attachments such as additional photos or more conversations (obviously along with my ID documents
> *** ID documents (passport, birth cert, etc) should be uploaded on that person's area. Relationship evidence can be on either applicant or sponsor's upload area.
> 
> 3) As part of my sponsor form I confirm some details about my wife (her name change etc). Evidence of name change is listed as one of the recommended attachments, even though she has already provided this in her attachments, should I also add it?
> *** No need if you have already uploaded it on your wife's area.
> 
> 4) In my wife's eagerness to add her documents, she didn't add the translations of her Brazilian National ID or her police checks and now she's reached he max of 60. I've added them to my list of attachments, but will that be ok?
> *** Should be fine, just mark them carefully to indicate what they are.
> 
> 5) In my list of "recommended documents is the "40sp" form. Is that not the same as I filled out online? Do I also need to print off the form, fill it in and then scan and upload?
> *** Nope, online form "Sponsor a partner ..." is fine, no need for PDF 40SP form for online applications.
> 
> Additionally, I was not asked during my sponsor application to provide information about countries I have lived in (which appears on the paper forms). I have obtained police checks from the countries I have lived in for the past 10 years.
> 6) Do I attach these now or will that be requested at another time?
> 7) If so, when? I would have thought it was part of the application.
> *** Normally sponsor not asked about this unless certain circumstances apply including if there is a child on the application. DIBP might ask for Form 80 for the sponsor in this case, which would include address history, etc. Normally OK to wait to see if DIBP requests this.
> 
> Thanks a lot!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chrissy909 -

Thanks for the note. As you were sponsored on a sc189 visa and not a partner visa, the 5 year waiting period for you to sponsor someone else after being sponsored yourself would not apply. Just make sure you put together ample relationship evidence for your new relationship, and as an Australian PR you need to be usually resident in Australia to sponsor someone for a partner visa (OK to make trips, vacations, etc outside Australia, but at the time you want to sponsor someone for a partner visa you'd need to show that you were usually resident in Australia unless you become a citizen).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chrissy909 said:


> Hi, I am currently on a 189 PR. I was the secondary applicant with my ex defacto partner who was the main applicant. She put me as an additional applicant in her 189 visa and we got it granted back in 2015.
> 
> However, we have been separated now since 6 months.[ We had a long 4 year relationship ]
> 
> We live in separate cities as I don't want her memories to disturb me. I am wondering if I get married to someone from my country (India) can I sponsor her ? Me being as a secondary holder of a 189 visa am I allowed to sponsor some one ?
> 
> I am very lonely now and will be doing the traditional arrange marriage as they do in India.
> 
> I am not ready to take citizenship yet , I know things might get less complicated if I opt for citizenship.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Showib49 -

Thanks for the note. Yes, I'd see if you can get the case officer to back down on the 1229 request, however the problem is that DIBP will always opt for a 1229 form if they have the slightest issue - for instance, a court order from a previous date could have been replaced by a more recent court order that you don't show DIBP, etc. You might also try getting something from the court to show that the CURRENT orders in place reflect no control or custody for the ex-partner, etc to see if that makes a difference.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



showib49 said:


> Hi Mark
> I need your assistance in following issue.
> My wife applied for 309/100 with my step daughter. My wife provided court orders where its clearly written that my step daughter can move with my wife to Australia. These are the consent from her x husband. Later on CO required form 1229. Its really hard to get signed from x husband as legally we can't talk directly. Only court can talk and its really hard again. Should i mention CO that we already have provided consent from x husband and that is leagal court document.
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mustafasabir -

Thanks for the note. Points for age and other points categories are locked in as of the date of invitation from DIBP. If an age change (ie, birthday) changes his points prior to DIBP issuing an invitation, his points score will automatically be changed in the EOI, which may mean that his points falls below 60, etc depending on the circumstances. Once an invitation from DIBP is issued, doesn't matter if his age changes after the date of invitation, as the previous age at date of invitation is locked in for purposes of assessing the visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mustafasabir said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My friend has filed an EOI under the category of Business Analyst. His total points are 55+5 (state sponsorship).
> 
> It is quite possible that by the time he would recieve an invitation, his age would cross 40.
> 
> My question is, are the points finalized at the time of submitting an EOI or at the time of filing an application? Will he be still eligible to apply as he has filed an EOI before 40 years?
> 
> Plz suggest.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozengineer -

Thanks for the note. The circumstances you mentioned can make things tough - suggest you google "genuine temporary entrant" and see the factors which can be considered when deciding whether a person is a genuine visitor or not - fine for you to offer to pay for everything if you want, however if DIBP sees her times to you as stronger to her ties to her home country and those who live there, it can work against you. Key in these cases usually is to show as much incentive as possible for the applicant to return to their home country at the conclusion of the visit and that whatever they are doing in Australia falls within the expectations of what a genuine tourist/visitor would do.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozengineer said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I need your assistance with getting a tourist visa for my girlfriend, who comes from a country under rather strict scrutiny.
> 
> I am from Europe, but now hold a 190 grant. She is from Vietnam. We are both currently students in China. In 6 months, I intend to go to Australia for a one week trip to activate my 190 visa. In this proccess, I'd like her to accompany me.
> 
> The trouble is that getting a tourist visa can be quite a difficult thing for Vietnamese citizens, for you need to prove that you posess sufficient funds and have a steady income. However, as mentioned, my girlfriend is just a scholarship student. So, I was wondering, do you have any knowledge concerning tourist visa (subclass 600) application in such case? Does it make difference whether to apply in China or Vietnam? Also, can I somehow make her application stronger with a support letter, by being an accompanying future-PR (just need activisation) and having some personal savings of my own?
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Breminchi -

Thanks for the note. Probably not a big deal, however you need to make sure she declares this on the application form(s) re: overstaying a visa, and provide an explanation for what happened - if there is insufficient room on the form to explain, you can point to an additional document you upload to provide complete details on the overstay. Normally this is not an issue with partner visas unless there is evidence that the overstay was not declared properly on the partner visa application or some other visa application when asked.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Breminchi said:


> Hi Mark,
> Been reading over the thread and really appreciate all the info that you have already shared!
> My question is, my wife ( girlfriend at the time) overstayed her student in visa in Australia due to her agent not properly communicating or lodging her extension Ect... Way back in 2008. It was a big shock to have immigration come to us and give her 1 week to pack and leave!
> She wasn't allowed to enter the country for 3 years after that, but since then we have returned for our wedding and some holidaying with her family.
> Will this effect our application for the 820 visa? Is there some extra steps that need to be taken because of this?
> Any info would be greatly appreciated.
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## ozengineer

Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot for answering my enquiry concerning my Vietnamese girlfriends tourist visa application. If you don't mind, I have a very brief additional question.

It is obvious that letter of invitation or support has only weight if it comes from an Australian citizen or PR. I have a grant for visa subclass 190, however, I have yet to travel to Australia to activate it. So, I am wondering what would be my exact status at this point and would my letter be considered? Will one become a PR at the moment of grant, or once this person lands at the airport and hands over his passport for activation?

Thanks!

Kind regards,

Ozengineer.


----------



## Mikka

Hi Mark,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to so many of our queries.

I had a couple of questions I was hoping would be relatively simple enough for you to answer. I was intending to apply for a prospective partner visa for my partner (a Japanese national) and my questions were the following:

According to the government site, she would only be provided a bridging visa that allows her to work here only if she can "demonstrate a compelling need to work, either because of financial hardship, or from sponsorship..". My question is if, having no savings in her bank account (or mine) would be considered a 'compelling enough' reason to grant her the appropriate bridging visa?

Secondly (if you have time to answer), if we have been living apart for 6 months (although we have been in constant contact), would this jeopardize the de facto status of our relationship? 

Really thankful for any kind of response!


----------



## tsteinhorst

*Question about form 47sp for DEFACTO partnership visa*

Hi Mr. Northam

Have seen your name multiple times in this forum regarding many thanks for the information you have provided. What I am posting below is copied from an original post I made in the forum, but I figured if I posted directly to you I may get high quality information.

Please and thanks for your help!

Taylor

******~~~~To anyone who may have advice,

I am completing the initial form 47sp required to apply for de facto partnership visa, but am a little confused on how much detail we need to include in the "relationship details" section on page 17 of online application.

I know later on we will submit the actual evidence to support our statements, but just wondering if anyone has some advice for completing these areas describing our financial aspects, nature of household, social aspects etc.

For example, do I physically list every detail of how we split household chores etc.? Do i explain the fact that we've contacted our utility companies asking for both our names to be put on the bills for more hard evidence but these companies only allow one name for the bill to be addressed? Or the fact that most social invitations these days are made on Facebook so we don't have many physical envelopes with both of our names?

I'm not sure if I am over thinking this area of the application, but I just want to do this correctly since we can't afford an agent to help us. We ARE a legitimate de facto relationship for over a year, but we live with under modest incomes and don't have an excess of joint liabilities to provide evidence for.

Anyone else in a similar situation and can provide some advice

Thank you~~~~~~~*********


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozengineer -

Generally speaking, a person is a PR of Australia upon grant of a PR visa. The must-enter-by date is a date after which the visa is subject to cancellation if the holder does not enter Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozengineer said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot for answering my enquiry concerning my Vietnamese girlfriends tourist visa application. If you don't mind, I have a very brief additional question.
> 
> It is obvious that letter of invitation or support has only weight if it comes from an Australian citizen or PR. I have a grant for visa subclass 190, however, I have yet to travel to Australia to activate it. So, I am wondering what would be my exact status at this point and would my letter be considered? Will one become a PR at the moment of grant, or once this person lands at the airport and hands over his passport for activation?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Ozengineer.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mikka -

Thanks for the note. I think you might be talking about an onshore partner visa (which is available to de facto partners) vs a prospective marriage visa - I'll assume you're looking at an onshore partner visa.

If the applicant is onshore and lodges an onshore partner visa while holding another non-bridging visa (such as a visitor visa, etc), they are granted a Bridging Visa A which activates upon expiry of their current (visitor, etc) visa or stay period, and provides for full work rights. So in that scenario, no need to worry about having to show financial hardship to get work rights.

Re: been apart for 6 months, this could be an issue with a de facto relationship if the 6 months were during the 12 months prior to lodging the partner visa application - you would need to evidence that the relationship was ongoing as a de facto relationship during the entire 12 months unless you were able to register your de facto relationship in an Australia state which avoids the 12 month requirement, however even if you registered the relationship, would still be important to provide ample evidence that the relationship is genuine.

Happy to discuss in more detail at a consultation where we would have time to get into the specifics of your case - see website below in my signature for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mikka said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to reply to so many of our queries.
> 
> I had a couple of questions I was hoping would be relatively simple enough for you to answer. I was intending to apply for a prospective partner visa for my partner (a Japanese national) and my questions were the following:
> 
> According to the government site, she would only be provided a bridging visa that allows her to work here only if she can "demonstrate a compelling need to work, either because of financial hardship, or from sponsorship..". My question is if, having no savings in her bank account (or mine) would be considered a 'compelling enough' reason to grant her the appropriate bridging visa?
> 
> Secondly (if you have time to answer), if we have been living apart for 6 months (although we have been in constant contact), would this jeopardize the de facto status of our relationship?
> 
> Really thankful for any kind of response!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Taylor -

Thanks for the note. My thoughts: DIBP can sometimes take a "guilty until proven innocent" attitude towards de facto relationships, so no reason not to include all details and relevant evidence. On the visa application form online (which is very similar to form 47sp), I'd include whatever details you can, or you can put in the 5 text boxes about financial, social, etc "Please see attached relationship statements of applicant and sponsor for full details." and go into the various details of the different relationship evidence types in your written statements. They won't be as interested in reasons you don't have evidence (ie, lack of envelopes, issues with putting 2 names on utility bills) but WILL be interested in whatever evidence you have that shows you are sharing your lives in the various areas (financial, social, commitment, household) - I'd focus on that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tsteinhorst said:


> Hi Mr. Northam
> 
> Have seen your name multiple times in this forum regarding many thanks for the information you have provided. What I am posting below is copied from an original post I made in the forum, but I figured if I posted directly to you I may get high quality information.
> 
> Please and thanks for your help!
> 
> Taylor
> 
> ******~~~~To anyone who may have advice,
> 
> I am completing the initial form 47sp required to apply for de facto partnership visa, but am a little confused on how much detail we need to include in the "relationship details" section on page 17 of online application.
> 
> I know later on we will submit the actual evidence to support our statements, but just wondering if anyone has some advice for completing these areas describing our financial aspects, nature of household, social aspects etc.
> 
> For example, do I physically list every detail of how we split household chores etc.? Do i explain the fact that we've contacted our utility companies asking for both our names to be put on the bills for more hard evidence but these companies only allow one name for the bill to be addressed? Or the fact that most social invitations these days are made on Facebook so we don't have many physical envelopes with both of our names?
> 
> I'm not sure if I am over thinking this area of the application, but I just want to do this correctly since we can't afford an agent to help us. We ARE a legitimate de facto relationship for over a year, but we live with under modest incomes and don't have an excess of joint liabilities to provide evidence for.
> 
> Anyone else in a similar situation and can provide some advice
> 
> Thank you~~~~~~~*********


----------



## monpetiterouge

Hi Mark,

Think I've made a mistake with my 600 tourist stream visa. I had previously applied for a Work and Holiday 417 and was aware of from visa acceptance you have 12 months to enter the country and then from date of entry you have 12 months. Now I've applied for an offshore de facto visa and me and my partner want to return to Australia in January until that we receive a decision, now I've applied assuming that the rules with the tourist visa are the same as my previous. So I plan to depart in about 7 months and the London Office are quoting up to 2 months for processing, but I read that with tha particular visa you have three months to enter the country. So naturally I'm concerned. Could you confirm if this is true or not and advice on how to go further as I'm currently waiting for decision on the visa.

Thanks!


----------



## shahgagan85

*Subclass 457 Query*

Hi Mark,

This query may sound silly but I would like to have an answer to this please.

May I know how much time one has to travel to Australia or maximum time can one take to travel to Australia once 457 visa is approved?

I am asking this question as One cannot resign from his current organisation
before the visa grant. And post resignation, if an employee has to serve a notice period of 3 months, can he still make it to Australia after serving those 3 months?

I hope I phrased my question correctly.


----------



## andykyng

*Activating 189 for non primary applicant*

Hello mark! Thanks for your useful insights on this forum.
I would like to the the process of activation SI 189 for my family members that I listed as non primary applicants. I have received my visa award as the primary applicant.

In the process I submitted all the requirements listed for them and all the documents have been cleared on my immi account. I want to know how to initiate the process for paying and activating their visas.

Best reegards
Andy


----------



## LH82

*Partner Visa*

Hi Mark

I have a 189 visa and have not made the move from South Africa, but am planning to as soon as i can get my partner a visa. We have been together for 2 an half years and living together for almost two years.
Which partnership visa do i apply for, for him?

thank you

Loren


----------



## meecoh

Hi Mark! Thank you for being helpful, read your suggestions in this site. I hope you can give light in my situation.
I’m not sure if I was declared by my de facto partner in the initial student visa application. I was the one who signed it and we were busy that time so I didnt mind. Now, I learned that if I wasnt declared I will not be able to apply as a dependant for his visa. He's part of subclass 576. He also got an accommodation for two since he will be expecting me in a few months. I’m pretty sure I placed my name there, but then again, I have no way of checking it again since I did not make a duplicate. My worry is that my name wasnt in the visa grant. will a dependant’s name be included in the visa grant if they were declared but not included in the initial application? I mean, if they ticked ‘not included in this application’? perhaps thats my case? Thank you. Hope to hear from you.


----------



## oxford88

*12month definiftion*

Hi,

I'm currently here in a 417 visa, I met my partner whilst travelling and moved here on this visa to spend time and see if it's worth it. After 9 months we know we want to apply for a defacto visa.

What we can't understand is when I can submit. We got in to a relationship the week I got here, before we were just dating really. But this visa expires around the same time we would consider ourselves to be together for 12 months. Can I submit my visa application in advance of our 12 month date?

Thanks


----------



## STmateo

Good day Mr. Mark,

I've been reading and found lots of useful info in your posts. Thank you for providing the assistance and valuable advice.

I did some research about the visa 189 and found out what I should do in order to qualify.
Everything is quite well explained on government pages, as well as AMSA's web.

1. My question is about agents. How can I find out which agent is good or not? Any reference pages or something similar? 
There are all kinds of people, and it's hard to trust someone with important issue such as immigration.
I can do it on my own, but my job is intense and I don't want it to take my time and attention away from dealing with immigration procedure. I believe agent would be the best way to go.

2. My occupation on SOL list is "Ship's master" as well as "Ship's Officer" - How can I find agent who has the experience dealing with such cases as mine?
For example, I would ask my agent which occupation should I use to apply, Master or Officer, and agent experienced with such cases would know which of those would be better to go with.
Are there agents specialized in certain occupations? 

Thanks for your help,
Mateo


----------



## EVITA

Hello Mark,

I am new here and I need help ...

I am 27 years old Philippine nationality and currently working here in Middle East
I am planning to apply for a visa subclass 189 for the SOL code 351311 (CHEF).
I have more than 4 years work experience 
with Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management degree.
I will start all the process from nutshell and I need all the help I can get.


Please advise. Thank you in advance.


----------



## rmehra009

Hi Mark,
Great to see someone taking time out and replying to 1000's of queries with valuable info.Thank You.


I wish to apply for Australia immigration but my case seems to create a doubt.I hope a reply from you will clear that too.

I ,did Bachelor of Engineering in Instrumentation and control (2006-2010) and been working with Telecom Organization since last 6 years at different position and location.

Since my Engineering specialization is different from job profile ,Do I have a chance of passing the assessment or my file will be rejected ?


----------



## vinni

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vinni -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Usually a signed employment agreement that can be fully verified with the Australian employer is suitable to establish substantial employment ties to Australia to enable grant of a 1-year RRV visa which allows travel in/out of Australia for that year.
> 
> However, you mentioned you were granted an RRV but never used it - this can sometimes cause issues if you made claims before, especially employment claims, and DIBP concludes your previous claims were bogus or nongenuine. You may want to explain to DIBP why you never used the previous RRV to help address any concerns they may have this time.
> 
> Mark Northam


Should the employer be an "Australia employer", my employer is not based out of Australia and does not have an office, though the employer is well known authentic firm but a small one.

I resigned from my previous job while moving out of Australia and been mostly self employed during the gap. While applying for the first RRV, I have mentioned the reason as a family emergency and may require to be out of the country for 1 year. So does this count as "employment claims" while reapplying.

Now, I am not sure of showing employment ties aswell, as the employer is not willing to provide an offer letter without a valid PR or work permit in Australia. My PR / RRV has already expired last year. I dont have any other ties (personal, family, property etc) in Australia. What do I do ? Is there any other bridging visa I could apply ? How to prove to an employer that the PR is valid and can be re-instated, as it does not show up on VENO page online ? Please advice.


----------



## drkdd

hello senior members,
i need your guidance. my husband and i live in canada and my husband is a practising dentist in canada and a canadian citizen and i have my permanent residency of canada. we both are planning to settle in adelaide in next few years, so can you please advise me as to how should we proceed and what all forms are needed for us. also i checked the immigration list and dentist are on CSOL list. i am a dental specialist and my husband is a dentist. can someone please guide us as to what we should do. please do guide us.

thank you


----------



## uppuupendra

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi There,

One quick question regarding partner point. I am primary applicant and having positive ACS as software engineer (present in SOL & CSOL) and my wife occupation is ICT Account Manager (Only present in CSOL). Can I get 5 point for partner??

My migration agent is saying that I wouldn't get because software engineer is primary SOL occupation.

I am confused. Pls suggest.

Thanks


----------



## spaceship

Hi Mark, 

I am an Australian Permanent Resident (PR) and will be eligible to apply for citizenship in 2017. I have two children aged 4 and 2. They are both PR and I plan to include them in my citizenship application. 

My wife plan to return to her birth country by end 2016 and we would prefer if our two children travel with her. 

My question: Do my children need to be in Australia when I submit my citizenship application, attend the citizenship test, receive approval and/or attend the citizenship ceremony? 

I appreciate your time and would like to thank you in advance. 

Regards,


----------



## rubi

*489 pathway to 887*

Hi Mark,

My 489 visa was approved on April 2016 from orana NSW and I got release letter to live in QLD regional area. I have been living in QLD regional area since 2012. Therefore, its been 4 year living in regional area and working full time for 2 years after completing my study. My queries are.

1. Since I been living and working 4 years in regional area, when can I apply 887 visa?

2. I am graduate accountant but I am working as Nursing assistant because I am unable to find job in my filed. will I still be eligible to apply 887?

cheers.


----------



## James Barrenger

Hi Mark,

Thanks for all the useful information you have provided.

My partner is applying for the partnership visa later this year when her studies are finished. Our issue is that her student visa doesn't expire until October 2017, a year after she finishes her degree (she received credits for previous studies after the visa had been approved).

Our understanding is that immigration may cancel the student visa when they see she is no longer studying, which would throw her onto a BVE.

We have 2 questions:

Will she be able to work full time before the student visa expires (october 2017) if granted a bridging visa or do the conditions of 20 hours a week still apply (assuming the student visa does not get cancelled)?
Is it possible for us to get the end date of the student visa changed before applying for the partnership visa?

Thanks in advance for your help.
James


----------



## Mikka

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my query, extremely helpful.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mikka -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I think you might be talking about an onshore partner visa (which is available to de facto partners) vs a prospective marriage visa - I'll assume you're looking at an onshore partner visa.
> 
> If the applicant is onshore and lodges an onshore partner visa while holding another non-bridging visa (such as a visitor visa, etc), they are granted a Bridging Visa A which activates upon expiry of their current (visitor, etc) visa or stay period, and provides for full work rights. So in that scenario, no need to worry about having to show financial hardship to get work rights.
> 
> Re: been apart for 6 months, this could be an issue with a de facto relationship if the 6 months were during the 12 months prior to lodging the partner visa application - you would need to evidence that the relationship was ongoing as a de facto relationship during the entire 12 months unless you were able to register your de facto relationship in an Australia state which avoids the 12 month requirement, however even if you registered the relationship, would still be important to provide ample evidence that the relationship is genuine.
> 
> Happy to discuss in more detail at a consultation where we would have time to get into the specifics of your case - see website below in my signature for more details.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## dkumar

Hi Mark, 
I checked numerous posts but could not find similar scenario, so posting my query here. Would really appreciate if you could help... 

I worked in company S2 Infotech ltd. in India 8 years back. I only have a reference letter with name, designation, dates etc. without duties/responsibilities. HR will not provide me reference letter in ACS format and I do not have any contact with my Manager so I am left with only option to get the reference letter from my colleague who has joined company TCS Ltd. and he is in United States right now.

If my colleague provide the work reference on TCS letterhead in ACS format, Would the be accepted ?

If the above doesn't work, can I print the reference letter on 100Rs stamp paper and get it notarised in India, while he being in US ? is it legally accepted ? 

If none of the above cannot work, what is the other way to get it done ?

Your any suggestion would be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
DKumar


----------



## ecurb21

*Renewing J.P'd Documents*

Hi Mark,

Thanks for getting back to me on that last question it really helped.

A new question is regarding getting documents re-certified. Due to a host of scenarios we have once more postponed our application but are about to apply 'FOR REAL' this time.

However the documents (888 forms) that all our lovely friends and family filled out and got certified by a J.P. (Already for the second time) back in SEP-OCT 2015 are now nearing their 12 month expiry date?

Does that mean we have to ask everyone to redo it all AGAIN? Or can a J.P. simply 'refresh' the document by signing it again with a current date?
Given that the J.P. in question knows the people that have filled out our forms. (a psychologist who lives near by and knows the family & friends who have filled out the 888 forms)

That is assuming the 888 certified forms are invalid once the case officer gets to our file say in 12 months time from now? Or if they were current on the date of application does that negate the fact they may have expired by the time our application gets looked at?

Ok thanks again for your tireless work it's a huge help to us! Legend!

Cheers,

Ecurb21



MarkNortham said:


> Hi eCurb21 -
> 
> I'm back on the forum, my apologies to all for the delay - sometimes my work gets to the point that I'm unable to spend time on the forum, but now catching up.
> 
> Re: your question, any factor that could indicate a stronger (or weaker) tie to your home country of citizenship could be factored into the genuine visitor policy criteria for an Australian visitor visa, and normally the question is asked about where you are now (what country) and what your immigration status is in that country (ie, citizen, perm resident, temp resident, etc), so the answer is Yes, however your status in your country would only be one of many factors DIBP would consider in their overall assessment of whether you had sufficient ties to your home country that would compel you to return there after your time in Australia was done and that you would not represent an overstay risk re: Australia.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Ejona

This forum is so helpful. I wish I had found it before.


----------



## hazelng

Hi Mark, 

I am going to apply for PR under 189 visa. I was wondering if internship counts as working experience to get 5 points for PR? Whether it needs to be internship with payment or not? 
Please if anybody knows the answer for this, let me know. Much appreciated. 

THanks.
Hazel


----------



## slimguy_234

Hello Mark,

many thanks for your help, you do have an amazing personality.

kindly advice, its been 50 days since i supplied my new passport bio page as (DIBP insisted that i supplied another) no communication whatsoever from them. i see on some other forums that people who applied for the same visa category (VISA 189) as late as may have been issued their grants. what do you advice that i should do please? its getting really frustrating.

Slimguy.


----------



## veraa

*Pr Eligibility with IELTS 6.5*

Hello Mark,

Please provide your valuable suggestion for my scenario for eligibility. I have 7.5 years in IT(Software Engineering) and spouse has 4.5 years exp in IT(Software Engineering), both are under 32 years with post graduation( Masters in Science).

We would like to apply for AUS PR, but got band of 6.5 in IELTS. Can we apply for PR without giving retest ? please provide your valuable suggestion .

Thanks in advance.
veraa


----------



## FahadKhan

Hi Mark,

You are doing a great Job here. Well i just wanted to know that my Ielts Score is L:8, R6.5, W:7.5, S:7 and the validity is only till August 2016, should i retake the ielts test or what if i apply before the validity expires? please advise...


----------



## Star Gaizer

HI Mark, 

My case officer requested a medical for my partner after 14months of waiting. Does it mean that it is more or less approve?


----------



## himpar1

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for your kind reply.

Best, 
Himpar



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Himpar1 -
> 
> Yes, or a minimum score (equivalent to IELTS 6's on all 4 bands) on an alternate test accepted by DIBP. I suppose you could put in placekeepers in the required fields for this on the EOI, but the problem is once the invitation is issued to apply, the EOI is locked - if you do not have a valid test result prior to getting the invitation, no way to fix that.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## himpar1

Hi Mark, 

While submitting EOI, can we check mark on both subclasses 190 and 489 for intended visa types to improve the likelihood for ITA for 190 or if not 190 then for sub class 489?

Thank you in advance!

Best, 

Himpar


----------



## sangeet4u

Hi Mark,

I have been a silent reader of this forum and see a lot of useful information regarding anything and everything related to visas and queries.

I have found myself in a tricky situation and wanted to get some inputs on it. I applied for 189 Visa in March end and was provided with roles and responsibilities by a senior on the letter head. However, now my referee has informed me that he might not have been the authorized person to give the letter and will not testify in case any kind of verification happens by DIBP or HR. I am in a fix now as to what needs to be done. Should i get a statutory declaration from another senior and inform DIBP myself or should i wait for them to come to me. I am really confused as to what should be my course of action. I would appreciate if you could throw some light on this.

Apart from this letter i have provided Salary Slips, Tax Documents, Bank Statement, Form 16 as well.

Thanks.


----------



## soylatte

Hi Mark, 

Hope all is well! Firstly, just wanted to thank you for taking the time to assist all of us. I was referred to this page by a fellow American expat who has used this site to navigate her visa situation before she married her partner. 

I'm an American expat currently on a working-holiday visa with a full-time job in a financial services firm. There is a possibility they would be able to sponsor me but I wanted to explore the options if that was not the case. 

Ideally, if I wanted to continue working for this firm, is there anyway I can cancel the working holiday visa, apply for a partner visa (activating a bridge visa), and continue working for them? My six months with them would be late November. 

Please note that we have been together for 1+ year, have a joint bank account, live together in Australia and can track our records of travel while we were doing long distance.

Thanks again! Cheers


----------



## mawin

*Appreciate your help!*

Hi Mark, Hope you're okay. I am new here and I would appreciate if you could answer my question below or give me some links with topics similar to my case.

My girlfriend went to Sydney last April 2016 with a permanent resident visa. I, on n the other hand, lodged my tourist visa application. Hoping for the immigration to grant my request soon, we are thinking if we could marry in civil once I get there so we could process my fiance/spouse visa right after. Given it is possible to get married, I am still planning to go back to my home country up until my fiance/spouse visa is granted, and then we'll settle in Sydney for good. I wonder if it is possible to wed and if we are not violating any laws given our intentions and visas on hand?

Thank you very much in advance!


----------



## mdsharif

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mdsharif -
> 
> That's quite a long time - unfortunately DIBP has no time limits on itself so it can take as long as it wants to decide a visa. My guess is that there might be a backlog of character checking for your country, or perhaps DIBP is overwhelmed with applications, or perhaps they have met their quota for this financial year for that visa and are delaying grants until after 1 July 2016 - no good way to tell, but best to be patient.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


 Thank you very much Mark. At 19th June Australian embassy Dubai call my current office (From December 2011 to date), first my Draughtsman receive the landline phone. the lady asking for the HR. As the HR not present then i discussed with her. She asked about my position, salary, job responsibilities and about the Company. When she discussing with me i just told about my previous Company(one and half year work from 2010 to 2011), that this is not in operation now, before 1 month ago i try to call them, but switched off.The lady tell if required DIBP will contact with you. Now my question is if they call and got no answer is there any issue as the Company is Closed. I already submitted Job offer letter, experience certificate and all pay slips (Payment method cash) at the time of visa submission. In Case of Company not in operation or closed, is there any form i need to submit. Also when i applied my visa July 2015 that time company was in operation. please suggest.


----------



## pallavidhar

Hi Mark,


Hope you are doing well. I have submitted my EOI with 75 points in May under 2631 and since the seats are exhausted, I am hoping to get an ITA now on July 6. Just preparing my documents for the ITA. Will be grateful if you could answer these questions :-


1) Once I make the payment, I should be able to see the recommended documents. Will they mention whether they need original , coloured scans or certified true copies of all ? Reason I am asking is that lawyers now do not certify pay slips for companies as a new rule. How do I know what scans and what photo copies would suffice ? The website says scans at one place and true copies at another. 

2) Do I need to submit ITR or form 16 ? For last year or all the years I have worked ? The website doesn mention that as well . 

3) How many salary slips do I need to submit ? Again, website doesn ask for it. 

4) If I attach all the above docs, along with pcc and medicals and the forms (1221 and 80), will I still be assigned a CO after a few days or can I expect a direct grant ?

5) I ve already created an immi account and undergoing medical tests. I need not create a new account when I get the ITA, corrrect ?


Thanks a lot in advance.


----------



## Bethanyhellxd

*Advice please!!*

my partner and I are applying for the Partnership 820 visa.
we understand we have I have to come into Australia on a Tourist visa, but as i wont have a return flights etc, what are my options?

what should i say to immigration when they question me at the airport?
please help i am stressing out?


----------



## Max82

Hi Mark
My friend came to Aus 3 years ago on student visa. She married a PR guy and is holding 820 atm. But her husband is a scumbag with unemployment, drug dealer and abused her mental, economic. She now feel unsercuse and want to withdraw this relationship and re-apply for student visa, even she has evidence of domestic violence and alr noticed DIAC.
Can she apply for student visa? She now studying full time course of personal trainer. if yes, can you pls suggest a good migrant agent for this case? We live in Melbourne
I really appreciated
Thanks Mark


----------



## HamTracker

*WHV & CFA Level 1 Exam*

Hi Mark,

Thank you for taking your time out to moderate this thread.

I had a question about taking the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Level 1 exam in Australia while on my WHV. I know that there is a limitation of taking courses while on the WHV, but there isn't any definite guidelines on the CFA and other such professional testing.

As a bit of background: my work has scheduled me for the CFA level 1 exam, and as it would happen, it coincides with my planned working holiday term (I would rather not have to return home to take this test only to fly back to finish my WHV lol).

If you know of any details or specific exclusions that relate, it would clarify things greatly and certainly would help with my planning going forward.

Thanks,
Ham


----------



## Anna-lisa

*Newborn Citizenship (PR Parents)*

Hi Mark,

I need your help with applying for a passport for my newborn.

I am expecting a baby, due on 26 July 2016 (5 weeks to go).
Myself and my partner are both Permanent Residents.
I would like to apply for an Australian passport for my baby to travel (Trip planned for October).

From what I understand, to apply for an Australian passport for my newborn, I need to provide his birth certificate + proof of my Permanent Residency. Given it's an electronic visa (No Visa Label on my passport), I am not sure what type of proof I can provide. It seems that the notification letter + VEVO checks aren't accepted.

From my research, it looks like I would need to apply for "Proof of Australian Citizenship - Form 119", but even if this form, it is requested proof of Permanent Residency, so the same issue.

The other solution would be to get a Label stamp on my passport.

My questions:

1- What option do you think is better? Visa Label Stamp on passport or applying for "Proof of citizenship" for the baby.

2- Any idea what are the processing times for Visa Label and "proof of citizenship"?

3- We are also going to be applying for citizenship for myself & my partner (Eligible from 29th July). Do we have to wait for the babie's passport first? is there any impact on the babie's passport if we apply on the 29th July? Should we include the baby in our application, or no need as the baby will be automatically Australian Citizen?

4- The baby will also have 2 other citizenship (by Descent) from myself and my partner. Will there be any impact on the application for the Australian passport (we will apply for citizenship certificates from the 2 other countries at the same time as we would apply for the AU passport - Will we need these other countries certificates prior to applying for the AU passport?

Thank you so much for your help


----------



## MazKhanz

*Pre-qualification Experience*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing well. My ACS assessment for 262112-ICT Security Specialist recently expired. I am planning to re-apply to ACS for either 262112 or 263111(Computer Network and Systems Engineer), however I am in a quandary, I was hoping you could advise me.

I have ~17 years of IT experience(Aug 1998 to Present), most of it in Fortune10 companies. In my now expired ACS assessment, my experience from Oct 2001 till date was considered relevant and my experience starting Oct 2007 was considered at skill level required for my profession. I do not have any formal tertiary education however I hold CISSP & CISA vendor certifications which were considered by ACS as equal to AQF Diploma. Now ACS only accepts a minimum of MCSE & CCNP to grant Diploma level.

IF I were to get MCSE/CCNP certification this month and apply under Skill Assessment, will ACS and/or DIAC accept earlier experience?

I am confused if I should do 
1. RPL only - I will get only points for experience
2. RPL + MCSE/CCNP - Will I get points of experience + points for Diploma (best bet?)
3. Skills Assessment with MCSE/CCNP - Quicker, less hassle but Worried that they will Count skill attained experience only from date of certification that will leave me with no experience points.

Irrespective of which path I take, should I highlight my earlier ACS assessment? as per that I ACS had granted me from my ~17years, 15years of relevant exp and 8+ yrs of post skill attainment experience.

I would be very grateful if you could take time out to review and guide me.

Best Regards.


----------



## meelosh

Hello Mark,

My wife and I have been granted SI 189 visa on May 6th. She was then 37 weeks pregnant and couldn't travel. She gave birth on 22nd May and till today I have been busy preparing all the documents needed for Child visa 101 for the little one. Since I have to lodge his application by mail I called the Aus Embassy in Belgrade to clear up some issues I had with the payment options available....and the call operator had some huge surprises for me.

He was adamant that I need to activate my permanent resident visa prior to submitting a child visa 101 for my son...ergo I have to make the trip from Europe to Australia...and enter the country..and then after a day or two make the trip all the way back,only then,as my visa is activated I can sponsor my son for a child visa. But cause my son is still just a baby and can't leave him and my wife on their own,the goal is for all of us to make the trip all together.

All that is contrary to the conditions of who can be a sponsor stated on the website link for child visas:

https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/101-

In "Sponsors" section ,under "who can sponsor a child" clearly states the following:

You do not need to be in Australia at the time of application. You can still be a sponsoring parent if you:
entered Australia in the past but are outside Australia when you lodge the application
have been granted your Australian permanent resident visa but have not yet entered Australia.

Very very confused by the different information that I got. I reckon that I should hold the info listed on the website as official and follow those instructions ?


----------



## ahmedissa981

*security check*

hi MarkNortham
could you advice how long they take to finalize the security checks for high risk counties like mine ( Syria ) . i have uploaded all related documents at Feb and no response from them up to date .

i am not sure for how long i have to wait .

thanks


----------



## Wiresitaly2015

Hello Mark,
I have received Invitation to apply for 189visa I have applied. Now, I am planning not to include my partner and child in this visa application process. I want to invite them after I reached Australia. Is it possible to call them also by PR and what type of Visa I need to apply for them in the future ? 
Please Guide


----------



## KaterinaT

*Contributory*

Hi Mark. I have a question about my mother. I live in Australia since July 2015 on a partner visa 309.I applied for PR this April. I really want my mother to come in Australia so I want to know all the options. She is 50 years old and I read about the contributory parent visa. I want to know when do you pay the rest of the money for that visa? Because I read that is about 47K. But do you pay that amount after she is granted a PR and meanwhile she is living in Australia? Or she pays that money before coming in Aus? Can you please tell me all the possible options for my mother ? 
Thank you,
Kate


----------



## uppuupendra

Hi All,

One quick question regarding partner point. 

I am primary applicant and having positive ACS as software engineer (present in SOL & CSOL) and my wife occupation is ICT Account Manager (Only present in CSOL). She is already having her IELTS score as 6.5 (6 in each section)

Just wanted to be sure before proceeding with her skill assessment and investing AUD $810.

Can I get 5 point for partner if I will go for visa 190 for NSW?

Please suggest. Thanks


----------



## fifalex

*Subclass 651 or 402*

Dear Mark! Hope you are having a great day.

I am trying to enter Australia through the SOL as a solicitor. However in order to do so I need to be admitted as a solicitor in the relevant state first, and to do this I need to complete my PLT by an Australian Provider. I can do this online through long distance route, but what worries me is that at a certain point I will need to do a 75 day work placement in Australia. My question to you is whether
I can apply through the E-Visitor Visa (Subclass 651) being that it is only for 75 days and unpaid internship. Or do I have to apply through the Training and Research Visa (subclass 402),
something which I am afraid will put me at a disadvantage since I will need to find a law office in Australia willing to sponsor me.

Thank you in advance

Kind regards Alex


----------



## Cassie

Good morning Mark,


Just a quick question, On the 12 of May I applied for a student visa from outside Australia. I received an email from the immigration on the 19th of May asking me to upload some more documents which i did as soon as i could. But since then I have no answer from the immi. 

What should I do ? Can I contact someone ? 

Regards,
Cassie


----------



## Zorro

Hi Mark,

I hope you are having a good day.

My partner and I, me UK, her Australian have applied for the Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) and Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) visa. We have been going out for almost 4 years now, and I think we tick all the boxes, and have jumped through all the hoops....so far.

We applied on 10/05/2016 and we received a response (we think from our CO) on 22/06/2016 requesting my 10 year address history, and that I complete my health examination and police check.

Should we continue uploading documentation? We were just about to upload proof towards mutual commitment when we got the email. We are also unsure if we need to complete form 80 and form 1221, are these a requirement as everything on the list is recommended?

Best regards,

Michael aka Zorro


----------



## Ejona

Hello Mark,

Thank you for your time and dedication here. I met my current partner while visiting overseas in August 2014. We are both of Albanian decent, but I am a Canadian citizen while he is an Australian one. After I headed back to Canada and he headed back to Australia, we continued talking via phone calls/text over Skype, Viber, Facebook(all saved). We did not want to start a long distance relationship, so he proposed that I move to Australia and give it a chance. I got a WHV and from day one he picked me up the airport and I started living at his house. For the first period I lived with him from December 2014 to July 2015. During that time we didn't have any solid proof of living together, except letters sent to both of us at the same address. My name was not on the lease or utility bills but I had transferred money to his bank account every month for rent/bills etc and I was the one to usually do grocery shopping. 

I did my regional work July-October 2015 and moved back with him in mid October after I was granted a 2nd WHV, and have lived with him ever since. I have lived with him in two different houses, the first one December 2014-April 2016 (only his name was on this lease),and the second one April 2016-present (both of our names are on this one year lease). We plan to apply for the De Facto Visa in November 2016, right before my 2nd WHV expires in December. I am a bit worried whether the proof we have collected so far will make for a solid case. These are main documents we have so far:

-A Certificate of registered Relationship from the Victorian Government 
-A joint bank account from June 2015 (so it will be over a year by the time we apply)
-Eletricity/Gas bills from November 2015 (it will be a year by the time we apply)
-A letter from the house rental agency stating that I have lived in the first house with my partner from December 2014-April 2016, also stating that we have applied for my name to be added to the lease but the owner has refused and has just let me live there without wanting to renew the contract
-Joint (one year) lease on current rented property
-Joint car insurance since June 2016
-Internet bills under both names since June 2016
-Flight tickets to Bali with both our names and hotel bookings
-Pictures, gifts, individual bank statements that show our transactions between each other
-Personal messages history and other details to prove the social context of our relationship.

Based on this information, do you think the proof we have so far makes for a good case? I am starting to get really stressed out as I really love my partner and do not want to be separated from him. Do you have any advice in regards to any other proof that we may add/collect for our case before we apply? 

Thank you in advance,
Ejona


----------



## GARYM85

Hi Mark, This is my first time using this forum. I can see you have helped so many people and I was hoping for your advice. 

I am 31, from the UK and work in an National Sales/Marketing role for a global business. I have looked into roles in Australia and requested sponsorship as part of this but this is dragging on. I don't have a degree in this field but have numerous years work experience. 
My girlfriend, who I have been with for around 8 years...albeit a two year break until a year or two ago. She has going through the skilled visa process right now and we would like to permanently move to Oz together. 

The visa options are a bit of a minefield

From what I understand my options are- 
-Continue with my current employer seeking a new role down under with sponsorship
- Prospective marriage visa
- Skilled state sponsorship. I might be wrong on this but I saw a sales and marketing choice on the state sponsorship list.

Can you advise further on what these options would entail, clearly option 1 is employer specific. I am even willing to pay my sponsorship with my employer if this was even an option. 

my reasons for coming are totally genuine and having visited Australia twice on holiday last year and visiting again in two months I absolutely love the country, the people, the lifestyle and of course the weather!


----------



## LadyRogueRayne

*EOI question*

Hi Mark, sorry to bother you again. But I have questions about submitting EOI and receiving an invitation to apply for a 189 skilled visa. I am currently waiting on my skills assessment outcome from AITSL. Sent it in and was accepted April 19, 2016. They wanted an additional document and they received that June 27, 2016. They are stating that it could take an additional 10 weeks for the assessment to be completed. That will put me at Sept. 5, 2016, which is the full 10 week mark. My current visa runs out on Sept. 17, 2016. Thus, I need to be able to apply for my 189 visa by that date. I have 65 points, though it could drop to 60 if AITSL takes off any experience (I don't know how they calculate it). I'm a secondary teacher.

How long does it take to receive an invitation after submitting an EOI? What are my chances for getting an EOI the first round of invitations?

It looks like the first round of invitations in September will be Sept. 14. That is really pushing it close and would be my only shot at an invitation, correct? I'm really getting worried at this stage. I have everything together (documents, visa permission from my children's father, etc.)...just waiting on the skills assessment and then obviously will need the invite. Thanks in advance if you get a chance to answer my questions. Cheers!


----------



## britishgirlie

Hey
I am from the UK and came over on a working holiday visa and met my partner when I came to do work on his farm for my 2nd year working visa and we just fell in love and been together ever since (13 months) I am worrying about submitting my partner visa application due to proving the finances. Thing is all the bill, fuel and stuff is paid through the farm. So i said about opening a joint bank account but thats going to be the only thing that we will have.

Do you think that they will understand that the farm pays for everything so its hard for us to have joint finances?????

Would really love some help as im worried my case wont be strong enough and im scared of loosing him!

Any help will be great!


----------



## theambassador

Ciao Mark, A quick and interesting one for you!

Is there any way to apply for a 462 Visa while being living in Australia (for example holding a student visa). 

The DIBP website says 'You must be outside Australia when the application is lodged and the visa is granted. Do not make arrangements to travel to Australia until your visa is approved'. On the other hand, the form 1208 allows you to write a residential address in Australia.

Incongruity?

Thanks in advance


----------



## nicolo

Hi Mark,

We have been in Australia for 4 years (3 years on 457 and 1 year as PR). We are planning to apply for Citizenship next month. However, my 3 year-old daughter was diagnosed last week with autism. Will this be grounds for our citizenship application to be rejected. I read there are no health requirements for the application of citizenship only for PR applications. Since we are already permanent residents when she was diagnosed, should we worry about her autism affecting our citizenship application? When we applied for our PR visa a year ago there were still no signs that she might have autism and the panel doctor who did our medicals also did not notice anything wrong with her.


----------



## Nehamehra84

Hello mr.mark

I applied for 190 skilled visa on 21.03.16 and uploaded all docs timely. Co requested for form 80 on 05.05.16 and I submitted on 12.05.16. Since then the status of the application is "assessment in progress". I called them once on completion of 3 months and they just asked me to be patient. I am 5 months pregnant and would want to deliver my baby in Australia. However, I need to plan and fly maximum by end of September considering the fact that airlines don't allow pregnant women to fly beyond 32 weeks. 
I don't know how long will I have to wait. Is there anything I can do to expedite the process of visa grant? My application is under the occupation code:222311(financial investment advisor). Also, someone in this forum mentioned that he got a mail regarding the delay in visa grant due to seats in said occupation being filled up for the current year. 
Should we expect to get a grant in the next week of July?


----------



## karencairo

*Cancelled Bridging Visa A*

Hi Mark,

My girlfriend (USA) and I recently applied for the Partner/Defacto visa, and were temporarily granted the Bridging Visa A to allow her to work legally until a decision has been made on her visa. She has a full time job and recently left to go home to visit family but was unaware of the need to switch over to the Bridging Visa B. As a result, her Bridging Visa A was cancelled and had to get an ETA in order to return to Australia. We filled in the form to get her Bridging Visa A reinstated and though it has been granted, it does not come into effect until the ETA has expired. This has huge implications on our financial situation.

My question is, is there a way to cancel the ETA visa, say under financial hardship circumstances, so that her Bridging Visa A comes back into effect. Or perhaps can we apply for Bridging Visa B, leave the country for a day, then return so the Bridging Visa A comes back into effect?


----------



## sameer_mobin

*Accountant 221111-Query regarding experience assessment*

Hi Mark,

I am planning to apply for skilled employment assessment. I have a Bachelor's degree with majors in Applied Accounting. *(Attained in March-2013)*.

I am working as a Senior Accountant since *September 2013*.

My query is: Will the assessment authorities deduct 2 years in my assessment? I have been reading many members from Engineering occupations stating that their assessments had deducted 2 years from their total experience.

Will this apply to me as-well? I am confused.

Please do let me know.


----------



## yan662122

*visa 309*

I would like ask one opinion to Mark, here our situation
I am chinese and i live in Shanghai, he is australian.
we met onine one year ago but face to face he come only three times for one week each time , in one year.
last trip we decided to get married in China and we got certificate .
now we apply for partner visa 309 but :
we dont live together, he comes here only one week every 3 months
we dont share any account or expenses , he dont support my life.
we decided to get married only for avoid the 12 months of relationship.
we have one common bank account but not money inside and no movement, nothing registered under our name.
i live in china and rental is on my name....also all other expenses...
did we made mistake?
did we have chance to have partner visa ?


----------



## vignesh_ss

*living/working in other states (other than Sponsored state) on a subclass 190 visa*

Hi Mark,

I have received visa grant with sub class 190 (NSW state sponsored visa). I am intend to travel to Sydney and tried to find a job, but IF I am not able to find a job in NSW and get one in Melbourne, can I live and work there? Is there any legal obligation to live and work only in NSW for 1st 2 years? greatly value your suggestions

Regards,
Vignesh S


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozengineer and everyone -

*** My apologies for the brief absence from the forum - I've been away on leave, happy to be back and will be catching up on all posts tonight! ***

Normally once a PR visa is granted, the person is a PR. If you don't make initial entry by a particular date, the visa is liable for cancellation, however that doesn't change the fact that the person is generally considered a PR from the date of grant of the PR visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozengineer said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot for answering my enquiry concerning my Vietnamese girlfriends tourist visa application. If you don't mind, I have a very brief additional question.
> 
> It is obvious that letter of invitation or support has only weight if it comes from an Australian citizen or PR. I have a grant for visa subclass 190, however, I have yet to travel to Australia to activate it. So, I am wondering what would be my exact status at this point and would my letter be considered? Will one become a PR at the moment of grant, or once this person lands at the airport and hands over his passport for activation?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Ozengineer.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mikka -

Thanks for the note and sorry for the delay (see prev msg for explanation).

If you are applying for the subclass 300 prospective marriage visa, there is no bridging visa available as the applicant must be offshore at time of application and grant. Same for subclass 309/100 offshore partner visa.

If you are applying for the subclass 820/801 onshore partner visa, then if you apply for the partner visa while holding a substantive (non-bridging) visa such as a visitor visa, then you'll get a bridging visa A upon application which includes full work rights. The BVA activates upon the end of your max stay period under the visitor visa or the expiry of the visitor visa depending on how the visitor visa is configured.

6 months living apart during the 12 months prior to applying for a partner visa could be an issue - if de facto, you may want to look into registering your relationship if you live in an Australian state that allows this (all but WA and SA) to automatically satisfy the 12mo requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mikka said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to reply to so many of our queries.
> 
> I had a couple of questions I was hoping would be relatively simple enough for you to answer. I was intending to apply for a prospective partner visa for my partner (a Japanese national) and my questions were the following:
> 
> According to the government site, she would only be provided a bridging visa that allows her to work here only if she can "demonstrate a compelling need to work, either because of financial hardship, or from sponsorship..". My question is if, having no savings in her bank account (or mine) would be considered a 'compelling enough' reason to grant her the appropriate bridging visa?
> 
> Secondly (if you have time to answer), if we have been living apart for 6 months (although we have been in constant contact), would this jeopardize the de facto status of our relationship?
> 
> Really thankful for any kind of response!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tsteinhorst -

Thanks for the note. I'd go into as much detail as you can, and feel free to include separate free-form statements rather than limiting your responses to the no. of characters in the multiple text boxes on the online application. We typically put "Please see attached relationship statements of applicant and sponsor for complete details" in the text boxes on the application form, then the applicant & sponsor include relevant details of the 4 relationship evidence areas as part of their relationship statements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tsteinhorst said:


> Hi Mr. Northam
> 
> Have seen your name multiple times in this forum regarding many thanks for the information you have provided. What I am posting below is copied from an original post I made in the forum, but I figured if I posted directly to you I may get high quality information.
> 
> Please and thanks for your help!
> 
> Taylor
> 
> ******~~~~To anyone who may have advice,
> 
> I am completing the initial form 47sp required to apply for de facto partnership visa, but am a little confused on how much detail we need to include in the "relationship details" section on page 17 of online application.
> 
> I know later on we will submit the actual evidence to support our statements, but just wondering if anyone has some advice for completing these areas describing our financial aspects, nature of household, social aspects etc.
> 
> For example, do I physically list every detail of how we split household chores etc.? Do i explain the fact that we've contacted our utility companies asking for both our names to be put on the bills for more hard evidence but these companies only allow one name for the bill to be addressed? Or the fact that most social invitations these days are made on Facebook so we don't have many physical envelopes with both of our names?
> 
> I'm not sure if I am over thinking this area of the application, but I just want to do this correctly since we can't afford an agent to help us. We ARE a legitimate de facto relationship for over a year, but we live with under modest incomes and don't have an excess of joint liabilities to provide evidence for.
> 
> Anyone else in a similar situation and can provide some advice
> 
> Thank you~~~~~~~*********


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Monpetiterouge -

Thanks for the note. I'm a little confused by your question, however typically visitor visas are configured to accommodate the entry/departure dates you specify in the visitor visa application - please advise if I can assist further -

Best,

Mark Northam



monpetiterouge said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Think I've made a mistake with my 600 tourist stream visa. I had previously applied for a Work and Holiday 417 and was aware of from visa acceptance you have 12 months to enter the country and then from date of entry you have 12 months. Now I've applied for an offshore de facto visa and me and my partner want to return to Australia in January until that we receive a decision, now I've applied assuming that the rules with the tourist visa are the same as my previous. So I plan to depart in about 7 months and the London Office are quoting up to 2 months for processing, but I read that with tha particular visa you have three months to enter the country. So naturally I'm concerned. Could you confirm if this is true or not and advice on how to go further as I'm currently waiting for decision on the visa.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shahgagan85 -

Thanks for the note. There is usually no "must enter by date" on a 457 visa, however the 457 visa is subject to cancellation if DIBP decides that the applicant (employee) did not take up work as indicated on the nomination and visa application with the employer - it all depends on what is indicated in the nomination and visa application re: intention to work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shahgagan85 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This query may sound silly but I would like to have an answer to this please.
> 
> May I know how much time one has to travel to Australia or maximum time can one take to travel to Australia once 457 visa is approved?
> 
> I am asking this question as One cannot resign from his current organisation
> before the visa grant. And post resignation, if an employee has to serve a notice period of 3 months, can he still make it to Australia after serving those 3 months?
> 
> I hope I phrased my question correctly.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andy -

Am a little confused by your question. If you have *already been granted* your 189 visa, and your dependents were not, it is likely you listed them as non-migrating dependents on your application. If this is the case, it's now too late to add them to your visa - you would have to sponsor them via a partner visa and child visa(s), etc. Happy to discuss further in a consultation as this can be a tricky part of the migration law - please see website below in my signature for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



andykyng said:


> Hello mark! Thanks for your useful insights on this forum.
> I would like to the the process of activation SI 189 for my family members that I listed as non primary applicants. I have received my visa award as the primary applicant.
> 
> In the process I submitted all the requirements listed for them and all the documents have been cleared on my immi account. I want to know how to initiate the process for paying and activating their visas.
> 
> Best reegards
> Andy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Loren -

You'd have to sponsor your partner for a subclass 820/801 onshore partner visa, based on what you've said. However as a permanent resident holding a sc189 visa, you will need to show you are usually resident in Australia in order to sponsor your partner. Suggest you consider moving here first, get partner here on visitor visa, then lodge an onshore partner visa once he's here, assuming the visitor visa is granted without condition 8503 (no further stay).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LH82 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have a 189 visa and have not made the move from South Africa, but am planning to as soon as i can get my partner a visa. We have been together for 2 an half years and living together for almost two years.
> Which partnership visa do i apply for, for him?
> 
> thank you
> 
> Loren


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Meecoh -

Normally non-migrating dependents are not listed in visa grant documents. He can lodge a Freedom of Information (FOI) request using DIBP Form 424A to get a copy of the application to confirm what was listed if a copy of the actual application form is not available.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



meecoh said:


> Hi Mark! Thank you for being helpful, read your suggestions in this site. I hope you can give light in my situation.
> I'm not sure if I was declared by my de facto partner in the initial student visa application. I was the one who signed it and we were busy that time so I didnt mind. Now, I learned that if I wasnt declared I will not be able to apply as a dependant for his visa. He's part of subclass 576. He also got an accommodation for two since he will be expecting me in a few months. I'm pretty sure I placed my name there, but then again, I have no way of checking it again since I did not make a duplicate. My worry is that my name wasnt in the visa grant. will a dependant's name be included in the visa grant if they were declared but not included in the initial application? I mean, if they ticked 'not included in this application'? perhaps thats my case? Thank you. Hope to hear from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Oxford88 -

Suggest you look into registering your relationship in the Australian state you live in (possible in all states except WA and SA) if you meet the requirements for that state (hint: NSW is the easiest) - this automatically satisfies the 12mo requirement for de facto couples to prove that the relationship existed at a de facto level for the 12 months prior to applying. If you cannot register your relationship and are applying via de facto partners, will be important to show via evidence that the relationship existed at a de facto level for the 12 months immediately before applying for the visa - whether you can do that or not will of course depend on what relationship evidence you have available, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



oxford88 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm currently here in a 417 visa, I met my partner whilst travelling and moved here on this visa to spend time and see if it's worth it. After 9 months we know we want to apply for a defacto visa.
> 
> What we can't understand is when I can submit. We got in to a relationship the week I got here, before we were just dating really. But this visa expires around the same time we would consider ourselves to be together for 12 months. Can I submit my visa application in advance of our 12 month date?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mateo -

Great questions. Typically agents will not specialise in particular occupations, and often lack the technical or occupation-specific knowledge to make a determination on their own as to the best occupation - this is because the ANZSCO occupation definitions can be somewhat technical and specific to a particular industry. Furthermore, the choice of occupation is often based on the applicant's particular work experience and education. The best thing an agent can do, in my view, is to work with you to compare your experience and education to the various occupation definitions that are close fits and by doing so give you a recommendation on the best fit for your particular circumstances.

Re: choosing an agent and finding a good one, that can be hard! I'd look for two things: first, see if you can get a feel for what other people have said about the agent (via google searches, etc), and second, have a chat with the agent and get a feel for both the experience of the agent, and how you feel about communicating with the agent. See if you get the feeling that the agent truly cares about your circumstances and case, vs just looking for a payday. The best agents, I've found, are those that are truly invested in their client's migration goals and missions, and focus not so much on the fees, but on creating the very best migration pathway for their clients.

(full disclosure: I'm a migration agent!)

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



STmateo said:


> Good day Mr. Mark,
> 
> I've been reading and found lots of useful info in your posts. Thank you for providing the assistance and valuable advice.
> 
> I did some research about the visa 189 and found out what I should do in order to qualify.
> Everything is quite well explained on government pages, as well as AMSA's web.
> 
> 1. My question is about agents. How can I find out which agent is good or not? Any reference pages or something similar?
> There are all kinds of people, and it's hard to trust someone with important issue such as immigration.
> I can do it on my own, but my job is intense and I don't want it to take my time and attention away from dealing with immigration procedure. I believe agent would be the best way to go.
> 
> 2. My occupation on SOL list is "Ship's master" as well as "Ship's Officer" - How can I find agent who has the experience dealing with such cases as mine?
> For example, I would ask my agent which occupation should I use to apply, Master or Officer, and agent experienced with such cases would know which of those would be better to go with.
> Are there agents specialized in certain occupations?
> 
> Thanks for your help,
> Mateo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Evita -

Suggest you schedule a consultation with a migration agent to get advice on your eligibility for the skills assessment and visa, identify what documents you'll need to provide, and answer any questions - while forums are great for general information, for case-specific questions it's often better to get this from a migration agent once you've already briefed him/her on your particular circumstances, work experience, education, etc. The "devil is in the details" in migration, so sometimes the smallest detail in your circumstances can make a big difference in what recommendation a migration agent may provide re: best visa for your unique circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



EVITA said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am new here and I need help ...
> 
> I am 27 years old Philippine nationality and currently working here in Middle East
> I am planning to apply for a visa subclass 189 for the SOL code 351311 (CHEF).
> I have more than 4 years work experience
> with Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management degree.
> I will start all the process from nutshell and I need all the help I can get.
> 
> Please advise. Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rmehra009 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa. The individual policy(s) of the skills assessor for your occupation are typically the best indication as to whether a non-related degree will be an issue in the skills assessment process.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



rmehra009 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Great to see someone taking time out and replying to 1000's of queries with valuable info.Thank You.
> 
> I wish to apply for Australia immigration but my case seems to create a doubt.I hope a reply from you will clear that too.
> 
> I ,did Bachelor of Engineering in Instrumentation and control (2006-2010) and been working with Telecom Organization since last 6 years at different position and location.
> 
> Since my Engineering specialization is different from job profile ,Do I have a chance of passing the assessment or my file will be rejected ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vinni -

If you could get an informal offer letter that is contingent upon grant of the RRV visa, that may satisfy DIBP but would still not unduly restrict the employer. A letter from a migration agent explaining the process and outcome(s) to the employer might help too. No bridging visa available unless you are applying for the RRV while in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vinni said:


> Should the employer be an "Australia employer", my employer is not based out of Australia and does not have an office, though the employer is well known authentic firm but a small one.
> 
> I resigned from my previous job while moving out of Australia and been mostly self employed during the gap. While applying for the first RRV, I have mentioned the reason as a family emergency and may require to be out of the country for 1 year. So does this count as "employment claims" while reapplying.
> 
> Now, I am not sure of showing employment ties aswell, as the employer is not willing to provide an offer letter without a valid PR or work permit in Australia. My PR / RRV has already expired last year. I dont have any other ties (personal, family, property etc) in Australia. What do I do ? Is there any other bridging visa I could apply ? How to prove to an employer that the PR is valid and can be re-instated, as it does not show up on VENO page online ? Please advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Drkdd -

Thanks for the note. I'd look into either an employer sponsored visa (subclass 457 for temporary visa, subclass 186 or 187 for permanent residency) or a subclass 489 or 190 state sponsored skilled visa based on what you've said. Complete requirements are too lengthy to list here, but are on DIBP website at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection - also check out www.anzscosearch.com to see what states are currently sponsoring various occupations, as state sponsorship will be required for a dentist looking for a skilled visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



drkdd said:


> hello senior members,
> i need your guidance. my husband and i live in canada and my husband is a practising dentist in canada and a canadian citizen and i have my permanent residency of canada. we both are planning to settle in adelaide in next few years, so can you please advise me as to how should we proceed and what all forms are needed for us. also i checked the immigration list and dentist are on CSOL list. i am a dental specialist and my husband is a dentist. can someone please guide us as to what we should do. please do guide us.
> 
> thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Your agent is correct - if the primary applicant is applying under an occupation on the SOL list, in order to get 5 partner points, the partner's occupation must also be on the SOL list.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



uppuupendra said:


> Hi There,
> 
> One quick question regarding partner point. I am primary applicant and having positive ACS as software engineer (present in SOL & CSOL) and my wife occupation is ICT Account Manager (Only present in CSOL). Can I get 5 point for partner??
> 
> My migration agent is saying that I wouldn't get because software engineer is primary SOL occupation.
> 
> I am confused. Pls suggest.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Spaceship -

Normally children become citizens when the parent does, and there is not a requirement that the child attend the ceremony, however these policies are subject to change - before committing to them not being there, I would check closer to your application date with DIBP citizenship dept to make sure of the current regulations at that time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



spaceship said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am an Australian Permanent Resident (PR) and will be eligible to apply for citizenship in 2017. I have two children aged 4 and 2. They are both PR and I plan to include them in my citizenship application.
> 
> My wife plan to return to her birth country by end 2016 and we would prefer if our two children travel with her.
> 
> My question: Do my children need to be in Australia when I submit my citizenship application, attend the citizenship test, receive approval and/or attend the citizenship ceremony?
> 
> I appreciate your time and would like to thank you in advance.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rubi -

Thanks for the note. Assuming this is your first 489 visa and you did not hold a similar visa previously (ie, a previous temporary regional sponsored visa, etc), you will need to wait until you've held the 489 for 2 years before applying for the 887. You'll need to show you lived in a regional area for 2 years and worked in a regional area for 1 year, but from what you've said it sounds like you already have done that.

Re: occupation, no requirement that you work in the same occupation your 489 was approved under.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rubi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My 489 visa was approved on April 2016 from orana NSW and I got release letter to live in QLD regional area. I have been living in QLD regional area since 2012. Therefore, its been 4 year living in regional area and working full time for 2 years after completing my study. My queries are.
> 
> 1. Since I been living and working 4 years in regional area, when can I apply 887 visa?
> 
> 2. I am graduate accountant but I am working as Nursing assistant because I am unable to find job in my filed. will I still be eligible to apply 887?
> 
> cheers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James -

Thanks for the note. Work rights under the bridging visa would not begin until the student visa expires on its own, so she'd still be under the work rights limitation of the student visa until that point. No way to get the end date of a student visa changed after grant, however voluntary cancellation of the student visa after you apply for the partner visa may be possible, and essentially puts her on a BVE sooner. Work rights may be possible on BVE if the two of you together can show financial hardship - that is, that your monthly expenses substantially exceed your joint income if she is not working. Also they consider any savings and substantial assets such as equity in a home, etc so need to be careful in assessing this.

Cancellation of the student visa should generally be a last resort, as BVE is no fun to deal with (no work rights initially, no way to exit country and re-enter, loss of previous time towards citizenship, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



James Barrenger said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for all the useful information you have provided.
> 
> My partner is applying for the partnership visa later this year when her studies are finished. Our issue is that her student visa doesn't expire until October 2017, a year after she finishes her degree (she received credits for previous studies after the visa had been approved).
> 
> Our understanding is that immigration may cancel the student visa when they see she is no longer studying, which would throw her onto a BVE.
> 
> We have 2 questions:
> 
> Will she be able to work full time before the student visa expires (october 2017) if granted a bridging visa or do the conditions of 20 hours a week still apply (assuming the student visa does not get cancelled)?
> Is it possible for us to get the end date of the student visa changed before applying for the partnership visa?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.
> James


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DKumar -

Would need to work with you in a consultation to see what the proposed documents would look like. Need to be super careful with these things as DIBP is verifying very large numbers of documents related to employers in India.

Best,

Mark Northam



dkumar said:


> Hi Mark,
> I checked numerous posts but could not find similar scenario, so posting my query here. Would really appreciate if you could help...
> 
> I worked in company S2 Infotech ltd. in India 8 years back. I only have a reference letter with name, designation, dates etc. without duties/responsibilities. HR will not provide me reference letter in ACS format and I do not have any contact with my Manager so I am left with only option to get the reference letter from my colleague who has joined company TCS Ltd. and he is in United States right now.
> 
> If my colleague provide the work reference on TCS letterhead in ACS format, Would the be accepted ?
> 
> If the above doesn't work, can I print the reference letter on 100Rs stamp paper and get it notarised in India, while he being in US ? is it legally accepted ?
> 
> If none of the above cannot work, what is the other way to get it done ?
> 
> Your any suggestion would be highly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks,
> DKumar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ecurb -

Normally a JP will not re-witness documents without the witness being there in person to sign. If the documents are reasonably current as of the date of application (ie, signed within the last 2-4 months), no problem generally, even if the application is not processed for many months to come.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ecurb21 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for getting back to me on that last question it really helped.
> 
> A new question is regarding getting documents re-certified. Due to a host of scenarios we have once more postponed our application but are about to apply 'FOR REAL' this time.
> 
> However the documents (888 forms) that all our lovely friends and family filled out and got certified by a J.P. (Already for the second time) back in SEP-OCT 2015 are now nearing their 12 month expiry date?
> 
> Does that mean we have to ask everyone to redo it all AGAIN? Or can a J.P. simply 'refresh' the document by signing it again with a current date?
> Given that the J.P. in question knows the people that have filled out our forms. (a psychologist who lives near by and knows the family & friends who have filled out the 888 forms)
> 
> That is assuming the 888 certified forms are invalid once the case officer gets to our file say in 12 months time from now? Or if they were current on the date of application does that negate the fact they may have expired by the time our application gets looked at?
> 
> Ok thanks again for your tireless work it's a huge help to us! Legend!
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Ecurb21


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hazel -

Generally only skilled, paid work counts for skilled work experience for the skilled visa points test.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hazelng said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am going to apply for PR under 189 visa. I was wondering if internship counts as working experience to get 5 points for PR? Whether it needs to be internship with payment or not?
> Please if anybody knows the answer for this, let me know. Much appreciated.
> 
> THanks.
> Hazel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Slimguy_234 -

Thanks for the kind words! Unfortunately no good way to predict processing time on these - DIBP is highly unpredictable and has no legal time limits on what they do. Sometimes processing slows down in June as annual financial year quotas are reached, then in July things pick up again.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



slimguy_234 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> many thanks for your help, you do have an amazing personality.
> 
> kindly advice, its been 50 days since i supplied my new passport bio page as (DIBP insisted that i supplied another) no communication whatsoever from them. i see on some other forums that people who applied for the same visa category (VISA 189) as late as may have been issued their grants. what do you advice that i should do please? its getting really frustrating.
> 
> Slimguy.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Veraa -

Would need to work with you in a consultation (see website below) - too many factors and regulations for skilled visas to do any sort of assessment without much more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



veraa said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Please provide your valuable suggestion for my scenario for eligibility. I have 7.5 years in IT(Software Engineering) and spouse has 4.5 years exp in IT(Software Engineering), both are under 32 years with post graduation( Masters in Science).
> 
> We would like to apply for AUS PR, but got band of 6.5 in IELTS. Can we apply for PR without giving retest ? please provide your valuable suggestion .
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> veraa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fahad -

All depends on what visa you are applying for and when you apply for the visa - generally English results that expire (they're good for 3 years) after application are not an issue, but depends on the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



FahadKhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> You are doing a great Job here. Well i just wanted to know that my Ielts Score is L:8, R6.5, W:7.5, S:7 and the validity is only till August 2016, should i retake the ielts test or what if i apply before the validity expires? please advise...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Star Gaizer -

Unfortunately, no, only means things are (finally) progressing with the processing of your visa, and that DIBP estimates that a decision is less than 12 months away.

Best,

Mark Northam



Star Gaizer said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> My case officer requested a medical for my partner after 14months of waiting. Does it mean that it is more or less approve?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Himpar -

Yes.

Best,

Mark Northam



himpar1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> While submitting EOI, can we check mark on both subclasses 190 and 489 for intended visa types to improve the likelihood for ITA for 190 or if not 190 then for sub class 489?
> 
> Thank you in advance!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Himpar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sangeet4u -

Thanks for the note. That has the potential to be a big problem, as if DIBP verifies the document and the writer claims he didn't write it, that is grounds for a potential PIC 4020 refusal with a 3 year ban on Australian visa applications. I would need to discuss this further with you at a consultation to get more information and recommend any specific action. The safest bet of all may be to withdraw the entire visa application and start again with a new application (upon invitation) without the questionable document, but again, may depend on your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sangeet4u said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been a silent reader of this forum and see a lot of useful information regarding anything and everything related to visas and queries.
> 
> I have found myself in a tricky situation and wanted to get some inputs on it. I applied for 189 Visa in March end and was provided with roles and responsibilities by a senior on the letter head. However, now my referee has informed me that he might not have been the authorized person to give the letter and will not testify in case any kind of verification happens by DIBP or HR. I am in a fix now as to what needs to be done. Should i get a statutory declaration from another senior and inform DIBP myself or should i wait for them to come to me. I am really confused as to what should be my course of action. I would appreciate if you could throw some light on this.
> 
> Apart from this letter i have provided Salary Slips, Tax Documents, Bank Statement, Form 16 as well.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Soylatte -

The better solution may be to lodge the partner visa prior to the end of the 6 month limitation, then lodge Form 1445 to request an extension of the 6 mo limitation based on the fact you've *already* lodged a partner visa - these are routinely granted - just make sure you lodge Form 1445 at least 2 weeks prior to the end of the limitation period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



soylatte said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope all is well! Firstly, just wanted to thank you for taking the time to assist all of us. I was referred to this page by a fellow American expat who has used this site to navigate her visa situation before she married her partner.
> 
> I'm an American expat currently on a working-holiday visa with a full-time job in a financial services firm. There is a possibility they would be able to sponsor me but I wanted to explore the options if that was not the case.
> 
> Ideally, if I wanted to continue working for this firm, is there anyway I can cancel the working holiday visa, apply for a partner visa (activating a bridge visa), and continue working for them? My six months with them would be late November.
> 
> Please note that we have been together for 1+ year, have a joint bank account, live together in Australia and can track our records of travel while we were doing long distance.
> 
> Thanks again! Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mawin -

Sounds OK to me, however the one thing will be if you lodge a visitor visa application but declare your intention is to lodge a PR visa once in Australia, that could endanger the visitor visa application. Generally better to make your mind up about a PR application once you're here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mawin said:


> Hi Mark, Hope you're okay. I am new here and I would appreciate if you could answer my question below or give me some links with topics similar to my case.
> 
> My girlfriend went to Sydney last April 2016 with a permanent resident visa. I, on n the other hand, lodged my tourist visa application. Hoping for the immigration to grant my request soon, we are thinking if we could marry in civil once I get there so we could process my fiance/spouse visa right after. Given it is possible to get married, I am still planning to go back to my home country up until my fiance/spouse visa is granted, and then we'll settle in Sydney for good. I wonder if it is possible to wed and if we are not violating any laws given our intentions and visas on hand?
> 
> Thank you very much in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mdsharif -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict what will happen on this one, but I would gather evidence to show the date the company closed (if possible) and have it ready if DIBP asks for further info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mdsharif said:


> Thank you very much Mark. At 19th June Australian embassy Dubai call my current office (From December 2011 to date), first my Draughtsman receive the landline phone. the lady asking for the HR. As the HR not present then i discussed with her. She asked about my position, salary, job responsibilities and about the Company. When she discussing with me i just told about my previous Company(one and half year work from 2010 to 2011), that this is not in operation now, before 1 month ago i try to call them, but switched off.The lady tell if required DIBP will contact with you. Now my question is if they call and got no answer is there any issue as the Company is Closed. I already submitted Job offer letter, experience certificate and all pay slips (Payment method cash) at the time of visa submission. In Case of Company not in operation or closed, is there any form i need to submit. Also when i applied my visa July 2015 that time company was in operation. please suggest.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pallavidhar -

Thanks for the note. What is "ITA"? Online application?

No way to predict processing times, but generally always better to lodge as much initially as you can. Processing times on 189 visas generally are 4-8 months currently, but exceptions exist. DIBP will generally require payslips for all periods of work experience claimed for points, so slips to cover the entire time claimed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pallavidhar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well. I have submitted my EOI with 75 points in May under 2631 and since the seats are exhausted, I am hoping to get an ITA now on July 6. Just preparing my documents for the ITA. Will be grateful if you could answer these questions :-
> 
> 1) Once I make the payment, I should be able to see the recommended documents. Will they mention whether they need original , coloured scans or certified true copies of all ? Reason I am asking is that lawyers now do not certify pay slips for companies as a new rule. How do I know what scans and what photo copies would suffice ? The website says scans at one place and true copies at another.
> 
> 2) Do I need to submit ITR or form 16 ? For last year or all the years I have worked ? The website doesn mention that as well .
> 
> 3) How many salary slips do I need to submit ? Again, website doesn ask for it.
> 
> 4) If I attach all the above docs, along with pcc and medicals and the forms (1221 and 80), will I still be assigned a CO after a few days or can I expect a direct grant ?
> 
> 5) I ve already created an immi account and undergoing medical tests. I need not create a new account when I get the ITA, corrrect ?
> 
> Thanks a lot in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bethanyhellxd -

Better to have a return flight, even without a fixed date. Re: applying for partner visa, generally better to decide that after you arrive here, as if you declare that as the reason for your trip, can cause problems with the visitor visa. Maybe you're just here to spend time with your partner and enjoy all the wonderful beaches, etc....?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bethanyhellxd said:


> my partner and I are applying for the Partnership 820 visa.
> we understand we have I have to come into Australia on a Tourist visa, but as i wont have a return flights etc, what are my options?
> 
> what should i say to immigration when they question me at the airport?
> please help i am stressing out?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Max82 -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about the relationship issues with your friend.

Whether she can apply for an onshore student visa will depend on her eligibility to do so under the new "matrix" system for the new streamlined student visa system that came into effect on 1 July - the risk level is based on a combination of the risk rating for the school and the risk rating of the country of citizenship of the applicant - best to start there on the DIBP site to see what options are available and whether there is a way to lodge onshore or not. Also may want to look into a claim for the partner PR visa via family violence claim if the circumstances of the family violence work out re: the requirements for the visa for this type of claim - best to go through this with a migration agent if she is considering this, as there are some very specific and strict rules about this. Happy to work with her in a consult via phone or Skype if you're not in Sydney - see website below in my signature for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Max82 said:


> Hi Mark
> My friend came to Aus 3 years ago on student visa. She married a PR guy and is holding 820 atm. But her husband is a scumbag with unemployment, drug dealer and abused her mental, economic. She now feel unsercuse and want to withdraw this relationship and re-apply for student visa, even she has evidence of domestic violence and alr noticed DIAC.
> Can she apply for student visa? She now studying full time course of personal trainer. if yes, can you pls suggest a good migrant agent for this case? We live in Melbourne
> I really appreciated
> Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ham -

As the exam would generally not be considered "study", no limitation I can see.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HamTracker said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for taking your time out to moderate this thread.
> 
> I had a question about taking the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Level 1 exam in Australia while on my WHV. I know that there is a limitation of taking courses while on the WHV, but there isn't any definite guidelines on the CFA and other such professional testing.
> 
> As a bit of background: my work has scheduled me for the CFA level 1 exam, and as it would happen, it coincides with my planned working holiday term (I would rather not have to return home to take this test only to fly back to finish my WHV lol).
> 
> If you know of any details or specific exclusions that relate, it would clarify things greatly and certainly would help with my planning going forward.
> 
> Thanks,
> Ham


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anna-lisa -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on the upcoming birth of your child.

I'd like to help, but would need to work with you in a consultation to get more info in order to answer all of the questions you've posed - too many complex issues to address in quick forum posts - please see website below for details, thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



Anna-lisa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I need your help with applying for a passport for my newborn.
> 
> I am expecting a baby, due on 26 July 2016 (5 weeks to go).
> Myself and my partner are both Permanent Residents.
> I would like to apply for an Australian passport for my baby to travel (Trip planned for October).
> 
> From what I understand, to apply for an Australian passport for my newborn, I need to provide his birth certificate + proof of my Permanent Residency. Given it's an electronic visa (No Visa Label on my passport), I am not sure what type of proof I can provide. It seems that the notification letter + VEVO checks aren't accepted.
> 
> From my research, it looks like I would need to apply for "Proof of Australian Citizenship - Form 119", but even if this form, it is requested proof of Permanent Residency, so the same issue.
> 
> The other solution would be to get a Label stamp on my passport.
> 
> My questions:
> 
> 1- What option do you think is better? Visa Label Stamp on passport or applying for "Proof of citizenship" for the baby.
> 
> 2- Any idea what are the processing times for Visa Label and "proof of citizenship"?
> 
> 3- We are also going to be applying for citizenship for myself & my partner (Eligible from 29th July). Do we have to wait for the babie's passport first? is there any impact on the babie's passport if we apply on the 29th July? Should we include the baby in our application, or no need as the baby will be automatically Australian Citizen?
> 
> 4- The baby will also have 2 other citizenship (by Descent) from myself and my partner. Will there be any impact on the application for the Australian passport (we will apply for citizenship certificates from the 2 other countries at the same time as we would apply for the AU passport - Will we need these other countries certificates prior to applying for the AU passport?
> 
> Thank you so much for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MazKhanz -

Thanks for the note. ACS will reference the earlier assessment in any case, so no way to avoid that. If you get the new certification, that will normally mean that only work experience you gained after this certification is considered skilled, but this depends on your circumstances. You'd have to work out the points you'd get from either scenario to decide which one to choose (see ACS Summary of Criteria chart on their website to see the info you'll need). My guess is that the RPL may be the safest bet, but all depends on the specifics of your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MazKhanz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well. My ACS assessment for 262112-ICT Security Specialist recently expired. I am planning to re-apply to ACS for either 262112 or 263111(Computer Network and Systems Engineer), however I am in a quandary, I was hoping you could advise me.
> 
> I have ~17 years of IT experience(Aug 1998 to Present), most of it in Fortune10 companies. In my now expired ACS assessment, my experience from Oct 2001 till date was considered relevant and my experience starting Oct 2007 was considered at skill level required for my profession. I do not have any formal tertiary education however I hold CISSP & CISA vendor certifications which were considered by ACS as equal to AQF Diploma. Now ACS only accepts a minimum of MCSE & CCNP to grant Diploma level.
> 
> IF I were to get MCSE/CCNP certification this month and apply under Skill Assessment, will ACS and/or DIAC accept earlier experience?
> 
> I am confused if I should do
> 1. RPL only - I will get only points for experience
> 2. RPL + MCSE/CCNP - Will I get points of experience + points for Diploma (best bet?)
> 3. Skills Assessment with MCSE/CCNP - Quicker, less hassle but Worried that they will Count skill attained experience only from date of certification that will leave me with no experience points.
> 
> Irrespective of which path I take, should I highlight my earlier ACS assessment? as per that I ACS had granted me from my ~17years, 15years of relevant exp and 8+ yrs of post skill attainment experience.
> 
> I would be very grateful if you could take time out to review and guide me.
> 
> Best Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Meelosh -

That's interesting. Once a person is granted a PR visa, they are a PR. That visa is subject to cancellation if the must-enter-by date is not met, but my view is that a person is a PR from the grant date of the visa. I'd ask to speak to a manager and see if you can clarify Belgrade's position on this to avoid any issues down the road.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



meelosh said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My wife and I have been granted SI 189 visa on May 6th. She was then 37 weeks pregnant and couldn't travel. She gave birth on 22nd May and till today I have been busy preparing all the documents needed for Child visa 101 for the little one. Since I have to lodge his application by mail I called the Aus Embassy in Belgrade to clear up some issues I had with the payment options available....and the call operator had some huge surprises for me.
> 
> He was adamant that I need to activate my permanent resident visa prior to submitting a child visa 101 for my son...ergo I have to make the trip from Europe to Australia...and enter the country..and then after a day or two make the trip all the way back,only then,as my visa is activated I can sponsor my son for a child visa. But cause my son is still just a baby and can't leave him and my wife on their own,the goal is for all of us to make the trip all together.
> 
> All that is contrary to the conditions of who can be a sponsor stated on the website link for child visas:
> 
> https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/101-
> 
> In "Sponsors" section ,under "who can sponsor a child" clearly states the following:
> 
> You do not need to be in Australia at the time of application. You can still be a sponsoring parent if you:
> entered Australia in the past but are outside Australia when you lodge the application
> have been granted your Australian permanent resident visa but have not yet entered Australia.
> 
> Very very confused by the different information that I got. I reckon that I should hold the info listed on the website as official and follow those instructions ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

No way to predict, unfortunately. Depends on their caseload, caseload of security checking agency(s), etc. Have seen anywhere from 2 months to well over a year.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ahmedissa981 said:


> hi MarkNortham
> could you advice how long they take to finalize the security checks for high risk counties like mine ( Syria ) . i have uploaded all related documents at Feb and no response from them up to date .
> 
> i am not sure for how long i have to wait .
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wiresitaly2015 -

If you do not include your dependents in your 189 visa application as migrating dependents, only choice is to sponsor them once you've been granted the 189 and have become usually resident in Australia via partner visa and child visa(s) - a much more costly and time consuming process, by the way.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wiresitaly2015 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I have received Invitation to apply for 189visa I have applied. Now, I am planning not to include my partner and child in this visa application process. I want to invite them after I reached Australia. Is it possible to call them also by PR and what type of Visa I need to apply for them in the future ?
> Please Guide


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kate -

The second VAC fee ($45k+) is due just before the visa is granted - DIBP will contact you when the visa is ready for grant to request the fee payment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KaterinaT said:


> Hi Mark. I have a question about my mother. I live in Australia since July 2015 on a partner visa 309.I applied for PR this April. I really want my mother to come in Australia so I want to know all the options. She is 50 years old and I read about the contributory parent visa. I want to know when do you pay the rest of the money for that visa? Because I read that is about 47K. But do you pay that amount after she is granted a PR and meanwhile she is living in Australia? Or she pays that money before coming in Aus? Can you please tell me all the possible options for my mother ?
> Thank you,
> Kate


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Please see previous answer to this question - partner points not possible under this scenario - if primary applicant has SOL list occupation, partner's occupation for skills assessment must also be SOL list occupation in order to qualify for partner points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



uppuupendra said:


> Hi All,
> 
> One quick question regarding partner point.
> 
> I am primary applicant and having positive ACS as software engineer (present in SOL & CSOL) and my wife occupation is ICT Account Manager (Only present in CSOL). She is already having her IELTS score as 6.5 (6 in each section)
> 
> Just wanted to be sure before proceeding with her skill assessment and investing AUD $810.
> 
> Can I get 5 point for partner if I will go for visa 190 for NSW?
> 
> Please suggest. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fifalex -

Work (paid or unpaid) not possible under sc651 visitor visa, with work being defined as activity that would normally attract remuneration if done by Australians, etc. You might consider the CEM option of the PLT program (additional unit at end of the PLT for 5 weeks) where you can use 25 days of work, or consider doing PLT here on a student visa where you would have enough extra time on the visa to do the 25 days of work. College of Law (PLT Provider) may also be able to assist with particular visa options they have knowledge of for previous students.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fifalex said:


> Dear Mark! Hope you are having a great day.
> 
> I am trying to enter Australia through the SOL as a solicitor. However in order to do so I need to be admitted as a solicitor in the relevant state first, and to do this I need to complete my PLT by an Australian Provider. I can do this online through long distance route, but what worries me is that at a certain point I will need to do a 75 day work placement in Australia. My question to you is whether
> I can apply through the E-Visitor Visa (Subclass 651) being that it is only for 75 days and unpaid internship. Or do I have to apply through the Training and Research Visa (subclass 402),
> something which I am afraid will put me at a disadvantage since I will need to find a law office in Australia willing to sponsor me.
> 
> Thank you in advance
> 
> Kind regards Alex


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassie -

You might contact DIBP to ask if they need any further documents, etc. Unfortunately however, many student visas these days are taking 3-4 months to process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cassie said:


> Good morning Mark,
> 
> Just a quick question, On the 12 of May I applied for a student visa from outside Australia. I received an email from the immigration on the 19th of May asking me to upload some more documents which i did as soon as i could. But since then I have no answer from the immi.
> 
> What should I do ? Can I contact someone ?
> 
> Regards,
> Cassie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael -

Yes, I'd keep on uploading. Forms 80/1221 only required if requested by DIBP, but doesn't hurt to do these if you have the time/inclination to do so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zorro said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you are having a good day.
> 
> My partner and I, me UK, her Australian have applied for the Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) and Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) visa. We have been going out for almost 4 years now, and I think we tick all the boxes, and have jumped through all the hoops....so far.
> 
> We applied on 10/05/2016 and we received a response (we think from our CO) on 22/06/2016 requesting my 10 year address history, and that I complete my health examination and police check.
> 
> Should we continue uploading documentation? We were just about to upload proof towards mutual commitment when we got the email. We are also unsure if we need to complete form 80 and form 1221, are these a requirement as everything on the list is recommended?
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Michael aka Zorro


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ejona -

Thanks for the note. I can't give you an opinion on your case without seeing the evidence, but it looks like you've got the bases covered well. I'd get as many statements as you can (on Form 888 or otherwise) from friends, family, co-workers, etc. Also you can check out some of the excellent partner visa evidence threads here on the Australia Forum to see how others have prepared their application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ejona said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your time and dedication here. I met my current partner while visiting overseas in August 2014. We are both of Albanian decent, but I am a Canadian citizen while he is an Australian one. After I headed back to Canada and he headed back to Australia, we continued talking via phone calls/text over Skype, Viber, Facebook(all saved). We did not want to start a long distance relationship, so he proposed that I move to Australia and give it a chance. I got a WHV and from day one he picked me up the airport and I started living at his house. For the first period I lived with him from December 2014 to July 2015. During that time we didn't have any solid proof of living together, except letters sent to both of us at the same address. My name was not on the lease or utility bills but I had transferred money to his bank account every month for rent/bills etc and I was the one to usually do grocery shopping.
> 
> I did my regional work July-October 2015 and moved back with him in mid October after I was granted a 2nd WHV, and have lived with him ever since. I have lived with him in two different houses, the first one December 2014-April 2016 (only his name was on this lease),and the second one April 2016-present (both of our names are on this one year lease). We plan to apply for the De Facto Visa in November 2016, right before my 2nd WHV expires in December. I am a bit worried whether the proof we have collected so far will make for a solid case. These are main documents we have so far:
> 
> -A Certificate of registered Relationship from the Victorian Government
> -A joint bank account from June 2015 (so it will be over a year by the time we apply)
> -Eletricity/Gas bills from November 2015 (it will be a year by the time we apply)
> -A letter from the house rental agency stating that I have lived in the first house with my partner from December 2014-April 2016, also stating that we have applied for my name to be added to the lease but the owner has refused and has just let me live there without wanting to renew the contract
> -Joint (one year) lease on current rented property
> -Joint car insurance since June 2016
> -Internet bills under both names since June 2016
> -Flight tickets to Bali with both our names and hotel bookings
> -Pictures, gifts, individual bank statements that show our transactions between each other
> -Personal messages history and other details to prove the social context of our relationship.
> 
> Based on this information, do you think the proof we have so far makes for a good case? I am starting to get really stressed out as I really love my partner and do not want to be separated from him. Do you have any advice in regards to any other proof that we may add/collect for our case before we apply?
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Ejona


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Garym85 -

Thanks for the note. Your options look reasonable - prospective marriage visa would only be available once your partner becomes a PR and can sponsor you. Suggest you don't pay for sponsorship - that is trouble. Re: partner, if you have been togehter that long, depending on your relationship circumstances, it may be possible to include you as de facto partner on her PR application and solve things that way. Would need to work with you in a consultation to go through all the ins & outs of the various options and answer your questions - please see website below for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GARYM85 said:


> Hi Mark, This is my first time using this forum. I can see you have helped so many people and I was hoping for your advice.
> 
> I am 31, from the UK and work in an National Sales/Marketing role for a global business. I have looked into roles in Australia and requested sponsorship as part of this but this is dragging on. I don't have a degree in this field but have numerous years work experience.
> My girlfriend, who I have been with for around 8 years...albeit a two year break until a year or two ago. She has going through the skilled visa process right now and we would like to permanently move to Oz together.
> 
> The visa options are a bit of a minefield
> 
> From what I understand my options are-
> -Continue with my current employer seeking a new role down under with sponsorship
> - Prospective marriage visa
> - Skilled state sponsorship. I might be wrong on this but I saw a sales and marketing choice on the state sponsorship list.
> 
> Can you advise further on what these options would entail, clearly option 1 is employer specific. I am even willing to pay my sponsorship with my employer if this was even an option.
> 
> my reasons for coming are totally genuine and having visited Australia twice on holiday last year and visiting again in two months I absolutely love the country, the people, the lifestyle and of course the weather!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LRR -

You're correct on all counts. I'd write to AITSL, show them your visa expiration date, and ask them if there is any way (paid or otherwise) to expedite your application. Once the EOI is in, it would be eligible for an invitation in the next round of invitations, depending on how many in the queue ahead of you, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LadyRogueRayne said:


> Hi Mark, sorry to bother you again. But I have questions about submitting EOI and receiving an invitation to apply for a 189 skilled visa. I am currently waiting on my skills assessment outcome from AITSL. Sent it in and was accepted April 19, 2016. They wanted an additional document and they received that June 27, 2016. They are stating that it could take an additional 10 weeks for the assessment to be completed. That will put me at Sept. 5, 2016, which is the full 10 week mark. My current visa runs out on Sept. 17, 2016. Thus, I need to be able to apply for my 189 visa by that date. I have 65 points, though it could drop to 60 if AITSL takes off any experience (I don't know how they calculate it). I'm a secondary teacher.
> 
> How long does it take to receive an invitation after submitting an EOI? What are my chances for getting an EOI the first round of invitations?
> 
> It looks like the first round of invitations in September will be Sept. 14. That is really pushing it close and would be my only shot at an invitation, correct? I'm really getting worried at this stage. I have everything together (documents, visa permission from my children's father, etc.)...just waiting on the skills assessment and then obviously will need the invite. Thanks in advance if you get a chance to answer my questions. Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Britishgirlie -

I'd also look for statements from others who were aware of how the finances were done to write about why you won't have additional bills, etc. Also if the farm pays, then showing those payments by the farm/your sponsor that benefit both of you can help too.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



britishgirlie said:


> Hey
> I am from the UK and came over on a working holiday visa and met my partner when I came to do work on his farm for my 2nd year working visa and we just fell in love and been together ever since (13 months) I am worrying about submitting my partner visa application due to proving the finances. Thing is all the bill, fuel and stuff is paid through the farm. So i said about opening a joint bank account but thats going to be the only thing that we will have.
> 
> Do you think that they will understand that the farm pays for everything so its hard for us to have joint finances?????
> 
> Would really love some help as im worried my case wont be strong enough and im scared of loosing him!
> 
> Any help will be great!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ambassador -

No way to lodge 462 WHV visa application while the applicant is onshore in Australia.

Best,

Mark Northam



theambassador said:


> Ciao Mark, A quick and interesting one for you!
> 
> Is there any way to apply for a 462 Visa while being living in Australia (for example holding a student visa).
> 
> The DIBP website says 'You must be outside Australia when the application is lodged and the visa is granted. Do not make arrangements to travel to Australia until your visa is approved'. On the other hand, the form 1208 allows you to write a residential address in Australia.
> 
> Incongruity?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nicolo -

I don't see how it would be an issue with citizenship - there are no health exams, etc for citizenship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nicolo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We have been in Australia for 4 years (3 years on 457 and 1 year as PR). We are planning to apply for Citizenship next month. However, my 3 year-old daughter was diagnosed last week with autism. Will this be grounds for our citizenship application to be rejected. I read there are no health requirements for the application of citizenship only for PR applications. Since we are already permanent residents when she was diagnosed, should we worry about her autism affecting our citizenship application? When we applied for our PR visa a year ago there were still no signs that she might have autism and the panel doctor who did our medicals also did not notice anything wrong with her.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the note. With any luck you'll get a grant in July or Aug, however DIBP has no time limits on how long they can take to process visas, and 190 visas can take 4-8 months to process. I'd certainly write to them and ask if there is any way, in the best interests of the child, to expedite grant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nehamehra84 said:


> Hello mr.mark
> 
> I applied for 190 skilled visa on 21.03.16 and uploaded all docs timely. Co requested for form 80 on 05.05.16 and I submitted on 12.05.16. Since then the status of the application is "assessment in progress". I called them once on completion of 3 months and they just asked me to be patient. I am 5 months pregnant and would want to deliver my baby in Australia. However, I need to plan and fly maximum by end of September considering the fact that airlines don't allow pregnant women to fly beyond 32 weeks.
> I don't know how long will I have to wait. Is there anything I can do to expedite the process of visa grant? My application is under the occupation code:222311(financial investment advisor). Also, someone in this forum mentioned that he got a mail regarding the delay in visa grant due to seats in said occupation being filled up for the current year.
> Should we expect to get a grant in the next week of July?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karencairo -

No good way around this I'm afraid (think I answered this question by email previously) - normally DIBP will re-admit a person holding an ETA and a BVB under the ETA which is a real hassle. However, most USA ETA visas are granted for a one year period BUT there is a 3-month maximum stay period. If she overstays the 3 month maximum stay period, that should normally activate the BVA you've reapplied for and been granted - in that case she would not need to wait until the actual expiry of the ETA, only the end of the max stay period which is normally 3 months on those.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



karencairo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My girlfriend (USA) and I recently applied for the Partner/Defacto visa, and were temporarily granted the Bridging Visa A to allow her to work legally until a decision has been made on her visa. She has a full time job and recently left to go home to visit family but was unaware of the need to switch over to the Bridging Visa B. As a result, her Bridging Visa A was cancelled and had to get an ETA in order to return to Australia. We filled in the form to get her Bridging Visa A reinstated and though it has been granted, it does not come into effect until the ETA has expired. This has huge implications on our financial situation.
> 
> My question is, is there a way to cancel the ETA visa, say under financial hardship circumstances, so that her Bridging Visa A comes back into effect. Or perhaps can we apply for Bridging Visa B, leave the country for a day, then return so the Bridging Visa A comes back into effect?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sameer -

Thanks for the note. Best to check with the specific skills assessor you plan to apply for a skills assessment with to see what their policies are in this area - different skills assessors for occupations (ie, IT, engineering, etc) have vastly different policies and requirements - there is no shortcut to checking directly with the assessor you plan to use.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sameer_mobin said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to apply for skilled employment assessment. I have a Bachelor's degree with majors in Applied Accounting. *(Attained in March-2013)*.
> 
> I am working as a Senior Accountant since *September 2013*.
> 
> My query is: Will the assessment authorities deduct 2 years in my assessment? I have been reading many members from Engineering occupations stating that their assessments had deducted 2 years from their total experience.
> 
> Will this apply to me as-well? I am confused.
> 
> Please do let me know.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yan662122 -

Thanks for the note. Honestly it sounds like a very risky partner visa application to me with such little relationship evidence. The prospective marriage visa sounds like it would have been a better choice (subclass 300). You could withdraw the visa and then lodge a sc300 visa, or wait to see how the processing goes. Other than the time lost, there would generally be no penalty if the partner visa was refused and you then lodged a prospective marriage visa. Unfortunately no refunds for withdrawn applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



yan662122 said:


> I would like ask one opinion to Mark, here our situation
> I am chinese and i live in Shanghai, he is australian.
> we met onine one year ago but face to face he come only three times for one week each time , in one year.
> last trip we decided to get married in China and we got certificate .
> now we apply for partner visa 309 but :
> we dont live together, he comes here only one week every 3 months
> we dont share any account or expenses , he dont support my life.
> we decided to get married only for avoid the 12 months of relationship.
> we have one common bank account but not money inside and no movement, nothing registered under our name.
> i live in china and rental is on my name....also all other expenses...
> did we made mistake?
> did we have chance to have partner visa ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vignesh -

Thanks for the note. The commitment to live/work in a state for this visa is not a condition on your visa, but is generally a contractual agreement or commitment you make to the state as part of the sponsorship agreement. Best way to minimise issues going forward is to do an extensive good-faith job search in NSW to try and find a suitable job. If that fails, present lots of evidence of the search to NSW and see if they will issue a release letter (unfortunately not done easily or frequently) from the commitment. Have never heard of the commitment being attempted to be enforced in court by a state sponsorship authority, however the better evidence you have that you could not find a job in the sponsoring state, the better.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vignesh_ss said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have received visa grant with sub class 190 (NSW state sponsored visa). I am intend to travel to Sydney and tried to find a job, but IF I am not able to find a job in NSW and get one in Melbourne, can I live and work there? Is there any legal obligation to live and work only in NSW for 1st 2 years? greatly value your suggestions
> 
> Regards,
> Vignesh S


----------



## afaf

hi Mark

My husband is in Germany, staying with his parents and me I live in morocco with my parents, but since our marriage he is coming and going every 3 months to Morocco and we rent when he's here, we accumulated about 12 months living together like this, due to his tourist visa when hi's coming to me he can only stay maximum 3 months. In regards to the question about supporting each other, he is sending me money via western union and leaving me cash when he is returning to Germany. My husband is planning on to return to Australia to find work and to start my application from there, do you think, the evidence we have is enough in terms of financial ? The other evidences we have is Skype records, postcards, holiday photos, flight tickets to honeymoon, rent agreements from morocco, our wedding photos and videos, 2 invitations to friends wedding together and stat declarations. 
What do you think !
me and my husband got married in may 2014 and we want to apply for offshore partner visa and my worry is that We don't have enough documentation about 2 points one is about the financials which I don't understand very good and the other is about my (sponsor) husband is currently unemployed, he is an AUS Citizen though living outside of Australia for the last 2 years,
my question is about this, would that be an issue for my 309 partner visa application, my husband was sending me money via western union is that sufficient or do they ask other things like employment !? would it be better if my husband returns to Australia alone and he finds work and a home to stay and we apply after ? But that would also mean separation for us, for a longer period, which we really don't want, thanks
Any help will be great! 
AFAF


----------



## Umairhassan3134

Hi Mark,
I got very good information from you 2 years ago when I was going to apply for my Student visa and succeeded. Now my wife and one and a half year old daughter is in Pakistan and I want to bring them to Australia. My remaining visa expiry date is 23 May 2017. I did not add my daughter on my visa application because she borned after my visa application. 
Now please if you refer me that am I still able to apply for my wife and daughters dependent visa as my visa is almost 11 or say 10 months left. 
Thankyou and keep working like that. You are doing a great job
Cheers


----------



## vignesh_ss

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Vignesh -
> 
> Thanks for the note. The commitment to live/work in a state for this visa is not a condition on your visa, but is generally a contractual agreement or commitment you make to the state as part of the sponsorship agreement. Best way to minimise issues going forward is to do an extensive good-faith job search in NSW to try and find a suitable job. If that fails, present lots of evidence of the search to NSW and see if they will issue a release letter (unfortunately not done easily or frequently) from the commitment. Have never heard of the commitment being attempted to be enforced in court by a state sponsorship authority, however the better evidence you have that you could not find a job in the sponsoring state, the better.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark for your response. It is very helpful.


----------



## logicalor

Hi Mark

I read the following sentence in a reply you posted in another thread:

_Often DIBP (immigration dept) will not cancel a student visa if the applicant has already applied for a partner visa onshore._​
Is this typically an ad-hoc decision on the part of DIBP, or is it an internal policy?

The reason I ask this, is that my wife and I are in the queue, having applied for a partner visa onshore in February. My wife is presently considering re-enrolment in a course she is having trouble with, entirely to meet the obligations of her 573 student visa. If we simply didn't enrol, I see a couple of outcomes:


Her education provider neglecting to report her lack of re-enrolment to DIPB
Her education provider reporting her lack of re-enrolment to DIPB, and DIPB notifying us of intention to cancel the 573 visa (my understood scenario)
Her education provider reporting her lack of re-enrolment to DIPB, and DIPB taking into account our partner visa application and not cancelling the 573 visa (ie, what you have outlined above)
Which is the more likely outcome? It seems to me that our safest option is probably to coninue paying the education provider and riding out the student visa, but if there are other options they would be preferable.

Thank you.


----------



## anatolian13

*Question Re section 48*

Hi Mark,

I have a friend (indian descent) who is currently on a bridging visa C (with work conditions added). He has applied for a protection visa and is currently waiting on the outcome. Apparently he also has a section 48 on him - something to do with a student visa he was on in the past.

His wife (indonesian) is in Australia, initially on a student visa but has now been given a 457 visa - maybe 2-3 months ago. He also has a child here, and is also on the current 457 visa.

Is he able to go on his wife's 457 visa as her spouse or does the fact that he has a section 48 means he cannot?

I understand he is limited on his options on what he can apply for.

Your knowledge and advice would be appreciated...

Regards

David


----------



## maher1991

Hi Mark...

I applied for visa SC 476 on 5th of March and on 29th of April I received an email from my CO asking me to provide additional documents. 
On 5th of May I sent all the documents and till now I didn't receive any thing from them even though I sent an email on 15th of June asking about the status of my application but they didn't reply to me. 

I have 3 questions:

1)Now it has been 4 months and no reply from them, other people are getting their visa granted in 2-3 months, any specific reason for my case?

2)After I sent the documents on 5th of May the application status changed from "Application received" to "Application in assist" does is mean that they start to assist my application after 2 months from submitting my application???

3)I am thinking to send second email to request for my application status since they didn't reply on the first one, is it ok with that?

Regards,
Maher


----------



## Annabelle Clark

*Hi Mark*

I applied for visa 189 in August 2013 and I added my ex-girlfriend as second applicant (including family member - partner - defacto) in the application. Our visa has been granted October 2013.
We broke up in January 2015 and I started my new relationship in February 2015. Now I would like to apply partner visa to sponsor my current girlfriend. 
on the immigration website it says limitations to sponsor "if you have successfully sponsored another person for migration to Australia on a Partner or Prospective Marriage visa within the past five years." 
Just wondering when I applied visa 189 I added him in my application ,does it consider as successfully sponsor someone already ? 
I never apply for partner visa before so am I eligible to sponsor my current girlfriend in this case?


----------



## shwetagtm

Hi Mark...can you please help me with the complete PR process.Is there any link where I can check??
Kind Regards


----------



## davidnguyen

*Visa 189*

Dear Mark,

I am currently holding dependence visa 574, my wife is doing PhD in Australia. We have been in Australia for 4 months. After experience lifestyle in here, I have plan to apply visa 189 for my whole family.

1. One of my friends told me that I am not able to apply that visa at the moment because I am holding visa 574 currently. Is that true?

2. I was born in Dec-1983, can I get 30 age points before Dec-2016?

Thank you,
Regards,
David


----------



## Chaibialaa

Hello Mark,

First of all, I would like to thank you for your effort and time for our questions.

I am a Tunisian citizen, planning to immigrate to Australia with my fiancee. I am a IT Developper and my fiancee is a civil engineer. We just need somewhere to start this big move for us and we really don't know how to so all I'm asking here is just a few ideas or guidelines to do this step in the right way.

Thank you


----------



## Avikaur

hi Mark

I applied for subclass visa 190 with my spouse year back at the same time I provided my medicals and after six months my case officer was assigned and he requested for PCc now it's been more than six months I haven't heard from officer and now I got pregnant so I want to know wether I need to inform my case officer or I have to do my medical again but I have already done it year back and it was submitted with application . My file shows currently in processing. Please let me know what should I do at this stage . I would appreciate your help

Thanks and regards 
Avi


----------



## sayadsabbir

Hi Mark, i am a NZ citizen who has been living in australia for 10 years recently i went on holiday to thailand where i got arrested for possession of 2 grams of weed and deported to NZ where i have no ties, no money and only the clothes i was wearing. I was about book a flight home when i was informed that it would be better if i filled out a consent disclosure form and get clear before i leave or could face deportation at the border. I was told this process would take 3 weeks, and considering i have no other convictions anywhere it would be a fairly straight forward process. It has been over 4 weeks since i lodged it with TTS, i have sent countless emails with no reply or just dodging the question. Is there anything you could suggest i could do to get a time frame or details about my case. How likely am i to be turned back at the border?


----------



## mila 07

Finally Ill be taking my oath of allegiance to Australia this coming Sept 1 2016..God bless


----------



## neetu9780

Hi Mark,

I'm currently holding a Graduate Work Stream Visa (485) which is valid for 18 months, as my first student was issued in year 2009..
I just want to confirm if there are going to be different rules for me when I will apply for my permanent visa?

TIA


----------



## LadyRogueRayne

MarkNortham said:


> Hi LRR -
> 
> You're correct on all counts. I'd write to AITSL, show them your visa expiration date, and ask them if there is any way (paid or otherwise) to expedite your application. Once the EOI is in, it would be eligible for an invitation in the next round of invitations, depending on how many in the queue ahead of you, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much for your reply, Mark! I will contact AITSL again, though they did confirm that they could take an additional 10 weeks. Their website states that there isn't any expedited service available. But, I will see if there is any way they could expedite my assessment, as it's already been 11 weeks at this stage. I just don't want to bother them to the point that they put my assessment on the bottom of the pile.

You always help! Thank you again!


----------



## tracy88

*division 2 nursing visa options*

hello Mark,,,hope you are well. 
i have a question in regards to a visa application i want to make in a couple of months. i am about to complete my diploma in nursing and i looked at the option of the 457 visa, but that's a very tricky one to obtain. please please advise me on which is my best option because according to my research enrolled nursing only falls under the COSL
your help is greatly appreciated


----------



## laju1984

*TRA Skill assesment*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear sir
happy to see you for noble help.

i m planning for skill assessment with TRA body for Nominated occupation: Gas or petroleum Operator ( code 399212)
here i have total 10 yrs exp. ( post qualification) in which latest 5 yrs exp is in industry exactly with Nominated occupation 399212 and previous 5 yrs exp. is relevant to my qualification and closely related to nominated occupation( Chemical plant operator ). So should i show 5 yrs latest exp.
in TAR assessment and full 10 yrs exp.to DIBP while making final visa application or i should include all 10 yrs exp. in TRA skill assesment ????

PL HELP

THANK U


----------



## Erika

*witness declaration*

Hello Mark,
I have few questions about the partner visa we applied for on November 2015. My husband is australian and we got married on August 2015. For the witnesses statutory declarations we have asked our neighbors that are our friends, they have known me for 9months at that time and we used to catch up twice a week, they also came at our wedding. We don;t have statutory declarations from relatives as my husband doesn't have parents but few half brothers that are not close to him. Recently we moved a little bit more far, plus my neighbors have had 2 new grandchildren to look after so that their mums can go to work, like that we have lost contact. So I wonder if that matters or could affect our application. Plus about from 80, how do they communicate you if you are requested to complete it? Thank you for reading.
Cheers,

Erika


----------



## szeminlim

Hi Mark!

I've applied for 820 in Feb 2016, now on bridging A and I cannot leave the country until the visa is granted.

I've a few questions hopefully you can help me with:

1. I'm planning to apply for bridging visa B to leave the country for 2-4 weeks. Would that affect or delay my application (re-queue)? 

2. Once bridging B granted, I assume bridging A would be cancelled. When I return to Australia, do I need to re-apply for bridging A?

Thanks!!


----------



## Shev

*Is it wise to submit straight away with the application?*

G'day,
Hi thanks for making this forum to help people who have lots of question and inquiry about visa application. I lodged my PMV on july 1,2016 and i attached all the required documents in checklist except the health assessment. My question is, is it wise to submit it right now or should i have to wait for CO to request? Coz i was wondering if its less waiting if i submit it right now that way they will not set aside my application while the CO waiting for the health check? 
Hope to hear back and thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Sheryl


----------



## borno212

*Vissa Class 489 for 261111*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are in good health.

I am Razesh looking for migration to Australia under Vissa Class-489. My ACS is done for 261111 (IST Business Analyst), which exists in both CSOL & SOL.

ACS counted *6 years* of experience of mine. I hold *6.5* in each band of IELTS.

I am worried about the current updates from the States and in doubt whether I could qualify in any of the States!.

Could you please help me to figure it out?

Best Regards,
Razesh


----------



## Rachelkelly

*573-186*

Hi there,
I am looking for a little advice. I am currently on a 573 masters student visa.
My husband is allowed to work unlimited hours and I can work 40 hours a fortnight. 
We have 3 children and my husbands employer has recently sponsered him ( us ) for a 186 direct entry visa... Which we have Already lodged through a migration agent.# not super confident in the agent as she said "she does not know anything about student visas "

I have decided that I no longer wish to continue studying my current course thinking of a complete career change now I've been here for a year so don't want to waste $30000) to do a degree I don't want. If I change to a different course different I will incur different working rights etc ��

If I don't enrol this semester I will lose my Coe and our right to work will be cancelled is there any type of bridging visa that we qualify for until our PR 186 comes through. 
Our agent does not have any advice other than continue at University �� Thank you

Last edited by Rachelkelly; Today at 06:39 AM. Reason: Adding text

Edit/Delete Message Reply With Quote Multi-Quote This Message Quick reply to this message


----------



## ngenhit

Hi Mark,

I have a query regarding applying 189 while I'm onshore on a subclass 500 visa. Will it have any implications on my tenure as the student, as my status would change from international to domestic while I'm there?

Also, If i obtain a sub class 500 visa for the studies , will it be possible to apply for a 189 while I'm in Australia?. My further research showed that I shouldn't have a condition 8534 on my subclass 500 visa for this to happen. Is that understanding correct?.

If so, what are the chances that I'll be getting a 8534 on my Visa, I'm from India (AL4).

I have enough points by my calculation in order to get an invitation in the new cycle for my SOL item, But I also have an open offer with me to study there.


----------



## lock

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


HI,
I want to ask a question,
i have been removed from australia in 2001 for working extra hours on student visa, can I apply for immigration now is almost 15years now.

Regards,
Lock.


----------



## Dream Oz

*Want to remove one assessed employer in EOI*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are keeping well.

In my ACS skill assessment letter my current employer is mentioned. Currently, they are are not ready to support me with documentation for any VISA process. So I don't want to claim any points for that employer and mark it as Non Relevant.

I would like to understand what will the consequences, if I proceed with this same ACS letter where that employer is mentioned and lodge an EOI (Marking that employer non-relevant) ? Does this has an adverse effect on my future application process?

Request you to guide me on way ahead.


----------



## Jattism

*Student Dependent Visa*

Hi Mark,
Hope you are doing well...

I am on Student Visa (subclass 573) higher education sector in Australia, my student visa is valid till 23 may 2017. I got married recently, Now i want to apply visa for my wife.
She is in India at present. 
Now the problem is Australian High Commission has stopped taking visa applications under subclass 573. Now should I apply her dependent visa, Subsequent entrant subclass 500 or is there any way that i can apply her visa under subclass 573.

thanks & regards
Harry


----------



## RMikey

Hi Mark!

Submitting for 309 visa offshore and online. We're a defacto couple thats been living together for 2 years. 

Wanted your opinion on the evidence I've submitted so far:

*Engagement cards
*Police registration for both of us at our rented apartment
*2 years joint rental contract
*2 years internet contract for the apartment
*copys of Passports, IDs, birth certs for both of us
*No criminal record certificates for both of us
*7 x 888 statuary declarations 
*4 x letter statements from friends
*Phone logs going back 7 months
*Email logs going back a year
*Social media screenshots going back a year
*Having each other as emergency contacts
*photo of engagement ring and receipts
*nature of household responsibilities statement
*tax summary for 2016 to ATO with spouse listed
*photos of birthdays, engagement, holiday trips, social occassions
*2 set of holiday flight tickets we went together 
*stat dec of staying for free at family apartment on arrival in Australia while we get set up
*sponsors tax summarys going back 5 years
*sponsors work contracts going back 3 years
*statement how relationship developed

Getting soon:
* his/her bank accounts showing the same address
* his/her wills which will have each listed as partners
* 1 more sets of holiday flight tickets
* health check to add

Thoughts? Any other evidence that would be helpful?


----------



## keval

*Confusion on relevant work experience..*

Hello Mark,

I would like to thank you on the behalf of all the people for your selfless help. Keep up the good work....
I have a Bachelors in Electrical Engineer (2008-2012) and started working in a multinational company from July 2013.I would like to clear some of my doubts.

1) I have only done a Migration Skill assessment and not applied for Relevant Skilled Employment Assessment from Engineers Australia, Can i claim 5 points for 3 years overseas experience, which i have completed on 1st July 2016? I was in a training period for 1 year((2013 to 2014) in the same organisation, during which I was paid and worked for more than 30 hours per week. I had read somewhere that training experience is not accounted by DIBP, Is this true? I am getting paid and have a letter from organisation showing my job responsibilities from time to time.

2) If there is a minor spelling mistake in Name on the Salary Bank Account as compared with my Passport, would it create problem at any stage of Visa Application or document verification?

Regards,
Keval Shah


----------



## SweetCple

*820/801 Fees*

Hi Mark....hope you are well

We lodged our Prospective marriage visa offshore March 2015 & it was approved a couple of months ago, my fiance is now here with me in Adelaide.Without going into too much detail the subclass 300 cost us around $4600 for memory but the fees are now i believe around $7100....when we apply for the 820/801 what is the cost we will have to pay to the embassy to lodge the 820/801?

The subclass 300 we used an agent in Adelaide but wondered if the next stage is easier & don't require the huge amount of information as we provided for the 300, we wondered wether or not its easier to do the 820/801 ourselves by creating an immiAccount as we are in a bind financially now with things that have happened, needing to save some money...is it quite easy to do?...is there still alot of info required?...we need to get married now rather than wait 9months which is the time allowed under the subclass300 visa...if we get married now then this is only going to be 2 & half months since the approval of subclass 300 so i dont know what information more we would need to prove, i have already added my fiance to most of my utility bills,house rental contract, internet contracts etc so it shows we are at the same address...but what more could we provide after such a short time between approval of 300 & lodging 820/801?

How fast can we obtain medicare after the 820/801 has been lodged?...does it take days or weeks to get onto medicare?

Kind Regards & Best Wishes


----------



## htrt

Hi Mark,

Just a quick question. 
I am currently on a student visa, applied for 190 visa, BVA granted but not in effect yet. My student visa expires soon but before I finish my course. I'll be still enroled in university for another couple of months. 
Am I right thinking that after my student visa finishes the BVA will kick in automatically? If so, after BVA comes in effect is it still crucial to maintain enrolment to satisfy the conditions of my previous student visa or is it now a completely different story on BVA until the decision is made on the 190? The BVA grant letter says "conditions "NIL", so I'm guessing the only condition is not to leave Australia but otherwise it's a visa with full working/studying rights, correct?

Greatly appreciate your advice!


----------



## idreesshah

Hi Mark,
At the time of visa application, I have added the following family members to my application as non-migrating dependent family members. 

1) Wife
2) Son (5 months, was not born at the time of visa application)
3) Daughter (2 years and 5 months)

Is it possible to convert them now to migrating dependent family members? If yes, please share the procedure & requirement to do so. If possible, please share the cost also. 

Just to highlight that the department has asked me to do medical for myself and family members. 

Looking forward for your earliest response.


----------



## Jmk

hi mark i have few doubts related to my 485 visa and 189 visa.
i have completed my first year in university and then transferred to college and completed my masters of professional accounting, i have original transcripts from the university and the college, i have also received my completion letter. will there be any any issue if i apply for my 485 visa???


----------



## ringu412

Hi, Mark
I'm actually a former customer of you. I am under the 4014 ban for overstaying a bridging visa A for 12 days and you advised me that the ban is not affected for 485 dependent visa. I am currently being prepared to send a 485 subsequent entrant offshore visa after my partner's visa granted. I wonder if these proofs are enough to demonstrate my de facto relationship or do i need to provide more? 
Assuming I will get the 485 SE, if my partner got a sponsorship 457, I still have a ban affected on me and won't be able to add as a dependent with him on 457 right? Thanks

Proof of 12 months living together 
•	Certified Domestic relationship certificate – Victoria relationship Act 2008 – application from 4/1/2016 (Exemptions from the one year relationship requirement) from Birth, Death and Marriage.

The history of the relationship through a signed statement individually:
•	Statutory declaration from each person

Financial aspects of the relationship:
Joint bank statement account creating from 12/2015 always used with a lot of purchases
Individual bank statement before 12/2015 showing frequent money sent to each other 
The nature of the household, such as:
The couple's living arrangements including sharing responsibilities within the home. – Relationship statement
Social context:
Travel documents 4 travel tickets and hotels booked with both names
Music festivals and classes with both names
Pictures of family, friends and co-workers from different occasions (same workplace) – 12 pictures
2 statements (Australian citizen) with a copy of identification
The couple's commitment to each other:
Correspondence and telephone accounts to show that the couple maintained contact during any periods of separation. 
•	Mostly viber incuding phone calls and viber message everyday from 28/05/2016 onwards 
•	Skype calls

I wonder if these will be enough? Thank you so much.


----------



## sunilkiran

*Need help for Aus PR*

Hi,

I am planning to apply for Australia PR and please suggest me whether I have to apply for 189 or 190.

Qualification: B.Tech in Civil Engineering+PGDM in General Management
Work experience: in IT, 6.7 years after B.Tech, 2.7 years after PGDM.

Appreciate help in answering the below queries.

a) Please let me know whether I am eligible for 189 visa as I don't want to restrict myself to work only in state that sponsors me. As far as my knowledge related to 190 visa, I have to work in that state for minimum 2 years.

b) Also, from other forums I came to know 6 years of work experience will be deducted as I did Bachelors in Civil engineering even though I am working in IT. Please let me know the authenticity of this statement.

c) I am looking to apply for PR as joint application including my spouse. Please let me know whether my wife should also take PTE along with me to prove English language ability or my wife should take PTE exam in case if I am claiming partner qualification points of 5.

d) Can I go ahead and submit application now to ACS to check the assessment of my application to start the process?

A quick answer is highly appreciated


----------



## ngenhit

sunilkiran said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am planning to apply for Australia PR and please suggest me whether I have to apply for 189 or 190.
> 
> Qualification: B.Tech in Civil Engineering+PGDM in General Management
> Work experience: in IT, 6.7 years after B.Tech, 2.7 years after PGDM.
> 
> Appreciate help in answering the below queries.
> 
> a) Please let me know whether I am eligible for 189 visa as I don't want to restrict myself to work only in state that sponsors me. As far as my knowledge related to 190 visa, I have to work in that state for minimum 2 years.
> 
> b) Also, from other forums I came to know 6 years of work experience will be deducted as I did Bachelors in Civil engineering even though I am working in IT. Please let me know the authenticity of this statement.
> 
> c) I am looking to apply for PR as joint application including my spouse. Please let me know whether my wife should also take PTE along with me to prove English language ability or my wife should take PTE exam in case if I am claiming partner qualification points of 5.
> 
> d) Can I go ahead and submit application now to ACS to check the assessment of my application to start the process?
> 
> A quick answer is highly appreciated


Hi Sunil,

I would wait for Mark to respond. thought I would help out in between as those questions are having known answers already!

Your points would be (speculating) : 
Age(if 25-32, 30 otherwise less) - 30
Qualification - 15
English ??? - assuming proficient(IELTS 7): 10
Experience - 0

Total: 55, which is not enough for 189, and ok for 190 if you get a nomination.

Firstly, If you do not have IELTS 8 or equivalent I doubt whether you will have sufficient experience as you rightly pointed out, IT experience of 6 years will be deducted for a qualification without ICT content, Civil Engg. does not have ICT content. Do not waste money for assessment unless you get your IELTS 8 or up equivalent score. Also, you role has a lot to do with the assessment, if you're looking to get assessed under software engineering, then you need experience under that role or similar work done for all those 6 years!.

Secondly, 190 just gives a nomination way to go through the process, you would still need 60 points minimum, which I do not think that you have as you have only 7 months of experience after meeting the skill requirements. You could get your wife's skills assessed, if she is working in the similar SOL field if she meets the skills required in an occupation code, then you would reach 60 points I believe. For spouse, Language test does not matter if she did the course in English medium.


----------



## sunilkiran

Thanks for your quick response. Please find below the assessment done by an immigration consultant in Bangalore.

I worked from Sep-2005 to June-2012 in IT firm. I have 8.5 months eligible experience as per skill assessment requirements. After this period, I did full time PGDM for 15 months and I have been working since Sep-2013 to till date that has 2.5 years of experience. So, my work experience considered was 3+ years as of now

Age -33 - 25 points
Qualification - 15 points
Experience - 5 points (for 3.3 years after deducting 6 years of work experience from total 9.5 years of experience)
I have only 45 points now.

If I go for 190 visa, I will get 5 points from state nomination leading to 50 points.

I am yet to take PTE-A and need to score 20 points to be eligible for 189 or 10 points to be eligible for 190 visa.

Immigration consultant advised me to file for ICT Business Analyst as majority of my work experience falls under that area even though I am working as a Project Manager for the past 2 years.

My wife's occupation is not listed under SOL.

Immigration consultant informed me that 190 visa after 2013 does not have state restriction and has shown some sample VISA grants where Visa conditions are NIL under 190. Please let me know if this statement is valid.



ngenhit said:


> Hi Sunil,
> 
> I would wait for Mark to respond. thought I would help out in between as those questions are having known answers already!
> 
> Your points would be (speculating) :
> Age(if 25-32, 30 otherwise less) - 30
> Qualification - 15
> English ??? - assuming proficient(IELTS 7): 10
> Experience - 0
> 
> Total: 55, which is not enough for 189, and ok for 190 if you get a nomination.
> 
> Firstly, If you do not have IELTS 8 or equivalent I doubt whether you will have sufficient experience as you rightly pointed out, IT experience of 6 years will be deducted for a qualification without ICT content, Civil Engg. does not have ICT content. Do not waste money for assessment unless you get your IELTS 8 or up equivalent score. Also, you role has a lot to do with the assessment, if you're looking to get assessed under software engineering, then you need experience under that role or similar work done for all those 6 years!.
> 
> Secondly, 190 just gives a nomination way to go through the process, you would still need 60 points minimum, which I do not think that you have as you have only 7 months of experience after meeting the skill requirements. You could get your wife's skills assessed, if she is working in the similar SOL field if she meets the skills required in an occupation code, then you would reach 60 points I believe. For spouse, Language test does not matter if she did the course in English medium.


----------



## ausmighelp

Hello Mark,


I am just wondering what's the importance of Optional Service-Relevant Skilled Employment ? and when do i need to opt for this option ?

I am Applying for Australia PR Sub Class 189 (Points based + Non recognised Qualification) . I have 9 years of experience & want to claim points for my migration .So do i need to opt for Relevant Skilled Employment along with my standard CDR assessment or just just stick with standard CDR assessment ? 
If i need to stick with Standard CDR Assessment then when do i claim my points for employment ?

Aside to that , could anyone share the check-list for EA assessment for Subclass 189

Thanks in Advance..

Regards
JD


----------



## BelAle

*Partner Migration Booklet in Italian?*

Hi, does anyone know if the Partner Migration Booklet comes in other languages, specifically Italian? My partner speaks, reads and writes English well, however I thought it might be a bit less stress for him if he can read it in his own language as well?
Thanks!


----------



## Maggie-May24

As far as I know, DIBP only provides documentation in English.


----------



## tazui1982

Hi Mark, 
I'm currently seeking advice to apply for visa - 190 NT nomination under CSOL HR Adviser. Here's what I have: 
+ Bachelor degree in HR from Monash University (Australian university)
+ 34 years old, married with 2 kids (I won't be claiming points for spouse as she qualifies for none).
+ 12 years in HR, 7 of which in large multinational corporations manufacturing cell phones in Vietnam. 
+ IELTS 7.0 overall
+ Enough funds to live anywhere in NT for 1 year. 

Do you think I would have any chances for visa 190 with NT nomination?


----------



## umadkhan

Hi,

I want to apply for ACS and than for EOI:

I went through ACS site and find out that they will exclude two years of experience to fullfill their requirements, so my question is:

1- DIBP will consider the same experience as assessed by ACS, as I have 9+ years of experience and if they deduct 2 years of experience than I will get points for 5 years only?

2- Second I have an overlap of 1 month+ in my previous and current experience, because of my annual vacations I resigned and took vacations from my last employer and at the same time I joined my current employer. So what will be the impact?

Regards and Thanks


----------



## mliw90

Hi Mark,

I'm applying for the 300 visa soon. I was a bit confused on what documentation my fiancee needs to provide. It says:

a birth certificate
an Australian passport or foreign passport containing evidence of permanent residence
an Australian citizenship certificate
for New Zealand citizens, evidence of length of residence in Australia and of continuing links with Australia.

Does she need to only provide one of these or would all of the above be recommended? 


Also, she has just recently divorced and still has her previous married name. We were planning just to wait to change it to mine once we're married rather than having her change it back to her maiden now and then again. Do we need to provide any kind of documentation that she had changed her name in the past and if so what? I saw this statement in the requirements doc and was unsure:

"If your name has changed or the name of anyone included in your application has changed: a certified copy of evidence of the name change."

Assuming she provided her passport with her current name would this be sufficient and if she provides her passport does she need to provide a birth certificate (which would obviously have her maiden name) or any other form of identification? Just want to make sure I'm thorough in getting this right.


Also one more question. How long are the average processing times for the 300? I've heard 5-7 months, is that accurate? I'm from the US if that helps.

Thanks!


----------



## Tronic

*Cancellation of WHV - what to write in 309 visa application*

Hi Mark,

What a useful thread, its provided me with a lot of reading - thank you.

I wondered if you could please give me a little advice; I was on a working holiday visa Feb 2014 (when i met my partner in March 2014), but my visa got cancelled when we returned off holiday at Sydney airport because i couldnt evidence strongly enough the regional work. I was sent back to England from the airport in Jan 2015 and my australian citizen partner got a transfer with his work to London and followed me in March 2015.

We have been living together since May 2014 and i have no problems with evidencing the financial, social and history of our relationship. We sought some initial advice from a local migration agent who advised that there was an exclusion period of 12 months (now expired) but regardless, this would not make any difference to our application for a partner visa.

We are now in the process of gathering the evidence to make the application and my main worry for the whole application is how to go about answering the question "Has the applicant ever had a visa cancelled".

Does this need to be a factual account of what happened that day in Sydney airport or does it just need to be yes/no and dates. They will no doubt have the background paperwork for this so i dont want to be stating the obvious, but im not sure about how much detail to go into. The box to answer it in is around 300 characters.

What would you advise?

Thank you so much in advance.

Tronic


----------



## ikhans12

HI Mark
I am looking for an assesment for 189 visa my details are as under
1. Age 31 years and 4 months
2. BS (CS ) 16 year 
3. 9 years and 6 months of experience as Software in multinational companies
4. IELTS 7 overall
5. Married and have 3 kids
6. Points calculater indicate 60 points without claiming IETLS 10 points
Waiting for your response. thanks


----------



## monpetiterouge

Hey Mark!
Do you know the processing times on average once you have had correspondence from your CO! I received an email today requesting some info which I've sent through now.. Wondering now if I'm expected to wait the full 12-14 months London Office is quoting. I lodged my application last month!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Afaf -

Would need to see your evidence to give you specific advice - the money transfers are good; if he can show that he was required by his work to be away for extended periods, that can help account for the lack of continuous living together time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



afaf said:


> hi Mark
> 
> My husband is in Germany, staying with his parents and me I live in morocco with my parents, but since our marriage he is coming and going every 3 months to Morocco and we rent when he's here, we accumulated about 12 months living together like this, due to his tourist visa when hi's coming to me he can only stay maximum 3 months. In regards to the question about supporting each other, he is sending me money via western union and leaving me cash when he is returning to Germany. My husband is planning on to return to Australia to find work and to start my application from there, do you think, the evidence we have is enough in terms of financial ? The other evidences we have is Skype records, postcards, holiday photos, flight tickets to honeymoon, rent agreements from morocco, our wedding photos and videos, 2 invitations to friends wedding together and stat declarations.
> What do you think !
> me and my husband got married in may 2014 and we want to apply for offshore partner visa and my worry is that We don't have enough documentation about 2 points one is about the financials which I don't understand very good and the other is about my (sponsor) husband is currently unemployed, he is an AUS Citizen though living outside of Australia for the last 2 years,
> my question is about this, would that be an issue for my 309 partner visa application, my husband was sending me money via western union is that sufficient or do they ask other things like employment !? would it be better if my husband returns to Australia alone and he finds work and a home to stay and we apply after ? But that would also mean separation for us, for a longer period, which we really don't want, thanks
> Any help will be great!
> AFAF


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Umairhassan3134 -

Thanks for the note. Did you declare your wife on your original student visa application, assuming you were married at that time? If not married at that time, then likely no issue. DIBP unlikely to grant dependent visa add-ons if less than 6 months left on visa - I'd apply ASAP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Umairhassan3134 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I got very good information from you 2 years ago when I was going to apply for my Student visa and succeeded. Now my wife and one and a half year old daughter is in Pakistan and I want to bring them to Australia. My remaining visa expiry date is 23 May 2017. I did not add my daughter on my visa application because she borned after my visa application.
> Now please if you refer me that am I still able to apply for my wife and daughters dependent visa as my visa is almost 11 or say 10 months left.
> Thankyou and keep working like that. You are doing a great job
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Logicalor -

It's essentially a discretion of the case officer, however there is some policy on this - ie, policy says if the applicant has lodged a PR visa application, then the case officer may choose not to cancel the existing visa even if a breach exists, depending on the circumstances. So no way to guarantee one outcome or the other.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



logicalor said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I read the following sentence in a reply you posted in another thread:
> 
> _Often DIBP (immigration dept) will not cancel a student visa if the applicant has already applied for a partner visa onshore._​
> Is this typically an ad-hoc decision on the part of DIBP, or is it an internal policy?
> 
> The reason I ask this, is that my wife and I are in the queue, having applied for a partner visa onshore in February. My wife is presently considering re-enrolment in a course she is having trouble with, entirely to meet the obligations of her 573 student visa. If we simply didn't enrol, I see a couple of outcomes:
> 
> 
> Her education provider neglecting to report her lack of re-enrolment to DIPB
> Her education provider reporting her lack of re-enrolment to DIPB, and DIPB notifying us of intention to cancel the 573 visa (my understood scenario)
> Her education provider reporting her lack of re-enrolment to DIPB, and DIPB taking into account our partner visa application and not cancelling the 573 visa (ie, what you have outlined above)
> Which is the more likely outcome? It seems to me that our safest option is probably to coninue paying the education provider and riding out the student visa, but if there are other options they would be preferable.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi David -

If a person is s48 (of the Migration Act 1958) barred due to a previous refusal or cancellation, then they cannot apply onshore (assuming they have not left and re-entered on another visa - not a BVB) for another visa, whether as primary applicant or dependent/secondary applicant unless the visa is one of the few exceptions to s48 such as protection visa, partner visa (although Schedule 3 applies in these cases), medical treatment visa, or a bridging visa.

So in your circumstances, if the person is s48 barred, they would not be able to lodge an onshore application for a 457 visa and would have to depart Australia and apply offshore, however if they did this, it is likely their partner visa would be refused as a result of leaving Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anatolian13 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a friend (indian descent) who is currently on a bridging visa C (with work conditions added). He has applied for a protection visa and is currently waiting on the outcome. Apparently he also has a section 48 on him - something to do with a student visa he was on in the past.
> 
> His wife (indonesian) is in Australia, initially on a student visa but has now been given a 457 visa - maybe 2-3 months ago. He also has a child here, and is also on the current 457 visa.
> 
> Is he able to go on his wife's 457 visa as her spouse or does the fact that he has a section 48 means he cannot?
> 
> I understand he is limited on his options on what he can apply for.
> 
> Your knowledge and advice would be appreciated...
> 
> Regards
> 
> David


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maher -

Thanks for the note. No good way to predict visa processing times these days, especially for Middle Eastern countries. I'd keep in touch with the CO and make sure they have everything they need, however processing times are very unpredictable due to security checking caseload and other issues.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



maher1991 said:


> Hi Mark...
> 
> I applied for visa SC 476 on 5th of March and on 29th of April I received an email from my CO asking me to provide additional documents.
> On 5th of May I sent all the documents and till now I didn't receive any thing from them even though I sent an email on 15th of June asking about the status of my application but they didn't reply to me.
> 
> I have 3 questions:
> 
> 1)Now it has been 4 months and no reply from them, other people are getting their visa granted in 2-3 months, any specific reason for my case?
> 
> 2)After I sent the documents on 5th of May the application status changed from "Application received" to "Application in assist" does is mean that they start to assist my application after 2 months from submitting my application???
> 
> 3)I am thinking to send second email to request for my application status since they didn't reply on the first one, is it ok with that?
> 
> Regards,
> Maher


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Annabelle -

Thanks for the note. The 5 year waiting period between sponsorships does not apply in your case as the first visa granted was not a partner or fiance visa - it was a skilled visa (189), so no issue with the waiting period for your current application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Annabelle Clark said:


> I applied for visa 189 in August 2013 and I added my ex-girlfriend as second applicant (including family member - partner - defacto) in the application. Our visa has been granted October 2013.
> We broke up in January 2015 and I started my new relationship in February 2015. Now I would like to apply partner visa to sponsor my current girlfriend.
> on the immigration website it says limitations to sponsor "if you have successfully sponsored another person for migration to Australia on a Partner or Prospective Marriage visa within the past five years."
> Just wondering when I applied visa 189 I added him in my application ,does it consider as successfully sponsor someone already ?
> I never apply for partner visa before so am I eligible to sponsor my current girlfriend in this case?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shwetagtm -

Would be happy to assist - here's our website - Northam & Associates

Best,

Mark Northam



shwetagtm said:


> Hi Mark...can you please help me with the complete PR process.Is there any link where I can check??
> Kind Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi David -

Thanks for the note. No bar for you to applying as primary applicant for a 189 if you meet all the criteria for that visa, as long as you do not have a condition on your student visa that prevents further onshore applications - look for condition 8534 or 8535 or any other condition that could limit this.

Re: age, if you received an invitation from DIBP to apply for a skilled visa prior to your 33rd birthday in Dec 2016, then your age would be locked in at the date of invitation as 32 years old, so you would get 30 points for age in that scenario.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



davidnguyen said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am currently holding dependence visa 574, my wife is doing PhD in Australia. We have been in Australia for 4 months. After experience lifestyle in here, I have plan to apply visa 189 for my whole family.
> 
> 1. One of my friends told me that I am not able to apply that visa at the moment because I am holding visa 574 currently. Is that true?
> 
> 2. I was born in Dec-1983, can I get 30 age points before Dec-2016?
> 
> Thank you,
> Regards,
> David


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chaibialaa -

Thanks for the note. Some basic thoughts for you to consider:
* There are 2 major families of visas based on skills - employer sponsored visas (subclass 457, 186, 187) and skilled visas (subclass 489, 189, 190) - I'd check the DIBP website at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection for these to get familiar with them.
* Most PR visas (and all skilled visas) will generally require a skills assessment - check http://anzscosearch.com to look up your occupation, locate the skills assessment org for your nomination, then look up the skills assessment requirements as these are often more demanding than the DIBP visa requirements.
* Being engaged (by itself) would not entitled either of you to claim the other as a dependent on a visa application unless you meet the requirements of being a de facto couple (ie, living together like marriage just without the marriage cert).

Hope this helps to get started - happy to see you for a consultation if you'd like to get specific assistance - see my website below for more.

Best,

Mark Northam



Chaibialaa said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> First of all, I would like to thank you for your effort and time for our questions.
> 
> I am a Tunisian citizen, planning to immigrate to Australia with my fiancee. I am a IT Developper and my fiancee is a civil engineer. We just need somewhere to start this big move for us and we really don't know how to so all I'm asking here is just a few ideas or guidelines to do this step in the right way.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Avi -

Thanks for the note. Normally your medical would expire after 1 year, however the case officer has the ability to manually extend the validity period for police and health checks. If they do ask for another one, I would request that they extend the existing one - if they will not do this, then ask them to allow you to make an undertaking (legal promise) that you will have the exam later after the baby is born, but not to hold up the visa until then. You'll have to work with them at that point to see what they will do - it's a matter of case officer discretion in many cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Avikaur said:


> hi Mark
> 
> I applied for subclass visa 190 with my spouse year back at the same time I provided my medicals and after six months my case officer was assigned and he requested for PCc now it's been more than six months I haven't heard from officer and now I got pregnant so I want to know wether I need to inform my case officer or I have to do my medical again but I have already done it year back and it was submitted with application . My file shows currently in processing. Please let me know what should I do at this stage . I would appreciate your help
> 
> Thanks and regards
> Avi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sayadsabbir -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you were convicted in Thailand (if so, be glad you're not in some jail there!), you'll have to declare the conviction on any future incoming passenger card to Australia, and the conviction and deportation on any visa application that asks about that.

There is a distinct chance you could be declared a "character concern" which would mean you could not get the usual subclass 444 visa that Kiwis get when they come to Australia. Suggest you wait and see how the current process goes, as you do not want to be declared a character concern - this can be a major problem in getting any further visa for Australia - likely best to be patient at the current time and see what happens re: your current applicant to clear.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sayadsabbir said:


> Hi Mark, i am a NZ citizen who has been living in australia for 10 years recently i went on holiday to thailand where i got arrested for possession of 2 grams of weed and deported to NZ where i have no ties, no money and only the clothes i was wearing. I was about book a flight home when i was informed that it would be better if i filled out a consent disclosure form and get clear before i leave or could face deportation at the border. I was told this process would take 3 weeks, and considering i have no other convictions anywhere it would be a fairly straight forward process. It has been over 4 weeks since i lodged it with TTS, i have sent countless emails with no reply or just dodging the question. Is there anything you could suggest i could do to get a time frame or details about my case. How likely am i to be turned back at the border?


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Mila 07 -

Congratulations!!!

Best,

Mark Northam



mila 07 said:


> Finally Ill be taking my oath of allegiance to Australia this coming Sept 1 2016..God bless


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tia -

No different rules for you than anyone else applying for a PR visa - there are 2 versions (pathways) for the 485 visa, you would have been approved under the older pathway given the dates involved, but other than that, no difference in the future options you have that I can see.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



neetu9780 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm currently holding a Graduate Work Stream Visa (485) which is valid for 18 months, as my first student was issued in year 2009..
> I just want to confirm if there are going to be different rules for me when I will apply for my permanent visa?
> 
> TIA


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tracy -

Other than the 457 visa or a further student visa, you'll need to be fully registered as a nurse in Australia to look at one of the skilled visas (subclass 489, 189, 190). If you can get full registration, you might look at those, otherwise 457 is a good pathway to consider as it can lead to employer sponsored PR as well depending on the employer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tracy88 said:


> hello Mark,,,hope you are well.
> i have a question in regards to a visa application i want to make in a couple of months. i am about to complete my diploma in nursing and i looked at the option of the 457 visa, but that's a very tricky one to obtain. please please advise me on which is my best option because according to my research enrolled nursing only falls under the COSL
> your help is greatly appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Laju1984 -

Would need to get more details about your circumstances and work with you in a consultation to give you specific answers relevant to your case - see website below in my signature for more on this, thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



laju1984 said:


> Dear sir
> happy to see you for noble help.
> 
> i m planning for skill assessment with TRA body for Nominated occupation: Gas or petroleum Operator ( code 399212)
> here i have total 10 yrs exp. ( post qualification) in which latest 5 yrs exp is in industry exactly with Nominated occupation 399212 and previous 5 yrs exp. is relevant to my qualification and closely related to nominated occupation( Chemical plant operator ). So should i show 5 yrs latest exp.
> in TAR assessment and full 10 yrs exp.to DIBP while making final visa application or i should include all 10 yrs exp. in TRA skill assesment ????
> 
> PL HELP
> 
> THANK U


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Erika -

Thanks for the note. No problem generally if you have lost contact with Form 888 writers. Re Form 80, they will request it if it is needed - which is most of the time these days!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Erika said:


> Hello Mark,
> I have few questions about the partner visa we applied for on November 2015. My husband is australian and we got married on August 2015. For the witnesses statutory declarations we have asked our neighbors that are our friends, they have known me for 9months at that time and we used to catch up twice a week, they also came at our wedding. We don;t have statutory declarations from relatives as my husband doesn't have parents but few half brothers that are not close to him. Recently we moved a little bit more far, plus my neighbors have had 2 new grandchildren to look after so that their mums can go to work, like that we have lost contact. So I wonder if that matters or could affect our application. Plus about from 80, how do they communicate you if you are requested to complete it? Thank you for reading.
> Cheers,
> 
> Erika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Szeminlim -

Thanks for the note. BVB will not delay your pending partner visa application in any way. Upon grant, BVB replaces BVA, and once you return on BVB, you can remain on the BVB as long as you like, including all the way until decision is made on your partner visa. No need to replace it with a BVA, however if you make a second trip later, you'll need a new BVB since the first one is only good for one trip out & back typically.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



szeminlim said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I've applied for 820 in Feb 2016, now on bridging A and I cannot leave the country until the visa is granted.
> 
> I've a few questions hopefully you can help me with:
> 
> 1. I'm planning to apply for bridging visa B to leave the country for 2-4 weeks. Would that affect or delay my application (re-queue)?
> 
> 2. Once bridging B granted, I assume bridging A would be cancelled. When I return to Australia, do I need to re-apply for bridging A?
> 
> Thanks!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sheryl -

You could take the exam now if you like or wait 3-4 months or until requested by DIBP - the request will generally not delay your application, especially if you get the exam promptly after requested. Key issue is avoiding the circumstance where processing takes longer than 1 year and your medical exam becomes outdated as they are only valid for 1 year.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Shev said:


> G'day,
> Hi thanks for making this forum to help people who have lots of question and inquiry about visa application. I lodged my PMV on july 1,2016 and i attached all the required documents in checklist except the health assessment. My question is, is it wise to submit it right now or should i have to wait for CO to request? Coz i was wondering if its less waiting if i submit it right now that way they will not set aside my application while the CO waiting for the health check?
> Hope to hear back and thanks in advance.
> 
> Cheers,
> Sheryl


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Borno212 -

Happy to assist with detailed skilled visa questions at a consult - see my website in my signature for more on this. However a good source on these things is http://www.anzscosearch.com - you can get up to date info on state sponsorship availability for your occupation and much more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



borno212 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are in good health.
> 
> I am Razesh looking for migration to Australia under Vissa Class-489. My ACS is done for 261111 (IST Business Analyst), which exists in both CSOL & SOL.
> 
> ACS counted *6 years* of experience of mine. I hold *6.5* in each band of IELTS.
> 
> I am worried about the current updates from the States and in doubt whether I could qualify in any of the States!.
> 
> Could you please help me to figure it out?
> 
> Best Regards,
> Razesh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rachel -

Thanks for the note. If you stop studying, your student visa is liable for cancellation. If that happens, you could still remain in Australia on a Bridging Visa E until the 186 application is decided, however this is not an ideal situation as you (and your partner) would have no work rights and would have to make a financial hardship claim in order to add work rights on your bridging visa E. Other issues with this pathway are no rights to re-enter Australia if you depart holding BVE, and loss of all time prior to the cancellation for use towards the 4 yr residency requirement for Australian citizenship. The BVE is the only bridging visa that could be used in this sort of scenario.

Re: continuing study on your existing visa, would depend on the type of study you switch to - lots of options there so not possible for a quick answer on the forum. You'll need to see if the new course you switch to is similar enough (ie Masters) to continue study under your current visa or whether a new application is needed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rachelkelly said:


> Hi there,
> I am looking for a little advice. I am currently on a 573 masters student visa.
> My husband is allowed to work unlimited hours and I can work 40 hours a fortnight.
> We have 3 children and my husbands employer has recently sponsered him ( us ) for a 186 direct entry visa... Which we have Already lodged through a migration agent.# not super confident in the agent as she said "she does not know anything about student visas "
> 
> I have decided that I no longer wish to continue studying my current course thinking of a complete career change now I've been here for a year so don't want to waste $30000) to do a degree I don't want. If I change to a different course different I will incur different working rights etc ��
> 
> If I don't enrol this semester I will lose my Coe and our right to work will be cancelled is there any type of bridging visa that we qualify for until our PR 186 comes through.
> Our agent does not have any advice other than continue at University �� Thank you
> 
> Last edited by Rachelkelly; Today at 06:39 AM. Reason: Adding text
> 
> Edit/Delete Message Reply With Quote Multi-Quote This Message Quick reply to this message


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ngenhit -

Thanks for the note. Generally no impact on student visa is you lodge a 189 application onshore, other than if you tried to apply for another student visa while the 189 application was pending, they may pick that up and conclude you are not a "genuine student".

As long as you do not have 8534 or 8535 on the student visa, and assuming no government sponsorship or other issues, generally you can apply for a PR visa while here on a student visa. Application of conditions is usually at the discretion of the case officer, unless the course fits one of the pre-determined guidelines for applying 8534/8535 such as very short course (under 1 year in some cases), some ELICOS, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ngenhit said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a query regarding applying 189 while I'm onshore on a subclass 500 visa. Will it have any implications on my tenure as the student, as my status would change from international to domestic while I'm there?
> 
> Also, If i obtain a sub class 500 visa for the studies , will it be possible to apply for a 189 while I'm in Australia?. My further research showed that I shouldn't have a condition 8534 on my subclass 500 visa for this to happen. Is that understanding correct?.
> 
> If so, what are the chances that I'll be getting a 8534 on my Visa, I'm from India (AL4).
> 
> I have enough points by my calculation in order to get an invitation in the new cycle for my SOL item, But I also have an open offer with me to study there.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lock -

Any exclusion period from the removal would have long since expired by now. However you will need to determine if you have a "debt to the Commonwealth" (contact DIBP and/or google this to get in touch with the office that currently tracks this info) related to the removal - if you do have a debt of this type, you would generally need to make payment arrangements to address the debt prior to being granted a further Australian visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lock said:


> HI,
> I want to ask a question,
> i have been removed from australia in 2001 for working extra hours on student visa, can I apply for immigration now is almost 15years now.
> 
> Regards,
> Lock.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dream Oz -

Thanks for the note. Generally if you do not claim points for a particular work experience, DIBP will not request or require documentation and pay evidence for that work experience. If the work was used to qualify for ACS (ie, 2 yr requirements, etc) then in theory DIBP could request the documents, but I haven't seen that before.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dream Oz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are keeping well.
> 
> In my ACS skill assessment letter my current employer is mentioned. Currently, they are are not ready to support me with documentation for any VISA process. So I don't want to claim any points for that employer and mark it as Non Relevant.
> 
> I would like to understand what will the consequences, if I proceed with this same ACS letter where that employer is mentioned and lodge an EOI (Marking that employer non-relevant) ? Does this has an adverse effect on my future application process?
> 
> Request you to guide me on way ahead.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harry -

My understanding is that she would need to apply for a subclass 500 subsequent entrant student visa given your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jattism said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hope you are doing well...
> 
> I am on Student Visa (subclass 573) higher education sector in Australia, my student visa is valid till 23 may 2017. I got married recently, Now i want to apply visa for my wife.
> She is in India at present.
> Now the problem is Australian High Commission has stopped taking visa applications under subclass 573. Now should I apply her dependent visa, Subsequent entrant subclass 500 or is there any way that i can apply her visa under subclass 573.
> 
> thanks & regards
> Harry


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RMikey -

Thanks for the note. Not possible for me to give an opinion on evidence without seeing it. Generally speaking your list looks pretty good, however I didn't see much in the way of shared financial aspects - ie, joint account or otherwise sharing finances such as 1 party paying for things enjoyed by both, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RMikey said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Submitting for 309 visa offshore and online. We're a defacto couple thats been living together for 2 years.
> 
> Wanted your opinion on the evidence I've submitted so far:
> 
> *Engagement cards
> *Police registration for both of us at our rented apartment
> *2 years joint rental contract
> *2 years internet contract for the apartment
> *copys of Passports, IDs, birth certs for both of us
> *No criminal record certificates for both of us
> *7 x 888 statuary declarations
> *4 x letter statements from friends
> *Phone logs going back 7 months
> *Email logs going back a year
> *Social media screenshots going back a year
> *Having each other as emergency contacts
> *photo of engagement ring and receipts
> *nature of household responsibilities statement
> *tax summary for 2016 to ATO with spouse listed
> *photos of birthdays, engagement, holiday trips, social occassions
> *2 set of holiday flight tickets we went together
> *stat dec of staying for free at family apartment on arrival in Australia while we get set up
> *sponsors tax summarys going back 5 years
> *sponsors work contracts going back 3 years
> *statement how relationship developed
> 
> Getting soon:
> * his/her bank accounts showing the same address
> * his/her wills which will have each listed as partners
> * 1 more sets of holiday flight tickets
> * health check to add
> 
> Thoughts? Any other evidence that would be helpful?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Keval -

Thanks for the note. Re: name spelling difference (minor), likely not an issue. Ability to claim work experience points will depend on assessment of employment evidence, tasks/duties, etc. Generally period as a "trainee" does not count as skilled employment, but periods as a provisional or assistant might depending on specific tasks & duties.

If you're looking to use period as a trainee (formally declared or otherwise), I'd probably take the safe bet and have EA assess the work experience -if they decide it's skilled (OK), then DIBP will abide by that. Otherwise, the case officer may "assess" it himself which may not work in your benefit, or may require an EA assessment later.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



keval said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I would like to thank you on the behalf of all the people for your selfless help. Keep up the good work....
> I have a Bachelors in Electrical Engineer (2008-2012) and started working in a multinational company from July 2013.I would like to clear some of my doubts.
> 
> 1) I have only done a Migration Skill assessment and not applied for Relevant Skilled Employment Assessment from Engineers Australia, Can i claim 5 points for 3 years overseas experience, which i have completed on 1st July 2016? I was in a training period for 1 year((2013 to 2014) in the same organisation, during which I was paid and worked for more than 30 hours per week. I had read somewhere that training experience is not accounted by DIBP, Is this true? I am getting paid and have a letter from organisation showing my job responsibilities from time to time.
> 
> 2) If there is a minor spelling mistake in Name on the Salary Bank Account as compared with my Passport, would it create problem at any stage of Visa Application or document verification?
> 
> Regards,
> Keval Shah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SweetCple -

Thanks for the note. Some thoughts:
* If you are in Australia on sc300 PMV, fee to lodge onshore partner visa is only $1145.
* Yes, lots of relationship evidence is required
* Processing time for these is often only a few months!
* Once you apply for 820/801 and are onshore, you can get Medicare immediately by showing evidence of having applied for the 820/801.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SweetCple said:


> Hi Mark....hope you are well
> 
> We lodged our Prospective marriage visa offshore March 2015 & it was approved a couple of months ago, my fiance is now here with me in Adelaide.Without going into too much detail the subclass 300 cost us around $4600 for memory but the fees are now i believe around $7100....when we apply for the 820/801 what is the cost we will have to pay to the embassy to lodge the 820/801?
> 
> The subclass 300 we used an agent in Adelaide but wondered if the next stage is easier & don't require the huge amount of information as we provided for the 300, we wondered wether or not its easier to do the 820/801 ourselves by creating an immiAccount as we are in a bind financially now with things that have happened, needing to save some money...is it quite easy to do?...is there still alot of info required?...we need to get married now rather than wait 9months which is the time allowed under the subclass300 visa...if we get married now then this is only going to be 2 & half months since the approval of subclass 300 so i dont know what information more we would need to prove, i have already added my fiance to most of my utility bills,house rental contract, internet contracts etc so it shows we are at the same address...but what more could we provide after such a short time between approval of 300 & lodging 820/801?
> 
> How fast can we obtain medicare after the 820/801 has been lodged?...does it take days or weeks to get onto medicare?
> 
> Kind Regards & Best Wishes


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Htrt -

Thanks for the note. BVA will activate upon expiration date of student visa assuming you are onshore on that date. Once BVA activates, you have no limits on work or study as conditions are "NIL" (none). Once on BVA, you can apply for BVB to make a trip outside Australia - it's good for one trip out and back, $145 application fee, generally granted for any good reason you provide to travel.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



htrt said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a quick question.
> I am currently on a student visa, applied for 190 visa, BVA granted but not in effect yet. My student visa expires soon but before I finish my course. I'll be still enroled in university for another couple of months.
> Am I right thinking that after my student visa finishes the BVA will kick in automatically? If so, after BVA comes in effect is it still crucial to maintain enrolment to satisfy the conditions of my previous student visa or is it now a completely different story on BVA until the decision is made on the 190? The BVA grant letter says "conditions "NIL", so I'm guessing the only condition is not to leave Australia but otherwise it's a visa with full working/studying rights, correct?
> 
> Greatly appreciate your advice!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Idreesshah -

You didn't mention what visa you had applied for - for most visas you can add dependents (partner & children) after application - see DIBP website for your particular visa for specific instructions and costs depending on your visa. Important you add them before the visa is granted, as once visa is granted it becomes much more expensive to sponsor them for partner, child visas. Health exams (and police checks) required for all dependents, whether migrating or not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



idreesshah said:


> Hi Mark,
> At the time of visa application, I have added the following family members to my application as non-migrating dependent family members.
> 
> 1) Wife
> 2) Son (5 months, was not born at the time of visa application)
> 3) Daughter (2 years and 5 months)
> 
> Is it possible to convert them now to migrating dependent family members? If yes, please share the procedure & requirement to do so. If possible, please share the cost also.
> 
> Just to highlight that the department has asked me to do medical for myself and family members.
> 
> Looking forward for your earliest response.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jmk -

Thanks for the note. The 485 is actually a very tricky visa to apply for depending on your circumstances - lots of requirements that must be met at time of application and cannot be fixed later. Happy to work through your circumstances at a consultation to give you an opinion on eligibility and advise re: specific requirements, but too complex for quick answer here on the forum - see website below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jmk said:


> hi mark i have few doubts related to my 485 visa and 189 visa.
> i have completed my first year in university and then transferred to college and completed my masters of professional accounting, i have original transcripts from the university and the college, i have also received my completion letter. will there be any any issue if i apply for my 485 visa???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ringu412 -

Thanks for the note. Re: 457, yes the temporary visa exclusion period would be still in effect if it were less than 3 years after the overstay, but generally persons in a partner relationship (established) and onshore living with partner as you'd be (I assume) if you were granted the 485 subsequent entrant visa would be somewhat likely to get a waiver - tricky part however is that the waiver requires benefit to an Australian citizen or permanent resident - a 457 applicant would be neither. Would be case officer's discretion on this - maybe you could claim benefit to the Australian business as a way to get the waiver - woudl depend on your circumstances.

Re: evidence, can't evaluate without seeing it - your list looks a little light frankly (ie, no joint lease, etc), but couldn't give you any sort of an opinion without reviewing the actual evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ringu412 said:


> Hi, Mark
> I'm actually a former customer of you. I am under the 4014 ban for overstaying a bridging visa A for 12 days and you advised me that the ban is not affected for 485 dependent visa. I am currently being prepared to send a 485 subsequent entrant offshore visa after my partner's visa granted. I wonder if these proofs are enough to demonstrate my de facto relationship or do i need to provide more?
> Assuming I will get the 485 SE, if my partner got a sponsorship 457, I still have a ban affected on me and won't be able to add as a dependent with him on 457 right? Thanks
> 
> Proof of 12 months living together
> •	Certified Domestic relationship certificate - Victoria relationship Act 2008 - application from 4/1/2016 (Exemptions from the one year relationship requirement) from Birth, Death and Marriage.
> 
> The history of the relationship through a signed statement individually:
> •	Statutory declaration from each person
> 
> Financial aspects of the relationship:
> Joint bank statement account creating from 12/2015 always used with a lot of purchases
> Individual bank statement before 12/2015 showing frequent money sent to each other
> The nature of the household, such as:
> The couple's living arrangements including sharing responsibilities within the home. - Relationship statement
> Social context:
> Travel documents 4 travel tickets and hotels booked with both names
> Music festivals and classes with both names
> Pictures of family, friends and co-workers from different occasions (same workplace) - 12 pictures
> 2 statements (Australian citizen) with a copy of identification
> The couple's commitment to each other:
> Correspondence and telephone accounts to show that the couple maintained contact during any periods of separation.
> •	Mostly viber incuding phone calls and viber message everyday from 28/05/2016 onwards
> •	Skype calls
> 
> I wonder if these will be enough? Thank you so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunilkiran -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunilkiran said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am planning to apply for Australia PR and please suggest me whether I have to apply for 189 or 190.
> 
> Qualification: B.Tech in Civil Engineering+PGDM in General Management
> Work experience: in IT, 6.7 years after B.Tech, 2.7 years after PGDM.
> 
> Appreciate help in answering the below queries.
> 
> a) Please let me know whether I am eligible for 189 visa as I don't want to restrict myself to work only in state that sponsors me. As far as my knowledge related to 190 visa, I have to work in that state for minimum 2 years.
> 
> b) Also, from other forums I came to know 6 years of work experience will be deducted as I did Bachelors in Civil engineering even though I am working in IT. Please let me know the authenticity of this statement.
> 
> c) I am looking to apply for PR as joint application including my spouse. Please let me know whether my wife should also take PTE along with me to prove English language ability or my wife should take PTE exam in case if I am claiming partner qualification points of 5.
> 
> d) Can I go ahead and submit application now to ACS to check the assessment of my application to start the process?
> 
> A quick answer is highly appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunilkiran -

No offence to you or the other poster, but these posts are full of potential problems. It is simply not possible to assess skilled visas based on such abbreviated information. If you both want to have a discussion on another thread here and trade anecdotes about what you've "heard", then that's fine, but please don't respond or discuss questions here on this thread as I cannot endorse what has been posted here in any way - for instance, 190 visas have a legal obligation to the state re: live & work there 2 years. There are all kinds of ways that qualifications or other things can not qualify. Skills assessment requirements for ACS tend to be much more difficult for bus analyst than proj manager, but again depends on your circumstances. Is your immigration "consultant" registered by OMARA? If not, you may want to enquire as to why not, and what protections you have from that agent's services if misconduct or negligence occurs, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



sunilkiran said:


> Thanks for your quick response. Please find below the assessment done by an immigration consultant in Bangalore.
> 
> I worked from Sep-2005 to June-2012 in IT firm. I have 8.5 months eligible experience as per skill assessment requirements. After this period, I did full time PGDM for 15 months and I have been working since Sep-2013 to till date that has 2.5 years of experience. So, my work experience considered was 3+ years as of now
> 
> Age -33 - 25 points
> Qualification - 15 points
> Experience - 5 points (for 3.3 years after deducting 6 years of work experience from total 9.5 years of experience)
> I have only 45 points now.
> 
> If I go for 190 visa, I will get 5 points from state nomination leading to 50 points.
> 
> I am yet to take PTE-A and need to score 20 points to be eligible for 189 or 10 points to be eligible for 190 visa.
> 
> Immigration consultant advised me to file for ICT Business Analyst as majority of my work experience falls under that area even though I am working as a Project Manager for the past 2 years.
> 
> My wife's occupation is not listed under SOL.
> 
> Immigration consultant informed me that 190 visa after 2013 does not have state restriction and has shown some sample VISA grants where Visa conditions are NIL under 190. Please let me know if this statement is valid.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JD -

Depends on how obvious the relevance of the work experience is (based on documentation) to your nominated occupation - if very obvious and beyond any doubt, you may not need the separate skilled employment assessment. If there is a question or doubt, may be better to have this done as DIBP will honour the results in almost every case.

Re: EA checklist for 189, EA assessment has nothing to do with DIBP rules for 189 or any other visa, so they are separate issues.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ausmighelp said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am just wondering what's the importance of Optional Service-Relevant Skilled Employment ? and when do i need to opt for this option ?
> 
> I am Applying for Australia PR Sub Class 189 (Points based + Non recognised Qualification) . I have 9 years of experience & want to claim points for my migration .So do i need to opt for Relevant Skilled Employment along with my standard CDR assessment or just just stick with standard CDR assessment ?
> If i need to stick with Standard CDR Assessment then when do i claim my points for employment ?
> 
> Aside to that , could anyone share the check-list for EA assessment for Subclass 189
> 
> Thanks in Advance..
> 
> Regards
> JD


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BelAle -

I believe they used to be published in other languages but may no longer be. Probably government trying to save money!

Best,

Mark Northam



BelAle said:


> Hi, does anyone know if the Partner Migration Booklet comes in other languages, specifically Italian? My partner speaks, reads and writes English well, however I thought it might be a bit less stress for him if he can read it in his own language as well?
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tazui1982 -
'
Thanks for the note. Looks promising, however the only way to tell for sure is to very carefully go through the requirements for 3 entities - the skills assessor for that occupation, NT Skilled Visa requirements (and check for any per-occupation additional requirements - see www.anzscosearch.com for a handy reference), and DIBP requirements for the 190 visa especially points test and requirements for work experience, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tazui1982 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm currently seeking advice to apply for visa - 190 NT nomination under CSOL HR Adviser. Here's what I have:
> + Bachelor degree in HR from Monash University (Australian university)
> + 34 years old, married with 2 kids (I won't be claiming points for spouse as she qualifies for none).
> + 12 years in HR, 7 of which in large multinational corporations manufacturing cell phones in Vietnam.
> + IELTS 7.0 overall
> + Enough funds to live anywhere in NT for 1 year.
> 
> Do you think I would have any chances for visa 190 with NT nomination?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Umadkhan -

ACS may deduct between 2 and 6 years depending on their assessment of your Bachelor degree. These deducted years cannot be claimed as skilled employment for DIBP points, only employment after the "deeming date" you get on your ACS skills assessment.

Better not to have an overlap in claimed employment, so better to adjust the end date of the first one so it reflects the actual time you worked there and not any leave time at the end of the employment, but depends on circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



umadkhan said:


> Hi,
> 
> I want to apply for ACS and than for EOI:
> 
> I went through ACS site and find out that they will exclude two years of experience to fullfill their requirements, so my question is:
> 
> 1- DIBP will consider the same experience as assessed by ACS, as I have 9+ years of experience and if they deduct 2 years of experience than I will get points for 5 years only?
> 
> 2- Second I have an overlap of 1 month+ in my previous and current experience, because of my annual vacations I resigned and took vacations from my last employer and at the same time I joined my current employer. So what will be the impact?
> 
> Regards and Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi mliw90 -

Generally birth certificate and Australian passport are sufficient. Passport with married name generally serves as evidence of name change unless you have an additional document from the country that did that (ie, deed poll document, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mliw90 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm applying for the 300 visa soon. I was a bit confused on what documentation my fiancee needs to provide. It says:
> 
> a birth certificate
> an Australian passport or foreign passport containing evidence of permanent residence
> an Australian citizenship certificate
> for New Zealand citizens, evidence of length of residence in Australia and of continuing links with Australia.
> 
> Does she need to only provide one of these or would all of the above be recommended?
> 
> Also, she has just recently divorced and still has her previous married name. We were planning just to wait to change it to mine once we're married rather than having her change it back to her maiden now and then again. Do we need to provide any kind of documentation that she had changed her name in the past and if so what? I saw this statement in the requirements doc and was unsure:
> 
> "If your name has changed or the name of anyone included in your application has changed: a certified copy of evidence of the name change."
> 
> Assuming she provided her passport with her current name would this be sufficient and if she provides her passport does she need to provide a birth certificate (which would obviously have her maiden name) or any other form of identification? Just want to make sure I'm thorough in getting this right.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tronic -

Glad you enjoy the thread - hope it's not putting you to sleep!

You'll have to answer "yes" to the visa cancelled question, but a brief explanation is fine, ie "Visa cancelled on (date) based on insufficient documentation of regional employment"

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tronic said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> What a useful thread, its provided me with a lot of reading - thank you.
> 
> I wondered if you could please give me a little advice; I was on a working holiday visa Feb 2014 (when i met my partner in March 2014), but my visa got cancelled when we returned off holiday at Sydney airport because i couldnt evidence strongly enough the regional work. I was sent back to England from the airport in Jan 2015 and my australian citizen partner got a transfer with his work to London and followed me in March 2015.
> 
> We have been living together since May 2014 and i have no problems with evidencing the financial, social and history of our relationship. We sought some initial advice from a local migration agent who advised that there was an exclusion period of 12 months (now expired) but regardless, this would not make any difference to our application for a partner visa.
> 
> We are now in the process of gathering the evidence to make the application and my main worry for the whole application is how to go about answering the question "Has the applicant ever had a visa cancelled".
> 
> Does this need to be a factual account of what happened that day in Sydney airport or does it just need to be yes/no and dates. They will no doubt have the background paperwork for this so i dont want to be stating the obvious, but im not sure about how much detail to go into. The box to answer it in is around 300 characters.
> 
> What would you advise?
> 
> Thank you so much in advance.
> 
> Tronic


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ikhans12 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



ikhans12 said:


> HI Mark
> I am looking for an assesment for 189 visa my details are as under
> 1. Age 31 years and 4 months
> 2. BS (CS ) 16 year
> 3. 9 years and 6 months of experience as Software in multinational companies
> 4. IELTS 7 overall
> 5. Married and have 3 kids
> 6. Points calculater indicate 60 points without claiming IETLS 10 points
> Waiting for your response. thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Monpetiterouge -

Highly unpredictable, wish I could give you something better - I am assuming you're talking about an offshore partner visa.

Best,

Mark Northam



monpetiterouge said:


> Hey Mark!
> Do you know the processing times on average once you have had correspondence from your CO! I received an email today requesting some info which I've sent through now.. Wondering now if I'm expected to wait the full 12-14 months London Office is quoting. I lodged my application last month!


----------



## mliw90

MarkNortham said:


> Hi mliw90 -
> 
> Generally birth certificate and Australian passport are sufficient. Passport with married name generally serves as evidence of name change unless you have an additional document from the country that did that (ie, deed poll document, etc).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for the response.

I have a few more follow up questions to this.

1) How long is the average wait time for the 300 visa? I have heard 5-7 months, does that sound correct. I'm from the US if that helps.

2) Are the visas very often denied and if so for what reason? I plan on being complete and thorough, but obviously a little anxious about the whole process and making sure it goes smooth especially with the money involved. I don't forsee any reason for it to be denied (sufficient evidence of relationship through skype, texts, and pics, statements from friends, will get noim, i have no criminal record, medicals should be no worries), but still curious if there are any other reasons it ever gets denied.

3) Am I allowed to travel to Australia while the visa is being processed? I am planning two more trips during the processing time, but read I have to be in the US when it is granted. Do I need to contact anyone in regards to my travels?

4) What are the regulations on fingerprinting from within the US? I have heard that they must be done on the inked sheets (FD-258). However, my state has told me they usually only do the inkless method now for fingerprint testing. I am planning to get my prints done with ink to send to the FBI for my federal check, but for my state check is the inkless search acceptable or must it be done using the ink pad method?


----------



## Yoli

Hi Mark,

Just a question. Is it the CO that makes the final decision as to whether or not the visa is granted?


----------



## SweetCple

MarkNortham said:


> Hi SweetCple -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Some thoughts:
> * If you are in Australia on sc300 PMV, fee to lodge onshore partner visa is only $1145.
> * Yes, lots of relationship evidence is required
> * Processing time for these is often only a few months!
> * Once you apply for 820/801 and are onshore, you can get Medicare immediately by showing evidence of having applied for the 820/801.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark
Thank you so much for your time & efforts....just a question re: your answer....does the "lots of evidence" need to be included at time of lodgment or can be uploaded afterwards?...the only thing is my fiance yes arrived on Sc300 PMV and she's only been here for one month so far & we are getting married 31st July (in 2 weeks) so we don't have alot of evidence different to what we gave for the PMV...what more could we give to the embassy being it's such a short time from when she arrived in Oz to when we will lodge the 820/801

Kind Regards & All The Best


----------



## jimmy_16

Dear Mark,

I’m having few queries on the question in visa application “has the applicant been employed in the last 10 years”.

I have completed Relevant Skilled Employment Assessment from Engineers Australia for the work experience from Sep 2006 to Oct 2010 and Feb 2011 to May 2016. (Total 9 years 4 months) and filled these details in the EOI. 

I also worked from Oct 2005 to Aug 2006 (10 months) and Nov 2010 to Jan 2011 (3 months), total 13 months experience and didn’t mention this employment history in EOI or got assessment since I do not have experience / reference letters.

1. Is it okay to mention this 13 months of work experience on visa application and mark as not related to the nominated position just to show total 10 years of work experience? 
2. Will DIBP ask me to submit reference letters for this employment marked as not related? 
2. Is 9 years 4 months of work experience sufficient to claim 15 points or do we have to show complete 10 years of work experience?
3. Can we add new employment details on the visa application which was not provided in the EOI? I’ve read on forums, providing new info on visa application which is not mentioned on EOI will be subjected for rejection.

Thank you for your time!


----------



## idreesshah

Hi Mark,
Thanks for the reply. The visa type is Skilled Nominated Visa-SubClass-190. The members are already added as Non-Migrating. Now, I want to add them as Migrating Members. What's the procedure to do so?
Do i have to fill Form-1022 etc?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Idreesshah -
> 
> You didn't mention what visa you had applied for - for most visas you can add dependents (partner & children) after application - see DIBP website for your particular visa for specific instructions and costs depending on your visa. Important you add them before the visa is granted, as once visa is granted it becomes much more expensive to sponsor them for partner, child visas. Health exams (and police checks) required for all dependents, whether migrating or not.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## cheerfulness

hi mark..
i want to apply for an offshore partner visa for my husband I have some questions to ask:
1.I am currently unemployed so do I need someone to support me financially??

2.in the sponsor form part E question 35 asks to include details about partners family who are included in the sponsorship but I am not sponsoring my husband's family,i am only applying for my husband so what should I write in this part, should I leave it blank??

3.I want to lodge the application from Australia can I pay visa chargers cash?? 

thanks in advance
regards
sandy


----------



## M.rvr123#

Hi Mark,

I applied for a partner visa in Oct 2014. My partner is Aus/ british and i'm French.
I finally got my 820 in Feb 2016 and should be eligible for my PR in Oct 2016.

1. Do you know what kind of documents we have to send? I know they have to send a letter very soon with what they need from us but I just to make sure 

2. How long does it get to get my 801 granted? On some website it says 4-8 months, 6-12months and now 12-15 months ? 

I'm so confused. I just want to be able to finally live in Australia and not be nervous anymore about this visa situation

thanks
M.


----------



## wechatline

Dear Mark,
I leave messages @ skype.
If you have time, please have a look.
Thank you!


----------



## abbasazarmehrput

*Enquiry about employment letter*

Dear Mark,

I want to upload my employment letter indicating that I am a chemical
engineer holding senior process engineer in the company along with
detailed duties. I should mention that I was assessed as an Industrial
Engineer by Engineers Australia. I just want to know the occupation
designated by Engineers Australia will be considered by CO? I mean
he/she will not examine independently my employment letter and
described duties?

I am worried that the statement of " a chemical engineer" in my
employment letter could confuse CO, and he/she asks himself/herself
why I did not choose chemical engineer as my nominated occupation.

Regards,


----------



## abbasazarmehrput

*Uploading documents in immiacount*

Dear Mark,

Upon uploading my documents, is it feasible to merge related documents in one pdf file and attach it. For example, can I put all my pay slips, both in English and Persian, in one PDF file and attach it? Or can I put my birth certificate, in English and Persian, in one PDF file.

Thank you for your help.


----------



## mcwtang

Dear Mark,

I am an Australian citizen residing in Hong Kong and would like to apply
for offshore partner visa application (subclass 309 & 100) for my partner.
There are a some questions i would like to ask before i submit my
application and would appreciate much if you can help.

With regards to the application, i've read from the partner migration
booklet that any existing debts can affect on the visa application. I have
a HELP debt (with full deferral around AUD$20K) which hasn't commenced repayment yet since i relocated to HK straight after i finish my studies in Australia. I was
wondering how that would affect my visa application and whether the debt
has to be fully paid off before i could apply for partner visa? I noticed
that overseas repayments will be introduced for overseas citizen in the
upcoming financial year. If i start to repay my HECs debt then, or try to make voluntary repayments now, would that be considered as a 'satisfactory arrangement' in order for the visa application to be successful?

I have tried to look for information regarding this matter everywhere, tried to contact my local consulate but wasn't very informative about this, really hoping you can help. Thanks in advance.


----------



## renjunair

*Getting started with AUS PR - ACS SA*

Hi Mark,

Seeing the threads, I simply say, KUDOS to you to reach out on every query 

Here I am with mine

My skills adding below 
Age : 33
BscIT & MCA (from Sikkim Manipal University)
Around 10 years of wrk exp in IT industry as Software Tester

My doubts:-
1) Is Sikkim Manipal University's degress ACS approve? I know that you cannot predict, atleast from your experience you can say 
2) Since Software Testing is not in SOL and in CSOL, I can go for State Sponsorship only, Right? If so, before submitting ACS asessment, I should better know the rules and regulations for State Sponsorship. But I am unable to get the type of Visa I should choose? 
3) So if my ACS result is positive, that result can tell me about SS? Or is it something whihc I should take an initiative that I need a SS? If so, when to take that step?

I think for getting started with the PR process, I am good with the queries and looking forward to hear from you. Thanks in adv!


----------



## Riccardo

Hi Mark,

Thank you for giving professional advice to people like me on this forum.

I`m an Italian citizen living in the United Kingdom for almost 5 years. 

- I was granted an Australian 189 permanent residence visa in April 2016. 
- I`m becoming a permanent resident of the UK in September 2016.
- I am going to enter Australia (thus becoming a permanent resident of Australia) in September 2016 the first time.

And what comes next? I don`t know. I`m not sure how life will work out for me in Australia. I`m worried that I may want to come back to the UK after a few years. However I may not be allowed to as the UK is getting out of the EU and UK permanent residence rights cease after being away from the UK for more than 2 years. Therefore I`m considering applying for British citizenship after my initial entry to Australia.

So a possible scenario would be:
- September 2016: validating my permanent residence visa in Australia, than moving back to the UK
- September 2017: applying for UK citizenship (possible only after living 6 years in the UK)
- April 2018: UK citizenship granted
- September 2018: Moving to Australia
- September 2022: Applying for Australian citizenship

After all this I would have triple citizenship and I could move back to the UK if life doesn`t work out in Australia. 

Do you think this is a possible route to go on? Is it against any Australian law? Will I be allowed to re-enter Australia with my 189 visa in 2018 and eligible for Australian citizenship in 2022 even though I acquire British citizenship after my initial entry?

I would appreciate your opinion on this.

Thank you and all the best,
Riccardo


----------



## Arpi

Dear Mark,

I am a lucky owner of a 189 visa. I`m visiting Australia next month for two weeks and I`m not sure what restrictions apply to me during this first visit.

Before my visa was granted my CO asked me to fill in form 80. Under point 23 in section “Part H – Proposed travel or further stay details” I had to name the city of arrival (Sydney) and list the towns/cities I would like to visit during my time in Australia (Melbourne). Also, under point 31 in section “Part I – Address(es) in Australia” I had to provide the details of the place(s) I would like to stay during my visit (I put down a hotel in Sydney).

Than the 189 visa was granted without restrictions. (“Visa conditions = NIL”) 

Does this mean that I can visit any cities and stay anywhere in Australia during my first visit, or I`m restricted to visit/stay at the places I have provided in form 80?

I had only a few weeks for filling in and submitting form 80 and I didn`t have time to do a comprehensive research as to where I should settle down in Australia. Now I`d like to visit other cities and stay in other hotels as well in order to maximise my chances of finding work and affordable accommodation for the long term. Do I need to ask permission from the authorities to do so?

Thank you so so so much in advance!

Arpi


----------



## CarolinJ

*Help with applying for 485*

Dear Mark!
I really hope you can help me as I have found no suitable information online.
I studied in Australia for 2 years on a higher education visa 573 but this has now expired (in July) and I am back home in Germany.
I want to apply for a 485 temporary graduate visa and meet all the requirements in the post study stream (younger than 50, met the English language requirement, met the Australian study requirement in the last six months (in May), meet health and character requirements, meet the specific requirements of the stream in which you are applying for this visa). In order to apply I must hold an eligible visa which is true in my case as I "have held an eligible student visa at any time in the past six months and [...] now hold a substantive visa". 
The substantive visa for me could be a working holiday visa 417 or a tourist visa. Which one would you recommend? Which rights will I have on my subsequent Bridging Visa if I apply from one of those?
I really hope you can assist me,
Thanks a bunch
Carolin


----------



## viking

Hi Mark
I want to ask something about Vetassess assessment of wholesaler.
I have my bachelor degree in china, and after that worked as a sales assistant in a trading company based in Dubai. I got promoted to purchase manager after 6month, and worked for 2.5 years. Then I got a job as sales manager in another trading company, I worked here for 2 years up to now.
1.	The official described job duty of wholesaler is same as my daily work. But I worry about that they will say my duty was not comprehensive enough because of my title is only purchase or sales manager in a period of time
2.	Is economics highly relevant to wholesaler?
3.	The salary prove I can provide is only payslips,because there is no tax system in Dubai, and I always receive cash from my company.
4.	The work experience is not in my homeland, is there anything I should notice?


----------



## anozz

*State sponsorship*

Hi Mark,

I have a question. 
I have applied for EOI, keeping the state option as "Victoria", and applied for Victoria State sponsorship. Then I received a message from Victoria state saying my request got rejected due to more number of applicants have applied and there are less places available for the applied CSOL category.

Now, Queensland is open for that particular category, and I want to apply. Can I edit the EOI State option to "Queensland" or should I send a new EOI application? What are the odds that an application once rejected by a state would be treated equally for other states?

Thanks in advance,


----------



## Monicax20x

ealth undertaking 815 + Student visa 573
File lodged 22June 2016
First Medical 2 May 2016
Second Medical submitted 15 July 2016 
(Sputum test cause of past TB history)
Medical clearance given on same date.
Undertaking - 21 July 2016
Class start - 25 July 2016
Extension granted - 5 August 2016

If everything is okay then why I have not granted the visa,I have already missed by class commencement date.

I am worried that it might leads to rejection.
My educational background is strong and funds I have shown loan from Credila plus my mother is govt employee so her saving account is also shown.

Do they reject visa after undertaking?or they give undertaking after considering everything.?Of that the case why they have not granted the visa cause my intake is about to reach its deadline.
Plus I don't want to waste my 6 months and I am afraid DIBP might reject my visa cause time is flying and everything is submitted still not granted visa.


----------



## raman180

Hi Mark

I am all set to lodge an online offshore partner visa application for my wife. Her passport shows no Surname on it and her given name column shows two names, One given at the time of her birth and one universal community surname as she is from Sikh religion ( Indian people are well aware of this). Now if I leave her family name or surname option blank, it does not proceed further showing an error of family name being mandatory. A lot of times, people have put the universal family name in the surname's column, but if I do it this way then it is no more as per her passport. What to do??????????


----------



## raman180

Hi Mark

I found this link online. Please have a look and tell if it works for online applications as well ??????????
https://www.ecom.immi.gov.au/citz/h...jdk16-6633-worker?action=help_185#IndianNames

Regards

Raman


----------



## Blondiefee

Hi mark,
Hope it's ok to ask ... We currently live in the uk, but would like to be in Oz by the end of the year.
I'm Australian and my partners permanent visa has been granted! Yay.

House is on market, but no joy so far.
Can I ask, we are after getting some 'sound' financial advice... Re pensions, tax, etc.
We have read some horror stories!! So I hope it's ok to ask, if you could point in a general direction, it would be much appreciated. 
Regards.


----------



## Katcut

*Help me mark*

Hi mark hope you will notice this post i just need someone to enlighten me 

how will i know if a 3 year ban applies on my visa cancellation?

My story:

-I finished my div 2 and decided to do div 1 nursing after.
- during my first trimester( july 7) i got pregnant by my aussie bf (found out september)
- we planned to get married but he backed out
- i got depressed so i decided to go home immediately since i do not have any relatives in australia. I informed uni but i was unable to attend the meeting as i left october 4.
-honest mistake, i thought i sent my message back to uni but was left under draft, although i informed them my situation that i am no longer in australia by the time they replied. Anyway, my visa was cancelled.

My bf and i got back together and now engaged, our son has been granted citizenship by descent but i can not bring him to australia since i am banned for 3 years, is there a way i can waive this? Can i apply for a fiance visa and have a waiver for the ban where i can prove that i left the country on that day? Please help.


----------



## fiontong

Hi Mark

Hope u all well.

I am currently in 820 queue(just hit 12 months) and waiting for the visa grant. I had a 4 weeks BVB in June and already expired.

May I ask I need to inform DIBP I am back to Aus or leave it is OK.


Thanks, fion


----------



## skathwal

ask mark
hi i am on student visa in australia and i m finishing my degree this oct i am planning to put TR with my boy frnd he is in new zealand and he have 3 year ban on student visa for australia is thre any way that he can put TR with me as we are planning to do court marriage this september thanks


----------



## djm

Hi Mark.

I have a quick question.
I have a partner visa 309 in application. I have been assigned a CO and been asked for medical and police checks (polices checks done and uploaded, medical booked for next week)

I have applied for a visitor visa 600 as we want to go and visit my boyfriends family in Oz, I phoned immigration and they adviced my to apply for the visitor 600 rather than a tourist visa.

The website says visitor 600 visa are processed within 1working day from a low risk country (UK) however mine have not yet been processed.
Would you know why this is? Or how long I am likely to wait?

Thanks heaps


----------



## AussieUK2015

*NOICC timeline for cancelling*

Hi Mark

Firstly thanks for all your help on this forum, I'm sure there are hundreds of people who have benefited from your generosity on this site!

I have been issued with a NOICC (notice of intention to consider cancellation) on my 457 visa because I have not met condition 8107. I am submitting a response to ask to keep my 457 visa while I continue to seek work. However, if they decide to cancel it, I wondered how much notice they would give me before the actual cancellation? I am about to go to regional NT for a week or so, and I'm worried the cancellation will take immediate effect and I won't know about it as I can't pick up email. Do they usually send the cancellation notification giving you a set time period to leave the country / apply for another visa etc? Or can they send the notification telling you they have immediately cancelled the visa? If cancelled I will need to apply for a bridging visa as I am waiting for the outcome of an application for a substantive visa that requires me to be in Australia, so I assume I cannot leave the country as I will not be able to get a visa to come back.

Many thanks


----------



## Sylviacoyle

*Please help Mark*

Hi Mark 
I'm on a bridging visa E and waiting for my partner visa 
I had a restriction on my bridging visa E saying no work 
I applied for work permission and got an email after a month saying I have to go for an interview in immigration 
Can you tell me what kind of questions I can expect ? 
Thank you kindly


----------



## John Clip

This is an excellent thread and I thank Mark for it. 
I am letting folks asking here know that I personally recommend from my own experience that in my opinion it is well worth a short phone consultation with Mark before lodging your application. I say that as he may know of other little things and advise you as in my case that is not published by the department. I had a particularly difficult medical case that I thank him for his professional advice and being "human". 

I typically don't like law related people, lawyers etc, I found him to be refreshingly different and easy to talk to and there was most defiantly no push to up sell his services to me. 

I am glad I found him here and in the big picture of the cost etc of the application I can recommend his services.


----------



## mdsharif

*Visa Grant and PR enquiry*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mdsharif -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No way to predict what will happen on this one, but I would gather evidence to show the date the company closed (if possible) and have it ready if DIBP asks for further info.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, I got 489 visa for me and my wife in 21st july 2016. The IED is 16th September 2016 for both. Recently i got to know that my wife is pregnant around 2 months. I am going to Sydney approximately 2nd week of September and then go to Orana region. I dont want to take any risk as she is pregnant. If i request the DIBP to change the IED of my wife will they change it?
2nd thing: i applied my 489 Visa last year 11th july 2015. that time my job experience was 7 year. Now i have 8 years job experince and i can fulfill 60 points independently. can i apply again for 189 PR visa as i hold now 489 visa.
Points breakdown: Age: 30, Education: 15, Job experience: 10, State Nomination: 10 ...total=65

Present situation: Age: 30, Education: 15, Job experience: 15, total=60pionts. i am a civil engineer.
so, please suggest can i apply for 189 visa as i am holding now the 489 visa.


----------



## caniharagarwal

Hi Mark,

I have Applied for visa under subclass 500 as per new rule declared on 1 July 2016.
I have still not received my outcome from authority and university course start date is 1 August 2016. Is there anything I can do ? I wanted to know receiving visa after course date is not an issue ?

I have followed up with them. They are asking me to wait for outcome.

Thanks

Regards,

Nihar


----------



## Noel2912

Hi Mark! Hubby and I are currently compiling information for the 801 partner visa. We have been married for 3 years and have two pets and live together in our own place .The only thing we worry about is hubbys and I income. Hubby goes to school and gets Centrelink and we get help from his father where Centrelink doesn't cover. Our worry is that it won't be accepted? Hubby is studying engineering and has gotten top grades so we expect to receive a good pay once he has finished. This is his second degree. We live rurally so things are less. What do you think? Thank you


----------



## killtheoriginal

Hi Mark,

I applied for 189 visa one week ago. My skilled occupation is solicitor and i have 65 points. I understand that the next round of invitation is 3 Aug, based on your experience, when do you reckon i will get my invitation? My student visa is expiring soon.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mliw90 -

Re avg wait time for sc300 PMV visa, typically 9 months, sometimes between 9 and 12 months. Sometimes shorter than 9 months, but very hard to predict.

Re 2 - most common reason for refusal of PMV is not meeting the requirement that the couple intends to enter into a genuine spousal relationship - lots of relationship evid is good, plus lots of detailed plans about your planned future together can help. Many people forget to talk about future plans in their relationship statements, etc.

Re 3, yes can travel to Australia if you can get a visitor visa (ETA for USA citizens). If you are in Australia when they are ready to grant the visa, DIBP will email you and request you depart briefly.

Re FBI checks, we recommend using a Channeler if you are in the USA - the best one we've used is Accurate Biometrics - see Accurate Biometrics - results in 2 days vs 2+ months from FBI, and they are approved by DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mliw90 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the response.
> 
> I have a few more follow up questions to this.
> 
> 1) How long is the average wait time for the 300 visa? I have heard 5-7 months, does that sound correct. I'm from the US if that helps.
> 
> 2) Are the visas very often denied and if so for what reason? I plan on being complete and thorough, but obviously a little anxious about the whole process and making sure it goes smooth especially with the money involved. I don't forsee any reason for it to be denied (sufficient evidence of relationship through skype, texts, and pics, statements from friends, will get noim, i have no criminal record, medicals should be no worries), but still curious if there are any other reasons it ever gets denied.
> 
> 3) Am I allowed to travel to Australia while the visa is being processed? I am planning two more trips during the processing time, but read I have to be in the US when it is granted. Do I need to contact anyone in regards to my travels?
> 
> 4) What are the regulations on fingerprinting from within the US? I have heard that they must be done on the inked sheets (FD-258). However, my state has told me they usually only do the inkless method now for fingerprint testing. I am planning to get my prints done with ink to send to the FBI for my federal check, but for my state check is the inkless search acceptable or must it be done using the ink pad method?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yoli -

Yes, but they do so under the supervision of various layers of management, and there is generally oversight of decisions so a case officer is not able to unilaterally refuse a visa without cause and some level of review, especially if the refusal is based on a subjective criteria such as "genuine", "compelling" etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Yoli said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a question. Is it the CO that makes the final decision as to whether or not the visa is granted?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SweetCple -

Suggest you submit as much evid as you can with the application, then upload as much as you can afterwards during the processing period. You can combine files into multi-page PDF's, etc to make sure you don't exceed the 60 file per applicant (120 for partner visas, since there is an applicant and sponsor) file limitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SweetCple said:


> Hi Mark
> Thank you so much for your time & efforts....just a question re: your answer....does the "lots of evidence" need to be included at time of lodgment or can be uploaded afterwards?...the only thing is my fiance yes arrived on Sc300 PMV and she's only been here for one month so far & we are getting married 31st July (in 2 weeks) so we don't have alot of evidence different to what we gave for the PMV...what more could we give to the embassy being it's such a short time from when she arrived in Oz to when we will lodge the 820/801
> 
> Kind Regards & All The Best


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jimmy -

Thanks for the note. Yes, OK to mention non-relevant work experience, especially on forms such as Form 80 and elsewhere that require ALL work experience - just make sure it's not marked as relevant. DIBP does not require any documentation from non-relevant work experience. Assuming offshore work experience on a skilled visa, total relevant work experience of over 8 years will be awarded 15 points. Addtl work experience that is non-relevant and not included on EOI Is generally not an issue. Addtl work experience on visa app that was not on EOI that is relevant will not be considered for points - only work experience listed on EOI generally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jimmy_16 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I'm having few queries on the question in visa application "has the applicant been employed in the last 10 years".
> 
> I have completed Relevant Skilled Employment Assessment from Engineers Australia for the work experience from Sep 2006 to Oct 2010 and Feb 2011 to May 2016. (Total 9 years 4 months) and filled these details in the EOI.
> 
> I also worked from Oct 2005 to Aug 2006 (10 months) and Nov 2010 to Jan 2011 (3 months), total 13 months experience and didn't mention this employment history in EOI or got assessment since I do not have experience / reference letters.
> 
> 1. Is it okay to mention this 13 months of work experience on visa application and mark as not related to the nominated position just to show total 10 years of work experience?
> 2. Will DIBP ask me to submit reference letters for this employment marked as not related?
> 2. Is 9 years 4 months of work experience sufficient to claim 15 points or do we have to show complete 10 years of work experience?
> 3. Can we add new employment details on the visa application which was not provided in the EOI? I've read on forums, providing new info on visa application which is not mentioned on EOI will be subjected for rejection.
> 
> Thank you for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Idreesshah -

Yes, would complete Form 1022 and upload, and also email the office processing your visa to alert them to this request you have - vital you get the change made before a visa decision is made, as not possible to add them to the 190 visa after the 190 visa is granted - in that case you'd have to sponsor them with child and/or spouse visa applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



idreesshah said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for the reply. The visa type is Skilled Nominated Visa-SubClass-190. The members are already added as Non-Migrating. Now, I want to add them as Migrating Members. What's the procedure to do so?
> Do i have to fill Form-1022 etc?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cheerfulness -

Re: employment, generally not an issue if you show history of employment. Also, govt benefits such as Centrelink can count towards your financial picture.

Re: partner's family, there are 2 separate questions - one asks about migrating dependents, the other asks about non-migrating family members - you should include the family members in the appropriate section.

Re: payment, for an online application must be done via DIBP's online payment function with the application - see more info here: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Fees/how-to-pay-for-an-application

I don't believe there is an option for cash, but you might explore a pre-paid credit card and load it up with the cash you have - just make sure it can process the entire charge in 1 go, as multiple transactions are not allowed. Also note DIBP now accepts Paypal for some online transactions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cheerfulness said:


> hi mark..
> i want to apply for an offshore partner visa for my husband I have some questions to ask:
> 1.I am currently unemployed so do I need someone to support me financially??
> 
> 2.in the sponsor form part E question 35 asks to include details about partners family who are included in the sponsorship but I am not sponsoring my husband's family,i am only applying for my husband so what should I write in this part, should I leave it blank??
> 
> 3.I want to lodge the application from Australia can I pay visa chargers cash??
> 
> thanks in advance
> regards
> sandy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi M -

See this link for complete info on second stage partner visa applications: https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/forms/online/partner-permanent-calculator

Processing time for these has blown out to 12-15 months currently, per DIBP, and that's only an "estimate" they claim. Time for patience!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



M.rvr123# said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for a partner visa in Oct 2014. My partner is Aus/ british and i'm French.
> I finally got my 820 in Feb 2016 and should be eligible for my PR in Oct 2016.
> 
> 1. Do you know what kind of documents we have to send? I know they have to send a letter very soon with what they need from us but I just to make sure
> 
> 2. How long does it get to get my 801 granted? On some website it says 4-8 months, 6-12months and now 12-15 months ?
> 
> I'm so confused. I just want to be able to finally live in Australia and not be nervous anymore about this visa situation
> 
> thanks
> M.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wechatline -

Thanks, but please send me messages to my email listed below in my signature. I get all kinds of crazy stuff on Skype, and rarely go there except to do a Skype consultation because of all the sales pitches, phishing, scams, etc I get whenever I log on - email is always welcome.

Best,

Mark Northam



wechatline said:


> Dear Mark,
> I leave messages @ skype.
> If you have time, please have a look.
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abbasazarmehrput - (you get the award for the longest name today!)

Normally if EA has assessed your work experience and deemed it to be relevant to your nominated occupation, DIBP will not conduct any further or independent research and will defer to EA. DIBP will look for evidence of payment for all work experience claimed for points, etc. If EA has not assessed your work experience (note this is separate from a skills assessment), then DIBP may assess the relevance of the work experience to your nominated occupation - if there is an issue there, normally DIBP may ask you to have EA assess the work experience to provide an expert opinion as to relevance.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abbasazarmehrput said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I want to upload my employment letter indicating that I am a chemical
> engineer holding senior process engineer in the company along with
> detailed duties. I should mention that I was assessed as an Industrial
> Engineer by Engineers Australia. I just want to know the occupation
> designated by Engineers Australia will be considered by CO? I mean
> he/she will not examine independently my employment letter and
> described duties?
> 
> I am worried that the statement of " a chemical engineer" in my
> employment letter could confuse CO, and he/she asks himself/herself
> why I did not choose chemical engineer as my nominated occupation.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Yes, always a good idea to put originals and translations in the same PDF file.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abbasazarmehrput said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Upon uploading my documents, is it feasible to merge related documents in one pdf file and attach it. For example, can I put all my pay slips, both in English and Persian, in one PDF file and attach it? Or can I put my birth certificate, in English and Persian, in one PDF file.
> 
> Thank you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi mcwtang -

I don't see a problem with what you described - as the sponsor, you simply need to be able to show that you could financially support your partner, however this requirement has been softened considerably by law changes in 2010. Re: debts, no requirement that you declare or show debts to the Commonwealth or otherwise as sponsor. There is a debt requirement for applicants where any debt to the Commonwealth must either be repaid or payment arrangements made, but not for sponsors.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mcwtang said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am an Australian citizen residing in Hong Kong and would like to apply
> for offshore partner visa application (subclass 309 & 100) for my partner.
> There are a some questions i would like to ask before i submit my
> application and would appreciate much if you can help.
> 
> With regards to the application, i've read from the partner migration
> booklet that any existing debts can affect on the visa application. I have
> a HELP debt (with full deferral around AUD$20K) which hasn't commenced repayment yet since i relocated to HK straight after i finish my studies in Australia. I was
> wondering how that would affect my visa application and whether the debt
> has to be fully paid off before i could apply for partner visa? I noticed
> that overseas repayments will be introduced for overseas citizen in the
> upcoming financial year. If i start to repay my HECs debt then, or try to make voluntary repayments now, would that be considered as a 'satisfactory arrangement' in order for the visa application to be successful?
> 
> I have tried to look for information regarding this matter everywhere, tried to contact my local consulate but wasn't very informative about this, really hoping you can help. Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Renjunair -

Thanks for the note and kind words!

I have no info on your University, wouldn't hazard a guess as to how ACS will compare that to the AQF degree structure.

As your occupation is on the CSOL list and not on SOL list, for a skilled visa you would be looking at either a subclass 190 state sponsored PR visa, or a subclass 489 state sponsored provisional visa. However for either, you need to get a positive skills assessment first, and complete your English language testing first. Then look into what states are sponsoring your occupation and proceed according to the directions on the state's skilled website (they are all different). A great tool to help get more info on this is Anzscosearch | Occupation eligibility Australia Skilled Visa

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



renjunair said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Seeing the threads, I simply say, KUDOS to you to reach out on every query
> 
> Here I am with mine
> 
> My skills adding below
> Age : 33
> BscIT & MCA (from Sikkim Manipal University)
> Around 10 years of wrk exp in IT industry as Software Tester
> 
> My doubts:-
> 1) Is Sikkim Manipal University's degress ACS approve? I know that you cannot predict, atleast from your experience you can say
> 2) Since Software Testing is not in SOL and in CSOL, I can go for State Sponsorship only, Right? If so, before submitting ACS asessment, I should better know the rules and regulations for State Sponsorship. But I am unable to get the type of Visa I should choose?
> 3) So if my ACS result is positive, that result can tell me about SS? Or is it something whihc I should take an initiative that I need a SS? If so, when to take that step?
> 
> I think for getting started with the PR process, I am good with the queries and looking forward to hear from you. Thanks in adv!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Riccardo -

Thanks for the note. Your plans looks fine from an Australian point of view. Australia does not care what other citizenships you hold or acquire while holding an Australian PR visa, so based on current regulations, your gaining UK citizenship while holding an Australian PR visa would not affect that visa. And holding foreign citizenship(s) is not a bar to being granted Australian citizenship, so fine there too.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Riccardo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for giving professional advice to people like me on this forum.
> 
> I`m an Italian citizen living in the United Kingdom for almost 5 years.
> 
> - I was granted an Australian 189 permanent residence visa in April 2016.
> - I`m becoming a permanent resident of the UK in September 2016.
> - I am going to enter Australia (thus becoming a permanent resident of Australia) in September 2016 the first time.
> 
> And what comes next? I don`t know. I`m not sure how life will work out for me in Australia. I`m worried that I may want to come back to the UK after a few years. However I may not be allowed to as the UK is getting out of the EU and UK permanent residence rights cease after being away from the UK for more than 2 years. Therefore I`m considering applying for British citizenship after my initial entry to Australia.
> 
> So a possible scenario would be:
> - September 2016: validating my permanent residence visa in Australia, than moving back to the UK
> - September 2017: applying for UK citizenship (possible only after living 6 years in the UK)
> - April 2018: UK citizenship granted
> - September 2018: Moving to Australia
> - September 2022: Applying for Australian citizenship
> 
> After all this I would have triple citizenship and I could move back to the UK if life doesn`t work out in Australia.
> 
> Do you think this is a possible route to go on? Is it against any Australian law? Will I be allowed to re-enter Australia with my 189 visa in 2018 and eligible for Australian citizenship in 2022 even though I acquire British citizenship after my initial entry?
> 
> I would appreciate your opinion on this.
> 
> Thank you and all the best,
> Riccardo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arpi -

You are completely free to arrive and live anywhere in Australia regardless of what you put on Form 80, no problem at all.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Arpi said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am a lucky owner of a 189 visa. I`m visiting Australia next month for two weeks and I`m not sure what restrictions apply to me during this first visit.
> 
> Before my visa was granted my CO asked me to fill in form 80. Under point 23 in section "Part H - Proposed travel or further stay details" I had to name the city of arrival (Sydney) and list the towns/cities I would like to visit during my time in Australia (Melbourne). Also, under point 31 in section "Part I - Address(es) in Australia" I had to provide the details of the place(s) I would like to stay during my visit (I put down a hotel in Sydney).
> 
> Than the 189 visa was granted without restrictions. ("Visa conditions = NIL")
> 
> Does this mean that I can visit any cities and stay anywhere in Australia during my first visit, or I`m restricted to visit/stay at the places I have provided in form 80?
> 
> I had only a few weeks for filling in and submitting form 80 and I didn`t have time to do a comprehensive research as to where I should settle down in Australia. Now I`d like to visit other cities and stay in other hotels as well in order to maximise my chances of finding work and affordable accommodation for the long term. Do I need to ask permission from the authorities to do so?
> 
> Thank you so so so much in advance!
> 
> Arpi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carolin -

Thanks for the note. The 485 visa is a notoriously tricky visa with lots of ifs/ands/buts - would need to work with you in a consult to give you specific advice on eligibility as we need to work through a number of requirements to make sure you meet them all. Happy to assist at a consult - please see my website below in my signature for more.

Best,

Mark Northam



CarolinJ said:


> Dear Mark!
> I really hope you can help me as I have found no suitable information online.
> I studied in Australia for 2 years on a higher education visa 573 but this has now expired (in July) and I am back home in Germany.
> I want to apply for a 485 temporary graduate visa and meet all the requirements in the post study stream (younger than 50, met the English language requirement, met the Australian study requirement in the last six months (in May), meet health and character requirements, meet the specific requirements of the stream in which you are applying for this visa). In order to apply I must hold an eligible visa which is true in my case as I "have held an eligible student visa at any time in the past six months and [...] now hold a substantive visa".
> The substantive visa for me could be a working holiday visa 417 or a tourist visa. Which one would you recommend? Which rights will I have on my subsequent Bridging Visa if I apply from one of those?
> I really hope you can assist me,
> Thanks a bunch
> Carolin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Viking -

Thanks for the note. Only way to estimate whether work experience will be assessed as relevant to Wholesaler is to look at the individual tasks and duties as described in your employer reference letter and any related documents and compare to the ANZSCO standard tasks/duties for the occupation.If you changed duties/tasks during the period, you'll have to look at each "job" within the period separately. If it is complicated, I'd prepare a written explanation for each period/job title showing how the particular tasks/duties for that period/job directly map to the ANZSCO. See www.anzscosearch.com for lots of handy reference material that can be helpful in these kinds of situations.

Re: payslips, these are generally accepted by VETASSESS and DIBP as evidence of payment for work. No particular issue if work not done in your homeland. Just make sure the documents are 100% authentic and accurate, and include contact info for the writers of the document(s) so DIBP can contact them to confirm if necessary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



viking said:


> Hi Mark
> I want to ask something about Vetassess assessment of wholesaler.
> I have my bachelor degree in china, and after that worked as a sales assistant in a trading company based in Dubai. I got promoted to purchase manager after 6month, and worked for 2.5 years. Then I got a job as sales manager in another trading company, I worked here for 2 years up to now.
> 1.	The official described job duty of wholesaler is same as my daily work. But I worry about that they will say my duty was not comprehensive enough because of my title is only purchase or sales manager in a period of time
> 2.	Is economics highly relevant to wholesaler?
> 3.	The salary prove I can provide is only payslips,because there is no tax system in Dubai, and I always receive cash from my company.
> 4.	The work experience is not in my homeland, is there anything I should notice?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anozz -

No problem changing state to QLD. If you don't get word within 3 months, I'd lodge a new EOI in case QLD's systems didn't pick up your change.

States would generally not care whether an application was rejected by another state in my experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anozz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question.
> I have applied for EOI, keeping the state option as "Victoria", and applied for Victoria State sponsorship. Then I received a message from Victoria state saying my request got rejected due to more number of applicants have applied and there are less places available for the applied CSOL category.
> 
> Now, Queensland is open for that particular category, and I want to apply. Can I edit the EOI State option to "Queensland" or should I send a new EOI application? What are the odds that an application once rejected by a state would be treated equally for other states?
> 
> Thanks in advance,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

I don't know why they haven't given you a decision, however as DIBP is routinely taking 2 to 3 months and more to make student visa decisions, it is risky to apply less than 3 months prior to your course beginning. I'd check with them periodically via email and ask if they need any further information or documents, and politely remind them about your deadline.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Monicax20x said:


> ealth undertaking 815 + Student visa 573
> File lodged 22June 2016
> First Medical 2 May 2016
> Second Medical submitted 15 July 2016
> (Sputum test cause of past TB history)
> Medical clearance given on same date.
> Undertaking - 21 July 2016
> Class start - 25 July 2016
> Extension granted - 5 August 2016
> 
> If everything is okay then why I have not granted the visa,I have already missed by class commencement date.
> 
> I am worried that it might leads to rejection.
> My educational background is strong and funds I have shown loan from Credila plus my mother is govt employee so her saving account is also shown.
> 
> Do they reject visa after undertaking?or they give undertaking after considering everything.?Of that the case why they have not granted the visa cause my intake is about to reach its deadline.
> Plus I don't want to waste my 6 months and I am afraid DIBP might reject my visa cause time is flying and everything is submitted still not granted visa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raman180 -

In those cases, it may be best to put both names in the surname field and leave the given name field blank.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



raman180 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am all set to lodge an online offshore partner visa application for my wife. Her passport shows no Surname on it and her given name column shows two names, One given at the time of her birth and one universal community surname as she is from Sikh religion ( Indian people are well aware of this). Now if I leave her family name or surname option blank, it does not proceed further showing an error of family name being mandatory. A lot of times, people have put the universal family name in the surname's column, but if I do it this way then it is no more as per her passport. What to do??????????


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Blondiefee -

Thanks for the note, however I'm not sure what you're asking - I'm not qualified to provide financial advice if that's what you are looking for - a certified financial adviser/planner or someone like that may be a good choice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Blondiefee said:


> Hi mark,
> Hope it's ok to ask ... We currently live in the uk, but would like to be in Oz by the end of the year.
> I'm Australian and my partners permanent visa has been granted! Yay.
> 
> House is on market, but no joy so far.
> Can I ask, we are after getting some 'sound' financial advice... Re pensions, tax, etc.
> We have read some horror stories!! So I hope it's ok to ask, if you could point in a general direction, it would be much appreciated.
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Katcut -

A visa cancellation will often attract a 3 year exclusion period on all temporary visas (would need to work with you in a consultation to get details on the timeline to determine), but this does not apply to the subclass 300 PMV visa, and re: temporary visas there is a waiver provision available if you can show a substantial benefit to an Australian citizen (your child). Sounds like there are options to proceed - happy to assist further and in more detail at a consultation - see my website listed below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Katcut said:


> Hi mark hope you will notice this post i just need someone to enlighten me
> 
> how will i know if a 3 year ban applies on my visa cancellation?
> 
> My story:
> 
> -I finished my div 2 and decided to do div 1 nursing after.
> - during my first trimester( july 7) i got pregnant by my aussie bf (found out september)
> - we planned to get married but he backed out
> - i got depressed so i decided to go home immediately since i do not have any relatives in australia. I informed uni but i was unable to attend the meeting as i left october 4.
> -honest mistake, i thought i sent my message back to uni but was left under draft, although i informed them my situation that i am no longer in australia by the time they replied. Anyway, my visa was cancelled.
> 
> My bf and i got back together and now engaged, our son has been granted citizenship by descent but i can not bring him to australia since i am banned for 3 years, is there a way i can waive this? Can i apply for a fiance visa and have a waiver for the ban where i can prove that i left the country on that day? Please help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fiontong -

Thanks for the note. No need to notify DIBP of your re-entry into Australia as long as you didn't change passports and you re-entered Australia within the limits on your BVB.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fiontong said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hope u all well.
> 
> I am currently in 820 queue(just hit 12 months) and waiting for the visa grant. I had a 4 weeks BVB in June and already expired.
> 
> May I ask I need to inform DIBP I am back to Aus or leave it is OK.
> 
> Thanks, fion


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skathwal -

By TR I assume you mean a subclass 485 visa? Assuming yes, need to work with you in a consultation as there are a number of tricky clauses to that visa that would need to explore & discuss with you re: secondary applicants - please see website below for more.

Best,

Mark Northam



skathwal said:


> ask mark
> hi i am on student visa in australia and i m finishing my degree this oct i am planning to put TR with my boy frnd he is in new zealand and he have 3 year ban on student visa for australia is thre any way that he can put TR with me as we are planning to do court marriage this september thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DJM -

Thanks for the note. Often UK residents would apply for the usual eVisitor visa in these cases - not sure if there is something in your case history that may indicate that the sc600 visitor visa is better, however sc600's usually take several weeks to be processed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



djm said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> I have a quick question.
> I have a partner visa 309 in application. I have been assigned a CO and been asked for medical and police checks (polices checks done and uploaded, medical booked for next week)
> 
> I have applied for a visitor visa 600 as we want to go and visit my boyfriends family in Oz, I phoned immigration and they adviced my to apply for the visitor 600 rather than a tourist visa.
> 
> The website says visitor 600 visa are processed within 1working day from a low risk country (UK) however mine have not yet been processed.
> Would you know why this is? Or how long I am likely to wait?
> 
> Thanks heaps


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AussieUK2015 -

Thanks for the note. After you have received the NOICC and responded, DIBP can decide to cancel or not at any time, no further notice is given until the decision is made. However if you are onshore and have lodged a valid application onshore that generates a bridging visa, while that bridging visa will be cancelled along with your 457, you can go to DIBP after the cancellation (as soon as possible afterwards) and apply for a Bridging Visa E to remain in Australia until a decision is made on your onshore visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AussieUK2015 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Firstly thanks for all your help on this forum, I'm sure there are hundreds of people who have benefited from your generosity on this site!
> 
> I have been issued with a NOICC (notice of intention to consider cancellation) on my 457 visa because I have not met condition 8107. I am submitting a response to ask to keep my 457 visa while I continue to seek work. However, if they decide to cancel it, I wondered how much notice they would give me before the actual cancellation? I am about to go to regional NT for a week or so, and I'm worried the cancellation will take immediate effect and I won't know about it as I can't pick up email. Do they usually send the cancellation notification giving you a set time period to leave the country / apply for another visa etc? Or can they send the notification telling you they have immediately cancelled the visa? If cancelled I will need to apply for a bridging visa as I am waiting for the outcome of an application for a substantive visa that requires me to be in Australia, so I assume I cannot leave the country as I will not be able to get a visa to come back.
> 
> Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sylviacoyle -

Normally they ask about your financial condition, what income you have been receiving, if you have been working in breach of your BVE conditions (ie, no work allowed currently), and what income your sponsor has been providing. However an interview is a bit unusual in this type of a request, so they may have other questions re: your circumstances in Australia that they want to ask - no good way to tell. You might want to consider bringing along a migration agent who can advise you as to the applicable legislation, etc if it would help you feel more confident, although normally this isn't necessary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sylviacoyle said:


> Hi Mark
> I'm on a bridging visa E and waiting for my partner visa
> I had a restriction on my bridging visa E saying no work
> I applied for work permission and got an email after a month saying I have to go for an interview in immigration
> Can you tell me what kind of questions I can expect ?
> Thank you kindly


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John -

Thanks so much for your kind words! Glad I was able to help.

Best,

Mark Northam



John Clip said:


> This is an excellent thread and I thank Mark for it.
> I am letting folks asking here know that I personally recommend from my own experience that in my opinion it is well worth a short phone consultation with Mark before lodging your application. I say that as he may know of other little things and advise you as in my case that is not published by the department. I had a particularly difficult medical case that I thank him for his professional advice and being "human".
> 
> I typically don't like law related people, lawyers etc, I found him to be refreshingly different and easy to talk to and there was most defiantly no push to up sell his services to me.
> 
> I am glad I found him here and in the big picture of the cost etc of the application I can recommend his services.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mdsharif -

Thanks for the note. The initial entry date (IED) for a visa cannot be changed once a visa is granted - all you can do is to request that they not cancel her visa if she breaches the IED requirement.

Re: 190 app while holding 489, generally not an issue, however you'd have to find a state who was willing to sponsor you for this under these circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mdsharif said:


> Hi Mark, I got 489 visa for me and my wife in 21st july 2016. The IED is 16th September 2016 for both. Recently i got to know that my wife is pregnant around 2 months. I am going to Sydney approximately 2nd week of September and then go to Orana region. I dont want to take any risk as she is pregnant. If i request the DIBP to change the IED of my wife will they change it?
> 2nd thing: i applied my 489 Visa last year 11th july 2015. that time my job experience was 7 year. Now i have 8 years job experince and i can fulfill 60 points independently. can i apply again for 189 PR visa as i hold now 489 visa.
> Points breakdown: Age: 30, Education: 15, Job experience: 10, State Nomination: 10 ...total=65
> 
> Present situation: Age: 30, Education: 15, Job experience: 15, total=60pionts. i am a civil engineer.
> so, please suggest can i apply for 189 visa as i am holding now the 489 visa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nihar -

If you can defer your start date, that can help, however would need to know much more about your circumstances to advise you specifically. Note that student visas should be applied for 3 months in advance, given DIBP's current backlog of applications. DIBP's estimate of 1 month processing is simply not realistic in many cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



caniharagarwal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have Applied for visa under subclass 500 as per new rule declared on 1 July 2016.
> I have still not received my outcome from authority and university course start date is 1 August 2016. Is there anything I can do ? I wanted to know receiving visa after course date is not an issue ?
> 
> I have followed up with them. They are asking me to wait for outcome.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Nihar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Noel2912 -

Thanks for the note. I don't see any issue with the circumstances you've described - financial support from family and Centrelink is considered towards your overall financial picture, and previous work history helps as an indication of future employability.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Noel2912 said:


> Hi Mark! Hubby and I are currently compiling information for the 801 partner visa. We have been married for 3 years and have two pets and live together in our own place .The only thing we worry about is hubbys and I income. Hubby goes to school and gets Centrelink and we get help from his father where Centrelink doesn't cover. Our worry is that it won't be accepted? Hubby is studying engineering and has gotten top grades so we expect to receive a good pay once he has finished. This is his second degree. We live rurally so things are less. What do you think? Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Killtheoriginal -

I've seen solicitors getting invitations fairly quickly over the last 6 months, but as they say, your results may vary! Problem is, chances of invitation are based on unknown factors - specifically the number of people ahead of you in the queue (with higher scores or same score and older EOI dates) and DIBP's internal target of the number they will invite from this occupation in each round.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



killtheoriginal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for 189 visa one week ago. My skilled occupation is solicitor and i have 65 points. I understand that the next round of invitation is 3 Aug, based on your experience, when do you reckon i will get my invitation? My student visa is expiring soon.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## Mohamed_ibrahim86

Hello Mr. Mark, 

Thanks for all your replies to others' inquiries, it has really helped me alot.

Still i have an inquiry, i am pharmacy graduate and i have been working as a pharmacy technician for almost 6 years and i have left the job now. I get paid in cash from my manager ( the owner of the pharmacy ) and i never had a pay slip ( we dont have such a thing here in pharmacies) i have a bank account for other uses and i never deposited my salary in it. So my question is how would I prove my paid salary ? 
I will be glad if you answer me as i am really lost.
Thank you in advance.


----------



## Mi.Ka

*Confused*

Hi Mark,

I am Architect from Serbia and I've been living and working in China for last 4 years.

I got suitable skills assessment from AACA(assessing body for architects) but I am confused about my working experience.

I never took architecture licence exam so I am not registered architect in any country. AACA in general say they don't do assessment for work experience. (in AACA statement says that they have no opinion on registration because I haven't provided one, also says I cannot use architect title in Australia until I go trough rest of procedure).

I am working in China for past 4 years and my official positions were assistant architect and then architect, as expat here I don't need licence to work as an Architect.

I am trying to apply for skilled 189 visa.

My question is, can I claim extra 5 points for this experience or I must be registered architect to claim points on working experience?

Thanks for any help/advice!!!


----------



## killtheoriginal

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Killtheoriginal -
> 
> I've seen solicitors getting invitations fairly quickly over the last 6 months, but as they say, your results may vary! Problem is, chances of invitation are based on unknown factors - specifically the number of people ahead of you in the queue (with higher scores or same score and older EOI dates) and DIBP's internal target of the number they will invite from this occupation in each round.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for you prompt reply. The past 6 months, how long did the applicants for solicitor as their skilled occupation wait for for the invitations?

Thanks.

_Update 3/8:
Hi Mark,

I've received invitation for my 189 application today 3 AUG. But i've got a few more questions and I wonder if you'll be able to help me with them.

I am currently on tourist visa 601 since 29 July 2016, which allows me to stay in Australia for 3 months. I will be traveling back home to Malaysia for my friend's wedding in early October.

I understand that once I submit my 189 application i will get Bridging Visa A when my current visa expires, which is on 29 Oct 2016. I didn't get 601 visa grant letter (I applied via travel agent, have requested for the letter) but i googled, normally "no further stay" condition is not attached on 601. 
1. Does that mean I will be going back to Malaysia in early October using my 601, come back with my 601 and BVA will kick in after my 601 expires?
2. If this is not the case, would you be able to explain to me how it will be, please?

Thanks in advance for your help._


----------



## sachin6690deshmukh

Hi Mark,

Kindly help me.
I am living in Darwin NT.I have completed 2 years stay in regional area recently.i have fulfilled work conditions.but in my 2 year stay in Darwin I went to overseas for 3 months.can I apply for subclass 887 now?or do I need to wait 3 more months to apply for subclass 887?


----------



## monu958

*SA SS work experience requirement*

Hi Mark,

We spoke this year regarding the state sponsorship for the Northern Territory. I am working as a restaurant manager in New Zealand and have been in this role for 2 years and 6 months now. Vetassess deducted my two years of experience to meet their requirement. Just wanted to know if I am eligible for the SA state sponsorship. I have checked SA website and it says my occupation availability is medium. No special conditions or other requirements apply to my occupation. Although, I am only eligible to apply for subclass 489. My age is 30 years, ILETS 7 each, AQF bachelor degree, Vetassess positive skill assessment etc. Any help would be highly appreciated.

Regards,
M Kumar


----------



## nileshrparge

Hi Mark,

Me and my wife are applying for post-graduate work visa (subclass 485) as we recently finished our masters here. I am the main applicant and she is my dependent.
In the online application I am stuck at the "Family Members" section. I have added details of my parents and my brother in the "other family members" section. But when trying to proceed it gives me an error saying "The following errors have been encountered: 1. An accompanying dependent or non-accompanying dependent must exist".
I do not have any dependents apart from my wife who has already been added in the application.

Can you please tell me how do I proceed with the application? Thanks.

Kind Regards

EDIT: Fixed the issue. I had accidentally checked "yes" for "do you have any dependent (other than spouse)".


----------



## toan0307

Hi Mark,

I applied for an Onshore Partner Visa (820/801) on 24/04/2015 while I was on my student visa in South Australia,

My partner and I finished our degree and moved to Tasmania in December 2015 and are now working in Hobart,

I received a generic email in April 2016 reminding to check all documents,

I have waited for more than 15 months for a decision to be made on my application and last time I checked with the Queensland Office (14 July 2016), my application has not been allocated to a case officer.

We have recently been offered two jobs in a hospital in South Australia and we are now looking to move back,

I assumed that the move to Hobart in December 2015 was the main reason that delayed my application. Is this true? Would moving back to South Australia further delay my application? I am really worried at this stage,

Highly appreciate your help in advance,

Kind regards,
Shayne.


----------



## killtheoriginal

Hi Mark,

I've received invitation for my 189 application today 3 AUG. But i've got a few more questions and I wonder if you'll be able to help me with them. 

I am currently on tourist visa 601 since 29 July 2016, which allows me to stay in Australia for 3 months. I will be traveling back home to Malaysia for my friend's wedding in early October. 

I understand that once I submit my 189 application i will get Bridging Visa A when my current visa expires, which is on 29 Oct 2016. I didn't get 601 visa grant letter (I applied via travel agent, have requested for the letter) but i googled, normally "no further stay" condition is not attached on 601. 
1. Does that mean I will be going back to Malaysia in early October using my 601, come back with my 601 and BVA will kick in after my 601 expires?
2. If this is not the case, would you be able to explain to me how it will be, please?


Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## castielhouse

*New Member*

Hello good people..,

I am currently based in Doha.. and I met an agent. According to him i have 60 marks and I am eligible to apply. I just want to know more information about this process... am I in the right forum? 
Thank you


----------



## keta123

Hi mark,

I m planning to apply for pr.
But my query is related to work experience.
I have total 7 years of work experience but among them first 3 years of experience is during master degree.

I mean after completing bachelors in IT i took a job n during that time i also complete my masters.
And after completing masters i have 4 years of work experience.

So i want to know that will ACS count my 3 years of work experience that i had during my masters or they will consider only 4 years of experience after completion of masters?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## moonblood

Hi, 
I plan to apply for VISA 189 and i have one question regarding skill assessment by AIQS. I asked them but their answer was vague.
I am Civil Engineer, which is allied discipline according to AIQS, but since i graduated University i have worked as QS/CA for very long time now. This is OK, i think.
Regarding Employment References, the AIQS requests references should be came from a QS but the problem is all my bosses were not QS, they are either Civil Engineer or Business. So it is possible for me to get positive assessment or my application is automatically negative?
Thank you for your time.
Regards,
Kien.


----------



## carolin.lisa

*Partner visa and proof of joint living*

Hi Mark,

We are about to lodge our partner visa application. I have been on *tourist visas*. Throughout the last months we have been *housesitting (unpaid but lived rent/bill free)*. Am I on the save side to mention that? The housesit-contracts are in both, mine and my partner's name and would be a great proof for living together. However, I am unsure if it is smart to mention housesitting when on a tourist visa. It is stated in the contracts that we haven't received any money. What do you think?


----------



## Msankar85

Hello Mark, 

I have overstayed my Visa by more than 28 days and am wondering if I can apply for a skilled migration visa onshore and how i would go about doing this?

Cheers


----------



## coolhunter

Hello Mark,

What you are doing is highly appreciated.. Getting people in right direction.. I have a a couple of questions about applying for PR in Australia..

I am currently on a 457 visa as ICT Business Analyst since 1.5 years in Australia. I have an Instrumentation Engineering degree and have worked mostly in that area for 14 years.

when i file for skilled independent visa, do i have to follow my current VISA which is ICT Business analyst or i can use my engineering qualifications to do it. Also ideally how much time is required for this entire process. I understand every case is different though.

Thanks..


----------



## idreesshah

Thanks Mark for the reply. Much appreciated.

Will the department charge any fees for adding them into the application? If yes, Can you please share any link to calculate the amount?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Idreesshah -
> 
> Yes, would complete Form 1022 and upload, and also email the office processing your visa to alert them to this request you have - vital you get the change made before a visa decision is made, as not possible to add them to the 190 visa after the 190 visa is granted - in that case you'd have to sponsor them with child and/or spouse visa applications.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Origin2012

Greetings. I am in the process of applying for the 820 partner visa and a concern has arisen. I have a spotless background report but have just found out that a credit card company has filed against me in district court (USA). The lawyer with whom I spoke has advised me to take no action-- I do owe the money and the judge's ruling must be in favor of the creditor-- and allow the judge to issue a default judgment against me. Paying off the debt is not an option at present, as I have no income. I have not even been served notice of legal action at this date, I am only aware of the filing because i was able to look it up online through my state's court system website. This gives me reason to believe this might hang in limbo for a long time with no resolution. Will an unresolved civil matter of this nature impact my application?


----------



## kristenjohn

Dear Mark,

Hope you doing well.

My brother came in Australia on PR subclass 189 and had a medical condition ( previous surgery) which he by mistake he did not mentioned on medical form, but that surgery was spotted by doctor during his medical examination and his medical was cleared by that doctor without any objection and question , Now he is planning for treatment locally will this cause any issues for him as far as his existing visa is concerned and in future for his Australian passport. kindly guide in this regard.







Regards,


----------



## Wafflel

*PMV to 820/801*

Hi Mark,

Fiance and I are waiting on her PMV to be issued. My question is about the waiting period for 801 from 820

The Immi website says that you are eligible for 801 two years from the date you apply for your 820

But I've heard the 2 year waiting period starts from the date you've applied for your PMV? (i.e if one applied for PMV in April 2016, and assuming they got their 820, they'd be eligible for 801 in April 2018?)

Which is correct? the information is so conflicting

Thanks


----------



## kris1

Hi Mark!

I have applied for an 820. I recently saw that on my partner's birth certificate his dad's name is different from his passport. Let's say that usually (and in his passport) he goes by Johnny, whilst on the birth certificate it says "John". Is this an issue for immigration? Should I send them a notice of incorrect answers or similar? Do I need documentation for this name mixup?


----------



## kanwarbs

Hi Mark,

I and my wife hold PR Visa 189 but not our child and we are all in India currently. Now my India based employer has proposed me to send to Australia. Wanted to check.

1. Would it be better if I ask my employer to process 457 for my family as that would cover my child also and I can have employer medical insurance. 

2. Would there be any issue to get 457 if I still have 189 PR VISA

3. Would it be better that I apply for 101 or 802 for my child and go on 189 . In this case could I buy child medical insurance till he gets his PR

4. As I can see from most of discussion people generally apply for 101 and not 802. What could be the VISA of child if he travels to Australia and then apply 802.

Please reply


----------



## riabelle

Thanks good to have this....

We want to lodge a partner visa defacto, i am on a 457 visa that ends in mid oct and my contract has just ended and 457 will expire in about 6 weeks so was thinking of going to uk for a few weeks and then returning before 457 visa ends, When should i lodge partner 820?- Can i lodge before i go to uk or is it ok to do it after i return to aus and still have 1 to 2 weeks before visa expires. I was thinking if i do it after i return as we will have more evidence available to upload and don't need to worry about a bridging visa B, or do i not need to apply for bridging visa b as 457 will still be in effect which gives travel rights if i lodge before my trip home. Also if i go back home for a short break can i ask my employer to cover the single fare or would this be dependent on if a partner visa had been lodged yet, and can i just pay for flight and ask for reimbursement as do not want to wait 30 days for a request to be approved and then be left with only a trip home that does not give me more than 10 to 14 days.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Urgent1219

Hi mark I need your urgent advice as you have answered my questions a while back and you were very helpful!

My dad is a NZ citizen and has been living and working in Australia for 5 years. He has been back and forth between NZ and Aus with no problem however last week on his way back into Australia he was stopped at customs and had his subclass 444 cancelled due to his criminal past from 10 years ago he was given a border visa of 773 and advised to get a visa within 28 days or he will need to leave! We have no idea what visa we can get for him do you have any advice please!


----------



## jaspreetsingh1

*Skill Assessment Docs*

Hi Mark,

I am collecting documents for Skill assessment under Finance and Investment manager.

I have worked in 3 different companies in last 10 years and performing almost the same responsibilities.

I want to ask whether I can write almost the same job responsibilities(word to word) for all three companies or should I change them. 70% of responsibilities were same rest 30% were different

Regards


----------



## jediayo

Hi Mark

I am in the last stage of my 801 and my local council just change my street name and house number.How will I inform the department about this new development? I am still leaving in the same house but there is changes to my house number and street address and I have submitted evidences in my old street name

Thank you


----------



## baileyqw

Hi, Mark

Really appreciate your help in providing advice here, I can see you have many questions to answer..I posted a thread outside before I saw your thread, but if you have time, I'll repeat here to see if you can give me some advice, thank you in advance.

I arrived Australia just a couple of months ago, and before my visa is granted, I signed a 815 form which committed to contact medical services for following up body check.

I had TB years ago and cured or at least inactive, otherwise I don't think I can get the visa, and I contacted Bupa when arrived.

I am currently approached by one of the hospital for following up check. But I am suggested by the nurse of the hospital that I do not "actually" have the visa, I am still "in process", or she says something like Australia will screen candidates oversea for the first time with health check, when candidates are onshore, they will screen for another time.

So I am confused, with 815 form signed, do I actually get the visa? I actually used the visa to get here in Australia. Does the nurse imply that my visa can be cancelled based on my currently health condition? 

Thank you very much!


----------



## sukanta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark, Hope you are well. I need your some advise about Parent migration:

As per family balance requirement, I am eligible to sponsor my mother but I am little lost of understanding the cost of subclass 173 followed by subclass 143. Could you please kindly suggest me how much it would cost if I choose to sponsor my mother for subclass 173 and then apply for her for subclass 143. I would greatly appreciate your help on this. Thanks so much in advance.

thank you
Sukanta


----------



## ShermD

Hi mark,

I need some help for filling out the EOI's education history section.
Visatype: 189 skilled independent visa

In VETASSESS outcome letter
under* skilled migration assessment*

Qualification/s:

1. Advanced Diploma in Engineering completed in 2009 at XXX University, USA is assessed as comparable to the educational level of an *AQF Diploma* and is therefore at the required level.

Field of study Engineering is highly relevant.

2. Master of Science completed in 2015 at XXX University, USA is assessed as comparable to the educational level of an *AQF Master degree* and is therefore at the required level.

And in EOI of Skill select asks,

*Education history*
Has the client completed, or is currently enrolled in any studies at secondary level and above? YES

Then it asks to write the qualifications. In that,

1) should I write my "Masters degree" (Engineering management) as the highest qualification (note that although it's stated as AQF Masters degree, it doesn't state that it is highly relevant)

2) should I just write only the "Advanced Diploma in Engineering" as highest qualification ? (note it is marked as highly relevant)

3) and further, can't I include any other qualification in that "EOI" under "education history" which is not mentioned in that outcomeletter of Vetassess (I have a diploma, degree etc which is sent to VETASSESS but they didn't mention it in the outcome letter although they did mention my Masters)?

otherwise my application will be rejected under providing misleading information 

*UPDATE 1:* I submitted my EOI with only educational qualifications (MSc and Diploma) mentioned in that vetassess outcomeletter, is it necessary to update the education history in the EOI with my other qualifications as well, such as my B.Sc degree which is not mentioned in vetassess outcome letter ?..

--------------------------

*UPDATE 2:* I got an invitation and now the EOI is locked, EOI has only my Diploma & MSc stated in education history, now I don't know what to do with above issues ...

I got 65 marks for the points test with Diploma+ MSc for the EOI, so I was offered 15 points for the MSc being the highest qualification. To offer me points for the MSc I don't have to have a assessed degree as well right? because, DIBP asks for a degree where MSc is not listed in the outcome letter of vetassess, right ?(and MSc is assessed as equivelant of AQF Master degree). So, I don't need to provide my BSc degree to the DIBP right?

If I'll just submit all the documents (plus the documents of the BSc degree which is not already listed in EOI) with all of my qualifications for the "Online visa lodgement", will the Case officer (in DIBP) consider those as well if he see my case needs to have a "degree" as well to offer points for the MSc? or will he just reject the visa lodgement instantly as I haven't listed my BSc degree in the EOI? Further, If you have any different recommendations please let me know.

and suppose I created an immiaccount via the invitation (which I did not yet), then

1) in immiaccount, where it asks "has this applicant undertaken any health examinations for an australian visa in last 12 months .." and if I already undertaken it and have the document with me, is it better to select "yes" and write the details OR select "No" and wait for the Case Officer to ask for it? is it ok to get it done early? and how do I know which tests should be done exactly? is there any page which has this exact test details in DIBP website (I searched for it I didn't find any exact test details)? Or should I wait for the Case officer to send me an email etc with the titles of the tests which has to be done?

Does it have different effects for the visa being successfully granted? (such as CO might consider or prefer very new medical reports (say a week old report) than reports which are 2 months old) Or will it speed up the process if I submit the medicals before CO asks me to submit?

2) in employment history of "online visa lodgement", is it necessary to select "Date to" date? I left it blank in my "EOI" as I was still working for the same company at the time of EOI submission. And, I'm still working for the same company. It seems like that "Date to" date cannot be left blank in "online visa lodgement". Which date should I put as "Date to" date, as I'm still working. Should I resign from my work and get an another service letter and put the resignation date as "Date to" date? or is there any other way that I can do without resigning my current job.

3) in online visa lodgement, they ask for "intended state of residence". What kind of effect this has with my visa being granted? and, must I land in an airport located inside "intended state of residence" when I first arrive Australia etc or anything else?

I know, some questions may not have exact answers , but, your early approximate answers with your experience as a migration lawyer brought me this far successfully, so any kind of answer is so valuable for me 

Many Thanks.


----------



## RaidenZ

Good morning

I have a pretty basic question regarding supporting information for a spouse visa

( Bank statement for the last 6 months )

My issue is that I have less than $500 in my account as of this time due to recently getting my wife a multi entry tourist visa and birthday related expenditure during her trip to Sydney.

I have contacted the immigration hotline etc and they have stated that it's not important aslong as I have a stable job and pay my taxes which I have both so should I have a certain amount in my account before sending off our application?

Thank you for any help provided


----------



## sandipan

*Applying for spouse visa 820 within australia*

Hi Mark,

I am married with my wife for 18 months and I wish to apply for spouse visa.

I have few questions, I believe these are general questions :-

*1. How to fulfill "Usually Resident" requirement?
*Will a permanent employment with six figure salary ongoing for *one month*, rented flat, Bank account with around 20K AUD be enough to prove Usually resident?

*2. How long does Bridging Visa takes to get approved?
*I have read somewhere that when you apply for a Spouse visa - 820 within Australia using online application, Bridging Visa A gets approved 'instantaneously' And you can verify it the very next day. Is it true? How long does BV-A usually takes to be granted to you after submission of your spouse visa application online?

*2. Bringing my wife to Australia on a substantiative visa (400 or 771).
*My wife is low salaried employee based in India and I am aware that a Visitor visa (600, Paper based application- only one available in India) may come with 8503 condition - No further stay.

I am considering other visas to which No further stay conditions do not apply, specifically 400 visa for a photography competition Or a 771 Transit visa for bringing her to Australia and then applying for 820 visa from within Australia.

Is a 771 visa or a 400 visa considered substantiative and will it be legal for someone to come on these visa and apply further for a spouse visa onshore? Or can it be considered as a predetermined intent to violate the condition of the visa?

If yes, Is a 600 tourist visa any safer?


----------



## rmwahab

Dear Mark,

Last June I applied for Victoria state nomination program I received an e-mail saying that I need to wait for 12 weeks, I needed 8 years of experience, but my ACS report at that time showed only 7 years and 11 months as an ICT project manager. Now I got updated ACS report showing full 8 years, should I send it to Victoria the updated one or should I wait till they will contact me.
Any help is very much appreciated
Best Regards,


----------



## Ms Watson

Hi Mark,

Once a partner visa subclass 100 (permanent) is granted (and in this case is 3 years into it) does the relationship have any bearing on that person becoming a citizen after the mandatory 4 years. i.e if the relationship breaks down is there grounds for the person on the 100 visa to have to leave the country, does it invalidate the visa and do they still have to be in that relationship to when they apply for citizenship?


----------



## Mk83

Hi Mark 
I've been waiting for my 820/801 2 years and 9.5 months and still in on BVA
im from high risk country which is lebanon .
3 months ago I asked for status update ,DIBP replied :<this application is undergoing final assessment we will contact you accordingly>
Today I,asked for status update ,DIBP replied :<Thank you for your enquiry. At this stage, the application is progressing. You will be advised once a decision is made>
How do u think does take more and should I,worry for that Lon wait on BVA ,and what do they mean in this reply.
Thanks in advance .
Appreciate ur effort helping everyone


----------



## ozpunjabi

Dear Mark
It is nice to see you doing such noble job here.

I have one concern about vac2 and probability of grant after it.

Can you please tell what could be the possible reasons of rejection after paying VAC2??? Is it external checks or anything else???

Because we have heard that PR is almost sure.* Can you please share any case from your knowledge where this has not proved true*. I shall be thankful.

I have paid vac2 on 29th July and waiting for grant. CO asked me straightaway for vac2 in first contact and no other document. Question is related to VAC2 for sc 189.


----------



## bbyCey

Hello. I want to lodge online for prospective marriage visa. Can I use the visa from my fiancee ? Or it have to be on my name? Thank you


----------



## ShermD

Hi mark,

Suppose I got an invitation to the PR of 189 skilled independent visa,

I'm the only person who will come to Australia and no other family member is included or mentioned in my EOI .. Still should I submit health examinations of my father, my sister etc to the DIBP with the visa lodgement ?

It's stated that, in https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa...endent-visa-(subclass-189)-document-checklist



> Health and Character
> 
> You and each* "member of your family unit"* are required to satisfy health and character requirements. * This requirement applies even if that person is not applying for a visa with you. *


so, when I find the definition for "member of your family unit", DIBP has stated that,



> A member of your family unit can be your: other family members.
> A family member can be your parent, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew or step equivalent.


which is stated here: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Incl

So, should I do medical examination of my father my sister etc? Although I'm the only applicant for the visa? 

Many Thanks.


----------



## quethaochi

Good evening Mark

I have my sister who going to apply for visa 187 on Dec 2016, and she will go back home to married her boyfriend on Oct 2016. 

My question is : is she allows to put her future husband in her form while her husband stay back home? 

Thank you so much


----------



## teklia

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Can I apply for subclass 190 with 55 points.

I have 10 years experience in Civil engineering(BE)

I have got an IELTS results of 6.5 and above


----------



## Emilio

Hi Mark. 

Me and my partner have an onshore 820 partner visa in progress/processing and we did not put her son as a "migrating family member" simply because we were gonna just wait for her application to settle first and he did not have a passport yet at that time of the application and also he was offshore and we only did the application ourselves online and really didn't know much about what the do's and don't of this situation. Anyways now we decided to bring her son here and applied for a Visitor (Class FA) Sponsored Family (subclass600) Visa and was refused due to the fact that we did not included her Son as a Migrating Family Member at the time of Application therefore the officer concluded that the temporary visit here of her son in australia seems non-genuine. 

I rang the DIBP a few times and had different answers wether we can still ammend the information on the application to change the "migrating family member" part and include the son. They said No 2 times and 1 time they said Yes and to fill out form1436.

I just want to know what other options are there in terms of bringing the son here using an appropriate visa and also would like to add him to the partner visa that is still in progress once he is onshore if ever. 

Thank you for your help.


----------



## Mary2016

*187 pr*

Hi Mark, I hope you can help me, I am currently holding a PR visa 187 RSMS and I have been working with my employer since 2013 but my PR visa was granted on September 24th last year, I would like to know if I can live my sponsor after the year because I am having serious difficulties with my boss that I can explain further if needed or what can I do I feel hopeless and I want to know my options or if I can change sponsor, thanks for your attention and having this forum is awesome, thanks.


----------



## Mary2016

Sorry I meant to say leave, horrible typo &#55357;&#56883;


----------



## JamNick

HI Mark, 

I've a problem and I don't know how to sort out it.

I've mistakenly given an incorrect information while applying form my 417 WHV. I know that there's the 1023 form in this case, which allow you to provide corrections. The problem is that my Visa has been granted literally after 3 minutes!
Am I still able to submit my 1023 form ? I don't find any suitable option inside my Immi account. Is there an option to attach forms ? In the "update us" section, I can't find the option to upload forms...

thanks in advance


----------



## AUSBambi

Hi Mark,

Glad you are always here and contribute the view of expert.

My mother applied for parent visa 143 and was asked to provide a scanned copy of a death certificate for my father. My father passed away 30 years ago. It is currently very hard for us to work on it. Could you please advise me the following questions:

1. Is it a mandatory requirement to provide a death certificate of deceased spouse regarding visa 143? 
2. Is there any other way to meet this requirement?
We have a notified family book which shows widow as my mother's marital status, however there is no any my father's info on family book.

Many thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mi.Ka -

Thanks for the note. Generally the rules of the country where the work is performed are considered for licencing purposes - ie, if you had the proper permissions/licences/credentials in the country that work was performed in, then the work would not be considered as unlicensed or illegal, etc. A separate assessment, however, is made of the actual tasks/duties of the work you did to see to what extent they align with the standard ANZSCO tasks/duties that exist for your occupation - this test of relevance is very important in assessing whether particular work experience is considered relevant to your occuaption and therefore potentially eligible for skilled visa work experience points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mi.Ka said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am Architect from Serbia and I've been living and working in China for last 4 years.
> 
> I got suitable skills assessment from AACA(assessing body for architects) but I am confused about my working experience.
> 
> I never took architecture licence exam so I am not registered architect in any country. AACA in general say they don't do assessment for work experience. (in AACA statement says that they have no opinion on registration because I haven't provided one, also says I cannot use architect title in Australia until I go trough rest of procedure).
> 
> I am working in China for past 4 years and my official positions were assistant architect and then architect, as expat here I don't need licence to work as an Architect.
> 
> I am trying to apply for skilled 189 visa.
> 
> My question is, can I claim extra 5 points for this experience or I must be registered architect to claim points on working experience?
> 
> Thanks for any help/advice!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohamed_ibrahim86 -

Thanks for the note. You'll have to get statements from your manager and any others regarding mode of payment, amount of payment, etc and hope that DIBP will accept those as evidence of payment if no other bank, employer, tax, etc records are available. Will be a judgment call by the case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mohamed_ibrahim86 said:


> Hello Mr. Mark,
> 
> Thanks for all your replies to others' inquiries, it has really helped me alot.
> 
> Still i have an inquiry, i am pharmacy graduate and i have been working as a pharmacy technician for almost 6 years and i have left the job now. I get paid in cash from my manager ( the owner of the pharmacy ) and i never had a pay slip ( we dont have such a thing here in pharmacies) i have a bank account for other uses and i never deposited my salary in it. So my question is how would I prove my paid salary ?
> I will be glad if you answer me as i am really lost.
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KTO -

Congratulations on your visa invitation! The issue of when your BVA will activate can be tricky - essentially it will activate when you are onshore in Australia and you overstay the current stay period of your visitor visa. However, if the visitor visa expires while you're outside Australia, that can complicate things a bit - in those cases you may need to change your BVA to a BVB prior to departing. Would need to discuss your specific timetable and circumstances at a consultation and see exactly how your 601 visa is configured in order to give you specific advice re: when the BVA or BVB would activate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



killtheoriginal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for you prompt reply. The past 6 months, how long did the applicants for solicitor as their skilled occupation wait for for the invitations?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> _Update 3/8:
> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've received invitation for my 189 application today 3 AUG. But i've got a few more questions and I wonder if you'll be able to help me with them.
> 
> I am currently on tourist visa 601 since 29 July 2016, which allows me to stay in Australia for 3 months. I will be traveling back home to Malaysia for my friend's wedding in early October.
> 
> I understand that once I submit my 189 application i will get Bridging Visa A when my current visa expires, which is on 29 Oct 2016. I didn't get 601 visa grant letter (I applied via travel agent, have requested for the letter) but i googled, normally "no further stay" condition is not attached on 601.
> 1. Does that mean I will be going back to Malaysia in early October using my 601, come back with my 601 and BVA will kick in after my 601 expires?
> 2. If this is not the case, would you be able to explain to me how it will be, please?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help._


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Normally time spent outside Australia within the usual allowances for annual leave is not deducted from your time living at a location re 887 visa. If it was one trip for 3 months (vs a series of normal holiday-length trips), the question would be whether you were still living in Darwin (ie, had your house, belongings, etc there) while you were visiting overseas, and what the nature of the overseas trip was. Safest bet is to wait an extra 3 months, however all would depend on circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sachin6690deshmukh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Kindly help me.
> I am living in Darwin NT.I have completed 2 years stay in regional area recently.i have fulfilled work conditions.but in my 2 year stay in Darwin I went to overseas for 3 months.can I apply for subclass 887 now?or do I need to wait 3 more months to apply for subclass 887?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa. A single missing detail can mean the difference between eligibility and not, plus state sponsorship rules are constantly changing - no shortcut to doing a thorough assessment.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



monu958 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We spoke this year regarding the state sponsorship for the Northern Territory. I am working as a restaurant manager in New Zealand and have been in this role for 2 years and 6 months now. Vetassess deducted my two years of experience to meet their requirement. Just wanted to know if I am eligible for the SA state sponsorship. I have checked SA website and it says my occupation availability is medium. No special conditions or other requirements apply to my occupation. Although, I am only eligible to apply for subclass 489. My age is 30 years, ILETS 7 each, AQF bachelor degree, Vetassess positive skill assessment etc. Any help would be highly appreciated.
> 
> Regards,
> M Kumar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shayne -

Thanks for the note. I would not assume that a move had any result at all on your application - DIBP has a huge backlog of partner visas and processing is routinely taking 18 months or more. Moving generally has no effect on a partner visa being processed in my experience - it's all about the backlog.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



toan0307 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for an Onshore Partner Visa (820/801) on 24/04/2015 while I was on my student visa in South Australia,
> 
> My partner and I finished our degree and moved to Tasmania in December 2015 and are now working in Hobart,
> 
> I received a generic email in April 2016 reminding to check all documents,
> 
> I have waited for more than 15 months for a decision to be made on my application and last time I checked with the Queensland Office (14 July 2016), my application has not been allocated to a case officer.
> 
> We have recently been offered two jobs in a hospital in South Australia and we are now looking to move back,
> 
> I assumed that the move to Hobart in December 2015 was the main reason that delayed my application. Is this true? Would moving back to South Australia further delay my application? I am really worried at this stage,
> 
> Highly appreciate your help in advance,
> 
> Kind regards,
> Shayne.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Castielhouse -

Thanks for the note. You're in the "Ask Mark" thread where people ask me general questions about immigration and I'm happy to help as I can. You can also post topics and questions in other parts of the visa & immigration forum if you'd like others to respond.

Re: agents, you may want to make absolutely sure your agent is registered with the MARA (www.mara.gov.au) to provide you with the best protection against negligence and incorrect advice. Happy to answer any general questions you have.

Best,

Mark Northam



castielhouse said:


> Hello good people..,
> 
> I am currently based in Doha.. and I met an agent. According to him i have 60 marks and I am eligible to apply. I just want to know more information about this process... am I in the right forum?
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Keta123 -

If the Bachelor degree satisfied the ACS requirements for the equivalent of an Australian Bachelor Degree, then normally it would not matter if you were studying a Master degree while working, the work would be assessed like any other work. If ACS needed the Master Degree to get you to the equivalent of an Australian Bachelor degree, then it is possible that only work after the Master degree would be considered post-qualification.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



keta123 said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> I m planning to apply for pr.
> But my query is related to work experience.
> I have total 7 years of work experience but among them first 3 years of experience is during master degree.
> 
> I mean after completing bachelors in IT i took a job n during that time i also complete my masters.
> And after completing masters i have 4 years of work experience.
> 
> So i want to know that will ACS count my 3 years of work experience that i had during my masters or they will consider only 4 years of experience after completion of masters?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kien -

Thanks for the note. These are questions only AIQS can answer as they involve internal rules and procedures with that assessor - they're the best source of info.

Best,

Mark Northam



moonblood said:


> Hi,
> I plan to apply for VISA 189 and i have one question regarding skill assessment by AIQS. I asked them but their answer was vague.
> I am Civil Engineer, which is allied discipline according to AIQS, but since i graduated University i have worked as QS/CA for very long time now. This is OK, i think.
> Regarding Employment References, the AIQS requests references should be came from a QS but the problem is all my bosses were not QS, they are either Civil Engineer or Business. So it is possible for me to get positive assessment or my application is automatically negative?
> Thank you for your time.
> Regards,
> Kien.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carolin.lisa -

As employment plays a very small role in partner visas, and only for the sponsor, I'm not sure I see the benefit of mentioning this as it potentially could lead to a concern by DIBP that you were "working" on a visitor visa. I'd try and see if there is a way to show that you were living together without it appearing that you were actually being compensated for doing so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



carolin.lisa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We are about to lodge our partner visa application. I have been on *tourist visas*. Throughout the last months we have been *housesitting (unpaid but lived rent/bill free)*. Am I on the save side to mention that? The housesit-contracts are in both, mine and my partner's name and would be a great proof for living together. However, I am unsure if it is smart to mention housesitting when on a tourist visa. It is stated in the contracts that we haven't received any money. What do you think?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Msankar85 -

Generally not. For instance, for the 189/190 skilled visa, if you make an application onshore in Australia, you must at the time of application be holding a substantive (non-bridging) visa or a bridging visa A, B or C. If you have no visa, or if you have a visa given to you if you report to DIBP and ask for a bridging visa (would likely be a Bridging Visa E), you would not be able to make a valid skilled visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Msankar85 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have overstayed my Visa by more than 28 days and am wondering if I can apply for a skilled migration visa onshore and how i would go about doing this?
> 
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Coolhunter -

Thanks for the note. Issue would be if you tried to claim work under the 457 in an occupation other than what the 457 was granted for. If that's not the case and you are claiming no or past work experience, then generally not an issue with pursuing a sc189 visa. Do keep in mind that skills assessors often have minimum work experience requirements you'll have to meet.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



coolhunter said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> What you are doing is highly appreciated.. Getting people in right direction.. I have a a couple of questions about applying for PR in Australia..
> 
> I am currently on a 457 visa as ICT Business Analyst since 1.5 years in Australia. I have an Instrumentation Engineering degree and have worked mostly in that area for 14 years.
> 
> when i file for skilled independent visa, do i have to follow my current VISA which is ICT Business analyst or i can use my engineering qualifications to do it. Also ideally how much time is required for this entire process. I understand every case is different though.
> 
> Thanks..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Idreesshah -

Yes, if migrating. Also note that DIBP will usually require you to complete Form 1436 - I'd also complete this form and upload to your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



idreesshah said:


> Thanks Mark for the reply. Much appreciated.
> 
> Will the department charge any fees for adding them into the application? If yes, Can you please share any link to calculate the amount?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Origin2012 -

Great question. Under the Australian legal system, there are essentially two areas of law: criminal law, and civil law. Generally the term "offence" refers to a breach of the criminal law, whereas a dispute between 2 people over money owed by one to the other would generally be considered under the civil law and would not be considered an "offence". A key issue, however, is whether whatever charges were made by authorities against you may consist of both criminal and civil elements, as some civil situations can lead to criminal charges (ie, theft).

This all relates to the question on partner and other visa applications which asks if any applicant has "ever been charged with any offence that is currently awaiting legal action". Suggest you get full details of the charges made and perhaps consult with a lawyer once you have those details to get an expert opinion on whether the charges made against you would properly be categorised as an offence or not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Origin2012 said:


> Greetings. I am in the process of applying for the 820 partner visa and a concern has arisen. I have a spotless background report but have just found out that a credit card company has filed against me in district court (USA). The lawyer with whom I spoke has advised me to take no action-- I do owe the money and the judge's ruling must be in favor of the creditor-- and allow the judge to issue a default judgment against me. Paying off the debt is not an option at present, as I have no income. I have not even been served notice of legal action at this date, I am only aware of the filing because i was able to look it up online through my state's court system website. This gives me reason to believe this might hang in limbo for a long time with no resolution. Will an unresolved civil matter of this nature impact my application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kristenjohn -

If the issue is solely limited to not mentioning it on the medical form, then I expect he would not have an issue with that. Getting treatment locally as a permanent resident from Medicare, etc would not normally cause any issue for the PR visa itself.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kristenjohn said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Hope you doing well.
> 
> My brother came in Australia on PR subclass 189 and had a medical condition ( previous surgery) which he by mistake he did not mentioned on medical form, but that surgery was spotted by doctor during his medical examination and his medical was cleared by that doctor without any objection and question , Now he is planning for treatment locally will this cause any issues for him as far as his existing visa is concerned and in future for his Australian passport. kindly guide in this regard.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wafflel -

The 2 year waiting time to put through further documents to continue the 820 application would begin on the date the 820/801 application was lodged.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wafflel said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Fiance and I are waiting on her PMV to be issued. My question is about the waiting period for 801 from 820
> 
> The Immi website says that you are eligible for 801 two years from the date you apply for your 820
> 
> But I've heard the 2 year waiting period starts from the date you've applied for your PMV? (i.e if one applied for PMV in April 2016, and assuming they got their 820, they'd be eligible for 801 in April 2018?)
> 
> Which is correct? the information is so conflicting
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kris1 -

Probably not an issue unless DIBP brings it up.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kris1 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I have applied for an 820. I recently saw that on my partner's birth certificate his dad's name is different from his passport. Let's say that usually (and in his passport) he goes by Johnny, whilst on the birth certificate it says "John". Is this an issue for immigration? Should I send them a notice of incorrect answers or similar? Do I need documentation for this name mixup?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kanwarbs -

No reason I can see why you would want to apply for a 457 if you hold a 189. Child can come to Australia on visitor visa with you and then lodge 802 Child visa once onshore. Once child applies for PR visa onshore, I believe the child would be covered by Medicare.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kanwarbs said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I and my wife hold PR Visa 189 but not our child and we are all in India currently. Now my India based employer has proposed me to send to Australia. Wanted to check.
> 
> 1. Would it be better if I ask my employer to process 457 for my family as that would cover my child also and I can have employer medical insurance.
> 
> 2. Would there be any issue to get 457 if I still have 189 PR VISA
> 
> 3. Would it be better that I apply for 101 or 802 for my child and go on 189 . In this case could I buy child medical insurance till he gets his PR
> 
> 4. As I can see from most of discussion people generally apply for 101 and not 802. What could be the VISA of child if he travels to Australia and then apply 802.
> 
> Please reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Riabelle -

Sorry but the circumstances and multiple questions are too complex to answer in a quick forum post - would need more info about your circumstances to give you specific advice for your case - happy to assist at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more on this.

Best,

Mark Northam



riabelle said:


> Thanks good to have this....
> 
> We want to lodge a partner visa defacto, i am on a 457 visa that ends in mid oct and my contract has just ended and 457 will expire in about 6 weeks so was thinking of going to uk for a few weeks and then returning before 457 visa ends, When should i lodge partner 820?- Can i lodge before i go to uk or is it ok to do it after i return to aus and still have 1 to 2 weeks before visa expires. I was thinking if i do it after i return as we will have more evidence available to upload and don't need to worry about a bridging visa B, or do i not need to apply for bridging visa b as 457 will still be in effect which gives travel rights if i lodge before my trip home. Also if i go back home for a short break can i ask my employer to cover the single fare or would this be dependent on if a partner visa had been lodged yet, and can i just pay for flight and ask for reimbursement as do not want to wait 30 days for a request to be approved and then be left with only a trip home that does not give me more than 10 to 14 days.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Urgent1219 -

Suggest you book a consultation with myself or another registered migration agent to explore his specific circumstances. There is a tricky part of the migration law having to do with 444 visa holders/applicants and character law involving a person being labeled as a "character concern" which can impact that person going forward for all future visas. The cancellation and how it was done (ie which part of the law was used) will also play a part. Suggest he get professional assistance ASAP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Urgent1219 said:


> Hi mark I need your urgent advice as you have answered my questions a while back and you were very helpful!
> 
> My dad is a NZ citizen and has been living and working in Australia for 5 years. He has been back and forth between NZ and Aus with no problem however last week on his way back into Australia he was stopped at customs and had his subclass 444 cancelled due to his criminal past from 10 years ago he was given a border visa of 773 and advised to get a visa within 28 days or he will need to leave! We have no idea what visa we can get for him do you have any advice please!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaspreetsingh1 -

The main documents that skills assessors and DIBP will be looking at are the employer references letters from each company. It is vital that the employer write these in their own words, not you. If these look too similar, or if it looks like the tasks/duties were copies directly from ANZSCO, etc it can cause all kinds of problems re: genuineness and bogus document claims by DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jaspreetsingh1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am collecting documents for Skill assessment under Finance and Investment manager.
> 
> I have worked in 3 different companies in last 10 years and performing almost the same responsibilities.
> 
> I want to ask whether I can write almost the same job responsibilities(word to word) for all three companies or should I change them. 70% of responsibilities were same rest 30% were different
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jediayo -

That's easy - just lodge Form 929 and treat it as a change of address.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jediayo said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am in the last stage of my 801 and my local council just change my street name and house number.How will I inform the department about this new development? I am still leaving in the same house but there is changes to my house number and street address and I have submitted evidences in my old street name
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Baileyqw -

Generally speaking you have the visa if it was granted to you. However if you fail to abide by the obligations of the health undertaking (form 815), it may be grounds for the visa to be cancelled.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



baileyqw said:


> Hi, Mark
> 
> Really appreciate your help in providing advice here, I can see you have many questions to answer..I posted a thread outside before I saw your thread, but if you have time, I'll repeat here to see if you can give me some advice, thank you in advance.
> 
> I arrived Australia just a couple of months ago, and before my visa is granted, I signed a 815 form which committed to contact medical services for following up body check.
> 
> I had TB years ago and cured or at least inactive, otherwise I don't think I can get the visa, and I contacted Bupa when arrived.
> 
> I am currently approached by one of the hospital for following up check. But I am suggested by the nurse of the hospital that I do not "actually" have the visa, I am still "in process", or she says something like Australia will screen candidates oversea for the first time with health check, when candidates are onshore, they will screen for another time.
> 
> So I am confused, with 815 form signed, do I actually get the visa? I actually used the visa to get here in Australia. Does the nurse imply that my visa can be cancelled based on my currently health condition?
> 
> Thank you very much!


----------



## charlieesta

Hi,

Did you ever receive clarification on this?

Our situation is that Vetasses have assessed my wife as having 8.9 years experience which is great but they have not subtracted anything for the 18 months of maternity leave in the last 10 years. 

Our concern is that a DIBP official will deduct 18 months from the 8.9 years which drops her below the 8 years we need.

Is it worth the risk? Will the DIBP take the 8.9 years or will they subtract the maternity leave?

We are going to challenge Vetassess on another point, they have stated her Deemed Skilled Date as being within the last 10 years and have not considered the 4 years of relevant experience obtained before that.

-C


----------



## abercrombie

Hi Mark,

I have a question in relation to how the authorities assess duties & responsibilities? I have gone through the responsibilities on abs.gov website , but looks like they are very high level and do you know of all 11-12 roles given by them what are the minimum no.of roles a person must be performing?

Apparently, I had worked in MNC's where one department usually specializes in one kind of work because of the large setup as opposed to one department looking after everything. 

Keeping this in view and the fact that at the start of my career I was doing some very basic accounting stuff will they still consider my experience as relevant? Or do they only consider complex accounting work? My duties from my two employer is given below.

Employer 1

1.	Posting transactions to journals, ledgers and workflow management.
2.	Analysis, verification and recording of Client’s Payables and requesting disbursements.
3.	Ensure accuracy & completeness by posting manual adjustments to the Ledger.
4.	Reconciliation of accounting statements with related transactions.
5.	Ensure adherence to financial policies and procedures in auditing expense statements and External supplier invoices.
6.	Appropriate recording of withholding taxes in accordance with IRS guidelines.
7.	Recording & reconciliation of Advance Payments to the clients in the General Ledger
8.	Processing International Payments through Wire and recording the same in the book of accounts.
9.	Liaise with Client Contacts for getting resolutions on On-Hold Payables.
10.	Maintains confidentiality and financial security by following internal controls.

Employer 2

1.	Daily Accounting for Restructure or early termination of Derivative Trades.
2.	Reconciliation of Movement in Collateral with General Ledger.
3.	Booking of Hedge Accounting in accordance with FAS133
4.	Booking manual entries in General Ledger originating as a result of amendment in the Asset portfolio allocation.
5.	Accounting Adjustment on Unwind of the Trades.
6.	Reconciliation of cashflows Settlement on the swap with the General Ledger.
7.	Booking and Reconciling the Coupon Payments in the General Ledger
8.	Reconciling MTM on Derivative Trades with the General Ledger
9.	Preparation of Monthly Reports for Senior Finance Management.
10.	Source System to Trial Balance Reconciliation and Variance Analysis.
11.	Daily & Monthly Cash Reconciliation for the settlement of trades like Forwards, Swaps, Futures.
12.	Booking accruals in the General Ledger.
13.	Requesting Wire Transfer to ensure sufficient FX Balance


----------



## manimehra22

Hi mark,

Hi i am askingthis on the behalf of my uncle. He from india and aged 58 years old.
He applied for visitors visa to australia. His son living in australia on a permanent visa. His son sponsored him for visa. He already visited australia before in 2015 as a visitor. His last visa was valid for 18 months but he stayed only for 3+3 months. He didn't work, never overstay, no criminal offence etc. 

Today he got email from his CO stating that:-
""The department has conducted check to confirm the information that you provided in your application during the process we have received unfavourable information which may not support your application.

Department check indicates tgat you have provided misleading information regarding your activities and stay during your previous visit to Australia.

The further indicate that you do not intend to entere australia as a temporary entrant and are not a genuine visitor.

You may comment on the information above and provide additional details.
''

He didn't provide any misleading information regarding his previous stay. Everything was true in his interview call. 

Now he is tensed weather he will get his visa or will refuse.

Also I heard if immigration refuse any application under misleading information. So that application affected by PiC 4020. This means 3 years ban to australia.

Please advise what documents we can provide them to get this visa.

Previous visa was sponsored by her daughter who is oz citizens. In the interview he said to CO that he stayed his son house but he also stayed his daughter house also sometimes he went her house in the day time and returned back to son's house in evening.


----------



## mazumder

Hi Mark
I highly appreciate your hard work.
I am seeking some information here. My wife is currently 4 months pregnant .I am recently approved Australian citizen , my wife is PR ,she is living with me.

If I take my wife overseas to give birth (as I don't have any relative living here and im full time professional )and come back later what will be the procedure of application for new born baby?how tough , lengthy the procedure would be.Approx how much cost it might involves?

Or if I bring one of my family member ( my sister or my mother in law) what will be the procedure. which visa category should I apply (visitor/family sponsor/tourist).Approx how much money I have to show as sponsor if I apply for my guest to stay 3 moths here.also what is the best time to apply as my wife is due on feb-2017. what sort of documents I need to submit for that visa category?

Please advise me which option would be better for me.
Anyone from the same situation please share your experience.

Thanks in advance
Mohammed mazumder


----------



## fifalex

*Re-applying for the e-visitor*

Dear Mark
Hope you are having a good day. I as many others here appreciate your invaluable advice.
I have the following problem.
My plan was to apply for a PR through the SOL as a Solicitor. However in order to do this I was assessed by the LPAB and told that I need to complete 5 bridging academic subjects (which I did after investing time and 10k euro) and then complete the PLT course, which I intended to start in October. 
For the PLT I need to attend a 1 week orientation in Sydney in October, after which I can leave Australia as I intend to complete the PLT through the online mode and hence have no need to remain in Australia. I even had my work placement retrospectively completed here in The Attorney General's Office and approved by the College of Law so as to not have any visa issues with regards the 75 day work placement.
As an EU national I applied online for the e-visitor pass expecting to receive it within hours. To my surprise as well as offense (after they requested a bank statement and declaration of my proposed itinerary and plans, which I duly provided) my application was declined under the excuse that I do not have enough incentive to not overstay in Australia (I did deem it necessary to mention my plans for the PLT to the immigration authority, I just said I intended to visit as a tourist and see my brother who resides in Melbourne).
Now I have a problem. Can I reapply within days, outlining the complete reason for my need to visit OZ, or will I just get rejected again, and hence be unable to apply for the same reason down the line. Should I therefore wait a while before reapplying? The problem with waiting however is that I want to complete the PLT asap so I can move on and apply before July next year, in case solicitors are removed from the SOL list.
Please advice Mark.
Thanks and Kind regards
Alex


----------



## vanpraustralia

Have cleared IELTS with 7 or Greater than 7 in all categories.

I am planning to apply for ACS Skills assessment. As you all may be aware several companies incl. mine do not give a reference letter with roles and responsibilities.

For current company - Can I create a Third party Statutory Declarations and get it signed by ANY SENIOR COLLEAGUE in my company or should it be current supervisor ? Ofcourse I do not want my supervisor to know abt it. [6 years till date]

For previous company - Can I create a Third party Statutory Declarations and get it signed by ANY SENIOR COLLEAGUE in that company or should it any of my supervisor ? I am unable to contact my immediate supervisors whom I had worked with. [6.5 years experience]

FIRST Company - The company has been taken over by another company. I dont have any contact to get any reference letter. Is it required to furnish details abt this company experience [2.5 years] or is it ok to just give the last 2 companies

Will I still be able to claim 15 points for work experience (degree and work experience are on same field - BAchelor of Engg in computer science/ Software engineer (15 years overall exp from 3 companies)

Please suggest


----------



## ShermD

Dear Mark,

You're so valuable for this forum members, you're doing a great job here. We know that you're so much busy with your work, but, It's been 10 days since I posted the following question, your kind consideration on the following question would be highly appreciated.
http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/49513-ask-mark-1151.html#post1326025

Many thanks
Sherm


----------



## Sylviacoyle

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark

My sister got married on 06.06.2015 with her partner but unfortunately they relationship broke down after 6 months because of domestic violence.She applied with a form 1410 with all the evidence etc in April .Do you know how long is the processing time?Thank you Szilvia


----------



## theamazingcolin

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi Mark

I am currently waiting on my PR but have been having relationship problems with my partner.

we have not been getting along for a while now and when our case officer called her she said that things were not good and said we weren't living together. (she was house sitting at the time for 5 weeks) but they seem to have taken it as not living together.

i have now received a letter saying the relationship has broke down and that i have an opportunity to provide comments on these allegations. We are commit-ed to making this work though.

What would be the best way to go about still getting PR? would a migration agent need to be involved? if there is, can you recommend one in Melbourne?

any questions please ask if i have not explained everything.

thanks!
Colin


----------



## Chabayta

Dear Mark , 
hope you're doing well.
My name is ahmad Chabayta. I'm Palestinian with a Lebanese documents , living and working in Saudi Arabia. I'm getting married in November. My fiancé is Australian citizen by birth.She lives and study in Sydney.
My query to you is :
i want to move there to be with my wife permanently after getting married. i heard of the partner visa scheme but this will take around a year to get an answer. what other solution i do have to move there faster ?? bridging visa ? or what kind of visa ?
thanks in advance for your help and assistance
Best Regards


----------



## garethbrazilpartner

*Immigration computer system flag?*

Hi Mark!

Quick question! (I hope)

We (myself Aus, partner Brazilian/Italian) are applying for an onshore 820/801 in January 2017. We will be entering on a Tourist Visa initially and will lodge the 820 application ASAP when onshore.

My question - Is there any danger in setting up the online immi.gov.au account for our 820 application PRIOR to applying for the 3mth Tourist visa?

My concern is that maybe computer systems may trigger/flag to the immigration agent upon entry that my partner has an active immi account, and with that knowledge may apply a 'no further stay' clause (which we obviously want to avoid at all costs)

Perhaps we just play it safe and not start any online immi.gov.au activity until we have entered the country?

Thoughts?

Many thanks!

Gareth


----------



## katbat

*485 visa confusion*

Hello!

I'm going to be graduating soon with a 4 year Bachelor's (Honours) degree in Design from an Australian University registered on CRICOS. When I first enrolled at the university, I was studying a Fine Arts Honours Bachelor Degree, however, after 3 semester I did an internal program transfer to the Design degree.

All courses in my first 3 semesters were required in the Design degree as well and counted towards the completion of the degree. I just wanted to make sure that these 3 semesters do in fact count towards the 2 year study requirements? I received some credits from overseas study so I know these do not count but want to make sure that changing majors wouldn't affect this since the courses were taken at the same university/count as courses towards the degree I will be awarded.

Thanks!


----------



## abdul qayyum

Hi Mark,
I have a very basic question regarding have NSW nomination possibility with below particulars. 

Subclass 190)
(Permanent)

Date of Effect 23/08/2016 01:57:10
Age 33 - 39 25
English Language Ability Competent 0

Level of educational
qualification attained
At least a Bachelor Degree 15
State/Territory
Nomination
5
Years of experience in
Nominated Occupation
- in Australia within the
last 10 years.
Less than 1 Year 0
Years of experience in a
Nominated Occupation
- overseas within the
last 10 years.
Equal to or greater than 8 Years 15

TOTAL 60


----------



## silence

Dear Mark,

I have a BSc. in Electrical Power from Egypt which is equivalent to Anzsco unit group 2333 in Australia.
I have 7 months working experience in this field but with no social insurance, so I am not sure it would be counted by Engineers Australia.

Then 8 years as an Electrical and Avionics Aircraft Maintenance Engineer which is equivalent to Anzsco unit group 323111.

and 2 years as an aircraft maintenance planner (Anzsco unit group 312911).

I want to apply to Engineers Australia as a first step toward my immigration to Australia.

I have to write 3 CDRs (competency demonstration Report).

My first one will be my graduation project in Electrical Engineering.
My second and third will be in electrical aircraft maintenance.

will that be counted by Engineers Australia as an experience in Electrical Engineering???


----------



## jass123

Dear Mark,

I have applied EOI-july'16 with 60 pts -189 & 65-190 (NSW).

my particulars are:-
Age :29
Ielts: L6.5 R6 W6.5 S6.5
qualification: Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineerg (passing year May 2008)

I have 8+ years of experience and still continuing work at the same place.
I was appointed as graduate engineer trainee in my organization (automobile) in Jul'08. 

Although I had done as equivalent jobs of an engineer, just as per then company ,fresh graduate was recruited at that post. Even in my skill assessment by EA ,they have assessed my qualification equivalent to AFQ level .w.e.f July 2008.(mentioned on the outcome letter).

Since joining my work is full time (48 hrs/w),regularly paid, have EPF deductions,income tax returns ,have work experience certificate including my duties as Graduate engineer trainee also.

I have heard that in some cases CO may not be accept the the first year experience as "graduate engineer trainee" and depends upon the respective CO only.

As per your expertise could you pl tell me whether CO will accept my 1st year exp. or if not,what are the other alternatives.

I had all Form 16 (Income Tax Returns), right from Joining,i.e Jul'08.

Pl give me your valuable comments.

thanks


----------



## himpar1

Hi Mark, 

I would like to know the stages of visa application for PR after Form 80 is submitted for 189 sub class? how long will it take to get the visa once the Form 80, medical examinations are submitted? 

Thank you. 

Warm regards, Himpar1


----------



## Rebelchick

*Quick Question, Mark*

Hi Mark. I have a quick question. I am married to an Australian Citizen and I want to apply for my partner visa onshore. I am here on a 3 month Visitor Visa right now. I've read I need a substantive Visa. I am not sure what that is. I read it is any visa but a bridging Visa but I am not sure if google is telling me the right thing. I'm still confused. Do I need to check yes or no for substantive Visa and/or should I apply for another Visa first? I'm so confused. I didn't get past the first page of the application. What do I do? Thank you in advance.


----------



## jenzlinger

Hi Mark,

I am looking to apply for a partner visa but i had a few questions i was hoping you can help me with :/

Firstly, my boyfriend and i have been in a relationship since March 2014 and we have been living together unofficially since we started dating till February 2016 where we moved out of the student accommodation to a house together. I am wondering if that does not apply as a de facto relationship visa? 

Another question i have is that our 3 year mark comes in on March 2017 and i am on a working holiday visa that expires on Feb 2017. If i apply for a partner visa/PR (i read that relationships longer than 3 years may apply straight for PR? Is that correct?), would i be rejected as the time of application meant that we are still a relationship of under 3 years/living together officially for less than 1 year? or would they look at the time of evaluation that we have crossed those dates?

Thanks,
Jen


----------



## Ejona

Hello Mark,

Thank you for all your help here. I will be lodging an online 820 Defacto Partnership application soon. 

1) I am not totally certain of what documents exactly I need to get certified. Obviously we will have to certify our passports, birth certificates, drivers license and the Registered Relationship Certificate. But other than that, do I need to certify our individual and joint bank statements, electricity/gas bills, phone bills, car insurance policy etc?

2) Since this April we are living in a house where we got both names on a one year lease, but before that we lived in a different house for over a year with only his name on the lease. So I will be proving that we lived together during that year by scanning and uploading letters we have received individually in the same address to prove that we have lived together throughout my stay there. I will upload letters from the bank I have received at the given address throughout different months, as well as electricity and gas bills under both of our names. My question is, before I scan and upload everything, should I highlight the dates on top of the individual letters, joint bills etc, to make it easier for the CO to see the dates belonging to different months, since the whole point of uploading these letters is for the CO to see that they have been sent to that address throughout different months, otherwise some of the letters would be irrelevant to the application.

3) Do you recommend providing phone bills and highlighting my partner's number is a good idea, so that the CO can see that we have kept in daily contact?


----------



## Cailenegrace

*WHV Application and Character Section*

Hi Mark!

Not sure if you are going to be able to help me here but...

I am applying for a Working Holiday visa and in the application process it asks:
"Has the applicant ever been convicted of an offense in any country (including any conviction which is now removed from official records)?"

In June 2011 (5+ years ago) I had a court date for what they deemed a "Traffic or other offense." It was for public urination. Not proud... but we've all had crazy college days, right?

I had court appearance at a Municipal court (which hear traffic offenses and violations of city ordinances). It's not a criminal court. I paid the fine in full. I am trying to contact the court to see if the record was sealed or not. Is this something that I should mention on my visa application in the Character section? I have never put it on any job application and I have had background checks in the past and nothing has been brought up about it. It was a fine that I had to pay, but I guess I did have to appear in court and "plead guilty."

Would this really prohibit me from getting approved for the visa if I mentioned it on my form? I want to be honest on my form, obviously. But I don't know if this really counts as a "conviction" of an offense.

Thoughts?


----------



## gretz57

*waiting for visa 801*

Hi Mark,

I lodged my 801 application last 06 June 2016, I got an acknowledgment letter from DIAC on 17 June 2016. Until date I am still waiting.

I would like to know what is the average waiting months to receive an answer for the application or average approval of the same?

Thank you.

gretz


----------



## mo83

hello there

ok so i am on 489 visa and of cores i want to get my PR by applying to 887 visa.

i understand that i can do that by completing full time employment of 35 hrs or by self employment.

as i dont want to waist time im going to go throw self employment but struggling on the definition of self employment as immi web sit really vage and provide basically no description or definition.

so my question is.
im considering two options
option 1
if my self employment as trading the the financial market(as in trading stocks options on ASX) would that count as self employment ?

option 2
opening a coffee kiocs

im more exited to the first option as i am already involved.

is any of these option possible as self employment,if yes how to prove the hours as self employment?


----------



## jaspreetsingh1

*ACT occupation List revised*

Hi Mark,

I was preparing to apply for Canberra state nomination under occupation Financial and investment manager 222312, but the new list that has been published today shows that the occupation is closed now. My question is

Should I still go ahead and get my occupation and education proofs assessed from Vetassess, and wait for the occupation to open again?

Can this occupation open again in coming months? Or will i have to wait for next year

Regards


----------



## Mish.L

Hi Mark,

I am currently on a student visa and the course will be finished in Mar 2017. I got married with an Australian citizen in 2016 and am preparing for onshore partner visa application. I have got my supporting documents and related police check and health check ready but with hesitation in lodging it. The reason is because I want to have the full working right attached to partner visa (BVA) as soon as I lodge the application. Given that I am on a student visa and I have read through some of your forum posts, I know by voluntarily cancelling the student visa and end up having a BVE might not be the best option. Would you be able to advise what would do best for me in this case? Is there any way to shorten my student visa before I lodge the partner visa? or I can lodge my partner visa first and sort out how to shorten my student visa later so that I can queue up in the long 820 application waiting list?

Thanks for your help.

Cheers,
Mish


----------



## tazui1982

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tazui1982 -
> '
> Thanks for the note. Looks promising, however the only way to tell for sure is to very carefully go through the requirements for 3 entities - the skills assessor for that occupation, NT Skilled Visa requirements (and check for any per-occupation additional requirements - for a handy reference), and DIBP requirements for the 190 visa especially points test and requirements for work experience, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, 
Thank you for your reply!
I've done a bit of homework after consulted and found out that I satisfy most of the requirements for NT nomination, however, I have to provide strong evidence of employment in HR industry or closely related fields. I went to LinkedIN, seek and indeed to see that there are around 120 job postings at the moment for HR adviser or equivalent jobs. Would NT's Department of Business consider that as strong evidence of employment perspectives for me?


----------



## arvindchandramouli

*Tricky Situation*

Dear Mark

First of all. Thanks for all the assistance you're providing to a gazillion users here, taking time of your busy schedule.

This is my question:

1. I had lodged a 485 VISA 2 weeks back. CO has not been assigned yet. Student Visa expired on 30th August. In the meanwhile i received an invitation to apply for 189. Should i make an application for 189 in the next week and concurrently withdraw my application for 485, would i be able to secure a refund of fee paid already ?

Thanks in Advance fir your time.


----------



## mohsinmahmood421

hi Mark
My question is regardin visit visa 600.

Im a PR holder and want to invite my parents for upcoming delivery of my baby.

My question is if I send them invitation letter stating that I will fully sponsor and fund their visit here financially and attach my bank statement of 20k, do they still need to attach their bank statement?

ps they will be attaching their property papers back home along with its evaluation to prove ties to go back.


thanks


----------



## mfa

*Only 14 days for first entry date-SI 189 visa*

Hi Mark,

I received my grant today for SI-189 visa , however , upto my utmost surprise and bewilderness "Must Make first entry to Australia Before" is given only until 14th September 2016 - which is extremely less time.

As i am currently working in Saudia-Arabia and my employer has refused to give vacations/leave for such short notice period as this vacation does not fall under "Emergency" category.

I have already sent an email to DIAC but they reply after 28 working days and during this my first entry date will pass. Please advise how to handle this situation to get first entry date exempted ?

Will DIAC cancel my visa if i didn't make validation trip by 14 Sep 2016 and why they give only 13 days which is not feasible for anyone .

thanks,
Usman


----------



## omar_ap

*improved IELTS after while visa is being assessed*

Dearest Mark,

I have lodged my 190 visa in June 2016 with 65 points. I had a little concern that points for working experience will be reduced if DIBP could not communicate properly with my referee. Thus, I sat on another IELTS test and eventually received all band 7 IELTS (when I submitted visa application, I did not get score from my IELTS, one band was 6.5). The question is will I receive increase points from my IELTS while visa is still being processed? Thank for your kind help.

Omar


----------



## Tash1

Hi Mark,

Thank you in advance. Here is my situation and question: 

We lodge our 820 application on january 2016 though we are unsure if we meet the 12 months living in requirements though we have been in a de facto relationship since october 2014 when he proposed. We have stayed in a hotel when my partner first visited. In january 2015, he visited me again in the Philippines and we stayed in a hotel. March 2015 i came here to oz to visit and stayed 3 months ago with him and again in july 2015 til we filed for our 820. Since October 2014 he has been sending financial support regularly 2x a month and we have a joint account. Due to my divorce in the Philippines that is still in process, we cannot get married. We submitted all these along with the other requirements but still unsure of the outcome. In line with this I have a few questions:

1. I was pregnant at the time we lodge the application. I prematurely gave birth due to pregnancy complications in February 2016. Immi was informed through email. Further, our son died due to prematurity issues. My partner suffered severe depression and still recovering. June 2016 we found out we were pregnant again. Will give birth in January. Can we use these circumstances as additional evidence for compassionate grounds? Do you think this will be considered in the application?

2. If our application is denied can we file for MRT? Can we submit circumstances in question 1 during an MRT will it be given weight?

3. What other options are available to us if the worse case scenario happens? I do not want my family to be in 2 different places nor my partner to experience a relapse in this depression and place himself at risk. 

Your help is greatly appreciated.


----------



## vikrant31

*190 visa grant delay*

Hello Mark,

Thanks in advance.

My anzsco code: 261312 DEVELOPER PROGRAMMER

I have applied for 190 Skill Nomination Visa. Got State nomination from New South Wales.

My score is 65.

I have logged VISA application on 21st March 2016.

Case Officer was assigned on 21st April 2016.

CO has asked for PCC documents on 25th April and I have submitted the same on same day.

Now I am waiting for VISA Grant. Its more then 5 months.

I have dropped mail and called DIBP twice. But DIBP replied that it is under process.

Could you please let me know the reason why it is taking this much amount of time.?

And possible Grant time.?


----------



## ShermD

vikrant31 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My anzsco code: 261312 DEVELOPER PROGRAMMER
> 
> I have logged VISA application on 21st March 2016.
> Case Officer was assigned on 21st April 2016.
> 
> CO has asked for PCC documents on 25th April and i have submitted the same on same day.
> 
> Now I am waiting for VISA Grant. Its more then 5 months.
> 
> I have dropped mail to DIBP and called them. But replied that it is under process.
> 
> Could you please let me know the reason why it is taking this much amount of time.?
> 
> And possible Grant time.?


damn it .. 5 months .. omg, may be it has something to do with your overall marks may be ?? how much you got? 60? and I think, your post should be updated with more detail such as "your visa category or sub category etc" to get a good answer from mark. Good luck


----------



## vikrant31

*Delay in 190 Visa Grant*



ShermD said:


> damn it .. 5 months .. omg, may be it has something to do with your overall marks may be ?? how much you got? 60? and I think, your post should be updated with more detail such as "your visa category or sub category etc" to get a good answer from mark. Good luck


Thank you ShermD,

I have applied for 190 Skill Nomination Visa. Got State nomination from New South Wales.

My score is 65.

Thanks Mark in advance.


----------



## zan88

Hi Mark,

I applied for visa 820 last year in December. My student visa will be expired next year in September. However, I managed to graduate this year. I wonder if something goes wrong after I graduated? Do I need to enrol for another course while waiting. I advise a guy at the immigration office he told me I need to keep studying until my visa is expired as bridging visa won't kick in while on student visa. If I stopped means that I will get visa E even I finished my course. Is that true?

Please gimme some advice.


----------



## itsme16may

*Invitation to .. .. Skilled - Independent (subclass 189) visa Adverse information re*

Hi Mark

I have applied for subclass 189 visa for me and my family and got 70 point.
My son is 6 yrs old and has mild development issues, he still is unable to speak and is hyperactive. He has been diagnosed on spectrum.
He was analysed in Max by a psycholigist and she asked us a lot of question regarding his day to day activities, that we answered truthfully.

Now I recd a message from Immigration that says:

Invitation to comment on information for a Skilled - Independent (subclass 189) visa

Adverse information received

The letter confirms that "my son has been has been evaluated by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) and has been assessed as not meeting the health requirement for the grant of Skilled Independent (Permanent) (class SI) Skilled - Independent (subclass 189) visa."

The Medical Person Report says:
'The applicant has been assessed against Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4005 [see attached extract] for the period of a permanent stay in Australia.

The applicant does not satisfy sub-subparagraph PIC 4005(1)(c)(ii)(A) in Schedule 4 to the Migration Regulations.

The applicant is a 6 year old person with:

- Mild developmental delay.

..Form and Severity of the applicant's condition: The applicant is a child with mild developmental delay, from an unknown cause, and requires services to improve communication, cognition and social skills. Provision of services to a hypothetical person with the applicant's condition: A hypothetical person with this condition at the same severity as the applicant, would be likely to be to require community services, in the form of special education and disability support. This condition is likely to be Stable..

I consider that a hypothetical person with this disease or condition, at the same severity as the applicant, would be likely to require health care or community services during the period specified above.

These services would be likely to include:

Special education services

Commonwealth disability services

State disability services

Provision of these health care and/or community services would be likely to result in a significant cost to the Australian community in the areas of health care and/or community services."

I am getting my son treated from an Institute in US and he is improving considerably, he has started to develop speech, behaves properly in social situations, is able to do most of hist daily chores himself. He understand english vocabulary and indicates to us through facilitated communication all his needs. He follows commands.

The doc in India who evaluated him has suggested that I should submit a reply to immigration official and attach a copy of the assessment report of my son which was given to us by the US institute and alongcwith that attach a undertaking saying that I will be bearing all the medical expenses of my son.
Now my question is:
1. What are the chances that our PR will be processed?
2. WIll my undertaking prove detrimental in future , if the PR is granted?

Sorry for a long post but I will be very thankful to guide me.

I recd. the letter on 1 septmeber and have 28 days to reply back.
Please help URGENTLY


----------



## arif.lakemba

Hi Mark, I'm from Sydney,AU(visa Subclass 189) and new in this forum.
It's regarding my younger brother Engineers Australia skill assessment for migration. He just completed Bachelor of Engineering from overseas. Is it mandatory one year job experience before applying for Engineers Australia assessment as Engineering Technologist? I got the information from Engineers Australia website that job experience is not mandatory for assessment. However, I have confusion since someone told me that one year job experience is mandatory.


----------



## Edaoz

*Spouse visa*

Hi Mark and all
I'm married to Australian for 4 yrs since 20/6/12 and registered our marriage in Singapore. My Husband stayed with me for 2 years and since cant find a job here he has to return to Australia and starts work there. I want to live with my Husband in Australia after my Daughter graduate from her University in a year times. I have read sub 100 and sub 300. Have anyone successful in this applications on this visa entry. I want to know the procedures how to apply and do I need an agent to apply. Hope anyone can give a reply or info on this matter. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukanta -

My apologies for the delay in responding - have been away and am finally able to catch up on forum posts. The 173 is a temporary visa - primary benefit is if you don't have the roughly $48k available for the 143 permanent contributory parent visa but have enough for the 173, can apply for the 173 first, then later apply and pay the difference to get the 143. Key issue is that 173 visa generally does not provide for medicare even after grant, as it's a temporary visa, but 143 provides medicare at some point - not after application, but at some point after grant - important to check DIBP and Medicare rules on this as they are subject to change.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sukanta said:


> Dear Mark, Hope you are well. I need your some advise about Parent migration:
> 
> As per family balance requirement, I am eligible to sponsor my mother but I am little lost of understanding the cost of subclass 173 followed by subclass 143. Could you please kindly suggest me how much it would cost if I choose to sponsor my mother for subclass 173 and then apply for her for subclass 143. I would greatly appreciate your help on this. Thanks so much in advance.
> 
> thank you
> Sukanta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ShermD -

Sorry so late in responding - I'm hoping you were able to get some advice on your questions - Bachelor Degree important to include as DIBP may not accept Master Degree for points without evidence of Bachelor Degree. However for points purposes, as long as your Bachelor Degree is estimated to be equivalent to an Australian Bachelor degree, you will get the 15 points even if the study area is not relevant to your occupation. I would include the Bachelor degree docs with your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ShermD said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> I need some help for filling out the EOI's education history section.
> Visatype: 189 skilled independent visa
> 
> In VETASSESS outcome letter
> under* skilled migration assessment*
> 
> Qualification/s:
> 
> 1. Advanced Diploma in Engineering completed in 2009 at XXX University, USA is assessed as comparable to the educational level of an *AQF Diploma* and is therefore at the required level.
> 
> Field of study Engineering is highly relevant.
> 
> 2. Master of Science completed in 2015 at XXX University, USA is assessed as comparable to the educational level of an *AQF Master degree* and is therefore at the required level.
> 
> And in EOI of Skill select asks,
> 
> *Education history*
> Has the client completed, or is currently enrolled in any studies at secondary level and above? YES
> 
> Then it asks to write the qualifications. In that,
> 
> 1) should I write my "Masters degree" (Engineering management) as the highest qualification (note that although it's stated as AQF Masters degree, it doesn't state that it is highly relevant)
> 
> 2) should I just write only the "Advanced Diploma in Engineering" as highest qualification ? (note it is marked as highly relevant)
> 
> 3) and further, can't I include any other qualification in that "EOI" under "education history" which is not mentioned in that outcomeletter of Vetassess (I have a diploma, degree etc which is sent to VETASSESS but they didn't mention it in the outcome letter although they did mention my Masters)?
> 
> otherwise my application will be rejected under providing misleading information
> 
> *UPDATE 1:* I submitted my EOI with only educational qualifications (MSc and Diploma) mentioned in that vetassess outcomeletter, is it necessary to update the education history in the EOI with my other qualifications as well, such as my B.Sc degree which is not mentioned in vetassess outcome letter ?..
> 
> --------------------------
> 
> *UPDATE 2:* I got an invitation and now the EOI is locked, EOI has only my Diploma & MSc stated in education history, now I don't know what to do with above issues ...
> 
> I got 65 marks for the points test with Diploma+ MSc for the EOI, so I was offered 15 points for the MSc being the highest qualification. To offer me points for the MSc I don't have to have a assessed degree as well right? because, DIBP asks for a degree where MSc is not listed in the outcome letter of vetassess, right ?(and MSc is assessed as equivelant of AQF Master degree). So, I don't need to provide my BSc degree to the DIBP right?
> 
> If I'll just submit all the documents (plus the documents of the BSc degree which is not already listed in EOI) with all of my qualifications for the "Online visa lodgement", will the Case officer (in DIBP) consider those as well if he see my case needs to have a "degree" as well to offer points for the MSc? or will he just reject the visa lodgement instantly as I haven't listed my BSc degree in the EOI? Further, If you have any different recommendations please let me know.
> 
> and suppose I created an immiaccount via the invitation (which I did not yet), then
> 
> 1) in immiaccount, where it asks "has this applicant undertaken any health examinations for an australian visa in last 12 months .." and if I already undertaken it and have the document with me, is it better to select "yes" and write the details OR select "No" and wait for the Case Officer to ask for it? is it ok to get it done early? and how do I know which tests should be done exactly? is there any page which has this exact test details in DIBP website (I searched for it I didn't find any exact test details)? Or should I wait for the Case officer to send me an email etc with the titles of the tests which has to be done?
> 
> Does it have different effects for the visa being successfully granted? (such as CO might consider or prefer very new medical reports (say a week old report) than reports which are 2 months old) Or will it speed up the process if I submit the medicals before CO asks me to submit?
> 
> 2) in employment history of "online visa lodgement", is it necessary to select "Date to" date? I left it blank in my "EOI" as I was still working for the same company at the time of EOI submission. And, I'm still working for the same company. It seems like that "Date to" date cannot be left blank in "online visa lodgement". Which date should I put as "Date to" date, as I'm still working. Should I resign from my work and get an another service letter and put the resignation date as "Date to" date? or is there any other way that I can do without resigning my current job.
> 
> 3) in online visa lodgement, they ask for "intended state of residence". What kind of effect this has with my visa being granted? and, must I land in an airport located inside "intended state of residence" when I first arrive Australia etc or anything else?
> 
> I know, some questions may not have exact answers , but, your early approximate answers with your experience as a migration lawyer brought me this far successfully, so any kind of answer is so valuable for me
> 
> Many Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RaidenZ -

No particular requirement for a minimum amount in your account - if the amount is low, you might also upload your CV/Resume showing the fact that you have a history of employment - that can help.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RaidenZ said:


> Good morning
> 
> I have a pretty basic question regarding supporting information for a spouse visa
> 
> ( Bank statement for the last 6 months )
> 
> My issue is that I have less than $500 in my account as of this time due to recently getting my wife a multi entry tourist visa and birthday related expenditure during her trip to Sydney.
> 
> I have contacted the immigration hotline etc and they have stated that it's not important aslong as I have a stable job and pay my taxes which I have both so should I have a certain amount in my account before sending off our application?
> 
> Thank you for any help provided


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandipan -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, that's likely to work, especially if you are living in Australia when you are performing the permanent employment and can show via lease agreement, etc that you are committed to living here going forward. Re 2, usually generated within a few minutes of lodging, however in some cases it takes 1-2 days, especially if BV-C is generated or you lodge on the weekend.

Re: other visas, the Transit visa is generally not a good idea in this type of circumstance plus DIBP would need to see a ticket for further onward travel and there are many restrictions. 400 might work but not sure if the work is specialised enough and/or whether a competition would fit the criteria for that visa as it's generally for highly specialised, short-term employment. 600 may still be the best choice. Generally all visas are considered to be substantive visas unless they are bridging visas, however just being a substantive visa may not be enough depending on what visa you are applying for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sandipan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am married with my wife for 18 months and I wish to apply for spouse visa.
> 
> I have few questions, I believe these are general questions :-
> 
> *1. How to fulfill "Usually Resident" requirement?
> *Will a permanent employment with six figure salary ongoing for *one month*, rented flat, Bank account with around 20K AUD be enough to prove Usually resident?
> 
> *2. How long does Bridging Visa takes to get approved?
> *I have read somewhere that when you apply for a Spouse visa - 820 within Australia using online application, Bridging Visa A gets approved 'instantaneously' And you can verify it the very next day. Is it true? How long does BV-A usually takes to be granted to you after submission of your spouse visa application online?
> 
> *2. Bringing my wife to Australia on a substantiative visa (400 or 771).
> *My wife is low salaried employee based in India and I am aware that a Visitor visa (600, Paper based application- only one available in India) may come with 8503 condition - No further stay.
> 
> I am considering other visas to which No further stay conditions do not apply, specifically 400 visa for a photography competition Or a 771 Transit visa for bringing her to Australia and then applying for 820 visa from within Australia.
> 
> Is a 771 visa or a 400 visa considered substantiative and will it be legal for someone to come on these visa and apply further for a spouse visa onshore? Or can it be considered as a predetermined intent to violate the condition of the visa?
> 
> If yes, Is a 600 tourist visa any safer?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rmwahab -

Thanks for the note. In my view it would not hurt to send them the updated one.

Best,

Mark Northam



rmwahab said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Last June I applied for Victoria state nomination program I received an e-mail saying that I need to wait for 12 weeks, I needed 8 years of experience, but my ACS report at that time showed only 7 years and 11 months as an ICT project manager. Now I got updated ACS report showing full 8 years, should I send it to Victoria the updated one or should I wait till they will contact me.
> Any help is very much appreciated
> Best Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ms Watson -

Thanks for the note. Once the subclass 100 permanent partner visa is granted, that visa is not dependent in any way upon the relationship continuing - if the relationship breaks down *after *the 100 is granted, the 100 visa is not in jeopardy. Citizenship does not require that the relationship the 100 was based on remain in place, so no issues with citizenship later if the relationship breaks down after the 100 is granted.

The issue is when the relationship breaks down *before *the 100 is granted - that can put the 100 at risk of refusal (prior to grant) but there are pathways through this in the case of family violence or there being a child of the relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ms Watson said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Once a partner visa subclass 100 (permanent) is granted (and in this case is 3 years into it) does the relationship have any bearing on that person becoming a citizen after the mandatory 4 years. i.e if the relationship breaks down is there grounds for the person on the 100 visa to have to leave the country, does it invalidate the visa and do they still have to be in that relationship to when they apply for citizenship?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mk83 -

Thanks for the note. Sorry to hear of the long time - it's really unfair that DIBP does not have any time limits on processing visas. No good way to predict how much longer - sounds like they are just responding to your requests with various pre-formatted emails. I'd try to hang in there and be patient - hopefully a decision will come soon!

Best,

Mark Northam



Mk83 said:


> Hi Mark
> I've been waiting for my 820/801 2 years and 9.5 months and still in on BVA
> im from high risk country which is lebanon .
> 3 months ago I asked for status update ,DIBP replied :<this application is undergoing final assessment we will contact you accordingly>
> Today I,asked for status update ,DIBP replied :<Thank you for your enquiry. At this stage, the application is progressing. You will be advised once a decision is made>
> How do u think does take more and should I,worry for that Lon wait on BVA ,and what do they mean in this reply.
> Thanks in advance .
> Appreciate ur effort helping everyone


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozpunjabi -

Thanks for the note. Not sure which visa you are referring to - ie, whether it's the English fee for a secondary applicant, or the actual 2nd visa application charge for a contributory parent visa, etc. However generally speaking DIBP only asks for the 2VAC shortly before they are going to grant the visa, and I have not heard of any cases where a visa has been refused after payment of the 2VAC unless there was, for instance, false information included on the application that is only discovered after the 2VAC is paid, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozpunjabi said:


> Dear Mark
> It is nice to see you doing such noble job here.
> 
> I have one concern about vac2 and probability of grant after it.
> 
> Can you please tell what could be the possible reasons of rejection after paying VAC2??? Is it external checks or anything else???
> 
> Because we have heard that PR is almost sure.* Can you please share any case from your knowledge where this has not proved true*. I shall be thankful.
> 
> I have paid vac2 on 29th July and waiting for grant. CO asked me straightaway for vac2 in first contact and no other document. Question is related to VAC2 for sc 189.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi bbyCey -

Sorry, confused by your question. I'm guessing you mean, "can I use the ImmiAccount in my name or my fiance's name" - if this is the case, then either is fine - there is no particular requirement that the name on the ImmiAccount must match the name of the applicant or sponsor, although usually it matches one of those.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bbyCey said:


> Hello. I want to lodge online for prospective marriage visa. Can I use the visa from my fiancee ? Or it have to be on my name? Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ShermD -

Thanks for the question. This is determined entirely on whether you put family members as "dependents" or not on the application. All family members who are listed as dependents (your children are automatically considered your dependent if under 18 yrs old) will be required to do health checks. For instance, if your father was living with you and financially dependent on you, he may qualify as a dependent (depending on further circumstances) and you could list him as a dependent on the application or not - it would be your choice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ShermD said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Suppose I got an invitation to the PR of 189 skilled independent visa,
> 
> I'm the only person who will come to Australia and no other family member is included or mentioned in my EOI .. Still should I submit health examinations of my father, my sister etc to the DIBP with the visa lodgement ?
> 
> It's stated that, in https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa...endent-visa-(subclass-189)-document-checklist
> 
> so, when I find the definition for "member of your family unit", DIBP has stated that,
> 
> which is stated here: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Incl
> 
> So, should I do medical examination of my father my sister etc? Although I'm the only applicant for the visa?
> 
> Many Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Quethaochi -

If she's legally married as of the date of the 187 application, she will be required to list her husband on the application. The husband can be listed as either migrating or not, depending on their circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



quethaochi said:


> Good evening Mark
> 
> I have my sister who going to apply for visa 187 on Dec 2016, and she will go back home to married her boyfriend on Oct 2016.
> 
> My question is : is she allows to put her future husband in her form while her husband stay back home?
> 
> Thank you so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Teklia -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa. 55 points may be enough (+ 5 for state sponsorship) however there are many other issues that can affect your points score - ie, is work experience considered skilled and therefore can be claimed for points, etc.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



teklia said:


> Can I apply for subclass 190 with 55 points.
> 
> I have 10 years experience in Civil engineering(BE)
> 
> I have got an IELTS results of 6.5 and above


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emilio -

I'd look into the subclass 445 Dependent Child visa depending on where you are at in the 820 processing cycle. Complete info on the DIBP website.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emilio said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> Me and my partner have an onshore 820 partner visa in progress/processing and we did not put her son as a "migrating family member" simply because we were gonna just wait for her application to settle first and he did not have a passport yet at that time of the application and also he was offshore and we only did the application ourselves online and really didn't know much about what the do's and don't of this situation. Anyways now we decided to bring her son here and applied for a Visitor (Class FA) Sponsored Family (subclass600) Visa and was refused due to the fact that we did not included her Son as a Migrating Family Member at the time of Application therefore the officer concluded that the temporary visit here of her son in australia seems non-genuine.
> 
> I rang the DIBP a few times and had different answers wether we can still ammend the information on the application to change the "migrating family member" part and include the son. They said No 2 times and 1 time they said Yes and to fill out form1436.
> 
> I just want to know what other options are there in terms of bringing the son here using an appropriate visa and also would like to add him to the partner visa that is still in progress once he is onshore if ever.
> 
> Thank you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mary -

Short answer is yes. DIBP will look to see that you made a sincere effort to complete the 2 yrs of work in a regional area - if you've completed more than half of that, or have left for reasons you can document that were beyond your control, then DIBP will generally accept that. Suggest to be on the safe side you seek further employment (doesn't have to be sponsored) within a regional area until 2 years after the grant date of the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mary2016 said:


> Hi Mark, I hope you can help me, I am currently holding a PR visa 187 RSMS and I have been working with my employer since 2013 but my PR visa was granted on September 24th last year, I would like to know if I can live my sponsor after the year because I am having serious difficulties with my boss that I can explain further if needed or what can I do I feel hopeless and I want to know my options or if I can change sponsor, thanks for your attention and having this forum is awesome, thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JamNick -

Generally a 1023 form is not accepted after a visa is granted. A form 1022 form may be, depending on the information and changes involved, and a 929 form may also work again depending on the information or changes involved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JamNick said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> I've a problem and I don't know how to sort out it.
> 
> I've mistakenly given an incorrect information while applying form my 417 WHV. I know that there's the 1023 form in this case, which allow you to provide corrections. The problem is that my Visa has been granted literally after 3 minutes!
> Am I still able to submit my 1023 form ? I don't find any suitable option inside my Immi account. Is there an option to attach forms ? In the "update us" section, I can't find the option to upload forms...
> 
> thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AUSBambi -

There is no specific legal requirement for providing the death certificate, however if DIBP believes that the information in a visa application is incorrect or inaccurate, perhaps due to not being able to provide information requested, that can cause issues. I'd work with the case officer and see what sort of an accommodation you can reach with him/her. Depending on the locality, most places have at least a register of births and deaths even if the death certificate is not available, so perhaps some other form of government-issues document will satisfy them depending on what you can get.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AUSBambi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Glad you are always here and contribute the view of expert.
> 
> My mother applied for parent visa 143 and was asked to provide a scanned copy of a death certificate for my father. My father passed away 30 years ago. It is currently very hard for us to work on it. Could you please advise me the following questions:
> 
> 1. Is it a mandatory requirement to provide a death certificate of deceased spouse regarding visa 143?
> 2. Is there any other way to meet this requirement?
> We have a notified family book which shows widow as my mother's marital status, however there is no any my father's info on family book.
> 
> Many thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charlieesta -

I'd carefully review the multiple options for being skilled per Group A/B/C on the VETASSESS site - sometimes the language in those can be a bit unclear, but that's an important starting point. Would not be able to advise on the maternity leave issue without more data and discussing with you at a consultation, etc as there are too many factors involved for a quick answer on the forum.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charlieesta said:


> Hi,
> 
> Did you ever receive clarification on this?
> 
> Our situation is that Vetasses have assessed my wife as having 8.9 years experience which is great but they have not subtracted anything for the 18 months of maternity leave in the last 10 years.
> 
> Our concern is that a DIBP official will deduct 18 months from the 8.9 years which drops her below the 8 years we need.
> 
> Is it worth the risk? Will the DIBP take the 8.9 years or will they subtract the maternity leave?
> 
> We are going to challenge Vetassess on another point, they have stated her Deemed Skilled Date as being within the last 10 years and have not considered the 4 years of relevant experience obtained before that.
> 
> -C


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abercrombie -

Have a look at www.anzscosearch.com which might be helpful in nailing down the ANZSCO required tasks/duties/responsibilities. That being said, the various accounting skills assessors will use their own judgment in determining whether various work is at a high enough level to qualify as work of an accountant (vs work of a bookkeeper or other related occupation) - can be very difficult to predict how they will decide.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abercrombie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question in relation to how the authorities assess duties & responsibilities? I have gone through the responsibilities on abs.gov website , but looks like they are very high level and do you know of all 11-12 roles given by them what are the minimum no.of roles a person must be performing?
> 
> Apparently, I had worked in MNC's where one department usually specializes in one kind of work because of the large setup as opposed to one department looking after everything.
> 
> Keeping this in view and the fact that at the start of my career I was doing some very basic accounting stuff will they still consider my experience as relevant? Or do they only consider complex accounting work? My duties from my two employer is given below.
> 
> Employer 1
> 
> 1.	Posting transactions to journals, ledgers and workflow management.
> 2.	Analysis, verification and recording of Client's Payables and requesting disbursements.
> 3.	Ensure accuracy & completeness by posting manual adjustments to the Ledger.
> 4.	Reconciliation of accounting statements with related transactions.
> 5.	Ensure adherence to financial policies and procedures in auditing expense statements and External supplier invoices.
> 6.	Appropriate recording of withholding taxes in accordance with IRS guidelines.
> 7.	Recording & reconciliation of Advance Payments to the clients in the General Ledger
> 8.	Processing International Payments through Wire and recording the same in the book of accounts.
> 9.	Liaise with Client Contacts for getting resolutions on On-Hold Payables.
> 10.	Maintains confidentiality and financial security by following internal controls.
> 
> Employer 2
> 
> 1.	Daily Accounting for Restructure or early termination of Derivative Trades.
> 2.	Reconciliation of Movement in Collateral with General Ledger.
> 3.	Booking of Hedge Accounting in accordance with FAS133
> 4.	Booking manual entries in General Ledger originating as a result of amendment in the Asset portfolio allocation.
> 5.	Accounting Adjustment on Unwind of the Trades.
> 6.	Reconciliation of cashflows Settlement on the swap with the General Ledger.
> 7.	Booking and Reconciling the Coupon Payments in the General Ledger
> 8.	Reconciling MTM on Derivative Trades with the General Ledger
> 9.	Preparation of Monthly Reports for Senior Finance Management.
> 10.	Source System to Trial Balance Reconciliation and Variance Analysis.
> 11.	Daily & Monthly Cash Reconciliation for the settlement of trades like Forwards, Swaps, Futures.
> 12.	Booking accruals in the General Ledger.
> 13.	Requesting Wire Transfer to ensure sufficient FX Balance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Manimehra22 -

Thanks for the note. If DIBP are making PIC 4020 allegations, I suggest you get professional help from a registered migration agent ASAP to work out how to respond, or whether to withdraw the application to avoid a PIC 4020 based refusal which carries with it a 3 year ban from Australia. I expect it will be about trying to determine exactly what information DIBP believes is inaccurate, which can be tough sometimes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



manimehra22 said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> Hi i am askingthis on the behalf of my uncle. He from india and aged 58 years old.
> He applied for visitors visa to australia. His son living in australia on a permanent visa. His son sponsored him for visa. He already visited australia before in 2015 as a visitor. His last visa was valid for 18 months but he stayed only for 3+3 months. He didn't work, never overstay, no criminal offence etc.
> 
> Today he got email from his CO stating that:-
> ""The department has conducted check to confirm the information that you provided in your application during the process we have received unfavourable information which may not support your application.
> 
> Department check indicates tgat you have provided misleading information regarding your activities and stay during your previous visit to Australia.
> 
> The further indicate that you do not intend to entere australia as a temporary entrant and are not a genuine visitor.
> 
> You may comment on the information above and provide additional details.
> ''
> 
> He didn't provide any misleading information regarding his previous stay. Everything was true in his interview call.
> 
> Now he is tensed weather he will get his visa or will refuse.
> 
> Also I heard if immigration refuse any application under misleading information. So that application affected by PiC 4020. This means 3 years ban to australia.
> 
> Please advise what documents we can provide them to get this visa.
> 
> Previous visa was sponsored by her daughter who is oz citizens. In the interview he said to CO that he stayed his son house but he also stayed his daughter house also sometimes he went her house in the day time and returned back to son's house in evening.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohammed -

Thanks for the note. If your child is born overseas and you are a citizen and the father of the child, then your child would be eligible for citizenship by descent since you were a citizen at the time of the birth - could apply for this overseas after birth so no visa would be needed for the baby to re-enter Australia. Re: visitor visa for relative to help, that depends on a lot of circumstances but a family sponsored visitor visa might be a consideration.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mazumder said:


> Hi Mark
> I highly appreciate your hard work.
> I am seeking some information here. My wife is currently 4 months pregnant .I am recently approved Australian citizen , my wife is PR ,she is living with me.
> 
> If I take my wife overseas to give birth (as I don't have any relative living here and im full time professional )and come back later what will be the procedure of application for new born baby?how tough , lengthy the procedure would be.Approx how much cost it might involves?
> 
> Or if I bring one of my family member ( my sister or my mother in law) what will be the procedure. which visa category should I apply (visitor/family sponsor/tourist).Approx how much money I have to show as sponsor if I apply for my guest to stay 3 moths here.also what is the best time to apply as my wife is due on feb-2017. what sort of documents I need to submit for that visa category?
> 
> Please advise me which option would be better for me.
> Anyone from the same situation please share your experience.
> 
> Thanks in advance
> Mohammed mazumder


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alex -

Thanks for the note. Yes, you can apply again at your convenience. Key is to show that there is a substantial change in your new application. One thing that can make a big difference is showing that you have employment links to your previous country - if you have an employer there who will write a letter saying your job (or perhaps contracts if you are self-employed) will be available upon your return can be helpful. Other than that, key is to show as many obligations and responsibilities to your home country as possible to demonstrate an incentive to return there.

Have fun with the PLT - it's an excellent course, and the College of Law's online study mode (I completed this earlier this year) is excellent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fifalex said:


> Dear Mark
> Hope you are having a good day. I as many others here appreciate your invaluable advice.
> I have the following problem.
> My plan was to apply for a PR through the SOL as a Solicitor. However in order to do this I was assessed by the LPAB and told that I need to complete 5 bridging academic subjects (which I did after investing time and 10k euro) and then complete the PLT course, which I intended to start in October.
> For the PLT I need to attend a 1 week orientation in Sydney in October, after which I can leave Australia as I intend to complete the PLT through the online mode and hence have no need to remain in Australia. I even had my work placement retrospectively completed here in The Attorney General's Office and approved by the College of Law so as to not have any visa issues with regards the 75 day work placement.
> As an EU national I applied online for the e-visitor pass expecting to receive it within hours. To my surprise as well as offense (after they requested a bank statement and declaration of my proposed itinerary and plans, which I duly provided) my application was declined under the excuse that I do not have enough incentive to not overstay in Australia (I did deem it necessary to mention my plans for the PLT to the immigration authority, I just said I intended to visit as a tourist and see my brother who resides in Melbourne).
> Now I have a problem. Can I reapply within days, outlining the complete reason for my need to visit OZ, or will I just get rejected again, and hence be unable to apply for the same reason down the line. Should I therefore wait a while before reapplying? The problem with waiting however is that I want to complete the PLT asap so I can move on and apply before July next year, in case solicitors are removed from the SOL list.
> Please advice Mark.
> Thanks and Kind regards
> Alex


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vanpraustralia -

Thanks for the note. Whether ACS and/or DIBP will accept stat decs in lieu of employer-stated roles and responsibilities is subject to the judgment of the case officer in both instances - there are no fixed rules about this generally. Usually better to have a manager or supervisor sign these as work-makes may be seen as not being objective. Would need to work with you in a consultation to get much more info in order to give you an opinion re: points and other related questions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vanpraustralia said:


> Have cleared IELTS with 7 or Greater than 7 in all categories.
> 
> I am planning to apply for ACS Skills assessment. As you all may be aware several companies incl. mine do not give a reference letter with roles and responsibilities.
> 
> For current company - Can I create a Third party Statutory Declarations and get it signed by ANY SENIOR COLLEAGUE in my company or should it be current supervisor ? Ofcourse I do not want my supervisor to know abt it. [6 years till date]
> 
> For previous company - Can I create a Third party Statutory Declarations and get it signed by ANY SENIOR COLLEAGUE in that company or should it any of my supervisor ? I am unable to contact my immediate supervisors whom I had worked with. [6.5 years experience]
> 
> FIRST Company - The company has been taken over by another company. I dont have any contact to get any reference letter. Is it required to furnish details abt this company experience [2.5 years] or is it ok to just give the last 2 companies
> 
> Will I still be able to claim 15 points for work experience (degree and work experience are on same field - BAchelor of Engg in computer science/ Software engineer (15 years overall exp from 3 companies)
> 
> Please suggest


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sylviacoyle -

We're seeing these taking 9+ months currently, but hard to predict.

Best,

Mark Northam



Sylviacoyle said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> My sister got married on 06.06.2015 with her partner but unfortunately they relationship broke down after 6 months because of domestic violence.She applied with a form 1410 with all the evidence etc in April .Do you know how long is the processing time?Thank you Szilvia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Colin -

A migration agent is not required but can be helpful re: working out the language to best fit the regulations that apply in these cases. Would be happy to discuss further at a consultation if you'd like - see link in my signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



theamazingcolin said:


> hi Mark
> 
> I am currently waiting on my PR but have been having relationship problems with my partner.
> 
> we have not been getting along for a while now and when our case officer called her she said that things were not good and said we weren't living together. (she was house sitting at the time for 5 weeks) but they seem to have taken it as not living together.
> 
> i have now received a letter saying the relationship has broke down and that i have an opportunity to provide comments on these allegations. We are commit-ed to making this work though.
> 
> What would be the best way to go about still getting PR? would a migration agent need to be involved? if there is, can you recommend one in Melbourne?
> 
> any questions please ask if i have not explained everything.
> 
> thanks!
> Colin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chabayta -

Partner visa is usually appropriate for these - can take 12-18 months to be processed, however you could apply for a visitor visa after you lodge the partner visa and see if that is approved - yours will likely be assessed as a high-risk case due to your citizenship, so may want to be patient as the visa process goes forward.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chabayta said:


> Dear Mark ,
> hope you're doing well.
> My name is ahmad Chabayta. I'm Palestinian with a Lebanese documents , living and working in Saudi Arabia. I'm getting married in November. My fiancé is Australian citizen by birth.She lives and study in Sydney.
> My query to you is :
> i want to move there to be with my wife permanently after getting married. i heard of the partner visa scheme but this will take around a year to get an answer. what other solution i do have to move there faster ?? bridging visa ? or what kind of visa ?
> thanks in advance for your help and assistance
> Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gareth -

Safer to open ImmiAccount after you arrive.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



garethbrazilpartner said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Quick question! (I hope)
> 
> We (myself Aus, partner Brazilian/Italian) are applying for an onshore 820/801 in January 2017. We will be entering on a Tourist Visa initially and will lodge the 820 application ASAP when onshore.
> 
> My question - Is there any danger in setting up the online immi.gov.au account for our 820 application PRIOR to applying for the 3mth Tourist visa?
> 
> My concern is that maybe computer systems may trigger/flag to the immigration agent upon entry that my partner has an active immi account, and with that knowledge may apply a 'no further stay' clause (which we obviously want to avoid at all costs)
> 
> Perhaps we just play it safe and not start any online immi.gov.au activity until we have entered the country?
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Many thanks!
> 
> Gareth


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Katbat -

All of the units you actually studied in Australia at the Australian uni (ie, were not credits from previous study offshore) should normally count towards the Australian Study Requirement calculation. Changing majors would not disqualify previous credits at the Australian university from being counted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



katbat said:


> Hello!
> 
> I'm going to be graduating soon with a 4 year Bachelor's (Honours) degree in Design from an Australian University registered on CRICOS. When I first enrolled at the university, I was studying a Fine Arts Honours Bachelor Degree, however, after 3 semester I did an internal program transfer to the Design degree.
> 
> All courses in my first 3 semesters were required in the Design degree as well and counted towards the completion of the degree. I just wanted to make sure that these 3 semesters do in fact count towards the 2 year study requirements? I received some credits from overseas study so I know these do not count but want to make sure that changing majors wouldn't affect this since the courses were taken at the same university/count as courses towards the degree I will be awarded.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abdul -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict if/when NSW will nominate as they have their own internal rules/logic/data used for this (in addition to requiring applicants to have at least 55 points prior to sponsorship) which is not published. Wish I could be more help -

Best,

Mark Northam



abdul qayyum said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a very basic question regarding have NSW nomination possibility with below particulars.
> 
> Subclass 190)
> (Permanent)
> 
> Date of Effect 23/08/2016 01:57:10
> Age 33 - 39 25
> English Language Ability Competent 0
> 
> Level of educational
> qualification attained
> At least a Bachelor Degree 15
> State/Territory
> Nomination
> 5
> Years of experience in
> Nominated Occupation
> - in Australia within the
> last 10 years.
> Less than 1 Year 0
> Years of experience in a
> Nominated Occupation
> - overseas within the
> last 10 years.
> Equal to or greater than 8 Years 15
> 
> TOTAL 60


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Silence -

Whether the subject matter of your CDR's is sufficiently relevant to your nominated occupation is a judgment call by Engineers Australia - not possible to predict in advance with any accuracy.

Best,

Mark Northam



silence said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a BSc. in Electrical Power from Egypt which is equivalent to Anzsco unit group 2333 in Australia.
> I have 7 months working experience in this field but with no social insurance, so I am not sure it would be counted by Engineers Australia.
> 
> Then 8 years as an Electrical and Avionics Aircraft Maintenance Engineer which is equivalent to Anzsco unit group 323111.
> 
> and 2 years as an aircraft maintenance planner (Anzsco unit group 312911).
> 
> I want to apply to Engineers Australia as a first step toward my immigration to Australia.
> 
> I have to write 3 CDRs (competency demonstration Report).
> 
> My first one will be my graduation project in Electrical Engineering.
> My second and third will be in electrical aircraft maintenance.
> 
> will that be counted by Engineers Australia as an experience in Electrical Engineering???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jass123 -

Assuming your work was after you received your qualification, will often depend on the specific duties/tasks you did during the year(s) in question - the job title is not as important as the actual work you did as compared to the ANZSCO standards for your occupation. Can be difficult to predict in advance as it involves judgment by the case officer in many cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jass123 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have applied EOI-july'16 with 60 pts -189 & 65-190 (NSW).
> 
> my particulars are:-
> Age :29
> Ielts: L6.5 R6 W6.5 S6.5
> qualification: Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineerg (passing year May 2008)
> 
> I have 8+ years of experience and still continuing work at the same place.
> I was appointed as graduate engineer trainee in my organization (automobile) in Jul'08.
> 
> Although I had done as equivalent jobs of an engineer, just as per then company ,fresh graduate was recruited at that post. Even in my skill assessment by EA ,they have assessed my qualification equivalent to AFQ level .w.e.f July 2008.(mentioned on the outcome letter).
> 
> Since joining my work is full time (48 hrs/w),regularly paid, have EPF deductions,income tax returns ,have work experience certificate including my duties as Graduate engineer trainee also.
> 
> I have heard that in some cases CO may not be accept the the first year experience as "graduate engineer trainee" and depends upon the respective CO only.
> 
> As per your expertise could you pl tell me whether CO will accept my 1st year exp. or if not,what are the other alternatives.
> 
> I had all Form 16 (Income Tax Returns), right from Joining,i.e Jul'08.
> 
> Pl give me your valuable comments.
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Himpar1 -

Hard to predict, but usually 1-4 months unless there is a delay in external checking/security checking.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



himpar1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to know the stages of visa application for PR after Form 80 is submitted for 189 sub class? how long will it take to get the visa once the Form 80, medical examinations are submitted?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Warm regards, Himpar1


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rebelchick -

A visitor visa is a substantive visa (a substantive visa is essentially a visa that is not a bridging visa), so as long as that visitor visa does not have condition 8503 or any other issue that prevents you from lodging an onshore partner visa, you could apply onshore while holding the visitor visa. Very important to lodge onshore BEFORE the visitor visa expires to avoid Schedule 3 problems.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rebelchick said:


> Hi Mark. I have a quick question. I am married to an Australian Citizen and I want to apply for my partner visa onshore. I am here on a 3 month Visitor Visa right now. I've read I need a substantive Visa. I am not sure what that is. I read it is any visa but a bridging Visa but I am not sure if google is telling me the right thing. I'm still confused. Do I need to check yes or no for substantive Visa and/or should I apply for another Visa first? I'm so confused. I didn't get past the first page of the application. What do I do? Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jen -

Thanks for the note. To evidence a de facto relationship DIBP will look for evidence you have been living together for the 12 months prior to applying for the visa, or other evidence that indicates that the relationship has been at a de facto level (vs boyfriend/girlfriend, roommates, etc) for the 12 months prior to application. Only way around this is to register your relationship if the state you're living in supports this (all Australian states do currently except for WA and SA).

Re: 3 years, would need to discuss that in detail with you at a consult to give you any specific advice - all depends on what level the relationship was at for those years and what evidence you may have to show that, however only 12 months is required for the partner visa - the 3 year factor there is to be granted the permanent partner visa straight away without being first granted the provisional partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jenzlinger said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am looking to apply for a partner visa but i had a few questions i was hoping you can help me with :/
> 
> Firstly, my boyfriend and i have been in a relationship since March 2014 and we have been living together unofficially since we started dating till February 2016 where we moved out of the student accommodation to a house together. I am wondering if that does not apply as a de facto relationship visa?
> 
> Another question i have is that our 3 year mark comes in on March 2017 and i am on a working holiday visa that expires on Feb 2017. If i apply for a partner visa/PR (i read that relationships longer than 3 years may apply straight for PR? Is that correct?), would i be rejected as the time of application meant that we are still a relationship of under 3 years/living together officially for less than 1 year? or would they look at the time of evaluation that we have crossed those dates?
> 
> Thanks,
> Jen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ejona -

Thanks for the note. No need to certify any documents if you are lodging online and uploading colour scans of your documents. Form 888's would have to be witnessed as described on the forms however.

Re: 2, highlighting a very good idea. Re 3, Yes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ejona said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you for all your help here. I will be lodging an online 820 Defacto Partnership application soon.
> 
> 1) I am not totally certain of what documents exactly I need to get certified. Obviously we will have to certify our passports, birth certificates, drivers license and the Registered Relationship Certificate. But other than that, do I need to certify our individual and joint bank statements, electricity/gas bills, phone bills, car insurance policy etc?
> 
> 2) Since this April we are living in a house where we got both names on a one year lease, but before that we lived in a different house for over a year with only his name on the lease. So I will be proving that we lived together during that year by scanning and uploading letters we have received individually in the same address to prove that we have lived together throughout my stay there. I will upload letters from the bank I have received at the given address throughout different months, as well as electricity and gas bills under both of our names. My question is, before I scan and upload everything, should I highlight the dates on top of the individual letters, joint bills etc, to make it easier for the CO to see the dates belonging to different months, since the whole point of uploading these letters is for the CO to see that they have been sent to that address throughout different months, otherwise some of the letters would be irrelevant to the application.
> 
> 3) Do you recommend providing phone bills and highlighting my partner's number is a good idea, so that the CO can see that we have kept in daily contact?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cailenegrace -

I'd disclose it as depending on the specifics it may fall within the scope of the question. Having records sealed does not change whether you were "convicted" so that wouldn't matter. Given the petty nature of the offence, I don't see how that would endanger your visa, however if you did not declare it and later DIBP discovered it, that could be a problem.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cailenegrace said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Not sure if you are going to be able to help me here but...
> 
> I am applying for a Working Holiday visa and in the application process it asks:
> "Has the applicant ever been convicted of an offense in any country (including any conviction which is now removed from official records)?"
> 
> In June 2011 (5+ years ago) I had a court date for what they deemed a "Traffic or other offense." It was for public urination. Not proud... but we've all had crazy college days, right?
> 
> I had court appearance at a Municipal court (which hear traffic offenses and violations of city ordinances). It's not a criminal court. I paid the fine in full. I am trying to contact the court to see if the record was sealed or not. Is this something that I should mention on my visa application in the Character section? I have never put it on any job application and I have had background checks in the past and nothing has been brought up about it. It was a fine that I had to pay, but I guess I did have to appear in court and "plead guilty."
> 
> Would this really prohibit me from getting approved for the visa if I mentioned it on my form? I want to be honest on my form, obviously. But I don't know if this really counts as a "conviction" of an offense.
> 
> Thoughts?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gretz -

DIBP has expanded assessment of second stage partner visa applications and is now quoting 12-15 months for these. We're seeing times consistent with that in many cases - sometimes shorter, but often 12+ months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gretz57 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I lodged my 801 application last 06 June 2016, I got an acknowledgment letter from DIAC on 17 June 2016. Until date I am still waiting.
> 
> I would like to know what is the average waiting months to receive an answer for the application or average approval of the same?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> gretz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mo83 -

The self-employment you describe might work, but you'd have to provide solid evidence that you worked at it 35 hours per week - if you're at home on the computer, that may be very difficult to do. Coffee retail could work, but again you need to show the hours per week worked with solid, verifiable evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mo83 said:


> hello there
> 
> ok so i am on 489 visa and of cores i want to get my PR by applying to 887 visa.
> 
> i understand that i can do that by completing full time employment of 35 hrs or by self employment.
> 
> as i dont want to waist time im going to go throw self employment but struggling on the definition of self employment as immi web sit really vage and provide basically no description or definition.
> 
> so my question is.
> im considering two options
> option 1
> if my self employment as trading the the financial market(as in trading stocks options on ASX) would that count as self employment ?
> 
> option 2
> opening a coffee kiocs
> 
> im more exited to the first option as i am already involved.
> 
> is any of these option possible as self employment,if yes how to prove the hours as self employment?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaspreet -

No way to predict this one - if I were you, I'd probably get the skills assessment completed in hopes that the occupation opens up again in ACT or elsewhere - see www.anzscosearch.com for a great resource to show what state is sponsoring your occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jaspreetsingh1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was preparing to apply for Canberra state nomination under occupation Financial and investment manager 222312, but the new list that has been published today shows that the occupation is closed now. My question is
> 
> Should I still go ahead and get my occupation and education proofs assessed from Vetassess, and wait for the occupation to open again?
> 
> Can this occupation open again in coming months? Or will i have to wait for next year
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mish -

It's a tricky situation because of the genuine student requirement - ie, if you lodged the partner visa first then tried to lodge another replacement student visa for a shorter course, DIBP may refuse it based on not being a genuine student as evidenced by an application for a PR (the partner) visa. Would need to discuss further with you in a consultation to be able to learn more about your circumstances and provide specific advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mish.L said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently on a student visa and the course will be finished in Mar 2017. I got married with an Australian citizen in 2016 and am preparing for onshore partner visa application. I have got my supporting documents and related police check and health check ready but with hesitation in lodging it. The reason is because I want to have the full working right attached to partner visa (BVA) as soon as I lodge the application. Given that I am on a student visa and I have read through some of your forum posts, I know by voluntarily cancelling the student visa and end up having a BVE might not be the best option. Would you be able to advise what would do best for me in this case? Is there any way to shorten my student visa before I lodge the partner visa? or I can lodge my partner visa first and sort out how to shorten my student visa later so that I can queue up in the long 820 application waiting list?
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Cheers,
> Mish


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tazui -

Hard to say - you will need to carefully read the NT requirements (which are subject to change) to see whether an actual employment contract is necessary, whether a job offer will suffice, or whether simply showing strong demand for your occupation will be enough - it's all a matter of what their specific policies are for your occuaption.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tazui1982 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for your reply!
> I've done a bit of homework after consulted and found out that I satisfy most of the requirements for NT nomination, however, I have to provide strong evidence of employment in HR industry or closely related fields. I went to LinkedIN, seek and indeed to see that there are around 120 job postings at the moment for HR adviser or equivalent jobs. Would NT's Department of Business consider that as strong evidence of employment perspectives for me?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Congrats on the 189 invitation - that is certainly a far better visa than the 485. No problem lodging the 189 while waiting for 485, however unfortunately no refunds generally available for voluntary withdrawals, but you could try 

Best,

Mark Northam



arvindchandramouli said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> First of all. Thanks for all the assistance you're providing to a gazillion users here, taking time of your busy schedule.
> 
> This is my question:
> 
> 1. I had lodged a 485 VISA 2 weeks back. CO has not been assigned yet. Student Visa expired on 30th August. In the meanwhile i received an invitation to apply for 189. Should i make an application for 189 in the next week and concurrently withdraw my application for 485, would i be able to secure a refund of fee paid already ?
> 
> Thanks in Advance fir your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

No need for the applicants to also send financial evidence if you're paying all the costs of the trip, accommodation, etc unless that financial evidence somehow demonstrates ties of the applicant to their home country - usually bank balances do not, as they can be easily transferred overseas, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mohsinmahmood421 said:


> hi Mark
> My question is regardin visit visa 600.
> 
> Im a PR holder and want to invite my parents for upcoming delivery of my baby.
> 
> My question is if I send them invitation letter stating that I will fully sponsor and fund their visit here financially and attach my bank statement of 20k, do they still need to attach their bank statement?
> 
> ps they will be attaching their property papers back home along with its evaluation to prove ties to go back.
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mfa -

Congratulations on your visa grant! The must enter-by date is calculated based on the expiration of your police and/or health exams,which doesn't make a lot of sense to me but that's they way they do it. If you do not make entry by that date, after the date passes your visa is subject to cancellation. It is often possible to request some additional time - you'd need to write to DIBP after the date passes and provide reasons why they should not cancel the visa, and show evidence of when you would plan to come to do initial entry on the visa. The very short time between grant date and must enter by date should be a good starting point for your request.Assuming they grant your request, you'll get a letter from DIBP that you'll need to present at the airport when you depart to show that the visa is still valid even though you're departing after the must enter-by date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mfa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I received my grant today for SI-189 visa , however , upto my utmost surprise and bewilderness "Must Make first entry to Australia Before" is given only until 14th September 2016 - which is extremely less time.
> 
> As i am currently working in Saudia-Arabia and my employer has refused to give vacations/leave for such short notice period as this vacation does not fall under "Emergency" category.
> 
> I have already sent an email to DIAC but they reply after 28 working days and during this my first entry date will pass. Please advise how to handle this situation to get first entry date exempted ?
> 
> Will DIAC cancel my visa if i didn't make validation trip by 14 Sep 2016 and why they give only 13 days which is not feasible for anyone .
> 
> thanks,
> Usman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Omar -

Unfortunately no. Any increase in IELTS points after you apply for the visa is not taken into account - everything related to points is essentially locked as of the date of invitation by DIBP for you to apply for the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



omar_ap said:


> Dearest Mark,
> 
> I have lodged my 190 visa in June 2016 with 65 points. I had a little concern that points for working experience will be reduced if DIBP could not communicate properly with my referee. Thus, I sat on another IELTS test and eventually received all band 7 IELTS (when I submitted visa application, I did not get score from my IELTS, one band was 6.5). The question is will I receive increase points from my IELTS while visa is still being processed? Thank for your kind help.
> 
> Omar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tash1 -

Thanks for the note. A pregnancy or child can be very effective at getting an approval of the 12 months living together requirement (actually now it's 12 month de facto requirement as the door is now open to showing that the relationship was at a de facto level for those 12 months without actually living together for the entire 12 months due to an important court case). If DIBP refuses, assuming you are onshore, you can make an application for review at the AAT Tribunal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tash1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you in advance. Here is my situation and question:
> 
> We lodge our 820 application on january 2016 though we are unsure if we meet the 12 months living in requirements though we have been in a de facto relationship since october 2014 when he proposed. We have stayed in a hotel when my partner first visited. In january 2015, he visited me again in the Philippines and we stayed in a hotel. March 2015 i came here to oz to visit and stayed 3 months ago with him and again in july 2015 til we filed for our 820. Since October 2014 he has been sending financial support regularly 2x a month and we have a joint account. Due to my divorce in the Philippines that is still in process, we cannot get married. We submitted all these along with the other requirements but still unsure of the outcome. In line with this I have a few questions:
> 
> 1. I was pregnant at the time we lodge the application. I prematurely gave birth due to pregnancy complications in February 2016. Immi was informed through email. Further, our son died due to prematurity issues. My partner suffered severe depression and still recovering. June 2016 we found out we were pregnant again. Will give birth in January. Can we use these circumstances as additional evidence for compassionate grounds? Do you think this will be considered in the application?
> 
> 2. If our application is denied can we file for MRT? Can we submit circumstances in question 1 during an MRT will it be given weight?
> 
> 3. What other options are available to us if the worse case scenario happens? I do not want my family to be in 2 different places nor my partner to experience a relapse in this depression and place himself at risk.
> 
> Your help is greatly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vikrant -

Wish I could help, but no way to predict DIBP processing times - I've seen 190's granted in as little as 2-3 months, with some taking 9+ months.

Best,

Mark Northam



vikrant31 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> My anzsco code: 261312 DEVELOPER PROGRAMMER
> 
> I have applied for 190 Skill Nomination Visa. Got State nomination from New South Wales.
> 
> My score is 65.
> 
> I have logged VISA application on 21st March 2016.
> 
> Case Officer was assigned on 21st April 2016.
> 
> CO has asked for PCC documents on 25th April and I have submitted the same on same day.
> 
> Now I am waiting for VISA Grant. Its more then 5 months.
> 
> I have dropped mail and called DIBP twice. But DIBP replied that it is under process.
> 
> Could you please let me know the reason why it is taking this much amount of time.?
> 
> And possible Grant time.?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zan88 -

Thanks for the note. If you have completed your studies early (ie, more than 2 months prior to the student visa grant), then technically you have 60 days to continue your studies or depart. DIBP has policy in this area where sometimes they will (at the opinion of the case officer) simply let the student visa remain in place even though you've completed your studies very early, however in some cases they choose to cancel it. Will all come down to the judgment of the case officer. If they cancel, you will get notice (assuming you're onshore at that time - you might want to avoid travel outside Australia before the partner visa grant as if DIBP cancels the student visa while you're offshore, they don't need to give you advance notice or a chance to comment on the cancellation proceedings). You may be best served by waiting to see if/when DIBP starts the cancellation process - in many cases they do not, which would see to work out better for you.

If they do cancel the student visa while you're onshore, you can then apply for a Bridging Visa E to remain in Australia while your partner visa application is being decided.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zan88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for visa 820 last year in December. My student visa will be expired next year in September. However, I managed to graduate this year. I wonder if something goes wrong after I graduated? Do I need to enrol for another course while waiting. I advise a guy at the immigration office he told me I need to keep studying until my visa is expired as bridging visa won't kick in while on student visa. If I stopped means that I will get visa E even I finished my course. Is that true?
> 
> Please gimme some advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Sorry to hear of the health criteria issue - unfortunately for the subclass 189 visa there is no health waiver option available, so unless you are able to show (perhaps with a specialist report) that the description of your son's condition as assessed by the MOC is grossly incorrect, there may be no way to get the visa approved as there is no "health waiver" process to make arguments that the assessed medical costs are outweighed by the positive financial and other contributions to Australia that the applicant & family bring. If you are onshore in Australia and refused due to 4005, it is very likely that an AAT review would also be refused for the same reason, which would leave you with the Ministerial Intervention process to try and get the Minister to intervene.

Would be happy to discuss further at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



itsme16may said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have applied for subclass 189 visa for me and my family and got 70 point.
> My son is 6 yrs old and has mild development issues, he still is unable to speak and is hyperactive. He has been diagnosed on spectrum.
> He was analysed in Max by a psycholigist and she asked us a lot of question regarding his day to day activities, that we answered truthfully.
> 
> Now I recd a message from Immigration that says:
> 
> Invitation to comment on information for a Skilled - Independent (subclass 189) visa
> 
> Adverse information received
> 
> The letter confirms that "my son has been has been evaluated by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) and has been assessed as not meeting the health requirement for the grant of Skilled Independent (Permanent) (class SI) Skilled - Independent (subclass 189) visa."
> 
> The Medical Person Report says:
> 'The applicant has been assessed against Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4005 [see attached extract] for the period of a permanent stay in Australia.
> 
> The applicant does not satisfy sub-subparagraph PIC 4005(1)(c)(ii)(A) in Schedule 4 to the Migration Regulations.
> 
> The applicant is a 6 year old person with:
> 
> - Mild developmental delay.
> 
> ..Form and Severity of the applicant's condition: The applicant is a child with mild developmental delay, from an unknown cause, and requires services to improve communication, cognition and social skills. Provision of services to a hypothetical person with the applicant's condition: A hypothetical person with this condition at the same severity as the applicant, would be likely to be to require community services, in the form of special education and disability support. This condition is likely to be Stable..
> 
> I consider that a hypothetical person with this disease or condition, at the same severity as the applicant, would be likely to require health care or community services during the period specified above.
> 
> These services would be likely to include:
> 
> Special education services
> 
> Commonwealth disability services
> 
> State disability services
> 
> Provision of these health care and/or community services would be likely to result in a significant cost to the Australian community in the areas of health care and/or community services."
> 
> I am getting my son treated from an Institute in US and he is improving considerably, he has started to develop speech, behaves properly in social situations, is able to do most of hist daily chores himself. He understand english vocabulary and indicates to us through facilitated communication all his needs. He follows commands.
> 
> The doc in India who evaluated him has suggested that I should submit a reply to immigration official and attach a copy of the assessment report of my son which was given to us by the US institute and alongcwith that attach a undertaking saying that I will be bearing all the medical expenses of my son.
> Now my question is:
> 1. What are the chances that our PR will be processed?
> 2. WIll my undertaking prove detrimental in future , if the PR is granted?
> 
> Sorry for a long post but I will be very thankful to guide me.
> 
> I recd. the letter on 1 septmeber and have 28 days to reply back.
> Please help URGENTLY


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arif -

As far as I know there is not a one-year work requirement for EA for Engineering Technologist, however EA changes their requirements periodically so I would contact them directly via phone - they're actually very friendly to deal with!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arif.lakemba said:


> Hi Mark, I'm from Sydney,AU(visa Subclass 189) and new in this forum.
> It's regarding my younger brother Engineers Australia skill assessment for migration. He just completed Bachelor of Engineering from overseas. Is it mandatory one year job experience before applying for Engineers Australia assessment as Engineering Technologist? I got the information from Engineers Australia website that job experience is not mandatory for assessment. However, I have confusion since someone told me that one year job experience is mandatory.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Edaoz -

Thanks for the note. This forum is for question to me, so I'm happy to answer here - if you are looking for other people to give you opinions, best to place a post in a new topic outside of the Ask Mark topic.

Would suggest you explore the subclass 309/100 offshore partner visa application - the one issue that could be an issue is not living together with your husband for the last 2 years, however depending on your relationship evidence and circumstances, this may be possible to get through. No requirement for using an agent, however an agent's experience (disclaimer: I'm an agent!) can be helpful in dealing with the legal and policy requirements for partner visas, especially if your case is somewhat unusual which not living together for the last 2 years would qualify as.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Edaoz said:


> Hi Mark and all
> I'm married to Australian for 4 yrs since 20/6/12 and registered our marriage in Singapore. My Husband stayed with me for 2 years and since cant find a job here he has to return to Australia and starts work there. I want to live with my Husband in Australia after my Daughter graduate from her University in a year times. I have read sub 100 and sub 300. Have anyone successful in this applications on this visa entry. I want to know the procedures how to apply and do I need an agent to apply. Hope anyone can give a reply or info on this matter. Thank you.


----------



## Zander1ni

Hey!

I have been looking to apply for a 189 or 190 visa under the accountant or external auditor occupation. I will have 65 points by the time I apply. As I've seen it looks as if 70 is required, if i go down the 190 route in NSW i will have 70 points. 

I would much prefer to apply under the 189 as i want to stay in QLD. Do you think there is going to be any chance that the pass mark will lower down to 65 ?


----------



## Gabetrotter

*Visa 189*

I would also like to enquire about my visa 189 case in general. I hope you can help me answer my question.

My visa 189 application was lodged on June 23, 2016 with the EOI claim of 65 points. After a few weeks, I received a response from GSMBrisbane (which I believe to be my CO) asking for more details to support my application. In the letter, they are asking for Form 80, further evidence of education, further evidence of employemnt and a CV. There is however part of the Evidence of Employment portion that says this...

"The skill assessment that you provided considers employment after April 2013 to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 263111(Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANSZCO code.

The Department referred to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANSZCO), which also supports this opinion.

This is because most occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. In this case, we have substituted five years of relevant work experience for the formal qualification requirement. This has however meant that you DO have enough years of skilled work experience to be awarded points, after the substitution.

If you believe you have completed other skilled worked that has not been provided to the Department that can be considered skilled work please provide evidence of this for our consideration and detailed explanation. Evidence that can be considered appropriate is noted below. "

I have submitted all these requested documents on August 11, 2016, but I am afraid about losing points as it seems to drop to 55 points if I lose my original claim of 8 years of employment experience due to how ACS and immigration view my employment history. My understanding about the term "substituted" is a little bit clouded too. What do you mean by that? Also, my application status since I lodged the requested documents has been "assessment in progress" for almost a month now.

Please help me understand. Am I not getting a grant, or is there a consideration on their part if I submit all the requirements needed? Also, what do you think is the reason why it's taking so long?

Your prompt response will be greatly appreciated.

Gabe


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zander1ni -

Thanks for the note. Actually the pass mark for the 189 visa is 60 points - trouble is, for some occupations there is so much competition for invitation spots that it has driven up the score that is necessary to compete with all of the other applicants. Unfortunately DIBP does not provide numbers that would allow an applicant to know how many people are ahead of them in the pool for a particular occupation - that is, people with higher point scores or with same point scores but earlier EOI dates. It's essentially a matter of time, waiting for an invitation round and seeing whether an invitation comes. The 190 is a good back-up plan, however state assessment authorities also are likely seeing the same amount of competition for their spots that you're seeing for the 189.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zander1ni said:


> Hey!
> 
> I have been looking to apply for a 189 or 190 visa under the accountant or external auditor occupation. I will have 65 points by the time I apply. As I've seen it looks as if 70 is required, if i go down the 190 route in NSW i will have 70 points.
> 
> I would much prefer to apply under the 189 as i want to stay in QLD. Do you think there is going to be any chance that the pass mark will lower down to 65 ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gabetrotter -

Thanks for the note. Your situation is too complex to work out in an email, as skilled visas have many factors and "moving parts" that need to be looked at in order to give specific advice. One issue that seems to stick out from what you've said, is that ACS says that only work after April 2013 is considered by ACS to be skilled, yet you are claiming 8 years of skilled work experience? That sounds problematic on the face of it. If you did an ACS RPL application which is what it looks like you may have done, ACS took 5 years and substituted it for the degree, which is fine, but you cannot claims those 5 years as skilled work because from ACS' point of view you have only become skilled as of April 2013, so only work after April 2013 can be claimed for points.

Happy to discuss in further detail at a consultation - please see details on my website listed below in my signature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gabetrotter said:


> I would also like to enquire about my visa 189 case in general. I hope you can help me answer my question.
> 
> My visa 189 application was lodged on June 23, 2016 with the EOI claim of 65 points. After a few weeks, I received a response from GSMBrisbane (which I believe to be my CO) asking for more details to support my application. In the letter, they are asking for Form 80, further evidence of education, further evidence of employemnt and a CV. There is however part of the Evidence of Employment portion that says this...
> 
> "The skill assessment that you provided considers employment after April 2013 to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 263111(Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANSZCO code.
> 
> The Department referred to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANSZCO), which also supports this opinion.
> 
> This is because most occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. In this case, we have substituted five years of relevant work experience for the formal qualification requirement. This has however meant that you DO have enough years of skilled work experience to be awarded points, after the substitution.
> 
> If you believe you have completed other skilled worked that has not been provided to the Department that can be considered skilled work please provide evidence of this for our consideration and detailed explanation. Evidence that can be considered appropriate is noted below. "
> 
> I have submitted all these requested documents on August 11, 2016, but I am afraid about losing points as it seems to drop to 55 points if I lose my original claim of 8 years of employment experience due to how ACS and immigration view my employment history. My understanding about the term "substituted" is a little bit clouded too. What do you mean by that? Also, my application status since I lodged the requested documents has been "assessment in progress" for almost a month now.
> 
> Please help me understand. Am I not getting a grant, or is there a consideration on their part if I submit all the requirements needed? Also, what do you think is the reason why it's taking so long?
> 
> Your prompt response will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Gabe


----------



## vnavarro

Hi Mark, I have a couple of questions if you don't mind helping me out.

1) I have applied for the onshore partner visa 820/801 in March 2015 and I have not received any information on the progress of my visa. I have submitted all of the necessary paperwork, documents, completed my medical and fbi and afp clearance and have not been asked to turn in and further documents since I have turned in everything. Considering I have been waiting for 18 months, is there a way for me to contact someone on the progress of my application?? I have been told not to do this because it will only prolong my waiting time and I am not sure if that is necessarily true. The waiting time is getting a little frustrating at this point and I just want to know my progress. 

2) if my visa were to be granted and all is well, my partner and I have been talking about temporarily moving to America in 2017 for 1-2 years so that we can be near my family for a while. If we were to do this, would this temporary move be detrimental to my visa in any way?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Kind Regards,
Victoria.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victoria -

You could enquire with DIBP and that should not slow the process down, but unfortunately the "a visa is a privilege, not a right" attitude at DIBP these days often translates into not much sympathy for people who have been waiting far longer than the "estimated" time to have their application processed. You could enquire as to whether they need any further information, etc.

Re: going to another country together for 1-2 years after the visa is granted, generally not a problem unless your partner is not an Australian citizen (ie, is a permanent resident) and the result of your living away from Australia for so long would be your partner no longer being considered "usually resident" in Australia. However again, no issue re: this if your partner is an Australian citizen.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vnavarro said:


> Hi Mark, I have a couple of questions if you don't mind helping me out.
> 
> 1) I have applied for the onshore partner visa 820/801 in March 2015 and I have not received any information on the progress of my visa. I have submitted all of the necessary paperwork, documents, completed my medical and fbi and afp clearance and have not been asked to turn in and further documents since I have turned in everything. Considering I have been waiting for 18 months, is there a way for me to contact someone on the progress of my application?? I have been told not to do this because it will only prolong my waiting time and I am not sure if that is necessarily true. The waiting time is getting a little frustrating at this point and I just want to know my progress.
> 
> 2) if my visa were to be granted and all is well, my partner and I have been talking about temporarily moving to America in 2017 for 1-2 years so that we can be near my family for a while. If we were to do this, would this temporary move be detrimental to my visa in any way?
> 
> Any help would be much appreciated!
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Victoria.


----------



## gabrielmcl

Hi Mark,I appreciate your valuable advice in this forum.

I am filling in my application for the 189 visa. I ran into a couple questions regarding the definition of "Usual Country of Residence" in the application form, and also the requirements for PCC.

1) I am currently attending an MBA program in the United States for the past 12 months. I am in the US on a temporary non-immigrant student visa which is only valid until early May 2017. Should the US be my "Usual Country of Residence"? (I honestly don't consider it to be, as I am living in a "temporary mindset", barely acquiring any material goods.)

2) I already have my PCC's for the US taken care of, because those take months to complete. However, my wife has just moved to the US one week ago, so theoretically she does not need US PCC's, as she has been here for less than a year. But if I declare the US as my usual country of residence, would they require us to obtain an FBI PCC for her as well? (If the US are my usual country of residence, there would be nowhere else I could indicate the length of our stay here, so I don't know what their interpretation would be).

My greatest concern is needing to acquire another FBI PCC, as the processing times are totally absurd, and that could ruin my whole application.

Observation: The "Help" button on the ImmiAccount site states that the usual country of residence for a student visa is the student's home country, but I am not sure if they mean that for people applying for a student visa in Australia, or student visas in general.

Your advice is greatly appreciated!

Cheers!


----------



## TAB

Hi was wondering if you can possibly answer a question if you have time 

I am currently living in the UK on an ancestry visa 
My partner is a UK citizen (we are not married) and I am an Australian citizen we have just had our little girl and she was born in the UK so is British born I have asked so many people in regards to what passport she will have and what citizenship she holds but can't seem to get a defiant answer 
We are wanting to move back to Australia in the next couple of months 

Thankyou very much in advance


----------



## Zander1ni

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Zander1ni -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Actually the pass mark for the 189 visa is 60 points - trouble is, for some occupations there is so much competition for invitation spots that it has driven up the score that is necessary to compete with all of the other applicants. Unfortunately DIBP does not provide numbers that would allow an applicant to know how many people are ahead of them in the pool for a particular occupation - that is, people with higher point scores or with same point scores but earlier EOI dates. It's essentially a matter of time, waiting for an invitation round and seeing whether an invitation comes. The 190 is a good back-up plan, however state assessment authorities also are likely seeing the same amount of competition for their spots that you're seeing for the 189.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


So if DIBP said that they are currently working on 70 points it means that they are inviting new applicants with 70 points and greater and are also inviting people that did not yet get an invite but have had 70 in the previous rounds?


----------



## Gabetrotter

Thanks for the response, Mark. 

I claimed 8 years of experience which would credit me 10 points but I didn't realise that ACS only consider 3 years of my experience which starts from 2013 up to the present. It was only until GSMBrisbane sent me a letter stating that ACS took 5 years out of my experience which would of course drop my points to 55 only. 

This actually puts me in to a very confusing situation. Why would they ask me to submit further documents such as Form 80, further evidence of employment and education, CV and a reference letter? ( I sent them the requested documents by the way) Does this give me hope to get a visa grant? 

Also, my application status has been "assessment in progress" for almost a month now, and from what I've read, most of the application who got denied won't last for a month to be processed, and never received any correspondence from a CO.


----------



## Billybobo325

Hello Mark.

I moved to Australia on a work and holiday visa in 2013 to be with my partner and have been living there for the past three years. 2014, we applied for the partner visa 820 and as of now, we are at Stage 2 of our permanent partner visa assessment. I am provisional right now but the situation has changed a lot. 

We recently had a breakdown and now I'm back in america where i hail from because she said she needed a break and said i needed to spend time with my family due to my mental health. she contacted immigration about our situation without telling while i was in america and withdrew the sponsorship!! i've got a permanent part time job there in australia with a company that i've built a good reputation with but they aren't able to sponsor me. i've paid my taxes, been an upstanding citizen and have done nothing illegal. she has told me that immigration will contact me soon. Do i even have rights to appeal this? she did this without telling me and now i have to contact my work and tell them i have to resign!? this is so stressful for me because i've built a life in australia and now it's crumbled because she feels we aren't compatible anymore... is there anything i am able to do to be able to go back?! we were about 8-9 months away from me being granted a permanent residency! i dont know how she can do this... anything that i can do Mark? thanks


----------



## Anne016

*Partner Visa*

Hi Mark,

I'm just wondering what are the best evidence for the Partner Visa (offshore).

Thank you


----------



## maher1991

Hello Mark
I would like to ask you about my situation..

I applied for 476 on 5th of March and till now I didn't receive anything from my CO, it has been 6 months and half since I applied and so far I am still waiting to complete the 7 months. My CO contacted me on 29th of April requesting more documents and on 5th of May I submitted everything and since then I didn't hear from my CO even though I sent 2 emails to request for my application status but no one reply to my emails.
Any idea about this situation and what should I do if the 7 months passed and I didn't receive anything from my CO? I am really confused and I am waiting for long time for my visa but still nothing so far.

Please help me with your thoughts and suggestions.


----------



## ashaito

Dear Mark , 
Hope you are doing well . 
i have submitted an application for NSW sponsorship for Electrical Engineer , my overall skill select total points are 55 . I have applied around April 2016 , up till now i have got no answer . 

My question : How much time does it usually take to get an answer ? 
Q2: Is it guaranteed that I would get a sponsorship ? 

Thanks in advance for your much-appreciated help


----------



## ljc123

*subclass 400 while partner visa is processed*

Hi Mark,

You seem to be the guru on immigration so here goes.

My partner is Canadian and I am an Australian citizen. We have been living abroad together in various countries for the past 8 years. We now want to move to Australia and apply for the Partner visa. My partner's company is agreeable to having him work from their Australian office but we are confused about how he can work whilst his visa application is being processed. We are currently in Chile so what would be our best option do you think?

1. Apply for the partner visa offshore and wait the 12-15 months processing time.

2. He comes to Australia, applies for the Partner visa onshore and then returns to Chile to work until the visa is processed allowing him to work in Australia

3. He enters Australia with the subclass 400 visa which allows him to work while the Partner visa is being processed

The main thing for us is for him to be able to work asap when he arrives in Australia. His company don't want to wait for the processing.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated!! thanks!


----------



## Chabayta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Chabayta -
> 
> Partner visa is usually appropriate for these - can take 12-18 months to be processed, however you could apply for a visitor visa after you lodge the partner visa and see if that is approved - yours will likely be assessed as a high-risk case due to your citizenship, so may want to be patient as the visa process goes forward.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark i have another question.

Now i will go to Australia as a visitor and there i will start my partner visa inside Australia .. since the process time time is between 12-15 Months can i apply for Bridging visa and what is the process time

Thnks in Advance


----------



## Patriotic Soul

Hi Mark, i need your advice as i m totally confused at this stage & i m unable to decide wht to do. I applied for full skill assessment through vetassess (Facilities Manager) there was quite a long delay while assessing my documents & in the end vetassess replied tht my job experience could not be verified from uae & there r serious integrity concerns while my second job does not meet the minimum requirement. Now my agent want me to get my assessment done by ACS through RPL. My question is Australian embassy & the concerned departments might have saved my D-O-B, passport # name etc in their data base. So even if i get positive assessment through ACS, i might face problems while lodging the visa application, since my first assessment of job experience was for (Facilities Manager) & the second assessed experience will be from IT. My agent insist that this is no issue but i m still not satisfied from his answer. Kindly suggest me what should i do.


----------



## partnervisaapp

*12 months requirement*

Hi Mark ,

My Australian partner and I ( I am from Bulgaria) are applying for the de facto visa.

However our case is a bit different as his job was in the mines and the roster was 4 weeks on site and one off.
I was living at his parents house in Australia and we have been together each of his weeks off , for the period of separation we have numerous messages and also evidence in our call log that we have been in constant contact, and flight tickets and bank statements , joint bank account since August 2015 etc.

We also had registered our relationship in BDM in NSW August 2015
We have been together for a little bit more than one year but living together fulltime just the last three months.as he finally quit his job in July 2016.

Also we are going to apply offshore 309 as my Student visa finished and he is going to be with me in my country on a tourist visa while we are applying for the partner one.

We want to apply for the de facto but we have doubts whether we are meeting the 12 months requirement of living together, as physically we couldn't due to his work contract.
Do you think we could be exempt from that requirement due to the above mentioned circumstances?

Thank you in advance!

.


----------



## ghaleanil

*Need help regarding spouse visa*

Hey mark . Need help from you .. I am an asylum seeker in usa and my wife is permanent resident in australia and we recently got married and my aslyum case is pending on court in us and my wife wants me to move to australia .. Is there going to be any problem due to my aslyum case for me to get spouse visa. Do i have to go back to my home country where there is chance of me being prosecuted ..help me guide thru this ..


----------



## AllyH

Hi Mark, 

For a 309 application that is facing PIC4020 (issue from a previous T.V.):

Eight months into the waiting time for 309, they ask Compelling Circumstances.
Applicant responds with the documentation and IMMI acknowledges. 2 Months pass without a word. Applicant asks for an update and they said it has been referred for final decision.

A further 3 months more pass without a word -- bringing it to the 12 month point.

Would they have typically said something by now if there was any issues?

Any experience on how these things work?


----------



## lastship20162005

Hi Mark,

I appreciate any time you can give me for these answers.

I am applied for RSMS187 visa and the nomination has been refused because there was not enough info for genuine need. Every other information and documents were provided.

I read that they usually give chance to provide more info but they did not in this case.

I got merits to appeal to AAT for the nomination refusal. I wanted to know if its possible to lodge a new nomination and link it with the current visa application.

I understand that i will have 28 days to respond to the invitation to comment for the visa application.

Your assistance would be much appreciated.


----------



## emily1234

Hi Mark,
I got an officer send me email and she request more information such as police check and form 80.
However, i login to my immi account. I accidentally press "information provided" and now the status changed to "application in progress". But I am still waiting for police check certificate. I only submitted form 80

What should i do? Should I reply to officer by email and said i made a mistake.

Thanks
Emily.


----------



## AddyH

*Visitor e600 Visa without a fixed address*

Hi Mark,

We (husband and I) are living a nomadic lifestyle - currently on Bali.

We want to apply for the above visa in order to stay in Australia for a year (British nationals). We currently have the subclass 651 visa but of course it means leaving every 3 months

We're now travelling around Asia but do have a PO Box in Kuala Lumpur.

Is it possible to get this visa without have a fixed address?  We could give a relatives address in the UK but this would only complicate matters if snail mail were to be sent there (again, not sure if they do even send mail). Also, we have no proof of a "home". To further complicate matters, before we left Europe (18 months ago) we spent 25 years in The Netherlands.

Any help would be greatly appreciated - Thanks!


----------



## Ejona

Thank you for the reply Mark. What about our individual and joint Statutory Declarations? Do they need to be certified at all?

Also, can I provide joint statutory declarations for the financial aspect, nature of household, nature of commitment etc rather than individual declarations? I think I read somewhere that joint statutory declarations are not accepted and both of us need to provide individual statutory declarations for the four aspects of the relationship (financial, nature of household, nature of commitment, social context).



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ejona -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No need to certify any documents if you are lodging online and uploading colour scans of your documents. Form 888's would have to be witnessed as described on the forms however.
> 
> Re: 2, highlighting a very good idea. Re 3, Yes.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## sukanta

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sukanta -
> 
> My apologies for the delay in responding - have been away and am finally able to catch up on forum posts. The 173 is a temporary visa - primary benefit is if you don't have the roughly $48k available for the 143 permanent contributory parent visa but have enough for the 173, can apply for the 173 first, then later apply and pay the difference to get the 143. Key issue is that 173 visa generally does not provide for medicare even after grant, as it's a temporary visa, but 143 provides medicare at some point - not after application, but at some point after grant - important to check DIBP and Medicare rules on this as they are subject to change.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark. You have been extremely helpful in providing advice/suggestions. Hats off. Much appreciated Mark.

Thank you
Sukanta


----------



## keval

*Regarding Relevant Skill Assessment*

Hi Mark,

I have lodged my EOI after getting positive outcome for CDR from Engineers Australia.

Also I have applied for Relevant Skilled Assessment at the same time. The outcome would come after 4 weeks as per my communication with Engineers Australia.

If I get invitation to apply before my relevant skilled assessment, what should be my next step? In the EOI, I have mentioned the date of positive outcome as 12th September which is true.

Kindly guide, if i should withdraw my EOI application till relevant skill assessment outcome or continue with the present status.

Regards,
Keval Shah



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Keval -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Re: name spelling difference (minor), likely not an issue. Ability to claim work experience points will depend on assessment of employment evidence, tasks/duties, etc. Generally period as a "trainee" does not count as skilled employment, but periods as a provisional or assistant might depending on specific tasks & duties.
> 
> If you're looking to use period as a trainee (formally declared or otherwise), I'd probably take the safe bet and have EA assess the work experience -if they decide it's skilled (OK), then DIBP will abide by that. Otherwise, the case officer may "assess" it himself which may not work in your benefit, or may require an EA assessment later.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## showib49

Hi Mark,
My Australian Immigration required Form 1229 from my wife that she submitted a month before with court orders where its clearly mentioned that she can take her daughter to Australia and Form 1229 was being filled by her X-Husband as per order my Court. But today my wife received a call from Australian High Commission and they were saying to bring your X-Husband with you for a short interview. We discussed with our lawyer and he said we can't force him to do so and impossible. Her X-Husband has no contact with his daughter and wife from last five years. Immigration is going to send an email to us tomorrow and they said try to convince X-Husband or give us in writing the situation that why he is not able to come for interview?
What should we do now?
Thanks.


----------



## MK4

*External checks for Visa-189*

Hi Mark,

I lodged my visa application (189) on Dec 2015. In Jan 2016 i was asked to provide some missing documents (PCC from 4 countries and Wife English proof). I managed to submit 3 PCC's and the English proof within 28 days but had issues getting the 4th PCC. I asked for a waiver for this PCC and i got a reply after 3 months asking me to try and get it again. This time i managed to get this 4th PCC in July 2016 and i submitted it directly.
In august i was asked to submit the Polio vac certificate which i did in the same day.

Given my nationality, i am quite certain that my application is undergoing external checks. My question here is if the external checks started only after i submitted the 4th PCC in July.. or it started way before that once the CO reviewed my application around Dec/Jan 2016?

Thanks


----------



## Esimp

*Working holiday visa*

Hi Mark,

This seems all to helpful a thread to be true....since 2014 as well! Many thanks in advance.

I have submitted a Working Holiday Visa subclass 417 and was requested to complete an X-ray and health examination. I then realised that they requested this as under the question where is asked for "details for the stay was more than 3 consecutive months" I listed 7 countries which I visited for just over 3 months in all including Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. I later realised I mis-read the question as I hadn't actually stayed in any of the countries I listed for 3 months at one time, I only stayed for a matter of weeks in each. I therefore attached a JPEG of a completed notification change in circumstances form (1023)

My questions are:
1. Have i done right in attaching the form as extra documentation? 
2. Will this mean I don't need an X-ray and health examination?
3. If I run out of time (there are significant delays in processing I have been told) can I get an ETourist Visa until this is sorted?

Gratefully

Emma


----------



## jewell581

Hi Mark,

Greetings!!!

I have received the South Australian state nomination for visa subclass 489 (regional) previous month. I’ve total thirteen years of experience and I’ve worked for two organizations. For employer “ABC” I have worked during 2003 to 2009 and for employer “XYZ” I’m still working since 2010. Employer ABC has stopped its operations since November 2015. However, I have all the required documents from ABC company for the visa application purpose such as, Reference Letter (with R&R), most of the Pay slips, all Income tax certificates, Appointment letter, Job confirmation letter, Promotion letter, Job release letter, and so on. Now I am thinking about to add a self Statutory Declaration, supported with two senior colleagues reference (letter) along with the other documents. This is because it will be easier for the DIBP personnel to verify my employment with company ABC. So.. my question is am I going to the right direction?

Kind regards

Jewell


----------



## Ahan

Hi, 
need your help before lodging visa application..
I submitted my EOI in May 2016 under Software Engineer occupation and claimed 65 points (30 age, 15 education, 10 ielts, 5 experience as per ACS and 5 partner) 
I got invitation for 189 visa yesterday but i am bit confuse to go ahead and lodge application as i am unemployed since November, 2015.. half of my work as considered by ACS was freelance and one of my ex employer is unreachable now... 
can anyone guide if it is required to be employed at time of lodging application or can my unemployment and some past employer be a reason for visa refusal.. amount to lodge application is huge as i ve included family members..
please advice if u know someone with same issue or been granted/refused visa with similar case..


----------



## sagar.sanjay99

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi Mark,

I just want to know that i am on the bridging visa A but that is not in effect because of my student visa still active. i have applied for partner visa 820/801 in 2014. its already a long time to get the answer i have given all the documents and i have quite the study as well in 2015. but immigration still showing me that i m on my student visa. now the thing is that i want to travel overseas for my family reason. so if i travel overseas on my student visa that still active but technically its has to cancel, if i travel and while i am overseas my student visa get cancel and my bridging visa A will also be cancel, so what are the possibilities to get back in to Australia? if i cancel my student visa by visiting the immigration office then they will give me the bridging E. so i cant travel in or out of Australia.
i know its really complicated but i hope you give me the best option.

thanks
sanjay sagar


----------



## Jaekim1410

Hi Mark,

I registered for this forum because it has been very difficult to find answers online to my particular situation. I was wondering if you could at the very least point me in the right direction.

My girlfriend is Filipino that has a Filipino passport but is currently a permanent resident in the US. She is trying to visit her stepfather in Australia for three weeks on vacation and I am trying to help her apply for a visitor visa but I'm confused on all the documentation that is needed for the visa to be successfully approved. It is hard to find examples of the required documentation online. For "Evidence of work experience" one asks for a letter from the employer and then one asks for an employment contract, I'm not sure what document to attach to the second one because her current employer did not require a contract to be signed. Also the section on "Evidence of financial capacity" I read that bank statements would be acceptable but how many statements does she need to attach for the requirement to be satisfied? And lastly, for the letter of invitation, does the invitation need to be hand written or can it be an email with all the necessary information included? If I'm not mistaken the info of the host needs to include their passport, proof of citizenship, does it also need proof of employment and/or his housing situation to prove that he is fully capable of housing her for the duration of her visit?

Also assuming all the information is there and correct as well as all the required documentation, how long do you think it would take for the application to be approved/rejected? Thank you so much for your time and help!


----------



## james27

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I need to access my EOI ID because my agent lodged the application and I don't have any information in regards to my EOI application. Now I am changing the agent for some reason so I don't think my previous agent will provide me the EOI ID. I tried the skillselect site but first thing you need to change anything is your EOI ID. I don't know what to do now. 
I am still on TR visa so my visa is expiring soon for that reason I have to apply for a student visa. My new agent is giving me the best option in regards to student visa.

Thanks
James


----------



## sina1308

*Oshc*

Hi Mark,

I am planning to apply for a student visa and have trouble finding the right OSHC provider. 
Which OSHC provider can you recommend ? 
I am thinking about choosing nib or Bupa, have you had experience with any of these ?

Your help would be muchly appreciated. 
Cheers, 
Sina


----------



## afnanmali

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hy Mark,
I have given IELTS (academic) 8 months ago now I am planning for australian PR under 189/190. My results are L=7.5 R=7 W=7 S=7
my question is whether academic module will give me 10 points as I am an electrical engineer and my relevant assessing authority is EA they accept both modules but whether DIBP will accept it for points or not.
Kindly help me thanking you in antcipation


----------



## vigneshkrv

*190 State Nomination chances*

Hi,

This is Vignesh from Singapore.

Am looking for Australia Skilled migration and right now I have 55 points

Age - 30 points
Education - 15 points
Work Exp- 10 points
English - 0 points( Took IELTS R-8.5,L-8.5,S-7.0,W-6.5)

With state nomination approved, I will have 60 points and will apply for 190. Looking for NSW (or) VIC state nomination.

My ANZSCO code is 261313 and applying under software engineer category

How about my chances to get a approval? Kindly advise


----------



## expa

Hi Mark , 
I am invited to apply for 190 visa. Now I am filling in the form by using immi account. I realised I submit name of one company with a small typo. 

Company Name is 
A B Construction Industry and Trade Inc. 

I submitted this company as 
A B Construction and Industry Trade Inc. 

How should i fill in the name of company immi form.


----------



## gvqsx8bd

*CPA Skills Assessment*

Hi Mark,

I have had my skills assessment rejected by CPA Australia. The reason given was

"The duties listed in your employment reference are not considered to be at the level of depth and complexity expected in a professional accounting role which are relevant to your ANZSCO code 221111 - Accountant (General)"

My job description submitted is as follows:

•	Prepare management, financial and statutory reports.
•	Formulate and ensure proper internal controls are in place.
•	Maintain integrity of information in the financial system.
•	Process transactions within the financial system.
•	Ensure compliance with and analyse impact of regulations and accounting standards and make recommendations on the appropriate course of action
•	Liaise with external auditors during the course of statutory audits.

I am just wondering what is meant by depth and complexity given that my job description is similar to what is posted on the ABS website for the code 221111.

Thank you very much for any help as I have called CPA Australia but they were not able to advise me on what has gone wrong and I am desperate.

Yours sincerely,

Jonathan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gabrielmcl -

Thanks for the note and sorry for the delay in responding. Usual country of residence essentially means where you call "home" currently - there is no linkage of this to the requirement for PCC (police certificates) - the PCC requirement is strictly based on whether you have been in a country for a TOTAL of 12 months or more during the last 10 years - if so, you'll need a PCC - if not, you generally won't unless you declare convictions from that country, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gabrielmcl said:


> Hi Mark,I appreciate your valuable advice in this forum.
> 
> I am filling in my application for the 189 visa. I ran into a couple questions regarding the definition of "Usual Country of Residence" in the application form, and also the requirements for PCC.
> 
> 1) I am currently attending an MBA program in the United States for the past 12 months. I am in the US on a temporary non-immigrant student visa which is only valid until early May 2017. Should the US be my "Usual Country of Residence"? (I honestly don't consider it to be, as I am living in a "temporary mindset", barely acquiring any material goods.)
> 
> 2) I already have my PCC's for the US taken care of, because those take months to complete. However, my wife has just moved to the US one week ago, so theoretically she does not need US PCC's, as she has been here for less than a year. But if I declare the US as my usual country of residence, would they require us to obtain an FBI PCC for her as well? (If the US are my usual country of residence, there would be nowhere else I could indicate the length of our stay here, so I don't know what their interpretation would be).
> 
> My greatest concern is needing to acquire another FBI PCC, as the processing times are totally absurd, and that could ruin my whole application.
> 
> Observation: The "Help" button on the ImmiAccount site states that the usual country of residence for a student visa is the student's home country, but I am not sure if they mean that for people applying for a student visa in Australia, or student visas in general.
> 
> Your advice is greatly appreciated!
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TAB -

Thanks for the note. I can't comment on UK immigration law, but as you are a citizen, your child would be eligible for Australian citizenship by descent whether born in Australia or overseas. Suggest you enquire with your local Australian embassy/consulate/etc re: requirements to establish her Australian citizenship, which would then enable her to get an Australian passport.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TAB said:


> Hi was wondering if you can possibly answer a question if you have time
> 
> I am currently living in the UK on an ancestry visa
> My partner is a UK citizen (we are not married) and I am an Australian citizen we have just had our little girl and she was born in the UK so is British born I have asked so many people in regards to what passport she will have and what citizenship she holds but can't seem to get a defiant answer
> We are wanting to move back to Australia in the next couple of months
> 
> Thankyou very much in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zander1ni -

Generally that means they are inviting people who have 70 points (or more), but only up to the number of people in their internal quota for that occupation per invitation round. Each round, all above 70 would be selected, and then the remainder of the per-round quota filled with those with 70 points starting with the oldest EOI lodgment date. If all of the 70 point EOIs are exhausted, then they will move down to 65 points starting with the oldest to fill the remainder of the quota for that round.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zander1ni said:


> So if DIBP said that they are currently working on 70 points it means that they are inviting new applicants with 70 points and greater and are also inviting people that did not yet get an invite but have had 70 in the previous rounds?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gabe -

Hard to say for sure. In some cases with a points discrepancy (ie, unable to justify all points claimed), if the invitation round would have invited you anyway if you had claimed your lower points score, they will proceed with the visa. I'd continue cooperating with them and see how far things go.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gabetrotter said:


> Thanks for the response, Mark.
> 
> I claimed 8 years of experience which would credit me 10 points but I didn't realise that ACS only consider 3 years of my experience which starts from 2013 up to the present. It was only until GSMBrisbane sent me a letter stating that ACS took 5 years out of my experience which would of course drop my points to 55 only.
> 
> This actually puts me in to a very confusing situation. Why would they ask me to submit further documents such as Form 80, further evidence of employment and education, CV and a reference letter? ( I sent them the requested documents by the way) Does this give me hope to get a visa grant?
> 
> Also, my application status has been "assessment in progress" for almost a month now, and from what I've read, most of the application who got denied won't last for a month to be processed, and never received any correspondence from a CO.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Billybobo325 -

Wish I had better news for you, but if she withdraws sponsorship with a claim the relationship has broken down, there's nothing you can do other than make a claim that you are the victim of family violence perpetrated by her (if true). That and the circumstance where an applicant and sponsor have a child from the relationship are generally the only 2 pathways that a partner visa applicant has to continue the PR part of the visa application without the sponsorship of the partner.

You also have the right to appeal the refusal to the AAT Tribunal, however that may not be helpful as the two pathways above (family violence, child) are the only pathways available whether it's the tribunal or immigration dept making the decision. However an AAT Tribunal review would buy you some more time in Australia (potentially 3-9 months) to sort out other options. However, you'd need to be in Australia to exercise your appeal rights and get the bridging visa they will give you if they refuse the PR partner visa - if you are offshore when this happens, your provisional partner visa will cease and you'll have no visa to re-enter Australia.

Happy to discuss further in detail at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Billybobo325 said:


> Hello Mark.
> 
> I moved to Australia on a work and holiday visa in 2013 to be with my partner and have been living there for the past three years. 2014, we applied for the partner visa 820 and as of now, we are at Stage 2 of our permanent partner visa assessment. I am provisional right now but the situation has changed a lot.
> 
> We recently had a breakdown and now I'm back in america where i hail from because she said she needed a break and said i needed to spend time with my family due to my mental health. she contacted immigration about our situation without telling while i was in america and withdrew the sponsorship!! i've got a permanent part time job there in australia with a company that i've built a good reputation with but they aren't able to sponsor me. i've paid my taxes, been an upstanding citizen and have done nothing illegal. she has told me that immigration will contact me soon. Do i even have rights to appeal this? she did this without telling me and now i have to contact my work and tell them i have to resign!? this is so stressful for me because i've built a life in australia and now it's crumbled because she feels we aren't compatible anymore... is there anything i am able to do to be able to go back?! we were about 8-9 months away from me being granted a permanent residency! i dont know how she can do this... anything that i can do Mark? thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anne016 -

Thanks for the note. It varies from applicant to applicant based on your individual circumstances, however you will need to provide evidence to support the four areas that are specified in the law for relationship evidence: financial aspects of the relationship, social aspects of the relationship, nature of the commitment to each other, nature of the household.

There are some excellent threads on this forum in other areas where partner visa applicants share their experience with partner visa evidence, etc - well worth a look.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Anne016 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm just wondering what are the best evidence for the Partner Visa (offshore).
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maher1991 -

Thanks for the note. My guess is that based on your country of citizenship, the application might be delayed in external security checking. I'd be patient, and check in with the case officer every other month or so to see if they need any further information or documents from you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



maher1991 said:


> Hello Mark
> I would like to ask you about my situation..
> 
> I applied for 476 on 5th of March and till now I didn't receive anything from my CO, it has been 6 months and half since I applied and so far I am still waiting to complete the 7 months. My CO contacted me on 29th of April requesting more documents and on 5th of May I submitted everything and since then I didn't hear from my CO even though I sent 2 emails to request for my application status but no one reply to my emails.
> Any idea about this situation and what should I do if the 7 months passed and I didn't receive anything from my CO? I am really confused and I am waiting for long time for my visa but still nothing so far.
> 
> Please help me with your thoughts and suggestions.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashaito -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict time it will take, but typically NSW sponsorship happens, if it's going to happen, within 1-3 months of when you lodge your EOI. This is not always the case however, so your results may vary.

Re guarantee, there is absolutely no guarantee that all applicants for NSW sponsorship will get sponsored by NSW - NSW skilled uses many factors to decide who they will invite including work history, English language ability, overall ppoints, and other factors they don't publicly announce. Given the time you lodged your EOI, I'd probably be looking for other options - don't give up on NSW, but the longer you go without an invitation, the less chance there may be that they will invite you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashaito said:


> Dear Mark ,
> Hope you are doing well .
> i have submitted an application for NSW sponsorship for Electrical Engineer , my overall skill select total points are 55 . I have applied around April 2016 , up till now i have got no answer .
> 
> My question : How much time does it usually take to get an answer ?
> Q2: Is it guaranteed that I would get a sponsorship ?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your much-appreciated help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ljc123 -

Thanks for the note. Not sure I have enough info about your circumstances to give you specific advice, but another option is for him to get an ETA visitor visa (generally granted for 3 month maximum stay period), then come to Australia and lodge an onshore partner visa application. Once he overstays the 3 month stay, the Bridging Visa A he'll get from the partner visa application (partner visa must be applied for during the 3-month stay on the ETA) will activate enabling full work rights at that point. The bridging visa will be valid for as long as it takes for the onshore partner visa to be processed.

There are a couple of potential complications with this if he goes offshore and then comes back to Australia within 1 year of the ETA being granted involving DIBP re-entering him into Australia on the ETA which blows out his work rights for 3 months, but this still may be a viable option depending on your timetable and potential further offshore trips prior to a decision being made on the partner visa.

Can discuss with you in more detail along with the other options in a consultation where we'd have the time to do so - see website below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ljc123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> You seem to be the guru on immigration so here goes.
> 
> My partner is Canadian and I am an Australian citizen. We have been living abroad together in various countries for the past 8 years. We now want to move to Australia and apply for the Partner visa. My partner's company is agreeable to having him work from their Australian office but we are confused about how he can work whilst his visa application is being processed. We are currently in Chile so what would be our best option do you think?
> 
> 1. Apply for the partner visa offshore and wait the 12-15 months processing time.
> 
> 2. He comes to Australia, applies for the Partner visa onshore and then returns to Chile to work until the visa is processed allowing him to work in Australia
> 
> 3. He enters Australia with the subclass 400 visa which allows him to work while the Partner visa is being processed
> 
> The main thing for us is for him to be able to work asap when he arrives in Australia. His company don't want to wait for the processing.
> 
> Any thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated!! thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chabayta -

Thanks for the note. As long as the visitor visa does not have Condition 8503 (no further stay), you may be able to lodge an onshore partner visa while here on the visitor visa. If so, you'll automatically get a bridging visa A that will activate at the end of the stay period for the visitor visa and will allow you to remain in Australia until a decision is made on your partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chabayta said:


> Thank you Mark i have another question.
> 
> Now i will go to Australia as a visitor and there i will start my partner visa inside Australia .. since the process time time is between 12-15 Months can i apply for Bridging visa and what is the process time
> 
> Thnks in Advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Patriotic Soul -

Thanks for the note. The question in your case is whether VETASSESS reported their integrity concerns to DIBP. However if you do not utilise the VETASSESS skills assessment in any way in your upcoming visa application, likely that there would not be an issue other than if VETASSESS did previously report the integrity concerns, DIBP may take a very close look at any future visa application you lodge. Suggest you make the application "bulletproof" by making sure that every bit of information that you give to DIBP can be verified and is 100% accurate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Patriotic Soul said:


> Hi Mark, i need your advice as i m totally confused at this stage & i m unable to decide wht to do. I applied for full skill assessment through vetassess (Facilities Manager) there was quite a long delay while assessing my documents & in the end vetassess replied tht my job experience could not be verified from uae & there r serious integrity concerns while my second job does not meet the minimum requirement. Now my agent want me to get my assessment done by ACS through RPL. My question is Australian embassy & the concerned departments might have saved my D-O-B, passport # name etc in their data base. So even if i get positive assessment through ACS, i might face problems while lodging the visa application, since my first assessment of job experience was for (Facilities Manager) & the second assessed experience will be from IT. My agent insist that this is no issue but i m still not satisfied from his answer. Kindly suggest me what should i do.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Partnervisaapp -

Thanks for the note. There is a chance that the circumstances could work with DIBP, however the good news is that the registration of the de facto relationship with BDM automatically satisfies the 12 month de facto relationship requirement. The next thing to consider is making sure that there is ample relationship evidence to show that the de facto relationship existed at the time of application, for some period before, and continues to exist through to the time of decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



partnervisaapp said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> My Australian partner and I ( I am from Bulgaria) are applying for the de facto visa.
> 
> However our case is a bit different as his job was in the mines and the roster was 4 weeks on site and one off.
> I was living at his parents house in Australia and we have been together each of his weeks off , for the period of separation we have numerous messages and also evidence in our call log that we have been in constant contact, and flight tickets and bank statements , joint bank account since August 2015 etc.
> 
> We also had registered our relationship in BDM in NSW August 2015
> We have been together for a little bit more than one year but living together fulltime just the last three months.as he finally quit his job in July 2016.
> 
> Also we are going to apply offshore 309 as my Student visa finished and he is going to be with me in my country on a tourist visa while we are applying for the partner one.
> 
> We want to apply for the de facto but we have doubts whether we are meeting the 12 months requirement of living together, as physically we couldn't due to his work contract.
> Do you think we could be exempt from that requirement due to the above mentioned circumstances?
> 
> Thank you in advance!
> 
> .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ghaleanil -

Thanks for the note. No particular need to go back to your home country from an Australian immigration point of view, however if your wife and you have not spent a lot of time together recently (ie, she's in Australia and you're in the USA) you may have challenges showing a genuine relationship, etc. Pending refugee claim in the USA could increase the scrutiny on your relationship for the Australian partner visa application and, depending on the circumstances, could involve character issues if you have overstayed any visas, etc there. Happy to discuss in more detail at a consultation - see website below in my signature for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ghaleanil said:


> Hey mark . Need help from you .. I am an asylum seeker in usa and my wife is permanent resident in australia and we recently got married and my aslyum case is pending on court in us and my wife wants me to move to australia .. Is there going to be any problem due to my aslyum case for me to get spouse visa. Do i have to go back to my home country where there is chance of me being prosecuted ..help me guide thru this ..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AllyH -

Thanks for the note. Usually, but not always, you'll hear back within a few months if they make a negative decision after an unsuccessful waiver request. That being said, I've recently seen cases where it's 9+ months after the waiver submission with no results. I'd be patient and keep in touch with them to see if they need any further information or documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AllyH said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> For a 309 application that is facing PIC4020 (issue from a previous T.V.):
> 
> Eight months into the waiting time for 309, they ask Compelling Circumstances.
> Applicant responds with the documentation and IMMI acknowledges. 2 Months pass without a word. Applicant asks for an update and they said it has been referred for final decision.
> 
> A further 3 months more pass without a word -- bringing it to the 12 month point.
> 
> Would they have typically said something by now if there was any issues?
> 
> Any experience on how these things work?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lastship20162005 -

It's a DIBP discretion - if you can get a new nomination lodged before the visa is refused (or you choose to withdraw) due to the refusal of the previous nomination, then DIBP may allow the visa to be linked to the new nomination. Other option is to allow the visa to be refused, then go to the AAT with both the nomination and visa refusals - AAT will generally hear the cases together.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lastship20162005 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I appreciate any time you can give me for these answers.
> 
> I am applied for RSMS187 visa and the nomination has been refused because there was not enough info for genuine need. Every other information and documents were provided.
> 
> I read that they usually give chance to provide more info but they did not in this case.
> 
> I got merits to appeal to AAT for the nomination refusal. I wanted to know if its possible to lodge a new nomination and link it with the current visa application.
> 
> I understand that i will have 28 days to respond to the invitation to comment for the visa application.
> 
> Your assistance would be much appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emily1234 -

Yes, and let them know you'll upload the police cert as soon as it arrives. You might advise the case officer by email - see email address to respond to in the email with the request for information in it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



emily1234 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I got an officer send me email and she request more information such as police check and form 80.
> However, i login to my immi account. I accidentally press "information provided" and now the status changed to "application in progress". But I am still waiting for police check certificate. I only submitted form 80
> 
> What should i do? Should I reply to officer by email and said i made a mistake.
> 
> Thanks
> Emily.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Addyh -

That sounds like a fun adventure you're on!

The good news is that DIBP is happy to communicate with you 100% by email (unless they call you to interview you), so that should work well with your circumstances. That being said, you must include a residential address with your application - you could certainly include a "home" address of a relative if you consider that to be your "home" and are comfortable receiving mail there while visiting Bali or wherever else you go. However as mentioned before, highly unlikely DIBP will send anything there by post if you've given them permission to communicate with you by email in your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AddyH said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We (husband and I) are living a nomadic lifestyle - currently on Bali.
> 
> We want to apply for the above visa in order to stay in Australia for a year (British nationals). We currently have the subclass 651 visa but of course it means leaving every 3 months
> 
> We're now travelling around Asia but do have a PO Box in Kuala Lumpur.
> 
> Is it possible to get this visa without have a fixed address? We could give a relatives address in the UK but this would only complicate matters if snail mail were to be sent there (again, not sure if they do even send mail). Also, we have no proof of a "home". To further complicate matters, before we left Europe (18 months ago) we spent 25 years in The Netherlands.
> 
> Any help would be greatly appreciated - Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ejona -

For first stage partner visas, statements of the applicant and sponsor do not need to be statutory declarations. Usually applicant and sponsor each write a statement in their own words that covers the history of the relationship and relates information for the 4 types of relationship evidence. Typically the relationship history is the more important part of these statements, as DIBP will generally look to the actual relationship evidence you submit to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to support the 4 areas. Evidence is considered to be significantly stronger than claims made in statements, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ejona said:


> Thank you for the reply Mark. What about our individual and joint Statutory Declarations? Do they need to be certified at all?
> 
> Also, can I provide joint statutory declarations for the financial aspect, nature of household, nature of commitment etc rather than individual declarations? I think I read somewhere that joint statutory declarations are not accepted and both of us need to provide individual statutory declarations for the four aspects of the relationship (financial, nature of household, nature of commitment, social context).


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukanta -

Thanks so much! Glad I could help - it's why I'm here.

Best,

Mark Northam



sukanta said:


> Thank you so much Mark. You have been extremely helpful in providing advice/suggestions. Hats off. Much appreciated Mark.
> 
> Thank you
> Sukanta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Keval -

Thanks for the note. I think you may be confusing the terminology a bit - a CDR is part of a Migration Skills Assessment from EA. If you have a positive skills assessment, you can then lodge your EOI.

EA also offers an assessment of your work experience - my guess is this is what you are waiting on - if so, there is no particular requirement that this be completed before lodging the EOI or applying for a visa - this is a completely optional service. However if the work experience doesn't check out with EA, it may cause you to consider removing that from your claim for points on your EOI - this is possible up until the point you are invited by DIBP to apply for a visa, but not thereafter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



keval said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have lodged my EOI after getting positive outcome for CDR from Engineers Australia.
> 
> Also I have applied for Relevant Skilled Assessment at the same time. The outcome would come after 4 weeks as per my communication with Engineers Australia.
> 
> If I get invitation to apply before my relevant skilled assessment, what should be my next step? In the EOI, I have mentioned the date of positive outcome as 12th September which is true.
> 
> Kindly guide, if i should withdraw my EOI application till relevant skill assessment outcome or continue with the present status.
> 
> Regards,
> Keval Shah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Showib49 -

Thanks for the note - tricky situation. DIBP may doubt the authenticity of the signature on Form 1229. Might be helpful to get the ex-husband to sign a statutory declaration or other appropriate witnessed document in your country where he clearly states that he gives permission for the child to migrate to Australia, if the ex-husb is not willing to come to a meeting. Also be careful that DIBP is not "fishing" for information about your wife's previous relationship with the ex-husb if DIBP has concerns about the genuineness of your wife's relationship with you. Again, a sworn statement from the ex-husb stating he gives permission for the child to migrate and/or a sworn statement from the ex-husb saying he is not able to attend the DIBP meeting would be helpful. Beyond that, you'll have to see what concerns DIBP has and address those as they come up.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



showib49 said:


> Hi Mark,
> My Australian Immigration required Form 1229 from my wife that she submitted a month before with court orders where its clearly mentioned that she can take her daughter to Australia and Form 1229 was being filled by her X-Husband as per order my Court. But today my wife received a call from Australian High Commission and they were saying to bring your X-Husband with you for a short interview. We discussed with our lawyer and he said we can't force him to do so and impossible. Her X-Husband has no contact with his daughter and wife from last five years. Immigration is going to send an email to us tomorrow and they said try to convince X-Husband or give us in writing the situation that why he is not able to come for interview?
> What should we do now?
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MK4 -

My guess is that it started prior to July 2016, however different posts operate differently and there is no way to determine when the checking started with any accuracy. As 189's are often taking 9+ months these days, especially if there is any work experience claimed for points, I'd be hopeful that you will receive an answer in the next 1-3 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MK4 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I lodged my visa application (189) on Dec 2015. In Jan 2016 i was asked to provide some missing documents (PCC from 4 countries and Wife English proof). I managed to submit 3 PCC's and the English proof within 28 days but had issues getting the 4th PCC. I asked for a waiver for this PCC and i got a reply after 3 months asking me to try and get it again. This time i managed to get this 4th PCC in July 2016 and i submitted it directly.
> In august i was asked to submit the Polio vac certificate which i did in the same day.
> 
> Given my nationality, i am quite certain that my application is undergoing external checks. My question here is if the external checks started only after i submitted the 4th PCC in July.. or it started way before that once the CO reviewed my application around Dec/Jan 2016?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Esimp -

Thanks for the note. Yes, you've done the right thing in correcting the responses. Difficult to predict if they will still want an x-ray and medical, however visitor visa is probably not a good idea as you must be outside Australia when the 417 is granted, assuming you were outside Australia when you applied for the 417.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Esimp said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This seems all to helpful a thread to be true....since 2014 as well! Many thanks in advance.
> 
> I have submitted a Working Holiday Visa subclass 417 and was requested to complete an X-ray and health examination. I then realised that they requested this as under the question where is asked for "details for the stay was more than 3 consecutive months" I listed 7 countries which I visited for just over 3 months in all including Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. I later realised I mis-read the question as I hadn't actually stayed in any of the countries I listed for 3 months at one time, I only stayed for a matter of weeks in each. I therefore attached a JPEG of a completed notification change in circumstances form (1023)
> 
> My questions are:
> 1. Have i done right in attaching the form as extra documentation?
> 2. Will this mean I don't need an X-ray and health examination?
> 3. If I run out of time (there are significant delays in processing I have been told) can I get an ETourist Visa until this is sorted?
> 
> Gratefully
> 
> Emma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jewell -

Sounds like you're doing all the right things! Key will be responding to any specific questions/concerns the case officer notifies you of, however with all that evidence you have plus potentially the statements, I think you have a very good chance of avoiding any major issues re: that work experience assuming DIBP does not have genuineness concerns about the documents you're using.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jewell581 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Greetings!!!
> 
> I have received the South Australian state nomination for visa subclass 489 (regional) previous month. I've total thirteen years of experience and I've worked for two organizations. For employer "ABC" I have worked during 2003 to 2009 and for employer "XYZ" I'm still working since 2010. Employer ABC has stopped its operations since November 2015. However, I have all the required documents from ABC company for the visa application purpose such as, Reference Letter (with R&R), most of the Pay slips, all Income tax certificates, Appointment letter, Job confirmation letter, Promotion letter, Job release letter, and so on. Now I am thinking about to add a self Statutory Declaration, supported with two senior colleagues reference (letter) along with the other documents. This is because it will be easier for the DIBP personnel to verify my employment with company ABC. So.. my question is am I going to the right direction?
> 
> Kind regards
> 
> Jewell


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ahan -

Thanks for the note. DIBP routinely verifies previous work experience by phone and sometimes in-person visits in India and Pakistan especially. No particular requirement that you be employed at the time of application, however the key thing is to make sure that DIBP can verify all work experience you're claiming for points. If a previous employer has ceased operating, may be helpful in addition to all the usual documentary evidence to provide statements from manager(s), co-worker(s) etc about your work there to help support any other documents (employer reference letter, position description, evidence of payment for your work there, etc) you have.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ahan said:


> Hi,
> need your help before lodging visa application..
> I submitted my EOI in May 2016 under Software Engineer occupation and claimed 65 points (30 age, 15 education, 10 ielts, 5 experience as per ACS and 5 partner)
> I got invitation for 189 visa yesterday but i am bit confuse to go ahead and lodge application as i am unemployed since November, 2015.. half of my work as considered by ACS was freelance and one of my ex employer is unreachable now...
> can anyone guide if it is required to be employed at time of lodging application or can my unemployment and some past employer be a reason for visa refusal.. amount to lodge application is huge as i ve included family members..
> please advice if u know someone with same issue or been granted/refused visa with similar case..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sanjay -

Thanks for the note. If you have stopped studying and you have more than 2 months left on your student visa, your student visa is liable for cancellation, especially if you leave the country (which removes the requirement that DIBP notify you first of the intended cancellation). Would need to get more info about your circumstances in order to give you specific advice going forward (can do this at a consultation - see website in my signature below) - much will depend on how much time you have left on your student visa. You are correct re bridging visa E - no work rights by default, and if you leave Australia the BVE will cease automatically leaving you no visa to return to Australia on.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sagar.sanjay99 said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> I just want to know that i am on the bridging visa A but that is not in effect because of my student visa still active. i have applied for partner visa 820/801 in 2014. its already a long time to get the answer i have given all the documents and i have quite the study as well in 2015. but immigration still showing me that i m on my student visa. now the thing is that i want to travel overseas for my family reason. so if i travel overseas on my student visa that still active but technically its has to cancel, if i travel and while i am overseas my student visa get cancel and my bridging visa A will also be cancel, so what are the possibilities to get back in to Australia? if i cancel my student visa by visiting the immigration office then they will give me the bridging E. so i cant travel in or out of Australia.
> i know its really complicated but i hope you give me the best option.
> 
> thanks
> sanjay sagar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaekim1410 -

Thanks for the note. Not possible for me to detail all the requirements for a visitor visa here (see DIBP website for more) however some thoughts for you on your post:

* Key re: employment is showing that the applicant has a job to go back to when she departs Australia - a letter from the employer saying her job will be kept open and available to her upon her return from Australia would be a big help.

* Re financial evidence, this should be for the person(s) who is paying for the travel, accommodation and other expenses for the trip, whether that be you or her.

* Invitation does not need to be handwritten - can be done on computer, should detail who will pay for various expenses for the trip and include an itinerary with planned travels during the trip, sights you want to see, etc to show that the trip has been well thought-out.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jaekim1410 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I registered for this forum because it has been very difficult to find answers online to my particular situation. I was wondering if you could at the very least point me in the right direction.
> 
> My girlfriend is Filipino that has a Filipino passport but is currently a permanent resident in the US. She is trying to visit her stepfather in Australia for three weeks on vacation and I am trying to help her apply for a visitor visa but I'm confused on all the documentation that is needed for the visa to be successfully approved. It is hard to find examples of the required documentation online. For "Evidence of work experience" one asks for a letter from the employer and then one asks for an employment contract, I'm not sure what document to attach to the second one because her current employer did not require a contract to be signed. Also the section on "Evidence of financial capacity" I read that bank statements would be acceptable but how many statements does she need to attach for the requirement to be satisfied? And lastly, for the letter of invitation, does the invitation need to be hand written or can it be an email with all the necessary information included? If I'm not mistaken the info of the host needs to include their passport, proof of citizenship, does it also need proof of employment and/or his housing situation to prove that he is fully capable of housing her for the duration of her visit?
> 
> Also assuming all the information is there and correct as well as all the required documentation, how long do you think it would take for the application to be approved/rejected? Thank you so much for your time and help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James27 -

As long as you clear debts to the old agent, the agent should give you your EOI ID and password. If they don't and if the agent is registered with OMARA (www.mara.gov.au), then you should tell the agent you are considering a MARA complaint - that will generally get the job done and the agent will share the EOI info with you. If you've paid the agent to create your EOI, you are entitled to access info for it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



james27 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I need to access my EOI ID because my agent lodged the application and I don't have any information in regards to my EOI application. Now I am changing the agent for some reason so I don't think my previous agent will provide me the EOI ID. I tried the skillselect site but first thing you need to change anything is your EOI ID. I don't know what to do now.
> I am still on TR visa so my visa is expiring soon for that reason I have to apply for a student visa. My new agent is giving me the best option in regards to student visa.
> 
> Thanks
> James


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sina1308 -

Thanks for the note. Have heard good things about both - especially BUPA. Beyond that, I'm not an expert in health insurance so worth checking around with other students to get their experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sina1308 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to apply for a student visa and have trouble finding the right OSHC provider.
> Which OSHC provider can you recommend ?
> I am thinking about choosing nib or Bupa, have you had experience with any of these ?
> 
> Your help would be muchly appreciated.
> Cheers,
> Sina


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Afnanmali -

Thanks for the note. DIBP accepts both general and academic versions of the IELTS test - there is no difference in how DIBP treats these versions, both are fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



afnanmali said:


> Hy Mark,
> I have given IELTS (academic) 8 months ago now I am planning for australian PR under 189/190. My results are L=7.5 R=7 W=7 S=7
> my question is whether academic module will give me 10 points as I am an electrical engineer and my relevant assessing authority is EA they accept both modules but whether DIBP will accept it for points or not.
> Kindly help me thanking you in antcipation


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vignesh -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict as state sponsorship is dependent on many factors that are unpublished, such as their internal quotas for each occuaption, any quotes on the number of people from various countries, etc. All you can do is apply and see what you receive in response.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vigneshkrv said:


> Hi,
> 
> This is Vignesh from Singapore.
> 
> Am looking for Australia Skilled migration and right now I have 55 points
> 
> Age - 30 points
> Education - 15 points
> Work Exp- 10 points
> English - 0 points( Took IELTS R-8.5,L-8.5,S-7.0,W-6.5)
> 
> With state nomination approved, I will have 60 points and will apply for 190. Looking for NSW (or) VIC state nomination.
> 
> My ANZSCO code is 261313 and applying under software engineer category
> 
> How about my chances to get a approval? Kindly advise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Expa -

Unless there is a reason not to, I'd correct the name on the visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



expa said:


> Hi Mark ,
> I am invited to apply for 190 visa. Now I am filling in the form by using immi account. I realised I submit name of one company with a small typo.
> 
> Company Name is
> A B Construction Industry and Trade Inc.
> 
> I submitted this company as
> A B Construction and Industry Trade Inc.
> 
> How should i fill in the name of company immi form.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi gvqsx8bd -

Thanks for the note. Hard to predict what CPA had an issue with, however what stands out to me is that the job description is very generic and is lacking in detail or specifics to any departments, projects, people, positions, etc at your company. It reads as very generic and general, which I expect may be part of the problem. You might try resubmitting the skills assessment application with a more specific and detailed job description that references specific people, projects, departments, divisions, positions, or whatever is appropriately specific at your employer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gvqsx8bd said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have had my skills assessment rejected by CPA Australia. The reason given was
> 
> "The duties listed in your employment reference are not considered to be at the level of depth and complexity expected in a professional accounting role which are relevant to your ANZSCO code 221111 - Accountant (General)"
> 
> My job description submitted is as follows:
> 
> •	Prepare management, financial and statutory reports.
> •	Formulate and ensure proper internal controls are in place.
> •	Maintain integrity of information in the financial system.
> •	Process transactions within the financial system.
> •	Ensure compliance with and analyse impact of regulations and accounting standards and make recommendations on the appropriate course of action
> •	Liaise with external auditors during the course of statutory audits.
> 
> I am just wondering what is meant by depth and complexity given that my job description is similar to what is posted on the ABS website for the code 221111.
> 
> Thank you very much for any help as I have called CPA Australia but they were not able to advise me on what has gone wrong and I am desperate.
> 
> Yours sincerely,
> 
> Jonathan


----------



## phemi12

Hi Mark, 
thanks for your time on this forum. My question is regarding requirements for skills assessment and 189 visa application. 
I'm putting my documents together for assessment with EA as Telecommunications Specialist but one of my previous employers which has been acquired/merged and now has a new name is not willing to provide me a Job reference letter. My former supervisor with the same organization is ready to provide this letter but he also no longer work with them.
Please how can I resolve this challenge in order to meet my skills assessment and subsequent DIAC requirements?


----------



## gvqsx8bd

MarkNortham said:


> Hi gvqsx8bd -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Hard to predict what CPA had an issue with, however what stands out to me is that the job description is very generic and is lacking in detail or specifics to any departments, projects, people, positions, etc at your company. It reads as very generic and general, which I expect may be part of the problem. You might try resubmitting the skills assessment application with a more specific and detailed job description that references specific people, projects, departments, divisions, positions, or whatever is appropriately specific at your employer.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark. You have been a great help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phemi12 -

Thanks for the note. EA does not require work experience documentation, and their work experience assessment service is optional. With either that service and/or DIBP's assessment of work for points, the key is to present a body of evidence that clearly shows you worked at the company and performed the tasks/duties you're claiming to have performed. In many cases, a sworn statement from a manager (even if no longer employed by the company) can work along with payslips and other evidence of payment. However to be fair, there is no guarantee that this will be accepted by DIBP when a reference letter is not available - it's a judgment call by the case officer done on a case-by-case basis. Same with EA re: assessing the work experience. If you are able to get a positive assessment from EA for the work experience in question, that could be very helpful in convincing DIBP that the work experience is legitimate and relevant. However in the end, it will come down to all the evidence you can produce re: the employment and the case officer's judgment at the time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phemi12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> thanks for your time on this forum. My question is regarding requirements for skills assessment and 189 visa application.
> I'm putting my documents together for assessment with EA as Telecommunications Specialist but one of my previous employers which has been acquired/merged and now has a new name is not willing to provide me a Job reference letter. My former supervisor with the same organization is ready to provide this letter but he also no longer work with them.
> Please how can I resolve this challenge in order to meet my skills assessment and subsequent DIAC requirements?


----------



## phemi12

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Phemi12 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. EA does not require work experience documentation, and their work experience assessment service is optional. With either that service and/or DIBP's assessment of work for points, the key is to present a body of evidence that clearly shows you worked at the company and performed the tasks/duties you're claiming to have performed. In many cases, a sworn statement from a manager (even if no longer employed by the company) can work along with payslips and other evidence of payment. However to be fair, there is no guarantee that this will be accepted by DIBP when a reference letter is not available - it's a judgment call by the case officer done on a case-by-case basis. Same with EA re: assessing the work experience. If you are able to get a positive assessment from EA for the work experience in question, that could be very helpful in convincing DIBP that the work experience is legitimate and relevant. However in the end, it will come down to all the evidence you can produce re: the employment and the case officer's judgment at the time.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark, I really appreciate your response.


----------



## Lyca Ramba

Hi Mark,

I have a bit of an issue with applying for my son Australian's passport, he was born here in Sydney with both me and my wife as a permanent resident status, we are planning to travel overseas because of a family matters in less than a month time and we thought we can apply for the Australian passport the express way and it won't take that long to be processed. The thing that we didn't know that we have to apply for an Australian Citizenship for our son first before applying for his passport and it will take minimum 1 month for the citizenship to be done and we are afraid that we are going to miss our travel date. 

The Questions is that do we really have to apply for his Australian citizenship before applying for his passport, even though both my wife and I are a Permanent resident (both of us have visa label on our passport before he was born) and he actually has a birth certificate that proof that he was born in Australia. Can I skip through the citizenship process and apply for his passport straight away? if not, is there any other way to resolve it without missing the travel date? 

Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lyca -

Thanks for the note. The passport office must have evidence of citizenship in order to grant a person an Australian passport - here's the link to how evidence of citizenship can be obtained from DIBP:

Evidence of Australian citizenship - eligibility

Not sure of any of the options on this link will be fast enough for you, however hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lyca Ramba said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a bit of an issue with applying for my son Australian's passport, he was born here in Sydney with both me and my wife as a permanent resident status, we are planning to travel overseas because of a family matters in less than a month time and we thought we can apply for the Australian passport the express way and it won't take that long to be processed. The thing that we didn't know that we have to apply for an Australian Citizenship for our son first before applying for his passport and it will take minimum 1 month for the citizenship to be done and we are afraid that we are going to miss our travel date.
> 
> The Questions is that do we really have to apply for his Australian citizenship before applying for his passport, even though both my wife and I are a Permanent resident (both of us have visa label on our passport before he was born) and he actually has a birth certificate that proof that he was born in Australia. Can I skip through the citizenship process and apply for his passport straight away? if not, is there any other way to resolve it without missing the travel date?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.


----------



## aman008

Hi Mark

My wife has done Masters in commerce in 2006 married in 2010 working in my business since then as accounts management at home but we have no proof to show that . Can we get P R . She has good command in English


----------



## Yance1991

Hey Mark.How are you?
I applied my second stage 801 partner visa last year on May. It has been 16months of waiting.Today I have received a natural Justice letter from CO in the letter she said The department has received information from Centrelink indicating that You have never declared to them as the recognised partner of you sponsor. I have 28 days to comment on this. My partner is Australian citizen has been on Centrelink for years even before we started our defacto relationship.She didn't know she had to inform Centrelink that we were living together. We do have a joint bank account but the Centrelink money goes to her individual account. What should we do now ?( Is it too late to inform Centrelink to fix this now or Do i have to withdraw my application?please help me mark. Thank you.


----------



## daisy05

Hi, 
We are looking into applying for partner visa subclass 461, 
In the application it includes a character form, which i believe we both have to fill out? (NZ partner and im from UK)
We don't know all of his previous employment details or residential addresses or past travel. 
Is there a way to find this information out? 
He has lived in four countries and has had many, many, temporary jobs. 
Thankyou for any info you can share


----------



## bensonkwok

Hello Mark,

Actually I am holding a bachelor degree in accounting. I don't going to take this as my nomination occupation since it requires too high marks (70) than before for the migration. Just planning to study automotive courses at Tafe in Australia and nominate it as my occupation for 189. May I know how many marks could i score under Qualification? and I know I can join Job Ready Program and have to find a paid 12 months employment after finishing my study. Did you know that 12 months employment still be counted as extra 5 marks for working experience in Australia?

Really appreciate for your help!

Best regards,
Benson Kwok


----------



## KarenVG

Hi Mark

We applied for the onshore partner visa (subclass 820) in November 2015 and so far haven't heard anything back. We would now like to get married early next year and are also expecting a baby in January 2016. Would either of these "events" change anything as far as our visa is concerned? Should we lodge a change of circumstances form, or notify them that we are getting married / having a baby?

Thank you
Karen


----------



## expa

Hi Mark , 
Now I am applying for 190 visa by using immi acoount. The system did not allow me to answer the `previous travel to Australia` question. I am currently living in Australia , and want to rovide information in this part. 
What may be the reason behind this prevention. 
regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aman -

Thanks for the note. Not possible to do skilled visa assessments here on the forum as there are way too many questions that must be asked re: qualifications, work experience and much more. Please see email I sent you re: booking a consult where we would have the time to go into your case in detail to fully assess eligibility.

Best,

Mark Northam



aman008 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My wife has done Masters in commerce in 2006 married in 2010 working in my business since then as accounts management at home but we have no proof to show that . Can we get P R . She has good command in English


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yance1991 -

Thanks for the note. Would need to see the NJ letter you received to give you specific advice as to how to respond - all depends on the specific allegations they are making and under what section of the legislation they are making them. If you have overwhelming evidence of the genuineness of the relationship, it may be possible to overcome the allegations either at the DIBP level or later at the Tribunal. Would need to work with you in a consultation to advise - see website link in my signature below.

Best,

Mark Northam



Yance1991 said:


> Hey Mark.How are you?
> I applied my second stage 801 partner visa last year on May. It has been 16months of waiting.Today I have received a natural Justice letter from CO in the letter she said The department has received information from Centrelink indicating that You have never declared to them as the recognised partner of you sponsor. I have 28 days to comment on this. My partner is Australian citizen has been on Centrelink for years even before we started our defacto relationship.She didn't know she had to inform Centrelink that we were living together. We do have a joint bank account but the Centrelink money goes to her individual account. What should we do now ?( Is it too late to inform Centrelink to fix this now or Do i have to withdraw my application?please help me mark. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daisy05 -

Not sure what govt info may be available to help re: previous employment or addresses in the UK. Generally it's advisable to list all data you can gather from any source, but if you believe it may not be 100% complete, include a letter stating that you have done your best to locate all data but don't recall all of the specific data that they are asking for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



daisy05 said:


> Hi,
> We are looking into applying for partner visa subclass 461,
> In the application it includes a character form, which i believe we both have to fill out? (NZ partner and im from UK)
> We don't know all of his previous employment details or residential addresses or past travel.
> Is there a way to find this information out?
> He has lived in four countries and has had many, many, temporary jobs.
> Thankyou for any info you can share


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Benson -

Thanks for the note. Generally speaking 12 months of paid full-time work in Australia at a skilled level (after you become skilled) or more counts for points. Re: qualification a "trade qualification" is defined as a Cert III or higher for a Major Group 3 (ANZSCO) occupation and provides 10 points. However it would be important to consider the specific circumstances you would be claiming points under in order to give you any advice specific for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bensonkwok said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Actually I am holding a bachelor degree in accounting. I don't going to take this as my nomination occupation since it requires too high marks (70) than before for the migration. Just planning to study automotive courses at Tafe in Australia and nominate it as my occupation for 189. May I know how many marks could i score under Qualification? and I know I can join Job Ready Program and have to find a paid 12 months employment after finishing my study. Did you know that 12 months employment still be counted as extra 5 marks for working experience in Australia?
> 
> Really appreciate for your help!
> 
> Best regards,
> Benson Kwok


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Karen -

Thanks for the note. Re: wedding, would suggest lodging change of circumstances form and lodging evidence of the wedding, etc which would be seen as additional relationship evidence. Re: child, should lodge change of circumstances form once baby is born and confirm with DIBP at that point that the baby will be added to the application for the 820 if the application is not yet decided at the time the baby is born.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KarenVG said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> We applied for the onshore partner visa (subclass 820) in November 2015 and so far haven't heard anything back. We would now like to get married early next year and are also expecting a baby in January 2016. Would either of these "events" change anything as far as our visa is concerned? Should we lodge a change of circumstances form, or notify them that we are getting married / having a baby?
> 
> Thank you
> Karen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Expa -

Not sure about that - you can always upload a letter with a listing of this information to your account and/or lodge form 1023 with the information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



expa said:


> Hi Mark ,
> Now I am applying for 190 visa by using immi acoount. The system did not allow me to answer the `previous travel to Australia` question. I am currently living in Australia , and want to rovide information in this part.
> What may be the reason behind this prevention.
> regards


----------



## bensonkwok

Thanks For your reply!

More specifically I found the migration dept only counted the highest qualification for the applicant. I have no idea of claiming points with regard to this. Friendly speaking, the trade qualification (certificate) may be used for the skilled assessment for nomimated occupation under my case. I mean the BIBP would assess how many points the applicant could claimed and the assessing authority only conducted skilled assessment not related to the claiming points. May I say correct for their administration?

Best regards,
Benson



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Benson -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Generally speaking 12 months of paid full-time work in Australia at a skilled level (after you become skilled) or more counts for points. Re: qualification a "trade qualification" is defined as a Cert III or higher for a Major Group 3 (ANZSCO) occupation and provides 10 points. However it would be important to consider the specific circumstances you would be claiming points under in order to give you any advice specific for your case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## dineshn9999

Hi Mark

I am going to apply for student visa subclass 500. I haven't lodged my visa application yet, but completed my medicals by giving my health declarations.

I suffered with lymph nodes tuberculosis 5 years back and got it completely cured. My chest x-ray was clear but the panel physician told me that I may need to take further tests and DIBP officer will inform me if I need them.

As lymph node TB isn't harmful, can I clear the medical tests without taking further tests as it will prolong the process for another 3 months?

Also, I did a mistake by not mentioning the tuberculosis in My Health Declarations, but I mentioned it in eReferral letter. I haven't lodged my visa application yet.Can I correct it?

Please help me.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Benson -

If the skills assessor awards a trade qual as a result of the assessment of a trade (happens frequently if the person does not already have an Australian trade qual) then it's likely that he would get 10 points for this.

Best,

Mark Northam



bensonkwok said:


> Thanks For your reply!
> 
> More specifically I found the migration dept only counted the highest qualification for the applicant. I have no idea of claiming points with regard to this. Friendly speaking, the trade qualification (certificate) may be used for the skilled assessment for nomimated occupation under my case. I mean the BIBP would assess how many points the applicant could claimed and the assessing authority only conducted skilled assessment not related to the claiming points. May I say correct for their administration?
> 
> Best regards,
> Benson


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dineshn9999 -

No good way to predict whether DIBP will require further tests - that's a technical issue that's up to the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth. MyHealthDeclarations is not a visa application, however you might lodge Form 1023 with your application just in case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dineshn9999 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am going to apply for student visa subclass 500. I haven't lodged my visa application yet, but completed my medicals by giving my health declarations.
> 
> I suffered with lymph nodes tuberculosis 5 years back and got it completely cured. My chest x-ray was clear but the panel physician told me that I may need to take further tests and DIBP officer will inform me if I need them.
> 
> As lymph node TB isn't harmful, can I clear the medical tests without taking further tests as it will prolong the process for another 3 months?
> 
> Also, I did a mistake by not mentioning the tuberculosis in My Health Declarations, but I mentioned it in eReferral letter. I haven't lodged my visa application yet.Can I correct it?
> 
> Please help me.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## cab_au

Hello Mark, I come to this thread after getting some confusing information from immi. 

My Father in Law currently holds a tourist 600 visa valid for 12 months, with 3 month stay duration's. ("no extensions" is not listed in conditions) 

He last came in April and returned to China in late June as per visa conditions. 

Due to several family reasons we were looking for him to return in October but wanted to try and extend his Stay For/Until for a period of 6 months instead of the stipulated 3. 

We are trying to establish the best way to go about this. 

I have been advised it would be the higher processing fee plus an additional amount (twice processing fee) if we left applying for extension until he is onshore. 

Alternatively have been advised that we could reapply for tourist 600 visa with 6 month Stay For periods. 

Is my information correct? is there a better way to go about this? 

Kind Regards
Steve


----------



## Tom1

*Bridging visa E*

Hi Mark,

I am currently on a 457 which expires in may 2017. However, my sponsorship ceased well over 90 days ago! I have submitted an application for a partner visa 820 and was told over the phone by someone in the department of immigration that if my 457 got cancelled my bridging A would kick in... I have since learned that is not true and the the BVA gets cancelled along with the 457. Pretty upsetting to get that kind of misinformation from the department but I don't suppose I can do anything about that.

A VEVO check indicates that my 457 is still in place, but what I need to know is:-

Can I still apply for a new sponsor despite having exceeded 90 days?

If I move on to a bridging visa E, how likely am I to be able to get work rights and if granted what will they be?

I am aware of the travel restriction on BVE.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## thehuntressinc

*Custody Rights for my illegitimate son*

Hi Mark,

I am currently in Australia with 820 temporary visa. And i have an illegitimate son back in the Philippines. He's currently 10 yrs old and I would like to apply dependent child visa for him and attach it to my visa 820. Now one of the requirements for visa 445 is custody rights. I'm not entirely sure what kind of proof can I provide to immigration once I file for his visa application. I have asked a lawyer from Philippines and she told me based on Philippines law, mothers will have sole custody for illegitimate children. Is his birth certificate enough as proof? Or do I need another document? Please help!


----------



## CANUKAUS

Hi Mark,

Just wanted to know what is the general entry timeline once a PM visa is granted.

For example if applied for in April 2017 and granted June 2017 (I know far fetched) what is the cut off time to enter Australia to start that visa process. I thought i read somewhere is the validility of the medical being coinducted (12 Months).

Thanks in advance


----------



## james27

*Need your Professional advice*

Hi Mark,

I am about to apply for onshore student visa since my 485 visa is about to expire soon. I was wondering If I could show the bank balance here in Australia for financial support for my visa application.

Will they approve my visa with the Australian Bank balance? What are the procedures to show bank balance in Australia?

Thank you.

Regards
James.


----------



## ashie4ya

*PMV Visa*

Hi mark,

My fiancé has applied for his PMV from Lebanon. It has been 6 and a half months and we have heard nothing yet. Within that he has done his medical test and phone interview. We have contacted them and they have told us we will have to wait. It's very hard waiting because we still are on hold for making any making plans for the wedding.

My side has been approved for the sponsor. I was just wondering if you have had experience with the processing times in Beirut ?

Regards,

Ash


----------



## mliw90

Hi Mark, just got a few questions for you.

Me and my partner are almost ready to submit our 300 prospective marriage visa

1) My partner does not have a passport as due to circumstances I have only been to visit her in Australia. Is birth certificate alone enough for proof of citizenship or does she need a passport too? I read that birth cert before Aug 31 1986 are acceptable to prove citizenship and she was born in 1985. Can you verify this for me?

2) My partner was in a previous marriage and she has not yet legally changed her name back as we were just going to wait till she takes mine. Due to this it is different than on her birth certificate. Should we include her marriage certificate to her ex husband to prove name change or will the divorce certificate alone be acceptable?

3) Do we need to scan the front and back of all important documents (birth certificate, police check, etc...) or is just the front enough?

Thanks Mark!


----------



## Nebs

Hi Mark,

Just a theoretical question for you ( might be useful for others as well who are wondering). So I submitted my temporary partner visa application 23rd Sept 2015, based on marriage, and have had no contact until today. My CO contacted me asking for medicals, Australian police check ( had already submitted my European one) and form 80. No other evidence was asked. Does this mean potentially good news or is it because they cant refuse or approve visas without these being done?

Thank you! ( should I get a refusal, I'll definitely use you to reapply as I have literally got a few grey hairs out of this)


----------



## Zrashid

Hello Mark,
I have applied for student visa(573), i have been assigned a case officer but its been more than 12 weeks since i submitted my application but still i have got no response.
Just once i was asked to submit my health insurance certificate, which i did.
I have missed my winter 2016 semester and have deferred to summer(Jan) intake.
Please guide me here what should i do and what are my options


----------



## HisShadow

Hello Mark,

I have a foreign Computer Science degree currently doing a PhD in Victoria. Hence, my degree is rated at least BSc. Hons. equivalent. I also have substantial related work experience and my English is good enough to obtain sufficient IELTS scores. So the 60 point hurdle for PR applicants is of minor concern to me.

According to the skilled migration points test from acacia[dash]au[dot]com, I should be able to score 60 points towards subclass 189 or 65 points towards subclass 190.

However, I contacted a migration agent last week. During the initial consultation he said I should not bother applying for PR before finishing the PhD because I would have no chance to ever get an invitation anyway. He said the problem is that my background is "ICT major" and that the hurdle for "ICT majors" is at least 70 and not 60. However, I cannot find any information regarding this. All the websites say 60. I called DIBP today and they said what they usually say: "Hurdle is 60 but regardless of that we cannot guarantee anything. It depends on many factors..."

So my question to you - if I may ask - is as follows. Are there specific different higher limits (either hard or soft due to high competition) for certain job categories? If yes, can you point me towards related information?

~Mark


----------



## marsenal

Hi Mark,

Have read many of your replies to people's posts and have found it super useful. I have a question about the 309/100 application from offshore though that I haven't been able to find a response to.

I'm Australian and my wife is French. We're currently in France and applying from here. We wish to apply via the Madrid office as it's been confirmed to us (in writing) that we don't need to translate any documents from French to English if it goes through them.

My question is how does the department decide which office processes the application? I thought it was linked to the current country of residence i.e. France for us so meaning processed by Madrid. However, there's also the following question on the Online ImmiAccount:
*The applicant may be required to attend an Australian Government Office for an interview. Which is the closest office to the applicant's current location?*

We were planning to put London for this, but will that mean it's then processed by the London office? Do we need to put down Madrid here?

Separately, from your experience how frequently do people get asked to come in for an interview? And how frequently have you seen this for relatively straightforward cases?

On a side note, I wish the whole process was more interview focused and you could just bring in a bunch of documents and discuss them over a couple hours with the CO. Would be so much more straightforward than the online uploading!

Thanks very much for your help to us and everyone else in this forum! It's amazing what you offer!


----------



## Aussiexpat

*partner visa*

Hi Mark,

I really appreciate the effort you take to help people!

I have a question regarding the partner visa and proving how your household expenses are paid. I currently reside in Vietnam working as an English teacher which pays for myself and girlfriends expenses while living here. I am an Australian Citizen on a tourist visa, but my school allows me to work nonetheless, as it is very commonplace for teachers to work on tourist visas in Vietnam. My girlfriend is Russian and will be the one applying for the Partner Visa to Australia.

My question is, will immigration see me in a negative light, and by extension, my girlfriend, because I am not employed by the letter of the law here in Vietnam? We also use some of her savings but the majority is from my teaching work. I'm not sure if this will hinder her application.

I assume they are judging her criteria rather than mine but I thought I would check.

Thank you so much

Aussiexpat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Steve -

Thanks for the note. Not sure what local options may be available in China for this as there are some higher fee options recently introduced for various priority, etc treatment that are unique to China. The existing sc600 visa cannot be changed once granted, so no way to change that visa - any change would involve a new visa application. For a sc600 application while onshore in Australia, the normal sc600 visa application fee to DIBP would apply.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cab_au said:


> Hello Mark, I come to this thread after getting some confusing information from immi.
> 
> My Father in Law currently holds a tourist 600 visa valid for 12 months, with 3 month stay duration's. ("no extensions" is not listed in conditions)
> 
> He last came in April and returned to China in late June as per visa conditions.
> 
> Due to several family reasons we were looking for him to return in October but wanted to try and extend his Stay For/Until for a period of 6 months instead of the stipulated 3.
> 
> We are trying to establish the best way to go about this.
> 
> I have been advised it would be the higher processing fee plus an additional amount (twice processing fee) if we left applying for extension until he is onshore.
> 
> Alternatively have been advised that we could reapply for tourist 600 visa with 6 month Stay For periods.
> 
> Is my information correct? is there a better way to go about this?
> 
> Kind Regards
> Steve


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tom1 -

Yup, another shining example of the dangers of relying on DIBP phone "support" for making important visa decisions.

Re: applying for a new sponsor for your 457, this can be done at any time up until DIBP cancels your 457 visa. Sometimes you can work with them if they contact you after 90 days and let them know you have an employer sponsor that will be ready to go soon, etc.

If your 457 is cancelled, that will as you learned automatically cancel your BVA from the partner visa application, leaving you with no visa in Australia and restarting the 4-year citizenship residency requirement clock. You would then have to attend DIBP to apply for a BVE based on your partner visa application pending. The BVE would initially be granted with no work rights but you could apply to add work rights (unlimited) if you could establish financial hardship if you were unable to work - that is, that you and your partner's joint expenses would be significantly greater than your partner's income if any. You'd also have to show that you don't have substantial savings or equity (ie, in a real estate property) that you could use to pay for expenses.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tom1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently on a 457 which expires in may 2017. However, my sponsorship ceased well over 90 days ago! I have submitted an application for a partner visa 820 and was told over the phone by someone in the department of immigration that if my 457 got cancelled my bridging A would kick in... I have since learned that is not true and the the BVA gets cancelled along with the 457. Pretty upsetting to get that kind of misinformation from the department but I don't suppose I can do anything about that.
> 
> A VEVO check indicates that my 457 is still in place, but what I need to know is:-
> 
> Can I still apply for a new sponsor despite having exceeded 90 days?
> 
> If I move on to a bridging visa E, how likely am I to be able to get work rights and if granted what will they be?
> 
> I am aware of the travel restriction on BVE.
> 
> Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi thehuntressinc -

Thanks for the note. Normally DIBP will require a signed Form 1229 (permission to migrate) from the biological father of the child unless you can provide court document(s) to evidence that no other person has any legal right to decide or determine (partially or fully) where the child lives. I doubt that customary law in the Philippines will be enough, however if you have no court document, perhaps a letter from the Philippines Lawyer citing whatever local regulations would give you sole control of the child by default would satisfy DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thehuntressinc said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently in Australia with 820 temporary visa. And i have an illegitimate son back in the Philippines. He's currently 10 yrs old and I would like to apply dependent child visa for him and attach it to my visa 820. Now one of the requirements for visa 445 is custody rights. I'm not entirely sure what kind of proof can I provide to immigration once I file for his visa application. I have asked a lawyer from Philippines and she told me based on Philippines law, mothers will have sole custody for illegitimate children. Is his birth certificate enough as proof? Or do I need another document? Please help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Canukaus -

By PM I assume you mean Prospective Marriage visa - if so, this visa is granted for a period of 9 months from the date of grant of the visa - the "must enter by" date is determined from a number of factors including the expiration of the police and/or health exam results, most frequently using the health exam date as you noted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CANUKAUS said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just wanted to know what is the general entry timeline once a PM visa is granted.
> 
> For example if applied for in April 2017 and granted June 2017 (I know far fetched) what is the cut off time to enter Australia to start that visa process. I thought i read somewhere is the validility of the medical being coinducted (12 Months).
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James27 -

It may be possible to show financial resources in Australia - key to determining the evidence requirements and what is allowable is through the new risk matrix that was introduced with the new subclass 500 student visa - combines risk factors of your country of citizenship and the individual school's risk record. See DIBP website for more details on this - too complex to get into all the details here on the forum.

Best,

Mark Northam



james27 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am about to apply for onshore student visa since my 485 visa is about to expire soon. I was wondering If I could show the bank balance here in Australia for financial support for my visa application.
> 
> Will they approve my visa with the Australian Bank balance? What are the procedures to show bank balance in Australia?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Regards
> James.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ash -

Wish I could help, but we're seeing a lot of extended processing times from the Lebanon post. Also, interesting you say you have been approved as a sponsor, as this is not really a separate approval/assessment cycle - the relationship is the focus of the assessment, ie genuine plans to enter into a spousal relationship, etc. Likely best to wait and see what comes up over the next few months. These typically take 9 months under normal circumstances, so I'd be as patient as you can.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashie4ya said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> My fiancé has applied for his PMV from Lebanon. It has been 6 and a half months and we have heard nothing yet. Within that he has done his medical test and phone interview. We have contacted them and they have told us we will have to wait. It's very hard waiting because we still are on hold for making any making plans for the wedding.
> 
> My side has been approved for the sponsor. I was just wondering if you have had experience with the processing times in Beirut ?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Ash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mliw90 -

Thanks for the note. Birth certificate may be accepted, however will depend on DIBP. She might also apply to DIBP to obtain evidence of citizenship (certificate, etc) if she cannot get a passport.

Yes to questions 2 & 3.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mliw90 said:


> Hi Mark, just got a few questions for you.
> 
> Me and my partner are almost ready to submit our 300 prospective marriage visa
> 
> 1) My partner does not have a passport as due to circumstances I have only been to visit her in Australia. Is birth certificate alone enough for proof of citizenship or does she need a passport too? I read that birth cert before Aug 31 1986 are acceptable to prove citizenship and she was born in 1985. Can you verify this for me?
> 
> 2) My partner was in a previous marriage and she has not yet legally changed her name back as we were just going to wait till she takes mine. Due to this it is different than on her birth certificate. Should we include her marriage certificate to her ex husband to prove name change or will the divorce certificate alone be acceptable?
> 
> 3) Do we need to scan the front and back of all important documents (birth certificate, police check, etc...) or is just the front enough?
> 
> Thanks Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nebs -

Thanks for the note. The request only means that the application has progressed in the processing queue, and is not indicative that a positive decision is forthcoming. All of the items requested are required for processing the visa application, so keep your fingers crossed and make sure to provide everything they request promptly - as they say, so far, so good!

Best,

Mark Northam



Nebs said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a theoretical question for you ( might be useful for others as well who are wondering). So I submitted my temporary partner visa application 23rd Sept 2015, based on marriage, and have had no contact until today. My CO contacted me asking for medicals, Australian police check ( had already submitted my European one) and form 80. No other evidence was asked. Does this mean potentially good news or is it because they cant refuse or approve visas without these being done?
> 
> Thank you! ( should I get a refusal, I'll definitely use you to reapply as I have literally got a few grey hairs out of this)


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Zrashid -

Thanks for the question and email - as noted, not much can be done but wait and confirm with DIBP that they have all the documents and information they need.

Best,

Mark Northam



Zrashid said:


> Hello Mark,
> I have applied for student visa(573), i have been assigned a case officer but its been more than 12 weeks since i submitted my application but still i have got no response.
> Just once i was asked to submit my health insurance certificate, which i did.
> I have missed my winter 2016 semester and have deferred to summer(Jan) intake.
> Please guide me here what should i do and what are my options


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark -

Thanks for the note. There are no fixed points "hurdles" other than 60 points including any state sponsorship points for the skilled visa program. That being said, some occupations in high demand are being allocated a smaller amount per invitation round to spread the opportunities throughout the year. Here's an example that shows the minimum score/EOI effective date for some of the higher demand occupations from a recent invitation round: Skill select 14 September 2016 round results

While some occupations are high demand, that doesn't mean that all ICT occupations are. See this link for more on the quotas and invitations issued so far for various occupations:
SkillSelect (see occupational ceilings tab)

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HisShadow said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a foreign Computer Science degree currently doing a PhD in Victoria. Hence, my degree is rated at least BSc. Hons. equivalent. I also have substantial related work experience and my English is good enough to obtain sufficient IELTS scores. So the 60 point hurdle for PR applicants is of minor concern to me.
> 
> According to the skilled migration points test from acacia[dash]au[dot]com, I should be able to score 60 points towards subclass 189 or 65 points towards subclass 190.
> 
> However, I contacted a migration agent last week. During the initial consultation he said I should not bother applying for PR before finishing the PhD because I would have no chance to ever get an invitation anyway. He said the problem is that my background is "ICT major" and that the hurdle for "ICT majors" is at least 70 and not 60. However, I cannot find any information regarding this. All the websites say 60. I called DIBP today and they said what they usually say: "Hurdle is 60 but regardless of that we cannot guarantee anything. It depends on many factors..."
> 
> So my question to you - if I may ask - is as follows. Are there specific different higher limits (either hard or soft due to high competition) for certain job categories? If yes, can you point me towards related information?
> 
> ~Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marsenal -

Thanks for the note. DIBP processing office is usually (but not always) determined by the country of usual residence of the applicant. In other cases, the country of citizenship is used, and in some other cases applications are transferred to other offices that have a lower caseload.

Re: translation, that's a local policy and one which not every office abides by.

Interviews are usually done in higher risk cases or where there is a specific area(s) of concern by DIBP in an application.

I agree re: interview - too many decisions are made by DIBP people who never meet the applicants, so how they appear on paper is all that people are judged by - the partner visa process is too important and the stakes too high to be left to a paper-only assessment in my view. Plus, for almost $7,000 in application fees, I think an applicant and sponsor have a reasonable expectation to be able to attend an interview and show, in person, the genuineness of the relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



marsenal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Have read many of your replies to people's posts and have found it super useful. I have a question about the 309/100 application from offshore though that I haven't been able to find a response to.
> 
> I'm Australian and my wife is French. We're currently in France and applying from here. We wish to apply via the Madrid office as it's been confirmed to us (in writing) that we don't need to translate any documents from French to English if it goes through them.
> 
> My question is how does the department decide which office processes the application? I thought it was linked to the current country of residence i.e. France for us so meaning processed by Madrid. However, there's also the following question on the Online ImmiAccount:
> *The applicant may be required to attend an Australian Government Office for an interview. Which is the closest office to the applicant's current location?*
> 
> We were planning to put London for this, but will that mean it's then processed by the London office? Do we need to put down Madrid here?
> 
> Separately, from your experience how frequently do people get asked to come in for an interview? And how frequently have you seen this for relatively straightforward cases?
> 
> On a side note, I wish the whole process was more interview focused and you could just bring in a bunch of documents and discuss them over a couple hours with the CO. Would be so much more straightforward than the online uploading!
> 
> Thanks very much for your help to us and everyone else in this forum! It's amazing what you offer!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussiexpat -

Thanks for the note. No particular issue from DIBP's point of view re: employment there from what you said, plus you can also send your resume to show a history of work experience and you can show other funds (ie savings, etc) that contribute to your current financial support.

An issue that might be of concern, depending on the local regulations, is if DIBP (or a person at the local DIBP office) were to advise the local police, etc that you were illegally (?) employed. While that's probably unlikely, I wouldn't rule it out entirely and you might consider what the ramifications would be, if any, if the local authorities where you are were advised that you were working.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aussiexpat said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I really appreciate the effort you take to help people!
> 
> I have a question regarding the partner visa and proving how your household expenses are paid. I currently reside in Vietnam working as an English teacher which pays for myself and girlfriends expenses while living here. I am an Australian Citizen on a tourist visa, but my school allows me to work nonetheless, as it is very commonplace for teachers to work on tourist visas in Vietnam. My girlfriend is Russian and will be the one applying for the Partner Visa to Australia.
> 
> My question is, will immigration see me in a negative light, and by extension, my girlfriend, because I am not employed by the letter of the law here in Vietnam? We also use some of her savings but the majority is from my teaching work. I'm not sure if this will hinder her application.
> 
> I assume they are judging her criteria rather than mine but I thought I would check.
> 
> Thank you so much
> 
> Aussiexpat


----------



## mliw90

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mliw90 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Birth certificate may be accepted, however will depend on DIBP. She might also apply to DIBP to obtain evidence of citizenship (certificate, etc) if she cannot get a passport.
> 
> Yes to questions 2 & 3.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


I'm sorry. Was that a yes we DO need to front and back of all documents or yes we DO NOT? I was confused by what you meant. On some documents the back is just plain white so I don't see the sense in scanning it but I want to make sure I'm doing everything properly. Thanks.


----------



## marsenal

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Marsenal -
> 
> Thanks for the note. DIBP processing office is usually (but not always) determined by the country of usual residence of the applicant. In other cases, the country of citizenship is used, and in some other cases applications are transferred to other offices that have a lower caseload.
> 
> Re: translation, that's a local policy and one which not every office abides by.
> 
> Interviews are usually done in higher risk cases or where there is a specific area(s) of concern by DIBP in an application.
> 
> I agree re: interview - too many decisions are made by DIBP people who never meet the applicants, so how they appear on paper is all that people are judged by - the partner visa process is too important and the stakes too high to be left to a paper-only assessment in my view. Plus, for almost $7,000 in application fees, I think an applicant and sponsor have a reasonable expectation to be able to attend an interview and show, in person, the genuineness of the relationship.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks very much for this! Greatly appreciated!


----------



## ashie4ya

*Pmv*

Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot for the quick reply.

Three and a half months ago they told my fiancé in his phone interview that our application was very good. They also told him that his form 80 was in Australia.

So does this mean ASIO have his form 80 and it will take longer from the security check?

Regards,

Ash



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ash -
> 
> Wish I could help, but we're seeing a lot of extended processing times from the Lebanon post. Also, interesting you say you have been approved as a sponsor, as this is not really a separate approval/assessment cycle - the relationship is the focus of the assessment, ie genuine plans to enter into a spousal relationship, etc. Likely best to wait and see what comes up over the next few months. These typically take 9 months under normal circumstances, so I'd be as patient as you can.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Sorry for the confusion - no need to scan back of document unless it contains pertinent information, generally information unique to you. For instance, boilerplate refund clauses, etc on the backs of receipts do not need to be copied. However if there is a unique ID number on the back of a certificate, etc, that could be considered important and should be copied.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mliw90 said:


> I'm sorry. Was that a yes we DO need to front and back of all documents or yes we DO NOT? I was confused by what you meant. On some documents the back is just plain white so I don't see the sense in scanning it but I want to make sure I'm doing everything properly. Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

You're welcome! Glad I could help.

Best,

Mark Northam



marsenal said:


> Thanks very much for this! Greatly appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ash -

It may mean that security checks are underway, however DIBP doesn't publish the various roles of ASIO and overseas intelligence agencies, etc so no good way to predict what the "Form 80 is in Australia" means at this point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashie4ya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot for the quick reply.
> 
> Three and a half months ago they told my fiancé in his phone interview that our application was very good. They also told him that his form 80 was in Australia.
> 
> So does this mean ASIO have his form 80 and it will take longer from the security check?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Ash


----------



## Wellwisher87

*Regarding Documentation of Partner Visa*

Hi Mark,

I would really appericiate your response as we have filed partner visa application in Delhi AHC and want to know how do I know if the case officer allocated.

Our applicatiom has been done by MARA agent in Australia and it is online.

Also Want to know how someone can know that they have provided sufficient documentation to support their application?

As my agent is just seems to be not keen to work too much on evidences and documentation.

Please advise.

Thanks

Wellwisher


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wellwisher87 -

DIBP currently does not inform applicants when a case officer has been assigned. However in many instances these days, DIBP doesn't have dedicated case officers for applications - applications are often processed by teams, etc at various points along the way during assessment.

Evidence is absolutely key to partner visa applications, especially in India where we're seeing a lot of close inspections of partner visa applications including unannounced site visits to relatives' homes where interviews are conducted, etc and the information used to decide visa applications. If your agent is not keen to provide ample evidence, that can be a very bad sign.

You may want to consider getting a second opinion on your application from an immigration lawyer or agent - if you can get a copy of the application and all evidence submitted, some lawyers and agents provide a consultation service to do this. It may not make your own agent happy, but frankly it's not his happiness you need to be concerned with, it's whatever will provide the maximum chance of success for your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wellwisher87 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would really appericiate your response as we have filed partner visa application in Delhi AHC and want to know how do I know if the case officer allocated.
> 
> Our applicatiom has been done by MARA agent in Australia and it is online.
> 
> Also Want to know how someone can know that they have provided sufficient documentation to support their application?
> 
> As my agent is just seems to be not keen to work too much on evidences and documentation.
> 
> Please advise.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Wellwisher


----------



## Wellwisher87

*Case officer process*

If the applicant is in Australia on Tourist and and been staying here for almost 5 months on tourist visa please advise what are the evidences can be collected as we are having best opportunity to collect evidences as we are already having a joint Bank Account.

Also the marriage was registered in India and me being Australian Citizen do I have to register my relationship in Australia. Eventually that will be an extra strong proof.

What is your opinion on that?

Also as during our stay we are getting many evidences so up until what time we can keep adding supportive documentation as the application was lodged in December 2015.

Thanks for very quick Response.

Also once the case officer conducts an interview what does that mean to application progress?

Thanks

Welleisher



Wellwisher87 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would really appericiate your response as we have filed partner visa application in Delhi AHC and want to know how do I know if the case officer allocated.
> 
> Our applicatiom has been done by MARA agent in Australia and it is online.
> 
> Also Want to know how someone can know that they have provided sufficient documentation to support their application?
> 
> As my agent is just seems to be not keen to work too much on evidences and documentation.
> 
> Please advise.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Wellwisher


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wellwisher -

Thanks for the note. These are questions that I would need to answer in a consultation in detail after getting more information about your personal circumstances and the visa application specifics - please see my website link below in my signature for more on consultations and to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



Wellwisher87 said:


> If the applicant is in Australia on Tourist and and been staying here for almost 5 months on tourist visa please advise what are the evidences can be collected as we are having best opportunity to collect evidences as we are already having a joint Bank Account.
> 
> Also the marriage was registered in India and me being Australian Citizen do I have to register my relationship in Australia. Eventually that will be an extra strong proof.
> 
> What is your opinion on that?
> 
> Also as during our stay we are getting many evidences so up until what time we can keep adding supportive documentation as the application was lodged in December 2015.
> 
> Thanks for very quick Response.
> 
> Also once the case officer conducts an interview what does that mean to application progress?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Welleisher


----------



## Zrashid

MarkNortham said:


> HI Zrashid -
> 
> Thanks for the question and email - as noted, not much can be done but wait and confirm with DIBP that they have all the documents and information they need.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark for a quick reply.

How can i confirm with DIBP, i have already emailed to the student office at adelaide but have got no response yet.
Another thing, i have heard that DIBP is no longer taking applications under subclass 573,after 1st July 2016.
Should I withdraw my application and apply under new subclass? I filed my application on 19th May 2016
Would it help?


----------



## bingineer

Good day, I have a question regarding my eligibility to apply for visa 476. According to Australia DIBP Website, a person is eligible to apply for a visa 476 if he/she finished an engineering degree from a recognized institution in the past 2 years. In my case, I got my engineering degree last April 2014 (2 years and 5 months ago). I am curious if I am still eligible to apply for this kind of visa. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

If DIBP refuses to communicate, all you can do is wait. It's a crime that these people get away with such poor customer service, but that's the way they operate. I don't know enough about your circumstances to advise re: withdraw, but if no obvious problem with the application, it may be better to wait until you get a decision from DIBP on the current application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zrashid said:


> Thank you Mark for a quick reply.
> 
> How can i confirm with DIBP, i have already emailed to the student office at adelaide but have got no response yet.
> Another thing, i have heard that DIBP is no longer taking applications under subclass 573,after 1st July 2016.
> Should I withdraw my application and apply under new subclass? I filed my application on 19th May 2016
> Would it help?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bingineer -

Unfortuantely the cutoff is 2 years from completion of your degree, so more than that would mean you would not meet the criteria for this visa.

Best,

Mark Northam



bingineer said:


> Good day, I have a question regarding my eligibility to apply for visa 476. According to Australia DIBP Website, a person is eligible to apply for a visa 476 if he/she finished an engineering degree from a recognized institution in the past 2 years. In my case, I got my engineering degree last April 2014 (2 years and 5 months ago). I am curious if I am still eligible to apply for this kind of visa. Thank you.


----------



## bingineer

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bingineer -
> 
> Unfortuantely the cutoff is 2 years from completion of your degree, so more than that would mean you would not meet the criteria for this visa.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thank you for your quick reply. Are there any other visa that I can apply to? A visa that's almost the same with visa 476? I'm aware that visa 476 costs way too less than other working visas. Thank you


----------



## Idiot.fuchay

*Regarding my visa*

Hy it's been a lil bit different case for my side,
I was on dependent visa till few months ago but while my wife went to America our visa has been cancel at that time and I had applied for 457 working visa ,
So my visa had been changed to bridging visa e who doesn't allow me to study and travel st this time, 
Still I am waiting for my 457 visa , it's already been a 5 months I didn't heard about my visa ,
Now I need to travel to Nepal at this time but my visa doesn't allow me to travel ,
So in this case what will be my next option to travel to Nepal with safely so that I can return to Australia 
Thanks


----------



## marsenal

Hello again Mark,
I was hoping to ask another couple of quick questions about the 309/100 application:

1. In the sections where they ask for details of both the applicant's and sponsor's parents, siblings and children, *do we need to provide details about spouses of our brothers and sisters*? These are not "siblings" but the drop down selection does have options for Sister/Brother-in-law hence I wanted to clarify.

2. For the list of countries resided in over the previous 10 years, *does the whole 10 year period need to be covered* i.e. they should be able to see where you were living on any day during that time? And *do we need to include the country of origin, especially if it is the current country of residence* (which is seen in other parts of the application as well)?

Thanks very much once again for all the help you provide on here!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bingineer -

Would need to know much more about your circumstances and details to give you any specific advice or assessment - happy to do so at a consultation - see link to our website below for more.

Best,

Mark Northam



bingineer said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for your quick reply. Are there any other visa that I can apply to? A visa that's almost the same with visa 476? I'm aware that visa 476 costs way too less than other working visas. Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the post and email. No way to travel and re-enter Australia on a bridging visa E (BVE), so you may want to wait in Australia until a decision on the 457 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Idiot.fuchay said:


> Hy it's been a lil bit different case for my side,
> I was on dependent visa till few months ago but while my wife went to America our visa has been cancel at that time and I had applied for 457 working visa ,
> So my visa had been changed to bridging visa e who doesn't allow me to study and travel st this time,
> Still I am waiting for my 457 visa , it's already been a 5 months I didn't heard about my visa ,
> Now I need to travel to Nepal at this time but my visa doesn't allow me to travel ,
> So in this case what will be my next option to travel to Nepal with safely so that I can return to Australia
> Thanks


----------



## expa

*overseas work evidence.*

Hi Mark , 
In employer reference letter the name of company was written incorrectly, and it is slightly different than official name. After I uploaded the document in PR application , I realised this minor error. 
How can I upload correct document. In visa application form name of company is written correctly. For the minor error in employer reference what should I do. 
Best Regards


----------



## Chabayta

Hello mark 

I have been accepted to enter australia on the visiting visa subclass 600 family sponsored visa.
When i go there i intend to propose to my cousin and do a wedding 
My visa has the condition of NO FURTHER STAY, and i am NOT intending to apply for any visa while im there.
I just want to clarify, if i get propose and my cousins accepts and we get married in Australia, i do my civil marriage and ceremony in australia is there any issue in that? And once i return back to my country i apply for a partner visa ofshore?
Will i or the sponsor be affected in any way because i got married during my visit or will it create any issues when i lodge my offshore partner visa once i return back ?

thank you in advance


----------



## partnervisaapp

Hey Mark
We had a skype consultation with you a few weeks ago and we just have one thing to ask you.
Me (sponsor) and my fiancée (applicant) have been together for 1.5 years now and will be applying for the offshore partner visa. 
I was working in the mines in WA for the first year of our relationship whilst she was living on the east coast on a student visa, she was also living with my family on the east coast for jut more then 6 months before her student visa expired. So we shared the same residential address while I was working away in WA.
I quit my job in June and we went on an extended holiday for 4 months together to Indonesia, where i own a house. 
We have joint bank accounts, registered our relationship, many 888 stat decs, joint invitations addressing both of us and good solid evidence to support our relationship while I was working away e.g 37,000 facebook messages to one another, phone call history with constant contact everyday, bank transactions and receipts for joint travel...
We will however lodge our application stating that our de-facto relationship started in June of this year as this was when we started full time living together.
We have receipts for purchasing household items in the house in Indonesia and for also purchasing electricity.
I will soon join her in her home country in Europe. She will find a job as she has been unemployed since leaving australia in February and I will hopefully obtain a 6 month long term study visa there. My question is this :
My fiancée and her mother own a house in their county but nobody lives in it.. My fiancée and I will live in the house when we go there. Will it look bad that her mothers name is also on the ownership and could possibly not meet the '...to the exclusion of others' evidence ? I know that stat decs need to be done by Australian citizens or permanent residents but do you think my fiancee's mother showing
Proof that she doesn't live in the house (because she owns an apartment that she lives in) and also writing a letter to say that me and my fiancée live in the house together and maybe taking it to the australian consulate over there to witness the signing, will be a good idea ? And also because iam a foreigner I may not be able to get my name on the electricity bills, gas etc. we may have to just pay for these bills using our joint bank account and have them only addressed in her name to the house.
Thoughts..?
Thanks in advance


----------



## neolyn0325

Hi Mark,
How are you? I hope you're doing fine
I just want to ask bec.my partner's nbi clearance (phils. police certificate) has a remark "no criminal record",is DIBP need explanation for this or no need?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marsenal -

Thanks for the note. For online 309/100 application, no need to list in-laws, and for countries lived in, no need to account for the entire 10-year period, just need to list countries "lived in" (vs visited).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



marsenal said:


> Hello again Mark,
> I was hoping to ask another couple of quick questions about the 309/100 application:
> 
> 1. In the sections where they ask for details of both the applicant's and sponsor's parents, siblings and children, *do we need to provide details about spouses of our brothers and sisters*? These are not "siblings" but the drop down selection does have options for Sister/Brother-in-law hence I wanted to clarify.
> 
> 2. For the list of countries resided in over the previous 10 years, *does the whole 10 year period need to be covered* i.e. they should be able to see where you were living on any day during that time? And *do we need to include the country of origin, especially if it is the current country of residence* (which is seen in other parts of the application as well)?
> 
> Thanks very much once again for all the help you provide on here!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Expa -

Difficult to advise without seeing the letter, however you could get a corrected version from the employer and upload that with a note that a typo, etc was fixed. Critical however that the employer make any changes to this - do not make any changes yourself to the letter, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



expa said:


> Hi Mark ,
> In employer reference letter the name of company was written incorrectly, and it is slightly different than official name. After I uploaded the document in PR application , I realised this minor error.
> How can I upload correct document. In visa application form name of company is written correctly. For the minor error in employer reference what should I do.
> Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Thanks for the note. I don't see any issues wtih the "exclusion of all others" as that refers to romantic (additional) relationships. A letter from the mother explaining that she is allowing you both to use the house and showing that she lives elsewhere via some sort of official address document should be fine. Paying for bills via joint account is a great idea and should be good evidence - the fact that only one name is on the bill is not necessarily an issue, especially if you have other evidence that both of you are living there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



partnervisaapp said:


> Hey Mark
> We had a skype consultation with you a few weeks ago and we just have one thing to ask you.
> Me (sponsor) and my fiancée (applicant) have been together for 1.5 years now and will be applying for the offshore partner visa.
> I was working in the mines in WA for the first year of our relationship whilst she was living on the east coast on a student visa, she was also living with my family on the east coast for jut more then 6 months before her student visa expired. So we shared the same residential address while I was working away in WA.
> I quit my job in June and we went on an extended holiday for 4 months together to Indonesia, where i own a house.
> We have joint bank accounts, registered our relationship, many 888 stat decs, joint invitations addressing both of us and good solid evidence to support our relationship while I was working away e.g 37,000 facebook messages to one another, phone call history with constant contact everyday, bank transactions and receipts for joint travel...
> We will however lodge our application stating that our de-facto relationship started in June of this year as this was when we started full time living together.
> We have receipts for purchasing household items in the house in Indonesia and for also purchasing electricity.
> I will soon join her in her home country in Europe. She will find a job as she has been unemployed since leaving australia in February and I will hopefully obtain a 6 month long term study visa there. My question is this :
> My fiancée and her mother own a house in their county but nobody lives in it.. My fiancée and I will live in the house when we go there. Will it look bad that her mothers name is also on the ownership and could possibly not meet the '...to the exclusion of others' evidence ? I know that stat decs need to be done by Australian citizens or permanent residents but do you think my fiancee's mother showing
> Proof that she doesn't live in the house (because she owns an apartment that she lives in) and also writing a letter to say that me and my fiancée live in the house together and maybe taking it to the australian consulate over there to witness the signing, will be a good idea ? And also because iam a foreigner I may not be able to get my name on the electricity bills, gas etc. we may have to just pay for these bills using our joint bank account and have them only addressed in her name to the house.
> Thoughts..?
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chabayta -

Thanks for the note. I don't see any issues based on what you've said. In Australia, there are no particular immigration requirements in order for people to marry, so the 8503 no further stay condition would not impact your ability to marry while in Australia. No reason I see why a valid marriage in Australia would not form the basis of a legal married relationship for purposes of a partner visa application offshore, however you'll still need to provide lots of high qualify relationship evidence in the various categories specified by the legislation (financial, social, commitment, household) and include witness statements, etc per the usual partner visa requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chabayta said:


> Hello mark
> 
> I have been accepted to enter australia on the visiting visa subclass 600 family sponsored visa.
> When i go there i intend to propose to my cousin and do a wedding
> My visa has the condition of NO FURTHER STAY, and i am NOT intending to apply for any visa while im there.
> I just want to clarify, if i get propose and my cousins accepts and we get married in Australia, i do my civil marriage and ceremony in australia is there any issue in that? And once i return back to my country i apply for a partner visa ofshore?
> Will i or the sponsor be affected in any way because i got married during my visit or will it create any issues when i lodge my offshore partner visa once i return back ?
> 
> thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neolyn0325 -

Thanks for the note. Normally DIBP are familiar with interpreting local police clearance certificates and annotations on them, so as long as there are no offences or convictions noted, generally no need to give DIBP additional information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



neolyn0325 said:


> Hi Mark,
> How are you? I hope you're doing fine
> I just want to ask bec.my partner's nbi clearance (phils. police certificate) has a remark "no criminal record",is DIBP need explanation for this or no need?


----------



## Wellwisher87

Hi Mark,

Since you are an experience in these matters just a question while case officer had asked to move partner offshore and wait for final decision of 309 to be made at that time does the visitor visa of 6 months gets invalid or obsolete?

For example if applicant onshore and have 6 months visitor and in 1st month of visitor visa asked applicant to leave for offshore for 1 week then can they come back after a week 100% if they get approval of 309 but thinking in worst case what if result is not positive do they still continue the Visitor Visa?

Thank Heaps


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wellwisher87 -

Normally DIBP only asks an applicant to go offshore if they are ready to grant the visa - no guarantees, however! If you went offshore and the 309 was refused, it would not automatically cancel your visitor visa - you could attempt to re-enter on the visitor visa, and as long as your entry was approved at the airport upon re-entry (ie, you were not refused entry for spending too much time in Australia previously on a visitor visa, etc), would normally not be an issue to re-enter on the visitor visa even after the 309 is refused.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wellwisher87 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Since you are an experience in these matters just a question while case officer had asked to move partner offshore and wait for final decision of 309 to be made at that time does the visitor visa of 6 months gets invalid or obsolete?
> 
> For example if applicant onshore and have 6 months visitor and in 1st month of visitor visa asked applicant to leave for offshore for 1 week then can they come back after a week 100% if they get approval of 309 but thinking in worst case what if result is not positive do they still continue the Visitor Visa?
> 
> Thank Heaps


----------



## Markuz

Hi Mark,

I intend to apply for either a 189 or 190 visa.
I'm an electrician and passed the relevant skills assessment last month here in Sydney. 
I've been conducting electrical work under supervision for a bit more than a year in Australia, but only 20h/week most weeks.

My question is whether or not I can claim 5 points for 1 year of skilled employment in the nominated occupation in Australia, although
- I've been working under my own ABN
- Worked only 20h/week for most of the time
- received the OTSR only a few weeks ago. 

I'll be grateful for any help you can provide.


----------



## marsenal

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Marsenal -
> 
> Thanks for the note. For online 309/100 application, no need to list in-laws, and for countries lived in, no need to account for the entire 10-year period, just need to list countries "lived in" (vs visited).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks again Mark!

A follow up question to the listing of countries. In our case the applicant has lived in 2 countries over 12 months each in the 10 years, one of which is the country of birth/citizenship/current residence. When the applicant was living in the second country, do we need to list trips to the first country (i.e. country of birth/citizenship/current residence) at all?

Thanks again!!


----------



## mazumder

Hi Mark. I am seeking information regarding visitor/tourist /family sponsor visa information. 
let me explain my situation first 
Me n my wife both are permanent residence here. My wife doesn't has any job now, she is 6 months pregnant now.my mother in law wants to come over here from Bangladesh to look after my wife on delivery time, which is due on feb-2017 for 45-60 days. 
My queries are-
1. Which exact visa subclass I should apply for and which form/s will requires for that?
2. Should I or my wife apply from my immi account for my mother-in-law?in that case any additional form need to be filled up by the applicant?
3. How many days earlier should I apply?
4.So far I know , if I apply for family sponsored visa ,CO might ask for upto $15000 as bond.in that case, can I use my credit card and get refund to my savings account?
5. Does she needs a medical insurance for those days?
6.Here is the list which I am planning to arrange, please correct me if I don't need some of these or need to add any other documents-
a.Mother in laws passport , national id , birth certificate, property owner documents,police clearance
b. Photograph
c.filled up application form/online form
d.my wife's pr +passport, public exam certificate where her moms name on it
e.doctors report mentioning baby's due date
f.our marriage certificate, my bank statement, my payslip, invitation letter

{Anyone faced similar situation, please share your experience }

Thank you very much for such nice effort.
mazumder


----------



## emmasmith9

Hi Mark,
I'm at the very beginning of the process and trying to figure out the best Visa to apply for! I am qualified and have a skilled job, but I'm struggling to figure out which, if any Skilled job category it fits under. Any advice? Also, what's SkillSelect, is it worth submitting an EOI? Thanks,
Emma


----------



## Daisy2016

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your continuous assistance with us throughtout.

I have loddged an online application for 100/309 the other day. On some thread here I saw someone saying if you dont have a joint bank account it will be a reason of a refusal?

We used to have one which has now been closed, and we have included that in the application. We also do have other financial materials such as joint health insurance etc etc. Would this be a burden on our application? The reason of closing the bank account was that we did not see a benefit in keeping it (we were not using it so much to save money that way).

Thank you!


----------



## saswatag

*Change in Work Company details after ACS and getting VISA invitation*

Hi Mark,
Thanks for taking the time to read through and answer the questions in this forum.

Current status: I got my VISA invitation on 1st Sept, 2016 and this means I have time till 1st Nov, 2016 to submit the application. My PCC and medicals are already done.

I was working full time and exclusively for projects of *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* (from 2nd Sept 2005 to 6th Sept 2007) - in *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* campus throughout. During this time, I was partly as an official employee of *Company_InterimOfficial* (from 2nd Sept 2005 to 31st Jan 2007 and *Company_InterimOfficial* relieving letter mentions that I was working on *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* projects in this entire period) and partly an official employee of *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor*. *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* was acquired by *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* and it was mentioned in my relieving letter from *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* (for the period 1st Feb 2007 to 6th Sept 2007) that *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor's* name changed to *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor*.

Now when I asked *Company-D*(*NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* has been acquired by *Company-D* in year 2015) for my experience, I was issued a detailed experience letter, in the *Company-D* official letterhead with authorized signatory, saying that I was working permanently for *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* from 2nd Sept 2005 to 6th Sept 2007. *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor*, through the acquisition known as *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* when I left in 6th Sept 2007, was the only organization I actually worked for and is the only one who can give me a detailed experience letter, which they did (now in the letterhead of *Company-D*).

I got my ACS skill assessment done where *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* is mentioned for my work experience from Sept, 2005 to Sept, 2007. However, my skilled requirement met date is after this confusing period - it's July 2008. I got my VISA invite and I am filling my application now.


1.	Should I mention about *Company_InterimOfficial* in the online application and Form-80? I think I should.

2.	I have asked *Company-D* to give a bit of clarification about the organizations that I was internally associated with, but still mentioning that I was working full time and exclusively for projects of *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* for the the entire period 2nd Sept 2005 to 6th Sept 2007 (as was mentioned in the experience reference letter submitted to ACS) and that because I was working exclusively for them for the entire duration, the experience details given in the earlier letter still remain valid and unchanged. Do I need to inform ACS about this annexure or additional information? I think it would be correct on my part to do so.

3.	If I inform ACS about this, will I be asked to do a re-assessment, which would mean I have to let go off my current VISA invitation. However, please note that my points will still not change(remain 65) and this is for the period before July, 2008(my skill requirement met date)

4 If i am asked by ACS to do a reassessment, without point change and without any major change, do i need to lodge another EOI?

Sorry for the long and confusing company names. I hope the explanation makes sense.

Thanks for any help or suggestion.


----------



## JessicaUtpi

*Student visa to partner visa*

Dear sir,
I have some enquiries about my visa. Could you help to give me some advise?
I'm holding student visa expired 2018... I already applied my partner visa and received bridging visa A. I know I have to follow the student visa until it expired, my bridging visa A will be effected after that. However, I have a newborn baby at the moment, I can't go to school. I asked the Immigration, they said I need to tell my school that I won't come back school.... So my student visa will be cancelled and my birdging visa A will be cancelled as well. After that I will receive NOIC from Immi by email right? And I just have 28 days to apply bridging visa E, is that right? How can I apply bridging visa E? What are documents and any steps I need to do?And how about my visa fee I paid for my partner visa? Would it automatic tranfer to bridging visa E or I have to pay twice? And I need to apply work right to support my family's finance. so how to apply workright and explain for Immi about my hard finance? 
One more question, could I apply bridging visa E before my student visa is cancelled? 
If you have any free time. Please help me. I'm very stress and nervous about my visa. I want to stay as long as I can with my husband and my little son. I don't to leave them and I want to stay at Australia forever.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your time. 
Jessica


----------



## Nararavi

*Help !! I want ACS to deduct 13 months in review*

Hi Mark, I have a positive ACS assessment with 10 points for 5 years of experience.
However now I realise that for 1 year employment I do not have salary slips, bank statements etc. I have only one document that is reference letter.
Can I file a ACS REVIEW and request them to exclude that one year due to unavailability of required documents, so that there are no issues when my case is with DIBP.
I am ok with 5 points due to this deduction.
Can you please let me know if ACS will deduct that one year (after I explain them)which will help me.

Request you to please help and let me know.

Thanks & Regards,
Naravi


----------



## Zander1ni

Mark,

I am currently on a subclass 500 visa that is good until the 30th of December. I am leaving Australia for 4 days and plan to apply for a 462 Work and Holiday visa whilst I am in the united states. I am worried about the processing time and that the visa may not be granted in enough time. 

I have heard everything from 30 minutes up to 3 weeks for visa processing times. What would happen if i applied for the 462 and it wasnt granted and I came back in on my student visa?


----------



## mhasankamal

*PR renewal*

Hello Mark,

I have a PR (190 subclass for NSW).

Currenty i'm working in Qatar and want to know that how much time i can stay outside Australia to save my PR. And if i manage to stay in Australia for 2 years out of 5 years, then will my PR get renewed without any hassle and will i get the resident return visa? Or i will face any issues to get my PR renewed?

And at last i want to know that the resident return visa also issued for 5 years like the subclass 190 visa?

Thanks,


----------



## vijaychintu

*partners visa:-*

hi mark

thank you for helping everyone by sorting there problem.
even i have a big problem hope you will help me,
i have applied for a visa sub class 457 a month ago and that time i was not married , and now i am about to have my medical check up.
now the problem is that i am engaged and i want to get married and willing to take my wife with me.
but in my application i have not stated that i am engaged or married,
so please help me with suitable visas or suggestions,
or after i reach australia and start my job can i apply for her visa. or is there any other option that she can reach australia in visa 457 and we can get married there ASAP ?
plz suggest me


----------



## aasyed78

Hi Mark, 

Thanks for your time, I am waiting for my grant since 2 months and I have some confusion.

When I provided my documents, my USA PCC from FBI wasn't with me, so as they asked I gave the evidence of application (fingerprint card copy + receipts).

Now I have received the FBI report, should I inform them and upload myself or wait for them to ask for it???

I am little confuse as I am getting all sort of suggestions. If I would post now, wouldn't they take more time then? can't they grant without FBI report as they mention in their documents checklist,

"If the Department is satisfied that you are unable to obtain an overseas police certificate and have made a genuine attempt to do so then a waiver of this requirement may be granted."

Kindly suggest, thanks a ton.


----------



## idreesshah

Yes they are migrating.. We are filling up the *Form 1436- Adding an additional applicant after lodgement*. In the Payment section, it is require to to mention "Additional Application Charge for above and below 18 Years of age". I have checked the online site and it has below table (https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Fees).










What I am assuming that we have already paid Base Application Charge, so we don't need to include it in the total amount. We just need to pay the Applicant fees for Over 18 and Under 18. Please confirm.

I have sent multiple emails to Immi Department but no luck. Can you please assist as i don't want to put any wrong pricing which can impact the processing of the application.

Thanks in Advance.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Idreesshah -
> 
> Yes, if migrating. Also note that DIBP will usually require you to complete Form 1436 - I'd also complete this form and upload to your application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markuz -

You might check with the skills assessor involved, but as far as i know you need to at least have an Australian provisional licence in order to undertake work experience which you would be awarded points for re: Australian work experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Markuz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I intend to apply for either a 189 or 190 visa.
> I'm an electrician and passed the relevant skills assessment last month here in Sydney.
> I've been conducting electrical work under supervision for a bit more than a year in Australia, but only 20h/week most weeks.
> 
> My question is whether or not I can claim 5 points for 1 year of skilled employment in the nominated occupation in Australia, although
> - I've been working under my own ABN
> - Worked only 20h/week for most of the time
> - received the OTSR only a few weeks ago.
> 
> I'll be grateful for any help you can provide.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marsenal -

Better to list all visits, including those to countries previously lived in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



marsenal said:


> Thanks again Mark!
> 
> A follow up question to the listing of countries. In our case the applicant has lived in 2 countries over 12 months each in the 10 years, one of which is the country of birth/citizenship/current residence. When the applicant was living in the second country, do we need to list trips to the first country (i.e. country of birth/citizenship/current residence) at all?
> 
> Thanks again!!


----------



## ashie4ya

*Visitor while waiting pmv*

Dear Mark,

My fiancé is waiting for his PMV to be granted, it is still being processed. 
wait time 7 months.

I would like to know if he applies for a visitor for Christmas and New year will this affect his PMV?
What would the chances of him being granted the PMV whilst on the visitor visa?

Regards,

Ash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mazumder -

Thanks for the note. Your wife would need to sponsor her mother as in-law sponsorships are not provided for under the Family Sponsored Stream of the subclass 600 visa. Application can be done online via ImmiAccount. Last time I checked, health insurance is not required, but clearly would be a very good idea since cost of care in Australia if you are not covered by Medicare or private health insurance is very high. Your bond info is correct - can be between $5k and $15k for this stream, generally requires you to make a deposit into a bank account so perhaps cash advance from credit card might work but those are very expensive. Suggest you consult DIBP document checklist for the family sponsored stream of the subclass 600 for exact document requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mazumder said:


> Hi Mark. I am seeking information regarding visitor/tourist /family sponsor visa information.
> let me explain my situation first
> Me n my wife both are permanent residence here. My wife doesn't has any job now, she is 6 months pregnant now.my mother in law wants to come over here from Bangladesh to look after my wife on delivery time, which is due on feb-2017 for 45-60 days.
> My queries are-
> 1. Which exact visa subclass I should apply for and which form/s will requires for that?
> 2. Should I or my wife apply from my immi account for my mother-in-law?in that case any additional form need to be filled up by the applicant?
> 3. How many days earlier should I apply?
> 4.So far I know , if I apply for family sponsored visa ,CO might ask for upto $15000 as bond.in that case, can I use my credit card and get refund to my savings account?
> 5. Does she needs a medical insurance for those days?
> 6.Here is the list which I am planning to arrange, please correct me if I don't need some of these or need to add any other documents-
> a.Mother in laws passport , national id , birth certificate, property owner documents,police clearance
> b. Photograph
> c.filled up application form/online form
> d.my wife's pr +passport, public exam certificate where her moms name on it
> e.doctors report mentioning baby's due date
> f.our marriage certificate, my bank statement, my payslip, invitation letter
> 
> {Anyone faced similar situation, please share your experience }
> 
> Thank you very much for such nice effort.
> mazumder


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emmasmith9 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



emmasmith9 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm at the very beginning of the process and trying to figure out the best Visa to apply for! I am qualified and have a skilled job, but I'm struggling to figure out which, if any Skilled job category it fits under. Any advice? Also, what's SkillSelect, is it worth submitting an EOI? Thanks,
> Emma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daisy2016 -

Thanks for the note. There is no specific requirement from DIBP for a joint bank account as evidence for a partner visa. However you will be required to provide evidence of the financial aspects of your relationship, and DIBP will be looking for evidence of you commingling (mixing or sharing) your money/funds. If you can show evidence of this other than a joint bank account, for instance with credit card or bank statements from your or your partner's account with joint expenses highlighted, then this can work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Daisy2016 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your continuous assistance with us throughtout.
> 
> I have loddged an online application for 100/309 the other day. On some thread here I saw someone saying if you dont have a joint bank account it will be a reason of a refusal?
> 
> We used to have one which has now been closed, and we have included that in the application. We also do have other financial materials such as joint health insurance etc etc. Would this be a burden on our application? The reason of closing the bank account was that we did not see a benefit in keeping it (we were not using it so much to save money that way).
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saswatag -

Thanks for the note. Your circumstances and questions are too complex to deal with on an anonymous forum, however would be happy to assist you at a consultation where we can go through the various documents in detail and discuss at length - see website link in my signature for more info on consultations and to book online.

I would say, however, that you can count on DIBP checking every aspect of all employment claimed for points. They are the toughest about this, currently, in India for some reason. They are sending people out to businesses without appointments to conduct surprise on-site visits to verify many employment claims, and others are checked by telephone. If there is the slightest discrepancy between whatever the onsite/telephone people say and what you've claimed, or if there is any concern about the authenticity of all documents, they are very quickly making PIC 4020 allegations re: false info/bogus documents which carry a 3-year ban from Australia if a visa refusal results. What's more, if you're an offshore skilled visa applicant, you may have no review rights in the even of refusal.

I mention all this to suggest that you make every aspect of your employment crystal clear to DIBP, and make sure that every fact and reference in all referral letters is 100% accurate. If it is not accurate, then you need to get a new letter or consider not claiming the work experience for points. Also, make sure that any personnel who answer the phone at all work experiences claimed for points are able to vouch for your experience there accurately, or know who to transfer the call to in order to do so. Finally, we're noting that in some cases case officers are contacting employers and running them through a series of technical questions related to the specific tasks/duties in the ANZSCO database for your nominated occupation, even though the case officers (and perhaps the executives answering the questions on the phone at your current or former employer) may not be technically knowledgeable. All the more reason to make sure all employers claimed for points are 100% up to speed with what you're claiming and are ready to verify all facts in references letters.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



saswatag said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for taking the time to read through and answer the questions in this forum.
> 
> Current status: I got my VISA invitation on 1st Sept, 2016 and this means I have time till 1st Nov, 2016 to submit the application. My PCC and medicals are already done.
> 
> I was working full time and exclusively for projects of *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* (from 2nd Sept 2005 to 6th Sept 2007) - in *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* campus throughout. During this time, I was partly as an official employee of *Company_InterimOfficial* (from 2nd Sept 2005 to 31st Jan 2007 and *Company_InterimOfficial* relieving letter mentions that I was working on *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* projects in this entire period) and partly an official employee of *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor*. *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* was acquired by *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* and it was mentioned in my relieving letter from *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* (for the period 1st Feb 2007 to 6th Sept 2007) that *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor's* name changed to *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor*.
> 
> Now when I asked *Company-D*(*NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* has been acquired by *Company-D* in year 2015) for my experience, I was issued a detailed experience letter, in the *Company-D* official letterhead with authorized signatory, saying that I was working permanently for *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* from 2nd Sept 2005 to 6th Sept 2007. *Company_ActuallyWorkedFor*, through the acquisition known as *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* when I left in 6th Sept 2007, was the only organization I actually worked for and is the only one who can give me a detailed experience letter, which they did (now in the letterhead of *Company-D*).
> 
> I got my ACS skill assessment done where *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* is mentioned for my work experience from Sept, 2005 to Sept, 2007. However, my skilled requirement met date is after this confusing period - it's July 2008. I got my VISA invite and I am filling my application now.
> 
> 
> 1.	Should I mention about *Company_InterimOfficial* in the online application and Form-80? I think I should.
> 
> 2.	I have asked *Company-D* to give a bit of clarification about the organizations that I was internally associated with, but still mentioning that I was working full time and exclusively for projects of *NewName_Company_ActuallyWorkedFor* for the the entire period 2nd Sept 2005 to 6th Sept 2007 (as was mentioned in the experience reference letter submitted to ACS) and that because I was working exclusively for them for the entire duration, the experience details given in the earlier letter still remain valid and unchanged. Do I need to inform ACS about this annexure or additional information? I think it would be correct on my part to do so.
> 
> 3.	If I inform ACS about this, will I be asked to do a re-assessment, which would mean I have to let go off my current VISA invitation. However, please note that my points will still not change(remain 65) and this is for the period before July, 2008(my skill requirement met date)
> 
> 4 If i am asked by ACS to do a reassessment, without point change and without any major change, do i need to lodge another EOI?
> 
> Sorry for the long and confusing company names. I hope the explanation makes sense.
> 
> Thanks for any help or suggestion.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jessica -

Thanks for the note. If you are unable to continue school, your student visa will eventually be cancelled or you can voluntarily cancel it, same result at the end. The good news is that your partner visa will continue to be processed even if your student visa is cancelled. However once you have a BVE (see below), you cannot leave Australia and re-enter as the BVE ceases as soon as you leave Australia. Also, in the event of student visa cancellation while you're onshore, any time spent in Australia prior to that point is no longer usable towards the 4-year residency requirement for citizenship.

If your student visa is cancelled (a notice of intent to consider cancellation is usually sent first), you will need to promptly attend DIBP to apply for a BVE which will be granted, generally without work rights, to allow you to remain in Australia to wait for a decision on the partner visa. There is no fee for applying for a BVE. You cannot apply for a BVE prior to your student visa being cancelled. Work rights being added to BVE is done with a separate form (Form 1005) where you need to show that you and your partner would suffer financial hardship if you were not allowed to work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JessicaUtpi said:


> Dear sir,
> I have some enquiries about my visa. Could you help to give me some advise?
> I'm holding student visa expired 2018... I already applied my partner visa and received bridging visa A. I know I have to follow the student visa until it expired, my bridging visa A will be effected after that. However, I have a newborn baby at the moment, I can't go to school. I asked the Immigration, they said I need to tell my school that I won't come back school.... So my student visa will be cancelled and my birdging visa A will be cancelled as well. After that I will receive NOIC from Immi by email right? And I just have 28 days to apply bridging visa E, is that right? How can I apply bridging visa E? What are documents and any steps I need to do?And how about my visa fee I paid for my partner visa? Would it automatic tranfer to bridging visa E or I have to pay twice? And I need to apply work right to support my family's finance. so how to apply workright and explain for Immi about my hard finance?
> One more question, could I apply bridging visa E before my student visa is cancelled?
> If you have any free time. Please help me. I'm very stress and nervous about my visa. I want to stay as long as I can with my husband and my little son. I don't to leave them and I want to stay at Australia forever.
> I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
> 
> Thank you for your time.
> Jessica


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nararavi -

Thanks for the note. Would need more details to give you specific advice for your case, however there is no rule that says that all work that ACS says is skilled must be claimed for points for your skilled visa application. DIBP will generally only require pay slips, etc for work you claim for points, so you may want to consider not claiming the work you're concerned about for points - in that case, I don't see any reason to get a new or amended ACS assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nararavi said:


> Hi Mark, I have a positive ACS assessment with 10 points for 5 years of experience.
> However now I realise that for 1 year employment I do not have salary slips, bank statements etc. I have only one document that is reference letter.
> Can I file a ACS REVIEW and request them to exclude that one year due to unavailability of required documents, so that there are no issues when my case is with DIBP.
> I am ok with 5 points due to this deduction.
> Can you please let me know if ACS will deduct that one year (after I explain them)which will help me.
> 
> Request you to please help and let me know.
> 
> Thanks & Regards,
> Naravi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zander1ni -

The 462 visa requires that you be outside Australia (Unless already holding a previous 462) at the time of application AND the time of grant for that visa. If you were back in Australia at the time of grant, DIBP may give you an opportunity to go offshore so that the visa could be granted, but there is no requirement that they do so - ie, they could simply refuse the visa if you were inside Australia at the time they decide to make a decision on the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zander1ni said:


> Mark,
> 
> I am currently on a subclass 500 visa that is good until the 30th of December. I am leaving Australia for 4 days and plan to apply for a 462 Work and Holiday visa whilst I am in the united states. I am worried about the processing time and that the visa may not be granted in enough time.
> 
> I have heard everything from 30 minutes up to 3 weeks for visa processing times. What would happen if i applied for the 462 and it wasnt granted and I came back in on my student visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mhasankamal -

Thanks for the note. For the subclass 155 Resident Return Visa (RRV), in order to get a 5 year RRV (which extends your right to re-enter Australia), you need to be in Australia for a total of at least 24 months in the 5 years prior to applying for the RRV. If you don't have enough time by the time you return to Australia prior to the end of the 1st 5yr period of the PR visa, you might stay here for a while until that time is accumulated, then apply for the RRV. There is a 1-year RRV available if you have spent less than 24 months but can demonstrate substantial business, cultural, personal or employment ties to Australia. More details on the DIBP website under subclass 155 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mhasankamal said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a PR (190 subclass for NSW).
> 
> Currenty i'm working in Qatar and want to know that how much time i can stay outside Australia to save my PR. And if i manage to stay in Australia for 2 years out of 5 years, then will my PR get renewed without any hassle and will i get the resident return visa? Or i will face any issues to get my PR renewed?
> 
> And at last i want to know that the resident return visa also issued for 5 years like the subclass 190 visa?
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vijaychintu -

Thanks for the note. Now that you are engaged, you should lodge Form 1022 to update your circumstances - you can upload it to your online 457 application. Only way to add her to the 457 application prior to visa grant is if you were married prior to the visa grant. Assuming that does not happen, then you can lodge a 457 visa subsequent entrant application to add her to your already-granted 457 later on after you are married.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vijaychintu said:


> hi mark
> 
> thank you for helping everyone by sorting there problem.
> even i have a big problem hope you will help me,
> i have applied for a visa sub class 457 a month ago and that time i was not married , and now i am about to have my medical check up.
> now the problem is that i am engaged and i want to get married and willing to take my wife with me.
> but in my application i have not stated that i am engaged or married,
> so please help me with suitable visas or suggestions,
> or after i reach australia and start my job can i apply for her visa. or is there any other option that she can reach australia in visa 457 and we can get married there ASAP ?
> plz suggest me


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aasyed78 -

Given the circumstances, suggest you upload a colour scan of the FBI PCC - the PCC waiver is often very time-consuming and in the case of persons from higher risk countries, hard to get. Providing the PCC solves all of those issues.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aasyed78 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your time, I am waiting for my grant since 2 months and I have some confusion.
> 
> When I provided my documents, my USA PCC from FBI wasn't with me, so as they asked I gave the evidence of application (fingerprint card copy + receipts).
> 
> Now I have received the FBI report, should I inform them and upload myself or wait for them to ask for it???
> 
> I am little confuse as I am getting all sort of suggestions. If I would post now, wouldn't they take more time then? can't they grant without FBI report as they mention in their documents checklist,
> 
> "If the Department is satisfied that you are unable to obtain an overseas police certificate and have made a genuine attempt to do so then a waiver of this requirement may be granted."
> 
> Kindly suggest, thanks a ton.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Idreesshah -

Thanks for the note. Your understanding is correct - if you are adding additional dependent(s), you would not pay the base fee again, only the appropriate fee per dependent. Also make sure that you carefully review the dependency requirements for any dependents you want to claim that are 18 yrs of age and older.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



idreesshah said:


> Yes they are migrating.. We are filling up the *Form 1436- Adding an additional applicant after lodgement*. In the Payment section, it is require to to mention "Additional Application Charge for above and below 18 Years of age". I have checked the online site and it has below table (https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Fees).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What I am assuming that we have already paid Base Application Charge, so we don't need to include it in the total amount. We just need to pay the Applicant fees for Over 18 and Under 18. Please confirm.
> 
> I have sent multiple emails to Immi Department but no luck. Can you please assist as i don't want to put any wrong pricing which can impact the processing of the application.
> 
> Thanks in Advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ash -

Generally a visitor visa application, whether approved or refused, would not impact an ongoing PMV application. If he is in Australia on a visitor visa and they are ready to grant the PMV which he needs to be outside Australia to get, DIBP will generally contact the applicant and advise that he needs to make a trip outside Australia of at least 5 working days in order to be granted the PMV.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashie4ya said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> My fiancé is waiting for his PMV to be granted, it is still being processed.
> wait time 7 months.
> 
> I would like to know if he applies for a visitor for Christmas and New year will this affect his PMV?
> What would the chances of him being granted the PMV whilst on the visitor visa?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Ash


----------



## Suff7

*Eoi*

Hi Mark
I have just had my skills passed by Vetassess 
And I am trying to fill in the EOI
There is a question I'm unsure of

"Does the client meet the the Australian study requirements 
For the skilled migration points test?"

On the help icon one of the bullet points says

The course must:
"Have been completed while you were physically in Australia "

I did my qualifications in the uk .
I originally thought the answer was yes as I have had my skills assessed to say they are equivalent to Australian qualifications but obviously I studied in the uk?
So I am thinking it had to be no.

Thanks Mark


----------



## Nep

Hi Mark ,
Please help me with my question, Here is my situation
I am Currently Holding partner visa 820, and my situation is i have applied onshore Partner visa( Applicant from Nepal and Sponsor from Australia) in
820/801 applied -24/08/2013
820 granted- 08/09 /2014
801 applied – 24/ 08 /2016

As it has been 13 months and 12 days since i have applied for 801 visa and there is no contact from immigration so far and i am travelling overseas for a month in October and also my partner is travelling to overseas( England) as well on end of November. So Basically i am bit worried that what happen if they cancel my visa while i am in overseas?

Am I still be eligible to come back and apply for review?

As they say decision can be finalised when you are overseas?

Do they usually make decisions ( cancel) while applicant is in overseas?

I am Just worried what happen if they refuse my visa while i am overseas and will they let me come back and apply for review ?? or i would not able to come back to australia once my visa has been cancelled ?
Please Help me 
Many Thanks
Nep


----------



## JessicaUtpi

Thank you for your reply.
Could you help me to explain in the detail about the step to apply bridging visa E, please?
If I receive the NOIC from DIBP, Immigration will notice me about applying Bridging visa E. After that I have 28 days to come to the Immigration Office for applying Bridging Visa E or I have to apply online? Do I need to collect some documents for applying bridging visa E?
Thank you, 
Jessica


----------



## mamainspain

*Partner Visa subclass 100*

Hi Mark,

Thanks in advance for your help.

We are applying for a Partner visa subclass 100. My husband is Spanish and I am Australian, we are living in Spain and have recently applied online to the Madrid embassy .

We have both written our History of Relationship which includes writing about our domestic arrangements (financially, physically and emotionally). This document can be as long or as short as we like from what I gather? We briefly wrote about the domestic arrangements and focused more on our history and our future plans. We are going to attach these as evidence. We assume this is correct.

The next part is where I am confused based on threads here. Do we need to provide written statements on each Evidence of Relationship (4 categories) or is it just sufficient to attach the evidence? I am reading that people on this forum have written statements on each 4 categories and then attach documents.

I have attached multiple examples of evidence in all the 4 categories but have not written 4 separate statements.

What do you recommend?

Many thanks Mark!


----------



## tamdem99

*Partner visa - communication evidence*

Hey Mark,

Was just wondering whether it would be better to have snippets of facebook messages that pertain to substantial times apart (week or more) -
or whether I should just upload my partner and I's whole messenger history.
I feel the later will obviously show constant contact and include the evidence of contact when spending time apart - but would an agent prefer something more succinct?

Thanks for your time!


----------



## HLG55

*Processing Time - Offshore Citizenship Application*

Hi Mark,

We have recently applied for our daughters citizenship via form 1290. She's our adopted daughter and already has her permanent residence visa.

As we are living overseas, her application has to be done through the Overseas Citizenship Unit. I received an acknowledgement of receipt of the application in September, but was shocked to see the following line:



> We are currently processing applications lodged in May/June 2015. The time before your application is allocated will depend on the number and complexity of applications lodged prior to yours.


I was under the impression that overseas claim would be a very small part - do you have any idea why there would be such a massive backlog?

Cheers,
J.


----------



## mohammad123

Hi Mark,


need information and suggestion for Immigration to Australia.

i am not holding any educational degree unfortunately, but i do hold valid vendor certifications as , MCP, MCSE, CCNA, CCNP, CCIE lab certified and written, my total of experience in same filed about 13 years.
age 33years.

i have contacted Immigration agent and he advice me that i am eligible to apply for ACS/immigration under RPL.

my TOEFL score is 98 which is equal to 7 Band 
please need your suggestions and gaudiness.

Appreciated.



Regards,
Mohammad


----------



## monu958

*Sc 489 visa*

Hi Mark,

I had a consultancy with you in past over the phone regarding 489 visa. We could not apply last time because I was lacking experience, and Vetassess had deducted my overall experience. Now I have now completed my experience in New Zealand.

But my circumstances have been changed. Presently, I am working on a work visa in New Zealand but my application for further work visa for New Zealand has been declined because Immigration believed that I breached my work visa conditions and worked for a different employer though my work visa was issued for a different employer. The case is still in court as I have appealed against the refusal decision. I am confident of winning the case.

Though I believe that I will win the case still I just want to know that can this breach of work visa conditions in NZ affect any of my future Australian applications for subclasses 190 and 489 in Australia. I am specifically looking for the state nomination for restaurant manager and 190 and 489 visa.

Regards,
Ushi


----------



## hassoo84

Hi Mark,

I am from Pakistan. Got my PR in January 2015 but due to some unavoidable reasons could not move to Australia uptil now. I fulfilled the initial entry requirements withing time though. Now, I plan to move to Australia in the next couple of months. Very recently I got married and now thinking to lodge partner visa subclass 309/100 before moving to Australia. I read in the Partner migration booklet that the Sponsor (in this case, me) should be a usual resident in Australia. Since I am in Pakistan, I hope they dont refuse my wife's visa due to this reason. Need your advice....

Thanks


----------



## mazumder

*Family sponsor stream or Tourist visitor for mother in law??*

Hi Mark 
Thanks for your reply . I've called today to DIAC , they suggest me to apply for tourist visa for my mother in law. I am still confused which visa I should apply for ( family sponsor stream or tourist visitor ). Could you please help me out to decide. Highly appreciated your advice.Thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mazumder -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Your wife would need to sponsor her mother as in-law sponsorships are not provided for under the Family Sponsored Stream of the subclass 600 visa. Application can be done online via ImmiAccount. Last time I checked, health insurance is not required, but clearly would be a very good idea since cost of care in Australia if you are not covered by Medicare or private health insurance is very high. Your bond info is correct - can be between $5k and $15k for this stream, generally requires you to make a deposit into a bank account so perhaps cash advance from credit card might work but those are very expensive. Suggest you consult DIBP document checklist for the family sponsored stream of the subclass 600 for exact document requirements.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## behlvipul

*Form 80*

Hi Mark,

I completed my graduation in June,2013 and joined an IT firm in Dec,2013.

I haven't mentioned this gap of 5 months in the Form 80 and have already uploaded it. I have not even mentioned the time gap between my DOB to my first employment.

Shall I fill form 1023? but since my answer is not incorrect but it's incomplete, I am a bit hesitant to fill this form.

What Shall I do ? Shall I wait for the CO to ask for it ?

Thanks


----------



## jayakkk

Hi Mark,

I did complete my UG in May 2005 in B.E -Electronics and Instrumentation and i have 11 years of work experience in IT sector mostly related to 261112 - Systems Analysts ,261314 - Software Tester,263213 - ICT Systems Test Engineer

Though my UG is not IT related can i still go with ACS assessment.If yes how many years they would deduct roughly.And will 
my Education qualification considered under 
*At least a Bachelor degree, including a Bachelor degree with Honours or Masters, from an Australian educational institution or other degree of a recognised standard.* or *Diploma or trade qualification or other qualification completed in Australia, or qualification or award of recognised standard.*

Thanks


----------



## Nebs

Hi Mark,

All I really wanted to say is thank you
My visa was granted this morning, and I have asked quite a few questions over the past year and you have helped with me with this a lot - keep doing what you're doing as this is an amazing help to a lot of people!


----------



## eagleworld

*Skill assesment*

Hi
1-I am new to this forum and wanted to know about skill assesment and points
i have qualification of 3 years as bachelor of computer science and i also have 1 year diploma of trade qualification can i get 15 points for my bachelors and 10 points for trade qualification related to my job skills ,i mean altogether i can get 10 +15=25 points for qualification

2-i have to assess my qualification through vetessaes ,is there any other authority other than vetassess.....

i highly appreciate for your answers
thanks


----------



## pappu

Hi Mark!!

I had applied for subclass 190(NSW), in Aug 2016 as Primary applicant and wife and daughter as dependants. My Vevo and Immi Account shows that our visa has been granted on 15 sep 2016, but i am not able to access the grant letter as it says "This application has been granted.The grant letter for this application cannot be viewed at this time. Please refer to correspondence."

But I am unable to see correspondence in the "view application inbox" section as well. Though there was an earlier communication listed, message there shows as "The applicant has not agreed to receive electronic correspondence for this application.
We tried to communicate via email([email protected]) twice,but did not recived any response till now. Even we tried calling them, but after long wait they suggested to send a mail to the same email id. That was when we sent the mail second time.. 


Need your on Advise how to contact DIPB and get the visa grant letter..
Thanks in advance for your valuable suggestion!!! Have a great Day!!


----------



## Aarthi12

*Required Education qualifications assessemnt by EA for skilled independent 189 visa*

Hi Mark,

I would like to know about the australia PR points for educational qualifications. In my case I have an Australian PhD degree and my masters and bachelor of engineering degrees from overseas. 
My question is if I want to claim points for my PhD do I still need to assess my overseas bachelor degree and/or Master degree through Engineers Australia?

Also, I heard that an Australian PhD won't need assessment by engineers australia? Is it true?

Please let me know what should I do now?
Thanks in advance

Aarthi


----------



## taha_loay

Sir i applied for class xb 202 visa my brother applied it from austrlia and i have been waiting for more than a year i already gave form 80 when they asked for it as a lawyer how much you think i have to wait to get the replay 

Note: i was living in jordan but then i moved to russia and i informed my migrant agent and he informed the department of my address change


----------



## emivovo

Hi Mark!

Hope you are well  

My husaband is on an 820/801 (currently the temporary 820 part) partner visa. He is planning to go home for a visit in January for 3 weeks. Does he need a bridging visa? Or is he required to do anything before he leaves to make sure he can return to Australia?

Thank you 

Emily


----------



## ozindian

*Pic 4020 2(a)*

Hello Mark,

Greetings!

My Borther was refused Tourist Visa on the grounds of PIC 4020 2(A) and got a 10 year ban as he could not provide compelling or compassionate reason over the phone.

I have logged case with AAT to review as its a genuine case trapped under PIC 4020 and have a hearing next week. My brother was asked why he looks different in his new passport and other id docs including old passport he gave reason he put on weight so he is looking slightly different & that is true. Minister was not satisfied with my brothers identity. All of the documents or ID proofs he gave are genuine he does look alittle different on his new passport but that does not mean he is providing any wrong information or misleading information/document. How can I now proove to AAT that he is genuine and proove his identity that he is what he is!

Looking for your expert advice.

Cheers!
Deepti


----------



## junekhor

Hi Mark!!! 

I was invited by the immigration to comment on the information we provided during a phone interview.

Basically my partner and I have been together for 6 years plus. During the interview my partner (being a forgetful person), he was so nervous with the interview and forgot a lot of things. For example, the CO asked when did I last travelled overseas? He said he can't remember, probably around end of 2015 (which is actually beginnin of 2016).CO asked when did I started my recent job? It was 4 months ago but he said 6 months ago. 

So now the immigration is asking us to comment on the descripency of the information that we provided as she might think that we are not genuine  my partner was just normally a forgetful person and now I'm not too sure how to provide a valid explanation to the immigration.

Any suggestion or options that I can take? 

Thank you SO SO much for your time!

Regards,
June


----------



## Marckoenig

*Help!!!*

Hi Mark, i've got a biiiiiiiggggg problem! 
I applied for my 2. year whv and had to do a health examination. Of course i did this as fast as i could. Now i am still waiting for an answer of the government but already booked my flight a long time ago, IT'S ON MONDAY!

Is it possible to get a tourist visa first and wait for the 2.year application in Australia?

I am very desperate and really need your help.
Cheers
Marc


----------



## lalibains09

*TRA procedure*

Hi Mark

greetings...!!

I am here to ask you few questions about my real brother application. I am a permanent resident in South Australia and living here since 2014.

My brother wants to apply for PR under SN190. He is applying under mechanical engineering technician 312512 category in CSOL list. He has graduation with science and experience in mechanical trade as technician.

My ques to you are.

1. Does he need to enclose his graduation document while performing TRA procedure? (as mentioned in chain migration website {You must have a bachelor degree or higher qualification. The qualification completed must be included and recognised on your skills assessment. Australian or overseas qualifications are acceptable.})

2. what should be scanned document size, required to upload for TRA and how may files of that specific size can we upload ?

3. Is it mandatory to get a point advice from TRA? and what is the role of point advice?

we really appreciate your valuable reply and much precious time.
Thank you.


----------



## Cloud81

Hello Mark,
Hope you doing well.
I would like to know one of the matter regarding my Bachelor Degree which is awarded by University of GREENWICH London, my first 2 years study in the UK, but last year did in Bangladesh in a local Institute which is collaborating with the University of Greenwich. Now my question is these types of degree ("validated program of study") are accepted by ACS (Australian Computer Society)?
Thank you very much.
Regards


----------



## Seegv

Hi Mark,

Namaste! 

I'm from India, I'm 30 years old and my family consists of my husband who is 35years old and our 4 year old son, we would like to apply for the permanent visa, my academic qualifications are listed below.

Btech - Electronics and Communication Engineering from Mahatma Gandhi University with 66.67% marks.
Mtech - Optoelectronics and Communication System from Cochin University of Science and Technology with 71.8% marks.

Currently I'm working as an Assistant Professor in the Electronics and Communication department of an Engineering college affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University (Teaching experience : 5 years and 6 months).

I would like to know about the permanent visa. Can you please advise me about the best possible option in this regard?

Thanks!


----------



## canadagirl47

Hi Mark,

I have a question about how to prove the "intent to live permanently in australia". I am on the temporary visa and am being assessed for the permanent one. I was living with my Australian boyfriend for three years in Australia, but then we both moved over to Canada so I could do my masters (it's way cheaper to do it in Canada than Aus). Now I need to prove that I intend to live permanently in Aus. Do you think it's enough to say that we want to move back there when my studies are complete? My boyfriend became a permanent resident of Canada so we would be able to go back and forth if we want. Your help is appreciated!


----------



## Daisy2016

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the advise below.
We have included evidence of our (now closed) shared bank account details, joint private health insurance details, Joint lease and bond details for over two years, Joint shopping histories, etc.
I am not sure if they are strong enough.

We have also had to dipulicate some of the evidence in a couple of different sections (financial, social etc), resuling in the number of attachment is more than we actually have.

I appreciate your further advise.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Daisy2016 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. There is no specific requirement from DIBP for a joint bank account as evidence for a partner visa. However you will be required to provide evidence of the financial aspects of your relationship, and DIBP will be looking for evidence of you commingling (mixing or sharing) your money/funds. If you can show evidence of this other than a joint bank account, for instance with credit card or bank statements from your or your partner's account with joint expenses highlighted, then this can work.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Silver Dave

*visa dependant leaves school*

Hello,

I am an Australian citizen and I live with my wife and her 17-year old daughter in Australia. Both my wife and her dependent daughter have been granted a partner temporary (subclass 820) visa. We are waiting for a decision to grant the partner permanent visas to them.

The 17-year old daughter has made a boyfriend and he has talked her into leaving school and coming to live with him in a remote regional location. Of course, my wife and I don't consent to the daughter's silly plan, but we don't seem to be able to persuade her to stay at school. The daughter has a pie-in-the-sky idea that she will get a job, however, this is unlikely because she has no work experience and she is moving to an area of very high youth unemployment.

Can this change of circumstance with the dependent daughter whereby she will no longer be at school nor have a job have an adverse impact upon the decision to grant a permanent partner visa to both my wife and her silly daughter?

Thanks in advance,

Dave.


----------



## Nibq

Good day Mark

Hope you can assist me with a question related to Hotel/Motel manager (141311). I've seen different qualification requirements for this occupation. There is a Degree Qualification and a Diploma Qualification. Would any of these two qualifications with the relevant years of experience be accepted on the CSOL List for Hotel/Motel manager in NSW and NT.

Thank you


----------



## amerhnajjar

*skilled independent (subclass 189) visa*

Hi MARK,

I have an inquiry about Visa Subclass 189 ..

I have been granted my skilled independent (subclass 189) visa back in July 2016 .. and i have traveled to Australia and made my first entry in September 2016 .. then came back to my home country ..

and I am planning to move permanently to Australia in August 2017 .... 
It was mentioned in my visa grant notice that i must make my first entry before April 2017

My question is :

Do i have to keep going back to Australia every while until i settle there ?
or there are no time restrictions in my visa ??

Are there any rules or tricks that will cause me loosing my Visa ?

Thanks in Advance ...


----------



## Domc46

*Dom cool*

Hi Mark

I am an British citizen and live in England, My father has been a permanent resident of Australia for 12 years and last month he became and Australian citizen. Could I too be eligible for residency/citizenship? By descent? Although he became a citizen long after I was born?

I am also fully qualified in plumbing and Heating if this helps to another pathway.

Thanks, Dom


----------



## Travirl

Hi Mark, I am coming over on a 417 working holiday visa soon but as I am 30 I will not have time to complete the 88 days regional work for 2nd year visa before my 31st birthday.

I have read that they are changing the cut-off age, among other things, to 35 on Jan 1st? Do you know if this is true?? If so, will l be eligible to apply for a 2nd year visa if I complete regional work even though I'm 31 or will this new age apply to first time applicants only?


----------



## Dipesh0402103

*Release letter can make trouble to get 887 visa in future?*

Hi Mark.
I have recently got 489 visa in Orana and in my grant letter there are specific codes where i can live in Australia and where I cannot. But I got 10 points from Orana NSW (SS). I have queries regarding 887 visa. My queries are below:

In my grant letter its mentioned that I can move to any state of Southern Australia. So if I move there by taking a release letter from Orana will I have trouble to get 887 visa in future?

As I have to take 887 visa after 2 years so please suggest what is the best way I can choose so that it will not effect my 887 visa process.

Thank you very much for your time.


----------



## stratocaster1959

Hello Mark,
I have just had my 600 visitor visa application refused, reason given was that I have already spent 456 days in Australia on tourist visas and this in their opinion is "more than adequate for tourist purposes". I was not as they put it "using this visa to achieve pseudo residency".  
My question is can I now apply/is there any point applying for a 3 month visitor visa ? as I am/we are planning to start the process for the de facto partner visa application. I believe it would be a lot easier to go through this process whilst with my partner in Australia. 
Thanks in advance for any advice. JH


----------



## foharafiq

Hello Mark,

I am planning on studying Graduate Diploma for Engineering Management and was wondering if it will be considered under skilled migration for 189.

Thank you.


----------



## mosharof31

*Non-migrating Dependent Family Members.*

Hi Mark, After a long time I found you and your forum is really helpful and you are so co-operative to solve problems of guys like me. Thank You Again to build such a great forum. I am going to ask you some questions regarding my 489 SS visa application lodged in 17 October, 2016. Please help me by giving suggestions.

NON-MIGRATING DEPENDENT FAMILY MEMBERS
In the immi account I filled non-migrating dependent section with my parents, one brother and my spouse. (a) Are they migrating with you? I selected NO for everyone. But when I paid the fees It shows that Medicals and PCC required for all even they are not migrating with me. As they are not migrating with me now and in the future, even my wife, I submitted form 1023 instantly to remove all of them from Non-migrating dependent family members and keeping only me as single applicant. I even submitted form 80 and 1221 before realizing this mistake.
Now the questions are:
1. Will the DIBP remove all of them or they may keep my wife only?
Ans:
2. If they keep my wife on, does my wife required to do medicals and PCC, as my wife is 7 months pregnant(doctor said x-ray can be done, no problem), will they hold the application until the baby borns though my wife is not going to travel with me now and then?
Ans:

Note: I have submitted all docs including medical and PCC.
Please help me by giving response of my confusion.
Waiting for you.


----------



## JREY

Can anyone advise if you must work in the occupation you select at skills assessment stage. I'm a Marine Engineer (ex ships engineering officer) but my degree being in marine engineering does not restrict me to only working on ships, as most academic study is in mechanical engineering with marine subjects added in. I'm worried that if I go for skills assessment as a marine engineer, I will have a visa granted with this occupation listing and be restricted in the jobs i could apply for :-?


----------



## phuketpig

Hi Mark any answers on this would be greatly appreciated.

Just some questions regarding our application.

My mother was a witness on the already uploaded form 888 and has since passed away,should I amend this now or wait till I get a case officer, or can her statement still be used even though deceased?

Many have said not to do medicals or police checks until a case officer is assigned as they expire,is this still the status quo or should we be doing this now as we have already been waiting for 8 months ?

Lastly my partner was unwittingly an overstay in China for 18 months.Long story, she is Filipina and her work agent and employer held her passport from her whilst telling her she had all correct visas.She did not, and was subsequently voluntary detained for 21 days then asked to leave China when her contract ended.Her detention was all done with the assistance of the Philippines Consulate in Guangzhou.No charges or blacklists of China were recorded against her.Our problem is, as she was never a temporary residence of China they wont issue a Police Clearance and this is a requirement for our application.Can we ask a waiver for this and if so are they usually successful ? Also as she has now been here more than 12 months am I correct in assuming that she now needs an Australian police clearance.

P.S I am the Australian sponsor/partner.

Regards Ron


----------



## Hebia

*Emergency passport 119 form*

Hi Mark, 
Do you have any idea if i need a visa travelling to singapore, malaysia and philippines with an Australian Emergency passport... 
Is the Emergency Passport the same as a ordinary passport but with a shorter expiry date???

Also i applied for my original copy of my australian citizenship certificate 119 cause mine was stollen from home with my passport.. Which i think is insane why the passport office dont give any extenstion since mine was stollen and not lost, its so unfair!!
So i sent through my form and they took money out from my bank account on the 20th oct, ive read from other ppl experience that they pretty much recieved their certificate less then 10days from the time money was taken out... Just wondering if this is true?? I leave on the 4th of november so i need that certificate by the 1st!!!!
Other wise i need to go through and get the emergency passport due to my grandma being ill.
But i rather avoid it and get my 10yr passport if i can.


----------



## DeanXX

Hi Mark,


I really need your help to advice me on the refusal of BVB.

I'm currently on BVA and applied for BVB. Unfortunately, my BVB application was refused due to no substantial reason given. I put the reason as "to meet my family" but I didn't elaborate more of why I need to meet them.

My dilemma is, can I reapply for BVB through Immigration dept and tell them the exact purpose of meeting my family or I have no chance to do so but needs further reviews by MRT? I have less than a month to fly.

Thanks in advance 😭


----------



## Vishal1

*Visa 189 application*

Dear Mark

Thanks in advance for your general help and support regarding visas.

I am going to apply for visa category 189 (General Skilled immigrant) and i have gone through the official website of immigration australia.
I have few quick concerns regarding supporting documents , appreciate if you could throw some light on them.

1) Spouse IELTS result:- my wife had given IELTS and is already have qualified means above 5 band in each module. Only concern is it was given around just less than 2 years back , so if i can use that or she need to sit again for IELTS?

2) Spouse Birth certificate:- Birth certificate is not avaialble for my spouse so can i use passport instead for birth/age proof.

3) Police clearance certificate: i worked and lived in Saudi arabia around mode than 3 years back and stayed there for around 2.3 years and already final exit the country in 2013. But unfortunately it is very hard to get police clearance from them at this point of time, so is there any waiver or alternate in which this police clearance can ne waived off for my application . In case it is by all means i need to get it than is it required to get it for both myself and my wife also or only myself. My wife also stayed with me there during that period.

Thanks for your kind support in this. Appreciate it.

Regards
Vishal


----------



## PreetiSagar

Hi Mark,

I am planning to apply for Australian immigration under Visa 189.
For skills assessment I am trying to get the experience letters from my current employer. However my company has refused to provide a letter that will describe my roles and responsibilities. The only letter I can get from HR is the one describing my current designation and joining date.
Can I get a letter on the company letter head from my supervisor detailing my work experience. Will that be acceptable for skills assessment ?
Can you please advise.

Thanks,
Preeti


----------



## Zrashid

Hello Mark, 

My family plans to visit Australia this summer to meet out family there. We are applying for the tourist visa but i have already applied for a the student visa subclass 573.
Can i apply another application for tourist/visitor visa along my family or i have to wait for the decision or withdraw my application under 573

Thanks and Regards
Zubair


----------



## keval

*Name Change document requirement*

Hi Mark,

I have a spelling change in name in my Passport and Birth Certificate. I have mentioned the same in Form 80 &1221 and claimed my passport name as true one.

I am applying for VISA 189. Could you please list some documents which would satisfy immigration people for my name change.

Regards,
Keval


----------



## Kodakgirl

*A question or three!*

Hi Mark,

Thank you for offering to answer questions, it is very kind of you. I have a couple which I can't seem to find clear answers to.

Firstly, as the applicant, do I have to write out stat dec as I can only find one for the sponsor. If I do, is it just a kind of copy/ paste job from what I have written on my Immi account regarding nature of commitment/ social etc.

also, I noticed that a few people had got their applicant and sponsor relationship development history essay notarised. Is this mandatory? what is the procedure if so?

Thank you kindly,

Sophie


----------



## Mike665544

*urgent help - Birth Certificate - 489 visa*

Hi Mark,

I have received an invitation to apply for 489 visa. As per the documents checklist we need to provide Birth Certificate. However, the date of birth in my birth certificate and passport is different 22/02/83 and 24/02/83. what can be done about that. Will it affect my visa??????????????????

Shoud I apply my visa on my on or through MARA agent.

I am really worried

please give me your valuable advise......

Thanks


----------



## potpot

Hi Mark,

We are on a 489 visa and eligible to apply for 887 Visa next month. I am living in a specified regional area right in NSW. I understood I have to meet two conditions, including living in a specified regional area for at least two years and working in a specified regional area for at least 12 months, and then I am eligible to apply for visa 887. I have some queries in relation to living and hope you can help please.
I rented an apartment from an agent with 1 month lease because that how they it do it its an apartment for short and long term rentals, its a periodic agreement signed last October 2014 After the lease ended, the agent said I did not need to renew the lease and could continue to live here until I decide to move out but I did not and next month I I am staying here for 2 years already. So the lease I signed before only shows 1 month renting, when I have been here for 23months. I could not offer utilities bills, such as gas, electricity and water as rental fee includes all bills. The agent said they can provide me with a written statement showing the rent record for a specified period I am able to offer home internet bill, bank statement with my residential address. Is it enough to prove that I have live in a specified regional area for two years?

Thank you very much in advance!

Kind Regards,
potpot


----------



## ishe7ata

Hi Mark,

Will a chronic disease affect my 189 PR application??


----------



## tweety15884

Hello Mark

my fiance (Australian) and I (German) are living in Canada together and just applied for PMV 1 month ago. After spending all of our savings and probably losing one of our jobs soon due to the bad recession here, we might be forced to leave Canada earlier than planned because we won't be able to pay our bills here anymore.

I would have work in Germany and we could live with my mom but my fiance is only allowed to join me if we are married. De facto and fiance visa don't exist in Germany.

Is it possible to get married earlier and then immediately change the application to subclass 309? Or would we have to withdraw the entire application and spend another $7000? We are absolutely broke right now but we already have plane tickets to Australia in December to go on a 2 week vacation so I can meet his family. We could get married there. Not the dream wedding we planned for next year but we might not have a choice...


----------



## verma_gaurav

Hi Mark,

This is Gaurav Verma. I am from India. I completed my graduation in India. I also have got 2years diploma of Hospitality Management and Commercial cookery (Certificate IV) from Brisbane, Australia.

Currently I have been working in a restaurant as a manager in India for last 2years.

There is some ome in Australia, who is planning to open a new restaurant in Brisbane and sponsor me as a restaurant manager.
I have got overall 6 bands in ielts (not less than 5.5).

I have got few questions in my mind if anyone could help me in that. 

1) Can I apply for 457 Visa while working in India?

2) Should I hire immigration lawyer from India or from Australia?

3) Will Australian embessey call me for an interview or I'll have to go to Australian embessy?

4) What kind of questions will they ask me?

5) Will they call my Employer? What can they ask them? 
coz my current employer in totally unfamiliar with Embassy call. 



Thanks and Regards,
Gaurav Verma


----------



## Luvin

*Advise for migration employment negative outcome*

Dear Mark,
I hope this message find you well?
I saw many of your responses regarding many migration cases and found that you are very helpful. I wish to ask for your advice on my case!!
I did apply for skilled assessment (General Accountant) and skilled employment with CPA last 2 weeks. Today I received a positive skilled assessment result and a negative skilled employment result (to claim 5 points for 1 year experience) which I am really worry about
This letter regarding skilled employment stated that "The duties listed in your employment reference are not considered to be at the level of depth and complexity expected in a professional accounting role which is relevant to your nominated ANZSCO" 
I am worrying about 2 things:
1.Can I re-apply for skilled employment with providing more deep and complex reference letter about my duties as an accountant with CPA.
2. If the answer for question 1 is no, can I apply skilled employment with another accounting body such as CA. Is there any risk for doing that as my skilled employment used to be a negative one?
Could you please advise this matter as I genuinely worked as an accountant for more than 2 years! 
I hope to hear from you soon!!!
Kind Regards,
Luan Dinh


----------



## MissOz

Hi 

I just got a positive skill assessment from vetassess but I am really confused on reading the points based advise result. 

Date deemed skilled for Points Test Advice: 4/2012
Number of years assessed positively: 2.2

So I am confused on what points do i claim while filing EOI? 5 or 10? 
Looking forward to your reply.

Thanks in advance


----------



## kcmarshall

Hi Mark,

Me and my partner are applying for the 309/100 visa online. Everything I've read seems to say we don't need anything certified except the the stat decs if we have colour scans. I just wanted to be 100% sure.

Thanks for your help

Katherine


----------



## Ashby

*Temporary graduate visa (subclass 485) And pregnancy.*

Good afternoon Mark, I hope this finds you well. I was hoping for some advice on a possible contact in Melb for our circumstances. My girlfriend is from the Philippines and is in Australia on a Temporary graduate visa (subclass 485). She was granted this visa 2 weeks ago. We have very recently (2 days ago) found out she is pregnant and are overjoyed. We looked into her health cover and realised that she doesn't have pregnancy cover. The insurance provider has a 12 month waiting period for pregnancy cover. I am an Aussie citizen and have full intent on making a family and future with this girl. What are my options if any? Thank you in advance and keep up the good work&#128077;&#128077;


----------



## casmonieno

*Inquiry regarding De Facto*

Greetings sir! My name is Christian Allen Monieno and i am currently in the Philippines and i am a Filipino, i have passed my PTE exam with a band score of 82 (Listening-83, Reading- 80, Speaking- 90, Writing- 76) i am completing my requirements as of now and i would like to consult your expertise regarding my case.

I am planning to apply for student visa in australia since i am a registered nurse here in the philippines, as far as i know, after three months of bridging school, i will be able to apply for permanent residence and work in australia. Is there any chance that i can take my fiance with me in australia via de facto visa even though i am just applying for a bridging course and permanent residence? Hoping for your reply. Cheers!


----------



## ozzy

Hi Mark, just a question regarding the difference between an agent and Migration Lawyer?
My brother in law and his wife have an agent (they are overseas and agent in australia) and have been invited to apply for skilled visa. My BIL has a criminal record and has been told he need character references etc which he has but now his agent is telling him he has a better chance if he gets a migration lawyer? Why would she tell him this when they are ready to apply? Although he has convictions, they arent anything that listed on that grounds for refusal (terror, molestation etc), nor has he spent time in jail. My husband has convictions and never had to do any of this when he applied for his visa? He just sent off his police check and wrote info explaining it all and no questions were asked? I just feel like they are being stuffed around. Thanks.


----------



## Cris

Hi Mark. I need some help! A friend have applied for 186 transition stream from 457 and case officer is asking for " Evidence of registration/licensing OR provide evidence that you don´t need to hold registration or licence to work in the nominated occupation" 
Where can he found this information??? How can he show that he doesn´t need registration?
The occupation is Building construction supervisor!
Really appreciate your time!


----------



## NSNO

Hi Mark,

I recently applied for the EOI for a 189 and based on the points I had from the information given, I was invited to submit an application.

Subsequently after submitting my application and paying the fee, I'm being told that they will not count my overseas work experience in the UK of five years. They are saying that they will only accept any work that I have undertaken after obtaining my degree and so this now looks like my application is likely to be rejected as a result of this.

The occupation that I applied for my visa under is a QS (233213). I did my degree on a part time basis while being employed as a QS four days a week during term time, five days at all other times. I carried out duties in line with my position as a QS during this time and so for this to be dismissed is frustrating especially after being invited to apply. In the EOI, I made it clear the date when my degree was obtained so should this not have been picked up then and not after being invited. 

I inquired as to if I could take an English test to gain extra points to reach the required number but was told that it wasn't possible as this was not included in my initial EOI.

Any advice that you can offer, on if you think I have any possibility of either getting a refund for my application fee, or being able to get my overseas work experience acknowledged, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks


----------



## mbranson

*485 Refusal*

I have recently been refused a 485 visa because I was unaware of the need to lodge police checks. I have heard that going to the review board is a waste of time. Is this true? I had to go home for a family emergency and got back the day my student visa ended. I have recently applied for the clearance and received it but will all this hold up? Am I better of reapplying for the 485? If so, do I have to leave the country to do this?


----------



## Sarahchu

Hi Mark
Need some advice and strategies tips, 
To cut a long story short,
In 2004 me and my husband (an Australian citizen) arrived in Australia.
Shortly after I applied for permanent resident.
In 2005 we got married and shortly after I started work. 
On the 17th December 2007 I got granted my subclass 801 permanent resident.
But in November 2009 I had to leave for the Uk as my mother had become very ill with life threatening kidney failure. In 2010 my husband joined me in the Uk but a year later he had to go back to Australia as his own mother had suffered a stroke.
In 2014 my husband and he's family came to Greece and in 2015 o joined my husband there and have been living together there. 
We (my husband and I and hes family) now want to come back to Australia but I understand I need a RRV, 

Will being married to an Australian citizen be enough to get my RRV after being out of australia for more than 5 years or do I need more? Don't know how to do this.

Thanks


----------



## ShermD

Hi Mark,

*Scenario:* Suppose you got the 189 skilled independent visa (PR) 5 years ago and made the initial entry, and you've not been in Australia for last 5 years. And you apply for a Australian university now (after 5 years getting the PR). then suppose I successfully enrolled in the university as a student and a resident because I already have the PR.

*Question:* so, since I didn't live there for at-least 3 yrs, I have no right to come to the Australia, right?, so, what kind of situation will I face when I go to the Australia for my university education? will they just tell me to go back to my country at the airport? Or will I have to go back home and apply for a student visa and come to Australia for the education?

*Optional question:* Does the universities etc generally consider you as a permanent resident even after I've been 5yrs away from Australia?

Regards!


----------



## kordymostafa

Dear Mr. Mark, 

I will be highly appreciated if you can support me in my Case For Construction Project Manager 133111. 

Shall i have to be Civil Engineer background and Education

I'm Holding a bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering 2001
Certified Project Manager From PMI-PMP 2011
2 Years Diploma in Project Management from American University in Cairo 

All my experience in Constriction Project Management 12 Years


----------



## rmohan80

This is such a great thread and thank you Mark for the service you're providing. My query is as follows:

I have 190 visa sponsored by VIC. I fully intend to settle and live in VIC, but for initial few weeks/months, I would be staying with my sister-in-law's family in SA. My wife and kid and myself will be more comfortable from a logistics perspective in terms of the move if we land in SA.

Will this be an issue as the 190 conditions are to live in VIC right from the day you move to Australia? 

What should I tell VIC state when I land in Australia? Can I just tell them the facts that my landing in SA is just a temporary measure and I'm starting my job hunt in VIC? Should I tell them beforehand or once I land?

Please help and guide me!


----------



## ThePete

Hi Mark,

I have been in Australia on a working holiday VISA for the last year. Now im back in Belgium and I really want to come back to Australia. I miss the aussie lifestyle so much! During that time i was most of the time a labour where i built up a good relation with my boss so he wants to consider offering me sponsorship. Now, neither him or me dont know whats this all about or how it works. Ive been trying to find info on the government site but its hard for an outsider to understand all of this. I just want to know if it is actually possible to get sponsored due i have no uni diploma. I do have good skills. For example, plumber (i read something about skilltest) I need some information about this matter to speak and explain to my boss. Would be great if you could give me any information.

Thanks! 

Pete


----------



## pinnoy

*Newbie*

Hello Mark! 
I just had a most wonderful vacation in Sydney and Melbourne last month and I instantly fell in love with these cities! My aunt who lives and Sydney and my friend in Melbourne have convinced me to try out the idea of applying for work there or to study. I saw your work here in this forum and I appreciate the fact that you take time out to answer questions from the forum from time to time!

I have the following questions, and I'd appreciate it if I could get some answers for them in this forum.

a. What type of IELTS exam is needed to apply for the 190 Visa? Is it the General or Academic IELTS? I am asking because, I am also interested in the idea of studying in Australia, and if so...
b. If I wanted to apply for a student visa, will a GENERAL Ielts test result do? Or do schools in Australia in generall only accept an Academic IELTS result?
c. I took up my masters in 2002, but didn't finish my thesis, although I took all the classes required (only the thesis remained unfinished). When I am writing down my education background, do I indicate "Masters" or just "Bachelor's Degree"?
d. If I apply for a state sponsorship, can I apply for a job which is different from the skillset I applied for in the sponsorship? Likewise, if I get accepted and land in Australia, can I apply for work outside of my CSOL skillset?
e. If I see that I have more than one skillset among the CSOL list of occupation skills, what is the best way to proceed in the application?

Thank you all!


----------



## Rass

Hi Mark

heres a partner visa question for you.

My wife and I have been married for 2 years and were living together for 2 years prior to that. We can prove that we have been in a relationship for 4 years now. On top of that she is pregnant and will be having the child in australia in April.

I am British passport holder and she has an Australian passport.

Due to our child being born in Australia, our goal is for me to be able to have work right in Australia as soon as possible.

As we have been in a relationship for 4 years I believe we would qualify to apply directly for the permanent residency 801 or 100, this is where I need some advise on.

Also to clarify i have a subclass 651 visitor visa which has no NFS restriction

My understanding is if i apply for the 801 i would have to wait 3 months for the bridging visa to kick in, during this time i cannot work or travel? is this correct? if so is there anyway to be able to be out of Australia during the 3 months?

Am i correct to assume that once the bridging visa comes into affect than I would have working rights?

if I was to apply for the class 100 offshore i assume I would have a bridging visa that would allow me to enter and leave Australia as i wish, my question is would I have any working rights? if not would i be able to apply for it?

Your advise on which option would be most affective on obtaining work rights as soon as possible would be much appreciated.

Many Thanks


----------



## lisa030

*tourist 651 visa*

hello team, 
Can I undertake voluntarly job whilst in australia holdind 651 tourist visa? 
THANK YOU


----------



## sennithya

*Victoria Nomination - English requirements*

Good evening Mark.

Hope you are doing good and had a fantastic weekend.

I have a quick question on Victoria Nomination 190 on english requirements.

In the victoria nomination website, it has shown that if you stay for 6 months in victoria you may exempt from higher language requirement.

My wife is a software engineer, she was in victoria in 2015 for two months, and right now staying in victoria for the last 4 months.

Can we go ahead and apply for nomination if she achieves 6 band in ielts in all module with the above quote as mentioned by the victoria website.

I am quite confused and I need your help and assistance.

Thanks.

Regards

Senthil Kumar B


----------



## skl

*801 visa*

Hi Mark. Hope you are well. I am holding currently 820 visa. My eligible date for 801 is 12.04.2017. When should I apply to 801? Can I do it earlier than 12.04.2017? Also, what documents should I submit? Do they require medical test and police check again? What is the current waiting time for 801? Thanks in advance!


----------



## Yt666

Quick question my partner is on a bridging visa e applying for a de facto visa. Her mother is seriously ill (palutive care) is there any way she could travel to say goodbye and not have the visa application thrown out


----------



## WestCountryToff

*Quick 457 query please*

Hi Mark,

Quick query - I'm applying as a de facto partner on a 457 Visa and my girlfriend is now in Australia working.

I'm submitting the application later this month, and to support certain aspects of the application wondering if obtaining written statements from family and friends are acceptable (only 2-3) If so, how are these declared as authentic. What declaration do they need to put in it or is a stat Dec form used? If so, is that accepted when they are not Australian?

Also does a personal statement from myself assist with the application and again what declaration needs to be included.

Much appreciate any assistance in advance.

Neil


----------



## Mostafamohamed

*My name is written with different spilling on difrenet documents*

Hi Mark

I hope you are doing well 
I am preparing my certificates and HR letters to apply for Australian immigration Visa 189 and apply all my papers for ACS assessment. I have one issue which is my name on my passport and graduation certificate has some different letters as it was written by official government employees and not me.
So for example my name in all my post graduate diploma and Masters degree certificates is Mostafa Mohamed AlSamy while in all my other vendor professional certificates it is Mostafa M. Alsamy and I guess this is OK as it is an abbreviation. But the issue is in my Passport as my name is Moustafa Mohamed Elsamy and in my graduation certificate it is Mostafa Mohamed ElSamy and my name on its GPA certificate is Mostafa Mohamed Elchami. 
I don't know what to do and at the same time I can't guarantee that if I ask for a new certificates or passport I will get my name correct spelling while it will take a lot of time from me.

ACS employees told me "A Statutory Declaration or Affidavit is a legally written statement declared to be true in the presence of an authorised witness, for example - a Notary Public. 
All Statutory Declarations or Affidavits must be clearly signed by an authorised witness. The document must state that it was Sworn Before, Signed Before or Witnessed Before the authorised witness by the referee and signed by the authorised witness, with the date and place in which the declaration was made and witnessed. List of Authorised Witnesses within Australia.

Please Note: If obtaining a Statutory Declaration or Affidavit outside Australia, please refer to an Australian Embassy or the legal standard of the country in which you are applying."

I do not know what to write in this document and who can sign it.
Please provide me with your valuable advice.


----------



## Chabayta

Dear Mark,
I have few questions:
1- Can i Apply Partner visa through Immiaccount since am holding Travel document not passport because, am not allowed to apply for visit visa online so i wonder if i can apply for Partner visa 
2- Pratner visa subclass 309/100 can my spouse apply for me from Australia while am Outside or I should apply from the country i live in 
3- last Question if i apply for Partner and passport expire less than 6 month do they reject or i should renew before .. and what if i go with less than 6 month while the application under process 

Regards,


----------



## oracle.2015

Guys, 

I got reference letter from employer and it had few issues and resolved.

I want to know few things, I want to send this letter for assessment.

1. The reference letter date is August 03, 2016. Is there any issue sending this letter to ACS for assessment ??? It is around 3 months old.

2. The HR is not adding to date or till date words, the letter contents are :

This is to certify that Mr. ***** (name) is associated with ****(company name) since September 2011. Currently he is working as Programmer in IT department. He is a full time (48/week) and permanent employee of ***** (company name).

Responsibilties :
..
.

HR is saying dont need to add to date words, in above format.

Is it acceptable ??


----------



## imrixkhan

*ACS query*

I have done my SSLC in 1999 then i joined call center for work and then in 2003 i did my B com from Correspondence single sitting, then i completed few international certification related to IT industry like MCP, MCSA, MCSE, MCDBA, CIW, ITIL, now i have completed MSc (Information & Technology from Karnataka state open university in 2014, currently I am working in Thomson Reuters MNC as Senior Implementation Engineer. i have total 13 Years of Information technology experience.

I have few queries I believe you have the best knowledge & experience to answer it.

Regarding my qualification and experience, just want to briefly recap about it, I have completed B com in 2003 after that I started working currently I have total 13 years experience in IT industry, while working I have completed few Microsoft certification like MCP/MCSA/MCSE/MCTS/MCDBA, as per ACS Vendor certifications MCTS I completed in 2010 accepted by the ACS as comparable to graduate outcomes of an ICT major at the AQF Diploma level.

Recently I completed MSc (IT) in 2014, but if I send M.Sc for assessment I will lose all the points for experience because ACS will consider Post Master degree experience.

My queries are:

1. I have BCom degree which is not related to my current role and experience, can you please advise ACS will consider or not consider B com degree against ANZSCO 263111 - Computer Network and Systems Engineer skill assessment.

If ACS advises to go through RPL route if RPL deduct 6 years from my 13 years total experience, I will end up with 6.5 years experience to claim for experience points.

In this scenario can I get 15 Points for Degree and 10 points for remaining 6.5 years experience?

2. If ACS considers my MCTS which I completed in 2010 as per ACS vendor certification accepted by the ACS as comparable to graduate outcomes of an ICT major at the AQF Diploma level, will I by getting 10 points for MCTS as its comparable AQF Diploma level? Can I claim 10 points for experience Post MCTS from 2010 to 2015 I have 5 years experience or it will be deducted ACS/RPL?

Currently I am 33 years 9 months, also preparing for PTE targeting to score above 79 in each module to get 20 points.

Please advise me and let me know can i apply to PR of Australia.

Please let me know if i am not eligible for this, so that i can check where i can improve and apply.


----------



## hadoop123

Dear Mark,

I have a Query regarding my eligibility for 485 Visa.
I completed my Masters with 2 overseas credits.The course duration is 102 weeks and had 16 subjects. 

I got credits for 2 subjects and studied 14 subjects.

When I calculated the study period it is coming to 89.25 weeks.

Do I meet the Study requirement for 485 Visa?

Please, advise me regarding this.

Thanks.


----------



## Maria from India

Hi Mark,
Hope you r doing well.

I am currently holding partner visa(subclass 309) . My date of application for partner visa is 14.02.2015. I got my temporary visa on 12.2.2016. So, my eligible date for subclass 100 is 14.02.1017.What all things i have to do for getting pr? What all documents I have to submit?Will the immigration department notify me or not?


----------



## Amori

*Prospective marriage visa*

Hi Mark,

I hope you can help me. I was visiting my boyfriend on a tourist visa, I left after 3 months to New Zealand, but when I tried to enter again, my visa was canceled.

I was told that we can apply for a Partnership 302 visa, but we want to apply for a Prospective Marriage visa 300, but we are not sure if we can?

I also have to pay back my plane ticket, but I am not sure who I should pay or how and I was wondering if you might have some information on how to find out?

Thanks,
Amori


----------



## lisa030

HELLO ! 
Need a help and understanding 

Im applying for PMV 300
Not long time ago I went to NZ for a weekend(2days) and Migration of NZ didn't allow me to enter because 2 days its not holidays.. annyway. MY question is does it mean that I 've been removed, or deported ,or excluded , or asked to leave country?? Or it doesn't mean anything? (I do not need visa to enter to NZ) 

gratefull


----------



## mhclarke

*Help on which partner visa!*

Hi Mark,

Wondering if you could help. My situation is that me and my partner both currently live in the UK, and have been together for over 6 years. He is an Australian Citizen by descent and holds a Australian passport.

We wish to emigrate and was wondering what options we have in terms of a visa for me?

He has been offered a job (not currently accepted) in Sydney, starting in Feb 2017.

I am in my 3rd year of university (Biomedical Science) finishing in June 2017, and will be wanting to emigrate ASAP to join him after my degree.

I have researched the Defacto partner visa 820, but I am aware you must already be in Australia to apply for this.

What would your advise be on the best course of action to proceed.

Thank you very much in advance

Kind Regards
Megan


----------



## MobileStudent

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your advice that would help thousants of people.
I have graduated both my bachelor's and master's degree in *economics*. However, my college diploma was *Accounting and Audit*.

Does a college diploma entitle me apply for PR under SOL?

Any info would be highly appreciated.


----------



## uvrays

*************Name mismatch in IELTS Score card and passport************

Hi Mark,

I am planning to apply for Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189). I have received my IELTS score.

Now my concern here is, the ielts score card does not have my middle name - which is a conflict with passport.

Passport has:
Given Name: <First Name> <Middle Name>
Surname: <Last Name>

IELTS Score card: <First Name> <Last Name>

Now should I be worried because of this mismatch. I contacted the IELTS authority to get this corrected. But there has not been much assistance. I am quite satisfied with my score and dont plan to give the exam again.

I believe, this should be a common problem. Can you please guide? Will this cause problems in my processing? What precautions should I take?

Awaiting guidance,
Thanks!


----------



## mtri23

Hi mark! thank you for your time!. 
We are applying for visa 189. My husband is the principal. we applied for visa on may 2016 with 60 points. The Co requested me for ppc and medicals on 6th july which i submitted them on 25th july. Then on august 14th they ask for another document from my husband, we send it on august 16th. Since then the status is "assessment in progress". 
We have been waiting for 3 months and nothing happened. So my question is, what probably is happening? how long would it take to get the visa? why are they taking so long?

Thank you for your time! we are getting really anxious.


----------



## GauravAgrawal84

*Age Points in EOI*

Hi Mark thanks for all the brilliant work u r doing in this thread I just have 3 questions for you if u could please help:

1. I am submitting my EOI for 189 visa with 60 points today (30 points for age, 15 for education, 10 for PTE Academic and 5 for work experience). My dob is 18 Dec 1984 i.e. I will be turning 32 next month. Now suppose I receive my invitation before my birthday next month but I am able to apply for the visa only after my birthday, does that invalidate my invitation because of loosing 5 points? Can I still use the same invitation even after turning 32 claiming 60 points and apply for the 189 visa?

2. I have read on many forums that you loose points for age on your 33rd birthday and not 32nd. So because I had the above confusion I purposely changed by dob to 18th May 1983 i.e. 32 yrs 6 months and wanted to see if I loose points. To my surprise the skillselect displayed a message on the 13th step,, the final one, in the EOI that I have only 55 points. I didn't change anything else. Why am I looosing points in the EOI for crossing 32 age?

3. In the EOI I do have mentioned my ACS skills assessment number. In my ACS skills assessment they deducted mine initial 2 years of work exp as not appropriately skilled experience. Now should I enter that 2 years also in the section where they ask for employment details in the EOI or not? When I enter those 2 years also I get 10 points in the EOI and if I don't input those 2 years I get 5 points. I know DIAC is going to give me only 5 points based upon my ACS Letter. What should I do. I don't want to receive an invitation for 65 points and then later CO invalidating that.

Eagerly awaiting for your response.

Thanks,
Gaurav


----------



## c00kiemonster

Hi Mark!

I don't have a visa problem, and my question is more out of curiosity, really.

I applied for visa 309/100 offshore from the UAE in early August. I received an email to submit medicals and PC in early October, and I submitted them in early November. After that, we weren't asked to submit additional documents, and they didn't call us for an interview. Surprisingly, I was granted my visa in mid-November. I have a Philippine passport, so the service time was supposed to be 1 year. What's even more surprising is that they granted me my visa 309 and visa 100 at the same time! 

I applied on the basis that we were married. At the time of application, we were only married for 2 months, we were engaged for less than 2 years, and we have lived apart since the day we first met 9 years ago. Given that, I believe we didn't qualify for a de facto relationship and for the criteria for expedited visa 100 grant that I read online. 

Not that I'm complaining but I am really surprised, and obviously happy for getting my PR immediately. 

I'm curious to know what I did right to get this blessing! Is it a common occurrence? 

Thanks!

PS, I've been working in the UAE for almost 6 years now, and I would have qualified for skilled visa 189 based on the criteria.


----------



## namita0743

Hi Mark,
I am planning to apply for my 189 by July, 2017 and would add my partner as de facto later in the application. Would adding him means that I cannot sponsor anyone for the next 4 years.

Regards,
Nims K.


----------



## deepadg

Hello Mark,

It's wonderful to see the way you help with your responses!  
I'm considering immigration to Australia under skilled Migration PR visa. My query is - what are the potential points I could get for skilled experience? I completed my computer engineering degree in 1996. I have relevant work experience from Sept 1998 till April 2010. And then from Aug 2013 till date (Nov 2016). Could you please help me to understand the potential points I could get for skilled overseas experience? Thankyou, Deepa


----------



## Abhishek Kumar Jha

Hi Mark,

I am a Mechanical Engineer from India ( Anzsco Code : 233512).
I had applied for VISA subclass 189 for me,my wife and my 3yr old daughter.
We filed our visa on 6th Aug 2016, on 18th Aug we received an email from CO regarding Health Clearances of my wife and was requested to undergo further more tests,meanwhile mine and my daughter's case was cleared.After 8 weeks, we got the results from DIBP clinic that results were OK and would be uploaded soon. On 14th Nov 2016 we had checked that Health Clearances , the IMMI account showed the Health Clearance for my wife was given. Thereafter we received a seperate email from CO on 22 Nov'16 regarding signing a Health Undertaking form 815 and uploading the same on IMMI account. So far close to 110 days post our Visa Application, our family is still waiting for the VISA grant. Any ideas from your rich experience as it shall require how many additional days ?? To also note so far no other query has been raised by CO so far for example regarding employment verification etc... Please Guide Us. 

Thanks & Regards
Abhishek


----------



## Kingfisher

Hi Mark, 
You are doing a great job by helping people. 
DIBP sent Section 57s Natural justice for subclass 801 regarding unfavourable information received and asked to comment. so from your experience, did the made decision already or after sending a submission/commenting they are going to make a decision for the permanent visa?


----------



## yogdev

*Offshore 457 application during re-entry Ban*

Hi,

I am from India, I have worked two years on 457 visa 2009 to 2011; Visited again in FA 600 Visitor in October 2013.

Unfortunately, I am under automatic re-entry Ban for 3 years due to overstay of 3 months; I went to Immigration office and was given Bridging E; made voluntary departure from Australia on March 2014.

Recently got an employment offer by an Australian employer, they have lodged 457 nomination and I was notified to file a new 457 application by the employer. No criminal records, No owing to Australian Govt. or Public entity. Clean work records and high tax payer.

1.Will the employer nomination be accepted by DIAC during the Re-entry ban?

2.Shall I lodge the 457 application with a waiver request?

3.Should I wait till March 2017 for the re-entry ban to complete?

Kindly suggest a plan for my situation.

Thank you


----------



## Daisy2016

Hello Mark

We have been asked to submit additional information. They want more evidence of our cohabitation during the time we lived together for about 2.5 years. We have submitted several letters etc addressed to both but not enough apparently and they want one at least each month!!!

We have collated a few more but I am finding hard for some months, we just cant find those correspondence from a third party anyweher in those months.
I do have Paypal shopping transactions with our names/addresses for those months, would that be counted as cohabitation???


----------



## Imanh

Hi Mark,

My questions is regarding fiancé visa 300. My fiancé was perviously married, her ex husband past away and she has a 2 year old. My question is doea she only need to provide his death certificate in order to bring her son with her? Or is there anything else we need to provide.

Thank you.


----------



## Meher

*Highly Relevant Education Under Group A Occupation Code*

Hi Mark,

Could you provide some guidance on my query?

I have cleared my graduation in B.A Mathematics (Honors) from top university in India and have 5 Actuarial papers along with 5+ yrs of experience in Actuarial field till today.

I have received negative response from Vetassess with the below reasons:

Qualification/s: 
1. Bachelor of Arts completed at University of Delhi, is assessed as comparable to the educational level of an AQF Bachelor degree and is therefore at the required level.
*Field of study Mathematics is not highly relevant*

Country of employment: India
Employment assessed: 
The employment does not meet the minimum requirements for this occupation as the employment does not follow a qualification at the required level in a highly relevant field

The occupation of Actuary, ANZSCO code 224111 is a Group A occupation requiring a qualification at Bachelor degree level in a highly relevant field. Per the university transcript provided there are insufficient specific actuarial subjects covered in this degree. 
A negative assessment was reached on this basis.

It would be very helpful for me if someone could guide me as to what qualifies as highly relevant education for a Group A occupation and how can I go about proving it to Vetassess.

I thought of providing a syllabus comparison between my degree course and the actuarial papers along with expert opinion from a Qualified Actuary. Could there be other possible documentation/evidence I could show in your opinion?

Thanks and Regards


----------



## ermiticasofy

Hey Mark, 

It's Sofia and Shelby from Melbourne. 
We are in the process of attaching the documents for our partner visa. 
It is asking for evidence of residential address - do they need evidence of history of living together or do they need evidence of the current address we are living at? 
Thank you in advance. 

Kind Regards, 
Shelby and Sofia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Suff7 -

Thanks for the note. If you completed your qualification outside Australia, you would generally not be able to claim points for the Australian study requirement (ASR). The issue of your qual being assessed as equivalent to an Australian qualification is fine for the qual points (ie, Bachelor degree = 15 points, etc) but is separate from the ASR.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Suff7 said:


> Hi Mark
> I have just had my skills passed by Vetassess
> And I am trying to fill in the EOI
> There is a question I'm unsure of
> 
> "Does the client meet the the Australian study requirements
> For the skilled migration points test?"
> 
> On the help icon one of the bullet points says
> 
> The course must:
> "Have been completed while you were physically in Australia "
> 
> I did my qualifications in the uk .
> I originally thought the answer was yes as I have had my skills assessed to say they are equivalent to Australian qualifications but obviously I studied in the uk?
> So I am thinking it had to be no.
> 
> Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nep -

Good question. In theory DIBP could refuse the 801 while you are outside Australia, which would leave you no visa to return to Australia with as the 820 is automatically ceased when a decision is made on the 801. If you were in Australia at the time the 801 is refused, DIBP will grant you a Bridging Visa prior to the 801 refusal so you won't be left without a visa.

If the 801 was refused while you were outside Australia, you would need to re-enter Australia on some other visa (ie, visitor, etc) and then apply for the AAT Tribunal while in Australia. You could also apply for a Bridging Visa A upon your return to Australia which would allow you to remain until 28 days after the AAT decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nep said:


> Hi Mark ,
> Please help me with my question, Here is my situation
> I am Currently Holding partner visa 820, and my situation is i have applied onshore Partner visa( Applicant from Nepal and Sponsor from Australia) in
> 820/801 applied -24/08/2013
> 820 granted- 08/09 /2014
> 801 applied - 24/ 08 /2016
> 
> As it has been 13 months and 12 days since i have applied for 801 visa and there is no contact from immigration so far and i am travelling overseas for a month in October and also my partner is travelling to overseas( England) as well on end of November. So Basically i am bit worried that what happen if they cancel my visa while i am in overseas?
> 
> Am I still be eligible to come back and apply for review?
> 
> As they say decision can be finalised when you are overseas?
> 
> Do they usually make decisions ( cancel) while applicant is in overseas?
> 
> I am Just worried what happen if they refuse my visa while i am overseas and will they let me come back and apply for review ?? or i would not able to come back to australia once my visa has been cancelled ?
> Please Help me
> Many Thanks
> Nep


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jessica -

Sorry for the delay in responding - have been swamped with work the last few weeks. If your visa is cancelled while you are onshore, you can then report to DIBP to apply for and be granted a BVE. BVE's must be applied for in person at DIBP offices.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JessicaUtpi said:


> Thank you for your reply.
> Could you help me to explain in the detail about the step to apply bridging visa E, please?
> If I receive the NOIC from DIBP, Immigration will notice me about applying Bridging visa E. After that I have 28 days to come to the Immigration Office for applying Bridging Visa E or I have to apply online? Do I need to collect some documents for applying bridging visa E?
> Thank you,
> Jessica


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mamainspain -

Thanks for the note. You can attach evidence of the 4 major areas of relationship evidence, which is primarily what the case officer will look at. It also doesn't hurt, depending on your evidence, to refer to the ways you meet the 4 required areas in your relationship statement - you could have part of your relationship statement for the story of your relationship, and another part with brief overviews of how you meet the 4 areas, however the evidence is the primary focus of DIBP, not statements from you about the evidence and what it means.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mamainspain said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.
> 
> We are applying for a Partner visa subclass 100. My husband is Spanish and I am Australian, we are living in Spain and have recently applied online to the Madrid embassy .
> 
> We have both written our History of Relationship which includes writing about our domestic arrangements (financially, physically and emotionally). This document can be as long or as short as we like from what I gather? We briefly wrote about the domestic arrangements and focused more on our history and our future plans. We are going to attach these as evidence. We assume this is correct.
> 
> The next part is where I am confused based on threads here. Do we need to provide written statements on each Evidence of Relationship (4 categories) or is it just sufficient to attach the evidence? I am reading that people on this forum have written statements on each 4 categories and then attach documents.
> 
> I have attached multiple examples of evidence in all the 4 categories but have not written 4 separate statements.
> 
> What do you recommend?
> 
> Many thanks Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tamdem99 -

I'd focus on the times apart - if you include everything, make sure it's not too voluminous and highlight or otherwise indicate the times apart.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tamdem99 said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Was just wondering whether it would be better to have snippets of facebook messages that pertain to substantial times apart (week or more) -
> or whether I should just upload my partner and I's whole messenger history.
> I feel the later will obviously show constant contact and include the evidence of contact when spending time apart - but would an agent prefer something more succinct?
> 
> Thanks for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi J -

No. But with partner visas running 12-18 months and other visa processing times blowing out with no apparent regard to meeting any sort of timeliness standards, I'm not surprised.

Best,

Mark Northam



HLG55 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We have recently applied for our daughters citizenship via form 1290. She's our adopted daughter and already has her permanent residence visa.
> 
> As we are living overseas, her application has to be done through the Overseas Citizenship Unit. I received an acknowledgement of receipt of the application in September, but was shocked to see the following line:
> 
> I was under the impression that overseas claim would be a very small part - do you have any idea why there would be such a massive backlog?
> 
> Cheers,
> J.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohammad -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



mohammad123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> need information and suggestion for Immigration to Australia.
> 
> i am not holding any educational degree unfortunately, but i do hold valid vendor certifications as , MCP, MCSE, CCNA, CCNP, CCIE lab certified and written, my total of experience in same filed about 13 years.
> age 33years.
> 
> i have contacted Immigration agent and he advice me that i am eligible to apply for ACS/immigration under RPL.
> 
> my TOEFL score is 98 which is equal to 7 Band
> please need your suggestions and gaudiness.
> 
> Appreciated.
> 
> Regards,
> Mohammad


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Monu958 -

I doubt that that would cause you a problem with a skilled PR visa for Australia. If things got to the point you were deported/removed from NZ, DIBP might ask you to explain that, however a simple onshore refusal is generally not an issue and you can explain it away in a single sentence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



monu958 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I had a consultancy with you in past over the phone regarding 489 visa. We could not apply last time because I was lacking experience, and Vetassess had deducted my overall experience. Now I have now completed my experience in New Zealand.
> 
> But my circumstances have been changed. Presently, I am working on a work visa in New Zealand but my application for further work visa for New Zealand has been declined because Immigration believed that I breached my work visa conditions and worked for a different employer though my work visa was issued for a different employer. The case is still in court as I have appealed against the refusal decision. I am confident of winning the case.
> 
> Though I believe that I will win the case still I just want to know that can this breach of work visa conditions in NZ affect any of my future Australian applications for subclasses 190 and 489 in Australia. I am specifically looking for the state nomination for restaurant manager and 190 and 489 visa.
> 
> Regards,
> Ushi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hassoo84 -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you have all plans in place to move back to Australia, or even complete your move back to Australia, prior to lodging a 309/100 application as without evidence of an imminent move back to Australia you may not meet the usually resident requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hassoo84 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am from Pakistan. Got my PR in January 2015 but due to some unavoidable reasons could not move to Australia uptil now. I fulfilled the initial entry requirements withing time though. Now, I plan to move to Australia in the next couple of months. Very recently I got married and now thinking to lodge partner visa subclass 309/100 before moving to Australia. I read in the Partner migration booklet that the Sponsor (in this case, me) should be a usual resident in Australia. Since I am in Pakistan, I hope they dont refuse my wife's visa due to this reason. Need your advice....
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mazumder -

Thanks for the note. Would need to work with you in a consultation as there are too many factors to consider in order for me to give you specific advice for your case - see my website in the signature below for more and to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



mazumder said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanks for your reply . I've called today to DIAC , they suggest me to apply for tourist visa for my mother in law. I am still confused which visa I should apply for ( family sponsor stream or tourist visitor ). Could you please help me out to decide. Highly appreciated your advice.Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Behlvipul -

Thanks for the note. If there are gaps in employment on Form 80, suggest you lodge either an amended Form 80 or Form 1023.

Best,

Mark Northam



behlvipul said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I completed my graduation in June,2013 and joined an IT firm in Dec,2013.
> 
> I haven't mentioned this gap of 5 months in the Form 80 and have already uploaded it. I have not even mentioned the time gap between my DOB to my first employment.
> 
> Shall I fill form 1023? but since my answer is not incorrect but it's incomplete, I am a bit hesitant to fill this form.
> 
> What Shall I do ? Shall I wait for the CO to ask for it ?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jayakkk -

Depends on how they assess your degree - assuming they call it a non-IT Bachelor degree, you may need 6 years of experience + complete the RPL requirements for ACS - see Summary of Criteria chart on ACS website for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jayakkk said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I did complete my UG in May 2005 in B.E -Electronics and Instrumentation and i have 11 years of work experience in IT sector mostly related to 261112 - Systems Analysts ,261314 - Software Tester,263213 - ICT Systems Test Engineer
> 
> Though my UG is not IT related can i still go with ACS assessment.If yes how many years they would deduct roughly.And will
> my Education qualification considered under
> *At least a Bachelor degree, including a Bachelor degree with Honours or Masters, from an Australian educational institution or other degree of a recognised standard.* or *Diploma or trade qualification or other qualification completed in Australia, or qualification or award of recognised standard.*
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nebs -

Congratulations!!!! Well done, and glad I could help - it's why I love this business.

Best,

Mark Northam



Nebs said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> All I really wanted to say is thank you
> My visa was granted this morning, and I have asked quite a few questions over the past year and you have helped with me with this a lot - keep doing what you're doing as this is an amazing help to a lot of people!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eagleworld -

Thanks for the note. You can only claim points for one qualification, so you'd get 15 points assuming your Bachelor degree is assessed as equivalent to an Australian bachelor degree. You must use the skills assessing authority that is nominated by DIBP for the occupation you are applying for a visa (or intend to apply for) under.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



eagleworld said:


> Hi
> 1-I am new to this forum and wanted to know about skill assesment and points
> i have qualification of 3 years as bachelor of computer science and i also have 1 year diploma of trade qualification can i get 15 points for my bachelors and 10 points for trade qualification related to my job skills ,i mean altogether i can get 10 +15=25 points for qualification
> 
> 2-i have to assess my qualification through vetessaes ,is there any other authority other than vetassess.....
> 
> i highly appreciate for your answers
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pappu -

I'd keep trying via that email address. DIBP has awful customer service sometimes, which can be frustrating.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pappu said:


> Hi Mark!!
> 
> I had applied for subclass 190(NSW), in Aug 2016 as Primary applicant and wife and daughter as dependants. My Vevo and Immi Account shows that our visa has been granted on 15 sep 2016, but i am not able to access the grant letter as it says "This application has been granted.The grant letter for this application cannot be viewed at this time. Please refer to correspondence."
> 
> But I am unable to see correspondence in the "view application inbox" section as well. Though there was an earlier communication listed, message there shows as "The applicant has not agreed to receive electronic correspondence for this application.
> We tried to communicate via email([email protected]) twice,but did not recived any response till now. Even we tried calling them, but after long wait they suggested to send a mail to the same email id. That was when we sent the mail second time..
> 
> Need your on Advise how to contact DIPB and get the visa grant letter..
> Thanks in advance for your valuable suggestion!!! Have a great Day!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aarthi -

I'd check with EA to get their current policy, but generally skils assessors focus on the underlying Bachelor degree - however check with EA for specifics as all the skills assessors are different.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aarthi12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to know about the australia PR points for educational qualifications. In my case I have an Australian PhD degree and my masters and bachelor of engineering degrees from overseas.
> My question is if I want to claim points for my PhD do I still need to assess my overseas bachelor degree and/or Master degree through Engineers Australia?
> 
> Also, I heard that an Australian PhD won't need assessment by engineers australia? Is it true?
> 
> Please let me know what should I do now?
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Aarthi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Taha_loay -

Hard to predict this one, as DIBP processing times for humanitarian visas are unpredictable. I've heard of these being assessed in 12-18 months but no guarantees that's accurate.

Best,

Mark Northam



taha_loay said:


> Sir i applied for class xb 202 visa my brother applied it from austrlia and i have been waiting for more than a year i already gave form 80 when they asked for it as a lawyer how much you think i have to wait to get the replay
> 
> Note: i was living in jordan but then i moved to russia and i informed my migrant agent and he informed the department of my address change


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emivovo -

Nope, he can travel in & out of Australia on the 820 without any other visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



emivovo said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Hope you are well
> 
> My husaband is on an 820/801 (currently the temporary 820 part) partner visa. He is planning to go home for a visit in January for 3 weeks. Does he need a bridging visa? Or is he required to do anything before he leaves to make sure he can return to Australia?
> 
> Thank you
> 
> Emily


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozindian -

Sorry I was unable to respond before your hearing - hope the hearing went well. PIC 4020 2(A) is a disaster for those who are refused under it, as it means a 10 year ban from Australia with no possibility of a waiver. It's shocking to see DIBP use this draconian law against people because their passport pictures don't look right! This is a law that seemed designed for people smugglers but is being used by DIBP for cases of far less severity - a big concern.

Best,

Mark Northam



ozindian said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Greetings!
> 
> My Borther was refused Tourist Visa on the grounds of PIC 4020 2(A) and got a 10 year ban as he could not provide compelling or compassionate reason over the phone.
> 
> I have logged case with AAT to review as its a genuine case trapped under PIC 4020 and have a hearing next week. My brother was asked why he looks different in his new passport and other id docs including old passport he gave reason he put on weight so he is looking slightly different & that is true. Minister was not satisfied with my brothers identity. All of the documents or ID proofs he gave are genuine he does look alittle different on his new passport but that does not mean he is providing any wrong information or misleading information/document. How can I now proove to AAT that he is genuine and proove his identity that he is what he is!
> 
> Looking for your expert advice.
> 
> Cheers!
> Deepti


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi June -

Best to provide as much information as you can backed up with independent evidence in the form of documents. Lots of people get nervous at DIBP phone interviews, so best way through it generally is to admit the nervousness and then supply piles of evidence to show that the relationship is in fact genuine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



junekhor said:


> Hi Mark!!!
> 
> I was invited by the immigration to comment on the information we provided during a phone interview.
> 
> Basically my partner and I have been together for 6 years plus. During the interview my partner (being a forgetful person), he was so nervous with the interview and forgot a lot of things. For example, the CO asked when did I last travelled overseas? He said he can't remember, probably around end of 2015 (which is actually beginnin of 2016).CO asked when did I started my recent job? It was 4 months ago but he said 6 months ago.
> 
> So now the immigration is asking us to comment on the descripency of the information that we provided as she might think that we are not genuine  my partner was just normally a forgetful person and now I'm not too sure how to provide a valid explanation to the immigration.
> 
> Any suggestion or options that I can take?
> 
> Thank you SO SO much for your time!
> 
> Regards,
> June


----------



## Dinky

Hi mark! 
I have a question regarding my RSMS 187 visa. I am hoping to be sponsored by my work as a restaurant manager, and have to prove 3 years of relevant experience... I have 3 year of experience working for a cleaning company, 2 of those 3 years were spent as Operations manager. what I want to know is if the DIBP will see that as "relevant experience" as they are not within the same field?


----------



## ruihong

Hi Mark, 
I just join the forum here. 
On Monday, I did 309/100 lodgement online thr immiAccount and attached all docs except Med Exam for my wife in China. Now I have one thing confused - The Medical Checkup.

In immiAccount, I have gone to link " Organise your Medical" and done medical history and consented and got Referal Letter with HAP ID. So? can I go ahead to do medical exam now? before hearing anything from a CO?

Because I noticed on immi wedsite which instructed DO NOT do med check after lodgement, till Case Officer tells you to do so with provided HAP ID.

What should do? 
Go ahead to do Med Check or wait for CO's notice?

Many thanks!

Hong

.


Is there any problem if i gohead medical without CO notification? I have lodged 190WA .Thanks

Regards


----------



## ruihong

Hi Mark, 
I just join the forum here. 
On Monday, I did 309/100 lodgement online thr immiAccount and attached all docs except Med Exam for my wife in China. Now I have one thing confused - The Medical Checkup.

In immiAccount, I have gone to link " Organise your Medical" and done medical history and consented and got Referal Letter with HAP ID. So? can I go ahead to do medical exam now? before hearing anything from a CO?

Because I noticed on immi wedsite which instructed DO NOT do med check after lodgement, till Case Officer tells you to do so with provided HAP ID.

What should do? 
Go ahead to do Med Check or wait for CO's notice?

Many thanks!

Hong


----------



## victorjbl

*Urgent view in the case*

Hi,

I am from Venezuela. My passport is expiring on the 4-01-2017 and I am expecting my invitation by 18-02-201. My passport is not expected after that date. How is this going to affect my application? The embassy gave me a letter explaining the situation and it is directed to the immigration. Can i still apply for the residency and then change my passport detail, once I get it.

victorbjbl


----------



## Breminchi

Hi Mark, 
First off thank you for the great service you are doing here!
And I have a few things that i need cleared up if you would kindly?
1.Can a NFS condition be placed on a ETA visa 601 that may prevent us for applying for a partner visa if we decide to while back in Australia?

2. Can a child on an ETA visa 601 attend primary school on that type? or is there another type that is required that will allow that?

We are going back to Australia next year to live for the duration of the my wife and step daughter;s ETA visa to see if we really want to move back there from Japan. I was thinking if we wish to remain there we would lodge while onshore.
Would there be anything preventing us from doing that?
We are going back on the grounds of a holiday and to visit family but if we feel it's right, we will apply there.
Sorry a few questions in there but would really appreciate your feedback!
thanks in advance!


----------



## charlotteb

Hi Mark,
I hope this is ok to ask as I'm confused! I'm about to start applying for a 309/100 visa and have 4 young children with my Australian husband. They have dual citizenship - UK by birth and Australian by descent. The application form asks for passport details of children, and states a police check for my husband is required if there are children involved. Is this still the case if the children are actually Australian? I'm the only one in my family unit needing a visa. Can I submit their passport details at a later date as they don't actually have a passport yet - I thought as they were citizens they wouldn't need one in order for me to apply, only for travel? 
Many thanks for your help.


----------



## Alicebb892

*Centrelink-PMV*

Hi, Mark
I am so filled of worry right now. I have been living together with my boyfriend no joint lease, no joint bank, I worked and paid for the house and bills each months. Similar like housemate but we live together. last year, he was on centrelink for almost a year. (now he is working). and I am working in Indonesia. We gonna get engaged soon and get married next year. I am thinking of applying PMV visa after we got engaged. I have a lot of questions but the thing that make me worried is while my boyfriend in centrelink, he did not put me as a Defacto, but only as a Friend. Personally, I do not consider myself in a defacto relationship. We have an ongoing and genuine relationship however, we have separate bank account, and we divide the bills and I paid for my share of monthly rent and bills. Do you think its gonna affect my PMV application? Please give me advice.


----------



## Danvisa

hi mark,
as you have provided good advice for me in the past, i wanted to run something past you, i think it would also help other people out.

i have been advised elsewhere in this forum that;
"the rules changed a few years ago, applying for a visitor visa for the purpose of applying for an PMV ONSHORE is no longer considered a non genuine visitor, therefore can not be used as a reason for refusal and will ensure a visa with out a 8503 condition (no further stay)" 
what this means for me personally is that my fiance is applying for a 6 month multi entry, we fully intend to apply a PMV or partner if we manage to marry in the meantime in the first half of next year and would love to have it processed onshore.
should we tell them we want to apply for PMV onshore?
it doesnt matter to us for her to have a continual stay in australia, we have a rental in thailand and i work away from home so we will both be going back and forth all the time
about us--
she is from thailand
relationship since 2011 engaged since 2015
1 month visitor in 2013
12 multi visitor in 2014


----------



## timothytunde

Hi Mark,

I'm about to apply for the skilled migration 189 visa. I just completed my MSc in Information System. I got a completion letter from school as evidence to this fact. I've also completed a skilled assessment test with ACS and it shows the relevant number of years. I've gotten an invite from EOI. The issue I have at the moment is the fact that the last time I worked was 31st of January 2014 and a little birdie told me that I need to have been in an employment at least 12 months prior to the time of application. Although the past two years, I was completing my MSc. Will this affect my application?
Also, I can only provide an employment reference as evidence and I can't find any of my payslips. Will this weigh in negatively? Thanks.


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Hello Mark,

Hope you are doing well.
Quite a long time that I haven't posted here.


Mark my occupation code is 261312. My total point is 65 (60+5) with NSW SS with date of effect as 28th Nov 2016. As per last year trend I am expecting the invitation anywhere around March-April 2017. As per the EOI my application also includes my wife as a dependent (I am not claiming partner points). My wife is pregnant and we are expecting a baby around June-July 2017. My concern is if I get invited say in April I can't get my wife's medical done as X-ray cant be done (or may be not advisable) on pregnant ladies. Moreover if I ask the CO (after getting the invitation) to hold my application till the baby is delivered, may be in that process I loose precious time as in Oct 2017 my total point score will decrease by 5 points because of the increase in age.

Please guide me and let me know what to do and how to handle this situation.

Thanks a lot.


----------



## anuj_dhall

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Hi All,

I am from India.
I have submitted EOI on 27th Nov with 75 points.
But facing one dilemma.
In my current passport i dont have my wife's name endorsed , so to get the PCC done, i will need to get a new passport which will result in change in passport number.

Please help/suggest/guide how it is going to impact my future visa application if i get a invite in next invitation rounds.
I hope my PTE result card, ACS done on previous passport number and EOI submitted with previous passport number will hold good.

Any inputs will be really appreciated.


----------



## KT1

Hi Mark,

Recently have received an email notification on 100 permanent visa application eligibility. I tried using IMMI account till the menu where I input my personal details such as passport number and etc. The system doesn't allow to proceed which I guess could be in their records had my old passport number when I first was issued 309/100 visa grant. In fact when I received my new country passport I was out of Australia in which the airline counter staff called Canberra to update the new passport details. Guess it doesn't mean the system has been updated since it may not be centralised system.

In this case should I use paper Form 929 "Change of Address and/or passport details" to submit inform borders and immigration department at one of their offices (I am unable to update on immi)? And wait for the system to be updated before continuing 100 visa application on IMMI account?

Many thanks for the assistance.


----------



## mx2mnm

Hello Mark, thank you so much for answering all of our questions.
I am applying for an offshore partnership visa and I'm wondering how important the family information is. I (the person that would be receiving the visa) am estranged from my mother and the application asks for parent information and whether they are married and step siblings, etc. I know my mother got married recently but do not know her new husband's name or whether she changed her last name, or whether he has any children of his own. Am I ok just continuing to leave this information out? Surely there are other people who do not get on with their families? Also I have no father on my birth certificate so I cannot include any information on him - they will see this and not be concerned, correct?
Thank you so much, Mark!


----------



## naush123

*PR Granted but ....*

hi Mark

I am in a dilemma. I have submitted my application for Australian PR and by mistake I forgot to mention that my Spouse (secondary applicant) got Canadian PR rejected and banned a year back. It is a very innocent mistake on our part. But now we have not mention it in our Form 80. One of my friend also made the same mistake but he got his "visa granted" and now he is also in the same dilemma on how to go about the issue.

What should be the way to go?

Please advice.

Regards


----------



## Greatbrazil

Hi Mark,
Is it possible to inform the department of a pregnancy and perhaps add some extra evidence from the 12 months passed since submission via email?
The original application was a paper submission.


----------



## Snowball

*Certified documents*

Hi Mark, 
Thank you for your service. My husband And I submitted a paper application for 309/100 visa in the USA over two weeks ago. I called dibp about certifying documents when starting the application and the assisistant reported that documents in the USA do not need to be certified and they will ask if they need to be. I thought I made the assistant aware this was a paper application. After reading over this forum I am feeling nervous and unsure about not having my documents certified. My card has not been charged and I have not received confirmation that the application has been received yet. Should I send another package with my identity and other important documents certified (notarized) or leave it alone? We do not want our application refused over any miscommunication, especially since most people use online applications. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank You


----------



## grahammear

Hi mark!
Hopefully you can help😳
BVB question I leave in less than 2 weeks - currently on BVA - awaiting partner visa (applied 6 weeks ago) they processed the payment but I have heard nothing back. My BVB application says submitted and my partner visa status has changed to 'assessment in progress' where do I stand right now ? It seems something is happening with my partner visa, but I really need my BVB to leave for Xmas. Stressing hugely as I'm unsure of when it's going to be granted! I've called and emailed but have had no straight answer back.
Any advise is greatly appreciated ☺


----------



## Rosee

Hello Mark 

Thank you very much for your great effort, absolutely wonderful job here!

I have a question regarding getting the 485 Visa or any other types of work/live in Australia options after finishing my postgraduate program.

I am an international student and I have received an admission for a postgraduate program in Australia. It's an MBA program, and the program duration is 1.5 year (or 16 months ~ 69 weeks). That is from Feb 27, 2017 until June 30, 2018.
However, I really wish to stay and live in Australia after graduation.

From my understanding, the 485 Visa  which is the Post-Study-Work-Visa, which is designed for for graduate intl. students who wish to stay in Australia after graduation, requires completing an Australian degree plus a study duration of at least 92 weeks/or 2 years towards that degree. Source: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/485-

Now, the reason why I opt for the 1.5 year option instead of 2 year MBA option - well, aside from previous education and experience overseas- is mainly _financial_. Studying an additional semester to complete the 2-year requirements (or 92 weeks) for the 485 Visa would cost me an additional $25,000 for tuition and living, that's I cannot afford unfortunately.

I'm not sure if the 2-year requirements can be waived under any circumstances.

In terms of work experience, I have 2 years of banking experience, and 6 months of project management in Dubai.

*I would like to know if there is any other option/another path for me to stay in Australia after finishing my master degree.*

Your response is greatly appreciated!


----------



## TraceyRyu

*Desperate for HELP!!*

Hi Mark,

I am desperate for help.

I've lodged my visa application (subclass 189) since April 2016. I am living in Hong Kong and am a Registered Nurse and I've obtained my skills assessment and my nursing licence earlier on. The problem I have is like this. I've included my husband in my application. He worked in Mainland China for several years which, unfortunately fell on the 10-year period for Police check. What makes it worst is he can't provide an official police clearance to the DIBP despite his attempts to obtain one. The Chinese local government really sucks. Each department just shirked their responsibilities and push my hubby to another department. He had tried but in vain. We were asked by one case officer for providing the police check during that period of time and we've explained to her about our situation. Two months afterwards, we received yet another request for statutory declaration for my hubby. He did it as instructed. Then we wait yet another 4 months and another case officer asked us to submit the police clearance certificate again, with instruction, as if we've done it wrong last time, which is why we failed to get one. It's so frustrating. We've been waiting the result for half a year and there seems no progress or anything. So I'd like your advice for two main problems:

1. If I withdraw my hubby's application, do I still need to submit his police check? As I saw in their instruction for character requirement: _Police check for you and everyone included in your application, whether they are migrating or not._. He's not financially dependent on me. Therefore, I guess, he's not counted as non-migrating family members. Am I right?

2. What if I explain to my case officer again (the fourth case office since lodgement)? Do you think it worths mentioning the work he'd done? By the way, she mentioned in her email that our request for waiving the police check during that period of time can't be approved. She provides instruction on how to get the Penal clearance. Does that mean she's already gone through all my hubby's docs and that's the final decision despite his statutory declaration?.

Thank you in advance for your help.


----------



## Msankar85

Hi Mark, 

I have a complicated situation regarding immigration and I am not sure how to handle the situation. First off, my background with immigration in Australia. I first entered Australia from Canada in July 2014 on an eta, I then applied for a student visa onshore as OzTrek, the Canadian agent I applied to my university through advised me that this would be ok. I was a little last minute on organizing my paperwork with the uni so did not apply until I was onshore. Everything was ok and I was approved. I decided to extend my study for an additional semester, but went home to Canada for Christmas holidays for 6 weeks. In that time I applied for a working holiday Visa to return to Australia as I noticed it allowed for one semester of study. I did this because I thought I may want to stay in Australia longer after my study semester. However, I did not stay longer and departed in mid July soon after completing my study due to having family commitments to tend to at home.....weddings, ill relatives etc. etc. 

I began to miss Australia again soon after the Christmas season of 2015 passed. I decided once again to study at UQ...each time I have been pursuing my higher degree in increments i.e. grad cert. to grad dip. and this time I wanted to pursue my masters.Once again I had entered on an eta, which I misunderstood and thought was good for one year from my first entry (I did not realize I had to leave every three months) I also saw that it could cover me for one semester of study, so I did not apply for my student visa straight away. 

When I went to make the application in May, I saw that I was not able to lodge my application online, and realized what had happened when I looked at my eta status. I was conflicted on what to do because my course fees were paid in full and the university never checked my visa status. In early June the DIBP contacted me about my status and their advise to me was that I could exit Australia and apply for the student visa offshore and argue compelling and compassionate circumstances due to having paid my student fees, and only having a short time remaining on my study and having complied with visa terms on previous visas....but outcome would not be guaranteed due to the three year exclusion. 

I already spent so much on the study that I didn't want to risk leaving and throwing it all away should they say no to my application. I ended up studying up until November without holding a visa, not one single word from the university about it. I will now be turning myself in to the immigration, getting a bridging visa and heading back home to Canada. 

I know I will be subject to the three-year exclusion period. However, I am pretty sure I would like to return to Australia before three years time. 

I potentially would like to pursue higher study again. Based on my account of events how likely do you think it would be they would waive the three-year ban for a period of 4-8 months for me to complete further study?

All records from the university would show I was a genuine student, submitted all assignments, participated in group projects etc. and also that I paid all my tuition out of pocket without any scholarship funding. This money is total of approx. $50,000 AUD which has been invested into the Australian economy. In my time in Australia, I never held a job but put much money into the Australian economy by paying my tuition, living costs and also through all the traveling and sightseeing I did. I spent approximately $10,000 on travel in Australia. 

In total over the course of 2 years time I spent well over $100,000 in Australia. 

I hope you are able to provide some advice.


----------



## Happy Naseif

Dear Mr. Mark,

My name is Happy and I am a mechanical engineer. In fact I have got a positive skill assessment from EA but when I turned 33 years I lost 5 points and I have left with only 55 points.

Could you please tell me what are the available solutions to compensate those 5 points?

Also, I came to know that a job offer can help. Is this right? I have already applied online many times but no reply so far. Please advise!!

Thanks.


----------



## Deep31

*how to read the RPL- ACS assessment*

Hellooo,

I have recently got my ACS assessed by submitting the RPL form.My educational qualification ( B.Tech in Agriculture Engineering) was not assessed by ACS as it was not relevant to ICT.

So ACS has deducted 6 years from my total work experience and provided a positive result for ICT Business Analyst (but doesn't mention anything about my educational qualification being equal to any of the Australian diploma.)

Could you please clarify my below questions:
1.Can I claim any points for education while submitting my EOI though not assessed by ACS.
2. Does it make any sense getting my education assessed by any other assessing body as Iam applying for ICT Business analyst job code.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## TwixA

*485 Health insurance query*

Hi Mark,

I hope this query isn't too case specific but I am worried about the health insurance requirement. 
I have a student visa which expires on the 31st January 2017. I have an OSHC policy paid until 28th February 2017. I have maintained this throughout the time I have been a student. I finished my Masters on the 28th November 2016 and lodged my application for a 485 post study work stream on the 5th of December and was granted with a bridging visa A. 
In preparation I took out a working visa health insurance policy that started on the the 28th November 2016.
I supplied the evidence of this working visa health insurance policy with my application.
I'm just wondering do I also need to supply proof of my OSHC as my student visa is still active?


----------



## Smith1

*NSW 55 +5 points 261313*



kaivalya said:


> Good day Mark,
> 
> I applied for subclass 190 in my EOI with 55 points on 08th May and awaiting to get Nominated by NSW with 5 additional points. Does anybody here have an idea how long it takes to get invite? Are there any invitation rounds for subclass 190?
> 
> You can check my history below. I am left with 5 years of experience after ACS deducted my 2 years. What is "Occupational Ceiling" and how may I get my score ranking? Where to see the EOI status? Kindly let me know as I am getting frustrated day by day.
> 
> ___________________________________________________ _ _______
> Skilled - Subclass 190 | Developer Programmer - 261312
> 
> 14/02/2015 - ACS App. Submitted
> 19/02/2015 - ACS +ve Outcome
> 01/05/2015 - IELTS Results (L-6, R-7, W-6.5, S-6 | Overall - 6.5)
> 08/05/2015 - EOI Submitted for NSW with 55 pts + 5 pts(State Nomination)
> 
> Next Steps
> XX/08/2015 - NSW Invite |
> XX/08/2015 - Application for NSW nomination submitted |
> XX/10/2015 - SkillSelect Invitation to apply for 190 visa |
> XX/10/2015 - 190 visa application to DIBP |
> XX/12/2015 - PCC | Health | Documents uploaded |
> XX/12/2015 - Case officer assigned
> XX/12/2015 - Visa Grant | _


Hi Kavilaya,

I have just submitted my EOI for NSW for 190 visahaving same like you 55+5 -60 points under 261313. May i know you got invite.since you last year applied. please shed some light im really worried. I applied on 29 nov 2016.
Thxx


----------



## Tuckerbag

Hi Mark

Me and my partner have just lodged our PMV (subclass 300) last week. we compiled a compelling application which included
- 13 page in depth and detailed personal relationship statements from both of us (including - how and when we first met, how the relationship developed, our engagement, our living together circumstances and plans for the future together)
- phone call logs from both of us showing constant communication when we were separated ( i was working in the mining industry for the first 13 months of our relationship)
- we have over 30,000 Facebook messages of which we scrolled through the whole lot and took photos of strong loving, emotional and financial support messages
- a fully completed NOIM
- approx. 20 photos with her and my family also
- 4 x 888 stat decs from supporting witnesses of our relationship
- social media public posts showing mutual friends and joint events/gatherings with friends
- PDF document showing all flights and joint travel together
- PDF document showing all hotel bookings and receipts made together
- PDF document showing all joint activities, tickets to social events, invitations to weddings addressed to both of us
- joint bank accounts showing significant funds deposited for our future together
- relationship was registered with NSWBDM last year
- my superannuation statement showing that my fiancee is my beneficiary 

we have been together for just shy of 2 years and have applied through the Belgrade office.

Unfortunately though there is one issue that I'm biting my fingernails over and i want to ask you about...
The new bill has passed through the Aus government and they are now screening the sponsor as well as the applicant e.g sponsor to show police checks etc.

I have a minor criminal record for being in possession of a very small amount of illegal substances. I was convicted of the offence in 2011 and have no other convictions. As much as i have read about the new process, i understand that the purpose for this screening of the sponsor is to 'reduce violence in the community' and it is mainly in place to weed out any sponsors who have significant criminal records and/or convictions relating to violence in relation to persons under 18 and domestic violence... am i right there with my thoughts ? do you think our application will be ok considering my minor conviction ???

thanks in advance for your help 
-


----------



## ekhtai

*Citizenship*

Hi, Mark, I have some general queries regarding citizenship application and would be obliged for your views:-

1. I reckon I will be eligible to apply for citizenship on 9 January 2018, having lawfully stayed in Australia for 4 years (in last 4 years, I only stayed outside Australia for about 5 months);

2. Can I travel overseas at around 15 Oct 2017 and apply from overseas for citizenship on 9 January 2018, as I think I can avail myself of the 3 months' permitted absence from Australia in the 12 months before my application? Would this affect my application? Would this affect the "likely to reside, or to continue to reside, in Australia or to maintain a close and continuing association with Australia" requirement? If I continue to stay overseas after I lodge my application for citizenship, would it affect my application?

3. My family comprises of my wife and 2 kids (of 8 and 12), and they would also apply for citizenship? Do/Should I split the applications, so that I make one application myself and my wife makes one for herself and the kids? Or we shall make one together?

Thanks in advance for your help and look forward to hearing from you.

Edward


----------



## Tarryn

Hello SMJ any update on your application? We are undergoing health waiver our application has been referred to health waiver section, but to date still no request for health waiver even after submitted a second medical on 24th October??


----------



## ashie4ya

Hi Mark,

My fiancé has lodged his PMV. We have been waiting over a little of 9 months. My fiancé has done everything he is just waiting for the grant. 
We have contacted the department if there are any updates and we get a generic email back stating we will have to wait. We have not used a migrant agent we have lodged our selves. Does it take longer to process without a migrant agent ?


----------



## camal

Hi Mark,

In another thread, you have mentioned that employer reference for ACS skill assessment need to be in the form of a commonwealth statutory declaration. In my case, due to being part of multiple mergers and acquisitions in the past 8 years, the director/manager that I had been working with currently resides in a different country - I am in India, and he is located and working in UK. 
He is willing to help me with the employment reference. However, from the link you had posted, it appears like someone connected to legal system in Australia should witness the declaration. 
Did I understand it right? 

The company I had been working with, under the above mentioned manager is shut down and it is not possible to get an experience letter on company letterhead. what is the best way I can get the legally right reference/experience letter for ACS skill assessment? Can any legal practitioner in UK be a witness?


----------



## Qapham

*De Facto onshore*

Hi Mark,
I hope you are doing well. I have applied for De Facto visa just over 12 months but I have not received any response from the Immigration Department apart from my bridging visa grant and statement to not take any action towards health checks since I did go through some health examinations in the same year. I wonder if I should ring them up to follow up because from what I know, TR should be granted in the first 12 months? Thanks in advance.
Kind regards, 
Ann


----------



## mikechan

Hi Mark,

How are you? 
Hope you are doing well
My partner applied for 820 (onshore) and got granted around half year ago (applied in November 2014) . About to do the 2nd stage processing and would like to ask a few questions and hope you can assist as there are some questions that are asked in the immi account.

My wife submitted the forms online a couple of days ago and then she know she need to upload some documents, however, there's a few things we are puzzled

Please refer to the screenshot link below marked in RED & BLUE box for your reference










1) Change of name evidence - I already submitted it last time for Stage 1, do I need to do it again providing the same info?

2) AFP character - We also submitted last time. My wife lived in Australia for 2 years already and I know you need to submit it if you live mroe than 12 months. Does this mean she need to submit from the day of visa approval i.e. June 2016 which in this case I only lived 6 months?? Or its better when CO ask me request it?

3) Form 80 - Again, she submitted it last time for stage 1, so does she submit again?? Or she just leave it out since this repeated?

4) Marriage of evidence - question as 3)?

5) The blue box where it says Statutory Declaration - I assume this is the part where fill it out myself as the sponsor?

Your help is appreciated once again

Thanks


----------



## Canada2Australia

Hi Mark,

I have a question for you regarding my obligations to my current 457 Visa I hold. I was with some friends today, and up for discussion was the visa I currently in possession of. Now I was under the impression that if for some reason I were to lose my job, I have the _now_ 60 day timeframe to find another position as described on my visa or leave the country. However, they had informed me that after 12 months, if I were to lose my job (or choose to leave) that I have fulfilled my portion of the visa (because according to them, I the visa requirement is that I only need to work for 12 months with the same employer within a two year period) and that I can then work any other job until I find employment back in my position. And that I can also apply for permanent residency.

I'm looking to see if there is any truth to this. Can you please help clarify this matter for me?

Thank you


----------



## hopeforoz

Hi Mark,

I have a PR( 190 Visa) which includes me, wife and kids. I did not include my mother earlier in the PR even though she is dependent on me. Now, m not sure how to apply for a permanent residency for her as Contributory parent Visa seems a very expensive and unaffordable option right now. Also, we wont be able to leave her here when we go to Australia. Is there a chance that I apply for another PR which just includes me and my mother, for a different state than the one that sponsored us earlier. Is that a possible option or would that be seen as suspicion and is it against the rules?
Me and my wife may have to live in different states in Australia if I manage to get another PR but I am ready to do that as cant leave my mother
Please throw some light on this

Regards
Hopeforoz


----------



## hfcook

Hi Mark,

I am looking to get some advice on my situation.

I had originally visited Aus on a WHV in 2010. Met a lovely young man who then became my husband in 2014 from which we applied for a defacto visa. I had just been emailed in July 2016 to say I could submit the evidence for the 2nd part of my 820; however our relationship has broken down - and in my rash mind got on a flight and flew back to England in September and submitted a form to have my visa cancelled.

I am now back in the UK and I regretting being so rushed in my choices and now I don't know what to do. I am longing to be back in Australia as I see it as my home but in the turmoil of my separation from my husband I just wanted to be back with family.

There was no violence or aggression, just a breakdown of our relationship.

I really want to know my options to get myself back there. I am a qualified enrolled nurse which I studied for whilst in Aus, and my previous boss has already said I would have a job waiting for me.

How do I stop them continuing with the form i submitted to cancel my visa...? Or do I carry on with that and apply another way? I don't want to do anything untoward as that's not in my nature. I just want to move back home to Aus. 

Here is a little timeline....

WHV - 2010
2nd WHV - 2011
Student Visa - 2012
Applied 820 onshore - Aug 2014
Second stage of defacto - July 2016
Breakdown of marriage - Sep 2016
Submitted visa cancellation form - Oct 2016

Thank you


----------



## loya

Hi Mark,

-I had submitted my EOI with 75 points in the start of this month and i got invitation to apply visa yesterday.
-I have total 6 years of experience and claimed 10 points against work experience in my EOI submission which i do have in actual with all the evidences( Pay slips, Reference letters, exp letters etc). 
-Few months ago when i applied for skills assessment with additional relevant employment assessment i got positive outcome from EA but they reduced my experience to 4 years and did not accept initial two years with out giving any reason.Although, one of my career episode was based on that particular job experience.
-I strongly believe that my all 6 years of experience is relevant to my occupation and i have all the required documents to prove it.
-Now with this situation should i accept the invitation and lodge my visa application and let DIBP decide the relevancy of my work experience?? as i have read that DIBP will give the final verdict about employment experience points.
-Please advise. I am very confused with this situation.
-Moreover, in case, if dibp does not consider my experience relevant then what could be the worst case scenario? 
- Should i make a new eoi and claim 3 years experience instead of 5 and wait for the next round to get invitation? which i have good chances because cut of value for my occupation is 70 points.


----------



## asadkhanm

*Case officer responding Time*

Hi Mark,
I applied for visa subclass 189 with my spouse and two kids. After submitting my application on 6th November 2016, my case officer requested for some additional documents for my spouse and health examination for whole family. We went for health examination on 24th of November and the results were uploaded within a week for myself and my wife. The results were not uploaded for my kids and when I called the clinic, they said there are additional test requirements for my kids for Hep B and C as I chose 'Yes' to a health declaration question regarding yellowing of skin at anytime in life.
I answered that question in 'Yes' saying that my kids born with yellow skin which was physiological jaundice and went away after 3-4 days. I think the system automatically generated Hep B and C test requirements depending on health declaration.
I don't prefer my kids to go through these tests unless it is really required as they both are only 19 months and 8 months old. So, I sent an email to my case officer with hospital discharge summary, lab test results and vaccination record that the kids really didn't have jaundice and it didn't require treatment.
I sent the email on 1st December, 2016. Since then I have been patiently waiting for her reply which is now running out  
I had to respond to the email within 28 days after CO contact. |The last date for that was 18th December. Although I uploaded all the other required documents, mine and wife's health exams but due to my kids' pending results I have not pressed the 'documents provided' button in the ImmiAccount visa application.

Sorry it got too lengthy but was supposed to be just a small question that how long does it take for case officer to respond to your email and should I click on that button 'documents provided' popped up in my visa application or not?

Thanks in advance


----------



## Grimelda

Hi Mark,

I hope you can help me. 

A while back my husband and I had a Skype consult with you regarding a 309 partner visa which was very helpful and cleared up a lot of our questions (thanks for that). During the consult you advised us to make statements covering each of the 'five questions' as a separate document and attach it along with our evidence. We've finally finished filling out the form, paid our fee and are starting to upload our evidence, but I don't see a particular spot to add our statements. 

Could you give some advice on what evidence type the statement belongs to?

Thanks and Merry Christmas!


----------



## daisy05

I wonder If anyone can help me? 

I have been contacted by my case officer who is requesting more information. They are asking for-
Evdence of having access to medicare

I do have a medicare card which expires in 2 months (when my working holiday visa was expiring however i will now automatically be on bridging visa soon) 

So.... Do i get a countersigned, photocopy of my Medicare card? And just send that? 

I have no other paper documentation of medicare. Surely this is enough proof. 

I have applied for 461 visa New Zealand Relationship visa (temp 5 yrs) 
I am British Citizen. 

Thankyou.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi All -

A quick note - I'll be catching up on all of the outstanding email questions on this thread over the next 2-3 days, thanks for your patience - hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## 286057

*Medical Question*

I have mentioned in the Applicant detail form that In 2003, I suffered from Jaundice caused by medications that was cured within few weeks. Kindly let me know if their would be any implications of this on my application on the next stages and should i go through any medical test informally before proceeding for my application


----------



## Nate Drake

Hi Mark

I apply for a partner visa the 17 of February 2015 
I received the 820 the 10th of December 2015 and 3 days ago I received an email requesting more information/evidence of our relationship before I can get a granted the 801

Application for 820-801- February 15'
820 granted - December 15'
email requesting more info/evidence of our relationship - December 16'

1* How much time do I have to put together this information/evidence that the case officer is requesting??
Until the 17 of February?? ( that would be 2 years after my initial application for the partner visa)

2* I only need a status declaration from my partner (the sponsor) ? 

I'm asking because on the checklist that I received says:
''status declaration from applicant not required for online application - A statutory declaration is included in the online form, so a separate attachment is not required''

3* Do we need a new declaration about our household arrangement (we wrote one each for the initial application) from the applicant and sponsor or not? 

Thanks


----------



## Bsrsyd

*Invitation*

Hi Mark

This is my first post and would highly appreciate if you could help me with the query.

I have lodged my Eoi for general accounting in both 189 & 190 NSW as on 25th September and 2nd November respectively. I would like to what are the chances of me getting an invite before 31st March as my expires by then.

My points are from

Age : 30
Education : 20
English : 10
Experience : 5
PY : 5

And do I got any other options to try before my visa expires.

Thanks


----------



## usmanhassan

Hi Mark

I am applying for 189 as engineer
I had hepatitis c and then cured few years back. now I have test results as anti hcv positive and PCR negative

do you see this as problem in the immigration process


----------



## usmanhassan

hi 

have you also gone through the Hepatitis C tests

secondly what could be the complication of you don't declare yellowing of skin


----------



## jamdon

*PR visa*

Hi Mark
Is it possible for a scaffold supervisor to get a PR visa? I have tried to find out for a while but haven't been able to get any answers.I have been in this position for many years including in Australia but i was on a 457 visa at the time so any help would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## bottos

*Study Requirement*

Hi Mark!

I need help for my 189 visa. I have submitted an EOI with 65 points for Auditor however it doesn't seem like I will get an invitation anytime soon. Therefore, I am looking for more points. I spoke to a migration agent and they suggested studying another 6 months would be my only option.

I already have a Master of Professional Accounting from the University of South Australia but it is only 1.5 years. I saw on the immigration website that you can combine degrees which leads to my questions....

Would a Master of Finance be considered related to auditor/accountant?

Which courses does the immigration bureau consider related to Auditor/Accountant?

Thank you so much!
Hannah


----------



## Rajmohan

Dear Mark,

Recently we have been approved our family PR,

Any one has requested IMMI for entry date extension after PR approve. I am thinking to request extension around 30 days for my daughter only due to her exam.

Is that any issue if I request please advise.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers 
Rajmohan.


----------



## bansal.amitt

*189 refused*

Hey Mark,

I have got visa 189 refused due to 5 points less as claimed in EOI.

I applied for EOI back in October but my course completed in December 2016.

age : 30
Electronics engineering : 15
IELTS : 10
Australian Education (2 years) : 5 (completed in December 2016)

Total : 60

I applied on the basis of skills in Electronics engineering which I did back in India.

The case officer refused the application based on the ground that I did not have 60 points at the time of invitation back in October but in December 2016.

My refusal letter does not say anything about PIC or any ban.

I am currently on Student visa which is valid until March 2017.

My question is about if I can apply for another 189 visa or not ?
Are there any conditions on me applying for any other visa ?

Please Help!!


----------



## usmanhassan

Hello Mark

I am planning to apply for the 189 under mechanical engineer.
I have worked in the same company through out my career under different positions and locations

Asst engineering manager Lahore Month year until month year
Asst engineering manager Dubai Month year until month year
Safety engineering manager Saudi Arabia Month year until month year

can I have one letter from company listing all of them with timings in front of them and then list 06 key responsibilities which I managed for all roles (as in all roles there are common type of responsibilities)

if no plz advice or share a sample of experience letter


----------



## KAZI HAQUE

*Sample Commitment to NT Statement Required*

Hi Mark,

I am applying for state nomination from Northern Territory, Australia.

Can you please help me with the guidelines/samples on how to write a "Commitment to the NT Statement"?

As per the guideline, the statement should include the following:
• demonstrate your commitment to living and working in your skilled occupation (or a closely related skilled occupation) in the Northern Territory (NT) for a minimum of two years from when the visa is granted
• explain, in your own words, why you want to live in the NT
• explain how the NT lifestyle would suit your way of life more than that of any other city in Australia.

Since I am new to this process, I would really appreciate your valuable guidelines being the expert in this area.

Thanks & Regards
Kazi


----------



## gestoso81

Hi Mark, I am in Australia now with my Australian girlfiriend on 651 visa, we both have been living overseas, sometime together and some time apart. We have come to visit her family and we are deciding to stay here. 
In QLD they say that we need to register the relationship but she needs to be in the country for Longer than 6 months, other option is to get married, that we are thinking about it.
The questions are, we don't match the 12 months living together criteria, with the marriage would do it? we have proof of 6 months in 2014 in London and 6 months recently in Spain, I am Spanish.
Do the statutory declarations need to talk about the marriage, as we would like to keep it private?
As I am from Spain, do I need statutory declarations from my family in Spain? I reckon we don't have such a thing over there.
Thanks a lot


----------



## laurence_au

Hi Mark

Currently I apply for visa 887 and the bridging visa has been granted at the same time after I paid the visa fee. 
My visa 489 hasn't expired yet. Do I still apply the other bridging visa? If I wanna go oversea for holiday.

Thanks


----------



## riz.ivan

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> A quick note - I'll be catching up on all of the outstanding email questions on this thread over the next 2-3 days, thanks for your patience - hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark.

Merry Christmas. Hope that you are having a great holidays.

I am a Civil Engineer living in Queanbeyan, NSW with a visa Skilled Provisional 489. I arrived in Australia on 3rd February, 2015. On 3rd February, 2017 it will be 2 years in Queanbeyan, NSW.

Can you please help me providing some information regarding 489 to 887 ?

My questions are -

1. For first 6 months I stayed with my friend but I have no document. Not even in the utility bills.

2. I have worked for 20 months full time in a company. But I was out of Australia for 33 days for holidays in which I was paid for 14 days by my employer. Can i apply exactly after 2 years or I have to wait 33 days more ?

3. Can I work in ACT after applying for 887 ? Because there is a possibility of getting a very good job in ACT very soon.

4. Or can i move to the big cities after applying ?

Thanks.

Ivan


----------



## Bethgray

*Eta question*

Hi there mark ☺

My partner is due to visit Australia from the US and his eta expires one month into his stay. He wants to stay for the full three months. Then he would like to go overseas, reapply for an eta and return for an extra month. Can he stay for the three months even though his visa expires? I called the immigration dept and they said he could, but looking through websites it's says once the visa expires he becomes an unlawful visitor and it may affect him getting another visa. We plan to apply for a partner visa later this year and I really don't want anything to affect our chances. Please help!!! ☺


----------



## Sunnysunshine123

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for making this thread.

I have a question. I am currently working and employed on the 457 visa. However employment contract if finishing. I have been working under this visa in Australia for 11months. I know I have 90 days from the end of my contract to find another sponsor for my 457 visa. 

The main thing is I want to apply for a 189 Visa (scoring 60 points). I wanted to ask if it will affect my 189 visa application at all if I did do some travelling and then went to my home country (UK) whilst waiting for the outcome, or would it be better for the PR 189 visa if I were working under a new sponsor whilst waiting. 

I only wanted to rush into another job frantically if necessary.

Also is there a maximum time duration (years?) that one can leave Australia continuously whilst under a 189 PR visa (As long as it is under 5 years).

Thank you so much Mark,

Awaiting your reply!

Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lalibains09 and all -

Am continuing my catch-up work on questions here, hope to have this completed in the next 1-2 days, thanks VERY much for your patience and hope you all had a fantastic holiday season so far.

Re TRA or any other skills assessor, always best to question them directly about their specific requirements as they change from time to time and every skills assessor has their own rules which many times are not the same from one skills assessor to another.

Re: graduation documents, TRA will certainly want a transcript and any other graduation documents such as a certificate or letter of completion. Normally they will accept high quality scans, regardless of whether the original document is A4 or Letter size.

Re: points advice, this is typically offered by some skills assessors as a separate service and is not required by DIBP - the benefit of it is to get the skills assessor's opinion on whether certain work experience (claimed for points) is relevant to your occupation or not. There are generally 2 questions that DIBP considers about work experience - 1) is it relevant to your occupation, and 2) is there sufficient evidence that you actually did the work you claimed. Question 1 is usually left to skills assessor, where question 2 is something DIBP will usually assess themselves - that's why they ask for payslips for your work experience even if the skills assessor has already deemed the work as "skilled" and relevant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lalibains09 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> greetings...!!
> 
> I am here to ask you few questions about my real brother application. I am a permanent resident in South Australia and living here since 2014.
> 
> My brother wants to apply for PR under SN190. He is applying under mechanical engineering technician 312512 category in CSOL list. He has graduation with science and experience in mechanical trade as technician.
> 
> My ques to you are.
> 
> 1. Does he need to enclose his graduation document while performing TRA procedure? (as mentioned in chain migration website {You must have a bachelor degree or higher qualification. The qualification completed must be included and recognised on your skills assessment. Australian or overseas qualifications are acceptable.})
> 
> 2. what should be scanned document size, required to upload for TRA and how may files of that specific size can we upload ?
> 
> 3. Is it mandatory to get a point advice from TRA? and what is the role of point advice?
> 
> we really appreciate your valuable reply and much precious time.
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cloud81 -

Yes, in some cases. You'll have to work with ACS directly to get an assessment, but I have seen this type of mixed degree get a positive result there in the past - every case is assessed separately, so no good way to predict the results of ACS with any certainty, but I would certainly consider proceeding with an assessment to see.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cloud81 said:


> Hello Mark,
> Hope you doing well.
> I would like to know one of the matter regarding my Bachelor Degree which is awarded by University of GREENWICH London, my first 2 years study in the UK, but last year did in Bangladesh in a local Institute which is collaborating with the University of Greenwich. Now my question is these types of degree ("validated program of study") are accepted by ACS (Australian Computer Society)?
> Thank you very much.
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seegv -

Thanks for the note. I'm not able to assess skilled visas here, but if your experience is mostly teaching at a college, you might want to look into an Employer Sponsored visa (subclass 186, 187 or 457) as University Lecturer is an occupation that is generally difficult to find state sponsorship for under the 190/489 visas. If your experience is mostly working as an engineer in a commercial employment situation, that might open up the 189/190/489 visas depending on the number of years of experience you have, your age, and other factors. Happy to assist you further at a consultation, see contact info in my signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Seegv said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Namaste!
> 
> I'm from India, I'm 30 years old and my family consists of my husband who is 35years old and our 4 year old son, we would like to apply for the permanent visa, my academic qualifications are listed below.
> 
> Btech - Electronics and Communication Engineering from Mahatma Gandhi University with 66.67% marks.
> Mtech - Optoelectronics and Communication System from Cochin University of Science and Technology with 71.8% marks.
> 
> Currently I'm working as an Assistant Professor in the Electronics and Communication department of an Engineering college affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University (Teaching experience : 5 years and 6 months).
> 
> I would like to know about the permanent visa. Can you please advise me about the best possible option in this regard?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Canadagirl47 -

Thanks for the note. You don't mention what visa you are applying for so it's a bit difficult to respond, however assuming it's a family visa, I expect you will need to provide more than just say that you "want" to move back to Australia. Typically this type of requirement needs solid evidence which shows you are making plans or putting things in place to facilitate a move to Australia in the near future (ie, typically within 6 months or so, although there is no specific number of months indicated for these purposes). This can include things like making arrangements for accommodation, employment, transportation (car, etc), moving your belongings, etc in Australia as well as any other evidence you might have to show that you're making specific plans. In the end, it's the judgment of the case officer that will determine the outcome, so it's a matter of convincing the case officer that you have plans to return to Australia in the near future and stay here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



canadagirl47 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question about how to prove the "intent to live permanently in australia". I am on the temporary visa and am being assessed for the permanent one. I was living with my Australian boyfriend for three years in Australia, but then we both moved over to Canada so I could do my masters (it's way cheaper to do it in Canada than Aus). Now I need to prove that I intend to live permanently in Aus. Do you think it's enough to say that we want to move back there when my studies are complete? My boyfriend became a permanent resident of Canada so we would be able to go back and forth if we want. Your help is appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Silver Dave -

Thanks for the note. The good news is that for the onshore partner visa, if a person qualifies at the time application (ie, original application for the combined 820/801 visa) as a dependent applicant as either a dependent child or dependent member of the family unit (MOFU) and is granted the 820 visa, that dependency generally won't be re-assessed when it comes time for the 801 grant. This is an over-simplified overview of regulations that are more than a bit complex, so if you have specific questions re: eligibility, would be happy to assist at a consultation - see contact info below in my signature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Silver Dave said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am an Australian citizen and I live with my wife and her 17-year old daughter in Australia. Both my wife and her dependent daughter have been granted a partner temporary (subclass 820) visa. We are waiting for a decision to grant the partner permanent visas to them.
> 
> The 17-year old daughter has made a boyfriend and he has talked her into leaving school and coming to live with him in a remote regional location. Of course, my wife and I don't consent to the daughter's silly plan, but we don't seem to be able to persuade her to stay at school. The daughter has a pie-in-the-sky idea that she will get a job, however, this is unlikely because she has no work experience and she is moving to an area of very high youth unemployment.
> 
> Can this change of circumstance with the dependent daughter whereby she will no longer be at school nor have a job have an adverse impact upon the decision to grant a permanent partner visa to both my wife and her silly daughter?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> Dave.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nibq -

Great question. For a temporary work visa (subclass 457), you can look to the ANZSCO definition and requirements for your occupation which is available at the super-handy website Search | Anzscosearch - for this type of visa, you can satisfy either the academic requirements or the work experience requirements in order to show that you have the minimum level for the occupation - note that this applies ONLY to non-skills-assessed visas such as the 457, RSMS 187 and some others. For your occupation, you'll see that you can satisfy the ANZSCO requirement via an educational qualification (relevant qualification of either an Associate degree, Diploma, or Advanced Diploma) OR you can satisfy ANZSCO via work experience (3+ years of relevant experience for this occupation per ANZSCO).

HOWEVER... for skills assessed visas such as the 489, 189, 190 and 186 Direct Entry pathway, DIBP still abides by the ANZSCO definition (ie, either XX years of experience or a YYY education qualification) but skills assessors *make up their own requirements* which in many cases can be more difficult to meet than DIBP's. So best thing to do is to check for the requirements that the skills assessor for your occupation has for this occupation to determine what you'll need to meet.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nibq said:


> Good day Mark
> 
> Hope you can assist me with a question related to Hotel/Motel manager (141311). I've seen different qualification requirements for this occupation. There is a Degree Qualification and a Diploma Qualification. Would any of these two qualifications with the relevant years of experience be accepted on the CSOL List for Hotel/Motel manager in NSW and NT.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amerhnajjar -

Thanks for the note. Since you (and any other dependents I assume) made your initial entry prior to the must enter by date, you are free to come to Australia or not as you like during the 5 year initial term of your PR. If you wish to renew your PR via a subclass 155 RRV visa after the initial 5 years, it will be far easier to do if you've spent a total of 24 months in Australia during the initial 5-year PR term. See 155 visa on DIBP website for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amerhnajjar said:


> Hi MARK,
> 
> I have an inquiry about Visa Subclass 189 ..
> 
> I have been granted my skilled independent (subclass 189) visa back in July 2016 .. and i have traveled to Australia and made my first entry in September 2016 .. then came back to my home country ..
> 
> and I am planning to move permanently to Australia in August 2017 ....
> It was mentioned in my visa grant notice that i must make my first entry before April 2017
> 
> My question is :
> 
> Do i have to keep going back to Australia every while until i settle there ?
> or there are no time restrictions in my visa ??
> 
> Are there any rules or tricks that will cause me loosing my Visa ?
> 
> Thanks in Advance ...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dom -

Thanks for the note. As your father become a PR and citizen after you were born, you would generally not be eligible for citizenship by descent. You might check out an employer sponsored visa (457) or skilled visa (189, 190, 489) based on your trade skills however - not possible for me to do visa assessments online here but happy to help at a consultation - see contact info in my signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Domc46 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am an British citizen and live in England, My father has been a permanent resident of Australia for 12 years and last month he became and Australian citizen. Could I too be eligible for residency/citizenship? By descent? Although he became a citizen long after I was born?
> 
> I am also fully qualified in plumbing and Heating if this helps to another pathway.
> 
> Thanks, Dom


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Travirl -

Thanks for the note. I've heard talk about increasing the age for the WHV however currently the age limit remains at 30 (ie, has not turned 31). I'd keep a close eye on the legislation as hopefully it will change sometime this year.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Travirl said:


> Hi Mark, I am coming over on a 417 working holiday visa soon but as I am 30 I will not have time to complete the 88 days regional work for 2nd year visa before my 31st birthday.
> 
> I have read that they are changing the cut-off age, among other things, to 35 on Jan 1st? Do you know if this is true?? If so, will l be eligible to apply for a 2nd year visa if I complete regional work even though I'm 31 or will this new age apply to first time applicants only?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dipesh -

From the DIBP point of view, as long as you live in any of the designated areas for the 489 visa (different of state sponsored or family sponsored), then you are meeting the requirements of your visa. The issue of whether you leave your sponsoring state and move to a designated area in another state (that still meets the DIBP designated area requirements) is a grey area and comes down to whether the state decides to try and make trouble for you. I have not heard yet of a case where this has happened, but that doesn't mean it won't. Suggest you do a very thorough job search in your sponsoring area and then if unsuccessful, armed with good documentation of your failed job search, you advise the sponsoring state that you cannot find a job despite best documented efforts, and ask them for a release letter. If they refuse, you are then left to decide if you wish to leave anyway, which may be unavoidable if you cannot find work there.

There are no guarantees that there will be no negative consequences from the sponsoring state for breaking an arrangement for sponsorship, however armed with evidence of a failed job search, that's the best defence I can think of if the state decides to bring up any issues in the future.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dipesh0402103 said:


> Hi Mark.
> I have recently got 489 visa in Orana and in my grant letter there are specific codes where i can live in Australia and where I cannot. But I got 10 points from Orana NSW (SS). I have queries regarding 887 visa. My queries are below:
> 
> In my grant letter its mentioned that I can move to any state of Southern Australia. So if I move there by taking a release letter from Orana will I have trouble to get 887 visa in future?
> 
> As I have to take 887 visa after 2 years so please suggest what is the best way I can choose so that it will not effect my 887 visa process.
> 
> Thank you very much for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JH -

Probably difficult to get any sort of a visitor visa at this point with that many days spent in Australia on visitor visas. You might have a chance if you lodge an offshore partner visa application (assuming you qualify) and then lodge the visitor visa and cite some sort of compelling/compassionate reasons why you need to spend time with your partner in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stratocaster1959 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I have just had my 600 visitor visa application refused, reason given was that I have already spent 456 days in Australia on tourist visas and this in their opinion is "more than adequate for tourist purposes". I was not as they put it "using this visa to achieve pseudo residency".
> My question is can I now apply/is there any point applying for a 3 month visitor visa ? as I am/we are planning to start the process for the de facto partner visa application. I believe it would be a lot easier to go through this process whilst with my partner in Australia.
> Thanks in advance for any advice. JH


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Foharafiq -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you determine which ANZSCO occupation code you intend on applying for a visa with, then check with the nominated skills assessor for that occupation to determine their minimum educational requirements to see if the grad dip will satisfy their requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



foharafiq said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am planning on studying Graduate Diploma for Engineering Management and was wondering if it will be considered under skilled migration for 189.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mosharof31 -

Thanks for the note. I expect you may already have the answers however if you change family members (parents, siblings) from dependent to non-dependent, then unless they are under 18 yrs old and your child, that should remove the requirement to provide health and police certificates for them.

Your partner is a different issue, as they will likely require health and police from your partner regardless of whether she is migrating or not. If health is delayed for your partner due to waiting to give birth, the case officer generally has the discretion to get a promise from the person to take the health exams after giving birth, or to delay the visa until the health exam process is complete.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mosharof31 said:


> Hi Mark, After a long time I found you and your forum is really helpful and you are so co-operative to solve problems of guys like me. Thank You Again to build such a great forum. I am going to ask you some questions regarding my 489 SS visa application lodged in 17 October, 2016. Please help me by giving suggestions.
> 
> NON-MIGRATING DEPENDENT FAMILY MEMBERS
> In the immi account I filled non-migrating dependent section with my parents, one brother and my spouse. (a) Are they migrating with you? I selected NO for everyone. But when I paid the fees It shows that Medicals and PCC required for all even they are not migrating with me. As they are not migrating with me now and in the future, even my wife, I submitted form 1023 instantly to remove all of them from Non-migrating dependent family members and keeping only me as single applicant. I even submitted form 80 and 1221 before realizing this mistake.
> Now the questions are:
> 1. Will the DIBP remove all of them or they may keep my wife only?
> Ans:
> 2. If they keep my wife on, does my wife required to do medicals and PCC, as my wife is 7 months pregnant(doctor said x-ray can be done, no problem), will they hold the application until the baby borns though my wife is not going to travel with me now and then?
> Ans:
> 
> Note: I have submitted all docs including medical and PCC.
> Please help me by giving response of my confusion.
> Waiting for you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JREY -

Thanks for the note. For skilled visas (subclasses 489, 189, 190) you can work in any occupation regardless of the occupation you are granted the visa for. For temporary work visa (457), you can only work for the sponsoring employer in the nominated position.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JREY said:


> Can anyone advise if you must work in the occupation you select at skills assessment stage. I'm a Marine Engineer (ex ships engineering officer) but my degree being in marine engineering does not restrict me to only working on ships, as most academic study is in mechanical engineering with marine subjects added in. I'm worried that if I go for skills assessment as a marine engineer, I will have a visa granted with this occupation listing and be restricted in the jobs i could apply for :-?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ron -

Thanks for the note. Re: deceased 888 witness, you could upload a statement to DIBP advising that the witness has passed away and include a couple of more 888's to further support your visa. These days partner visas are generally processed by teams of case officers, so you aren't necessarily notified when you are "assigned" a case officer as various teams work on cases.

Re: police and health, as these are good for 12 months, some people wait about 6 months or so to provide them or wait until asked. We generally advise our clients to lodge either at the beginning if they are in a hurry (in hopes DIBP will process the visa faster if health & police are provided at lodgment - this happens in a small percentage of cases) or they wait until 6 months or so to lodge.

Re: can't get PCC from China, suggest you have her write a statement explaining everything and providing whatever documentary evidence you have of what happened and request a waiver of the Chinese PCC.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuketpig said:


> Hi Mark any answers on this would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Just some questions regarding our application.
> 
> My mother was a witness on the already uploaded form 888 and has since passed away,should I amend this now or wait till I get a case officer, or can her statement still be used even though deceased?
> 
> Many have said not to do medicals or police checks until a case officer is assigned as they expire,is this still the status quo or should we be doing this now as we have already been waiting for 8 months ?
> 
> Lastly my partner was unwittingly an overstay in China for 18 months.Long story, she is Filipina and her work agent and employer held her passport from her whilst telling her she had all correct visas.She did not, and was subsequently voluntary detained for 21 days then asked to leave China when her contract ended.Her detention was all done with the assistance of the Philippines Consulate in Guangzhou.No charges or blacklists of China were recorded against her.Our problem is, as she was never a temporary residence of China they wont issue a Police Clearance and this is a requirement for our application.Can we ask a waiver for this and if so are they usually successful ? Also as she has now been here more than 12 months am I correct in assuming that she now needs an Australian police clearance.
> 
> P.S I am the Australian sponsor/partner.
> 
> Regards Ron


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DeanXX -

Expect you've sorted this out by now, but if not, please contact me via website info below - would need to know more about your circumstances.

Best,

Mark Northam



DeanXX said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I really need your help to advice me on the refusal of BVB.
> 
> I'm currently on BVA and applied for BVB. Unfortunately, my BVB application was refused due to no substantial reason given. I put the reason as "to meet my family" but I didn't elaborate more of why I need to meet them.
> 
> My dilemma is, can I reapply for BVB through Immigration dept and tell them the exact purpose of meeting my family or I have no chance to do so but needs further reviews by MRT? I have less than a month to fly.
> 
> Thanks in advance &#128557;


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vishal1 -

Re 1, for secondary applicants to avoid the English charge, unfortunately IELTS results are only valid for 1 year. This is a time of decision requirement for secondary applicants, so she can take the test again while your visa application is processing.

Re 2, yes, however secondary school certificates and other documents might be helpful to provide if they list her parents' names.

Re 3 - you'll have to work with DIBP to request a waiver - have seen this work in some cases and not in others - assessed on a case by case basis.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Vishal1 said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Thanks in advance for your general help and support regarding visas.
> 
> I am going to apply for visa category 189 (General Skilled immigrant) and i have gone through the official website of immigration australia.
> I have few quick concerns regarding supporting documents , appreciate if you could throw some light on them.
> 
> 1) Spouse IELTS result:- my wife had given IELTS and is already have qualified means above 5 band in each module. Only concern is it was given around just less than 2 years back , so if i can use that or she need to sit again for IELTS?
> 
> 2) Spouse Birth certificate:- Birth certificate is not avaialble for my spouse so can i use passport instead for birth/age proof.
> 
> 3) Police clearance certificate: i worked and lived in Saudi arabia around mode than 3 years back and stayed there for around 2.3 years and already final exit the country in 2013. But unfortunately it is very hard to get police clearance from them at this point of time, so is there any waiver or alternate in which this police clearance can ne waived off for my application . In case it is by all means i need to get it than is it required to get it for both myself and my wife also or only myself. My wife also stayed with me there during that period.
> 
> Thanks for your kind support in this. Appreciate it.
> 
> Regards
> Vishal


----------



## JanieJeff

We have recently married after 27 years of first meeting. We have always lived our lives apart going through the motions of life but never forgetting each other and having frequent contact.

We recently became both single for the first time since parting in 1990 and we are now married and trying to unravel the confusing and complicated visa system. We would like for myself and my younger (14) son to join our new family asap. However, it is not clear what is the best way to do this. Can I enter on a 3 month visa and then progress the application (which type/number) and remain whilst it is being processed? Also my son needs schooling would this be allowed? What is the quickest easiest way to do it?

Any experiences or info will be gratefully received.

Many thanks
Janie


----------



## jamielannister

Hi mark 
Happy New year. 
My sister had her 457 visa refused because her nomination was not approved by immigration. She has 21 days to appeal the decision as long as she Lodge another nomination and Lodge an appeal while decision is pending. 
What other option she has other than going to MRT route. Can she apply for any other visa? Or she is barred by s48. 
Your help will be appreciated as always.


----------



## brett11

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I am 24 year old finished master of engineering science (advanced manufacturing technology) in Melbourne (Victoria) got ielts 7 but still I am lacking with 5 points. Six months ago got job in regional Victoria(Geelong) in my stream. Can I apply for 190 or 489 visa (Victoria) with my job offer letter *without* any previous job experience?

IELTS-10
Age- 25
Skills Assessment(bachelor degree) -15
Masters study-5

Thank you.


----------



## Shama

Hi Mark,

I wanted to get information with regards to following:
I have done Engineering in biotechnology (4 years) from india and then i have worked as Environment and safety engineer for little more than 1 year.

Is it possible to be assessed as engineering technologist from engineer's Australia.

Thanks & Regards


----------



## riz.ivan

Hello Mark.

Merry Christmas. Hope that you are having a great holidays.

I am a Civil Engineer living in Queanbeyan, NSW with a visa Skilled Provisional 489. I arrived in Australia on 3rd February, 2015. On 3rd February, 2017 it will be 2 years in Queanbeyan, NSW. 

Can you please help me providing some information regarding 489 to 887 ?

My questions are - 

1. For first 6 months I stayed with my friend but I have no document. Not even in the utility bills. How can I prove that I was living in that address for the said 6 months ?

2. I have worked for 20 months full time in a company. But I was out of Australia for 33 days for holidays in which I was paid for 14 days by my employer. Can i apply exactly after 2 years or I have to wait 33 days more ?

3. Can I work in ACT after applying for 887 ? Because there is a possibility of getting a very good job in ACT very soon.

4. Or can i move to the big cities after applying ?

5. I was 33 days in Bangladesh for my holidays and got married. Do I need police clearance for that ?

Thanks.

Ivan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi PreetiSagar -

Thanks for the note. Normally this has a good chance of satisfying them especially if the company has already established a track record with DIBP re not providing duties/skills on ref letters, however either DIBP or the skills assessor may ask for additional evidence such as statements from co-workers, etc. depending on their level of interest/concern re: the work. In some cases skills assessors will have specific requirements for these additional statements - check with them too.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



PreetiSagar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to apply for Australian immigration under Visa 189.
> For skills assessment I am trying to get the experience letters from my current employer. However my company has refused to provide a letter that will describe my roles and responsibilities. The only letter I can get from HR is the one describing my current designation and joining date.
> Can I get a letter on the company letter head from my supervisor detailing my work experience. Will that be acceptable for skills assessment ?
> Can you please advise.
> 
> Thanks,
> Preeti


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zubair -

No problem generally with having two visa apps going at the same time, however chances of grant of the visitor visa may be slightly higher once you are approved for the 573 (would be subclass 500 since July 2016).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zrashid said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> My family plans to visit Australia this summer to meet out family there. We are applying for the tourist visa but i have already applied for a the student visa subclass 573.
> Can i apply another application for tourist/visitor visa along my family or i have to wait for the decision or withdraw my application under 573
> 
> Thanks and Regards
> Zubair


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Keval -

Thanks for the note. Normally whatever government-originated document such as a Deed Poll Change, Deed Name Change, etc that you have that document the old name and the new name.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



keval said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a spelling change in name in my Passport and Birth Certificate. I have mentioned the same in Form 80 &1221 and claimed my passport name as true one.
> 
> I am applying for VISA 189. Could you please list some documents which would satisfy immigration people for my name change.
> 
> Regards,
> Keval


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kodakgirl -

Thanks for the note. For first stage partner and fiance visas, the applicant and sponsor should each write the story of their relationship in their own words, date and sign. No need to notarise. For second stage partner visa, DIBP has a specific statutory declaration form you can download for the sponsor and you should use that one; applicant can still write a new relationship statement for 2nd stage partner visa describing the progression of the relationship since the grant of the 1st stage partner visa (or since original application for the partner visa).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kodakgirl said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for offering to answer questions, it is very kind of you. I have a couple which I can't seem to find clear answers to.
> 
> Firstly, as the applicant, do I have to write out stat dec as I can only find one for the sponsor. If I do, is it just a kind of copy/ paste job from what I have written on my Immi account regarding nature of commitment/ social etc.
> 
> also, I noticed that a few people had got their applicant and sponsor relationship development history essay notarised. Is this mandatory? what is the procedure if so?
> 
> Thank you kindly,
> 
> Sophie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mike -

I expect you already have an answer to this as I'm way behind in responding to forum questions (!). Yes, you must address the difference in your application - DIBP will almost certainly ask about it as someone's basic identity documents (birth cert, passport) must be in agreement, If they are not, then DIBP will want some evidence to show how/why they are not in agreement, and if one document has incorrect info, what steps you have gone through or are going through to correct it. Additional documents showing the correct date can also help.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mike665544 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have received an invitation to apply for 489 visa. As per the documents checklist we need to provide Birth Certificate. However, the date of birth in my birth certificate and passport is different 22/02/83 and 24/02/83. what can be done about that. Will it affect my visa??????????????????
> 
> Shoud I apply my visa on my on or through MARA agent.
> 
> I am really worried
> 
> please give me your valuable advise......
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Potpot -

Sounds like good evidence - I'd also ask the agent to write a letter on agency letterhead confirming the period you have lived there, and make sure that contact info for the agent (phone no) is listed on the letter so DIBP can call to confirm if necessary.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



potpot said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We are on a 489 visa and eligible to apply for 887 Visa next month. I am living in a specified regional area right in NSW. I understood I have to meet two conditions, including living in a specified regional area for at least two years and working in a specified regional area for at least 12 months, and then I am eligible to apply for visa 887. I have some queries in relation to living and hope you can help please.
> I rented an apartment from an agent with 1 month lease because that how they it do it its an apartment for short and long term rentals, its a periodic agreement signed last October 2014 After the lease ended, the agent said I did not need to renew the lease and could continue to live here until I decide to move out but I did not and next month I I am staying here for 2 years already. So the lease I signed before only shows 1 month renting, when I have been here for 23months. I could not offer utilities bills, such as gas, electricity and water as rental fee includes all bills. The agent said they can provide me with a written statement showing the rent record for a specified period I am able to offer home internet bill, bank statement with my residential address. Is it enough to prove that I have live in a specified regional area for two years?
> 
> Thank you very much in advance!
> 
> Kind Regards,
> potpot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ishe7ata -

Yes, possibly. Depends on anticipated costs of medicines and medical services. Some visas have a health waiver available if your anticipated costs exceed the limits, others do not. No good way to predict costs however as DIBP uses their own formulas, etc and the results (anticipated costs) only are available from DIBP after you have lodged your visa and taken the DIBP medical exams.

You might discuss the details of your situation with an immigration lawyer or migration agent familiar with the health criteria to get some sort of prediction on what the chances are of failing the health criteria, but no prediction is 100% accurate given that DIBP has all the formulas and numbers.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ishe7ata said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Will a chronic disease affect my 189 PR application??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tweety15884 -

No problem - if you have applied for a PMV and then get married, you simply inform DIBP of that fact, provide additional marriage evidence, and your application will be converted by DIBP from a subclass 300 (PMV) to a subclass 309/100 offshore partner visa application. No need to pay DIBP any more money for that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tweety15884 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> my fiance (Australian) and I (German) are living in Canada together and just applied for PMV 1 month ago. After spending all of our savings and probably losing one of our jobs soon due to the bad recession here, we might be forced to leave Canada earlier than planned because we won't be able to pay our bills here anymore.
> 
> I would have work in Germany and we could live with my mom but my fiance is only allowed to join me if we are married. De facto and fiance visa don't exist in Germany.
> 
> Is it possible to get married earlier and then immediately change the application to subclass 309? Or would we have to withdraw the entire application and spend another $7000? We are absolutely broke right now but we already have plane tickets to Australia in December to go on a 2 week vacation so I can meet his family. We could get married there. Not the dream wedding we planned for next year but we might not have a choice...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gaurav -

Thanks for the note. - please see responses below at *** to your questions:



verma_gaurav said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This is Gaurav Verma. I am from India. I completed my graduation in India. I also have got 2years diploma of Hospitality Management and Commercial cookery (Certificate IV) from Brisbane, Australia.
> 
> Currently I have been working in a restaurant as a manager in India for last 2years.
> 
> There is some ome in Australia, who is planning to open a new restaurant in Brisbane and sponsor me as a restaurant manager.
> I have got overall 6 bands in ielts (not less than 5.5).
> 
> I have got few questions in my mind if anyone could help me in that.
> 
> 1) Can I apply for 457 Visa while working in India? *** Yes.
> 
> 2) Should I hire immigration lawyer from India or from Australia? *** Best to hire one who is VERY familiar with 457 visas, nominations, etc as DIBP is getting very, very tough on these currently.
> 
> 3) Will Australian embessey call me for an interview or I'll have to go to Australian embessy? *** If you are not near the embassy, they may call you for an interview.
> 
> 4) What kind of questions will they ask me? *** Could be anything about your application, but usually these focus on work experience, both past and present. Also they can contact your previous employers, or show up at your current or past employer in person and start asking questions - important that all employers be ready for this.
> 
> 5) Will they call my Employer? What can they ask them?
> coz my current employer in totally unfamiliar with Embassy call. *** See above answer to #4.
> 
> Thanks and Regards,
> Gaurav Verma


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Luan -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, yes you can reapply or do a review/appeal depending on the rules of the assessor. If you put in additional documents, make sure that nothing on those documents conflicts in any way with the original documents (which they will usually reference). Re 2, yes, can try a different assessor, see what results you get there. Only issue in all of this is if the assessor believes you have provided fraudulent or bogus documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Luvin said:


> Dear Mark,
> I hope this message find you well?
> I saw many of your responses regarding many migration cases and found that you are very helpful. I wish to ask for your advice on my case!!
> I did apply for skilled assessment (General Accountant) and skilled employment with CPA last 2 weeks. Today I received a positive skilled assessment result and a negative skilled employment result (to claim 5 points for 1 year experience) which I am really worry about
> This letter regarding skilled employment stated that "The duties listed in your employment reference are not considered to be at the level of depth and complexity expected in a professional accounting role which is relevant to your nominated ANZSCO"
> I am worrying about 2 things:
> 1.Can I re-apply for skilled employment with providing more deep and complex reference letter about my duties as an accountant with CPA.
> 2. If the answer for question 1 is no, can I apply skilled employment with another accounting body such as CA. Is there any risk for doing that as my skilled employment used to be a negative one?
> Could you please advise this matter as I genuinely worked as an accountant for more than 2 years!
> I hope to hear from you soon!!!
> Kind Regards,
> Luan Dinh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MissOz -

Thanks for the note. Can't comment without seeing the actual letter, but you need to determine which part of your work experience they assessed as "skilled" - only that can be indicated on your EOI as "relevant to your occupation". Can assist you further in a consultation if you'd like where we can go over the assessment results and any specific questions - see website info in my sig below for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MissOz said:


> Hi
> 
> I just got a positive skill assessment from vetassess but I am really confused on reading the points based advise result.
> 
> Date deemed skilled for Points Test Advice: 4/2012
> Number of years assessed positively: 2.2
> 
> So I am confused on what points do i claim while filing EOI? 5 or 10?
> Looking forward to your reply.
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Katherine -

Correct. The stat decs (including Form 888's) need to be witnessed by a qualified person assuming they are completed in Australia.

Good luck with your visa!

Best,

Mark Northam



kcmarshall said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Me and my partner are applying for the 309/100 visa online. Everything I've read seems to say we don't need anything certified except the the stat decs if we have colour scans. I just wanted to be 100% sure.
> 
> Thanks for your help
> 
> Katherine


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashby -

Hard to give specific advice without knowing much more about the relationship and each of your circumstances, however if you applied for an onshore partner visa (subclass 820/801) for her, assuming all requirements for the visa were met, she could get Medicare coverage based on that application. Suggest you consult with an immigration lawyer or migration agent for more details on this and to make a specific plan.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ashby said:


> Good afternoon Mark, I hope this finds you well. I was hoping for some advice on a possible contact in Melb for our circumstances. My girlfriend is from the Philippines and is in Australia on a Temporary graduate visa (subclass 485). She was granted this visa 2 weeks ago. We have very recently (2 days ago) found out she is pregnant and are overjoyed. We looked into her health cover and realised that she doesn't have pregnancy cover. The insurance provider has a 12 month waiting period for pregnancy cover. I am an Aussie citizen and have full intent on making a family and future with this girl. What are my options if any? Thank you in advance and keep up the good work&#128077;&#128077;


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Christian -

Thanks for the note - depends on the visa and your circumstances. Here is more info on this:
https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Stud/Brin

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



casmonieno said:


> Greetings sir! My name is Christian Allen Monieno and i am currently in the Philippines and i am a Filipino, i have passed my PTE exam with a band score of 82 (Listening-83, Reading- 80, Speaking- 90, Writing- 76) i am completing my requirements as of now and i would like to consult your expertise regarding my case.
> 
> I am planning to apply for student visa in australia since i am a registered nurse here in the philippines, as far as i know, after three months of bridging school, i will be able to apply for permanent residence and work in australia. Is there any chance that i can take my fiance with me in australia via de facto visa even though i am just applying for a bridging course and permanent residence? Hoping for your reply. Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ozzy -

Thanks for the note - great question. In Australia currently (may change in 2017), anyone who gives migration advice must be a registered migration agent (RMA) with OMARA (see www.mara.gov.au). Lawyers get automatic registration as an RMA without taking any tests or without proving any knowledge of immigration law. RMA's who are not lawyers must (currently) take an intense 6-month course and pass a series of standardized exams in order to become an RMA.

The question of "which is better" is not one that is easy to answer - mainly because within both groups - lawyer RMA's and non-lawyer RMA's, there are lots of good, knowledgeable people, and more than a few people who are, shall we say nicely, not very knowledgeable. As for me, I started out as an RMA and then became a lawyer because I wanted to expand my knowledge and help clients in Federal Court matters.

Re: chances with a character issue (ie, criminal record), doesn't matter whether the case is prepared by a lawyer RMA or non-lawyer RMA as long as the person preparing the case is VERY knowledgeable about the character aspects of migration law - this is critical, especially since the character laws have been substantially tightened during the last 2 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ozzy said:


> Hi Mark, just a question regarding the difference between an agent and Migration Lawyer?
> My brother in law and his wife have an agent (they are overseas and agent in australia) and have been invited to apply for skilled visa. My BIL has a criminal record and has been told he need character references etc which he has but now his agent is telling him he has a better chance if he gets a migration lawyer? Why would she tell him this when they are ready to apply? Although he has convictions, they arent anything that listed on that grounds for refusal (terror, molestation etc), nor has he spent time in jail. My husband has convictions and never had to do any of this when he applied for his visa? He just sent off his police check and wrote info explaining it all and no questions were asked? I just feel like they are being stuffed around. Thanks.


----------



## usmanhassan

Hi Mark

Need your response on the below
I am applying for 189 as engineer
I had hepatitis c and then cured few years back. now I have test results as anti hcv positive and PCR negative

do you see this as problem in the immigration process


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cris -

Thanks for the note. I'd probably look for state government info on the web about construction supervisors, also perhaps union websites and you might check with the skills assessor for the occupation to see if there is evidence available from those sources. If nothing is found, then perhaps find out what professional organisation or peak body in Australia represents this occupation and get data from them re: if/when a licence or registration is needed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cris said:


> Hi Mark. I need some help! A friend have applied for 186 transition stream from 457 and case officer is asking for " Evidence of registration/licensing OR provide evidence that you don´t need to hold registration or licence to work in the nominated occupation"
> Where can he found this information??? How can he show that he doesn´t need registration?
> The occupation is Building construction supervisor!
> Really appreciate your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi NSNO -

Thanks for the note. Wish I had some positive news here, but I don't - any work that you indicate on your EOI as relevant to your nominated occupation is calculated for points in the EOI regardless of the date of your qualifications - in some cases skills assessors will give advice on points eligibility for work (ie, was the work "skilled") however the general rule is that only work after you complete the minimum educational qualification for your occupation is considered skilled.

DIBP unfortunately does not provide refunds in cases where an applicant is not able to substantiate all the points claimed, and any points-related items such as age, English score, etc are locked in at the time of invitation.

Sorry I could not be more help here -

Best,

Mark Northam



NSNO said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I recently applied for the EOI for a 189 and based on the points I had from the information given, I was invited to submit an application.
> 
> Subsequently after submitting my application and paying the fee, I'm being told that they will not count my overseas work experience in the UK of five years. They are saying that they will only accept any work that I have undertaken after obtaining my degree and so this now looks like my application is likely to be rejected as a result of this.
> 
> The occupation that I applied for my visa under is a QS (233213). I did my degree on a part time basis while being employed as a QS four days a week during term time, five days at all other times. I carried out duties in line with my position as a QS during this time and so for this to be dismissed is frustrating especially after being invited to apply. In the EOI, I made it clear the date when my degree was obtained so should this not have been picked up then and not after being invited.
> 
> I inquired as to if I could take an English test to gain extra points to reach the required number but was told that it wasn't possible as this was not included in my initial EOI.
> 
> Any advice that you can offer, on if you think I have any possibility of either getting a refund for my application fee, or being able to get my overseas work experience acknowledged, would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## Ali 7

*Visa update on new Passport*

Hi

My son who is 6 years old has got a new passport. Will appreciate if you may advise me how to update visa on his new passport.

Thanks
Ali


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mbranson -

Yes, likely no benefit to an AAT review if you did not have the police check issue at time of application. Suggest you consult with an immigration lawyer or migration agent to determine best options at this point as the 485 is a complicated visa - your ability to lodge onshore depends on what visa you were holding at the time the 485 was refused, but 485 must be applied for onshore so things get tricky fast when dealing with an additional 485 application plus the 6 month time limit since completing your studies, etc. Too many factors to go into here, suggest you get a professional consult to determine best options.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mbranson said:


> I have recently been refused a 485 visa because I was unaware of the need to lodge police checks. I have heard that going to the review board is a waste of time. Is this true? I had to go home for a family emergency and got back the day my student visa ended. I have recently applied for the clearance and received it but will all this hold up? Am I better of reapplying for the 485? If so, do I have to leave the country to do this?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarahchu -

Thanks for the note. Having an Australian (citizen) husband will usually be enough, however the husband (and you) will need to show an intent to return to Australia in the near future to live. You can investigate the "substantial ties" aspects of the subclass 155 visa for more on this - if you are unable to find any info on this, please contact me directly via my website below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sarahchu said:


> Hi Mark
> Need some advice and strategies tips,
> To cut a long story short,
> In 2004 me and my husband (an Australian citizen) arrived in Australia.
> Shortly after I applied for permanent resident.
> In 2005 we got married and shortly after I started work.
> On the 17th December 2007 I got granted my subclass 801 permanent resident.
> But in November 2009 I had to leave for the Uk as my mother had become very ill with life threatening kidney failure. In 2010 my husband joined me in the Uk but a year later he had to go back to Australia as his own mother had suffered a stroke.
> In 2014 my husband and he's family came to Greece and in 2015 o joined my husband there and have been living together there.
> We (my husband and I and hes family) now want to come back to Australia but I understand I need a RRV,
> 
> Will being married to an Australian citizen be enough to get my RRV after being out of australia for more than 5 years or do I need more? Don't know how to do this.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ShermD -

You'll need to get a subclass 155 Resident Return Visa to renew your re-entry rights to Australia. The Uni may still consider you a PR, which is fine, however your re-entry rights ended with the 5 yr term of the original PR visa and can only be renewed by a 155 application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ShermD said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> *Scenario:* Suppose you got the 189 skilled independent visa (PR) 5 years ago and made the initial entry, and you've not been in Australia for last 5 years. And you apply for a Australian university now (after 5 years getting the PR). then suppose I successfully enrolled in the university as a student and a resident because I already have the PR.
> 
> *Question:* so, since I didn't live there for at-least 3 yrs, I have no right to come to the Australia, right?, so, what kind of situation will I face when I go to the Australia for my university education? will they just tell me to go back to my country at the airport? Or will I have to go back home and apply for a student visa and come to Australia for the education?
> 
> *Optional question:* Does the universities etc generally consider you as a permanent resident even after I've been 5yrs away from Australia?
> 
> Regards!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kordymostafa -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



kordymostafa said:


> Dear Mr. Mark,
> 
> I will be highly appreciated if you can support me in my Case For Construction Project Manager 133111.
> 
> Shall i have to be Civil Engineer background and Education
> 
> I'm Holding a bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering 2001
> Certified Project Manager From PMI-PMP 2011
> 2 Years Diploma in Project Management from American University in Cairo
> 
> All my experience in Constriction Project Management 12 Years


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rmohan80 -

I'd check the VIC state sponsorship website for specifics, but likely OK if you advise VIC once you've arrived in VIC.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rmohan80 said:


> This is such a great thread and thank you Mark for the service you're providing. My query is as follows:
> 
> I have 190 visa sponsored by VIC. I fully intend to settle and live in VIC, but for initial few weeks/months, I would be staying with my sister-in-law's family in SA. My wife and kid and myself will be more comfortable from a logistics perspective in terms of the move if we land in SA.
> 
> Will this be an issue as the 190 conditions are to live in VIC right from the day you move to Australia?
> 
> What should I tell VIC state when I land in Australia? Can I just tell them the facts that my landing in SA is just a temporary measure and I'm starting my job hunt in VIC? Should I tell them beforehand or once I land?
> 
> Please help and guide me!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pete -

Thanks for the note. I'd check out the subclass 457 temporary work visa on the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection site. You will need to meet the ANZSCO minimum for your occupation either in terms of the minimum educational requirement, or the minimum number of years of experience which in some cases can substitute for the educational qual - see more on these minimums by looking up your occupation on Search | Anzscosearch

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ThePete said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been in Australia on a working holiday VISA for the last year. Now im back in Belgium and I really want to come back to Australia. I miss the aussie lifestyle so much! During that time i was most of the time a labour where i built up a good relation with my boss so he wants to consider offering me sponsorship. Now, neither him or me dont know whats this all about or how it works. Ive been trying to find info on the government site but its hard for an outsider to understand all of this. I just want to know if it is actually possible to get sponsored due i have no uni diploma. I do have good skills. For example, plumber (i read something about skilltest) I need some information about this matter to speak and explain to my boss. Would be great if you could give me any information.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Pete


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pinnoy -

Thanks for the note - please see answers below at *** after your questions.



pinnoy said:


> Hello Mark!
> I just had a most wonderful vacation in Sydney and Melbourne last month and I instantly fell in love with these cities! My aunt who lives and Sydney and my friend in Melbourne have convinced me to try out the idea of applying for work there or to study. I saw your work here in this forum and I appreciate the fact that you take time out to answer questions from the forum from time to time!
> 
> I have the following questions, and I'd appreciate it if I could get some answers for them in this forum.
> 
> a. What type of IELTS exam is needed to apply for the 190 Visa? Is it the General or Academic IELTS? I am asking because, I am also interested in the idea of studying in Australia, and if so... *** DIBP accepts either version for immigration purposes.
> 
> b. If I wanted to apply for a student visa, will a GENERAL Ielts test result do? Or do schools in Australia in generall only accept an Academic IELTS result? *** Best to check with the individual school(s) you're interested in - they vary.
> 
> c. I took up my masters in 2002, but didn't finish my thesis, although I took all the classes required (only the thesis remained unfinished). When I am writing down my education background, do I indicate "Masters" or just "Bachelor's Degree"? *** You could put partially completed, or if that option is not available, you may end up listing your Bachelor's degree only, depends on the specific question instructions for the form you're completing.
> 
> d. If I apply for a state sponsorship, can I apply for a job which is different from the skillset I applied for in the sponsorship? Likewise, if I get accepted and land in Australia, can I apply for work outside of my CSOL skillset? *** Yes to both re: 189, 190 or 489 visas.
> 
> e. If I see that I have more than one skillset among the CSOL list of occupation skills, what is the best way to proceed in the application? *** Research the ANZSCO skills minimums for the occupations at Search | Anzscosearch and then look up the skills assessor for each occupation and see if you meet their requirements (which are usually more difficult to meet than DIBP requirements).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> Thank you all!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rass -

Thanks for the note. You can only apply for the combo pkg of 2 visas (ie, 820/801 for onshore applicants, 309/100 for offshore applicants) for partner visas. If you meet the long term relationship requirement, DIBP can at their discretion grant the second (PR) part of the combo right away rather than making you wait out time on the temporary part of the combo.

Re: work rights, if you apply for an 820/801 onshore while holding a 651, your BVA from the 820 app will only activate once you have overstayed your max stay period for the 651 which can be 3, 6 or 12 months depending on the configuration of the visa. Once you overstay the max stay period after having previously lodged the 820, the bridging visa will activate and your work rights will begin. You'll have to change your BVA to a BVB for any offshore travel after that until the partner visa is granted. Beyond that things get too complex for a discussion here, so happy to assist further at a consult - see website below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rass said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> heres a partner visa question for you.
> 
> My wife and I have been married for 2 years and were living together for 2 years prior to that. We can prove that we have been in a relationship for 4 years now. On top of that she is pregnant and will be having the child in australia in April.
> 
> I am British passport holder and she has an Australian passport.
> 
> Due to our child being born in Australia, our goal is for me to be able to have work right in Australia as soon as possible.
> 
> As we have been in a relationship for 4 years I believe we would qualify to apply directly for the permanent residency 801 or 100, this is where I need some advise on.
> 
> Also to clarify i have a subclass 651 visitor visa which has no NFS restriction
> 
> My understanding is if i apply for the 801 i would have to wait 3 months for the bridging visa to kick in, during this time i cannot work or travel? is this correct? if so is there anyway to be able to be out of Australia during the 3 months?
> 
> Am i correct to assume that once the bridging visa comes into affect than I would have working rights?
> 
> if I was to apply for the class 100 offshore i assume I would have a bridging visa that would allow me to enter and leave Australia as i wish, my question is would I have any working rights? if not would i be able to apply for it?
> 
> Your advise on which option would be most affective on obtaining work rights as soon as possible would be much appreciated.
> 
> Many Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lisa030 -

Thanks for the note. No work is allowed under a 651 visitor visa unless that work is volunteer work that an Australian would normally NOT be paid to do, such as volunteering with neighbours to help clean up after a big storm, etc. If the work is work that Australians are normally paid to do, then you can't do that work while holding a visitor visa regardless of whether you are paid to do so or not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lisa030 said:


> hello team,
> Can I undertake voluntarly job whilst in australia holdind 651 tourist visa?
> THANK YOU


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sennithya -

I would suggest contact VIC skilled state sponsorship dept directly with this question as it's very specific to their current policies, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



sennithya said:


> Good evening Mark.
> 
> Hope you are doing good and had a fantastic weekend.
> 
> I have a quick question on Victoria Nomination 190 on english requirements.
> 
> In the victoria nomination website, it has shown that if you stay for 6 months in victoria you may exempt from higher language requirement.
> 
> My wife is a software engineer, she was in victoria in 2015 for two months, and right now staying in victoria for the last 4 months.
> 
> Can we go ahead and apply for nomination if she achieves 6 band in ielts in all module with the above quote as mentioned by the victoria website.
> 
> I am quite confused and I need your help and assistance.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Senthil Kumar B


----------



## Tourist

*What are my chances of getting a visitor visa 600 on time?*

Happy New Year, Mark!

I am an Indian citizen living in the US. I applied for my visitor visa (600) early November for an intended travel date of mid Feb at the Washington DC embassy. What are my chances of getting my visa on time?

I am a bit nervous since I have read on this forum about people missing travel dates (mostly those who applied 3-4 weeks ahead of travel date).

What factors does the embassy consider while deciding on when to issue the visa? I think I have submitted all required documents and more. I also have good travel history. I received acknowledgement of application already but nothing more than that.

I also see on this forum that other Indian citizens who applied later than me have received visas already (their travel dates were earlier than mine though).

I have been planning for this trip for so long and I will be really sad if I can't make it - it's for a milestone celebration.

The Americas Service Center agents just ask me to wait; I have already called a few times since my case is way past the 6 week average processing time.


----------



## I_like_it_here

Hello Mark. Thanks very much for taking the time to help out!

My friend is in a sticky situation with her visa. She was a dependent on a 457, broke up with the guy and, as they worked at the same place, HR/lawyers sorted everything out and ensured both parties all was well. The ex BF is now on PR.

She has since left that company and moved to another who took over the sponsorship, at this point it was not apparent that anything was amiss.

It has now become clear that her ex employer did not inform immigration of the break up and therefore she has remained on the original visa as a dependent.

Immigration now know the relationship is over so will be cancelling the visa, she has 48 hours to apply for a primary 457.

I have a few questions regarding this situation, the most important one being: what is her next step? - Does she need to get her current employer to sponsor her for the new visa and apply for a bridging visa in the interim? Or is it more complicated than that? She is concerned she may have to leave the country.

Thanks so much.


----------



## sschohan

*Help required*

Dear sir,

I need info/help regarding below query.

I have submitted EOI and got invitation for sub class 189. In my EOI I have mentioned current employment designation i.e "Manager Optimization" for entire employment period (8 years).

But during that period I've had various promotions starting from "Officer" till I became "manager".

But in Visa application I have provided details breakup wise starting from "officer , sr. officer till Manager" with tenures for that eight years with same employer.

Do I need to provide same details breakup wise in EOI or it not will impact visa application.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skl -

Thanks for the note. You can't lodge prior to 12 Apr 2017 however you can start a draft application (Stage 2 partner visa) on your ImmiAccount. You can use this link to see the documents you'll need:

https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/forms/online/partner-permanent-calculator

Just answer the questions as if it's 12 Apr 2017 and you'll see the pages come up.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



skl said:


> Hi Mark. Hope you are well. I am holding currently 820 visa. My eligible date for 801 is 12.04.2017. When should I apply to 801? Can I do it earlier than 12.04.2017? Also, what documents should I submit? Do they require medical test and police check again? What is the current waiting time for 801? Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yt666 -

She can leave Australia to visit her mother however the BVE will cease upon leaving Australia. Assuming it's an 820/801 visa she has applied for, they will keep processing the visa application, however she'll have to apply for and be granted a visitor visa to re-enter Australia to be here at the time the 820 visa is granted. In some cases DIBP will strictly enforce the "genuine visitor" criteria even though they are ready to grant a partner visa - it's a huge inconsistency.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Yt666 said:


> Quick question my partner is on a bridging visa e applying for a de facto visa. Her mother is seriously ill (palutive care) is there any way she could travel to say goodbye and not have the visa application thrown out


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi WestCountryToff -

Yes, witness statements from family and friends are helpful - you can have them print these out from computer, etc, then sign & date them and include a copy of their passport to show that the statement was written by a "real person". Statement does not need to be a stat dec, but OK if it is - make sure to use the Commonwealth Stat Dec form, not a state version. Statement from you is OK as well - generally most helpful is if it tells the story of how the relationship developed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



WestCountryToff said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Quick query - I'm applying as a de facto partner on a 457 Visa and my girlfriend is now in Australia working.
> 
> I'm submitting the application later this month, and to support certain aspects of the application wondering if obtaining written statements from family and friends are acceptable (only 2-3) If so, how are these declared as authentic. What declaration do they need to put in it or is a stat Dec form used? If so, is that accepted when they are not Australian?
> 
> Also does a personal statement from myself assist with the application and again what declaration needs to be included.
> 
> Much appreciate any assistance in advance.
> 
> Neil


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mostafa -

Given how close the spellings are, I'd probably wait until either the skills assessor or DIBP raised the issue (if they even do) and then see what evidence you can get to deal with whatever their specific objections or concerns are (ie, exactly which documents they are concerned about).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mostafamohamed said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I hope you are doing well
> I am preparing my certificates and HR letters to apply for Australian immigration Visa 189 and apply all my papers for ACS assessment. I have one issue which is my name on my passport and graduation certificate has some different letters as it was written by official government employees and not me.
> So for example my name in all my post graduate diploma and Masters degree certificates is Mostafa Mohamed AlSamy while in all my other vendor professional certificates it is Mostafa M. Alsamy and I guess this is OK as it is an abbreviation. But the issue is in my Passport as my name is Moustafa Mohamed Elsamy and in my graduation certificate it is Mostafa Mohamed ElSamy and my name on its GPA certificate is Mostafa Mohamed Elchami.
> I don't know what to do and at the same time I can't guarantee that if I ask for a new certificates or passport I will get my name correct spelling while it will take a lot of time from me.
> 
> ACS employees told me "A Statutory Declaration or Affidavit is a legally written statement declared to be true in the presence of an authorised witness, for example - a Notary Public.
> All Statutory Declarations or Affidavits must be clearly signed by an authorised witness. The document must state that it was Sworn Before, Signed Before or Witnessed Before the authorised witness by the referee and signed by the authorised witness, with the date and place in which the declaration was made and witnessed. List of Authorised Witnesses within Australia.
> 
> Please Note: If obtaining a Statutory Declaration or Affidavit outside Australia, please refer to an Australian Embassy or the legal standard of the country in which you are applying."
> 
> I do not know what to write in this document and who can sign it.
> Please provide me with your valuable advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chabayta -

My understanding is that you'll have to make a paper application for a partner visa via forms 47sp, 40sp, but you could try online and see if it works - DIBP policy is a bit hazy in this area and subject to change.

If online, either party can apply as long as the applicant is outside Australia at time of lodgment (for 309/100).

Re: passport with 6 months remaining, I believe current policy is that they won't automatically refuse, however they will request a new passport or travel document that has a later expiry date on it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chabayta said:


> Dear Mark,
> I have few questions:
> 1- Can i Apply Partner visa through Immiaccount since am holding Travel document not passport because, am not allowed to apply for visit visa online so i wonder if i can apply for Partner visa
> 2- Pratner visa subclass 309/100 can my spouse apply for me from Australia while am Outside or I should apply from the country i live in
> 3- last Question if i apply for Partner and passport expire less than 6 month do they reject or i should renew before .. and what if i go with less than 6 month while the application under process
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Oracle.2015 -

Seems reasonable, however ACS (and DIBP) will be the ultimate judges.

Best,

Mark Northam



oracle.2015 said:


> Guys,
> 
> I got reference letter from employer and it had few issues and resolved.
> 
> I want to know few things, I want to send this letter for assessment.
> 
> 1. The reference letter date is August 03, 2016. Is there any issue sending this letter to ACS for assessment ??? It is around 3 months old.
> 
> 2. The HR is not adding to date or till date words, the letter contents are :
> 
> This is to certify that Mr. ***** (name) is associated with ****(company name) since September 2011. Currently he is working as Programmer in IT department. He is a full time (48/week) and permanent employee of ***** (company name).
> 
> Responsibilties :
> ..
> .
> 
> HR is saying dont need to add to date words, in above format.
> 
> Is it acceptable ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Imrixkhan -

Re 1, I expect ACS will require RPL. Eligibility of remaining years depends on ACS's assessment of those years. If Bachelor degree is from an accredited uni, etc, then normally you would get 15 points for it regardless of relevance to your occupation.

Re: advice for PR, way too big a subject to give advice on here, but happy to assess you at a consultation where we'd have the time to do so - see website below in my sig for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



imrixkhan said:


> I have done my SSLC in 1999 then i joined call center for work and then in 2003 i did my B com from Correspondence single sitting, then i completed few international certification related to IT industry like MCP, MCSA, MCSE, MCDBA, CIW, ITIL, now i have completed MSc (Information & Technology from Karnataka state open university in 2014, currently I am working in Thomson Reuters MNC as Senior Implementation Engineer. i have total 13 Years of Information technology experience.
> 
> I have few queries I believe you have the best knowledge & experience to answer it.
> 
> Regarding my qualification and experience, just want to briefly recap about it, I have completed B com in 2003 after that I started working currently I have total 13 years experience in IT industry, while working I have completed few Microsoft certification like MCP/MCSA/MCSE/MCTS/MCDBA, as per ACS Vendor certifications MCTS I completed in 2010 accepted by the ACS as comparable to graduate outcomes of an ICT major at the AQF Diploma level.
> 
> Recently I completed MSc (IT) in 2014, but if I send M.Sc for assessment I will lose all the points for experience because ACS will consider Post Master degree experience.
> 
> My queries are:
> 
> 1. I have BCom degree which is not related to my current role and experience, can you please advise ACS will consider or not consider B com degree against ANZSCO 263111 - Computer Network and Systems Engineer skill assessment.
> 
> If ACS advises to go through RPL route if RPL deduct 6 years from my 13 years total experience, I will end up with 6.5 years experience to claim for experience points.
> 
> In this scenario can I get 15 Points for Degree and 10 points for remaining 6.5 years experience?
> 
> 2. If ACS considers my MCTS which I completed in 2010 as per ACS vendor certification accepted by the ACS as comparable to graduate outcomes of an ICT major at the AQF Diploma level, will I by getting 10 points for MCTS as its comparable AQF Diploma level? Can I claim 10 points for experience Post MCTS from 2010 to 2015 I have 5 years experience or it will be deducted ACS/RPL?
> 
> Currently I am 33 years 9 months, also preparing for PTE targeting to score above 79 in each module to get 20 points.
> 
> Please advise me and let me know can i apply to PR of Australia.
> 
> Please let me know if i am not eligible for this, so that i can check where i can improve and apply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hadoop -

Normally 485 requires at least 92 weeks in duration per CRICOS and after accounting for overseas study, however the 485 visa is a notoriously tricky visa that has lots of ifs/ands/buts. You might want to get a consultation with an immigration lawyer or migration agent to have a full and proper assessment done.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hadoop123 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a Query regarding my eligibility for 485 Visa.
> I completed my Masters with 2 overseas credits.The course duration is 102 weeks and had 16 subjects.
> 
> I got credits for 2 subjects and studied 14 subjects.
> 
> When I calculated the study period it is coming to 89.25 weeks.
> 
> Do I meet the Study requirement for 485 Visa?
> 
> Please, advise me regarding this.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maria -

DIBP will normally advise you by email or post, however that's not required. You can put together a draft 2nd stage partner visa in your immi account at any time, and to see docs and other requirements, visit:

https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/forms/online/partner-permanent-calculator

And put in the dates as if you were already eligible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maria from India said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hope you r doing well.
> 
> I am currently holding partner visa(subclass 309) . My date of application for partner visa is 14.02.2015. I got my temporary visa on 12.2.2016. So, my eligible date for subclass 100 is 14.02.1017.What all things i have to do for getting pr? What all documents I have to submit?Will the immigration department notify me or not?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amori -

Sorry to hear your visa was cancelled. Would need to work with you in a consultation to determine whether you are eligible for a PMV subclass 300 visa or partner visa - see my website info in the signature below.

If DIBP paid for your return air tickets, you'll have to clear that debt or get an approved payment plan in place for it - you can email [email protected] to enquire as to the process and get forms.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Amori said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you can help me. I was visiting my boyfriend on a tourist visa, I left after 3 months to New Zealand, but when I tried to enter again, my visa was canceled.
> 
> I was told that we can apply for a Partnership 302 visa, but we want to apply for a Prospective Marriage visa 300, but we are not sure if we can?
> 
> I also have to pay back my plane ticket, but I am not sure who I should pay or how and I was wondering if you might have some information on how to find out?
> 
> Thanks,
> Amori


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lisa030 -

A refused entry is considered by DIBP to be an exclusion, so you'll have to answer YES to any questions re: excluded and give an explanation. They might also consider it being "asked to leave" although technically I'm not sure that is accurate since you were never allowed to enter. In any case, I'd suggest erring on the side of caution and answering yes if the question seems to refer to what happened.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lisa030 said:


> HELLO !
> Need a help and understanding
> 
> Im applying for PMV 300
> Not long time ago I went to NZ for a weekend(2days) and Migration of NZ didn't allow me to enter because 2 days its not holidays.. annyway. MY question is does it mean that I 've been removed, or deported ,or excluded , or asked to leave country?? Or it doesn't mean anything? (I do not need visa to enter to NZ)
> 
> gratefull


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megan -

As a UK citizen you could get a visitor visa for Australia (ETA probably best) to visit him here and then, as long as that visa did not have condition 8503 (no further stay) on it, if you decided to lodge a partner visa after you came here on the visitor visa, you could lodge the 820/801 onshore partner visa. There are many other requirements for eligibility - more than I could go into here, but would suggest you check out the requirements for the visa and see if it works for you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mhclarke said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Wondering if you could help. My situation is that me and my partner both currently live in the UK, and have been together for over 6 years. He is an Australian Citizen by descent and holds a Australian passport.
> 
> We wish to emigrate and was wondering what options we have in terms of a visa for me?
> 
> He has been offered a job (not currently accepted) in Sydney, starting in Feb 2017.
> 
> I am in my 3rd year of university (Biomedical Science) finishing in June 2017, and will be wanting to emigrate ASAP to join him after my degree.
> 
> I have researched the Defacto partner visa 820, but I am aware you must already be in Australia to apply for this.
> 
> What would your advise be on the best course of action to proceed.
> 
> Thank you very much in advance
> 
> Kind Regards
> Megan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MobileStudent -

Normally a relevant Bachelor degree is needed for the Accountant (General) occupation - I'd check with the skills assessor(s) for any occupation you are interested in and see what rules they have for relevancy re: your educational qualifications - the skills assessors all differ, so there's no substitute for checking each out carefully.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MobileStudent said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your advice that would help thousants of people.
> I have graduated both my bachelor's and master's degree in *economics*. However, my college diploma was *Accounting and Audit*.
> 
> Does a college diploma entitle me apply for PR under SOL?
> 
> Any info would be highly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Uvrays -

I expect you will probably be OK, however ultimately the best solution is to get the IELTS people to correct the test report form. DIBP will confirm the test results but can also confirm photo match, so likely will only be an issue if DIBP decides to make it one.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



uvrays said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to apply for Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189). I have received my IELTS score.
> 
> Now my concern here is, the ielts score card does not have my middle name - which is a conflict with passport.
> 
> Passport has:
> Given Name: <First Name> <Middle Name>
> Surname: <Last Name>
> 
> IELTS Score card: <First Name> <Last Name>
> 
> Now should I be worried because of this mismatch. I contacted the IELTS authority to get this corrected. But there has not been much assistance. I am quite satisfied with my score and dont plan to give the exam again.
> 
> I believe, this should be a common problem. Can you please guide? Will this cause problems in my processing? What precautions should I take?
> 
> Awaiting guidance,
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mtri23 -

Hard to predict, but I expect external security checks are what may be holding things up. These can take anywhere from a few weeks to many months (12+) depending on the country and caseload.

It's been a while since you posted your question, so hope you may have received some good news in the interim -

Best,

Mark Northam



mtri23 said:


> Hi mark! thank you for your time!.
> We are applying for visa 189. My husband is the principal. we applied for visa on may 2016 with 60 points. The Co requested me for ppc and medicals on 6th july which i submitted them on 25th july. Then on august 14th they ask for another document from my husband, we send it on august 16th. Since then the status is "assessment in progress".
> We have been waiting for 3 months and nothing happened. So my question is, what probably is happening? how long would it take to get the visa? why are they taking so long?
> 
> Thank you for your time! we are getting really anxious.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gaurav -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, you lose points on your 33rd birthday, not before. Not sure what the EOI online site may be doing. Age and other points factors are locked in at the date of invitation from DIBP - doesn't negatively affect you if you then have a birthday AFTER invitation but before applying for the visa. Re 2 years of experience ACS took, you can include this on your EOI, just mark it as not being relevant to your nominated occupation and it won't calculate the points for those years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GauravAgrawal84 said:


> Hi Mark thanks for all the brilliant work u r doing in this thread I just have 3 questions for you if u could please help:
> 
> 1. I am submitting my EOI for 189 visa with 60 points today (30 points for age, 15 for education, 10 for PTE Academic and 5 for work experience). My dob is 18 Dec 1984 i.e. I will be turning 32 next month. Now suppose I receive my invitation before my birthday next month but I am able to apply for the visa only after my birthday, does that invalidate my invitation because of loosing 5 points? Can I still use the same invitation even after turning 32 claiming 60 points and apply for the 189 visa?
> 
> 2. I have read on many forums that you loose points for age on your 33rd birthday and not 32nd. So because I had the above confusion I purposely changed by dob to 18th May 1983 i.e. 32 yrs 6 months and wanted to see if I loose points. To my surprise the skillselect displayed a message on the 13th step,, the final one, in the EOI that I have only 55 points. I didn't change anything else. Why am I looosing points in the EOI for crossing 32 age?
> 
> 3. In the EOI I do have mentioned my ACS skills assessment number. In my ACS skills assessment they deducted mine initial 2 years of work exp as not appropriately skilled experience. Now should I enter that 2 years also in the section where they ask for employment details in the EOI or not? When I enter those 2 years also I get 10 points in the EOI and if I don't input those 2 years I get 5 points. I know DIAC is going to give me only 5 points based upon my ACS Letter. What should I do. I don't want to receive an invitation for 65 points and then later CO invalidating that.
> 
> Eagerly awaiting for your response.
> 
> Thanks,
> Gaurav


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi C00kiemonster -

It was your lucky day! That's the only explanation I've got. We hear that sometimes DIBP picks application from the queue and gives them superfast processing in order to keep their processing statistics in line - not sure if this was the reason, but congratulations on your visa!

Best,

Mark Northam



c00kiemonster said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I don't have a visa problem, and my question is more out of curiosity, really.
> 
> I applied for visa 309/100 offshore from the UAE in early August. I received an email to submit medicals and PC in early October, and I submitted them in early November. After that, we weren't asked to submit additional documents, and they didn't call us for an interview. Surprisingly, I was granted my visa in mid-November. I have a Philippine passport, so the service time was supposed to be 1 year. What's even more surprising is that they granted me my visa 309 and visa 100 at the same time!
> 
> I applied on the basis that we were married. At the time of application, we were only married for 2 months, we were engaged for less than 2 years, and we have lived apart since the day we first met 9 years ago. Given that, I believe we didn't qualify for a de facto relationship and for the criteria for expedited visa 100 grant that I read online.
> 
> Not that I'm complaining but I am really surprised, and obviously happy for getting my PR immediately.
> 
> I'm curious to know what I did right to get this blessing! Is it a common occurrence?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> PS, I've been working in the UAE for almost 6 years now, and I would have qualified for skilled visa 189 based on the criteria.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nims -

No. The 5-year waiting time between sponsoring applicants only applies to partner and fiance visas, not to skilled visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



namita0743 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am planning to apply for my 189 by July, 2017 and would add my partner as de facto later in the application. Would adding him means that I cannot sponsor anyone for the next 4 years.
> 
> Regards,
> Nims K.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deepadg -

No way to predict as there are many more factors that have to be considered such as pay, hours, relevance to your nominated occupation, availability of supporting documents (payslips, etc) and much more. I'd look into the ACS requirements assuming your occupation is assessed by them. For DIBP, they will only consider work within the 10 years prior to being invited to apply for a skilled visa (assuming you are doing a skilled visa), but skills assessor may utilise work experience before that period to satisfy any requirement they may have for work experience that must be demonstrated before you become "skilled".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



deepadg said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> It's wonderful to see the way you help with your responses!
> I'm considering immigration to Australia under skilled Migration PR visa. My query is - what are the potential points I could get for skilled experience? I completed my computer engineering degree in 1996. I have relevant work experience from Sept 1998 till April 2010. And then from Aug 2013 till date (Nov 2016). Could you please help me to understand the potential points I could get for skilled overseas experience? Thankyou, Deepa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abhishek -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict, as DIBP has no time limits on itself. We're seeing 189/190's being processed anywhere from 4 months to 10 months, so it's a wide variety of processing times.

Best,

Mark Northam



Abhishek Kumar Jha said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a Mechanical Engineer from India ( Anzsco Code : 233512).
> I had applied for VISA subclass 189 for me,my wife and my 3yr old daughter.
> We filed our visa on 6th Aug 2016, on 18th Aug we received an email from CO regarding Health Clearances of my wife and was requested to undergo further more tests,meanwhile mine and my daughter's case was cleared.After 8 weeks, we got the results from DIBP clinic that results were OK and would be uploaded soon. On 14th Nov 2016 we had checked that Health Clearances , the IMMI account showed the Health Clearance for my wife was given. Thereafter we received a seperate email from CO on 22 Nov'16 regarding signing a Health Undertaking form 815 and uploading the same on IMMI account. So far close to 110 days post our Visa Application, our family is still waiting for the VISA grant. Any ideas from your rich experience as it shall require how many additional days ?? To also note so far no other query has been raised by CO so far for example regarding employment verification etc... Please Guide Us.
> 
> Thanks & Regards
> Abhishek


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kingfisher -

They must wait and consider your response to the s57 letter before making a decision, however in many cases if you do not respond to the s57 letter, they will refuse, assuming that the negative info is correct.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kingfisher said:


> Hi Mark,
> You are doing a great job by helping people.
> DIBP sent Section 57s Natural justice for subclass 801 regarding unfavourable information received and asked to comment. so from your experience, did the made decision already or after sending a submission/commenting they are going to make a decision for the permanent visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yogdev -

Thanks for the note. No problem lodging nomination during the 3yr exclusion period, but you will need to get a 4013/4014 waiver in order to be granted a 457 visa within the excl period. These can be tough to get as they require compelling or compassionate circumstances related to an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible NZ citizen, or compelling reasons related to Australia as a country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



yogdev said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am from India, I have worked two years on 457 visa 2009 to 2011; Visited again in FA 600 Visitor in October 2013.
> 
> Unfortunately, I am under automatic re-entry Ban for 3 years due to overstay of 3 months; I went to Immigration office and was given Bridging E; made voluntary departure from Australia on March 2014.
> 
> Recently got an employment offer by an Australian employer, they have lodged 457 nomination and I was notified to file a new 457 application by the employer. No criminal records, No owing to Australian Govt. or Public entity. Clean work records and high tax payer.
> 
> 1.Will the employer nomination be accepted by DIAC during the Re-entry ban?
> 
> 2.Shall I lodge the 457 application with a waiver request?
> 
> 3.Should I wait till March 2017 for the re-entry ban to complete?
> 
> Kindly suggest a plan for my situation.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daisy2016 -

Yes, I'd put in anything generated by a third party that has either name and the common address on it. You could also include statements or statutory declarations by your landlord, friends, co-workers, employers (ie, emerg contact info or HR/payroll records showing address) or anyone else who is knowledgeable about the fact you were living together.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Daisy2016 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> We have been asked to submit additional information. They want more evidence of our cohabitation during the time we lived together for about 2.5 years. We have submitted several letters etc addressed to both but not enough apparently and they want one at least each month!!!
> 
> We have collated a few more but I am finding hard for some months, we just cant find those correspondence from a third party anyweher in those months.
> I do have Paypal shopping transactions with our names/addresses for those months, would that be counted as cohabitation???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Imanh -

That normally will be sufficient unless DIBP doubts the authenticity of the document or the validity of the previous marriage, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Imanh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My questions is regarding fiancé visa 300. My fiancé was perviously married, her ex husband past away and she has a 2 year old. My question is doea she only need to provide his death certificate in order to bring her son with her? Or is there anything else we need to provide.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Meher -

I'd compare your transcript with the units of study for an Australian Bachelor of Actuarial Studies - several top universities in Australia offer this degree. If there's enough similarity, might be worth an appeal to VETASSESS utilising that data.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Meher said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Could you provide some guidance on my query?
> 
> I have cleared my graduation in B.A Mathematics (Honors) from top university in India and have 5 Actuarial papers along with 5+ yrs of experience in Actuarial field till today.
> 
> I have received negative response from Vetassess with the below reasons:
> 
> Qualification/s:
> 1. Bachelor of Arts completed at University of Delhi, is assessed as comparable to the educational level of an AQF Bachelor degree and is therefore at the required level.
> *Field of study Mathematics is not highly relevant*
> 
> Country of employment: India
> Employment assessed:
> The employment does not meet the minimum requirements for this occupation as the employment does not follow a qualification at the required level in a highly relevant field
> 
> The occupation of Actuary, ANZSCO code 224111 is a Group A occupation requiring a qualification at Bachelor degree level in a highly relevant field. Per the university transcript provided there are insufficient specific actuarial subjects covered in this degree.
> A negative assessment was reached on this basis.
> 
> It would be very helpful for me if someone could guide me as to what qualifies as highly relevant education for a Group A occupation and how can I go about proving it to Vetassess.
> 
> I thought of providing a syllabus comparison between my degree course and the actuarial papers along with expert opinion from a Qualified Actuary. Could there be other possible documentation/evidence I could show in your opinion?
> 
> Thanks and Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shelby and Sofia -

Normally that refers to your current residential address, however also including a history of living together would very likely be an important element of your relationship evidence as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ermiticasofy said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> It's Sofia and Shelby from Melbourne.
> We are in the process of attaching the documents for our partner visa.
> It is asking for evidence of residential address - do they need evidence of history of living together or do they need evidence of the current address we are living at?
> Thank you in advance.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Shelby and Sofia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dinky -

Thanks for the note. Can't predict accurately without much more info, but based on what you've said, I think there's a substantial chance they will not see those 2 work experiences as being relevant to each other.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dinky said:


> Hi mark!
> I have a question regarding my RSMS 187 visa. I am hoping to be sponsored by my work as a restaurant manager, and have to prove 3 years of relevant experience... I have 3 year of experience working for a cleaning company, 2 of those 3 years were spent as Operations manager. what I want to know is if the DIBP will see that as "relevant experience" as they are not within the same field?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ruihong -

Yes, you can proceed with the medicals if you'd like, however if the visa takes more than 12 months to process, your medicals could get out of date and you may have to take them again. Some people wait several months after lodging a partner visa, etc to take the medicals to try and avoid the outdated problem.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ruihong said:


> Hi Mark,
> I just join the forum here.
> On Monday, I did 309/100 lodgement online thr immiAccount and attached all docs except Med Exam for my wife in China. Now I have one thing confused - The Medical Checkup.
> 
> In immiAccount, I have gone to link " Organise your Medical" and done medical history and consented and got Referal Letter with HAP ID. So? can I go ahead to do medical exam now? before hearing anything from a CO?
> 
> Because I noticed on immi wedsite which instructed DO NOT do med check after lodgement, till Case Officer tells you to do so with provided HAP ID.
> 
> What should do?
> Go ahead to do Med Check or wait for CO's notice?
> 
> Many thanks!
> 
> Hong
> 
> .
> 
> Is there any problem if i gohead medical without CO notification? I have lodged 190WA .Thanks
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victorjbl -

Sounds like you may have already solved this, but normally DIBP will not allow a visa application with an expired passport. They can make exceptions in some cases however - you'll have to work it out with them at the time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



victorjbl said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am from Venezuela. My passport is expiring on the 4-01-2017 and I am expecting my invitation by 18-02-201. My passport is not expected after that date. How is this going to affect my application? The embassy gave me a letter explaining the situation and it is directed to the immigration. Can i still apply for the residency and then change my passport detail, once I get it.
> 
> victorbjbl


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Breminchi -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, in theory yes but have never seen it done.

Re 2, you'll have to check with your local school system re: their rules - they vary from state to state.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Breminchi said:


> Hi Mark,
> First off thank you for the great service you are doing here!
> And I have a few things that i need cleared up if you would kindly?
> 1.Can a NFS condition be placed on a ETA visa 601 that may prevent us for applying for a partner visa if we decide to while back in Australia?
> 
> 2. Can a child on an ETA visa 601 attend primary school on that type? or is there another type that is required that will allow that?
> 
> We are going back to Australia next year to live for the duration of the my wife and step daughter;s ETA visa to see if we really want to move back there from Japan. I was thinking if we wish to remain there we would lodge while onshore.
> Would there be anything preventing us from doing that?
> We are going back on the grounds of a holiday and to visit family but if we feel it's right, we will apply there.
> Sorry a few questions in there but would really appreciate your feedback!
> thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charlotteb -

Normally as non-migrating dependents DIBP will not require passport info from them. Need to make sure you show them as non-migrating dependents however (not migrating) and show them as Australian Citizens - this will avoid requiring them to undergo health exams. DIBP may still ask for sponsor police checks, although in your case I think there's a good chance they will not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charlotteb said:


> Hi Mark,
> I hope this is ok to ask as I'm confused! I'm about to start applying for a 309/100 visa and have 4 young children with my Australian husband. They have dual citizenship - UK by birth and Australian by descent. The application form asks for passport details of children, and states a police check for my husband is required if there are children involved. Is this still the case if the children are actually Australian? I'm the only one in my family unit needing a visa. Can I submit their passport details at a later date as they don't actually have a passport yet - I thought as they were citizens they wouldn't need one in order for me to apply, only for travel?
> Many thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alicebb892 -

I wouldn't be too concerned, as for the PMV you are not required to be in a de facto relationship and therefore mixing of finances and living together is not the focus of the relationship assessment. For the PMV the focus is on showing that you have a genuine intent to enter into a married partner relationship in the future.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Alicebb892 said:


> Hi, Mark
> I am so filled of worry right now. I have been living together with my boyfriend no joint lease, no joint bank, I worked and paid for the house and bills each months. Similar like housemate but we live together. last year, he was on centrelink for almost a year. (now he is working). and I am working in Indonesia. We gonna get engaged soon and get married next year. I am thinking of applying PMV visa after we got engaged. I have a lot of questions but the thing that make me worried is while my boyfriend in centrelink, he did not put me as a Defacto, but only as a Friend. Personally, I do not consider myself in a defacto relationship. We have an ongoing and genuine relationship however, we have separate bank account, and we divide the bills and I paid for my share of monthly rent and bills. Do you think its gonna affect my PMV application? Please give me advice.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Danvisa -

It is impossible to apply for a subclass PMV Prospective Marriage Visa while onshore in Australia - applicant must be offshore at the time of application and time of grant for that visa. However even if you declared you were going to lodge an onshore partner visa, that may in fact be reason for refusing a visitor visa, and there is certainly no guarantee against a no further stay 8503 condition simply by saying you are going to lodge an onshore partner visa.

I would reconsider wherever you're getting this information, as it seems to be largely incorrect.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Danvisa said:


> hi mark,
> as you have provided good advice for me in the past, i wanted to run something past you, i think it would also help other people out.
> 
> i have been advised elsewhere in this forum that;
> "the rules changed a few years ago, applying for a visitor visa for the purpose of applying for an PMV ONSHORE is no longer considered a non genuine visitor, therefore can not be used as a reason for refusal and will ensure a visa with out a 8503 condition (no further stay)"
> what this means for me personally is that my fiance is applying for a 6 month multi entry, we fully intend to apply a PMV or partner if we manage to marry in the meantime in the first half of next year and would love to have it processed onshore.
> should we tell them we want to apply for PMV onshore?
> it doesnt matter to us for her to have a continual stay in australia, we have a rental in thailand and i work away from home so we will both be going back and forth all the time
> about us--
> she is from thailand
> relationship since 2011 engaged since 2015
> 1 month visitor in 2013
> 12 multi visitor in 2014


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Timothytunde -

Thanks for the note. The birdie is years out of date - currently no DIBP requirement that you have worked in your occupation within x years of applying for a skilled visa, although some skills assessors have this sort of thing incorporated into their requirements.

Lack of payslips for work experience claimed for points on a skilled visa can be a problem if DIBP doubts the authenticity of your employer ref letter - generally now (thanks to all the jerks chucking in fake employment documents who ruin it for everyone else) DIBP requires some sort of third party evidence of payment for work experience claimed for points, so if you don't have payslips, you may need to find some other evidence of payment (ie, tax documents, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



timothytunde said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm about to apply for the skilled migration 189 visa. I just completed my MSc in Information System. I got a completion letter from school as evidence to this fact. I've also completed a skilled assessment test with ACS and it shows the relevant number of years. I've gotten an invite from EOI. The issue I have at the moment is the fact that the last time I worked was 31st of January 2014 and a little birdie told me that I need to have been in an employment at least 12 months prior to the time of application. Although the past two years, I was completing my MSc. Will this affect my application?
> Also, I can only provide an employment reference as evidence and I can't find any of my payslips. Will this weigh in negatively? Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984 -

Great to see you back! I've been gone recently for some weeks due to work overload and the holidays - catching up now on all past questions.

No problem in your case as your points are locked in as of the date of invitation from DIBP. If after you apply for the visa you have to delay health checks, that may delay grant of the visa but wouldn't change your points since points are locked in as of date of invitation, not any other date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well.
> Quite a long time that I haven't posted here.
> 
> Mark my occupation code is 261312. My total point is 65 (60+5) with NSW SS with date of effect as 28th Nov 2016. As per last year trend I am expecting the invitation anywhere around March-April 2017. As per the EOI my application also includes my wife as a dependent (I am not claiming partner points). My wife is pregnant and we are expecting a baby around June-July 2017. My concern is if I get invited say in April I can't get my wife's medical done as X-ray cant be done (or may be not advisable) on pregnant ladies. Moreover if I ask the CO (after getting the invitation) to hold my application till the baby is delivered, may be in that process I loose precious time as in Oct 2017 my total point score will decrease by 5 points because of the increase in age.
> 
> Please guide me and let me know what to do and how to handle this situation.
> 
> Thanks a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anuj_dhall -

I'd just keep a certified copy of your old passport and new passport - showing both should resolve any issues if they come up re: docs generated while you had your old passport.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anuj_dhall said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hi All,
> 
> I am from India.
> I have submitted EOI on 27th Nov with 75 points.
> But facing one dilemma.
> In my current passport i dont have my wife's name endorsed , so to get the PCC done, i will need to get a new passport which will result in change in passport number.
> 
> Please help/suggest/guide how it is going to impact my future visa application if i get a invite in next invitation rounds.
> I hope my PTE result card, ACS done on previous passport number and EOI submitted with previous passport number will hold good.
> 
> Any inputs will be really appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KT1 -

Yes, exactly the right procedure.

Best,

Mark Northam



KT1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Recently have received an email notification on 100 permanent visa application eligibility. I tried using IMMI account till the menu where I input my personal details such as passport number and etc. The system doesn't allow to proceed which I guess could be in their records had my old passport number when I first was issued 309/100 visa grant. In fact when I received my new country passport I was out of Australia in which the airline counter staff called Canberra to update the new passport details. Guess it doesn't mean the system has been updated since it may not be centralised system.
> 
> In this case should I use paper Form 929 "Change of Address and/or passport details" to submit inform borders and immigration department at one of their offices (I am unable to update on immi)? And wait for the system to be updated before continuing 100 visa application on IMMI account?
> 
> Many thanks for the assistance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mx2mnm -

Thanks for the note. I'd include as much info as you have on the parents and add a note to the application (you can upload a letter or whatever you'd like) explaining the circumstances and that you simply don't have some of the info being requested.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mx2mnm said:


> Hello Mark, thank you so much for answering all of our questions.
> I am applying for an offshore partnership visa and I'm wondering how important the family information is. I (the person that would be receiving the visa) am estranged from my mother and the application asks for parent information and whether they are married and step siblings, etc. I know my mother got married recently but do not know her new husband's name or whether she changed her last name, or whether he has any children of his own. Am I ok just continuing to leave this information out? Surely there are other people who do not get on with their families? Also I have no father on my birth certificate so I cannot include any information on him - they will see this and not be concerned, correct?
> Thank you so much, Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Naush123 -

Thanks for the note. DIBP does not consider it an innocent mistake that someone forgets that they were banned from entering a country - to DIBP, that's a big deal.

Safest route is to lodge Form 1023 to correct the answers on the application form and Form 80 re: being excluded from a country, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



naush123 said:


> hi Mark
> 
> I am in a dilemma. I have submitted my application for Australian PR and by mistake I forgot to mention that my Spouse (secondary applicant) got Canadian PR rejected and banned a year back. It is a very innocent mistake on our part. But now we have not mention it in our Form 80. One of my friend also made the same mistake but he got his "visa granted" and now he is also in the same dilemma on how to go about the issue.
> 
> What should be the way to go?
> 
> Please advice.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Greatbrazil -

Yes, absolutely. DIBP must consider all evidence presented up to the point they make a decision on a visa. You can get info on the post that is processing your visa from the acknowledgement letter or other correspondence you might have received post-lodgment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Greatbrazil said:


> Hi Mark,
> Is it possible to inform the department of a pregnancy and perhaps add some extra evidence from the 12 months passed since submission via email?
> The original application was a paper submission.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Snowball -

Thanks for the note. Safest bet if this has not yet been resolved is to send in certified copies of your ID documents - passport, birth certificate especially, and you can include a cover letter offering to provide further certified copies upon request.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Snowball said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for your service. My husband And I submitted a paper application for 309/100 visa in the USA over two weeks ago. I called dibp about certifying documents when starting the application and the assisistant reported that documents in the USA do not need to be certified and they will ask if they need to be. I thought I made the assistant aware this was a paper application. After reading over this forum I am feeling nervous and unsure about not having my documents certified. My card has not been charged and I have not received confirmation that the application has been received yet. Should I send another package with my identity and other important documents certified (notarized) or leave it alone? We do not want our application refused over any miscommunication, especially since most people use online applications. Any advice would be appreciated.
> Thank You


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rosee -

Thanks for the note. No way to waive the Australian Study Requirement for the 485 visa (ie 92 weeks in length per CRICOS and at least 16 months taken to complete) but I'd look into the subclass 457 employer sponsored visa or the subclass 187 RSMS regional employer sponsored visa as other possible options after graduation depending on your occupation and other circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rosee said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Thank you very much for your great effort, absolutely wonderful job here!
> 
> I have a question regarding getting the 485 Visa or any other types of work/live in Australia options after finishing my postgraduate program.
> 
> I am an international student and I have received an admission for a postgraduate program in Australia. It's an MBA program, and the program duration is 1.5 year (or 16 months ~ 69 weeks). That is from Feb 27, 2017 until June 30, 2018.
> However, I really wish to stay and live in Australia after graduation.
> 
> From my understanding, the 485 Visa  which is the Post-Study-Work-Visa, which is designed for for graduate intl. students who wish to stay in Australia after graduation, requires completing an Australian degree plus a study duration of at least 92 weeks/or 2 years towards that degree. Source: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/485-
> 
> Now, the reason why I opt for the 1.5 year option instead of 2 year MBA option - well, aside from previous education and experience overseas- is mainly _financial_. Studying an additional semester to complete the 2-year requirements (or 92 weeks) for the 485 Visa would cost me an additional $25,000 for tuition and living, that's I cannot afford unfortunately.
> 
> I'm not sure if the 2-year requirements can be waived under any circumstances.
> 
> In terms of work experience, I have 2 years of banking experience, and 6 months of project management in Dubai.
> 
> *I would like to know if there is any other option/another path for me to stay in Australia after finishing my master degree.*
> 
> Your response is greatly appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TraceyRyu -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your issues. I'd keep trying with the new case officer and explain the situation in detail, and see if they will give him a waiver and let him sign a stat dec re: police record in China (ie, no record). Assuming you stay married, DIBP will require the PCC from him whether he is migrating or not I expect - same with children.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TraceyRyu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am desperate for help.
> 
> I've lodged my visa application (subclass 189) since April 2016. I am living in Hong Kong and am a Registered Nurse and I've obtained my skills assessment and my nursing licence earlier on. The problem I have is like this. I've included my husband in my application. He worked in Mainland China for several years which, unfortunately fell on the 10-year period for Police check. What makes it worst is he can't provide an official police clearance to the DIBP despite his attempts to obtain one. The Chinese local government really sucks. Each department just shirked their responsibilities and push my hubby to another department. He had tried but in vain. We were asked by one case officer for providing the police check during that period of time and we've explained to her about our situation. Two months afterwards, we received yet another request for statutory declaration for my hubby. He did it as instructed. Then we wait yet another 4 months and another case officer asked us to submit the police clearance certificate again, with instruction, as if we've done it wrong last time, which is why we failed to get one. It's so frustrating. We've been waiting the result for half a year and there seems no progress or anything. So I'd like your advice for two main problems:
> 
> 1. If I withdraw my hubby's application, do I still need to submit his police check? As I saw in their instruction for character requirement: _Police check for you and everyone included in your application, whether they are migrating or not._. He's not financially dependent on me. Therefore, I guess, he's not counted as non-migrating family members. Am I right?
> 
> 2. What if I explain to my case officer again (the fourth case office since lodgement)? Do you think it worths mentioning the work he'd done? By the way, she mentioned in her email that our request for waiving the police check during that period of time can't be approved. She provides instruction on how to get the Penal clearance. Does that mean she's already gone through all my hubby's docs and that's the final decision despite his statutory declaration?.
> 
> Thank you in advance for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Msankar85 -

Thanks for the note and detailed description of your circumstances. To be blunt, the fact you wilfully remained here without a visa won't help.

Chances of getting a 4013/4014 waiver of the 3 year exclusion period depend not on your study/economic history, but whether you can meet the (tough) requirements for the waiver, which are either:

* Showing a compelling benefit to Australia from your re-entry prior to the end of the excl period (school fees are specifically excluded per DIBP policy)

or

* Showing a compelling or compassionate benefit to an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible NZ citizen from your re-entry prior to the end of the excl period

If you can meet either of the above, you may have a chance at the waiver. You may want to consider getting professional help with the waiver given the challenges involved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Msankar85 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a complicated situation regarding immigration and I am not sure how to handle the situation. First off, my background with immigration in Australia. I first entered Australia from Canada in July 2014 on an eta, I then applied for a student visa onshore as OzTrek, the Canadian agent I applied to my university through advised me that this would be ok. I was a little last minute on organizing my paperwork with the uni so did not apply until I was onshore. Everything was ok and I was approved. I decided to extend my study for an additional semester, but went home to Canada for Christmas holidays for 6 weeks. In that time I applied for a working holiday Visa to return to Australia as I noticed it allowed for one semester of study. I did this because I thought I may want to stay in Australia longer after my study semester. However, I did not stay longer and departed in mid July soon after completing my study due to having family commitments to tend to at home.....weddings, ill relatives etc. etc.
> 
> I began to miss Australia again soon after the Christmas season of 2015 passed. I decided once again to study at UQ...each time I have been pursuing my higher degree in increments i.e. grad cert. to grad dip. and this time I wanted to pursue my masters.Once again I had entered on an eta, which I misunderstood and thought was good for one year from my first entry (I did not realize I had to leave every three months) I also saw that it could cover me for one semester of study, so I did not apply for my student visa straight away.
> 
> When I went to make the application in May, I saw that I was not able to lodge my application online, and realized what had happened when I looked at my eta status. I was conflicted on what to do because my course fees were paid in full and the university never checked my visa status. In early June the DIBP contacted me about my status and their advise to me was that I could exit Australia and apply for the student visa offshore and argue compelling and compassionate circumstances due to having paid my student fees, and only having a short time remaining on my study and having complied with visa terms on previous visas....but outcome would not be guaranteed due to the three year exclusion.
> 
> I already spent so much on the study that I didn't want to risk leaving and throwing it all away should they say no to my application. I ended up studying up until November without holding a visa, not one single word from the university about it. I will now be turning myself in to the immigration, getting a bridging visa and heading back home to Canada.
> 
> I know I will be subject to the three-year exclusion period. However, I am pretty sure I would like to return to Australia before three years time.
> 
> I potentially would like to pursue higher study again. Based on my account of events how likely do you think it would be they would waive the three-year ban for a period of 4-8 months for me to complete further study?
> 
> All records from the university would show I was a genuine student, submitted all assignments, participated in group projects etc. and also that I paid all my tuition out of pocket without any scholarship funding. This money is total of approx. $50,000 AUD which has been invested into the Australian economy. In my time in Australia, I never held a job but put much money into the Australian economy by paying my tuition, living costs and also through all the traveling and sightseeing I did. I spent approximately $10,000 on travel in Australia.
> 
> In total over the course of 2 years time I spent well over $100,000 in Australia.
> 
> I hope you are able to provide some advice.


----------



## mommyofthreephau

*Visa Subclass 445*

Hi mark!

I apply for my kids visa (445 dependent child visa ) last October 2016 but before that We already did the medical as they already give us HAP ID last March but we failed to lodge and pay the visa that time so we only did the medical instead for offshore in philippines last May 2016. They allocate a CO last nov 2016 together with the form 815 for my eldest ( health undertaking) then everything that they ask is already been provided on the same month (Novemeber 2016) then december comes and no further requirements from CO. Then just yesterday we received email from a different CO asking for a medical as she was saying they cant find my kids medical Last May 2016. I printed a copy from eMedical last Dec 4,2016 and it says there the date that health case already submitted to DIBP dated May and June 2016 (for my 2 kids) and its even says "Completed". But when we try to open the Hap ID again yesterday through eMedical now it says health exams required and it says this health case is not yet submitted to the DIBP?  Does this thing happend all the time? Or if this is normal? I call the Health Examination center in Manila (where my kids did their medical) and they said its been submitted to the DIBP Last May and Last June. They said maybe the case officer give a new HAP ID again. Its heartbreaking really as i thought after signing the HEALTH UNDERTAKING (form 815) everything will be ok for granting visa already and no further requirements from CO. I felt so devastated about this and have lots of questions in mind why this things happening? My questions are:

1. Is this really normal to happen?

2. Can a medical be expired eventhough its not yet 12 mos form the date its been done? (May 2016-January 2017 =8 months only)

3. Where did they Base the Form 815 HU (i sign for my 11 yrs old daughter ) from? As they saying they cant find my kids medical last May 2016?

Shed me some light here Mark. 
Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Happy -

Thanks for the note. Job offers don't have any direct impact on points but can help if you are going for a 489 or 190 visa that is state sponsored and the state has a requirement that you have a job offer in order to qualify for consideration for an invitation. Usually the most common way people increase their points is by getting a higher score on the IELTS or other English test - we're hearing very good things about the PTE test FYI.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Happy Naseif said:


> Dear Mr. Mark,
> 
> My name is Happy and I am a mechanical engineer. In fact I have got a positive skill assessment from EA but when I turned 33 years I lost 5 points and I have left with only 55 points.
> 
> Could you please tell me what are the available solutions to compensate those 5 points?
> 
> Also, I came to know that a job offer can help. Is this right? I have already applied online many times but no reply so far. Please advise!!
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deep31 -

Yes, you can claim your qualification if it has not been assessed by ACS, however the number of points is the key - you may want to have the qualification assessed by VETASSESS for points test advice only to provide evidence to DIBP of the equivalent Australian qual - here's more info on this:

https://www.vetassess.com.au/skills-assessment-for-migration/points-test-advice

Key is that for DIBP points, relevance to your occupation (of your qualification) is not considered, only whether it is equivalent to an Australian qualification and which Australian qualification it is most similar to.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Deep31 said:


> Hellooo,
> 
> I have recently got my ACS assessed by submitting the RPL form.My educational qualification ( B.Tech in Agriculture Engineering) was not assessed by ACS as it was not relevant to ICT.
> 
> So ACS has deducted 6 years from my total work experience and provided a positive result for ICT Business Analyst (but doesn't mention anything about my educational qualification being equal to any of the Australian diploma.)
> 
> Could you please clarify my below questions:
> 1.Can I claim any points for education while submitting my EOI though not assessed by ACS.
> 2. Does it make any sense getting my education assessed by any other assessing body as Iam applying for ICT Business analyst job code.
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TwixA -

Probably not, however they will ask for it if they want it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TwixA said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope this query isn't too case specific but I am worried about the health insurance requirement.
> I have a student visa which expires on the 31st January 2017. I have an OSHC policy paid until 28th February 2017. I have maintained this throughout the time I have been a student. I finished my Masters on the 28th November 2016 and lodged my application for a 485 post study work stream on the 5th of December and was granted with a bridging visa A.
> In preparation I took out a working visa health insurance policy that started on the the 28th November 2016.
> I supplied the evidence of this working visa health insurance policy with my application.
> I'm just wondering do I also need to supply proof of my OSHC as my student visa is still active?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tuckerbag -

Thanks for the note. Based on what you've said, I think there is a very low chance that the conviction would cause you any problem with this visa unless there was a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more or there are children involved in the application (ie, migrating).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tuckerbag said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Me and my partner have just lodged our PMV (subclass 300) last week. we compiled a compelling application which included
> - 13 page in depth and detailed personal relationship statements from both of us (including - how and when we first met, how the relationship developed, our engagement, our living together circumstances and plans for the future together)
> - phone call logs from both of us showing constant communication when we were separated ( i was working in the mining industry for the first 13 months of our relationship)
> - we have over 30,000 Facebook messages of which we scrolled through the whole lot and took photos of strong loving, emotional and financial support messages
> - a fully completed NOIM
> - approx. 20 photos with her and my family also
> - 4 x 888 stat decs from supporting witnesses of our relationship
> - social media public posts showing mutual friends and joint events/gatherings with friends
> - PDF document showing all flights and joint travel together
> - PDF document showing all hotel bookings and receipts made together
> - PDF document showing all joint activities, tickets to social events, invitations to weddings addressed to both of us
> - joint bank accounts showing significant funds deposited for our future together
> - relationship was registered with NSWBDM last year
> - my superannuation statement showing that my fiancee is my beneficiary
> 
> we have been together for just shy of 2 years and have applied through the Belgrade office.
> 
> Unfortunately though there is one issue that I'm biting my fingernails over and i want to ask you about...
> The new bill has passed through the Aus government and they are now screening the sponsor as well as the applicant e.g sponsor to show police checks etc.
> 
> I have a minor criminal record for being in possession of a very small amount of illegal substances. I was convicted of the offence in 2011 and have no other convictions. As much as i have read about the new process, i understand that the purpose for this screening of the sponsor is to 'reduce violence in the community' and it is mainly in place to weed out any sponsors who have significant criminal records and/or convictions relating to violence in relation to persons under 18 and domestic violence... am i right there with my thoughts ? do you think our application will be ok considering my minor conviction ???
> 
> thanks in advance for your help
> -


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Edward -

Yes you can travel, however applying for citizenship while overseas can sometimes cause concern from DIBP re: intent to reside, etc as you pointed out. Better if you apply while onshore, but ultimately it's your choice. Children under 16 can be included in the parent's application as long as they meet the residency requirements, etc as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ekhtai said:


> Hi, Mark, I have some general queries regarding citizenship application and would be obliged for your views:-
> 
> 1. I reckon I will be eligible to apply for citizenship on 9 January 2018, having lawfully stayed in Australia for 4 years (in last 4 years, I only stayed outside Australia for about 5 months);
> 
> 2. Can I travel overseas at around 15 Oct 2017 and apply from overseas for citizenship on 9 January 2018, as I think I can avail myself of the 3 months' permitted absence from Australia in the 12 months before my application? Would this affect my application? Would this affect the "likely to reside, or to continue to reside, in Australia or to maintain a close and continuing association with Australia" requirement? If I continue to stay overseas after I lodge my application for citizenship, would it affect my application?
> 
> 3. My family comprises of my wife and 2 kids (of 8 and 12), and they would also apply for citizenship? Do/Should I split the applications, so that I make one application myself and my wife makes one for herself and the kids? Or we shall make one together?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help and look forward to hearing from you.
> 
> Edward


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashie4ya -

Thanks for the note. Applications do not take longer only because there is no migration agent involved - it's all the same - depends on the application itself, relationship evidence, workload of the office processing the application, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashie4ya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My fiancé has lodged his PMV. We have been waiting over a little of 9 months. My fiancé has done everything he is just waiting for the grant.
> We have contacted the department if there are any updates and we get a generic email back stating we will have to wait. We have not used a migrant agent we have lodged our selves. Does it take longer to process without a migrant agent ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Camal -

I believe currently it may be possible to submit witness reports re employment in non-stat dec format, however best to consult directly with ACS on this and get their current requirements. Note that a Commonwealth Statutory Declaration technically can only be witnessed on Australian soil (or at an Australian Embassy, etc) as the people who are authorised to witness a Cth stat dec only have that power while on Australian soil.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



camal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> In another thread, you have mentioned that employer reference for ACS skill assessment need to be in the form of a commonwealth statutory declaration. In my case, due to being part of multiple mergers and acquisitions in the past 8 years, the director/manager that I had been working with currently resides in a different country - I am in India, and he is located and working in UK.
> He is willing to help me with the employment reference. However, from the link you had posted, it appears like someone connected to legal system in Australia should witness the declaration.
> Did I understand it right?
> 
> The company I had been working with, under the above mentioned manager is shut down and it is not possible to get an experience letter on company letterhead. what is the best way I can get the legally right reference/experience letter for ACS skill assessment? Can any legal practitioner in UK be a witness?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ann -

Thanks for the note. Partner visas these days are typically taking between12 and18 months, sometimes longer, so I wouldn't be too concerned if you are at month 12. You could email them to ask if they need any further documents at this point if you wanted, but you might or might not get a response. I'd be patient a few months longer and make sure you keep a close eye on your email for any correspondence to make sure it doesn't end up in the junk folder, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Qapham said:


> Hi Mark,
> I hope you are doing well. I have applied for De Facto visa just over 12 months but I have not received any response from the Immigration Department apart from my bridging visa grant and statement to not take any action towards health checks since I did go through some health examinations in the same year. I wonder if I should ring them up to follow up because from what I know, TR should be granted in the first 12 months? Thanks in advance.
> Kind regards,
> Ann


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mike -

Thanks for the note. Please see my responses at *** after your questions below:



mikechan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> How are you?
> Hope you are doing well
> My partner applied for 820 (onshore) and got granted around half year ago (applied in November 2014) . About to do the 2nd stage processing and would like to ask a few questions and hope you can assist as there are some questions that are asked in the immi account.
> 
> My wife submitted the forms online a couple of days ago and then she know she need to upload some documents, however, there's a few things we are puzzled
> 
> Please refer to the screenshot link below marked in RED & BLUE box for your reference
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 1) Change of name evidence - I already submitted it last time for Stage 1, do I need to do it again providing the same info? *** Yes.
> 
> 2) AFP character - We also submitted last time. My wife lived in Australia for 2 years already and I know you need to submit it if you live mroe than 12 months. Does this mean she need to submit from the day of visa approval i.e. June 2016 which in this case I only lived 6 months?? Or its better when CO ask me request it? *** As second stage partner visas are now often taking over 12 months to process, you may want to wait until requested.
> 
> 3) Form 80 - Again, she submitted it last time for stage 1, so does she submit again?? Or she just leave it out since this repeated? *** Better to lodge a new one now.
> 
> 4) Marriage of evidence - question as 3)? *** Include again.
> 
> 5) The blue box where it says Statutory Declaration - I assume this is the part where fill it out myself as the sponsor? *** Yes - this is in a special format that you would download from the DIBP site where you linked to see the document requirements etc for 2nd stage partner visa applications.
> 
> Your help is appreciated once again
> 
> Thanks


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Your friends are wrong. As long as you hold your 457 visa you can only work for your sponsoring employer. If another employer takes over your sponsorship via an approved 457 nomination, then you can work for them upon approval of that nomination. The number of days you have to find a new sponsor after you lose your job or quit, etc is 90 unless your visa was granted after the date of the change (mid november 2016) in which case 60 days is the time limit.

You can apply for PR any time you like as long as you meet the requirements - no limitation put on that by holding a 457. Certain types of employer sponsored PR have a pathway where you work for 2 years on a 457 visa first for your employer, then the employer can sponsor you for PR (see 186 and 187 visas).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Canada2Australia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question for you regarding my obligations to my current 457 Visa I hold. I was with some friends today, and up for discussion was the visa I currently in possession of. Now I was under the impression that if for some reason I were to lose my job, I have the _now_ 60 day timeframe to find another position as described on my visa or leave the country. However, they had informed me that after 12 months, if I were to lose my job (or choose to leave) that I have fulfilled my portion of the visa (because according to them, I the visa requirement is that I only need to work for 12 months with the same employer within a two year period) and that I can then work any other job until I find employment back in my position. And that I can also apply for permanent residency.
> 
> I'm looking to see if there is any truth to this. Can you please help clarify this matter for me?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

Thanks for the note. Applying for a parallel PR visa is probably not a good idea based on what you've said, as if DIBP puts them together, it may raise doubts as to your intentions. A big question in all of this is whether your mother will pass the health exams - if not, everyone on the PR application will be refused unless you are able to make other financial dependence arrangements for your mother. There is also the new 5 year temporary parent visa which is expected to be announced and implemented by 1 July this year (2017).

Would be happy to discuss all of this and work out strategies going forward with you at a consultation - see contact info for my website below in my signature - in this case there are just too many unknowns to give you a quick answer here online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a PR( 190 Visa) which includes me, wife and kids. I did not include my mother earlier in the PR even though she is dependent on me. Now, m not sure how to apply for a permanent residency for her as Contributory parent Visa seems a very expensive and unaffordable option right now. Also, we wont be able to leave her here when we go to Australia. Is there a chance that I apply for another PR which just includes me and my mother, for a different state than the one that sponsored us earlier. Is that a possible option or would that be seen as suspicion and is it against the rules?
> Me and my wife may have to live in different states in Australia if I manage to get another PR but I am ready to do that as cant leave my mother
> Please throw some light on this
> 
> Regards
> Hopeforoz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hfcook -

Thanks for the note. If the relationship has broken down prior to grant of the subclass 801 permanent partner visa, generally the only way to save the 801 visa is if there is a child of the relationship or if the sponsor committed domestic violence upon the applicant and there is some evidence of this. You can withdraw your cancellation request at any time by contacting DIBP via the same method you used previously, however this may not save the visa if DIBP believes that the relationship has broken down and then enquires with your partner about the current state of the relationship, etc.

Re: other visas, you might look into an employer sponsored (457, 186, 187) or skilled (189, 190, 489) visa as nurses are in demand in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hfcook said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am looking to get some advice on my situation.
> 
> I had originally visited Aus on a WHV in 2010. Met a lovely young man who then became my husband in 2014 from which we applied for a defacto visa. I had just been emailed in July 2016 to say I could submit the evidence for the 2nd part of my 820; however our relationship has broken down - and in my rash mind got on a flight and flew back to England in September and submitted a form to have my visa cancelled.
> 
> I am now back in the UK and I regretting being so rushed in my choices and now I don't know what to do. I am longing to be back in Australia as I see it as my home but in the turmoil of my separation from my husband I just wanted to be back with family.
> 
> There was no violence or aggression, just a breakdown of our relationship.
> 
> I really want to know my options to get myself back there. I am a qualified enrolled nurse which I studied for whilst in Aus, and my previous boss has already said I would have a job waiting for me.
> 
> How do I stop them continuing with the form i submitted to cancel my visa...? Or do I carry on with that and apply another way? I don't want to do anything untoward as that's not in my nature. I just want to move back home to Aus.
> 
> Here is a little timeline....
> 
> WHV - 2010
> 2nd WHV - 2011
> Student Visa - 2012
> Applied 820 onshore - Aug 2014
> Second stage of defacto - July 2016
> Breakdown of marriage - Sep 2016
> Submitted visa cancellation form - Oct 2016
> 
> Thank you


----------



## brett11

brett11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am 24 year old finished master of engineering science (advanced manufacturing technology) in Melbourne (Victoria) got ielts 7 but still I am lacking with 5 points. Six months ago got job in regional Victoria(Geelong) in my stream. Can I apply for 190 or 489 visa (Victoria) with my job offer letter *without* any previous job experience?
> 
> IELTS-10
> Age- 25
> Skills Assessment(bachelor degree) -15
> Masters study-5
> 
> Thank you.


Hope someone can help because can't find the answer in the immigration website.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Loya -

The regulations are too complex in this area for quick answers via forums - happy to consult with you directly to review all your circumstances - see my website below for more. If the skills assessor has declined to assess certain work experiences, it's usually safer not to claim those assuming you can still get the visa via points without that work. Happy to discuss in more detail at a consult -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



loya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> -I had submitted my EOI with 75 points in the start of this month and i got invitation to apply visa yesterday.
> -I have total 6 years of experience and claimed 10 points against work experience in my EOI submission which i do have in actual with all the evidences( Pay slips, Reference letters, exp letters etc).
> -Few months ago when i applied for skills assessment with additional relevant employment assessment i got positive outcome from EA but they reduced my experience to 4 years and did not accept initial two years with out giving any reason.Although, one of my career episode was based on that particular job experience.
> -I strongly believe that my all 6 years of experience is relevant to my occupation and i have all the required documents to prove it.
> -Now with this situation should i accept the invitation and lodge my visa application and let DIBP decide the relevancy of my work experience?? as i have read that DIBP will give the final verdict about employment experience points.
> -Please advise. I am very confused with this situation.
> -Moreover, in case, if dibp does not consider my experience relevant then what could be the worst case scenario?
> - Should i make a new eoi and claim 3 years experience instead of 5 and wait for the next round to get invitation? which i have good chances because cut of value for my occupation is 70 points.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

If you've lodged all the documents you are going to lodge in response to the letter, then you should click the Documents Provided button to move things forward. That being said, impossible to predict how long DIBP will take to do next steps - could be weeks or even months. Wish I could be more specific, but they just don't have any time limits on themselves.

Best,

Mark Northam



asadkhanm said:


> Hi Mark,
> I applied for visa subclass 189 with my spouse and two kids. After submitting my application on 6th November 2016, my case officer requested for some additional documents for my spouse and health examination for whole family. We went for health examination on 24th of November and the results were uploaded within a week for myself and my wife. The results were not uploaded for my kids and when I called the clinic, they said there are additional test requirements for my kids for Hep B and C as I chose 'Yes' to a health declaration question regarding yellowing of skin at anytime in life.
> I answered that question in 'Yes' saying that my kids born with yellow skin which was physiological jaundice and went away after 3-4 days. I think the system automatically generated Hep B and C test requirements depending on health declaration.
> I don't prefer my kids to go through these tests unless it is really required as they both are only 19 months and 8 months old. So, I sent an email to my case officer with hospital discharge summary, lab test results and vaccination record that the kids really didn't have jaundice and it didn't require treatment.
> I sent the email on 1st December, 2016. Since then I have been patiently waiting for her reply which is now running out
> I had to respond to the email within 28 days after CO contact. |The last date for that was 18th December. Although I uploaded all the other required documents, mine and wife's health exams but due to my kids' pending results I have not pressed the 'documents provided' button in the ImmiAccount visa application.
> 
> Sorry it got too lengthy but was supposed to be just a small question that how long does it take for case officer to respond to your email and should I click on that button 'documents provided' popped up in my visa application or not?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Grimelda -

Sorry for the delay in responding - I was away during much of December and am catching up on all the questions this week. Statements you make about relationship evidence can be uploaded under one of the evidence areas (ie, social aspects of the relationship) just choose subcategory other and then give a description that is clear - ie, Addtl Statement re Relationship Evidence Categories or something like that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Grimelda said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you can help me.
> 
> A while back my husband and I had a Skype consult with you regarding a 309 partner visa which was very helpful and cleared up a lot of our questions (thanks for that). During the consult you advised us to make statements covering each of the 'five questions' as a separate document and attach it along with our evidence. We've finally finished filling out the form, paid our fee and are starting to upload our evidence, but I don't see a particular spot to add our statements.
> 
> Could you give some advice on what evidence type the statement belongs to?
> 
> Thanks and Merry Christmas!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daisy05 -

Normally a copy of the front and back of the card (colour scan into a PDF, etc) is sufficient.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



daisy05 said:


> I wonder If anyone can help me?
> 
> I have been contacted by my case officer who is requesting more information. They are asking for-
> Evdence of having access to medicare
> 
> I do have a medicare card which expires in 2 months (when my working holiday visa was expiring however i will now automatically be on bridging visa soon)
> 
> So.... Do i get a countersigned, photocopy of my Medicare card? And just send that?
> 
> I have no other paper documentation of medicare. Surely this is enough proof.
> 
> I have applied for 461 visa New Zealand Relationship visa (temp 5 yrs)
> I am British Citizen.
> 
> Thankyou.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Formanite -

Thanks for the note. The only thing that occurs to me is that disclosing that may trigger additional tests, perhaps for Hepatitis. Can't advise re: if you wish to have your own tests done beforehand, etc, don't know enough about your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



formanite said:


> I have mentioned in the Applicant detail form that In 2003, I suffered from Jaundice caused by medications that was cured within few weeks. Kindly let me know if their would be any implications of this on my application on the next stages and should i go through any medical test informally before proceeding for my application


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nate -

Thanks for the note. You can't lodge prior to your 2 year anniversary (from date of original app) and most people lodge within a month or so of the anniversary. The email you received is likely a pre-anniversary reminder from DIBP. For online, only stat dec from sponsor is required, no stat dec from applicant is normally required. We generally suggest that you lodge a complete set of relationship evidence of the 4 categories set out for relationship evidence dating from the grant of the 820 visa to the time you apply for the 801, including new household, financial, social and commitment evidence. DIBP is being much tougher on second stage (ie 801, 100) partner visa applications these days, so I'd treat it no differently than an original (first stage) partner visa re: how much evidence you put in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nate Drake said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I apply for a partner visa the 17 of February 2015
> I received the 820 the 10th of December 2015 and 3 days ago I received an email requesting more information/evidence of our relationship before I can get a granted the 801
> 
> Application for 820-801- February 15'
> 820 granted - December 15'
> email requesting more info/evidence of our relationship - December 16'
> 
> 1* How much time do I have to put together this information/evidence that the case officer is requesting??
> Until the 17 of February?? ( that would be 2 years after my initial application for the partner visa)
> 
> 2* I only need a status declaration from my partner (the sponsor) ?
> 
> I'm asking because on the checklist that I received says:
> ''status declaration from applicant not required for online application - A statutory declaration is included in the online form, so a separate attachment is not required''
> 
> 3* Do we need a new declaration about our household arrangement (we wrote one each for the initial application) from the applicant and sponsor or not?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bsrsyd -

We se some people getting invitations at 70 pts for Accountant but no way to estimate when an invitation may arrive as it depends on the number of people ahead of you in the queue which DIBP and NSW do not disclose. Wish I could help more, but the data just isn't available. You can look at the Occupational Ceiling area on the DIBP website to see recent invitation levels for some occupations and results from recent invitation rounds:

SkillSelect

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bsrsyd said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> This is my first post and would highly appreciate if you could help me with the query.
> 
> I have lodged my Eoi for general accounting in both 189 & 190 NSW as on 25th September and 2nd November respectively. I would like to what are the chances of me getting an invite before 31st March as my expires by then.
> 
> My points are from
> 
> Age : 30
> Education : 20
> English : 10
> Experience : 5
> PY : 5
> 
> And do I got any other options to try before my visa expires.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usman -

Thanks for the post and emails - yes, may be an issue as we discussed - DIBP will project likelihood of liver and other problems in the future.

Best,

Mark Northam



usmanhassan said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am applying for 189 as engineer
> I had hepatitis c and then cured few years back. now I have test results as anti hcv positive and PCR negative
> 
> do you see this as problem in the immigration process


----------



## sschohan

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing well.I need info/help regarding below query, please guide me what to do.


I have submitted EOI and got invitation for sub class 189. In my EOI I have mentioned current employment designation i.e "Manager Optimization" for entire employment period (8 years).

But during that period I've had various promotions starting from "Officer" till I became "manager". 

But in Visa application I have provide details breakup wise starting from "officer , sr. officer till Manager" with tenures for that eight years with same employer.

Do I need to provide same details breakup wise in EOI or it not will impact visa application.


----------



## Rockwell123

Hi Mark, thanks for your previous advise. I have a query regarding the Bridging Visa A - I am currently on a student visa until 2018, I recently applied for a PR under subclass 189, and I have been granted a Bridging Visa A. I now want to withdraw from my course (before the census date of 20 Jan 2017) to receive a full tuition fee refund. After withdrawing, I want to continue living and working in Australia until my PR is granted. My concern is that withdrawing from the course will immediately cancel my student visa and BV-A, and I will be an unlawful immigrant with no work rights. How do you suggest I proceed? Is there any way to withdraw and have my BV-A come into effect? Thanks!! )


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamdon -

Thanks for the note. The occupation Scaffolder is not eligible for any migration visas, however there is no occupation "scaffold supervisor" listed in the standard ANZSCO database for migration - chances are you would need to find another occupation that covers what you do and see if that is eligible - an excellent resource for this is Search | Anzscosearch where you can look up various ANZSCO occupations (the standard database for occupations in Australia and NZ) and see what visa(s) may be possible to apply for under an occupation. I don't know any faster way than hunting around - expect this is what you'll need to do to see if there is a good occupation code that covers what you do.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamdon said:


> Hi Mark
> Is it possible for a scaffold supervisor to get a PR visa? I have tried to find out for a while but haven't been able to get any answers.I have been in this position for many years including in Australia but i was on a 457 visa at the time so any help would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hannah -

Accounting and Finance are often considered closely related by DIBP for the Australian Study Requirement, especially in visa types other than the 485 visa - I expect you would have a good chance of getting that through for the ASR for purposes of a 189 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bottos said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I need help for my 189 visa. I have submitted an EOI with 65 points for Auditor however it doesn't seem like I will get an invitation anytime soon. Therefore, I am looking for more points. I spoke to a migration agent and they suggested studying another 6 months would be my only option.
> 
> I already have a Master of Professional Accounting from the University of South Australia but it is only 1.5 years. I saw on the immigration website that you can combine degrees which leads to my questions....
> 
> Would a Master of Finance be considered related to auditor/accountant?
> 
> Which courses does the immigration bureau consider related to Auditor/Accountant?
> 
> Thank you so much!
> Hannah


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rajmohan -

It is not possible to alter the must-enter-by date for a visa once a visa has been granted. If you cannot enter by that date, you then would lodge a request after that date with the post that processed your visa requesting that your visa not be cancelled due to the breach of the must-enter-by date and providing evidence why and how you will be able to enter Australia very soon after the must-enter-by date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rajmohan said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Recently we have been approved our family PR,
> 
> Any one has requested IMMI for entry date extension after PR approve. I am thinking to request extension around 30 days for my daughter only due to her exam.
> 
> Is that any issue if I request please advise.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Cheers
> Rajmohan.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bansal.amitt -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about the refusal. No reason I can see based on what you've said why you cannot lodge another EOI and wait for a new invitation for a 189 visa assuming the visa was not refused on PIC 4020 grounds and you were offshore without a visa when the first 189 was refused.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bansal.amitt said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I have got visa 189 refused due to 5 points less as claimed in EOI.
> 
> I applied for EOI back in October but my course completed in December 2016.
> 
> age : 30
> Electronics engineering : 15
> IELTS : 10
> Australian Education (2 years) : 5 (completed in December 2016)
> 
> Total : 60
> 
> I applied on the basis of skills in Electronics engineering which I did back in India.
> 
> The case officer refused the application based on the ground that I did not have 60 points at the time of invitation back in October but in December 2016.
> 
> My refusal letter does not say anything about PIC or any ban.
> 
> I am currently on Student visa which is valid until March 2017.
> 
> My question is about if I can apply for another 189 visa or not ?
> Are there any conditions on me applying for any other visa ?
> 
> Please Help!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usman -

Yes, no problem with multiple jobs listed on the same letter if the multiple jobs were for the same employer and include the relevant dates, job titles, and duties for each job. If the duties were the same, that's fine as long as that's made clear in the letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmanhassan said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I am planning to apply for the 189 under mechanical engineer.
> I have worked in the same company through out my career under different positions and locations
> 
> Asst engineering manager Lahore Month year until month year
> Asst engineering manager Dubai Month year until month year
> Safety engineering manager Saudi Arabia Month year until month year
> 
> can I have one letter from company listing all of them with timings in front of them and then list 06 key responsibilities which I managed for all roles (as in all roles there are common type of responsibilities)
> 
> if no plz advice or share a sample of experience letter


----------



## jamielannister

Hi 
Mark 
457 visa got refused cuz nomination was refused. Can we apply another 457 by getting a new nomination? Or can another visa be applied? What are the options other than MRT


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kazi -

Sometimes a statement like this can be made easier to write by asking yourself a series of questions and then answering them. If you look at the requirements list, it's easily restructured as a series of questions, ie "Why do I want to live in the NT?" (then write a detailed answer), "What have I done to commit to living in the NT?" (then write an answer), etc. Sort of like question & answer writing rather than writing an essay that puts forth one statement after another. Breaking it up into questions can also make the information a bit easier to digest and to research - it can be helpful to research the state you are looking at thoroughly, as you can find lots of info online about how great/good/beautiful/affordable/etc a state is in their own promo language online - however don't just copy that language since it says "in your own words" but work in your own feelings, dreams, goals, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KAZI HAQUE said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for state nomination from Northern Territory, Australia.
> 
> Can you please help me with the guidelines/samples on how to write a "Commitment to the NT Statement"?
> 
> As per the guideline, the statement should include the following:
> • demonstrate your commitment to living and working in your skilled occupation (or a closely related skilled occupation) in the Northern Territory (NT) for a minimum of two years from when the visa is granted
> • explain, in your own words, why you want to live in the NT
> • explain how the NT lifestyle would suit your way of life more than that of any other city in Australia.
> 
> Since I am new to this process, I would really appreciate your valuable guidelines being the expert in this area.
> 
> Thanks & Regards
> Kazi


----------



## mikechan

** Sorry, accident duplicate message


----------



## mikechan

Hi Mark

Thanks for the answer

For 2) 3) & 5) you answered, I totally get it

But you said 1) & 4), you stated she need to fill them. I mean we both really do not understand why she needs to fill them again given that she has submitted previously?? Is there a need since they will be the same as the same as stage 1??

Can she put a note like a 1 page PDF document saying "This has been submitted in Stage 1, please refer to the file name of "______.pdf"? Or can she just totally upload the document again exactly what she had uploaded in stage 1?

Thanks



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mike -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Please see my responses at *** after your questions below:
> 
> 1) Change of name evidence - I already submitted it last time for Stage 1, do I need to do it again providing the same info? *** Yes.
> 
> 2) AFP character - We also submitted last time. My wife lived in Australia for 2 years already and I know you need to submit it if you live mroe than 12 months. Does this mean she need to submit from the day of visa approval i.e. June 2016 which in this case I only lived 6 months?? Or its better when CO ask me request it? *** As second stage partner visas are now often taking over 12 months to process, you may want to wait until requested.
> 
> 3) Form 80 - Again, she submitted it last time for stage 1, so does she submit again?? Or she just leave it out since this repeated? *** Better to lodge a new one now.
> 
> 4) Marriage of evidence - question as 3)? *** Include again.
> 
> 5) The blue box where it says Statutory Declaration - I assume this is the part where fill it out myself as the sponsor? *** Yes - this is in a special format that you would download from the DIBP site where you linked to see the document requirements etc for 2nd stage partner visa applications.
> 
> Your help is appreciated once again
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gestoso81 -

Thanks for the note. If you are considering an onshore partner visa, if you are married there is no specific 12-month requirement, however you will need to show evidence of a genuine married relationship which includes evidence from categories including financial aspects of the relationship, social aspects, nature of the commitment to each other, and nature of the household. You can find some great threads here on the Australia Forum for partner visas where people share the various types of evidence they've used and discuss this in depth.

For a partner visa via marriage, the witness statements may seem odd if they don't refer to you as a married couple - that could be an issue. Statements from family are not required, but generally help - DIBP may consider it a sign of a non-genuine relationship and investigate further if the relationship has no family support.

You might consider consulting with an immigration lawyer or migration agent to discuss the details of your relationship, discuss how you might go about preparing further relationship evidence to support a partner visa application, and put together a plan for doing so. However don't forget to look here on the forum for relationship evidence threads as they can be very helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gestoso81 said:


> Hi Mark, I am in Australia now with my Australian girlfiriend on 651 visa, we both have been living overseas, sometime together and some time apart. We have come to visit her family and we are deciding to stay here.
> In QLD they say that we need to register the relationship but she needs to be in the country for Longer than 6 months, other option is to get married, that we are thinking about it.
> The questions are, we don't match the 12 months living together criteria, with the marriage would do it? we have proof of 6 months in 2014 in London and 6 months recently in Spain, I am Spanish.
> Do the statutory declarations need to talk about the marriage, as we would like to keep it private?
> As I am from Spain, do I need statutory declarations from my family in Spain? I reckon we don't have such a thing over there.
> Thanks a lot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Laurence_au -

Thanks for the note. As long as you will be returning BEFORE the 489 expires, then you generally do not need to apply for a Bridging Visa B to replace your current Bridging Visa A. If you will be returning after the 489 expires, then you must apply for and be granted a Bridging Visa B prior to departing Australia on the trip.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



laurence_au said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Currently I apply for visa 887 and the bridging visa has been granted at the same time after I paid the visa fee.
> My visa 489 hasn't expired yet. Do I still apply the other bridging visa? If I wanna go oversea for holiday.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Riz.ivan -

Thanks for the note. Please see responses below at *** after your questions:



riz.ivan said:


> Hello Mark.
> 
> Merry Christmas. Hope that you are having a great holidays.
> 
> I am a Civil Engineer living in Queanbeyan, NSW with a visa Skilled Provisional 489. I arrived in Australia on 3rd February, 2015. On 3rd February, 2017 it will be 2 years in Queanbeyan, NSW.
> 
> Can you please help me providing some information regarding 489 to 887 ?
> 
> My questions are -
> 
> 1. For first 6 months I stayed with my friend but I have no document. Not even in the utility bills. *** May be difficult to document this - you may want to consider not claiming this time as part of the 2 years of living in a designated area unless you can come up with some documentation.
> 
> 2. I have worked for 20 months full time in a company. But I was out of Australia for 33 days for holidays in which I was paid for 14 days by my employer. Can i apply exactly after 2 years or I have to wait 33 days more ? *** Not sure of the question here - only 12 months of work full time in a designated area is required. Normal holidays (4 weeks per year) paid by the employer is still considered as employment time.
> 
> 3. Can I work in ACT after applying for 887 ? Because there is a possibility of getting a very good job in ACT very soon. *** You are bound by the conditions of your 489 until it is replaced by the 887 - last time I looked, ACT is not a designated area for a state-sponsored 489, so answer is no. Not a good idea to breach your 489 visa prior to 887 being granted.
> 
> 4. Or can i move to the big cities after applying ? *** See previous answer.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Ivan


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bethgray -

Thanks for the note. Would need to see exactly how the ETA stay period is configured, however normally it says "3 months after each entry" or something like that - if so, then he gets to stay for the full three months even if the visa "expires" 1 month into that period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bethgray said:


> Hi there mark ☺
> 
> My partner is due to visit Australia from the US and his eta expires one month into his stay. He wants to stay for the full three months. Then he would like to go overseas, reapply for an eta and return for an extra month. Can he stay for the three months even though his visa expires? I called the immigration dept and they said he could, but looking through websites it's says once the visa expires he becomes an unlawful visitor and it may affect him getting another visa. We plan to apply for a partner visa later this year and I really don't want anything to affect our chances. Please help!!! ☺


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunnysunshine123 -

Thanks for the note. No difference in 189 visa processing if you are working or not during the processing period. Once PR granted, you can come and go as you like during the 5 years, however once you reach the 5-year mark it will be far easier to renew your PR re-entry rights for another 5 years if you have been in Australia for a total of 24 months or more (can be multiple stays) during the first 5 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sunnysunshine123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for making this thread.
> 
> I have a question. I am currently working and employed on the 457 visa. However employment contract if finishing. I have been working under this visa in Australia for 11months. I know I have 90 days from the end of my contract to find another sponsor for my 457 visa.
> 
> The main thing is I want to apply for a 189 Visa (scoring 60 points). I wanted to ask if it will affect my 189 visa application at all if I did do some travelling and then went to my home country (UK) whilst waiting for the outcome, or would it be better for the PR 189 visa if I were working under a new sponsor whilst waiting.
> 
> I only wanted to rush into another job frantically if necessary.
> 
> Also is there a maximum time duration (years?) that one can leave Australia continuously whilst under a 189 PR visa (As long as it is under 5 years).
> 
> Thank you so much Mark,
> 
> Awaiting your reply!
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JanieJeff -

Thanks for the note. A partner visa generally takes 12-18 months to process, so determining where you both (and child) want to be during this period is often what will push a couple towards an onshore partner visa application (subclass 820/801) or offshore (subclass 309/100).

Generally no issue coming on a visitor visa, then lodging an onshore partner visa when you decide to do so after you arrive on the visitor visa, having arrived as a genuine tourist. Once onshore if you have applied for a partner visa, it is generally possible to enroll your child into public (or private) school based on them holding a Bridging Visa A which comes from the onshore partner visa application. Schooling is not free in these circumstances however, so you might want to check into various options for schools and what they charge.

Also, do check out various threads on the Australia Forum here and you'll find lots of good info from other applicants who have been through what you're contemplating - lots of useful advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JanieJeff said:


> We have recently married after 27 years of first meeting. We have always lived our lives apart going through the motions of life but never forgetting each other and having frequent contact.
> 
> We recently became both single for the first time since parting in 1990 and we are now married and trying to unravel the confusing and complicated visa system. We would like for myself and my younger (14) son to join our new family asap. However, it is not clear what is the best way to do this. Can I enter on a 3 month visa and then progress the application (which type/number) and remain whilst it is being processed? Also my son needs schooling would this be allowed? What is the quickest easiest way to do it?
> 
> Any experiences or info will be gratefully received.
> 
> Many thanks
> Janie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jamielannister -

Thanks for the note. Re: s48 bar, she is barred from further onshore applications (other than a partner visa or protection visa, but those come with their own issues) if she was only holding a bridging visa on the day she had the 457 refused.

Re: lodging another nomination, not sure if that makes sense if she is appealing the first one, but would need to know more about the circumstances of the nomination and visa refusal in order to advise on that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jamielannister said:


> Hi mark
> Happy New year.
> My sister had her 457 visa refused because her nomination was not approved by immigration. She has 21 days to appeal the decision as long as she Lodge another nomination and Lodge an appeal while decision is pending.
> What other option she has other than going to MRT route. Can she apply for any other visa? Or she is barred by s48.
> Your help will be appreciated as always.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brett11 -

Thanks for the note. As far as DIBP is concerned for the 489 or 190 visa, there is no requirement to claim any particular work experience. You would need to check the current rules with VIC or any other state you are considering trying to get sponsorship from to see if they have any minimum requirements for previous work experience, etc beyond what you currently have. Also would check with the skills assessor for your occupation re: any minimum work experience requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



brett11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am 24 year old finished master of engineering science (advanced manufacturing technology) in Melbourne (Victoria) got ielts 7 but still I am lacking with 5 points. Six months ago got job in regional Victoria(Geelong) in my stream. Can I apply for 190 or 489 visa (Victoria) with my job offer letter *without* any previous job experience?
> 
> IELTS-10
> Age- 25
> Skills Assessment(bachelor degree) -15
> Masters study-5
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shama -

This is a question best asked to Engineers Australia directly - I'd give them a call and describe your qualifications and background to one of their skills assessment people and see what feedback you can get as to whether Eng Technologist is a viable occupation given their requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Shama said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I wanted to get information with regards to following:
> I have done Engineering in biotechnology (4 years) from india and then i have worked as Environment and safety engineer for little more than 1 year.
> 
> Is it possible to be assessed as engineering technologist from engineer's Australia.
> 
> Thanks & Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ivan -

See most of your questions already answered on this or previous pages (am catching up on all outstanding questions). Re last question, PCC only needed for countries you have spent a total of 12 months or more in during the last 10 years (or since turning 16 if you are younger than 26).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



riz.ivan said:


> Hello Mark.
> 
> Merry Christmas. Hope that you are having a great holidays.
> 
> I am a Civil Engineer living in Queanbeyan, NSW with a visa Skilled Provisional 489. I arrived in Australia on 3rd February, 2015. On 3rd February, 2017 it will be 2 years in Queanbeyan, NSW.
> 
> Can you please help me providing some information regarding 489 to 887 ?
> 
> My questions are -
> 
> 1. For first 6 months I stayed with my friend but I have no document. Not even in the utility bills. How can I prove that I was living in that address for the said 6 months ?
> 
> 2. I have worked for 20 months full time in a company. But I was out of Australia for 33 days for holidays in which I was paid for 14 days by my employer. Can i apply exactly after 2 years or I have to wait 33 days more ?
> 
> 3. Can I work in ACT after applying for 887 ? Because there is a possibility of getting a very good job in ACT very soon.
> 
> 4. Or can i move to the big cities after applying ?
> 
> 5. I was 33 days in Bangladesh for my holidays and got married. Do I need police clearance for that ?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Ivan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ali 7 -

Thanks for the note. Assuming he already has an Australian visa linked to his old passport, you can lodge Form 929 with DIBP (download the form from border.gov.au) to record the new passport with DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ali 7 said:


> Hi
> 
> My son who is 6 years old has got a new passport. Will appreciate if you may advise me how to update visa on his new passport.
> 
> Thanks
> Ali


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tourist -

Thanks for the note. Wish I could do more, however DIBP is highly unpredictable about visa processing times and puts no time limits on itself. There is simply no way to predict whether you'll get the visa in time for your trip. I'd keep in touch with them politely but diligently.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tourist said:


> Happy New Year, Mark!
> 
> I am an Indian citizen living in the US. I applied for my visitor visa (600) early November for an intended travel date of mid Feb at the Washington DC embassy. What are my chances of getting my visa on time?
> 
> I am a bit nervous since I have read on this forum about people missing travel dates (mostly those who applied 3-4 weeks ahead of travel date).
> 
> What factors does the embassy consider while deciding on when to issue the visa? I think I have submitted all required documents and more. I also have good travel history. I received acknowledgement of application already but nothing more than that.
> 
> I also see on this forum that other Indian citizens who applied later than me have received visas already (their travel dates were earlier than mine though).
> 
> I have been planning for this trip for so long and I will be really sad if I can't make it - it's for a milestone celebration.
> 
> The Americas Service Center agents just ask me to wait; I have already called a few times since my case is way past the 6 week average processing time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi I-Like_it_here - (great name!)

Thanks for the note. This is a tricky situation indeed - where did the 48 hour deadline come from - DIBP?

Yes she needs to get her current employer to sponsor her, but it's absolutely critical that the application for the new 457 visa application be made prior to the old one being cancelled or she may have a Schedule 3 problem and may have a section 48 bar problem.

48 hours is hardly enough time to put together a sponsorship, nomination and visa application, however suggest she immediately get professional help to sort this out and try and get some more time prior to the cancellation in order to get the new employer's application ready. Simply put, if she does not get the new 457 visa application (and related nomination application) lodged prior to the 457 cancellation of the old 457, she may indeed have to go offshore to make a new 457 application, and if she is onshore when the 457 is cancelled it may also create further issues.

This is a classic example of the problems that can occur when the same lawyer or migration agent represents the employer AND the employee for a 457 visa application when that lawyer/agent is more concerned about his/her account with the employer than with making sure the employee is properly advised throughout the process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



I_like_it_here said:


> Hello Mark. Thanks very much for taking the time to help out!
> 
> My friend is in a sticky situation with her visa. She was a dependent on a 457, broke up with the guy and, as they worked at the same place, HR/lawyers sorted everything out and ensured both parties all was well. The ex BF is now on PR.
> 
> She has since left that company and moved to another who took over the sponsorship, at this point it was not apparent that anything was amiss.
> 
> It has now become clear that her ex employer did not inform immigration of the break up and therefore she has remained on the original visa as a dependent.
> 
> Immigration now know the relationship is over so will be cancelling the visa, she has 48 hours to apply for a primary 457.
> 
> I have a few questions regarding this situation, the most important one being: what is her next step? - Does she need to get her current employer to sponsor her for the new visa and apply for a bridging visa in the interim? Or is it more complicated than that? She is concerned she may have to leave the country.
> 
> Thanks so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sschohan -

Thanks for the note. I don't have enough information to advise you from this - would need to see you at a consultation - see website below in my signature for contact info and booking. Importantly, how the skills assessor has assessed your work experience may come into play in terms of how you present your work experience on the visa application.

Best,

Mark Northam



sschohan said:


> Dear sir,
> 
> I need info/help regarding below query.
> 
> I have submitted EOI and got invitation for sub class 189. In my EOI I have mentioned current employment designation i.e "Manager Optimization" for entire employment period (8 years).
> 
> But during that period I've had various promotions starting from "Officer" till I became "manager".
> 
> But in Visa application I have provided details breakup wise starting from "officer , sr. officer till Manager" with tenures for that eight years with same employer.
> 
> Do I need to provide same details breakup wise in EOI or it not will impact visa application.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mommyofthreephau -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about the medical situation. Medical exams are valid for 12 months, and in your case should be assuming it was the same type of visa you applied for previously (ie, same type of medicals). I would stay on them about "finding" the medicals and present evidence to DIBP re: having already taken the medicals. I'd get evidence from the physical location where the medicals were taken and send to the new case officer, and get contact info for the medical physical location and give that to the case officer to let them contact them directly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mommyofthreephau said:


> Hi mark!
> 
> I apply for my kids visa (445 dependent child visa ) last October 2016 but before that We already did the medical as they already give us HAP ID last March but we failed to lodge and pay the visa that time so we only did the medical instead for offshore in philippines last May 2016. They allocate a CO last nov 2016 together with the form 815 for my eldest ( health undertaking) then everything that they ask is already been provided on the same month (Novemeber 2016) then december comes and no further requirements from CO. Then just yesterday we received email from a different CO asking for a medical as she was saying they cant find my kids medical Last May 2016. I printed a copy from eMedical last Dec 4,2016 and it says there the date that health case already submitted to DIBP dated May and June 2016 (for my 2 kids) and its even says "Completed". But when we try to open the Hap ID again yesterday through eMedical now it says health exams required and it says this health case is not yet submitted to the DIBP?  Does this thing happend all the time? Or if this is normal? I call the Health Examination center in Manila (where my kids did their medical) and they said its been submitted to the DIBP Last May and Last June. They said maybe the case officer give a new HAP ID again. Its heartbreaking really as i thought after signing the HEALTH UNDERTAKING (form 815) everything will be ok for granting visa already and no further requirements from CO. I felt so devastated about this and have lots of questions in mind why this things happening? My questions are:
> 
> 1. Is this really normal to happen?
> 
> 2. Can a medical be expired eventhough its not yet 12 mos form the date its been done? (May 2016-January 2017 =8 months only)
> 
> 3. Where did they Base the Form 815 HU (i sign for my 11 yrs old daughter ) from? As they saying they cant find my kids medical last May 2016?
> 
> Shed me some light here Mark.
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brett11 -

Thanks - have a look for an answer from me for your question a couple of pages back as I have been catching up on questions submitted - please advise if any further questions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



brett11 said:


> Hope someone can help because can't find the answer in the immigration website.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sschohan-

Am catching up with questions today, answered your question just now within the past couple of pages - please advise if further questions, thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



sschohan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well.I need info/help regarding below query, please guide me what to do.
> 
> I have submitted EOI and got invitation for sub class 189. In my EOI I have mentioned current employment designation i.e "Manager Optimization" for entire employment period (8 years).
> 
> But during that period I've had various promotions starting from "Officer" till I became "manager".
> 
> But in Visa application I have provide details breakup wise starting from "officer , sr. officer till Manager" with tenures for that eight years with same employer.
> 
> Do I need to provide same details breakup wise in EOI or it not will impact visa application.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rockwell123 -

Thanks for the note. Short answer: no. You can request that your student visa be cancelled, or you can wait to see if DIBP cancels it at some point (probably within the next few months, but likely not immediately) - the outcome will be the same - your 189 visa will continue processing, but you'll have to apply for a Bridging Visa E to remain in Australia after the cancellation until the 189 is decided. The BVE comes with no work rights, but you can apply to add them if you can demonstrate financial hardship. Also, you'll lose any time in Australia prior to the cancellation for use towards the 4 year residency requirement for citizenship. BUT, you'll get to stay in Australia while your 189 is decided.

If you are lucky, the 189 will be decided before the student visa is cancelled (DIBP can often take many months to get around to cancelling a student visa depending on the circumstances), so no cancellation occurs and no BVE, etc.

Happy to discuss your individual circumstances at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more info and booking.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rockwell123 said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for your previous advise. I have a query regarding the Bridging Visa A - I am currently on a student visa until 2018, I recently applied for a PR under subclass 189, and I have been granted a Bridging Visa A. I now want to withdraw from my course (before the census date of 20 Jan 2017) to receive a full tuition fee refund. After withdrawing, I want to continue living and working in Australia until my PR is granted. My concern is that withdrawing from the course will immediately cancel my student visa and BV-A, and I will be an unlawful immigrant with no work rights. How do you suggest I proceed? Is there any way to withdraw and have my BV-A come into effect? Thanks!! )


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Sorry for the confusion - just answered your original post a page or 2 back, thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



jamielannister said:


> Hi
> Mark
> 457 visa got refused cuz nomination was refused. Can we apply another 457 by getting a new nomination? Or can another visa be applied? What are the options other than MRT


----------



## mommyofthreephau

Hi Mark, 
Thanks for replying, thats what we are saying but they keep on insisting that they (CO) need a fresh medicals because they said its expired and cannot be extend eventhough they just did the medical last May (8 mos as of today) i called the slec in manila (where my kids did their medical) they said its been sent already and now i trued to open the eMedical (online account of my kids) now it was changed and it says 501 and 502 required i was wondering what happend to the Completed one that i saw last december 4? Why suddenly its been edited and instead of Completed it says Required? Btw, i forgot to tell u we have Migration Agent and shes the one whos contacting the CO / DIBP. Its the same visa (visa subclass 445 dependend child visa)and same Medical exams ie 501 502 and the IGRA/TSTA for my 11 yrs old. Why suddenly the HAP ID looks like they edited it and they changed it into REQUIRED MEDICAL EXAM/ NOT YET SUBMITTED TO DIBP but i have a printed copy of that same HAP ID's last Dec saying its been submitted already. Anyhow, i was hoping they can find it its really a pain for me to go ask the grandma again to do the medical plus the waiting period again. Thanks so much Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mikechan -

Thanks for the note. DIBP case officers may not have easy access (or any access) to the original stage 1 application, so it is important not to assume they can or will (or will lift a finger to) go searching around in your previous application for documents you've already submitted. I suggest treating the Stage 2 as a new application with the only limitation being not to submit relationship evidence that you've previously submitted. You should focus on relationship evidence after the stage 1 visa was submitted (or lodged depending). Other than that, all other documents they request for the stage 2 should be provided to make it easy for them to fly through your application and give a quick approval (hopefully!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mikechan said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for the answer
> 
> For 2) 3) & 5) you answered, I totally get it
> 
> But you said 1) & 4), you stated she need to fill them. I mean we both really do not understand why she needs to fill them again given that she has submitted previously?? Is there a need since they will be the same as the same as stage 1??
> 
> Can she put a note like a 1 page PDF document saying "This has been submitted in Stage 1, please refer to the file name of "______.pdf"? Or can she just totally upload the document again exactly what she had uploaded in stage 1?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Your migration agent should be on top of this and asking the question why they are saying the previous ones have "expired" when they are only 8 months old. You are paying for professional advice and service from the agent, and dumping this mess back onto you to sort out is not correct in my view.

Bottom line: if the medical results really are lost, you'll have to do the medicals again. At some point it becomes non-productive to keep telling them to look for the results if the results are "lost".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mommyofthreephau said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for replying, thats what we are saying but they keep on insisting that they (CO) need a fresh medicals because they said its expired and cannot be extend eventhough they just did the medical last May (8 mos as of today) i called the slec in manila (where my kids did their medical) they said its been sent already and now i trued to open the eMedical (online account of my kids) now it was changed and it says 501 and 502 required i was wondering what happend to the Completed one that i saw last december 4? Why suddenly its been edited and instead of Completed it says Required? Btw, i forgot to tell u we have Migration Agent and shes the one whos contacting the CO / DIBP. Its the same visa (visa subclass 445 dependend child visa)and same Medical exams ie 501 502 and the IGRA/TSTA for my 11 yrs old. Why suddenly the HAP ID looks like they edited it and they changed it into REQUIRED MEDICAL EXAM/ NOT YET SUBMITTED TO DIBP but i have a printed copy of that same HAP ID's last Dec saying its been submitted already. Anyhow, i was hoping they can find it its really a pain for me to go ask the grandma again to do the medical plus the waiting period again. Thanks so much Mark!


----------



## Rockwell123

Dear Mark,

Thank you so much for your quick and informative response. It appears as though it would make sense to withdraw from my course before census date to get a full tuition refund, and then wait for DIBP to cancel my student visa (and grant my 189). Quick questions though:

1. Once I with withdraw from Uni, on average, how long does DIBP take to cancel the student visa? Hours, days, weeks, months?

2. Is there a buffer period after cancellation of student visa, during which I can apply for BVE? Or I am an unlawful non-citizen the moment my Student Visa is cancelled?

Thanks a millllllion for your help!! 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Rockwell123 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Short answer: no. You can request that your student visa be cancelled, or you can wait to see if DIBP cancels it at some point (probably within the next few months, but likely not immediately) - the outcome will be the same - your 189 visa will continue processing, but you'll have to apply for a Bridging Visa E to remain in Australia after the cancellation until the 189 is decided. The BVE comes with no work rights, but you can apply to add them if you can demonstrate financial hardship. Also, you'll lose any time in Australia prior to the cancellation for use towards the 4 year residency requirement for citizenship. BUT, you'll get to stay in Australia while your 189 is decided.
> 
> If you are lucky, the 189 will be decided before the student visa is cancelled (DIBP can often take many months to get around to cancelling a student visa depending on the circumstances), so no cancellation occurs and no BVE, etc.
> 
> Happy to discuss your individual circumstances at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more info and booking.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rockwell123 -

Glad to help. Re 1, I've seen the time anywhere from a few weeks to 6-12 months - it's all over the map. Re 2, no grace period, the instant the visa is cancelled you are an UNC (unlawful non-citizen) and you need to apply for a BVE ASAP at that point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rockwell123 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for your quick and informative response. It appears as though it would make sense to withdraw from my course before census date to get a full tuition refund, and then wait for DIBP to cancel my student visa (and grant my 189). Quick questions though:
> 
> 1. Once I with withdraw from Uni, on average, how long does DIBP take to cancel the student visa? Hours, days, weeks, months?
> 
> 2. Is there a buffer period after cancellation of student visa, during which I can apply for BVE? Or I am an unlawful non-citizen the moment my Student Visa is cancelled?
> 
> Thanks a millllllion for your help!!


----------



## ching

Dear Mark,
I hope you will be able to give me some advice. I am a pharmacist and applied for Skilled(VB885) Visa on 31 Oct 2012 together I added in my ex-boyfriend in the application as my dependent spouse. As we were in a relationship for 4 years, we were both granted with Permanent resident on 18 Jan 2013. However things dint work out we broke up in August 2013. On October 2013 I started a new relationship with Mr L. Mr L is from Hong Kong. May 2014 I went to HK to pursue my master degree and I started living with Mr L in Hong Kong. After being together for 3 years plus, we got married on 11 Nov 2016. We shared a very genuine and happy relationship, now we are hoping to come back to Australia for good together. My husband is planning to enter Australia with ETA tourist visa in April 2017 and apply partner visa onshore. Here are my questions.
1.	I understand that there is a 5 years restriction for sponsoring second partner. Now that it is close to 5 years and we share a more than 3 years relationship, living together for 2 years and am married. Do you think we can proceed to apply partner visa?
2.	Once I am back in Australia, am I still allow to travel as my PR visa expired in 18 Jan 2018. 
3.	I was being told that because I broke up with my Ex boyfriend after our PR was granted, hence I do not need to inform immigration regarding the break up. Is that true?
Please help me as I am very worried at the moment. Really hope to hearing from you soon.
Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## ashie4ya

*Pmv waiting*

Dear Mark,

my fiancé has applied for the PMV visa and is still waiting. It will be coming to 10 months soon. Application was in Lebanon. I know a few people who have waited less then us and their partners were granted visas from the same country.

I know we have to just be patient and wait it out. It is concerning when other people have applied for the same visa and my partner has yet to granted.

Does it matter if we have done the application on our own that it takes longer? or may it be that it has just come to a halt because of the holidays?

Regards,

Ash


----------



## brett11

HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP

Hi Mark,

I am 24 year old finished master of engineering science (advanced manufacturing technology) in Melbourne (Victoria) got ielts 7 but still I am lacking with 5 points. Six months ago got job in regional Victoria(Geelong) in my stream. Can I apply for 190 or 489 visa (Victoria) with my job offer letter *without* any previous job experience?

IELTS-10
Age- 25
Skills Assessment(bachelor degree) -15
Masters study-5

Thank you.[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ching -

Thanks for the note, happy to help. Re 1, you have no 5-year waiting period as the first visa was a skilled visa and not a partner or fiancé visa. Re 2, you can come/go to/from Australia as you like through 18 Jan 2018 however after that date you will need to get a subclass 155 Resident Return visa in order to extend your right to re-enter Australia. Re 3, correct - no need to advise DIBP. Given that you have a previous visa with a different partner than your current one, it's likely DIBP will look carefully at your partner visa application - key will be to make sure you have lots of effective relationship evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ching said:


> Dear Mark,
> I hope you will be able to give me some advice. I am a pharmacist and applied for Skilled(VB885) Visa on 31 Oct 2012 together I added in my ex-boyfriend in the application as my dependent spouse. As we were in a relationship for 4 years, we were both granted with Permanent resident on 18 Jan 2013. However things dint work out we broke up in August 2013. On October 2013 I started a new relationship with Mr L. Mr L is from Hong Kong. May 2014 I went to HK to pursue my master degree and I started living with Mr L in Hong Kong. After being together for 3 years plus, we got married on 11 Nov 2016. We shared a very genuine and happy relationship, now we are hoping to come back to Australia for good together. My husband is planning to enter Australia with ETA tourist visa in April 2017 and apply partner visa onshore. Here are my questions.
> 1.	I understand that there is a 5 years restriction for sponsoring second partner. Now that it is close to 5 years and we share a more than 3 years relationship, living together for 2 years and am married. Do you think we can proceed to apply partner visa?
> 2.	Once I am back in Australia, am I still allow to travel as my PR visa expired in 18 Jan 2018.
> 3.	I was being told that because I broke up with my Ex boyfriend after our PR was granted, hence I do not need to inform immigration regarding the break up. Is that true?
> Please help me as I am very worried at the moment. Really hope to hearing from you soon.
> Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ash -

Having done the application on your own wouldn't by itself make a difference in the processing time - unfortunately DIBP doesn't seem to process visas on a first-come, first-served basis and there are wide variations in the processing times, especially in Middle East countries. Best to be patient a bit longer -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashie4ya said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> my fiancé has applied for the PMV visa and is still waiting. It will be coming to 10 months soon. Application was in Lebanon. I know a few people who have waited less then us and their partners were granted visas from the same country.
> 
> I know we have to just be patient and wait it out. It is concerning when other people have applied for the same visa and my partner has yet to granted.
> 
> Does it matter if we have done the application on our own that it takes longer? or may it be that it has just come to a halt because of the holidays?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Ash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brett11 -

Thanks - already answered your question as previously posted here:
http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/49513-ask-mark-1211.html#post1431137

Best,

Mark Northam



brett11 said:


> HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP
> 
> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am 24 year old finished master of engineering science (advanced manufacturing technology)  in Melbourne (Victoria) got ielts 7 but still I am lacking with 5 points. Six months ago got job in regional Victoria(Geelong) in my stream. Can I apply for 190 or 489 visa (Victoria) with my job offer letter *without* any previous job experience?
> 
> IELTS-10
> Age- 25
> Skills Assessment(bachelor degree) -15
> Masters study-5
> 
> Thank you.


[/QUOTE]


----------



## PaulineHansonFan

Hi Mark,

Thanks for this great thread. I would appreciate if you could provide some advice for my situation. I am on a student visa. I have already submitted my EOI with a state nomination and I am waiting for an invite. I am planning to exit my course earlier with an award. However, my semester starts only in February end, so I have some more time. After I get my invite, should I voluntarily cancel my student visa and apply for the 190 visa or should I apply for it without cancelling my student visa? What work rights do I have if I follow either case?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi PH Fan -

Thanks for the note. Would strongly advise against cancelling your student visa prior to lodging your 190 visa application with DIBP as the cancellation could prevent you from making a valid 190 application onshore. As far as the timing of everything goes, work rights, etc would need to work with you in a consultation and see your current student visa in order to advise on steps you could take depending on how much time is left on your student visa and other factors - please see contact info in my website in the signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



PaulineHansonFan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for this great thread. I would appreciate if you could provide some advice for my situation. I am on a student visa. I have already submitted my EOI with a state nomination and I am waiting for an invite. I am planning to exit my course earlier with an award. However, my semester starts only in February end, so I have some more time. After I get my invite, should I voluntarily cancel my student visa and apply for the 190 visa or should I apply for it without cancelling my student visa? What work rights do I have if I follow either case?


----------



## Kaffee

Hopefully I am almost finished with immigration for another 2 years. Applied for 820 from PMV on 30th November. Yesterday we both received emails from DIBP, him to ask for his police check and permission to disclose (as per the new regulations from 16th November) and me to ask for a 40SP. Am I correct in thinking we can fill the 40SP out on my ImmiAccount and if so that most would be a copy and paste from the one completed for the PMV?


----------



## brett11

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Brett11 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. As far as DIBP is concerned for the 489 or 190 visa, there is no requirement to claim any particular work experience. You would need to check the current rules with VIC or any other state you are considering trying to get sponsorship from to see if they have any minimum requirements for previous work experience, etc beyond what you currently have. Also would check with the skills assessor for your occupation re: any minimum work experience requirements.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your reply MARK, In my case, I have completed my Masters Study in Melbourne, VIC and got my skills assessed as Professional Mechanical Engineer. I have just checked the Visa conditions of VIC state nomination, It was shown as 2 years work experience is needed to apply for 190 visa. I had a confusion for 489 state nomination that, Can I apply for VIC nomination using the job offer letter in my stream as I have performed by studies here, Can I get any sort of exemption for state nomination if I apply. Thanks for your support and time, Appreciated your prompt response.Please refer the link below ...Thank you

http://www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au/information/international-graduates#.WHDL5bGr0b1


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaffee -

Yup - on Family visa menu on ImmiAccount, look for the "Sponsor a Partner..." option - it's the online version of the 40sp form.

Best,

Mark Northam



Kaffee said:


> Hopefully I am almost finished with immigration for another 2 years. Applied for 820 from PMV on 30th November. Yesterday we both received emails from DIBP, him to ask for his police check and permission to disclose (as per the new regulations from 16th November) and me to ask for a 40SP. Am I correct in thinking we can fill the 40SP out on my ImmiAccount and if so that most would be a copy and paste from the one completed for the PMV?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brett11 -

Thanks for the note. It's not clear from the website as far as I can tell - best option would be for you to call or email VIC skilled directly and ask your specific questions - sometimes call works better with these folks I've found.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



brett11 said:


> Thanks for your reply MARK, In my case, I have completed my Masters Study in Melbourne, VIC and got my skills assessed as Professional Mechanical Engineer. I have just checked the Visa conditions of VIC state nomination, It was shown as 2 years work experience is needed to apply for 190 visa. I had a confusion for 489 state nomination that, Can I apply for VIC nomination using the job offer letter in my stream as I have performed by studies here, Can I get any sort of exemption for state nomination if I apply. Thanks for your support and time, Appreciated your prompt response.Please refer the link below ...Thank you
> 
> International Student Graduates Visa Options & Job Information - Live in Victoria


----------



## Bsdaibes

Hi mark 
Am new in here i hope you could inform me 
My nomination got refused i was adviced to re lodge new nomination and i did attached new nomination 
Does it take same as long for the first time to hear back ?
How long it maximum take for the decision!?


----------



## Julian73

*Ask Mark*

Good day, Mark. It was great to found a forum like this one. I just want to inquire the following:
a) My boyfriend was unemployed for two years now and currently on a centerlink allowance, he can get his sunsupper after more than two years from now, but Im financially capable of supporting myself and my dependents, did the immigration assess his capacity to support me or he just need to sign in a financial obligation of the sponsor form? Will our situation affects the PMV.
b) what is the best evidence to present in a prospective visa application.
c) Can I include dependents over 18 who is fully dependent on me and in a full time study and another one aged 12 with a full custody court order in my name?
d) Did DIBP assess genuine relationship or the financial capacity of sponsor?
Thanks in advance


----------



## Jace

Hi Mark,

I did post this on my own thread, but just wanted your opinion on this 

(Bit of background) Met my fiance (USA) online September 2015, I went to USA in July 2016 for two weeks -- hoping to apply for PMV in April. We have literally spoken every single day since September via iMessage and Facetime Audio/Video.

Would just like some clarification on some things if I may.

1. With the Statement that both the sponsor and applicant have to write (individually) am I right in saying I can great a word doc (converted to PDF) and attach document and when it comes up with the section to write it up on the online application i can write say "see attachment ______"?

2. With the 
There are 4 broad categories of evidence that you need to provide:
• financial aspects;
• the nature of the household;
• social context of the relationship; and
• the nature of your commitment to each other.
Is this just providing various documents (receipts, statements etc)? and as for the Nature of the Household, does that need to be a form statement/Stat Dec SEPARATE to the individual statements?

3. Do both Sponsor and Applicant need to provide a Free to Marry Certificate, even though neither of us have been married?

4. I only have two pictures (at this point that i can find) where I am either with his(applicants) entire family or with his grandfather, worse case...would this be enough you think?

5. What would be good topics to provide for copies of chat between myself and Applicant?

Those are the questions i can't seem to locate a direct answer for, I very much appreciate your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bsdaibes -

Thanks for the note. Would need to know much more in order to respond, and DIBP is highly unpredictable re: their processing times. Most importantly, what visa subclass was the nomination for? 457, 186, 187, 489, 190? Please provide more info and I'll be happy to respond as I can.

Best,

Mark Northam



Bsdaibes said:


> Hi mark
> Am new in here i hope you could inform me
> My nomination got refused i was adviced to re lodge new nomination and i did attached new nomination
> Does it take same as long for the first time to hear back ?
> How long it maximum take for the decision!?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Julian73 -

Thanks for the note. Re a, generally speaking DIBP will look at the entire financial picture - there are no specific income levels, etc for sponsors. They will consider his employment past, so suggest including a resume and describing all financial support either of you receive currently including support from parents. Re b, too big a subject for a quick post, but see other threads on the forum where people discuss exactly what evidence they have used - very, very helpful info. Re c, dependent 18+ yrs old can be tricky - may be possible as long as they have not turned 23, would need to work with you in a consult to get more info to see if they meet the newly revised definition of member of the family unit - see consultation info on my website - see link below in my signature. The 12 yr old sounds fine as long as you can prove 100% custody and control. Re d, main focus is on genuine relationship - financial capacity of the sponsor is secondary and can be offset by other financial support from parents, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Julian73 said:


> Good day, Mark. It was great to found a forum like this one. I just want to inquire the following:
> a) My boyfriend was unemployed for two years now and currently on a centerlink allowance, he can get his sunsupper after more than two years from now, but Im financially capable of supporting myself and my dependents, did the immigration assess his capacity to support me or he just need to sign in a financial obligation of the sponsor form? Will our situation affects the PMV.
> b) what is the best evidence to present in a prospective visa application.
> c) Can I include dependents over 18 who is fully dependent on me and in a full time study and another one aged 12 with a full custody court order in my name?
> d) Did DIBP assess genuine relationship or the financial capacity of sponsor?
> Thanks in advance


----------



## asadkhanm

*Thanks for the reply*

Hi Mark,
Thanks for the reply and providing a very helpful forum for everyone.

The problem with is the medical center that conducted the health exam uploaded only the results for myself and my wife. They didn't upload them for my kids. They asked me to come for Hep. B and C tests for the kids and only then they will upload the results. These test requirements didn't appear at the time of Health declaration and we went through the exams after three days of receiving CO email. It was not there till then.

All other documents were provided. Can i still click that button without my kids' health exams report uploaded by the clinic?

I have been waiting for my CO response patiently till now. Hopefully, i don't have to wait for too long.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> If you've lodged all the documents you are going to lodge in response to the letter, then you should click the Documents Provided button to move things forward. That being said, impossible to predict how long DIBP will take to do next steps - could be weeks or even months. Wish I could be more specific, but they just don't have any time limits on themselves.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Bsdaibes

*Nomination*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bsdaibes -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Would need to know much more in order to respond, and DIBP is highly unpredictable re: their processing times. Most importantly, what visa subclass was the nomination for? 457, 186, 187, 489, 190? Please provide more info and I'll be happy to respond as I can.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi mark
Thanks for responding 
Am applying for 457 visa as cook 
I belive my compny strong enough to sponser me also i belive i have everything required to be on top of it ! 
My nomination got refused in regards my company has lodge wrong paperwork accidentally but case officer looks like he understood so he request to relodge new nomination so we did relodge everything as requested again as new nomination to be attached

Am hoping if you could help me out as you experience 
How long it could take for decision cause the first time took long ! What about this situation does it take long time for process ! 
Thanks 
Appreciated MARK


----------



## aalghamd

Hi Mark 
I'm a PhD student. I finished my degree but my it still needs to be ratified by an academic director and then conferred by the vice chancellor. 
My student visa expires on 17th Jan, 2017 and I'm planning to apply for 485 visa. I was advised to apply for a visitor visa in case I don't get my completion letter by the end of this week. I checked immi online and went through an application for visitor visa. It indicates that it is a further stay as I'm still in Melbourne. My questions are:
1. If I proceed with visitor visa and submit my application, will I get a visitor visa with no work right? 
2. If I apply for temporary graduate visa 485 while I'm holding the visitor visa, will my bridging visa have the no work condition too? If yes, Can I get a permission to work while waiting for decision on 485 visa?

Any advice would appreciated. 

Hope to hear from you ASAP.


----------



## eddie tattersall

Hi mark I understand your very a busy man and appreciate the time you take to help the thousands of people you have with your advice, my question to you is this:
Currently I am on a 457 visa (expires apr 2018) I have already applied for a partner visa 801/820 (oct 2016) I am suffering anxiety and stress through work, as of yet haven't been able to find a new sponsor, if I leave and the 90 days is up or my employees don't want to sponsor me anymore will the 457 and the 801/820 applcicton be cancelled and will I go onto a bridging visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jace -

Thanks for the note. Please see my responses below at ***:



Jace said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I did post this on my own thread, but just wanted your opinion on this
> 
> (Bit of background) Met my fiance (USA) online September 2015, I went to USA in July 2016 for two weeks -- hoping to apply for PMV in April. We have literally spoken every single day since September via iMessage and Facetime Audio/Video.
> 
> Would just like some clarification on some things if I may.
> 
> 1. With the Statement that both the sponsor and applicant have to write (individually) am I right in saying I can great a word doc (converted to PDF) and attach document and when it comes up with the section to write it up on the online application i can write say "see attachment ______"?
> *** Yes.
> 
> 2. With the
> There are 4 broad categories of evidence that you need to provide:
> • financial aspects;
> • the nature of the household;
> • social context of the relationship; and
> • the nature of your commitment to each other.
> Is this just providing various documents (receipts, statements etc)? and as for the Nature of the Household, does that need to be a form statement/Stat Dec SEPARATE to the individual statements?
> *** You can refer to these 4 aspects in your overall relationship statement if you like, however the main assessment will be done based on the actual evidence you upload in these 4 categories, not what is said about them in any sort of a statement.
> 
> 3. Do both Sponsor and Applicant need to provide a Free to Marry Certificate, even though neither of us have been married?
> *** The requirements for this differ from one country to another - as PMV's are assessed offshore, I'd check with the post that will be processing yours (ie, usual country of residence of the applicant)
> 
> 4. I only have two pictures (at this point that i can find) where I am either with his(applicants) entire family or with his grandfather, worse case...would this be enough you think? *** I'd try to get more, maybe 10-20 - if not, then pictures of the two of you at different locations, times, etc are good too.
> 
> 5. What would be good topics to provide for copies of chat between myself and Applicant?
> *** Topics that show that you are very close and are planning a future together.
> 
> Those are the questions i can't seem to locate a direct answer for, I very much appreciate your help!


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Yes, however I'd upload a note to them advising that results for your kids' tests are awaiting further information requested by the clinic so they will understand the nature of the delay for the remaining health results.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



asadkhanm said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for the reply and providing a very helpful forum for everyone.
> 
> The problem with is the medical center that conducted the health exam uploaded only the results for myself and my wife. They didn't upload them for my kids. They asked me to come for Hep. B and C tests for the kids and only then they will upload the results. These test requirements didn't appear at the time of Health declaration and we went through the exams after three days of receiving CO email. It was not there till then.
> 
> All other documents were provided. Can i still click that button without my kids' health exams report uploaded by the clinic?
> 
> I have been waiting for my CO response patiently till now. Hopefully, i don't have to wait for too long.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bsdaibes -

Thanks for the note. 457 nominations are typically taking between 1-3 months, however might be soon as they have already assessed part of the application. No way to predict DIBP processing times however, as they have no time limits on themselves.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bsdaibes said:


> Hi mark
> Thanks for responding
> Am applying for 457 visa as cook
> I belive my compny strong enough to sponser me also i belive i have everything required to be on top of it !
> My nomination got refused in regards my company has lodge wrong paperwork accidentally but case officer looks like he understood so he request to relodge new nomination so we did relodge everything as requested again as new nomination to be attached
> 
> Am hoping if you could help me out as you experience
> How long it could take for decision cause the first time took long ! What about this situation does it take long time for process !
> Thanks
> Appreciated MARK


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aalghamd -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, no work rights available on visitor visas generally, so that's correct. Re 2, the BVA may or may not come with a work limitation, however you can apply for work rights based on financial hardship if it does have a limitation and you need to work for financial reasons. Note that the visitor visa (and its work rights, if any) will only activate once the visitor visa expires on its own.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aalghamd said:


> Hi Mark
> I'm a PhD student. I finished my degree but my it still needs to be ratified by an academic director and then conferred by the vice chancellor.
> My student visa expires on 17th Jan, 2017 and I'm planning to apply for 485 visa. I was advised to apply for a visitor visa in case I don't get my completion letter by the end of this week. I checked immi online and went through an application for visitor visa. It indicates that it is a further stay as I'm still in Melbourne. My questions are:
> 1. If I proceed with visitor visa and submit my application, will I get a visitor visa with no work right?
> 2. If I apply for temporary graduate visa 485 while I'm holding the visitor visa, will my bridging visa have the no work condition too? If yes, Can I get a permission to work while waiting for decision on 485 visa?
> 
> Any advice would appreciated.
> 
> Hope to hear from you ASAP.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eddie -

Thanks for the note, and sorry to hear of the anxiety and stress. If the 457 visa is cancelled either by DIBP if you are no longer employed there and have not found a new sponsor within 90 days, or is cancelled by yourself via voluntary cancellation, you will then be without a visa in Australia and would need to apply for a bridging visa E (BVE) to remain in Australia while your partner visa is being processed. The important thing here is that your partner visa will continue to be processed even if the 457 is cancelled.

If you do end up on a BVE, it will initially be issued without work rights but you can apply to add work rights if you are suffering financial hardship. On a BVE, if you leave Australia, the BVE will automatically cease once you leave Australia which leaves you stuck outside Australia with no visa to return, and you must be in Australia for the 820 partner visa to be granted, so that's something to consider (ie, don't leave Australia while holding a BVE unless you absolutely must). Also, if your 457 is cancelled while you are onshore, you will lose any time prior to the cancellation for use to satisfy the 4-year residency requirement for Australian citizenship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



eddie tattersall said:


> Hi mark I understand your very a busy man and appreciate the time you take to help the thousands of people you have with your advice, my question to you is this:
> Currently I am on a 457 visa (expires apr 2018) I have already applied for a partner visa 801/820 (oct 2016) I am suffering anxiety and stress through work, as of yet haven't been able to find a new sponsor, if I leave and the 90 days is up or my employees don't want to sponsor me anymore will the 457 and the 801/820 applcicton be cancelled and will I go onto a bridging visa?


----------



## KAZI HAQUE

*Submitting 2 EOIs for 2 States under same Occupation*

Hi Mark,

Can I submit two separate EOIs for 2 separate states (NSW and NT) under same occupation (223111-HR Adviser)?

Will it have any negative impact? I am asking this coz currently I am only eligible for 190 visa and my preferences are both NT and NSW.

Please advise. Thanks

Regards
Kazi


----------



## stifano

I have 4 years experience as a network engineer, but i am social work graduated, i have only CCNA cert but i can clear CCNP within 1 month, the question is if i got CCNP Feb 2017 do they will count this experience after bachelor graduation 2012?


----------



## eddie tattersall

Thanks so much for you quick response mark it's really appreciated, it has cleared up a lot of doubt in what my situation is. 
Have you ever had a client apply for a quicker decision on their visa after already applying for it? 
Many thanks again I'm so grateful


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kazi -

Generally no problem doing that, as some states have indicated that if they see multiple states on a single EOI, that results in lesser priority for the applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KAZI HAQUE said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can I submit two separate EOIs for 2 separate states (NSW and NT) under same occupation (223111-HR Adviser)?
> 
> Will it have any negative impact? I am asking this coz currently I am only eligible for 190 visa and my preferences are both NT and NSW.
> 
> Please advise. Thanks
> 
> Regards
> Kazi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stifano -

Suggest you have a look at ACS as that's the assessor for computer network and systems engineer. Without an IT Bachelor degree, you will likely need to use the RPL pathway or maybe the Diploma route (see Summary of Qualification page on ACS site for more about what work can be used, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stifano said:


> I have 4 years experience as a network engineer, but i am social work graduated, i have only CCNA cert but i can clear CCNP within 1 month, the question is if i got CCNP Feb 2017 do they will count this experience after bachelor graduation 2012?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eddie -

Glad I could help! Yes, have had a client do this but is often only approved in cases where there are fairly serious medical issues or other sorts of dire life circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



eddie tattersall said:


> Thanks so much for you quick response mark it's really appreciated, it has cleared up a lot of doubt in what my situation is.
> Have you ever had a client apply for a quicker decision on their visa after already applying for it?
> Many thanks again I'm so grateful


----------



## Lilia

Dear Mark,

Could you please kindly give your opinion on the following. 

My situation is:

Entered Australia on a visitor visa (subclass 676) 30 October 2012 and stayed here until 28 April 2013.
Entered Australia again on 16 April 2014 as a permanent resident (absent from AU between 28 April 2013 and 16 April 2014). I was granted permanent residency offshore straight away (subclass 100) without any bridging visa because my husband and I have been married for many years prior to moving to Australia but apparently it does not change anything when it comes to applying for the citizenship.

Dates of absence from Australia after that:
14/6/14 - 20/6/14 5 days
26/5/15 - 03/6/15 6 days
9/4/16 - 25/4/16 15 days
19/1/17 - 25/1/17 upcoming trip 5 days

When I enter all these details into the residence calculator on DIBP website (with lawful residence date being 30 October 2012), it comes up with 17 May 2017 as the date I am eligible to apply for the citizenship. However, the calculator does not ask you to specify if you have been overseas with or without a valid Australian visa. I have also noticed that the calculator does not reset the clock if you have been overseas for more than 12 months but pushes the date towards that day when you have been in Australia for 3 years plus 12 months of absence.

I called DIBP today and they told me that the time spent outside Australia without valid Australian visa does not count towards the 4 years residence requirement. However, they confirmed that staying in AU on a visitor visa does count.

The customer service representative from DIBP did not look me up on the computer or asked for how long I have been absent from Australia during 4 years prior to applying for the citizenship but cut me off by saying that since I have been outside Australia without any valid visa, the time spent in Australia on the visitor visa prior to that cannot be used for nothing and I am not eligible to apply until 16 April 2018 (4 year after I entered AU as a permanent resident). He also told me that if I had obtained some kind of Australian visa before departing overseas, it would have counted but otherwise not.

I have heard/read very mixed opinions about this and would very much like to hear a second professional opinion. Is it correct what I have been told by DIBP?

Thanks a lot.


----------



## gergeskamel5

hi mr mark
thanks a lot for your effort in helping the members , kindly i need your advice 

I am an architect with 9 yrs of experience in construction sites and i want to submit my skill assessment as a construction project manager- 133111 ,
I have bachelor's and master's degree in architecture from Egypt , my current position is consultant project manager from 1 year , i graded in positions from junior site architect to consultant project manager , and i am 31 years old 
Do I have a good chance to get a positive assessment from vetassess as a construction project manager , or should i look for another occupation ????


----------



## SealingOnlyYours

Hi Mark !
I did bachelor of Dentistry, MS Health Informatics and MPH. Now I want to apply for Australian immigration. Please guide me on the basis of which profession, I am eligible to apply? If I want to apply on the basis of Dentistry, do I first need to go through ADC exam?
Your help in this regard will be highly appreciated.


----------



## SealingOnlyYours

Hi Mark !!
I did bachelor of Dentistry, MS Health Informatics and MPH. Now I want to apply for Australian immigration. Please guide me on the basis of which profession, I am eligible to apply? If I want to apply on the basis of Dentistry, do I first need to go through ADC exam?
Your help in this regard will be highly appreciated.


----------



## xneij3

*Help with our photographer*

Good day! Would like to ask if what kind of visa is appropriate for a photographer in Philippines?

I am curretly staying in Sydney on a 457 visa, my partner and I would love to have our wedding prenuptial shot here in sydney. We already hired a professional photographer in Philippines and included in the package was the prenup that will be taken here. We tried to apply for his visa as visitors visa 600 but was refused stating that he does not have enough evidence to of his assests in Philippines. We already taken care of that matter but would like to have a good opinion if applying for the same visa is the advisable one?

Cheers!


----------



## ekongeo

Hello Mark, 
In short, my partner is a Brazilian citizen living with me (I'm an Australian citizen) at the residence I own in Melbourne, but we don't have the funds to apply for a partner visa yet, we only have about half. We don't have the funds for a partner visa, and we will not be able to obtain the funds in full during her 90 day tourist visa. 

The query we have is, due to it taking around 6 months to save for the application fee for a partner visa, we're not sure if it needs to be paid in full at the time of application. If we married now, could we apply for a partner visa on a payment plan? On the other hand, if she has to return to Brazil due to lack of funds for the application, and we had already married, could we apply for a partner visa off shore in the future, once funds obtained? 


Best regards, 
James


----------



## Chabayta

Dear mark, can i apply for partner visa 309/100 online if im holding Lebanese document for Palestinian refugees


----------



## ashie4ya

*Pmv*

Hi Mark,

Would it make a difference when the PMV was lodged we only provided NOIM and a letter from our church. We did not provide reception or any other documents because we did not know if he would be granted.
That date has now expired. Case officer has not asked for a new one or anything. Should we upload a new one ?

Regards,

Ash


----------



## shjuthani

*Natural Justice Letter*

Hi Mark,

I have received Natural Justice letter. I am seeking an help on how I can respond with comments to DIBP.

My scenario is as follows:

I have joined JYOTI Power Transmission in year 2006. The company is operating in power engineering and making electric line tower and providing engineering support. I joined them as network engineer. In 2011, they have started dedicated IT company named SPRICS TECHNOLOGIES Pvt Ltd for IT operation and transferred entire IT staff in it. I was also transferred. During this 10+ years of span, I have survived to manage majority of employment documents intake but the appointment letter of JYOTI POWER TRANSMISSION was lost.

Now for Australia immigration I have asked them (JYOTI POWER TRANSMISSION) to reissue appointment letter but unfortunately they were not co-operative and didn't give me the same. When I made the same request to SPRICS TECHNOLOGIES they have reissued me the appointment letter (as they are already part of JYOTI group).

The documents I have submitted to DIBP are:
1. Appointment letter (From SPRICS - REISSUED)
2. SALARY SLIPS (LAST 3 MONTHS - FROM SPRICS)
3. SALARY CERTIFICATE (LAST YEAR - SPRICS)
4. DUTY LETTER (FROM SPRICS)
5. ACS SKILL ASSESSMENT LETTER

Now the DIBP has raised a concern about my employment between 2006 to 2011 as during this time SPRICS TECHNOLOGIES was not 
Incorporated from where I got the appointment letter and duty letter and I HAVE NOT SUBMITTED ANY DOCUMENT OF JYOTI POWER TRANSMISSION NEITHER IT WAS MENTIONED.

Kindly advise me on this situation.

Regards,


----------



## thelittlemermaid09

*Visitor Visa to Partner Visa (Subclass 820)*

Hi! I'm from the Philippines. My partner is an Australian Citizen (born and raised), he moved to the Philippines 3 years ago and we've been living together for about 2 1/2 years now. He wants us to migrate to Australia. I want to know if:

We can apply for a tourist visa, go to Australia using the tourist visa and lodge the application for the Partner Visa (subclass 820) in Australia and get a bridging visa while waiting for the Partner Visa's results.

P.S.: We have all the documents for the visa to support that the relationship is genuine. We have visited Australia twice in the last two years to spend time with his family and visit my friends in Australia. His family and my friends (permanent resident's and Australian citizens) are more than happy to give us statutory declarations.


----------



## ashaito

*Regional Visa*

Dear Mark , 
Happy new year and merry Christmas to you. I have applied to NSW state nomination under visa subclass 190 since 10 months, Up till now i haven't received any reply from the state. Accordingly, i have 2 questions:
1- Does the state take that much time to reply ?? does it notify me if their reply was rejection?
2- Can i apply to Regional Visa Subclass 489 simultaneously with State nomination Subclass 190?

Thanks a lot for your great support and help 
Awaiting your kind reply 
Best Regards,

Abbas SHaito


----------



## jenzlinger

*I need your help Mark!*

Hi Mark,

I have previously applied and have been granted a student visa in 2013 and had to put a stop to my undergraduate degree due to financial implications. This in turn had led to me undergoing a Working Holiday Visa to save up for the remainder of my studies (1.5 years) and now, after being accepted into the same university, i am applying for a student visa onshore (on a working holiday visa) and was wondering would i possibly be rejected for suspicions that i am not a genuine student? I am currently writing my GTE message and am unsure what i should not mention (ie. intentions of work/further study after completing my undergraduate degree). I have complied to all visa conditions and have never been refused a visa from Australia too.

Thank you,
Jenny.


----------



## Neha Trikha

Hi I need to know for Australian PR. I am living in Australia but temporary on new land family visa 461. What is the way for me get Australian PR.


----------



## shamtah

Hi Mark

Thank you very much for your help.

I have been granted a PR visa (189).At time of grant I was not engaged or married.I did not travel to Australia yet and I am outside Australia now.I am now about to marry in a few days.

My questions are:
1-What is the fastest possible way to allow my future wife to travel with me to Australia.

2-If I marry her and then I traveled alone, can she be able to come to Australia on a visitor visa?and what is the processing time for this kind of a visa?

Kind regards and happy new year


----------



## jules2017

*Travel outside Australia while being on inactive BVA/ substantive 457 but unemployed*

Hi Marc,

I hope you can give me some advice. I've posted this already in another thread and it was recommended to ask you. 
I came to Australia on a 457 visa, however the job turned out to be absolutely horrible and I couldn't stand it mentally anymore. During the 90 day period I couldn't find another sponsor so that my partner and I decided to apply for the de facto visa quite at the end of the 90 day period. As the time was very short we made the application with an immigration agent.

My current situation is this: After applying for a 801 de facto visa I have been granted a BVA which is not in effect as my substantive visa is still the 457 (until 2019). My 457 visa would allow me to travel but as I wasn't able to find another sponsor until now I'm not sure if they would let me back in the country once I've left? As far as I understood, DBPI just 'accepts' my 457 while 801 is being processed, but because I'm not working since then I'm basically breaching my 457. Our immigration agent said that he could write a letter to DBPI to infrom them about my travel plans as the option of applying for a BVB is not given as my BVA is not in effect.

This seemed a bit strange to me so I've done further research and apparently BVA doesn't have to be active when applying for a BVB (which would mean I'd be on the safe side in terms of travel). However, if they would cancel my 457 visa while I would be away (my plan is from 14.2-15.3) automatically my BVA or BVB would be cancelled as well? Is that right?

Then there would be form 1022 to inform DBPI about any change of circumstances or travel plans, would that be enough eventually? Our 801 application is still processing and I've just been asked to hand in the health and national police checks. I don't wanna annoy immigration or them to doubt the genuineness of our relationship but really need to go for this month.

Do you have experience how DBPI could act in such a situation? How possible is it that they would cancel my 457 when I leave the country? What factors would add to this possibility? Is it possible to make an assumption here or would be more like playing roulette?

Many thanks for your help!!


----------



## Julian73

*Sponsor Health*

Greetings, Mark. First of all I like to express my deepest gratitude for answering queries here. My concern is that, my fiance' has a kidney transplant and aged 63. He is totally dependent on centerlink disability pension and although previously worked, he already withdraw his sunsupper for medical reason long time ago. Is he qualified to sponsor me in a spouse visa? Will the immigration assess his financial capacity to support me, even I am capable of supporting myself and my dependents?
Thank you very much.


----------



## justraji

Hi Mark,

My employer has agreed to nominate me for 186 direct entry VISA.

The issue is that my roles and responsibilities match to a Business analyst. But my education is Bachelors in commerce. I do have few Maths, stats and computers subjects in the 3 years degree course. But I dont think ACS will access it as ICT Major or ICT minor. That makes me non ICT. Is there a way I can get this confirmed?

My other question is that if I am Non ICT, then does it mean that I need to have 6 years of relevant experience to be able to pass the skill assessment even though my employer is sponsoring me?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Regards,
Raji


----------



## elie6

*Student Visa issues*

Hi Mark,

I'm in a bit of a pickle here. I have applied for a student visa for my exchange program to Melbourne and have had it finalised. However, I did not double check the COE dates that my school supplied me and an error was made. My visa expires 2 weeks before my program ends.

I am at a loss what to do short of applying for a new student visa. Would it be possible for me to fly to NZ on a weekend and reenter on an ETA? I am still in Malaysia currently, can i apply for an ETA now? Is it possible to hold an ETA and student visa both? My visa ends on 4th September, do I have to leave on 4th September and re-enter after or could I do so a couple weeks before?

I really appreciate your help. Thanks!


----------



## ampuente11

*189 with no bridging visa*

Hi Mark,

Thanks so much for your time!!

Here's my predicament: 
I have submitted my application for a 189 visa (after previously been working the past 3 years on a 457), and applied while I was home in the states for Christmas. I was unaware applying offshore does not grant you bridging visa rights like onshore does, and my employer is expecting me to come back to work. Is there any means for me to be able to do this? Can I come back to Australia and apply for a bridging visa E or something of the like? Thank you for your help!!


----------



## christie_Aus

*457 to 820 visa questions*

Hi Mark

First of all, thank you so much for your time and efforts responding to so many people on this forum. It is fantastic to come across people generously giving their time and advice! 
I am Australian and my partner is British. He has been in Aus for around 3 years, starting on a working hol visa, moving to a 457 and now we have a partner visa application submitted (Aug 2016). 
Recently his company made him redundant, but his 457 expires in less than 90 days and he then moves on to bridging visa A (or so I understand!). We can't see any possibility of finding a new sponsor in the next month, and we are getting married and taking 4 weeks off in March. 
My questions are as follows; 
- Is it acceptable that he not job seek post his redundancy given its less than 90 days until he is eligible for the BVA?
- Is there ANY type of work he can do (unpaid, voluntary etc) while his 457 is still active but he is unemployed?

Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing any advice or ideas regarding this situation, thank you!! 
Christie


----------



## Breminchi

Hello Mark,
Thank you for answering my previous question. Very much appreciated!
I do wish to ask you though also about Natti translations.
I have heard that major documents ( birth certificates, international police checks, ect..) should be translated by Natti. But other documents such as bank statements, rental agreements, bills and so on are ok to be translated by non Natti translators.

Would it also be acceptable to put untranslated bank statements in with say a google translate screenshot that shows a name translated or simple term for when some deposits were made from me to my partner and vice versa? The some other English bank statements would be included to show the sending and receiving of the funds also from accounts in Australia to the overseas account.

Really appreciate any answer you could give.
Thank you


----------



## regisprado

Hi Mark!

Out of curiosity, do you know how is DIBP's process to place 189 Applications in queue? Does it follow a FIFO (First In, First Out) logic based on lodgement dates or do point scores still play a part during this stage of the process and higher scores get processed before lower scores?

Can you share your wisdom?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## hugol_vallejo

Hi Mark. Awesome to have you here!

I posted my question on the forum but here it goes again. Thanks for any guidance you could provide.

I was garnted a Returning Resident Visa a couple fo months ago and now I am ready to move back to Australia. I got married as well in my home country. My girlfriend and I have had an ongoing relationship for more than 3 years now. We even lived together in Australia (she as as student) and some other time in Europe. We are now legally married in Colombia.

I will be arriving in Australia with my RRV by the end of January 2017. After settleing down, I want to bring my wife to Australia and apply to a partner visa in the fastest way possible. Unfortunately, the processing time for a parnter visa is quite long, probably more than a year, and if done offshore she would need to wait in Colombia that long. We definitely do not want to wait apart that much time. She could travel to Australia ocasionally with a toursit visa, but we don't want that either. We are looking to get her to Australia somehow, either as a tourist or student, and then apply to the partner visa so she could get a briding visa and we can stay together, and she could start working as well.

I have heard that she getting a tourist visa and then applying for the partner visa might be risky as there is the proper partner visa she could apply to to stay with her husband, so her application might be refused. Getting a student visa might be better, but she already studied english in Australia before and holds a master degree from Europe. What if her student visa application is refused because the officer thinks there is no need of serious studying in Australia?

So my question to you all is, what would be the fastest and safest way to take her to Australia asap and and have real chances for a partner visa approval? Would a student visa do it? We don't want to spend that much money in more courses, a 4-month student visa would be enough? We would of course apply to the partner visa as soon as she gets to Australia

Cheers,
Hugo


----------



## shjuthani

shjuthani said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have received Natural Justice letter. I am seeking an help on how I can respond with comments to DIBP.
> 
> My scenario is as follows:
> 
> I have joined JYOTI Power Transmission in year 2006. The company is operating in power engineering and making electric line tower and providing engineering support. I joined them as network engineer. In 2011, they have started dedicated IT company named SPRICS TECHNOLOGIES Pvt Ltd for IT operation and transferred entire IT staff in it. I was also transferred. During this 10+ years of span, I have survived to manage majority of employment documents intake but the appointment letter of JYOTI POWER TRANSMISSION was lost.
> 
> Now for Australia immigration I have asked them (JYOTI POWER TRANSMISSION) to reissue appointment letter but unfortunately they were not co-operative and didn't give me the same. When I made the same request to SPRICS TECHNOLOGIES they have reissued me the appointment letter (as they are already part of JYOTI group).
> 
> The documents I have submitted to DIBP are:
> 1. Appointment letter (From SPRICS - REISSUED)
> 2. SALARY SLIPS (LAST 3 MONTHS - FROM SPRICS)
> 3. SALARY CERTIFICATE (LAST YEAR - SPRICS)
> 4. DUTY LETTER (FROM SPRICS)
> 5. ACS SKILL ASSESSMENT LETTER
> 
> Now the DIBP has raised a concern about my employment between 2006 to 2011 as during this time SPRICS TECHNOLOGIES was not
> Incorporated from where I got the appointment letter and duty letter and I HAVE NOT SUBMITTED ANY DOCUMENT OF JYOTI POWER TRANSMISSION NEITHER IT WAS MENTIONED.
> 
> Kindly advise me on this situation.
> 
> Regards,


Hi Mark,

Urgent help needed in above matter...

Thanks in advance.

Regards,


----------



## jsangal

Hi, my mum and Dad visited (Subclass 600) us on 14th August 2015 for a years time and they were scheduled to leave the country on 13th august 2016. On the same day of their return my mum got serious condition where she was admitted in emergency ward - mercy hospital with an End of Life condition and strictly not allowed to be discharged. She then passed away on 19th Aug 2016 due to the condition.
When she was admitted in the hospital I applied for their 8503 removal from their subclass 600 tourist visa but never applied for an extension.
Right after the initial cremation procedures in Australia we are left with final ritual funeral services - in order to keep my dad with us we applied for Aged Relative Dependant Visa (subclass 838) - not enough knowledge about the procedures and visas. This application granted him BVC with no travel and no work.
Now, with all this and few months passed we have been trying to get him to India for couple of weeks for final funeral rituals and cant get it with any reasoning. I tried Immi department and was told by them that there is no provision of such transition of Bridging Visa C to Bridging Visa B but we really need to be in India for him to complete the funeral services with Hindu Rituals (dispersing of remains and prayers). We dont want to travel on BVC as that will not allow him to be stuck back in India with us returning here or there.
My dad has been not well since as he is continously seeing mum every now and then (psychologically) and been now put on High BP controlling medicines.
Please if anyone knows about a solution or if we could find a way to take my dad back to India for the purpose on Bridging Visa B and it seems that we have compelling and compasionate reason to get it.
Jitendra
0433252481


----------



## dev268

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark

I have received positive outcome from ACS RPL Assessment, but they deducted all my experience and did not recognized, my experience is eligible after Oct 2016, so I will not get points for that.

There assessment outcome as below:

"Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 261313 (Software Engineer) of the
ANZSCO Code.

The following employment after October 2016 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261313 (Software Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.

Dates: 05/02 - 07/04 (2yrs 2mths)
Position: SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
Employer: xyz
Country: PAKISTAN

Dates: 08/06 - 02/09 (2yrs 6mths)
Position: SENIOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
Employer: xyz
Country: PAKISTAN

Dates: 07/13 - 10/16 (3yrs 3mths)
Position: SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
Employer: xyz
Country: SAUDI ARABIA

Please note that the Department of Immigration and Border Protection reserves the right to undertake"

I have done Bachelor of Science from Al-Khair University, AJK, Pakistan, from 2009-20013, ACS didn't recognized it.

Now, My agent says that, I am still eligible to get 60 points without going to VETASSESS Point Test Advise, his calculation is as below

30 Points for Age
10 points for IELTS 7.0
10 points 489 State Sponsorship
10 points for ACS RPL Positive/Qualification 
Total 60

I have only doubt that my agent says that, I can get 10 points for education because I have positive skills assessment from ACS without going for Point Test Advise.

So what is your opinion guys? You reply will be highly appreciated

Regards


----------



## sharonannevans

Hi Mark,

I wonder if you can help me please. I previously lived and worked in Australia for almost four years. I emigrated with an ex-partner in January 2008 with a 457 working class visa. My partner at the time applied for a PR visa for work reasons obviously with me included in the visa. This was granted in July 2009. The relationship broke down a year later but I remained in Australia. My brother lives in the Gold Coast but after about a year, I found life in Sydney quite lonely on my own so decided to return to the UK. I came back in November 2011. 

I quite quickly met my current partner and we have been together ever since. We now have two children and are very happy. Apart from where we live! I love Australia and I would love to build a better future for my children - there is so much to offer a family there. Plus I have a sister who lives in Auckland with whom I am very close.My visa was renewed in 2014 as a RRV and we went to Australia last year on a long family holiday.


I have looked into how we can return and which visa is the most suitable. I will not have a problem in finding employment - my current employer has offices there and I also still have very strong work connections. I have looked at the Partner visa (309) and started to fill in the application online. However, I have noticed the eligibility requirements for me to be sponsor state that my main place of residence must be Australia, which it is not at present.

Do you please have any advice with relation to which visa is best for us to make the move over? Is it a good idea for me to get an immigration agent to look at this for us?

Many thanks in anticipation.

Sharon


----------



## freedom30

Good afternoon Mark,

I am a 28-year-old Canadian plumber. I began my apprenticeship in June 2013 here in Canada. In April 2017 I will complete my apprenticeship and by June 2017, after a national exam, I will be a fully qualified "Red Seal" plumber. I am unsure of the equivalent qualification in Australia. I have looked at the subclass 189 visa and I appear to satisfy all requirements except for in the Skills Assessment part. I will have to wait for 3 years post red seal experience to apply for the 189.

In the meantime, upon qualification, I would like to apply for a temporary work visa 457. The TRA doesn’t list Plumbing but through some confusing searching I believe that Canadian Plumbers are eligible for a 457 but they need to get an OSAS. Can you confirm this is the correct pathway for skill assessment in my case?

There are no OSAS places in Canada but I would be more than happy to travel to the UK for the skills assessment. Is this allowed? Can I get my skills assessed before I have a job offer? Or should it really be done afterwards? I would prefer to get all of my paperwork in order ahead of time so I can be ready to go if and when I get a job offer.

Can I submit a portfolio as an Expression of Interest to assist with finding an employer or would it all have to be independent searching?

We have already had a WHV and a second year WHV after doing regional work so that is not an option.

Please let me know my options. 

Thank you!!


----------



## stifano

Hi Mark
I was working as a network engineer with 2 years experience, and 1 month before started to work as a network administrator, I've prepared experience letter with 9 duties, 70% of those duties are Network Engineer, and 30% duties as a network administrator, after 1 year, I can prepare experience letter with duties 70% network administrator and 30% as network engineer, in this case are they going to consider the two experience letter accepted for any title I can apply for in Canada or Australia ??


----------



## mashew

*40sp Part H*

Hi Mark,

I'm an Australian citizen whose been living in Japan for the past 12 years. We are in the process of applying online for my wife (Japanese) in Japan, we live in Japan and are moving back to Australia. I have a few questions regarding the form.

Part H - About your Home

Do I fill in my current address details, or the intended details for our Australian residence?

Question 45 through me, it seems to be directed towards a person living in Australia sponsoring an arrival.

Also Part E

Our kids are Australian citizens, do they need to be included in the section "included in the sponsorshop"?

All the best and thanks for your thread.


----------



## Sagun

*Can I study CPA in BVE*

Hi Mark,

I am in student visa at the moment wanting to apply for partner visa.I went to immigration Lawyer yesterday. She told me that if I cancel my student visa than I have to apply for BVE where I can't work and study. she is not sure about the question I asked her.

My question was, Would I be able to study CPA ( Certified Practising Accountants)? I am already enrolled. This course is not under CRICOS.

Please help.


----------



## iloveoz123

Hello Mark, 

Hope this note finds you well. My RRV recently expired in mid-December. I had reapplied for it but did not hear back in time for my visit to Australia and thus entered the country as an e-visitor. In your experience, how big of an issue does this pose? 

Thank you.


----------



## jaysshah

Hi Mark,

I am just starting my application with Engineers Australia.
Can you please help me with detailed step by step guide on how to make sure correct assessment ?

I am new to this as I just got my IELTS results yesterday with all 7....

Your prompt support will be helpful...

Jay


----------



## Nate Drake

Hi Mark

I received an email saying:

"This is an automatically generated message
Request for further information for your permanent partner visa application
We require additional information or documents that cover your circumstances since you were granted the temporary partner visa"

I apply for the 820 the 17/2/15

I put together a list of information/evidence to submit, I try to submit an online 801 application but when I got to the question :

''Has it been a total of 24 months since the date the applicant lodged their temporary partner visa application?'' I reply NO and It wouldn't let me go ahead with the application.


* Honestly I think I made a mistake and try to apply to soon 

- I saved my application which is incomplete ( I got to the page 14 of 21) should I keep this application and continue with the application after the 2 years past (which is going to be the 17 of Feb ) since my first application to the 820?

Or should I delete the application and start a new one after the 2 years anniversary of my first app?


Thanks in advanced


----------



## riz.ivan

Hi Mark.

Hope that you are doing great.

I am on SP 489 visa and It will be 2 years on 4th of February, 2017. I have more than 20 months of full time of full time job in Queanbeyan, NSW. 

For the first 8 months I lived with my friend and I don't hv anything to prove that. You suggested me that I should wait 8 more months to apply for my PR. 

Now my questions are -

1. I have bank account opening letter dated 16th February, 2015 and Car rego on March 13, 2015 mentioning the address I was living. Also I have group certificate mentioning the address in July, 2015. Can I use these documents as my proof of living for that 8 months ?

2. I can arrange a statutory declaration for the 8 months of living in that address. Should it be useful ?

I need your help. 

Thanks.

Ivan


----------



## Abhay

*Query on 190*

Hi Mark,

I wish to apply for 190 and move to NT under State Nomination. I am confident of getting my Positive Skill Assessment but further How could I provide evidence that I have undertaken detailed research into living and working in the NT demonstrating I have a realistic knowledge of the environment including climate, relocation costs, living expenses (for example, food, utilities, rent), and accommodation costs to settle in the NT?
How could i prepare such a detailed report?

Regards,
Abhay


----------



## galaxy

Hi Mark, I have already started a thread but there is no clear response. Could you have a look at my post and shed some light on it please? 

Edit: Sorry I am not allowed to post a link as I am not active member yet. You can check the post I started in my stats on my profile.

Thanks


----------



## HanandLeia

Hi Mark,

Thanks for all your input! I just had a question about your comment to Jimmy below. Some other posts said answers on the 40SP should NOT copy and pasted because the answers should be in the sponsor's own words. How would you address this concern? Is consistency more important?

Thanks!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jimmy2014 -
> 
> Re: 40sp...Note that all the answers for that form are duplicates of what you were asked for the main online form, so might be good to copy & paste from that to ensure no inconsistencies, etc...
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## HelpMeBe

Thank you so much Mark. So kind of you. 

I did my double degree in Canberra and now want to apply for P.R
Have a few questions regarding the mandatory 1 year work experience - couldnt find answers elsewhere

Do internships count as work experience? 
Can the work experience be part time but for a year?

Can the work experience be at different organisations or the same for the whole year?

I have 3 months left in my 1 year of experience, can I still apply?

I hoping to apply as a video editor. Will hopefully gain a years of work experience this year. 

Please advice.

Thank-you , you are a life saver!


----------



## HelpMeBe

Hi Mark,

thank you for ur kindness.

does an internship after graduating count as work experience? i ill be doing a video editing internshipand hoping to apply as a video editor for my 189 visa for p.r

thank u so much!


----------



## harsiv

Dear Mark,

I am Hari Prasaadh from India and have started my Australian visa application under 190 subclass and have few questions on the proceedings. After getting Vetassess approval I would be submitting the EOI then a territory would pick up my profile and sponsor. I have clarity up till here but not beyond this.

My questions are,

· After getting an invite from any territory and acknowledging should I immediately land in that particular territory?

· After landing in in that particular territory can I come back and do the job hunt from my home country India?

· Is there any minimum time period for me and my spouse to stay in that territory and if I fail will my visa get terminated? (In case I do not get a job in 1 year and I stay in home country)

· If I get a job in a territory which did not sponsor can I go and work there?

Thanks a lot and really sorry if I asked you too many things!!!!


----------



## CANUKAUS

Good Evening Mark, 

I just have a quick question regarding PM Visa and divorce. I understand as the sponsor that I do have to be divorced. However can the application still be submitted whilst I am married and supply the documentation once the divorce is finalised? To be more specific I cant process the divorce until April, if my fiancee applies in March for the PM visa will that be a hindrance are the application just be put on hold until i submit the correct paperwork?

Thanks you in advance for reply, muchly appreciated.


----------



## harsiv

I am applying for 190 Visa under skill set 225112 VETASSESS- Market Research Analyst.
Are there anyone who already applied and immigrated to Australia under this skillset or anyone currently under the process of applying!!!!


----------



## TTT2009

Hi Mark
Thank you for helping everyone with their enquiries.

We are a couple on visa 489 state sponsored in SA.
We will be in the process of applying for 887 as we have met the visa requirements. However not sure if we can lodge the application and wait for them to request documents, such as health examinations or police clearance.
Can you advise if all docs need to be uploaded with application or wait for case officer to ask?
We also have police clearance from last year, would that be too old?

Thank you again

Regards
TTT


----------



## 1984ravigupta

Dear Mark,

I have a query regarding 489 subclass.

1) Is 489 gives additional 10 points. I am looking for State or territory sponsorship.

2) My code is 261312. Which state/territory is best suited for me ?? Are there any job prospects outside Melbourne and Sydney ?? Asking this as these are the only two cities most talked about for IT jobs.

3) At the DIBP website it is mentioned 

"For members of your family unit who are included in your visa application (in either visa pathways), they must be a member of the family unit of someone who already holds this visa (subclass 489) or a provisional visa in subclass 475, 487, 495 or 496."

This is a bit confusing for me. Can I include my spouse & kid in the application and if I get the grant (489 visa) they also gets the grant (as dependent) ??

4) Is it necessary to work in the same code for which I have been accessed and invited ?? Lets say I want to change my profile or plan to start a new business can I do under 489 subclass ?? I am asking this as after two years when I will apply for 887 (PR) they will ask me for the proof of stay in the nominated territory for two years and work experience in the same location for atleast one year. In that case if I have an experience in some other job category will they accept my application ??

5) This query is related to 887. Does 887 allows me to stay & work anywhere in Australia ?? Also once I have 887 what's the process to get the citizenship ??

Thanks.


----------



## Covariant

*801 visa application submitted*

Hi Mark,

Just writing because I have applied for a 801 visa on June last year, my eligibility date was April 2015. I'm planning to go on a trip overseas for a month and my partner won't be able to join me as he has just been admitted to study medicine and cannot defer without losing his spot. I was wondering how would me travelling on my own affect our visa application? Also he is not fond on social media and I was reading that immigration checks facebook posts, is this true? Would the about arise suspicion from the immigration department? Should I post pics of what we do, does he need to be commenting this posts? We have our records of activities together, join bank accounts with sustancial savings, live together, etc. Do I need to worry about anything else?

Warm regards,


----------



## starryskies

Hi Mr.Mark, Hope you are doing great.
A friend of mine told me that you are the best person to ask my questions related to South Australian state nomination-visa ..I really hope you will reply my question and I'd be very grateful.

*I am currently 32 years old and,this coming April Ill be turning 33 years.
*Ive completed BCS PGD - IT examinations in 2009 (which is equivalent to a 
bachelors degree) but Ive completed my professional project in year 2014.

*Since 2009 I have the working experience as a "Multimedia Specialist".

Right now I'm getting ready for my PTE-Academic examination with the hope that I'll
be able to score 65 in each section in order to fulfill the requirement of 10 marks for my visa process.

So my question is If I score 70 marks total and then I lodge EOI in age 32,
will it get reduced after my birthday in April?
When I lodge my application in March how long would it take to get the invitation for my occupation?

Also should I apply for 190 visa or 189 visa?
I'm sorry for too many questions.
Thanks so much!


----------



## frankiefrankies

Hi Mark,

Hope you're well.

I have a question about student visas. My sister is currently on a working holiday visa 462 which expires on the 5th of Feb this year, and she applied for a student visa 500 on the 17th of January onshore which is still pending as "Received." 

When she applied for the student visa she received an automated acknowledgement letter, and a Bridging visa 'A' to back her up once her WHV expires, with the following condition "8547 - EMPLOYER WORK LIMITATION." Once the bridging visa kicks in she apparently has full permission to study too.

The worry is that her OSHC doesn't start until the 27th of Feb, which is when her course starts, and she currently has visitors health insurance until 5 of March. If her student visa is granted before the 27th of Feb, she will automatically be on a student visa, so would that affect her as she won't have OSHC the instant it is granted, as it doesn't start until the 27th of Feb?

I know you can't have OSHC if you're not a student, so that shouldn't even affect her onshore student visa application right?

As she has full permission to study under her bridging visa, will she be able to start her studies even if her student visa has not been granted yet?

I know some of the questions are silly, but visas are such distressing things to go through that you just doubt yourself so much!

Thanks heaps in advance Mark.


----------



## triciaa

*Work experience count*

Hi Mark!

Did some research and I can't find any answer for this I talked to a couple of agents but their answer is always not sure... hope you can educate me on this part... Thank you in advance! 

I have 1 year 7 months Part-time (20hrs/week) of Australian experience in the field that I would like to claim. My question is, since its part time can I still claim it as 1 year work experience in Australia? It gets automatically counted in the EOI that I lodge since they did not ask if its full time or part time employment. I am worried that If I get invited, my application might be denied since I claimed for 1 year Australian work, even if I am part-time. Also, I already acquired Trades recognition with that, to back up verification of my claim. A bulleted outline is provided below to further understand my query.

Claiming 1 year Australian Experience for - 5 pts

Actual experience
- 1 year and 7 months as Part time (20hrs/week) in Australia
- Lodge same information in TRA with positive skill assessment outcome

Query:
- does my 1 year 7 months part time claimable for 1 year Australian Experience?
- or only 9.5 months is actually counted because the work is part time?


----------



## Tac_333

Hi Mark,

I have been over seas with my partner for a year, and now we want to move to Australia together. My partner is from the US, 31 years old. I am an Australian citizen. 
Since we are both female - how should we go about applying for a partner visa for her to come with me to Australia? do we apply for a defacto offshore visa for her since we are still outside of Australia?

Thank you Mark


----------



## Gonthadiya

Hi...

as far as overseas experience is concerned, are the points awarded for post qualification experience or total experience (I have 5 years in total, 3 years pre and 2 year post.... ACCA qualified...) No degree though, and worked for 5 years in a big four firm.... Help???


----------



## Kay78

Hi Mark,
I was granted the 190 Visa, State Sponsored by ACT.
I moved to the ACT and have been living here since November 2015(that makes it more than a year). My daughter goes to school in the ACT. 
My husband, however, has a permanent job with a store and has been deployed in Queanbeyan. I do not have a job (I am the Principal Applicant) and I am strictly looking for a job only in the ACT region so that I do not violate my 'Commitment to Canberra' conditions.
I intend to buy a PPR (Permanent/Principal Place of Residence) in Canberra as I want my daughter to study in the ACT.
Will my working in another state affect my citizenship application? Do you think it is better that I stay at home rather than look for opportunities in other states?
In other words, if I live in Canberra and work elsewhere, would it affect my citizenship application?
Thanks a lot!
Kay


----------



## grasel

Hi Mark!

My fiance and I are applying for a Prospective Marriage Visa. We've been together for almost 2 years, engaged for 6 months. My fiance is from Kosovo, and I'm from born and raised in Australia.

We're in the processing of collecting all of the documents and our evidence. However, we have one issue. When my fiance (the applicant) was 18 years old, he was involved in a fight with a guy, who then pressed charges on my fiance. His 24 now and hasn't had anything else on his record since then. Will this affect our visa application?


Thank you in advance


----------



## mandy

Hi Mark,
I am a diving instructor and would apply for 457 or 187 direct stream.
Will I need skill assessment from VETASSESS for 457 or 187?
I have the Cert IV but not enough working experience.
I am just thinking any possibility to apply a visa without skill assessment .
Thanks!


----------



## slimguy001

*entry enquiry.*

hello Mark,

we were granted Visa 189 on July 4th 2016 with an entry date of 2nd of December. we made our first entry in October and stayed for 2 weeks without any registration at centerlink. we intend to return fully in July 2017. is there any problem this might pose e.g probably we may have unknowingly breached some rules. please educate me.

Slimguy.


----------



## jsingh99

Hello Mark,

We have lodge Visa 189 on 25 Oct 2016. CO contacted for Additional information on 28 Nov 2016 We have provided the requested information but due to my spouse medical was not cleared at that time due to 603 medical test, but now we got the clearnce from the immigration pannel & report is updated on Immiaccount & status is showing Assessment in Progress. How soon we will get the Grant.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## Jana_max

Hi Mark, 

Thank you so much for building such an amazing thread! I've been reading this and it's really helpful. 

Just a quick question. I submitted my 820 partner visa last month and received bridge visa A. But my job might require me to travel overseas. Can I apply for bridge visa B in this case? When I am back in Australia, I still need to apply for bridge visa A if I want to keep working right? 

Thank you in advance!


----------



## Jbarnes95

Hi Mark, 
What a generous thing you do!
My partner is British and he and I have been together since June 2014 and are lodging our onshore 820 application this month and just having a few last-minute jitters in terms of evidence. As we do not live in a rental or our own home (we live in my parent's home), and all utility bills are in their name, we have very little current evidence showing that we live together here. The only thing we have is correspondence to the both of us at this address and an old tenancy agreement from when we lived in London, would this be enough? I don't want to include extra information if it is ultimately useless. 
Many thanks for any and all help!


----------



## Jbarnes95

Hi Mark, 
What a generous thing you do!
My partner is British and he and I have been together since June 2014 and are lodging our onshore 820 application this month and just having a few last-minute jitters in terms of evidence. As we do not live in a rental or our own home (we live in my parent's home), and all utility bills are in their name, we have very little current evidence showing that we live together here. The only thing we have is correspondence to the both of us at this address and an old tenancy agreement from when we lived in London, would this be enough? I don't want to include extra information if it is ultimately useless. 
Many thanks for any and all help!


----------



## anne777

Hi. Mark.
recently i have applied for skilled assessment under ACS for ICT trainer. 
My qualification was OK, but they wrote my experience is unsuitable. no idea what was wrong. what should i do now?


----------



## Ashin

Dear Mark,

I know I have made a separate post regarding my matter however I would like to ask you at the same time.

Yesterday I missed a phone call from Australian High Commission in New Delhi. Will they call me again? If yes, do you know usually how long after the missed call they contact the applicant again? Should I contact them? As I missed a call from them, will this hurt my application (rejection..)? I lodged Subsequent 500. Please note that I was asked for further information 2 weeks ago through email and I responded to the requests in the same manner.

I highly appreciate your time and your answer.


----------



## ritika1988

hiii Mr. Mark please help me.
I have lodged my 189 visa application on 21 December 2017. Regarding my health declarations I have given HAP id of my previous medical examination which was done on 21 Jan 2016 for visitor visa. My CO contacted me on 20 Jan 2017 and wrote further information required.
See the attached "Request Detail", which provides a detailed explanation relating to the
checklist item(s) listed below.
Immigration Health Examinations (for example: chest x-ray, medical examinations
and/or blood tests as specified in the Health Examinations List)

You are required to undergo the following health examination(s) to ensure that you meet the
health requirement for Skilled - Independent (subclass 189) visa.
● Medical Examination (Completed)
● HIV test (Completed)
● Chest X-ray Examination (Completed)
● Hepatitis C test (Completed)
● Hepatitis B test (Completed)
If an examination is listed as Completed this means that there is an existing examination that
can be re-used for this visa application. You will not be asked to complete this examination
again unless a repeat examination is required because your medical circumstances
have changed or the examination has since expired.

so, I have visited to the panel physicians and they said 
1. your hap id is not working, it is not activated and we can't do health examination without a working hap id.
2. the list of health examinations is indicating all examinations as Completed. we can't perform a medical exam until it says 'Required' instead of 'completed'.
I tried to open emedical with the hap id given by you but it says " no health case is associated with these details"
so i mailed tech support and they said your previous examination was used for this application. now I am so confused, it all my examinations are completed then what information is required from me? I sent a mail to my CO but no reply yet. please guide me through.
regards
ritika


----------



## cheers15

Just wondering how long you have to have PR in order to sponsor parents for contributory visa.


----------



## mohanadarsenal

*Rpl*

Hello,

Are you aware if RPL based from overseas studies are counted towards the Australian study requirement?

Thanks


----------



## johnblade

*820 applicant on student visa*

Hi Mark,
Firstly id like to just say thank your for this service - maybe you've heard it a million times at this stage but it really is incredibly generous and appreciated.

My scenario is in relation to the 820 partner visa. My partners currently on a student visa which is valid until Summer 2018, im an Australian citizen. She needs to return to japan for a couple of months in April for family reasons and discontinue her study, her cert 3 course ends in March and she does not want to continue studying for diploma. She'd like to cancel the student visa, go to japan and later return on the holiday visa and during this time submit the 820 application. Would this course of action result in a bridging visa with full working rights?...or is it even necessary to cancel the student visa...if we apply for the 820 visa now will she automatically go on the bridging visa with full working rights, i.e superseding the student visa.
From what ive read on other sites people suggested she would have to continue studying with the 20 hour work limit if we apply while she is on the student visa, until a 820 visa ruling is made.

I'm sorry if thats incoherent, ive been searching online for a definitive answer but to no avail!
thanks for any help you can provide,
John


----------



## DazedNConfused

*Work rights while waiting for Partner Visa 820?*

Hi Mark, I've found conflicting information on this topic and was hoping to get a professional's opinion. If I apply for a Partner Visa (820) while I'm in country via an ETA, will I have work rights when my bridging visa starts? Likewise, would I be able to study? Thank you!!


----------



## Thao Le

*Parent visa 143*

Hi Mark,

I am not sure if you specialise in parent visa as well, but I've got just one simple question on it. If my parents apply for the 143 visas offshore (with me being their sponsor), during the time that they have to wait for the visa decision (I think about 2 years) are they allowed to apply for a tourist visa and travel to Australia for a holiday?

Thank you very much.
Thao


----------



## hopeforoz

Hi Mark,

Please throw some light on this scenario. As couldn't think of a better person for this query

My mother in law has a 3 month visitor visa for Australia and is currently in Australia. Now she wishes to be there for a year or so. Can she apply for an extension from Australia for a 3 year visitor visa in which she can stay for 12 months in every 18 months. Is it a risky option or should she come back to India and then apply for this 3 year visitor visa. Also, once she is back, can she apply for this visa, even though her current 3 month visitor visa is still active

Would be thankful for an answer on this

Regards
hopeforoz


----------



## ~WD

HI 
i have a question regarding form 1221. 

my wife is a primary applicant. Which option should be ticked in my 1221 form and which one for my wife's form. Or both will be the same. 

Only complete the section(s) relevant to you
If you:
have applied for a Visitor visa
have applied for a Business visa
have applied for a Migration visa
are a student, academic, researcher or fellow


----------



## lisa030

Hello. I got PMV 300 and now my fiancé and I are getting married. My question is: Do we have pay another 7000$ for a partner visa?? And after submission of partner visa does applicant get bridging visa automatically?
Thank you


----------



## fifalex

Hi Mark!
Thank you for your service, I am sure I can speak for everyone here when I say it is invaluable.
I have the following question. I am about to complete my PLT course at the College of Law. (I know you have done it as well). The LPAB has waived the requirement for the IELTS test in order to register as a solicitor as I have obtained my degree from a UK university. 
However I need to sit IELTS in order to apply for the PR under the SOL. I was wondering whether I can take the general IELTS test (as this is for the immigration authority), or do I need to take the academic IELTS test?
Thanks in advance Mark
Cheers
Alex


----------



## Hannah1985

Hi Mark, 
My partner and I are applying for the defacto visa, and will be waiting the 12-18 months for it to be processed. We would really like to marry during this time. Should we change our application to one for marriage ?we have sent the first part of the de facto application. Are we able to change the type of visa we are applying for? Does this cost? 
Many thanks !


----------



## Oliviae

I have a New Zealand passport and my partner a South African one, we met and currently live in South Africa together, share financial commitments etc etc.

Do we need to do the medical before we apply for the 461 Visa or only when they ask him to do so?

We had been living at my parents house before we moved in together last June, should we only submit in June or can we submit earlier and get a statement from my parents about our arrangements before we started living together?

Another thing, if we are both living outside of Aus do we need to provide flight tickets or itineraries to show we will both be travelling to aus if Visa is granted?

Thanx!


----------



## anzie

Mark, Thank you very much for all your help. You help me to win my complex schedule 3 case. It was quite a stressful journey from visa refusal to permanent residency. It wouldn't have been done without you. I recommend you to everyone who need migration help. you are a person with golden heart. Thank you verrry much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lilia -

Thanks for the note and my apologies to you and everyone for the delay in responding - have been away on leave - took my leave time after the holiday period this year!

I have some doubts about the advice you're getting, as the case officer may be mixing up the issue of being in Australia without a valid visa (ie, unlawful) and being outside Australia without a visa (no problem). My view is that time spent offshore during the 4 years prior to applying for citizenship where during that time offshore you did not have an Australian visa does not render time spent in Australia previous to that as unusable towards the residence requirement. This is different to the situation where if you find yourself in Australia without a visa, the 4 year clock restarts and any time spent in Australia prior to the time you were in Australia without a visa cannot be used.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lilia said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Could you please kindly give your opinion on the following.
> 
> My situation is:
> 
> Entered Australia on a visitor visa (subclass 676) 30 October 2012 and stayed here until 28 April 2013.
> Entered Australia again on 16 April 2014 as a permanent resident (absent from AU between 28 April 2013 and 16 April 2014). I was granted permanent residency offshore straight away (subclass 100) without any bridging visa because my husband and I have been married for many years prior to moving to Australia but apparently it does not change anything when it comes to applying for the citizenship.
> 
> Dates of absence from Australia after that:
> 14/6/14 - 20/6/14 5 days
> 26/5/15 - 03/6/15 6 days
> 9/4/16 - 25/4/16 15 days
> 19/1/17 - 25/1/17 upcoming trip 5 days
> 
> When I enter all these details into the residence calculator on DIBP website (with lawful residence date being 30 October 2012), it comes up with 17 May 2017 as the date I am eligible to apply for the citizenship. However, the calculator does not ask you to specify if you have been overseas with or without a valid Australian visa. I have also noticed that the calculator does not reset the clock if you have been overseas for more than 12 months but pushes the date towards that day when you have been in Australia for 3 years plus 12 months of absence.
> 
> I called DIBP today and they told me that the time spent outside Australia without valid Australian visa does not count towards the 4 years residence requirement. However, they confirmed that staying in AU on a visitor visa does count.
> 
> The customer service representative from DIBP did not look me up on the computer or asked for how long I have been absent from Australia during 4 years prior to applying for the citizenship but cut me off by saying that since I have been outside Australia without any valid visa, the time spent in Australia on the visitor visa prior to that cannot be used for nothing and I am not eligible to apply until 16 April 2018 (4 year after I entered AU as a permanent resident). He also told me that if I had obtained some kind of Australian visa before departing overseas, it would have counted but otherwise not.
> 
> I have heard/read very mixed opinions about this and would very much like to hear a second professional opinion. Is it correct what I have been told by DIBP?
> 
> Thanks a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gergeskamel5 -

Thanks for the note. I'd like to help, but I don't have any where near enough information about your circumstances to even hazard a guess at chances of successful VETASSESS skills assessment - they will look at your tasks/duties of the work you've done as well as the specifics of your qualifications. VETASSESS often has very helpful occupation-specific notes on their master list of occuaptions - I'd take a closer look at that, plus have a look at the requirements for the classification (A/B/C/D) at VETASSESS your occupation falls into for more on requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gergeskamel5 said:


> hi mr mark
> thanks a lot for your effort in helping the members , kindly i need your advice
> 
> I am an architect with 9 yrs of experience in construction sites and i want to submit my skill assessment as a construction project manager- 133111 ,
> I have bachelor's and master's degree in architecture from Egypt , my current position is consultant project manager from 1 year , i graded in positions from junior site architect to consultant project manager , and i am 31 years old
> Do I have a good chance to get a positive assessment from vetassess as a construction project manager , or should i look for another occupation ????


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

In short, yes - see Australian Dental Council - Overseas Trained Dental Practitioners for details of the skills assessment process for overseas dentists re: a skilled visa (subclass 489, 189, 190).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SealingOnlyYours said:


> Hi Mark !
> I did bachelor of Dentistry, MS Health Informatics and MPH. Now I want to apply for Australian immigration. Please guide me on the basis of which profession, I am eligible to apply? If I want to apply on the basis of Dentistry, do I first need to go through ADC exam?
> Your help in this regard will be highly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xneij3 -

Thanks for the note. I don't have a good solution for this, because he's essentially coming here to work professionally, which is not allowed on any visitor visa. There is a short term work visa, but it's only for highly specialised work that can only be done by the offshore applicant, etc. Sorry I don't have any better ideas at this point, but short term work visas are very hard to come by given the current system in Australia.

Best,

Mark Northam



xneij3 said:


> Good day! Would like to ask if what kind of visa is appropriate for a photographer in Philippines?
> 
> I am curretly staying in Sydney on a 457 visa, my partner and I would love to have our wedding prenuptial shot here in sydney. We already hired a professional photographer in Philippines and included in the package was the prenup that will be taken here. We tried to apply for his visa as visitors visa 600 but was refused stating that he does not have enough evidence to of his assests in Philippines. We already taken care of that matter but would like to have a good opinion if applying for the same visa is the advisable one?
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## Ruchita

*Help needed*

Hi Mark,
we need some help My son goes to primary school here in NSW and is on a Student visa. I'm his guardian so on a guardian Visa. My husband however has a 12 Month 600 Visitor Visa and has been in the country for the last 12 month. we don't see another option but for him to go back. How long will he need to be offshore before he can apply for another visitor visa? possibly only a 3 month visa if that makes it easier.
we would appreciate your help!!! Thank you

I also sent you a message with the same question... wasn't sure what's better


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi James -

Thanks for the note. Unfortuantely DIBP requires full payment at the time of application for all visa applications and does not offer financing or payment plans.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ekongeo said:


> Hello Mark,
> In short, my partner is a Brazilian citizen living with me (I'm an Australian citizen) at the residence I own in Melbourne, but we don't have the funds to apply for a partner visa yet, we only have about half. We don't have the funds for a partner visa, and we will not be able to obtain the funds in full during her 90 day tourist visa.
> 
> The query we have is, due to it taking around 6 months to save for the application fee for a partner visa, we're not sure if it needs to be paid in full at the time of application. If we married now, could we apply for a partner visa on a payment plan? On the other hand, if she has to return to Brazil due to lack of funds for the application, and we had already married, could we apply for a partner visa off shore in the future, once funds obtained?
> 
> Best regards,
> James


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chabayta -

Not sure about that, as DIBP has some weird rules about who can apply online and not - best thing to do is to try and complete the online form (stage 1 partner visa) via an ImmiAccount and see if you can get past the passport confirmation screen. If so, you're good to go.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chabayta said:


> Dear mark, can i apply for partner visa 309/100 online if im holding Lebanese document for Palestinian refugees


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ash -

I'd vote yes. They will routinely ask for a new celebrant letter if processing has pushed the date past the original one, so no problem in doing that proactively. No need to provide reception documents generally (unless you want to), celebrant letter is generally the only evidence of the actual planned wedding date you need in addition to describing your plans, etc in your relationship statements and adding in any other evidence as appropriate/available of your plans to get married, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashie4ya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Would it make a difference when the PMV was lodged we only provided NOIM and a letter from our church. We did not provide reception or any other documents because we did not know if he would be granted.
> That date has now expired. Case officer has not asked for a new one or anything. Should we upload a new one ?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Ash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shjuthani -

Sorry I was away from the forum last couple of weeks and not able to respond to your msg sooner. Would need to see you at a consultation and go through your documents to determine specific advice for your case - these kinds of situations can get very messy if the letter author was not actually the business entity that employed/hired/etc you.

Best,

Mark Northam



shjuthani said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have received Natural Justice letter. I am seeking an help on how I can respond with comments to DIBP.
> 
> My scenario is as follows:
> 
> I have joined JYOTI Power Transmission in year 2006. The company is operating in power engineering and making electric line tower and providing engineering support. I joined them as network engineer. In 2011, they have started dedicated IT company named SPRICS TECHNOLOGIES Pvt Ltd for IT operation and transferred entire IT staff in it. I was also transferred. During this 10+ years of span, I have survived to manage majority of employment documents intake but the appointment letter of JYOTI POWER TRANSMISSION was lost.
> 
> Now for Australia immigration I have asked them (JYOTI POWER TRANSMISSION) to reissue appointment letter but unfortunately they were not co-operative and didn't give me the same. When I made the same request to SPRICS TECHNOLOGIES they have reissued me the appointment letter (as they are already part of JYOTI group).
> 
> The documents I have submitted to DIBP are:
> 1. Appointment letter (From SPRICS - REISSUED)
> 2. SALARY SLIPS (LAST 3 MONTHS - FROM SPRICS)
> 3. SALARY CERTIFICATE (LAST YEAR - SPRICS)
> 4. DUTY LETTER (FROM SPRICS)
> 5. ACS SKILL ASSESSMENT LETTER
> 
> Now the DIBP has raised a concern about my employment between 2006 to 2011 as during this time SPRICS TECHNOLOGIES was not
> Incorporated from where I got the appointment letter and duty letter and I HAVE NOT SUBMITTED ANY DOCUMENT OF JYOTI POWER TRANSMISSION NEITHER IT WAS MENTIONED.
> 
> Kindly advise me on this situation.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thelittlemermaid09 -

Thanks for the note. Answer is yes, if the visitor visa is approved and if that visitor visa does not contain Condition 8503 (no further stay). However if you tell DIBP when you apply for the visitor visa that your purpose in coming to Australia is to lodge a partner visa onshore, that may hurt your chances of getting the visa. Better to decide after you arrive.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thelittlemermaid09 said:


> Hi! I'm from the Philippines. My partner is an Australian Citizen (born and raised), he moved to the Philippines 3 years ago and we've been living together for about 2 1/2 years now. He wants us to migrate to Australia. I want to know if:
> 
> We can apply for a tourist visa, go to Australia using the tourist visa and lodge the application for the Partner Visa (subclass 820) in Australia and get a bridging visa while waiting for the Partner Visa's results.
> 
> P.S.: We have all the documents for the visa to support that the relationship is genuine. We have visited Australia twice in the last two years to spend time with his family and visit my friends in Australia. His family and my friends (permanent resident's and Australian citizens) are more than happy to give us statutory declarations.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashaito -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, yes can take many months, however over 9 months is a bit unusual. My understanding is that if they choose not to invite you, they do not send a refusal or rejection, they just don't invite you, however I'm hopeful this policy will change so applicants aren't left waiting. Re 2, answer is yes as long as you receive an invitation to apply for each visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashaito said:


> Dear Mark ,
> Happy new year and merry Christmas to you. I have applied to NSW state nomination under visa subclass 190 since 10 months, Up till now i haven't received any reply from the state. Accordingly, i have 2 questions:
> 1- Does the state take that much time to reply ?? does it notify me if their reply was rejection?
> 2- Can i apply to Regional Visa Subclass 489 simultaneously with State nomination Subclass 190?
> 
> Thanks a lot for your great support and help
> Awaiting your kind reply
> Best Regards,
> 
> Abbas SHaito


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jenzlinger -

Sounds like you're on the right track. I'd look here: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Stud/More/Genuine-Temporary-Entrant and download a copy of Ministerial Direction 69 and follow the structure of that as it will show you the various topic points you'll want to address in your submission letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jenzlinger said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have previously applied and have been granted a student visa in 2013 and had to put a stop to my undergraduate degree due to financial implications. This in turn had led to me undergoing a Working Holiday Visa to save up for the remainder of my studies (1.5 years) and now, after being accepted into the same university, i am applying for a student visa onshore (on a working holiday visa) and was wondering would i possibly be rejected for suspicions that i am not a genuine student? I am currently writing my GTE message and am unsure what i should not mention (ie. intentions of work/further study after completing my undergraduate degree). I have complied to all visa conditions and have never been refused a visa from Australia too.
> 
> Thank you,
> Jenny.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neha Trikha -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



Neha Trikha said:


> Hi I need to know for Australian PR. I am living in Australia but temporary on new land family visa 461. What is the way for me get Australian PR.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shamtah -

Visitor visa is the fastest way, but she'll likely have to show stronger ties to her home country than she has to Australia (and you, if you are living in Australia). Also as a permanent resident, in order to sponsor her for a partner visa you will need to show that you are (or will be in the very near future) "usually resident" in Australia.

Visitor visa processing times are unpredictable and can range from a few days to a few months - all depends on the local processing office.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shamtah said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you very much for your help.
> 
> I have been granted a PR visa (189).At time of grant I was not engaged or married.I did not travel to Australia yet and I am outside Australia now.I am now about to marry in a few days.
> 
> My questions are:
> 1-What is the fastest possible way to allow my future wife to travel with me to Australia.
> 
> 2-If I marry her and then I traveled alone, can she be able to come to Australia on a visitor visa?and what is the processing time for this kind of a visa?
> 
> Kind regards and happy new year


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jules2017 -

As you have gone beyond the 90 day period after ceasing employment with your 457 sponsor, your 457 is liable for cancellation at any time. As you have lodged an onshore partner visa, it is DIBP's discretion as to whether they cancel your 457 or not, and if so, when. They do not have to hold off cancelling the 457 just because you have lodged an onshore partner visa, although DIBP policy has in the past suggested that they do hold off.

No point in applying for a BVB as insurance against this, as a 457 cancellation would also automatically cancel all bridging visa(s) you held at the time of the cancellation.

Probably best to advise DIBP of your travel plans and take the risk, if you are inclined to do so. Otherwise safest bet is to remain onshore until the partner visa is granted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jules2017 said:


> Hi Marc,
> 
> I hope you can give me some advice. I've posted this already in another thread and it was recommended to ask you.
> I came to Australia on a 457 visa, however the job turned out to be absolutely horrible and I couldn't stand it mentally anymore. During the 90 day period I couldn't find another sponsor so that my partner and I decided to apply for the de facto visa quite at the end of the 90 day period. As the time was very short we made the application with an immigration agent.
> 
> My current situation is this: After applying for a 801 de facto visa I have been granted a BVA which is not in effect as my substantive visa is still the 457 (until 2019). My 457 visa would allow me to travel but as I wasn't able to find another sponsor until now I'm not sure if they would let me back in the country once I've left? As far as I understood, DBPI just 'accepts' my 457 while 801 is being processed, but because I'm not working since then I'm basically breaching my 457. Our immigration agent said that he could write a letter to DBPI to infrom them about my travel plans as the option of applying for a BVB is not given as my BVA is not in effect.
> 
> This seemed a bit strange to me so I've done further research and apparently BVA doesn't have to be active when applying for a BVB (which would mean I'd be on the safe side in terms of travel). However, if they would cancel my 457 visa while I would be away (my plan is from 14.2-15.3) automatically my BVA or BVB would be cancelled as well? Is that right?
> 
> Then there would be form 1022 to inform DBPI about any change of circumstances or travel plans, would that be enough eventually? Our 801 application is still processing and I've just been asked to hand in the health and national police checks. I don't wanna annoy immigration or them to doubt the genuineness of our relationship but really need to go for this month.
> 
> Do you have experience how DBPI could act in such a situation? How possible is it that they would cancel my 457 when I leave the country? What factors would add to this possibility? Is it possible to make an assumption here or would be more like playing roulette?
> 
> Many thanks for your help!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Julian73 -

Generally sponsor who are dependent on Centrelink disability etc are still able to sponsor for partner visas, as the minimum income requirement for partner visa sponsors was eliminated years ago. That being said, would suggest that you also include financial capacity of yourself etc in addition to the income evidence for your partner.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Julian73 said:


> Greetings, Mark. First of all I like to express my deepest gratitude for answering queries here. My concern is that, my fiance' has a kidney transplant and aged 63. He is totally dependent on centerlink disability pension and although previously worked, he already withdraw his sunsupper for medical reason long time ago. Is he qualified to sponsor me in a spouse visa? Will the immigration assess his financial capacity to support me, even I am capable of supporting myself and my dependents?
> Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raji -

For 186 direct entry pathway, a skills assessment in the nominated occupation is required unless your nominated salary for the ENS employer is $180,001 or more. So answer is yes re 6 years, etc per ACS rules for ENS direct entry. One way to avoid this if a skills assessment is not possible is to work on 457 visa for the employer for 2 years first, then see if he will sponsor you for 186 TRT pathway which does not require a skills assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



justraji said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My employer has agreed to nominate me for 186 direct entry VISA.
> 
> The issue is that my roles and responsibilities match to a Business analyst. But my education is Bachelors in commerce. I do have few Maths, stats and computers subjects in the 3 years degree course. But I dont think ACS will access it as ICT Major or ICT minor. That makes me non ICT. Is there a way I can get this confirmed?
> 
> My other question is that if I am Non ICT, then does it mean that I need to have 6 years of relevant experience to be able to pass the skill assessment even though my employer is sponsoring me?
> 
> Any advice is much appreciated.
> 
> Regards,
> Raji


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Elie6 -

ETA is one option if your country is eligible for this with DIBP as it allows 3 months study. Other option could be another student visa, however that's more expensive, etc. Upon grant the ETA will replace the student visa. Alternatively you could apply for a subclass 600 visitor visa onshore without having to do the ETA and it would replace your student visa upon grant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



elie6 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm in a bit of a pickle here. I have applied for a student visa for my exchange program to Melbourne and have had it finalised. However, I did not double check the COE dates that my school supplied me and an error was made. My visa expires 2 weeks before my program ends.
> 
> I am at a loss what to do short of applying for a new student visa. Would it be possible for me to fly to NZ on a weekend and reenter on an ETA? I am still in Malaysia currently, can i apply for an ETA now? Is it possible to hold an ETA and student visa both? My visa ends on 4th September, do I have to leave on 4th September and re-enter after or could I do so a couple weeks before?
> 
> I really appreciate your help. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ampuente11 -

Thanks for the note. You could in theory come back on a visitor visa (if approved, which may be suspect if they see the 189 pending) and then apply for a 457 onshore with the employer, or you could apply for a 457 offshore. Either way, once the 457 was granted, you could work for the employer until the 190 was granted and replaced the 457. Business visitor visa is an option, but does not allow day-to-day work, only speculative "business visitor" activities - see DIBP website for more on this. Working holiday visa another option if your country and age are eligible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ampuente11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks so much for your time!!
> 
> Here's my predicament:
> I have submitted my application for a 189 visa (after previously been working the past 3 years on a 457), and applied while I was home in the states for Christmas. I was unaware applying offshore does not grant you bridging visa rights like onshore does, and my employer is expecting me to come back to work. Is there any means for me to be able to do this? Can I come back to Australia and apply for a bridging visa E or something of the like? Thank you for your help!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Christie -

Thanks for the note. No problem if he does not seek a new 457 employer and just lets the 457 expire on its own. The BVA will automatically activate in that case as long as he is onshore in Australia when the 457 expires.

Note: if he will be offshore when the 457 expires, critical to apply for a BVB to replace the BVA he holds now, which can be done prior to the BVA activating (ie, prior to expiry date of 457). If you're traveling after the BVA activates, then make sure to apply for and be granted a BVB prior to departing Australia.

Re: work on 457 while not employer by previous sponsor (or new sponsor if applicable), not possible unless whatever he is doing is not something that would normally attract remuneration (payment/wages/etc) if done by an Australian. Some volunteer work falls in this area, as well as community work like helping cleaning up after a storm, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



christie_Aus said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> First of all, thank you so much for your time and efforts responding to so many people on this forum. It is fantastic to come across people generously giving their time and advice!
> I am Australian and my partner is British. He has been in Aus for around 3 years, starting on a working hol visa, moving to a 457 and now we have a partner visa application submitted (Aug 2016).
> Recently his company made him redundant, but his 457 expires in less than 90 days and he then moves on to bridging visa A (or so I understand!). We can't see any possibility of finding a new sponsor in the next month, and we are getting married and taking 4 weeks off in March.
> My questions are as follows;
> - Is it acceptable that he not job seek post his redundancy given its less than 90 days until he is eligible for the BVA?
> - Is there ANY type of work he can do (unpaid, voluntary etc) while his 457 is still active but he is unemployed?
> 
> Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing any advice or ideas regarding this situation, thank you!!
> Christie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Breminchi -

Thanks for the note. Answer is Yes. Informal (non-NAATI) translations for things like receipts, bank statements, etc are generally accepted by DIBP in most cases, as they recognise that in many cases it is cost-prohibitive to translate dozens of pages of bank statements, etc. The English documents in addition to the foreign ones will also be good and add support.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Breminchi said:


> Hello Mark,
> Thank you for answering my previous question. Very much appreciated!
> I do wish to ask you though also about Natti translations.
> I have heard that major documents ( birth certificates, international police checks, ect..) should be translated by Natti. But other documents such as bank statements, rental agreements, bills and so on are ok to be translated by non Natti translators.
> 
> Would it also be acceptable to put untranslated bank statements in with say a google translate screenshot that shows a name translated or simple term for when some deposits were made from me to my partner and vice versa? The some other English bank statements would be included to show the sending and receiving of the funds also from accounts in Australia to the overseas account.
> 
> Really appreciate any answer you could give.
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Regisparado -

Very little logic or trend indications I see there - points scores don't really play a part in the speed at which a 189 gets processed, however processes like checking out work experience and having external security checks done are the usual culprits that can slow down a 189 or other PR visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



regisprado said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Out of curiosity, do you know how is DIBP's process to place 189 Applications in queue? Does it follow a FIFO (First In, First Out) logic based on lodgement dates or do point scores still play a part during this stage of the process and higher scores get processed before lower scores?
> 
> Can you share your wisdom?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hugo -

Thanks for the note. Visitor visa probably the best choice given what you've said, but as she will have to declare her marriage on the visitor (or student) visa application, she'll need to show stronger ties to her home country than she has to Australia (and you) - which ironically is exactly the opposite of what you'll have to demonstrate with the partner visa application.

Such is the illogical nature of the immigration laws in Australia I'm afraid.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hugol_vallejo said:


> Hi Mark. Awesome to have you here!
> 
> I posted my question on the forum but here it goes again. Thanks for any guidance you could provide.
> 
> I was garnted a Returning Resident Visa a couple fo months ago and now I am ready to move back to Australia. I got married as well in my home country. My girlfriend and I have had an ongoing relationship for more than 3 years now. We even lived together in Australia (she as as student) and some other time in Europe. We are now legally married in Colombia.
> 
> I will be arriving in Australia with my RRV by the end of January 2017. After settleing down, I want to bring my wife to Australia and apply to a partner visa in the fastest way possible. Unfortunately, the processing time for a parnter visa is quite long, probably more than a year, and if done offshore she would need to wait in Colombia that long. We definitely do not want to wait apart that much time. She could travel to Australia ocasionally with a toursit visa, but we don't want that either. We are looking to get her to Australia somehow, either as a tourist or student, and then apply to the partner visa so she could get a briding visa and we can stay together, and she could start working as well.
> 
> I have heard that she getting a tourist visa and then applying for the partner visa might be risky as there is the proper partner visa she could apply to to stay with her husband, so her application might be refused. Getting a student visa might be better, but she already studied english in Australia before and holds a master degree from Europe. What if her student visa application is refused because the officer thinks there is no need of serious studying in Australia?
> 
> So my question to you all is, what would be the fastest and safest way to take her to Australia asap and and have real chances for a partner visa approval? Would a student visa do it? We don't want to spend that much money in more courses, a 4-month student visa would be enough? We would of course apply to the partner visa as soon as she gets to Australia
> 
> Cheers,
> Hugo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jitendra -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about your mum. Unfortunately there is no possible legal pathway under the law for a BVC holder to get a BVB. BVB is only available when a person holds a BVA, and a BVA can only be granted if the person applies for another visa while the person is holding a substantive (non-bridging) visa.

If he departed and was able to get a new visitor visa to come back to Australia, he could reapply for a new BVC once he returned and if approved he could continue to wait for the 838 visa. Would suggest you consult with an experienced immigration lawyer or agent to work through the various potential issues in doing this and make sure you understand fully the process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jsangal said:


> Hi, my mum and Dad visited (Subclass 600) us on 14th August 2015 for a years time and they were scheduled to leave the country on 13th august 2016. On the same day of their return my mum got serious condition where she was admitted in emergency ward - mercy hospital with an End of Life condition and strictly not allowed to be discharged. She then passed away on 19th Aug 2016 due to the condition.
> When she was admitted in the hospital I applied for their 8503 removal from their subclass 600 tourist visa but never applied for an extension.
> Right after the initial cremation procedures in Australia we are left with final ritual funeral services - in order to keep my dad with us we applied for Aged Relative Dependant Visa (subclass 838) - not enough knowledge about the procedures and visas. This application granted him BVC with no travel and no work.
> Now, with all this and few months passed we have been trying to get him to India for couple of weeks for final funeral rituals and cant get it with any reasoning. I tried Immi department and was told by them that there is no provision of such transition of Bridging Visa C to Bridging Visa B but we really need to be in India for him to complete the funeral services with Hindu Rituals (dispersing of remains and prayers). We dont want to travel on BVC as that will not allow him to be stuck back in India with us returning here or there.
> My dad has been not well since as he is continously seeing mum every now and then (psychologically) and been now put on High BP controlling medicines.
> Please if anyone knows about a solution or if we could find a way to take my dad back to India for the purpose on Bridging Visa B and it seems that we have compelling and compasionate reason to get it.
> Jitendra
> 0433252481


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dev268 -

I would disagree - without ACS recognising a "qualification" of some kind, you would not be eligible for the 10 points. Here's the DIBP policy that applies (that I would suggest you ask your agent about!):

_"If an applicant may be issued with a suitable skills assessment based only on an assessment of an applicant's claims of on the job training and skilled employment then, unless the applicant has other qualifications of a recognised standard, they are not eligible for educational factor points."_

However the good news is that as long as your Bachelor degree is from an accredited school, you may get 15 points for that as it is not a requirement that the subject of the Bachelor degree be related to your nominated occupation. I'm not sure why the agent isn't counting the Bachelor degree unless there is some problem with it?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dev268 said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I have received positive outcome from ACS RPL Assessment, but they deducted all my experience and did not recognized, my experience is eligible after Oct 2016, so I will not get points for that.
> 
> There assessment outcome as below:
> 
> "Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 261313 (Software Engineer) of the
> ANZSCO Code.
> 
> The following employment after October 2016 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261313 (Software Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Dates: 05/02 - 07/04 (2yrs 2mths)
> Position: SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
> Employer: xyz
> Country: PAKISTAN
> 
> Dates: 08/06 - 02/09 (2yrs 6mths)
> Position: SENIOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
> Employer: xyz
> Country: PAKISTAN
> 
> Dates: 07/13 - 10/16 (3yrs 3mths)
> Position: SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
> Employer: xyz
> Country: SAUDI ARABIA
> 
> Please note that the Department of Immigration and Border Protection reserves the right to undertake"
> 
> I have done Bachelor of Science from Al-Khair University, AJK, Pakistan, from 2009-20013, ACS didn't recognized it.
> 
> Now, My agent says that, I am still eligible to get 60 points without going to VETASSESS Point Test Advise, his calculation is as below
> 
> 30 Points for Age
> 10 points for IELTS 7.0
> 10 points 489 State Sponsorship
> 10 points for ACS RPL Positive/Qualification
> Total 60
> 
> I have only doubt that my agent says that, I can get 10 points for education because I have positive skills assessment from ACS without going for Point Test Advise.
> 
> So what is your opinion guys? You reply will be highly appreciated
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sharon -

Thanks for the note. You've run into the "usually resident" requirement for 309/100 partner visa sponsors. The good news is that if you are able to make plans to return to Australia including making arrangements for a place to stay, job, car, etc as applicable, you may be able to meet the usually resident requirement just prior to coming here. Suggest you get professional assistance from an immigration lawyer or agent who can go through the various elements of the usually resident requirement and help you make plans to satisfy them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sharonannevans said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I wonder if you can help me please. I previously lived and worked in Australia for almost four years. I emigrated with an ex-partner in January 2008 with a 457 working class visa. My partner at the time applied for a PR visa for work reasons obviously with me included in the visa. This was granted in July 2009. The relationship broke down a year later but I remained in Australia. My brother lives in the Gold Coast but after about a year, I found life in Sydney quite lonely on my own so decided to return to the UK. I came back in November 2011.
> 
> I quite quickly met my current partner and we have been together ever since. We now have two children and are very happy. Apart from where we live! I love Australia and I would love to build a better future for my children - there is so much to offer a family there. Plus I have a sister who lives in Auckland with whom I am very close.My visa was renewed in 2014 as a RRV and we went to Australia last year on a long family holiday.
> 
> I have looked into how we can return and which visa is the most suitable. I will not have a problem in finding employment - my current employer has offices there and I also still have very strong work connections. I have looked at the Partner visa (309) and started to fill in the application online. However, I have noticed the eligibility requirements for me to be sponsor state that my main place of residence must be Australia, which it is not at present.
> 
> Do you please have any advice with relation to which visa is best for us to make the move over? Is it a good idea for me to get an immigration agent to look at this for us?
> 
> Many thanks in anticipation.
> 
> Sharon


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Freedom30 -

Thanks for the note. Would need to work through your circumstances and questions at a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case - see my website below in my signature for more. The rules re: trade skills assessments for 457's are tricky and subject to change, plus some of the rules are at the DIBP level while some are at the skills assessor level. However generally speaking, if your country/occupation combination is not on this list: 457 Skills Assessment Program

You may not need a skills assessment for a 457 visa as long as you can show sufficient work experience to satisfy the minimum ANZSCO requirements for your occupation (see Search | Anzscosearch for more on these). Also suggest you check out local licensing requirements in whatever Australian state you wish to work in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



freedom30 said:


> Good afternoon Mark,
> 
> I am a 28-year-old Canadian plumber. I began my apprenticeship in June 2013 here in Canada. In April 2017 I will complete my apprenticeship and by June 2017, after a national exam, I will be a fully qualified "Red Seal" plumber. I am unsure of the equivalent qualification in Australia. I have looked at the subclass 189 visa and I appear to satisfy all requirements except for in the Skills Assessment part. I will have to wait for 3 years post red seal experience to apply for the 189.
> 
> In the meantime, upon qualification, I would like to apply for a temporary work visa 457. The TRA doesn't list Plumbing but through some confusing searching I believe that Canadian Plumbers are eligible for a 457 but they need to get an OSAS. Can you confirm this is the correct pathway for skill assessment in my case?
> 
> There are no OSAS places in Canada but I would be more than happy to travel to the UK for the skills assessment. Is this allowed? Can I get my skills assessed before I have a job offer? Or should it really be done afterwards? I would prefer to get all of my paperwork in order ahead of time so I can be ready to go if and when I get a job offer.
> 
> Can I submit a portfolio as an Expression of Interest to assist with finding an employer or would it all have to be independent searching?
> 
> We have already had a WHV and a second year WHV after doing regional work so that is not an option.
> 
> Please let me know my options.
> 
> Thank you!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stifano -

Thanks for the note. For Australia, I'd carefully review the ACS website (www.acs.org.au) and see what tasks/duties are included in the expanded ANZSCO definitions available on their site. ACS skills assessment required for a skilled visa, but generally not for a 457 visa where DIBP would assess the letters to determine if you have sufficient experience in the specific nominated occupation you choose.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stifano said:


> Hi Mark
> I was working as a network engineer with 2 years experience, and 1 month before started to work as a network administrator, I've prepared experience letter with 9 duties, 70% of those duties are Network Engineer, and 30% duties as a network administrator, after 1 year, I can prepare experience letter with duties 70% network administrator and 30% as network engineer, in this case are they going to consider the two experience letter accepted for any title I can apply for in Canada or Australia ??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mashew -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you describe your planned Australian home if you have arrangements made now for a specific home; otherwise you can use your current home. Australian citizen children would generally not be included in sponsorship since they don't need a visa, but would still need to be declared in the family of applicant (or sponsor, etc) sections on the application and on Form 80.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mashew said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm an Australian citizen whose been living in Japan for the past 12 years. We are in the process of applying online for my wife (Japanese) in Japan, we live in Japan and are moving back to Australia. I have a few questions regarding the form.
> 
> Part H - About your Home
> 
> Do I fill in my current address details, or the intended details for our Australian residence?
> 
> Question 45 through me, it seems to be directed towards a person living in Australia sponsoring an arrival.
> 
> Also Part E
> 
> Our kids are Australian citizens, do they need to be included in the section "included in the sponsorshop"?
> 
> All the best and thanks for your thread.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sagun -

It's in the gray area. Study is generally interpreted to be study at a CRICOS approved course, but it is a discretion of the case officer as to exactly what constitutes "study". Also possible to request addition of study rights to a BVE where you have already lodged an onshore partner visa and can show a clear study plan and urgent need to study prior to the partner visa being approved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sagun said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am in student visa at the moment wanting to apply for partner visa.I went to immigration Lawyer yesterday. She told me that if I cancel my student visa than I have to apply for BVE where I can't work and study. she is not sure about the question I asked her.
> 
> My question was, Would I be able to study CPA ( Certified Practising Accountants)? I am already enrolled. This course is not under CRICOS.
> 
> Please help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Iloveoz -

Thanks for the note. Generally not an issue as long as you are not working in Australia (in any way) while holding the e-visitor. Once the RRV is granted, it will replace the e-visitor visa and you can begin working.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



iloveoz123 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hope this note finds you well. My RRV recently expired in mid-December. I had reapplied for it but did not hear back in time for my visit to Australia and thus entered the country as an e-visitor. In your experience, how big of an issue does this pose?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## teamdanaz

Hi, I wanna invest my time and money on something which I'm not sure if it would lead to what I want or not.
I was on a prospective marriage visa last year, but it didn't end up in marriage although me and my ex's relationship was completely genuine and we were in love. I went back to my country a month prior to my visa expiry date in order to not breach the visa terms.

I'm 30, I have a BA in English language & literature, and I have worked as an ESL teacher for 2.5 years. According to that, I'm not qualified for skilled worker visas.

But I have a plan in my mind which I'm not sure whether it would work or not. I want to apply for a course in Australia to get a certificate III in teaching which takes 1 year (2 semesters) to complete. Then get a related job (in or outside Australia) to qualify for 189 or 190 visa since the occupation I have in mind is on both SOL and CSOL lists.. 

Now I have some concerns:

1. Getting a student visa: I'm from a high risk country and they usually don't grant visas to us for studying in TAFE or similar short courses. But I was thinking my previous visa and how I respected the terms for leaving Australia before it expired, would help me to get a student visa for doing this course. It is also possible that they consider my ties (my Aussie ex.) and reject me! 

2. What if I pay for this course, spend a year on it, but eventually I won't get qualified for applying for a PR visa?! I mean will my vocational education be recognized as a relevant education or only bachelors degree or higher are given points to?

Generally, what do you think of my plan? is it doable? Does it enable me to get qualified for a PR or not?

Thank you so much


----------



## tabmowzo

*Living in USA but planning to migrate to Oz*

Mark,
I'm newly registered but have lurked, I hope this is a straightforward question. I've searched your thread and others so hope this isn't a common repeat. I appreciate your offer and will try to return favours.

I'm a USA citizen, my wife is Australian with USA green card (not USA/dual citizen). We were married in 2002 and have lived in the USA since, except for 2011-2012 when we were in Oz while I was on a 457 (no longer in force). We have no children nor other dependants that would be included (my wife has grown children and minor grandchildren in Oz, but we are not carers nor responsible for them. But they're key reasons to move!)

We want to permanently move to Australia. It seems easy enough, that she would move this year (2017) and I would apply for a 309 offshore. My key question is does her living in the USA for most of the last 14 years have an impact on her sponsoring me? Does she need to be in Australia BEFORE filing the form 40sp? Whether it matters or not, she has mostly not been employed, while I have (and still have) a full-time job. That's actually a key reason for me to remain and do offshore, and continue working.

We have joint real-estate ownership, insurance, other evidence of joint life, but didn't know if both of us currently in the USA is an issue, or if her moving ahead of me is a different issue.

Thank you,
Peter


----------



## shamtah

Thank you very much Mark for the valuable information.You have always been a great help.

I wish you all the best.

Kind regards

Shareef.


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shamtah -
> 
> Visitor visa is the fastest way, but she'll likely have to show stronger ties to her home country than she has to Australia (and you, if you are living in Australia). Also as a permanent resident, in order to sponsor her for a partner visa you will need to show that you are (or will be in the very near future) "usually resident" in Australia.
> 
> Visitor visa processing times are unpredictable and can range from a few days to a few months - all depends on the local processing office.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jay -

I'd start by reading the skills assessment applicant guide produced by EA very carefully - it has all the info you need. No point in me or anyone else repeating the steps, as they are all in the guide. If you have to do CDR, you may want to consider assistance with this part depending on your experience and writing ability.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jaysshah said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am just starting my application with Engineers Australia.
> Can you please help me with detailed step by step guide on how to make sure correct assessment ?
> 
> I am new to this as I just got my IELTS results yesterday with all 7....
> 
> Your prompt support will be helpful...
> 
> Jay


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nate Drake -

No problem I see with just continuing work on the draft application you've started once the 2 year mark is reached. Just make sure all the dates and other info is accurate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nate Drake said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I received an email saying:
> 
> "This is an automatically generated message
> Request for further information for your permanent partner visa application
> We require additional information or documents that cover your circumstances since you were granted the temporary partner visa"
> 
> I apply for the 820 the 17/2/15
> 
> I put together a list of information/evidence to submit, I try to submit an online 801 application but when I got to the question :
> 
> ''Has it been a total of 24 months since the date the applicant lodged their temporary partner visa application?'' I reply NO and It wouldn't let me go ahead with the application.
> 
> * Honestly I think I made a mistake and try to apply to soon
> 
> - I saved my application which is incomplete ( I got to the page 14 of 21) should I keep this application and continue with the application after the 2 years past (which is going to be the 17 of Feb ) since my first application to the 820?
> 
> Or should I delete the application and start a new one after the 2 years anniversary of my first app?
> 
> Thanks in advanced


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ivan -

Thanks for the note. I'd need to work with you in a consultation and review the documents in order to give you any specific advice for your case - DIBP is getting tough on the living/working evidence for 887's so you will want to make sure your evidence is strong and bulletproof.

Best,

Mark Northam



riz.ivan said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> Hope that you are doing great.
> 
> I am on SP 489 visa and It will be 2 years on 4th of February, 2017. I have more than 20 months of full time of full time job in Queanbeyan, NSW.
> 
> For the first 8 months I lived with my friend and I don't hv anything to prove that. You suggested me that I should wait 8 more months to apply for my PR.
> 
> Now my questions are -
> 
> 1. I have bank account opening letter dated 16th February, 2015 and Car rego on March 13, 2015 mentioning the address I was living. Also I have group certificate mentioning the address in July, 2015. Can I use these documents as my proof of living for that 8 months ?
> 
> 2. I can arrange a statutory declaration for the 8 months of living in that address. Should it be useful ?
> 
> I need your help.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Ivan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abhay -

Thanks for the note. Answer: lots of Googling and writing what essentially amounts to a basic research paper like a high school or college student would write. NT's own websites have lots of good stuff about the advantages of the NT, etc. There are some basic structures for a paper like this - you might consult some academic guides online for instructions to students in how to format and write research papers for more guidance.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abhay said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I wish to apply for 190 and move to NT under State Nomination. I am confident of getting my Positive Skill Assessment but further How could I provide evidence that I have undertaken detailed research into living and working in the NT demonstrating I have a realistic knowledge of the environment including climate, relocation costs, living expenses (for example, food, utilities, rent), and accommodation costs to settle in the NT?
> How could i prepare such a detailed report?
> 
> Regards,
> Abhay


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Galaxy -

DIBP asks for a great deal of information for partner visas - unfortunately asking "why" of them is usually pointless and produces no results from them.

Re: reason for divorce, this can be very basic, ie:

My ex-wife Mary and I had a great relationship until she started secretly going out with the owner of the fast food restaurant she visited every day, and eventually cheated on me with this guy. The relationship broke down and was not salvagable, and we separated in XXXX 2015. Our divorce was finalised in XXXX 2016.

Probably best if you put it in statutory declaration form - you can download a Commonwealth Statutory Declaration template and complete it, then get it JP'd.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



galaxy said:


> Hi Mark, I have already started a thread but there is no clear response. Could you have a look at my post and shed some light on it please?
> 
> Edit: Sorry I am not allowed to post a link as I am not active member yet. You can check the post I started in my stats on my profile.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HanandLeia -

Good point - copy & paste is fine for all of the entries on this form except for where it asks for long-form text about the different types of relationship evidence (financial/social/commitment/household) and how the relationship developed. For this sponsor can use his/her own words, or you can put "Please see attached relationship statements of applicant and sponsor as well as attached evidence for complete details."

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HanandLeia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for all your input! I just had a question about your comment to Jimmy below. Some other posts said answers on the 40SP should NOT copy and pasted because the answers should be in the sponsor's own words. How would you address this concern? Is consistency more important?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HelpMeBe -

Thanks for the note. Would need to know what visa you are applying for and what skills assessor/occupation you are applying under in order to answer your questions - the rules vary from visa to visa and vary widely from one skills assessor to another.

Best,

Mark Northam



HelpMeBe said:


> Thank you so much Mark. So kind of you.
> 
> I did my double degree in Canberra and now want to apply for P.R
> Have a few questions regarding the mandatory 1 year work experience - couldnt find answers elsewhere
> 
> Do internships count as work experience?
> Can the work experience be part time but for a year?
> 
> Can the work experience be at different organisations or the same for the whole year?
> 
> I have 3 months left in my 1 year of experience, can I still apply?
> 
> I hoping to apply as a video editor. Will hopefully gain a years of work experience this year.
> 
> Please advice.
> 
> Thank-you , you are a life saver!


----------



## Pa2dy

*Sponsoring a De Facto from previous relationship with Child*

Hi Mark,

My situation is a bit unusual...I have an affair while I was married in the Philippines and resulted with having two kids aside from my wife where I got three. My wife and children are already an Australian citizen however me and my wife are separated for two months now and filing for separation and after a year for divorce.

However me and the other woman (whom I have two kids) have gone back together.

My question is ...after the divorce how long should I wait or is there a waiting period before I can sponsor my other woman as my de facto?

Thank you...will really appreciate your advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harsiv -

Thanks for the note. The answers to all of your questions depend on the particular rules and policies of the territory that sponsors you - suggest you take a very careful look at their website and any agreements they may ask you to agree to as part of state sponsorship.

Re: visa cancellation, there is no penalty for not being in Australia for a minimum amount of time during the initial 5-year term of the PR, however it may be difficult to renew your PR via subclass 155 Resident Return Visa if you have not spend substantial time in Australia during the initial 5 year period of your PR visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



harsiv said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am Hari Prasaadh from India and have started my Australian visa application under 190 subclass and have few questions on the proceedings. After getting Vetassess approval I would be submitting the EOI then a territory would pick up my profile and sponsor. I have clarity up till here but not beyond this.
> 
> My questions are,
> 
> · After getting an invite from any territory and acknowledging should I immediately land in that particular territory?
> 
> · After landing in in that particular territory can I come back and do the job hunt from my home country India?
> 
> · Is there any minimum time period for me and my spouse to stay in that territory and if I fail will my visa get terminated? (In case I do not get a job in 1 year and I stay in home country)
> 
> · If I get a job in a territory which did not sponsor can I go and work there?
> 
> Thanks a lot and really sorry if I asked you too many things!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Auscad -

Great question. Under the law, for the subclass 300 prospective marriage visa, the applicant at the time of DECISION must satisfy the applicant that there is no "impediment" to the marriage in Australian law.

If a divorce in process by the applicant or sponsor regarding a previous spouse has not yet been completed, an impediment would exist and if not resolved by the time the case officer is ready to grant the sc300 visa, would likely result in a visa refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AUSCAD said:


> Good Evening Mark,
> 
> I just have a quick question regarding PM Visa and divorce. I understand as the sponsor that I do have to be divorced. However can the application still be submitted whilst I am married and supply the documentation once the divorce is finalised? To be more specific I cant process the divorce until April, if my fiancee applies in March for the PM visa will that be a hindrance are the application just be put on hold until i submit the correct paperwork?
> 
> Thanks you in advance for reply, muchly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harsiv -

Suggest you repost this question in a new thread outside the Ask Mark thread if you wish to get info from readers and forum visitors, thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



harsiv said:


> I am applying for 190 Visa under skill set 225112 VETASSESS- Market Research Analyst.
> Are there anyone who already applied and immigrated to Australia under this skillset or anyone currently under the process of applying!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TTT2009 -

It is generally safe to wait for DIBP to ask for health & police documents as processing for many visas now goes over the 1 year mark. Health and police certificates are valid for 12 months only. However if you want to try and push things along with DIBP reprocessing, you might consider lodging health & police a few months after you lodge the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TTT2009 said:


> Hi Mark
> Thank you for helping everyone with their enquiries.
> 
> We are a couple on visa 489 state sponsored in SA.
> We will be in the process of applying for 887 as we have met the visa requirements. However not sure if we can lodge the application and wait for them to request documents, such as health examinations or police clearance.
> Can you advise if all docs need to be uploaded with application or wait for case officer to ask?
> We also have police clearance from last year, would that be too old?
> 
> Thank you again
> 
> Regards
> TTT


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1984ravigupta -

Please see responses below at *** after your questions, thanks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1984ravigupta said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a query regarding 489 subclass.
> 
> 1) Is 489 gives additional 10 points. I am looking for State or territory sponsorship. *** Great.
> 
> 2) My code is 261312. Which state/territory is best suited for me ?? Are there any job prospects outside Melbourne and Sydney ?? Asking this as these are the only two cities most talked about for IT jobs. *** Suggest you visit Search | Anzscosearch and look up your occupation - they have very helpful info re: which states are sponsoring which occupations, etc.
> 
> 3) At the DIBP website it is mentioned
> 
> "For members of your family unit who are included in your visa application (in either visa pathways), they must be a member of the family unit of someone who already holds this visa (subclass 489) or a provisional visa in subclass 475, 487, 495 or 496."
> 
> This is a bit confusing for me. Can I include my spouse & kid in the application and if I get the grant (489 visa) they also gets the grant (as dependent) ?? *** Yes, they just need prove they are members of your family unit.
> 
> 4) Is it necessary to work in the same code for which I have been accessed and invited ?? Lets say I want to change my profile or plan to start a new business can I do under 489 subclass ?? I am asking this as after two years when I will apply for 887 (PR) they will ask me for the proof of stay in the nominated territory for two years and work experience in the same location for atleast one year. In that case if I have an experience in some other job category will they accept my application ?? *** No. No restrictions on what kind of work you can do while holding a 489.
> 
> 5) This query is related to 887. Does 887 allows me to stay & work anywhere in Australia ?? Also once I have 887 what's the process to get the citizenship ??*** Yes. See Australian Citizenship website for complete requirements for citizenship.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Covariant -

Thanks for the note. Yes, DIBP is now harvesting info from social media accounts, so best advice there is to not put anything up there that you do not want DIBP seeing. Lack of a social media account is not necessarily a problem and would not generally be held against you.Your travel likely not an issue unless you are away from your partner for very long periods (more than 6 months at a go, etc). Just make sure you cover the 4 required types of relationship evidence - social, financial, commitment, household.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Covariant said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just writing because I have applied for a 801 visa on June last year, my eligibility date was April 2015. I'm planning to go on a trip overseas for a month and my partner won't be able to join me as he has just been admitted to study medicine and cannot defer without losing his spot. I was wondering how would me travelling on my own affect our visa application? Also he is not fond on social media and I was reading that immigration checks facebook posts, is this true? Would the about arise suspicion from the immigration department? Should I post pics of what we do, does he need to be commenting this posts? We have our records of activities together, join bank accounts with sustancial savings, live together, etc. Do I need to worry about anything else?
> 
> Warm regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Starryskies -

Thanks for the note. Re: birthday, your age for points reasons is locked in at the point you are invited by DIBP to apply for a visa, so if your age changes before that, your points would be updated as well along with the age change. Any age changes after the date of invitation from DIBP would not affect the points.

Re: timing, no way to predict how soon you might get an invitation. 189 is generally considered a better visa than 190 since 189 does not require state sponsorship leaving you free to live where you want in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



starryskies said:


> Hi Mr.Mark, Hope you are doing great.
> A friend of mine told me that you are the best person to ask my questions related to South Australian state nomination-visa ..I really hope you will reply my question and I'd be very grateful.
> 
> *I am currently 32 years old and,this coming April Ill be turning 33 years.
> *Ive completed BCS PGD - IT examinations in 2009 (which is equivalent to a
> bachelors degree) but Ive completed my professional project in year 2014.
> 
> *Since 2009 I have the working experience as a "Multimedia Specialist".
> 
> Right now I'm getting ready for my PTE-Academic examination with the hope that I'll
> be able to score 65 in each section in order to fulfill the requirement of 10 marks for my visa process.
> 
> So my question is If I score 70 marks total and then I lodge EOI in age 32,
> will it get reduced after my birthday in April?
> When I lodge my application in March how long would it take to get the invitation for my occupation?
> 
> Also should I apply for 190 visa or 189 visa?
> I'm sorry for too many questions.
> Thanks so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Frankiefrankies -

Thanks for the note. I'd check into getting the OSHC granted early. DIBP generally will not grant a student visa without OSHC being in place already. I believe it is possible with some of the OSHC health insurance companies to apply for and be granted an OSHC policy prior to the visa actually being granted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



frankiefrankies said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you're well.
> 
> I have a question about student visas. My sister is currently on a working holiday visa 462 which expires on the 5th of Feb this year, and she applied for a student visa 500 on the 17th of January onshore which is still pending as "Received."
> 
> When she applied for the student visa she received an automated acknowledgement letter, and a Bridging visa 'A' to back her up once her WHV expires, with the following condition "8547 - EMPLOYER WORK LIMITATION." Once the bridging visa kicks in she apparently has full permission to study too.
> 
> The worry is that her OSHC doesn't start until the 27th of Feb, which is when her course starts, and she currently has visitors health insurance until 5 of March. If her student visa is granted before the 27th of Feb, she will automatically be on a student visa, so would that affect her as she won't have OSHC the instant it is granted, as it doesn't start until the 27th of Feb?
> 
> I know you can't have OSHC if you're not a student, so that shouldn't even affect her onshore student visa application right?
> 
> As she has full permission to study under her bridging visa, will she be able to start her studies even if her student visa has not been granted yet?
> 
> I know some of the questions are silly, but visas are such distressing things to go through that you just doubt yourself so much!
> 
> Thanks heaps in advance Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Triciaa -

Thanks for the note - great question! This highlights the inconsistent definition of the term "employed" across different visa subcategories and with different skills assessment organisations - simply put, there is no single definition that works in all cases.

In your case, which would be for the purposes of calculating work experience points, work is considered full-time for these purposes if it is paid and for "at least 20 hours per week". So in this case, 20 hours per week would qualify according to this definition as full-time work for the purposes of awarding points. Re: TRA, you should probably check their documents and definitions closely to see if 20 hours per week is considered full-time for their purposes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



triciaa said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Did some research and I can't find any answer for this I talked to a couple of agents but their answer is always not sure... hope you can educate me on this part... Thank you in advance!
> 
> I have 1 year 7 months Part-time (20hrs/week) of Australian experience in the field that I would like to claim. My question is, since its part time can I still claim it as 1 year work experience in Australia? It gets automatically counted in the EOI that I lodge since they did not ask if its full time or part time employment. I am worried that If I get invited, my application might be denied since I claimed for 1 year Australian work, even if I am part-time. Also, I already acquired Trades recognition with that, to back up verification of my claim. A bulleted outline is provided below to further understand my query.
> 
> Claiming 1 year Australian Experience for - 5 pts
> 
> Actual experience
> - 1 year and 7 months as Part time (20hrs/week) in Australia
> - Lodge same information in TRA with positive skill assessment outcome
> 
> Query:
> - does my 1 year 7 months part time claimable for 1 year Australian Experience?
> - or only 9.5 months is actually counted because the work is part time?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tac_333 -

Thanks for the note. Yes, de facto partner visa is the best choice from what you've said - you could apply offshore, or if she was able to get a visitor visa (ETA is easiest one for USA residents), she could come to Australia and if after arriving you decided to lodge an onshore partner visa (important not to come to Australia with that already decided), assuming the ETA did not have Condition 8503 (no further stay), you could lodge an onshore partner visa (de facto) and your partner would in that case get a bridging visa to allow her to remain in Australia, and also be eligible for Medicare coverage, for the 12-18 months it typically takes for a partner visa to be processed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tac_333 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been over seas with my partner for a year, and now we want to move to Australia together. My partner is from the US, 31 years old. I am an Australian citizen.
> Since we are both female - how should we go about applying for a partner visa for her to come with me to Australia? do we apply for a defacto offshore visa for her since we are still outside of Australia?
> 
> Thank you Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gonthadiya -

Thanks for the note. DIBP's default position is that only work experience after you are awarded your qualification (minimum qual per ANZSCO for the occupation) can be counted for points. However if a skills assessment organisation deems you as skilled prior to that date for any reason, any work experience after the assessor deems you as skilled can generally be counted for work experience - this occurs frequently with RPL (recognition of prior learning) type skills assessments that do not consider the academic qualifications - these are available from ACS and some others.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gonthadiya said:


> Hi...
> 
> as far as overseas experience is concerned, are the points awarded for post qualification experience or total experience (I have 5 years in total, 3 years pre and 2 year post.... ACCA qualified...) No degree though, and worked for 5 years in a big four firm.... Help???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kay -

Thanks for the note. Have never seen this affect a citizenship application, however if for any reason you are in breach of your agreement with the sponsoring state, no way to guarantee it won't become an issue in the citizenship process re character.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kay78 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I was granted the 190 Visa, State Sponsored by ACT.
> I moved to the ACT and have been living here since November 2015(that makes it more than a year). My daughter goes to school in the ACT.
> My husband, however, has a permanent job with a store and has been deployed in Queanbeyan. I do not have a job (I am the Principal Applicant) and I am strictly looking for a job only in the ACT region so that I do not violate my 'Commitment to Canberra' conditions.
> I intend to buy a PPR (Permanent/Principal Place of Residence) in Canberra as I want my daughter to study in the ACT.
> Will my working in another state affect my citizenship application? Do you think it is better that I stay at home rather than look for opportunities in other states?
> In other words, if I live in Canberra and work elsewhere, would it affect my citizenship application?
> Thanks a lot!
> Kay


----------



## AzizHa

Dear Mr Mark 

Can you please give any clue or estimate about the timeframe of security; identity and character checks after the interview. 

The visa is Onshore Protection Visa 866. as I lodged the application in December 2015 and the interview was in April 2016 and the additional information required and submitted in June 2016 and still waiting up to now ..  

should I expect to hear something during the coming 6 months or highly expectation will be more ..?

Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Grasel -

Thanks for the note. All depends on the severity of the offence and the specifics of whatever sentence/fine/etc was imposed. Typically a single fight without any sort of substantial injury caused by the applicant might warrant some questions from DIBP about the details of the incident, but may not cause any more attention. However it's critical if the person has been convicted of an offence to declare that whenever/wherever asked on visa applications, incoming passenger cards on flights into Australia, etc. Would have to know more about the sentence/offence to give any case-specific advice and could do so at a consultation - see link below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



grasel said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> My fiance and I are applying for a Prospective Marriage Visa. We've been together for almost 2 years, engaged for 6 months. My fiance is from Kosovo, and I'm from born and raised in Australia.
> 
> We're in the processing of collecting all of the documents and our evidence. However, we have one issue. When my fiance (the applicant) was 18 years old, he was involved in a fight with a guy, who then pressed charges on my fiance. His 24 now and hasn't had anything else on his record since then. Will this affect our visa application?
> 
> Thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mandy -

Generally you would not need a skills assessment for diving instructor occupation for either a 457 or 187 unless the case officer determined that you did not meet the ANZSCO minimum skilled requirement for that occupation and requested a skills assessment - insisting on a skills assessment is sort of a final step that case officers sometimes (fairly rarely) do if they are not convinced that the applicant meets the minimum skilled requirements.

See Search | Anzscosearch for more about your occuaption.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mandy said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am a diving instructor and would apply for 457 or 187 direct stream.
> Will I need skill assessment from VETASSESS for 457 or 187?
> I have the Cert IV but not enough working experience.
> I am just thinking any possibility to apply a visa without skill assessment .
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Slimguy001 -

No issues I see - there is no requirement for you to register at Centrelink upon arrival in Australia normally, unless some sort of special circumstances exist in your case that obligate you to do so. If not, no problem at all, you can come and go on your 189 visa as you like while the visa is still valid.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



slimguy001 said:


> hello Mark,
> 
> we were granted Visa 189 on July 4th 2016 with an entry date of 2nd of December. we made our first entry in October and stayed for 2 weeks without any registration at centerlink. we intend to return fully in July 2017. is there any problem this might pose e.g probably we may have unknowingly breached some rules. please educate me.
> 
> Slimguy.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jsingh99 -

No good way to tell, unfortunately - DIBP has no time limits on its own processing activities. My guess: a few weeks, but that's only a guess. 189's are taking anywhere from 5-9 months to process these days from what we're seeing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jsingh99 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> We have lodge Visa 189 on 25 Oct 2016. CO contacted for Additional information on 28 Nov 2016 We have provided the requested information but due to my spouse medical was not cleared at that time due to 603 medical test, but now we got the clearnce from the immigration pannel & report is updated on Immiaccount & status is showing Assessment in Progress. How soon we will get the Grant.
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jana_max -

Thanks for the kind words! If you are holding an active BVA (bridging visa A) and you want to travel overseas, you must apply for and be granted a BVB (bridging visa B) prior to departing Australia. Once you return on the BVB, no need to change it back into a BVA as the BVB will continue until your visa decision occurs or you apply for another BVB for a future trip prior to your visa decision occurring.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jana_max said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for building such an amazing thread! I've been reading this and it's really helpful.
> 
> Just a quick question. I submitted my 820 partner visa last month and received bridge visa A. But my job might require me to travel overseas. Can I apply for bridge visa B in this case? When I am back in Australia, I still need to apply for bridge visa A if I want to keep working right?
> 
> Thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jbarnes95 -

Thanks for the nice post. I would consider using all of the evidence you mention, especially the correspondence to either of you at a common address, and get a statutory declaration from your parents (use the Commonwealth stat dec template) describing when you both moved in with them, your living conditions (ie, they share a bedroom), and stating how long both of you have lived there. Also don't forget to include some photos of the house and especially of your room making it clear that 2 people sleep there - ie, his stuff on one side of the bed, her stuff on the other, man & woman clothing in your shared closet, etc etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jbarnes95 said:


> Hi Mark,
> What a generous thing you do!
> My partner is British and he and I have been together since June 2014 and are lodging our onshore 820 application this month and just having a few last-minute jitters in terms of evidence. As we do not live in a rental or our own home (we live in my parent's home), and all utility bills are in their name, we have very little current evidence showing that we live together here. The only thing we have is correspondence to the both of us at this address and an old tenancy agreement from when we lived in London, would this be enough? I don't want to include extra information if it is ultimately useless.
> Many thanks for any and all help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anne777 -

Thanks for the note. My suggestions:

1. Don't give up!
2. Ask them for more details as necessary as to why your experience is unsuitable.
3. Figure out if the problem is fixable - ie, would more or better documentation from the employer address ACS's issues successfully?
4. If Yes to #3, then consider a review or appeal at ACS (read on their site about the difference) and consider pursuing that.
5. If No to #3, then see if any additional work experience might quality to help you meet the requirement. If you are able to get the ACS but not enough approved work experience to get the points you need, consider taking a course and trying to increase your English language points.
6. Don't give up!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anne777 said:


> Hi. Mark.
> recently i have applied for skilled assessment under ACS for ICT trainer.
> My qualification was OK, but they wrote my experience is unsuitable. no idea what was wrong. what should i do now?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashin -

Generally DIBP will try again, however I would consider emailing them through the same channel you did to put in the additional info and advise them of your schedule and good times for them to call.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ashin said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I know I have made a separate post regarding my matter however I would like to ask you at the same time.
> 
> Yesterday I missed a phone call from Australian High Commission in New Delhi. Will they call me again? If yes, do you know usually how long after the missed call they contact the applicant again? Should I contact them? As I missed a call from them, will this hurt my application (rejection..)? I lodged Subsequent 500. Please note that I was asked for further information 2 weeks ago through email and I responded to the requests in the same manner.
> 
> I highly appreciate your time and your answer.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ritika1988 -

Sorry to hear of this - I expect the CO is the only one who can orchestrate a solution to this with the multiple players involved (Global Health, Skilled Visa processing, etc). I'd keep emailing him/her nicely but directly to indicate that it would appear that the DIBP system will not allow you to take further medicals as indicated by the clinic and ask for directions and assistance from the CO as to how to resolve this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ritika1988 said:


> hiii Mr. Mark please help me.
> I have lodged my 189 visa application on 21 December 2017. Regarding my health declarations I have given HAP id of my previous medical examination which was done on 21 Jan 2016 for visitor visa. My CO contacted me on 20 Jan 2017 and wrote further information required.
> See the attached "Request Detail", which provides a detailed explanation relating to the
> checklist item(s) listed below.
> Immigration Health Examinations (for example: chest x-ray, medical examinations
> and/or blood tests as specified in the Health Examinations List)
> 
> You are required to undergo the following health examination(s) to ensure that you meet the
> health requirement for Skilled - Independent (subclass 189) visa.
> ● Medical Examination (Completed)
> ● HIV test (Completed)
> ● Chest X-ray Examination (Completed)
> ● Hepatitis C test (Completed)
> ● Hepatitis B test (Completed)
> If an examination is listed as Completed this means that there is an existing examination that
> can be re-used for this visa application. You will not be asked to complete this examination
> again unless a repeat examination is required because your medical circumstances
> have changed or the examination has since expired.
> 
> so, I have visited to the panel physicians and they said
> 1. your hap id is not working, it is not activated and we can't do health examination without a working hap id.
> 2. the list of health examinations is indicating all examinations as Completed. we can't perform a medical exam until it says 'Required' instead of 'completed'.
> I tried to open emedical with the hap id given by you but it says " no health case is associated with these details"
> so i mailed tech support and they said your previous examination was used for this application. now I am so confused, it all my examinations are completed then what information is required from me? I sent a mail to my CO but no reply yet. please guide me through.
> regards
> ritika


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cheers15 -

Thanks for the note. There is no minimum time being a PR other than holding a PR visa on the date you apply for the contrib parent visa as sponsor, but you must be considered to be "settled" in Australia which is generally interpreted to mean having spent at least 2 years in Australia on valid visas of some kind and having Australia as your primary residence/home.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cheers15 said:


> Just wondering how long you have to have PR in order to sponsor parents for contributory visa.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohanadarsenal -

Thanks for the note. Prior to the case of Riaz, units given credit via RPL had to be deducted from total studied units in Australia, however because of this case units given credit by an Australian institution no longer have to be deducted and all units in the degree, etc can be counted towards the 92 week minimum per CRICOS. The 16 month minimum time period still stands however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mohanadarsenal said:


> Hello,
> 
> Are you aware if RPL based from overseas studies are counted towards the Australian study requirement?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Johnblade -

Thanks for the kind words! The tricky part of your proposed scenario is that she may or may not be granted a visitor visa after having spent a considerable period of time in Australia on a student visa - ie, they may conclude that she is not a genuine tourist, which would prevent her from entering on a visitor visa and lodging the 820 onshore.

Additionally, if she stops studying prior to completing the qual described in her CoE, her school will eventually report her for breaching the visa condition that requires her to maintain enrolment and her visa is subject to cancellation either while she is onshore (with 28 days notice given) or offshore (where no notice is required and it can be cancelled instantly).

Suggest you consult with an immigration lawyer or migration agent to work out a plan for handling her travels and where/when/how to lodge the partner visa - the series of events you're describing is a bit complex from a visa point of view and it will be more beneficial I expect if someone can get all your info and answer your case-specific questions at a consultation, etc. I'm happy to do this - see the Consultations link in my website below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



johnblade said:


> Hi Mark,
> Firstly id like to just say thank your for this service - maybe you've heard it a million times at this stage but it really is incredibly generous and appreciated.
> 
> My scenario is in relation to the 820 partner visa. My partners currently on a student visa which is valid until Summer 2018, im an Australian citizen. She needs to return to japan for a couple of months in April for family reasons and discontinue her study, her cert 3 course ends in March and she does not want to continue studying for diploma. She'd like to cancel the student visa, go to japan and later return on the holiday visa and during this time submit the 820 application. Would this course of action result in a bridging visa with full working rights?...or is it even necessary to cancel the student visa...if we apply for the 820 visa now will she automatically go on the bridging visa with full working rights, i.e superseding the student visa.
> From what ive read on other sites people suggested she would have to continue studying with the 20 hour work limit if we apply while she is on the student visa, until a 820 visa ruling is made.
> 
> I'm sorry if thats incoherent, ive been searching online for a definitive answer but to no avail!
> thanks for any help you can provide,
> John


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DNC -

Thanks for the note. Answer: Yes to both, however the BVA which allows this which is granted when you apply for the 820 while in Australia will only activate AFTER the minimum stay period for the ETA etc ends and the applicant "overstays" the stay period while holding the unactivated BVA.

Once the BVA activates at the end of the stay period the applicant gets the full work and study rights allowed by the BVA, however as long as they are still on the stay period of the ETA (prior to the BVA activating), they are bound by the ETA (no work/limited or no study) until the stay period ends.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



DazedNConfused said:


> Hi Mark, I've found conflicting information on this topic and was hoping to get a professional's opinion. If I apply for a Partner Visa (820) while I'm in country via an ETA, will I have work rights when my bridging visa starts? Likewise, would I be able to study? Thank you!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thao -

Thanks for the note - I work frequently in the family visas area (parent, partner, fiance, child, etc). Answer: Yes. They will still be subject to the genuine temporary entrant policy criteria so will still have to generally show stronger ties to their home country than to Australia, but lots of people apply for and are granted visitor visas while awaiting a decision on a 143.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Thao Le said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am not sure if you specialise in parent visa as well, but I've got just one simple question on it. If my parents apply for the 143 visas offshore (with me being their sponsor), during the time that they have to wait for the visa decision (I think about 2 years) are they allowed to apply for a tourist visa and travel to Australia for a holiday?
> 
> Thank you very much.
> Thao


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

She could in theory apply for another subclass 600 visitor visa either from onshore (if she does not have condition 8503 - no further stay on the current visitor visa) or offshore, however DIBP is a bit stingy about granting long-term visitor visas unless they are parents to an Australian citizen or permanent resident - if this is the case, then she should apply offshore for the long-term parent visa as they generally will not grant one of those to someone already in Australia on a visitor visa, or someone who has been in Australia during 12 of the 18 months prior to applying for the long term visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Please throw some light on this scenario. As couldn't think of a better person for this query
> 
> My mother in law has a 3 month visitor visa for Australia and is currently in Australia. Now she wishes to be there for a year or so. Can she apply for an extension from Australia for a 3 year visitor visa in which she can stay for 12 months in every 18 months. Is it a risky option or should she come back to India and then apply for this 3 year visitor visa. Also, once she is back, can she apply for this visa, even though her current 3 month visitor visa is still active
> 
> Would be thankful for an answer on this
> 
> Regards
> hopeforoz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi WD -

Normally both of you would click the same option assuming you are the secondary applicant on your wife's primary visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



~WD said:


> HI
> i have a question regarding form 1221.
> 
> my wife is a primary applicant. Which option should be ticked in my 1221 form and which one for my wife's form. Or both will be the same.
> 
> Only complete the section(s) relevant to you
> If you:
> have applied for a Visitor visa
> have applied for a Business visa
> have applied for a Migration visa
> are a student, academic, researcher or fellow


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lisa030 -

Good news: No! You don't have to pay another $7k, however you do have to pay the "PMV to partner visa upgrade" fee which is currently $1,145 for a single adult applicant at the time you lodge the partner visa onshore. Once you lodge a valid partner visa onshore and pay the fee, you should be granted a bridging visa rapidly - typically happens by return email or within 24 hours, but I would not wait until the last day of your PMV 300 to apply for the partner visa.

More good news: DIBP seems to be approving 820 onshore partner visas applied for by PMV 300 holders pretty quickly these days - only a few months in some cases compared to 12-18 months for onshore 820 applicants who are not holding a PMV 300 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lisa030 said:


> Hello. I got PMV 300 and now my fiancé and I are getting married. My question is: Do we have pay another 7000$ for a partner visa?? And after submission of partner visa does applicant get bridging visa automatically?
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alex -

Thanks for the note and congrats on your upcoming PLT completion - the College of Law is a great place to study practical, even if they don't offer an immigration law module (yet).

Re: English, unless you are a citizen of the UK, USA, Ireland, Canada or NZ you'll have to sit an English test for a skilled PR visa for Australia (190/189). IELTS General is fine for immigration purposes. What's more you can also claim points for your score if you score at least 7 on all bands (10 pts) or 8 on all bands (20 pts) so maybe a benefit in there too.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fifalex said:


> Hi Mark!
> Thank you for your service, I am sure I can speak for everyone here when I say it is invaluable.
> I have the following question. I am about to complete my PLT course at the College of Law. (I know you have done it as well). The LPAB has waived the requirement for the IELTS test in order to register as a solicitor as I have obtained my degree from a UK university.
> However I need to sit IELTS in order to apply for the PR under the SOL. I was wondering whether I can take the general IELTS test (as this is for the immigration authority), or do I need to take the academic IELTS test?
> Thanks in advance Mark
> Cheers
> Alex


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hannah1985 -

Thanks for the note. By the "first part of the de facto visa" I am assuming you are referring to the stage 1 partner visa application (ie, application fee $6865 plus surcharge from DIBP). If so, you are locked in to your marital status as of the day you apply, so if you were de facto (and not married) on the day of application, your application will be subject to the de facto law provisions even if you marry later while the application is being processed. No way to change after lodgment unless you withdraw and re-lodge, and generally that can cause other kinds of problems so would encourage you to get professional advice if you are considering that course of action.

Essentially getting married after a de facto partner visa is lodged creates some very handy additional relationship evidence in the form of your marriage certificate, which speaks to your level of commitment to each other, so by all means add it as relationship evidence. Other than that, make sure you are aware of the de facto requirements (ie, must have shown the de facto relationship existed for the 12 months prior to applying) and it's business as usual for your lodged partner visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hannah1985 said:


> Hi Mark,
> My partner and I are applying for the defacto visa, and will be waiting the 12-18 months for it to be processed. We would really like to marry during this time. Should we change our application to one for marriage ?we have sent the first part of the de facto application. Are we able to change the type of visa we are applying for? Does this cost?
> Many thanks !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Oliviae -

Thanks for the note. You can wait until after you apply for the 461 visa to take your medicals (they'll generally ask when they're ready) since medicals (and police clearance certificates) expire 12 months after issue.

Re: living together, travel and other evidence, you'll need to satisfy the 4 legally mandated relationship evidence areas: financial aspects of the relationship, social aspects of the relationship, nature of the commitment to each other, and nature of the household. Would have to work with you in a consultation in order to provide case-specific advice and review your documents you're proposing to use.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Oliviae said:


> I have a New Zealand passport and my partner a South African one, we met and currently live in South Africa together, share financial commitments etc etc.
> 
> Do we need to do the medical before we apply for the 461 Visa or only when they ask him to do so?
> 
> We had been living at my parents house before we moved in together last June, should we only submit in June or can we submit earlier and get a statement from my parents about our arrangements before we started living together?
> 
> Another thing, if we are both living outside of Aus do we need to provide flight tickets or itineraries to show we will both be travelling to aus if Visa is granted?
> 
> Thanx!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anzie -

Congratulations!! That's fantastic news, glad I could help - it's why I am in this business. Very best of luck to you and your family going forward in Australia.

Best,

Mark Northam



anzie said:


> Mark, Thank you very much for all your help. You help me to win my complex schedule 3 case. It was quite a stressful journey from visa refusal to permanent residency. It wouldn't have been done without you. I recommend you to everyone who need migration help. you are a person with golden heart. Thank you verrry much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ruchita -

Thanks for the note. Getting visitor visas extended after a stay of 12 months can be very difficult, as DIBP will likely conclude that he has had plenty of time to undertake "genuine tourist activities" which is what that visa is granted for. I would think he needs to be offshore for at least 7 months before applying for another sc600 visitor visa, as then he won't have been in Australia for 12 of the last 18 months (from that date 7+ months in the future).

Bigger question is working out a better visa for him to be here on long-term if that's what you are seeking to do - visitor visas just won't work for that generally. Suggest you look for a consult with an immigration lawyer or agent to explore various options for him based on his circumstances, skills, education, etc to see what might be available.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ruchita said:


> Hi Mark,
> we need some help My son goes to primary school here in NSW and is on a Student visa. I'm his guardian so on a guardian Visa. My husband however has a 12 Month 600 Visitor Visa and has been in the country for the last 12 month. we don't see another option but for him to go back. How long will he need to be offshore before he can apply for another visitor visa? possibly only a 3 month visa if that makes it easier.
> we would appreciate your help!!! Thank you
> 
> I also sent you a message with the same question... wasn't sure what's better


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Teamdanaz -

Thanks for the note. The fact that you abided by your previous fiance visa is good, however won't really count for "bonus points" for consideration for a future visa. That being said, if you're going to apply for a student visa, given your immigration history I would put together a detailed letter addressing how you meet the Genuine Temporary Entrant criteria (see https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Stud/More/Genuine-Temporary-Entrant and download Direction 69 from the link in the middle of the page) and would certainly include details of your positive immigration history re Australia.

The question of whether your proposed study would help in a future PR visa is a big one, not able to work through all the various ifs/ands/buts here but could at a consultation (see my website below) where we'd have the time to do so. To start with, suggest you carefully study the requirements of the nominated skills assessor for your proposed occupation as their requirements can often be more difficult to meet than DIBP's.

Re: points for Cert 3 or Cert 4, you generally need to have a Diploma to get the 10 education point option, however there are some exceptions for recognised trade qualifications - would need to look into your specific plans to give you case-specific advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



teamdanaz said:


> Hi, I wanna invest my time and money on something which I'm not sure if it would lead to what I want or not.
> I was on a prospective marriage visa last year, but it didn't end up in marriage although me and my ex's relationship was completely genuine and we were in love. I went back to my country a month prior to my visa expiry date in order to not breach the visa terms.
> 
> I'm 30, I have a BA in English language & literature, and I have worked as an ESL teacher for 2.5 years. According to that, I'm not qualified for skilled worker visas.
> 
> But I have a plan in my mind which I'm not sure whether it would work or not. I want to apply for a course in Australia to get a certificate III in teaching which takes 1 year (2 semesters) to complete. Then get a related job (in or outside Australia) to qualify for 189 or 190 visa since the occupation I have in mind is on both SOL and CSOL lists..
> 
> Now I have some concerns:
> 
> 1. Getting a student visa: I'm from a high risk country and they usually don't grant visas to us for studying in TAFE or similar short courses. But I was thinking my previous visa and how I respected the terms for leaving Australia before it expired, would help me to get a student visa for doing this course. It is also possible that they consider my ties (my Aussie ex.) and reject me!
> 
> 2. What if I pay for this course, spend a year on it, but eventually I won't get qualified for applying for a PR visa?! I mean will my vocational education be recognized as a relevant education or only bachelors degree or higher are given points to?
> 
> Generally, what do you think of my plan? is it doable? Does it enable me to get qualified for a PR or not?
> 
> Thank you so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peter -

Thanks for the note. Your circumstances, from what you've said so far, seem to be a good fit for a 309/100 offshore partner visa. Assuming your wife is an Australian citizen (not Australian PR), there is no need for her to be "usually resident" in Australia prior to lodging the 309/100. Her time in the USA for many years would not be an impediment to the 309/100 application in any way from what I can see. Her moving ahead of you is not an issue as long as you have ample relationship evidence to establish your genuine relationship prior to her moving back, so you can accurately describe her time in Australia while you are still in the USA as "temporary time apart".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tabmowzo said:


> Mark,
> I'm newly registered but have lurked, I hope this is a straightforward question. I've searched your thread and others so hope this isn't a common repeat. I appreciate your offer and will try to return favours.
> 
> I'm a USA citizen, my wife is Australian with USA green card (not USA/dual citizen). We were married in 2002 and have lived in the USA since, except for 2011-2012 when we were in Oz while I was on a 457 (no longer in force). We have no children nor other dependants that would be included (my wife has grown children and minor grandchildren in Oz, but we are not carers nor responsible for them. But they're key reasons to move!)
> 
> We want to permanently move to Australia. It seems easy enough, that she would move this year (2017) and I would apply for a 309 offshore. My key question is does her living in the USA for most of the last 14 years have an impact on her sponsoring me? Does she need to be in Australia BEFORE filing the form 40sp? Whether it matters or not, she has mostly not been employed, while I have (and still have) a full-time job. That's actually a key reason for me to remain and do offshore, and continue working.
> 
> We have joint real-estate ownership, insurance, other evidence of joint life, but didn't know if both of us currently in the USA is an issue, or if her moving ahead of me is a different issue.
> 
> Thank you,
> Peter


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shareef -

You're welcome! Glad I could help.

Best,

Mark Northam



shamtah said:


> Thank you very much Mark for the valuable information.You have always been a great help.
> 
> I wish you all the best.
> 
> Kind regards
> 
> Shareef.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pa2dy -

Thanks for the note. There is a requirement for a de facto partner relationship where you must show that the de facto partner relationship existed at that level (and not at a lower level of boyfriend/girlfriend, etc) for the 12 months prior to applying for the visa. However, there is a waiver available for this that can work in cases where there is a child of the relationship - in your case, you've got 2 from the Filipina woman.

If you previously sponsored your current wife for a partner visa for Australia, there is a 5 year waiting time before you can sponsor another person for a partner visa, however there is a waiver provision for this limitation as well which may be approved in the case of having a child with the applicant.

Assuming you were an Australian citizen when the children were born, then the 2 children with the Filipina woman would be eligible for citizenship by descent, which would help strengthen your waiver cases.

Given the complexity of the situation combined with only 2 months of separation from your wife, this would be a high-risk partner visa application, however the children you have with the other woman will likely help reduce that risk substantially. Nonetheless, given the complexities of this, would suggest you get professional help with your application from an immigration lawyer or migration agent in order to properly navigate the various laws that may apply to your (unique) circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pa2dy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My situation is a bit unusual...I have an affair while I was married in the Philippines and resulted with having two kids aside from my wife where I got three. My wife and children are already an Australian citizen however me and my wife are separated for two months now and filing for separation and after a year for divorce.
> 
> However me and the other woman (whom I have two kids) have gone back together.
> 
> My question is ...after the divorce how long should I wait or is there a waiting period before I can sponsor my other woman as my de facto?
> 
> Thank you...will really appreciate your advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AzizHa -

Thanks for the note. Wish I could help, but these types of applications are backed up severely at DIBP from what we can see, and getting anything close to timely external security checks from Syria and other middle east countries is difficult. Wish I had something to recommend, but there are simply too many possible reasons the time has taken what it has, and no good way to predict a timeframe going forward.

Best,

Mark Northam



AzizHa said:


> Dear Mr Mark
> 
> Can you please give any clue or estimate about the timeframe of security; identity and character checks after the interview.
> 
> The visa is Onshore Protection Visa 866. as I lodged the application in December 2015 and the interview was in April 2016 and the additional information required and submitted in June 2016 and still waiting up to now ..
> 
> should I expect to hear something during the coming 6 months or highly expectation will be more ..?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## Ruchita

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all these questions...
what I don't understand is (we found this out only now) on his visa it says 12 month multiple entry latest arrival Nov. 2016... which meant that if he would have left for a few weeks and entered again in Nov. he would have gotten another 12 Month... meaning his total time in Australia would have been way longer than a total of 12 month within an 18 month period?? sorry not sure if I'm explaining myself properly... I just can't find anything online or when speaking to immigration about the 12 month within 18 month.

we are going to do apply for skill select... but have run out of time on his visa to do it here

thanks again so much!!

-sorry just posted again... as I forgot to add the quote  -



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ruchita -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Getting visitor visas extended after a stay of 12 months can be very difficult, as DIBP will likely conclude that he has had plenty of time to undertake "genuine tourist activities" which is what that visa is granted for. I would think he needs to be offshore for at least 7 months before applying for another sc600 visitor visa, as then he won't have been in Australia for 12 of the last 18 months (from that date 7+ months in the future).
> 
> Bigger question is working out a better visa for him to be here on long-term if that's what you are seeking to do - visitor visas just won't work for that generally. Suggest you look for a consult with an immigration lawyer or agent to explore various options for him based on his circumstances, skills, education, etc to see what might be available.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ruchita -

Not sure, would need to see the visa to see exactly how it's configured, but what you're proposing might be correct if the stay period was 12 months and not 3-months, etc maximum stay. The 12/18 month period option is generally available for long-term visitor visas for parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents, and some other visa applicants.

Best,

Mark Northam



Ruchita said:


> Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all these questions...
> what I don't understand is (we found this out only now) on his visa it says 12 month multiple entry latest arrival Nov. 2016... which meant that if he would have left for a few weeks and entered again in Nov. he would have gotten another 12 Month... meaning his total time in Australia would have been way longer than a total of 12 month within an 18 month period?? sorry not sure if I'm explaining myself properly... I just can't find anything online or when speaking to immigration about the 12 month within 18 month.
> 
> we are going to do apply for skill select... but have run out of time on his visa to do it here
> 
> thanks again so much!!


----------



## Julian73

*Sponsor Eligibility*

Hi, Mark. Thanks for helping us on our queries. 
My situation is that I worked in Australia for two years and had a relationship with Australian guy. When my job contract ended, I had to return to my home country. I filed an annulment case with my ex husband so I can marry my Australian man, but it now took more than three years and still going. Because of my court hearing, I was not able to travel back to Australia to be with him but we continue our communication in skype and he is still waiting for my annulment. I plan to visit him once my court hearing is finish. He lost his job for two years now and mainly relied on a Centerlink newstarter allowance and because of his financial difficulties, he was not able to pay his previous house rental before he transfer to a new house. 
Given the scenario,
1) will it affect my application of Prospective marriage visa if we had not seen each other in person for three years, although I will travel back to Australia before lodging the visa application?
2) Is he eligible to sponsor me in PMV if he is now in a centerlink, but his sunsuper will be release in two years time?
3) Is the unpaid rent considered to be a debt to Australian government? will it affect my application if DIBP found out that he has record of unpaid rent or blacklisted by a private real estate?
Thank you for giving some lights on my confused mind.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Julian73 -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, yes it could be an issue, would recommend spending as much time together as possible prior to lodging the visa application. Re 2, yes. Being on Centrelink does not make him ineligible to sponsor. Re 3, debts to private companies are not generally considered debts to the Commonwealth, so that debt would not fall under the Debt to the Commonwealth scope so would not prevent a visa grant from what you've said.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Julian73 said:


> Hi, Mark. Thanks for helping us on our queries.
> My situation is that I worked in Australia for two years and had a relationship with Australian guy. When my job contract ended, I had to return to my home country. I filed an annulment case with my ex husband so I can marry my Australian man, but it now took more than three years and still going. Because of my court hearing, I was not able to travel back to Australia to be with him but we continue our communication in skype and he is still waiting for my annulment. I plan to visit him once my court hearing is finish. He lost his job for two years now and mainly relied on a Centerlink newstarter allowance and because of his financial difficulties, he was not able to pay his previous house rental before he transfer to a new house.
> Given the scenario,
> 1) will it affect my application of Prospective marriage visa if we had not seen each other in person for three years, although I will travel back to Australia before lodging the visa application?
> 2) Is he eligible to sponsor me in PMV if he is now in a centerlink, but his sunsuper will be release in two years time?
> 3) Is the unpaid rent considered to be a debt to Australian government? will it affect my application if DIBP found out that he has record of unpaid rent or blacklisted by a private real estate?
> Thank you for giving some lights on my confused mind.


----------



## Julian73

This is really amazing, just a couple of minutes and I received the answers already. Thanks , Mark. 
Just a follow up question, how much time we need to spend together? Is two weeks enough?
I will include my daughter aged 10 in my PMV application, is a court order of full custody enough ? Is DIBP still contact my ex husband?
Can I provide information to DIBP that I had financial resources to support myself and my dependents?


----------



## Sepdri

Hello mr Mark. We are a family with 2 kids [aged 7 and 6] from Greece and we have an aunt in Sydney who needs our help. She is 84 years old and alone over there so life is very dificult for her , so we decided that we want to live with her and help/assist her in any way possible. The only visa we could get is the Carer Visa 116 but when i search the net i see that is unavailable [ pls correct me if i'm wrong]. Is there any other way we as family could go and help our aunt ?????? Thanks in advance for any feedback.


----------



## frankiefrankies

Thanks for your reply Mark 

I spoke to Medibank who is the OSHC provider, and they said they couldn't change the OSHC start date unless the DIBP made it a condition to grant my sister's student visa. She said OSHC shouldn't be a problem for the visa to be granted. Do you think this is right? It's quite worrying. She currently has visitor health cover through Bupa until March 5, so she's covered for any doctor visit or any emergency.

Thanks in advance for your reply.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Frankiefrankies -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I'd check into getting the OSHC granted early. DIBP generally will not grant a student visa without OSHC being in place already. I believe it is possible with some of the OSHC health insurance companies to apply for and be granted an OSHC policy prior to the visa actually being granted.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Mish

Hi Mark

I hope that you are well & enjoyed your break.

I have seen that the 801 processing has now gone up to 12 to 18 months, do you think that it is likely to reduce or is it just going to keep going up? Also do you have any insight into why they have been increased by 12 months in the last 12 months?

On the 801 waiting thread we have some people from low risk countries waiting over 12 months yet others are getting approved in less than 12 months (clearly not processed in order). 

What I am wondering is in your opinion is:
- worth emailing the permanent partner email address? If so do they ask about why some are getting it earlier than them or do they ask about the progress of the application (even though it is still within their new standards), or
- should they lodge a complaint? If so should be able processing times or others getting it earlier?

If they lodge a complaint will it have any negative affects on their application ie. Delayed even further (one forum member has asked this).

Any insight on this for people waiting for their 801 would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Apples

*BVE to BVA/B*

Has there been a precedent set for moving from a BVE to BVA because of a fault or misinformation by immigration? (ie Natural justice)


----------



## Noura

Hi Mark,
My husband has a PR in Australia that he's been granted in May 2016, we got married in August 2016 because we were waiting for a decision to be made for his visa. Anyways, when he applied he did so as a single applicant but he did mention that he was engaged , the reason was he did not know that we can apply for a partner visa because we were not married at the time, so I was not legally "his partner".
I am doing my 309 application now and finished my 47SP form waiting to submit it; so that he can submit his 40SP with my TRN but I am having a bit of trouble with the statutory declaration part, it says that it should be completed by 2 Australian citizens or residents who should know the applicant (me) and I dont know anybody from there but my husband does. I don't think that any of my husband's friends can do it without knowing me personally and if that's the case then what should I do?
Also, when I was doing my 47SP form I did not go into much detail when asked about the nature of the relationship, social aspects, nature of the household,...etc. Is that a problem?
Thank u so much in advance.


----------



## Noelle

Hi Mark,
I have recently lodged my 887 visa application. While filling out the form, it has asked for all of my family members whether accompanying or not so I have declared my parents and siblings. On my Immi Account, they are being asked to do a health assessment. Is it necessary even if they are not my dependents and they are non accompanying family members? Thanks Mark!

Noelle


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Frankiefrankies -

See below from DIBP's document checklist for student visas which clarifies this:

_Health insurance

Evidence of adequate health insurance. Health insurance must be Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC).

You must obtain OSHC for yourself and any accompanying dependants from at least one week before your course starts and for the duration of your stay in Australia.

If you or your agent have organised OSHC, you will need to include the name of your health insurance provider, the dates your policy starts and finishes and the policy number in your application form.

If your education provider arranged your OSHC, you will need to include the name of your health insurance provider and the dates your policy starts and finishes. You do not need to include the policy number in your application._

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



frankiefrankies said:


> Thanks for your reply Mark
> 
> I spoke to Medibank who is the OSHC provider, and they said they couldn't change the OSHC start date unless the DIBP made it a condition to grant my sister's student visa. She said OSHC shouldn't be a problem for the visa to be granted. Do you think this is right? It's quite worrying. She currently has visitor health cover through Bupa until March 5, so she's covered for any doctor visit or any emergency.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mish -

Thanks for the note - great to be back after a bit of post-holiday break (holiday time was too busy with work for a break!).

Re: second stage processing, we're routinely seeing waits for these over 12 months, but have not yet seen a wait over 18 months, thankfully. DIBP has made a series of major changes to the partner visa processing cycle over the last 6 months which has substantially increased the processing time for these. Among other things, we're observing that relationship evidence is now getting a much closer look, the number of 801 refusals based on an assessment of a non-genuine relationship is significantly up, and sponsors are getting a closer look.

As DIBP has no time limits on what it does, a complaint about long processing is usually a waste of time. The "estimates" on the DIBP website are not commitments from what I can see, and only cover 75% of the cases (how one supposed to know if they're in the 75% of 25% I'm not sure!).

I have never heard of a complaint causing a further delay, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

I expect things will be getting worse re processing times for partner visas, not better as the new legislation they are trying to pass which will create a new sponsor approval process PRIOR to allowing an applicant to lodge a partner visa is bound to extend the processing time for partner visas to even longer than what it is now. Once this is announced, I expect a huge rush of partner visa applications to try and beat this new additional processing regulations, and double the estimate of the rush x 2 if the bundle in a fee increase to pay for the extra processing. Will also depend on how long in advance the change is announced.

While second stage partner processing used to be fairly routine and basic, involving a statutory declaration and some forms, we're now advising applicants to consider second stage processing to be as significant re: need to prove the relationship with evidence as first stage processing for partner visas. Add to that the upcoming sponsor approval application/waiting/processing/decision and you'll end up essentially with 3 applications - sponsor, stage 1 - applicant, stage 2 - applicant, each one with its own series of requirements to be met by applicants and sponsors who will be undergoing even tougher scrutiny by DIBP.

As we face increasing requirements for visas, it may be helpful to recall what some people believe is DIBP's fundamental approach to migration: the grant of an Australian visa is a privilege, not a right.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mish said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I hope that you are well & enjoyed your break.
> 
> I have seen that the 801 processing has now gone up to 12 to 18 months, do you think that it is likely to reduce or is it just going to keep going up? Also do you have any insight into why they have been increased by 12 months in the last 12 months?
> 
> On the 801 waiting thread we have some people from low risk countries waiting over 12 months yet others are getting approved in less than 12 months (clearly not processed in order).
> 
> What I am wondering is in your opinion is:
> - worth emailing the permanent partner email address? If so do they ask about why some are getting it earlier than them or do they ask about the progress of the application (even though it is still within their new standards), or
> - should they lodge a complaint? If so should be able processing times or others getting it earlier?
> 
> If they lodge a complaint will it have any negative affects on their application ie. Delayed even further (one forum member has asked this).
> 
> Any insight on this for people waiting for their 801 would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## albert0205

*190 Visa delay*

Hi Guys,

I have logged my Visa (190 NSW - Business Analyst) on the 23rd April 2016 with 65 points (60+5) all documents uploaded on the same day including medicals , received an email (4 Months Later) on the 26th Aug'16 with subject "IMMI Assessment Commence", No documents asked. I have applied thru an agent, we have sent multiple mails and tried calling multiple time and there is not update. It has been more than 10 Months, can someone suggest/advise me what I do next and is this is normal situation or a situation of concern.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Apples -

Great question. I'm not aware of a particular regulation that permits this since a BVA is normally only granted when the applicant holds a substantive (non-bridging visa) and applies for another visa. Any way this would happen would likely be related to some sort of a visa cancellation and subsequent BVE application that is reversed by either a court action or vacated by DIBP deciding that jurisdictional (legal) error occurred in the cancellation.

There is another rather complex scenario having to do with onshore partner visa applicants who are refused a visa and are onshore and apply for judicial review and were granted a BVA under Reg 2.21A, but again this is fairly rare set of events and the BVA independently granted to them just prior to the sc801 refusal would normally prevent them being unlawful and having to have a BVE.

There may be other ways possible but typically these would involve fairly a complex series of events I would think.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Apples said:


> Has there been a precedent set for moving from a BVE to BVA because of a fault or misinformation by immigration? (ie Natural justice)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Noura -

Re: 956 forms, if they know of you through your husband, that's generally permissible. There is no particular requirement for the 956 form that a writer must have met you personally.

Re: lack of detail on the 47sp form re: relationship evidence categories, this could be a problem unless you have lots of good relationship evidence you are lodging with the application to satisfy each of these 4 categories. Typically if you have strong evidence, it can work to enter "Please see attached relationship statements and relationship evidence of applicant and sponsor for details." in the 4 relationship evidence category text boxes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Noura said:


> Hi Mark,
> My husband has a PR in Australia that he's been granted in May 2016, we got married in August 2016 because we were waiting for a decision to be made for his visa. Anyways, when he applied he did so as a single applicant but he did mention that he was engaged , the reason was he did not know that we can apply for a partner visa because we were not married at the time, so I was not legally "his partner".
> I am doing my 309 application now and finished my 47SP form waiting to submit it; so that he can submit his 40SP with my TRN but I am having a bit of trouble with the statutory declaration part, it says that it should be completed by 2 Australian citizens or residents who should know the applicant (me) and I dont know anybody from there but my husband does. I don't think that any of my husband's friends can do it without knowing me personally and if that's the case then what should I do?
> Also, when I was doing my 47SP form I did not go into much detail when asked about the nature of the relationship, social aspects, nature of the household,...etc. Is that a problem?
> Thank u so much in advance.


----------



## Mish

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mish -
> 
> Thanks for the note - great to be back after a bit of post-holiday break (holiday time was too busy with work for a break!).
> 
> Re: second stage processing, we're routinely seeing waits for these over 12 months, but have not yet seen a wait over 18 months, thankfully. DIBP has made a series of major changes to the partner visa processing cycle over the last 6 months which has substantially increased the processing time for these. Among other things, we're observing that relationship evidence is now getting a much closer look, the number of 801 refusals based on an assessment of a non-genuine relationship is significantly up, and sponsors are getting a closer look.
> 
> As DIBP has no time limits on what it does, a complaint about long processing is usually a waste of time. The "estimates" on the DIBP website are not commitments from what I can see, and only cover 75% of the cases (how one supposed to know if they're in the 75% of 25% I'm not sure!).
> 
> I have never heard of a complaint causing a further delay, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
> 
> I expect things will be getting worse re processing times for partner visas, not better as the new legislation they are trying to pass which will create a new sponsor approval process PRIOR to allowing an applicant to lodge a partner visa is bound to extend the processing time for partner visas to even longer than what it is now. Once this is announced, I expect a huge rush of partner visa applications to try and beat this new additional processing regulations, and double the estimate of the rush x 2 if the bundle in a fee increase to pay for the extra processing. Will also depend on how long in advance the change is announced.
> 
> While second stage partner processing used to be fairly routine and basic, involving a statutory declaration and some forms, we're now advising applicants to consider second stage processing to be as significant re: need to prove the relationship with evidence as first stage processing for partner visas. Add to that the upcoming sponsor approval application/waiting/processing/decision and you'll end up essentially with 3 applications - sponsor, stage 1 - applicant, stage 2 - applicant, each one with its own series of requirements to be met by applicants and sponsors who will be undergoing even tougher scrutiny by DIBP.
> 
> As we face increasing requirements for visas, it may be helpful to recall what some people believe is DIBP's fundamental approach to migration: the grant of an Australian visa is a privilege, not a right.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark.

Just some clarification, when you say that they made significant changes over the last 6 months that increased the processing times, what were those changes.

Do you happen to know why the 100's are faster when they are the same criteria?

Honestly, I am not surprised they are also looking at the sponsor closely after the recent court case.

Thank you as always.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Noelle -

Thanks for the note. The 887 visa (and 485 visa and others) use a slightly different online application system where the questions are asked differently. I expect that you may have accidentally entered your parents and siblings into one of the dependent or "member of the family unit" areas. Normally health and police are only required for members of your family unit (partner and children) and any biological or adopted children under 18 years of age that you have a legal connection to (ie, have not been adopted by someone else). I'd double check the application to see if this might be the case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Noelle said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have recently lodged my 887 visa application. While filling out the form, it has asked for all of my family members whether accompanying or not so I have declared my parents and siblings. On my Immi Account, they are being asked to do a health assessment. Is it necessary even if they are not my dependents and they are non accompanying family members? Thanks Mark!
> 
> Noelle


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Albert0205 -

Likely not a lot you can do. Did you use a registered migration agent with an OMARA MARN number? Sometimes offshore agents who are not registered with OMARA operate "differently". While 10 months is not a highly unusual wait for a 190, it still may be cause for concern. I would request a copy of all sent and received emails from the agent to confirm the correspondence with DIBP. That being said, DIBP seems to be taking longer and longer with some application, and there are no legal time limits on what they do.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



albert0205 said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> I have logged my Visa (190 NSW - Business Analyst) on the 23rd April 2016 with 65 points (60+5) all documents uploaded on the same day including medicals , received an email (4 Months Later) on the 26th Aug'16 with subject "IMMI Assessment Commence", No documents asked. I have applied thru an agent, we have sent multiple mails and tried calling multiple time and there is not update. It has been more than 10 Months, can someone suggest/advise me what I do next and is this is normal situation or a situation of concern.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mish -

The changes had to do with more assessment of sponsors and a much closer and more in-depth assessment of the relationship evidence lodged with second stage partner visa applications.

We're also seeing more interviews of both applicants and in some cases parents (India is a hot spot for this currently) as well as more contact with Form 888 witnesses to verify they are as familiar with the applicant and sponsor as they claim in their Form 888's since those form represent statutory declarations. It's a very good idea to make sure that parents and Form 888 witnesses are very familiar with the details of the sponsor and applicant.

This issue of interviewing parents can be tricky, however, in the area of same sex couples where one or both sets of parents is not aware of the relationship and/or the orientation of the applicant or sponsor, and is especially problematic for applicants or sponsors where same sex relationship are illegal in their home countries where the parents or relatives live. In those cases it may be helpful for the applicant and sponsor to write a letter to DIBP and lodge with the application disclosing that they are not "out" to whatever relatives are affected and request that DIBP not interview those relatives. That certainly doesn't create a legal barrier to DIBP interviewing those relatives anyway, but it's a start.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mish said:


> Thank you Mark.
> 
> Just some clarification, when you say that they made significant changes over the last 6 months that increased the processing times, what were those changes.
> 
> Do you happen to know why the 100's are faster when they are the same criteria?
> 
> Honestly, I am not surprised they are also looking at the sponsor closely after the recent court case.
> 
> Thank you as always.


----------



## burning_fire06

Hi sir, im new in this forum. I would like to ask regarding the possibility of my visa refusal due to undeclared health condition. I had my partial removal of thyroid 10years ago, however im not aware that the biopsy had been done for it and it resulted to be papillary cancer. I was 20 years old when it was done and i dont bothered about the biopsy anymore because i knew that ot wasnt done because of financial constraints.
I did my medical 2 days back and i told to the panel doctor who was incharge of the physical exam that the biopsy was not done. But, she told me to be able to clear my medical test i need go back to the hospital where i did my surgery get the copy of my entire surgical procedure as well as the succeeding treatment. In my surprise, when i read my surgical history, the biopsy was done and i hd been diagnosed with papillary cancer 10 years ago. I told about it to the panel doctor and it seems like she thought i was lying. Im now waiting for the decision of my application and im terribly worried about the result. 
I hope you shed some light about the possible outcome of my application because right now im reallt worried.
Thank you sir
Sent


----------



## Noelle

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Noelle -
> 
> Thanks for the note. The 887 visa (and 485 visa and others) use a slightly different online application system where the questions are asked differently. I expect that you may have accidentally entered your parents and siblings into one of the dependent or "member of the family unit" areas. Normally health and police are only required for members of your family unit (partner and children) and any biological or adopted children under 18 years of age that you have a legal connection to (ie, have not been adopted by someone else). I'd double check the application to see if this might be the case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply,
this is what's written on the application form

" Family members
Provide details of ALL your family. Include family members who are not accompanying you to Australia as well as
deceased family members. Where appropriate, you are required to provide details of the following family members:
• Your parents
• All your brothers and sisters (including full, half, step and adopted brothers and sisters)
• All your children (including children from previous marriages/relationships)
• All other members of your family unit. Information about which family members are considered to be a 'member of
your family unit' for travel or migration purposes is available by referring to form 1496i Including family members in
your application."

Since it says to provide details of ALL family members and it specifically asked for parents and siblings, I have written them down. It doesn't say on the application form wether they are dependent or not. So I am confused about this. Can you enlighten me on this one? Thanks Mark!


----------



## tabmowzo

*Followup, 309 visa, US Citizen*

Mark,
Thank you. My wife is indeed an Australian citizen (born in Ingleburn) and as I said has never applied for US/dual citizenship. I appreciate the guidance on phrasing! We'll be sure to use it, and we're also asking our statutory declarers to mention their experiences with our contacts over the years when she spent a month or two in Australia while I spent a couple of weeks then returned (or remained) in the US (darned job ), to add into the overall explanation of temporary separations that'll show up on our travel histories in the application.

Thank you again,
Peter



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Peter -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Your circumstances, from what you've said so far, seem to be a good fit for a 309/100 offshore partner visa. Assuming your wife is an Australian citizen (not Australian PR), there is no need for her to be "usually resident" in Australia prior to lodging the 309/100. Her time in the USA for many years would not be an impediment to the 309/100 application in any way from what I can see. Her moving ahead of you is not an issue as long as you have ample relationship evidence to establish your genuine relationship prior to her moving back, so you can accurately describe her time in Australia while you are still in the USA as "temporary time apart".
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Rana9B

Hi Mark,

Is it possible to apply for a tourist visa (Subclass 600) while an Independent Skilled Visa(subclass 189) is in process? 

My brother has an off-shore 189 visa in process right now--it has been 7 months since he applied. Can he apply for a tourist visa while his 189 is still in process? I am concerned that the tourist visa will affect 189 visa processing, or should I not worry?

I'm having a kid and would like him to be here during that period. Everything would work out if he gets a positive outcome in a month!! if he does not hear back within the next month, I want to see if we can apply for a tourist visa without adversely affecting his 189's outcome.

Please advise.
Thank you.


----------



## Apples

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Apples -
> 
> Great question. I'm not aware of a particular regulation that permits this since a BVA is normally only granted when the applicant holds a substantive (non-bridging visa) and applies for another visa. Any way this would happen would likely be related to some sort of a visa cancellation and subsequent BVE application that is reversed by either a court action or vacated by DIBP deciding that jurisdictional (legal) error occurred in the cancellation.


I have read the regulation that says there is no option WRT fault either mine, an agent or DIPB but I cannot find it again.

In the end, It does not effect me but the fact we follow the rules and get "pooped on" for an error which removes all of the previous brownie points my wife has had and she starts from zero when the visa is granted. PLUS In real terms she is stuck here without an option to even visit the family without further penalty.

The whole system is not as "strait forward" as it could be with circular references in the regulations. IE 836.221 refers back to 836.212 (what a memory.) It is as if it is designed to make an applicant use an immigration lawyer and in my position it is cost prohibitive.

As I said before, 1600 for an sc836 was a far better option than the 8000 for the sc820 however, the website acknowledges the ability to submit a successful 836 application but the regulations do not. (in our case)

Flow charts would be a better way to present visas on a website with definite Y/N answers rather than verbose rhetoric displayed.

Thats my winge done.

If you can point me to that regulation I mentioned above, I would appreciate it. (The one I cannot find again.)

Cheers
Apples.


----------



## sapphire28

Hi Mark. quick & easy question regarding filing EOI--

"Would the client be accompanied by the client's partner in a future application?"

PS - I'm married and not really sure if I'd be including spouse in the initial VISA application.

My question is if I mark 'YES' to the above question, would it be mandatory for me to include spouse in the VISA lodging phase?


----------



## teamdanaz

Dear Mark, 
Excuse me, I have another question as well. As I told you I was on a prospective marriage visa (sub 300) in 2016 but it didn't end up in marriage. If my partner wants me to re-apply for the same subclass and go there and marry him this time, is it possible? 
In other words, can somebody get sub 300 visa twice with the same partner?


----------



## nla2016

Hi Mark, 

I've been seeking help but could not find one and i am so in hope when i saw this thread that I can get some advices. 

I've married to my husband since 2013, we had a child in 2013 overseas. I had my PR on Feb 2016 for my whole family, i am the main applicant, my son and my husband were the dependent applicants and we arrived to OZ in May 2016 to activate . 

My husband has been reluctant to come here as he doesnt want to give up his job. In July 2016 I came to Australia alone to start a new life. In Sep 2016, I had a place, a job and enrolled my son to school, my husband came with my son to Australia, we had a really big fight and he hit me really bad, banging my head to the floors, punches my head, i did nt call the police as i could not find my fone at that time. I was too scared and run to my car and stayed there till morning. My sister witnessed the incident

My husband left in the morning. i had headache and went to doctors for check up. and I had pictures of my wounds, I did not come to the police as he already left the country in the morning, and left a note that he would not come back for me again and sorry. 

In December he came back here suddenly, i wasnt prepared, he stayed at the place with my son as he said he missed him, I still came back there after work but i slept at my brother's place. He left the country after 10 days after not successfully convince me to come back to him. He didnt not sign the divorce paper that he promised to sign it before. 

Now my brother is not here as he finished his study, my sister moved back to overseas, I am living in Sydney with my 3-yo son by myself. He told my friends and texted me that he will come back to Australia in the next few months permanently. This is freaking me out and i am very very stressed and scared at the moment. There's no family around for me anymore, and to gain the custody of my son i dont know what he can do. I came to the police 2 weeks ago and reported the incident, the police couldnt file an AVO for me as it happened but i did not called the police and he is not in australia to attend court. They say once he comes here, then i can file AVO myself. 

But waiting for him to come here is too scary for me, he'hit me a few times b4 and he's a very crooked person, i cant guess what else he can do . 

My question is that is there any thing i can do with his PR ? Can Border cancelled his PR on the ground of domestic violence ? I am really really frustrated right now.

My friend said i should press charges against him if he comes back here. with evidences and witnesses, he's pledged guilty and have a record that mean he wont be able to pass the good character test to sit for the Australian citizenship test in the next 4 years. Is it true? Can i press charges against him now? 


Would you please help me with this? 

Thank you so much,


----------



## monu958

*Visa application*

Hi Mark,

I have been following your posts for a while now. Just wanted to know something about the impact of a declined New Zealand residence works visa on my future Australian visa applications.

I have been working as a cafe manager in New Zealand, and I received a positive skill assessment from Vetassess. Moreover, I scored a band score of 7.0 on IELTS that makes my point a total of 65 if I get a nomination from any states. Hopefully, I will approval from SA or NT.

My employer in New Zealand breached some employment laws so my residence application was declined. I did not do anything wrong. I have all the documents say about employer's wrongdoing.

Will this declined New Zealand application affect my future applications in Australia (DIBP)?

Thanks in advance and I hope to hear from you soon.

Kind regards,
Ushi


----------



## jasmine197

Hello Mark, I am not sure how to post a new question so hopefully this ends up in the right place, apologies if not. My question is to do with family sponsorship to gain extra points. If an aunt sponsors my husband (I will also be on the application but he is the main applicant) are there any conditions etc that are placed on my relative as a sponsor? We are trying to find the easiest way to get a visa so are looking into lots of different routes and just wondered if there are any conditions before we asked her if she would consider it? Thank you


----------



## hopeforoz

*Hi*

Thank you Mark,

Me and my wife have permanent resident Visa of Australia and that is why we took our mother along with us on a 3 month visitor visa so that she could spend some time with us in Australia.Now, we would wish to keep our mother with us for a longer duration of time and that is why I was wondering if we could apply for a long term visa for her while she is still in Australia. She does not have condition 8503 on her visa.

Which option has a better chance for long term visa grant : While she is in Australia or when she is back in India. We just wish to save money and time but also want to ensure that she gets a long term visa.Please suggest.

Regards
hopeforoz



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hopeforoz -
> 
> She could in theory apply for another subclass 600 visitor visa either from onshore (if she does not have condition 8503 - no further stay on the current visitor visa) or offshore, however DIBP is a bit stingy about granting long-term visitor visas unless they are parents to an Australian citizen or permanent resident - if this is the case, then she should apply offshore for the long-term parent visa as they generally will not grant one of those to someone already in Australia on a visitor visa, or someone who has been in Australia during 12 of the 18 months prior to applying for the long term visitor visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## jasmine197

Sorry Mark, forgot to ask the other part of the question. How many EOI's can you put in, can you put one in for each different visa option that is open to you, ie family sponsor, regional sponsor, employer sponsor to cover all options in the hope that one will be picked up or is this either not allowed or would it be detrimental. If you managed to get an employer or regional sponsored visa but only the temporary one, can you apply for the permanent visa after two years by yourself or do you have to have an employer that will offer the permanent sponsorship. Do you have any control over turning the temporary visa into a permanent one or are you reliant on either your original employer or state/regional permanent visa being offered. Hope this makes sense. Thank you for reading this.


----------



## Kotipatiya

Hi Mark,

I'm a NSW 190 HR Adviser candidate. I received my invitation on March 2016, however things were delayed to my divorce and my daughter's custody issue. Finally, on 25th November 2016 I was able to get the 1229 form signed and an affidavit signed by my ex regarding my daughter and submitted the documents on the same date. By that time I had already received the visa application summary from GSM Brisbane indicating, my name my De facto's name and my new born second daughter's name. On 6th January 2017 I got an email saying my elder daughter's application is a valid application. Immi acknowledgement of a valid visa application. On 13th February 2017, the local Australian High Commission has called my ex to verify whether he signed a document as such and he has told yes. So, everything is fine as per my knowledge. When do you think that I can expect some good news? and also let me know your opinion as to that nothing can o wrong after this right? Expecting your reply.


----------



## Anee

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark ,
I have just joined this forum. Start by saying a big thank you for helping.i have been reading all the posts for a while now.
Wonder if you could kindly help me with some advice as well.
820 visa granted 3 July 2015.applied for combined 820/ 801 august 2014.
801 applied Aug 2016.have 2 beautiful girls born in years 2015 and 2016.got married to my australian husband may 2014.still waiting on 801 .everyone I call the immigration depth, they basically have no concrete answer.immi account still says ( online application for 8
01) assessment in progress.
Kind regards Anee


----------



## Anee

Hi Mark ,
Aneeta here again .I think we have submitted a Fair bot of evidence .this wait is killing us.


----------



## mabin

Hello Mark,

I am planning to migrate to Australia and started the process. I have positive skill assessment from Vetassess which assessed my educational qualification and skills and occupation.

Since I do Business Analyst equivalent work , I got my skill asssesed by ACS and got a positive assessment however they did not comment on my educational qualification ( Bachelor of Science and Master of Management ) as it is non ICT . 

I have used the RPL route for ACS skill assessment.

1. Should I get the educational qualifications assessed by Vetassess to claim points in EOI ? Or only after DIPB advise for it. 

I submitted EOI claiming points for Educational Qualification for Business Analyst.

2. Or the skill assessment result from Vetassess with educational qualification assessed positively (- where a different occupation is mentioned - ) can be used ? 

3. Is is OK to have multiple skill assessment - I have done both I worked on both the skills simultaneously


----------



## Keith123

Hi Mark

I will be migrating to Melbourne in April 2017, on a spouse/dependent visa. Under this visa I am eligible to work full-time for four years. Based on the following background, I would appreciate if anyone of you could let me know the chances of obtaining finance/investment related job in Melbourne/Sydney?

Brief about my-self: CFA passed finalist with over 4 years of professional experience in finance and accounting. Knowledgeable and experienced in financial modeling, valuations, industry research, budgeting and forecasting and economic analysis. Member of the CPA Australia and CIMA, UK with a Higher Diploma in Business management.

Appreciate your response ASAP as I am concern over my possibility of gaining a job there and ruining my career.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## matea

Hello,
I have applied for 651 tourist visa on 10. dec. 2016 and after answering on their questions it says that it is last updated on 21.dec.2016 and now is 15. feb.2017 and I'm still waiting( 57 days) for my tourist visa to be granted or refused. I don't know what to do or think because this takes too long. I'm planning to go in June and I know that I have time but I don't know should I just stay and wait or do something bc I feel like I'm going to wait forever.


----------



## emmacha

Hello Mark, good day,


I have a question related to a friend who is now living in Melbourne living with a student visa.

She is currently studying a course to improve her English, and to pay her bills she has two jobs. But none of these posts has a contract. She is given to work some hours a day and is paid in cash.

I understand that this is illegal and if someone has any notice of that, police or customs personnel, could have some problem. (penalty fee or even deport my friend out of the country ..) Is this true? Does she run into this danger? If so how could they find out about their illegal situation at work?

thank you in advance for taking you time to answer me. 

Best regards.


----------



## trevorhong

Hi Mark

I was trying to apply for the Post-Study Work Stream visa 485 using the online form but it kept saying that I didn't have the prerequisite visa. But my first student visa was granted on the 7th of December 2011 and I have completed my Bachelor degree in Australia. 

The visa condition is if I was granted my student after the 5th of November 2011 and 7th of December is pretty far off. 

I have tried and contact the DIBP but all they said was to try again and send an enquiry form with the screenshots of the error message to them. 

Have you ever encountered any issue like this? 

thank you,

Trevor.


----------



## seekingpr

Hi Mark,
I and my spouse are travelling to Australia together on same flight. My spouse is on Visitor Visa and i am travelling on Permanent Resident Visa. We plan to take one way ticket and we may apply onshore partner Visa for my spouse. However, travel agent has asked either to book return ticket for my spouse or attach my ID proof during booking one way ticket for her. I have not seen any such requirement for visitors on Tourist Visa that they must travel to Australia with a return ticket although i understand that they do want to make sure that visitors on temporary visa must leave the country before via expiry date.

Please suggest whether i should book a 2 way ticket for my wife or it is OK to attach my ID proof during ticket booking for my wife.

Also, not having return ticket for my wife, will it create any issue during laer stage when we apply for onshore partner visa for my wife? Will it compel DIBP to think that my wife travelled to Australia with an intention to be onshore and apply for Spouse visa

Thanks
Vik


----------



## Simonc007

Hi mark

Wonder if you know how long i will be waiting to hear back from VACCU (visa applicant character consideration unit) thank you


----------



## Apples

*Sponsor / Nominator*


Hi Mark
In the process of applying for a tourist visa for my brother in law / sc600 I am required to fill in a form 956.
As I am not a close relative, I assume I fit in the nominator section. (Exempt person) There appears to be no requirement for a sponsor for a tourist visa.
My question is what is the difference between a sponsor and a nominator. 
I want to be sure I have ticked the correct box.
Cheers
Apples


----------



## LittleOne

Hi Mark - quick question for you! Recently got approved for the 820 Visa...I migrated with children. When it is time to provide information for my 801 Visa, does my partner have to re-submit an Australian police check? Thanks in advance!


----------



## ravi.nidadavolu

Hello Mark,
I am preparing to get the ACS skill assessment done for me on which I have two questions.
1. I have completed B.SC (Computer Science) in Apr 2001 and have started working from Aug 2002 onwards. In between I have completed M.Sc (Information Technology) in Dec 2013. What are the documents which I need to submit while applying for the skills assessment? 
2. If there is a change in the company name from the time I have left the organization, will a reporting manager still working in that new (name changed) company can provide a reference in the form of a statutory declaration?
Please advise.


----------



## oregontravel

Hi Mark,

I am traveling this spring with my mother to Australia from the United States under an ETA. I noticed they asked about criminal convictions. I was arrested 5 years ago for DUII in the United States but the charge was dismissed after I completed a brief treatment course and I was never convicted. I have no other criminal history. I do not need to disclose this arrest because it didn't result in a conviction, correct? I am ok to travel to Australia?

Thank you very much.


----------



## charlotteb

*Parental rights in case of breakup*

Hi Mark,

I have a query about my rights in the very very unlikely case of relationship breakdown as I'm just trying to put my mind at rest. I've applied for a 309/100 visa and expect to go straight to permanent residency as my Australian husband and I have 4 children together and have been married more than a decade. The children all have Australian citizenship by descent. If my husband and I were to separate, I am assuming:

1. I would still be able to stay in Australia in my own right and he would not have the power to get me sent back to the UK.
2. Alternatively if I wanted to return to the UK I would need his permission to take our children with me.

Are these scenarios correct?
Many thanks for your help!


----------



## alanformagio

Hello Mark, how are you? Hope you are great.

I intend to apply for a 189 visa as a cabinet maker, I have over 5 years as experience but 2 of them as an apprentice, I would like to know if these 2 years are considered relevant experience, I have all the papers to prove that I was employed at that time and working for over 40 hours/week.

Thank you in advance.

Alan


----------



## amermushtaq55

Hi Mark, 

I am applying for a subclass 189 and my ACS is cleared. I have two question:

1. I am working as a software engineer but my degree is in Business. ACS cleared my application, but can this be a problem for the case offices once I send it my application after getting the invitation?

2. I got my bachelors degree from USA in 2006. I applied for my subclass 189 in Jan 2017. Do i need to get a Charcter/Police certificate from the US? I read on the immigration website that it is not needed if I was in another country before 10 years. Can you please confirm that.

Appreciate your help.

Regards,

Amer


----------



## Noelle

Hi Mark, 
Hope you are well. Just a question again for 887 visa. I have moved to a Regional area 2 months prior to my 489 visa grant. Will that be counted on my 887 visa application? 

Here's my timeline:
November 2014 up to present- living in a Regional area. 
January 16, 2015- My 489 Visa was granted while I was off shore
January 21, 2015- I came back to Australia (I was overseas for 1 week only)
January 17, 2017- Applied for 887 Visa

Do you think there will be any issues with my 887 visa application in terms of residency requirements? 

Thank you.


----------



## Gabby

Hi Mark,

I see this has already been answered but couldn't see your reply. 

I have applied for the 801 Defacto partner visa, but eMedical and referral letter, states client visa details as BS801 Spouse(permanent) which is incorrect and it doesn't mention 820 temporary? Is this something that needs to be changed ie contact Immigration, or is it set to a default?

Look forward to your reply.

Thank you.

Gabby


----------



## Jujube

Hi Mark!

I'm Jujube from Singapore. I'm so glad to have found you in this forum. Thank you very much for offering advice which is always helpful to allay some really worried hearts and minds.

I am writing to ask about the Child Visa which i am preparing to apply for my adopted son.

My Husband (a medical practitioner) and myself (a director in a Singapore Hospital) obtained our Australian PR in Nov'15. It is a state sponsored one. We have yet to move permanently to Australia. We are intending to do so in the last quarter of 2018. We've been staying in Singapore all these while.

We adopted a baby from outside Singapore in July 2016. The Singapore court granted us the adoption order in Dec'16 and we're now his legal parents. We're going to apply for his Australian PR once he obtains his Singapore citizenship.

I have a few questions which I would like seek to your expert advice:

1. I've heard that such child visas are not easily obtainable and would take a long time to receive an outcome. Is this true?

2. Do such visa applications receive a blanket "not approved" or do they grant approval on a case-by-case basis? 

3. As my PR is a state sponsored one, would the decision to approve or not come from the state or the federal government? Would the States have the authority to grant approvals without consulting the Federal government?

That's all for now. Thanks again!


----------



## IROANUNA

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you soo much for this opportunity.

Am from Nigeria and currently in Nigeria. I really want to migrate to Australia and work there on a permanent basis.

Would really appreciate it if iget informations on how to start the process. would want a step by step approach so as to really understand if i have got any chances of succeeding.

Am 30 years old with a B.Sc in chemistry, 1 year experience in vegetable oil company and over 5 years experience in banking industry.

I await any suggestion/contribution that would place me in the right direction.

Thank you.


----------



## Geordie

Thanks to everyone on here, it's been very helpful


----------



## Msaay

Hi Mark,

I am on 489 visa and living in regional area since 1st of July 2015, and planning to apply for 887 visa in September 2017 as my husband went overseas on 22nd of October and was back in Australia in 27th of December. I have two children overseas aged 24 and 22 and I have included them while applying 489 visa as non-migrating, they did their medical and police check as well. Will they be eligible to get 887 visa as us.Could you please advise me regarding this matter.Thank you.

King regards,

Msaay.


----------



## Jace

Hi Mark,

I am about a month away from being able to (finally) afford the Marriage Visa for my fiance in USA. While I have been trying get everything together, the nerves that all this prep and all this money could result in a refusal, but I still try to remain optimistic.

My concerns (as of this moment, i'm sure more will arise closer to the application time ) are:
1. We met in person for the first time in July 2016, but have not been able to since, as we have been saving like crazy to afford this visa - and the extras to boot. Would this be a concern? We are looking at getting him over here (hopefully in May -- if not at some point). Note: We have been talking literally everyday since we first met in September 2015.

2. I have heard conflicting reports, but are you able to confirm whether the PMV 300 is now at a processing time of approx 12 months (for Washington DC)? I saw your post replying to Mish how the 801 processing times have gone up too, due to further scrutiny on visas.

3. Is there like a key focus form of evidence, that I should definitely make sure is in my visa, that is normally overlooked? I have scoured the Partner booklet, even ticking off if I have evidence for what they have listed, but just want to be safe.

4. In your experience, is it better for Medicals/Police/FBI checks be done at the start of application or after request?

Sorry, if some of these answers have been answered previously.
Thank you so much in advance. Truly appreciate your help.


----------



## Abrao115

Hi Mark & All,

My name is RAO & I am from India

Could you please guide me on my below question.

My qualification are 1. Bachelor of science( Maths, Physics, Chemistry) Passed in 2007 and 2. Masters in computer applications MCA passed in Aug 2011.

I had been worked as a GIS Engineer (Electrical Engineering Drafts Person) from January 2012 to August 2015 in Australia on 457 visa and worked in India as an Electrical Engineering Drafts Person from July 2008 to December 2011.

Since September 2015 on words I have been working on software engineer roles (though designation is GIS Engineer) in the same company in India.

I had applied for skills assessment with Engineers Australia for Electrical Engineering Drafts Person based on Work experience through CDR route.

EA not approved and not rejected, they just said they won't assess science degrees and suggested me to contact DIBP to get the suggestion for the relevant assessing authority.

My agent suggested me in September 2016 to apply with VETASSESS as spatial scientist as per my degree because at that time no colleges were providing RPL certificated for Electrical Engineering Drafts Person, but I got the negative assessment.

1. Could you please suggest me any colleges providing RPL certificated for Electrical Engineering Drafts Person.
2. Can I apply for skills assessment With ACS after September 2017 because ACS requires two years of experience with MCA and by this time I will reach two years of software Engineer work experience. 
3. Are there any courses for Electrical Engineering Drafts person to get student visa? 

I really want to come back to Australia, but it is difficult to get PR based on IT software engineer profile.

I assume below are my points

Age 30 years- 30
Qualification Masters (MCA)- 15
Work experience
For Electrical Engineering Drafts Person- 10 (If EA deducts Initial India Experience July 2008-January 2012) & considers Australia Exp from Jan-2012 to Aug 2015.
For Software Engineer--0 points
For English- 10 point ( PTE LRWS 70, 66, 69, 69)

Could you kindly advice me what are the chances for me to get Aus PR.

Thank you very much in advance for your valuable support


----------



## junzar

*Adding dauther to application*

Hi Mark

I am really following up this forum and I appreciate how you are helping people to resolve their problems

I am on 489 visa and had completed my 2 Year stay and one-year full-time work last week I am planning to apply for 887 visa, recently we are blessed with a newborn girl

(my wife and my daughter, they are overseas).

I called the immigration office yesterday they told me to apply for the subsequent entrant visa-489, for your new born child you have to pay full fees of $3600

my wife is on 489 dependent visa and already validated.

my question is, can I add my newborn baby to my 887 visa application instead of applying 489 subsequent entrant visa for her and then bring her to Australia on visitor visa

I am really confuse 
your help will be highly appreciated. thanks!


----------



## abhishekkgupta51

HI Mark, does 457 in a diff nominated occupation and 189 in a different nominated occupation seen as conflict by DIBP? considering both are closely related occupation as per their definition.


----------



## Ozsponsor

*Here goes......*

Hi Mark,

My Husband and I have separated for a second time in four and a half years due to his heavy drinking and DV situations (this will be the second DVO that has been put in place) I was always hoping for reconciliation but my children and I (not his biologically) only received broken promises time and time again. As his sponsor (I'm Australian) I am unsure of my obligations and am fearful of repercussions from him and immigration, he wants me to keep the Temp PR in place to see if it gets approved (as the temp was approved 1 year ago and PR should be granted soon) I've been reading about the link between Centrelink and immigration and their file sharing and obviously they will connect the dots, also will immigration know about the DVO's that have been put in place? The visa is still stating "received" and they will be needing a new Fed police clearance from both of us as the other one's will now be over 12 months old, I obviously am not wanting to send that in at this time due to thinking I will get done for fraud..... As asked previously what are MY repercussions in this situation from immigration - I have children I need to take into consideration and I'm not one to disregard our laws but I'm fearful from all angles. It has taken a lot to write this but I was unsure where to turn. Thank you for your time.
Kindest Regards,
Ozsponsor.


----------



## sonya88

Hi Mark, 

I get an email from Immigration Office asking to apply to 801 visa. I was wondering should my sponser attach police check? We are married and have one kid (Australian citizen). I am the only applicant. Also, can the same people who did 888 form for 820 visa do 888 form again for 801 visa? Thanks


----------



## asadkhanm

*Changes in Circumstances*

Hi Mark,

First of all, you have been doing a great job. Thumbs up to you!

Thanks God, we have got our PR SI /189 visa last week on 23rd Feb. We also came to know a week before that my wife is pregnant. We are not sure whether I need to inform the department via form 1022 (Notification of changes in circumstances) about this or not.
Can you please help in this regard.

Many thanks in advance!


----------



## ahmedwk

Hi Mark,
I am a holder of PR (Skilled (Migrant) (class VE) Subclass 175 (Skilled - Independent). it will expire on 11 July 2017. Can I renew my PR given the following:
1. I have stayed only for 3 months over the past four years
2. both my kids are Australian by birth.
if possible, what is the visa class I should apply for.
Thanks


----------



## ahmedwk

*renew my PR after it expires!*

I am a holder of PR (Skilled (Migrant) (class VE) Subclass 175 (Skilled - Independent). it will expire on 11 July 2017. Can I renew my PR given the following:
1. I have stayed only for 3 months over the past four years
2. both my kids are Australian by birth.
if possible, what is the visa class I should apply for.
Thanks


----------



## asadkhanm

*English Test Exemption*

Hi Mark,

One of my friend has a question about the English test exemption.

He has put in the Migration skill assessment and would like to know if he has a UK degree which falls under Washington Accord and leads to English test exemption, will he be given any points for English language skill for it?

Many thanks and regards,
Asad


----------



## praveenkkk

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Your information is so helpful thousands of applicants. Thank you so much.
Here is my issue. I have applied for visitor visa to australia in June 2016 and was granted (last date of entry to australia was 15 Dec, 2016 with a validity of 3 month stay). Unfortunately I have provided false information on my employment because of my travel agent's advise. I have mentioned (produced reference letter also) that i was working in Company A for 6 years but in fact i worked for company A for 3 years and company B (earlier) for 3 years. As the company A was able to gave me experience letter for all six years i have proceeded with it and got visa. The document was not forged but the information was not true to be honest.
Now, I need to apply for PR visa (189 or 190) but I want to give genuine employment history (supported by salary slips and tax documents). But I am seriously afraid that if CO refer to my old application (lodged 10 months before) he may consider PIC4020 for providing false information in visa held in last 12 months period. Am I right?
If I want to avoid this scenario, still wanted to submit genuine documents, How long I have to wait? 12 months from last date of entry (as per visitor visa) or 12 months from visa grant date or 12 months from expiry of visa (march 15, 2017). I have already left australia in January so that my visa literally expired ( i cannot enter after Dec 15, 2016).
Looking forward your advise Mark.
Thank you in anticipation


----------



## Wafflel

Hi Mark,

I have a question about medicare eligibility. I've called and went into their offices about this but they are all very clueless.

My partner is a from reciprocal healthcare/social security agreement country (Finland).

She has been granted a PMV subclass 300

When she arrives, can she enroll in medicare under the Reciprocal agreement? or does she have to wait for the bridging visa (i.e PMV to Partner onshore) as most do?

Thanks


----------



## sureSO

Hi Mark,
Appreciate your help...thanks for your time.

I studied in Australia for 3 years, then got PR , I was there in Australia around 15 months on my PR.My father suffered mental illness, due to this reason ,I came to my country and I was away from Australia for 6 years to look after him. he is fine now.I want to come back to Australia.I want to apply RRV,my father illness considered as compelling reason to apply RRV ?

Thank you,
Sure


----------



## 9samscott

*Easiest way to emigrate*

Hi Mark,

I am looking for the easiest way to emigrate to OZ. I have a sister over there but I don't have any skills on the SOL/CSOL list. What would be the best/easiest thing I could do to get over there?

Would completing a short course in either the UK/OZ ( 1-12 month etc, not a degree) which is on the SOL or CSOL list allow me to stay and find sponsorship after completion?

Any other suggestions on another way around this would be very much welcome.

Thank you in advance for your response.


----------



## jeff88

*189 granted in a week, now i'm losing my mind.*

Hi mark,

I was granted my 190 (not 189) visa back in november however I forgot to attach a letter explaining that I couldnt provide a PCC from saudi arabia since it wasnt available for non-residents. my visits did total more than 12 months in the last 10 years but there was no place in the application to provide this information, only thing was the last address outside of the usual country of residence for which I provided my most recent trip that was for a few months only. and no form 1221 nor 80 were ever requested.

What are the consequences and any advice is appreciated.

Many thanks in advance mark, you really are an amazing man.


----------



## Foundations531

*Hi Mark - Visa 820 troubles and xfer to 457*

Hi Mark,

I have received an email from immigration stating they have been informed my relationship has ceased. My partner and I are going through some tough times, and what she said on the phone was interpreted as 'ceased'. This is quite subjective though. We kept it very private to avoid gossip and wouldn't be able to produce much in terms of evidence as we did for the initial and final stages (which was substantive by the way) I was wondering if you knew anything about the following. Really hoping you can shed some light on a couple questions.

1.) They are giving me 28 days to reply. My partner and I are on a 'break'. She doesn't want to toe the line of lying until we sort things out (I'm overseas and flying back to Aus Monday). We're meeting up to try to work out our differences and things we aren't happy about. But she used the word 'break up' in her phone call she received from Immigration when they were finalizing the 801. Have you heard of anyone being successful in responding to the "opportunity to respond" email and explaining it wasn't ceased, but just rocky and given our subjectivity on what that means, and thus did not file to cease the visa as we weren't 100% positive until we met up and thoroughly decided in person together?

2.) IF I am unsuccessful in my response back, and refused the 801 - I know I can appeal within 21 days. 
-If I appeal onshore do I maintain working rights etc as I had on the 820 until they make a decision on the appeal? Is the the same if I appealed offshore?
-Could I seek a business which could sponsor me under a 457 during appeal and then cancel the appeal (21 days likely wouldn't be enough time to achieve 457, so appealing would allow me to pursue a 457 with my skills/an employer).

Thank you so much!

Cheers,
Nick


----------



## Mak611

*Student Visa / Partner Visa*

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding a student visa and partner visa.

My partner arrived in Aus in January 16, he was on a student visa expiring on the 15th March 2017. Due to compassionate reasons his second semester was postponed until 2017. In January 2017 my partner meet the tafe and advised them he was unfit to commence tafe in 2017 and provided evidence to support this. Once again the tafe accepted the compassionate grounds and advised they would tell immigration the course was cancelled.

We were then under the impression nothing further needed to be done until we submitted our partner visa prior to his original student visa end date of the 15th March 2017.

I don't imagine there is any concern regarding our partner visa as we are married and in a genuine relationship. I was just wondering if you believe there are any concerns with the student visa situation? Our agent has presented concerns only recently, even after we advised them of the student visa situation back in January 2017.

Thanks Mark.


----------



## Wiresitaly2015

Dear Mark,

I am skilled Independent (Subclass-189) PR Visa Holder. I am planning to call my spouse & child as dependents PR. Can you suggest me based on your experience, what visa options they have and how can I apply?


----------



## Yashar ADAM

*pathway to 887 visa*

Hi mark,

I am a Graduate visa holder. I have been invited to apply for 489 family sponsored visa and I have a question about the pathway to 887.

I was wondering If the 2 years Australian stay and 1 year work experience is applicable while I was In Australia in designated Area but on Graduate and Student Visa ?

in other word, does my 3 years stay and work in Australia count when applying for 887 while holding 489, or I have to stay for 2 years after granting 489?

I know it sound complicated, But will surely appriciate some help on the matter.
Regards 
Yashar


----------



## gsimiyu

*Geoffrey*

Hi Mark,
I have a question here. I believe you will advice. I came here 2010 on student visa and the part of dependants went like this. I had an earlier relationship and sired three children. By then my existing relationship we had one child. So when I was filling the visa details, I did not include the three children by then they were all under 18 now they are 23,20,and 17.

We have been in Australia since then on student visas and now we want to apply for Grad Year visa 485. We want to include the three children as dependants and we were just wondering how this should be handled. We have not declared them in the two other past student visa application and when we had to read through the details we realized we should have done this in the second visa application or even third.

Initially I was main applicant and when I completed my wife applied for the visa and I have been her dependant and the three children who I fend in everything in fact one is in Australia on a study visa.


----------



## RhiC

*Masters Degree Points*

Hi Mark!

Just a quick question which you may be able to help with. I have a Masters degree, but no bachelors as my 10 years of experience prior to this meant I could move straight to the MSc course.

I have read that to apply for an occupation on the CSOL for SA State sponsorship, one of the requirements is 80 points, which is fine if I can count 15 points for my Masters, but ensure if I will be awarded these without the bachelors.... can you shed any light? Thank you!! much appreciated.


----------



## saru.dhiv

Hi Mark,

I recently lodged my 189 visa online and while i checked i my submitted application the answer to the question " Did you claim partner points" was blank. I clearly remember choosing YES for this question.

So i have attached a 1023 form just in case if by some mistake the answer is given as "NO".

My EOI has the correct information though. And i have documents to support that i am eligible for partner points.

Would there be any problems?
i am very concerned. 

Thanks,
Saranya


----------



## 297473

*Visa 461 help*

Hi Mark

I'm a New Zea land citizen married and lived together with my Vietnamese husband for a year in Vietnam.

We want to move to Australia on the 461 visa first. However my husband provided a bogus document on his work visa to NZ and INZ declined his application for to character concerns and bonfides.

Will his past visa application in NZ affect his application for the 461?

We can prove our relationship.


----------



## NewLife01

Hello Mark

I gathered information for subclass 189 skilled independent visa and i figured out that i can't provide 1-2 points in evidence for the (trade) skill assessment, which makes it impossible for me to apply. 

Is there any other permanent visa for non skilled workers ?

Thank you in advance Nikola


----------



## mimie

*Student dependent visa bridging visa*

Hi Mark. I'm totally new to this.

Just wanting to know a few info.

So my husband and I are both on student visas and due to financial reasons we have applied for a student dependent visa for him. He is enrolled for his next semester but hasn't paid the full fee amount yet. Will that be a problem while he waits on his student visa for his dependent visa ? 
Will he be under the bridging visa while then? And no problem from immigration that he hasn't paid the fees under the student visa ?

Thanks


----------



## Guj_to_Oz

*Question for Mark*

Hi Mark,

I've completed 10 + 2 Diploma in Electrical Engineering from - Technical Examination Board Gujarat State, India (Vidyabharati Trust, Polytechnic) with more than 70% marks.

For more than 11 years I've been working with one of top mining company in India having operations worldwide. My last job title was Deputy Manager (First was "Assistant Manager")

Recently, I've appeared for IELTS and scored 7.5 bands (L 8 R 8 W 6.5 S 6.5). lower than requirement of 7 band in each module. In addition I've finished writing CDR + CPD + Summary Statement.

My Skilled migration points estimation is as below:

Age 30 Points (Age 31)
IELTS 0 Points
Employment 15 Points (if experience of >8 years counts)
Skill Assessment 10 Points (15 if granted as bachelor degree)

Total points 60 if EA grant it as bachelor degree. Worst case Total point 50 if EA reject degree at all.

I got question for you:
[1] Do you think I will be eligible to get 10 points for "Electrical Engineer" based on my diploma + cdr ? And

[2] Do you think I've chance for 15 points, if EA assesses my diploma + CDR (demonstrating graduate level of experience) equivalent to Bachelor degree?

I really appreciate for ur feedback, precious time & valuable guidance.

Kind Regards


----------



## jules2017

Hi Mark,

Thanks so much for your reply that I have just seen by coincidence. Without reading your advise before I stayed in the country which was the right decision as I received the intention to consider the cancellation of my 457 visa 2 days ago with the opportunity to comment as why I think they shouldn't cancel it. As you have mentioned below the fact that I have a pending de facto application it is not a reason for DIBP not to cancel my visa? What can I reply then? Are there any tips you could give me how/ what I can reply? I'm afraid that when they cancel it coming on a BVE could be a hindrance in the 820 application outcome?

Thanks a lot again for your time.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jules2017 -
> 
> As you have gone beyond the 90 day period after ceasing employment with your 457 sponsor, your 457 is liable for cancellation at any time. As you have lodged an onshore partner visa, it is DIBP's discretion as to whether they cancel your 457 or not, and if so, when. They do not have to hold off cancelling the 457 just because you have lodged an onshore partner visa, although DIBP policy has in the past suggested that they do hold off.
> 
> No point in applying for a BVB as insurance against this, as a 457 cancellation would also automatically cancel all bridging visa(s) you held at the time of the cancellation.
> 
> Probably best to advise DIBP of your travel plans and take the risk, if you are inclined to do so. Otherwise safest bet is to remain onshore until the partner visa is granted.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## gam70

*citizenship debt*

Hi Mark.

My wife has applied for citizenship but has an outstanding student debt in her home country. 
Is this a problem? and if so does the size of the debt come into play? She has been slowly paying this off but she has now been told that she is travel blacklisted by her government due to this debt.
She is a permanent resident of Australia. 
During the interview she will be asked if she has any outstanding debts from the other country. What is the best response.


----------



## samsundar

*samsundar*

Hello Mark Northam sir and every one in this forum,

Actually i am glade you here to help people, actually i have queries which constantly stressing me about my 489 visa's 2 years living and full time working conditions fulfilling conditions prior to apply my 887 visa.

Sir, Let me explain to you clearly about my circumstance. Actually i am came to Australia as student visa completed my 2 years diploma studies in welfare work at Melbourne moved to Darwin 2014 aim to gain Northern territory Sponsor Ship there after i worked as disability worker for year and i got NT sponsor ship June 2015 and my 489 visa granted on August 20th 2015 and 489 visa expires on 2019 August 20th. since then my 489 granted on August 20 i worked at an average of 25 hours in a week till today. But i did worked randomly 40 to 38 hours in in two jobs.

But 2015 i went overseas for 2 months unpaid holiday as well as came to Australia had 3 unpaid months holiday in other state. Then i resumed working in Darwin 2016 March on wards working one 40 hours and another week 25 to 30 hours in a week till January 1st week 2017 went for holiday on January for 28 days return back to Darwin resumed my work in two workplaces.

But i am getting an average of 25 to 30 in a week hardly once a month i worked 35 hours i a week. i am going try hard to work full-time 35 hours every week although its quite hard to do so or else at least 25 to 30 hours in a week till this august. beside i am not going for any more holiday till end of this year or beginning of this year.

on this circumstance i am desperately wants to apply my PR exactly on August which 2 years after my 489 visa granted as immigration going to take further 3 months to grant my visa.

Q.1
On that occasion, is that any risk of losing my 489 visa, if my case officer not satisfied with fulfilling my condition of 489 visa by the time desperate to apply on August 21st 2017 exactly after 2 years of 489 visa grant ??

Q.2
On that occasion, I also worried about my unpaid holiday time for 2 months overseas in 2015 and unpaid 3 months holiday within Australia as well as 28 days traveled overseas by personal leave of 10 hours paid holiday per week in this on January 2017 is it going deducted from my 2 years of living in Darwin while applying my PR in this August 2017 ??

Q.3 
On that occasion, Although i am going to be working over one and half year of working experience by the time i apply my PR 887 on this August ...what if i failed to provide 1 years full-time working experience which i mean 35 hours of 52 week payslips (35) instead of i provided i worked average of 25 hours in a week to immigration. I am afraid i may not able to provide exactly 35 hours of 52 week payslips by this august 2017 although i worked over 25 hours of average per week 1 and half years. I am not sure whether its gonna be fulfilling 1 year of working experience according to the proportionate total number of hours worked so far. For example 35 hours multiple of 52 hours is equal to total 1820 hours or over.

Thank you very much for taking your valuable time to responding my queries. 
Greatly appreciated !!

Regards,
Sam sundar


----------



## samsundar

*samsundar*

Hello every one in this forum,

Actually i am glade you here help people, actually i have queries which constantly stressed me about 489 visa's 2 years living and full time working conditions fulfilling conditions prior to apply my 887 visa.

Let me explain to you clearly about my circumstance. Actually i am came to Australia as student visa completed my 2 years diploma studies in welfare work at Melbourne moved to Darwin 2014 aim to gain Northern territory Sponsor Ship there after i worked as disability worker for year and i got NT sponsor ship June 2015 and my 489 visa granted on August 20th 2015 and 489 visa expires on 2019 August 20th. since then my 489 granted on August 20 i worked at an average of 25 hours in a week till today. But i did worked randomly 40 to 38 hours in in two jobs.

But 2015 i went overseas for 2 months unpaid holiday as well as came to Australia had 3 unpaid months holiday in other state. Then i resumed working in Darwin 2016 March on wards working one 40 hours and another week 25 to 30 hours in a week till January 1st week 2017 went for holiday on January for 28 days return back to Darwin resumed my work in two workplaces.

But i am getting an average of 25 to 30 in a week hardly once a month i worked 35 hours i a week. i am going try hard to work full-time 35 hours every week although its quite hard to do so or else at least 25 to 30 hours in a week till this august. beside i am not going for any more holiday till end of this year or beginning of this year.

on this circumstance i am desperately wants to apply my PR exactly on August which 2 years after my 489 visa granted as immigration going to take further 3 months to grant my visa.

Q.1
On that occasion, is that any risk of losing my 489 visa, if my case officer not satisfied with fulfilling my condition of 489 visa by the time desperate to apply on August 21st 2017 exactly after 2 years of 489 visa grant ??

Q.2
On that occasion, I also worried about my unpaid holiday time for 2 months overseas in 2015 and unpaid 3 months holiday within Australia as well as 28 days traveled overseas by personal leave of 10 hours paid holiday per week in this on January 2017 is it going deducted from my 2 years of living in Darwin while applying my PR in this August 2017 ??

Q.3 
On that occasion, Although i am going to be working over one and half year of working experience by the time i apply my PR 887 on this August ...what if i failed to provide 1 years full-time working experience which i mean 35 hours of 52 week payslips (35) instead of i provided i worked average of 25 hours in a week to immigration. I am afraid i may not able to provide exactly 35 hours of 52 week payslips by this august 2017 although i worked over 25 hours of average per week 1 and half years. I am not sure whether its gonna be fulfilling 1 year of working experience according to the proportionate total number of hours worked so far. For example 35 hours multiple of 52 hours is equal to total 1820 hours or over.

Thank you very much for taking your valuable time to responding my queries. 
Greatly appreciated anyone from this forum answer these queries !!

Regards,
Sam sundar


----------



## pradeep_sankar

Hi Mark,
Good Day!!!
Need clarification on Tourist Visa for my Wife.
I am a PR holder currently settled in Brisbane.
My wife who is currently back in India has submitted her Partner Visa 309 in the Immi Account.
As the partner Visa takes long time to get processed , we will be also initiating a tourist visa for her to come here quickly giving reference in tourist visa that partner visa is also applied.
I would need clarity on the following things:-
1) Would she need to go back to India from Brisbane once her tourist Visa end date has reached or is there a bridging visa as she has applied for a partner visa as well ?
2) Can the tourist visa be extended from here in Australia ?

Please do let me know.

Thanks for your help.

Regards.
Pradeep Sankar


----------



## Jean0928

Hi Mark,

Thank you in advance if you could answer my question!

My partner and I went to BDM and registered the relationship at the end of Jan 2017 but received the certificate on 10th of March and the date shown on the certificate was 3rd March 2017.

As my substantial visa expired on 9th March, so we lodged 820 visa online on 28th Feb and BVA granted in a few mins.

As you can see, we didn't get the relationship certificate at the time we lodged 820 application. So my question is : Does the 12 months waiver still apply to us? - We lived together more than a year before the application, but we only gathered evidence for like 9 months ( first joint letter to the same address was in May 2016 and joint bank account started in Sep 2016).

We do have the receipt from BDM dated on 26th Jan 2017 anyway. 

Any advice will be appreciated!


----------



## Priya0106

Hi Mark,

I have recently received invite in March 2017 and am in the process of filing docs. I have a query regarding my employment. I have 9 years of experience out of which i was on LOP for personal reasons(family care) for 5 months in 2016. But please note that am still employed with the same company and i joined back in Jan'2017. Please let me know how do i justify this details in form 80 so that DIBP can consider the employment. I have bonus letters and employment proof letter for this period. Awaitng your feedback!


----------



## tianache

Hello.

When lodging an online Partner Visa (820) application, after you pay, it asks for you to submit certain documents. 

It's saying a recommended document to submit is "Form 40SP Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia". Which I thought I already submitted electronically. 

What do you suggest I do for this one, I have filled it out on paper, so it wouldn't take much to scan it in. But it is recommended to attach documents here? Or leave it?


----------



## Jean0928

tianache said:


> Hello.
> 
> When lodging an online Partner Visa (820) application, after you pay, it asks for you to submit certain documents.
> 
> It's saying a recommended document to submit is "Form 40SP Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia". Which I thought I already submitted electronically.
> 
> What do you suggest I do for this one, I have filled it out on paper, so it wouldn't take much to scan it in. But it is recommended to attach documents here? Or leave it?


I scanned and uploaded it, but I know someone didn't and got visa granted anyway.


----------



## sbatabyal

rahulofpl said:


> Hi mark
> 
> Hi my name is rahul and I am on 489 sp visa . Right now m in Darwin. NT has sponsored invitation for NT for my profession I e quality assurance manager in FMCG. But now I won't be able to find any job. So anyone can tell me can I be eligible to work in any regional area of Australia as mentioned in visa grant letter. Or should I be here as NT has nominated me. If I'll move to any other regional part of Australia, can it be effect to my PR (887 )visa ?


Hi Rahul,
I am a Quality Engineer-Mechanical and have received 489 visa for NT. I am planning to move to Darwin on May this year. How are the job opportunities in NT? If you dont mind, can u share ur number with me for a one to one chat? Thanks a lot...


----------



## epb989

rahulofpl said:


> Hi mark
> 
> Hi my name is rahul and I am on 489 sp visa . Right now m in Darwin. NT has sponsored invitation for NT for my profession I e quality assurance manager in FMCG. But now I won't be able to find any job. So anyone can tell me can I be eligible to work in any regional area of Australia as mentioned in visa grant letter. Or should I be here as NT has nominated me. If I'll move to any other regional part of Australia, can it be effect to my PR (887 )visa ?


Hello Rahul,

Did you get a satisfactory reply for this query of yours from this forum? Can you let me know as well.

Other members of this forum can some one tell me if "I am eligible to work in any regional area of Australia as mentioned in visa grant letter. Or should I be here as NT has nominated me. If I'll move to any other regional part of Australia, can it be effect to my PR (887 )visa ?"

Regards,
Eldho


----------



## benb

*Subclass 300 visa*

Hi Mark,

Not sure if you are still answering any questions.

You might be able to help.

My fiance has applied for a PMV (sub 300) from France. 
She is originally from Iraq but has a PR in France and a French travel document. 
Application submitted: 19-Jan-2017
Medicals and Fingerprints done: 2-Feb-2017
Office: Madrid
Status: "Assessment In Progress"

Would she be considered from a high risk country or a low risk country?
How long does an application like this normally take from France?

Have not been assigned a Case officer as yet and no interview, should I be worried about it.

Best Regards,
Ben


----------



## namaste1

Hi Mark,

I have a subclass 190 visa sponsored by the state of NSW. I have been in Sydney for the past 4 months and I have struggled to find a job in my field. As everyone knows, the cost of living in Sydney is very high, so in order to survive, I have also been doing casual work for the past 2 months. This work, however, is not related to my specialisation and I have begun to feel that if things continue the same way, I will become more and more disadvantaged in the skilled labour market.

While Sydney might be the place with the most opportunities, I have recently been offered a place, in my field, in Brisbane. This offer came as part of my new nation-wide job seeking strategy. I am glad for the offer, however, I also find myself in a complicated situation. Namely, I came to Australia with a promise to work and live in NSW for the first 2 years. On one hand, if I accept this offer, I will not keep my word; on the other hand, if I don't accept this offer, I might not have a second chance for the foreseeable future.

I have read about this issue before on the forums and everyone seems to say that staying in your sponsoring state is "just" a moral obligation. However, I have also noticed that many people in recent years have started to warn new PRs that too many people changing their state might give DIBP an indication to change their policies and start refusing RRVs and/or citizenship applications from those people who didn't meet their end of the deal.

What are your thoughts, Mark? Would it be reasonable to move to Brisbane, or is there a reason to be paranoid about possible consequences? I worked hard for my PR and do want to become an Austrialian citizen one day.

Thanks a lot for your response and your existence!


----------



## tbone

Hello Mark,

I have been invited to apply for a visa with NSW. 
I submitted everything I sent to Vetassess and more information. 

I would like to know, what is the likelihood of me getting rejected for my stated sponsored visa? I have submitted under steam 2.

If I do get rejected I know I can appeal, however, can I resubmit my EOI? 

Thanks for any help you can provide.


----------



## rrockey

*Help..help..*

I received a 189 invite yesterday March 15th asking me to respond within 60 days. I clicked on the apply Visa and started filling up the form.
This is when I realized that I might have misunderstood something with the work experience.

As per my ACS:

The following employment after March 2012 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately 
skilled level and relevant to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.

Dates: 03/10 - 03/15 (5yrs 0mths)
Employer: First Company

Dates: 03/15 - 10/16 (1yrs 7mths)
Employer: Second Company

Since the relevant experience was after March 2012, I divided my work experience in First company in two portions, one which would be not be considered for the points from 03/10 to 02/12 and the other which would be considered for the point, from 03/12 to 03/15.

It was fetching me 60 points with 10 points from PTE when I filed this in December, 2016.

I decided to give a retest for PTE in order to get 10 points extra and bump up my score to 70 in March,2017. 
Luckily I scored well but as soon as I updated my PTE score to the EOI, the score bumped up to 75 instead of 70 because of the work experience that got to 5yrs in March, 2017.

Now the problem I found today while filing for the Visa was the word "AFTER" that is mentioned in the ACS accessment.

Which says that the work experience "AFTER" March 2012 would be counted and I might have incorrectly counted it "FROM" March 2012. Which gave me 5 points extra in my NET SCORE.

The question is will this delay of 15 days cause a problem in the Visa process ?
If so then is there anything that can be done ?

Thanks 
Rockey


----------



## Who care

*citizenship application*

hi mark
much appericiate your help and guidence you are providing here,
my question is i have applied for australian citizenship and in additional document request department has asked about my birth certificate.probelm is in my home country when i was born there was no birth certificate that time,even i cannot get one now,i did provide them extract birth certifice on the bassis of passport issued by counsulate.but department did not accept it.now i know if some body dont have birth certificate he can provide high school certificates with declration letter why he cant get one.
my situation gets bit tricky here my high school certificate did not have my surname added on them.i added my surname 10 years ago when i got my first passport so since then everything has my surname,i have never told department about it either coz they never asked,to make it worst i dont have any proof like (newspaper advertise,application)for name changed either.
can you pls advise me what could be done here,could i be facing pic 4020 for not telling department about it


----------



## Tuckerbag

Hi Mark

Maybe Mark or possibly anyone else could help me out with a quick question...

My fiancee and I have already lodged our Prospective Marriage Visa (subclass 300) in December last year.

At that time we were together in Europe, shortly after we lodged it I (sponsor) came back to oz for a couple of months and then have returned to Europe mid-Feb to be with my fiancee while we await the outcome of the visa. 

At first we were under the impression that I would need to notify the department of my change of address, having come back to Europe to live with her for the next 6 months, but then I read on the internet that for a Prospective Marriage visa application you are not trying to show that you are living together and for this particular visa its ok IF you are apart from each other while the visa application is being processed and therefore I would not need to notify the department of changes to my living and postal address.

Just to clarify am I correct in my thinking or do I need to notify the department of my changes to address ? or is it just the applicant that needs to do this and not the sponsor ? ( because when I login to my immiaccount nothing comes up when i push the 'update us' button, however on my fiancees account it comes up with many options when we click this button )

also while I am here we lodged our application almost 4 months ago now and we are just about to start sending some updated documents of everything that has happened since we lodged it ( phone call records, photos, receipts for events attended together etc )... this is a good idea to keep updating them with recent documents ?

Thanks for your time ! much appreciated


----------



## wisdompsycho

*Chef*

Hi Mark,

I'd like to ask something about the occupation, Chef. As it is on the SOL, If I am doing the Diploma of Hospitality (in patisserie), with the work hours, do I qualify to apply for the immigration for Chef? Or does it have to be commercial cookery? It's evening confusing me as some agent told me I could while some other told me I couldn't. Thank you!


----------



## Nass

Hello Mark,

I'm waiting for my 189 visa invitation as a software engineer, yet, I knew that the CO may contact my previous employers and/or my current employer to verify my title and roles. I don't have any problem in contacting my ex-employers yet the problem in contacting my current employer who doesn't know my intention to immigrate and this will lead to losing my job, can I send to the CO, bank statement and a reference letter from my colleagues or self-statutory signed from my colleague and clarifying that my colleague is in the same company by attaching his business card and email address with same company domain or I have no luck and could lose my job if CO refused that and insisted on contacting HR or director( their numbers and emails will be in the company reference letter) ?


----------



## Chris0628

Just received 489 from SA.

The company I work for in Sri Lanka does International IT Projects and the current project I'm involved in is for an Aus customer. 

I worked in Aus from Dec-2016 to Feb-2017 using the 400 Visa and I was based in VIC (Tatura/Shepparton).

Right now im back in Sri Lanka and hoping to get back on the 489 to continue with the above-mentioned project.


Question is: Can I continue to work in VIC (Tatura/Shepparton) commuting every few weeks while living in SA


----------



## fiontong

Hi Mark
Appreciate you help.

I lodged my partner visa application on shore on 17 July 2015 and the BVA granted on the same date. My PR(801)granted straight away on 1 Mar 2017. 

In between I applied BVB for 3 weeks in June 2016 to back to my home town to visit my family. I will also be away for 3 weeks in May.

Just wanna to ask those nearly 20 months on a bridging visa period will count into the lawful residency period for the citizenship calculating?

Thanks

fion


----------



## dazoy111

*Work experience in ACS and EoI*

Hello Mark,

Than you for your tireless work here in guiding and helping others. If you could help me in my little query about experience verification from ACS vs EoI, I will appreciate it.

ACS verified the experience from the existing employer (9+ years) and the previous employer (2.5 years) as relevant for the skill I applied for.

Unfortunately, I am not sure if I will be able to gather all the evidence from the previous employer that DIBP could potentially as for (I have no saved payslips, and closed the account where salary was deposited ages ago). I could get the letter from my previous manager highlighting my experience for ACS to assess my skills, and can get a letter from HR saying I worked there, but thats about it.

I have 9 years + of relevant experience at the current employer, netting me the maximum points I could get for experience and don't need the points from previous employment, but is this something that DIBP would need me to provide proof of, regardless, just because its mentioned in the ACS letter?

Thanks again,

Daz


----------



## gnikih

Hi Mark, I find this thread very helpful. Thank you very much!

I am currently offshore and intend to apply for Northern Territory Skilled Nomination Visa (190) - Civil Engineer, but I am not sure about the following requirements:
"Evidence of recent previous employment in the occupation for which you have provided an assessment (Note: All applicants outside Australia are required to provide verifiable evidence of full time employment in their nominated occupation for no less than 12 months out of the last twenty-four (24) months or alternatively have Australian qualifications)."

I do not have any employment history in my nominated occupation for the past 24 months, where I spent the first 12 months working in irrelevant industries and the second 12 months studying. However, after the 12-month study, I obtained an Australian qualification - Master of Engineering Management. Does it mean I do not need to provide evidence of employment, as I have completed an Australian qualification?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Burning_fire06 -

My apologies for the delay in responding - my schedule's been non-stop.

Re: undeclared medical condition, this is potentially an issue that can lead to refusal if DIBP believes you have intentionally provided false or misleading information. As it appears you have now declared everything you know, that's a good thing - likely best to wait and see what DIBP says re: any concerns and respond honestly, openly and accurately.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



burning_fire06 said:


> Hi sir, im new in this forum. I would like to ask regarding the possibility of my visa refusal due to undeclared health condition. I had my partial removal of thyroid 10years ago, however im not aware that the biopsy had been done for it and it resulted to be papillary cancer. I was 20 years old when it was done and i dont bothered about the biopsy anymore because i knew that ot wasnt done because of financial constraints.
> I did my medical 2 days back and i told to the panel doctor who was incharge of the physical exam that the biopsy was not done. But, she told me to be able to clear my medical test i need go back to the hospital where i did my surgery get the copy of my entire surgical procedure as well as the succeeding treatment. In my surprise, when i read my surgical history, the biopsy was done and i hd been diagnosed with papillary cancer 10 years ago. I told about it to the panel doctor and it seems like she thought i was lying. Im now waiting for the decision of my application and im terribly worried about the result.
> I hope you shed some light about the possible outcome of my application because right now im reallt worried.
> Thank you sir
> Sent


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Noelle -

Normally there will be a separate section for "migrating" dependents - you'll have to check the form - hard for me to diagnose without seeing what you are seeing.

Best,

Mark Northam



Noelle said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your reply,
> this is what's written on the application form
> 
> " Family members
> Provide details of ALL your family. Include family members who are not accompanying you to Australia as well as
> deceased family members. Where appropriate, you are required to provide details of the following family members:
> • Your parents
> • All your brothers and sisters (including full, half, step and adopted brothers and sisters)
> • All your children (including children from previous marriages/relationships)
> • All other members of your family unit. Information about which family members are considered to be a 'member of
> your family unit' for travel or migration purposes is available by referring to form 1496i Including family members in
> your application."
> 
> Since it says to provide details of ALL family members and it specifically asked for parents and siblings, I have written them down. It doesn't say on the application form wether they are dependent or not. So I am confused about this. Can you enlighten me on this one? Thanks Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rana9B -

No problem applying for a sc600 visitor visa while a sc189 visa application is in process. If they are ready to grant the 189 before the 600 is granted, they will normally ask you to withdraw the 600 just prior to the grant of the 189 so there is no overlap.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rana9B said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Is it possible to apply for a tourist visa (Subclass 600) while an Independent Skilled Visa(subclass 189) is in process?
> 
> My brother has an off-shore 189 visa in process right now--it has been 7 months since he applied. Can he apply for a tourist visa while his 189 is still in process? I am concerned that the tourist visa will affect 189 visa processing, or should I not worry?
> 
> I'm having a kid and would like him to be here during that period. Everything would work out if he gets a positive outcome in a month!! if he does not hear back within the next month, I want to see if we can apply for a tourist visa without adversely affecting his 189's outcome.
> 
> Please advise.
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Apples -

Great whinge! I couldn't agree more. Sorry but I'm not exactly sure what regulation you are looking for - can you please elaborate/clarify, happy to assist.

Best,

Mark Northam



Apples said:


> I have read the regulation that says there is no option WRT fault either mine, an agent or DIPB but I cannot find it again.
> 
> In the end, It does not effect me but the fact we follow the rules and get "pooped on" for an error which removes all of the previous brownie points my wife has had and she starts from zero when the visa is granted. PLUS In real terms she is stuck here without an option to even visit the family without further penalty.
> 
> The whole system is not as "strait forward" as it could be with circular references in the regulations. IE 836.221 refers back to 836.212 (what a memory.) It is as if it is designed to make an applicant use an immigration lawyer and in my position it is cost prohibitive.
> 
> As I said before, 1600 for an sc836 was a far better option than the 8000 for the sc820 however, the website acknowledges the ability to submit a successful 836 application but the regulations do not. (in our case)
> 
> Flow charts would be a better way to present visas on a website with definite Y/N answers rather than verbose rhetoric displayed.
> 
> Thats my winge done.
> 
> If you can point me to that regulation I mentioned above, I would appreciate it. (The one I cannot find again.)
> 
> Cheers
> Apples.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sapphire28 -

Thanks for the note. You can answer yes or no, it's not binding on you later when you do the visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sapphire28 said:


> Hi Mark. quick & easy question regarding filing EOI--
> 
> "Would the client be accompanied by the client's partner in a future application?"
> 
> PS - I'm married and not really sure if I'd be including spouse in the initial VISA application.
> 
> My question is if I mark 'YES' to the above question, would it be mandatory for me to include spouse in the VISA lodging phase?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Teamdanaz -

Thanks for the note. Yes can get a sc300 twice with the same partner, however DIBP will probably take a close look at the evidence provided that you genuinely intend to enter into a spousal relationship on the second visa since it didn't happen on the first - I'd be very detailed in your relationship statements re: circumstances involved in the first visa, why it didn't work out, and what's different the second time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



teamdanaz said:


> Dear Mark,
> Excuse me, I have another question as well. As I told you I was on a prospective marriage visa (sub 300) in 2016 but it didn't end up in marriage. If my partner wants me to re-apply for the same subclass and go there and marry him this time, is it possible?
> In other words, can somebody get sub 300 visa twice with the same partner?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nla2016 -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the issues. As an immigration lawyer I don't practice in the area of family or criminal law, but would strongly recommend you visit a local criminal lawyer to get more information on your options, and I'd keep the police updated as things develop. Depending on what you're able to do, if he has pending charges against him or a conviction, that could potentially result in him being liable for character cancellation of his PR visa, all depending on the circumstances.

Best,

Mark Northam



nla2016 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've been seeking help but could not find one and i am so in hope when i saw this thread that I can get some advices.
> 
> I've married to my husband since 2013, we had a child in 2013 overseas. I had my PR on Feb 2016 for my whole family, i am the main applicant, my son and my husband were the dependent applicants and we arrived to OZ in May 2016 to activate .
> 
> My husband has been reluctant to come here as he doesnt want to give up his job. In July 2016 I came to Australia alone to start a new life. In Sep 2016, I had a place, a job and enrolled my son to school, my husband came with my son to Australia, we had a really big fight and he hit me really bad, banging my head to the floors, punches my head, i did nt call the police as i could not find my fone at that time. I was too scared and run to my car and stayed there till morning. My sister witnessed the incident
> 
> My husband left in the morning. i had headache and went to doctors for check up. and I had pictures of my wounds, I did not come to the police as he already left the country in the morning, and left a note that he would not come back for me again and sorry.
> 
> In December he came back here suddenly, i wasnt prepared, he stayed at the place with my son as he said he missed him, I still came back there after work but i slept at my brother's place. He left the country after 10 days after not successfully convince me to come back to him. He didnt not sign the divorce paper that he promised to sign it before.
> 
> Now my brother is not here as he finished his study, my sister moved back to overseas, I am living in Sydney with my 3-yo son by myself. He told my friends and texted me that he will come back to Australia in the next few months permanently. This is freaking me out and i am very very stressed and scared at the moment. There's no family around for me anymore, and to gain the custody of my son i dont know what he can do. I came to the police 2 weeks ago and reported the incident, the police couldnt file an AVO for me as it happened but i did not called the police and he is not in australia to attend court. They say once he comes here, then i can file AVO myself.
> 
> But waiting for him to come here is too scary for me, he'hit me a few times b4 and he's a very crooked person, i cant guess what else he can do .
> 
> My question is that is there any thing i can do with his PR ? Can Border cancelled his PR on the ground of domestic violence ? I am really really frustrated right now.
> 
> My friend said i should press charges against him if he comes back here. with evidences and witnesses, he's pledged guilty and have a record that mean he wont be able to pass the good character test to sit for the Australian citizenship test in the next 4 years. Is it true? Can i press charges against him now?
> 
> Would you please help me with this?
> 
> Thank you so much,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ushi -

Thanks for the note. Likely no effect on your Australian visa as long as you declare the refusal and provide an accurate explanation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



monu958 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been following your posts for a while now. Just wanted to know something about the impact of a declined New Zealand residence works visa on my future Australian visa applications.
> 
> I have been working as a cafe manager in New Zealand, and I received a positive skill assessment from Vetassess. Moreover, I scored a band score of 7.0 on IELTS that makes my point a total of 65 if I get a nomination from any states. Hopefully, I will approval from SA or NT.
> 
> My employer in New Zealand breached some employment laws so my residence application was declined. I did not do anything wrong. I have all the documents say about employer's wrongdoing.
> 
> Will this declined New Zealand application affect my future applications in Australia (DIBP)?
> 
> Thanks in advance and I hope to hear from you soon.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Ushi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jasmine197 -

Thanks for the note. No substantial obligations are placed on the family sponsor for a family sponsored subclass 489 visa, other than declaring on the application that the sponsor "will support the applicant and help the applicant settle in Australia."

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jasmine197 said:


> Hello Mark, I am not sure how to post a new question so hopefully this ends up in the right place, apologies if not. My question is to do with family sponsorship to gain extra points. If an aunt sponsors my husband (I will also be on the application but he is the main applicant) are there any conditions etc that are placed on my relative as a sponsor? We are trying to find the easiest way to get a visa so are looking into lots of different routes and just wondered if there are any conditions before we asked her if she would consider it? Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

Thanks for the note. The answer depends entirely on the type of visa you're considering and what you mean by "a longer duration of time". Would be happy to discuss in detail with you at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more info and online booking.

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Thank you Mark,
> 
> Me and my wife have permanent resident Visa of Australia and that is why we took our mother along with us on a 3 month visitor visa so that she could spend some time with us in Australia.Now, we would wish to keep our mother with us for a longer duration of time and that is why I was wondering if we could apply for a long term visa for her while she is still in Australia. She does not have condition 8503 on her visa.
> 
> Which option has a better chance for long term visa grant : While she is in Australia or when she is back in India. We just wish to save money and time but also want to ensure that she gets a long term visa.Please suggest.
> 
> Regards
> hopeforoz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jasmine197 -

No limit on number of EOIs you can lodge. For employer sponsored, employer must choose to sponsor you for PR whether immediately (using direct entry pathway of 186 or 187 visa) or after 2 years on 457 (using TRT pathway of 186 or 187 visa). No way to force the employer to choose to sponsor you for PR however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jasmine197 said:


> Sorry Mark, forgot to ask the other part of the question. How many EOI's can you put in, can you put one in for each different visa option that is open to you, ie family sponsor, regional sponsor, employer sponsor to cover all options in the hope that one will be picked up or is this either not allowed or would it be detrimental. If you managed to get an employer or regional sponsored visa but only the temporary one, can you apply for the permanent visa after two years by yourself or do you have to have an employer that will offer the permanent sponsorship. Do you have any control over turning the temporary visa into a permanent one or are you reliant on either your original employer or state/regional permanent visa being offered. Hope this makes sense. Thank you for reading this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kotipatiya -

Thanks for the note - no way to predict, DIBP's processing timelines are utterly unpredictable. Wish I had better news - but be patient!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kotipatiya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm a NSW 190 HR Adviser candidate. I received my invitation on March 2016, however things were delayed to my divorce and my daughter's custody issue. Finally, on 25th November 2016 I was able to get the 1229 form signed and an affidavit signed by my ex regarding my daughter and submitted the documents on the same date. By that time I had already received the visa application summary from GSM Brisbane indicating, my name my De facto's name and my new born second daughter's name. On 6th January 2017 I got an email saying my elder daughter's application is a valid application. Immi acknowledgement of a valid visa application. On 13th February 2017, the local Australian High Commission has called my ex to verify whether he signed a document as such and he has told yes. So, everything is fine as per my knowledge. When do you think that I can expect some good news? and also let me know your opinion as to that nothing can o wrong after this right? Expecting your reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anee -

Wish I could help, but DIBP processing times are highly unpredictable. We're seeing processing times for 801 second stage applications ranging from 12-15 months, although sometimes shorter, so perhaps you'll have the visa by the end of 2017.

Best,

Mark Northam



Anee said:


> Hi Mark ,
> I have just joined this forum. Start by saying a big thank you for helping.i have been reading all the posts for a while now.
> Wonder if you could kindly help me with some advice as well.
> 820 visa granted 3 July 2015.applied for combined 820/ 801 august 2014.
> 801 applied Aug 2016.have 2 beautiful girls born in years 2015 and 2016.got married to my australian husband may 2014.still waiting on 801 .everyone I call the immigration depth, they basically have no concrete answer.immi account still says ( online application for 8
> 01) assessment in progress.
> Kind regards Anee


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mabin -

Thanks for the note. Optional whether to get the Bachelor degree assessed for points by Vetassess, however safest way is to do so prior to assessment by DIBP. If Vetassess has already issued a postiive skills assessment (and it hasn't expired) that states that the degree is equivalent to an Australian bachelor's, I don't see why you couldn't use that. No harm in having 2 skills assessments. If that skills assessment (the one not for your occupation) has already expired (ie, 3 years has passed), you could ask Vetassess for a points test advisory (PTA) on the degree rather than going through the entire skills assessment process again.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mabin said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am planning to migrate to Australia and started the process. I have positive skill assessment from Vetassess which assessed my educational qualification and skills and occupation.
> 
> Since I do Business Analyst equivalent work , I got my skill asssesed by ACS and got a positive assessment however they did not comment on my educational qualification ( Bachelor of Science and Master of Management ) as it is non ICT .
> 
> I have used the RPL route for ACS skill assessment.
> 
> 1. Should I get the educational qualifications assessed by Vetassess to claim points in EOI ? Or only after DIPB advise for it.
> 
> I submitted EOI claiming points for Educational Qualification for Business Analyst.
> 
> 2. Or the skill assessment result from Vetassess with educational qualification assessed positively (- where a different occupation is mentioned - ) can be used ?
> 
> 3. Is is OK to have multiple skill assessment - I have done both I worked on both the skills simultaneously


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Keith123 -

Thanks for the note. I'm not able to give job advice, however suggest you look for a place where people in your industry tend to visit online and put some feelers out.

Best,

Mark Northam



Keith123 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I will be migrating to Melbourne in April 2017, on a spouse/dependent visa. Under this visa I am eligible to work full-time for four years. Based on the following background, I would appreciate if anyone of you could let me know the chances of obtaining finance/investment related job in Melbourne/Sydney?
> 
> Brief about my-self: CFA passed finalist with over 4 years of professional experience in finance and accounting. Knowledgeable and experienced in financial modeling, valuations, industry research, budgeting and forecasting and economic analysis. Member of the CPA Australia and CIMA, UK with a Higher Diploma in Business management.
> 
> Appreciate your response ASAP as I am concern over my possibility of gaining a job there and ruining my career.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Matea -

Thanks for the note. I'd be patient, DIBP processing times are highly unpredictable. They must give you an answer sooner or later, by law.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



matea said:


> Hello,
> I have applied for 651 tourist visa on 10. dec. 2016 and after answering on their questions it says that it is last updated on 21.dec.2016 and now is 15. feb.2017 and I'm still waiting( 57 days) for my tourist visa to be granted or refused. I don't know what to do or think because this takes too long. I'm planning to go in June and I know that I have time but I don't know should I just stay and wait or do something bc I feel like I'm going to wait forever.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emmacha -

Thanks for the note. If your friend is breaching the work condition of her student (or other) visa, she's liable to have her visa cancelled and possibly be put into immigration detention, plus the breach will look very bad on her immigration record with DIBP. In my view, simply not worth the risk. How would DIBP find out? A disgruntled worker dobbing in the employer is one way, or someone who wants her job doing so, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



emmacha said:


> Hello Mark, good day,
> 
> I have a question related to a friend who is now living in Melbourne living with a student visa.
> 
> She is currently studying a course to improve her English, and to pay her bills she has two jobs. But none of these posts has a contract. She is given to work some hours a day and is paid in cash.
> 
> I understand that this is illegal and if someone has any notice of that, police or customs personnel, could have some problem. (penalty fee or even deport my friend out of the country ..) Is this true? Does she run into this danger? If so how could they find out about their illegal situation at work?
> 
> thank you in advance for taking you time to answer me.
> 
> Best regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Trevorhong -

Thanks for the note. The problem is that the regulation states that if you have APPLIED for or granted a student visa prior to 5 Nov 2011, the Post-Study Work Stream of the 485 visa is not available to you. Highly unfair in my opinion.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



trevorhong said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I was trying to apply for the Post-Study Work Stream visa 485 using the online form but it kept saying that I didn't have the prerequisite visa. But my first student visa was granted on the 7th of December 2011 and I have completed my Bachelor degree in Australia.
> 
> The visa condition is if I was granted my student after the 5th of November 2011 and 7th of December is pretty far off.
> 
> I have tried and contact the DIBP but all they said was to try again and send an enquiry form with the screenshots of the error message to them.
> 
> Have you ever encountered any issue like this?
> 
> thank you,
> 
> Trevor.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seekingpr -

Thanks for the note. Not having a return ticket is generally not an issue with a further onshore application, however the risk is that if she is questioned at the airport upon entry and the officer there determines she is here for more than the purposes allowed for by a visitor visa (which does not include lodging a further onshore PR visa), she could be refused entry. Safer bet is to book a return ticket as insurance against any concerns like that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



seekingpr said:


> Hi Mark,
> I and my spouse are travelling to Australia together on same flight. My spouse is on Visitor Visa and i am travelling on Permanent Resident Visa. We plan to take one way ticket and we may apply onshore partner Visa for my spouse. However, travel agent has asked either to book return ticket for my spouse or attach my ID proof during booking one way ticket for her. I have not seen any such requirement for visitors on Tourist Visa that they must travel to Australia with a return ticket although i understand that they do want to make sure that visitors on temporary visa must leave the country before via expiry date.
> 
> Please suggest whether i should book a 2 way ticket for my wife or it is OK to attach my ID proof during ticket booking for my wife.
> 
> Also, not having return ticket for my wife, will it create any issue during laer stage when we apply for onshore partner visa for my wife? Will it compel DIBP to think that my wife travelled to Australia with an intention to be onshore and apply for Spouse visa
> 
> Thanks
> Vik


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Simonc007 -

Could be several weeks or several months depending on their backlog - recent VACCU (character cancellation/refusal unit) cases we've seen are taking 2-3 months (or more).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Simonc007 said:


> Hi mark
> 
> Wonder if you know how long i will be waiting to hear back from VACCU (visa applicant character consideration unit) thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Apples -

Strictly speaking, for the visitor visa (visitor stream, not family sponsored or business visitor stream), there is no such role as a sponsor or nominator - only an "inviter". In the strictest sense, you may not qualify to legally assist your brother in law re providing migration advice for an application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Apples said:


> Hi Mark
> In the process of applying for a tourist visa for my brother in law / sc600 I am required to fill in a form 956.
> As I am not a close relative, I assume I fit in the nominator section. (Exempt person) There appears to be no requirement for a sponsor for a tourist visa.
> My question is what is the difference between a sponsor and a nominator.
> I want to be sure I have ticked the correct box.
> Cheers
> Apples


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LittleOne -

You can lodge the second stage (subclass 801) further documents 2 years after the original application date for the 820. After changes late last year, sponsors must now generally provide an AFP police check.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LittleOne said:


> Hi Mark - quick question for you! Recently got approved for the 820 Visa...I migrated with children. When it is time to provide information for my 801 Visa, does my partner have to re-submit an Australian police check? Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ravi.nidadavolu -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, see ACS site for a complete list of documents required for their skills assessment - these are subject to change so check carefully - that's what we do every time we have a client who we are lodging an assessment for. Re 2, yes, generally, however suggest that he/she thoroughly explain the company name change and make sure that under the new company the person is authorised to provide such a document.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ravi.nidadavolu said:


> Hello Mark,
> I am preparing to get the ACS skill assessment done for me on which I have two questions.
> 1. I have completed B.SC (Computer Science) in Apr 2001 and have started working from Aug 2002 onwards. In between I have completed M.Sc (Information Technology) in Dec 2013. What are the documents which I need to submit while applying for the skills assessment?
> 2. If there is a change in the company name from the time I have left the organization, will a reporting manager still working in that new (name changed) company can provide a reference in the form of a statutory declaration?
> Please advise.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Oregontravel -

Correct. An arrest where all charges are withdrawn, dropped, dismissed, etc is not a conviction. That being said, safest bet is to get your FBI police clearance certificate and double check that a conviction has not been erroneously recorded - it happens.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



oregontravel said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am traveling this spring with my mother to Australia from the United States under an ETA. I noticed they asked about criminal convictions. I was arrested 5 years ago for DUII in the United States but the charge was dismissed after I completed a brief treatment course and I was never convicted. I have no other criminal history. I do not need to disclose this arrest because it didn't result in a conviction, correct? I am ok to travel to Australia?
> 
> Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Charlotteb -

Thanks for the note. Once the PR visa is granted, a breakdown of the relationship would have no impact at all on anyone's visa. If the breakdown occurs after you are granted the subclass 309 visa, there is a pathway for you to claim the subclass 100 PR visa based on joint custody of the children. The tricky part would be if the relationship breakdown occurred prior to the grant of the 309 visa - this could put the visa application in jeopardy. Would be happy to discuss in detail with you at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more info and online booking.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



charlotteb said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a query about my rights in the very very unlikely case of relationship breakdown as I'm just trying to put my mind at rest. I've applied for a 309/100 visa and expect to go straight to permanent residency as my Australian husband and I have 4 children together and have been married more than a decade. The children all have Australian citizenship by descent. If my husband and I were to separate, I am assuming:
> 
> 1. I would still be able to stay in Australia in my own right and he would not have the power to get me sent back to the UK.
> 2. Alternatively if I wanted to return to the UK I would need his permission to take our children with me.
> 
> Are these scenarios correct?
> Many thanks for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alan -

Thanks for the note. Bottom line: they may be, depending on the circumstances. Suggest you see if the nominated skills assessor for your occupation will issue any sort of assessment of the work experience as DIBP will generally defer to that. The big question - during those 2 years (as an apprentice) were you working at the level of a (skilled) cabinet maker? The skills assessor should be able to be of assistance with that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alanformagio said:


> Hello Mark, how are you? Hope you are great.
> 
> I intend to apply for a 189 visa as a cabinet maker, I have over 5 years as experience but 2 of them as an apprentice, I would like to know if these 2 years are considered relevant experience, I have all the papers to prove that I was employed at that time and working for over 40 hours/week.
> 
> Thank you in advance.
> 
> Alan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amer -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, if you have a positive skills assessment from ACS that is RPL and does not issue an opinion on your bachelor degree, you may want to get the degree assessed for points purposes by Vetassess - that's the safest way.

Re 2, you'll need a police clearance certificate from all countries you have spent a total of 12 months or more in during the last 10 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amermushtaq55 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for a subclass 189 and my ACS is cleared. I have two question:
> 
> 1. I am working as a software engineer but my degree is in Business. ACS cleared my application, but can this be a problem for the case offices once I send it my application after getting the invitation?
> 
> 2. I got my bachelors degree from USA in 2006. I applied for my subclass 189 in Jan 2017. Do i need to get a Charcter/Police certificate from the US? I read on the immigration website that it is not needed if I was in another country before 10 years. Can you please confirm that.
> 
> Appreciate your help.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Amer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Noelle -

I don't have enough info about your circumstances to answer your question, but would be happy to discuss in detail with you at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more info and online booking. Generally speaking however, a person can count time living/working in a designated area towards the 887 if the time was spent while the person held a bridging visa obtained from a 489 visa application, in addition to time while the person held the actual 489 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Noelle said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hope you are well. Just a question again for 887 visa. I have moved to a Regional area 2 months prior to my 489 visa grant. Will that be counted on my 887 visa application?
> 
> Here's my timeline:
> November 2014 up to present- living in a Regional area.
> January 16, 2015- My 489 Visa was granted while I was off shore
> January 21, 2015- I came back to Australia (I was overseas for 1 week only)
> January 17, 2017- Applied for 887 Visa
> 
> Do you think there will be any issues with my 887 visa application in terms of residency requirements?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gabby -

That's the default way those read, no problem. The entire suite of medical exams for a PR visa (801) is required for the 820 as the 820 and 801 are always a combined application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gabby said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I see this has already been answered but couldn't see your reply.
> 
> I have applied for the 801 Defacto partner visa, but eMedical and referral letter, states client visa details as BS801 Spouse(permanent) which is incorrect and it doesn't mention 820 temporary? Is this something that needs to be changed ie contact Immigration, or is it set to a default?
> 
> Look forward to your reply.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Gabby


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jujube -

Thanks for the note. You would be looking at the subclass 102 Adoption visa, which has very strict requirements you need to be fully aware of, especially for adoptions not sponsored by an Australian state adoption authority. The approval for these visas is done by DIBP (federal immigration authority) - the state authorities don't have anything to say about these visas. However, once granted, there is a family law procedure you may need to do once the child enters Australia. DIBP generally takes an approach where a visa is only granted when an applicant meets all the requirements - if that does not occur, the visa is refused.

Suggest you get professional assistance on the sc102 visa and requirements to maximise your chances of success for the visa - would be happy to discuss in detail with you at a consultation - see website below in my signature for more info and online booking.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jujube said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I'm Jujube from Singapore. I'm so glad to have found you in this forum. Thank you very much for offering advice which is always helpful to allay some really worried hearts and minds.
> 
> I am writing to ask about the Child Visa which i am preparing to apply for my adopted son.
> 
> My Husband (a medical practitioner) and myself (a director in a Singapore Hospital) obtained our Australian PR in Nov'15. It is a state sponsored one. We have yet to move permanently to Australia. We are intending to do so in the last quarter of 2018. We've been staying in Singapore all these while.
> 
> We adopted a baby from outside Singapore in July 2016. The Singapore court granted us the adoption order in Dec'16 and we're now his legal parents. We're going to apply for his Australian PR once he obtains his Singapore citizenship.
> 
> I have a few questions which I would like seek to your expert advice:
> 
> 1. I've heard that such child visas are not easily obtainable and would take a long time to receive an outcome. Is this true?
> 
> 2. Do such visa applications receive a blanket "not approved" or do they grant approval on a case-by-case basis?
> 
> 3. As my PR is a state sponsored one, would the decision to approve or not come from the state or the federal government? Would the States have the authority to grant approvals without consulting the Federal government?
> 
> That's all for now. Thanks again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Iroanuna -

Thanks for the note. There are 2 families of visas you might look at on the DIBP website (Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection) - employer sponsored visas (subclasses 457, 186, 187) and skilled visas (subclasses 186 and 187). I'd check those out first and see how your work experience and educational qualifications line up. Another very helpful site for skilled visas is www.anzscosearch.com where you can see what states are sponsoring different occupations for the subclass 190 and 489 visas, and get more info on 189 visa occupations as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IROANUNA said:


> Thank you soo much for this opportunity.
> 
> Am from Nigeria and currently in Nigeria. I really want to migrate to Australia and work there on a permanent basis.
> 
> Would really appreciate it if iget informations on how to start the process. would want a step by step approach so as to really understand if i have got any chances of succeeding.
> 
> Am 30 years old with a B.Sc in chemistry, 1 year experience in vegetable oil company and over 5 years experience in banking industry.
> 
> I await any suggestion/contribution that would place me in the right direction.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Msaay -

Thanks for the note. If the children held 489 visas when you apply for the 887, then they would automatically be considered as Members of the Family Unit (MOFU) and could be included in the 887 application regardless of their age. At this point the 24 year old would be past the age limit to apply for a new visa as a dependent child, and the 22 year-old would need to be shown to be financially dependent on you but would become ineligible if he turned 23 prior to the 489 (or other dependent child visa) being granted.

You may want to get a professional assessment of the circumstances to see what options exist for your children re: migration as there are a number of other factors that must be considered (too many to go into here) in assessing whether a child is eligible for inclusion as a dependent applicant for a visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Msaay said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am on 489 visa and living in regional area since 1st of July 2015, and planning to apply for 887 visa in September 2017 as my husband went overseas on 22nd of October and was back in Australia in 27th of December. I have two children overseas aged 24 and 22 and I have included them while applying 489 visa as non-migrating, they did their medical and police check as well. Will they be eligible to get 887 visa as us.Could you please advise me regarding this matter.Thank you.
> 
> King regards,
> 
> Msaay.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jace -

Thanks for the note - I will assume you're asking about the subclass 300 Prospective Marriage Visa (aka PMV). Processing times tend to be in the range of 9-12 months, but are highly unpredictable - no good way to predict and I wouldn't depend on any estimates, including mine, in your planning (!).

Re: met in person July 2016, not an issue by itself, but you'll want to make sure that you provide lots of evidence to show the three legal relationship requirements for the 300 visa:

* That you've met
* That you are known to each other
* That you genuinely intend to enter into a spousal relationship

Re: evidence, think about the above items - that's the key. Note that for the PMV DIBP doesn't look for living together evidence, but social and commitment evidence are certainly looked at.

I'd consider doing medicals and police checks 3-6 months after lodgment unless DIBP asks you for them sooner, as they expire in 12 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jace said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am about a month away from being able to (finally) afford the Marriage Visa for my fiance in USA. While I have been trying get everything together, the nerves that all this prep and all this money could result in a refusal, but I still try to remain optimistic.
> 
> My concerns (as of this moment, i'm sure more will arise closer to the application time ) are:
> 1. We met in person for the first time in July 2016, but have not been able to since, as we have been saving like crazy to afford this visa - and the extras to boot. Would this be a concern? We are looking at getting him over here (hopefully in May -- if not at some point). Note: We have been talking literally everyday since we first met in September 2015.
> 
> 2. I have heard conflicting reports, but are you able to confirm whether the PMV 300 is now at a processing time of approx 12 months (for Washington DC)? I saw your post replying to Mish how the 801 processing times have gone up too, due to further scrutiny on visas.
> 
> 3. Is there like a key focus form of evidence, that I should definitely make sure is in my visa, that is normally overlooked? I have scoured the Partner booklet, even ticking off if I have evidence for what they have listed, but just want to be safe.
> 
> 4. In your experience, is it better for Medicals/Police/FBI checks be done at the start of application or after request?
> 
> Sorry, if some of these answers have been answered previously.
> Thank you so much in advance. Truly appreciate your help.


----------



## RyRy1812

Hi Mark

I have a rather long post, but It ends with a question so yay!

My partner Rudolf will be accepting a post graduate course at the university of Queensland soon and we would like to go to Australia together. We met when we both were studying in Australia and have lived together in Australia for over a year. The issue is we are both not of the same nationality (He is Austrian and I am Singaporean) and I have been refused for a Graduate Visa last year.

Due to this we find ourselves in a slightly more complicated situation than most couples. We have been traveling in Austria and Europe for the last 2 and a half months and I am now back in Singapore and he is in Austria. 

We have documents such as a shared lease, a shared bank accounts in Australia and flight details as well as pictures to prove that we were together in Europe. On our last visa applications, we had also put each other down as de facto partners. I am also financially dependent on him as I do not have employment in Singapore.

However, a different migration agent has stated that this may not be enough to make our case as we do not have hard evidence to show (i.e. A shared address in Austria or Singapore) and that our time apart now may not help our case.

As you can see, we are in a weird situation where we really can't live with each other anymore as we are not from the same country. I just wanted to know if this is actually true and if our 12 months of living together in Australia can still count us as de facto?

Ryan


----------



## Tony88

Hi, Mark.

We lodged our partner visa application in May 2013 and got rejected by DIBP in September 2015. we lodged an appeal to AAT 2 weeks after that. after 17 months of waiting, we attended to a hearing and won the case on 9/3/2017. The member gave an oral decision right after the hearing. I just wonder how long it will take to get the Visa because in my case it's almost 4 years. 

Thank you.


----------



## JRS

Hi Mark,

Need your valuable suggestions on this topic please...

I have applied for ACS with ANZSCO - 261112 - Systems Analysts. I have 12 yrs of Exp in IT. Experiences are from Networking, System administration and infrastructure services. So we choose 261112 to relate all this Experiences. But ACS has calculated the second half (6 yrs) exp as infrastructure services as the close match and out from this 6 yrs they deducted 4 yrs. So from 12 yrs exp they considered only 2.9 yrs which will never fetch me points to submit EOI. Moreover my age will be 33 next month and i will loose 5 points there. 

Is there any way to change the code and the RR and apply a fresh ACS ?
Will the previous letter from employers and SD on RR will affect us if we are ready to change those in this point for reapplying?
Is there possibilities to change the first half exp RR to match 261112 ?
Can we apply ACS with different job codes ?
Will ACS look into previous history (RR and Stat)also and gives some negative impact ?

If someone faced the same situation already , please guide me how to come out from this situation. Your suggestions and feedback's are really valuable for me in this time as i have already spend much on agent and i don't want to look back rather than explore all the possibilities.


----------



## Chris0628

Hi Mark,

Just received 489 from SA.

The company I work for in Sri Lanka does International IT Projects and the current project I'm involved in is for an Aus customer. 

I worked in Aus from Dec-2016 to Feb-2017 using the 400 Visa and I was based in VIC (Tatura/Shepparton).

Right now im back in Sri Lanka and hoping to get back on the 489 to continue with the above-mentioned project.


Q1: Can I continue to work in VIC (Tatura/Shepparton) for the new couple of months?

Q2: In Jul I'll be heading back the Sri Lanka and the move Adelaide with my family where we will settle down.... Can I still continue to work for the above customer in Tatura/Shepparton?


----------



## Anitawill

Hi Mark,

Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated!

I have recently joined this forum and my question is on the Contributory Parent 143 visa:

I applied the Parent visa for my mother a few weeks back while my mother is here with us in Australia on a tourist visa with 12 months stay period(multiple entries allowed during this time). 

The Contributory Parent visa application which I applied for was sent back as there is an 8503- No Further Stay condition on her tourist visa. The parent visa requires the applicant to be onshore at the time of applying for this visa.

As she has multiple entries on the tourist visa I wanted to know if she could go back to her country so we could apply for the parent visa here and then come back on the same tourist visa again. 

Also, does the current tourist visa get canceled as soon as we apply for the parent 143 visa here?

Any help would be really appreciated. Thank you.


----------



## micktorres

*Partner subclass 801*

Hi Mark,
Im about to pass all my requirements for my Permanent Partner visa. But I'm just worried about my AFP Check, since i got a "Destroy or Damage Property" offence,but without conviction and has a bond of good behaviour for 12 months. Will it affect my application? What's the worst case scenerio for my application? I hope you can help me on this one. Thank you in advance


----------



## JCMH

Hi Mark,

I just lodged my 190 visa application. I would like to know approximately how long it will take for DIBP to process my application.

Occupation: Solicitor
EOI submitted: 22 Feb 2017
NSW Invitation: 6 March 2017
NSW Nomination Application Submitted: 6 March 2017
NSW Nomination Application Approved: 20 March 2017
DIPB Visa Application Submitted: 20 March 2017
Last Update of Documents: 23 March 2017

Could you please advise what will happen next and an anticipated time frame for processing?


----------



## Joarc

Dear Mark,

I have a positive assessment from ACCA for my architectural qualification. Large part of my work experience in the last 10 years was as project manager, design manager and interior designer. For all of them I was hired on the basis of my architectural background, for which the scope relied on those knowledge and skills. I'd be happy to share the scope of works if it helps you assess better.
However, these jobs are not under the strict categories of closely related occupations for an architect. I was not able to get any advice from ACCA. 

I have just received invitation to apply for visa189 and before I lodge the application, I wanted to have some assurance that there is possibility of arguing this case. Is there a chance to make my case or is it a definite no?

I would appreciate any advice you may have on how to go about this.
Thanks very much!


----------



## michaelj

*Partnership visa help required*

Hi Mark,

My name is Michael. I am new to this forum.

I would like to start by saying how thankful we are to have you answer our questions in your own time. Thank you kindly.

In keeping in short ..but giving you the info you need we have a question:

My partner is German. We met in 2013 in Australia when she was on holiday. We kept in contact for the next 12-18 months at which point we organised to meet again and she visited Australia a second time. After this holiday together we considered our relationship serious, and started seriously planning a future together. 
I moved in Feb 2015 to Germany to live with her, and have lived there for 2 years and 1 month.

Our next step is for her to try living in Australia, and we are planing now to get her visa.

We believe our best shot is the partner visa.. either offshore or onshore.. we are currently still discussing this.

Our questions are :

At the moment i have moved back to sydney first to find work before she comes so we are currently not living together, but of course the relationship is ongoing, and we speak and write each other daily.

I see that there is a mention, that "any periods of seperation must only be temporary"

As we are currently not living with each other, how flexibile is this term?

Should we be applying for the partner visa immediately ?

Question 2 :

My partner has received permission to make a 1 year career break from her current job where she has been for 14 years.

If she applies onshore for the partner visa, during the processing time is she able to leave Australia for a period of perhaps 1-2 months ..( this would be after 12 months in Australia) if she decides to stay.. as we will go back to germany and must organise to cancel the contract etc for her appartment, and cancel her job and ship her things to australia) before returning to australia.

We would like to know if a period of time away from Australia is possible as above to help settle her affairs back there without affecting the visa.

Thank you kindly for your advice Mark.

Michael


----------



## moni

Hi
I am a resident of australia since 2012 n till now i have stayed for one year in Au. Now my visa show that my P.r is valid till oct 2017. Do i need to leave the country after that . Please advice m confised


----------



## wfan

*Applying for Tourist Visa and Confused*

Hi Mark, My boyfriend from Brisbane invited me to have a vacation in Australia this July which is also his bday for only 22 days since i have a work i need to go back to. I wanted to know which relationship status should i tag our relationship since there is no boyfriend-girlfriend option there and we are not really living together. I am only applying for Tourist Visa and NOT a Partner Visa. I bought my ticket already and he will partially shoulder some of my expenses there like accommodations and transportation. What do you suggest?


----------



## AltecLansing

Hi Mark, 

My girlfriend and I applied for PMV 300 3 months ago. Apart from Acknowledgment of Application Received we have received no correspondence yet.  Today I logged in and noticed that the information in Application Mailbox has been changed, instead of my email receiving correspondence it now says : "The applicant has not agreed to receive electronic correspondence for this application" Does this mean even on the immi.gov website there will be no correspondence? 

Any advice on how to resolve this issue?


----------



## Ejona

Hi Mark,

I applied for a defacto visa in November 2016.

When I logged in my immi account a few weeks ago I noticed a link under my application that says "View Health Assessment" and when I click on it I get: "This person is required to complete health examinations for this visa application. Click on the link below to organise these health examinations." I then get a HAP ID and a Referral letter.

On the other hand, when I go to the document checklist for partnership visa on the immi website, its written: "You and all dependents, regardless of whether they are in Australia with you, will need to undertake health examinations. The results of a health examination are valid for 12 months. Do not organise your health examinations until you are asked to do so by your case officer." 

At this point, I am not sure what to do? Do I go ahead and get the health examinations done because its says I am required to do those when I log in my immi account, or do I wait until I get instructed to do so by a case officer? Would I get instructed via email by the case officer?


----------



## Salman12

Hi mark, 
As I am new have no idea where to get ideas from. 
I just want to get some opinions about the visa I have applied in one of the high risk country. As I am an Australian citizen and my partner is a new Zealand passport holder. We all family live here expect my elder sister. I am getting married on 4 of may and I want all of my family be together on the wedding day. so I have applied my sister a visitor visa sponsor family visa. She got refused a visitor visa 5 years ago. she is married and have 3 children. 3 of them going to school but she just want to bring the younger one who is 5 years old. As immi have asked for fingerprints and they have provided 3 days back. Can you please give me some opinions if she have any chances of getting the visa approved. 

The evidence we have provided, Her bank statement which is around about $10,000. letter from her employer stating the leave of 3 weeks. letter from school for my nephew, leave of 3 weeks. proof of property which is on her name. letter from her husband giving permission of my nephew to go and statement to come back. and her kids which she have to go back and take the responsibility. 

evidence I have provided, my bank statement. my invitation letter, and stating I will be cover all the needs while she is in Australia, accommodation, food etc. hotel contract for marriage reception my marriage certificate.
Thanks in advance


----------



## sahmedraza

*309 Partner Visa*

Hi Mark

I am PR holder (currently in Australia) and going to lodge partner visa application, we are married for more than 7 years and have 2 kids.
I have two questions
1. Should I wait for my partner's application being made online and then submit form 40SP or i can complete form 40SP (online) any time.
2. Is this necessary for me to remain in Australia during the processing time of visa or i can move back to my home country i.e. Pakistan.

Thanks in advance 

Best Regards


----------



## JohnMarz

*Help please, previous sponsorship x 2*

Hi Mark, I have previously sponsored two people (17 years ago and 6 years ago). Both got TR visa then PR. Both left relationship. I have since meet someone and we have formed a permanent relationship. (Engaged recently) Known each other 8 months and I have been Phil 2 times. She is currently in Australia on 3 month tourist visa. She does not have 8503 condition on her visa. My question is what is the best way to go about being together forever in Australia? My understanding of the rules is it is a 2 year wait before you can apply and then only 'compelling' or if have 'dependant' children would be considered. 
I really do not want to have children just to get a visa but there does not seem to be any other options if we want to live in Australia. If I go PHIL to live it will basically ruin my retirement plans and ensure semi poverty for the rest of our lives. (But we would be together!)
Another temporary option would be a student visa. 
Any help or guidance would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.....


----------



## osama56

Hi Mark

I am considering a skill assessment but i am unsure whether or not i qualify for a certain pathway as described in the MSA Booklet. I have recently completed masters degree with Distinction in Mechanical Engineering from University of Nottingham UK which is an accredited course and comes under Washington Accord. However, My 4 years Bachelors Degree also in Mechanical Engineering was from NED University of Engineering & Technology which does not fall under any accord. 

My question is, with such a case, can i apply under Washington Accord pathway or CDR is the only option?


----------



## albert0205

*190 Visa*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Albert0205 -
> 
> Likely not a lot you can do. Did you use a registered migration agent with an OMARA MARN number? Sometimes offshore agents who are not registered with OMARA operate "differently". While 10 months is not a highly unusual wait for a 190, it still may be cause for concern. I would request a copy of all sent and received emails from the agent to confirm the correspondence with DIBP. That being said, DIBP seems to be taking longer and longer with some application, and there are no legal time limits on what they do.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you for responding Mark and Apologies I was out of town and could not reply to you. I have applied to a registered MARA agent who is in India with a MARA Number(Offshore). He has send 4 - 5 reminder email and he just received an auto reply from the Immigration. Today it's been 338 days since I have logged for the 190 Visa and I still have no response from the CO. IMMI account status still shows "Received". I have uploaded all the documents on day 1 and also updated latest pay slips and proof of employment again on 17 Dec 2016. Could you please advise if there is a contact number that I can call and check on the status?

Albert Joseph


----------



## Divyashree

Hi Mark,
I am Divya, We are planning to apply for 189 VISA under ANZSCO Code 261313(Software Engineer)
I have totally 7 years(Feb 2010 to Mar 2017) of experience in IT as a software engineer , but I was on 9 months Maternity leave(18 Sep 2014 to 30 June 2015) out of which 4 months was paid leave(Sep 2014 to Jan 2015) and rest 5 months was unpaid leave.
1. Do I have to mention this while applying for ACS or DIBP.?
2. If yes , then how many months experience will they be deducting? as I will fall short of required 10 points for experience , if they do so.
3. Also if I have to mention, at what stage do I have to mention about Maternity leave availed?

Last time I have applied for ACS for the same code 261313 in Apr 2013 and they had considered my experience from Feb2012 to Apr 2013 (deducting 2yrs from my overall experience).
Please reply.

Thanks,
Divya


----------



## Kuhu

Hi Mark,

I have completed my Bachelor in Business Administration with no major or specialization but I feel that my qualification does not relate to anything in Skilled Occupation List, unless if I am wrong?

I have an option to apply for 485 visa in PSW stream but my question is if after getting 485 I do study a course that can give me a place in SOL then what course could it be, related to my current qualification? and what if the course does not complete in 2 years of 485 visa then what are the options I have to continue staying in Australia? Do I apply for an extension in 485 or re-apply 485 or have to go back to my country and then apply for a Student Visa again?

I have completed 3 x unpaid internships in Sales and Marketing so I am hoping I will find a job with a company who can help me with Employer Sponsorship as Sales and Marketing is part of COSL but what if I do not find such a job or an Employer to sponsor then I will be in the same position as now after 2 years of being on 485 visa.

Please advise. Any suggestion would be really helpful.
Thank you


----------



## zamranyazdani

Hi Mark,
I received my invitation under subclass 189 recently. I qualified with 65 points. I need some help related to the documents requested by my case officer. I have claimed my wife's points too. The case officer has requested for the following documents;
For me;
1) Personal particulars for character assessment
2) Police clearance certificates
3) Evidence of eligibility for partner points
4) Polio vaccination certificate

and the same for my wife except point 3.

I have completed Form 80 for the point 1 for both, me and partner. Police character certificates were already attached initially.. i don't know why is he asking again.
Polio vaccination certificates have also been attached now.
Now comes the main point. Evidence of eligibility for partners points

My wife and I are working for the same organization but she has been deputed in middle east for different projects from 2011. So she travels very frequently to hometown due to which she have an extensive travel history. What documents i need to produce sufficient evidence for my wife's points or is it just the assessment from relevant skills assessment body.

I would highly appreciate if you could help me decide what documents I need to provide further. Thanks


----------



## shamtah

Dear Mark 

Thank you very much for this very helpful thread.

I have a PR visa 189.After living and working in Australia for three months can I apply for a visitor visa for my parents to come and visit me in Australia, or do I need to be residing in Australia for more than three months before they can be granted a visitor visa?

Kind regards.

Shareef


----------



## Mmissa

Hello,

I am from Lebanon and I applied for visa 300 on october 14 2016, i got a call that my form 80 is being sent to Australia after around 1 month of my application (Medicals already done in November 2016).
I want to ask what is the average processing time of the form 80 for applications in Lebanon?
What happens when the Form 80 is back?
Thank you


----------



## djhbkdave

Hello Mark,

Hope your doing good.

I have 489 regional sponsored visa nominated by QLD. I am an IT professional , and in qld there are very little IT related jobs in regional QLD. I did apply more than 50 jobs within the past 3 months, but wasnt successful. I have decided to Move to Adelaide SA hoping that I could land a Job in adelaide as the whole SA state is considered regional. 

when i reviewed my VISA conditions in my grant letter. it states "Must live in in specified area - 8539". and it has all the regional areas in australia and it does not mention that I have to live and work only in the the state which I was sponsored.

if I move to SA, is there a chance that it could be a problem when I apply for PR(887 Visa). I believe it shouldn't be a problem as long as I stay in regional australia. would like to know whether You have come across any clients similar to my story.

Would appreciate your advice . Thank you in Advance.


----------



## dzanyOne

Hi Mark,

I have a quick question regarding visa SC 489. Is this visa type renewable or extensible. Reason I asked, I am unable to meet the 2 year live in specified region requirement of visa 887 and wondering what my other options are. Thanks so much


----------



## wingjammer

*Wrong visa issued*

Hi Mark,

A filipino friend of mine has applied for a Prospective Sposue visa, then got married, supplied the marriage certificate and letter requesting the application to be switched to a Spouse visa. The marriage certificate and letter was handed in person in at the VFS office in Manila. She then waited months for what they assumed would be a Spouse visa. But when issued it is a prospective spouse visa and she is now legally married in the Philippines. The Partner Migration Handbook clearly says she could apply for the visa application to be switched a spouse visa.

What is her best approach to resolve this? She has called the VFS who has told her they can't do anything for her as they only deal with pending visas, once issued they no longer have any involvement.

Any suggestions on what to do next? They have waited a long time and spent all the money they can on the application and hope that Immigration will recognise this as a mistake as they did supply their marriige certificate and clearly state in their initial application there was a good chance they would marry before the application was approved.

Any help would be most appreciated.


----------



## tijanaoc

In the partner migration booklet it states that copies of the applicant's current and all previous passports are required. I'm wondering if they are really strict about this. My husband (applicant - Irish citizen) has his current and previous passport (which was valid from 2004-2014). He does not have his two passports previous to that (which I am guessing were 1984-1994 and 1994-2004). Is this likely to cause issues with DIBP?


----------



## Munawer ali

Hi i am about to apply for 887 visa at the end of April 2017. i have few queries. i will be grateful if some one can answer these:

1. on the immigration website it says (Unless asked to do otherwise, you should provide 'certified copies' of original documents, rather than the original documents.) so every document including residence proof (lease/utility bills/Bank statements) and work requirement proof (employment reference letter/payslips/tax returns) have to attested or just we have to upload original scanned documents?

2. Police clearance Certificate for Australia has to be uploaded from beginning or we have to wait for case officer to ask for it?

3. i was living with my brother for whole duration of 2 years so a declaration from my brother saying the same will be submitted. will it has to be simple declaration or has to be done in front of some licensed or registered person.?

4. will i require fresh police clearance certificate from my home country till the date i entered Australia or the old police clearance certificate which i submitted while taking 489 visa will be enough as i have never gone to my home country during 2 years

5. will i move to bridging visa after applying for 887 or will i remain on 887 till the result get announced?

6. will i need to undergo health assessment again for 887 visa?

7. will i have to upload 1193 form (communicating by email with the department) to my 887 application?

regards
Munawer Ali


----------



## Mimamasalha

Hi Mark i applied for my temporary visa (100) on the 3rd of April 2013 i came to Australia on the 27th of December 2013 I got my PR on the 16th of June 2015 when do you reckon I'm eligible to apply for my citizenship? Thanks


----------



## Kaiya

Hello Mark,
My relationship has broken down, I have not told the immigration yet. I am aware that for my best interest I need to inform immigration as soon as I can. I am advised by an immigration lawyer that I should do nothing, just wait for final decision of the immigration and then go from there.
I am not sure about the advice. I'd like to hear from you.
Thank you


----------



## sozguy

Hi Mark,

I have an 8 year old niece in the Philippines, and unfortunately her family are having trouble taking care of her. I am an Australian, and my wife and I would like to bring our niece here to provide her with what she needs. We are wondering what visa we need to be able to do this?

Thanks in advance and thanks again for your advice in the past.


----------



## barradave

*Multiple entry visa information*

Hi Mark,

I posted a multiple entry visa information required post in the Immigration and Visa Forum.

When I tried to open it, the following message came up:
_Sorry, That Australia Forum Page Was Not Found.
It looks like the Australia Forum - moving overseas page you are looking for doesn't exist on the site. There could be a number of reasons for this. The article may have been removed or the link you clicked on may have been incorrect.[/I_
[/I]
My request post was on the lines of:

I live in Australia with my Thai partner and her son (spouse permanent residency applies). Her daughter, husband and their 2 year old daughter have been given an Australian Visa with the following information:

Visa Stream: Tourist
Visa Grant Date: 09 March 2017
Stay For/Until: 3 Month(s)
Entries: Multiple
Last Date to Arrive: 09 March 2018

Conditions:
8101 - No Work
8201 - Max 3 Months Study

The Department and Immigration Officer who issued the Visas informed my step daughter that she has a 12 month visa and does not need to reapply for a visa every time she re enters Australia during the visa period.

I took the information to mean that they need to return to Thailand every 3 months, then return to Australia. I have been informed by others that this is not the case. They have told me that the family simply has to travel to a nearby country such as NZ or Bali, stay 1 or 2 nights, then return to Australia.

I am unsure which situation is the correct one and was wondering if you can put me on the right track please?

Kind Regards,
Barradave


----------



## HarryD

*Temporary Graduate 485 Visa*

Hi Mark

I hope you are well. I just have a query regarding the Australian study requirement for the Temporary Graduate Visa 485 (Post Study Work Stream)

I've been informed by an education provider here in Sydney that I need to have completed the 2 year study requirement with the same education provider in order to be eligible for this visa.

I was told this in the context of receiving credit transfer for previous study.

It's my understanding that I can use credit transfer from previous study with a CRICOS registered education provider here in Australia towards the Australian study requirement.

I had look on the DIPB's website and spoke with them over the phone, they sent me a link with further info which seems to confirm the above.

Here's what I found on their website -

The Australian study requirement

Completion letters from your education provider stating:

the date that the course started and ended
the date that course requirements were met
the location of the campus where you studied
whether the study involved any distance learning whether the study was full-time or part-time
the language in which instruction was given

Certified copies of course transcripts.
Where credit has been granted, it must state whether the credit granted on the basis of study was in a course that also met the conditions of the Australian study requirement.
Example: You studied a course in Australia that was taught in English and registered with CRICOS.

If any credits have been granted towards the completion of your award then please ensure your transcript clearly indicates the details of these transferred credits.

I'm currently studying Advanced Diploma of Accounting and I've completed Cert IV in Accounting and Diploma of Accounting. Upon completing Advanced Diploma of Accounting I will have studied 92 weeks in total.

The LOE from the education provider which I've enrolled with for the Bachelor of Accounting states 4 semesters totaling 104 weeks of study, however I'm seeking exemptions for a further 2 subjects which would reduce the amount of time studying bringing me in under the 2 year study requirement.

My calculations are 3 full semesters at 4 subjects per semester = 78 weeks and one semester at half a study load which I assume would give me 13 weeks study, totaling 91 weeks study.

Given the above would I meet the Australian study requirement for post study work stream?

Thanks for your help Mark, much appreciated 

Regards,
Kevin


----------



## Dedicated10

Hi mark , 
How are you? Thanks for all the advice you give. I just wanted to ask that my close freind applied for an acs assesment after completing one year Australian work experience but they refused saying it does not match the duties of ict support engineer but as she was doing proffesional year at the same time. When she compleyted her PY she went with her previous occupation computer network and system engineer the one she had the provisional assesment for before. So the question is she has been waiting for more than 3 weeks for assesment, Do you know why wait is so long? Hope to hear from you soon.
Regards


----------



## sha8080

Hi,

I need some information before i proceed to apply the partner visa. 
I know my partner ( australian citizenship) for almost 2.5 years. And alternately travelling to Melbourne and now we decided to apply the partner visa for me, so that i can be in Melb for good.

The problem is - I am not living in melb up for 12 months because im just on ( visitor visa). just been in melb for a visit every 2 or 3 months for 10 to 12 days. Been doing that for almost 2.5 years. Any possibility that i can apply for the partner visa so that i can stay in Melb?


----------



## Yogi5252

Hi Mark I am applying 489 to 887 soon have few questions if you don't mind me asking-

- For functional English can I show my 2 years full time Diploma cert?

- I traveled 6 weeks overseas in annual leave will this time be deducted from my 2 years reginal stay requirement?

Thanks


----------



## bbtom

Hi Mark,

Need your valued experience and advice .......

I got an invitation to apply for PR last week. In the mean time my employer here in India want to send me to Sydney for two months for a short term assignment. The visa processing in progress. I have the following questions......

1. Can I process the PR application while my current employer visa application in progress? Do I need to wait until issue of employer visa to submit application for the PR?

2. During my PR application, do I need to officially inform the immigration dept. regarding my employer visa and travel( While PR processing I might be at Sydney). Where can I find the information ( immigration web site) to confirm?

Thanks & Best Regards


----------



## mark_777

Hello Mark,
I am a software engineer working in US. 

1. I see that Australia has a point system, but I can't find how to apply.
What form do I need, for what visa do I need to apply and where to send it?
On some sites they say that I can apply online, but doesn't say where exactly.

Is it here (Visa 189)?
border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/189-#


2. My company also has an office in Australia and I can ask them to relocate me there. Does it give additional points?

3. I believe I can immigrate using my company's sponsorship. Is it visa 457?

4. Will I loose US citizenship?


----------



## Chris0628

Hi Mark,

I work for an IT Consulting company in Sri Lanka. We have a branch in Mel CBD but it's not an office where anyone operates from...all employees working for the Aus branch works at customer locations all over Aus 100% of the time so it's just where the business registered address only. 

One of our customers is from Shepparton and I'm required to work on a project for them in Shepparton.

The Shepparton zip code is in a regional area


My 489 is from SA.....

The question is... if I work for the Aus Branch (Mel-CBD) BUT is required to Work 100% from Shepparton.... is this in-line with the laws and regulations of the 489 taking into consideration my 489 is from SA.

Note that my wife and son will be living in SA (which is regional everywhere) and I will be commuting every 2-3 weeks back to Adelaide for a few days.


Regards
Chris


----------



## Yogesh

G'day Mark,

I have submitted my EOI on 22/03/2017 for Developer Programmer - 261312 with below points;

Age 25 points
Education 15
Experiance 10 
Australia *NSW *Work
Experiance 10
English Competent 0

Subclass 189: 60 points
Subclass 190: 65 points (60+ 5 NSW state sponsership)

Based on your knowledge and passed rounds numbers, please could you help me know by when I can expect the reply for my EOI.

Thank you,
Yogesh


----------



## arunraman7

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing well. You helped me well few years ago in getting my PR (Class 189). 
I am now getting arranged married in end of April (in India) it would be a formally Govt registered wedding. The visa I am applying for is 820 Partner temporary visa. Arranged marriage is very common in Indian culture. I would be physically meeting my fiance for the first time then. 
I am concerned how to show evidence of relationship history for this and prove that my relationship is genuine. I do not have any common financial commitments or accounts with her at the moment. However, I can create an joint account and accumulate evidence while I am waiting for the visa response. However, the wait time can only be long distance. 
Can you advice what other evidence can be provided or accumulated during this time to prove that my relationships is genuine. 

Thank you for all your help !!! 

Regards,
Arun


----------



## Chris0628

Hi Mark,
We received the 489 - 8539 visa from SA. Can I live in Adelaide and work online from Adelaide for a Mel or Shepparton company?

Regards
Chris


----------



## natasha.joseph

Good day Mark

I was wondering if you would have any suggestions on my curious case. 

- I received 189 invite for 2613 on March 29th -- had claimed 70 points and NO points from spouse. 

- I had applied EOI/visa for only me and my two kids. My husband was not included in my EOI as he is planning to stay back in India for the next 3-4 years to be with my in-laws (as they have some health issues). We could only think of him moving with us after at least 4 years. 

- Now, I am told that this would delay the visa processing period. 

- If this reason can delay the visa processing time, can we add my husband in the Immi account now and in the visa application, and let the CO know about this. 

- Can I use Form 1022 for this case OR do I need to reapply EOI?

- I have my PCC approved and medicals are scheduled for this Saturday. 

Grateful for any inputs. Many thanks, Natasha.


----------



## clairew92

*407 Visa*

Hi Mark,
I lodged a 407 training Visa application on 2nd April 2017. I have been offered a Veterinary internship and the company are more than happy to sponsor me. 
Since lodging that application I realised I would need to arrive in the country prior to that visa coming into effect (to sort accommodation, a car etc) so after phoning the European Service Centre for advice I also lodged a tourist visa. I was told that although they prefer people to enter the country on the visa they will be staying there on, this would be fine given I explain my intentions. However the tourist visa has just been refused with no right for review given that they don't feel I 'have a genuine intention to visit Australis temporarily for tourism purposes'. 
I booked flights on the original advice I was given (which I now realise was a bad idea) but it will have only been 36 days after lodging my application when I am due to fly so unlikely I will have it approved at that point.
Any advice on the messy situation would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## Serg.PA

Hi Mark
Thank for your help and taking time to answer all our questions. 
Quick question. Im currently on a bridging visa A, waiting for decision on my student visa application(subclass 500). Today I received invitation to apply for a skilled independent visa(subclass 189). Can I apply for 189 visa while im on a bridging visa A?

Regards

Sergey


----------



## Sharon1961

New t this forum and just want to know if anyone has heard of the company
Australia here we come.
They are a migration company in South Yarra.
They seem great, but just asking if anyone has had dealings good or bad with them.
Not sure how to post properly!
thanks in advance Sharon


----------



## mommyofthreephau

*Dependent Child Visa For siblings???*

Hi mark! One of my kids already been granted the 445 visa (dependent child visa) last march 8 but my second still didnt grant her visa. We applied both of them of the same visa each individually. Is there any reason why the DIBP in manila didnt grant them the visa at the same time? Its been a month since my eldest had her visa but my second child still doesnt have his visa. My migration agent said its not mandatory for the DIBP to grant their visa at the same time. But they havent been responding to our agents email for a month now. Is this normal for a siblings not to get their visa at rhe same time? Btw my kids are 9 and 12 only. Im scared that maybe they will refused my second one as i cannot leave him in manila. Pls do shed some light as iam so frustrating. I've been frustrated since december when i thought they will grant us their visa but they didnt instead they ask another medical last January. And now they are not responding to any enquiries from us. Thanks Mark!


----------



## Gbparis

*801 questions*

Hi Mark,
Thanks so much for helping us out with your expertise!
My partner and I have been in Sydney now for six months with her on a temporary resident visa that we applied for together in France. We were married in France but our same-sex marriage isn't recognised here so we are classified at de-facto. 
I know we can register our relationship in nsw but it costs $250. Is it necessary for us to do that for her to apply for the PR 801? If we do, does it generally help speed things up or for it to be approved? Does it count as part of the evidence of our continuing relationship or is it instead of providing other evidence? 
Also, we have been living with my parents since we arrived so we have no rent or bills in our names here. We opened a mobile phone account but it's only in my name (it was a cheap deal in exchange for it only being in one persons name), and apart from a joint bank account with no major purchase from it we don't have any other financial proof. We have letters addressed to us at the same address from the bank but that's it. 
How can we prove our relationship is ongoing etc without bills?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## CG333

Dear Mark

I am on an 820 visa, got my 801 coming up soon.. and we are newly engaged as of a couple months ago but have made no wedding plans yet.. and I didn't think it was something unneeded to let them know (as no address/name/marriage change)

Is this something I should inform them? Will it change my eligibility? Does it matter that I'm a little late in realising this if I do need to notify them? Or should I just leave it and is not necessary

Any help would be grateful appreciated

Thank you so much

C


----------



## stroks

Good day, Mark!
I’m currently holding a M.Sc. degree and would like to apply for Australian visa with it. However, I’m also in the process of getting a PhD, which might happen to finish before a reply from immigration officials comes back. Can I update my visa application after submission, to get more score, if I get a PhD degree in the meanwhile?
Looking forward to you reply.


----------



## tabmowzo

*47sp and 40sp*

Not found this via searching, so apologies if repeat. I am just finishing up my 47sp application for a 309 via my online ImmiAccount.

A question about my sponsor's 40sp. Does she also submit from my account or create her own? It seems she should have her own but just not sure.

Thank you,
Peter


----------



## ulalaoye

Hi Mark,

I am desperately need your advice. My uncle had applied visitor visa for 2nd time now and both been refused. First refusal because require biometric which not available at his country and he tried again to apply via vhs with same reason tjat my sister sponsoring him to australia but got refused on 2nd time due not genuine enough as tourist even all the document submitted even from his boss ghat he would return to work. And he still want to go visit melbourne but in his 3rs application, there is a question stated have you applied visa before, should he be honest on his application as tick yes or just say no ? Because this time reasononly for tourism purpose aa showing the hotels booking and tours that he had booked. Please advise


----------



## Noura

*309 visa inquiry*

Hi mark,

I would like to thank you for the time and effort you put in this thread i just need some clarity regarding the 309 visa processing time as i submitted my application on the 10th of march and i know its too soon as According to the australian government dep. of immigration and boarder protection the processing time is from 11 to 16 months so i just wanted to know if it is like this for all cases or not as a friend of mine got her 309 visa granted after 3 months and also is it okay or will this further delay my application process if i apply for a visitors visa subclass 600 while waiting for my visa grant?

Thank and kind regards,


----------



## Bsquared

*Dates on partner visa application*

Hi Mark,

My partner and I are applying for an offshore partner visa. He is British and I am Australian.

I'm a little worried as we cannot remember some specific dates for the following:
- places lived in last 10 years (dates to/from when he lived at an address)
- countries visited last 10 years (dates to/from when visiting)
- dates with ex partners and their dates of births (it's not easy to confirm with some of the exs!)

My question; are immigration very strict on Having these dates correct? I assume they can check passports/look some of the info up? Or should I write a statement and attach to our app saying dates are approximate?

Thanks for your help!


----------



## Maxzone

Hello Mark, I have one question, I moved to Regional Area when I was in Bridging Visa A, and started working full time (35+). I updated my address on immigration website. After 5 weeks when my visa has approved, it had the regional address (updated).

So my question is, when I can lodge my 887.
When I moved to Regional area or when my visa got approved? 

When I checked online I found this " 887.212 the main applicant must have lived in a specified regional area for a total of at least two calendar years while holding one of the provisional GSM visas, or bridging visas associated with an application for a provisional GSM visa". 

I hope I can get a answer from you.


----------



## lostinlonnie

Does Mark respond to these queries anymore?


----------



## Desmond123

Hi,

I have a question regarding application of permanent visa subclass 100, I made the mistake of applying 1 year later the valid date. Will that affect how long it will take to process my visa? I am presently on a provisional spouse visa which was granted on 2014 lodged 2013. I applied for subclass 100 on April 2016 and still awaiting.

A reply is appreciated, thank you.


----------



## gustavocmachado

*574 to 186 visa*

Hi Mark,

I am a PhD student currently under the 574 visa, and I have submitted my PhD thesis in November 2016. I am now working on my thesis correction and will soon submit it for final approval. Once I receive the final approval I am aware the my eCoE may be cancelled as well as my student visa.

The issue is that I am currently working as a Lecturer and have applied for ENS 186 permanent residency visa (direct entry) in February 2017. So, I received a BVA which is not still in effect because of my student visa. I was told the 186 visa assessment can take up to 8 months and I am worried about my visa status between my final PhD award date (and possibly cancellation of my student visa) and the outcome of my permanent residency application.

Does my BVA get cancelled when my eCoE and student visa are cancelled (as a result of my PhD award)? What would be the options to remain lawfully in Australia until I get my PR after my PhD approval, considering I need full working rights to continue working as a Lecturer?

Your help is greatly appreciated.


----------



## bjayaysel

Hello Mark,

I know your advise in general but I was was wondering, with that caveat in mind, if you could tell me the wait time for a UK820 Visa that was refused, but remitted by the MRT. I called immigration today and they said I needed to wait another 17 months for a decision (understandably this is more than a tad distressing).

Thank you
Bee


----------



## sonatpaul

Hi Mark,

I have +ve skills assessment from TRA for Electronic Instrument trader worker with 8 years of experience. I only submitted my diploma in Electronics (3 years) to get it assessed. I also have a EEE degree to claim. So should I be approaching VETASSESS for the Point test advise to prove my Degree?

FYI, my degree is from NTU singapore which is under institute of engineers in Singapore. 

Regards,
Sonat


----------



## BionicAllah

*If new citizenship requirements come into effect.*

Hi Mark,

I know it's not come into effect yet but it most likely will. Do you think the new citizenship criteria will effect everyone? Even people who already have permanent residency and are waiting out the 1 year before apply for citizenship.


----------



## Abie83

*Citizenship*

Hi Mark 
I submitted paper based citizenship application in May 2016, money was deducted from my account on the 15th on may 2016. I haven't received any email or mail since then. I called about 6times and was told that they received my application and still going through character checks and that I just need to be patient. I haven't received any dates for the test up to now, it's been nearly 11months. Is there anything that i should do to speed up the process?

I am on a humanitarian visa which expired in October 2016. I was hoping to go for a short holiday in Bali and not sure what to do. I was told to apply for a returning visa. Is it safe and also does it affect my application?.
Thanks in advance....


----------



## sunnyd

*887 query*

Hi Mark,
I am currently on 489 visa and my visa was approved 19th dec 2014 then i moved to regional area on 1st aprill 2015. by this 1st aprill2017 i finished my 2 years condition. I applied for my 887 visa on 5th april2017. But one question kills me is i went to overseas for 35 days in these 2 years. is that going be a problem or holidays doesn't count.


----------



## SirDingo

Hi Mark,

I'm Australian and my german wife and I got married in Australia 8 years ago. We are currently living overseas. We want to return to live permanently in Australia later this year. Our main concern is her ability to work in Australia when we land.

We've looked at the option of arriving on a tourist visa and then applying onshore for a Partner Visa. But I think that means she can't legally work until the tourist visa runs out after 3 months and she then gets a Bridging Visa?

Applying offshore is possible, but logistically difficult due to me having to apply to various Oz government departments to get certified copies of our marriage certificate and birth certificate and have them sent halfway around the world so we can apply offshore.

Is there a better way for us to apply and ensure she has the legality to work when she arrives or very shortly thereafter?

Thanks very much in advance


----------



## Aleni

Hi Mark,
I am writing to get help from you. 
A few month ago, I applied for subclass 189 visa for myself. After a while, I got a notice that I have provided a false document to immigration with providing an altered work reference letter. 
Since I couldn't provide any further document to support my case, I withdraw my application.
Now, I have a partner who is applying for subclass 190. I was planning to wait 1.5 years until she gets her citizenship and then apply for partner visa. However, the new regulation that PM Turnball is planning involves further 4 years waiting after getting the PR to get the citizenship. In this case, I cannot wait for 5 years. So, I am changing my plan to lodge my application again.
Much appreciated if you could help me clarify these questions:

1- If I apply again for subclass 189 again, what's the chance that my PIC 4020 notice would come out and results in refusal of my new application?
2- If I include myself in my partner's application for 190 visa, in case that my PIC 4020 comes out, how is it going to affect the application? Is it going to results in refusal of my partner's application too or she would get her visa but mine would be refused?
3- In case that my application gets refused, how much is the chance of my success in AAT?
I am really looking forward to hearing from you.
In advance, I am extremely thankful for your help.


----------



## ygj07

Hi Mark,

Hope you can clarify this for me. I have been on visa 457 with my employer since August 2013. I have worked with them full time for more than 6 years now, since January 2011 while I was on my visa 485, then transitioned to 457. I have done some reading and it looks like ENS subclass 186 - Temporary Residence Transition is my next best step to applying PR. My employer agreed to nominate me for this visa. We actually touched base with a migration agent mid April 2017 to start the application. 

However, the immigration law for 457 literally changed overnight on April 18 2017. I am concerned my chances to apply 186 TRT is affected. Firstly, I only have 4 months left on my 457 (expires August 2017). Secondly, my nominated occupation ANZCSO 133311 that I used for my 457 is no longer in any of the new lists. From my understanding, only Direct Stream requires occupation list and TRT is not required because I have worked for my employer for more than 6 years. Can you confirm this is correct?Will the new change affect the TRT part of ENS? I looked at the Immigration website, it only mentioned Direct Entry but no mention of TRT anywhere, which concerns me.

Currently my migration agent just mentioned that my occupation is not longer on the list and they are current researching whether I can still apply PR any other way. I was wondering if you could provide an answer for all my questions above.

Obviously, with the sudden tightening of the migration law, for someone like me who has been in Australia since 2006, from studying uni to working full time making it more than 10 years living here, it is a blow to my face that after so long, there is a possibility I might not be able to stay here any longer. I hope immigration will be fair to me as i have been doing everything here legitimately, contributing a fair amount as a former foreign student and now a taxpayer.


----------



## fuzzybear

Hi Mark, looking for your input please.

We are here on a 3 year tourist visa. One of the clauses is that we can't stay more than 12 months in any 18 month period. It also has 8503, no further stay on it.

We have now had the 8503 successfully waived, which allows us to apply for another visa whilst in the country.

We are now looking at applying for a carers visa(we have passed the medical assessment by Bupa). What my question is that when we apply for the carers visa will the bridging visa that is granted have the same conditions as our original tourist visa? Meaning that we will still have to leave the country, for 6 months, after our first 12 months are up?

Hope this makes sense.


----------



## Pradeep Maheshwari

Dear Mark,

I am going to lodge my PR application (Subclass 189) before this weekend and need urgent help/suggestion with a few things:

1. I am a PhD from UNSW, Australian and I have claimed 5 points for meeting Australian Study Requirement and 5 points for Specialist Education Qualification in my EOI. Now I need to furnish documents against these claims. My question: Is my PhD degree award along with transcripts sufficient for each of these requirements? If not, what else should I include?

2. Do I need to fill and attach form 80 and 1221 as a part of additional character requirements? Are these forms compulsory and must*be uploaded at the time of lodgement?

3. Regarding character requirement, the border.gov.au website says that "Do not arrange for police certificates until we ask you to" but people have told me that they will definitely ask for police certificates at the time of visa decision and hence you should provide it upfront along with the PR application in order to save visa processing time at the later stage. Some have suggested me that provide police certificates even without waiting for their email asking for it. What should I do? Should I just apply for police certificates before I lodge my application?

Any clarification*regarding these points will be highly appreciated.*

Thanks a lot.

Regards,

Pradeep


----------



## Kraken

Dear Mark. 

Hope you can advise me on my situation. 
I lodged my 189 visa application last year with 3 applicants: my wife, my child and me. My problem is my health assessment and my child's have only 6 months of validity and they have 3 months gap. Last year, when all assessments are clear, it took the department some time to look at my case. By that time my child's assessment expired and they asked for re-exam. I had it done again. I also signed and uploaded form 815 after this assessment. After 6 weeks (standard time), they came back asking me to sign form 815!!! Maybe the CO didn't notice that I have uploaded a new form 815. Waiting another 6 weeks, they came back and now my health assessment was expired, they asked me for re-exam. 
I am tired with this process and it seems an endless loop. I have tried to email them explaining about this but it seems not help. 

Thank you.


----------



## davidtoop

*489*

Hi Mark

I am 50 years old. I have a 489 Visa which expires in December 2018. I an unable to make the full two years residency to apply for PR. Are there any options available to still obtain PR?


----------



## ffza13

3 likes given
309 visa sponsorship withdrawn and pregnant
So immi have received my sponsorship withdrawal of my ex husbands 309 visa application. 

I am currently 7 months pregnant and our relationship ceased because I found out he used my Australian status to get into the country. 

From DIBP's letter I know that they will contact him and ask him to comment on the sponsorship withdrawal and why he should stay. He won't be able to say that he has a child because I am still pregnant so how would he be able to prove this? I presume immigration would want him to produce a birth certificate but what if he cannot provide this ? 

Also does immi give him a timeframe for which he is to respond to the withdrawal of sponsorship? What will happen if he doesn't respond at all ?


----------



## Serendipitybelle

*600 visa to Bridging to 820 visa*

Hi Mark,

First of all, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge here. It's been great reading your posts.

I'm a newby here but I'll give it a go. Is it possible for a tourist 600 visa holder (not ETA) to apply for an onshore partner visa before expiry of tourist visa and in the meantime be granted a bridging visa while waiting for the outcome? I understand that the 8503 condition may be breached but just getting a lot of conflicting feedback.

Appreciate hearing from you. Thanks in advance.


----------



## barra27

*457 application abolished*

Hi Mark thanks for offering your assistance

I applied for 457 visa in Jan 17, submitted extra documents, only to now find out that as my position is no longer allowed for a visa, my application would be refused and I will be given 28 days to leave the country.

It seems very unfair, i came to Australia to study, obtained a diploma after several years, and am now having to leave, unless i apply for a new course to study. I thought the Government would make changes going forward i.e. for new applicants.

Is it worth appealing the likely refusal of 457? Are there any other options that I have?

Thankyou


----------



## Samy longue

Hello Mark


Please let me know how does Notification of intended marriage document( NOIM) goes.Is it ok if just the sponsor meet the marriage celebrant in Australia to fill and sign it while the celebrant attest it since i the applicant is not in Australia or must the applicant sign it as well before it will make it valid in the eyes of the visa officer? Please i do really need information about this NOIM. Do i need to specify a date or the wedding to take place or give a range?

3. Who is supposed to submit form 888 statutory declaration form? Is it both applicant and sponsor or just applicant ?

Please i will be grateful for your clarification.

With regards.

Sammy


----------



## maverickjoel

*485 visa got refused due to 485.212 clause not met*

Hi Mark,

My 485 visa got refused because I did not upload the english language test results on time.Will I be able to reapply for the visa?

I did not manage to get a test date before the time of application. The refusal letter said clause 485.212 was not met. It was detailed that I should have done an exam prior to submitting the application. I had done the exam after submitting the application and uploaded the results. But this was not accepted and the application was refused. So I am currently on a bridging visa according to the refusal letter; I have 35 days left to leave the country. During this time will I be able to apply for 485 visa again ?

Please Advise

Kind regards,

Joel


----------



## singh4347

Hi Mark,

please help me in this regard, as I have been working as software developer for a small company and they do not have an HR department, all the administrative work is managed by the Owner of the company. So, as I am confused as someone mention that during visa processing they might go for verification and crosscheck with HR.What should i do?

Thanks!


----------



## Paolo89

Hello Mark , I have a question about my situation about last bad news of visa.

I'm in sponsor visa 457 from September 2015 , I'm only 5 month to apply for permanent.

But whit last news , I don't know if I can still apply.

Because my job is not anymore in the list.
But if I good understand , for the transition stream the new list start only from march 2018.

Can you confirm me in September 2017 can I still apply permanent visa with transition stream if anyway my job is not anymore in the list?

Thanks mark.


----------



## purirajesh

Hi Mark,
What is the 489 NT SS visa grant time after submitting PCC and medicals as well, in 2017???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ryan -

Thanks for the note - sorry for the delay in responding, am catching up on forum posts this weekend!

Bottom line is that the first thing DIBP looks at is the 12 month period prior to applying for the visa - if you lived together before that time, then it may be helpful in showing that any time apart during the 12 month period was temporary in nature. Also, if the state you will live in in Australia permits it, you could register your de facto relationship which automatically satisfies the 12-month requirement.

Also, would have to look at the documents you plan to use as evidence to give you an opinion on chances of success.

Happy to discuss further at a consultation - see details at my website below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RyRy1812 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have a rather long post, but It ends with a question so yay!
> 
> My partner Rudolf will be accepting a post graduate course at the university of Queensland soon and we would like to go to Australia together. We met when we both were studying in Australia and have lived together in Australia for over a year. The issue is we are both not of the same nationality (He is Austrian and I am Singaporean) and I have been refused for a Graduate Visa last year.
> 
> Due to this we find ourselves in a slightly more complicated situation than most couples. We have been traveling in Austria and Europe for the last 2 and a half months and I am now back in Singapore and he is in Austria.
> 
> We have documents such as a shared lease, a shared bank accounts in Australia and flight details as well as pictures to prove that we were together in Europe. On our last visa applications, we had also put each other down as de facto partners. I am also financially dependent on him as I do not have employment in Singapore.
> 
> However, a different migration agent has stated that this may not be enough to make our case as we do not have hard evidence to show (i.e. A shared address in Austria or Singapore) and that our time apart now may not help our case.
> 
> As you can see, we are in a weird situation where we really can't live with each other anymore as we are not from the same country. I just wanted to know if this is actually true and if our 12 months of living together in Australia can still count us as de facto?
> 
> Ryan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tony88 -

Congratulations on your AAT victory. Typically it takes anywhere from 1 to 3 months after the tribunal remits the decision to DIBP for DIBP to move forward with remaining processing - they'll likely need new health and police certificates if it's been more than 12 months since you obtained the previous ones, so you could do that ahead of time now to speed things up a bit.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tony88 said:


> Hi, Mark.
> 
> We lodged our partner visa application in May 2013 and got rejected by DIBP in September 2015. we lodged an appeal to AAT 2 weeks after that. after 17 months of waiting, we attended to a hearing and won the case on 9/3/2017. The member gave an oral decision right after the hearing. I just wonder how long it will take to get the Visa because in my case it's almost 4 years.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JRS -

Thanks for the note. Yes, it's possible to apply for a new ACS under a different occupation, but they will see the previous assessment. Key to doing this successfully is showing in a detailed way that the tasks and duties of your work were highly relevant to the new occupation code, and that any new information or new documents you provide with the new assessment do not conflict in any way with the previous documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JRS said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Need your valuable suggestions on this topic please...
> 
> I have applied for ACS with ANZSCO - 261112 - Systems Analysts. I have 12 yrs of Exp in IT. Experiences are from Networking, System administration and infrastructure services. So we choose 261112 to relate all this Experiences. But ACS has calculated the second half (6 yrs) exp as infrastructure services as the close match and out from this 6 yrs they deducted 4 yrs. So from 12 yrs exp they considered only 2.9 yrs which will never fetch me points to submit EOI. Moreover my age will be 33 next month and i will loose 5 points there.
> 
> Is there any way to change the code and the RR and apply a fresh ACS ?
> Will the previous letter from employers and SD on RR will affect us if we are ready to change those in this point for reapplying?
> Is there possibilities to change the first half exp RR to match 261112 ?
> Can we apply ACS with different job codes ?
> Will ACS look into previous history (RR and Stat)also and gives some negative impact ?
> 
> If someone faced the same situation already , please guide me how to come out from this situation. Your suggestions and feedback's are really valuable for me in this time as i have already spend much on agent and i don't want to look back rather than explore all the possibilities.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chris0628 -

The 489 visa requires you to live and work in an approved designated area for that visa (check DIBP website for a list). If the area you propose to live and work in is on the list, then you're in compliance with the terms of your visa, however you may not be in compliance with the agreement you have with SA for sponsorship which I expect requires you to live and work in SA. No way to predict possible repercussions from SA, however some are concerned that breaching a state sponsorship agreement could be a character issue in applying for citizenship.

Suggest you carefully review your sponsorship agreement with SA.

Best,

Mark Northam



Chris0628 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just received 489 from SA.
> 
> The company I work for in Sri Lanka does International IT Projects and the current project I'm involved in is for an Aus customer.
> 
> I worked in Aus from Dec-2016 to Feb-2017 using the 400 Visa and I was based in VIC (Tatura/Shepparton).
> 
> Right now im back in Sri Lanka and hoping to get back on the 489 to continue with the above-mentioned project.
> 
> Q1: Can I continue to work in VIC (Tatura/Shepparton) for the new couple of months?
> 
> Q2: In Jul I'll be heading back the Sri Lanka and the move Adelaide with my family where we will settle down.... Can I still continue to work for the above customer in Tatura/Shepparton?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anitawill -

Thanks for the note. The subclass 143 parent visa does not require the applicant to be onshore at the time of application, and does not generate a bridging visa even if the applicant is onshore at the time of application, so you may want to review the visa legislation.

From what you've said, an offshore application for a 143 sounds like the right thing, although having not seen her documents, I can't give specific advice for your case at this point. Application for 143 would not generally affect the visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Anitawill said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated!
> 
> I have recently joined this forum and my question is on the Contributory Parent 143 visa:
> 
> I applied the Parent visa for my mother a few weeks back while my mother is here with us in Australia on a tourist visa with 12 months stay period(multiple entries allowed during this time).
> 
> The Contributory Parent visa application which I applied for was sent back as there is an 8503- No Further Stay condition on her tourist visa. The parent visa requires the applicant to be onshore at the time of applying for this visa.
> 
> As she has multiple entries on the tourist visa I wanted to know if she could go back to her country so we could apply for the parent visa here and then come back on the same tourist visa again.
> 
> Also, does the current tourist visa get canceled as soon as we apply for the parent 143 visa here?
> 
> Any help would be really appreciated. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mick -

Likely not a deal killer as long as you fully declare it on the application. Worst case scenario is if you don't declare it and DIBP finds out and alleges you have provided false or misleading information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



micktorres said:


> Hi Mark,
> Im about to pass all my requirements for my Permanent Partner visa. But I'm just worried about my AFP Check, since i got a "Destroy or Damage Property" offence,but without conviction and has a bond of good behaviour for 12 months. Will it affect my application? What's the worst case scenerio for my application? I hope you can help me on this one. Thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JCMH -

Hard to predict, I'd guess anywhere from 6 to 12 months, but DIBP is highly unpredictable and has no legal time limits on processing visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JCMH said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just lodged my 190 visa application. I would like to know approximately how long it will take for DIBP to process my application.
> 
> Occupation: Solicitor
> EOI submitted: 22 Feb 2017
> NSW Invitation: 6 March 2017
> NSW Nomination Application Submitted: 6 March 2017
> NSW Nomination Application Approved: 20 March 2017
> DIPB Visa Application Submitted: 20 March 2017
> Last Update of Documents: 23 March 2017
> 
> Could you please advise what will happen next and an anticipated time frame for processing?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Joarc -

All comes down to how much of a match/link you can make between the tasks and duties of any work you wish to claim for points (no requirement to claim work for points if you can get the points you need some other way however) and the ANZSCO definition for the nominated occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Joarc said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a positive assessment from ACCA for my architectural qualification. Large part of my work experience in the last 10 years was as project manager, design manager and interior designer. For all of them I was hired on the basis of my architectural background, for which the scope relied on those knowledge and skills. I'd be happy to share the scope of works if it helps you assess better.
> However, these jobs are not under the strict categories of closely related occupations for an architect. I was not able to get any advice from ACCA.
> 
> I have just received invitation to apply for visa189 and before I lodge the application, I wanted to have some assurance that there is possibility of arguing this case. Is there a chance to make my case or is it a definite no?
> 
> I would appreciate any advice you may have on how to go about this.
> Thanks very much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michael -

Thanks for the note. For question 2, yes it's generally possible to leave Australia for a trip after lodging an onshore partner visa - you would use form 1006 to apply to convert your bridging visa A to a bridging visa B which is good for the duration of the trip.

Re question1, would need to discuss in more detail with you at a consultation to give you specific advice - please see link on website in my signature if I can help further.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



michaelj said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My name is Michael. I am new to this forum.
> 
> I would like to start by saying how thankful we are to have you answer our questions in your own time. Thank you kindly.
> 
> In keeping in short ..but giving you the info you need we have a question:
> 
> My partner is German. We met in 2013 in Australia when she was on holiday. We kept in contact for the next 12-18 months at which point we organised to meet again and she visited Australia a second time. After this holiday together we considered our relationship serious, and started seriously planning a future together.
> I moved in Feb 2015 to Germany to live with her, and have lived there for 2 years and 1 month.
> 
> Our next step is for her to try living in Australia, and we are planing now to get her visa.
> 
> We believe our best shot is the partner visa.. either offshore or onshore.. we are currently still discussing this.
> 
> Our questions are :
> 
> At the moment i have moved back to sydney first to find work before she comes so we are currently not living together, but of course the relationship is ongoing, and we speak and write each other daily.
> 
> I see that there is a mention, that "any periods of seperation must only be temporary"
> 
> As we are currently not living with each other, how flexibile is this term?
> 
> Should we be applying for the partner visa immediately ?
> 
> Question 2 :
> 
> My partner has received permission to make a 1 year career break from her current job where she has been for 14 years.
> 
> If she applies onshore for the partner visa, during the processing time is she able to leave Australia for a period of perhaps 1-2 months ..( this would be after 12 months in Australia) if she decides to stay.. as we will go back to germany and must organise to cancel the contract etc for her appartment, and cancel her job and ship her things to australia) before returning to australia.
> 
> We would like to know if a period of time away from Australia is possible as above to help settle her affairs back there without affecting the visa.
> 
> Thank you kindly for your advice Mark.
> 
> Michael


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moni -

No. Assuming you have a permanent resident visa for Australia, only your right to re-enter Australia expires at the end of the initial 5-year period - you can stay here as long as you wish. If you wish to renew your right to re-enter Australia, you can apply for a subclass 155 Resident Return Visa which will extend your re-entry rights by 1 year or 5 years depending on your circumstances and how much time you've spent in Australia when you apply for that visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



moni said:


> Hi
> I am a resident of australia since 2012 n till now i have stayed for one year in Au. Now my visa show that my P.r is valid till oct 2017. Do i need to leave the country after that . Please advice m confised


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Assuming you don't plan to later say you were in a de facto partner relationship at this time, I'd check "Never Married" or whatever is applicable - your relationship as bf/gf doesn't have any particular status or significance under migration law for Australia, that's why there is no box for that to check.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wfan said:


> Hi Mark, My boyfriend from Brisbane invited me to have a vacation in Australia this July which is also his bday for only 22 days since i have a work i need to go back to. I wanted to know which relationship status should i tag our relationship since there is no boyfriend-girlfriend option there and we are not really living together. I am only applying for Tourist Visa and NOT a Partner Visa. I bought my ticket already and he will partially shoulder some of my expenses there like accommodations and transportation. What do you suggest?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AltecLansing -

Not sure if they will display postal-only correspondence there - if you wish to receive correspondence by email (that also usually shows up on the correspondence tab on the website), you can lodge Form 1023 to "correct" your "incorrect answer" of not wanting to receive communications by email, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AltecLansing said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My girlfriend and I applied for PMV 300 3 months ago. Apart from Acknowledgment of Application Received we have received no correspondence yet. Today I logged in and noticed that the information in Application Mailbox has been changed, instead of my email receiving correspondence it now says : "The applicant has not agreed to receive electronic correspondence for this application" Does this mean even on the immi.gov website there will be no correspondence?
> 
> Any advice on how to resolve this issue?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ejona -

Thanks for the note. You could certainly wait until these are requested by DIBP, however you could also have them done now or in the future. The only risk in doing them at this point would be that if the visa decision by DIBP doesn't happen within 12 months of when you take the health exams, they may require you to take them again. Same for police clearance certificates, as both expire 12 months from issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ejona said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for a defacto visa in November 2016.
> 
> When I logged in my immi account a few weeks ago I noticed a link under my application that says "View Health Assessment" and when I click on it I get: "This person is required to complete health examinations for this visa application. Click on the link below to organise these health examinations." I then get a HAP ID and a Referral letter.
> 
> On the other hand, when I go to the document checklist for partnership visa on the immi website, its written: "You and all dependents, regardless of whether they are in Australia with you, will need to undertake health examinations. The results of a health examination are valid for 12 months. Do not organise your health examinations until you are asked to do so by your case officer."
> 
> At this point, I am not sure what to do? Do I go ahead and get the health examinations done because its says I am required to do those when I log in my immi account, or do I wait until I get instructed to do so by a case officer? Would I get instructed via email by the case officer?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Salman12 -

Thanks for the note. The evidence you've described sounds good, however no way for me to assess your application without seeing the evidence myself and knowing much more about the case. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see more info on consultations in my website listed below in my signature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Salman12 said:


> Hi mark,
> As I am new have no idea where to get ideas from.
> I just want to get some opinions about the visa I have applied in one of the high risk country. As I am an Australian citizen and my partner is a new Zealand passport holder. We all family live here expect my elder sister. I am getting married on 4 of may and I want all of my family be together on the wedding day. so I have applied my sister a visitor visa sponsor family visa. She got refused a visitor visa 5 years ago. she is married and have 3 children. 3 of them going to school but she just want to bring the younger one who is 5 years old. As immi have asked for fingerprints and they have provided 3 days back. Can you please give me some opinions if she have any chances of getting the visa approved.
> 
> The evidence we have provided, Her bank statement which is around about $10,000. letter from her employer stating the leave of 3 weeks. letter from school for my nephew, leave of 3 weeks. proof of property which is on her name. letter from her husband giving permission of my nephew to go and statement to come back. and her kids which she have to go back and take the responsibility.
> 
> evidence I have provided, my bank statement. my invitation letter, and stating I will be cover all the needs while she is in Australia, accommodation, food etc. hotel contract for marriage reception my marriage certificate.
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sahmedraza -

Thanks for the note. If you're making your application online, might as well submit the online version of form 40SP after you lodge the primary application. Online version can only be done after you've lodged the primary application.

Visiting your home country is no problem, however as a PR you are required to show that you are "usually resident" in Australia in order to qualify to sponsor a partner for a partner visa. This generally means keeping Australia as the country you live in most often, and now consider (a) home. A permanent move away could be problematic.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sahmedraza said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am PR holder (currently in Australia) and going to lodge partner visa application, we are married for more than 7 years and have 2 kids.
> I have two questions
> 1. Should I wait for my partner's application being made online and then submit form 40SP or i can complete form 40SP (online) any time.
> 2. Is this necessary for me to remain in Australia during the processing time of visa or i can move back to my home country i.e. Pakistan.
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JohnMarz -

Thanks for the note. There are a number of angles to attack the 2 sponsorship per lifetime regulation under compassionate and/or compelling circumstances - these usually involve circumstances in your life that would tend to either dismiss one of the previous relationship as one-sided (ie innocent sponsor circumstnaces) or involve health or other compassionate circumstances - would need to discuss your circumstances with you in detail in order to give you any sort of an idea of chances of success. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see more info on consultations in my website listed below in my signature.

Best,

Mark Northam



JohnMarz said:


> Hi Mark, I have previously sponsored two people (17 years ago and 6 years ago). Both got TR visa then PR. Both left relationship. I have since meet someone and we have formed a permanent relationship. (Engaged recently) Known each other 8 months and I have been Phil 2 times. She is currently in Australia on 3 month tourist visa. She does not have 8503 condition on her visa. My question is what is the best way to go about being together forever in Australia? My understanding of the rules is it is a 2 year wait before you can apply and then only 'compelling' or if have 'dependant' children would be considered.
> I really do not want to have children just to get a visa but there does not seem to be any other options if we want to live in Australia. If I go PHIL to live it will basically ruin my retirement plans and ensure semi poverty for the rest of our lives. (But we would be together!)
> Another temporary option would be a student visa.
> Any help or guidance would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Osama56 -

Suggest you contact Engineers Australia directly and ask them - there may be some sort of an exception available - going direct to the source on skills assessor questions is usually the best way to get the most accurate (and current, as they change their rules frequently) answer.

Best,

Mark Northam



osama56 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am considering a skill assessment but i am unsure whether or not i qualify for a certain pathway as described in the MSA Booklet. I have recently completed masters degree with Distinction in Mechanical Engineering from University of Nottingham UK which is an accredited course and comes under Washington Accord. However, My 4 years Bachelors Degree also in Mechanical Engineering was from NED University of Engineering & Technology which does not fall under any accord.
> 
> My question is, with such a case, can i apply under Washington Accord pathway or CDR is the only option?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Albert -

Sorry about the delay in responding. There generally is no number to call where you can get status updates from DIBP - same for email - they simply don't provide them. In most cases, all you can do is wait. If this is an Indian application and you are claiming any work experience for points, that might be the hold-up as in India DIBP has been relentless at doing very deep checks into work experience claims, including unannounced site visits at employers, phone calls requiring the employer to confirm whether or not you did each of the ANZSCO tasks for your occupations, etc etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



albert0205 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for responding Mark and Apologies I was out of town and could not reply to you. I have applied to a registered MARA agent who is in India with a MARA Number(Offshore). He has send 4 - 5 reminder email and he just received an auto reply from the Immigration. Today it's been 338 days since I have logged for the 190 Visa and I still have no response from the CO. IMMI account status still shows "Received". I have uploaded all the documents on day 1 and also updated latest pay slips and proof of employment again on 17 Dec 2016. Could you please advise if there is a contact number that I can call and check on the status?
> 
> Albert Joseph


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Divya -

Generally, paid leave is not deducted from work experience but unpaid leave almost always is. You may not want to claim the period of unpaid leave to ACS and DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Divyashree said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am Divya, We are planning to apply for 189 VISA under ANZSCO Code 261313(Software Engineer)
> I have totally 7 years(Feb 2010 to Mar 2017) of experience in IT as a software engineer , but I was on 9 months Maternity leave(18 Sep 2014 to 30 June 2015) out of which 4 months was paid leave(Sep 2014 to Jan 2015) and rest 5 months was unpaid leave.
> 1. Do I have to mention this while applying for ACS or DIBP.?
> 2. If yes , then how many months experience will they be deducting? as I will fall short of required 10 points for experience , if they do so.
> 3. Also if I have to mention, at what stage do I have to mention about Maternity leave availed?
> 
> Last time I have applied for ACS for the same code 261313 in Apr 2013 and they had considered my experience from Feb2012 to Apr 2013 (deducting 2yrs from my overall experience).
> Please reply.
> 
> Thanks,
> Divya


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kuhu -

A person can only get one 485 visa in their lifetime, so if you are looking for options after being here on a 485, I'd look at the 457 (or starting in March 2017 the TSS) visa, or perhaps the subclass 187 RSMS. Getting work experience is going to become much more important as new visas and regulations are being introduced, and work experience is usually necessary for many skills assessors, so that is also something important you may want to consider.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kuhu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have completed my Bachelor in Business Administration with no major or specialization but I feel that my qualification does not relate to anything in Skilled Occupation List, unless if I am wrong?
> 
> I have an option to apply for 485 visa in PSW stream but my question is if after getting 485 I do study a course that can give me a place in SOL then what course could it be, related to my current qualification? and what if the course does not complete in 2 years of 485 visa then what are the options I have to continue staying in Australia? Do I apply for an extension in 485 or re-apply 485 or have to go back to my country and then apply for a Student Visa again?
> 
> I have completed 3 x unpaid internships in Sales and Marketing so I am hoping I will find a job with a company who can help me with Employer Sponsorship as Sales and Marketing is part of COSL but what if I do not find such a job or an Employer to sponsor then I will be in the same position as now after 2 years of being on 485 visa.
> 
> Please advise. Any suggestion would be really helpful.
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zamranyazdani -

Thanks for the note. For partner points, you have to satisfy three basic requirements:

* Your partner must qualify for the visa based on age (ie, under 50)
* Your partner must have a positive full skills assessment (not 485 only, etc) for an occupation on the same list as yours is (SOL vs CSOL)
* Your partner must show competent English (ie IELTS 6+ on each band)

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zamranyazdani said:


> Hi Mark,
> I received my invitation under subclass 189 recently. I qualified with 65 points. I need some help related to the documents requested by my case officer. I have claimed my wife's points too. The case officer has requested for the following documents;
> For me;
> 1) Personal particulars for character assessment
> 2) Police clearance certificates
> 3) Evidence of eligibility for partner points
> 4) Polio vaccination certificate
> 
> and the same for my wife except point 3.
> 
> I have completed Form 80 for the point 1 for both, me and partner. Police character certificates were already attached initially.. i don't know why is he asking again.
> Polio vaccination certificates have also been attached now.
> Now comes the main point. Evidence of eligibility for partners points
> 
> My wife and I are working for the same organization but she has been deputed in middle east for different projects from 2011. So she travels very frequently to hometown due to which she have an extensive travel history. What documents i need to produce sufficient evidence for my wife's points or is it just the assessment from relevant skills assessment body.
> 
> I would highly appreciate if you could help me decide what documents I need to provide further. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shareef -

Thanks for the note. For a subclass 600 visitor visa (visitor stream), there is no limitation on the amount of time the inviter (note, not called sponsor) must have been be in Australia. For the sponsored family visitor stream of the subclass 600, you must be a PR and have been living in Australia in total for 2 years or more generally (you must be "settled" in Australia).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shamtah said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> Thank you very much for this very helpful thread.
> 
> I have a PR visa 189.After living and working in Australia for three months can I apply for a visitor visa for my parents to come and visit me in Australia, or do I need to be residing in Australia for more than three months before they can be granted a visitor visa?
> 
> Kind regards.
> 
> Shareef


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mmissa -

No good way to predict this unfortunately - DIBP doesn't advise when it starts and stops working on a Form 80, and I've seen external security checks (which the Form 80 is used for) take anywhere from a few weeks to over a year. Wish I could be more help here, but DIBP is simply not predictable about this sort of thing.

Best,

Mark Northam



Mmissa said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am from Lebanon and I applied for visa 300 on october 14 2016, i got a call that my form 80 is being sent to Australia after around 1 month of my application (Medicals already done in November 2016).
> I want to ask what is the average processing time of the form 80 for applications in Lebanon?
> What happens when the Form 80 is back?
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Djhbkdave -

The move to SA would generally not violate your visa conditions, and if QLD has any objections now or later, I'd keep all the documentation to show you made a good faith, extensive job search. There is some concern that breaching a sponsorship agreement with a state might be considered a character issue in a citizenship application, but I've never seen this happen - again, the job search is a great defence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



djhbkdave said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hope your doing good.
> 
> I have 489 regional sponsored visa nominated by QLD. I am an IT professional , and in qld there are very little IT related jobs in regional QLD. I did apply more than 50 jobs within the past 3 months, but wasnt successful. I have decided to Move to Adelaide SA hoping that I could land a Job in adelaide as the whole SA state is considered regional.
> 
> when i reviewed my VISA conditions in my grant letter. it states "Must live in in specified area - 8539". and it has all the regional areas in australia and it does not mention that I have to live and work only in the the state which I was sponsored.
> 
> if I move to SA, is there a chance that it could be a problem when I apply for PR(887 Visa). I believe it shouldn't be a problem as long as I stay in regional australia. would like to know whether You have come across any clients similar to my story.
> 
> Would appreciate your advice . Thank you in Advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi DzanyOne -

Assuming you have a 4-year 489, no. However you could potentially qualify for being sponsored for a second 489 if you can get sponsorship from a state.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dzanyOne said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a quick question regarding visa SC 489. Is this visa type renewable or extensible. Reason I asked, I am unable to meet the 2 year live in specified region requirement of visa 887 and wondering what my other options are. Thanks so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wingjammer -

This is a difficult situation - there is generally no problem with getting married while a PMV is being processed as long as DIBP is advised - DIBP will then automatically consider the application an offshore partner visa application (subclass 309/100) upon being advised that they were married.

My view is that your friend needs professional help urgently as this creates a complicated legal situation that may be best remedied by getting DIBP to vacate the grant of the PMV and reconsider the spouse visa. Among the problems is that the applicant would already be in breach of condition 8519 (must not marry before entering Australia).

Best,

Mark Northam



wingjammer said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> A filipino friend of mine has applied for a Prospective Sposue visa, then got married, supplied the marriage certificate and letter requesting the application to be switched to a Spouse visa. The marriage certificate and letter was handed in person in at the VFS office in Manila. She then waited months for what they assumed would be a Spouse visa. But when issued it is a prospective spouse visa and she is now legally married in the Philippines. The Partner Migration Handbook clearly says she could apply for the visa application to be switched a spouse visa.
> 
> What is her best approach to resolve this? She has called the VFS who has told her they can't do anything for her as they only deal with pending visas, once issued they no longer have any involvement.
> 
> Any suggestions on what to do next? They have waited a long time and spent all the money they can on the application and hope that Immigration will recognise this as a mistake as they did supply their marriige certificate and clearly state in their initial application there was a good chance they would marry before the application was approved.
> 
> Any help would be most appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Munawer Ali -

Re 1, high quality colour scans of originals are fine for online applications generally. Re 2, either way OK. Re 3, I'd use Commonwealth Statutory Declaration form for this, and provide backup evidence as well showing you've lived there (ie, mail & accounts with your name and that address on it, etc).

Re health, they generally will not ask for new health exams for the 887, however they often will ask for updated police clearance certificates.

Normally Form 1193 not necessary if you already have given permission to communicate via email on your visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Munawer ali said:


> Hi i am about to apply for 887 visa at the end of April 2017. i have few queries. i will be grateful if some one can answer these:
> 
> 1. on the immigration website it says (Unless asked to do otherwise, you should provide 'certified copies' of original documents, rather than the original documents.) so every document including residence proof (lease/utility bills/Bank statements) and work requirement proof (employment reference letter/payslips/tax returns) have to attested or just we have to upload original scanned documents?
> 
> 2. Police clearance Certificate for Australia has to be uploaded from beginning or we have to wait for case officer to ask for it?
> 
> 3. i was living with my brother for whole duration of 2 years so a declaration from my brother saying the same will be submitted. will it has to be simple declaration or has to be done in front of some licensed or registered person.?
> 
> 4. will i require fresh police clearance certificate from my home country till the date i entered Australia or the old police clearance certificate which i submitted while taking 489 visa will be enough as i have never gone to my home country during 2 years
> 
> 5. will i move to bridging visa after applying for 887 or will i remain on 887 till the result get announced?
> 
> 6. will i need to undergo health assessment again for 887 visa?
> 
> 7. will i have to upload 1193 form (communicating by email with the department) to my 887 application?
> 
> regards
> Munawer Ali


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mimamasalha -

Thanks for the note. Given the latest changes, you are not eligible to apply for your citizenship until you have had your PR for 4 years.

Best,

Mark Northam



Mimamasalha said:


> Hi Mark i applied for my temporary visa (100) on the 3rd of April 2013 i came to Australia on the 27th of December 2013 I got my PR on the 16th of June 2015 when do you reckon I'm eligible to apply for my citizenship? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaiya -

Thanks for the note. My suggestion is to make a plan as to how you want to move forward, where you want to be, and what you want to do. Depending on the visa, if there was family violence involved, you may be able to make a claim for a visa based on that - however lots of specific requirements exist for that.

Then once you've got that worked out, advise DIBP that your relationship has broken down when appropriate. My main concern about waiting is that if there is a subjective part of the decision making for your next visa and DIBP determines you delayed advising them by months or years, it can be seen as a negative in future visa applications. Plus, traveling in that situation can be tricky if DIBP ends up ceasing your current visa while your on a trip outside the country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kaiya said:


> Hello Mark,
> My relationship has broken down, I have not told the immigration yet. I am aware that for my best interest I need to inform immigration as soon as I can. I am advised by an immigration lawyer that I should do nothing, just wait for final decision of the immigration and then go from there.
> I am not sure about the advice. I'd like to hear from you.
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sozguy -

The only solution I can see might be a student visa for her to come here to study. A child visa won't work as you are not the child's parent. I'd look into a subclass 500 visa to see if she might meet the requirements for that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sozguy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have an 8 year old niece in the Philippines, and unfortunately her family are having trouble taking care of her. I am an Australian, and my wife and I would like to bring our niece here to provide her with what she needs. We are wondering what visa we need to be able to do this?
> 
> Thanks in advance and thanks again for your advice in the past.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Barradave -

Thanks for the note. The visa allows them to stay for a maximum of 3 months before departing Australia - they can go anywhere they like when they depart, doesn't have to be to their home country.

As to how many entries can be made, it must be compatible with being a tourist, so going offshore for a few days and then coming back for another 3 months may work once, but beyond that it's a risk as the applicants need to be able to show what they are doing here that is primarily as a tourist, not staying here to build up residency time, etc. Most tourist visits do not go beyond a few months in DIBP's view, so once a person has spent a total of 6 months or more within a year on a visitor visa, DIBP often starts asking questions. Ultimately if DIBP is not satisfied they are here only for tourist purposes, they can be refused entry.

It can be helpful to have an itinerary worked out of dates and sites/travel/places they will be visiting as a tourist - this can be shown to DIBP at entry and can help in some cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



barradave said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I posted a multiple entry visa information required post in the Immigration and Visa Forum.
> 
> When I tried to open it, the following message came up:
> _Sorry, That Australia Forum Page Was Not Found.
> It looks like the Australia Forum - moving overseas page you are looking for doesn't exist on the site. There could be a number of reasons for this. The article may have been removed or the link you clicked on may have been incorrect.[/I_
> [/I]
> My request post was on the lines of:
> 
> I live in Australia with my Thai partner and her son (spouse permanent residency applies). Her daughter, husband and their 2 year old daughter have been given an Australian Visa with the following information:
> 
> Visa Stream: Tourist
> Visa Grant Date: 09 March 2017
> Stay For/Until: 3 Month(s)
> Entries: Multiple
> Last Date to Arrive: 09 March 2018
> 
> Conditions:
> 8101 - No Work
> 8201 - Max 3 Months Study
> 
> The Department and Immigration Officer who issued the Visas informed my step daughter that she has a 12 month visa and does not need to reapply for a visa every time she re enters Australia during the visa period.
> 
> I took the information to mean that they need to return to Thailand every 3 months, then return to Australia. I have been informed by others that this is not the case. They have told me that the family simply has to travel to a nearby country such as NZ or Bali, stay 1 or 2 nights, then return to Australia.
> 
> I am unsure which situation is the correct one and was wondering if you can put me on the right track please?
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Barradave


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HarryD -

Thanks for the note. The Australian Study Requirement (ASR) has too many detailed requirements to work out in a quick forum post, but would be happy to go through your circumstances in detail at a consultation (see my website below in my signature) and get you a specific opinion on any issues I see and eligibility.

There is no requirement that if you use multiple completed qualifications (note you generally cannot use study on incomplete quals) to meet the ASR that they all be from the same institution or education provider - what a blatant sales scam from that education provider! Wonder how many unsuspecting students they've duped into their courses with that bit of legal fiction...!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HarryD said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I hope you are well. I just have a query regarding the Australian study requirement for the Temporary Graduate Visa 485 (Post Study Work Stream)
> 
> I've been informed by an education provider here in Sydney that I need to have completed the 2 year study requirement with the same education provider in order to be eligible for this visa.
> 
> I was told this in the context of receiving credit transfer for previous study.
> 
> It's my understanding that I can use credit transfer from previous study with a CRICOS registered education provider here in Australia towards the Australian study requirement.
> 
> I had look on the DIPB's website and spoke with them over the phone, they sent me a link with further info which seems to confirm the above.
> 
> Here's what I found on their website -
> 
> The Australian study requirement
> 
> Completion letters from your education provider stating:
> 
> the date that the course started and ended
> the date that course requirements were met
> the location of the campus where you studied
> whether the study involved any distance learning whether the study was full-time or part-time
> the language in which instruction was given
> 
> Certified copies of course transcripts.
> Where credit has been granted, it must state whether the credit granted on the basis of study was in a course that also met the conditions of the Australian study requirement.
> Example: You studied a course in Australia that was taught in English and registered with CRICOS.
> 
> If any credits have been granted towards the completion of your award then please ensure your transcript clearly indicates the details of these transferred credits.
> 
> I'm currently studying Advanced Diploma of Accounting and I've completed Cert IV in Accounting and Diploma of Accounting. Upon completing Advanced Diploma of Accounting I will have studied 92 weeks in total.
> 
> The LOE from the education provider which I've enrolled with for the Bachelor of Accounting states 4 semesters totaling 104 weeks of study, however I'm seeking exemptions for a further 2 subjects which would reduce the amount of time studying bringing me in under the 2 year study requirement.
> 
> My calculations are 3 full semesters at 4 subjects per semester = 78 weeks and one semester at half a study load which I assume would give me 13 weeks study, totaling 91 weeks study.
> 
> Given the above would I meet the Australian study requirement for post study work stream?
> 
> Thanks for your help Mark, much appreciated
> 
> Regards,
> Kevin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dedicated10 -

Thanks for the note. No way for me to predict why an ACS application might be taking time, however I've seen the routinely go 4-6 weeks.

Best,

Mark Northam



Dedicated10 said:


> Hi mark ,
> How are you? Thanks for all the advice you give. I just wanted to ask that my close freind applied for an acs assesment after completing one year Australian work experience but they refused saying it does not match the duties of ict support engineer but as she was doing proffesional year at the same time. When she compleyted her PY she went with her previous occupation computer network and system engineer the one she had the provisional assesment for before. So the question is she has been waiting for more than 3 weeks for assesment, Do you know why wait is so long? Hope to hear from you soon.
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sha8080 -

Thanks for the note. I'd look into registering the de facto relationship with Victoria which will automatically satisfy the requirement that you show evidence the relationship has been in existence at a de facto level for the 12 months prior to lodging the visa application. If that's not possible, you'll have to provide as much evidence as possible to show how the relationship has been at a de facto level for those 12 months. Key is to show commitment, sharing of financials, and the other aspects of partner visa evidence - needs to demonstrate very clearly that you are more than "friends with benefits" or that the relationship only exists at a close level when you are together in Melbourne.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sha8080 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I need some information before i proceed to apply the partner visa.
> I know my partner ( australian citizenship) for almost 2.5 years. And alternately travelling to Melbourne and now we decided to apply the partner visa for me, so that i can be in Melb for good.
> 
> The problem is - I am not living in melb up for 12 months because im just on ( visitor visa). just been in melb for a visit every 2 or 3 months for 10 to 12 days. Been doing that for almost 2.5 years. Any possibility that i can apply for the partner visa so that i can stay in Melb?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yogi5252 -

Thanks for the note. I expect your completed Australian Diploma would work - see specifics here: How can I prove I have functional English?

Re: paid leave, 6 weeks over 2 years is generally not an issue as long as it was paid leave - if it was unpaid, you should not consider it as part of the 2 years of living in a designated area. DIBP allows "normal" times of leave each year without having to deduct - and normal usually means 2-3 weeks per year, have even seen a bit more get by OK.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Yogi5252 said:


> Hi Mark I am applying 489 to 887 soon have few questions if you don't mind me asking-
> 
> - For functional English can I show my 2 years full time Diploma cert?
> 
> - I traveled 6 weeks overseas in annual leave will this time be deducted from my 2 years reginal stay requirement?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bbtom -

Thanks for the note. No problem generally with getting a short term (ie, 4xx) visa for work while you are awaiting the outcome of a skilled PR visa. If you are going to be in Sydney for more than 2 weeks at a single address, suggest you lodge Form 929 (see Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection) to update your address with DIBP. You don't need to inform them of your travel in/out of Australia (they'll know that anyway from your passport records) but you do need to update them as to your current address.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bbtom said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Need your valued experience and advice .......
> 
> I got an invitation to apply for PR last week. In the mean time my employer here in India want to send me to Sydney for two months for a short term assignment. The visa processing in progress. I have the following questions......
> 
> 1. Can I process the PR application while my current employer visa application in progress? Do I need to wait until issue of employer visa to submit application for the PR?
> 
> 2. During my PR application, do I need to officially inform the immigration dept. regarding my employer visa and travel( While PR processing I might be at Sydney). Where can I find the information ( immigration web site) to confirm?
> 
> Thanks & Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark - that makes us 2 Marks both originally from the USA! Please send some decent Tex-Mex food this way if you're coming, impossible to find here. 

There are essentially 2 types of work visas for Australia - skilled visas which you can get based on your education and work experience which are either independent or state sponsored (subclasses 189, 489 and 190) and employer sponsored work visas (subclass 457, 186 and 187). Skilled visas use a points system - you can look up either of the 3 visas I mentioned on the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection website to get specifics. Essentially skilled visas work on an invitation system where once you meet the requirements, you lodge an Expression of Interest (EOI) on the DIBP SkillSelect system online and wait for an invitation to apply. If you receive an invitation, only then can you actually apply for the visa you're interested in. Note that skilled visas will require a skills assessment from the nominated skills assessment authority for your occupation and will require meeting the points requirement for the particular visa. The skills assessment must be completed before you can lodge your EOI.

Employer sponsored visas don't use points, and you can apply once you have found an employer to sponsor you. Overseas employers can sponsor for the 457 temporary work visa, but not for the employer sponsored permanent residence visas (186, 187).

Even if you go all the way to becoming an Australian citizen, your USA citizenship is not affected as the USA allows dual citizenship and Australia has no requirement that you give up your current citizenship to become an Australian citizen.

Hope this is enough to get you started - best of luck, and don't forget about that Tex-Mex!

Best,

Mark Northam



mark_777 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I am a software engineer working in US.
> 
> 1. I see that Australia has a point system, but I can't find how to apply.
> What form do I need, for what visa do I need to apply and where to send it?
> On some sites they say that I can apply online, but doesn't say where exactly.
> 
> Is it here (Visa 189)?
> border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/189-#
> 
> 2. My company also has an office in Australia and I can ask them to relocate me there. Does it give additional points?
> 
> 3. I believe I can immigrate using my company's sponsorship. Is it visa 457?
> 
> 4. Will I loose US citizenship?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chris -

Thanks for the note. The fact that the office is not in a regional area is not a problem, and you working in Shepparton doesn't put you in violation of your visa, however it may put you in violation of your sponsorship agreement with SA - I'd check the agreement carefully. As noted here in other responses, it's unlikely you could lose your visa over breaching your deal with SA, however it may potentially be an issue later on re: character in a citizenship application - no way to tell for sure however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chris0628 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I work for an IT Consulting company in Sri Lanka. We have a branch in Mel CBD but it's not an office where anyone operates from...all employees working for the Aus branch works at customer locations all over Aus 100% of the time so it's just where the business registered address only.
> 
> One of our customers is from Shepparton and I'm required to work on a project for them in Shepparton.
> 
> The Shepparton zip code is in a regional area
> 
> My 489 is from SA.....
> 
> The question is... if I work for the Aus Branch (Mel-CBD) BUT is required to Work 100% from Shepparton.... is this in-line with the laws and regulations of the 489 taking into consideration my 489 is from SA.
> 
> Note that my wife and son will be living in SA (which is regional everywhere) and I will be commuting every 2-3 weeks back to Adelaide for a few days.
> 
> Regards
> Chris


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yogesh -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict this, not enough data available from NSW or DIBP to make that kind of prediction.

Best,

Mark Northam



Yogesh said:


> G'day Mark,
> 
> I have submitted my EOI on 22/03/2017 for Developer Programmer - 261312 with below points;
> 
> Age 25 points
> Education 15
> Experiance 10
> Australia *NSW *Work
> Experiance 10
> English Competent 0
> 
> Subclass 189: 60 points
> Subclass 190: 65 points (60+ 5 NSW state sponsership)
> 
> Based on your knowledge and passed rounds numbers, please could you help me know by when I can expect the reply for my EOI.
> 
> Thank you,
> Yogesh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arun -

Congratulations on your engagement!

I expect you would be applying for an offshore partner visa (subclass 309/100)? If so, I'd spend as much time as you can with your new wife together in India (or wherever else) and take lots of pictures, get statements from friends, and generally accumulate as much relationship evidence as you can with her during the time you are together. Once back in Australia, keep in touch regularly and keep a log of calls, etc and if you send her any financial support, gifts, etc.

DIBP understands the unique issues with arranged marriages and generally doesn't require lots of pre-marriage relationship evidence, but once you are married, it's time to really push hard to generate as much evidence as you can. Also - after lodging, perhaps send a new batch of evidence via upload to your application every couple of months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arunraman7 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well. You helped me well few years ago in getting my PR (Class 189).
> I am now getting arranged married in end of April (in India) it would be a formally Govt registered wedding. The visa I am applying for is 820 Partner temporary visa. Arranged marriage is very common in Indian culture. I would be physically meeting my fiance for the first time then.
> I am concerned how to show evidence of relationship history for this and prove that my relationship is genuine. I do not have any common financial commitments or accounts with her at the moment. However, I can create an joint account and accumulate evidence while I am waiting for the visa response. However, the wait time can only be long distance.
> Can you advice what other evidence can be provided or accumulated during this time to prove that my relationships is genuine.
> 
> Thank you for all your help !!!
> 
> Regards,
> Arun


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chris -

See your previous question on this I just responded to, thanks. Key is where you are physically when doing the work.

Mark



Chris0628 said:


> Hi Mark,
> We received the 489 - 8539 visa from SA. Can I live in Adelaide and work online from Adelaide for a Mel or Shepparton company?
> 
> Regards
> Chris


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Natasha -

Would suggest using form 1436 to add him to your existing application. Not sure why not having him on the application as a migrating person would delay things, but DIBP probably thinks that's unusual, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



natasha.joseph said:


> Good day Mark
> 
> I was wondering if you would have any suggestions on my curious case.
> 
> - I received 189 invite for 2613 on March 29th -- had claimed 70 points and NO points from spouse.
> 
> - I had applied EOI/visa for only me and my two kids. My husband was not included in my EOI as he is planning to stay back in India for the next 3-4 years to be with my in-laws (as they have some health issues). We could only think of him moving with us after at least 4 years.
> 
> - Now, I am told that this would delay the visa processing period.
> 
> - If this reason can delay the visa processing time, can we add my husband in the Immi account now and in the visa application, and let the CO know about this.
> 
> - Can I use Form 1022 for this case OR do I need to reapply EOI?
> 
> - I have my PCC approved and medicals are scheduled for this Saturday.
> 
> Grateful for any inputs. Many thanks, Natasha.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Clairew92 -

I'd get in touch with the office processing your 407 and see if they would consider a request to expedite based on your unique circumstances. Other than that, you may want to look into the timetable re: starting your Vet internship if it needs to be adjusted to accommodate the visa processing time, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



clairew92 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I lodged a 407 training Visa application on 2nd April 2017. I have been offered a Veterinary internship and the company are more than happy to sponsor me.
> Since lodging that application I realised I would need to arrive in the country prior to that visa coming into effect (to sort accommodation, a car etc) so after phoning the European Service Centre for advice I also lodged a tourist visa. I was told that although they prefer people to enter the country on the visa they will be staying there on, this would be fine given I explain my intentions. However the tourist visa has just been refused with no right for review given that they don't feel I 'have a genuine intention to visit Australis temporarily for tourism purposes'.
> I booked flights on the original advice I was given (which I now realise was a bad idea) but it will have only been 36 days after lodging my application when I am due to fly so unlikely I will have it approved at that point.
> Any advice on the messy situation would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sergey -

Thanks for the note. As long as there is not some other issue that prevents you (ie, condition 8503 on a visitor visa or 8534/8535 on a student visa, previous onshore visa refusal on this trip, etc) then you can apply onshore for a 189 visa while holding a BVA. You would need to do this before your student visa is refused however (if it is going to be refused). If you apply for a 189 onshore while holding a BVA, you'll get a BVC which will come into effect when the BVA ceases (35 days after a decision on the student visa).

Note that the BVC may be issued without work rights, so you would have to apply to add them on to the BVC (can be applied for if you can show financial hardship) and once you're on the BVC if you leave Australia the BVC will automatically cease leaving you no way to re-enter, so you may want to remain in Australia until the 189 is decided.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Serg.PA said:


> Hi Mark
> Thank for your help and taking time to answer all our questions.
> Quick question. Im currently on a bridging visa A, waiting for decision on my student visa application(subclass 500). Today I received invitation to apply for a skilled independent visa(subclass 189). Can I apply for 189 visa while im on a bridging visa A?
> 
> Regards
> 
> Sergey


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sharon1961 -

You might post that on a new topic in the Visas/Immigration forum as this topic is only for questions directly to me - I don't normally comment on other immigration agents, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



Sharon1961 said:


> New t this forum and just want to know if anyone has heard of the company
> Australia here we come.
> They are a migration company in South Yarra.
> They seem great, but just asking if anyone has had dealings good or bad with them.
> Not sure how to post properly!
> thanks in advance Sharon


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

There's no particular requirement that siblings be granted a visa at the same time, and 445 visas are independent applications. Sometimes if a child is older (16 or above) they are subjected to more detailed security checking, but other than that or any health/character issues, difficult to know what might be holding them up. I'd suggest your agent keeps in touch with DIBP, however non-response from DIBP - while rude and unprofessional - is frequently encountered and one of the problems with dealing with them. That being said, they're the "only game in town" for Australian immigration, so we all get to play ball by their rules.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mommyofthreephau said:


> Hi mark! One of my kids already been granted the 445 visa (dependent child visa) last march 8 but my second still didnt grant her visa. We applied both of them of the same visa each individually. Is there any reason why the DIBP in manila didnt grant them the visa at the same time? Its been a month since my eldest had her visa but my second child still doesnt have his visa. My migration agent said its not mandatory for the DIBP to grant their visa at the same time. But they havent been responding to our agents email for a month now. Is this normal for a siblings not to get their visa at rhe same time? Btw my kids are 9 and 12 only. Im scared that maybe they will refused my second one as i cannot leave him in manila. Pls do shed some light as iam so frustrating. I've been frustrated since december when i thought they will grant us their visa but they didnt instead they ask another medical last January. And now they are not responding to any enquiries from us. Thanks Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gbparis -

Thanks for the note. Registering your relationship automatically satisfies the requirement that you provide evidence that your relationship was at the de facto level for the 12 months prior to lodging your onshore 820/801 partner visa application and is something I always recommend to de facto couples. It solves a multitude of potential issues at a relatively low price.

However even if you register your relationship, you still have to provide ample evidence that your relationship is at a de facto level at the time of application and continuing forward. I'd start getting as much mail, accounts, bills, etc in either of your names but with a common address as possible, get a statutory declaration from who is providing you a place to live, start using your joint account as much as possible even for small/routine purchases (quantity of transactions tends to count more than whether they are major or routine transactions), and (no offence) stop looking for cheap deals and start considering the thousands of dollars you'll spend appealing a visa refusal if you don't supply lots of strong, convincing evidence 

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gbparis said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks so much for helping us out with your expertise!
> My partner and I have been in Sydney now for six months with her on a temporary resident visa that we applied for together in France. We were married in France but our same-sex marriage isn't recognised here so we are classified at de-facto.
> I know we can register our relationship in nsw but it costs $250. Is it necessary for us to do that for her to apply for the PR 801? If we do, does it generally help speed things up or for it to be approved? Does it count as part of the evidence of our continuing relationship or is it instead of providing other evidence?
> Also, we have been living with my parents since we arrived so we have no rent or bills in our names here. We opened a mobile phone account but it's only in my name (it was a cheap deal in exchange for it only being in one persons name), and apart from a joint bank account with no major purchase from it we don't have any other financial proof. We have letters addressed to us at the same address from the bank but that's it.
> How can we prove our relationship is ongoing etc without bills?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CG333 -

Thanks for the note. I assume you received your 820 visa based on a de facto partner relationship and are now getting married (congratulations!).

There is no requirement to advise DIBP that you are/were engaged, however if you are married you should advise them of that via Form 1022 (change of circumstances), or if the timing is right, simply include that information in your upcoming 801 application. Being married will not change your eligibility for the 801, and the marriage and related documents/photos/etc can be used as further strong evidence that your partner relationship is still intact.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CG333 said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I am on an 820 visa, got my 801 coming up soon.. and we are newly engaged as of a couple months ago but have made no wedding plans yet.. and I didn't think it was something unneeded to let them know (as no address/name/marriage change)
> 
> Is this something I should inform them? Will it change my eligibility? Does it matter that I'm a little late in realising this if I do need to notify them? Or should I just leave it and is not necessary
> 
> Any help would be grateful appreciated
> 
> Thank you so much
> 
> C


----------



## tijanaoc

Hi Mark,
I had a question here which I deleted last night, as it was no longer relevant. I had another question in its place which I put in this morning, but I see you have gone past my post answering other ones after me (my fault for not asking last night ). Would you be able to answer when you get a moment? Thx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stroks -

Thanks for the note. Generally not - skilled visas (subclass 489, 189 and 190) lock the points in at the time you are invited to apply for the visa by DIBP. 485 visa requires completion of qual(s) used for the visa prior to application.

Prior to DIBP invitation you can amend your EOI to add your additional degree if completed. For other visas where you need to show that you are skilled at a particular occupation (ie employer sponsored), it may be possible to introduce this additional evidence prior to a decision, but depends on the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stroks said:


> Good day, Mark!
> I'm currently holding a M.Sc. degree and would like to apply for Australian visa with it. However, I'm also in the process of getting a PhD, which might happen to finish before a reply from immigration officials comes back. Can I update my visa application after submission, to get more score, if I get a PhD degree in the meanwhile?
> Looking forward to you reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peter -

It works either way - however no need to create a new ImmiAccount just to lodge the 40sp online form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tabmowzo said:


> Not found this via searching, so apologies if repeat. I am just finishing up my 47sp application for a 309 via my online ImmiAccount.
> 
> A question about my sponsor's 40sp. Does she also submit from my account or create her own? It seems she should have her own but just not sure.
> 
> Thank you,
> Peter


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ulalaoye -

Thanks for the note. YES he should be honest, after all DIBP will easily be able to see his previous applications.

Suggest he put in as much evidence as possible about the tourist activities he will undertake while in Australia, and make sure the employer letter is crystal clear that he is guaranteed his position upon his return from Australia, and include contact info for the employer so DIBP can confirm.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ulalaoye said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am desperately need your advice. My uncle had applied visitor visa for 2nd time now and both been refused. First refusal because require biometric which not available at his country and he tried again to apply via vhs with same reason tjat my sister sponsoring him to australia but got refused on 2nd time due not genuine enough as tourist even all the document submitted even from his boss ghat he would return to work. And he still want to go visit melbourne but in his 3rs application, there is a question stated have you applied visa before, should he be honest on his application as tick yes or just say no ? Because this time reasononly for tourism purpose aa showing the hotels booking and tours that he had booked. Please advise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Noura -

Thanks for the note. We're seeing typical processing times for 309/100's of 12 to 18 months, however that can vary widely depending on the offshore post that is processing the application and their relative time available, backlog of applications, etc.

Generally no problem or delay created by applying for a visitor visa while awaiting grant of a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Noura said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> I would like to thank you for the time and effort you put in this thread i just need some clarity regarding the 309 visa processing time as i submitted my application on the 10th of march and i know its too soon as According to the australian government dep. of immigration and boarder protection the processing time is from 11 to 16 months so i just wanted to know if it is like this for all cases or not as a friend of mine got her 309 visa granted after 3 months and also is it okay or will this further delay my application process if i apply for a visitors visa subclass 600 while waiting for my visa grant?
> 
> Thank and kind regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bsquared -

Thanks for the note. I'd put in as much as you can recall, even if only month/year or year only is included, and add a letter explaining that you don't have complete info on these visits but have included everything you can obtain.

Re: places lived, it's very important to identify all countries you've lived in for a total of 12 months or more during the 10 years prior to applying, as you will require police clearance certificates from all of these countries.If there are any incomplete dates for these countries and you think you may have been living in any for 12 months or more, better to err on the side of caution and get the police cert and declare you've been in the country for a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bsquared said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I are applying for an offshore partner visa. He is British and I am Australian.
> 
> I'm a little worried as we cannot remember some specific dates for the following:
> - places lived in last 10 years (dates to/from when he lived at an address)
> - countries visited last 10 years (dates to/from when visiting)
> - dates with ex partners and their dates of births (it's not easy to confirm with some of the exs!)
> 
> My question; are immigration very strict on Having these dates correct? I assume they can check passports/look some of the info up? Or should I write a statement and attach to our app saying dates are approximate?
> 
> Thanks for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maxzone -

Thanks for the note. If you were living in a regional area during a period of time when you were on a bridging visa for a 489 visa (or visa in classes UX, VC or SP), you can count that time living there on the bridging visa towards the 2 years living time required for the 887. You'll still need to show evidence you were living there during this time, but it can be counted. HOWEVER -- you still must have been the holder of the 489 visa for a total of 2 years before you can apply for the 887. So being able to count time on that bridging visa does not enable you to lodge the 887 application any earlier than 2 years from the date you were granted the 489.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Maxzone said:


> Hello Mark, I have one question, I moved to Regional Area when I was in Bridging Visa A, and started working full time (35+). I updated my address on immigration website. After 5 weeks when my visa has approved, it had the regional address (updated).
> 
> So my question is, when I can lodge my 887.
> When I moved to Regional area or when my visa got approved?
> 
> When I checked online I found this " 887.212 the main applicant must have lived in a specified regional area for a total of at least two calendar years while holding one of the provisional GSM visas, or bridging visas associated with an application for a provisional GSM visa".
> 
> I hope I can get a answer from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lostinlonnie -

Yes - My work schedule has been a bit crazed over the last few weeks, however I'm working on responding every 1-2 days so we don't end up with a backlog of questions.

Best,

Mark Northam



lostinlonnie said:


> Does Mark respond to these queries anymore?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Desmond123 -

Thanks for the note. That generally does not create a problem as long as DIBP had not ceased your 309 visa (ie refused the sc100) prior to you lodging your second stage paperwork.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Desmond123 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have a question regarding application of permanent visa subclass 100, I made the mistake of applying 1 year later the valid date. Will that affect how long it will take to process my visa? I am presently on a provisional spouse visa which was granted on 2014 lodged 2013. I applied for subclass 100 on April 2016 and still awaiting.
> 
> A reply is appreciated, thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gustavomachado -

Thanks for the note. Often DIBP will defer cancellation of a student visa due to early completion if they see you have already lodged another application such as a PR application.

If DIBP does cancel your student visa, then it will also automatically cancel your BVA and you'll have to apply for a BVE and add work rights (requires a claim of financial hardship) in order to remain in Australia and wait (and work) while your 186 is processed. However assuming you are onshore when and if DIBP considers cancellation of the student visa, they have to send you a notice of intent to consider cancellation, and if this happens I would respond with evidence of the 186 application and evidence of your current employment (and perhaps a letter from your employer stating the importance of your work for them) and I expect that woud have a good chance of delaying or stopping any cancellation effort.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gustavocmachado said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a PhD student currently under the 574 visa, and I have submitted my PhD thesis in November 2016. I am now working on my thesis correction and will soon submit it for final approval. Once I receive the final approval I am aware the my eCoE may be cancelled as well as my student visa.
> 
> The issue is that I am currently working as a Lecturer and have applied for ENS 186 permanent residency visa (direct entry) in February 2017. So, I received a BVA which is not still in effect because of my student visa. I was told the 186 visa assessment can take up to 8 months and I am worried about my visa status between my final PhD award date (and possibly cancellation of my student visa) and the outcome of my permanent residency application.
> 
> Does my BVA get cancelled when my eCoE and student visa are cancelled (as a result of my PhD award)? What would be the options to remain lawfully in Australia until I get my PR after my PhD approval, considering I need full working rights to continue working as a Lecturer?
> 
> Your help is greatly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bee -

We're seeing processing times at DIBP from AAT remittals we've been successful at obtaining ranging from 2-6 months - 17 months would be unusual, however DIBP processing times have been growing longer and longer and at this point it's hard to predict anything accurately re: DIBP processing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bjayaysel said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I know your advise in general but I was was wondering, with that caveat in mind, if you could tell me the wait time for a UK820 Visa that was refused, but remitted by the MRT. I called immigration today and they said I needed to wait another 17 months for a decision (understandably this is more than a tad distressing).
> 
> Thank you
> Bee


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonat -

I'd probably get the points test advice from Vetassess just to be on the safe side. We routinely recommend this when an applicant wants to claim points for a qualification not assessed by the skills assessor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sonatpaul said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have +ve skills assessment from TRA for Electronic Instrument trader worker with 8 years of experience. I only submitted my diploma in Electronics (3 years) to get it assessed. I also have a EEE degree to claim. So should I be approaching VETASSESS for the Point test advise to prove my Degree?
> 
> FYI, my degree is from NTU singapore which is under institute of engineers in Singapore.
> 
> Regards,
> Sonat


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BionicAllah -

DIBP has made it clear that the new requirements, even though some of them have not yet been determined yet (!!) will apply to all citizenship applications lodged starting 20 April 2017. Given that it may take months to determine the specific requirements they are adding, I expect it will be VERY slow processing for citizenship applications this year as DIBP gets the requirements in place.

Clearly they wanted to avoid a rush of application between the time of announcement and the time of implementation, however this latest trend of DIBP where announcements of major changes are made without any notice to applicants, practitioners, etc is causing a lot of people difficulty, concern and worry.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BionicAllah said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I know it's not come into effect yet but it most likely will. Do you think the new citizenship criteria will effect everyone? Even people who already have permanent residency and are waiting out the 1 year before apply for citizenship.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abie83 -

There have been some court cases in the last 12-24 months re DIBP slowing down citizenship applications for certain humanitarian visa holders (ie refugee visas, etc). I'd be ready for some very intensive questions about all aspects of your application given what we've seen. However no problem applying for a subclass 155 Resident Return Visa which once granted will renew your re-entry rights for 1 or 5 years depending on your circumstances - this takes care of your ability to re-enter Australia, and would not negatively affect your application (unless you traveled to a country where you had previously claimed protection from in some cases, etc) but no good way to predict how long DIBP will take with citizenship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abie83 said:


> Hi Mark
> I submitted paper based citizenship application in May 2016, money was deducted from my account on the 15th on may 2016. I haven't received any email or mail since then. I called about 6times and was told that they received my application and still going through character checks and that I just need to be patient. I haven't received any dates for the test up to now, it's been nearly 11months. Is there anything that i should do to speed up the process?
> 
> I am on a humanitarian visa which expired in October 2016. I was hoping to go for a short holiday in Bali and not sure what to do. I was told to apply for a returning visa. Is it safe and also does it affect my application?.
> Thanks in advance....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunnyd -

For calculating living time in a designated area for the 887 visa, normal holiday periods (ie, 2-3 weeks per year) where you traveled abroad but continued maintaining your residence in Australia during the 2 years are considered part of the 2 years and you don't have to subtract them from the time you're claiming. What does end up needing to be subtracted in some cases are times beyond that amount of time especially if you were on unpaid leave from your employer, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sunnyd said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am currently on 489 visa and my visa was approved 19th dec 2014 then i moved to regional area on 1st aprill 2015. by this 1st aprill2017 i finished my 2 years condition. I applied for my 887 visa on 5th april2017. But one question kills me is i went to overseas for 35 days in these 2 years. is that going be a problem or holidays doesn't count.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SirDingo -

Thanks for the note. I don't know of any better way to accomplish what you're seeking to do - there is the added risk, however, that if you get an eVisitor visa (subclass 651), I've seen these sometimes configured for 12 month minimum stay, which means you'd have to wait out that period onshore before the visitor visa would cease and the bridging visa (and work rights) would activate. There is the possibility of a student visa I suppose, but that could be costly in terms of paying for schooling that you may not want or need, and would only allow working 40 hours per fortnight and work could only begin once the course had started.

Another answer would be a sponsored work visa (ie, 457) but she'd need to be approved for that prior to beginning work.

Sorry I don't have a better solution -

Best,

Mark Northam



SirDingo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm Australian and my german wife and I got married in Australia 8 years ago. We are currently living overseas. We want to return to live permanently in Australia later this year. Our main concern is her ability to work in Australia when we land.
> 
> We've looked at the option of arriving on a tourist visa and then applying onshore for a Partner Visa. But I think that means she can't legally work until the tourist visa runs out after 3 months and she then gets a Bridging Visa?
> 
> Applying offshore is possible, but logistically difficult due to me having to apply to various Oz government departments to get certified copies of our marriage certificate and birth certificate and have them sent halfway around the world so we can apply offshore.
> 
> Is there a better way for us to apply and ensure she has the legality to work when she arrives or very shortly thereafter?
> 
> Thanks very much in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aleni -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, they cannot use the 4020 from the withdrawn application as a reason to refuse a new application, however they will, I expect, check every aspect of your new application VERY thoroughly, including calls to employers you're claiming work experience points from, etc etc etc. Be prepared.

Re 2, inclusion of you will likely subject your partner's 190 to intense scrutiny as your 189 would be. That's not a reason for refusal, however as above you need to make sure you can defend every claim you're making for points and otherwise. Also, make sure that you go over your Form 80's with a microscope (!) and check that all information is 100% correct.

Re 3, no way to predict as it depends on the evidence and reason(s) for refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aleni said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am writing to get help from you.
> A few month ago, I applied for subclass 189 visa for myself. After a while, I got a notice that I have provided a false document to immigration with providing an altered work reference letter.
> Since I couldn't provide any further document to support my case, I withdraw my application.
> Now, I have a partner who is applying for subclass 190. I was planning to wait 1.5 years until she gets her citizenship and then apply for partner visa. However, the new regulation that PM Turnball is planning involves further 4 years waiting after getting the PR to get the citizenship. In this case, I cannot wait for 5 years. So, I am changing my plan to lodge my application again.
> Much appreciated if you could help me clarify these questions:
> 
> 1- If I apply again for subclass 189 again, what's the chance that my PIC 4020 notice would come out and results in refusal of my new application?
> 2- If I include myself in my partner's application for 190 visa, in case that my PIC 4020 comes out, how is it going to affect the application? Is it going to results in refusal of my partner's application too or she would get her visa but mine would be refused?
> 3- In case that my application gets refused, how much is the chance of my success in AAT?
> I am really looking forward to hearing from you.
> In advance, I am extremely thankful for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ygi07 -

Thanks for the note. Although all details of the new rules have not yet been clarified by DIBP, generally speaking persons on 186 TRT pathway applications are protected. There has never been an actual "list" for the 186 TRT pathway, however I'd lodge it as soon as you are eligible as we expect more changes are coming, and if DIBP stays with their new "no advance notice" mode regarding changes, you could find your eligibility changing literally overnight.

The one issue that would be a problem for you would be if you do not reach your "2-years on a 457" requirement for the 186 TRT before the time your 457 expires, as you cannot be granted another 457 if your occupation is not on the new STSOL or MLTSSL lists.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ygj07 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you can clarify this for me. I have been on visa 457 with my employer since August 2013. I have worked with them full time for more than 6 years now, since January 2011 while I was on my visa 485, then transitioned to 457. I have done some reading and it looks like ENS subclass 186 - Temporary Residence Transition is my next best step to applying PR. My employer agreed to nominate me for this visa. We actually touched base with a migration agent mid April 2017 to start the application.
> 
> However, the immigration law for 457 literally changed overnight on April 18 2017. I am concerned my chances to apply 186 TRT is affected. Firstly, I only have 4 months left on my 457 (expires August 2017). Secondly, my nominated occupation ANZCSO 133311 that I used for my 457 is no longer in any of the new lists. From my understanding, only Direct Stream requires occupation list and TRT is not required because I have worked for my employer for more than 6 years. Can you confirm this is correct?Will the new change affect the TRT part of ENS? I looked at the Immigration website, it only mentioned Direct Entry but no mention of TRT anywhere, which concerns me.
> 
> Currently my migration agent just mentioned that my occupation is not longer on the list and they are current researching whether I can still apply PR any other way. I was wondering if you could provide an answer for all my questions above.
> 
> Obviously, with the sudden tightening of the migration law, for someone like me who has been in Australia since 2006, from studying uni to working full time making it more than 10 years living here, it is a blow to my face that after so long, there is a possibility I might not be able to stay here any longer. I hope immigration will be fair to me as i have been doing everything here legitimately, contributing a fair amount as a former foreign student and now a taxpayer.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fuzzybear -

Thanks for the note. Normally PR visa bridging visas do not include the previous conditions of the previous substantive visa that the person held, however there is some discretion with case officers re: applying different conditions (or not) to bridging visas.

Would suggest you carefully consider the carer visa as these have become exceptionally difficult to get in recent times due to policy changes at DIBP including having to prove that it is not possible for any social service organisation, family members, etc to provide the carer services to the sponsor. Also note that these visas will likely take several years to be processed (currently 4.5 or more).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fuzzybear said:


> Hi Mark, looking for your input please.
> 
> We are here on a 3 year tourist visa. One of the clauses is that we can't stay more than 12 months in any 18 month period. It also has 8503, no further stay on it.
> 
> We have now had the 8503 successfully waived, which allows us to apply for another visa whilst in the country.
> 
> We are now looking at applying for a carers visa(we have passed the medical assessment by Bupa). What my question is that when we apply for the carers visa will the bridging visa that is granted have the same conditions as our original tourist visa? Meaning that we will still have to leave the country, for 6 months, after our first 12 months are up?
> 
> Hope this makes sense.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pradeep -

Re 1, normally award certifications or completion letters plus transcripts are sufficient. Re 2, Form 80 is now routinely required, so might as well complete it and upload along with your other evidence and documents.

Re 3, it's up to you - some people lodge police clearance certificates (PCCs) with their application, others wait until DIBP requests it. For 189's, we generally recommend doing them early in the process either at time of application or shortly thereafter as the only real risk is that they expire prior to a visa decision, which means at worst you might have to get new ones then.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pradeep Maheshwari said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am going to lodge my PR application (Subclass 189) before this weekend and need urgent help/suggestion with a few things:
> 
> 1. I am a PhD from UNSW, Australian and I have claimed 5 points for meeting Australian Study Requirement and 5 points for Specialist Education Qualification in my EOI. Now I need to furnish documents against these claims. My question: Is my PhD degree award along with transcripts sufficient for each of these requirements? If not, what else should I include?
> 
> 2. Do I need to fill and attach form 80 and 1221 as a part of additional character requirements? Are these forms compulsory and must*be uploaded at the time of lodgement?
> 
> 3. Regarding character requirement, the border.gov.au website says that "Do not arrange for police certificates until we ask you to" but people have told me that they will definitely ask for police certificates at the time of visa decision and hence you should provide it upfront along with the PR application in order to save visa processing time at the later stage. Some have suggested me that provide police certificates even without waiting for their email asking for it. What should I do? Should I just apply for police certificates before I lodge my application?
> 
> Any clarification*regarding these points will be highly appreciated.*
> 
> Thanks a lot.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Pradeep


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kraken -

I understand your frustration. There's little you can do except to provide what they are requiring at this point when it comes to any expired health or police reports. It's no fun, and it's a costly exercise, however I would suggest that at least in the minds of some, compared to the ability to spend the rest of your life in Australia, it's a relatively small price to pay.

My suggestion: be polite and prompt in your responses to DIBP and from time to time ask if there is any further information or documents they need. Hopefully this will nudge them along and they'll wrap things up soon.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kraken said:


> Dear Mark.
> 
> Hope you can advise me on my situation.
> I lodged my 189 visa application last year with 3 applicants: my wife, my child and me. My problem is my health assessment and my child's have only 6 months of validity and they have 3 months gap. Last year, when all assessments are clear, it took the department some time to look at my case. By that time my child's assessment expired and they asked for re-exam. I had it done again. I also signed and uploaded form 815 after this assessment. After 6 weeks (standard time), they came back asking me to sign form 815!!! Maybe the CO didn't notice that I have uploaded a new form 815. Waiting another 6 weeks, they came back and now my health assessment was expired, they asked me for re-exam.
> I am tired with this process and it seems an endless loop. I have tried to email them explaining about this but it seems not help.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi David -

Thanks for the note. You could look at a partner visa (no age limits currently) or potentially one of the 188 visas which are based on business history and/or investment. There might also be the possibility of a subclass 186 employer sponsored PR visa via the high income exemption (over $133,000/yr salary) but this would apply to current 457 holders generally.

Sorry I don't have any better options - best of luck going forward.

Best,

Mark Northam



davidtoop said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am 50 years old. I have a 489 Visa which expires in December 2018. I an unable to make the full two years residency to apply for PR. Are there any options available to still obtain PR?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ffza13 -

Thanks for the note. DIBP generally gives 28 days to respond to this type of a notice, then can proceed to refuse the subclass 100 PR application. If he does not respond, they can still proceed to refuse the 100. That being said, these processes don't always happen instantly, and there is the possibility of an AAT appeal of the refusal which can take 12 months or more to conclude.

My suggestion: don't preoccupy yourself with wondering or worrying about what your ex husband may or may not do regarding his visa - you won't be able to find out from DIBP anyway (for privacy reasons) so I'd instead focus your energies on the future.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ffza13 said:


> 3 likes given
> 309 visa sponsorship withdrawn and pregnant
> So immi have received my sponsorship withdrawal of my ex husbands 309 visa application.
> 
> I am currently 7 months pregnant and our relationship ceased because I found out he used my Australian status to get into the country.
> 
> From DIBP's letter I know that they will contact him and ask him to comment on the sponsorship withdrawal and why he should stay. He won't be able to say that he has a child because I am still pregnant so how would he be able to prove this? I presume immigration would want him to produce a birth certificate but what if he cannot provide this ?
> 
> Also does immi give him a timeframe for which he is to respond to the withdrawal of sponsorship? What will happen if he doesn't respond at all ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Serendipitybelle -

Thanks for the note and kind words. Yes, possible to apply for an onshore 820/801 partner visa while in Australia on a sc600 visitor visa, however if you have Condition 8503 on the sc600 visa, you'll need to get a waiver of that in order to apply for the partner visa. Generally safer to apply for the 8503 waiver first, then if granted apply for the onshore partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Serendipitybelle said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge here. It's been great reading your posts.
> 
> I'm a newby here but I'll give it a go. Is it possible for a tourist 600 visa holder (not ETA) to apply for an onshore partner visa before expiry of tourist visa and in the meantime be granted a bridging visa while waiting for the outcome? I understand that the 8503 condition may be breached but just getting a lot of conflicting feedback.
> 
> Appreciate hearing from you. Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Barra27 -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately if your visa was undecided as of 18 April 2017 and your occupation is not on either of the new STSOL or MLTSSL lists, your 457 cannot be granted. It's horribly unfair in my opinion.

An AAT review would almost surely give you the same result, and the only small hope I see could be a case in the Federal Circuit Court after an AAT refusal that essentially claimed that the imposition of these changes on people who previously lodged applications is unfair and does not represent good governance of the country (there are some court cases on this). Frankly it's a long shot at best.

Another option might be an onshore RSMS direct entry pathway visa if you can find a sponsoring employer, and assuming your occupation is ANZSCO skill level 1, 2 or 3 as these visas don't seem to be affected YET. We expect more changes on 1 July 2017 to 457, 186 and 187 programs so I'd move as fast as you can on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



barra27 said:


> Hi Mark thanks for offering your assistance
> 
> I applied for 457 visa in Jan 17, submitted extra documents, only to now find out that as my position is no longer allowed for a visa, my application would be refused and I will be given 28 days to leave the country.
> 
> It seems very unfair, i came to Australia to study, obtained a diploma after several years, and am now having to leave, unless i apply for a new course to study. I thought the Government would make changes going forward i.e. for new applicants.
> 
> Is it worth appealing the likely refusal of 457? Are there any other options that I have?
> 
> Thankyou


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samy -

Thanks for the note. There is no requirement to provide the NOIM form, however there is a requirement to provide a letter from the celebrant on their letterhead stating that they plan to marry the two of you, and a planned date and location should be included in that letter.

You and your partner should each provide a signed, dated statement detailing the development of the relationship, how you decided to get engaged, and your plans for the future - these statements do not need to be statutory declarations or on Form 888. You should also include at least 2 Form 888's from Australian citizens or permanent residents who attest that your relationship is genuine - each one should include a copy of their Australian passport or Australian PR visa. Additional statements of support are helpful too - these can be on Form 888 if the writer is an Australian citizen or PR, or just typed up and signed/dated with a copy of their ID if the writer is not a citizen or PR.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Samy longue said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Please let me know how does Notification of intended marriage document( NOIM) goes.Is it ok if just the sponsor meet the marriage celebrant in Australia to fill and sign it while the celebrant attest it since i the applicant is not in Australia or must the applicant sign it as well before it will make it valid in the eyes of the visa officer? Please i do really need information about this NOIM. Do i need to specify a date or the wedding to take place or give a range?
> 
> 3. Who is supposed to submit form 888 statutory declaration form? Is it both applicant and sponsor or just applicant ?
> 
> Please i will be grateful for your clarification.
> 
> With regards.
> 
> Sammy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maverickjoel -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about your 485 refusal. Assuming you were holding only the bridging visa for your 485 when your 485 was refused, you are barred from further onshore applications on this visit. You may want to look at departing Australia and applying for a visitor visa to re-enter Australia and apply for a new 485 while in Australia on the visitor visa, however you need to make sure you meet the rest of the requirements including that you completed your course requirements no more than 6 months prior to lodging the 485 application. Might be helpful for you to have a consult with an immigration lawyer or agent to help work out a good strategy for this to make sure you address all of the requirements of the 485 visa (there are many - it's a very tricky visa actually).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



maverickjoel said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My 485 visa got refused because I did not upload the english language test results on time.Will I be able to reapply for the visa?
> 
> I did not manage to get a test date before the time of application. The refusal letter said clause 485.212 was not met. It was detailed that I should have done an exam prior to submitting the application. I had done the exam after submitting the application and uploaded the results. But this was not accepted and the application was refused. So I am currently on a bridging visa according to the refusal letter; I have 35 days left to leave the country. During this time will I be able to apply for 485 visa again ?
> 
> Please Advise
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Joel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Singh4347 -

Thanks for the note. I'd include a note with your application that the owner handles all HR functions as the company is too small to have a dedicated HR person. Provide complete contact details for the owner, and most importantly, make sure the owner is ready to answer a call or site visit from DIBP. DIBP is now in some cases asking the owner (or HR person) very detailed questions about claimed employment including specific questions about every task listed in ANZSCO for the occupation - make sure the owner is ready for this sort of question.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



singh4347 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> please help me in this regard, as I have been working as software developer for a small company and they do not have an HR department, all the administrative work is managed by the Owner of the company. So, as I am confused as someone mention that during visa processing they might go for verification and crosscheck with HR.What should i do?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paolo89 -

Thanks for the note. Based on what has been announced so far, you may be safe with the 186 TRT pathway and a Sep 2017 application as long as your current 457 visa does not expire before you can apply for the 186 TRT. You will not be able to get any further 457 visas if your occupation is not on either of the new STSOL or MLTLLS lists.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Paolo89 said:


> Hello Mark , I have a question about my situation about last bad news of visa.
> 
> I'm in sponsor visa 457 from September 2015 , I'm only 5 month to apply for permanent.
> 
> But whit last news , I don't know if I can still apply.
> 
> Because my job is not anymore in the list.
> But if I good understand , for the transition stream the new list start only from march 2018.
> 
> Can you confirm me in September 2017 can I still apply permanent visa with transition stream if anyway my job is not anymore in the list?
> 
> Thanks mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Purirajesh -

Thanks for the note. No good way to predict this unfortunately. We're seeing 489 times of anywhere from 6 to 10 months, but times vary widely.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



purirajesh said:


> Hi Mark,
> What is the 489 NT SS visa grant time after submitting PCC and medicals as well, in 2017???


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tijanaoc -

Thanks for the note. Normally DIBP does not require actual copies of previous passports, and in many cases these are not available since many countries confiscate previous passports before issuing new ones. I'd list all the previous passports you have info on or can remember when asked on the application, and include only a copy of the current passport with the application. If DIBP needs more than that, they will ask, but I would not be concerned if you don't have the old ones as DIBP understands that these are often not available.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tijanaoc said:


> In the partner migration booklet it states that copies of the applicant's current and all previous passports are required. I'm wondering if they are really strict about this. My husband (applicant - Irish citizen) has his current and previous passport (which was valid from 2004-2014). He does not have his two passports previous to that (which I am guessing were 1984-1994 and 1994-2004). Is this likely to cause issues with DIBP?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Done - see response in this thread, thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



tijanaoc said:


> Hi Mark,
> I had a question here which I deleted last night, as it was no longer relevant. I had another question in its place which I put in this morning, but I see you have gone past my post answering other ones after me (my fault for not asking last night ). Would you be able to answer when you get a moment? Thx


----------



## tijanaoc

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tijanaoc -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Normally DIBP does not require actual copies of previous passports, and in many cases these are not available since many countries confiscate previous passports before issuing new ones. I'd list all the previous passports you have info on or can remember when asked on the application, and include only a copy of the current passport with the application. If DIBP needs more than that, they will ask, but I would not be concerned if you don't have the old ones as DIBP understands that these are often not available.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks! They do really make you jump through hoops and give you heart palpitations every time you see some weird "requirement"


----------



## Toldo68

Hello Sir,

I have received a message from my case officer yesterday. She asked me to provide an Official Registeration Form from my 2 former employers?


I don't know how I'm supposed to do that even though I'm not self employed.

Though one of my profession is stated with the company I was working with in my national ID. Can this be a benifical in this case?

Is there any likelyhood they would refuse my appliction if I couldn't provide more files?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Toldo68 -

Thanks for the note. Yes, it's possible they can refuse your visa if they are not satisfied via documents you provide that you actually worked at the employers you claimed to have and done work that is in accordance with the ANZSCO tasks/duties for your nominated occupation.

I would consider providing as many documents as possible to justify any of the claims of work experience for points. It's likely that they have concerns about some of your previous work experience claims. It's now your job to address those concerns via further documents. I'd also make sure your former employers are ready for a call or site visit from DIBP if they decide to try and verify your claims of previous employment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Toldo68 said:


> Hello Sir,
> 
> I have received a message from my case officer yesterday. She asked me to provide an Official Registeration Form from my 2 former employers?
> 
> I don't know how I'm supposed to do that even though I'm not self employed.
> 
> Though one of my profession is stated with the company I was working with in my national ID. Can this be a benifical in this case?
> 
> Is there any likelyhood they would refuse my appliction if I couldn't provide more files?


----------



## shamtah

Thank you very much Mark for your kind reply and valuable information.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shareef -
> 
> Thanks for the note. For a subclass 600 visitor visa (visitor stream), there is no limitation on the amount of time the inviter (note, not called sponsor) must have been be in Australia. For the sponsored family visitor stream of the subclass 600, you must be a PR and have been living in Australia in total for 2 years or more generally (you must be "settled" in Australia).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## brotherjohn

Greeting Mr Mark Northam

I am an Australian Permanent Resident and married a girl from overseas and would like to sponsor her as my spouse. We just had a big wedding in her home country (both traditional and legal marriage) with several guests 1 month ago and took photos, made wedding videos etc. I have also visited her several times in the last 2 years and we have taken photos etc.

The problem is that we lied on a tourist visa lodged 2 years ago for her to visit australia stating that I was her cousin so that I could sponsor her to visit australia because she did not have the financial resources to support her visit to australia at that time (back then I was not interested in marrying her but we fell in love afterwards).

I understand we provided false information that she was my cousin in the tourist visa lodged 2 years ago.

My question is that will our current spouse visa get rejected because we provided false information in a tourist visa for her lodged 2 years ago.

She held that tourist visa more than 12 months ago and PIC 4020 criteria states that “your current visa application will be rejected if you provide false information in your current visa application or in a previous visa application for a visa that you held in the 12 months before making your current application?
But in our case, she “held that tourist visa more than 12 months ago” (outside the PIC 4020 time limit of 12 months)?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brotherjohn -

Thanks for the note. If the expiration date of the visitor visa was more than 12 months ago, then the false information on that application cannot be used by itself to refuse the visa on PIC 4020 grounds - that's the good news.

The not-so-good news is that DIBP may take the position that you are her cousin, and now allege PIC 4020 if you claim she is not your cousin - you'll need to be armed with lots of solid documents to prove she is not your cousin, and to prove that the relationship is 100% genuine - if DIBP spots the difference between the past application and the partner application, they are going to put every aspect of your application under the microscope since they know they can't "get" you for the previous lies, they may assume that everything in your current application is a lie unless you prove otherwise.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



brotherjohn said:


> Greeting Mr Mark Northam
> 
> I am an Australian Permanent Resident and married a girl from overseas and would like to sponsor her as my spouse. We just had a big wedding in her home country (both traditional and legal marriage) with several guests 1 month ago and took photos, made wedding videos etc. I have also visited her several times in the last 2 years and we have taken photos etc.
> 
> The problem is that we lied on a tourist visa lodged 2 years ago for her to visit australia stating that I was her cousin so that I could sponsor her to visit australia because she did not have the financial resources to support her visit to australia at that time (back then I was not interested in marrying her but we fell in love afterwards).
> 
> I understand we provided false information that she was my cousin in the tourist visa lodged 2 years ago.
> 
> My question is that will our current spouse visa get rejected because we provided false information in a tourist visa for her lodged 2 years ago.
> 
> She held that tourist visa more than 12 months ago and PIC 4020 criteria states that "your current visa application will be rejected if you provide false information in your current visa application or in a previous visa application for a visa that you held in the 12 months before making your current application?
> But in our case, she "held that tourist visa more than 12 months ago" (outside the PIC 4020 time limit of 12 months)?


----------



## tejin

Hello Mark

It is great to see somebody who has successfully helped thousands over the years. Admire your effort mate.

My question is a very simple one.

I am thinking of applying for Subclass 189 for permanent residence under code 221112 of management accountant. The total experience I have in this job is 2 years and 3 months. 

My question is,
Am I eligible to apply but I'll receive no points for my experience

Or

I'm not eligible at all, and a minimum of 3 years of experience in a specific code is mandatory for filling an application.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tejin -

Thanks for the note and kind words. Currently there is no minimum work requirement for the subclass 189 visa if you can get the points you need from other sources (ie, age, IELTS, etc). As they are changing this rule for the 457 where in many cases you'll need 2 years of work experience regardless of education, I anticipate they may change the rule for the 189 PR visa as well eventually. Also note that you'll need to have a successful skills assessment and IELTS test score in hand prior to lodging an Expression of Interest to await an invitation to apply for the 189.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tejin said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> It is great to see somebody who has successfully helped thousands over the years. Admire your effort mate.
> 
> My question is a very simple one.
> 
> I am thinking of applying for Subclass 189 for permanent residence under code 221112 of management accountant. The total experience I have in this job is 2 years and 3 months.
> 
> My question is,
> Am I eligible to apply but I'll receive no points for my experience
> 
> Or
> 
> I'm not eligible at all, and a minimum of 3 years of experience in a specific code is mandatory for filling an application.


----------



## fiontong

Hi Mark
Appreciate you help.

My PR(801)granted straight away at the beginning of 2017.

Subject to the citizenship change, do I need to still fulfill the 4 years lawful residence in Australia ? Or all count from the PR grant?

If the answer is yes, wanna to ask nearly 20 months on a bridging visa A waiting period will count into the lawful residency calculating?

Thanks

fion


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fiontong -

With the new changes, you must first have 4 years holding a PR visa before you can apply for citizenship, which means essentially that any time in Australia prior to holding a PR visa doesn't provide any benefit for citizenship. So the time you spent prior to getting the PR visa, including time on the BVA or time on the subclass 820 provisional partner visa does not count towards citizenship based on the new changes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fiontong said:


> Hi Mark
> Appreciate you help.
> 
> My PR(801)granted straight away at the beginning of 2017.
> 
> Subject to the citizenship change, do I need to still fulfill the 4 years lawful residence in Australia ? Or all count from the PR grant?
> 
> If the answer is yes, wanna to ask nearly 20 months on a bridging visa A waiting period will count into the lawful residency calculating?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> fion


----------



## fiontong

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Fiontong -
> 
> With the new changes, you must first have 4 years holding a PR visa before you can apply for citizenship, which means essentially that any time in Australia prior to holding a PR visa doesn't provide any benefit for citizenship. So the time you spent prior to getting the PR visa, including time on the BVA or time on the subclass 820 provisional partner visa does not count towards citizenship based on the new changes.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thanks, thank you for your quick reply.

These is a very unfair. We spend the times in aus and we pay tax for aus. And, one thing is different state had different processing time. I am in Mel and is one of the slow processing hub. The processing time for my PR grant is almost nearly 19 months.

Thanks that give me a clear pic for my the next step.

fion


----------



## bonzarelli

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for helping out all us confused folk out there...

I have applied for an offshore spouse visa 309 from Pakistan in March. We received an email for the biometrics, and we had that completed in April. Could you tell me how long it takes for the health assessment email to come through?? We have not been assigned a CO as of yet.

We are currently expecting our first child, and i had included all documents to prove this in the application. I would really like for my husband to be with me for the delivery of our baby as i will be going back to Australia for the delivery. Is there anything you think i could add to my application to maybe help things along??

Kind Regards,
Sadia & Bilal


----------



## emmaandrico

Hi Mark,

I'm new to this forum and hoped you may be offer some guidance (it would be much appreciated!)

I'm hoping to apply for a 309 Partner Visa from the U.K. and I've been doing a lot of research to ensure my best chances of success, but I'm a little concerned about our time apart. My partner and I have been together for a little under 3 years and have lived together for around 2 of these. We spent a year living together in Australia as I was on a working holiday visa. Once it expired, my partner came to back to the U.K. with me on a 6 month tourist visa and we stayed with my parents (as my time in England is only a temporary arrangement until I can get back to Australia to be with him). Due to his tourist visa, he was unable to work here and so left at the end of the 6 months to start working again in Australia (in order to save money for our partner visa). We have both been working solidly in our home countries for 6 months now and he will be coming back for a month soon so we can put our application together. After this, he will unfortunately have to return to Australia so he can continue to work.

My question is, although we have lived together for 2 years, does our 6 months away from each other invalidate our 12 month requirement for this visa? We have been in constant contact and I believe we have a generally strong case for a 'genuine, ongoing relationship' as we are very close to each other's families and have plenty of evidence in other areas. 

Any advice would be hugely appreciated, I feel like I'm driving myself crazy!


----------



## Kodak

*Birth certificate*

Hi Mark,

I hope you are well.

Im busy with my 189 application and my birth certificate only reflects my birth details (name surname, country, birth date) and non of my parents. Do you think this will be a problem?

I have sumitted an application from home affairs a full birth certificate in March already but it could take anything from 2 weeks to a year for feadback.

Im also able to provide my National identification document that reflect my nationality and birthdate and my passport.

Do you think it will be good enought or do they need the full birth certificate?

Thank you in advance


----------



## missmullen

Hi Mark,

Hubby has now been PR for 3.5 years, and was eligible to apply for citizenship in October 2016. We didn't see any urgency to do so then, however now that we're expecting our first child the long term benefits of being a citizen mean that he now wants to pursue this. 

Unfortunately while we were getting the documents together, our lovely government announced their proposed changes to citizenship. So although the legislation currently remains unchanged (i.e. he is still eligible according to the Citizenship Act), I presume that the operational instructions provided to the DIBP officers from the Minister may mean that they will refuse to process citizenship applications regardless of current eligibility. 

We're essentially in limbo at the moment - he qualified prior to April 20th, but now we have to apparently wait another six months for them to change the rules, at which point he'll once again qualify. So it's only because of this six month period between announcement (April 2017) and legislation change (likely Oct 2017) that he doesn't "qualify" - even though the legislation remains unchanged!

I was hoping you have some "insider knowledge" on what his prospects/options might be over the next 6 months to keep this at least moving along i.e. would it be worthwhile applying now and just request that they hold it for 6 months rather than refusing it? Do you think they can/will actually legally refuse applicants who meet the current citizenship requirements (i.e. as per the Act)?

Thanks in advance for any insight you're able to offer. 

Kim.


----------



## ari84

Hi Mark! 

I'm new to the forum and I've got advise to come and ask you 

I think is a simple question but could not find any information.

I'm currently on a bridging visa A as my student visa expired about two weeks ago, I'm wondering if I have to keep studying until the decision for my new application is made or I can just cancel my course? 
I'm waiting for our application to go into my wife's PhD student visa as a dependent, my previous student visa was about to expire while my wife still has until 2019 on her's, so we decided that I should go into her visa. Now that my previous student visa has expire and my bridging visa is the current, having still an enrollment in a course myself, I'm wondering if cancelling that course would affect us in any matter. I'm finding difficult to keep paying the tuition and I think is better to focus more into my wife's studies. I'm waiting to go into my wife's PhD Student visa as a dependent.

thanks so much in advance! 

Ari.


----------



## tejin

Hello Mark

Thanks for your reply yesterday.

One more question  

The last line of 221112 says, "Registration or licensing is required."

I am an MBA finance who has experience in accounts, not a registered accountant and dont have a license that is normally held by registered accountants. Am I eligible?


----------



## ddrabadia

Hi Mark
I am stuck with the dreaded form 80. Question 34 and 35.
I have been on mutilples visas since 2010. Student then Temp resident then Student again for further studies. All visas were issued while i was in Australia as onshore application. Therefore i do not have a departure date.
Do i simply write N/A in the departure date and arrival date for my Temporary resident visa and the second student visa? OR do i give a written explanation on the additional information sheet.
Please help


----------



## arnar94

Hi Mark.

Hi guys i cant find any information about this,

I am planning to go to Bali soon and see some friends but i am in the middle of processing my(De Facto) permanent visa status (Subclass 100,801) and was wondering if in fact i can travel while that is in the process.

I only have my Icelandic passport as well so like I said I cant find any information about this on the internet.


----------



## ace.sunny

My friend's plan is to bring his wife under student dependent visa or directly through student visa. But he is unsure what would be the option and also he made a lot of stupid decisions as well. This is why he's in this position anyways.

They both are from Bangladesh. He has visited Australia 3 times at past (2001, 2007,2013) all with tourist visa; wife never visited Australia before. His elder brother, 1st uncle are citizens there. On 2nd of January 2017 he applied for Sponsored Family Stream Visa Subclass: 600 through his elder brother, did his Health and Biometric on 8th January. After 11 days his Tourist visa was approved for 6 months - multiple entry. After he arrived in Australia, he decided that he wants to study in Australia, so he gave IELTS test in Sydney, got the COE from UTS:INSEARCH for his Foundation Program. He had to leave Australia since in his visa there is "No further stay"

After going back in Bangladesh, right BEFORE applying for his student visa in the immigration, he got married. Now he's unsure whether it'd be a good idea to add her spouse as a subsequent entrant/ in dependent's list since it only has been 2 days since he got married. Also he gave "single" when applying at UTS

She also would like to study in Australia at Commercial Cookery Certificate IV. But her father don't have enough financial evidence to satisfy for her visa. So her father-in-law wants to be her financial sponsor. But can her father-in-law be sponsors of two persons (him and his wife) together? And it hasn't been many days since they were married, so that's also making them worried. 

So what would be the best option for his wife? Adding her in the dependent's list or applying for a student visa for his wife with her father-in-law being the sponsor

And how much does the sponsor needs to show in total? His 8 months (course duration)tuition fees is 25,000AUD and her 1 year's fees is 14,000AUD.


----------



## joanna1

Hi Mark, I have a few questions! 

1. Am I allowed to lodge an application after an IELTS test but before the results are released? 

2. What happens if I travel on an ETA before my bridging visa kicks in?

3. Am I required to go for a health check before the application if I'm not asked for one? Or do I just wait and see if I am asked to get a health check after the application? 

4. MUST I be present in Australia at time of receiving visa results? 

Thanks!


----------



## jem_freely

Hi Mark,

Good day. This is my first post and hoping you can also help me. I am really confused.

I am a freelance software developer consultant, and my client in Australia wanted me to visit them. It is just maybe 1-2weeks. I am not sure if subclass 600 business visitor stream would fit? Will Australia allow me to visit my client? I have visited them twice and been to Australia twice through subclass 600 business visitor stream. But that is when I was still employed in my home country. I resigned from that employer,and later on work as a freelance consultant. My worry is that Australia Immigration would think that I will be working on this company and will not go back to my home country. The company really just wanted to me to meet the new management, and be familiarize with their line of work. They are willing to sponsor my stay and expenses. 

Also another thing that bothers me is that I have read from news that Australia is bit strict now when it comes to jobs, they want the job for Australian people. So there, I hope you can advise me. 

Thanks a lot.


----------



## 2mas75

Hello Mark!

Hoping you can answer a question that has been lurking in the back of my head for quite some time..

Our plan is to apply for a 820 Partner Visa in November after being in a defacto relationship for a year. I will apply onshore while staying in Oz on a normal Tourist Visa for three months, lodging my application at the end of those months. 

Question is; will there be questions asked about my intentions when I enter Australia for those three months, and how should I answer those if they come? Shall I just be straight forward and tell them I will apply for an 820, or that I intend to return when I am supposed to according to my current Tourist Visa?

Hope you can answer me - thank you so much in advance!


----------



## Bikrum

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I am living in regional area from last 4 years, i was issue 489 visa on April 2016. Immigration website states that to apply for 887 visa it doesn't need to be 2 years immediately. So could you guys help me how earlier we can apply for that visa?

Thanks Cheers.


----------



## mau88

Hi Mark,

I hope all is well. I am new to this forum and would like to post these enquiries: is it required for the 887 application to include Forms 80 and 1221? And would a résume suffice? 

Thanks in anticipation.


----------



## kei

Hi Mark

I got some questions and a unique situation and appreciated if you can assist us

Just to brief as in general about our status before asking a very important question 

- I am an Aussie citizen (from Hong Kong) sponsoring my partner (who is also from HK)
- Got married since in Nov 2014 @ Sydney
- Applied onshore visa 820 Dec 2014
- Visa 820 granted @ June 2016 after aprox. 1 1/2 year
- Applied Visa 801 @ Dec 2016 (as 2nd stage partner visa). I am aware it takes 16 months of wait for the approval
- 01 Feb 2017, we went to Hong Kong for holiday and to visit our relatives/friends and family. 
- 10 March 2017, I came back to Aus first while my wife extended the stay to be with her parents/family come back in 11 May. 

Then suddenly a while ago, she got an offer for a short term job that she can earn but she needs to stay till the end of June 

She is still considering whether to accept the job and come back to Aus in July? 

My question here is.....
1) Given she is overseas already for like 5 months (if up to July), will this affect her visa, the application even though we are aware that the final grant decision is made regardless you are in Aus/overseas? Or better not risk it?

2) If it is OK, does she need to update in the immi account for Changes Of Circumstances form? Or no need to fill in anything as the form is only for change of address, or change of relationship status etc?

3) Since she is not holding an Aussie passport or a citzenship yet, even she does a month of income in HK, does she pay foregin tax as an Aussie resident or HK resident? I mean the foreign income she intend work for a month and a half would be about AUD$2500 ..so its not much anyway but given its hard to find a job in Aus without a PR so she wanna contribute as much as she can

4) In the immi account, the status says: "Important information: This application is currently being assessed. The department may contact the applicant if further supporting documentation is required." Does it mean that the CO is not yet assigned? What if they request Police Certificate or Health Check? Can she do it while in HK? or have to do it here in Australia?

5) As obviously, she is not PR or resident yet...we will intend to go to holiday with her in the next around Sep for a week to Fiji from Australia. We will be purchasing travel/medical insurance. Obviously, this is not an issue for me since I am an Aussie citizen here. However, an issue for my wife so I wanna ask, which company that covers for travel/medical insurance for NON Aus resident ? And is it that we purchase 2 diff insurance company given i am an Aussie citizen and she is not?

6) Finally, if in case, she gets rejected while in oversea (which is HIGHLY unlikely anyway given our geniune relationship but I heard horror stories that they have been wronged for no reason), does it mean she cannot enter Australia again provided she wants to appeal the case? Or she can still come back with tourist visa etc

Your answer and advice will be appreciated 

Thank you in advance


----------



## Megjames

Hi Mark! I'm so pleased to find you  I posted on the main forum and someone directed me to you. We are a British family living in the UK hoping to emigrate to NSW. My mother is an Australian citizen and has lived near Sydney since 2005. She runs a business which is picking up and she would like to employ my partner to run the sales and marketing side of the business. My partner is a sales manager with 4 years sales experience. I appreciate that my mother would have to prove that she was unable to fill the position locally before she could sponsor my partner but our burning question is... can my mother legally sponsor my partner to work for her, considering that she is almost related to him (we aren't married)? We are googling and googling but can't find any info!


----------



## munal66

*Where to start for Subclass 189*

Hi Mark,

Would appreciate if you could direct me to any existing thread where I can get some guidance on how to proceed for Subclass 189?

I am new to the whole process and need very specific details on Skill Verification process and supporting documentation for the same by ACS.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## veky986

*Does change with 457 affect 186 - transitional pathway stream applicants*

Hi Mark,

My husband's occupation has been removed from list ( Telecommunication Technician -342414), and we have to apply for 186 - transitional pathway stream. Can we apply with same occupation, or we have to change it?
What to do?

Thanks in advance,
Vesna


----------



## katiepaul123

*Mark*

Hi Mark,

I have recently tried to contact you on skype as i wanted to ask you a few questions about applying for a visa with a criminal record.

Basically, me and my boyfriend want to leave on a WHV this year hopefully but we have this dreadful record over our heads.

I would love for us to have a private conversation if possible.

Thanks so much.


----------



## Rickysuann

Hey mark how ru actually I applied my 457 visa in last weak of nov and I'm in India still wating for visa grant can u plz help me out how long it will take thks a lot


----------



## vkovanovic

Hi Mark,

thank you so much for your help in this thread! I've learned so much from your posts!!

I have a quick question regarding changes to 186 DE visas. I'm applying for a university job with a 3 years contract (with likely extension) on level B (above $90k) and wanted to see will new rules affect the prospects of my 186 DE visa. 

Together with 457 changes, they introduced three changes to 186, namely:
1) new list of jobs (but "university lecturer A-E" is listed on the new "combined list of eligible skill occupations" but with a caveat for 457 visas)
2) age limit going down to 45 years, and
3) English requirements going up.

However, in the "old" 186 DE rules there are also exemptions for university positions stating that they do not need labor market testing and are waived of age limit. As the new amendment to 186 rules doesn't say anything about canceling existing waivers, I guess they still apply, right?

If that is true, it seems to me that the new rules (except for the English test requirement) are not affecting academic/research hires as they have an existing waiver for stuff that got changed, right?  


Best and thank you so much for your time
Vita


----------



## soimgood2012

Hi, Mark. Question about 485 graduate visa and health insurance.

If I do not hold a valid health insurance immediately after my student insurance expires, 
are they gonna refuse my 485 application?
Thank you.


----------



## Help-ala

*do I qualify?*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
I currently reside in Australia and I'm on a student Visa, i got my overseas degree assesed by the SLAA as i need to apply for the 189/190 under Solicitor. However, they asked me to complete a few courses before i can be admitted. Can I Still apply an EOI ? i have 60 AND 65 for 189 and 190 respectively.
Please advise


----------



## beachbum333

*Permanent partner visa subclass 100 or 801*

Hi Mark,
I have lived with my Australian partner for 3 years and we're considering applying for permanent partner visa. Do you know the current waiting time for either offshore 100 or onshore 801 visa? Also, if the visa is granted while overseas, do you have to move back to Australia within a certain time frame?

Thank you.


----------



## waujw

Hello Mark,

I have applied for an offshore 189 visa from South Korea, and it is currently being processed. As I will have submitted all the documents requested by the case officer by next week, I am planning to travel to Australia on an ETA (3-months tourist visa with a return flight ticket) at the end of this month to meet my friends and to seek job opportunities in Australia. 

In this case, would an ongoing offshore 189 visa application prevent me from obtaining a 3-month ETA visa?

Also, may I receive the grant for the offshore 189 visa while being onshore with an ETA visa?

Thank you in advance. I look forward to hearing from you.


----------



## mmhr

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thanks for helping people getting their answer to the questions. I have a quick question. I applied for 457 visa on 9th of April, 2017, for myself, my spouse and my son. My employer had applied for business sponsorship on 5th of January 2017 and Nomination on 24th of March 2017. I was checking the current processing time for 457 visa on immigration website, which says maximum 6 months for 90% of application. I was wondering whether this processing time includes all the process of sponsorship and nomination or is it 6 months after the approval of sponsorship and nomination. FYI, my occupation is in the MLTSSL and none of the sponsorship and nomination have been approved as of now. Thanks for your time.

MMHR


----------



## BionicAllah

*How long can I stay outside of Australia on my PR*

Hey Mark,

With the changes to citizenship eligibility it puts a spanner in the works for mine and my partner's plans.

I'm a little bit confused as to how long I can spend outside of Australia before my PR is void.

Planning to move back to England next September so my partner can study a course that isn't available in Australia. If I didn't come back to Australia for 2 years would be visa be void?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sadia & Bilal -

Thanks for the note. Normally partner visas take between12 and 18 months to be processed, but this can vary widely. You can take the health exams at any point you'd like by logging into your ImmiAccount where you lodged the application, clicking on the application, then clicking "View Health Assessment" - it will then present a button to "Organise Health Assessment" and some questions, once you answer the questions it will allow you to download a Health Referral Letter and this is the letter you would use to book your health exam at a DIBP approved health clinic in your country (see DIBP site for more on country-specific info under their "Contacts" section for each country.

Re: trying to speed up the process, I'd consider writing a letter to advise that you are expecting, include evidence of this (Dr report, etc), and request that the visa application be considered for expediting in the best interests of the unborn Australian child. No way to tell if this will be successful in getting them to speed it up, but there is nothing to lose by trying.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bonzarelli said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for helping out all us confused folk out there...
> 
> I have applied for an offshore spouse visa 309 from Pakistan in March. We received an email for the biometrics, and we had that completed in April. Could you tell me how long it takes for the health assessment email to come through?? We have not been assigned a CO as of yet.
> 
> We are currently expecting our first child, and i had included all documents to prove this in the application. I would really like for my husband to be with me for the delivery of our baby as i will be going back to Australia for the delivery. Is there anything you think i could add to my application to maybe help things along??
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Sadia & Bilal


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emmaandrico -

Thanks for the note. The relevant 12 month period for establishing a valid de facto relationship is the 12 months immediately prior to lodging the visa application. It may be possible to show that despite 6 months apart in that period you had a genuine and continuing de facto relationship by showing that you had clearly established the relationship at a de facto level prior to the time apart, and that the time apart was temporary in nature. The success of this would be dependent on the case officer's opinion. To try and increase your chances of success, I would strongly urge you to look into registering your de facto relationship in the Australian state where you live once you return, if you are able to do this and meet your state's rules - by registering the de facto relationship it automatically meets the 12-month requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



emmaandrico said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm new to this forum and hoped you may be offer some guidance (it would be much appreciated!)
> 
> I'm hoping to apply for a 309 Partner Visa from the U.K. and I've been doing a lot of research to ensure my best chances of success, but I'm a little concerned about our time apart. My partner and I have been together for a little under 3 years and have lived together for around 2 of these. We spent a year living together in Australia as I was on a working holiday visa. Once it expired, my partner came to back to the U.K. with me on a 6 month tourist visa and we stayed with my parents (as my time in England is only a temporary arrangement until I can get back to Australia to be with him). Due to his tourist visa, he was unable to work here and so left at the end of the 6 months to start working again in Australia (in order to save money for our partner visa). We have both been working solidly in our home countries for 6 months now and he will be coming back for a month soon so we can put our application together. After this, he will unfortunately have to return to Australia so he can continue to work.
> 
> My question is, although we have lived together for 2 years, does our 6 months away from each other invalidate our 12 month requirement for this visa? We have been in constant contact and I believe we have a generally strong case for a 'genuine, ongoing relationship' as we are very close to each other's families and have plenty of evidence in other areas.
> 
> Any advice would be hugely appreciated, I feel like I'm driving myself crazy!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kodak -

Thanks for the note. DIBP normally requires a "full" birth certificate which lists the parents' details, hospital details, and your details. I would advise them you've ordered this, then lodge the one you already have plus any other documents that show your parents' names and your name (ie, establishes the relationship) on it. These sometimes include school certificates, etc from some countries.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kodak said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you are well.
> 
> Im busy with my 189 application and my birth certificate only reflects my birth details (name surname, country, birth date) and non of my parents. Do you think this will be a problem?
> 
> I have sumitted an application from home affairs a full birth certificate in March already but it could take anything from 2 weeks to a year for feadback.
> 
> Im also able to provide my National identification document that reflect my nationality and birthdate and my passport.
> 
> Do you think it will be good enought or do they need the full birth certificate?
> 
> Thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Missmullen -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear your husband got caught by the surprise announcement re: increased requirements for citizenship. There's no way to tell exactly what the requirements will be, and we assume that DIBP will hold off on processing any applications made from 20 April 2017 until the exact requirements are decided upon. Beyond that, we're all waiting for the specific requirements to be determined, including if there are any compelling/compassionate waivers available of the various options. Wish I had more info, but that's what we have so far.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



missmullen said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hubby has now been PR for 3.5 years, and was eligible to apply for citizenship in October 2016. We didn't see any urgency to do so then, however now that we're expecting our first child the long term benefits of being a citizen mean that he now wants to pursue this.
> 
> Unfortunately while we were getting the documents together, our lovely government announced their proposed changes to citizenship. So although the legislation currently remains unchanged (i.e. he is still eligible according to the Citizenship Act), I presume that the operational instructions provided to the DIBP officers from the Minister may mean that they will refuse to process citizenship applications regardless of current eligibility.
> 
> We're essentially in limbo at the moment - he qualified prior to April 20th, but now we have to apparently wait another six months for them to change the rules, at which point he'll once again qualify. So it's only because of this six month period between announcement (April 2017) and legislation change (likely Oct 2017) that he doesn't "qualify" - even though the legislation remains unchanged!
> 
> I was hoping you have some "insider knowledge" on what his prospects/options might be over the next 6 months to keep this at least moving along i.e. would it be worthwhile applying now and just request that they hold it for 6 months rather than refusing it? Do you think they can/will actually legally refuse applicants who meet the current citizenship requirements (i.e. as per the Act)?
> 
> Thanks in advance for any insight you're able to offer.
> 
> Kim.


----------



## Wcrk004

*Assistance needed*

Good day Mark,

I was hoping someone could shed some light or give me guidance on the following; We are in the final stages of our 189 visa application with everything being uploaded onto our immi account and a CO has already been assigned. The only outstanding documents that we were required to obtain was police clearance certificates from the time we worked in Qatar, we have now finally after 3 months received our police clearance certificates from Qatar but my wife's PCC only states her maiden name and not her married name even though we requested this to be added at the time of application (we sent copies of her old passport that she entered the country which was still in her maiden name as well as her new passport which states her married name, our marriage certificate as well as letter requesting that her maiden and married name be on the PCC).

So i'm a bit at a loss for words now as i don't know what more i could have done?

The problem is that my wife had not changed her maiden name yet and so she entered the country and obtained her work permit and RP on her maiden name.

Will this be a major problem when it comes to the CO making a decision? Even though my wife has her SA police clearance which states both her maiden and married name?
I just don't want to have to go through the same process again only to wait 3 months and have it produce the same outcome?
Any feedback would be appreciated.


----------



## mau88

Hi Mark,

I hope all is well. I am new to this forum and would like to post these enquiries: is it required for the 887 application to include Forms 80 and 1221? And would a résume suffice? 

Thanks in anticipation.


----------



## cheers15

Hi Mark

Just looking for some advice re applying for a student visa - wanted to chat or consult with someone.


----------



## AndrewTruong

Hi Mark ,

please help advise me
I submitted my 820 online and got BVA immediately on 4th of Nov 2015

It is about over 18months since i got BVA
When i open my immi account it showed 2 stage saying
Stage 1 status: received
Stage2 applying for 801/100 : now it opens for me to submit but it seems that i could not submit it through because i have not got 820, i am still on BVA

Is it true that i have to wait until i granted 820 then i am able to submit for 801 ?

It said that i will be granted PR within 2yrs since submission on 4thNov2015

Thank you very much


----------



## acb984

hi mark,

i and my partner granted 489 visa sponsored visa. my partner is primary applicant and i am dependant applicant.
but now we want to separetd.
my question If she does not include me in 887 permanent visa application.
could i be eligible to apply 887 by my own as i am also fullfilling two years living and one year full time-working condition.
I also have diploma in hospitality Two years study.
i am looking forward for your response.


----------



## Hurleysgirl1776

*Granted now what?*

Hi mark,
This may seem like a dumb question, but here goes. Ok so the 820 has been granted, that big thing you wait months for has finally happened. Yippi yeahhhhhh, drinks and partying all' good. Right......? Ok so fast forward to the next morning, so i have my 820 will what the hec do i do now? Can i apply for the medical coverage? Is there help with getting a job, is there an id number that i apply for like the USA ssnumber? Basically now what, and what does the 820 visa give me access to?


----------



## jwaterbottle

Hi Mark,

I really appreciate you doing this. I have a question about the 600 visa.

I'm currently on a 476 visa and have been in Australia for almost 1.5 years. Would it be possible for me to apply for (and be granted a) a 600 visa onshore to extend my stay by about 3 months? My reason being that I want to stay with my de facto partner for longer.

Thanks, I really appreciate it.


----------



## pommieinoz2017

Hi Mark,

Appreciate your help here. I am an Australian resident and my boyfriend has recently submitted his application for De Facto. I haven't yet completed mine but when reading his submission I noticed that he has made the following error:

- He has twice referred to our de facto relationship beginning 1st October then states later on in the application that it began on the 1st December.

We did begin our relationship at the start of October 4 weeks after he moved in to our shared house which he states also in his application.

My question is what should we do to correct this as reading his application it all seems all over the place date wise


----------



## albert0205

*Call from Australia High Commission Delhi (India*

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the reply mark, After 375 days of logging my application, I have received a call on 3rd May 2017 from Australia High Commission Delhi (India), the Officer asked few details on the documents I have submitted and my Roles and responsibility. The call went well and I was asked to submit provide and Fund statement showing from the time I joined my company which I dint have handy and was not available on the website. I have submitted a screenshot of the website which showed my Company name and the date of joining Company and provide and Fund. The Office called and acknowledge that he receive the email and will suffice the need. 
Is there something concerning with my application that I have received a call, or is a routine check by DIBP. When can I expect a outcome of the my application since I have received a call.

Thanks 
Albert Joseph



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Albert -
> 
> Sorry about the delay in responding. There generally is no number to call where you can get status updates from DIBP - same for email - they simply don't provide them. In most cases, all you can do is wait. If this is an Indian application and you are claiming any work experience for points, that might be the hold-up as in India DIBP has been relentless at doing very deep checks into work experience claims, including unannounced site visits at employers, phone calls requiring the employer to confirm whether or not you did each of the ANZSCO tasks for your occupations, etc etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## brotherjohn

Hello Mark
I was granted offshore Partner visa 309 2 months ago from Philippines.
I am in Australia now living with my spouse. We are moving to Brisbane from Sydney next month. 
My question is which immigration office should I send my completed form 929 (change of address) to inform immigration about my new address? 
I am not sure whether I have to send completed form 929 to my case officer in Philippines who processed my 309 temporary partner visa OR to send it to one of the DIBP offices here in Australia? I emailed my case officer in Philippines asking about this but he is not replying.

Thanks


----------



## Evolution02

Hi Mark,
I was contacted by Vetassess to provide a letter from my respective employers showing weekly hours of work. I work as a casual staff with more than 2 organizations and all provided me with a statement of service with the total hours of work but vetassess is now asking for them to state it per week which the organizations refused to do as i have no guaranteed weekly hours. Vetassess also requested for recent two payslips which i have already with me. Please advice me on how to deal with this issue. I have during my application provided vetassess as much evidence as possible and all my work are been performed in Australia.


----------



## vivian0409

Dear Mark,

I hope you are well, I saw your name and Email on AusraliaForum. Could you help me with my medical question below, please? 
I submitted my documents for 189 visa application about one month ago, and had the heath assessment two weeks ago. 
I declared that I am an Hepatitis B carrier and is in the treatment process now (I have medicine from a company called Viread, about $500/month in Australia but $100/month in my country ). I got my pathology result and found that two parameters (alt and LD) in my liver function are slightly high. The status of my health assessment on DIBP website is : Health assessed – wait for further advice from the department. My questions are:
1. Will I be rejected, please? I have full time work, and the tax I pay is several times more than the medicine even it is $500/month. 
2. What could I do to help the DIBP to approve my PR application please? I have all the other results, my DNA is nearly zero and my ultrasound scan is good, could I upload these results in my DIBP account, please? Or could I ask the specialist to write a letter for me, please?
3. Could I apply for the visa 485, please? I am working full time now and I love my job, if there is possibility to be rejected, I hope I can still keep on working. 
Thank you very much.


----------



## agm

HI Mark, 

Can you please confirm how long does the visa process takes time now-a-days as i have lodged my visa application since past 6 months and still looking forward to hear abt it?


----------



## girishkumarcs

*489 related*

Hi Mark,

I have been reading your replies in here with great interest. Thanks for your great help.

I am 48 years old and starting off an Immigration application on 489 from Abu Dhabi as I am currently working here. I am an Indian Citizen.

My queries are:

I am told that, during the provisional visa period of 2 years, I need to pay the University fees for my kid. She is about to enter University and is aiming for an engineering or medical stream. Query: Am I required to pay the International student fee or a local student fee? Does my daughter qualify for any scholarships at Australian Universities?
I do not know currently about which state sponsorship will I be getting. But 489 specifies to live in a regional location for 2 years. Is there a document somewhere which shows which are these 'regional' locations? I am concerned because, I have over 25 years of experience in Oil & Gas On shore plants Mechanical engineering (maintenance excellence, Consultancy, field experience) and do not know, whether I will be able to find a job enough to sustain my family of 3, with University fees and medical thrown in.
Medicare, as I am told is not available for me in the first 2 years. How can I manage medical expenses (like the routine tabs for hypertension etc) in the meanwhile? Are there any other options?
Thanks in advance, Mark for your kind advice.
Best Regards,
Girish.


----------



## tijanaoc

agm said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> Can you please confirm how long does the visa process takes time now-a-days as i have lodged my visa application since past 6 months and still looking forward to hear abt it?


Which visa?

You can find processing times (updated monthly) here:

https://www.border.gov.au/about/acc...ards/global-visa-citizenship-processing-times


----------



## Chien

*skill assessment and IELTS*

Hi Mark and all,

Please help! I am wondering if I must submit IELTS certificate together with CDR to EA? I ask because I want to have skill assessment by EA now, but currently, have not achieved IELTS score at the competent level (6.0 all sub-bands) and I may need about 1 year more to achieve 6.0 all sub-bands.

Secondly, is it enough to prove my salary if it is stated in my employer's reference letter with signature of my director - direct supervisor and company stamp? If not, is there any other evidence I can use to supplement to the reference letter excluding tax return/claim, pay slips, bank statement, social security book (because it was 10 years ago and I could not gain these pieces of evidence).
I would appreciate very much your response and suggestions.
Thank you!


----------



## tejin

*Mark, help please!*

Hello Mark

Thanks for your reply earlier.

One more question

The last line of 221112 says, "Registration or licensing is required."

I am an MBA finance who has experience in accounts, not a registered accountant and dont have a license that is held by registered/cartered accountants. Am I eligible?


----------



## gretz57

Hi Mark,

Under the new law, a permanent visa holder waits for another four(4) years before applying for Australian citizenship. My question is, is there a condition for travel outside Australia? In the previous requirement, one only needs to wait for one year and never leave Australia within a year or travel outside Australia within a year after the permanent visa grant to qualify for Australian citizenship .
What is the new requirements on travel as pre-requisite for Australian citizenship? 
Thank you very much.


----------



## Mohammadhusnain

*ASK mark*

Hi Mark,
I m new here.
visa type.Class UF Partner (Provisional)
I would like to know that our DOL...20 JULY 2012.THAT TIME MY Father was permanent residence of Australia,our medical.,police clearance was done in 2013.but due to rules change in immigration we had to wait for our Father citizenship.As now he is an Australian citizen in jan 2017.we received email on april 7 for medical and some additional documents were required ,,like police check,polio certificates etc.we undergo medical on 28th April and also sent required documents on 27th April.
what is the Next step and how long we have to wait , as our case is old one ,was lodged in 2012?

Thanx in Advance


----------



## sayedkarim

*Help me in Answering Partner Subclass 309/100 Visa Application Questions*

Hi Mark,

I am living in Pakistan and working as a self-employed and my sister is an Australian Citizen and some 1.5 years ago she introduced me with a friend of her who immigrated to Australia from Pakistan through UNHCR and got Women at Risk Subclass 204 Visa in 05 Jan 2015 and currently living in Australia as a permanent resident along with her youngest sister and her elder brother including remaining family members are living here in Pakistan.

After first introduction with her in Oct 2015 on the internet through my sister we both continued meeting online through the internet and in Feb 2016 we both decided to get engage for giving a formal name to our relationship because of our culture and religious values of Islam making friendship or talking with stranger men's without any reason or necessity are strictly prohibited thus as per Afghan culture we both expressed our interest in each other with our families elders and thus after few meetings between both families here in Pakistan for knowing each other finally our families gave approval and we both got engaged formally on 26 Feb 2016.

We both maintained a long distance relationship through internet and telephone after our formal engagement and finally, on Oct 2016 we both decided to get marry and my fiancé applied for travel document with Australian Immigration and she got her Travel Document in Dec 2016.

I started preparation for wedding arrangement and since my fiancé immigrated as a refugee to Australia and her only source of income is Center link family support fund, therefore, I decided to pay for all marriage related expenses and also bought a return air ticket on 14 Feb 2017 through my sister who is living in Melbourne, Australia.

After preparation of wedding ceremony, my fiancé came to Pakistan on 1st Mar 2017 and we got married on 09 Mar 2017 and we bot lived together as husband and wife till 15 Apr 2017.

I have all engagement formal function pictures, wedding expenses receipts, marriage registration certificate issued by the authorized office, wedding function pictures and video, my spouse resident permit issued by the Pakistani government, Pakistan visa stamped on her travel document and both Australia and Pakistan Airport exit and entry stamps on her passport.

My spouse also has itemized telephonic conversation record since we introduced with each other and now I want to apply for Partner Subclass 309/100 Visa but upon checking the partner booklet I found the following 6 questions and some of them really not related to my situation so kindly have a look at the following questions and advise me that how should I answer to these questions?

I am going to write my all questions in-line under immigration department questions so kindly have a look at them and advise me how to answer to those questions?

Q1. Has the applicant lived separately and apart from the sponsor for any periods of time since committing to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others?

Question from Mr. Mark:

I need your advice regarding this question because we both decided to marry in Oct 2016 but she came to Pakistan and we met personally for the first time on 1st Mar 2017 when she landed in Pakistan and I went to meet her in Benazir international Airport in Islamabad, Pakistan.

We got married on 9 March 2017 and lived together until 15 April 2017 and on 16 April 2017 she return to Australia and now we are chatting daily through the internet by using Viber Mobile Application

Q2. Give details of the financial aspects of the relationship.

Question from Mark:

We have been doing long distance relationship for these since Oct 2015 until 31 March 2017 and even our formal engagement function has been done here in Pakistan between both family members and few family friends on Feb 2016.

So when both of us were living in two different countries (Australia + Pakistan), it's near to impossible to add my partner's name to anything of mine and my fiancé also does not has any casual or full-time job and her source of income is just center link family support fund.

In Pakistan where I am living as a refugee, it is not normal for a couple to live together or share expenses till they are married. It is just not in our culture and Australia Immigration department knew it very well BUT I have list and receipt of expenses which I did for purchase of Gold and clothes as gift for my wife, beauty parlor expenses, wedding celebration event and dinner expenses, Rented house tenant agreement and monthly rent expense where we both lived together after marriage, utility bills receipt, wedding movie and photographs expenses etc with myself.
Kindly let me know that should I add a list of these expenses as the answer to this question or should write something else?

Q3. Give details of the nature of the household.

Mark what should I write the answer to this question?

Because my spouse just returns back to Australia where she rented a flat in Dandenong area of Melbourne and living with her elder sister.

We both currently living in different countries and this question even not related to my circumstances please let me know that should I answer to this question?

Many Thanks in Advance
Sayed


----------



## Tobywantstostay

*461 to 186 (TRT stream)?*

Hey Mark,

Do you know of anyone successfully transitioned from a 461 to 186 via the Temporary Residence Transition Stream?

Quick background info:

My partner is a NZ citizen. (I'm aware that there is a new pathway to PR for NZ citizens coming soon but it doesn't look like she'll qualify for the income assessment part, unless my income can be considered as well.) I've been in AUS for 5.5 year - first year on a 417 whv then 4.5 years on a 461. I've been working as a hospitality manager for the last 3 years and should have sorted out a 457 for myself but didn't and now obviously that option has passed with the abolition of the 457 being replaced by the TSS which isn't a pathway to PR

An immigration lawyer has suggested that I might be able to go straight for a 186 visa from my 461 via the TRT stream but says there is an element of risk with this. I obviously don't want to spend the sizable amount of money to get rejected.

Online the visa info says:

_This visa is a permanent residence visa. You can be in or outside Australia when you apply. If you are in Australia, you must hold a substantive visa or a bridging visa A, B or C.
The visa has three streams:
The Temporary Residence Transition stream is for subclass 457 visa holders who have worked for two years, while holding a subclass 457 visa, in the same occupation with their nominating employer (who is not subject to a labour agreement and who has lodged a valid nomination with us under the Temporary Residence Transition stream), who wants to offer them a permanent position in that occupation. _

The lawyer says he knows of instances where at 444 visa has successfully transferred onto a 186 via the TRT.

Any idea is this is really a valid option?

To make things more complicated, my wife and I are expecting our first child. She is NZ citizen by descent so our child will not be eligible for NZ or Aus citizenship at birth. I'm guessing that we will have to apply for UK citizenship for our child and then apply for a 461 for him/her! This obviously doesn't give us any long term security, hence our strong desire to try and gain PR!


----------



## Stock

*Citizenship application*

Hi Mark

Hoping you can help me. I applied for Australian citizenship on 20th March 2017 (via paper application), its now 16th May and I still haven't received a letter notifying me of a test date. I have called immigration several times and just been told my application is being worked on and to wait !!! Any advice on how long I am suppose to wait. Its dragging on and I just want some kind of notification. Thanks in advance.


----------



## Jessy0063

*Masters of commerce*

Hello
My wife had done bachelor of commerce, master of commerce and bachelor of education from india.
Now she had completed her masters of professional accounting and currently on TR 485 visa.
My question is that what are the occupations she can apply with her master of commerce or bachelor of education other than accountant.
I had also done BA.LLB (Bachelor of law five year course)what are the best way that i can contribute 5 extra points for my wife to gain permanent residency???
Thanks


----------



## chris.chris

*Is there a difference between Additional Applicant and Sponsored Partner ?

Hi, in 2015 my then girlfriend applied for 189 Skilled Independent PR Visa and put me as an additional applicant on the application. We both got our Permanent Residency ,however we split in 2016 and have moved on since then.

I am currently an Australian citizen and will be marrying someone in India (arrange marriage) in late 2017 or early 2018.

I just want to know will I be able to sponsor my wife ? or does the 5 year ban of not allowed to sponsor someone imply on me ?

I am currently confused as it was not a partner visa I got or she applied for me , I was an additional applicant as a defacto partner.

I have already got a separate medicare now as well.*


----------



## sharonannevans

Hi Mark,

Thanks so much for your reply. I'm not sure how I managed to miss that you had replied. I wonder if you are able to recommend a migration agent or immigration lawyer? The few I have contacted don't really seem to know how to proceed or help me. I think it may be in the "too hard" box. I've also found that lots of them want a hefty upfront payment before even looking into anything for me. We are desperate to migrate and are finding it so hard.

Any help is gratefully received!

Regards,
Sharon



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sharon -
> 
> Thanks for the note. You've run into the "usually resident" requirement for 309/100 partner visa sponsors. The good news is that if you are able to make plans to return to Australia including making arrangements for a place to stay, job, car, etc as applicable, you may be able to meet the usually resident requirement just prior to coming here. Suggest you get professional assistance from an immigration lawyer or agent who can go through the various elements of the usually resident requirement and help you make plans to satisfy them.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## moni

Hi Mark
I got my P.R in october2012 n till now i have stayed in Au juss for an year. Now my P.R is going to expirein oct 17....my consultant is saying it cant be extended due to short stay n i have to move back.Please help me


----------



## Ruchita

*e600 Visa*

Hello Mark,

first of all... thank you so much for taking the time to answer all these questions!!! very impressive 

My husband applied for a 12 month e600 visa in march. They requested more information which he uploaded on the 21.4... we have not heard anything back jet. We have called several times and written an email but have not received anything. Apparently they give a timeframe of 28 days, but we are worried it might take even longer.
In your experience how long can this process take?
our flight back to Australia leaves on the 23.5 and we are so worried that we wont hear back from immigration intime.

anything we can do to speed up the process?

Thank you so much and happy for any info or advice...


----------



## eagereagle

@MarkNortham
Thanks for such a great thread. I am silent admirer of this forum, posting for the first time. Please let us know what you think about our case..Partner visa 309.

I prepared case files for my wife.. (doing it for the first time so little nervous, got my PR via an agent's help) 
Can you quickly go through my list of evidences and tell is the case for my wife visa (applying for 309 off-shore) strong enough.. or should we get help from MARA.. 

I (husband) am permanent resident of Aus.
Got married on 1st of Jan,17. I lived with my wife for 52 days before returning to Aus for work.

•	We have a Joint bank account opened after 20 days of marriage.

•	She lives in my parent's house in Pak, so she or I do not pay bills/rents .. but I gave her some cash and send money to the Joint Bank account monthly for her to withdraw when she needs it.

•	Is this enough to support the first question of financial aspects of relationship?

•	For nature of household question, as we are living separate for now, but she wrote about our future plans in Aus how we will distribute our work etc.. plans to buy an apartment.. 

•	For social aspect. We added details of our invitations from close family members and have receipts of joint dinners where we were invited by them.. and their affidavits about our relationship.. 

•	For nature of commitments and developments of the relationship between us we have our stories written statements how we met and how we see our relationship in future... but what proofs they want from us to support this one ?


Now for documents attachments: We have marriage certificate. And photos videos of ceremonies and honeymoon pics. Birth certificates and other photo IDs. 

Affidavits from my and her's family members in favor of our marriage n best wishes.

only one forum 888 deceleration by a friend who knows me but her wife talked to my wife once or twice and believes us on having a long term relationship and ready to give us stat dec.


we have Call logs (whatsapp) 6 months before marriage..and after marriage contact proofs like chats and Call records...


Above all, she is pregnant with my baby.. can or should we show the Scans as proof of our commitment of long term relationship ? I mean of course its a big thing for us and shows how serious we are in our relationship.. 

Are these enough evidences for partner 309 visa case ? Are we missing on something..


----------



## zee32

hi mark
new to the forum. i have a question.
i logged my 190 visa application on 1st may 2017. i was asked for a pcc in my maiden name by co on 11th may. now the issue is in india they dont issue a pcc in any name other than the name mentioned in the current passport. it is also written in the reqeast letter that if i cant get it i can prove that i have tried my best to get one with adocumentry evidence. 
the officer incharge at the regional passport office wrote a note on tne application i gave him stating that pcc cant be issued in any other name. now, i just want to know if my co will except this and giv me a grant. or will it cause any problem?


----------



## Mohammadhusnain

HI Mark,,

Our visa Application was lodged on 20 july 2012.
medical done in 2013 ,but they told my Father once u become citizen then ur case will proceed.
Dad became citizen in jan,2017.
immigration dept contacted us for medical Examination and some additional Documents.
we did medical on 28th April and submitted required documents on 27th April.
On 16 DAD emailed them about our case process and request them to proceed as soon as possible.
they emailed that ,

We are actively working on your family visa application. Currently, your
wife's visa application is undergoing mandatory departmental check. The
visa application will be concluded after the completion of checks.

Please provide the follwing documents for further processing of your wife's
visa application:

- Form 1229 for the children under the age of 18 years.

My question is this Sir,almost we provide all documents to immigration,
whats next,what will they ask next,and when will they finalise our case as i told u that our DOL IS 2012.

THNX IN ADVANCE


----------



## Patriotic Soul

Hi Mark,
I applied for Visa subclass 190 through an agent & lodged my application on 2nd March 2017. My agent told me that he submitted all the documents & we should wait for CO. During that time i asked my agent multiple times whether any contact has been made by CO or not & he always replied NO Contact yet. Yesterday i made an immiaccount & imported my application without the knowledge of my agent & to my surprise i found that no documents were uploaded & CO contacted twice , 1st contact was on 14 March 2017 & 2nd contact on 15 May 2017 (in this contact 28 days final notice was given for submission of documents otherwise my application will be rejected). When i confronted my agent about all this he was not able to give any logical or satisfactory answer. He said i am professional, i know what i am doing & let me handle the case & also said by importing application in 2nd immiaccount it will create problems now & will effect your application process.
My question is whether not responding to CO will have any negative impact on my application?
My 2nd question is whether importing application into my immiaccount will create any confusion or duplication & in anyway effect my application process?

Thank you in advance.


----------



## sayedkarim

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Sponsorship limitation for Women At Risk (Subclass 204) Holder

I am an Australian Permanent Resident, Living in Melbourne, Australia.
I immigrated to Australia on May 2015 and my Women At Risk Subclass 204 was granted on 05 Jan 2015.

at the time of grant of this Women at Risk Subclass 204 Visa I was single but after immigrating to Australia on Nov 2015 I fall in love with a guy who is living abroad and then I went to that country and got married to him on 09 Mar 2017.

Now I and my husband preparing for submission of his Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) and Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) application but during filling my sponsorship application i found the following information which made me really worried about my future

You may not be able to sponsor your partner if any one of the following applies:]

Woman at Risk visa holders

You cannot be a sponsor if:

the Woman at Risk visa (subclass 204) was granted to you in the last five years

Answer: Yes My Women at Risk Visa was Granted on 05 Jan 2015

and either:

the person you want to sponsor was your partner when you were granted the Woman at Risk visa

Answer: No I was single at the time this visa was granted.

the person you want to sponsor is a previous partner that you did not tell us about when you were granted the Woman at Risk visa.

Answer: No he was not.

Kindly have a look at my answers to conditions which apply on a Women At Risk Subclass 204 Visa Holder and let me know if I can sponsor my husband or not?

I Really urgent response and advise from members of this forum and Mr. Mark if he read this thread.

Best Regards
SK


----------



## Iluvatar

Hi Mark,

My question is regarding the required relevant work experience.

I have been employed in the relevant field for 2 years and 10 months and I am currently working at the company in the same position. I have collected employment-related documents and uploaded these on the Vetassess website. My resume and the statement I received from my employer clearly states that my employment is ongoing. Also, I know the minimum required working hours is 36 to be considered as full-time whereas the legal min. weekly working hours is 45 in where I live and work. Therefore, my question is: Will my skilled experience be considered sufficient despite the 2-month deficiency? Also, say my employment is ceased at 2 years and 11 months, will I need to gain further experience to be eligible?

I would appreciate if you could answer my queries.

Kindest regards,


----------



## Chabayta

Hey Mark,

I have applied for Partner Visa Subclass (309/100) on *22 January 2017*, and later on the replied to me on *29 February* about Acknowledgment letter. therefore, the asked extra information and to fill form 80 on *9th March* plus on *9th April* i have phone call interview. My question is do you see this as quick process or normal and since that day no response they didnt ask about police check or medical report. I am Palestinian which mean High Risk country Kindly advise,

Regards
Chabayta


----------



## QQMM

Good morning Mark !

Can you help me about visa change from 457 to 820 ?

I hold visa 457 and work for the employer company for over 3 years . Unforturnately, the business meets some problem that the employer is unable to sponsor me for visa 186 . 

I met my partner in 2014 and we lived together from August 2015. 

- Employer nominated me on Apr, 2016
- I applied for 186 on May,2016
- Nomination was refused on Nov,2016
- I withdrew my application for 186 in Nov,2016
- I applied for 820 partnership on May,2017 

Here comes my question :

I got the 820 bridging visa granted 5 days after application submiitted however it
will be effected after my 457 expired . I am going to resign my work with the employer and then inform DIBP about my resignation . My 457 visa will be expired the end of Nov. this year .

-Is that anything I should supply to DIBP besides my resignation letter and the employer's reply letter ? 
-Once 457 ceased after my last working day , will my 820 bridging visa get effect immediatly ?
-Or I still have to wait another 90 days for finding new sponsor ?
-What's gonna happen after 90 waiting if needed ?
-Or I supposed to work with the employer untill 457 expires ?
- I know I am now eligible for medicare application and I will do soon ..... How about the kid's education fee ?
I supposed to pay $5000 per year to government every year while BVA granted ?


Thanks in advance for any advice !

Have a nice day ~


----------



## ckbird

Hi Almighty Mark, 

I had lodged a New Zealand Citizen (Family Relationship) (Temporary) (class UP) New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary) (subclass 461) visa for my ex-partner in March 2014 and it went successful so she got the visa granted in May 2014. However unfortunately our relationship then broke down close to the end of 2014 so she had left Australia ever since and never returned again. 

My issue now is that I have met a new partner in overseas since last year and I am dying to have her accompany in Australia so I am considering to sponsor her for 461 in 2018. Under my circumstances, is that gonna work? How long do I need to wait for sponsoring a new partner for De factor sponsor visa?

Thank you very much in advance!

Best regards,
Wayne


----------



## ghoul123456

Hey Mark,

Im new to here, but please help me with my problem thank you! 

I applyed for VISA457 which refused ,and I applyed for MRT review. Because of the long wait, ( 6 months passed) My employer don't want to sponsor me anymore, what should I do when MRT is ready for review?

If I apply for VISA187 with a new employer, how can I keep stay onshore while waiting for decision either from MRT or the VISA187 application? I know there is a thing called section 48 but not sure about the details. 


Cheers

G


----------



## natasha.joseph

*Work experience query*

Hi Mark

I didn't split my designations at the two companies I worked when I applied for ACS Skills Assessment. I went with the last designation I had and the number of years worked.

ACS has approved this.

I have a visa invitation for 189 and so I am not sure if I need to follow the details in my ACS letter or should I split the different designations in my visa application.

The changes in designations did not affect my roles and responsibilities at all and so that's why I did not divide them when I applied for skills assessment with ACS.

Thanks
Natasha


----------



## starbabe

*payslips and work evidence for 487 regional work sponsorship visa*

Hi Mark

My partner is wanting to apply for a regional work sponsorship visa. He has an employer willing to sponsor him building wood furniture, which they classify as Cabinet Making.

Hi diplomas, apprenticeship and qualifications from France are all as a 'Carpenter' with some joiner and cabinet making as minor subjects within the qualification I think.

So I have two questions.. 
If his qualification is as a carpenter, can he be sponsored in a job as a cabinet maker? Obviously they are closely related, but the name of the classification differs.

And does he three years of prior work evidence have to all specifically say it is work as a carpenter on payslips etc. 12 months of his three years of work experience, (the most recent 12 months in australia) is as a joiner, in construction and as a cabinet maker.

Thank you for any info you can provide!!!


----------



## Bellaella

........................


----------



## Bag

Hi mark 
I have submitted eoi on 23 rd may 2017 for chef code 
For 189 my points are coming to 65 and for state nomination coming to 70 
24 th may was invitation round and I did not got any invite 
What are the chances in next round 
Also for state nomination do I have to go to individual state immigration website and submit my application. Thanks


----------



## metrohev

*BVE visa and section 48 457 visa cancelled*

Hi Mark

I was on 457 visa, but as my employer didn't honour our contract, I ceased my employment. I thought I did the right thing but now seems that I have been punshised instead. After 457 I had 90 days to find a new sponsor. I found new compmany who said they will do it but then after few months went to liquidation. I have been living together with my partner whose from NZ and we recently found out that we would we eligible to apply partnervisa 461. However immigration sent me my 457 visa cancellation and put there a sector number 48, witch means I can only apply very limited visas while I'm in Australia. And not to apply partnervisa in here. So I went to immigration and applied BVE visa that I wouldn't be unlawful in Australia. Immigration said that only option for me would be to leave from the country and then apply new visa offshore. Partner visas will take 9 months to be granted and I wouldn't be able to come and see my partner or friends here. Or even close my life what i have build up here for 4 years. They said there wouldn't be any issues to apply offshore but from what I should live all this time wothout money and job. 
My question is- would I be eligible to apply for evisitor visa and to come back and to be with my friends and partner?
And my other concern is that they will put on me 3 year ban and I wouldn't be able to come back?
I just don't understand why they say I can apply outside new visa but not while Im inside? It just looks like they want me to leave and that's it. 
I have payd my taxes here 4 years and never done anything criminal ja worked very very hard all this 4 years and don't understand why Im punished for this that way.

If you could help I would be so thankful cause I don't have possibilities to get any legal help.

Thank you so much


----------



## brotherjohn

*Doctor*

Hello Mark

I was granted offshore Partner visa 309 2 months ago from Philippines.
I am in Australia now living with my spouse. We are moving to Brisbane from Sydney next month.

My question is which immigration office should I send my completed form 929 (change of address) to inform immigration about my new address?
I am not sure whether I have to send completed form 929 to my case officer in Philippines who processed my 309 temporary partner visa OR to send it to one of the DIBP offices here in Australia? I emailed my case officer in Philippines asking about this but he is not replying.

Thanks


----------



## Suff7

Hi mark I have just had my 189 visa declined as I used Vetassess to to have my bricklaying skills assessed, when were Vetassess removed? I could have sworn it was Vetassess when I looked online and then when I did my application there was an option to say that it was for migration purposes. I was wondering if you knew when the changes came in?
Also can I re-apply if I complete another skills assessment with tra?
Thanks in advance 
Liam


----------



## SharKs

Hi Mark,
I hope you can give me some advice!

*
Summary of my problem:
I was living with my partner for over 3 years when we applied for the 820/801 visa (with evidence supporting this), however when we were granted the visa we only got the 820. I can't get a clear answer as to why we didn't get the 801. Is there anything I can do to get the 801? Or can I get an explanation on why we didn't meet the criteria? *

Long version:
So I met my Australian partner in March 2011 and moved in with him (in Australia) on the 6th of January 2013... I worked here in Australia on a 457 visa hoping to obtain PR through my work. However in 2015 we heard that due to some circumstances this was not possible and therefore we decided to apply for a partner visa instead. We read the information about it and the partner migration booklet said you could bypass the two year waiting period and go straight to 801 (PR) if you had been living together for 3 years or more. So we decided to wait with applying for a partner visa until mid January 2016, thinking that this would prevent us from having to go through the whole system twice. We could wait because my work visa would be valid until mid 2017.

In April 2017 our application got approved, and we got granted the 820. Dissapointed that we did not get the 801, I sent an email to my visa processing centre that we thought we would be eligible for 801 due to the length of our de facto relationship, and pointing out which evidence in our application supported this (joint bank account in both our names and to our address opened 7-1-2013, letters to my partner and to me from different bodies to the same address dating back > 3 years, evidence that my partner helped me move from Europe to Australia, stat decs from friends and family supporting that we lived together for this long, etc etc). However, the temporary partner visa processing centre never replied to my email (this was 5 weeks ago), even though I sent two reminders.

So on Tuesday I decided to email the permanent processing centre instead, explaining my situation, and they informed me:
_
"Your application met subclass 820 visa requirements at the time of decision and did not meet subclass 801 visa requirements.

The decision on your Temporary Partner (Subclass 820) visa has already been made and cannot be revisited."_

Also that: _the case Officer who assessed and approved the UK820 visa was not satisfied that the information met the legislative requirements for the grant of the BS801 permanent residence visa._

We thought our evidence was solid and we did not get any explanation on why this was not satisfactory.... I did ask for the 801 to be considered in my ImmiAccount and never got an answer as to why this was refused. We really don't want to go through all this again and find the way we were treated very unfair.
Is there anything I can do about this?

Timeline:
I met my partner: 1/3/2011
Decided to be in a committed relationship: 20/01/2012
Moved in with my partner (started de facto): 06/01/2013
Partner visa application: 16/01/2016
820 grant: 19/04/2017

Thank you!

EDIT: MY ISSUE IS RESOLVED! EVENTUALLY THE CO GOT IN TOUCH WITH ME AND REASSESSED MY CASE. I NOW HAVE 801 (PR)! TIME TO CELEBRATE!


----------



## Jace

Hey Mark. Thanks in advance for answering my question.

So My partner wants to do a Masters degree.He is 26 and lives in USA. Would he have a problem with obtaining the visa even with me (australian citizen, 26yrs old) being here. We are just bf, gf at this point but do have plans to live together permanently. Would he need to declare that anywhere on his application form? I dont know what it looks like so i'm not sure if its just the standard - Widowed, married, engaged, defacto etc.

And at the end of his course (approx 2 years if he has been accepted). Is it possible or frowned upon to apply for a partner visa, knowing that we would be providing proof that we were in a relationship prior to his studies starting? Or would it be best to apply for a follow on work visa that continues on from his studies. Like the grad temp entrant, or nominated visa if his specialty is still listed on the job list.

We know he can study on a partner visa, but he would prefer to get started on it as soon as he can.

He has never been to Australia before.

thanks


----------



## rlaserna

Hi Mark and all, I hope you can enlighten me.

Husband's PR granted for Visa 189 - February 2015
First entry - Aug 2015 ( we stayed for 5 days just to validate the visa. We're not yet married during that time)
Got married - December 2015
Baby was born - September 2016
Hubby moved in to Australia for good - April 2017

Now my baby and I will come on August as a tourist (we have NO 8503 condition) to lodge the onshore partner visa 820/801.

Hubby said he has not updated his civil status from single to married because when he called in, he was only advised to update change of passport details.

From April - August of his residence in Australia, is it good enough for him to sponsor us or the CO will usually require longer period of residence before they can sponsor.

Please advise. 

Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ari84 -

My apologies to you and others for the delay in responding - have been swamped with the new law changes and related work.

If you student visa expired, you are not under any obligation to continue study generally, unless the bridging visa you now hold has some sort of a condition that requires you to maintain enrolment, which is very unusual other than some successive student visa scenarios. However if your current visa does not have a maintain enrolment requirement, you do not need to maintain your enrolment to the previous course.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ari84 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I'm new to the forum and I've got advise to come and ask you
> 
> I think is a simple question but could not find any information.
> 
> I'm currently on a bridging visa A as my student visa expired about two weeks ago, I'm wondering if I have to keep studying until the decision for my new application is made or I can just cancel my course?
> I'm waiting for our application to go into my wife's PhD student visa as a dependent, my previous student visa was about to expire while my wife still has until 2019 on her's, so we decided that I should go into her visa. Now that my previous student visa has expire and my bridging visa is the current, having still an enrollment in a course myself, I'm wondering if cancelling that course would affect us in any matter. I'm finding difficult to keep paying the tuition and I think is better to focus more into my wife's studies. I'm waiting to go into my wife's PhD Student visa as a dependent.
> 
> thanks so much in advance!
> 
> Ari.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tejin -

You'd need to check on local accounting regulations, however my understanding is that while accountants who practice publicly are licensed, those who practice in a corporate setting or for a business do not need to be licensed - do check that out for yourself however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tejin said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Thanks for your reply yesterday.
> 
> One more question
> 
> The last line of 221112 says, "Registration or licensing is required."
> 
> I am an MBA finance who has experience in accounts, not a registered accountant and dont have a license that is normally held by registered accountants. Am I eligible?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ddrabadia -

Thanks for the note. No problem generally leaving the departure date blank if you remained onshore and moved to another visa without departing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ddrabadia said:


> Hi Mark
> I am stuck with the dreaded form 80. Question 34 and 35.
> I have been on mutilples visas since 2010. Student then Temp resident then Student again for further studies. All visas were issued while i was in Australia as onshore application. Therefore i do not have a departure date.
> Do i simply write N/A in the departure date and arrival date for my Temporary resident visa and the second student visa? OR do i give a written explanation on the additional information sheet.
> Please help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arnar94 -

Thanks for the note. Generally no problem continuing to travel on your current provisional partner visa (820 or 309) however in the unfortunate event your permanent partner visa is refused while you're offshore, you may be left without a visa to return since the refusal of the permanent partner visa automatically ceases the provisional partner visa - that's the only risk I see.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arnar94 said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> Hi guys i cant find any information about this,
> 
> I am planning to go to Bali soon and see some friends but i am in the middle of processing my(De Facto) permanent visa status (Subclass 100,801) and was wondering if in fact i can travel while that is in the process.
> 
> I only have my Icelandic passport as well so like I said I cant find any information about this on the internet.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ace.sunny -

Thanks for the note. Would need to work with your friend in a consultation to determine eligibility and discuss the situation with his wife in order to give him case-specific advice. However one potential issue I see is if he was married prior to lodging his student visa, then did not declare his marriage on the student visa - that could have all kinds of unfortunate side effects including rendering him not able to add his wife onto a future student visa. More info on consults is available on my website (see below), would be happy to assist.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ace.sunny said:


> My friend's plan is to bring his wife under student dependent visa or directly through student visa. But he is unsure what would be the option and also he made a lot of stupid decisions as well. This is why he's in this position anyways.
> 
> They both are from Bangladesh. He has visited Australia 3 times at past (2001, 2007,2013) all with tourist visa; wife never visited Australia before. His elder brother, 1st uncle are citizens there. On 2nd of January 2017 he applied for Sponsored Family Stream Visa Subclass: 600 through his elder brother, did his Health and Biometric on 8th January. After 11 days his Tourist visa was approved for 6 months - multiple entry. After he arrived in Australia, he decided that he wants to study in Australia, so he gave IELTS test in Sydney, got the COE from UTS:INSEARCH for his Foundation Program. He had to leave Australia since in his visa there is "No further stay"
> 
> After going back in Bangladesh, right BEFORE applying for his student visa in the immigration, he got married. Now he's unsure whether it'd be a good idea to add her spouse as a subsequent entrant/ in dependent's list since it only has been 2 days since he got married. Also he gave "single" when applying at UTS
> 
> She also would like to study in Australia at Commercial Cookery Certificate IV. But her father don't have enough financial evidence to satisfy for her visa. So her father-in-law wants to be her financial sponsor. But can her father-in-law be sponsors of two persons (him and his wife) together? And it hasn't been many days since they were married, so that's also making them worried.
> 
> So what would be the best option for his wife? Adding her in the dependent's list or applying for a student visa for his wife with her father-in-law being the sponsor
> 
> And how much does the sponsor needs to show in total? His 8 months (course duration)tuition fees is 25,000AUD and her 1 year's fees is 14,000AUD.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Joanna1 -

Thanks for the note. I'd like to help, but the answers to all of these questions are entirely dependent on your circumstances and the type of visa(s) you've applied for. Some are general info that are only tied to the visa - I can answer those here if you can be specific about the type of visa you're asking about or planning to apply for.

Best,

Mark Northam



joanna1 said:


> Hi Mark, I have a few questions!
> 
> 1. Am I allowed to lodge an application after an IELTS test but before the results are released?
> 
> 2. What happens if I travel on an ETA before my bridging visa kicks in?
> 
> 3. Am I required to go for a health check before the application if I'm not asked for one? Or do I just wait and see if I am asked to get a health check after the application?
> 
> 4. MUST I be present in Australia at time of receiving visa results?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jem_Freely -

Thanks for the note. The business visitor visa may work for you, but would suggest you do some further research on the DIBP website as to what constitutes valid business visitor activities - these are generally limited to attending conferences, negotiating, or "exploratory business visits". Then, you might consider preparing a contract with your client that details what you will do while you're here, and make sure that contract's tasks/duties/etc are compatible with business visitor activities. Finally, make sure you're not getting paid for the "work" you're doing here, as employemnt per se is not allowed under any sort of visitor visa generally. A good rule for this is to make sure that whatever normal day-to-day work you do for your client is NOT what you'll be doing while in Australia, and that you will not be paid specifically for the activities you're doing while in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jem_freely said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Good day. This is my first post and hoping you can also help me. I am really confused.
> 
> I am a freelance software developer consultant, and my client in Australia wanted me to visit them. It is just maybe 1-2weeks. I am not sure if subclass 600 business visitor stream would fit? Will Australia allow me to visit my client? I have visited them twice and been to Australia twice through subclass 600 business visitor stream. But that is when I was still employed in my home country. I resigned from that employer,and later on work as a freelance consultant. My worry is that Australia Immigration would think that I will be working on this company and will not go back to my home country. The company really just wanted to me to meet the new management, and be familiarize with their line of work. They are willing to sponsor my stay and expenses.
> 
> Also another thing that bothers me is that I have read from news that Australia is bit strict now when it comes to jobs, they want the job for Australian people. So there, I hope you can advise me.
> 
> Thanks a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 2mas75 -

Thanks for the note - great question. The tricky thing about this area is that it falls into the area of discretion by the DIBP personnel at the airport or entry point. If you tell them point blank that you're planning on applying for an onshore partner visa, there is a chance that they may say that is "not compatible" with activities allowed under a visitor visa and you could have an issue entering Australia. Some people find it better to say they are not sure what they're going to do, but just want to spend some time with their partner in lovely Australia and see what develops - by deferring the decision whether to lodge the partner visa until after you enter, it allows you to have a wider range of options you can declare if asked. Sometimes DIBP will check the contents of phones (ie, emails, SMS messages, etc) on arrival, so you may want to make sure that there's nothing on your phone that conflicts with what you're claiming as your plans for your time in Australia, etc - same goes for your luggage.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



2mas75 said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> Hoping you can answer a question that has been lurking in the back of my head for quite some time..
> 
> Our plan is to apply for a 820 Partner Visa in November after being in a defacto relationship for a year. I will apply onshore while staying in Oz on a normal Tourist Visa for three months, lodging my application at the end of those months.
> 
> Question is; will there be questions asked about my intentions when I enter Australia for those three months, and how should I answer those if they come? Shall I just be straight forward and tell them I will apply for an 820, or that I intend to return when I am supposed to according to my current Tourist Visa?
> 
> Hope you can answer me - thank you so much in advance!


----------



## Pravinp1987

Hi Mark, 

My name is Pravin Pillai. I am a Bachelor's in Commerce with Accounting and Finance graduate and last year I had completed my Post graduation Diploma in Business Management. 

I have a work experience of around 9 years now in the Banking industry. 

Recently, I had applied for a skills assessment from ICAA for Accountant category of Australia Pr. However, I received a recognized but "not suitable" result since one of my subjects "Financial Accounting and Reporting" did not match the requirements. All others criteria were satisfied except this one subject. 

I need to know if there is a way I can get a positive result apart from appearing for this module from an Australian Institute as this will nullify my work experience. 

Will reassessment help in any way? Kindly let me know the best solution for this issue. 

Regards, 
Pravin Pillai


----------



## yerin

Hello, Mark.

I'm an Indonesian and in Australia right now with a tourist visa (multiply entry, expired on 7th Sep, with no NFS condition). 

My fiance and I have been in a relationship (long distance) since 2009 and have planned to apply PMV since 2013. He's an Indonesian Australian and having no family in Australia. He visits his family in Indonesia at least once a year. He was my senior in high school and we were neighbor in Indonesia. 

At first I applied tourist visa to prepare PMV application together with my fiance, back to my home country, and apply PMV offshore (I literally mentioned it in my tourist visa application). 

Our PMV application is about 90% ready to lodge but since my tourist visa doesn't have a NFS condition and we just can't being separated any longer, we change our minds and think about applying partner visa onshore (820) instead.

So, our next plan is:

- Going to Indonesia to get married. Our families are there and we've already got a notice of intended marriage (one of PMV requirements).

- Going back to Australia to apply 820 and get a bridging visa (before my tourist visa expired on 7 Sep)

It seems like a good plan but is this really a good plan?

The problem is: though we have a genuine and continuous relationship for so long (and we are confidence to prove it), we are lack of living-together-for-12-months evidence. This is my third visit and in total I have lived in Australia with him for about 4 months, but we don't have any joint accounts or bills whatsoever. Will getting married waive 12 months requirement since we're going to apply partner visa on a marriage basis not a de facto relationship? 

Thanks.

Regards,
Yerin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bikrum -

Thanks for the note. In order to be eligible as the primary applicant for an 887 visa, you must have held the 489 (or other qualifying 4xx visa) for at least 2 years prior to applying for the 887 visa. Time spent living or working in a designated area while on a bridging visa awaiting the 489 visa may be able to be counted towards the 2 yrs living / 1 yr work requirement for the 887, but that doesn't change the requirement that you must have held the 489 visa for 2 years prior to applying for the 887.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bikrum said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am living in regional area from last 4 years, i was issue 489 visa on April 2016. Immigration website states that to apply for 887 visa it doesn't need to be 2 years immediately. So could you guys help me how earlier we can apply for that visa?
> 
> Thanks Cheers.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mau88 -

Thanks for the question. Form 80 is now almost always required for the 887 as well as most PR visas. Sometimes DIBP asks for Form 1221 in addition to Form 80, but that's somewhat rare and depends on your country of citizenship. A resume would not suffice as a replacement for either of these forms.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mau88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope all is well. I am new to this forum and would like to post these enquiries: is it required for the 887 application to include Forms 80 and 1221? And would a résume suffice?
> 
> Thanks in anticipation.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kei -

Thanks for the questions - please see responses below at ***:



kei said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I got some questions and a unique situation and appreciated if you can assist us
> 
> Just to brief as in general about our status before asking a very important question
> 
> - I am an Aussie citizen (from Hong Kong) sponsoring my partner (who is also from HK)
> - Got married since in Nov 2014 @ Sydney
> - Applied onshore visa 820 Dec 2014
> - Visa 820 granted @ June 2016 after aprox. 1 1/2 year
> - Applied Visa 801 @ Dec 2016 (as 2nd stage partner visa). I am aware it takes 16 months of wait for the approval
> - 01 Feb 2017, we went to Hong Kong for holiday and to visit our relatives/friends and family.
> - 10 March 2017, I came back to Aus first while my wife extended the stay to be with her parents/family come back in 11 May.
> 
> Then suddenly a while ago, she got an offer for a short term job that she can earn but she needs to stay till the end of June
> 
> She is still considering whether to accept the job and come back to Aus in July?
> 
> My question here is.....
> 1) Given she is overseas already for like 5 months (if up to July), will this affect her visa, the application even though we are aware that the final grant decision is made regardless you are in Aus/overseas? Or better not risk it?
> *** I don't see any particular risk to the partner visa if she spends more time there.
> 
> 2) If it is OK, does she need to update in the immi account for Changes Of Circumstances form? Or no need to fill in anything as the form is only for change of address, or change of relationship status etc?
> *** If her address or contact info has changed, best to complete Form 929. No need to do Form 1022 (change of circumstances) in this case that I can see.
> 
> 3) Since she is not holding an Aussie passport or a citzenship yet, even she does a month of income in HK, does she pay foregin tax as an Aussie resident or HK resident? I mean the foreign income she intend work for a month and a half would be about AUD$2500 ..so its not much anyway but given its hard to find a job in Aus without a PR so she wanna contribute as much as she can
> *** You'd have to ask an accountant about this one - outside of my area of expertise.
> 
> 4) In the immi account, the status says: "Important information: This application is currently being assessed. The department may contact the applicant if further supporting documentation is required." Does it mean that the CO is not yet assigned? What if they request Police Certificate or Health Check? Can she do it while in HK? or have to do it here in Australia?
> *** It's in some stage of processing, but impossible to tell from DIBP's non-informative status info. She can do police & health while in HK as long as it's at a DIBP-approved facility, so no problem I see.
> 
> 5) As obviously, she is not PR or resident yet...we will intend to go to holiday with her in the next around Sep for a week to Fiji from Australia. We will be purchasing travel/medical insurance. Obviously, this is not an issue for me since I am an Aussie citizen here. However, an issue for my wife so I wanna ask, which company that covers for travel/medical insurance for NON Aus resident ? And is it that we purchase 2 diff insurance company given i am an Aussie citizen and she is not?
> *** Best to ask a travel agent about this.
> 
> 6) Finally, if in case, she gets rejected while in oversea (which is HIGHLY unlikely anyway given our geniune relationship but I heard horror stories that they have been wronged for no reason), does it mean she cannot enter Australia again provided she wants to appeal the case? Or she can still come back with tourist visa etc
> *** If the 820 is refused while she is offshore, her current bridging visa will cease in 28 days which gives her time to get back to Australia.
> 
> Your answer and advice will be appreciated
> 
> Thank you in advance


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megjames -

Thanks for the question. There is no absolute bar to sponsoring a family member, however the requirements for the subclass 457 temporary work visa have been changed in recent years to make sponsorship of related (family) people very difficult as it requires that the employer prove that the position was not created/facilitated/etc in order to provide a visa opportunity for the applicant. Doing so can be challenging, but successful cases usually involve showing (as part of the 457 nomination application) that the business is growing and has a genuine demand for the type of work the applicant does, and that it was not practical or possible to hire someone else locally. You may want to seek professional advice re: the specifics of the company/position/applicant in order to put together the strongest genuine position circumstances possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Megjames said:


> Hi Mark! I'm so pleased to find you  I posted on the main forum and someone directed me to you. We are a British family living in the UK hoping to emigrate to NSW. My mother is an Australian citizen and has lived near Sydney since 2005. She runs a business which is picking up and she would like to employ my partner to run the sales and marketing side of the business. My partner is a sales manager with 4 years sales experience. I appreciate that my mother would have to prove that she was unable to fill the position locally before she could sponsor my partner but our burning question is... can my mother legally sponsor my partner to work for her, considering that she is almost related to him (we aren't married)? We are googling and googling but can't find any info!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Munal66 -

Thanks for the question. You can do a search on the general threads of the forum for ACS, however given that ACS has very detailed and complete documentation available on their site re: the CURRENT requirements (they change from time to time), I'd consider looking there as your first stop, then once you've familiarised yourself with the official requirements, consider the anecdotal evidence you'll find from actual applicants on forums, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



munal66 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Would appreciate if you could direct me to any existing thread where I can get some guidance on how to proceed for Subclass 189?
> 
> I am new to the whole process and need very specific details on Skill Verification process and supporting documentation for the same by ACS.
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vesna -

Thanks for the question. At least as things currently stand, the 186 TRT pathway is still open to 457 holders who meet all the other requirements for the 186 visa even if the application no longer appears on the STSOL or MLTSSL new lists. This may change in coming months with further changes to the requirements that have been flagged by DIBP, so I'd keep a close eye on all changes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



veky986 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My husband's occupation has been removed from list ( Telecommunication Technician -342414), and we have to apply for 186 - transitional pathway stream. Can we apply with same occupation, or we have to change it?
> What to do?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Vesna


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Katiepaul123 -

Thanks for the note. Please feel free to contact me via email (see signature below). I'm on Skype but only when it's time to do a consultation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



katiepaul123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have recently tried to contact you on skype as i wanted to ask you a few questions about applying for a visa with a criminal record.
> 
> Basically, me and my boyfriend want to leave on a WHV this year hopefully but we have this dreadful record over our heads.
> 
> I would love for us to have a private conversation if possible.
> 
> Thanks so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rickysuann -

Thanks for the question. Wish I could help, but 457 application processing has slowed since the major changes announced in April this year. No good way to predict how long DIBP will take, but would encourage you to email them to determine if they need any further information or documents from you.

A related issue is whether you should "nag" them (nicely) about the delay - while historically this has not accomplished much and sometimes has backfired, over the last 2-3 weeks I've seen instances where a gentle but persistent reminder has resulted in a visa decision being made fairly quickly. This may be something to consider.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rickysuann said:


> Hey mark how ru actually I applied my 457 visa in last weak of nov and I'm in India still wating for visa grant can u plz help me out how long it will take thks a lot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vita

Thanks for the note. Things are changing rapidly for 186/187 visas and I don't think we have seen the last of the changes going forward between now and March 2018. It is currently unclear whether the existing waiver provisions will remain intact going forward - this is especially true as very little of the actual legislation necessary to implement the many changes DIBP has announced to the 186/187 program has actually been passed yet.

Bottom line: too early to tell how it will all turn out for 186/187 visas yet. Wish I could give you something more definite, but that's where we're at now. What's worse, we don't know whether the various upcoming changes will be applied only to those who have not yet lodged their applications, or will be applied retroactively to all undecided applications as of the date the change is announced or effective date of the change.

Best,

Mark Northam



vkovanovic said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> thank you so much for your help in this thread! I've learned so much from your posts!!
> 
> I have a quick question regarding changes to 186 DE visas. I'm applying for a university job with a 3 years contract (with likely extension) on level B (above $90k) and wanted to see will new rules affect the prospects of my 186 DE visa.
> 
> Together with 457 changes, they introduced three changes to 186, namely:
> 1) new list of jobs (but "university lecturer A-E" is listed on the new "combined list of eligible skill occupations" but with a caveat for 457 visas)
> 2) age limit going down to 45 years, and
> 3) English requirements going up.
> 
> However, in the "old" 186 DE rules there are also exemptions for university positions stating that they do not need labor market testing and are waived of age limit. As the new amendment to 186 rules doesn't say anything about canceling existing waivers, I guess they still apply, right?
> 
> If that is true, it seems to me that the new rules (except for the English test requirement) are not affecting academic/research hires as they have an existing waiver for stuff that got changed, right?
> 
> Best and thank you so much for your time
> Vita


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Soimgood2012 -

Not necessarily, but you have to show you "had" health insurance in place prior to the application for the 485 and it continues to be in place. If there was a gap at some time while you held your student visa that's not likely to cause a problem with the 485, but does put you in breach of your student visa obligations assuming the student visa is still in place when your insurance ceased.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



soimgood2012 said:


> Hi, Mark. Question about 485 graduate visa and health insurance.
> 
> If I do not hold a valid health insurance immediately after my student insurance expires,
> are they gonna refuse my 485 application?
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Help-ala -

Thanks for the question. Answer is no, as you must have completed a skills assessment for your nominated occupation prior to lodging the EOI. This is because invitations to apply for the 189/190 are issued without advance notice, and you must have a positive skills assessment as of the day you are invited or the visa must be refused. Normally law societies will consider completed admission (or sometimes meeting the requirements for admission) as equivalent to a skills assessment and will provide a letter to this effect - check with your state's law society for exact details on what the minimum requirements they have in order to generate a skills assessment positive result letter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Help-ala said:


> Hi Mark,
> I currently reside in Australia and I'm on a student Visa, i got my overseas degree assesed by the SLAA as i need to apply for the 189/190 under Solicitor. However, they asked me to complete a few courses before i can be admitted. Can I Still apply an EOI ? i have 60 AND 65 for 189 and 190 respectively.
> Please advise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beachbum333 -

Thanks for the question. Current waiting time is 12-24 months for onshore and offshore partner visas. If granted overseas, there is generally a "must enter by" date you must enter Australia in order to activate the visa. You still have to apply for both visas (ie, 309/100 or 820/801) and the provisional visa for each is always granted first even if the PR part of the visa is granted immediately thereafter. For 309 you must be offshore to be granted the visa; for 820 you must be onshore to be granted the visa, so that should be considered as well even if you are planning on getting the PR versions straight away based on a claim of a long term partner relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



beachbum333 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have lived with my Australian partner for 3 years and we're considering applying for permanent partner visa. Do you know the current waiting time for either offshore 100 or onshore 801 visa? Also, if the visa is granted while overseas, do you have to move back to Australia within a certain time frame?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Waujw -

Thanks for the questions. No problem I see in applying for ETA while awaiting the result of an offshore 189 visa application . The 189 visa can be granted whether the applicant is inside or outside at the time of grant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



waujw said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have applied for an offshore 189 visa from South Korea, and it is currently being processed. As I will have submitted all the documents requested by the case officer by next week, I am planning to travel to Australia on an ETA (3-months tourist visa with a return flight ticket) at the end of this month to meet my friends and to seek job opportunities in Australia.
> 
> In this case, would an ongoing offshore 189 visa application prevent me from obtaining a 3-month ETA visa?
> 
> Also, may I receive the grant for the offshore 189 visa while being onshore with an ETA visa?
> 
> Thank you in advance. I look forward to hearing from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MMHR -

Thanks for the note. The published 457 time on the DIBP site the last time I checked only refers to the time for processing the visa application. At this point we're seeing more and more delays in 457 processing due to all the rule changes I expect, so very hard to predict currently.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mmhr said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for helping people getting their answer to the questions. I have a quick question. I applied for 457 visa on 9th of April, 2017, for myself, my spouse and my son. My employer had applied for business sponsorship on 5th of January 2017 and Nomination on 24th of March 2017. I was checking the current processing time for 457 visa on immigration website, which says maximum 6 months for 90% of application. I was wondering whether this processing time includes all the process of sponsorship and nomination or is it 6 months after the approval of sponsorship and nomination. FYI, my occupation is in the MLTSSL and none of the sponsorship and nomination have been approved as of now. Thanks for your time.
> 
> MMHR


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BionicAllah -

Great question. Once you are granted an Australian PR visa, you have re-entry rights for 5 years from the date of grant generally. The visa is still valid for the entire 5 year period regardless of how much time you spend in Australia during the period. Once you reach the end of the 5 year period, you'll likely want to renew your re-entry rights and this is where the time in Australia comes into play - to renew your re-entry rights you'll need to apply for and be granted a subclass 155 Resident Return Visa (RRV). If you have spent a total of 24 months in Australia during the 5 years prior to applying for the RRV, you can qualify for a 5 year RRV. Less time than that requires substantial ties (business, cultural, employment or personal) and you can get only a 1-year RRV. There is a special 3-month RRV available under subclass 157 in some circumstances. You can apply for an RRV either onshore or offshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BionicAllah said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> With the changes to citizenship eligibility it puts a spanner in the works for mine and my partner's plans.
> 
> I'm a little bit confused as to how long I can spend outside of Australia before my PR is void.
> 
> Planning to move back to England next September so my partner can study a course that isn't available in Australia. If I didn't come back to Australia for 2 years would be visa be void?


----------



## kurukshetri

*Query on PR*

Dear Mark,
First of all thanks a lot for your continued help and support in answering the queries on this forum. I believe everyone is highly obliged.

Need your help on below query/scenario.

Question: Is there a relation between the role under which one wants to apply a PR /ACS assessment and the current role one is performing / current role tagged on 457 visa?

More details: My spouse is currently working in Australia on 457 visa - ICT Project Manager. But she has more than 8 years of experience in Software testing and another 3 plus years of exp. as project manager. Can she apply for a PR under Software Tester although her current 457 visa shows the role as ICT -Project Manager?

Would really appreciate your help on clarifying this scenario.

Many Thanks
Cheers
Shyam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wcrk004 -

I'd explain this carefully to the case officer if any issue is raised - I expect you'll be OK.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wcrk004 said:


> Good day Mark,
> 
> I was hoping someone could shed some light or give me guidance on the following; We are in the final stages of our 189 visa application with everything being uploaded onto our immi account and a CO has already been assigned. The only outstanding documents that we were required to obtain was police clearance certificates from the time we worked in Qatar, we have now finally after 3 months received our police clearance certificates from Qatar but my wife's PCC only states her maiden name and not her married name even though we requested this to be added at the time of application (we sent copies of her old passport that she entered the country which was still in her maiden name as well as her new passport which states her married name, our marriage certificate as well as letter requesting that her maiden and married name be on the PCC).
> 
> So i'm a bit at a loss for words now as i don't know what more i could have done?
> 
> The problem is that my wife had not changed her maiden name yet and so she entered the country and obtained her work permit and RP on her maiden name.
> 
> Will this be a major problem when it comes to the CO making a decision? Even though my wife has her SA police clearance which states both her maiden and married name?
> I just don't want to have to go through the same process again only to wait 3 months and have it produce the same outcome?
> Any feedback would be appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cheers15 -

Please feel free to contact me via my info listed below in my signature, happy to help.

Best,

Mark Northam



cheers15 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Just looking for some advice re applying for a student visa - wanted to chat or consult with someone.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

Thanks for the note. You would normally be eligible to apply for the 801 part of your application on 4 Nov 2017 (2 years after your initial partner visa application). If the 2 years comes and you still have no 820, you should still be able to lodge the additional information after 4 Nov 2017, however in these cases where processing goes past the 2 year mark, DIBP will generally grant the 820 and 801 together assuming the visa is not refused.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AndrewTruong said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> please help advise me
> I submitted my 820 online and got BVA immediately on 4th of Nov 2015
> 
> It is about over 18months since i got BVA
> When i open my immi account it showed 2 stage saying
> Stage 1 status: received
> Stage2 applying for 801/100 : now it opens for me to submit but it seems that i could not submit it through because i have not got 820, i am still on BVA
> 
> Is it true that i have to wait until i granted 820 then i am able to submit for 801 ?
> 
> It said that i will be granted PR within 2yrs since submission on 4thNov2015
> 
> Thank you very much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi acb984 -

Thanks for the question. The problem with your situation is that once DIBP learns that the relationship is over, they will eventually cancel your 489 visa since your right to hold that visa is dependent on maintaining a partner relationship with your partner. If you tried to lodge an 887 by yourself, it would be evidence that the relationship was over and your 489 would likely be cancelled long before any decision would have been made on the 887. I suppose if you were able to meet the 2yr/1yr live/work requirement yourself and lodge an 887 before DIBP discovered the relationship was over you might have a chance at the 887, but there are a host of other potential issues that you'd face including possible PIC4020 allegations that you provided false or misleading information re: the previous visa and/or various cancellation provisions based on not advising DIBP that the relationship you held the 489 based on had ended. A very risky/tricky pathway in my view.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



acb984 said:


> hi mark,
> 
> i and my partner granted 489 visa sponsored visa. my partner is primary applicant and i am dependant applicant.
> but now we want to separetd.
> my question If she does not include me in 887 permanent visa application.
> could i be eligible to apply 887 by my own as i am also fullfilling two years living and one year full time-working condition.
> I also have diploma in hospitality Two years study.
> i am looking forward for your response.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hurleysgirl1776 -

The good news is that once onshore with the 820, you are eligible for Medicare, Australia's single-payor healthcare system which is (in my humble opinion) fantastic. You'll also want to get a Taxpayer ID Number (TIN) aka "Tax File Number" from the Australian Tax Office when you arrive as you may be asked for this for your employment.

Re job help, there's nothing specifically for visa holders, but holding an 820 visa will put you in a better place for employability than someone with a bridging visa, and holding an 820 visa means you have complete and unrestricted work rights in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hurleysgirl1776 said:


> Hi mark,
> This may seem like a dumb question, but here goes. Ok so the 820 has been granted, that big thing you wait months for has finally happened. Yippi yeahhhhhh, drinks and partying all' good. Right......? Ok so fast forward to the next morning, so i have my 820 will what the hec do i do now? Can i apply for the medical coverage? Is there help with getting a job, is there an id number that i apply for like the USA ssnumber? Basically now what, and what does the 820 visa give me access to?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jwaterbottle -

Thanks for the question. Yes, possible to lodge unless your 476 visa has condition 8503 (no further stay) on it. However you'll need to show genuine "visitor" reasons to be granted the visa, and spending more living together time with a partner generally does not fall into that category.

The key is to show that you want to "visit" your de facto partner, not "spend more time living with" your partner. You might look for some things you want to do including travel around Australia, sightseeing, etc that you have not yet had time to do and provide an itinerary of what you want to do and explain why you haven't been able to do it yet.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jwaterbottle said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I really appreciate you doing this. I have a question about the 600 visa.
> 
> I'm currently on a 476 visa and have been in Australia for almost 1.5 years. Would it be possible for me to apply for (and be granted a) a 600 visa onshore to extend my stay by about 3 months? My reason being that I want to stay with my de facto partner for longer.
> 
> Thanks, I really appreciate it.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pommieinoz2017 -

Thanks for the question. I'd suggest Form 1023 to correct incorrect information on the visa application. Do make sure that you have evidence to show that you have been in a de facto relationship at the level of de facto (ie not just boyfriend/girlfriend, dating, etc) from the date you declare that the de facto relationship began.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pommieinoz2017 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Appreciate your help here. I am an Australian resident and my boyfriend has recently submitted his application for De Facto. I haven't yet completed mine but when reading his submission I noticed that he has made the following error:
> 
> - He has twice referred to our de facto relationship beginning 1st October then states later on in the application that it began on the 1st December.
> 
> We did begin our relationship at the start of October 4 weeks after he moved in to our shared house which he states also in his application.
> 
> My question is what should we do to correct this as reading his application it all seems all over the place date wise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Albert -

Thanks for the question. No way to predict DIBP processing times, however skilled visas from Indian citizens have for the last 12 months or so undergone all kinds of checks, ranging from additional documentation requests to DIBP officers showing up announced at the current (or former) employer asking lots of questions of whoever will answer them. Best thing to do is to make sure that people at your current and/or former employer are thoroughly ready for any contact from DIBP, that DIBP contacts are channeled to the correct person to answer questions, and that the questions are answered accurately. Also make sure to have the designated contact at the company be ready to discuss all the tasks/duties of your work there, as more and more DIBP is running supervisors/managers/etc through the entire list of tasks per ANZSCO for the nominated application even if they are very technical and asking managers whether the applicant's work included these tasks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



albert0205 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for the reply mark, After 375 days of logging my application, I have received a call on 3rd May 2017 from Australia High Commission Delhi (India), the Officer asked few details on the documents I have submitted and my Roles and responsibility. The call went well and I was asked to submit provide and Fund statement showing from the time I joined my company which I dint have handy and was not available on the website. I have submitted a screenshot of the website which showed my Company name and the date of joining Company and provide and Fund. The Office called and acknowledge that he receive the email and will suffice the need.
> Is there something concerning with my application that I have received a call, or is a routine check by DIBP. When can I expect a outcome of the my application since I have received a call.
> 
> Thanks
> Albert Joseph


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brotherjohn -

I'd send it to DIBP in Sydney at the mailing address given on the website (ie, GPO Box 9984, etc). I'd include a certified copy of your passport with the 929 form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



brotherjohn said:


> Hello Mark
> I was granted offshore Partner visa 309 2 months ago from Philippines.
> I am in Australia now living with my spouse. We are moving to Brisbane from Sydney next month.
> My question is which immigration office should I send my completed form 929 (change of address) to inform immigration about my new address?
> I am not sure whether I have to send completed form 929 to my case officer in Philippines who processed my 309 temporary partner visa OR to send it to one of the DIBP offices here in Australia? I emailed my case officer in Philippines asking about this but he is not replying.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Evolution02 -

Casual employment is problematic for skills assessment and DIBP alike, as DIBP will (once you get your skills assessment) need to be shown that you have worked at least 20 hours for each week you are claiming full-time work. If the organisations won't do this, you may want to consider getting ALL of your payslips and working out how many hours was in each and making a spreadsheet showing this and submitting all of this including all the payslips to Vetassess (and later, DIBP) - might have a good chance of satisfying them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Evolution02 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I was contacted by Vetassess to provide a letter from my respective employers showing weekly hours of work. I work as a casual staff with more than 2 organizations and all provided me with a statement of service with the total hours of work but vetassess is now asking for them to state it per week which the organizations refused to do as i have no guaranteed weekly hours. Vetassess also requested for recent two payslips which i have already with me. Please advice me on how to deal with this issue. I have during my application provided vetassess as much evidence as possible and all my work are been performed in Australia.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivian0409 -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict whether your circumstances will result in not meeting the health criteria for the 189 visa. Problem is, with that visa, there is no opportunity to provide a health waiver, so if you fail the health criteria it means the visa won't be granted unless you are able to show that the medical costings that were done based on your condition are not appropriate for your condition.

Re 485 visa, there are time limits on being able to apply for this visa, would need to work with you in a consultation in order to assess your eligibility for this visa - please see further info on my website listed in my signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vivian0409 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I hope you are well, I saw your name and Email on AusraliaForum. Could you help me with my medical question below, please?
> I submitted my documents for 189 visa application about one month ago, and had the heath assessment two weeks ago.
> I declared that I am an Hepatitis B carrier and is in the treatment process now (I have medicine from a company called Viread, about $500/month in Australia but $100/month in my country ). I got my pathology result and found that two parameters (alt and LD) in my liver function are slightly high. The status of my health assessment on DIBP website is : Health assessed - wait for further advice from the department. My questions are:
> 1. Will I be rejected, please? I have full time work, and the tax I pay is several times more than the medicine even it is $500/month.
> 2. What could I do to help the DIBP to approve my PR application please? I have all the other results, my DNA is nearly zero and my ultrasound scan is good, could I upload these results in my DIBP account, please? Or could I ask the specialist to write a letter for me, please?
> 3. Could I apply for the visa 485, please? I am working full time now and I love my job, if there is possibility to be rejected, I hope I can still keep on working.
> Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Agm -

Depends on what visa you applied for - you didn't specify. Even then, only very rough estimates are available which can be way off in some cases - very hard to predict.

Best,

Mark Northam



agm said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> Can you please confirm how long does the visa process takes time now-a-days as i have lodged my visa application since past 6 months and still looking forward to hear abt it?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Girish -

Re 1, you'd have to check with the University and/or Australian state that you intend to live in. My understanding is that generally local student rates are not available until a person is a permanent resident, but there may be some exceptions to this.

Re 2, for state sponsored 489 visa applicants, here's a list of the areas:
https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa...orting/Pages/skilled/regional-post-codes.aspx

Re 3, you may want to look into private health insurance as this is the means by which most temporary visa holders manage medical expenses.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



girishkumarcs said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been reading your replies in here with great interest. Thanks for your great help.
> 
> I am 48 years old and starting off an Immigration application on 489 from Abu Dhabi as I am currently working here. I am an Indian Citizen.
> 
> My queries are:
> 
> I am told that, during the provisional visa period of 2 years, I need to pay the University fees for my kid. She is about to enter University and is aiming for an engineering or medical stream. Query: Am I required to pay the International student fee or a local student fee? Does my daughter qualify for any scholarships at Australian Universities?
> I do not know currently about which state sponsorship will I be getting. But 489 specifies to live in a regional location for 2 years. Is there a document somewhere which shows which are these 'regional' locations? I am concerned because, I have over 25 years of experience in Oil & Gas On shore plants Mechanical engineering (maintenance excellence, Consultancy, field experience) and do not know, whether I will be able to find a job enough to sustain my family of 3, with University fees and medical thrown in.
> Medicare, as I am told is not available for me in the first 2 years. How can I manage medical expenses (like the routine tabs for hypertension etc) in the meanwhile? Are there any other options?
> Thanks in advance, Mark for your kind advice.
> Best Regards,
> Girish.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chien -

Yes - EA requires IELTS 6 or more on all bands (or equivalent test accepted by EA) in order to finalise your skills assessment. Really no point in applying for EA until your English test results are in hand. EA might allow you to submit them after you lodge your skills assessment application (not sure, best check with them) however they won't finalise it until you provide the test results.

Re payslips, etc - these are mainly required by DIBP, and you'll need to show some sort of third party evidence of payment for all work claimed for points for a skilled visa. If you have no third party evidence of payment, you may want to reconsider whether you want to claim the work for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chien said:


> Hi Mark and all,
> 
> Please help! I am wondering if I must submit IELTS certificate together with CDR to EA? I ask because I want to have skill assessment by EA now, but currently, have not achieved IELTS score at the competent level (6.0 all sub-bands) and I may need about 1 year more to achieve 6.0 all sub-bands.
> 
> Secondly, is it enough to prove my salary if it is stated in my employer's reference letter with signature of my director - direct supervisor and company stamp? If not, is there any other evidence I can use to supplement to the reference letter excluding tax return/claim, pay slips, bank statement, social security book (because it was 10 years ago and I could not gain these pieces of evidence).
> I would appreciate very much your response and suggestions.
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tejin -

For Accountant (General), as long as you have a skills assessment you generally would not need a further license for migration purposes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tejin said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Thanks for your reply earlier.
> 
> One more question
> 
> The last line of 221112 says, "Registration or licensing is required."
> 
> I am an MBA finance who has experience in accounts, not a registered accountant and dont have a license that is held by registered/cartered accountants. Am I eligible?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gretz57 -

Thanks for the question. The legislation has not yet been passed for this, despite DIBP says it already applies (!) so there's no way to guarantee exactly how the law will read. We expect that the existing absence provisions (outside Australia no more than 365 days in the 4 years prior to applying for citizenship, and no more than 3 months in the 12 months prior to applying) will likely remain.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gretz57 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Under the new law, a permanent visa holder waits for another four(4) years before applying for Australian citizenship. My question is, is there a condition for travel outside Australia? In the previous requirement, one only needs to wait for one year and never leave Australia within a year or travel outside Australia within a year after the permanent visa grant to qualify for Australian citizenship .
> What is the new requirements on travel as pre-requisite for Australian citizenship?
> Thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohammadhusnain -

Thanks for the note. 5 years processing for a partner visa is extraordinary, and there must be some fairly complex things going on with the application - I would need to work with you at a consultation to learn more about your specific case in order to give you advice - happy to see you at a consult, please see more info on my website below.

Best,

Mark Northam



Mohammadhusnain said:


> Hi Mark,
> I m new here.
> visa type.Class UF Partner (Provisional)
> I would like to know that our DOL...20 JULY 2012.THAT TIME MY Father was permanent residence of Australia,our medical.,police clearance was done in 2013.but due to rules change in immigration we had to wait for our Father citizenship.As now he is an Australian citizen in jan 2017.we received email on april 7 for medical and some additional documents were required ,,like police check,polio certificates etc.we undergo medical on 28th April and also sent required documents on 27th April.
> what is the Next step and how long we have to wait , as our case is old one ,was lodged in 2012?
> 
> Thanx in Advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sayed -

Thanks for the note. While DIBP is certainly aware of cultural and religious rules in some cultures against living together prior to marriage, they will look carefully at the non-living-together aspects of things (such as communications while apart leading up to the marriage), the marriage itself, and especially the behaviour of the applicant and sponsor after marriage in order to determine whether they believe there a "genuine spousal relationship" exists.

While I'm happy to answer general questions here, would need to discuss your case in detail at a consult (we can do this via Skype if you're outside Sydney) in order to give you any sort of specific advice as the answers to your questions will depend on the details of your unique and specific circumstances and those of your partner. Please see link for my website below in my signature for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sayedkarim said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am living in Pakistan and working as a self-employed and my sister is an Australian Citizen and some 1.5 years ago she introduced me with a friend of her who immigrated to Australia from Pakistan through UNHCR and got Women at Risk Subclass 204 Visa in 05 Jan 2015 and currently living in Australia as a permanent resident along with her youngest sister and her elder brother including remaining family members are living here in Pakistan.
> 
> After first introduction with her in Oct 2015 on the internet through my sister we both continued meeting online through the internet and in Feb 2016 we both decided to get engage for giving a formal name to our relationship because of our culture and religious values of Islam making friendship or talking with stranger men's without any reason or necessity are strictly prohibited thus as per Afghan culture we both expressed our interest in each other with our families elders and thus after few meetings between both families here in Pakistan for knowing each other finally our families gave approval and we both got engaged formally on 26 Feb 2016.
> 
> We both maintained a long distance relationship through internet and telephone after our formal engagement and finally, on Oct 2016 we both decided to get marry and my fiancé applied for travel document with Australian Immigration and she got her Travel Document in Dec 2016.
> 
> I started preparation for wedding arrangement and since my fiancé immigrated as a refugee to Australia and her only source of income is Center link family support fund, therefore, I decided to pay for all marriage related expenses and also bought a return air ticket on 14 Feb 2017 through my sister who is living in Melbourne, Australia.
> 
> After preparation of wedding ceremony, my fiancé came to Pakistan on 1st Mar 2017 and we got married on 09 Mar 2017 and we bot lived together as husband and wife till 15 Apr 2017.
> 
> I have all engagement formal function pictures, wedding expenses receipts, marriage registration certificate issued by the authorized office, wedding function pictures and video, my spouse resident permit issued by the Pakistani government, Pakistan visa stamped on her travel document and both Australia and Pakistan Airport exit and entry stamps on her passport.
> 
> My spouse also has itemized telephonic conversation record since we introduced with each other and now I want to apply for Partner Subclass 309/100 Visa but upon checking the partner booklet I found the following 6 questions and some of them really not related to my situation so kindly have a look at the following questions and advise me that how should I answer to these questions?
> 
> I am going to write my all questions in-line under immigration department questions so kindly have a look at them and advise me how to answer to those questions?
> 
> Q1. Has the applicant lived separately and apart from the sponsor for any periods of time since committing to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others?
> 
> Question from Mr. Mark:
> 
> I need your advice regarding this question because we both decided to marry in Oct 2016 but she came to Pakistan and we met personally for the first time on 1st Mar 2017 when she landed in Pakistan and I went to meet her in Benazir international Airport in Islamabad, Pakistan.
> 
> We got married on 9 March 2017 and lived together until 15 April 2017 and on 16 April 2017 she return to Australia and now we are chatting daily through the internet by using Viber Mobile Application
> 
> Q2. Give details of the financial aspects of the relationship.
> 
> Question from Mark:
> 
> We have been doing long distance relationship for these since Oct 2015 until 31 March 2017 and even our formal engagement function has been done here in Pakistan between both family members and few family friends on Feb 2016.
> 
> So when both of us were living in two different countries (Australia + Pakistan), it's near to impossible to add my partner's name to anything of mine and my fiancé also does not has any casual or full-time job and her source of income is just center link family support fund.
> 
> In Pakistan where I am living as a refugee, it is not normal for a couple to live together or share expenses till they are married. It is just not in our culture and Australia Immigration department knew it very well BUT I have list and receipt of expenses which I did for purchase of Gold and clothes as gift for my wife, beauty parlor expenses, wedding celebration event and dinner expenses, Rented house tenant agreement and monthly rent expense where we both lived together after marriage, utility bills receipt, wedding movie and photographs expenses etc with myself.
> Kindly let me know that should I add a list of these expenses as the answer to this question or should write something else?
> 
> Q3. Give details of the nature of the household.
> 
> Mark what should I write the answer to this question?
> 
> Because my spouse just returns back to Australia where she rented a flat in Dandenong area of Melbourne and living with her elder sister.
> 
> We both currently living in different countries and this question even not related to my circumstances please let me know that should I answer to this question?
> 
> Many Thanks in Advance
> Sayed


----------



## ashie4ya

*Pmv*

Hi Mark,

My fiance has now been waiting for his PMV for the past 14 months. Lebanon is the country which was applied from. We have both now done our telephone interviews and everything before that. I just wanted to know would it be concerning nothing has been granted thus far? I have seen many people from Lebanon apply and have got theirs in 6 months time.

We have done everything and yet we are waiting a long time. It's so concerning and also disheartening to see people get their visa granted.

Ash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tobywantstostay -

Thanks for the question. 186 TRT stream is not possible as far as I know unless the applicant is the holder of a 457 visa at the time of application for the 186. 186 Direct Entry (DE) stream may be possible however as that does not require a 457 visa, but will depend on your circumstances.

You might ask the lawyer how you'll satisfy this requirement for the 186 TRT pathway:

_186.223 
(1) The position to which the application relates is the position:
(a) nominated in an application for approval that seeks to meet the requirements of subregulation 5.19(3); and
* (b) in relation to which the applicant is identified as the holder of a Subclass 457 (Temporary Work (Skilled)) visa;* and
(c) in relation to which the declaration mentioned in paragraph 1114B(3)(d) of Schedule 1 was made in the application for the grant of the visa.
(2) The Minister has approved the nomination.
(3) The nomination has not subsequently been withdrawn._

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tobywantstostay said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Do you know of anyone successfully transitioned from a 461 to 186 via the Temporary Residence Transition Stream?
> 
> Quick background info:
> 
> My partner is a NZ citizen. (I'm aware that there is a new pathway to PR for NZ citizens coming soon but it doesn't look like she'll qualify for the income assessment part, unless my income can be considered as well.) I've been in AUS for 5.5 year - first year on a 417 whv then 4.5 years on a 461. I've been working as a hospitality manager for the last 3 years and should have sorted out a 457 for myself but didn't and now obviously that option has passed with the abolition of the 457 being replaced by the TSS which isn't a pathway to PR
> 
> An immigration lawyer has suggested that I might be able to go straight for a 186 visa from my 461 via the TRT stream but says there is an element of risk with this. I obviously don't want to spend the sizable amount of money to get rejected.
> 
> Online the visa info says:
> 
> _This visa is a permanent residence visa. You can be in or outside Australia when you apply. If you are in Australia, you must hold a substantive visa or a bridging visa A, B or C.
> The visa has three streams:
> The Temporary Residence Transition stream is for subclass 457 visa holders who have worked for two years, while holding a subclass 457 visa, in the same occupation with their nominating employer (who is not subject to a labour agreement and who has lodged a valid nomination with us under the Temporary Residence Transition stream), who wants to offer them a permanent position in that occupation. _
> 
> The lawyer says he knows of instances where at 444 visa has successfully transferred onto a 186 via the TRT.
> 
> Any idea is this is really a valid option?
> 
> To make things more complicated, my wife and I are expecting our first child. She is NZ citizen by descent so our child will not be eligible for NZ or Aus citizenship at birth. I'm guessing that we will have to apply for UK citizenship for our child and then apply for a 461 for him/her! This obviously doesn't give us any long term security, hence our strong desire to try and gain PR!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stock -

All you can do is wait I'm afraid - that's DIBP's way - citizenship applications are backed up currently from what we're seeing, but just be glad you applied before the rule changes (!).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Stock said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hoping you can help me. I applied for Australian citizenship on 20th March 2017 (via paper application), its now 16th May and I still haven't received a letter notifying me of a test date. I have called immigration several times and just been told my application is being worked on and to wait !!! Any advice on how long I am suppose to wait. Its dragging on and I just want some kind of notification. Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jessy0063 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jessy0063 said:


> Hello
> My wife had done bachelor of commerce, master of commerce and bachelor of education from india.
> Now she had completed her masters of professional accounting and currently on TR 485 visa.
> My question is that what are the occupations she can apply with her master of commerce or bachelor of education other than accountant.
> I had also done BA.LLB (Bachelor of law five year course)what are the best way that i can contribute 5 extra points for my wife to gain permanent residency???
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chris.chris -

Thanks for the question. The good news is that as the previous visa was a skilled visa and was not a partner or fiance visa, the 5 year limitation does not apply to you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chris.chris said:


> *Is there a difference between Additional Applicant and Sponsored Partner ?
> 
> Hi, in 2015 my then girlfriend applied for 189 Skilled Independent PR Visa and put me as an additional applicant on the application. We both got our Permanent Residency ,however we split in 2016 and have moved on since then.
> 
> I am currently an Australian citizen and will be marrying someone in India (arrange marriage) in late 2017 or early 2018.
> 
> I just want to know will I be able to sponsor my wife ? or does the 5 year ban of not allowed to sponsor someone imply on me ?
> 
> I am currently confused as it was not a partner visa I got or she applied for me , I was an additional applicant as a defacto partner.
> 
> I have already got a separate medicare now as well.*


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sharonannevans -

Thanks for the question. Short answer: look for a migration agent or immigration lawyer with a reasonable consultation fee and book a consultation (as an immigration lawyer and migration agent, I do these - see further info on my website below in my signature). Personally I wouldn't pay more than $200 or so for a 30-minute consult, and it can be helpful to have your circumstances and questions organised before the consult and email that info to the agent/lawyer so you make the most of your time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sharonannevans said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks so much for your reply. I'm not sure how I managed to miss that you had replied. I wonder if you are able to recommend a migration agent or immigration lawyer? The few I have contacted don't really seem to know how to proceed or help me. I think it may be in the "too hard" box. I've also found that lots of them want a hefty upfront payment before even looking into anything for me. We are desperate to migrate and are finding it so hard.
> 
> Any help is gratefully received!
> 
> Regards,
> Sharon


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moni -

Once you're here on a PR visa, you can stay forever. It's the re-entry rights that have to be renewed with a resident return visa, and if you've been here for a year or so, you may have established substantial personal, cultural, business or employment ties that would allow you to extend your re-entry rights for a year via a 1-year subclass 155 Resident Return Visa. All depends on your circumstances.

Suggest you get a second opinion from an immigration lawyer / registered migration agent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



moni said:


> Hi Mark
> I got my P.R in october2012 n till now i have stayed in Au juss for an year. Now my P.R is going to expirein oct 17....my consultant is saying it cant be extended due to short stay n i have to move back.Please help me


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ruchita -

I expect you've already resolved this given the tight timetable of your flight, however DIBP is very unpredictable re: processing times - not a lot you can do generally other than advise them of the urgency of your travel plans and circumstances.

Best,

Mark Northam



Ruchita said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> first of all... thank you so much for taking the time to answer all these questions!!! very impressive
> 
> My husband applied for a 12 month e600 visa in march. They requested more information which he uploaded on the 21.4... we have not heard anything back jet. We have called several times and written an email but have not received anything. Apparently they give a timeframe of 28 days, but we are worried it might take even longer.
> In your experience how long can this process take?
> our flight back to Australia leaves on the 23.5 and we are so worried that we wont hear back from immigration intime.
> 
> anything we can do to speed up the process?
> 
> Thank you so much and happy for any info or advice...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eagereagle -

Thanks for the note. Not possible for me to assess evidence on the forum here as I would need to see the evidence itself - can do this via a consultation (see website below in my signature for more). However in looking at the general situation you write about, I'm concerned about the lack of living together time after marriage. The pregnancy will likely weigh things heavily in your direction (a good thing) however once the child is born you will be far better off re: any concerns that DIBP has about a genuine relationship. If DIBP has serious concerns about the evidence, they may ask for a DNA test once the baby is born. Remember DIBP considers Pakistan a high-risk country, so the more relationship evidence you can provide, the better.

Overall the evidence seems a bit light, which could be an issue - no way for me to tell without actually seeing the evidence however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



eagereagle said:


> @MarkNortham
> Thanks for such a great thread. I am silent admirer of this forum, posting for the first time. Please let us know what you think about our case..Partner visa 309.
> 
> I prepared case files for my wife.. (doing it for the first time so little nervous, got my PR via an agent's help)
> Can you quickly go through my list of evidences and tell is the case for my wife visa (applying for 309 off-shore) strong enough.. or should we get help from MARA..
> 
> I (husband) am permanent resident of Aus.
> Got married on 1st of Jan,17. I lived with my wife for 52 days before returning to Aus for work.
> 
> •	We have a Joint bank account opened after 20 days of marriage.
> 
> •	She lives in my parent's house in Pak, so she or I do not pay bills/rents .. but I gave her some cash and send money to the Joint Bank account monthly for her to withdraw when she needs it.
> 
> •	Is this enough to support the first question of financial aspects of relationship?
> 
> •	For nature of household question, as we are living separate for now, but she wrote about our future plans in Aus how we will distribute our work etc.. plans to buy an apartment..
> 
> •	For social aspect. We added details of our invitations from close family members and have receipts of joint dinners where we were invited by them.. and their affidavits about our relationship..
> 
> •	For nature of commitments and developments of the relationship between us we have our stories written statements how we met and how we see our relationship in future... but what proofs they want from us to support this one ?
> 
> Now for documents attachments: We have marriage certificate. And photos videos of ceremonies and honeymoon pics. Birth certificates and other photo IDs.
> 
> Affidavits from my and her's family members in favor of our marriage n best wishes.
> 
> only one forum 888 deceleration by a friend who knows me but her wife talked to my wife once or twice and believes us on having a long term relationship and ready to give us stat dec.
> 
> we have Call logs (whatsapp) 6 months before marriage..and after marriage contact proofs like chats and Call records...
> 
> Above all, she is pregnant with my baby.. can or should we show the Scans as proof of our commitment of long term relationship ? I mean of course its a big thing for us and shows how serious we are in our relationship..
> 
> Are these enough evidences for partner 309 visa case ? Are we missing on something..


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zee32 -

Thanks for the question. No way I can predict how a case officer will decide on these things, but in the past this type of evidence has been sufficient in showing that a PCC in a previous name is not possible to obtain. I'd get as much evidence as you can of this fact and lodge with the case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zee32 said:


> hi mark
> new to the forum. i have a question.
> i logged my 190 visa application on 1st may 2017. i was asked for a pcc in my maiden name by co on 11th may. now the issue is in india they dont issue a pcc in any name other than the name mentioned in the current passport. it is also written in the reqeast letter that if i cant get it i can prove that i have tried my best to get one with adocumentry evidence.
> the officer incharge at the regional passport office wrote a note on tne application i gave him stating that pcc cant be issued in any other name. now, i just want to know if my co will except this and giv me a grant. or will it cause any problem?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohammadhusnain -

Please see my previous response to your previous question on this - your circumstances are very unusual given it's been 5 years to process a partner visa application, need to know much more about your circumstances to give you advice, and even then it's impossible to predict DIBP's processing times.

Best,

Mark Northam



Mohammadhusnain said:


> HI Mark,,
> 
> Our visa Application was lodged on 20 july 2012.
> medical done in 2013 ,but they told my Father once u become citizen then ur case will proceed.
> Dad became citizen in jan,2017.
> immigration dept contacted us for medical Examination and some additional Documents.
> we did medical on 28th April and submitted required documents on 27th April.
> On 16 DAD emailed them about our case process and request them to proceed as soon as possible.
> they emailed that ,
> 
> We are actively working on your family visa application. Currently, your
> wife's visa application is undergoing mandatory departmental check. The
> visa application will be concluded after the completion of checks.
> 
> Please provide the follwing documents for further processing of your wife's
> visa application:
> 
> - Form 1229 for the children under the age of 18 years.
> 
> My question is this Sir,almost we provide all documents to immigration,
> whats next,what will they ask next,and when will they finalise our case as i told u that our DOL IS 2012.
> 
> THNX IN ADVANCE


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Patriotic Soul -

Thanks for the note. No problem having the application attached to 2 ImmiAccounts. Re: your agent, either he lied to you about contact or his practice is such a shambles that he is unable to track communications properly. Either way, I would strongly recommend you consider either taking over the application yourself if you're comfortable with that, or moving the application to a competent agent. Not responding to a CO looks bad no matter what the circumstances - you're lucky your visa was not refused and you were given another chance.

With DIBP, there is no point in blaming the agent even if the agent is at fault, as DIBP will always consider YOU to be ultimately responsible for anything having to do with your application, regardless of whether you have an agent or what the agent does. Your agent has shown shocking incompetence and has put your application in danger by not responding to DIBP in an appropriate manner/timeframe and not uploading documents in an appropriate timeframe. Why put your reputation with DIBP and visa at risk for someone like this?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Patriotic Soul said:


> Hi Mark,
> I applied for Visa subclass 190 through an agent & lodged my application on 2nd March 2017. My agent told me that he submitted all the documents & we should wait for CO. During that time i asked my agent multiple times whether any contact has been made by CO or not & he always replied NO Contact yet. Yesterday i made an immiaccount & imported my application without the knowledge of my agent & to my surprise i found that no documents were uploaded & CO contacted twice , 1st contact was on 14 March 2017 & 2nd contact on 15 May 2017 (in this contact 28 days final notice was given for submission of documents otherwise my application will be rejected). When i confronted my agent about all this he was not able to give any logical or satisfactory answer. He said i am professional, i know what i am doing & let me handle the case & also said by importing application in 2nd immiaccount it will create problems now & will effect your application process.
> My question is whether not responding to CO will have any negative impact on my application?
> My 2nd question is whether importing application into my immiaccount will create any confusion or duplication & in anyway effect my application process?
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SK -

Please see previous answer, sorry for the delay. You have a very specific situation that I suggest you engage professional assistance to handle - given how specific and somewhat unusual your circumstances are, general advice from forums may not be the best way to address your questions and circumstances. A key issue for you will be showing very clearly that you were not a partner of hers at the time she was granted the visa - DIBP will likely check this out very carefully.

Best,

Mark Northam



sayedkarim said:


> Sponsorship limitation for Women At Risk (Subclass 204) Holder
> 
> I am an Australian Permanent Resident, Living in Melbourne, Australia.
> I immigrated to Australia on May 2015 and my Women At Risk Subclass 204 was granted on 05 Jan 2015.
> 
> at the time of grant of this Women at Risk Subclass 204 Visa I was single but after immigrating to Australia on Nov 2015 I fall in love with a guy who is living abroad and then I went to that country and got married to him on 09 Mar 2017.
> 
> Now I and my husband preparing for submission of his Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) and Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) application but during filling my sponsorship application i found the following information which made me really worried about my future
> 
> You may not be able to sponsor your partner if any one of the following applies:]
> 
> Woman at Risk visa holders
> 
> You cannot be a sponsor if:
> 
> the Woman at Risk visa (subclass 204) was granted to you in the last five years
> 
> Answer: Yes My Women at Risk Visa was Granted on 05 Jan 2015
> 
> and either:
> 
> the person you want to sponsor was your partner when you were granted the Woman at Risk visa
> 
> Answer: No I was single at the time this visa was granted.
> 
> the person you want to sponsor is a previous partner that you did not tell us about when you were granted the Woman at Risk visa.
> 
> Answer: No he was not.
> 
> Kindly have a look at my answers to conditions which apply on a Women At Risk Subclass 204 Visa Holder and let me know if I can sponsor my husband or not?
> 
> I Really urgent response and advise from members of this forum and Mr. Mark if he read this thread.
> 
> Best Regards
> SK


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lluvatar -

Thanks for the question. If the only issue is the length of employment and you're trying to show 3 years, you may want to include an updated letter to Vetassess at the 3-year mark to show you are still employed there. The simplest way to deal with this is not not apply to Vetassess until you have met the 3-year requirement if that's what you are trying to show them. Make sure to check the Vetassess site carefully for the specific requirements for your occupation as they vary from one occupation to another re: how much previous work experience is needed, and within x number of years, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Iluvatar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My question is regarding the required relevant work experience.
> 
> I have been employed in the relevant field for 2 years and 10 months and I am currently working at the company in the same position. I have collected employment-related documents and uploaded these on the Vetassess website. My resume and the statement I received from my employer clearly states that my employment is ongoing. Also, I know the minimum required working hours is 36 to be considered as full-time whereas the legal min. weekly working hours is 45 in where I live and work. Therefore, my question is: Will my skilled experience be considered sufficient despite the 2-month deficiency? Also, say my employment is ceased at 2 years and 11 months, will I need to gain further experience to be eligible?
> 
> I would appreciate if you could answer my queries.
> 
> Kindest regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chabayta -

That sounds a bit faster than normal, which is a good thing usually! No way to predict processing time, however so far, so good I'd say.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chabayta said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I have applied for Partner Visa Subclass (309/100) on *22 January 2017*, and later on the replied to me on *29 February* about Acknowledgment letter. therefore, the asked extra information and to fill form 80 on *9th March* plus on *9th April* i have phone call interview. My question is do you see this as quick process or normal and since that day no response they didnt ask about police check or medical report. I am Palestinian which mean High Risk country Kindly advise,
> 
> Regards
> Chabayta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi QQMM -

Thanks for the note. Once you advise DIBP that your employment has ceased, they'll give you 90 (or 60 in some cases) days to find further sponsored employment - once you do not your 457 visa is liable for cancellation. If that occurs, your BVA from the 820 will also be cancelled and you'll be left with no visa and will have to go to DIBP and apply for a Bridging Visa E in order to remain in Australia while your 820 is processed. The BVE has no work rights, although you may be able to add work rights if you can successfully show financial hardship. The BVE does not allow you to re-enter Australia, so if you choose to travel internationally while holding the BVE, you'll have no way to re-enter Australia.

Once you lodge the 820 onshore, you'll usually be eligible for Medicare - take your acknowledgement of the 820/801 application with you to Medicare and see what you can do - sometimes you need to talk to a manager, etc if the counter people are not familiar with Medicare eligibility for PR visa applicants.

Re: school fees, outside my area of expertise. I'd check with the local school and see if they have any options for people who have lodged PR applications that are not yet decided.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



QQMM said:


> Good morning Mark !
> 
> Can you help me about visa change from 457 to 820 ?
> 
> I hold visa 457 and work for the employer company for over 3 years . Unforturnately, the business meets some problem that the employer is unable to sponsor me for visa 186 .
> 
> I met my partner in 2014 and we lived together from August 2015.
> 
> - Employer nominated me on Apr, 2016
> - I applied for 186 on May,2016
> - Nomination was refused on Nov,2016
> - I withdrew my application for 186 in Nov,2016
> - I applied for 820 partnership on May,2017
> 
> Here comes my question :
> 
> I got the 820 bridging visa granted 5 days after application submiitted however it
> will be effected after my 457 expired . I am going to resign my work with the employer and then inform DIBP about my resignation . My 457 visa will be expired the end of Nov. this year .
> 
> -Is that anything I should supply to DIBP besides my resignation letter and the employer's reply letter ?
> -Once 457 ceased after my last working day , will my 820 bridging visa get effect immediatly ?
> -Or I still have to wait another 90 days for finding new sponsor ?
> -What's gonna happen after 90 waiting if needed ?
> -Or I supposed to work with the employer untill 457 expires ?
> - I know I am now eligible for medicare application and I will do soon ..... How about the kid's education fee ?
> I supposed to pay $5000 per year to government every year while BVA granted ?
> 
> Thanks in advance for any advice !
> 
> Have a nice day ~


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ckbird -

Thanks for the note. There is no prescribed waiting time between sponsoring partners for a 461 visa, however especially as you had a recent ex-partner, DIBP will need to be convinced via substantial evidence that you are in a genuine relationship with your current partner, and will likely require that you show with evidence that your current de facto relationship (assuming you are not married) has been in existence at a de facto level for at least the 6 months prior to applying for the 461 visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ckbird said:


> Hi Almighty Mark,
> 
> I had lodged a New Zealand Citizen (Family Relationship) (Temporary) (class UP) New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary) (subclass 461) visa for my ex-partner in March 2014 and it went successful so she got the visa granted in May 2014. However unfortunately our relationship then broke down close to the end of 2014 so she had left Australia ever since and never returned again.
> 
> My issue now is that I have met a new partner in overseas since last year and I am dying to have her accompany in Australia so I am considering to sponsor her for 461 in 2018. Under my circumstances, is that gonna work? How long do I need to wait for sponsoring a new partner for De factor sponsor visa?
> 
> Thank you very much in advance!
> 
> Best regards,
> Wayne


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ghoul123456 -

Thanks for the note. You'll likely want to withdraw your AAT review case, however you are free to do that at any time before the AAT sets a hearing date for the case or otherwise informs you that evidence is required.

Assuming you were holding only a bridging visa for your 457 application (and no other visa) on the day you were refused the 457 visa application, you are subject to a section 48 bar that prevents you from lodging any other visa application onshore on this trip other than a partner visa or a protection (refugee) visa. However, a 187 nomination can be lodged while you are here. If/when you're ready to lodge a 187 visa application, if you are holding a bridging visa A now, you can apply for a bridging visa B for an offshore trip, go offshore, lodge the 187 while offshore, then return to Australia on the BVB and wait for your AAT hearing. The 187 application will not generate a new bridging visa, so you'll have to hope the AAT moves slowly and/or the 187 application is processed quickly, otherwise your current bridging visa will cease 28 or 35 days after the AAT decision and you may have to either find another way to remain onshore while waiting for the 187 decision or wait offshore for the 187 decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ghoul123456 said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Im new to here, but please help me with my problem thank you!
> 
> I applyed for VISA457 which refused ,and I applyed for MRT review. Because of the long wait, ( 6 months passed) My employer don't want to sponsor me anymore, what should I do when MRT is ready for review?
> 
> If I apply for VISA187 with a new employer, how can I keep stay onshore while waiting for decision either from MRT or the VISA187 application? I know there is a thing called section 48 but not sure about the details.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> G


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Natasha -

I can't advise you without seeing the documents, however I'd probably be inclined to split the designations at the companies when listing them on the visa application, especially if the employer reference letters make any references to the different designations, or if the employers may mention this if/when contacted by DIBP as very frequently happens for employers in India. Key issue however is that nothing in the application should conflict with the content of the employer reference letters, data on payslips, or any other evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



natasha.joseph said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I didn't split my designations at the two companies I worked when I applied for ACS Skills Assessment. I went with the last designation I had and the number of years worked.
> 
> ACS has approved this.
> 
> I have a visa invitation for 189 and so I am not sure if I need to follow the details in my ACS letter or should I split the different designations in my visa application.
> 
> The changes in designations did not affect my roles and responsibilities at all and so that's why I did not divide them when I applied for skills assessment with ACS.
> 
> Thanks
> Natasha


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Starbabe -

Thanks for the note. You mentioned the subclass 487 visa however that visa has been closed for years now. I expect you're referring to the 489 state sponsored provisional skilled visa or the 187 regional employer sponsored visa direct entry pathway. For either instance, you'll need a skills assessment in the occupation, and generally the skills assessor will determine whether the work was skilled or not (and the qualifications sufficient) depending on the circumstances and evidence. I've seen examples of where work as a cabinetmaker is assessed as suitable for carpenter, so I'd look to the skills assessor's particular rules and requirements to see how your documentation and work experience may look.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



starbabe said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My partner is wanting to apply for a regional work sponsorship visa. He has an employer willing to sponsor him building wood furniture, which they classify as Cabinet Making.
> 
> Hi diplomas, apprenticeship and qualifications from France are all as a 'Carpenter' with some joiner and cabinet making as minor subjects within the qualification I think.
> 
> So I have two questions..
> If his qualification is as a carpenter, can he be sponsored in a job as a cabinet maker? Obviously they are closely related, but the name of the classification differs.
> 
> And does he three years of prior work evidence have to all specifically say it is work as a carpenter on payslips etc. 12 months of his three years of work experience, (the most recent 12 months in australia) is as a joiner, in construction and as a cabinet maker.
> 
> Thank you for any info you can provide!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Please see previous answer to this question, thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



Bellaella said:


> just a quick question, Can you please tell me under subclass 189, how much experience a partner skills (what is the minimum requirement for skill assessment of partner?) the main applicant in this case has a master degree in finance and business and the mrs is still studying in College Year 12. ( 18 years old while main applicant the husband is 26 years old). Does she qualify for the minimum requirement ? Please help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bag -

Not able to predict DIBP invitation chances of success as they simply do not provide enough information about which occupations are chosen in each round and what the waiting time is. Note that the invitation rounds happen just after midnight in some cases, as you lodged the day before you may not have accounted for the date/time difference (?).

Re: state nomination, each state is different in their policies/procedures for application - best to check the state skilled website for the state(s) you're interested in.

Best,

Mark Northam



Bag said:


> Hi mark
> I have submitted eoi on 23 rd may 2017 for chef code
> For 189 my points are coming to 65 and for state nomination coming to 70
> 24 th may was invitation round and I did not got any invite
> What are the chances in next round
> Also for state nomination do I have to go to individual state immigration website and submit my application. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Metrohev -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about the visa issues.

Re 3-year ban, will depend on the specific regulations they used to cancel your visa - you may want to book a consultation with a migration agent or immigration lawyer to go through your cancellation and determine if the 3-year exclusion period applies. If it does apply, assuming it's under part 4013 or 4014 of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1994, there is a waiver that you can request by showing compelling or compassionate circumstances, however the person who would be affected by the circumstances would need to be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or Eligible NZ Citizen (was in Australia on 26 Feb 2001, and meet some other requirements). If you can't show the compelling/compassionate circumstances related to a person in this category, you may have to consider waiting offshore for the 461 visa to be granted.

Given the complexity of your case (cancellations always result in complexity!) I'd suggest you consider a consult with a migration agent or immigration lawyer to clarify exactly what your situation is and what regulations apply to you. If you're unable to pay for a consult, you can look for free consults with organisations that provide these - in Sydney, Salvos Legal do these - I volunteer there when time allows and can tell you they're great people there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



metrohev said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I was on 457 visa, but as my employer didn't honour our contract, I ceased my employment. I thought I did the right thing but now seems that I have been punshised instead. After 457 I had 90 days to find a new sponsor. I found new compmany who said they will do it but then after few months went to liquidation. I have been living together with my partner whose from NZ and we recently found out that we would we eligible to apply partnervisa 461. However immigration sent me my 457 visa cancellation and put there a sector number 48, witch means I can only apply very limited visas while I'm in Australia. And not to apply partnervisa in here. So I went to immigration and applied BVE visa that I wouldn't be unlawful in Australia. Immigration said that only option for me would be to leave from the country and then apply new visa offshore. Partner visas will take 9 months to be granted and I wouldn't be able to come and see my partner or friends here. Or even close my life what i have build up here for 4 years. They said there wouldn't be any issues to apply offshore but from what I should live all this time wothout money and job.
> My question is- would I be eligible to apply for evisitor visa and to come back and to be with my friends and partner?
> And my other concern is that they will put on me 3 year ban and I wouldn't be able to come back?
> I just don't understand why they say I can apply outside new visa but not while Im inside? It just looks like they want me to leave and that's it.
> I have payd my taxes here 4 years and never done anything criminal ja worked very very hard all this 4 years and don't understand why Im punished for this that way.
> 
> If you could help I would be so thankful cause I don't have possibilities to get any legal help.
> 
> Thank you so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brotherjohn -

Sydney DIBP office is fine - see their website for the mailing address. Send a certified copy of your passport with the form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



brotherjohn said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I was granted offshore Partner visa 309 2 months ago from Philippines.
> I am in Australia now living with my spouse. We are moving to Brisbane from Sydney next month.
> 
> My question is which immigration office should I send my completed form 929 (change of address) to inform immigration about my new address?
> I am not sure whether I have to send completed form 929 to my case officer in Philippines who processed my 309 temporary partner visa OR to send it to one of the DIBP offices here in Australia? I emailed my case officer in Philippines asking about this but he is not replying.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Suff7 -

Thanks for the note. I'm not sure re: Vetassess and bricklaying and any removal, but re: ability to re-apply, would depend on if you were onshore and some other factors. If offshore, no problem generally in lodging a new EOI and starting the process again and reapplying as soon as you get another invitation, but would need to have a valid skills assessment in your EOI prior to date of invitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Suff7 said:


> Hi mark I have just had my 189 visa declined as I used Vetassess to to have my bricklaying skills assessed, when were Vetassess removed? I could have sworn it was Vetassess when I looked online and then when I did my application there was an option to say that it was for migration purposes. I was wondering if you knew when the changes came in?
> Also can I re-apply if I complete another skills assessment with tra?
> Thanks in advance
> Liam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SharKs -

Congratulations! To any other partner visa applicants that only get the provisional (820 or 309) visa despite having a long-term partner relationship that at the *time of application* is either 3 years if no children, or 2 years if children (that is, 3 or 2 years of a relationship at the partner level, not since the beginning of the entire relationship), it doesn't hurt to ask DIBP and/or request that your application be considered for the PR visa straightaway if you don't get it - as SharKs found out, it can have positive results!

Best,

Mark Northam



SharKs said:


> Hi Mark,
> I hope you can give me some advice!
> 
> *
> Summary of my problem:
> I was living with my partner for over 3 years when we applied for the 820/801 visa (with evidence supporting this), however when we were granted the visa we only got the 820. I can't get a clear answer as to why we didn't get the 801. Is there anything I can do to get the 801? Or can I get an explanation on why we didn't meet the criteria? *
> 
> Long version:
> So I met my Australian partner in March 2011 and moved in with him (in Australia) on the 6th of January 2013... I worked here in Australia on a 457 visa hoping to obtain PR through my work. However in 2015 we heard that due to some circumstances this was not possible and therefore we decided to apply for a partner visa instead. We read the information about it and the partner migration booklet said you could bypass the two year waiting period and go straight to 801 (PR) if you had been living together for 3 years or more. So we decided to wait with applying for a partner visa until mid January 2016, thinking that this would prevent us from having to go through the whole system twice. We could wait because my work visa would be valid until mid 2017.
> 
> In April 2017 our application got approved, and we got granted the 820. Dissapointed that we did not get the 801, I sent an email to my visa processing centre that we thought we would be eligible for 801 due to the length of our de facto relationship, and pointing out which evidence in our application supported this (joint bank account in both our names and to our address opened 7-1-2013, letters to my partner and to me from different bodies to the same address dating back > 3 years, evidence that my partner helped me move from Europe to Australia, stat decs from friends and family supporting that we lived together for this long, etc etc). However, the temporary partner visa processing centre never replied to my email (this was 5 weeks ago), even though I sent two reminders.
> 
> So on Tuesday I decided to email the permanent processing centre instead, explaining my situation, and they informed me:
> _
> "Your application met subclass 820 visa requirements at the time of decision and did not meet subclass 801 visa requirements.
> 
> The decision on your Temporary Partner (Subclass 820) visa has already been made and cannot be revisited."_
> 
> Also that: _the case Officer who assessed and approved the UK820 visa was not satisfied that the information met the legislative requirements for the grant of the BS801 permanent residence visa._
> 
> We thought our evidence was solid and we did not get any explanation on why this was not satisfactory.... I did ask for the 801 to be considered in my ImmiAccount and never got an answer as to why this was refused. We really don't want to go through all this again and find the way we were treated very unfair.
> Is there anything I can do about this?
> 
> Timeline:
> I met my partner: 1/3/2011
> Decided to be in a committed relationship: 20/01/2012
> Moved in with my partner (started de facto): 06/01/2013
> Partner visa application: 16/01/2016
> 820 grant: 19/04/2017
> 
> Thank you!
> 
> EDIT: MY ISSUE IS RESOLVED! EVENTUALLY THE CO GOT IN TOUCH WITH ME AND REASSESSED MY CASE. I NOW HAVE 801 (PR)! TIME TO CELEBRATE!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jace -

Thanks for the note and this illustrates an important legal issue - if 2 people are boyfriend/girlfriend, they are NOT partners, and under migration law a bf/gf relationship (or bf/bf or gf/gf for that matter) has no legal significance. Relationship status is not changed because of a bf/gf relationship, so "Never Married" etc is still OK.

As far as declaring the relationship, essentially you two are "friends", so if the application asks for information about people you know in Australia, you probably should list the info there about the gf or bf. But legally you are not partners for purposes of immigration law in this type of situation, so no need to declare as a partner and in fact you should not declare as a partner.

If the relationship grows and later becomes de facto or married, no problem with lodging a partner visa then in terms of declaring the relationship (assuming you meet all the other requirements for a partner visa), since at the present time you are only friends. The only thing you woudl be prevented from doing in that scenario is claiming at a later date that you were in a de facto partner relationship NOW, when in fact you are only bf/gf now and the visa application would reflect this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jace said:


> Hey Mark. Thanks in advance for answering my question.
> 
> So My partner wants to do a Masters degree.He is 26 and lives in USA. Would he have a problem with obtaining the visa even with me (australian citizen, 26yrs old) being here. We are just bf, gf at this point but do have plans to live together permanently. Would he need to declare that anywhere on his application form? I dont know what it looks like so i'm not sure if its just the standard - Widowed, married, engaged, defacto etc.
> 
> And at the end of his course (approx 2 years if he has been accepted). Is it possible or frowned upon to apply for a partner visa, knowing that we would be providing proof that we were in a relationship prior to his studies starting? Or would it be best to apply for a follow on work visa that continues on from his studies. Like the grad temp entrant, or nominated visa if his specialty is still listed on the job list.
> 
> We know he can study on a partner visa, but he would prefer to get started on it as soon as he can.
> 
> He has never been to Australia before.
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rlaserna -

As a PR your husband needs to show he is "usually resident" in Australia - he has a home (rented or owned, both OK) here, lives here, has employment here, etc that should be no problem, and the baby will be very helpful in satisfying any concerns about genuine relationship, etc. Sounds good from what you've said to proceed as you plan.

Do keep an eye out for any changes to the partner visa program as we expect them to be announced over the coming months leading into next year.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rlaserna said:


> Hi Mark and all, I hope you can enlighten me.
> 
> Husband's PR granted for Visa 189 - February 2015
> First entry - Aug 2015 ( we stayed for 5 days just to validate the visa. We're not yet married during that time)
> Got married - December 2015
> Baby was born - September 2016
> Hubby moved in to Australia for good - April 2017
> 
> Now my baby and I will come on August as a tourist (we have NO 8503 condition) to lodge the onshore partner visa 820/801.
> 
> Hubby said he has not updated his civil status from single to married because when he called in, he was only advised to update change of passport details.
> 
> From April - August of his residence in Australia, is it good enough for him to sponsor us or the CO will usually require longer period of residence before they can sponsor.
> 
> Please advise.
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pravin -

You'd have to compare the specific data about your subject with the Australian equivalent in order to estimate chances of success with a reassessment. I'd communicate with ICAA and see if you can get a feel for whether you were close in terms of meeting the requirement or were far away from meeting the requirement for that course. You might ask them about any other options for meeting this, but generally a specific course is what's needed to be taken in order to solve an issue like this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pravinp1987 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My name is Pravin Pillai. I am a Bachelor's in Commerce with Accounting and Finance graduate and last year I had completed my Post graduation Diploma in Business Management.
> 
> I have a work experience of around 9 years now in the Banking industry.
> 
> Recently, I had applied for a skills assessment from ICAA for Accountant category of Australia Pr. However, I received a recognized but "not suitable" result since one of my subjects "Financial Accounting and Reporting" did not match the requirements. All others criteria were satisfied except this one subject.
> 
> I need to know if there is a way I can get a positive result apart from appearing for this module from an Australian Institute as this will nullify my work experience.
> 
> Will reassessment help in any way? Kindly let me know the best solution for this issue.
> 
> Regards,
> Pravin Pillai


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yerin -

Thanks for the question. Getting married prior to lodging an 820/801 onshore partner visa application will avoid having to show that your relationship was in place at a partner level for the 12 months prior to applying (that is for de facto applicants only) however DIBP will still need to see substantial relationship evidence in the 4 legally mandated categories of financial, household, commitment and social evidence to show that your partner relationship was genuine and ongoing both at the time of application and going through to the time of decision.

What it looks like you need is more good quality relationship evidence - as you're living together now, and might be living together after you return after your marriage, I'd concentrate on accumulating as much of this as you possible can prior to lodging the partner visa. There are some great threads elsewhere on the Australia Forum about partner visa evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



yerin said:


> Hello, Mark.
> 
> I'm an Indonesian and in Australia right now with a tourist visa (multiply entry, expired on 7th Sep, with no NFS condition).
> 
> My fiance and I have been in a relationship (long distance) since 2009 and have planned to apply PMV since 2013. He's an Indonesian Australian and having no family in Australia. He visits his family in Indonesia at least once a year. He was my senior in high school and we were neighbor in Indonesia.
> 
> At first I applied tourist visa to prepare PMV application together with my fiance, back to my home country, and apply PMV offshore (I literally mentioned it in my tourist visa application).
> 
> Our PMV application is about 90% ready to lodge but since my tourist visa doesn't have a NFS condition and we just can't being separated any longer, we change our minds and think about applying partner visa onshore (820) instead.
> 
> So, our next plan is:
> 
> - Going to Indonesia to get married. Our families are there and we've already got a notice of intended marriage (one of PMV requirements).
> 
> - Going back to Australia to apply 820 and get a bridging visa (before my tourist visa expired on 7 Sep)
> 
> It seems like a good plan but is this really a good plan?
> 
> The problem is: though we have a genuine and continuous relationship for so long (and we are confidence to prove it), we are lack of living-together-for-12-months evidence. This is my third visit and in total I have lived in Australia with him for about 4 months, but we don't have any joint accounts or bills whatsoever. Will getting married waive 12 months requirement since we're going to apply partner visa on a marriage basis not a de facto relationship?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Regards,
> Yerin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shyam -

Thanks for the question. There is no particular rule that says you cannot get a skills assessment in an occupation different than the one you are currently working under a 457 visa as. There would be a limitation about applying for a 457-pathway for the 186 or 187 visa (called the TRT pathway) in a different occupation where the first 4 digits of the ANZSCO code were different int he 186/187 occupation as compared to the 457 occupation.

The tricky part is claiming work experience for the 457 time under an occupation that is not the occupation you got the 457 under. If you can apply for the PR visa without claiming the 457 work for points, that may be a good solution. You need to carefully read the regulations/legislation for the visa you're considering applying for (or consult with an immigration lawyer or migration agent) to make sure there is no crossover between the previous visa's work and the new visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kurukshetri said:


> Dear Mark,
> First of all thanks a lot for your continued help and support in answering the queries on this forum. I believe everyone is highly obliged.
> 
> Need your help on below query/scenario.
> 
> Question: Is there a relation between the role under which one wants to apply a PR /ACS assessment and the current role one is performing / current role tagged on 457 visa?
> 
> More details: My spouse is currently working in Australia on 457 visa - ICT Project Manager. But she has more than 8 years of experience in Software testing and another 3 plus years of exp. as project manager. Can she apply for a PR under Software Tester although her current 457 visa shows the role as ICT -Project Manager?
> 
> Would really appreciate your help on clarifying this scenario.
> 
> Many Thanks
> Cheers
> Shyam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ash -

Thanks for the note. Hard to predict whether there is or may be an issue or not - given 14 months is long but still within the (current) processing estimate of 16 months max, I'd wait until you pass 16 months and then email DIBP and ask if they need any further documents as the processing estimate has now been passed. For that matter, there is no problem sending an email now if you'd like, politely asking if they need any further information or documents for your application. But once the service estimate time has passed, you can be a bit more "direct".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashie4ya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My fiance has now been waiting for his PMV for the past 14 months. Lebanon is the country which was applied from. We have both now done our telephone interviews and everything before that. I just wanted to know would it be concerning nothing has been granted thus far? I have seen many people from Lebanon apply and have got theirs in 6 months time.
> 
> We have done everything and yet we are waiting a long time. It's so concerning and also disheartening to see people get their visa granted.
> 
> Ash


----------



## Julian73

Hi, great day Mark.
I just want to ask if in applying PMV, is it important that the sponsor is healthy and earning?
My fiance has peripheral vascular disease and received an allowance from centerlink only. Im financially stable and has work. But we can prove that we genuine relationship for four years now.
Is there any increase in pmv fees in July?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Julian73 -

Thanks for the note. No health checks for sponsor for PMV or partner visas, and being on government social payments does not disqualify from sponsorship.PMV application fee going from $6,865 to $7,000 on 1 July 2017, further changes expected sometime later this year.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Julian73 said:


> Hi, great day Mark.
> I just want to ask if in applying PMV, is it important that the sponsor is healthy and earning?
> My fiance has peripheral vascular disease and received an allowance from centerlink only. Im financially stable and has work. But we can prove that we genuine relationship for four years now.
> Is there any increase in pmv fees in July?


----------



## Diego_Costa

Hi Mark,

This is my first post on this forum but to begin with, I must THANK YOU for the efforts you've put in since 2014 in helping out people from around the world on immigration.

Mark, I have some knowledge of Australian immigration but I would like to seek your expert guidance on my case. Please find your valuable time and help me on my issue:

My details:
Age- 27
Unmarried
Indian

Work Exp:
53 months in IT/Software industry(full time no gaps in btw)

Educational Qualification:
BTECH in Electronics and Communications(2012)

IELTS(july2016):
Reading, speaking, writing- 7
Listening- 8.5

I believe I have 60 points and should be eligible for subclass 189 as well as 190. However, one of the MARA agents told me I have only 55 points as I will not recieve any points for work exp as my degree isn't completely in sync for the SOFTWARE ENGINEER skill.

Please let me know the following:
1) How can I determine my actual points?
2) Which visa 189/190 will be suitable for me?
3) Are 60 points enough to convert into PR?

I am unsure of giving PTE/IELTS again.

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Diego -

Thanks for the note and kind words. Re: determining points, in your case it will likely depend on how many years of your work experience ACS "takes" in order to deem you as skilled. There's no 100% accurate way of determining this, although you can see the options here:
https://more.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/7324/Summary-of-Criteria-2014.pdf

I'd start by getting your skills assessment completed by ACS and see what the report looks like re: what part of your work experience they say is eligible for points as skilled work. If that is less than 3 years, then you'll have to wait until you have 3 years you can claim in order to get the 5 points for offshore work experience from 3 to 5 years.

Re: how many points are needed, for a 190 visa you need 55 points on your own (state will contribute 5 if they sponsor you) and for a 489 visa you need 50 points on your own (state will contribute 10 if they sponsor you, or you may be eligible for family sponsor of 489 depending on your circumstances). For 189 visa (independent skilled) you need 60 points on your own, but if there are too many people ahead of you in the queue with higher points, it may delay or prevent you from getting an invitation for that visa.

Hope this helps explain things - a very handy reference for 190/489 visas that shows what state is sponsoring for each occupation is Search | Anzscosearch - it's apparently updated very frequently.

Best,

Mark Northam



Diego_Costa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This is my first post on this forum but to begin with, I must THANK YOU for the efforts you've put in since 2014 in helping out people from around the world on immigration.
> 
> Mark, I have some knowledge of Australian immigration but I would like to seek your expert guidance on my case. Please find your valuable time and help me on my issue:
> 
> My details:
> Age- 27
> Unmarried
> Indian
> 
> Work Exp:
> 53 months in IT/Software industry(full time no gaps in btw)
> 
> Educational Qualification:
> BTECH in Electronics and Communications(2012)
> 
> IELTS(july2016):
> Reading, speaking, writing- 7
> Listening- 8.5
> 
> I believe I have 60 points and should be eligible for subclass 189 as well as 190. However, one of the MARA agents told me I have only 55 points as I will not recieve any points for work exp as my degree isn't completely in sync for the SOFTWARE ENGINEER skill.
> 
> Please let me know the following:
> 1) How can I determine my actual points?
> 2) Which visa 189/190 will be suitable for me?
> 3) Are 60 points enough to convert into PR?
> 
> I am unsure of giving PTE/IELTS again.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## Sophia5000

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark!

My partners visa got refused onshore for not meeting schedule 3 requirements! We took it to the AAT and our case got affirmed...

we have now applied offshore, should I add the decision to our offshore application? or just leave it?

Also do should I withdraw the refused application from the immiaccount? or do I just leave that also?

thankyou!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sophia5000 -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about the refusal. No need to remove the refused case from your ImmiAccount. If the AAT decision included any admissions by the Member that he/she believed that your relationship was genuine you could always lodge that with that portion highlighted as further evidence of your relationship, however other than that there is no reason to lodge the AAT decision document with your new application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sophia5000 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> My partners visa got refused onshore for not meeting schedule 3 requirements! We took it to the AAT and our case got affirmed...
> 
> we have now applied offshore, should I add the decision to our offshore application? or just leave it?
> 
> Also do should I withdraw the refused application from the immiaccount? or do I just leave that also?
> 
> thankyou!


----------



## Linh Pham

Hi Mark,

I just want to ask one question. So I'm on visa 820 and my eligible date was June 2016 however I have only submitted further evidence in March 2017, I just don't know if I have to wait another 15 months from the date I submit further document or from my egilible date.

Thank you.


----------



## ameet

*want to know about my spouse visa*

respected sir

i m from India and my husband and i want to apply for Australia spouse visa..
i got 2 offer letters one from la trobe and another one from Newcastle universities..
here the problem comes 
my husband had deported from London in 2012 for d overstay of 4 to 5 months (may be less but not more than that)
my question from you is that whether we should proceed our case ?
and apply it to embassy or not ?(m not from a very rich family and dun want to spoil their money )
i don't want to get refusal..

as you are providing the best solutions to all d members .. i m too looking forward for a best reply

please help me out


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Linh -

I would expect that the application time estimate begins from the time you submit the application, not the time you were eligible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Linh Pham said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I just want to ask one question. So I'm on visa 820 and my eligible date was June 2016 however I have only submitted further evidence in March 2017, I just don't know if I have to wait another 15 months from the date I submit further document or from my egilible date.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ameet -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately it's not possible to predict with any accuracy whether specific incidents are likely to cause a visa refusal. An overstay of 4-5 months is in the "medium" level of character issues, with higher level issues being criminal offences, drugs, etc and lower level issues being things like shorter overstays, some driving offences, etc. I do some student visa work, but mostly work on complex or problematic cases (ie, problems much worse than yours). I'd suggest perhaps enquiring with an agency that does a high volume of student visas to see if they might have a better read on the current assessment of this type of issue. If you'd like to PM me here or email me (see below), I'm happy to refer you to some larger student agencies with qualified migration agents attached.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ameet said:


> respected sir
> 
> i m from India and my husband and i want to apply for Australia spouse visa..
> i got 2 offer letters one from la trobe and another one from Newcastle universities..
> here the problem comes
> my husband had deported from London in 2012 for d overstay of 4 to 5 months (may be less but not more than that)
> my question from you is that whether we should proceed our case ?
> and apply it to embassy or not ?(m not from a very rich family and dun want to spoil their money )
> i don't want to get refusal..
> 
> as you are providing the best solutions to all d members .. i m too looking forward for a best reply
> 
> please help me out


----------



## ashie4ya

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ash -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Hard to predict whether there is or may be an issue or not - given 14 months is long but still within the (current) processing estimate of 16 months max, I'd wait until you pass 16 months and then email DIBP and ask if they need any further documents as the processing estimate has now been passed. For that matter, there is no problem sending an email now if you'd like, politely asking if they need any further information or documents for your application. But once the service estimate time has passed, you can be a bit more "direct".
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks Mark. Just another quick question would it matter if the application was done via a immigration lawyer so it could be processed at a faster speed?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashie4ya -

No - having a lawyer or agent prepare your application by itself does *not* automatically result in faster processing. What matters is the accuracy and completeness of your application, loading documents up promptly at lodgment, responding to all DIBP requests promptly and completely, and making sure you understand the requirements for the visa so your application and evidence fulfils all requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashie4ya said:


> Thanks Mark. Just another quick question would it matter if the application was done via a immigration lawyer so it could be processed at a faster speed?


----------



## Ggil25

Hi Mark, 

My fiancé and I are engaged to be married in January 2018, and we will be applying for his Prospective Marriage Visa in late June/early July, we couldn't apply earlier as I turned 18 on the 25th of this month, so I need to go to the US to show that we have met since then before we submit. He is from the US and I am from Australia, we have been together for a little over 2.5 years and lived together, shared finances etc for 1 year of that time. We have quite a strong application as we have evidence from both families and friends supporting our relationship, extensive documentation that we are a genuine couple, and evidence of our intent to marry/wedding planning etc. I have seen varying estimates on how long these visas take to process, from 2 months to 2 years. I was wondering how long it usually takes for people from low risk countries with strong evidence? Or how long in your opinion I should expect ours to take? 

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ggil25 -

Thanks for the note. PMV applications usually take between 9 and 12 months to process, however that's a very general guideline. I've seen them be processed in as little as 5 months, and as long as 18 months. Wish I could be more precise, but it's very hard to predict DIBP processing times for this or any other visa currently.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ggil25 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My fiancé and I are engaged to be married in January 2018, and we will be applying for his Prospective Marriage Visa in late June/early July, we couldn't apply earlier as I turned 18 on the 25th of this month, so I need to go to the US to show that we have met since then before we submit. He is from the US and I am from Australia, we have been together for a little over 2.5 years and lived together, shared finances etc for 1 year of that time. We have quite a strong application as we have evidence from both families and friends supporting our relationship, extensive documentation that we are a genuine couple, and evidence of our intent to marry/wedding planning etc. I have seen varying estimates on how long these visas take to process, from 2 months to 2 years. I was wondering how long it usually takes for people from low risk countries with strong evidence? Or how long in your opinion I should expect ours to take?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## ppshy1

Hi Mark, 

2 questions for you mate. 

My partner and I met 18 months ago while she was here from business from her work. She has travelled to work regularly and to visit me as well (can prove business and tourist visa). I have visited her 3 times as well on top of chats etc etc. 
We got engaged and did our legal marriage in January. Traditional church wedding will be overseas in December. Can I apply for visa now? We have been reading the Provisional Partner (309) visa offshore. Or do I do the prospective visa even though we want the wedding there. 

Secondly we have looked at the offshore visa and done a lot of the reading and write up. All the statements that we have written that will get submitted with the form, they need to be signed individually by the JP (Witnessed). We both have written about 15 pages all up for all requirements. How do I get that witnessed. Sign every page?

Thanks for your precious time Mark. Much appreciated. 
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ppshy1 -

Thanks for the note. Re choice of visa, as you are now legally married, you would not be eligible for the subclass 300 Prospective Marriage Visa, so you'd have to look at either an offshore partner visa (subclass 309/100) or onshore partner visa (820/801) depending on where you want your partner to be for the 12-18 months or more it typically takes to process a partner visa application.

Re: witnessing documents, while the Form 888's need to be witnessed by a JP or other qualified person, the rest of the documents do not, including your own relationship statements - statements from non-Australians and relationship statements can be printed out, signed/dated by the writer, and scanned into a PDF format along with a copy of the writer's passport biodata page or government issued photo ID to show that the writer is a real person.

A key issue for you may be accumulating enough relationship evidence to show that you are in a genuine married relationship - you'll need to provide evidence in 4 areas including social, financial, commitment and household evidence - if you're not living apart, this can be challenging but I'd try to get as much as you can to strengthen your application. There are some great topics here on the Australia Forum about relationship evidence for partner visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ppshy1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> 2 questions for you mate.
> 
> My partner and I met 18 months ago while she was here from business from her work. She has travelled to work regularly and to visit me as well (can prove business and tourist visa). I have visited her 3 times as well on top of chats etc etc.
> We got engaged and did our legal marriage in January. Traditional church wedding will be overseas in December. Can I apply for visa now? We have been reading the Provisional Partner (309) visa offshore. Or do I do the prospective visa even though we want the wedding there.
> 
> Secondly we have looked at the offshore visa and done a lot of the reading and write up. All the statements that we have written that will get submitted with the form, they need to be signed individually by the JP (Witnessed). We both have written about 15 pages all up for all requirements. How do I get that witnessed. Sign every page?
> 
> Thanks for your precious time Mark. Much appreciated.
> Thanks


----------



## ppshy1

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ppshy1 -
> Re: witnessing documents, while the Form 888's need to be witnessed by a JP or other qualified person, the rest of the documents do not, including your own relationship statements - statements from non-Australians and relationship statements can be printed out, signed/dated by the writer, and scanned into a PDF format along with a copy of the writer's passport biodata page or government issued photo ID to show that the writer is a real person.


Thanks Mark, 
We will have to do offshore visa as she has a Contract that she cannot break with her employer.

History of your relationship (pg 41 of the booklet)
..........
The statements written by you and your partner can be on ordinary writing paper or a statutory
declaration form may be used. Each statement or statutory declaration must be signed and dated by the
author. For details on who can witness statutory declarations, see pages 30-31.

I read that sentence and got confused about our statements. Because both of us have written a lot.

As for the 888 we already have 2 Aust citizens. We did get Non Aust citizens to write letters for us as well to say they attended our engagement and we have been to their wedding as well. Good tip on the biodata from them. Currently all I have is a signature. 
Thanks


----------



## Diego_Costa

Hi Mark,

Thanks for reverting back 

Is it possible that you/your team can let me know how many years of skilled experience will I have once I get the skill assessment done?

I can provide my transcript, degree and reference letter(having roles responsibilities).

I am requesting this because if my current skill assessment will amount to less than 3 years, then it will not be beneficial for me as I will get 0 points for skilled migration(plus 500$ wasted). Thus, I will get it done when I have 5 years of full-time work exp (i.e in dec 2017).

I have B.Tech(Electronics and Communication) and have 53 months full-time work exp in IT/Software industry from India.

Important: I want to immigrate to Australia with subclass 190 asap. I have my certain career ambitions and would like to start them in near future.

Thanks


----------



## ameet

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ameet -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Unfortunately it's not possible to predict with any accuracy whether specific incidents are likely to cause a visa refusal. An overstay of 4-5 months is in the "medium" level of character issues, with higher level issues being criminal offences, drugs, etc and lower level issues being things like shorter overstays, some driving offences, etc. I do some student visa work, but mostly work on complex or problematic cases (ie, problems much worse than yours). I'd suggest perhaps enquiring with an agency that does a high volume of student visas to see if they might have a better read on the current assessment of this type of issue. If you'd like to PM me here or email me (see below), I'm happy to refer you to some larger student agencies with qualified migration agents attached.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thank you so much sir for the reply .... please let me know about the student agencies..


----------



## tijanaoc

Hi Mark,
We've already submitted my husband's partner visa application but I am curious about something and the question above reminded me of it. I'm hoping you can help answer my question (or rather allay my fears). We overstayed a temporary work visa in the US. My husband was laid off from his job in the US in October 2012. They usually give you 90 days to find a new sponsor and we exhausted all avenues but were not able to find another sponsor. Anyway long story short, we made the decision to stay and travel around and what not. We never worked illegally or got in trouble with the law (or claimed any social security benefits for that matter) and we supported ourselves with our own funds, until we ran out of said funds and decided to return to Ireland of our own volition, that was at the start of 2015. We have declared the visa overstay on his application. I'm wondering given that we are applying for a permanent partner visa (we have been married nearly 9 years and have two kids) do you know how likely the temp visa overstay is to affect our chances of him being granted the partner visa?
Thanks in advance.


----------



## Njn

Hello my name is anjan. I jsut completed my masters level on public health from university of wollongong. As that is not is sol list now i am confused what should i do to get permanent resodency. Can you please help?


----------



## QQMM

Hi Mark ,

Thank you so much for your professional reply !

I've got Medicare card last week . Ref to school education fee , I checked 
with Temperary Residents Program of Edu and they send me application 
form and now everything under processing .

By now , I have another question and please help as well .

I have to paid BUPA for working visa . My question is may I cease the payment for BUPA commercial insurance once I got the Medicare card ?
I don't think I have to double pay for Health insurance Bupa and Medicare.

Many thanks !

QQMM .



MarkNortham said:


> Hi QQMM -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Once you advise DIBP that your employment has ceased, they'll give you 90 (or 60 in some cases) days to find further sponsored employment - once you do not your 457 visa is liable for cancellation. If that occurs, your BVA from the 820 will also be cancelled and you'll be left with no visa and will have to go to DIBP and apply for a Bridging Visa E in order to remain in Australia while your 820 is processed. The BVE has no work rights, although you may be able to add work rights if you can successfully show financial hardship. The BVE does not allow you to re-enter Australia, so if you choose to travel internationally while holding the BVE, you'll have no way to re-enter Australia.
> 
> Once you lodge the 820 onshore, you'll usually be eligible for Medicare - take your acknowledgement of the 820/801 application with you to Medicare and see what you can do - sometimes you need to talk to a manager, etc if the counter people are not familiar with Medicare eligibility for PR visa applicants.
> 
> Re: school fees, outside my area of expertise. I'd check with the local school and see if they have any options for people who have lodged PR applications that are not yet decided.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## sweemeng

*Request for total no. Of days stay rrv*

Ask for immigration to calculate stay since rrv granted
I have a valid RRV but soon to process the renewal. I am currently in Australia as I have yet to fulfil my 2 year resident requirement. How can I be certain whether or not my next renewal will be granted a five year rrv subclass 155 before I submit my next application. I have made several trips aboard for the past years and has substantial ties in Australia
Kind regards


----------



## vocaloidict

Hi Mark,

I am a Canadian national but has been working in Australia for a couple of years. I need a certified criminal record check from Canada (specifically the RCMP) for applying to a 189 visa in Australia.

My question is, once the RCMP issues the certified criminal record check, do I need to have it further "apostilled"/authenticated/legalized by Global Affairs Canada and the Australian Embassy in Canada? Or does the Australian visa office not mind if it's simply the original document from RCMP?

More broadly, does this apostille/legalization/authentication process apply for any documents required for 189 visa application purposes?

I did a search about this in these forums but it was very confusing.

Thank you so much!

Edit: came across this on the visa website (can't post link cause I'm too new a member but it's entitled "Information to help prepare your application")



> Every visa application requires various supporting documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, proof of identity etc.
> 
> Unless asked to do otherwise, you should provide 'certified copies' of original documents, rather than the original documents.
> 'Certified copies' have been authorised (or stamped) as being true copies of originals, by a person or agency recognised by the law of the country in which you live. All departmental offices outside Australia have a person who can certify or witness documents. You may have to pay for this service.
> 
> Police certificates are the exception. You must provide original police certificates with your application.


So it seems police certificates should be original, everything else should be "certified copies" unless otherwise stated.


----------



## Thenick

G'day Mark,

Have a quick question on the recent citizenship changes. I moved to Australia on 475 visa in Jun 2013 and 2 years later got my PR. I am eligible to apply for citizenship in June 2017. But with recent citizenship changes I do not know if my 475 period counts towards the 4 year residence requirement (since it was issued as pathway to PR) or do i need 4 years on PR itself before applying. Also, can I still go ahead and apply per previous criteria since the new law is still not legislated and the eligibility page on immi website does not clearly say if I should or not? Will it affect my future applications? Appreciate your thoughts?

Cheers,
TN


----------



## natasha.joseph

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Natasha -
> 
> I can't advise you without seeing the documents, however I'd probably be inclined to split the designations at the companies when listing them on the visa application, especially if the employer reference letters make any references to the different designations, or if the employers may mention this if/when contacted by DIBP as very frequently happens for employers in India. Key issue however is that nothing in the application should conflict with the content of the employer reference letters, data on payslips, or any other evidence.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Many thanks for your reply.

The reference letters from companies and senior colleagues/former managers only mention the last title that I had with those companies. The letters do mention the roles and responsibilities I handled there and my skill sets. But they have not split my designations - 'project engineer' and 'senior project engineer' at one firm and 'staff consultant' and 'analyst' at the other.

I have lodged my 189 visa application and so if anything blows up, I'll pay the consultation fee and set up an appointment with you over Skype/phone to get your expert comments.

I'm guessing you are/will be flying blind with the little information I have given you.

Cheers
Natasha


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Diego_Costa -

Only the skills assessor can determine that with any certainty.

Best,

Mark Northam



Diego_Costa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for reverting back
> 
> Is it possible that you/your team can let me know how many years of skilled experience will I have once I get the skill assessment done?
> 
> I can provide my transcript, degree and reference letter(having roles responsibilities).
> 
> I am requesting this because if my current skill assessment will amount to less than 3 years, then it will not be beneficial for me as I will get 0 points for skilled migration(plus 500$ wasted). Thus, I will get it done when I have 5 years of full-time work exp (i.e in dec 2017).
> 
> I have B.Tech(Electronics and Communication) and have 53 months full-time work exp in IT/Software industry from India.
> 
> Important: I want to immigrate to Australia with subclass 190 asap. I have my certain career ambitions and would like to start them in near future.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tijianaoc -

Thanks for the note. As long as you declared it accurately on your visa application, I don't see why that type of thing would cause you any problems with your partner application - DIBP might ask for more details but that's typically as far as it goes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tijanaoc said:


> Hi Mark,
> We've already submitted my husband's partner visa application but I am curious about something and the question above reminded me of it. I'm hoping you can help answer my question (or rather allay my fears). We overstayed a temporary work visa in the US. My husband was laid off from his job in the US in October 2012. They usually give you 90 days to find a new sponsor and we exhausted all avenues but were not able to find another sponsor. Anyway long story short, we made the decision to stay and travel around and what not. We never worked illegally or got in trouble with the law (or claimed any social security benefits for that matter) and we supported ourselves with our own funds, until we ran out of said funds and decided to return to Ireland of our own volition, that was at the start of 2015. We have declared the visa overstay on his application. I'm wondering given that we are applying for a permanent partner visa (we have been married nearly 9 years and have two kids) do you know how likely the temp visa overstay is to affect our chances of him being granted the partner visa?
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Njn -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



Njn said:


> Hello my name is anjan. I jsut completed my masters level on public health from university of wollongong. As that is not is sol list now i am confused what should i do to get permanent resodency. Can you please help?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi QQMM -

Yes, Medicare qualifies as "health insurance" so you are not required to have health insurance from a private company unless you want to - some people in Australia have private health insurance even though they also have Medicare as some types of private insurance can provide some benefits in addition to Medicare.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



QQMM said:


> Hi Mark ,
> 
> Thank you so much for your professional reply !
> 
> I've got Medicare card last week . Ref to school education fee , I checked
> with Temperary Residents Program of Edu and they send me application
> form and now everything under processing .
> 
> By now , I have another question and please help as well .
> 
> I have to paid BUPA for working visa . My question is may I cease the payment for BUPA commercial insurance once I got the Medicare card ?
> I don't think I have to double pay for Health insurance Bupa and Medicare.
> 
> Many thanks !
> 
> QQMM .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sweemeng -

Thanks for the note. You'll have to count back 5 years from the date you intend on lodging the new RRV application and then determine what your total time in Australia was during those 5 years. If 24 months or more in total, you should qualify for the 5-year RRV. If less than 24 months, then you need to lodge evidence of substantial business, cultural, employment or personal ties and see if you can qualify for a 1-year RRV.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sweemeng said:


> Ask for immigration to calculate stay since rrv granted
> I have a valid RRV but soon to process the renewal. I am currently in Australia as I have yet to fulfil my 2 year resident requirement. How can I be certain whether or not my next renewal will be granted a five year rrv subclass 155 before I submit my next application. I have made several trips aboard for the past years and has substantial ties in Australia
> Kind regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vocaloidict -

Thanks for the question. For online applications, DIBP routinely accepts high quality colour scans of original documents - no need to have certified unless specifically requested by DIBP normally.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vocaloidict said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a Canadian national but has been working in Australia for a couple of years. I need a certified criminal record check from Canada (specifically the RCMP) for applying to a 189 visa in Australia.
> 
> My question is, once the RCMP issues the certified criminal record check, do I need to have it further "apostilled"/authenticated/legalized by Global Affairs Canada and the Australian Embassy in Canada? Or does the Australian visa office not mind if it's simply the original document from RCMP?
> 
> More broadly, does this apostille/legalization/authentication process apply for any documents required for 189 visa application purposes?
> 
> I did a search about this in these forums but it was very confusing.
> 
> Thank you so much!
> 
> Edit: came across this on the visa website (can't post link cause I'm too new a member but it's entitled "Information to help prepare your application")
> 
> So it seems police certificates should be original, everything else should be "certified copies" unless otherwise stated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Thenick -

Thanks for the note. While the new law is not legislated yet, if it goes through as they intend, your 4 year period would not start until you were actually granted PR, so time on a 475 would not count towards the new 4 year requirement for PR.

You're free to lodge now if you'd like, however unless they make a major change in the 4 year PR requirement from what they've announced so far, you wouldn't qualify at this point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Thenick said:


> G'day Mark,
> 
> Have a quick question on the recent citizenship changes. I moved to Australia on 475 visa in Jun 2013 and 2 years later got my PR. I am eligible to apply for citizenship in June 2017. But with recent citizenship changes I do not know if my 475 period counts towards the 4 year residence requirement (since it was issued as pathway to PR) or do i need 4 years on PR itself before applying. Also, can I still go ahead and apply per previous criteria since the new law is still not legislated and the eligibility page on immi website does not clearly say if I should or not? Will it affect my future applications? Appreciate your thoughts?
> 
> Cheers,
> TN


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Natasha -

Key is what the employer says if/when they are contacted by DIBP. Happy to assist going forward. However if DIBP makes allegations of PIC 4020 (false/misleading information) related to the lack of showing the splits, at that point it is generally too late to fix things with a correction form, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



natasha.joseph said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Many thanks for your reply.
> 
> The reference letters from companies and senior colleagues/former managers only mention the last title that I had with those companies. The letters do mention the roles and responsibilities I handled there and my skill sets. But they have not split my designations - 'project engineer' and 'senior project engineer' at one firm and 'staff consultant' and 'analyst' at the other.
> 
> I have lodged my 189 visa application and so if anything blows up, I'll pay the consultation fee and set up an appointment with you over Skype/phone to get your expert comments.
> 
> I'm guessing you are/will be flying blind with the little information I have given you.
> 
> Cheers
> Natasha


----------



## natasha.joseph

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Natasha -
> 
> Key is what the employer says if/when they are contacted by DIBP. Happy to assist going forward. However if DIBP makes allegations of PIC 4020 (false/misleading information) related to the lack of showing the splits, at that point it is generally too late to fix things with a correction form, etc.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

We went with the details mentioned in the letter provided by our skills assessor (Australian Computer Society). Didn't add anything that was not mentioned in that letter or didn't take out anything as well.

We've clubbed together all roles and responsibilities at one firm into one document and gave my last title. I only served two years at my second company and the title got changed there because they took out the variable component (quarterly bonus) and added that to the monthly pay. I have a letter from the company stating that and so hopefully that should convince DIBP.

I've given a heads up to my former companies and former managers about the DIBP verification.

Anyways, hoping for the best Mark. You have been an angel and thanks a lot for your help.


----------



## Cailenegrace

*Defacto Timeline Question*

Hi Mark!

My boyfriend (Aus Citizen) and I (US Citizen) are wanting to apply for a Partnership Visa here in South Australia. We are unable to register our Defacto relationship since SA doesn't offer that. We have been together 3+ years. Met working on a cruise ship. He lived in NYC with me for almost a year before his visa ran out, we did long distance for 18 months, and now I am here in South Australia with him on a Work and Holiday Visa.

My visa is only a year and thats the time that we need to prove our defacto relationship. We met with an Immigration Lawyer and he seemed to think that we could not apply on the last day of my visa and also said that leaving and re-entering on a ETA wouldn't be a great idea since I didn't "declare" our relationship when I was granted the WHV.

Do you have any thoughts on the likelihood that we would be denied our Partnership Visa is I were to come back on the ETA and apply? Do you think that if we have 3+ years of relationship history that would buffer our applying on the last possible day?

Any information will help. Thank you so much for your time.

C + G


----------



## jfperez05

Good day Mark,

Hope you can clarify this question regarding one of the streams of the Temporary Graduate Visa 485.

I am currently enrolled in a Master in IT course and will be completing it at the end of October 2017 here in Sydney. I am planning to apply for this visa under the Post-study work stream. However, I held a 572 visa from 2008 until 2010 and I left Australia before the expiration date of the 572 student visa which expired on July 2010. Now, since I have applied and have been granted a new student visa (573 for Higher Education) in February 2016, my question is, once I complete the MIT course, am I eligible to apply under the Post-Study work stream? Reason I ask is because the Post Study work stream is only eligible for students who applied for and were granted their first student visa after November 2011.

In my case there is a huge gap in years between the expiry date of the first student visa subclass 572 and the grant date of the new student visa subclass 573. This second student visa is not the result of a visa renewal of the first student visa whatsoever. Could you please advice if there is any chance of applying under the post-study work stream??

Thank you.


----------



## big yeti

Dear Mark, 

I am currently on a contract in a regional area up to April 2020. Assuming I meet all requirements, just based on the contract duration, am I eligible to apply for the 187? 

My line manager has expressed interest in continuing to employ me after that but in my field, we generally do not do open ended contracts. 

If I am not eligible because of the "two year from start of visa" requirement, what can my employers do if they cannot possibly draft a "two year from start of visa" contract because HR simply requires fixed dates?

Thank you!


----------



## Mohammad1

*PR Subclass 190*

Dear Mark & Experts,

i need your advice on loading EOI with below details.

My ACS dose not recognized my bachelor degree and cut 6 years of my experience as below.

Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 263111 (Computer Network and
Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
Your qualifications have been assessed as follows:
Your Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert from Microsoft completed October 2016 has been
assessed as comparable to an AQF Diploma with a major in computing.
Your Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert from Cisco System completed July 2010 has been
assessed as comparable to an AQF Diploma with a major in computing.
Your Cisco Certified Network Professional from Cisco System completed November 2004 has
been assessed as comparable to an AQF Diploma with a major in computing.

The following employment after October 2010 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately
skilled level and relevant to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.

Dates: 11/04 - 03/06 (1yrs 4mths)
Position: Network Administrator
Employer: XXXX
Country: XXXX
Dates: 02/06 - 11/16 (10yrs 9mths)
Position: Network Manager
Employer: XXXX
Country: XXXXXX

my current status as below if i am not wrong.

Trade education points : 10
Experience points : 10
Toefl score 109 (Points):10
Age 33-45 Points : 25
Total points : 55

I am planing to load my application under visa subclass 190, and need your advice on which state to select?

if there is a anther way to get more points to load under 189 visa type.

when loading EOI do i need to mention my bachelor degree or not?

Thanks in Advance.
Mohammad


----------



## teamdanaz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Teamdanaz -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Yes can get a sc300 twice with the same partner, however DIBP will probably take a close look at the evidence provided that you genuinely intend to enter into a spousal relationship on the second visa since it didn't happen on the first - I'd be very detailed in your relationship statements re: circumstances involved in the first visa, why it didn't work out, and what's different the second time.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark. 
Can we apply for a partner visa (de facto)? I know there is a 12 month cohabitation requirement but I also read that we can waive it by registering our partnership in the state my partner is living. 
I'm outside Australia now, and we have a history of being together for 4 years. *Can we register our civil partnership in Australia while I'm not a citizen? * If we do, how are my chances for getting a partner visa?


----------



## swapnilbhadale

*485 Visa refusal*

Hello Mark,
Your forum is a great place to find answers to my queries. Recently, I was refused a subclass 485 visa because I took an IELTS exam after I lodged my application (It was negligence on my part that I did not read the document checklist carefully). After this I left Australia before my bridging visa expired. Currently I'm in the process of completing the formalities and applications for subclass 190 visa from offshore.

Today on the DIBP website I saw a clause that said "Cancelled Visas: You might not eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused while you were in Australia." Could you please explain what "might" means and will this affect my chances of applying for another visa?

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Swapnil B.


----------



## 311194

We applied for a PMV for my fiance in June 2016, had our interviews and medical checks done by the end of 2016. We received a call at the beginning of this month (May) asking us a few more questions that all went fine. The lady told me that the process was in its final stages and that once my fiancé submitted one last document that had expired we would get an answer very soon. My fiancé submitted this document quickly and it is now the end of May and we heard nothing! Should I call or email them? I can't stop thinking about it and I just want him to get the visa already!! What happens during the final stages? How longdo you think we have left? Please HELP 

I am Australian 
My fiancé applied for the visa from Beirut Australian Embassy (Lebanon)


----------



## kei

Hi Mark

I would like to say thank you for the questions you asked
However, one question I am not sure if you got it confused for 820 & 801 which was:

- Finally, if in case, she gets rejected while in oversea (which is HIGHLY unlikely anyway given our geniune relationship but I heard horror stories that they have been wronged for no reason), does it mean she cannot enter Australia again provided she wants to appeal the case? Or she can still come back with tourist visa etc

*Your answer:
*** If the 820 is refused while she is offshore, her current bridging visa will cease in 28 days which gives her time to get back to Australia.*

Just to let you know, she is actually on 2nd stage (onshore) at the moment i.e. 801 visa, so would she still be able to come back if refused and apply the MTR?

- Also, IF she does gets granted for 801, can she start applying PR citizenship (the one where you need to stay 2 years out of 5 years in Australia)?

- I heard something like in order to apply & be eligible, you have be not away overseas for 3 months in total for the past year. Is it effective from the day 801 visa is approved or?

Thanks once again!

Cheers. Kei


----------



## vicky11june

Hello Mark,
Newly joined the group.

Got Vetassess +ve assessment ~ 5.4 Years of experience considered.
EOI Last submitted on 13/02/2017
SS Application to NT : 04/03/2017
SS Application TAS : 01/05/2017
My total points a 70 (incl. SS), but will loose 5 points on 11th June. Ironically, seems it won't be a "happy" birthday after all.

That time NT (Green) and SA (yellow) was active.
I searched it on Anzscosearch then.
Recently, was delighted to see TAS (Green) for Marketing Specialist.
Now, observed that NT is not available anymore, but TAS and SA remain unchanged. Now, switching my hopes on TAS.
I was told that the procedural lead time for NT to offer invitation is 6 weeks. Never heard from them. I also applied TAS, and was said that the procedure is 4 weeks. That too lapsed and no reply yet. I heard that NT has ceased issuing invitations until July 17 (many states/territories have the same situation).

You being so experienced, would like to know your predictions on when will the authorities resume issuing invitations, and will this occupation be in demand (especially after the discontinuation of 457 Visa).

Regards,
>>>---VICKY---->


----------



## ckbird

Hi Mark,

Very much appreciated with your help on my question. I am assuming if she can come here with a tourist visa (one year multiple entry, max stay 3 months) and stay with me for at least 6 months to one year overall then we should be able to lodge another 461 application if I can provide all other evidence to prove for our genuine de facto relationship. Am I making a reasonable assumption?

Best regards,
Wayne



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ckbird -
> 
> Thanks for the note. There is no prescribed waiting time between sponsoring partners for a 461 visa, however especially as you had a recent ex-partner, DIBP will need to be convinced via substantial evidence that you are in a genuine relationship with your current partner, and will likely require that you show with evidence that your current de facto relationship (assuming you are not married) has been in existence at a de facto level for at least the 6 months prior to applying for the 461 visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## sharujijk

Hi Mark,

I have applied for 189, including my wife and son. My application status is in progress from 3 months and I expect it will be approved anytime now.

Incase my wife and son are not able to join me for the first landing we have to make within 6 months, what will be the result here for their status. It looks like only I will be able to make first landing within 6 months.

Will they lose their PR status after 6 months?
Will I have to do the whole process again for their PR?

if you had such case before, thanks in advance for sharing what to be done.

BR//
shab


----------



## Croggles

*Confused*

Hi Mark,

I was hoping you could help me.

I am a U.K. based resident currently living with an Australia PR in the U.K. My partner is here on a two year working visa which expires in March. I was planning to return to Australia with him at this point via a 457 visa (to clarify, I am a 34 year old recruitment consultant with no degree but 5 & 1/2 years U.K. experience). It now seems that this visa option isn't available to me with the recent changes in policy. From research I will have to travel on a Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (short term option of 2 years).

My questions are as follows:
1) Are there restrictions preventing me from applying for a de facto partnership visa (820/801) when on a short term Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa? I notice that the short-term visa has a "genuine temporary entry requirement" which, I assume, means I couldn't reference my de facto partnership as part of my application?
2) What points do I need to score in order to get a Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa? (I can only find 60 as a bench mark - my score seems to be 55, but I know of people with my background who have had no problem in making the move in the past)
3) If I was to apply for an offshore de facto visa (309) now, can I then apply for a bridging visa to carry me through the interim (between my partner leaving the UK and the visa being granted), or would I be required to wait in the U.K. until this visa is approved? 
4) I have read that it would be possible to enter Australia on an ETA and then lodge my application for a 820 visa. I have also read that this is becoming frowned upon and may be changing in July. Do you think this is a viable option? My partner and I would be secure financially but I wouldn't want to go much longer than 3 months without work as I would likely get very bored. If my research is correct I would then be able to work on a bridging visa whilst my 820 application is reviewed?
5) lastly, we will be travelling to Brisbane in August. Can we register our relationship then, despite the fact that he's technically resident here at the moment? I assume (if this is possible) it would depend on whether I decided to come to Australia on a tourist visa and lodge a 820 application or whether I elected to utilize a TSS? (owing to the genuine temporary entry requirement attached to this visa).

I'll be hugely grateful for any help you could offer me. Beers on me when I get there.

Thanks


----------



## Lunamax

*Ask Mark Please Help*

Partner Visa
Hi Mark
My partner and I have been in a defacto relatio ship for 2 1/2 years and have a child together . He is an australian PR and our son and I are canadian .my son and i are in Canada , we have had 3 areas of separation due to visas expiring but have continued long distance. Will our visa be rejected if he doesnt make 25000 a year? He has a pending court case for a criminal charge . He is also not divorced from ex wife . I have a job there if i need, and he has always made enough to pay rent and bills. Should i go back to aus and apply for a 820 or do offshore 309. Will i get a bridging visa? Is having a child together reasonably grounds to be united as a family ? Ive also heard rumours about the price going up july 1___ will i get pr right away??


----------



## Physalis

*Mistake passport number, flying out tomorrow*

Dear Mark,

when double checking all Details, I noticed a little error with my passport number in the visa grant notification.

I have already updated the passport Details in my immi account, but I am obviously a bit nervous as I am flying out tomorrow. 
Do you have any experience if it should be an issue or how Long it takes to process the Change. I will contact the ESC later on today as well.

Thank you and kind regards,
Physalis


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi C&G -

Thanks for the note. In looking at your email, I see 2 separate issues. Re the 12 month requirement for de facto relationship where no registered relationship certificate is provided, they interpret that very strictly. However, it still may be possible to show that the relationship was at a de facto level if you have not been living together for the entire 12 months if you can show evidence older than 12 months that indicates that the relationship had been previously established at the de facto level and continue through the 12 months (ie, that any time apart within or prior to the 12 months was temporary in nature). As to chances of success for you, I'd need to see all of your documents you'd plan to use to document the relationship in a consultation (see website below for more info on these) in order to give you an opinion on that. However importantly, a recent court decision means that there are other ways of showing a relationship is at a de facto level in addition to living together - but still challenging to evidence.

The other issue is not declaring the de facto relationship on your WHV. This could actually be the bigger of the issues, as DIBP may claim that you "lied" on your WHV application if you claim to be in the relationship at the time you applied for the WHV. This is the kind of cross-checking that DIBP can love to do in certain cases. The only way to completely avoid the risk of this is to claim that the de facto relationship began on a date after you applied for your WHV (for instance, when you came to Australia to live with your partner) or wait until 12 months after the WHV expires to avoid the liability period for the PIC 4020 legislation used for misleading/inaccurate information allegations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cailenegrace said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> My boyfriend (Aus Citizen) and I (US Citizen) are wanting to apply for a Partnership Visa here in South Australia. We are unable to register our Defacto relationship since SA doesn't offer that. We have been together 3+ years. Met working on a cruise ship. He lived in NYC with me for almost a year before his visa ran out, we did long distance for 18 months, and now I am here in South Australia with him on a Work and Holiday Visa.
> 
> My visa is only a year and thats the time that we need to prove our defacto relationship. We met with an Immigration Lawyer and he seemed to think that we could not apply on the last day of my visa and also said that leaving and re-entering on a ETA wouldn't be a great idea since I didn't "declare" our relationship when I was granted the WHV.
> 
> Do you have any thoughts on the likelihood that we would be denied our Partnership Visa is I were to come back on the ETA and apply? Do you think that if we have 3+ years of relationship history that would buffer our applying on the last possible day?
> 
> Any information will help. Thank you so much for your time.
> 
> C + G


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jfperez05 -

Unfortunately you would not be eligible for the post-study work stream of the 485 as your first student visa application was made before the cutoff date - there is no provision in the law that changes that rule if there's been a gap, etc - it's the date of application for your first Australian student visa that determines eligibility - sorry I don't have better news for you!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jfperez05 said:


> Good day Mark,
> 
> Hope you can clarify this question regarding one of the streams of the Temporary Graduate Visa 485.
> 
> I am currently enrolled in a Master in IT course and will be completing it at the end of October 2017 here in Sydney. I am planning to apply for this visa under the Post-study work stream. However, I held a 572 visa from 2008 until 2010 and I left Australia before the expiration date of the 572 student visa which expired on July 2010. Now, since I have applied and have been granted a new student visa (573 for Higher Education) in February 2016, my question is, once I complete the MIT course, am I eligible to apply under the Post-Study work stream? Reason I ask is because the Post Study work stream is only eligible for students who applied for and were granted their first student visa after November 2011.
> 
> In my case there is a huge gap in years between the expiry date of the first student visa subclass 572 and the grant date of the new student visa subclass 573. This second student visa is not the result of a visa renewal of the first student visa whatsoever. Could you please advice if there is any chance of applying under the post-study work stream??
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## JoHam

Hi Mark,

I have applied for a 461 Visa in mid March. I have made a phone call today and been told my visa may take up to 11 months to process, I am hoping to return home (Ireland) for a visit and possibly go to Canada for a very extended snow season (before my age doesn't allow me to snowboard anymore). What I am wondering is am I able (is it possible even) to be granted a BVB visa for Mid Aug'17 - Late Aug/Early Sep'18? Or is there a limit on this? I currently have a Bridging visa A.
My second worry is my visa may be ready for a decision Dec'17/Jan'18. I have applied for this visa while in Australia and as i'm aware i HAVE TO (?) be in Australia for it to be granted? When I am contacted saying they are awaiting a decision is it possible to ask them to please wait till I am back in the country? I am not trying to be cheeky and I am so grateful I am even given the chance to renew my 461 visa. I just want to do one more big travel trip before me and my partner settle again for good.

-We also have brothers wedding in Indonesia Jun'18 and my 30th Aug'18 overseas hence the long period of time.

Thank you for your time!

J


----------



## ace.sunny

What if he got married after getting COE then applying for his student visa and adding his partner in dependent's list? The reason for not getting married before getting COE is because he was in Australia while applying for COE. Then after getting COE he returned to his home country then got married and applied for student visa.
Is this possible? If it is then what evidences are needed?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ace.sunny -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Would need to work with your friend in a consultation to determine eligibility and discuss the situation with his wife in order to give him case-specific advice. However one potential issue I see is if he was married prior to lodging his student visa, then did not declare his marriage on the student visa - that could have all kinds of unfortunate side effects including rendering him not able to add his wife onto a future student visa. More info on consults is available on my website (see below), would be happy to assist.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam





> Originally Posted by *ace.sunny*
> My friend's plan is to bring his wife under student dependent visa or directly through student visa. But he is unsure what would be the option and also he made a lot of stupid decisions as well. This is why he's in this position anyways.
> 
> They both are from Bangladesh. He has visited Australia 3 times at past (2001, 2007,2013) all with tourist visa; wife never visited Australia before. His elder brother, 1st uncle are citizens there. On 2nd of January 2017 he applied for Sponsored Family Stream Visa Subclass: 600 through his elder brother, did his Health and Biometric on 8th January. After 11 days his Tourist visa was approved for 6 months - multiple entry. After he arrived in Australia, he decided that he wants to study in Australia, so he gave IELTS test in Sydney, got the COE from UTS:INSEARCH for his Foundation Program. He had to leave Australia since in his visa there is "No further stay"
> 
> After going back in Bangladesh, right BEFORE applying for his student visa in the immigration, he got married. Now he's unsure whether it'd be a good idea to add her spouse as a subsequent entrant/ in dependent's list since it only has been 2 days since he got married. Also he gave "single" when applying at UTS
> 
> She also would like to study in Australia at Commercial Cookery Certificate IV. But her father don't have enough financial evidence to satisfy for her visa. So her father-in-law wants to be her financial sponsor. But can her father-in-law be sponsors of two persons (him and his wife) together? And it hasn't been many days since they were married, so that's also making them worried.
> 
> So what would be the best option for his wife? Adding her in the dependent's list or applying for a student visa for his wife with her father-in-law being the sponsor
> 
> And how much does the sponsor needs to show in total? His 8 months (course duration)tuition fees is 25,000AUD and her 1 year's fees is 14,000AUD.


----------



## tijanaoc

Hi again Mark,
Thanks for your invaluable advice and help! 

I have (yet) another question.

My husband's first name was misspelled on his birth certificate (alternate spelling - the birth cert has the usual spelling of his Irish name, but his actual name is a regional variation). Anyway Births Deaths and Marriages wouldn't correct the spelling so we had to change his name by deed poll to match all his other documents (passport, drivers licence, etc have always been in the correct regional spelling). We did the deed poll name change in April which is legally all that's required in Ireland, although there is an optional step of enrolling the Deed Poll at the court in Dublin (which is sometimes recommended for any official government requirements). He went to Dublin yesterday to do this (he couldn't get there any earlier - they are only open for 2.5 hours on a Tuesday and Thursday - it's a day off work and an 8 hour round trip to Dublin + time waiting in line at the courts). 

Anyway so I was expecting that they would stamp it and we would get a copy of the document on the same day, but I guess this is too much to expect of bureaucracy and they took the deed poll document and advised him they will post it to the solicitor in 28 days (I'm hoping sooner, but I'm biting my nails, because we just submitted his application and it was marked received 31st May - that was when we could start uploading documents, since we paid by BPAY) and we have pretty much uploaded every supporting document (except the police and medicals) already. We were just waiting on the Deed Poll document which I was expecting to upload today and then this!

Any advice? I'm really hoping they don't look at it right away and outright reject it because of this. Westly Russell mentioned this has happened in the past so I am fretting! We did state on the application his birth certificate name and the reason for name change being "Deed Poll." We just don't have the document yet to prove it. 

I could submit an emailed receipt from the solicitor that states it is for a Deed Poll name change and we also have the receipt for stamp duty from the courts (albeit a small receipt and the stamp duty part is in Irish Gaelic ) Or is better to not submit anything of the sort (unless asked) and wait and hope the document arrives in time to upload it before they look at the application?

Also - I am hoping this doesn't throw a spanner in the works. We had applied and been granted Citizenship by Descent for our two kids. On their citizenship applications where it asked if my husband has ever been known by any other name, I put down "no" - an honest mistake, because other than on his birth cert he has never been known by the other spelling of his name, and it just didn't even occur to me at the time. Is this going to affect anything going forward? Or the kids citizenships? I would hope not since I am the Aus citizen parent, but I am fretting about everything now! 

Any advice would be immensely appreciated. 

Thank you again for all that you do for us here


----------



## Ceccy

Hi Mark.

I would like to travel to Australia for around 2 months first. Is there more than 1 visum you can choose?
And how is it to work in Australia when you are an immigrant? Is it legal?

- Cecilie


----------



## Pixelated

*ETA to Student Visa Concerns*

Hi Mark,

I have an offer from an Australian university and start classes in July, but I can't accept my offer of enrollment until after I planned to arrive in June. This is because the school wants my final transcripts before I can accept the offer, which won't be available until late June. The academic adviser there said that she'd had students come in to the country on an ETA and then apply for the Student Visa 500 onshore without a problem.

I'm coming in about a month before I'm set to start classes because my girlfriend lives in Australia and I want to spend our 2-year anniversary together.

I have the ETA and a one-way ticket to Australia, but now I'm wondering if I should be concerned about the possibility of being questioned by immigration and/or denied entry because I'm coming in on an ETA and I:

a) don't have a return ticket
b) plan to apply for another visa while in Australia

Do I have cause to be concerned? I don't even know if I'm a common situation or not.

Thanks.


----------



## ausvisapls

Hi Mark,

I was hoping you could tell me if we require Form 47a or not. My fiance has applied for his Prospective marriage visa and we are in the process of attaching documents. My fiance has a son who is 23 years old and independent, living away from home. I wasn't sure if we needed Form 47a so I rang the Department of Immigration and they told me that it didn't matter if he was independent or not and that because the form states it must be filled out regardless of whether or not the child is migrating, we have to supply it. But that contradicts the PMV document checklist in the Partner Booklet which says Form 47a is only for dependents.

Any information would be appreciated.


----------



## upen144

Hi All , 

Seeking your help on the same . I need to apply for Visa 489 as my sister is residing in SA ( adelaide ) from 2014 and her husband is the Citizen over there Can i apply the same under Chain Immigration , if they are willing to sponsor me ? I want to apply for 222211 ( Financial Market Dealer ) for South Australia .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Big Yeti -

I think I might have received an email from you with this question and resolved things - April 2020 should be long enough to allow the 187 to be processed and granted and still leave 2 years remaining. If processing goes beyond April 2018, you may have to get the contract modified or submit a replacement contract.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



big yeti said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am currently on a contract in a regional area up to April 2020. Assuming I meet all requirements, just based on the contract duration, am I eligible to apply for the 187?
> 
> My line manager has expressed interest in continuing to employ me after that but in my field, we generally do not do open ended contracts.
> 
> If I am not eligible because of the "two year from start of visa" requirement, what can my employers do if they cannot possibly draft a "two year from start of visa" contract because HR simply requires fixed dates?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohammad1 -

Thanks for the note. Not able to assess skilled visas here - way too many small details that can make a big difference - happy to do so at a consultation - see my website below in my signature for more on this.

Re: bachelor degree, if you get a points test advisory from Vetassess that indicates it's equivalent to an Australian bachelor degree (regardless of whether the subject is related to your nominated occupation) you could claim 15 points for the degree.

Happy to discuss your application in more detail at a consultation where we'd have the time to work through the various requirements in detail.

Best,

Mark Northam



Mohammad1 said:


> Dear Mark & Experts,
> 
> i need your advice on loading EOI with below details.
> 
> My ACS dose not recognized my bachelor degree and cut 6 years of my experience as below.
> 
> Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under 263111 (Computer Network and
> Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> Your qualifications have been assessed as follows:
> Your Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert from Microsoft completed October 2016 has been
> assessed as comparable to an AQF Diploma with a major in computing.
> Your Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert from Cisco System completed July 2010 has been
> assessed as comparable to an AQF Diploma with a major in computing.
> Your Cisco Certified Network Professional from Cisco System completed November 2004 has
> been assessed as comparable to an AQF Diploma with a major in computing.
> 
> The following employment after October 2010 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately
> skilled level and relevant to 263111 (Computer Network and Systems Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Dates: 11/04 - 03/06 (1yrs 4mths)
> Position: Network Administrator
> Employer: XXXX
> Country: XXXX
> Dates: 02/06 - 11/16 (10yrs 9mths)
> Position: Network Manager
> Employer: XXXX
> Country: XXXXXX
> 
> my current status as below if i am not wrong.
> 
> Trade education points : 10
> Experience points : 10
> Toefl score 109 (Points):10
> Age 33-45 Points : 25
> Total points : 55
> 
> I am planing to load my application under visa subclass 190, and need your advice on which state to select?
> 
> if there is a anther way to get more points to load under 189 visa type.
> 
> when loading EOI do i need to mention my bachelor degree or not?
> 
> Thanks in Advance.
> Mohammad


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Teamdanaz -

You may be able to, would have to work through your evidence and circumstances in detail in order to give you specific advice and estimate chances of success. Usually state registration of a de facto relationship requires that at least one of the people is a resident of the state you are registering in - all states allow this except for SA and WA, but regulations vary from state to state as to whether one or both parties must be resident there, etc. Citizenship is not required for this type of registration, but check the state rules carefully for the state you are considering living in.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



teamdanaz said:


> Thank you Mark.
> Can we apply for a partner visa (de facto)? I know there is a 12 month cohabitation requirement but I also read that we can waive it by registering our partnership in the state my partner is living.
> I'm outside Australia now, and we have a history of being together for 4 years. *Can we register our civil partnership in Australia while I'm not a citizen? * If we do, how are my chances for getting a partner visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swapnibhadale -

Thanks for the note. If you left Australia holding a bridging visa A or B, and left before that bridging visa expired, then you would not be subject to any sort of exclusion period that would affect an offshore 190 application or any other Australian visa application.

On a side note, I continue to be concerned by the large numbers of 485 refusals due to simple misunderstandings about the law for that visa. Seems like a real money-spinner for the Australian government frankly. That visa has a number of very unique requirements that are not placed on any other visa, such as having evidence of application for an AFP Police Check at time of application and others. The problem is made worse by the length of time processing takes with that visa, which usually extends past the initial 6-month after completion of studies eligibility period for the visa, leaving applicants unable to make a new application for the 485.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swapnilbhadale said:


> Hello Mark,
> Your forum is a great place to find answers to my queries. Recently, I was refused a subclass 485 visa because I took an IELTS exam after I lodged my application (It was negligence on my part that I did not read the document checklist carefully). After this I left Australia before my bridging visa expired. Currently I'm in the process of completing the formalities and applications for subclass 190 visa from offshore.
> 
> Today on the DIBP website I saw a clause that said "Cancelled Visas: You might not eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused while you were in Australia." Could you please explain what "might" means and will this affect my chances of applying for another visa?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Swapnil B.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nmou -

Thanks for the note. DIBP seems to be severely backed up re: family visas currently, especially partner and fiance visas. No real way to speed things up, but you might politely email them to enquire as to whether they need any further documents or information from you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nmou said:


> We applied for a PMV for my fiance in June 2016, had our interviews and medical checks done by the end of 2016. We received a call at the beginning of this month (May) asking us a few more questions that all went fine. The lady told me that the process was in its final stages and that once my fiancé submitted one last document that had expired we would get an answer very soon. My fiancé submitted this document quickly and it is now the end of May and we heard nothing! Should I call or email them? I can't stop thinking about it and I just want him to get the visa already!! What happens during the final stages? How longdo you think we have left? Please HELP
> 
> I am Australian
> My fiancé applied for the visa from Beirut Australian Embassy (Lebanon)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kei -

Thanks for clarifying - 801 refusals while the applicant is offshore can be a mess, as DIBP is not required to grant a bridging visa B to the applicant, plus a BVB cannot normally be granted while an applicant is offshore anyway. The 820 automatically ceases when a decision (grant or refuse) is made on the 801, so this can sometimes result in the applicant being stranded outside Australia. You might be able to talk DIBP into granting a BVB to cover the applicant in case a negative decision comes in on the 801 while they're offshore - not sure if this would be successful but probably worth a try as a bit of an insurance policy.

If the 801 is refused while she is offshore, she would have to make it back to Australia on some visa within 21 days (the AAT time limit for this type of application) to lodge the review application to the AAT as she must be in Australia on the day the AAT review application is lodged. (see sections 338 and 347 of the _Migration Act 1958_ for more).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kei said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I would like to say thank you for the questions you asked
> However, one question I am not sure if you got it confused for 820 & 801 which was:
> 
> - Finally, if in case, she gets rejected while in oversea (which is HIGHLY unlikely anyway given our geniune relationship but I heard horror stories that they have been wronged for no reason), does it mean she cannot enter Australia again provided she wants to appeal the case? Or she can still come back with tourist visa etc
> 
> *Your answer:
> *** If the 820 is refused while she is offshore, her current bridging visa will cease in 28 days which gives her time to get back to Australia.*
> 
> Just to let you know, she is actually on 2nd stage (onshore) at the moment i.e. 801 visa, so would she still be able to come back if refused and apply the MTR?
> 
> - Also, IF she does gets granted for 801, can she start applying PR citizenship (the one where you need to stay 2 years out of 5 years in Australia)?
> 
> - I heard something like in order to apply & be eligible, you have be not away overseas for 3 months in total for the past year. Is it effective from the day 801 visa is approved or?
> 
> Thanks once again!
> 
> Cheers. Kei


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vicky11june -

Sounds like you're on top of things - good work!

Re: Marketing Specialist, this is a hotly debated occupation as many people try to use this for non-marketing work. My prediction, and it's really only a guess at this point, is that we'll see NT back on line mid-June and TAS getting caught up to speed around the same timeframe. Many states slow down this time of year as they are reaching quotas for the financial year - since the financial year resets on 1 July, so do the quotas and everybody does lots of catching up in July.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vicky11june said:


> Hello Mark,
> Newly joined the group.
> 
> Got Vetassess +ve assessment ~ 5.4 Years of experience considered.
> EOI Last submitted on 13/02/2017
> SS Application to NT : 04/03/2017
> SS Application TAS : 01/05/2017
> My total points a 70 (incl. SS), but will loose 5 points on 11th June. Ironically, seems it won't be a "happy" birthday after all.
> 
> That time NT (Green) and SA (yellow) was active.
> I searched it on Anzscosearch then.
> Recently, was delighted to see TAS (Green) for Marketing Specialist.
> Now, observed that NT is not available anymore, but TAS and SA remain unchanged. Now, switching my hopes on TAS.
> I was told that the procedural lead time for NT to offer invitation is 6 weeks. Never heard from them. I also applied TAS, and was said that the procedure is 4 weeks. That too lapsed and no reply yet. I heard that NT has ceased issuing invitations until July 17 (many states/territories have the same situation).
> 
> You being so experienced, would like to know your predictions on when will the authorities resume issuing invitations, and will this occupation be in demand (especially after the discontinuation of 457 Visa).
> 
> Regards,
> >>>---VICKY---->


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wayne -

Sounds like it could work, however she'll have to convince DIBP she is not here to live with you, but to primarily engage in tourism activities in order to make the visitor visa work. Also on visitor visas, generally two 3-month stays can often work, but once you get to #3 (or earlier depending on the circumstances), DIBP may have an issue with her spending so much time in Australia and she's liable to be denied entry at the airport.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ckbird said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Very much appreciated with your help on my question. I am assuming if she can come here with a tourist visa (one year multiple entry, max stay 3 months) and stay with me for at least 6 months to one year overall then we should be able to lodge another 461 application if I can provide all other evidence to prove for our genuine de facto relationship. Am I making a reasonable assumption?
> 
> Best regards,
> Wayne


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shab -

Thanks for the note. For any visa applicant, if they are unable to enter Australia by the must-enter-by date (which is based on the expiry of health and policy checks and is not set at 6 months or any other fixed time), the visa is liable for cancellation. Can sometimes be avoided by writing to DIBP after the date is missed and providing evidence of travel plans to enter Australia in the very near future after the missed date. Better idea to bring everybody here by the must-enter-by date for a quick vacation and then there's no requirement to be here going forward other than to meet requirements to renew the PR visa after 5 years via a subclass 155 RRV visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sharujijk said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied for 189, including my wife and son. My application status is in progress from 3 months and I expect it will be approved anytime now.
> 
> Incase my wife and son are not able to join me for the first landing we have to make within 6 months, what will be the result here for their status. It looks like only I will be able to make first landing within 6 months.
> 
> Will they lose their PR status after 6 months?
> Will I have to do the whole process again for their PR?
> 
> if you had such case before, thanks in advance for sharing what to be done.
> 
> BR//
> shab


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Croggles - (great username!) -

See responses below at *** after your questions - some of these would require more discussion with you re: your relationship evidence to determine whether you'd likely be granted a partner visa.



Croggles said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was hoping you could help me.
> 
> I am a U.K. based resident currently living with an Australia PR in the U.K. My partner is here on a two year working visa which expires in March. I was planning to return to Australia with him at this point via a 457 visa (to clarify, I am a 34 year old recruitment consultant with no degree but 5 & 1/2 years U.K. experience). It now seems that this visa option isn't available to me with the recent changes in policy. From research I will have to travel on a Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (short term option of 2 years).
> 
> My questions are as follows:
> 1) Are there restrictions preventing me from applying for a de facto partnership visa (820/801) when on a short term Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa? I notice that the short-term visa has a "genuine temporary entry requirement" which, I assume, means I couldn't reference my de facto partnership as part of my application?
> *** No way to tell for use since the TSS visa is not yet legislated, much less available, however if it mirrors the 457 then no restrictions on further applications while onshore in Australia holding that visa as long as you meet all the requirements for the visa you are applying for.
> 
> 2) What points do I need to score in order to get a Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa? (I can only find 60 as a bench mark - my score seems to be 55, but I know of people with my background who have had no problem in making the move in the past)
> *** See above re: TSS, however at this point there is no discussion of the TSS visa being a points tested visa - you'd have to be considered skilled in your nominated occupations (requires some number of years of experience TBA) and your occupation would have to be on the list(s) for the visa, and you'd have to meet any other requirements for the visa such as caveats as announced currently for the 457.
> 
> 3) If I was to apply for an offshore de facto visa (309) now, can I then apply for a bridging visa to carry me through the interim (between my partner leaving the UK and the visa being granted), or would I be required to wait in the U.K. until this visa is approved?
> *** No bridging visa is available from a 309 application, so you'd have to be granted some other visa to spend any time with your partner in Australia while awaiting 309 processing.
> 
> 4) I have read that it would be possible to enter Australia on an ETA and then lodge my application for a 820 visa. I have also read that this is becoming frowned upon and may be changing in July. Do you think this is a viable option? My partner and I would be secure financially but I wouldn't want to go much longer than 3 months without work as I would likely get very bored. If my research is correct I would then be able to work on a bridging visa whilst my 820 application is reviewed?
> *** That pathway is currently viable as long as your intention is not announced to DIBP upon entry to apply for an onshore partner visa. No way to predict what might happen in July. Currently you'd be granted a Bridging Visa A with full work rights upon application, then the BVA would activate (enabling the work rights) when you overstayed the 3-month stay period of the ETA.
> 
> 5) lastly, we will be travelling to Brisbane in August. Can we register our relationship then, despite the fact that he's technically resident here at the moment? I assume (if this is possible) it would depend on whether I decided to come to Australia on a tourist visa and lodge a 820 application or whether I elected to utilize a TSS? (owing to the genuine temporary entry requirement attached to this visa).
> *** Each state has their own requirements for relationship registration, and they vary from state to state - best to check with the state directly. Also, if the TSS ends up looking like the current 457, the genuine temporary entrant requirement is not applied nearly to the extent it is on student and visitor visas, since there is a legislated pathway from 457 to PR via the 186 and 187 TRT pathways.
> 
> I'll be hugely grateful for any help you could offer me. Beers on me when I get there.
> 
> Thanks


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lunamax -

Thanks for the note. Currently there is no minimum income requirement to sponsor someone for a partner or fiance visa. You've said "our son" and "my son" in your email, so I'm not quite sure of the inference there, however if you and your de facto are the biological parents of your son, that goes a long way towards overcoming any concerns DIBP might have about genuine relationship, and can be used to request a waiver of certain requirements. In your case, I think it comes down to where you want you and your son to be during the 12-24 months it may take to process a partner visa. If in Australia, you may want to come to Australia on a visitor visa or ETA and lodge onshore while here, which will result in you and your son being granted a bridging visa with full work rights to remain in Australia until the onshore partner visa is decided.

Re: PR, if you can provide evidence you were in a de facto relationship for 2 years or more at the time of application and you have a child together, you may be granted PR straight away instead of being granted the provisional partner visa first, however be prepared for a 12-24 month processing time either way. According to DIBP price increases already announced, application fees for the partner (onshore and offshore) and fiance visas are increasing to $7,000 (from $6,865 currently) on 1 July. Unsure of when the other anticipated partner visa changes will be implemented at this time.

Re: pending court case, would depend on the circumstances of that court case and whether it was a sexual or child-based crime. If it was serious enough, it could put his PR in jeopardy, so be careful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lunamax said:


> Partner Visa
> Hi there everyone
> My partner and I have been in a defacto relatio ship for 2 1/2 years and have a child together . He is an australian PR and our son and I are canadian .my son and i are in Canada , we have had 3 areas of separation due to visas expiring but have continued long distance. Will our visa be rejected if he doesnt make 25000 a year? He has a pending court case for a criminal charge . He is also not divorced from ex wife . I have a job there if i need, and he has always made enough to pay rent and bills. Should i go back to aus and apply for a 820 or do offshore 309. Will i get a bridging visa? Is having a child together reasonably grounds to be united as a family ? Ive also heard rumours about the price going up july 1___ will i get pr right away??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Physalis -

I expect you may have resolved this already, however generally taking the visa grant letter with you along with you passport is enough for DIBP to sort out this type of issue, and bringing a copy of the Form 929 you lodged to fix any issue with passports is helpful too. That being said, a passport number mistake can be a mess to resolve, as that's the primary identification that is linked to your visa. I'd allow plenty of extra time to work things out with DIBP to correct the number.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Physalis said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> when double checking all Details, I noticed a little error with my passport number in the visa grant notification.
> 
> I have already updated the passport Details in my immi account, but I am obviously a bit nervous as I am flying out tomorrow.
> Do you have any experience if it should be an issue or how Long it takes to process the Change. I will contact the ESC later on today as well.
> 
> Thank you and kind regards,
> Physalis


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JoHam -

Thanks for the note. DIBP policy is that the travel reasons for a BVB must be "substantial" and "genuine", and policy indicates that BVB's for a period longer than 12 months must be justified by specific circumstances. You'd need to put together specific documentation for each of the segments of time you would be spending outside Australia. My thought would be rather than to risk refusal, break it up into 2 trips and apply for the first trip about 4 weeks in advance. A general "trip to go snowboarding" may not be seen as a substantial reason, however if you have an organised snowboarding event or specific vacation plans with a beginning/end date, etc that will have a better chance. Then after you come back, maybe do another BVB for the other 2 events you mentioned.

If you applied for your 461 while in Australia (on the date of application), you must be in Australia when it is granted. If you are outside Australia when they are ready to grant, they will notify you by whatever means you have authorised them to do so (email is best generally especially if you are traveling) and you'll generally be given 28 days to re-enter Australia to enable the visa grant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JoHam said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied for a 461 Visa in mid March. I have made a phone call today and been told my visa may take up to 11 months to process, I am hoping to return home (Ireland) for a visit and possibly go to Canada for a very extended snow season (before my age doesn't allow me to snowboard anymore). What I am wondering is am I able (is it possible even) to be granted a BVB visa for Mid Aug'17 - Late Aug/Early Sep'18? Or is there a limit on this? I currently have a Bridging visa A.
> My second worry is my visa may be ready for a decision Dec'17/Jan'18. I have applied for this visa while in Australia and as i'm aware i HAVE TO (?) be in Australia for it to be granted? When I am contacted saying they are awaiting a decision is it possible to ask them to please wait till I am back in the country? I am not trying to be cheeky and I am so grateful I am even given the chance to renew my 461 visa. I just want to do one more big travel trip before me and my partner settle again for good.
> 
> -We also have brothers wedding in Indonesia Jun'18 and my 30th Aug'18 overseas hence the long period of time.
> 
> Thank you for your time!
> 
> J


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ace.sunny -

I'd like to help but this proposed scenario has become too complex for quick yes/no answers here on the forum - the migration law is a maze of very specific regulations and policy, many of them interconnected - not possible to do this kind of detailed strategy planning without much more info about the applicant(s). A student visa application very quickly after marriage may also bring into play questions as to whether the marriage is genuine - so lots of details to consider. Happy to discuss further at a consultation where we'd have the time to work through all the various parts of this - see my website below for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



ace.sunny said:


> What if he got married after getting COE then applying for his student visa and adding his partner in dependent's list? The reason for not getting married before getting COE is because he was in Australia while applying for COE. Then after getting COE he returned to his home country then got married and applied for student visa.
> Is this possible? If it is then what evidences are needed?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tijanaoc -

Thanks for the note. Generally in cases where there is a spelling discrepancy in ID documents DIBP will send a 28-day request letter asking for additional documents or reasons - I expect this is likely how they would handle your case if the final deed poll is not uploaded by the time they process the application. With partner or fiance visa processing running well over a year now, it's likely they would even get to the point of cross checking name spellings for some time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tijanaoc said:


> Hi again Mark,
> Thanks for your invaluable advice and help!
> 
> I have (yet) another question.
> 
> My husband's first name was misspelled on his birth certificate (alternate spelling - the birth cert has the usual spelling of his Irish name, but his actual name is a regional variation). Anyway Births Deaths and Marriages wouldn't correct the spelling so we had to change his name by deed poll to match all his other documents (passport, drivers licence, etc have always been in the correct regional spelling). We did the deed poll name change in April which is legally all that's required in Ireland, although there is an optional step of enrolling the Deed Poll at the court in Dublin (which is sometimes recommended for any official government requirements). He went to Dublin yesterday to do this (he couldn't get there any earlier - they are only open for 2.5 hours on a Tuesday and Thursday - it's a day off work and an 8 hour round trip to Dublin + time waiting in line at the courts).
> 
> Anyway so I was expecting that they would stamp it and we would get a copy of the document on the same day, but I guess this is too much to expect of bureaucracy and they took the deed poll document and advised him they will post it to the solicitor in 28 days (I'm hoping sooner, but I'm biting my nails, because we just submitted his application and it was marked received 31st May - that was when we could start uploading documents, since we paid by BPAY) and we have pretty much uploaded every supporting document (except the police and medicals) already. We were just waiting on the Deed Poll document which I was expecting to upload today and then this!
> 
> Any advice? I'm really hoping they don't look at it right away and outright reject it because of this. Westly Russell mentioned this has happened in the past so I am fretting! We did state on the application his birth certificate name and the reason for name change being "Deed Poll." We just don't have the document yet to prove it.
> 
> I could submit an emailed receipt from the solicitor that states it is for a Deed Poll name change and we also have the receipt for stamp duty from the courts (albeit a small receipt and the stamp duty part is in Irish Gaelic ) Or is better to not submit anything of the sort (unless asked) and wait and hope the document arrives in time to upload it before they look at the application?
> 
> Also - I am hoping this doesn't throw a spanner in the works. We had applied and been granted Citizenship by Descent for our two kids. On their citizenship applications where it asked if my husband has ever been known by any other name, I put down "no" - an honest mistake, because other than on his birth cert he has never been known by the other spelling of his name, and it just didn't even occur to me at the time. Is this going to affect anything going forward? Or the kids citizenships? I would hope not since I am the Aus citizen parent, but I am fretting about everything now!
> 
> Any advice would be immensely appreciated.
> 
> Thank you again for all that you do for us here


----------



## tijanaoc

Thank you, I hope you are correct. It's a 309/100 applied through London high commission. They have been more efficient than onshore applications in recent times hence my fretting. But hopefully they would request the info and not deny outright.

Thanks again 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Tijanaoc -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Generally in cases where there is a spelling discrepancy in ID documents DIBP will send a 28-day request letter asking for additional documents or reasons - I expect this is likely how they would handle your case if the final deed poll is not uploaded by the time they process the application. You didn't mention what type of visa you applied for, however with a partner or fiance visa processing is running well over a year now so it's likely they would even get to the point of cross checking name spellings for some time.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cecilie -

Thanks for the note. While there are over 100 types of visas for Australia, if you want to temporarily visit Australia and don't already have a visa application here pending, I'd look into a visitor visa. The type of visitor visa will vary depending on your country of citizenship, and can include the ETA visa, eVisitor visa (subclass 651) and visitor visa (subclass 600) depending on your citizenship and circumstances - I'd have a look on the DIBP website at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection and use their Visa Wizard to see what the best visitor visa type might be for you.

Re: work, you cannot work in Australia while holding a visitor visa, so you'd have to apply for some other type of visa if you wanted to work in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ceccy said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> I would like to travel to Australia for around 2 months first. Is there more than 1 visum you can choose?
> And how is it to work in Australia when you are an immigrant? Is it legal?
> 
> - Cecilie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pixelated -

Thanks for the note. I recommend you contact a specialist in student visas as your situation is a bit unusual. If you can email me (see my email below in my signature) I'm happy to send you some references.

Best,

Mark Northam



Pixelated said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have an offer from an Australian university and start classes in July, but I can't accept my offer of enrollment until after I planned to arrive in June. This is because the school wants my final transcripts before I can accept the offer, which won't be available until late June. The academic adviser there said that she'd had students come in to the country on an ETA and then apply for the Student Visa 500 onshore without a problem.
> 
> I'm coming in about a month before I'm set to start classes because my girlfriend lives in Australia and I want to spend our 2-year anniversary together.
> 
> I have the ETA and a one-way ticket to Australia, but now I'm wondering if I should be concerned about the possibility of being questioned by immigration and/or denied entry because I'm coming in on an ETA and I:
> 
> a) don't have a return ticket
> b) plan to apply for another visa while in Australia
> 
> Do I have cause to be concerned? I don't even know if I'm a common situation or not.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## Jessieng

HI Mark 

I've post on this forum few days ago n one of the member who's call ampk suggested u could help so can u pls give me some advice

I'm holding protection visa for 2 years now it is possible to change to student visa?

Ever since I've apply it's show I'm on bridging visa I usually check it online once in a few moths same as usual I checked it online last week it said expire on 14 june 2017 I'm so stress right now before that i didn't get any refus letter , email or anything 
I've only go for finger print since not for any interview 

I know you would probably ask me why would i want to 

The story is from two years ago my country had a political protest problem meanwhile I'm holding working holiday visa but is gonna expire so one of my friend said u can apply a protection visa I was stupid I just listened to her n apply after that I checked online always showing on bridging I just let it go but my visa gonna expire soon fortunately my country going very well nowadays n I don't wanna appeal I wanna go back to see my family but in the future I also wanna stay in Australia in study.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ausvisapls -

Great question! Form 47a is required for any "members of the family unit" (MOFU) age 18 and over, of the applicant regardless if that person is migrating or not. If the son is 18+ yrs old, does not live with the applicant and is not financially dependent on the applicant, Form 47A is not required. Will be important on the application form NOT to list that child as a dependent or member of the family unit, but only to list under other family members along with siblings of the applicant, parents of the applicant, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ausvisapls said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was hoping you could tell me if we require Form 47a or not. My fiance has applied for his Prospective marriage visa and we are in the process of attaching documents. My fiance has a son who is 23 years old and independent, living away from home. I wasn't sure if we needed Form 47a so I rang the Department of Immigration and they told me that it didn't matter if he was independent or not and that because the form states it must be filled out regardless of whether or not the child is migrating, we have to supply it. But that contradicts the PMV document checklist in the Partner Booklet which says Form 47a is only for dependents.
> 
> Any information would be appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Upen144 -

It may be possible for your sister to sponsor you for a family sponsored 489 provisional skilled visa if she is an Australian permanent resident or citizen, however her husband would not be able to sponsor you as sponsorship for that visa via in-law relationships (ie, partner of the applicant's sibling) are not valid for that visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



upen144 said:


> Hi All ,
> 
> Seeking your help on the same . I need to apply for Visa 489 as my sister is residing in SA ( adelaide ) from 2014 and her husband is the Citizen over there Can i apply the same under Chain Immigration , if they are willing to sponsor me ? I want to apply for 222211 ( Financial Market Dealer ) for South Australia .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jessieng -

Thanks for the note. I'm unclear as to whether you hold a protection visa (subclass 866, etc) or you've applied for a protection visa and been on a bridging visa for 2 years. Your situation is complex as to be approved for a student visa, you'd have to demonstrate that your primary intention in Australia is to study, whereas you've already indicated via the protection visa that you have an intention to reside in Australia permanently.

Your visa history prior to applying for the protection visa up until now will also be a big factor. I suggest you get a consultation from an immigration lawyer or migration agent who can look at your complete Australian visa history and advise chances of success and good options for you to accomplish what you want. An important part of things may be to establish that you voluntarily want to give up your protection claims based on a positive change in your home country, as opposed to getting your protection visa refused because of a claim for protection that is without merit.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jessieng said:


> HI Mark
> 
> I've post on this forum few days ago n one of the member who's call ampk suggested u could help so can u pls give me some advice
> 
> I'm holding protection visa for 2 years now it is possible to change to student visa?
> 
> Ever since I've apply it's show I'm on bridging visa I usually check it online once in a few moths same as usual I checked it online last week it said expire on 14 june 2017 I'm so stress right now before that i didn't get any refus letter , email or anything
> I've only go for finger print since not for any interview
> 
> I know you would probably ask me why would i want to
> 
> The story is from two years ago my country had a political protest problem meanwhile I'm holding working holiday visa but is gonna expire so one of my friend said u can apply a protection visa I was stupid I just listened to her n apply after that I checked online always showing on bridging I just let it go but my visa gonna expire soon fortunately my country going very well nowadays n I don't wanna appeal I wanna go back to see my family but in the future I also wanna stay in Australia in study.


----------



## ausvisapls

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ausvisapls -
> 
> Great question! Form 47a is required for any "members of the family unit" (MOFU) age 18 and over, of the applicant regardless if that person is migrating or not. If the son is 18+ yrs old, does not live with the applicant and is not financially dependent on the applicant, Form 47A is not required. Will be important on the application form NOT to list that child as a dependent or member of the family unit, but only to list under other family members along with siblings of the applicant, parents of the applicant, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for the clarification, Mark. I just checked my fiance's online application and he selected 'NO' for the following questions:

Are there any family members applying to migrate with the applicant?
Does the applicant have any dependent family members not included in this application?

And under the 'Applicant's Immediate Family Members' section, my fiance selected 'YES' for the following question and listed his son in there along with his parents and siblings.

Does the applicant have any parents, siblings or children including those that are deceased?

Is that correct Mark?


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes - that's correct assuming the son is not migrating, is not financially dependent on the applicant, and is not living with the applicant.

Best,

Mark Northam



ausvisapls said:


> Thanks for the clarification, Mark. I just checked my fiance's online application and he selected 'NO' for the following questions:
> 
> Are there any family members applying to migrate with the applicant?
> Does the applicant have any dependent family members not included in this application?
> 
> And under the 'Applicant's Immediate Family Members' section, my fiance selected 'YES' for the following question and listed his son in there along with his parents and siblings.
> 
> Does the applicant have any parents, siblings or children including those that are deceased?
> 
> Is that correct Mark?


----------



## ausvisapls

MarkNortham said:


> Yes - that's correct assuming the son is not migrating, is not financially dependent on the applicant, and is not living with the applicant.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks so much for your assistance Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Glad to help - it's exactly why I'm here 

Best,

Mark Northam



ausvisapls said:


> Thanks so much for your assistance Mark.


----------



## Jessieng

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jessieng -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I'm unclear as to whether you hold a protection visa (subclass 866, etc) or you've applied for a protection visa and been on a bridging visa for 2 years. Your situation is complex as to be approved for a student visa, you'd have to demonstrate that your primary intention in Australia is to study, whereas you've already indicated via the protection visa that you have an intention to reside in Australia permanently.
> 
> Your visa history prior to applying for the protection visa up until now will also be a big factor. I suggest you get a consultation from an immigration lawyer or migration agent who can look at your complete Australian visa history and advise chances of success and good options for you to accomplish what you want. An important part of things may be to establish that you voluntarily want to give up your protection claims based on a positive change in your home country, as opposed to getting your protection visa refused because of a claim for protection that is without merit.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thanks for all your information

How long it take if I get a immigration lawyer to fix my visa?
I have only ten days left until my visa expire 
I'm planning to go to immigration tomorrow to ask for my refus letter do I really need to go or I can just get my lawyer to do for me?


----------



## Julian73

Good day Mark, I have questions that worried me too much. I had a fiance who is under newstarter allowance of centerlink and I have to kids aged 12 and 19. The agent advice me to get tourist visa and married my fiance in Australia then applied for Spouse visa and get Bridging visa B. Is there any advantages of applying for spouse visa onshore and offshore? Is it true that in case of visa denial, spouse visa applied onshore can be appeal whereas the offshore visa cannot? 
Aside from proving our genuine relationship, will the immigration concern on financial stability of my fiance? Can I be the one to prove that I have financial resources and will not rely on government? If I have the court custody of my children, will the immigration still contact my ex husband?
Thanks for always enlighten us.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jessieng -

I suggest you first get a professional consultation to determine best options and actions before you say anything to DIBP. They generally don't have counter service any more, and don't provide documents on demand other than via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request which can take weeks or months. A 30-minute consult with a migration agent or immigration lawyer (assuming they know what they are doing!) should be enough to figure out good options for going forward.

Best,

Mark Northam



Jessieng said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thanks for all your information
> 
> How long it take if I get a immigration lawyer to fix my visa?
> I have only ten days left until my visa expire
> I'm planning to go to immigration tomorrow to ask for my refus letter do I really need to go or I can just get my lawyer to do for me?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Julian73 -

Thanks for the note. The main advantage of applying for a spouse visa onshore is that you get to stay in Australia while the spouse visa is being processed - which can take 12-24 months. That's the main difference. In case the spouse visa is refused, for onshore application the applicant can appeal to the AAT Tribunal; for offshore applications the sponsor can review to the AAT Tribunal, so as long as the sponsor cooperates, an AAT review is possible with either onshore or offshore applications.

Re: fiance being on government benefits, that is not a bar to him being a sponsor under current regulations.

Re: children, if you have court papers clearly establishing that you have 100% custody and control of the children and do not have to consult the ex-husband re: any major changes including relocation, you may not have to have your ex-husband sign off on the children's migration to Australia, however if the ex-husband has any say over where the children live, etc, then you'll have to get his permission for the children to migrate (using Form 1229).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Julian73 said:


> Good day Mark, I have questions that worried me too much. I had a fiance who is under newstarter allowance of centerlink and I have to kids aged 12 and 19. The agent advice me to get tourist visa and married my fiance in Australia then applied for Spouse visa and get Bridging visa B. Is there any advantages of applying for spouse visa onshore and offshore? Is it true that in case of visa denial, spouse visa applied onshore can be appeal whereas the offshore visa cannot?
> Aside from proving our genuine relationship, will the immigration concern on financial stability of my fiance? Can I be the one to prove that I have financial resources and will not rely on government? If I have the court custody of my children, will the immigration still contact my ex husband?
> Thanks for always enlighten us.


----------



## ausvisapls

Hi Mark,

My fiance applied for his Prospective Marriage visa and I am a bit concerned with his application. My fiance has a son in his 30's that he does not have a relationship with and was prevented from seeing since the child was 5. As my fiance doesn't know any of the child's details or the ex partner's, my fiance did not include their details on his application. Will this be a problem? Do immigration do background checks and find out about a child not mentioned in the application? And if they do, would it matter since the child is now in their 30's and independent? Also, my fiance was never married to the child's mother.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ausvisapls -

Unlikely that DIBP would find this info, however to be safe it would not hurt to add a letter to the application stating this information and why he didn't list him on the application - that he didn't have any information about the child other than the child's name and date of birth, and didn't want to include incorrect information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ausvisapls said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My fiance applied for his Prospective Marriage visa and I am a bit concerned with his application. My fiance has a son in his 30's that he does not have a relationship with and was prevented from seeing since the child was 5. As my fiance doesn't know any of the child's details or the ex partner's, my fiance did not include their details on his application. Will this be a problem? Do immigration do background checks and find out about a child not mentioned in the application? And if they do, would it matter since the child is now in their 30's and independent? Also, my fiance was never married to the child's mother.


----------



## ausvisapls

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ausvisapls -
> 
> Unlikely that DIBP would find this info, however to be safe it would not hurt to add a letter to the application stating this information and why he didn't list him on the application - that he didn't have any information about the child other than the child's name and date of birth, and didn't want to include incorrect information.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


And DIBP wouldn't view it as deception if we add this information after or would they be understanding? I am really worried about his visa being refused based on this. Also, do you know which section he could attach a letter? My partner hasn't attached his own personal statement yet, could he include this information in there? Thanks for the information.


----------



## MarkNortham

I don't see how DIBP would take a negative view of this - he had an honest question about whether he should include the child because he knew very little about the child, but decided to include the letter to include what information he did know about the child. Note the online form requires a lot of information about the person that he did not have, so he could not have completed the online form for the child anyway without having to put in dummy or false information (he might add that point to the letter). To me, a letter is a better solution in your particular circumstances.

Re: category to lodge under, I'd look for something about Family Makeup or Family Composition, then Other.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ausvisapls said:


> And DIBP wouldn't view it as deception if we add this information after or would they be understanding? I am really worried about his visa being refused based on this. Also, do you know which section he could attach a letter? My partner hasn't attached his own personal statement yet, could he include this information in there? Thanks for the information.


----------



## Hello2017

*Warned during entry to Australia by Border Patrol Officer*

Hello Mark,

Me and my partner has been together since Sept 2014. Due to work commitment, we only started living together since december 2016. Now, we are in the midst of preparing our online application of 820. On my 3rd entry to Australia on ETA, I was pulled over after checking my passport and an officer questioned about my frequent visits to Oz. She let me in anyway warned me to go home in a month time eventhough i am eligable to stay for another 3 month.

My question is should we apply immediately? Or can we wait till the end of 3 months to prolong my length of living with my partner? Will it affect our visa application having said that the border patrol has said that she is going to write it on my record that i have been talked to?

Really appreciate your swift reply. Thank you so much.


----------



## ausvisapls

MarkNortham said:


> I don't see how DIBP would take a negative view of this - he had an honest question about whether he should include the child because he knew very little about the child, but decided to include the letter to include what information he did know about the child. Note the online form requires a lot of information about the person that he did not have, so he could not have completed the online form for the child anyway without having to put in dummy or false information (he might add that point to the letter). To me, a letter is a better solution in your particular circumstances.
> 
> Re: category to lodge under, I'd look for something about Family Makeup or Family Composition, then Other.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much for your advice, Mark. We have attached a cover letter stating the points that you have mentioned but I have just realised that the letter did not mention the boys mother. Would another cover letter outlining the reason (not knowing her date of birth) for not including her in the previous relationship section on the application and also stating that they were never married be a good idea to attach, without it affecting the application?


----------



## shanx1996

*Visitor Visa Question*

Hi Mark!

I'm currently in Australia with my Australian Partner, he purchased tickets for my birthday on June 29th to go to bali for 5 days and then return back here to Australia. Will this effect the length of my visa? These are my visa conditions.

Visa Type - Visitor (Class FA)
Subclass- Visitor (600)
Stream - Tourist
Grant date- 22 Aug 2016
Must not arrive after - 22 Aug 2017
Stay period - 12 month(s) from the date of each arrival
Travel Facility- Multiple
Conditions- 8101 NO WORK & 82011 Max 3 months study

If we leave Australia and come back in will my visa renew for another 12 months?

Thanks for all your help

Shannon


----------



## Kiki88

*189 Skill Assessment/Work Assessment*

Hi Mark,

I have obtained a positive skill assessment based on my qualifications (Master of Professional Accounting) back in February 2017. 
I've been sitting on 70 points since then and didn't get an invitation yet due to the backlog for Accountants.
However, it came to my attention that I could also claim 5 points for my work experience as an Accountant (I have pay slips and references to prove that). Therefore I submitted a new EOI on May 15 with 75 points this time. 
I'm still waiting on CPA to assess my work experience. My question is: if I get an invitation, will it be declined since the work assessment date will be after May 15?

Thanks in advance

Kiki88


----------



## Kitten

*Partner visa question*

Hi Mark,

I logged an 820/801 partner visa today. I was prepared to start loading the mass amounts of documents. However, it stated that "This applicant is not required to provide any evidence at this stage based on the information provided within the application. However, the department may request further information from this applicant at a later date." Is that normal? Should I load in the basic documents anyway, i.e. passport, marriage certificate, etc.?

Thank!


----------



## TanvirAussie

*Seconary Applicant Living Requirement for 887 Visa*

Hi Mark,
Thank you for the service you are providing to the community. I have the following question.

I have been living in regional Australia with 489 visa. Very soon I will be eligible to apply for 887 visa. So far I know that for 887 visa the dependent does not need to live in regional Australia for 2 years. It is sufficient if the dependent is the holder of 489 visa and is in Australia during the application.

Very recently, from 15 February 2017, DIBP website is asking the documents proving the secondary applicant has also lived in regional Australia for two years. If you go to the page of 887 visa you will find this in the 'follow these steps' tab at documents for your partner subtab.
I am confused. Please help.


----------



## TanvirAussie

*Seconary Applicant Living Requirement for 887 Visa*

Hi Mark,
Thank you for the service you are providing to the community. I have the following question.

I have been living in regional Australia with 489 visa. Very soon I will be eligible to apply for 887 visa. So far I know that for 887 visa the dependent does not need to live in regional Australia for complete 2 years. ?For example, my wife joined me in regional Australia six months later after I had got the 489 visa. She went back to home country and then again returned. It is sufficient if the dependent is the holder of 489 visa and is in Australia during the application.

Very recently, from 15 February 2017, DIBP website is asking the documents proving the secondary applicant has also lived in regional Australia for two years. If you go to the page of 887 visa you will find this in the 'follow these steps' tab at 'documents for your partner' subsection.

I am confused. Please help. I also checked the legislative migration regulation but found no recent change in the law.

Regards
Tanvir


----------



## sharujijk

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Shab -
> 
> Thanks for the note. For any visa applicant, if they are unable to enter Australia by the must-enter-by date (which is based on the expiry of health and policy checks and is not set at 6 months or any other fixed time), the visa is liable for cancellation. Can sometimes be avoided by writing to DIBP after the date is missed and providing evidence of travel plans to enter Australia in the very near future after the missed date. Better idea to bring everybody here by the must-enter-by date for a quick vacation and then there's no requirement to be here going forward other than to meet requirements to renew the PR visa after 5 years via a subclass 155 RRV visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot Mark for the reply and valuable suggestion.

BR//
Shab


----------



## Croggles

Hi Mark,

Thanks very much for the reply.I think I will need to wait until July to see what changes occur in relation to partnership visas and exactly what the restrictions will be on the replacement for the 457 visa before I decide of the best route to take. Neither of us want to be in a position where I have to apply offshore as that length of separation is far from ideal.

With regards to evidence for our de facto partnership, it is slightly complicated. He moved into an already existing house share and we didn't add him to the tenancy as a result. We do have payslips from his employer addressed to this house, proof of us both paying into a household account (in one of our flat mate's names) on a monthly basis (equal amounts to cover our equal share of rent and household bills), booking confirmations for holidays and flights (as well as a joint air miles scheme) and are currently setting up a joint bank account that we can pay our rent and joint expenses (grocery shopping, holiday payments, concert tickets etc.) from.

We also have two flat mates who can vouch for us being in a relationship, numerous mutual friends in the UK (mainly British but at least one Australian national), photos of us abroad and at social engagements (such as weddings, concerts etc) and can get statements from his parents who have traveled to the UK to see us and been on holiday with us to Barcelona. We will also be living at his parents' home when we arrive in Australia (they will be over seas for a few years so we will be home/animal sitting for them).

I know it's not the most evidence in the world, but we hadn't planned on looking at this route until the change in the legislation of the 457 visa so we are running to catch up. We are only newly looking into it now, so I am still a novice and unclear of what the application process for the 820 would be.

Do you think with this evidence we could put together a strong enough case? If you could advise me of any additional evidence we could gather that I have overlooked I would appreciate it.

Thank you again. You're being a massive help and it's much appreciated.

C



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Croggles - (great username!) -
> 
> See responses below at *** after your questions - some of these would require more discussion with you re: your relationship evidence to determine whether you'd likely be granted a partner visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hello2017 -

Thanks for the note. That's a very unusual situation, as you were admitted for a 3-month stay, DIBP generally doesn't go around cancelling people's ETA visas prior to the 3 months being up! I've never heard of this sort of warning being given the way it was to you - I'd probably take the cautious route and lodge the 820/801 prior to the end of the first month of your stay.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hello2017 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Me and my partner has been together since Sept 2014. Due to work commitment, we only started living together since december 2016. Now, we are in the midst of preparing our online application of 820. On my 3rd entry to Australia on ETA, I was pulled over after checking my passport and an officer questioned about my frequent visits to Oz. She let me in anyway warned me to go home in a month time eventhough i am eligable to stay for another 3 month.
> 
> My question is should we apply immediately? Or can we wait till the end of 3 months to prolong my length of living with my partner? Will it affect our visa application having said that the border patrol has said that she is going to write it on my record that i have been talked to?
> 
> Really appreciate your swift reply. Thank you so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ausvisapls -

Hard to say re: prev relationship, as it depends on the question of whether he considers that he and the mother of the child were in a "relationship". If so, he should certainly correct that on the application using Form 1023 to correct incorrect information - could include in the explanation on that form that he didn't include her because he didn't know her contact/birth/marital/etc status information that was required for the form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ausvisapls said:


> Thank you very much for your advice, Mark. We have attached a cover letter stating the points that you have mentioned but I have just realised that the letter did not mention the boys mother. Would another cover letter outlining the reason (not knowing her date of birth) for not including her in the previous relationship section on the application and also stating that they were never married be a good idea to attach, without it affecting the application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shannon -

Yes, based on what you've posted the stay period is 12 months from the date of each arrival, so you could stay 12 months from the time you re-enter. That being said, in case you have any issues on re-entry, I'd make sure to have lots of plans for visitor-type activities planned for the period after your return and be ready to show a schedule and evidence of those plans. You don't have to commit to a departure date upon re-entry, however if you do not have a return air ticket that may raise concerns about whether you intend to depart or not. Short answer: plan ahead and be ready for questions depending on how many months you've already spent in Australia as a tourist.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shanx1996 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I'm currently in Australia with my Australian Partner, he purchased tickets for my birthday on June 29th to go to bali for 5 days and then return back here to Australia. Will this effect the length of my visa? These are my visa conditions.
> 
> Visa Type - Visitor (Class FA)
> Subclass- Visitor (600)
> Stream - Tourist
> Grant date- 22 Aug 2016
> Must not arrive after - 22 Aug 2017
> Stay period - 12 month(s) from the date of each arrival
> Travel Facility- Multiple
> Conditions- 8101 NO WORK & 82011 Max 3 months study
> 
> If we leave Australia and come back in will my visa renew for another 12 months?
> 
> Thanks for all your help
> 
> Shannon


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kiki88 -

No. Work is potentially claimable for points up until the date of invitation if it meets all the requirements. If your work is assessed through a date prior to that and you have some additional time between the date of assessment and the date of invitation you want to claim, usually DIBP is fine with that if you submit a letter showing that you continued to work in the same position after the date of assessment, and include pay slips for the entire period you want to claim.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kiki88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have obtained a positive skill assessment based on my qualifications (Master of Professional Accounting) back in February 2017.
> I've been sitting on 70 points since then and didn't get an invitation yet due to the backlog for Accountants.
> However, it came to my attention that I could also claim 5 points for my work experience as an Accountant (I have pay slips and references to prove that). Therefore I submitted a new EOI on May 15 with 75 points this time.
> I'm still waiting on CPA to assess my work experience. My question is: if I get an invitation, will it be declined since the work assessment date will be after May 15?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Kiki88


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kitten -

The ImmiAccount sometimes says that if you go to the document upload screen immediately after lodging. Usually after a few minutes, the list of recommended/required documents appears - I expect if you login now you'll see that. You should upload all of your supporting documents as soon as possible after lodging.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kitten said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I logged an 820/801 partner visa today. I was prepared to start loading the mass amounts of documents. However, it stated that "This applicant is not required to provide any evidence at this stage based on the information provided within the application. However, the department may request further information from this applicant at a later date." Is that normal? Should I load in the basic documents anyway, i.e. passport, marriage certificate, etc.?
> 
> Thank!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tanvir -

That's really weird. I can find no reference in the legislation to that requirement, and expect it's a mistake on the DIBP website.

Best,

Mark Northam



TanvirAussie said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for the service you are providing to the community. I have the following question.
> 
> I have been living in regional Australia with 489 visa. Very soon I will be eligible to apply for 887 visa. So far I know that for 887 visa the dependent does not need to live in regional Australia for complete 2 years. ?For example, my wife joined me in regional Australia six months later after I had got the 489 visa. She went back to home country and then again returned. It is sufficient if the dependent is the holder of 489 visa and is in Australia during the application.
> 
> Very recently, from 15 February 2017, DIBP website is asking the documents proving the secondary applicant has also lived in regional Australia for two years. If you go to the page of 887 visa you will find this in the 'follow these steps' tab at 'documents for your partner' subsection.
> 
> I am confused. Please help. I also checked the legislative migration regulation but found no recent change in the law.
> 
> Regards
> Tanvir


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Croggles -

Sounds like you're well on the way to putting together a good batch of relationship evidence, however would need to see the actual evidence in a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case.

FYI note the 4 legally required categories: financial aspects, social aspects, commitment to each other, and nature of the household. I'd suggest looking up some of the existing topics here on the Australia Forum to see lots of info about what others have included to address these 4 areas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Croggles said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks very much for the reply.I think I will need to wait until July to see what changes occur in relation to partnership visas and exactly what the restrictions will be on the replacement for the 457 visa before I decide of the best route to take. Neither of us want to be in a position where I have to apply offshore as that length of separation is far from ideal.
> 
> With regards to evidence for our de facto partnership, it is slightly complicated. He moved into an already existing house share and we didn't add him to the tenancy as a result. We do have payslips from his employer addressed to this house, proof of us both paying into a household account (in one of our flat mate's names) on a monthly basis (equal amounts to cover our equal share of rent and household bills), booking confirmations for holidays and flights (as well as a joint air miles scheme) and are currently setting up a joint bank account that we can pay our rent and joint expenses (grocery shopping, holiday payments, concert tickets etc.) from.
> 
> We also have two flat mates who can vouch for us being in a relationship, numerous mutual friends in the UK (mainly British but at least one Australian national), photos of us abroad and at social engagements (such as weddings, concerts etc) and can get statements from his parents who have traveled to the UK to see us and been on holiday with us to Barcelona. We will also be living at his parents' home when we arrive in Australia (they will be over seas for a few years so we will be home/animal sitting for them).
> 
> I know it's not the most evidence in the world, but we hadn't planned on looking at this route until the change in the legislation of the 457 visa so we are running to catch up. We are only newly looking into it now, so I am still a novice and unclear of what the application process for the 820 would be.
> 
> Do you think with this evidence we could put together a strong enough case? If you could advise me of any additional evidence we could gather that I have overlooked I would appreciate it.
> 
> Thank you again. You're being a massive help and it's much appreciated.
> 
> C


----------



## Daniel91

*How can i sponsor my wife while not living in Australia*

Hi Mark!

Iv been living in Austria for the past 6 years and married for over 5 years to my Austrian wife, and we would like to move to Australia, however i dont have work or a place to live in my name as i myself do not currently live in Aus, so..
how can i sponsor my wife? I am an Australian citizen and we would ofcorse be able to stay at my folks home until we get on our feet, but how can i provide these other requirements like financial coverage.? Enough for 2 years ect?

We will likely apply for 309/100 subclass partner visa..

Thank you very much!


----------



## Croggles

Thanks Mark,

I have noted your website, so once it becomes clearer what the changes in legislation will be and I am able to make a more informed decision regarding which route to take, I will definitely be in touch.

Thanks again for your help. Very much appreciated.

C



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Croggles -
> 
> Sounds like you're well on the way to putting together a good batch of relationship evidence, however would need to see the actual evidence in a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case.
> 
> FYI note the 4 legally required categories: financial aspects, social aspects, commitment to each other, and nature of the household. I'd suggest looking up some of the existing topics here on the Australia Forum to see lots of info about what others have included to address these 4 areas.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Hello2017

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hello2017 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. That's a very unusual situation, as you were admitted for a 3-month stay, DIBP generally doesn't go around cancelling people's ETA visas prior to the 3 months being up! I've never heard of this sort of warning being given the way it was to you - I'd probably take the cautious route and lodge the 820/801 prior to the end of the first month of your stay.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark,

I return to australia early May, so its passed few days now. But will lodge it on coming friday. Hopefully everything will be okay.


----------



## Kiki88

Thank you so much Mark. I really appreciate that you sent such a quick response. I shall be in touch if I get an invitation 
Best regards
Kiki88


----------



## summerspring

Hi Mark,

I've lodged my prospective marriage visa and i noticed on form 80 that i forgot to include my half siblings. Can i simply redo form 80 and attach to my application?


----------



## melissakate

Hi Mark,

if I was to apply for my partner visa (temporary) whilst on a tourist visa, would that affect my ability to work whilst on bridging visa? if so, is it possible to apply to change bridging visa to one where i can work during the processing time? 

I would apply before my WHV ends however we don't quite meet the 1 year requirement.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me on this matter


----------



## Saverio

Hi Mark, 
I'm applying for 186 trt, now while I was filling Form 80 I have faced a tricky question, which is "Have you ever been refused a visa to any country?".

Short long story back in 2013 my application for 457 got refused, so I appealed to MRT and I won. So MRT remitted the decision to immi department and then they gave me the 457.

When I check my VEVO account it doesn't show anywhere that refusal but only my granted visa details.

So how should I answer that question? Yes or no?

Thank you very much Mark


----------



## Pbst93

Hey Mark,
this probably gets asked by a number of people a lot of times, but still i haven't found a definitive answer to it.

So i'm an international student doing my masters in a course registered in CRICOS for 104 weeks of study.

So then after attending a few of my classes i realised that a few of my units were the same as i had studied in my bachelor's degree. Hence, i got RPL for two of my units. At the time i had applied for the RPL i was told that it could hamper my chances for a post graduation visa. I asked how does that work? And the lady said you gotta find out that yourself. But after we grant you the RPL it can not be rescinded. Still I went ahead and got the RPL. Because i did not know the 92 weeks rule.

Only a few hours ago i found out how to calculate the number of weeks reduced due to the RPL i was granted.

The total no. of units to be completed in order to meet the 104 weeks of study is 16.
That gives us : 16/16*104=104 weeks

now since i have two of my units reduced that makes it : 14/16*104=91 weeks

So clearly i do not meet the Australian Study Requirement only by a week.

So i did some research and was able to find :

Exemptions and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

In the situation where a student gets exemptions from previous studies or Recognition of Prior Learning, this would previously have been a major factor in meeting the 2-year study requirement.

However, after the Federal Court case of Riaz & Anor v Minister for Immigration & Anor [2013] FCCA 2244 (20 December 2013), RPL or previous studies, whether undertaken in Australia or overseas, do not affect the 2-year study requirement.

Providing the course or courses completed are registered for at least 92 weeks, the student would meet the "2 Academic Years" requirement, even if they did not spend the normal duration completing the course due to exemptions or RPL.

The main proviso to this is that legislation also requires the student to have taken at least 16 months between commencement and completion of the qualification(s).

Form what i can gather from this case is that the RPL is not going to affect the study load because my course is registered in Cricos for 104 weeks of study and i need to be in Australia for at least 16 months physically in order to satisfy the requirement.

Please help me with this.


----------



## A&M

*Hi Mark*

Hi Mark

My name is Adrian. I have read through all the replies in this thread > "Cancel Student Visa after Receiving Bridging Visa A".

Thank you very much for all your valuable advice, it is really helpful. 
It would be wonderful if you can provide some insights regarding to the partner visa that I am going to apply on behalf of my fiancé:

My fiancé, from South Korea, and I started our relationship in late 2015 while she was on a working holiday visa, and she went back to Korea in April 2016 as her WH visa expired. She then came back to Australia on a student visa (Subclass 500), which will expire on 28 August 2019. The student visa period covers four separate courses, Cert II (ends Aug 17), Cert III (ends Apr 18), Cert IV (ends Nov 18) and Diploma (Jun 19), and each of them has a separate CoE and we have only got the CoE for the first course.

My fiancé is going to complete her Cert II on 11 Aug 2017, and we are planning to get married in 23 July 2017 and apply for the partner visa 801 / 820 on the next day. Also, she is thinking of not taking the remaining three courses as she is no longer interested in the subject.

After reading your replies in the above-mentioned thread, we understand that if a student visa is cancelled, the bridging visa A that comes with the partner visa application will also be cancelled and she will be required to get on the 'not so nice' bridging visa E.

We are just wondering whether what she is planning to do (to 'withdraw' from the remaining three courses) constitutes a 'cancellation' of her visa or would that just shorten her visa period (instead of ending at the end of the last course, the visa ends at the end her current course) for she has already completed her first course according to her current CoE.

If this is deemed to be a cancellation of visa, she will probably need to pay the tuition fees to keep her student visa active until her last course ends, but we are hoping that the opposite is true, which would mean her bridging visa A will come into effect after her student visa expires 28 days after the end of her first course in Sep 17.

We are looking forward to hearing from you and any advice/insight is appreciated.

Warm regards

Adrian


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daniel91 -

Many people stay with parents upon their return to Australia (including people with spouses), and evidence from living together in a place provided by your folks is perfectly acceptable. Re: financial support, there is no particular minimum income requirement - a history of work as shown by a resume and currently looking for a job in Australia plus any financial support provided by your parents or others is also considered, so things may not be as bleak as you assume!

Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see my website below for more information or to book online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Daniel91 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Iv been living in Austria for the past 6 years and married for over 5 years to my Austrian wife, and we would like to move to Australia, however i dont have work or a place to live in my name as i myself do not currently live in Aus, so..
> how can i sponsor my wife? I am an Australian citizen and we would ofcorse be able to stay at my folks home until we get on our feet, but how can i provide these other requirements like financial coverage.? Enough for 2 years ect?
> 
> We will likely apply for 309/100 subclass partner visa..
> 
> Thank you very much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Summerspring -

Yes (clearly indicate it is an updated version in the filename) or you could complete Form 1023 (correct incorrect info on a visa application) if there are only a few small changes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



summerspring said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've lodged my prospective marriage visa and i noticed on form 80 that i forgot to include my half siblings. Can i simply redo form 80 and attach to my application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Melissakate -

Thanks for the note. If you apply for an onshore partner visa while holding a visitor visa, the bridging visa you get from the partner application will activate only when you overstay the stay period of the visitor visa, or the visitor visa expires (in some cases), so the bridging visa would remain dormant until that happens. Note that any work rights you get from the bridging visa would only come into effect once the bridging visa activates.

Also you may want to look carefully at whether it's practical to get a visitor visa after a WHV visa - onshore application for a visitor visa in these circumstances can be problematic as DIBP may assume you've already had sufficient time on your WHV to do any tourist-y things. Time to put together a careful strategy for how to accomplish what you want, I suggest.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



melissakate said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> if I was to apply for my partner visa (temporary) whilst on a tourist visa, would that affect my ability to work whilst on bridging visa? if so, is it possible to apply to change bridging visa to one where i can work during the processing time?
> 
> I would apply before my WHV ends however we don't quite meet the 1 year requirement.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help you can give me on this matter


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saverio -

For completeness and accuracy, I suggest you answer Yes and indicate in the explanation box that it was refused however the MRT remitted the case and the visa was later granted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Saverio said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm applying for 186 trt, now while I was filling Form 80 I have faced a tricky question, which is "Have you ever been refused a visa to any country?".
> 
> Short long story back in 2013 my application for 457 got refused, so I appealed to MRT and I won. So MRT remitted the decision to immi department and then they gave me the 457.
> 
> When I check my VEVO account it doesn't show anywhere that refusal but only my granted visa details.
> 
> So how should I answer that question? Yes or no?
> 
> Thank you very much Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pbst93 -

Thanks for the note. I'm not able to do this type of assessment via the forum as there are too many details and possible issues that could exist - just too complex for quick back & forth posts or emails. However the RPL case you mentioned is accurate - RPL is no longer deducted from study when determining the Australia Study Requirement. Your assessment of the situation seems accurate from what I can tell from your post.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Pbst93 said:


> Hey Mark,
> this probably gets asked by a number of people a lot of times, but still i haven't found a definitive answer to it.
> 
> So i'm an international student doing my masters in a course registered in CRICOS for 104 weeks of study.
> 
> So then after attending a few of my classes i realised that a few of my units were the same as i had studied in my bachelor's degree. Hence, i got RPL for two of my units. At the time i had applied for the RPL i was told that it could hamper my chances for a post graduation visa. I asked how does that work? And the lady said you gotta find out that yourself. But after we grant you the RPL it can not be rescinded. Still I went ahead and got the RPL. Because i did not know the 92 weeks rule.
> 
> Only a few hours ago i found out how to calculate the number of weeks reduced due to the RPL i was granted.
> 
> The total no. of units to be completed in order to meet the 104 weeks of study is 16.
> That gives us : 16/16*104=104 weeks
> 
> now since i have two of my units reduced that makes it : 14/16*104=91 weeks
> 
> So clearly i do not meet the Australian Study Requirement only by a week.
> 
> So i did some research and was able to find :
> 
> Exemptions and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
> 
> In the situation where a student gets exemptions from previous studies or Recognition of Prior Learning, this would previously have been a major factor in meeting the 2-year study requirement.
> 
> However, after the Federal Court case of Riaz & Anor v Minister for Immigration & Anor [2013] FCCA 2244 (20 December 2013), RPL or previous studies, whether undertaken in Australia or overseas, do not affect the 2-year study requirement.
> 
> Providing the course or courses completed are registered for at least 92 weeks, the student would meet the "2 Academic Years" requirement, even if they did not spend the normal duration completing the course due to exemptions or RPL.
> 
> The main proviso to this is that legislation also requires the student to have taken at least 16 months between commencement and completion of the qualification(s).
> 
> Form what i can gather from this case is that the RPL is not going to affect the study load because my course is registered in Cricos for 104 weeks of study and i need to be in Australia for at least 16 months physically in order to satisfy the requirement.
> 
> Please help me with this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adrian -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately the expiry date of a visa cannot be changed by law once a visa is granted, which means there are only 3 ways a visa can "end" - by it's own natural expiry date being reached, by DIBP cancelling it, or by the holder being granted another visa which replaces the first one. So given this, if she stopped studying, regardless of whether the additional CoE's are cancelled or terminated or not, if she did not continue studying and maintain her enrolment, her student visa would be liable for cancellation. Happy to discuss further at a consultation if you want to discuss strategies for dealing with this - there are a couple that might or might not be viable depending on your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



A&M said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My name is Adrian. I have read through all the replies in this thread > "Cancel Student Visa after Receiving Bridging Visa A".
> 
> Thank you very much for all your valuable advice, it is really helpful.
> It would be wonderful if you can provide some insights regarding to the partner visa that I am going to apply on behalf of my fiancé:
> 
> My fiancé, from South Korea, and I started our relationship in late 2015 while she was on a working holiday visa, and she went back to Korea in April 2016 as her WH visa expired. She then came back to Australia on a student visa (Subclass 500), which will expire on 28 August 2019. The student visa period covers four separate courses, Cert II (ends Aug 17), Cert III (ends Apr 18), Cert IV (ends Nov 18) and Diploma (Jun 19), and each of them has a separate CoE and we have only got the CoE for the first course.
> 
> My fiancé is going to complete her Cert II on 11 Aug 2017, and we are planning to get married in 23 July 2017 and apply for the partner visa 801 / 820 on the next day. Also, she is thinking of not taking the remaining three courses as she is no longer interested in the subject.
> 
> After reading your replies in the above-mentioned thread, we understand that if a student visa is cancelled, the bridging visa A that comes with the partner visa application will also be cancelled and she will be required to get on the 'not so nice' bridging visa E.
> 
> We are just wondering whether what she is planning to do (to 'withdraw' from the remaining three courses) constitutes a 'cancellation' of her visa or would that just shorten her visa period (instead of ending at the end of the last course, the visa ends at the end her current course) for she has already completed her first course according to her current CoE.
> 
> If this is deemed to be a cancellation of visa, she will probably need to pay the tuition fees to keep her student visa active until her last course ends, but we are hoping that the opposite is true, which would mean her bridging visa A will come into effect after her student visa expires 28 days after the end of her first course in Sep 17.
> 
> We are looking forward to hearing from you and any advice/insight is appreciated.
> 
> Warm regards
> 
> Adrian


----------



## Pbst93

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Pbst93 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I'm not able to do this type of assessment via the forum as there are too many details and possible issues that could exist - just too complex for quick back & forth posts or emails. However the RPL case you mentioned is accurate - RPL is no longer deducted from study when determining the Australia Study Requirement. Your assessment of the situation seems accurate from what I can tell from your post.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for the reply Mark.


----------



## FZM

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your time on here answering questions!

I'm currently on a 457 visa, and have been working in Australia since Oct. Before that, I was visiting and staying with family for a few months. During that time, I met my girlfriend.

We've been together for almost a year now; however, most of our time is spent apart (with me being in Australia). We've taken a few vacations together in that time, and spent time with her family and friends as well as mine. She's also lived with me for a short period using her ETA visa.

I'm hoping to add her onto my 457 visa. I've discussed with my employer, and they're ok with that. I have a few questions before going forward with the application:

1. Does the letter from my employer only need to include a simple statement confirming the inclusion of my partner onto the visa?
2. Should we wait for our relationship to be a year before we apply?
3. Since we haven't lived together under one household, what should we include to demonstrate our de facto relationship?
4. Can she be here on her ETA visa while we submit an application, and is there a bridging visa for her to extend her stay while the application is being processed?

Thanks very much for your help.


----------



## bilbo

Please disregard, thank you.


----------



## S&M

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Virginiap -
> 
> There is no specific policy about how long you have to upload documents, unless there are certain documents that must be present at time of application (this applies in cases of section 48 barred applicants who had a refusal previously while onshore, etc). However I would not let it go more than 1-2 weeks (after lodgement date). 28 days too risk in my view. If DIBP decides they are ready to process your application, they will use whatever is uploaded and decide based on that. Often you'll get a letter if they need more documents, but there's no guarantee. DIBP is cracking down on visas that are lodged without the required documents - no point in risking the entire visa. I'd get the important things lodged now, then additional relationship evidence can be added as time goes on in the coming months until a decision is made.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

Me and my wife used two separate IMMI accounts to submit the application and the sponsorship. We have attached all our documents from each others accounts. All documents are received (i.e. has a green tick mark against them). And shows the number of documents attached.

When we log in from the Applicant account we can see the document list attached from the sponsor account and it indicates as received. However, the number of documents attached for sponsor is shown as zero in the Applicant account. 
I am assuming this only shows the documents attached from the Applicant account and since we submitted the sponsor documents from the sponsor account it only shows that documents were received.

Is my understanding correct or do I need to re-attach the documents from the Applicant account as well?

Regards
S&M


----------



## Linh Pham

Hi Mark,

Thank you for spending your time helping us. 

We are on our second stage of partner visa, waiting for our 801 visa at the moment. We got an agent to everything for us. However, we feel like we are not submitting enough evidence, we have so many more evidence such as joint invitation, text messages,... but the agent said those are not necessary.

So far we have submitted our joint bank account, telephone with record of our daily communication and electricity bill in our names, letters that were sent to our home, evidence of we traveling together to Japan and Bali, loads of photo with friends and family, car rego and insurance, our pay slips.

We are worried that the evidence above might not be enough. We heard that application might be refused without inquiry for further evidence. It's just very stressful for us.

Just wondering if we can send more evidence by post or create an Mimi account to upload more evidence. Our agent sent the evidence by post.

Thank you.


----------



## A&M

Hi Mark

Thank you very much for all your valuable advice, it is really helpful. 

It would be wonderful if you can provide some insights regarding to the partner visa that I am going to apply on behalf of my fiancé:

My fiancé, from South Korea, and I started our relationship in late 2015 while she was on a working holiday visa, and she went back to Korea in April 2016 as her WH visa expired. She then came back to Australia on a student visa (Subclass 500), which will expire on 28 August 2019. The student visa period covers four separate courses, Cert II (ends Aug 17), Cert III (ends Apr 18), Cert IV (ends Nov 18) and Diploma (Jun 19), and they have separate CoE. (We have only got the CoE for the first course). 

My fiancé is going to complete her Cert II in 11 Aug 2017, and we are planning to get married in 23 July 2017 and apply for the partner visa 801 / 820 on the next day. Also, she is thinking of not taking the remaining three courses as she is no longer interested in the subject.

After reading your replies in the above-mentioned thread, we understand that if a student visa is cancelled, the bridging visa A that comes the partner visa application will also be cancelled and she will be required to get on the 'not so nice' bridging visa E. 
We are just wondering if what she is going to do (to 'withdraw' from the remaining three courses) constitutes a 'cancellation' of her visa or would that just shorten her visa period (instead of ending at the end of the last course, the visa ends at the end her current course) for she has already completed her first course according to her current CoE.
If this is deemed to be a cancellation of visa, she will probably need to pay to keep her student visa active, but we are hoping that the opposite is true, which would mean her bridging visa A will come into effect after her student visa expires 28 days after the end of her first course in Sep 17.
Any advice/insights are appreciated.

Warm regards
Adrian


----------



## Bulba

*visitor return visa*

Hi Mark,

I've got a 189 visa (my wife and child are included) since November 2015. It was activated last year. I've been trying to find a job in Oz from abroad but so far have been unfortunate. I would like to gain a bit more experience before moving to Oz and there's a good opportunity in Europe for the next several years. 
We can enter and leave Oz without any restrictions until November 2020. What happens if we are still overseas in November 2020? Is it difficult to get a visitor return visa if we decide to move in 2021 or 2022, for instance? What could be considered as a prove of an intention to reside in Oz permanently (I think this is a requirement on the immi.gov for the visitor return visa)?

Thanks.
P.S. guys and ladies, please, refrain from any judgement of our decision not to move immediately. We have our own reasons


----------



## jasim_humaiyun

Dear Mark,

I am trying to initiate process for applying for PR in Australia. I have done some homework on my own and know a few things, but still I have a few queries, so bear with me.

Points breakdown:
Age: 30
Qualification: 15
Language (IELTS=8 overall, Writing 7.5): 10
OVERALL POINTS: 55

As per my background, I have a Bachelors in Electronics Engineering (2013) and Masters in Industrial Engineering(2016). I will be getting married next month (JULY) and my wife is a social scientist. I do not have any strong relevant experience in my field except a few internships. Now I will list down my questions:

1) Skillselect result of 10th May, 2017 showed that 70 points were required for electronics engineer. Does this point requirement stay the same throughout the year or will it reset to 60 points after 1st July, 2017?

2) I am preparing my CDR, so can I portray myself as an Electrical Engineer rather than Electronic, as Electrical Engineering is not in pro rata poll and is set for 60 points fixed requirement. In other words, can EA asses my degree as Electrical Engineer? For my Career Episodes, I am including:
i) My Final year project of Bachelors degree
ii) My Masters Thesis
iii) A project I did during my internship

3) Can I get an additional 5 points for my wife's occupation as a social scientist. She has studied a number of courses and have some experience in social work (which is present in the required skills list). If yes, then does she have to get her degree assessment too? (I would be grateful if details are provided for this question)

4) At the moment, my overall IELTS band is 8, but 7.5 in writing. In order to gain extra 10 points, increasing my overall points to 65, should I give the PTE-A test rather than reappearing for IELTS? I have heard PTE-A test is easier.

5) Can I apply for visa subclass 190 for 5 additional points? If yes, then what is the procedure?

6) What are my chances to get the PR (according to your knowledge and assessment)

I would be grateful for your response. I am unable to gain any information on the posted queries and hoping for a full response here.

BR,

Jasim


----------



## Kiki88

*CPA work assessment*

Hi Mark,

I'm trying to get CPA to assess my work experience. The first outcome was negative based on not giving enough information. I have asked for a review and submitted more info. 
My question is: If I have pay slips and reference from my employer, do I actually need the assessment from CPA to claim 5 points? My current employer is happy to talk to the case officer if I get an invitation and support my application. I'm just worried the case officer will ask for a work assessment.

Thanks for your help.

Kiki88


----------



## LukeABCDE

Hello Mark,

I got my PMV 300 in April and arrived in Australia June 21. I am marrying my fiance next saturday, and then need to submit my 821 application.

I just found out about the changes that were supposed to be made starting July 1, 2017 including a new sponsor approval process.

Have you heard anything about this since then? Is there any way to find out if and when that will come into effect?

Thank you!


----------



## dennisngu

Hi Mark,

My partner and I are planning to move to Australia but I have resided in Malaysia for the past 4 years to gain work experience. I currently still hold my PR but is expiring soon but will return to Australia before then... I plan to sponsor my wife onshore. My problem now is, I know I do not satisfy the "usually resident" definition, but are there any workarounds for that? Can my employer write a letter stating my intention to resign and move overseas? What are the other options available..?

Many thanks...


----------



## enemi

Hi Mark,

I'm applying for the offshore (309/100) visa online.

I was wondering if I will be required to provide certified copies of my birth certificate, deed poll for name change and also passport?

If so, what is considered a certified copy? As the physical copies are currently overseas and I have no access to them, will I be able to get some one to color copy and I can then sign on the copy?

Many thanks for your help.


----------



## Desert1234

Hi Mark!

I have legal guardianship over a young girl living with me. It is a legal guardianship and not a full adoption. She has been living with me for about 5yrs. 

Now I am about applying for my 189 visa, but I don't know if she can be added to the application as I only have legal guardianship/custody and not full adoption. 

Or can I file a child's visa after the 189 is approved? 

Thanks.


----------



## TanvirAussie

*887 requirements*

Hi Mark,
Thank you for the service you are providing to the community.

I have spent 5 weeks at a stretch in 2016 in a holiday to my home country in the last two years as a 489 visa holder. Do i need to make up that 5 weeks to fullfill the living requirements of 887 visa?? I have my tenancy agreement, utility bills for that period of time.
Best Regards 
Tanvir


----------



## Abrasumente

Hi Mark,

Firstly, thank you for helping the people on this forum!

I have a question about my current situation, I am on my 2nd WHV and applying for my 820 partner visa. We are submitting the application this weekend because I am fast approaching my 6 month working limit within my workplace and need to send off the 1445 form.

My issue is that I only have around 1 week left before I have been working for my company for 6 months, employed as a casual. I didn't know that the 1445 application would take a few weeks to process, so I am wondering if submitting late will affect my chances of having it accepted? And what do you advise I do? Should I continue to work whilst they are making a decision or do I have to stop working?

thank you in advance!


----------



## federico75

Hey Mark, 

I am writing to you today looking for assistance with becoming a permanent resident in Australia. 

I currently have a 457 visa, which i have held for 7-8 months and I want to apply for visa 186 permanent residency (I was advised by my lawyer that I was able to apply after 6 months?). 

My Immigration Lawyer has contacted me recently about my application, and informed be that my visa has been affected by changes to the current demands for skills in Australia. I was applying for permanent residency as a Building Associate, but demand for this has recently changed, and application for this job title has ceased through immigration. My lawyer has recommended I change my nomination from Building Associate to Carpenter. Is making this change in job titles possible, to change to a more desirable skill? (I do have the experience in both positions)

Also my lawyer is charging me $3000 for this change, is this excessive?

I have a recommendation letter from an employer but my name is spelt wrong (one letter missing), is this acceptable? I have tried rectifying the problem, but have been unable as yet to have it fixed. 

I have also been considering alternatives for my recommendation, using Australian employers. I have three i have been sub-contracting too over the last 4 years. Would these be able to prove my skill set? 

Regards and thanks, 

Federico


----------



## muthujumps

*Reg Payslip asked by CO*

Hello Mr.Mark,

I have uploaded statuary declaration from my side saying that payslip is not available and employer has not provided and certificate from employer for the same is given. Also I have uploaded Tax documents & Bank statement.

Though I already provided above information, CO asked me to provide payslip for my experience.
What shall I do in this situation. Employer won't give payslip to any employees.

How could I handle this situation and what should I provide.


----------



## Birgit

*Tourist Visa Subclass 600*

Hi Mark

I am intending to apply for a holiday visa subclass 600.
I have all necessary documents ready except for the invitation letter from my friend. Reason being her traveling outside Australia at the moment, and only scheduled to return a week before I'm supposed to arrive. Which is not giving me enough time for the visa to be processed.
Is there any other alternative to the invitation letter? Any other document or proof I could provide?

Hope to hear from you soon
B


----------



## Basaar

Hello Mr. Mark,

Thank you for the enriching contribution to the migrants community. I really appreciate professionals like you seeking the tiny bits of their free times to help others in their field of expertise.

I would like to ask for a clarification on including my partnerto my visa (subclass 476). I am going to apply for this visa soon. However, I am confused whether it makes difference including my wife in my first application lodgement compared to applying for her separately after granting the visa myself.

My story in brief is that I am engaged but facing difficulties delaying my official marriage certificate. I would like to know:
1. Whether the fees for adding my wife after granting the visa would be more than that for including her in my first application.
2. Do I have to select (married) in the marital status section to be able to add my wife later once I get my official marriage registration.
3. Will the duration for adding my wife be long and hectic as it is for partners visa? any experience on the duration part for adding subsequent entrant?

Thank you very much...
Basaar


----------



## Saad.lhr

Hello Mark
Im from Pakistan. I have just completed my MBA here in pakistan but now i want to go for another master in information systems from Australia.
My question is will the VO allow me to go another master or will they doubt my intentions to study.
How can i prove that these two masters will complement each other and would actually prove to be benefical for my future.
Thankyou.


----------



## mahajanakhil

*Medicare for not yet finalised 309 applicants*

HI Mark,

First of all, thanks for the great work you are doing!

My wife has applied for 309 visa and is currently with me on 600 visa.

I am trying to to find out whether anyone who has recently applied for 309 visa (and has not been granted 309 visa yet) was able to enrol successfully in Medicare.

Though I have read cases wherein people who applied for 820 visa were able to enrol successfully in Medicare, I could not find clearly the similar cases for 309 visa.

Do you have any idea about this?

Regards
Akhil


----------



## HazelHsu

*lodge application before my hubby's RRV granted*

Hi Mark,

my hubby is kiwi who came to Australia in 1987 with his parents. We are planning to apply for his RRV first which we haven't done yet, and then lodge the 309 visa from Hong Kong.
However, it doesn't seem to be likely that we could activate his RRV before July, so is it possible to lodge the application even before his RRV granted.

thank you so much for your kindness help.


----------



## arvindrajan92

*Missed Other Education Information on Application*

Hi Mr Mark,

Greetings to you!

I have lodged my application for Visa 189 claiming 65 points, made my payment and now uploading all my supporting documents.

I am currently doing my PhD in Engineering. However, during my EOI application, I only included my Bachelor of Engineering, which is what I am claiming points for (with skills assessment letter from the Engineers Australia). I did not add my PhD as my currently enrolled course because the EOI form automatically kept claiming points for my PhD, which is still in progress. Therefore, to be consistent with my EOI, I did not mention my PhD as currently enrolled tertiary qualification in my application as well. However, I mentioned that I am currently doing my PhD in my submitted Form 80 for completeness and with the intention of giving accurate information to my potential Case Officer.

A Case Officer has not been assigned to my application yet. Since not including my PhD in the application will not affect my claimed points, and also I do not intend to give any false/ambiguous information whatsoever, would it be a good idea to provide an update with the reason (above) through "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" on ImmiAccount? Could the grant of my Visa be denied for this reason on the grounds that my educational information is inconsistent on my actual application and Form 80 even if I provide the update via "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" on ImmiAccount indicating my problem during EOI submission?

Thank you very much for your time and valuable advice.

Cheers,
Arvind


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi FZM -

Thanks for the note - please see responses below:



FZM said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your time on here answering questions!
> 
> I'm currently on a 457 visa, and have been working in Australia since Oct. Before that, I was visiting and staying with family for a few months. During that time, I met my girlfriend.
> 
> We've been together for almost a year now; however, most of our time is spent apart (with me being in Australia). We've taken a few vacations together in that time, and spent time with her family and friends as well as mine. She's also lived with me for a short period using her ETA visa.
> 
> I'm hoping to add her onto my 457 visa. I've discussed with my employer, and they're ok with that. I have a few questions before going forward with the application:
> 
> 1. Does the letter from my employer only need to include a simple statement confirming the inclusion of my partner onto the visa?
> *** Should state clearly that the employer wishes to extend the nomination of you to include your partner as well.
> 
> 2. Should we wait for our relationship to be a year before we apply?
> *** Good idea, but for the 457 visa to evidence a de facto relationship, DIBP policy states that the 6 months prior to application is sufficient. However note that this means that the relationship must be assessed as being at a de facto level (not just boyfriend/girlfriend, etc) for that 6 month period.
> 
> 3. Since we haven't lived together under one household, what should we include to demonstrate our de facto relationship?
> *** This can be very difficult to do, since a de facto relationship is at a substantially more committed/higher level than girlfriend/boyfriend. The evidence depends on the specifics of your relationship. DIBP puts a lot of emphasis on time living together when assessing de facto relationships.
> 
> 4. Can she be here on her ETA visa while we submit an application, and is there a bridging visa for her to extend her stay while the application is being processed?
> *** If she's here on an ETA visa and it does not have condition 8503 (no further stay) attached, and as long as she requirements for a valid application, when she applies for the subsequent entrant 457 visa while on the ETA, she'll be granted a Bridging Visa A to cover her until a decision is made on the subsequent entrant 457.
> 
> Another potential issue: if you did not declare that you were in a de facto relationship on the date you made your 457 application, you may find yourself in trouble if you later try to claim that you were in a de facto relationship at that time.
> 
> Thanks very much for your help.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi S&M -

Normally if the sponsorship online form is submitted from a separate ImmiAccount, there is no provision to upload documents there - that's normal. As long as you've uploaded all your documents to the main application under the sponsor and applicant sections, you should be fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



S&M said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Me and my wife used two separate IMMI accounts to submit the application and the sponsorship. We have attached all our documents from each others accounts. All documents are received (i.e. has a green tick mark against them). And shows the number of documents attached.
> 
> When we log in from the Applicant account we can see the document list attached from the sponsor account and it indicates as received. However, the number of documents attached for sponsor is shown as zero in the Applicant account.
> I am assuming this only shows the documents attached from the Applicant account and since we submitted the sponsor documents from the sponsor account it only shows that documents were received.
> 
> Is my understanding correct or do I need to re-attach the documents from the Applicant account as well?
> 
> Regards
> S&M


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Linh Pham -

Thanks for the note. I must disagree with your agent. Second stage partner visas are in many cases being scrutinized just as thoroughly as first stage partner visas, and the refusal rate for second stage partner visas is way up from what it was 1 to 2 years ago. There is no reason not to lodge all relevant evidence unless it's duplicative or overkill - ie, don't lodge 2000 pages of chat record when you can select 50 pages that cover the period since the grant of the first stage partner visa.

Also a bit surprised your agent didn't lodge the second stage partner visa via ImmiAccount online, as it's faster to lodge and avoids all the hassles of having to prepare certified copies of documents.

You may be able to import the application into an ImmiAccount (you need the File Number and some other identifying info that would be in correspondence received back from DIBP after lodging the application) or may not - DIBP's systems are a bit funny about that. If you aren't able to import the application into an ImmiAccount, you can always send further evidence by post - key is to make sure that you provide the File Number and other identifying information you'll see on the correspondence from DIBP received after you lodged the second stage application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Linh Pham said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for spending your time helping us.
> 
> We are on our second stage of partner visa, waiting for our 801 visa at the moment. We got an agent to everything for us. However, we feel like we are not submitting enough evidence, we have so many more evidence such as joint invitation, text messages,... but the agent said those are not necessary.
> 
> So far we have submitted our joint bank account, telephone with record of our daily communication and electricity bill in our names, letters that were sent to our home, evidence of we traveling together to Japan and Bali, loads of photo with friends and family, car rego and insurance, our pay slips.
> 
> We are worried that the evidence above might not be enough. We heard that application might be refused without inquiry for further evidence. It's just very stressful for us.
> 
> Just wondering if we can send more evidence by post or create an Mimi account to upload more evidence. Our agent sent the evidence by post.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adrian -

I think we may have discussed this off-forum - a visa can only cease if it expires on its own on the expiry date of the visa, if it is cancelled by DIBP, or if you are granted another visa that automatically ceases the first visa. If the student visa is cancelled, it will automatically cancel any other visa you hold, including any bridging visa. Stopping studying is not deemed to be a cancellation, but is an action that the school is required to inform DIBP about, and DIBP will usually at some point after that initiate cancellation proceedings re the student visa unless it's very close to the expiration of the student visa and/or DIBP already sees that the applicant has lodged a PR visa such as a partner or skilled visa - in these cases, it's up to the case officer whether to pursue cancellation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



A&M said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Thank you very much for all your valuable advice, it is really helpful.
> 
> It would be wonderful if you can provide some insights regarding to the partner visa that I am going to apply on behalf of my fiancé:
> 
> My fiancé, from South Korea, and I started our relationship in late 2015 while she was on a working holiday visa, and she went back to Korea in April 2016 as her WH visa expired. She then came back to Australia on a student visa (Subclass 500), which will expire on 28 August 2019. The student visa period covers four separate courses, Cert II (ends Aug 17), Cert III (ends Apr 18), Cert IV (ends Nov 18) and Diploma (Jun 19), and they have separate CoE. (We have only got the CoE for the first course).
> 
> My fiancé is going to complete her Cert II in 11 Aug 2017, and we are planning to get married in 23 July 2017 and apply for the partner visa 801 / 820 on the next day. Also, she is thinking of not taking the remaining three courses as she is no longer interested in the subject.
> 
> After reading your replies in the above-mentioned thread, we understand that if a student visa is cancelled, the bridging visa A that comes the partner visa application will also be cancelled and she will be required to get on the 'not so nice' bridging visa E.
> We are just wondering if what she is going to do (to 'withdraw' from the remaining three courses) constitutes a 'cancellation' of her visa or would that just shorten her visa period (instead of ending at the end of the last course, the visa ends at the end her current course) for she has already completed her first course according to her current CoE.
> If this is deemed to be a cancellation of visa, she will probably need to pay to keep her student visa active, but we are hoping that the opposite is true, which would mean her bridging visa A will come into effect after her student visa expires 28 days after the end of her first course in Sep 17.
> Any advice/insights are appreciated.
> 
> Warm regards
> Adrian


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bulba -

Thanks for the note. After November 2020 you can apply for a subclass 155 Resident Return Visa to renew your right to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident. If you've spent a total of 24 months during the 5-year term of your PR in Australia, then you can get a 5 year RRV. If you have spent less than 24 months in total during the 5 years but can establish substantial personal, business, cultural or employment ties to Australia, you can get a 1-year RRV.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bulba said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've got a 189 visa (my wife and child are included) since November 2015. It was activated last year. I've been trying to find a job in Oz from abroad but so far have been unfortunate. I would like to gain a bit more experience before moving to Oz and there's a good opportunity in Europe for the next several years.
> We can enter and leave Oz without any restrictions until November 2020. What happens if we are still overseas in November 2020? Is it difficult to get a visitor return visa if we decide to move in 2021 or 2022, for instance? What could be considered as a prove of an intention to reside in Oz permanently (I think this is a requirement on the immi.gov for the visitor return visa)?
> 
> Thanks.
> P.S. guys and ladies, please, refrain from any judgement of our decision not to move immediately. We have our own reasons


----------



## MarkNortham

jasim_humaiyun said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am trying to initiate process for applying for PR in Australia. I have done some homework on my own and know a few things, but still I have a few queries, so bear with me.
> 
> Points breakdown:
> Age: 30
> Qualification: 15
> Language (IELTS=8 overall, Writing 7.5): 10
> OVERALL POINTS: 55
> 
> As per my background, I have a Bachelors in Electronics Engineering (2013) and Masters in Industrial Engineering(2016). I will be getting married next month (JULY) and my wife is a social scientist. I do not have any strong relevant experience in my field except a few internships. Now I will list down my questions:
> 
> 1) Skillselect result of 10th May, 2017 showed that 70 points were required for electronics engineer. Does this point requirement stay the same throughout the year or will it reset to 60 points after 1st July, 2017?
> *** For 189 visa depends on how many people are ahead of you in the queue and what their points scores are. Impossible to predict.
> 
> 2) I am preparing my CDR, so can I portray myself as an Electrical Engineer rather than Electronic, as Electrical Engineering is not in pro rata poll and is set for 60 points fixed requirement. In other words, can EA asses my degree as Electrical Engineer? For my Career Episodes, I am including:
> i) My Final year project of Bachelors degree
> ii) My Masters Thesis
> iii) A project I did during my internship
> *** Yes, EA can assess applications for Electrical Engineer - depends if your qualification and career episodes meet the requirements.
> 
> 3) Can I get an additional 5 points for my wife's occupation as a social scientist. She has studied a number of courses and have some experience in social work (which is present in the required skills list). If yes, then does she have to get her degree assessment too? (I would be grateful if details are provided for this question)
> *** Possibly if she has Competent English (IELTS 6 on all 4 bands or higher), is under 50 years old, and has a full skills assessment for an occupation on the same occupation list as yours (MLTSSL).
> 
> 4) At the moment, my overall IELTS band is 8, but 7.5 in writing. In order to gain extra 10 points, increasing my overall points to 65, should I give the PTE-A test rather than reappearing for IELTS? I have heard PTE-A test is easier.
> *** No way for me to judge that. Note that the overall score is not relevant - it's the minimum score in each of the 4 bands.
> 
> 5) Can I apply for visa subclass 190 for 5 additional points? If yes, then what is the procedure?
> *** Yes if you can find a state that is sponsoring your occupation and you meet the state's requirements and they choose to sponsor you - helpful info is at Search | Anzscosearch
> 
> 6) What are my chances to get the PR (according to your knowledge and assessment)
> *** Absolutely impossible to tell - there are dozens of regulations with skills assessors, DIBP, state sponsorship organisations, etc.
> 
> My suggestion: get some professional help if you want detailed advice customised to your circumstances, and spend some more time looking at the skills assessor requirements and DIBP requirements - things may be a bit more complex than you're aware of currently.
> 
> I would be grateful for your response. I am unable to gain any information on the posted queries and hoping for a full response here.
> *** A full response to all of your questions would take hours because of all the complexities of the regulations, plus anyone giving your specific advice would need to know a great deal about your particular circumstances in order to give you correct advice.
> 
> Keep looking into the regulations and don't look for quick answers, as they rarely exist in the migration area - the devil is in the details!
> 
> BR,
> 
> Jasim


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kiki88 -

There is no particular requirement to have your work experience assessed by CPA Australia for skilled visas for the Accounting occupations. However, if DIBP is not satisfied after looking at the documentation you provide that your work experience was at the level of an Accountant (this happens frequently), they will either assess it themselves or will ask you to comment, and at that point you may want to request CPA Australia to assess the work experience for points.

The biggest hazard in work experience I see for accountants is when the work experience is actually at the level of a junior accountant or experienced bookkeeper - typically this involves working with subsidiary journals like payroll, bank reconciliation, accounts payable/receivable, and preparing lower level reports. Suggest you study the ANZSCO tasks for Accountant carefully and make sure your work is at that high standard re: work product and type of work done. If in doubt, you might want to have it assessed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kiki88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm trying to get CPA to assess my work experience. The first outcome was negative based on not giving enough information. I have asked for a review and submitted more info.
> My question is: If I have pay slips and reference from my employer, do I actually need the assessment from CPA to claim 5 points? My current employer is happy to talk to the case officer if I get an invitation and support my application. I'm just worried the case officer will ask for a work assessment.
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Kiki88


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LukeABCDE -

Thanks for the note. There is a lot of misinformation going around about the upcoming partner visa changes - here's what we know:
* The only partner visa change for 1 July that has actually been finalised is a 2% increase for the DIBP application fee from $6,865 to $7,000 for onshore and offshore partner visas and PMV visas.
* DIBP has legislation pending to create a separate partner approval process that must occur prior to an applicant being able to apply, but the legislation for that has not been passed yet. No way to tell when it will be passed and after that when it will be implemented and if there will be transitional arrangements.

My suggestion: assuming you have your relationship evidence ready to go, I'd lodge as soon after you are married as possible to avoid whatever changes are coming. The entire rollout of these changes depends on passage of legislation that is notoriously hard to predict.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LukeABCDE said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I got my PMV 300 in April and arrived in Australia June 21. I am marrying my fiance next saturday, and then need to submit my 821 application.
> 
> I just found out about the changes that were supposed to be made starting July 1, 2017 including a new sponsor approval process.
> 
> Have you heard anything about this since then? Is there any way to find out if and when that will come into effect?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dennisngu -

Thanks for the note. An intention to resign and move is likely not enough even with an employer letter. Depending on your circumstances, I'd consider moving back to Australia, getting living arrangements, accounts, banking, etc in place, then look at lodging an onshore partner visa application. Once you have your presence here in place, it's difficult for DIBP to claim you are not usually resident.

Note that usually resident doesn't specify a particular minimum amount of time, the way being "settled in Australia" does (2 years) so it's more about showing you are living here and not just staying here temporarily.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dennisngu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I are planning to move to Australia but I have resided in Malaysia for the past 4 years to gain work experience. I currently still hold my PR but is expiring soon but will return to Australia before then... I plan to sponsor my wife onshore. My problem now is, I know I do not satisfy the "usually resident" definition, but are there any workarounds for that? Can my employer write a letter stating my intention to resign and move overseas? What are the other options available..?
> 
> Many thanks...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Enemi -

Thanks for the note. Normally for online applications, colour scans of your original documents are fine - no need to make certified copies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



enemi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm applying for the offshore (309/100) visa online.
> 
> I was wondering if I will be required to provide certified copies of my birth certificate, deed poll for name change and also passport?
> 
> If so, what is considered a certified copy? As the physical copies are currently overseas and I have no access to them, will I be able to get some one to color copy and I can then sign on the copy?
> 
> Many thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Desert1234 -

Thanks for the note. Whether you can include the girl in an Australian visa application without the permission of the biological mother and father depend on the exact legal nature of your guardianship. In many cases, guardianship does not include complete control and authority over the child and the biological parent(s) still have a say in where the child lives, etc. You may want to get professional assistance to analyse the details of your legal relationship with the child to determine what additional authorisation(s) may be necessary in order to successfully include her in an Australian visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Desert1234 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I have legal guardianship over a young girl living with me. It is a legal guardianship and not a full adoption. She has been living with me for about 5yrs.
> 
> Now I am about applying for my 189 visa, but I don't know if she can be added to the application as I only have legal guardianship/custody and not full adoption.
> 
> Or can I file a child's visa after the 189 is approved?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tanvir -

DIBP normally allows "customary" time out of the country for holidays and leave time and does not count that against the 2 years time for living in Australia to meet the requirements for the 887 visa. The policy quotes 3 weeks per year as being considered "short holidays". 5 weeks may be OK, but it's a judgment call by the case officer. If you are able to delay your 887 application by a month (which would get your 10 weeks number down to 6 weeks) and it doesn't create other visa problems for you such as an expiring 489 visa, etc then you may want to consider that to be on the safe side. However there's a reasonable chance that you may still get through with 5 weeks/year on holiday - again, depends on the case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TanvirAussie said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for the service you are providing to the community.
> 
> I have spent 5 weeks at a stretch in 2016 in a holiday to my home country in the last two years as a 489 visa holder. Do i need to make up that 5 weeks to fullfill the living requirements of 887 visa?? I have my tenancy agreement, utility bills for that period of time.
> Best Regards
> Tanvir


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abrasumente -

Thanks for the note. Techncially you must stop working once you reach the 6-month mark working for a single employer until they approve the 6mo limit extension. To work beyond the 6mo mark without the extension approval would be a violation of your WHV. Due note that once your WHV expires, assuming you lodged your onshore partner visa prior to the WHV expiring, the 6mo limit does not still apply once the WHV expires and you're on the Bridging Visa A from the partner application. Not sure of your timing or whether this is relevant however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abrasumente said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly, thank you for helping the people on this forum!
> 
> I have a question about my current situation, I am on my 2nd WHV and applying for my 820 partner visa. We are submitting the application this weekend because I am fast approaching my 6 month working limit within my workplace and need to send off the 1445 form.
> 
> My issue is that I only have around 1 week left before I have been working for my company for 6 months, employed as a casual. I didn't know that the 1445 application would take a few weeks to process, so I am wondering if submitting late will affect my chances of having it accepted? And what do you advise I do? Should I continue to work whilst they are making a decision or do I have to stop working?
> 
> thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Federico75 -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you're applying for the 186 using the direct entry pathway (ie, not waiting until you have spent 2 years on a 457 with the sponsoring employer) you'll need a skills assessment and 3 years of documented experience in order to meet the 186 requirements. Not sure where the 6 month limitation comes from - it's not in the migration law, maybe has something to do with your past work experience and getting to the 3 year mark.

I'm not sure what he's charging you for - the 186 application? getting you a new 457 visa under the new occupation? Please advise and I'm happy to give you my thoughts.

Re: other employers, would need to know much more about those circumstances to give you any specific advice for your case - happy to do so at a consultation - see my website below for more info.

Re: occupations, carpenter is a better occupation overall as it's eligible for an independent skilled visa (currently) as well as the 186/187 employer sponsored visas. However be careful of how you plan this, as if you lodge for a 186 visa as carpenter, you may not be able to claim time on your 457 as Building Associate towards the 3 years unless you were doing carpentry work primarily - but claiming this could put your 457 in jeopardy if you were primarily doing work in an occupation other than the occupation you were nominated for under your 457. Be careful!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



federico75 said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I am writing to you today looking for assistance with becoming a permanent resident in Australia.
> 
> I currently have a 457 visa, which i have held for 7-8 months and I want to apply for visa 186 permanent residency (I was advised by my lawyer that I was able to apply after 6 months?).
> 
> My Immigration Lawyer has contacted me recently about my application, and informed be that my visa has been affected by changes to the current demands for skills in Australia. I was applying for permanent residency as a Building Associate, but demand for this has recently changed, and application for this job title has ceased through immigration. My lawyer has recommended I change my nomination from Building Associate to Carpenter. Is making this change in job titles possible, to change to a more desirable skill? (I do have the experience in both positions)
> 
> Also my lawyer is charging me $3000 for this change, is this excessive?
> 
> I have a recommendation letter from an employer but my name is spelt wrong (one letter missing), is this acceptable? I have tried rectifying the problem, but have been unable as yet to have it fixed.
> 
> I have also been considering alternatives for my recommendation, using Australian employers. I have three i have been sub-contracting too over the last 4 years. Would these be able to prove my skill set?
> 
> Regards and thanks,
> 
> Federico


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Muthujumps -

Thanks for the note. Not sure what more can be added to this - the key is to show that the employer paid you what he claims to have paid you. Bank statements are often very good if they list the source of the deposit and the amounts match your employment contract or tax document. I'd make sure to highlight each payroll payment on your bank statements.

You might also consider asking DIBP to phone your employer to discuss the matter and get first hand from the employer his claim that he won't provide any payslips.

Bottom line: there is a very high level of fraudulent employment claims coming from applicants in some countries including India. DIBP checks these out very thoroughly, including site vists to the employer in many cases. The best thing you can do is to somehow get DIBP and your employer in direct communication to confirm your employment details. This has the best chance of avoiding any DIBP allegations of false or inaccurate employment claims. However make sure your employer is familiar with what you've claimed on your visa application and doesn't provide conflicting information!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



muthujumps said:


> Hello Mr.Mark,
> 
> I have uploaded statuary declaration from my side saying that payslip is not available and employer has not provided and certificate from employer for the same is given. Also I have uploaded Tax documents & Bank statement.
> 
> Though I already provided above information, CO asked me to provide payslip for my experience.
> What shall I do in this situation. Employer won't give payslip to any employees.
> 
> How could I handle this situation and what should I provide.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Birgit -

The letter isn't required, but can be very helpful. All depends on the risk level of your application as to whether the letter will play an important part or not. If you're paying all costs, then one thing you can do is to put together a complete itinerary for the trip including dates and events - this can often make a substantial difference with a higher risk sc600 application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Birgit said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am intending to apply for a holiday visa subclass 600.
> I have all necessary documents ready except for the invitation letter from my friend. Reason being her traveling outside Australia at the moment, and only scheduled to return a week before I'm supposed to arrive. Which is not giving me enough time for the visa to be processed.
> Is there any other alternative to the invitation letter? Any other document or proof I could provide?
> 
> Hope to hear from you soon
> B


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Basaar -

Thanks for the note. If you are legally married at the time you apply, you must specify that in the application - to do otherwise would invite trouble.

Re: fee, this can vary per visa, however if done as a separate application, the applicant may have to pay the base fee rather than the additional application fee. Fortunately for the 476 there's only a small difference.

Normally for subsequent entrant applications, the end date of the visa will be set to be the same as the primary applicant whose visa was used.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Basaar said:


> Hello Mr. Mark,
> 
> Thank you for the enriching contribution to the migrants community. I really appreciate professionals like you seeking the tiny bits of their free times to help others in their field of expertise.
> 
> I would like to ask for a clarification on including my partnerto my visa (subclass 476). I am going to apply for this visa soon. However, I am confused whether it makes difference including my wife in my first application lodgement compared to applying for her separately after granting the visa myself.
> 
> My story in brief is that I am engaged but facing difficulties delaying my official marriage certificate. I would like to know:
> 1. Whether the fees for adding my wife after granting the visa would be more than that for including her in my first application.
> 2. Do I have to select (married) in the marital status section to be able to add my wife later once I get my official marriage registration.
> 3. Will the duration for adding my wife be long and hectic as it is for partners visa? any experience on the duration part for adding subsequent entrant?
> 
> Thank you very much...
> Basaar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saad.lhr -

Thanks for the note. See here:
https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Stud/More/Genuine-Temporary-Entrant

and download Ministerial Direction 69 from the above linked page - that will give you the criteria they assess whether an intention to study is genuine or not by. Suggest you put in a submission with your application addressing each of the GTE criteria that is applicable to your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Saad.lhr said:


> Hello Mark
> Im from Pakistan. I have just completed my MBA here in pakistan but now i want to go for another master in information systems from Australia.
> My question is will the VO allow me to go another master or will they doubt my intentions to study.
> How can i prove that these two masters will complement each other and would actually prove to be benefical for my future.
> Thankyou.


----------



## MarkNortham

Yes, as long as they are in Australia and claim to be "resident in Australia", 309/100 applicants are often able to get Medicare while in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mahajanakhil said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> First of all, thanks for the great work you are doing!
> 
> My wife has applied for 309 visa and is currently with me on 600 visa.
> 
> I am trying to to find out whether anyone who has recently applied for 309 visa (and has not been granted 309 visa yet) was able to enrol successfully in Medicare.
> 
> Though I have read cases wherein people who applied for 820 visa were able to enrol successfully in Medicare, I could not find clearly the similar cases for 309 visa.
> 
> Do you have any idea about this?
> 
> Regards
> Akhil


----------



## FZM

Hi Mark,

Thanks for answering questions on here.

I'm currently working in Australia via 457 visa, and am looking to have her sponsored through my visa as well. I've talked to my employer, and they have given the ok for that. However, we've only been together for less than a year, and most of that time have been spent living apart. One of the key things is to provide evidence of the de factor relationship. What do you recommend to use to demonstrate this?

Thanks in advance,
FZM


----------



## ace.sunny

Hi Mark, I'm from Bangladesh, currently in Australia with Sponsored Visitor Visa. Recently I applied for TAFE NSW and they gave me a COE for Certificate IV and Diploma courses. So to apply for student visa I need to go outside of Australia since in my visa there's "No further stay". I don't have any problem going back to Bangladesh and then apply for my visa, but the main issue here is my course commences at 17th of July and all the agents are saying it takes more than 2 months for an offshore Bangladesh's student to obtain student visa and if I don't get the visa by time then I'll automatically be enrolled in next session. Although in IMMI website it's written, 75% of VET subclass 500 visas are processed by 36 days and 90% by 56 days.

Now my question is, can I obtain a student visa any quicker?

I heard that you can go to any neighboring country for example New Zealand / Indonesia and apply for the visa. Can this reduce the processing time by any way? Or is there any alternative?


----------



## entire_world

*maintaining a close and continuing relationship to Australia*

Hi Mark

I applied for my Australia citizenship a while ago and have recently done my citizenship test.

However, the officer think there is little evidence that suggest my motivation in mataining a close and continuing association to Australia. She asked me to write a letter to include supporting evidence in regards to that. The following will be what happened that makes her think so.

I left Australia one week after submitting the application in Janurary. The reason of leaving so early is because I needed to attend an interview for an internship not long after i made the application. I passed the interview and I stayed overseas for about 4 month for my internship until recently when I travelled back to Australia to sit on my test. When being asked about the date of going back to Australia permanently, I didn't provide a clear date as to when I think I will go back. The official internship has already been finished since it only lasted for three month, however I still worked in that company as an intern on a month by month basis. My job status now is more flexible than it was before, I can leave as long as I tell them two weeks beforehand.

I am wondering what I should do in this situation other than terminating my internship and going back now?

Thank you


----------



## Gary007

*Visa 600 medical outside AU*

Hi Mark,

We have just submitted a Partner Visa 309 application for my wife. Right after that we have submitted a Visitor Visa 600 for up to 12 months. Both applications were done through immi account. The question is for Visitor Visa should we go ahead and organise her Medical check (we already have a HAPID from eMedical portal) or should we wait for a CO to contact us? There is an extra expense involved with her medical since she has to fly to a different country for a medical check. That's why I'm thinking whether we should wait for them to ask for it.

Your advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Gaz


----------



## Coreylahey

Hi Mark,

Just a couple of questions I hope you can help me with.

A friend of mine is on an 820 awaiting her 801. Her relationship has broken down since finding out she is pregnant but they have decided to stay together for the sake of their child, being she isn't sent home and he can know his child. Once the child is born, is there any chance of the 801 being granted sooner or is she able to officially end it and still have her 801 granted?

The second question is in relation to the last name of the child. She seems to think she has to legally give her child his last name. Is this true?

Cheers


----------



## mustea1992

Hi Mark!
I am an English Teacher at a public school in Turkey. I can speak just like an American. I am eligible to teach in Australia. Most probably I will get the 189 visa. Do you think there will be any problems (such as my nationality) while obtaining it?


----------



## Linh Pham

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Linh Pham -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I must disagree with your agent. Second stage partner visas are in many cases being scrutinized just as thoroughly as first stage partner visas, and the refusal rate for second stage partner visas is way up from what it was 1 to 2 years ago. There is no reason not to lodge all relevant evidence unless it's duplicative or overkill - ie, don't lodge 2000 pages of chat record when you can select 50 pages that cover the period since the grant of the first stage partner visa.
> 
> Also a bit surprised your agent didn't lodge the second stage partner visa via ImmiAccount online, as it's faster to lodge and avoids all the hassles of having to prepare certified copies of documents.
> 
> You may be able to import the application into an ImmiAccount (you need the File Number and some other identifying info that would be in correspondence received back from DIBP after lodging the application) or may not - DIBP's systems are a bit funny about that. If you aren't able to import the application into an ImmiAccount, you can always send further evidence by post - key is to make sure that you provide the File Number and other identifying information you'll see on the correspondence from DIBP received after you lodged the second stage application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark.

Now we are relieved that we can summit more evidence. Just one more question. Would it be a good idea to summit photos of our Facebook post and photos? We are not on Facebook often and we tend to keep everything in private mode but we do post a few photos of ourselves back in 2013, 2015, and some recently.

Best regards,
Linh Pham.


----------



## Bulba

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bulba -
> 
> Thanks for the note. After November 2020 you can apply for a subclass 155 Resident Return Visa to renew your right to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident. If you've spent a total of 24 months during the 5-year term of your PR in Australia, then you can get a 5 year RRV. If you have spent less than 24 months in total during the 5 years but can establish substantial personal, business, cultural or employment ties to Australia, you can get a 1-year RRV.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for the reply, Mark.
I was just wondering about examples of the ties you've indicated. 
personal - can it be an active account in Australian bank? Or property bought in Oz? membership in a professional society (Engineers Australia, etc.)?
business - have an active buisness in Oz
cultural - ?
employment ties - job offer in Australia.
Thank you.


----------



## RFV88

Hi Mark,

I'm currently on a 457 as a Management Consultant - this was granted in April 2016. I want to start an ENS application through the transitional stream in April 2018. Do you think this is going to be a problem with the changes that are coming into effect?

My employer is tentative about supporting an ENS application through direct entry due to the "administrative burden" it places on them so launching an application this way looks unlikely.

I'm struggling to find any information on this so any guidance would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Ryan


----------



## JoHam

Thanks Mark!

Looks like we need to stay in Ireland for some time now so I have a few more Q's when you have a sec...

If I do get a BVB for 12 months and I get an email saying my visa will be approved am I able to request they hold off that visa grant for a couple of months?

If I cancel my 461 visa (applied within Aus) and then leave the country and apply again (outside of Aus). Is this allowed or is there usually a stand down period? Or is there such thing as freezing/holding off my application for an amount of time?

Also does the 461 visa time spent in Australia count as time to citizenship?

Thanks so much for helping out 



MarkNortham said:


> Hi JoHam -
> 
> Thanks for the note. DIBP policy is that the travel reasons for a BVB must be "substantial" and "genuine", and policy indicates that BVB's for a period longer than 12 months must be justified by specific circumstances. You'd need to put together specific documentation for each of the segments of time you would be spending outside Australia. My thought would be rather than to risk refusal, break it up into 2 trips and apply for the first trip about 4 weeks in advance. A general "trip to go snowboarding" may not be seen as a substantial reason, however if you have an organised snowboarding event or specific vacation plans with a beginning/end date, etc that will have a better chance. Then after you come back, maybe do another BVB for the other 2 events you mentioned.
> 
> If you applied for your 461 while in Australia (on the date of application), you must be in Australia when it is granted. If you are outside Australia when they are ready to grant, they will notify you by whatever means you have authorised them to do so (email is best generally especially if you are traveling) and you'll generally be given 28 days to re-enter Australia to enable the visa grant.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## garywang

Hi Mark

I need some suggestion from you on the applying for their partner on 485 visa. 

Currently I hold the Post Study work 485 visa and its valid till Apr 2018, and boyfriend also holds the same visa, but his will expires in Aug 2017 this year. Therefore, I need to put his name on my visa so that he can stay in Australia as long as I can.

Can you give me a checklist for all the document required for the application:
- What does my BF need to provide to the immigration? 
- What kind of document do I have to provide? 
- How many forms do we need to fill and what are these forms (Is that form 1022 and 1409? Is there any other form?).
- Who is main applicant?


I am really looking forward to your answers. It would be great help for us.

Thanks


----------



## bilbo

Hi Mark,
When organising the health assessment for a prospective marriage visa, there's a list of questions and one of them asks 'Have you ever been admitted to hospital and/or received medical treatment for an extended period for any reason (including for a major
operation or treatment of a psychiatric illness)?'. When I click on the question mark next to it, a box comes up saying something about prolonged hospital stay. Recently, I was in hospital for 3 days for a stomach ulcer. Does 3 days qualify as extended/prolonged stay or is extended meant more for stays over a week or two or even months? Do I have to tick yes to that question and if I do, will they request my health records from NHS for my hospital stay? 
Any information would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Saverio

Hi Mark,
Thank you in advance for your reply.
My employer sponsorship expired in June 2016. Now I would like to apply for a 186 visa TRT.
Can I still apply for it despite sponsorship expiration?
Secondly about training benchmarks do I have to provide evidences since June 2013 (sponsorship started back then) or only for the years I have been on 457 (from June 2015 till now)??
Thank you so much


----------



## kurukshetri

*Help Needed*

Hi Mark,
Hope you are doing well. Need your help on a typical scenario. My spouse is working on a 457 visa (ICT Project Manager role) but due to the change in the assignment role, my employer wants to file a new nomination with a different role (Test Analyst). I have below queries wrt this situation.

1. Filing a new nomination, will it impact the current 457 visa and its validity ? The current 457 visa is valid until 2020. 
2. Will the new 457 visa rules apply to this new nomination? What could be the other implications of filing a new nomination?
3. Is it just a corrective paper work that my employer needs to do or does my spouse need to go through the entire process including medical exams, immigration portal updation etc?
4. How much time does it take under given circumstances for the new nomination filing and approval from authorities?

Have a great day.

Cheers
Shyam

*********************************************************************************


MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Inesmm

*best step to follow*

Hi Mark,
I found different answers for this question and i just want to make sure i get everything right before i do anything.
My partner applied for the 457 in Feb and i'm attcahed as de facto with all relevant paperwork submited, we been togeather for 3 years now.
Our application got delayed (we applied in Feb) cause our lawyer didn't realized the restaurant had the licence to sponsor, they immediatley fixed that but everything got very slow.
i'm currently on my student visa valid for another semester. I finished my cert IV and diploma, and i really don't wish to keep studying cause i'm not happy with the quality of the institution (I'm attending William anlgiss and it's supossed to be the best).
I understand if I wish not to continue i will have to cancell my student visa and apply for my BVE, loosing work rights and the 3 years and a half i lived here.
My question is should I cancel voluntay or should i let my school know and wait for immigration?
Can i present my cancellation and BVE on the same day?
I don't want to stay unlawfull and get my other application in jeopardy.

I know is not the best option but i rather wait for the other visa than waste money and time in a course that is not worth it.
I would like to do this the tidest way possible,

Thanks in advance,
Kind regards,
Ines


----------



## subhashjoshi7

*457 via*

Hi Mark,

I have applied for 457 visa under skill restaurant manager through an australian agent.I have cleared the medical on 20/04/17 and my application was submitted on 18/04/17.My shill is under caveats.Pls use your expertise and advice if i will get the visa or not and it visa given, it will be for how many years.

Thanks
Subhash


----------



## zeropoint61

Hi Mark,
I have a question, and I will be grateful for an answer from you. I lodged my 189 application offshore on September 2016. Before being granted the 189 visa, I arrived in Australia on March 2017 on 457 visa. Should I leave the country before the 189 visa is granted? Should I cycle the country to commence my 189 visa?
Thank you very much


----------



## 282282

Hi Mark!

First, thanks for starting this thread years back. I'm quite sure this eased a lot of peoples worries. Anyhow, I do have a quick question and probably doesn't need much explanation as well. 

I'm currently waiting for a 457 visa grant applied last May 31,2017. While it says in the DIBP page that waiting time is 4 months for 75% of the applicants, will it be ok for me and my wife to apply for a SC 600 Tourist and wait for it over there in Australia? If yes, what would happen with that tourist visa once the 457 is granted?

Thanks a bunch.


----------



## Ozfan

Hi Mark, 
I am a US citizen, planning to visit Australia for the 4th time this November. I have loved ones there (though not related by blood). Unfortunately I had a DUI (here in the US), and will still be probation at that time. I have an otherwise completely clean record, am a professional, etc. I am complying completely with the court ordered punishment and will be all done with that by the time I travel. It is my understanding that I will not be able to enter on an ETA, which I have done in the past. Could you please let me know what visa type I should apply for? I believe it is "subclass 671?" Though I am unsure. Thank you kindly for your advice.


----------



## Mal2017

Hi mark,

You seem to be a god send with the info you are providing. I have exhausted all of my financial resources getting through the skills assessment as an ict business analyst and I am in the process of submitting my eoi by myself with which I have a couple of queries. It would be much appreciated if you could give me some direction on this. 

1. I started my employment with the same comepany in April 2009 and is current as of today. My ACS skills assessment has deemed relevant my employment from April 2011. Am I write in assuming my start date on my eoi should be from April 2011? 

2. On my current eoi I have applied for nsw only with the visa types 189,190,489,186,187 and 457. My preferences are firstly 189 and secondly 190 but I am open to the others depending on how the invitations fall. Am I correct in doing this or am I selecting too many visa types for my eoi to be deemed viable? 

3. I understand that each state has there own rules and regulations regarding eoi, invitations and the selection process. I would however be interested in receiving invitations from other states such as Victoria (however I know that the have closed invites for ict Business Analysts until at least July 2017). My question is do I fill out separate eoi's for each state I am interested in? Also how will that look in terms of getting an invite if I have multiple eoi's for various states? 

4. Ideally my preferred option is skilled 189 visa. Is that again a separate eoi or can I keep it in my current eoi coupling the other visas i mentioned above for nsw only? If that is the case, and presuming I have to make separate eoi's for each state I am interested in, do I select all the visas listed above apart from the 189 for each individual state apart from nsw? 

I'm a 31 year old male from Ireland. As per eoi and passing skills assessment as an ict business analyst aswell as gaining 90 on each Pte test section I have the following points: 

189. 75 
190. 80
489. 85

Please any help or guidance you could give on this would be much appreciated. I understand that I will need an immigration professional with help with invitations and visa applications but by the time that happeneds I will be in a better financial position to do that. I just need to ensure my eoi/s are correct. 

Thank you and Kind Regards, 
Mal 

Regards,
Mal


----------



## shaik malik amer

*Hi Mark
All I Need is Some Help I am Lodging My Application for 489 Visa for Regional Areas of Australia & My Profession is Software Engineer with the code as 261313. So I want to know what are the Regional Areas I Can Apply in Australia & which Areas Have The Demand List for Software Engineers on 489 Visa & I have 5yrs work Experience, My PTE Score is R:60, S: 62, W: 53, L: 50 in Each Module 6.0 Bands & All Over Score is 55 equivalent to 6.0 bands. So I want to know Area Names & Processing time it takes for the Year 2017 Waiting to Hear Back from you Soon.

Thanks & Regards
(Shaik Malik Amer)*


----------



## Ev25

*Time frame for lodging 801*

Hi Mark! Hope you are well and have some spare time to answer my question/s? 

I am currently on 820 Temporary partner visa, I have just found out (silly me!) that I am eligible to lodge 801 from 17th april this year, which was 2 months ago! But I havent lodged anything yet!! Will this get me into trouble with the DIAC? I did not received any specific time/deadline for lodging 801, I was only told via email that I can start my application for 801 from 17th April 2017, it didnt say when they needed it by! Am I too late??? I had been trying to call DIAC but never got to them!

Thank you in advance!


----------



## shaik malik amer

*Ev25*

Hey Ev25 you Can Lodge Anytime As your staying already on Partner Visa So its not an issue its not been too late to Lodge it.


----------



## Ev25

shaik malik amer said:


> Hey Ev25 you Can Lodge Anytime As your staying already on Partner Visa So its not an issue its not been too late to Lodge it.


Hi Shaik Malik Amer! Thank you for your quick reply! That's really good to know!


----------



## shaik malik amer

*Ev25*



Ev25 said:


> Hi Shaik Malik Amer! Thank you for your quick reply! That's really good to know!


It's My Pleasure to answer your Query Dear.


----------



## melissakate

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your reply. I would be applying for a tourist visa from offshore as I am going overseas first. Do you think this would still be a problem arriving back in at immigration?

The fact that the bridging visa would not come into affect until the end of the 3 months isn't much of a problem as I will be travelling around Aus with my partner during this time and don't plan on working.

Thanks!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Melissakate -
> 
> Thanks for the note. If you apply for an onshore partner visa while holding a visitor visa, the bridging visa you get from the partner application will activate only when you overstay the stay period of the visitor visa, or the visitor visa expires (in some cases), so the bridging visa would remain dormant until that happens. Note that any work rights you get from the bridging visa would only come into effect once the bridging visa activates.
> 
> Also you may want to look carefully at whether it's practical to get a visitor visa after a WHV visa - onshore application for a visitor visa in these circumstances can be problematic as DIBP may assume you've already had sufficient time on your WHV to do any tourist-y things. Time to put together a careful strategy for how to accomplish what you want, I suggest.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi FZM -

Thanks for the note. The good news is that unlike partner visas, you only need to show evidence that your de facto relationship has been in existence at a de facto level (ie, not boyfriend/girlfriend, dating, roommates, etc) for 6 months prior to applying for the visa. As for relationship evidence, it's the same 4 categories that are required for partner visas - social aspects, financial aspects, nature of the commitment, and nature of the household - see other threads here on the forum for lots of details and examples of what has worked for other forum members.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



FZM said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for answering questions on here.
> 
> I'm currently working in Australia via 457 visa, and am looking to have her sponsored through my visa as well. I've talked to my employer, and they have given the ok for that. However, we've only been together for less than a year, and most of that time have been spent living apart. One of the key things is to provide evidence of the de factor relationship. What do you recommend to use to demonstrate this?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> FZM


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ace.sunny -

Thanks for the note. No way I know of to speed things up, but we're seeing processing times all over the map for visas currently so I'm not sure which estimate to trust -

Best,

Mark Northam



ace.sunny said:


> Hi Mark, I'm from Bangladesh, currently in Australia with Sponsored Visitor Visa. Recently I applied for TAFE NSW and they gave me a COE for Certificate IV and Diploma courses. So to apply for student visa I need to go outside of Australia since in my visa there's "No further stay". I don't have any problem going back to Bangladesh and then apply for my visa, but the main issue here is my course commences at 17th of July and all the agents are saying it takes more than 2 months for an offshore Bangladesh's student to obtain student visa and if I don't get the visa by time then I'll automatically be enrolled in next session. Although in IMMI website it's written, 75% of VET subclass 500 visas are processed by 36 days and 90% by 56 days.
> 
> Now my question is, can I obtain a student visa any quicker?
> 
> I heard that you can go to any neighboring country for example New Zealand / Indonesia and apply for the visa. Can this reduce the processing time by any way? Or is there any alternative?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Entire_world -

DIBP takes a very strict view of this requirement typically. Given the new 4-year PR requirement would apply if you applied again, it may be worth it to relocate back to Australia to increase your chances of success. There is specific DIBP policy on this area - you can read about it in the Australian Citizenship Instructions - it includes specific items they will consider when assessing a close and continuing connection.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



entire_world said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I applied for my Australia citizenship a while ago and have recently done my citizenship test.
> 
> However, the officer think there is little evidence that suggest my motivation in mataining a close and continuing association to Australia. She asked me to write a letter to include supporting evidence in regards to that. The following will be what happened that makes her think so.
> 
> I left Australia one week after submitting the application in Janurary. The reason of leaving so early is because I needed to attend an interview for an internship not long after i made the application. I passed the interview and I stayed overseas for about 4 month for my internship until recently when I travelled back to Australia to sit on my test. When being asked about the date of going back to Australia permanently, I didn't provide a clear date as to when I think I will go back. The official internship has already been finished since it only lasted for three month, however I still worked in that company as an intern on a month by month basis. My job status now is more flexible than it was before, I can leave as long as I tell them two weeks beforehand.
> 
> I am wondering what I should do in this situation other than terminating my internship and going back now?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gaz -

I'd wait. Also, the medical check for a visitor visa is not as detailed as that for the partner visa - if you did the partner visa health check early it's very likely DIBP could use that for the visitor visa, however if the partner visa takes more than 12 months to process from when you did the health check for that visa, you might end up having to do another medical check for the partner visa as they expire in 12 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gary007 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We have just submitted a Partner Visa 309 application for my wife. Right after that we have submitted a Visitor Visa 600 for up to 12 months. Both applications were done through immi account. The question is for Visitor Visa should we go ahead and organise her Medical check (we already have a HAPID from eMedical portal) or should we wait for a CO to contact us? There is an extra expense involved with her medical since she has to fly to a different country for a medical check. That's why I'm thinking whether we should wait for them to ask for it.
> 
> Your advice will be greatly appreciated.
> Thanks
> Gaz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Coreylahey -

Thanks for the note. No particular way to speed things up, but if the relationship breaks down (officially and finally) after the child is born, the applicant can apply to continue the 801 application and be granted the 801 even though the relationship has broken down, based on the couple having a child together. This ability to get the 801 even after the relationship breaks down does not exist until the child is born however.

I'm not a family lawyer however I believe that the surname of the baby must be registered as the surname of one of the parents. Best to check that with a family lawyer however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Coreylahey said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just a couple of questions I hope you can help me with.
> 
> A friend of mine is on an 820 awaiting her 801. Her relationship has broken down since finding out she is pregnant but they have decided to stay together for the sake of their child, being she isn't sent home and he can know his child. Once the child is born, is there any chance of the 801 being granted sooner or is she able to officially end it and still have her 801 granted?
> 
> The second question is in relation to the last name of the child. She seems to think she has to legally give her child his last name. Is this true?
> 
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mustea1992 -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you meet all the requirements for the visa, it would not be proper for DIBP to discriminate against you just because you are from a particular country and I don't think DIBP would do this - they are in the business of accepting applicants from all over the world. Best thing to do is to make sure you understand all the requirements for the visa from DIBP, for the skills assessment that is required for skilled visas, and if you're going for the 190 state sponsored skilled visa, what requirements the state may have for your occupation - these are potentially 3 different sets of regulations, and they do not all agree.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mustea1992 said:


> Hi Mark!
> I am an English Teacher at a public school in Turkey. I can speak just like an American. I am eligible to teach in Australia. Most probably I will get the 189 visa. Do you think there will be any problems (such as my nationality) while obtaining it?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Linh -

Thanks for the note. Many applicants are lodging screenshots of Facebook photos and posts - a good idea. Just make sure there's nothing in there that is too private, etc. Also, the word is "submit" (to lodge or give) vs "summit" (the top of a mountain) 

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Linh Pham said:


> Thank you so much Mark.
> 
> Now we are relieved that we can summit more evidence. Just one more question. Would it be a good idea to summit photos of our Facebook post and photos? We are not on Facebook often and we tend to keep everything in private mode but we do post a few photos of ourselves back in 2013, 2015, and some recently.
> 
> Best regards,
> Linh Pham.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bulba -

Thanks for the note. A bank account or owning real estate by itself is not generally sufficient for establishing substantial ties. Having an active business can be, as can having a genuine verifiable employment offer - all depends on the circumstances.

If you'd like to email me directly (see below in my signature) I'd be happy to send you and anyone else interested in this area a copy of DIBP's policy for assessing substantial ties for the subclass 155 Resident Return visa - it's very helpful in understanding what they are and aren't looking for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bulba said:


> Thank you for the reply, Mark.
> I was just wondering about examples of the ties you've indicated.
> personal - can it be an active account in Australian bank? Or property bought in Oz? membership in a professional society (Engineers Australia, etc.)?
> business - have an active buisness in Oz
> cultural - ?
> employment ties - job offer in Australia.
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ryan -

Thanks for the note. No way to tell for sure re: April 2018 as we expect more changes to be announced between now and then that could potentially prevent you from lodging a 186 TRT application in April 2018.

Re administrative burden, not sure how I see that as much more for the direct entry stream, other than you having to show 3 years experience overall as a management consultant, and you having to do a skills assessment (which can be tough for that occupation) -seems to me that the burden for the direct entry stream is far more on you than them!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RFV88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm currently on a 457 as a Management Consultant - this was granted in April 2016. I want to start an ENS application through the transitional stream in April 2018. Do you think this is going to be a problem with the changes that are coming into effect?
> 
> My employer is tentative about supporting an ENS application through direct entry due to the "administrative burden" it places on them so launching an application this way looks unlikely.
> 
> I'm struggling to find any information on this so any guidance would be appreciated.
> 
> Cheers,
> Ryan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JoHam -

Thanks for the note. Generally once DIBP is ready to grant a visa, if they need you to be in a particular place (ie inside or outside Australia) you have 1-2 months total to get that all in place, but it's up to the case officer's discretion so no way to predict for sure. I'd assume a minimum of 28 days however.

Re 461 cancellation, would need to discuss that with you in a consultation in order to advise, as the regulations are complex - I would exercise caution however if you are considering this route as cancellations can end up with you departing Australia on a Bridging Visa E which can introduce an entire host of additional problems.

Re time on 461 counting towards citizenship, would have under the old rules, but under the new proposed rules, will not as the 461 is not a permanent visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JoHam said:


> Thanks Mark!
> 
> Looks like we need to stay in Ireland for some time now so I have a few more Q's when you have a sec...
> 
> If I do get a BVB for 12 months and I get an email saying my visa will be approved am I able to request they hold off that visa grant for a couple of months?
> 
> If I cancel my 461 visa (applied within Aus) and then leave the country and apply again (outside of Aus). Is this allowed or is there usually a stand down period? Or is there such thing as freezing/holding off my application for an amount of time?
> 
> Also does the 461 visa time spent in Australia count as time to citizenship?
> 
> Thanks so much for helping out


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Garywang -

Thanks for the note. Would have to check the regulations to see if that is possible - there is generally a limit of one 485 visa that a person can get, and it can't be renewed - not sure if a second subsequent entrant 485 application would be possible if the applicant already holds a 485 visa - please contact me directly by email (see below in my signature) and we can discuss further and I can check.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



garywang said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I need some suggestion from you on the applying for their partner on 485 visa.
> 
> Currently I hold the Post Study work 485 visa and its valid till Apr 2018, and boyfriend also holds the same visa, but his will expires in Aug 2017 this year. Therefore, I need to put his name on my visa so that he can stay in Australia as long as I can.
> 
> Can you give me a checklist for all the document required for the application:
> - What does my BF need to provide to the immigration?
> - What kind of document do I have to provide?
> - How many forms do we need to fill and what are these forms (Is that form 1022 and 1409? Is there any other form?).
> - Who is main applicant?
> 
> I am really looking forward to your answers. It would be great help for us.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## Bulba

Hi Mark,

That would be wonderful! I will send you an email.

Thank you!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Bulba -
> 
> Thanks for the note. A bank account or owning real estate by itself is not generally sufficient for establishing substantial ties. Having an active business can be, as can having a genuine verifiable employment offer - all depends on the circumstances.
> 
> If you'd like to email me directly (see below in my signature) I'd be happy to send you and anyone else interested in this area a copy of DIBP's policy for assessing substantial ties for the subclass 155 Resident Return visa - it's very helpful in understanding what they are and aren't looking for.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Roscar

Hi Mark,

Just want to say thanks in advance as you really do great work helping folk through the minefield that is Australian visa applications!

I am currently on a 820 visa but eligible for 801 as of September this year. My partner and I had a rocky period in our relationship earlier this year and because of this I applied for a 457 sponsorship visa through my company. However due to the recent changes with the 457, my company had to resubmit my application and it is still processing. Also with these changes there is no longer a route to PR for me. My partner and I have now worked things out and therefore want to proceed with the 801 application so I can stay in the country long term. So I was wondering if this is still possible or is the fact I have applied for sponsorship through my work ruined our chances of having the 801 granted?

Cheers,

Roscar


----------



## Jace

Hi. A while ago. Me and my bf were going to try the partner visa route. So we started the immi application (never completed) but now we just want to do work and holiday visa. We never paid or officially submitted the application. If we deleted that and start a work and holiday visa application. Would that ruin our chances of it being granted? Does immigration see that?
He is US citizen - 26yrs. 

Also, we have got the funds for the WHV 462 but it is in my account. Would it be acceptable for me to write a statement saying that he has access to my funds for the duration of his stay?
Otherwise, we were going to try and open an account for him here and transfer the money over into an account under his name.
Thank you


----------



## Mark3

Hi Mark,

I have submitted some questions on a new thread in the immigration section but just found your thread and wondered if you could help. If this is the correct course of action for me then I am looking for a professional to look over my visa cover letter; is this a service you can provide?

My questions from the other thread and some background info on my case are below.

Many thanks,

Mark 

I was removed from Australia last month for breaching the terms of my 601 ETA (doing a small amount of cash work to help out some people I knew)

I was in Australia with the intention of meeting potential employers - I am an Engineer with 10 years experience, I want to work in Australia and my engineering discipline is on the skills shortage list (MLTSSL). I want to have my exclusion period waived so I can return to Australia and continue my job search. I have a few questions:

1). Do I have grounds for requesting that my exclusion period is waived?

2). How much gravitas does the skilled shortage list have in this situation?

3). Is it possible to book a face-to-face meeting to discuss my case with someone in the UK (i.e. at Australia House/High Commission etc)

4). How do I go about applying to have my exclusion period waived - do I simply supply a cover letter with a new application (I want to apply for another visitor visa so I can search for jobs face-to-face. I believe I am less likely to be successful just sending emails from the UK)

5). Can someone recommend an Immigration Professional who has experience in this field who could look over my cover letter?

6). If I cannot get my exclusion waived is it possible to reduce the exclusion period (currently 3 years)? How do I apply for this?


----------



## aatifa

hi Mark, many thanks in advance for your advice, please can you tell me about the online spouse visa. 
1. at which stage do I upload all the jpgs and pdfs 
2. if we have been apart for a few days at a time over a few months seven years ago (married for 13) what do we do if we don't have emails or telephone records, was such a long time ago and we never thought to keep them?
3. what is a citizenship by grant? is it the same as citizenship by descent?
my husband got citizenship by descent, do I tick 'grant'
4. I am on an ETA tourist visa which expires after a year however it allows multiple entries each lasting three months, is this a substansive visa?
5. what would make the sponsor ineligible?
thank you


----------



## aatifa

*forms online*

another question Mark.
with the online spouse visa is it necessary to attach any forms as well such as the 40 and 47 and 80?
does the sponsor submit his online form via my immi account or must he make his own immi account?
thank you


----------



## aatifa

also what constitutes financial ties?
we have so far, bank accounts, property, trust, credit cards (about ten years worth)


----------



## pennylane2422

*189 Visa query*

Dear Mark,

I am a UK Citizen and I have applied for a skilled visa subclass 189 (it is submitted along with all supporting documents and the status says 'application in progress' and I am expecting it to be granted over the coming weeks) I applied back in February 2017 and I hoped it would be ready by now but the process was unexpectedly delayed by the Hong Kong police taking a really long time to provide a police certificate (I resided there for 2 years previously) The police certificate was received by DIBP on 18 May 2017 and then my status updated to 'Assessment in progress.' I am currently residing in New Zealand on a Working Holiday Visa while I get my Australian Visa sorted.

I have got a good job offer and booked flights back to Melbourne on the 30th June as they want me to start 1 July. Now the flight date is rapidly approaching but the visa still hasn't been granted I am worried it won't be ready in time for me to enter. If I stay in NZ I will be homeless/jobless after 30th June and have little money as I've paid a bond & rent up front in Melbourne so ideally I would like to go to my accommodation in Australia and wait until the Visa is granted and I can then start work.

So my question are; can I safely/legally apply for an E-visitor visa to enter Australia as a tourist and then to wait until my 189 is granted? 
Is it safe for me to apply for an e-visitor visa while my 189 is being processed on the system or would I risk jeopardizing or even accidentally cancelling my PR application?

I wouldn't want to risk my application after everything I've went through to get it but I am really stressed about what I am going to do. 
Any useful insight into the situation would be kindly appreciated.

Thanks,

Penny


----------



## arvindrajan92

*Incomplete Education Information in EOI and Application*

Hi Mr Mark,

Greetings to you!

I have lodged my application for Visa 189 claiming 65 points, made my payment and now uploading all my supporting documents.

I am currently doing my PhD in Engineering. However, during my EOI application, I only included my Bachelor of Engineering, which is what I am claiming points for (with skills assessment letter from the Engineers Australia). I did not add my PhD as my currently enrolled course because the EOI form automatically kept claiming points for my PhD, which is still in progress. Therefore, to be consistent with my EOI, I did not mention my PhD as currently enrolled tertiary qualification in my application as well. However, I mentioned that I am currently doing my PhD in my submitted Form 80 for completeness and with the intention of giving accurate information to my potential Case Officer.

A Case Officer has not been assigned to my application yet. Since not including my PhD in the application will not affect my claimed points, and also I do not intend to give any false/ambiguous information whatsoever, would it be a good idea to provide an update with the reason (above) through "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" on ImmiAccount? Could the grant of my Visa be denied for this reason on the grounds that my educational information is inconsistent on my actual application and Form 80 even if I provide the update via "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" on ImmiAccount indicating my problem during EOI submission?

Thank you very much for your time and valuable advice.

Cheers,
Arvind


----------



## tdkg

Hi Mark,

I am currently holding 820 visa. I was eligible for 801 more than a month ago and already submited further evidence and documents. My husband is seriously ill (he has terminal cancer). My question is: can ask Immigration to fasttrack my application? We are thinking about having a letter from his oncologist but not sure what to say to state in the letter and whether it is enough or not. Thanks and look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,


----------



## joy greek

*189 visa*

Dear Mark,

I want to thank you for the support and help you provide in this forum!

Cheers


----------



## Joyt6090

I have my substantive partner visa application under review at AAT and I'm holding bridging visa e can I change my bridging visa to a or to directly bvb because I have to travel urgently overseas and I can't do that with BVE


----------



## subhashjoshi7

*457 Visa for Restaurant Managet*

Dear Mark,

I have applied for 457 under skill restaurant manager(141111) on dated 18/04/17 through an Australian migration agent.I have finished with medical on 20/04/17.My nomination was pending and my agent files the visa application.

Pls advice how long the decision can take,

Thanks 
Subhash Joshi


----------



## Chabayta

Hey Mark,

I have few questions related to Partner Visa Subclass 309/100

First, when subclass 309 is granted shall i apply again for subclass 100 or they Automatically start processing it? And is there extra fees i should pay?


Second, when PR granted when i can have the citizenship like how many years and do they start counting from the date that i applied in ?

Third, if i got 309 visa can i go Australia for a week only and leave back to country i was in ,, or this can't work like this and it will effect my PR or citizenship?

Regards


----------



## evertogr

Hello Mark!

Please help!
I have obtained positive assessment, have been nominated by Victoria and have just lodged my visa application. But I didn't mention my secondary education in my EOI and didn't mention it in visa application as well.

I have Bachelor degree, Master degree and PhD equivalent degree, which was recognized as Doctoral degree by assessing authority.

Please advise me should I send request to change my information or it doesn't make sense.

I would be very grateful for your answer.


----------



## Tiho

Hi Mark
i have a quick question about my 820/801 visa application

i have asked a lawyer to do all the paperworks for me from the beginning of the application, 
after visa 820 granted and my lawyer applies 801 at the day of elegibility.
i also explained how and why my partner and i haven't deposited in our joint account. because my partner experienced a bad partner before he left with all her money and left her with 2 children.
although she trusts me but she still wants her salary in her own account to secure her children future 
we weekly transfer money from our own account to our joint account to operate our daily living cost and expenses.
is there any problem arises that could affect my 801 visa?
i have seen Aussies couple they spend their own money even they are couple or husband and wife.
i have been waiting for 801 about 20months
thank you 
Tiho


----------



## arvindrajan92

evertogr said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> Please help!
> I have obtained positive assessment, have been nominated by Victoria and have just lodged my visa application. But I didn't mention my secondary education in my EOI and didn't mention it in visa application as well.
> 
> I have Bachelor degree, Master degree and PhD equivalent degree, which was recognized as Doctoral degree by assessing authority.
> 
> Please advise me should I send request to change my information or it doesn't make sense.
> 
> I would be very grateful for your answer.


Hi evertogr,

I am in the same boat as you. Hopefully, it is not much of an issue as it doesn't affect the claimed points. However, I have submitted Form 80 with complete details on my education and also updated via "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" on ImmiAccount.

Hope this helps. Wish you all the best!

Cheers,
Arvind


----------



## JohnKimbell

Hi Mark,

I am planning to apply for a GSM application and have a kid that is about to turn 23 (Still dependent on me) just wondering whether the MoFU requirement is decided at the time the application is submitted or at the time the visa is granted/decision made?

Regards


----------



## evertogr

arvindrajan92 said:


> Hi evertogr,
> 
> I am in the same boat as you. Hopefully, it is not much of an issue as it doesn't affect the claimed points. However, I have submitted Form 80 with complete details on my education and also updated via "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" on ImmiAccount.
> 
> Hope this helps. Wish you all the best!
> 
> Cheers,
> Arvind


Hi Arvind,

Thank you for your reply.

I have checked form 80. I definitely shouldn't include in this form information about secondary education.

the question in Form 80 is the following:
"Give details of all tertiary education and qualifcations
Education/qualifcations includes:
• college/vocational schools
• university
• research/thesis
• specialist training
• skill/trade qualifcations. "

In the case of my husband, who didn't obtain complete secondary education at school, but actually finilised secondary education in college and also obtained professional education in college, this is the case.
And I have included this information in his Form 80. But just secondary school - it isn't tertiary education.

But in visa application the question was different:
"Has the applicant completed, or is currently enrolled in, any studies at secondary level or above?"

That is why I didn't give information about secondary school in my visa application.

I suppose, I should update this information via "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" on ImmiAccount, but I am not sure about Form 80.

With best wishes,
Elena


----------



## upen144

Seeking expert advise on subclass 489/190 on Job occupation 222211

Do i need to take any licence or registration from Australia for appliyng on such occupation.

I was bit confused as " A financial market dealer buys and sells securities within financial markets, and trades and distributes financial securities on behalf of financial institutions. Registration or licensing is required in Australia. Financial market dealer is a Skill Level 1 occupation " was mentioned on one of the immigration website.


----------



## arvindrajan92

evertogr said:


> Hi Arvind,
> 
> Thank you for your reply.
> 
> I have checked form 80. I definitely shouldn't include in this form information about secondary education.
> 
> the question in Form 80 is the following:
> "Give details of all tertiary education and qualifcations
> Education/qualifcations includes:
> • college/vocational schools
> • university
> • research/thesis
> • specialist training
> • skill/trade qualifcations. "
> 
> In the case of my husband, who didn't obtain complete secondary education at school, but actually finilised secondary education in college and also obtained professional education in college, this is the case.
> And I have included this information in his Form 80. But just secondary school - it isn't tertiary education.
> 
> But in visa application the question was different:
> "Has the applicant completed, or is currently enrolled in, any studies at secondary level or above?"
> 
> That is why I didn't give information about secondary school in my visa application.
> 
> I suppose, I should update this information via "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" on ImmiAccount, but I am not sure about Form 80.
> 
> With best wishes,
> Elena


Hi Elena,

I understand your concerns. I am a PhD candidate myself actually. So I included all the details of tertiary education and above (including my Year 12 at college) in Form 80, and added my secondary school information (the only additional information) in addition to the details in Form 80 via "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" on ImmiAccount.

Form 80 is not compulsory, but I submitted it nevertheless after reading many forums and learning that the Case Officer often requests for it - this is why I submitted Form 80. However, you may want to wait until a Case Officer is assigned, but you could keep it filled up for now just in case.

I sincerely hope that this is not a serious problem, but let us wait for Mark's advise as he is far more experienced with this regard.

With best wishes,
Arvind


----------



## evertogr

arvindrajan92 said:


> Hi Elena,
> 
> I understand your concerns. I am a PhD candidate myself actually. So I included all the details of tertiary education and above (including my Year 12 at college) in Form 80, and added my secondary school information (the only additional information) in addition to the details in Form 80 via "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" on ImmiAccount.
> 
> Form 80 is not compulsory, but I submitted it nevertheless after reading many forums and learning that the Case Officer often requests for it - this is why I submitted Form 80. However, you may want to wait until a Case Officer is assigned, but you could keep it filled up for now just in case.
> 
> I sincerely hope that this is not a serious problem, but let us wait for Mark's advise as he is far more experienced with this regard.
> 
> With best wishes,
> Arvind


Hi Arvind,

Thank you very much for your help.

If I've understood correctly, you used form "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" only for corrections in Form 80. And what about visa application? Have you included your secondary education in visa application?

I want to use form "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" to correct information in my visa application (to add information about secondary education). But I'm not sure how to do this correctly: what should I mention in field: Incorrect information? Or can I just add some information in the field: Correct information?

I don't want to list all my tertiary qualifications without secondary education as incorrect information, as this information is actually correct. But only to add information about secondary information without listing tertiary qualifications. What you think about it?

With best wishes,
Elena.


----------



## arvindrajan92

evertogr said:


> Hi Arvind,
> 
> Thank you very much for your help.
> 
> If I've understood correctly, you used form "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" only for corrections in Form 80. And what about visa application? Have you included your secondary education in visa application?
> 
> I want to use form "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" to correct information in my visa application (to add information about secondary education). But I'm not sure how to do this correctly: what should I mention in field: Incorrect information? Or can I just add some information in the field: Correct information?
> 
> I don't want to list all my tertiary qualifications without secondary education as incorrect information, as this information is actually correct. But only to add information about secondary information without listing tertiary qualifications. What you think about it?
> 
> With best wishes,
> Elena.


Hi Elena,

In Form 80, I included all information from college to tertiary (including incomplete PhD), whereas in "Notification of incorrect answer(s)", I included all information from secondary school to tertiary (including incomplete PhD).

Since there is no guideline given, I believe you can fill it up as you please. For example, in "Give details of the incorrect information:" section, I wrote:

"Incomplete education history:
Only information on education supporting the claimed points (which is "Bachelor Degree in Science, Business or Technology") was provided in the EOI and application. Information on other studies at secondary level or above was not included."

And in "Give details of the correct information:" section, I gave all the information in a format that is similar to the one in the application. The format (for one) is as follows:

Qualification: 
Course name: 
Institution name: 
Country of institution: 
Date from: 
Date to:

The reason I omitted other education is because the EOI kept claiming points for my incomplete PhD. Hence to avoid any confusion, I included only the education that supports my claimed points. I retained the same information in the application for consistency. I explained this in the "Reason why incorrect information was provided:" section.

Hope you find this helpful.

Cheers,
Arvind


----------



## Isuru92

-----rffr
grgr


----------



## evertogr

arvindrajan92 said:


> Hi Elena,
> 
> In Form 80, I included all information from college to tertiary (including incomplete PhD), whereas in "Notification of incorrect answer(s)", I included all information from secondary school to tertiary (including incomplete PhD).
> 
> Since there is no guideline given, I believe you can fill it up as you please. For example, in "Give details of the incorrect information:" section, I wrote:
> 
> "Incomplete education history:
> Only information on education supporting the claimed points (which is "Bachelor Degree in Science, Business or Technology") was provided in the EOI and application. Information on other studies at secondary level or above was not included."
> 
> And in "Give details of the correct information:" section, I gave all the information in a format that is similar to the one in the application. The format (for one) is as follows:
> 
> Qualification:
> Course name:
> Institution name:
> Country of institution:
> Date from:
> Date to:
> 
> The reason I omitted other education is because the EOI kept claiming points for my incomplete PhD. Hence to avoid any confusion, I included only the education that supports my claimed points. I retained the same information in the application for consistency. I explained this in the "Reason why incorrect information was provided:" section.
> 
> Hope you find this helpful.
> 
> Cheers,
> Arvind


Thank you very much, Arvind.

Your answer was very helpful for me,

With best wishes,
Elena.


----------



## Bunny18

Hi Mark,

Currently I'm in Visitor visa 600 . I just submitted the Partner visa 820/801 and received the BVA. The issue is my visitor visa will be expired on November 2017 and my BVA hasn't been in effect yet. So:
1- Can I apply for Medicare now ?
2- If I want to go out of Australia , can I? Do I need to inform the immigration about my travel ?
3- In case I want to start looking for a job and work, can I call the immigration to cancel my visitor visa so my BVA can be in effect? 

If anyone can help me answer my questions, thank you very much!


----------



## tijanaoc

edit: deleted


----------



## wasama

Hi Mark. Thanks for the effort of helping the national and the international communities.
Im working right now as an IT engineer in United Arab Emirates. Im wanting to apply for the skilled immigration through skillselect. But there is so many options like sponsored or individual. I'm trying to understand which option will give me a better opportunity and the steps like document verification and etc.

Thanks a bunch Mark God bless.


----------



## Frstladi

Hi Mark, 
On the 22nd of Oct 2015 we lodged 820 online.
On the 3rd of Jan 2017 we were invited to submit compelling and compassionate reasons to waive schedule 3 as my partner was on BVE. 
It has been over 5 months since we have submited the waiver request and we have not heard anything back from DIBP. 
Online immi status still says recieved and it has been 20+ months since we first submitted the application. I have emailed immi for an update but am yet to get a response. 
Generally speaking would it be a good sign that DIBP have not yet rejected my schedule 3 waiver request? 
Thanks


----------



## liuchengkai0912

Hi Mark,
My situation is that I am currently holding a student visa 573 which expire in March 2019. And i have granted a Bridging visa A two weeks ago after i applied a partner visa but the BVA was unaffected because of i currently holding a visa 573.
I recently decide to cancel my student visa voluntarily as i do not want to continue my study.
One of my question is what is the best way to cancel my student visa in order to get BVE, For instance,by email or in-person. Do i have to do it through RMA?
The second question is how correctly apply for the working right in BVE?
I am looking forwards your any reply.
Thank you for your help.


----------



## chek123

*Can I sponsor my fiancee for PMV 300?*

Hi,

I have a similar situation and would like to know if anyone can help. I have been living in perth and working in this Australian company for 3 years, recently I accepted a position that requires me to travel and work/support in one of our oversea company in Vietnam for roughly 10 months, on and off, I usually stay in Vietnam for 10 weeks and back to Perth for 2 weeks, back and forth. This arrangement will stop by the end of this year and I will stay in Perth for most of my time.

I want to apply a visa for my fiancee. I have a job contract/payslip to prove my current employment in this Australian company. I also can prove I own a car in Aus. Dont have any property to support as I'm currently renting. Would I be considered as usually resident in Australia?

Thanks


----------



## ham admanedien

Good mornings , Good evenings
Would you please answer this inquiry,,
I have already finished collecting the required documents to be assessed by Engineers Australia. I am a civil engineer and having a 55 points, I will apply for visa 190. My inquiry is about how to send the documents, by mail or by uploading them to their website? if by mail, could you please mention the address?
I browsed for this piece of information but I could not reach to the answer.
Thanks a lot.


----------



## upen144

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Upen144 -
> 
> It may be possible for your sister to sponsor you for a family sponsored 489 provisional skilled visa if she is an Australian permanent resident or citizen, however her husband would not be able to sponsor you as sponsorship for that visa via in-law relationships (ie, partner of the applicant's sibling) are not valid for that visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for the response Mark ! You are so kind.

Please clear my one more confusion - I am going to apply for Financial Market dealer 222211 in South Australia with the score of 60/65 . How much the chances for getting VISA ?


----------



## Deeda

Hi Mark, 

Thanks so much for willing to help!
A few days ago, my employer had applied visa 457 for me in the position of Fashion Designer. 
But I am not sure whether I need to provide a skill assessment.
Is there any way to find out whether my position Fashion Designer needs a skill assessment or not?

Also, I am required to do a medical checkup but I am now away from Australia for a 2-3 weeks business trip. Will it be too late to complete the medical checkup while I'm back? What is the time frame of completing a medical checkup once received the referral letter?

Thanks for your patient to read! appreciate it!


----------



## Hello2017

*Will*

Hi mark,

I dont have a will yet. I am thinking about making one. So that i can include my partner in it. But we have submitted our 820/801 application early june. Since the will date is after submission date, do u think its a waste of time and money doing it?

Thank u in advance for ur reply.


----------



## ashie4ya

*Pmv to partner*

Hi Mark,

My fiancé was granted his PMV visa and is now in Australia. We are getting married next month. What application do we need to apply for online? How long should we wait to apply?
Is it okay that we are going overseas for our honeymoon?

Thank you,

Regards,

Ash


----------



## 313370

Hi Mark,
My husband was married in 2013 ( applied for partner visa mid-2013), and due to issues, withdrew his sponsorship in early 2014 and divorced in early 2015.
The ex.wifes Partner Visa (PV) was granted, but she did not travel to Australia on that visa. It was withdrawn.
We got married in end of 2015, but waited for 5 years of sponsorship limitation period to pass. We talk everyday & he has visited me a couple of times.
Now, it has been about 4 yrs + and that is about 11mths for the 5 year period to finish,We want to lodge my PV ( my husband's second sponsorship) .
1) Some say it takes 9 or 11 or 12 mths after the application is lodged? How long is the processing time for India currently?
2) Perfect time for PV lodging, without negative effects. Some say after 6 mths a case officer will be engaged and process the application.
- will they grant the PV if it's still 2-3 mths left before the 5 yr period finishes?
- if not, can we request for them to put the application on hold until the 5 yr period finishes?
- would they communicate with us/ our lawyer, prior to making a decision?
Tourist Visa(TV)

I lodged my tourist visa last year and got refused as we hadn't lodged the PR visa, and though it was genuinely for tourist purpose to visit my husband as it had been very long time apart.

Now after applying for PV, we want to apply for a Tourist visa 
1) Will there an issue cuz I had TVrejected before ?
2) when is the ideal time to apply for the Tourist visa? Immediately or 1 or 2 weeks after the PR visa is lodged? Or after the medical checks are done?
3) What are the strong evidences to prove the genuinity of temporary visa application?
4) Once the TV is approved, will there be a date / period we have to travel to Australia by? 

Kindly share your experience and knowledge!
Many thanks


----------



## kikaxy

Hi Mark, 
I sent my partner visa (309/100) application to Embassy. I included 3 Form 888 in the application ( from my husband's parents and sister) but in each form the question "how long do you know visa applicant" is answered incorrect. They wrote 4+ years but they knew me 3 years and 9 months on the date they signed Forms 888. The CO can clearly see they know me shorter from what they wrote in declarations. It will be 4+ years they know me when I get my CO. Do I need to do something about it or not and what I can do? Sorry, my English isn't good enough. 
Thanks.


----------



## waitinginvain

Hi Mark,
I am waiting my pmv lodged in Beirut for 14months.Last month we call the immigration and said that my application is on the final stage.what does it mean? Our wedding will be 2nd week of july but i think we couldnt catch up anymore.


----------



## larsjo1378

Hi!

I intend to work Australia via 457 visa as an ENGINEER. I am hep B carrier (inactive) state. can this be a problem for my visa?


----------



## Chelsea595

*Old Certification*

Hi Mark,

I have just applied for my 801/820 partner visa ! Woo!
My English mother in law wrote us a stat dec back in Feb, 17 and had it certified etc. 
Is it too old to put in there now? Should I get her to re do it?

Thanks!


----------



## ksc2017

Hi Mark, I have a question about medical information. When we did my 801/820 my fiancee had me omit a portion of my medical information from the application in fear it would hinder the process. I have mental illness (Anxiety, PTSD, Schizo-affective disorder and dissociative disorder) but now that I am in need of mental health care and it is not recorded, what are the implications? 

In addition, I have discovered my partner is an alcoholic and while not physically abusive, (though it has begun with "play slapping," it is borderline sexual assault (if that is what it is considered, as he does not listen to me when he's drunk) is emotionally abusive and cruel, telling me i'm the reason he drinks. I can not go anywhere on my own, usually, if I do it's just to the store. Everything I do, online or not, needs to know what is being done. What messages I have and what was said, Including any regular mail that comes through post must be read out loud, etc. I have had some medical test that needed to be done and haven't been because they will cost too much money, or is complained about that I over react. He has spent enough to bring me here and pay for immigration, make me happy, etc. I am not allowed to be upset over missing family or my children, if I am, I am told to suck it up and it will pass. Obviously intensifying the mental health issues. 

I have considered returning to the US, however with no funds to do so, (return or set up a place to live) I will have to stay here. I do work, but all money is put into savings and only what I need for shopping is what I am able to keep. It is a joint account, that is checked regularly, so I am not able to put money aside. I do have a Super acct, but it is only $900 and I know I can't touch it. I will be doing my taxes and should get a good amount back, but it will be taken from me for savings. 

What is the best course of action to resolve these issues. (I apologize for the numerous edits, I am just now finding the courage to come forward and am a bit wary to divulge what is happening, mostly out of fear. I can't leave without the means to live elsewhere)


----------



## dragon13

*Police Check (Unsettled Debt)*

Hi Mark,

I hope you could give me some advice about my burden. We will be applying for a Partnership/De Facto Visa soon and I am so worried about the police check that I need to obtain from UAE for character test. I provided my friend in UAE a copy of my passport and asked her to check at the police station if there is any complaints under my name and she found out that there is a criminal offence filed against me by one of the banks I owed money from. Therefore, they said that the only way to clear the case is to talk to the bank and settle the debt. But as much as I want to pay them off, I am presently uncapable. I will still try and get a police check from here in Australia thru the UAE Embassy but I am afraid I will not be given. If ever I am not able to secure a police check from UAE due to my unsettled debts, would that cause our application to be denied? Please help. Thanks a lot.


----------



## Mahmoud Ismail

Dear Mr. Mark,

First, thank you very much for helping people.

Second, I'm going to apply for Australia 189 Visa with Job code 263111.
when I check that code on ANZSCOSERCH it is showing that it reached the occupation sealing even excesses it by 3.5%, what that mean?
I will not get invitation?
or I should wait until the status of sealing changes?

Thank you again and best regards


----------



## albert0205

Hi Mark, 

After 436 days with no contact from CO, I have finally received my Grant on 3rd July 2017. Excited on receiving the grand, and sad cos my first entry date is 26th July 2017 which is less than 22 days from now.

Thanks to the forum Mark and Members who have cleared my doubt which helped me get some relief.

Thanks once again.


----------



## Ponty

Hello Sir, 
I have applied for the 457 visa through a immigration lawyer but I cannot contact him directly. All the required documents were submitted along with the medicals on 31st March 2017, still I didn't get any visa status. Will you please help me regarding this. When visa will be sent to me or not.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Everyone -

Sorry for the delay in responding to questions - we've been deep into the 1 July changes and are getting caught up - lots of news. Will be answering all posts within the next 24 hours - thanks for your patience.

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Max1920

*Hi Mark*

Hi Mark,

I have been reading your posts and have found it very informative and quite detailed. A big thank you for your time and the efforts that you put in.

I have a query regarding the medical examinations. Briefly the history of my application is as follows:

- Applied for a visa under the sub class 190 for NSW (along with the requisite documentation) and after receiving the invitation the additional documents were submitted on Feb 2016. 
- Subsequently the medical examination for myself and my family was also completed in the month of April 2016. 
- While submitting the documentation, we had also mentioned that we are in the process of adopting a girl child and that once all legal formalities would be completed, we would inform the department of immigration about the same. 
- All legal formalities were completed during the month of June 2016 and our daughter, became part of our family in the month of July 2016. 
- Details / documentation pertaining to our adopted daughter was duly submitted in accordance with the request for more information 
- Our adopted daughter's medical examination was completed on 14th Dec 2016.
- Post this there has not been any revert from the authorities

My query is one two fronts:
1. Is such a delay normal?
2. Will the medical done in April 2016 still be valid?

I have tried calling them but the standard response given is that the application is under progress.

Thanks & Regards


----------



## Zander1ni

hey mark,

Few questions about a 463 visa:

- I applied for one last year but withdrew the application...they had sent back asking info about my criminal conviction

- Given that at one point when i applied before they asked me to supply this documentation should submit it initially again before they ask?

- I have had 3 student visa's granted here and was never once asked for documentation about my criminal history. Is it possible that this time they could just grant the application right away?


----------



## bappi2k3

*police clearence*

Hi Mark,
I am going to apply for 887 visa from 489 visa. Is it necessary to provide Police clearance for all country i live more than 1 year again. This is because i already provide Police clearance for those country when i apply for 489 visa. If i have to give police clearance than can you please tell me how can i get police clearance of Qatar from Australia.


----------



## fifalex

*IELTS score*

Hi Mark
Hope you are well and appreciate the advice that you are providing here.

I have the following issue. In order to get the 60 points required and apply as a solicitor under the skilled occupation list, I need to get an IELTS score of at least 8 on all sections, as I do not have the 3 years work experience as a solicitor and I am over 30. 
My problem is that after 3 tries I cannot get past 7.5 on the writing aspect, and it is starting to feel impossible, as I would like to think that my English is near perfect, and I was fairly satisfied with my efforts. 
I was wondering whether there is anything I can realistically do in order to boost my point score to 60, as I have already invested massively in order to get the Australian PR, through bridging law courses and also completing the PLT at the college of law nearly 6 months ago.

Thanks Mark any advice would be greatly appreciated. 
Cheers 
Alex


----------



## ravi.nidadavolu

*Query on ACS assessment*

Hello Mark,

Hope you are having a lovely time. I had a quick question on the ACS assessment.

Graduation done April 2001
Masters Done (Coursework-distance mode) - Dec 2013
Job 1:2004-2005 - Affidavit/Statutory declaration based employment letter attested by supervisor
Job 2: 2005-2007 - Affidavit/Statutory declaration based employment letter attested by supervisor
Job 3: 2007-2013 - Company letter head based employment letter from HR
Job 4: 2013-present - Company letter head based employment letter from HR
Overall experience around 13 years.
Now when I submit my ACS skills assessment, the skill for which I am choosing for immigration, I have around 10 years of experience.

Should I submit the above experience letters for all the 4 jobs or the last 2 which covers the 10 year experience?

Please advise so that based on this I can file for my assessment during the coming weekend.

Appreciate your support in advance.

Regards,
Ravi


----------



## Sri86

*Increasing skill select points*

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the support you are providing for the people who are planning to migrate to Australia. Recently I had filed and EOI on 29-May-2017 with overall skill select points as 60. I have an overall experience of 9 years as an instrumentation engineer and I was able to provided the experience certificate along with roles and responsibilities for only company (with 3.5 years experience) on letter head, for the rest of the roles and responsibilities, I had provided the relevant pay slips, bank statements, income tax fund details and colleague reference letters too to Engineers Australia. However I was not provided the credibility for the entire years of experience and was allotted only 5 points for which the experience certificate was provided.

In this aspect, could you please let me know if there is any other way that I can increase my points or is there a way that I can ask engineers Australia to re-assess the situation. All my other companies had declined to provide the reference letters, but I have all the other proofs to substantiate this evidence except roles and responsibilities indicated on letter head. Please note that I cannot increase the points with respect to English score or spouse assessment or age.


----------



## latorrest

*457 Subsequent Entrant*

Hi Mark,
I am planning to lodge an application to be added as subsequent entrant in my partner's 457 visa.
We have been together for 1.5 years but living together just for 6 months.
We have a joint account but we do not use it much, it is more like a savings one. Do we need to provide proof of the transactions?
We are both recent migrants in Australia so we do not have any properties or wills, or anything of the sort. 
How much evidence do you think is necessary to be successful?
If we write statements about our relationship, do they need to be made on a special format?
How is the best way to present evidence like text messages or facebook interactions?

Thank you


----------



## potpot

Hello Mark,

Good Day. I have lodged my Visa last June 2017 status RECEIVED. I am a Registered Nurse NEC, currently here in Australia. My ANMAC Skills Assessment is expiring this August 2017, ANMAC assessment expires after 2 years I had mine last August 2015. I am just wondering if anyone has an idea if CO may need to ask for another assessment since mine is expiring. I Appreciate your response. Thank you!


----------



## Lex

Hello Mark,
I am just confuse processing time of the 457 subsequent visa. I am holding 457 visa and onshore now, it was granted in Oct last year. 
And I put my wife as a subsequent entrant in Jan 2017 offshore. She was required and finished her health examination in end of Feb. Then the status of the application become "Assessment in Progress" until now. It looks past 150 days without changing. 
So is any ways to speed up the processing time? Or is ti possible to make a call to the Imm Office to confirm the decision date? I am not sure the 457 policy changing will effect the subsequent visa after 19/May.
I send mail to the CO's mail and got nothing reply. Is any expect processing times for a 457 subsequent visa?
Thank you very much for the help!
Lex


----------



## Muntasir

*187 visa*

Hi Mark
I am new to this forum. 
I have seen the Aus Immi site that the priority of 187 VISA is the highest, but why the processing time is so high? I have seen that people are getting frustrated. Some have applied last May/April. I found this in other forums.

Can you please tell us why this is so? I am planning to apply for 187 VISA as Retail Manager. Do you think there is any risk with this VISA and occupation


----------



## Dave08

Hello Mark

Sorry if this has already been asked.

Last year in June while i was in Bosnia, i made friends with a girl who lives there. We ended up spending only a week together because i was heading back to Australia. When i returned back to Australia we continued to keep in touch via Viber and Facebook. After keeping in touch the whole time, everything was going well and then i applied for a tourist visa for her to come spend some time in Australia however that was rejected. After the tourist visa was rejected i ended up traveling back to Bosnia and spent 6 weeks with her. After the 6 weeks i felt there was a connection between us and decided to propose. 

I'm a little confused now because I'm not sure what the best thing to do is now. Is it better for me to go and get married overseas first and then apply for the Partner (subclasses 820 and 801) or is it better for me to apply for the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) and get married here. I have noticed that the processing times are really long and am also wondering if i apply for the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) am i allowed to also apply for a tourist visa for her to come here for a few months while we wait on the decision of the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300)


----------



## msconverse

Hi Mark! I am student registered under the IRON program and I already have a confirmation of enrollment from an education institute in Melbourne. In my health declaration, i made a mistake on choosing subclass 500 instead of visitor visa. My visa application form indicates im under subclass 600. Would there be any conflict? What is the best that should I do? Thank you!


----------



## markw

Dave08 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Sorry if this has already been asked.
> 
> Last year in June while i was in Bosnia, i made friends with a girl who lives there. We ended up spending only a week together because i was heading back to Australia. When i returned back to Australia we continued to keep in touch via Viber and Facebook. After keeping in touch the whole time, everything was going well and then i applied for a tourist visa for her to come spend some time in Australia however that was rejected. After the tourist visa was rejected i ended up traveling back to Bosnia and spent 6 weeks with her. After the 6 weeks i felt there was a connection between us and decided to propose.
> 
> I'm a little confused now because I'm not sure what the best thing to do is now. Is it better for me to go and get married overseas first and then apply for the Partner (subclasses 820 and 801) or is it better for me to apply for the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) and get married here. I have noticed that the processing times are really long and am also wondering if i apply for the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) am i allowed to also apply for a tourist visa for her to come here for a few months while we wait on the decision of the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300)


i know this is marks thread, but this is a fairly common question/situation, one that I too am in, however my loved one is in the Philippines.

Happy to be corrected by wiser heads, but this is my understanding...

Do not get married, it is much harder to get the spouse visa, with so little time in your relationship probably impossible. The prospective marriage visa will be hard enough to show evidence for.

you can apply for the tourist visa before or after applying for PMV, seems to be a common thing, though she will only be allowed to stay here 12 months in a 18 month period at most


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markw -

Good advice. Additionally, DIBP is making it harder and harder to get visitor visas while awaiting a PMV which is processing - a key element is employment - if the applicant can show solid employment and provide a letter from the employer guaranteeing their job upon their return, it can help a lot. Also, reducing the length of stay to 3 months or less per visit can help too.

Will be getting to everyone else's questions tonight plus lots of news from the 1 July changes -

Best,

Mark Northam



markw said:


> i know this is marks thread, but this is a fairly common question/situation, one that I too am in, however my loved one is in the Philippines.
> 
> Happy to be corrected by wiser heads, but this is my understanding...
> 
> Do not get married, it is much harder to get the spouse visa, with so little time in your relationship probably impossible. The prospective marriage visa will be hard enough to show evidence for.
> 
> you can apply for the tourist visa before or after applying for PMV, seems to be a common thing, though she will only be allowed to stay here 12 months in a 18 month period at most


----------



## ahmer

Hi Mark,

An interesting and complex case to discuss.Your help and suggestion require for the case.

Visa Type:189
Visa applied: 20th August 2016
Primary Applicant:my brother
Secondary applicants: Wife
Secondary applicant: Younger sister(age 23 financially dependent on my brother)
Brother's wife has already got visa:476 expiring in December 2018
Co Contact: 29 Aug 2016
Co Contact: 02nd Nov 2016 asking evidence of dependent relative relationship for younger sister
Co Contact:06 December 2016: Asking main applicant, final reminder to provide evidence of dependency otherwise decision will be taken to my sister's case. Also Co ask medical for my brother's wife.
My brother in response deffered the medical due to pregnancy and contact DIBP again in March when his son was born
Co contact again:12 April 2017 asking medical for new born and my brother's wife
Co contact 19 April acknowledgement of adding new born in an application
Co Contact again on 5th May 2017:Asking medical and PCC of my brother which was expired in January 2017.
Current situation:waiting

Any idea still Co working on dependency of younger sister documents?
I read many times that Co ask applicant whether they want to remove secondary applicants if they dont satisfy with dependency situation.

Medical and PCC of younger sister will be expiring in September 2017 as well.

Please the rule of adding other family members been closed last year in September while my brother applied visa in August.

Thanks,


----------



## jaspals

Hi Mark,

I am planning to apply for Queensland state nomination under postgraduate alumni scheme. I was going through the document checklist and saw proof of residency. The problem is, from last two years I am doing house stay with a family. So i do not have any lease documents or utility bills on my name. Could you please suggest what other documents I can show as a proof of residency? I don not have QLD driving licence also but I have bank statements. 

I have been living in Brisbane from June, 2015 to till now. Do I need to show residency proof in QLD for previous years or just for the time when applying for state nomination?

Thank you for your time,

Best Regards


----------



## Addy21

Hi Mark 

I applied for my australian student visa subclass 500 on April 28 2017 cause my school start date is 24th July. 
On May 23rd 2017 The Australian embassy requested for one more additional scanned copy of my UK visa because the submitted one wasn't clear enough and I sent it on the 25th May 2017.
Since then I haven't heard anything from them and I have tried contacting them but they just gave me an automated email instead.
Its 10th July and yet no word from them.

Why this delay and what can I do about it?
Please I need answers


----------



## NehaSa

Hi Mark, 

Can you let me know how would be a proper person to check and authenticate my PR status after divorce?
My details:
2013- received my PR SI 189
>2014- got validated
> 2015 July - got divorced
> 2015 Dec - Remarried
> Now I wish to apply for Partner visa 309/100 for my husband
> So my queries:
> 1.Wat if my ex husband applies to cancel my PR 
Or after I submit my divorce documents to immi account for application of visa, will my PR get cancelled?
I tried to get in touch with Australian high commission in delhi but they will answer my questions only through vfs, and vfs is taking forever to get back to me.
Thank you in anticipation.

Kind Regards, 
Nsa


----------



## Danilocortucci

Hello Mark!

My wife got a job offer 457 of cafe and restaurant manager of a hotel in Melbourne. 

She never worked as a restaurant manager, but have bachelors in business and hospitality (that she did in Australia) and another in Brazil of hospitality; more than 4 years experience in 5 stars hotel as sales and events coordinatoor.

We need to know if she is elegible for this position as she never worked in the nominated position?



Thanks a lot!


----------



## aussie2017

*Marriage or Employment PR?*

Hi Mark,

I am an Australia citizen. My husband is a British citizen. He came out on a holiday visa in 2012 and got a great job that gave him a 457 visa which he has been on ever since. We got married in March 2014 and had a daughter in 2015. Prior to marriage we had been de-facto since 2010.

His company has offered to sponsor him for PR (at our cost) which they estimate could take up to 18 months. We are hesitant to link the PR to a job which could limit his long term career opportunities for that length of time.

We are considering getting PR under my sponsorship. I have read that we can go straight to PR since we've been married for over 3 years and we have a child and we won't have the 2 year processing time? Is this correct? What timing should we expect for that? Is it a given, or only applied sometimes?

Which visa (employment or marriage) has higher success rate and/or which one is easier?

I've read about additional marriage/ sponsor responsibilities that came into play 1/7/17? - could you please clarify on those?


----------



## tunwin27

Hi Mark, good day. Can driving uber and submit work requirements for 489 visa? I do have ABN and will pay tax accordingly as well as I will register uber in regional area. 
Thanks for the time and support. 

Regards
Tun Win


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roscar -

Thanks for the note and my apologies for the delay in responding - have been swamped with work.

I wouldn't say that lodging a 457 while holding an 820 visa would kill your chances of the 801, but will certainly increase the chances that DIBP will take a close look at the 801. In many cases, these concerns can be addressed by doing 2 things: First, if you were having relationship issues for a time, be honest about this and explain in your relationship statements included with the 801 application. Second, put in LOTS of relationship evidence with the 801, especially for the period after the relationship issues had resolved. Lots of people have ups and downs in their relationship, but if via evidence you can provide your relationship is fully restored and doing well, I think you have a very good chance of avoiding a refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Roscar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just want to say thanks in advance as you really do great work helping folk through the minefield that is Australian visa applications!
> 
> I am currently on a 820 visa but eligible for 801 as of September this year. My partner and I had a rocky period in our relationship earlier this year and because of this I applied for a 457 sponsorship visa through my company. However due to the recent changes with the 457, my company had to resubmit my application and it is still processing. Also with these changes there is no longer a route to PR for me. My partner and I have now worked things out and therefore want to proceed with the 801 application so I can stay in the country long term. So I was wondering if this is still possible or is the fact I have applied for sponsorship through my work ruined our chances of having the 801 granted?
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Roscar


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jace -

Thanks for the note. I don't know exactly what records DIBP may keep from deleted applications that were never lodged, but I very much doubt that the draft application or information about it would have been retained by DIBP.

Re: funds, would be much better if he had them in an account in his name, but OK if the account is in the USA (or elsewhere) as long as he has access to them while in Australia - this can be done via Mastercard or Visa debit card linked to his account back home, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jace said:


> Hi. A while ago. Me and my bf were going to try the partner visa route. So we started the immi application (never completed) but now we just want to do work and holiday visa. We never paid or officially submitted the application. If we deleted that and start a work and holiday visa application. Would that ruin our chances of it being granted? Does immigration see that?
> He is US citizen - 26yrs.
> 
> Also, we have got the funds for the WHV 462 but it is in my account. Would it be acceptable for me to write a statement saying that he has access to my funds for the duration of his stay?
> Otherwise, we were going to try and open an account for him here and transfer the money over into an account under his name.
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mark -

Thanks for the note. I think you might have sent this to me via email in the interim, but happy to address your specific questions here - see ** below in response to each question.



Mark3 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have submitted some questions on a new thread in the immigration section but just found your thread and wondered if you could help. If this is the correct course of action for me then I am looking for a professional to look over my visa cover letter; is this a service you can provide?
> 
> My questions from the other thread and some background info on my case are below.
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> Mark
> 
> I was removed from Australia last month for breaching the terms of my 601 ETA (doing a small amount of cash work to help out some people I knew)
> 
> I was in Australia with the intention of meeting potential employers - I am an Engineer with 10 years experience, I want to work in Australia and my engineering discipline is on the skills shortage list (MLTSSL). I want to have my exclusion period waived so I can return to Australia and continue my job search. I have a few questions:
> 
> 1). Do I have grounds for requesting that my exclusion period is waived?
> ** It would require you showing (with evidence) compelling reasons affecting Australia or compassionate or compelling reasons affecting an Australian citizen, permanent resident or Eligible NZ citizen.
> 
> 2). How much gravitas does the skilled shortage list have in this situation?
> ** Not much.
> 
> 3). Is it possible to book a face-to-face meeting to discuss my case with someone in the UK (i.e. at Australia House/High Commission etc)
> ** You could try, but that type of request is considered somewhat unusual.
> 
> 4). How do I go about applying to have my exclusion period waived - do I simply supply a cover letter with a new application (I want to apply for another visitor visa so I can search for jobs face-to-face. I believe I am less likely to be successful just sending emails from the UK)
> ** You need to make strong arguments about the waiver (see above) and include evidence to back up each argument. A cover letter isn't going to usually get the job done, especially if there is no accompanying evidence. Generally speaking, coming to Australia to seek work is not considered by DIBP to be "tourist" or "visitor" type activities that would be compatible with a visitor visa.
> 
> 5). Can someone recommend an Immigration Professional who has experience in this field who could look over my cover letter?
> ** Look for an immigration lawyer or registered migration agent with good knowledge - you can see some at mara.gov.au, and I'd be happy to assist you at a consultation - see more on my website, info listed below in my signature.
> 
> 6). If I cannot get my exclusion waived is it possible to reduce the exclusion period (currently 3 years)? How do I apply for this?
> ** Not possible - waiver is generally the only way to get a visa prior to the expiration of the exclusion period.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aatifa -

Thanks for the note - please see responses below at **>



aatifa said:


> hi Mark, many thanks in advance for your advice, please can you tell me about the online spouse visa.
> 1. at which stage do I upload all the jpgs and pdfs
> ** After you lodge and pay.
> 
> 2. if we have been apart for a few days at a time over a few months seven years ago (married for 13) what do we do if we don't have emails or telephone records, was such a long time ago and we never thought to keep them?
> ** Only being apart for a few days likely would not be an issue unless you actually had started living separately, moved out, etc.
> 
> 3. what is a citizenship by grant? is it the same as citizenship by descent?
> my husband got citizenship by descent, do I tick 'grant'
> ** Descent is different - it's citizenship based on a parent's immigration status. Citizenship by conferral (also called citizenship by grant) is where you apply based on being a PR for x years and meeting the other requirements, but do not depend on a parent in order to get citizenship.
> 
> 4. I am on an ETA tourist visa which expires after a year however it allows multiple entries each lasting three months, is this a substansive visa?
> ** Yes, for most purposes. An ETA is a little different from a regular visa, but still would be considered a substantive visa.
> 
> 5. what would make the sponsor ineligible?
> ** Normally it would be character issues relating to children, if there was a child on the application. This is likely to change next year when they expand the requirements for sponsors for partner visa applications.
> 
> thank you


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## NehaSa

Hi Mark, 

I am Australian Permanent Resident, I have roughly stayed for 3-4 months in Australia after getting PR and 6-8 months before applying for PR.
Currently I am in India, remarried - can I apply for spouse visa 309/100 from India?
My PR is due for renewal in June 2018, so I am planning to move to Australia to settle permanently in Feb 2018, how are the chances of getting extention in june? And can I apply for spouse visa from India(planning to apply for spouse visa in july 2017).

Thanks in anticipation,
Kind regards,
Nsa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aatifa -

Thanks for the question. You can do forms 40SP and 47SP online via the main first stage application online form (equivalent of 47SP paper form) and the additional application "Sponsor a partner...." which you can prepare and lodge after you lodge the main application form. The "Sponsor a partner..." online form is the equivalent of paper form 40SP. The applicant will still have to complete Form 80, however, still needs to be downloaded from the DIBP site, completed via filling in on your computer (or handwriting answers neatly), dated/signed, scanned and lodged along with your relationship evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aatifa said:


> another question Mark.
> with the online spouse visa is it necessary to attach any forms as well such as the 40 and 47 and 80?
> does the sponsor submit his online form via my immi account or must he make his own immi account?
> thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi again Aatifa -

Sounds like a good start - key is to show that you are combining your financial assets. You can also look on some other topics outside this one here on the Australia Forum for some excellent topics on relationship evidence where people have uploaded lists of all the evidence they used for all 4 categories - financial, social, household, commitment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aatifa said:


> also what constitutes financial ties?
> we have so far, bank accounts, property, trust, credit cards (about ten years worth)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Penny -

Sorry I am behind in catching up on questions here or would have seen your question earlier. Generally OK to apply for a visitor visa if you must enter Australia prior to a visa being granted, as long as you understand the danger is that if your 189 was granted BEFORE your visitor visa was granted, and then your visitor visa was granted, you'd lose your 189 visa.

Hope everything worked out OK for you.

Best,

Mark Northam



pennylane2422 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I am a UK Citizen and I have applied for a skilled visa subclass 189 (it is submitted along with all supporting documents and the status says 'application in progress' and I am expecting it to be granted over the coming weeks) I applied back in February 2017 and I hoped it would be ready by now but the process was unexpectedly delayed by the Hong Kong police taking a really long time to provide a police certificate (I resided there for 2 years previously) The police certificate was received by DIBP on 18 May 2017 and then my status updated to 'Assessment in progress.' I am currently residing in New Zealand on a Working Holiday Visa while I get my Australian Visa sorted.
> 
> I have got a good job offer and booked flights back to Melbourne on the 30th June as they want me to start 1 July. Now the flight date is rapidly approaching but the visa still hasn't been granted I am worried it won't be ready in time for me to enter. If I stay in NZ I will be homeless/jobless after 30th June and have little money as I've paid a bond & rent up front in Melbourne so ideally I would like to go to my accommodation in Australia and wait until the Visa is granted and I can then start work.
> 
> So my question are; can I safely/legally apply for an E-visitor visa to enter Australia as a tourist and then to wait until my 189 is granted?
> Is it safe for me to apply for an e-visitor visa while my 189 is being processed on the system or would I risk jeopardizing or even accidentally cancelling my PR application?
> 
> I wouldn't want to risk my application after everything I've went through to get it but I am really stressed about what I am going to do.
> Any useful insight into the situation would be kindly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Penny


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arvindrajan92 -

Thanks for the question. Probably low risk of problems re inconsistency, and normally they only want completed qualifications listed on the visa application form itself (read carefully). Form 80 has an additional option for "not completed" and "withdrawn" qualifications so it may be that you never should have put the in-process PhD on the application itself anyway.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arvindrajan92 said:


> Hi Mr Mark,
> 
> Greetings to you!
> 
> I have lodged my application for Visa 189 claiming 65 points, made my payment and now uploading all my supporting documents.
> 
> I am currently doing my PhD in Engineering. However, during my EOI application, I only included my Bachelor of Engineering, which is what I am claiming points for (with skills assessment letter from the Engineers Australia). I did not add my PhD as my currently enrolled course because the EOI form automatically kept claiming points for my PhD, which is still in progress. Therefore, to be consistent with my EOI, I did not mention my PhD as currently enrolled tertiary qualification in my application as well. However, I mentioned that I am currently doing my PhD in my submitted Form 80 for completeness and with the intention of giving accurate information to my potential Case Officer.
> 
> A Case Officer has not been assigned to my application yet. Since not including my PhD in the application will not affect my claimed points, and also I do not intend to give any false/ambiguous information whatsoever, would it be a good idea to provide an update with the reason (above) through "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" on ImmiAccount? Could the grant of my Visa be denied for this reason on the grounds that my educational information is inconsistent on my actual application and Form 80 even if I provide the update via "Notification of incorrect answer(s)" on ImmiAccount indicating my problem during EOI submission?
> 
> Thank you very much for your time and valuable advice.
> 
> Cheers,
> Arvind


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tdkg -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear about your husband. Yes, DIBP has been known to fast-track applications in this case - I have represented a client in a similar situation to yours and we were able to get the visa decided in a couple of weeks. Would suggest including the letter from the oncologist with diagnosis and prognosis, especially estimate re: how much time they expect him to live at this point.

If worst comes to worst and DIBP does not get the visa decided and your husband passes away, there is still a legislative provision for you to get the visa as long as DIBP is convinced there is no evidence that your husband intended to end the relationship prior to his death and that you have made substantial ties to the Australian community.

Hope this helps - again, sorry to hear about this, hope all works out OK.

Best,

Mark Northam



tdkg said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently holding 820 visa. I was eligible for 801 more than a month ago and already submited further evidence and documents. My husband is seriously ill (he has terminal cancer). My question is: can ask Immigration to fasttrack my application? We are thinking about having a letter from his oncologist but not sure what to say to state in the letter and whether it is enough or not. Thanks and look forward to hearing from you.
> 
> Best regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Joy -

You're welcome! Glad I could help - it's exactly why I'm here.

Best,

Mark Northam



joy greek said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I want to thank you for the support and help you provide in this forum!
> 
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Joyt6090 -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately no way for you to obtain a BVA or BVB to travel if you are holding a BVE. You could leave the country (no one will stop you!) however your BVE will cease upon leaving Australia and you'd have to be granted a visitor visa or some other visa to return. Your AAT matter would continue even if you were stuck outside Australia, and you could participate in the hearing by phone if you wanted. Also depending on the timing issue with your BVE and what visa(s) you held prior to that visa, you may find yourself with a 3 year exclusion period on all temporary visas if you depart Australia while holding the BVE.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Joyt6090 said:


> I have my substantive partner visa application under review at AAT and I'm holding bridging visa e can I change my bridging visa to a or to directly bvb because I have to travel urgently overseas and I can't do that with BVE


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Subhash -

Thanks for the question. No way to predict how long - as cafe & restaurant manager now has a Caveat restriction on it for 457 (and other) visas, and as the legal ability of the Minister to impose the caveats has been questioned re the Twinn case from the federal courts, we've seen processing times slow way down, especially for occupations with a caveat. Suggest you be patient (and check out the caveats).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



subhashjoshi7 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have applied for 457 under skill restaurant manager(141111) on dated 18/04/17 through an Australian migration agent.I have finished with medical on 20/04/17.My nomination was pending and my agent files the visa application.
> 
> Pls advice how long the decision can take,
> 
> Thanks
> Subhash Joshi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chabayta -

Thanks for the questions. Resposnes are:

1 - assuming you are not in a long-term relationship, you can lodge further paperwork and forms for the 100 visa 2 years after your original application date for the 309/100. DIBP is trying to extend this to 3 years which may start next year. No extra fees to pay for second stage partner visa, but DIBP is trying to change this too.

2 - currently the government is trying to pass new laws that will require you holding a PR visa for 4 years prior to being able to lodge a citizenship application. The bill is currently in the Senate, no way to predict if/how it will pass and what it will look like if passed.

3 - You can, however if your sponsor is a PR (not citizen), he/she will have to show they are "usually resident" in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chabayta said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I have few questions related to Partner Visa Subclass 309/100
> 
> First, when subclass 309 is granted shall i apply again for subclass 100 or they Automatically start processing it? And is there extra fees i should pay?
> 
> Second, when PR granted when i can have the citizenship like how many years and do they start counting from the date that i applied in ?
> 
> Third, if i got 309 visa can i go Australia for a week only and leave back to country i was in ,, or this can't work like this and it will effect my PR or citizenship?
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Evetogr -

Thanks for the question. Normally secondary school (ie Jr High School, High School) is not requested to be listed in an EO, visa applications or Form 80 - some skills assessors collect this information for reasons I cannot comprehend, but other than that you're fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



evertogr said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> Please help!
> I have obtained positive assessment, have been nominated by Victoria and have just lodged my visa application. But I didn't mention my secondary education in my EOI and didn't mention it in visa application as well.
> 
> I have Bachelor degree, Master degree and PhD equivalent degree, which was recognized as Doctoral degree by assessing authority.
> 
> Please advise me should I send request to change my information or it doesn't make sense.
> 
> I would be very grateful for your answer.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tiho -

That sounds fine - as long as you can show how you're sharing your money, it's fine if each of you have your own accounts in addition to a joint account. One thing you might want to avoid is splitting any expenses 50/50, as that may make you look like roommates rather than partners.

Re lawyer doing all paperwork, that's great, but do make sure you look at every document and form to review it before it's lodged with DIBP. It's your life and your future, so be careful about leaving it in the hands of others.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tiho said:


> Hi Mark
> i have a quick question about my 820/801 visa application
> 
> i have asked a lawyer to do all the paperworks for me from the beginning of the application,
> after visa 820 granted and my lawyer applies 801 at the day of elegibility.
> i also explained how and why my partner and i haven't deposited in our joint account. because my partner experienced a bad partner before he left with all her money and left her with 2 children.
> although she trusts me but she still wants her salary in her own account to secure her children future
> we weekly transfer money from our own account to our joint account to operate our daily living cost and expenses.
> is there any problem arises that could affect my 801 visa?
> i have seen Aussies couple they spend their own money even they are couple or husband and wife.
> i have been waiting for 801 about 20months
> thank you
> Tiho


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John -

Thanks for the question. Member of the family unit (MOFU) requirements including age are generally assessed at the time of decision for visas. This is unlike the age that the primary applicant uses to qualify for GSM points where the age of the primary applicant is locked in at the time of invitation for a skilled visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JohnKimbell said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to apply for a GSM application and have a kid that is about to turn 23 (Still dependent on me) just wondering whether the MoFU requirement is decided at the time the application is submitted or at the time the visa is granted/decision made?
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Upen -

Thanks for the note. I would check with the skills assessor for the occupation - generally for financial occupations there are some job roles where you do not need to be licensed and others where you do, however this one may be different.

Best,

Mark Northam



upen144 said:


> Seeking expert advise on subclass 489/190 on Job occupation 222211
> 
> Do i need to take any licence or registration from Australia for appliyng on such occupation.
> 
> I was bit confused as " A financial market dealer buys and sells securities within financial markets, and trades and distributes financial securities on behalf of financial institutions. Registration or licensing is required in Australia. Financial market dealer is a Skill Level 1 occupation " was mentioned on one of the immigration website.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lsuru92 -

Thanks for the note. Overlap of study generally not a problem; check the skills assessor for your occupation code (see DIBP website or Search | Anzscosearch for more) for work experience requirements; no problem with applying for a visa in a different area than you are studying in, however if you apply for a skilled visa and then have to apply for another student visa to continue your studies (ie, skilled visa application not granted yet) you may have an issue claiming you are only in Australia to study if you have already lodged a PR visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Isuru92 said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I'm 26 years old and planning to migrate to Australia as a teacher. I'm orginaly from Sri Lanka and did my Undergrad through distance learning from an Indian Uni and then did my B.Ed through distance learning as well. (It did involve 2 months of supervised teaching)
> 
> My doubts now are ;
> 
> 1) I started on my 1 year B.Ed while in my final year of BSc, will that be Okay? since it was distance learning course, my college allowed me to register with provisional grades.
> 
> 2) IS distance learning degree and B.Ed fine?
> 
> 3) I do not have any paid work experience as of yet, should I get some before I apply?
> 
> 4) To add to all these problems, I'm currently studying towards a medical degree in Australia, so I'm technically allowed to apply for skilled migration as a teacher.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bunny18 -

Thanks for the questions. Re 1, Yes. Re 2, yes however if re-enter on the visitor visa your BVA will not activate until you have overstayed the maximum stay period for the visa (often 3 months, but check your sc600 visa carefully), so your work rights may be delayed upon re-entry on the visitor visa. You may want to also look at lodging a BVB application (form 1006) to change your unactivated BVA to an unactivated BVB prior to departing if there is any chance that your visitor visa will expire while you're outside Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bunny18 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Currently I'm in Visitor visa 600 . I just submitted the Partner visa 820/801 and received the BVA. The issue is my visitor visa will be expired on November 2017 and my BVA hasn't been in effect yet. So:
> 1- Can I apply for Medicare now ?
> 2- If I want to go out of Australia , can I? Do I need to inform the immigration about my travel ?
> 3- In case I want to start looking for a job and work, can I call the immigration to cancel my visitor visa so my BVA can be in effect?
> 
> If anyone can help me answer my questions, thank you very much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wasama -

Thanks for the question. It often comes down to the specific IT occupation you are best qualified to apply under and get your skills assessed under - you might want to check on Search | Anzscosearch for more info, also on the ACS website where more detailed descriptions of the various IT occupations they assess are published. Another option is a consultation with an experienced immigration lawyer or registered migration agent who can do a detailed assessment of your case and determine best options - this can often save a lot of time vs doing all the research yourself.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



wasama said:


> Hi Mark. Thanks for the effort of helping the national and the international communities.
> Im working right now as an IT engineer in United Arab Emirates. Im wanting to apply for the skilled immigration through skillselect. But there is so many options like sponsored or individual. I'm trying to understand which option will give me a better opportunity and the steps like document verification and etc.
> 
> Thanks a bunch Mark God bless.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Frstladi -

Thanks for the question. Answer: yes, usually. The more time goes by without hearing from DIBP after a Schedule 3 waiver submission is made, the greater the chance (usually) that they have accepted the waiver and are moving on to process other parts of the application. This often, but not always, true.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Frstladi said:


> Hi Mark,
> On the 22nd of Oct 2015 we lodged 820 online.
> On the 3rd of Jan 2017 we were invited to submit compelling and compassionate reasons to waive schedule 3 as my partner was on BVE.
> It has been over 5 months since we have submited the waiver request and we have not heard anything back from DIBP.
> Online immi status still says recieved and it has been 20+ months since we first submitted the application. I have emailed immi for an update but am yet to get a response.
> Generally speaking would it be a good sign that DIBP have not yet rejected my schedule 3 waiver request?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi liuchengkai0912 -

Thanks for the question. You do not need an agent to cancel your visa - you can contact DIBP yourself (phone 131 881) and tell them you wish to voluntarily cancel your student visa. They'll send you a form and you can start the process - may take several months however. Once the visa is cancelled, you can lodge a BVE application on Form 1008 via email. They may or may not ask you to come in for an interview. Once the BVE is granted, you can then lodge Form 1005 to request work rights to be added to the BVE based on financial hardship - this is demonstrated by showing that the combined monthly expenses of you and your partner is significantly greater than your partner's monthly income. In some cases owning a house or having substantial savings can prevent financial hardship from being established, however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



liuchengkai0912 said:


> Hi Mark,
> My situation is that I am currently holding a student visa 573 which expire in March 2019. And i have granted a Bridging visa A two weeks ago after i applied a partner visa but the BVA was unaffected because of i currently holding a visa 573.
> I recently decide to cancel my student visa voluntarily as i do not want to continue my study.
> One of my question is what is the best way to cancel my student visa in order to get BVE, For instance,by email or in-person. Do i have to do it through RMA?
> The second question is how correctly apply for the working right in BVE?
> I am looking forwards your any reply.
> Thank you for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chek123 -

Thanks for the note. Based on what you've said, I expect you would have a reasonable chance of being able to show that you are usually resident in Australia, but would really depend on the details. For instance, do you maintain a home in Australia (rent is OK) during the times you are in Vietnam, etc.

Below is some DIBP policy on usually resident - hope you find it helpful.

_As 'usually resident' is not defined in the Act or Regulations, it is taken to have its common or dictionary
meaning. That common meaning has been the subject of a number of judicial decisions.
In 2003, the Full Federal Court considered 'usual residence' in Scargill v Minister for Immigration and
Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (2003) FCAFC III (2 June 2003) (Scargill). Scargill addressed the
specific phrase 'usually resident' as it applied in the definition of 'remaining relative'.
The court in Scargill looked to other cases that used similar phrases, such as Kotaki Para Rubber Estates
Limited v The Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1941) HCA 13; (1941) 64 CLR 241. Scargill found a
person must meet two essential elements to be considered usually resident in a particular place:
• a physical presence in a particular place (as indicated by where a person maintains a home, eats
and sleeps, even if this is in hotels or a yacht) and
• an intention to treat that place as a home for at least the time being but not necessarily forever.
Although:
• regulation 1.03 requires a decision maker to consider whether a person purporting to be a
permanent resident is in fact usually resident in Australia
and
• case law requires that in doing so the decision maker considers the two elements of physical
presence and intent
it is a matter for the decision maker to determine, based on the facts of the case, if a person is usually
resident in and a permanent resident of Australia.
The evidence for being usually resident somewhere may be seen in a variety of factors, including:
• maintaining a home in a particular place
• going to work there
• owning property, business or other interests there
• having family and other ties in the place.
Absence from a place at a particular time does not automatically mean it is not a person's usual residence,
as the person may have already established usual residence there in circumstances where their absence is
still consistent with having usual residence in that place.
It follows that a person who holds a permanent visa but has not activated that visa by entering Australia
may, depending on the facts of the case, be considered usually resident if they have the intention of making
Australia their home, had previously lawfully entered Australia (even if only on a temporary visa at that
stage) and established the type of links that are indicative of usual residence
A person who has never entered Australia could not be found to be usually resident in Australia as they
have never established their physical presence in Australia.
Under policy, it may be accepted that the sponsor is usually resident in Australia in the absence of
information that suggests otherwise if the sponsor:
• holds a permanent visa and
• is residing in or has previously resided in Australia._

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chek123 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have a similar situation and would like to know if anyone can help. I have been living in perth and working in this Australian company for 3 years, recently I accepted a position that requires me to travel and work/support in one of our oversea company in Vietnam for roughly 10 months, on and off, I usually stay in Vietnam for 10 weeks and back to Perth for 2 weeks, back and forth. This arrangement will stop by the end of this year and I will stay in Perth for most of my time.
> 
> I want to apply a visa for my fiancee. I have a job contract/payslip to prove my current employment in this Australian company. I also can prove I own a car in Aus. Dont have any property to support as I'm currently renting. Would I be considered as usually resident in Australia?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ham -

Thanks for the note - it's all right here:
https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/For-Migrants/Migration-Skills-Assessment/MSA-StepByStep-Guide

Note that EA no longer accepts paper applications, so everything is done online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ham admanedien said:


> Good mornings , Good evenings
> Would you please answer this inquiry,,
> I have already finished collecting the required documents to be assessed by Engineers Australia. I am a civil engineer and having a 55 points, I will apply for visa 190. My inquiry is about how to send the documents, by mail or by uploading them to their website? if by mail, could you please mention the address?
> I browsed for this piece of information but I could not reach to the answer.
> Thanks a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Upen144 -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict how states will choose, chances of success, etc - the selection criteria are not always published and there's no way to know how many others are competing with you for the nomination.

Best,

Mark Northam



upen144 said:


> Thanks for the response Mark ! You are so kind.
> 
> Please clear my one more confusion - I am going to apply for Financial Market dealer 222211 in South Australia with the score of 60/65 . How much the chances for getting VISA ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Deeda -

Thanks for the note. Currently the occupation fashion designer does not require a skills assessment for a 457 visa. There is the option of the case officer requesting a skills assessment if they believe that you are not sufficiently skilled in your occupation, however that is rarely done.

Once you receive the DIBP letter requesting medicals, they usually provide 28 days to do so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Deeda said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks so much for willing to help!
> A few days ago, my employer had applied visa 457 for me in the position of Fashion Designer.
> But I am not sure whether I need to provide a skill assessment.
> Is there any way to find out whether my position Fashion Designer needs a skill assessment or not?
> 
> Also, I am required to do a medical checkup but I am now away from Australia for a 2-3 weeks business trip. Will it be too late to complete the medical checkup while I'm back? What is the time frame of completing a medical checkup once received the referral letter?
> 
> Thanks for your patient to read! appreciate it!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hello2017 -

Actually I think it's a good idea. Also note there are downloadable will kits available from various sources that can be far cheaper than having a lawyer prepare the will if you have a fairly straightforward will - as always, check carefully before proceeding.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hello2017 said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> I dont have a will yet. I am thinking about making one. So that i can include my partner in it. But we have submitted our 820/801 application early june. Since the will date is after submission date, do u think its a waste of time and money doing it?
> 
> Thank u in advance for ur reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ash -

Congratulations! Once married, you should go to your ImmiAccount online and lodge a First Stage Partner Visa application (under New Applications) Check the box that says the applicant currently holds a subclass 300 Prospective Marriage Visa and proceed online. You must lodge within the 9-month validity period of the 300 visa to avoid lots of hassle.

Re honeymoon, if you're coming back before the end of the 9 month validity period of the 300, then the applicant can re-enter on the 300. If there is any chance of still being outside when the 300 expires, suggest you lodge the onshore partner visa after marriage but before leaving Australia, then apply to change the unactivated Bridging Visa A you'll get from the onshore partner visa into an unactivated Bridging Visa B (form 1006) prior to departure. Then if the 300 expires while you're offshore, the BVB will automatically activate and you can re-enter on the BVB.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashie4ya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My fiancé was granted his PMV visa and is now in Australia. We are getting married next month. What application do we need to apply for online? How long should we wait to apply?
> Is it okay that we are going overseas for our honeymoon?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Ash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cooldora -

Thanks for the note. Re lodging prior to end of 5-year waiting period, my feeling is that in most cases lodging 6 months or less before the end of the 5yr period is likely OK. In many cases the case officer will be understanding if they end up ready to grant your visa shortly before the end of the waiting period, but there is a risk here because you'd be depending on the flexibility and understanding of the case officer.

No way to predict current partner visa processing times with any accuracy, but I'd say 9 to 18 months, sometimes less, frequently more.

Re visitor visa, would need to discuss that with you at a consultation as the answers to your questions depend to a great extent on your personal circumstances - see website below in my signature for more on consultations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cooldora said:


> Hi Mark,
> My husband was married in 2013 ( applied for partner visa mid-2013), and due to issues, withdrew his sponsorship in early 2014 and divorced in early 2015.
> The ex.wifes Partner Visa (PV) was granted, but she did not travel to Australia on that visa. It was withdrawn.
> We got married in end of 2015, but waited for 5 years of sponsorship limitation period to pass. We talk everyday & he has visited me a couple of times.
> Now, it has been about 4 yrs + and that is about 11mths for the 5 year period to finish,We want to lodge my PV ( my husband's second sponsorship) .
> 1) Some say it takes 9 or 11 or 12 mths after the application is lodged? How long is the processing time for India currently?
> 2) Perfect time for PV lodging, without negative effects. Some say after 6 mths a case officer will be engaged and process the application.
> - will they grant the PV if it's still 2-3 mths left before the 5 yr period finishes?
> - if not, can we request for them to put the application on hold until the 5 yr period finishes?
> - would they communicate with us/ our lawyer, prior to making a decision?
> Tourist Visa(TV)
> 
> I lodged my tourist visa last year and got refused as we hadn't lodged the PR visa, and though it was genuinely for tourist purpose to visit my husband as it had been very long time apart.
> 
> Now after applying for PV, we want to apply for a Tourist visa
> 1) Will there an issue cuz I had TVrejected before ?
> 2) when is the ideal time to apply for the Tourist visa? Immediately or 1 or 2 weeks after the PR visa is lodged? Or after the medical checks are done?
> 3) What are the strong evidences to prove the genuinity of temporary visa application?
> 4) Once the TV is approved, will there be a date / period we have to travel to Australia by?
> 
> Kindly share your experience and knowledge!
> Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kikaxy -

Thanks for the note. All depends on how closely the case officer looks at the 888 forms. Safest bet would be for each of the people who provided an 888 form to write an additional letter and explain why they put 4+ years instead of 3 years and 9 months on the forms, then lodge those with your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kikaxy said:


> Hi Mark,
> I sent my partner visa (309/100) application to Embassy. I included 3 Form 888 in the application ( from my husband's parents and sister) but in each form the question "how long do you know visa applicant" is answered incorrect. They wrote 4+ years but they knew me 3 years and 9 months on the date they signed Forms 888. The CO can clearly see they know me shorter from what they wrote in declarations. It will be 4+ years they know me when I get my CO. Do I need to do something about it or not and what I can do? Sorry, my English isn't good enough.
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Waitinginvain -

Thanks for the note. That usually means that they expect the external security checking back soon and are doing a final assessment - however that being said, still very difficult to determine how long there may be to go.

Best,

Mark Northam



waitinginvain said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am waiting my pmv lodged in Beirut for 14months.Last month we call the immigration and said that my application is on the final stage.what does it mean? Our wedding will be 2nd week of july but i think we couldnt catch up anymore.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Larsjo -

Maybe. Depending on the anticipated medical costs of your condition, your employer may need to sign a document promising to pay for any costs related to the condition under PIC 4006A. No way to predict until the medical exam assessment is completed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



larsjo1378 said:


> Hi!
> 
> I intend to work Australia via 457 visa as an ENGINEER. I am hep B carrier (inactive) state. can this be a problem for my visa?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chelsea595 -

Congratulations! No problem with 888's being several months old unless you are applying onshore for a partner visa after previously being refused another visa in Australia - only then does the rule apply that the 888's must have been written no more than 6 weeks prior to application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chelsea595 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have just applied for my 801/820 partner visa ! Woo!
> My English mother in law wrote us a stat dec back in Feb, 17 and had it certified etc.
> Is it too old to put in there now? Should I get her to re do it?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ksc2017 -

Thanks for the note and for writing me directly via email about this - I hope our conference was helpful to give you some ideas to move forward. You've got a bit of a complex case, however the most important thing is to always look after yourself first - nothing is worth sacrificing your safety/being abused for. Not a visa, not a relationship, nothing. Keep you head held up high and remember there are ALWAYS options - some that are easily seen, others we only see when things may get challenging.

Best,

Mark Northam



ksc2017 said:


> Hi Mark, I have a question about medical information. When we did my 801/820 my fiancee had me omit a portion of my medical information from the application in fear it would hinder the process. I have mental illness (Anxiety, PTSD, Schizo-affective disorder and dissociative disorder) but now that I am in need of mental health care and it is not recorded, what are the implications?
> 
> In addition, I have discovered my partner is an alcoholic and while not physically abusive, (though it has begun with "play slapping," it is borderline sexual assault (if that is what it is considered, as he does not listen to me when he's drunk) is emotionally abusive and cruel, telling me i'm the reason he drinks. I can not go anywhere on my own, usually, if I do it's just to the store. Everything I do, online or not, needs to know what is being done. What messages I have and what was said, Including any regular mail that comes through post must be read out loud, etc. I have had some medical test that needed to be done and haven't been because they will cost too much money, or is complained about that I over react. He has spent enough to bring me here and pay for immigration, make me happy, etc. I am not allowed to be upset over missing family or my children, if I am, I am told to suck it up and it will pass. Obviously intensifying the mental health issues.
> 
> I have considered returning to the US, however with no funds to do so, (return or set up a place to live) I will have to stay here. I do work, but all money is put into savings and only what I need for shopping is what I am able to keep. It is a joint account, that is checked regularly, so I am not able to put money aside. I do have a Super acct, but it is only $900 and I know I can't touch it. I will be doing my taxes and should get a good amount back, but it will be taken from me for savings.
> 
> What is the best course of action to resolve these issues. (I apologize for the numerous edits, I am just now finding the courage to come forward and am a bit wary to divulge what is happening, mostly out of fear. I can't leave without the means to live elsewhere)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dragon13 -

Thanks for the note. If you are unable to obtain a police clearance certificate (PCC), you must provide DIBP with a reason why and provide evidence to back that up. In some cases if DIBP agrees that it is "unreasonable" to require you to get a particular PCC, they will allow you to sign a statement that you have not committed any crimes in that country, etc. However in many cases DIBP is insistent that you provide a PCC and if you do not, it can be the basis for refusal of the visa. Suggest you do everything you can to show that you have tried to get the PCC and work from there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dragon13 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope you could give me some advice about my burden. We will be applying for a Partnership/De Facto Visa soon and I am so worried about the police check that I need to obtain from UAE for character test. I provided my friend in UAE a copy of my passport and asked her to check at the police station if there is any complaints under my name and she found out that there is a criminal offence filed against me by one of the banks I owed money from. Therefore, they said that the only way to clear the case is to talk to the bank and settle the debt. But as much as I want to pay them off, I am presently uncapable. I will still try and get a police check from here in Australia thru the UAE Embassy but I am afraid I will not be given. If ever I am not able to secure a police check from UAE due to my unsettled debts, would that cause our application to be denied? Please help. Thanks a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mahmoud -

Thanks for the note. The occupation ceilings (max invitations issued for each occupation) reset each 1 July, so I would keep an eye on the DIBP occuaptional ceiling site at SkillSelect and see when the reset shows up there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mahmoud Ismail said:


> Dear Mr. Mark,
> 
> First, thank you very much for helping people.
> 
> Second, I'm going to apply for Australia 189 Visa with Job code 263111.
> when I check that code on ANZSCOSERCH it is showing that it reached the occupation sealing even excesses it by 3.5%, what that mean?
> I will not get invitation?
> or I should wait until the status of sealing changes?
> 
> Thank you again and best regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Albert0205 -

Congratulations!! Great to hear. And it's a good tip for everyone - we're seeing more and more grants with less than 30 days between the date of the grant and the must-enter-by date. Having a contingency plan to make a quick trip to Australia to activate your visa(s) is a good idea - can always depart and return sometime afterwards after time for proper preparation for moving to Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



albert0205 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> After 436 days with no contact from CO, I have finally received my Grant on 3rd July 2017. Excited on receiving the grand, and sad cos my first entry date is 26th July 2017 which is less than 22 days from now.
> 
> Thanks to the forum Mark and Members who have cleared my doubt which helped me get some relief.
> 
> Thanks once again.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ponty -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict when the visa will be granted, but if the lawyer refuses to communicate with you, I would think about getting a new lawyer. That's outrageous behaviour and not something you should put up with, frankly.

Not to rant, but there seem to be more than a few lawyers in this industry that really think they're on some sort of a regal throne or something - they treat clients like servants, think they're "above" clients and even staff members, and generally take an "elitist" attitude towards everyone. Frankly I have no time for people like this - we are in a people oriented business, and frankly if a lawyer doesn't want to deal with clients (people), maybe they should stop serving public clients and go get some sort of a legal research job where they're locked away doing research etc.

Visa applicants have every right to expect good communications and a positive relationship with whoever represents them, whether that person is a lawyer or migration agent. There are enough good agents and lawyers out there that you should not have to tolerate crappy service or unresponsive communications. While delays from time to time are inevitable, especially when client issues such as tribunal hearings can happen with little notice, I always think about what my favourite jazz pianist Chick Corea once said when he was talking about dealing with challenges... "When in doubt, communicate." I agree 100%.

Best,

Mark Northam



Ponty said:


> Hello Sir,
> I have applied for the 457 visa through a immigration lawyer but I cannot contact him directly. All the required documents were submitted along with the medicals on 31st March 2017, still I didn't get any visa status. Will you please help me regarding this. When visa will be sent to me or not.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Max1920 -

Thanks for the note and email about this. I expect they are going through and checking every aspect of the adoption as there is a big process that has to be completed to ensure that the adoption meets all the various policy and legal requirements. Best to be patient at this point and let them make the next move.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Max1920 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have been reading your posts and have found it very informative and quite detailed. A big thank you for your time and the efforts that you put in.
> 
> I have a query regarding the medical examinations. Briefly the history of my application is as follows:
> 
> - Applied for a visa under the sub class 190 for NSW (along with the requisite documentation) and after receiving the invitation the additional documents were submitted on Feb 2016.
> - Subsequently the medical examination for myself and my family was also completed in the month of April 2016.
> - While submitting the documentation, we had also mentioned that we are in the process of adopting a girl child and that once all legal formalities would be completed, we would inform the department of immigration about the same.
> - All legal formalities were completed during the month of June 2016 and our daughter, became part of our family in the month of July 2016.
> - Details / documentation pertaining to our adopted daughter was duly submitted in accordance with the request for more information
> - Our adopted daughter's medical examination was completed on 14th Dec 2016.
> - Post this there has not been any revert from the authorities
> 
> My query is one two fronts:
> 1. Is such a delay normal?
> 2. Will the medical done in April 2016 still be valid?
> 
> I have tried calling them but the standard response given is that the application is under progress.
> 
> Thanks & Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zander1ni -

Thanks for the note. I'm guessing you are asking about the subclass 462 Work and Holiday visa for USA citizens.

DIBP has tightened up the character requirements across the board for many visa subclasses - I expect you will have to deal with the criminal record issue sooner or later, especially since they now are aware your conviction. My suggestion: have a look at Ministerial Direction 65 here: https://www.border.gov.au/visas/Documents/ministerial-direction-65.pdf and read the section about character based refusals and how character is assessed - may give you some more info and peace of mind re: moving forward with your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Zander1ni said:


> hey mark,
> 
> Few questions about a 463 visa:
> 
> - I applied for one last year but withdrew the application...they had sent back asking info about my criminal conviction
> 
> - Given that at one point when i applied before they asked me to supply this documentation should submit it initially again before they ask?
> 
> - I have had 3 student visa's granted here and was never once asked for documentation about my criminal history. Is it possible that this time they could just grant the application right away?


----------



## Andressae

Hello Mark...I currently hold a 573 visa (master of management for engineers) which expires at the end of this August. Since I came in Australia for the first time in 2009 in an elicos course, I have been told I won't be able to apply to the postgraduate stream visa (485). Would you able to help me if that information is true, and if it is, what other visa I can apply for? I also hold a bachelor's degree in electronics engineering, however my experience is very limited in the area.

Appreciate your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bappi2k3 -

You may be able to avoid providing another PCC from a country if you have not visited that country since you last obtained a PCC from that country, however this is generally at the discretion of the case officer. Info on obtaining Qatar PCC here: Qatar

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bappi2k3 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am going to apply for 887 visa from 489 visa. Is it necessary to provide Police clearance for all country i live more than 1 year again. This is because i already provide Police clearance for those country when i apply for 489 visa. If i have to give police clearance than can you please tell me how can i get police clearance of Qatar from Australia.


----------



## arvindrajan92

*Secondary and currently enrolled education details*

Hello Mr Mark,

Thank you very much for answering my query.

I read the application again and it says "Has the applicant completed, or is currently enrolled in, any studies at secondary level or above?" and "Give details of all past and current studies at secondary level and above."

Since I am currently enrolled in one, I have provided my PhD study details in the "Notification of incorrect answer(s)". My completed bachelors study details (the only qualification that supports my points) were already in my application. In my Form 80, however, I have provided college, bachelors and "currently enrolled" PhD details (since only tertiary level education is requested).

Is this sufficient? There shouldn't be much problem, I hope. I am very worried that the outcome may be negative due to this.

Best wishes,
Arvind



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Arvindrajan92 -
> 
> Thanks for the question. Probably low risk of problems re inconsistency, and normally they only want completed qualifications listed on the visa application form itself (read carefully). Form 80 has an additional option for "not completed" and "withdrawn" qualifications so it may be that you never should have put the in-process PhD on the application itself anyway.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alex -

Thanks for the note. If partner points are not an option, you might try the other English tests that are accepted by DIBP including PTE Academic, TOEFL and OET - many clients we work with are able to score better (especially on the PTE and TOEFL) in instances where they've become stuck on IELTS short of their goal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fifalex said:


> Hi Mark
> Hope you are well and appreciate the advice that you are providing here.
> 
> I have the following issue. In order to get the 60 points required and apply as a solicitor under the skilled occupation list, I need to get an IELTS score of at least 8 on all sections, as I do not have the 3 years work experience as a solicitor and I am over 30.
> My problem is that after 3 tries I cannot get past 7.5 on the writing aspect, and it is starting to feel impossible, as I would like to think that my English is near perfect, and I was fairly satisfied with my efforts.
> I was wondering whether there is anything I can realistically do in order to boost my point score to 60, as I have already invested massively in order to get the Australian PR, through bridging law courses and also completing the PLT at the college of law nearly 6 months ago.
> 
> Thanks Mark any advice would be greatly appreciated.
> Cheers
> Alex


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ravi -

Depending on the relevance of your Bachelor degree, you may want to put in all reference letters as in some circumstances such as RPL ACS will give you credit for relevant work experience older than 10 years, which can leave more of the 10 years' work experience available for use for points for DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ravi.nidadavolu said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hope you are having a lovely time. I had a quick question on the ACS assessment.
> 
> Graduation done April 2001
> Masters Done (Coursework-distance mode) - Dec 2013
> Job 1:2004-2005 - Affidavit/Statutory declaration based employment letter attested by supervisor
> Job 2: 2005-2007 - Affidavit/Statutory declaration based employment letter attested by supervisor
> Job 3: 2007-2013 - Company letter head based employment letter from HR
> Job 4: 2013-present - Company letter head based employment letter from HR
> Overall experience around 13 years.
> Now when I submit my ACS skills assessment, the skill for which I am choosing for immigration, I have around 10 years of experience.
> 
> Should I submit the above experience letters for all the 4 jobs or the last 2 which covers the 10 year experience?
> 
> Please advise so that based on this I can file for my assessment during the coming weekend.
> 
> Appreciate your support in advance.
> 
> Regards,
> Ravi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sri86 -

Thanks for the note. Would suggest you talk to EA and see if they would consider any alternatives to the experience certificate - what's happening here is something we're seeing at the DIBP level too - in short, skills assessors and DIBP are not putting much, if any, weight on colleague statements as they figure your colleague will write whatever you suggest they write. Sadly the flood of fake employer reference letters from certain countries has created a "guilty until proven innocent" situation for everybody.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sri86 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for the support you are providing for the people who are planning to migrate to Australia. Recently I had filed and EOI on 29-May-2017 with overall skill select points as 60. I have an overall experience of 9 years as an instrumentation engineer and I was able to provided the experience certificate along with roles and responsibilities for only company (with 3.5 years experience) on letter head, for the rest of the roles and responsibilities, I had provided the relevant pay slips, bank statements, income tax fund details and colleague reference letters too to Engineers Australia. However I was not provided the credibility for the entire years of experience and was allotted only 5 points for which the experience certificate was provided.
> 
> In this aspect, could you please let me know if there is any other way that I can increase my points or is there a way that I can ask engineers Australia to re-assess the situation. All my other companies had declined to provide the reference letters, but I have all the other proofs to substantiate this evidence except roles and responsibilities indicated on letter head. Please note that I cannot increase the points with respect to English score or spouse assessment or age.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Latorrest -

Thanks for the note. For a 457 visa you are generally required to show evidence that the de facto relationship has existed for the 6 months (at least) prior to application. Living together evidence is usually the strongest evidence for this, but you'll be assessed in all 4 areas - financial, social, commitment, household. Would suggest you look at some of the topics in other areas of the Australia Forum Visa section to see how people have assembled relationship evidence for partner visas for more ideas. And definitely consider using your joint account more for daily transactions, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



latorrest said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am planning to lodge an application to be added as subsequent entrant in my partner's 457 visa.
> We have been together for 1.5 years but living together just for 6 months.
> We have a joint account but we do not use it much, it is more like a savings one. Do we need to provide proof of the transactions?
> We are both recent migrants in Australia so we do not have any properties or wills, or anything of the sort.
> How much evidence do you think is necessary to be successful?
> If we write statements about our relationship, do they need to be made on a special format?
> How is the best way to present evidence like text messages or facebook interactions?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Potpot -

Thanks for the note. You didn't specify which subclass of visa you applied for, however generally speaking for most skilled visas other than the 485, the skills assessment is a time of application requirement, so as long as the skills assessment had not expired as of the date you lodged the visa, it would be fine.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



potpot said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Good Day. I have lodged my Visa last June 2017 status RECEIVED. I am a Registered Nurse NEC, currently here in Australia. My ANMAC Skills Assessment is expiring this August 2017, ANMAC assessment expires after 2 years I had mine last August 2015. I am just wondering if anyone has an idea if CO may need to ask for another assessment since mine is expiring. I Appreciate your response. Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lex -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately 457 processing times are all over the place now, highly unpredictable. I'd be patient for a couple more months and let the recent 457 changes settle down a bit, then email again.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lex said:


> Hello Mark,
> I am just confuse processing time of the 457 subsequent visa. I am holding 457 visa and onshore now, it was granted in Oct last year.
> And I put my wife as a subsequent entrant in Jan 2017 offshore. She was required and finished her health examination in end of Feb. Then the status of the application become "Assessment in Progress" until now. It looks past 150 days without changing.
> So is any ways to speed up the processing time? Or is ti possible to make a call to the Imm Office to confirm the decision date? I am not sure the 457 policy changing will effect the subsequent visa after 19/May.
> I send mail to the CO's mail and got nothing reply. Is any expect processing times for a 457 subsequent visa?
> Thank you very much for the help!
> Lex


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Muntasir -

Thanks for the note. DIBP keeps on shedding employees and expecting the remaining ones to do more work it would seem. Processing times for most visas have increased dramatically over the last 2 years, yet DIBP doesn't seem to care. Fast processing is apparently not one of the measures by which they judge themselves, nor is responding to emails from their customers (you!). Re risk of Retail Manager (General) - there is substantial risk in any RSMS occupation these days - DIBP has said that ENS/RSMS visas will be limited to occupations on the MLTSSL list only beginning March 2018 with some "additional" occupations allowable for RSMS visas. There is a serious question as to whether the direct entry RSMS visa will continue to exist past March 2018 in anything resembling the form we see it in today. My suggestion: if you are eligible, lodge ASAP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Muntasir said:


> Hi Mark
> I am new to this forum.
> I have seen the Aus Immi site that the priority of 187 VISA is the highest, but why the processing time is so high? I have seen that people are getting frustrated. Some have applied last May/April. I found this in other forums.
> 
> Can you please tell us why this is so? I am planning to apply for 187 VISA as Retail Manager. Do you think there is any risk with this VISA and occupation


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dave08 -

Thanks for the note, great questions. Unless you have spent a substantial amount of time living together, you may want to look at the prospective marriage visa (PMV, subclass 300) which has lower relationship evidence requirements and is processed more quickly (9 months or so, compared to 12-18 for a partner visa). Visitor visa applications always possible after either partner or PMV application lodged, but no guarantees on grants for visitor visas as applicants are often expected to have stronger ties to their home countries then they do to those in Australia (incredibly). It's one of the great unfair ironies of Australian migration law - the aspect that helps you the most with a partner or PMV visa (applicant having strong, close relationship with the sponsor in Australia) works against the applicant when it comes to a visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dave08 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Sorry if this has already been asked.
> 
> Last year in June while i was in Bosnia, i made friends with a girl who lives there. We ended up spending only a week together because i was heading back to Australia. When i returned back to Australia we continued to keep in touch via Viber and Facebook. After keeping in touch the whole time, everything was going well and then i applied for a tourist visa for her to come spend some time in Australia however that was rejected. After the tourist visa was rejected i ended up traveling back to Bosnia and spent 6 weeks with her. After the 6 weeks i felt there was a connection between us and decided to propose.
> 
> I'm a little confused now because I'm not sure what the best thing to do is now. Is it better for me to go and get married overseas first and then apply for the Partner (subclasses 820 and 801) or is it better for me to apply for the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) and get married here. I have noticed that the processing times are really long and am also wondering if i apply for the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) am i allowed to also apply for a tourist visa for her to come here for a few months while we wait on the decision of the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Msconverse -

Without knowing more about your circumstances it's difficult to give you specific advice, however the health requirements for most temporary visas are very similar, so that may make a difference, however as you know nurses are subject to additional questions re working in a hospital, etc.

Bottom line is that if you've indicated the wrong visa on your health declarations, I'd confirm with the medical clinic where you're taking the health exams the correct visa subcategory you're applying for and ensure that you are receiving the appropriate health exams for that subcategory of visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



msconverse said:


> Hi Mark! I am student registered under the IRON program and I already have a confirmation of enrollment from an education institute in Melbourne. In my health declaration, i made a mistake on choosing subclass 500 instead of visitor visa. My visa application form indicates im under subclass 600. Would there be any conflict? What is the best that should I do? Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ahmer -

Thanks for the note. No good way to predict what the case officer is doing at the moment, however it looks like your brother got his application in prior to the dependency law change last year so that's very fortunate for him.

Best,

Mark Northam



ahmer said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> An interesting and complex case to discuss.Your help and suggestion require for the case.
> 
> Visa Type:189
> Visa applied: 20th August 2016
> Primary Applicant:my brother
> Secondary applicants: Wife
> Secondary applicant: Younger sister(age 23 financially dependent on my brother)
> Brother's wife has already got visa:476 expiring in December 2018
> Co Contact: 29 Aug 2016
> Co Contact: 02nd Nov 2016 asking evidence of dependent relative relationship for younger sister
> Co Contact:06 December 2016: Asking main applicant, final reminder to provide evidence of dependency otherwise decision will be taken to my sister's case. Also Co ask medical for my brother's wife.
> My brother in response deffered the medical due to pregnancy and contact DIBP again in March when his son was born
> Co contact again:12 April 2017 asking medical for new born and my brother's wife
> Co contact 19 April acknowledgement of adding new born in an application
> Co Contact again on 5th May 2017:Asking medical and PCC of my brother which was expired in January 2017.
> Current situation:waiting
> 
> Any idea still Co working on dependency of younger sister documents?
> I read many times that Co ask applicant whether they want to remove secondary applicants if they dont satisfy with dependency situation.
> 
> Medical and PCC of younger sister will be expiring in September 2017 as well.
> 
> Please the rule of adding other family members been closed last year in September while my brother applied visa in August.
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaspals -

Thanks for the note. Re evidence of living in QLD, suggest you get a statutory declaration from the family you are/were staying at and include contact information for them if DIBP has questions. Any accounts at all in your name with the relevant dates on it and that address on it may be helpful.

Re: state requirements, best to consult directly with the state skilled authority as their rules change frequently.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jaspals said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to apply for Queensland state nomination under postgraduate alumni scheme. I was going through the document checklist and saw proof of residency. The problem is, from last two years I am doing house stay with a family. So i do not have any lease documents or utility bills on my name. Could you please suggest what other documents I can show as a proof of residency? I don not have QLD driving licence also but I have bank statements.
> 
> I have been living in Brisbane from June, 2015 to till now. Do I need to show residency proof in QLD for previous years or just for the time when applying for state nomination?
> 
> Thank you for your time,
> 
> Best Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Addy21 -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately there is little you can do as DIBP has no time limits on itself for processing visas. You could email them to advise them of the last day you can commence studying and not be dropped from the course, and if you really get anxious you can lodge a complaint with the Global Feedback Unit at DIBP (you can google this for the webpage). Until DIBP or the government establishes time limits and properly staffs DIBP with enough people to process applications within these time limits, it's anybody's guess how long visas will take to be processed. Sad, but true.

Best,

Mark Northam



Addy21 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I applied for my australian student visa subclass 500 on April 28 2017 cause my school start date is 24th July.
> On May 23rd 2017 The Australian embassy requested for one more additional scanned copy of my UK visa because the submitted one wasn't clear enough and I sent it on the 25th May 2017.
> Since then I haven't heard anything from them and I have tried contacting them but they just gave me an automated email instead.
> Its 10th July and yet no word from them.
> 
> Why this delay and what can I do about it?
> Please I need answers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nsa -

Thanks for the note. Once you become a permanent resident, it doesn't matter what happens to your partner relationship - if it breaks down, that does not affect your permanent residence. Your ex-partner cannot "cancel" your visa - he has no say over your visa once you become a permanent resident.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



NehaSa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you let me know how would be a proper person to check and authenticate my PR status after divorce?
> My details:
> 2013- received my PR SI 189
> >2014- got validated
> > 2015 July - got divorced
> > 2015 Dec - Remarried
> > Now I wish to apply for Partner visa 309/100 for my husband
> > So my queries:
> > 1.Wat if my ex husband applies to cancel my PR
> Or after I submit my divorce documents to immi account for application of visa, will my PR get cancelled?
> I tried to get in touch with Australian high commission in delhi but they will answer my questions only through vfs, and vfs is taking forever to get back to me.
> Thank you in anticipation.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Nsa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Danilocortucci -

Thanks for the note. Not able assess eligibility here on the forum as it's too complex a subject and I would need more detailed personal information from you. Generally speaking it may be possible to qualify based on academic qualifications alone if the qualification is at the required level for the occupation (see Search | Anzscosearch for more on this) even if the applicant has no work experience. This will change in March 2018 when all 457 visas will require a minimum amount (2 years is predicted) of work experience regardless of academic qualification, unless exempt. However with no relevant work experience, DIBP will likely take a very close look at the application and may choose to request a skills assessment, which would likely doom the application as most skills assessor require a minimum amount of work experience. Bottom line: there is substantial risk with a skilled visa application with no relevant work experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Danilocortucci said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> My wife got a job offer 457 of cafe and restaurant manager of a hotel in Melbourne.
> 
> She never worked as a restaurant manager, but have bachelors in business and hospitality (that she did in Australia) and another in Brazil of hospitality; more than 4 years experience in 5 stars hotel as sales and events coordinatoor.
> 
> We need to know if she is elegible for this position as she never worked in the nominated position?
> 
> Thanks a lot!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussie2017 -

Thanks for the note. You are correct that with a relationship of at least 2 years and a child, that you would be considered for a PR visa straight away without having to hold the provisional partner visa for 2 years first. However this is not guaranteed, and while the partner visa major changes you refer to have apparently been pushed off until 2018, they're still out there waiting to be enacted. Also even with a long-term relationship/child, processing time can still be 12-18 months or longer.

Re: best choice for your personal circumstances, would need to work with you in a consultation (see website below in my signature for more info) to discuss your circumstances and get more details in order to give you specific advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussie2017 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am an Australia citizen. My husband is a British citizen. He came out on a holiday visa in 2012 and got a great job that gave him a 457 visa which he has been on ever since. We got married in March 2014 and had a daughter in 2015. Prior to marriage we had been de-facto since 2010.
> 
> His company has offered to sponsor him for PR (at our cost) which they estimate could take up to 18 months. We are hesitant to link the PR to a job which could limit his long term career opportunities for that length of time.
> 
> We are considering getting PR under my sponsorship. I have read that we can go straight to PR since we've been married for over 3 years and we have a child and we won't have the 2 year processing time? Is this correct? What timing should we expect for that? Is it a given, or only applied sometimes?
> 
> Which visa (employment or marriage) has higher success rate and/or which one is easier?
> 
> I've read about additional marriage/ sponsor responsibilities that came into play 1/7/17? - could you please clarify on those?


----------



## Addy21

Thanks Mark.
I will keep hoping and send another email.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tunwin27 -

Thanks for the note. In theory it could work, however for the 887 visa which I assume you'll be applying for, you'll have to show solid evidence that you have worked at least 35 hours per week for at least 52 weeks (1 year) for the employment requirement for the 887. Re: area you work in while holding the 489 visa, occasional work-related trips outside a qualifying area are OK, but regular work is not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tunwin27 said:


> Hi Mark, good day. Can driving uber and submit work requirements for 489 visa? I do have ABN and will pay tax accordingly as well as I will register uber in regional area.
> Thanks for the time and support.
> 
> Regards
> Tun Win


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nsa -

As an Australian permanent resident, to sponsor someone for a partner visa you'll have to show that you are "usually resident" in Australia - would need to work with you in a consultation to get more information about your personal circumstances and plans in order to assess chances of success with what you're planning - see more info on consultations on my website, see website in my signature below.

Best,

Mark Northam



NehaSa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am Australian Permanent Resident, I have roughly stayed for 3-4 months in Australia after getting PR and 6-8 months before applying for PR.
> Currently I am in India, remarried - can I apply for spouse visa 309/100 from India?
> My PR is due for renewal in June 2018, so I am planning to move to Australia to settle permanently in Feb 2018, how are the chances of getting extention in june? And can I apply for spouse visa from India(planning to apply for spouse visa in july 2017).
> 
> Thanks in anticipation,
> Kind regards,
> Nsa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andressae -

Thanks for the note. As you applied for your first student visa for Australia prior to 10 Nov 2011, you are not eligible for the newer Post Study Work stream of the 485 visa. However you may still be available for the older Graduate Work Stream of the 485 - you'll need to determine whether you meet the Australian Study Requirement based on the degree(s) you've completed here and when you completed them, and you'll need to have studied for an occupation on the MLTSSL occupation list and get a 485 skills assessment (looking at qualifications only generally) for your nominated occupation. You can get more on 485 requirements on the DIBP website - if you are interested in exploring other visas, may be best to set a consultation with an immigration lawyer or registered migration agent who can assess your situation and advise specific options you may qualify for.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Andressae said:


> Hello Mark...I currently hold a 573 visa (master of management for engineers) which expires at the end of this August. Since I came in Australia for the first time in 2009 in an elicos course, I have been told I won't be able to apply to the postgraduate stream visa (485). Would you able to help me if that information is true, and if it is, what other visa I can apply for? I also hold a bachelor's degree in electronics engineering, however my experience is very limited in the area.
> 
> Appreciate your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arvindrajan92 -

Sounds like you've done everything correctly in addressing the issue - in my view very low chance of it causing you any issues going forward.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arvindrajan92 said:


> Hello Mr Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for answering my query.
> 
> I read the application again and it says "Has the applicant completed, or is currently enrolled in, any studies at secondary level or above?" and "Give details of all past and current studies at secondary level and above."
> 
> Since I am currently enrolled in one, I have provided my PhD study details in the "Notification of incorrect answer(s)". My completed bachelors study details (the only qualification that supports my points) were already in my application. In my Form 80, however, I have provided college, bachelors and "currently enrolled" PhD details (since only tertiary level education is requested).
> 
> Is this sufficient? There shouldn't be much problem, I hope. I am very worried that the outcome may be negative due to this.
> 
> Best wishes,
> Arvind


----------



## NehaSa

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nsa -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Once you become a permanent resident, it doesn't matter what happens to your partner relationship - if it breaks down, that does not affect your permanent residence. Your ex-partner cannot "cancel" your visa - he has no say over your visa once you become a permanent resident.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mark, indeed this is very relieving, since I have remarried now can I apply for spouse visa 309/100 given the fact that I have barely stayed for3-4 months in Australia after receiving PR, currently I and my partner both are in India. What if he goes for individual skill visa 189? Can he go ahead with that or is it mandatory that if wife has PR then husband cannot apply for individual PR and has to apply only through her?
Sorry if my questions are repetitive.
Really appreciate your help and efforts you are taking to answer each query.

Thanks & Kind Regards,
Nsa


----------



## 313370

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Cooldora -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Re lodging prior to end of 5-year waiting period, my feeling is that in most cases lodging 6 months or less before the end of the 5yr period is likely OK. In many cases the case officer will be understanding if they end up ready to grant your visa shortly before the end of the waiting period, but there is a risk here because you'd be depending on the flexibility and understanding of the case officer.
> 
> No way to predict current partner visa processing times with any accuracy, but I'd say 9 to 18 months, sometimes less, frequently more.
> 
> Re visitor visa, would need to discuss that with you at a consultation as the answers to your questions depend to a great extent on your personal circumstances - see website below in my signature for more on consultations.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark,for the response.Based on your reply,i think we should wait for another 4 months.


----------



## gomes.v

First of all I'd like to thank you very much for the help you've been offering us all here!

I'm applying now for Prospective Marriage Visa, and one of the requirements is police certificates. Since I am from a non-English speaker country, I'll have to translate all my documents, and that's gonna be very expensive, so I wanna be sure I'll get this done right. 

All the certificates I need to get are done online only, and have a expiration date of a couple of months (one of them is just valid for 30 days for example). 

So my question is: should I get the certificates now, and attach them to the immi account so the process can be a bit quicker (?), and risk that they'll require me to send new certificates later on, or should I wait for them to request the certificates when necessary, even if that means it's going to take longer to process the visa?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## rash17

Hi Mark,

We are trying to bring my Grand Mother-In-Law under Visitor visa (subclass 600) Sponsored Family Stream. We almost prepared all the documents except the police clearance. Her age is 75+ and we heard that we don't need the "Police Clearance" certificate from her home country as she is more than 75 years of old. Is it true? We are trying to bring her in Australia by the end of next month (end of Aug'17) and we don't have enough time to get the police clearance certificate now. Do we need the police clearance certificate for her?


----------



## RFV88

Thanks, Mark. You're a legend.

I just came across the Q & A that has been released recently (border.gov.au/WorkinginAustralia/Documents/457-reforms-qanda.pdf) by the department. It states that TRT will remain available for 457 holders as that stream is not concerned with the Occupation lists.

I'm taking this to mean that TRT should still be available post March 2018 as the Occupation list changes shouldn't impact it and they have not mentioned anywhere that they intend to change the TRT, except for changing the eligibility period from two to three years.

Do you think this has now clarified that TRT will be available to 457 holders post 2018? I'm worried now though that I'll get to April 2018 and they will say due to the eligibility period changes, I can't submit until 2019. I can't see details on whether this only applies to the new TSS visas or also for 457s already in place.

Cheers,
Ryan



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ryan -
> 
> Thanks for the note. No way to tell for sure re: April 2018 as we expect more changes to be announced between now and then that could potentially prevent you from lodging a 186 TRT application in April 2018.
> 
> Re administrative burden, not sure how I see that as much more for the direct entry stream, other than you having to show 3 years experience overall as a management consultant, and you having to do a skills assessment (which can be tough for that occupation) -seems to me that the burden for the direct entry stream is far more on you than them!
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## michaelj

*Partnership visa 820 and 801 Travel Facility*

Hi,

To get straight to the facts:

I am australian and my partner is german. She will be comming out to australia in October and we will be applying for a onshore partnership visa.

We have been living together in Germany for just over 2 years now, but I have now moved back to Australia to get everything organised and settled for her when she arrives (Obtain fulltime work find a place to live etc back in Sydney) so when she arrives everything is settled.

We have just a couple of questions relating to the travel facility on both the temp 820 and permanent 801 partnership visas.

My partner has been granted an extended career break from her employer for 12 months (which is negiotable to an extent to be extended slightly). This is to enable us to experience the Australian lifestyle and compare that with where we live in Germany and decide where we would prefer to settle.

Our questions are:

1:
When my partner arrives and we apply for the partnership visa, she will first be issued an 820 temp visa. How long may she travel outside australia for on this visa? ie the maximum length of stay outside Australia whilst on the 820?

2:
What is the approx processing time before she will then be issued the 801 permanent visa ?

3:
Once she is on the 801 permanent visa, how long may we travel outside Australia for at one time ? ie the maximum length of stay outside Australia whilst on the 801?

4:
Do we need to be in Australia when the decision is made on the 820 and the 801 , ie when they are granted? or will we be notified ..and we can then come back to australia for it to be issued to her? This is incase we were travelling back to visit her family and happen to be away when its granted for example?

We greatly appreciate any help answering the following questions above 

Michael and Claudia


----------



## Scooney

Hi Mark 
So I've got a question. I am from the UK with no criminal convictions. However my boyfriend (aussie) is currently serving a sentence in prison. Will we be able to apply for defacto even though he has a criminal record? He has a 24 month sentence but 12 months with parole. 
Please helpppppp


----------



## hoonielicious

*Are you supposed to get a receipt of some sort upon submitting a form in person?*

Hello Mark,

As the title reads, I am curious as to whether you are supposed to receive any sort of evidence that you have handed in your application offline to the DIBP in Melbourne especially regarding the form 1005.

It has been a little over a month that I have yet to hear from them, which is at odds with what was told at the time of filing an application. They said It would take about two weeks to be invited to an interview for a review.

I am worried that the teller who took my documentation was irresponsible in handling it, and throw it in the midst of other pile of overdue paperwork.

Sorry, I am just not familiar with the usual procedure there, if there is any, in a case like this.


----------



## Benoitbelgium

Hello Mark!

I have a question regarding my entry to australia. I have a minor conviction for assuming a false, fictional name (basically a catfish) - very shameful and I am paying my dues. Not my proudest moment.

I have not been convicted of any prison time, just a fine. Filling out the eVisitor worked but cautioned me I might need to apply for e600.

As the eVisitor states online, you can apply for it with criminal record granted you have not been convicted of a sentence over 13 months. Below that, it states "any conviction" might warrant getting an e600 instead because anyone could get turned away st the border. Which is it? What do you recommend?

In your opinion, will I be barred upon entry at the border if I am honest and check Yes on the landing card? I made a stupid mistake for which I am paying but never hurt anyone.

Should I apply for an e600 instead? What are chances of this being granted with a minor conviction of this nature? I am sure it brings into question my "good character". I can, however, provide character references and stable living conditions. What's an estimated processing time for this?

I'm not sure which way to go. Thank you in advance.


----------



## Ayesha Khatib

Greetings! 
My husband is holding a Masters degree in computer which is Mater of Science in Computer (MSc) from India and he is working as a Senoir System Administrator in Saudi Arabia since 13+ years now. But his graduationBachelor of Science (BSc) is not done in Computer. Is he is eligible to apply for skilled migrant (PR visa) OR What are the chances for qualification recognition?


----------



## Nimal

Hi Mark,

Thanks for taking time off your work in responding to our queries and concerns. I have some concerns to be relieved. I lodged my subclass 500 student visa application 100 days back. The application still remains in "Received" status and I haven't been contacted neither for any further information nor for a decision yet. I have uploaded all the required checklist documents at the time of lodgement and provided some additional documents & information some time later without getting requested to help the department process it quicker. These additional documents are only further evidences to categories that were already complete. These are my queries:

1. I received the following email from High Commission while following up on the status after a month of lodgement: "Please be informed that your application is under active consideration, if there is any further requirement you will be contacted". Does this mean that the documents uploaded until that time are meeting the requirements or is it only a general reply by the respondent without even looking at my application?
2. Is it possible that the department will directly make a decision if application is complete without requesting any further information? Has there been such instances where the status changes from Received to Finalised directly?
3. During this period, I happened to defer the admission because of visa delay and provided new CoE, notified the change through Form 1022 and amended the OSHC period accordingly. Will admission deferrals result in additional delays which in fact was the reason for deferral in the first place?
4. The more time it takes and the more I look into the application for identifying gray areas that consume time, I feel that my genuine temporary entrant statement could have been more strong. Is it generally advisable to provide additional information on the genuine temporary entrant statement after submission if it will help?

Thanks in advance for your response.


----------



## asturna

*ACS for Contract Employees*

Hi,

I was an employee of Mphasis and worked at HP (client site) office. There I was working with HP's employees and not Mphasis employees and I want to give Stat Decl of my colleague who was an HP employee. Will ACS accepts that? He worked with me throughout my tenure with them.

Thanks,
AS Turna.


----------



## Sunmoon

*189 & 190 Timeframe*

Hi Mark,

Hope this finds you well. I have applied as a Mechanical Engineer for both the 189 and 190 visas with 60 and 65 points respectively. In all I have three EOIs in the system with two being lodged in mid January (189 and 190) while I have one that apparently states that it was logged in March when in fcat it was lodged in January.

To boost my points up I decided to sit my IELTS for a second time, the results were not as expected as I actually did worse than my first time which is quite surprising given I sat it within a year of each other. Would it be advisable if i sat for it again even though its been shown on news report that its just a money making opertion not designed to help but fail. My first and second try I got ;

Listening: 8.5
Reading: 7.0
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 8.5

Listening: 7.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7.0
Speaking: 7.0

To recap can you give me a timeframe for when I can get a nomination and is it advisable to sit for another IELTS?

Cheers


----------



## rodrigo_brso

*Working in NZ with 189 Visa*

Hi Mark,

Please I need your help urgently.
My wife and I are applying for a Skilled Work Visa (189). We are at the end of the process, waiting the Visa. 
Recently I received a job offer from New Zealand. It's a great opportunity. 
In the NZ Immigration website it is informed that: Australian citizens and permanent residents can visit, study, work and live in New Zealand.
My first question is: once grated the Visa, we will be automatically considered Australian Permanent Residents? Do we need to first go to Australia? If we need to go to Australia, what we have to do there before being considered Australian Permanent Residents?
My second worry is if there is any risk for us to loose our Australian Visa if work in New Zealand. For example, if we stay for five years working in NZ, do we loose our 189 Visa or we will just have to pay Resident Return visa (155)? Do we have to live/work in Australian for a minimum period to do not loose the visa? We will need to go to Australia regularly to maintain it?

Thank you for the clarifications!

Kind Regards

Rodrigo Romano


----------



## troels

*Citizenship application help - page 17 of 34*

Hi Mark.

I am going through the online application and on page 17 it tells you to:

"Give details of all countries that the applicant has lived in or travelled to since turning the age of 18, include:

Work or study outside of Australia
Holiday or leisure, including visits to the applicants country of origin..."

You have to enter exact dates and it counts up the number of days.

I have studiously entered details of about 40 overseas trips for holidays and business over 20+ years, many to the same country but when I try to move on I get an error:

"The table in 'Countries resided / visited' contains duplicate entries. The duplicate entry should be deleted or amended."

I don't know what this means!

No entries are highlighted and there are no true duplicate entries. Is it objecting to me having the same country listed more than once?

If so how can I complete the page according to the instructions I quoted at the top?

Please tell me the last three hours of looking up and entering this data hasn't been wasted.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nsa -

Thanks for the note. You may have a challenge with sponsoring a partner yourself, as an Australian PR must be "usually resident" in Australia in order to sponsor a partner, and there may be a 5 year waiting period involved as well - would need to work with you in a consultation in order to determine any limitations or potential issues that would affect your case.

Re: your partner getting PR on his own, absolutely nothing to prevent this, as long as he meets all the criteria for the PR visa he applies for. The fact that you are a PR would not limit his options.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



NehaSa said:


> Thank you very much Mark, indeed this is very relieving, since I have remarried now can I apply for spouse visa 309/100 given the fact that I have barely stayed for3-4 months in Australia after receiving PR, currently I and my partner both are in India. What if he goes for individual skill visa 189? Can he go ahead with that or is it mandatory that if wife has PR then husband cannot apply for individual PR and has to apply only through her?
> Sorry if my questions are repetitive.
> Really appreciate your help and efforts you are taking to answer each query.
> 
> Thanks & Kind Regards,
> Nsa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gomes.v -

Thanks for the question. First, note that DIBP (Australian immigration dept) recognises police clearance certificates as having a 12 month validity period from the date they are issued, even if the certificate says on it that it's only valid for a shorter time (or longer time). Normally PMV's take about 9 months to be processed - since police certificates (PCCs) are valid for 12, you could certainly lodge them when you lodge your visa, however if the PMV takes longer than normal to process, you might find yourself with outdated PCCs and have to get updated ones, although DIBP has the right to manually extend the validity period of a PCC. So it's really up to you - you could get them at visa lodgement time, or wait until they are requested.

Also, in some (but not all) cases if you lodge all documents at the time of application including police & health, your PMV (or partner) application may be expedited and processed in only a few months. No way to guarantee that yours will be selected for expedited service however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gomes.v said:


> First of all I'd like to thank you very much for the help you've been offering us all here!
> 
> I'm applying now for Prospective Marriage Visa, and one of the requirements is police certificates. Since I am from a non-English speaker country, I'll have to translate all my documents, and that's gonna be very expensive, so I wanna be sure I'll get this done right.
> 
> All the certificates I need to get are done online only, and have a expiration date of a couple of months (one of them is just valid for 30 days for example).
> 
> So my question is: should I get the certificates now, and attach them to the immi account so the process can be a bit quicker (?), and risk that they'll require me to send new certificates later on, or should I wait for them to request the certificates when necessary, even if that means it's going to take longer to process the visa?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rash17 -

Thanks for the note. There is no maximum age per DIBP rules that exempts visa applicants from obtaining a police certificate, however there is a fair amount of discretion that the case officer has. If you can establish it is "unreasonable" for the applicant to obtain a particular police certificate, you may be able to get an exemption or waiver.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rash17 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We are trying to bring my Grand Mother-In-Law under Visitor visa (subclass 600) Sponsored Family Stream. We almost prepared all the documents except the police clearance. Her age is 75+ and we heard that we don't need the "Police Clearance" certificate from her home country as she is more than 75 years of old. Is it true? We are trying to bring her in Australia by the end of next month (end of Aug'17) and we don't have enough time to get the police clearance certificate now. Do we need the police clearance certificate for her?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RVF88 -

Thanks for the note and kind words. Personally, I don't think the 186 TRT pathway is safe from further changes. After all, they've already announced they are reducing the maximum age at time of application to 44 for 186 and 187 TRT pathways. As for the occupation list, it all depends on how they grandfather in existing 457 holders in March 2018 when the 457 visa ends and the new TSS visa begins. And those details have not yet been made clear.

I believe they will continue having a TRT pathway at least to accommodate all 457 visa holders, but whether they will put more restrictions on that pathway is anybody's guess. One thing's for sure - DIBP has certainly made it clear that they don't believe in giving advance notice of major changes in many cases. This creates uncertainty in the 457/186/187 visa programme, which leaves employers and employees alike feeling uncertain and unsure about what their options will be.

In the end, the TRT pathway is likely the best and most dependable pathway that exists for employer sponsored migration - DIBP has seemed to favour this pathway and change it the least.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RFV88 said:


> Thanks, Mark. You're a legend.
> 
> I just came across the Q & A that has been released recently (border.gov.au/WorkinginAustralia/Documents/457-reforms-qanda.pdf) by the department. It states that TRT will remain available for 457 holders as that stream is not concerned with the Occupation lists.
> 
> I'm taking this to mean that TRT should still be available post March 2018 as the Occupation list changes shouldn't impact it and they have not mentioned anywhere that they intend to change the TRT, except for changing the eligibility period from two to three years.
> 
> Do you think this has now clarified that TRT will be available to 457 holders post 2018? I'm worried now though that I'll get to April 2018 and they will say due to the eligibility period changes, I can't submit until 2019. I can't see details on whether this only applies to the new TSS visas or also for 457s already in place.
> 
> Cheers,
> Ryan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Michaelj -

Thanks for the questions - happy to assist - please see responses below at **:



michaelj said:


> Hi,
> 
> To get straight to the facts:
> 
> I am australian and my partner is german. She will be comming out to australia in October and we will be applying for a onshore partnership visa.
> 
> We have been living together in Germany for just over 2 years now, but I have now moved back to Australia to get everything organised and settled for her when she arrives (Obtain fulltime work find a place to live etc back in Sydney) so when she arrives everything is settled.
> 
> We have just a couple of questions relating to the travel facility on both the temp 820 and permanent 801 partnership visas.
> 
> My partner has been granted an extended career break from her employer for 12 months (which is negiotable to an extent to be extended slightly). This is to enable us to experience the Australian lifestyle and compare that with where we live in Germany and decide where we would prefer to settle.
> 
> Our questions are:
> 
> 1:
> When my partner arrives and we apply for the partnership visa, she will first be issued an 820 temp visa. How long may she travel outside australia for on this visa? ie the maximum length of stay outside Australia whilst on the 820?
> ** Actually she'll be given a Bridging Visa A (BVA) upon valid onshore lodgment for an 820/801 visa. Perhaps 12-18 months later the 820 will be granted. While she's holding the BVA she is free to travel outside Australia and return only if she gets a Bridging Visa B which is the only bridging visa that allows travel out and back.
> 
> 2:
> What is the approx processing time before she will then be issued the 801 permanent visa ?
> ** 2 years after the original application date for the 820/801 (changing to 3 years if the government gets their way next year), she can lodge further paperwork to show that the relationship is still intact and continue her application for the 801. 801's are currently taking about 18 months to process. So typically she would be granted the 801 3.5 years after the original 820/801 application date, based on the circumstances you've described above. This can sometimes be shortened if you are in a "long term partner relationship" which is defined as being in a married or de facto relationship 3 years at the time you initially apply for the visa, or 2 years if you have a child together.
> 
> 3:
> Once she is on the 801 permanent visa, how long may we travel outside Australia for at one time ? ie the maximum length of stay outside Australia whilst on the 801?
> ** As long as she likes, no limit, however after 5 years on the PR visa, if she wants to renew the re-entry rights via a subclass 155 Resident Return visa, to get a 5-year RRV will require her being in Australia for a total of at least 24 months during the initial 5 year period of the 801 visa.
> 
> 4:
> Do we need to be in Australia when the decision is made on the 820 and the 801 , ie when they are granted? or will we be notified ..and we can then come back to australia for it to be issued to her? This is incase we were travelling back to visit her family and happen to be away when its granted for example?
> ** On the 820, yes. They will normally email you if you are outside Australia and they're ready to grant the 820. For the 801, can be granted whent he applicant is inside or outside Australia.
> 
> We greatly appreciate any help answering the following questions above
> 
> Michael and Claudia


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Scooney -

Thanks for the question. Under the current law, a sponsor can be disqualified on character grounds only if they are convicted of certain child-related offences. This may change, however, depending on the new partner visa legislation that is likely to be introduced in 2018 - it's anticipated that they will expand the reasons why/how sponsors can be disqualified from sponsoring partners/fiances to go beyond the current scope of child related offences.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Scooney said:


> Hi Mark
> So I've got a question. I am from the UK with no criminal convictions. However my boyfriend (aussie) is currently serving a sentence in prison. Will we be able to apply for defacto even though he has a criminal record? He has a 24 month sentence but 12 months with parole.
> Please helpppppp


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hoonielilcious (great name!) -

DIBP no longer provides receipts when applications are handed in at one of their offices. They used to have a stamp they would stamp a document you provide with at the time you hand over the application, but this service appears to have been discontinued.

Bridging visa applications can take weeks to be processed in some cases, and often have to be forwarded to the department or division that last worked on your substantive visa application and wait in a queue there. I'd probably give it a few more weeks and see what happens. If nothing, you could try calling DIBP (be prepared for a wait of over an hour on hold unless you choose the foreign language option where you talk to DIBP in your own language - these callers are usually on hold FAR less than English language callers) and ask them if they can confirm that they've received the BV application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hoonielicious said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> As the title reads, I am curious as to whether you are supposed to receive any sort of evidence that you have handed in your application offline to the DIBP in Melbourne especially regarding the form 1005.
> 
> It has been a little over a month that I have yet to hear from them, which is at odds with what was told at the time of filing an application. They said It would take about two weeks to be invited to an interview for a review.
> 
> I am worried that the teller who took my documentation was irresponsible in handling it, and throw it in the midst of other pile of overdue paperwork.
> 
> Sorry, I am just not familiar with the usual procedure there, if there is any, in a case like this.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Benoitbelgium -

Thanks for the note - great question. Your question focuses on the difference between a criminal offence (which shows up on your police report and must be declared to Australian immigration) and essentially minor offences like parking tickets and such which are not considered criminal offences.

In your case, I would first order your local police report and see if the offence shows up and how it is characterised on the police report. If it is a non-criminal conviction, then generally you do not need to answer "Yes" to the question on the incoming passenger card that asks "Do you have any criminal conviction(s)?". The key is to determine whether the offence you were convicted of was/is considered a criminal offence in the jurisdiction you were convicted in.

The chances of this conviction interfering with an Australian visa will depend totally on the nature and details of the conviction - if it's a criminal conviction, then it has the potential to cause a problem with an Australian visa application, but if the offence is relatively minor, is old, and you've got evidence you have reformed and are currently thought of by others who know of the past offence as a person of good character, you may have a good chance of avoiding problems with an Australian visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Benoitbelgium said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I have a question regarding my entry to australia. I have a minor conviction for assuming a false, fictional name (basically a catfish) - very shameful and I am paying my dues. Not my proudest moment.
> 
> I have not been convicted of any prison time, just a fine. Filling out the eVisitor worked but cautioned me I might need to apply for e600.
> 
> As the eVisitor states online, you can apply for it with criminal record granted you have not been convicted of a sentence over 13 months. Below that, it states "any conviction" might warrant getting an e600 instead because anyone could get turned away st the border. Which is it? What do you recommend?
> 
> In your opinion, will I be barred upon entry at the border if I am honest and check Yes on the landing card? I made a stupid mistake for which I am paying but never hurt anyone.
> 
> Should I apply for an e600 instead? What are chances of this being granted with a minor conviction of this nature? I am sure it brings into question my "good character". I can, however, provide character references and stable living conditions. What's an estimated processing time for this?
> 
> I'm not sure which way to go. Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ayesha -

Thanks for the note - bottom line is that it is up to the skills assessor for his nominated occupation as to whether the degree is recognised, and whether it is deemed as highly relevant to the nominated occupation.

Re eligibility for PR, it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ayesha Khatib said:


> Greetings!
> My husband is holding a Masters degree in computer which is Mater of Science in Computer (MSc) from India and he is working as a Senoir System Administrator in Saudi Arabia since 13+ years now. But his graduationBachelor of Science (BSc) is not done in Computer. Is he is eligible to apply for skilled migrant (PR visa) OR What are the chances for qualification recognition?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nimal -

Thanks for the questions - please see responses below at **:



Nimal said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for taking time off your work in responding to our queries and concerns. I have some concerns to be relieved. I lodged my subclass 500 student visa application 100 days back. The application still remains in "Received" status and I haven't been contacted neither for any further information nor for a decision yet. I have uploaded all the required checklist documents at the time of lodgement and provided some additional documents & information some time later without getting requested to help the department process it quicker. These additional documents are only further evidences to categories that were already complete. These are my queries:
> 
> 1. I received the following email from High Commission while following up on the status after a month of lodgement: "Please be informed that your application is under active consideration, if there is any further requirement you will be contacted". Does this mean that the documents uploaded until that time are meeting the requirements or is it only a general reply by the respondent without even looking at my application?
> ** That's generally a "don't call us, we'll call you" sort of message. It doesn't mean anything as far as your evidence/documents/etc
> 
> 2. Is it possible that the department will directly make a decision if application is complete without requesting any further information? Has there been such instances where the status changes from Received to Finalised directly?
> ** Yes.
> 
> 3. During this period, I happened to defer the admission because of visa delay and provided new CoE, notified the change through Form 1022 and amended the OSHC period accordingly. Will admission deferrals result in additional delays which in fact was the reason for deferral in the first place?
> ** Yes, in some circumstances.
> 
> 4. The more time it takes and the more I look into the application for identifying gray areas that consume time, I feel that my genuine temporary entrant statement could have been more strong. Is it generally advisable to provide additional information on the genuine temporary entrant statement after submission if it will help?
> ** I would put in everything you can (even after lodgement) if you think it will strengthen your GTE claims.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your response.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Asturna -

Maybe, but more and more DIBP and skills assessors are giving far less weight to statements from colleagues as they believe these statements will essentially say whatever you ask your colleague to say. I'd check with ACS directly for their current policy and guidance on colleague statements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



asturna said:


> Hi,
> 
> I was an employee of Mphasis and worked at HP (client site) office. There I was working with HP's employees and not Mphasis employees and I want to give Stat Decl of my colleague who was an HP employee. Will ACS accepts that? He worked with me throughout my tenure with them.
> 
> Thanks,
> AS Turna.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sunmoon -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately no way to predict when you might be given an invitation to apply for the 189 or 190 visas - too many unknown factors such as how many people are in the queue/pool ahead of you.

There is a rumour going around that you must use your most recent IELTS test score for immigration - this is not true. You can use ANY test report from IELTS or an accepted alternative that is no more than 3 years old at the time of invitation. In your case, your IELTS scores are the same in terms of DIBP skilled points (ie, at least 7 in all 4 bands), and there is nothing from preventing you from trying again for a higher IELTS score or perhaps trying the alternative tests (many people like PTE or TOEFFL) to see if you do better in those testing formats.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sunmoon said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope this finds you well. I have applied as a Mechanical Engineer for both the 189 and 190 visas with 60 and 65 points respectively. In all I have three EOIs in the system with two being lodged in mid January (189 and 190) while I have one that apparently states that it was logged in March when in fcat it was lodged in January.
> 
> To boost my points up I decided to sit my IELTS for a second time, the results were not as expected as I actually did worse than my first time which is quite surprising given I sat it within a year of each other. Would it be advisable if i sat for it again even though its been shown on news report that its just a money making opertion not designed to help but fail. My first and second try I got ;
> 
> Listening: 8.5
> Reading: 7.0
> Writing: 7.5
> Speaking: 8.5
> 
> Listening: 7.5
> Reading: 8.5
> Writing: 7.0
> Speaking: 7.0
> 
> To recap can you give me a timeframe for when I can get a nomination and is it advisable to sit for another IELTS?
> 
> Cheers


----------



## rash17

Thanks a lot for the advice Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rodrigo -

Thanks for the note, happy to help. Once you are granted a 189 visa, you will need to visit Australia once (for any period of time) to activate the visa. You must do this by the must-enter-by date on the visa, which is determined by the expiration date of your medical/police certificates. You are automatically considered a permanent resident once the visa is granted, however the visa is subject to cancellation if you do not enter Australia by the must-enter-by date on the visa grant notice.

During the initial 5-year period of your PR visa you are free to travel to/from Australia as you like. However if you wish to renew the re-entry rights of your PR after the initial 5-year period for another 5-year period, you will need to get a 5-year Resident Return Visa (RRV) which is only possible if you've spent a total of at least 24 months in Australia during the 5 years prior to lodging the RRV application. A 1-year RRV is also available if you have established substantial business, cultural, personal or employment ties to Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rodrigo_brso said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Please I need your help urgently.
> My wife and I are applying for a Skilled Work Visa (189). We are at the end of the process, waiting the Visa.
> Recently I received a job offer from New Zealand. It's a great opportunity.
> In the NZ Immigration website it is informed that: Australian citizens and permanent residents can visit, study, work and live in New Zealand.
> My first question is: once grated the Visa, we will be automatically considered Australian Permanent Residents? Do we need to first go to Australia? If we need to go to Australia, what we have to do there before being considered Australian Permanent Residents?
> My second worry is if there is any risk for us to loose our Australian Visa if work in New Zealand. For example, if we stay for five years working in NZ, do we loose our 189 Visa or we will just have to pay Resident Return visa (155)? Do we have to live/work in Australian for a minimum period to do not loose the visa? We will need to go to Australia regularly to maintain it?
> 
> Thank you for the clarifications!
> 
> Kind Regards
> 
> Rodrigo Romano


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Troels -

Thanks for the note. I'd lodge a tech support request at: ImmiAccount Technical Support Form

There is a weird bug in the ImmiAccount system where if you enter duplicate entries covering the same time period (ie, same begin/end dates), it can corrupt the application to the point that the duplicate entries (and any other entries in the table) can't be deleted and DIBP then says to fix it after lodgment with a 1023 (correction of incorrect answers) form. Not sure if you've hit this bug as you say there are no duplicate entries.

Hope the tech support link helps - they are usually pretty quick about responding - same day or next day.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



troels said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> I am going through the online application and on page 17 it tells you to:
> 
> "Give details of all countries that the applicant has lived in or travelled to since turning the age of 18, include:
> 
> Work or study outside of Australia
> Holiday or leisure, including visits to the applicants country of origin..."
> 
> You have to enter exact dates and it counts up the number of days.
> 
> I have studiously entered details of about 40 overseas trips for holidays and business over 20+ years, many to the same country but when I try to move on I get an error:
> 
> "The table in 'Countries resided / visited' contains duplicate entries. The duplicate entry should be deleted or amended."
> 
> I don't know what this means!
> 
> No entries are highlighted and there are no true duplicate entries. Is it objecting to me having the same country listed more than once?
> 
> If so how can I complete the page according to the instructions I quoted at the top?
> 
> Please tell me the last three hours of looking up and entering this data hasn't been wasted.


----------



## troels

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Troels -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I'd lodge a tech support request at: ImmiAccount Technical Support Form


Thanks Mark


----------



## NehaSa

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nsa -
> 
> Thanks for the note. You may have a challenge with sponsoring a partner yourself, as an Australian PR must be "usually resident" in Australia in order to sponsor a partner, and there may be a 5 year waiting period involved as well - would need to work with you in a consultation in order to determine any limitations or potential issues that would affect your case.
> 
> Re: your partner getting PR on his own, absolutely nothing to prevent this, as long as he meets all the criteria for the PR visa he applies for. The fact that you are a PR would not limit his options.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> NehaSa said:
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you very much Mark, indeed this is very relieving, since I have remarried now can I apply for spouse visa 309/100 given the fact that I have barely stayed for3-4 months in Australia after receiving PR, currently I and my partner both are in India. What if he goes for individual skill visa 189? Can he go ahead with that or is it mandatory that if wife has PR then husband cannot apply for individual PR and has to apply only through her?
> Sorry if my questions are repetitive.
> Really appreciate your help and efforts you are taking to answer each query.
> 
> Thanks & Kind Regards,
> Nsa
Click to expand...

hank you so much Mark for replying, much appreciated.
So my PR renewal is due next year in june 2018. So I m planning to permanently move to Australia in jan-feb 2018.
Will this be sufficient for extension if I have a job and a rent agreement?
Or a 2 year stay is mandatory for extension?


----------



## Benoitbelgium

Hi Mark -

Thank you for the response, that certainly cleared up a few things. My conviction is a misdemeanor that does show up on my criminal record.

With a criminal record - even though the charge is not of an incredibly serious nature - would you recommend getting an eVisitor (which was granted) or getting the e600 after all?

Many thanks!

B



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Benoitbelgium -
> 
> Thanks for the note - great question. Your question focuses on the difference between a criminal offence (which shows up on your police report and must be declared to Australian immigration) and essentially minor offences like parking tickets and such which are not considered criminal offences.
> 
> In your case, I would first order your local police report and see if the offence shows up and how it is characterised on the police report. If it is a non-criminal conviction, then generally you do not need to answer "Yes" to the question on the incoming passenger card that asks "Do you have any criminal conviction(s)?". The key is to determine whether the offence you were convicted of was/is considered a criminal offence in the jurisdiction you were convicted in.
> 
> The chances of this conviction interfering with an Australian visa will depend totally on the nature and details of the conviction - if it's a criminal conviction, then it has the potential to cause a problem with an Australian visa application, but if the offence is relatively minor, is old, and you've got evidence you have reformed and are currently thought of by others who know of the past offence as a person of good character, you may have a good chance of avoiding problems with an Australian visa application.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Ayesha Khatib

Thanks a lot Mar, will contact you through email regarding my case, actually we had applied for NZ skilled migrant in 2013 and got selected in EOI and received our ITA, latter we did our NZQA and my husband got the report that his qualification is at NZQA level 9 but not recognized for skilled as his graduation is in different stream so we left the process there, I had a doubt that his least qualification is related to his work experience which is almost 14 years now... so he would have pasitive report from NZQA but it was unfortunate. Now we are again planing to move somewhere Australia or Canada but we have fear of rejection due to qualifications diffrence. So I thought to get idea about such cases from the forums.


----------



## aussie2017

*Repost  - Marriage or Employment PR?*

Hi Mark, 
I'm a first time poster and my post was a little delayed (back on page 1305, from 11th July) so not sure if you saw it? - you reply to so many I'm sure its hard to keep track! I thought it may be a good idea and easier for you if I just re-post again:

----

Hi Mark,

I am an Australia citizen. My husband is a British citizen. He came out on a holiday visa in 2012 and got a great job that gave him a 457 visa which he has been on ever since. We got married in March 2014 and had a daughter in 2015. Prior to marriage we had been de-facto since 2010.

His company has offered to sponsor him for PR (at our cost) which they estimate could take up to 18 months. We are hesitant to link the PR to a job which could limit his long term career opportunities for that length of time.

We are considering getting PR under my sponsorship. I have read that we can go straight to PR since we've been married for over 3 years and we have a child and we won't have the 2 year processing time? Is this correct? What timing should we expect for that? Is it a given, or only applied sometimes?

Which visa (employment or marriage) has higher success rate and/or which one is easier?

I've read about additional marriage/ sponsor responsibilities that came into play 1/7/17? - could you please clarify on those?


----------



## JohnKimbell

Hi Mark,

My parents are considering applying for a 188 Visa but had some doubts as to whether or not my brother ( who will be turning 23 in October) can be considered a member of the same family unit.

As far as i understand it so long as the application is Lodged, my brother can obtain the visa as a dependent. Is this correct? Or do they take into account the age when the Visa is Granted/Decide?

Regards
John


----------



## Nimal

Thanks for your prompt response, Mark. 
Can I anticipate that a case officer would have been already allocated and looked into my application given the fact that it is already reaching the 90% global processing time of 4 months?
My course starts in ten days and I can't defer the offer and funding further. I have notified this already and will the case officer try to expedite the process within their capacity?
Just a general question. Any idea why the postgraduate research sector takes longer than other student visa sectors when everyone produces almost same set of documents?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nimal -
> 
> Thanks for the questions - please see responses below at **:
> 
> Originally Posted by Nimal View Post
> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for taking time off your work in responding to our queries and concerns. I have some concerns to be relieved. I lodged my subclass 500 student visa application 100 days back. The application still remains in "Received" status and I haven't been contacted neither for any further information nor for a decision yet. I have uploaded all the required checklist documents at the time of lodgement and provided some additional documents & information some time later without getting requested to help the department process it quicker. These additional documents are only further evidences to categories that were already complete. These are my queries:
> 
> 1. I received the following email from High Commission while following up on the status after a month of lodgement: "Please be informed that your application is under active consideration, if there is any further requirement you will be contacted". Does this mean that the documents uploaded until that time are meeting the requirements or is it only a general reply by the respondent without even looking at my application?
> ** That's generally a "don't call us, we'll call you" sort of message. It doesn't mean anything as far as your evidence/documents/etc
> 
> 2. Is it possible that the department will directly make a decision if application is complete without requesting any further information? Has there been such instances where the status changes from Received to Finalised directly?
> ** Yes.
> 
> 3. During this period, I happened to defer the admission because of visa delay and provided new CoE, notified the change through Form 1022 and amended the OSHC period accordingly. Will admission deferrals result in additional delays which in fact was the reason for deferral in the first place?
> ** Yes, in some circumstances.
> 
> 4. The more time it takes and the more I look into the application for identifying gray areas that consume time, I feel that my genuine temporary entrant statement could have been more strong. Is it generally advisable to provide additional information on the genuine temporary entrant statement after submission if it will help?
> ** I would put in everything you can (even after lodgement) if you think it will strengthen your GTE claims.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your response.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## qwertas

Hello Mark,
Many thanks for your great help in replying to all of us, we do appreciate it.
Can you please also take a look at my case if you have any free time?
I'm going to apply under 189 or 190 visa as a skilled worker. The question is related to the working experience I'd like to get points for. Several years ago I was working for my friend in a start-up project. We didn't have a sponsor and hoped the project would be profitable, however, we failed and I wasn't paid for this work. As per DIBP guide, I need to provide an evidence for my employment for the whole working experience period I'd like to claim points for, such as employment references and etc. The question is as follows: will an employment reference and a contract be enough for claiming this experience when I got no salary or will DIBP strongly require payslips? There is a huge amount of the evidence I was actually working (I'm a developer programmer, so I've got a really huge code and links to my projects proving my working experience) but from I can see they require that work might be get paid, and that's the problem.
And one more question related to the mentioned above please: do DIBP always require payslips? An employment reference and a contract wouldn't be enough?
Many thanks for your help and looking forward to hearing from you


----------



## GardenCity

Hi Mark,

I am new to this site and am finding it incredibly useful so far.
My partner and I are about to submit our 100/309 through the Cairo office.
I am still not clear on what documents do and do not need to be certified as the partner booklet says something different to the website!
Could you please clarify this for me? Specifically including ID documents, marriage certificates, my citizenship papers, 888 stat decs (aren't they certified just by being signed by a JP witness??? or do we need to photocopy and get them stamped by a pharmacist or other JP again?) do the 888 witnesses need to certify their ID that accompanies the statement? 
Is the marriage certificate (and accompanying translation) that the Egyptian government provides sufficient for the marriage certificate?
Also, the Cairo office checklist asks for 2 passport photos of each of us with our names on the back.... do we just photocopy both sides in colour and submit online?

Thank you in advance!


----------



## Future

Hi Mark,

Looks like you're a bit of a visa genius, so I have a quick one please! Thank you in advance. I've kept it concise:

-I sponsored an ex partner in the UK on a defacto visa (2015). 

-I'm moving to Australia with my new partner and I'd like to sponsor her on a defacto visa. (I'm a kiwi). 

Can I do so, despite the previous and still current UK sponsorship? Will the Aus government consider this a problem? 
I can't make my ex cancel her visa as we're no longer together. 

Appreciate your time answering these questions .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi NeheaSa -

With a job and rent agreement, I expect it would be enough to satisfy the requirements for a 1-year RRV (subclass 155) based on substantial employment ties to Australia to extend your PR re-entry rights. Once you've been here a total of 24 months within a 5-year period you can apply for the 5-year RRV (also subclass 155).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



NehaSa said:


> hank you so much Mark for replying, much appreciated.
> So my PR renewal is due next year in june 2018. So I m planning to permanently move to Australia in jan-feb 2018.
> Will this be sufficient for extension if I have a job and a rent agreement?
> Or a 2 year stay is mandatory for extension?


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Benoitbelgium -

Since you'll have to declare the record, I expect they may have you apply for a subclass 600 visitor visa - not sure that eVisitor is possible if you answer Yes to any criminal convictions, but you could try - if possible, it would give you an opportunity to explain the circumstances and provide evidence to show that it was not a serious offence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Benoitbelgium said:


> Hi Mark -
> 
> Thank you for the response, that certainly cleared up a few things. My conviction is a misdemeanor that does show up on my criminal record.
> 
> With a criminal record - even though the charge is not of an incredibly serious nature - would you recommend getting an eVisitor (which was granted) or getting the e600 after all?
> 
> Many thanks!
> 
> B


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aussie2017 -

Sorry I missed your post! Now that I'm able to post a bit more frequently I should be able to catch up and not have so many posts stack up between responses.

The good news is that the revamp of the partner visa programme that had originally been planned for July 2017 has been, reportedly, delayed until 2018. The only major change we've seen happened last year when sponsor character checks were increased.

Re: processing time for partner visas, these are typically 12 to 18 months. Given you have a child and have been married for 2+ years, you would be eligible for grant of the PR visa straight away (ie, after processing of 12 - 18 months) and would not have to wait the 2 years after original application to put in further application materials to qualify for the PR visa. There is nothing in the law that says that DIBP *must* grant the PR visa in these cases, but usually they do - and when they don't it's usually an oversight and an email reminding them of the fact that the two of you are in a long term partner relationship is enough to get them to fix the oversight.

That being said, the revamp of the partner visa programme next year could potentially affect your situation if it applies to visas applied for and not granted yet - the long term partner relationship regulation could change or be deleted, and anything else could be changed. My general advice for anyone considering a partner visa is to lodge ASAP as long as you qualify, as DIBP lately has been making major changes without much advance warning, including changes affect applications already lodged but undecided.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aussie2017 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm a first time poster and my post was a little delayed (back on page 1305, from 11th July) so not sure if you saw it? - you reply to so many I'm sure its hard to keep track! I thought it may be a good idea and easier for you if I just re-post again:
> 
> ----
> 
> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am an Australia citizen. My husband is a British citizen. He came out on a holiday visa in 2012 and got a great job that gave him a 457 visa which he has been on ever since. We got married in March 2014 and had a daughter in 2015. Prior to marriage we had been de-facto since 2010.
> 
> His company has offered to sponsor him for PR (at our cost) which they estimate could take up to 18 months. We are hesitant to link the PR to a job which could limit his long term career opportunities for that length of time.
> 
> We are considering getting PR under my sponsorship. I have read that we can go straight to PR since we've been married for over 3 years and we have a child and we won't have the 2 year processing time? Is this correct? What timing should we expect for that? Is it a given, or only applied sometimes?
> 
> Which visa (employment or marriage) has higher success rate and/or which one is easier?
> 
> I've read about additional marriage/ sponsor responsibilities that came into play 1/7/17? - could you please clarify on those?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John -

Thanks for the note. For the subclass 188 visa, age is a time of decision criteria so all dependents would need to meet the member of the family unit (MOFU) eligibility at the time the visa is decided.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JohnKimbell said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My parents are considering applying for a 188 Visa but had some doubts as to whether or not my brother ( who will be turning 23 in October) can be considered a member of the same family unit.
> 
> As far as i understand it so long as the application is Lodged, my brother can obtain the visa as a dependent. Is this correct? Or do they take into account the age when the Visa is Granted/Decide?
> 
> Regards
> John


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nimal -

Frankly, I wouldn't assume anything given unpredictable processing times at DIBP. If you know any politicians, VIPs etc who can write to DIBP and apply pressure, I'd consider it. You could also consider a complaint to the DIBP Global Feedback Unit - those usually get actioned fairly quickly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nimal said:


> Thanks for your prompt response, Mark.
> Can I anticipate that a case officer would have been already allocated and looked into my application given the fact that it is already reaching the 90% global processing time of 4 months?
> My course starts in ten days and I can't defer the offer and funding further. I have notified this already and will the case officer try to expedite the process within their capacity?
> Just a general question. Any idea why the postgraduate research sector takes longer than other student visa sectors when everyone produces almost same set of documents?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Qwertas -

Thanks for the note. For work claimed for points, DIBP will normally require proof of payment for the work in addition to an employer reference letter, contract, etc - the most common evidence is payslips, however in some cases bank records showing regular payday deposits, etc could work. However assuming you were not paid for the work, it would not qualify for points for a skilled visa. Sorry, wish I had better news -

Best,

Mark Northam



qwertas said:


> Hello Mark,
> Many thanks for your great help in replying to all of us, we do appreciate it.
> Can you please also take a look at my case if you have any free time?
> I'm going to apply under 189 or 190 visa as a skilled worker. The question is related to the working experience I'd like to get points for. Several years ago I was working for my friend in a start-up project. We didn't have a sponsor and hoped the project would be profitable, however, we failed and I wasn't paid for this work. As per DIBP guide, I need to provide an evidence for my employment for the whole working experience period I'd like to claim points for, such as employment references and etc. The question is as follows: will an employment reference and a contract be enough for claiming this experience when I got no salary or will DIBP strongly require payslips? There is a huge amount of the evidence I was actually working (I'm a developer programmer, so I've got a really huge code and links to my projects proving my working experience) but from I can see they require that work might be get paid, and that's the problem.
> And one more question related to the mentioned above please: do DIBP always require payslips? An employment reference and a contract wouldn't be enough?
> Many thanks for your help and looking forward to hearing from you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi GardenCity -

Thanks for the note and good luck with the Cairo office 

I would strongly suggest you consider lodging online and avoid all the certified copy hassles. For online applications, a colour scan of an original document is accepted, or a scan of a certified copy if that's all you have.

If you insist on lodging a paper application, note that copies of certified copies are not technically valid. For 888 forms you could include the originals, or certified copies of the originals. Normally ID and important papers like that need to be certified, however relationship evidence sometimes does not need to be - it's a bit of a grey area - as you're dealing with Cairo, I'd opt for getting as much as possible certified if you are not sending original documents.

Re photos, if you are lodging online, then simply uploading a colour scan of the passport photo should be fine. If paper, then 2 actual photos are required.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GardenCity said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am new to this site and am finding it incredibly useful so far.
> My partner and I are about to submit our 100/309 through the Cairo office.
> I am still not clear on what documents do and do not need to be certified as the partner booklet says something different to the website!
> Could you please clarify this for me? Specifically including ID documents, marriage certificates, my citizenship papers, 888 stat decs (aren't they certified just by being signed by a JP witness??? or do we need to photocopy and get them stamped by a pharmacist or other JP again?) do the 888 witnesses need to certify their ID that accompanies the statement?
> Is the marriage certificate (and accompanying translation) that the Egyptian government provides sufficient for the marriage certificate?
> Also, the Cairo office checklist asks for 2 passport photos of each of us with our names on the back.... do we just photocopy both sides in colour and submit online?
> 
> Thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Future -

Thanks for the note. If the previous visa sponsorship was for a UK visa (ie, from the UK government), then that sponsorship would not have any impact on a current sponsorship for Australia. If the previous sponsorship was for an Australian visa (when living offshore), then you'd have an issue as there is a 5 year waiting time between sponsorships for partner/fiance visas.

You would still have to declare the previous relationship, and you'd have to provide sufficient relationship evidence for the current relationship and be in a legal partner relationship (de facto or married), however the previous sponsorship would not trigger the 5-year wait under Regulation 1.20J if it was not for an Australian visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Future said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Looks like you're a bit of a visa genius, so I have a quick one please! Thank you in advance. I've kept it concise:
> 
> -I sponsored an ex partner in the UK on a defacto visa (2015).
> 
> -I'm moving to Australia with my new partner and I'd like to sponsor her on a defacto visa. (I'm a kiwi).
> 
> Can I do so, despite the previous and still current UK sponsorship? Will the Aus government consider this a problem?
> I can't make my ex cancel her visa as we're no longer together.
> 
> Appreciate your time answering these questions .


----------



## NehaSa

That is great Mark, so can I sponsor my partner (309/100) immediately after getting settled in Australia (before PR extension) ?
Thank you for all your help 
Kind regards,
Nsa



MarkNortham said:


> Hi NeheaSa -
> 
> With a job and rent agreement, I expect it would be enough to satisfy the requirements for a 1-year RRV (subclass 155) based on substantial employment ties to Australia to extend your PR re-entry rights. Once you've been here a total of 24 months within a 5-year period you can apply for the 5-year RRV (also subclass 155).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> NehaSa said:
> 
> 
> 
> hank you so much Mark for replying, much appreciated.
> So my PR renewal is due next year in june 2018. So I m planning to permanently move to Australia in jan-feb 2018.
> Will this be sufficient for extension if I have a job and a rent agreement?
> Or a 2 year stay is mandatory for extension?
Click to expand...


----------



## dageasman

Hi Mark, my girlfriend has accepted an offer to work in a Melbourne hospital as a doctor. She is readying all her docs for a 457 visa and I'm hopefully tagging along as a de facto partner. My plan is to work full time too. 

My questions are do I need to provide any docs in support of my application for example police clearance cert. 
We have health insurance in Ireland which we can switch when we move. Is health insurance required as part of the application. I'm Irish and my girlfriend is Canadian (she qualified in Ireland).
Do we both need a health screening before we come. I won't be working in a hospital or as a medical professional but she will.

Thanks!


----------



## 23188977

Dear Mark

I am applying under visa category-189 and I want to get Migration skill assessment.


I have received my Education and employment- Migration skill assessment by Engineers Australia in February 2015.

I have experience mentioned in assessment from Engineers Australia - August 2009 till October 2014. In same orgainsation I have worked till November 2016. Now I am working with other organization with same role from December 2016. In August'17, I want to claim points for 8 years experience. So can you please tell me that do I need to get assessment done again for employment or can I update directly in DIBP skillselect?

Please suggest. 


Regards


----------



## qwertas

Hello Mark,
Thanks for your great help with immigration process!
I'm going to apply under 189/190 visa as a skilled worker. As per DIBP site, they require payslips as a part of employment evidence.
Please suggest is it mandatory or employer references and contracts will be enough?
Thanks for letting me know,
Best regards


----------



## Rayar

Hi Mark, please could you help because it is all very confusing...

I am living in the UK atm but i am planning to come over to Australia for a few months soon with my 3 children. I am dual nationality (british/nz) so I will enter on a SCV and my children who are British will enter with a Visitor's Visa. 

During our visit, I am hoping to make my final decision on living in Australia permanently (most of my family are there etc) so my questions are... 

*With my children being British but me holding a New Zealand passport, am I right thinking that i can apply for a 461 visa for them to live in Oz? 

*If so my oldest child will turn 18 after we arrive, does this make any difference with this type of visa?

*If i decide to stay in Australia and make the relevant visa applications, what happens when their Visitor Visa runs out... Will we have to leave or will they be able to get a Bridging Visa? 

*If so is there a time frame to apply for one before they have to leave?

Any information would be most helpful

Thanks


----------



## Talwinder

Hi Marj, i have a question. I want to apply for a visitor visa of Canada. I am currently holding BRIDGING A visa in Australia which has no travel permission but for traveling purposes i have to get BRIDGING B visa. So my question is this that should i apply for a visitor visa while holding BRIDGING A visa or i have to change it to BRIDGING B visa first and then apply for visitor visa of Canada?


----------



## klippy

*115 or 835*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, 
Thank you for letting us a chance to ask you through this website.

I want to apply a remaining relatives visa for my daughter, and our situation at this stage;
1. She's offshore, she has 3 years valid tourist visa (granted on March 2017), she's over 21 but under 25, she's not a full time student but she's healthy (not disable), and she's the only near/main family that left overseas, her only sister in here - permanent resident.
2. Me, a PR (soon will become citizenship, just passed my citizenship test last week, yayyy), with full time permanent employment, my husband is an Australian and with full time permanent employment.

With our condition above, which one is better for her visa, 115 or 835?
We would like to apply 835, so she comes to Australia with her valid tourist visa then apply 835 onshore. 
* but because she will come under tourist visa, will her bridging visa has a *no work* limitation?
* I heard that the bridging visa will take effect once her 3 months period time condition (under tourist visa) due, is it correct?

* If we apply 115, can she gets her bridging visa right away like if she apply onshore (835)?
* if not, can you please advise how long she must wait offshore?

I'm so sorry if my questions are too many, but it much obliged if you can assist me with these questions. And anyone else who can help me with their knowledge and their experiences.

Thank you.


----------



## Kapil123

Hi Mark
I have a question my 187 nomination refused as CO said company is in loss but in actual company is not in loss aa my accountant said company has $5000 profit and we paid tax $1873. So its immi's error and another thing is CO added total sales plus GST FREE sales but in actual its already included so its another error and i m already working full time with my employer 
Can we write a letter to immi regarding these things or there is only way that we can apply AAT
TIA


----------



## RAMU_CHOW

*Medicine Cost Calculation*

Hi Mark,

Good Day!!

I am new to this forum, however, before going in the path of the application for any Visa 189/489, I would like to know one thing. I had been diagnosed with a life long gastric problem some times earlier, for which I have to take regular medicines which is worth around 110 AUD per month for the Australian equivalents (PBS price without rebate/Private price).
I would like to know that, if I am totally physically fit from the start of the initial medication around 2 years back and only cost is 110 AUD (Approx) per month in terms of medicine price, how the cost might be calculated. Also, will there be any concession / lower cost calculation in case I apply for 489 visa as opposed to 189 visa.

Any information in this regard as to the general principles of cost calculation (medicine only) will be highly beneficial for me to understand the process properly.
I will be applying from India with no prior connections in Australia, as such, I guess MRT/ AAT path is out of the way.

Thanks and Regards, 
Ramu_Chow


----------



## Kapil123

Hi Mark i have query regarding AAT If there is financial error while taking decision on rsms nomination can we send a letter to immi instead of going through AAT due to administrative error thanks


----------



## nikkitaaaa

Hi mark! I was recently denied my student visa due to the case officer not being satisfied that I am a genuine temporary entrant.. I have a boyfriend in Australia who has a student visa however he was not able to declare me as a partner when he applied.. here are my options:
1. re-apply my student visa
2. apply for a de facto partner visa

what do you think is best and what are my chances?


----------



## Shrimp on the Barbie

Hi Mark,

Out of curiosity, I registered with SkillSelect, several months ago. I ticked 189 and 190 visas on it. After registration, I was provided with an EOI ID. Nevertheless, I've never submitted or lodged an EOI. Since then, I have completely dropped my plans of heading to Australia for permanent residency. Instead, I wish to go there for MBA studies only.

After completion, I plan on returning to my home country. I wish to move to Germany after working back home for a few years, following graduation from a well reputed Australian university. I have recently been accepted into some really good MBA programs in Victoria and NSW.

However, I'm just wondering, would my prior registration in the SkillSelect system affect the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement for Student Visa (Subclass 500)? I have withdrawn my incomplete application. It was neither submitted to DIBP nor lodged for nomination/consideration. What are the chances of them finding out that I was once registered in the SkillSelect system, but never lodged an EOI?

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thank you!


----------



## Shariq

Hi,

Please help with the following query. My PR visa was granted on 27/06/2017. I want to bring my mother to Australia for as long as possible.
I have 3 other siblings. One living in Pakistan with my mother. One in Canada and one in England. 
My father died in 1993. My mother is 61 years old. She has house in her name in Pakistan.
I am living with my wife and my income is 49000 per annum.
(1) Can you please tell me which type of visa best suits for me to bring her here? Parent or Visitor visa. Any specific visa number, I should apply for?
(2) What type of documents I need to attach?


----------



## anawrainbow

*Sponsor overseas*

Hello Mark,

This thread is great, I really appreciate all information is shared in this forum. I searched a lot here and I haven't exactly found an answer to my question. 
It is not very complicated but I am just not too sure about it.

I am currenty on a student visa which expires on 21st of September. My partner (sponsor) is overseas we would apply for DE FACTO VISA once he is back but plans changed, now he will only be able to return to Australia after my visa expires.

My question is: Do you think we will have a problem if I apply for DE FACTO VISA WITHOUT HIM BEING PHYSICALLY IN THE COUNTRY?

Our online app is all done, I am organising the documents together to have them ready to upload as soon as I apply and pay for it.

So I really fear the fact that he is not physically in the country by the time I apply it online.

Once I get the bridging visa I want to meet him overseas and travel together for a month so I guess as long as I show evidence that we will be together and are communicating while we are away, should be fine right?

Thanks so much for your time.


----------



## NehaSa

Hello Mark, 

Hope u r doing good! 

hopefully my last question to you  - I received my PR some where around Jan 2014, currently I have been residing in India. I dont have visa grant letter with me but I am able to generate a VEVO which indicates my visa is in effect. Is this VEVO enough for me to enter Australia before my travel facility expires ? Or do I need to get any additional certificate stating that I am a permanent resident?

Many thanks in advance,
Nsa


----------



## lalibains09

Hi Mark

My brother got negative assessment from TRA and got as overqualified. 

My question is can he apply again with the same occupation?
will they cross check with the old application?
is PTE valid for Engineers Australia.?

Thanks 
Inder


----------



## JaredMullane

*Sponsorship Obligations*

hi Mark,

Firstly you're a champion for helping people out on here.

Secondly I have some questions in regards to what I need to submit as a sponsor of my partner for the 309 visa.
I am currently living in Norway with her for the year and we are applying for the Aus partner visa while here. But as sponsor i need to prove I can look after her financially and have accommodation for her. Usually that means showing payslips and a rental agreement but as I wont be in Australia when we apply I wont have either of those things. I have those things for Norway but I'm guessing that's next to useless. 
Any Ideas as to what I can submit?
Also we read if applying online none of the copies of anything need to be certified. is this true?

Thanks for your help.


----------



## aidenr

Hi Mark,

i have gone through some of your recent comments which were very helpful. However i had a question related to EOI for accounting general. I lodged my eoi application on 20th jan 2017 with 70 points and i am not sure why i am getting delayed. Any idea where things went wrong?

Thanks


----------



## lincsus

*Age points and 190 nomination*

Hi Mark

I am in the process of applying for 190 and my birthday is coming up in a month which will reduce my points. I understand that age eligibility for the 190 skilled visas is locked in at the time of invitation. But in case of 190 for NSW, it takes up to 12 weeks for NSW nomination processing. If I have enough points when NSW invites me but by the time NSW approves my nomication, I will have lost my age points. Will DIBP look at my age at that point?

Thanks


----------



## stephl

Hi Mark!

I have had lots of help using this forum in the past, another sticky situation has come up for me (just as I thought I was set!!)

I have lived in Australia for 5 years now. Receiving my PR through a partner visa in Jan this year. My partner and I are now wanting to move to my home country (Canada) together. What does that mean for my citizenship? What could I do to ensure I get it (even if it means staying for a few months??)

Thank you 
Stephanie


----------



## arvindrajan92

Hi Mr Mark,

Greetings to you!

I have lodged for Visa 189 on 08/06/2017, and I am planning for a trip to Melbourne from 15/10/2017 to 12/11/2017 using the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) granted on 30/11/2016 (valid for 12 months and hence I can still use it to enter Australia).

My queries are as follows:
1. Does DIBP require any update from my side before/during my stay in Melbourne? 
2. Will my trip affect the assessment process of Visa 189?
3. If, for example, the visa is granted while I am in Melbourne, will I have to make another entry after exiting Melbourne?

Thank you very much for clarifying my doubts.

Cheers,
Arvind


----------



## swapnilbhadale

*Student visa*

Hello Mark, I'm from India and want to apply for my PR but the occupation is under closed, which means that I have to enter the country to apply. I was considering coming on a student visa. But since I have previously completed my masters degree from Canberra. Would enrolling in a diploma after my masters be an issue for the visa authorities to refuse me a student visa? Thank you.


----------



## hniecalista

*STUDENT VISA FOR INDONESIAN*

Hello Mark!

I'm Indonesian and I'm struggling to get COE from university.

I came to Australia on working and holiday visa 3 years ago.

My visa got extended by government because I helped the police to attend the trial as a witness then,I came back to Indonesia after the trial done.

in 2016, I applied tourist visa for winter holiday in Australia, but my visa got rejected due to the mistake of my agent. My agent wrote on visa application that I didn't have a job (unemployed), which actually is not right, because I do have a job in Indonesia.

in 2017, this year, I want to study commercial cookery in Australia, and when I enrolled the university by off-shore, they rejected my application because they said that I have visa refusal history so I don't suit with their GTE standard.

Now, I'm confused, why my history visa rejection which is the mistake of my agent, it makes my future visa application seems like impossible to get?

Is there any chance for me to get the COE and student visa?

I heard that if I apply student visa by on-shore it will be easy for me, but the problem is, I'm not sure if I can get tourist visa without *"no further stay"*clausal. If I get tourist visa with "no further stay" it means can't apply student visa by on-shore as well.

I don't know which one is the best option for me.

Thank you.


----------



## Niggy

*Certifying documents*

Hi Mark,
Its been a while since my last visit. So hope you are doing fine.

I live in Saudi Arabia and I want to apply for a skills assessment and for that I have to send certified copies of my documents.

My questions is:
I work in a college and one of my colleagues is a university professor with Phd, he is an Australian citizen too. Can I get my documents certified by him? is he considered to be an authorized person?

I already read the instructions provided by the ACS and also contacted them and asked them the same question but I didn't get a clear answer.

Regards,
Niggy


----------



## stiller

*Partner visa*

Hi Mark

I am currently in Australia on a student visa studying a Bachelor of Business. 
I submitted my application for the Stage 1 partner visa in mid April 2017 (my fiance is a kiwi)... and am losing my marbles a bit during this wait time worrying about any possible negative outcomes and various scenarios. .. 

I am worried because in 2013, I (as the applicant) was defacto with my ex on his 457 visa for about 8 months before we broke up and he left Australia permanently (I stayed in Australia to study).

I have been informed that the sponsor is not permitted to have sponsored someone in the previous 5 years, but does this rule also apply to the applicant? 
And also by the time the visa application gets assigned to a case officer (possibly another year from now in 2018) that will be 5 years since my last defacto relationship so could they still consider me ineligible for a partner visa due to this?

I am just wondering if its possible that i could get refused the partner visa for this reason, because if so, then i need to switch my uni course now (ASAP) to ensure that I can still get an accounting qualification so that if the partner visa falls through at least I have a back up plan to stay in Australia.

Thank you so much in advance for any advice you can offer.
regards
Stiller


----------



## Hannaht

hi , me and my fiancé applied for the pmv subclass 300 visa application last year in Malaysia august 2016 . he was called in to the immigration department to have an interview, from the interview everything went well and now were still waiting , he's done his police check and medical check at the beginning when we applied for it, looks like its taking a while as we have been waiting over 11 months and have been together for over a year. any tips and suggestions on what is happening and what to do would be very appreciated. and what is the normal processing time for visa like this .thankyou


----------



## Tullen

*Prospective marriage visa but I have high functioning autism*

My girlfriend is australian and im swedish. We have been spending some time together and we wonder if its even possible for me to be granted a prospective marriage visa to move to australia in the future. I Have Aspergers syndrome, or specifially, high functioning autism. I do function as everyone else though and i have no problems in every day life. Im afraid though that the australian government will deny if i apply for a visa and think that i will be a liability. In sweden the government stands for 75 % of my salary and have been doing that for 8 years. I dont have any problems at all with anything really, but my company doesnt have the money to hire me without the government funding. I started to work at the company because i have all my life known the company and it was a working environment where i had big potential to making a great work! My government let me use the subsidy for getting a good job which i now regret if it turns out it could potentially appear as a doubt for the Australian Government when it comes to grant me a long term visa. I have relatives in Australia if that would help my case.

Is it impossible for me to get a visa or is there hope somewhere for me?
Very thankful for your time Mark!


----------



## Kristine0216

*Dependent Student Visa and Visitor Visa Denied*

Hi Mark. I am new here and badly needed for some advice. Maybe you can help me. Im a student here and I arrived Australia January this year. I applied for my husband as dependent visa (June this year) but his visa got denied (due to a reason of not enough money) and my agent applied again (10 days after the refusal dependent visa result) but this time my agent used visitor visa for my husband and still denied (for the reason that they are not convinced). Just want to ask if it is possible to re-apply again for dependent visa since the problem is only the money, so if we try to re-apply the dependent visa with morethan the amount they asked for, do we have a chance already? And how long to wait for us to re-apply again for his dependent visa from the month we got his visa rejected? Hope you can help me to enlighten my problem. Thank you.


----------



## stillalive

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
I am of Bangladesh origin. Came to AUSTRALIA on student visa and later applied for Partner visa. I broke up with my partner and requested the immigration to cancel my visa after withdrawing my application. I returned home to Bangladesh long before they had cancelled my visa. It's been almost 5 months now since my visa has been cancelled. I was wondering if I could apply for A working holiday visa for 6 months? I know I am eligible and I would under 30 yrs old before I apply for this visa. Will my previous visa cancellation affect me? I have been selected by a Canadian university and I will be applying for Canadian study permit soon my holiday is over in Australia.
Please advise at your earliest convenience.
Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dageasman -

Thanks for the note. You'll need police clearance certificates since the latest 457 changes on 1 July 2017. Evidence of health insurance is required for the 457 visa, and it will need to be health insurance that covers you sufficiently when you're in Australia (many out-of-country plans do not). It's likely she will need health exam(s), however you may not - all depending on the length of the visa granted and other factors.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dageasman said:


> Hi Mark, my girlfriend has accepted an offer to work in a Melbourne hospital as a doctor. She is readying all her docs for a 457 visa and I'm hopefully tagging along as a de facto partner. My plan is to work full time too.
> 
> My questions are do I need to provide any docs in support of my application for example police clearance cert.
> We have health insurance in Ireland which we can switch when we move. Is health insurance required as part of the application. I'm Irish and my girlfriend is Canadian (she qualified in Ireland).
> Do we both need a health screening before we come. I won't be working in a hospital or as a medical professional but she will.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 23188977 -

Thanks for the note. For additional time in the same job/employer as has been previously assessed, DIBP will generally be satisfied with a letter from the employer confirming the additional time spent on the job. For all jobs claimed for points, you'll generally need to submit payslips or other independent proof of payment. For additional later work experience not assessed by EA, note that it is not a requirement of DIBP that all work experience be assessed by a skills assessor even if claimed for points, however that will leave the DIBP case officer to "assess" your un-assessed work experience and decide whether they believe it is relevant to your occupation. While this works out OK in many cases, sometimes it becomes an issue, especially if DIBP contacts the employer and starts asking anyone they can reach there (including potentially people who are/were unaware of the details of your employment) about the various technical aspects of your work.

Safest way perhaps is to get the additional work assessed by EA, however depending on the level of documentation, detail, and to what extent you expect DIBP will be able to confirm details of the additional work experience, you might let DIBP assess it - your choice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



23188977 said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I am applying under visa category-189 and I want to get Migration skill assessment.
> 
> I have received my Education and employment- Migration skill assessment by Engineers Australia in February 2015.
> 
> I have experience mentioned in assessment from Engineers Australia - August 2009 till October 2014. In same orgainsation I have worked till November 2016. Now I am working with other organization with same role from December 2016. In August'17, I want to claim points for 8 years experience. So can you please tell me that do I need to get assessment done again for employment or can I update directly in DIBP skillselect?
> 
> Please suggest.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Qwertas -

I think you might have emailed me about this - generally DIBP wants independent evidence of PAYMENT for all work experience claimed for points - best evidence of this is payslips, however tax documents and even bank statements showing pay deposits from the employer can also work depending on the circumstances. Generally an employment contract alone or contract/letter may not be sufficient to satisfy DIBP, however it's within the realm of discretion of the case officer and would depending on your specific circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



qwertas said:


> Hello Mark,
> Thanks for your great help with immigration process!
> I'm going to apply under 189/190 visa as a skilled worker. As per DIBP site, they require payslips as a part of employment evidence.
> Please suggest is it mandatory or employer references and contracts will be enough?
> Thanks for letting me know,
> Best regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rayar -

Thanks for the note. Please see responses to your queries below at **:



Rayar said:


> Hi Mark, please could you help because it is all very confusing...
> 
> I am living in the UK atm but i am planning to come over to Australia for a few months soon with my 3 children. I am dual nationality (british/nz) so I will enter on a SCV and my children who are British will enter with a Visitor's Visa.
> 
> During our visit, I am hoping to make my final decision on living in Australia permanently (most of my family are there etc) so my questions are...
> 
> *With my children being British but me holding a New Zealand passport, am I right thinking that i can apply for a 461 visa for them to live in Oz?
> ** Yes, as long as you are not an "Eligible NZ Citizen" - see https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/faqs/what-is-an-eligible-new-zealand-citizen for more on this.
> 
> *If so my oldest child will turn 18 after we arrive, does this make any difference with this type of visa?
> ** As long as that child remains financially dependent on you and not in a partner relationship, it's likely they will remain eligible for the visa. Note that eligibility is assessed both at the time of application and the time of decision re member of the family unit, so you'll likely be asked to show financial dependent if the child turns 18 prior to the visa being decided.
> 
> *If i decide to stay in Australia and make the relevant visa applications, what happens when their Visitor Visa runs out... Will we have to leave or will they be able to get a Bridging Visa?
> ** As long as you apply for the 461 visa(s) prior to the visitor visa expiring and prior to the maximum stay period ending (usually 3 months but check your visa to be sure), they'll get a Bridging Visa A upon application for the 461 which will allow them to remain in Australia until a decision is made on the 461. Note that the 461 is a paper application which can take days to be receipted, etc at DIBP so don't apply too close to the expiry date of your visitor visa.
> 
> *If so is there a time frame to apply for one before they have to leave?
> ** See above, as long as you apply for the 461 while they're holding the visitor visa and it's receipted before the visitor visa expires or max stay period ends, should be OK.
> 
> Any information would be most helpful
> 
> Thanks


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Talwinder -

Thanks for the note. From an Australian migraiton perspective, it doesn't matter - other than you would need to have the BVB granted prior to departing Australia in order to be able to return on the BVB. I don't practice in the area of Canadian immigration law so can't advise on that - you might consult a Canadian immigration lawyer to determine if there are any differences in how your Canadian visa application would be handled if you did or didn't have the BVB which would allow travel to Canada and back to Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Talwinder said:


> Hi Marj, i have a question. I want to apply for a visitor visa of Canada. I am currently holding BRIDGING A visa in Australia which has no travel permission but for traveling purposes i have to get BRIDGING B visa. So my question is this that should i apply for a visitor visa while holding BRIDGING A visa or i have to change it to BRIDGING B visa first and then apply for visitor visa of Canada?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Becky -

Thanks for the note. I can't advise re specific eligibility for a Remaining Relative visa as the rules are too complex for quick answers here - happy to do a full assessment on this at a consultation - see my website below for details. However I can answer some of the general questions you have asked here.

835 onshore application may be possible if she meets the requirements for the visa AND her visitor visa does not have the 8503 No Further Stay condition attached.

Re subclass 115 offshore RR visa, no bridging visa is available if the application is made offshore, and DIBP is quoting current waiting time as many years. No good way to predict how long she might have to wait offshore for this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



klippy said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you for letting us a chance to ask you through this website.
> 
> I want to apply a remaining relatives visa for my daughter, and our situation at this stage;
> 1. She's offshore, she has 3 years valid tourist visa (granted on March 2017), she's over 21 but under 25, she's not a full time student but she's healthy (not disable), and she's the only near/main family that left overseas, her only sister in here - permanent resident.
> 2. Me, a PR (soon will become citizenship, just passed my citizenship test last week, yayyy), with full time permanent employment, my husband is an Australian and with full time permanent employment.
> 
> With our condition above, which one is better for her visa, 115 or 835?
> We would like to apply 835, so she comes to Australia with her valid tourist visa then apply 835 onshore.
> * but because she will come under tourist visa, will her bridging visa has a *no work* limitation?
> * I heard that the bridging visa will take effect once her 3 months period time condition (under tourist visa) due, is it correct?
> 
> * If we apply 115, can she gets her bridging visa right away like if she apply onshore (835)?
> * if not, can you please advise how long she must wait offshore?
> 
> I'm so sorry if my questions are too many, but it much obliged if you can assist me with these questions. And anyone else who can help me with their knowledge and their experiences.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kapil123 -

Thanks for the note. You could try writing to DIBP if there are very clear mistakes made by the case officer or errors in their quoting of the facts and see if you can get the decision vacated. If not, AAT appeal is often the best way to deal with these types of issues.

Note that if you've lodged a 187 visa application you may need to let that be refused if the nomination refusal is upheld, as per a recent court ruling there is no way to lodge a new nomination and "attach" a previously lodged 187 visa application to the new nomination. Typically people get both the nom and visa application assessed together at the AAT.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kapil123 said:


> Hi Mark
> I have a question my 187 nomination refused as CO said company is in loss but in actual company is not in loss aa my accountant said company has $5000 profit and we paid tax $1873. So its immi's error and another thing is CO added total sales plus GST FREE sales but in actual its already included so its another error and i m already working full time with my employer
> Can we write a letter to immi regarding these things or there is only way that we can apply AAT
> TIA


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ramu-Chow -

Thanks for the note. Yes, typically the medical cost is calculated only over the life of the visa, so in problematic situations a 489 visa could result in 4 years of costs being assessed rather than a lifetime cost under a PR visa. However for 489 and 189, no health waiver is available so if the costs exceed the threshold for the health criteria, there is generally no good way to recover unless DIBP or the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) make a mistake in how they calculate costs or assess the particular condition you have.

Re: methodology for calculating costs, much of this is not available other than the fact that they generally use a hypothetical "preset" of a typical person with your condition at the level of the condition you have, and then apply whatever is the conventional treatment for the condition in terms of assessing cost. In some cases an argument can be made where DIBP's cost calculation is too high where you can present medical evidence that the appropriate medicine has not been used in the calculations, etc however it can be challenging in some cases as DIBP does not release all of the data used for the cost calculation. Sometimes it's helpful instead to go in with medical evidence from your specialist and do your own cost calculation to counter what DIBP/MOC may be proposing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RAMU_CHOW said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Good Day!!
> 
> I am new to this forum, however, before going in the path of the application for any Visa 189/489, I would like to know one thing. I had been diagnosed with a life long gastric problem some times earlier, for which I have to take regular medicines which is worth around 110 AUD per month for the Australian equivalents (PBS price without rebate/Private price).
> I would like to know that, if I am totally physically fit from the start of the initial medication around 2 years back and only cost is 110 AUD (Approx) per month in terms of medicine price, how the cost might be calculated. Also, will there be any concession / lower cost calculation in case I apply for 489 visa as opposed to 189 visa.
> 
> Any information in this regard as to the general principles of cost calculation (medicine only) will be highly beneficial for me to understand the process properly.
> I will be applying from India with no prior connections in Australia, as such, I guess MRT/ AAT path is out of the way.
> 
> Thanks and Regards,
> Ramu_Chow


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kapil -

Just answered this - see above.

Best,

Mark Northam



Kapil123 said:


> Hi Mark i have query regarding AAT If there is financial error while taking decision on rsms nomination can we send a letter to immi instead of going through AAT due to administrative error thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nikkitaaaa -

Thanks for the note. The GTE (Genuine Temporary Entrant) criteria still applies to secondary applicants, so you'll have to deal with that one way or another. Re your question, would depend on a number of factors including why he did not declare you before, nature and circumstances of your relationship and more. Note that as he didn't declare you before on his student visa, any relationship you claim with him would essentially have to have begun after his student visa had been granted in order for you to be considered for a subsequent entrant secondary applicant student visa. Beyond this, would need to work with you in a consultation (see website below in my signature) to give you case-specific advice - need to get up to speed on all of your circumstances in order to provide this type of specific advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nikkitaaaa said:


> Hi mark! I was recently denied my student visa due to the case officer not being satisfied that I am a genuine temporary entrant.. I have a boyfriend in Australia who has a student visa however he was not able to declare me as a partner when he applied.. here are my options:
> 1. re-apply my student visa
> 2. apply for a de facto partner visa
> 
> what do you think is best and what are my chances?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shrimp on the Barbie -

Thanks for the note. Probably low chance of DIBP seeing a withdrawn SkillSelect draft EOI, however not impossible. An EOI is not a visa application or even close to it - it's more the equivalent of putting your resume online.

My thought would be to proceed assuming you meet the rest of the requirements and then respond to DIBP if they bring up the issue of the withdrawn draft EOI. You could also proactively put in evidence of your genuine intention to study in Australia - if you google "Genuine Temporary Entrant DIBP" you can find some detailed info about this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Shrimp on the Barbie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Out of curiosity, I registered with SkillSelect, several months ago. I ticked 189 and 190 visas on it. After registration, I was provided with an EOI ID. Nevertheless, I've never submitted or lodged an EOI. Since then, I have completely dropped my plans of heading to Australia for permanent residency. Instead, I wish to go there for MBA studies only.
> 
> After completion, I plan on returning to my home country. I wish to move to Germany after working back home for a few years, following graduation from a well reputed Australian university. I have recently been accepted into some really good MBA programs in Victoria and NSW.
> 
> However, I'm just wondering, would my prior registration in the SkillSelect system affect the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement for Student Visa (Subclass 500)? I have withdrawn my incomplete application. It was neither submitted to DIBP nor lodged for nomination/consideration. What are the chances of them finding out that I was once registered in the SkillSelect system, but never lodged an EOI?
> 
> I look forward to hearing from you soon.
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shariq -

Thanks for the note. Based on your information, your mother will not meet the Balance of Family test (see https://www.border.gov.au/visas/supporting/Pages/parent/eligibility-balance-of-family-test.aspx for more info) so that would rule out the usual Parent visas. I'd look into either a family sponsored visitor visa for a year (subclass 600, family sponsored option, see DIBP website for document checklist), or check out the new 3 and 5 year temporary parent visas which are expected to be offered beginning in November this year and do not have the balance of family test as a requirement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Shariq said:


> Hi,
> 
> Please help with the following query. My PR visa was granted on 27/06/2017. I want to bring my mother to Australia for as long as possible.
> I have 3 other siblings. One living in Pakistan with my mother. One in Canada and one in England.
> My father died in 1993. My mother is 61 years old. She has house in her name in Pakistan.
> I am living with my wife and my income is 49000 per annum.
> (1) Can you please tell me which type of visa best suits for me to bring her here? Parent or Visitor visa. Any specific visa number, I should apply for?
> (2) What type of documents I need to attach?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anawrainbow -

Thanks for the note. You haven't mentioned whether your partner is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or otherwise, which could make a big difference as Australian permanent residents are required to be "usually resident" in Australia in order to sponsor someone for a partner or fiance visa.

There is no specfic requirement for a subclass 820/801 onshore partner visa that the sponsor must be in Australia when you apply - this requirement only exists for the applicant. However DIBP may find it rather curious if the sponsor is not in Australia at the time of application, plus they will also likely have a look at if/how you declared the relationship on your student visa application unless you are claiming the relationship started after you were granted the student visa.

Beyond that would need to work with you in a consultation to assess chances of success for a partner visa, relationship issues, relationship evidence, etc - please see my website below in my signature for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anawrainbow said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> This thread is great, I really appreciate all information is shared in this forum. I searched a lot here and I haven't exactly found an answer to my question.
> It is not very complicated but I am just not too sure about it.
> 
> I am currenty on a student visa which expires on 21st of September. My partner (sponsor) is overseas we would apply for DE FACTO VISA once he is back but plans changed, now he will only be able to return to Australia after my visa expires.
> 
> My question is: Do you think we will have a problem if I apply for DE FACTO VISA WITHOUT HIM BEING PHYSICALLY IN THE COUNTRY?
> 
> Our online app is all done, I am organising the documents together to have them ready to upload as soon as I apply and pay for it.
> 
> So I really fear the fact that he is not physically in the country by the time I apply it online.
> 
> Once I get the bridging visa I want to meet him overseas and travel together for a month so I guess as long as I show evidence that we will be together and are communicating while we are away, should be fine right?
> 
> Thanks so much for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nsa -

Generally VEVO would be OK - I'd make sure DIBP has your current passport on file before traveling - if not, I'd lodge Form 929 to get them this information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



NehaSa said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hope u r doing good!
> 
> hopefully my last question to you  - I received my PR some where around Jan 2014, currently I have been residing in India. I dont have visa grant letter with me but I am able to generate a VEVO which indicates my visa is in effect. Is this VEVO enough for me to enter Australia before my travel facility expires ? Or do I need to get any additional certificate stating that I am a permanent resident?
> 
> Many thanks in advance,
> Nsa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Inder -

Thanks for the note. Yes, it's likely they will reference a previous application if he applies to the same skills assessor. Re EA, their current regulations show that they only accept IELTS and TOEFL. You might call them to see if this is subject to change any time soon, since DIBP accepts PTE.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lalibains09 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My brother got negative assessment from TRA and got as overqualified.
> 
> My question is can he apply again with the same occupation?
> will they cross check with the old application?
> is PTE valid for Engineers Australia.?
> 
> Thanks
> Inder


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jared -

Thanks for the note and kind words. I am assuming you are an Australian citizen - if instead you are an Australian PR, you need to look into the requirement of PR's to be "usually resident" in Australia as a requirement to sponsor someone for a partner visa.

If you're an offshore Australian citizen, there is nothing to prevent you from lodging offshore financial info (payslips, etc) to show financial capacity. There is no minimum level of financial capacity required, so the requirement is quite general at the moment in this area, but may be subject to change next year when DIBP wants to introduce major chances to the partner visa programme.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JaredMullane said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly you're a champion for helping people out on here.
> 
> Secondly I have some questions in regards to what I need to submit as a sponsor of my partner for the 309 visa.
> I am currently living in Norway with her for the year and we are applying for the Aus partner visa while here. But as sponsor i need to prove I can look after her financially and have accommodation for her. Usually that means showing payslips and a rental agreement but as I wont be in Australia when we apply I wont have either of those things. I have those things for Norway but I'm guessing that's next to useless.
> Any Ideas as to what I can submit?
> Also we read if applying online none of the copies of anything need to be certified. is this true?
> 
> Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aidenr -

Thanks for the note. No way to tell for sure as we don't know how many people are in the pool ahead of you, however I noted on the last invitation round in June (see 21 June 2017 round results for more) that the last person to get an invitation as an Accountant had 80 points and had lodged their application 2 months before the invitation round. Note that everybody with 75 or 80 points will be selected ahead of you, as will anyone with 70 points who had lodged their EOI earlier than you. I expect there are simply too many people ahead of you in the pool.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aidenr said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> i have gone through some of your recent comments which were very helpful. However i had a question related to EOI for accounting general. I lodged my eoi application on 20th jan 2017 with 70 points and i am not sure why i am getting delayed. Any idea where things went wrong?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lincsus -

Thanks for the note. DIBP will only lock in your age at the date you are invited to apply for a visa by DIBP. For the 190, this happens with NSW approves your request for state sponsorship. So on any previous dates - ie, NSW invites you to apply for state sponsorship, etc, your age is not locked in and you're still liable for increase/loss of points up until the date DIBP issues you an invitation to apply for the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lincsus said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am in the process of applying for 190 and my birthday is coming up in a month which will reduce my points. I understand that age eligibility for the 190 skilled visas is locked in at the time of invitation. But in case of 190 for NSW, it takes up to 12 weeks for NSW nomination processing. If I have enough points when NSW invites me but by the time NSW approves my nomication, I will have lost my age points. Will DIBP look at my age at that point?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stephl -

Thanks for the note. At this point we understand that all citizenship applications for Australia that were lodged on/after 20 April 2017 are "on hold" pending the results of the new legislation still awaiting approval in the Parliament. Assuming the new requirement for being a PR for 4 years ends up in the new law, then you'd have to be an Australian PR for 4 years prior to applying for citizenship. Unknown whether time spent outside if a spouse is required to be outside Australia will or won't be able to be counted, but my guess is that it will be difficult to get that type of time counted.

Suggest you keep an eye on the new citizenship law being proposed and see what form the final law takes. If it all fails, however, and the old law remains, you could potentially lodge for citizenship after 1 year of PR assuming you meet all of the other requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stephl said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I have had lots of help using this forum in the past, another sticky situation has come up for me (just as I thought I was set!!)
> 
> I have lived in Australia for 5 years now. Receiving my PR through a partner visa in Jan this year. My partner and I are now wanting to move to my home country (Canada) together. What does that mean for my citizenship? What could I do to ensure I get it (even if it means staying for a few months??)
> 
> Thank you
> Stephanie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arvind -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, only if you have a new fixed address for 2 weeks or more does DIBP require notification on Form 929. Trip shouldn't affect processing, and the 189 visa can be granted whether you're inside or outside Australia at the time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arvindrajan92 said:


> Hi Mr Mark,
> 
> Greetings to you!
> 
> I have lodged for Visa 189 on 08/06/2017, and I am planning for a trip to Melbourne from 15/10/2017 to 12/11/2017 using the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) granted on 30/11/2016 (valid for 12 months and hence I can still use it to enter Australia).
> 
> My queries are as follows:
> 1. Does DIBP require any update from my side before/during my stay in Melbourne?
> 2. Will my trip affect the assessment process of Visa 189?
> 3. If, for example, the visa is granted while I am in Melbourne, will I have to make another entry after exiting Melbourne?
> 
> Thank you very much for clarifying my doubts.
> 
> Cheers,
> Arvind


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swapnilbhadale -

Thanks for the note. Answer is yes, it could depending on whether the diploma makes logical sense given all of your previous study. All would depend on your details/circumstances and if you were able to make a clear and convincing case why it is necessary for you to come to Australia to study for the diploma.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swapnilbhadale said:


> Hello Mark, I'm from India and want to apply for my PR but the occupation is under closed, which means that I have to enter the country to apply. I was considering coming on a student visa. But since I have previously completed my masters degree from Canberra. Would enrolling in a diploma after my masters be an issue for the visa authorities to refuse me a student visa? Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hniecalista -

Thanks for the note. Botched applications by agents are a huge problem, and can cost applicants dearly. You have a somewhat complex student visa situation - if you can PM me or email me (see below) I'd be happy to refer you to a colleague of mine who is an expert on student visas and could help you sort out your best options.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hniecalista said:


> *STUDENT VISA FOR INDONESIAN*
> 
> Hello Mark!
> 
> I'm Indonesian and I'm struggling to get COE from university.
> 
> I came to Australia on working and holiday visa 3 years ago.
> 
> My visa got extended by government because I helped the police to attend the trial as a witness then,I came back to Indonesia after the trial done.
> 
> in 2016, I applied tourist visa for winter holiday in Australia, but my visa got rejected due to the mistake of my agent. My agent wrote on visa application that I didn't have a job (unemployed), which actually is not right, because I do have a job in Indonesia.
> 
> in 2017, this year, I want to study commercial cookery in Australia, and when I enrolled the university by off-shore, they rejected my application because they said that I have visa refusal history so I don't suit with their GTE standard.
> 
> Now, I'm confused, why my history visa rejection which is the mistake of my agent, it makes my future visa application seems like impossible to get?
> 
> Is there any chance for me to get the COE and student visa?
> 
> I heard that if I apply student visa by on-shore it will be easy for me, but the problem is, I'm not sure if I can get tourist visa without *"no further stay"*clausal. If I get tourist visa with "no further stay" it means can't apply student visa by on-shore as well.
> 
> I don't know which one is the best option for me.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## Hannaht

Hi mark
I applied for pmv subclass 300 in august 2016 , my fiancé has don't his interview , he's done his check at the beginning and we are still waiting going on to 12 months soon 
My question to you what's the processing time for pmv applied from Malaysia and is it usual for hem only to interview one party and not both of us , thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Niggy -

Suggest you deal directly with the skills assessor on this to get their latest policy. A full time college professor is a person who is authorised to sign statutory declarations if in Australia, however outside Australia they do not have that power. I would suggest that you investigate who in your country is legally authorised to certify copies and then propose that to ACS rather than presenting the somewhat unusual scenario you mentioned re: Australian citizen who is a professor at a non-Australian university.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Niggy said:


> Hi Mark,
> Its been a while since my last visit. So hope you are doing fine.
> 
> I live in Saudi Arabia and I want to apply for a skills assessment and for that I have to send certified copies of my documents.
> 
> My questions is:
> I work in a college and one of my colleagues is a university professor with Phd, he is an Australian citizen too. Can I get my documents certified by him? is he considered to be an authorized person?
> 
> I already read the instructions provided by the ACS and also contacted them and asked them the same question but I didn't get a clear answer.
> 
> Regards,
> Niggy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stiller -

Thanks for the note. The good news is that the various 5-year waiting periods do not apply to previous 457 visas, so your being included as a partner on a previous 457 visa does not trigger the 5-year waiting period as it would if you had been previously sponsored on a fiance (subclass 300) or partner (820/801 or 309/100) visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stiller said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I am currently in Australia on a student visa studying a Bachelor of Business.
> I submitted my application for the Stage 1 partner visa in mid April 2017 (my fiance is a kiwi)... and am losing my marbles a bit during this wait time worrying about any possible negative outcomes and various scenarios. ..
> 
> I am worried because in 2013, I (as the applicant) was defacto with my ex on his 457 visa for about 8 months before we broke up and he left Australia permanently (I stayed in Australia to study).
> 
> I have been informed that the sponsor is not permitted to have sponsored someone in the previous 5 years, but does this rule also apply to the applicant?
> And also by the time the visa application gets assigned to a case officer (possibly another year from now in 2018) that will be 5 years since my last defacto relationship so could they still consider me ineligible for a partner visa due to this?
> 
> I am just wondering if its possible that i could get refused the partner visa for this reason, because if so, then i need to switch my uni course now (ASAP) to ensure that I can still get an accounting qualification so that if the partner visa falls through at least I have a back up plan to stay in Australia.
> 
> Thank you so much in advance for any advice you can offer.
> regards
> Stiller


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hannaht -

Thanks for the note. Wish I could help, but DIBP is very unpredictable about visa processing times these days in my experience. We rarely see subclass 300 visas go beyond 14-18 months, so I'd make sure you monitor your email (especially junk/spam folders) carefully and hopefully you'll get a response in the next few months. You can also email them to ask if there is any additional information or documents they want at this point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hannaht said:


> hi , me and my fiancé applied for the pmv subclass 300 visa application last year in Malaysia august 2016 . he was called in to the immigration department to have an interview, from the interview everything went well and now were still waiting , he's done his police check and medical check at the beginning when we applied for it, looks like its taking a while as we have been waiting over 11 months and have been together for over a year. any tips and suggestions on what is happening and what to do would be very appreciated. and what is the normal processing time for visa like this .thankyou


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tullen -

Thanks for the note. To be brutally candid, I believe there may be some chance, but it will likely be a challenging journey to get past the health criteria. Will depend entirely on the prognosis for a person with your condition by the Australian authorities. The good news is that for this visa there is a health waiver available, so there is at least the opportunity to provide submissions if they claim you fail the health criteria as to how you and your partner's overall contributions to Australia (including talent, expertise, financial, etc) may outweigh the anticipated costs of your condition. But again, I think it's going to be a challenging application re: health grounds.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tullen said:


> My girlfriend is australian and im swedish. We have been spending some time together and we wonder if its even possible for me to be granted a prospective marriage visa to move to australia in the future. I Have Aspergers syndrome, or specifially, high functioning autism. I do function as everyone else though and i have no problems in every day life. Im afraid though that the australian government will deny if i apply for a visa and think that i will be a liability. In sweden the government stands for 75 % of my salary and have been doing that for 8 years. I dont have any problems at all with anything really, but my company doesnt have the money to hire me without the government funding. I started to work at the company because i have all my life known the company and it was a working environment where i had big potential to making a great work! My government let me use the subsidy for getting a good job which i now regret if it turns out it could potentially appear as a doubt for the Australian Government when it comes to grant me a long term visa. I have relatives in Australia if that would help my case.
> 
> Is it impossible for me to get a visa or is there hope somewhere for me?
> Very thankful for your time Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kristine0216 -

Thanks for the note. Yes, possible to reapply again, no minimum waiting period, however you will need to show a substantial change in the application from the previous refused application. Suggest you (and your agent) carefully review the financial requirements and provided detailed arguments and evidence as to how your husband meets them to be included with any further application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kristine0216 said:


> Hi Mark. I am new here and badly needed for some advice. Maybe you can help me. Im a student here and I arrived Australia January this year. I applied for my husband as dependent visa (June this year) but his visa got denied (due to a reason of not enough money) and my agent applied again (10 days after the refusal dependent visa result) but this time my agent used visitor visa for my husband and still denied (for the reason that they are not convinced). Just want to ask if it is possible to re-apply again for dependent visa since the problem is only the money, so if we try to re-apply the dependent visa with morethan the amount they asked for, do we have a chance already? And how long to wait for us to re-apply again for his dependent visa from the month we got his visa rejected? Hope you can help me to enlighten my problem. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stillalive -

Thanks for the note. Would have to see the documents re: your previous partner visa application, as normally after withdrawal there is no need to "cancel" a visa - the withdrawal itself ceases processing and the bridging visa runs for a short period and then ends. Happy to assist at a consultation where we'd have the time to go through your documents in detail - please see my website below in my signature for more info or to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



stillalive said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am of Bangladesh origin. Came to AUSTRALIA on student visa and later applied for Partner visa. I broke up with my partner and requested the immigration to cancel my visa after withdrawing my application. I returned home to Bangladesh long before they had cancelled my visa. It's been almost 5 months now since my visa has been cancelled. I was wondering if I could apply for A working holiday visa for 6 months? I know I am eligible and I would under 30 yrs old before I apply for this visa. Will my previous visa cancellation affect me? I have been selected by a Canadian university and I will be applying for Canadian study permit soon my holiday is over in Australia.
> Please advise at your earliest convenience.
> Thank you


----------



## bommo117

Hi Mark,

First of all, good on you for assisting us with all of these issues and queries.

Secondly, I have a question of my own that requires your great knowledge. I applied for my wife on a 309/100 spouse visa about 2 years back. She has been granted the 309 and landed in Australia on such visa on 08/08/2015. 

I read on the Immigration website that subclass 100 will come 2 years after the 309 was granted. Which means that my wife would, technically, be eligible for the subclass 100 this coming August.

My questions are: 

1/ Will Immigration contact us letting us know when to apply?

2/ Will the 100 be granted straight after all the necessary documents have been provided or do we have to wait another 8 months like we did before the 309 was granted

Thanks again Mark

Kind regards,
Duc


----------



## Niggy

Thank you so much for your help Mark. I just wanted an opinion from an expert on this. I0 think I will consider him as union authorized until I invistigate more about it. 
Thanks again.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Niggy -
> 
> Suggest you deal directly with the skills assessor on this to get their latest policy. A full time college professor is a person who is authorised to sign statutory declarations if in Australia, however outside Australia they do not have that power. I would suggest that you investigate who in your country is legally authorised to certify copies and then propose that to ACS rather than presenting the somewhat unusual scenario you mentioned re: Australian citizen who is a professor at a non-Australian university.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## ji930789

Hello Mark!

I'm currently waiting for my 143 visa (Contributory parent visa) to be reviewed by the department (it's just been 1 year since the submission). 
While I'm waiting, I intend to be in Australia with my family. I was in Australia for approximately 1 year now under Visitor 600 visa (12 months). I've just applied a new 12 months Visitor Visa (outside Australia). 
However, I did my health examination on 26/07/2016 which was just within 1 year. So I gave my HAP ID for this examination when I submitted the new visitor visa application today. Now the health assessment section says the following;

Health clearance provided – no action required
(13898978)
All health examinations required for the specified visa subclass have been finalised. Processing of this person's visa application can now continue. This will not occur until a case officer investigates the case in line with published processing times for the visa that has been applied for. Do not contact the department about health examinations in the meantime.

Arranging health examination is very limited in my country and I've already booked my flight ticket back to Australia. Since it will take a while to get a response from the department, I'm asking for help at this forum! Do you think the immigration officer will eventually ask to do the health examination? Or will I be okay since I submitted my application before the expiry of my last health examination? 

Your help will be very much appreciated!!!


----------



## Julian73

Hi, Mark. Thanks for giving us free advice on pursuing our dreams to Australia.
Im in a relationship with Australian citizen for 5 years and we plan to get married late 2018. He is under centerlink newstarter allowance for 2 years and will have early release of sunsuper on 2018. Will there be an effect on the new spouse visa ruling regarding his financial ability to support that applicant. Will his receipt of centerlink affect our application.
Will the new ruling will focus only on health and character of sponsor?
Will they require payment of $7,000 before sponsor application or after his approval coz im worried it will not be refunded.


----------



## potpot

Hello Mark,

Good day. So helpful of you to answer mostly everyone's questions. We are on a 489 visa and have applied for visa 189 last June 2017. I am a Registered Nurse NEC here in Australia, I have applied for my ANMAC Skills Assessment and got the Letter of Determination last August 13,2015 which is only valid for 2years as per document. I am really worried now because ANMAC processing takes 3months nowadays and my Skill Assessment is expiring this August 13,2017. The status of my application is Still received.  I am not sure if the CO might ask for another assessment? Should I apply for ANMAC just in case the CO ask for it just to be ahead of things? Please share your thoughts. Thank you very much in advance.

Kind Regards,
Potpot


----------



## Kavitha_Sathyaraj

Hello I was granted pr in 2006 subclass136 made an entry in 2007 with family but due to family reasons had to return to india after a week again made a visit 2009 but situation did not work out for us to stay in australia. Now we have decided to migrate and wish to apply for a RRV only for my husband initially and then apply for my sons and self.Please advise


----------



## Farafiq

hello Mr Mark , my bridging C wll expired soon , as i know , i have to return back to my country if not i will end up overstay , than this will be my question , 
If i return back to my home country , can i come back to Australia with visitor pass ?


----------



## Farafiq

Mr Mark , for your information my bridging c will expired on 11.8.2017 , i have another 3 weeks to go , please help me on your advice , as i want to come back to Australia because my fiancee live and working here in Melbourne.


----------



## traveller12

*Hi Mark,*

Can you please tell me how many times can someone apply for a 457 within the same company? ie. if the original application has been rejected and they have appealed...can they apply again with a new application? 
AND how many applications can one person make for a 457 with different companies? ie can they apply for a 457 for two different companies hoping to get one of them?


----------



## jfperez05

Hi Mark,

Hope you can help me with this question:

I have just received a positive outcome from ACS under occupation 263212 applied mid June 2017. They have deducted 6 yrs work experience because I have an Advanced Diploma in IT from Sydney. 

As I was waiting for the ACS skills assessment results, I finished and completed a 1yr Graduate Diploma in IT from a university here in sydney, in mid July 2017.

In order for me to claim 15 points for qualification, do I need to submit a review to ACS again to include my Graduate Diploma in IT, or can I just include in my EOI that the Graduate Diploma is my current highest completed qualification without going through another ACS assessment?

Hope you can help.


----------



## Gigi661

Dear Mark, I would like to have your advice on my future applications, i have read lots of threads here ,i found some similarities with other people but not exactly , i have applied for offshore student visa recently ( in May exact ) , subclass 500 for masters in project management, still waiting since then , i was on single status at the time and now recently got engaged with my GF ,shes Australian citizen n living overseas for last 3yrs , i did not update my status on my onine application yet since shes not even living in Aus anyway, didnt wanna complecate my application but we r planning to get married in Aus end of this yr( if i get my student visa by than) and shes moving bk to aus aswell , the original plan was apply for pmv before student visa ( we have collected all the proof and evidences ,pics ,letters,msgs .......etc ) but we thought it would take longer and i would miss my course so end up applied for student visa at the tym , now i m wondering that if we can apply for partner visa after the wedding while i am on student visa ?? Am still confused with those 12 months wait period after wedding thing , just wanna clarify those details, thanking you in advance and look forward to hear from you soonest .


----------



## Future

Just wanted to pop back in to say thank you for your detailed response earlier Mark. That was a very handy start and definitely eased some of my initial fears. Much appreciated for your time and effort in this thread.


----------



## nayak.ajay

*Urgent advice required - for Invitation received from Queensland*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark,

I have received invitation for state sponsorship from Queensland for visa subclass 190. However as per the occupation list my occupation is listed for Visa subclass 489 (provisional). My occupation is Insurance Agent - 611211. Is this normal to receive such invitation or is error. The invitation clearly says i have been invited to apply for visa subclass 190 and need to upload the documents in the link provided.

Hope this is not a mistake from the case officer since my occupation is listed under visa subclass 489. I had written email to case officer however did not get any response from the case officer in this regards. I only have 5 days left to submit my document.. should i go ahead with the flow and apply for 190.

Please help urgently.

Thanks,

AJ


----------



## trapmeforu

Hi Mark,

I would like to share my joy with you as you have helped me many times with my queries. I have received my PR today along with family. I am really happy but unfortunately there is a complication at my end due to the IED provided on my grant letter. It is given 20th september and if i resign from my current job, that requires at least 2 months of notice period which still lagging behind my IED date, is there anyway to request for the extension. Actually IED given on the grant letter is driven by my country PCC which is going to expire on 20th of september this year as I completed last year on the same date. Please advise. Thanks so much for your help and time.


----------



## shivangi1210

*Discrepancy in Employment - EOI and VISA application*

Hi Mark,

I have a query, Please help me in same. 
I have worked in 4 companies.
c1 - Dec 2007 to Jan2008
c2 - Feb 2008 to May 2011
c3 - Apr 2011 to Nov 2011
c4 - Dec 2011 to till now
While filling ACS, i did not claimed points for Company c1 and c3 as i didnot worked here much. also i was not having references in this company to sign stat declaration.
Now I got positive accessment from ACS starting May 2009.

In My EOI Application i filled employment history as:
c2 - May 2009 to May 2011
c4 - Dec 2011 to date of ACS accessment.
I hope i did the correct thing as i skipped c3 here. also it was not accessed by ACS.

Now what should i do in case of Form 80 and Visa online application. 
Should i add c1 and c3 as well. ACS has not accessed them, nor it was mentioned in EOI application.
I have got the invite now, will it create any problem ??

Thanks
Shivangi


----------



## Fofee

Hi Mark

I have an enquiry regarding with the Graduate 485 visa (Post-study stream). I got my first student visa (subclass 575) back in 2013. Then I got my second student visa (subclass 573) in 2014. 

Just wondering can I still apply for the post-study graduate visa ? (as my first visa is a non-award sector visa).

Hope you can help. Thanks!


----------



## ebrama

Hello Mark,

I have a specific question about my Visa 190 application. My occupation (i.e., Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Language, coded as 249311) is listed as one of eligible occupations in the combined list of eligible skilled occupation but the issue is that my occupation is not listed in the priority occupations of any australian state. As you know, for Visa 190 I need to be nominated by a state. Do I still stand a chance while currently no state has listed my occupation in its priority list? 

I really appreciate your help
Nabi
With warmest regards


----------



## Sarazayan

I am new here, 
Can a 489 visa be granted if we have any outstanding debts in Australia 5years back before leaving country?
Or what could be the circumstances? 
Can a payment plan be given before visa grant ? Or simply visa can be rejected ?
Any help will be highly appreciated.
Thanks


----------



## upen144

*Vetassess query*

I have filled the assessment for Vetassess and come across to this Question " A Statutory Declaration or Affidavit stating you are not in Australia at the time of applying" . What is this ? Do we need to prepare this on Legal/stamp papers?


----------



## MoonRising

Hello Mark!

I have applied for a ACT 190 state Nomination offshore, now waiting to hear from them. In the meantime I thought I'd ask you a few questions:

1. Once I receive ACT nomination, I am planning to come to Australia on a visitor visa and then apply for the 190 visa itself onshore. Can I do that?

2. Can I work while I wait for the visa? I understand I cannot work on a visitor visa, and will have to wait for my bridging visa to kick in. Or is it possible to cancel my visitor visa so I can stay on the bridging visa and work sooner?

3. My last question, can I work fulltime on the bridging visa and Is this bridging visa A as I'm applying for a 190 PR visa.

Thanks so much Mark! You are absolutely amazing for your tireless help to us confused immigrants 

cheers!


----------



## Allegre85

*186 direct entry part-time work experience*

Hi Mark,

my partner is a graphic designer with a bachelor degree from the united states and 1.4 years assessed with Vetasess. She has another 8 months of full-time work experience (not assessed) and another 3 years of part time work experience. (3 different companies all from the states). Will the part time work experience count to reach the "3 years of relative work experience " requirement for the 186 direct entry?

Thanks


----------



## Hannaht

Hi mark 
I have a question in reference to the processing times, if I've applied in august 2016 for the pmv subclass 300 and the processing time at that time was 12 months does it affect me that now the processing times have changed to 14-19 months or does it only affect those that apply now thanks !


----------



## hussam.shehsda

hello,
i would appreciate it if you could help me. im applying for immigration to Australia through subclass 190 as health information administrator. however i needed to as several questions. first what are my chances to get state nomination,which states are more probable to be interested and approximately how much it would take to get nomination. second when im applying is it that i choose a preferred state and they will look into others or whatever i choose i will be obliged to it later


----------



## Bags

Hi Mark 
I asked for some advice last year and am about to submit my partner visa offshore and wanted to just check no changes had been made before I submit.

I was deported from Australia in January 2015 when I returned off of holiday and immigration asked me for evidence of my working holiday regional work. I wasn't able to provide enough information and was deported the same day. 

My partner (aus citizen) moved to england after i was depoeted so we xould be together. 

You previously advised that this type of 3 year ban was applicable to temporary visas but would not apply to permanent partner visas. Please could you advise if this is still the case as we are due to submit our application within the next couple of days. 

Thanks so much


----------



## Neetu

Hello Mark
I am presently in Australia and I had applied for spouse visa for my husband who is in india in april 2016 and still there is no response so how long it will take more?
Thanks


----------



## Nimal

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nimal -
> 
> Frankly, I wouldn't assume anything given unpredictable processing times at DIBP. If you know any politicians, VIPs etc who can write to DIBP and apply pressure, I'd consider it. You could also consider a complaint to the DIBP Global Feedback Unit - those usually get actioned fairly quickly.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thanks for your suggestion. As advised, I made a feedback complaint and I got this response on 22nd July: "This matter has been referred to the relevant business area for action. We aim to provide a response within 15 working days of this email. Your Feedback Case Number is IMMI-17-XXXXX. You should quote this number in any further enquiries relating to this matter".
Below are my circumstances and queries:

I submitted a decision ready student visa application on 5th April and the status is still "Received" with no requests for further information. I am waiting for four months for a student visa now which is well over their processing times and they haven't even responded to my emails after their processing time has passed. The PhD study offer expires this month end and I wont be able to defer it anymore as I have already deferred once because of the visa delay. In the feedback, I have explained my situation, asked some questions regarding their process, provided some suggestions to improve certain areas and requested to finalise my application within time whether a grant or refusal. What response can I expect from them? Their mentioned timeline of 15 days for the response to feedback is about to end and I still haven't got any response. Rather than making it an issue, I need only a decision for my application. What other steps can I take apart from reporting it to the ombudsman?

In fact, this is not the first instance of such poor accountability on their part. I have filed the student visa application for the same course and university on 25th January, 2017 to start studying in Semester 1, 2017. While submitting the application, I wasn't charged the visa application fee by the IMMI account and still received acknowledgement that the application has been received successfully. Upon introspection, I learnt that it was answered "Yes" for the question "Is the applicant receiving partial or full funding under a training scheme approved by the Commonwealth government of Australia?" which resulted in the application fee being waived. As I receive funding from a CRICOS (Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students) approved university, it resulted in the confusion in answering the question and hence making the visa application invalid. I should have been notified of this application being invalid within seven days of lodgement by the department as mentioned in their client service standards (http://www.border.gov.au/about/acces...#sub-heading-5). In fact, a fellow applicant to the same university has been notified of their application being invalid for the same reason within a week of lodgement. Surprised that there has been no such notification in my case even after a month, I approached the department a number of times through multiple channels requesting advice to either make the application valid by paying the due application fee or withdraw the application so that I can file a new valid application. The department however didn't respond to the above request queries for over two months but bluntly sent the application withdrawal notification on 5th April 2017 without any advice on further steps that I could take. Had I been notified of the application being invalid within one week as promised in their service standards, I could have lodged the valid application much earlier. Since they already committed a mistake in my previous case and it is already over four months my current application, I have demanded them to expedite the process. Will it be listened to?

Besides, through their helpline, I also learnt that my application is pending internal clearances. Given they are only internal, can they expedite their process for applicants under compelling situations like mine?

Another general question is that I applied for this visa after returning from UK after my masters degree in January in the same study area on UK student visa and have complied with the visa regulations and have good immigration history. Australia and UK share similar values and you obviously know the history. Having obtained my UK study visa in two weeks, I thought it should be fairly straight forward this time too. I don't think my background checks can take so long and complex given all the above background. Am I inferring this correctly or missing something? I will end up in a messy situation and incur financial loss if I don't get the visa on time as I was not able to join any jobs waiting for this visa and accumulated a huge gap since completing my masters last December.

Your advice please.


----------



## sarusharma

*Mistake in EOI*

I took PTE exam in 12th March 2017 and got result in 13th March 2017. While filling EOI, in test date i filled result date which was 13th March 2017 instead of 12th March 2017. I submitted my EOI in July 2017. I already got invitation Does it create any issue? Any feedback will be highly appreciated. Thank you


----------



## Prabhjotsingh2244

Hi mark how are you..well my question is that i did my masters from sydney australia in 2011 after then i didnt applied for TR because i got low band in lelts then i returned back to india before my visa expired. Then again in 2011 i applied for visitor visa from india and got refused..since then i am struggling to find on which visa should i apply to visit australia. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks


----------



## New to Oz

*Qualification Points*

Hello Mark,

I must say you are doing a great job on this thread, answering so many questions. I have been through all the pages. I have a question of my own; though you have answered it before in 2015, I just need to know if it is still valid today before I proceed.

I have assessed my skill with ACS and got a positive outcome, but because my qualification is not related to my skill, it was not mentioned in my ACS outcome letter. Now I wanted to claim points for my university degree and I have registered on CEP to confirm the equivalent AQF. Can I go ahead and fill this in my EOI or must I get a PTA from VETASSESS. I really do not have the resources for that.

Kindly advise.

Thanks


----------



## suryauppalapati

*Documents to upload for 485 Visa Online*

Hello Mark,

I applied for 485 visa online and submitted my application. I got my bridging visa A recently. I completed My Health Declaration online, finished my medical examination and provided my HAP ID in my application. Now I am in the phase of uploading the required documents.
I already uploaded my IELTS copy, Police checks and letter from medical insurance provider.
I have a few doubts in documents to upload:
1) Should all my previous and current education degree and transcripts be certified as well or is it sufficient to certify just my passport copy and identification documents?
2) Should I upload Form 815 Health undertaking?
3) Are there any other documents that I should upload other than the ones specified above?

Thank you.
Surya


----------



## CherryV.

Hi Mark! I hope you are fine answering few of my questions regarding partner visa. your response is highly appreciated. I entered Australia in 2011 and stayed here for a year till our permanent visa was granted on 2012. Then I went back to the Philippines to finish college. at the time of my stay in the Philippines, I was living with my boyfriend. Every year I come home to Australia for a month during school break. That is the routine for 5 years. Now I am in Australia and planning to apply for partner visa. We already have all the requirement but is uncertain that the CO will grant us visa given the length I stay here in Australia. my father and mother confirms financial support and they are glad to accommodate my partner. Is there a big chance that the CO will approve the partner visa??


----------



## giveitheaps

*Apply for 309. return to aus on 417???*

G'day Legend! thanks in advance. Any help is good help 

Im Australian citizen and my partner is from the Netherlands. she is currently here on a working holiday and we want to apply for her residency.
We really want to do more overseas travel together while application is being processed.

We have been together over 12months and have our information ready to submit. We go to europe on 7th sep for about 3 weeks. While on that trip we want to apply for the 309 visa (Offshore application) and hopefully return on her current working holiday 417 visa.

What i want to know is can she return on her current working visa? and leave before it expires (23rd december)? then travel until 309 has been approved?

If so do we need to contact someone for approval to return to Aus? who? when? or just return and leave without over staying her working holiday.

her current home address is here in Australia with me. if we apply offshore can her address stay the same as mine in Australia? or must it change to an address outside of australia?

Also can we do health and police checks before we apply? if so where can we get the forms needed for health checks?

Any info you think may be helpful would be much appreciate. If what we want to do is a bad idea also please let me know!

thanks 
shaun


----------



## Katerina7

Good morning Mark, 
hope you are having a lovely day today.

I've found this amazing forum recently and it's such a great help!

Would you mind me to ask you please a question?

Im going to apply for Partner visa (820/801) in September and my student visa will expire next year in July. Im currently pregnant and having due in December. I definitely don't want to cancel my student visa at all but i was thinking to take a leave of absence (maternity leave) from my school for at least 6 months and then, once my bridging visa A will get active to cancel my course/COE as i don't really need to complete my study and i would honestly rather save some money as pregnancy expanses are unbelievable!

My question is would it have any negative impact on my Bridging visa A or on processing my Partner visa or it's not really important once my student visa expire on its own? (even when i didn't attend half year school coz maternity leave? ) .... Just want to do the right things.

I hope it's clear for you what im trying to say 

Thank you a lot and enjoy your day!


----------



## KarolinaC

*Student dependent visa*

Dear Mark,

I would like to ask you for advice regarding my visa. I am currently in Australia on tourist visa and I would like to apply for De Facto visa so I can stay here with my boyfriend. He is on student visa (573) - Master´s degree. We´ve been dating for over 2 and half years. We met during our studies in England and spend roughly 9 months together. Then he left England to follow up in his studies in Australia. We were in touch every day via Skype, calls or similar. I also visited him in Australia for 3 months during my summer holidays and for 1 month during Easters. We can provide evidence of our travels, common friends, financial support and living together. However, I am not sure under which visa category I need to apply as he is on student visa. Moreover, I am not sure about how the process of application is like as there seem to be recent changes.

Thank you for you help.

Best wishes, 
Karolina


----------



## Neetu

*Spouse visa query*

Hello
I am presently in Australia on student visa and I had applied spouse visa for my spouse who is in india. I had apllied in april still we did not get any response ?


----------



## donturnoffdlyts

Hi 
Unfortunately I am not sure claim points for my academic background. I have completed Bachelor of commerce(accounting) from India. Then I moved on to Australia for doing Masters of accounting. I just completed my first semester and now changed my course from accounting to ICT. Can i claim 15 points for my masters in ICT? as i read on immigration website that if you have a A Bachelor degree from an Australian educational institution or a Bachelor qualification, from another educational institution that is of a recognised standard then you'll be awarded 15 points.

I am very confused if i can claim 15 points for master degree in ICT.
Would be very thankful if i can get some advise

Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bommo117 -

Thanks for the note. Your wife will be eligible to continue her application for the subclass 100 permanent partner visa 2 years from the date you *applied* for the initial 309/100 visa, so I expect she may already be eligible. DIBP has indicated they no longer will be sending out notices about the 2-year eligibility timeframe, however you can visit the following link to get details about lodging the second stage partner visa paperwork:

https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/forms/online/partner-permanent-calculator

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bommo117 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all, good on you for assisting us with all of these issues and queries.
> 
> Secondly, I have a question of my own that requires your great knowledge. I applied for my wife on a 309/100 spouse visa about 2 years back. She has been granted the 309 and landed in Australia on such visa on 08/08/2015.
> 
> I read on the Immigration website that subclass 100 will come 2 years after the 309 was granted. Which means that my wife would, technically, be eligible for the subclass 100 this coming August.
> 
> My questions are:
> 
> 1/ Will Immigration contact us letting us know when to apply?
> 
> 2/ Will the 100 be granted straight after all the necessary documents have been provided or do we have to wait another 8 months like we did before the 309 was granted
> 
> Thanks again Mark
> 
> Kind regards,
> Duc


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi jj930789 -

Thanks for the question. Normally a health exam must be valid at the time of decision for a visa - in your case it won't, however the case officer has the discretion to extend the validity period of a health exam if they wish to. I would suggest waiting until they ask you for a new exam, if they do so - I think there's a good possibility they will not, but no way to predict accurately since it's a discretion of the case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ji930789 said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I'm currently waiting for my 143 visa (Contributory parent visa) to be reviewed by the department (it's just been 1 year since the submission).
> While I'm waiting, I intend to be in Australia with my family. I was in Australia for approximately 1 year now under Visitor 600 visa (12 months). I've just applied a new 12 months Visitor Visa (outside Australia).
> However, I did my health examination on 26/07/2016 which was just within 1 year. So I gave my HAP ID for this examination when I submitted the new visitor visa application today. Now the health assessment section says the following;
> 
> Health clearance provided - no action required
> (13898978)
> All health examinations required for the specified visa subclass have been finalised. Processing of this person's visa application can now continue. This will not occur until a case officer investigates the case in line with published processing times for the visa that has been applied for. Do not contact the department about health examinations in the meantime.
> 
> Arranging health examination is very limited in my country and I've already booked my flight ticket back to Australia. Since it will take a while to get a response from the department, I'm asking for help at this forum! Do you think the immigration officer will eventually ask to do the health examination? Or will I be okay since I submitted my application before the expiry of my last health examination?
> 
> Your help will be very much appreciated!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Julian73 -

Unfortunately none of the details of the proposed new legislation have been released, other than the basic concept of making the sponsor application a separate application that must be approved prior to the visa applicant being able to lodge a partner visa. No way to predict what the new requirements may be at this point. Under the current rules his financial situation would not be a problem for sponsorship for the subclass 820/801 or 309/100 partner visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Julian73 said:


> Hi, Mark. Thanks for giving us free advice on pursuing our dreams to Australia.
> Im in a relationship with Australian citizen for 5 years and we plan to get married late 2018. He is under centerlink newstarter allowance for 2 years and will have early release of sunsuper on 2018. Will there be an effect on the new spouse visa ruling regarding his financial ability to support that applicant. Will his receipt of centerlink affect our application.
> Will the new ruling will focus only on health and character of sponsor?
> Will they require payment of $7,000 before sponsor application or after his approval coz im worried it will not be refunded.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Potpot -

Thanks for the note. As long as the skills assessment is valid as of the date you are invited to apply for the 189 visa by DIBP, you're fine - it does not affect your application if the skills assessment expires at some time after you apply for the 189 visa but before the 189 is granted, as it's checked for date validity as of the date of invitation only.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



potpot said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Good day. So helpful of you to answer mostly everyone's questions. We are on a 489 visa and have applied for visa 189 last June 2017. I am a Registered Nurse NEC here in Australia, I have applied for my ANMAC Skills Assessment and got the Letter of Determination last August 13,2015 which is only valid for 2years as per document. I am really worried now because ANMAC processing takes 3months nowadays and my Skill Assessment is expiring this August 13,2017. The status of my application is Still received.  I am not sure if the CO might ask for another assessment? Should I apply for ANMAC just in case the CO ask for it just to be ahead of things? Please share your thoughts. Thank you very much in advance.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Potpot


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kavitha -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you look into the subclass 155 visa via substantial business, cultural, personal or employment ties to Australia - note that you will also have to provide compelling reasons why you were gone for over 5 continuous years prior to applying, and why you were outside Australia for a total of 5 years in the 10 years prior to applying. More info on DIBP site at https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/155-

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kavitha_Sathyaraj said:


> Hello I was granted pr in 2006 subclass136 made an entry in 2007 with family but due to family reasons had to return to india after a week again made a visit 2009 but situation did not work out for us to stay in australia. Now we have decided to migrate and wish to apply for a RRV only for my husband initially and then apply for my sons and self.Please advise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Farafiq -

Thanks for the note. There are specific rules in part 4013 and 4014 of the Migration Regulations 1994 that determine whether a person departing holding a BVC will have a 3-year ban period imposed for all temporary visas, which would include visitor, student, 457 etc visas. Here's the legislation:

_(4) Subject to subclause (5), a person is affected by a risk factor if the person left Australia as:

(a) an unlawful non-citizen; or

(b) the holder of a Bridging C (Class (WC), Bridging D (Class WD) or Bridging E (Class WE) visa.

(5) Subclause (4) does not to apply to a person if:

(a) the person left Australia within 28 days after a substantive visa held by the person ceased to be in effect; or

(b) a bridging visa held by the person at the time of departure was granted:

(i) within 28 days after a substantive visa held by the person ceased to be in effect; or

(ii) while the person held another bridging visa granted:

(A) while the person held a substantive visa; or

(B) within 28 days after a substantive visa held by the person ceased to be in effect._

It's a bit confusing, but essentially if you received your BVC within 28 days of holding a substantive (that is, non-bridging visa), or your received your BVC while holding a previous bridging visa and that previous bridging visa was granted within 28 days of holding a substantive visa, then you can avoid the 3-year ban.

Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see my website below in my signature for more information or to book online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Farafiq said:


> hello Mr Mark , my bridging C wll expired soon , as i know , i have to return back to my country if not i will end up overstay , than this will be my question ,
> If i return back to my home country , can i come back to Australia with visitor pass ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Traveller12 -

No limit to how many applications you can make, however if you are refused an application while onshore and only holding a bridging visa, that will enliven Section 48 of the Migration Act which limits further applications while onshore on that trip. Also need to be careful that multiple applications do not contain contradictory information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



traveller12 said:


> Can you please tell me how many times can someone apply for a 457 within the same company? ie. if the original application has been rejected and they have appealed...can they apply again with a new application?
> AND how many applications can one person make for a 457 with different companies? ie can they apply for a 457 for two different companies hoping to get one of them?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi jfperez05 -

Thanks for the question. You should look into this further, however DIBP generally does not award 15 points for a postgraduate degree (graduate diploma, master degree) unless the applicant also holds a bachelor degree. I don't know that there is any particular benefit in having the graduate diploma assessed, unless the skills assessor deems it as equivalent to a bachelor degree which I assume they will not due because of the difference in duration (bachelor degree requires 3 yrs).

Best,

Mark Northam



jfperez05 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you can help me with this question:
> 
> I have just received a positive outcome from ACS under occupation 263212 applied mid June 2017. They have deducted 6 yrs work experience because I have an Advanced Diploma in IT from Sydney.
> 
> As I was waiting for the ACS skills assessment results, I finished and completed a 1yr Graduate Diploma in IT from a university here in sydney, in mid July 2017.
> 
> In order for me to claim 15 points for qualification, do I need to submit a review to ACS again to include my Graduate Diploma in IT, or can I just include in my EOI that the Graduate Diploma is my current highest completed qualification without going through another ACS assessment?
> 
> Hope you can help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gigi661 -

Thanks for the note. There is no 12 month requirement for married applicants. No rule preventing you from applying for a partner visa while on a student visa unless the student visa has a no further stay or limitation on further applications while onshore condition attached. However if you do not update your application to show you are engaged, you may have a problem if you later claim that you were engaged during the time before your student visa was approved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gigi661 said:


> Dear Mark, I would like to have your advice on my future applications, i have read lots of threads here ,i found some similarities with other people but not exactly , i have applied for offshore student visa recently ( in May exact ) , subclass 500 for masters in project management, still waiting since then , i was on single status at the time and now recently got engaged with my GF ,shes Australian citizen n living overseas for last 3yrs , i did not update my status on my onine application yet since shes not even living in Aus anyway, didnt wanna complecate my application but we r planning to get married in Aus end of this yr( if i get my student visa by than) and shes moving bk to aus aswell , the original plan was apply for pmv before student visa ( we have collected all the proof and evidences ,pics ,letters,msgs .......etc ) but we thought it would take longer and i would miss my course so end up applied for student visa at the tym , now i m wondering that if we can apply for partner visa after the wedding while i am on student visa ?? Am still confused with those 12 months wait period after wedding thing , just wanna clarify those details, thanking you in advance and look forward to hear from you soonest .


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks, Future! Glad I could assist.

Best,

Mark Northam



Future said:


> Just wanted to pop back in to say thank you for your detailed response earlier Mark. That was a very handy start and definitely eased some of my initial fears. Much appreciated for your time and effort in this thread.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nayak.ajay -

Thanks for the note, and sorry I did not respond earlier - have been swamped with work and now catching up with forum questions. I would need to see your documents and get further details to give you specific advice for your application - as the time limit is up at this point per your message, I assume you were able to get advice and move forward.

Best,

Mark Northam



nayak.ajay said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have received invitation for state sponsorship from Queensland for visa subclass 190. However as per the occupation list my occupation is listed for Visa subclass 489 (provisional). My occupation is Insurance Agent - 611211. Is this normal to receive such invitation or is error. The invitation clearly says i have been invited to apply for visa subclass 190 and need to upload the documents in the link provided.
> 
> Hope this is not a mistake from the case officer since my occupation is listed under visa subclass 489. I had written email to case officer however did not get any response from the case officer in this regards. I only have 5 days left to submit my document.. should i go ahead with the flow and apply for 190.
> 
> Please help urgently.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> AJ


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Trapmeforu -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on your visa grant!

Re initial entry date (IED), this cannot be altered once a visa is granted, however I recently saw a letter from DIBP General Skilled Migration (ie, visas 489, 189, 190) where they issue a blanket statement that they will not cancel visas if the IED is breached. I would suggest making contact with the DIBP office that granted the visa, advise the problem, and ask what you should do. Generally speaking, visas are liable for cancellation if the holder does not enter Australia by the IED, however often arrangements can be made if evidence is provided that the delay is for a reasonable purpose and isn't long.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



trapmeforu said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I would like to share my joy with you as you have helped me many times with my queries. I have received my PR today along with family. I am really happy but unfortunately there is a complication at my end due to the IED provided on my grant letter. It is given 20th september and if i resign from my current job, that requires at least 2 months of notice period which still lagging behind my IED date, is there anyway to request for the extension. Actually IED given on the grant letter is driven by my country PCC which is going to expire on 20th of september this year as I completed last year on the same date. Please advise. Thanks so much for your help and time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shivangi1210 -

Looks like you did the correct thing based on what you've posted, but would need to review your application in order to give you specific advice for your case.

No problem generally listing additional employment on Form 80 and the online visa application as long as you clearly mark each of the additional ones as NOT relevant to your nominated occupation (on the online visa application) so it will not create a points claim for that work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shivangi1210 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a query, Please help me in same.
> I have worked in 4 companies.
> c1 - Dec 2007 to Jan2008
> c2 - Feb 2008 to May 2011
> c3 - Apr 2011 to Nov 2011
> c4 - Dec 2011 to till now
> While filling ACS, i did not claimed points for Company c1 and c3 as i didnot worked here much. also i was not having references in this company to sign stat declaration.
> Now I got positive accessment from ACS starting May 2009.
> 
> In My EOI Application i filled employment history as:
> c2 - May 2009 to May 2011
> c4 - Dec 2011 to date of ACS accessment.
> I hope i did the correct thing as i skipped c3 here. also it was not accessed by ACS.
> 
> Now what should i do in case of Form 80 and Visa online application.
> Should i add c1 and c3 as well. ACS has not accessed them, nor it was mentioned in EOI application.
> I have got the invite now, will it create any problem ??
> 
> Thanks
> Shivangi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fofee -

Here is the requirement:

_(l) An applicant seeking to satisfy the primary criteria for the grant of a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa in the Post-Study Work stream:
(i) must hold a Student Temporary (Class TU) visa that:
(A) was granted on the basis of an application made on or after 5 November 2011; and
(B) is the first Student Temporary (Class TU) visa that the applicant has held; or
(ii) must have held a Student Temporary (Class TU) visa that:
(A) was granted on the basis of an application made on or after 5 November 2011; and
(B) was the first Student Temporary (Class TU) visa that the applicant had held._

Since the subclass 575 visa was a Class TU visa, I don't see any reason it would not qualify as long as the application date for the 575 visa was not before 5 November 2011.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Fofee said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have an enquiry regarding with the Graduate 485 visa (Post-study stream). I got my first student visa (subclass 575) back in 2013. Then I got my second student visa (subclass 573) in 2014.
> 
> Just wondering can I still apply for the post-study graduate visa ? (as my first visa is a non-award sector visa).
> 
> Hope you can help. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nabi -

For a subclass 489 or 190 skilled visa for an occupation on the Short Term skilled occupation list, (STSOL), it must be sponsored by a state. Chance of getting this visa would depend entirely on whether any states choose to sponsor this occupation and whether you meet the requirements of that state in addition to DIBP requirement. Hard to predict, frankly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ebrama said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a specific question about my Visa 190 application. My occupation (i.e., Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Language, coded as 249311) is listed as one of eligible occupations in the combined list of eligible skilled occupation but the issue is that my occupation is not listed in the priority occupations of any australian state. As you know, for Visa 190 I need to be nominated by a state. Do I still stand a chance while currently no state has listed my occupation in its priority list?
> 
> I really appreciate your help
> Nabi
> With warmest regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarazayan -

Thanks for the note. There is no limit I know of on how old the debts can be, however they must be debts to the Commonwealth of Australia to qualify for the restriction - the condition says you can meet it by either paying off the debt or arranging an acceptable payment plan with the Commonwealth for the debt. If you have a debt to the Commonwealth and you do not either pay it off or arrange for a payment plan, a future visa would likely be refused as a result.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sarazayan said:


> I am new here,
> Can a 489 visa be granted if we have any outstanding debts in Australia 5years back before leaving country?
> Or what could be the circumstances?
> Can a payment plan be given before visa grant ? Or simply visa can be rejected ?
> Any help will be highly appreciated.
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Upen144 -

I expect this has to do with GST (like a VAT tax) exemption if you are claiming it for an offshore application. Should be prepared in whatever format your country has for sworn legal statements. If in Australia, a Commonwealth Statutory Declaration form is appropriate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



upen144 said:


> I have filled the assessment for Vetassess and come across to this Question " A Statutory Declaration or Affidavit stating you are not in Australia at the time of applying" . What is this ? Do we need to prepare this on Legal/stamp papers?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MoonRising -

Re 1, yes as long as you are granted the visitor visa and the visitor visa does not have Condition 8503 (no further stay).

Re 2, cancelling the visitor visa will also cancel your bridging visa from an onshore lodgement of your 190, so better to wait onshore after you lodge the 190 until the visitor visa stay period ends, then overstay that and the bridging visa from your previous 190 application will activate and your work rights will begin.

Re 3, Yes to all assuming you lodge onshore while holding a substantive visa (like a visitor visa) without condition 8503 and there are no other blocks to lodging (ie, previous refusal onshore on this trip, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MoonRising said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I have applied for a ACT 190 state Nomination offshore, now waiting to hear from them. In the meantime I thought I'd ask you a few questions:
> 
> 1. Once I receive ACT nomination, I am planning to come to Australia on a visitor visa and then apply for the 190 visa itself onshore. Can I do that?
> 
> 2. Can I work while I wait for the visa? I understand I cannot work on a visitor visa, and will have to wait for my bridging visa to kick in. Or is it possible to cancel my visitor visa so I can stay on the bridging visa and work sooner?
> 
> 3. My last question, can I work fulltime on the bridging visa and Is this bridging visa A as I'm applying for a 190 PR visa.
> 
> Thanks so much Mark! You are absolutely amazing for your tireless help to us confused immigrants
> 
> cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Allegre85 -

Thanks for the note. I would need to review her documents and information in a consultation in order to give you specific advice for her case - too many possible issues with elements of employment and documents to give you any kind of answer on the forum. Please see my website in my signature below for more info on consultations, thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



Allegre85 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> my partner is a graphic designer with a bachelor degree from the united states and 1.4 years assessed with Vetasess. She has another 8 months of full-time work experience (not assessed) and another 3 years of part time work experience. (3 different companies all from the states). Will the part time work experience count to reach the "3 years of relative work experience " requirement for the 186 direct entry?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hannaht -

Thanks for the note. It is unclear from DIBP's site and policy which applies, but even if there was a way too know answer, it's only a very rough estimate - nothing to depend on in any way.

Best,

Mark Northam



Hannaht said:


> Hi mark
> I have a question in reference to the processing times, if I've applied in august 2016 for the pmv subclass 300 and the processing time at that time was 12 months does it affect me that now the processing times have changed to 14-19 months or does it only affect those that apply now thanks !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hussam.shehsda -

Thanks for the note. If you apply for a 190 visa you will be obligated to live and work in that state for 2 years after you migrate to Australia after being granted the visa. Beyond that, you can get more information on states and nomination program eligibility at Search | Anzscosearch

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hussam.shehsda said:


> hello,
> i would appreciate it if you could help me. im applying for immigration to Australia through subclass 190 as health information administrator. however i needed to as several questions. first what are my chances to get state nomination,which states are more probable to be interested and approximately how much it would take to get nomination. second when im applying is it that i choose a preferred state and they will look into others or whatever i choose i will be obliged to it later


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bags -

Thanks for the note. This is still the case - the 3 year temporary visa exclusion does not apply to permanent visas including the partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bags said:


> Hi Mark
> I asked for some advice last year and am about to submit my partner visa offshore and wanted to just check no changes had been made before I submit.
> 
> I was deported from Australia in January 2015 when I returned off of holiday and immigration asked me for evidence of my working holiday regional work. I wasn't able to provide enough information and was deported the same day.
> 
> My partner (aus citizen) moved to england after i was depoeted so we xould be together.
> 
> You previously advised that this type of 3 year ban was applicable to temporary visas but would not apply to permanent partner visas. Please could you advise if this is still the case as we are due to submit our application within the next couple of days.
> 
> Thanks so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neetu -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict, however in some cases we're seeing partner visas take 18+ months to process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Neetu said:


> Hello Mark
> I am presently in Australia and I had applied for spouse visa for my husband who is in india in april 2016 and still there is no response so how long it will take more?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nimal -

Other than making a complaint to the Ombudsman, I don't know of anything else you can do. No way to predict how soon DIBP will respond as they have no legal time limits on responding to complaints or processing visas for that matter - "aim to provide a response" is a lot less than "are required to provide a response"...

I wish I had advice as to further steps you can take, but your options are very limited re: DIBP complaints. One trick I've seen a few times is that the complaint will have in the main title "Manager assistance, please" which sometimes gets the complaint elevated above the case worker level - you might try that with a subsequent complaint if this one is not responded to in time.

Best,

Mark Northam



Nimal said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your suggestion. As advised, I made a feedback complaint and I got this response on 22nd July: "This matter has been referred to the relevant business area for action. We aim to provide a response within 15 working days of this email. Your Feedback Case Number is IMMI-17-XXXXX. You should quote this number in any further enquiries relating to this matter".
> Below are my circumstances and queries:
> 
> I submitted a decision ready student visa application on 5th April and the status is still "Received" with no requests for further information. I am waiting for four months for a student visa now which is well over their processing times and they haven't even responded to my emails after their processing time has passed. The PhD study offer expires this month end and I wont be able to defer it anymore as I have already deferred once because of the visa delay. In the feedback, I have explained my situation, asked some questions regarding their process, provided some suggestions to improve certain areas and requested to finalise my application within time whether a grant or refusal. What response can I expect from them? Their mentioned timeline of 15 days for the response to feedback is about to end and I still haven't got any response. Rather than making it an issue, I need only a decision for my application. What other steps can I take apart from reporting it to the ombudsman?
> 
> In fact, this is not the first instance of such poor accountability on their part. I have filed the student visa application for the same course and university on 25th January, 2017 to start studying in Semester 1, 2017. While submitting the application, I wasn't charged the visa application fee by the IMMI account and still received acknowledgement that the application has been received successfully. Upon introspection, I learnt that it was answered "Yes" for the question "Is the applicant receiving partial or full funding under a training scheme approved by the Commonwealth government of Australia?" which resulted in the application fee being waived. As I receive funding from a CRICOS (Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students) approved university, it resulted in the confusion in answering the question and hence making the visa application invalid. I should have been notified of this application being invalid within seven days of lodgement by the department as mentioned in their client service standards (http://www.border.gov.au/about/acces...#sub-heading-5). In fact, a fellow applicant to the same university has been notified of their application being invalid for the same reason within a week of lodgement. Surprised that there has been no such notification in my case even after a month, I approached the department a number of times through multiple channels requesting advice to either make the application valid by paying the due application fee or withdraw the application so that I can file a new valid application. The department however didn't respond to the above request queries for over two months but bluntly sent the application withdrawal notification on 5th April 2017 without any advice on further steps that I could take. Had I been notified of the application being invalid within one week as promised in their service standards, I could have lodged the valid application much earlier. Since they already committed a mistake in my previous case and it is already over four months my current application, I have demanded them to expedite the process. Will it be listened to?
> 
> Besides, through their helpline, I also learnt that my application is pending internal clearances. Given they are only internal, can they expedite their process for applicants under compelling situations like mine?
> 
> Another general question is that I applied for this visa after returning from UK after my masters degree in January in the same study area on UK student visa and have complied with the visa regulations and have good immigration history. Australia and UK share similar values and you obviously know the history. Having obtained my UK study visa in two weeks, I thought it should be fairly straight forward this time too. I don't think my background checks can take so long and complex given all the above background. Am I inferring this correctly or missing something? I will end up in a messy situation and incur financial loss if I don't get the visa on time as I was not able to join any jobs waiting for this visa and accumulated a huge gap since completing my masters last December.
> 
> Your advice please.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarusharma -

I don't see that it would create an issue as the test date is still within the 3-year eligibility period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sarusharma said:


> I took PTE exam in 12th March 2017 and got result in 13th March 2017. While filling EOI, in test date i filled result date which was 13th March 2017 instead of 12th March 2017. I submitted my EOI in July 2017. I already got invitation Does it create any issue? Any feedback will be highly appreciated. Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prabhjotsingh2244 -

Would need to work with you in a consultation to analyse your specific circumstances to recommend a further visa - you might look at another student visa depending on your circumstances, or a new visitor visa application if you can show current employment and successfully address the other elements of the genuine temporary entrant criteria. Also, as you previously studied in Australia, DIBP may be very interested in why you are returning.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Prabhjotsingh2244 said:


> Hi mark how are you..well my question is that i did my masters from sydney australia in 2011 after then i didnt applied for TR because i got low band in lelts then i returned back to india before my visa expired. Then again in 2011 i applied for visitor visa from india and got refused..since then i am struggling to find on which visa should i apply to visit australia. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi New to Oz -

Thanks for the note. The Country Education Profiles (CEP) are helpful but are not 100% guaranteed to provide equivalency information acceptable to DIBP. In the end, it's up to the discretion of the case officer. I'd certainly lodge the relevant CEP info to support your claim, but the case officer will have to decide whether the degree is equivalent. The Vetassess points test advisory is helpful in that regard and DIBP tends to abide by these, however if it's not financially possible then you'll have to look for other ways to support your contention that the degree is equivalent. You might try comparing the units studied in an equivalent Australian degree with the units studied in your degree as a starter.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



New to Oz said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I must say you are doing a great job on this thread, answering so many questions. I have been through all the pages. I have a question of my own; though you have answered it before in 2015, I just need to know if it is still valid today before I proceed.
> 
> I have assessed my skill with ACS and got a positive outcome, but because my qualification is not related to my skill, it was not mentioned in my ACS outcome letter. Now I wanted to claim points for my university degree and I have registered on CEP to confirm the equivalent AQF. Can I go ahead and fill this in my EOI or must I get a PTA from VETASSESS. I really do not have the resources for that.
> 
> Kindly advise.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Surya -

Re 1, you need to at least include the degree/transcripts from the degree(s) you are using to meet the Australian Study Requirement.

Re 2, no need to lodge Form 815 unless requested to do so by DIBP.

Re 3 - yes, see 485 document checklist on DIBP site. One requirement i can think of now is evidence you've applied for an AFP police clearance certificate prior to lodging the 485 application. Also, look at the health insurance evidence requirements. You need to check the 485 document checklist very carefully as this visa has lots of time-of-application requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



suryauppalapati said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I applied for 485 visa online and submitted my application. I got my bridging visa A recently. I completed My Health Declaration online, finished my medical examination and provided my HAP ID in my application. Now I am in the phase of uploading the required documents.
> I already uploaded my IELTS copy, Police checks and letter from medical insurance provider.
> I have a few doubts in documents to upload:
> 1) Should all my previous and current education degree and transcripts be certified as well or is it sufficient to certify just my passport copy and identification documents?
> 2) Should I upload Form 815 Health undertaking?
> 3) Are there any other documents that I should upload other than the ones specified above?
> 
> Thank you.
> Surya


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CherryV -

Thanks for the note. There are a great deal of requirements for partner visas - no way for me to accurately predict chances of success based on only bits and pieces of information. Happy to discuss further at a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case - please see my website below in my signature for more information or to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



CherryV. said:


> Hi Mark! I hope you are fine answering few of my questions regarding partner visa. your response is highly appreciated. I entered Australia in 2011 and stayed here for a year till our permanent visa was granted on 2012. Then I went back to the Philippines to finish college. at the time of my stay in the Philippines, I was living with my boyfriend. Every year I come home to Australia for a month during school break. That is the routine for 5 years. Now I am in Australia and planning to apply for partner visa. We already have all the requirement but is uncertain that the CO will grant us visa given the length I stay here in Australia. my father and mother confirms financial support and they are glad to accommodate my partner. Is there a big chance that the CO will approve the partner visa??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shaun -

Thanks for the note. In theory she can re-enter Australia prior to the expiration of the working holiday visa as long as that visa has not expired and she has not made excessive trips on that visa to the point where DIBP will question her as to whether she is still "working and holidaymaking" on the visa, then leave Australia before it expires.

Re police and health, can be risky to do before lodgement as they expire in 12 months and processing often takes 12 months or more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



giveitheaps said:


> G'day Legend! thanks in advance. Any help is good help
> 
> Im Australian citizen and my partner is from the Netherlands. she is currently here on a working holiday and we want to apply for her residency.
> We really want to do more overseas travel together while application is being processed.
> 
> We have been together over 12months and have our information ready to submit. We go to europe on 7th sep for about 3 weeks. While on that trip we want to apply for the 309 visa (Offshore application) and hopefully return on her current working holiday 417 visa.
> 
> What i want to know is can she return on her current working visa? and leave before it expires (23rd december)? then travel until 309 has been approved?
> 
> If so do we need to contact someone for approval to return to Aus? who? when? or just return and leave without over staying her working holiday.
> 
> her current home address is here in Australia with me. if we apply offshore can her address stay the same as mine in Australia? or must it change to an address outside of australia?
> 
> Also can we do health and police checks before we apply? if so where can we get the forms needed for health checks?
> 
> Any info you think may be helpful would be much appreciate. If what we want to do is a bad idea also please let me know!
> 
> thanks
> shaun


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Katerina7 -

Thanks for the note and kind words!

Assuming you get a leave of absence approved by your school, you could remain in Australia on the student visa, let the student visa expire on its own, then cancel the CoE once you are on the bridging visa A for the partner visa. The only issue would be if DIBP tried to cancel the student visa due to too much time away from school - my guess is that this would be unlikely in your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Katerina7 said:


> Good morning Mark,
> hope you are having a lovely day today.
> 
> I've found this amazing forum recently and it's such a great help!
> 
> Would you mind me to ask you please a question?
> 
> Im going to apply for Partner visa (820/801) in September and my student visa will expire next year in July. Im currently pregnant and having due in December. I definitely don't want to cancel my student visa at all but i was thinking to take a leave of absence (maternity leave) from my school for at least 6 months and then, once my bridging visa A will get active to cancel my course/COE as i don't really need to complete my study and i would honestly rather save some money as pregnancy expanses are unbelievable!
> 
> My question is would it have any negative impact on my Bridging visa A or on processing my Partner visa or it's not really important once my student visa expire on its own? (even when i didn't attend half year school coz maternity leave? ) .... Just want to do the right things.
> 
> I hope it's clear for you what im trying to say
> 
> Thank you a lot and enjoy your day!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KarolinaC -

Thanks for the note. Much would depend on whether he declared you as his de facto partner when he applied for the student visa (assuming you were partners at that time) and the duration of his student visa. Would need to work with you in a consultation (see website below in my signature) to work through the various requirements for this to see if it is possible to make an application for a subsequent entrant student visa for you given your circumstances - you might also look at the "Adding Family Members" part of the DIBP website for student visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KarolinaC said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I would like to ask you for advice regarding my visa. I am currently in Australia on tourist visa and I would like to apply for De Facto visa so I can stay here with my boyfriend. He is on student visa (573) - Master´s degree. We´ve been dating for over 2 and half years. We met during our studies in England and spend roughly 9 months together. Then he left England to follow up in his studies in Australia. We were in touch every day via Skype, calls or similar. I also visited him in Australia for 3 months during my summer holidays and for 1 month during Easters. We can provide evidence of our travels, common friends, financial support and living together. However, I am not sure under which visa category I need to apply as he is on student visa. Moreover, I am not sure about how the process of application is like as there seem to be recent changes.
> 
> Thank you for you help.
> 
> Best wishes,
> Karolina


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Neetu -

Sadly some of these types of applications are taking 4-8 months to process currently - best to be patient but keep in touch with DIBP to see if they need any further information/documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Neetu said:


> Hello
> I am presently in Australia on student visa and I had applied spouse visa for my spouse who is in india. I had apllied in april still we did not get any response ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi donturnoffdlyts -

Thanks for the note. As the Bachelor degree does not have to be related to your nomination for a skilled visa (489/189/190), I'm not sure why you would not simply claim 15 points for the Bachelor degree? Claiming for Masters degrees can be more complex because that requires an underlying Bachelor degree. If claiming points for a Master degree and the underlying Bachelor degree is unrelated, can cause problems. Much simpler to just claim 15 pts for the Bachelor degree assuming it is from an accredited uni and is equivalent to an Australian bachelor degree - if unsure of this, you can get a points test advisory from VETASSESS for the Bachelor degree.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



donturnoffdlyts said:


> Hi
> Unfortunately I am not sure claim points for my academic background. I have completed Bachelor of commerce(accounting) from India. Then I moved on to Australia for doing Masters of accounting. I just completed my first semester and now changed my course from accounting to ICT. Can i claim 15 points for my masters in ICT? as i read on immigration website that if you have a A Bachelor degree from an Australian educational institution or a Bachelor qualification, from another educational institution that is of a recognised standard then you'll be awarded 15 points.
> 
> I am very confused if i can claim 15 points for master degree in ICT.
> Would be very thankful if i can get some advise
> 
> Thank you


----------



## JelloPillo

My fiancée lives in Romania, and I am an Australian citizen. We applied for the PMV on the 27th of March 2017. She has already done an interview over the phone, a medical examination, proof of single status, multiple photo updates, and we have both competed police checks. I completed one from Australia, and Romania, as was requested. My immi account currently says "Assessment in progress", however I don't know what this means timeframe-wise.

We are thinking about handing in a visitor or eVisitor visa, however do not want to prolong or jeopardise our current PMV application. Also, we are wondering if it's worth it at all considering that the immi account says "Assessment in progress". Or will we get the final answer soon? 

Could anyone provide us with any advice, or possible help? I have to leave Romania again in a week and I wanted to take her with me. 

Thanks in advance.


----------



## emmaandrico

Hello, my partner and I are hoping to apply for a Prospective Marriage Visa (subclass 300). I just have a few questions about it which I can't seem to find answers for.

I'm from the UK and my partner is from Australia, we've been a couple for around 3 years, spending a little over 2 years together during that time (including my 12 month working holiday visa and his 6 month tourist visa, as well as a long backpacking trip together). Unfortunately we're both currently stuck in our own countries due to work commitments but we've discussed marriage for a while and my partner paid the deposit on my engagement ring back in May. The ring is still in the process of being made, but if all goes to plan we will be officially engaged next month, during our holiday in Bali together.

I just have a few questions. 

Firstly, do we sound eligible? Our relationship has been ongoing for many years and is very well supported by our friends and families, I'm very close with his and he is very close with mine. 

Also, I've read about getting a letter from a celebrant with an agreed wedding date and I understand that this is essential. I've also read that most places will not provide this unless it is signed by both parties (tricky when you're living in different countries). We're hoping to get married in Southeast Asia, considering that we fell in love there, and I wondered if we could get a celebrant in Bali to write a letter for us whilst we're there. We haven't found a venue yet (although we have been looking) but I've read that this can be changed later on, is this true? Would this be enough proof of an intended marriage?

How do I prove that there's no impediment to our marriage (neither of us have been married before)?

And finally. This is a strange one but I had a look on the forms we need to complete and noticed that I have to state every country visited in the last 10 years... 
I used to work on a cruise ship and I have no idea how I could possibly list every country visited, I know there is room for additional info but it's rather extensive and each visit was generally only a day long. Is there another way to do this or do I just have to bite the bullet and list every single port we stopped in?! 

Sorry for the length of this post. I massively appreciate any help or advice!


----------



## ranadheerreddy

*Partner 5 points*

Hi Mark,

Myself Ranadheer. I am planning to apply for AUS PR through skilled migration(189). I have 65 points and i want to claim 5 points through my spouse. My wife worked as Assistant professor for 5 years in her domain(ECE). Starting from 2008 to 2013. she got a experience letter from her college and a reference letter from her colleague. These two are enough?

Now she is home maker. She has done her B tech (Bachelors) 4 years in English Medium. So no need for her to take any English test right?

Please help to guide me.

Thanks and Regards,
Ranadheer Reddy T.


----------



## Sumayyah86

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark. I was suppose to meet degree requirements from my uni on 28th july 2017 because i manage to chase the paperworks that need to be signed by the uni Dean. So i confidently applied for 485 visa on 30th july 2017. Worst thing happened on 31sty 2017 as i was informed by my uni that the dean hasn't sign my paperwork.. so meeting degree requirement was delayed to 4th august 2017. But the thing is that i have applied for 485 visa on 30th july.. and on the website it says i need to meet the degree requirements before visa lodgement. Now that i am in bridging visa i wish to withdraw my application and re apply for 485 visa and i believe there won't be any issue since i have met the degree requirements on 4th august 2017. Do you reckon I'm on the right path here? Should i withdraw?


----------



## 322242

*457 and 189, different occupation*

Hi Mark,

Hope you're doing great.

The amount of time that you are sparing for addressing the queries of the Australian immigration aspirants is commendable.

Just seeking your expert advice on my case, where I am stuck in a dilemma because of different occupation nominated under my 457 visa in Australia, and now getting a successful skill assessment under different ANZSCO code according to my current responsibilities.

My occupation under 457 was 313112 (ICT Customer Support officer) which was incorrectly done by my employer and I didn't have any control over it and wasn't even aware of, how they were handling the 457 visa application at that time. Even my role mentioned in the form 1221 of the 457 application was 'Application Support and Programming' which aligns with the role of a Software Engineer. It was a mix of application support and enhancement role and not specifically a customer support role as nominated by my employer in the 457 application.

Nevertheless, now I have got the positive assessment from ACS under 261313 Software Engineer with 2 years deduction.

Have submitted EOI for 189 at 65 points and 190 at 70 points. To be on the safer side, I haven't claimed the points for 1 year of AU experience because of the different occupation under 457. However, I still don't know, if this would create any problem, as in the ACS letter they have deemed me suitable for migration under Software Engineer and eligible for points under skilled migration for the term I was in Australia but I am still not claiming those because of the occupation in 457 being a different one.

I am currently in Melbourne only on a 457 visa.

Would you please share your thoughts on this. Would there be any concern regarding this is the mind of a CO or it will be ok since I haven't claimed any of the AU experience points i.e. 5 points for completing 1 year in Australia.

Will wait for your advise in this matter.

Thanks.

__________________
ANZSCO: 261313, Software Engineer
ACS Applied: 26-June-2017
ACS Result: Positive on 27-Jul-2017, 2 years deduction.
Qualification: BCA+MCA (Both ICT Major Computing)
IT Exp: 4 and half yrs total; 3 yr India, 1 and half yr Australia 
PTE-A:20
Points: Age(30)/Edu(15)/Eng(20)/WorkEx(0) = 65 points
EOI 189: Submitted on 28-July-2017 at 65 points.
EOI 190: Submitted on 29-July-2017 for NSW at 70 points.
Note: Not claiming 5 pts for AU Experience because of different occupation under 457.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JelloPillo -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately DIBP's systems and the status indicator area is almost useless. There is no way to determine how much time is left to process, however typically an interview comes more than half way through the processing cycle. Wish there was something more certain I could add, but there is just no way to predict.

Best,

Mark Northam



JelloPillo said:


> My fiancée lives in Romania, and I am an Australian citizen. We applied for the PMV on the 27th of March 2017. She has already done an interview over the phone, a medical examination, proof of single status, multiple photo updates, and we have both competed police checks. I completed one from Australia, and Romania, as was requested. My immi account currently says "Assessment in progress", however I don't know what this means timeframe-wise.
> 
> We are thinking about handing in a visitor or eVisitor visa, however do not want to prolong or jeopardise our current PMV application. Also, we are wondering if it's worth it at all considering that the immi account says "Assessment in progress". Or will we get the final answer soon?
> 
> Could anyone provide us with any advice, or possible help? I have to leave Romania again in a week and I wanted to take her with me.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emmaandrico -

Thanks for the note. Generally to qualify for a subclass 300 PMV you need to express an intent and show evidence that you plan to marry in Australia, as a critical requirement is a letter from an Australian marriage celebrant. If you are planning to marry outside Australia, an offshore partner visa (subclass 309/100) is likely a better fit for you.

Re no impediment to marriage, it means that there must be no circumstance that would prevent you from legally marrying - such as being still married to someone else or if one or both parties is ineligible to marry due to being too young, etc.

Yes the travel history is difficult - one key issue is that if you were not immigration cleared into a country, you may want to include a letter that status that during a particular date range you visited may countries including (insert a list) and as you were not immigration cleared into each, you do not have dates for those visits. If you were immigration cleared and still do not have the dates, you could adjust the letter accordingly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



emmaandrico said:


> Hello, my partner and I are hoping to apply for a Prospective Marriage Visa (subclass 300). I just have a few questions about it which I can't seem to find answers for.
> 
> I'm from the UK and my partner is from Australia, we've been a couple for around 3 years, spending a little over 2 years together during that time (including my 12 month working holiday visa and his 6 month tourist visa, as well as a long backpacking trip together). Unfortunately we're both currently stuck in our own countries due to work commitments but we've discussed marriage for a while and my partner paid the deposit on my engagement ring back in May. The ring is still in the process of being made, but if all goes to plan we will be officially engaged next month, during our holiday in Bali together.
> 
> I just have a few questions.
> 
> Firstly, do we sound eligible? Our relationship has been ongoing for many years and is very well supported by our friends and families, I'm very close with his and he is very close with mine.
> 
> Also, I've read about getting a letter from a celebrant with an agreed wedding date and I understand that this is essential. I've also read that most places will not provide this unless it is signed by both parties (tricky when you're living in different countries). We're hoping to get married in Southeast Asia, considering that we fell in love there, and I wondered if we could get a celebrant in Bali to write a letter for us whilst we're there. We haven't found a venue yet (although we have been looking) but I've read that this can be changed later on, is this true? Would this be enough proof of an intended marriage?
> 
> How do I prove that there's no impediment to our marriage (neither of us have been married before)?
> 
> And finally. This is a strange one but I had a look on the forms we need to complete and noticed that I have to state every country visited in the last 10 years...
> I used to work on a cruise ship and I have no idea how I could possibly list every country visited, I know there is room for additional info but it's rather extensive and each visit was generally only a day long. Is there another way to do this or do I just have to bite the bullet and list every single port we stopped in?!
> 
> Sorry for the length of this post. I massively appreciate any help or advice!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ranadheer -

Thanks for the note. Re: 5 partner points for you from her, she will need to have a full migration skills assessment in her nominated occupation, and that occupation will need to be on the same list as yours. She will also need to have a score of IELTS 6 or higher on each of the 4 bands of the test or an equivalent score on another accepted test in order for you to claim partner points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ranadheerreddy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Myself Ranadheer. I am planning to apply for AUS PR through skilled migration(189). I have 65 points and i want to claim 5 points through my spouse. My wife worked as Assistant professor for 5 years in her domain(ECE). Starting from 2008 to 2013. she got a experience letter from her college and a reference letter from her colleague. These two are enough?
> 
> Now she is home maker. She has done her B tech (Bachelors) 4 years in English Medium. So no need for her to take any English test right?
> 
> Please help to guide me.
> 
> Thanks and Regards,
> Ranadheer Reddy T.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sumayyah86 -

Thanks for the note. The 485 visa is a very tricky visa with lots of requirements and date specific issues - I would need to see all of your documents, especially your transcript and Uni paperwork in order to advise you on specifically what to do and when to do it. There are just too many things that can go wrong with that visa so a complete assessment is necessary to make sure you meet all the requirements, especially all of the time of application requirements. Happy to assist at a consultation - see my website below for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



Sumayyah86 said:


> Hi Mark. I was suppose to meet degree requirements from my uni on 28th july 2017 because i manage to chase the paperworks that need to be signed by the uni Dean. So i confidently applied for 485 visa on 30th july 2017. Worst thing happened on 31sty 2017 as i was informed by my uni that the dean hasn't sign my paperwork.. so meeting degree requirement was delayed to 4th august 2017. But the thing is that i have applied for 485 visa on 30th july.. and on the website it says i need to meet the degree requirements before visa lodgement. Now that i am in bridging visa i wish to withdraw my application and re apply for 485 visa and i believe there won't be any issue since i have met the degree requirements on 4th august 2017. Do you reckon I'm on the right path here? Should i withdraw?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Indy14 -

Great question! My view is that you are most likely OK, as there is nothing to prevent you from becoming (or already being) qualified in occupation "B" while holding a 457 visa for occupation "A". I think it's a wise move not to claim the Australian experience while holding the 457 since your work under that visa is limited to occupation "A". Also, there is considerable crossover between various IT occupations.

If the CO does enquire, I would make it very clear that the work you did for your 457 sponsor was in the same occupation as you were nominated for, and that you achieved a skills assessment in a different related occupation based on previous work experience and previous education.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



indy14 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you're doing great.
> 
> The amount of time that you are sparing for addressing the queries of the Australian immigration aspirants is commendable.
> 
> Just seeking your expert advice on my case, where I am stuck in a dilemma because of different occupation nominated under my 457 visa in Australia, and now getting a successful skill assessment under different ANZSCO code according to my current responsibilities.
> 
> My occupation under 457 was 313112 (ICT Customer Support officer) which was incorrectly done by my employer and I didn't have any control over it and wasn't even aware of, how they were handling the 457 visa application at that time. Even my role mentioned in the form 1221 of the 457 application was 'Application Support and Programming' which aligns with the role of a Software Engineer. It was a mix of application support and enhancement role and not specifically a customer support role as nominated by my employer in the 457 application.
> 
> Nevertheless, now I have got the positive assessment from ACS under 261313 Software Engineer with 2 years deduction.
> 
> Have submitted EOI for 189 at 65 points and 190 at 70 points. To be on the safer side, I haven't claimed the points for 1 year of AU experience because of the different occupation under 457. However, I still don't know, if this would create any problem, as in the ACS letter they have deemed me suitable for migration under Software Engineer and eligible for points under skilled migration for the term I was in Australia but I am still not claiming those because of the occupation in 457 being a different one.
> 
> I am currently in Melbourne only on a 457 visa.
> 
> Would you please share your thoughts on this. Would there be any concern regarding this is the mind of a CO or it will be ok since I haven't claimed any of the AU experience points i.e. 5 points for completing 1 year in Australia.
> 
> Will wait for your advise in this matter.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> __________________
> ANZSCO: 261313, Software Engineer
> ACS Applied: 26-June-2017
> ACS Result: Positive on 27-Jul-2017, 2 years deduction.
> Qualification: BCA+MCA (Both ICT Major Computing)
> IT Exp: 4 and half yrs total; 3 yr India, 1 and half yr Australia
> PTE-A:20
> Points: Age(30)/Edu(15)/Eng(20)/WorkEx(0) = 65 points
> EOI 189: Submitted on 28-July-2017 at 65 points.
> EOI 190: Submitted on 29-July-2017 for NSW at 70 points.
> Note: Not claiming 5 pts for AU Experience because of different occupation under 457.


----------



## 322242

Thank you so much Mark.

Yes, it definitely helps. That's a great point to be taken care off. In case of any concern, I should state it to the CO, that I worked for occupation A only (313112 ICT customer support) under 457 and acquired positive assessment for occupation B (261313 Software Engg.) based on my past qualification and experience.

Although, it's a real bad luck that I am not able to claim the AU experience points just because of this carelessness from my employer's visa team. Even I didn't have any knowledge about the visa processing at that time otherwise I would have asked them to rectify it and it's too late now to ask them for initiating any such change in the 457 visa, since I am not going to get the points anyway for the period that has already gone past and as per DIBP the occupation was 313112. You don't even need a professional degree to qualify for this occupation and on the other hand I have a Masters degree in Computer application.

Anyways, thanks for your suggestion Mark.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Indy14 -
> 
> Great question! My view is that you are most likely OK, as there is nothing to prevent you from becoming (or already being) qualified in occupation "B" while holding a 457 visa for occupation "A". I think it's a wise move not to claim the Australian experience while holding the 457 since your work under that visa is limited to occupation "A". Also, there is considerable crossover between various IT occupations.
> 
> If the CO does enquire, I would make it very clear that the work you did for your 457 sponsor was in the same occupation as you were nominated for, and that you achieved a skills assessment in a different related occupation based on previous work experience and previous education.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## samked

*visa 887*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi,

I am on visa 489 . by next September , I will be completing two years living in regional areas and more than one year working full time. I think I am qualified to apply for visa 887.

My only concern is that I went overseas to my home country for one month . this was my pain annual leave. Do you think this period will be deducted from the two-year condition ?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samked -

Thanks for the question. There is a DIBP policy directive that typically 3 weeks paid leave is allowable per year as normal holiday time and being outside Australia for normal holiday times is not time deducted from your time living in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



samked said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am on visa 489 . by next September , I will be completing two years living in regional areas and more than one year working full time. I think I am qualified to apply for visa 887.
> 
> My only concern is that I went overseas to my home country for one month . this was my pain annual leave. Do you think this period will be deducted from the two-year condition ?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## EWR

Hi Mark,

I arrived here on Visitor visa 600.
I had lodged my 866 Protection Visa online and have acknowledgement letter from DIBP month ago.

I am on financial hardship so I contact Red Cross, the caseworker told me that I need to be in Bridging visa to receive SRSS payment support.

The problem is I have not grant any bridging visa as I have not receive any email about bridging visa.

My visitor visa will expire on september, do I need to cancel my visitor visa to make effective bridging visa A faster?

I have seen that there are option to apply online bridging visa A but my account not have a link, do I need to apply on paper ? 

Please help to guide me.

Thanks and Regards,


----------



## ashcat89

hey,

so little back ground information on my situation. I am Scottish here on a working holiday visa, my partner is Scottish and an Australian citizen. we have filled in the 1st part of the partner sponsor visa. just ready to pay. we have been friends for 10+ years and we have been in a relationship since August 2015 (1st year long distance). I moved over here in August 2016. 
the evidence we have is;

2 joint rental leases
joint back account
joint car
registered our relationship
loads of photos collaged together chronologically
birthday cards
emails
screen shots of messages
divorce paperwork
2x 888 forms by aus citizens
2x personal statements 1 for each of us.
proof we are each others beneficiaries in work and next of kin

is this enough to start with until they ask for more? we are paying tomorrow and starting sponsor form then start to upload the evidence.


any advice from anyone who has done it would be greatly appreciated


----------



## superhero

Hello Mark, 
I really need some help. Last year, I applied for my son's citizenship by descent which was granted. 
Now, my husband, me, and my son have dual citizenships. {my son and I only hold ID cards of the second citizenship}

Due to reading mistakes, we have only proviced proof of dual citizenship for my husband. My son and mine second citizenship was never mentioned. Only the main one. This had truely been unintentional

Now, we want to apply for an 820 and of course we want to be honest. But I am afraid that I will face PIC4020 because of this previous mistake. 
Is there any way to fix this terrible mistake, despite having the citizenship for my son already granted. And will this affect anything? 

On the internet I have read that about any "false" information of any visa held in the past 12 months. But would this also apply for a citizenship application? 

I am so afraid and have barely been sleeping because of this. I hope you can help me or comfort me.


----------



## Ffacs

Hi Mark, a quick question I hope.

The 864 visa needs to be filed onshore. Visitor visas seem to come with "no further stay" as mandatory or randomly applied. How is 864 supposed to work given that the parents are retired so can't get any other sort of visa? How are they meant to be onshore with a visa that allows further stay?


----------



## beastsap

Hi Mark,

As far as Vetassess Skill Assessments are concerned, is it mandatory to have same designation as per ANZSCO? What if the dutis are completely matching, but designation is completely different from that occupation? In this case, what does Vetassess does? What are the chances of positive result?


----------



## MarkNortham

Glad I could help, Indy14 - and it's a lesson about how important it is to stay involved with the immigration process even of you (or your employer) hire an immigration lawyer or migration agent - there are all kinds of ways that a visa application can go wrong, and everybody makes mistakes from time to time - the more "eyes" on the process, the less chance of mistakes making it through.

Best,

Mark Northam



indy14 said:


> Thank you so much Mark.
> 
> Yes, it definitely helps. That's a great point to be taken care off. In case of any concern, I should state it to the CO, that I worked for occupation A only (313112 ICT customer support) under 457 and acquired positive assessment for occupation B (261313 Software Engg.) based on my past qualification and experience.
> 
> Although, it's a real bad luck that I am not able to claim the AU experience points just because of this carelessness from my employer's visa team. Even I didn't have any knowledge about the visa processing at that time otherwise I would have asked them to rectify it and it's too late now to ask them for initiating any such change in the 457 visa, since I am not going to get the points anyway for the period that has already gone past and as per DIBP the occupation was 313112. You don't even need a professional degree to qualify for this occupation and on the other hand I have a Masters degree in Computer application.
> 
> Anyways, thanks for your suggestion Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi EWR -

Thanks for the note. If you cancel the visitor visa, it will also cancel any bridging visa you may have been issued by DIBP, so that may not be a good idea. Plus, the cancellation process takes many weeks in most cases, so that's not going to get you a bridging visa any sooner. I'd be in touch with DIBP and explain the circumstances and ask why no bridging visa has been granted yet and see if you can push things forward in that way. If you can keep the Bridging Visa A, I would, as it has many more benefits than a Bridging Visa E which you'd have to apply for if the visitor visa is cancelled.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



EWR said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I arrived here on Visitor visa 600.
> I had lodged my 866 Protection Visa online and have acknowledgement letter from DIBP month ago.
> 
> I am on financial hardship so I contact Red Cross, the caseworker told me that I need to be in Bridging visa to receive SRSS payment support.
> 
> The problem is I have not grant any bridging visa as I have not receive any email about bridging visa.
> 
> My visitor visa will expire on september, do I need to cancel my visitor visa to make effective bridging visa A faster?
> 
> I have seen that there are option to apply online bridging visa A but my account not have a link, do I need to apply on paper ?
> 
> Please help to guide me.
> 
> Thanks and Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashcat89 -

Thanks for the note. The list looks good, however I'm not able to give you any advice specifically for your case without reviewing your actual documents. One thing I would suggest is to get more than 2 Form 888's - lodge as many 888's or statements from witnesses (if they are not Australian citizens or permanent residents) as possible. Also make absolutely sure you lodge the partner visa before your working holiday runs out (and don't leave it until the last day, etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashcat89 said:


> hey,
> 
> so little back ground information on my situation. I am Scottish here on a working holiday visa, my partner is Scottish and an Australian citizen. we have filled in the 1st part of the partner sponsor visa. just ready to pay. we have been friends for 10+ years and we have been in a relationship since August 2015 (1st year long distance). I moved over here in August 2016.
> the evidence we have is;
> 
> 2 joint rental leases
> joint back account
> joint car
> registered our relationship
> loads of photos collaged together chronologically
> birthday cards
> emails
> screen shots of messages
> divorce paperwork
> 2x 888 forms by aus citizens
> 2x personal statements 1 for each of us.
> proof we are each others beneficiaries in work and next of kin
> 
> is this enough to start with until they ask for more? we are paying tomorrow and starting sponsor form then start to upload the evidence.
> 
> any advice from anyone who has done it would be greatly appreciated


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Superhero -

PIC 4020 does not apply to citizenship applications, however there are other areas of the law that apply to incorrect information being given on citizenship applications.

I'm not quite sure about the question you are asking re: an 820 and how that intersects with citizenships (and from what country the citizenships are, etc). Obviously if you are Australian citizens you do not need an 820/801 partner visa. Probably best if you can restate your question with more details about which citizenships/where/who/etc or if you're more comfortable not posting that publicly, I'd be happy to see you at a consultation online or in person - see my website below in my signature for details and booking.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



superhero said:


> Hello Mark,
> I really need some help. Last year, I applied for my son's citizenship by descent which was granted.
> Now, my husband, me, and my son have dual citizenships. {my son and I only hold ID cards of the second citizenship}
> 
> Due to reading mistakes, we have only proviced proof of dual citizenship for my husband. My son and mine second citizenship was never mentioned. Only the main one. This had truely been unintentional
> 
> Now, we want to apply for an 820 and of course we want to be honest. But I am afraid that I will face PIC4020 because of this previous mistake.
> Is there any way to fix this terrible mistake, despite having the citizenship for my son already granted. And will this affect anything?
> 
> On the internet I have read that about any "false" information of any visa held in the past 12 months. But would this also apply for a citizenship application?
> 
> I am so afraid and have barely been sleeping because of this. I hope you can help me or comfort me.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ffacs -

Thanks for the note. It all depends on your parents' country of citizenship and their circumstances - there is generally no requirement that a visitor visa be granted with a no further stay (NFS) condition unless it's a sponsored family visitor stream visitor visa - for normal tourist/visitor stream visitor visas it's a discretion by the case officer who grants the visa in most cases. You may want to apply for the visitor visa and provide additional evidence with the application that the applicants have a strong reason or obligations to return home at the end of the visa if those circumstances exist, as expressing an intention to lodge a PR visa onshore will usually result in a refused visitor visa or one with a NFS condition as lodging a PR visa is not considered a valid reason to be granted a visitor visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ffacs said:


> Hi Mark, a quick question I hope.
> 
> The 864 visa needs to be filed onshore. Visitor visas seem to come with "no further stay" as mandatory or randomly applied. How is 864 supposed to work given that the parents are retired so can't get any other sort of visa? How are they meant to be onshore with a visa that allows further stay?


----------



## Katerina7

Thank you Mark for your answer. I really do appreciate it?

I actually thought as my school will have to extend the COE that DIAC will be the one that will accept my application for leave.
Do you think please it would be any helpful to call DIAC on my own and let them know about my waiting Bridging visa rather than them find it out?

Thank you Mark and have a good evening!
Katerina


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beastsap -

Thanks for the note. The actual job title or position title is not all that important - it's the tasks/duties of the job as detailed in the employer reference documentation which is the basis for skills assessors to compare with the ANZSCO standard tasks/duties for the occupation to determine whether the work experience in question is close enough to what ANZSCO has for the occupation.

This is especially relevant these days when all kinds of weird job titles are being dreamed up by employers (for some unknown reason!) - ie, your job title might be "Vice President of Happy Customers" but the relevant ANZSCO occupation might be Customer Service Manager or Sales and Marketing Manager or something like that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



beastsap said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> As far as Vetassess Skill Assessments are concerned, is it mandatory to have same designation as per ANZSCO? What if the dutis are completely matching, but designation is completely different from that occupation? In this case, what does Vetassess does? What are the chances of positive result?


----------



## Immigrant890

Dear Mark 

I want to apply for Australian immigration but I have55 points as I had not been given 5 points for work experience due to the fact that I had got my membership of Cima (chartered institute of management accountants) in Feb 2017 (i had qualified on Dec 2012)

Please tell me whether I should apply for 190 and which states sponsor Management accountants.

Regards 
Aisha


----------



## Katerina7

Thank you Mark for your answer. I really do appreciate it!

Please if i understand correctly when I will fill in form for absence of leave my school will inform DIAC to extend my COE and they are the one who needs to agree on that right?

Do you think please it would be any helpful to call DIBP on my own and let them know about my waiting Bridging visa A and maternity leave as well so they will be up dated?

Thank you Mark and have a good evening!
Katerina



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Katerina7 -
> 
> Thanks for the note and kind words!
> 
> Assuming you get a leave of absence approved by your school, you could remain in Australia on the student visa, let the student visa expire on its own, then cancel the CoE once you are on the bridging visa A for the partner visa. The only issue would be if DIBP tried to cancel the student visa due to too much time away from school - my guess is that this would be unlikely in your circumstances.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> Katerina7 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Good morning Mark,
> hope you are having a lovely day today.
> 
> I've found this amazing forum recently and it's such a great help!
> 
> Would you mind me to ask you please a question?
> 
> Im going to apply for Partner visa (820/801) in September and my student visa will expire next year in July. Im currently pregnant and having due in December. I definitely don't want to cancel my student visa at all but i was thinking to take a leave of absence (maternity leave) from my school for at least 6 months and then, once my bridging visa A will get active to cancel my course/COE as i don't really need to complete my study and i would honestly rather save some money as pregnancy expanses are unbelievable!
> 
> My question is would it have any negative impact on my Bridging visa A or on processing my Partner visa or it's not really important once my student visa expire on its own? (even when i didn't attend half year school coz maternity leave? ) .... Just want to do the right things.
> 
> I hope it's clear for you what im trying to say
> 
> Thank you a lot and enjoy your day!
Click to expand...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Katerina7 -

Glad to help - re leave, it's the school that needs to approve it first. You could certainly advise DIBP of that, but I wouldn't do that until after you've lodged the partner visa and your bridging visa A has been granted. From then going forward you'll need to determine whether you want to keep the student visa in place or not. If you do want to keep the student visa in place, if the school approves leave, you may want to wait until DIBP contacts you (they may not however) and if DIBP asks what's going on with the student visa, advise them that you are on medical leave from your studies and have lodged an onshore partner visa application. Chances are at that point they will not cancel the visa but it's at the discretion of the case officer.

Also, I'd keep offshore travel to a minimum during the leave period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Katerina7 said:


> Thank you Mark for your answer. I really do appreciate it?
> 
> I actually thought as my school will have to extend the COE that DIAC will be the one that will accept my application for leave.
> Do you think please it would be any helpful to call DIAC on my own and let them know about my waiting Bridging visa rather than them find it out?
> 
> Thank you Mark and have a good evening!
> Katerina


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aisha -

Thanks for the note. Not possible for me to determine eligibility for visas here as too many details are required, however happy to do so at a consultation - see my website below in my signature for more.

Re: which states are sponsoring various occuaptions, ANZSCO Search is a great resource - see Search | Anzscosearch

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Immigrant890 said:


> Dear Mark
> 
> I want to apply for Australian immigration but I have55 points as I had not been given 5 points for work experience due to the fact that I had got my membership of Cima (chartered institute of management accountants) in Feb 2017 (i had qualified on Dec 2012)
> 
> Please tell me whether I should apply for 190 and which states sponsor Management accountants.
> 
> Regards
> Aisha


----------



## jfperez05

Hi Mark,

Hope to find you well.

I have just heard that there has been a recent policy update for the 2 year study requirement aka Australian Study Requirement. The update indicate that a Graduate Diploma would not count towards the Australian Study requirement.

Would you please share if possible that specific policy update? I want to know if I am going to be affected as I am finishing a Masters degree through a Graduate Diploma pathway and planning to apply for the 485 graduate visa after I finish.

Appreciate your time reading and answering my post.

Regards,

JP.


----------



## Katerina7

You are the best Mark! Thank you very much for your time! You made it clear for me now.

Appreciate it a lot!

Take care and wish you the best!
Katerina



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Katerina7 -
> 
> Glad to help - re leave, it's the school that needs to approve it first. You could certainly advise DIBP of that, but I wouldn't do that until after you've lodged the partner visa and your bridging visa A has been granted. From then going forward you'll need to determine whether you want to keep the student visa in place or not. If you do want to keep the student visa in place, if the school approves leave, you may want to wait until DIBP contacts you (they may not however) and if DIBP asks what's going on with the student visa, advise them that you are on medical leave from your studies and have lodged an onshore partner visa application. Chances are at that point they will not cancel the visa but it's at the discretion of the case officer.
> 
> Also, I'd keep offshore travel to a minimum during the leave period.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> Katerina7 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you Mark for your answer. I really do appreciate it?
> 
> I actually thought as my school will have to extend the COE that DIAC will be the one that will accept my application for leave.
> Do you think please it would be any helpful to call DIAC on my own and let them know about my waiting Bridging visa rather than them find it out?
> 
> Thank you Mark and have a good evening!
> Katerina
Click to expand...


----------



## beastsap

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Beastsap -
> 
> This is especially relevant these days when all kinds of weird job titles are being dreamed up by employers (for some unknown reason!) - ie, your job title might be "Vice President of Happy Customers" but the relevant ANZSCO occupation might be Customer Service Manager or Sales and Marketing Manager or something like that.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


http://www.australiaforum.com/images/smilies/smile.gif That was funny though. Thanks for the help. That was so much relieving. Incase if i get a positive assessment from vetassess on Customer Service Manager, then will I get 190 subclass or settle for 489. I somehow can make 60. Below are my stats
Age 33, IELTS 7.0 (assumption), Work Exp 3 yrs as manager, and >5 in service, Bachelors degree in Marketing, and adding to this my partner can get IELTS 7.0.

Can you please help me on this. Example if SA is open for 489 but can I apply for 190? Will they accept it? Or can I go on 190 to different state and then shift to SA?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beastsap -

I'd look into ANZSCO Search (Search | Anzscosearch) to see what states are sponsoring 489 and 190 and in what occupations - customer service mgr can be difficult to get as few states generally sponsor. If you are sponsored by a state, you are obligated to live/work in that state for the first 2 years you are here on the 190 visa. Similar obligation for 489 but for length of time you are on 489 as DIBP restrictions are different for that visa. The 190 obligation is not actually on your visa, but is part of the deal you enter into with the state when you ask the state to sponsor you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



beastsap said:


> http://www.australiaforum.com/images/smilies/smile.gif That was funny though. Thanks for the help. That was so much relieving. Incase if i get a positive assessment from vetassess on Customer Service Manager, then will I get 190 subclass or settle for 489. I somehow can make 60. Below are my stats
> Age 33, IELTS 7.0 (assumption), Work Exp 3 yrs as manager, and >5 in service, Bachelors degree in Marketing, and adding to this my partner can get IELTS 7.0.
> 
> Can you please help me on this. Example if SA is open for 489 but can I apply for 190? Will they accept it? Or can I go on 190 to different state and then shift to SA?


----------



## beastsap

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Beastsap -
> 
> I'd look into ANZSCO Search (Search | Anzscosearch) to see what states are sponsoring 489 and 190 and in what occupations - customer service mgr can be difficult to get as few states generally sponsor. If you are sponsored by a state, you are obligated to live/work in that state for the first 2 years you are here on the 190 visa. Similar obligation for 489 but for length of time you are on 489 as DIBP restrictions are different for that visa. The 190 obligation is not actually on your visa, but is part of the deal you enter into with the state when you ask the state to sponsor you.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


So in this case  *Mr. Mark*, if I satisfy with 60 points and then apply EOI to SA without SS for 190, do you think SA would give invite? or applying to NT in 190 without SS and then I land in NT and after a month can I move to VIC?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beastsap -

No way to predict if/when you will get invites from states - lots of various procedures and rules about that, some not even published. Generally not a good idea to breach your agreement with states - besides discouraging states from sponsoring people at all, it could open you up for character issues later on, perhaps at citizenship time or otherwise.

Best,

Mark Northam



beastsap said:


> So in this case  *Mr. Mark*, if I satisfy with 60 points and then apply EOI to SA without SS for 190, do you think SA would give invite? or applying to NT in 190 without SS and then I land in NT and after a month can I move to VIC?


----------



## beastsap

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Beastsap -
> 
> No way to predict if/when you will get invites from states - lots of various procedures and rules about that, some not even published. Generally not a good idea to breach your agreement with states - besides discouraging states from sponsoring people at all, it could open you up for character issues later on, perhaps at citizenship time or otherwise.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mr. Mark. You are kind enough to help some of my dilemas. Just brief of my job is that I lead a team of after sale services. The team directly do after sale services like product deliveries, warranty replacements, addressing complaints and many more. I do manage these teams and register compalints, plan and organise deliveries, assigning team for customer complaints, receiving feedback on the team service. Reporting to higher management on the teams performance.And many more activities which indirectly related like coordination with Sales coordinators, retails team and CRM's, call centres and higher management.

this just summary of my duties. Just wanted to get a comment from you. Is this close to CSM or there should be anymore duties need to add?

As suggested i am going through Search: ANZSCO search website to get clear picture.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beastsap -

Thanks for the note. Not able to give case-specific advice like this without reviewing all of your documents - plus, there is an amount of discretion that the skills assessor has in these areas - there is never the ability to predict with 100% accuracy whether a skills assessor will see particular work as relevant or not.

Best,

Mark Northam



beastsap said:


> Thank you so much Mr. Mark. You are kind enough to help some of my dilemas. Just brief of my job is that I lead a team of after sale services. The team directly do after sale services like product deliveries, warranty replacements, addressing complaints and many more. I do manage these teams and register compalints, plan and organise deliveries, assigning team for customer complaints, receiving feedback on the team service. Reporting to higher management on the teams performance.And many more activities which indirectly related like coordination with Sales coordinators, retails team and CRM's, call centres and higher management.
> 
> this just summary of my duties. Just wanted to get a comment from you. Is this close to CSM or there should be anymore duties need to add?
> 
> As suggested i am going through Search: ANZSCO search website to get clear picture.


----------



## beastsap

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Beastsap -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Not able to give case-specific advice like this without reviewing all of your documents - plus, there is an amount of discretion that the skills assessor has in these areas - there is never the ability to predict with 100% accuracy whether a skills assessor will see particular work as relevant or not.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a ton Mr. Mark. This was genuinely helpful.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JP -

That's correct - DIBP quietly changed their internal policy in May 2017 so a Graduate Diploma, whether combined with another degree or not, would not be counted towards the Australia Study Requirement (ASR) for the Graduate Work Stream of a 485 visa application and have been refusing visas based on this. Here's the policy excerpt:

_In some circumstance, an associate degree that has been suitably awarded does not meet the definition of 'diploma' as defined in regulation 2.26AC(6)(b).

For example, a visa applicant who has completed in Australia:

a Certificate II in any discipline or
a Certificate IV in a discipline other than a trade, for example a Certificate IV in Business Management or
a Graduate Certificate or
Graduate Diploma
_

As a note, prior to May 2017, Graduate Diploma was not on the above list in policy. It also appears that Grad Diplomas may not be considered for the ASR for skilled visas, although this is not clear currently and there are still outstanding questions about this, however my view currently is that it is risky to claim a Graduate Diploma as part of the ASR for a skilled visa, and that claiming it as part of the ASR for a 485 Graduate Work Stream is not advisable.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jfperez05 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope to find you well.
> 
> I have just heard that there has been a recent policy update for the 2 year study requirement aka Australian Study Requirement. The update indicate that a Graduate Diploma would not count towards the Australian Study requirement.
> 
> Would you please share if possible that specific policy update? I want to know if I am going to be affected as I am finishing a Masters degree through a Graduate Diploma pathway and planning to apply for the 485 graduate visa after I finish.
> 
> Appreciate your time reading and answering my post.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> JP.


----------



## beastsap

Hi Mr. Mark,

Regarding employment verification. Does Vetassess does or DIBP does? To what extent thi sverification can go? DO they call only to the referrence contacts given or directly to the company? Will they call the previous employer? Any possibilities of visiting in person?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beastsap -

Both do, and can involve anything from phone calls, to emails, to unannounced site visits in person. Best to make sure all of your employment claims for points are 100% verifiable and that current and previous employers are ready to accept calls (and know details to tell DIBP).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



beastsap said:


> Hi Mr. Mark,
> 
> Regarding employment verification. Does Vetassess does or DIBP does? To what extent thi sverification can go? DO they call only to the referrence contacts given or directly to the company? Will they call the previous employer? Any possibilities of visiting in person?


----------



## beastsap

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Beastsap -
> 
> Both do, and can involve anything from phone calls, to emails, to unannounced site visits in person. Best to make sure all of your employment claims for points are 100% verifiable and that current and previous employers are ready to accept calls (and know details to tell DIBP).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Yes agreed, they would definitely should. Well, in my case i have none of my collegues/managers are still with the previous employer. But I still have contacts of collegues working in different parts of the country and outside country as well. In this case, Can I give the reference of these collegues? or it has to be the company?(if i give the company no one can verify what I was doing in my working years) What is your best advice Mr. Mark.


----------



## 1mysteriouslife

Hi Mark,

I have received nomination from Victoria for 132311 - HR Manager occupation, received invitation to apply for the visa and have applied for the visa on 14 May 2017 and Medicals and Police clearance uploaded on 8 June 2017, while I understand the visa processing timelines are currently at 7 months for 75% of the cases. Are you aware of the occupation ceiling for 132311? Someone also applying for visa under the same code in SC 190 received an update 2 months back indicating the occupation ceiling has been reached and till they get refreshed quotas they won't be able to estimate timelines. Would you be aware if the ceiling has been refreshed?


----------



## jackienoble7

My mum went for her medicals she's 57 years and have had a history of hbp which has resulted in a hypertensive emergency once. At her medicals yesterday it was detected she has severe hypertension and has been referred to a hospital to get it managed. Will that be a basis for visa rejection. I really want her here as I'm pregnant and will need help when baby arrives. I need to finish my uni so at least she will be taking care of Bub whiles I study. Ready to get her Heath insurance too. All her kids are here in Australia now. We all citizens


----------



## AussieSwiss

Hi Mark, many thanks for all the advice you give on here - very helpful!
I am a PR moving to Brisbane next month. My wife will join me on a tourist visa early November and we will apply for the 820 a few days after she arrives. I have a couple questions:
- Our understanding is that the BVA (and medicare/working rights etc) will kick in only after the 3 month tourist visa has expired (so early Feb). Correct?
- She has to travel back to Europe in January for a couple weeks and then will come back while still on her tourist visa. Will this push back/modify the BVA start date since technically by then it will already have been granted?
- Is it worth it to file for a BVB for her January trip since that trip will still be on the tourist visa period and any BV won't kick in until early February?
Thanks in advance for your reply!


----------



## Isuru92

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lsuru92 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Overlap of study generally not a problem; check the skills assessor for your occupation code (see DIBP website or Search | Anzscosearch for more) for work experience requirements; no problem with applying for a visa in a different area than you are studying in, however if you apply for a skilled visa and then have to apply for another student visa to continue your studies (ie, skilled visa application not granted yet) you may have an issue claiming you are only in Australia to study if you have already lodged a PR visa.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thank you for a reply,


----------



## 325050

Hi Mark,

My partner is currently on a bridging visa e as a result of us needing more time in order to pay for our partner visa application. We've submitted but now he is still on a bridging visa e. Is there any chance he'll be able to change to a bridging visa a so we can travel?

Thanks!


----------



## strasseweise

*School options on Bridging Visa*

Hi Mark!

I am new here and you'd probably have advised on this case so many times so I hope you wouldn't mind if I bring it up here again.

My 15 yr. old son and I will be under the conditions of our Bridging Visa A in a week. We came here as tourists and I have lodged an application for 820 visa here in Victoria.

The problem I have is that the Victorian Govt school department have categorised my son as a temporary student which can only study maximum of 12 weeks and will be unable to gain qualification as a result of his studies here. They said even we are on a Bridging Visa, the conditions on our previous visa will still be followed (Visa 600 has condition 8201 - maximum 3 months study). Our Bridging VIsa A (010) condition is NIL, and it says if it is in effect, we will have full permission to study.

We called the DIBP to consult the conditions of our Bridging Visa and they said they don't know why the educ dept is looking at it that way because for them, once the Bridging Visa is in effect, all conditions on our previous visa will be expired. But they also said, they have no say or they can't dictate on the education department's process.

The Vic Govt School's last email to us is to register my son as a Temporary Student, and then we will have to pay fees for 2 Terms. I find this odd because 2 terms is equivalent to 12++ weeks. Also, if ever they will allow him to go to school longer than 12 weeks, but since he's a temporary student, the conditions still apply that he will not gain any qualifications at all.

And if in case they're not going to allow him to study for more than 12 weeks, then what's he supposed to do after that while waiting for our TR visa to be approved?

I'm hoping that you could share your opinion on this and if you know a department that we can go to, to seek assistance on this matter.

My son is already having a hard time adjusting here, and he loves going to school so he finds this as his solace being away from his friends and hoping he could find new friends here by attending a school.

Will appreciate any advise you can give us. Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beastsap -

I'd check the specific rules of your skills assessment organisation about statutory declarations, etc from previous colleagues/managers and see what options exist. Re DIBP, these fall into a sort of grey area where in some cases they are viewed with doubt, as DIBP assumes your colleagues may write whatever you ask them to.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



beastsap said:


> Yes agreed, they would definitely should. Well, in my case i have none of my collegues/managers are still with the previous employer. But I still have contacts of collegues working in different parts of the country and outside country as well. In this case, Can I give the reference of these collegues? or it has to be the company?(if i give the company no one can verify what I was doing in my working years) What is your best advice Mr. Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 1mysteriouslife -

I expect they may have been referring to the annual occupation quotes or overall migration quotas for the fiscal year ending 30 June 2017 - these quotes are generally reset on 1 July each year, so you may not be affected by these.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



1mysteriouslife said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have received nomination from Victoria for 132311 - HR Manager occupation, received invitation to apply for the visa and have applied for the visa on 14 May 2017 and Medicals and Police clearance uploaded on 8 June 2017, while I understand the visa processing timelines are currently at 7 months for 75% of the cases. Are you aware of the occupation ceiling for 132311? Someone also applying for visa under the same code in SC 190 received an update 2 months back indicating the occupation ceiling has been reached and till they get refreshed quotas they won't be able to estimate timelines. Would you be aware if the ceiling has been refreshed?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jackienoble7 -

No way to tell for sure - also, you didn't mention what type of visa your mum was applying for - that can make a difference too. Essentially you need to wait to see what DIBP says after the medicals and respond accordingly - no way to predict at this point, but I would be prepared for some issues given what you've said so far. Hope she's feeling better -

Best,

Mark Northam



jackienoble7 said:


> My mum went for her medicals she's 57 years and have had a history of hbp which has resulted in a hypertensive emergency once. At her medicals yesterday it was detected she has severe hypertension and has been referred to a hospital to get it managed. Will that be a basis for visa rejection. I really want her here as I'm pregnant and will need help when baby arrives. I need to finish my uni so at least she will be taking care of Bub whiles I study. Ready to get her Heath insurance too. All her kids are here in Australia now. We all citizens


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AussieSwiss -

Thanks for the questions - please see responses below:



AussieSwiss said:


> Hi Mark, many thanks for all the advice you give on here - very helpful!
> I am a PR moving to Brisbane next month. My wife will join me on a tourist visa early November and we will apply for the 820 a few days after she arrives. I have a couple questions:
> - Our understanding is that the BVA (and medicare/working rights etc) will kick in only after the 3 month tourist visa has expired (so early Feb). Correct?
> *** Yes - she may be able to apply for Medicare prior to that after you've lodged the onshore partner visa. Work rights begin only after she's remained in Australia past the max stay period of the visitor visa.
> 
> - She has to travel back to Europe in January for a couple weeks and then will come back while still on her tourist visa. Will this push back/modify the BVA start date since technically by then it will already have been granted?
> *** No. The BVA will activate if she overstays the 3 month max stay period. If she leaves before the visitor visa stay period ends, the BVA will normally not activate. Once activated, she should apply for a BVB for any trip. That being said, DIBP may refuse to grant the BVB if the departure and return dates fall within the validity period of the existing visitor visa. I'd still try to get the BVB in case DIBP has any issues re-admitting you on the visitor visa (ie genuine visitor concerns, too much time in Australia, etc).
> 
> - Is it worth it to file for a BVB for her January trip since that trip will still be on the tourist visa period and any BV won't kick in until early February?
> *** Yes. Also depends if the visitor visa expiration date will occur while she's outside the country - in this case, BVB is a must as she'd have no way to get back in if she's outside the country without a BVB and the visitor visa expires.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your reply!


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lsuru92 -

Thanks for the note. Assuming AITSL is the skills assessor for your occupation, they will assess your degree. DIBP will generally abide by whatever AITSL concludes about your case - the AITSL requirements can be very specific to meet - suggest you study them carefully.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam

QUOTE=Isuru92;1640682]thank you for a reply,

I plan to apply for my skilled migration only after I'm already in Australia on my studnet visa.

My main worry is whther my degree would be valid, considering I did my B.ed through distance learning while I was studying towards my MBBS.
Also i have heard DIBP doesnt look favourably towards Indian qualified teachers, mainly because of the 45 days of supervised teaching. What do you think about it? My university has told that they would be able to provide me with a letter stating i did 2 months of supervised teaching, which i had specifically asked and done. And do I need to get my Indian degree verified or will that be done by AITSL/DIBP?[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bianca2133 -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately no way to change from bridging visa E to a bridging visa (B) that allows travel. Also, if you've lodged an onshore partner visa (subclass 820/801) while only holding a bridging visa, this will enliven the Schedule 3 criteria where you will have to show compelling reasons why you cannot lodge an offshore partner visa or the partner visa will be refused on those grounds. Happy to discuss/explain Schedule 3 at a consultation if you need assistance - see my website in my signature below for more information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bianca2133 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner is currently on a bridging visa e as a result of us needing more time in order to pay for our partner visa application. We've submitted but now he is still on a bridging visa e. Is there any chance he'll be able to change to a bridging visa a so we can travel?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Strasseweise -

Thanks for the note. I would get a printout of your bridging visa and a printout from the online VEVO system to show what rights you and your son currently have, then go visit the school department in person and work your way up via manger(s), etc until you get someone who will acknowledge that your son has unlimited study rights. I expect you'll still have to pay at temporary resident rates since he is not a permanent resident yet, but hopefully via those documents they can understand that the BVA he has, once activated (ie, at the end of the visitor visa maximum stay period), provides for unlimited study in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



strasseweise said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I am new here and you'd probably have advised on this case so many times so I hope you wouldn't mind if I bring it up here again.
> 
> My 15 yr. old son and I will be under the conditions of our Bridging Visa A in a week. We came here as tourists and I have lodged an application for 820 visa here in Victoria.
> 
> The problem I have is that the Victorian Govt school department have categorised my son as a temporary student which can only study maximum of 12 weeks and will be unable to gain qualification as a result of his studies here. They said even we are on a Bridging Visa, the conditions on our previous visa will still be followed (Visa 600 has condition 8201 - maximum 3 months study). Our Bridging VIsa A (010) condition is NIL, and it says if it is in effect, we will have full permission to study.
> 
> We called the DIBP to consult the conditions of our Bridging Visa and they said they don't know why the educ dept is looking at it that way because for them, once the Bridging Visa is in effect, all conditions on our previous visa will be expired. But they also said, they have no say or they can't dictate on the education department's process.
> 
> The Vic Govt School's last email to us is to register my son as a Temporary Student, and then we will have to pay fees for 2 Terms. I find this odd because 2 terms is equivalent to 12++ weeks. Also, if ever they will allow him to go to school longer than 12 weeks, but since he's a temporary student, the conditions still apply that he will not gain any qualifications at all.
> 
> And if in case they're not going to allow him to study for more than 12 weeks, then what's he supposed to do after that while waiting for our TR visa to be approved?
> 
> I'm hoping that you could share your opinion on this and if you know a department that we can go to, to seek assistance on this matter.
> 
> My son is already having a hard time adjusting here, and he loves going to school so he finds this as his solace being away from his friends and hoping he could find new friends here by attending a school.
> 
> Will appreciate any advise you can give us. Thanks in advance!


----------



## arvindrajan92

Hi Mr Mark,

Just a quick clarification. Does DIBP perform employment verification (by phone or physical visit) for employments that are not claimed points for and marked not relevant to the nominated occupation?

Thank you.

Kind regards,
Arvind


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arvind -

While it's not impossible, I've never seen this done for employment that isn't either claimed for points, relevant tot he occupation, or was part of the qualifying period of employment to become skilled per a skills assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arvindrajan92 said:


> Hi Mr Mark,
> 
> Just a quick clarification. Does DIBP perform employment verification (by phone or physical visit) for employments that are not claimed points for and marked not relevant to the nominated occupation?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Arvind


----------



## StuckinUK

835 questions - 
Hi Mark, I have General but complicated questions...currently I'm in the UK, I'm a single mum, my parents have passed away and my only relatives are in NSW. I need a UK court order to take my daughter, wwhich I probably won't get but if I do:

Can we travel on ETA then on arrival apply for RRV 835?

If we get BVA (56 year wait), can I enrol my daughter in school? 

If so, as I'll have to pay for school can I then apply for rights to work due to a change in circumstances causing financial hardship?

Or, after 2yrs sponsorship runs out can I apply for rights to work due to financial hardship?

Can you ever apply to study whilst on a BVA?

If we get a BVA can I apply for BVB every year (to bring my child back to UK for a few weeks contact with her dad)?

Answers to any or the above (or alternative suggestions much appreciated) x


----------



## strasseweise

Will try it this way. Thanks Mark for your advise!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Strasseweise -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I would get a printout of your bridging visa and a printout from the online VEVO system to show what rights you and your son currently have, then go visit the school department in person and work your way up via manger(s), etc until you get someone who will acknowledge that your son has unlimited study rights. I expect you'll still have to pay at temporary resident rates since he is not a permanent resident yet, but hopefully via those documents they can understand that the BVA he has, once activated (ie, at the end of the visitor visa maximum stay period), provides for unlimited study in Australia.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## adeel3878

Hi Mark...

I am already with the visa 485 and trying to add my partner on my visa (currently she is in overseas). 
I already have all the documents but we don't know how to fill the form 1409.
I know that only sections A, C and D should be complete but I don't know whom should complete in each section!!!!

Can someone explain me about that? 

Thanks so much!!


----------



## beastsap

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Beastsap -
> 
> I'd check the specific rules of your skills assessment organisation about statutory declarations, etc from previous colleagues/managers and see what options exist. Re DIBP, these fall into a sort of grey area where in some cases they are viewed with doubt, as DIBP assumes your colleagues may write whatever you ask them to.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


HI Mr. Mark, any update on the first statement you made. Is there a way for me to research on this. Wil i get any information on internet or is this undisclosed info?

I would do the statutory declaration for my previous employments since I have not left with any option. I do understand that would be cross verified, so I have refernce of an HR personnel who was ex employee of the same company. Would this to some extent help my case?


----------



## eby89

Hi Mark! 
Thanks for your time in advance. 

My husband is from Ghana. We was married last year July 2016. Traditional marriage. I stayed 3 months with him. Since then Iv been back in Aus. We applied for 309 May 9 2017 with a complete case online from Sydney (meds, police, everything) with a agent helping us and was told we have a simple and good strong evidence case. I am heading back over to Ghana on 28 August 2017 to stay another month with my husband (separated 10 months now) A week ago we got contacted by lady in Nairobi from the Family Migration Section to confirm my hubby didn't need a translator for his interview (he's fluent English speaking) and we was to get back to them with answer by 9 August 2017 so visa process can continue. We replied within an hour. Is this just the start of a long wait still? Or is an interview a good sign it may not be too long?
Thanks Mark!


----------



## kris1963

Hi Mark - I've posted in the forum but still don't have a definitive answer to the following question.

Would declaring bankruptcy in the U.S. have any negative bearing on an application for an ETA and/or an onshore application for a Partner (Spouse) visa?

Would very much appreciate a response.


----------



## Nivin

*Need Help*

Hello Mark,

I'm a IT guy with 8 Years of exp . Of which worked for 6 years in US and rest in India. Due to some immigration issue I couldn't go back to US and would like to try for AUS. Would you help me to know if the US immigration issue would be an problem to try for AUS PR and also what are the things to have apart from IELTS/PTE, police clearance letter and experience letter?
I really appreciate your help and suggestion in this matter and thank you in advance

Regards,

Nivin


----------



## Triangels

Hi,

Thanks for the help you provide.

I have a question !

My partner lodged a 485 a couple month ago and sadly we got rejected due to the fact that we uploaded IELTS docs after we payed. We have already arranged appeal and we are both on bridging visa a. 

Lucky i was able to score 8 on my new IELTS test and I have 70 score now and able to apply 189 PR. 
So my current agent tells me to apply B and return to my home country (Poland) and lodge PR application and pay the fees offshore and travel back to Australia using Bridging B, and then he says once the medical checks are required I need to exit and return to poland and do my medical test in Poland, withdraw my appeal case, and wait for PR to be granted and the n then travel back to Australia.

IS THIS METHOD REALLY WORKS ?

This got me confuse cuz the fact that Section 48 bar (3) says bridging B is treated as being in migration zone even if we are outside. which doesnt make sense to how am i suppose to lodge a new visa at all.

So i wonder when im outside of australia Can I lodge any visa at all ? 
or should I first withdraw the appeal and then stay in Poland and apply PR (Which will result in losing my full time job as well)
Or I cant apply any visa at all ? 
So far I have been on 2 student visa for Bachelor and Research and third is 485 which is refused (being a subapplicant) 

Thanks


----------



## sonya88

Hi Mark. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. I have applied to 801 visa 4 months ago. Do I have to be in Australia when I will get granted 801 visa? Thanks


----------



## Traumatized by IMMI

Hi Mark,

Seeking some advice from someone who's been in a similar situation or from a MARA agent. 

I had a 3 year ban attached to my passport, due to an application for a partner visa gone wrong onshore. 

Now, I'm off shore, waiting for my PMV visa and the ban has been lifted. My question is:

Do I have a chance to be grant a tourist visa to wait for my PMV visa with my fiancé in Australia? 

Thanks in advance for anyone that could help me.


----------



## simonp09

*462 Second Year Visa Help*

Hi Mark,

My girlfriend is currently on a 462 visa. She has just moved to Townsville to complete 3 months work in Northern Australia to apply for a second year visa.

I was wondering if you could give me some more information on what is required for this visa and how time is calculated.

My understanding from information we have read is that if she works 30+ hours per week for a single employer in hospitality then she will be eligible after 3 months rather than working 88 days if she was to work for several employees. When she applies, pay slips will the provided showing the 30+ hours per week from 1 employer.

I wanted to check if there is anything we need to be careful of as we don't want her wasting 3 months in Townsville if we are not going to meet the requirements.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks, Simon


----------



## AussieSwiss

Thanks a lot Mark, really appreciate it. So to be clear she will:
- Fly in early November which gives her a 3 months visitor visa until early February
- Apply for the 820 as soon as she arrives early November, which gives her a BVA which would normally kick in early Feb
- Apply for a BVB as well, so that she can take that trip in early January - even though it is within her already existing visitor visa
- when she comes back 2 weeks later in late January (visitor visa still valid), either her BVA/BVB will still kick in after the original 3 month visitor visa (early Feb) or will push it back again 3 months until April. 
Do I have this right? Basically I am just trying to figure out how to not have any issues when she leaves and returns in January all on the first visitor visa while the 820 has already been filed. It is a family trip she is very keen to take, otherwise we wouldn't push it. Thanks so much for the help.


----------



## shaic

*190 Visa*

Hi Mark,

I've consulted 2 migration agents for an assessment, and they both have a common answer to my case - it would be 50-50. I've come across this forum and thought that you might help me on my queries before I proceed risking that 50% chance since I'm not too confident on the answers they gave me.

Couple of questions:

1. My dilemma is the skills assessment part. My occupation is under Vetassess, but my degree isn't related to my occupation. Will this affect my assessment?

2. Is it possible to receive a positive outcome from Vetassess even though I get zero points? I heard they deduct points from your score if degree is not related to nominated occupation.

3. If my nominated occupation is a managerial position but I don't have subordinates, will they accept this?

Was hoping your advice would give me enlightenment before I proceed. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time, effort and money. Really need an honest opinion coming from an expert, so I would whole-heartedly appreciate your response. Thanks so much.


----------



## dinushap

Hi Mark

I applied for 309 Partner Visa on 1st March 2017 and have provided all the required documents, medical and police clearance. My husband was asked to provide both Australian and Sri Lankan police clearance in May. My husband migrated to Australia in June 2017 only though he was granted the PR last year. He visited Australia in June 2016 to mark his first entry stayed for 2 weeks and came back to Sri Lanka. So we had an issue as to whether we have to submit the police check from Australia. We sent and email to the Australian Embassy in Sri Lanka questioning this. We didn't get any reply. In June we submitted the Sri Lankan police check and again sent a mail to the embassy asking whether we need to provide an Australian check as well since he migrated to Australia in June 2017 only. Since we didn't get any reply i called the embassy in July and they told me that the CO will check my application in 3 to 4 weeks time. As at today we haven't got any reply from them. I called them again last week and they said that the CO has not gone through the application yet and that its still in the initial stage of processing. Can you please advice me as to what to do in this situation. and does initial stage of processing means that it'll take a long time for them to process my visa?
It'll be much appreciated if you can provide me some insight as to what to do in this situation as I'm completely at a lost as to what to do.
Thanking In Advance


----------



## carlo77

Hello Mark,

I need your advise regarding my EOI entry and ACS results.

My ACS assessment result is around 12+ years experience because ACS considered my experience after May 2003.

Below is the result of my ACS assessment.

The following employment after* May 2003 *is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261312 (Developer Programmer) of the ANZSCO Code.

Dates: 05/99 - 06/06 (7yrs 1mths) 
Position: Programmer 
Employer: Company A

Dates: 09/06 - 10/07 (1yrs 1mths) 
Position: Software Developer 
Employer: Company B

Dates: 02/08 - 07/10 (2yrs 5mths) 
Position: Software Engineer 
Employer: Company C

Dates: 03/11 - 06/12 (1yrs 3mths) 
Position: Web Developer 
Employer: Company D

Dates: 06/12 - 10/14 (2yrs 4mths) 
Position: Web Developer 
Employer: Company E

Dates: 11/14 - 12/15 (1yrs 1mths) 
Position: Software Developer 
Employer: Company F

Dates: 01/16 - 10/16 (0yrs 9mths) 
Position: Software Developer 
Employer: Company G

In the EOI, it states that* "should provide details of the client's employment history for the last 10 years"*

My question is.. Is it OK that I still entered in the EOI my Company A experience after May 2003 (ticked relevant) which is stated in my ACS results even it's NO longer within the last 10 years of my employment history? or my EOI entry should start from Company B?

Hope you can help me on this issue.

Thank you very much.

Regards,
Carlo


----------



## VicMic

*475 to 887*

Hello Mark,

I have a couple of questions which I hope you can help me with as I have read mixed replies on different forums.

I am currently on a 475 visa and applied for an 887 four weeks ago.

1). Secondary applicant did IELTS 9 years ago to satisfy 475 requirements. Got a 7.5 score overall. Does she have to sit a new IELTS exam for the 887? If yes, why does the primary applicant not require a new result.
2). Primary applicant lived 2 years+ and worked 1 year+ full time in designated area to fulfil requirements. Secondary applicants had to go overseas for 6 weeks due to a parent passing away. In all wife and kids have 4 weeks outside Australia. Will dependants being away effect the 2 year residency or is Primary applicant 2 year residency in designated area enough?

Thanks in advance for your help.

VicMic


----------



## mliw90

Hi Mark,

I am wondering if I come to Australia on an ETA and apply for a 189 or 190 visa, will I be granted a bridging visa A with working rights when my 3 months expires on the ETA? I am unsure on this and getting different answers. My goal is to be able to work in Australia as soon as possible so I'd like to come over and do my application there so I could start work in 3 months since it seems the 189/190 visas can take 6+ months sometimes.


----------



## hussam.shehsda

Greetings Mark,

i would really appreciate it you are able to help me regarding this case.

My older brother submitted his immigration case (Subclass 189) back in 2016 for him, his wife, his kid and our mother, now his case was approved and he will be landing soon. initially he wanted to include my sister too as a dependent, however fearing they might reject the application (as some said they wont consider her as dependent). now we want to submit for my sister also. my sister graduated as a dentist, however she is having around 8 years of experience in other field, she is working in a health insurance company in the claims department, about a year ago she had a course in auditing and in coding (as i remember), and worked in the same company as an auditor. i would really appreciate it if someone would advise on to what category is best suited for her case as subclass 189 does not include her field i think and someone mentioned that its better to go with subclass 190, also we are not sure on which skill she should apply.

Thank you everyone.


----------



## Kasrawy

*Work Permit for proving work experience.*

Dear Mark and everyone else,

I'm in the process of proving my engineering work experience but am at a loss. The MSA booklet of EA states that I need one of the following documents from a third party to prove my experience.


Social security repor
Income tax report
Superfund statement
Provident fund statement
Work permit

Now I can't really acquire any of these as most of them don't exist in my case. I was not insured during my run with the company, live in a country where no taxes or social security infrastructures are in place and have no provident or superfund accounts. The closest thing I have for a work permit is the series of Business Visas my company used to fly me in on for consecutive periods of 3 to 9 months during the duration of my employment.

My question is: will these be sufficient? Is there any other option to prove my work experience? I may be able to get a bank statement along with copies of my paychecks as proof at a significant charge from my bank per check issued.

Thanks in advance dear members!


----------



## worldking

Hello Mark..,



I applied subclass 190 visa last Feb.CO contacted in march and requested to upload all my remaining docs.

I did one mistake in immi account during documents attachment.

I wrongly attached all my 3 companies work evidence docs (payslip,Tax letter,exp.letter,bank statement) into under Document type:"work reference" . So,what I need to do ? I have to wait until co reply or fill form1023 for that mistake?

However, I uploaded all docs expect 
1. identity evidence 
2. Health evidence.

1.Should I upload my national identity card as proof of identity evidence ?
2. I have completed Heath examination and clinic submitted my through DIBP in Feb. So should I attach that clinic medical receipt to immi as proof of Heath evidence?

Kindly clear my doubts .

Thank you .


----------



## Amino4ia

*Stage 2 - Permanent Partner Visa (Subclass 100)*

Hello Mr Mark,

Thanks for your help its appreciated

Obtaining the permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) is a two stage process. To be eligible for a permanent partner visa you first need to be granted a temporary Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) which i already got on (13/August/2017) . You apply for both the permanent and temporary visas at the same time and pay only one fee. If you are granted the temporary Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309), you are eligible to be assessed for the permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) about two years after you lodged your application. You will need to provide further documents for this assessment.
If you have been in a long term relationship before you lodge your application, the permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) will be granted immediately after the temporary Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309). i guess this means if you have been married to your sponsor for two years or more... right.

my question here is :

- I lodged my Stage 1 - Partner or Prospective Marriage Visa (309) application online on (11-Jan-2017) (offshore) means I will be eligible to apply for permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) on (13-August-2019).
- I have been granted the the temporary Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) on (13-August-2017) 
- Me and my sponsor are married since (14-May-2016) and we will complete 2 years of being married on (14-May-2018)

*** QUESTION 1 : Can i apply for permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) when i complete 2 years of being married to my sponsor in this case on (14-May-2018) even thought i lodged my Stage 1 application on (11-Jan-2017) ?

*** QUESTION 2 : as an applicant , when im eligible and ready to send the documents for the permanent Partner visa (subclass 100) online i have to go online in my IMMI account then > My applications tab >, select Family and then complete Stage 2 - Permanent Partner Visa Assessment. (47SP) application 
Does my sponsor has to complete Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia (300,309/100,820/801) (40SP) application as well at the same time ?

I hope i find these answers 
______________________________

Timeline :

- Married to my sponsor since : May 2016
- Offshore application started : Jan 2017
- Granted 309 offshore (KUWAIT) : August 2017
- Will enter Australia before : March 2018

Much appreciated 
& Many Thanks 
Ameen Sharkawi


----------



## Cyn444

Hi Mark
It's awesome to have someone as dedicated to helping as you...Thank you..

A little about my situation... PMV lodged Nov 2016 via Australian immi agent who used there immi account... Fiance went back to USA Aug 2016.. all paperwork including NOIM lodged Nov 2016 with a wedding all planned and payed for meant to be Dec 31 2016... medicals and FBI check lodged Jan 2017.. heard nothing from immi agent until yesterday stating that a CO had picked up the file and was asking for a Police check for me ( Australian ) and a State police check for my fiance ( US ) along with a new NOIM and new date of marriage... 

My questions are.... In your experience... 
1... What would be the best date to put on the the new NOIM considering we have to be married within 90 days of approval..
2... After we submit the new requested information.. does our file just go back into main stream processing again with us having to wait a further 9 months for another case worker to pick it up or do we now have a case worker assigned to our file that will be expecting the new info ( which will be lodged Monday ) ?

I hope you may be able to shed some light on the 2 questions above..

Xx


----------



## Durant83

*461 Visa Question*

Hi Mark,

I am hoping you can help as there seems to be a lot of mixed information out there.

I am currently in a relationship of over 3 years with my partner who is a Newzealand Citizen and passport holder. I am a British Citizen.

We currently have lots of info including Passport stamps, airline tickets, photos, social media, phonebills and bank transfers which date back for 3 years. We have however not cohabited officially where we have lived on a boat which is jointly owned and insured and as such don't have proof of 6 or 12 months co-habitation.

We have recently opened a joint bank account and pay for boat mooring fees and media accts etc from this.

Would this be likely to enable obtaining a 461 visa which we are keen to secure asap, or will we require a further 6 months of joint accounts at the same address?

Thanks for any advice you can provide on this it will be much appreciated.

Regards, Ben


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi StuckinUK -

Thanks for the note - please see responses below at ***:



StuckinUK said:


> 835 questions -
> Hi Mark, I have General but complicated questions...currently I'm in the UK, I'm a single mum, my parents have passed away and my only relatives are in NSW. I need a UK court order to take my daughter, wwhich I probably won't get but if I do:
> 
> Can we travel on ETA then on arrival apply for RRV 835?
> *** Yes, if you qualify for ETA and 835.
> 
> If we get BVA (56 year wait), can I enrol my daughter in school?
> *** Generally yes, but you need to consult with the state school authorities in the state you wish to reside/enroll in as states have different policies.
> 
> If so, as I'll have to pay for school can I then apply for rights to work due to a change in circumstances causing financial hardship?
> *** Typically the BVA you get with an onshore 835 application will include full work rights which activate as soon as you overstay the minimum stay period of the ETA (typically 3 months).
> 
> Or, after 2yrs sponsorship runs out can I apply for rights to work due to financial hardship?
> *** Not sure what you mean here - there is no sponsorship for an 835.
> 
> Can you ever apply to study whilst on a BVA?
> *** Normally the BVA you get with an 835 includes no study limitations.
> 
> If we get a BVA can I apply for BVB every year (to bring my child back to UK for a few weeks contact with her dad)?
> *** Yes, just need substantial reason for the trip.
> 
> Answers to any or the above (or alternative suggestions much appreciated) x


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adeel3878 -

Thanks for the note. Note on the first page under Part A the main applicant info is needed for Q1-Q3, then your info starting at Q4 on the next page continuing to the end of section A. You would then complete sections C and D about yourself - ie,, section C asks about "your" partner - if you have a partner, enter info here, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



adeel3878 said:


> Hi Mark...
> 
> I am already with the visa 485 and trying to add my partner on my visa (currently she is in overseas).
> I already have all the documents but we don't know how to fill the form 1409.
> I know that only sections A, C and D should be complete but I don't know whom should complete in each section!!!!
> 
> Can someone explain me about that?
> 
> Thanks so much!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Beastsap -

You can get skills assessor info from the skills assessor themselves. Re DIBP, it's a judgement call made by the case officer depending on the documents. Happy to review your documents and can give you specific comments on them at a consultation session - see my website below for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



beastsap said:


> HI Mr. Mark, any update on the first statement you made. Is there a way for me to research on this. Wil i get any information on internet or is this undisclosed info?
> 
> I would do the statutory declaration for my previous employments since I have not left with any option. I do understand that would be cross verified, so I have refernce of an HR personnel who was ex employee of the same company. Would this to some extent help my case?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eby89 -

Thanks for the note. An interview is part of the process for some (but not all) partner visa applicants - while the interview is a sign that application processing is proceeding, it doesn't indicate how far along things are and there's no good way to estimate the amount of time left for processing, unfortunately.

If you haven't had the interview yet, you might want to check out our sample partner visa interview questions at https://mnvisa.com/sample-partner-visa-interview-questions/ - this is a sampling of some of the more frequently asked questions - however DIBP can essentially ask anything they'd like at these so it's best to be very well prepared re knowledge about each other's families, likes, dislikes, financial details, religious details, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



eby89 said:


> Hi Mark!
> Thanks for your time in advance.
> 
> My husband is from Ghana. We was married last year July 2016. Traditional marriage. I stayed 3 months with him. Since then Iv been back in Aus. We applied for 309 May 9 2017 with a complete case online from Sydney (meds, police, everything) with a agent helping us and was told we have a simple and good strong evidence case. I am heading back over to Ghana on 28 August 2017 to stay another month with my husband (separated 10 months now) A week ago we got contacted by lady in Nairobi from the Family Migration Section to confirm my hubby didn't need a translator for his interview (he's fluent English speaking) and we was to get back to them with answer by 9 August 2017 so visa process can continue. We replied within an hour. Is this just the start of a long wait still? Or is an interview a good sign it may not be too long?
> Thanks Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kris1963 -

Thanks for the note and email. There is no bar to sponsorship if a person is bankrupt in a country outside Australia. In fact, the current partner visa application process does not include questions about bankruptcy or credit issues. No way without knowing all of the circumstances to guarantee this won't be an issue, but simply being bankrupt itself is not a bar.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kris1963 said:


> Hi Mark - I've posted in the forum but still don't have a definitive answer to the following question.
> 
> Would declaring bankruptcy in the U.S. have any negative bearing on an application for an ETA and/or an onshore application for a Partner (Spouse) visa?
> 
> Would very much appreciate a response.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nivin -

Thanks for the note. Not possible for me to assess your visa eligibility here as there are dozens of requirements for any visa, and many different visas to choose from. Re US immigration issue, you'll likely have to declare it depending on what it was, and the extent to which it might interfere with an Australian immigration application will depend on when it was and how "bad" it was.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nivin said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I'm a IT guy with 8 Years of exp . Of which worked for 6 years in US and rest in India. Due to some immigration issue I couldn't go back to US and would like to try for AUS. Would you help me to know if the US immigration issue would be an problem to try for AUS PR and also what are the things to have apart from IELTS/PTE, police clearance letter and experience letter?
> I really appreciate your help and suggestion in this matter and thank you in advance
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Nivin


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Triangels -

Thanks for the note. I would need to know much more about your 485 and 189 cases to give you specific advice, however from what you've said, the "lodge offshore on a BVB" advice sounds appropriate. However once you've lodged the 189 offshore, there is no requirement that you withdraw the appeal of the 485 and no requirement that you take the medicals overseas - you can take them at any DIBP approved medical facility. You could in theory come back to Australia and wait out the 485 appeal process if you've lodged a valid AAT review application - however again, I'd need to see your documents and get fully up to speed in order to give you an opinion on best options - happy to do so at a consultation, please see website below in my signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Triangels said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thanks for the help you provide.
> 
> I have a question !
> 
> My partner lodged a 485 a couple month ago and sadly we got rejected due to the fact that we uploaded IELTS docs after we payed. We have already arranged appeal and we are both on bridging visa a.
> 
> Lucky i was able to score 8 on my new IELTS test and I have 70 score now and able to apply 189 PR.
> So my current agent tells me to apply B and return to my home country (Poland) and lodge PR application and pay the fees offshore and travel back to Australia using Bridging B, and then he says once the medical checks are required I need to exit and return to poland and do my medical test in Poland, withdraw my appeal case, and wait for PR to be granted and the n then travel back to Australia.
> 
> IS THIS METHOD REALLY WORKS ?
> 
> This got me confuse cuz the fact that Section 48 bar (3) says bridging B is treated as being in migration zone even if we are outside. which doesnt make sense to how am i suppose to lodge a new visa at all.
> 
> So i wonder when im outside of australia Can I lodge any visa at all ?
> or should I first withdraw the appeal and then stay in Poland and apply PR (Which will result in losing my full time job as well)
> Or I cant apply any visa at all ?
> So far I have been on 2 student visa for Bachelor and Research and third is 485 which is refused (being a subapplicant)
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sonya88 -

No. You would have to be in Australia when the 820 provisional partner visa is granted, however the 801 can be granted to you whether you are inside or outside Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sonya88 said:


> Hi Mark. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. I have applied to 801 visa 4 months ago. Do I have to be in Australia when I will get granted 801 visa? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TBI -

Yes - assuming the exclusion period is over, you certainly can apply for a visitor visa or any other visa you may be eligible for. Chances of success for a visitor visa will depend on meeting the criteria for that visa - one important one to consider is that DIBP will need to be convinced that you have substantial ties to your home country - ties that are stronger than those you have to people in Australia - employment ties tend to be the best, but you may want to look at other info. There is further information about the "genuine visitor" policy available on our website here: https://mnvisa.com/genuine-visitor-policy/

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Traumatized by IMMI said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Seeking some advice from someone who's been in a similar situation or from a MARA agent.
> 
> I had a 3 year ban attached to my passport, due to an application for a partner visa gone wrong onshore.
> 
> Now, I'm off shore, waiting for my PMV visa and the ban has been lifted. My question is:
> 
> Do I have a chance to be grant a tourist visa to wait for my PMV visa with my fiancé in Australia?
> 
> Thanks in advance for anyone that could help me.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Simonp09 -

Thanks for the note. The 88 day requirement remains whether it's work for 1 employer or multiple employers. See below for more from DIBP on this at https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/462-#tab-content-1 -

_How to calculate specified subclass 462 work

'Three months' means a period equivalent to three 'calendar' months, which is taken to be a minimum period of 88 calendar days.

You do not need to do your three months' work all in one go, or all with one employer. You are free to spread the work over the period of your stay in Australia. You can also work for longer than the required minimum of three months.

The three month specified subclass 462 requirement can be met in a variety of ways, for example:

working five days a week for a continuous period of three calendar months (88 calendar days); or
working the equivalent number of days over a period of more than three calendar months (for example, if the visa holder is working less than 5 days per week, or is working intermittently between periods of travel.)
working a combination of full-time and part time or casual work.

You cannot complete your specified subclass 462 work requirement in a total period of less than three calendar months.

Work can be either:
in one block with one employer
in separate blocks with one employer or a number of employers. Blocks of work can be in different kinds of specified work.

The shortest period that can be counted towards the specified subclass 462 work requirement is one normal day of work (for that industry and role).

Applicants cannot count a long day of work as more than one day of specified subclass 462 work. For example, if the industry's standard day is six hours long, working a 12 hour day does not count as two days of specified work.

In circumstances where the applicant is employed by more than one employer at the same time, they can only count each calendar day of work completed once towards their 3 month specified subclass 462 work requirement.

Full time workers can count sick days only during periods where they were in paid employment and entitled to sick leave or covered by a workers compensation scheme. In these situations, supporting evidence must be provided by the employer._

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



simonp09 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My girlfriend is currently on a 462 visa. She has just moved to Townsville to complete 3 months work in Northern Australia to apply for a second year visa.
> 
> I was wondering if you could give me some more information on what is required for this visa and how time is calculated.
> 
> My understanding from information we have read is that if she works 30+ hours per week for a single employer in hospitality then she will be eligible after 3 months rather than working 88 days if she was to work for several employees. When she applies, pay slips will the provided showing the 30+ hours per week from 1 employer.
> 
> I wanted to check if there is anything we need to be careful of as we don't want her wasting 3 months in Townsville if we are not going to meet the requirements.
> 
> Any help is appreciated.
> 
> Thanks, Simon


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AussieSwiss -

That sounds correct - the key will be whether DIBP will give her a BVB if she indicates she will be returning prior to the expiration of the visitor visa. They may or may not, I've seen it happen both ways.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AussieSwiss said:


> Thanks a lot Mark, really appreciate it. So to be clear she will:
> - Fly in early November which gives her a 3 months visitor visa until early February
> - Apply for the 820 as soon as she arrives early November, which gives her a BVA which would normally kick in early Feb
> - Apply for a BVB as well, so that she can take that trip in early January - even though it is within her already existing visitor visa
> - when she comes back 2 weeks later in late January (visitor visa still valid), either her BVA/BVB will still kick in after the original 3 month visitor visa (early Feb) or will push it back again 3 months until April.
> Do I have this right? Basically I am just trying to figure out how to not have any issues when she leaves and returns in January all on the first visitor visa while the 820 has already been filed. It is a family trip she is very keen to take, otherwise we wouldn't push it. Thanks so much for the help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shaic -

Thanks for the note. Difficult to give absolutes without knowing all of your details, but generally speaking VETASSESS has requirements for many occupations for a relevant academic qualification at a minimum level. If you do not meet the relevancy *and* level requirements, you fail the academic degree requirement and the skills assessment will be negative as a result regardless of your work experience claims.

I do not know of any sort of "points" system at VETASSESS - there might be an internal system, but I've never heard of it. The relevancy and level tests above are yes/no decisions - if you fail either, it will necessarily result in a negative skills assessment assuming the occupation (as listed on the VETASSESS list of occupations and requirements) requires a relevant academic qualification.

Re: subordinates, that depends on the assessment of your particular work experience - no way to predict those sort of results.

Note that some other skills assessors such as ACS have RPL options where you can still get a positive skills assessment without a relevant academic qualification - it's my hope that VETASSESS will include this type of option, but as far as I know that doesn't exist now at VETASSESS.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shaic said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've consulted 2 migration agents for an assessment, and they both have a common answer to my case - it would be 50-50. I've come across this forum and thought that you might help me on my queries before I proceed risking that 50% chance since I'm not too confident on the answers they gave me.
> 
> Couple of questions:
> 
> 1. My dilemma is the skills assessment part. My occupation is under Vetassess, but my degree isn't related to my occupation. Will this affect my assessment?
> 
> 2. Is it possible to receive a positive outcome from Vetassess even though I get zero points? I heard they deduct points from your score if degree is not related to nominated occupation.
> 
> 3. If my nominated occupation is a managerial position but I don't have subordinates, will they accept this?
> 
> Was hoping your advice would give me enlightenment before I proceed. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time, effort and money. Really need an honest opinion coming from an expert, so I would whole-heartedly appreciate your response. Thanks so much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dinushap -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict DIBP processing times - they are all over the map unfortunately. It is now standard for partner visa sponsors to provide AFP PCC certificates - suggest you obtain one for your sponsor and lodge with DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dinushap said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I applied for 309 Partner Visa on 1st March 2017 and have provided all the required documents, medical and police clearance. My husband was asked to provide both Australian and Sri Lankan police clearance in May. My husband migrated to Australia in June 2017 only though he was granted the PR last year. He visited Australia in June 2016 to mark his first entry stayed for 2 weeks and came back to Sri Lanka. So we had an issue as to whether we have to submit the police check from Australia. We sent and email to the Australian Embassy in Sri Lanka questioning this. We didn't get any reply. In June we submitted the Sri Lankan police check and again sent a mail to the embassy asking whether we need to provide an Australian check as well since he migrated to Australia in June 2017 only. Since we didn't get any reply i called the embassy in July and they told me that the CO will check my application in 3 to 4 weeks time. As at today we haven't got any reply from them. I called them again last week and they said that the CO has not gone through the application yet and that its still in the initial stage of processing. Can you please advice me as to what to do in this situation. and does initial stage of processing means that it'll take a long time for them to process my visa?
> It'll be much appreciated if you can provide me some insight as to what to do in this situation as I'm completely at a lost as to what to do.
> Thanking In Advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carlo77 -

Thanks for the note. Normally you should only enter work experience within the last 10 years on an EOI and visa application assuming the question has that language in it (ie, 10 years). Normally the EOI software will not result in a points claim for work older than 10 years even if you mark it as relevant, but I would not depend on that. I'd delete any work older than 10 years from the EOI - if you need to split work experience (ie, the 10 year mark occurs during a period of employment) then do so into relevant (10 yrs old or less) and non-relevant (older than 10 yrs). In any case, manually check your points calculation to make sure that the work experience points accurately represents only your work experience claims that are within the last 10 years and are relevant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



carlo77 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I need your advise regarding my EOI entry and ACS results.
> 
> My ACS assessment result is around 12+ years experience because ACS considered my experience after May 2003.
> 
> Below is the result of my ACS assessment.
> 
> The following employment after* May 2003 *is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261312 (Developer Programmer) of the ANZSCO Code.
> 
> Dates: 05/99 - 06/06 (7yrs 1mths)
> Position: Programmer
> Employer: Company A
> 
> Dates: 09/06 - 10/07 (1yrs 1mths)
> Position: Software Developer
> Employer: Company B
> 
> Dates: 02/08 - 07/10 (2yrs 5mths)
> Position: Software Engineer
> Employer: Company C
> 
> Dates: 03/11 - 06/12 (1yrs 3mths)
> Position: Web Developer
> Employer: Company D
> 
> Dates: 06/12 - 10/14 (2yrs 4mths)
> Position: Web Developer
> Employer: Company E
> 
> Dates: 11/14 - 12/15 (1yrs 1mths)
> Position: Software Developer
> Employer: Company F
> 
> Dates: 01/16 - 10/16 (0yrs 9mths)
> Position: Software Developer
> Employer: Company G
> 
> In the EOI, it states that* "should provide details of the client's employment history for the last 10 years"*
> 
> My question is.. Is it OK that I still entered in the EOI my Company A experience after May 2003 (ticked relevant) which is stated in my ACS results even it's NO longer within the last 10 years of my employment history? or my EOI entry should start from Company B?
> 
> Hope you can help me on this issue.
> 
> Thank you very much.
> 
> Regards,
> Carlo


----------



## ham admanedien

Hello Mr. Mark
I am civil engineer. I submitted an EOI for NSW ( visa 190) with 55 points only. I have in Ielts 7 overall but 6.5 in writing and listening. I have 9 years claimed experience. Do I have a chance to receive an invitation by NSW? and when? given that I don`t have time to redo the IELTS..
Thanks a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi VicMic -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, the use of a prescribed test for Functional English has a validity period of no more than 12 months prior to the application date for the visa, or the test can be taken while the current visa is processing. You may want to see how the case officer handles the previous test results and see if he/she accepts them - however be prepared for a new test or demonstrating Functional English in any of the other accepted ways - see https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/faqs/how-can-i-prove-i-have-functional-english

Re 2, there is no minimum living in the area requirement for secondary applicants for an 887 visa, only for the primary applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



VicMic said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a couple of questions which I hope you can help me with as I have read mixed replies on different forums.
> 
> I am currently on a 475 visa and applied for an 887 four weeks ago.
> 
> 1). Secondary applicant did IELTS 9 years ago to satisfy 475 requirements. Got a 7.5 score overall. Does she have to sit a new IELTS exam for the 887? If yes, why does the primary applicant not require a new result.
> 2). Primary applicant lived 2 years+ and worked 1 year+ full time in designated area to fulfil requirements. Secondary applicants had to go overseas for 6 weeks due to a parent passing away. In all wife and kids have 4 weeks outside Australia. Will dependants being away effect the 2 year residency or is Primary applicant 2 year residency in designated area enough?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.
> 
> VicMic


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mliw90 -

Yes, that's the usual handling of this. Assuming your ETA is configured to allow further onshore applications and has a max stay period of 3 months, if you come to Australia and lodge your 189 or 190 visa (after being invited to apply of course) during the 3 month stay period you'll get a BVA with full work rights which will activate once you overstay the max stay period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mliw90 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am wondering if I come to Australia on an ETA and apply for a 189 or 190 visa, will I be granted a bridging visa A with working rights when my 3 months expires on the ETA? I am unsure on this and getting different answers. My goal is to be able to work in Australia as soon as possible so I'd like to come over and do my application there so I could start work in 3 months since it seems the 189/190 visas can take 6+ months sometimes.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hussam -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



hussam.shehsda said:


> Greetings Mark,
> 
> i would really appreciate it you are able to help me regarding this case.
> 
> My older brother submitted his immigration case (Subclass 189) back in 2016 for him, his wife, his kid and our mother, now his case was approved and he will be landing soon. initially he wanted to include my sister too as a dependent, however fearing they might reject the application (as some said they wont consider her as dependent). now we want to submit for my sister also. my sister graduated as a dentist, however she is having around 8 years of experience in other field, she is working in a health insurance company in the claims department, about a year ago she had a course in auditing and in coding (as i remember), and worked in the same company as an auditor. i would really appreciate it if someone would advise on to what category is best suited for her case as subclass 189 does not include her field i think and someone mentioned that its better to go with subclass 190, also we are not sure on which skill she should apply.
> 
> Thank you everyone.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kasrawy -

It's really at the discretion of the skills assessor - I'd gather together any/all documents that can show you did the work and see what EA has to say. Also if you plan to claim work experience points for the work on a skilled visa application, note that DIBP has separate requirements and will usually require evidence of pay for the entire period you are claiming, plus an employer reference letter listing tasks/duties of the job and dates employed. If you are having your work experience assessed by EA (optional), that will help, but DIBP will likely still require proof of payment documents regardless of what EA says about relevance of the work experience, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kasrawy said:


> Dear Mark and everyone else,
> 
> I'm in the process of proving my engineering work experience but am at a loss. The MSA booklet of EA states that I need one of the following documents from a third party to prove my experience.
> 
> 
> Social security repor
> Income tax report
> Superfund statement
> Provident fund statement
> Work permit
> 
> Now I can't really acquire any of these as most of them don't exist in my case. I was not insured during my run with the company, live in a country where no taxes or social security infrastructures are in place and have no provident or superfund accounts. The closest thing I have for a work permit is the series of Business Visas my company used to fly me in on for consecutive periods of 3 to 9 months during the duration of my employment.
> 
> My question is: will these be sufficient? Is there any other option to prove my work experience? I may be able to get a bank statement along with copies of my paychecks as proof at a significant charge from my bank per check issued.
> 
> Thanks in advance dear members!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Worldking -

Thanks for the note. Normally uploading under a different category is not an issue - it's the actual documents that DIBP primarily considers. Yes, would suggest uploading national ID card unless there is a reason not to. Re heatlh, you could upload the receipt, but you could also check the health status for the application - if it says the health requirements have been met, no need to upload the receipt.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



worldking said:


> Hello Mark..,
> 
> I applied subclass 190 visa last Feb.CO contacted in march and requested to upload all my remaining docs.
> 
> I did one mistake in immi account during documents attachment.
> 
> I wrongly attached all my 3 companies work evidence docs (payslip,Tax letter,exp.letter,bank statement) into under Document type:"work reference" . So,what I need to do ? I have to wait until co reply or fill form1023 for that mistake?
> 
> However, I uploaded all docs expect
> 1. identity evidence
> 2. Health evidence.
> 
> 1.Should I upload my national identity card as proof of identity evidence ?
> 2. I have completed Heath examination and clinic submitted my through DIBP in Feb. So should I attach that clinic medical receipt to immi as proof of Heath evidence?
> 
> Kindly clear my doubts .
> 
> Thank you .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ameensharkawi -

Thanks for the note - I'll do my best to clear up any confusion.

You are eligible to lodge the second stage (permanent) partner visa paperwork 2 years after the original application date for the partner visa, so based on your info that would be 11 January 2019. The grant date of the provisional partner visa does not affect this.

Re: long term partner relationship, this is assesed as of the original application date - in cases of married applicants, it's the length of the marriage as of the original application date (ie 11 January 2017). As you had not been married for 3 years (or 2 years with a child) as of that date, you'll have to wait until 11 Jan 2019 to lodge your second stage partner visa application. Second stage applications are taking 18+ months to process currently.

Re question 2, yes you'll need to lodge the second stage application online after the 2 year point (ie 11 Jan 2019 from what you've said). Normally no second stage 40SP form needed, only the main second stage application form online unless otherwise directed by DIBP. Note the handy info here: https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/forms/online/partner-permanent-calculator for determining dates and procedures.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AMEENSHARKAWI said:


> Hello Mr Mark,
> 
> Thanks for your help its appreciated
> 
> Obtaining the permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) is a two stage process. To be eligible for a permanent partner visa you first need to be granted a temporary Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) which i already got on (13/August/2017) . You apply for both the permanent and temporary visas at the same time and pay only one fee. If you are granted the temporary Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309), you are eligible to be assessed for the permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) about two years after you lodged your application. You will need to provide further documents for this assessment.
> If you have been in a long term relationship before you lodge your application, the permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) will be granted immediately after the temporary Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309). i guess this means if you have been married to your sponsor for two years or more... right.
> 
> my question here is :
> 
> - I lodged my Stage 1 - Partner or Prospective Marriage Visa (309) application online on (11-Jan-2017) (offshore) means I will be eligible to apply for permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) on (13-August-2019).
> - I have been granted the the temporary Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) on (13-August-2017)
> - Me and my sponsor are married since (14-May-2016) and we will complete 2 years of being married on (14-May-2018)
> 
> *** QUESTION 1 : Can i apply for permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) when i complete 2 years of being married to my sponsor in this case on (14-May-2018) even thought i lodged my Stage 1 application on (11-Jan-2017) ?
> 
> *** QUESTION 2 : as an applicant , when im eligible and ready to send the documents for the permanent Partner visa (subclass 100) online i have to go online in my IMMI account then > My applications tab >, select Family and then complete Stage 2 - Permanent Partner Visa Assessment. (47SP) application
> Does my sponsor has to complete Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia (300,309/100,820/801) (40SP) application as well at the same time ?
> 
> I hope i find these answers
> ______________________________
> 
> Timeline :
> 
> - Married to my sponsor since : May 2016
> - Offshore application started : Jan 2017
> - Granted 309 offshore (KUWAIT) : August 2017
> - Will enter Australia before : March 2018
> 
> Much appreciated
> & Many Thanks
> Ameen Sharkawi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cyn444 -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, you might choose a date a few months from now or longer, however no requirement that you actually observe that date when you get married. You mentioned 90 days, but actually you will have 9 months from the date of approval of the PMV to come to Australia and marry, so there is some leeway in estimating a date for the new celebrant letter they need.

Re processing time, difficult to estimate, but you won't start the 9 month clock again - normally these visas are processed in 9-12 months, so I'd guess you may be 1-3 months away from a visa decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cyn444 said:


> Hi Mark
> It's awesome to have someone as dedicated to helping as you...Thank you..
> 
> A little about my situation... PMV lodged Nov 2016 via Australian immi agent who used there immi account... Fiance went back to USA Aug 2016.. all paperwork including NOIM lodged Nov 2016 with a wedding all planned and payed for meant to be Dec 31 2016... medicals and FBI check lodged Jan 2017.. heard nothing from immi agent until yesterday stating that a CO had picked up the file and was asking for a Police check for me ( Australian ) and a State police check for my fiance ( US ) along with a new NOIM and new date of marriage...
> 
> My questions are.... In your experience...
> 1... What would be the best date to put on the the new NOIM considering we have to be married within 90 days of approval..
> 2... After we submit the new requested information.. does our file just go back into main stream processing again with us having to wait a further 9 months for another case worker to pick it up or do we now have a case worker assigned to our file that will be expecting the new info ( which will be lodged Monday ) ?
> 
> I hope you may be able to shed some light on the 2 questions above..
> 
> Xx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ben -

Thanks for the question. I would need to review your relationship evidence in order to give you an opinion on the chances it will satisfy DIBP re: genuine de facto relationship - there's just no good way to estimate this without doing a proper assessment of the evidence. There may be enough to have a good chance of establishing you lived together on the boat, or you may need to augment the evidence with additional evidence, again no way to tell without a proper evidence review - happy to do so at a consultation - see my website below in my signature for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



Durant83 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am hoping you can help as there seems to be a lot of mixed information out there.
> 
> I am currently in a relationship of over 3 years with my partner who is a Newzealand Citizen and passport holder. I am a British Citizen.
> 
> We currently have lots of info including Passport stamps, airline tickets, photos, social media, phonebills and bank transfers which date back for 3 years. We have however not cohabited officially where we have lived on a boat which is jointly owned and insured and as such don't have proof of 6 or 12 months co-habitation.
> 
> We have recently opened a joint bank account and pay for boat mooring fees and media accts etc from this.
> 
> Would this be likely to enable obtaining a 461 visa which we are keen to secure asap, or will we require a further 6 months of joint accounts at the same address?
> 
> Thanks for any advice you can provide on this it will be much appreciated.
> 
> Regards, Ben


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ham -

Thanks for the note. There's just no way to predict whether a state will sponsor - there are many criteria they have, and they do not publish all of their criteria and do not provide any formulas by which to calculate eligibility - while work experience and IELTS come into play in their decision, there are other factors such as work history (large vs small companies) and any number of other factors they use in deciding who to invite. It's a bit like a beauty contest - a very subjective decision. Wish I could help more, but just no way to predict.

Best,

Mark Northam



ham admanedien said:


> Hello Mr. Mark
> I am civil engineer. I submitted an EOI for NSW ( visa 190) with 55 points only. I have in Ielts 7 overall but 6.5 in writing and listening. I have 9 years claimed experience. Do I have a chance to receive an invitation by NSW? and when? given that I don`t have time to redo the IELTS..
> Thanks a lot.


----------



## Nwadhwa0077

Hi Mark, hope you are doing well! my immigration agent has submitted the forms 80, 1221, 1223 on my behalf. I only signed the last page and emailed it to him. When i requested to share the forms with me, he refused without any justification. Is it supposed to be like that. Can you please share some info. 
It is not the matter of trust as the Agent is an active MARA agent, but i could not understand why he cant share my info with me. And if this is the same with all the agents.
Thanks


----------



## ham admanedien

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ham -
> 
> Thanks for the note. There's just no way to predict whether a state will sponsor - there are many criteria they have, and they do not publish all of their criteria and do not provide any formulas by which to calculate eligibility - while work experience and IELTS come into play in their decision, there are other factors such as work history (large vs small companies) and any number of other factors they use in deciding who to invite. It's a bit like a beauty contest - a very subjective decision. Wish I could help more, but just no way to predict.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark.
Thanks a lot. That is inspiring news. My experience is in an international ,well reputed company. I hope this adds to my 55 points case.


----------



## shaic

Greetings Mark!

I've posted the other day but not sure why it was gone.

I consulted 2 agencies, and told me my chance is just 50-50. If there is a half chance I would get through, I would love to take risk. However, since I've seen great advises from you in this forum, I was hoping you can help me before I risk it out.

1. If my degree is not related to my nominated occupation, do I still have a chance to get a positive assessment from Vetassess? I heard they deduct points if it's not related...

2. If I get positive assessment from Vetassess, however due to the deduction let's say I just get zero points, will that affect my state sponsorship?

3. If my nominated occupation is a managerial position, do they require that I have a couple subordinates under me? What if I am in a managerial position but doesn't have subordinates, will that affect my chance?

Thank you so much in advance Mark. Your response would really be helpful.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nwadhwa0077 -

It is absolutely vital that you see those forms, as you will be held responsible by DIBP for what is on them. Request the forms again, and advise you must be familiar with the content in case DIBP contacts you and that you know you are legally responsible for what is on the forms.

If he refuses again, tell him you will enquire with MARA as to his obligation to share the forms if he does not share the forms. It is very unusual, and in my view highly unethical, for an agent not to share copies of ALL documents, forms and evidence lodged for a client. The normal practice is for the agent or client to complete these forms, then the other one reviews the form, then it's lodged when everybody agrees that it's correct. Frankly I have never heard of an agent refusing to provide these forms to clients. Also FYI there is no such thing as Form 1223.

Needless to say, if information on the form(s) is false or misleading and you are alleged to have breached PIC 4020 as a result (including a 3 year ban from Australia), saying you agent didn't give you copies will not matter to DIBP - you will be held responsible for the forms and their content.

You may trust your agent, but it appears your agent doesn't trust you. In any case, suggest you get to the bottom of this ASAP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nwadhwa0077 said:


> Hi Mark, hope you are doing well! my immigration agent has submitted the forms 80, 1221, 1223 on my behalf. I only signed the last page and emailed it to him. When i requested to share the forms with me, he refused without any justification. Is it supposed to be like that. Can you please share some info.
> It is not the matter of trust as the Agent is an active MARA agent, but i could not understand why he cant share my info with me. And if this is the same with all the agents.
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shaic -

Sorry - I responded to this yesterday but the response may not have posted correctly.

-------------------

Thanks for the note. Difficult to give absolutes without knowing all of your details, but generally speaking VETASSESS has requirements for many occupations for a relevant academic qualification at a minimum level. If you do not meet the relevancy and level requirements, you fail the academic degree requirement and the skills assessment will be negative as a result regardless of your work experience claims.

I do not know of any sort of "points" system at VETASSESS - there might be an internal system, but I've never heard of it. The relevancy and level tests above are yes/no decisions - if you fail either, it will necessarily result in a negative skills assessment assuming the occupation (as listed on the VETASSESS list of occupations and requirements) requires a relevant academic qualification.

Re: subordinates, that depends on the assessment of your particular work experience - no way to predict those sort of results.

Note that some other skills assessors such as ACS have RPL options where you can still get a positive skills assessment without a relevant academic qualification - it's my hope that VETASSESS will include this type of option, but as far as I know that doesn't exist now at VETASSESS.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shaic said:


> Greetings Mark!
> 
> I've posted the other day but not sure why it was gone.
> 
> I consulted 2 agencies, and told me my chance is just 50-50. If there is a half chance I would get through, I would love to take risk. However, since I've seen great advises from you in this forum, I was hoping you can help me before I risk it out.
> 
> 1. If my degree is not related to my nominated occupation, do I still have a chance to get a positive assessment from Vetassess? I heard they deduct points if it's not related...
> 
> 2. If I get positive assessment from Vetassess, however due to the deduction let's say I just get zero points, will that affect my state sponsorship?
> 
> 3. If my nominated occupation is a managerial position, do they require that I have a couple subordinates under me? What if I am in a managerial position but doesn't have subordinates, will that affect my chance?
> 
> Thank you so much in advance Mark. Your response would really be helpful.


----------



## gargy

*Query about 189 visa grant*

Hi Mark,

I'm s/w engineer with 10+ yrs of experience. I applied for Australian PR for my family of 3 members (My Spouse, a kid and I).

1. My ACS and my spouse ACS was successfully completed in Feb 2017.
2. Our PTE exam got cleared in Mar 2017.
3. EOI submitted on 14-Mar-2017 with 70 points.
4. Invitation received on 15-Mar-2017 for 189 category.
5. Visa application submitted and paid fees on 15-Apr-2017 with Medical reports and Police clearance. 
6. CO contacted me on 5-May-2017 for Spouse PTE score to claim spouse point. I provided information on same day and updated on ImmiAccount website.

Since then my application is in "Assessment in progress" state. It is more than 4 months now since I submitted my application. Does it take this much time to grant Visa?

Two of my friends applied last year for same category, and they received grant in a month time. That's why i'm worried about this long waiting time.
I heard from various sources that due to change in Work Visa 457 process many applications moved to backlog. I also heard that whoever applied since Feb 2017, everyone is waiting for Visa grant. Is it correct?
Or what do you think can be reason for delay.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Hong tran

Hi Mark 
I applied my visa 186 transaction scheme on 20 of January and July 4 CO ask for information request and another CO ask for information request on 14 July and we provide everything and the status on IMMI account change to assessment in progress so do u known when they will get back to us for nomination thanks Mark


----------



## spakajewia

Hi Mark:

I am in the process of submitting my 457 application. I received by TRN the other day and I have a couple of questions. 

First, what specifically is required for the professional reference? The position I am applying for is Engineering Manager. Do I need references from employers for the previous five years? If so, do those references need to talk about what a great employee I am, or simply state that I have completed work at their organization demonstrating the experience required to qualify? For that position, is a simple educational experience sufficient? (see info at the bottom)

If I do need these references, do you recommend that I wait to submit my entire application until those are received or should I submit the application with the other information I have, and upload those references as they become available? 

Lastly, my wife has an abnormality show up in a chest X-ray. She received a blood test for TB that came back negative in late 2015. Do you think this will slow down the visa application timeline? We're US citizens and based in the US. Do you think she'll need a health assessment, and if so, should we start on that now? Should I submit the test results (showing negative TB blood test) as an attachment to the application or wait until the officer asks? 

Below is info from ANZSCO about my position; again, my question is if transcripts and diplomas are enough or do I need references from employers? 

UNIT GROUP 1332 ENGINEERING MANAGERS


ENGINEERING MANAGERS plan, organise, direct, control and coordinate the engineering and technical operations of organisations.
Indicative Skill Level:
In Australia and New Zealand:

Most occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. At least five years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualification. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification (ANZSCO Skill Level 1).

Tasks Include:
determining, implementing and monitoring engineering strategies, policies and plans
interpreting plans, drawings and specifications, and providing advice on engineering methods and procedures to achieve construction and production requirements
establishing project schedules and budgets
ensuring conformity with specifications and plans, and with laws, regulations and safety standards
ensuring engineering standards of quality, cost, safety, timeliness and performance are observed
overseeing maintenance requirements to optimise efficiency
liaising with marketing, research and manufacturing managers regarding engineering aspects of new construction and product design
may contribute to research and development projects

Occupation:
133211 Engineering Manager

133211 ENGINEERING MANAGER

Plans, organises, directs, controls and coordinates the engineering and technical operations of an organisation.
Skill Level: 1


----------



## spakajewia

Hi Mark:

A couple other quick questions re: a 457 visa for myself, my wife, and our young son. What needs to be notarized? Only the copy of my passport or other identifying information -- birth certificates; drivers license, marriage licenses, etc? Should I submit copies of the drivers license and information? Do those need to be notarized copies? 

Thank you!!!
thanks!


----------



## philcouturier

Hi Mark,

My girlfriend (27) and I (24) are looking into immigration options so we that we may both live together in Australia. We are looking at either a subclass 300 (prospective marriage) or the subclass 309/100 but are unsure which is our best option.

I am Canadian and she is Australian, and we have been in a relationship together for four years. We met in Canada, and spent the first year and a half of our relationship living together in Canada. I then applied for a subclass 417 working holiday visa and we lived in Australia together for 9 months. We then returned to Canada. My girlfriend had to return to Australia to pursue school in Feb 2017, and I am currently doing the same in Canada. 

The reason we are unsure of which visa to apply for, is that we do not have very much evidence supporting the fact that we lived together for all that time. We received housing through our work, and thus do not have a lease agreement with our names on it, or joint bills. We also have never had a joint bank account. Other than photos and friends testimonies, we don't have much to support our relationship.

My question is, should we then apply for the subclass 300, due to the fact that there is less evidence needed, and also because we have been separated for the last 6 months?

Thanks so much in advance,

Phil


----------



## ham admanedien

Dear Mark. Good day.
Regarding those high pointers applicants who lodge their EOI for both 190 and 189 visa. Is it more likely to get their invitation upon 189 or 190? 
I am 55 pointer (civil engineer) and I do not want to think that NSW would give nomination for those who have +60, because they can secure their 189 easily.
What do you think of that ? 
Thanks and regards.


----------



## philcouturier

Hi Mark,

Hope you are well. My girlfriend (27) and I (24) are looking at visas which would let us live together in Australia. We are looking at either the subclass 300 or the subclass 309/100.

My girlfriend is Australian and I am Canadian, and we have been in a relationship for four years. We met in Canada while she was on a work visa and spent the first year and a half together in Canada. I then received a subclass 417 visa and we lived in Australia for 9 months, before returning to Canada. My girlfriend left Canada to pursue school in Australia in Feb 2017, and I am doing the same in Canada.

The reason we aren't sure which visa to apply for, is that we do not have much official evidence of our relationship. We received our housing from our work, and thus don't have a lease agreement with our names on it, nor do we have joint bills, or a joint bank account. We have many photos, messages and friends testimonies but we are worried this wont be enough for a subclass 309/100.

Would it make more sense for us to apply for a subclass 300? It is my understanding that we would require less evidence? Also because we've been apart for the last 6 months this seems like the best option. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance,
Phil


----------



## skharoon

My Question are related to 489 to 887:

1- Dependents and partners who hold a skilled visa (489) and meet all other eligibility criteria can apply for this subclass 887 visa as the main applicant.

2- All other applicants which were included in the 489 in the beginning need not meet the minimum living in the area requirement for secondary applicants for an 887 visa.

I have child who has 18 years of age as a secondary applicant for 489. I can visit along with my family first time and later move to oversea and my child stay alone for study and work to meet the 887 requirements.

At the time of 887 application I can joint him and can he become the primary applicant for 887?


----------



## lakhwinder

Hello Mark

Just wanted to know in which case ACS deducts 2 years of experience as a part of On Job Training for Software Engineers.

In my case, I have a full time degree in "Masters of Computer Applications" which is equivalent to Masters of Computers in Australia.

I look forward to hear from you.

Have a good day.

Cheers
Lucky


----------



## ermpradhan

Hi Mark,

Hope you are doing well. Please help me overcome the situation.
I have done my wife ACS with positive result for 261312 - Developer Programmer ,IELTS with 7 in all band. We are planning for the 189 , so I have also applied for the ACS with 261112 - Systems Analysts , Both are on the Medium and Long‑term Strategic Skills List as we can able to claim the partner points , but unfortunately I got the ACS mentioning that :-

The assessor has made a recommendation that your application is suitable for the following ANZSCO codes: 

262111 (Database Administrator)

as there is no other option for me rather continuing as recommendation. Now the problem is my wife skill is from MLTSSL and my skill is going under category STSOL. My wife can go for 189 but i can't ,I have not yet appear PTE/IELTS, post that I have the option for 190 but we are not planning for the 190.

Please suggest and help how to proceed further now.My doubt are like :-
1. As my wife points are 65 for 189 , is it a good idea to submit EOI of my wife Now as a primary applicant and latter add me as dependent post completing my PTE/IELTS 
OR
2. After my PTE/IELTS , we will submit EOI of my wife as a primary applicant and add me as dependent.

3.Though I will have the ACS completed post PTE/IELTS, I think we can't be able to claim partner's points.

4. Is there any way I can be added as dependent with out appearing IELTS/PTE as we will not be able to claim partner's point.

Please suggest the best possible way to deal the situation. 

Regards
Milan Pradhan


----------



## Furrycatty

Hi Mark! I would want to bring my partner here with me in oz but my oshc provider is asking for too much to convert to couple, around 10k aud while single is only around 1,2k aud. Any insights on this? Is it necessary to apply for couple or can I just buy another single oshc cover for him?


----------



## markusmm

*485*

Dear Mark,
I finished my degree 2 months ago (my student visa is valid until late 2018), and am about to submit a 485 application. Immediately afterwards (on the day after submitting the application, that is), I plan to travel overseas to attend a family wedding for 3 weeks. I have called Immigration a few times and unfortunately am not much smarter regarding the right course of action. I understand that applying for the 485 visa will grant me a BVA that is inactive until my student visa is cancelled or the 485 is granted. If the cancellation occurs/the 485 is granted while I am overseas, I assume that I am pinched? Can I apply for BVB while my BVA is inactive? I understand I need to be onshore when the BVB is granted.
Thank you for your help, much appreciated!


----------



## vipsfromindia

*Do I just need HAP ID or medical results for 190 visa application?*

Hello Mark,
Thank you for being open to receive questions.

I received state sponsorship approval on 17th August 2017. On 18th, I filled up the emedical form in immi account. I have my HAP ID now.

I assume, once we apply for the visa, the case officer will be assigned a couple of weeks later. Meanwhile, I will get our medicals done. 
I have 3 choices and I need your help.

In the visa application, under medicals, there is a question whether I have done medicals in last 12 months. 
1. Do I just mention the HAP ID and select YES since when my case officer will check the file, he will have the medical report already? 
2. Select NO and apply? Later, update the medical documents?
3. Get the medical done first and only than apply with HAP ID and medical results?

Your help will be highly appreciated.


----------



## Rmpatel

Hi Mark,

I am currently holding 187 RSMS. I was working with my employer before she sold her business. 2 days after she sold her business, I gave resignation because they asked me to put resignation on the ground of, they need new full time staff. So I am wondering that does it impact on my visa because I gave the resignation? Secondly, few days back me and my employer got call from someone from Immigration and he was asking about where am I working, how far is the workplace and what are the duties I am doing with the employer. We didn't tell him that employer has sold the business and I am not working with her. He said the call is just about the survey of RSMS program. Plz note that he didn't ask me about my personal information. Plz advise am I safe in this situation? Looking for your reply. Thanks again Mark.


----------



## gargy

Hi Mark, 

I applied for 189 skilled visa (software engineers) in Apr 2017 for my family (spouse, a kid and I) 
1. Our ACS was done in Feb 2017. 
2. PTE was cleared in March 2017. 
3. Submitted EOI on 13 March 2017 with 70 points. 
4. Received invitation for 189 category on 15 Mar. 
5. Submitted application on Apr 15 with fees payments, medical reports and police clearance. 
6. CO contacted me on 5 May asking PTE report for claiming spouse points. I provided the information on same day and updated the application site as "Information Provided" 
7. Since them I'm waiting for Visa grant. It has been more than 4 months now. 

I heard from different sources that due to change in 457 work visa policy applications are getting delayed to grant visa. I also heard from few agencies that people who applied after Feb 2017, everyone is waiting for visa grant. 

I remember last years 2 of my friends got visa grant within a month after applying. I'm a little worried now. 
Do you have such information on delay. And what could be possible reason for delay. How much time does it takes for 189 visa grant. 

Thank you.


----------



## Chix_zyren

Im sorry but i cant open your message mark.Maybe i can read it through here.Thanks and i appreciate your help so much.Again....below
I have applied and submitted my 309/100.now waiting for Co advise for medical and Pr. My concern is that,i've heard some visa rejection issues.My husband and i met online march 2016 became a couple a month after ,and in a long distance relationship.weve met physically oct 2016 in uae he was here for 15days and proposed to me immediately.then back to long distance way of relationship.after 6 months we go home philippines to get married. Now his back to brisbane im back to uae.can u let me know.weve been together physically for a total of 8weeks and about a year of long dstance.do u think we have a chances of rejection?
Thanks a lot for your reply.


----------



## Weiweigao1230

Hi Mark,
I have seen your replies regarding to the partner visa. I have a question myself hoping you could help. 
I applied for the partner visa this January, my student visa expires next year 03/18, but the question is I'm on a awkward position which I completed my degree on April. So at the moment I am still on my student visa but has nothing left to study (I went overseas twice during April-July,more than a month each time), and looks like my student visa is still active.
My question is: do I have to take another short course or do I cancel my student visa and apply for BVE(looks like this is the worst choice), or which visa should I apply that has full work rights and travel rights?

Thank you so much for your help!
Vivi


----------



## montrealer

Hi Mark, 

I am planning to get married next year. What I would like to have clarified is in relation to work rights. I will be on a tourist visa, then get married and apply for my 820 visa. With a BVA, will I have working rights and access to medicare while I wait for the approval of the 820 so I can apply for the 801? So much info on net but kinda confused.

Warm regards from Montreal.

Cheers


----------



## pkk0574

Hello Mark,

I just joined the forum and this is my first post. Hope you are doing well.

I lodged my visa on 22-Apr-2017 and on 22-Aug-2017, I received a NJL stating that the AHC in Dubai tried to contact my current employer twice, once in June 2017 and again in August 2017. They used information from the set of documents I had uploaded at the time of visa lodge. These were appraisal letters, salary letter, Statutory Declaration by my immediate supervisor, contract and evidence of pay.

On 14th June, they searched the web, found a number allocated to the company and called it. An operator answered and transferred them to another line and there was no response.

On 10th August, they made several attempts to call the number provided on the supporting documents and there was no success. They found another phone number online, but that was disconnected. They emailed to a generic address that was listed on the website, but did not hear back.

Actually the numbers listed on the website and the company letterheads connects to the reception/operator. Ours is a very large organization and unless the caller is very specific of the person whom he is trying to reach, it could be an arduous task to reach someone. Moreover all extensions in our company can be reached directly from outside by appending a set of 3 digits, so not many people call the operator.

Although from the NJL it is not clear who they tried calling on 10 August (as they used information from the documents provided), my supervisor who had provided the Statutory Declaration was on vacation during that period and he resumed on 13 August.

I can talk to the specific HR team manager who can vouch for my employment and my line manager who can vouch for my day-to-day activities at work and check if they can provide their direct number, email and mobile numbers.

Can you please advise how to proceed with the response as I have 28 days for the same.

Apologize for the long post.

Regards,


----------



## acdabc

hello mark, i'm wondering if you can give me any insight to our current situation. my partner and i met 3.5 months ago. i'm currently an international student. unfortunately i'm not qualified for 485 visa once i graduate and my student visa is expiring in about 2 months. In the 3 months that we started the relationship we always stay over at each other's place and are currently looking for a place to move in together. my question is: 1. we are considering to register our relationship (its available in the state that we live in and we both have lived in that state for >12 months) so that we can apply for 802 visa but: -no joint lease and joint bank account yet -> which we plan to have very soon -my partner has not met my family yet as my family strongly opposed relationship from people not of our culture -however we have hung out with mutual friends and my partners family 2. student visa: i'm considering to further my study here as i am genuinely keen to pursue higher degree as todays employment market is very competitive and i love the field that im studying. however i'm hesitant to take this route because education here cost a lot of money for intl students AND we have to prepare ourselves forr visa and possible agents cost, 3. I go home and apply for PMV visa but this is something that we are very reluctant to do as i come from a country where parents still has a lot of power to their adult children as long as the children has not married yet so it would be very hard for us to meet even if my partner visit as i will be back to be financially dependent on them if i go home so they'll have a lot of power over me.However, even if i get a job back home, moreover the salary in my country is much lower than australia, (whereas in australia i am able to find job that pays reasonable salary), so we would have a bit of hard time in earning and saving money as intl travel cost a lot and we have visa fees to consider not to mention as a lot of ppl here we dont like being away from each other and would like to share our life together. 
4. please let me know any other visa type that you can suggest
Please let me know what you think any advice, share of experience/knowledge would be much appreciated Thanks


----------



## zpat978

Plz help me with

I have a similar question.. plz help. I have got 489 state sponsored from nsw far south coast. I am finding it difficult to get accomadation in fsc.

Can i move to other regional areas of australia like adelaide?

Do i need to get a release letter from fsc? Please help me

If i move to adelaide without letter from fsc will it cause problem when applying for PR?

If i want to get release letter from fsc and stay in adelaide how could i get the letter ?

Thank u so much....



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## MobileStudent

Hi Mark,

Can you please help?
I am going to lodge EOI as an accountant (with 70 points) but still lack some points.

My question is:
1.	My wife has graduated from college as a pre-school teacher. Will she be eligible to claim +5 points with college degree diploma? Note: the college has 3 years of education.
2.	Can she also take NAATI test to claim additional +5 points or does she need to study undegraduate degree before she takes the test?

Thank you for your response


----------



## martinfef

Dear Mark,

I hope you are well. I submitted my 820 visa online application last week and uploaded most of the evidence. Upon uploading evidence of "contact while apart" I notice a small error in my written statement(not statutory declaration) of relationship with my husband.

During one of my visit to Australia, I postponed of my return flight on 27 July 2016 to 04 August 2016. I forgot about it and wrote, "I returned to my home country on 27 July 2016". I have tickets for both bookings and text evidence proves that I returned on 04 August. I was thinking of submitting a form 1023 to fix the error but in the form, three options for where incorrect information provided was on 1) visa application 2)passenger card 3)form1022 Notification of changes in circumstances. There is no option for evidence of visa application. Should I just write a statement about the circumstances and upload it together with a revised statement or should I just do nothing about it as it's not really an important information such as passport number or personal identity detail? 

Secondly, for uploading passport photos online. Is a colour scanned sufficient or do I have to follow the guideline pdf and "use the endorsed Photograph Rear for a back view of the endorsed photo showing the authorised person’s declaration and signature." If yes, I do know an accountant who is a good friend of mine, do I just get her to write my name and sign it or does she need to write a statement about it? 

Thank you in advance Mark!


----------



## martinfef

Dear Mark,

I hope you are well. I submitted my 820 visa online application last week and uploaded most of the evidence. Upon uploading evidence of "contact while apart" I notice a small error in my written statement(not statutory declaration) of relationship with my husband.

During one of my visit to Australia, I postponed of my return flight on 27 July 2016 to 04 August 2016. I forgot about it and wrote, "I returned to my home country on 27 July 2016". I have tickets for both bookings and text evidence proves that I returned on 04 August. I was thinking of submitting a form 1023 to fix the error but in the form, three options for where incorrect information provided was on 1) visa application 2)passenger card 3)form1022 Notification of changes in circumstances. There is no option for evidence of visa application. Should I just write a statement about the circumstances and upload it together with a revised statement or should I just do nothing about it as it's not really an important information such as passport number or personal identity detail? 

Secondly, for uploading passport photos online. Is a colour scanned sufficient or do I have to follow the guideline pdf and "use the endorsed Photograph Rear for a back view of the endorsed photo showing the authorised person’s declaration and signature." If yes, I do know an accountant who is a good friend of mine, do I just get her to write my name and sign it or does she need to write a statement about it? 

Thank you in advance Mark!


----------



## AussieSwiss

Thanks Mark for the reply. Do you think in that case it is worth it to ask for a BVB? Or for her to simply fly out and back in on her visitor visa? Do you foresee any complications since her trip to Europe and back will happen before the visitor visa expires and the BVA kicks in?

Thanks in advance.



MarkNortham said:


> Hi AussieSwiss -
> 
> That sounds correct - the key will be whether DIBP will give her a BVB if she indicates she will be returning prior to the expiration of the visitor visa. They may or may not, I've seen it happen both ways.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## vbastudent

hi mark,

i have tourist visa now in Australia..i had 8534 visa condition so, i went to bali and applied for new student visa and came back to Australia as my tourist visa is still valid until 17september.
as my college starts from 20th September.i haven't got bridging visa as my visa was applied offshore.

can you tell me can i apply for bridging visa E, so that i can stay in Australia to attend college and wait for my visa?
also i have a bio metrics request from immigration can i do that in Australia??

i hope you. ould reply me .

Regards
bazi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gargy -

Thanks for the note. No good way to predict DIBP processing times these days - typically skilled visas (189/190/489) are taking between 4 and 11 months.

Best,

Mark Northam



gargy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm s/w engineer with 10+ yrs of experience. I applied for Australian PR for my family of 3 members (My Spouse, a kid and I).
> 
> 1. My ACS and my spouse ACS was successfully completed in Feb 2017.
> 2. Our PTE exam got cleared in Mar 2017.
> 3. EOI submitted on 14-Mar-2017 with 70 points.
> 4. Invitation received on 15-Mar-2017 for 189 category.
> 5. Visa application submitted and paid fees on 15-Apr-2017 with Medical reports and Police clearance.
> 6. CO contacted me on 5-May-2017 for Spouse PTE score to claim spouse point. I provided information on same day and updated on ImmiAccount website.
> 
> Since then my application is in "Assessment in progress" state. It is more than 4 months now since I submitted my application. Does it take this much time to grant Visa?
> 
> Two of my friends applied last year for same category, and they received grant in a month time. That's why i'm worried about this long waiting time.
> I heard from various sources that due to change in Work Visa 457 process many applications moved to backlog. I also heard that whoever applied since Feb 2017, everyone is waiting for Visa grant. Is it correct?
> Or what do you think can be reason for delay.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hong tran -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately no good way to predict DIBP processing times - we're seeing 186/187 applications taking significantly longer than they did 9-12 months ago, and are seeing cases where even under 186 TRT pathway with an active 457 employer, employers are being asked for far, far more paperwork and documentation than in previous years.

Best,

Mark Northam



Hong tran said:


> Hi Mark
> I applied my visa 186 transaction scheme on 20 of January and July 4 CO ask for information request and another CO ask for information request on 14 July and we provide everything and the status on IMMI account change to assessment in progress so do u known when they will get back to us for nomination thanks Mark


----------



## koenvb

Hi Mark,

Question regarding a 457 visa. 

I have currently a 457 visa still valid according to IMMI. 
I left australia in September 2016 and stopped working for the company. 

Now I was checking and looks like my employer has not cancelled that visa. 
I would maybe go back soon to Australia for a couple of weeks and was wondering what I should do? 

Should I leave it like it is or should I personally cancel the 457 visa and request a tourist visa? ( I am a Belgian citizen) 

Thanks.


----------



## bikmaharjan

*489 to 889*

Hi Everybody,
I have a quary about 489 visa to 887 visa.
As I am living in here in regional area since 2012, i got the bridging visa on January 2016 and got 489 visa on April 2016.
1) In this case can i apply for 887 visa on january 2018(when bridging visa was stated, which makes 2 years of visa period) or wait unit April 2018?

Thanks.


----------



## ham admanedien

Mr. Mark, Good day to you. Thanks for your voluntary efforts through this forum.
My inquiry is related to the required police certificate. I stayed in 2008 for four months in Doha. I know that I don`t need to get PC for this period. However, Do I need evidence to prove that I really spent this time there? something like stamps from Doha airport on the passport? 
I need to claim my stay in Doha. Thus, I will reduce my claimed stay in Syria to less than a year, and consequently, I will not be required to grant PC from Syria, which is so complicated. 
Regards.


----------



## Amaka

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Amaka
about 15 hours ago · #1
Compelling and compassionate reasons 189visa
Please my hubby submitted a 189 visa, we just got an email from immigration saying there is discrepancies with his document and information the HR provided them on phone. Now they asked that he reply in writing showing 
? compelling circumstances that affect the interests of Australia; or
? compassionate or compelling circumstances that affect the interests of an Australian
citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen; to 
justify the grant of the visa.

---please what does this mean? I will love to state that information/document my husband provided them was genuine. Don't know why the discrepancies. Please kindly advise on what this means and what to do. Thanks


----------



## Amaka

Hi Mark, please how can I consult you? Any website I can reach you through. Thanks


----------



## Tarita Moureen

Hi Mark, 
I lodged my application for subsequent entrant visa 500 on 5th May 2017. Did my biometric on 8th May. But didn't click the information provided button after biometric. Is it must to click information provided button after biometric? otherwise will the case officer never check my application. Please Mark help me by clarifying this doubt.


----------



## markw

Amaka said:


> Hi Mark, please how can I consult you? Any website I can reach you through. Thanks


pick one of these

http://mnvisa.com 
[email protected]


----------



## Amaka

markw said:


> Amaka said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Mark, please how can I consult you? Any website I can reach you through. Thanks
> 
> 
> 
> pick one of these
> 
> http://mnvisa.com
> [email protected]
Click to expand...

Thanks Mark, I contacted you already and awaiting further advise from you. Thanks


----------



## loviscek

Hi,
my name is Marco (31 years old, finished high school for trade, have certification as PC repair person, holder of Italian and Croatian citizenship).
I got my Working holiday visa for Australia and will be staying with my relatives (until I get my way around) in Melbourne.
The plan is to come with my girlfriend Ivana (22 years old, Bachelor degree in Logistics and Management in Maritime Industry and Transport, Croatian citizen).
Getting my visa thru Immiaccount was relatively straightforward but with her it’s little more complicated.
We would like to get her more permanent visa (working) but there are so many options that we are not sure what to do.
She doesn’t have sponsorship of any kind, we’re not sure how to even try for one.
We are willing to pay for advice and services to helps us with this obstacle.

If you have any ideas on what to do next or with who to contact, we would be very grateful.


----------



## pharisk

*Help me Mark.*

Hi Mark,

I've recently submitted my EOI under 232111 ARCHITECT with 65 points. I'm just wondering whether will the invitation be considered based on the nominated occupation?

For example, if i'm the highest ranking EOI under the nominated occupation, will I have a higher chance of getting an invitation than someone with the same point as me but have more higher EOIs than him/her under his/her nominated occupation.

I've heard that it is based on the nominated occupation but for the first 3 rounds of 2017-2018, the invitations are only for 70 points and above.So i'm wondering whether they have changed their policy for this year to invite without considering the occupation.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## victor56

Hi Mark N.
common query, since 10/16 after my filed 187 ENS visa i heard nothing from immi, i gone thru immi website, the time will reflecting 14-15months. Do you reckon i need to be more patient and still wait for long? Another one i got 1 year medicare , do i need to apply it again ??
Thanks


----------



## Smile

Hello Mark,
Please help me.
My issue is a complex one.

I was on a student visa 574 (dependant on my husband) in 2014 - 02/2015. I had an accident in my home country before coming to Australia. 
Meanwhile, while I was still in my country, my husband applied for a visa extension and could not include my name because the online application form for extension declined the addition of my name since I was not in the country at that time.

After I came to Australia towards the ending of 2014, he received a message from Dibp saying his visa application was refused due to him not complying with an email sent to him. But there was no mail sent to him then he appealed to MRT and won. His extension was granted after being on bridging visa A for about 11 months.
I had to apply for my own extension separately because he already had a pending case with MRT. After i applied, it was refused on the ground that my name was not included in his visa extension application and at the time of application he had no substantive visa.
The Lawyer we contacted advised that we appeal to MRT and that if he gets his visa, mine will be updated too.

But MRT decision turned out differently. I was told to apply from offshore since he did not include my name in his application. And that is the law.

Now the challenge started after the MRT decision because I could not travel. I had a frame on my leg due my accident. As a matter of fact I was undergoing surgeries for my leg and taking treatments throughout my stay in Australia. I had 9 surgeries in Australia from 08/2015-05/2017.
The MRT referred me to the minister for intervention because he said it's the Minister that can overrule the law in my case.
I was advised to leave the country or go for a BV within 28 days before the bridging visa A I have expires since my case was referred to the Minister. So i called CSRS and they came to my house because I couldn't go to their office due to my health. I kept renewing my BVe untill the Minister's decision came and it was negative also. So I had to leave before the BVe I had expired and that was about 4 weeks after my last surgery in May.
Now I don't know if I have a ban, I wish to apply as a subsequent entrant because my husband has 457 working visa now.
We have really been through a lot and our separation now is causing a lot of hardship to us and also impacting on my health. I don't know what do.
Please advise me.
Thank you.


----------



## zpat978

Hello Mark,

Thanks in Advance.. Please help me with the below query 

I have got 489 state sponsored from nsw far south coast. I am finding it difficult to get accomadation in fsc.

Can i move to other regional areas of australia like adelaide?

Do i need to get a release letter from fsc? Please help me

If i move to adelaide without letter from fsc will it cause problem when applying for PR?

If i want to get release letter from fsc and stay in adelaide how could i get the letter ?


----------



## Isuru92

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Kinley ZD

Hello Sir,
I would like to seek some advice from you with regard to my brother's student visa being refused...when i went through the decision made i came across that the visa got rejected mainly due to insufficient information provided in the statement of purpose(SOP)...now i want to reapply for my brother's student visa again...in this case i would like to seek some advice on how to go about..is it ok to reapply again by processing with new SOP(including all the information on which the visa was rejected)... plz. advice me on it..i really need ur help...thank you...


----------



## er.shabeer87

*IELTS Remarking-Speaking*

Dear All,

I am confused. I received my IELTS test result today (Test Date : 19 Aug 17). I am repeatedly losing for 0.5 marks in any of the sections.

Listening:	8.5 | Reading:	7.5 | Writing:	7.0 | Speaking:6.5 | Overall:	7.5

Is it a wise decision to remark. Can i get 7 for speaking? What is the success rate??

Please find below my previous scores.

*Dec 2016*

Listening:	8.0 | Reading:	7.0 | Writing:	7.0 | Speaking:6.5 | Overall:	7.0

*May 2015*

Listening:	8.5 | Reading:	7.0 | Writing:	6.0 | Speaking:7.5 | Overall:	7.5


----------



## Isuru92

Hello Mark,

I have got a few Questions.

1.Is everyone required to fill form 80?
2. I lost my last old passport around 6 years ago and currently have only the number and issued date, I would not be able to give the dates of my travel history during that time, so when I'm filling form 80, should I just mention the travel history from my current passport?

At best I would be able to give the months of my visits to the countries, that too I might miss a few of those because I have mutipile visits to a some of those countries.

So will it be alright if I mention all the countries I have visited with rough estimated months of visiting and will the DIBP be understanding if I missed out on a couple of visits to the same country/countries.

thank you


----------



## Julian73

Good day Mark and thank you for your limitless effort to help others.
I'm in a relationship with Australian man that I meet in Sydney after 6 months of chatting. I have a few concerns of how his previous de facto relationship will affect his sponsorship with me. In 2014, he has a relationship with a Thai lady and he brought her to Australia in a defacto visa. Unfortunately, their relationship breaks down after the lady had temporary visa that will expired this November. He said his ex has kidney failure and will not get permanent visa. They also have a young baby which was under his custody after court hearing. 
Is he under limitation of sponsorship for 5 years or can be exempt due to the fact that her ex doesn't have successful permanent visa and he has his child with him?


----------



## Hope98

Hello Mark,
I overstayed my US visitor visa by three months. However, I was married to a US citizen before my visa was expired and we were planning to adjust my status to a permanent resident. But he started being abusive and threatened to kill me several times because of which I came back to my country. I have self petitioned for permanent residency to the US under VAWA but processing time is too long and I don't want to waste my time, so I would like to apply for a student visa to Australia. Are there any chances of my student visa getting denied based on my overstay of the US visa? When submitting the application, do I have to disclose my pending immigrant visa to the US?


----------



## tessaf

Hi Mark, 

My partner is from Brazil and we applied for our partner visa 1 year ago. Unfortunately his student visa is overriding his BVA until the end of the year. He is had major issues with his "school" and made a complaint with ASQA. Nothing eventuated but now they are making his ife very difficult and we are worried they could do something to jeopardise our partner visa. Would immigration ever contact the school when investigating the partner visa? He is worried they could say or do something.

Regards,
Tessa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Spakajewia -

Thanks for the questions. Generally for the 457 visa you'll need to satisfy the ANZSCO entry level requirements for the occupation which you can learn more about at Search | Anzscosearch - normally it's either 3 or 5 years experience (verified with work references) or the minimum educational qualification (usually a Bachelor degree, but sometimes less).

Best,

Mark Northam



spakajewia said:


> Hi Mark:
> 
> I am in the process of submitting my 457 application. I received by TRN the other day and I have a couple of questions.
> 
> First, what specifically is required for the professional reference? The position I am applying for is Engineering Manager. Do I need references from employers for the previous five years? If so, do those references need to talk about what a great employee I am, or simply state that I have completed work at their organization demonstrating the experience required to qualify? For that position, is a simple educational experience sufficient? (see info at the bottom)
> 
> If I do need these references, do you recommend that I wait to submit my entire application until those are received or should I submit the application with the other information I have, and upload those references as they become available?
> 
> Lastly, my wife has an abnormality show up in a chest X-ray. She received a blood test for TB that came back negative in late 2015. Do you think this will slow down the visa application timeline? We're US citizens and based in the US. Do you think she'll need a health assessment, and if so, should we start on that now? Should I submit the test results (showing negative TB blood test) as an attachment to the application or wait until the officer asks?
> 
> Below is info from ANZSCO about my position; again, my question is if transcripts and diplomas are enough or do I need references from employers?
> 
> UNIT GROUP 1332 ENGINEERING MANAGERS
> 
> ENGINEERING MANAGERS plan, organise, direct, control and coordinate the engineering and technical operations of organisations.
> Indicative Skill Level:
> In Australia and New Zealand:
> 
> Most occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. At least five years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualification. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification (ANZSCO Skill Level 1).
> 
> Tasks Include:
> determining, implementing and monitoring engineering strategies, policies and plans
> interpreting plans, drawings and specifications, and providing advice on engineering methods and procedures to achieve construction and production requirements
> establishing project schedules and budgets
> ensuring conformity with specifications and plans, and with laws, regulations and safety standards
> ensuring engineering standards of quality, cost, safety, timeliness and performance are observed
> overseeing maintenance requirements to optimise efficiency
> liaising with marketing, research and manufacturing managers regarding engineering aspects of new construction and product design
> may contribute to research and development projects
> 
> Occupation:
> 133211 Engineering Manager
> 
> 133211 ENGINEERING MANAGER
> 
> Plans, organises, directs, controls and coordinates the engineering and technical operations of an organisation.
> Skill Level: 1


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Spakajewia -

Thanks for the question. For online 457 applications, nothing needs to be notarisied or witnessed if you are uploading colour scans of original documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



spakajewia said:


> Hi Mark:
> 
> A couple other quick questions re: a 457 visa for myself, my wife, and our young son. What needs to be notarized? Only the copy of my passport or other identifying information -- birth certificates; drivers license, marriage licenses, etc? Should I submit copies of the drivers license and information? Do those need to be notarized copies?
> 
> Thank you!!!
> thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phil -

Thanks for the note. I can't give specific advice without knowing a lot more about your case, but purely based on the living together scenario and relationship evidence, I think a 300 PMV could be a better choice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



philcouturier said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My girlfriend (27) and I (24) are looking into immigration options so we that we may both live together in Australia. We are looking at either a subclass 300 (prospective marriage) or the subclass 309/100 but are unsure which is our best option.
> 
> I am Canadian and she is Australian, and we have been in a relationship together for four years. We met in Canada, and spent the first year and a half of our relationship living together in Canada. I then applied for a subclass 417 working holiday visa and we lived in Australia together for 9 months. We then returned to Canada. My girlfriend had to return to Australia to pursue school in Feb 2017, and I am currently doing the same in Canada.
> 
> The reason we are unsure of which visa to apply for, is that we do not have very much evidence supporting the fact that we lived together for all that time. We received housing through our work, and thus do not have a lease agreement with our names on it, or joint bills. We also have never had a joint bank account. Other than photos and friends testimonies, we don't have much to support our relationship.
> 
> My question is, should we then apply for the subclass 300, due to the fact that there is less evidence needed, and also because we have been separated for the last 6 months?
> 
> Thanks so much in advance,
> 
> Phil


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ham -

Thanks for the note. Hard to say for sure, as some people are happy with state nomination and believe they will get an invitation more quickly there. I think the states are happy to get people with 60+ points and I have not seen an example of where high points actually penalised a person for a 190.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ham admanedien said:


> Dear Mark. Good day.
> Regarding those high pointers applicants who lodge their EOI for both 190 and 189 visa. Is it more likely to get their invitation upon 189 or 190?
> I am 55 pointer (civil engineer) and I do not want to think that NSW would give nomination for those who have +60, because they can secure their 189 easily.
> What do you think of that ?
> Thanks and regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skharoon -

The area of 489 secondary applicants becoming 887 primary applicants works in theory, but there are a lot of finer points to consider to make sure that your scenario will work.

Would need to discuss this in more detail with you at a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case as the regulations in this area can be complex - please see my website below for more info and to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



skharoon said:


> My Question are related to 489 to 887:
> 
> 1- Dependents and partners who hold a skilled visa (489) and meet all other eligibility criteria can apply for this subclass 887 visa as the main applicant.
> 
> 2- All other applicants which were included in the 489 in the beginning need not meet the minimum living in the area requirement for secondary applicants for an 887 visa.
> 
> I have child who has 18 years of age as a secondary applicant for 489. I can visit along with my family first time and later move to oversea and my child stay alone for study and work to meet the 887 requirements.
> 
> At the time of 887 application I can joint him and can he become the primary applicant for 887?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lucky -

Thanks for the note. The number of years ACS deducts depends on the specific degree you have (assuming you are not doing the RPL pathway at ACS) - no way to predict how ACS will treat any particular degree. See https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/acs-skills/Summary of Criteria - 2017.pdf for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



lakhwinder said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Just wanted to know in which case ACS deducts 2 years of experience as a part of On Job Training for Software Engineers.
> 
> In my case, I have a full time degree in "Masters of Computer Applications" which is equivalent to Masters of Computers in Australia.
> 
> I look forward to hear from you.
> 
> Have a good day.
> 
> Cheers
> Lucky


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ermpradhan -

Thanks for the note. Sorry, but your situation is way too complex to answer with a quick response here on the forum - there are many moving parts and ifs/ands/buts and the regulations between DIBP and the skills assessors is complete. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see my website below in my signature for more information or to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



ermpradhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are doing well. Please help me overcome the situation.
> I have done my wife ACS with positive result for 261312 - Developer Programmer ,IELTS with 7 in all band. We are planning for the 189 , so I have also applied for the ACS with 261112 - Systems Analysts , Both are on the Medium and Long‑term Strategic Skills List as we can able to claim the partner points , but unfortunately I got the ACS mentioning that :-
> 
> The assessor has made a recommendation that your application is suitable for the following ANZSCO codes:
> 
> 262111 (Database Administrator)
> 
> as there is no other option for me rather continuing as recommendation. Now the problem is my wife skill is from MLTSSL and my skill is going under category STSOL. My wife can go for 189 but i can't ,I have not yet appear PTE/IELTS, post that I have the option for 190 but we are not planning for the 190.
> 
> Please suggest and help how to proceed further now.My doubt are like :-
> 1. As my wife points are 65 for 189 , is it a good idea to submit EOI of my wife Now as a primary applicant and latter add me as dependent post completing my PTE/IELTS
> OR
> 2. After my PTE/IELTS , we will submit EOI of my wife as a primary applicant and add me as dependent.
> 
> 3.Though I will have the ACS completed post PTE/IELTS, I think we can't be able to claim partner's points.
> 
> 4. Is there any way I can be added as dependent with out appearing IELTS/PTE as we will not be able to claim partner's point.
> 
> Please suggest the best possible way to deal the situation.
> 
> Regards
> Milan Pradhan


----------



## MarkNortham

hi Furrycatty -

As far as I know, the secondary visa holder must have OSHC insurance, but I don't know of any requirement that it be a "couple" - ie, that he/she can't have their own standalone OSHC policy. I expect this is more of a question/issue for the insurance companies - are they willing to issue a standalone policy to a partner? If they were, I don't know how they could charge so much for a couple policy....?

Best,

Mark Northam



Furrycatty said:


> Hi Mark! I would want to bring my partner here with me in oz but my oshc provider is asking for too much to convert to couple, around 10k aud while single is only around 1,2k aud. Any insights on this? Is it necessary to apply for couple or can I just buy another single oshc cover for him?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Markusmm -

Thanks for the note. Yes it's possible to apply to change a granted but unactivated BVA to a BVB - this helps in situations where a substantive visa that the person held upon departure will expire prior to re-entering Australia. However if the student visa is cancelled, it automatically cancels ALL other visas the person holds, including bridging visa(s), so if the student visa is cancelled when you are offshore, you may be stranded there unless you can get a visitor etc visa to re-enter. What's worse, you must be in Australia in order to be granted the 485 as the primary applicant for the 485.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



markusmm said:


> Dear Mark,
> I finished my degree 2 months ago (my student visa is valid until late 2018), and am about to submit a 485 application. Immediately afterwards (on the day after submitting the application, that is), I plan to travel overseas to attend a family wedding for 3 weeks. I have called Immigration a few times and unfortunately am not much smarter regarding the right course of action. I understand that applying for the 485 visa will grant me a BVA that is inactive until my student visa is cancelled or the 485 is granted. If the cancellation occurs/the 485 is granted while I am overseas, I assume that I am pinched? Can I apply for BVB while my BVA is inactive? I understand I need to be onshore when the BVB is granted.
> Thank you for your help, much appreciated!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vipsfrom india -

If you did the My Health Declarations to do a medical in advance of lodging a visa application, then you can mention the HAP ID on the visa application and would suggest you get your medicals done prior to the visa application being lodged - then note that in the visa application. No need to upload any medical documents - results are generally sent electronically by the medical facility to DIBP - the HAP ID links them to the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vipsfromindia said:


> Hello Mark,
> Thank you for being open to receive questions.
> 
> I received state sponsorship approval on 17th August 2017. On 18th, I filled up the emedical form in immi account. I have my HAP ID now.
> 
> I assume, once we apply for the visa, the case officer will be assigned a couple of weeks later. Meanwhile, I will get our medicals done.
> I have 3 choices and I need your help.
> 
> In the visa application, under medicals, there is a question whether I have done medicals in last 12 months.
> 1. Do I just mention the HAP ID and select YES since when my case officer will check the file, he will have the medical report already?
> 2. Select NO and apply? Later, update the medical documents?
> 3. Get the medical done first and only than apply with HAP ID and medical results?
> 
> Your help will be highly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rmpatel -

Thanks for the note. For the 187, the regulations require you to make a "genuine effort" to complete the 2 year employment commitment. If you do not complete the 2 year commitment, DIBP may take a close look at your circumstances and in some cases they will consider cancellation of the visa. Suggest you make sure you have everything in writing, especially the request of the business of you to resign. Document everything! Then wait to see if DIBP asks. In the meantime, suggest you try to find other employment in a regional area to complete the balance of your 2 year commitment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rmpatel said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently holding 187 RSMS. I was working with my employer before she sold her business. 2 days after she sold her business, I gave resignation because they asked me to put resignation on the ground of, they need new full time staff. So I am wondering that does it impact on my visa because I gave the resignation? Secondly, few days back me and my employer got call from someone from Immigration and he was asking about where am I working, how far is the workplace and what are the duties I am doing with the employer. We didn't tell him that employer has sold the business and I am not working with her. He said the call is just about the survey of RSMS program. Plz note that he didn't ask me about my personal information. Plz advise am I safe in this situation? Looking for your reply. Thanks again Mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gargy -

We're seeing lots of delays in 457, 186, 187 and 189/190/489 - no good way to predict how long the delay will be - not everyone is being delayed, but many are as processing times are getting blown out longer for these visas in many cases.

Best,

Mark Northam



gargy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for 189 skilled visa (software engineers) in Apr 2017 for my family (spouse, a kid and I)
> 1. Our ACS was done in Feb 2017.
> 2. PTE was cleared in March 2017.
> 3. Submitted EOI on 13 March 2017 with 70 points.
> 4. Received invitation for 189 category on 15 Mar.
> 5. Submitted application on Apr 15 with fees payments, medical reports and police clearance.
> 6. CO contacted me on 5 May asking PTE report for claiming spouse points. I provided the information on same day and updated the application site as "Information Provided"
> 7. Since them I'm waiting for Visa grant. It has been more than 4 months now.
> 
> I heard from different sources that due to change in 457 work visa policy applications are getting delayed to grant visa. I also heard from few agencies that people who applied after Feb 2017, everyone is waiting for visa grant.
> 
> I remember last years 2 of my friends got visa grant within a month after applying. I'm a little worried now.
> Do you have such information on delay. And what could be possible reason for delay. How much time does it takes for 189 visa grant.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chix_zyren -

Hard to me to comment specifically on your case, but generally speaking only being together 8 weeks in the year prior to applying for a partner visa may raise questions at DIBP. Suggest you send lots of evidence of your communications while apart, and lots of documentation why you were not able to be together for more time during that period.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chix_zyren said:


> Im sorry but i cant open your message mark.Maybe i can read it through here.Thanks and i appreciate your help so much.Again....below
> I have applied and submitted my 309/100.now waiting for Co advise for medical and Pr. My concern is that,i've heard some visa rejection issues.My husband and i met online march 2016 became a couple a month after ,and in a long distance relationship.weve met physically oct 2016 in uae he was here for 15days and proposed to me immediately.then back to long distance way of relationship.after 6 months we go home philippines to get married. Now his back to brisbane im back to uae.can u let me know.weve been together physically for a total of 8weeks and about a year of long dstance.do u think we have a chances of rejection?
> Thanks a lot for your reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vivi -

Thanks for the note. Your student visa is at risk of cancellation as you ended your study quite early, however it's up to DIBP and their discretion as to if/when the student visa may be cancelled. You could protect yourself by enrolling in another course, but hard to advise on your specific case without much more info. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see my website below in my signature for more information or to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



Weiweigao1230 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have seen your replies regarding to the partner visa. I have a question myself hoping you could help.
> I applied for the partner visa this January, my student visa expires next year 03/18, but the question is I'm on a awkward position which I completed my degree on April. So at the moment I am still on my student visa but has nothing left to study (I went overseas twice during April-July,more than a month each time), and looks like my student visa is still active.
> My question is: do I have to take another short course or do I cancel my student visa and apply for BVE(looks like this is the worst choice), or which visa should I apply that has full work rights and travel rights?
> 
> Thank you so much for your help!
> Vivi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Montrealer -

Assuming the rules don't change between now and next year, you're correct - the 820/801 is a combined application however. The BVA will activate when you stay in Australia past the maximum stay period (often 3 months) on your visitor visa. Once the BVA activates, you have full work and study rights and Medicare access.

That being said, DIBP is trying to make huge changes in the partner visa program which could negatively impact your plans - suggest you keep up to date with their changes.

Montreal is a beautiful city - I have only seen pictures, but grew up in Maine (USA) where many of my friends made trips to Montreal.

Best,

Mark Northam



montrealer said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am planning to get married next year. What I would like to have clarified is in relation to work rights. I will be on a tourist visa, then get married and apply for my 820 visa. With a BVA, will I have working rights and access to medicare while I wait for the approval of the 820 so I can apply for the 801? So much info on net but kinda confused.
> 
> Warm regards from Montreal.
> 
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pkk0574 -

Suggest you get a professional assessment of the chances of successfully overcoming the PIC 4020 allegations - very serious business with the penalty of a 3-year ban from Australia hanging in the balance. I'd be happy to assist at a consultation (see website below) or you could find another immi lawyer or migration agent - but make sure whoever you consult with is VERY familiar with the PIC 4020 area of the law and how it affects visa applications and related processes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pkk0574 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I just joined the forum and this is my first post. Hope you are doing well.
> 
> I lodged my visa on 22-Apr-2017 and on 22-Aug-2017, I received a NJL stating that the AHC in Dubai tried to contact my current employer twice, once in June 2017 and again in August 2017. They used information from the set of documents I had uploaded at the time of visa lodge. These were appraisal letters, salary letter, Statutory Declaration by my immediate supervisor, contract and evidence of pay.
> 
> On 14th June, they searched the web, found a number allocated to the company and called it. An operator answered and transferred them to another line and there was no response.
> 
> On 10th August, they made several attempts to call the number provided on the supporting documents and there was no success. They found another phone number online, but that was disconnected. They emailed to a generic address that was listed on the website, but did not hear back.
> 
> Actually the numbers listed on the website and the company letterheads connects to the reception/operator. Ours is a very large organization and unless the caller is very specific of the person whom he is trying to reach, it could be an arduous task to reach someone. Moreover all extensions in our company can be reached directly from outside by appending a set of 3 digits, so not many people call the operator.
> 
> Although from the NJL it is not clear who they tried calling on 10 August (as they used information from the documents provided), my supervisor who had provided the Statutory Declaration was on vacation during that period and he resumed on 13 August.
> 
> I can talk to the specific HR team manager who can vouch for my employment and my line manager who can vouch for my day-to-day activities at work and check if they can provide their direct number, email and mobile numbers.
> 
> Can you please advise how to proceed with the response as I have 28 days for the same.
> 
> Apologize for the long post.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Acdabc -

Thanks for the note. Without living together and with such a short relationship, I would have serious concerns about whether you would be able to demonstrate a genuine de facto partner relationship for a partner visa. PMV (subclass 300) seems like a better fit given the length of the relationship, but I understand your concerns re: going home. Note that you need to be outside Australia at application and grant time for the 300, but you do not necessarily need to be in your home country for any of it - another country would do if you could stay there. I would look at just how much relationship evidence you realistically will be able to put together in the short time you have. Also the lack of evidence from your family will not help matters re: assessment of whether the relationship is genuine or not, so yet another reason for more evidence, or managing a way to remain in Australia longer (perhaps another student visa?) to let the relationship grow prior to lodging a partner visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



acdabc said:


> hello mark, i'm wondering if you can give me any insight to our current situation. my partner and i met 3.5 months ago. i'm currently an international student. unfortunately i'm not qualified for 485 visa once i graduate and my student visa is expiring in about 2 months. In the 3 months that we started the relationship we always stay over at each other's place and are currently looking for a place to move in together. my question is: 1. we are considering to register our relationship (its available in the state that we live in and we both have lived in that state for >12 months) so that we can apply for 802 visa but: -no joint lease and joint bank account yet -> which we plan to have very soon -my partner has not met my family yet as my family strongly opposed relationship from people not of our culture -however we have hung out with mutual friends and my partners family 2. student visa: i'm considering to further my study here as i am genuinely keen to pursue higher degree as todays employment market is very competitive and i love the field that im studying. however i'm hesitant to take this route because education here cost a lot of money for intl students AND we have to prepare ourselves forr visa and possible agents cost, 3. I go home and apply for PMV visa but this is something that we are very reluctant to do as i come from a country where parents still has a lot of power to their adult children as long as the children has not married yet so it would be very hard for us to meet even if my partner visit as i will be back to be financially dependent on them if i go home so they'll have a lot of power over me.However, even if i get a job back home, moreover the salary in my country is much lower than australia, (whereas in australia i am able to find job that pays reasonable salary), so we would have a bit of hard time in earning and saving money as intl travel cost a lot and we have visa fees to consider not to mention as a lot of ppl here we dont like being away from each other and would like to share our life together.
> 4. please let me know any other visa type that you can suggest
> Please let me know what you think any advice, share of experience/knowledge would be much appreciated Thanks


----------



## pak-aus

hi folkss... i like it


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi zpat978 -

Thanks for the question. Many states will grant a release letter if you provide evidence of a good faith job search in that regional area that has been unsuccessful. I suggest you get this letter if at all possible, as it would then be good evidence in case there was any sort of claim later on either at PR or citizenship time that you breached the conditions of the visa. The visa condition itself actually only says that you must live/work/study in "a" designated area, but doesn't say which one. However good sense would indicate trying to get a release letter, as this would show you did not breach the agreement you had with the sponsoring state.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zpat978 said:


> Plz help me with
> 
> I have a similar question.. plz help. I have got 489 state sponsored from nsw far south coast. I am finding it difficult to get accomadation in fsc.
> 
> Can i move to other regional areas of australia like adelaide?
> 
> Do i need to get a release letter from fsc? Please help me
> 
> If i move to adelaide without letter from fsc will it cause problem when applying for PR?
> 
> If i want to get release letter from fsc and stay in adelaide how could i get the letter ?
> 
> Thank u so much....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MobileStudent -

Thanks for the note. To get the 5 partner points, your partner must have Competent English (IELTS 6 or better on each band or equivalent approved test), meet the age limit (under 45), and must have a full skills assessment for an occupation on the same list as yours. You'll need to check the skills assessor for her occupation for educational and any work experience requirements. Re NAATI, check with them for specific requirements - you're looking to be qualified as a "para-professional" or higher.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MobileStudent said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Can you please help?
> I am going to lodge EOI as an accountant (with 70 points) but still lack some points.
> 
> My question is:
> 1.	My wife has graduated from college as a pre-school teacher. Will she be eligible to claim +5 points with college degree diploma? Note: the college has 3 years of education.
> 2.	Can she also take NAATI test to claim additional +5 points or does she need to study undegraduate degree before she takes the test?
> 
> Thank you for your response


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martinfef -

Thanks for the questions. Re correcting the date of the return flight, I'd upload a statement or letter that corrects the mistake - that should be fine since the information was not "on a visa application" (form). Re passport photos, no need for names on the back, signatures, etc - a colour scan of a passport photo is fine for online applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



martinfef said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I hope you are well. I submitted my 820 visa online application last week and uploaded most of the evidence. Upon uploading evidence of "contact while apart" I notice a small error in my written statement(not statutory declaration) of relationship with my husband.
> 
> During one of my visit to Australia, I postponed of my return flight on 27 July 2016 to 04 August 2016. I forgot about it and wrote, "I returned to my home country on 27 July 2016". I have tickets for both bookings and text evidence proves that I returned on 04 August. I was thinking of submitting a form 1023 to fix the error but in the form, three options for where incorrect information provided was on 1) visa application 2)passenger card 3)form1022 Notification of changes in circumstances. There is no option for evidence of visa application. Should I just write a statement about the circumstances and upload it together with a revised statement or should I just do nothing about it as it's not really an important information such as passport number or personal identity detail?
> 
> Secondly, for uploading passport photos online. Is a colour scanned sufficient or do I have to follow the guideline pdf and "use the endorsed Photograph Rear for a back view of the endorsed photo showing the authorised person's declaration and signature." If yes, I do know an accountant who is a good friend of mine, do I just get her to write my name and sign it or does she need to write a statement about it?
> 
> Thank you in advance Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AussieSwiss -

The primary benefit of the BVB would be that, if granted, it would likely avoid any "genuine visitor" issues of being readmitted on the visitor visa, ie too much time spent in Australia in last 12 months, entering Australia for non-visitor purposes (ie, to continue residency), etc. No good way to predict to what extent there might or might not be issues upon re-entry. Also, if she ends up unexpectedly staying overseas past the end of the visitor visa, she would have no way to get back in other than either the BVB or another visitor visa (if granted).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AussieSwiss said:


> Thanks Mark for the reply. Do you think in that case it is worth it to ask for a BVB? Or for her to simply fly out and back in on her visitor visa? Do you foresee any complications since her trip to Europe and back will happen before the visitor visa expires and the BVA kicks in?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bazi -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately an offshore student visa application does not provide a bridging visa, so you would not be able to get a bridging visa from that application. It is possible that DIBP may give you a Bridging Visa E to allow you to wait onshore, but you'd have to see whether they would be willing to do that or not - it would likely be within the discretion of the case officer re BVE. You'd also have to get study rights added to the BVE in order to study while holding the BVE.

Re biometrics, yes you can do that in Australia but sometimes it's an admin hassle getting your results linked to your offshore application, I'd contact your local DIBP office and find out if/how you can provide biometrics there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vbastudent said:


> hi mark,
> 
> i have tourist visa now in Australia..i had 8534 visa condition so, i went to bali and applied for new student visa and came back to Australia as my tourist visa is still valid until 17september.
> as my college starts from 20th September.i haven't got bridging visa as my visa was applied offshore.
> 
> can you tell me can i apply for bridging visa E, so that i can stay in Australia to attend college and wait for my visa?
> also i have a bio metrics request from immigration can i do that in Australia??
> 
> i hope you. ould reply me .
> 
> Regards
> bazi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Koenvb -

Thanks for the note. No need to cancel the 457, as a new visitor visa would simply replace the 457. I would consider applying for a new visitor visa - DIBP may ask why you need this, and you can then advise them of the situation with the 457. If you were to attempt to re-enter on the 457 and were stopped at the airport, it could be a problem as they could in theory cancel the 457 on the spot if you were found to be in breach of it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



koenvb said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Question regarding a 457 visa.
> 
> I have currently a 457 visa still valid according to IMMI.
> I left australia in September 2016 and stopped working for the company.
> 
> Now I was checking and looks like my employer has not cancelled that visa.
> I would maybe go back soon to Australia for a couple of weeks and was wondering what I should do?
> 
> Should I leave it like it is or should I personally cancel the 457 visa and request a tourist visa? ( I am a Belgian citizen)
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bikmaharjan -

Great question. While time living in a regional area on a bridging visa waiting for the 489 can be used towards the 2 years living / 1 year working requirement, you are still required to have held the 489 visa for 2 years before applying for the 887, so you would not be able to apply for the 887 until 2 years after the day you were granted the 489.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bikmaharjan said:


> Hi Everybody,
> I have a quary about 489 visa to 887 visa.
> As I am living in here in regional area since 2012, i got the bridging visa on January 2016 and got 489 visa on April 2016.
> 1) In this case can i apply for 887 visa on january 2018(when bridging visa was stated, which makes 2 years of visa period) or wait unit April 2018?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ham -

Generally you are not required to show evidence that you visited a particular country for the time claimed. If DIBP asks about any specific trips claimed as visits, you could always send them the passport stamps or other evidence at that point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ham admanedien said:


> Mr. Mark, Good day to you. Thanks for your voluntary efforts through this forum.
> My inquiry is related to the required police certificate. I stayed in 2008 for four months in Doha. I know that I don`t need to get PC for this period. However, Do I need evidence to prove that I really spent this time there? something like stamps from Doha airport on the passport?
> I need to claim my stay in Doha. Thus, I will reduce my claimed stay in Syria to less than a year, and consequently, I will not be required to grant PC from Syria, which is so complicated.
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amaka -

Thanks for the note. This likely means he has allegations made against him by the immigration dept (DIBP) that he has provided false or misleading information as part of the application, or has provided a bogus document. These provisions under PIC 4020 regulations are very serious and if he is refused the visa as a result, he will have a 3 year ban period from Australia.

Suggest you get a professional assessment of the chances of beating the allegations and possible options, then decide what you want to do re fighting the allegations or withdrawing the visa application to avoid a PIC 4020 refusal. My website is listed below in my signature if you'd like to book a consultation, or there are other migration agents/migration lawyers who can help - just make sure whoever you deal with has lots of good experience with PIC 4020 cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Amaka said:


> Amaka
> about 15 hours ago · #1
> Compelling and compassionate reasons 189visa
> Please my hubby submitted a 189 visa, we just got an email from immigration saying there is discrepancies with his document and information the HR provided them on phone. Now they asked that he reply in writing showing
> ? compelling circumstances that affect the interests of Australia; or
> ? compassionate or compelling circumstances that affect the interests of an Australian
> citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen; to
> justify the grant of the visa.
> 
> ---please what does this mean? I will love to state that information/document my husband provided them was genuine. Don't know why the discrepancies. Please kindly advise on what this means and what to do. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amaka -

Yes - please see my website and email below in my signature.

Best,

Mark Northam



Amaka said:


> Hi Mark, please how can I consult you? Any website I can reach you through. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tarita -

Great question. The "Information Provided" button is a signal to DIBP that you have provided all the information/documents/etc that you intend to provide in response to whatever type of request they sent you. However not clicking the button does not extend the deadline to provide the information, and does not prevent DIBP from further processing your application and evidence once the deadline has been reached, even if you do not click the button.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tarita Moureen said:


> Hi Mark,
> I lodged my application for subsequent entrant visa 500 on 5th May 2017. Did my biometric on 8th May. But didn't click the information provided button after biometric. Is it must to click information provided button after biometric? otherwise will the case officer never check my application. Please Mark help me by clarifying this doubt.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marco -

Thanks for the note. I'd be happy to work with you and your girlfriend in a consultation to go through her work and education experience to see what different visa(s) might be a good fit - please see more info on consultations on my website which is listed below in my signature.

Best,

Mark Northam



loviscek said:


> Hi,
> my name is Marco (31 years old, finished high school for trade, have certification as PC repair person, holder of Italian and Croatian citizenship).
> I got my Working holiday visa for Australia and will be staying with my relatives (until I get my way around) in Melbourne.
> The plan is to come with my girlfriend Ivana (22 years old, Bachelor degree in Logistics and Management in Maritime Industry and Transport, Croatian citizen).
> Getting my visa thru Immiaccount was relatively straightforward but with her it's little more complicated.
> We would like to get her more permanent visa (working) but there are so many options that we are not sure what to do.
> She doesn't have sponsorship of any kind, we're not sure how to even try for one.
> We are willing to pay for advice and services to helps us with this obstacle.
> 
> If you have any ideas on what to do next or with who to contact, we would be very grateful.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pharisk -

Thanks for the note. Occupation has everything to do with points value and getting an invitation - currently Architect is not subject to limit controls as some high-demand occupations are (ie, Accountant) so you will be considered along with any other applicants for occupations beginning with 2321. DIBP does not publish point values other than for pro-rata occupations (Accountant, etc) so not sure where you're getting information re point values for Architect, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pharisk said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've recently submitted my EOI under 232111 ARCHITECT with 65 points. I'm just wondering whether will the invitation be considered based on the nominated occupation?
> 
> For example, if i'm the highest ranking EOI under the nominated occupation, will I have a higher chance of getting an invitation than someone with the same point as me but have more higher EOIs than him/her under his/her nominated occupation.
> 
> I've heard that it is based on the nominated occupation but for the first 3 rounds of 2017-2018, the invitations are only for 70 points and above.So i'm wondering whether they have changed their policy for this year to invite without considering the occupation.
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Victor56 -

186 (ENS) and 187 (RSMS) visas are subject to a lot of delays these days - I'd be patient. Since you have a PR visa application pending, you should be able to renew your Medicare for as long as it takes for the application to be processed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



victor56 said:


> Hi Mark N.
> common query, since 10/16 after my filed 187 ENS visa i heard nothing from immi, i gone thru immi website, the time will reflecting 14-15months. Do you reckon i need to be more patient and still wait for long? Another one i got 1 year medicare , do i need to apply it again ??
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Smile -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the health issues. If you have had more than 1 BVE, then it's likely you have a 3-year exclusion period in place due to part 4014 of Schedule 4 beginning when you depart Australia on all temporary visas which would include student, visitor and 457 visas. There is a waiver option to avoid the ban for a visa application if you can show compelling or compassionate reasons affecting Australia or an Australian citizen or permanent resident or eligible NZ citizen. Sometimes the interests of the 457 employer can work for this, but all depends on the circumstances.

Would be happy to discuss your case in detail at a consultation where we could work out what the options/chances are for getting a waiver of the 3 year exclusion period - please see my website below in my signature for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Smile said:


> Hello Mark,
> Please help me.
> My issue is a complex one.
> 
> I was on a student visa 574 (dependant on my husband) in 2014 - 02/2015. I had an accident in my home country before coming to Australia.
> Meanwhile, while I was still in my country, my husband applied for a visa extension and could not include my name because the online application form for extension declined the addition of my name since I was not in the country at that time.
> 
> After I came to Australia towards the ending of 2014, he received a message from Dibp saying his visa application was refused due to him not complying with an email sent to him. But there was no mail sent to him then he appealed to MRT and won. His extension was granted after being on bridging visa A for about 11 months.
> I had to apply for my own extension separately because he already had a pending case with MRT. After i applied, it was refused on the ground that my name was not included in his visa extension application and at the time of application he had no substantive visa.
> The Lawyer we contacted advised that we appeal to MRT and that if he gets his visa, mine will be updated too.
> 
> But MRT decision turned out differently. I was told to apply from offshore since he did not include my name in his application. And that is the law.
> 
> Now the challenge started after the MRT decision because I could not travel. I had a frame on my leg due my accident. As a matter of fact I was undergoing surgeries for my leg and taking treatments throughout my stay in Australia. I had 9 surgeries in Australia from 08/2015-05/2017.
> The MRT referred me to the minister for intervention because he said it's the Minister that can overrule the law in my case.
> I was advised to leave the country or go for a BV within 28 days before the bridging visa A I have expires since my case was referred to the Minister. So i called CSRS and they came to my house because I couldn't go to their office due to my health. I kept renewing my BVe untill the Minister's decision came and it was negative also. So I had to leave before the BVe I had expired and that was about 4 weeks after my last surgery in May.
> Now I don't know if I have a ban, I wish to apply as a subsequent entrant because my husband has 457 working visa now.
> We have really been through a lot and our separation now is causing a lot of hardship to us and also impacting on my health. I don't know what do.
> Please advise me.
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi zpat978 -

Answered this one earlier today - please see there, thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



zpat978 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thanks in Advance.. Please help me with the below query
> 
> I have got 489 state sponsored from nsw far south coast. I am finding it difficult to get accomadation in fsc.
> 
> Can i move to other regional areas of australia like adelaide?
> 
> Do i need to get a release letter from fsc? Please help me
> 
> If i move to adelaide without letter from fsc will it cause problem when applying for PR?
> 
> If i want to get release letter from fsc and stay in adelaide how could i get the letter ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lsuru92 -

There is no rule against DIBP making whatever sorts of enquiries they might want to make against your degree or any other aspect of the application, but in terms of equivalence of the degree to an Australian qualification, they generally abide by the skills assessor's judgment. One notable exception to this is when points are claimed for a Masters degree when no Bachelors degree is held - DIBP generally will not provide points in many of these circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam

So what is th function of DIBP? they wont be verifying my degree again?[/QUOTE]


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kinley ZD -

Thanks for the note. Yes it's OK to apply again with better explanations re statement of purpose, etc - just make sure that nothing you claim in the new application conflicts with something you claimed in a previous application. It can often be helpful to get a second opinion or professional opinion on what you're planning on claiming etc for the SOP or otherwise, especially when you've already had a refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kinley ZD said:


> Hello Sir,
> I would like to seek some advice from you with regard to my brother's student visa being refused...when i went through the decision made i came across that the visa got rejected mainly due to insufficient information provided in the statement of purpose(SOP)...now i want to reapply for my brother's student visa again...in this case i would like to seek some advice on how to go about..is it ok to reapply again by processing with new SOP(including all the information on which the visa was rejected)... plz. advice me on it..i really need ur help...thank you...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi er.shabeer87 -

Thanks for the note. No harm in asking for a remark - you might post this message one on of the other areas of the forum to get input from other forum members on their experience with the remark/review process.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



er.shabeer87 said:


> Dear All,
> 
> I am confused. I received my IELTS test result today (Test Date : 19 Aug 17). I am repeatedly losing for 0.5 marks in any of the sections.
> 
> Listening:	8.5 | Reading:	7.5 | Writing:	7.0 | Speaking:6.5 | Overall:	7.5
> 
> Is it a wise decision to remark. Can i get 7 for speaking? What is the success rate??
> 
> Please find below my previous scores.
> 
> *Dec 2016*
> 
> Listening:	8.0 | Reading:	7.0 | Writing:	7.0 | Speaking:6.5 | Overall:	7.0
> 
> *May 2015*
> 
> Listening:	8.5 | Reading:	7.0 | Writing:	6.0 | Speaking:7.5 | Overall:	7.5


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lsuru92 -

Thanks for the note. Generally all PR visa applicants these days are required to complete Form 80. If you do not have complete travel info available, I'd include a statement with your application and on the extension page of Form 80 that you've included all trips you have information on, and estimated dates when exact dates were not able to be determined.

Most important part is to be as complete and accurate as possible, and re trips, to identify all countries you've spent a total of 12 months or more in during the last 10 years as that triggers the requirement for a police clearance certificate from those countries.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Isuru92 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have got a few Questions.
> 
> 1.Is everyone required to fill form 80?
> 2. I lost my last old passport around 6 years ago and currently have only the number and issued date, I would not be able to give the dates of my travel history during that time, so when I'm filling form 80, should I just mention the travel history from my current passport?
> 
> At best I would be able to give the months of my visits to the countries, that too I might miss a few of those because I have mutipile visits to a some of those countries.
> 
> So will it be alright if I mention all the countries I have visited with rough estimated months of visiting and will the DIBP be understanding if I missed out on a couple of visits to the same country/countries.
> 
> thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Julian73 -

Thanks for the note. Based on your information, it is likely the person has a 5 year limitation on sponsoring someone again, dating from the date of application for the previous partner visa application. There is a compelling/compassionate waiver available for this, not sure chances of success as I would need to know much more about the circumstances of the person and of you, and would need specific information on the child and your friend's role in the child's life (and the ex-partner's role with the child). Happy to assist further at a consultation - see more info on my website in my signature below.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Julian73 said:


> Good day Mark and thank you for your limitless effort to help others.
> I'm in a relationship with Australian man that I meet in Sydney after 6 months of chatting. I have a few concerns of how his previous de facto relationship will affect his sponsorship with me. In 2014, he has a relationship with a Thai lady and he brought her to Australia in a defacto visa. Unfortunately, their relationship breaks down after the lady had temporary visa that will expired this November. He said his ex has kidney failure and will not get permanent visa. They also have a young baby which was under his custody after court hearing.
> Is he under limitation of sponsorship for 5 years or can be exempt due to the fact that her ex doesn't have successful permanent visa and he has his child with him?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hope98 -

Thanks for the note. Yes, it's possible the student visa could be refused due to previous USA overstay, however I would make sure to include complete details about the circumstances and any evidence you have of those claims and I expect that will have a reasonable chance of offsetting the overstay issues.

You generally do not have to disclose pending visa applications to other countries on Australian visa applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hope98 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I overstayed my US visitor visa by three months. However, I was married to a US citizen before my visa was expired and we were planning to adjust my status to a permanent resident. But he started being abusive and threatened to kill me several times because of which I came back to my country. I have self petitioned for permanent residency to the US under VAWA but processing time is too long and I don't want to waste my time, so I would like to apply for a student visa to Australia. Are there any chances of my student visa getting denied based on my overstay of the US visa? When submitting the application, do I have to disclose my pending immigrant visa to the US?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tessa -

Thanks for the note. I have never heard of that happening - partner visas do not generally consider the circumstances of a student visa and whether he's abided by all the conditions of the student visa - partner visas are focused on the genuineness and legality of the partner relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tessaf said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner is from Brazil and we applied for our partner visa 1 year ago. Unfortunately his student visa is overriding his BVA until the end of the year. He is had major issues with his "school" and made a complaint with ASQA. Nothing eventuated but now they are making his ife very difficult and we are worried they could do something to jeopardise our partner visa. Would immigration ever contact the school when investigating the partner visa? He is worried they could say or do something.
> 
> Regards,
> Tessa


----------



## Familyof4

Hello Mark, are you still active on this site as I would love to get your advice. Thank you


----------



## MUAYAD

Hello MR.Mark
I HOPE YOU'RE IN GOOD HEALTH

PLASE MR . MARK I NEED YOUR HELP AND ADVICE
My name is moayad I'm 22 old
I need home respect me  I DREAM EVERY DAY IN HOME LIKE AUSTRALIA
I’m Resident from Saudi Arabia
I ' M FROM YEMEN BUT I WAS BORN IN SAUDI ARABIA 
LIKE MY FATHER AND
WE DONT HAVE RIGHT TO WORK free AND Easily Because A complex system of work OR ownership 

Do APPLICATION FOR AN OFFSHORE HUMANTIRIAN VISA 
{ CLASS XB ) CAN HELP ME OR WHAT I HAVE TO DO ?? 



PLASE I NEED YOUR HELP 

SORRY FOR MY BAD ENGLISH 

Sincerely 
MUAYAD ZAIN


----------



## MUAYAD

hi can i ask you mr mark ??


----------



## MUAYAD

how are you MR. MARK 

i wish you're in good health 
My name is MUAYAD I’m 22-21 old 
and i'm I’m Resident in Saudi Arabia 
i want your help please
Consider me your little son 


I was born in Saudi Arabia ... 

However, I do not get my rights and I do not get my nationality and my father Also is born in Saudi Arabia my nationality is yemen
I was exposed to racism almost daily 
There is no hope for citizenship rights
We pay for the residence annually like any newcomer to the country
I do not have the freedom to work easily
You must have a guarantor to work
You are not authorized to work as a university student
Must change his profession and complex systems
I need home respect me 
20 years I forgot what it was like to be part of homeland


I checked australia.gov before one Month 
abut the form (842) application for an offshore humanitarian visa 
refugee and humanitarian ( class XB) visa 

I do not know Does this include me?
Do I have a chance or there is another way


Please advise me what to do MR. MARK 

At the end I apologize for my ENGLISH 



Sincerely, 

MUAYAD ZAIN


----------



## Damns123

Hi mark are you active in forum


----------



## Damns123

deleted deleted deleted deleted


----------



## amitsutar

*Work experience post acs assessment with new employer*

Hi Mark,

I had done the assessment in Mar 2017. 
ACS has considered my experience after Mar 2009.

So I was hoping to get get maximum points for 8 years experience 1st Apr 2009 to 31st Mar 2017. 
But missed due to 3 days gap between 2 employments.

When I applied ACS was already in process of transition from current organisation. I have joined a new employer after Apr 2017. The role and responsibilities in new organisation is quite similar to my occupation code.

I need to claim points for experience in new organisation. However the ACS result does not mention new employer.

Will there be any problem in claiming points for experience in new org?

Does reference letter from new employer and payslips, bank statements would suffice?

Please advise.

Thanks!
__________________
ANZSCO	: 261313

PTE A :-
29th July 
Overall: 82 L: 81, R: 80, W: 88, S: 72

Age - 33 - 25
Proficient English - 10
Education - 15
Experience - 15

Total Points for 189 Visa - 65

EOI Submitted SC 189 with 65 points :- 1st Aug, 2017
EOI Submitted SS 190 (NSW) with 70 points: 1st Aug 2017


----------



## patricerafferty

Hi Mark. I'm applying for the partner visa 820 in a couple of months. Could you please give me some ideas with what to attach for "proof of address" I live with my partner but we live with his mum in a rental.


----------



## ShenLim

Hi Mark

I got some questions regarding the two academic year requirement

Firstly, Is it safe to assume that if I was granted a 485 visa I am eligible for 5 points under skill migration?

Secondly, I have 2 and a half years for my bachelor of commerce degree with the last semester being part time studies. However, this 2 and a half years includes me failing 4 units of study. If i hadn't fail I would have completed the course in 2 years with the last semester being part time studies. Would I still be eligible for 5 points under skill migration? PS: my 485 was approved for this.

Additionally, few years after graduating, I completed a diploma of management course in Australia in a year. It was registered under cricos back then as requiring 52 weeks, but has been deregistered now. Can I add this year towards my 2 academic year in case my bachelor degree isn't sufficient? What documents would i need to provide as evidence for this course since it has been deregistered on cricos?

Your help would be greatly appreciated as I am unable to figure this out. 

Regards
Shen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Familyof4 -

Absolutely - please feel free to post your question.

Best,

Mark Northam



Familyof4 said:


> Hello Mark, are you still active on this site as I would love to get your advice. Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Muayad -

Thanks for the note. Wish I could help, but I don't work in the area of offshore humanitarian visas - you might check the DIBP website or look for an agent in your part of the world to help.

Best,

Mark Northam



MUAYAD said:


> Hello MR.Mark
> I HOPE YOU'RE IN GOOD HEALTH
> 
> PLASE MR . MARK I NEED YOUR HELP AND ADVICE
> My name is moayad I'm 22 old
> I need home respect me  I DREAM EVERY DAY IN HOME LIKE AUSTRALIA
> I'm Resident from Saudi Arabia
> I ' M FROM YEMEN BUT I WAS BORN IN SAUDI ARABIA
> LIKE MY FATHER AND
> WE DONT HAVE RIGHT TO WORK free AND Easily Because A complex system of work OR ownership
> 
> Do APPLICATION FOR AN OFFSHORE HUMANTIRIAN VISA
> { CLASS XB ) CAN HELP ME OR WHAT I HAVE TO DO ??
> 
> PLASE I NEED YOUR HELP
> 
> SORRY FOR MY BAD ENGLISH
> 
> Sincerely
> MUAYAD ZAIN


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Damns123 -

Absolutely - please feel free to post a question.

Best,

Mark Northam



Damns123 said:


> Hi mark are you active in forum


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amitsutar -

Thanks for the note. Those documents would likely satisfy the requirements, however DIBP may ask you to have the additional (new) employment assessed, or may attempt to "assess" it themselves by contacting the employer to verify your information and ask about each of the ANZSCO tasks/duties for the occupation and whether you perform these at your job there - would suggest making sure the employer is ready and prepared for a call from DIBP just in case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amitsutar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I had done the assessment in Mar 2017.
> ACS has considered my experience after Mar 2009.
> 
> So I was hoping to get get maximum points for 8 years experience 1st Apr 2009 to 31st Mar 2017.
> But missed due to 3 days gap between 2 employments.
> 
> When I applied ACS was already in process of transition from current organisation. I have joined a new employer after Apr 2017. The role and responsibilities in new organisation is quite similar to my occupation code.
> 
> I need to claim points for experience in new organisation. However the ACS result does not mention new employer.
> 
> Will there be any problem in claiming points for experience in new org?
> 
> Does reference letter from new employer and payslips, bank statements would suffice?
> 
> Please advise.
> 
> Thanks!
> __________________
> ANZSCO	: 261313
> 
> PTE A :-
> 29th July
> Overall: 82 L: 81, R: 80, W: 88, S: 72
> 
> Age - 33 - 25
> Proficient English - 10
> Education - 15
> Experience - 15
> 
> Total Points for 189 Visa - 65
> 
> EOI Submitted SC 189 with 65 points :- 1st Aug, 2017
> EOI Submitted SS 190 (NSW) with 70 points: 1st Aug 2017


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Patricerafferty -

You might look for any sort of accounts, statements, letters, etc with your name and the common address you share with your partner. If you don't have these, consider taking out some accounts or other things to start generating statements, bills, invoices, letters or other documents from third parties listing you and the common address - same for your partner, with documents listing your partner's name and your common address.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



patricerafferty said:


> Hi Mark. I'm applying for the partner visa 820 in a couple of months. Could you please give me some ideas with what to attach for "proof of address" I live with my partner but we live with his mum in a rental.


----------



## cb12

*Visa 820 2017 processing times*

Hi Mark,

1st of all thank you so much for taking time to answer people's questions around such varied issues, much appreciated.

Me and my partner have applied for the onshore partner visa (820) slightly over a year ago. Processing times when we applied where around 14 months minimum but more recently this was updated to 18 months minimum to 23 months in 90% of the cases.

I know from experience that reading forums is only adding up to the frustration as you'd sometimes see people getting their visa approved under 12 months when our application is what you'd call "decision ready".

Everything was uploaded upfront on our end, extremely detailed (we took 3 months to get everything ready etc.) and still...no news. We're also adding more evidence as we go (and I'm French, so from a fairly low risk country) Could you please confirm whether the processing times we should expect are those that were communicated when we submitted our application (18 months max), or shall we just assume that it's been a year now and that our application will most probably take 23+ months to get processed based on current times on the DIBP website? Or is there absolutely no way to know?

Thanks again so much


----------



## dorada

Hi Mark,

I'm an Australian citizen looking to sponsor my Malaysian partner for a de-facto partner visa. We are still gathering information, proof etc and I have run into a few potential problems on my end as the sponsor and I'd like to ask someone more in the know. 

I lived in Indonesia from the age of 13 until last year (I'm 22) and since then I have been living on & off in Malaysia with my partner. I've read that it is a requirement to obtain police certificates from any country I have been in for more than 12 months total, in my case this would include both Indonesia & Malaysia. I checked with my previous lawyer/agent in Indonesia and was advised as I'm no longer living there or on a work visa it would be impossible for me to obtain one and as I've only ever entered Malaysia on tourist visa's I can't obtain one from there either. In this case what would be the recommended course of action? 

Thanks


----------



## pamajit

Dear Mark,

I had lodged an application for SC189 on June 24th,2017 . I received notification on a CO being allocated on my case on August 16th,2017.

I wish to know the current processing period for SC 189 , and also that, after a CO is allocated, how long would it take to receive a response from their end on a visa grant.

Thanks,
Mathews


----------



## Adexglobe

Hi Mark, I have a question regarding my qualification being accredited by Engineers Australia. I have a bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from an internationally accredited university in West Africa


----------



## MUAYAD

HI MR MARK 
i wish you're in good health 


My name is MUAYAD I’m 22-21 old and I’m Resident in Saudi Arabia
i want your help please Consider me your little son .

I was born in Saudi Arabia However, I do not get my rights and I do not get my nationality and my father Also is born in Saudi Arabia . 
My nationality is Yemen
I was exposed to racism almost daily.
There is no hope for citizenship rights.
We pay for the residence annually like any newcomer to the country.
I do not have the freedom to work easily you must have a guarantor to work
And you are not authorized to work as a university student
Must change his profession and complex systems.

I need home respect me.
20 years I forgot what it was like to be part of homeland


I checked australia.gov before one Month
About the form (842) application for an offshore humanitarian visa
Refugee and humanitarian (class XB) visa

I do not know does this include me?
Do I have a chance or there is another way
I want with all my heart to be an Australian citizen


Please advise me what to do Mr. Mark

At the end I apologize for my English


Sincerely,
MUAYAD ZAIN


----------



## Kinley ZD

Thank you so much for your precious time.....


----------



## amitsutar

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Amitsutar -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Those documents would likely satisfy the requirements, however DIBP may ask you to have the additional (new) employment assessed, or may attempt to "assess" it themselves by contacting the employer to verify your information and ask about each of the ANZSCO tasks/duties for the occupation and whether you perform these at your job there - would suggest making sure the employer is ready and prepared for a call from DIBP just in case.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark for response. Sorry for further questions, but when DIBP ask for assessing then is it a refusal? 
I am planning to go ahead with current EOI and provide reference letter, payslip and other documents when asked for.

My new employer would be helpful enough to answer DIBP call.

Let me know if I am missing something.


----------



## AussieSwiss

Again, thanks a lot for the info.

So to be safe, we will still apply for a BVB, even though her travel period in and out of Aus will be well within her visitor e-visa (no intention to stay overseas and anyway this visa does allow her to travel in and out of Aus for 12 months, with 3 months stay max each time). That way she'll avoid issues (if any) upon her return.

Thanks for all the help!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi AussieSwiss -
> 
> The primary benefit of the BVB would be that, if granted, it would likely avoid any "genuine visitor" issues of being readmitted on the visitor visa, ie too much time spent in Australia in last 12 months, entering Australia for non-visitor purposes (ie, to continue residency), etc. No good way to predict to what extent there might or might not be issues upon re-entry. Also, if she ends up unexpectedly staying overseas past the end of the visitor visa, she would have no way to get back in other than either the BVB or another visitor visa (if granted).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## swapnilbhadale

*Spouse on Student Visa*

Greetings Mark,

My girlfriend is already studying in Australia on a student visa. We will be getting married later this year. What would be the process to get a dependent visa for me? Will she have to reapply for a student visa along with my details in the application?

Thank you.


----------



## Isuru92

MarkNortham said:


> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

My partner did his B.Com from Madurai Kamaraj University, will it be valid to migrate to Australia as an Accountant? anzsco code 221111 he doesn't have any work experience, but has got ielts above 8 and age group 25-30, so gets 65 points.

Business Correspondence and Office Methods

2 Part-II - English LENG01
Part III
3 Managerial Economics

4 Theory and Practice of Business Organisation

5 Advanced Financial Accounting - I

II 1 Business Environment & Entrepreneurship
Development

2 Principle and Practice of Insurance & Marketing

3 Modern Banking Theory Law and Practice

4 Business Statistics and Mathematics

5 Introduction to Information Technology

6 Part IV - General Knowledge UKGL01

2 Business Legislation

3 Practical Auditing

4 Practical Costing

5 Management Accounting

(or)
Human Resource Development

6 Organisational Behaviour

7 Part V - Environmental Studies


----------



## roop123

*489 Visa*

Hi

I am planning to apply 489 visa under Invited pathway, state nominated category. 
But under additional eligibility conditions, I have seen nominated occupation should be on MLTSSL list. But my occupation is not listed in MLTSSL list but it is mentioned in Tasmaina state sponsorship list.

So can you please help which list i should follow for applying this type of visa.

Thanks


----------



## philcouturier

Hi Mark,

Hope you are well. My partner (27) and I (24) are looking at visas which would let us live together in Australia. We are looking at either the subclass 300 or the subclass 309/100.

My partner is Australian and I am Canadian, and we have been in a relationship for four years. We met in Canada while she was on a work visa and spent the first year and a half together in Canada. I then received a subclass 417 visa and we lived in Australia for 9 months, before returning to Canada. My partner left Canada to pursue school in Australia in Feb 2017, and I am doing the same in Canada.

The reason we aren't sure which visa to apply for, is that we do not have much official evidence of our relationship. We received our housing from our work, and thus don't have a lease agreement with our names on it, nor do we have joint bills, or a joint bank account. We have many photos, messages and friends testimonies but we are worried this wont be enough for a subclass 309/100. I'm sure we have more than we think, for example we could get stat decs from our landlords and such.

Would it make more sense for us to apply for a subclass 300? It is my understanding that we would require less evidence? Also because we've been apart for the last 6 months this seems like the best option. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance,
Phil


----------



## RubyLoo

Hi Mark,

I have what I hope is an easy question, I just can't seem to find any information about it anywhere. 

I am an Australian citizen and my fiance is a New Zealand citizen. He has lived in Australia for 11 years and we have lived together for nearly 4 years. He wants to get Aus citizenship but it seems to be next to impossible. Is a de facto spouse or spouse visa an option for us? I see nothing on immi.gov that says that kiwis can't apply but other Aus/Kiwi couples I know tell me it's not an option.

Do you know anything about this? Or another pathway he could take?

Thanks so much in advance


----------



## jaytee

Hi Mark,
My wife of 5 years used to be cabin crew for an international airlines for the majority of the last decade. When it comes to listing all international travel, it's next to impossible to recall every international trip she's made in the last 10 years (thousands).

Any advice on how to handle this in the application?
Cheers


----------



## Duszek

Hi!

it has been over 2 years since lodging my visa application (Partner (Temporary) (class UK) Partner (subclass 820) visa) and I still haven't been contacted by the immigration department regarding permanent visa. On my grant letter it says "You do not need to make a further application for the permanent visa. Generally, applicants become eligible two years after the date of the lodgement of the combined application. Shortly before that date, the department will write to you and invite to provide further information." but when I emailed immigration I get automatic response saying that they won't reply to my email if the answer to my question can be found on the list they sent, and there I found this:

13. I have been granted a temporary Partner visa (subclass 820) and I want to be assessed for a permanent Partner visa (subclass 801)

You will become eligible for consideration of a Stage 2 - Permanent Partner (subclass 801) visa two years after your Partner visa application was initially lodged.

To check your eligibility and submit further information for the Stage 2 - Permanent Partner (subclass 801) visa, please visit http://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/forms/online/partner-permanent-calculator

When I go to that website it basically tells me that I need to make an application for 801 visa, but why does it say on my grant letter that I don't need to make any further applications? This is very confusing. Can you please help me Mark?


----------



## Xena

Hi Mark,

I applied for visa 820 in May 2017and I am currently on Bridging visa A. I would like to go overseas in December ( i have already booked flight),but only one way flight ticket. I havent bought flight ticket back yet. I would like to make decision straight in abroad how long i wil be staying, if two or three months. Honestly, I dont know what I should write in Bridging visa B application as "date of return". Do you think that is possible fill in date of returning e.g. three months later after my leaving Australia and after then return back earlier in real, if i will need? Or date of returning fill in application should be the same as real date of return?


Thank you for responds and help


----------



## Ze its pronounced Ze

Thank you!!


----------



## daisyzz

Hi,

I am looking for the guide and advice. I am currently in 187 visa, I started to work for the employer from December 2015 with bridging visa of 187, then got PR visa granted in September 2016. I signed contract for 3 years. But the employer she said the employment starts from Jan 2017. According to her saying, I have to work for her till jan 2020. 
1. what she said is correct or not? or I only need to work for 2 years till sep 2018 according to 187 visa condition?
2. What will happen to my PR visa-187 type if I quit before the contract termination date? Currently, I am thinking to leave this job for 6 months or more. because my husband's visit visa 600 has been refused for 5 times with agent assistants, btw he is from Russia. He can't come to Australia to visit me. His partner visa 390 is on going. The result will come in 6-12 months even more.

Many thanks


----------



## Leap02

Hi Mark, 

I'm in a pickle here. I paid the application fee for my 190 visa via credit card. But my application is still in "Ready to Submit" mode in my immiaccount. I also did not receive any acknowledgement or receipt for the payment. On the other hand, I received message from the credit card bank that "credit card charge made online". Could you please comment on this. 
The credit card is from a US bank and it was Sunday when I did the payment from Pakistan. 

Thanks﻿


----------



## 23188977

MarkNortham said:


> Hi 23188977 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. For additional time in the same job/employer as has been previously assessed, DIBP will generally be satisfied with a letter from the employer confirming the additional time spent on the job. For all jobs claimed for points, you'll generally need to submit payslips or other independent proof of payment. For additional later work experience not assessed by EA, note that it is not a requirement of DIBP that all work experience be assessed by a skills assessor even if claimed for points, however that will leave the DIBP case officer to "assess" your un-assessed work experience and decide whether they believe it is relevant to your occupation. While this works out OK in many cases, sometimes it becomes an issue, especially if DIBP contacts the employer and starts asking anyone they can reach there (including potentially people who are/were unaware of the details of your employment) about the various technical aspects of your work.
> 
> Safest way perhaps is to get the additional work assessed by EA, however depending on the level of documentation, detail, and to what extent you expect DIBP will be able to confirm details of the additional work experience, you might let DIBP assess it - your choice.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> 23188977 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Dear Mark
> 
> I am applying under visa category-189 and I want to get Migration skill assessment.
> 
> I have received my Education and employment- Migration skill assessment by Engineers Australia in February 2015.
> 
> I have experience mentioned in assessment from Engineers Australia - August 2009 till October 2014. In same orgainsation I have worked till November 2016. Now I am working with other organization with same role from December 2016. In August'17, I want to claim points for 8 years experience. So can you please tell me that do I need to get assessment done again for employment or can I update directly in DIBP skillselect?
> 
> Please suggest.
> 
> Regards
Click to expand...

Hi Mark. Thanks for your detailed and quick reply. I am just seeking one more help from you. As I mentioned earlier that I have received invitation already on 6th September. So if I want to get assessment done for additional work experience then can I get it during the visa application? I mean will it be valid if I produce it during processing of application?

Regards
Ria


----------



## nndshkhr

*457 Subsequent entrant*

Hi Mark,

I have raised a 457 subsequent entrant visa for my partner on 17th Aug.

What should be the time frame to expect for the VISA to process. I checked for it in the IMMI's site and it says 4-6 months.

I wanted to know if theyhave separate queues for 457 and 457 subsequent entrant VISA types.

Any information regarding this is much appreciated.

TIA.


----------



## patrickc1986

Hi Mark, I have lodged my 457 application 4 weeks ago (job MLTSLL covered, with de-factor relationship included for my partner , we both from Hong Kong).

The company part has been approved and they are accredited one. 

I just want to know what is the expected process time ? The migration told me we could expect 2 weeks for approval but it's been 4 weeks. 

Any previous similar successful case to give me a hope ? Thanks a lot Mark


----------



## Familyof4

Ok great thanks you for that. My situation I find myself in is that I am a British Citizen in a long term relationship (10 years plus 2 children) with my Australia Partner. We have lived in England for 9 years and now we urgently need to return to Australia. The children have Aussie passports as does my partner. She is leaving in November and I want to join her as quickly as possible but I am not sure whether I should apply for my partner visa here in England & possibly have to wait 12-18 months for it to be granted. Or do I fly to Australia on a holiday visa and then apply to stay while I am there. What do you think is the best option? 
Thank you for your time. 
Damian


----------



## Rony85

My 489 was granted on 1st Oct 2015 and I travelled overseas for 6 week on 14th Oct. Can I apply for 887 on 1 Oct 2017 or I have to wait for another 6 week.


----------



## acdabc

hi Mark,

Thank you for your previous answer, really appreciate it. if i may, i would like to ask another question.if bridging visa A is currently hold while waiting for the decision for student visa, from my understanding if wanting to apply for graduate visa (485) the following things would happen
1.bridging visa C would be granted?
2. Bridging visa C would come into effect only when bridging visa A expires or the student visa is refused/withdrawn?
3. Would there be any working rights for Bridging visa C if applying for 485? (an agent told me work limitation for BVC only applies to those who have been unlwaful non citizen in australia in the past, but not to those who have not, is that correct?)
4. If decided to apply for 485 while holding bridging visa A for student visa application, what would the new work limitation be if the current bva condition is only 8105 (work limitation)? is it still required to go to school?

Thank you for your time, really appreciated your help


----------



## Isuru92

Hi Mark,

I was wondering whether it is possible to be to enrolled in 2 full time courses while on student visa? One full time on campus and the other through distance learning/online?
at 2 different universities. 

thank you.


----------



## jlmjlmjlm

Hi Mark

I just need some advice regarding about 489 visa application.


I already have positive skills assessment and finished pte language exam.
I am also already invited by the state.
I applied for 489 visa using my chef skills and currently have bridging visa A. 
I am just waiting for decision on my 489 visa.

Is it ok if I work on a different line of work or I need to stay being a chef?
Is that going to affect my visa decision?

Thank you.


----------



## zpat978

Hello Mark 

Please help with a question.. i have received grant for 489 fsc visa can i still continue to apply for 190 visa for nsw or victoria ? 

Thank you.


----------



## IbrahimIsmail

Hi Mark ;

In case I did EA assessment (MSA outcome letter ) without assessing my experience period , Could I submit to DIBP different experience letters and documents rather that what I have submitted to EA while lodging to claim work experience points ?


----------



## mtheperry

Hi, Mark! What you're doing here is really a great thing. My question is about the suffix in my name. I am xxx xxx xxx Jr. Should I include this in my visa application (462)? It is on my passport, but I'm not sure in which line I would include it, family or given names. 

tia


----------



## vishal2305

hi everyone,
i was about to apply for 189 skilled independent visa and i have a doubt that, theres a question which says ''You must have repaid, or have arranged to repay, any outstanding debts to the Australian government.'' so my question is that i need to pay my credit card of 10k so does it causes problem for me?? am slowly repaying though.


----------



## ooleooo

Hello @MarkNortham, thanks for being so awesome replying people's questions all the time.

I tried using the search tool, and couldn't find what I was looking for, which probably has been asked before.

I'm from Argentina and currently have a 600 visitor visa, I've used it twice, and expires next november.

The question is, I've been invited by my boss (Australia) for a business meeting (basically go to the office located in Pt. Macquarie and listen to the balance of the company and new goals).

The question is, will my 600 visitor visa work for that purpose, keeping in mind that I will also travel for a week before going to the meeting (because it's a looooong flight, and jetlag kills me every time)? Can I do both things on a visa?

If not possible, will a business visa let me travel before the business meeting?

Thanks!


----------



## Miriam93

Hi Mark! 

My partner and I are currently getting everything together for my partner visa application. 
We met in 2013 when I was on a working holiday visa and I then decided to study here. I had to return home for 8 months in between. Since Feb 2015 I've been back in Australia on my student visa. To make our application stronger we decided to register our relationship last week. In the registration for the 'date when we entered into a de facto relationship' we put 26.12.13. I have now been alerted that if I haven't declared my de facto relationship in my student visa application, we can get into trouble because we have declared an earlier de facto date as I submitted my student visa application. 
I honestly cannot remember if I have been asked about my relationship status in my student visa application, let alone what my answer would have been. 

Can you shed some light on this for me? My friend suggested to just withdraw our application to register the relationship and change the date on it. Or is there any chance I can access my student visa question and see what I answered? I assume I would have said my main intent for applying for the student visa was to study. 

Thank you so much in advance 
Miriam


----------



## CeGo

*Job role changes on 457*

Hi Mark,

Firstly, thanks for taking the time to give advice, it's really appreciated.

I have been on my 457 (ANZSCO: PR Professional) for more than two years with the same employer so eligible for the transitional stream to PR.

However, during my time on the 457, I have changed roles and was promoted from a Senior Communications Specialist to a Corporate Communications Manager - I am in effect doing the majority of the same duties - publicity, events, communications support. This is reflected in my current job description so it's more of just a title change as I moved into the Corporate Communications team (both of my positions sit under the same overall Communications team for the business).

However, I noticed that the Communications Manager title is in a different ANZSCO code but when I looked at the duties of this and the corresponding requirements for this code in the AIM Skills Assessment, I am nowhere near having the senior level of management experience, direct reports or control of the communications function. I report to the Head of Communications who oversees this function.

My question is that I am now looking to apply for PR and wondering whether this job role change is going to be a problem, whether its considered a different occupation and therefore a different ANZSCO?

Given that the public relations roles are on the short-term list, I am trying to get this submitted ahead of March.

Any advice appreciated, thanks again.
CeGo


----------



## munishghai74

*Visa Granted, Follow up questions*

Hi Mark,
I was granted 189 Visa last month (Aug 9th), for myself and spouse. However we are given only 4 months before we can make our 1st visit (Dec 9th). We just had a baby, hardly a month old and we don't wanna go permanently right away. Just a short trip to get the stamps. So had some questions:

1. Any chance if I can extend this date from Dec 9. A couple months, if not more.

2. We didn't inform CO with Change of Circumstances form, while wifey was pregnant (Didn't wanna put our application on hold). Now when we inform the authorities that we have a baby who would like to migrate with us. Can this be an issue? Or they don't care as long as we pay for Child Visa.

3. Is it a mandate, that me and my wife has to travel together for the visa grant? Can we travel on different dates?

Would appreciate some help on this. Thanks!


----------



## tessaf

Hi mark,

My partner is on a student visa subclass 572. He is changing his course but it will finish approximately 7 months before his student visa was set to expire. He also has a bridging visa A from our partner visa application that was submitted 12 months however as his student visa overrides this its not in effect.

Essentially I've called immigration twice now both who have said completely opposite things. One person told me that after his course finishes he doesn't have to re enrol and his bridging visa will come into effect. The other said this is incorrect and he has to re enrol. Do you have any advice about what we should do?

Cheers,
Tessa


----------



## Agastaya

Dear Mark, Hope you are doing well.
Well my query is, I have got my vetassess done with positive outcome. But it states that my bachelor degree is not highly relevant to the nominated trade and that's why vetassess has deducted 02 of my work experience from 04 years.
I just want to know whether I will get my graduation degree points or not. Since they have mentioned it degree is comparable to the education level of the AQF bachelor degree and therefore at the required level.
could you please help me out if I can claim points for my bachelor degree or not.

Many thanks in advance for you valuable guidance.


----------



## Bobzarka

Customer svs call center manager (149212/ 211)
Visa 190
Hello Mark, im new here and its the first post for me , im really glad to join you.
I'm planning to submit my work Experience and qualification for the vetasses assessment and i need your kind assistant on the below inquiry;
I'm planning to apply for skill occupation under the customer service manager
(ANZSCO NO. 149212) 
, i have three experience contact center supervisor and two years experience as customer service support manager and four year experience as Head of contact center and another for year experience as customer service director and the Employee letters and JD's are supporting this . I need to achive 8 years and above experience to get the required point im 42 y/o.

As per the ANZSCO classification ;
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]+Contact+Centre+and+Customer+Service+Managers
for this occupation says:
UNIT GROUP 1492 Call or Contact Centre and Customer Service Managers
UNIT GROUP 1492 CALL OR CONTACT CENTRE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGERS

CALL OR CONTACT CENTRE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGERS organise and control the operations of call or contact centres, review customer services, and maintain sound customer relations.
Indicative Skill Level:
Most occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with the qualifications and experience outlined below.

In Australia:

AQF Associate Degree, Advanced Diploma or Diploma (ANZSCO Skill Level 2)

In New Zealand:
NZ Register Diploma (ANZSCO Skill Level 2)

At least three years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualifications listed above. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification.
Tasks Include:

developing and reviewing policies, programs and procedures concerning customer relations and goods and services provided 
ensuring operational efficiency within a call centre 
providing direction and feedback to team members and assisting with recruitment 
managing, motivating and developing staff providing customer services 
planning and implementing after-sales services to follow up customer satisfaction, ensure performance of goods purchased, and modify and improve services provided 
liaising with other organisational units, service agents and customers to identify and respond to customer expectations 
may work in a call centre

Occupations:
149211 Call or Contact Centre Manager 
149212 Customer Service Manager

149211 CALL OR CONTACT CENTRE MANAGER

Organises and controls the operations of a call or contact centre. May work in a call centre.
Skill Level: 2

149212 CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER

Alternative Titles:
Client Service Manager 
Service Manager

Plans, administers and reviews customer services and after-sales services, and maintains sound customer relations.

My Question and based on the above , Do you consider the customer service manager and call center manager the same during the assessment?as i have applied befor for the customer service manager and the result was negative , as belive the agency who was handling my case were not aware of my file 100%. 
Thank you in advance 
Bahaa Alzarka


----------



## ShermD

Hi Mark,

Please assume that I don't have any current Visa for Australia.

Scenario: Suppose that, I've got an invitation for permanent residency visa (subclass 189), and I'm going to lodge a visa application, which I'll include my husband, and my two kids who are under 6 yrs old.

1. If I've been granted a PR visa, what type of visa my husband and kids receive? are those "TR" visa? or "PR" visa just like my visa? 

2. If I've been granted a PR visa, can my husband bring her father and mother to Australia through "parent visa (sub class 103)" or "contributory parent visa (sub class 143)"?

3. If my husband is the only child and his parents have no child left in the local country to care for his parents, is there any other way that he can bring his parents to Australia? (any other visa etc, or through compassionate reasons etc) his mother and father are 65+ and 70+ respectively. 

Regards
Sherm


----------



## jin_re

Hi Mark!

Hope you are well. I would like to seek your advice and thank you so much in advance. I'm from Melbourne and recently applied for an 887 visa just mid of August. My concern is about our near to expire passport. It will expire early November. My question is will it affect our application negatively particularly if my application is allocated to a case officer by the time my passport expires. I wanted to save money and time but definitely would not want to put my application at risk...Because there are just two ways to renew our passport - either we fly to Canberra this September/October (and have the new passport by November/December) but will cost us $2K approx or wait for the Mobile Passport happening in Melbourne January 2018 (and have the new passport by March/April). Heard that processing times for 887 will take between 6-9 months and to some lucky ones 3-5 months. Thank you so much Mark and hope to hear from you.


----------



## GoalAustralia

Hi Mark,

My wife is currently on 457 and I am the dependent. With recent changes in rules to apply for pr after completing two years, we are not certain whether we will be eligible to apply for pr so I am thinking to enroll in an automotive technician course. I always wanted to get into this field and this gives me another reason. My simple query is will I still be eligible for skilled migration (186 or 190 or even 489 if necessary) like any other international student if I complete a two years diploma followed by JRP or experience?


----------



## iaustraliab

Hi Mark!

I am currently on a student visa (expiring September 2018). My boyfriend is also on a student visa (expiring April 2018). I am struggling to pay course fees and would like to be added to my boyfriend's visa.

(1) Is it possible to be added to his visa even though it is expiring in 7 months?

(2) Is the level of relationship evidence required the same as de facto partner visa?

(3) We got in a relationship after his student visa was granted. So I am not listed as a de facto partner on his visa application. But he is listed as a partner on mine. We informed his CO of change in circumstance by filling out Form 1022 and adding me as a de facto partner. Will we still have a problem getting me adding to his visa?

Thank you!


----------



## Ondoy

*Rsms*

Hi Mark. Hope you are doing well. I would like to ask you if a police check is needed in each country where I have lived if I am going to lodge my 187 RSMS application? 
I have lived more than 1 year in these countries SG, UK, Philippines, Australia.

Thank you.


----------



## srinivastg

*multiple designations in single company.*

Hi Mark,
I have question, can you please help me. This is my first post in this forum and assume you are the best one to give me the response.

I had worked in company XYZ private limited in two designations

02-Sep-2010 to 30-Sep-2012 Senior Software Engineer
01-Oct-2012 to 31-July-2017 Lead Engineer

But in ACS and EOI, I got it mentioned as last held position for the entire duration i.e 02-Sep-2010 to 31-July-2017 Lead Engineer.

Will this be a problem when I get the invite ? Should I change / rectify this in ACS as well as in EOI ? Can you please suggest what should I do. Desperately looking for a response from you.

Thanks
Srinivas


----------



## Aivylrehc

Hi Mark our friend in this forum recommended to ask a registered agent in this forum.. so hi i am Aivy, my case is my husband's 457 visa was granted while mine as the dependent was rejected due to my previous student visa cancellation issue. I am given 21 days to appeal for merits. What is the best option to do? Should i appeal and get the bridging or should i apply partner visa for temporary? Should i go onshore or offshore? Currently i am still onshore. Which option will give the maximum success on application? Thx guys


----------



## Prathu2921

Hi Mark, 
My name Is Prathmesh and I'm from Mumbai,India. Me and my partner, we are planning to apply for Prospective marriage visa ( offshore ). We have all documents like Pictures of us,NOIM form,Traveling history, Letters from family and friends and etc. my partner is Australian citizen and she lives in WA. my question is, me and my partner is not engage but we are planning to get engage in January 2018.so wondering is it mandatory to get engage and upload pictures,Video, and engagement ring for as a proof of our relationship for Prospective marriage visa ( offshore ). can we upload this document later after applying? 
Really looking forward for your word
Thank you


----------



## hoonielicious

Hi Mark! 

It has been a while to get back to you ever since our last consultation via Skype. Your advice has helped a lot in preparation of documentation, though I have one potential setback to deal with before the ship sinks if not taken care of. 

I have a looming issue that my passport is likely to expire before a decision can be made on my temporary partner visa application. Some might see it so simple a problem as to be solved by extending the passport.

However, due to the restriction set by the Korean government in relation to mandatory military service that every male has to undertake, I won't be able to extend the passport overseas without flying back to the motherland, which is not allowed for since the Bridging Visa E I am holding now has a no-travel condition.

I applied for the temporary, onshore partner visa in April 2017. According to the offical website of DIBP, the processing time varies but it is safe to assume it takes an average of 20 months, which exceeds the total duration of my passport. Like I mentioned above, I do not have the luxury of lawfully extending it unless the decision is made before the passport runs out of time.(I assume the no-travel condition will be lifted off once your partner visa is granted.)

I am concerned with the fact that, correct me if I am in the wrong, the current visa will cease to have effect, let alone a follow-up visa (in this case temp partner visa), when the passport becomes no longer valid past the expiry date.

What are my best options here to help speed up the making of a decision within the safe timeline? Is it a wise thing to try to contact the case officer and inform her of the unusual circumstance in the hopes of her possibly being a good Samaritan?


----------



## Felipe

*Out of Status . US -> Visa189*

Hi Mark

First, thanks for helping us...

Second and getting down to the question, I have 65points and have the opportunity to apply for Visa189 but I might have to overstay the peiod of time that my Visa gives me to stay here in US in order to pay for the expenses.
My question is, will that be a problem in the future? Is it too risky to overstay here in US (Ill not be deported)? Is the chance of getting my visa denied for that reason high ?

Thanks again


----------



## AsilaLeiv

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi mark

Im a first time traveler coming from the Philippines, i got my sponsored tourist visa approved (Yey!). I was wondering if you could help me with what travel documents shall I bring with me to ace the immigration interview. I'll be staying with my aunt and Uncle until Christmas and will be flying back to PH to celebrate new year. Thanks a lot!


----------



## prasadliyan

Hello,

I have been studying in Australia for the last 2 years ( Engineering) and thinking of applying for PR now. I did my degree in BSc (computer science) (4 years degree) in Malaysia. 

I have been employed at a company in Malaysia for the last 3 years, working 20 hours a week, online. 

Since I need to have at least 2 years work experience to assess my degree, would this experience count towards this? Reading the guidelines says the employment reference must include, 
"Hours worked - Full time or Part time –must be a minimum of 20 hours per week",

So my guess is, working part-time online should NOT be a problem for me?

thank you,
Prasad


----------



## g545

*student visa cancellation & PR*

Hi Mark,

First of all, let me thank you for providing information on this forum and helping people out with their issues.

Here is my situation. I am an international postgraduate student. I got visa (former 574 class) in the end of 2014, when I started my PhD. Then there was a long story of struggling with the project, which eventually led me to the termination of my candidature due to the lack of progress. There is currently an appeal process going on, and this is why my visa is still active. But I am expecting all this stuff to finish pretty soon with the negative decision on my case. And then, of course, DIBP will cancel my student visa, and I will leave the country.

So the question is: Can my cancelled student visa affect the decision on my PR (class 189) application in future (I will probably do it several months after the moment I leave) in a negative way, so that it even may be rejected? And if it turns out that I am not eligible for PR because of previously cancelled visa, will the SkillSelect reject my application right after EOI, before I pay the fee? Because, obviously, I would not want to waste money if it was already clear in advance that there is no point 

Thank you for your time!


----------



## vlad1987

Hello Mark,
My fiancée and I would like to have a Skype consultation with you if possible. 
In brief:
We both live and work in Dubai, Im from Kazakhstan and my fiancée is Australian. We know each other for 8 years. We are planning on getting married soon. We haven't decided yet when exactly. We need some guidance on where to start and how to make everything go smooth without missing important things. 
If you could help, your help will be much appreciated!
Thank you in advance Vlad & Helena


----------



## CPMaverick

Hello Mark-

I have what I believe is quite a simple question! But an important one...

For Citizenship Residency calculations, what counts as time away from Australia? Do days partially in Australia count fully towards residing in Australia, or not count at all? Or somewhere inbetween? 

For example, if you leave Australia on 10/5 and return on 15/5 at the same time of day, then you've spent 4 days (in terms of hours) outside Australia. But for the calculations for 'residing in Australia', have you spent 3,4,or 5 days away? As you've spent 3 full days outside Australia, but missed 5 full days of being 'fully' inside Australia. 

To put it another way, if you left Australia and came back the same day, would this count at against your time residing in Australia?

It is important to me as I've had many short trips outside Australia for work, and so these 'fringe' days add up, if they count against me. 

Thanks for your advice. I know there is a residency calculator that may have answered this basic question, but it has been inoperative since April.

Cheers


----------



## Sabindra

I would like to ask about 189 visa for overseas people. This visa is for my girlfriend. She has 6 years experience in IT( software engineer) so I would like to know the process and requirement for the overseas people. I would be great if I would get the reply from step to step wise. 

Thank you.


----------



## Tsering

Hi I m a registered nurse and finished my 3 years of nursing on December 2016.My Eoi was submitted on the 29 of July 2017 with 60 points but I still haven't received an invite. Am not sure what is happening as my agent has no idea too. Could you please rectify this matter. Thank you


----------



## po_yue

Hi Mark, I am currently holding a BVE and has applied for my parnter visa 820. Yesterday I received a call from home and my grandma is dying and I really want to flight back home and see her one last time and say goodbye. But I understand that my BVE will crease once I leave AUS, is there anything I can do to come back? Thanks


----------



## shah.nilesh1982

Hi Mark,

I came last week to Australia on Visa class - Temporary Business Entry (class UC) and Visa Subclass Temporary Work(Skilled) (subclass 457) which is from a agent and the employer with whom I am working is not my direct sponsor. I got to heard about the ENS 186 visa where if the employer is ready to sponsor and if I have 3yrs or more work experience and 6 band in IELTS I can apply for PR. 

So my question is can I apply for PR direct at this stage or do I have to wait for sometime to be eligible for PR? My current profile is I have a Master's degree from UK, +6 years of work experience (post my master's and overall +10 years work experience), 7 bands in IELTS. Also I want to apply for dependent visa for my partner and child so can these two visas be applied simultaneously?

Please if you can clear query so it will be great for me to take decision.

Thanks for your help in advance


----------



## arvindrajan92

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Arvind -
> 
> While it's not impossible, I've never seen this done for employment that isn't either claimed for points, relevant tot he occupation, or was part of the qualifying period of employment to become skilled per a skills assessment.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mr Mark,

Thank you very much for your kind advice all along. I was granted Visa 189 on September 14, 2017.

Best regards,
Arvind


----------



## patricerafferty

Hi there mark I just have a question regarding my subclass 820 partner visa I will be applying for in December. 

My parents have just sent me over my birth certificate from the uk, I have just had a look at it and it states on the bottom that I was formley known as a different surname, it was my mothers maidan name that I had until I was 3 years old when my parents got married. I had never realised this before as I haven't had any access to my birth certificate. 

What do I do in this situation for my application ? I have no documents of proof for the other surname. 

I have previously put on other visas that I have not been known as any other names.


----------



## PS10

Hey Mark
I filed for my boyfriend's dependent visa on the 27th of June
He is an Indian studying in the UK
I know it's just been two months but the waiting part is so frustrating!
I haven't got any email since

Is it normal for this to happen?

Can anyone who's got their dependent visa telme how long it took?
Also did they ask for any documents after submission of application?

Thank you!


----------



## SwiftyOz

Hi Mark,
Very quick question. My Thai girlfriend went back to Thailand on the 13th Sep 2017 on a 3 month 600 Visa. How long does she have to stay in Thailand before we can re-apply for another 600 Tourist visa for another 3 month stay. We have been together 12 months and have spent 5 of those 12 months living together. Thanks a bunch, can't seem to find the answer anywhere on the net.


----------



## Raman140109

I applied for partner visa(309) on 20 December 2016 at New Delhi ahc
Medicals done
Interview Calls from case officer done
Now i case officer asked me to sign form815
Any ideas how long to get the grant finalised after 815 form?


----------



## rishi1120

*ACS assessment*



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello, Mark

i got an assessment for code 2611313 software engineer in Aug-2016. But they approved only from sept 2015. I am working since 2011 with same company, same team and same job profile. I
Question: possible to file ACS again? what are the chances to get better approval?

Thank you and regards,
Rishi


----------



## letsdoit

Hi

I have lodged my wife Spouse visa 309 in April 2017 and didnt hear any thing till date.

I also applied for her visitor visa 600 in May2017 and received 03 months visa in July 2017 (though i applied for 6 months visa)

She joined me in Australia on in first week of August and her 03 month visit visa is valid till end of October.

I dont want her to go back and look forward to apply for her visit visa extension. Could you please help me to answer below questions

1. How much time in advance before visa expiry shall she apply for visit visa extension

2. How much time normally it takes for 600 visa extension to be granted (considering it will be on shore)

3. If the decision on her extension is delayed beyond validity of her current visit visa, what will be her status?

4. I have read online that I need to give compelling and compassionate reasons for extending her visit visa. How would you define that?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi cb12 and all -

Have been out of the country traveling, my apologies for the delay - will get caught up today on questions.

Re partner visa processing times, frankly they're all over the map. I put very, very little faith in anything posted on the DIBP site re processing times, as I see such wide variances in processing times that defy logic - ie, applications from low-risk countries varying widely from 12 months to 24 months, etc. In theory, the timeframe that was published at the time of application is the estimate that should apply, but these estimates seem to be so very general in nature and in many cases far removed from actual processing times, that I just can't put any faith in them.

I hate to say it, but there is just no way to know or even estimate processing times for partner visas with any sort of accuracy - wish I could be more help in this area, but that's my experience at this point.

Best,

Mark Northam



cb12 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> 1st of all thank you so much for taking time to answer people's questions around such varied issues, much appreciated.
> 
> Me and my partner have applied for the onshore partner visa (820) slightly over a year ago. Processing times when we applied where around 14 months minimum but more recently this was updated to 18 months minimum to 23 months in 90% of the cases.
> 
> I know from experience that reading forums is only adding up to the frustration as you'd sometimes see people getting their visa approved under 12 months when our application is what you'd call "decision ready".
> 
> Everything was uploaded upfront on our end, extremely detailed (we took 3 months to get everything ready etc.) and still...no news. We're also adding more evidence as we go (and I'm French, so from a fairly low risk country) Could you please confirm whether the processing times we should expect are those that were communicated when we submitted our application (18 months max), or shall we just assume that it's been a year now and that our application will most probably take 23+ months to get processed based on current times on the DIBP website? Or is there absolutely no way to know?
> 
> Thanks again so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dorada -

Thanks for the note. After you lodge your visa application and DIBP requests police clearances (PCCs), I would make every effort to obtain what is requested and, in the case you cannot obtain one because the authorities refuse to provide it, get evidence in the form of an email or letter, etc that shows that you tried to obtain the certificate and you were prevented from doing so - that will normally satisfy DIBP.

In some cases DIBP can provide a customised request letter that will allow an applicant to get a PCC from countries where normally they cannot - this can be obtained from DIBP when they request that you obtain the PCCs at some point after visa lodgement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



dorada said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm an Australian citizen looking to sponsor my Malaysian partner for a de-facto partner visa. We are still gathering information, proof etc and I have run into a few potential problems on my end as the sponsor and I'd like to ask someone more in the know.
> 
> I lived in Indonesia from the age of 13 until last year (I'm 22) and since then I have been living on & off in Malaysia with my partner. I've read that it is a requirement to obtain police certificates from any country I have been in for more than 12 months total, in my case this would include both Indonesia & Malaysia. I checked with my previous lawyer/agent in Indonesia and was advised as I'm no longer living there or on a work visa it would be impossible for me to obtain one and as I've only ever entered Malaysia on tourist visa's I can't obtain one from there either. In this case what would be the recommended course of action?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mathews -

Thanks for the note. No good way to estimate these - typically they are in the 5 to 10 month range, but as DIBP has no time limits on itself, that's only a very rough guess.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pamajit said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I had lodged an application for SC189 on June 24th,2017 . I received notification on a CO being allocated on my case on August 16th,2017.
> 
> I wish to know the current processing period for SC 189 , and also that, after a CO is allocated, how long would it take to receive a response from their end on a visa grant.
> 
> Thanks,
> Mathews


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adexglobe -

Great - you'll have to see what EA thinks of the degree and to what extent EA considers it to be equivalent to an Australian Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering - no good way to predict that, just have to go through the process with EA and see what they say.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Adexglobe said:


> Hi Mark, I have a question regarding my qualification being accredited by Engineers Australia. I have a bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from an internationally accredited university in West Africa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Muayad -

Thanks for the note. Normally those who are able to get offshore humanitarian visas face immediate danger or risk to their life due to living in a war-torn country, etc. Short of that, I would look into an employer sponsored visa or skilled visa depending on your skills, education, work experience and age. Another alternative is a student visa if you wish to increase your skills in order to qualify for an Australian visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MUAYAD said:


> HI MR MARK
> i wish you're in good health
> 
> My name is MUAYAD I'm 22-21 old and I'm Resident in Saudi Arabia
> i want your help please Consider me your little son .
> 
> I was born in Saudi Arabia However, I do not get my rights and I do not get my nationality and my father Also is born in Saudi Arabia .
> My nationality is Yemen
> I was exposed to racism almost daily.
> There is no hope for citizenship rights.
> We pay for the residence annually like any newcomer to the country.
> I do not have the freedom to work easily you must have a guarantor to work
> And you are not authorized to work as a university student
> Must change his profession and complex systems.
> 
> I need home respect me.
> 20 years I forgot what it was like to be part of homeland
> 
> I checked australia.gov before one Month
> About the form (842) application for an offshore humanitarian visa
> Refugee and humanitarian (class XB) visa
> 
> I do not know does this include me?
> Do I have a chance or there is another way
> I want with all my heart to be an Australian citizen
> 
> Please advise me what to do Mr. Mark
> 
> At the end I apologize for my English
> 
> Sincerely,
> MUAYAD ZAIN


----------



## MarkNortham

Glad to be able to help!

Best,

Mark Northam



Kinley ZD said:


> Thank you so much for your precious time.....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amitsutar -

Thanks for the note. An assessment does not mean a refusal is pending - DIBP asks different levels of questions, etc depending on their level of concern with an application or particular parts of an application. Suggest you lodge employment reference documents when you apply for the visa - it is no longer safe to assume that DIBP will ask for any missing documents and give you time to provide them - this used to be customary, but is no longer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amitsutar said:


> Thank you so much Mark for response. Sorry for further questions, but when DIBP ask for assessing then is it a refusal?
> I am planning to go ahead with current EOI and provide reference letter, payslip and other documents when asked for.
> 
> My new employer would be helpful enough to answer DIBP call.
> 
> Let me know if I am missing something.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swapnilbhadale -

Thanks for the question - as long as she has at least 6 months to go on her student visa, it is generally possible to apply for a subsequent entrant student visa for a dependent such as a partner. A key issue however is that the married relationship (or de facto if applicable) must not have existed at the time she was previously granted her student visa unless that relationship was disclosed on her student visa grant. If the partner relationship is "new" - ie, she was not married when she previously applied for and was granted her student visa, but is now married, that generally works out OK. Suggest you go through all requirements for the student visa carefully -

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



swapnilbhadale said:


> Greetings Mark,
> 
> My girlfriend is already studying in Australia on a student visa. We will be getting married later this year. What would be the process to get a dependent visa for me? Will she have to reapply for a student visa along with my details in the application?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Isuru92 -

I have serious doubts re: a B Com bachelor degree satisfying the academic requirements for CPA Australia or the other skills assessors for accountants. Additionally, interestingly the points needed for getting an invitation for a subclass 189 visa seem to have increased to 85 per the last report from DIBP as a result of competition among applicants with EOI's trying to get invitations.

There is no shortcut to actually undergoing the skills assessment process, but you'll need to see how that goes before proceeding with an EOI, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Isuru92 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner did his B.Com from Madurai Kamaraj University, will it be valid to migrate to Australia as an Accountant? anzsco code 221111 he doesn't have any work experience, but has got ielts above 8 and age group 25-30, so gets 65 points.
> 
> Business Correspondence and Office Methods
> 
> 2 Part-II - English LENG01
> Part III
> 3 Managerial Economics
> 
> 4 Theory and Practice of Business Organisation
> 
> 5 Advanced Financial Accounting - I
> 
> II 1 Business Environment & Entrepreneurship
> Development
> 
> 2 Principle and Practice of Insurance & Marketing
> 
> 3 Modern Banking Theory Law and Practice
> 
> 4 Business Statistics and Mathematics
> 
> 5 Introduction to Information Technology
> 
> 6 Part IV - General Knowledge UKGL01
> 
> 2 Business Legislation
> 
> 3 Practical Auditing
> 
> 4 Practical Costing
> 
> 5 Management Accounting
> 
> (or)
> Human Resource Development
> 
> 6 Organisational Behaviour
> 
> 7 Part V - Environmental Studies


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roop -

Thanks for the note. For state sponsored version of 489, occupation must be on STSOL or MLTSSL list - for family sponsored version of 489, occupation must be on MLTSSL.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



roop123 said:


> Hi
> 
> I am planning to apply 489 visa under Invited pathway, state nominated category.
> But under additional eligibility conditions, I have seen nominated occupation should be on MLTSSL list. But my occupation is not listed in MLTSSL list but it is mentioned in Tasmaina state sponsorship list.
> 
> So can you please help which list i should follow for applying this type of visa.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phil -

Thanks for the note - if I'm not mistaken I think we may have discussed your case in a consult some time after this msg was posted.

From what you've said, I would look more closely at the subclass 300 visa, especially given the living together timetable and history you've presented.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



philcouturier said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you are well. My partner (27) and I (24) are looking at visas which would let us live together in Australia. We are looking at either the subclass 300 or the subclass 309/100.
> 
> My partner is Australian and I am Canadian, and we have been in a relationship for four years. We met in Canada while she was on a work visa and spent the first year and a half together in Canada. I then received a subclass 417 visa and we lived in Australia for 9 months, before returning to Canada. My partner left Canada to pursue school in Australia in Feb 2017, and I am doing the same in Canada.
> 
> The reason we aren't sure which visa to apply for, is that we do not have much official evidence of our relationship. We received our housing from our work, and thus don't have a lease agreement with our names on it, nor do we have joint bills, or a joint bank account. We have many photos, messages and friends testimonies but we are worried this wont be enough for a subclass 309/100. I'm sure we have more than we think, for example we could get stat decs from our landlords and such.
> 
> Would it make more sense for us to apply for a subclass 300? It is my understanding that we would require less evidence? Also because we've been apart for the last 6 months this seems like the best option. Thoughts?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Phil


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi RubyLoo -

Thanks for the note. If your partner is a NZ citizen but is NOT an "eligible NZ citizen" (see more at https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/faqs/what-is-an-eligible-new-zealand-citizen ) then I do not see any reason why he would not be able to sponsored for a partner visa for Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RubyLoo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have what I hope is an easy question, I just can't seem to find any information about it anywhere.
> 
> I am an Australian citizen and my fiance is a New Zealand citizen. He has lived in Australia for 11 years and we have lived together for nearly 4 years. He wants to get Aus citizenship but it seems to be next to impossible. Is a de facto spouse or spouse visa an option for us? I see nothing on immi.gov that says that kiwis can't apply but other Aus/Kiwi couples I know tell me it's not an option.
> 
> Do you know anything about this? Or another pathway he could take?
> 
> Thanks so much in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jaytee -

Yes - describe her circumstances as best you can (you'll need to do this both for the application and for Form 80 to be lodged with the application) and advise you don't have complete records - include what info you do have however. Nevertheless you will need to determine what countries she's lived in for a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years for purposes of obtaining police certificates.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jaytee said:


> Hi Mark,
> My wife of 5 years used to be cabin crew for an international airlines for the majority of the last decade. When it comes to listing all international travel, it's next to impossible to recall every international trip she's made in the last 10 years (thousands).
> 
> Any advice on how to handle this in the application?
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Duszek -

Great question! Your original application was a combined application for both an 820 and 810 visa. The 820 was granted, and it's a provisional/temporary visa. The application for the 801 is still pending. To progress this after the 2 year mark from the original date of application, you'll need to make a second stage partner visa application online via ImmiAccount - it's not actually a new application, but it's new info/documents/relationship evidence/application form that will be added to the existing pending application. Currently there is no additional fee to make the second stage application.

Making this is easy - go to your ImmiAccount (or create a new one if you don't have a previous one available) and click on new application, family, second stage partner visa. Once you've lodged, you'll want to upload new relationship evidence in the 4 required categories (social, financial, commitment, household) and provide other documents as requested by DIBP.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Duszek said:


> Hi!
> 
> it has been over 2 years since lodging my visa application (Partner (Temporary) (class UK) Partner (subclass 820) visa) and I still haven't been contacted by the immigration department regarding permanent visa. On my grant letter it says "You do not need to make a further application for the permanent visa. Generally, applicants become eligible two years after the date of the lodgement of the combined application. Shortly before that date, the department will write to you and invite to provide further information." but when I emailed immigration I get automatic response saying that they won't reply to my email if the answer to my question can be found on the list they sent, and there I found this:
> 
> 13. I have been granted a temporary Partner visa (subclass 820) and I want to be assessed for a permanent Partner visa (subclass 801)
> 
> You will become eligible for consideration of a Stage 2 - Permanent Partner (subclass 801) visa two years after your Partner visa application was initially lodged.
> 
> To check your eligibility and submit further information for the Stage 2 - Permanent Partner (subclass 801) visa, please visit http://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/forms/online/partner-permanent-calculator
> 
> When I go to that website it basically tells me that I need to make an application for 801 visa, but why does it say on my grant letter that I don't need to make any further applications? This is very confusing. Can you please help me Mark?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xena -

I would provide the later date, make sure you are providing a substantial reason for the visit, and then return earlier if you want to - generally there is no problem at all returning earlier than intended with a BVB, however there is no way to extend a BVB once granted, so better to estimate later rather than earlier re: return date. Re one-way ticket, not sure how DIBP will assess that - it's usually done on a case by case basis - return tickets are always better but a one-way ticket does not doom a BVB application because in many cases applicants simply don't yet know the details of their return trip.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Xena said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I applied for visa 820 in May 2017and I am currently on Bridging visa A. I would like to go overseas in December ( i have already booked flight),but only one way flight ticket. I havent bought flight ticket back yet. I would like to make decision straight in abroad how long i wil be staying, if two or three months. Honestly, I dont know what I should write in Bridging visa B application as "date of return". Do you think that is possible fill in date of returning e.g. three months later after my leaving Australia and after then return back earlier in real, if i will need? Or date of returning fill in application should be the same as real date of return?
> 
> Thank you for responds and help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ze -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, Yes as long as you meet all the requirements of the visa and your 651 does not have a condition on it (such as condition 8503) that limits further applications when onshore with that visa.Re 2, a private debt like that would not normally have any impact on an Australian visa application, and Australia does not request debt or credit information for visa applications. Re 3, you'd have to have a valid passport at the time the visa is applied for and the time the visa is granted in most cases.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ze said:


> Hello, i have some quick questions:
> 
> Im a German citizen, married to an Australian citizen since November 2015. We´re currently living in Germany and will leave in Feb/Apr 2018 forever depending on the schedule.
> 
> 1) Can i apply for a partner visa 820 onshore some days after our arrival (we enter together, while i enter Australia on eVisitor 651)
> Are the 820/651 "compatible" to this way of arriving or do i have to get another visa to enter first?
> 
> 2) Will a private credit debt to my German bank here interfere in any way with the or any visa process? (It´s not a debt to the German government or the Australian government or Commonwealth)
> Will they ask for an outstanding debt at all?
> 
> 3) What if in the visa process the passport is made invalid just to force me back?
> 
> Thank you!!


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Daisyzz -

Thanks for the note. From an immigration standpoint, DIBP will look for you to have made a genuine effort to complete 2 years of employment for the sponsor once the visa is granted. If that doesn't happen (ie, you quit early) or is impossible (ie, you get fired or the company goes out of business, etc), then a series of specific policies are used by DIBP to determine based on what you were able to complete of the employment whether a "genuine effort" was made by you to complete the employment commitment of 2 years.

Would need to discuss the rest of the elements of the case with you in a consultation as it gets too complicated for quick replies on the forum - please see my website below in my signature for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



daisyzz said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am looking for the guide and advice. I am currently in 187 visa, I started to work for the employer from December 2015 with bridging visa of 187, then got PR visa granted in September 2016. I signed contract for 3 years. But the employer she said the employment starts from Jan 2017. According to her saying, I have to work for her till jan 2020.
> 1. what she said is correct or not? or I only need to work for 2 years till sep 2018 according to 187 visa condition?
> 2. What will happen to my PR visa-187 type if I quit before the contract termination date? Currently, I am thinking to leave this job for 6 months or more. because my husband's visit visa 600 has been refused for 5 times with agent assistants, btw he is from Russia. He can't come to Australia to visit me. His partner visa 390 is on going. The result will come in 6-12 months even more.
> 
> Many thanks


----------



## mbaltao

Sir Mark can you please help me i have 1 question only, im planning to lodge my application to vetassess 5years and 7 months of experience as civil draftsman and for what i read they ussually remove 1 year but i need 5 years to get 60 point my plan is to add my additional work expirience but i dont have paid evidence with regards to reference letter my previous project engineer can provide me and also that company is close already. what can be the possible solution sir. please help me i tried several people asking same questions but i dont get responds


----------



## Eliza2017

*visa 836/187*

Hi Mark,

I am going to move to Australia.

I would like to apply for 836 in Australia. Should I have experience or formal level of education to apply for this visa to be able to care my relatives? I can not find nothing on immi website.

Firstly I am going to apply for a visitor visa and then applying in Australia for 836 visa. After applying for 836 visa can I apply for bridge visa A (BVA) in short time ?
Being on BVA :
1) will have I to pay for insurance medicare and my children school and whether i depends on state ?
2) will I have permission on work ?
3) will my husband have permission on work ?
4) can I apply for 187 visa when I find employer for example in Qeensland although I`ve already applied for 836 in WA

thank you very much for reply


----------



## TravisAnggia

Hi Mark im hoping you can help me please?

Im currently holding tourist visa and stay in australia for the past 6months with condition 3months out of the country and come back after one week. My second entry few weeks ago i been informed by immigration that i am not allowed back to Australia in short period time which is confused me because my agent previously told me it was fine to go this way. So anyway my partner and I are planning to get married by the end of year but on early december i need to go offshore again.

My questions are :

1. Can i come back again to australia after a week but going to different state? ( normally i came back to WA but for getting married im intended to go Melb)

2. Can i get married with my tourist visa in Melb and process the partner visa? And can i apply onshore?

3. What is the right visa for me to apply in my circumstances? 

Thank you in advance


----------



## CPMaverick

Hi Mark-

I was wondering if you had any comments about my question below? Thanks so much for your time.

Cheers



CPMaverick said:


> Hello Mark-
> 
> I have what I believe is quite a simple question! But an important one...
> 
> For Citizenship Residency calculations, what counts as time away from Australia? Do days partially in Australia count fully towards residing in Australia, or not count at all? Or somewhere inbetween?
> 
> For example, if you leave Australia on 10/5 and return on 15/5 at the same time of day, then you've spent 4 days (in terms of hours) outside Australia. But for the calculations for 'residing in Australia', have you spent 3,4,or 5 days away? As you've spent 3 full days outside Australia, but missed 5 full days of being 'fully' inside Australia.
> 
> To put it another way, if you left Australia and came back the same day, would this count at against your time residing in Australia?
> 
> It is important to me as I've had many short trips outside Australia for work, and so these 'fringe' days add up, if they count against me.
> 
> Thanks for your advice. I know there is a residency calculator that may have answered this basic question, but it has been inoperative since April.
> 
> Cheers


----------



## Ggil25

Hi Mark, 

My partner and I have applied for a PMV, and it looks as though it will not be approved by our wedding date. We have two back up plans in case it has not been approved in time, so that we do not have to cancel it as we have already organised travel for relatives etc. 

Plan B: have a commitment ceremony (not a legal wedding) so that our family can be there, and then go ahead with the legal aspect after our PMV is approved. Question: is this allowed as far as immigration is concerned? 

Plan C: get married on an ETA, and change our application to one for a spousal visa. 
Question: will we need to apply for a new visa and pay application fee again, or is it possible to just change your partner visa application from prospective marriage to spousal? 

Thank you in advance! 
Ggil25


----------



## baldur

Hi Mark,
i have got a bit of a situation.
I applied on the 22nd of september for the visa 485 at the same time i was requesting my health insurance's start date to be changed from 24th to 22nd of september. They said they did and sent me the new policy but they didnt. then it was the weekend and i asked them again for the rectify on monday which was 25th. So they sent me the new document my start date was the 22nd but the issue date of the document was the 25th. Would it be a problem? Also i paid for the insurance on the 15th. I can prove this obviously but they just didnt send me the correct dated document on time. 
Thanks very much in advance.


----------



## V88

Hi Mark, Will my 485 visa application be cancelled if i leave australia?


----------



## northwesterninstitute

*Introduction*

Hello Mark,

It is a pleasure to read your profile. Always nice to see others assisting those who require further information in the field of migration.

We would be interested in following your discussions on Visa's.

We look forward to further reviewing your posts in the near future.

Kind Regards,

Northwestern Institute


----------



## jfperez05

Hi there Mark,

I hope you are doing well.

My question is in regards of the Temporary Graduate 485 visa.

Can I use an ACS Full Skills Assessment (that includes skilled employment + Australian Qualification assessment) for the purpose of applying for the Temporary Graduate 485 visa under the Graduate stream?

The reason I ask is because there is a special Temporary Graduate 485 Skills assessment that only assess qualification obtained in Australia for the purpose of this visa. 

Do you think the Department will accept a Full Skills Assessment for this visa? (Pls assume that all other requirements for the 485 visa are met)

Thanks for your time.

Jonathan.


----------



## paul48

*evistor 651*

Mark can you help please? I have been going around in circles for a week or 2 now, The problem is this: I want a evistor 651 for myself and my wife. but every time I try to apply I am told to start a IMMI account, which I have done
but every time I go to my IMMI account it (the account) assumes that I have already applied for the visa and puts me into search mode for an application that I have not yet filled in, so I try new application which then sends me back to my IMMI account (which I didn't realize that I had left) and the cycle stars all over again. any help would be gratefully received. Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leap02 -

Thanks for the note and sorry for the delay - getting caught up on all posts as I'm just finishing up my leave - I expect you may have already worked this out, however there is a good technical support request area if you're having any technical issues with ImmiAccount, etc:

https://www.border.gov.au/about/cor...rms/online/immiaccount-technical-support-form

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Leap02 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm in a pickle here. I paid the application fee for my 190 visa via credit card. But my application is still in "Ready to Submit" mode in my immiaccount. I also did not receive any acknowledgement or receipt for the payment. On the other hand, I received message from the credit card bank that "credit card charge made online". Could you please comment on this.
> The credit card is from a US bank and it was Sunday when I did the payment from Pakistan.
> 
> Thanks﻿


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ria -

Yes, an assessment of work experience only (NOT a full skills assessment) can be valid even if generated after application - this is often the case if DIBP disputes the validity or relevance of work experience and the matter is referred to a skills assessor for assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



23188977 said:


> Hi Mark. Thanks for your detailed and quick reply. I am just seeking one more help from you. As I mentioned earlier that I have received invitation already on 6th September. So if I want to get assessment done for additional work experience then can I get it during the visa application? I mean will it be valid if I produce it during processing of application?
> 
> Regards
> Ria


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nndshkhr -

Thanks for the note - no way to predict processing times these days at DIBP - it's all over the map and changes frequently - wish I could help, but that's the current situation.

Best,

Mark Northam



nndshkhr said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have raised a 457 subsequent entrant visa for my partner on 17th Aug.
> 
> What should be the time frame to expect for the VISA to process. I checked for it in the IMMI's site and it says 4-6 months.
> 
> I wanted to know if theyhave separate queues for 457 and 457 subsequent entrant VISA types.
> 
> Any information regarding this is much appreciated.
> 
> TIA.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Patrickc1986 -

2 weeks in my view is very optimistic these days. Unfortunately no good way to predict processing times these days, they are all over the place. My very rough guess - 4 to 8 weeks.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



patrickc1986 said:


> Hi Mark, I have lodged my 457 application 4 weeks ago (job MLTSLL covered, with de-factor relationship included for my partner , we both from Hong Kong).
> 
> The company part has been approved and they are accredited one.
> 
> I just want to know what is the expected process time ? The migration told me we could expect 2 weeks for approval but it's been 4 weeks.
> 
> Any previous similar successful case to give me a hope ? Thanks a lot Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Damian -

Thanks for the note. All depends on where you want to spend the 12 to 18 months it will likely take to process the partner visa. Lodgement onshore in Australia may be possible if you get a visitor visa that does not have the 8503 (no further stay) condition.

Would need to discuss your circumstances in more detail at a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case - see my website below in my signature for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Familyof4 said:


> Ok great thanks you for that. My situation I find myself in is that I am a British Citizen in a long term relationship (10 years plus 2 children) with my Australia Partner. We have lived in England for 9 years and now we urgently need to return to Australia. The children have Aussie passports as does my partner. She is leaving in November and I want to join her as quickly as possible but I am not sure whether I should apply for my partner visa here in England & possibly have to wait 12-18 months for it to be granted. Or do I fly to Australia on a holiday visa and then apply to stay while I am there. What do you think is the best option?
> Thank you for your time.
> Damian


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rony85 -

DIBP makes reasonable allowances for holiday time out of the country (typically 3 weeks per year, so 6 weeks over 2 years) without counting that against the living time to qualify for the 887. As long as you were still living (ie maintaining a residence) in Australia while you were overseas, the overseas time should not count against your living time in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Rony85 said:


> My 489 was granted on 1st Oct 2015 and I travelled overseas for 6 week on 14th Oct. Can I apply for 887 on 1 Oct 2017 or I have to wait for another 6 week.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Acdabc -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, yes. Re 2, correct - if the student visa is withdrawn, its BVA would usually cease 35 days (or in some cases 28 days) after the withdrawal is accepted by DIBP. Re 3&4, would need to know more about your visa history to predict this - work limitations on BVCs are not simply a matter of whether the person has previously been unlawful - there are a number of factors that go into determining work limitation or not on a BVC, and whether any work limitation can be removed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



acdabc said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your previous answer, really appreciate it. if i may, i would like to ask another question.if bridging visa A is currently hold while waiting for the decision for student visa, from my understanding if wanting to apply for graduate visa (485) the following things would happen
> 1.bridging visa C would be granted?
> 2. Bridging visa C would come into effect only when bridging visa A expires or the student visa is refused/withdrawn?
> 3. Would there be any working rights for Bridging visa C if applying for 485? (an agent told me work limitation for BVC only applies to those who have been unlwaful non citizen in australia in the past, but not to those who have not, is that correct?)
> 4. If decided to apply for 485 while holding bridging visa A for student visa application, what would the new work limitation be if the current bva condition is only 8105 (work limitation)? is it still required to go to school?
> 
> Thank you for your time, really appreciated your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lsuru92 -

Great question - I would need to do some policy research to determine this one as the law has been interpreted differently at different times in this area, since a distance learning course is generally not valid for study under a student visa - the question is whether DIBP would simply ignore it because it's not "study" as qualifies for a student visa. Feel free to contact me via email to discuss further.

Best,

Mark Northam



Isuru92 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I was wondering whether it is possible to be to enrolled in 2 full time courses while on student visa? One full time on campus and the other through distance learning/online?
> at 2 different universities.
> 
> thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jlmjlmjlm -

Thanks for the note. There is no condition on the 489 visa (or BVA awaiting a 489 decision) that requires you to work in your nominated occupation. There is some DIBP policy that makes some vague reference to "expecting" you to work in your nominated occupation once the 489 is granted, but I have never heard of this actually being used since under the legal requirements for an 887 visa, there is no requirement that the qualifying 12 months of work be in your nominated occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jlmjlmjlm said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I just need some advice regarding about 489 visa application.
> 
> I already have positive skills assessment and finished pte language exam.
> I am also already invited by the state.
> I applied for 489 visa using my chef skills and currently have bridging visa A.
> I am just waiting for decision on my 489 visa.
> 
> Is it ok if I work on a different line of work or I need to stay being a chef?
> Is that going to affect my visa decision?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zpat978 -

Yes, assuming you meet the requirements of those visa(s) - holding a 489 does not prevent you from applying for another visa assuming there is no condition on your 489 that limits further onshore applications.

Best,

Mark Northam



zpat978 said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> Please help with a question.. i have received grant for 489 fsc visa can i still continue to apply for 190 visa for nsw or victoria ?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ibrahimlsmail -

Thanks for the question. In theory, yes, however note that DIBP can request a copy of your complete skills assessment application (with supporting evidence) from the skills assessor if they wish, and can compare the documents you provided to the assessor with what you provided with your visa application - if there are discrepancies, it can open up the possibility of problems including allegations of fraudulent documents if the documents conflict with each other in some way.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



IbrahimIsmail said:


> Hi Mark ;
> 
> In case I did EA assessment (MSA outcome letter ) without assessing my experience period , Could I submit to DIBP different experience letters and documents rather that what I have submitted to EA while lodging to claim work experience points ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mtheperry -

Thanks for the kind words - you can generally include that after your family name, ie:

Given name: John
Family Name: Smith Jr

Would put it with the given name only if that is clearly how your passport lists it, as DIBP usually matches against passport records.

I've only seen a few instances of where this can cause issues.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mtheperry said:


> Hi, Mark! What you're doing here is really a great thing. My question is about the suffix in my name. I am xxx xxx xxx Jr. Should I include this in my visa application (462)? It is on my passport, but I'm not sure in which line I would include it, family or given names.
> 
> tia


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vishal -

That regulation applies only if you owe the Commonwealth of Australia (ie, the federal government of Australia) money. Does not cover private debts (ie credit cards), bank loans, etc. and credit rating issues do not generally affect Australian immigration processing, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vishal2305 said:


> hi everyone,
> i was about to apply for 189 skilled independent visa and i have a doubt that, theres a question which says ''You must have repaid, or have arranged to repay, any outstanding debts to the Australian government.'' so my question is that i need to pay my credit card of 10k so does it causes problem for me?? am slowly repaying though.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ooleooo -

Thanks for the note. If your subclass 600 visitor visa has a condition on it that "business visitor activities" are permitted, then you're probably OK, as long as what you're doing in Australia is not included in the normal day-to-day work you do for your employer - you can google "business visitor activities DIBP" and get a more detailed idea of what is permitted. If you needed to get a business visitor subclass 600 visa, then you can certainly travel before the meeting and enjoy some downtime in Australia relaxing, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ooleooo said:


> Hello @MarkNortham, thanks for being so awesome replying people's questions all the time.
> 
> I tried using the search tool, and couldn't find what I was looking for, which probably has been asked before.
> 
> I'm from Argentina and currently have a 600 visitor visa, I've used it twice, and expires next november.
> 
> The question is, I've been invited by my boss (Australia) for a business meeting (basically go to the office located in Pt. Macquarie and listen to the balance of the company and new goals).
> 
> The question is, will my 600 visitor visa work for that purpose, keeping in mind that I will also travel for a week before going to the meeting (because it's a looooong flight, and jetlag kills me every time)? Can I do both things on a visa?
> 
> If not possible, will a business visa let me travel before the business meeting?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Miriam -

Thanks for the note. It's worth seeing what you put on your student visa application to try and sort this out - you can get a copy of that application at no cost by lodging DIBP Form 424A to get a copy of the application under the Freedom of Information provisions of the migration regulations.

I'd probably do what you can to have the relationship registration not show a date prior to the student visa grant date as the start date assuming you did not declare the relationship on the student visa application. The whole issue of whether the case officer would dig into things to see what you put on the student visa application or not is unpredictable and definitely in the "gray area" in terms of whether they would or would not be likely to do this, but better safe than sorry in my view regarding this kind of potential issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Miriam93 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> My partner and I are currently getting everything together for my partner visa application.
> We met in 2013 when I was on a working holiday visa and I then decided to study here. I had to return home for 8 months in between. Since Feb 2015 I've been back in Australia on my student visa. To make our application stronger we decided to register our relationship last week. In the registration for the 'date when we entered into a de facto relationship' we put 26.12.13. I have now been alerted that if I haven't declared my de facto relationship in my student visa application, we can get into trouble because we have declared an earlier de facto date as I submitted my student visa application.
> I honestly cannot remember if I have been asked about my relationship status in my student visa application, let alone what my answer would have been.
> 
> Can you shed some light on this for me? My friend suggested to just withdraw our application to register the relationship and change the date on it. Or is there any chance I can access my student visa question and see what I answered? I assume I would have said my main intent for applying for the student visa was to study.
> 
> Thank you so much in advance
> Miriam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CeGo -

Thanks for the note. It sounds like you're going to be better off sticking with the PR Professional occupation code - the question is whether you can manage to perform enough tasks/duties that fall within this code to justify keeping it - there is another issue, that if you actually changed occupation codes while holding the 457, you would technically need to get a new nomination and new visa application both under the new occupation code before you could "begin working" under that code since the 457 limits you to working only under the nominated occupation code unless you get a new nomination and visa under a new code.

Happy to discuss this in more detail at a consultation to explore your circumstances in more detail and answer any questions - see info on my website listed below in my signature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CeGo said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Firstly, thanks for taking the time to give advice, it's really appreciated.
> 
> I have been on my 457 (ANZSCO: PR Professional) for more than two years with the same employer so eligible for the transitional stream to PR.
> 
> However, during my time on the 457, I have changed roles and was promoted from a Senior Communications Specialist to a Corporate Communications Manager - I am in effect doing the majority of the same duties - publicity, events, communications support. This is reflected in my current job description so it's more of just a title change as I moved into the Corporate Communications team (both of my positions sit under the same overall Communications team for the business).
> 
> However, I noticed that the Communications Manager title is in a different ANZSCO code but when I looked at the duties of this and the corresponding requirements for this code in the AIM Skills Assessment, I am nowhere near having the senior level of management experience, direct reports or control of the communications function. I report to the Head of Communications who oversees this function.
> 
> My question is that I am now looking to apply for PR and wondering whether this job role change is going to be a problem, whether its considered a different occupation and therefore a different ANZSCO?
> 
> Given that the public relations roles are on the short-term list, I am trying to get this submitted ahead of March.
> 
> Any advice appreciated, thanks again.
> CeGo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Munishghai74 -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on your visa grant!

Re 1, No. Best you can do it you miss the must enter by date is to ask them not to cancel the visa for breach of that requirement.

Re 2, likely not an issue, but you will have to get a visitor visa or some other visa to get your child into the country.

Re 3, No, unless there is a condition on your visa that the primary visa holder must enter Australia at the same time or before any secondary holder on your visa enters (somewhat rare these days, but check your visa to be sure).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



munishghai74 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I was granted 189 Visa last month (Aug 9th), for myself and spouse. However we are given only 4 months before we can make our 1st visit (Dec 9th). We just had a baby, hardly a month old and we don't wanna go permanently right away. Just a short trip to get the stamps. So had some questions:
> 
> 1. Any chance if I can extend this date from Dec 9. A couple months, if not more.
> 
> 2. We didn't inform CO with Change of Circumstances form, while wifey was pregnant (Didn't wanna put our application on hold). Now when we inform the authorities that we have a baby who would like to migrate with us. Can this be an issue? Or they don't care as long as we pay for Child Visa.
> 
> 3. Is it a mandate, that me and my wife has to travel together for the visa grant? Can we travel on different dates?
> 
> Would appreciate some help on this. Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tessa -

Thanks for the note and I believe we might have discussed this after you made the post - it's essentially within the discretion of the case officer whether to initiate cancellation proceedings for the student visa or not. There is some policy that says that the decision maker should be mindful of whether a PR visa has been applied for when considering cancellation, but having a PR visa application lodged does not always protect against early completion cancellation. If DIBP does start cancellation proceedings, I'd try to convince them to delay them pending a decision on the lodged PR visa. However in any event, the bridging visa from the PR application will not come into effect until the student visa expires on its own.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tessaf said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> My partner is on a student visa subclass 572. He is changing his course but it will finish approximately 7 months before his student visa was set to expire. He also has a bridging visa A from our partner visa application that was submitted 12 months however as his student visa overrides this its not in effect.
> 
> Essentially I've called immigration twice now both who have said completely opposite things. One person told me that after his course finishes he doesn't have to re enrol and his bridging visa will come into effect. The other said this is incorrect and he has to re enrol. Do you have any advice about what we should do?
> 
> Cheers,
> Tessa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Agastaya -

Thanks for the note. I can't give you specific advice for your case without seeing your documents, however I can advise that under the skilled visa points test, to get 15 points for a bachelor degree, as long as the degree is assessed as equivalent to an Australian bachelor degree, there is no DIBP requirement that it be relevant to the nominated application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Agastaya said:


> Dear Mark, Hope you are doing well.
> Well my query is, I have got my vetassess done with positive outcome. But it states that my bachelor degree is not highly relevant to the nominated trade and that's why vetassess has deducted 02 of my work experience from 04 years.
> I just want to know whether I will get my graduation degree points or not. Since they have mentioned it degree is comparable to the education level of the AQF bachelor degree and therefore at the required level.
> could you please help me out if I can claim points for my bachelor degree or not.
> 
> Many thanks in advance for you valuable guidance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bahaa -

Thanks for the note. I'd like to help but would need to go through your circumstances and documents in detail at a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case - too many complex issues for a quick answer here in the forum - see my website below in my signature for more info if interested -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bobzarka said:


> Customer svs call center manager (149212/ 211)
> Visa 190
> Hello Mark, im new here and its the first post for me , im really glad to join you.
> I'm planning to submit my work Experience and qualification for the vetasses assessment and i need your kind assistant on the below inquiry;
> I'm planning to apply for skill occupation under the customer service manager
> (ANZSCO NO. 149212)
> , i have three experience contact center supervisor and two years experience as customer service support manager and four year experience as Head of contact center and another for year experience as customer service director and the Employee letters and JD's are supporting this . I need to achive 8 years and above experience to get the required point im 42 y/o.
> 
> As per the ANZSCO classification ;
> 1220.0 - ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, 2013, Version 1.2
> for this occupation says:
> UNIT GROUP 1492 Call or Contact Centre and Customer Service Managers
> UNIT GROUP 1492 CALL OR CONTACT CENTRE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGERS
> 
> CALL OR CONTACT CENTRE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGERS organise and control the operations of call or contact centres, review customer services, and maintain sound customer relations.
> Indicative Skill Level:
> Most occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with the qualifications and experience outlined below.
> 
> In Australia:
> 
> AQF Associate Degree, Advanced Diploma or Diploma (ANZSCO Skill Level 2)
> 
> In New Zealand:
> NZ Register Diploma (ANZSCO Skill Level 2)
> 
> At least three years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualifications listed above. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification.
> Tasks Include:
> 
> developing and reviewing policies, programs and procedures concerning customer relations and goods and services provided
> ensuring operational efficiency within a call centre
> providing direction and feedback to team members and assisting with recruitment
> managing, motivating and developing staff providing customer services
> planning and implementing after-sales services to follow up customer satisfaction, ensure performance of goods purchased, and modify and improve services provided
> liaising with other organisational units, service agents and customers to identify and respond to customer expectations
> may work in a call centre
> 
> Occupations:
> 149211 Call or Contact Centre Manager
> 149212 Customer Service Manager
> 
> 149211 CALL OR CONTACT CENTRE MANAGER
> 
> Organises and controls the operations of a call or contact centre. May work in a call centre.
> Skill Level: 2
> 
> 149212 CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER
> 
> Alternative Titles:
> Client Service Manager
> Service Manager
> 
> Plans, administers and reviews customer services and after-sales services, and maintains sound customer relations.
> 
> My Question and based on the above , Do you consider the customer service manager and call center manager the same during the assessment?as i have applied befor for the customer service manager and the result was negative , as belive the agency who was handling my case were not aware of my file 100%.
> Thank you in advance
> Bahaa Alzarka


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ShermD -

Thanks for the note - can provide general info but would need to work with you to learn more about your specific circumstances in order to give you advice specific for your case - to your questions:

1 - If the main applicant is granted a 189 visa, all secondary applicants on the application are also granted the same visa. So in the case of 189, all would become permanent residents when the visas are granted.

2 - Potentially yes, but the PR visa holder sponsoring parents would have to be "settled" in Australia prior to sponsoring the parents (must have lived in Australia on some sort of visa for 2 years) and must also be usually resident in Australia.

3 - I expect some sort of a parent visa may be the best bet here - note the two new temporary parent visa versions coming out in November 2017.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ShermD said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Please assume that I don't have any current Visa for Australia.
> 
> Scenario: Suppose that, I've got an invitation for permanent residency visa (subclass 189), and I'm going to lodge a visa application, which I'll include my husband, and my two kids who are under 6 yrs old.
> 
> 1. If I've been granted a PR visa, what type of visa my husband and kids receive? are those "TR" visa? or "PR" visa just like my visa?
> 
> 2. If I've been granted a PR visa, can my husband bring her father and mother to Australia through "parent visa (sub class 103)" or "contributory parent visa (sub class 143)"?
> 
> 3. If my husband is the only child and his parents have no child left in the local country to care for his parents, is there any other way that he can bring his parents to Australia? (any other visa etc, or through compassionate reasons etc) his mother and father are 65+ and 70+ respectively.
> 
> Regards
> Sherm


----------



## Roboz

Hi Mark,

I'm an Aussie, married to an American. We've been married for 19 years now, living in Queensland.
My husband is still a US citizen, but with Permanent Residency.
His daughter, living in Chicago, is desperate to migrate to live here too. She is 42 yrs old.
What criteria does she need to meet to be able to migrate here?

Thanks for any help.


----------



## Arllove0507

Hi Mark, i have a question. 

I have a son who is included in my Spouse Visa application. He recently got illed and is undergoing medications for his PTB. 
Should i still lodge my application? Or should i wait until he's cleared from his tuberculosis? 

Thanks for your time?


----------



## prasadliyan

MarkNortham said:


> Hi ShermD -
> 
> Thanks for the note - can provide general info but would need to work with you to learn more about your specific circumstances in order to give you advice specific for your case - to your questions:
> 
> 1 - If the main applicant is granted a 189 visa, all secondary applicants on the application are also granted the same visa. So in the case of 189, all would become permanent residents when the visas are granted.
> 
> 2 - Potentially yes, but the PR visa holder sponsoring parents would have to be "settled" in Australia prior to sponsoring the parents (must have lived in Australia on some sort of visa for 2 years) and must also be usually resident in Australia.
> 
> 3 - I expect some sort of a parent visa may be the best bet here - note the two new temporary parent visa versions coming out in November 2017.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


hi Mark,

I have a PGCEI, from the University of Sunderland, which was basically the same as a regular a PGCE course but the* 12 week teaching practice was not done in UK, hence was not given QTS.

I'm considering migrating to Australia and was wondering whether, PGCEI is recognised by AITSL? even though it doesn't have QTS status, its contend is the same and has more than 45 days of supervised teaching.


----------



## Familyof4

*Criminal Caution*

Hi Mark,

My criminal record check came back today and there is a cation on it from 2012. Will this be a problem for my visa application? 
Thanks


----------



## sam11

*Seeking for Visa advice - Please help*

Hi Mark!

Hope you are well. 

I need your advice please on what visa should I apply to be able to quickly be with my fiancé who lives in Australia. We're very much inlove with each other and can't wait to be together and build our own family soon. So here it goes..

My fiancé is an Australian citizen while I am a Filipino citizen working overseas. We've been in a long distance relationship for 9 months and recently got engaged. During our 9 months relationship, we managed to see each other as much as we could by travelling to countries where both of us can easily go. Also, I currently have a multiple entry tourist visa (subclass 600) to Australia valid until first quarter of next year 2018 which allows me to stay for a period of 3 months per visit, without No Further Stay condition. I've been to Australia recently for less than a month and has lived with my fiancé to see if I would like it there and how we'll be if we're living together for a time period. We're both very happy being together so we are really serious in getting our relationship to the next level which is to get married, build a family and be together forever.

Would it work if I go back in Australia in Jan 2018 using my tourist visa 600 for 3 months, then, get married to my fiancé (via civil ceremony) after a month (Feb 2018) of being there (since the Marriage Registry would take atleast 30 days), then, apply for Partner Visa (subclasses 820 / 801) right after the wedding (Mar 2018)? What are the chances of getting our application approved if we do this? 
OR is it best to apply for Prospective Marriage Visa (subclass 300), then, wait until it gets approved after several months?
OR is there any other visa which I could apply to be with him SOON? I have an Engineering diploma, however, my 9 yrs of work experience is in IT field.

My fiancé and I are looking into hiring a Registered Migration Agent to help us sort my visa as soon as possible as we're both impatient when it comes to us being together permanently.

Would really appreciate your kind advice.

Thank you, 
Sam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jin_re -

Thanks for the note. Bottom line is that DIBP will need to have a current passport at the time of decision for the application, and that time is difficult to predict. Once the application is allocated (to a team, vs a particular case officer typically), lack of a valid passport could certainly slow things down. I realise it's the more expensive option, but I'd suggest getting the new passport sooner rather than later to avoid delays and potential issues with the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jin_re said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Hope you are well. I would like to seek your advice and thank you so much in advance. I'm from Melbourne and recently applied for an 887 visa just mid of August. My concern is about our near to expire passport. It will expire early November. My question is will it affect our application negatively particularly if my application is allocated to a case officer by the time my passport expires. I wanted to save money and time but definitely would not want to put my application at risk...Because there are just two ways to renew our passport - either we fly to Canberra this September/October (and have the new passport by November/December) but will cost us $2K approx or wait for the Mobile Passport happening in Melbourne January 2018 (and have the new passport by March/April). Heard that processing times for 887 will take between 6-9 months and to some lucky ones 3-5 months. Thank you so much Mark and hope to hear from you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi GoalAustralia -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately very difficult to predict eligibility 2 years out at this point for any visa - DIBP is making wholesale changes to the skilled and employer sponsored visa programs at this point on a rolling basis going forward - the occupation lists are now reviewed every 6 months, so projecting beyond that point is essentially impossible (or very risky).

Suggest you look at your selected occupation on Anzscosearch (see http://www.anzscosearch.com/searcn/ ) and note the entry level Anzsco requirements, then look at the nominated skills assessor and determine their requirements - then for a skilled visa (489, 189, 190) consider how you score on the skilled visa points test. That's the basic process of determining eligibility - at least you could find out where you stand now, then it's a matter of deciding how much time/energy/money you want to spend in a qualification or pursuing a visa knowing that the eligibility criteria are in a state of constant change these days.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GoalAustralia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife is currently on 457 and I am the dependent. With recent changes in rules to apply for pr after completing two years, we are not certain whether we will be eligible to apply for pr so I am thinking to enroll in an automotive technician course. I always wanted to get into this field and this gives me another reason. My simple query is will I still be eligible for skilled migration (186 or 190 or even 489 if necessary) like any other international student if I complete a two years diploma followed by JRP or experience?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi iaustraliab -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, yes in theory, however there is some DIBP policy I believe where adding a secondary subsequent entrant/applicant to a student visa may be difficult if the student visa has less than 6 months left to run. Re 2, yes generally. Re 3, sounds like you've done the right thing there so I would imagine that would not be likely to be an issue.

If you want to contact me (see below in my signature) I can refer you to a colleague who is an expert at student visas and can guide/assist you with this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



iaustraliab said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I am currently on a student visa (expiring September 2018). My boyfriend is also on a student visa (expiring April 2018). I am struggling to pay course fees and would like to be added to my boyfriend's visa.
> 
> (1) Is it possible to be added to his visa even though it is expiring in 7 months?
> 
> (2) Is the level of relationship evidence required the same as de facto partner visa?
> 
> (3) We got in a relationship after his student visa was granted. So I am not listed as a de facto partner on his visa application. But he is listed as a partner on mine. We informed his CO of change in circumstance by filling out Form 1022 and adding me as a de facto partner. Will we still have a problem getting me adding to his visa?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ondoy -

Thanks for the note. You will need to provide a police clearance certificate (PCC) for each country you have lived for a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years, or since age 16 if you are under 26 years old.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ondoy said:


> Hi Mark. Hope you are doing well. I would like to ask you if a police check is needed in each country where I have lived if I am going to lodge my 187 RSMS application?
> I have lived more than 1 year in these countries SG, UK, Philippines, Australia.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Srinivastg -

Thanks for the note. The key to determining what you should do is figuring out whether the tasks/duties of both jobs both fall squarely under the Lead Engineer position - job titles are of secondary importance to the actual tasks/duties you did at the jobs. If the tasks/duties for both jobs fit the Anzsco standard for Lead Engineer, then there may be no need to change anything (see Anzsco standards at Search | Anzscosearch ) - however if the tasks and duties changed enough to take you into a different ANZSCO code for the second job (ie, different ANZSCO codes for the one job vs the other job) then you've got an issue. ACS apparently concluded that both jobs are encompassed by whatever occupation code you applied under, so that's good news and is likely to be followed by DIBP. Given that's the case, I'd still try and get the ACS report re-issued to show the 2 different job titles just in case you get a DIBP case officer who thinks they've found an issue because the job titles at ACS do not match the job titles elsewhere (ie, employer reference letters). Ideally all records - skills assessment, employer letters, EOI and visa application should all match up nicely in this regard to avoid potential issues.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



srinivastg said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have question, can you please help me. This is my first post in this forum and assume you are the best one to give me the response.
> 
> I had worked in company XYZ private limited in two designations
> 
> 02-Sep-2010 to 30-Sep-2012 Senior Software Engineer
> 01-Oct-2012 to 31-July-2017 Lead Engineer
> 
> But in ACS and EOI, I got it mentioned as last held position for the entire duration i.e 02-Sep-2010 to 31-July-2017 Lead Engineer.
> 
> Will this be a problem when I get the invite ? Should I change / rectify this in ACS as well as in EOI ? Can you please suggest what should I do. Desperately looking for a response from you.
> 
> Thanks
> Srinivas


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aivylrehc -

Suggest you immediately get a professional consultation with a migration agent or immigration lawyer who can assess the details of your refusal and determine if there is any hope of success at the AAT and see what other strategic options you may want to pursue. No way to assess without all the details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aivylrehc said:


> Hi Mark our friend in this forum recommended to ask a registered agent in this forum.. so hi i am Aivy, my case is my husband's 457 visa was granted while mine as the dependent was rejected due to my previous student visa cancellation issue. I am given 21 days to appeal for merits. What is the best option to do? Should i appeal and get the bridging or should i apply partner visa for temporary? Should i go onshore or offshore? Currently i am still onshore. Which option will give the maximum success on application? Thx guys


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prathu2921 -

Thanks for the note. There is no absolute requirement for engagement ring, etc but you must show a genuine intention to enter into a spousal relationship - a critical requirement is a letter from an Australian marriage celebrant who will say he/she has been engaged to marry you both. You can always upload additional relationship evidence (up to the application file limits, etc) to the application after applying and before a decision is made.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Prathu2921 said:


> Hi Mark,
> My name Is Prathmesh and I'm from Mumbai,India. Me and my partner, we are planning to apply for Prospective marriage visa ( offshore ). We have all documents like Pictures of us,NOIM form,Traveling history, Letters from family and friends and etc. my partner is Australian citizen and she lives in WA. my question is, me and my partner is not engage but we are planning to get engage in January 2018.so wondering is it mandatory to get engage and upload pictures,Video, and engagement ring for as a proof of our relationship for Prospective marriage visa ( offshore ). can we upload this document later after applying?
> Really looking forward for your word
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hoonielicious -

Thanks for the note - first, I'd make sure you have answered any question on the visa application and/or Form 80 re: military service obligations correctly - I assume you have. Once you've double checked that, you may want to try to write to DIBP to see if you can get some help on that end, but very hard to predict whether that will be successful or not - if it looks like the visa is a way to avoid military service, it's a real gamble whether DIBP will see an early visa grant as a positive or negative thing. In your communications with DIBP you may want to focus on the inability to return to Australia since you hold a BVE, and need to be back in Australia for the grant of the 820. I'd see how they suggest you handle things given the specifics of your case and circumstances - ultimately this will likely come down to the discretion of the case officer involved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hoonielicious said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> It has been a while to get back to you ever since our last consultation via Skype. Your advice has helped a lot in preparation of documentation, though I have one potential setback to deal with before the ship sinks if not taken care of.
> 
> I have a looming issue that my passport is likely to expire before a decision can be made on my temporary partner visa application. Some might see it so simple a problem as to be solved by extending the passport.
> 
> However, due to the restriction set by the Korean government in relation to mandatory military service that every male has to undertake, I won't be able to extend the passport overseas without flying back to the motherland, which is not allowed for since the Bridging Visa E I am holding now has a no-travel condition.
> 
> I applied for the temporary, onshore partner visa in April 2017. According to the offical website of DIBP, the processing time varies but it is safe to assume it takes an average of 20 months, which exceeds the total duration of my passport. Like I mentioned above, I do not have the luxury of lawfully extending it unless the decision is made before the passport runs out of time.(I assume the no-travel condition will be lifted off once your partner visa is granted.)
> 
> I am concerned with the fact that, correct me if I am in the wrong, the current visa will cease to have effect, let alone a follow-up visa (in this case temp partner visa), when the passport becomes no longer valid past the expiry date.
> 
> What are my best options here to help speed up the making of a decision within the safe timeline? Is it a wise thing to try to contact the case officer and inform her of the unusual circumstance in the hopes of her possibly being a good Samaritan?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Felipe -

A recent overstay elsewhere can certainly be the cause of trouble for an Australian visa application - suggest you avoid it. Not possible to predict how much trouble it could be for your Australian visa, but best to not take the chance in my view - ultimately there will be a discretion involved re: case officer and possibly the character unit at DIBP, but that comes with a substantial amount of unpredictability - again, it's a risk I'd avoid if at all possible.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Felipe said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> First, thanks for helping us...
> 
> Second and getting down to the question, I have 65points and have the opportunity to apply for Visa189 but I might have to overstay the peiod of time that my Visa gives me to stay here in US in order to pay for the expenses.
> My question is, will that be a problem in the future? Is it too risky to overstay here in US (Ill not be deported)? Is the chance of getting my visa denied for that reason high ?
> 
> Thanks again


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AsilaLeiv -

Thanks for the note, however I'm confused - if your visitor visa has already been granted, there would normally not be any further interview associated with that - can you explain what immigration interview you are referring to?

Best,

Mark Northam



AsilaLeiv said:


> Hi mark
> 
> Im a first time traveler coming from the Philippines, i got my sponsored tourist visa approved (Yey!). I was wondering if you could help me with what travel documents shall I bring with me to ace the immigration interview. I'll be staying with my aunt and Uncle until Christmas and will be flying back to PH to celebrate new year. Thanks a lot!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prasad -

I wouldn't assume that, as work "online" is often very difficult to prove hours worked for unless you are keeping some sort of timecard etc based evidence system. Suggest you have a migration agent assess your circumstances and evidence to give you a better indication of potential issues either at the skills assessment and/or DIBP phase of the process as both of these have separate requirements for evidencing work claimed for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



prasadliyan said:


> Hello,
> 
> I have been studying in Australia for the last 2 years ( Engineering) and thinking of applying for PR now. I did my degree in BSc (computer science) (4 years degree) in Malaysia.
> 
> I have been employed at a company in Malaysia for the last 3 years, working 20 hours a week, online.
> 
> Since I need to have at least 2 years work experience to assess my degree, would this experience count towards this? Reading the guidelines says the employment reference must include,
> "Hours worked - Full time or Part time -must be a minimum of 20 hours per week",
> 
> So my guess is, working part-time online should NOT be a problem for me?
> 
> thank you,
> Prasad


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi G545 -

Thanks for the kind words. A cancelled student visa can lead to an exclusion period for temporary visas of 3 years, but generally is unlikely to cause problems with a PR visa such as a 189 unless there is evidence you've provided false information to DIBP, you're seen as having abused/manipulated the immigration system etc. If it's simply a matter of the PhD process not being completed for academic, etc reasons leading to the student visa cancellation, I don't see how that would be likely to cause you a problem with a 189 application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



g545 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all, let me thank you for providing information on this forum and helping people out with their issues.
> 
> Here is my situation. I am an international postgraduate student. I got visa (former 574 class) in the end of 2014, when I started my PhD. Then there was a long story of struggling with the project, which eventually led me to the termination of my candidature due to the lack of progress. There is currently an appeal process going on, and this is why my visa is still active. But I am expecting all this stuff to finish pretty soon with the negative decision on my case. And then, of course, DIBP will cancel my student visa, and I will leave the country.
> 
> So the question is: Can my cancelled student visa affect the decision on my PR (class 189) application in future (I will probably do it several months after the moment I leave) in a negative way, so that it even may be rejected? And if it turns out that I am not eligible for PR because of previously cancelled visa, will the SkillSelect reject my application right after EOI, before I pay the fee? Because, obviously, I would not want to waste money if it was already clear in advance that there is no point
> 
> Thank you for your time!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vlad and Helena -

Would be happy to help - see my website below in my signature to book a consult, happy to assist. My family and I have actually had the pleasure of staying in Dubai for the last week on leave and it's a wonderful place!!

Best,

Mark Northam



vlad1987 said:


> Hello Mark,
> My fiancée and I would like to have a Skype consultation with you if possible.
> In brief:
> We both live and work in Dubai, Im from Kazakhstan and my fiancée is Australian. We know each other for 8 years. We are planning on getting married soon. We haven't decided yet when exactly. We need some guidance on where to start and how to make everything go smooth without missing important things.
> If you could help, your help will be much appreciated!
> Thank you in advance Vlad & Helena


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CPMaverick -

Thanks for the note. I just had a quick look and didn't see any policy on exactly how many hours within a day you must be in Australia for that day to count (or not) towards the citizenship residency requirement - there may be some policy somewhere however. You may want to take the conservative approach and assume that none of the partial days count, especially as you may want to avoid any sort of discretionary situation (ie, one case officer says partial days of x hours count, another says differently) and the fact that the citizenship legislation is far from being settled and there may be changes enacted within that which could affect any partial days assumption you make now. Safest bet is to count days you have spent 24 hours in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CPMaverick said:


> Hello Mark-
> 
> I have what I believe is quite a simple question! But an important one...
> 
> For Citizenship Residency calculations, what counts as time away from Australia? Do days partially in Australia count fully towards residing in Australia, or not count at all? Or somewhere inbetween?
> 
> For example, if you leave Australia on 10/5 and return on 15/5 at the same time of day, then you've spent 4 days (in terms of hours) outside Australia. But for the calculations for 'residing in Australia', have you spent 3,4,or 5 days away? As you've spent 3 full days outside Australia, but missed 5 full days of being 'fully' inside Australia.
> 
> To put it another way, if you left Australia and came back the same day, would this count at against your time residing in Australia?
> 
> It is important to me as I've had many short trips outside Australia for work, and so these 'fringe' days add up, if they count against me.
> 
> Thanks for your advice. I know there is a residency calculator that may have answered this basic question, but it has been inoperative since April.
> 
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sabindra -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sabindra said:


> I would like to ask about 189 visa for overseas people. This visa is for my girlfriend. She has 6 years experience in IT( software engineer) so I would like to know the process and requirement for the overseas people. I would be great if I would get the reply from step to step wise.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tsering -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you have your agent review the EOI (and send you a copy too so you can review it) to see if there is some sort of issue. Something doesn't sound right, but would have to review your EOI in detail to give you any specific advice for your case - happy to do so at a consultation - see website below for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tsering said:


> Hi I m a registered nurse and finished my 3 years of nursing on December 2016.My Eoi was submitted on the 29 of July 2017 with 60 points but I still haven't received an invite. Am not sure what is happening as my agent has no idea too. Could you please rectify this matter. Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi po_yue -

Very sorry to hear about your grandmother. You may be able to come back on a visitor visa, but you also may end up with a 3 year ban period on temporary visas (including visitor visas) if you depart depending on your circumstances and visa history. There is a waiver for the ban period based on compelling or compassionate circumstances related to an Australian citizen or PR, but it's an additional potential issue you may need to deal with. Also, you must be in Australia when DIBP is ready to grant the 820 visa, so if they did not approve a visitor visa for your return, it could create a problem with the 820 grant. Also, if you were re-admitted on a visitor visa, you would not be able to work while holding that visa. At the end of the visitor visa, you could apply for a replacement BVE to remain here while awaiting the partner visa decision, but you'd likely have apply to have the work rights limitation removed based on financial hardship - all depends on your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



po_yue said:


> Hi Mark, I am currently holding a BVE and has applied for my parnter visa 820. Yesterday I received a call from home and my grandma is dying and I really want to flight back home and see her one last time and say goodbye. But I understand that my BVE will crease once I leave AUS, is there anything I can do to come back? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shah.nilesh1982 -

Thanks for the note. It sounds like 186 Direct Entry might work (you'll also need to check the skills assessor's requirements for your occupation - a key issue), however I cannot give you specific advice for your case without a full and proper assessment of your circumstances - there are simply too many complex rules in the migration law these days where any one of them can make a big difference in eligibility.

Happy to work with you in a consultation in order to determine eligibility - see my website below in my signature for more information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shah.nilesh1982 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I came last week to Australia on Visa class - Temporary Business Entry (class UC) and Visa Subclass Temporary Work(Skilled) (subclass 457) which is from a agent and the employer with whom I am working is not my direct sponsor. I got to heard about the ENS 186 visa where if the employer is ready to sponsor and if I have 3yrs or more work experience and 6 band in IELTS I can apply for PR.
> 
> So my question is can I apply for PR direct at this stage or do I have to wait for sometime to be eligible for PR? My current profile is I have a Master's degree from UK, +6 years of work experience (post my master's and overall +10 years work experience), 7 bands in IELTS. Also I want to apply for dependent visa for my partner and child so can these two visas be applied simultaneously?
> 
> Please if you can clear query so it will be great for me to take decision.
> 
> Thanks for your help in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arvind -

Congratulations on your visa!! Great news, great outcome, glad I could help.

Best,

Mark Northam



arvindrajan92 said:


> Dear Mr Mark,
> 
> Thank you very much for your kind advice all along. I was granted Visa 189 on September 14, 2017.
> 
> Best regards,
> Arvind


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Patricerafferty -

Thanks for the note. DIBP will require some sort of legal documentation for any name change since birth - hopefully the birth certificate notation will be sufficient, however I'd prepare in advance and see if there is any further documentation available (ie, deed poll, etc) from the UK or elsewhere that would further confirm your name change.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



patricerafferty said:


> Hi there mark I just have a question regarding my subclass 820 partner visa I will be applying for in December.
> 
> My parents have just sent me over my birth certificate from the uk, I have just had a look at it and it states on the bottom that I was formley known as a different surname, it was my mothers maidan name that I had until I was 3 years old when my parents got married. I had never realised this before as I haven't had any access to my birth certificate.
> 
> What do I do in this situation for my application ? I have no documents of proof for the other surname.
> 
> I have previously put on other visas that I have not been known as any other names.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi PS10 -

Not sure what subclass of visa you are referring to, but a wait of several months is not uncommon, many times it's longer as DIBP doesn't have any time restrictions on itself re: how long it can take to process a visa application.

Best,

Mark Northam



PS10 said:


> Hey Mark
> I filed for my boyfriend's dependent visa on the 27th of June
> He is an Indian studying in the UK
> I know it's just been two months but the waiting part is so frustrating!
> I haven't got any email since
> 
> Is it normal for this to happen?
> 
> Can anyone who's got their dependent visa telme how long it took?
> Also did they ask for any documents after submission of application?
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SwiftyOz -

Thanks for the note. There is no particular time limit in the legislation, however the key will be showing that she is a "genuine temporary entrant" and has strong incentives to return to her home country at the end of the visit. Also important to show that she is not "building up residence" in Australia via visitor visa(s).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SwiftyOz said:


> Hi Mark,
> Very quick question. My Thai girlfriend went back to Thailand on the 13th Sep 2017 on a 3 month 600 Visa. How long does she have to stay in Thailand before we can re-apply for another 600 Tourist visa for another 3 month stay. We have been together 12 months and have spent 5 of those 12 months living together. Thanks a bunch, can't seem to find the answer anywhere on the net.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raman140109 -

Thanks for the question. No promises, but in many (but not all) applications, if an 815 is requested, that's one of the very last steps before a decision is made - could be days or weeks at this point - months maybe, but hopefully not.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Raman140109 said:


> I applied for partner visa(309) on 20 December 2016 at New Delhi ahc
> Medicals done
> Interview Calls from case officer done
> Now i case officer asked me to sign form815
> Any ideas how long to get the grant finalised after 815 form?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rishi1120 -

Often the assessment of your degree is the reason they take more (or less) years experience before deeming you as skilled. A new assessment application probably will yield the same results - you may want to look into having the assessment reviewed/appealed if you believe they incorrectly assessed any parts of the application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



rishi1120 said:


> Hello, Mark
> 
> i got an assessment for code 2611313 software engineer in Aug-2016. But they approved only from sept 2015. I am working since 2011 with same company, same team and same job profile. I
> Question: possible to file ACS again? what are the chances to get better approval?
> 
> Thank you and regards,
> Rishi


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Letsdoit -

Re 1, a few weeks in advance of the current visitor visa application may be a good timeframe. However if the current visitor visa has condition 8503 (no further stay) on it, you'll need to first make an application for that condition to be waived, so add on a few weeks for that.

Re 2, a few weeks usually, but can vary widely.

Re 3, she'll get a bridging visa upon applying for the further visitor visa (assuming no 8503 problem - see above) - the bridging visa will allow her to remain in Australia until a decision is made on the further visitor visa application.

Re 4, really depends on your specific circumstances and whether an 8503 waiver is needed - happy to discuss further at a consultation where we can get into the further details of your situation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



letsdoit said:


> Hi
> 
> I have lodged my wife Spouse visa 309 in April 2017 and didnt hear any thing till date.
> 
> I also applied for her visitor visa 600 in May2017 and received 03 months visa in July 2017 (though i applied for 6 months visa)
> 
> She joined me in Australia on in first week of August and her 03 month visit visa is valid till end of October.
> 
> I dont want her to go back and look forward to apply for her visit visa extension. Could you please help me to answer below questions
> 
> 1. How much time in advance before visa expiry shall she apply for visit visa extension
> 
> 2. How much time normally it takes for 600 visa extension to be granted (considering it will be on shore)
> 
> 3. If the decision on her extension is delayed beyond validity of her current visit visa, what will be her status?
> 
> 4. I have read online that I need to give compelling and compassionate reasons for extending her visit visa. How would you define that?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mbaltao -

Thanks for the note. Would need to discuss in detail with you at a consultation and have a look at your documentation in order to properly advise you for your case - generally speaking lack of evidence of payment can make claiming work experience for points extremely risky, especially at the DIBP level where they routinely require this. Please my website below for more info re: consultations if you're interested -

Best,

Mark Northam



mbaltao said:


> Sir Mark can you please help me i have 1 question only, im planning to lodge my application to vetassess 5years and 7 months of experience as civil draftsman and for what i read they ussually remove 1 year but i need 5 years to get 60 point my plan is to add my additional work expirience but i dont have paid evidence with regards to reference letter my previous project engineer can provide me and also that company is close already. what can be the possible solution sir. please help me i tried several people asking same questions but i dont get responds


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eliza2017 -

Thanks for the note. Would need to know much more about your personal circumstances and work experience to answer your questions - the laws for these visas are simply too complex for quick yes/no answers unfortunately. Beyond the very long wait for approval of carer visas, a big challenge is the requirement that you show that the person needing care cannot reasonably get that care from ANY social service or other agency or family member in Australia - this in reality is a huge challenge for most people who apply for these visas.

Best,

Mark Northam



Eliza2017 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am going to move to Australia.
> 
> I would like to apply for 836 in Australia. Should I have experience or formal level of education to apply for this visa to be able to care my relatives? I can not find nothing on immi website.
> 
> Firstly I am going to apply for a visitor visa and then applying in Australia for 836 visa. After applying for 836 visa can I apply for bridge visa A (BVA) in short time ?
> Being on BVA :
> 1) will have I to pay for insurance medicare and my children school and whether i depends on state ?
> 2) will I have permission on work ?
> 3) will my husband have permission on work ?
> 4) can I apply for 187 visa when I find employer for example in Qeensland although I`ve already applied for 836 in WA
> 
> thank you very much for reply


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TravisAnggia -

Thanks for the note - sounds like your agent may not be all that familiar with current policy re: multiple entries, etc on visitor visas.

Re: another entry on this visitor visa, sounds like that would be extremely risky based on what DIBP has already told you. Returning to a different state won't make any difference in my view.

Would need to know much more about your personal circumstances in order to advise you on the other questions re: which visa, when to apply, etc - too many potential issues to give quick/simple yes/no answers - happy to assist at a consultation - see my website below for more on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TravisAnggia said:


> Hi Mark im hoping you can help me please?
> 
> Im currently holding tourist visa and stay in australia for the past 6months with condition 3months out of the country and come back after one week. My second entry few weeks ago i been informed by immigration that i am not allowed back to Australia in short period time which is confused me because my agent previously told me it was fine to go this way. So anyway my partner and I are planning to get married by the end of year but on early december i need to go offshore again.
> 
> My questions are :
> 
> 1. Can i come back again to australia after a week but going to different state? ( normally i came back to WA but for getting married im intended to go Melb)
> 
> 2. Can i get married with my tourist visa in Melb and process the partner visa? And can i apply onshore?
> 
> 3. What is the right visa for me to apply in my circumstances?
> 
> Thank you in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi CPMaverick -

Sorry for the delay - on leave - however just answered your question about an hour ago - please look back a few pages from this one and the answer will be there.

Best,

Mark Northam



CPMaverick said:


> Hi Mark-
> 
> I was wondering if you had any comments about my question below? Thanks so much for your time.
> 
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ggil25 -

Re Plan B, a non-legal, non-civil ceremony (ie, religious or cultural in nature only, no impact on your legal status in any government view anywhere) would not make you ineligible for the PMV and would not have a negative impact on your PMV from what I can see.

Re Plan C, no additional DIBP fee applicable in this scenario (currently), however the application will be converted by DIBP to an offshore partner visa as of the date you advise them you are married which will slow down the process a bit and you may need to beef up your relationship evidence in the evidence of the household and financial aspects categories which are typically not given great weight on PMV applications but are on partner applications where it is expected that in most cases the couple has spent (or is spending) time living together after marriage.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ggil25 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I have applied for a PMV, and it looks as though it will not be approved by our wedding date. We have two back up plans in case it has not been approved in time, so that we do not have to cancel it as we have already organised travel for relatives etc.
> 
> Plan B: have a commitment ceremony (not a legal wedding) so that our family can be there, and then go ahead with the legal aspect after our PMV is approved. Question: is this allowed as far as immigration is concerned?
> 
> Plan C: get married on an ETA, and change our application to one for a spousal visa.
> Question: will we need to apply for a new visa and pay application fee again, or is it possible to just change your partner visa application from prospective marriage to spousal?
> 
> Thank you in advance!
> Ggil25


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Baldur -

Thanks for the note. It could potentially be an issue - here's the criteria:

485.215

(1) When the application was made, it was accompanied by evidence that the applicant had adequate arrangements in Australia for health insurance .

(2) The applicant has had adequate arrangements in Australia for health insurance since the time the application was made.

Not sure what documents you put in at the time of application, but if you meet (1) above and can also show you've had no lapse in coverage since the day of application, it may work out OK - the date on the document is important, but more important are the dates of coverage (2 above) and exactly what document(s) you put in at the time you applied for the visa and what they said.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



baldur said:


> Hi Mark,
> i have got a bit of a situation.
> I applied on the 22nd of september for the visa 485 at the same time i was requesting my health insurance's start date to be changed from 24th to 22nd of september. They said they did and sent me the new policy but they didnt. then it was the weekend and i asked them again for the rectify on monday which was 25th. So they sent me the new document my start date was the 22nd but the issue date of the document was the 25th. Would it be a problem? Also i paid for the insurance on the 15th. I can prove this obviously but they just didnt send me the correct dated document on time.
> Thanks very much in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi V88 -

I don't see how it would "automatically" be cancelled - you'll need to handle your bridging visa situation correctly depending on your circumstances, and you'll have to make sure you are back in Australia at the time they want to grant the visa (normally they'll email you if they are ready to grant and let you know you need to return), but there is no automatic cancellation of a 485 application if you happen to leave Australia while it's being processed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



V88 said:


> Hi Mark, Will my 485 visa application be cancelled if i leave australia?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jonathan -

I've never tried what you are suggesting, but I don't see any reason why it would not work - especially since many skills assessors do not offer a "485 only" skills assessment and only offer a full skills assessment and these are routinely accepted for 485 applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jfperez05 said:


> Hi there Mark,
> 
> I hope you are doing well.
> 
> My question is in regards of the Temporary Graduate 485 visa.
> 
> Can I use an ACS Full Skills Assessment (that includes skilled employment + Australian Qualification assessment) for the purpose of applying for the Temporary Graduate 485 visa under the Graduate stream?
> 
> The reason I ask is because there is a special Temporary Graduate 485 Skills assessment that only assess qualification obtained in Australia for the purpose of this visa.
> 
> Do you think the Department will accept a Full Skills Assessment for this visa? (Pls assume that all other requirements for the 485 visa are met)
> 
> Thanks for your time.
> 
> Jonathan.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paul48 -

Normally New Application brings up the first screen of the application process so you can start an application, save as draft, continue later, etc. If this is not happening, there may be some sort of technical issue with your ImmiAccount - here's a link to lodge a tech support request with DIBP:

https://www.border.gov.au/about/cor...rms/online/immiaccount-technical-support-form

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



paul48 said:


> Mark can you help please? I have been going around in circles for a week or 2 now, The problem is this: I want a evistor 651 for myself and my wife. but every time I try to apply I am told to start a IMMI account, which I have done
> but every time I go to my IMMI account it (the account) assumes that I have already applied for the visa and puts me into search mode for an application that I have not yet filled in, so I try new application which then sends me back to my IMMI account (which I didn't realize that I had left) and the cycle stars all over again. any help would be gratefully received. Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Roboz -

Thanks for the note. A child visa won't work due to the age of the daughter, so it's likely she would need to qualify on her own via a skilled or employer sponsored visa. Can do a full assessment at a consultation where we'd have the time to go into her personal details, work history and other factors - please see my website below for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Roboz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm an Aussie, married to an American. We've been married for 19 years now, living in Queensland.
> My husband is still a US citizen, but with Permanent Residency.
> His daughter, living in Chicago, is desperate to migrate to live here too. She is 42 yrs old.
> What criteria does she need to meet to be able to migrate here?
> 
> Thanks for any help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arllove0507 -

Thanks for the note. Since health is a "one fails, all fail" criteria and especially if your son is under 18 years of age which makes dependence usually a non-changeable factor, it may be best to wait on lodging the application and apply later, however I would need to know more about you and your son's circumstances to give you specific advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Arllove0507 said:


> Hi Mark, i have a question.
> 
> I have a son who is included in my Spouse Visa application. He recently got illed and is undergoing medications for his PTB.
> Should i still lodge my application? Or should i wait until he's cleared from his tuberculosis?
> 
> Thanks for your time?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prasadliyan -

Thanks for the note - best to direct that question to AITSL as they're going to be more aware of their policy on these - in some cases skills assessors can give guidance in advance of applying for a skills assessment re: eligibility of various foreign degrees, but in many cases they essentially require you to apply for a skills assessment in order for them to provide any information on equivalence and eligibility for various degrees.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



prasadliyan said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> I have a PGCEI, from the University of Sunderland, which was basically the same as a regular a PGCE course but the* 12 week teaching practice was not done in UK, hence was not given QTS.
> 
> I'm considering migrating to Australia and was wondering whether, PGCEI is recognised by AITSL? even though it doesn't have QTS status, its contend is the same and has more than 45 days of supervised teaching.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Familyof4 -

Thanks for the note. Would need to review the document and specific language on it as well as your circumstances with you at a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case - more on consults in my website listed below.

Best,

Mark Northam



Familyof4 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My criminal record check came back today and there is a cation on it from 2012. Will this be a problem for my visa application?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sam -

Thanks for the note. The visitor visa/apply onshore for a partner visa could work but would depend on how much relationship evidence you've accumulated in the 4 required categories (household, commitment, financial, social) re chances of success. Also, note that DIBP is attempting to change the partner visa regulations sometime next year which will make the sponsorship application a separate application that happens first and must be approved before the applicant can apply - this may make onshore applications much more difficult as entering as a visitor may be difficult if a person has already been named in a sponsorship application.

If you are considering the visitor visa/onshore partner application pathway, I'd do it sooner rather than later given the expected upcoming law changes. However in any case, consider getting a consultation from a registered migration agent to go over your expected evidence and advise on the best visa options - a key issue is the amount of living together time you'll have prior to lodging the partner visa - with little living together time would consider lodging a partner visa only after you've married. PMV might be an option, but expect at least 9 month processing time.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sam11 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Hope you are well.
> 
> I need your advice please on what visa should I apply to be able to quickly be with my fiancé who lives in Australia. We're very much inlove with each other and can't wait to be together and build our own family soon. So here it goes..
> 
> My fiancé is an Australian citizen while I am a Filipino citizen working overseas. We've been in a long distance relationship for 9 months and recently got engaged. During our 9 months relationship, we managed to see each other as much as we could by travelling to countries where both of us can easily go. Also, I currently have a multiple entry tourist visa (subclass 600) to Australia valid until first quarter of next year 2018 which allows me to stay for a period of 3 months per visit, without No Further Stay condition. I've been to Australia recently for less than a month and has lived with my fiancé to see if I would like it there and how we'll be if we're living together for a time period. We're both very happy being together so we are really serious in getting our relationship to the next level which is to get married, build a family and be together forever.
> 
> Would it work if I go back in Australia in Jan 2018 using my tourist visa 600 for 3 months, then, get married to my fiancé (via civil ceremony) after a month (Feb 2018) of being there (since the Marriage Registry would take atleast 30 days), then, apply for Partner Visa (subclasses 820 / 801) right after the wedding (Mar 2018)? What are the chances of getting our application approved if we do this?
> OR is it best to apply for Prospective Marriage Visa (subclass 300), then, wait until it gets approved after several months?
> OR is there any other visa which I could apply to be with him SOON? I have an Engineering diploma, however, my 9 yrs of work experience is in IT field.
> 
> My fiancé and I are looking into hiring a Registered Migration Agent to help us sort my visa as soon as possible as we're both impatient when it comes to us being together permanently.
> 
> Would really appreciate your kind advice.
> 
> Thank you,
> Sam


----------



## Ggil25

An offshore parnter visa, meaning that my partner would need to go back to the US whilst the visa is processed?



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ggil25 -
> 
> Re Plan B, a non-legal, non-civil ceremony (ie, religious or cultural in nature only, no impact on your legal status in any government view anywhere) would not make you ineligible for the PMV and would not have a negative impact on your PMV from what I can see.
> 
> Re Plan C, no additional DIBP fee applicable in this scenario (currently), however the application will be converted by DIBP to an offshore partner visa as of the date you advise them you are married which will slow down the process a bit and you may need to beef up your relationship evidence in the evidence of the household and financial aspects categories which are typically not given great weight on PMV applications but are on partner applications where it is expected that in most cases the couple has spent (or is spending) time living together after marriage.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> Ggil25 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I have applied for a PMV, and it looks as though it will not be approved by our wedding date. We have two back up plans in case it has not been approved in time, so that we do not have to cancel it as we have already organised travel for relatives etc.
> 
> Plan B: have a commitment ceremony (not a legal wedding) so that our family can be there, and then go ahead with the legal aspect after our PMV is approved. Question: is this allowed as far as immigration is concerned?
> 
> Plan C: get married on an ETA, and change our application to one for a spousal visa.
> Question: will we need to apply for a new visa and pay application fee again, or is it possible to just change your partner visa application from prospective marriage to spousal?
> 
> Thank you in advance!
> Ggil25
Click to expand...


----------



## ahkuzai

Dear Mark,

Currently we are applying partner visa (820 and 801), i'm the sponsor.

I just have a few quick questions need your professional advise, 

A) are statutory declaration and relationship statement two separate statements? 

B) I downloaded the Commonwealth statutory declaration sample, but it only for the sponsor? And the 4 given columns actually narrowed what I can write about.

C) Since I applied my application online, do I still need to submit form 40SP and form 47SP?

D) Since I already submitted form 80, do I still need to submit form 1221? 

Regards


----------



## JassaJatt

Hey mate, i just submitted my assessment application for my bachelors of business (professional accounting) degree with cpa. What documents do i need to provide them in order to process my application?


----------



## sam11

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your advice!








I really appreciate it and how we wish we could discuss these matters with you in person.
If we are to apply for Prospective Marriage Visa (subclass 300), will it override my current multiple entry Tourist Visa (subclass 600) to Australia which will not expire until early next year 2018? We looked at the Booklet 1 again earlier today and it seems to us that the requirements for Prospective Marriage Visa (subclass 300) and Partner Visa (subclass 820 / 801 - for Spouse) are very similar, it is just that the previous can only be applied outside Australia. Could you please briefly tell us what the differences are and which among these two would give us higher chance of getting approved and why?

Sam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ggil25 -

Yes, unless your partner had some other visa (ie, visitor visa) that allowed them to remain in Australia while the offshore partner visa was being processed. An offshore partner visa does not generate a bridging visa, and the applicant must be outside Australia (ie any country other than Australia) at the time of application and the time the visa is approved - some people remain in Australia for shorter periods on visitor visa(s) while an offshore partner visa is being processed but there are issues there for some, as visitor visas do not have work rights, and visitor visas are not always approved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ggil25 said:


> An offshore parnter visa, meaning that my partner would need to go back to the US whilst the visa is processed?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ahkuzai -

Thanks for the note, happy to assist.

Re A, applicant and sponsor will each need to provide separate relationship statements (ie story of the relationship, etc) in their own words, While some people do this in statutory declaration format, many prefer to simply write the statement free-form, then sign & date it. Imagine talking to your 10 year-old child and telling them how mommy & daddy met and fell in love, etc - that's an idea of what's needed. A partner visa also requires at least 2 Form 888 statutory declarations from Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible NZ citizens attesting to the genuineness of the relationship, and we often recommend to our clients that more statements be included (ie, 5 to 8 etc). If you want to put in a witness statement from a person who is not an Australian citizen/PR/ENZ (such as a family member overseas, etc) that's fine too - can put a simple statement, have the writer sign & date & include contact info, and include a copy of the person's photo I to show that it was a real person who wrote the statement.

Re B, sounds like you may have downloaded the second stage template from DIBP for a partner visa - don't use that for the original application - this is only used for the second stage partner visa application you submit further paperwork for 2 years after the original application date. For witnesses, use Form 888 or free-form statements, for your own relationship statements, you can certainly use a generic Commonwealth stat dec template, or write free-form.

C - No.

D - Not unless requested - while Form 80 is now required for all applicants for partner visas, Form 1221 is rarely requested.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ahkuzai said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Currently we are applying partner visa (820 and 801), i'm the sponsor.
> 
> I just have a few quick questions need your professional advise,
> 
> A) are statutory declaration and relationship statement two separate statements?
> 
> B) I downloaded the Commonwealth statutory declaration sample, but it only for the sponsor? And the 4 given columns actually narrowed what I can write about.
> 
> C) Since I applied my application online, do I still need to submit form 40SP and form 47SP?
> 
> D) Since I already submitted form 80, do I still need to submit form 1221?
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JassaJatt -

Best to check with them directly for what they are currently requiring - these document checklists can change from time to time - we always check their website for the current list just prior to lodging a skills assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JassaJatt said:


> Hey mate, i just submitted my assessment application for my bachelors of business (professional accounting) degree with cpa. What documents do i need to provide them in order to process my application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sam11 -

Actually you can discuss these matters with me in person (almost) at a Skype consultation - see my website below in my signature for more info.

Main difference between sc300 and sc309 is that sc309 requires a partner relationship to already be in place (with full evidence) while sc300 does not - sc300 requires a genuine intent to enter into a spousal relationship but a partner relationship (at full partner level) does not need to exist yet, therefore relationship requirements are less and tend to be more forward looking (ie, what are your specific plans for getting married, living, working, etc). Sc300 also tends to be processed more quickly (9 months or so) vs 309 which can take 12-18 months.

Happy to discuss your individual circumstances further at a consultation to help determine best options for you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sam11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your advice!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I really appreciate it and how we wish we could discuss these matters with you in person.
> If we are to apply for Prospective Marriage Visa (subclass 300), will it override my current multiple entry Tourist Visa (subclass 600) to Australia which will not expire until early next year 2018? We looked at the Booklet 1 again earlier today and it seems to us that the requirements for Prospective Marriage Visa (subclass 300) and Partner Visa (subclass 820 / 801 - for Spouse) are very similar, it is just that the previous can only be applied outside Australia. Could you please briefly tell us what the differences are and which among these two would give us higher chance of getting approved and why?
> 
> Sam


----------



## Muhamedd

Two years B.com (bechelor) is not enough for post qualification experience??
Hello Sir, I did B.com in 1996 and a CPA (UK) in 2013. I have overall 16 years of experience from year 2000 to date in Audit, Accounts and Finance which also includes Big 4 experience of 6 years from 2002 to 2008. May I know that my post qualification experience for Skill assessment shall be considered;
from1996 after B.com 2 years degree
or
from 2013 after CPA


----------



## paul48

*Evisor 651*

Thanks, I wonder, is it possible that things are made deliberately difficult (through IMMI) in order that the client use an outside agency?


----------



## ujaved007

Hi Mike!

So, I got my 489FS visa grant just a few days ago and I am moving to Perth in December. I have a question though. On WA's department of transport website, they have written under driving with overseas license:

"If you are a visitor to Western Australia (WA), you may drive only those vehicles that you are authorised to drive on your overseas licence, for as long as it remains valid in the country of issue.

Visiting drivers include:

Overseas Defence Force personnel and their families. 
People on business trips.
People with working holiday visas. 
People working temporarily in WA. 
Students studying in WA.
Tourists"

My question is, can I drive there with my overseas international license? Does 489FS visa falls under the category "people working temporarily in WA"?
Also, on this visa, can I go live in a designated area other than my sponsor's?

Thank you.


----------



## ham admanedien

Hi Mark.
Thanks for your your kind efforts for people in this forum.
In fact I am from Syria, submitted my EOI with 55 points to NSW as a civil engineer. Before you told me that the nomination process is just like a beauty contest. Is there any role can be played by the candidate`s country? I think skilled emigrants from Syria are pretty few, So may this contribute positively to the case? Is there a case that the country can play a negative role?
Thanks a lot.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Muhamedd -

Thanks for the note. I expect it will depend on the skills assessor's conclusions as well as the occupation you choose - for occupation accountant, may be difficult to get experience prior to 2013 as skilled experience as an accountant due to Bachelor degree was not an accounting degree, but ultimately it's up to the skills assessor.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Muhamedd said:


> Two years B.com (bechelor) is not enough for post qualification experience??
> Hello Sir, I did B.com in 1996 and a CPA (UK) in 2013. I have overall 16 years of experience from year 2000 to date in Audit, Accounts and Finance which also includes Big 4 experience of 6 years from 2002 to 2008. May I know that my post qualification experience for Skill assessment shall be considered;
> from1996 after B.com 2 years degree
> or
> from 2013 after CPA


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Paul48 -

Probably not - very few people use migration agents for eVisitor visas as the process (usually) is very straightforward via ImmiAccount. I'd use the tech support link if the process isn't working - also, you could try creating a brand new ImmiAccount and start a new application on that account - maybe the ImmiAccount itself is somehow malfunctioning....?

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



paul48 said:


> Thanks, I wonder, is it possible that things are made deliberately difficult (through IMMI) in order that the client use an outside agency?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ujaved007 -

Thanks for the note. Each Australian state has their own laws re: visas and driver licences - your 489 visa is considered a temporary visa, so "temporarily working" is probably the closest category there, but I'd probably contact them and ask them specifically about your visa.

On the family sponsored 489, you can live, work and study in any designated area for that visa (note the list is different for state sponsored 489 visa) - the list for your visa is:

https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work...illed-Migration-applications/designated-areas

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ujaved007 said:


> Hi Mike!
> 
> So, I got my 489FS visa grant just a few days ago and I am moving to Perth in December. I have a question though. On WA's department of transport website, they have written under driving with overseas license:
> 
> "If you are a visitor to Western Australia (WA), you may drive only those vehicles that you are authorised to drive on your overseas licence, for as long as it remains valid in the country of issue.
> 
> Visiting drivers include:
> 
> Overseas Defence Force personnel and their families.
> People on business trips.
> People with working holiday visas.
> People working temporarily in WA.
> Students studying in WA.
> Tourists"
> 
> My question is, can I drive there with my overseas international license? Does 489FS visa falls under the category "people working temporarily in WA"?
> Also, on this visa, can I go live in a designated area other than my sponsor's?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ham -

Thanks for the note. Your country of citizenship certainly could be considered by NSW in deciding whether to invite you, but the skilled authorities don't tell us (or anyone else) about how the various factors are considered by them other than very general references that English level and work experience are important considerations. I expect they have a lot of other "considerations" that are used internally to select candidates, but there just isn't any good way of predicting if/how your country could help or hinder you in the selection process. Note this is entirely different than the process for subclass 189 visas where only point score, occupation and effective date of EOI are considered - country is not considered by DIBP when issuing invitations for the 189.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ham admanedien said:


> Hi Mark.
> Thanks for your your kind efforts for people in this forum.
> In fact I am from Syria, submitted my EOI with 55 points to NSW as a civil engineer. Before you told me that the nomination process is just like a beauty contest. Is there any role can be played by the candidate`s country? I think skilled emigrants from Syria are pretty few, So may this contribute positively to the case? Is there a case that the country can play a negative role?
> Thanks a lot.


----------



## Lena83

Hello Mark!
Thank you for your invaluable work on this site. You are a wealth of information. 

I have a couple of queations on the 801 application. I applied in August and it says assessment in progress now. Does this mean I have a case officer? Is this status a good sign? I have read about a few people that wouldn't receive their grant until 12 months had passed on the 820. Is this true? Just trying to figure out if I might be a lucky one in line for a quick process since I am from low risk country and provided a complete decision ready 801 application. 

Kind regards,
Lena


----------



## chazzie

*Extension to Bridging Visa B*

Hi Mark,

Many thanks for sparing your time to help. I have some questions that I'm hoping you'll be able to assist with:

Background information: I am an Australian citizen and my sister who lives with me is currently on Bridging Visa B (Class WB)

She previously lodged a student visa application to do some hairdressing course in Melbourne. Her application initially was rejected, so she lodged an appeal. She was then granted a Bridging Visa B (Class WB) whilst waiting for the appeal hearing. She can study and work full time while on this visa.

She has recently completed her course in August (which she lodged an appeal for) and the by the time she finished the course, she still hasn't heard back on the immigration office on the date of her hearing. Meanwhile, she wanted to extend her course to do more advanced hairdressing certification.

We recently received an email yesterday that her hearing has been scheduled at the end of this month.

We are looking at a few option, and I have some questions related to each option:

*Option 1. Extending her study*


What are the best option for her, should she enroll in the new course and attend the hearing with the new COE? or Should she just withdraw the appeal application and lodge a new Visa request?

*Option 2. Extending bridging visa to allow enough time to tie some loose ends before going back home*

Another option she's thinking of is to withdraw the appeal and return back to Indonesia, start some hairdressing business or do some work experience for a few years, and maybe come back to do more study later on.
My understanding is, if she withdraw the appeal, she has to leave Australia within 28 or 35 days of doing so?
The problem is, we are hoping that she can extend her Bridging Visa until end of January at least (preferable February), so we can finalise our lease and I can help her with arranging to send her stuff back to Indonesia.


What will be the best option for her in this case, should she withdraw the appeal and apply for another bridgingfor a few months? Can she actually do this, i.e. apply for another visa after canceling the appeal?
Can she withdraw the appeal and apply for a tourist visa?
If she can apply for a tourist visa, can I sponsor her tourist visa?

Thank you very much for your help in advanced, Mark.

-Chaz


----------



## robm1990

*Form 80 help*

Hi Mark, Looking for some form 80 help,

I'm British, Australian partner, live together, joint banks, bills etc pretty confident with my application, even have a letter from her dad saying how happy he is to have me as part of the family.

The only thing causing me worry is one of the questions asks you to write down all employments.

During my 2nd year WHV (which i am currently on) I worked in my first Job for 7 months which defaults on my visa conditions. Not sure whether it is best to disclose this and hope they wouldn't reject someone for working to hard, or lie and hope not to get caught out.

Thanks, 
Rob


----------



## RAMU_CHOW

Hi Mark !!

Good Afternoon..

I have a few queries. I had lodged a State Sponsored 489 in Month of June. As I am from pro rata occupation code so my code's availability was finished during that time under 189, hence the above decision. 
However, after seeing the happenings of Citizenship Bill in the following months I also lodged a 189 visa in the month of August. Now the problem is the 489 was lodged by an Indian agency, who is not that much cooperative. For 189 I lodged it myself.
There is no CO request for either as of now. 
I have following queries below:
1) Will there be any (direct) grant one after another where the later one cancels the former or will the CO advise via "Notice of Withdrawl" for the 489 Visa.? 
2) If there is a "Notice of Withdrawl" on 489 visa and the same is not acted upon and neither it is shared with me by the agency, what happens then after 28 days.?
3) Supposedly 189 is granted first, then 489 is granted whereby 189 is being cancelled, can I challenge the same in AAT/ MRT for revoking of the cancellation? 
4) I have repeatedly asked for TRN/ INVOICE/ VISA FILE NO. but the agency will not provide any of them, so is there any other way to view the application status via Immi account ? But I know that they have lodged it as I got the same pop up during 189 visa lodgment time.

Thanks,
Ramu_Chow


----------



## Cairns123

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I have submitted the ACS on Sept 2.

Waiting patiently for the results.

Any current trend available on timelines will be really helpful.

Regards
Mahesh


----------



## Geordie1970

Mark, I've a form 80 question - question 43 part 1 - children:

I have a non dependent, non-migrating daughter, she's 26 and getting on with her own life. However, I am not on her birth certificate as her father and it's not possible to get my name put on. There is no "paper" evidence of me being her father, though I am, and we've always had a relationship. Her surname is different from mine, it's her mothers'.

The question is, is it right to put her down as my non dependent, non-migrating daughter when I cannot prove she is if I'm asked for evidence? I don't want to lie and leave her off, but I don't want to jeopardise the application by putting her on when I can't prove who she is.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## xskillzdatkillz

*Work Experience not related to Education*

Hi Mark, 
I am new to this community and new to the Australian Migration Process. I have gone through some of your threads, thank you very much for your help to the community.
I am looking to apply for Australian PR (Just started to look the rules and process). 
*My Question is specific to work experience related to Education*.

Here is my situation, i guess that will help you .
Age : 31
Degree : Master (Mechanical)
Work Experience : 7 Years (Software Industry)
IELTS : Pending 
Married 
Spouse : BE (Electrical)
Spouse Exp : 1.5 in Electrical

Am I going to get any points related to my Experience ?
I know, for age I can score 30 points and I must shoot for (7-8) bands in IELTS. If you can guide me to understand my work experience and education points would be great....

Thank You in advance ...


----------



## YW26

Hi Mark,

First - thank you for your help on this forum, I imagine my partner and I will probably book a meeting with you in person soon before we lodge our application.

Before that - I have some quick questions.

Background: His student visa 573 expires 24th of November 2017. His COE has expired a few days ago (studies finished a month ago), so he has started full-time work as a financial analyst in Sydney. If they decide to maintain him post-24th of November, we want to lodge a partner visa 820. We have lived together for the past 12 months, and been in relationship for over 2 years. He is a UK citizen (low-risk) who has lived quite internationally. Just to be safe, we have also just registered our relationship with NSW, so I'm not too worried about the visa approval. I just want to ask:

1. How quickly is the BVA granted? We plan on doing an online submission, is it almost instantaneous? Or a few days? I suppose what I am asking is - what is the latest we leave his application submission to ensure the BVA is granted before his current substantive visa ends?

2. Will the BVA have full working rights - like his student visa (off-session) does?

Essentially, I just want to ensure that there is no disruption in his employment.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## nivaem

Hello Mark, I need your guidance.

I am here in Australia on 457 Visa along with my family since last year. I completed all medical tests for entire family before arriving in Australia on 457 Visa. 

We decided to apply for PR and have received an Invite (ITA) to apply for Visa recently. Unfortunately my wife has been diagnosed with Stage 1 Cancer (very early stage) few days back after we have already received an Invite. We all are covered by Private Insurance and she is undergoing full treatment including surgery here in Australia. As per doctor, this is totally curable and not a high risk form of cancer.

We are yet to formally apply for Visa after receiving the invite and wanted to check if this new unexpected development will affect our chances of obtaining a Grant?

Any guidance on how to handle this situation would be appreciated.


----------



## ahkuzai

Dear Mark,

Just a quick question need your advise.

If I have already written a detail relationship statement (signed & dated), do I still need to submit another statutory declaration with a professional witness? 

This is because I read the forums, people always mention that statutory declaration is mandatory. 

Regards


----------



## Susan12

Hi Mark & thanks in advance for your help . I currently have a partner (residence) (class BS) (subclass 801) Am I required to notify the immigration department that I have changed address since obtaining my visa & that I'm now separated from my husband ? Also how long before I can apply for Australian citizenship ?


----------



## JackBishop

*Plumber requirement*

Hi Mark, I want to know if I could move to Queensland, Australia as a plumber in a few years. I'm 20 years old, I have a Level 1 and Level 2 City and Guilds Plumbing diploma (I got the qualifications in England, I'm not sure the Australian equivalent)

Do I need work experience to and if so how much?

What qualifications do I need

any information would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou


----------



## Mechatronics Engineer

Hi Mark,

I have a bachelors in mechatronics engineering, Can I get a positive skill assessment from Engineers Australia in any of the occupations in the 189 list. Would Electronics Engineering be a suitable option to go for assessment? Please provide suggestions.

Regards


----------



## Nimal

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Nimal -
> 
> Other than making a complaint to the Ombudsman, I don't know of anything else you can do. No way to predict how soon DIBP will respond as they have no legal time limits on responding to complaints or processing visas for that matter - "aim to provide a response" is a lot less than "are required to provide a response"...
> 
> I wish I had advice as to further steps you can take, but your options are very limited re: DIBP complaints. One trick I've seen a few times is that the complaint will have in the main title "Manager assistance, please" which sometimes gets the complaint elevated above the case worker level - you might try that with a subsequent complaint if this one is not responded to in time.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thanks for your advice about complaining to Ombudsman. I have indeed filed a complaint to the ombudsman regarding the delay in finalising my student visa application and was confirmed by the ombudsman's Investigation Officer that the department has erred in identifying within their standard processing time that my application was invalid due to payment issue. The ombudsman has also suggested me to apply for compensation through the Compensation for Detriment
caused by Defective Administration (CDDA) Scheme from DIBP in the case of suffering financial loss due to this error committed leading to two months additional delay in the process. Have you come across anyone being successful in the claim process after getting suggested by the ombudsman?


----------



## A&M

*resident return visa vs. ETA*

Hi Mark

I have a situation here where my current resident return visa (subclass 155) expired on 21 Sep and I applied for a renewal on 18 Sep as it previously only took me 2 days to have it approved. The new visa still hasn't been granted as of today.
I am going to travel overseas for my wedding on 22 Oct and planning to return to work on 5 Nov.

I am thinking to apply for an ETA (after I have departed from Australia) in case my resident return visa application still hasn't been approved upon my return.

I am just wondering if an ETA would replace my currently valid permanent visa or my application for renewal? or is there any bridging visa for situation like this?

Any idea / suggestion is much appreciated.

Cheers,

Adrian


----------



## joann12194

Hi Mark.

I got a refusal on my visa 485 (PSW) as I did not apply for the AFP national check. I was informed that my bridging visa ceases in 32 days from today. I was told that I have to leave the country and apply for a new visa to re-enter the country in order to apply for visa 485 again. Will it work that way? If yes, could I apply for a visitor visa because my student visa has expired on the 30th of September.

Thank you.


----------



## aarancam

*Visa extension*

Hi Mark,I recently met a lovely bloke from Laos in Thailand. (May.) We are trying to sort him out a tourist visa to Australia. I've been told he should get a twelve months visa and can come and go but not stay here for more than three months at any one visit. If we arrange for a flight home after one month but decide a longer stay would be good how would we go about that once he's here? Do you think he stands a good chance of getting the visa? He has a shop and land all government stamped so has a reason to return. Any thoughts on this would be so gratefully appreciated.
Regards
David


----------



## prasadliyan

hi Mark,

Hi guys,

I'm a qualified teacher, but currently studying towards an MBBS in Australia,(career change) I'm considering applying for 189 visa, using my teacher qualifications so that I would be able to practice here later as a doctor.

Will it be a problem that I'm studying towards another career in Australia, while applying for skilled migration through another career?



Another question I have is,

My Bachelors was a top-up degree, I did a 2 year Higher International Diploma followed by a 1 year top degree. 

Both the qualifications are from different insitutions, so will AITSL consider the final degree that is the Bachelors or will it be considering it as 2 qualifications, the Higher International diploma, followed by the Bachelors degree. 
thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lena -

Thanks for the note. There is no particular amount of time a person must have held the 820 before they can process the 801, the 2 year timeframe (that DIBP may try to change to 3 years next year) starts from the original application date for the partner visa. Assessment in process doesn't necessarily mean it has been allocated yet, unfortuantely no good way to predict processing time or current stage processing given DIBP's current policies and systems.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lena83 said:


> Hello Mark!
> Thank you for your invaluable work on this site. You are a wealth of information.
> 
> I have a couple of queations on the 801 application. I applied in August and it says assessment in progress now. Does this mean I have a case officer? Is this status a good sign? I have read about a few people that wouldn't receive their grant until 12 months had passed on the 820. Is this true? Just trying to figure out if I might be a lucky one in line for a quick process since I am from low risk country and provided a complete decision ready 801 application.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Lena


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chaz -

If she is holding only a bridging visa now onshore, she would not be able to lodge another student visa application onshore due to section 48 of the Migration Act due to the previous onshore refusal. Yes, correct re: bridging visa ceasing 28 or 35 days after you withdraw the AAT appeal (depends on when the visa was applied for as to whether it is 28 or 35 days).

Beyond that, would need to get further information about her circumstances to provide specific advice for her case - please contact me directly (see contact info and website below) and I can refer you to a student visa specialist who can help determine a good strategy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chazzie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Many thanks for sparing your time to help. I have some questions that I'm hoping you'll be able to assist with:
> 
> Background information: I am an Australian citizen and my sister who lives with me is currently on Bridging Visa B (Class WB)
> 
> She previously lodged a student visa application to do some hairdressing course in Melbourne. Her application initially was rejected, so she lodged an appeal. She was then granted a Bridging Visa B (Class WB) whilst waiting for the appeal hearing. She can study and work full time while on this visa.
> 
> She has recently completed her course in August (which she lodged an appeal for) and the by the time she finished the course, she still hasn't heard back on the immigration office on the date of her hearing. Meanwhile, she wanted to extend her course to do more advanced hairdressing certification.
> 
> We recently received an email yesterday that her hearing has been scheduled at the end of this month.
> 
> We are looking at a few option, and I have some questions related to each option:
> 
> *Option 1. Extending her study*
> 
> 
> What are the best option for her, should she enroll in the new course and attend the hearing with the new COE? or Should she just withdraw the appeal application and lodge a new Visa request?
> 
> *Option 2. Extending bridging visa to allow enough time to tie some loose ends before going back home*
> 
> Another option she's thinking of is to withdraw the appeal and return back to Indonesia, start some hairdressing business or do some work experience for a few years, and maybe come back to do more study later on.
> My understanding is, if she withdraw the appeal, she has to leave Australia within 28 or 35 days of doing so?
> The problem is, we are hoping that she can extend her Bridging Visa until end of January at least (preferable February), so we can finalise our lease and I can help her with arranging to send her stuff back to Indonesia.
> 
> 
> What will be the best option for her in this case, should she withdraw the appeal and apply for another bridgingfor a few months? Can she actually do this, i.e. apply for another visa after canceling the appeal?
> Can she withdraw the appeal and apply for a tourist visa?
> If she can apply for a tourist visa, can I sponsor her tourist visa?
> 
> Thank you very much for your help in advanced, Mark.
> 
> -Chaz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Robm1990 -

Thanks for the note. You'll have to decide, however I cannot advise you to put incorrect information on an application form - just too many potential issues.

Best,

Mark Northam



robm1990 said:


> Hi Mark, Looking for some form 80 help,
> 
> I'm British, Australian partner, live together, joint banks, bills etc pretty confident with my application, even have a letter from her dad saying how happy he is to have me as part of the family.
> 
> The only thing causing me worry is one of the questions asks you to write down all employments.
> 
> During my 2nd year WHV (which i am currently on) I worked in my first Job for 7 months which defaults on my visa conditions. Not sure whether it is best to disclose this and hope they wouldn't reject someone for working to hard, or lie and hope not to get caught out.
> 
> Thanks,
> Rob


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ramu -

Sorry to hear you're getting such poor treatment from the unregistered agent - I suggest you take matters into your own hands quickly. You have no idea what this person lodged on your behalf, and if anything is incorrect in the application, 100% of the responsibility will be placed by DIBP on you. At a minimum, you should have been given (by the "agent") a copy of the application to review prior to lodgement -this would have had the TRN number on it even in draft format.

There is nothing to stop DIBP from issuing the 189, then issuing the 489 which would then wipe out the 189 and erase your permanent resident visa.

Assuming you wish to withdraw the 489 (assumes the 189 application is valid, etc), you can either contact DIBP to do so, or engage another agent to do so - the new agent can lodge a Form 956 with DIBP to end the representation of the current "agent", then withdraw the application. You or the new agent may need to spend some time getting the TRN or File Number from DIBP in order to have that info to complete the withdrawal form.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



RAMU_CHOW said:


> Hi Mark !!
> 
> Good Afternoon..
> 
> I have a few queries. I had lodged a State Sponsored 489 in Month of June. As I am from pro rata occupation code so my code's availability was finished during that time under 189, hence the above decision.
> However, after seeing the happenings of Citizenship Bill in the following months I also lodged a 189 visa in the month of August. Now the problem is the 489 was lodged by an Indian agency, who is not that much cooperative. For 189 I lodged it myself.
> There is no CO request for either as of now.
> I have following queries below:
> 1) Will there be any (direct) grant one after another where the later one cancels the former or will the CO advise via "Notice of Withdrawl" for the 489 Visa.?
> 2) If there is a "Notice of Withdrawl" on 489 visa and the same is not acted upon and neither it is shared with me by the agency, what happens then after 28 days.?
> 3) Supposedly 189 is granted first, then 489 is granted whereby 189 is being cancelled, can I challenge the same in AAT/ MRT for revoking of the cancellation?
> 4) I have repeatedly asked for TRN/ INVOICE/ VISA FILE NO. but the agency will not provide any of them, so is there any other way to view the application status via Immi account ? But I know that they have lodged it as I got the same pop up during 189 visa lodgment time.
> 
> Thanks,
> Ramu_Chow


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mahesh -

You might ask others out on the regular part of the forum - have seen results anywhere from 2 weeks to 12 weeks, highly unpredictable. Or check with ACS and see if they can give you latest processing times.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cairns123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have submitted the ACS on Sept 2.
> 
> Waiting patiently for the results.
> 
> Any current trend available on timelines will be really helpful.
> 
> Regards
> Mahesh


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Geordie1970 -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you include her and include a note on the extension page (last page) of Form 80 to indicate that you are the biological father but are not included on the birth certificate.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Geordie1970 said:


> Mark, I've a form 80 question - question 43 part 1 - children:
> 
> I have a non dependent, non-migrating daughter, she's 26 and getting on with her own life. However, I am not on her birth certificate as her father and it's not possible to get my name put on. There is no "paper" evidence of me being her father, though I am, and we've always had a relationship. Her surname is different from mine, it's her mothers'.
> 
> The question is, is it right to put her down as my non dependent, non-migrating daughter when I cannot prove she is if I'm asked for evidence? I don't want to lie and leave her off, but I don't want to jeopardise the application by putting her on when I can't prove who she is.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Xskillzdatkillz -

Thanks for the question. Generally work experience and your education qualification (bachelor degree specifically) must be relevant to the occupation you have nominated to apply under per the rules of most skills assessors. For DIBP, the work experience must be seen as relevant to the occupation you are applying under. Would need to discuss this in more detail with you at a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case as the regulations in this area can be complex - please my website below in my signature for more info and to book online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



xskillzdatkillz said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am new to this community and new to the Australian Migration Process. I have gone through some of your threads, thank you very much for your help to the community.
> I am looking to apply for Australian PR (Just started to look the rules and process).
> *My Question is specific to work experience related to Education*.
> 
> Here is my situation, i guess that will help you .
> Age : 31
> Degree : Master (Mechanical)
> Work Experience : 7 Years (Software Industry)
> IELTS : Pending
> Married
> Spouse : BE (Electrical)
> Spouse Exp : 1.5 in Electrical
> 
> Am I going to get any points related to my Experience ?
> I know, for age I can score 30 points and I must shoot for (7-8) bands in IELTS. If you can guide me to understand my work experience and education points would be great....
> 
> Thank You in advance ...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi YW26 -

Thanks for the question. Normally with an online partner visa application, onshore in Australia, if the applicant holds a substantive visa at the time of application for the partner visa (very important that he does to avoid Schedule 3 issues!), the BVA is granted within an hour. However in some cases, I've seen it take 2-3 days - this happens sometimes when DIBP's systems are running slow, application is made on a weekend, etc. Suggest you allow 3 days - if it takes longer, it usually means a system backlog at DIBP and they generally grant the bridging visa backdated so there is no interruption in coverage. BVA's for onshore partner visas are generally granted with full work rights (no work limitations).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



YW26 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First - thank you for your help on this forum, I imagine my partner and I will probably book a meeting with you in person soon before we lodge our application.
> 
> Before that - I have some quick questions.
> 
> Background: His student visa 573 expires 24th of November 2017. His COE has expired a few days ago (studies finished a month ago), so he has started full-time work as a financial analyst in Sydney. If they decide to maintain him post-24th of November, we want to lodge a partner visa 820. We have lived together for the past 12 months, and been in relationship for over 2 years. He is a UK citizen (low-risk) who has lived quite internationally. Just to be safe, we have also just registered our relationship with NSW, so I'm not too worried about the visa approval. I just want to ask:
> 
> 1. How quickly is the BVA granted? We plan on doing an online submission, is it almost instantaneous? Or a few days? I suppose what I am asking is - what is the latest we leave his application submission to ensure the BVA is granted before his current substantive visa ends?
> 
> 2. Will the BVA have full working rights - like his student visa (off-session) does?
> 
> Essentially, I just want to ensure that there is no disruption in his employment.
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## sillygos

Dear Mark;

I have a Master of Science in engineering. Right after my degree I worked as a junior construction project manager for a year and a half then I got promoted to CPM and worked for the same company until mid 2013. After that I continued working as CPM for a different company.

Would my degree and work experience be sufficient for a positive assessment with Vetassess?

Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nivaem -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your wife's diagnosis - but very glad to hear it's curable.

The diagnosis will need to be disclosed in the health questions asked for the health exam for the PR visa (I am assuming it's a subclass 189, 190 or 489) - difficult to predict to what extent it may impact your application as the medical officer of the Commonwealth will do an assessment on expected costs going forward. I would need to know more about the details of your case in order to give you specific advice, however you may want to look at all of your options and make a decision re: whether it would be better to wait until the treatment is over (and Dr can confirm that the condition is cured) before lodging the visa application. There are many factors you need to consider, such as potential occupation list changes, what may happen with your 457, will you get another invitation if you do not apply with this one, etc when you're balancing the options of delaying vs applying now. In many cases, health assessment done after a condition is cured is better than having it done while the condition still exists, but as I said above, there are dozens of other factors to consider in your lives and circumstances that may dictate overall it's better to apply now or better to wait.

Also would be happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see my website below for more information or to book online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nivaem said:


> Hello Mark, I need your guidance.
> 
> I am here in Australia on 457 Visa along with my family since last year. I completed all medical tests for entire family before arriving in Australia on 457 Visa.
> 
> We decided to apply for PR and have received an Invite (ITA) to apply for Visa recently. Unfortunately my wife has been diagnosed with Stage 1 Cancer (very early stage) few days back after we have already received an Invite. We all are covered by Private Insurance and she is undergoing full treatment including surgery here in Australia. As per doctor, this is totally curable and not a high risk form of cancer.
> 
> We are yet to formally apply for Visa after receiving the invite and wanted to check if this new unexpected development will affect our chances of obtaining a Grant?
> 
> Any guidance on how to handle this situation would be appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ahkuzai -

Partner and fiance visas require at least 2 Form 888's which are statutory declarations by Australian citizens or permanent residents in addition to relationship statements written by the applicant and sponsor. Not sure what type of visa you are applying for, so not sure what may be required in addition to that. For non-partner visas (ie, 457, skilled, etc), Form 888's are not used but relationship statements & evidence are often a good idea.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ahkuzai said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Just a quick question need your advise.
> 
> If I have already written a detail relationship statement (signed & dated), do I still need to submit another statutory declaration with a professional witness?
> 
> This is because I read the forums, people always mention that statutory declaration is mandatory.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Susan12 -

Thanks for the note. Always a good idea to keep DIBP updated with your address until you become a citizen - you can use Form 929 to update them. Once you are granted the 801 visa, the visa is no longer dependent on the partner relationship, so no need to advise them that the relationship has changed.

Re citizenship, need to wait until the new citizenship laws are passed to know whether it will require 1 year PR (current) or 4 years PR (proposed).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Susan12 said:


> Hi Mark & thanks in advance for your help . I currently have a partner (residence) (class BS) (subclass 801) Am I required to notify the immigration department that I have changed address since obtaining my visa & that I'm now separated from my husband ? Also how long before I can apply for Australian citizenship ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jack -

Thanks for the note - all depends on the type of visa you are trying to get for Australia - many visas for trades will require a skills assessment - here's a good place to start checking into that (TRA): Home Page

Beyond that it's not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



JackBishop said:


> Hi Mark, I want to know if I could move to Queensland, Australia as a plumber in a few years. I'm 20 years old, I have a Level 1 and Level 2 City and Guilds Plumbing diploma (I got the qualifications in England, I'm not sure the Australian equivalent)
> 
> Do I need work experience to and if so how much?
> 
> What qualifications do I need
> 
> any information would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mr Mechatronics -

I'd contact Engineers Australia about this directly and see what they say. I expect they will say that the correct ANZSCO code is 233999 (Engineering Professional nec) as Mechatronics Engineer is listed as part of that code by ANZSCO. However if you can get a skills assessment in Electronics Engineering you'll be better off as it's a 189 listed occupation. Next step would be considering your work experience if you intend to try and claim points for it and determine whether it's close to 233999 or Electronics Engineer - a work experience assessment by EA (an additional service they offer) might be a good idea depending on the specifics of that work experience and whether DIBP is likely to question what the most relevant ANZSCO code is for that experience given your degree.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mechatronics Engineer said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a bachelors in mechatronics engineering, Can I get a positive skill assessment from Engineers Australia in any of the occupations in the 189 list. Would Electronics Engineering be a suitable option to go for assessment? Please provide suggestions.
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Yes re CDDA, but you have to have a solid case with good evidence in my view. If they can somehow show the payment issue was your fault, then a delay in notification only may or may not be enough to rise to the level of making a successful CDDA claim - it may be worth a try however, depending on the specifics of your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nimal said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for your advice about complaining to Ombudsman. I have indeed filed a complaint to the ombudsman regarding the delay in finalising my student visa application and was confirmed by the ombudsman's Investigation Officer that the department has erred in identifying within their standard processing time that my application was invalid due to payment issue. The ombudsman has also suggested me to apply for compensation through the Compensation for Detriment
> caused by Defective Administration (CDDA) Scheme from DIBP in the case of suffering financial loss due to this error committed leading to two months additional delay in the process. Have you come across anyone being successful in the claim process after getting suggested by the ombudsman?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Adrian -

In many cases an ETA will not dislodge/replace/cease a substantive visa, because an ETA isn't "quite" a full substantive visa - it's in a special class by itself. However the 155 visa can be tricky depending on how long you've been in Australia during the 5 years of PR prior to lodging the 155 application, and some of the criteria for the visa depending on your circumstances look at the last visa you entered Australia on, so it's not quite a simple issue.

Suggest you hold off on the ETA until the last moment and see what DIBP will do for you re: grant of the 155. You may also want to consult with a migration agent re: your 155 and see if the ETA will, given your specific circumstances, cause any problems with the 155 application pending.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



A&M said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have a situation here where my current resident return visa (subclass 155) expired on 21 Sep and I applied for a renewal on 18 Sep as it previously only took me 2 days to have it approved. The new visa still hasn't been granted as of today.
> I am going to travel overseas for my wedding on 22 Oct and planning to return to work on 5 Nov.
> 
> I am thinking to apply for an ETA (after I have departed from Australia) in case my resident return visa application still hasn't been approved upon my return.
> 
> I am just wondering if an ETA would replace my currently valid permanent visa or my application for renewal? or is there any bridging visa for situation like this?
> 
> Any idea / suggestion is much appreciated.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Adrian


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Joann12194 -

Thanks for the note. The re-enter on visitor visa plan often works for people whose 485 visas have been refused, as you're not able to apply again for the 485 onshore on this trip due to being barred by section 48 of the Migration Act, but still need to lodge the 485 onshore.

You could apply for a visitor visa offshore, but the risk is present that it could be refused, which would upset your 485 plans. There's no risk-free option in these types of situations usually, but you may want to look at the rules for the 485 closely to make sure you would be able to meet them - especially the rules re: having held a student visa within 6 months of applying for the 485, etc. Also very important if you're going to depart to do so before the bridging visa expires as not doing so could create a larger problem - a 3-year ban period on all temporary visas.

Happy to discuss your specific circumstances further at a consultation - see my website below for details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



joann12194 said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> I got a refusal on my visa 485 (PSW) as I did not apply for the AFP national check. I was informed that my bridging visa ceases in 32 days from today. I was told that I have to leave the country and apply for a new visa to re-enter the country in order to apply for visa 485 again. Will it work that way? If yes, could I apply for a visitor visa because my student visa has expired on the 30th of September.
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi David -

Thanks for the note. Difficult to assess chances of success for visitor visas these days, as DIBP can be very tough on these cases. Would need to know much more about his personal circumstances, finances, ties to his home country especially as this is a key assessment point. However even if given a 12 month visa with max 3 month stay per visit, entering beyond 2 three-month stays can be risky as DIBP may get the idea he is here to be more than just a temporary visitor and could potentially turn him around at the airport on entry #3, etc. The good old days of doing 3 month stays followed by 1-2 days in NZ etc and then another 3 month stay, etc are over - now DIBP evaluates intent on each entry and takes into account how much time has already been spent in Australia so far (especially during the last 12 months).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aarancam said:


> Hi Mark,I recently met a lovely bloke from Laos in Thailand. (May.) We are trying to sort him out a tourist visa to Australia. I've been told he should get a twelve months visa and can come and go but not stay here for more than three months at any one visit. If we arrange for a flight home after one month but decide a longer stay would be good how would we go about that once he's here? Do you think he stands a good chance of getting the visa? He has a shop and land all government stamped so has a reason to return. Any thoughts on this would be so gratefully appreciated.
> Regards
> David


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prasadliyan -

Thanks for the note. I don't think the further study in a different field will be a problem, however not sure about the degree assessment - probably best to contact AITSL about that directly, and also note the requirements re: practical experience component to the degree, etc as noted on the AITSL site.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



prasadliyan said:


> hi Mark,
> 
> Hi guys,
> 
> I'm a qualified teacher, but currently studying towards an MBBS in Australia,(career change) I'm considering applying for 189 visa, using my teacher qualifications so that I would be able to practice here later as a doctor.
> 
> Will it be a problem that I'm studying towards another career in Australia, while applying for skilled migration through another career?
> 
> Another question I have is,
> 
> My Bachelors was a top-up degree, I did a 2 year Higher International Diploma followed by a 1 year top degree.
> 
> Both the qualifications are from different insitutions, so will AITSL consider the final degree that is the Bachelors or will it be considering it as 2 qualifications, the Higher International diploma, followed by the Bachelors degree.
> thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sillygos -

Thanks for the note. Hard to predict this one - I expect Vetassess will take a close look at your Bachelor Degree as well. Vetassess as lots of internal procedures and policies it uses in assessing degrees and work experience, many of which are not available - often it's a matter of lodging the skills assessment application and seeing how they end up assessing your degree(s) and experience.

Best,

Mark Northam



sillygos said:


> Dear Mark;
> 
> I have a Master of Science in engineering. Right after my degree I worked as a junior construction project manager for a year and a half then I got promoted to CPM and worked for the same company until mid 2013. After that I continued working as CPM for a different company.
> 
> Would my degree and work experience be sufficient for a positive assessment with Vetassess?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## prasadliyan

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Prasadliyan -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I don't think the further study in a different field will be a problem, however not sure about the degree assessment - probably best to contact AITSL about that directly, and also note the requirements re: practical experience component to the degree, etc as noted on the AITSL site.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thank you Mark,

Say I do an OTHM level 6 diploma after my PGCE, will that count towards the 4 years of education required by AITSL? this is in case my 3 years Bachelors is classed as 2 years.

so in summary I would have 
2 years Higher diploma from Local college
1 year top degree from University
1 year PGCE from University
1 year level 6 OTHM diploma


----------



## MarkNortham

Again, not sure - it's very difficult to try and predict how AITSL or any skills assessor will evaluate a particular degree or degrees because many of their assessment rules are essentially confidential and unpublished. Wish I could help further here, but there's no substitute for dealing with AITSL - it's entirely up to them how they would assess your combo of qualifications.

Best,

Mark Northam



prasadliyan said:


> thank you Mark,
> 
> Say I do an OTHM level 6 diploma after my PGCE, will that count towards the 4 years of education required by AITSL? this is in case my 3 years Bachelors is classed as 2 years.
> 
> so in summary I would have
> 2 years Higher diploma from Local college
> 1 year top degree from University
> 1 year PGCE from University
> 1 year level 6 OTHM diploma


----------



## kaitlyn

*820 and 573*

Hi Mark,

I'm appreciated taking your time to read my post and answer my questions.

I graduated from university and luckily settled down with my partner. However, because of my course credits from bachelor degree, my postgraduate only used 1.5 year to finish and I already graduated now.

The question comes. 
1. My 573 will expire march 2018. However, the visa condition about restriction working hour is only applied when you are full-time enrolled in the University. Thus, I'm not applicable because of my graduation.

2. I applied 820 onshore in March 2017. In the meantime, I got my bridging Visa A but it haven't activated because of my 573.

According to my research and my enquires from Department of Immigration(they are not so clear about this unique situation as well), I assumed that I have full time working rights now.

Could you please give me some advice about my current awkward situation?

Best Regards,

Kaitlyn


----------



## aarancam

Thanks Mark. It's so mad. When I came to Oz from the UK on holiday the travel agent sorted the visa out for ten quid!


----------



## A&M

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Adrian -
> 
> In many cases an ETA will not dislodge/replace/cease a substantive visa, because an ETA isn't "quite" a full substantive visa - it's in a special class by itself. However the 155 visa can be tricky depending on how long you've been in Australia during the 5 years of PR prior to lodging the 155 application, and some of the criteria for the visa depending on your circumstances look at the last visa you entered Australia on, so it's not quite a simple issue.
> 
> Suggest you hold off on the ETA until the last moment and see what DIBP will do for you re: grant of the 155. You may also want to consult with a migration agent re: your 155 and see if the ETA will, given your specific circumstances, cause any problems with the 155 application pending.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks a lot for your reply Mark. Much appreciated!

Hopefully they won't have a problem granting my visa as I have got this visa two times (both are one year visas) without a problem, the only thing that is different from from my previous applications is I have now been in Australia for two years already.

Finger crossed.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaitlyn -

Thanks for the note. From what you've said, it sounds like you have work rights currently but would have to review your documents in order to give you specific advice for your case. If you finish a course more than 2-3 months early, there is a chance that DIBP could potentially move to cancel the student visa, but highly unlikely if you've already lodged a PR visa application. The BVA will activate when the student visa expires next year, so you're still on the student visa until that point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kaitlyn said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm appreciated taking your time to read my post and answer my questions.
> 
> I graduated from university and luckily settled down with my partner. However, because of my course credits from bachelor degree, my postgraduate only used 1.5 year to finish and I already graduated now.
> 
> The question comes.
> 1. My 573 will expire march 2018. However, the visa condition about restriction working hour is only applied when you are full-time enrolled in the University. Thus, I'm not applicable because of my graduation.
> 
> 2. I applied 820 onshore in March 2017. In the meantime, I got my bridging Visa A but it haven't activated because of my 573.
> 
> According to my research and my enquires from Department of Immigration(they are not so clear about this unique situation as well), I assumed that I have full time working rights now.
> 
> Could you please give me some advice about my current awkward situation?
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> Kaitlyn


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aarancam -

Agreed. Getting an eVisitor or ETA visa is easy for UK citizens with no convictions, etc. Sorting out how to best use that visa and how to plan ahead for potentially lodging a visa being sponsored by a partner is a far more complex issue.

Best,

Mark Northam



aarancam said:


> Thanks Mark. It's so mad. When I came to Oz from the UK on holiday the travel agent sorted the visa out for ten quid!


----------



## baldur

Hi mark, i applied for the visa 485 on the 22nd of september. the same day i got health insurance but my provider were able to send me the document on the 25th even though they said they would send it to me the same day and i made the payment on the 15th. The commencement date of my health insurance is 22nd but the issue date of the document is 25nd. Would it be a problem? Should i withdraw my application? i am on the bridging visa a. if i withdraw my visa, can i apply for the visa 485 again?

thank you very much.


----------



## Budisalim

hi mark,
i have debt to commonwealth last year. Then i paid off on 1 sept 2017 by australian money order to immigration office in melbourne . Do you know how long to get receipt issued by department? my case officer asked me to provide this but till now i did not get that receipt. Thanks mark.


----------



## vega442

Good day Mark

Thanks for offering help. Thats really kind of you 

Me and my wife live in Tassie. We got 489 visa grant 2 weeks back. We opted for Tassie state sponsorship. My wife works full time in Tassie & she is the primary applicant. I am her dependant and we both have visa condition 8539. Now my query is that, I am a Ships Officer (Seafarer, Merchant Mariner, Seaman), you can call whatever...lol...and I work offshore thats onboard ships. So does this 8539 visa conditon apply to me? Also please note that most of our crewing/manning agencies are based in Sydney, Melbourne & Freo...so I might be recruited by these agencies based in these cities but my work will be onboard ships.
Cheers


----------



## crostoli

Hi Mark

I'm hoping you will be able to help me  

I am gathering documentation to support a Citizenship by Descent application for my daughter who will be born overseas. My husband and I were both born in Australia and are Australian. I am however also an Italian Citizen due to my father being one at my time of birth. 

On Form 118 as the Mother, I am required to attach evidence of my Italian Citizenship including the date it was acquired:

"Evidence of other citizenships held by your Australian citizen parent
- Letter or certificate showing date of acquisition, if applicable"

I have been to the Italian Consulate and obtained an official Statement of Citizenship. I am concerned because this document does not stipulate the date I acquired citizenship so it may not be acceptable as per Form 118. As I understand it, Italy considered me a citizen at the my time of birth, however my birth was not registered with them immediately. Would that make any difference?

Would you recommend that I go back to the Italian Consulate and ask for a something different?

Thank you so much


----------



## prasadliyan

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Prasadliyan -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I don't think the further study in a different field will be a problem, however not sure about the degree assessment - probably best to contact AITSL about that directly, and also note the requirements re: practical experience component to the degree, etc as noted on the AITSL site.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


thank you Mark,

In case, my Bachelors is not considered equal to an Australian Bachelors, would it be possible to claim the 15 points for educational qualifications, through a masters which is considered equivalent to an Australian masters?

I also have a level 6(level 7 in Australia) diploma which in the UK is considered equivalent to a Bachelors degree,
so would I be able to claim the 15 points using this Level 6 diploma?

http://www.othm.org.uk/qualification.html

and also are qualifications from Technical and vocational education institutions be considered towards the 4 years or should it be just from Universities??

thank you


----------



## Legend07

Hi Mark,

My apologies if this question has already been answered at some stage. I am keeping my spouse as a non-migrating dependent in my 189 application and working on a decision ready submission. Just wanted to know which docs are required to be submitted for the non-migrating dependant other than the PCC? I have read that DIBP doesn't ask for Medicals anymore. 

Should I be submitting separate Form 80/1221 for the spouse?

Regards
L


----------



## ShaunC

*187 bridging visa - potential employer let down*

Hi Mark,

I am currently on a Bridging visa waiting on the outcome of my 187 application. I have the feeling that once the construction company I am employeed with (IT role) finishes cyclone repairs they will leave the regional area and my application will fall through as a result. They approached me about the sponsorship and are a good employer, but I think they don't understand the process And as a result some of the paper is difficult to get.

If they leave the regional area do I have any options? Or if they terminate my role as a result of the regional office not being required will my visa be cancelled/ declined

Thank you


----------



## spanishinaustralia

*Cancelling 2nd CoE - student visa*

Hi Mark, I have a quick question and was hoping you could point me in the right direction. I have been suggested by an educational agent to enroll on two different diplomas rather than one (two different CoEs within the same school) as I was told I could cancel the second one at any time and I need to cancel the second one as I am planning to apply to 189 visa. Can I just cancel one CoE and should I do it before I submit my EOI for the 189 or after I submit it (and then request work rights due financial hardship)? I am planning to complete my current diploma but don't want to start the second one that would leave me without bridging visa for an entire year. Many thanks


----------



## Geordie1970

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Geordie1970 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Suggest you include her and include a note on the extension page (last page) of Form 80 to indicate that you are the biological father but are not included on the birth certificate.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

HI Baldur -

Here's the relevant regulation:

_485.215

(1) When the application was made, it was accompanied by evidence that the applicant had adequate arrangements in Australia for health insurance .

(2) The applicant has had adequate arrangements in Australia for health insurance since the time the application was made._

I can't assess your case without seeing your documents, but if you did not provide the document until 3 days after lodgement, DIBP may conclude that you do not meet item (1) above. A friendly case officer may not press the issue since the coverage was effective as of the date of the application (so item 2 above is satisfied), but you're in the grey area since the health document wasn't uploaded until 3 days after lodgement and is dated 3 days after lodgement.

Happy to assist further at a consultation - see my website below in my signature for more information and to book online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



baldur said:


> Hi mark, i applied for the visa 485 on the 22nd of september. the same day i got health insurance but my provider were able to send me the document on the 25th even though they said they would send it to me the same day and i made the payment on the 15th. The commencement date of my health insurance is 22nd but the issue date of the document is 25nd. Would it be a problem? Should i withdraw my application? i am on the bridging visa a. if i withdraw my visa, can i apply for the visa 485 again?
> 
> thank you very much.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Budisalim -

Thanks for the note. Not sure how fast they produce those receipts, but we usually recommend that clients make a copy of the money order and send by a trackable means so sending both documents (copy of money order, proof of receipt from Australia Post website, etc) tends to satisfy the case officer that the applicant has done everything he/she can do, and that the responsibility then rests with the debts unit of DIBP to process the receipt. Not sure if you've kept copies of these, but might be helpful to provide to the case officer if you have them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Budisalim said:


> hi mark,
> i have debt to commonwealth last year. Then i paid off on 1 sept 2017 by australian money order to immigration office in melbourne . Do you know how long to get receipt issued by department? my case officer asked me to provide this but till now i did not get that receipt. Thanks mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vega442 -

Great questions. Bottom line is that condition 8539 only applies while you are physically in Australia. Here's some policy I copied that may be helpful:

_When applying for a provisional points-tested skilled migration visa, applicants sign an undertaking that they understand and accept the conditions associated with the visa. However, under policy, it is consistent with the intention of the condition that a visa holder who continues to be employed in a specified regional area and continues to reside in a specified regional area might travel to an area outside a specified regional area for work or recreational purposes such as:

for once-off business reasons
a brief holiday or
to undertake training for work.
For example, it would be consistent with condition 8539 if a visa holder worked and had a residence in Orange, New South Wales, and stayed with friends in Sydney one weekend a month. It would not be consistent with the condition if the same visa holder established a residence in Sydney and stayed in the metropolitan area every weekend.

7 Employer based outside a specified regional area
The key to determining whether a visa holder is working in a specified regional area is assessing where the applicant's usual place of work is located. If an applicant's place of work is in a specified regional area but their employer is based elsewhere in Australia or overseas, they are considered to be working in a specified regional area._

So as long as you are not physically working in Australia in a non-regional area (note it doesn't matter where the home office of your recruiters are, it matters where you are actually working), you're OK. However, certain offshore areas may still be considered as "in Australia" as this term refers to Australia's "migration zone" The migration zone includes:

_the area consisting of the States, the Territories, Australian resource installations and Australian sea installations and, to avoid doubt, includes:

(a) land that is part of a State or Territory at mean low water; and

(b) sea within the limits of both a State or a Territory and a port; and

(c) piers, or similar structures, any part of which is connected to such land or to ground under such sea;

but does not include sea within the limits of a State or a Territory but not in a port._

So not sure if this would cause an issue - depends on where you actually are "offshore". Happy to assist further at a consultation - see my website below in my signature for more information and to book online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vega442 said:


> Good day Mark
> 
> Thanks for offering help. Thats really kind of you
> 
> Me and my wife live in Tassie. We got 489 visa grant 2 weeks back. We opted for Tassie state sponsorship. My wife works full time in Tassie & she is the primary applicant. I am her dependant and we both have visa condition 8539. Now my query is that, I am a Ships Officer (Seafarer, Merchant Mariner, Seaman), you can call whatever...lol...and I work offshore thats onboard ships. So does this 8539 visa conditon apply to me? Also please note that most of our crewing/manning agencies are based in Sydney, Melbourne & Freo...so I might be recruited by these agencies based in these cities but my work will be onboard ships.
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Crostoli -

Yes, I'd try and get something from them in addition to what you already have, that indicates the date you "became" a citizen (not necessarily the date it was registered, depending on the country) of Italy, or specifying "at birth" which is just as good.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



crostoli said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I'm hoping you will be able to help me
> 
> I am gathering documentation to support a Citizenship by Descent application for my daughter who will be born overseas. My husband and I were both born in Australia and are Australian. I am however also an Italian Citizen due to my father being one at my time of birth.
> 
> On Form 118 as the Mother, I am required to attach evidence of my Italian Citizenship including the date it was acquired:
> 
> "Evidence of other citizenships held by your Australian citizen parent
> - Letter or certificate showing date of acquisition, if applicable"
> 
> I have been to the Italian Consulate and obtained an official Statement of Citizenship. I am concerned because this document does not stipulate the date I acquired citizenship so it may not be acceptable as per Form 118. As I understand it, Italy considered me a citizen at the my time of birth, however my birth was not registered with them immediately. Would that make any difference?
> 
> Would you recommend that I go back to the Italian Consulate and ask for a something different?
> 
> Thank you so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Prasadliyan -

Thanks for the note. Generally, points are not claimable for a Masters Degree even if equivalent to Australian, unless the applicant also holds a Bachelor Degree - here's the policy:

Case officers may also be presented with claims of a masters qualifications either attained at a tertiary institution in Australia or outside Australia for the purpose of gaining points. To be eligible for 15 points, the masters degree holder must have also completed a bachelor qualification either in Australia or outside Australia.

_Persons with a masters qualification who have not completed a bachelor qualification will only be able to claim 10 points unless the relevant assessing authority provides an opinion that the masters degree of itself is at least comparable to an Australian bachelor degree. In the absence of such an opinion, case officers should also refer to Country Education Profiles when assessing whether a masters qualification is at least comparable to an Australian bachelor degree.​_
Your starting point still is AITSL in terms of assessing degrees - if they are unable to assess the degree(s) you may want to claim, you can ask VETASSESS to do a Points Test Advice on the degree to determine Australian equivalency.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



prasadliyan said:


> thank you Mark,
> 
> In case, my Bachelors is not considered equal to an Australian Bachelors, would it be possible to claim the 15 points for educational qualifications, through a masters which is considered equivalent to an Australian masters?
> 
> I also have a level 6(level 7 in Australia) diploma which in the UK is considered equivalent to a Bachelors degree,
> so would I be able to claim the 15 points using this Level 6 diploma?
> 
> Qualifications | OTHM Qualifications
> 
> and also are qualifications from Technical and vocational education institutions be considered towards the 4 years or should it be just from Universities??
> 
> thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Legend07 -

Would need to know more about your case and circumstances to give you specific advice - Happy to assist further at a consultation - see my website below in my signature for more information and to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



Legend07 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My apologies if this question has already been answered at some stage. I am keeping my spouse as a non-migrating dependent in my 189 application and working on a decision ready submission. Just wanted to know which docs are required to be submitted for the non-migrating dependant other than the PCC? I have read that DIBP doesn't ask for Medicals anymore.
> 
> Should I be submitting separate Form 80/1221 for the spouse?
> 
> Regards
> L


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ShaunC -

If your role with the company (including the job and the regional location of your work) is no longer available prior to the 187 being granted, the 187 won't be able to be granted. If the role goes away after the visa has been granted, you would then be in better shape, but still have a 2 year commitment to live/work in a regional area - best efforts to find another job in a regional area would be a good thing to consider then in order to avoid any allegations by DIBP that you didn't make a genuine effort re: employment, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ShaunC said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently on a Bridging visa waiting on the outcome of my 187 application. I have the feeling that once the construction company I am employeed with (IT role) finishes cyclone repairs they will leave the regional area and my application will fall through as a result. They approached me about the sponsorship and are a good employer, but I think they don't understand the process And as a result some of the paper is difficult to get.
> 
> If they leave the regional area do I have any options? Or if they terminate my role as a result of the regional office not being required will my visa be cancelled/ declined
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Spanishinaustralia -

Thanks for the note. This situation is too complex for a quick forum answer, but would be happy to assist further at a consultation - see my website below in my signature for more information and to book online. You need to be very careful as to how you manage the student visa situation vs 189, and in all cases should avoid any possibility of cancellation of the student visa prior to applying for the 189.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



spanishinaustralia said:


> Hi Mark, I have a quick question and was hoping you could point me in the right direction. I have been suggested by an educational agent to enroll on two different diplomas rather than one (two different CoEs within the same school) as I was told I could cancel the second one at any time and I need to cancel the second one as I am planning to apply to 189 visa. Can I just cancel one CoE and should I do it before I submit my EOI for the 189 or after I submit it (and then request work rights due financial hardship)? I am planning to complete my current diploma but don't want to start the second one that would leave me without bridging visa for an entire year. Many thanks


----------



## Peta b

Hi there, my husband and I have been married for 2 years and have 3 children together. We applied for his partner visa 12 months ago. We were flown back to Perth on a air ambulance as our daughter was very ill. Due to this he overstayed his visa unintentionally ( not by long) but by law he was unlawful. He was granted a bvc but with work rights for compassionate circumstances as I was in hospital in bed rest pregnant with twins. Now we have been advised he can not apply for bvb to return home even for cultural reasons (our babies need to have their ceremonies) and his elderly family arnt able to fly here so have never met the twins. We have been told that because I am his sponsor, myself and the kids arnt allowed to leave the country either... is this correct or is there a way that I am able to leave and come back as myself and the children are Australian citizens. Thanks in advance


----------



## prasadliyan

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Prasadliyan -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Generally, points are not claimable for a Masters Degree even if equivalent to Australian, unless the applicant also holds a Bachelor Degree - here's the policy:
> 
> Case officers may also be presented with claims of a masters qualifications either attained at a tertiary institution in Australia or outside Australia for the purpose of gaining points. To be eligible for 15 points, the masters degree holder must have also completed a bachelor qualification either in Australia or outside Australia.
> 
> _Persons with a masters qualification who have not completed a bachelor qualification will only be able to claim 10 points unless the relevant assessing authority provides an opinion that the masters degree of itself is at least comparable to an Australian bachelor degree. In the absence of such an opinion, case officers should also refer to Country Education Profiles when assessing whether a masters qualification is at least comparable to an Australian bachelor degree.​_
> Your starting point still is AITSL in terms of assessing degrees - if they are unable to assess the degree(s) you may want to claim, you can ask VETASSESS to do a Points Test Advice on the degree to determine Australian equivalency.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


okay,

I have the option of doing 2 diplomas, which are normally 1 year fulltime courses. If i'm to successfully complete them in 1 year, will I be able to claim 2 years of full time Study?

and also Level 6/7 Qualifications from Vocational and technical colleges, can be counted towards the 4 years of education required by AITSL?


----------



## baldur

MarkNortham said:


> HI Baldur -
> 
> Here's the relevant regulation:
> 
> _485.215
> 
> (1) When the application was made, it was accompanied by evidence that the applicant had adequate arrangements in Australia for health insurance .
> 
> (2) The applicant has had adequate arrangements in Australia for health insurance since the time the application was made._
> 
> I can't assess your case without seeing your documents, but if you did not provide the document until 3 days after lodgement, DIBP may conclude that you do not meet item (1) above. A friendly case officer may not press the issue since the coverage was effective as of the date of the application (so item 2 above is satisfied), but you're in the grey area since the health document wasn't uploaded until 3 days after lodgement and is dated 3 days after lodgement.
> 
> Happy to assist further at a consultation - see my website below in my signature for more information and to book online.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


many thanks Mark. they werent able to send me the document on the weekend so i had had to wait for monday. and i uploaded the document within 3 days. . so would the uploading date be a problem? because i had the health insurance at the time of visa application.


----------



## Hello2017

*Less than 6 months waiting and received an email from CO, good or bad?*

Hello Mark,
We applied partner visa 820/801 less than 6 mths ago. We received an email s56, im guessing its directly from a CO because there's initial and position number. This is the first time immi contacted us.

They requested police check for me and my partner, and my medical checkup.

Based on your experience, is this good or bad? I am grateful that i received the email from immi this soon compared to others. But at the same time im a bit panic , is this is the last step before they reject/approve our application.

Thanks in advance


----------



## Prazzle

Hi Mark, 

I have a bit of a complicated 820/801 partner visa question that doesn't seem to be explained on the Immi website. 

I am from the UK and my partner is Australian, we have been together for about 6 years. Our visa timeline: 

August 2015 - Applied for an 820 partner visa onshore in Melbourne 

November 2016 - Was granted the 820 visa in Australia

January 2017 - We both returned to the UK as a member of my family is very ill. We are living and working here at the moment. 

August 2017 - We got married in the UK. We are also now eligible to apply for the 801 permanent residency visa (being two years from application date). 

We plan to return to Melbourne in the next two years and want to apply for the 801 visa now, but can we apply for this offshore? We don't want to lose our eligibility to apply for this as it was obviously a lot of money to get the 820, but we are not ready to go back to Australia just yet. We heard that proving that an on-going job in Australia is required, is this true? Please could you advise? 

Thanks.


----------



## AandT

Hello Mark,

My partner is Egyptian living in UAE. I am Australian. We meet online and then meet in person in Dubai at the end of last year.

As we are both Muslim. We did an Islamic marriage 1 week before I traveled. No family attended (my family is no Muslim). Was no party. Just the paperwork...

We are now in the process of putting together paperwork for PMV. However we didn't have an engagement nor did we buy a ring. We intend to put down the date of Islamic marriage as engagement. Will this present issues?

Worried about level of evidence required for this visa as we only have meet once, but we have messaged almost daily for 1 year.

Thanks in advance for your answers
Tanya


----------



## Peta b

Thanks in advance for any comments on my question


----------



## jigs_aus123

*Work experience deductions to arrive at Skill points*

Hi Mark,

Would really appreciate your advice on the below questions,

I need urgent guidance on Skill points for work experience of my spouse who is applying for 189 Visa under Software Engineer category.
She has done Bachelor in Engineering with a major in Computer Science. So for ACS I believe she will be considered as ICT major.
Her work experience is as follows,

12th Oct 2006 to 24th Sept 2010
15th Nov 2010 to 11th Apr 2016
2nd Aug 2016 to 26th July 2017

What will be considered as a Skilled requirement met date by ACS and how many points she will get for her work experience

Query I have is that ACS suitability criteria mentions

"If your degree is assessed as having an ICT major which is closely related to your nominated occupation, you will require 2 years relevant work experience completed within the past 10 years" and

under Skill requirement met date criteria they have mentioned "The work experience required to meet the suitability criteria is NOT included as Skilled Employment and is NOT eligible for points under the skilled migration points test"

So in my spouse case what will be the Skill requirement met date, will they deduct 2 years out of the last 10 years. So considering we are filing for skill assessment now, if they consider 10 years which will be Oct 2007 and deduct 2 years work experience till Oct 2009 and hence her skill requirement met date is Oct 2009. But problem is that from Oct 2009 to Oct 2017 which is 8 years she has employment gaps of around 5.5 months, so she wont get 8 points if they considers it like i mentioned it above
OR
Will they deduct 2 years from her total work experience from Oct 2006 and hence her skill requirement met date will be Oct 2008, which then 
gives us 8 yrs + experience.

Would request to share some insights on how ACS calculates and in her case what will be her skill requirement met date


----------



## Lena83

Hello Mark!
Thank you for that.

Just another question on the assessment in progress statement;
When I look under the status it says "This application is currently being assessed.*The department may contact the applicant if further supporting documents are needed". Is this a CO allocation?

Kind regards, 
Lena



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Lena -
> 
> Thanks for the note. There is no particular amount of time a person must have held the 820 before they can process the 801, the 2 year timeframe (that DIBP may try to change to 3 years next year) starts from the original application date for the partner visa. Assessment in process doesn't necessarily mean it has been allocated yet, unfortuantely no good way to predict processing time or current stage processing given DIBP's current policies and systems.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> Lena83 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hello Mark!
> Thank you for your invaluable work on this site. You are a wealth of information.
> 
> I have a couple of queations on the 801 application. I applied in August and it says assessment in progress now. Does this mean I have a case officer? Is this status a good sign? I have read about a few people that wouldn't receive their grant until 12 months had passed on the 820. Is this true? Just trying to figure out if I might be a lucky one in line for a quick process since I am from low risk country and provided a complete decision ready 801 application.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Lena
Click to expand...


----------



## jigs_aus123

*Work*



jigs_aus123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Would really appreciate your advice on the below questions,
> 
> I need urgent guidance on Skill points for work experience of my spouse who is applying for 189 Visa under Software Engineer category.
> She has done Bachelor in Engineering with a major in Computer Science. So for ACS I believe she will be considered as ICT major.
> Her work experience is as follows,
> 
> 12th Oct 2006 to 24th Sept 2010
> 15th Nov 2010 to 11th Apr 2016
> 2nd Aug 2016 to 26th July 2017
> 
> What will be considered as a Skilled requirement met date by ACS and how many points she will get for her work experience
> 
> Query I have is that ACS suitability criteria mentions
> 
> "If your degree is assessed as having an ICT major which is closely related to your nominated occupation, you will require 2 years relevant work experience completed within the past 10 years" and
> 
> under Skill requirement met date criteria they have mentioned "The work experience required to meet the suitability criteria is NOT included as Skilled Employment and is NOT eligible for points under the skilled migration points test"
> 
> So in my spouse case what will be the Skill requirement met date, will they deduct 2 years out of the last 10 years. So considering we are filing for skill assessment now, if they consider 10 years which will be Oct 2007 and deduct 2 years work experience till Oct 2009 and hence her skill requirement met date is Oct 2009. But problem is that from Oct 2009 to Oct 2017 which is 8 years she has employment gaps of around 5.5 months, so she wont get 8 points if they considers it like i mentioned it above
> OR
> Will they deduct 2 years from her total work experience from Oct 2006 and hence her skill requirement met date will be Oct 2008, which then
> gives us 8 yrs + experience.
> 
> Would request to share some insights on how ACS calculates and in her case what will be her skill requirement met date


Hi Mark,

Your assessment on what would be her Skill requirement met date will be highly appreciated. Thanks


----------



## Julian73

Hi, great day Mark, please enlighten me in this;
I have a relationship with an Ausie man, I found out that he has sponsor twice now but he was saying that the last one got temporary spouse visa then their relationship broke out and he withdrew his sponsorship. Is it still counted as approved visa. Is approved visa for the purpose of sponsor limitation means approved temporary visa or permanent spouse visa. When did the 5 year limitation started.
Second question is that, if a dependent student was with the application until what age does it will be qualified as dependent? Is it as long as I support her in her studies regardless of age?
Thanks heaps


----------



## DeanLuf

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I hope i am not disturbing you at this late evening.

I'm an Australian PR for the past 9 years. I have been married for 5 years. My wife is currently staying with me under long stay tourist visa since last year. And now we have the money to lodge an application for spouse visa.

My wife is now 14 weeks pregnant. And i read some thread regarding the X-ray while pregnant issue saying that the process of application might take longer that 2 years. From what i read, doctors in Australia does not permit X-ray to be conducted on pregnant women. My wife had her xray done last june and by now it has already expired. No problem with getting her bloodwork done but am overly concerned about where she can get her xray done here in Australia. Could you please give your thoughts on this issue?

Secondly, regarding the fees for the newborn baby. How much does it cost and when should we pay for it?

If my wife were to give birth in MALAYSIA, should we apply onshore or offshore? Which one is better in your opnion?

Lastly, thank you for being here for helping all of us.

Kind Regards,

DEAN


----------



## Purujam

*Rsms*

Hi, Mark.

I am wondering if you could give me some suggestion how I am able to apply for the visa with my situation.

I am holding Diploma in Early childhood Education and Care and IELTS all section above 6.

I am currently on my partner's student visa as a spouse which I have 40hours fortnight working hour limitation so that I am not able to apply for the full-time room leader position at the beginning.

I was guessing if I could start as a part time worker and then once the centre is willing to sponsor me then we can have a contract and apply for RSMS visa then I can start work as a full-time worker with the bridging visa.

do you have any idea with this?

looking forward to hearing from you.


----------



## chamberspark

Hi Mark,

Will cut straight to the chase. Visitor visa (subclass 600) for my girlfriend from Russia:

Question 1. If an application was approved for a proposed visit of 2 weeks at the end of March 2018, would she be able to visit earlier (e.g. December 2017) if she decided she wanted to, or would it have to be some time around March?
Question 2. Would it be possible - and just as likely to be approved - to make an application for a 2 week visit in 'December 2017 OR March 2018' or are you required to specify and commit to one period of time?

Thanks


----------



## KPG

Hello Mark,

Kudos for the voluntary help!

I have a question on the sub class 489 visa. My papers have gone for VETASSESS and I am awaiting their feedback. My questions / concerns are:

- VETASSESS will give us a YES or NO so accordingly we can proceed with an EOI?
- Will VETASSESS tell us how many points I have scored?
- And is i score the required 60 points then does that mean my selection is almost certain to receive an invite?

Thank you.

Cheers!


----------



## kevinancn

Hi,Dear Vincy
I am Lan Lin,Hao zheng is only my younger brother just got BVA and met my 70 years old parents stay australia waitting for 835 aprove.someone told us need to wait over 30 years.
We both appreciate you kindly attention our family hardship.I am single mumy ,have 2 kids,have been work in ARV at Gordon,but the branch closing down,i am going to working very hard for ReaEstate as sales,but market is no good at the moment.It's very hard to get income for support family.I got my parents living together.
My brother quit the job in china and coming Australia to help me support my parents and kids.He have been applied working permission secondtimes ,all refuse! we have applied all the hardship documents.BUT it seemed on helpful.My brother really do need the work right.
Any help will be greatly appreciate.

RGDS!
Lan Lin


----------



## kamathsam

Hello Mark.

i'm sandeep and this is my first post on this amazing forum.( pardon me if its in the wrong thread)

I have around 12 years experience in sales and marketing( relatively more) experience. My agent has suggested -Marketing Specialist (225113) as my occupation under skill assessment.

My question is regarding non availability of any tax returns from 2008- 2014, as it was paid by cash and almost within taxfree bracket. I do have some payslips, appointment letter and Experience letter. This was a full time job and largely commission driven. I dont have any statements to show here.

2015 -16 I was in Middle east, taxfree salary, can show all documents, Appt letter, reliving letter, payslips, Bank details,

2016-till now I am working as freelance mktg consultant, have only contract agreement so far, as this is a start up im involved with I had taken cash for retainer.

i have heard it both ways that I need or need not need a tax return/ acknowledgement doc. what should I be doing as in the last 5 yrs of work i dont have any tax returns. except Middle east where its taxfree.

Is there any way statutory Declaration can help with this tax thing and the freelance/ retained consulting experience.

awaiting some help to sort this. thank you.


----------



## SnowySun

*student non-migrating dependent to PR*

Hi Mark,

My spouse applied for his student visa several months back mentioning me as a non-migrating dependent and it is still getting processed. Initially I thought of staying back home - so he has mentioned the same in his GTE statement which can also be taken as one of the many ties he has to our home country.

Now I am planning to apply for PR independently mentioning him as my spouse but not filing him as a secondary applicant. We are just concerned if my PR application can have any impact on him meeting the genuine temporary entrant criteria for his ongoing student visa application. Can you please clarify if it will affect his application and any ways to avoid it?

Thanks for your time.


----------



## Ded Tanson

*Off shore processing*

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding citizenship processing. I hope you can answer it for me 

Say I put through an application online whilst I as in Australia, and then left the country for 2 years. What would happen to my application? Would it be processed and (hypothetically) approved while I was off shore?

Thanks for your time!


----------



## Erikaa

*How can we get back together*

Long story short:

We met while travelling
We both had 2x working holiday visas
Then student visas where he was the main applicant and I was his de facto
Then we applied for a 187 where I was the main applicant and he was my partner
While waiting on bridging visas we broke up and I notified the department
He went back to Europe
My visa was approved and I've been a permanent resident for about a year now
His visa was obviously rejected

We're still in love and want to get back together. Ideally here in Australia, as I still have to work for my employer for a year

What can we do?

He never finished the course he was studying while on his student visa... would that be the only way? Apply for a new student visa and finish his course? And take it from there? He does want to get it done.

Would he have any problems applying for a student visa since his 187 was refused...?

Is there any other way for him to get back?

Thank you so much, any help will be very much appreciated


----------



## prasadliyan

Hi Mark,

So I was wondering in case AITSL/DIBP doesnt consider my degree as equivalent to an Australian degree, they would most like consider it to as equal to an associate degree?


----------



## Tasiz

Hi Mark,

I renewed my student visa in April 2017. The student visa was granted till 4th August 2017. Now i am in the process of applyong for my 189 visa, however i have an issue-

1) In my student visa application, i forgot to mention mostof my employment hsitory and a short holiday i had taken to sri lanka.

2) the employment not mentioned was not related to my occupation, nor am i claiming points for it.

3) now in my 189 application, i am putting all my work and travel history. 

The concern is, will my 189 application will by refused based on PIC4020 for giving falsw and misleading statements? If yes, then will waiting a year to apply for my 189 visa so that they dont take my student visa application into consideration?


----------



## Kamz

Hey Mark. I just reapplied for my 461 visa. Applied end of August. Did you know the processing times if applied for in Sydney? Thanks.


----------



## Mk83

Hi Mark.
I would like to ask u plz about my situation:
Arrived australia on student visa on 2011.
Applied for partner visa on Nov 2013.
Granted BVA on Nov 2013.
Went overseas on Jan 2014 without applying for BVB but still having student visa .
15 March 2014 student visa expires.
16 March 2014 noticed that my BVA was ceased without knowing i had it.
So 16 March 2014 was on saturday and immigration was closing so i waited till 17 march 2014 sunday night and submitted form 1005 to get back my BVA and received an email from immi saying it is received.
19 March 2014 granted BVA.

19 Oct 2016 PR granted.
So if i count 1 year after permanent without being abscent 3 months so ill be eligible on 19 Oct 2017.
But im wondering for the 4 years lawfully residence,in my case it should be counted from 2011 when i arrived on student visa or on 19 March 2014 when i have been granted BVA replacing my ceased one .
Cause between 15 March 2014 (date of expired student visa) and 17 March 2014(date of submitting form 1005 for getting back BVA) ,i dont know if these days counted unlawfull in australia ,and should i count 4 years starting from 19 March 2014 .
If so my eligibility will be on 19 March 2018?
Can u plz inform me in this situation what should i do and if am i eligible for citizenship or no.
(Note :in the whole last 4 years i havent been abscence for 12 months and last year i havent been abscence for 3 months)
Thanks.


----------



## carlo77

Hi Mark, Can we use the 489 medical results for 190 visa applications?


----------



## sam007

*489 Family Sponsored*

Hi,

I'm about to apply for 489 Provisional Family Sponsored Visa Selecting Accounting as my skilled occupation. I have 7 Each in IELTS and 70 points overall including 10 points for family sponsorship, which i'll get eventually after submitting my EOI.

Now my questions are:

1. Whether i'll be able to get an invitation to apply easily based on family sponsorship or not.

2. Accounting is a pro-rata occupation, so is it easy to be granted a 489 category visa compared to 189 or 190 category.

3. How long do i need to wait for an invitation because currently applicants having even 80 points (without 10 points of family sponsorship) are getting late invitations for independent 189 and 190 visas.

4. Do i have an edge over other applicants applying in 189 and 190 category, as i've heard applicants applying in accounting doesn't get an invitation from state govt under 190 as they need a job letter.

Waiting for a kind and genuine advice.
Thanks in advance


----------



## jenglermengler

*Travelling after applying for Citizenship*

HI Mark,

My question is regarding Travel during Citizenship application process.

I applied for the Citizenship in June 2017 and I am planning a trip that I expect to last around 6 months before returning to Australia, starting in Jan 2018.

1.- Do I need to let DIBP know about this trip before I hear from them?
2.- If I do, will they put my application on hold until I return?

- I would return as soon as I hear from them with the approval of the application and also for the ceremony of course.

3.- What would happen if I dont let them know?
Should I have let DIBP know about any trip I took (even if one day to NZ for example) for business purposes since I applied for the Citizenship?

Thank you


----------



## gurunan69

Hi Mark,

I am eligible to apply for Australian citizenship in January so I was getting the documents together for the same.

1. Can I get the 1195 form filled out, signed and dated before I am eligible for citizenship or do I need to wait after my eligibility date?

2. Do the DIBP usually contact the person who verifies your identity on form 1195?

Thanks heaps,

Guru


----------



## Scott1

*proof of permanent address*

when I complete the sponsors application I think they require my permanent address in Australia (my home country). However I dont have one just my elderly parents address as I have lived permanently in the philippines for the prior 9 years. What do I answer?


----------



## anabanana143

Hello Mark!

I just want to ask something. My Visa 476 was approved last week. At the time of lodging my application, my partner and I were not decided if want her to apply too. After some time, my visa was approved. But now, we want her to come with me. I believe it is still possible through the subsequent entrant visa right? I would like to ask how do we proceed with this.

I hope you can enlighten us about this. Thank you very much!


----------



## gautamvbaindur

Hello. I recently got an invite for 189 and preparing the documents to upload. ACS has deducted 4 years out of my total experience of 7.5. so that means, my experience in my first company where I worked for 3 years at the start of my career is not counted and hence I'm not claiming points for the same.
My question is, should I still upload supporting documents for that company? What are the chances of any verification happening for that experience for which I'm not claiming points as I have taken a statutory declaration of a senior.

Waiting for some replies


----------



## Amanchahal

*Adoption visa 102*

Hi Mark. We are indian citizens also We are permanent resident of Australia from 2016 and we lived there till November 2016. Currently we are living in UK. We are planning to go back to Australia in December 2018.we have one child of our own. She is PR as well. We want to adopt another girl from INDIA. Can you plz tell is what to do first. And what is the easy way? Can we Start visa application before adoption. Because its too risky if we adopted a baby and her visa get refused.


----------



## kavipc

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark, I am planning to apply for the 485 graduate visa.
I would like to know if you see chances for me to get it granted.
I am industrial engineer and I have done in Australia 3 Diplomas (Project Management, Leadership and Management and Marketing) all the documentation is ready to apply. But I am not to sure if I can get it granted showing these studies.
Thank you.


----------



## JLOCK

Hi Mark, 

I applied for my 820/801 on 1 Nov 2016 while holding a 457.
Left my employer during April and 4 weeks after I believed that my BVA was active.
I then applied while onshore for my BVB to leave Australia in May.
I left before the decision was made about my BVB as it took longer than expected to hear back from them.
Then my 457 expired, 6 weeks after leaving my employer not 4.
My BVB was then refused in Sept when I was offshore as my 457 was still active when applying, not my BVA. 
Therefore I have now entered back into Australia on an ETA(601)

Now, I do not know what happens when my ETA expires, will my BVA become active and therefore still be eligible to stay in Australia?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## luddite

Hi Mark,
I received my 189 visa grant around 2 years ago. Recently, I decided to start a study programme (doctorate) in Australia. A few days ago, I was checking some past address information from my 1221 form, and came across my answer for the question "Do you intend to do a course of study in Australia?" and I had checked "No" for this for some reason (I guess I wasn't intending to when I applied).

Is it going to be a problem if immigration was to find out that I am studying - i.e. gave a wrong answer?

Thanks


----------



## junai

Hi Mark,

Need urgent help!!

I have got Australian PR in April, 2017 based on 189 Skilled Visa. I was main applicant and my wife was dependent.( Did not claim her marks ). We made our initial entery in Australia for few days only in August, 2017.
Now the main question. We got married almost 5 years ago and did not have any children. We saw many ups and downs in our relationship but we survived somehow. My wife insisted on getting divorce but every time i convinced her to give us more time and chance to fix it but unfortunately it looks now that its really not going to work anymore. Even though i do not want divorce to happen but there is no other way as she is persistent. My questions are:

1- if we get divorced now in our native country will it effect our PR?
2- As per Australian law we have to live in Australia separately minimum 12 months in order to file for divorce, i dont think so that she is gonna do that, i mean living with me and honestly i dont know her plans either she will come to Australia now or later or may b never.
3- If we get divorce in our native country do i need to inform DIBP about this? As i am not planning to get re-married again very soon or may be never as i am heart broken.

Regards,
Juani


----------



## jericdabu

*Help! Visa 309/100*

Hello Mark, I am a Filipino a permanent resident, granted last Dec. 24, 2016. I would like to seek for your professional advice. I am planning to apply my fiancée Visa 309/100.

We are soon to wed on Jan. 10, 2018. We are in the relationship for 5 years. Since we are college buddies we have known each other for 7 years and we started our relationship in 2012. We can provide pictures together even with our family, her bank statement showing my remittances that started last Nov 2016, screen captures of our conversation in messenger. We have maintained our relationship through video call, online messaging, I also visit her once a year in the Philippines and last June 2017 she was granted a tourist visa and stayed with me in a month.

My question is what additional evidence we can provide?

Hoping for your answer. Thank you in advance!


----------



## Mietsie

Dear Mark 

I just want to thank you again what you are doing for people on this forum! 
I reached out to you back in April 2014 and you helped me significantly with preparing for my PR application.

My Permanent Residency visa came through yesterday!  
I am so grateful to be able to stay in this wonderful country!

Thanks again for everything you do! You are one of the people that I know of that is making this country great!

All the best!
Mietsie


----------



## prasadliyan

Hi Mark,

Do we need Police clearance from the countries we have lived for more than an year, when applying for student visa?


----------



## johnnyb

Hi Mark, I am currently on 489 FS skilled visa for past 2 years and planning to apply for 887. I have been in a de facto relation with my partner from uk for past 1 year who is here on a student visa until Sept 2018. Can I add him on my 887 application if he was not on my 489. If not is there any other way for him to get his PR as well.. 

I have been told by a MARA Agent that I need to submit form 1022 on my 489 for change of status then apply 887 with my partner. Is this correct?
Please reply.
Thanks in advance


----------



## Cyberkid

G'day Mark

First of all, thank you for taking out the time to answer all our queries.

A little background, I want to file Parent visa 143 for my widowed mother (aged 62 yrs, retired )
We are her only 2 children, both in Australia having permanent resident visas. I have been here for more than 2 years and have settled with tax returns etc (so can be a sponsor). While my younger brother has recently migrated (in October 2017) and looking for a job.
Our widowed mother was living with my brother (who was supporting her financially, emotionally etc) along in Pakistan until recently.

Now, if I file the parent visa and then apply for the visit visa (either tourist or family stream) will it be possible to get a bridging visa keeping in mind 8503 is a must have for Pakistanis, so can 8503 can be waived?
Is there a chance to file the visit visa first and then apply for the parent visa? (my mother has recent travel history of visiting 2 overseas countries and returning back within the visit visa validity)
As you can imagine, we want her to spend the time with us whilst her 143 is being processed.

Can you please comment or advise what should be our line of action?


----------



## goonerash

Hello
My wife, who i posted to you a long time ago has FINALLY (4 years from initial application) just been successful in an AAT appeal and soon will have a Protection visa (subclass 866) visa (yay!)

I have a coupe of questions if you can help

1: She has a child of 7 in the country she came from and wants him to come over under the split family provision. I have read that we have to let the department know of this BEFORE her visa is actually granted (so fat its just AAT decision) How do we let the department know this by phone? email? is there a form?

2: She has been here on a bridging visa A for almost four years. WIll this count as a "valid visa" in relation to citizenship and the four year rule?

3: She is protected, not from the country but from certain people in the country and desperately wants to go and see her son, we can arrange it safely. 

Would the department consider a safe short trip to see her son, who she has not seen for 4 years a compelling reason to allow a visit to that country if we were nowhere near the certain people?

It is a country in Asia, not a dangerous country but she was exposed to family violence and other stuff and that is why the AAT appeal said remit the departments original no decision

thanks in advance


----------



## Kevin Howard

Hi Mark,
My name is Kevin Howard and my family and I have been granted 489 provisional Visa for Adelaide. We need to make our first entry into Australia before 20th of July 2018 but we intend to reach earlier than that. 

I had a doubt and needed your help with this. I wanted to know whether it was necessary for us to enter Australia through Adelaide only, or was it ok for us to enter first through Melbourne and then fly out to Adelaide may be a month later? We wanted to spend Christmas with our relatives in Melbourne and then leave to Adelaide after the holiday season. Please let me know if you have any views on this.

Best regards
Kevin


----------



## KPG

Kevin Howard said:


> Hi Mark,
> My name is Kevin Howard and my family and I have been granted 489 provisional Visa for Adelaide. We need to make our first entry into Australia before 20th of July 2018 but we intend to reach earlier than that.
> 
> I had a doubt and needed your help with this. I wanted to know whether it was necessary for us to enter Australia through Adelaide only, or was it ok for us to enter first through Melbourne and then fly out to Adelaide may be a month later? We wanted to spend Christmas with our relatives in Melbourne and then leave to Adelaide after the holiday season. Please let me know if you have any views on this.
> 
> Best regards
> Kevin


Kevin, I am not too sure but with my limited knowledge and i fmy memory serves me right my agent had mentioned that one needs to enter via the sponsoring state and in this case it would be SA, Adelaide but like i said please do not depend on the info i am providing as I am not certain about.

Wish you and your family good luck for the move. Hopefully we will meet in Adelaide


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kevin -

Thanks for the question, and my apologies to everyone here for the fact I've been away for a few weeks - things have become very busy and I'm working on catching up on all.

Generally speaking the states don't tend to have a problem if you do a bit of sightseeing, etc upon entering, then "settle" in the sponsoring state. This is very common, and generally the states want to know once you've essentially "moved" here. Similar situation if a person gets a skilled visa, comes for a week on vacation, goes home, then comes back at some later point to live - the "coming to live" part is what the states tend to be interested in. In any case, you might want to ask the state skilled office directly to see if they have any policy on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kevin Howard said:


> Hi Mark,
> My name is Kevin Howard and my family and I have been granted 489 provisional Visa for Adelaide. We need to make our first entry into Australia before 20th of July 2018 but we intend to reach earlier than that.
> 
> I had a doubt and needed your help with this. I wanted to know whether it was necessary for us to enter Australia through Adelaide only, or was it ok for us to enter first through Melbourne and then fly out to Adelaide may be a month later? We wanted to spend Christmas with our relatives in Melbourne and then leave to Adelaide after the holiday season. Please let me know if you have any views on this.
> 
> Best regards
> Kevin


----------



## tinybucket

*Validity of birth certificate*

Hi Mark,

Do birth certificates have a validity limit when used for immigration purposes (189)? I married in Brazil and they needed to be no older than 90 days, does a similar rule apply for immigration purposes or can I use the one I used for marrying (it's an international one)?

Many thanks for all the work you do!


----------



## ham admanedien

Hi Mark
Thanks a lot for your volunteer work in this forum.
.If I start processing the 190 visa after having been nominated by NSW (for example), but the visa is still not granted. Can I cancel that process if I were to be invited by Victoria (for example)? and at what stage exactly can I stop the process?
Please advise.


----------



## pandaxguo

Hi Mark!

I have applied for an Australian Student visa (500) (Postgraduate Research Sector) on July 2017. I have contacted Immigration Department many times. I'm only told "your application is under necessary check. I cannot tell you more information and wait for new messages"

Can you please suggest what should I do? I have waited for more than 3 months. I have delayed my commencement to the next research quarter. Most importantly, if I cannot get my visa by January, my tuition-fee scholarship will expire!! If so, I had no place to go! I cannot sleep and focus on daily self-study now. Really worried and desperate.

Since my living allowance is funded by my home country, I must go back to my country after graduation. I really don't have the intention of immigration and my research area is in medical use related to cancer, doing no harms to anyone. Do you know why they check me in such a long time? What should I do now? 

Can the enquiry form about compliant works?

Thank you very much!


----------



## AngelicaPT

*US crew ship member wants to vacation in Australia after contract*

Hi Mark, thank you for taking time to answer posts. I am a US citizen working on cruise ship. After my contract I want to visit Australia, but I have been told my superiors, that in order to do this, I must leave Australia on plane and come back with my tourist visa. Is this true? Can't I just turn in my maritime visa and continue with my tourist visa at port of entry? I also thought of possiblity of leaving as a crew member on any island, and boarding as a passenger, but they tell me this isn't possible either. I just want to know that I am being informed correctly by the staff of ship, otherwise it seems just as a hassle and waste of money. Thank you very much!


----------



## aditya.vij237

Hello Mark,

Thank you for all the help you are providing.

I have a quick query(hopefully), my wife has applied for a partner visa(309) from India on 28th October,2017 and while we wait for a CO to be assigned and a decision be made on this, we want to apply for a tourist visa so she can come visit me here in Australia. 

Can you please let me know, if in this particular case does my wife requires to provide a leave of absence certificate from her work place? She can get this certificate from her work place, no problems, but the leave of absence will be of a couple of weeks and we are hoping to get a long stay visa, so that she can stay longer with me on her subsequent trips, till the time a decision is made on her dependent visa.

Thanks,
Adi


----------



## dani1b

Hi Mark,

I'm an Australian citizen and my husband has been a PR since April 2012. We've lived here with our 7 yr old continuously since 2010. My husband's travel authorisation expired this year without us realising it. He went o/s for 3 days (to New Caledonia for work) and on his return was granted a temp return resident visa at the airport which he then renewed once here (on July 8th) and it's now valid for another 5 years.

He had already started the application for Australia citizenship in April and was going to complete the process now but Immigration has told us that because he went o/s for those 3 days and had to reapply for a resident return visa he will have to wait until next July to apply for citizenship again. Also, as of July 1st 2018 this wait time may be extended to 4 years if a proposed change of law goes through! 

One of the immigration officers I spoke to suggested applying for ministerial discretion 
no 6 so that those days overseas would be in fact counted as being in Australia. We have been married since 2008, our child who attends school here and have lived together in Australia since 2010. He has a full-time job here and is our family's main provider.

Do you think our situation could be valid under discretion no 6 and how long the wait could be to get an answer on a request? Any other advice in preparing the documents/ statements would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Daniella


----------



## L&D

Hi Mark. I am Australian in a defacto relationship with a Colombian. We live in Colombia and I have a working visa here. We have no intention to live in Australia for the time being and have work, property, friends, family and pets in Colombia. I am flying home to see my parents for 3 weeks in Jan/Feb and want my partner to come with me. Is this a straight forward Visitor 600 application? Can I do the letter of support or do my parents need to do that? We need to be back after 3 weeks as both have work commitments. There is 0% chance of overstay. Any help/clarification appreciated! Thank you!


----------



## neetu9780

Hi Mark,

Thanks for all the information you have been providing to people over the years, just got to know about your thread from a friend whom you have provided some pivotal information which has helped her immensely. Due to your immense knowledge, she has suggested me that you will be the best source to take help from. 

I have recently married a girl who is already an Australian PR. FYI, I have a tourist visa valid till Aug 2018 , with no 8503 condition and have visited her in August this year. As i am currently planning to apply EOI for 189 visa with ANZSCO : 261313 ~ Software Engineer with 75 points ( Age : 30, Education : 15, Experience : 10, English : 20). I have few questions in particular on which i would seek your advice from your immense knowledge:

- As my wife is already an Australian PR, can I claim any additional points for my 189 visa application?

- I have read online that if one applies from onshore instead of offshore, one can get Bridging visa, but I am unaware if that will help me to look for a job and probably get a job if I happen to take this route?

- I am planning to celebrate this new year with my wife in Melbourne and if I take the offshore visa application route and get the visa by Jan/Feb, 2018 which I am expecting with the ongoing trends in mind, can i stay in Melbourne itself till February and wait for the grant. Will this have any impact post the visa grant as i will be initially there on tourist visa? Or do i need to come back to my home country i.e. India before the grant and then have to go back again for the initial entry? 

Thanks.


----------



## steevyp

Hi Mark, 

Last year I applied for a new 461 visa as my current 461 visa had expired 21 days prior, So I was unlawfully here for 22 days until I got a bridging visa C.
So I was also issued with Schedule 3 requirements criteria 3004. My main reason on lodging my visa late was that I was waiting on my police check to arrive from the UK so i could submit my application. 

What are my chances of having my visa accepted ? Or do I have more of a chance of being refused? And if so will I receive this 3 year re-entry ban ?


----------



## ausne50

Hi Mark,

I aaplied for student visa on 18/11/16 and was granted on 01/12/16. During that time i only disclosed one occupation on the application. Now, i am claiming work exp. for 189 visa for the other job which i had since 19/07/16.

Will this affect my application under 4020?

Thank you.


----------



## Hope2018

Hi Mark, 
I'm just wondering, my husband is currently sponsoring me, we have already applied for the 801 in sept. However, we understand waiting time has increased, and it's sad to see him sacrificing his time and freedom just for my sake. 

I was wondering, will it make our 801 application worse if he goes on a 5 week holiday without me? 

I just want to treat him a getaway that he always dreamt of and that with the job he has, I just know he is unable to take this amount of time off by the time I get PR.

I will only able to attend to about a week worth of his holiday in Europe as I need to work, and can't afford to quit my job as it's the only place that lets me work full time hours in comparison to other jobs who requires PR which I don't have yet.


----------



## Tasiz

ausne50 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I aaplied for student visa on 18/11/16 and was granted on 01/12/16. During that time i only disclosed one occupation on the application. Now, i am claiming work exp. for 189 visa for the other job which i had since 19/07/16.
> 
> Will this affect my application under 4020?
> 
> Thank you.


Hey, i am in a similar position, although i did not disclose a few casual jobs on my student visa application, so i am not claiming any points for the exp. Have you consulted an agent or found anything similar?


----------



## Christelle

*Over claimed EOI points*

Hi Mark,

I would like to ask your opinion about my current situation. I have lodged my PR Visa application last October 2017 with 65 pts claimed on my EOI. It was just last night that I discovered I over claimed 5 points on the Australian Study Requirement, I undergone bridging course for 3 months early this year and I have overlooked the 2 years study written on the DIBP web page.

My dilemma right now is if I should call the immigration for the error I made, or just wait for a case officer to contact me? I am onshore and was granted for a bridging visa which will take effect after my current visa expire by the end of this month. I am afraid that if I will take the initiative to correct my mistake, a refund for the visa fee will not be considered and I may be required to exit Australia as I do need to withdraw my application which means bridging visa will no longer take effect.

Hope to hear form you. A big thank you in advance!


----------



## radical

Hi All,

I am about to lodge a family sponsored 600 tourist visa for my parents. Have a few question around it. Any help/advice will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Sponsor - Citizen
Location - High Risk Country.
Length of stay - 3 weeks.
Both are retired

1. I want to sponsor both mum and dad at the same time, not sure if I can do that. is it only one at a time? If I cannot sponsor both at the same time what is the best alternative to this?

2. Would showing my latest pay slips suffice as a financial proof?

Cheers
R


----------



## yuchun

*155 Renewal*

Hi Mark

I lodge my 155 RRV renewal on 30 Oct. My RRV expired today 8 Nov. I'm due to fly out of Australia this weekend 11 Nov.

Would being out of australia be an issue to the RRV renewal that i've already applied? Can i be offshore while waiting for the result?

Please advise.

thanks,
yuchun


----------



## KarolinaC

Hello Mark,

My boyfriend is applying for the two year graduate visa (subclass 485) and my application will be attached as dependent (de fact partner). Currently, I am in Australia on my visitor visa. 
- Can I apply for the visa with him while I am in Australia or do I have to apply from outside of the country?
- I am a bit in a time pressure as my visa expires on 16th December. How long does it take till the bridging visa is issued?

Thank you. 

Kind regards,
Karolina


----------



## haky4all

Hello Mark,

Hope you doing good.

Please, I need a guide on something. I had BSc in Geology but has 10years of experience in Geotechnical Engineer and that's the occupation that I want to nominate.

Since Engineer Australia is the assessing body, will they give me assessment base on my Education in Geology and experience in Geotechnical Engineer??

Regards,

Haky


----------



## Mohammad1

Dear Mark & Experts,


i need your advice on EOI with below details.

I have submitted my EOI since 31/May/2017 with below points brake down but until now no reply, what is the usually time period for 55 points, what is the possibility of getting invitation in my case.
my current status as below if i am not wrong.

ASZ Code: 263111
Subclass 190:
State : Any
Trade education points : 10
Experience points : 10
Education points: 0
Toefl score 109 (Points):10
Age 33-45 Points : 25
Total points : 55

shell I wait or add also option of 489 application.


Thanks in Advance.
Mohammad


----------



## karelmalan

Dear Mark,

Sincerely thanks for your time and information provided here.

I'm ready to lodge an EOI for 189 / 190 with electronic engineer as occupation, so need at least 65 points (also for state sponsorship). I'm certain of 60 (age, english, degree) and need to claim at least 5 for work experience(*). I already have a 'superior' english result and a positive skills assessment from Engineers Australia, BUT I had opted not to have work experience assessed by EA at the time. 

My plan is as follows: Lodge the EOI with 65 so long to get in line, then apply to EA for work experience assessment (wait up to 8wks) and based on the experience awarded, either 
1. leave the EOI as is (3-5y),
2. update to 70pts (>5y)
3. withdraw the EOI (<3y) and wait for my wife's nursing registration and skills assessment (~6months) for extra 5p before lodging a new EOI.

Now, I realise it's a big no-no to lodge an EOI while the skills assesment is still pending, but as far as I can tell this isn't a problem with experience assessment so what I'm proposing should be OK. Any thoughts / similar experiences / suggestions?  

As far as I'm aware the worst that could happen is that I could get invited to apply before receiving the assessment result (seems unlikely on a 65pt EOI), then having to withdraw after having been invited. Still better than eventually having visa rejected.

(*) My work experience is complicated as some is from 2007/8, some while employed at university (not academic role, but in a tech spinout project), some while finishing a masters part time, some software dev etc, therefore hard to predict how much will be deemed 'relevant'. I reckon I have up to 5.5y, but have read some horror stories about this, with obvious risk of visa being denied due to 'over claiming' in EOI.


Thanks for your time,
Karel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi All - will be catching up on forum responses from page 1367 onwards over the next 24 hours - stay tuned!

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Laiba15

Hey mark! 
Im in a bit of a situation here hope u can help. So I applied for my sisters sponsored visa 600. I am a housewife and don?t earn so I asked my husband to sponsor her not knowing that in laws and cousins can?t sponsor. They contacted me back asking me to fill the 1149 form as my husbands not eligible to sponsor . That I understand .. but I?m worried that there would be an issue regarding I cant support her financially. Is it possible that my husband can only support her financially and I can sponsor her?. She is a Pakistani citizen 
Please help.


----------



## jiyong

Hi Mark, I have got a query regarding Parent Visa (143). I have already lodged the visa and awaiting for a case officer for 2nd instalment. However, I want to travel out of the country for about 2-3 years. Will that be alright? My sister, who is also the sponsor will be here in Australia and can settle the aos. Will my parents' visa be affected if I move out of the country? Please advise!! Thanks


----------



## james007007

Hi Mark,

I would like to lodge a Contributory Parent Visa (subclass 143) application for my parents; however only my mom wants to go to Australia but my dad. He still wants to stay and live oversea. Could you shed some light whether can I lodge an application for just only my mom given they are still married and living together oversea? Thank you so much!


----------



## samo1390

*Australian Study Requirement*

Dear Mark, I've completed 2 years of studies physically in Australia. One year as an exchange student, course name International Exchange Program [031147B] - Course level - NON AQF AWARD. 1 year.

During this program, the subjects studied are exactly same as the Bachelor of Engineering i'm taking in Australia, as my uni is a branch campus outside Australia. (Swinburne University Sarawak Campus)

Another year as International Student- Bachelor of Engineering. 1 year. (Swinburne University Hawthorn Campus, Melb)

Does this meet the Australian Study Requirement?

Or should I not include it? To prevent the complications of false claim of points?


----------



## Battlefield

Maritime 988 visa querry
Hi Mark I have a question regarding Maritime visa. I am in Brisbane working in a ship for 6 months contract and got a transit visa as I came by air from Sri Lanka. 
First question is would I be allowed to travel to Melbourne from Brisbane whilst on Transit visa once my contract in the ship ends and would I be able to get married to my gf who lives in Melbourne and is a permanent resident and apply for spouse visa onshore or will I have to leave the country and do it offshore ? Thanks in advance.


----------



## sallyftu

Hi Mark,
I am in Sydney with 576 subclass visa (I am a Sponsored student by Australian Government). My visa will expire on 31/01/2018. I met my husband here in Australia. He has 457 working visa. We are expecting a baby in mid Jan 2018. There is "No further stay" condition 8535 on my visa meaning that I have to depart from Australia when my course finishes. However, my husband's company agreed to sponsor us for 186. How could we remove the "No further stay" condition on my visa? I have learnt from my policy handbook for my scholarship that DFAT (Ministry of Trade) will give me the letter of No Objection letter in case we repay all my debt on my scholarship to support us to change to another visa type then I am writing to them to negotiate about that but they seem to be not sure about the support. In my case, I don't want to depart from Australia when Iam pregnant, is there any way to waive that condition?
Thank you very much.


----------



## imost4u

*Legal Separation Agreement*

Hi Mark,

Just need your help regards to the situation if any one had been through this process. i was married in Australia and we Separated(not Legally) 1 year ago in 2016. Divorce file has not yet applied due to my wife refuse to respond. i Have applied for 887 visa and My Co Asked me Evidence of Separation.

Divorce or Separation Documents
If you are divorced, please provide intermediate and final divorce decree, or legal separation agreement.

we are not divorced yet and any agreement means that both parties has to sign but she is refusing to respond.
Can you help me what document i can provide the CO for evidence of Separation.

Your help in this matter is highly appreciated. Thanks

Regards,


----------



## eila

hi mark, 
i have a pending 457visa application submitted last september.I have read that someone got his visa after few days due to expedite visa processing. Can i still request for that since my application is still in ?received? status and to whom should i address this request?

Also, is it possible to apply for a tourist visa while waiting for the 457 visa decision? 

thanks!


----------



## Croggles

*TSS Visa*

Hi Mark,

You helped me a little while ago with an inquiry about a partner visa. I was wondering if you might be able to help me with regards to the TSS visa (2 years). I am about to lodge an application for this visa (I have a job offer from a registered sponsor). I plan to be in Australia in early March. If the visa hasn't been processed by then, which seems to be a distinct possibility, am I able to enter Australia on a tourist visa (I already have a multiple entry, electronic tourist visa valid until late August) and wait out the TSS visa being issued?

Any help you can offer would be grand, as we are keen to start booking flights as we plan to travel around Asia for a while before we arrive.

Many thanks

Craig


----------



## ksuresh209

Hi Mark 

Good Morning.

With the ongoing Invitation rounds, it looks like there is a slowdown and only 700 invitations are getting issued in November month. 

My EOI date is 19-Jul-2017 for Mechanical Engineering with 65 Points. Do you have any rough idea when can I expect my Invitation ?

Or Should I take my PTE for better points. (I have already waited for 4 months).

Please suggest.

Thanks in advance

Suresh


----------



## Nelsondavid

Hi Mark,
Good day...!!!
I had applied for 489 regional sponsored visa 18 months back and a case officer had also been allotted but still when I check my immiaccount it shows "assessment in progress" and this worries me 
Never heard on any background verification
I get automated replies when I mail or call them

Is this delay normal..?


----------



## pablonarvaez

HI Mark,

Thanks for the amazing job that you do helping us.
Iam elegible for the Permanent residency on the 2 of december ( partner visa 309/100).

I have a couple of questions:

- I created my inmiaccount the other day ( in the first stage i went through a migration agent) and I wonder if i can start the application before the 2nd of December or I have to wait for that date.
- I can just scan the documents? as in the first stage they requested me to give them scanned copies of certificed copies of the documents but reading the inmigration webpage seems that for online applications scanned copies are fine.

Thank you very much.

Regards,

Pablo


----------



## iran

Hi Mark, 

I am helping a friend to apply for 189 visa. In the past, my friend had a 457 nomination refused and the visa application withdrawn.Should my friend disclose it in the question 39 of Form 80 and question 15 at Form 1221? Or it has nothing to do with "visa refusal"? I am having trouble to find it in the legislation. Thanks heaps!


----------



## sillygos

Hi Mark;

I have a few questions and concerns.

I applied my EOI on November 8th.
ANZCO 312212
189: 70 points
190 NSW: 75 Points

I received an invite for NSW today and I would like some advise.

I will lose 10 points for age at the end of December.

If I accept the NSW invitation it could take 12 weeks to get the nomination, which would get me to lose the 10 points for age. 

I read that they could expedite the nomination due to losing points for age, would it be realistic for them to get it completed before the end of December?

Do you think it would be better to wait for the 189 invite? Would I get it before Christmas break?

Also, when is an EOI "locked" for further invites? Since my EOI still says Submitted, does that mean I could still receive invite for 189? And if the answer to that is yes, when will it be locked? Is it by the time I accept the NSW invite or after NSW has finalized the nomination?

Thank you so much for you expertise.


----------



## DK1956

hi, hopefully I'm putting this in the correct place..Due to ending up being separated unexpectedly,and living in a small country NSW town, I started to look online, and ended up being scammed a couple of times. Fortunately the money inst the end of the world, and I was able to nip things in the bud , but on two occasions I was being told that the woman , with a 600 visa already granted, would be asked for show money before being allowed to get on the plane...I rang the Guangzhou consulate for clarification, and from the broken English gathered this wasn't the case, and stopped things then, but then got the same story from someone with a legitimate 600 visa ( as far as I could tell from checking online) in Manila...so I called that off as well...I did try to ring immigration here, but never got through. I thought once the visa is in hand, I did have to give a stat dec as a letter of support while they are here for the 90 days ..but that is it...is this the case? Thanks ,Dean


----------



## ijaz.ahmad88

*457 Visa-expired nomination*

Hi Mark,

I have submitted application for 457 Visa on 30-08-2017 but last week i got an email (justice letter) for department stating that my employer nomination got expired and asked me to submit the reply with 28 days, my employer is renewing the sponsorship but i donot know how much time it will take, could you please advise how shall i proceed in this case?
can my employer put an application for renewing sponsorship and at the same time put new nomination for me , is it possible to put nomination even the sponsorship is not renewed ?what would be your suggestion in this case?


----------



## kk1153

*Postgraduate Research Sector Long visa delays*

Dear Mark,

Good Evening.

We are around 10-12 guys who are waiting for PhD visa (all with full scholarship) since 7 months to 1 year. Can you suggest us how much time these days PhD visas can at worst? DIBP does not look to be accountable as well as they never give replies as they are not even bound to. A common thing between these guys is that majority are from India and few from Iran.

What do you think could be the reason of such long delays in processing PhD visas by DIBP? Most of the guys have previously traveled to other countries as well and have good immigration history as well. Is there something specifically wrong with PhD visas like the introduction of some law or policy by which Australia does not want any PhD researchers in their country?

What would you advice in such long waiting stage? There are people who are waiting since a year for the PhD Visa without any hope. Your experience and advice would be highly appreciated.


----------



## sharif.kuet

*Urgent help needed regarding a query from engineers australia*

Dear Mark,

I need a help from you..

Recently I submitted CDR for Telecommunications Engineers and my CO ask me below query...

" Upon reviewing your career episodes, we have identified significant similarities between the episodes submitted by you and documents from internet sources, publications and career episodes previously submitted to engineers australia."

And asking for an explanation from me.

Can you please guide me what should I reply to the CO?


----------



## esther_jyh

Hi Mark,

I am currently on graduate visa after my masters degree (Master of Dietetics) and hope to get work experience to apply for 190 VIC state sponsorship eventually. I am currently working as a dietitian (15.2 hrs/wk on 12-month contract). I have read information online (but unsure of its accuracy) that work experience = 20 hours/wk. Could you clarify if this is correct?

Also, can I get two/three part-time jobs and combine those hours together to meet the requirement e.g. 20 hours/wk if that is correct. I am also looking for jobs that may not be salary-based, for example as a contract running my own private practice. Because that would be work experience for remuneration, so I guess that can be counted towards the required hours as well?

I have tried to read all the DIAC policies and ask some agents but couldn't get the answers. Really thanks a lot for spending time answering the questions!


----------



## koalaswiss

Hi Mark, 
I have a quick question. I applied for my defacto visa in May 2017 and still waiting for our answer. We have discussed with my partner of spending an extended period of my maternity leave in my home country and he'd love to spend around one year there.(not pregnant yet) Would we be able to do it? Would I still be able to apply for my PR, or live abroad after I applied for the PR? Thank you for your answer, as we're trying to see what we can do in the future in therm of living abroad. 
Elodie


----------



## Shradhda

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi all I am really in need of help 
Applied for 489 visa on 1/08/17
They asked me further information for my child which is
Parent consent form sign along with their I'd 
I provided mine and his step father sign with id

Now immmi asking me consent sing from my x husband along with his id 
He is not really helpful person to provide and would not give me anything either 
I married from India and divorce from Australia 
Do not have custody of my son but he is with me since 18 months separated.
My child did not even know him 
Please help me what should I do in this situation.
I have adoptions documents from


----------



## MommyB

Hi Mark,

Please help me...I hope you can read and reply on this.
I really want to gain information that is why I follow and register this forum. We are done with the IELTS and waiting for the EA Assessment.

Please help me, we are now preparing our documents for visa application sub class 189. What are the documents required on how we can include my step son on the family members since presently the son is under the father (our) custody? my partner was separated already for almost 11 years but not legally and the ex of my partner is not cooperating for the separation. What are the documents needed to prove that they are separated already?
We are from the Philippines, what are the alternative legal documents that we can present to the immigration so that we can include my step son on the application if the other parent is not cooperating?
Please advise.

Thanks!


----------



## Dinakar

Hello Mark

I am an Indian guy done my masters in Management Information systems completed in 2017 as I want to change to IT, but my graduation is electronics engineer completed in 2010. I worked as an eletronics engineer for two years only.Currently living in perth. My wife is a physiotherapist came to perth very recently. I am 28 at the moment.I have my sister in Melbourne who is a PR holder.I would like to drop my PR. Can someone suggest which subclass is the best option.


----------



## Ronco88

Good afternoon Mark,

I would like to ask an opinion.I sent my EOI for the visa 190 NSW as Chef.
I have 60 points at the moment.
How many chance do you think I have to be nominated?
I am trying to get another 10 points with the english test but without much luck.
Thanks for that.


----------



## sachinvyas2

Hello Mark, GM. Hope this message finds you in best of your health.

My query is: I have applied for Visa subclass 189 in Last year Nov-2016 in Singapore. Have completed medical for my self and my elder Daughter in Singapre but could not complete my wife’s medical as we discover her pregnancy in Dec 2016. Now she moved to India and delivered a baby in July-2017 and new born baby is also included in application.

I am not able to book an medical appointment for my Wife in India Panel Clinics as it says “HAP ID for my Wife is being managed some where else” (mostly in Singapore).

How do I get this HAP ID enabled or Ask for new HAP ID to complete remaining medical in India. 

Department has issued another referral letter but with same HAP ID which is not opening in India Panel Clinics . I have written multiple emails to department on this but no response.

Please advise.


----------



## dombivliindian

*Information on 457 application*



Hello Mark,

Hope youre doing fine !!!

i have few questions pertaining to my 457 visa application

my 457 visa has been applied by my employer TCS on 24th April 2017. prior to that i held a 457 visa which was cancelled by my employer last year. this is my 2nd application.

i am still waiting for my approval. my company's immigration cell advised that RFI was requested by DIBP on october end and i submitted additional documents in early november. would you be able to tell the ETA for DIBP to re assess these application as my nomination which was rejected earlier can get approved and so as my visa.

do they have SLAs on each and every application ?


----------



## Myla0704

*confused..*

Hi Mark, please let me win some of your time.  Kindly share your insight on this little snippet off Form 1148.

Who cannot be a sponsor?
There are no provisions for fiancé(e)s, cousins, friends, in-laws
or New Zealand citizens to sponsor.
If your sponsor has already provided sponsorship for another
relative, and that other relative has been granted a Sponsored
Family Visitor (subclass 679) or a Visitor visa - Sponsored
Family stream (subclass 600), and that visa is still in effect,
then your sponsor will not normally be eligible to sponsor you
until the other relative has departed Australia and complied
with all visa conditions, or until their visa has expired

--- 
we lodged 2 online applications (2 immi accounts) for sponsored tourist visa for sister and hubby, attached same copy of form 1149 to each application. Sister got approved visa last week and has not travelled here yet. Husband (in-law) got denied.

Now, base on the statement above - if we have multiple members of the same family unit applying, if the main applicant (and the one related to the sponsor) got approval first - would that mean, the rest will be denied? (regardless of whether some of the applications were under their own immi account, but all documentations point to the main applicant)

I am not exactly new at sponsoring this couple, have done it before but paper based. This is the first time we completed online applications - and i did not see any information on the online form stating you MUST lodge the applications under one immi acount or you MUST lodge application same day. Unfortunately, they were lodged 1 day apart but again. But again, all documentation stated they are spouses and travelling together and being sponsored together,

Would love your insight - I am currently having this debacle with the immigration. I don't like defeat by technicality without putting up a fight. 

Thanks muchly


----------



## Son

*What happens if wife included in my PR application is offshore when my PR is granted?*

Hi Mark, thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. Today I would like to ask you about the things I am a bit confused with.

I am going to
- apply for 189 onshore
- include my wife, who lives in Korea, in the application

In the other thread I created, I was advised that
- my wife will not be able to get her PR at the same time of my PR
- therefore, I will have to apply for a partner visa for her afterwards

To be honest, I was a bit confused with this advice and looked for similar cases in other threads, and it seems it does not sound right for me.

However, the adviser says that the advice is based on actual experience in 2011.

My questions here is:

What is the definite answer?

My understanding is that whether or not my wife is onshore or offshore, as long as she is included in my 189 application, her PR will be granted at the same time of my PR.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Jay johnson

G’day mark. Here is the thing. I was granted tourist visa last year to celebrate christmas with my family who is currently on melbourne. I decided to get married with my girlfriend. And i returned back to my country applying my all visa condition. I applied my dependent student visa on september 10 2017 and i am still waiting for my medical. I was just wondering how much time does it take and after medical how long does visa processing time take?It would really help me alot!! Thanks in advance


----------



## oj oj

*233411 Electronics Engineer specialization*

Hi Mark!

I have heard a lot about you. You have been doing an amazing job in guiding people through the immigration procedures.

I wish to apply for immigration as an Electronics Engineer (233411). Currently, under the job description of 233411 at ANZCO, it says specialization in communications (army). I don't understand what it means. Are they only going to select Electronics Engineers with army background or those who have worked on army projects.

Also should I build my CDR based on the telecom/communications projects or should I include pure electronics projects in it.

Here are my details:
BS, MS, PhD in Electronics Engineering: 20 points
Age 33 years: 25 points
IELTS 7 each: 10 points
Employment 8 years: 20 points

Regards,
OJ


----------



## miassus

Hi Mark,

Just a question around permanant contributory visas. I have noticed that there are 2 visas that might apply for my mum who is considered as Aged parent based on age conditions. 

Knowing that these 2 visas 143 and 864 are both faster track visas, which one is cheaper/faster and basically which one is suggested and whats their difference except the age condition?

thanks


----------



## breekigo

hi mark,
i recently got my student visa cancelled and i applied for a review of the decision with the AAT.i applied to get a bridging visa E as i wait on the tribunal but as i put in the BVE application in about 30 mins after putting in the review application the immigration officer said that they could only issue me with a bridging visa with intent to leave as my review application had not come up on their system and they couldnt confirm that i had indeed put in the application. as soon as the review details come up they will issue me with a BVE.
however i received a call from a debt collector asking me to settle my debt with the institution i was studying with. i have informed them that i am currently on a bridging visa with intent to leave as that is the document i currently have.worth noting is that i had enrolled in this institution under the understanding from them that they take international students. i didnt know about the CRICOS requirements when i enrolled so i followed their lead. had i known i would have never enrolled with them as that has led to my cancelled visa.
anyhow my worry now is that they will come after me and maybe even tell on me to immigration that i have a debt and spoil my chances of getting a bridging visa and getting an appeal.can they do that?


----------



## Timo2525

*Holiday visa*

Hello,
I applied twice for a holiday visa and both times it got refused. I am german and my partner is living and working in Australia.
In his letter he's written that he will fully support me and wishes to spend christmas and new year with me. That he also work for the government and has got security clearance and understands the laws of Australia. 
In my letter I've written that I am intending on spending time with my partner and which to like to see him for christmas etc and that I also wont exceed the time of my visa.
Now both times the case officer has come back and refused to give me the visa for reasons I can't understand and I am very frustrated about.

In this case, I am not satisfied that clause 651.212 in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations is satisfied. This clause provides that: Clause 651.212 states:

The applicant genuinely intends to visit Australia temporarily: (a) as a tourist; or (b) to engage in a business visitor activity. In your eVisitor application lodged electronically on 24 November 2017 you indicated your intention to visit Australia for tourism purposes. In making this decision I have taken into consideration:
● the information provided as part of your eVisitor application
● the reason for travel;
● your personal circumstances in your home country including your employment with your mothers business;
● your letter of invitation from your partner Ian Hawkins;
● your previous immigration history including previous visa applications. In assessing a visitor visa application, I am required to assess your individual circumstances. In order to grant you a visa to travel to and enter Australia for a temporary visit, the Department needs to be satisfied that you have a strong incentive to return to your home country after your proposed Australian visit. Department records indicate that since 12 September 2013 you have spent 1323 days in Australia and 211 outside of Australia. Based on your previous immigration history including previous visa applications, time spent onshore since 12 September 2013, I do not consider that you have sufficient incentives to return to your home country, visit Australia temporarily and/ or abide by your visa conditions whilst in Australia. Based on the above considerations I am not satisfied that you have a genuine intention to visit Australia temporarily for tourism purposes. Decision As you do not meet clause 651.212, I find that you do not meet the criteria for an eVisitor.
Therefore, I refuse your application for an eVisitor lodged electronically.
Please can you give me some advise on what is happening because i don't understand how it can get refused as all I want is to spend time with my partner. I am very frustrated!

Thanks


----------



## Elongran

Hi! My partner and I are having some issues but only just got married. I'm suspecting he's cheating on me, but when I brought it up he threatened to withdraw his sponsorship. I'm on a temporary residency at the moment, applied for my permanent one in May this year. I'm 25 and I've been here for 4 years. Is there any other way I'll be able to stay? I really don't want to leave and I just want to know if I have any other options than trying to make it work with my partner.


----------



## AussieSwiss

*BVB/BVA and which box to tick on the Australia Arrival Card*

Hi Mark!

Hope things are well. You may (or not, I know there are so many posts asking for your advice here ;-) remember me from a few months ago. 
Anyhow, my wife joined me (I'm a PR) here on a tourist visa on Nov 11th (meaning it's valid until Feb 10th). We then applied for an onshore partner visa, and her BVA was granted overnight and will kick in at expiry of tourist visa. She has to travel to Switzerland in January so we applied for a BVB, which was also granted overnight for 3 months. It does state "This bridging visa is not in effect because your E-visitor visa is currently in effect." My questions:

- as she will be travelling out and back into Australia on her still valid tourist visa, does that mean when she comes back in that the tourist visa will again add 3 months of waiting time for the BVA to kick in?

- when she comes back from her trip, on the Australia arrival card, which box does she tick? "Migrating to Australia" or "Visitor"? Again, she's got her BVA and BVB but I'm wondering what might come up at the immigration counter, because the BVB does state "This bridging visa is not in effect because your E-visitor visa is currently in effect.".

Happy to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks!


----------



## peanut48

breekigo said:


> hi mark,
> i recently got my student visa cancelled and i applied for a review of the decision with the AAT.i applied to get a bridging visa E as i wait on the tribunal but as i put in the BVE application in about 30 mins after putting in the review application the immigration officer said that they could only issue me with a bridging visa with intent to leave as my review application had not come up on their system and they couldnt confirm that i had indeed put in the application. as soon as the review details come up they will issue me with a BVE.
> however i received a call from a debt collector asking me to settle my debt with the institution i was studying with. i have informed them that i am currently on a bridging visa with intent to leave as that is the document i currently have.worth noting is that i had enrolled in this institution under the understanding from them that they take international students. i didnt know about the CRICOS requirements when i enrolled so i followed their lead. had i known i would have never enrolled with them as that has led to my cancelled visa.
> anyhow my worry now is that they will come after me and maybe even tell on me to immigration that i have a debt and spoil my chances of getting a bridging visa and getting an appeal.can they do that?


Hi Mark,

I'm in a similar situation, my PR visa was cancelled and I've only been granted a BVE for a week since DIBP couldn't see the appeal in their systems. How long does it take for the AAT Appeal acknowledgement to come through? I'm really worried about what happens if the acknowledgement isn't there when I have to report to DIBP next. Also I'm the sole person in Australia with no financial support other than my job which I can no longer do until I get working rights on my BVE, what are my chances for it? Also how long does it take to get BVE with work rights? I'm concerned that with Christmas holidays the department will not process any applications for a few weeks, do you know how long it could take over this period?

My PR was cancelled based on anonymous allegations and the DIBP gave weight to brief phone calls their overseas post made over all the documentary evidence including government income tax records. Their decision makes no sense and I'm praying the appeal at AAT will revoke the cancellation.

Thanks

Update: I've got my AAT Appeal Acknowledgement, took 4 working days.

Does anyone know how long working rights on BVE application takes? Thanks


----------



## Amc1971

*Subclass 887*

Hi Mark,
I am planning to lodge subclass 887. I'm currently holding subclass 489 victorian regional sponsored visa. 
Quick question:
I'm working in regional area which is specified by subclass 489, but my staffing/agency is located in Melbourne metro. Will this create an issue when appliying for subclass 887?

Regards,
Amc1971


----------



## amber_jay

*Travel to Aus During Pending Visa*

Hi there!
In the next few weeks I will be lodging an application for the Student Visa (Subclass 500- Higher Education Sector). However, I'm looking to come over from the US a few weeks before my program starts to settle in. There's a chance the visa application may still be in the review process when this happens.

I currently hold an ETA, valid through June 2018. Will my ETA still be valid while my student visa is being processed? And will I be able to enter Australia on the ETA during that time period as well? Thank you for your help!

- Amber


----------



## Junkisha2010

Hi Mark your such a blessing to us. Anyway I got some worries since I am applying for spouse visa soon. I am a Filipina and married to my australian husband for 5 years and were together for 5 years as well here in Philippines cos his dual but his back to Australia since 2015 to work again since our business didn't work here and our 4 children are all citizen by descent. At the moment his working as truckers and just staying at his company depot but the moment I will lodge my application his going to find a house for us cos he needs to,right? Is that idea is alright that were getting house just during my application or the embassy really needs the house to be existing for half a year or so to be fine I mean so my husband can show that he can accommodate us and our needs and his qualify as sponsor? Thanks and God speed!


----------



## HNaz

Dear Mark,

My company has offered me to relocate to Australia on a work permit. I want to know if there is a health cover in this type of visa? 
Also, I have an autistic child; Can i sponsor him to accompany me to Australia? and is he eligible for PR later if we stay in Australia. I have heard that PR is denied to Autistic children, is that true? If so, what are our options? can we file a case on basis of human rights once we are there? 
Looking forward to your response.

Thanks


----------



## Canuck707

Hi Mark, I am currently on a working holiday visa that expires 12th January 2018. I applied for a 461 last April and I am still waiting on a decision. I began working at my job on 29 May with my 6 months ending 29 November. I have been granted an extension until 12th January, when my bridging A visa begins. Since my bridging visa also has the 8547 restriction am I unable to stay with the same employer after this point? Or do I have another 6 months on the new visa? 
Thanks in advance!


----------



## Markuz

problem solved. thank you


----------



## lakshya85chd

*PF not deducted by company*

Hi Mark

Recently i recieved an email from CO asking for PF(monthly security payment) details. My previous company didn't deduct any pf from my salary.

I asked my company to give me in written that during my tenure they didnt deduct pf but they refused to do so.

Can you please help me on this. Hpw should I proceed?


----------



## mandeepvirk

*Visa Fraud*

hi hgfjse huhu


----------



## shivangi1210

*Designation/ Job Change and update us !!*

Hi Mark,

We lodged our visa in Aug. 
Co contacted us in Sep and in the same month we gave the Information and pressed IP.
My husband is the primary applicant and we have claimed spouse points as well.
We gave my employment reference as well on the company's letterhead.
Now i have got a very good job offer from another company and I want to join it.
If i leave my current job and join the other company then i assume that we'll have to inform DIBP through update us button.
I have few questions over that :
Will changing my job will further delay our application
If i join the current company, then do i need to provide R&R letter from them also ?

Also, in my current job I have been promoted recently and my designation has been changed. Do i need to update DIBP ?
As the employement reference letter i gave has the Designation as Senior Software Engineer and now iam a Technical Lead.


----------



## Kolawole

Hi thanks ,
I'm k from Nigeria, I've applied for my visa (500) since august and I've requested for a second COE, and I haven't heard anything from my agent.what do I do and does have anything to do that from Nigeria??


----------



## Kolawole

Sorry since July not august


----------



## victoria_jacks

*189 visa wait*

Hi Mark,

I just submitted by EOI for a 189 visa (secondary school teacher), however I only have 65 points and at the moment it looks like I won't receive an invitation for some time due to the backlog of 70 pointers.

I;m currently in Australia on a student visa which will expire on the 30th December. My question is this - should I apply for a 3 month tourist visa and hope that my invitation comes through within the next 3 months - meaning I would then go on to a bridging visa.

Or should I be more cautious and apply for a 6 month tourist visa to allow plenty of time for the invite to arrive. The problem with this being that if I get an invite and subsequent bridging visa sooner than expected I will have to wait for 6 months before this can take effect. This means not being able to work for 6 months which would be extremely difficult financially. 
Is there any way that I can apply for the 6 month tourist visa and somehow start work when my bridging visa does come through - rather than having to wait for the tourist visa to run out?

Many thanks - Victoria


----------



## JoHam

*Not returning to Australia in time for BVB.*

HI Mark
first of all thank you for helping out 

My partner currently has a BVB ending end of January as we are outside Australia. We applied for 461 visa in March'17. I have read a few things that may help us but just wanted to run it past someone...

If my partner does not return to Australia in January and our BVB And BVA is cancelled does this automatically cancel our 461 visa application or does this process continue?
Or could we stay outside of Australia until we have a grant date and return to Australia to be on land when it is approved? (he can enter Aus on automatic holiday visa)
I hope this is the case as our other option is to fly back to Australia and apply for a 6 month BVB and it could possibly get denied.

Thanks again!


----------



## amthebestm

Hi Mark,

My skill assessment was done 2 years back, and I am planning for skills assessment renewal. I have the following question, and requesting your help in resolving the same.

Does the statutory declaration done by a senior work colleague for my skills assessment (2 years back, for 1st 9 years of my service) and employment reference letter (current: Total 11 years of my service) should have same wordings for duties performed, if the duties performed are almost same? 

Can I submit this employer reference letter for skills assessment renewal, since the wording in earlier statutory declaration and current employer reference are different, even though the duties mentioned are almost same.

Both document have almost 20 common duties with same meaning, but with different wordings.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amthebestm -

Thanks for the note (am catching up on all outstanding posts from the last few weeks - please stay tuned!) - there are 2 things to consider: first, do both of the descriptions of tasks/duties align reasonably well with the ANZSCO standard tasks for your occupation, and second, are the two documents in any way in conflict with each other (which could lead to issues)? Also be sure to double check the requirements of your skills assessor as assessors have widely varying requirements for documents such as stat decs from co-workers/managers, etc in lieu of employer letters, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amthebestm said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My skill assessment was done 2 years back, and I am planning for skills assessment renewal. I have the following question, and requesting your help in resolving the same.
> 
> Does the statutory declaration done by a senior work colleague for my skills assessment (2 years back, for 1st 9 years of my service) and employment reference letter (current: Total 11 years of my service) should have same wordings for duties performed, if the duties performed are almost same?
> 
> Can I submit this employer reference letter for skills assessment renewal, since the wording in earlier statutory declaration and current employer reference are different, even though the duties mentioned are almost same.
> 
> Both document have almost 20 common duties with same meaning, but with different wordings.


----------



## JohnMcintyre

Hi Mark,

I am currently on a ETA 601 Visa and applied for a Student Visa onshore which was rejected. I would like to appeal my case under the AAT. From my understanding I will only be granted a bridging once my ETA visa expires. The issue I have is that my current ETA has a period of stay requirement of 3 months on each arrival. (This is valid till February 2018).

Once my AAT appeal has been submitted, do I still have to leave within 3 months of my entry (1 November 2017) or can continue to remain in Australia until my AAT matter is heard?


----------



## SuperRoo

*Visa granted, relationship broke-down, no initial entry*

Hi Mark!

I hope this post finds you well and thank you in advance for any help mate.

About two years ago I submitted a spouse visa application (309) -as a sponsor- for someone I met overseas. The relationship was genuine and I spent months with that person to know them and to understand whether things will go well or not. The relationship was culturally arranged as I didn't have any other options at that time. We got legally married overseas and I came back to Australia to prepare our residence and prepare for that person's arrival. I was really happy and things seemed to be working really fine, then the relationship became unhealthy and toxic few weeks after I came back to Oz as I started to receive strange and unreasonable demands such as letting that person to travel overseas every 3-6 months at my expense just to visit their family and having a massive wedding that would have costed me all what I have.

Unfortunately the visa was granted 6 months after we became legally married and instead of celebrating I was in mourning. The last straw was when that person tried to force me to live in Australia with them ONLY FOR A SINGLE YEAR then come back and live near their family abandoning my career and throwing me into the unknown. That specific demand was the last straw and it caused the relationship to end. I informed the immigration department that our relationship broke-down before making the initial entry but it was too late as I pocketed the emotional and the financial costs.

That person signed for 1446 - Withdrawal of a visa application- and was contacted by immigration to confirm the break-down of the relationship.

I recovered from that nightmare and I want to know what are my options if I'm going to sponsor someone else? Do I really need to wait for 5 years? I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who experienced this. I lost time, money, and even job promotions because of that destructive relationship.

I apologise for the emotional post and I'm really after some help here.

Merry Christmas!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi John -

Thanks for the note. As long as you make a valid AAT application within the AAT time limits (usually 21 days, but check carefully and don't wait until the last minute) the bridging visa that you already received from your student visa onshore application will be automatically extended until 35 days after the AAT matter is decided by the AAT, so you can remain onshore until then. You should check your student visa onshore application to ensure you were granted a bridging visa from that application (this would be the case as long as your student visa application was a "valid" application). As long as you were, then you can stay past the 3-month stay period of the ETA and your bridging visa will automatically activate at the end of the 3-month stay to cover you until your AAT decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JohnMcintyre said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently on a ETA 601 Visa and applied for a Student Visa onshore which was rejected. I would like to appeal my case under the AAT. From my understanding I will only be granted a bridging once my ETA visa expires. The issue I have is that my current ETA has a period of stay requirement of 3 months on each arrival. (This is valid till February 2018).
> 
> Once my AAT appeal has been submitted, do I still have to leave within 3 months of my entry (1 November 2017) or can continue to remain in Australia until my AAT matter is heard?


----------



## Tasiz

Hi Mark,

I renewed my student visa in April 2017. The student visa was granted till 4th August 2017. Now i am in the process of applyong for my 189 visa, however i have an issue-

1) In my student visa application, i forgot to mention mostof my employment hsitory and a short holiday i had taken to sri lanka.

2) the employment not mentioned was not related to my occupation, nor am i claiming points for it.

3) now in my 189 application, i am putting all my work and travel history. 

The concern is, will my 189 application will by refused based on PIC4020 for giving falsw and misleading statements? If yes, then will waiting a year to apply for my 189 visa so that they dont take my student visa application into consideration?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SuperRoo, and Merry Christmas!

Sorry to hear of your previous relationship that didn't work out. Regulation 1.20J of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) would limit you from sponsoring someone else for a period of 5 years from the date you applied for the 309 visa, given that the 309 visa was granted (and the further 100 visa application was withdrawn) per your post. If the 309 visa was not granted, then the 5 year period doesn't apply.

Assuming the 309 was granted, there is a waiver provision available where if you can show "compelling interests affecting the sponsor", you can get a waiver of the 5 year waiting period. Here's some DIBP policy directly related to situations along the lines of what you may have experienced:

_"There have recently been a number of claims relating to so called 'innocent sponsors'. These sponsors claim that their intentions towards the original relationship were genuine, that they were blameless in the failure of the relationship and that because of this, the waiver should be exercised. In some of these cases, the person they sponsored/nominated has left Australia and no immigration advantage was gained. The sponsors claim that they would be unreasonably disadvantaged if the waiver was not exercised as their new relationship is clearly genuine.

It is open to decision makers to decide whether this situation would meet the criteria of compelling circumstances. However, this would depend on the individual circumstances of each case such as whether it is possible to establish the bona fides of the original relationship or whether the first sponsorship was 'careless' (sponsored with the expectation that if things didn't work out, they would be free to try again). Although the first relationship may not necessarily be bogus, this scenario may still represent a misuse of the migration provisions."_

So if you wish to sponsor someone else for a partner or fiance visa and the visa is expected to be approved within 5 years of the date you applied for the previous visa with the previous partner, you'll need to make an application for a waiver of Reg 1.20J based on compelling reasons or engage a migration agent or immigration lawyer to prepare this on your behalf.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SuperRoo said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I hope this post finds you well and thank you in advance for any help mate.
> 
> About two years ago I submitted a spouse visa application (309) -as a sponsor- for someone I met overseas. The relationship was genuine and I spent months with that person to know them and to understand whether things will go well or not. The relationship was culturally arranged as I didn't have any other options at that time. We got legally married overseas and I came back to Australia to prepare our residence and prepare for that person's arrival. I was really happy and things seemed to be working really fine, then the relationship became unhealthy and toxic few weeks after I came back to Oz as I started to receive strange and unreasonable demands such as letting that person to travel overseas every 3-6 months at my expense just to visit their family and having a massive wedding that would have costed me all what I have.
> 
> Unfortunately the visa was granted 6 months after we became legally married and instead of celebrating I was in mourning. The last straw was when that person tried to force me to live in Australia with them ONLY FOR A SINGLE YEAR then come back and live near their family abandoning my career and throwing me into the unknown. That specific demand was the last straw and it caused the relationship to end. I informed the immigration department that our relationship broke-down before making the initial entry but it was too late as I pocketed the emotional and the financial costs.
> 
> That person signed for 1446 - Withdrawal of a visa application- and was contacted by immigration to confirm the break-down of the relationship.
> 
> I recovered from that nightmare and I want to know what are my options if I'm going to sponsor someone else? Do I really need to wait for 5 years? I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who experienced this. I lost time, money, and even job promotions because of that destructive relationship.
> 
> I apologise for the emotional post and I'm really after some help here.
> 
> Merry Christmas!


----------



## SuperRoo

Hi Mark!

The reply was really helpful and I really appreciate coming back to me in no time 

I wasn't actually careless and I was aware of the 5 years thingy when I applied (i.e. my application was serious and genuine).

What literally happened that the person I was with just changed their mind and left. I can also prove how much time and money were invested in this relationship beyond the visa application fee.

Many thanks again and have a good one.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SuperRoo -

I understand - sounds like you may have a reasonable shot at a waiver if the circumstances that ended the previous relationship could be shown to be both unreasonable and beyond your control.

Best,

Mark Northam



SuperRoo said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> The reply was really helpful and I really appreciate coming back to me in no time
> 
> I wasn't actually careless and I was aware of the 5 years thingy when I applied (i.e. my application was serious and genuine).
> 
> What literally happened that the person I was with just changed their mind and left. I can also prove how much time and money were invested in this relationship beyond the visa application fee.
> 
> Many thanks again and have a good one.


----------



## HelloCookie

Hello Mark,

I am an Australian citizen, helping a Japanese friend look into options for getting Permanent Residence in Australia. She has lived here in Australia for around 5 years on various visas including working holiday, visitor and student visas (mostly just studying English I think). 

She is currently 29 years old and would like to settle in Australia permanently. Have spent many hours looking at government immigration websites and other sites with give information about immigration, including this one. Still a bit confused though about how the various visas work, so posting here.

The option which is most appealing to her at the moment is to study Cookery for 2 years at TAFE, then apply for one of the various visas that can lead to PR. 

Our main question at the moment is, which visa is she best to apply for after studying Cookery? Or at least what the pros and cons of each of them?

Looking at the employer sponsored visas, it seems she would need to have 3 years experience post-graduation and be offered a job paying over approximately $53000 per annum (can't remember exact figure right now) to qualify for those. So one option would be to work 1.5 years in Australia as a chef after graduating on a graduate visa, then go back to Japan and work there for 1.5 years to get 3 years experience. Or get a Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visa after the graduate visa, and get 3.5 years experience in Australia (1.5 years on a graduate visa, 2 years on a TSS visa). Seems though that it might be difficult to find a chef job paying $53K with just 3 years experience?

Then, there are the 189 and 190 visas. These seem a bit more viable, possibly. Have looked into how to apply for these, but have not found much information on what her chances are of these actually being granted. It seems they use a point system, so those with the most points get selected first, and as I said above she will be only starting to get experience as a chef after graduating. She has an IELTS score of minimum of 6.0 in all bands too. She will probably be 32 or 33 when she finishes her cookery course, depending if she starts early or mid next year. 

She is currently in Brisbane, but thinks her best option might be to study and work in Adelaide, as this will give her an extra 5 points for being in a regional area, giving her 60-65 points. 

If there are any other visa options we've missed, would appreciate being informed of them. 


I know PR is never guaranteed, but what are her rough chances of getting PR this way?


----------



## amthebestm

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Amthebestm -
> 
> Thanks for the note (am catching up on all outstanding posts from the last few weeks - please stay tuned!) - there are 2 things to consider: first, do both of the descriptions of tasks/duties align reasonably well with the ANZSCO standard tasks for your occupation, and second, are the two documents in any way in conflict with each other (which could lead to issues)? Also be sure to double check the requirements of your skills assessor as assessors have widely varying requirements for documents such as stat decs from co-workers/managers, etc in lieu of employer letters, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Mark thanks for your response.

Both the documents cover the ANZSCO code very well, and all the lines in them are almost same, except for the following lines mentioned here. Do you think this will cause an issue?

Declaration Doc:
Writing, updating and maintaining software application technical feature documentation, system call flow details and operational procedures for giving training to client.

Employment reference DOC:
Writing, updating and maintaining software application technical feature documentation, system call flow details and operational procedures for customer training purpose.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Declaration Doc:
Provide technical guidance to technical publication team and review the documents like software application features, software installation procedure and system workarounds.

Employment reference DOC:
Worked with Technical Writers to review the documents like software application features, software installation procedure and system workarounds.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Declaration Doc:
Track down and isolate problems, as well as give input on the functionality of new features.

Employment reference DOC:
Helped isolate problems as well as give input on the functionality of new features.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Declaration Doc:
Work with project team to provide the test automation scripts development hours efforts estimates.

Employment reference DOC:
Worked with the project team to provide the work estimate on test automation scripts and related activities.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## KoalaB

*Adding Child to Application? Help!*

Hi Mark,

How do I add a child to a PMV application that i've already submitted but not had a decision on?!

Thank you!!!


----------



## JoHam

*Possibly not being able to return for BVB in time*

HI Mark
first of all thank you for helping out

My partner currently has a BVB ending end of January as we are outside Australia. We applied for 461 visa in March'17. I have read a few things that may help us but just wanted to run it past someone...

If my partner does not return to Australia in January and our BVB And BVA is cancelled does this automatically cancel our 461 visa application or does this process continue?
Or could we stay outside of Australia until we have a grant date and return to Australia to be on land when it is approved? (he can enter Aus on automatic holiday visa)
I hope this is the case as our other option is to fly back to Australia and apply for a 6 month BVB and it could possibly get denied.

Also if the BVA and BVB got cancelled could this harm my future application for PR/Partner visa?

Thanks again!


----------



## seven

*residence requirtment*

Hi Mark

My Wife arrived in Australia on 2 Nov 2012 as working holiday visa and left Australia 31 Oct 2013. And then she got the visa 309 offshore and arrived Australia 8 Oct 2014.
She also travel oversea 15 days in 2015 and 20 days 2016 , and 31 days in 2017. We called Border before we travel this year. They said she can lodge in Nov 2017 base on Lawful Residence Date is 2 Nov 2012 , but we didn't apply in September because we are in oversea whole September. And now when I call 131 881, the officer say base on their system, Lawful Residence Date changed to 8 Oct 2014 therefore lodgement date is Aug 2018.
Could you please tell me what is wrong? Why she need wait another year because she only away one month this year?

Thanks
Seven


----------



## chongesx

Hi Mark,

Hoping you have some general advice on this. I'm keen to apply for my citizenship on the back of finishing up a section 10.

Apart from declaring this, is there anything else you can advise? I've just finished the bond period, so I'd be looking to apply in Jan.

Too soon?

Thanks, chonges


----------



## mmmg

Hi mark, 
I hope u r going well,
First of all, I’m on student visa and my study will finish in February 2018and my visa will expire in April 2018 , I applied 457 visa in may 2017 at the same time I applied for my wife who oversees (to add her on my student visa) but they refused her application because I was adding her with me on 457 visa application they said there is two application for her in the system , I haven’t got any response for 457 visa yet, and I don’t know how long will take to finalise it ...
How can I bring my wife which the best way to ? 

Regards ,
Saad


----------



## usmanchowdhry

Hi Mark

Hope you are fine. Need your guidance Please.

I have lodged my EOI in System Analyst on 16 August 2016 with 65 points and recently my degree is also assessed in Software Engineering, one lawyer told me that I can
UPDATE my PREVIOUS system Analyst EOI to Software Engineering. (So i can get early invitation bcz my old EOI number is lodged year ago)

DIBP and some reliable sources say's Yes, you can update the occupation any time, and may get early invitation because, I am not increasing my points therefore, once I’ll update it, how soon or how much time it would take to get me invitation? 

What’s your thought on this??


----------



## alip01

Hi Mark,

Merry Christmas!

I'm from the UK and have been offered a job in Brisbane, due to start in early January on a 457 visa. I was offered the job back in October, but there were a few delays getting the nomination for my visa submitted, so I was only able to submit my application on the 4th December.

I've already booked my flight to Australia for the 1st of January, but am now slightly worried that the 457 visa won't be approved in time due to Christmas.

Having done some research, it seems that I could apply for an ETA which would let me use my flight to Australia and then wait until the 457 visa is approved to start work. If the 457 visa isn't approved before the ETA expires I'd obviously need to leave the country. What do you think about doing this?

I think my other option would be to apply for a working holiday visa (I meet the requirements), but it seems as though the processing times for these can be a few weeks too.

Thanks,
Alistair


----------



## samo1390

9Dear Mark,

I've completed 2 years of studies physically in Australia. One year as an exchange student, course name International Exchange Program [031147B] - Course level - NON AQF AWARD. 1 year.

During this program, the subjects studied are exactly same as the Bachelor of Engineering i'm taking in Australia, as my uni is a branch campus outside Australia. (Swinburne University Sarawak Campus)

Another year as International Student- Bachelor of Engineering. 1 year. (Swinburne University Hawthorn Campus, Melb)

Does this meet the Australian Study Requirement?

Or should I not include it? To prevent the complications of false claim of points.

I have received invitation with this included. Should I proceed with it?>


----------



## djs_jag

*PTE Score error and 489 Application Withdrawl*

Hello Mark,

Hope you are well. I am new to the forum and need your advise on couple of things:

1. I have received Subclass 190 visa invite from DIBP but just realized that I mixed up my writing and speaking scores due to different ordering between online EOI form and PTE score card. It was an inadvertent error which does not affect my point score as my overall English level remains the same. I have checked my state sponsorship application and confirmed that state has got the correct scores (correct order).

Now when I go to apply for the visa, online visa application form picks up English language ability from relevant EOI and does not show the individual scores rather it shows my English level which is "Proficient".

Can you please suggest how should I proceed with my application? Do I need to inform DIBP about this or should just go ahead with my application? If I need to inform them, can you please advise the process.

2. I have also applied for Subclass 489 (family sponsored) visa last month but has not been assigned a case officer yet. Now I have got invite for 190 Visa. Before applying for 190 visa do I need to withdraw my 489 visa application or can I submit 190 keeping 489? 
In case need to withdraw it, I was reading somewhere that a form 1446 needs to filled and uploaded into online application.I have checked my 489 application in IMMI account and it allows to upload a document but only under "others" category, no other category is available. Can you please advise where and how to send this form if required?

Look forward to your response. Thanks


----------



## Ulrik R. L.

*Student Visa trouble*

Hi Mark! I recently submitted my student visa through the "immi" page. The next day i discovered that i had chosen "higher education" instead of "non-award", which I assume is the correct one. I am an exchange-student, leaving for Australia to study from the end of January to early July, as part of my bachelors degree in Norway.

By selecting higher education the processing time is over 50days, (non award is 5) and I assume it will be rejected. I have of course notified them about my mistake through immi. However, i wonder if you have any experience with this problem? will it take them long to discover my mistake, and correct it- and thus speed up the processing time? As you understand, i do not have 50 days. 
Thank you for any tips and help.

Best wishes Ulrik


----------



## waqas15

hello mate,
i have 4 Years BCS degree
2 Years Master Degree in MS Software Engineer
i Have 4 years 8 months Work exprn in Software Engineer
My Ielts Score: L 7.5,R 8,S 6, W 6.5
My Question is Can i Apply ACS for Assessment for my Work Exprn or Wait untill i complete my 5 Years for work Exprience


----------



## Doc2020

*Visitor Visa subclass 600*

Hello,

I'm from Egypt, living in the UK on a Tier 2 general work visa.

I've submitted my application for Visitor Visa subclass 600 to visit Australia on 17/11/2017. The current processing times is 16-29 days. I'm now approaching 29 days and still application status is "Received".

My questions are:

- The processing times, are those working days or just calendar days?

- What should I do if it stays as Received over next few days? Who should I contact?

Many thanks


----------



## AntonioS

Hello Mark,

I applied for a student visa subclass 500 with an OSHC cover from 29/01/2018 to 28/07/2018. After my visa was granted, I changed my OSHC cover to 29/12/2017 to 28/07/2018, because I wanted to arrive earlier in Australia. 
My question is: Do I need to notify DIBP about this change or is it okay to just arrive with the new OSHC certificate (my visa has no entry date)? And if I do need to notify them, how can I do that? I thought about form 1022 but I'm not sure where to send it to.

Thanks,
Antonio.


----------



## Kolawole

Hi. Thanks for helping,I got a student visa refusal due Clause 500.212. What do I do please help,,my school starts on January


----------



## nivaem

Hi Mark

We (me and my wife) are currently in Australia on 457 Visa for around 1 year. 

My spouse (on Dependent 457 Visa) is currently employed by an Australia based company and her employer is willing to sponsor her 186 Visa (Direct Entry Stream).

My question is whether her employer can sponsor her 186 PR Visa (Direct Entry Stream) despite she currently being on 457 Dependent Visa? Or does the applicant (for Direct Entry 186 Visa) need to be primary 457 Visa holder?


----------



## trickydick

*804 enquiry*

Hi Mark
We lodged a 804 last May 2017 we received a Acknowledgment and a Bridging Visa A .

We travelled back to the Uk in June 2017 on our 651 and expect to return permanently to OZ in March 2018 2 weeks before our 651 is finished.

Will the original Bridging Visa kick back in automatically or do we need to re-instate it if we need to re-instate it how do we do this. do we contact Perth Parents Centre or Department if Imm and by what means.

Really getting worried re this Visa 804 being cancelled as seems to be the vibe. What would happen to us would we be kicked out of Australia or d
o they just close it to new applications.

If this happened before we return in March 2018 permanently whilst still under the conditions of the 651 again what do you think would its implication be for us Do we just return under the A BV
thankyou sooooo much for being able to help us and we really do appreciate it


----------



## utkarsh

Hi Mark,

I am working on my application for 189 Visa. I need help in assessing my relevant experience due to my trade apprenticeship. 

I completed a 3 year bachelor degree in 2010 which turns out to be ICT major. Then completed a trade apprenticeship of 4 years, basically an on job training, For which I got a masters degree in 2014. And I have been working in the industry since then. So 3 years of working experience.

During apprenticeship , I worked for around 200 hours/month with the company which is specified as my project work in my testimonial.

My question is (finally!) : Will I be able to use my experience at my trade apprenticeship in my skill point assessment? 
Will it be 7 years of relevant experience or 3?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## bappi2k3

Hi Mark,

I will apply for 887 from 489 in February. I have following question regarding the application.

01. When i came to my designated regional area i stayed with my brother-in-law as a guest for two week.that time my brother-in-law live in a rented house. Can i include that 2 weeks as stay in regional area for two years.
02. If i include that two weeks what kind of document i have to submit.
03. If i don't what i will write on the application about that two weeks

Thanks in advance


----------



## Bob8

*Offshore Partner Visa - visitor or bridging visa for waiting time?*

Hi Mark,
Wanting to bring my partner to Australia and looking at the Offshore Partner visa (309/100) and the Prospective Marriage visa.

When we are in the queue waiting, is there another type of visa we can use in the meantime e.g. visitor visa so she can stay here in the meantime? I read she is supposed to be offshore when applying and when the decision is made, so not sure if or how this could work.

And what would happen if she is in the country on the tourist or other visa when the partner or PMV visa decision is made? Does it mean she can just leave the country then come back in on the new visa?

thanks

Bob


----------



## Mandimo87

*Help needed*

Hi Mark,

We have quite a complex case and have appointed a solicitor in London to assist us with an offshore partner visa to australia. He promised us the world so to say and as soon as he got his final payment (before lodging) his attitude has changed dramatically. He doesn't respond to emails as often. Continuously tells me how busy he is with other clients and how complex the other cases he is working on is (last thing i want to hear!). Always delaying getting anything done. Tells me that i have "drained all his energy" and i need to stop contacting him so much. It has been 5 months since we lodged and he didn't even upload all the forms required, i didn't know this until now because the case officer has asked for additional information and it turns out he hadn't uploaded anything on to our application except the main form. No evidence, nothing. He spoke to us on the phone and promised he would get it all done in a couple of weeks and when i spoke to him a couple of weeks later he acted like he didn't know what we were talking about and said he couldn't be rushed and that we should be grateful we are together anyways. He constantly talks down to me, is rude and shrugs us off. He holds all the power as we've already paid him and our case is complex enough that i'm not sure if we can go it alone. 
Is there anything i can do? What are my rights? If i was wanting to change solicitors at this point would i have lost all the fees i paid him? I feel we are in the most vulnerable position and we have someone who holds all the power over us and is making sure we know it. Its disheartening to be treated like this at such a stressful time in our lives. Any advice would be appreciated. We paid him a lot of money.


----------



## louiseb

Hi mark child visa on fostering grandson what’s the procedure he is 4minths old and currently in foster care in uk thanks louiseb


----------



## jsabarish

*190 visa - work experience docs*

Hey Mark,

I will be soon lodging a 190 visa. I am not claiming any points for work experience. I have a total of 5 plus years of experience out of which 4 years have been deducted by ACS.

Should I be submitting work experience documents even though I am not claiming any points?

Thanks


----------



## kei

Hi Mark

Just wanna say thanks for the help and advice you have provided because my 801 partner visa has been granted a few days ago! It's been a long journey since we applied in Dec 2014. We are so excited and still haven;t sunk in yet

We have a few questions and hope you can assist once more

1) I am aware that there is a new rule this year saying that to get citizenship, you now have to stay here for 4 years out of 5 years (instead of old 1 year rule) but because the law hasn't passed in yet, so my partner is still within the 1 year rule, is that correct? 

2) If so, does that mean once she stay until Dec 2018 next year, she can apply the Aussie passport citizen WITHOUT leaving the country (like for holiday or something)? If she leaves overseas for holiday next year, say for 2 months, then it will be postponed to Feb 2019 to be eligible to apply citizenship?

3) So what is next after 801? Like anything do we need to submit further like for 820/801? And can we throw all the receipts away since we have stacked alot in the past few years?

4) I am aware for the citizenship test now is much harder and I see somewhere that you can ONLY fail 3 times. Is it for the whole time you are allowed to fail 3 times? Or its within a certain period of time after you failed 3 times, you can resit the test again?

Thank you very much once again

Cheers


----------



## fatima14

hey Mark, 

I lodged my offshore partner visa last month online..but in the visa application i by mistake gave the date of marriage as the date of our wedding,,,later i updated my application.but i wanted to know will this error delay my process of getting approved.

please help!


----------



## Kab1

*Wrong family info in form 80*

Hi Mark,
I had gotten my PR around 2 years back. Now I was about apply for visit visa for my parents. I come to know that I filled up wrong date of birth of my parents while filling up form 80 during PR application as they didn't have passport at that time. Now they have the passport and the date of birth is different from then. 
Does this affect while applying the visit visa? If yes what could I do to solve this problem?
Thanks


----------



## shizen

*How to find old visa records?*

Hi Mark,

Thanks so much for offering direct advice for us. My question is quite simple, but for some reason it's really difficult navigating the DIBP's website.

My situation:

I'm currently on the 1st stage of applying for the 820 Partner Visa, but I'm the 2nd person my partner has sponsored. His ex-girlfriend was sponsored successfully around 7-9 years ago, back when it was a paper application. The problem is that both of them don't have any clue as to when the visa was granted or any reference number that they might have received (details asked in the application I'm working on now). Unfortunately she shredded all the documentation when she became an Australian citizen.

Do you know who I (or my partner's ex-girlfriend) can contact to find this old, inactive visa information? I've tried calling, filling out different enquiry forms, but no luck.

Thank you very much!


----------



## pizza

Hi Mark,

My sister came on WHV last year and she left in October when the visa runs out (not illegal). 

Now my parents are coming to Australia next year (they have 3 years multiple entry tourist visa), and I'm wondering if it's okay for my sister to apply for another tourist visa considering she just spent nearly 1 year in Australia on WHV? They will be staying for only 2 weeks-ish.

Not sure if this helps but she also had three years multiple entry tourist visa prior to the grant of her WHV, and I am an Australian citizen.

Thank you


----------



## Sukhwinder Sambhi

Hi Mark,

I did Bachelors of Business Administration from London School of Management. But some reasons that college has closed permanently. Does my degree qualify for PR point in Australia or not?
Thanks in advance.


----------



## pilger23

What are parent visa options with an adult unmarried dependant?

And on visit can we include an adult dependent?


----------



## c200

Hi Mark!

I was granted PR (801) a few months ago. My parents would like to visit me for a few months. Would it be better for them to apply through the tourist stream or the sponsored family stream?

Further, am I able to lodge the application on their behalf using my immiaccount? I read on the DIBP website that as their child I am authorized to make the application just not sure whether I should use my immiaccount or make a new one for them.

Hope you have a merry Christmas and a wonderful new year!

Thank you!


----------



## tsubaki

Hi Mark! Thank you so much for everything you do on this forum. I know it's Christmas Eve but I'm freaking out about my 820 application and as I couldn't find a clear answer to this, I'm posting here. I'd appreciate your help!

I have been married to my Australian husband for 2 years+, we were living abroad and we are expecting a child in less than a month. I had a eVisitor visa granted in December last year (without the "No further stay" condition). We had decided at the last moment to give birth in Australia and then apply for 820. So I entered Australia lawfully while my e-visitor was still valid at the beginning of December, and my visa states I can stay 3 month after the entry. The visa expired 10 days ago. (The "must not entry by" date was 10 days ago). We were so busy with everything that we haven't lodged the 820 yet. My question is: at this moment, can I still apply for partner visa? Do I still satisfy the "holding a substantive visa" condition? It's my understanding that I'm lawfully in Australia as we entered before the expiry date of the visa and can stay for 3 months, but do I still "hold a substantive visa" if the visa technically expired? Pls help... 
I think I'm ready with the application, but should I still lodge it? 

Thank you so much and Merry Christmas to everybody!


----------



## anabanana143

Hello Mark! Hope you can give me some advice regarding my situation here. I have a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, and a Master's degree in Materials Science & Engineering. Will EA recognize if I filed for the CRD pathway as Materials Engineer?

Thank you very much and I hoping to get some much needed input here.


----------



## ITJunkie

*Advice needed for EOI update*

Hi,

Recently I was able to upgrade my PTE points. I have two tricky questions:

1. I am a Bachelor in Science + Master in Computer Application graduate from India with a Microsoft degree.

ACS appraised me "Your Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer from Microsoft completed September 2016 has
been assessed as comparable to an AQF Diploma with a major in computing." and "Your Master in Computer Applications from North Orissa University completed April 2002 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Master Degree with a major in computing."

Q: What should I apply in EOI, so far I entered: Bachelor in Science + Master in Computer Application.
I want to avoid any misunderstanding by the case officer.

2. ACS appraised me of my experience from May 2007 till date, although I have started working from Feb' 2003. I am not concerned about experience as it still more than 10 years in the same code, same field.

Q: I entered all my professional years starting from Feb' 2003. Is it fine for the Case officer?

I appreciate your valuable feedback. I know it might take time for you to read this and will wait for suggestions.
Wish you a happy new year ahead.

Thanks,
Sivadutta


----------



## Ardy

*Risk of Visa 820 application being cancelled while offshore with BVB*

Hi Mark,

It's been 6 months since I lodged my wife's Spouse Visa (820) and we completed the medical check up and police report on early December. My wife is a Hepatitis B Carrier and we declared it during the medical check up and had undergone liver function test.

Now currently her application status is "Health assessed- wait for further advice".

The problem is now our migration agent strongly advice us not to travel outside Australia until the health matter is being cleared.

However its going to be hard, since we just had our baby (now australian citizen) and wanting to bring her to meet our family overseas, we also have family wedding to attend to in short time.

My wife already being granted her bridging visa B (BVB) until 22 february 2018.

Our agent told us that there are cases they have encountered where Australian Immigration simply refused their client's application while offshore on BVB. In that case, you dont have the chance to appeal.

With that tragedy back in mind, me and my wife currently restrain ourselves to travel. However due to my dad heath that being declining, I really wanted to bring my wife and baby to see him

Is this commonly happens to applicants that were traveling on BVB and got their visa refused ? Dont We have any options to appeal if such things happen?

Thank you for inputs and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Kind Regards,

Ardy


----------



## ashie4ya

My husband has applied for the Partner Visa online. We have attached all documents required. My husband has received an automatic email granting the bridging a visa. There is no place where it says submitted all documents. The status of the application says 'received'. I just wanted to know if that is correct and we don't have to press submitted application and how long does the application get granted?


----------



## hong132

*Urgent! Need help about 5 points australia study*

Hi Mark,

I urgently need your help!

And this is my query about 2-year Australia study. I am planning to apply for 189 visa but confused about 5 points for 2-year Australian education. All of my listed awards are earned in Australia and delivered and assessed in English.

Firstly, I have a *Master degree with registered CRICOS of 104 weeks *from *20 July 2015 to 13 January 2017*. My Master award stated that the course is equal to *96 units and 2-year study*. I received the exemption of 24 units towards my previous bachelor degree in my home country. I am required to finish the degree by 60 units and are equal to *60/96*104= 65 weeks.*

Secondly, from *11 July 2016 to 23 December 2016 *(my last semester with Master degree), I earned the *Diploma of Interpreting* with registered *CRICOS of 30 weeks.*

So my study is *95 weeks in total *and some agents said I can claim 5 points as satisfying the below requirements: 
be registered through the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Course for Overseas Students (CRICOS)
have been completed in a total of at least 16 calendar months
have been completed as a result of at least two academic years of study
have given all instruction in English
have been completed while you were physically in Australia
have been completed while you held a visa authorising you to study in Australia.

But some said no due to the extended breakdown here 
homeaffairs.gov.au/Trav/Work/Work/Allocation-dates-for-General-Skilled-Migration-applications/2-year-study#study

If you fall short of the 92 weeks of study due to exemptions you have received, you have several options to meet the Australian study requirement. Options could include:

have the university rescind the exemptions so you must now successfully complete these subjects to be awarded your qualification
complete additional units that are at the same level as the exempted units (or higher) and which are accepted by the university as award units for the qualification, such as an elective unit.
Note: If the education provider specifies the units as 'Non-Award' units, then these units will not be able to count towards meeting the Australian study requirement. Also the additional units would need to be of sufficient registered CRICOS duration to take you to a total of 92 weeks of registered study.
Also note: The academic transcript should indicate that the elective is contributing towards the award of the degree for this unit to be counted towards meeting the Australian study requirement to ensure that there is no doubt about the electives being part of the award of the qualification
complete an additional qualification that is closely related to the occupation you nominate on your General Skilled Migration application. This additional qualification must be of sufficient CRICOS registered duration to make up for the exempted units from the students course(s).'

But I study the two different courses even the two courses are really beneficial to each other in my field.

So, am I eligible to claim 5 points for 2-year Australia study for visa 189 and 190?
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you for any suggestions! Happy New Year!

Best regards,
Hong


----------



## ricapanda

*Overlapping work experience*

Hi Mark,

Hope you can enlighten me on this.

Will it be an issue on Vetasses if I have two jobs overlapped by 5 days? Both jobs will be subjects for Vetasses assesment because they are related.

The reason why they overlapped was because I filed a leave on the last five days on the first and started to work on the second job.

I will submit the documents to them but i'm not sure if i need to explain or submit any docs.

Please help me on this. Thank you.


----------



## mhclarke

*820 onshore - working rights question!?*

Hi!

I have applied for my permanent residency and it is currently being processed. At this moment in time I am on a Working Holiday Visa, which expires on the 27th of July. I have already had been granted my Bridging Visa A which comes into affect when my WHV expires.

I know that on my WHV I can only work for 6 months at a time. With the Bridging Visa, I have full working rights. So, my question is;

If I start employment on the 27th of Jan 2018 or after this date, can I stay working there more than 6 months? Because 6 months employment will mark the end of my WHV and the start of my bridging visa!

I have an interview on Thursday, so wanting to know in case I am (hopefully) offered the job.

Thanks so much
Megan


----------



## kamal28

Hi MARK- need some advise as i am really confused and depressed now my query is I am australian permanent visa holder and will be applying my citizenship in march 2018 on the other hand I applied my wife spouse visa( PR visa) on 24th dec as we recently got MARRIED on 19th nov but now the tricky situation starts that my wife is 3 weeks pregnant and she will be COMING on tourist visa in March to australia and of course I want my baby to born here so that he or she can get AUSTRALIAN citizen ship straight away but my consultant told me if she gave birth here and till then her file doesnt open you have to pay around 30 Thousand $ for her expense so now can you please guide what should I do Will i be able to use public hospitals in Melbourne as they are cheap and secondly let's say my baby born back home in india and I will apply his P.R and when he can APPLY his citizen ship because I am THINKING to move india due to some personal reasons but i want want before moving he SHOULD get his Australian passport.


----------



## sree.cnn1

*187 Visa Processing time*

Hi Mark,
It would be great if you could advice on the below queries.

1. Processing time for 187 Visa. application was lodged on 10 April 2017. (Medicals and PCC not asked)

2. My Son's passport is expiring on March 2018 and his visa application is also under process. Should I renew or how it is ?

Regards
Sree


----------



## sree.cnn1

Hi Mark, kindly guide me through the below queries.

1. I applied for 187 visa (offshore) on April 10th 2017. When can I except the medicals and then visa approval.

2. My son's passport is getting expired on march 2018 where his visa application is also under processing. Should I renew the passport and if so does it affect his visa processing.

Regards
Sree


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ashie4ya -

This is normal - since there is no exact formula for the type of documents submitted when it comes to relationship evidence, etc the system will not be able to "detect" when you are done uploading evidence. Note that you also need to lodge the online 40SP form, which is under New Applications, Family, "Sponsor a Partner..." and submit that one. Grant of a bridging visa means DHA (formerly DIBP) has received your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashie4ya said:


> My husband has applied for the Partner Visa online. We have attached all documents required. My husband has received an automatic email granting the bridging a visa. There is no place where it says submitted all documents. The status of the application says 'received'. I just wanted to know if that is correct and we don't have to press submitted application and how long does the application get granted?


----------



## illuminates

Hello Mark! 
I have a Student visa (subclass 500) as PhD student. I will be PhD student still three-four years.
But what after? I think I may get Temporary Graduate Visa (sub-type 485) for four years. And I want to work in a university as PostDoc or lector.
After that, there is 186, 189, 190 and Temporary Skilled Shortage (TSS) visa. But if I will be work as PostDoc may I expect only on 186 from university (in MLTSSL isn't included any university professions)?

So If I want to get 189, 190 or TSS, I will have to go on some MLTSSL professional for one year (for example IT) after PhD?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hong -

Thanks for the note. Your circumstances are too complex to give a quick answer to on the forum - happy to assist at a consultation where we'd have the time to work through all the various issues involved - the regs and policy in this area can be complex. Please see my website link below in my signature for more details re consultations including online booking.

Best,

Mark Northam



hong132 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I urgently need your help!
> 
> And this is my query about 2-year Australia study. I am planning to apply for 189 visa but confused about 5 points for 2-year Australian education. All of my listed awards are earned in Australia and delivered and assessed in English.
> 
> Firstly, I have a *Master degree with registered CRICOS of 104 weeks *from *20 July 2015 to 13 January 2017*. My Master award stated that the course is equal to *96 units and 2-year study*. I received the exemption of 24 units towards my previous bachelor degree in my home country. I am required to finish the degree by 60 units and are equal to *60/96*104= 65 weeks.*
> 
> Secondly, from *11 July 2016 to 23 December 2016 *(my last semester with Master degree), I earned the *Diploma of Interpreting* with registered *CRICOS of 30 weeks.*
> 
> So my study is *95 weeks in total *and some agents said I can claim 5 points as satisfying the below requirements:
> be registered through the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Course for Overseas Students (CRICOS)
> have been completed in a total of at least 16 calendar months
> have been completed as a result of at least two academic years of study
> have given all instruction in English
> have been completed while you were physically in Australia
> have been completed while you held a visa authorising you to study in Australia.
> 
> But some said no due to the extended breakdown here
> homeaffairs.gov.au/Trav/Work/Work/Allocation-dates-for-General-Skilled-Migration-applications/2-year-study#study
> 
> If you fall short of the 92 weeks of study due to exemptions you have received, you have several options to meet the Australian study requirement. Options could include:
> 
> have the university rescind the exemptions so you must now successfully complete these subjects to be awarded your qualification
> complete additional units that are at the same level as the exempted units (or higher) and which are accepted by the university as award units for the qualification, such as an elective unit.
> Note: If the education provider specifies the units as 'Non-Award' units, then these units will not be able to count towards meeting the Australian study requirement. Also the additional units would need to be of sufficient registered CRICOS duration to take you to a total of 92 weeks of registered study.
> Also note: The academic transcript should indicate that the elective is contributing towards the award of the degree for this unit to be counted towards meeting the Australian study requirement to ensure that there is no doubt about the electives being part of the award of the qualification
> complete an additional qualification that is closely related to the occupation you nominate on your General Skilled Migration application. This additional qualification must be of sufficient CRICOS registered duration to make up for the exempted units from the students course(s).'
> 
> But I study the two different courses even the two courses are really beneficial to each other in my field.
> 
> So, am I eligible to claim 5 points for 2-year Australia study for visa 189 and 190?
> I am looking forward to hearing from you.
> Thank you for any suggestions! Happy New Year!
> 
> Best regards,
> Hong


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ricapanda -

Thanks for the note. I'd explain the circumstances (ie, one job on leave, the other one starting, etc) to VETASSESS to avoid any confusion. I would need to get more info about your circumstances, but suggest that you may not want to claim the overlap days as full time employment for both jobs for points purposes if that's relevant to your application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ricapanda said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you can enlighten me on this.
> 
> Will it be an issue on Vetasses if I have two jobs overlapped by 5 days? Both jobs will be subjects for Vetasses assesment because they are related.
> 
> The reason why they overlapped was because I filed a leave on the last five days on the first and started to work on the second job.
> 
> I will submit the documents to them but i'm not sure if i need to explain or submit any docs.
> 
> Please help me on this. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Megan -

Thanks for the note. DHA (formerly DIBP) has in place a waiver program so if you have lodged an application for a visa that would allow you to work full time once your BVA activates such as a partner visa, 457 (for the same employer you're with now) and some others, you can request a waiver of the 6-month WHV work limitation to enable you to work more than 6 months for that employer while you wait for your BVA to activate. See DHA form 1445 for complete details. In any case however, once your BVA activates, you are no longer subject to the WHV or any of the limitations of that visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mhclarke said:


> Hi!
> 
> I have applied for my permanent residency and it is currently being processed. At this moment in time I am on a Working Holiday Visa, which expires on the 27th of July. I have already had been granted my Bridging Visa A which comes into affect when my WHV expires.
> 
> I know that on my WHV I can only work for 6 months at a time. With the Bridging Visa, I have full working rights. So, my question is;
> 
> If I start employment on the 27th of Jan 2018 or after this date, can I stay working there more than 6 months? Because 6 months employment will mark the end of my WHV and the start of my bridging visa!
> 
> I have an interview on Thursday, so wanting to know in case I am (hopefully) offered the job.
> 
> Thanks so much
> Megan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kamal28 -

Thanks for the note. Be very careful of unregistered "consultants" as they are not required generally to be up to date on the latest migration laws, regulations and policies the way registered migration agents are. Sure, they're cheap, but as they say... you usually get what you pay for.

The key here is that you don't know when you will actually become a citizen - if the baby is born after you become a citizen, the baby can become a citizen regardless of where the baby is born. If the baby is born before you become a citizen, then you can sponsor the baby for a Child Visa since you are an Australian PR. There are onshore and offshore versions of the child visa so in some cases people have the child enter Australia on a visitor visa and then, assuming there is no 8503 (no further stay) condition on the child's visitor visa, lodge an onshore child visa for the child which grants a bridging visa so the child can remain here indefinitely while the child visa is being decided.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kamal28 said:


> Hi MARK- need some advise as i am really confused and depressed now my query is I am australian permanent visa holder and will be applying my citizenship in march 2018 on the other hand I applied my wife spouse visa( PR visa) on 24th dec as we recently got MARRIED on 19th nov but now the tricky situation starts that my wife is 3 weeks pregnant and she will be COMING on tourist visa in March to australia and of course I want my baby to born here so that he or she can get AUSTRALIAN citizen ship straight away but my consultant told me if she gave birth here and till then her file doesnt open you have to pay around 30 Thousand $ for her expense so now can you please guide what should I do Will i be able to use public hospitals in Melbourne as they are cheap and secondly let's say my baby born back home in india and I will apply his P.R and when he can APPLY his citizen ship because I am THINKING to move india due to some personal reasons but i want want before moving he SHOULD get his Australian passport.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sree -

Unfortunately DIBP processing times are unpredictable at the moment - especially for RSMS with big changes coming in March for that visa. These used to be approved in 3-6 months, but now 9-12 is not unusual. The big question we're all looking at now: when the occupation list for the RSMS changes in March 2018, what will happen to all the undecided applications that are for occupations no longer eligible for the visa? Will they be grandfathered in and still be able to be processed or not? DHA (formerly DIBP) is not clear on this, and it's got a lot of people concerned.

Suggest you consider renewing the passport since only 3 months left on it - once you have the new passport, just lodge form 929 with your application to advise DIBP of the new passport info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sree.cnn1 said:


> Hi Mark, kindly guide me through the below queries.
> 
> 1. I applied for 187 visa (offshore) on April 10th 2017. When can I except the medicals and then visa approval.
> 
> 2. My son's passport is getting expired on march 2018 where his visa application is also under processing. Should I renew the passport and if so does it affect his visa processing.
> 
> Regards
> Sree


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kab1 -

Thanks for the note. As your PR visa has now been granted, it's too late to amend your Form 80 for that old application. If the issue comes up with any future visas for them, I would write DHA a letter advising the circumstances and that you were mistaken about their date of birth. I don't think that would represent any sort of a serious problem as long as DHA didn't think you were trying to conceal or deceive with the old Form 80 - expect there will be no issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kab1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I had gotten my PR around 2 years back. Now I was about apply for visit visa for my parents. I come to know that I filled up wrong date of birth of my parents while filling up form 80 during PR application as they didn't have passport at that time. Now they have the passport and the date of birth is different from then.
> Does this affect while applying the visit visa? If yes what could I do to solve this problem?
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shizen -

Thanks for the note. I expect the only hope is for your sponsor to use form 424a and lodge a Freedom of Information request for the previous partner visa application. Since he's only the sponsor most of the info will likely be redacted (ie, info about the applicant), but there may be enough identifying info on there to get what you need. If this isn't possible, I'd upload a letter advising all known information about the previous application and advise that you and the sponsor do not have any further information available at the moment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shizen said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks so much for offering direct advice for us. My question is quite simple, but for some reason it's really difficult navigating the DIBP's website.
> 
> My situation:
> 
> I'm currently on the 1st stage of applying for the 820 Partner Visa, but I'm the 2nd person my partner has sponsored. His ex-girlfriend was sponsored successfully around 7-9 years ago, back when it was a paper application. The problem is that both of them don't have any clue as to when the visa was granted or any reference number that they might have received (details asked in the application I'm working on now). Unfortunately she shredded all the documentation when she became an Australian citizen.
> 
> Do you know who I (or my partner's ex-girlfriend) can contact to find this old, inactive visa information? I've tried calling, filling out different enquiry forms, but no luck.
> 
> Thank you very much!


----------



## illuminates

addition to my question above:
My wife arrived in Australia with me and working now (her job presents in MLTSSL). Now her working visa is linked to my student visa. Maybe does she has more chance to submit to 189, 190 visas?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pizza (now you're making me hungry!!) -

There is no particular bar to your sister requesting another visitor visa - it will be the case officer's discretion whether or not she has spent "too much" time to still be considered a genuine visitor. Suggest you review the Genuine Visitor policy and include a letter showing all the incentives she has to return to her home country after the visit, note her positive immigration history, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pizza said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My sister came on WHV last year and she left in October when the visa runs out (not illegal).
> 
> Now my parents are coming to Australia next year (they have 3 years multiple entry tourist visa), and I'm wondering if it's okay for my sister to apply for another tourist visa considering she just spent nearly 1 year in Australia on WHV? They will be staying for only 2 weeks-ish.
> 
> Not sure if this helps but she also had three years multiple entry tourist visa prior to the grant of her WHV, and I am an Australian citizen.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sukhwinder -

Assuming the degree granting body was accredited in its home country at the time the degree was conferred, you'd have to enquire with the skills assessor for your nominated occupation to see if/how the degree will be considered.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sukhwinder Sambhi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I did Bachelors of Business Administration from London School of Management. But some reasons that college has closed permanently. Does my degree qualify for PR point in Australia or not?
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pilger23 -

Thanks for the note. Re parent visa, it all depends on the age of the dependant and the reason for the dependancy. Generally speaking for visas that allow dependent applicants, age over 23 is not able to be included unless the dependent applicant is dependent because they are incapacitated for work (ie, disabled, etc). For adult dependents between age 18-23, will need to establish that the dependant is primarily dependent on the applicant for financial support. Other policy applies - suggest you get professional assistance if you are seeking to add a dependent adult applicant to a visa application, especially if the applicant is working full time, etc which can be an issue.

Not possible to have any sort of dependents on a visitor visa application - every person must apply for their own visa in a family, etc re visitor visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pilger23 said:


> What are parent visa options with an adult unmarried dependant?
> 
> And on visit can we include an adult dependent?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi c200 -

Thanks for the note. All depends on the risk level of the applications - ie, for relatively low risk applications for parents, visitor visa (visitor stream) is find. For higher risk application situations, the sponsored family visitor stream might be a better choice - all depends on the particular circumstances.

You can use your own immiaccount or make a new one, fine either way.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



c200 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I was granted PR (801) a few months ago. My parents would like to visit me for a few months. Would it be better for them to apply through the tourist stream or the sponsored family stream?
> 
> Further, am I able to lodge the application on their behalf using my immiaccount? I read on the DIBP website that as their child I am authorized to make the application just not sure whether I should use my immiaccount or make a new one for them.
> 
> Hope you have a merry Christmas and a wonderful new year!
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tsubaki -

As long as the visa is still in effect (check online on DHA's VEVO system to be sure), you can still lodge an onshore partner visa application and avoid the issue of Schedule 3 which is activated if you lodge an onshore partner visa application while holding only a bridging visa, or not holding any visa at all. Normally the must enter by date is not the expiration date of a visa, but would need to examine your visa in order to give you any specific advice for your case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tsubaki said:


> Hi Mark! Thank you so much for everything you do on this forum. I know it's Christmas Eve but I'm freaking out about my 820 application and as I couldn't find a clear answer to this, I'm posting here. I'd appreciate your help!
> 
> I have been married to my Australian husband for 2 years+, we were living abroad and we are expecting a child in less than a month. I had a eVisitor visa granted in December last year (without the "No further stay" condition). We had decided at the last moment to give birth in Australia and then apply for 820. So I entered Australia lawfully while my e-visitor was still valid at the beginning of December, and my visa states I can stay 3 month after the entry. The visa expired 10 days ago. (The "must not entry by" date was 10 days ago). We were so busy with everything that we haven't lodged the 820 yet. My question is: at this moment, can I still apply for partner visa? Do I still satisfy the "holding a substantive visa" condition? It's my understanding that I'm lawfully in Australia as we entered before the expiry date of the visa and can stay for 3 months, but do I still "hold a substantive visa" if the visa technically expired? Pls help...
> I think I'm ready with the application, but should I still lodge it?
> 
> Thank you so much and Merry Christmas to everybody!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anabanana143 -

Thanks for the note. Normally EA looks primarily at your bachelor degree, however no good way to predict how they will handle your situation - suggest you call them and see if they can give you some input on whether your Masters degree will be helpful in establishing a relevant qualification.

Best,

Mark Northam



anabanana143 said:


> Hello Mark! Hope you can give me some advice regarding my situation here. I have a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, and a Master's degree in Materials Science & Engineering. Will EA recognize if I filed for the CRD pathway as Materials Engineer?
> 
> Thank you very much and I hoping to get some much needed input here.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sivadutta -

Thanks for the note. Would need to discuss this in more detail with you at a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case as the regulations in this area can be complex - too many factors to determine in a quick forum answer. Please see link to my website below in my signature for more info and to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



ITJunkie said:


> Hi,
> 
> Recently I was able to upgrade my PTE points. I have two tricky questions:
> 
> 1. I am a Bachelor in Science + Master in Computer Application graduate from India with a Microsoft degree.
> 
> ACS appraised me "Your Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer from Microsoft completed September 2016 has
> been assessed as comparable to an AQF Diploma with a major in computing." and "Your Master in Computer Applications from North Orissa University completed April 2002 has been assessed as comparable to an AQF Master Degree with a major in computing."
> 
> Q: What should I apply in EOI, so far I entered: Bachelor in Science + Master in Computer Application.
> I want to avoid any misunderstanding by the case officer.
> 
> 2. ACS appraised me of my experience from May 2007 till date, although I have started working from Feb' 2003. I am not concerned about experience as it still more than 10 years in the same code, same field.
> 
> Q: I entered all my professional years starting from Feb' 2003. Is it fine for the Case officer?
> 
> I appreciate your valuable feedback. I know it might take time for you to read this and will wait for suggestions.
> Wish you a happy new year ahead.
> 
> Thanks,
> Sivadutta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ardy -

Thanks for the note. Sounds like your agent needs to refresh himself or herself on sections 338 and 347 of the _Migration Act 1958 _(Cth). A refusal of an 820 would fall under section 338(2), and if you look at section 347, you'll note that the applicant must be onshore at the time the application for review is made (see 347(3)). If the visa is refused while you are offshore, your Bridging Visa B remains intact until its expiration date. That means in the event of a refusal, the applicant will need to get back to Australia by the AAT deadline (21 days after notification generally) to lodge an AAT review while onshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ardy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> It's been 6 months since I lodged my wife's Spouse Visa (820) and we completed the medical check up and police report on early December. My wife is a Hepatitis B Carrier and we declared it during the medical check up and had undergone liver function test.
> 
> Now currently her application status is "Health assessed- wait for further advice".
> 
> The problem is now our migration agent strongly advice us not to travel outside Australia until the health matter is being cleared.
> 
> However its going to be hard, since we just had our baby (now australian citizen) and wanting to bring her to meet our family overseas, we also have family wedding to attend to in short time.
> 
> My wife already being granted her bridging visa B (BVB) until 22 february 2018.
> 
> Our agent told us that there are cases they have encountered where Australian Immigration simply refused their client's application while offshore on BVB. In that case, you dont have the chance to appeal.
> 
> With that tragedy back in mind, me and my wife currently restrain ourselves to travel. However due to my dad heath that being declining, I really wanted to bring my wife and baby to see him
> 
> Is this commonly happens to applicants that were traveling on BVB and got their visa refused ? Dont We have any options to appeal if such things happen?
> 
> Thank you for inputs and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Ardy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Trickydick -

Thanks for the note. If you hold a substantive (that is, a non-bridging visa) visa and at the same time hold an unactivated bridging visa A (BVA), then depart Australia and return to Australia on the substantive visa, the underlying unactivated bridging visa is normally not affected - it doesn't get expired or ceased due to the offshore trip. However a hazard can exist if you need to return unexpectedly AFTER the substantive visa has expired - that is, the substantive visa ended up expiring while you were offshore. That can create big problems. What some people will do is to apply for a Bridging Visa B (BVB) prior to departing Australia (must wait for BVB to be granted before leaving) and advise that they may return to Australia after the substantive visa expires while offshore. If this is approved, it will turn the unactivated BVA into an unactivated BVB which then will activate in case you are offshore when the substantive visa expires. If you do return before the substantive visa expires, no problem, the BVB will activate onshore at the moment the substantive visa expires and you would remain on the BVB onshore until a visa decision.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



trickydick said:


> Hi Mark
> We lodged a 804 last May 2017 we received a Acknowledgment and a Bridging Visa A .
> 
> We travelled back to the Uk in June 2017 on our 651 and expect to return permanently to OZ in March 2018 2 weeks before our 651 is finished.
> 
> Will the original Bridging Visa kick back in automatically or do we need to re-instate it if we need to re-instate it how do we do this. do we contact Perth Parents Centre or Department if Imm and by what means.
> 
> Really getting worried re this Visa 804 being cancelled as seems to be the vibe. What would happen to us would we be kicked out of Australia or d
> o they just close it to new applications.
> 
> If this happened before we return in March 2018 permanently whilst still under the conditions of the 651 again what do you think would its implication be for us Do we just return under the A BV
> thankyou sooooo much for being able to help us and we really do appreciate it


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Utkarsh -

It will depend entirely on the skills assessor's view of whether after you received the bachelor degree you were sufficiently skilled in your nominated occupation. Often ACS takes x years of experience plus the bachelor degree to get you to the point you are considered skilled, but very hard to predict how they will assess. Better to get the skills assessment and see how they assess your educational qualifications and work experience - that will go a long way towards determining points eligibility for your work and quals.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



utkarsh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am working on my application for 189 Visa. I need help in assessing my relevant experience due to my trade apprenticeship.
> 
> I completed a 3 year bachelor degree in 2010 which turns out to be ICT major. Then completed a trade apprenticeship of 4 years, basically an on job training, For which I got a masters degree in 2014. And I have been working in the industry since then. So 3 years of working experience.
> 
> During apprenticeship , I worked for around 200 hours/month with the company which is specified as my project work in my testimonial.
> 
> My question is (finally!) : Will I be able to use my experience at my trade apprenticeship in my skill point assessment?
> Will it be 7 years of relevant experience or 3?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi H123 -

Thanks for the note. You would need to either pay the debt in full or put in place a payment plan approved by the government in order to be granted the 457 visa.

The government debt people will ask you for lots of financial info, then will advise what may be available, and there sometimes is some negotiation back & forth re: amount and number of payments. But the key issue is that you must have an approved (by the govt) payment in plan in place prior to the time of decision for the new visa.

Re any other matters, there is no guarantee that the debt issue will be the last issue that DHA (formerly DIBP) brings up with a visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



h123 said:


> Hi, I've got urgent question, please reply ASAP
> 
> I have debt to commonwealth Australia as I took my previous visa matter to courts, I've applied for fee exemption but waiting for decision
> 
> If i owe a debt (amount owing to the Commonwealth Australia) and apply for a 457 visa from my home country, then they will ask to clear the debt before they issue me a visa.
> 
> I have few questions:
> 1) is this possible that once I clear the debt, they reject my visa and give me a lame excuse to reject the visa.
> 2) is there a way i can settle that amount in part payments now before i lodge the case? so that debt wont be an issue, its a huge amount so it will take years to clear .
> please reply asap
> 
> 3) is there a way I can speed up their decision and how do i organise a payment plan? i've applied for fee exemption as i don't have enough money but i want this matter to settle down before i apply for visa . either they exempt all fees or tell me to make small payment,or tell me to make part payment
> 
> *note: its not a debt to commonwealth bank of Australia, its debt to the government from court cases fees. *
> 
> thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bappi2k3 -

Thanks for the note. You can claim the two weeks if you can provide evidence sufficient to convince DHA that you lived there for those 2 weeks - can be mail or accounts sent to you at that address or any number of other things. If you don't have solid documents, might be better to wait longer (if it does not endanger your 489 eligibility or there is no other reason existing) so that the 2 weeks is not included in your 2 year living-in-area claim. Normally DIBP does not require an applicant to prove that they were living in a designated area for the entire time they held the 489 visa, but if they do for some reason, then things like stat decs from your brother or others who saw you living there would be helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bappi2k3 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I will apply for 887 from 489 in February. I have following question regarding the application.
> 
> 01. When i came to my designated regional area i stayed with my brother-in-law as a guest for two week.that time my brother-in-law live in a rented house. Can i include that 2 weeks as stay in regional area for two years.
> 02. If i include that two weeks what kind of document i have to submit.
> 03. If i don't what i will write on the application about that two weeks
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bob8 -

Thanks for the note. Visitor visa is certainly something to consider during the typical 9+ month waiting period for the subclass 300 visa or offshore partner visa (309/100). Chances of success are dependent on the applicant meeting the genuine temporary entrant criteria (aka "genuine visitor" criteiria).

If the applicant is in Australia at the time DHA is ready to grant the 309 or 300 visa, they will generally email the applicant and give them 28 days to depart Australia for a short trip - they can then depart Australia (provide itinerary etc to DHA) for a few days (typically 5) to any offshore location outside Australia and DHA will grant the visa while they are offshore so they can return to Australia on the new visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bob8 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Wanting to bring my partner to Australia and looking at the Offshore Partner visa (309/100) and the Prospective Marriage visa.
> 
> When we are in the queue waiting, is there another type of visa we can use in the meantime e.g. visitor visa so she can stay here in the meantime? I read she is supposed to be offshore when applying and when the decision is made, so not sure if or how this could work.
> 
> And what would happen if she is in the country on the tourist or other visa when the partner or PMV visa decision is made? Does it mean she can just leave the country then come back in on the new visa?
> 
> thanks
> 
> Bob


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mandimo87 -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the issues with the offshore solicitor. If he is a Registered Migration Agent with OMARA (www.mara.gov.au) then you can and probably should make a complaint against him as not uploading provided documents on time is a serious issue - especially with the latest partner visa processing guidelines that can result in refusal with no advance notice or request for additional documents if there are missing documents.

My view is that you need to take control of the situation and either shift the representation back to yourself, or appoint another immigration lawyer/registered migration agent to take over the application, quickly determine what additional information or missing information/documents need to be provided, and get the application 100% up to date. DHA will hold you responsible for all info/documents lodged (and all missing) regardless of whether you have engaged a representative, so that's why I suggest you take control of the situation. At this point don't worry about refunds or settlements from the lawyer, take control of the application - get it fixed up as necessary - then worry about the other stuff.

You always have the right to dismiss your representative simply by lodging Form 956 (choose the "Ending Engagement" options) and if your lawyer is OMARA registered you have additional rights including getting a complete copy of your file from the lawyer. The local law society etc in the UK may have in place other client protections. But again, first priority in my view is to take control of the application and see what, if anything, needs to be done to maximise the chances of success.

Please feel free to contact me via my website below if i can be of any further assistance.

Best,

Mark Northam



Mandimo87 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We have quite a complex case and have appointed a solicitor in London to assist us with an offshore partner visa to australia. He promised us the world so to say and as soon as he got his final payment (before lodging) his attitude has changed dramatically. He doesn't respond to emails as often. Continuously tells me how busy he is with other clients and how complex the other cases he is working on is (last thing i want to hear!). Always delaying getting anything done. Tells me that i have "drained all his energy" and i need to stop contacting him so much. It has been 5 months since we lodged and he didn't even upload all the forms required, i didn't know this until now because the case officer has asked for additional information and it turns out he hadn't uploaded anything on to our application except the main form. No evidence, nothing. He spoke to us on the phone and promised he would get it all done in a couple of weeks and when i spoke to him a couple of weeks later he acted like he didn't know what we were talking about and said he couldn't be rushed and that we should be grateful we are together anyways. He constantly talks down to me, is rude and shrugs us off. He holds all the power as we've already paid him and our case is complex enough that i'm not sure if we can go it alone.
> Is there anything i can do? What are my rights? If i was wanting to change solicitors at this point would i have lost all the fees i paid him? I feel we are in the most vulnerable position and we have someone who holds all the power over us and is making sure we know it. Its disheartening to be treated like this at such a stressful time in our lives. Any advice would be appreciated. We paid him a lot of money.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Louisb -

Great speaking with you - I look forward to assisting you with this important case.

Best,

Mark Northam



louiseb said:


> Hi mark child visa on fostering grandson what's the procedure he is 4minths old and currently in foster care in uk thanks louiseb


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jsabarish -

Normally these are not needed unless you are claiming points for experience. Once in a while DIBP will request docs for work experience used solely to satisfy the skills assessor (but not claimed for points) but this is somewhat rare.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jsabarish said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I will be soon lodging a 190 visa. I am not claiming any points for work experience. I have a total of 5 plus years of experience out of which 4 years have been deducted by ACS.
> 
> Should I be submitting work experience documents even though I am not claiming any points?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kei -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on your 801 visa grant!

The new citizenship laws including 4 years PR instead of 1 year, citizenship test changes, english test, etc were not passed this year so we're back to the old rules that require 1 year PR plus 3 years lawfully in Australia before that. There are allowances for absences during the 1 year and 3 year period - see DHA website for all the specifics. But not required to be in Australia for the entire 1 year of PR - vacations are allowed (up to total of 3 months absence during that 1 year is OK).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kei said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Just wanna say thanks for the help and advice you have provided because my 801 partner visa has been granted a few days ago! It's been a long journey since we applied in Dec 2014. We are so excited and still haven;t sunk in yet
> 
> We have a few questions and hope you can assist once more
> 
> 1) I am aware that there is a new rule this year saying that to get citizenship, you now have to stay here for 4 years out of 5 years (instead of old 1 year rule) but because the law hasn't passed in yet, so my partner is still within the 1 year rule, is that correct?
> 
> 2) If so, does that mean once she stay until Dec 2018 next year, she can apply the Aussie passport citizen WITHOUT leaving the country (like for holiday or something)? If she leaves overseas for holiday next year, say for 2 months, then it will be postponed to Feb 2019 to be eligible to apply citizenship?
> 
> 3) So what is next after 801? Like anything do we need to submit further like for 820/801? And can we throw all the receipts away since we have stacked alot in the past few years?
> 
> 4) I am aware for the citizenship test now is much harder and I see somewhere that you can ONLY fail 3 times. Is it for the whole time you are allowed to fail 3 times? Or its within a certain period of time after you failed 3 times, you can resit the test again?
> 
> Thank you very much once again
> 
> Cheers


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fatima14 -

Thanks for the note. Should be no problem and no delay as long as you updated the application via Form 1023 (notification of incorrect answers).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



fatima14 said:


> hey Mark,
> 
> I lodged my offshore partner visa last month online..but in the visa application i by mistake gave the date of marriage as the date of our wedding,,,later i updated my application.but i wanted to know will this error delay my process of getting approved.
> 
> please help!


----------



## Shahid ihsan

Hi Mark

I hope you’re a having a good day. My question is i was on student visa in australia and i lodge a protection visa application which was refused by dibp & aat as well. I left australia when my bridging visa was about to finish.

Does ban apply on me ?
Can i apply student visa again while i am off shore.
What are my chances of other visas.

Kindly help me out 
Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shahid -

Thanks for the note. If you departed Australia holding a Bridging visa A and did so before the BVA expired, you would not have a 3-year exclusion period on temporary visas per PIC 4014 of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth).

There is no particular bar in applying again offshore - if you were refused on the genuine student criteria before, I'd take a good look at that criteria to see how you may be able to more successfully show that you meet it with a future application. An impediment may be the failed protection visa application as in some cases DIBP essentially says the fact you pursued that indicates an intention to do more than just study in Australia, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Shahid ihsan said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I hope you're a having a good day. My question is i was on student visa in australia and i lodge a protection visa application which was refused by dibp & aat as well. I left australia when my bridging visa was about to finish.
> 
> Does ban apply on me ?
> Can i apply student visa again while i am off shore.
> What are my chances of other visas.
> 
> Kindly help me out
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usmanchowdhry -

I have not tried that, but expect the other lawyer is correct since the visa date of effect is tied to changes in points score. There are bigger issues however that you may want to consider, including making sure there are absolutely no conflicting pieces of information between the two occupations given to the skills assessor(s), especially re employer reference letters for any work experience you would use to either qualify for the skills assessment or visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



usmanchowdhry said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Hope you are fine. Need your guidance Please.
> 
> I have lodged my EOI in System Analyst on 16 August 2016 with 65 points and recently my degree is also assessed in Software Engineering, one lawyer told me that I can
> UPDATE my PREVIOUS system Analyst EOI to Software Engineering. (So i can get early invitation bcz my old EOI number is lodged year ago)
> 
> DIBP and some reliable sources say's Yes, you can update the occupation any time, and may get early invitation because, I am not increasing my points therefore, once I'll update it, how soon or how much time it would take to get me invitation?
> 
> What's your thought on this??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alip01 -

Thanks for the note. ETA is a good idea - key would be making sure that if you were stopped at the airport on entry that you make it clear that your intention is to vacation, etc until your 457 is approved if asked. Working holiday visa might be a better choice as you could begin work for the employer upon entry and avoid any work-related issues upon entry. Not sure of currently processing times however.

Best,

Mark Northam



alip01 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Merry Christmas!
> 
> I'm from the UK and have been offered a job in Brisbane, due to start in early January on a 457 visa. I was offered the job back in October, but there were a few delays getting the nomination for my visa submitted, so I was only able to submit my application on the 4th December.
> 
> I've already booked my flight to Australia for the 1st of January, but am now slightly worried that the 457 visa won't be approved in time due to Christmas.
> 
> Having done some research, it seems that I could apply for an ETA which would let me use my flight to Australia and then wait until the 457 visa is approved to start work. If the 457 visa isn't approved before the ETA expires I'd obviously need to leave the country. What do you think about doing this?
> 
> I think my other option would be to apply for a working holiday visa (I meet the requirements), but it seems as though the processing times for these can be a few weeks too.
> 
> Thanks,
> Alistair


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samo1390 -

I expect the Non-AQF award would pose a problem if you intended to claim that qualification in combination with another qualification (whether the second qualification was AQF Or otherwise) to get Australian study requirement points. Suggest you have a professional go through all points claims and determine best options.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



samo1390 said:


> 9Dear Mark,
> 
> I've completed 2 years of studies physically in Australia. One year as an exchange student, course name International Exchange Program [031147B] - Course level - NON AQF AWARD. 1 year.
> 
> During this program, the subjects studied are exactly same as the Bachelor of Engineering i'm taking in Australia, as my uni is a branch campus outside Australia. (Swinburne University Sarawak Campus)
> 
> Another year as International Student- Bachelor of Engineering. 1 year. (Swinburne University Hawthorn Campus, Melb)
> 
> Does this meet the Australian Study Requirement?
> 
> Or should I not include it? To prevent the complications of false claim of points.
> 
> I have received invitation with this included. Should I proceed with it?>


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Djs_jag -

Thanks for the note - my apologies for the delay, am now catching up on questions.

Re 1, since an EOI is not a visa application, you are not under any particular obligation to advise DIBP that you have made a correction - best to just fix the values in the visa application itself.

Re 2, once you lodge your 190, you may want to withdraw your 489, as if the 489 is granted after the 190, it will wipe out the 190 (!). 1446 is the correct form - you can see directions on the form itself, and you should upload to the 489 visa application in addition to any email instructions that may be on the form. You can also email a copy of the completed form to the office processing your 489 if you have correspondence yet from that office with an email address.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



djs_jag said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Hope you are well. I am new to the forum and need your advise on couple of things:
> 
> 1. I have received Subclass 190 visa invite from DIBP but just realized that I mixed up my writing and speaking scores due to different ordering between online EOI form and PTE score card. It was an inadvertent error which does not affect my point score as my overall English level remains the same. I have checked my state sponsorship application and confirmed that state has got the correct scores (correct order).
> 
> Now when I go to apply for the visa, online visa application form picks up English language ability from relevant EOI and does not show the individual scores rather it shows my English level which is "Proficient".
> 
> Can you please suggest how should I proceed with my application? Do I need to inform DIBP about this or should just go ahead with my application? If I need to inform them, can you please advise the process.
> 
> 2. I have also applied for Subclass 489 (family sponsored) visa last month but has not been assigned a case officer yet. Now I have got invite for 190 Visa. Before applying for 190 visa do I need to withdraw my 489 visa application or can I submit 190 keeping 489?
> In case need to withdraw it, I was reading somewhere that a form 1446 needs to filled and uploaded into online application.I have checked my 489 application in IMMI account and it allows to upload a document but only under "others" category, no other category is available. Can you please advise where and how to send this form if required?
> 
> Look forward to your response. Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ulrik -

Thanks for the note. Not sure if the change will negatively impact your processing time, but I'd make sure the correction is clearly recorded (use Form 1023 if the correction is made after lodgement) and you might want to try to email them as well to advise (include a copy of the signed Form 1023) if you've got an email address on any correspondence from them.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ulrik R. L. said:


> Hi Mark! I recently submitted my student visa through the "immi" page. The next day i discovered that i had chosen "higher education" instead of "non-award", which I assume is the correct one. I am an exchange-student, leaving for Australia to study from the end of January to early July, as part of my bachelors degree in Norway.
> 
> By selecting higher education the processing time is over 50days, (non award is 5) and I assume it will be rejected. I have of course notified them about my mistake through immi. However, i wonder if you have any experience with this problem? will it take them long to discover my mistake, and correct it- and thus speed up the processing time? As you understand, i do not have 50 days.
> Thank you for any tips and help.
> 
> Best wishes Ulrik


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Waqas -

Thanks for the note. Will depend on how ACS assesses your degrees as to how many years of experience ACS will require before deeming you as skilled. Importantly, you can still claim work experience AFTER you lodge and receive your ACS skills assessment for points as long as you have documentation for an existing work experience that ACS already assessed as relevant where you continued in that same job and title for the same employer after the ACS lodgement. This way if you make it to 5 years prior to invitation, you are not limited to claiming only the work experience prior to lodging the ACS application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



waqas15 said:


> hello mate,
> i have 4 Years BCS degree
> 2 Years Master Degree in MS Software Engineer
> i Have 4 years 8 months Work exprn in Software Engineer
> My Ielts Score: L 7.5,R 8,S 6, W 6.5
> My Question is Can i Apply ACS for Assessment for my Work Exprn or Wait untill i complete my 5 Years for work Exprience


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Doc2020 -

I expect you may have already resolved this with DHA (formerly DIBP) however I don't put much faith in the online processing "estimates" as the times seem to vary widely from what is advertised there. Bottom line is that the best you can do in these cases is usually to send a letter with compelling and/or compassionate reasons why they should expedite the processing for your application if such circumstances exist. There is no legal time limit on how long DHA can take to process most visa applications.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Doc2020 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I'm from Egypt, living in the UK on a Tier 2 general work visa.
> 
> I've submitted my application for Visitor Visa subclass 600 to visit Australia on 17/11/2017. The current processing times is 16-29 days. I'm now approaching 29 days and still application status is "Received".
> 
> My questions are:
> 
> - The processing times, are those working days or just calendar days?
> 
> - What should I do if it stays as Received over next few days? Who should I contact?
> 
> Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AntonioS -

Thanks for the note. Your student visa requires you as a condition of the visa to maintain qualifying health insurance for the entire period you are physically in Australia including time before/after your course is in session. There is no requirement that you update DIBP as to your compliance with this, but as you are entering earlier than anticipated, I don't think it would hurt to put in Form 1023 along with a certified copy of your passport and a copy of the updated insurance. However as long as you retain a copy of proof of insurance for the entire time you are in Australia, that would normally be sufficient without having to give DIBP advance notice of that change.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AntonioS said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I applied for a student visa subclass 500 with an OSHC cover from 29/01/2018 to 28/07/2018. After my visa was granted, I changed my OSHC cover to 29/12/2017 to 28/07/2018, because I wanted to arrive earlier in Australia.
> My question is: Do I need to notify DIBP about this change or is it okay to just arrive with the new OSHC certificate (my visa has no entry date)? And if I do need to notify them, how can I do that? I thought about form 1022 but I'm not sure where to send it to.
> 
> Thanks,
> Antonio.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Koalawole -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of your visa refusal. As offshore student visas do not generally provide merits review (ie, AAT Tribunal), the best you can do in most cases is to lodge a new student visa application with additional information and evidence to try and address whatever the issues were that caused the previous refusal and ask them to expedite processing given the start date of the course.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kolawole said:


> Hi. Thanks for helping,I got a student visa refusal due Clause 500.212. What do I do please help,,my school starts on January


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nivaem -

Thanks for the note. There is no particular bar for a 457 dependent visa holder being the primary applicant on a 186 Direct Entry application as long as the person meets all the requirements for the 186 visa and that person's employer meets all the requirements for the 186 nomination.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nivaem said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> We (me and my wife) are currently in Australia on 457 Visa for around 1 year.
> 
> My spouse (on Dependent 457 Visa) is currently employed by an Australia based company and her employer is willing to sponsor her 186 Visa (Direct Entry Stream).
> 
> My question is whether her employer can sponsor her 186 PR Visa (Direct Entry Stream) despite she currently being on 457 Dependent Visa? Or does the applicant (for Direct Entry 186 Visa) need to be primary 457 Visa holder?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HelloCookie -

Thanks for the note. I'd like to help on the forum, but it's too complex a case as employer sponsored and skilled visas have dozens of requirements each, all dependent on the applicant's circumstances which I know very little about. An employer sponsored visa may be a good choice, but there are major questions about the PR potential of these visas, especially 457 and TSS at this point, especially if the occupation the applicant is nominated under is on the short term list (STSOL) which cook is. Chef, while requiring more training and work experience, may be a better choice as currently it's on the medium/long-term skills shortage list (MLTSSL) which could make a pathway of TSS -> employer sponsored PR possible, or could make a skilled visa possible. Also suggest you look into the skills assessment requirements for any occupations you are looking at PR potential for, as often the skills assessor's requirements can be more challenging than DHA's.

Happy to discuss further with you or the applicant in a consultation where we would have time to explore their circumstances and details - please see my website below for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HelloCookie said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I am an Australian citizen, helping a Japanese friend look into options for getting Permanent Residence in Australia. She has lived here in Australia for around 5 years on various visas including working holiday, visitor and student visas (mostly just studying English I think).
> 
> She is currently 29 years old and would like to settle in Australia permanently. Have spent many hours looking at government immigration websites and other sites with give information about immigration, including this one. Still a bit confused though about how the various visas work, so posting here.
> 
> The option which is most appealing to her at the moment is to study Cookery for 2 years at TAFE, then apply for one of the various visas that can lead to PR.
> 
> Our main question at the moment is, which visa is she best to apply for after studying Cookery? Or at least what the pros and cons of each of them?
> 
> Looking at the employer sponsored visas, it seems she would need to have 3 years experience post-graduation and be offered a job paying over approximately $53000 per annum (can't remember exact figure right now) to qualify for those. So one option would be to work 1.5 years in Australia as a chef after graduating on a graduate visa, then go back to Japan and work there for 1.5 years to get 3 years experience. Or get a Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visa after the graduate visa, and get 3.5 years experience in Australia (1.5 years on a graduate visa, 2 years on a TSS visa). Seems though that it might be difficult to find a chef job paying $53K with just 3 years experience?
> 
> Then, there are the 189 and 190 visas. These seem a bit more viable, possibly. Have looked into how to apply for these, but have not found much information on what her chances are of these actually being granted. It seems they use a point system, so those with the most points get selected first, and as I said above she will be only starting to get experience as a chef after graduating. She has an IELTS score of minimum of 6.0 in all bands too. She will probably be 32 or 33 when she finishes her cookery course, depending if she starts early or mid next year.
> 
> She is currently in Brisbane, but thinks her best option might be to study and work in Adelaide, as this will give her an extra 5 points for being in a regional area, giving her 60-65 points.
> 
> If there are any other visa options we've missed, would appreciate being informed of them.
> 
> I know PR is never guaranteed, but what are her rough chances of getting PR this way?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amthebestm -

Thanks for the note. I can't review documents via looking at excerpts - happy to discuss further at a consultation where I can review the complete documents and give you an opinion. Generally speaking, text too close to the ANZSCO standard text in either an employment reference letter, resume, or other non-ANZSCO document can be seen as suspicious by DHA.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amthebestm said:


> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Mark thanks for your response.
> 
> Both the documents cover the ANZSCO code very well, and all the lines in them are almost same, except for the following lines mentioned here. Do you think this will cause an issue?
> 
> Declaration Doc:
> Writing, updating and maintaining software application technical feature documentation, system call flow details and operational procedures for giving training to client.
> 
> Employment reference DOC:
> Writing, updating and maintaining software application technical feature documentation, system call flow details and operational procedures for customer training purpose.
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Declaration Doc:
> Provide technical guidance to technical publication team and review the documents like software application features, software installation procedure and system workarounds.
> 
> Employment reference DOC:
> Worked with Technical Writers to review the documents like software application features, software installation procedure and system workarounds.
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Declaration Doc:
> Track down and isolate problems, as well as give input on the functionality of new features.
> 
> Employment reference DOC:
> Helped isolate problems as well as give input on the functionality of new features.
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Declaration Doc:
> Work with project team to provide the test automation scripts development hours efforts estimates.
> 
> Employment reference DOC:
> Worked with the project team to provide the work estimate on test automation scripts and related activities.
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KoalaB -

Thanks for the note. It depends on the circumstances - if the child is born outside Australia after the application was lodged but before the application is decided, you can complete Form 1436 to add an applicant to a visa application. If the child was born prior to the time the visa application was made and not declared on the application, then it's an entirely different situation - in that case I suggest you get professional assistance to understand the best options.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KoalaB said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> How do I add a child to a PMV application that i've already submitted but not had a decision on?!
> 
> Thank you!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JoHam -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you applied for the 461 onshore in Australia, you must be in Australia at the time of visa grant. If you are out of position (ie, outside Australia) and DHA is ready to grant the visa, they will usually email the applicant and provide some time to return to Australia to enable the visa to be granted.

If you remain outside Australia past your must-return-by date specified on the BVB, the BVB will cease leaving you no visa to return to Australia on. This generally does not negatively affect a person's immigration history, especially if there are good reasons - ie, health of relative, employment issues, etc. In any case, the 461 will continue processing even if you remain outside Australia past the BVB return date. HOWEVER.... there are a number of requirements for the 461 that must be met, including:

_If the application is made in Australia, the applicant has complied substantially with the conditions that apply or applied to the last of any substantive visas held by the applicant, and to any subsequent bridging visa._

There are also the requirements re: family unit of a person in/outside Australia on 444, etc. If you are considering being outside Australia at the time of expected visa grant, you need to carefully review the requirements for the 461 visa to make sure that both the sponsor and applicant meet those given the new circumstances (of one or both being outside Australia). Furthermore, there is the chance that a breach of the must-return-by date could be taken by DHA to be a breach of the conditions of the BVB - no way to predict this with certainty.

I would suggest not breaching the BVB to reduce that risk and carefully reviewing the regulations for the 461 as described above to determine your best course of action.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JoHam said:


> HI Mark
> first of all thank you for helping out
> 
> My partner currently has a BVB ending end of January as we are outside Australia. We applied for 461 visa in March'17. I have read a few things that may help us but just wanted to run it past someone...
> 
> If my partner does not return to Australia in January and our BVB And BVA is cancelled does this automatically cancel our 461 visa application or does this process continue?
> Or could we stay outside of Australia until we have a grant date and return to Australia to be on land when it is approved? (he can enter Aus on automatic holiday visa)
> I hope this is the case as our other option is to fly back to Australia and apply for a 6 month BVB and it could possibly get denied.
> 
> Also if the BVA and BVB got cancelled could this harm my future application for PR/Partner visa?
> 
> Thanks again!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Seven -

Thanks for the note. In addition to the absence from Australia requirements, there is a rule that a citizenship applicant must have been in Australia on the day exactly 4 years prior to applying for citizenship. As she was away from 31 Oct 2013 to 8 Oct 2014, she would be unable to qualify if her citizenship application date is between 31 Oct 2017 and 7 Oct 2018 - that's why DHA now says her first date to apply is 8 Oct 2018.

Sorry - wish I had better news - please advise if I can assist further.

Best,

Mark Northam



seven said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My Wife arrived in Australia on 2 Nov 2012 as working holiday visa and left Australia 31 Oct 2013. And then she got the visa 309 offshore and arrived Australia 8 Oct 2014.
> She also travel oversea 15 days in 2015 and 20 days 2016 , and 31 days in 2017. We called Border before we travel this year. They said she can lodge in Nov 2017 base on Lawful Residence Date is 2 Nov 2012 , but we didn't apply in September because we are in oversea whole September. And now when I call 131 881, the officer say base on their system, Lawful Residence Date changed to 8 Oct 2014 therefore lodgement date is Aug 2018.
> Could you please tell me what is wrong? Why she need wait another year because she only away one month this year?
> 
> Thanks
> Seven


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chongesx -

Thanks for the note. A section 10 with a good behaviour bond (in NSW) is generally considered a conviction - once the bond is satisifed, the conviction becomes a "spent conviction" but still in most cases has to be disclosed to the immigration dept.

Would need to know much more about your circumstances, the nature of the offence(s) and other info in order to give you any specific advice for your case - happy to do so at a consultation where we'd have time to do so - please see my website below for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



chongesx said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hoping you have some general advice on this. I'm keen to apply for my citizenship on the back of finishing up a section 10.
> 
> Apart from declaring this, is there anything else you can advise? I've just finished the bond period, so I'd be looking to apply in Jan.
> 
> Too soon?
> 
> Thanks, chonges


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Saad -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately no good way to predict 457 processing times these days - DHA seems to be taking a long time with many, especially for higher "risk" occupations. Sometimes if the employer can make a good business case as to why the visa processing should be expedited it can make a difference, but even those are hard to get these days.

Would need to discuss this in more detail with you at a consultation in order to give you specific advice for your case as the regulations in this area can be complex and I would need detailed info on you and your wife - please see my website below for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mmmg said:


> Hi mark,
> I hope u r going well,
> First of all, I'm on student visa and my study will finish in February 2018and my visa will expire in April 2018 , I applied 457 visa in may 2017 at the same time I applied for my wife who oversees (to add her on my student visa) but they refused her application because I was adding her with me on 457 visa application they said there is two application for her in the system , I haven't got any response for 457 visa yet, and I don't know how long will take to finalise it ...
> How can I bring my wife which the best way to ?
> 
> Regards ,
> Saad


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kolawole -

I think I may have responded to a later post of yours - working through the December questions now. No good way to speed up student visa processing unfortunately - all you can do is to check whether they have all the info they need from you and gently remind them of the start date.

What gets frustrating for many students is the fact that DHA (formerly DIBP) discourages and actually warns students against applying more than 3 months in advance of their course commencement date! Here's the actual DHA policy:

_"If a visa applicant seeks to lodge an application more than four months before the course commencement date they will receive a warning in ImmiAccount. The warning alerts them that the Department might not prioritise their visa application and they may wish to apply closer to the course commencement date, no more than three months prior to course commencement."​_
This is fine, until DHA then takes more than 3 months to decide their visa application, which threatens the entire education plan of the student if they are unable to start on time (and can result in the loss of thousands of dollars of prepaid course fees, insurance, etc).

Until DHA is ready to allocate enough resources to get all student visa applications processed within 3 months, they really should rethink warning students against applying more than 3 months in advance of their course commencement...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kolawole said:


> Hi thanks ,
> I'm k from Nigeria, I've applied for my visa (500) since august and I've requested for a second COE, and I haven't heard anything from my agent.what do I do and does have anything to do that from Nigeria??


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tasiz -

My apologies I was unable to get to your question until now due to travel and work - no way to predict whether PIC 4020 will become an issue, but if they start making that sort of noise I'd consider arguing that the work was not relevant to your nominated occupation and therefore not material to the student visa application. That being said, DHA could argue that the work was relevant in assessing the genuine temporary entrant (aka genuine student) aspects of the student visa application.

Waiting until 1 year after the student visa expires will help re parts of PIC 4020, however we expect that DHA will have another go at raising the bar for PIC 4020 in 2018 as they tried to in 2017 which could increase the lookback period to all visas held (or applied for!) by the applicant for 2, 3, 4, 5 or whatever years they're able to pass. No way to safely predict how it will turn out.

It's a lesson, frankly, to be full and forthright when completing visa applications. What may seem like minor details currently can become major issues in the future, especially when the rules of the game (ie legislation, regulations and policy) are always changing...

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Tasiz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I renewed my student visa in April 2017. The student visa was granted till 4th August 2017. Now i am in the process of applyong for my 189 visa, however i have an issue-
> 
> 1) In my student visa application, i forgot to mention mostof my employment hsitory and a short holiday i had taken to sri lanka.
> 
> 2) the employment not mentioned was not related to my occupation, nor am i claiming points for it.
> 
> 3) now in my 189 application, i am putting all my work and travel history.
> 
> The concern is, will my 189 application will by refused based on PIC4020 for giving falsw and misleading statements? If yes, then will waiting a year to apply for my 189 visa so that they dont take my student visa application into consideration?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Peanut48 -

Sorry for the delay - work rights application to add work rights to BVC or BVE typically take around 2 weeks, but difficult to predict with the holiday schedule etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



peanut48 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm in a similar situation, my PR visa was cancelled and I've only been granted a BVE for a week since DIBP couldn't see the appeal in their systems. How long does it take for the AAT Appeal acknowledgement to come through? I'm really worried about what happens if the acknowledgement isn't there when I have to report to DIBP next. Also I'm the sole person in Australia with no financial support other than my job which I can no longer do until I get working rights on my BVE, what are my chances for it? Also how long does it take to get BVE with work rights? I'm concerned that with Christmas holidays the department will not process any applications for a few weeks, do you know how long it could take over this period?
> 
> My PR was cancelled based on anonymous allegations and the DIBP gave weight to brief phone calls their overseas post made over all the documentary evidence including government income tax records. Their decision makes no sense and I'm praying the appeal at AAT will revoke the cancellation.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Update: I've got my AAT Appeal Acknowledgement, took 4 working days.
> 
> Does anyone know how long working rights on BVE application takes? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amc1971 -

Thanks for the note. The 887 work requirement looks at the actual location the work was done in - infrequent short trips outside the area into a metro area, for instance to other offices of the company, etc do not render your work in the regional area to be invalid.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Amc1971 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am planning to lodge subclass 887. I'm currently holding subclass 489 victorian regional sponsored visa.
> Quick question:
> I'm working in regional area which is specified by subclass 489, but my staffing/agency is located in Melbourne metro. Will this create an issue when appliying for subclass 887?
> 
> Regards,
> Amc1971


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Amber_jay -

Thanks for the note. Generally would not be a problem in my view - the ETA will only be replaced once the student visa is granted. Do make sure your OSHA health insurance is in place whenever you are in Australia and the student visa is active (may want to activate it early since grant date of the student visa is not able to be predicted). If they ask you at the airport upon entry why you're on an ETA, you can say you are doing some vacation, etc prior to the course starting, etc. Unless you get an especially nasty border officer, I expect that would not be an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



amber_jay said:


> Hi there!
> In the next few weeks I will be lodging an application for the Student Visa (Subclass 500- Higher Education Sector). However, I'm looking to come over from the US a few weeks before my program starts to settle in. There's a chance the visa application may still be in the review process when this happens.
> 
> I currently hold an ETA, valid through June 2018. Will my ETA still be valid while my student visa is being processed? And will I be able to enter Australia on the ETA during that time period as well? Thank you for your help!
> 
> - Amber


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Junkisha2010 -

Thanks for the note. Your sponsor will need to have a valid residential address and will need to state where you will live with him once the visa is approved - a truck stop/depot likely would raise some serious questions in my view. There is no particular requirement that the sponsor has lived at a residential address for a particular period of time, but if the two of you have not lived together since 2015, that may raise more questions. Ultimately having children together who are Australian citizens will likely get you through any questions re genuine relationship, but I would be prepared to make strong arguments about the best interests of the children, etc if the issue comes up. You may also want to consider getting professional help if allegations are made re non-genuine relationship etc despite having children together.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Junkisha2010 said:


> Hi Mark your such a blessing to us. Anyway I got some worries since I am applying for spouse visa soon. I am a Filipina and married to my australian husband for 5 years and were together for 5 years as well here in Philippines cos his dual but his back to Australia since 2015 to work again since our business didn't work here and our 4 children are all citizen by descent. At the moment his working as truckers and just staying at his company depot but the moment I will lodge my application his going to find a house for us cos he needs to,right? Is that idea is alright that were getting house just during my application or the embassy really needs the house to be existing for half a year or so to be fine I mean so my husband can show that he can accommodate us and our needs and his qualify as sponsor? Thanks and God speed!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HNaz -

Generally speaking a work "permit" refers to a subclass 457 temporary work visa - for that visa, it is required that the applicant(s) all obtain private health insurance coverage for the duration of their stay in Australia. Sponsoring an autistic child can cause the health criteria not to be met - for the 457 visa there is an option under PIC 4006A where the employer can sign an undertaking to pay for all medical expenses not paid for by insurance relating to the condition. For PR visas, many do not have health waivers available, meaning that if an applicant fails the health criteria, all applicants on the application will be refused the visa.

You may want to get professional assistance in determining the best course of action and best visa(s) to consider given your unique circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HNaz said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> My company has offered me to relocate to Australia on a work permit. I want to know if there is a health cover in this type of visa?
> Also, I have an autistic child; Can i sponsor him to accompany me to Australia? and is he eligible for PR later if we stay in Australia. I have heard that PR is denied to Autistic children, is that true? If so, what are our options? can we file a case on basis of human rights once we are there?
> Looking forward to your response.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Canuck707 -

Thanks for the note - great question. Once your BVA activates on 12 Jan 2018, you will get another 6 months work rights with your current employer. If after 6 months on the BVA you still have no decision on the 461, you can apply to have the limitation extended again for the BVA, or in some cases DHA will grant a new BVA thus triggering another 6 months since the 6 months limitation for condition 8547 on bridging visas is per-bridging-visa - a new bridging visa means another 6 months, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Canuck707 said:


> Hi Mark, I am currently on a working holiday visa that expires 12th January 2018. I applied for a 461 last April and I am still waiting on a decision. I began working at my job on 29 May with my 6 months ending 29 November. I have been granted an extension until 12th January, when my bridging A visa begins. Since my bridging visa also has the 8547 restriction am I unable to stay with the same employer after this point? Or do I have another 6 months on the new visa?
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lakshya85chd -

My apologies I was unable to get to your question earlier. I expect you've resolved this by now, but would suggest that you provide evidence of the refusal to provide details by your previous employer to DHA and let them know you've done everything you can but the lack of details is beyond your control.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lakshya85chd said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Recently i recieved an email from CO asking for PF(monthly security payment) details. My previous company didn't deduct any pf from my salary.
> 
> I asked my company to give me in written that during my tenure they didnt deduct pf but they refused to do so.
> 
> Can you please help me on this. Hpw should I proceed?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mandeepvirk -

My apologies I was unable to get to your question earlier. I would immediately file a claim against the again with the OMARA (mara.gov.au) and get some professional assistance in terms of what damage the refusal may have done to you, especially if PIC 4020 was given for any of the reasons for the refusal. There may be positive options still available, but all depends on the circumstances. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with a MARA agent.

Best,

Mark Northam



mandeepvirk said:


> Hey Mark my Name is Mandeep and i am from India . I had applied for australia . I have done Msc (Physics) and M.ed (Education) with 2 years of work experince . I had apply through agent name Sultan Virk (MARA 1467572). HE made me fool as he told me that your experince is not enough and he will do something and he applied as a accountant without telling me . last month i got refusal that your degrees were not verified . Please help me with it . What should i do . He destroyed my future .
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shivangi1210 -

Thanks for the note. Generally a change of offshore employment after application for a skilled visa is not a problem since the circumstances re: points are locked in as of the date of invitation. Nonetheless, you could lodge Form 1022 to update your circumstances with DHA - wouldn't hurt.

However if your employment is tied to your current visa or there are any other related circumstances, you may need to consider your options - if this is the case, you may want to get professional advice.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



shivangi1210 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We lodged our visa in Aug.
> Co contacted us in Sep and in the same month we gave the Information and pressed IP.
> My husband is the primary applicant and we have claimed spouse points as well.
> We gave my employment reference as well on the company's letterhead.
> Now i have got a very good job offer from another company and I want to join it.
> If i leave my current job and join the other company then i assume that we'll have to inform DIBP through update us button.
> I have few questions over that :
> Will changing my job will further delay our application
> If i join the current company, then do i need to provide R&R letter from them also ?
> 
> Also, in my current job I have been promoted recently and my designation has been changed. Do i need to update DIBP ?
> As the employement reference letter i gave has the Designation as Senior Software Engineer and now iam a Technical Lead.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Elongran -

My apologies for not being able to get to your question more quickly. Suggest you consider a consultation with a registered migration agent or immigration lawyer to work out any other visa options that may exist for you - it's too complex to work out on the forum, but a 30 minute consult with an experienced agent should be helpful in determining your options.

An additional note - regardless of your visa circumstances, you always want to make sure to put your safety and well-being first and foremost - if you have concerns about your safety for any reason, seek help (police, etc) - do not ever feel trapped in a visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Elongran said:


> Hi! My partner and I are having some issues but only just got married. I'm suspecting he's cheating on me, but when I brought it up he threatened to withdraw his sponsorship. I'm on a temporary residency at the moment, applied for my permanent one in May this year. I'm 25 and I've been here for 4 years. Is there any other way I'll be able to stay? I really don't want to leave and I just want to know if I have any other options than trying to make it work with my partner.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi AussieSwiss -

My apologies for not being able to get to your question sooner. In many cases if a visitor visa is still in effect when a person returns from an offshore trip, even while holding a BVB, the person will be re-entered into Australia under the visitor visa and will then attract a no work condition for the minimum stay period (usually 3 months), after which the BVB will then activate and work rights will resume. This can sometimes be changed by DHA, but can be challenging to deal with since there is a general rule that substantive visas (such as visitor visas) generally overrule bridging visas.

Upon re-entry, if the applicant has applied for a partner visa, I would suggest "migrating to Australia" since a PR application (the PR part of the combined partner visa application) has been lodged.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



AussieSwiss said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Hope things are well. You may (or not, I know there are so many posts asking for your advice here ;-) remember me from a few months ago.
> Anyhow, my wife joined me (I'm a PR) here on a tourist visa on Nov 11th (meaning it's valid until Feb 10th). We then applied for an onshore partner visa, and her BVA was granted overnight and will kick in at expiry of tourist visa. She has to travel to Switzerland in January so we applied for a BVB, which was also granted overnight for 3 months. It does state "This bridging visa is not in effect because your E-visitor visa is currently in effect." My questions:
> 
> - as she will be travelling out and back into Australia on her still valid tourist visa, does that mean when she comes back in that the tourist visa will again add 3 months of waiting time for the BVA to kick in?
> 
> - when she comes back from her trip, on the Australia arrival card, which box does she tick? "Migrating to Australia" or "Visitor"? Again, she's got her BVA and BVB but I'm wondering what might come up at the immigration counter, because the BVB does state "This bridging visa is not in effect because your E-visitor visa is currently in effect.".
> 
> Happy to hear your thoughts on this.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

*** UPDATE FROM MARK - 1 JAN 2018 ***

Hi AustraliaForum posters -

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable and safe holiday season and continues to do so. My work commitments during Nov and Dec resulted in my not being able to visit the forum as much as I wanted to - the challenges of a growing business - however I have now made arrangements to be here and answer questions at least 3 times a week. I've gone back and answered all the questions from 1 Dec 2017 through today, as I expect most of the issues/questions before that were already resolved by the poster. If for any reason that's not the case, please repost your question here and I'll be happy to answer right away.

As discussed here, we're expecting more major changes to the Australian immigration system including a major overhaul of the fiance/partner visa program which will include making the sponsorship application a separate requirement that must be completed prior to an applicant being able to apply for a fiance or partner visa, a major overhaul of the employer sponsored visa program where pathways to PR will only be available to occupations on the MLTSSL (medium-long term occupation list) unless on a special list of RSMS exceptions, and more. The partner visa changes are expected to be implemented perhaps in the March-July 2018 timeframe, and the employer sponsored changes are expected in March 2018 as previously described by DHA (formerly DIBP). We also expect a new round of occupation list changes this month and every 6 months going forward that can impact availability of visas for various occupations.

Despite all the changes, I would encourage potential and current visa applicants not to be discouraged or disheartened - there are lots of options available, and if you keep up on the details and the changes, it may enable you to stay ahead of the curve a bit and determine best options for you going forward. Same goes for state sponsorship - and as always I recommend Search | Anzscosearch as a great, free site to keep track of the latest changes from the various states in terms of what occupations they are sponsoring and what special requirement exist per-occupation and per state.

So keep your head up high, don't be discouraged, be diligent and positive about your personal migration plan - and ask questions if you're unsure about something! In addition to the "Ask Mark!" column I run here, there are thousands of generous, friendly people who participate in this forum who are eager to share and help, as many of them have been helped previously by others. It's the ultimate "pay it forward" and I've seen so many people get great help here that has made a difference in their lives.

Best wishes to all for a happy, safe and productive 2018 - looking forward to your questions!

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## rsam07

*Bridging visa (partner)*

Hi Mark,

I am on student visa subclass 500. My spouse is overseas and was mentioned as non-accompanying family member. Recently i have applied for RSMS 187 and my husband is included in the application. After lodgement i have received bridging visa which will he be effective after my student visa expiry date. My question is: if my husband apply for dependent visa on basis of student visa and join me here in Australia, will he get bridging visa when my student visa expires? Or he has to go back to Home country? I have bridging visa so i can stay until my RSMS visa application decision but i am doubtful about my spouse because he doesn't has bridging visa because he was not onshore when we applied for RSMS visa. Thanks
Waiting for your response.

Best Regards
Sam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sam -

Thanks for the note. If your partner was not onshore at the time of the RSMS visa lodgement, he would not generally be eligible for a bridging visa from the RSMS visa application. There is a very narrow window under which he might be able to get a bridging visa C, however would need to get much more information about you, your spouse and the RSMS application in order to determine if it is or is not possible to get the BVC for your spouse once onshore. Happy to assist at a consultation - please see my website below for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



rsam07 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am on student visa subclass 500. My spouse is overseas and was mentioned as non-accompanying family member. Recently i have applied for RSMS 187 and my husband is included in the application. After lodgement i have received bridging visa which will he be effective after my student visa expiry date. My question is: if my husband apply for dependent visa on basis of student visa and join me here in Australia, will he get bridging visa when my student visa expires? Or he has to go back to Home country? I have bridging visa so i can stay until my RSMS visa application decision but i am doubtful about my spouse because he doesn't has bridging visa because he was not onshore when we applied for RSMS visa. Thanks
> Waiting for your response.
> 
> Best Regards
> Sam


----------



## Kab1

Hi Mark,
Thank you very much for your reply .
Happy new year 2018 .
Kind regards
kab1


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kab1 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. As your PR visa has now been granted, it's too late to amend your Form 80 for that old application. If the issue comes up with any future visas for them, I would write DHA a letter advising the circumstances and that you were mistaken about their date of birth. I don't think that would represent any sort of a serious problem as long as DHA didn't think you were trying to conceal or deceive with the old Form 80 - expect there will be no issue.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> Kab1 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Mark,
> I had gotten my PR around 2 years back. Now I was about apply for visit visa for my parents. I come to know that I filled up wrong date of birth of my parents while filling up form 80 during PR application as they didn't have passport at that time. Now they have the passport and the date of birth is different from then.
> Does this affect while applying the visit visa? If yes what could I do to solve this problem?
> Thanks
Click to expand...


----------



## Croggles

*457 visa*

Hi Mark,

You helped me a little while ago with an inquiry about a partner visa. I was wondering if you might be able to help me with regards to the 457 visa (2 years). I lodged an application for this visa at the end of November 2017 (I have a job offer from a registered sponsor). I plan to be in Australia in early March. If the visa hasn't been processed by then, which seems to be a distinct possibility, am I able to enter Australia on a tourist visa (I already have a multiple entry, electronic tourist visa valid until late August) and wait out the TSS visa being issued?

Any help you can offer would be grand, as we are keen to start booking flights as we plan to travel around Asia for a while before we arrive.

Many thanks

Craig


----------



## Croggles

Croggles said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> You helped me a little while ago with an inquiry about a partner visa. I was wondering if you might be able to help me with regards to the 457 visa (2 years). I lodged an application for this visa at the end of November 2017 (I have a job offer from a registered sponsor). I plan to be in Australia in early March. If the visa hasn't been processed by then, which seems to be a distinct possibility, am I able to enter Australia on a tourist visa (I already have a multiple entry, electronic tourist visa valid until late August) and wait out the TSS visa being issued?
> 
> Any help you can offer would be grand, as we are keen to start booking flights as we plan to travel around Asia for a while before we arrive.
> 
> Many thanks
> 
> Craig


Hi Mark,

My Visa has been granted as of today, so this is no longer an issue.

However, could you confirm, is the two years valid from the date of entry or the date of grant? I've only just seen the grant notice and it's not exactly clear (though I'm so excited, I'm probably not processing the information correctly!).

Thanks for all your help. Bubbles tonight!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kab1 -

Happy New Year to you too!

Best,

Mark Northam



Kab1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you very much for your reply .
> Happy new year 2018 .
> Kind regards
> kab1


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Croggles -

Congratulations on your visa grant! Great news.

The validity period of a 457 visa is from the date of grant of the visa - there should be an expiration date (sometimes called valid through, valid until, stay period, etc - silly why they put such confusing terminology on the visa grant that confuses so many people!) on the visa that is 2 years from the grant date assuming you were granted a 2 year visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Croggles said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My Visa has been granted as of today, so this is no longer an issue.
> 
> However, could you confirm, is the two years valid from the date of entry or the date of grant? I've only just seen the grant notice and it's not exactly clear (though I'm so excited, I'm probably not processing the information correctly!).
> 
> Thanks for all your help. Bubbles tonight!


----------



## koalaswiss

Hi Mark, 

Sorry I'm posting my questions again. I applied for my 820 visa in May 2017 and we are still waiting on an answer. However with my partners we have been talking about moving overseas for two different reasons. 

Option 1 - moving overseas for an extended period of time to work. 
Option 2 - moving to my home country for a big chunk a my mat leave as we are planning for kids in the near future.

Would any of these options be feasible if I have a 820 visa? Should we wait for me to receive my PR? It's all a bit confusing on what what can do or not, and my PR seems to be in forever. 

Thanks for your advices...


----------



## ijaz.ahmad88

*457 nomination approval*

Hi Mark!

happy new year!

is there any way to see if my nomination for 457 visa is approved or not? is there any website to check it by putting nomination no?

Thanks 
Best Regards,
Ijaz Ahmad


----------



## Boomer123

*Advice*

Hi Mark, could you please advise me on this?
my daughter was on our PR visa but did not return to Oz live after validation. Once her PR expired she applied and was granted a 12-month RRV which she used to travel here and stayed for 4 months with her ex-partner (long story.)
She has twice visited since using a holiday visa due to her 12-month RRV expiring 4 years ago.
We understand that she is able to reapply but the department will need a very good reason as to why she didn't reapply at the time. The reason she couldn't was that her ex would only let her son travel here to visit on a holiday visa for fear they would not return, so she had no choice at the time.
She is currently in the process of gathering information in order to apply for removal of jurisdiction so any advice regarding this would be very much appreciated.
Thank you in advance.


----------



## samo1390

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Samo1390 -
> 
> I expect the Non-AQF award would pose a problem if you intended to claim that qualification in combination with another qualification (whether the second qualification was AQF Or otherwise) to get Australian study requirement points. Suggest you have a professional go through all points claims and determine best options.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Dear Mark,

What if currently i have a letter mentioning: [The units undertaken as part of the International Exchange Program contributes to the Bachelor of Engineering (Mech) and were given as exemptions for the degree.]

I was awarded the degree in Melbourne after completing it.

Is this sufficient?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Koalaswiss -

No problem - if your partner is an Australian citizen, then I don't see a major issue with an overseas visit for some period of time (months). Would likely be better if you did it after you had the 820 visa, as you'd likely have to get Bridging Visa B's for each trip assuming you are in Australia and only holding a bridging visa while you're waiting for the 820 to be granted, and long trips could pose an issue with that visa in some cases.

Once you had the 820, you could travel in/out of Australia as you like, and there is no particular minimum requirement re staying in Australia while holding the 820 visa.

If your sponsor is an Australian permanent resident (and not a citizen), then additional issues come into play with long overseas stays as the sponsor will need to show that they are "usually resident" in Australia in order to meet the criteria for being an Australian permanent resident for purposes of sponsoring a partner for an 820/801 visa.

Hope this helps - happy to discuss your details and circumstances in more detail at a consultation if you'd like.

Best,

Mark Northam



koalaswiss said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Sorry I'm posting my questions again. I applied for my 820 visa in May 2017 and we are still waiting on an answer. However with my partners we have been talking about moving overseas for two different reasons.
> 
> Option 1 - moving overseas for an extended period of time to work.
> Option 2 - moving to my home country for a big chunk a my mat leave as we are planning for kids in the near future.
> 
> Would any of these options be feasible if I have a 820 visa? Should we wait for me to receive my PR? It's all a bit confusing on what what can do or not, and my PR seems to be in forever.
> 
> Thanks for your advices...


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ijaz.ahmad88 -

Thanks for the note. The nomination is an application by your employer (or prospective employer) to the immigration dept, and is not visible by the nominated visa applicant. The employer (or their migration agent) can see on their online ImmiAccount where the application was lodged what the current status is (ie, finalised or pending) but the visa applicant cannot.

Best,

Mark Northam



ijaz.ahmad88 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> happy new year!
> 
> is there any way to see if my nomination for 457 visa is approved or not? is there any website to check it by putting nomination no?
> 
> Thanks
> Best Regards,
> Ijaz Ahmad


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Boomer123 -

Thanks for the note. The key to getting another 12-month RRV would be establishing substantial business, cultural, employment or personal ties to Australia - I don't have enough info to determine whether this is likely in her circumstances or not - would be happy to assist at a consultation where we'd have time to explore all of her circumstances and determine good candidates for substantial ties. There are also rules regarding how long she's been absent from Australia, circumstances existing at her departure and some other related issues we can discuss in more detail once I have more info on her circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Boomer123 said:


> Hi Mark, could you please advise me on this?
> my daughter was on our PR visa but did not return to Oz live after validation. Once her PR expired she applied and was granted a 12-month RRV which she used to travel here and stayed for 4 months with her ex-partner (long story.)
> She has twice visited since using a holiday visa due to her 12-month RRV expiring 4 years ago.
> We understand that she is able to reapply but the department will need a very good reason as to why she didn't reapply at the time. The reason she couldn't was that her ex would only let her son travel here to visit on a holiday visa for fear they would not return, so she had no choice at the time.
> She is currently in the process of gathering information in order to apply for removal of jurisdiction so any advice regarding this would be very much appreciated.
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samo1390 -

No good way to predict without a much more detailed review.

Best,

Mark Northam



samo1390 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> What if currently i have a letter mentioning: [The units undertaken as part of the International Exchange Program contributes to the Bachelor of Engineering (Mech) and were given as exemptions for the degree.]
> 
> I was awarded the degree in Melbourne after completing it.
> 
> Is this sufficient?


----------



## samo1390

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Samo1390 -
> 
> No good way to predict without a much more detailed review.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Can you help me review ? I believe I've sent you an email with all the documents on this to ask for your advice to your email.

I sent it November last year


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Samo1390 -

Thanks for the note. Given the time involved, I would be able to conduct the review and discuss options with you based on that review at a 30 minute consultation - please see my website below for more info. I'd like to help on the forum, but the issues are too detailed and complex for a quick forum answer.

Best,

Mark Northam



samo1390 said:


> Can you help me review ? I believe I've sent you an email with all the documents on this to ask for your advice to your email.
> 
> I sent it November last year


----------



## lola91

Hi Mark,

My partner and I are currently living at his parents house and will be renting somewhere soon, but I just want to know for the future when we apply for the Partner visa (subclass 309) - what address do we put in the application for both of us? Do we need to change the address of all his documents (drivers licence, passport) to the rental address or can we keep the documents as they are (in my partners current address)? Also he is an Italian citizen and I am dual Australian - Italian citizen. Should I include a copy of my Italian passport in my application?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lola91 -

Thanks for the note - great questions. Generally speaking, it's best if you put your current residential address on a visa application - ie, the address you are living at when you apply for the visa. Putting a previous address on there could be an issue depending on the circumstances.

As living together evidence is important, I'd get as many of your accounts etc changed over to the new address once you move. Same for driver licence. This shows a strong commitment to living at the new address (and that it's a reasonably stable/permanent address vs a place you are only living for a very short term etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



lola91 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I are currently living at his parents house and will be renting somewhere soon, but I just want to know for the future when we apply for the Partner visa (subclass 309) - what address do we put in the application for both of us? Do we need to change the address of all his documents (drivers licence, passport) to the rental address or can we keep the documents as they are (in my partners current address)? Also he is an Italian citizen and I am dual Australian - Italian citizen. Should I include a copy of my Italian passport in my application?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


----------



## sh_dh1

I plan to apply with 223111( HR Advisor) but the anzsco code has been withdrawn , please suggest any alternate way as I have already got Vetassess for the job code . I have my brother staying in QLD . he is a citizen . Please help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sh-Dh1 -

I'd look into Human Resources manager to see if you may qualify for this. HR Advisor is now only available for subclass 187 (RSMS) Direct Entry, and after March may not be available for that. If the visa you are looking for requires a skills assessment, you'll have to get a new skills assessment in your new occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sh_dh1 said:


> I plan to apply with 223111( HR Advisor) but the anzsco code has been withdrawn , please suggest any alternate way as I have already got Vetassess for the job code . I have my brother staying in QLD . he is a citizen . Please help


----------



## sh_dh1

Thank u for the prompt reply but the profile of Human resource Manager is quite wide and being in India and the kind of Human resource practices here hardly match with the requirements of the profile. Please suggest if in any way my brother could help. Moreover it will be teh same situation like last year when 223111 was withdrawn and now this human resource manager will again be withdrawn. pls see what can be done.


----------



## POSTASKIS

Hi Mark
i kind of ripped off by the immi agency. im about to apply for 2nd stage partner Visa. They just told me they are not able to help me anymore for that stage unless i pay $1500 more. Which they didn't even mention it before.

And i have decided to do it myself, just wondering they already created an account for me i guess and they are not giving me password or anything. What can i do from now on .Any suggestion?

Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi sh_dh1 -

Thanks for the note. Your brother might be able to sponsor you for a family sponsored subclass 489 visa, but you'd still need a skills assessment in an occupation that is on the MLTSSL list to qualify for that stream.

Best,

Mark Northam



sh_dh1 said:


> Thank u for the prompt reply but the profile of Human resource Manager is quite wide and being in India and the kind of Human resource practices here hardly match with the requirements of the profile. Please suggest if in any way my brother could help. Moreover it will be teh same situation like last year when 223111 was withdrawn and now this human resource manager will again be withdrawn. pls see what can be done.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Postaskis -

Thanks for the note. Creating an ImmiAccount doesn't really do anything in terms of restricting your ability to move forward on your own. The second stage partner visa is a new online application - assuming they didn't lodge anything for you, you should be able to create your own ImmiAccount (free), then create your own new application there for the second stage partner visa.

Re pricing or financial complaints, suggest you visit www.mara.gov.au and look into their complaint policies.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



POSTASKIS said:


> Hi Mark
> i kind of ripped off by the immi agency. im about to apply for 2nd stage partner Visa. They just told me they are not able to help me anymore for that stage unless i pay $1500 more. Which they didn't even mention it before.
> 
> And i have decided to do it myself, just wondering they already created an account for me i guess and they are not giving me password or anything. What can i do from now on .Any suggestion?
> 
> Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## sheilae

Hi Mark, I just had a quick question about names on applications. My partner has a fairly common name (let's say Christopher). I've only ever known him by Chris, and have referred to him as 'Chris' in my written statements (easily changed). 

It is also often how he is referred to in social contexts (for instance on some joint mail we have received like wedding invites). Should we include "Chris" as another name for him on our application and just note it is a nickname he goes by socially? Or is there a better more DoHA appropriate way to address it?

Thanks so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sheilae -

Thanks for the note. If someone has a nickname that is commonly used, there is no harm in putting that in the "other names" area, marked as "other", and then explain that it's a nickname. For some people who have adopted westernised nicknames that are different than their legal name, these should definitely be included, marked as westernised nickname.

For shortened versions of names (ie Joe vs Joseph, John vs Jonathan, Mike vs Michael) where the shortened version is an obvious reference to the longer legal name there is no particular requirement to list the shortened name as a nickname, but no problem with doing so either.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sheilae said:


> Hi Mark, I just had a quick question about names on applications. My partner has a fairly common name (let's say Christopher). I've only ever known him by Chris, and have referred to him as 'Chris' in my written statements (easily changed).
> 
> It is also often how he is referred to in social contexts (for instance on some joint mail we have received like wedding invites). Should we include "Chris" as another name for him on our application and just note it is a nickname he goes by socially? Or is there a better more DoHA appropriate way to address it?
> 
> Thanks so much!


----------



## ArajS

Good Morning Mark
Well i am about to apply 887. I have lived in share house for about 10 months while i did get lease agreement paper from house onwer on the RTA RENTAL AGREEMENT paper, is that be enough proof to meet living requirement. I don't even have any bills on my name as it was share house not even rent paid receipt but can show bank transaction.
Need advice i am bit confused.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ArajS -

Thanks for the note. Could be risky unless you have other supporting documents - maybe consider a statutory declaration from the house owner, stat decs from anyone else who visited you at the house you lived in for that time, photos, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ArajS said:


> Good Morning Mark
> Well i am about to apply 887. I have lived in share house for about 10 months while i did get lease agreement paper from house onwer on the RTA RENTAL AGREEMENT paper, is that be enough proof to meet living requirement. I don't even have any bills on my name as it was share house not even rent paid receipt but can show bank transaction.
> Need advice i am bit confused.


----------



## sheilae

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sheilae -
> 
> Thanks for the note. If someone has a nickname that is commonly used, there is no harm in putting that in the "other names" area, marked as "other", and then explain that it's a nickname. For some people who have adopted westernised nicknames that are different than their legal name, these should definitely be included, marked as westernised nickname.
> 
> For shortened versions of names (ie Joe vs Joseph, John vs Jonathan, Mike vs Michael) where the shortened version is an obvious reference to the longer legal name there is no particular requirement to list the shortened name as a nickname, but no problem with doing so either.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thanks so much for your help and prompt response!


----------



## ArajS

MarkNortham said:


> Hi ArajS -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Could be risky unless you have other supporting documents - maybe consider a statutory declaration from the house owner, stat decs from anyone else who visited you at the house you lived in for that time, photos, etc.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark i really appreciate your help
And one more question that statutory declaration should be from owner OR can be anyone who knew i had lived there? It is quite hard to ask owner to come for declaration. For supporting doc i have TAX Summary, car registrations, bank statements and few letters. Will that be helpful.


----------



## Dennis111

@ Mark,

how long does it take to get the 457 visa nomination and sponsorship approved ? ( not the 457 visa itself) thanks


----------



## NehaSharma20

Thanks for the thread, hope we all get solutions for PR visa problems, and new information about the updates of Australia PR Visa.


----------



## Wongykh

I am going to apply 189 visa and at the same time adding my fiance into it. We will get married on 17 Feb in Perth, and the estimated time to get an official marriage certificate will be 3 weeks later, i.e. March. 

Should I lodge an EOI now with the "engaged" status? What if our status change after the invitation? Can we change the status afterward? Is there significant differences between "engaged" and "married"?

As we will be just "newly married", will they ask us to prove the "genuineness" of the marriage? Or, just a marriage certificate is all that required?


----------



## MarkNortham

That all sounds helpful - stat dec should be from anyone who knew you lived there - the more established the person is (ie, doctor, lawyer, business owner, other people who have responsibility) the better. Multiple stat decs better if possible.

Best,

Mark Northam



ArajS said:


> Thank you Mark i really appreciate your help
> And one more question that statutory declaration should be from owner OR can be anyone who knew i had lived there? It is quite hard to ask owner to come for declaration. For supporting doc i have TAX Summary, car registrations, bank statements and few letters. Will that be helpful.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dennis111 -

These days it's very unpredictable - can be up to 10 months. If the new sponsorship and nomination will be to take over an existing 457 with time left to go on the 457, there is an option to request expedited processing for these cases so people don't end up getting stuck for months where they cannot work (ie, done with old employer, awaiting nom approval for the new sponsoring employer).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dennis111 said:


> @ Mark,
> 
> how long does it take to get the 457 visa nomination and sponsorship approved ? ( not the 457 visa itself) thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wongykh -

Thanks for the note. Status on the EOI is not that important, but your legal status (re married or not) on the date you apply for the visa application is very important. Being engaged does not necessarily qualify a person to be a secondary applicant on a visa - only being a de facto partner or legal spouse gives that ability. If you are not legally married on the day you apply for the visa, you'll need to put your partner as a de facto partner and meet the de facto requirements including either registering your relationship (not possible if you are already legally married) and living together requirements.

If you are married by the time you lodge the 189, that's a far easier situation to work with I expect - however DHA will still want relationship evidence from all 4 categories (household, financial, social, commitment) to show that there is a genuine partner relationship underlying the legal marriage document.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wongykh said:


> I am going to apply 189 visa and at the same time adding my fiance into it. We will get married on 17 Feb in Perth, and the estimated time to get an official marriage certificate will be 3 weeks later, i.e. March.
> 
> Should I lodge an EOI now with the "engaged" status? What if our status change after the invitation? Can we change the status afterward? Is there significant differences between "engaged" and "married"?
> 
> As we will be just "newly married", will they ask us to prove the "genuineness" of the marriage? Or, just a marriage certificate is all that required?


----------



## Wongykh

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Wongykh -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Status on the EOI is not that important, but your legal status (re married or not) on the date you apply for the visa application is very important. Being engaged does not necessarily qualify a person to be a secondary applicant on a visa - only being a de facto partner or legal spouse gives that ability. If you are not legally married on the day you apply for the visa, you'll need to put your partner as a de facto partner and meet the de facto requirements including either registering your relationship (not possible if you are already legally married) and living together requirements.
> 
> If you are married by the time you lodge the 189, that's a far easier situation to work with I expect - however DHA will still want relationship evidence from all 4 categories (household, financial, social, commitment) to show that there is a genuine partner relationship underlying the legal marriage document.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much Mr. Mark. After digesting what you said, do you think the following time frame is reasonable?

1) Submit EOI now with "engaged" status and wait for the invitation.
2) If invitation received before marriage, e.g. early Feb, do not lodge the application. Lodge visa application until we obtain the official marriage certificate (probably on March), but not later than 60 days from invitation.
3) If invitation received after marriage cerificate issued, then proceed to the application right away.


----------



## Alias99

*Countries visited 40SP error*

Hi Mark, 
we are trying to finalize my partners 40 SP application and we are getting this error msg:
The table in 'Visited' contains duplicate entries. The duplicate entry should be deleted or amended.

I believe there are not duplicates as I did the same countries and dates for my application. We traveled to over 100 countries in last 10 years, the list is pretty long

Thank you!


----------



## Andology

Hi Mark,

As posted in another thread, would it be ok to underclaiming points without being considered as proving wrong information?

"I am an international student in South Australia and just finished my 2 years course in Adelaide. I want to apply for 190 visa and having 60 points is enough to qualify for this visa. 

In my EOI, I claim 5 points for Australian study requirement, but I do not want to claim 5 points for regional area requirement as I already have 65 points even without it. The reason I do not want to claim this 5 points is that I do not have all rental contracts to support the claim.

In the EOI, the question is "Has the client studied for at least two years in one or more areas in regional Australia or a low population growth metropolitan area?". I have answered "No" so that the system does not award me 5 points. But I actually did study for 2 years in South Australia and the true answer should be "Yes".

Is that a problem? Would DIBP accept this declaration?"

Thank you


----------



## Dennis111

*@ Everyone,*

you have no idea how much money you are saving with Mark's free advices.

*he's replying to me even at 10:48 pm on Saturday nights. *

*You'll know what I mean until you go out and ask for help from some crooked migration agents in this cruel and greedy world, when your pockets are empty and they won't say a word to help you until you give them money. no one will help you out.*

that's some serious help Mark is doing without taking anything in return he helped thousands of people since 2014 irrespective of their nationality, race, culture , religion. , its too much help.

you must be thinking:
*no Mark didn't ask any favour from me and he didn't told me to write anything . I am only writing because I have been to hundreds of people (in person and online ) and no one helped me, they only ripped me off and backed away as soon as I ran out money. * now when I'm broke , *Mark *is the only one to give me sincere and professional advice for *FREE*.

*Thanks mate! may the force be with you!!*


----------



## MarkNortham

Wongykh said:


> Thank you very much Mr. Mark. After digesting what you said, do you think the following time frame is reasonable?
> 
> 1) Submit EOI now with "engaged" status and wait for the invitation.
> 2) If invitation received before marriage, e.g. early Feb, do not lodge the application. Lodge visa application until we obtain the official marriage certificate (probably on March), but not later than 60 days from invitation.
> 3) If invitation received after marriage cerificate issued, then proceed to the application right away.


Hi Wongykh -

Difficult for me to give you specific case advice as I don't know enough about your circumstances. You would need to consider any issues raised by receiving an invitation and not acting on it (ie, state sponsorship possible again or not, etc). Also note that you are generally considered legally married as of the date you are actually married, even if the marriage certificate takes some number of days or weeks to be available - the certificate will generally state the day you were married, not the date the certificate was applied for or created, etc. The date you are legally married is important as noted previously, as if that date is before you apply for the visa, the married partner criteria apply to you while the de facto criteria do not.

Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see my website below for more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alias99 -

That's an existing bug in DHA's ImmiAccount software - once an entry is created that the software believes is a duplicate, the data can get corrupted in some cases and require the entire application form to be entered again. You'll have to see if the software will let you work through the issue and perhaps you can upload a note explaining any data issues. You can also try getting in touch with DHA ImmiAccount technical support here:

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/abou...rms/online/immiaccount-technical-support-form

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Alias99 said:


> Hi Mark,
> we are trying to finalize my partners 40 SP application and we are getting this error msg:
> The table in 'Visited' contains duplicate entries. The duplicate entry should be deleted or amended.
> 
> I believe there are not duplicates as I did the same countries and dates for my application. We traveled to over 100 countries in last 10 years, the list is pretty long
> 
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andology -

I think you're fine answering No if you do not have the evidence to back up the claim of points for regional study. Plus, technically an EOI is not a visa application, so under current PIC 4020 regulations, incorrect information on an EOI would likely not fall into the scope of PIC 4020's view of information "in relation to a visa application".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Andology said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> As posted in another thread, would it be ok to underclaiming points without being considered as proving wrong information?
> 
> "I am an international student in South Australia and just finished my 2 years course in Adelaide. I want to apply for 190 visa and having 60 points is enough to qualify for this visa.
> 
> In my EOI, I claim 5 points for Australian study requirement, but I do not want to claim 5 points for regional area requirement as I already have 65 points even without it. The reason I do not want to claim this 5 points is that I do not have all rental contracts to support the claim.
> 
> In the EOI, the question is "Has the client studied for at least two years in one or more areas in regional Australia or a low population growth metropolitan area?". I have answered "No" so that the system does not award me 5 points. But I actually did study for 2 years in South Australia and the true answer should be "Yes".
> 
> Is that a problem? Would DIBP accept this declaration?"
> 
> Thank you


----------



## martinbov

*Travel on a Bridging Visa*

Hi Mark, I was wondering if you are able to provide a little more specific information on travel restrictions for a Bridging Visa E.

I am currently on a Bridging Visa E, I know it comes with no travel rights and would be cancelled if I leave Australia. However, do the travel restrictions include going to, for example, Christmas Island? I know Australian driving licences are accepted as trial documents for Christmas Island, so a passport is not required.

Thanks


----------



## Dannygolucky

Hi Mark, 

Both my wife and I lived in Hong Kong for over 12 months. The HK Police require a referral letter from Australian authorities to process the police check. I don't want to wait around for a CO to contact me, is there a way to get the department to issue me the referral letter? We applied from the US (309/100) in July 2017. 

Thanks, 

Dan


----------



## bappi2k3

Thanks for your advice Mark


----------



## Andology

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Andology -
> 
> I think you're fine answering No if you do not have the evidence to back up the claim of points for regional study. Plus, technically an EOI is not a visa application, so under current PIC 4020 regulations, incorrect information on an EOI would likely not fall into the scope of PIC 4020's view of information "in relation to a visa application".
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thank you for your reply, I greatly appreciate it.

If in the EOI I answered as "No", what should I answer in the visa application once invited? As I thought what I answered in the EOI should match exactly in the visa application.

The reason I really do not want to claim points is that I changed houses a lot over the span of 4 months due to some dodgy agents and I did not sign any contracts with them, really silly me. And my bank statements for that period only show the first address, so I do not know how to show the other addresses. After that semester, I did sign contracts and did not move around a lot anymore.


----------



## Ming1

Hi Mark,
thank you
M


----------



## tapas

*Permanent Residency - Applying in STSOL*

Hi Mark

Many thanks for taking out time to answer queries of common folks here. My bio in brief:

1. An engineering graduate (B.Tech) in Electronics and Communication Engineering and a post graduate diploma holder in management from Indian universities

2. Work-experience:

a) In an IT firm as Systems Engineer/Systems Analyst/Developer for 1 year 9 months

b) As Operations manager/Business Analyst in a Bank for 3 years 8 months

c) Currently working as Business Development Manager in an IT firm - completing 2 years in Feb 2018

3. Currently on 457 Temporary Work (Skilled) Visa in Australia (granted in Jan 2017 and valid till Jan 2021)

4. IELTS overall score of 8 with 7 in writing and 8.5 in all other sections

5. My wife is on dependent 457 Temporary Work (Skilled) visa and currently working in a market research/consulting firm

6. I am planning to apply for PR under Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa. However, my 457 visa was applied by my sponsoring company with my designation as *ICT Business Development Manager* which is not part of MLTSSL  Hence, I am planning to apply for skills assessment as Business Analyst (which is part of MLTSSL). This is because my actual designation in my current company is '*Business Solutions Consultant'* which involves significant work (other than business development activities) that matches with the description of BA occupation as given on ANZSCO website. My previous work experience has significant BA component as well. My queries:

a) Can I apply for EOI under 'Business Analyst' occupation code when my current official designation in 457 visa application was 'ICT Business Development manager'? More importantly, will the skills assessment authority care about designation or about description of responsibilities? What if I omit my designation in my the reference letter from my current company and just describe my work responsibilities?

b) If I cannot apply as 'Business Analyst' in above scenario; do I have any other option except wait to complete 2 years with my employer on 457 visa (Jan 2019) and then hope that they would sponsor my PR under Direct Entry scheme?


----------



## Babypink

*Advice please!!*

Hi Mark,
Kindly advice me on the following matter.I'm planning to lodge my partner visa this week.Do you think its safe to apply 4.5 months before the sponsorship limitation ends? If yes, do i need to write a waiver letter for support? We have been married for 2 years+ and I'm pregnant right now.
Looking forward to your response!
Thank you


----------



## Kirangrech

*Reg, visa application*

Can I go for medical assessment before sumiting my application?


----------



## purnamani1

HI Mark, 


I have filed EOI for PR 189 category at 29-12-2017 with 70 points. Now in Jan 2018 I have another 5 points that can be added for work experience. Can I update my EOI with the 5 points, My ACS was completed on July 2017, And as per ACS Experience after Jan 2012 is accounted as valid. However on Sep 2017 I changed to a new company but I am still under same job category and roles. Do I need to file new ACS to claim the 5 points for experience. Will DIAC reject my VISA application if I do so. 



__________________
261312 Developer Programmer
ACS +ve : 08-07-2017
PTE 20 Pts : 28-12-2017
EOI 189 : 70 pts on 29-12-2017
EOI 190 (VIC) : 75 pts on 3-1-2018
189 Invite : waiting 
190 Invite : waiting


----------



## ArajS

MarkNortham said:


> That all sounds helpful - stat dec should be from anyone who knew you lived there - the more established the person is (ie, doctor, lawyer, business owner, other people who have responsibility) the better. Multiple stat decs better if possible.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark
And just wondering, all the supporting documents and evidences such as lease paper, letters(about 10), bank statements, receipts/bank transaction(about 15) need to CERTIFIED by the JP or not, before uploading in online application. 
OR if you could briefly illustrate what docs. need to be certify?? Thanks again for your time.


----------



## meetfaiz

Hi Mark, 

I am on 489 family sponsored visa and when i try to apply for 887 visa via the immi account it brings me to a question:-

''Have you lived for 2 years and worked for 1 one year in one or more of the specified regional areas''?.

Now my condition is to lived and work in a designated area. should i tick it yes and continue the application?

Secondly, i plan to go overseas while my application is being processed, how do i notify my case officer about this? it says that i need to let them know of my travel plans.

Please provide some insight into this 
Thankyou


----------



## Andy_

Hi Mark,

I am an Australian citizen and we applied for my wife's* 309 visa* in *June 2017*. My wife is a citizen of and a resident of Pakistan. Here are a couple of other facts:

-I, the sponsor, have been a resident of Australia since 2008 and received my citizenship in 2013. In total, I spent 9 continuous years in Australia.
-I moved to Pakistan just before we filed her 309 visa , to live with my wife. I plan to live with her in Pakistan until her visa is granted and then we will move to Australia together.
-I am currently working remotely for an Australian company and earning a modest wage (expected $40k this financial year).
-The last 3 financial years while I was in Australia, I was making between $90k and $150K a year.
-I currently have no significant savings as I exhausted them all on our wedding and visa costs.

Question

-Do you think my current financial status will be enough to satisfy DIBP's requirement for sponsors?
-We do have a joint bank account in Pakistan and every month I transfer $2,000 from my Australian account into our Pakistani account to cater for our monthly expenses.
-We have not uploaded our bank statements to our application yet, as we are afraid a bank statement with $5,000 balance would negatively impact our application . 
-If DIBP reckons my current financial status is not enough, will they give me a few months to improve my situation? In that case, I will fly back to Australia and join my employer full-time which will pay me upwards of $100K.

Your advice on this would be of immense help.


----------



## cookingthechineseway

Hi Mark,


I am currently on a 820 visa, and applied for 801 since July, 2016, and we are living together on a daily basis. 

However, there is a very good job opportunity in another town, which is 4 hours away (driving) from my current home. My guess is: if I get this job, then I have to live in that town from Sunday night to Wednesday noon each week (approx. 3 days), then travel back to our current home to live with my partner for the rest of the week. 

Another thing is I don't know how long the job last, it's not a fixed term, my plan is to work in that area to get some experience first. And we don't wanna relocate to that town as my partner got a pretty good wage with his current job.

So my question is, if we living apart for only 3 days each week, and the rest of days together each week, will that (fly in and fly out) situation influence my 801 visa? .

Thanks and much appreciated.


----------



## khrism2

Hi Mark! I have lodged my 189 EOI General accountant last August 2017 and I got 65 points. I am looking at taking another PTE exam so I could get an additional 10 points to get 75 points atleast to get the minimum points (i think) for general accountant. Do you think I need to wait for the points invited before taking another exam to gauge if I can get the chance to be invited soon? Or should I proceed to retaking the exam? If I got the new score, do I just need to amend my EOI with the new scores and no need to ask the CPAA to reassess again? Thank you in advance!


----------



## Milsin

*Prospective marriage visa to Partner visa*

Hi Mark,
I was on a prospective marriage visa,than we got married and than we applied for Partner Visa . When we applied for the PMV we filled 40SP form do we need to fill the form again? And the same thing for the 888 forms do we need new ones? They don t take in consideration the previous forms that we provided for the PMV?

Thank you


----------



## arvindshukla.off

Hi Mark,

My question is about the skilled independent PR under section 189. My wife will be the primary applicant here. We are aiming to earn the 5 partner points through me.
Brief profile:

Mechanical engineering degree and 28 months work experience as mechanical engineer (2007-2009)
2 years Masters in Industrial engineering and working as business analyst/data scientist since 2012

Problem:

I Can't go for Business analyst job code because ACS would need 6 years relevant experience and RPL. I have 8 years of experience but only 5.5 years are relevant
Or can I do that ?

Can I go for mechanical engineering job code as I worked as a mechanical engineer from 2007-2009, but never post that period? will they fail me because I last worked as mechanical engineer in 2009?

Shall I try for industrial engineering job code, but I have never worked as industrial engineer?

My goal here is not to secure any points for work experience but to pass the skill assessment test to earn 5 partner points.

Finally, even if I get my skill assessment done for mechanical engineer, I believe I can work as a data scientist there, is my understanding correct?

Many Thanks in Advance for your help!!!!


----------



## alexpoon

Hi Mark,
Im going to apply for 485 temporary graduate visa and my partner is on her student visa at the moment. And we will apply for 189 together in the future.
1. when we apply for 189 visa together (im the main applicant), while she is still on her student visa, will her student visa affect the 189 visa application? will there be a risk of not getting PR together?
2. as i know she has to cancel her 500 student visa and we apply 189 visa together. during this period of time, will this pause her honours study in australia?
3. can she study honours while she is on 485 temporary visa as secondary applicant?

thank you so much for any help!
cheers,
Alex


----------



## TessB

Hi Mark,

Just wondering if you had a few minutes to read over my story - I'd appreciate your thoughts...

I applied for my Working Holiday (417) visa with a UK passport in October 2017. They sent me an email requesting a health check in early November 2017 and that was finalised and health clearance provided on the 15th of Nov 2017 (According to ImmiAccount). Since then I've heard nothing from the dept of Home Affairs, and when I call the European Service centre to ask about my application they say they can see no issue with my application and there's no explanation for the long wait. The advertised processing time is 8-29 days online - so I'm concerned something has gone wrong with my application as it's been 2 and a half months since I heard anything from them?

My status on ImmiAccount has been 'assessment in progress' for ages now and I was just wondering how to get in touch with someone to find out what's happening? I was initially planning on going over to Aus early January and I'm getting more and more concerned as everyone I've spoken to has received their visa quite quickly.

Any advice or ideas would be massively appreciated - I'm really not sure what the next course of action should be?


----------



## CaroF

*Contributing Parent Visa 143*

Hi Marc

What happens if we are granted the Contributing Parent Visa 143 and after 5 years we do not meet the 2 in 5 years residence requirement? What are our options the, if any?

Kind regards
Caroline


----------



## can_to_aus

Hi Mark,

My partner will be studying her masters on a 500 student visa. I have received a job offer as an IT professional in the same city. I am looking to apply as a de facto parter her 500 visa in order to travel with and support her. I am 27 years old and she is 25.

The issue I am having is I am finding it hard to prove on paper that we have lived together for 12 months. I purchased the condo in my name before we were together, and thus the mortgage and bills are in my name. We have been planning this trip for over a year, so she didn't bother changing her address from her parents only to have to change it back. She, of course, contributes to the household expenses, but bank statements are not exactly proof of co-habitation. We can show items being shipped to our address in her name, but I'm not sure that is enough. 

Will the minimal evidence we have of co-habitation, along with written statements from myself, friends, family, and general proof of our relationship be sufficient, or should we look at other alternatives?

Thanks for your help!


----------



## User1991

Hi mark 
I have applied partner visa 309/100 by online immi. My partner is Australian citizen. We are in relationship since Feb 2016. We have registered our relationship in Victoria. I was on student visa in Australia. DIBP canceled my student visa because I breached an condition on my student visa. Is there any bad effect on my current visa application from my previous immigration history.also we have different cultures background.


----------



## bigdad5900

*Help!*

Hi Mark,

This may not be exactly what you are used to but i am form the USA and am supposed to travel to Sydney in 4 days. My ETA was denied to do me saying i had a conviction (which was 33 years ago and no jail time) I am at a loss at what to do. I am celebrating my 30th anniversary and am also supposed to go to the Australian Open on the following week. I am hoping you have some advice or can put me in touch with someone who can help expedite a reversal or get some sort of special visitor visa.

Thanks in advance for any help at all,

Desperately,

David


----------



## markw

David, given your 4 day time frame I would be calling or emailing Mark and or other agents asap rather than hope for a reply here. Mark does a great job with his answers but it sometimes takes days or more for him to get around to answering people, also I don't think he replies to everyone (but might be wrong on that)



bigdad5900 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This may not be exactly what you are used to but i am form the USA and am supposed to travel to Sydney in 4 days. My ETA was denied to do me saying i had a conviction (which was 33 years ago and no jail time) I am at a loss at what to do. I am celebrating my 30th anniversary and am also supposed to go to the Australian Open on the following week. I am hoping you have some advice or can put me in touch with someone who can help expedite a reversal or get some sort of special visitor visa.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help at all,
> 
> Desperately,
> 
> David


----------



## bigdad5900

*Thank you*

Thank you for your advice.


----------



## Rik2016

Hi Mark,
How wonderful that you offer help in this maze of Visa Regulations.  Hope you can help us, as we could not find answers to these questions below. Me and my wife are going to apply for a 189 with my wife (Veterinarian) as the main applicant, as her profession is on the SOL list and she will score more than 60 points.

Before we would like to make an Expression of Interest, there are some things that are unclear to us:
-If my wife is granted the 189 visa, will I (as a partner on this visa) be able to work in Australia if I am not on the SOL list? Do I have the same rights?

-Would I be able to do freelance work on this Visa or start a business?

-Can you already pose an EOI if your IELTS test is planned in the future (march)?

-All the payslips and work contracts we have are in Dutch. Would it be necessary to translate these? And if yes can you do that yourself?

Thanks so much for helping us out!


-


----------



## calvin_tsf

*Visa 186?*

Hello Mark!

I am a final year international student studying Bcomm at Canberra. I was notified by my workplace that they are interested in hiring me as a tax accountant and would be happy to nominate/ do anything to assist me to become a PR.

Upon checking online, I only found Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) under the Agreement Stream to be fitting.

May I ask if the above visa works for me if I am currently on a student visa and if possible, could you kindly advise if there are any other options that employers could sponsor temporary residents to work & become a PR?

Thank you so much, Mark!


----------



## mattandlanen

*Hi Mark - Suggestions please*

Hello Mark,

Firstly, thanks for putting yourself out there.

My name's Matt and I'm an Aussie who lives in Taiwan with my wife and child. Lanen and I have been together since 2015 and married for a bit over a year. We have a young baby son Edward who is an Australian citizen by decent (has passport etc). Lanen went back to Australia last August for a month to see family. She loves NSW and wants to stay and start her life. We'll go back to Australia again in May for 2 weeks. My family love Lanen , and of course they love Edward and want to see both of them in Australia permanently.

I'd like to apply for a permanent residence visa for Lanen in June/July this year. Can you guide me in the right direction to start the process?

It seems rather overwhelming.

Kind regards,
Matt, Lanen, and Edward.


----------



## NehaSa

Hi Mark, 

I am Australian Permanent Resident, my travel facility will expire in June 2018.
I will be moving to Australia in March 2018 with intention to settle there. 
I have two questions:
1.If my RRV gets rejected, will I be deported from country post June or only travel outside Australia is restricted ?

2.I want to apply for spouse visa for my husband from there but the processing time for spouse visa is close to 2 years, which means I will have to stay away from my husband for another 2 years. To minimize this long distance period can he go for Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) as the processing time mentioned in the website is much shorter than spouse visa? Which would take minimum time period?


Thank you & Kind regards,
Nesa


----------



## filip88

Hi Mark,

First of all thanks a lot for offering help through this channel. I applied online 3 daye ago for my partner visa 820/801. In my online account it is stated that den DIBP received my application. And I got a confirmation E-Mail that the application was received. However, I did not get any notification/email so far regarding the Bridging Visa A. As far as I understood Should have received it straight away after lodging. Should I take any action?

Furthermore I tried to enroll for Medicare. However I was told that I am not eligible for Medicare since my “Acknowledgement of application received for a partner visas...” states that my application has not yet been assessed. I thought I am eligible to enroll for Medicare straight after lodging the docs for the visa. Or am I wrong? 

Thanks a lot

Filip


----------



## HaileyB

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for offering your services here. 

My partner and I applied for the partner visa 820/801 November last year (it's been about two months now) and it came to my attention that a friend of ours who did form 888 for us provided the wrong date in the form.

I arrived in Australia in February 2015 and started going out with my partner in April that same year, meaning she would have met me around that time. However, she wrote in her form 888 that she met me in late 2014 as she was going camping when she wrote that and didn't remember exactly when we met. I understand that even though our relationship is genuine and honest (we provided a lot of evidence and I personally think it's a relatively strong application), inconsistent information regarding the timeline of our relationship can be a red flag and the immigration department can outright reject/cancel my visa. 

I'm pretty stressed out by this right now and have no idea what to do. Do you think I should withdraw my current application and apply for a new one (does that mean that the immigration department won't be able to see my previous application and compare it to the new one as I wouldn't want it to look suspicious)? Should I wait until I receive an answer from them and repeal if it comes to that? 

I definitely appreciate what you've been doing for everyone here, Mark. I'm really looking forward to hearing from you soon. Thanks so much again. 

Hailey


----------



## Franciathomas

*Hi Mark*

I have lodged my Partner Visa onshore Subclass 820 Last December 2017, I noticed that I made a mistake attaching my documents, I attached all of them on "others" category labeling it, instead of the sections that they provided, 
it was really a careless act that I never read it through as I already attached and confirmed them I know that I can't remove them, Please kindly give me your knowledge on how to rectify what I did,

thank you for considering my situation
Ella


----------



## dung_nguyen_2605

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I very appreciate your support to all of us and hope you're well.

I have a few questions regarding my 485 application and traveling overseas that I really need someone's help.

My case is as follows.

I finished a masters course and received a completion letter on 12 Jul 2017. I then traveled to Vietnam for a couple of months and came back to Australia on a visitor visa on *30 Dec 2017* in order to apply for the 485 visa.

My visitor visa is a one-year expiring on the *5 Sep 2018* and it allows multiple entry, so I can still get back to Australia till then.

I submitted my 485 application on *2 Jan 2018*, and was granted a bridging visa A on 5 Jan, which says it *hasn't been in effect* as my visitor visa is still in effect at the moment.

Now I would like to travel back to Vietnam for a month for Tet Holiday from _2 Feb to 10 March 2018_ but I'm not sure whether I'll meet the requirement to be in Australia when the decision on 485 visa is made.

So I have a few questions on this:
1. Does this mean I'm currently still on visitor visa or BVA? I din't know why an agent told me that I'm on BVA and not visitor anymore.
2. Can I travel on my visitor visa or must I apply for BVB first? Because I'm confident that I'll be able to return before my visa expires, just want to make sure it's allowed.
3. Will the case officer delay processing my visa until I'm back in Australia again? As I'll be still on visitor so I can't work at all.
4. How can I know when the decision on my application is about to be made? Will the case officer inform me about this?
5. Will traveling like this adversely affect my chance of getting the visa, or will it be granted once I'm back in Australia?
6. I called the DIBP to get an answer and the staff told me to attach a letter in my application to explain my travel plans. Do you think it's a good idea?
7. Is the traveling period too long that it might cause some problem?

I know this is quite complicated so thank you very much in advance!
May


----------



## Stephanie

Dear Mark,

thank you for your help on this site. I hope you may be able to help me too!

I want to visit Australia for four weeks in March just as a tourist. So I thought the easiest is to apply for an eVisitor which I´m eligible since I have a German passport.
But here´s the issue: I live in China at the moment (total of six months until February) and then want to go directly to Australia and then back to my home country which is Germany where I also lived before and still have my apartment etc.
In the form there is a question about "Country of Residence" I would put Germany, but I´m not sure that´s right because two pages later it asks for "Residential Address" but that would be China I guess?

Kind Regards
Stephanie


----------



## Emily j

Hi Mark, I was granted a 5 year 461 partner of a new zealander visa in November 2013. My partner and I returned back to the UK in 2015 and now have a baby daughter aged 9 months. We wish to return back to Oz before my visa expires in November this year and reapply for another 461 visa. We are in the middle of applying for my daughter NZ Citizenship. I was just wondering the best way to go about it and will immi wait until my current via expires before agreeing to grant me another one. Many thanks.


----------



## Emily j

Sorry Mark, I meant to ask if it would be best to apply off shore or onshore. Thank you.


----------



## Jacob87

Hi Mark,
I am a bit concerned about calculating my points for a skillselect. I graduated from tafe in December 2016 as a carpenter, cert III, since then I have worked on my graduate visa doing Job ready program. I have received provisional skill assessment at the beginning of the program and last month I got my work assessment. I will finish program at the end of January.
Do you think that I can claim one year work experience? Or I cant do it because it have to be done after finishing job ready program?
Without these 5 points I would collect 60points and maybe another 5 points from state sponsorship.
Please let me know what you think.

Kind regards,
Jacob


----------



## sarbjeetk21

Hi mark mrng!!
My sister is PR, can you plz suggest. I want to apply for 489 family sponor!! They live in sydney, but they have their business in regional area of NSW, will that help me in getting the 10 points? I currently hold 60points without the sponsorship..will get 5points for my professional year!! 

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Fishy

Hi Mark, 

Thanks for offering your time to everyone.  I am an international student who completed my bachelor degree of architecture in UTAS, and have been working as an architecture graduate for the past two years under temporary graduate visa 485. I will resume my Master degree in the next few months. 

Regarding to the Skilled Employment requirement for Visa 189, i would like to know if, 

a) my current employment ( two years between bachelor and master degree); and, 
b) my part time employment in architecture field during my master degree later, 

can be seen as a skilled work experience in Australia, or will it only be counted after submitting the skill assessment application? 

Should i hand in the application to AACA for skill assessment with my current bachelor degree documents and transcripts as soon as possible to initiate the counting? From my understanding they don't recognise anything lower than the master degree certificate, and i am not sure if i can re-apply for another temporary visa 485 (since i am using it now) to gain more experience after my master degree. 

Looking forward to hearing from you, thank you very much. 

Fishy


----------



## Ella2016

Do I have to fill out form 40SP?


----------



## maulikdoshi82

Hi Mark & Other Seniors,

Newbie here. I have a unique problem with my Visa Lodgement. I have already filed for Independent 189 Visa in 261313 stream with 80 points. I'm having around 13 years of experience. Also ACS has agreed that my experience can be counted from July 2009 onwards removing nearly 4 years of experience. (I have bachelors + master degrees but still 4 years were removed). In all I still have more than 8 years of relevant experience as per ACS too. 

Now filing EOI, though it was mentioned for past 10 years, I submitted all the experiences by mistake i.e. All 13 years instead of only 10 years. As stated, I have received the invite and also filed my visa application with the same. I have also submitted proof for all those 13 years of work experience. 

My query is: Does DIBP can still think that I have provided wrong information or tried to claim extra points? Can this be ground for rejecting my visa? If so, is there any remedy that I can do? Please help.


----------



## Ranc

*When to apply for BVB*

Hi Mark!

Thank you so much for offering your help and sharing your knowledge.
I have a question on traveling abroad during the process of applying for a partner visa (820/ 801). My partner and I will apply soon (on shore), can we apply for the BVB (for traveling outside Australia) as soon as we send in the visa application or do we have to wait for them to let us know they have started assessing our application (if that is what they do)?

Thank you in advance!


----------



## gradstudent

Hello,

I am wondering for the student visa and bringing a dependant (de facto partner), the website says 


> A person is the de facto partner of another person (whether of the same sex or a different sex) if:
> they have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others
> the relationship between them is genuine and continuing
> they live together or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis and they are not related by family.
> For an application for a Student visa the de facto relationship must have existed for at least 12 months immediately preceding the date of application.


Does this mean that we must prove we have lived together for the 12 months preceding the date of the application? Or only that we have lived together and have been in a relationship for at least 12 months?

Thanks!


----------



## F88

Hey guys my partner and i we have opend up a new joint account recently coz they told me you need it for your partner visa 100 and we still waiting for the card but eachone us have own account and we both use thm together. For rent we also pay cash. We also do have photos together plus witnesses about our relationship i also want to tell you that my partner is not working he wants to learn english we have a little baby girl 3 months old and now im taking care of her so I receive parenting payments support. My question is will that affect his visa 100 if hes not working plus the joint account is it ok that we opend it recently. I really appreciate you help


----------



## Mohammed786

Hi Mark,

My query is with regards to the skilled
Independent visa (subclass 189). I have received a positive outcome for my
skill assessed as an internal auditor couple of months back.Now, I have
been promoted to Senior Auditor.How do i proceed with lodging my EOI as i
want to include all updated relevant information with regards to my skill
assessment?Will Updating my current position as senior auditor along with
my previous positive skilled assessment outcome be enough to claim points?Will my promotion letter be enough to claim the points as senior auditor?

Thank you


----------



## Juliet1

Hi Mark
How can you transition from a bridging visa from 461 to a student visa Onshore. 
Thanks


----------



## simon.ghosh

Hi Mark,

Wish you a very happy new year.

I'm planning to invite my parents from Kolkata, India on tourist visa to stay with us for around 3 months. Can I apply for 600 visa online? or should I ask them to personally submit the form 1419 at VFS global Kolkata?


----------



## sham101

Hi Mark

I have applied for a student visa extension since I failed one unit and I am currently granted a bridging visa, prior to applying for the student visa I requested a remark and last week I was informed that I passed and therefore I am course complete. I still haven’t recieved my student visa and awaiting the decision. So could you tell me what would happen if I withdraw my student visa application? Will I be Unlawful citizen or will I be given 28 days to apply for another visa or depart? As an Internation student I do plan to apply for 485 visa? Could you please give me an advice

Thank you


----------



## sheeba.soans

Hi Mark,

i am applying 457 visa for AUS, and i need to get the Police clearance certificate from China, i tried calling embassy in China and India but no help. Can you please let me know if we need PCC for 457 ? and if yes how do we get it ? I am unable to get any help from consultants either. Please help!!

Thanks


----------



## jhunt66

Leaving Oz before 100 visa granted.
Hi Mark,
Appreciate your view! My wife is on 309 visa and about 4 months away from 100 visa decision however I have found a great job in Europe and we both want to go. We aim to leave before her 100 will be decided. How will this move impact her 100 visa? Non-preferred option but should I go to Europe and settle in and get her to come after 100 visa is granted? The job will be a 1-3 year contract and then we would return to Oz. How will this affect here desire for Oz citizenship? Appreciated your advice on options we have, if any! Cheers
James


----------



## Abhisheklal04

Hi Mark, 

i need to know that after the 489 family sponsored visa has been granted. Can the sponsor take back the sponsorship. If yes, then is there a way to get the sponsor change to another person?

Thanks 
Abhishek


----------



## bappi2k3

Hi mark in 887 visa it is required to show that the partner stay at least 2 year in regional area? Because I fullfill the 2 years requirement on February but my wife fulfil the requirement on march. What should I do apply February or march? Thanks


----------



## Space_Dog

*Updating Travel Info*

Hi there,

We are waiting to hear about an offshore partner visa (309/100) that was submitted in June 2017. My partner (applicant) visited Aus with me for this past xmas, which was his first time there. I remember that the visa application we submitted asks about countries the applicant has traveled to and whether they have been to Australia. Do we now need to update the application somehow? We have not yet been assigned a case worker.

Thanks!


----------



## Australia_190

Hi

Kindly let me know with 70 points how many chances i do have to get EOI under 190 subclass for 141311 (Hotel/Motel Manager) in NSW. Previously i had applied for EOI with 60 points in feb 2017,then after improving my English Scores, i got 70 points and updated my EOI in last week of Dec 2017,moreover my scores will further improve with 5 points due to my work Exp, so in feb month i will be getting 75 scores.

pls guide me
thanks and Regards
Anshuman


----------



## Gannicus

Hi Mark.

On 457 subsequent entrant (offshore) what is the "initial entry date" time period given ?


----------



## Brianm93

Hi Mark, I’m looking to apply for the skilled migration visa (subclass 189).
I’m up to speed with most of the requirements and steps, however there is just one part which is throwing me a bit of confusion.

It states that a skills assessment must be completed prior to submitting my EOI.
In a gas engineer from Scotland, so the skills assessment authority would be the TRA. I’ve been on other forums and people have said that they had to complete a practical and theory assessment to pass and other people have just had to send away evidence of work, payslips, photographs of work etc... so I’m just wondering is it completely random if you have to do a practical assessment or is there a process you can go through to avoid having to do a practical exam?

Thanks


Brian


----------



## Yoyo888

Hi Mark, we (me and my wife) just received our pr189 visa. I have questions regarding first entry: 1) is it necessary for the primary applicant.to land first? 2) can I land in Perth and fly back in 2 days and then later my wife does her first landing in sydney ( without me being in aus and being done landing in a different city)? 3) Can I just simply land and take off? Is it mandatory for me to apply for.medicare niw. Can I do that when I am finally in.Aus?


----------



## angelcloud

Hi I applied for my Partner Visa 820 June 10, 2017. Done the Medical same month. Jan. 8, 2018 my Case Officer requested for AFP and Form 1229 Consent Form from my son's dad. I have submitted all additional documents on Jan. 15, 2018. My ImmiAccount says Assessment in Progress. How long do we usually have to wait for the decision after submitting the additional documents?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Martinbov -

Thanks for the note, and sorry for the delay in responding. I'm not sure if the BVE would cease if you traveled to Christmas Island - it's a tricky legal question having to do with a series of various policy and regulatory changes that seems to continually be defining the "migration zone". Would need to do some legal research to get you any sort of a firm answer on this - a good place to start is section 80 of the Migration Act. Also your immigration history may come into play here depending on whether you were an unauthorised maritime arrival, etc.

Best,

Mark Northam



martinbov said:


> Hi Mark, I was wondering if you are able to provide a little more specific information on travel restrictions for a Bridging Visa E.
> 
> I am currently on a Bridging Visa E, I know it comes with no travel rights and would be cancelled if I leave Australia. However, do the travel restrictions include going to, for example, Christmas Island? I know Australian driving licences are accepted as trial documents for Christmas Island, so a passport is not required.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dan -

Thanks for the note. Answer is generally not - DHA (formerly DIBP) will issue the overseas PCC request letter when they're ready to proceed with assessing your character etc, and are generally not open to requests to generate the letter early.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Dannygolucky said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Both my wife and I lived in Hong Kong for over 12 months. The HK Police require a referral letter from Australian authorities to process the police check. I don't want to wait around for a CO to contact me, is there a way to get the department to issue me the referral letter? We applied from the US (309/100) in July 2017.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andology -

You are able to change your response in the visa application once you receive an invitation to apply and apply, which creates a new visa application in your ImmiAccount. Key issue is that in your visa application you must be able to justify a claim of at least the same number of points as your EOI shows at the time of invitation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Andology said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your reply, I greatly appreciate it.
> 
> If in the EOI I answered as "No", what should I answer in the visa application once invited? As I thought what I answered in the EOI should match exactly in the visa application.
> 
> The reason I really do not want to claim points is that I changed houses a lot over the span of 4 months due to some dodgy agents and I did not sign any contracts with them, really silly me. And my bank statements for that period only show the first address, so I do not know how to show the other addresses. After that semester, I did sign contracts and did not move around a lot anymore.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ming1 -

Thanks for the note. Hard for me to estimate possible issues or chances of success without seeing your actual evidence. The timeframe for the relationship of 6 months living together may present some challenges, however the greater concern I would have is 8 months total relationship time - best way to help reduce chances of problems is to include as much high quality relationship evidence as you can with the application. Re visitor visa, same issues apply, plus applicant's visa history for Australia. If she already has a fair amount of positive travel to Australia, then maybe a 6 month visitor visa is a reasonable thing to go for, otherwise 3 months is safer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ming1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My fiancee and I are planning to apply for a 309/100 visa. We will be married in Feb in PH and then submit the 309. When we submit the 309 application we will have been together for about 6 months (since we met in person - I guess 8 months from meeting online). I guess this is not a long time, and we have been long distance for much of this time too (total of maybe 40 days together) and rest of the time we chat daily by video.
> 
> After submitting the 309 we are hoping to get a visitor visa issued so we can be together in the meantime, and have a second wedding ceremony in Oz for family and friends here to attend.
> 
> Do you think the LDR factor and relatively short relationship period will be a problem for either the 309, or getting a temp visitor visa approved? And what length of visitor visa do you think we could get? We are hoping for at least a 6 month multi entry so she can be here until the 309 is granted...
> 
> We do have a fair bit of evidence such as photos (inc with many family members etc), multiple trips to Oz/PH and other countries together. We haven't had much chance to combine our finances in terms of shared accounts as we haven't been living together, but we have receipts for flights, meals and other activities and other shared expenses. We are now setting up shared accounts etc and would be using these over the next few months.
> 
> thank you
> M


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tapas -

Thanks for the note and enjoyed working with you in a consultation - cases like this are much better dealt with in a consultation as it gave us the opportunity to discuss the case back and forth and allowed me to get much more information on both you and your wife's circumstances.

A good key to remember is that in most cases, the case officer will focus on the tasks and duties of a job, not the actual job title. That's not always true, but is often true.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tapas said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Many thanks for taking out time to answer queries of common folks here. My bio in brief:
> 
> 1. An engineering graduate (B.Tech) in Electronics and Communication Engineering and a post graduate diploma holder in management from Indian universities
> 
> 2. Work-experience:
> 
> a) In an IT firm as Systems Engineer/Systems Analyst/Developer for 1 year 9 months
> 
> b) As Operations manager/Business Analyst in a Bank for 3 years 8 months
> 
> c) Currently working as Business Development Manager in an IT firm - completing 2 years in Feb 2018
> 
> 3. Currently on 457 Temporary Work (Skilled) Visa in Australia (granted in Jan 2017 and valid till Jan 2021)
> 
> 4. IELTS overall score of 8 with 7 in writing and 8.5 in all other sections
> 
> 5. My wife is on dependent 457 Temporary Work (Skilled) visa and currently working in a market research/consulting firm
> 
> 6. I am planning to apply for PR under Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa. However, my 457 visa was applied by my sponsoring company with my designation as *ICT Business Development Manager* which is not part of MLTSSL  Hence, I am planning to apply for skills assessment as Business Analyst (which is part of MLTSSL). This is because my actual designation in my current company is '*Business Solutions Consultant'* which involves significant work (other than business development activities) that matches with the description of BA occupation as given on ANZSCO website. My previous work experience has significant BA component as well. My queries:
> 
> a) Can I apply for EOI under 'Business Analyst' occupation code when my current official designation in 457 visa application was 'ICT Business Development manager'? More importantly, will the skills assessment authority care about designation or about description of responsibilities? What if I omit my designation in my the reference letter from my current company and just describe my work responsibilities?
> 
> b) If I cannot apply as 'Business Analyst' in above scenario; do I have any other option except wait to complete 2 years with my employer on 457 visa (Jan 2019) and then hope that they would sponsor my PR under Direct Entry scheme?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Babypink -

Sorry for the delay in responding. I can't give you specific advice for your case without knowing much more, but if you're referring to the 5-year limitation (Reg 1.20J) then I'd say you are likely in a good position - even if they rushed the application, the pregnancy would give you a good chance of a waiver of 1.20J if the issue came up before your 5 years is over.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Babypink said:


> Hi Mark,
> Kindly advice me on the following matter.I'm planning to lodge my partner visa this week.Do you think its safe to apply 4.5 months before the sponsorship limitation ends? If yes, do i need to write a waiver letter for support? We have been married for 2 years+ and I'm pregnant right now.
> Looking forward to your response!
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kirangrech -

Thanks for the note. Answer is yes - in your ImmiAccount, click on New Application, then My Health Declarations to complete the health questions and generate a health referral letter with HAP ID to use to book a health exam at a qualified DHA approved facility. That being said, DHA will not assess the results of your health exam prior to you lodging a visa application, so if the goal is to try and see if you can get a health approval or otherwise prior to lodging a visa application, taking the exam prior to lodging won't help.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kirangrech said:


> Can I go for medical assessment before sumiting my application?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Purnamani1 -

Thanks for the note. You could certainly claim the post-ACS work experience for points, but DHA may require you to get that additional work assessed by ACS later if they do not accept that it is relevant to your nominated occupation. You can also choose to ask ACS to assess only that work experience (although not sure if ACS still offers that function as I haven't done it in a while) or do a new ACS report if you're unsure of whether it will be deemed as relevant to your occupation.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



purnamani1 said:


> HI Mark,
> 
> I have filed EOI for PR 189 category at 29-12-2017 with 70 points. Now in Jan 2018 I have another 5 points that can be added for work experience. Can I update my EOI with the 5 points, My ACS was completed on July 2017, And as per ACS Experience after Jan 2012 is accounted as valid. However on Sep 2017 I changed to a new company but I am still under same job category and roles. Do I need to file new ACS to claim the 5 points for experience. Will DIAC reject my VISA application if I do so.
> 
> __________________
> 261312 Developer Programmer
> ACS +ve : 08-07-2017
> PTE 20 Pts : 28-12-2017
> EOI 189 : 70 pts on 29-12-2017
> EOI 190 (VIC) : 75 pts on 3-1-2018
> 189 Invite : waiting
> 190 Invite : waiting


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ArajS -

Thanks for the note. Per current DHA policy, for online applications via ImmiAccount, DHA prefers colour scans of originals which are accepted by them - no certification needed for these. Form 888s and any other form that actually has a place where an authorised witness needs to sign would need to be witnessed, but since DHA accepts scans of originals, no real need to make certified copies for uploading.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ArajS said:


> Thank you Mark
> And just wondering, all the supporting documents and evidences such as lease paper, letters(about 10), bank statements, receipts/bank transaction(about 15) need to CERTIFIED by the JP or not, before uploading in online application.
> OR if you could briefly illustrate what docs. need to be certify?? Thanks again for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Meetfaiz -

Thanks for the note. I'm not sure exactly what you're asking - are you concerned with the difference in terminology between "specified regional area" and "designated area"? If so, they refer to the corresponding list of areas that were valid when your visa was granted. As I expect you know, these lists are different for the family sponsored 489 and the state sponsored 489.

Re going offshore, you can click "Update Us" and lodge Form 929 online to advise of an address change or contact info change if you will be traveling while the visa is being processed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



meetfaiz said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am on 489 family sponsored visa and when i try to apply for 887 visa via the immi account it brings me to a question:-
> 
> ''Have you lived for 2 years and worked for 1 one year in one or more of the specified regional areas''?.
> 
> Now my condition is to lived and work in a designated area. should i tick it yes and continue the application?
> 
> Secondly, i plan to go overseas while my application is being processed, how do i notify my case officer about this? it says that i need to let them know of my travel plans.
> 
> Please provide some insight into this
> Thankyou


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andy -

Thanks for the note. There are no current minimum financial requirements for sponsors in the legislation - a low bank balance would not be of concern I would think - in fact, if the bank statements reflect a sharing of you and your partner's money, they could be important as evidence of the financial aspects of the relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Andy_ said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am an Australian citizen and we applied for my wife's* 309 visa* in *June 2017*. My wife is a citizen of and a resident of Pakistan. Here are a couple of other facts:
> 
> -I, the sponsor, have been a resident of Australia since 2008 and received my citizenship in 2013. In total, I spent 9 continuous years in Australia.
> -I moved to Pakistan just before we filed her 309 visa , to live with my wife. I plan to live with her in Pakistan until her visa is granted and then we will move to Australia together.
> -I am currently working remotely for an Australian company and earning a modest wage (expected $40k this financial year).
> -The last 3 financial years while I was in Australia, I was making between $90k and $150K a year.
> -I currently have no significant savings as I exhausted them all on our wedding and visa costs.
> 
> Question
> 
> -Do you think my current financial status will be enough to satisfy DIBP's requirement for sponsors?
> -We do have a joint bank account in Pakistan and every month I transfer $2,000 from my Australian account into our Pakistani account to cater for our monthly expenses.
> -We have not uploaded our bank statements to our application yet, as we are afraid a bank statement with $5,000 balance would negatively impact our application .
> -If DIBP reckons my current financial status is not enough, will they give me a few months to improve my situation? In that case, I will fly back to Australia and join my employer full-time which will pay me upwards of $100K.
> 
> Your advice on this would be of immense help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cooking -

Thanks for the note - as a huge fan of Chinese cuisine, I'm getting hungry already!

A FIFO job for 4 days a week would not be an issue I would think, as long as you maintain your primary residence with your partner and leave much of your property there to show that you still "live" there, but simply "stay" several night a week near your job.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cookingthechineseway said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently on a 820 visa, and applied for 801 since July, 2016, and we are living together on a daily basis.
> 
> However, there is a very good job opportunity in another town, which is 4 hours away (driving) from my current home. My guess is: if I get this job, then I have to live in that town from Sunday night to Wednesday noon each week (approx. 3 days), then travel back to our current home to live with my partner for the rest of the week.
> 
> Another thing is I don't know how long the job last, it's not a fixed term, my plan is to work in that area to get some experience first. And we don't wanna relocate to that town as my partner got a pretty good wage with his current job.
> 
> So my question is, if we living apart for only 3 days each week, and the rest of days together each week, will that (fly in and fly out) situation influence my 801 visa? .
> 
> Thanks and much appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Khrism2 -

Thanks for the note. From what I'm hearing, chances of getting an invite for a 189 as Accountant with 65 points are low. If you get a higher English test score that adds points, you can simply update your EOI with this info. No need for another skills assessment, just enter the new English test results into your EOI and Skill Select will adjust your points accordingly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



khrism2 said:


> Hi Mark! I have lodged my 189 EOI General accountant last August 2017 and I got 65 points. I am looking at taking another PTE exam so I could get an additional 10 points to get 75 points atleast to get the minimum points (i think) for general accountant. Do you think I need to wait for the points invited before taking another exam to gauge if I can get the chance to be invited soon? Or should I proceed to retaking the exam? If I got the new score, do I just need to amend my EOI with the new scores and no need to ask the CPAA to reassess again? Thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Milsin -

Thanks for the note. Yes to all - need new Form 40sp (done online immediately after you lodge the main form) and new 888 forms. The new 888 forms should refer to your "married relationship" being genuine, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Milsin said:


> Hi Mark,
> I was on a prospective marriage visa,than we got married and than we applied for Partner Visa . When we applied for the PMV we filled 40SP form do we need to fill the form again? And the same thing for the 888 forms do we need new ones? They don t take in consideration the previous forms that we provided for the PMV?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arvindshukla -

Thanks for the note. Would need to review your documents and history in much more detail to give you specific advice for your case re skills assessments. However regarding your last question re working, you can work in any occupation you like once you come to Australia under a 189 visa - this goes for your wife as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



arvindshukla.off said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My question is about the skilled independent PR under section 189. My wife will be the primary applicant here. We are aiming to earn the 5 partner points through me.
> Brief profile:
> 
> Mechanical engineering degree and 28 months work experience as mechanical engineer (2007-2009)
> 2 years Masters in Industrial engineering and working as business analyst/data scientist since 2012
> 
> Problem:
> 
> I Can't go for Business analyst job code because ACS would need 6 years relevant experience and RPL. I have 8 years of experience but only 5.5 years are relevant
> Or can I do that ?
> 
> Can I go for mechanical engineering job code as I worked as a mechanical engineer from 2007-2009, but never post that period? will they fail me because I last worked as mechanical engineer in 2009?
> 
> Shall I try for industrial engineering job code, but I have never worked as industrial engineer?
> 
> My goal here is not to secure any points for work experience but to pass the skill assessment test to earn 5 partner points.
> 
> Finally, even if I get my skill assessment done for mechanical engineer, I believe I can work as a data scientist there, is my understanding correct?
> 
> Many Thanks in Advance for your help!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alex -

Thanks for the note. A person on a student visa who applies for a 189 would not normally encounter any problems in their student visa as long as they continued to study and abide by the conditions of their student visa. Being on a student visa would not, in and of itself, be any sort of barrier to lodging an application for a 189 unless there is a condition on the student visa that prevents this (check the visa carefully).

Re cancelling her student visa, I would check this out VERY carefully as that is not a requirement of applying of the 189. You may be receiving some incorrect advice from somewhere/someone.

If she was holding a secondary applicant 485, that visa normally comes with no limitation on study.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alexpoon said:


> Hi Mark,
> Im going to apply for 485 temporary graduate visa and my partner is on her student visa at the moment. And we will apply for 189 together in the future.
> 1. when we apply for 189 visa together (im the main applicant), while she is still on her student visa, will her student visa affect the 189 visa application? will there be a risk of not getting PR together?
> 2. as i know she has to cancel her 500 student visa and we apply 189 visa together. during this period of time, will this pause her honours study in australia?
> 3. can she study honours while she is on 485 temporary visa as secondary applicant?
> 
> thank you so much for any help!
> cheers,
> Alex


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TessB -

That does seem like a bit of an unusual wait. I'd check with them every 2 weeks - not a lot you can do until they either send you a decision or ask for more documents, etc. There is the step of a complaint to the Global Feedback Unit - see:

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/contact/provide-feedback/compliments-complaints-suggestions

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TessB said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Just wondering if you had a few minutes to read over my story - I'd appreciate your thoughts...
> 
> I applied for my Working Holiday (417) visa with a UK passport in October 2017. They sent me an email requesting a health check in early November 2017 and that was finalised and health clearance provided on the 15th of Nov 2017 (According to ImmiAccount). Since then I've heard nothing from the dept of Home Affairs, and when I call the European Service centre to ask about my application they say they can see no issue with my application and there's no explanation for the long wait. The advertised processing time is 8-29 days online - so I'm concerned something has gone wrong with my application as it's been 2 and a half months since I heard anything from them?
> 
> My status on ImmiAccount has been 'assessment in progress' for ages now and I was just wondering how to get in touch with someone to find out what's happening? I was initially planning on going over to Aus early January and I'm getting more and more concerned as everyone I've spoken to has received their visa quite quickly.
> 
> Any advice or ideas would be massively appreciated - I'm really not sure what the next course of action should be?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Caroline -

Thanks for the note. Assuming the holder is in Australia, they can stay past the 5 year initial period of the 143, but if they go offshore, will not have re-entry rights past the 5 years unless they then get a Resident Return Visa (subclass 155 and 157). If they have substantial ties to Australia, then a one-year 155 visa may be possible. What DHA is trying to filter out is people who are granted permanent visas and then only show up for a few days to validate the visa, then leave and don't come back for years. However if the holder enters Australia during the 5 year initial period, they can stay indefinitely. It's the re-entry rights that expire and need to be renewed with one of the streams of the 155 or 157 visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CaroF said:


> Hi Marc
> 
> What happens if we are granted the Contributing Parent Visa 143 and after 5 years we do not meet the 2 in 5 years residence requirement? What are our options the, if any?
> 
> Kind regards
> Caroline


----------



## Ming1

Thanks Mark, I appreciate your taking the time to help out on here!

She does have 2 entries to Australia so far already, 10 days and 9 days approximately. So we should try for a 6 month? Also based on this info, and assuming we have a high quality application with all required partner visa documents, evidence etc lodged on day 1, would you recommend going the tourist stream? or sponsored stream?

We are hoping for multi entry too as we're looking to go on a trip overseas after the first 3 months.

thanks
Ming



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ming1 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Hard for me to estimate possible issues or chances of success without seeing your actual evidence. The timeframe for the relationship of 6 months living together may present some challenges, however the greater concern I would have is 8 months total relationship time - best way to help reduce chances of problems is to include as much high quality relationship evidence as you can with the application. Re visitor visa, same issues apply, plus applicant's visa history for Australia. If she already has a fair amount of positive travel to Australia, then maybe a 6 month visitor visa is a reasonable thing to go for, otherwise 3 months is safer.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## Scotsman

*90 days before Course*

Hi Mark

My friend from Mexico has the opportunity to rent a unit in Surfers Paradise but has to be there a certain date to take over the lease. I have read on many websites that you can travel up 90 days before your course starts which would be plenty as she would have to be here 6 weeks before her course and she knows that she cannot work at all until the course starts.

I tried to find confirmation in the Immigration Papers but gave up and contacted the Immigration Department Direct where they told me you can only come 28days before your course starts on a Student Visa and the agent said he knows nothing about 90 days
Can you help please


----------



## JerrylB

*Work Holiday Visa & De Facto*

Hi Mark,

I am from Singapore and is new to the forum.

I would like to have a quick enquiry to some questions..
My partner has a PR in Aus and will be heading back to setup his business back in Australia in a few months' time

I am trying to apply for a Work and Holiday Visa from Singapore, as the Work and Holiday Visa has a shorter processing time and also have an advantage for me to explore Australia and the life/work culture there.

My thoughts would be if I could get a WHV approved, I'll try to apply for a De Facto Visa while i am in Australia.

There is this section in the Application form for WHV mentioning on Relationship Status. Should I be indicating De Facto or Never been in a De Facto relationship as technically, my partner and I has been dating for 3 years plus, but did not actually live together for 12 months or more.

Just want to be sure on this note, as I will eventually be applying for a De Facto nearing my WHV expiry (fingers crossed).

Thanks in advance.

Regards,


----------



## F88

Hey Mark 
Mark please i really need help can you tell me what forms that i need to complete for permanent visa 100 i have done form 888 for the witness what else that i need to complete


----------



## Robin12

Hi mark

I applied for 457 visa from India and got pic 4020 invitation to comment in 28 daysbecause I don’t have enough documents to prove my work experience . Now I want to withdraw my application so I want to know does it will have negative impact on my future application and can I apply for tourist visa for Australia and I got my brother that can sponsor me for tourist visa.

Thanks


----------



## ijaz.ahmad88

*457 Application priority request*

Dear Mark!

I trust my email find you well, my employer requested for priority on my 457 application but the immi department refused to do so stating that the case doesn't fulfill the criteria, where can i get previous sample letter which was considered ok by the immi department for the priority request? what shall we do in this case beside waiting 

Thanks,
Ijaz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi

Thanks for the note. A student visa application is one of the types of applications specified in Regulation 2.03A of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) where if the de facto registration is registered with the proper state authority, that registration automatically satisfies the 12-month de facto relationship rule (ie, the rule that the relationship have existed at a de facto level for the 12 months prior to lodging the application). Relationship evidence is still required to show that the de facto relationship was in existence at the time of application and for a reasonable time before application, but the 12 month rule can be satisfied for student visa application via registering the relationship with the appropriate state authority.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



can_to_aus said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner will be studying her masters on a 500 student visa. I have received a job offer as an IT professional in the same city. I am looking to apply as a de facto parter her 500 visa in order to travel with and support her. I am 27 years old and she is 25.
> 
> The issue I am having is I am finding it hard to prove on paper that we have lived together for 12 months. I purchased the condo in my name before we were together, and thus the mortgage and bills are in my name. We have been planning this trip for over a year, so she didn't bother changing her address from her parents only to have to change it back. She, of course, contributes to the household expenses, but bank statements are not exactly proof of co-habitation. We can show items being shipped to our address in her name, but I'm not sure that is enough.
> 
> Will the minimal evidence we have of co-habitation, along with written statements from myself, friends, family, and general proof of our relationship be sufficient, or should we look at other alternatives?
> 
> Thanks for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi User1991 -

Thanks for the note. Re cancellation of a student visa due to non-enrolment or insufficient course progress, generally there is no negative impact on an ongoing partner visa application since there is no requirement under the partner visa regulations that you must have abided by the conditions of your previous visa. Other types of cancellation (ie, character, etc) would be different however.

Re cultural differences, this can result in questions or concern by partner visa case officers depending on the circumstances - ie, they might wonder how people from 2 vastly different cultures/religions/etc can be in a genuine relationship, etc but that is best addressed in your relationship statements and relationship evidence.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



User1991 said:


> Hi mark
> I have applied partner visa 309/100 by online immi. My partner is Australian citizen. We are in relationship since Feb 2016. We have registered our relationship in Victoria. I was on student visa in Australia. DIBP canceled my student visa because I breached an condition on my student visa. Is there any bad effect on my current visa application from my previous immigration history.also we have different cultures background.


----------



## MoonRising

*can I entr on visitor visa while awaiting decision on 489?*

Dear Mark,

I just received invitation to apply for 489 visa, I will apply for the visa offshore, and then thinking of going to Australia on a e-visitor visa, my question is once DIBP is ready to grant me my 489 visa do I have to leave the country or can I stay onshore for the grant? I am getting conflicting information abut this. I have wedding to attend soon so this is the reason for me wanting to enter on a evisitor visa.

Another question, I have lived in Australia previously and had a student visa 573 and wanted to swap it to 572, as I changed my course but my 572 was refused but 573 was not cancelled and I continued living on the 573( the CO decided that I was not a genuine student and therefore refused 572). I'm worried that my previous 572 visa refusal will impact the grant of 489 and me entering on an evisitor visa will be further problem. What do you think? Can my 489 be refused due to past visa refusal? I am from a European country and have lived overseas for 18 months since I left Australia.

thank you!

MR


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Rik2016 -

Happy to assist - please see my responses below at ***:



Rik2016 said:


> Hi Mark,
> How wonderful that you offer help in this maze of Visa Regulations.  Hope you can help us, as we could not find answers to these questions below. Me and my wife are going to apply for a 189 with my wife (Veterinarian) as the main applicant, as her profession is on the SOL list and she will score more than 60 points.
> 
> Before we would like to make an Expression of Interest, there are some things that are unclear to us:
> -If my wife is granted the 189 visa, will I (as a partner on this visa) be able to work in Australia if I am not on the SOL list? Do I have the same rights?
> *** Yes. Both your wife and you will have unlimited work rights in Australia (in any occupation you wish - no occupational restrictions) upon grant of the subclass 189 visa.
> 
> -Would I be able to do freelance work on this Visa or start a business?
> *** Yes - see above.
> 
> -Can you already pose an EOI if your IELTS test is planned in the future (march)?
> *** No. You must enter your English test results into the EOI. Putting in "dummy values" to get through the screen in order to lodge the EOI prior to actually receiving your English test results is very risky as an invitation can happen at any time once you lodge the EOI, invitations happen with no advance notice, and your English test results would be locked at the time of invitation - if the test date is after the invitation date, the test results are useless for the invitation and cannot be considered.
> 
> -All the payslips and work contracts we have are in Dutch. Would it be necessary to translate these? And if yes can you do that yourself?
> *** Depends on the case officer and circumstances - if you are lodging 100 payslips, DHA may be happy if you have one translated if they are all formatted the same way with the same language, just dates/amounts different. All translations for DHA must be done by professional translators - self-translating is not accepted.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> -


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Calvin -

Thanks for the note. The Agreement stream is for negotiated labour agreements between employers and the immigration department - this would be somewhat unusual if your occupation is already on one of the occupation lists (MLTSSL, STSOL). I don't know enough about your circumstances to give you specific advice for best visa option(s), but you might look at the subclass 485 and 457 visas as a starting point. Note that the 457 visa will be replaced by the TSS visa in March 2018. You might also consider a consultation with a registered migration agent where you can get more personalised advice specific to your circumstances, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



calvin_tsf said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I am a final year international student studying Bcomm at Canberra. I was notified by my workplace that they are interested in hiring me as a tax accountant and would be happy to nominate/ do anything to assist me to become a PR.
> 
> Upon checking online, I only found Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) under the Agreement Stream to be fitting.
> 
> May I ask if the above visa works for me if I am currently on a student visa and if possible, could you kindly advise if there are any other options that employers could sponsor temporary residents to work & become a PR?
> 
> Thank you so much, Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Matt -

Thanks for the note - you might consider an onshore partner visa (subclass 820/801) lodged while she is here in Australia, or an offshore partner visa (subclass 309/100) which you can lodge offshore at any time. The main difference is that if you lodge the 820/801 with your wife onshore, she will receive a bridging visa which allows her to remain in Australia while the partner visa is being processed, which can be 18-24 months. If you lodge offshore, she's limited to coming on visitor or other visas during that processing time.

That being said, DHA is promising big changes to the partner visa programme to be implemented sometime in the March-July timeframe this year. Some of those changes may make it more difficult to lodge onshore partner visa applications, depending on how the changes are implemented and the details of those changes (which haven't been announced yet). Might be a good reason to consider an onshore lodgement May while she's here.

Happy to discuss your circumstances in more detail at a consultation - please see my website below in my signature for more information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mattandlanen said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Firstly, thanks for putting yourself out there.
> 
> My name's Matt and I'm an Aussie who lives in Taiwan with my wife and child. Lanen and I have been together since 2015 and married for a bit over a year. We have a young baby son Edward who is an Australian citizen by decent (has passport etc). Lanen went back to Australia last August for a month to see family. She loves NSW and wants to stay and start her life. We'll go back to Australia again in May for 2 weeks. My family love Lanen , and of course they love Edward and want to see both of them in Australia permanently.
> 
> I'd like to apply for a permanent residence visa for Lanen in June/July this year. Can you guide me in the right direction to start the process?
> 
> It seems rather overwhelming.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Matt, Lanen, and Edward.


----------



## sarbjeetk21

Hi mark, my sis is a PR. For many months or years of residence in regional area as a proof she has to show for sponsring me? she resides in the regional.
Thanks
Jeet.


----------



## sarbjeetk21

Hi mark thanks for your help, my sis is a PR. For how many months or years proof she has to show for sponsring me? she resides in the Nsw regional and what document proofs she needs to show in order to get sponsord, i am on my 485 visa, right now i have 60, (excluding Family sponsorship and Professional year and partner points)Applying under General accountant.
Thanks
Jeet.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi NehaSa -

Thanks for the note. If you return to Australia prior to the expiry of your 5-year PR period, you can remain in Australia indefinitely even past the end of the 5 year period, and even if an RRV is refused. An RRV refusal essentially means that you have no right to re-enter Australia after the 5-year PR period, but doesn't restrict you from remaining in Australia indefinitely as long as you re-enter Australia prior to the end of the PR period.

Re skilled visa, would need to assess his eligibility to give you any specific advice. However generally, a 189 visa would be processed in the 6-12 month timeframe where a partner visa could take twice that long, plus another 1-2 years after that to become eligible for and process the PR part of the visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



NehaSa said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am Australian Permanent Resident, my travel facility will expire in June 2018.
> I will be moving to Australia in March 2018 with intention to settle there.
> I have two questions:
> 1.If my RRV gets rejected, will I be deported from country post June or only travel outside Australia is restricted ?
> 
> 2.I want to apply for spouse visa for my husband from there but the processing time for spouse visa is close to 2 years, which means I will have to stay away from my husband for another 2 years. To minimize this long distance period can he go for Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) as the processing time mentioned in the website is much shorter than spouse visa? Which would take minimum time period?
> 
> Thank you & Kind regards,
> Nesa


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Filip -

Once your status changes from "received" to "submitted", you should receive a bridging visa and Acknowledgement of Application letter which you can use with Medicare. Normally this process takes only a few days, but can be somewhat unpredictable. Medicare is generally available once you have your acknowledgement letter and bridging visa - you do not have to wait until the visa decision is made (ie refuse or grant) in order to get Medicare. This is because the grant of a bridging visa is taken to be confirmation that DHA considers your application a "valid" application and will then proceed to process that application over the coming months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



filip88 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> First of all thanks a lot for offering help through this channel. I applied online 3 daye ago for my partner visa 820/801. In my online account it is stated that den DIBP received my application. And I got a confirmation E-Mail that the application was received. However, I did not get any notification/email so far regarding the Bridging Visa A. As far as I understood Should have received it straight away after lodging. Should I take any action?
> 
> Furthermore I tried to enroll for Medicare. However I was told that I am not eligible for Medicare since my "Acknowledgement of application received for a partner visas..." states that my application has not yet been assessed. I thought I am eligible to enroll for Medicare straight after lodging the docs for the visa. Or am I wrong?
> 
> Thanks a lot
> 
> Filip


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi HaileyB -

Thanks for the note. No need to withdraw the application - I would suggest having the writer prepare a new Form 888 with the correct date in it, then upload that to your application and also attach with it a completed Form 1023 (incorrect answer on a visa application correction form) and a cover letter to explain why the new Form 888 is being lodged to correct the date.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



HaileyB said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for offering your services here.
> 
> My partner and I applied for the partner visa 820/801 November last year (it's been about two months now) and it came to my attention that a friend of ours who did form 888 for us provided the wrong date in the form.
> 
> I arrived in Australia in February 2015 and started going out with my partner in April that same year, meaning she would have met me around that time. However, she wrote in her form 888 that she met me in late 2014 as she was going camping when she wrote that and didn't remember exactly when we met. I understand that even though our relationship is genuine and honest (we provided a lot of evidence and I personally think it's a relatively strong application), inconsistent information regarding the timeline of our relationship can be a red flag and the immigration department can outright reject/cancel my visa.
> 
> I'm pretty stressed out by this right now and have no idea what to do. Do you think I should withdraw my current application and apply for a new one (does that mean that the immigration department won't be able to see my previous application and compare it to the new one as I wouldn't want it to look suspicious)? Should I wait until I receive an answer from them and repeal if it comes to that?
> 
> I definitely appreciate what you've been doing for everyone here, Mark. I'm really looking forward to hearing from you soon. Thanks so much again.
> 
> Hailey


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ella -

Thanks for the note. I'd upload a letter explaining that you were confused and didn't understand the categories/subcategories and apologise for any inconvenience. That being said, the selection of category and subcategory is not actually an "answer" on a visa application, and is done primarily as a convenience to the case officer(s) reviewing the application. It can't be fixed now since you cannot change the category/subcategory after lodgement, but the fact that you acknowledge your mistake and apologise should go a long way towards reducing any potential issues.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Franciathomas said:


> I have lodged my Partner Visa onshore Subclass 820 Last December 2017, I noticed that I made a mistake attaching my documents, I attached all of them on "others" category labeling it, instead of the sections that they provided,
> it was really a careless act that I never read it through as I already attached and confirmed them I know that I can't remove them, Please kindly give me your knowledge on how to rectify what I did,
> 
> thank you for considering my situation
> Ella


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi May -

Thanks for the note. Please see my responses to your specific questions below at ***:



dung_nguyen_2605 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I very appreciate your support to all of us and hope you're well.
> 
> I have a few questions regarding my 485 application and traveling overseas that I really need someone's help.
> 
> My case is as follows.
> 
> I finished a masters course and received a completion letter on 12 Jul 2017. I then traveled to Vietnam for a couple of months and came back to Australia on a visitor visa on *30 Dec 2017* in order to apply for the 485 visa.
> 
> My visitor visa is a one-year expiring on the *5 Sep 2018* and it allows multiple entry, so I can still get back to Australia till then.
> 
> I submitted my 485 application on *2 Jan 2018*, and was granted a bridging visa A on 5 Jan, which says it *hasn't been in effect* as my visitor visa is still in effect at the moment.
> 
> Now I would like to travel back to Vietnam for a month for Tet Holiday from _2 Feb to 10 March 2018_ but I'm not sure whether I'll meet the requirement to be in Australia when the decision on 485 visa is made.
> 
> So I have a few questions on this:
> 1. Does this mean I'm currently still on visitor visa or BVA? I din't know why an agent told me that I'm on BVA and not visitor anymore.
> *** Your BVA will remain dormant and unactivated until your visitor visa expires or is cancelled. Once your visitor visa expires, if you are onshore in Australia on that day, the BVA should activate automatically, extending your ability to remain in Australia until the 485 is decided.
> 
> 2. Can I travel on my visitor visa or must I apply for BVB first? Because I'm confident that I'll be able to return before my visa expires, just want to make sure it's allowed.
> *** No need for BVB application unless your travel plans indicate that you will be outside Australia when your visitor visa expires. DHA generally will not grant a BVB unless this is the case.
> 
> 3. Will the case officer delay processing my visa until I'm back in Australia again? As I'll be still on visitor so I can't work at all.
> *** The 485 application will generally continue processing even if you make a trip outside Australia.
> 
> 4. How can I know when the decision on my application is about to be made? Will the case officer inform me about this?
> *** If DHA is ready to make a decision on the visa and you are outside Australia, they will generally email you and give you 28 days to re-enter Australia in order to be granted the visa. Check your spam/junk mail folder carefully!
> 
> 5. Will traveling like this adversely affect my chance of getting the visa, or will it be granted once I'm back in Australia?
> *** Normally would not affect your chances of getting the 485 unless you did not re-enter Australia after being given notice to do so to enable grant (see above).
> 
> 6. I called the DIBP to get an answer and the staff told me to attach a letter in my application to explain my travel plans. Do you think it's a good idea?
> *** Yes.
> 
> 7. Is the traveling period too long that it might cause some problem?
> *** Doesn't seem too long to me.
> 
> I know this is quite complicated so thank you very much in advance!
> May


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stephanie -

Thanks for the note. Normally if you've been living in a country for 6 months and don't maintain a permanent address elsewhere (such as in your home country), then the country you are living in at the time would be your residential address. In your case, I would expect that China would be both your country of residence and your residential address given you've lived there for 6 months or so.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Stephanie said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> thank you for your help on this site. I hope you may be able to help me too!
> 
> I want to visit Australia for four weeks in March just as a tourist. So I thought the easiest is to apply for an eVisitor which I´m eligible since I have a German passport.
> But here´s the issue: I live in China at the moment (total of six months until February) and then want to go directly to Australia and then back to my home country which is Germany where I also lived before and still have my apartment etc.
> In the form there is a question about "Country of Residence" I would put Germany, but I´m not sure that´s right because two pages later it asks for "Residential Address" but that would be China I guess?
> 
> Kind Regards
> Stephanie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Emily -

Thanks for the note. You can apply for a second 461 visa prior to the expiry of your first 461 visa if you wish - no rule against that. Main advantage of applying onshore while holding your current 461 visa is that you'd receive a bridging visa that would allow you to remain in Australia after the current 461 expires until a decision is made on the new 461. Given that 461 visas can take 12+ months to be decided these days, that can make a big difference re: ability to remain in Australia with work rights, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Emily j said:


> Sorry Mark, I meant to ask if it would be best to apply off shore or onshore. Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jacob87 -

Thanks for the note. Would need to review your documents and the specifics of your circumstances to give you specific advice about eligibility of work experience - the regulations in this area can be complex - happy to assist at a consultation, please see my website below in my signature for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



Jacob87 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am a bit concerned about calculating my points for a skillselect. I graduated from tafe in December 2016 as a carpenter, cert III, since then I have worked on my graduate visa doing Job ready program. I have received provisional skill assessment at the beginning of the program and last month I got my work assessment. I will finish program at the end of January.
> Do you think that I can claim one year work experience? Or I cant do it because it have to be done after finishing job ready program?
> Without these 5 points I would collect 60points and maybe another 5 points from state sponsorship.
> Please let me know what you think.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Jacob


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarbjeetk21 -

Thanks for the note. Eligibility of a family member to be a sponsor for the family sponsored stream of the subclass 489 visa requires that sponsor to be usually resident in a "designated area" (see https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2016L00777 ) of Australia. Where their business is located is not relevant to this - it's where they ordinarily live (ie, where their home is). Living in Sydney would not make them eligible to be a sponsor for a 489 visa since the Sydney metropolitan area is not a designated area - check the list above to see allowable areas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sarbjeetk21 said:


> Hi mark mrng!!
> My sister is PR, can you plz suggest. I want to apply for 489 family sponor!! They live in sydney, but they have their business in regional area of NSW, will that help me in getting the 10 points? I currently hold 60points without the sponsorship..will get 5points for my professional year!!
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## sarbjeetk21

Thanks for your reply mark, incase they have a residence proof such as electricity bill, how long it has to be? 

Thanks jeet.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fishy -

Thanks for the note. Key issue to consider is that AACA will generally determine a date that you become "skilled" - normally that's after you have completed the minimum qualification that includes 10 semesters of study (but see their rules for lots of additional details on this). If that means including your Masters degree, then generally work done prior to you becoming skilled (ie, work done prior to finishing your Masters degree) would not be considered as skilled work eligible for points. That being said, only your skills assessment result document details can determine this with any degree of certainty. As far as I know, there is no advantage to lodging an application with AACA prior to having completed the minimum required semesters of study, etc as described in their booklet. You might check with them however to see if there is any advantage given your particular circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Fishy said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for offering your time to everyone.  I am an international student who completed my bachelor degree of architecture in UTAS, and have been working as an architecture graduate for the past two years under temporary graduate visa 485. I will resume my Master degree in the next few months.
> 
> Regarding to the Skilled Employment requirement for Visa 189, i would like to know if,
> 
> a) my current employment ( two years between bachelor and master degree); and,
> b) my part time employment in architecture field during my master degree later,
> 
> can be seen as a skilled work experience in Australia, or will it only be counted after submitting the skill assessment application?
> 
> Should i hand in the application to AACA for skill assessment with my current bachelor degree documents and transcripts as soon as possible to initiate the counting? From my understanding they don't recognise anything lower than the master degree certificate, and i am not sure if i can re-apply for another temporary visa 485 (since i am using it now) to gain more experience after my master degree.
> 
> Looking forward to hearing from you, thank you very much.
> 
> Fishy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ella2016 -

Thanks for the note. I am assuming you are an Australian citizen. Yes, Form 40sp (done online now) is required. However as there is no minimum income requirement to be a sponsor for a partner visa, I don't see an issue with your circumstances from what you've said. I would suggest uploading a letter describing how your family is/will survive financially once the visa is approved, but that can include work plans for the applicant, financial support from others (parents, etc), and references to your savings or any other sources of income.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ella2016 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I hope this message finds you well. *My husband and I will be applying for his visa 309*. I want to make sure everything is set out accordingly to the Australian government laws.
> 
> We *married *2 years and 5 months ago.
> We have *known each other* for 3 years and 8 months.
> We happily have a 22-month-old daughter
> 
> I am not working at the moment. I am looking after bubs. We are in Cyprus. If it is approved we will be living with my mother. Our plan is to arrive and for me to begin working as a teacher again. My husband (the sponsored party) wants to begin work straight away. He speaks English and is a white-collar worker as well. We have to work to support our family and build up for a house deposit.
> 
> Do I have to fill out form 40SP? I am thinking ahead and wondering how this would look to an officer that would approve/disapprove the visa application. A mother looking after her baby says she will sponsor her husband, but isn't working at the moment. Should I explain our living situation and our plans somewhere in our application? Or in an attachment?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Maulik -

Thanks for the note and later consultation - to clarify for others, as long as you have proper documentation for 8+ years of qualifyinig work experience within the last 10 years prior to the date of invitation, including additional work experience older than 10 years as relevant experience generally would not have a negative impact on your points score, as work older than 10 years is not eligible for points anyway, and the maximum work experience points is awarded for 8+ years of overseas qualifying work experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



maulikdoshi82 said:


> Hi Mark & Other Seniors,
> 
> Newbie here. I have a unique problem with my Visa Lodgement. I have already filed for Independent 189 Visa in 261313 stream with 80 points. I'm having around 13 years of experience. Also ACS has agreed that my experience can be counted from July 2009 onwards removing nearly 4 years of experience. (I have bachelors + master degrees but still 4 years were removed). In all I still have more than 8 years of relevant experience as per ACS too.
> 
> Now filing EOI, though it was mentioned for past 10 years, I submitted all the experiences by mistake i.e. All 13 years instead of only 10 years. As stated, I have received the invite and also filed my visa application with the same. I have also submitted proof for all those 13 years of work experience.
> 
> My query is: Does DIBP can still think that I have provided wrong information or tried to claim extra points? Can this be ground for rejecting my visa? If so, is there any remedy that I can do? Please help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ranc -

Thanks for the note. Generally you would need to wait until your Bridging Visa A was granted (usually same day as applying, assuming you hold a substantive visa on the day you apply for the partner visa) and then lodge the BVB application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ranc said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Thank you so much for offering your help and sharing your knowledge.
> I have a question on traveling abroad during the process of applying for a partner visa (820/ 801). My partner and I will apply soon (on shore), can we apply for the BVB (for traveling outside Australia) as soon as we send in the visa application or do we have to wait for them to let us know they have started assessing our application (if that is what they do)?
> 
> Thank you in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gradstudent -

Thanks for the note. It means that you need to prove the existence of a relationship at a de facto level (which is far more than roommates, etc) for the 12 months prior to applying for the visa. DHA normally considers a couple living together as a primary indicator of being in a de facto relationship, but in some cases this is not required if the relationship can be proven otherwise.

Also, if you register your de facto partner relationship with the appropriate state authority if this is allowed in your state, this registration can satisfy the 12 month de facto relationship requirement for student visas. With a registered relationship, relationship evidence is still required however to show the existence of the de facto partner relationship as of the time of application and for a reasonable time before application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gradstudent said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am wondering for the student visa and bringing a dependant (de facto partner), the website says
> 
> Does this mean that we must prove we have lived together for the 12 months preceding the date of the application? Or only that we have lived together and have been in a relationship for at least 12 months?
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi F88 -

Thanks for the note. Key for assessment of the financial aspects of a relationship is that you show that you're sharing your money - if you have individual accounts and each of you pay not just for your own "share" of things but for things that have a mutual benefit, this can be helpful. The not working part is not generally an issue, but I would certainly make sure DIBP knows that you have a baby together, as this can be used as a basis of a claim of a genuine relationship along with whatever other relationship evidence you may have. Having the baby is no guarantee of a visa, but it can go a very long way towards addressing situations where there is weakness in one or more of the 4 required relationship evidence areas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



F88 said:


> Hey guys my partner and i we have opend up a new joint account recently coz they told me you need it for your partner visa 100 and we still waiting for the card but eachone us have own account and we both use thm together. For rent we also pay cash. We also do have photos together plus witnesses about our relationship i also want to tell you that my partner is not working he wants to learn english we have a little baby girl 3 months old and now im taking care of her so I receive parenting payments support. My question is will that affect his visa 100 if hes not working plus the joint account is it ok that we opend it recently. I really appreciate you help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohammed786 -

Thanks for the note. Continued employment after your skills assessment where you've worked for the same employer and position as previously assessed generally only requires a letter from the employer confirming the extended time past the date you lodged the skills assessment application. Since you've had a change in position, you might ask the employer to confirm in that letter that you still have the same tasks/duties as you had in the previous (assessed) position, and/or outline the changes in your tasks/duties as appropriate. The extent of any changes will help the case officer determine whether they want to request that the additional work experience past the date of skills assessment application would require any sort of additional assessment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mohammed786 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My query is with regards to the skilled
> Independent visa (subclass 189). I have received a positive outcome for my
> skill assessed as an internal auditor couple of months back.Now, I have
> been promoted to Senior Auditor.How do i proceed with lodging my EOI as i
> want to include all updated relevant information with regards to my skill
> assessment?Will Updating my current position as senior auditor along with
> my previous positive skilled assessment outcome be enough to claim points?Will my promotion letter be enough to claim the points as senior auditor?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Juliet -

Thanks for the note. No good way to make an onshore student visa in those circumstances (holding only BVA from 461 application) unless the last substantive (non-bridging) visa you held was a student or diplomatic visa and expired less than 28 days ago. Other than that, I expect you will need to make an offshore student visa application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Juliet1 said:


> Hi Mark
> How can you transition from a bridging visa from 461 to a student visa Onshore.
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Simon -

Online subclass 600 visa application is fine - no need to lodge a paper application generally. DHA prefers online applications now.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



simon.ghosh said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Wish you a very happy new year.
> 
> I'm planning to invite my parents from Kolkata, India on tourist visa to stay with us for around 3 months. Can I apply for 600 visa online? or should I ask them to personally submit the form 1419 at VFS global Kolkata?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sham101 -

Re student visa application, if you withdraw your student visa application, the bridging visa from that application will then be set to expire in 35 days from the date of withdrawal (in some cases 28 days depending on when the bridging visa was granted) so you'd be able to remain in Australia legally until your bridging visa expires - if you lodge another valid visa application while the bridging visa is still active, you would in most cases get another bridging visa (this time a Bridging Visa C) that would activate after the first bridging visa expires.

Re 485 visa, would need to work with you in a consultation to give you specific advice re your eligibility, etc - depends on a number of factors and no quick yes/no answer is possible here on the forum. Please see my website below in my signature for more info on consultations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sham101 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have applied for a student visa extension since I failed one unit and I am currently granted a bridging visa, prior to applying for the student visa I requested a remark and last week I was informed that I passed and therefore I am course complete. I still haven't recieved my student visa and awaiting the decision. So could you tell me what would happen if I withdraw my student visa application? Will I be Unlawful citizen or will I be given 28 days to apply for another visa or depart? As an Internation student I do plan to apply for 485 visa? Could you please give me an advice
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sheeba.soans -

Thanks for the note. Since July 2017 police clearance certificates are required for 457 visa applications. The general rule is that you need a police certificate from all countries you have lived in for a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years. Lately DHA seems to be interpreting that as all countries you've lived in for a total of 12+ months *since turning 16 years old.*

You might check with an Australian registered migration agent who processes visas for people from China for more info on ways to get a police certificate. Offshore unregistered "consultants" often do not have complete information on a number of areas regarding Australian immigration.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sheeba.soans said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> i am applying 457 visa for AUS, and i need to get the Police clearance certificate from China, i tried calling embassy in China and India but no help. Can you please let me know if we need PCC for 457 ? and if yes how do we get it ? I am unable to get any help from consultants either. Please help!!
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jhunt66 -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you are an Australian citizen, there is generally no issue with the applicant being offshore at the time of decision on the subclass 100 visa. She would still have PR re-entry rights for 5 years from the date of grant of the visa.

Re citizenship, suggest you check out the residency requirements for citizenship and the exception for partners of Australian citizens who are required to be outside Australia for their job etc. Too many details to go into here, but there may be a good pathway there depending on your circumstances. See Australian Citizenship website for more details.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jhunt66 said:


> Leaving Oz before 100 visa granted.
> Hi Mark,
> Appreciate your view! My wife is on 309 visa and about 4 months away from 100 visa decision however I have found a great job in Europe and we both want to go. We aim to leave before her 100 will be decided. How will this move impact her 100 visa? Non-preferred option but should I go to Europe and settle in and get her to come after 100 visa is granted? The job will be a 1-3 year contract and then we would return to Oz. How will this affect here desire for Oz citizenship? Appreciated your advice on options we have, if any! Cheers
> James


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Abhishek -

Thanks for the note. For a family sponsored 489 visa, once the visa is approved the sponsor does not generally have any continuing obligations, so there would be no ability to "take back" a sponsorship once a visa has been granted. It's not like a partner visa where if the couple splits up before the PR partner visa is granted, the provisional partner visa becomes subject to ceasing due to the PR application being refused due to withdrawn sponsorship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Abhisheklal04 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> i need to know that after the 489 family sponsored visa has been granted. Can the sponsor take back the sponsorship. If yes, then is there a way to get the sponsor change to another person?
> 
> Thanks
> Abhishek


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bappi2ks -

Thanks for the note. Only the primary applicant for the 887 must meet the live for 2 years / work for 1 year requirement. The secondary applicant only needs to have held (or have a bridging visa for an application for) a 489 visa as of the time of application and provide suitable evidence of the partner relationship, in addition to any other requirements for the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bappi2k3 said:


> Hi mark in 887 visa it is required to show that the partner stay at least 2 year in regional area? Because I fullfill the 2 years requirement on February but my wife fulfil the requirement on march. What should I do apply February or march? Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Space_Dog -

Thanks for the question. There is no requirement generally to update your application for visits to Australia made after you lodge the application. If travel to Australia or another country puts you over the "traveled for a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years" mark for a particular country, you should update DHA of that (use Form 1022) as that will usually trigger the need for a police clearance certificate from that country.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Space_Dog said:


> Hi there,
> 
> We are waiting to hear about an offshore partner visa (309/100) that was submitted in June 2017. My partner (applicant) visited Aus with me for this past xmas, which was his first time there. I remember that the visa application we submitted asks about countries the applicant has traveled to and whether they have been to Australia. Do we now need to update the application somehow? We have not yet been assigned a case worker.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anshuman -

Thanks for the note. Would like to help, but there is no way to estimate chances of getting an invitation from NSW for any occupation - the process has too many subjective elements and may be subject to things like per-country quotas and other factors that the states do not disclose publicly.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Australia_190 said:


> Hi
> 
> Kindly let me know with 70 points how many chances i do have to get EOI under 190 subclass for 141311 (Hotel/Motel Manager) in NSW. Previously i had applied for EOI with 60 points in feb 2017,then after improving my English Scores, i got 70 points and updated my EOI in last week of Dec 2017,moreover my scores will further improve with 5 points due to my work Exp, so in feb month i will be getting 75 scores.
> 
> pls guide me
> thanks and Regards
> Anshuman


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gannicus -

Generally it's the earlier date of the expiration dates for your police certificates and health checks - both are good for 12 months from the date they are issued.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Gannicus said:


> Hi Mark.
> 
> On 457 subsequent entrant (offshore) what is the "initial entry date" time period given ?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brian -

Thanks for the question. Yes, it is correct that you must have your skills assessment results completed and in hand prior to lodging your EOI. Generally trade-oriented occupations require a 2-part skills assessment - part 1 is paper-based and looks at an applicant's qualifications and work experience, and part 2 is either a practical demonstration or Skype interview etc where questions are asked about the practical aspects of the occupation and the applicant's practical experience. Each skills assessor is different however, so best to check with the individual assessor you plan to use. For TRA occupations, many can also be assessed by VETASSESS, Victoria University or others depending on whether TRA has outsourced contracts for assessment for the particular occupation. Suggest checking the TRA website and the website for any contracted assessors carefully as the requirements from one to the next can vary substantially.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Brianm93 said:


> Hi Mark, I'm looking to apply for the skilled migration visa (subclass 189).
> I'm up to speed with most of the requirements and steps, however there is just one part which is throwing me a bit of confusion.
> 
> It states that a skills assessment must be completed prior to submitting my EOI.
> In a gas engineer from Scotland, so the skills assessment authority would be the TRA. I've been on other forums and people have said that they had to complete a practical and theory assessment to pass and other people have just had to send away evidence of work, payslips, photographs of work etc... so I'm just wondering is it completely random if you have to do a practical assessment or is there a process you can go through to avoid having to do a practical exam?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Brian


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Yoyo888 -

Congratulations on your visas! Unless it is specified as a condition of the visa, you can land in any order you wish, separately or together. No requirement that you apply for Medicare, but since it's free, no reason not to once you are living here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Yoyo888 said:


> Hi Mark, we (me and my wife) just received our pr189 visa. I have questions regarding first entry: 1) is it necessary for the primary applicant.to land first? 2) can I land in Perth and fly back in 2 days and then later my wife does her first landing in sydney ( without me being in aus and being done landing in a different city)? 3) Can I just simply land and take off? Is it mandatory for me to apply for.medicare niw. Can I do that when I am finally in.Aus?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Angelcloud -

Wish I had more for you, but partner visa processing times these days are highly unpredictable. Hopefully you'll hear something in a few months, but DHA is often doing extensive checks on any situations where a child is involved and Form 1229 is provided, so very difficult to predict how much longer processing may take.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



angelcloud said:


> Hi I applied for my Partner Visa 820 June 10, 2017. Done the Medical same month. Jan. 8, 2018 my Case Officer requested for AFP and Form 1229 Consent Form from my son's dad. I have submitted all additional documents on Jan. 15, 2018. My ImmiAccount says Assessment in Progress. How long do we usually have to wait for the decision after submitting the additional documents?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ming1 -

Wish I could help more, but I simply don't have enough facts and background to give you specific advice re: time period of the visitor visa to apply for. Sponsored stream generally good for higher risk situations, but again, would need to do a proper assessment of the circumstances and proposed visitor visa application in a consultation in order to give you specific advice.

Best,

Mark Northam



Ming1 said:


> Thanks Mark, I appreciate your taking the time to help out on here!
> 
> She does have 2 entries to Australia so far already, 10 days and 9 days approximately. So we should try for a 6 month? Also based on this info, and assuming we have a high quality application with all required partner visa documents, evidence etc lodged on day 1, would you recommend going the tourist stream? or sponsored stream?
> 
> We are hoping for multi entry too as we're looking to go on a trip overseas after the first 3 months.
> 
> thanks
> Ming


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Scotsman -

I believe the point of confusion may be that you can apply for a student visa generally no more than 3 months prior to the start of the course.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Scotsman said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My friend from Mexico has the opportunity to rent a unit in Surfers Paradise but has to be there a certain date to take over the lease. I have read on many websites that you can travel up 90 days before your course starts which would be plenty as she would have to be here 6 weeks before her course and she knows that she cannot work at all until the course starts.
> 
> I tried to find confirmation in the Immigration Papers but gave up and contacted the Immigration Department Direct where they told me you can only come 28days before your course starts on a Student Visa and the agent said he knows nothing about 90 days
> Can you help please


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JerrylB -

Thanks for the note. The key thing to consider is whether in a future visa application, you will want to claim that at the time you apply for the WHV, you were in a de facto partner relationship. If you will be claiming that the de facto partner relationship reached a de facto stage only AFTER the WHV is granted, then you may want to indicate that you are not in a de facto relationship on the WHV application. However doing that precludes you from later claiming you actually were in a de facto relationship at the time you applied for and were granted the WHV.

Also to clarify, the 12 month de facto rule for de facto partner visa applications (ie, 820/801 onshore or 309/100 offshore) does not say that you must live together for 12 months in order to THEN be considered to be in or have reached the level of a de facto relationship - it says that you needed to have *been* in a de facto relationship for the 12 months PREVIOUS to the date of application (usually involves living together, but not always).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JerrylB said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am from Singapore and is new to the forum.
> 
> I would like to have a quick enquiry to some questions..
> My partner has a PR in Aus and will be heading back to setup his business back in Australia in a few months' time
> 
> I am trying to apply for a Work and Holiday Visa from Singapore, as the Work and Holiday Visa has a shorter processing time and also have an advantage for me to explore Australia and the life/work culture there.
> 
> My thoughts would be if I could get a WHV approved, I'll try to apply for a De Facto Visa while i am in Australia.
> 
> There is this section in the Application form for WHV mentioning on Relationship Status. Should I be indicating De Facto or Never been in a De Facto relationship as technically, my partner and I has been dating for 3 years plus, but did not actually live together for 12 months or more.
> 
> Just want to be sure on this note, as I will eventually be applying for a De Facto nearing my WHV expiry (fingers crossed).
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi F88

See this link for DHA requirements - you can answer Yes to the questions to go through to the list of required documents:

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/corporate/information/forms/online/partner-permanent-calculator

Note that you'll need a new batch of relationship evidence in all of the 4 required categories - financial, social, household, commitment.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



F88 said:


> Hey Mark
> Mark please i really need help can you tell me what forms that i need to complete for permanent visa 100 i have done form 888 for the witness what else that i need to complete


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Robin12 -

Thanks for the note. Under the current regulations, a withdrawn application where PIC 4020 was raised would not bar you from a future application. That being said, a law was passed but was later disallowed earlier this year that would have changed that and made ALL relevant information and documents provided to DHA, even if later withdrawn, subject to PIC 4020. I expect the government will take another crack at getting some new regulations passed in this area which could then make the withdrawn visa application count towards the PIC 4020 issue and possible ban period.

That being said, a withdrawn application after PIC 4020 allegations were made may very well cause any future visa applications to be given extremely close scrutiny and verification.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Robin12 said:


> Hi mark
> 
> I applied for 457 visa from India and got pic 4020 invitation to comment in 28 daysbecause I don't have enough documents to prove my work experience . Now I want to withdraw my application so I want to know does it will have negative impact on my future application and can I apply for tourist visa for Australia and I got my brother that can sponsor me for tourist visa.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ijaz -

Thanks for the note. I don't know of any samples or templates - these are all evaluated on a case-by-case basis depending on the circumstances described in the letter. These days very difficult to get priority processing unless there are things like children or major health issues involved, etc. But major health issues may give rise to health criteria issues for the visa, so need to be careful there too.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ijaz.ahmad88 said:


> Dear Mark!
> 
> I trust my email find you well, my employer requested for priority on my 457 application but the immi department refused to do so stating that the case doesn't fulfill the criteria, where can i get previous sample letter which was considered ok by the immi department for the priority request? what shall we do in this case beside waiting
> 
> Thanks,
> Ijaz


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MoonRising -

Thanks for the note. The 489 visa can be granted whether you are onshore in Australia or outside Australia, so no issue there re where you are.

A refused 572 visa in the past would not generally result in problems for a future 489 application that I can imagine - the requirements for the two visas are entirely different, and as long as you departed on time while holding the 573, it wouldn't give rise that I can see to any sort of future issues or exclusions.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MoonRising said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I just received invitation to apply for 489 visa, I will apply for the visa offshore, and then thinking of going to Australia on a e-visitor visa, my question is once DIBP is ready to grant me my 489 visa do I have to leave the country or can I stay onshore for the grant? I am getting conflicting information abut this. I have wedding to attend soon so this is the reason for me wanting to enter on a evisitor visa.
> 
> Another question, I have lived in Australia previously and had a student visa 573 and wanted to swap it to 572, as I changed my course but my 572 was refused but 573 was not cancelled and I continued living on the 573( the CO decided that I was not a genuine student and therefore refused 572). I'm worried that my previous 572 visa refusal will impact the grant of 489 and me entering on an evisitor visa will be further problem. What do you think? Can my 489 be refused due to past visa refusal? I am from a European country and have lived overseas for 18 months since I left Australia.
> 
> thank you!
> 
> MR


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarbjeetk21 -

Thanks for the note. I note in a previous post you said your sister lives in Sydney, which would make her ineligible to sponsor you for a 489 visa.

If she does reside in a designated area, she would need to show that she is "usually resident" there - this means that she lives there on a regular basis. Beyond that it is up to the case officer's assessment as to whether she is "usually resident" in the designated area - there is no prescribed specific number of months, but I would estimate that less than 6 months living there might stand an increased chance of being challenged as not being usually resident. It's really up to the opinion and judgment of the case officer however.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sarbjeetk21 said:


> Hi mark thanks for your help, my sis is a PR. For how many months or years proof she has to show for sponsring me? she resides in the Nsw regional and what document proofs she needs to show in order to get sponsord, i am on my 485 visa, right now i have 60, (excluding Family sponsorship and Professional year and partner points)Applying under General accountant.
> Thanks
> Jeet.


----------



## KDL1201

*457 sponsorship visa*

Hi Mark
Can you assist? My ex-husband is currently in Australia on a 4 year 457 sponsorship. on his initial application he put down our 2 boys. they are currently in south Africa and an immi account has been done to add them so they can go join him. do you perhaps know how long this can take to be finalised? we have sent all documents requested, medical/police clearance done etc. please help? thank you regards Karen


----------



## aggletina

*457 subsequent visa application onshore/offshore*

Hi Mark,

My partner just got his 457 visa granted not long ago and we're going to get married couple months later in our country. We plan to apply subsequent entry visa for me after we get married, but are not sure whether I shall lodge the application onshore while holding a visitor visa or offshore waiting in our country until it's granted. Thank you very much for your help. 

Cheers, 
Tina


----------



## MJAus!2018

Hi Mark,
I posted the following in another thread and wondered if you had any thoughts (middle of page). I have applied for a 309 (6 Nov 2017) with my two children, ages 15 and 20. I was hoping that I might get approved before July (the DC embassy is taking over a year from what I'm seeing at the moment so this is wishful thinking), so we can move before my daughter gets too engrained in the US school system...she will be starting her 11th grade year in August. If this process takes too long, I'm afraid that my daughter will want to finish high school in America. I was hoping she would do years 11 and 12 in Australia and want to stay with me and live through her university years in Australia....and if she finishes high school in America, she will want to stay in America. Is there any way I can speed this process up? Is it worth ringing someone up and seeing if something can be done? My other issue is below.

Post from the other thread:

I’m worried that my 309 application will be denied. I have a 20-year-old son that is mildly intellectually disabled who will be migrating with me if our visas are approved. Does anyone have experience with this? Maybe I’m just being panicky. After all, we did get advice from an Australian immigration attorney before we lodged our application and he seemed to think we had a good chance of being approved. Here’s a little background. I’m American and was widowed about 3 ½ years ago and my Australian husband was widowed 3 years ago. We found each other on a dating website and sparks flew. We have visited each other in both the USA and Australia 7 times now for about 2 weeks or more with each visit (it’s getting expensive). We married in March of 2017. My son was receiving a social security death benefit monthly from my late husband’s death until my son turned 18. After that he was evaluated by a psychologist that was hired by the Social Security Administration in the USA and it was decided to reinstate his benefit. He will receive this benefit from social security for the rest of his life even in Australia. It’s a sizeable amount. My concern is that the Australian government will dismiss that and base their decision solely on the fact that he could qualify for Australian benefits based on his disability, and, therefore, be a strain on the government. If our visas are denied, we will definitely appeal. Just an added note, when we had our health checks done, I discussed this with the doctor and he did a mental evaluation on my son which he passed with flying colors along with the rest of his medical check. Also, he has held a summer job before, so he is capable of working, but is not currently working. I’m not sure how independent he will become in the future, but right now he needs me. How often do people post in these forums that they have been denied their visas and what are they denied for? I’ve read over the ones that the DIBP have listed already. 

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Falling in love with an Australian is so much more complicated then I thought it would be.....but he's so worth it!!


----------



## SamLizzie

Hi Mark,

We are getting pretty close to submitting our partner visa 309 offshore (currently we're residing in England, i'm British and my partner is Australian on a tier 5 youth mobility visa) we've been here for 18 months. One thing we didn't factor in, is that we have a 3 week holiday booked to Australia in April to visit Sam's family, and I wondered if it's okay to enter Australia on a tourist visa for a set holiday while the status of our 309 visa is pending (and will be in it's very early stages i'm sure). My main concern is that immigration won't let me in! Even though we will have return flights back to England 3 weeks later. Am I able to even apply for a tourist visa with a 309 visa pending? We're struggling to find anyone in a similar position or answers online, so your help would be wonderful! However we've already booked our flights for our trip in April so we're a bit worried!

Our second query is Sam's tier 5 visa expires at the end of June, he currently has an irish citizenship application pending (to let him stay in the uk) but he might not get that before we have our Aus trip. So when we re enter the uk in May he'll only have a month left on his uk visa and no return flight to show immigration officers. Will they let him back in?? Is he allowed to tell them he has an irish citizenship/passport pending? We are very worried about this also! 

Hope to hear from you soon and thank you so much for any help you can give.

Kind regards,

Lizzie


----------



## aminsagar123

Hi Mark,
Could you please advise. 
Is it possible to claim Accounting Professional Year points in External Auditor occupation. 
Thanks.


----------



## #62Aussie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Hannaht -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Wish I could help, but DIBP is very unpredictable about visa processing times these days in my experience. We rarely see subclass 300 visas go beyond 14-18 months, so I'd make sure you monitor your email (especially junk/spam folders) carefully and hopefully you'll get a response in the next few months. You can also email them to ask if there is any additional information or documents they want at this point.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Sorry, I realize this is an old quote but what email address should be used to ask if there is any additional information or documents required. Application for PMV300 was submitted from USA in March 2017 and there has been no contact since. Very straightforward application. The wait without knowing anything is so hard.


----------



## patel1234

Hey Mark,

Can you advise on 485 subsequent entrant visa. I applied for my wife from India on 21st Dec 2017. Any idea how long does it take? thanks


----------



## Wiresitaly2015

Hi Mark,

I have applied for 309 visas dated 13Oct2017 through Immiaccount online. Further, I have also submitted my medicals and PCC by 20Oct2017.Till date I havent heard any reply from them ? Is this normal ? As my husband is based in Australia right now, can I apply visitor visas and join him there? Will there be any issue if I apply for visitor visa in addition to 309 Visas? Pls guide


----------



## kaswu8

Dear Mark,

I have a few questions that I don't really know who to ask. I have gone through the forums, but can't seem to find any answers.

My partner is planning to apply for a 489 visa (temporary skilled visa, State sponsored), or a partner visa sponsored by me (Aus citizen).

Skills assessment: 
1) She works for a federal government of her home country (non-English speaking). Due to the long period of waiting for a visa, she intends to continue working until we can be sure she can migrate. If they find out she is intending on migrating, it may cause her to lose her job. During which process will the department contact her "employer", if at all?

2) The federal government does not provide "Statements of Service", nor can her supervisor sign one using the company letterhead (it becomes an official Government document, and must have multiple levels of approval). The best she can do at the moment is her title and description is formally defined by legislation, but is somewhat vague. Is this likely to be acceptable, with a statutory declaration signed by her supervisor (in a non-official context)?

Applying on-shore:
3) We plan to have her come on an ETA, then apply for the visa on-shore (489 visa or de-facto) to get a BVA. I read here that if she waits out the maximum 3-month stay per visit, the ETA expires and the BVA activates. However, what happens if she leaves the country during that time? The ETA is valid for 12 months, so does the BVA stay inactive until she returns and waits 3 months, or does it vanish?

Thank you very much


----------



## alexj

Hi Mark, 
My 18 year old sister lives currently in Germany with my parents and is a PR. Her RRV expires March this year and she doesn’t meet criteria of living in Aus for at least 2 years out of last 5 years. 

She wants to come for a 4 week holiday and visit myself and our other sister in Australia in July this year and is wondering if she should apply for the subclass 157 or can she apply for a visitor visa (as it’s a bit cheaper)?
Kind regards, 
Alex


----------



## FathyJes

Hello sir! 
I have applied Visa 309 through immi account on 10th of September 2017 with all required documents with Police check and medicals within a week from submission date. 

Haven't heard from the High Commission yet a d also no CO assigned yet. Just eager to know what would be the processing time.


----------



## siddarth.v39

*visa refusal and superannuation*

hello Mark,

I have 2 questions which I need clarification. help is much appreciated.

1.) I got my 485 visa refused during april 2017 as I didnt provide them the AFP prior launching my visa application which I was not aware that it was manditory. I had done it after I launched my visa application and by the time I could get my AFP clearance I got my visa refused. Having a little hope I took this issue to the AAT and after waiting for nearly 6 months they had denied my case on october 2017, having said all that I am now back to my country india. My girlfriend who is on a student visa is about to get a sponsorship from her firm in the near future. And she is planning on putting my name as the secondary applicant. I just wanted to know what are the chances of my visa getting approved despite me having a visa refusal history. Also I am planning on visiting her on a tourist visa in the next coming month will this visa get approved as well.

2.) My 2 question is that since I left australia I can legally withdraw my superannuation, if i withdraw my superannuation will it have an affect on my visa if I get or apply for one in the next couple of months.

thank you.

please provide a definitve answer as I am getting confused with a lot of hear and say . help is much appreciated

regards
sid


----------



## ahmed_eid82

Hi Mark
I am applying for NSW nomination under occupation as an architectural draft person my points are 55 and if I got the nomination it will be 60.
therefore I am wondering if I have a chance to get the nomination or not (my IELTS result is reading:7 speaking:7 writing:6.5 listening:6 )


----------



## mliw90

Hi Mark

I recently (January 17th) applied for the 190 visa in NSW as a Developer Progammer (261312) and 65+5 points (Age - 30, Degree - 15, English - 20). I had seen that others in this category had been accepted very fast up to December with similar points and superior English (which I know is prioritized in NSW), but I'm getting worried now. It seems applications have slowed down, especially for the 189 visas and in general which I feel is creating a big back log for all skilled labor visas. Is there something going on with immigration and skilled labor visas at the moment? I'd like to be able to rest easy thinking I'll be invited soon, but I'm getting more and more nervous the requirement is gonna go up to 70+5 points soon with the backlog that keeps building up.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KDL1201 -

Thanks for the note. Wish I could help, but 457 processing times are very difficult to predict - I've got one waiting over 10 months, DHA ignores requests for urgency, etc. Writing with arguments re: benefits to children, school, etc might have some benefit, but hard to say for sure.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KDL1201 said:


> Hi Mark
> Can you assist? My ex-husband is currently in Australia on a 4 year 457 sponsorship. on his initial application he put down our 2 boys. they are currently in south Africa and an immi account has been done to add them so they can go join him. do you perhaps know how long this can take to be finalised? we have sent all documents requested, medical/police clearance done etc. please help? thank you regards Karen


----------



## LadyZebo

Hello Mark,

I have applied for visa 189 since September 22, 2017 and frontloaded all the required documents.
I got the immi assessment commenced email November 6, 2017 and since then, i have not heard anything from DHA.
I am not claiming any points for work experience and have been wondering what the cause of the delay is.
My ANZSCO is 234111 /agricultural consultant

Kindly help with any information you might have or any predictions based on your wealth of experience.

The wait has been exhausting.

I also heard from a forum that the quota for grants is completed for this year .
Could this even be true?


----------



## ramanp758

Hi Mark.hope you doing.my name is Raman.i came to australia on 573 visa on master of business but i changed my course to diploma of nursing which is finishing next month and my visa is also expiring next month.i am planning to do diploma of community welfare further.is there will be issue to extend my visa on this course.TIA


----------



## skm91

*Student visa 500 delayed more than 8 months*

Hi, Mark, I am a student from India and I applied for student visa 500 for Australia 8 months ago for PhD and till now I have heard nothing.I just want to know should still wait for a decision or should I move on.Please suggest.I am in a very difficult situation.I shall ever grateful for your suggestion.


----------



## Anthony W

*820 & 801 visa*

Hi Mark
In short I have Thai wife under Thai village ceremony and she has been here to Oz on a Visa 600,3 month at a time for the last 3 years. I now want to lodge a temp and/or permanent visa and believe I have to lodge both 820 and 801,is this correct.
Also if I lodge a 956 form can I then fill at a and prepare the Visa online here in Australia. I ask this as we hit a road block when we went online to fill out the 820 visa as it would not let me past the 4th page as we/she was in Australia.


----------



## apants

*Partner Visa 309*

Hi Mark

I'm hoping that you will be able to provide some advice.

My partner was removed from Australia in June 2017 as he overstayed his working visa (the overstay was extensive).

We are now planning to apply for the 309 Partner Visa - De Facto as we meet the criteria. I am also prepared to relocate to his country (United Kingdom) during processing as we don't want to spend 1+ years apart. However, we would like to settle in Australia.

Due to his overstay, I have the following questions:

- Will our application be overly scrutinised and, as a result, lead to a longer processing time in comparison to the average? I assume yes, however, it would be great to hear your perspective

- Is it possible that his overstay could still negatively affect our chances for approval even if we successfully meet ALL criteria for the visa/can successfully prove that we are in genuine, ongoing relationship leading to marriage?

Thanks for your time.


----------



## annie.t

*Incorrect info on My Health Declaration*

Hi Mark,

I have recently submitted an application for visa 485 and have done the health assessment prior to submission. Upon rechecking My Health Declaration (the form to generate an eMedical referral letter), I have realised that I forgot to include my exchange semester in the U.S. that results in a stay over 3 months in a foreign country (excluding AU and my home country), and thus answered "No" to that question.

This information, however, was correct in the application. My case has not been assigned to a CO yet, and I am wondering on how to correct this issue.

Should I include a Form 1023 in my application to address the incorrect info on My Health Declaration? Should I inform the medical service as well?


----------



## OraPopo

Hi Mark, 
I am about to bring my fiance to Australia on vistor visa, she's a doctor by occupation. We plan to live here in the future, i got stuck at question 33 on working in medical field while in Australia. She won't be working while visiting, but likely she will when we decide to live here. Should I give a yes or no answer to that? 

Thanks heaps before hand.

Ab


----------



## Usha.sekhar

Hi Mark,

I m working in Australia and currently on dependent 457 visa. My husband is the primary applicant and asked by employer to leave Australia and travel back to offshore on 31st march.

What are my options - to continue working here. My current employer has agreed to sponsor a 457 for me. However given the processing times its unlikely to be issued before march 31.

Is there any options for me to convert my current dependent visa to bridging visa once my 457 is lodged.

Also my husband has lodged an EOI for 189 this month with 80 points , so hoping some miracle there.

Any help and suggestions greatly appreciated.


----------



## Anthony W

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Mark
In short I have Thai wife under Thai village ceremony and she has been here to Oz on a Visa 600,3 month at a time for the last 3 years. I now want to lodge a temp and/or permanent visa and believe I have to lodge both 820 and 801,is this correct.
Also if I lodge a 956 form can I then fill at a and prepare the Visa online here in Australia. I ask this as we hit a road block when we went online to fill out the 820 visa as it would not let me past the 4th page as we/she was in Australia.


----------



## abcdefg

Hi Mark,

I'm receiving mixed opinion regarding this...
My partner was in Australia for a year, studying. The first visa was 6 months, the second 6 months then she left the country. She is now in Brazil and wants to come back on another student visa. Agents in Brazil have told her that there is a very high chance her visa will be denied because she has already had a student visa and left the country. If, she stayed in the country It wouldn't be an issue but because she left and wants to come back, it could cause problems. Do you think that depends on the type of course? Supposedly it's something to do with recent changes. Thanks in advance.


----------



## GargiTrivedi

Hi Mark,

Need clarification - My partner is applying for 189 Visa. He is a software engineer and features under 189 Visa in MTSSL List. My Skill set as Corporate General Manager - V features on MTSSL List but not under 189. 

My question is if I get my skill assessment done for can my partner claim 5 points ? 

Thanks


----------



## StickSten

*Temp Visa Length*

Hi Mark

My wife just had her 309 Temp resident approved.

I just had a question about time from approval of temp visa to permanent resident. I believe its about 2 years give or take.

Anyway, my question is, if we leave the country at any time just for holidays, does this have any effect on waiting time. We were told by someone from a Visa a long time ago, that anytime spent outside of Australia, adds on to residency wait.

This may have been an old rule, but looking at Visa grant, it states she leave country multiple etc

Just wanted to check

Thanks Mark


----------



## Melloggs

*London or Sydney?*

Hi Mark

I'm on a 457 visa which expires in June 2019 (granted June 2017, I was on a WHV prior to that).
I'm from the UK and I want to make a extended visit back home for family reasons; unfortunately I will not be able to take leave with my work, so I have handed in my resignation. My last day at work and flight back to the UK is on 23 March and plan to return to Sydney 1 June 2018.
I realise I have 90 days from when I leave my job to find a new sponsor. I'm conscious that it may be difficult to find a new sponsor within the time limit (I return 1 June and 90 day ends 21 June).

My partner and I are planning to apply for a defacto 820/801 visa soon -
We have been together for 8 months, we've just registered our relationship and await the certificate, whilst researching on helpful forums like this one.

Once we apply for defacto visa and I'm unable to secure new employment on my 457 in time, will I move to a bridging visa? Will I have working rights?

I want to be able to work and we are willing to relocate to the UK for a year or two if we have to, as long as we are not apart.

Can we apply for an 820/801 in Aus and then move to the UK? Or is there an option for me to stay and still be able to work without my 457.

Thanks
Mel


----------



## jtananki

Hi Mark

I have got an invitation from my regional council and I will be apply for 489 visa. I am currently in australia and my family is in India. while i am adding them on my visa application, when my application is finalised and approved, does this means my family will also get the visa with me ? and can they come straight to Australia? Please help with any valuable suggestion. Thank you - Jo


----------



## LynInMel

*parent visa 864vs143*

Hi,

My parents currently hold visitor visa 600 and will be staying here in Australia until March. They are planning to lodge contributory parent visa (permanent) soon, while they are here.However, they are not sure as to what visa they should apply for, whether 864 or 143. My mother is 70 years old and my father is 66. They are usually in the Philippines and only come to Australia for holiday once or twice a year for a period of 3 months.

I would like to ask your opinion on what visa is better for them.

Regards.


----------



## matt43685

*How to add child ?*

Me and my partner are launching our application soon. We are applying for the offshore partner visa.

We also have a son together who was born outside Australia. which I cannot grant him an Australian citenzhip unless I spent 2 years in Australia as I'm an australian citenzen by descent.

There is an option to add children on the partner visa , but how do I go about it ?

Has anyone gone through this ?

Thank You


----------



## can_to_aus

Hi Mark - thanks for taking the time to reply to everyone's questions, including mine.


----------



## Preetchatha21

Hi mark ,
I am new in this forum,
I was wondering if you can help me with my questions. It will be a great help.
I applied my husband 485 subsequent entrant visa on August 14
Received acknowledgment on 16th aug.
Case officer asked police clearance letter and form 80 on 22sep
That documents was sent on 10th oct.
Afterwards on 8th November they asked relationship related documents which was sent on 9th November. 
But afterwards we haven't heard anything. 
my agent sent few follow up emails in December but they didn't replied then i tried to follow up by myself in january through global feedback team and i received one email on 22nd january that they are still reviewing papers.

I am very disappointed and upset with indefinite delay in application. 
Can you please suggest me anything on this matter.
I will appreciate your help. 
Kind regards 
Kamal


----------



## tazman888

Hi Mark,

I have found this thread on google and pretty astounding with what you have done with the communities.
I believe there are a lot of people that having visa issue and have no one to turn to.

I have a friend that having issue with her Australian visa. She got married in USA like a year ago with an Australian citizen. She is a korean citizen in USA. She had to forego her Visa application in US to come to Australia with her Husband. Things not working out after 8 months. Australia Immigration has been notified. She is expecting the Section 48 anytime soon.

Now, she can't really go back to USA anymore and she would rather to stay in Australia if possible. She intended to take a further study here but she is not sure if the section 48 will make her student visa application unobtainable. She understand that with section 48, she can't apply the student visa on shore.
Do you have any suggestion for her situation? or she should just abandon her plan to take a further study as people with section 48 have a very low chance being granted a student visa?

Your assistance is much appreciated. I'm really feeling sorry for her and she is in a very dark place at the moment.

Kind Regards,
Pendy


----------



## purnamani1

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Purnamani1 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. You could certainly claim the post-ACS work experience for points, but DHA may require you to get that additional work assessed by ACS later if they do not accept that it is relevant to your nominated occupation. You can also choose to ask ACS to assess only that work experience (although not sure if ACS still offers that function as I haven't done it in a while) or do a new ACS report if you're unsure of whether it will be deemed as relevant to your occupation.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for the update, Does the Date of Effect in EOI always have to be greater than the skilled assessment date. Some say DBIP will reject cases where skilled assessment is dated later. It's mere speculation and solid evidence. I am planning to update my points for experience from my new organization and apply skilled assessment in parallel. By doing so I can get an invite positively by 28th Feb 2018. My skilled assessment will also come I March 2018 and I can submit my Visa application with new skilled assessment as well. Still will I have the chances of being rejected. Or is it better to update EOI only after new ACS results are out.


----------



## ErinandMatt

*You rock!*

First thing...thank you for providing the opportunity to ask questions...truly appreciated.

I'm American, my partner is an Australian citizen and we will be applying for the De Facto Partnership Visa. We are hoping to apply onshore and be granted a Bridging Visa. My conundrum is that I will be on an ETA visa before applying for the Partnership/Bridging Visa. Is being on an ETA visa acceptable to be approved for the Bridging Visa? I can't seem to find any information regarding this and it's pretty important ha.

Thanks again Mark!


----------



## zzzzz23

*skilled employment assessment*

Hi Mark!

My name is Nick.

Thanks for your answer for all the people here

It would be really appreciated if you read my circumstance and give me some advice.

I got a question about my negative result for skilled employment assessment from CA

Firstly, I've already received qualification assessment from CA and I applied for skilled employment assessment to be qualified with 1 year experience and unfortunately, I got a negative result from them. Simply, the letter says "The following claims of skilled employment have been assessed and cannot be found to equate to
work at an appropriately skilled level as an Accountant (General) 221111."

My first question is "Does this mean that duties and responsibilities are not compatible with tasks shown in ANZSCO? "

Duties and responsibilities that I put on my reference are

-preparing asset, liability and capital account entries by analyzing account information
-Recording and documenting financial transactions into system for various business entities
-Researching technical topics including business structuring and taxation matters
-Producing annual financial statements, BAS and tax return and other taxation materials for individuals and companies
-Reconciling financial discrepancies by collecting and analyzing account information.
-Supporting payments by verifying documentation and requesting disimbursements
-Summarizing current financial status by collecting and checking information such as balance sheet, profit and loss statement and other financial reports.
-Liaising with the ATO about remittance of General interest charges and penalties, application for payment arrangements and lodging deferral and audit correspondence.
-Assessing and informing about financial moves, entity structures to meet any taxation obligations.

My second question is

the institution which approves my skill assessment should be the same with the institution which approves my skilled employment assessment?

Thank you for reading my question

Best regards,


----------



## persianmj

Hi Mark!

Many thanks for your comments and deliberation.

I am on a 476 Visa.

My visa expiry date is 30-06-2018.

EOI 189 : 60 points since July 2017
EOI 190 : 65 points since July 2017

Occupation: 233916

My points for 189 will increase to 70 points by the end of Feb 2018.

Although I will be in the queue with 70 points (189) for 4 months (March to June), I don't think I will get invited.

I am looking for alternatives to extend my visa so I can be onshore which I get invited in the new financial year after July 2018.

I want to apply for a student visa and if my application is approved I am set.

But if it gets refused, I will appeal the refusal and stay on a bridging visa.

Now the question is; while staying in Australia on a bridging visa because of student visa refusal appeal process, can I apply for permanent residency when I get the 189/190 invitation? OR I have to go offshore and apply.

Many thanks indeed for your time.

Shayan


----------



## Marco89

Hi Mark,

I'm Marco from Germany, I come here in Australia over 3 years ago with 457 with my partner ( defacto)
Few days ago Iodge 186 transition stream, and I inclusion my partner as well like for the sponsor .

What happen now, in case I know my partner was not good to me, I'm still in time to remove her from my 186, or I have to cancel the application for both of us and lodge again with only my name?.

We are 5 years toghehter, but in last 6 months she changed and is not anymore the same person, she did lot of bad things to me, and now after we lodge the visa, We still living toghether but we broke up our relationship, I have enough and look like she in last 6 months want just use me for get her permanent residence.

I know only now she cheated me one week ago, that's why we broke up, I worked very hard in my last few year, study very hard for pass e glish test ( was very hard to me) and after all I Feeling very bad now she just want use me for get her visa.

What can I do now?

Still in time to remove her ? Or the only way in cancel our application for both of us?

Thanks.


----------



## alexleeds

Hi Mark,

I am a secondary school teacher in the UK, just finishing my NQT year as part of the Teach First leadership development programme whilst my fiance is a cancer research scientist who is just finishing her thesis of her PhD before starting a short term post doc position. 

I have a PGCE from university from my teaching qualification as well as an undergraduate degree. My fiance has an undergraduate, masters as well as the soon to be awarded PhD.

We are hopeful of relocating to Australia after numerous holidays and experience of the country.

I have used the working holiday visa having lived in Australia for the year in my early 20's - my fiance has not. My brother is currently living in Sydney with his wife having moved there on a working holiday visa and quickly being sponsored by their employers. 

I would like advice on whether my fiance and I would pass the points skills required and whether it is just my own employment which would count here or both of ours and any experience you would have on any different visa routes based on our situations. 

Thank you in advance,

Alex


----------



## CassieLita

Hello Mark,

Thank you so much for taking time to answer everyone's issue. Truly appreciated.

I have been in Australia for 3 years now, currently on a New Zealander citizen family relationship visa (461) , I have 3 years left on this one and am planning on renewing it. 
I am starting soon a certificate 3 & 4 in fitness in the hope of lunching my own business afterwards. 
My girlfriend is not an eligible New zealander for us to obtain a partner visa, as well as not eligible for the new pathway for permanent residency. She has been in Australia for more than 5 years and is planning on starting a tattoing career. Which might lead her to taxable income required for that pathway but obviously this isn't concrete. 

I am a french citizen but willing to permanently settlle down in Australia. It seems like I have no backup after my 461 visas expires.

Do you know what my options could be ? 

Thank you so much Mark for your work, It's amazing.
Cassie


----------



## sklewis2

*police checks*

Hi!

I am currently in the process of applying for a 189 points tested PR visa. I am a US citizen. I am gathering my documents and such and have a couple questions.

1) I see I need an Australian police check and a US police check. For the Australian police check I submitted it and then realized I wasn't sure if they were supposed to be mailing me a copy that I will scan and attach to my EOI? Or does that automatically go to immigration somehow? (I did not select anything of that nature).
For the US police check, I can go through these "channelers" and get the correct police check? And they mail me an official paper that I then scan in for the EOI?

2) I need the results of my Skills assessment prior to submitting an EOI? (I am a nurse doing the skills assessment through ANMAC).

3) I have a husband and 2 minor children. Is it reasonable to assume I should just go ahead and do police checks for my husband now? And would he need both Australian and US checks? (he's lived in Australia more than 12 months, as have I)

Thank you very much for your time and assistance!


----------



## binujoy

Hi Mark, I am currently on 489 FS skilled visa for past 2 years and planning to apply for 887. I have been in a de facto relation with my partner from uk for past 1 year who is here on a student visa until Sept 2018. Can I add him on my 887 application if he was not on my 489.
Or apply for his 489 subsequent entrant visa. My 489 expires in august 2019 and I am keen to get my PR sorted at the earliest. 
I have been told by a MARA Agent that I need to submit form 1022 on my 489 for change of status then apply 887 with my partner. Is this correct?
Please reply. My Partner posted this question in October as well but we did not get a response
Thanks in advance


----------



## mon17

Hi Mark, 

I am expecting my invite in the next round. I am applying for the 189 visa with my husband. Here is our scenario -

-My husband is on a bridging e visa. My visa is expiring on March 15 and my course finishes in April. So we applied for a student extension and dependent visa. 

-Jan 2018 we applied for the student extension and added my husband on my application as my partner. Processed through a migration agent. 

-My husband was a student and received notice of his visa cancellation in Dec 2017 and his student visa cancelled in the last week of Jan. He is currently on a bridging e visa because we are waiting for our student extension and dependent visa. 

We would like to know if we can apply for 189 after we receive the invite next week? Or do we have to wait for the student extension and dependent to come through? Can we apply for the 189 visa together or does my husband need to go offshore and apply? 

We are very worried and are hoping you can guide us with what we should be doing next? do we have to wait for the student extension and dependent to come through? 

None of us have a No further stay condition on our visas.


----------



## alishah

Hi Mark
I am a permanent Resident and applied for my citizenship 2 months ago...
My wife and 1 year old son arrived during that time from overseas on provisional partner visa( they are not permanent yet, they will be after 2 years)
Someone told me that I could include my son in my citizenship application though he wasn’t permanent yet, not my wife.
Can I add him in my application and whats the best way to do it now ?

thanks for your help


----------



## mjl4

Hi Mark, I started a thread however just found this thread now so thought I would also post my questions here. 

I am an Australian citizen and my partner is Dutch, we have a baby who is approx 2 months old and was born in London. We are trying to organise our move to Australia and we are on a time limit. We need to leave the UK by March 2018. 
My partner recently received his approval for his provisional visa (309) and I have put in an application for the baby for citizenship by decent for Australia. When I applied they sent me confirmation but did not give any timescales for processing, they said it is a case by case basis. I am feeling a bit stressed as I do not know how long this citizenship application could take and I really need to know and try and push this application along. 

Has anyone been in this situation before and can give advice? I have also been told that sometimes these applications can take between 3-5 months to process, which seems ridiculous, especially for a baby, this is a very straight forward application. 

I also try and ring the Australian high commission however the number they give you is engaged constantly, so I have no way of getting through to discuss my situation with anyone. 

My partner and I are now trying to get the baby a dutch passport as we may be able to get this quicker, which would enable us to travel and leave the UK. 
Now I am stuck with the other question, if the baby travels on a dutch passport, what visitor visa can I apply for, and am I as the responsible parent able to apply for this visa on the baby's behalf? 

Any help would be much appreciated.


----------



## Laurel

*PDF Statements*

Hi Mark, sorry if this has been addressed before, I am new.

Question: PDF Bill Statements, can I submit what pdf bills we get in our email or does it need to be bills that have been sent to our place via the post? Applying for Defacto Visa 820/801

I want to show our utilities, phone, car insurance, etc. has been paid out of our joint account. We don't do paper statements, they all come to our email as a PDF. Will immigration accept PDFs that have been printed from my email or do i need to get them all mailed to me from the providers?

Thanks


----------



## BRWP2017

Hi Mark

I joined this forum to get some information on health Waiver post submission seems to be a topic that is not discussed much anywhere.

I have some knowledge of the process in relation to what the delegate can approve without referring to DIBP here in Australia. My wife is below the threshold. 

I have a few questions I was hoping you could answer for me.

Firstly even if the amount falls within the delegates approval, is approval required from other federal departments and also the state government from the state that you reside in.

Secondly and yes I know how long is a piece of string but from your experience whats the approval percentage and time frame take to assess the health waiver.


----------



## ashie4ya

*Bridging visa a*

Hi Mark,

My husband has applied for a partner visa and he was automatically granted the bridging visa A.

My husband and I want to go for on a holiday at the end of the year to surprise his family for the holidays. What does he have to do to be allowed to travel outside of Australia.

Ash


----------



## Lovelylaura1290

Hi mark.. my boyfriend is currently married to his ex and on her visa as temporary resident, they have been separated for around 1.5 year due to her alcoholism and difficulties in their relationships.. neither of them informed immigration due to her ongoing mental heath issues and alocohism and her being in and out of hospital and she did not want this added pressure, he is now at the stage for going to a divorce which she agrees with but will not sign his visa forms. Would he be eligible to transfer onto to my visa as I am a resident thanks worried Laura


----------



## jpits11

Hi Mark,

I got my skill asessment as Multimedia Specialist 261211 for 485 post graduate visa application as it says on the information on the ACS website. On the ACS website, it says that this occupation can be nominated for the 485 visa as it belong to the long medium term occupations list.
However, when I review the immigration website, this opccupation belongs to short term list and I cannot find any informaiton saying that I can apply for 485 visa with this occupation.
I'd like to clarify this because this is making me really confused.

Thanks


----------



## anjalip

*309/100 visa options if sponsor not employed*

Hi Mark,
Hoping you could shed some light on this for us. I currently hold a SC189 visa and its due to expire in 2021.
I have activated the visa but is yet to move to Australia. Planning to do so on 2020 after winding up some commitments. When I got my PR i was not married, I recently married and was looking at options to bring my husband to Aus when we shift there in 2020. The 309/100 pathway looks straightforward except for the sponsorship. Have a few questions running through my head.

1) Would my husband be able to apply for this visa when I the sponsor is currently residing outside Australia with him, I'm currently not working either as I quit my job to move with him after marriage and not sure when I will take up employment ?

2) Do I have to move to Australia in 2020 by myself and subsequently get my husband to file the 309/100 application?

3) Since I do not have a job now and will not have a job straightaway in Australia when I move there in 2020, where does that leave me as a sponsor, I have my brother in Australia and can he provide an Assurance of Support for my husband to apply for spouse visa to join me in Australia?

4) Is there any possibility of applying for partner visa when both the sponsor and applicant are currently residing outside Australia?

Any advice would be much appreciated in our predicament.

Kind Regards
Anjali


----------



## Naro886

*Pmv 300*

hi"..................


----------



## SophieCRyan

Hi Mark,
I am a UK citizen and my partner AU citizen, we moved to NZ temporarily so that we could remain together while we wait for the visa.. we applied for the visa in October 2017 and wondering how long it generally takes to get a case officer. Does that happen around the displayed processing time, or can one be appointed sooner and they estimate it would take the given processing time for the CO to assess the application? 

Secondly, I feel our case is pretty straight forward we've been physically together from day 1, I have a clear criminal record and a clear medical etc, have provided everything they could possibly require, is there any likelihood our application could get processed sooner rather than later? as the only thing I imagine they would possibly require is an interview to confirm the info provided.

In addition, my NZ visa expires December 2018 and we are now expecting our first unexpected baby which is due October, would these circumstances make any difference in the processing time as we ideally would like to get back to Australia in time to get set up for when bubs arrives? Otherwise things will be quite difficult and stressful as we aren't exactly settled here. 

Finally, do you have any inclin as to which months applications are currently being processed?

Any info you could provide would be a great help. Many thanks
Sophie


----------



## kalpanabaskar22

Hi all,
My husband is currently on 457 visa from aug2017 and we also applied for 457 subsequent family visa for myself n our 2 kids. Expecting 457 soon for us as well. Mean while we want to know then process and prerequisites for applying PR. So it will be helpful for us to apply as soon as we reach Australia. 

One more question can we renew 457 visa after 4 years if so generally how long it might take?
Thanks .


----------



## oyetoba

Hello everyone,
I need you to explain how the 2 vac works. I was asked to mail back if I want to pay for 2 vac for my spouse in respect to his functional English which I mailed back since December 2017 which I have not gotten any mail on how to pay. I also checked my immi acct which the processing time was 7-9 months then at the moment its 9-12 months. I do not know if I have to click the button which say click when information is provided since I mailed my case officer I will pay for the 2 vac or just wait. Please I need a response . Thank you


----------



## pnkjmane

Hi Mark and everyone ! I have submitted my EOI for NSW 190 in Aug 2017 for 222311 Financial Investment Adviser with 65+5 points. This occupation is not on NSW state list but is on CSOL. I am really worried about my chances for getting an invite. Please guide with stats suggestions possibilities etc. Extremely urgent !


----------



## Chabayta

Hey Mark,

I have small query , I have gratned visa subclass 309 partner visa and now i am waiting for subclass 100 to be eligible. My question is if i want to apply gor my mother after I get the 100 subclass which visa i need to go through and can i apply for my sister as well since she is single and living with my mother alone overseas.

And Final question is it possible to apply for them before 100 subclass granted or we need to go with visit visa ? 

Regards


----------



## kalpanabaskar22

*All*

Please update me on this. It would be really helpful for us. Thanks in advance.


----------



## lamnguyen494

*Visa 485 refused*

Hi Mark,

Hope you're doing well. I know you're super busy but hopefully I can get your response shortly.

I recently got rejected for visa 485 as I did not have Federal Police Check when I applied (This was completely my fault as I though this was not mandatory). I've just applied for Police check and am waiting for certificate to arrive.

After that, I plan to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for a merits review of the decision (based on the letter form immigration). Do you think I can get my visa after the review?

Many many thanks for your time Mark, I understand it's precious and I much appreciate that.

Kind regards,
Lam


----------



## basvdk

Hi Mark,

I'm about to apply for the 801 visa, and was wondering about the period that evidence should pertain to:

Should we provide evidence from when the 820 visa was granted (11 months ago) or from when we first lodged our 820 application (2 years ago)?

Thanks heaps in advance, really great that you take the time to help out here. 

Bas


----------



## vaibhavsaxena

Hi Mark,

I have 60 points and I have applied for 189 subclass visa for occupation 261312 Developer Programmer and 190 at 65 points for Victoria and NSW. My immigration consultant is advising me to apply for 489 visa for South Australia once it opens in April. I have couple of queries.
1) I can wait for a year to see outcome of my applied EOI. Is it realistically possible?
2) If I get visa in 489 subclass. Would I get PR in 887 subclass after staying in South Australia for 2 years and working more than 12 months?

Or 887 subclass also has quota limit and they might ask me to leave after 4 years of spending time and energy?


----------



## Ejona

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for all the help that you give here.

I applied for my 820 in October 2016 and it was granted after a few months. At the time my partner who is the sponsor did not need a Police Check and we were never asked for one by DIBP (we applied right before the partnership visa changes were introduced). Do you know whether he would need to submit a police check for my second stage of the visa, when we submit evidence for the 801?

Also, when we first applied for my 820 my partner was working. He then decided to follow his dream and go back to school since July 2017 and I have been fully supportive of that. He is receiving financial help from his father on a monthly basis or as its needed. We still have our joint account and pay for rent and bills equally, but my partner does not have many transactions in his individual account since he pays for most of his own things in cash and only transfers to our joint account for bills rent, groceries etc. Will we need to provide individual bank accounts when we provide evidence for the 801 or is that not essential? Also, is it a problem for DIBP that the sponsor is not employed?


Thanks again 
Ejona


----------



## phuhle1104

*citizenship eligibility*

Hi Mark. I hope you are going well. Please help me out with this below confusion. My name is Phu Huu Le. I just finished a phone call with the department regarding my eligibility date for citizenship application. I have been on the phone with the department 3 times since last year. First, I rang the department and asked when I would be eligible to apply for my citizenship. The answer is 21/04/2018. After that, I went to Vietnam for 3 weeks from 08/07/2017 to 28/07/2017. I then rang the department again in September (or October) and they told me that the date got delayed to 21/05/2018 due to my travel. After recent drama regarding the changes in citizenship requirements, I wanted to confirm with the department again so I called it today. The date now is 23/10/2018 although I have not been outside Australia since last July. The officer told me the system recognises my lawful residency date is in 2014 but I was in Australia in December 2013 for my graduation ceremony.

My visa timeline since 2013 as below:
16/12/2013 to 24/12/2013: stayed in Aus with visitor visa for my graduation ceremony
22/10/2014 to 08/01/2015: stayed in Aus with visa 489
overseas from 09/01/2015 to 10/03/2015 and 15/05/2015 to 19/09/2015
20/09/2015 stayed in Aus with PR
overseas 08/07/2017 to 28/07/2017
28/07/2017 - present: in Aus

WHAT IS THE LAWFUL RESIDENCE DATE?
IN 2017, THE DEPARTMENT USED 16/12/2013 AS A LAWFUL RESIDENCE DATE SO I COULD BE ELIGIBLE ON 21/05/2018. NOW IT USES 22/10/2014 (VISA 489) AS THE DATE AND DELAY MY ELIGIBILITY.


----------



## Nick_It

*186 Direct Entry - Skills Assessment*

Hi Mark,

I am applying for a 186 Direct Entry stream probably today or tomorrow.

I have been holding a 457 as Graphic Designer From the 10th of February 2015 plus I have been working as Graphic Designer full time with a Working Holiday Visa and then Bridging Visa for about 8-9 months (before and while I was waiting for my 457 - with the same agency I then worked with the 457 once granted).

I have got a Positive Skills assessment but VETASSESS only recognised me about 2 years of working experience.

I have evidence that I have more than 3 years of working experience such as payslips, contracts, reference letters and so forth plus my own 457 Visa which was granted the 10th of Feb 2015 (which I believe it is already an evidence on its own).

My lawyer pointed this out - saying that I should be okay as the Immigration requires a Positive Skills Assessment and 3 years of working experience.

Now, I am a little worried regarding this. Does the Skills Assessment need to display 3 years of working experience or a positive outcome is enough?

Thank you in advance.


----------



## FoTan J

Hi Mark, 

My wife is applying for a partner visa ( onshore) from a tourist visa. I just noticed on her tourist visa that there's an 8602 condition: no public health debt. Would this mean she cannot legally use her medicare card until the Bridging visa has come into effect? As when it comes into effect the Tourist visa would be invalid?


----------



## kittyzero

Hi Mark, my partner and I will be applying for a PMV in a few months. Before this, he is planning a holiday to come to Australia to meet my family (I've been to India a number of times). 

Unfortunately 2 years ago he was involved in a motor bike accident, and 7 months ago a car accident where his mother passed away. Both were unfortunate accidents with drugs and alcohol all being ruled out as being involved. 

He has documents from the court approving him leaving the country for the holiday (he had to supply them itinerary/flights so they are paid for). He's never been in any other trouble. We fully expect all charges relating to the two events being thrown out due to the circumstances in which they were raised. 

My question is, for a tourist visa...is this an automatic rejection or if we have a solid application will they still consider approving this? He's disclosed everything and got all the required documents. I assume if they ask this question on the visa application, and allow you to explain the details and attach supporting documentation its not an automatic rejection and they will still consider? 

We are not too concerned about the PMV as we are happy for that to be held until all charges are clear. We are worried about the tourist visa though. Thanks.


----------



## bensow

Hi Mark, I'm curious about the 476 visa. It says that I need to be outside Australia when a decision is made. What if I lodge my 476 within Australia and stay on until the decision is made. It's said that if this happens DHA will give me a time period to leave Australia and come back. Does this mean I can just fly to NZ for a short trip and be back to fulfill this criteria?

Also for the 485 visa, is there a duration of health cover I need to purchase? Can I just purchase insurance on a monthly basis? Or must it cover the potential entire duration of the visa (24months)?


----------



## kittyzero

kittyzero said:


> Hi Mark, my partner and I will be applying for a PMV in a few months. Before this, he is planning a holiday to come to Australia to meet my family (I've been to India a number of times).
> 
> Unfortunately 2 years ago he was involved in a motor bike accident, and 7 months ago a car accident where his mother passed away. Both were unfortunate accidents with drugs and alcohol all being ruled out as being involved.
> 
> He has documents from the court approving him leaving the country for the holiday (he had to supply them itinerary/flights so they are paid for). He's never been in any other trouble. We fully expect all charges relating to the two events being thrown out due to the circumstances in which they were raised.
> 
> My question is, for a tourist visa...is this an automatic rejection or if we have a solid application will they still consider approving this? He's disclosed everything and got all the required documents. I assume if they ask this question on the visa application, and allow you to explain the details and attach supporting documentation its not an automatic rejection and they will still consider?
> 
> We are not too concerned about the PMV as we are happy for that to be held until all charges are clear. We are worried about the tourist visa though. Thanks.


I forgot to say, the charges are pending


----------



## harneetgen

hello Mark and seniors,

i have applied my 190 visa on 15 September 2017. Last day (22 feb 2018), my current employer received email from Australian high commission to verify my employment details. I had meeting with my HR team and after discussion, they apprised me and declined to reply this mail(no feedback, just trashed the email received) and also warned me for the future. I have all third party documents which prove my employment but no way to reach.
I am so much tensed, PLZ help!!!!!


----------



## Bvdberg

Hi Mark,

I posted this a separate thread and was advised my another memener to contact an rma. I saw that you advise contacting directly if it is urgent so I’ll do that as well. I have very little time and everything to lose. Please see below for the outline of my situation.

Up until last Saturday I was on a 457 with an approved nomination for the 186(TRS), I unfortunately and tragically did not realise the 457 had expired till this past Monday, so I've lost the 186 visa, I feel like such a fool.

Worst yet, my employer let their sponsorship lapse and they're waiting for the application to be finalized. Else we'd apply for the 186DE. I am a web developer with 6 years experience. 

I presented myself to Home Affairs that Tuesday and was issued a Bridging Visa E with condition 85012, Depart Australia on specified date. That date is the 13th March. On the positive side of that, I was unlawful for only 2 days but that doesn't seem to count for much. Neither does my history in Australia it seems.

I have lived in Australia for 9 years, my Bachelor's degree was done here and all my relatives are Australian citizens residing here. I've never been back to SA either, my life is here.

The real issue I have is that I have a 2 year old daughter who is Australian by birth. I separated from her father beginning of Jan and we have a signed parenting plan stating I am the principal carer.

I want to apply for the 835 remaining relative but want to know if anybody has done that recently? Also, how can I get that condition removed ASAP.

I have a sponsor, I fit the criteria of the visa as stated in the migration act of 1994, I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing because I don't have a lot of time and I'm terrified of being away from my girl and going to a country I no longer have support or family ties to.


I am desperate, I can’t leave, she is my everything.


----------



## itszainkhan

Hi Mark,

I have a question regarding the 887 visa and adding a partner to the application:

Context: I am currently on a 489 visa, and will be eligible to apply for 887 in April 2018.

Situation: I am getting married to a girl who has never lived in Australia.

Question: What are my options?

1. Add her as a partner to my 489 application. Once that is granted, then apply for 887 with her as dependant? (This will delay me applying for 887, which I'd REALLY rather not. Also, what's the processing time for adding dependant to 489 visa that has already been granted)?

2. Get married, lodge my 887 visa application and add her as a dependant/partner on the application without adding her to 489? (Will she be eligible for it considering she has never lived in Australia?)

Cheers!


----------



## classic204

Hi,

I am an international student in Australia and have enrolled myself for Masters Degree. The course is for 2 years registered for 104 weeks on CRICOS website.

The course comprises of 16 units.

I am eligible to take credit transfers (on the basis of my overseas studies). However, If I take the credit transfer(s), my course duration gets shortened to 16 months and few more days. 

I will be completing 12 out of 16 units of study and remaining 4 units are being taken as credit transfers. 

I need to know if i will be eligible for the 485 Visa under post study work visa stream?

Thanks.


----------



## Jeanying

Hi Mark

I have few question about 485 visa application.

I finished my bachelor degree on 27 November 2017. I’m planning to apply 485 visa. However, I need to sit for PTE test as one of the requirements. Also, I am still in my home country while preparing other document. But my visa will be expired on 15 March 2018. I am uncertain if I could still apply 485 visa after my student visa expires? 

I have consulted appointed migration agent. They advised me take PTE ASAP and go back to Australia before my student visa expiry date in order for me to lodge 485 visa. 

My concern is I need time to prepare for my PTE exam. So, my question is am I eligible to enter Australia with tourist visa to lodge 485 visa when I have all document prepared. Or will BVA come into effect when I lodge my 485 visa at the same time im holding a tourist visa? 

If so, what could I do in order to apply for subclass 485 visa? 

Could you guys please give me some advices? Truly appreciate for your advices. Thank you.

Regards, 
Jean


----------



## nawawi

Hi Mark ,I do appreciate your support very much as I am desperately looking for answers to my questions ..please note that we are on 489 regional living in the north of QLD.However,we have been here since May 2016 and we will be applying to the 887 on first week of May knowing that we have fulfilled the 2 years by that time and I am done with my one year or more full time job .My question ,as I read on the 887 website details that we should be here once we apply and that’s shall happen as we are here .But my wife wanted to travel after we apply but I am not for how long as she has family issues and she need to sort them out before we reside in Aus ..so I read over the website (Home affairs) he below quote “”
?
Travel

You can travel outside Australia while your visa is being processed but you must let us know. This is because you must be in Australia when the visa is decided.

Note: If you are not in Australia when the visa is decided, the visa will be refused.

I need to understand as this part is very crucial in our future life as a family

Again I do appreciate your feedback and advise and recommendations 


Thanks 

Mohammad


----------



## sjane81

Hi mark,
I don’t know what to do my husband is here from Fiji on a 6 week tourist visa with no “no further stay” attached so my understanding we can apply for a onshore spouse visa and go on a bridging visa. Does this give him automatic work rights and how can we apply for his 3 children who are currently in Fiji as the school fees in Victoria are very excessive on a bridging visa from a tourist visa? Is it faster to apply offshore in Fiji for all 4 or is there a way he can apply on shore and they apply as my step children offshore? Thank you so much for you time


----------



## user11

Hi Mark i am new to this forum looking for some help read about lot of your post and good to see your helping people here.
My question is reagarding 
(immigration home visit regarding (309) offshore partner visa)
immigration visit my home in India and interview my mother and my neighbours . my neighbours in India advice them i am not married and that raises concerns about social recognition of my relationship with my sponser (australian resident wife)
as we live in a village and in my community its common to have conflicts with your nieghbours due to land or other social issues and we dont have good relation with our neighbours due to family history.
IN reply to immigration questions i send other co villagers statements in which they mention i m married and my relationship is genuine.
I am still worried about if theY rejected my application what i will do... or on which grounds they can reject it i m genuinely married and already submit married certificate and other proofs. i got visitor visa after 309 application loged . we lived one year together in australia gave them those proofs as well .
can you please help me what should i do till then still waiting for immigration reply 

please help me if any one have any acknowledged about this 
thnx


----------



## Smile

Dear Mark,
I am grateful for all the help you've been giving to everyone.
I want to find out if I can apply for a student visa while I have a 485 visa (subsequent entrant, primary applicant.)
Initially, I thought I will not be granted the 485 visa as i left Australia with a bve. Now I have been granted the visa but I really want to study and don't know if I can get the student visa. 
Thank you.


----------



## JTeam

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

What is the general consensus on partners who get married in Australia while on a 600 visitor visa and then at a later stage - more than a year after for example - then submit a 309 offshore application?

Does the departmet see this as a breach of the genuine tourist visa and thus look unfavourably at the 309?

It is often said that persons in this situation should have applied for a 300 pmv fiance bridge but that doesn't suit all the time.

In this instance I ask where there is a long history of the couples relationship prior to the marriage

Hope you have some insight

Cheers

Jteam

My partner of


----------



## SMR1

Good Morning ! Can you plz let me know how much time it takes visa grant after job verification ?
Time Line :
SC : 189
Assessment:14 July 2107
EOI : 7th Aug 2017
IELTS : 8.5
Invitation : 22 Aug 2107
App Lodged : 9th Oct 2107
Medical : 9th Nov 2017 
Status : in process 
Thanks & Regards


----------



## stegs11

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark , 
Thank you for being open to answering general questions. I do have a question which I am not sure if can help me -

For visa subclass 189 - Can I get points for both the Bachelors degree (15 points) and Award or qualification(10 points)if I qualify for both?

For award or qualification - does ACS (Australian Computer society)have a list which allows us to understand which certifications are valid and will be accepted . 
I am applying for the ICT Business Analyst category and looking to get this certification - ECBA (Entry level certificate in business analysis) from IIBA-International Institute of Business Analysis.

Do you have an idea if the certificates from this institute are considered valid. 
Does ACS have a list which we can all refer to validate which certificates are valid and accepted .

Thanks Mark. I hope you are able to answer the above questions.

Thanks,
LIPI


----------



## Dennis111

Urgent question regarding positive skill assessment from TRA ( please answer ASAP)


@* Mark

its for 189 skill visa for migration skills assessment via TRA


I have few question, can you please answer them step by step*
Can you please tell me how to get positive Skills assessment from TRA for Electronics trades worker ?

*1) I've*gained relevant qualification ( cert 3 in electronics and communication ) via RPL from a well known institute in Australia in year 2017 and have been working as*Electronics trades worker*since 2014 ( paid employment) , will i get positive skills assessment? what's its requirement?* ( all of this experience is within Australia)*




this is written in the TRA guidelines :

2.8.4 Applicants who hold an AQF qualification issued via recognition
of prior learning

covers no less than six years of full-time (or equivalent) paid employment,
three years of which may be as a trainee under the direct supervision of a
tradesperson/employer (this is considered an informal training period) with an
additional three years full-time (or equivalent) paid employment completed at
the required skill level for the occupation.



2) i saw on the above mentioned guideline *that they'll accept informal training period of 3 years and other 3 years of paid experience, in total they want 6 year (paid) experience from me as I have gained my qualifications via RPL*

3) as my case is different as i have 3 years work experience but all the experience is from the time before i gained the qualification and not after that, how much chances do i have?*

4) i want to inform you that i actually gained the cert 3 in electronics and communication by paying 11 grand to a well known institute and had to complete 8 courses to receive the certificate, i went to study for 7 months, i did not received the cert3 from vetassess or from somewhere else who provide the certificate within a day. if that's the case , will the 6 year work experience rule apply to me or its for everyone who gained even 1 subject via RPL? i gained about 70% of cert3 via RPL.


5) as i have 3 year of work experience form within Australia, will it not be an advantage for me or maybe those guidelines are for people who gained work experience from overseas and not from within Australia ? I might be eligible?*


6) if i am not eligible, how to fix my case and how to become eligible for a successful TRA application?




guidelines also says that 

Skilled employment undertaken after the issuance of an AQF qualification will also be
considered towards meeting the requirement.

Since 1 January 2014, TRA has included on its MSA outcome letter a date at which
TRA considered that the applicant was first able to work in skilled employment in
their occupation. This can assist applicants who are applying for a points-based visa.
The date that will be included for applicants who obtained their qualification by RPL
will be the date the applicant finished their first three years of verifiable, paid, full-time
(or equivalent) employment in their occupation (with those three years representing
an informal training period). Applicants can apply for TRA Migration Points Advice or
supply extra evidence to DIBP if they wish to claim employment prior to the noted
dated, which will be determined on the evidence available.



does this mean if i have a cert 3 via RPL then TRA will accept my 3 year of work experience? *and ill get a positive skills assessment?







kindly guide me. thanks


----------



## 8sja

Hi Mark
Hope you can help, myself and our wife were granted our 189 visas and we have not yet moved permenantly to Australia from the uk, we have been held up in the UK due to various family illness and things, anyway we have since also adopted a child and so are looking to get a visa for them. We have done it all legally through the official channels here but it seems complicated when I checked on the visa website. We seem to have all the criteria but am still not sure how to proceed, due you have any advise regarding this
Many thanks


----------



## kellylia

Hi Mark,

I've read in an "Australia Visa News" article about DHA’s new “2 day” policy where primary documents for applications must be uploaded within 2 calendar days from lodgment or the application is liable for refusal without any further request for documents.

Does this apply to all visas?

What do primary documents include? I'm applying with my partner for a de facto partner visa and I would like to be as prepared as possible.

Thank you in advance.

Kelly


----------



## ausdemis

*Hello Mark hope this message finds you well*

Hello Mark,

How are you? Hope this message somehow finds you well and sorry that this message is so long 

I would like to ask you if you could please try to asses my situation on how to apply for partner visas 820/801 onshore and maybe some tips on it on our situation?

=====================================
Something about us:
- I am a Australian citizen (Born in Australia) and living in Czech Republic for the past 15 or so years.
- I married a women (Czech citizen) here in Czech Republic (married now for 1year)
- We have been together for 2years and 2months now.
- We have a lovely baby daughter together 9months old now.
- I requested overseas to the UK office "citizenship by descent" last month (still waiting for it to be approved).

- We are planning (all three of us at the same time) to move to Australia in August this year. My wife will be flying on tourist visa and I will try not to get "NFS" on her visa. Then we will look for the tickets and buy them. 
- We will be living at my brothers place till we manage to find and rent a house. Once we will settle in we will apply for the partner visa 820/801.
- Once in Australia we will get 2x form 888 done by friends/family and also before leaving Czech Rep. we will get a couple of declarations from friend in similar format as the form 888 in English and officially notorized by the Czech office.
-Police certification will be done before we fly off.
=====================================

=====================================
Questions:
- I need to validate things regarding translation of our documents in Czech language. I have a translator that is a court translator and interpreter of Czech Republic, do you think that if I were to get all our personal documents translated by her that the Australian office would accept our translation? The thing is that it would be cheaper for us&#8230; Its a official translation but it doesn't have the apostle stamp.
- We have 2 bank accounts, we jointed each other to both of them. We have 2 papers stating that we are administrators of each account, will they need translating or not?
- Our landlord that we are renting a flat from will write a declaration in English that we are renting the place together as a family and that we have bills like (electrition, gas, TV and internet that we are paying for) also one thing is that we both have a ID card and on both we have the same permeant address at my parents house as here in Czech its not normal that when renting a flat that you have your permeant address at the place where you rent, we are using the permeant address for postal usage only. Is this going to be a issue?
-Regarding all other additional documents for example: Tv and internet contract, cars insurance we have both to the same permeant address, joint mobil accounts, do they have to be also translated or are the names and permeant address enough?
-Things that we buy are usually paid by card or online payment so if I make a PDF were there will be a screenshot of the payment + photo of the thing we bough, should that be enough as evidence regarding the financial aspect?
- Regarding tickets that we will be buying: my daughter and I will be flying on oneway tickets but is it possible for my wife which will have tourist visa, buy a oneway ticket also?
=====================================

This is all that I could think from the top of my head thank you so much for any help and tips that you could provide us!!! Wish you a great day and will be looking forward to your reply if you will have the time and patience


----------



## PacificNomad

Mark!

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions. 

My partner and I are planning to go thru the 801/820 process here soon. We will have been together, but our relationship has been international long distance the entire time (over 12 months). This is my plan. 
-Enter on a 3 month tourist visa (i'm too old for the working holiday visa) and during this time apply for the 820 (at this time we will have only lived together the 3 months)
-stay in australia with the BVA or BVB if possible and work and accumulate more documentation to add to the 820 application while it processes. 

My question to you is: Is living together for only 3 months while I am on a tourist visa a problem when applying for the 820 visa even if we have been dating over a year? I'm not sure if I can register on her rental lease while on a tourist visa. any suggestions? Thanks so much!


----------



## Swissmade

Hi Mark,

Thanks for helping out the people.You are doing a great job!
My question is ;

What subclass of visitor visa my wife should apply to extend her evisitor(651) while she is waiting for her partner visa is granted onshore?
She is pregnant and the date of her visa would be expired just a month before she give birth.so want her to deliver in Oz.is that a acceptable reason to extend ?what is your advise?

Many thanks


----------



## Muzz90s

Withdrawn Myself from Visa Application.

Morning Mark,

I have recently withdrawn myself from my ex-partners 820 application (she is on the bridging visa at the moment). We have been separated for a year but I only recently withdrew myself as I had not even thought about it.

I am no longer amicable with my ex, I let her know I had withdrawn myself from the application and she was not pleased. It does not look like she is willing to cooperate with me and fully withdraw the application. 

I have spoken to a lawyer and she said that my ex needs to withdraw the application or I could have the 5 year ban imposed on me as the visa will be 'refused' rather than 'withdrawn'.

To make it a bit more complicated I am in a relationship now with a women from overseas so a 5 year ban could pose a problem going forward.

So my questions are:

Will immigration get in touch with my ex letting her know about my withdrawal and she will be given notice to either vacate Aus (within 28 days) or have to look at an alternative visa? (student etc...)

Or

If she does not withdraw the app do they just let it play out with the normal waiting time-frame and then refuse it later?

Am I at risk of being imposed with the 5 year sponsorship ban?

Is there a way to have the application withdrawn without her consent if she is refusing to cooperate?

Thankyou very much in advance Mark,
Andrew


----------



## hopeforoz

Hello Mark, Hope you are doing great!

Just a small query as did not think of a better person to ask this. Request your answer

I got my PR 190 VISA in April 2016. I came for a one week visa validation trip in August 2016. 
We finally came to reside permanently in Jan 2017 and have been in Australia since then barring a few weeks travel to my home country in between

I plan to apply for a contributory parent visa for my mother. And the DIBP website says that one could apply for a contributory parent visa when their kids have stayed in Australia for 2 years.
I am not sure, from when would those two years be counted. Would they be counted when we validated the visa in August 2016 or from Jan 2017, when we came to reside permanently. Request you to clarify please

Kind Regards,


----------



## felpas

Hi Mark,
I have a specific question that I would love if you can give me an advice.
I have applied to the Graduate visa 485 with my wife as an additional aplicant (both of us are in Australia). I already submitted and I have to upload the documents. I read at the requirements that for people over 18 years old, we have to provide financial dependency, I do not know if that apply for my wife too. It says:

"Evidence of financial dependency for all your family members aged 18 or older (such as evidence of current studies):
- a certified copy of their birth certificate and proof of their relationship to you
- proof that they live in your household
- proof that they have been financially dependent on you for at least the 12 months immediately before you lodge your application."

I do not actually know if I need to do this, I have no idea what is the purpose of this and, finally, if the main idea is to show that my wife is dependent on me or independent (available to dependent on herself).
Any feedback about what to upload?

Regards and many thanks.


----------



## Kemmie

*need advice Mark*

Hello

everyone i came on this forum because i really need advice on many aspects on my life right now. as of right now i have not started any process but really confused with the many visas in Australia. I am a 39 year old Canadian who has decided is is hoping to move to Australia for a new start. so i guess my question is where do i start? I have a BA in psychology and i have worked in the field for over 5 years. i have a 16 year old son who will join later and a finance from cameroon who would also ;love to come to Australia.

i guess my question is where do i begin with the process of relocation to Australia Please.


----------



## Kemmie

Hi Mark 

i really need advice on many aspects on my life right now. as of right now i have not started any process but really confused with the many visas in Australia. I am a 39 year old Canadian who has decided is is hoping to move to Australia for a new start. so i guess my question is where do i start? I have a BA in psychology and i have worked in the field for over 5 years. i have a 16 year old son who will join later and a finance from cameroon who would also ;love to come to Australia. 

i guess my question is where do i begin with the process of relocation to Australia Please.


----------



## nik8720

Hi Mark,

i have finished my master in Information Technology in 261112 Systems Analyst (Melbourne) and want to apply for PR in the future, i was looking for (Skilled Regional (Provisional) Subclass 489 - requires sponsorship by a relative living in a designated area or a state or territory government) my brother is living in Melbourne and works in Information technology field. Can i apply for visa 489 and what is the processing time. rite now i have 65 points.

I have talk to lot of people they say it is very hard to get it , they recommended other visas.


----------



## tokito

Hello, Mark!

Please help me because I am worried about my further steps in the Assessment.
First of all, I was assessed as an Accountant General, for now I need to do an employment assessment. 

I am analyzing the list of tasks for 2211 ACCOUNTANTS and some duties like assisting in formulating budgetary and accounting policies
preparing financial statements, preparing taxation returns and so on really coincide with my actual duties. But does it mean that I could be assessed as a 221113 Taxation Accountant instead of a General? I am worries because this code has extra criteria nowadays and I hope to stay General after all. 
Thank you in advance! 
Waiting for your answer patiently.


----------



## Leed5ey

Hi Mark 
i recently did my Citizenship test and as you know you have to supply all the documents that you supplied for your application. The guy who checked mine was a bit strange. It took him nearly 20 mins to log on and then couldn't find my application and when he did he refused my Birth Certificate as it was a CERTIFIED Copy !!!!! He also queried if my wife, who was sat next to me, was actually my wife,even though she had her own documents on her and knew one of the other Interviewers. He then said i need a Police Check from UK to verify who i am. He then said i could sit my test then laughed !!!!.
So the crux of it all is that
1 I have been in Oz for 6 Years and never left
2 All previous Police checks for 457 and PR are clean
3 My passport has not been used at all in that time
4 He asked for one because in his words I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE !!!

Passport,Birth Cert, Form 1195,Marriage Cert,Aussie drivers licence ALL supplied
Advice please anyone


----------



## Walrus2018

Hi Mark. I’m doing a 820/801 partner visa. I was just granted my bridge visa. What is next? Do I apply for my health card and tax ID number or do they come automatically? When do I do the fbi check and police check? Do I do the Form 80 immediately? How do I upload Form 80? If I change to jpeg it will be many files long and I’ve already used up 45 of my 60 files. When do you think I will get a case worker? Will they even look at my application in the next 12 months? Lots of questions. Sorry.&#55357;&#56843;


----------



## Isabelle1991

*visa 820*

Hello!
The situation is: we firstly met each other in the Internet and communicated in skype via messages and online video almost every day, after 6 months he visited me for two weeks. Then we didn't see each other again for a half year (as I graduated my University), but we communicated every single day...I came to Australia on a student visa and lived together for a half year. Right now we want to apply for a partnership visa 820, but the problem is when we firstly met each other in real life and when my visa expired, there is a gap in 2 weeks for the whole 12 months. Altogether we communicated with each other about 1,5 years and have messages, photos and videos as evidence.
What can we do in this situation? we want to apply on-shore.
Thank you!


----------



## Shradhda

Hi mark
I really Nee help applied for 489 visa on August 2017 
They requested more documents twice
On December 2017 they ask me to get sign on form 1229 from his father as I divorced and remarried my son always lived with me 
He provided sign and driver license copy along with number to be contact 
Co contact him on provided no where someone else pic call any said he is not child’s father but know him 
After two week co send me mail of nj pic 4020 
Where co saying I have provided bogus documents 
Which I did not he sign this document in front of family friends and relatives 
I have ask him for no and to provide documents again now he refuse to provide more documents 
I always raise my son he is only 6 , I am struggling in Australia from 10 years never did anything wrong and still fighting to live here for the things I have not done please help what should I do


----------



## bldaya

*Need guidance in choosing the correct ANZSCO code*

Hi Mark,

This is my first ever post on this forum, so please excuse if this question was already asked and answered 

My wife is planning to apply for subclass 189 visa and has all the documents required for ACS ready but is confused about which ANZSCO Code to nominate herself for.

She is currently working in India as a Systems Engineer but her roles and responsibilities match with that of "262113 - Systems Administrator" under the Combined List of Eligible Skilled Occupations list.

My question here is if it is okay for her to choose the Systems Administrator code while all her other documents state her designation as "Systems Engineer" or is it fine to align her profile with the code - 263111 - Computer Network and Systems Engineer?

Your response will be greatly appreciated and help us choose the right option. Thank you!


----------



## genevieve

Hello Mark,

I have a question regarding form 47A. I have two adult children from a previous marriage that are over the age of 23 years old. They are living on their own, are completely financially independent and not immigrating with me to Australia. Do I still require them to complete the form 47A? 

Genevieve


----------



## gracey1026

Hi Mark,

My husband and I lodged our 309 and wondering what would be the best route to take. 

1. Apply for another tourist visa so I can be with him while waiting for the 309 decision.

2. Stay in the Philippines and wait for the 309 decision.

3. Use the remaining time I have for my current tourist visa which will expire on June 2018

DOL: June 7, 2017
Medical done: 2nd week of June 2017
Additional requirements requested: September 2017, which we were able to supply 2 weeks after.

Since then, I have not heard anything. After my 309 was lodged our agent also lodged a tourist visa so I can be with my husband while waiting for the 309 decision. In 3 days time, the tourist visa has been granted. It was a multiple entry visa valid for a year with 3 months maximum stay. 

I left Philippines on June 29, 2017, I exit Australia before I even reach the 3rd month. Now, I am back in the Philippines and feeling very anxious of not knowing what to do and being away from my husband. I am tossing between going back to Australia on the same tourist visa which will expire on June this year or wait till the decision for the 309 comes out. We are currently on our 9th month of waiting. Should I just apply for a new tourist visa so I can be with my husband? 

Your thoughts will be highly appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance.

Grace


----------



## spectrum6115

Dear Mark,

Need your expert opinion for following query: I submitted my application (For myself along with my family) couple of months ago. Last week, i received email from case officer to provide additional medical report for my son. I am from Pakistan, and because of my job here in Saudi Arabia, I lodged my application from Saudi Arabia. I need your suggestion for following queries:

1. Currently my family is visiting their home country, so do i need to inform Australian Immigration about my family's visit? If so, which form shall be used? And shall i use "Change in circumstance" option to inform Australian Immigration?
2. Medical of my son was done in Saudi Arabia, because currently he is in Pakistan, so i am planning to submit required medical report through approved medical clinics in Pakistan. Will it have any negative effect? or Could this cause any complication e.g. failure to update Australian Immigration at the time of their travel or requirement of latest police certificate etc...

Thanks in advance.


----------



## SabrinaKl689

Hey Mark, thank you so much for the option on asking you. I am trying for days now to google my answer and either I can't find it or I am using the wrong words for google.

Anyhow. As many internationals I am on my WHV 417 which will end in April and I am not gonna do a 2nd year (due a. age and b. plan to head to Canada).
But - I still would like to do actual traveling (eg snorkeling with whale sharks - season starts soon;cage diving with great white shark, visit Uluru, vivid festival in Sydney etc) before heading back home. Flights to Germany are crazy cheap starting in July from Sydney and I would love to take advantage of it. 
First I will be heading to New Zealand for about 3 weeks and would love to come back for 10 weeks to travel around Australia. 

I am trying now to figure out if the 651 would be the best option or if I should meet with an travel agent in NZ and get the 601?

Trying to figure that out and not knowing the outcome is def bothering as I also don't know if I should book my flight back home from NZ or OZ or if even booking trips/tours in advance will make a difference in the decision (doubt it).

Any advice or even idea where else to google (backpacker pages recommend 651, others again saying after a whv you can't get any tourist visa, the next page says something else again). 

Cheers Sabrina


----------



## SumanS

Hi Mark, My husband and I (both Indian Nationals) got married in August 2016 after a 3 year + relationship. He left for his MBA to Sydney in September 2016 but since I had just joined my current job I decided to stay back in New Delhi India. I applied for the Subsequent Student 500 visa in Oct 2017 fulfilling all the details like financials, GTE, proof of ongoing relationship, etc. I have gone through the medical in Nov 2017. On immi the status reads as 'received' with 25-46 days as Estd days. It's really frustrating to keep waiting like this indefinitely. I had written to dibp in Jan and they replied with acknowledgement that the advertised time on immi had elapsed but due to the volume of applications they can't give any timelines. What do you think of our case? My husband's visa is till October this year but he's on a 2+2 so he will be applying for the extension once his degree comes in. I really want to get there and be with him quickly.. also my employer being an MNC with a Sydney office is keen on moving me internally if I have the 500 visa, since I can work full time on it. Looking forward to guidance and some actionables so I can strive harder to get there soonest. TIA


----------



## harrypotter

Hi Mark, 

My wife lodged her 820 application May 2017 with police check(both of us) while her student visa was still effect. Her student visa just expired this week, BVA has just kicked in, she has just applied for BVB, we are planning to go to china early May for 5 weeks. 

My questions are:
1. since we lodged application, we haven't got any email or contact from case officer. apart from BVA grant notice? Is it normal?

2. I am concerned while we are in china in May, what if CO request medical? Is it 28 days frame? if it is, we are probably will not have enough time to do it, since we will be in overseas for 5 weeks.Or can we do the medical after we come back to sydney? 

Appreciate your help Mark. 

Thanks


----------



## aristo

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your time.

My partner lodged her prospective marriage visa offshore in April 2017. At the time of application on the Notice of Intended Marriage, we put April 15th, 2018 as the tentative wedding date.

She is visiting Australia at the moment.

We received an email from the Department just this week asking her to organise travel to and from Australia, before April 15th, in accordance with our marriage plans.

We have organised this travel for April 4th - April 12th.

However, as we were advised by the Department not to make any wedding plans until we hear confirmation, we have not made any plans beside speaking to a celebrant and discussing a few venues for April 15th. I was under the impression that we had nine months from the date of grant of the visa to get married. Ideally, we would get married in late May, so that way we have slightly more time to plan a nice enough wedding.

Do you know if she just has to leave and return Australia, have the visa granted, and then we can change the date of the wedding and submit a new NOIM? 

Or do we HAVE to get married on April 15th as per the original NOIM?

We do not want to submit any new forms to the Department before she returns to the country on April 12th and has the temporary visa granted, because we do not want to delay the granting of the visa as we have already booked travel.

Thank you in advance,

Aristo.


----------



## Franciathomas

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ella -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I'd upload a letter explaining that you were confused and didn't understand the categories/subcategories and apologise for any inconvenience. That being said, the selection of category and subcategory is not actually an "answer" on a visa application, and is done primarily as a convenience to the case officer(s) reviewing the application. It can't be fixed now since you cannot change the category/subcategory after lodgement, but the fact that you acknowledge your mistake and apologise should go a long way towards reducing any potential issues.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark ,

I already upload a letter of apology. Thank you for the advice would really help me cope up with my worries.

Ella


----------



## arun6445

*Visa 189 Processing times*

Hi Mark,

I have a query about Visa 189 processing time. I lodged my Visa 189 application on 24th March 2017 and its almost an year, my application still shows "*Further Assessment*".

In Feb'2018, I sent a feedback to DIBP stating that it concerns me about my application as its been pending for long time and doesn't let me plan for my future. Post my feedback, I was asked to provide some more documents which I have already sent them in couple of days and since then there has been no updates.

It seemed to have gone quiet again. I have recently sent another feedback but have had no response from them.

Any suggestion what should I do as its been almost an year that my application is in processing status.

Thanks
Arun Gupta


----------



## SKReddy

Hii.. I lodged my application on dec 6 2017.. I provide additional information on feb 3 2018 and My immiaccount status now changed to further assessment on March 1. I made an Enquiry and got reply like ur application is active and it’s processing and as soon as possible it applctn will be finalised like that..wtng from 3 weeks still status remains samee.. Any suggests..?


----------



## Cathy48

Hi Mark,
Thank you very much for starting this page, I am in the middle of deciding to go with the 820 or the 309 partner visa as I understand when we both arrive in Australia ( Australian born and Turkish )my husband will not be allowed to work for 3 months. I was wondering if there is a financial hardship clause to enable him to work once we have lodged the 820. He is the sole income earner and I have not worked for many yrs Thanks in advance Cathy


----------



## Preetchatha21

SKReddy said:


> Hii.. I lodged my application on dec 6 2017.. I provide additional information on feb 3 2018 and My immiaccount status now changed to further assessment on March 1. I made an Enquiry and got reply like ur application is active and it's processing and as soon as possible it applctn will be finalised like that..wtng from 3 weeks still status remains samee.. Any suggests..?


my husband received same reply almost 4 minths ago and still waiting for decision .
I hope u 'll get reply soon.


----------



## semsemdiab

Hi Mr Mark,

I am new to this forum and wish if you can help me with my below inquiry.

My wife was working in China for 2 years. Her visa and work permit were issued from Shanghai as the headquarter of her company is in Shanghai. However, the employer allocated her to work in the other branch in another city which is Shaoxing (near Shanghai).

I contact an agency called visainchina to get her PCC, but they issued her PCC from Shanghai (*covering the whole period*) as her visa and work permit were issued from Shanghai not Shaoxing.

DIAC web site mentions clearly that they need PCC from each city in china where the applicant were resided.

Will the case officer accept this PCC from Shanghai or they will ask from Shaoxing were she was living. Note: the agent told me it is impossible to get her PCC from Shaoxing, because her visa and work permit from Shanghai.

Anyone had similar issue before?

Thanks in Advance


----------



## gymnastabroad

Hi Mark,

I am wondering if you can offer me any advice.

Myself and my partner applied for our defecto visa & we're granted our 820 in Nov 2017.
My partner is the sponsee.

A short while ago I moved out of our home as he has been emotionally abusing me for some time now.
I sought help from a family Counsellor & have been seeing her for the last 6 months and she has worked with me to realize that he was abusing me.

I thought that my only option was to leave in 28 once DIAC had been notified. I called up immigration prior to leaving my partner to find out what the next step would be if I was to leave him. They explained that I would be able to appeal and fill out form 1040.

Primarily I thought that If I am not with my partner then I have nothing to keep me here. However I have come to realise that I infact i have made a life here, with friends & most importantly a job as a gymnastics coach which I cherish.

Mark, i am thinking of appealing and doing the 1040 form. I would really appreciate some help in 
- what to expect & how long it would take for the appeal to go through,
- would I gain a bridging visa to allow me to Continue working whilst this was in process?
- what is the likely hood of this leading to PR? Would my stat dec from one therapist be enough?

Thank you mark.


----------



## Liliana

Hi Mark and everyone,

Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to ask you questions.

I have a query regarding contacting the Case Officer whilst waiting for our Prospective Marriage Visa PMV 300 to be processed.

My fiance (Bosnian Citizen) and I (Australian Citizen) have lodged our PMV 300 application on 02/10/2017 via the Austrian Embassy (Vienna).
We processed it online.
2 weeks after lodgement, the CO has asked my fiance to undergo the Heath Checks as well as Biometrics collections. 
Both of these were completed within 10days of their request.
The information on the Immi account states that he has passed the Health Checks.

We haven't heard anything since. 

I should also mention that we engaged/paid a Registered Migration Agent to help us with the application.

On the Australian Home Affairs website, the average global processing times are listed as:
75% of applications - 11months
90% of applications - 15months


However, I'd like to gauge how long the average wait is for applications through the Austrian Vienna Embassy.
I've asked the MRA to contact our CO to get a rough idea of this, however my MRA said that CO's can only be contacted in order to withdraw the application; and that the department does not allow applicants to contact COs for queries such as this.

This doesn't sound right to me. 

Can you please advise whether we can contact the CO during our wait.

Thanks again.

Liliana


----------



## ijaz.ahmad88

*Hi Mark*

I got my 457 visa on 12.03.2018 it is for 4 years, my occupation code is 312312 , currently i have 5 years of experience but i am seeking guidance if i can be eligible for permanent resident visa after spending 3 years in Australia?
what is the criteria for PR when someone is on 457 Visa?

Thank you for your support.
Best Regards,
Ijaz Ahmad


----------



## Eisha Shoaib

Hi Mark! 
Hope your doing well and I appreciate your effort to the people who really needs this .


I live in Pakistan and my husband (sponsor) lives in Australia.he has Australian citizenship . We have launched our application through Australian IMMI website on Aug 2017 with all requirements done on September 2017. Now my police clearance certificate has expired should I submit it without been ask by department,yet I haven’t assigns co nor gets any further email.
My ImmiAccount doesn’t shows globel processing time from mid March!why this happen? It’s only me who experienced this and what would be the cause of it?


----------



## Eh?

Eisha Shoaib said:


> It's only me who experienced this and what would be the cause of it?


You're not the only one. Others have posted about their accounts not showing an estimated processing time as well. Mine included.


----------



## salmon1411

Hi Mark,

I have a question about "concurrent" visas/applications.

Me: Canadian/British citizen living in the USA with Australian husband and 2 children (US/Australian citizens). Applied for 309 in January of this year.

My husband has a job offer in Australia and they would like him to start in 3 months. We would like to accept the offer and relocate, probably before my 309 is granted. I could transfer internally within my company and they would help me obtain a temporary skilled worker visa (457? I think the number changed). BUT:

* - If I obtained the temporary skilled worker visa would that cancel my 309 application? Or would my 309 CO let me know when they were ready to issue, I can leave the country and return on the 309 which would then allow me to continue working?*

We are trying to find the balance between having me come to Australia on a visitor visa, and not work for up to 12 months (loss of income) and me coming on a work visa and losing the money we've paid for the 309 application already.

Thanks!

Edit to add: I am a Civil Engineer


----------



## Faz_86

Hi Mark

In a huge dilemma. My husband's PR visa expired in February, without us even realising. He booked his ticket to Australia, flying out in 2 weeks time and i quickly applied for the rrv on the weekend.

I don't think he will get the visa before he flies out and its imperative that he comes on the 6th of April. Would it be wise to wait a few days before flying out and if rrv not processed, then apply for ETA and come?

Or should i just apply for ETA while the rrv has been "received" or do i have to withdraw the current application for rrv before i apply for ETA? 

Please help


----------



## DawieNel

*Partner Visa 309/100 - How to prove intent to permanently live in Australia*

Hi Mark,

Would appreciate if you could please give some advice with regards to how one can prove intent to permanently live in Australia.

I posted more detail about the background to my application in below thread.

http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/271802-partner-visa-309-100-how-prove-intent-live-permanently-australia.html

Thanks in advance
Dawie


----------



## Aniki

Hi Mark,

Ive had a browse on various forums/websites with some professions i would be interested in but can’t seem to find any minimum or entry requirements information. A lot of the information online simply states an equivelant Australian qualification. So does this simply mean that anything is open to assesment?

(I’m mainly looking at automotive professions.)

Any helpful info/links would be much appreciated.

Profile:
Japanese but born and raised in the UK. (Age, 32)
Real Estate related Bsc Hons, UK
Moved to Japan around 3 to 4 years ago to persue a career in the performance car parts industry.


----------



## alexleeds

Hi Mark,

My better half has just completed her PhD in cancer research in the UK. We are looking at Australia migration and either wish to apply for a postdoc position in Australia or industry research positions - but we are not sure if we can go via this/ qualify via a skills assessment. 

She has one year and a half years experience in industry (in New Zealand) but it was after her BSc degree more than 4 years ago. Does her PhD counts as work experience? She was being paid for her PhD and worked more than 35 hours a week. So it is pretty much the same as doing a normal science research position but at the end she had to write up a thesis about her research and gain a PhD. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated as we are in a limbo about how to approach this.

Thank you very much
Alex


----------



## line24

*Partner visa*

Hello Mark,
I have an issue with the condition for sponsoring my partner:
I received my residency in May 2015 and my citizenship in June 2017.
I got my residency as spouse in my ex boyfriend application who become resident too thanks to a working sponsor visa.
My actual partner and I want to apply next year before his last year as student for a defacto in WA but only 4 years would have gone from my sponsorship and I have read in the booklet that I cannot sponsor somebody before 5 years.But my question is by the time the Gov look at our case 5 to 6 years would be gone and I don't know if this is something the Gov would take in consideration because for us would make a huge difference.
Thank you in advance for your reply.

Regards
Carolina


----------



## Brijvarsh

Hello Mark,
Please advice that will color scan copies of document( mark sheets or degree)can be assessed by Vetassess? I dont have transcripts.
Thankx


----------



## upen144

Hi, 

I got Negative outcome from Vetassess in 149212 ( customer Service Manager ) now i am going to file for change of occupation from 149212 to 222211 ( Financial market dealer ) , as i am having 10+ years of exp. in Foreign Exchange house ( Thomas Cook ) . My real sister got PR in Aus ( adelaide ) on Feb 2018 . I want to apply under chain migration for 222211 as High Point is not available for this occupation . 

Q - Please advise if am on the right path? Quota of Chain migration ? 

Seeking your valuable inputs on this . Thanks


----------



## baldur

Hello Mark, 
let's assume, our first 485 visa expired but we enrolled in a doctorate programme and got granted with the visa. after finishing the doctorate, are we going to be able to apply for the visa 485 again? 
what do you think?
thanks a lot in advance.


----------



## Jess0618

*Attachment loaded in one category*

Hi Mark,

I posted all my scanned documents under (others) category.

When i submitted my application i only saw (others) under my name only.

There was nothing for my husband or any other categories were seen.

I attached documents thinking it was so simple.

When i logged out and checked in, I saw My husbands category appear and under my name there were other sections but it wasnt there before.

So confused if i do them in other categories they will go double??

Im stuck now. I cant delete and redo either.

Please help i have not submitted them yet????????


----------



## Bhavana

Hi Mark,
I'm Bhavana from India. 
I am soon going to apply for 485 partner visa as a dependent on my partner who already holds 485 visa. Do I have to answer IELTS?


----------



## upen144

upen144 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I got Negative outcome from Vetassess in 149212 ( customer Service Manager ) now i am going to file for change of occupation from 149212 to 222211 ( Financial market dealer ) , as i am having 10+ years of exp. in Foreign Exchange house ( Thomas Cook ) . My real sister got PR in Aus ( adelaide ) on Feb 2018 . I want to apply under chain migration for 222211 as High Point is not available for this occupation .
> 
> Q - Please advise if am on the right path? Quota of Chain migration ?
> 
> Seeking your valuable inputs on this . Thanks


Please help on this !!!!!!!


----------



## drvp11

Best pathway for permanent residency for new graduate nurses

Dear Mark,
I am a new graduate nurse living in NSW. I am needing an advice on which pathway to pursue for PR. I’ve scored 60 on the points test and waiting for ANMAC assessment. At the moment, we are confused if we have to go regional areas or just stay in non regional areas to get a PR easier? Does going to regional areas increases my chance of getting residency? Thank you. 

Kind regards,
D


----------



## thebongoking

Hi Mark!

Hope you're well! I have a question regarding preparing/uploading documents. My partner and I are almost finished with preparing our documents to upload however, based on the main categories (social, financial, household, etc.) we have created a single PDF for each category with all the evidence (including explanation statements and annotation) in those documents.

We've written side notes to the case officer (whomever that may be down the line) within each document to refer to separate uploads for things like stat decs from witnesses or bank statements (all combined in their own pdf) that support that particular category. 

So, some of our docs are 90 pages long (compressed to under 5MB thankfully through smallpdf) but we walk them through the relevant evidence in the order of content we highlighted at the start of each document rather than breaking out the evidence for each category into different, multiple uploads. Do you think this is too complicated? We'll probably end up with about 20-30 uploads in total between us. I know there's probably no right answer but as we're getting closer the anxiety is creeping in!

Thanks

Ben


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi KDL1201 -

Thanks for the note and for your patience- I'm back on the forum after some time away to help an ill family member. No good way to predict processing times these days on 457 subsequent entrant, but in the past we've seen 2-3 months for these.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



KDL1201 said:


> Hi Mark
> Can you assist? My ex-husband is currently in Australia on a 4 year 457 sponsorship. on his initial application he put down our 2 boys. they are currently in south Africa and an immi account has been done to add them so they can go join him. do you perhaps know how long this can take to be finalised? we have sent all documents requested, medical/police clearance done etc. please help? thank you regards Karen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tina -

Thanks for the note. Either way can work - main difference is that if you apply while onshore in Australia (note your visitor visa must not have condition 8503 - no further stay) you will get a bridging visa to allow you to remain in Australia with your partner until a decision is reached on your 457 subsequent entrant application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aggletina said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner just got his 457 visa granted not long ago and we're going to get married couple months later in our country. We plan to apply subsequent entry visa for me after we get married, but are not sure whether I shall lodge the application onshore while holding a visitor visa or offshore waiting in our country until it's granted. Thank you very much for your help.
> 
> Cheers,
> Tina


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi MJAus!2018 -

Thanks for the note. You can always write to DHA and ask them to expedite the process if you can show that it is in the interest of your children, however typically only very dire cases (ie, very serious illness, etc) tend to get expedited.

Re: your son who is mildly intellectually disabled, typically DHA will ignore alternative care sources (ie, private health insurance, overseas disability pension, etc) when calculating the assessed costings, but *can* take these into account in the health waiver process. Suggest you consider a consultation with an immigration lawyer or migration agent thoroughly versed in health waivers and the health criteria to get more info.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



MJAus!2018 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I posted the following in another thread and wondered if you had any thoughts (middle of page). I have applied for a 309 (6 Nov 2017) with my two children, ages 15 and 20. I was hoping that I might get approved before July (the DC embassy is taking over a year from what I'm seeing at the moment so this is wishful thinking), so we can move before my daughter gets too engrained in the US school system...she will be starting her 11th grade year in August. If this process takes too long, I'm afraid that my daughter will want to finish high school in America. I was hoping she would do years 11 and 12 in Australia and want to stay with me and live through her university years in Australia....and if she finishes high school in America, she will want to stay in America. Is there any way I can speed this process up? Is it worth ringing someone up and seeing if something can be done? My other issue is below.
> 
> Post from the other thread:
> 
> I'm worried that my 309 application will be denied. I have a 20-year-old son that is mildly intellectually disabled who will be migrating with me if our visas are approved. Does anyone have experience with this? Maybe I'm just being panicky. After all, we did get advice from an Australian immigration attorney before we lodged our application and he seemed to think we had a good chance of being approved. Here's a little background. I'm American and was widowed about 3 ½ years ago and my Australian husband was widowed 3 years ago. We found each other on a dating website and sparks flew. We have visited each other in both the USA and Australia 7 times now for about 2 weeks or more with each visit (it's getting expensive). We married in March of 2017. My son was receiving a social security death benefit monthly from my late husband's death until my son turned 18. After that he was evaluated by a psychologist that was hired by the Social Security Administration in the USA and it was decided to reinstate his benefit. He will receive this benefit from social security for the rest of his life even in Australia. It's a sizeable amount. My concern is that the Australian government will dismiss that and base their decision solely on the fact that he could qualify for Australian benefits based on his disability, and, therefore, be a strain on the government. If our visas are denied, we will definitely appeal. Just an added note, when we had our health checks done, I discussed this with the doctor and he did a mental evaluation on my son which he passed with flying colors along with the rest of his medical check. Also, he has held a summer job before, so he is capable of working, but is not currently working. I'm not sure how independent he will become in the future, but right now he needs me. How often do people post in these forums that they have been denied their visas and what are they denied for? I've read over the ones that the DIBP have listed already.
> 
> Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Falling in love with an Australian is so much more complicated then I thought it would be.....but he's so worth it!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lizzie -

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you and others. Re visitor visa while 309 is processing, no problem at all re: entry into Australia - if you are approved for the visitor visa, that's the key thing. If you have been in Australia for more than 9 months during the 12 months prior to entering Australia, that might be an issue bit it sounds like that's not the case with you. Only note for you would be that once they are ready to grant the 309, if you are onshore in Australia, they will require you to depart Australia for 5 days or so to enable them to grant the visa while you are offshore.

Re passport, fortunately Australia is not a country that requires persons entering Australia to have an Australia good for at least 6 months. As you have flights booked coming back before the passport expires, good chance there will be no issues - the only issue might be if DHA has an issue with the expiry date (or end of stay period) of the visa happening after the passport expires, but low chance that would cause you an issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SamLizzie said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> We are getting pretty close to submitting our partner visa 309 offshore (currently we're residing in England, i'm British and my partner is Australian on a tier 5 youth mobility visa) we've been here for 18 months. One thing we didn't factor in, is that we have a 3 week holiday booked to Australia in April to visit Sam's family, and I wondered if it's okay to enter Australia on a tourist visa for a set holiday while the status of our 309 visa is pending (and will be in it's very early stages i'm sure). My main concern is that immigration won't let me in! Even though we will have return flights back to England 3 weeks later. Am I able to even apply for a tourist visa with a 309 visa pending? We're struggling to find anyone in a similar position or answers online, so your help would be wonderful! However we've already booked our flights for our trip in April so we're a bit worried!
> 
> Our second query is Sam's tier 5 visa expires at the end of June, he currently has an irish citizenship application pending (to let him stay in the uk) but he might not get that before we have our Aus trip. So when we re enter the uk in May he'll only have a month left on his uk visa and no return flight to show immigration officers. Will they let him back in?? Is he allowed to tell them he has an irish citizenship/passport pending? We are very worried about this also!
> 
> Hope to hear from you soon and thank you so much for any help you can give.
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Lizzie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aminsagar123 -

Great question. I would check with the SMIPA people at CPA Australia and determine whether you can participate and get credit for the PY program there as an External Auditor. I don't know of any particular bar to that in the migration law, but may be an issue of what the various training organisations there will allow.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aminsagar123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Could you please advise.
> Is it possible to claim Accounting Professional Year points in External Auditor occupation.
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi #62Aussie -

Thanks for the note. You will need to determine what office is processing your visa application - this is usually on the acknowledgement letter, or sometimes on any request for information. This visa used to be processed in around 9 months, but now has slowed to 11 to 15 months, so you're still within the projected timeframe - wish there were more you could do, but within the timeframe even if you use the DHA complaint service, they'll just send you back a template letter saying to wait. It's awful customer service, but they're the only game in town, as they say...

Hang in there -

Best,

Mark Northam



#62Aussie said:


> Sorry, I realize this is an old quote but what email address should be used to ask if there is any additional information or documents required. Application for PMV300 was submitted from USA in March 2017 and there has been no contact since. Very straightforward application. The wait without knowing anything is so hard.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Patel1234 -

Thanks for the note. No good way to predict, but I'd guess 6-9 months, but that's only a very rough guess.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



patel1234 said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> Can you advise on 485 subsequent entrant visa. I applied for my wife from India on 21st Dec 2017. Any idea how long does it take? thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wiresitaly2015 -

Thanks for the note. No problem applying for a visitor visa while your 309 is processing - only issue is that once they are ready to grant the 309, if you are onshore in Australia, they will require you to depart Australia for 5 days or so to enable them to grant the visa while you are offshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wiresitaly2015 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have applied for 309 visas dated 13Oct2017 through Immiaccount online. Further, I have also submitted my medicals and PCC by 20Oct2017.Till date I havent heard any reply from them ? Is this normal ? As my husband is based in Australia right now, can I apply visitor visas and join him there? Will there be any issue if I apply for visitor visa in addition to 309 Visas? Pls guide


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kaswu8 -

Thanks for the note - please see my responses below at ***:



kaswu8 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have a few questions that I don't really know who to ask. I have gone through the forums, but can't seem to find any answers.
> 
> My partner is planning to apply for a 489 visa (temporary skilled visa, State sponsored), or a partner visa sponsored by me (Aus citizen).
> 
> Skills assessment:
> 1) She works for a federal government of her home country (non-English speaking). Due to the long period of waiting for a visa, she intends to continue working until we can be sure she can migrate. If they find out she is intending on migrating, it may cause her to lose her job. During which process will the department contact her "employer", if at all? *** Yes, it's possible, especially if she claims that work experience for points and DHA decides to confirm/investigate the work experience.
> 
> 2) The federal government does not provide "Statements of Service", nor can her supervisor sign one using the company letterhead (it becomes an official Government document, and must have multiple levels of approval). The best she can do at the moment is her title and description is formally defined by legislation, but is somewhat vague. Is this likely to be acceptable, with a statutory declaration signed by her supervisor (in a non-official context)? *** It may work, but I would need to review the actual document to give you any sort of advice/opinion on it.
> 
> Applying on-shore:
> 3) We plan to have her come on an ETA, then apply for the visa on-shore (489 visa or de-facto) to get a BVA. I read here that if she waits out the maximum 3-month stay per visit, the ETA expires and the BVA activates. However, what happens if she leaves the country during that time? The ETA is valid for 12 months, so does the BVA stay inactive until she returns and waits 3 months, or does it vanish? *** The ETA stay period expires at the end of 3 months but the ETA visa is still live and usable for the 12 months of the ETA. If she goes offshore after the BVA activates (ie, after staying past the end of the 3 month stay period), I suggest she applies for a Bridging Visa B for each trip she makes offshore - will need a substantial reason for each trip - they may choose not to grant it since the ETA is still in place, but if they do grant the BVB and readmit her on that when she returns, her BVA/BVB work rights will remain in place. If they readmit her on the ETA when she returns, she'll have a new 3 month stay period to wait through before her work rights return. Important that if the BVA expires (ie, she travels after the ETA stay period expires but without a BVB) she needs to apply for a replacement BVA after she re-enters on the ETA.
> 
> Thank you very much


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alexi -

She could look into a 1-year RRV based on substantial business, cultural, employment or personal ties to Australia, a 157, or a visitor visa - probably best to consider the long-term plan of what she wants to do and where she wants to live, then let that determine which visa you consider.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alexj said:


> Hi Mark,
> My 18 year old sister lives currently in Germany with my parents and is a PR. Her RRV expires March this year and she doesn't meet criteria of living in Aus for at least 2 years out of last 5 years.
> 
> She wants to come for a 4 week holiday and visit myself and our other sister in Australia in July this year and is wondering if she should apply for the subclass 157 or can she apply for a visitor visa (as it's a bit cheaper)?
> Kind regards,
> Alex


----------



## Newmember2

Hope anyone can advise me pls 
My question is 

I lodge my application online 
Submitt my ducuments online to my immi last year 

But i having trouble and confuse to attach my ducuments this time 

Is posible to send my ducuments thru post courier?
Hope someone can help me thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi FathyJes -

Thanks for the note. I'd assume 12-24 months for partner visas these days - in some cases they are coming in around the 12 month mark due to faster processing in some offshore locations, but very hard to predict.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



FathyJes said:


> Hello sir!
> I have applied Visa 309 through immi account on 10th of September 2017 with all required documents with Police check and medicals within a week from submission date.
> 
> Haven't heard from the High Commission yet a d also no CO assigned yet. Just eager to know what would be the processing time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Siddarth.v39 -

Thanks for the note. Normally just the 485 visa refusal as long as you departed Australia prior to your Bridging Visa A expiring would not cause an issue with a further visa. If you departed Australia late or while holding a Bridging Visa C or E, that's another issue involving PIC 4014 and you may want to get professional assistance to see if you are subject to the 3 year exclusion period that applies in some cases.

Re visitor visa, always difficult to predict, but substantial ties to your home country of all possible varieties are a good idea.

Re superannuation, best to ask an accountant about that one - out of my area of expertise.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



siddarth.v39 said:


> hello Mark,
> 
> I have 2 questions which I need clarification. help is much appreciated.
> 
> 1.) I got my 485 visa refused during april 2017 as I didnt provide them the AFP prior launching my visa application which I was not aware that it was manditory. I had done it after I launched my visa application and by the time I could get my AFP clearance I got my visa refused. Having a little hope I took this issue to the AAT and after waiting for nearly 6 months they had denied my case on october 2017, having said all that I am now back to my country india. My girlfriend who is on a student visa is about to get a sponsorship from her firm in the near future. And she is planning on putting my name as the secondary applicant. I just wanted to know what are the chances of my visa getting approved despite me having a visa refusal history. Also I am planning on visiting her on a tourist visa in the next coming month will this visa get approved as well.
> 
> 2.) My 2 question is that since I left australia I can legally withdraw my superannuation, if i withdraw my superannuation will it have an affect on my visa if I get or apply for one in the next couple of months.
> 
> thank you.
> 
> please provide a definitve answer as I am getting confused with a lot of hear and say . help is much appreciated
> 
> regards
> sid


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ahmed_eid82 -

Thanks for the note. All depends on NSW - from what youv'e said in your message you have the points, but each state has its own internal selection process with unpublished selection criteria, so it likely will come down to that. Also note that state lists update in July each year.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ahmed_eid82 said:


> Hi Mark
> I am applying for NSW nomination under occupation as an architectural draft person my points are 55 and if I got the nomination it will be 60.
> therefore I am wondering if I have a chance to get the nomination or not (my IELTS result is reading:7 speaking:7 writing:6.5 listening:6 )


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mliw90 -

Thanks for the note. If you have a look at 7 March 2018 Invitation Round you'll see that DHA has slashed the number of sc189 invitations each month from 2000 per month last July to only 600 per month since January. This of course builds up the backlog of applicants in the system and can drive up the points score needed to get an invitation due to the increased competition including people at high points test levels.

Not a lot you can do other than wait and explore other options including employer sponsored PR via the 186/187 visa programmes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mliw90 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I recently (January 17th) applied for the 190 visa in NSW as a Developer Progammer (261312) and 65+5 points (Age - 30, Degree - 15, English - 20). I had seen that others in this category had been accepted very fast up to December with similar points and superior English (which I know is prioritized in NSW), but I'm getting worried now. It seems applications have slowed down, especially for the 189 visas and in general which I feel is creating a big back log for all skilled labor visas. Is there something going on with immigration and skilled labor visas at the moment? I'd like to be able to rest easy thinking I'll be invited soon, but I'm getting more and more nervous the requirement is gonna go up to 70+5 points soon with the backlog that keeps building up.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LadyZebo -

Thanks for the note, and I understand your frustration. I'd guess maybe 9 months processing for 189s, but very hard to predict DHA these days. DHA is saying 9-12 months currently.

DHA has radically cut back the number of invitations issued for 189 visas since January 2018, however invitations are still being issued and I haven't heard anything yet about quotas being reached for the year ending 30 June 2018.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LadyZebo said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have applied for visa 189 since September 22, 2017 and frontloaded all the required documents.
> I got the immi assessment commenced email November 6, 2017 and since then, i have not heard anything from DHA.
> I am not claiming any points for work experience and have been wondering what the cause of the delay is.
> My ANZSCO is 234111 /agricultural consultant
> 
> Kindly help with any information you might have or any predictions based on your wealth of experience.
> 
> The wait has been exhausting.
> 
> I also heard from a forum that the quota for grants is completed for this year .
> Could this even be true?


----------



## Stuart Anderton

*Further Assessment*

Hi Mark,

My partner and I submitted an 820 application November 25, 2017 and received a request for our police checks February 15, 2018.

We've since provided these requested documents and the status has changed to *Further Assessment*. The status has been like this since February 26, 2018.

How long do they usually look at the file before making a decision? They only asked for the police checks.. does this mean our other evidence was good?

Thanks in advance,

Stuart


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Raman -

You'll have to apply for a new student visa to extend your stay in Australia studying - when you go "down" from a higher education program to a more vocational program, it can cause issues with the Genuine Student criteria in some cases. I'd look into getting professional assistance from a student visa education agent who is also a migration agent.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ramanp758 said:


> Hi Mark.hope you doing.my name is Raman.i came to australia on 573 visa on master of business but i changed my course to diploma of nursing which is finishing next month and my visa is also expiring next month.i am planning to do diploma of community welfare further.is there will be issue to extend my visa on this course.TIA


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi skm91 -

Thanks for the note. 8 months for processing a student visa is quite long! Especially when the guidelines for applying for a student visa say that you shouldn't apply more than 3-4 months prior to a decision. I'd certainly check in with DHA to see what's going on, and consider a complaint to the Global Feedback Unit given that you're way outside the estimated processing period of 2.5 months for postgraduate visas.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



skm91 said:


> Hi, Mark, I am a student from India and I applied for student visa 500 for Australia 8 months ago for PhD and till now I have heard nothing.I just want to know should still wait for a decision or should I move on.Please suggest.I am in a very difficult situation.I shall ever grateful for your suggestion.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anthony -

Thanks for the note. The partner visa whether lodged when the applicant is offshore (that's a subclass 309/100 application) or onshore in Australia (subclass 820/801 application) is always required to be a combination application of the provisional visa and the permanent visa. Normally if you answer the question correctly on the ImmiAccount as to where the applicant is at the present time, it will let you past the screen you mentioned unless there are other issues. If you have only seen your partner 3 months per year for the last 3 years, I would consider looking into getting some advice as to how to best show a genuine relationship via relationship evidence and statements.

Form 956 is an entirely separate issue - it appoints a registered migration agent to represent you and prepare/lodge documents on your behalf.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Anthony W said:


> Hi Mark
> In short I have Thai wife under Thai village ceremony and she has been here to Oz on a Visa 600,3 month at a time for the last 3 years. I now want to lodge a temp and/or permanent visa and believe I have to lodge both 820 and 801,is this correct.
> Also if I lodge a 956 form can I then fill at a and prepare the Visa online here in Australia. I ask this as we hit a road block when we went online to fill out the 820 visa as it would not let me past the 4th page as we/she was in Australia.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Apants -

Thanks for the note. Yes, the overstay is likely to result in a much closer look at further visa applications - best defence against this is to be proactive and lodge lots of high quality relationship evidence and make sure that all info in your visa application is 100% accurate and correct.

The overstay by itself is not necessarily an issue for the partner visa unless it is pointed to by DHA as evidence of bad general conduct re section 501 of the Migration Act and character refusal. However the removal can result in a 12 month exclusion period (unless waived) and you will have to repay the Australian govt any removal related expenses or arrange for a payment plan with them prior to being granted a further visa for Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



apants said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I'm hoping that you will be able to provide some advice.
> 
> My partner was removed from Australia in June 2017 as he overstayed his working visa (the overstay was extensive).
> 
> We are now planning to apply for the 309 Partner Visa - De Facto as we meet the criteria. I am also prepared to relocate to his country (United Kingdom) during processing as we don't want to spend 1+ years apart. However, we would like to settle in Australia.
> 
> Due to his overstay, I have the following questions:
> 
> - Will our application be overly scrutinised and, as a result, lead to a longer processing time in comparison to the average? I assume yes, however, it would be great to hear your perspective
> 
> - Is it possible that his overstay could still negatively affect our chances for approval even if we successfully meet ALL criteria for the visa/can successfully prove that we are in genuine, ongoing relationship leading to marriage?
> 
> Thanks for your time.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Annie.t -

Thanks for the note. Yes, that's a good way to address the error.

Best,

Mark Northam



annie.t said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have recently submitted an application for visa 485 and have done the health assessment prior to submission. Upon rechecking My Health Declaration (the form to generate an eMedical referral letter), I have realised that I forgot to include my exchange semester in the U.S. that results in a stay over 3 months in a foreign country (excluding AU and my home country), and thus answered "No" to that question.
> 
> This information, however, was correct in the application. My case has not been assigned to a CO yet, and I am wondering on how to correct this issue.
> 
> Should I include a Form 1023 in my application to address the incorrect info on My Health Declaration? Should I inform the medical service as well?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi OraPopo -

Thanks for the note. I'd probably answer "no" as long as the problem was scoped *only* to the period of time she would be here on a visitor visa.

Best,

Mark Northam



OraPopo said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am about to bring my fiance to Australia on vistor visa, she's a doctor by occupation. We plan to live here in the future, i got stuck at question 33 on working in medical field while in Australia. She won't be working while visiting, but likely she will when we decide to live here. Should I give a yes or no answer to that?
> 
> Thanks heaps before hand.
> 
> Ab


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Usha.sekhar -

Sorry I was away from the forum for so long - expect you have sorted this out, however I would expect a new application for a 482 (formerly 457) visa for you may be a good way to go if you meet the requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Usha.sekhar said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I m working in Australia and currently on dependent 457 visa. My husband is the primary applicant and asked by employer to leave Australia and travel back to offshore on 31st march.
> 
> What are my options - to continue working here. My current employer has agreed to sponsor a 457 for me. However given the processing times its unlikely to be issued before march 31.
> 
> Is there any options for me to convert my current dependent visa to bridging visa once my 457 is lodged.
> 
> Also my husband has lodged an EOI for 189 this month with 80 points , so hoping some miracle there.
> 
> Any help and suggestions greatly appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi abcdefg -

Thanks for the note. A gap in studies that is explained can often be successfully overcome, but it all depends on the individual case officer and the specific circumstances of the study gap - you might want to get the opinion of a registered migration agent in Australia on this who specialises in student visas - I can recommend some if you want to PM me.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



abcdefg said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm receiving mixed opinion regarding this...
> My partner was in Australia for a year, studying. The first visa was 6 months, the second 6 months then she left the country. She is now in Brazil and wants to come back on another student visa. Agents in Brazil have told her that there is a very high chance her visa will be denied because she has already had a student visa and left the country. If, she stayed in the country It wouldn't be an issue but because she left and wants to come back, it could cause problems. Do you think that depends on the type of course? Supposedly it's something to do with recent changes. Thanks in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi GargiTrivedi -

Thanks for the note. Would need more info on your case and hers in order to give specific points advice on this - happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see my website in my signature below for more information or to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



GargiTrivedi said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Need clarification - My partner is applying for 189 Visa. He is a software engineer and features under 189 Visa in MTSSL List. My Skill set as Corporate General Manager - V features on MTSSL List but not under 189.
> 
> My question is if I get my skill assessment done for can my partner claim 5 points ?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi StickSten -

Congratulations on the 309 approval! You can lodge further documents etc to progress the permanent (subclass 100) visa application 2 years from the date you originally applied for the 309/100 visa - no general issues traveling while she holds the 309, it does not extend the 2 year timeframe, etc. Here's a link with some helpful info:

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/corporate/information/forms/online/partner-permanent-calculator

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



StickSten said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My wife just had her 309 Temp resident approved.
> 
> I just had a question about time from approval of temp visa to permanent resident. I believe its about 2 years give or take.
> 
> Anyway, my question is, if we leave the country at any time just for holidays, does this have any effect on waiting time. We were told by someone from a Visa a long time ago, that anytime spent outside of Australia, adds on to residency wait.
> 
> This may have been an old rule, but looking at Visa grant, it states she leave country multiple etc
> 
> Just wanted to check
> 
> Thanks Mark


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Melloggs -

Thanks for the note. Actually you only have 60 days to find another employer, as your 457 was granted after 19 Nov 2016. If you do not find another employer to sponsor you within that timeframe, your 457 visa is subject to cancellation. If the cancellation occurs when you are offshore, you will not have a visa to return on. If the cancellation occurs while you are onshore in Australia and after you lodge your partner visa, you'll have to apply for a Bridging Visa E as the 457 cancellation will also automatically cancel the bridging visa you received from your partner visa application.

You will generally need to show financial hardship in order to have work rights added to your BVE, and if you leave Australia your BVE will cease automatically. Happy to discuss further issues re BVE at a consultation - please see my website below for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



Melloggs said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I'm on a 457 visa which expires in June 2019 (granted June 2017, I was on a WHV prior to that).
> I'm from the UK and I want to make a extended visit back home for family reasons; unfortunately I will not be able to take leave with my work, so I have handed in my resignation. My last day at work and flight back to the UK is on 23 March and plan to return to Sydney 1 June 2018.
> I realise I have 90 days from when I leave my job to find a new sponsor. I'm conscious that it may be difficult to find a new sponsor within the time limit (I return 1 June and 90 day ends 21 June).
> 
> My partner and I are planning to apply for a defacto 820/801 visa soon -
> We have been together for 8 months, we've just registered our relationship and await the certificate, whilst researching on helpful forums like this one.
> 
> Once we apply for defacto visa and I'm unable to secure new employment on my 457 in time, will I move to a bridging visa? Will I have working rights?
> 
> I want to be able to work and we are willing to relocate to the UK for a year or two if we have to, as long as we are not apart.
> 
> Can we apply for an 820/801 in Aus and then move to the UK? Or is there an option for me to stay and still be able to work without my 457.
> 
> Thanks
> Mel


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jtananki -

Thanks for the note. Essentially, that's correct. Once the visas are granted, they can travel to Australia on that visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jtananki said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have got an invitation from my regional council and I will be apply for 489 visa. I am currently in australia and my family is in India. while i am adding them on my visa application, when my application is finalised and approved, does this means my family will also get the visa with me ? and can they come straight to Australia? Please help with any valuable suggestion. Thank you - Jo


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LynInMel -

Thanks for the note. The major difference between those 2 visas is that the 864 provides a bridging visa where the 143 does not. Happy to discuss your case in detail at a consultation if you'd like - you'll want to take a close look at the balance of family test in the regulations and other criteria.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



LynInMel said:


> Hi,
> 
> My parents currently hold visitor visa 600 and will be staying here in Australia until March. They are planning to lodge contributory parent visa (permanent) soon, while they are here.However, they are not sure as to what visa they should apply for, whether 864 or 143. My mother is 70 years old and my father is 66. They are usually in the Philippines and only come to Australia for holiday once or twice a year for a period of 3 months.
> 
> I would like to ask your opinion on what visa is better for them.
> 
> Regards.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi matt43685 -

Thanks for the note. Children can be added as dependent applicants to the main applicant (your partner) of a partner visa at the time of application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



matt43685 said:


> Me and my partner are launching our application soon. We are applying for the offshore partner visa.
> 
> We also have a son together who was born outside Australia. which I cannot grant him an Australian citenzhip unless I spent 2 years in Australia as I'm an australian citenzen by descent.
> 
> There is an option to add children on the partner visa , but how do I go about it ?
> 
> Has anyone gone through this ?
> 
> Thank You


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Can_to_aus -

You're welcome! I only wish I was not away from the forum recently as the questions piled up, but I'm addressing each one and will be up very late tonight doing so!

Best,

Mark Northam



can_to_aus said:


> Hi Mark - thanks for taking the time to reply to everyone's questions, including mine.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kamal -

Wish there was something I could do, but all you can really do in these types of situations is to keep in touch with DHA and make sure they do not need any further information or documents. They are very unpredictable these days re processing times.

Best,

Mark Northam



Preetchatha21 said:


> Hi mark ,
> I am new in this forum,
> I was wondering if you can help me with my questions. It will be a great help.
> I applied my husband 485 subsequent entrant visa on August 14
> Received acknowledgment on 16th aug.
> Case officer asked police clearance letter and form 80 on 22sep
> That documents was sent on 10th oct.
> Afterwards on 8th November they asked relationship related documents which was sent on 9th November.
> But afterwards we haven't heard anything.
> my agent sent few follow up emails in December but they didn't replied then i tried to follow up by myself in january through global feedback team and i received one email on 22nd january that they are still reviewing papers.
> 
> I am very disappointed and upset with indefinite delay in application.
> Can you please suggest me anything on this matter.
> I will appreciate your help.
> Kind regards
> Kamal


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pendy -

Until the partner visa is refused, she can apply for another visa onshore in Australia. Student visa might get questioned a bit since she needs to show she is primarily here to study vs seeking to remain here permanently. If the partner visa is refused, she can then appeal that if that's something she wants to do, or could go offshore and apply for a visa to come back.

Happy to discuss further options that may exist and details at a consultation - please see my website below for more information or to book online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tazman888 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have found this thread on google and pretty astounding with what you have done with the communities.
> I believe there are a lot of people that having visa issue and have no one to turn to.
> 
> I have a friend that having issue with her Australian visa. She got married in USA like a year ago with an Australian citizen. She is a korean citizen in USA. She had to forego her Visa application in US to come to Australia with her Husband. Things not working out after 8 months. Australia Immigration has been notified. She is expecting the Section 48 anytime soon.
> 
> Now, she can't really go back to USA anymore and she would rather to stay in Australia if possible. She intended to take a further study here but she is not sure if the section 48 will make her student visa application unobtainable. She understand that with section 48, she can't apply the student visa on shore.
> Do you have any suggestion for her situation? or she should just abandon her plan to take a further study as people with section 48 have a very low chance being granted a student visa?
> 
> Your assistance is much appreciated. I'm really feeling sorry for her and she is in a very dark place at the moment.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Pendy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Purnamani1 -

Thanks for the note. It's very important to note the difference between the skills assessment date (must be prior to the date of invitation from DHA or the invitation cannot be accepted) and the date that a skills assessor may separately issue an opinion on skilled employment (can be any date as long as prior to DHA making a decision). It is not uncommon to have a skills assessor do a separate employment assessment if, for example, it is not included in the original skills assessment and DHA questions whether the employment is relevant to the nominated occupation, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



purnamani1 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for the update, Does the Date of Effect in EOI always have to be greater than the skilled assessment date. Some say DBIP will reject cases where skilled assessment is dated later. It's mere speculation and solid evidence. I am planning to update my points for experience from my new organization and apply skilled assessment in parallel. By doing so I can get an invite positively by 28th Feb 2018. My skilled assessment will also come I March 2018 and I can submit my Visa application with new skilled assessment as well. Still will I have the chances of being rejected. Or is it better to update EOI only after new ACS results are out.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Erin and Matt -

Yes - being onshore on an ETA (unless that ETA as a no further stay condition which is extremely rare for that visa) allows onshore application for a subclass 820/801 partner visa and grant of a bridging visa A to remain in Australia until a decision is made on that partner visa (under that scenario you also get full work rights once the BVA activates and medicare coverage).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ErinandMatt said:


> First thing...thank you for providing the opportunity to ask questions...truly appreciated.
> 
> I'm American, my partner is an Australian citizen and we will be applying for the De Facto Partnership Visa. We are hoping to apply onshore and be granted a Bridging Visa. My conundrum is that I will be on an ETA visa before applying for the Partnership/Bridging Visa. Is being on an ETA visa acceptable to be approved for the Bridging Visa? I can't seem to find any information regarding this and it's pretty important ha.
> 
> Thanks again Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nick -

Thanks for the note. Answer to question1: Yes. They did not see enough of the ANZSCO tasks and duties for the occupation represented in whatever documents and information they had about the work experience. Re question 2, there is no requirement I know of that says the same assessor has to assess the skills and experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



zzzzz23 said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> My name is Nick.
> 
> Thanks for your answer for all the people here
> 
> It would be really appreciated if you read my circumstance and give me some advice.
> 
> I got a question about my negative result for skilled employment assessment from CA
> 
> Firstly, I've already received qualification assessment from CA and I applied for skilled employment assessment to be qualified with 1 year experience and unfortunately, I got a negative result from them. Simply, the letter says "The following claims of skilled employment have been assessed and cannot be found to equate to
> work at an appropriately skilled level as an Accountant (General) 221111."
> 
> My first question is "Does this mean that duties and responsibilities are not compatible with tasks shown in ANZSCO? "
> 
> Duties and responsibilities that I put on my reference are
> 
> -preparing asset, liability and capital account entries by analyzing account information
> -Recording and documenting financial transactions into system for various business entities
> -Researching technical topics including business structuring and taxation matters
> -Producing annual financial statements, BAS and tax return and other taxation materials for individuals and companies
> -Reconciling financial discrepancies by collecting and analyzing account information.
> -Supporting payments by verifying documentation and requesting disimbursements
> -Summarizing current financial status by collecting and checking information such as balance sheet, profit and loss statement and other financial reports.
> -Liaising with the ATO about remittance of General interest charges and penalties, application for payment arrangements and lodging deferral and audit correspondence.
> -Assessing and informing about financial moves, entity structures to meet any taxation obligations.
> 
> My second question is
> 
> the institution which approves my skill assessment should be the same with the institution which approves my skilled employment assessment?
> 
> Thank you for reading my question
> 
> Best regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shayan -

Thanks for the note. Based on the fact pattern you proposed, if your student visa is refused and you appeal to the AAT, if you apply for the 189/190 etc *after* the student visa is refused but *before* the AAT Tribunal makes a final decision, you'll have to apply offshore due to section 48 of the Migration Act.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



persianmj said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Many thanks for your comments and deliberation.
> 
> I am on a 476 Visa.
> 
> My visa expiry date is 30-06-2018.
> 
> EOI 189 : 60 points since July 2017
> EOI 190 : 65 points since July 2017
> 
> Occupation: 233916
> 
> My points for 189 will increase to 70 points by the end of Feb 2018.
> 
> Although I will be in the queue with 70 points (189) for 4 months (March to June), I don't think I will get invited.
> 
> I am looking for alternatives to extend my visa so I can be onshore which I get invited in the new financial year after July 2018.
> 
> I want to apply for a student visa and if my application is approved I am set.
> 
> But if it gets refused, I will appeal the refusal and stay on a bridging visa.
> 
> Now the question is; while staying in Australia on a bridging visa because of student visa refusal appeal process, can I apply for permanent residency when I get the 189/190 invitation? OR I have to go offshore and apply.
> 
> Many thanks indeed for your time.
> 
> Shayan


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Marco89 -

As the relationship has ceased, you have an obligation to advise DHA (immigration dept) of that and they will eventually refuse *her* visa as a result (yours is still OK). You can also request that she no longer be included in the visa application due to the relationship ending. You do not need to withdraw the entire visa application - only remove her as a secondary applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Marco89 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm Marco from Germany, I come here in Australia over 3 years ago with 457 with my partner ( defacto)
> Few days ago Iodge 186 transition stream, and I inclusion my partner as well like for the sponsor .
> 
> What happen now, in case I know my partner was not good to me, I'm still in time to remove her from my 186, or I have to cancel the application for both of us and lodge again with only my name?.
> 
> We are 5 years toghehter, but in last 6 months she changed and is not anymore the same person, she did lot of bad things to me, and now after we lodge the visa, We still living toghether but we broke up our relationship, I have enough and look like she in last 6 months want just use me for get her permanent residence.
> 
> I know only now she cheated me one week ago, that's why we broke up, I worked very hard in my last few year, study very hard for pass e glish test ( was very hard to me) and after all I Feeling very bad now she just want use me for get her visa.
> 
> What can I do now?
> 
> Still in time to remove her ? Or the only way in cancel our application for both of us?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alex -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from DHA. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Sydney. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



alexleeds said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am a secondary school teacher in the UK, just finishing my NQT year as part of the Teach First leadership development programme whilst my fiance is a cancer research scientist who is just finishing her thesis of her PhD before starting a short term post doc position.
> 
> I have a PGCE from university from my teaching qualification as well as an undergraduate degree. My fiance has an undergraduate, masters as well as the soon to be awarded PhD.
> 
> We are hopeful of relocating to Australia after numerous holidays and experience of the country.
> 
> I have used the working holiday visa having lived in Australia for the year in my early 20's - my fiance has not. My brother is currently living in Sydney with his wife having moved there on a working holiday visa and quickly being sponsored by their employers.
> 
> I would like advice on whether my fiance and I would pass the points skills required and whether it is just my own employment which would count here or both of ours and any experience you would have on any different visa routes based on our situations.
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> 
> Alex


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cassie -

Re path to PR, you might look into a skilled visa or employer sponsored visa - especially the subclass 186/187 employer sponsored PR visas depending on your occupation and educational track/work experience. Unfortunately DHA is severely limiting pathways to PR for all but a select list of occupations, so you may need to look carefully at the eligible occupations or focus on the income requirements for your partner re sc189 NZ Pathway.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



CassieLita said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for taking time to answer everyone's issue. Truly appreciated.
> 
> I have been in Australia for 3 years now, currently on a New Zealander citizen family relationship visa (461) , I have 3 years left on this one and am planning on renewing it.
> I am starting soon a certificate 3 & 4 in fitness in the hope of lunching my own business afterwards.
> My girlfriend is not an eligible New zealander for us to obtain a partner visa, as well as not eligible for the new pathway for permanent residency. She has been in Australia for more than 5 years and is planning on starting a tattoing career. Which might lead her to taxable income required for that pathway but obviously this isn't concrete.
> 
> I am a french citizen but willing to permanently settlle down in Australia. It seems like I have no backup after my 461 visas expires.
> 
> Do you know what my options could be ?
> 
> Thank you so much Mark for your work, It's amazing.
> Cassie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sklewis2 -

Thanks for the note - please see my responses below at ***:



sklewis2 said:


> Hi!
> 
> I am currently in the process of applying for a 189 points tested PR visa. I am a US citizen. I am gathering my documents and such and have a couple questions.
> 
> 1) I see I need an Australian police check and a US police check. For the Australian police check I submitted it and then realized I wasn't sure if they were supposed to be mailing me a copy that I will scan and attach to my EOI? Or does that automatically go to immigration somehow? (I did not select anything of that nature).
> For the US police check, I can go through these "channelers" and get the correct police check? And they mail me an official paper that I then scan in for the EOI? *** You'll need to scan and upload all police certificates to your application.
> 
> 2) I need the results of my Skills assessment prior to submitting an EOI? (I am a nurse doing the skills assessment through ANMAC). *** Yes. Date of skills assessment result must be before date of invitation from DHA, and once you lodge an EOI you may receive an invitation at any time with no advance notice or warning.
> 
> 3) I have a husband and 2 minor children. Is it reasonable to assume I should just go ahead and do police checks for my husband now? And would he need both Australian and US checks? (he's lived in Australia more than 12 months, as have I)*** Yes he'll need both given what you've said. Risk in getting them now is that they will expire in 12 months so you'll want to try to get them close to the date you lodge the visa. You can also lodge them after you apply for the visa - your choice.
> 
> Thank you very much for your time and assistance!


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Binujoy -

It sounds like your MARA Agent had better review Schedule 1 for the sc887 visa. A secondary applicant will need to either hold a 489 visa, or hold a bridging visa from an application for a 489 visa. I can't give you specific advice without seeing all of your info and documents, but in these types of cases people will generally make an onshore application for a 489 subsequent entrant visa, then once the bridging visa is received from that application, make an application for the 887 with the partner included as a secondary applicant. The change of circumstances form is fine to update DHA on your change in relationship status, but that doesn't substitute for making sure the partner has a BV from a 489 application prior to applying for the 887. Many agents get this one wrong as it's not a commonly known criteria.

Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see my website below for more information or to book online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



binujoy said:


> Hi Mark, I am currently on 489 FS skilled visa for past 2 years and planning to apply for 887. I have been in a de facto relation with my partner from uk for past 1 year who is here on a student visa until Sept 2018. Can I add him on my 887 application if he was not on my 489.
> Or apply for his 489 subsequent entrant visa. My 489 expires in august 2019 and I am keen to get my PR sorted at the earliest.
> I have been told by a MARA Agent that I need to submit form 1022 on my 489 for change of status then apply 887 with my partner. Is this correct?
> Please reply. My Partner posted this question in October as well but we did not get a response
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mon17 -

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to the forum - I assume you have this worked out by now - please contact me if otherwise.

Best,

Mark Northam



mon17 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am expecting my invite in the next round. I am applying for the 189 visa with my husband. Here is our scenario -
> 
> -My husband is on a bridging e visa. My visa is expiring on March 15 and my course finishes in April. So we applied for a student extension and dependent visa.
> 
> -Jan 2018 we applied for the student extension and added my husband on my application as my partner. Processed through a migration agent.
> 
> -My husband was a student and received notice of his visa cancellation in Dec 2017 and his student visa cancelled in the last week of Jan. He is currently on a bridging e visa because we are waiting for our student extension and dependent visa.
> 
> We would like to know if we can apply for 189 after we receive the invite next week? Or do we have to wait for the student extension and dependent to come through? Can we apply for the 189 visa together or does my husband need to go offshore and apply?
> 
> We are very worried and are hoping you can guide us with what we should be doing next? do we have to wait for the student extension and dependent to come through?
> 
> None of us have a No further stay condition on our visas.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alishah -

Thanks for the note. For children of citizenship applicants, they do not need to meet the residency requirement however they do need to be permanent residents at the time of application for citizenship - sounds like this may not be the case in your circumstances.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alishah said:


> Hi Mark
> I am a permanent Resident and applied for my citizenship 2 months ago...
> My wife and 1 year old son arrived during that time from overseas on provisional partner visa( they are not permanent yet, they will be after 2 years)
> Someone told me that I could include my son in my citizenship application though he wasn't permanent yet, not my wife.
> Can I add him in my application and whats the best way to do it now ?
> 
> thanks for your help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mjl4 -

Thanks for the note and sorry it's taken me so long to get back to the forum. I expect you've worked this out by now given your timeframe, but please advise if I can assist going forward.

Best,

Mark Northam



mjl4 said:


> Hi Mark, I started a thread however just found this thread now so thought I would also post my questions here.
> 
> I am an Australian citizen and my partner is Dutch, we have a baby who is approx 2 months old and was born in London. We are trying to organise our move to Australia and we are on a time limit. We need to leave the UK by March 2018.
> My partner recently received his approval for his provisional visa (309) and I have put in an application for the baby for citizenship by decent for Australia. When I applied they sent me confirmation but did not give any timescales for processing, they said it is a case by case basis. I am feeling a bit stressed as I do not know how long this citizenship application could take and I really need to know and try and push this application along.
> 
> Has anyone been in this situation before and can give advice? I have also been told that sometimes these applications can take between 3-5 months to process, which seems ridiculous, especially for a baby, this is a very straight forward application.
> 
> I also try and ring the Australian high commission however the number they give you is engaged constantly, so I have no way of getting through to discuss my situation with anyone.
> 
> My partner and I are now trying to get the baby a dutch passport as we may be able to get this quicker, which would enable us to travel and leave the UK.
> Now I am stuck with the other question, if the baby travels on a dutch passport, what visitor visa can I apply for, and am I as the responsible parent able to apply for this visa on the baby's behalf?
> 
> Any help would be much appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Laurel -

These are all fine to lodge as relationship evidence of either financial evidence and/or nature of the household evidence. There is no particular requirement that a bill or other document have been delivered by post (mail). That being said, envelopes showing a postmark can also be good as relationship evidence - these can be from virtually any source - bills, junk mail, packages from deliveries/parcels/gifts, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Laurel said:


> Hi Mark, sorry if this has been addressed before, I am new.
> 
> Question: PDF Bill Statements, can I submit what pdf bills we get in our email or does it need to be bills that have been sent to our place via the post? Applying for Defacto Visa 820/801
> 
> I want to show our utilities, phone, car insurance, etc. has been paid out of our joint account. We don't do paper statements, they all come to our email as a PDF. Will immigration accept PDFs that have been printed from my email or do i need to get them all mailed to me from the providers?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi BRWP2017 -

Thanks for the note. DHA does not publish the various approval steps for health wavers beyond the general approval thresholds you've mentioned. I have not heard of any sort of state government involvement in this process as immigration is a function of the Commonwealth in Australia generally. Have seen health waivers we prepare take anywhere from 3 months to 18 months to be approved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BRWP2017 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I joined this forum to get some information on health Waiver post submission seems to be a topic that is not discussed much anywhere.
> 
> I have some knowledge of the process in relation to what the delegate can approve without referring to DIBP here in Australia. My wife is below the threshold.
> 
> I have a few questions I was hoping you could answer for me.
> 
> Firstly even if the amount falls within the delegates approval, is approval required from other federal departments and also the state government from the state that you reside in.
> 
> Secondly and yes I know how long is a piece of string but from your experience whats the approval percentage and time frame take to assess the health waiver.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ash -

Thanks for the note. He needs to apply for and be granted a Bridging Visa B prior to departing Australia for his trip. This can usually be done online from the ImmiAccount for your partner visa - look for "Bridging Visas".

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ashie4ya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My husband has applied for a partner visa and he was automatically granted the bridging visa A.
> 
> My husband and I want to go for on a holiday at the end of the year to surprise his family for the holidays. What does he have to do to be allowed to travel outside of Australia.
> 
> Ash


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lovelylaura1290 -

Thanks for the note. This is a very complex situation with lots of moving parts - would need to advise you in a consultation after learning more about your circumstances and his. Not sure what "visa forms" you are referring to, but suggest you and he get professional assistance ASAP to determine best options for his situation. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see my website below in my signature more information or to book online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Lovelylaura1290 said:


> Hi mark.. my boyfriend is currently married to his ex and on her visa as temporary resident, they have been separated for around 1.5 year due to her alcoholism and difficulties in their relationships.. neither of them informed immigration due to her ongoing mental heath issues and alocohism and her being in and out of hospital and she did not want this added pressure, he is now at the stage for going to a divorce which she agrees with but will not sign his visa forms. Would he be eligible to transfer onto to my visa as I am a resident thanks worried Laura


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jpits11 -

Thanks for the note. Here's an excellent website with more on occupations and more: Search | Anzscosearch - as far as I can tell at the moment (and things are changing rapidly in this area) this occupation IS eligible for the 485 Post-Study Work stream but is NOT eligible for the 485 Graduate Work Stream. In this era of rapidly changing occupation lists, and occupation lists meaning different things for different visas, it's very important you check out what the eligible occupations are for the visa you intend to apply for - there is no single "list" given all the variations and exceptions we're seeing from one visa subclass to another.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jpits11 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I got my skill asessment as Multimedia Specialist 261211 for 485 post graduate visa application as it says on the information on the ACS website. On the ACS website, it says that this occupation can be nominated for the 485 visa as it belong to the long medium term occupations list.
> However, when I review the immigration website, this opccupation belongs to short term list and I cannot find any informaiton saying that I can apply for 485 visa with this occupation.
> I'd like to clarify this because this is making me really confused.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Anjalip -

Thanks for the note. As an Australian permanent resident, you would need to be "usually resident" in Australia before you could sponsor someone for a partner visa, whether onshore or offshore, so it sounds like applying after you move here or set up a residence here would be the way to proceed. There is currently no requirement that you as the sponsor be employed at the time of application for a partner visa, but that may change with the expected changes coming later this year to the partner and fiance visa programmes - we're just not sure yet how many of the proposed changes or new changes may make it through the Parliament and DHA. At the current time, showing some evidence of financial capacity including savings, money from others such as parents, ability to work/earn via successful work history, etc all can be considered.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



anjalip said:


> Hi Mark,
> Hoping you could shed some light on this for us. I currently hold a SC189 visa and its due to expire in 2021.
> I have activated the visa but is yet to move to Australia. Planning to do so on 2020 after winding up some commitments. When I got my PR i was not married, I recently married and was looking at options to bring my husband to Aus when we shift there in 2020. The 309/100 pathway looks straightforward except for the sponsorship. Have a few questions running through my head.
> 
> 1) Would my husband be able to apply for this visa when I the sponsor is currently residing outside Australia with him, I'm currently not working either as I quit my job to move with him after marriage and not sure when I will take up employment ?
> 
> 2) Do I have to move to Australia in 2020 by myself and subsequently get my husband to file the 309/100 application?
> 
> 3) Since I do not have a job now and will not have a job straightaway in Australia when I move there in 2020, where does that leave me as a sponsor, I have my brother in Australia and can he provide an Assurance of Support for my husband to apply for spouse visa to join me in Australia?
> 
> 4) Is there any possibility of applying for partner visa when both the sponsor and applicant are currently residing outside Australia?
> 
> Any advice would be much appreciated in our predicament.
> 
> Kind Regards
> Anjali


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sophie -

Thanks for the note. I am assuming you have applied for a subclass 309/100 offshore partner visa for Australia. Processing for these tends to range between 12 and 24 months, and they do not appear to always be processed in first-come, first-served order. We're also seeing these handed off to other processing posts around the world based on who is busy and who is not, so that means further variability in the processing times.

Nothing wrong with lodging a letter asking for expedited process due to the best interest of the Australian child - you will have more leverage for this once the child is born.

Also, it's been a long time since a dedicated case officer was set for each application - now they work on applications in teams and you may be dealing with several different teams and staffers within those teams.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SophieCRyan said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am a UK citizen and my partner AU citizen, we moved to NZ temporarily so that we could remain together while we wait for the visa.. we applied for the visa in October 2017 and wondering how long it generally takes to get a case officer. Does that happen around the displayed processing time, or can one be appointed sooner and they estimate it would take the given processing time for the CO to assess the application?
> 
> Secondly, I feel our case is pretty straight forward we've been physically together from day 1, I have a clear criminal record and a clear medical etc, have provided everything they could possibly require, is there any likelihood our application could get processed sooner rather than later? as the only thing I imagine they would possibly require is an interview to confirm the info provided.
> 
> In addition, my NZ visa expires December 2018 and we are now expecting our first unexpected baby which is due October, would these circumstances make any difference in the processing time as we ideally would like to get back to Australia in time to get set up for when bubs arrives? Otherwise things will be quite difficult and stressful as we aren't exactly settled here.
> 
> Finally, do you have any inclin as to which months applications are currently being processed?
> 
> Any info you could provide would be a great help. Many thanks
> Sophie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kalpanabaskar22 -

Thanks for the note. The pathways to employer sponsored PR have become far more complex and limited since 18 March 2018 and the new 482 visa and corresponding changes to the 186 and 187 visas. Suggest you consider a consultation with an immigration lawyer or registered migration agent to work out all the details of your case and determine exactly what visa(s) you may be eligible for going forward. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see Consultation - Northam & Associates for more information or to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



kalpanabaskar22 said:


> Hi all,
> My husband is currently on 457 visa from aug2017 and we also applied for 457 subsequent family visa for myself n our 2 kids. Expecting 457 soon for us as well. Mean while we want to know then process and prerequisites for applying PR. So it will be helpful for us to apply as soon as we reach Australia.
> 
> One more question can we renew 457 visa after 4 years if so generally how long it might take?
> Thanks .


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kelly -

In theory, yes, applies to all visas. DHA is taking a new "no more Mr Nice Guy" type of policy where even if the application may end up sitting in a queue for months, they reserve the right to assess it and refuse it for any missing documentation (with some exceptions such as police, health, "genuine" position and some other areas) with no request for further documentation. For a partner visa, primary documents would include all ID documents and the initial batch of relationship evidence in all 4 categories (household, financial, social, commitment) plus relationship statements and 888 forms.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kellylia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've read in an "Australia Visa News" article about DHA's new "2 day" policy where primary documents for applications must be uploaded within 2 calendar days from lodgment or the application is liable for refusal without any further request for documents.
> 
> Does this apply to all visas?
> 
> What do primary documents include? I'm applying with my partner for a de facto partner visa and I would like to be as prepared as possible.
> 
> Thank you in advance.
> 
> Kelly


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Oyetoba -

I'd just make sure they know that you wish to pay the fee, then generally they will invoice you for the English fee just before they are ready to grant the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



oyetoba said:


> Hello everyone,
> I need you to explain how the 2 vac works. I was asked to mail back if I want to pay for 2 vac for my spouse in respect to his functional English which I mailed back since December 2017 which I have not gotten any mail on how to pay. I also checked my immi acct which the processing time was 7-9 months then at the moment its 9-12 months. I do not know if I have to click the button which say click when information is provided since I mailed my case officer I will pay for the 2 vac or just wait. Please I need a response . Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pnkjmane -

Thanks for the note. Not sure why you would lodge an EOI for NSW if NSW is not currently sponsoring the occupation - little chance of any results from that. You might check Search | Anzscosearch for more info on which states are currently sponsoring various occupations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pnkjmane said:


> Hi Mark and everyone ! I have submitted my EOI for NSW 190 in Aug 2017 for 222311 Financial Investment Adviser with 65+5 points. This occupation is not on NSW state list but is on CSOL. I am really worried about my chances for getting an invite. Please guide with stats suggestions possibilities etc. Extremely urgent !


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Chabayta -

Thanks for the note. In order to sponsor a parent you will need to wait until you are a permanent resident yourself and have been "settled" in Australia (have lived in Australia for 2 years under any kind of visa). Adult dependents (ie your sister) are very difficult to sponsor due to changes made a while back that essentially disqualified many dependents over 18 and almost all dependents over 22 years in age.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Chabayta said:


> Hey Mark,
> 
> I have small query , I have gratned visa subclass 309 partner visa and now i am waiting for subclass 100 to be eligible. My question is if i want to apply gor my mother after I get the 100 subclass which visa i need to go through and can i apply for my sister as well since she is single and living with my mother alone overseas.
> 
> And Final question is it possible to apply for them before 100 subclass granted or we need to go with visit visa ?
> 
> Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lam -

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to the forum - there is no chance of success that I can see re appeal for 485 if you did not meet the AFP PCC requirement at the time of application. Time of application problems are rarely fixable at the Tribunal, unfortunately. Happy to discuss further and any other visa options at a consultation - please see my website below in my signature more information or to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



lamnguyen494 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Hope you're doing well. I know you're super busy but hopefully I can get your response shortly.
> 
> I recently got rejected for visa 485 as I did not have Federal Police Check when I applied (This was completely my fault as I though this was not mandatory). I've just applied for Police check and am waiting for certificate to arrive.
> 
> After that, I plan to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for a merits review of the decision (based on the letter form immigration). Do you think I can get my visa after the review?
> 
> Many many thanks for your time Mark, I understand it's precious and I much appreciate that.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Lam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bas -

Thanks for the note. DHA does not have specific guidance on this - we generally recommend from the time that you stopped providing evidence before - ie, time of previous application unless you provided any relationship evidence updates to DHA after application but before the 820 visa was granted.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



basvdk said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm about to apply for the 801 visa, and was wondering about the period that evidence should pertain to:
> 
> Should we provide evidence from when the 820 visa was granted (11 months ago) or from when we first lodged our 820 application (2 years ago)?
> 
> Thanks heaps in advance, really great that you take the time to help out here.
> 
> Bas


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Vaibhavsaxena -

Thanks for the note. First, I would make sure you are dealing with a registered migration agent (see http://mara.gov.au) or an immigration lawyer who is a registered migration agent.

Re 489, most EOIs for state sponsored occupations are acted upon by the state within a few months - waiting a year may not be productive, but I'd call the state you are interested in and ask them about this specifically to see if they maintain a backlog of EOIs or go through them within a particular timeframe to assess and invite.

Re 887, assuming DIBP does not change the law regarding this, there are no specific quotas for the 887 visa beyond the overall quotas for the skilled migration class - have not heard of a person being refused an 887 due to quotas, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



vaibhavsaxena said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have 60 points and I have applied for 189 subclass visa for occupation 261312 Developer Programmer and 190 at 65 points for Victoria and NSW. My immigration consultant is advising me to apply for 489 visa for South Australia once it opens in April. I have couple of queries.
> 1) I can wait for a year to see outcome of my applied EOI. Is it realistically possible?
> 2) If I get visa in 489 subclass. Would I get PR in 887 subclass after staying in South Australia for 2 years and working more than 12 months?
> 
> Or 887 subclass also has quota limit and they might ask me to leave after 4 years of spending time and energy?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ejona -

Thanks for the note. Both of you will need police certificates for the 801 part of the application due to the new rules. Re relationship for the 801, due to changes made about 18 months ago, we recommend to our clients that they put in a full suite of relationship evidence from all 4 legally required categories (financial, social, household, commitment). Individual bank accounts are OK if you can show sharing of money, etc. Also financial support from others (parents, etc) ok too.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Ejona said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you so much for all the help that you give here.
> 
> I applied for my 820 in October 2016 and it was granted after a few months. At the time my partner who is the sponsor did not need a Police Check and we were never asked for one by DIBP (we applied right before the partnership visa changes were introduced). Do you know whether he would need to submit a police check for my second stage of the visa, when we submit evidence for the 801?
> 
> Also, when we first applied for my 820 my partner was working. He then decided to follow his dream and go back to school since July 2017 and I have been fully supportive of that. He is receiving financial help from his father on a monthly basis or as its needed. We still have our joint account and pay for rent and bills equally, but my partner does not have many transactions in his individual account since he pays for most of his own things in cash and only transfers to our joint account for bills rent, groceries etc. Will we need to provide individual bank accounts when we provide evidence for the 801 or is that not essential? Also, is it a problem for DIBP that the sponsor is not employed?
> 
> Thanks again
> Ejona


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Phu -

Thanks for the note. I think we might have spoken during a consultation since you wrote this. The reason for the change appears to be the rule that, in addition to the residence/absence requirements, you must have been physically in Australia on the day exactly 4 years before you apply for citizenship. Being here before that date doesn't solve the issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



phuhle1104 said:


> Hi Mark. I hope you are going well. Please help me out with this below confusion. My name is Phu Huu Le. I just finished a phone call with the department regarding my eligibility date for citizenship application. I have been on the phone with the department 3 times since last year. First, I rang the department and asked when I would be eligible to apply for my citizenship. The answer is 21/04/2018. After that, I went to Vietnam for 3 weeks from 08/07/2017 to 28/07/2017. I then rang the department again in September (or October) and they told me that the date got delayed to 21/05/2018 due to my travel. After recent drama regarding the changes in citizenship requirements, I wanted to confirm with the department again so I called it today. The date now is 23/10/2018 although I have not been outside Australia since last July. The officer told me the system recognises my lawful residency date is in 2014 but I was in Australia in December 2013 for my graduation ceremony.
> 
> My visa timeline since 2013 as below:
> 16/12/2013 to 24/12/2013: stayed in Aus with visitor visa for my graduation ceremony
> 22/10/2014 to 08/01/2015: stayed in Aus with visa 489
> overseas from 09/01/2015 to 10/03/2015 and 15/05/2015 to 19/09/2015
> 20/09/2015 stayed in Aus with PR
> overseas 08/07/2017 to 28/07/2017
> 28/07/2017 - present: in Aus
> 
> WHAT IS THE LAWFUL RESIDENCE DATE?
> IN 2017, THE DEPARTMENT USED 16/12/2013 AS A LAWFUL RESIDENCE DATE SO I COULD BE ELIGIBLE ON 21/05/2018. NOW IT USES 22/10/2014 (VISA 489) AS THE DATE AND DELAY MY ELIGIBILITY.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nick_It -

I expect you've already worked this out, however the 3 years does not necessarily need to show on the skills assessment - it is a special regulation for 186 Direct Entry applications - you simply need to prove to DHA via evidence that you have worked at a skilled level for 3 years in the occupation. Years of experience deducted by skills assessors that were skilled but deducted to meet the "x years" experience requirements of a skills assessor are generally counted for the purposes of the 186DE visa, but do not count towards skilled visas (489/189/190). One more confusing aspect of Australian immigration law!

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Nick_It said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am applying for a 186 Direct Entry stream probably today or tomorrow.
> 
> I have been holding a 457 as Graphic Designer From the 10th of February 2015 plus I have been working as Graphic Designer full time with a Working Holiday Visa and then Bridging Visa for about 8-9 months (before and while I was waiting for my 457 - with the same agency I then worked with the 457 once granted).
> 
> I have got a Positive Skills assessment but VETASSESS only recognised me about 2 years of working experience.
> 
> I have evidence that I have more than 3 years of working experience such as payslips, contracts, reference letters and so forth plus my own 457 Visa which was granted the 10th of Feb 2015 (which I believe it is already an evidence on its own).
> 
> My lawyer pointed this out - saying that I should be okay as the Immigration requires a Positive Skills Assessment and 3 years of working experience.
> 
> Now, I am a little worried regarding this. Does the Skills Assessment need to display 3 years of working experience or a positive outcome is enough?
> 
> Thank you in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi FoTan -

Thanks for the note. She can use her medicare card as soon as Medicare gives it to her. The public health debt condition has to do with debt accumulated from previous access to Australian healthcare systems that was not paid by Medicare (ie, showing up at an emergency room without Medicare coverage - they will treat you, but you run up a debt for the payment for doing so).

If you apply for a partner visa while holding a visitor visa, the bridging visa from the partner visa will generally come into effect as soon as the stay period for the visitor visa has completed and the applicant is still onshore.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



FoTan J said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife is applying for a partner visa ( onshore) from a tourist visa. I just noticed on her tourist visa that there's an 8602 condition: no public health debt. Would this mean she cannot legally use her medicare card until the Bridging visa has come into effect? As when it comes into effect the Tourist visa would be invalid?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kittyzero -

Thanks for the note. Different visitor visas (ETA, eVisitor, sc600) have different character requirements but a key issue will be whether he has any convictions, or whether there are any charges that have been officially made that are awaiting the result of the legal process. If he's from India, that means a subclass 600 visitor visa. Best to disclose everything on the visa application and then see how the case officer assesses things - a bit part of this will be how the case office assess the pending charges (if any).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kittyzero said:


> Hi Mark, my partner and I will be applying for a PMV in a few months. Before this, he is planning a holiday to come to Australia to meet my family (I've been to India a number of times).
> 
> Unfortunately 2 years ago he was involved in a motor bike accident, and 7 months ago a car accident where his mother passed away. Both were unfortunate accidents with drugs and alcohol all being ruled out as being involved.
> 
> He has documents from the court approving him leaving the country for the holiday (he had to supply them itinerary/flights so they are paid for). He's never been in any other trouble. We fully expect all charges relating to the two events being thrown out due to the circumstances in which they were raised.
> 
> My question is, for a tourist visa...is this an automatic rejection or if we have a solid application will they still consider approving this? He's disclosed everything and got all the required documents. I assume if they ask this question on the visa application, and allow you to explain the details and attach supporting documentation its not an automatic rejection and they will still consider?
> 
> We are not too concerned about the PMV as we are happy for that to be held until all charges are clear. We are worried about the tourist visa though. Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bensow -

Thanks for the note. As you're required to be offshore (anywhere other than in Australia), you can then take a quick trip (5 days typically) to allow DHA to grant the visa - they'll generally advise you when they are ready to do so if you are out of place and give you 28 days or some other time period to make arrangements for your trip offshore. Re 485, no need to pay in advance for the entire period for health insurance but you need to show that it is in place as of time of application and continuing in force.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bensow said:


> Hi Mark, I'm curious about the 476 visa. It says that I need to be outside Australia when a decision is made. What if I lodge my 476 within Australia and stay on until the decision is made. It's said that if this happens DHA will give me a time period to leave Australia and come back. Does this mean I can just fly to NZ for a short trip and be back to fulfill this criteria?
> 
> Also for the 485 visa, is there a duration of health cover I need to purchase? Can I just purchase insurance on a monthly basis? Or must it cover the potential entire duration of the visa (24months)?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harneetgen -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict how this will come out, but given the huge amount of fake employment documents and claims from India and other countries, we're seeing many employment claims for points receiving very close scrutiny.

Best,

Mark Northam



harneetgen said:


> hello Mark and seniors,
> 
> i have applied my 190 visa on 15 September 2017. Last day (22 feb 2018), my current employer received email from Australian high commission to verify my employment details. I had meeting with my HR team and after discussion, they apprised me and declined to reply this mail(no feedback, just trashed the email received) and also warned me for the future. I have all third party documents which prove my employment but no way to reach.
> I am so much tensed, PLZ help!!!!!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bvdberg -

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to the forum - I assume you've resolved this by now - if not, please contact me via my info located below in my signature.

Best,

Mark Northam



Bvdberg said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I posted this a separate thread and was advised my another memener to contact an rma. I saw that you advise contacting directly if it is urgent so I'll do that as well. I have very little time and everything to lose. Please see below for the outline of my situation.
> 
> Up until last Saturday I was on a 457 with an approved nomination for the 186(TRS), I unfortunately and tragically did not realise the 457 had expired till this past Monday, so I've lost the 186 visa, I feel like such a fool.
> 
> Worst yet, my employer let their sponsorship lapse and they're waiting for the application to be finalized. Else we'd apply for the 186DE. I am a web developer with 6 years experience.
> 
> I presented myself to Home Affairs that Tuesday and was issued a Bridging Visa E with condition 85012, Depart Australia on specified date. That date is the 13th March. On the positive side of that, I was unlawful for only 2 days but that doesn't seem to count for much. Neither does my history in Australia it seems.
> 
> I have lived in Australia for 9 years, my Bachelor's degree was done here and all my relatives are Australian citizens residing here. I've never been back to SA either, my life is here.
> 
> The real issue I have is that I have a 2 year old daughter who is Australian by birth. I separated from her father beginning of Jan and we have a signed parenting plan stating I am the principal carer.
> 
> I want to apply for the 835 remaining relative but want to know if anybody has done that recently? Also, how can I get that condition removed ASAP.
> 
> I have a sponsor, I fit the criteria of the visa as stated in the migration act of 1994, I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing because I don't have a lot of time and I'm terrified of being away from my girl and going to a country I no longer have support or family ties to.
> 
> I am desperate, I can't leave, she is my everything.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Itszainkhan -

Thanks for the note. At the time you apply for the 887 she will need to either hold a 489 or hold a bridging visa from a valid 489 application, so you may want to apply for a subsequent entry 489 for her, then use the BV from that and apply for the 887 for both of you together. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see my website below in my signature more information or to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



itszainkhan said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding the 887 visa and adding a partner to the application:
> 
> Context: I am currently on a 489 visa, and will be eligible to apply for 887 in April 2018.
> 
> Situation: I am getting married to a girl who has never lived in Australia.
> 
> Question: What are my options?
> 
> 1. Add her as a partner to my 489 application. Once that is granted, then apply for 887 with her as dependant? (This will delay me applying for 887, which I'd REALLY rather not. Also, what's the processing time for adding dependant to 489 visa that has already been granted)?
> 
> 2. Get married, lodge my 887 visa application and add her as a dependant/partner on the application without adding her to 489? (Will she be eligible for it considering she has never lived in Australia?)
> 
> Cheers!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Classic204 -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you see a student visa specialist for this one - look for an education agency with a migration agent in-house. If you need a referral, please PM me and I can send you someone.

Best,

Mark Northam



classic204 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am an international student in Australia and have enrolled myself for Masters Degree. The course is for 2 years registered for 104 weeks on CRICOS website.
> 
> The course comprises of 16 units.
> 
> I am eligible to take credit transfers (on the basis of my overseas studies). However, If I take the credit transfer(s), my course duration gets shortened to 16 months and few more days.
> 
> I will be completing 12 out of 16 units of study and remaining 4 units are being taken as credit transfers.
> 
> I need to know if i will be eligible for the 485 Visa under post study work visa stream?
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jeanying -

Thanks for the note. You need to have your English test results in hand prior to lodging an application for the 485. You also must lodge the 485 within 6 months of completing the requirements for your course, you must have held an eligible student visa within 6 months or applying for the 485, and you must be in Australia to lodge the 485 application.

Re-entering on the student visa prior to expiry is the safest bet I can see, however you still need to pass the English test. You might apply for a visitor visa, however it could be refused for a variety of reasons including because of how much time you have already spent in Australia. If you applied for the visitor visa onshore and it was refused, that could cause problems for the 485 application depending on the timing of things. Suggest you closely consult a registered migration agent given the complexity of your circumstances.

On another note, your case is a great reminder of how fiendishly complex the 485 visa actually is - needlessly so. The police cert requirement at time of application is extremely rare across Australian visas, as are the English test requirements at the time of application. It trips up countless applicants every year unnecessarily - it really frustrates me why they don't simplify this visa to eliminate all the headaches and broken dreams that the silly additional requirements on this visa cause people. One more way to discourage people from staying in Australia after the universities etc have soaked them for huge study fees, but it's just not right.

Best,

Mark Northam



Jeanying said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have few question about 485 visa application.
> 
> I finished my bachelor degree on 27 November 2017. I'm planning to apply 485 visa. However, I need to sit for PTE test as one of the requirements. Also, I am still in my home country while preparing other document. But my visa will be expired on 15 March 2018. I am uncertain if I could still apply 485 visa after my student visa expires?
> 
> I have consulted appointed migration agent. They advised me take PTE ASAP and go back to Australia before my student visa expiry date in order for me to lodge 485 visa.
> 
> My concern is I need time to prepare for my PTE exam. So, my question is am I eligible to enter Australia with tourist visa to lodge 485 visa when I have all document prepared. Or will BVA come into effect when I lodge my 485 visa at the same time im holding a tourist visa?
> 
> If so, what could I do in order to apply for subclass 485 visa?
> 
> Could you guys please give me some advices? Truly appreciate for your advices. Thank you.
> 
> Regards,
> Jean


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mohammed -

Thanks for the note. Generally no issue with traveling while the 887 is being processed as long as you don't breach the conditions of your 489 (ie, move to Sydney, etc) since you are still under the conditions of your 489 until the 887 is granted. You need to advise DHA of your travel schedule and plans - if there are medical etc things were you can show evidence of why you're traveling, all the better to include. Generally DHA will email you when they are ready to grant the visa if you are not in the right place (ie, not in Australia in this case) and give you 28 days or some other timeframe to re-enter Australia to enable grant of the visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nawawi said:


> Hi Mark ,I do appreciate your support very much as I am desperately looking for answers to my questions ..please note that we are on 489 regional living in the north of QLD.However,we have been here since May 2016 and we will be applying to the 887 on first week of May knowing that we have fulfilled the 2 years by that time and I am done with my one year or more full time job .My question ,as I read on the 887 website details that we should be here once we apply and that's shall happen as we are here .But my wife wanted to travel after we apply but I am not for how long as she has family issues and she need to sort them out before we reside in Aus ..so I read over the website (Home affairs) he below quote ""
> ?
> Travel
> 
> You can travel outside Australia while your visa is being processed but you must let us know. This is because you must be in Australia when the visa is decided.
> 
> Note: If you are not in Australia when the visa is decided, the visa will be refused.
> 
> I need to understand as this part is very crucial in our future life as a family
> 
> Again I do appreciate your feedback and advise and recommendations
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Mohammad


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sjane81 -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you meet all of the other requirements for the visa, yes he can apply onshore for a spouse visa assuming no "no further stay" condition 8503. He will be given a bridging visa A in this case with full work rights - the BVA will activate as soon as he remains in Australia past the stay period of his tourist visa.

Re children, would need to work with you in a consultation to get more information about them and your/your partner's circumstances to give you specific advice for them. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see my website below in my signature more information or to book online.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sjane81 said:


> Hi mark,
> I don't know what to do my husband is here from Fiji on a 6 week tourist visa with no "no further stay" attached so my understanding we can apply for a onshore spouse visa and go on a bridging visa. Does this give him automatic work rights and how can we apply for his 3 children who are currently in Fiji as the school fees in Victoria are very excessive on a bridging visa from a tourist visa? Is it faster to apply offshore in Fiji for all 4 or is there a way he can apply on shore and they apply as my step children offshore? Thank you so much for you time


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi User11 -

Thanks for the note. I have had several clients with this issue over the last couple of years - all you can do is provide as much evidence as possible about the genuineness of your relationship. In my view it is silly that DHA relies on the opinions of "neighbours" thousands of kilometres away on the other side of the world when it comes to the genuineness of a partner relationship. This seems to happen frequently in India for some reason. I would insist on transcripts from all conversations with the "neighbours" and a lot more. Fortunately we've been able to fix these at the AAT Tribunal, but this means another year of waiting and thousands of more dollars in fees.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northamg



user11 said:


> Hi Mark i am new to this forum looking for some help read about lot of your post and good to see your helping people here.
> My question is reagarding
> (immigration home visit regarding (309) offshore partner visa)
> immigration visit my home in India and interview my mother and my neighbours . my neighbours in India advice them i am not married and that raises concerns about social recognition of my relationship with my sponser (australian resident wife)
> as we live in a village and in my community its common to have conflicts with your nieghbours due to land or other social issues and we dont have good relation with our neighbours due to family history.
> IN reply to immigration questions i send other co villagers statements in which they mention i m married and my relationship is genuine.
> I am still worried about if theY rejected my application what i will do... or on which grounds they can reject it i m genuinely married and already submit married certificate and other proofs. i got visitor visa after 309 application loged . we lived one year together in australia gave them those proofs as well .
> can you please help me what should i do till then still waiting for immigration reply
> 
> please help me if any one have any acknowledged about this
> thnx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Smile -

Thanks for the note. Holding a 485 visa is not a bar to being granted a student visa, however once the student visa is granted your 485 will automatically cease and you cannot apply for another one (1x per lifetime for the 485 visa). Suggest you contact a student visa specialist for more info on this area.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Smile said:


> Dear Mark,
> I am grateful for all the help you've been giving to everyone.
> I want to find out if I can apply for a student visa while I have a 485 visa (subsequent entrant, primary applicant.)
> Initially, I thought I will not be granted the 485 visa as i left Australia with a bve. Now I have been granted the visa but I really want to study and don't know if I can get the student visa.
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi JTeam -

Thanks for the note. I don't see any particular issue with marrying on a 600 visa and then lodging a 309 - it's not as if the applicant was working while holding the 600 visitor visa. With these it gets back to relationship evidence and dealing with an offshore sponsor (usually resident requirement can be an issue depending on circumstances).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



JTeam said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> What is the general consensus on partners who get married in Australia while on a 600 visitor visa and then at a later stage - more than a year after for example - then submit a 309 offshore application?
> 
> Does the departmet see this as a breach of the genuine tourist visa and thus look unfavourably at the 309?
> 
> It is often said that persons in this situation should have applied for a 300 pmv fiance bridge but that doesn't suit all the time.
> 
> In this instance I ask where there is a long history of the couples relationship prior to the marriage
> 
> Hope you have some insight
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Jteam
> 
> My partner of


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SMR1 -

Thanks for the note. No way to predict - for 189s typically 9-12 months, but can vary widely.

Best,

Mark Northam



SMR1 said:


> Good Morning ! Can you plz let me know how much time it takes visa grant after job verification ?
> Time Line :
> SC : 189
> Assessment:14 July 2107
> EOI : 7th Aug 2017
> IELTS : 8.5
> Invitation : 22 Aug 2107
> App Lodged : 9th Oct 2107
> Medical : 9th Nov 2017
> Status : in process
> Thanks & Regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi LIPI -

Thanks for the note. You claim only one qualification for points for a skilled visa - so if you already get 15 points for a Bachelor degree, you cannot get any further points for an award/qual. Check with ACS for their current rules re: which certificates they recognise - this can change.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



stegs11 said:


> Hello Mark ,
> Thank you for being open to answering general questions. I do have a question which I am not sure if can help me -
> 
> For visa subclass 189 - Can I get points for both the Bachelors degree (15 points) and Award or qualification(10 points)if I qualify for both?
> 
> For award or qualification - does ACS (Australian Computer society)have a list which allows us to understand which certifications are valid and will be accepted .
> I am applying for the ICT Business Analyst category and looking to get this certification - ECBA (Entry level certificate in business analysis) from IIBA-International Institute of Business Analysis.
> 
> Do you have an idea if the certificates from this institute are considered valid.
> Does ACS have a list which we can all refer to validate which certificates are valid and accepted .
> 
> Thanks Mark. I hope you are able to answer the above questions.
> 
> Thanks,
> LIPI


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dennis111 -

Thanks for the note. I expect you may have already worked this out, however if not, happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see my website below in my signature more information or to book online. Would need to discuss your case with you and work out the options. Also note that it is usually not possible to predict how a skills assessor may assess a particular qualification or work experience - there are lots of variables in all of these plus a huge amount of discretion in many cases at the skills assessor themselves that can play a role.

Best,

Mark Northam



Dennis111 said:


> Urgent question regarding positive skill assessment from TRA ( please answer ASAP)
> 
> @* Mark
> 
> its for 189 skill visa for migration skills assessment via TRA
> 
> I have few question, can you please answer them step by step*
> Can you please tell me how to get positive Skills assessment from TRA for Electronics trades worker ?
> 
> *1) I've*gained relevant qualification ( cert 3 in electronics and communication ) via RPL from a well known institute in Australia in year 2017 and have been working as*Electronics trades worker*since 2014 ( paid employment) , will i get positive skills assessment? what's its requirement?* ( all of this experience is within Australia)*
> 
> this is written in the TRA guidelines :
> 
> 2.8.4 Applicants who hold an AQF qualification issued via recognition
> of prior learning
> 
> covers no less than six years of full-time (or equivalent) paid employment,
> three years of which may be as a trainee under the direct supervision of a
> tradesperson/employer (this is considered an informal training period) with an
> additional three years full-time (or equivalent) paid employment completed at
> the required skill level for the occupation.
> 
> 2) i saw on the above mentioned guideline *that they'll accept informal training period of 3 years and other 3 years of paid experience, in total they want 6 year (paid) experience from me as I have gained my qualifications via RPL*
> 
> 3) as my case is different as i have 3 years work experience but all the experience is from the time before i gained the qualification and not after that, how much chances do i have?*
> 
> 4) i want to inform you that i actually gained the cert 3 in electronics and communication by paying 11 grand to a well known institute and had to complete 8 courses to receive the certificate, i went to study for 7 months, i did not received the cert3 from vetassess or from somewhere else who provide the certificate within a day. if that's the case , will the 6 year work experience rule apply to me or its for everyone who gained even 1 subject via RPL? i gained about 70% of cert3 via RPL.
> 
> 5) as i have 3 year of work experience form within Australia, will it not be an advantage for me or maybe those guidelines are for people who gained work experience from overseas and not from within Australia ? I might be eligible?*
> 
> 6) if i am not eligible, how to fix my case and how to become eligible for a successful TRA application?
> 
> guidelines also says that
> 
> Skilled employment undertaken after the issuance of an AQF qualification will also be
> considered towards meeting the requirement.
> 
> Since 1 January 2014, TRA has included on its MSA outcome letter a date at which
> TRA considered that the applicant was first able to work in skilled employment in
> their occupation. This can assist applicants who are applying for a points-based visa.
> The date that will be included for applicants who obtained their qualification by RPL
> will be the date the applicant finished their first three years of verifiable, paid, full-time
> (or equivalent) employment in their occupation (with those three years representing
> an informal training period). Applicants can apply for TRA Migration Points Advice or
> supply extra evidence to DIBP if they wish to claim employment prior to the noted
> dated, which will be determined on the evidence available.
> 
> does this mean if i have a cert 3 via RPL then TRA will accept my 3 year of work experience? *and ill get a positive skills assessment?
> 
> kindly guide me. thanks


----------



## TheMaze

Hello Mark

I have been waiting for a 189 subclass visa decision for the last 8 months, after lodging my application in 08/2017.

These days I happened to have received a work offer from an Australian employer, but for overseas work.

Would uploading the offer (and subsequently the work contract) to DIBP have a positive impact of the decision outcome? Thanks and regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi 8sja -

Thanks for the note. Sponsoring an adopted child for an adoption visa for Australia can be a complex matter when the adoption is not done with the facilitation of an Australian government (usually state government) organisation. Suggest you seek professional assistance from a migration agent or immigration lawyer who is very familiar with this type of visa, and you may also need to get advice from an Australian family lawyer for the non-migration side of things. There are lots of pitfalls to avoid with this visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



8sja said:


> Hi Mark
> Hope you can help, myself and our wife were granted our 189 visas and we have not yet moved permenantly to Australia from the uk, we have been held up in the UK due to various family illness and things, anyway we have since also adopted a child and so are looking to get a visa for them. We have done it all legally through the official channels here but it seems complicated when I checked on the visa website. We seem to have all the criteria but am still not sure how to proceed, due you have any advise regarding this
> Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi -

Sorry I've been away for so long - I answered this question a few pages back - yes, applies to all visas in theory - see previous answer for more info.

Best,

Mark Northam



kellylia said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I've read in an "Australia Visa News" article about DHA's new "2 day" policy where primary documents for applications must be uploaded within 2 calendar days from lodgment or the application is liable for refusal without any further request for documents.
> 
> Does this apply to all visas?
> 
> What do primary documents include? I'm applying with my partner for a de facto partner visa and I would like to be as prepared as possible.
> 
> Thank you in advance.
> 
> Kelly


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ausdemis -

Thanks for the note. Please see my responses below after your questions at ***:



ausdemis said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> How are you? Hope this message somehow finds you well and sorry that this message is so long
> 
> I would like to ask you if you could please try to asses my situation on how to apply for partner visas 820/801 onshore and maybe some tips on it on our situation?
> 
> =====================================
> Something about us:
> - I am a Australian citizen (Born in Australia) and living in Czech Republic for the past 15 or so years.
> - I married a women (Czech citizen) here in Czech Republic (married now for 1year)
> - We have been together for 2years and 2months now.
> - We have a lovely baby daughter together 9months old now.
> - I requested overseas to the UK office "citizenship by descent" last month (still waiting for it to be approved).
> 
> - We are planning (all three of us at the same time) to move to Australia in August this year. My wife will be flying on tourist visa and I will try not to get "NFS" on her visa. Then we will look for the tickets and buy them.
> - We will be living at my brothers place till we manage to find and rent a house. Once we will settle in we will apply for the partner visa 820/801.
> - Once in Australia we will get 2x form 888 done by friends/family and also before leaving Czech Rep. we will get a couple of declarations from friend in similar format as the form 888 in English and officially notorized by the Czech office.
> -Police certification will be done before we fly off.
> =====================================
> 
> =====================================
> Questions:
> - I need to validate things regarding translation of our documents in Czech language. I have a translator that is a court translator and interpreter of Czech Republic, do you think that if I were to get all our personal documents translated by her that the Australian office would accept our translation? The thing is that it would be cheaper for us&#8230; Its a official translation but it doesn't have the apostle stamp.
> *** Likely OK. The rule is that an overseas translator must be authorised in that country to translate official government documents. Apostle stamp not necessarily required if the translator is otherwise authorised as indicated.
> 
> - We have 2 bank accounts, we jointed each other to both of them. We have 2 papers stating that we are administrators of each account, will they need translating or not? *** Depends on how readable the foreign versions are. Likely won't need translator for the actual statements, but perhaps for the letters showing owners of the accounts.
> 
> - Our landlord that we are renting a flat from will write a declaration in English that we are renting the place together as a family and that we have bills like (electrition, gas, TV and internet that we are paying for) also one thing is that we both have a ID card and on both we have the same permeant address at my parents house as here in Czech its not normal that when renting a flat that you have your permeant address at the place where you rent, we are using the permeant address for postal usage only. Is this going to be a issue? *** Would have to see your documents to give you an opinion on this - sounds OK from what you've said.
> 
> -Regarding all other additional documents for example: Tv and internet contract, cars insurance we have both to the same permeant address, joint mobil accounts, do they have to be also translated or are the names and permeant address enough?*** Likely payment address enough if you're using these to show household evidence.
> 
> -Things that we buy are usually paid by card or online payment so if I make a PDF were there will be a screenshot of the payment + photo of the thing we bough, should that be enough as evidence regarding the financial aspect? *** Yes could work, but be careful of carving out only a small amount of a statement showing one payment - can look too Photoshopped - better to show an entire page and highlight the payment you want to indicate.
> 
> - Regarding tickets that we will be buying: my daughter and I will be flying on oneway tickets but is it possible for my wife which will have tourist visa, buy a oneway ticket also? *** Less risky at the airport if she has a return ticket since she's arriving on a visitor visa.
> =====================================
> 
> This is all that I could think from the top of my head thank you so much for any help and tips that you could provide us!!! Wish you a great day and will be looking forward to your reply if you will have the time and patience


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi PacificNomad -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you are lodging as de facto partners, you won't meet the requirements in that scenario unless you register the relationship in the state you are residing in in Australia, as de facto partners are required to be in a relationship at a de facto level for the 12 months prior to lodgement unless registered.

Even with registration, 3 months living together for de facto partners is risky. DHA puts very little weight on long distance relationships unfortunately. You will need a lot of very good relationship evidence to make this work in my view.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



PacificNomad said:


> Mark!
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions.
> 
> My partner and I are planning to go thru the 801/820 process here soon. We will have been together, but our relationship has been international long distance the entire time (over 12 months). This is my plan.
> -Enter on a 3 month tourist visa (i'm too old for the working holiday visa) and during this time apply for the 820 (at this time we will have only lived together the 3 months)
> -stay in australia with the BVA or BVB if possible and work and accumulate more documentation to add to the 820 application while it processes.
> 
> My question to you is: Is living together for only 3 months while I am on a tourist visa a problem when applying for the 820 visa even if we have been dating over a year? I'm not sure if I can register on her rental lease while on a tourist visa. any suggestions? Thanks so much!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Swissmade -

Likely a subclass 600 onshore visitor visa, as the 651 visa requires the applicant to be offshore at the time of application. Difficult to advise re reasons to extend the stay, but inability to travel may help. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see Consultation - Northam & Associates for more information or to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



Swissmade said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thanks for helping out the people.You are doing a great job!
> My question is ;
> 
> What subclass of visitor visa my wife should apply to extend her evisitor(651) while she is waiting for her partner visa is granted onshore?
> She is pregnant and the date of her visa would be expired just a month before she give birth.so want her to deliver in Oz.is that a acceptable reason to extend ?what is your advise?
> 
> Many thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Andrew -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you are the sponsor for the 820/801 application, all you can do is advise DHA that the relationship has ended and that you have withdrawn your sponsorship. From that point on it's between DHA and the visa applicant. They will normally write to her, advise that they have info that the relationship is over, and give her 28 days to comment. Then they make a decision on the visa.

Not sure where your lawyer is coming from, but if the 820 is refused due to lack of spousal relationship, no 5-year ban is imposed on you the sponsor. There is a 5 year waiting period imposed if the 820 is approved, but not if it is not approved.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Muzz90s said:


> Withdrawn Myself from Visa Application.
> 
> Morning Mark,
> 
> I have recently withdrawn myself from my ex-partners 820 application (she is on the bridging visa at the moment). We have been separated for a year but I only recently withdrew myself as I had not even thought about it.
> 
> I am no longer amicable with my ex, I let her know I had withdrawn myself from the application and she was not pleased. It does not look like she is willing to cooperate with me and fully withdraw the application.
> 
> I have spoken to a lawyer and she said that my ex needs to withdraw the application or I could have the 5 year ban imposed on me as the visa will be 'refused' rather than 'withdrawn'.
> 
> To make it a bit more complicated I am in a relationship now with a women from overseas so a 5 year ban could pose a problem going forward.
> 
> So my questions are:
> 
> Will immigration get in touch with my ex letting her know about my withdrawal and she will be given notice to either vacate Aus (within 28 days) or have to look at an alternative visa? (student etc...)
> 
> Or
> 
> If she does not withdraw the app do they just let it play out with the normal waiting time-frame and then refuse it later?
> 
> Am I at risk of being imposed with the 5 year sponsorship ban?
> 
> Is there a way to have the application withdrawn without her consent if she is refusing to cooperate?
> 
> Thankyou very much in advance Mark,
> Andrew


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Hopeforoz -

Thanks for the note. The "settled" requirement for sponsoring parents refers to time physically in Australia on any visa, so in your case it would likely start from Jan 2017.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hopeforoz said:


> Hello Mark, Hope you are doing great!
> 
> Just a small query as did not think of a better person to ask this. Request your answer
> 
> I got my PR 190 VISA in April 2016. I came for a one week visa validation trip in August 2016.
> We finally came to reside permanently in Jan 2017 and have been in Australia since then barring a few weeks travel to my home country in between
> 
> I plan to apply for a contributory parent visa for my mother. And the DIBP website says that one could apply for a contributory parent visa when their kids have stayed in Australia for 2 years.
> I am not sure, from when would those two years be counted. Would they be counted when we validated the visa in August 2016 or from Jan 2017, when we came to reside permanently. Request you to clarify please
> 
> Kind Regards,


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Felpas -

The regulations you quoted are focused on adult children dependents. For a partner, you should provide a marriage certificate (if applicable) and relationship evidence about social aspects, financial aspects, nature of the commitment, and nature of the household aspects of the relationship.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



felpas said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a specific question that I would love if you can give me an advice.
> I have applied to the Graduate visa 485 with my wife as an additional aplicant (both of us are in Australia). I already submitted and I have to upload the documents. I read at the requirements that for people over 18 years old, we have to provide financial dependency, I do not know if that apply for my wife too. It says:
> 
> "Evidence of financial dependency for all your family members aged 18 or older (such as evidence of current studies):
> - a certified copy of their birth certificate and proof of their relationship to you
> - proof that they live in your household
> - proof that they have been financially dependent on you for at least the 12 months immediately before you lodge your application."
> 
> I do not actually know if I need to do this, I have no idea what is the purpose of this and, finally, if the main idea is to show that my wife is dependent on me or independent (available to dependent on herself).
> Any feedback about what to upload?
> 
> Regards and many thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kemmie -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa. You might look into the subclass 489, 189 and 190 visas to see if any of those could work for you. A great website to check and get more info on these is Search | Anzscosearch

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from DHA. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Sydney. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



Kemmie said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> i really need advice on many aspects on my life right now. as of right now i have not started any process but really confused with the many visas in Australia. I am a 39 year old Canadian who has decided is is hoping to move to Australia for a new start. so i guess my question is where do i start? I have a BA in psychology and i have worked in the field for over 5 years. i have a 16 year old son who will join later and a finance from cameroon who would also ;love to come to Australia.
> 
> i guess my question is where do i begin with the process of relocation to Australia Please.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Nik8720 -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately DHA has de-prioritised the family sponsored 489 to the point that it usually takes a very long time to get an invitation to apply for these. Only a handful per month seem to be currently issued. I'd look into the 190 visa to see if there are any opportunities there - see Search | Anzscosearch for more info on this.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



nik8720 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> i have finished my master in Information Technology in 261112 Systems Analyst (Melbourne) and want to apply for PR in the future, i was looking for (Skilled Regional (Provisional) Subclass 489 - requires sponsorship by a relative living in a designated area or a state or territory government) my brother is living in Melbourne and works in Information technology field. Can i apply for visa 489 and what is the processing time. rite now i have 65 points.
> 
> I have talk to lot of people they say it is very hard to get it , they recommended other visas.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tokito -

Thanks for the note. Normally the skills assessors will assess based on the occupation code you state you are applying for - in some cases if the work is not a good fit for that code they'll discuss or propose another one, but from what I've seen re accounting, they often go with the code you request since there is so much overlap between the various account-related codes.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tokito said:


> Hello, Mark!
> 
> Please help me because I am worried about my further steps in the Assessment.
> First of all, I was assessed as an Accountant General, for now I need to do an employment assessment.
> 
> I am analyzing the list of tasks for 2211 ACCOUNTANTS and some duties like assisting in formulating budgetary and accounting policies
> preparing financial statements, preparing taxation returns and so on really coincide with my actual duties. But does it mean that I could be assessed as a 221113 Taxation Accountant instead of a General? I am worries because this code has extra criteria nowadays and I hope to stay General after all.
> Thank you in advance!
> Waiting for your answer patiently.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Leed5ey -

Thanks for the note - what a mess. I'd make sure you've given them everything they want, then wait to see what they decide about the application and then get any additional evidence they ask for. No good way to predict what they're going to do at this point.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Leed5ey said:


> Hi Mark
> i recently did my Citizenship test and as you know you have to supply all the documents that you supplied for your application. The guy who checked mine was a bit strange. It took him nearly 20 mins to log on and then couldn't find my application and when he did he refused my Birth Certificate as it was a CERTIFIED Copy !!!!! He also queried if my wife, who was sat next to me, was actually my wife,even though she had her own documents on her and knew one of the other Interviewers. He then said i need a Police Check from UK to verify who i am. He then said i could sit my test then laughed !!!!.
> So the crux of it all is that
> 1 I have been in Oz for 6 Years and never left
> 2 All previous Police checks for 457 and PR are clean
> 3 My passport has not been used at all in that time
> 4 He asked for one because in his words I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE !!!
> 
> Passport,Birth Cert, Form 1195,Marriage Cert,Aussie drivers licence ALL supplied
> Advice please anyone


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Walrus2018 -

Thanks for the note. Make sure you have uploaded all of your relationship evidence plus additional documents (ID, etc). You have to apply for Medicare yourself with your evidence of having lodged the visa. Same for Tax ID. I'd to police checks 6 months after lodgement unless they request them sooner. Yes, do Form 80 now and upload a signed copy via ImmiAccount - use "Other" if there is no category for it. Make it into a single multi-page PDF file, optimise as necessary to get the filesize down under the 5MB limit. No way to predict processing times on these, I'd look at 12-24 months.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Walrus2018 said:


> Hi Mark. I'm doing a 820/801 partner visa. I was just granted my bridge visa. What is next? Do I apply for my health card and tax ID number or do they come automatically? When do I do the fbi check and police check? Do I do the Form 80 immediately? How do I upload Form 80? If I change to jpeg it will be many files long and I've already used up 45 of my 60 files. When do you think I will get a case worker? Will they even look at my application in the next 12 months? Lots of questions. Sorry.��


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Isabelle1991 -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you are applying as de facto partners, you may want to register your relationship with the Australian state you live in to avoid the 12 month de facto relationship requirement. Beyond that, not sure what the gap is you referred to - were you without a visa? Need to know more to advise you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Isabelle1991 said:


> Hello!
> The situation is: we firstly met each other in the Internet and communicated in skype via messages and online video almost every day, after 6 months he visited me for two weeks. Then we didn't see each other again for a half year (as I graduated my University), but we communicated every single day...I came to Australia on a student visa and lived together for a half year. Right now we want to apply for a partnership visa 820, but the problem is when we firstly met each other in real life and when my visa expired, there is a gap in 2 weeks for the whole 12 months. Altogether we communicated with each other about 1,5 years and have messages, photos and videos as evidence.
> What can we do in this situation? we want to apply on-shore.
> Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Shradhda -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you get professional assistance immediately from an immigration lawyer or migration agent fully versed in PIC 4020 issues as you can end up with a 3 year ban from Australia if you're not careful in if/how you respond. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see Consultation - Northam & Associates for more information or to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



Shradhda said:


> Hi mark
> I really Nee help applied for 489 visa on August 2017
> They requested more documents twice
> On December 2017 they ask me to get sign on form 1229 from his father as I divorced and remarried my son always lived with me
> He provided sign and driver license copy along with number to be contact
> Co contact him on provided no where someone else pic call any said he is not child's father but know him
> After two week co send me mail of nj pic 4020
> Where co saying I have provided bogus documents
> Which I did not he sign this document in front of family friends and relatives
> I have ask him for no and to provide documents again now he refuse to provide more documents
> I always raise my son he is only 6 , I am struggling in Australia from 10 years never did anything wrong and still fighting to live here for the things I have not done please help what should I do


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bldaya -

Thanks for the note. Suggest you download and carefully study the document on the ACS website that gives expanded detailed descriptions for the various ANZSCO codes they assess - this is usually the best way to determine the best fit ANZSCO code as these are far more detailed than what you will find on ANZSCO.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



bldaya said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> This is my first ever post on this forum, so please excuse if this question was already asked and answered
> 
> My wife is planning to apply for subclass 189 visa and has all the documents required for ACS ready but is confused about which ANZSCO Code to nominate herself for.
> 
> She is currently working in India as a Systems Engineer but her roles and responsibilities match with that of "262113 - Systems Administrator" under the Combined List of Eligible Skilled Occupations list.
> 
> My question here is if it is okay for her to choose the Systems Administrator code while all her other documents state her designation as "Systems Engineer" or is it fine to align her profile with the code - 263111 - Computer Network and Systems Engineer?
> 
> Your response will be greatly appreciated and help us choose the right option. Thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Genevieve -

Unless you are sponsoring them for a visa of some kind (which would be very difficult given they are not financially dependent etc), you normally would not have to have them complete form 47A.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



genevieve said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I have a question regarding form 47A. I have two adult children from a previous marriage that are over the age of 23 years old. They are living on their own, are completely financially independent and not immigrating with me to Australia. Do I still require them to complete the form 47A?
> 
> Genevieve


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Grace -

It's likely if your current sc600 visitor visa has stay period as "3 months from each arrival" etc you could come back on the current visa as long as you arrive before the "last date to enter" or the visa expiry and stay for another 3 months. I don't know enough about your overall circumstances to advise what to do here, but it appears you may have some time left on your current visa - no need to get another one in that case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gracey1026 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My husband and I lodged our 309 and wondering what would be the best route to take.
> 
> 1. Apply for another tourist visa so I can be with him while waiting for the 309 decision.
> 
> 2. Stay in the Philippines and wait for the 309 decision.
> 
> 3. Use the remaining time I have for my current tourist visa which will expire on June 2018
> 
> DOL: June 7, 2017
> Medical done: 2nd week of June 2017
> Additional requirements requested: September 2017, which we were able to supply 2 weeks after.
> 
> Since then, I have not heard anything. After my 309 was lodged our agent also lodged a tourist visa so I can be with my husband while waiting for the 309 decision. In 3 days time, the tourist visa has been granted. It was a multiple entry visa valid for a year with 3 months maximum stay.
> 
> I left Philippines on June 29, 2017, I exit Australia before I even reach the 3rd month. Now, I am back in the Philippines and feeling very anxious of not knowing what to do and being away from my husband. I am tossing between going back to Australia on the same tourist visa which will expire on June this year or wait till the decision for the 309 comes out. We are currently on our 9th month of waiting. Should I just apply for a new tourist visa so I can be with my husband?
> 
> Your thoughts will be highly appreciated.
> 
> Thank you very much in advance.
> 
> Grace


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Spectrum6115 -

Please see my responses below at ***:



spectrum6115 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Need your expert opinion for following query: I submitted my application (For myself along with my family) couple of months ago. Last week, i received email from case officer to provide additional medical report for my son. I am from Pakistan, and because of my job here in Saudi Arabia, I lodged my application from Saudi Arabia. I need your suggestion for following queries:
> 
> 1. Currently my family is visiting their home country, so do i need to inform Australian Immigration about my family's visit? If so, which form shall be used? And shall i use "Change in circumstance" option to inform Australian Immigration?
> *** Form 929 is best for change of address if they are going to spending more than a few weeks at a single address.
> 
> 2. Medical of my son was done in Saudi Arabia, because currently he is in Pakistan, so i am planning to submit required medical report through approved medical clinics in Pakistan. Will it have any negative effect? or Could this cause any complication e.g. failure to update Australian Immigration at the time of their travel or requirement of latest police certificate etc... *** I don't see any issues at this point based on what you've said in your post. But would advise them via Form 929 for all applicants who will be away from their normal residential address for more than a few weeks.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## Eisha Shoaib

HI Mark! I have submitted online immi application on AUG 2017 .I am from Pakistan and my sponsor is Australian citizen.still no co assign to me or got any email.Please tell me the estimate time to get any response from immigration department.


----------



## Sandeep79

Hi Mark 

I need your opinion in my brother’s 489 visa application.
He lodged his file on 21/012/2016 as a baker , CO contacted on 16 January 2017, work experience physical verification on 21 November 2017. Then then like everyone his status changed to further assessment.

Now on 29th of March 2018 he got an invitation to comment IMMI s57 Natural Justice,

1.They have raised the issue like he was in neighbouring shop when they arrived there. ( someone was come to clean the oven and he went to his owner’s brother’s shop to request him to Drop that guy to the bus stand and came back to the bakery within 5-6 minuets)

2. When department officer visited the premises it appears as though you have never worked in the capacity of a baker but rather you handle the customers at counter. ( that day owner was not at shop because her wife was admitted in hospital, therefore my brother was looking after the customers and baking of products. And also they have one retail shop and one warehouse where they bake major products, and on retail shop they only do small productions, I think that’s why they raise this concern 

3. The owner of the business confirmed that they do not issue the salary slip( as I told you owner was not their, his father was their who does not know the documentation)

4. The pay slips provided indicate that your salary was higher compare to the person who was working longer than you. ( the worker, who they asked his salary was only a helper not main baker and only help in baking process, he is an illiterate person who doesn’t have any other skill. They are paying my brother’s more than him because of his skills)

5. The owner was not able to provide any record of your employment ( as I told you he was not present in the premises, and when they ask if officers want to contact they can provide his contact number but they said no need to call him)

Besides the department officer asked him many quotations and he gave all right answers and also they ask him to bake something, which he did. And officer stop him when he made half tray of cookies and said I trust you. No need to bake all.


Can you please give your opinion that how should we answer these concerns.

Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SabrinaKI689 -

Thanks for the note. For what you're trying to do, it likely won't make a difference whether you apply for the ETA or 651 - I'd probably try an ETA first because they are auto-approved, but note that with either of these you must be offshore when you apply. If that doesn't work out, you could apply onshore for a sc600 visitor visa with a specific itinerary for the things you want to do, however the key is that with most visitor visa applications, if the stay in Australia would end up being more than 12 months, it stands a high chance of refusal.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



SabrinaKl689 said:


> Hey Mark, thank you so much for the option on asking you. I am trying for days now to google my answer and either I can't find it or I am using the wrong words for google.
> 
> Anyhow. As many internationals I am on my WHV 417 which will end in April and I am not gonna do a 2nd year (due a. age and b. plan to head to Canada).
> But - I still would like to do actual traveling (eg snorkeling with whale sharks - season starts soon;cage diving with great white shark, visit Uluru, vivid festival in Sydney etc) before heading back home. Flights to Germany are crazy cheap starting in July from Sydney and I would love to take advantage of it.
> First I will be heading to New Zealand for about 3 weeks and would love to come back for 10 weeks to travel around Australia.
> 
> I am trying now to figure out if the 651 would be the best option or if I should meet with an travel agent in NZ and get the 601?
> 
> Trying to figure that out and not knowing the outcome is def bothering as I also don't know if I should book my flight back home from NZ or OZ or if even booking trips/tours in advance will make a difference in the decision (doubt it).
> 
> Any advice or even idea where else to google (backpacker pages recommend 651, others again saying after a whv you can't get any tourist visa, the next page says something else again).
> 
> Cheers Sabrina


----------



## Mish

Hi Mark

Happy Easter! I hope you are well.

I was wondering if for the citizenship application if we can use the translation of the birth certificate that was done for the PMV (overseas qualified translator) or if we need to get it done again in Australia?

Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mish!

Happy Easter to you too - my Easter is catching up on the forum! 3 pages left to go, feel bad I was away for so long.

The good news is that DHA policy does not put a time limit on translations, so I expect your previous translation will be fine. At worst, they may enquire as to whether the overseas translator is qualified - this usually means whether they are qualified in their home country to translate official government documents.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Mish said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> Happy Easter! I hope you are well.
> 
> I was wondering if for the citizenship application if we can use the translation of the birth certificate that was done for the PMV (overseas qualified translator) or if we need to get it done again in Australia?
> 
> Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SumanS -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately no good way to estimate DHA processing times these days - they are often overloaded with applications and understaffed. Wish I could help, but there's just no good way to even guess these days at how long they will take to process a visa, and there are no legal time limits for most visas re processing time.

Best,

Mark Northam



SumanS said:


> Hi Mark, My husband and I (both Indian Nationals) got married in August 2016 after a 3 year + relationship. He left for his MBA to Sydney in September 2016 but since I had just joined my current job I decided to stay back in New Delhi India. I applied for the Subsequent Student 500 visa in Oct 2017 fulfilling all the details like financials, GTE, proof of ongoing relationship, etc. I have gone through the medical in Nov 2017. On immi the status reads as 'received' with 25-46 days as Estd days. It's really frustrating to keep waiting like this indefinitely. I had written to dibp in Jan and they replied with acknowledgement that the advertised time on immi had elapsed but due to the volume of applications they can't give any timelines. What do you think of our case? My husband's visa is till October this year but he's on a 2+2 so he will be applying for the extension once his degree comes in. I really want to get there and be with him quickly.. also my employer being an MNC with a Sydney office is keen on moving me internally if I have the 500 visa, since I can work full time on it. Looking forward to guidance and some actionables so I can strive harder to get there soonest. TIA


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Harrypotter -

1. Yes, it's typical. Normally you won't hear from DHA unless they want something from you or a decision is made on the visa.

2. Usually not an issue - A request for health exams is made with a 28 day deadline, but as long as you've at least booked the health exams and provide evidence of booking during that period, you should be fine. I suppose you could also take the medicals in China at an approved facility, but probably would be more convenient to do back in Australia. If you do end up in that situation, I'd book online at BUPA Visa Medical Services for as soon as you can after you return, then upload to DHA the booking evidence and a letter explaining that you're offshore until XXX date, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



harrypotter said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My wife lodged her 820 application May 2017 with police check(both of us) while her student visa was still effect. Her student visa just expired this week, BVA has just kicked in, she has just applied for BVB, we are planning to go to china early May for 5 weeks.
> 
> My questions are:
> 1. since we lodged application, we haven't got any email or contact from case officer. apart from BVA grant notice? Is it normal?
> 
> 2. I am concerned while we are in china in May, what if CO request medical? Is it 28 days frame? if it is, we are probably will not have enough time to do it, since we will be in overseas for 5 weeks.Or can we do the medical after we come back to sydney?
> 
> Appreciate your help Mark.
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aristo -

From what you've said, I expect they may be ready to grant the visa, but as she must be offshore on the date the visa is granted, they have asked her to arrange to be offshore so they can grant the visa, then she would return on the PMV visa after grant. Usually people only need to be offshore for a few days in these scenarios and you send DHA your travel itinerary and confirm when you are actually out of Australia.

Unless they ask for a new NOIM or celebrant letter, no need to provide it to them. And there is also no issue if you get married on a date other than the original date - lots of things happen to move wedding dates!

You are correct - you have 9 months from the date of grant of the PMV to get married in Australia - it is completely up to you when you get married within that time period. After you are married, and still within the 9 month period, you would lodge an onshore partner visa which would give you a bridging visa A to allow you to remain in Australia after the 9 month period of the PMV has elapsed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



aristo said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thank you for your time.
> 
> My partner lodged her prospective marriage visa offshore in April 2017. At the time of application on the Notice of Intended Marriage, we put April 15th, 2018 as the tentative wedding date.
> 
> She is visiting Australia at the moment.
> 
> We received an email from the Department just this week asking her to organise travel to and from Australia, before April 15th, in accordance with our marriage plans.
> 
> We have organised this travel for April 4th - April 12th.
> 
> However, as we were advised by the Department not to make any wedding plans until we hear confirmation, we have not made any plans beside speaking to a celebrant and discussing a few venues for April 15th. I was under the impression that we had nine months from the date of grant of the visa to get married. Ideally, we would get married in late May, so that way we have slightly more time to plan a nice enough wedding.
> 
> Do you know if she just has to leave and return Australia, have the visa granted, and then we can change the date of the wedding and submit a new NOIM?
> 
> Or do we HAVE to get married on April 15th as per the original NOIM?
> 
> We do not want to submit any new forms to the Department before she returns to the country on April 12th and has the temporary visa granted, because we do not want to delay the granting of the visa as we have already booked travel.
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> 
> Aristo.


----------



## MarkNortham

You're welcome! Glad I could help - it's exactly why I'm here.

Best,

Mark Northam



Franciathomas said:


> Thank you so much Mark ,
> 
> I already upload a letter of apology. Thank you for the advice would really help me cope up with my worries.
> 
> Ella


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Arun6445 -

Thanks for the note. All you can really do is keep in touch with them - visa processing times these days are highly unpredictable.

Best,

Mark Northam



arun6445 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a query about Visa 189 processing time. I lodged my Visa 189 application on 24th March 2017 and its almost an year, my application still shows "*Further Assessment*".
> 
> In Feb'2018, I sent a feedback to DIBP stating that it concerns me about my application as its been pending for long time and doesn't let me plan for my future. Post my feedback, I was asked to provide some more documents which I have already sent them in couple of days and since then there has been no updates.
> 
> It seemed to have gone quiet again. I have recently sent another feedback but have had no response from them.
> 
> Any suggestion what should I do as its been almost an year that my application is in processing status.
> 
> Thanks
> Arun Gupta


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi SKReddy -

Thanks for the note. You didn't mentioned what subclass of visa you applied for, however visa processing times these days are highly unpredictable - all you can do is to keep in touch with them to make sure they do not need any further documents or information (and keep a careful eye on your junk/spam mailbox as sometimes things end up in there that shouldn't!).

Best,

Mark Northam



SKReddy said:


> Hii.. I lodged my application on dec 6 2017.. I provide additional information on feb 3 2018 and My immiaccount status now changed to further assessment on March 1. I made an Enquiry and got reply like ur application is active and it's processing and as soon as possible it applctn will be finalised like that..wtng from 3 weeks still status remains samee.. Any suggests..?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cathy48 -

Thanks for the note. No good way I know to try and get the no work condition lifted - once a visa is granted it cannot be changed, the visitor visa he arrives on would be in place throughout the stay period it has listed on it (usually 3 months but can be different) regardless of what bridging visa(s) you might get after arriving. Another issue you should consider given his country of citizenship is whether a visitor visa will be granted, and if granted, will it have condition 8503 (no further stay) on it. Both risks exist for applicants from higher risk countries including Turkey.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cathy48 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thank you very much for starting this page, I am in the middle of deciding to go with the 820 or the 309 partner visa as I understand when we both arrive in Australia ( Australian born and Turkish )my husband will not be allowed to work for 3 months. I was wondering if there is a financial hardship clause to enable him to work once we have lodged the 820. He is the sole income earner and I have not worked for many yrs Thanks in advance Cathy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Semsemdiab -

Thanks for the note. I'd include your correspondence with the agent re: not possible to get PCC from Shaoxing and perhaps put a letter of explanation in from her (or you) explaining the circumstances. I expect there is a good chance it should be fine, but will depend on the case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



semsemdiab said:


> Hi Mr Mark,
> 
> I am new to this forum and wish if you can help me with my below inquiry.
> 
> My wife was working in China for 2 years. Her visa and work permit were issued from Shanghai as the headquarter of her company is in Shanghai. However, the employer allocated her to work in the other branch in another city which is Shaoxing (near Shanghai).
> 
> I contact an agency called visainchina to get her PCC, but they issued her PCC from Shanghai (*covering the whole period*) as her visa and work permit were issued from Shanghai not Shaoxing.
> 
> DIAC web site mentions clearly that they need PCC from each city in china where the applicant were resided.
> 
> Will the case officer accept this PCC from Shanghai or they will ask from Shaoxing were she was living. Note: the agent told me it is impossible to get her PCC from Shaoxing, because her visa and work permit from Shanghai.
> 
> Anyone had similar issue before?
> 
> Thanks in Advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gymnastabroad -

Thanks for the note and sorry to hear of the situation. I would immediately investigate whether you may qualify for grant of the subclass 801 permanent partner visa under the family violence provisions (FV). The FV does not need to have been physical (hitting, physical, etc) and can be emotional and even financial in some cases. Suggest you book a consultation with an immigration lawyer or registered migration agent thoroughly familiar with the FV provisions for partner visas to see what the chances are of qualifying. From what you've said, you very well may have a case.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gymnastabroad said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am wondering if you can offer me any advice.
> 
> Myself and my partner applied for our defecto visa & we're granted our 820 in Nov 2017.
> My partner is the sponsee.
> 
> A short while ago I moved out of our home as he has been emotionally abusing me for some time now.
> I sought help from a family Counsellor & have been seeing her for the last 6 months and she has worked with me to realize that he was abusing me.
> 
> I thought that my only option was to leave in 28 once DIAC had been notified. I called up immigration prior to leaving my partner to find out what the next step would be if I was to leave him. They explained that I would be able to appeal and fill out form 1040.
> 
> Primarily I thought that If I am not with my partner then I have nothing to keep me here. However I have come to realise that I infact i have made a life here, with friends & most importantly a job as a gymnastics coach which I cherish.
> 
> Mark, i am thinking of appealing and doing the 1040 form. I would really appreciate some help in
> - what to expect & how long it would take for the appeal to go through,
> - would I gain a bridging visa to allow me to Continue working whilst this was in process?
> - what is the likely hood of this leading to PR? Would my stat dec from one therapist be enough?
> 
> Thank you mark.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Liliana -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately DHA does not provide any sort of updates, status, estimated time to process, etc in response to enquiries from applicants (or their representatives!). Given you're still within the estimated processing times, probably best to wait - however you should be providing regular relationship evidence updates (ie, uploading new evidence to your online application) if there is new evidence that has come up since you originally lodged.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Liliana said:


> Hi Mark and everyone,
> 
> Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to ask you questions.
> 
> I have a query regarding contacting the Case Officer whilst waiting for our Prospective Marriage Visa PMV 300 to be processed.
> 
> My fiance (Bosnian Citizen) and I (Australian Citizen) have lodged our PMV 300 application on 02/10/2017 via the Austrian Embassy (Vienna).
> We processed it online.
> 2 weeks after lodgement, the CO has asked my fiance to undergo the Heath Checks as well as Biometrics collections.
> Both of these were completed within 10days of their request.
> The information on the Immi account states that he has passed the Health Checks.
> 
> We haven't heard anything since.
> 
> I should also mention that we engaged/paid a Registered Migration Agent to help us with the application.
> 
> On the Australian Home Affairs website, the average global processing times are listed as:
> 75% of applications - 11months
> 90% of applications - 15months
> 
> However, I'd like to gauge how long the average wait is for applications through the Austrian Vienna Embassy.
> I've asked the MRA to contact our CO to get a rough idea of this, however my MRA said that CO's can only be contacted in order to withdraw the application; and that the department does not allow applicants to contact COs for queries such as this.
> 
> This doesn't sound right to me.
> 
> Can you please advise whether we can contact the CO during our wait.
> 
> Thanks again.
> 
> Liliana


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ijaz -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa or employer sponsored PR visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Sydney. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



ijaz.ahmad88 said:


> I got my 457 visa on 12.03.2018 it is for 4 years, my occupation code is 312312 , currently i have 5 years of experience but i am seeking guidance if i can be eligible for permanent resident visa after spending 3 years in Australia?
> what is the criteria for PR when someone is on 457 Visa?
> 
> Thank you for your support.
> Best Regards,
> Ijaz Ahmad


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eisha -

Thanks for the note. Yes, I would definitely get a new police cert and lodge - might nudge things along a bit with DHA, however partner visas from higher risk areas (Pakistan is near the top of that list currently, unfortunately) can take 12-24 months to process so try to be patient, and consider uploading any new/updated relationship evidence that comes available to you such as travel evidence, etc going forward.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Eisha Shoaib said:


> Hi Mark!
> Hope your doing well and I appreciate your effort to the people who really needs this .
> 
> I live in Pakistan and my husband (sponsor) lives in Australia.he has Australian citizenship . We have launched our application through Australian IMMI website on Aug 2017 with all requirements done on September 2017. Now my police clearance certificate has expired should I submit it without been ask by department,yet I haven't assigns co nor gets any further email.
> My ImmiAccount doesn't shows globel processing time from mid March!why this happen? It's only me who experienced this and what would be the cause of it?


----------



## Sandeep79

Hi Mark
Your opinion on my brother’s file will be very appreciated 

Thanks


----------



## daisy19

*partner visa application enquiries*

Hi Mark,
I am on my prospective marriage visa now and its valid to 27th of Nov.

I plan to leave Australia after my wedding in this August to my home country to spend time with my family due to my fiance will start working in USA not long after our wedding.

Question 1: Do I need to apply for partner visa 820 onshore after my marriage before I leave Australia? Or can I apply for partner visa 309 when I'm in my home country?

Question 2: If I apply for 820 onshore , can I still travel outside of Australia after applied, and if so, how long can I be offshore?

Question3: For both 820 and 309 do I pay a same reduced amount Aud 1170?
Thanks in advance

Looking forward to hearing from you

Thank you
Daisy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Salmon1411 -

Thanks for the note. There is no particular bar against applying for a temporary visa such as a 482 (the new 457) while you are waiting for the grant of a 309/100. As you're a civil engineer, the "genuine temporary entrant" requirements of the new 482 visa do not apply to you - that could have been an issue as DHA could have said that your lodgment of a 309/100 was an indication that you intended to remain in Australia for more than just a temporary period. If you were granted the 482 and later the 309/100 was ready to grant, normally DHA will send you an email asking you to leave the country for a short period to allow grant of the 309 - you must be offshore when the 309 was granted.

The hazard you'll want to be careful of is if both visa applications are pending and the 309 is granted, then the 482 is granted at some point (even minutes or the same day) after the 309 is granted. In that case the 482 will automatically replace the 309 and you'll have to start again with a new 309/100 - not a pretty picture.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



salmon1411 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have a question about "concurrent" visas/applications.
> 
> Me: Canadian/British citizen living in the USA with Australian husband and 2 children (US/Australian citizens). Applied for 309 in January of this year.
> 
> My husband has a job offer in Australia and they would like him to start in 3 months. We would like to accept the offer and relocate, probably before my 309 is granted. I could transfer internally within my company and they would help me obtain a temporary skilled worker visa (457? I think the number changed). BUT:
> 
> * - If I obtained the temporary skilled worker visa would that cancel my 309 application? Or would my 309 CO let me know when they were ready to issue, I can leave the country and return on the 309 which would then allow me to continue working?*
> 
> We are trying to find the balance between having me come to Australia on a visitor visa, and not work for up to 12 months (loss of income) and me coming on a work visa and losing the money we've paid for the 309 application already.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Edit to add: I am a Civil Engineer


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Fax_86 -

Thanks for the note - sorry I didn't see this message sooner as I expect you probably have worked things out by now. Part of the issue here is what type of RRV you will apply for - once based on spending 24 months in the last 5 years in Australia (in total) or a substantial ties RRV for 1 year if he doesn't meet the 24 months criteria. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see Consultation - Northam & Associates for more information or to book online.

Best,

Mark Northam



Faz_86 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> In a huge dilemma. My husband's PR visa expired in February, without us even realising. He booked his ticket to Australia, flying out in 2 weeks time and i quickly applied for the rrv on the weekend.
> 
> I don't think he will get the visa before he flies out and its imperative that he comes on the 6th of April. Would it be wise to wait a few days before flying out and if rrv not processed, then apply for ETA and come?
> 
> Or should i just apply for ETA while the rrv has been "received" or do i have to withdraw the current application for rrv before i apply for ETA?
> 
> Please help


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Dawie -

Sorry I didn't see your post earlier - congratulations on your visa!! Well done.

Best,

Mark Northam



DawieNel said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Would appreciate if you could please give some advice with regards to how one can prove intent to permanently live in Australia.
> 
> I posted more detail about the background to my application in below thread.
> 
> http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/271802-partner-visa-309-100-how-prove-intent-live-permanently-australia.html
> 
> Thanks in advance
> Dawie


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Aniki -

Thanks for the note. You might check out the excellent website Search | Anzscosearch and have a look at different occupations that might be of interest to you - on that website, you can see the various ANZSCO requirements for education and/or work experience. Do note that with certain visas including the 482 (replace the 457), 186 and 187 there are specific work experience requirements that apply even if you already meet the educational requirement. Also note the work experience and other requirements of the nominated skills assessor for the occupation as these exceed the minimum ANZSCO entry level requirements in many cases.

Hope this helps get you started -

Best,

Mark Northam



Aniki said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Ive had a browse on various forums/websites with some professions i would be interested in but can't seem to find any minimum or entry requirements information. A lot of the information online simply states an equivelant Australian qualification. So does this simply mean that anything is open to assesment?
> 
> (I'm mainly looking at automotive professions.)
> 
> Any helpful info/links would be much appreciated.
> 
> Profile:
> Japanese but born and raised in the UK. (Age, 32)
> Real Estate related Bsc Hons, UK
> Moved to Japan around 3 to 4 years ago to persue a career in the performance car parts industry.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Alex -

Thanks for the note. It depends on the visa - for the new 482 visa with a 2 year work experience requirement, DHA has indicated that paid full time work during a PhD study program that is relevant to the nominated occupation will be considered. For skilled visas, you should look to the nominated skills assessor to determine how they determine whether work experience is "skilled" or not - in many cases PhD relevant work experience is counted as skilled. DHA will generally abide by the skills assessor's determination of whether work is at a sufficiently skilled level and re relevance.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



alexleeds said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My better half has just completed her PhD in cancer research in the UK. We are looking at Australia migration and either wish to apply for a postdoc position in Australia or industry research positions - but we are not sure if we can go via this/ qualify via a skills assessment.
> 
> She has one year and a half years experience in industry (in New Zealand) but it was after her BSc degree more than 4 years ago. Does her PhD counts as work experience? She was being paid for her PhD and worked more than 35 hours a week. So it is pretty much the same as doing a normal science research position but at the end she had to write up a thesis about her research and gain a PhD.
> 
> Any help would be greatly appreciated as we are in a limbo about how to approach this.
> 
> Thank you very much
> Alex


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Carolina -

Thanks for the note. The 5 year limitation is a time of decision requirement so at the time of decision for a partner visa the 5-year time period (from the date you originally applied for the previous visa you were sponsored yourself on) will be assessed. HOWEVER.... the 5 year waiting period ONLY applies if you were previously sponsored on a partner (820/801 or 309/100) or fiance (300) visa. If you were sponsored on some sort of work visa as you mentioned (ie, 186/187, 489, 189, 190 etc) that is an employer sponsored PR visa or a GSM skilled visa, the 5 year period does not apply.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



line24 said:


> Hello Mark,
> I have an issue with the condition for sponsoring my partner:
> I received my residency in May 2015 and my citizenship in June 2017.
> I got my residency as spouse in my ex boyfriend application who become resident too thanks to a working sponsor visa.
> My actual partner and I want to apply next year before his last year as student for a defacto in WA but only 4 years would have gone from my sponsorship and I have read in the booklet that I cannot sponsor somebody before 5 years.But my question is by the time the Gov look at our case 5 to 6 years would be gone and I don't know if this is something the Gov would take in consideration because for us would make a huge difference.
> Thank you in advance for your reply.
> 
> Regards
> Carolina


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Brijvarsh -

Thanks for the note. High quality colour scans of documents are generally accepted by skills assessors - I expect VETASSESS would need to assess your mark sheets to see if they are suitable as a substitute for your transcripts.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Brijvarsh said:


> Hello Mark,
> Please advice that will color scan copies of document( mark sheets or degree)can be assessed by Vetassess? I dont have transcripts.
> Thankx


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Upen144 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Sydney. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



upen144 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I got Negative outcome from Vetassess in 149212 ( customer Service Manager ) now i am going to file for change of occupation from 149212 to 222211 ( Financial market dealer ) , as i am having 10+ years of exp. in Foreign Exchange house ( Thomas Cook ) . My real sister got PR in Aus ( adelaide ) on Feb 2018 . I want to apply under chain migration for 222211 as High Point is not available for this occupation .
> 
> Q - Please advise if am on the right path? Quota of Chain migration ?
> 
> Seeking your valuable inputs on this . Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Baldur -

Thanks for the note. Assuming you were the primary applicant on the first 485 visa and you intend on being the primary applicant on another 485 application, the second 485 application will be refused as a person cannot be the primary applicant on a new 485 application if they previously held a 485 visa as the primary applicant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



baldur said:


> Hello Mark,
> let's assume, our first 485 visa expired but we enrolled in a doctorate programme and got granted with the visa. after finishing the doctorate, are we going to be able to apply for the visa 485 again?
> what do you think?
> thanks a lot in advance.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jess0618 -

Thanks for the note. Generally no issue if you lodge all under "Other" - sometimes this is the only category available after you have lodged your visa. The main thing is that by looking at the document and its name and description, DHA can determine what the intent of the document is - ie financial evidence, household evidence, etc. Avoid using meaningless filenames like image2343234.jpg and document123.pdf as these only confuse the issue. Better to use things like household-2016bills.pdf or something like that.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jess0618 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I posted all my scanned documents under (others) category.
> 
> When i submitted my application i only saw (others) under my name only.
> 
> There was nothing for my husband or any other categories were seen.
> 
> I attached documents thinking it was so simple.
> 
> When i logged out and checked in, I saw My husbands category appear and under my name there were other sections but it wasnt there before.
> 
> So confused if i do them in other categories they will go double??
> 
> Im stuck now. I cant delete and redo either.
> 
> Please help i have not submitted them yet????????


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Bhavana -

Thanks for the note. That called a "subsequent entrant" 485 visa, and there are no English requirements for secondary applicants.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Bhavana said:


> Hi Mark,
> I'm Bhavana from India.
> I am soon going to apply for 485 partner visa as a dependent on my partner who already holds 485 visa. Do I have to answer IELTS?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Drvp11 -

Thanks for the note. Being in a regional area (or being willing to relocate to one) can open up additional opportunities for the 187 and 489 visas, however the bigger picture is about what states are sponsoring and what their additional requirements are (if any). In the end it's all about finding a sponsoring employer (for 186/187) or finding a state that is interested in sponsoring your occupation - a state's position is often related to the number of job openings that cannot be met by local workers.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



drvp11 said:


> Best pathway for permanent residency for new graduate nurses
> 
> Dear Mark,
> I am a new graduate nurse living in NSW. I am needing an advice on which pathway to pursue for PR. I've scored 60 on the points test and waiting for ANMAC assessment. At the moment, we are confused if we have to go regional areas or just stay in non regional areas to get a PR easier? Does going to regional areas increases my chance of getting residency? Thank you.
> 
> Kind regards,
> D


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ben -

Thanks for the note. I would recommend breaking the files up more than you have - a single file with lots of pages with a wide mix of evidence may confuse the case officer, plus it makes things harder to find if they don't use the index properly. It's fine to put, say, all photos into a single file of social evidence, then maybe another file for all social travel evidence, etc, but an entire file per category is a bit too much in my view. Also don't forget that until the sponsor is approved, you can upload additional files under the sponsor's name, so there's a total of 120 files uploadable for a partner visa upon lodgement.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



thebongoking said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> Hope you're well! I have a question regarding preparing/uploading documents. My partner and I are almost finished with preparing our documents to upload however, based on the main categories (social, financial, household, etc.) we have created a single PDF for each category with all the evidence (including explanation statements and annotation) in those documents.
> 
> We've written side notes to the case officer (whomever that may be down the line) within each document to refer to separate uploads for things like stat decs from witnesses or bank statements (all combined in their own pdf) that support that particular category.
> 
> So, some of our docs are 90 pages long (compressed to under 5MB thankfully through smallpdf) but we walk them through the relevant evidence in the order of content we highlighted at the start of each document rather than breaking out the evidence for each category into different, multiple uploads. Do you think this is too complicated? We'll probably end up with about 20-30 uploads in total between us. I know there's probably no right answer but as we're getting closer the anxiety is creeping in!
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Ben


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Newmember2 -

Thanks for the note. DHA can have issues with this and I've even seen a couple of cases where they claim that additional files sent by post may not be considered if the original application was made online, however I'm not so sure they are on firm footing per the regulations to take that stance.

If you are having trouble with the online ImmiAccount system and there is room to attach more documents (ie, you have not reached the maximum number of files that can be uploaded for your application), I'd consider getting some help so you can better understand how the ImmiAccount system works and upload your additional documents. There's also a tech support page for the ImmiAccount - look for a link there if you want to access that area. Files by email is another way, but I'd only do that if the ImmiAccount file limit has been reached. If the files are too big for ImmiAccount (ie, more than 5MB each in size), you'll need to compress them using a PDF compression app, or break them into multiple files.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Newmember2 said:


> Hope anyone can advise me pls
> My question is
> 
> I lodge my application online
> Submitt my ducuments online to my immi last year
> 
> But i having trouble and confuse to attach my ducuments this time
> 
> Is posible to send my ducuments thru post courier?
> Hope someone can help me thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Stuart -

Thanks for the note. DHA usually requests health and police certificates when they anticipate that they will make a decision on your application in less than 12 months from the date they request these (as both expire in 12 months). Beyond that, difficult to tell - DHA processing times vary widely these days, especially for 820/801 applications that are being sent all over the world to different offshore posts for processing.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Stuart Anderton said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> My partner and I submitted an 820 application November 25, 2017 and received a request for our police checks February 15, 2018.
> 
> We've since provided these requested documents and the status has changed to *Further Assessment*. The status has been like this since February 26, 2018.
> 
> How long do they usually look at the file before making a decision? They only asked for the police checks.. does this mean our other evidence was good?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> Stuart


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi TheMaze -

Thanks for the note. Likely would not have any significant effect on your pending 189 visa application unless it indicated that any of the info in your 189 application was incorrect (obviously avoid that!). A letter from your Australian employer indicating that he/she would suffer business interruption or other sorts of dire consequences if you are not granted your visa by a particular date might work, but might not - difficult to say as this is within the scope of discretion of the case officer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



TheMaze said:


> Hello Mark
> 
> I have been waiting for a 189 subclass visa decision for the last 8 months, after lodging my application in 08/2017.
> 
> These days I happened to have received a work offer from an Australian employer, but for overseas work.
> 
> Would uploading the offer (and subsequently the work contract) to DIBP have a positive impact of the decision outcome? Thanks and regards


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Eisha -

Thanks for the note. No good way to predict this - typically partner visas are taking from 12 to 24 months to process. DHA does not provide status updates or estimates during processing. Wish things were different, but that's the way they work currently.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Eisha Shoaib said:


> HI Mark! I have submitted online immi application on AUG 2017 .I am from Pakistan and my sponsor is Australian citizen.still no co assign to me or got any email.Please tell me the estimate time to get any response from immigration department.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandeep79 -

Thanks for the note. Assuming that DHA made allegations re PIC 4020 in the s57 NJ letter, you need to take the letter very seriously as a visa refusal means a 3 year ban from Australia.

Generally speaking the first issue is to identify whether there is enough evidence to *thoroughly and completely disprove the allegations* - if so, then it may be worth fighting the PIC 4020 allegations. The other option to consider is withdrawing the visa and lodging again, however if the work experience that DHA is alleging may be fraudulent was also used to get the skills assessment, then DHA can attack the skills assessment even if you don't later claim the disputed work experience for points. In these cases, if you do not successfully fight the allegations or withdraw the application, the visa will be refused and the 3 year ban from Australia (ie, on further Australian visa applications) will be imposed.

Re how to respond in detail, it depends entirely on the available evidence. For PIC 4020 allegations, I suggest you get professional assistance from an immigration lawyer or registered migration agent who is thoroughly familiar with the applicable laws and policy, especially on handling PIC 4020 cases. The stakes are simply too high for these types of allegations to depend on whatever bits and pieces of information you can cobble together from various online sources. There are several strategy questions you will need to decide how to proceed with if you decide to fight the allegations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sandeep79 said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I need your opinion in my brother's 489 visa application.
> He lodged his file on 21/012/2016 as a baker , CO contacted on 16 January 2017, work experience physical verification on 21 November 2017. Then then like everyone his status changed to further assessment.
> 
> Now on 29th of March 2018 he got an invitation to comment IMMI s57 Natural Justice,
> 
> 1.They have raised the issue like he was in neighbouring shop when they arrived there. ( someone was come to clean the oven and he went to his owner's brother's shop to request him to Drop that guy to the bus stand and came back to the bakery within 5-6 minuets)
> 
> 2. When department officer visited the premises it appears as though you have never worked in the capacity of a baker but rather you handle the customers at counter. ( that day owner was not at shop because her wife was admitted in hospital, therefore my brother was looking after the customers and baking of products. And also they have one retail shop and one warehouse where they bake major products, and on retail shop they only do small productions, I think that's why they raise this concern
> 
> 3. The owner of the business confirmed that they do not issue the salary slip( as I told you owner was not their, his father was their who does not know the documentation)
> 
> 4. The pay slips provided indicate that your salary was higher compare to the person who was working longer than you. ( the worker, who they asked his salary was only a helper not main baker and only help in baking process, he is an illiterate person who doesn't have any other skill. They are paying my brother's more than him because of his skills)
> 
> 5. The owner was not able to provide any record of your employment ( as I told you he was not present in the premises, and when they ask if officers want to contact they can provide his contact number but they said no need to call him)
> 
> Besides the department officer asked him many quotations and he gave all right answers and also they ask him to bake something, which he did. And officer stop him when he made half tray of cookies and said I trust you. No need to bake all.
> 
> Can you please give your opinion that how should we answer these concerns.
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Daisy19 -

Thanks for the note - great question! By marrying in Australia you will meet the condition of the visa (condition 8519) that requires you to do this to be eligible to hold the prospective marriage visa. However, if you apply for a partner visa onshore (subclass 820/801) you will get the discounted rate of $1,170 while if you apply for an offshore partner visa (subclass 309/100) you'll end up paying the full fee of $7,000 as no discount is available if you hold a prospective marriage visa (PMV).

Assuming you apply for the 820/801 onshore after marriage, you can then get a Bridging Visa B for each trip offshore. Normally these can be granted for up to 6-7 months, but longer BVBs are possible as well if the reasons given for the travel are substantial and good evidence is provided. Your BVB would need to be granted before you depart Australia in order to be valid.

If for some reason you didn't get a BVB and simply left Australia after lodging the 820/801, the 820/801 would continue to be processed while you were outside of Australia but you'd have to re-enter Australia when DHA was ready to grant the 820 visa using a visitor visa or other visa, as the 820 can only be granted to you when you are in Australia. There is a slight refusal risk there depending on your country of citizenship as you may still be assessed as to whether you are a "genuine temporary entrant" for the visitor visa, and having applied for an 820/801 may be seen as evidence you intend to stay in Australia permanently.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



daisy19 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I am on my prospective marriage visa now and its valid to 27th of Nov.
> 
> I plan to leave Australia after my wedding in this August to my home country to spend time with my family due to my fiance will start working in USA not long after our wedding.
> 
> Question 1: Do I need to apply for partner visa 820 onshore after my marriage before I leave Australia? Or can I apply for partner visa 309 when I'm in my home country?
> 
> Question 2: If I apply for 820 onshore , can I still travel outside of Australia after applied, and if so, how long can I be offshore?
> 
> Question3: For both 820 and 309 do I pay a same reduced amount Aud 1170?
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Looking forward to hearing from you
> 
> Thank you
> Daisy


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandeep79 -

Done - please see here on page 1440.

Best,

Mark Northam



Sandeep79 said:


> Hi Mark
> Your opinion on my brother's file will be very appreciated
> 
> Thanks


----------



## Sandeep79

Hi Mark
Thanks for your reply. One more question please, in worst case if we withdraw the case still they will impose the ban for three years?

Also to prove the absent of the owner we have discharge letter of her wife from hospital. Owner is ready to give the it in the writing that he was not present on the day. Department can come again for double check the documentation.

For the salary difference, because my brother is an educated whereas the other worker are only either illiterate or have education only till middle school. They only help to bake the products. In any emergency my brother look after the production and Customer as well, in the absence of the owner and organizes all raw material. 

My brother gets the salary slips from the owner. And also have the log-in and out register to prove that he is working there.

For work in capacity of the baker, we can provide the photos or video from there warehouse and the retail shop ( which are on different buildings)

We can request the department to double check everything with the owner?

Mark, what do you think these are the sound points or not? 

Thanks


----------



## calviny3k

Hi Mark,

A quick question regarding application for citizenship. 

I am currently holding a Skilled Independent (Permanent) (class SI) (subclass 189). So does my partner due to being a de facto partner of mine. As my partner is Dutch and is unable to hold dual citizenship, he will not be applying for citizenship. So my question is, if I were to apply for citizenship, will this impact on my partner's permanent residency due to being able obtain it as a de facto partner of mine or will he be able to retain his PR regardless?

Thank you so much for your help.


----------



## Timothytseng2018

Hi Mark
I need your advise on my current issue, course I felt it’s going to be a disaster.
I was a visitor visa holder last time I came to Australia was on the 1 August then I started to like here and my friends suggested me to have a year of study here, then I decided to stay.
I started to ask offer from university and I got one from Deakin, but due to my poor English exam result I couldn’t reach the requirement of school and I have overstayed in Australia for 20 days because of my English result didn’t come out on time which been delayed, then I realized it’s going to be huge problem for me to overstay I this counrty, today I have been to department of home affairs they give me a bridging visa E which ask me to leave Australia on the 17th of April. The officer told me that I still can apply a Visitors visa but I need very good reasons. And I tried to apply online but there was an error says I cannot apply online right now, and I have to speak to the website IT staff. 
I’m absolutely speechless now. Is there anything that I can do for me to stay in Australia to complete my degree? I really like here, and even quite my Job in China, there is kind of no turning back for me. 
Could you be so kind to tell me what can I do right now?
Thank you


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sandeep79 -

Under the current regulations, if you withdraw the application prior to a decision you won't get a 3-year ban per PIC 4020. However, if you attempt to use the skills assessment in the future and the suspect employment was used to get the skills assessment, the entire problem can come back.

Note that legislation passed last year but disallowed would have included any information given to DHA for any visa application over the last 10 years regardless of whether the application was withdrawn, so if this legislation passes withdrawing the application won't avoid the ban.

No way to comment on your points without seeing the actual evidence you intend to lodge - just "saying" things and making claims is not going to get the job done - to overcome the PIC 4020 allegations you need very strong, verifiable evidence that thoroughly disproves the allegations.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sandeep79 said:


> Hi Mark
> Thanks for your reply. One more question please, in worst case if we withdraw the case still they will impose the ban for three years?
> 
> Also to prove the absent of the owner we have discharge letter of her wife from hospital. Owner is ready to give the it in the writing that he was not present on the day. Department can come again for double check the documentation.
> 
> For the salary difference, because my brother is an educated whereas the other worker are only either illiterate or have education only till middle school. They only help to bake the products. In any emergency my brother look after the production and Customer as well, in the absence of the owner and organizes all raw material.
> 
> My brother gets the salary slips from the owner. And also have the log-in and out register to prove that he is working there.
> 
> For work in capacity of the baker, we can provide the photos or video from there warehouse and the retail shop ( which are on different buildings)
> 
> We can request the department to double check everything with the owner?
> 
> Mark, what do you think these are the sound points or not?
> 
> Thanks


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Calviny3k -

Thanks for the note. Once you became permanent residents of Australia, your visas ceased to be dependent on the partner relationship etc. So if one partner goes on to become a citizen and his visa ceases as a result, that would generally have no effect on the other partner whose PR visa would remain in place, unaffected.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



calviny3k said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> A quick question regarding application for citizenship.
> 
> I am currently holding a Skilled Independent (Permanent) (class SI) (subclass 189). So does my partner due to being a de facto partner of mine. As my partner is Dutch and is unable to hold dual citizenship, he will not be applying for citizenship. So my question is, if I were to apply for citizenship, will this impact on my partner's permanent residency due to being able obtain it as a de facto partner of mine or will he be able to retain his PR regardless?
> 
> Thank you so much for your help.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Timothytseng2018 -

Thanks for the note. I'm a little confused - as of today, have you overstayed a total of 20 days or was the 20 days back some time ago and now you have overstayed longer?

In either case, you probably want to look for a student visa to be able to continue your study here if you can get one. It's likely you'd have to first be granted a subclass 600 visitor visa, then once you hold that, apply onshore for a subclass 500 student visa. I would consider talking to a student visa specialist given the complexity of your situation - if you PM me I can refer you to a student visa expert.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Timothytseng2018 said:


> Hi Mark
> I need your advise on my current issue, course I felt it's going to be a disaster.
> I was a visitor visa holder last time I came to Australia was on the 1 August then I started to like here and my friends suggested me to have a year of study here, then I decided to stay.
> I started to ask offer from university and I got one from Deakin, but due to my poor English exam result I couldn't reach the requirement of school and I have overstayed in Australia for 20 days because of my English result didn't come out on time which been delayed, then I realized it's going to be huge problem for me to overstay I this counrty, today I have been to department of home affairs they give me a bridging visa E which ask me to leave Australia on the 17th of April. The officer told me that I still can apply a Visitors visa but I need very good reasons. And I tried to apply online but there was an error says I cannot apply online right now, and I have to speak to the website IT staff.
> I'm absolutely speechless now. Is there anything that I can do for me to stay in Australia to complete my degree? I really like here, and even quite my Job in China, there is kind of no turning back for me.
> Could you be so kind to tell me what can I do right now?
> Thank you


----------



## Timothytseng2018

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Timothytseng2018 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I'm a little confused - as of today, have you overstayed a total of 20 days or was the 20 days back some time ago and now you have overstayed longer?
> 
> In either case, you probably want to look for a student visa to be able to continue your study here if you can get one. It's likely you'd have to first be granted a subclass 600 visitor visa, then once you hold that, apply onshore for a subclass 500 student visa. I would consider talking to a student visa specialist given the complexity of your situation - if you PM me I can refer you to a student visa expert.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you Mark
My current situation is I'm holding a BVE which says I cannot apply a student visa, but I can apply another 600visa as the immigration officer told me, but she didn't tell me a full story like how many type of of visa I can apply!
Also please tell me something about if after I still have to left Australia, is there any possibility for me to get new visa offshore? Do I get bad record in immigration system?


----------



## salmon1411

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Salmon1411 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. There is no particular bar against applying for a temporary visa such as a 482 (the new 457) while you are waiting for the grant of a 309/100. As you're a civil engineer, the "genuine temporary entrant" requirements of the new 482 visa do not apply to you - that could have been an issue as DHA could have said that your lodgment of a 309/100 was an indication that you intended to remain in Australia for more than just a temporary period. If you were granted the 482 and later the 309/100 was ready to grant, normally DHA will send you an email asking you to leave the country for a short period to allow grant of the 309 - you must be offshore when the 309 was granted.
> 
> The hazard you'll want to be careful of is if both visa applications are pending and the 309 is granted, then the 482 is granted at some point (even minutes or the same day) after the 309 is granted. In that case the 482 will automatically replace the 309 and you'll have to start again with a new 309/100 - not a pretty picture.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Mark thanks for the reply - and for taking all this time to read through months of questions. You are a legend. Hope your family member is well now. All the best!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Timothytseng -

Thanks for the note. There may be other visas you can apply for, but would need to work through your case in detail at a consultation in order to determine exactly what your options are - the law gets a bit complex in some of these areas. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see more info on consultations in my website listed below in my signature.

Best,

Mark Northam



Timothytseng2018 said:


> Thank you Mark
> My current situation is I'm holding a BVE which says I cannot apply a student visa, but I can apply another 600visa as the immigration officer told me, but she didn't tell me a full story like how many type of of visa I can apply!
> Also please tell me something about if after I still have to left Australia, is there any possibility for me to get new visa offshore? Do I get bad record in immigration system?


----------



## MarkNortham

Thanks for the kind words! Always glad to help -

Mark



salmon1411 said:


> Mark thanks for the reply - and for taking all this time to read through months of questions. You are a legend. Hope your family member is well now. All the best!


----------



## Timothytseng2018

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Timothytseng -
> 
> Thanks for the note. There may be other visas you can apply for, but would need to work through your case in detail at a consultation in order to determine exactly what your options are - the law gets a bit complex in some of these areas. Happy to discuss further at a consultation - please see more info on consultations in my website listed below in my signature.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark, just want to ask you what is the best time for me to contact you?


----------



## Sandeep79

Thank you so much Mark for your reply


MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sandeep79 -
> 
> Under the current regulations, if you withdraw the application prior to a decision you won't get a 3-year ban per PIC 4020. However, if you attempt to use the skills assessment in the future and the suspect employment was used to get the skills assessment, the entire problem can come back.
> 
> Note that legislation passed last year but disallowed would have included any information given to DHA for any visa application over the last 10 years regardless of whether the application was withdrawn, so if this legislation passes withdrawing the application won't avoid the ban.
> 
> No way to comment on your points without seeing the actual evidence you intend to lodge - just "saying" things and making claims is not going to get the job done - to overcome the PIC 4020 allegations you need very strong, verifiable evidence that thoroughly disproves the allegations.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> Sandeep79 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Mark
> Thanks for your reply. One more question please, in worst case if we withdraw the case still they will impose the ban for three years?
> 
> Also to prove the absent of the owner we have discharge letter of her wife from hospital. Owner is ready to give the it in the writing that he was not present on the day. Department can come again for double check the documentation.
> 
> For the salary difference, because my brother is an educated whereas the other worker are only either illiterate or have education only till middle school. They only help to bake the products. In any emergency my brother look after the production and Customer as well, in the absence of the owner and organizes all raw material.
> 
> My brother gets the salary slips from the owner. And also have the log-in and out register to prove that he is working there.
> 
> For work in capacity of the baker, we can provide the photos or video from there warehouse and the retail shop ( which are on different buildings)
> 
> We can request the department to double check everything with the owner?
> 
> Mark, what do you think these are the sound points or not?
> 
> Thanks
Click to expand...


----------



## gabsofkiv

*PMV Visa with 3 Year Ban*

Hi Mark,

Have you dealt with any PMV 300 applicants who have been subject to PIC and received a 3 year ban? All legal advice I have taken says that the 3 year ban relates to certain visas subclasses only (mostly temporary), and the 300 falls outside of this "ban". 
Still, I am interested in hearing of any similar cases as my partner was subject to PIC when he left Australia after an honest oversight resulting in a 7 day overstay. We applied for a PMV 300 back in September 2017 as we got engaged in August. Have heard nothing as yet with the application under "Further Assessment".

Would be great if you could share any experience.

Also, is there any way to tell where the online application is being processed? He is currently located in NZ on a student visa but from Brazil.

Thanks.


----------



## sadgirlvn

Hi Mark!
Can you please tell me the process time to get PR based on Domestic Violence? I applied my application last July and got case officer assigned last August, no any news from them.
My case was abused and financed controlling relationships . I submitted two forms from social worker and my psychology doctor .
Do I need to prepare anything?


----------



## link2moinul

Hi Mark,
Thanks for being so generous for the people who are struggling to meet their requirements for Australian visa application.

Can you please help me by providing DIBP Contact email address?

I got invitation for 489 visa and unfortunately made some mistakes during my EOI lodgement. I calimed some additional points for my job which are not assessed by Assessment authority. I would like to apologise and would like to update information and ask for a solution.

Please help.
I'm from Bangladesh.
Is there an direct phone number to reach them?

Thanks
Moinul


----------



## skyjoshi

hi mark, 
hope you are doing good, can you help me please !

i have applied for stage 2 permanent partner visa assessment subclass 100,801 online and i was uploading documents, i got confused. 

actually i have received email from immigration saying i can process for the application for stage 2 partner permanent visa and there was attachment of what documents and forms to submit with application.

i have followed with that email and prepared documents and uploaded online. but can you please tell me if we compulsorily have to submit form 80 for stage 2 application as there was no specific information about form 80 to attached but when we were uploading the documents and evidence there is space for form 80 so not sure if we do need it or not. 
also when submitted application partner ( husband) was permanent resident, but his granted citizenship so is form 1022 needs to be done ? or only attaching his citizenship ceremony certificate is enough to show and prove.also how long is processing time for stage 2 application?

thanks 
waiting for reply.


----------



## mazloomi

*distance work*

Hi Mark
is distance working with same working hours acceptable to get points?
(for jobs like author and technical writer)


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gabsofkiv -

Thanks for the note. The 3-year ban for departing while holding a bridging visa C/D/E or no visa is contained in item 4014 of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth). To check if a particular visa is subject to 4014 (which means the ban applies to that visa unless a waiver is granted), you can look at Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994 that applies to the visa subclass. Fortunately the subclass 300 prospective marriage visa is not subject to PIC 4014, which means that this type of exclusion period (aka ban) does not affect applications for this visa.

Here's a link to Schedule 4:
MIGRATION REGULATIONS 1994 - SCHEDULE 4 Public interest criteria and related provisions

and here's a link to Schedule 2:
MIGRATION REGULATIONS 1994 - SCHEDULE 2 Provisions with respect to the grant of Subclasses of visas

If you search for 300.226 in Schedule 2 you'll see the part of Schedule 4 that apply to that particular visa, and 4014 is not included for that visa as you'll see.

However... if the 3 year ban is the result of a previous refusal based on PIC 4020 (fraud/bogus documents) then the 3 year ban DOES apply to the sc300 visa (see the link above and you'll see that 4020 is listed where 4014 is not).

No good way to predict where the sc300 is being processed, but at least 50% chance it's the country of citizenship of the applicant unless that country does not have an Australian visa processing office there.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



gabsofkiv said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Have you dealt with any PMV 300 applicants who have been subject to PIC and received a 3 year ban? All legal advice I have taken says that the 3 year ban relates to certain visas subclasses only (mostly temporary), and the 300 falls outside of this "ban".
> Still, I am interested in hearing of any similar cases as my partner was subject to PIC when he left Australia after an honest oversight resulting in a 7 day overstay. We applied for a PMV 300 back in September 2017 as we got engaged in August. Have heard nothing as yet with the application under "Further Assessment".
> 
> Would be great if you could share any experience.
> 
> Also, is there any way to tell where the online application is being processed? He is currently located in NZ on a student visa but from Brazil.
> 
> Thanks.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sadgirlvn -

Hopefully you're happygirlvn soon! Sorry to hear of the family violence (FV). We're seeing processing times for partner visa FV cases ranging anywhere from 7-8 months to 18 months. Very hard to predict, and if the Indepent Expert is called in to do an interview, it can slow things down a bit.

Re evidence, you'll need 2 forms of non-judicially determined evidence if you do not have a court order or other form of judicial evidence. Any additional evidence of what happened can help, BUT... you need to be very careful of some "trap doors" in the law about FV - the biggest one being that DHA is now looking for applicants to prove with evidence that the partner visa relationship was intact (and not broken down) up until the point of the family violence incident(s). Evidence that this was not the case - for instance, if there are allegations that the sponsor was sleeping around prior to the breakdown of the relationship with the applicant - could be used by DHA to allege that the relationship had already broken down (ie, not mutual and continuing/genuine) by the time the FV incident(s) occurred.

It's incredibly unfair that more (previous) misdeeds by the sponsor could wreck chances of a FV case, but it's a nasty part of the law that you'll want to read about and avoid.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sadgirlvn said:


> Hi Mark!
> Can you please tell me the process time to get PR based on Domestic Violence? I applied my application last July and got case officer assigned last August, no any news from them.
> My case was abused and financed controlling relationships . I submitted two forms from social worker and my psychology doctor .
> Do I need to prepare anything?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Moinul -

Thanks for the note. There is a number inside Australia to contact DHA (131 881) but you'll wait on hold for 1-2 hours and eventually be connected to a clerical level person who will probably read off a script and will likely not connect you to the department actually processing your visa. A waste of time essentially.

DHA likes to deal by email, but there is no central address - best to look for an address on any of the correspondence you've received from the visa application. Another option is to upload a letter to your application and wait until they read it.

Re points claims, suggest you consider getting professional advice about the issue before you talk to DHA so you'll know what your options are. DHA is not interested in apologies and working out solutions to help you - their position is that it's incumbent upon you the applicant to take responsibility for the application and everything in it, and if you want to change your application, to do so. Unfortunately a change in points claims can in many cases render an application unable to be approved, but it's important to analyse the situation and see whether your situation falls into this category or if there's another way to address the issue.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



link2moinul said:


> Hi Mark,
> Thanks for being so generous for the people who are struggling to meet their requirements for Australian visa application.
> 
> Can you please help me by providing DIBP Contact email address?
> 
> I got invitation for 489 visa and unfortunately made some mistakes during my EOI lodgement. I calimed some additional points for my job which are not assessed by Assessment authority. I would like to apologise and would like to update information and ask for a solution.
> 
> Please help.
> I'm from Bangladesh.
> Is there an direct phone number to reach them?
> 
> Thanks
> Moinul


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Skyjoshi -

Many times DHA will request Form 80 for second stage applications, but not always. You may want to wait to see if they request it, or you can choose to lodge - if you lodge, I'd compare your previous Form 80 with the new one to make sure you are not presenting conflicting data, other than of course things that have legitimately changed since the original form was lodged - ie, work, etc that occurs over time since the original form was prepared.

If you answered that the sponsor was a PR on the second stage application form and he's now a citizen, I would prepare and lodge Form 1022 (Change of Circumstances) to update DHA on his citizenship status.

Re processing time for second stage partner visa applications, I'd assume 12-18 months and be happily surprised if it comes in sooner which once in a while it does.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



skyjoshi said:


> hi mark,
> hope you are doing good, can you help me please !
> 
> i have applied for stage 2 permanent partner visa assessment subclass 100,801 online and i was uploading documents, i got confused.
> 
> actually i have received email from immigration saying i can process for the application for stage 2 partner permanent visa and there was attachment of what documents and forms to submit with application.
> 
> i have followed with that email and prepared documents and uploaded online. but can you please tell me if we compulsorily have to submit form 80 for stage 2 application as there was no specific information about form 80 to attached but when we were uploading the documents and evidence there is space for form 80 so not sure if we do need it or not.
> also when submitted application partner ( husband) was permanent resident, but his granted citizenship so is form 1022 needs to be done ? or only attaching his citizenship ceremony certificate is enough to show and prove.also how long is processing time for stage 2 application?
> 
> thanks
> waiting for reply.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mazloomi -

It can be, but is often treated by skills assessors and DHA as akin to being self-employed, which means the evidence requirements are substantially higher in many cases. I'd check with your skills assessor to see what their rules are on this, and check the DHA website as well.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mazloomi said:


> Hi Mark
> is distance working with same working hours acceptable to get points?
> (for jobs like author and technical writer)


----------



## skyjoshi

Thanks for quick reply. Appreciated..


----------



## mazloomi

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Mazloomi -
> 
> It can be, but is often treated by skills assessors and DHA as akin to being self-employed, which means the evidence requirements are substantially higher in many cases. I'd check with your skills assessor to see what their rules are on this, and check the DHA website as well.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you very much mark.
vetassess already assessed 9 years for me. but I think case officer will make the final decisions. I don't know to what extent he/she will rely on the assessment.Do you have any idea?


----------



## GazJaz

*More information about applying a visitor visa while 309/100 on process*

Hello Mark,
Good day

I have a question I Have applied for 309/100 ( daughter included as a dependent ) 
I am planing to apply for a visitor visa to Australia with my daughter ,
I am from Sri Lanka Currently in China I am holding a Family visa. ( Not allowed to work ) My husband supports me and I have some savings ,The reason we are here because my daughter went to school in china since 2015 ,I worked here as well ,I am preparing her English education before we go to Australia,
My visa expires in July 2018 daughters expires in Dec 2019 , 
309/100 processing in Australian embassy Gunagzhou , china

I have been to Australia 3 times on a visitor visa in 2017, Daughter never been there ,Can we ( me and my daughter) apply for a visitor visa to Australia while we are in China ?

Thank you.


----------



## Deviewidjaya

Hi Mark
I lodged my partner visa offshore and All the documets on 24oct 2017
Medical on early january 2018 as requested.

But haven’t hear anything since the medical check up.
My medical check up status has been clear
Been so depressed from being apart for long time especially i just loss my mum on feb 2018.

Just wonder how long i should wait? As my location in Indonesia 

Thank u


----------



## ham admanedien

Hi Mark. I have one concern please.
Does it happen that CO asks for PCC if the staying period is less than 12 months in the last ten years?
I am from Syria, but have not been more than eight months in Syria in the last ten years. I don`t have access to the Syrian PCC servise now as well. I am anxious that CO may ask for Syrian PCC though. What do you think??!
Thanks


----------



## sarahch

Dear Mark,
kindly advise me about my mother's parent visa.
She is 58 and in Australia on tourist visa. We are planning to apply for contributory parent visa. should we go for 173 or 143. i believe she won't get bridging visa to stay in Australia until her parent visa granted.


----------



## Preetirathi

*Partner Visa 309: the curious case of evidence in Arrange Marriage*

Hello Mark,

I met my soon - to - be husband in December 2017 and we are getting married in July 2018 (I know... quicker than light ). I have a couple of questions related to the 309 subclass visa process:

A. Confusion 1: can i lodge the application of 309 partner visa in may 1st week and submit the marriage certificate later in July 1st week. a lot of agents promised that it is easily doable but i am concerned if there is any restricted window for upload of all documents and losing 7000 AUD for saving 2 months is unwise.

B. Confusion 2: As per Indian laws and customs the bride and groom cannot stay together. So i literally have nothing to write or proof to substantiate "nature of household" and "finance" field. Can i provide these proofs after lodging my application i.e. payment of fee or will it be looked negatively by the CO?
I am really confused cos the 820 visa will help me gather proofs but (a) has such long processing times of 20-24 months and (b) not getting quality work on bridging visa will lead to "career suicide".
If i go along the 309 route to save time I dont have a lot of evidence to prove that i am genuinely in love with my fiance.
Prospective marriage visa 300 will lead to 9 more months of wait cos after getting the visa i need to apply for 820 and wait for another 20-24 months. working on a bridging visa is more of a horror (as read in the forum)
Finding a life partner now seems easier than complying by these immigration statutes. Any help will be greatly appericiated.

Thanks in Advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Mazloomi -

DHA primarily looks to skills assessors to indicate whether the work experience you are claiming is highly relevant to the nominated occupation. Beyond that, however, DHA routinely contact employers to confirm work experience, requests documents about the work over and above what the skills assessor requested, etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



mazloomi said:


> Thank you very much mark.
> vetassess already assessed 9 years for me. but I think case officer will make the final decisions. I don't know to what extent he/she will rely on the assessment.Do you have any idea?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Gaz Jaz -

Yes, however they would technically be separate applications - you can indicate who each will be traveling with (ie, the other) so they will essentially be linked - see application form for more details on linking visitor visa applications. Also note that with 309/100, you must be (somewhere) offshore in order to be granted the 309 visa but DHA will usually email you if you're in Australia at the time they want to grant the 309 visa and give you some time to leave in order to facilitate the grant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



GazJaz said:


> Hello Mark,
> Good day
> 
> I have a question I Have applied for 309/100 ( daughter included as a dependent )
> I am planing to apply for a visitor visa to Australia with my daughter ,
> I am from Sri Lanka Currently in China I am holding a Family visa. ( Not allowed to work ) My husband supports me and I have some savings ,The reason we are here because my daughter went to school in china since 2015 ,I worked here as well ,I am preparing her English education before we go to Australia,
> My visa expires in July 2018 daughters expires in Dec 2019 ,
> 309/100 processing in Australian embassy Gunagzhou , china
> 
> I have been to Australia 3 times on a visitor visa in 2017, Daughter never been there ,Can we ( me and my daughter) apply for a visitor visa to Australia while we are in China ?
> 
> Thank you.


----------



## MarkNortham

HiDeviewidjaya -

Thanks for the note. Partner visas are routinely taking from 12 to 24 months to process currently, however there is nothing to prevent you from writing a letter to DHA to request expedited processing of your visa if you have some reasons to request this - ie, if you had a letter from your psychologist or psychiatrist etc that the waiting period was causing you emotional hardship beyond the normal loneliness etc when a couple is apart, this may have a chance of working.

Hope this helps, and hang in there -

Best,

Mark Northam



Deviewidjaya said:


> Hi Mark
> I lodged my partner visa offshore and All the documets on 24oct 2017
> Medical on early january 2018 as requested.
> 
> But haven't hear anything since the medical check up.
> My medical check up status has been clear
> Been so depressed from being apart for long time especially i just loss my mum on feb 2018.
> 
> Just wonder how long i should wait? As my location in Indonesia
> 
> Thank u


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ham -

Normally if you do not declare any convictions and you have not spent a total of 12 months in the country during the last 10 years, DHA generally does not ask for a PCC.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ham admanedien said:


> Hi Mark. I have one concern please.
> Does it happen that CO asks for PCC if the staying period is less than 12 months in the last ten years?
> I am from Syria, but have not been more than eight months in Syria in the last ten years. I don`t have access to the Syrian PCC servise now as well. I am anxious that CO may ask for Syrian PCC though. What do you think??!
> Thanks


----------



## ahsan123

Hi Mark,
I have a question about my visa and would really appreciate your help.

I'd applied for the 485 Graduate visa as a subsequent entrant from Pakistan. I received an acknowledgement for my application today. I imported the application in my Immi account.

I'd already couriered the hard copy of my supporting documents to the Adelaide office. Do I need to upload the soft copy of the same documents in my Immi account ?
Also i am questioning myself on the copy i have provided for my passport. would it hurt if i attach it in immi account even though i have sent a hard copy with my paper application?
I would appreciate the help on this. Thanks heaps. 
Regards.
Ahsan.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sarahch -

Thanks for the note. I don't have enough information about your case to give you any specific advice, but would be able to do so once I learned more about your circumstances at a consultation - see website below for more info. Re contrib parent visa, neither of the ones you mentioned will provide a bridging visa, and you mum is too young for the onshore aged contrib parent visa which does provide a bridging visa. You'll want to consider her health and passing the health criteria, and will want to look at other requirements of the visa especially the balance of family test.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



sarahch said:


> Dear Mark,
> kindly advise me about my mother's parent visa.
> She is 58 and in Australia on tourist visa. We are planning to apply for contributory parent visa. should we go for 173 or 143. i believe she won't get bridging visa to stay in Australia until her parent visa granted.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Preetirathi -

Thanks for the note and congratulations on your upcoming marriage!

Yes, that's correct - with the 309 you must be married (or establish a de facto relationship if going that route) by the time of grant of the visa. This is a major difference between this visa and the 820/801 onshore partner visa.

Re lodging documents, it's up to the case officer when to take up your case and assess your evidence, but given that you're not married yet and given your local customers, I would estimate a relatively low risk of problems as long as you are able to lodge lots of social and commitment evidence. Then, add the rest of the evidence as soon as you are married and living together etc.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Preetirathi said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I met my soon - to - be husband in December 2017 and we are getting married in July 2018 (I know... quicker than light ). I have a couple of questions related to the 309 subclass visa process:
> 
> A. Confusion 1: can i lodge the application of 309 partner visa in may 1st week and submit the marriage certificate later in July 1st week. a lot of agents promised that it is easily doable but i am concerned if there is any restricted window for upload of all documents and losing 7000 AUD for saving 2 months is unwise.
> 
> B. Confusion 2: As per Indian laws and customs the bride and groom cannot stay together. So i literally have nothing to write or proof to substantiate "nature of household" and "finance" field. Can i provide these proofs after lodging my application i.e. payment of fee or will it be looked negatively by the CO?
> I am really confused cos the 820 visa will help me gather proofs but (a) has such long processing times of 20-24 months and (b) not getting quality work on bridging visa will lead to "career suicide".
> If i go along the 309 route to save time I dont have a lot of evidence to prove that i am genuinely in love with my fiance.
> Prospective marriage visa 300 will lead to 9 more months of wait cos after getting the visa i need to apply for 820 and wait for another 20-24 months. working on a bridging visa is more of a horror (as read in the forum)
> Finding a life partner now seems easier than complying by these immigration statutes. Any help will be greatly appericiated.
> 
> Thanks in Advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ahsan -

Thanks for the note. I don't see any problem in uploading any additional or replacement documents to your ImmiAccount, however would probably not duplicate anything previously submitted via hardcopy.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ahsan123 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have a question about my visa and would really appreciate your help.
> 
> I'd applied for the 485 Graduate visa as a subsequent entrant from Pakistan. I received an acknowledgement for my application today. I imported the application in my Immi account.
> 
> I'd already couriered the hard copy of my supporting documents to the Adelaide office. Do I need to upload the soft copy of the same documents in my Immi account ?
> Also i am questioning myself on the copy i have provided for my passport. would it hurt if i attach it in immi account even though i have sent a hard copy with my paper application?
> I would appreciate the help on this. Thanks heaps.
> Regards.
> Ahsan.


----------



## GazJaz

Thank you very much for your advice , I really appreciate it


----------



## eldunariss

Hi Mark,
I will be applying from Poland. I have some questions about the prospective marriage visa (subc. 300).

1. Does the 9 months visa start as soon as it is aproved or the day when I enter the country?
2. "If you marry your prospective spouse and lodge your Partner visa application before your Prospective Marriage visa expires, you will pay a reduced fee."
How much is it reduced by?
3. Am I allowed to visit Poland on the 9 months visa?

Kind regards,
Lidia.


----------



## ngp

*multiple visa, onshore 820*

hi every one... wishing you all have a great day, i really need help ASAP.

>>> me and my child is under on a multiple entry that will expire next year.( 3 months stay)

>>>me and my partner decided to get married here in AUS and would like to lodge a partners visa

Questions:

>>> if ever i am going to lodge a partners visa before my 3 months stay here expired, do we need to exit the country and return back again to aus and follow the multiple entry "rules and regulations" ??? or is it ok for us to stay here further since ive read some information through forum that once i am going to lodge my partner visa automatically we will receive a bridging visa.

>>>now on bridging visa, most of the post here in forum, bridging visa will take effect once the current visa expired.
?my question is, if ill stay here more than 3 months and get a bridging visa, will my multiple entry visa ceased regardless of the expiry date???
or do i have to get an extension visa to ceased my multiple entry visa and lodge a partner visa before my extension visa expire.

( our main aim for this visa is, we dont want to be separated from each other anymore plus my child really get along with my partner already we would like to keep it as possible. long distance is not that easy and its killing us)

>>> i know i ask too much but if anyone who experience the same and have some knowledge about it please please please i need your help guys. 7k plus my childs fee is a lot of money and i wanna make sure about it. thanks so much


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Lidia -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, for the sc300 visa the 9 month validity starts on the day the visa is granted. Re 2, if you marry and lodge an onshore partner visa within the 9 months you would pay $1,170 application fee for the partner visa rather than the entire $7,000. Re 3, you can travel in/out of Australia during the 9 months as it's a multiple entry visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



eldunariss said:


> Hi Mark,
> I will be applying from Poland. I have some questions about the prospective marriage visa (subc. 300).
> 
> 1. Does the 9 months visa start as soon as it is aproved or the day when I enter the country?
> 2. "If you marry your prospective spouse and lodge your Partner visa application before your Prospective Marriage visa expires, you will pay a reduced fee."
> How much is it reduced by?
> 3. Am I allowed to visit Poland on the 9 months visa?
> 
> Kind regards,
> Lidia.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ngp -

If you are in Australia on a visitor visa that does not have Condition 8503 (no further stay), and you lodge an onshore partner visa 820/801 while the visitor visa is still valid, you will receive a bridging visa A that will activate as soon as you stay in Australia past the 3 month stay period. The bridging visa allows you to remain in Australia indefinitely until a decision is made on the partner visa. If you wish to travel outside Australia during the period you're holding the bridging visa you should get a bridging visa B granted prior to departure for each trip. But once you lodge the onshore partner visa, you can remain indefinitely on the bridging visa you get - no need to worry about 3 month stay periods, etc.

Also once you're on the bridging visa A, you have unlimited work rights and you can apply for Medicare for you and your child (assuming the child is on the partner visa application and is onshore when you lodge it and receives a bridging visa like you).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ngp said:


> hi every one... wishing you all have a great day, i really need help ASAP.
> 
> >>> me and my child is under on a multiple entry that will expire next year.( 3 months stay)
> 
> >>>me and my partner decided to get married here in AUS and would like to lodge a partners visa
> 
> Questions:
> 
> >>> if ever i am going to lodge a partners visa before my 3 months stay here expired, do we need to exit the country and return back again to aus and follow the multiple entry "rules and regulations" ??? or is it ok for us to stay here further since ive read some information through forum that once i am going to lodge my partner visa automatically we will receive a bridging visa.
> 
> >>>now on bridging visa, most of the post here in forum, bridging visa will take effect once the current visa expired.
> ?my question is, if ill stay here more than 3 months and get a bridging visa, will my multiple entry visa ceased regardless of the expiry date???
> or do i have to get an extension visa to ceased my multiple entry visa and lodge a partner visa before my extension visa expire.
> 
> ( our main aim for this visa is, we dont want to be separated from each other anymore plus my child really get along with my partner already we would like to keep it as possible. long distance is not that easy and its killing us)
> 
> >>> i know i ask too much but if anyone who experience the same and have some knowledge about it please please please i need your help guys. 7k plus my childs fee is a lot of money and i wanna make sure about it. thanks so much


----------



## Wongykh

Dear Mark,

1) Is it possible to go to Australia by ETA and apply visa 186 ENS (direct entry stream) onshore? I will get BVA which will be effective once ETA expired by 3 months - am I correct? Does BVA allows me full working right if I am applying a skilled visa?

2) If I want to buy a house in Australia, what will be the differences when I am under ETA / BVA / Visa 186? 

Thank you very much, Mark!


----------



## Sumon1234

I want to withdraw my 887 visa application as I submit a wrong document. Does the withdrawal will have any effect on my future application. Please give me a good advise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Wongykh -

Thanks for the note. Re 1, generally this is correct - once you stay past the end of the ETA stay period (usually 3 months) the conditions of your BVA activate and normally contain full work rights. Also 186 is considered an employer sponsored visa, not a skilled visa. Make sure you check all the latest changes to this visa as there have been many made on 18 March 2018.

Re 2, best to check with a real estate lawyer or conveyancer about the finer details of this - outside my area of expertise.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Wongykh said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> 1) Is it possible to go to Australia by ETA and apply visa 186 ENS (direct entry stream) onshore? I will get BVA which will be effective once ETA expired by 3 months - am I correct? Does BVA allows me full working right if I am applying a skilled visa?
> 
> 2) If I want to buy a house in Australia, what will be the differences when I am under ETA / BVA / Visa 186?
> 
> Thank you very much, Mark!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Sumon1234 -

Thanks for the note. It all depends on what the wrong document is, where you may have used it before (ie skills assessment) and other factors - there is no single yes/no answer that applies to all circumstances. If you withdraw your visa application DHA can take no further action on that particular visa application, but they will have access to the info you lodged with that visa application and the fact you withdrew it - if you withdrew after they accused you have providing a bogus document or false/misleading information, that can cause them to look very closely at any future visa applications, and if you used the allegedly false info/document in some related application it can cause issues.

Happy to discuss further at a consultation where we could discuss the specific circumstances of the wrong document and I could give you specific advice for your application - please see more info on consultations in my website listed below in my signature.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Sumon1234 said:


> I want to withdraw my 887 visa application as I submit a wrong document. Does the withdrawal will have any effect on my future application. Please give me a good advise


----------



## BluePyxis

*Child migration (kind of)*

Hi Mark!!

I'm hoping this question hasn't been asked, I did some searches and came up with nada, so here goes (I'm sorry if it has been asked!)...

I'm a permanent resident from the US. At the time of migration, my son, who was 18 at the time, was very positive he'd never want to move here, fast forward 4 years and now he wants to move here! I haven't had much luck finding him a work sponsor (ongoing mission) and I have him currently here until Dec. 1, 2018 on a family stream visa (600). My question is, if I send him back to the US before Dec. 1 (when his 600 expires) and he enrolls in a college course (3 month course), will I then be able to apply for a dependent child migration because he's under 25 and a student. If yes, will he have to remain enrolled throughout the entire waiting period or just until his application is admitted. In hindsight we should have just included him in the original migration, but you know what they say about hindsight!

Thanks in advance for any clarity on this issue!!

Jen


----------



## Jain123

Hello Mark!

I am currently on my student visa. I have completed my bachelors degree in Australia around a year ago and currently about to finish my year long postgraduate diploma. I have just one very simple question the answer to which I can’t find anywhere. Can I apply for 485 temporary graduate visa (graduate work stream) with my graduate diploma or is it not considered an acceptable qualification (degree/diploma/trade qualification)?


----------



## jon the hat

Hi Mark
I have recently submitted my application for 309/100 partner visa, and not thinking too much, my wife and I wrote our various answers to the questions on our relationship together, and submitted mirror answers in my applicant and her sponsor applications. Is this satisfactory, or should I ask my wife to write in her own words a statement and upload this seperately? Thanks for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jen -

Thanks for the note. To sponsor a child for PR under a Child visa, the child must be under 25 years at the time of application and must have been studying full-time since age 18. The study must continue through to the date of decision on the visa. If he hasn't been studying full time since age 18 (with an allowance for a "reasonable period" after turning 17 - this is usually considered to be 6 months but is dependent on the circumstances of the student), enrolling in a course later, ie age 23 or 24 won't make the child eligible for this type of visa. The only exception to this is if the child is incapacitated for work due to a disability.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BluePyxis said:


> Hi Mark!!
> 
> I'm hoping this question hasn't been asked, I did some searches and came up with nada, so here goes (I'm sorry if it has been asked!)...
> 
> I'm a permanent resident from the US. At the time of migration, my son, who was 18 at the time, was very positive he'd never want to move here, fast forward 4 years and now he wants to move here! I haven't had much luck finding him a work sponsor (ongoing mission) and I have him currently here until Dec. 1, 2018 on a family stream visa (600). My question is, if I send him back to the US before Dec. 1 (when his 600 expires) and he enrolls in a college course (3 month course), will I then be able to apply for a dependent child migration because he's under 25 and a student. If yes, will he have to remain enrolled throughout the entire waiting period or just until his application is admitted. In hindsight we should have just included him in the original migration, but you know what they say about hindsight!
> 
> Thanks in advance for any clarity on this issue!!
> 
> Jen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jain123 -

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately a graduate diploma by itself is not considered an acceptable qualification for the 485 GW stream. If you used some of the credits in that diploma to get a further acceptable qualification that can work, but by itself the grad dip does not work.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Jain123 said:


> Hello Mark!
> 
> I am currently on my student visa. I have completed my bachelors degree in Australia around a year ago and currently about to finish my year long postgraduate diploma. I have just one very simple question the answer to which I can't find anywhere. Can I apply for 485 temporary graduate visa (graduate work stream) with my graduate diploma or is it not considered an acceptable qualification (degree/diploma/trade qualification)?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jon the hat -

Thanks for the note. Hard to give you specific advice without seeing what you and she wrote, however generally speaking relationship statements that you write that tell "the story" of the relationship and how it developed should be in the writer's own words. No harm in adding a new statement from each of you telling the story perhaps with more details, etc in addition to what you've lodged already - just make sure not to conflict with anything you've already lodged.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



jon the hat said:


> Hi Mark
> I have recently submitted my application for 309/100 partner visa, and not thinking too much, my wife and I wrote our various answers to the questions on our relationship together, and submitted mirror answers in my applicant and her sponsor applications. Is this satisfactory, or should I ask my wife to write in her own words a statement and upload this seperately? Thanks for your help!


----------



## BluePyxis

Hi Mark!

I did a quick search for this question, but came up with nothing so I'm sorry if this has been asked and I couldn't find it 

My son (23) is here from the US visiting on a 600 visa. I'm trying to find a way to migrate him here permanently, but having difficulty finding a suitable visa that works with him! I'm in an on going search for a work sponsor, but again this is on going! Question is, if when his current visa expires and he goes back to the US and he enrolls in a college course will he then be able to apply for the child migration as a student under 25, and if he can does he have to remain enrolled for the waiting period as well or just has to be enrolled when he applies? I'm a permanent resident and my husband is a citizen if that helps any.

Thanks in advance for any clarity on this!

Jen


----------



## Cyberkid

G'day Mark

First of all, thank you for taking out the time to answer all our queries.

A little background, I have filed Parent visa 143 for my widowed mother (aged 62 yrs, retired )

Both of her children are permanent residents and living in Australia. I have been here for more than 2 years and have settled with tax returns etc (so was the sponsor). While my younger brother has recently migrated (in October 2017) and got the job in Feb2018.

Our widowed mother was living with my brother (who was supporting her financially, emotionally etc) along in Pakistan until recently.

My mother has recent travel history of visiting 2 overseas countries and returning back within the visit visa validity. She owns her own house, some cash in her bank account and thats just about it

Now, if I want to file the visit visa (either tourist or family stream) 
which stream should I go for? 
How do I reference the 143 visa reference when applying for visit visa. Since parent visas are paper based now, all i got was an acknowledgement email (no TRN etc).

As you can imagine, we want her to spend the time with us whilst her 143 is being processed. 

Can you please comment or advise what should be our line of action?


----------



## Timothytseng2018

Hi Mark
Thank you for the last reply
I have some new questions,could you be so kind to give me some advise
Since I have overstayed in Australia on my 600visas but not over 28 days, so the immigration didn’t ask me to leave immediately and didn’t give me the” no further stay” “can not apply any visas” 
Thus I still can apply a new visitor visa but it can only do the paper one, and that will take me a long time,then I dicided to leave and Apply a new student visa offshore,
Just want know would I get any trouble if I apply a new student visa offshore? Course I’ve asked the immigration officer, they told me my record there is all clean, as i didn’t overstayed like 28 days!
Is this true?or?


----------



## ahsan123

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ahsan -
> 
> Thanks for the note. I don't see any problem in uploading any additional or replacement documents to your ImmiAccount, however would probably not duplicate anything previously submitted via hardcopy.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you for tge suggestion Mark. Much appreciated ... i have one more question about uplaoding documents. For evidence of marriage; i have sent the marriage certificate to immi already but I am unsure if i should upload more evidence like photos or anything to my immi acount or should wait for them to ask for it. Thanks again...
Regards.
Ahsan.


----------



## pragx

Hi Mark,
Really appreciate your helping hand!
I have a question, which ACS actually declined to answer.
While applying for ACS assessment in Australia, is the attached statutory declaration form accepted?
We will continue to be in Melbourne, while putting our application for 190.
A bit sceptical, because while applying from India, we've to get it notarised on a particular stamp paper (affidavit). What is the process of doing the stat dec in Aussie?


----------



## Cathy48

Hi Mark,
I have been reading lots of threads for the partner visa and many people put lots of details to their social and financial life in the lodgement, I was wondering how much is enough
My partner is the sole earner so all the bills, rent, financial side are in his name I am the home maker, but we have many govt documents related to our marriage and address, lots of photos etc over the 5 years. But don't have anywhere near what other people are sending in their docs. Thanks in advance


----------



## kittyzero

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Kittyzero -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Different visitor visas (ETA, eVisitor, sc600) have different character requirements but a key issue will be whether he has any convictions, or whether there are any charges that have been officially made that are awaiting the result of the legal process. If he's from India, that means a subclass 600 visitor visa. Best to disclose everything on the visa application and then see how the case officer assesses things - a bit part of this will be how the case office assess the pending charges (if any).
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Thank you so much Mark. Their were charges that had been officially made and both court cases are Pending. We put alot of effort in to the visa application to ensure we had all the paperwork possible available. The great news is that the stress paid off and his visa has been approved! Thanks again for helping.


----------



## zamac27

Dear Mark,

Thanks a lot from all of us for the continuous support that you have been providing us with. I needed an advice from you regarding which path I should take to migrate to Australia.

My points are given below
Age: 30 Language: 20 Job: 0 (2 years) 
Education: 10 (I have a B.Sc degree in Electrical Engineering but for some weird reason it is counted as advance diploma in Australia)

Occupation: Electrical Engineering Draftperson

In this case should I go for 489? 190? or 189?
I just want to follow the path that would lead to a fast result.


Regards
Zamac


----------



## Jain123

Hello Mark,

I was researching the migration regulation and found that the postgraduate diploma is considered a degree in terms of the 485 visa.

It says under 485.111:
degree has the same meaning as in subregulation 2.26AC(6).

And in subregulation 2.26AC(6):
"degree " means a formal educational qualification, under the Australian Qualifications Framework, awarded by an Australian educational institution as a degree or a *postgraduate diploma*

Can you please assist if I can use my bachelors degree along with my postgraduate diploma to apply for the 485 as both of them are considered degrees for the GW stream, thank you!



MarkNortham said:


> Hi Jain123 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. Unfortunately a graduate diploma by itself is not considered an acceptable qualification for the 485 GW stream. If you used some of the credits in that diploma to get a further acceptable qualification that can work, but by itself the grad dip does not work.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


----------



## diptizanpure

Hi Mark, I need some guidance on the below.

I and my spouse have applied for 189 visa in December 2017 and still our application status is showing as 'Received'.

Can you please tell me based on your experience about the time that it will take for getting our visa, just so that I can get an idea?


----------



## timjm

Hi Mark,

Thank you for all the amazing info in this thread.

I'm about to apply for Australian citizenship and was wondering whether Australia notifies the country/countries of current citizenship about the person obtaining Australian citizenship.

The situation: I am Austrian citizen and am not allowed dual nationality. Upon becoming Australian, I'll (legally) have to renounce my Austrian citizenship. I was wondering if the Australian government will automatically do this through some data sharing agreement or something..

Thanks in advance,
Tim


----------



## letsgotoaussie

Hi Mark

I have a query. .. I received my ACS results last week in which they considered all my experience to be relevant from Aug 2009 to date...I had submitted statutory declarations for all my experiences...however in my current company I joined recently (October 2017) and I do not want the verification to be done there as I am sure they will not be willing to vouch for me and also I do not want them to get a hint that I am planning for a PR...so I want to mark my most recent experience as not relevant in visa filing and proceed...anyways I will still have 8 years of experience for 15 points based on the previous job that can be counted until August 2017............(pls keep in mind I received positive assessment for this job as well)...I am sure my current company getting this info will get me into a trouble...I have no choice but to skip this experience in my visa...

Also, I had filed my EOI under subclass 189, ICT BA last week marking current job as relevant and have received an invite with an overall score of 80.
Please let me know what all options do I have so I don't have to show my current job experience-

a) Should I withdraw my current EOI and file a new one marking current job as non - relevant
b) Should I file a new ACS and show the current job as non-relevant 
c)Any other options?

Please advise


----------



## tsep887$

Hi Mark, I am new here. I have questions regarding 887 visa. I applied from 489 visa. Can we include our child in 887 visa application? We did write her name in applications while lodge in 887 visa. Is this possible? She actually newborn just 4weeks before 887 application. My daughter already got 489 visa when first CO assign but rest of process not move yet. I have also submitted form 1436 for payment to add daughter in 887 application. Thanks Mark for your valuable information.


----------



## hpun1989

Hi Mark,

It's wonderful what you're doing here and I'm glad that you're still consistently responding to members' questions. I would like to ask a question myself as well and please do take your time for response.

I am currently studying Commercial Cookery here in Australia with a goal of migrating. I would like to have this confirmation if I get it right:
To migrate as a chef, I need:
4 years apprenticeship (that includes 2 years study, 2 years as a cook)
3 years as supervisor level chef position
Before I can apply for skill occupation visa, which is a permanent residency.

Option B is to find an employer that will provide sponsorship 186/187 which I will be able to apply for permanent residency after 2 years of visa grant.

Option C, go to regional area and start working, apply for 489 state sponsorship and I will be able to apply for PR after 2 years in regional.

As for migration point system, I'm don't quite understand the qualification. Will I qualify for migration while only holding a Certificate IV or do I need a Diploma in Hospitality Management? Does Certificate IV qualifies as "At least one degree, diploma or *trade qualification* from an Australian educational institution that meets the Australian study requirement"

Thank you Mark.


----------



## waitash

*457 visa problems*

Hi Mark,

I have been reading your posts here and really appreciate the good work you are doing here by giving support with applications to so many especially since the immigration is so inaccessible.

I need an advise regarding my 457 visa application. Here are few details:
Job: University lecturer
Nomination approved: 24 Aug 2017
Visa applied: 3 Sep 2017
RFI received for Pcc, English language: 7 Sep 2017
RFI submitted: Oct 1 2017(all PCCs, English language exemption school letter-didn't write IELTS)
Priority request: 1 March 2018, reminder on March 16 2018
Priority approved: 26 March 2018

No word after that. Usually after a priority approval most people got their visas or RFIs in a week's time. I haven't had any correspondence for 13 days now. The university will soon revoke my job offer as the project I was assigned is lagging behind by 7 months now. Quite tough situation. I cant figure whats wrong. Any advise?


----------



## NewBee

*Partner Visa 820 (going from 573)*

Dear Mark,

Thank you very much for having this thread. It's really helpful.

I would like to enquire about application for a partner visa (820). So I am currently on a student visa which expires in a few months time, however this semester I got approved to underenrol (taking 3 courses instead of a full study load of 4 courses, due to last semester me not doing so well). This means that I will have an extra semester to go after my current visa expires.

Usually the case should be that the university issues a new CoE for the student to apply for a student visa to cover the last semester. However it's always me and my partner's plan to apply for a partner visa. I am wondering whether I would be able to apply for a partner visa as the current student visa is expiring (this August, but I am graduating at the end of this year), and then finish my last semester on the bridging visa. Or is it required that I wait for the current student visa to expire, apply for a new one to cover the extra semester, then worry about the partner visa after my graduation?

I actually spoke to someone from DHA on the phone and they confirmed that as long as I am eligible for the partner visa I can apply for that, and if I choose to apply for a new student visa (to cover the extra semester) first and then apply for 820 it would mean extra visa application fees for me.

Yet I am still not 100% sure on this because I have read some comments saying that DHA isn't always accurate with information they provide on phone. So I am hoping that you can give me some advice on how to proceed with this?

Thank you very much!


----------



## Twinpatel

Hey mark.. i hve lodged my file on 5th of april 2018..my husband went australia in feb 2018 at the time of his lodgement of visa file he was single..after he got his visa we got married..and he went there..its very frustrating for me to wait for visa approval..how long will it take? Please tell me a maximum time and minimum time..thanks & regards


----------



## Twinpatel

Student subsequent entrant subclass 500. 
Hey mark.. i hve lodged my file on 5th of april 2018..my husband went australia in feb 2018 at the time of his lodgement of visa file he was single..after he got his visa we got married..and he went there..its very frustrating for me to wait for visa approval..how long will it take? Please tell me a maximum and minimum time for it..its getting very frustrating ☹..thanks and regards..


----------



## king1982

Hi, my mother is applying for a tourist visa 600 to meet my younger brother who is a PR in Australia. She is a widow, never worked, got some saving certificates and some savings in a joint account with me. so can she provide the statement of this joint account in her application. will having a statement of joint account makes negative impact on Visa Officer? She got all the amount in inheritance after my father's death. She will be using this amount in the said joint account to bear her travel expenses in australia.


----------



## abcdefg

*advice needed please and thankyou*

Hi there,

I am currently living in Brazil with my Australian partner. We have been in a relationship for a little over one year. We would like to go back to Australia by the end of this year. We would like advice on the best path to take regarding the possibility of a permanent stay in Australia. I will explain our circumstances and pose some questions below:

I have already studied one year in Australia as an English student (the first visa was 6 months, and then I extended another 6 months). I returned to Brazil October last year. I want to return again. I'm not sure if skilled migration is an option. I have a Bachelors in environmental management and a masters in modelling of complex systems. I'm not sure if I would be eligible for any occupations on the list. Regarding being a student this is an option but I have some concerns about visa being rejected because I've already studied one year and have good qualifications and a job in Brazil. Many people are having there student visas rejected. What do you think is this probability given recent changes to Immigration in Australia?

Alternatively, if I go to Australia on a tourist visa and then make an application for a partner visa when I arrive in Australia with my Australian partner (we will meet the requirements). Will I have time to do that? Will I have working rights on the bridging visa and will that be granted in time? I am also concerned about getting a no further stay condition on my tourist visa which I heard sometimes happens (based on what I'm not sure?)

If I was to marry my Australian partner in Brazil who is with me now, how would that help me to get to Australia? My understanding is that it's the same visa as spouse visa, just less evidence. Basically, we don't want to wait in Brazil for 18months while the visa is processing. What do you suggest?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## areebafarid

Hey Mark,

My mom applied for Remaining Relative Visa under Sub Class 115. We received our visa a few days ago. There are no conditions mentioned on the Visa. Unfortunately, all of us can't go together at the moment. My mom and my sister are planning to go first and mark their entry. The rest of us are planning to go after a few months.

Just need to make sure if that would be okay or all the members of the family have to fly together? Please advise us. 

Thanks.


----------



## Ausidreamer

Hello Mark

I Need Help ....

First Company - June 2011 - May 2014

Second Company - June 2014 - Nov 2016

Third Company - Nov 2016 - Till Date ( Currently Working )

In ACS Report After deducting 2 years After June 2013 skilled employment is counted.

My Third Company is not Added in ACS Report I need to add my Third
Company is ACS Report.

Problem --> For my First Company since it was paid in cash so i dont have any evidence to proof that employment i,e first company after June 2013 to May 2014 which is counted as Skilled After Deducting 2 years
as per ACS guidelines.

I have Strong Evidence Proof for My second Company and Third Company like Payslips, bank statement, Tax Returns etc etc.

IT is Possible to neglect my First Company since i dont have any proof to provide the evidence for that employment if any verification happens or
case officer asked for the evidence for the employments.

What Should i Do in this case ???

How Should i Proceed.

Please Help ....


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jen -

I think I already replied to this one - continuing eligibility for a child visa past age 18 generally requires continuous enrolment in further full time education - jumping back into an educational program after years off would generally not meet the requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



BluePyxis said:


> Hi Mark!
> 
> I did a quick search for this question, but came up with nothing so I'm sorry if this has been asked and I couldn't find it
> 
> My son (23) is here from the US visiting on a 600 visa. I'm trying to find a way to migrate him here permanently, but having difficulty finding a suitable visa that works with him! I'm in an on going search for a work sponsor, but again this is on going! Question is, if when his current visa expires and he goes back to the US and he enrolls in a college course will he then be able to apply for the child migration as a student under 25, and if he can does he have to remain enrolled for the waiting period as well or just has to be enrolled when he applies? I'm a permanent resident and my husband is a citizen if that helps any.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any clarity on this!
> 
> Jen


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cyberkid -

Thanks for the note. Generally the sponsored family visitor stream is better for higher-risk situations which I believe yours would qualify for given the country of citizenship and other factors.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cyberkid said:


> G'day Mark
> 
> First of all, thank you for taking out the time to answer all our queries.
> 
> A little background, I have filed Parent visa 143 for my widowed mother (aged 62 yrs, retired )
> 
> Both of her children are permanent residents and living in Australia. I have been here for more than 2 years and have settled with tax returns etc (so was the sponsor). While my younger brother has recently migrated (in October 2017) and got the job in Feb2018.
> 
> Our widowed mother was living with my brother (who was supporting her financially, emotionally etc) along in Pakistan until recently.
> 
> My mother has recent travel history of visiting 2 overseas countries and returning back within the visit visa validity. She owns her own house, some cash in her bank account and thats just about it
> 
> Now, if I want to file the visit visa (either tourist or family stream)
> which stream should I go for?
> How do I reference the 143 visa reference when applying for visit visa. Since parent visas are paper based now, all i got was an acknowledgement email (no TRN etc).
> 
> As you can imagine, we want her to spend the time with us whilst her 143 is being processed.
> 
> Can you please comment or advise what should be our line of action?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Timothytseng2018 -

Thanks for the note. While there is no 3-year ban on temporary visas if you departed within 28 days of your visa expiring, the fact that you overstayed at all may still be considered in a future visa application, especially a future temporary visa application. Suggest for a future student visa application you include details reasons and evidence re the genuine student criteria and any gap in studies to help boost chances of success.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Timothytseng2018 said:


> Hi Mark
> Thank you for the last reply
> I have some new questions,could you be so kind to give me some advise
> Since I have overstayed in Australia on my 600visas but not over 28 days, so the immigration didn't ask me to leave immediately and didn't give me the" no further stay" "can not apply any visas"
> Thus I still can apply a new visitor visa but it can only do the paper one, and that will take me a long time,then I dicided to leave and Apply a new student visa offshore,
> Just want know would I get any trouble if I apply a new student visa offshore? Course I've asked the immigration officer, they told me my record there is all clean, as i didn't overstayed like 28 days!
> Is this true?or?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ahsan123 -

Thanks for the note. As I haven't seen your application I can't advise on specific documents or evidence, but generally speaking, photos of marriage ceremonies are usually considered very good evidence, especially if there are guests, family, etc all witnessing the event.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ahsan123 said:


> Thank you for tge suggestion Mark. Much appreciated ... i have one more question about uplaoding documents. For evidence of marriage; i have sent the marriage certificate to immi already but I am unsure if i should upload more evidence like photos or anything to my immi acount or should wait for them to ask for it. Thanks again...
> Regards.
> Ahsan.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Pragx -

I'd like to help, but if ACS won't answer the question, not sure how I would be able to as it regards what ACS will or won't accept. Statutory declarations for immigration purposes in Australia are made using a Commonwealth Statutory Declaration template (can be located via Google etc).

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



pragx said:


> Hi Mark,
> Really appreciate your helping hand!
> I have a question, which ACS actually declined to answer.
> While applying for ACS assessment in Australia, is the attached statutory declaration form accepted?
> We will continue to be in Melbourne, while putting our application for 190.
> A bit sceptical, because while applying from India, we've to get it notarised on a particular stamp paper (affidavit). What is the process of doing the stat dec in Aussie?


----------



## ahsan123

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Ahsan123 -
> 
> Thanks for the note. As I haven't seen your application I can't advise on specific documents or evidence, but generally speaking, photos of marriage ceremonies are usually considered very good evidence, especially if there are guests, family, etc all witnessing the event.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,
Thanks Heaps. I appreciate your help. 
Kind Regards.
Ahsan.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cathy48 -

Thanks for the note. I see lots of partner visa applications as it's an area I specialise in, and essentially every application is different. You will need evidence from the 4 required categories - social, financial, household, commitment - but determining how much is "enough" is more about the quality of the evidence. 20-30 photos spanning the duration of the relationship is good social evidence, as are witness statements on Form 888 and otherwise attesting to a genuine relationship. Travel tickets etc are also good here if you travel.

Re financial, it's all about showing that you share your money, regardless of who earns how much of it, etc. Joint bank statements, or individual ones with joint expenses highlighted are helpful.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Cathy48 said:


> Hi Mark,
> I have been reading lots of threads for the partner visa and many people put lots of details to their social and financial life in the lodgement, I was wondering how much is enough
> My partner is the sole earner so all the bills, rent, financial side are in his name I am the home maker, but we have many govt documents related to our marriage and address, lots of photos etc over the 5 years. But don't have anywhere near what other people are sending in their docs. Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Kittyzero -

Congratulations!! Well done. A great example about how providing as much detailed and accurate information to DHA can have an excellent result.

Best,

Mark Northam



kittyzero said:


> Thank you so much Mark. Their were charges that had been officially made and both court cases are Pending. We put alot of effort in to the visa application to ensure we had all the paperwork possible available. The great news is that the stress paid off and his visa has been approved! Thanks again for helping.


----------



## Ausidreamer

Hello Mark

I Need Help ....

First Company - June 2011 - May 2014

Second Company - June 2014 - Nov 2016

Third Company - Nov 2016 - Till Date ( Currently Working )

The following employment after June 2013 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to the ANZSCO Code. 


My Third Company is not Added in ACS Report I need to add my Third
Company is ACS Report.

Problem --> For my First Company since it was paid in cash so i dont have any evidence to proof that employment i,e first company after June 2013 to May 2014 which is counted as Skilled After Deducting 2 years
as per ACS guidelines.

I have Strong Evidence Proof for My second Company and Third Company like Payslips, bank statement, Tax Returns etc etc.

IT is Possible to neglect my First Company since i dont have any proof to provide the evidence for that employment if any verification happens or
case officer asked for the evidence for the employments.

What Should i Do in this case ???

How Should i Proceed.

Please Help ....


----------



## Roberta

Hello Mark,
I would appreciate very much if I can have advice in following: can person be deported with visa 186 if does not work "appropriate". I have heard that one man has been deported after few days of working because some work inspector claimed that he does not work good (though he is experienced in that job for more than 8 years!). It is something like work inspectors. I am afraid to be deported because I have just basic skill. Can somebody really come to inspect me how I work and then deport me if decide so?
Thank you so much! Roberta


----------



## Cathy48

Thank you Mark for your reply, very much appreciated.I am very pleased what you said about the photos, I didn't want go overboard with them. For the financial he usually purchases most of our shopping on his card. 
Kind regards
Cathy


----------



## letsgotoaussie

Hi Mark

I have a query. .. I received my ACS results last week in which they considered all my experience to be relevant from Aug 2009 to date...I had submitted statutory declarations for all my experiences...however in my current company I joined recently (October 2017) and I do not want the verification to be done there as I am sure they will not be willing to vouch for me and also I do not want them to get a hint that I am planning for a PR...so I want to mark my most recent experience as not relevant in visa filing and proceed...anyways I will still have 8 years of experience for 15 points based on the previous job that can be counted until August 2017............(pls keep in mind I received positive assessment for this job as well)...I am sure my current company getting this info will get me into a trouble...I have no choice but to skip this experience in my visa...

Also, I had filed my EOI under subclass 189, ICT BA last week marking current job as relevant and have received an invite with an overall score of 80.
Please let me know what all options do I have so I don't have to show my current job experience-

a) Should I withdraw my current EOI and file a new one marking current job as non - relevant
b) Should I file a new ACS and show the current job as non-relevant 
c)Any other options?

Please advise..Really appreciate your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Zamac27 -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Sydney. For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



zamac27 said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> Thanks a lot from all of us for the continuous support that you have been providing us with. I needed an advice from you regarding which path I should take to migrate to Australia.
> 
> My points are given below
> Age: 30 Language: 20 Job: 0 (2 years)
> Education: 10 (I have a B.Sc degree in Electrical Engineering but for some weird reason it is counted as advance diploma in Australia)
> 
> Occupation: Electrical Engineering Draftperson
> 
> In this case should I go for 489? 190? or 189?
> I just want to follow the path that would lead to a fast result.
> 
> Regards
> Zamac


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Jain123 -

Thanks for the note. Would need to work with you in a consultation and get transcripts for both degrees to give you specific advice for your case - the regulations and accompanying policy, especially re graduate diplomas, are complex and dependent on a number of factors. Please see more re consultations on my website below in my signature, thanks.

Best,

Mark Northam



Jain123 said:


> Hello Mark,
> 
> I was researching the migration regulation and found that the postgraduate diploma is considered a degree in terms of the 485 visa.
> 
> It says under 485.111:
> degree has the same meaning as in subregulation 2.26AC(6).
> 
> And in subregulation 2.26AC(6):
> "degree " means a formal educational qualification, under the Australian Qualifications Framework, awarded by an Australian educational institution as a degree or a *postgraduate diploma*
> 
> Can you please assist if I can use my bachelors degree along with my postgraduate diploma to apply for the 485 as both of them are considered degrees for the GW stream, thank you!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Diptizanpure -

Thanks for the note. We're seeing these granted typically in 9-12 months, but can vary widely. For instance, applications with work experience claimed for points can take longer to be processed than those with no work experience claimed for points.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



diptizanpure said:


> Hi Mark, I need some guidance on the below.
> 
> I and my spouse have applied for 189 visa in December 2017 and still our application status is showing as 'Received'.
> 
> Can you please tell me based on your experience about the time that it will take for getting our visa, just so that I can get an idea?


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tim -

Thanks for the note. I'm not aware of the specifics of the various data sharing agreements that Australia has with other countries - these are typically done to facilitate identification of international criminals or persons "of interest" etc - wish I had the answer, but no way to tell as these arrangements are rarely publicised.

Best,

Mark Northam



timjm said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Thank you for all the amazing info in this thread.
> 
> I'm about to apply for Australian citizenship and was wondering whether Australia notifies the country/countries of current citizenship about the person obtaining Australian citizenship.
> 
> The situation: I am Austrian citizen and am not allowed dual nationality. Upon becoming Australian, I'll (legally) have to renounce my Austrian citizenship. I was wondering if the Australian government will automatically do this through some data sharing agreement or something..
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Tim


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Letsgotoaussie -

Thanks for the note. All depends on whether changing your current employment from relevant to non-relevant will reduce your points. If not, then you're likely safe in doing this on the visa application. However if changing the work experience to non-relevant DOES reduce your points, you'll likely not be able to proceed and you may want to consider putting in a new EOI with the current company not marked as relevant.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



letsgotoaussie said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> I have a query. .. I received my ACS results last week in which they considered all my experience to be relevant from Aug 2009 to date...I had submitted statutory declarations for all my experiences...however in my current company I joined recently (October 2017) and I do not want the verification to be done there as I am sure they will not be willing to vouch for me and also I do not want them to get a hint that I am planning for a PR...so I want to mark my most recent experience as not relevant in visa filing and proceed...anyways I will still have 8 years of experience for 15 points based on the previous job that can be counted until August 2017............(pls keep in mind I received positive assessment for this job as well)...I am sure my current company getting this info will get me into a trouble...I have no choice but to skip this experience in my visa...
> 
> Also, I had filed my EOI under subclass 189, ICT BA last week marking current job as relevant and have received an invite with an overall score of 80.
> Please let me know what all options do I have so I don't have to show my current job experience-
> 
> a) Should I withdraw my current EOI and file a new one marking current job as non - relevant
> b) Should I file a new ACS and show the current job as non-relevant
> c)Any other options?
> 
> Please advise


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Tsep887 -

Likely would need to help you in a consultation to get the exact timeline of events here. Generally speaking, if a newborn baby is born AFTER a visa application is made by the parents, the child is automatically added on to the application once you notify DHA of this. However if the baby is born BEFORE the application, the baby is taken to have the same visa that the parents had at the date of birth. In this case it sounds like you had a 489 on the birth date so it's likely the baby will be considered to be holding a 489 visa as of the date he/she was born. What I don't understand here is... if the baby was born prior to the 887 application, why didn't you include the child as a migrating dependent in the 887 application?

The issue is that for the 887 visa, you cannot add family members after you lodge the application other than a newborn born after you apply for the 887. I expect you'll have to work with the case officer to work out if they are willing to allow you to change the status of the baby from non-migrating dependent to migrating dependent - they may be able to find a way to do this for you. If not, you may need to consider withdrawing the 887 application and re-lodging with the baby included as a migrating dependent, however before you do that you need to make sure you are still eligible to lodge a new 887 application re holding 489 and the other requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



tsep887$ said:


> Hi Mark, I am new here. I have questions regarding 887 visa. I applied from 489 visa. Can we include our child in 887 visa application? We did write her name in applications while lodge in 887 visa. Is this possible? She actually newborn just 4weeks before 887 application. My daughter already got 489 visa when first CO assign but rest of process not move yet. I have also submitted form 1436 for payment to add daughter in 887 application. Thanks Mark for your valuable information.


----------



## Ausidreamer

The following employment after June 2013 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to the ANZSCO Code

From June 2013 to May 2014 ----
can i put it non relevant experience in Eoi 
even if Acs counted as Skilled Experience

as this is from my First company....
June 2014 my second Company start so is it possible to claimy exp from here...
please give advice ...


----------



## Slingshot

Hi mark,
Going through this thread, I really appreciate what you are doing here
My question is
I applied for 309 last year February 
Was in Australia on a tourist visa 600 during Christmas 
Till this point
No word from immigration 
Is this normal ?
I am from a high risk country


----------



## letsgotoaussie

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Letsgotoaussie -
> 
> Thanks for the note. All depends on whether changing your current employment from relevant to non-relevant will reduce your points. If not, then you're likely safe in doing this on the visa application. However if changing the work experience to non-relevant DOES reduce your points, you'll likely not be able to proceed and you may want to consider putting in a new EOI with the current company not marked as relevant.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark

Thanks for your response!

Based on your response, if I mark my current job as non - relevant in EOI or in Visa application, then there will be a contradiction between the ACS assessment and the information I provide in EOI? Will the CO be ok with this or he is likely to raise questions? 
Also, If I plan to file a new ACS marking current company as non - relevant...will I be in a better position as then the information on EOI and ACS would match?

Best Regards


----------



## fat1081009

Hi Mark,

Hope you can help me clarified this.

My mother have a tourist visa (mainly reason come to Australia for looking after my kid as I am a single dad) as following detail below

Visa class / subclass FA / 600
Visa stream Tourist
Visa applicant Primary
Visa grant date 03 June 2016
Visa expiry date 02 August 2018
Location Onshore
Visa status In Effect
Entries allowed Multiple entries to and from Australia during the validity of your visa
Must not arrive after 03 June 2019
Period of stay 12 months on each arrival

Visa condition(s)
8101 - No work: The visa holder cannot work in Australia.
8201 - Maximum 3 Months Study: While in Australia, the holder must not engage, for more than three months, in any studies or training.
8501 - Health cover: The visa holder must maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance during their stay in Australia.
8503 - No further stay: The visa holder will not, after entering Australia, be entitled to be granted a substantive visa, other than a protection visa,while they remain in Australia.
8558 - Non Resident: Can not stay for more than 12 months in any 18 month period.

I think I made a mistake about the 8558 condition as I only checked on the visa expiry date 02/08/18 on vevo and forgot about this condition. 

Her travel date as below 
Visa grant on 03/0616
she first arrived in Australia on 13/06/2016 and left Australia on 26/05/2017.(almost a year)
Then she was back again on 02/08/17 and she is still staying in Australia.(8 months)

I think my mom is in breach of the condition. However we have not got any letter about this.

My point is we know that we did something wrong and would like to get it right. I know we have not been noticed about cancelling the visa.

How do we do about this? Should be contacted immi and let them know or should we just ignore this and make it right on the next trip?

Will this effect my mom visa now and how about in the future if we will apply for her again? we just want to fix this so she can apply again in the future.

Your help is much appreciated.

Regards,
Sid


----------



## Ausidreamer

Dear Mark 
You are responding to everyone queries please reponse my also 

The following employment after June 2013 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to the ANZSCO Code

From June 2013 to May 2014 ----
can i put it non relevant experience in Eoi 
even if Acs counted as Skilled Experience

as this is from my First company....
June 2014 my second Company start so is it possible to claim exp from here...
please give advice ...as i am getting require points for the invitation.


----------



## username2018

Hi Mark, am seeking any information on my situation.
Am a Kiwi living here on and off for approx. 15yrs. 
I recently married an overstayer that came here on a fruit picking contract. 
I want to know if we can apply for a Bridging Visa, if so which one is the best one.... also bcos he is an overstayer can we apply for visa461 in Australia or he must leave bcos of his status.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thk you


----------



## BlueBubbles

Hi Mark, 

I hope you could help me. I decided to withdraw from my studies (voluntarily, no fees unpaid and no work without progress) and have warned my University about that. They sent me back an email stating that they informed the immigration services and that I had 28 days to ask for an other visa or leave the country. I was aware of that when I took my decision and came back home before the 28 days. My student visa is still active and I would like to know, for future visa applications (such as WHV or partner visa) if the cancellation may affect the decision? Should I wait for the cancellation or request for its cancellation? Thank you.


----------



## himasha jayaratne

Hi Mark 

How are you !

We are a tiny little family who lives in Sri Lanka and father wants to follow his masters in Melbourne followed by graduate diploma. 

So we have decided to stick together as a family wherever we go and face the pros and cons together.As a result of that we have applied for student visa 500 with two dependents 03 months ago but until now we have not received a single hint from the embassy.What brings tears to our eyes are those who have applied with us at the same time already got visa and sending selfies in Melbourne.

We have sent an email to high commission a week ago but nothing bounced back .

As per the advertised visa processing time is for higher education is 90 days and our agent advice us to send another mail inquiring about the visa status. 

We seek your expertise to get connected with High commission and what are the options that we can consider. 

If this is stupido question please ignore thiz .

Thank you in advance 

Kind regards 
Himasha


----------



## Rickyjun0388

Hi mark , i'm ricky sorry to send you a private message.
I need to ask a legal advice .
So i'm from indonesia and take advanced diploma in sydney at my final year 2017 i decide to take rsms so i can stay permanently in australia .
I'm using BIGTURN HR to find me a job in regional.
But the thing is they find me an abusive employee and i feel so powerless and suicidal after working there for just 3 months , i ask the agency to help but they didnt help me at all. (I'm still on student visa waiting for RCB from regional so i can apply rsms) and one day me and my partner just snapped we feel terrified so we just go to my partner sister in usa. Now after couple month we miss australia so much. Is there any way we can apply protection visa ? And get permanent residence? Since we dont want to go back to indonesia (racial and religion issue) and can we sue the agency because they let the employee taking advantage of us?
Thanks for reading my statement

Best regards

Ricky


----------



## aoril

Hello Mark,
I am applying for 489 visa for rda far south coast. My acs is cleared with 2 years of skilled employment after deducting 2 years. (Nov 2011 to Dec 2013)Total 4 years of experience. (Nov. 2009 to Dec 2013)
Experience requirement for 489 rda fsc for 261313 is 2 Yr. Does it need to be in recent 5 years or ongoing?
Please confirm since its not mentioned their portal. 
Thanks


----------



## Yorikoy2

Hello Mr. Mark Northam.
I'd like to ask you a question on my current visa conditin. It's a bit complicated...

The expiration date of my student visa 573 is 30th Aug 2018 but due to some changes in my situation and uni's system, I graduated in November 2017 which was much earlier than my student visa expiration date.
As I heard I cannot stay in Australia with the student visa without being actively in study program for more than three months otherwise the government will cancel my student visa, I applied for Temporary Graduate Work visa 485 in January 2018.
I thought Bridging visa A had been issued when I lodged the application for 485, so I applied for Bridging visa B when I needed to go back to my home country in February and March 2018 and came back within the time of period I was given.
But now I've found some people saying that BvA becomes in effect only after the student visa expires naturally. That BvA is on the background of the student visa while the student visa hasn't expired yet.
Does that mean my BvA is currently not in effect yet and I am still staying in Australia with the student visa, which also means I did not need to apply for BvB when I went home and I can go abroad and come back to Australia whenever and for however long I want until 30th August 2018? 

Thank you so much for taking your time. I'd appreciate any advices or comments from you.

Kind Regards,
Yoriko

Update:
I got the 485 visa grant notice letter via email JUST NOW! So I don't have to worry about BvB anymore.
I tried to delete this post but somehow I couldn't, so I'm leaving this update here 🙂


----------



## waitash

Hi Mark,

Have you come across any visa 457 priority processing accepted application which took more than 15 days to obtain a decision? I read in other forums most of priority application came in less than 10 days. Any info would be most helpful please.


----------



## shivajibobby

Hi Mark, Any advise on the below situation is greatly appreciated.

I had a AUS PR, i was secondary applicant and did not enter Aus even for 1 day, my RRV expired on Nov 2017 and i was out of AUS, Applied RRV based on Spouse is AUS PR and is working there. I also had applied for a SC 309 Partner visa in June 2017 (costly process as advised by an agent).

In short, i have RRV applied in Dec 2017 and Partner Visa SC 309 applied in June 2017 in process. I need to be with my spouse ASAP, hence applied for SC 600 too.

Will applying SC 600 Visit visa revoke my pending RRV and Partner Visa Applications?


----------



## LoubnaB

*BVA Work Rights*

Hello Mark,
I hope you could answer to an only one question.
I am on a BVA with rights restrictions in Brisbane (I was on a tourist visa and actually on 457 DeFacto process).
I've submitted my case of financial hardship situation then I could grant full rights to work on March 28th.
What's the average processing time to get an answer from DIAC?
Thank you so much for your help and dear cooperation.
Loubna


----------



## gurtindergujral

I got my visa undersubclass 496 in feb 2015 and valid till 12.12.2018
I lived in Melbourne in short spell of time for about one year ( some times three months and some time two months) but complete 12 months till date.
My enquiry is

1. Can I complete my two years condition if I extend my visa in December 2018 for one yr and go for PR.
2. What are the charges for extension of visa.
3. What documents are required for extension and till what date I have to apply for extension.

Gurtinder Singh


----------



## gurtindergujral

I got my visa undersubclass 496 in feb 2015 and valid till 12.12.2018
I lived in Melbourne in short spell of time for about one year ( some times three months and some time two months) but complete 12 months till date.
My enquiry is

1. Can I complete my two years condition if I extend my visa in December 2018 for one yr and go for PR.
2. What are the charges for extension of visa.
3. What documents are required for extension and till what date I have to apply for extension.

Gurtinder Singh


----------



## SumanS

*Help!! Refusal Subsequent ENTRY 500*

Hi again Mark, My Subsequent Entrant Visa was rejected today on the migration law grounds. When we had gone to idp in New Delhi after getting marriage they said we'd need to get it registered. Now the registration takes time in India as it's very slow and manual. So since we had the registration done only after my husband was granted the visa, this is clearly in the greys. Don't know what are the next plausible steps for us, since my husband course ends in Aug and his visa in Oct. Pls guide us. Happy to get in touch offline. What i want to know further is what happens once my husband applies for the +2 years visa (work permit) post course completion. can he include me in the fresh application then? how do we ensure a fullproof application this time around? thanks in advance.
find the snapshot of refusal letter at ibb(dot)co/gM8n2S



SumanS said:


> Hi Mark, My husband and I (both Indian Nationals) got married in August 2016 after a 3 year + relationship. He left for his MBA to Sydney in September 2016 but since I had just joined my current job I decided to stay back in New Delhi India. I applied for the Subsequent Student 500 visa in Oct 2017 fulfilling all the details like financials, GTE, proof of ongoing relationship, etc. I have gone through the medical in Nov 2017. On immi the status reads as 'received' with 25-46 days as Estd days. It's really frustrating to keep waiting like this indefinitely. I had written to dibp in Jan and they replied with acknowledgement that the advertised time on immi had elapsed but due to the volume of applications they can't give any timelines. What do you think of our case? My husband's visa is till October this year but he's on a 2+2 so he will be applying for the extension once his degree comes in. I really want to get there and be with him quickly.. also my employer being an MNC with a Sydney office is keen on moving me internally if I have the 500 visa, since I can work full time on it. Looking forward to guidance and some actionables so I can strive harder to get there soonest. TIA


----------



## SumanS

*Help!! Refusal Subsequent ENTRY 500*

Hi again Mark, My Subsequent Entrant Visa was rejected today on the migration law grounds. When we had gone to idp in New Delhi after getting marriage they said we'd need to get it registered. Now the registration takes time in India as it's very slow and manual. So since we had the registration done only after my husband was granted the visa, this is clearly in the grey area i feel. Don't know what are the next plausible steps for us, since my husband course ends in Aug and his visa in Oct. Pls guide us. Happy to get in touch offline. What i want to know further is what happens once my husband applies for the +2 years visa (work permit) post course completion. can he include me in the fresh application then? how do we ensure a fullproof application this time around? thanks in advance.

exact language from refusal letter as follows:

In this case, I am not satisfied that clause 500.311 in Schedule 2 of the Migration
Regulations is satisfied. This clause provides that:
500.311
The applicant is a member of the family unit of a person (the primary person) who holds a student
visa, having satisfied the primary criteria for that visa, and either:
(a) the applicant became a member of the family unit of the primary person before the grant of the
student visa to the primary person, and was included in:
(i) the primary person's application under subregulation 2.07AF(3); or
(ii) information provided in relation to the primary person's application under subregulation
2.07AF(4); or
(b) the applicant became a member of the family unit of the primary person:
(i) after the grant of the student visa to the primary person; and
(ii) before the application was made.
I note that you have applied for a student subsequent entrant visa (subclass TU 500) student
visa claiming to be a member of a family unit of Mr. xx. Your spouse lodged
his Student visa subclass 500 on 22 July 2016 which was subsequently granted on 8
September 2016.
I also note that you married your spouse on 29 August 2016. You have provided a Marriage
Certificate registered on 16 September 2016 as evidence of your marriage.
Departmental systems indicates that your spouse had declared himself as "Engaged" at
the time of lodgement of his application however he got married before the decision on
his application. He has enough time to inform the department about change in his marital
status as you got married on 29 August 2016 and the visa was granted to your spouse on 08
September 2016.
As you were married to your spouse before the grant of your spouse's Student visa and you
were not declared about the marital status, you fail to meet the requirement of regulation
500.311.
Decision
As clause 500.311 is not met by the applicant, I find the criteria for the grant of Student
(Subsequent Entrant) visa are not met by the applicant. Therefore, I refuse the application by
the applicant for Student (Subsequent Entrant) visa.
Assessment against the criteria of other subclasses in class TU
As the application was not made on Form 157G (Application for a Student Guardian visa), I
have not considered the application against the subclass 590 Student Guardian visa criteria
in this visa class.



SumanS said:


> Hi Mark, My husband and I (both Indian Nationals) got married in August 2016 after a 3 year + relationship. He left for his MBA to Sydney in September 2016 but since I had just joined my current job I decided to stay back in New Delhi India. I applied for the Subsequent Student 500 visa in Oct 2017 fulfilling all the details like financials, GTE, proof of ongoing relationship, etc. I have gone through the medical in Nov 2017. On immi the status reads as 'received' with 25-46 days as Estd days. It's really frustrating to keep waiting like this indefinitely. I had written to dibp in Jan and they replied with acknowledgement that the advertised time on immi had elapsed but due to the volume of applications they can't give any timelines. What do you think of our case? My husband's visa is till October this year but he's on a 2+2 so he will be applying for the extension once his degree comes in. I really want to get there and be with him quickly.. also my employer being an MNC with a Sydney office is keen on moving me internally if I have the 500 visa, since I can work full time on it. Looking forward to guidance and some actionables so I can strive harder to get there soonest. TIA


----------



## Tassie09

Hi Mark - 

I am on 489 visa . I am thinking about being self-employed. 

My question is If I travel back to my home country in Vietnam for 2 - 3 weeks every 6 months for work related reasons and visiting family in the same time, will immigration ask me to re-do medical check and oversea police check later once I am qualified for applying 887 visa in the next 2 years? 

Some info about my visa : apply 489 visa from Vietnam on June 2017, did PCC on June 2017, did medical check on July 2017, got visa granted on September 2017, first arrive in Australia on March 2018.

Many thanks in advance.


----------



## ashvini1993

Hi Mark
I submitted all the required documents for the 485 visa. But they requested another police check which includes my previous name. I can send them a police clearance report. Buy Will they refuse my visa as the new police check m getting is after the lodgement of the visa application. 
Thanks in advance 
Ashvini


----------



## ronan&kaz

Hi Mark,

Hope you're well and appreciate the great work you're doing here. 

my partner and I just applied for our partner visa online and we had a few questions :
Is there any information displayed in sponsor's account to show that they've linked sponsor's application to the applicant

Does the sponsor need to provide the australia police check or should we wait for them to request it?

Are all members of applicant (even non migrating) required to complete health test? i know the official document says yes. but in the applicants account under each family member it is written not required to provide health assessment

we have written individual statements for history of our relationship and joint statement for financial; nature of household, social aspects _ is that acceptable?
also we have combined history of relationship and nature of commitment ( one statetment for each person) _ will that be ok?

looking forward to hear from you.

Thanks,

Ronan and Kaz


----------



## mpwlm

*Balance of Family test*

Hi Mark,

I have searched widely on the internet for an answer to this question (Aged Parent Visa) without success, could you tell me please if i could pass this test with 3 children in Oz, 2 children in Scotland and 2 in England, or does this equal 4 in the UK?

If yes, i have a mentally handicapped adult daughter with us in Scotland, are there restrictions placed on her to get into Oz.

Thanks in advance, ..... Mick


----------



## imran_razz

Hi Mark

I have arrived in Australia with 190 Visa on 27 June 2104 and will be eligible to apply for Aus citizenship on 27 June 2018. I intend to apply on this date, Got few queries. Your help in this regard is highly appreciated. 

a. I will be leaving Australia for a month in August 2018. Will this be a problem? Could this potentially delay my citizenship application outcome? Are there any restrictions? Some people are telling me I should not leave Australia while my citizenship application is under review.
b. What is the usual processing time for citizenship application?
c.Do my documents need to be certified by a JP if I apply online or just the scammed copies of originals are fine?


----------



## Aussie44

*Spouse vs Fiancee vs De Facto!*

Hi mark,

Thanks for your kind offer to provide us all general visa advice, much appreciated!

I've been doing some research on the options for my partner (American) and I (Australian). We would like to move back to Australia early next year.

We would be applying for the visa in the US (we both live/work here) and will leave when it has (hopefully) come through.

For the De Facto, Fiance and Spouse visas, what are the general requirements of each and what is the general processing time for each? If we were to get engaged or married in the US for example, how soon would my partner have a visa that enables him to work? I

Thanks!


----------



## pkk0574

*Request your opinion*

Hello Mark,

Hope you are doing well and your responses on this forum is highly appreciated. Hope you can advise with regards to my case.

I have lodged 189 Permanent Skilled Visa on 22nd April 2017. In June and August 2017, the Australian Embassy at UAE tried to contact my employer (since I am working in the Middle East) to do verification of my employment. Unfortunately they could not contact anyone inspite of repeated attempts and I was handed over an NJL on 22nd August 2017.

I responded to the NJL on 8th September 2017 with detailed reasons as to why my employer could not be reached. Since my company HR does not provide R&R letter, I had submitted a statutory declaration, signed by my immediate supervisor as a part of my visa application. (It beats me why the department tried to contact my employer in June based on information provided on our company website, when I had submitted an SD). In the NJL response, I provided my supervisor's mobile number and his work email address for the DHA to contact him.

On 26th October 2017, the Australian Embassy at UAE called my supervisor on his mobile. Unfortunately, he was on vacation and was out of the country and travelling. When the Embassy called him, his mobile was on silent mode and it was in his bag. When he saw the missed calls on his mobile, he immediately Whatsapped me about the same. Later on the same day, I emailed the case officer about the developments and attached the Whatsapp transcripts as a proof.

Since then there has been no movement in my case. I called up the department on 2 occasions. Once in January 2018, I was told that some applications have to undergo checks by external agencies. I was not sure if that was a generic statement or something specific to my case. I called up the department again in March 2018 and I was told that I need to wait as my application was still within the processing timeframe.

Now I have completed 12 months since lodgement of my visa application and the global processing time is 8 months (for 75% of applications) to 10 months (for 90% of the applications).

Appreciate if you can advise if there is anything additional I can do. It is very unfortunate that the department on behalf of the Australian Embassy at UAE chose to call my supervisor when he was on vacation (twice I think). I have reasons to believe that he was probably contacted on his office extension in August 2017, when he was again on vacation.

I am really at my wits end now.

Edit (05-May-18): My supervisor received an employment verification call and I received a request to submit fresh Police Clearance.

Regards,


----------



## bob88

Hi Mark,

I am currently applying with my Australian partner for an 820 de facto visa.

I am going to be travelling out of the country on my WHV for a holiday and then returning to Australia on the same WHV. I have approximately 10 days from when I return to Australia to when my working holiday visa expires. There are no restrictions/exclusions on my WHV.

My question is whether I should lodge the 820 Visa application before or after I go overseas? I am of the understanding that immediately after filling out the 27 pages of online portal questions and paying the fee, I will be issued with a BVA which kicks in *only once my WHV expires.*

Once I return I can start compiling and start uploading information and evidence for the respective categories.

Was my understanding entirely correct? Is it OK to fill out the online application, pay and then upload documents the month after and continually add to these?

Thanks!


----------



## Rayar

Hi Mark,

I am a New Zealand passport holder (by decent) that has been living in Australia for the past 6 months with my 3 children. A few months ago I applied for a 461 visa for my children. They are all currently on a bridging visas A, my problem is due to unforseen circumstances i might have to return back to the UK for some time but my oldest child (18) does not want to return. Instead he wants to remain here with his grandparents (eligible New Zealand citizen + Australian citizen). Is there anyway he could remain here? Also if he was granted a 461 visa and then i returned to the UK would he be able to remain or would he have to leave also? I don't know if that would be a option though as i would have to leave in the next few months and i very much doubt a visa would be granted by then...

Please Mark any information regarding this would be so very helpful.

Kind regards


----------



## tiffjo

Hi Mark, 
Just a simple clarification needed. I currently have a resident return Visa, granted in 2014, but we moved back to the US in 2016. Now we are going back to Australia for a month holiday. I just want to make sure that my rrv is still valid for the whole 5 years, even though I have been in the US for the last 2 years. Or do I need to get a visitor visa now? 
Thanks!


----------



## letsgotoaussie

Hi Mark
I want to claim for partner points and have recieved +ve assessment for my wife.

She has 8 years 2 months of relevant experience.

Now my query is we had submitted SD's for all jobs and for past two jobs they can easily verify but for current job I dnt want her company to know that we have such a plan of moving out of country...how should we proceed.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## GazJaz

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Gaz Jaz -
> 
> Yes, however they would technically be separate applications - you can indicate who each will be traveling with (ie, the other) so they will essentially be linked - see application form for more details on linking visitor visa applications. Also note that with 309/100, you must be (somewhere) offshore in order to be granted the 309 visa but DHA will usually email you if you're in Australia at the time they want to grant the 309 visa and give you some time to leave in order to facilitate the grant.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mark 
Good day

I have applied for a visitor visa 600 with my daughter My visa granted today but for my daughter's they sent me an email saying they couldn't get hold of her dad, I called his mom got to know that he is locked up in the jail for civil case , I attached a letter mentioning her dad's mom's and uncle's telephone numbers and ID copies and explaining everything, will this letter work ?

Also do i have to inform this situation to the case office who is handling my 309/100?


----------



## himasha jayaratne

*Visa Refused*

Dear All ,

I have undergone most unexpected decision given by sri Lankan visa officer after a 3 months of time. we got the visa refusal letter with explanation which is so ridiculous I will state the case step by step,

01- The applicant aint got any properties under his name

I have mortgage my house and all the documents has been provided which can value 6.5Mil RS (valuation also provided )

02-Applicant got no tied-up business

I have provided my business registration and PNL accounts along with bank transfer record.

03-The course intend to follow is not directly linked to background

I was the sales manager to hotel chain and applied for Master of commerce

Seems like something went wrong ???

I seek advises as I intend to apply again as it would be cheaper when comparing with tribunal.

01- Can I proceed with existing medical record and barometric ?
02- Do I have to inform them that these explanations are not acceptable 
03 -Do I have to link with previous Immi account number ?

Thank you in advance 
Kind regards 
Himasha


----------



## nivaem

Hello Mark

Hope you are doing great !

I am currently in Australia on 457 VISA sponsored by my company 'A'. My family also is here in Australia on 457 dependent Visa and obviously initially sponsored by my company 'A'.

My wife after coming here in Australia got a Job and has been working with another employer (Company 'B') for last 2 years. She is however still on 457 dependent Visa which was originally sponsored by my Company 'A'.

If we need to transfer the sponsorship of only her 457 Visa to the new employer, what is the procedure? Also is it possible for her to become Primary Applicant once her 457 Visa sponsorship is transferred to Company 'B'? This would mean that I stay as a Primary Applicant with my original sponsor 'A' and she becomes primary applicant with Company 'B'.


----------



## Bruggy

*Rejected Spouse Visa*

Hi Mark,
after 2 years waiting we have been advised that our application for a spousal visa Has been rejected. We used a registered migration agent who at the time of submission claimed all our forms and documents were ideal in terms of quality & detail. We have had the agent lodge an appeal to appeal before the AAT. Am I expecting too much to expect that the agent does everything in his power to ensure that the visa is granted? At first, he was reluctant to support us in appearing at the AAT with us but relented when I insisted as I have been led to believe it is not wise to appear before the AAT without an agent attending.

Our application was reviewed in Cairo Egypt and during the review period, it was alleged that they received a phone call advising that our application was fraudulent and that my wife had paid me a substantial sum of money to obtain the visa. This was not cited in the rejection letter.
Any advice will be appreciated.


----------



## RjP

Hi Mark,

I’m on a bridging visa awaiting for partner visa decision. Just want to ask how to process educational/skill assessment? I’m a graduate of a bachelors degree in Management from a university which meets Australian standard. I’m new in Australia and don’t know where to start. 
Thank you in advance 😊


----------



## kc1984

*citizenship docs*

Hi .. I had applied for my citizenship a couple of weeks ago, but only recently i realised that we had to upload the original scan documents such as passport/ birth certificate, but I had uploaded certified copies of the same. WIll it be a problem or will they accept certified copies too as we are going to be producing the orginal during the interview anyway. Please help me out . Am in full panic mode now.


----------



## aby1981

Hello Mark,

Good Morning. 

quick question-what to do if for skill assessment i don't have on of the previous work document e.g. salary slip, service letter.


----------



## Sallyjay

Hi Mark

my agent sent an email to the case officer processing my partner application that my partner has completed a medical examination and ask the case office to expedite visa application process as is almost six months that I gave birth and this was the reply I got from the immigration. 


“ UNCLASSIFIED Thank you for your email and for this update. Your request to expedite the process has been forwarded to a decision maker for consideration. 

Regards,”

My question is? Does this email means that, my partner visa application is at a decision making stage? How long does it usually take to hear from the decision maker.

Could please explain what the email may possibly means.

Thank you


----------



## Believer786

*Hi Mark*

My husband submit his citizenship application in Feb 2017 and since then it is been 15month with no update. the Status on immi account says 'Received" and it has never changed since last year to initial assessment or further assessment. Should this be a concern? does this means that the application has not been processed at all?? we were told by the immigration consultant that they are in contact with their overseas office to check and confirm id check/birth certificate. I am hoping that you get the time to answer my question.


----------



## RAV8

*887 Visa 2 year residency evidence*

Hi Mark,

Im living in Tasmania on 489 visa and will be applying for 887 End of August 2019. I have a question regarding residential requirement evidence.

I arrived in Tassie in end of August 2017 on Spririt of Tasmania ( Itinerary to Tasmania with our names and date of departure from melbourne , address is my sisters address in Victoria)

Temporary Address 1 -

We initially booked accommodation via airbnb for a week. After we stayed the first week the owner of the accommodation offered us a lower rate if we need to stay longer so we paid a lower amount in cash and stayed there for 4 weeks. For this period , i obtained a letter from the accommodation owner with me and my wife's name on them and the dates of stay , and signature. I already had bank account , tax number which i opened when i was in Melbourne for 5 years so i don't have any documents with the accomodation address other than this letter for this period. The vehicle and regos is under my wifes name. I am planning to provide a statutory declaration by myself for this address.

Temporary Address 2 -

While staying at address we were looking for jobs. My wife secured a part time job and we moved to another air bnb property nearby , this time we booked the property for 4 days through airbnb site. After arriving at the property the owner offered a lower rate if we wanted to stay any extra dates so we paid cash again and stayed there for another 3 weeks. I obtained a letter (same layout as above) from the owner. However we don't have any other documents to prove our stay at this address other than this letter. I am planning to provide a statutory declaration by myself for this address.

Address 3 -

While staying at address 2 we secured a rental property , for this property I have the lease letter with my name , AAMI home insurance policy with my name , Dodo home phone and nbn receipts (The starting date of invoice is a couple of days after we moved in) , 2 months after moving to this address I managed to find full time employment. So I have Payslips from December with this address on them , all my payment summary , tax notice , super will have this address on them. Electricity bills are on my wife's name. (We were not sure if me or my wife will manage to secure full time employment so decided to share the utility documents between us)

I am able to provide my bank transaction details for the dates between address 1 and 2 which shows my debit card transactions around those areas.

However I won't have any other documents with my name and those addresses. I am able to provide full bank transactions for two years which will show my daily transactions in / fuel / grocery / bill payment details in Tasmania. I don't think i can obtain statutory declarations from owners for temporary accomodation 1 and 2.

do you think above evidence will be sufficient to prove 2 year stay requirement?

After going through forums i saw that CO's keep asking people for more information , I am worried that the documents I have is not enough.


----------



## Welliton Fontana

Hi Mark,
We are a couple of Brazilians and we are going to Australia for 30 days to improve our English. My partner's visa was granted, but mine was not. More documents have been requested and must be provided within 7 days. However, I can not send them in this period. How do I request a longer deadline to post these documents?
Thanks for your attention. I await an answer.


----------



## yoonakimkr

*Evidence for intention to reside in AU-RRV*

Hello there Mark,

My RRV application (onshore) was made based on my substantial ties to Australia(personal ties). I am married to an Australian citizen and enabling a family unit to stay together was my main evidence.

A case officer requested further information, requesting "evidence of imminent intention to reside in Australia" - I am wondering how I could satisfy this request? The documents provided to the immigration officer are;

- Statement outlining my nature of personal ties 
- Australian marriage certificate
- Passports of Australian family members (the law family)
- Compelling reason to leave(job offer overseas)
- AU SUPER account (to show that I have worked in AU for 4 years in the industry that allowed my Skilled Independent PR grant)
- Husband savings 
- Family medicare, private health insurance, joint credit card etc.

As we are in the process of transitioning (my husband's work requires a lot of international travels but we will eventually settle in AU, I am currently not working)- not sure what firm evidence I could further provide. 
Stat Declaration explaining my plans, perhaps?

Please let me know, will be much much appreciated. 
Kim.


----------



## Divyangana

*Questions about the student dependent visa*

I'm Indian and I'll be going to do my PhD at the University of Melbourne this October. I know I have to apply for the visa 500, postgraduate research. I have a fiancé who wants to move with me and he is French, not Indian. I had a few questions with respect to this:

1. I can apply online on immiaccount?
2. I nominate him as a family member on my form. What happens after that? Does he also have to apply separately? What documents does he need and when and where does he submit them? Online as well? What about other stuff that's required for both of us, like biometrics, medical etc? How does he submit this stuff?
3. Will it matter that we're not from the same country? Does that change things? (we met while I was doing my masters in France and have been together for two years. Living together but my name is not the lease).

I wanted to understand the process for this, thank you!


----------



## Divyangana

*Student dependent visa confusion*

Hi Mark! Thanks so much for giving us advice!

I'm Indian and I'll be going to do my PhD at the University of Melbourne this October. I know I have to apply for the visa 500, postgraduate research. I have a fiancé who wants to move with me and he is French, not Indian. I had a few questions with respect to this:

1. I can apply online on immiaccount?
2. I nominate him as a family member on my form. What happens after that? Does he also have to apply separately? What documents does he need and when and where does he submit them? Online as well? What about other stuff that's required for both of us, like biometrics, medical etc? How does he submit this stuff?
3. Will it matter that we're not from the same country? Does that change things? (we met while I was doing my masters in France and have been together for two years. Living together but my name is not the lease).

The main problem is that I need to leave France and go back to India and I need to be sure that we can do it while we are in different countries.

I wanted to understand the process for this, thank you!


----------



## Firos

Hi Mark, I’m just curious about the 835 visa, my sister is an Australian citizen and has stayed there for 24 years. I want her to sponsor me as a remaining relative but my wife remaining relative is not in Australia. Would I be eligible for that visa? Because it stated you and your partner mine is not partner but spouse. How do the government define as partner? Please help me clear my doubts. And if it possible tell me your services if you does this and how much are your fees. I got total 4 persons my 2 sons age 10 and 11. Me and my wife. Thank you


----------



## Gucci2018

Good day to everyone. Mark and forumers, I will appreciate your response to my query. Pardon me if this maybe a long post. My partner( Australian citizen) and I been together for almost 3 years and decided to get married. I am currently holding a Tourist Visa with multiple entry till Dec 2018. So to speak we had the date for the marriage ceremony on June 2018 and will stay there for 3 months since my visa specifically stated 3 months of every entry. We are planning to apply for Spousal Visa (onshore)whilst I’m there then come back to my home country in Phil.. Here are my questions: 1. Is applying for onshore spousal visa appropriate after marriage? Or should just apply for Offshore Spousal Visa? 2. Can I still use the Tourist Visa I have after marriage since it will run out on Dec? My visa restrictions code are : 8101, 8201, 8303,8304,8564,8602 Thank you and hoping for clarifications and feedback from you guys.


----------



## adibagus

Hello Mark, 

I was living overseas with my partner and had pending application for 820 partner visa and were advised by CO that department is ready to make the decision and we need to return to Australia for this.

We have returned and have notified the department but haven't heard anything from the department for two weeks.

What is the usual timeline for finalisation of the application and the stages of it?

Thank you


----------



## Ana2018

Hi , I was permanent resident that time when i apply for my husband PR in july 2016 .He doesn't have substantive visa , he was on bridging visa because his protection visa is in AAT for review. Immigration rejected his visa just after 4 and a half months (dec 2016) because immigration didn't accept our compelling reason (pregnancy) so we applied in AAT for review . I had gestational diabetes in my pregnancy aswell and Now we have 15 months old boy Australian citizen and I have citizenship ceremony in this month on 14th of May and tribunal hearing is also in this month on 17th of May. I'm really scared I don't know what's gonna happen.My husband immigration history is not good .He came here on student visa which was also ceased because of his less attendance and loose the cases in every stage . This is my second marriage , I'm divorced and in my first marriage i got my PR through domestic violence. I just wanted to ask you what you reckon how strong is this case ? What are the chances to win? How can we convince tribunal member ? The member is going to ask questions to my husband only or he will ask me as well? And the tribunal member will ask my husband about his previous visa (student visa and protection visa)???? We have lawyer , we visited him this week but he didn't tell us anything 😞 .that's why i asked you lots of questions sorry but please do give me all the answers . Thank you so much in advance.


----------



## Princess1999

Am on bridging visa for permanent residence just had a baby and i need help. Can i invite my daddy to come over and help, Will the visa be granted. Also i applied for protection visa due to some circumstances thanks


----------



## zeesquare

Hello Mark, 
Thanks for your contribution so far, have been following this thread 
I have been on post graduate visa and my visa will expire July 25th 2028, am so worried because I haven't gotten the my English requirements 
Am considering applying for another student visa, can I apply for a diploma course so I can have use the time to work on getting my English. I did masters of professional Accounting before and whist to know since I did masters before, will Immigration grant me student visa to do diploma this time.I want to apply or 28 months student visa . The course is related to work am doing now where I have so far gained experience. Am onshore and English language is my only barrier to get my PR now 
Your reply will be highly appreciated 
Thanks


----------



## zeesquare

Sorry for the error 
My visa will expire 25th July 2018


----------



## Somaira

Hi Mark,
I have a question regarding 457 visa
We applied our nomination in January 2017 which was approved in October 2017 in pastry cook. Applied for visa in April 2017 before the rules changes.
If I get my visa for 2 years as pastry cook is in STSOL now will I will be eligible to apply for PR?


----------



## kalpitvora

Hello Mark,

I am in bit of unpleasant situation.
I am planning to move to Sydney in June. I am on SI 189 PR.
My family (spouse and 2 kids under 6) also had got Dependent 189 visa along with me. However unlike me, they could not enter Australia within one years time.
Can you please advice:
Q1. If I will have to redo their PR visas?
Q2. If yes, please advice class/sub-class?
Q3. If there is a long waiting, can I have apply for visitors visa and have them travel and live with me, while the PR visas are still underway?

Thank you so much for your advice in anticipation.

Regards,
KV


----------



## Celestine

*Please help!*

Hi Mark,

I am currently in Australia on a Second Working Holiday Visa (417) the expires on November 23rd, 2018.

My parents have recently booked a trip to come and visit me from November 11th until November 30th. On November 30 we will all fly back home together.
So basically I need some kind of short-term visa that will allow me to stay another 7 days.

I was wondering if you could advise me on this?

I am 21 years old and of Belgian nationality.

Thank you so much,

Celestine


----------



## prakashkd

Hi Mark !

I applied for 476 visa through an visa consultant on February 6 2018. Didn't received any update yet.

Can I check my visa status ?

My consultant didn't gave password for IMMA account.


My application ID no is 7909726.

Kindly help me to view status update.


----------



## ggnpreet393

*485 help !!*

hi Mark
I applied for my 485 visa on 13th march however i got the health insurance policy starting the same date but i failed to attach it with my application at time of lodgement . i attached my ploicy certificate to application on 7 th of may my application is stll not alloacted to case officer yet . so is this gonna result in refusal ?i am section 48 bar now as my student visa got rejected . .
can i provide then the evidence of bank statement and gmail that i had the policy on the lodgment date can hep me somewhere ??/


----------



## ykchee

Hi Mark
I applied for RRV while I was in Australia on 26 Feb and subsequently left. I now need to return to Australia urgently. If I apply and return with a visitor visa, will it cause any problems with my RRV? Thank you in advance for your help!


----------



## gnzlsmapili

Hi, good day!
I was just wondering if what’s gonna happen if our spousal visa is on-process, then suddenly I became pregnant?

My husband is an AU citizen and he is planning to visit back here in Ph next year. We are about to lodged our application this coming August and I guess upon my husband gets back here, probably our application will still be on process. 

I was just thinking what if i became pregnant. Would our process become fast or would it take cause of delay?

Hope to hearing from you soon, please. Thanks much!


----------



## Lorna

Hi Mark 
I am putting in a 189 visa application as a skilled accountant. Do you believe there would be any benefit in waiting until July 1st? Also a friend has suggested putting in a completed P80 form with my application. What would your view be on this ?
Really appreciate the guidance, 
Lorna


----------



## Ze its pronounced Ze

Hello, i have a very difficult question:

Im applying for the 820/801 partner visa, im a German M28 married to an Australian F22.
Everything regarding health, money requirements/jobs, education, proof of relationship, length of the relationship & marriage etc. would be to our great advantage for the visa process and is no worry at all.

Theres just one thing: I found out that my former german shipping company (we used for moving in March) went to the german police two months ago and falsely reported that i threatened and insulted them via EMail. No evidence whatsoever. Possibly because theyre just angry because of some trouble we have regarding one small unpaid & wrong bill and this caused a conflict.

The nature of their statement they made at the police would be of civil law (not crime etc.) and isnt registered or saved somewhere, hence not visible in a police certificate from Germany. Because this happened 2 days before we left, i didnt have time to make my own statement. I believe this case will be dropped.

Im not asking if i should not talk about that in the visa application, i just would like to know if this can be checked/will be checked from Australian case officer etc. and if that unproven and false statement (and with this, a possible appearing of my name in any files) can cause any trouble?

If a false accusation of anything already is enough to "break trust" to this government, then everybody could ruin anybodys future in this country.

Thank you so much for you help!


----------



## rhodered

Hi Mark,
Im a bit concerned with how my citizenship interview went yesterday.
I passed my test but before the test i was interviewed and one of the questions was do i have a criminal record...and i didnt lie i said yes as they have all my records. Now the woman was making me feel uneasy and i asked why she was asking when they already have all the info from previous visas. She said she needed them for assessment reasons...but they are all considered "spent convictions" and were when i was under the age of 20....i am almost 41 now and havent had any interactions with the law in almost 20 years except for a few minor speeding tickets. My question is this...if i would have been considered a "threat to the community" why was my visa to move here 5 years ago been approved? They approved a PMV,820,801, and now citizenship application and now im made to feel like these convictions from 20 years ago matter? In the last 5 years ive purchased a home here, had a child and have established a life here...if they were going to deny me citizenship i shouldnt have been allowed here in the 1st place. All that being said...should i worry...and if yes what are my chances at a tribunal and do you have serices here in Melbourne? 
Kind regards
Brian 
Ps
I messaged you on messenger if thats easier as we are friends on Facebook.


----------



## mazloomi

Dear Mark. 9 years of my work experience is assessed by Vetassess. does it affect migration officers decision or they assess it again?
thanks


----------



## 3mr

Hi Mark,
I am a software engineer aged 42. currently have only 55 points. so do not qualify for 189 visa. so thinking of 190. My ielts is 8, 8.5, 7,7. so have only 10 points for english. What are my chances. 
Please let me know .
Thanks a lot in advance.

3mr


----------



## Pratikghogre

Hi Mark! 

Thanks for helping us. 

I have applied for my student visa (Subclass 500: higher education sector) along with my defacto partner. The document checklist does not ask me to provide any financial documents (RMIT university + India) . I am a bit concerned on should i upload it proactively or not.
Thanks in advance. Happy Day!


----------



## upen144

*Change of Occupation - Vetassess*

Hi Mark ,

Seeking your advice . 
I got Negative outcome from Vetassess in 149212 ( customer Service Manager ) now i am going to file for change of occupation from 149212 to 222211 ( Financial market dealer ) , as i am having 10+ years of exp. in Foreign Exchange house ( Thomas Cook ) . My real sister got PR in Aus ( adelaide ) on Feb 2018 . I want to apply under chain migration for 222211 as High Point is not available for this occupation .

Q - Please advise if am on the right path? Quota of Chain migration ?

Seeking your valuable inputs on this . Thanks


----------



## Shadymustafa

Hello Mark,
I have received the grant letter of 190 visa. Thus, i have to stay for 2 years in Sydney. This 2 years shall start from the date of landing, or from the date i start living permanently in Sydney?
Thanks.


----------



## Dxinsovere1112

Hi Mark. I have some questions about ways to get partner visa. Could you please help me with this subject. 

First of all, little introduction about me and my partner:

We have known each other for more than 7 years and travelled many countries together. But we never lived together or shared a join bank account. I left Australia last year ( gave up my 457 visa) and he travelled with me for 3 months after that. We had numerous photos, messages, emails to prove that we were in the relationship.. But I don't know if that's strong enough to prove De facto relationship. 

Now we want to apply partner visa for me to come back to Australia. we don't know which way is better :

The sub 300, then to 820 or 801. We want to get married eventually, but the main concern with 300 is that we don't want to be apart for over 12 months. And even after the application of 300 I can apply for 600 tourist visa, I won't be able to work. (I am from China) And I don't like being a free loader at his place for 12 months. 

Or apply for 600 tourist visa then 820 or 309...But I am worried that because I don't have a job in China ( just got back to China early 2018), the tourist visa might get rejected....( especially when I just cancelled my 457) And also because we never had any financial prove of being together, it will be hard to prove our relationship for 820...

What do you recommend i should do?


----------



## gbish

*Partner Visa with Unemployment*

Hi Mark,

I was just wondering what if you could share your thoughts on ny relationship and its appropriate visa for the future.

I am 22 from Australia and my boyfriend in 24 from the Philippines. We met last year and I have just visited him and his family this past three weeks. I plan to go back in August and then if his tourist visa is approved he will come to Australia in October. I have just finished study and have moved back home with my parents. I am sourcing work as of now, however I am a busy musician so I do get cash jobs on the side. He is unemployed now and living back with his family but has worked as a tour guide commissioner 2016 and 2017.

I was just wanting to know what our options are for the future as he didn't complete his school and can't get a working visa in Aus. My father would be happy for him to work for him in his earth moving business, but I don't know what visa this is allowed on. Can he do that on a partner temporary visa (while we wait for the partner one to be approved)? Or can my dad sponsor him for work even if he doesn't have that trade behind him.

Thankyou for your time. Please let me know what you think


----------



## Mani2793

Hey there, hope everyone doing good. Is there anyone who has applied in september 2017 and still waiting as I received acknowledgement on 1st October 2017 and till now havent heard anything nothing at all my case is really complicated got 3 year entry ban,was held in detention for 2 years got out on bridging visa e but then have to return back to India coz I lost my case in federal circuit court(protection visa). While I was in India I applied for 309/100 thru a migrant agent from Perth.I know I am not eligible for tourist visa but I have made a trip to Bali with my mrs. For two weeks back in February is there any chance or hope for tourist visa and I got married in Australia according to Australian marriage law will this help with my current application of 309/100 or not really?
What can I do to get thru visitor visa beside my entry ban?


----------



## Skybluebrewer

Looks like this got dropped as a sticky again then lost in the pages after spam bot came through... So, bump.


----------



## tpg

*Partner visa - 1 year requirement*

Would really appreciate any help/advice! Me and my partner are in a really complicated situation...

Some background facts: 
Me and my partner first met in May 2017, and was dating for about 5 months. End of September 2017, we decided to become exclusive and stay together even though he was going on a 8 month deployment to the Middle east with the Australian Navy in mid October 2017. My partner left for his deployment and I went back to my home country while he's been away with the navy. We have been talking everyday since he left (as much as possible), texts when he's been at sea (reception has not been good enough for calls), and phone calls / video calls everyday when he's been on leave for some days a month.

He had 2 weeks of vacation in March 2018, and came to visit me right away and met my friends and family. When his deployment is done in June he will come back to visit me for about 3 weeks and then we'll go back to Australia together. I'm going there on a tourist visa that got approved in October 2017, so it will expire October 2018. As soon as we get there in July, we will register our relationship (which I've read will waive the 12 month requirement, is that right?), open a joint bank account, add me to his bills etc.

We are planning to apply for the partner visa in October this year sometime, just before my tourist visa expires - by then we've been together for 13 months, lived together for 3 months and had our relationship registered for 3 months.

I'm just so worried it won't get approved since we have not been living together for 1 year (only because of his job). Although, we have lived in a Defacto relationship, supported each other financially and in life, talked to each other all the time etc. The only reason why we haven't lived together is because we have not been able to because of his job. Is that a good enough reason to not meet the requirement of living together for 1 year? We have heaps of evidence such as hotel bills, flights together, airbnb, millions of messages, print screens from video chats, phone logs, conversations with each others families/friends, receipts of gifts to each other, pictures of us together and with my family & friends etc.

I would really appreciate any help or advice in this situation, all we want is to live a life together . I've already user the WH visa and didn't do the farm work...

Thanks a lot in advance!


----------



## tomay

Hi Mark,

I would like to ask some advice on applying for citizenship.

I would like to apply for my citizenship before 1st July in case there are any changes in rules however, I had to renew my passport from my country as it will be expired soon. But it would take about 2 weeks for the renewal process.

So I was wondering if I can just apply for citizenship while in the middle of renewing my passport and later let the immigration know about my new passport when I get it. Would it be possible or should I just wait for my new passport and then apply for citizenship application?

Thank you for your time.


----------



## thatguymartin

Hi Mark!

Question about offshore 309 and unpaid speeding ticket. 
Currently 11 months in with the visa and its already under further assessment. The agent asked for more information like a month ago, but havent heard back from him since. 
I remembered that I have an unpaid speeding ticket from more than 2 years ago when I was in Australia with a working holiday visa.
Will my agent be able to see that and potentially reject my visa for a minor speeding fine? Should I try to get it sorted right away by contacting the local state police?

Cheers, 
Martin


----------



## AleG

*Good afternoon Mark*

Good afternoon Mark, thank you for the time you spent in the forum answering questions and helping others in need, I have an enquiry if you can advice me regarding your knowledge, until now I have 60 points according to what I understand and in the immigration page says but I asked different lawyers and I got different answers so I decided to ask here in case someone knows about it or has a similar case, my points are:
- I am 28 ( 30 points)
- English PTE all the bands above 73 (10 points)
- I studied an Associate degree in Civil engineering which count as an advanced diploma ( 10 points) , 
- Australian study requirement as I did the course in Australia (5 points)
- The occupation that I nominated is Civil Engineering draftsperson ANZSCO 312211 which is in the occupation lists and I got the full skill assessment 
- I've been working since 1 year in Australia in the same occupation as a Civil draftsperson (5points)

I have 2 questions the first one is my lawyer said if I am claiming points for my advance diploma in Australia (10) I can not claim points the 5 points for the Australian requirements is it true?.
And the second question is when I was doing the full skill assessment I could have done it through engineers Australia or vetassess, I was advised to do it though vetassess so I did, but I didn't know vetassess deducted or used my year of experience to give me the full skill assessment, it means if you have 2 year experience vetassess uses 1 year and you can claim just one year in immigration, so if you have just 1 year of experience you can not claim as it was used for your skill assessment it was the answer I got from them. That was a bit surprise for me as I didn't know, and I will have less points I don't claim my experience so, I called engineers Australia and they don't deduct your experience in order to give you the skill assessment they just assess and if its positive you can claim your points with the total number of years for your experience, according to this I decided to pay again the full skill assessment with engineers Australia and do it with them in order to claim points for my experience otherwise it wont be enough to submit an EOI, so the question is does the experience need to be assessed in order to claim points?

Thank you so much


----------



## Con59

Hi Mark,
I applied for 820/801 in December 2014. I received 820 visa grant in March 2016.In August 2016, my son 21 years old
receied 445 visa grant,and I added he to my application.In December 2016 we put new evidence for the second stage of 801visa,and since then we were expecting our 801 visa grant.A few weeks back ,my son returned to our country,returning to the beginning of September.Of course I announced the emigration.I have sent my son itinerary and a copy of the flight ticket.From your experience this traveler can affect the time of the 801 visa grant?I thank you in advance for your answer.


----------



## rsy123

Hi Mark - 

Myself and 2 children are waiting for replies for resident return visas (lodged 12 weeks ago). My husband is in Australia and has permanent residency and we are desperate to know when we will get a reply - our application is complicated (outwith the 5 years) but we have put lots of information eg flights, nursing registration, the offer of a job and of course the fact that the family are now separated to show our commitment to Australia on immiaccount to back this up.

We also have visitor visas and because of the timescales we are wondering whether we should go with the visitor visas) ( I have an ETA 600 and the children have 651 visas) and either re apply for an RRV in Australia or find out the outcome of the original RRV - would this cause any problems?

I think the children would not be able to be enrolled in school on visitor visas so this may complicate things further.

very confused about what to do next so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much
Ruth


----------



## Kfupmm

Hi Mark , 

Thanks for your cooperation . I have a concern regarding my visa request status. I have received an email to apload my kids school arrangement as it was missed. I have put that document before 4 days. Still my status is “ initial assessment “ 
Is that ok or there is something to be done from my side ...
I have sent them many emails but there is no respons from their side


----------



## rabiaafzal83

Hi Mark. Tss 482 visa application attachment page is not showing the column where health cover should be attached?
Any one encountered the same issue?


----------



## Mulac888

Hey there! Just wondering if you would be able to provide me with the proper email address to send my form 1445 too. I live in Queensland and I have recently submitted my 820/801 visa application. I am a brand new member so I can’t direct message anybody yet. From what I can understand I need to send it the the office that is processing my application. Thank you!!!


----------



## Janedoe22

*Applying Uni while on Visitor pass*

Hi Mark!

I have just graduated in Dec 2017 studying cert 3 and diploma in early childhood education. I then tried to applied for 485 which got refused and the rejection reason was clause 485.231. That I was 4 weeks short of the 92 weeks study.

Thus I am leaving the country on 4th June, plan to return on a visitor pass 2 weeks after and then apply ONSHORE for Uni in higher education : Degree in Early childhood education.

Reason being: If i get a refusal, being onshore allows me to appeal. School starts Mid July 18 and latest date I am allowed to start school is end of July. If for some reason I have to go through appeal, I could commence class first.

What are your thoughts on this? I am 34 this year and hence want to commence the study asap without delay since my original plan to experience the work environment in Australia for 1 year was refused.

Thank you for your time to answer my question!


----------



## MaryQ

*What is DIBP Transaction Reference Number (TRN)*

Hi Mark
We used an agent to apply for my husband visa 820 and use the same agent to apply for his work rights, however we were rejected by DIBP for his work rights. Now I am going to apply for work rights by myself as its expensive to hire agent to apply and I don't believe that agent actually. Here are questions while I am applying:
1. Agent applied for the first time, can we apply by ourselves or we have to keep using agent to apply for?
2. What is What is DIBP Transaction Reference Number (TRN) I cannot find this number at all. 
3. What is Substantive visa application receipt number, he now is only holding BVE so he has not got 820 yet.
Thanks for your help in advance.


----------



## JamesS

Hi Mark,

Forum and thread looks amazing! Thanks very much for all your help.

I am an Aussie Citizen, I currently live in the Philippines with my partner of 2 years. She plans to study a masters at Melbourne Uni and I plan to go with her.

She's got her Acceptance letter, Certificate etc for Melbourne Uni, and has a strong background in her chosen course. On her own, I doubt she would have any issue applying for and getting the Student Visa.

My concern is that since I am going with her, and she will be living with me, could that relationship cause problems for her Visa application? i.e. that she may not be a temporary entrant, and we may intend to stay after the course is completed in two years?

Honestly, we dont know if we will stay after the course, or come back to the Philippines, but whatever we did, we would follow the right visas and laws needed.

Thanks


----------



## ham admanedien

Hi Mark
In the process after visa 190 lodgement, which one is carried out first, external security check or employment verification?
I ask this because I had co contact related to my security background (asking for military exempt record) - Does this means that I employment already verified without need to further documents? 
Thanks


----------



## MacRaymond

Hi Mark

I'm wondering what a "personal contact" is for form 80. My partner is doing the partner visa. Do they have to list all of their friends in Australia? They have been here for 7 years! It says to add anyone else other than the 2 options available into the "additional information" section.

thanks for your help


----------



## Juju

*Pregnant. Need Visa Advice.*

I am an Australian citizen (born in Solomon Islands) currently living in the Solomon Islands with my boyfriend (Fijian Citizen). We both work in the same company here and have lived together for about a year and half now. We have just recently found out that I am pregnant (unplanned but are deciding to go ahead with it) and as I am planning on returning to my life in Australia in the nxt couple months I would very much like my bf to come support and live with me there now too. We are really unsure as to which visa(s) we should be applying for or any possible options we could try for the best possible outcome in getting him over to be with me (soon to be 'us' once I deliver) in Australia. So in saying this I will list a few things below re our relationship to hopefully determine a few possible options for us. I would highly appreciate your helpful response.

- 2013: Met and started a relationship with my bf in Fiji.
- As mentioned, bf is a Fijian Citizen.
- From 2013 - 2016: kept our long distance relationship strong, frequently visiting each other by either meeting in the Solomon Islands or me travelling to Fiji between studies. Either place we meet, we see each other only for a month or so.
- 2016 (June): Visitor Visa for my bf gets granted and he travels to me in Aus for the first time. No overstaying or breach and he returns to Fiji after 2 months.
- 2016 (Dec - Now): We live and work here together and we now find out that I am pregnant. I plan to be back to Aus in July. Baby is due at end of year.

Looking forward to your help!


----------



## amerhnajjar

*skilled independent (subclass 189) visa*

Hi Mark and Everyone !!

I have an inquiry about Visa Subclass 189 ..

I have been granted my skilled independent (subclass 189) visa back in July 2016 .. and i have traveled to Australia and made my first entry in September 2016 .. then came back to my home country ..

and I am planning to move permanently to Australia in October/November 2018 .... 
It was mentioned in my visa grant notice that i must make my first entry before April 2017 (and i did in Sep 2016)

My question is :

I did not go back to Australia since then because of my work conditions .. are there going to be any issues as i move to Australia this November 2018 ??

Are there any rules or tricks that will cause me loosing my Visa ?

One more thing .. My wife (also has the same visa - Secondary applicant) will not come with me and she will follow me after a couple of months ... however, her passport will expire before she joins me .. what do we have to do as she renews her passport ??

Thanks in Advance ...


----------



## Mohabmisbah1

Hi Mark ,
I am about to apply as a management consultant and I have two questions ,
Can I apply as a general management consultant not specified one like marketing or finance management consultant?

2 - I work at investment company company which has a branch of management advisory , do I meet the employer criteria for vetassess or the just need a management consultant who works in consultancy firm ?

Thank you 
Mohab


----------



## DanielThomas

Hi Mark,

Have had my 457 visa application initially refused. I have lodged an appeal but have been put on a BVC visa whilst my partner, who is on the same visa as a dependent is on a BVA. I am leaving the country in July.

What options do i have?


----------



## Banty4711

Hi Mark
I m on bridging visa c, I got 489 nomination , I just want to confirm is I can lodged visa onshore or is there any condition to goes to offshore, I asked to many lawyers but they are not sure, they said they will try to Lodge after payed full visa fee, then they can tell me they r successful to lodged onshore or not. Please help me . Thanks in advance


----------



## Niyosamuel

Hi Mark,

I am married to Australian citizen and we have a daughter but i am still on 820 visa.
Can my wife sponsor my family as immediate family members.. since it is the family in law and they are in the Refugee camp. 

Thank you,

Samuel


----------



## Meera.Thomas

Hello sir. I had few questions which I hope and pray you'd get time to answer.

Subject: Query regarding certifying documents for PMV Subclass 300 visa (applying from outside Australia)

Case background: My fiance and I are from India. He's currently residing and working in Australia with a valid PR. I'm planning to apply from outside Australia via the online portal

Queries:
1. Do I have to get all my documents certified? (Excluding PCC and medical) If so, who do I get it verified from?
2. Do we have to get our statements attested/ certified as well? 
3. How do we provide statement of our friends/ family since form 888 is not valid for me? How/ should I get this certified? If so, by whom?


----------



## Umair_2018

Hi Mark,

I am currently on visa subclass 309 and I have applied for visa sub class 100 in December 2017. I am planning for travelling overseas in August. Do I need any bridging visa now or for travel overseas? I found a link of bridging visa in my Immi account in application section.

Your response will be highly appreciated.


----------



## Ggil25

Hi Mark, 

I have a question about international students and apprenticeships. 
My partner and I (hopefully) will be approved for a PMV300 any day now.
He wants to do an electrical apprenticeship, how would he go about this?
I believe once we apply for our 820,he will automatically be placed on a BVA, which has full work/study rights but no access to government assistance.
As apprenticeships are government-subsidised, will he be able to do this? 

Thank you in advance for your response!


----------



## Sallyjay

Hi 

You don’t have to certify the documents if you are applying online via portal. All original documents must be scan coloured and uploaded to the portal and isall good


----------



## kas1w3

Hi Sorayam, 

Wish you are doing well.

I need your help as I'm facing the same issue that you did . I got negative outcome regarding employment assessment but i got positive education assessment . how did you solve this issue ? did you appeal ? is it mandatory to submit the employment assessment ? Appreciate your assistance.


----------



## kas1w3

Hi Sorayam,

Wish you are doing well.

I need your help as I'm facing the same issue that you did . I got negative outcome regarding employment assessment but i got positive education assessment . how did you solve this issue ? did you appeal ? is it mandatory to submit the employment assessment ? Appreciate your assistance.



Sorayam7 said:


> Thanks soo much Mark you are awsome!
> 
> Yes. I am confident, as it was a fully accountancy job, and has all the tasks that are required and more, I have the payslips as well.
> It all depends on who does it as I did same degree at same university as my husband even same years, and I prepare all documentation together as we sent exactly same documents and syllabus and send all docs to cpa together (same envelope) and came up with totally different outcomes! So I really think it all depends on who takes your case, I will ask to rewrite letters and send them again see what happens.
> 
> thanks again for you help!
> You are terrific!
> Soraya





Sorayam7 said:


> Thank you for the fast reply Mark!
> 
> I just have one more doubt, I do have a positive skills assesment ( regarding my degree) so that part is done.
> They did not give me the skilled employment, but according to the inmi booklet it is not mandatory right, or I do really need to have the employment letter from CPA as well?
> 
> Thank you in advance.
> Soraya





Sorayam7 said:


> Lightbulb Negative CPA Skilled Employment
> Hello Mark
> 
> I would like to know if this happened to anyone else, and I am still trying to understand what CPA said about my skilled employment assessment. (221111- ACCOUNTANT GENERAL)
> 
> I have 3 years experience in one company as accountant, and another 2 in another as financial accountant. In both I got the letters from my employers stating what I was doing ( monthly/yearly budgets, cost control, book keeping, financial statements, taxation, auditing, year end closings, etc) and their answer was "the duties are NOT condieres to be at the level of DEPTH and COMPLEXITY expected in a professional accounting role."
> 
> On my first job I was doing all the accountancy for a small company together with another person. The other I was the only person in charge and responsible for the accountancy of the spanish company and reporting of another for an external company as it was based in London and had to be done there so I had to provide them with all the information, I reported directly to the CFO.
> 
> I really do not understand the outcome and I would like to know what can I do, and if I really need their letter for the EOI, of if I can upload it without it??????
> In any way I would like to know how I can solve this out as more relevant my jobs can not be, what else can I give them ? Another letter explaining more in depth?
> 
> Thanks so much for your help!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Umair and all -

Back on the forum after too much work (!) Will be answering all questions over the weekend. Umair - to your question, if your sc100 visa is refused, that will automatically cease your 309 at the same time. If you are offshore, this leaves you without a visa - it rarely happens, but it could. Problem is, as you do not hold a Bridging Visa A (BVA) or BVB, you would not be able to be granted a BVB. So that leaves an element of risk if you were to go offshore - if your sc100 is refused, the 309 ceases and you're essentially stuck offshore until you can get a visitor etc visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Umair_2018 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am currently on visa subclass 309 and I have applied for visa sub class 100 in December 2017. I am planning for travelling overseas in August. Do I need any bridging visa now or for travel overseas? I found a link of bridging visa in my Immi account in application section.
> 
> Your response will be highly appreciated.


----------



## kas1w3

*Employment assessment*

Hi Mark,

need your assistance to understand if employment assessment for finance manager occupation is mandatory . i'm applying for visa 190 and 489 and got positive assessment but negative experience assessment.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi kas1w3 -

It depends - if you have a positive skills assessment (ie, all required parts of the skills assessment) and you do not have to claim any employment for points, then you may be OK. Not possible for me to assess skilled visa eligibility etc here on the forum - too many factors to consider - happy to assist in a consultation - see my website below for more information.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



kas1w3 said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> need your assistance to understand if employment assessment for finance manager occupation is mandatory . i'm applying for visa 190 and 489 and got positive assessment but negative experience assessment.


----------



## rabiaafzal83

Hi Mark! I an an IMG and I have submitted TSS 482 visa application online recently. I got a GP job.
I checked him affairs site and according to my understanding General practitioner occupation do not require skill assessment? Is it true kindly confirm.


----------



## YCIH

Hi Mark, thanks for this page and an incredible contribution to many people over the years. Love your help please...

When my partner arrived on a 462 (I think!) working-holiday visa we immediately commenced a de facto relationship. We applied for a 820/801, 11 months, 14 days after she arrived, and now 20 months later have received a NJ letter for failing to satisfy the 12 month de facto requirement. Her original arrival card will have my address as her place of residence, but after that we are light on paperwork for a few months as we weren't certain we would continue the relationship. 

Unfortunately we are in WA, otherwise we would have registered the relationship and it wouldn't be an issue. Given that we applied two weeks short of 12 months, are we up the creek?

Really appreciate any light you can shed. 

Thank you.. YCIH


----------



## Prathu2921

Hi Mark
Thank you for your time. I need opinion of your on my tourist visa application.
I'm going to applying for Tourist visa next month in July.
I already lodge my Prospective marriage visa in the month of February 2018 from Delhi(India). I've done Medical and health check up and now waiting for visa decision. 
While preparing document for tourist Visa, I need to show strong home tie to return back to my home country. I got employment letter and leave Letter from my employer. I also have Fixed deposit receipt around $3000. Bank balance around $3000. 
I also add acknowledgement receipt of our Prospective marriage visa and invitation letter from my fiance.I'm going to stay in my partner's house , she provided me her bank statement , employment documents, passport and Income tax return for 2017. In your opinion what other documents should I attached to show strong tie with my home country. 
Thank you again and looking forward for your kind words.


----------



## danjess

health waiver


----------



## danjess

health waiver 
hi mark, i am currently prepare document for my health waiver. i am very upset that the MOC said my treatment needs 400,000aud, where my specialist statd in te letter that i dont need treatment. my husband is still hoping we can get the health waiver .. can you suggest what kind of documents would help us?
we have 2 house, one has home loan, less than 100,000aud, but we dont have much saving, all goes to pay home loan. we have a son 8 months old, he is aussie citizen. my husband has worked in the family business for 14 years, the only employed mechanic. his income is very stable. i have a house in china, and some saving, but i am not working, not studying, all my family are in china. my husband families are supporting us financially if i really needs treatment.(do they need to provide any documents?)
so for our situation, i am preparing rates, insurance document for houses and cars, tax assessment, bank account statement, superannuation statement, my husband statement for impact the health waiver to his career and my son. any other helpful documents do you suggest?
do we upload document in immiaccount or send to case officer by email?

thank you so.much for your time.


----------



## danjess

hi mark, i forgot to tell you, we are applying partner visa 820/801. waited 20 month, and now hope to get health waiver


----------



## peanut48

Hi Mark,

The department's offshore post did a horrid job trying to verify my employment which led to my visa cancellation. I'm now awaiting my AAT hearing. It was only in the decision and FOI records that I found they completely misidentified myself during their verifications. It's pretty shocking to see the level of incompetency by the department in these matters. Worse that they believe visiting the premises of the employer and talking to cleaners and security guards is more reliable than letters from HR and government issued documents like Income Tax papers and bank statements. Note, I worked in those places more than 5 years ago and cannot fathom how the department thinks cleaners/security guards have the authority to verify anyone's employment.

I'm hoping the AAT realise the stupidity the department has put me through over the past 18+ months. I'm wondering if there is anything else I could do to deal with this? I'm angry that the department can get away with doing so much harm to a person's life based on their illogical verification checks.

Thanks


----------



## martyg

*Sponsorship Question*

MY partner(now wife) was already granted a PMV and we filed a form 40sp at that time. We married last year and then filed for her permanent visa. Immi has now asked for a form 40sp again. When answering the question "Have you sponsored a fiance before?" should i be answering this question as yes? It seems like Immi have all the data from the previous granted Visa but ask all the same questions time and time again.

It makes it confusing. Any help appreciated.


----------



## Alisashine

190 visa

Hi Mark,

My partner is currently sponsored (457) as a cook by a restaurant in Melbourne. He's been working as a cook for over 8 years back in Belgium and for 6 years now in Melbourne. We have had difficulties with applying for 186, no refusals, but had to withdraw the application and are now trying to find other ways to settle in Australia.

We are considering to apply for 190 regional visa in NSW. Does he need to do job hunting before we submit EOI to NSW state authority or they will facilitate him if he is successful?

Thank you very much in advance for your reply!


----------



## ameenamina

Hello, I am new to this forum, but I have been watching over the period of time. My concern is,what is the best way to apply for uae police clearance.


----------



## Banty4711

Jun 05, 2018 · #14578
Hi Mark
I m on bridging visa c, I got 489 nomination , I just want to confirm is I can lodged visa onshore or is there any condition to goes to offshore, I asked to many lawyers but they are not sure, they said they will try to Lodge after payed full visa fee, then they can tell me they r successful to lodged onshore or not. Please help me . Thanks in advance


----------



## keren22

*Declaring Australian citizen partner on student visa application*

Hi Mark. My partner from europe has applied and been accepted to study a masters degree in Aus and has confirmation of enrolment. He now needs to do his student visa including statement proving he is a genuine temporary entrant. We are in a registered civil partnership with a state govt as of 08/2017 but are not ready or looking to do partner visa for time being as we intend to move abroad at some point after his studies.

Question: does he need to declare me in the statement? and even though he genuinely wants to do this course for educational purposes and career prospects given he is willing to pay the large fees, will DHA weigh the fact he has an aussie partner negatively?

He comes from a wealthy, high GDP european country and has always complied with visa conditions on previous visits.


----------



## Spoon

ameenamina said:


> Hello, I am new to this forum, but I have been watching over the period of time. My concern is,what is the best way to apply for uae police clearance.


I'm not sure if it's the same for each Emirate, but in Dubai all the information is on the Dubai Police website, it was very straight forward, you just need your Emirates ID and a valid email address and pay the fee. They emailed my partners certificate within 24 hours I think (I remember it was very quick) 
It says on the certificate it is valid for 3 months, so just bear this in mind before ordering it so as to not put an expired certificate with an application.


----------



## Lal0776

Hi Mark 

Hope you are well. 

I am new to this forum i will try my best to explain my situation.

I had offshore partner visa refusal from India. Besides providing a lot relationship evidences department said the relationship is not genuine.

My marriage is 5 years old now. Its been 10 months that we lodged an appeal at AAT Brisbane. How long do you thing that we it will take us to get the hearing date ? What are the chances of winning ?

I have history of PIC 4020 but the exclusion period was expired in 2015.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## Shazia

Hi Mark. Could you confirm my understanding that a person who is on BVC 030 granted against 457 visa application (and had been a 457 visa holder) can now apply for 186 or 187 visa under TRT (or even under D/E, if has positive skill assessment), following the amendment of Migration Regulation 1994 on 13 April 2018 [ref: 5.19(5)(e)(iv) to (vi)], and this option was not available earlier. Besides, please inform if a person whose 457 was granted on a metro postcode can apply for 187 TRT if employers main office and business is in regional area and the visa applicant had worked in the regional office most of the 4-year visa period (as the PD submitted in the actual 457 nomination and visa application provided that the incumbent is required to work on other sites ...) Will appreciate your prompt reply, if you could please


----------



## jamielannister

Hi mark 
If someone is barred by section 48 from applying visas onshore except certain visas. Can that person go offshore on bridging Visa B to lodge an application offshore to circumvent the ban and then come back onshore while the application still being assessed? Would that application be considered valid? 
Thank you for helping so many people for no personal gain.


----------



## Lama M

I am wondering if i am still eligible for visa subclass 476 since i have graduated 24 monthes ago.


----------



## Sodalime

*visa 100 eligible date*

Hi Mark,

hope you are well. Would like to ask a question regarding the eligible date to lodge visa 100. I m currently holding 309 and 14 May 2016 was my first application of 309. So it seems to me that the 2 years requirement has pass and now it is due to submit 2nd stage i.e. via 100.
But I am confused when I read the website of Department of Home Affair under the Partner Permanent Calculator where the second question asks "Did you lodge your application for a combined Partner visa before 08/05/2016?". I selected "No" and it says I am not due to submit the 2nd stage. I find this quite inconsistent with the 2 years requirement.
Has the been any changes to the requirement and is it the right thing to lodge visa 100 now?

Many thanks
Sodalime


----------



## suji3389

Hi. I would like to seek your help for processing my subsequent entrant visa subclass 485. My husband stays in Australia as a temporary graduate subclass 485. So how should I process my visa? I am still in India? I dont know where to start. Could you please help me?


----------



## Rosemarie

Hi Mark, 
I have been in a relationship with my Australian partner for about 5 years now. I was once on a prospective marriage visa in 2016 and lived with my partner for about 7 months in Australia. but we didn't end up getting married and I left the country before my visa expired. our relationship is genuine and we have lots of photos, travel history, chat history plus family/friends statements to prove that. however, we don't want to get married for now. Is there any other way I go back to Australia to be with my boyfriend? I mean does such a long history of relationship would help me to get a partner visa without marrying my boyfriend?

*additional info:* last time I got my 300 visa in less than 2 months. / me and my bf are the same age, both 31 years old.


----------



## MoonRising

*Can I move to another state on 489 if I fail to find fulltime work?*

Hi Mark,

Hope you are well! You helped me in the past, and I am back here to just ask you a few more questions.

I received my 489 visa a while back but struggling to find fulltime work. I find temporary low paying jobs, 3-4 months farm work but nothing that is 12 months length. 
1. My question is the 12 months of fulltime work required for the 887 visa does it have to be consecutive 12 months in the last 2 years? Or can I have 3 months fulltime here, then a break then another 3-4 months then another break etc.... and this way add to 12 months over 2 year period?

2. My second question if I fail to find fulltime work after staying 6 months in the state that sponsored me, can I move to another state? My visa states only condition is to stay in the regional part of Australia condition 8539. I will ask for release letter of course but in case I do not receive a release letter from the state I got sponsorship from, can I move to another state? Will this affect my chances of getting 887 visa and gaining citizenship down the road if I move without the release letter?

3.. My last question, when I arrived in the state that sponsored me, I stayed at hostels, backpacker places or hotels, only evidence I was in the state are some receipts, also shopping receipts, restaurant visits... and online booking I done for these hostels, is this good enough evidence to show I stayed here in the regional area of the state when I apply for 887? I also can show bank statements for all the payments I made with the card showing my stay here. Will this be enough evidence?

thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate the time and energy you put into answering our questions.

Have a great weekend!

MR


----------



## NaD_

Hi Mark,

Thanks for providing help to all of us.

I’m holding a Bsc in mechanical engineering and has been working in maintenance sector for 3.5+ years, and I would like to undergo assessment as a fitter(general) through TRA body, but I’m worried of getting -ve outcome, however, my daily tasks are covering +80% of those on anzesco code descriptor of this occupation.

May I know if it possible to get +ve outcome while holding Bsc in my case?

Please give me a piece of advice to know whether to proceed or not.

Appreciate your help.


----------



## Sydney05

Hi Mark,

I just wanted to raise an inquiry about my recent family sponsored visitor visa application for my husband in Pakistan.

I am Australian citizen and got married to him in January 2016. we lodged our partner visa 309 in june 2016 and still waiting for the outcome. first medical was done back in 2016 and because it got expired while application took so long to process he was asked to go through medical examination again in February 2018. while we are still waiting for the outcome of our 309 partner visa we decided to lodge an application for family sponsored visitor visa.

we lodged an application on 16th of April 2018 via Immi account, got acknowledgment letter straight away and received a request to provide bio-metrics. my husband provided bio-metrics with in next two days. we have also uploaded documents to show that he went through medical examination in Feb2018 for 309 visa.

On 11th of May 2018 we received a request to submit bond for $10,000.00 Which i deposited with in two days on 14th of May 2018.

Now it's been over a month we haven't heard anything from them. as per my understanding when CO asks for bond it means they are ready to grant the visa but in my case this hasn't happened yet. i have tried calling but didn't get any extra information about my application. upon my inquiry via email, my CO has advised that the application is still going through mandatory checks.

I am just curious about the whole thing, please advise if this is the normal process and if they ask for bond money without any intention of granting the visa? and whether it takes a long time to grant visa even after depositing bond money?

Thank You


----------



## kiwijapan

Hi Mark. I'm new on here and need some help, I am a Kiwi, my wife is on a 
461 visa. She is opening her own small business and is in need of income replacement insurance, have tried her super fund, banks and various other establishments but nobody will have anything to do with a 461, if you are on a 457 then its ok, do you have any ideas that may help us please.Also my wife recently qualified as a Remedial therapist which is on the skills list in TAS where we live, what would be the best route for her to apply for PR. I do not qualify myself as a NZ'r. Any advice or help you can give us will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much. Nigel.


----------



## Lalit08

Hi Mark
i have a query. We have applied for contributory parent migration in dec 2015. We included our daughter who was then 24 years old. We still haven’t received any mail from department.my daughter is now 26+ but still studying and financially dependent on us. What do you think will she be able to get visa as dependent child. She is not engaged or working at all.we are worried that it will take 1 more year to get visa and she will be 27+ by then. Please help what should we do. Does anyone knows if the department consider age at time of decision or application in older cases. I am aware it considers at decision age now a days but what about cases filed earlier to rules change. Please reply . Thanks in advance.


----------



## kas1w3

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I have been trying to reach you through email and skype. I need your help with skill assessment.


----------



## Kapil123

Hi how long does it take to open AAT file I had my RSMS nomination refused last year June and it’s already 1 year 
TIA


----------



## ShermD

Hi Mark,

I'm a PR holder of Australia. Is there anyway that someone else can cancel some other persons PR? I'm wondering, what happens if someone else submits my documents for a some other useless temporary visa such as visit visa? will it overwrite my PR status and will I have just a visit visa after that? then after visit visa is expired, I'll have no rights to come to that country. Technically my whole life would be destroyed... that's a very dangerous loophole in their system if it's possible. Our enemies or people in jealousy could easily do those things. Is it possible to loose a PR in that way? Will the government inform me before I submit such kind of document that will cancel my PR status?

Regards
Sherm


----------



## Melvinpaul

Hi mark - 
I am currently residing in Dubai with PR for self and wife - Class 189
Looking for applying PR for my infant son - Turning 2 in a couple of months.
Assuming class 101 visa is the appropriate one - Is it true it can not be applied online?

Also Have a question for true copy certification - Remember last time - years ago - we would self certify - is it still valid?- considering the online submission accepts scanned copies - still trying to wrap my head around true copy certification.
Appreciate if you can help with above.


----------



## Ardy

Hi Mark, I have a question regarding my wife's 820 onshore visa application. Immigration replied that she "did not met the health requirements" and panel of doctors estimated her medical cost throughout her life will be $420,000. She had a hepatitis B since birth. We had prepared a health waiver along a letter from her specialist arguing that her medical cost within 5 years would be significantly less than claimed along with medical data to back our case. We are now have a daughter ( australian citizen )that needed her full time care. 

So now we are waiting for another decision before we could make an appeal to the tribunal (if we got rejected). 

My question to you is, If we want to travel overseas with BVB (if granted). Is there any risk of my wife's BVB got cancelled if the immigration decided to refuse her application? Will you say it is safe to travel with our current circumstances? 

Looking forward for your take on this. Thank you for your help.


----------



## Mohammed786

Hi Mark,
I have received positive assessment for internal auditor job which i have joined from 5/4/2009. 1 year was deducted as qualifying period as per vetassess, so the date deemed skilled for points is 5/4/20010. I have completed my qualification and my degree is dated 1 aug, 2009 which has also been assessed as relevant to my field. Is vetassess assessment correct in providing outcome for date deemed skill for points from 5/4/2010 or should it be exactly 1 year after receiving degree( which should be 1 aug,2010)? Although i will not claim or receive any points for the qualifying period, I am quite confused about the inclusion of pre-qualified period in the qualifying period of job. Is this right?

Thank You


----------



## VAP

*What are the options if employment reference for skill assessment is not available?*

My current employer is not able to provide employment reference letter for 190/189 Australian PR . Please let me know the options I have, other than employment reference letter , for skill assessment with ACS.I am a software engineer.


----------



## Us9135

Hi mark i am australian citizen i sponsored my sister along with her two children for a visitor visa and 1 month visa was granted now they are here. I had a minor surgery done in april and now the doctors are saying i need to go for a major surgery and i will be bedridden for atleast 3 weeks. I live here with my wife and 1 year old son. My wife is preparing to appear for her exam in order to get registered as a dentist and also my son needs her most of the time. As my sister has no further stay condition imposed on her visa. If i provide a letter from the surgeon is it possible to get 8503 removed and apply for 1 month extension so she can look after me . She got here 5 days ago so we still have around 24 days left on her visa. Your help is much appreciated.


----------



## Ihatewaiting

Hi I also looking for advice for my case. I received an invitation of comment letter from immigration and need to give explanation in 28 days. 
I lodged my partner and my 186 application on the day when my partner arrived Australia by tourist visa ( without no further stay condition),
In an informally interviewing my partner informed the border officer that he was not intent to stay in Australia in 12 months and the reason he came back was to have his car sold. The Minister is not satisfy that my partner misleding an officer at airport to granted his tourist visa. 
My partner granted a bridge visa A afterlodged our applications and his tourist visa expired 5 months ago. 

-My partner provided a return ticket as a evidence of intent to stay temporary, it is true that he wanted to go back after sell his car but I persuaded my partner to lodge application onshore because we need to prepare our evidences of relationship, my partner had a 485visa refusal history because submitted a police check from third company so this time I want to check all the documents before send to agent. 

-If we only withdraw his application, will my application be effected? Or should we withdraw our applications and resubmit only mine? 

-If he withdraw his application, do we still need give explainations?

Thanks in advance


----------



## ShermD

Hi mark,

After getting a Resident return visa, say 3 months, then you travel to some other country, then if the RRV expires, what will happen? will you be able to return to the Australia or will border protection say "your RRV is expired a month ago, now you don't have rights to enter the Australia" ?

Regards
Sherm


----------



## cupidgirl

*tourist visa after refusal*

Hi mark

our new Zealand citizen 461 partner visa just got refused last week - due to lack of evidence in the financial department. we had waited 16months for that outcome. what are the chances of my partner being granted a tourist visa 600 to Australia so soon after refusal? we just want one month so we can get married. he comes from a high risk country - Zimbabwe.


----------



## Armit2607sidhu

Hello mark

I am on 489 (skilled provisional family sponsored visa) bridging on 25 0ct 2016 and final approval got on 6 dec 2016. Moreover , in 2 year time periods ...I travelled overseas three time so far ( 1st for 56 days , 2nd for 7 days and 3rd for 25 days) . So , please suggest me when I go for 887 visa


----------



## imanabba

*PhD student work condition*

Hello,

I am a PhD student. I was wondering while I am studying (I haven't submitted my thesis and my course is still in session), can I work full time for unlimited hours? I have work visa condition 8105.

Thanks


----------



## deafo

*Question about submit*

Hi Mark
Hope all is well with you.
My vietnamese wife had 820 visa for the last two years and now she is applying for a permenant visa 801.
I believe that I have uploaded all the necessary documents in ImmiAccount for her.
The question is, do I need to click on "Submit applications"?
Or just leave as it is and the immigration officer will check when they're ready?
I have attached image if successful
Thanks in advance.
Mark


----------



## TrixDivergent

*457 to 186*

Dear Mark,

Need your urgent advice, please. I'm a 457 holder (4 years, from 16 july 2015 until 16 july 2019). I started my employment as Cafe Manager (141111) on 11 September 2015. Last year I succesfully added my 16 y.o son into my 457 and i'm having him here in Australia since March 2017.

Just after passing my 2 years employment, On October 2017, My employer submitted Nomination for PR (186), simultaneously I submitted my application a week later, received a BVA straingt away, eventhough it's not in effect due my 457 still valid.

Long story short, we received an email from DHA last week asking more documents from my employer to be submitted in 28 days. There are 6 points that they required more details:

- Genuine need for a paid employee
- Vacancy
- Diversification
- Established business/organisation
- Unsatisfactory contract provided
- Evidence of meeting the training benchmarks

We're doing our best to full fill those, making all necessary statement, such as: statutory declaration mentioning the nature of the business from the begining and how necessary to have a manager to run the business, financial statement, amendment employment contract, organisation structure, copy of the menu, receipt of purchase of equipment, premissed lease invoice (can't locate our last rent contract 5 years ago, still requesting copy from our landlord).

Do you think this will be enough?

While from my side, DHA only required Police Check from Indonesia (my origin), other docs were submitted already.

Apart from that, i just want to know the worse case scenario, in case the nomination being refuse:
- can i withdraw my application, will this left me with BVA or my previous 457 stil in effect? Can I ask for refund based on my nomination being refused?
- If i'm then only hold BVA, can I apply Partner Visa (I've been living with my boyfriend for over 2 years now) or should i leave Australia and comeback with tourist visa then apply for Partner Visa?
Considering my son is still on year 11, i really want him to continue his study here.

That's all for now. Thanks alot for your time in replying us all.

Cheers


----------



## febie22

Hi Mark,

I applied for a student visa on May 9, 2018. Once I finished all remaining requirements like medical checks, I decided to go home to my country whilst waiting for the visa. So I purchased a ticket for May 28 returning end of June. Now, I knew that I was supposed to apply for a BVB before leaving, however, I was so stupid on not researching first how long I have to do it before I really need to leave. Long story short, I applied for the BVB two days before I left and got declined. 

My saving grace was that I get approved with my student visa. Which I did, I got the grant on the 20th June. 

Now my question is, will I have any issues returning to Australia with this visa since I left the country and the BVB got declined?

I have read somewhere that they will allow entry since you now have a valid visa, however I just want to confirm just in case they detain me and not allow entry since I left the country without the bridging visa b.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Febie


----------



## manivani

Hi I have applied for 482 tss visa on this month earlier. In my initial assessment case officer told me to change my USA police clearance because my name is not matching to passport. 
Now everything is alright.
Now I have got new PCC from USA on 20 th june and I have uploaded it to immi. Now the status showing further assessment.
Any idea when will be the case officer will b checking my case again....
Thanks....


----------



## Tharindu

*Migration Question*

Hi I am from Sri Lanka.
I am planning to migrate to the Australia. But I have problem with my dad previous migration to the Australia and I was thinking it might be problem to me or not. The story is,
My dad has went to Australia in 1999 with a business visa those days and after that he has applied to the refuge visa in there. I know that sounds totally in genuine migrate since he went there for business purpose and after that applied for refuge visa.Those days Sri Lanka people went there like that because we had a war in Sri Lanka.
The Australian government has taken his case and they have put rule that my day cannot go out of the country until the refuge visa process. That is the regular way i think. But after 3 weeks my day wanted to come to Sri Lanka because there is 3 kids in my family(I have two brothers) and he came to Sri Lanka because he badly missed us.So he has canceled that refuge application and come back to Sri Lanka.
Now My question is, is this story going to be a problem to me when i apply student visa or when i apply working visa to the Australia? Will Australian government count me as a cheater too? This was happened in 1999. In my side I have education qualification up to Bachelor degree and at the moment i am planning to start my MBA too. And my family financial situation is good too. Also i have my own income sources with my personal business.
Please Advice. Thanks!


----------



## Tjb1993

Hi Mark. I was just wondering who processes the online partner visa applications? Are they processed in Australia or processed by the Australian Embassy for the country in which you applied from? Thanks


----------



## inikhan

Hi Mark,

I made a mistake while lodging my application online, instead applying partner visa(309) i applied prospective marriage visa(300). I got different information from Immi service desk. I ended up submitting 1023 form as told by immi the last time i called them.
Thanks
Ini


----------



## manivani

Does the status of application in immi account will get updated from Monday to Friday only or Saturday and Sunday also
Anyone knows about that...


----------



## SK8

*Temporay Graduate visa 485,*

Hi Mark,

I am a PhD student at the moment and will be graduating within few months. I applied for my first visa to Australia as an exchange student in 2009 and studied here for 6 months and went back to my home university. And I came back in 2015 to do my PhD. I am wondering if that visa during my exchange program considered my first student visa, and therefore I cannot apply for Temporay Graduate visa 485 under the post graduate study stream? Please let me know, I'd really appreciate your help. Thank you very much.

Cheers, 
SK


----------



## Siancushion

Hi Mark, I'm on a BVC waiting for my 820 partner visa to be processed. Its been roughly 17 months. I have flights booked to the UK next week as my dad is gravely ill. I know my visa will cease. Is there a chance I can come back on a tourist visa? I have had two in the past (arohnd two years ago) my dog, fiance and whole life is here. I've been trying to get in touch with my case officer but having no luck! Please help. Thanks


----------



## ShermD

Hi Mark,

I have the PR in Australia through 189 visa. I did two jobs in my local country at the same company in parallel. One at day time from 8am-5 pm (8hrs) (2010-to date) and the other one from 6.00pm - 1.00 am (7hrs) (2010-to date). I have all the service letters from the employer. But I submitted only the service letter of 8am - 5pm job to the DIBP as the day job is the highly relevant to the nominated occupation. Is it illegal to do so? Should I have submitted the details of second job too? 

And the real issue now is, I'm applying to the university and my studies are relevant to the second job (the job I didn't mention to the DIBP), so I have to provide service letters of second job to the university and the Australian government will be funding for my studies. 

1. Is it illegal to submit different kind of experience letters? (at the same company, same time periods)

2. Will the Australian government think, "this person has submitted information of a different job to get the PR and now submitting different job details (service letters) for the government funded university grants".? will it affect my PR status?

3. If I have the service letters for both jobs separately (of the same company), will I have an issue? Do they (the government) compare the occupations of old PR application (in their database etc) and the current submitted job service letters?

4. What kind of documents should I request from the employer to prove that I did two jobs at the same time but different time period throughout the day.? (to provide if asked by Australian government) Is a letter stating (on company letterhead and rubber stamp) my details and this person worked two jobs at the same time period on company at this job and this job etc information enough? (in addition to service letters)

We had a tough financial situation in our family when I work in my home country, so I had to do two jobs.

Regards
Sherm


----------



## tsunami3806

Hello Mark,
Good day to you.

Currently I'm on bridging visa C（030), is there any chances for me to apply Visa 187?

Thank you.

Best Regards,
Kelvin


----------



## carosj

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Star Hunter -
> 
> You get the prize for the first question on the Ask Mark! thread! Here goes - and we keep answers quick and brief here for readability:
> 
> Re: additional evidence submitted after partner visa lodged: YES, they will consider it, and I've seen it make a HUGE difference in some cases. If a requirement is time-of-application (ie, defacto 12-month living together requirement) then additional info about living together BEFORE the time of application is good, but make sure you know whether a requirement is time-of-application (ie, must have been met at the time of application) or time-of-decision (evidence can be considered and added up until the point of decision) - big difference.
> 
> Re: MRT: YES they will accept new evidence and it's the best part of the MRT in my opinion - think of the MRT like a new "decision" - if a requirement is time-of-decision, then you can submit additional evidence up until the point the MRT makes their decision. Same caveat applies re: time of application requirements - if a requirement is time of application and you do not meet it (ie, minimum IELTS score for some visas, etc), then MRT may not be able to do anything to change things since you cannot go back to the time of application and change things.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hello Mr Mark

My boyfriend (he is Australian) and I (I have a student visa) applied for a partner visa a month ago. we have been together for almost 4 years and at the beginning of February (2019) we are moving to Tasmania, for that reason we decided to change my visa. The thing is that I have my student visa until 2020 so the BVA is disable until my student visa ends.

in this case we are afraid that in Tasmania we can't find a job quickly and if I will have to pay for my school to continue with my student visa it's going to be to hard and expensive our firsts months in Tessie, we were thinking about the possibility to cancel my student visa and apply for BVE. We know that I can't work with that visa but also I don't have to pay for school.

I would like to know some advice about my situation. From what I have read the BVE must be the last option but right now we feel on a closed road

Thank you


----------



## upen144

Hi All , Your reply can be life saving for me . I got the negative outcome from vetassess and they have mention your occupation does not match as per your relevant personnel . I asked each and everyone in my office and along with my reporting manager that they hadn't receive any call from Vetassess , moreover my RM is also marked me a mail from his official ID that he hasn't spoke to anyone from Vetassess . As per my Agent - they are forwarding the same mail to Vetassess for the reversal of their decision . 
My Question is that - Can they really reverse their Decision on such cases or my agent is just misleading me ? As he is taking followup from vetassess . Have anyone see such cases in the past ?

Thanks!


----------



## SVw

Hi Mark.. just wondering if been waiting over 25 months for my 801..do you think theres a problem and should I be worried


----------



## krissycaits

Hi Mark,

I am currently waiting for my PMV 300 to be granted. I am considering applying for the visitor 600 visa so I could spend time with my partner in Australia. I am ETA eligible and currently hold a 651 but this visa only allows up to 3 month stays and was hoping to wait out the PMV proces in Australia and leave the country as when they are ready for a grant.

My partner would be financially supporting to me if I came in on this visa (this is also a requirement for the PMV but a PMV comes with work rights so less likely she’d carry the whole burden herself). Is there a likelihood the 600 would be denied because we are waiting for a PMV or because I am ETA eligible? 

Thanks for any advice you may have.


----------



## Cornetbee

I’m waiting for my AAT interview, my lawyer seems not active to helping me. I have to told him that my bridging visa about to expired and then he doubt it, after few days he said immigration has refused but then he applied AAT for me. He received an email from immigration but not forward it to me. This is why I didn’t get any interview. He also said to be realistic because likely AAT also refuse it. I’m so lucky that I’m aware otherwise I might get deported with my Australian kid.

Should I find other lawyer?


----------



## KP1206

*Partner Visa and Past Centrelink*

Hi Mark

I'm currently in the process of getting everything together for my Partner Visa 820/801 application and hoping to get some advice regarding past centrelink payments. We have been together for 5 years but I intend on saying we have only been de facto for the past 2 years - it is only during this time that we have taken out a lease together, both started getting paid into our joint bank account and declared each other as spouses on our tax returns etc. Not during the last 2 years, but in the past my partner received Centrelink as he was a full time uni student but he never changed his status from single. We were living together at the time in a sharehouse with other friends/housemates and never had an official lease. We had a joint bank account but it was used mainly to pay rent and bills - we both transferred money from our personal accounts to cover our share of this, as did our housemates. At the time I wouldn't say we were in a "marriage like relationship" and it did not occur to him to change his Centrelink relationship status. I was also a full-time student so not earning much. Seeing as we are not claiming we were de facto for the time he was on Centrelink will this still be a problem? If it looks like it will be problematic I think I would rather repay any possible Centrelink overpayment than risk having the application denied. Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks in advance!

Katherine


----------



## Donkoala

Hi Mark,

I am on a grandfathered 457 (granted Feb 2016) and would like to change employer and occupation (not a related occupation but also on MLTSSL ).

Do I need to apply for a new TSS visa or is there a simpler, faster way?

Thanks a lot!

Cheers.
Nic


----------



## Kellygia93

Hi there. I was granted a child visa (subclass 101) in early November 2017. I had just finished university and turning 25 in January 2018. At the time of the application I was single. However in December 2017 I rekindled a relationship with a previous boyfriend (the relationship had initially broken down as he didn't want to move to Australia - he since changed his mind). I am still living in Ireland and plan to move in February 2019. My boyfriend has now proposed and I am concerned about if we will qualify for a partner 801/820 visa in February due to the fact that my visa was a child visa. Will we be able to apply for a partner visa by then?

Thank you


----------



## Frank666

Hi guys just wondering if anyone have gone thru a similar situation.

I went for my medical in Melbourne in may 2018 - after the chest xray was advised that i may have an inactive TB but they are not sure as they don't have sufficient information and would need me to go further test -
After few days I was sent a letter from BUPA saying a chest clinic will contact me and would instruct me where to go and how to get the futher test done and they also mentioned it may take upto 2 months -

I contacted Bupa after a month thinking surely there would be an other way to fast track the test but to my shock they responded by saying that in Melbourne the waiting time is actually 6 months so I argued that why the letter says upto 2 months.

I am happy to pay extra and get the test done from any other registered panel clinics/doctors to get this done quicker but according to BUPA I just have to wait which is f***ing annoying -

Its already been 2 months now and no response yet I really want to know if anyone have gone thru a similar situation and how long does it actually took them to get this sputum test done - most importantly when were they actually given an appointment or called from the chest clinic.


----------



## ShermD

Frank666 said:


> Hi guys just wondering if anyone have gone thru a similar situation.
> 
> I went for my medical in Melbourne in may 2018 - after the chest xray was advised that i may have an inactive TB but they are not sure as they don't have sufficient information and would need me to go further test -
> After few days I was sent a letter from BUPA saying a chest clinic will contact me and would instruct me where to go and how to get the futher test done and they also mentioned it may take upto 2 months -
> 
> I contacted Bupa after a month thinking surely there would be an other way to fast track the test but to my shock they responded by saying that in Melbourne the waiting time is actually 6 months so I argued that why the letter says upto 2 months.
> 
> I am happy to pay extra and get the test done from any other registered panel clinics/doctors to get this done quicker but according to BUPA I just have to wait which is f***ing annoying -
> 
> Its already been 2 months now and no response yet I really want to know if anyone have gone thru a similar situation and how long does it actually took them to get this sputum test done - most importantly when were they actually given an appointment or called from the chest clinic.


I didn't have any diseases, so I got my medicals cleared from the first run. but, I think, they're just passing time to check if your condition gets worsen or not .. they'll do another test after 6 months period. Yes that's a pain in the a** to wait..


----------



## Noelle

Hi Mark, 

I just want to ask what I can do with my situation.

I have applied for Family sponsored tourist visa for my mum and sister to attend my wedding on Nov 3. I have clearly indicated their travel dates on the application which is October 31- Nov 10. 

However, on the visa grant, the expiry is October 31 and they have a 8531 condition which is 'Must leave Australia before visa expiry.' That means they can't stay in Australia for my wedding. I have even attached invitations and a copy of my contracts for my wedding suppliers to show that wedding is on Nov 3.

Hope you can help me with my enquiry.  
Thanks!


----------



## Navraj2323

Hey mark, I m new to this forum and looking for some valuable advice since I received a NJ letter on 9/7/2018. They have raised the following points and I have mentioned my reason with each point.
1. They showed my photo to some neighbor businesses and no one recognised me. 
- I don’t know whom they asked but the reality is it’s been many years I’m working in this institute and the location is so crowded and have many ways to reach there, I normally use a shortcut street and also, never interacted with any of local shopkeepers, as I m very reserved in nature and don’t like to make unnecessary contacts. As, you may know in India people take it to other level if you are open with others.Moreover, there is drastic change in me(picture attached for reference) sometimes people do get confuse. Furthermore,I rejoined this company after four years of gap. Further my designation is facility manager, so never felt any need to interact anybody outside my workplace.

2. then they pointed that referee stated that I joined the company in 2011, then took a gap of about a year and rejoined. But I worked from 2007 till 2011, then went to UK for 4 years and rejoined in 2015 till date.Mr Satpal stated this only and said she left in 2011 and rejoined in 2015, He also showed copies of my experience certificates and answered accordingly.It might have misunderstood.

3. Further they said, I advised that there are 4 other employees with names while Mr Satpal said 9-10 employees at different designations.
Here I mentioned the employees who were present at that time and one who was on an informed leave and not the total number of employees work there. I have also explained to officer that because of some major health problems to our owner, institution faced a downfall and because of that some of employees left without any information and didn’t joined back but they didn’t officially resigned either, and on other side Mr Satpal mentioned all who were in record and not explained the whole situation. So, at that time I was not aware who all he still kept in record and mentioned only those I was sure about.

4. We were sitting next to the stairs that students were using to enter their classroom. At that time officer pointed in that direction and asked how many students were there, thus, on asking about the number of students I said currently 15 students are taking classes upstairs of mobile repairing. But to the other officer, Mr Satpal mentioned total number of registered students i.e 40-45 students including students that were enrolled for other courses that NEC institute offers or will join after sometime and I only mentioned the students that were currently present in the class of mobile repairing at that time. Moreover, to keep the exact information about number of registered students is not part of my work duties also.

5. Then, I said I get salary in account, my mistake is I didn’t say in form of a cheque. And manager said they give me salary cheque. My point here was that my salary is credited in my account, the way is through cheque. Also, he always gave me crossed cheque which is equivalent to getting the salary in bank account. 
To support this I have scanned cheques for last 6-7 months.

6. Further they said, referee was unable to find any evidence of attendance and also stated that attendance is not maintained since June 2017, which is totally a wrong statement. Referee has provided the attendance record from year 2015 till June 2017 to the officer, which she checked properly and also clicked the pictures of the same attendance registered on her own and I didn’t send any attendance record via email. Also, referee didn’t say that record is not maintained since June 2017, instead he said because of his health issues he couldn’t maintained it himself, so one of our staff was doing it and she was not present that day and we couldn’t find the register and requested officers to wait for few minutes until we find it, on that, lady officer said that they have to leave and its fine as she has already checked the other register, so its alright. Then I requested them to provide the email address if they are getting late and can’t wait so that I can send them the scanned copy of register when we find. She provided the email address but found that the domain name of that email address was not correct at the time I tried to send the attendance next day on 20/1/2018. I was confused if she did it purposely or its just a mistake. Hence, I didn’t send any attendance through email, they checked that register physically and clicked the records of June 2017, March 2017, July 2016, April 2015. 

7. And lastly for job duties, they feel that my workplace is small and my occupation is Facilities Manager, so according to them scope of duties are limited as per the size of business. But on my experience letters I only mentioned duties I perform on daily basis and those are not any technical duties which will come with any paper records that I can show them to prove. Here I am really confused.

Thanks


----------



## Shani1996

I am an Australian Citizen and My husband is Sri Lankan. We got married through an arranged marriage proposal. We dated for a year ( long distance relationship) then got married on June 3rd 2018. We have never lived together. After 3 days of marriage I had to come to Melbourne. Am I eligible to apply for partner visa? 
Thank You.


----------



## ARadi

Hi Mark,
I want to apply for skilled Visa sub class 189, but I am concerned that I fail the medical test because I had cancer 10 years back, myocardial infarction post chemotherapy which lead to a stroke a year ago which I recovered from completely, do you think I can pass the medical test. With my current medical status?


----------



## Randy10

Hello Mark

First thank you for the help you are providing. O am currently in the process of applying for the provisional partner visa 309/100 ( outside of Australia in Canada) Ive done the process though immi online and submitted June 6th 2018. I've seenany posts about waiting for the CO to contact you about getting the medical however Immi gave me a HAP number and now the health assessment status says .
"A panel clinic is currently processing this person's health examination(s) in eMedical. This screen will be updated once this person's case has been submitted to the department for processing. This may not occur until all results are finalised after the person has left the clinic. Ongoing delays should be followed up with the clinic in relation to the progress of your health examination results. Do not contact the department about this matter."

However I have not submitted a health examination of any kind yet. And most.posts seem to say you should wait till a CO contacts you, and some say I'm I online applications you can get asked without being contacted by a CO.

Should I go ahead and get the Health examination at this point or should I wait for a CO to formally email me?

Thank you
Randy 
Ontario Canada


----------



## poppenphilip

Dear Mark,

We have reviewed your information and replies to the queries posted in the Australian forum and we would like to explain our situation to you in order to get your expert advice in this regard.

I am on a tourist visa and this is the third time I have come to Australia. I arrived in Melbourne on 21May using my subclass 600 visa from India, and as I was already engaged to Philip Poppen (Oz Citizen) back there we had a registered marriage on 23Jun2018.

We have received our Marriage certificate from the department and now we are awaiting my daughter's visa. We applied for my Daughter subclass 600 sponsored family visitor Visa on 08May 2018 for which my brother (Australian citizen) is the sponsor. Since then we have been waiting. We have also contacted the department of immigration on numerous occasions and each time they tell us the same thing....the application is being processed. It has been around two and a half months since the application was made and this time period exceeds the 51 day time period specified on their website.
My daughter is under the care of relatives and is just a 16year old which really causes me stress and anxiety about her welfare. 
From 2011 we had applied for her and due to the fact that I never had the proper custody order the visa was rejected thrice. However this time we have a court order stating that I as the mother is solely responsible to make decisions as to where she should live in any part of the world. We have submitted a paper application with all necessary documents.

As we have planned the wedding reception and the fact that we want my daughter here please let us know the appropriate steps that we can take in order to get an approval at the earliest. We are frustrated and upset by the attitude of the department of Immigration.
Kind regards 
Savina.


----------



## monica15

hi Mark, 

This post is for Mark

My fiancé is in Egypt and I just wanted to ask if you can give me more details on the following: 

1. Statements from the applicant and sponsor outlining the history and development of the relationship.Template available from Cairo Post

Can you please help me find the available template thats required of us to use and write ourstatement. 

2. We got engaged in Egypt on the 20.05.2018 and we are planning to get married end of next year sometime in Egypt . I live in Australia.

** I wanted to take your advice when is the best time to lodge the Fiancé Visa application? because I'm not sure how long the result for prospective marriage visa takes?? would you know by any chance?

3. In terms of the supporting documentation showing the genuine nature of the relationship and that you genuinely intend to live in a spouse relationship.

** what exactly are we required to provide as supporting documentations? Can you please list things that they require. 

I have opened a link provided with a checklist but it doesn't open. I was hoping you could possibly list some.


4. At least 2 statements from friends or relatives outlining their knowledge of the relationship (Form 888)

**In terms of that, can the statements be from family like sister, brother, brother in law, who attended the engagement? 


**Also with the 2 statement is it from only the applicants side? OR 1 STATEMENT FROM MY FAMILY AND 1 FROM HIS?

Sorry few more questions: 

with the same statement on my fiancé side they are not the best in understanding english and filling forms? what should we do here? 


A signed and dated letter (on letterhead) from an authorised marriage celebrant who will conduct your wedding ceremony. The letter must include a date (or date range) on which the planned marriage ceremony will take place. 

** I JUST wanted to ask what should the letter outline? and with the letter this needs to be in english or can it be in arabic and then translated by professional english translator and stamped by them?

** Because the priest doing our marriage is from Egypt!! 

Thanks heaps for your support.. looking forward for your reply. thanks


----------



## monica15

*prospective marriage visa*

hi Mark,

This post is for Mark

My fiancé is in Egypt and I just wanted to ask if you can give me more details on the following:

1. Statements from the applicant and sponsor outlining the history and development of the relationship.Template available from Cairo Post

Can you please help me find the available template thats required of us to use and write ourstatement.

2. We got engaged in Egypt on the 20.05.2018 and we are planning to get married end of next year sometime in Egypt . I live in Australia.

** I wanted to take your advice when is the best time to lodge the Fiancé Visa application? because I'm not sure how long the result for prospective marriage visa takes?? would you know by any chance?

3. In terms of the supporting documentation showing the genuine nature of the relationship and that you genuinely intend to live in a spouse relationship.

** what exactly are we required to provide as supporting documentations? Can you please list things that they require.

I have opened a link provided with a checklist but it doesn't open. I was hoping you could possibly list some.

4. At least 2 statements from friends or relatives outlining their knowledge of the relationship (Form 888)

**In terms of that, can the statements be from family like sister, brother, brother in law, who attended the engagement?

**Also with the 2 statement is it from only the applicants side? OR 1 STATEMENT FROM MY FAMILY AND 1 FROM HIS?

Sorry few more questions:

with the same statement on my fiancé side they are not the best in understanding english and filling forms? what should we do here?

A signed and dated letter (on letterhead) from an authorised marriage celebrant who will conduct your wedding ceremony. The letter must include a date (or date range) on which the planned marriage ceremony will take place.

** I JUST wanted to ask what should the letter outline? and with the letter this needs to be in english or can it be in arabic and then translated by professional english translator and stamped by them?

** Because the priest doing our marriage is from Egypt!!

Thanks heaps for your support.. looking forward for your reply. thanks


----------



## johnhasanah

*Advice prior to submitting 820 application*

Thanks for providing a great service Mark. A brief background for some advice please. I'm an Australian citizen, my wife of 3 years is Indonesian. We'd been in a partnership/defacto relationship for 9 years prior to being married. We've been living in Indonesia. We're moving back to Perth at the end of July and will be making an 820/801 application once in Australia. Rules say it must be done online.
We've lots of 'support proof to show our relationship has been genuine for 12 years. We'll be submitting witness support documents from 4 people who have all known us for over 10 years plus a family support document from my twin sister. We have ample photos over our 12 year period and lots of travel together proof - some 80 trips together over 10 years.
We need some guidance on just how much support documentation we should submit. Is it possible to submit "too much"? Should we submit it all - or is there certain documentation that is 'more important/better accepted' by the immigration department than others?
We had hoped to submit both SP47 and SP40 applications with all documentation by delivering it to the Perth office. With the new rule of 'on line' only - we're wondering how difficult this is? How do we submit things like passport size photos with names printed on the back? Over 300 pages of current and previous passports - every page certified? Etc.
Some guidance would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## 371843

without attaching flights


----------



## mermaid

Hi,
I have around 11yrs experience in IT in India out of which 6 yrs are in my current company.
I applied for skill assessment through acs for code 261313 and provided a statutory declaration from my senior who is currently employed in the same company.

My education as well as previous employment is considered appropriate but my current employment has been assessed as not suitable due to insufficient documentation. What all documents do I need to provide along with the statutory declaration? Please help.


----------



## Reen

Hi Mark 
Here are my questions 
1.We are currently on 489 visa and my husband is the main applicant... we shall be eligible for 887 in june 2019.. 
So far .. he had fulfilled all the requirements but i was overseas for around 3months....so i just wanted to ask is it mandatory for the secondary applicant to reside in regional area for 2 complete years? Or is it just for the main applicant ?
2. If in case i need to compensate... can i apply it after 2 extended months from june 2019 counting one month as annual leave which is permissible in 489 visa .

3. And as a residence proof.. will Bank statements and health insurance policy work?


----------



## mamu

*600 Visit Visa Refusal*

Hi Mark,

My Sister-in-Law recently applied for a 3 month 600 Visit Visa (Tourist Stream) from Pakistan to visit us supporting my wife during her pregnancy and post delivery. She is a student and her Father with excellent bank balance was bearing all costs towards her Visit and daily needs. I sent an invitation letter and letter from Hospital and GP. I also submitted my bank statement and salary slips. Her visa was refused stating that she is a Student and does not have an incentive to return back to her Country and they are concerned that she won't stay in Australia temporarily.

I have been given right to appeal in tribunal. The situation is that my Wife has given birth to the baby and needs care at home.

Can you please tell me if my wife can re-apply with a different visa (Family Sponsored) but she is only a House Wife and dependent on me. I work full-time and earn a good salary. We have a joint bank account where she can show 10,000$ in her bank as financially capability to support her Sister's visit. Also, she can attach my salary slips as well.

Can you please guide us the best way and visa type including supporting documents?

Best regards,

Shabrati Mamu


----------



## Gagz

Hi mark
Mark can u pls help
Me out with subclass 143 PCV what is last opened case... by the time we lodged file eating time was 24 months but it’s more then 24 months is it really taking that long... do u have any idea last case is opened for which month n year


----------



## Nylreg

Hi Mark! Im a newbie here. Just needed some information regarding which Visa i should apply. Im currently holding a Tourist Visa and im engaged with my Australian partner. We are getting married on August 28 2018. I will be in Australia a few weeks before the wedding and my question is, if we will be applying the Visa online can we lodge it before the wedding and just send the necessary documents after. And which Visa should I be applying to? The PMV? Or Partner Visa?


----------



## ShermD

zaheerkhan said:


> hey mark
> thanks for yours cooperation with the people to help them, my PR was canclled due to the breaching of visa conditions, anyhow my wife and i wants to visit aus, coz my wife wana see some places there and want to see how the custom and life style of people in aus, so we r thinking to apply for 3 months visit, kindly can yu tell me is it right time to apply? and if yes how we can present our application in good way with possibility to be approved. as we belongs to high risk country. we have personal ties here like our families parents r living here, we have our own property here and my wife is governament teacher, so do yu think it will be enough to show them being genuine tourist? thanks


how did you get your visa cancelled?  OMG .. didn't you make the first entry etc?


----------



## Jmk

*Student Visa Diploma*

Hi Mark,

I would like to know about the working rights on student Visa, I am planning to file Diploma visa and would like to know about my and my partner's working right.

please advise me.

Regards
Jay


----------



## mermaid

*Points scored at invitation considered?*

Hi Mark

My husband is preparing to apply for PR visa under sub class 189 under code 2613 - Software and Application programmers. His skill assessment via ACS is currently under process, after submitting additional documents and is expected to be completed in 3 weeks. He is aged 32 and wil turn 33 in mid October 2018. 
Under current circumstances, the points scored by him are 75, however, after mid October, points will be reduced to 70. Do you think he stands a chance to be invited for PR?
I have read that the points at the time of issuing invitation are considered?

Thank you!
Regards


----------



## Studentjuly2018

Hi Mark,

I want to ask that If someone has got student visa for diploma in business and advance and changes the mind before commencing the course and now intending to study cert 3, 4 and diploma in Automotive Technology length of both courses are same. 

Now does he/she need to apply for new visa or he can continue to study on same visa ? Would there be any complications in case he changes the course? 

Any advise would be highly appreciated. 

Thanks


----------



## vimalsharmara

Hi Mark, 

Myself vimal, I've Lodged my subclass476 Visa application on July 2nd 2018, when can I expect my Visa to be grant.


----------



## Peach8989

Hi Mark. I work for a public hospital (government health department) and organise recruitment/ TSS 482 Visas for the international trainee doctors appointed by the department. They are due to start work early August and without instruction have gone ahead and booked their flights before receiving their Visa Grant notice. I have been them advising that as a last resort, if their 482 visa is still processing 3 days before their flight date, they can apply for a evisitors 651 visa to get into Australia and then wait for 482 whilst here. My question is, will this delay the processing time, or decrease their chances in obtaining a 482 Visa? There were never any issues doing this for 457 visas - not sure with new TSS.
We are an approved sponsor and employing doctors on medium term stream with ANZSCO code 253111 - General practitioner.

Regarding the doctors submitting their applications on IMMI - to get the ball rolling we tell the doctors to submit their applications incomplete, even if they don't have everything required to upload to IMMI. I have been told this will speed up the reviewing process, as getting medical board registration in Australia takes forever and evidence of this is a requirement for uploading to IMMI. Is it better to submit it and get the request for more info email, then upload requests from email? Or would it be better to wait until all evidence has been gathered and upload all at once (and not recieve request for more info - assuming everything is correct)?


----------



## Kirangrech

Dear Mark
I applied for my spouse visa offshore 309 in mid January. I had done my medical and submitted all the neccesory documents. Now found out I am pregnant. I have couple of questions.
When should I notify them about my pregnancy?
what documents do I need to submit?
Should I wait till my baby is born?


Thanks


----------



## Jessilicious167

Hello Mark,

im a 25y old German citizen with an Australian citizen Boyfriend. I visited him from October '17 until November '17 and from December '17 until February '18 on the EVisitor Visa which means i had to leave every 3 months. Now i want to stay for at least 1y (or to be honest dont want to leave at all, im ready to stay with him.) because it is pretty much needed for a Partner Visa. We are together since October '17 so its going to 1y but we didnt live together longer than 2+ months and quiet frankly we dont have much proofs either. So now we didnt see each other since i left in February because the flights are very expansive and we spent all our savings on them. Ive seen for the Working Holiday and for the Visa 600 are sufficent funds needed, around 5000$, which we dont have and probably wont have for a while. My Boyfriend has a fulltime Job, i would live with him and he is paying for me whatever is needed, so i dont really need this 5000$. He is like my Supporter/Sponsor. I know the Officers on the Airport asking barely for the fund prove but when i visited my Boyfriend the second time on the EVisitor i already got asked if i wouldve Money with me and a back flight ticket, i said No and said my Boyfriend is paying/supporting me, he will pay my back flight ticket aswell. So the Officer had a phone call to my Boyfriend asking if im telling him the truth. He confirmed what i said and the Officer let me go through. If my Boyfriend writes a letter saying he will pay and support me with everything, may i get through if i do get ask again for Fund proof?

I just want to see my Boyfriend without leaving every 3 months, which is a waste of money aswell because of these expansive flight Tickets but we are not able to get like 7000$ for Flights and sufficent funds together either. I know the Partner Visa costs around 7000$ aswell but there we have 1y time to save while being together.

What options do we have? Im ready to move to Australia and want nothing more than staying with my Boyfriend. We already think of marring and kids.

Greetings, Jess.


----------



## alexsam

Hi Mark, 

I hope you're well. I'm interested in getting my Russian girlfriend to Australia on a tourists visa. I have already contacted several agencies in Sydney and attended a meeting at No Boarders Mirgration though I'm still a little lost. No Boarders is reputable and comes with the price tag ($1200 just for their services). Most of the others are half this. I'm wondering two things? Firstly, can you recommend a good Visa agency. Secondly, is it worth paying such a high amount for a Visa agency's service? Any info would be much appreciate. 

Thanks Mark

Regards,
Scott


----------



## Shams Islam

I have granted a student visa back on 2017. Now I have submitted my EOI for 489 state sponsorship. 
I did not declare some job experiences in previous student visa application & form 80 (was not related to my study).
But now, those job experiences became related & i'm claiming points for this.
How this will effect my future visa (if get invitation) application & how to approach it.?
I have all salary slip (cash payments), appointment letters, service experience,release letter etc..
Pls help me....


----------



## sh_dh1

*Human resource generalist*

Hi 
I am applying from India for code 223111 , Human Resource Advisor under Skilled - Regional (Subclass 489) (Provisional) - State and Territory Nominated. As per my vetassess report which was doen in october 2016 the experience shows 6.6 years wheras now it has increased to 8.6 years , my points are not shown as increased where as the points for exp for 8 plus years should be 15 , please tell what is the problem. Do I need to apply for vetassess evaluation again, Please somebody help.


----------



## Lee123

Hi mark,
Im applying for a carers visa for my grandma and i want to include my wife and kids to the application. Would that affect my application in a sense would jeopardize the granting of my visa? What advise can you give me? Should i add them or not?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi All -

FYI I'm back, my apologies for the absence, work has become too busy but always want to make time for the Australia Forum. Am going to answer the most recent 50 questions tonight, will make more progress over the weekend, if your question doesn't get answered and it's an old one, please repost again and I'll answer it. Am planning on answering forum questions 2 or 3 times per week starting next week. Thanks for your patience while I've been away, it's great to be back.

Best,

Mark Northam


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Us9135 -

My apologies for the delay in answering your question. A waiver of condition 8503 requires a major change in the applicant's conditions that occured AFTER the visa (with the 8503 condition on it) was granted AND was beyond the control of the applicant. If the major surgery determination by the doctors occurred after she was granted the visitor visa, you might have a chance at it.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Us9135 said:


> Hi mark i am australian citizen i sponsored my sister along with her two children for a visitor visa and 1 month visa was granted now they are here. I had a minor surgery done in april and now the doctors are saying i need to go for a major surgery and i will be bedridden for atleast 3 weeks. I live here with my wife and 1 year old son. My wife is preparing to appear for her exam in order to get registered as a dentist and also my son needs her most of the time. As my sister has no further stay condition imposed on her visa. If i provide a letter from the surgeon is it possible to get 8503 removed and apply for 1 month extension so she can look after me . She got here 5 days ago so we still have around 24 days left on her visa. Your help is much appreciated.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Ihatewaiting -

My apologies for the delay in answering your question. I expect you've already got this worked out, but I would suggest you get professional assistance. We've seen this develop recently where statements made to border officials at the airport about "intention" are coming back and being held against applicants. After all, if the person had an intention at one time, that doesn't mean that the intention couldn't change at a later time, even a day, week, or month later.

Re withdrawal strategy, that will depend on a number of other factors - would need to discuss with you in a consultation to get more information about your situation in order to then be able to give specific advice.

Best,

Mark Northam



Ihatewaiting said:


> Hi I also looking for advice for my case. I received an invitation of comment letter from immigration and need to give explanation in 28 days.
> I lodged my partner and my 186 application on the day when my partner arrived Australia by tourist visa ( without no further stay condition),
> In an informally interviewing my partner informed the border officer that he was not intent to stay in Australia in 12 months and the reason he came back was to have his car sold. The Minister is not satisfy that my partner misleding an officer at airport to granted his tourist visa.
> My partner granted a bridge visa A afterlodged our applications and his tourist visa expired 5 months ago.
> 
> -My partner provided a return ticket as a evidence of intent to stay temporary, it is true that he wanted to go back after sell his car but I persuaded my partner to lodge application onshore because we need to prepare our evidences of relationship, my partner had a 485visa refusal history because submitted a police check from third company so this time I want to check all the documents before send to agent.
> 
> -If we only withdraw his application, will my application be effected? Or should we withdraw our applications and resubmit only mine?
> 
> -If he withdraw his application, do we still need give explainations?
> 
> Thanks in advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi ShermD -

My apologies for the delay in answering your question. If a person's Resident Return visa expires while they are outside Australia, they cannot use that visa to re-enter. In many cases, and at the discretion of the border control officer at the airport, they can be granted a subclass 773 "Border Visa" which allows them entry to Australia where they can then lodge a new RRV application.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



ShermD said:


> Hi mark,
> 
> After getting a Resident return visa, say 3 months, then you travel to some other country, then if the RRV expires, what will happen? will you be able to return to the Australia or will border protection say "your RRV is expired a month ago, now you don't have rights to enter the Australia" ?
> 
> Regards
> Sherm


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Cupidgirl -

My apologies for the delay in answering your question. The two applications are entirely different, so not a lot of interplay between the two, however you may have 2 challenges with a visitor visa: 1) you've declared your partner relationship with the 461 application, so DHA may think he's coming not for temporary reasons, but to stay with you; 2) He's from a very high risk country, which will make getting a visitor visa difficult under any circumstances. Key will be showing he has stronger ties to his home country and people, employers, etc there than he has to anyone in Australia - which is exactly the opposite of the 461 visa where he had to show very strong ties to you.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



cupidgirl said:


> Hi mark
> 
> our new Zealand citizen 461 partner visa just got refused last week - due to lack of evidence in the financial department. we had waited 16months for that outcome. what are the chances of my partner being granted a tourist visa 600 to Australia so soon after refusal? we just want one month so we can get married. he comes from a high risk country - Zimbabwe.


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Armit2607sidhu -

My apologies for the delay in answering your question. DHA policy for the 887 visa allows for "normal" vacation/leave times spent out of the country not to be counted against the time you claim living in Australia. This "normal" time is noted in DHA policy as being 3 weeks (21 days) per year, however there is no exact figure specified in policy. As your time so far is substantially greater than that, you may want to consider delaying lodgment (if there are no other considerations that would prevent you from doing so) until you are able to show closer to 2 years of living together time in Australia.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Armit2607sidhu said:


> Hello mark
> 
> I am on 489 (skilled provisional family sponsored visa) bridging on 25 0ct 2016 and final approval got on 6 dec 2016. Moreover , in 2 year time periods ...I travelled overseas three time so far ( 1st for 56 days , 2nd for 7 days and 3rd for 25 days) . So , please suggest me when I go for 887 visa


----------



## voodoo

Hi Mark

My question is about a possible error in the Place of Birth in our overseas Marriage Certificate for a Partner Visa application.

I am an Australian citizen by birth and married a Filipino citizen in the Philippines in 2017. On the Marriage Certificate for my Place of Birth it reads Bondi Bondi Australia. In other words the suburb/city is repeated twice rather than the normal City, State, Country e.g. Bondi NSW Australia. 

Now actually there are no headings on the certificate such as Suburb, City, State, Country so it is open to interpretation but we are a bit worried if this would be a problem for our Partner visa application and a possible reason for refusal. We have been advised that getting it corrected in the Philippines can be a lengthy and bureaucratic process.

Thanks in Advance


----------



## MarkNortham

Hi Voodoo -

Thanks for the note. I think there is a very low possibility that this would cause any issue - if for some reason it did, you could consider getting further documents from whatever office performed the marriage to confirm that the marriage was actually valid and performed.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



voodoo said:


> Hi Mark
> 
> My question is about a possible error in the Place of Birth in our overseas Marriage Certificate for a Partner Visa application.
> 
> I am an Australian citizen by birth and married a Filipino citizen in the Philippines in 2017. On the Marriage Certificate for my Place of Birth it reads Bondi Bondi Australia. In other words the suburb/city is repeated twice rather than the normal City, State, Country e.g. Bondi NSW Australia.
> 
> Now actually there are no headings on the certificate such as Suburb, City, State, Country so it is open to interpretation but we are a bit worried if this would be a problem for our Partner visa application and a possible reason for refusal. We have been advised that getting it corrected in the Philippines can be a lengthy and bureaucratic process.
> 
> Thanks in Advance


----------



## sh_dh1

*HI Mark*

Hi Mark 
Posting my query again , pls help

Hi 
I am applying from India for code 223111 , Human Resource Advisor under Skilled - Regional (Subclass 489) (Provisional) - State and Territory Nominated. As per my vetassess report which was done in october 2016 the experience shows 6.6 years wheras now it has increased to 8.6 years , my points are not shown as increased where as the points for exp for 8 plus years should be 15 , please tell what is the problem. Do I need to apply for vetassess evaluation again, Please help.


----------



## sia.sayali

*Partner Visa Query*

Hi Mark,

My name is Sayali and I'm currently residing in New Zealand since the last 4 years with my fiance Karan. I am an Australian Citizen and he is a NZ Resident (Indian Citizen) however we would like to migrate to Australia.

We would like to apply for a Partner Visa (801 or 309) however wanted to know if it is possible for Karan to stay in Australia on a visitor visa while the partner visa application is processed. He is allowed multiple entries for a maximum stay of 3 months per entry. We have checked and his current visitor visa is valid for another 2 years and does not have a "no further stay" restriction imposed on it.

Thanking you in advance.


----------



## CaroF

SEARCH IN THE CURRENT

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CaroF

online

Active MemberJoin:*Nov 2017Posts:*10

about 8 hours ago*· #1

Advice on working visa options

Hi
I'm making enquiries on behalf of my son. He would like to live and work in Australia as his sister and family are in Victoria and my husband and I have applied for the Contributory Parent Visa. I'd really appreciate any advice as the visa options are quite confusing. 
He is 33 and would be single He's a qualified plumber and gas engineer* He has limited funds but could be assisted with this
Is it possible to apply for a job from outside Australia and has anyone had success with this in a occupation like his? 
He has a history of depression and addiction but is being treated successfully for the depression and is in recovery for alcoholism. Could this affect things?*
I would greatly appreciate any input. Many thanks CARO

ampk

Senior MemberJoin:*Sep 2013Posts:*5963

about 8 hours ago*· #2

I would suggest he consult with a Registered Migration Agent - the sticky on this forum has some very good ones.
It will cost around $230-$270 from info I have - will be money well spent. This often comes off the fee if they do the full Skilled Visa application. I dont know what the costs are for that.
Plumbers can make some pretty good money in Australia.

CaroFForums IndexSubscribedParticipatedActive TopicsNew PostsPrivate MessagesWho's OnlineSign OutCopyright PolicyPrivacy PolicyExit Enhanced Mobile View


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## HARRY01

Hello Mark

Thanks for doing wonderful work,helping others is an amazing gesture.My spouse has applied for onshore partner visa.I need to know can we change supporting witness for 888 declaration,as the witness we mentioned in visa application,we are not in contact with them.If we can change supporting witness for 888 declaration,how can we do it and also how can we inform DIBP. ....Thanks for your time Mark.


----------



## CaroF

Hi Mark

Again thank you for your previous advice which helped us enormously. I tried to post a message yesterday but somehow got it all messed up and couldn't delete it, but today it has gone so I'll try again! 

I'm making enquiries on behalf of my son. He would like to live and work in Australia as his sister and family are in Victoria and my husband and I have applied for the Contributory Parent Visa. I'd really appreciate any advice as the visa options are quite confusing. 

He is 33 and single. He's a qualified plumber and gas engineer in the UK. He has limited funds but he could be assisted with this.

Is it possible to apply for a job first from outside Australia ?

What are the most suitable Visa options for someone in his position?

How long do these visas generally take? 

He has a history of depression and addiction but is being treated successfully for the depression and is in recovery for alcoholism. Could this affect things?

I would greatly appreciate any input or advice.

Many thanks 
CARO


----------



## ShermD

re-posting my post again as it's beyond the page 3463. Thank you

Hi Mark,

I'm a PR holder of Australia. Is there anyway that someone else can cancel some other persons PR? I'm wondering, what happens if someone else submits my documents for a some other useless temporary visa such as visit visa? will it overwrite my PR status and will I have just a visit visa after that? then after visit visa is expired, I'll have no rights to come to that country. Technically my whole life would be destroyed... that's a very dangerous loophole in their system if it's possible. Our enemies or people in jealousy could easily do those things. Is it possible to loose a PR in that way? Will the government inform me before I submit such kind of document that will cancel my PR status?

Regards
Sherm


----------



## sh_dh1

*HI Mark*

Posting my query again , pls help

Hi Mark

Awaitng your reply !!!
I am applying from India for code 223111 , Human Resource Advisor under Skilled - Regional (Subclass 489) (Provisional) - State and Territory Nominated. As per my vetassess report which was done in october 2016 the experience shows 6.6 years wheras now it has increased to 8.6 years , my points are not shown as increased where as the points for exp for 8 plus years should be 15 , please tell what is the problem. Do I need to apply for vetassess evaluation again, Please help.[/QUOTE]


----------



## razan.th

*Partner visa information needed*

Hi Mark!

My partner and I got legally married over seas in April 2018, he is an Australian citizen, and we applied for the spouse visa a few months after. He is back in Australia now and I would like to go in March, 2019, after we have the wedding ceremony. I applied for the Visa while in Jordan, near the end of July 2018. I plan on going to visit some family outside of Jordan for a few months, but I'm worried about leaving and then having to come back for an interview. Would i be able to take the interview in the country i would currently be in? Also, If the visa doesn't come through before March, Is it okay for me to enter Australia on a visiting visa and change it to a bridging visa once i'm there? 
Thank you so much!


----------



## newhavenct

*309 visa timing*

Hi Mark,
Thank you so much for offering to answer questions.

My husband (Australian citizen) and I (US/Canada) have been married for over 3 years and currently live in the US. We'd like to move to Australia on or around June 2020, and we're looking at immigration filings presently. June 2020 is when I graduate from my master's program.

If we apply online for the 309/100 subclass visas now and happen to be approved well before our intended move date of June 2020, what consequences, if any, would there be to not entering Australia until June 2020?

Thank you very much!


----------



## Beez88

Hi Mark..

Usually how long it takes for the processing of schedule 3 ? We sent our compelling reason on early of June this year and its been already 3 months now we still don hear anything from the immigration.. how do we know if its be waived or not? Thank you


----------



## Samantha12

Help mark! Thank you so much for taking the time to help! 

I have (what I think to be) a simple question I cannot find the answer to anywhere! Even after paying the £5 to email the uk government! 

I recently applied for a spouse visa but was denied on the basis of not enough evidence. We will apply again shortly with the documents they need. My question:

Can I travel into the uk while my visa is processing? If I pay the extra amount to keep my passport while it is processing? 

If so, what are the conditions of my travel into the uk? 

Thank you SO much for your time and effort.
Samantha.


----------



## BMHansen

Greetings Mark,

First post so bare with mi ignorance! I have read several posts and looked for my answer but not to sure what I need to do! 
I have been in an online relationship with a Australian citizen for 2 1/2 years and have visited 2 times this past year! We are committed to making this work and I am wanting to immigrate to WA to move in and start our lives together. As I have read in our situation an onshore may be the better option but want to know what I need to take into consideration? we do plan to marry but dont want to use that as a basis for the visa and the long wait involved. So the short question would be would a onshore partner visa be the best option? Obviously I will be getting a lawyer.
Thanks for your help
Brett


----------



## kirky1806

Hi Mark
My Husband & I are currently in Australia on a Sub-Class 410 which we've held since 2006, we have been here on a permanent basis since (retired) December 2015, is there any way we can get this changed to a permanent residency??


----------



## Shetyr

Hi Mark, I just have an inquiry regarding 887 visa work requirements. Me and my family are planning to apply Skilled Regional visa subclass 887 in which my husband will be the primary applicant In DIAC website for 887 visa, its states "Full time work is work of at least 35 hours a week in one full-time job or in two or more part-time jobs. The work can be in paid employment or self-employment". My husband works in 1 job as permanent part time and worked at least 35 hours or more per week for 2 years now. My question is, Is he eligible to apply the 887 visa as a primary applicant considering his employment status? He fulfilled the 35 hours of work per week, it's just his employment status is permanent part-time in 1 job.


----------



## Mikehello

*Police Service*

Hi Mark,

In the character declarations page - for the question - Has any applicant ever served in a military force, police force, state-sponsored / private militia or intelligence agency (including secret police)? - the website is not accepting the answer "yes" without "date to" area filled but I'm currently serving in a police organization ( other than my citizenship country) in a Planning Engineer role ( Civil Engineer profession ) for about 15 months now. Kindly advise me how to answer the question.

Also, let me know if I need to attach any letter from my officer attesting my character? kindly note that I'm still in the service and please advice if the letter needs to be addressed to DIBP or "to whom so ever it may concern"

Thank you very much in advance


----------



## Mikehello

*Non Migrating members of the Family Unit*

Hi Mark,

We are a married couple without children as of now. I have added my wife for migrating along with me. For the question - Non migrating family member - Does the applicant have any members of their family unit not traveling to Australia who are not Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents?

I would like to seek your advice.It is mentioned in the form 1496i that family unit means wife or dependent children.So, my query is should I include my parents and unmarried sister in the non migrating family category?

Thanks you very much in advance.


----------



## novie1983

Hi Mark,

Hope you're doing well. 

Ijust want to ask when can you make a payment for 820 is it after i submitted my online form or after my husband which is my sponsor submitted his form?

Also, i want to compile our pictures i am using word for that but when i checked with home affairs.docx is not on the list of approved files, can i still use it?


----------



## Jennymilford1

Hi mark I'm new here .
I have partner visa 801 in process and it's being looked at as we speak. We are very hopeful it's going to get granted. But just in case if doesn't what Visa would I go on then ? As I will be overseas at the time of decision? 
What are my other options?
Currently on 820 since November 2017.
Thanks in advance.
Jennifer


----------



## TrailRider

*No Reason to Return*

Hi Mark,
I am from Kenya, hoping to come to Australia for a several months, but it looks like they will only give me two weeks. I have not long finished study, have no job, and no assets.
I am thinking about enrolling in a university course so that I can say I have that to come back to. Is there something else I can use to persuade them that I will return?


----------



## nitdgp30

MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> Mark Northam


Please help me 
I did my medical on 11 May 2018 . After 4 day I got mail that I have to go further test for Tb . 603 referral code I.e sputum test for 8 week and after 90 day from first medical again chest x Ray . On 24th May I lodge my student visa 500 , higher education sector. When I lodge my on below side written that action required- health examinations, also there is red flag sign and application status is received. After 90 day I completed my medical on 11 August and also my medical is finalised but till now it is written that action required- health examination and also red flag sign .on 13th August my medical status changed. But there is no improvement on my visa status and also still that red flag sign remains. Note I got call from Australia high commission on 4th August and he asked that when your medical will complete. 
Please help how much time it will take for outcomes of my visa because already 85 days have been passed.


----------



## maj

hi Mark,
Please i need your help,
i am here in Australia with my family.. we arrived in April 2018 
i have sent my protection visa application in early May 2018 and got the bridging visa A late in May
DIBP sat an interview for me in September 
i am so worried because the usual waiting period is too short (if you compare it with others), also they did not ask me for health assessment 
my question is that.. is that a poor sign or no?


----------



## Jennymilford1

Very desperate for your help, please help.

I'm overseas at the moment and my 801 has been refused saying my evidences aren't enough. 
What do I do now? What visa am I on now?
Can I come back into Australia asap to apply an appeal (aat) ?
How long do I get to appeal ?
What are my options please help.
Thanks in advance.
Jennifer


----------



## senanayake

hy! im from srilanka.. i lodge my visa 26th may 2018 and after one week they call me and ask some questions.. now working 50days gone.. . No response yet. i applied for commercial cokery. what i do? if i call to the embassy is it a problem? pls help me..


----------



## aj1199

i am from india and working as a lecturer in a polytechnic for past 10 years. i have done my bachelor's in mechanical engineering. i want to immigrate to Australia. i checked my job duties on anzscosearch , i qualify for vocational education teacher code 242211. please guide me that can get PR in this occupation.
thanks
Amanjot


----------



## Daniel91

Hi Mark,

Just a question regarding Translations,
We live here in Austria married for 7 years and we will apply for the 309/100 for my wife shortly(i'm Aussie). We had a bunch of our Documents translated by a Professional Translation company over here, they are not apart of the NAATI.. but are ISO certified.

did we waste our money? i was not aware of the NAATI beforehand

eagerly awaiting a reply... thank you!


----------



## Saideep

Hi vimal 

I lodged my visa on july 10th..! Did you get any contact from CO?


----------



## daiinexyz

Hi, 

I applied my 461 visa on may 2018 got email from immigration 2 weeks ago to have my medical and additional forms to submit. Then i receive our photos i submitted yesterday from immigration . They post it in our house. Is it a good sign to get my visa approved?


----------



## Saideep

vimalsharmara said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> Myself vimal, I've Lodged my subclass476 Visa application on July 2nd 2018, when can I expect my Visa to be grant.


.........!


----------



## KobbityDino

st
All
Hi! Mark I was overstayed my student visa in 2016 and left Australia with BVE. I have just applied for 309 offshore partner visa through Migration agent in June 2018. My agent submitted a 600 visitor visa for me on the 8 August 2018. She has just told me that she received a letter from a case officer about PIC 4014 Public criteria and asking for compelling and compassionate reasons. I paid huge amount of money 
to my agent. She did not tell me the truth that she submitted for a wrong waiver. I have read and found that you have been helping a lot of people on Australiaforum. Is it possible for you to help me? Any Advice ? Thanks


----------



## Arunsi

Hello, I applied 188 business visa and my timeline is 
Eoi rec from Queensland - 30/04/18
Fees paid - 02/05/18
Medicals done - 06/05/18
Documents reached - 14/05/2018

Can i know expected time for CO to contact me. 

Thanks and regards


----------



## zamazama

I have been on this forum sometime back, about my daughter whom I wanted to come in on a 461 visa. Now she eventually came in on a student visa which is expiring end of March 2019. Now that she is living with me, coming to the end of her course, can I extend her stay using the 461 visa. She is 27, works about 15hrs a week, I pay her school fees and upkeep. So basically she is still dependent on me. Can this be a viable option?
Many thanks
N.N


----------



## samtrayhurn

*Transitioning from Student Visa to Partner Visa*

Hi Mark,

I would really appreciate any information you have about mine and my partner's current visa situation.

My partner is from Colombia and is currently on a student visa until 2021. We are also living together, and have registered our relationship in NSW. Very soon, we would like to apply for a partner visa. At the moment the cost of living is very difficult due to his work limitations and the high costs of study, so ideally, we would like him to be on another visa ASAP.

I understand if he cancels his student visa once he applies for a partner visa, his bridging visa will also be cancelled and he will get a bridging visa E and will need to apply for work rights. So doing that isn't really an option.

Therefore, I have two main questions:

1. If he cancels his student visa, and then we apply for the partner visa before the 28 day period after cancellation ends, will he get the bridging visa? Is there any issues in doing this?

2. Our other option is to apply offshore and live in Colombia while we await the partner visa to be approved. If he cancels the student visa, and we both return to Colombia and apply from there, would this be ok? Do you think there will be any issues with our approval given the cancelled visa? If we get married in Colombia, will this change the process at all?

Thank you so much for your assistance!

Sam


----------



## OzJourney88

Hi Mark,

So happy to hear that you're willing to help regarding visa inquiries. I hope you could help me with this one. 

I am currently holding a Student Visa and will be planning to apply for Temporary Graduate Visa soon. I just got married last year and my husband is currently residing in Singapore (offshore). Can we lodge my 485 application together? Or should it really be separate? If so, how soon can I lodge his application?

Thank you so much for any help you can provide.


----------



## semsemdiab

Hi Mark,

I lodged my 190 visa on 10-April-2018 and till today I haven't receive any update, neither CO contact or grant. I started to be little worried as all people I personally know who applied before and after me already got their visas.

My question are, what is the average wait time for grant for visa 190? and what factors can make two applicants with the same job code and almost same everything (nationality, points,etc...) have different waiting time?


----------



## mattimarzo91

Hi mark, thanks in advance for your answers,
So i was notified in june by my private school in perth, that i was at risk of visa cancellation due to unsatisfactory course progress, They did a new COE ending on the 6th of september (in 10 days) so they i could still study. I got an email today and i think they want , again, to extend my visa till probably january . Now as i don't want to be on a student visa anymore , if i refuse they might cancel my visa. 
Can they cancel it a week before the visa expires naturally ? Problem is i'm ready for a de facto application and i don't know what to do , BVE is not an option for me ... thanks


----------



## maddyin61

Hi Mark,

I am waiting for invite for 189 Visa in Software engineer. I have started my career as Software engineer and continued as a software engineer in first 2 companies. But when i came to Australia I was promoted to higher role as a System analyst and continuing as System analyst (Techofuntional role) since last 3 years Now My roles and responsibilities are a techno-functional role which requires both Software engineering and System analysis. My Australia experience is system analyst.
Now last month i had done my ACS with software engineering job code for which i got positive ACS response. Now I have below queries for filing 189.

a) I have completed 3 years in Australia . Can i claim Australia experience point in EOI (Can this experience will be considered as Progression Career pathway because i started career with software engineer and after 8 years i become system analyst).
b) Will DIBP consider my Australia experience 10 points if those are under System analyst but approved by ACS in software engineer. I have roles and responsibilities approved the letter.
c) Have you heard any rejection due to this mismatch by DIBP?
d) In case of rejection will there be ban for few years?


----------



## Cindai

Hi Mark,
I’m so confuse. I’m applied partner visa last 2 years. My bridging visa granted on 26 August 2016. I read somewhere that you have to wait around 18-22 months to approve for you second stage? My bridging visa is type A and subclass 010. It’s because I can’t travel I applied visa B for visit my family around May this year. My question is today is 27 August 2018. It’s already 2 years. Should I contact the immi or should I wait lil bit longer? 
Hope to hear you soon, 
Many thanks and I apreaciate your answer.


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## RookieVisaMan

Hi Mark,

Just a quick question, my partner is on a 820 visa which was approved Dec last year. We have brought her 10 yr old daughter to Australia on a 600 visitor visa and applied onshore for a 445 visa on advice of a migration agent. We have received an 'acknowledgement of application lodged' from DIBP in Perth. As its a paper application I can't track its progress on Immi.

My question is this. Will she be granted a bridging visa anytime soon before her application is decided upon or will she have to leave the country once her 3 months is up and re-enter?

Kind regards for your time and looking forward to your reply.


----------



## conniesky

Hi Mark, nice thread. 

I was fortunate to be granted a multiple visit visa even if I was only intending to come to Australia once to visit my college friend and her husband. But I so loved the country and my friend is now convincing me to try to go back and if possible to live and work in Australia so they could have me around most of the time, in short, they both loved my company lol. 

However, as I was randomly checking ways to move there, I feel like I'm already tired fulfilling all the requirements plus I'm hesitating on my age as I'm already 47 and possibly have a low scoring point. 

My question is, what would be the best visa for me to apply to be able to live there and work at the same time, not for good but at least for a longer period? 

My subclass600 visa is still valid until April 2019 and I'm currently working here in Saudi Arabia as a Secretary since 2006. 

I would appreciate any feedback from you. Thanks and more power!


----------



## Salma.tabbu

Dear Mark,

Greetings for the Day!!

My occupation is System Administrator - 262113 with 75 points.

I have applied for NSW 190 Subclass on March 17th 2018, and was last updated on May 22nd 2018. As per the latest update, NSW Stream 2 has been closed for new FY 2018-2019. 

Could you please let me know if there is any chance to get the invitation, as I have applied prior to the update on closure of the Stream 2 and I fall under FY 2017-2018.

Is they any chance that Stream 2 will get re-open soon? Can we have a positive hope on this?

Also, my spouse has applied for System Analyst job (261112) as the main applicant. Can she claim 5 points for my occupation (System Administrator), which is not available now?

Expecting a favorable reply on this.


----------



## alexcoates0510

Hi Mark,

I was wondering if you could help me please?

I have recently sent off my 1445 to request an employment extension whilst I await a decision on my recently lodged 482 visa application. I have a feeling it hasn’t been emailed to the correct place? I live in NSW (if you need that info).

Are you able to clarify to me where I should have sent it?

Thank you in advance.

Alex


----------



## Lookingforsuggestion

Hi friends, we received a letter form IMMI and asked us to provide the following eveidence,

"Please provide relationship photographs evidence (previous and ongoing relationship). Request details: Evidence of your relationship with your spouse
The decision maker must be satisfied that you and your spouse:
● are validly married under Australian law
● have a mutual commitment to a shared life as a married couple to the exclusion of all
others
● have a relationship that is genuine and continuing
● live together; or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis.
To assist in deciding your application the decision maker must have regard to all of the
circumstances of your relationship with your spouse including: the financial aspects of the
relationship, the nature of the household, the social aspects of the relationship and the
nature of your commitment to each other."

What does it mean? It seems that the case officer is requesting photo evidences only, not writing documents, is it correct? We uploaded our wedding photos, honeymoon photos and some others photos with families and friends last year. Not sure what else do we need to provide. 

Could anyone please give us some ideas? What proper evidences we need to provide? Much appreciated!! 🙂


----------



## Randhawa bawa

Hi i am new in this forum i also applied dependent visa on 23 may 2018 and on 17 august medical requested by department and mddical done on 20 august and clearance provided no action required and now my status changed from initial to further assessment from 22 august . And processing time shows 17-32 days from 15-37 days .i want to know how much time to make a decision
Plz rply


----------



## Sourabhisme

Hi Mark,

I was wondering if you could assist me with my enquiry.

I will complete two years in 457 visa this weeks and now planning to apply for ens186 in trt stream.

My question is do I need to wait for my employer to apply first or I can file my application at the same time. I am going to apply myself so wasn’t sure what do first. It’s just my Ielts will expire in January 2019 and I want to apply before it expires.
Please assist me with this enquiry.

Kind regards


----------



## Sandeep79

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sandeep79 -
> 
> Under the current regulations, if you withdraw the application prior to a decision you won't get a 3-year ban per PIC 4020. However, if you attempt to use the skills assessment in the future and the suspect employment was used to get the skills assessment, the entire problem can come back.
> 
> Note that legislation passed last year but disallowed would have included any information given to DHA for any visa application over the last 10 years regardless of whether the application was withdrawn, so if this legislation passes withdrawing the application won't avoid the ban.
> 
> No way to comment on your points without seeing the actual evidence you intend to lodge - just "saying" things and making claims is not going to get the job done - to overcome the PIC 4020 allegations you need very strong, verifiable evidence that thoroughly disproves the allegations.
> 
> Hope this helps -
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam
> 
> 
> 
> Sandeep79 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Mark
> Thanks for your reply. One more question please, in worst case if we withdraw the case still they will impose the ban for three years?
> 
> Also to prove the absent of the owner we have discharge letter of her wife from hospital. Owner is ready to give the it in the writing that he was not present on the day. Department can come again for double check the documentation.
> 
> For the salary difference, because my brother is an educated whereas the other worker are only either illiterate or have education only till middle school. They only help to bake the products. In any emergency my brother look after the production and Customer as well, in the absence of the owner and organizes all raw material.
> 
> My brother gets the salary slips from the owner. And also have the log-in and out register to prove that he is working there.
> 
> For work in capacity of the baker, we can provide the photos or video from there warehouse and the retail shop ( which are on different buildings)
> 
> We can request the department to double check everything with the owner?
> 
> Mark, what do you think these are the sound points or not?
> 
> Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi Mark
My brother has withdrawn the 489 visa file. Can he apply again? How he can apply again without using his previous experience from the suspected employer? Is that possible?
Thanks


----------



## Ebi

Hi Mark... Ebi here I applied vocational training sector on 11th June still my Visa under process. Delaying is Good or Bad for results since I missed July intake I’m joing for 2019 feb intake. Is that worth wait till December or January??


----------



## Mohammed786

*Employment evidence for 189 visa*

Hi Mark,

Hope your doing well.

I have queries with regards to the uploading of documents after lodging of visa. I have been working since 2009 for the same company and have received positive outcome for my skilled assessed as an internal auditor. For vetassess, i just uploaded a service certificate stating (" xxx employee holder of passport no. has commenced working with us "joining date" and the current designation-Auditor), salary certificate for the same( mentioning the current salary) with the designation as Auditor, Roles and Responsibilities. All of these documents were issued by my companies HR department and stamped.

After the positive assessment, i have been promoted as Senior Auditor, the roles and responsibilities are almost the same.
Now for visa lodging, i will upload the same documents which i submitted to vetassess for skill assessment for Auditors post.

For senior auditors post, i will upload my promotion letter, Roles and responsibilities issued by HR department, service certificate stating (" xxx employee holder of passport no. has commenced working with us "joining date" and the current designation(senior auditor), salary certificate for the same( mentioning the current salary)with the designation as Senior Auditor.

Apart of this, i will upload previous 3 years payslips stamped by the HR department and corresponding bank statements against these payslips

Is this enough for employment evidence?﻿


----------



## BatmanEli

Hi Mark,

We used your services previously when applying for my wife’s PMV. Thank you for that! My wife is now awaiting her 801 visa (applied February) and we are expecting another baby in a few months.

We were hoping to get her mother to come from the Philippines to help us out as we already have a young boy to take care of.

What would be the best way to do this? Could we go the family sponsored route?

Also, what would be the options for her mother to after all is said and done to stay permanently? So many visas and we really don’t know the steps to take...

Thank you for your time Mark!


----------



## ElliotD

Hi Mark 

I have applied for Stage 1 - Partner or Prospective Marriage Visa (300,309/100,820/801 for my wife and two children. 


We applied Feb 04/2018 

My wife has colitis and her medication will approx cost 15 thousand Aus per annum. 

We are anticipating that we will need a medical waiver. 

What are the success rates of medical waiver? Have we made a bad decision to apply? 

We have front loaded medicals and police checks. 

My wife's medical says 

All health examinations required for the specified visa subclass have been finalised. Processing of this person's visa application can now continue. This will not occur until a case officer investigates the case in line with published processing times for the visa that has been applied for. Do not contact the department about health examinations in the meantime.

We are very nervous and would appreciate your comment 

Thanks


----------



## Ellen15

Hi Mark, 

Much appreciated for your support. 

I have a question regarding my PMV, submitted in Oct 2017. In terms of finance, my partner has changed career during the waiting time, should I updated in the application? Also, should my financial status be a matter in the application as I am currently unemployed, however, I still provided them my savings from my last job. 

One more thing, in July 2018, the CO had requested additional information about up-to-date police check and new NOIM as the old NOIM has expired. They requested the police check again in August as the name was in the wrong order and I've provided asap. Is there any chance that they will finalise my case soon? (as they have checked my file twice but mentioned nothing about other evidences:-?)

Thank you very much.


----------



## resana18

Hi Mark, I am very glad to see your post and very grateful. 
Currently I am in South Australia. I did my Master in Project Management but it is not in SOL list. SO I am planning to apply from my 4 years oversees experience as Community worker. I have been working as Personal care worker for 2 years. I went through some migration agent and they said even I will get skill assessment and EOI but while applying for state nomination or visa there is chance of rejection as
it says for community worker rovisional 489 visa only; 2 years' work experience in field; South Australian graduates must be currently working in their field or closely related field in South Australia for the last 12 months. They said experience as personal carer in not counted as skill worked. So if you can suggest anything it would be big help. Thanks


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## ButteryJem

Hi there,

I'm a new member and just wanted to ask your opinion about an issue I have atm.

I am a Philippine citizen that is currently here in Brisbane on a tourist visa. I am currently engaged to an Australian. We are trying to apply for the Partner visa by early October 2018 as my tourist visa ends mid October 2018 (our funds prevent us from applying anytime earlier than early October)

The issue we are worried about is that because we have only been engaged for a year and that we have only lived together for 7 months (moved here in February) we are afraid that it will not be enough for us to prove our defacto relationship. We cannot put on our application that we are married because we wont be married yet by the time we submit the application as our wedding is on October 26 2018.

Is there anything you can advise us on?

Hoping to hear from you.

Sincerely,
ButteryJem


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## aadilabbasi

Hi Mark,

Please help me regarding Country Education Profiles, kindly help me, I will be thankful to you. Please check 4 years BS Electrical from Sarhad University, Peshawar. Pakistan, is equal to AQF Bachelor or AQF Associate?

Regards



MarkNortham said:


> Hi All -
> 
> As a Registered Migration Agent, I'm happy to answer general questions as my workload allows, and always enjoy sharing information and knowledge with visa applicants. As more and more questions directed to me are ending up tacked on to unrelated threads, I created this thread specifically if people want to ask me a question. House rules:
> 
> * I cannot assess your specific case here - that's what consultations are for - see my website in the email signature below. It takes more time to properly assess a case than is practical for back&forth forum questions.
> 
> * Please include any info you can related to your question.
> 
> * I can't help you in the following areas: finding a job/sponsor, job prospects for specific occupations, how much time DIBP will take to [fill in the blank], what the chances of success are for your application, whether your evidence is sufficient, etc.
> 
> * I can help you in areas such as the requirements for various visas and skills assessments, procedural questions working with DIBP, MRT, etc, more complex visa issues such as cancellations, exclusion periods, condition 8503 and other conditions, refusals, reviews, ministerial intervention, MRT/RRT, etc
> 
> My workload keeps me very busy, so I am not always able to get back and respond to questions same-day, but will do my best. Please be patient. If a matter is very urgent, please contact me directly (contact info on website listed in my email signature)
> 
> I hope you find this helpful and useful.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


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## Jos Phm

Hi Mark,
Thank you for avaible yourself to help. I have a situation, I’m currently on a Birdging Visa A for Carer Visa (Subclass 836). Recently, I want to get a Student Visa for a Diploma course. Is it possible for to change from my current one to Student Visa while onshore? 
Thank you very much for your help, God bless.


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## Velvet Cupcake

*Skills assessment for Management Consulting 224711*

Hi Mark,

Hi all,

Thank you so much for maintaining such useful discussion. Please may I seek your guidance on my situation. I am looking at applying for VETASSESS skills assessment under MC - 224711 and applying for PR 189 in January 2019 (when I accumulate 1 year work experience.

My only concern with obtaining a VETASSESS skills assessment is that I hold a Master in Economics and Finance. I am now working in economic consulting in a Big 4 firm, servicing external clients. Will I stand a chance for a positive skills assessment with VETASSESS please?

I sincerely appreciate your time and expertise. I thank you in advance for your advice.

Kindest regards!


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## Red81

Hi there to Mark and everyone . I'm really looking for some help and support. I love how people on here help one another and hope that once I go through with my subclass 300 Visa I can help someone too.
I did have a question and hope anyone one of you are able to help me.
Me and my boyfriend ( he's from Australia, I'm from the US) got engaged 3 weeks ago, happiest day of my life! We know each other for 10 years and are now ready to start a life together in Australia.
He goes back in a week, he's here on holidays now. And within the next two month we'll have the money to apply for our Visa. My question is once we have the money, is all we do is fill out the application and give them the money?
We don't hand in any evidence with it?
I'll forever appreciate anyone's advice or help on this!
3 / 3


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## donhadi

*NSW-190-Age points*

Hi Mark
_Glad if you can help to answer below_
I have my EOI submitted under two subclass 189 ( 70 points) and 190 (75 Points, NSW state) on 28 Aug,2018.

*10 years of Experience under ANZSCO CODE 263111 , *
*Minimum 65 PTE exam*

Questions
1) I was expecting to get invited by NSW soon , but till now didnt. my occupation is on updated NSW skilled occupation list. Is there anything wrong in my given information?
2) I am turning 33 Next October, and with that i will loose 5 points. But soon i will get my Spouse Skill assessed and can add 5 points to 190(since her occupation is short list) - will that affect the invitation from NSW?
3) someone told me that i will not loose the 5 points from age since i applied EOI before turning 33. is that true?


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## migrationboy

Hi Mark,


Can the Assistant Minister for Home Affairs, who is also a member of the federal executive council, personally cancel a permanent residency visa under section 501(3)?

1. Would the Assistant minister be considered a minister in order to personally make that decision?

2. Would it make an impact on the case, if the Assistant minister is also a member of the federal executive council? 


My research has resulted in contradicting statements. Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth), section 34AAB, a minister can delegate his/her powers to persons mentioned in 1a and 1b. But section 19 seems to be in contradiction with section 34AAB. 

I would be really greatful, if you could shed some light on this matter?



1. 34AAB Minister may authorise others to perform functions or duties or exercise powers on his or her behalf
(1) A Minister (the authorising Minister) who administers (whether alone or jointly with one or more other Ministers) an Act or a provision of an Act may authorise:

(a) a Minister who does not administer the Act or provision; or

(b) a member of the Executive Council who is not a Minister;

to act on behalf of the authorising Minister in the performance of functions or duties, or the exercise of powers, that the authorising Minister may perform or exercise under the Act or provision.



2. 19 References to Ministers in Acts

Acting Ministers

(4) If a provision of an Act refers to a Minister, the reference is taken to include a reference to a Minister or member of the Executive Council for the time being acting for or on behalf of the Minister.


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## Dhanu

Hi Mark,

Small question about the visitor visa. I applied for my mother's visitor visa(sponsored 1 year visa) and she is leaving Australia after 1 year. How long do I have to wait to apply the visitor visa again for my mother? 

Thanks in advance. 

/Dhanu


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## Reet.1

Hi Mark, Hope you are well. Myself and my Husband are on 489 visa. We will be applying 887 soon. My husband will be main applicant and myself secondary. Everywhere it's mentioned that to apply 887 only one family member needs to satisfy the condition of 2 years regional stay and 1 year regional work.We both live in regional and husband works in mining regional. He has satisfied the condition hence. I live in regional but have worked in metropolitan always. Recently someone told me that I might be breaching 489 visa condition which will result into 887 visa rejection. I have lost sleep over this. Is it true?


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## ShermD

*deleted*

deleted duplicate posts


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## ShermD

*189 PR visa - revisiting to Aus compulsory in every 6 months?*

Hi Mark,

Is revisiting to Australia compulsory in every 6 months for who have PR visa? I have 189 PR visa. I got the visa grant on May 2017 and had the first entry to Australia in July 2017. After that I've never visited the country .. it's been 1.5 yrs outside Australia. One of my friends are visiting there every 6 months to keep the PR refreshed so he can get the citizenship without staying in Australia for 4 years. Should I do the same to keep the PR valid? or it's ok to visit Australia before 5 yrs? (before PR expires). Will I have any problem at the airport because I didn't visit Australia for 1.5 yrs? so, should I visit Australia every 6 months?

ShermD


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## Brar22g

Hey Mark and everyone here. Can someone help me please. How long does it take to withdraw a visa application? I have attached 1446 to immi account and sent it to the department aswell. I need a confirmation of visa withdrawl. Can someone tell me how long that would take? Thanks


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## Behrooz

*Work permission for bridging visa A*

Hi Mark,

Could you please answer my question?

In my bridging visa it is mentioned that: "When your Bridging visa(class WA) is in effect, you will have full permission to work."

Is that mean I can work full-time?

Kind regards,

Behrooz


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## falt09

Hi Mark, thanks for your help! I was granted a 476 visa, I included my partner in the form 80 as information but didn't include her as applicant. Now I want to add her to my Visa, what should I do? I've read somewhere that I need to fill the form 1276, but where? Should I create a immi account for her or is there a specific place in my account where I can add her? Thanks in advance.


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## joann655

Hi could you please tell me how and where to send a invitation letter for visitor visa for someone from lebanon thanks


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## Mola420

Hi Mark and Everyone 

Can someone help me understand something about my bridging visa?
I’m on my student visa now, which will expired in Threeweek. One month ago I applied for a new visa (461) and I received my Bridging Visa A, that will be active on the 16 October .

The thing is, my bridging visa came with work limitation (the same from the student visa) and it says that I can only work 40h a fortnight when the course/training is still in session. BUT my course ended a couple of months ago and I’m on my holidays period, which allows me to work full time. My new visa has nothing to do with studies and I won’t be studying anything during my bridging visa. So how this limitation applies? Even not studying I will have this 40h restriction or can I work full time when the bridging visa starts? I’m confused


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## Balmain

Dear Mark, 

I had applied for my skills assessment to Vetassess as a Liason officer back in 2013 (through an agent). The agent misread my case and convinced me to pick the above mentioned occupation. I provided evidence and resume accordingly. However my assessment report was negative from Vetassess.

Now in 2018, after 5 years I have reapplied as a production Manager (manufacturing) at Vetassess by myself. I have provided correct evidences and an honest resume. But upon applying I realised that my production manager profile overlaps and contradicts, designation and duties, with the earlier Liason officer profile I had submitted in 2013. The overlapping work experience is between 2010-2013. 

Now it's got me worried, will it be a problem ? I mean will Vetassess cross check my new application with the 5 year old one ? Will they report my profile to dibp for integrity issues?

It's just been 4 days that I have applied. I am very tensed, please advise ? Need your help !


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## mohaobeidat

Dear Mark,

I am currently working in my occupation in SA on a graduate visa which ends soon, and i want to apply for visa 190 SA



but i only have 60 points as following ( age=30 , bachelor = 15, English = 10, 1 year exp in Australia= 5 points )



Is there any chance for me to get invited or not ?



Thanks


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## RochelleWhite

Hi Mark,
I am willing to apply for the PR to Australia as a valuer. Can you please advise me whether It is compulsory to be registered under a suitable professional organization as a valuer in my local country or Australia, in order to get a positive outcome of the skills assessment?

Degree: Bsc Finance Special
Work experience: 8+ years as a valuer. 
Nominated occupation: Valuer
Visa type: PR visa 189 subclass

Thanks,
Rochelle


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## TaraDawn

Hello Mark,

I have a quick question regarding US police checks for the 189 visa. I have been living in australia for the past 15 months and have been back to the US in that time just for a short couple week visit. I assume in this case I do not need a state police check as I believe the requirement is any state you have lived in for at least 3 months in the last 12 months. Has anyone in a similar situation had any issues with submitting FBI check only? Also, has anyone gotten their FBI check apostille or just send it in as you received it? I have not read anywhere that it is required so I have currently just submitted a color copy as is. I would be so grateful for a response from anyone who has experience with this.

One last question... I have submitted form 80 along side my 189 application. Is this sufficient or is form 1221 required as well? They look very similar so I would assume just one is needed? Just want to make sure I am not missing anything!

Thank you so much I’m advance for any guidance.

Tara


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## 9777rac

Hi Mark 
I have applied for sponsored regional 187 after being nominated by Mater health. My family are on my application and all documents and medicals uploaded. Do you know an accurate processing time please? I know the department of Home Affairs website says 13-16 months but have you seen any processed quicker?
Thank you


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## soft07

Hi Mark,

I have received 482 visa. My wife has received dependent visa and she is also software engineer as like me.

In case my wife's Indian employer wants to send her to Australia with offer/deputation letter for Australian client, then can my wife travel before me (main applicant)?

There are no visa conditions mentioned in her visa approval letter except '8501-Maintain health insurance'.

Please advise.


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## Post4nidhi

Hi Mark
I applied for student visa extension in March 2016 but it was refused, now I applied for AAT and I have hearing on 1 nov 2018.
I had 15 months of gap in between my studies.
So the main reason being the gap year, the immigration has questioned me about GTE.
How do I explain my circumstance as I was onshore 12 months. And did not study anywhere. Left studies in January 2015 and joined back in dec 2015.
Can someone suggest me something please.
I changed my course from medical radiation sciences to BPA.


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## Edel

Hi Mark , I'm just wondering if you could give me some advice on how to apply for a partner visa ?


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## Mishiboy

Hi Mark, I came to Sydney in March 2013 and graduated in 2016. Got my TR 485 after graduation and is now about to expire by end of November 2018. I’ve just submitted my Expression of interest yesterday for subclass 189 at 75 points and for subclass 190 at 80 points under ICT Business Analyst in NSW. Although I’ve one invitation round left which is going to be on 11th November, before my TR expires. For my occupation it can take about 2-3 months with the points I’ve, to be invited. My question is on how can I extend my TR 485 until I get my invitation so I can move onto bridging visa as I’ve to travel in January 2019. If I can’t extend my TR 485, what other visa can I apply to legally stay in the country until my invitation is issued so I can file my PR onshore and get a bridging visa?


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## HopalongJohn

Joint AOS partner confusion?!
Hey Mark, i understand the aos income requirements have changed and would like some clarification. 
I will be applying for 835 visa and the aos will be provided by my sister, who has a partner. I understand her income would need to be 3 times the newstart income cut off, covering her, her husband and me (no dependents). If she doesn't meet this criteria a joint assurance of support will be considered. 
Joint aos will be made by her and her husband. Would the joint income need to be 5 times the income as technically she has a partner AND her husband has a partner. Even though the partners are providing the joint assurance. 

I hope i have explained this in a way you understand. It's confusing and i'm unable to find definitive answer online, although looking at aos form it seems to me that whether the partner is in the joint aos is irrelevant.

Regards John


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## ShermD

Dear Mark, where are you?


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## bolanle053

*Subclass 408*

Dear Mark
I applied for 408 Research activities visa since September-17-2018. Up till now, I am yet to get any response from them as regards my visa. Initially, further documentation was requested and I responded. The visa duration should be 35-44days to grant. However, this is already two months and the wait continues. Please, what do I do in this case?


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## Maggie-May24

I believe Mark's schedule hasn't allowed him as much time on the forum lately so I'll close the thread temporarily until he has time to return.


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